Check Out the ‘Ring of Fire’ Eclipse - by aby benedict

Today's annular eclipse — affectionally dubbed a "ring of fire" — will be the first of its kind visible from the mainland U.S. since 1994. And we won't get another until 2023.

In other words, you don't want to miss it. Sorry, New Yorkers, this is a mostly West Coast thing.

Due to the time zone change, the eclipse makes landfall again in North America in the late afternoon of May 20, starting at the California-Oregon border at 6:26 p.m. PT.

The annular eclipse then crosses southern Nevada, southern Utah, the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona, the lower-left corner of Colorado, and most of New Mexico before ending in the area of Lubbock, Texas, around sunset at 8:36 p.m. CT.

But you can watch it streaming online, if you're into that sort of thing. The entire event will last a little over four and a half minutes for viewers.

The reason this "ring of fire" eclipse looks so cool is that a ring of sunlight is visible around the black silhouette of moon. The effect is very eye of Sauron, which is a nerdy reference but completely appropriate when talking about astronomy.

Many viewers will not see the perfect eclipse as pictured in this file photo attached to this post, but they should stil be able to see a partial ring. Astronomer Anthony Cook predicts this event will be extra beautiful regardless, since we're nearing the maximum of the current solar cycle.

But be careful — eclipses are a great way to damage your vision by being an idiot.

To view the eclipse safely, astronomers recommend using either a professionally manufactured solar filter in front of a telescope or camera, or using eclipse viewing glasses that sufficiently reduce the sun's brightness and filter out damaging ultraviolet and infrared radiation.

I know that's not as exciting as just staring at it directly, but you need to take care of your eyes. Otherwise, how are you going to check out the 2023 "ring of fire" eclipse?

The Latest Version Of Angry Birds: Rovio Angry Birds Heikki Web-game - by aby benedict

ust yesterday Rovio (the one with the brilliant mind that created Angry Birds) announced the release of a web-only game called Angry Birds Heikki next month on the 18^th of June. If you are wondering why is the word Heikki in the game’s name, then it is because the game is a result of the merchandising and web-game partnership between Rovio and the Finnish Formula 1 racing driver Heikki Kovalainen.

When I first found out about this, I started wondering how two totally unrelated things like birds being fired at pigs and racing could be blended into a single game. We have no doubt that Rovio will come up with something great, but it is hard to imagine what it would be like.

Heikki surely has some answers to this. This is what he posted on his official website:

“fun Angry Birds game levels with a racing theme in addition to other bespoke content.”  

Heikki also described his feelings about all this by saying he is “happy to be backing a Finnish company on a global platform.”

The launching of the game was announced on a mini website where the game will probably be available at. Here is the link to the site: http://heikki.angrybirds.com/

If are one of many who are Angry Birds addicts, you may want to give other games holding Rovio’s signature a try. A new puzzler called Amazing Alex is expected to launch any time now. Stay tuned and we will tell you as soon as that happens.

ILM speaks on Battleship: “the bar has been raised” for visual effects - by aby benedict

Expanding on what we learned earlier this week from NVIDIA’s talk with effects group ILM, Visual Effect Supervisor Pablo Helman let us know that their work on the film Battleship‘s effects and production took place on a global scale. With technologies like what we saw this week from NVIDIA with their cloud-ready GPU power with Kepler, the teams at Industrial Light and Magic and the extended Battleship film crew were able to work from not just one set location, but many at the same time. ILM artists and crew worked from different parts of the Earth all at once – this dramatically decreasing the amount of time it took to create such a giant vision as this blockbuster film, Helmen letting us know that the film industry world in recent years has certainly “become a lot smaller” in many ways.

Industrial Light and Magic were stationed on the Battleship project with Helman on staff 10 weeks before Principal Photography with Effects Supervisor Grady Cofer on up to a year before that, Helman putting what he describes as essentially two years of his life into the film. Because of technology advancements in communication, especially with streaming and sharing (again, such as we’ve seen earlier this week via NVIDIA), the time they’ve spent is dwarfed by the amount of time they used to spend just a handful of years ago on projects such as Star Wars.

*Pablo Helman worked on both Star Wars Episode I and II, nabbing an Academy Award Nomination with ILM for Best Visual Effects for “Attack of the Clones”, just so you know!

Helman: “We’re moving into this global market where the world starts to be a lot smaller than it used to be. We’re very quickly seeing that we have artists working in other parts of the world – and it’s really good to have access to libraries or databases or assets that are in our servers at ILM as opposed to the different parts [of the world] where these people are.”

The difference between working on Star Wars Episode II back in 2002 and Battleship here in 2012 has the same basic core – getting what the writers and director wants, their vision, onto the screen. Helman noted though that in working on both of those films (and films like Terminator 3, Jarhead, and Indiana Jones in-between,) he’s found the way ILM and th rest of the industry go about making it all happen has changed.

“I have seen a change in the way things are accrued and in how things are reviewed. For instance, the world is a lot smaller place than it was in 2002 when I did [Star Wars] Episode II. Things have changed. Now I find myself working with people across countries and across time zones.

That when I was working on Star Wars was [still] kind of a dream that we had.”

Working across countries and time zones is but one of the elements that is considered relatively normal here on a project such as Battleship, explained Helman. He went on to note that the techniques which allow for quick production we’re seeing here in 2012 are all extremely new – and make for speed like we’ve never seen before.

“When I started in this business 20 years ago, technology was obviously a part of what we were doing, but things change. They change every 3 years or so. About 5 years ago things started moving a lot faster – things would change ever 6 or 7 months, then every 3 months, and now every week there is something different, there is something that’s a new R&D (research and development) project that we have or something completely different [technology-wise] that we are working on.

So now even though we’re doing basically the same thing which is fulfilling the director’s vision, the tools have changed. And the speed at which we accomplish those effects has increased.

The post-production times have also shrunk. War of the Worlds was a project I was also working on that was done in 3 months which is was a record – but because of the volume – War of the Worlds was 249 shots of visual effects, where Battleship has like 1,400, with a post-production period of about 8 months which is on the short end of things. Things are changing very quickly.”

Battleship comes out tomorrow across the United States, many theaters showing it at midnight for those fanatics amongst who simply cannot get enough awesome blockbuster battle action, but it’s of course not the first time the crew has seen the final product in the studio. Speaking on what he’d seen already Helman gave us his first impressions as well as the impressions of those close to him on what the film is bringing to the tablet this week.

“It’s a ride. The visual effects work looks great – it’s a popcorn movie – and in regards to how some people ask me: can I actually turn off that part of me that actually just enjoys the movie? It’s definitely something you want to do here, you want to sit back, turn yourself off, and just be surprised and wowed by the images.

The images look great and I think people can recognize that the bar has been raised in terms of water and creatures and destruction. It’s difficult to do things in a really big scale – it’s very difficult because we are so attuned to water, for example, we as humans know exactly what water looks like so it’s very difficult to do that, but the reaction has been very positive.”

As a bit of a bonus we made sure to ask how it was for Helman and ILM to work with the director of this film, Peter Berg, to get an idea of what we’ll be getting in terms of overall vision. As it turned out, nothing but positive things are coming from the ILM camp on how this film has been directed – passion all around!

“It was great [working with Berg] – he’s a very spontaneous kind of a guy. He’s very organic and goes very much by his gut feeling. He’s got a very much ‘in your face’ sort of a directing way and he put a lot of work into this film especially because this subject is very dear to his heart. He loves the navy and he loves boats, and being on the water and it’s been great to work with such a passionate filmmaker. Also he’s a great actor, by the way, so he works great with the actors and he has a great sense of spectacle as well.”

Kiss Aero goodbye: Latest Windows 8 build reveals minimalistic desktop UI (update) - by aby benedict

It's safe to say that anticipation is high for the upcoming Windows 8 Release Preview, which will become available in the first week of June. While we're still curious to see if Microsoft can better integrate the desktop and Metro environments of its latest operating system, the company has now revealed a significant change to the desktop portion of Windows 8 -- a completely restyled visual appearance. As you might remember from the Consumer Preview, window borders and widgets featured a simplified and subdued look in comparison to the glass-like materials of Aero, which Microsoft now calls "dated and cheesy." With the latest refresh, however, the company has pushed its modernistic philosophy even further to reveal a spartan (yet functional) interface that draws less attention to the chrome elements and allows the user to focus more on content.

Microsoft's latest reveal was made as part of a larger, retrospective look at its development of Windows and the evolution of the operating system. At every step, the company states that its emphasis has been on the overall "learnability" of the environment. As such, Microsoft claims that it's making great strides to ensure that consumers may quickly get up to speed with the latest OS, and hints that it has a number of reveals yet to be seen. In its very next breath, however, it also emphasized people's ability to adapt and move forward, which suggests the number of changes might not be as conciliatory as some might've hoped. Regardless, we'll know for sure what Microsoft has in store in just a few weeks.

Update: Well, this is interesting. In the screenshot above, you'll notice a highlighted mail-esque icon at the bottom of the taskbar. As it would turn out, Techblitz recently discovered that Microsoft swapped that shot for a nearly identical replica, albeit without the icon. Is this miniscule peek into something new in the way of Windows Live mail or similar? At this point it's anyone guess, but we'll keep you posted if we find out more. You'll find the new screenshot after the break.

Citizens chant health, fitness mantra - by aby benedict

With Mangalore emerging as one of the fast progressing cities in the country resulting in a drastic change in life style, the need to remain healthy has become the need of the hour. With fitness centers mushrooming in the city, Mangaloreans are now tightening the laces of their gym shoes keeping fitness in mind.

At present, Mangalore has over 30 gyms and and over 10,000 people who visit them on daily basis. Many of the traditional gyms are replaced with the modern equipped ones. The notion of going to gym only to build a bulky body has changed. With music playing on high decibels, Mangaloreans are seen sweating it out to lose the few extra kilos.

Speaking about the changing trend, Lavie Fitness Centre Manager and body builder Afran says that earlier people used to go to gyms to build bulky bodies for competitions but today people of all age groups and even ladies visit gyms.

We have people who want to lose weight, gain weight, people with health problems, people who want to remain fit and so on.

“We opened in November 2011 and over 400 people have enrolled over the last five months.

Majority of the people who visit us are the middle age group who want to remain fit. Among ladies, many come with an aim to lose the extra fat near the abdominal and thigh area,” says Afran.

He also points out that many visit gyms to be slim and toned. “The men look forward to achieve a six pack and ladies want to maintain a slim figure,” he says.

Personal Trainer of Lavie Fitness Sandra Menezes says that the present youth are very conscious about their looks. “We have kids who are aged 13 who visit the gyms. Television and cinema has clearly left an impact on the youth as many want to look like their reel heroes,” she says.

Dietician of Gold Gym Navya Kiran blames the sedentary life style lead by the people to be a major cause of health problems.  Odd work timings, junk food, inactive lifestyle and climate change are causes for the majority of the health problems faced today. Obesity is increasing and also the diseases caused due to it, she says.

Many who join the gym to keep fit want to get immediate results so they take up crash dieting and over exercise. Though they may achieve results, it is temporary, she says and adds that their weight will double up once they stop the crash diet and exercise. It is ideal to maintain a balanced diet and eat six meals with a limited quantity in every three hours, she says.

“Today with the city being concretized, the space has been limited. Pollution is also on rise hence many prefer coming to gyms than going out for walks. Secondly, we have diet as well as exercise patterns. We also have equipment which is meant to tone up various parts of the body,” says Talwalkar branch Manager Girdihar Shetty who adds that at least 300 people visit the gym on daily basis.

Mr World 1990, Raymond D’Souza and also the proprietor of Raymond Gym says that the awareness of exercise and health has increased in Mangalore. Though there are many who visit gyms today, the number of people participating in body building competitions and sports has reduced, he points out. The actual sports people do not like to work in air conditioned gyms. “You really need to sweat out while you work out. These gyms are more of business centers and people come here for networking. Secondly, they are very costly and a common man cannot afford their packages,” says Raymond and adds that many go to gyms for fashion.

In reality, it is the traditional gyms that help one more, he says. Rajesh Alva who owns the Alva’s chain of gyms says that over 2000 people visit his gymnasiums. “There are more and more people enrolling day by day. Mangalore has become truly health conscious,” he says.

Along with heavy workouts at gyms, aerobics has also caught up in the fitness trend in Mangalore. “Aerobics is a very good cardio exercise. You can burn up to 600 calories. Aerobics is quite popular among ladies and one feels motivated to do it as it is a group exercise,” says Fitness Health Club Aerobic Trainer Fouzia. “I am conducting three batches of aerobics which has over 40 ladies,” she says.

Gym users speak
“After I was married, I completely stopped taking care of myself. I was so busy with responsibilities of family and home, I never realised how a few extra pounds turned into kgs. I was 78 kgs when I joined the fitness center. Today after four months I have lost 13 kgs. I feel confident, beautiful and I am happy that I can fit into my old dresses. Hitting the gym is a good break, especially for a home maker who does not get time-out,” says a home maker Ranjeeth Kar.

Rhea, who is 15, hits the gym after school hours. “I am a bit on the bulkier side, when most of my peers are in a good shape. I thought that instead of brooding over my weight, the best thing I could do is to work out. Hitting the gym gives me good break from studies. I feel healthy and exercise makes me feel fresh, giving me a better mood to study,” she adds.

Illyas on the other hand is hitting the gym to gain weight. “I am tall and skinny. I decided to join the gym to tone my body. I don’t want to be bulky, however, I want to give my body a good shape. I take anabolic free protein shakes as a supplement. I am working hard to achieve six pack abs,” he adds.

“I work in a BPO. Odd sleep timings, craving for junk food, countless cups of coffee has taken a toll on my health. Most of us who follow this life style have a family pack than six pack abs,” laughs Mohit. “I joined the fitness center with a main aim of being fit. I hardly get time to exercise. With the flexible gym timings, I make it a point to work-out for an hour six days a week. I hope my cholesterol levels have decreased. I mostly do cardio exercises like running, cycling, spinning, walking and others,” he adds.

Android 5.0 Jelly Bean news: Release date, features and more - by aby benedict

Today, it's a very rare Android owner graced with the latest version of the OS: Android 4.0, aka Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS). Most mobile Droids are still chowing down on the Gingerbread flavour of Google's mobile software.

Earlier this year it emerged that a fractional 1.6 per cent of Android hardware is packing ICS -- which is a whole lot of Droid heads who can't use Face Unlock, enjoy full device encryption and download Google's Chrome for Android browser. Boo!

Since then a few new ICS phones have launched -- such as HTC's One Series devices -- but plenty of Android handsets continue to arrive running Gingerbread as standard.

Jelly Bean

This upgrade inertia hasn't stopped Google forging ahead with the next version of Android. And, in keeping with its alphabetical and dessert-themed naming convention, ICS looks set to be followed by Android 5.0 -- aka Jelly Bean.

Jelly-bean-flavoured name rumours have been swirling around Android 5.0 since last September. And in the clearest hint yet that this is indeed the name of choice, Google was dishing out jelly beans to conference goers at the exit of its Android-themed Mobile World Congress stand this February. Wink-wink-nudge-nudge.

We're yet to get an official, rubber stamped confirmation from Google that Jelly Bean is the name for Android 5.0 but don't bet your piggy bank on outlandish alternatives such as Jammy Dodger or Jam Roly Poly.

(For more on the cross-cultural currants of Android naming conventions, see my Pinterest board -- which imagines an alternative reality in which versions of the OS are given British English dessert names -- such as Android Eccles Cake, Android Iced Bun and Android Plum Duff.)

Release date

So when is Jelly Bean likely to land? Google hasn't made an official announcement -- but considering ICS arrived in autumn 2011, and is still the exception rather than the rule on Android devices, it seems pretty unlikely Jelly Bean will arrive sooner than this autumn -- despite Google previously keeping to a roughly six-monthly update schedule.

However, Jelly Bean could just get an airing at Google's annual I/O developer conference, which takes place at the end of June, so keep your eyes peeled for some potentially meaty news in about a month. 

Features

What do we know about Jelly Bean's features? Once again, not much since nothing has been officially confirmed -- Google wasn't handing out feature lists with those MWC jelly beans. Of course, that hasn't stopped the rumour mill churning out a few sugar-coated nuggets of its own.

One juicy but perhaps unlikely rumour is that Jelly Bean will run Windows 8 -- in a dual-boot scenario that would allow Droid lovers to switch between Android and Windows. The theory behind this cake-and-eat-it-scenario is that it would give Android lovers the on-the-go versatility and simplicity of Droid, along with the power and depth of Windows for more involved tasks.

However, many Android fans would probably say the OS is just as powerful and deep as Windows. And mixing open source free-to-use software with a proprietary OS is definitely an unfortunate crossing of the streams that suggests if there is a dual-boot option, it may be just that -- an option, rather than an 'as standard' feature.

In any case, Google's Chrome OS is a more likely candidate for dual-booting action. Last year Google's then chairman Eric Schmidt told MWC delegates that Android and Chrome OS will converge -- when the time is right. So perhaps Jelly Bean netbooks could be on the cards.

Another mooted update to Android involves adding more gestures to the interface. Last year Google filed a patent that used a series of letter gestures to act as short-cuts -- drawing the letter W, for instance, could be used as a quick way to fire up Wikipedia.

But reading the runes in patent filing has about as much predictive power as telling fortunes via tea leaves. Companies frequently patent all manner of outlandish inventions just on the off-chance, or to stop other companies patenting similar inventions. Some patent filings are even decoys -- deliberately designed to put people off the true development scent. So while more gestures in Jelly Bean seems likely, exactly what these will be and do isn't yet clear.

A more widespread prediction for Jelly Bean is that Google's Chrome for Android browser -- available now to ICS users -- becomes the standard offering in the OS, rather than an additional download via Google Play.

Another best guess is that Google will seek to compete with Apple's Siri voice assistant with its own mouthy interface addition. And many Android users are also anticipating some kind of file manager application, to help manage what are becoming increasingly complex media machines, along with (hoped for) improvements on the battery and power management front, and a speedier way to get the latest version of Android (which may just be wishful thinking).

For now, Google is keeping its Jelly Bean coloured cards close to its chest -- at the time of publication the company had not responded to a request for comment -- so take all these rumoured features with a pinch of salt and stay tuned for more news as we get it.

Samsung says Galaxy S III uses Pentile AMOLED display due to longer lifespan - by aby benedict

While there was much excitement around the announcement of Samsung's Galaxy S III, certain aspects of the device were met with disappointment, in particular its Pentile AMOLED display. However, Samsung has defended its use of the subpixel layout — which uses one red and one blue pixel for every two green ones, which can cause issues with image quality and color — telling MobileBurn that it continues to use Pentile for its AMOLED displays because they tend to have a longer lifespan. But given that most users only keep a device for around two years, we have to wonder whether it's worth the trade-off of longevity for quality. Of course, Pentile displays have been less of an issue in higher resolution devices like the Galaxy Note, but for pixel enthusiasts the Galaxy S III's display may still end up being a disappointment. As our own Vlad Savov explained in a recent editorial, "Pentile displays belong in the past."