Russia’s Mars Probe Will Crash To Earth In January

A Russian spacecraft bound for a moon of Mars and stuck in Earth’s orbit will come crashing back next month, but its toxic fuel and radioactive material on board will pose no danger of contamination, the Russian space agency said Friday.

Between 20 and 30 fragments of the probe with a total weight of up to 200 kilograms (440 pounds) will survive the fiery plunge and shower the Earth’s surface, Roscosmos warned in a statement.

The agency said the unmanned Phobos-Ground spacecraft will plummet to Earth between Jan. 6 and Jan. 19, and the rough area of where the fragments could fall could only be calculated a few days ahead of its plunge. [Read more...]

Iran’s Unyielding; Panetta’s Consideration; UN’s Standing For Negotiation

After Israel warned the world must act to prevent Iran getting nuclear weapons, the country’s supreme leader in Iran on Thursday said, Iran “will respond with full force” to fight back any attack — or even any threat of military action – against its nuclear sites.

Iran “will respond with full force to any aggression or even threats in a way that will demolish the aggressors from within,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told students at a Teheran military college. Khamenei said the message was directed at Iran’s enemies, “especially America and its stooges and the Zionist regime (Israel).”

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta considers military strike would lead to serious impact. [Read more...]

New Hacking Techniques Raise Fears Of Sabotage

When a computer attack hobbled Iran’s unfinished nuclear power plant last year, it was assumed to be a military-grade strike, the handiwork of elite hacking professionals with nation-state backing.

Yet for all its science-fiction sophistication, key elements have now been replicated in laboratory settings by security experts with little time, money or specialized skill. It is an alarming development that shows how technical advances are eroding the barrier that has long prevented computer assaults from leaping from the digital to the physical world.

The techniques demonstrated in recent months highlight the danger to operators of power plants, water systems and other crucial infrastructure around the world. [Read more...]

UN Links Iran With Nuclear Weapons

The United Nations nuclear watchdog says it has information indicating Iran has carried out tests “relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device”.

In its latest report on Iran, the International Atomic Energy Agency  says the research includes computer models that could only be used to develop a nuclear bomb trigger.

The BBC  says this is the IAEA’s toughest report on Iran to date.

Tehran condemned the findings as politically motivated. [Read more...]

Computer And Internet Briefs

Using one password for all your online access might be simple, but it’s also risky. If the password ends up in the hands of a hacker, he would have access to data from any programme used, warns Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). Thus, users should be sure to make up new passwords for each online service they use.

An actual case shows why password safety is needed. Unknown parties managed to get into the accounts of 90,000 users of Sony’s Playstation network this year, partially by using access data they had obviously lifted from other websites.

Passwords should be at least eight characters long; 20 if possible, with a wi-fi connection using WPA or WPA-2 encryption. Don’t use words that can be found in dictionaries, nor names of family members or family pets, since they can be easily guessed. Ideally, the password should contain special symbols and numerals, advises the BSI. Pull data from your browser’s cache [Read more...]

Good Quality Speakers

It seems that the audio technology has been promising wireless speakers for the past years without compromising sound quality. You’ll noticed these days while you’re just hopping around from one place to the other, at work, the mall, or just about anywhere you’ll see many people listening to their kind of music. You might see some with cool accessories such as portable speakers, cool looking cases, voice recorders, FM transmitters, remotes and much more. Thus, when my younger sister seeks help as to what particular brand and where to purchase pleasant audio equipment HI FI Speakers, I advised her to look no further at Audio Visual Revolution which is the best place to be. Let’s face it having no audible resonances, harmonic or inter-modulation distortions with very smooth and wide dispersion characteristics has made their audio equipment most popular among others.

Well, although I only consider myself as a newcomer to the world of music, the first thing I noticed about this product was it has a depth to the dimension of the sound, making each instrument in the recording sound, as if it was situated live in the room. Really it’s an amazing aspect of this Speakers Centre. And having a keen ear for details, I was very impressed with the quality of sound reproduction of these audio speakers. I believe the difference between these speakers and many on the market is their ability to reproduce sound, as if you were sitting next to a live musical group. These speakers play effortlessly and well both soft and loud passages on any type of music, and its transient response is very sharp and accurate. And what made it more amazing is that mind you guys; you can feel and almost see the players in front of you.

Probably, not having much knowledge about good quality speakers, you didn’t know what to expect. But whether you know or don’t know what a good speaker is supposed to sound like, you’ll know when you hear it. Some people may say the design is what makes it popular and makes them purchase and some may say it’s the accessories that come with it. There are many reasons why people buy this equipment; you will just have to find yours. Furthermore, any choice of speaker is a matter of compromise, and the accessories for your audio equipment can be a great extra feature to everything. Now, impress your friends with the new portable Speakers Bookshelf also at Audio Visual Reproduction. Aesthetically, it is eye-pleasing and they’re well built and have a nice heft while they sit pretty on any bookshelf, desk or TV stand.

Why We Need To Get More Connected With The Online World

There are now more than one billion people with access to the Internet – all creating, sharing and searching for information. Everyday, hundreds of millions of people look for restaurants, holidays, news, books, and much more-comparing prices and products, checking to see whether a flight is delayed, or communicating with their friends in far-flung places. Traffic over the web is reaching mind-boggling volumes – over 80 billion emails are sent and 3.7 million photos are uploaded everyday; and the blogosphere is over 100 times bigger than it was just three years ago and doubling every 200 days.

For many, life before the Internet is hard to imagine. It’s easy to understand why – getting online has offered us unprecedented opportunities to discover, learn, connect, and simplify many of the tasks that need to happen to run our daily lives. This level of access to information has brought freedom, power and choice to people in a way that has rarely been seen in recent modern history. [Read more...]