Indian woman aims for hot chilli record

An Indian woman hopes to get into the record books by eating a huge amount of the world's hottest pepper.

Anandita Dutta Tamuly, 26, aims to eat as many Bhut Jolokia peppers as she can in one sitting.

The current record was set by South African Anita Crafford, who ate eight jalapenos in a minute in 2002.



Tamuly is a lifelong fan of the Bhut Jolokia or 'ghost' chili pepper - rated about 100 times as hot as a jalapeno.

She said: "Such is the hotness of this chili that it can drive away the ghost and hence the name."

Tamuly says she got hooked on the chillis as a child after her mother smeared chili paste on her tongue to cure an infection.

Tamuly, who will attempt to creat a new record in London, added: "I have already created history on Indian television by munching 60 of the chilies in two minutes. I am more than confident of creating a record."

She is currently awaiting a British visa to make the trip.

The 'ghost' pepper clocks slightly more than one million Scoville units, almost twice as hot as the previous reigning champ, the Red Savina habanero. An average jalapeno, used widely in salsa, measures only about 10 000 heat units, www.int.iol.co.za reports.

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AnyDVD HD Defeats HD DVD Copy Protection

AnyDVD HD removes AACS encryption from HD DVDs, allowing users to play movies on non-HDCP compliant hardware

AnyDVD, a software favorite for DVD movie aficionados, has hit the HD era. SlySoft has quietly released AnyDVD HD over the weekend, offering similar decryption capabilities as its standard-definition version.


AnyDVD HD removes AACS encryption from HD DVDs, which will also allow the user to watch movies over a digital display connection without HDCP compliant graphics card and display. The software will also enable PowerDVD Ultra to run titles released by Studio Canal, The Weinstein Company, Kinowelt, Optimum Releasing—studios whose movies previously did not run on the PC player.

Another feature of AnyDVD HD is what SlySoft calls “magic file replacement” to remaster any commercial movie disc using simple XML scripts. These scripts will “magically” replace the files on the physical disc so that the user can customize discs without making a copy to a hard drive.

“We could only begin our development some weeks ago and we are immensely proud to get this product out to the users so quickly,” said Peer van Heuen, one of SlySoft’s lead developers. “This speaks to the commitment to our users: get good and easy-to-use products out on the market fast!”

Other features carried over from AnyDVD include the removal of CSS encryption and region codes from DVD movies, allowing for a user’s free reign over the optical format for backup purposes. AnyDVD is capable of removing unwanted movie features, including subtitles and prohibition messages such as copyright and FBI warnings.

While the release of AnyDVD HD seems to be more than coincidental with the discovery of the Processing Key that defeats all HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc protections, SlySoft maintains that its development was independent of what the hacking community accomplished.

“The way AnyDVD HD addresses and solves the problem doesn't have much in common with the discoveries of individual members of the Open Source community in reading AACS keys from the USB bus,” said Peer van Heuen. “As one can expect from SlySoft, our solution works fully automatic with all known titles while the so-called hacker tools require laborious reading out of memory or the USB bus. This is not to say that their efforts are completely fruitless; it’s just that ours need to be user-friendly. It’s just that simple.”

The current version of AnyDVD HD supports only HD DVD, but given the similarities in copy protection, SlySoft said that a version of its software that will support Blu-ray Disc is not far off.

“When we considered Blu-Ray, our strategy was simply to initially support HD-DVD and await further developments in the marketplace. Already during the beta phase we got many inquiries about Blu-ray so we decided to go ahead and also provide support for this as soon as possible,” added Tom Xiang, SlySoft’s Marketing Director. “Blu-ray employs the same AACS process as HD-DVD. An implementation was really just a matter of form. A beta version is planned for availability this quarter.”

AnyDVD HD is priced at $79 by itself or as an upgrade from AnyDVD for $30. The software may also be first downloaded for a free 21-day trial.
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Google launches new mobile Gmail

Google launches new mobile Gmail
Free, downloadable Java application lets U.S. users do in two clicks what previously took them 10 or more.
By Elinor Mills
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

Google launched on Thursday a version of Gmail for mobile devices that lets U.S. users do in two clicks what previously took them 10 or more.
Gmail for Mobile Devices is a free, downloadable Java application that will work on any Java-enabled mobile phone, of which there are about 300 in the United States, said Tony Hsieh, product manager for Google Mobile.


The software improves on a version of Gmail released nearly a year ago that lets people access their e-mail through a mobile Web browser. Once the new Java application is installed on a phone, a person can quickly launch Gmail instead of having to open a mobile browser and wait for it to load before signing in, Hsieh said.

In addition to being faster, Gmail for Mobile Devices maintains Gmail functions like threading and search, and adds mobile-specific functionality such as the ability to press a button to make a call to someone who sent an e-mail. People can also view attachments, such as photos, in an optimized full-screen format.

"If it takes someone a minute or two or even longer to check e-mail on their phone, people probably won't do it," Hsieh said. With wireless application protocol browsers, it can take 11 clicks to delete or archive a message, but with the new application it will take just two, he said.

There is no cost to download the application, but people will have to pay data charges to their mobile carriers. People can download the application by sending themselves a text message from the Google Web site, going to Gmail.com/app from their mobile browser or downloading it from the Sprint Nextel home page, according to Hsieh.

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Early Daylight-Saving Time Puts Apps At Risk

Daylight-saving time is about to leap forward to March 11 instead of what would have been the normal April 1 change, and there's a chance your in-house enterprise applications won't keep up.

Instead of moving their clocks an hour ahead on March 11, enterprise apps may fall behind or even fail. For applications and systems that work within one international time zone, this means they need to be reset to move forward an hour on the correct day and time. But for systems and apps that work across international time zones, the fix is more complicated, and they "may face considerable confusion," says Forrester Research analyst Ray Wang.


Such systems are set to have one day a year that's 25 hours long and another that's 23 hours. They typically work off Coordinated Universal Time, an international timekeeping system, similar to Greenwich Mean Time. These enterprise systems are set to make the switchover to daylight-saving time on April 1. So from March 11, when the United States makes its earlier-than-usual change, until April 1, those systems and apps will be working off incorrect times.

Many enterprise applications are custom systems developed in-house. For example, scheduling and manufacturing systems with real-time components require precise time calculations, as do applications that calculate tariff charges or service billing based on elapsed time totals. These systems "are most likely to be affected," Wang says.

Applications associated with transportation, health care, financial services, telecommunications, and manufacturing, particularly process manufacturing where chemical mixtures are pressurized or heated, rely on correct timing information to perform their tasks and can't afford to be off by even an hour. Also, server log files from which electronic events, such as financial transactions, might be reconstructed are in jeopardy of being off by an hour. For example, a system that's off by an hour would significantly affect the value of trades that a currency or commodity trader makes.

Financial services provider Capital One is ensuring that the time change doesn't affect production jobs and system transactions. It's inventorying infrastructure and identifying best practices by platform and applications. "We don't expect any disruption to our customers and associates," says Robert Turner, Capital One's senior VP of IT.

DO IT RIGHT

Developers of custom apps should know how their time functions work because the original process of building them wasn't simple. But often the original developers are long gone, and someone less familiar with the source code has to decipher how the program's date and time functions operate.

The amount of work involved depends on whether the date and time functions are programming-language specific. C++, Visual Basic, and C# rely on the operating system's time zone tables. Object-oriented programming languages such as Java and Smalltalk depend on virtual machine-related language frameworks for time calculation, Wang says.

Testing is the other key to a successful transition, Wang says. Regression tests should be executed against the patched and updated systems to ensure that they're running as expected, he says, "especially in the case of poorly documented systems with old code."

Wang looked at 10 vendors' applications--Agresso, Epicor Software, IBM, Infor Global Solutions, Lawson, M'zoft, Oracle, Sage, SAP, and Sterling Commerce--that rely on the operating system for time information, so applying a patch to the system's time zone change section fixes the problem. Apps that depend on Oracle Application Server and Oracle databases can't rely on just an operating system change and may need patches or updates to the app server and database, Wang says. And users of pre-2007 M'zoft Outlook and M'zoft Exchange must apply manual downloads.
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ENV-Motorcycle

Probably some of the reader are going to hate me for this post, but I am going to write and subsequently post it nevertheless.

I thought about how much people endanger the planet we're living on just by living here. And it's actually the mere fact of living - it's the way we leave. People don't care anymore about the nature, about the environment or about anything else, but themselves and their time. This is what matters today - time.


On the other hand, though people want everything they owe to be exclusive and good-looking. So I thought maybe some of us boys, would consider using a nice and environment friendly bike, like the one shown on the picture, which is also known as ENV. I know that the Harley fans will spit me in my face if I start praising the zero-cylinder gadget, but I'll do it anyway, because a zero-emission bike is worth talking about.

Yes, yes I know, you can't call it a real bike, if it is a two-wheeled trolley without cylinders, but think of the environment.

This is not the first 'green' motorcycle ever developed, but the predecessors of ENV were absolutely useless on the road, even though they emitted nothing hazardous to the environment. So far only ENV has made it through to ride the road. This is probably the first ever motorcycle which will be widely used on the roads and not only those of Great Britain. Great Britain - because this is the country of birth of this 'green' gadget.

The ENV (sounds like "E-N-V" to me - "ENVY") was developed in Britain's Intelligent Energy. The scientist and developers have enabled the ENV to use hydrogen-power in a removable fuel cell. The prototype emitted almost nothing and it is already known that it will be street legal.

So now, all you bike lovers, you who like to set their heads to the wind, and of course you who wouldn't like to leave a pollution trail behind... be happy because all your dreams come true. And they should come true until the end of this year, as the final version of ENV is planned to go on sale within the next months.

However, there is one more thing you should know about this two-wheeled gadget: it's maximum estimated speed is about 50 miles per hour (i.e. 80 kilometers per hour), so I don't think you'll get a chance to race a Harley on the highway.

ASUS Lamborghini VX2

The second coming of the ASUS Lamborghini - half a sport car, half a laptop - almost happened, though it still might last a bit.

It's been almost a year since first pieces of information about the first Lamborghini - the VX1 - reached us. If you look now at it and at the relation between the price and the number of positive feedbacks about this gadgets, you understand that people have realized its true value. Since the VX1 made it on the marker there have been sites posting reviews, comments and simple post about this gadget. This way the Lamborghini series from ASUS became extremely popular.

The popularity of the laptop might be explained not only by the brand name ASUS, but by the name of the series - Lamborghini. I mean there's hardly a guy who wouldn't, at least once, dream of driving a Lamborghini - the sportiest of all the sports cars. But ASUS made it possible to hold this wild beast in your hands, having it on your knees and pushing its keys.

So anyway, this popularity gave the creators of VX1 the idea that there should be another model in the Lamborghini series. It's a series, after all, and a series must have at least two models in its range. So they have come up with the ASUS Lamborghini VX2.

The strategy of giving us information on this gadget was the same as in the case of VX1: it was like waving a nice, juicy bone in front of a dog's nose. In other words: they gave us almost nothing.

Many of the gadget geeks were really disappointed with the history repeating (and I fully support them in this), but I guess it's better than absolutely nothing. Now we have at least something to speculate on. I'll be thinking how it'll be, how fast, what will be it's 'interior' and so on. You know, because at this point we know almost nothing about it... not more than there will be two external variants of the VX2: a traditional yellow a black, both with the Lamborghini logo, of course.

The only thing known about the interior is the CPU, which will be an Intel Centrino Duo. However, as much as I love Intel, I couldn't say that it would match half of the Lamborghini powers. But it is absolutely the best candidate for the role of second fastest gadget!

After the launch of Vista all over the world, they stuff it everywhere; even the Lamborghini VX2 will have it onboard (why spoil such a gadget?)

Well, I guess we'll catch up more on this topic later in this year, and I guess ASUS should organize a full time presentation this April at CeBITT 2007. And be sure to see me there, VX2, my boy!

Woman accuses Yahoo of stealing her image

An Ohio woman is demanding $20 million from Yahoo for allegedly using a photo of her without her permission for a welcome e-mail sent to new users.

According to a court complaint filed Tuesday with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Shannon Stovall, a resident of Ohio's Cuyahoga County, discovered upon signing up for Yahoo's Web-based e-mail service last October that a picture taken of her appeared in a note sent to new users.



The message, according to a printout attached to the court complaint, leads off with the headline "Hooray! Your first e-mail" and a photograph containing two women, one of which is purported to be Stovall. It goes on to give Yahoo Mail users tips on how to transfer address book contacts and customize the look of their messages.

The complaint charges that the image has been sent to millions of users around the world without Stovall's authorization, violating her right to privacy and right to publicity--that is, to control the commercial use of her identity.


Mitchell Yelsky, one of three attorneys handling Stovall's case, said his client "has previously modeled and worked for modeling agencies." According to documents provided to CNET News.com, Yelsky sent two letters to Yahoo in November asking that the company cease using her image in the message.

A Yahoo representative said Friday that the company is not allowed to comment on "specifics related to legal cases."

The complaint requests a jury trial, $10 million to compensate for profits that have been allegedly generated by use of her likeness, and $10 million to cover attorneys' fees and litigation expenses.


The allegations resemble a complaint lodged by New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady against Yahoo in December. The star athlete accused the portal of using a photograph of him from the September 2006 issue of Sports Illustrated without his permission to promote its fantasy football league.



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Animals + Robots = Me Peeing My Pants

Is there anything scarier than the thought of an army of cyborg animals, programmed to rip out your jugular with no fear of death? I say no. Which is why the above photo keeps me up at night. Look at that rat! He has wires going into his exposed brain! Words don't exist to express that horribleness in that photograph! Augh!

And it gets worse! Apparently this goes way beyond, there is work being done on animals such as pigeons, bugs, and, I'm not kidding, sharks. Sharks! Half-robot sharks! I'm pretty sure DARPA has been recording my nightmares, as it doesn't get much scarier than that.