'Ballet In Motion' In Mountain Climbing

This is a nice video of Mountain Climbing.



Natalija Gros from Jure Breceljnik on Vimeo.

The song "Simonida" in the video is from Sanja & Balkanika.

Get A Hot Cup Of Water In 3 Seconds With Energy Saving Tefal Quick Cup

Tefal Quick Cup - Hot Water in 3 Seconds. Photo: Tefal.com.

With just a press of a button, you can get a cup of water in just three seconds, saves money and energy. It is made possible with Tefal's Quick Cup Water Dispenser available for U.K. customers.

By pressing the button, you can get either a cup of or cool filtered water in just 3 seconds. This hot cup of water will be useful if you are making either a hot tea with instant tea bags or hot coffee with instant coffee bags like the new Starbucks' Via Ready Instant Brew.

Tefal (and T-Fal in the US belong to the same group) has developed this machine with their unique opti-quick heating system, so you can make a cup of water in only 3 seconds. You can compare it with a kettle or coffee makers, which takes more than a minute. Plus it saves water, with Kettle, we usually waste more water than necessary, with Tefal we make hot water that we need. Saving less water equates saving less energy to heat them.

Tefal claims that it can save up to 65 percent of the energy used by a standard kettle.

The built-in filter, Tefal Claris Aquafiltration system reduces chlorine, lime scale and other impurities present in water. The filter lasts up to 6 weeks and can filter approximately 50 liters (13.2 gallons) of water.

You can also use this as a water-filtration system if you like and replace the bottled water.

The main features of Tefal Quick Cup are:

· Heats water to output it at 90 degrees
· Includes 1 Claris filter in pack
· Easy filling
· Stainless steel control panel
· Cool touch exterior
· 1.5L (0.40 gallon) removable water tank is dishwasher safe and easy to fill and can be kept in the fridge
· Stainless steel control panel
· 2.8 kW· programmable cup size
· Non slip feet
· Automatic switch off
· Replacement filter indicator light
· Red button for hot filtered water, black button for filtered water
· Brief press of button once for automatic mug size, hold down for manual flow.

Tefal Quick Cup, Instant Eco Kettle Maker @ Yahoo! Video

You can purchase it here at the UK Guardian Store. Tefal Quick Cup costs £53.50 ($76) and the filter costs £4.84 ($6.94). This is not yet available in the North America, but I will update it as soon as they are available.

Gmail Lets You Add Multiple File Attachments At Once

Previously in Gmail, if you want to send multiple files in an email, you have to send it one by one. This will be tedious if you have more than two files. Some times people send more than 10 files, doing it one by one becomes irritating.

Gmail now allows us to attach multiple files at once.

How to attach multiple files at once?

It is simple, go to the folder where you want to attach multiple files and hold down thee "Ctrl" Key in PC (Cmd on OS X in Mac computers) and click each file. You can either choose them in sequence or at random order within the folder as shown below:




If the files are in sequence, you can either use "Shift" or "Ctrl" key but if they are in random order then you can only use the "Ctrl" key.

As you attach the files, you will see a download bar status (as shown below), while it downloads, you can then start compiling the message.



By the time you finish the message all the files would have finished downloading (depending on the size of the files). I usually do the file attachments first before compiling the message, it saves time, otherwise you have to wait for all the files to finish downloading.

I think you will like this new feature in Gmail.

For more Gmail tips, click here.

Netflix To Offer 'Streaming Only' Plans in Future

Netflix streaming with Samsung DVD players. Photo Engadget.

Netflix will remove the streaming option from the mail-in DVD service plus streaming unlimited movies online and provide a “streaming only” stand-alone option in the near future according to its chief financial officer.

Currently, Netflix customers pay a fixed monthly subscription fee for renting DVD movies by mail plus they get a free unlimited streaming movies option with every paid subscription.

It has more than 100,000 DVD titles plus it carries more than 12,000 titles available for viewing online.

Netflix wants to replace this method with “streaming movies only” option according to Netflix Inc’s Chief Financial Officer Barry McCarthy. The mail-in rental DVD plan will still be there but there won't be streaming offer.

How this may affect its current base in not known yet, since many flocked to Netflix for this streaming movies option along with their fixed monthly subscription offer.

Netflix has more than 10 million subscribers.

Netflix offers streaming service to a variety of devices such as Microsoft’s Xbox, TiVo, Roku set-top boxes and Samsung DVD players.

Helix Nebula NGC 7293 Or 'Eye of God' Pictured In Space By European Southern Observatory

How the Helix Nebula NGC 7293 or The Eye of God was formed?


The European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile has captured a beautiful high resolution picture of the nebula “Eye of God”. The new image shows a rich background of distant galaxies.

The Helix Nebula, NGC 7293 or the “Eye of God” lies about 700 light-years away in the constellation of Aquarius. So far astronomers were able to see only a dim view of this Nebula.

Using a telescope with a Wide Field Imager, they were able to capture a high resolution image of this Helix Nebula. The observatory is located at La Silla in Chile.

ESO describes this Helix Nebula as the following:

These exotic objects have nothing to do with planets, but are the final blooming of Sun-like stars before their retirement as white dwarfs. Shells of gas are blown off from a star’s surface, often in intricate and beautiful patterns, and shine under the harsh ultraviolet radiation from the faint, but very hot, central star. The main ring of the Helix Nebula is about two light-years across or half the distance between the Sun and its closest stellar neighbor.

The researchers think the Helix contains two separate discs with outer rings and filaments. The inner disc is expanding at about 100,000 km/h and is believed to have taken 12,000 years for it to form this current shape.

'Eye of God' Helix Nebula NGC 7293. Eso.org

The main thing the researchers found in this new image was that they were able to locate many remote galaxies through the near-transparent central part of the eye.

Our Sun will also look something similar when it reaches its end in about five billion years.

Macropinna microstoma: Fish With A Transparent Head

Researchers unravel the mystery of the fish “Macropinna Microstoma”, the fish with a transparent head with tubular eyes. The fish was discovered in 1939.

The fish “Macropinna Microstoma” though was discovered long time ago, it was seldom understood until now after they were observed by the researchers from Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI).

The fish commonly called “barreleyes” has a transparent head as shown in the video and pictures with tubular eyes.

Barreleye fish with transparent head. Mbari.

This fish usually lives deep under water away from sunlight and their eyes have adapted well to the dark environment. Researchers said their ultra-sensitive tubular eyes are well suited to catch their prey.

Other portions of the fish are well camouflaged to catch other fish types and marine creatures.

The tubular eyes can rotate within the skull portion so that it can keep an eye on all directions.


Barreleye fish swimming upside down. Mbari.org

Bruce Robinson and Kim Reisenbichler, researchers from MBARI observed this fish using special video cameras and unraveled the mystery of its eye movements. It also has a transparent shield to protect its eyes from being attacked by other marine creature. They also remain motionless and use stealth techniques to catch its prey.


Front view of Barreleyefish. Mbari.

To know more about Macropinna Microstoma click here.

Swiss Doctors Find New Gaming Disease 'Palmare Playstation Hidradenitis'

The article looks like a satire but it is true, Swiss doctors find a new infection caused by excessive gaming. They call it as “Palmare PlayStation Hidradenitis.”

A 12-year-old Swiss girl was admitted to a hospital after she suffered a serious hand infection caused by playing too much PlayStation games.

Dr. Vincent Piguet, professor of the University Hospital of Geneva named the infection “Palmare Playstation Hidradenitis” according to the Swiss news agency ATS.

The girl was taken to the hospital by her parents after she had painful lesions on her hands for the four weeks and it didn’t heal.

Piguet inspected her infections and found huge red nodes in her palm, which he thought was unbelievable.

Apparently the girl didn’t tell her parents that she had spent a number of hours playing PlayStation prior to her infection.

Piguet and his team found the infections resulted due to excessive tension in the hands while using the console and frequent pressing on the buttons had triggered her injuries and it aggravated even more with sweat.

The doctors advised her parents not to let her use PlayStation for the next few weeks. When the girl stopped playing PlayStation, the infection and the lesions went away.

You can read a full report of the disease in the latest issue of British Journal of Dermatology.

Sony responded to this news with the following statement:

We firmly believe that video gaming is a legitimate entertainment pastime like watching movies, listening to music, or reading books. As with any leisure pursuit there are possible consequences of not following common sense, health advice and guidelines, as can be found within our instruction manuals."

"PlayStation was launched in 1995 and has sold hundreds of millions of consoles over the last 13 years. We would not wish to belittle this research and we will study the findings with interest, but this is the first time we have ever heard of a complaint of this nature."

Wonder what they will call if one uses a different console such as Wii or Xbox?

Great Depression Cooking With Clara Cannucciari

Mrs. Clara Cannucciari. Photo: Greatdepressioncooking.com.

Mrs. Clara Cannucciari shares her cooking methods so that none of us have to go through what she had during the Great Depression.

Mrs. Clara Cannucciari is 93-years-old and still has passion for cooking. Her grandchild Chris Cannucciari shares her cooking experiences in the form of videos offers a ton of tips to cook in these tough times.

Chris filmed the first episode of her cooking and posted “Great Depression Cooking with Clara” in YouTube. After it became popular he has made more videos with Mrs. Cannucciari sharing more tips with us.

In the videos posted here, I have added two videos of her, but you can find more in her channel at YouTube.

She has a website now at Greatdepressioncooking.com. The website says:

Clara hopes that none of us ever have to experience what she did during the depression.

Over the years Clara has imparted her Great Depression experiences to her grandchildren as she cooked meals from the era. The meals were simple and delicious, the stories were a mixture of misfortune and comedy, and in the end Clara kept us both entertained and stuffed to the gills.

If you like her videos please leave a comment either in her blog or in her Facebook account.

Pasta with Green Peas.

Peppers and Eggs.

Peppers and Eggs Part II.

Egg Drop Soup.


Holiday Cooking with Sicilian Fig. Cookies.

Thousands Apply For 'The Best Job In The World'

Best job in the World in an Australian Island.

The Queensland state government wanted to hire a person for “the best job in the world”, it received about 35,000 applications from more than 200 countries. It will announce the winning candidate in May.

The Queensland state government posted a wanted ad for a job it claims “the best job in the world”. The job requires the employee to be a caretaker of tropical Hamilton Island on the Great Barrier Reef and report back to the government in the form of updates.

The job description states:

The Caretaker of the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef is a newly created position. There are a few minor tasks that need to be taken care of, but the most important duty is to report back to Tourism Queensland (and the world) and let us know what’s taking place on the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef.

It is very tempting for those who want to escape the busy modern city life. After the job was posted there were some applications but as the news is spreading fast and the deadline was on Sunday, the government received tens of thousands of application over the weekend. So far 34,684 have applied for the lucrative job.

The winning candidate will be announced in eight days.

Most of the applications came from the US, 11,565 applicants, followed by Canada (2,791), Britain (2,262) and Australia (2,064) according to the Queensland government.

One of those applicants was Dean Martin’s son Ricci, who probably wants to escape the fame and fortune of his father.

The job pays about 150,000 Australian Dollars ($100,000) for six months and includes airfares from the candidate’s home to the island.

The job requires them to report about the island and the surrounding Great Barrier Reef back to a global audience via weekly blogs, photo diaries and video updates. He or she will stay in a luxury multi-million dollar three-bedroom home. They should be excellent communicators and be fluent in English.

About 50 applicants will be shortlisted on March 2 and final 11 candidates will be flown to the island for more interviews from May 3 and the final winner will be announced on May 6.

Ironworkers do graffiti to cheer kid cancer patients

It is a neat story, ironworkers cheer up kids suffering from cancer by immortalizing their names on the irons used for construction.

Single Google Search Query Uses 1000 Machines To Give Results In 0.2 Seconds

Google Data Center in 1999. Photo: Engadget.com.

How much resources Google uses to provide results for your search query? It uses thousand machines to compile results in less than thousand milliseconds.

Google Fellow Jeff Dean gave this impressive figure in a keynote talk at WSDM 2009. He talked about how Google has grown in the last 10 years.

Google indexes all sites and stores information in a network of servers. Previously Google used 12 machines to handle a single search query, whereas it uses a staggering 1,000 machines now.

The search queries as well as its processing power (number of machines x speed of the machines) has increased by a factor of 1,000 according to Jeff Dean.

He said the latency (the time Google takes to provide the results) has reduced considerably from around 1,000 milliseconds to 200 milliseconds. The web crawler it uses updates now in minutes compared to months before in 1999.

Since Google uses 1,000 machines one would expect that it will use enormous power but unlike other it uses only 0.0003KWh of energy making it the “world’s most efficient” data centers.

How Google Works by Marissa Mayer, Google.

Find More Local Places With Google Maps

When you search for any locations in Google Maps, usually it provides only top 10 results but it overlooks some places that don’t show up in the search result. The new setting will provide all the results in one map search.

Previously when you search for “coffee” places in your area, Google provides the popular or the top 10 results but it misses other coffee places that may be closer to you or you may prefer other places that Google misses. Now Google Maps has tweaked its algorithm to give all the business in the area you are looking for.

Now a search in Google Maps will show not only the top 10 results (placemarks or pins) but also all other businesses as small red circles in the map. When you click the small circle you will see their address, phone number and other relevant information.

Here is an example say Coffee in Seattle will give the following map results:

Coffee places in Seattle. Ref: Google-latlong.blogspot.com

So you can test out all the coffee places and you may find gems ones in there. No coffee businesses are missed in this new map search results.

Here is another example, suppose you search for dancing places in Sydney, Australia, you will see the following. Before you would have been happy with just the top 10 results as shown in placemarks (pins) spots. Now you can see how many places you might have missed (marked by red circles) with just the top results.



Dancing spots in Sydney, Australia. Ref: Google-latlong.blogspot.com

Here is another one, if you had searched for theaters in New York City, now you will see more theaters and you have plenty of options to choose from when you visit New York City the next time.



Theaters in New York City.

Check out this new feature in Google Maps. Also check out another great feature in Google Maps, find interesting places in the location you plan to visit.

Starbucks Begins Selling Via Ready-Brew Instant Coffee Online

Starbucks Via Ready Brew Instant Coffee.

Starbucks began selling its new "Via" instant coffee online Tuesday, and the company says it will start shipping products in the next two weeks. It will cost $1 per cup.

Starbucks made this instant coffee announcement about a week ago and has already started accepting orders for its new Via Ready Brew instant coffee products.

This instant coffee is particularly different from other brands because Starbucks says it is prepared with a patented process to keep the coffee fresh. It says the following on its website:

Starbucks Via Ready Brew is rich, full-bodied Starbucks coffee in an instant. Unlike traditional instant coffee, which lacks the essential oils that give coffee its flavor and aroma, ours is made with the highest-quality Arabica beans, finely ground to release their fullest flavor.

Starbucks Via Ready Brew Instant Coffee with Tumbler.

For now, Starbucks offers two varieties: Columbia and Italian Roast. The company sells three packets for $2.95 or 12 for $9.95, making the price of a single cup $1 or less.



Starbucks Via Ready Brew Vs Instant Coffee.


The coffee will be available nationwide in stores beginning March 3. It will also be available at Target and Costco stores.

Chief Executive Howard Schultz is proud of his company's new product. While talking to reporters, he said, "this is not your mother's instant coffee." He told the AP it is ideal for customers who are in a hurry in the afternoons or evenings, and for those who want one cup instead of a whole pot of coffee.

The video above explains how Starbucks coffee is very much different than ordinary instant coffee. They claim Via coffee tastes much better because of their patented process in breaking down coffee beans. Many avoid instant coffee because of the poor taste compared to brewed coffee, and Starbucks wants to change that perception.

You can try this product before you purchase, for a limited time; a free sample is available within the U.S. at this link here.

Plastic Logic Reader, a Kindle Killer

Plastic Logic Reader a Kindle killer?

The new Plastic Logic EBook reader will be available next year but already experts are calling it a “Kindle killer” for the many features it boasts compared to Amazon’s Kindle 2.

Amazon Kindle 2 was launched last week with much fanfare, but already it seems to have competition from Plastic Logic.

The Plastic Logic reader was on display last week at “Tools of Change for Publishing Conference” in New York.





A demonstration of the reader is shown in the video above.

Compared to a Kindle 2, Plastic Logic has a larger screen size and weighs less than a pound (453.59 grams).

Unlike Kindle 2, which allows only Kindle formats to be read in its device, Plastic Logic Reader allows the following formats:

• Portable Document Format (PDF)
• DOC(X)
• XLS(X)
• PPT(X)
• TEXT
• RTF
• HTML
• JPEG
• PNG
• BMP
• ePub
• eReader Format
• Digital Rights Management


Before and after Plastic Logic Reader. PlasticLogic.com

The reader allows newspapers, magazines and books to be read on its devices. The company has already established partnership with Financial Times, USA Today and Ingram Digital.

The reader has a storage capacity to store multiple files and can be synced with the computer, either wirelessly or wired.

The Plastic Logic reader utilizes E-Ink active matrix display, which replicates the effect of reading newsprint. They plan to launch in black & white and colored screens options.

It has a touch screen display to move the documents forward or backwards and zooming in and out options. It also has an anti-glare screen to read documents during daylight.

Neanderthal Genome Unveiled, DNA 99.5% Similar To Humans

Neanderthal same as humans? Photo: National Geographic.

Researchers unveiled the first draft of the Neanderthal genome and compared it with humans. They have genomes that are 99.5 percent the same as modern humans.

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany have unveiled the first draft of the Neanderthal genome.

The genome has its hereditary information stored in DNA. The genome is the full set of genes that gives rise to a particular species.

Neanderthals and human family trees split from each other about 450,000 years ago according to anthropologists. And so far they haven’t found any mixing between the two species despite living together for more than 400,000 years. Neanderthals became extinct about 30,000 years ago leaving chimpanzee our closest living relative.

By unveiling this first draft, researchers want to see how well it compares with modern humans and chimpanzees and see which genes changed over the years giving the humans a distinct advantage over other species.

Jean-Jacques Hubin, a project collaborator for this research told National Geographic:

"Studying the Neanderthal genome will tell us what makes modern humans really modern, and really human,"

The genome sequence of Neanderthal shows that humans’ and Neanderthals’ genomes are 99.5 percent the same.

It took four years for the researchers to sequence 3.7 billion base pairs in the Neanderthal genome. Out of which they have read only about 60 percent of the genes.

Initial analysis shows that humans and Neanderthal share the same version of a “language gene” called FOXP2 according to team leader Svante Pääbo from Max Planck Institute. This gene helps develop the language skills in the species implying that Neanderthal could talk as well as humans.

Pääbo told National Geographic:

"Although there are many genes involved in language...there's no reason to say that they couldn't articulate the way that we do."

Another major finding was that Neanderthals were lactose intolerant. They were unable to drink milk after they were weaned according to Pääbo.

Researchers will be doing more analysis and comparisons and see how Neanderthal changed over the years in comparison to the modern humans.

Yoga Mudra For Migraine Headaches

Migraine Headaches make one so weak and painful for long hours. Try doing this simple Mudra exercise to heal your Migraine headache.

A healing hand mudra is a ritual gesture which is great for migraine relief. Learn how to do this healing hand mudra with expert tips on headache relief in this free video.

Use Google Maps To Find Interesting Places In Cities

Interesting places to see in Barcelona, Spain in Google Maps.

Google Maps has added new choices when you search for locations. A search for a specific city provides list of interesting places, videos, Wikipedia articles in Google Maps.

If you are traveling to a city, then you may find these choices very interesting. Google Maps has added “interesting places” to the city you are searching. It provides a list of places to see in the area you are visiting.

A simple search say Paris, France in Google Maps will show the following:

Find Interesting Places in France, Paris in Google Maps.

It provides a brief summary about the place from Wikipedia. When you click the “More” feature in Google Maps, you can see photos, videos, transit information (if available in your area) and Wikipedia information about the various spots in the area.

You can also check related travel information from the Google Maps directory, where there are number of gadgets. There is “Webcams Worldwide” layer to find webcams in the places you plan to visit. There is “Virtual Tourism layer” to explore in Google maps.

But for the best information click the “Find places of interest” map gadget, it provides all the information necessary for travel. Add the gadget to the map and then click “My Maps” and choose “Find Places of Interest” and select things like “coffee” or “restaurants” or “ATMs” etc to find the nearest place.

It will be quite useful for travelers before they explore the city.

Watch Full Length Star Trek Episodes Legally On YouTube

Amazon Introduces Kindle 2, Next Generation eBook Reader

Amazon announced the new and improved Kindle 2. The new eBook reader is lighter, faster, holds more books and boasts a longer battery life compared with the original Kindle.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos introduced the new Kindle 2 today. The Kindle 2 looks exactly as it was rumored to look.




TechCrunch was able to get a hands-on review with the new Kindle and said it is a modest step up from the previous one. They said the following about the new Kindle 2:


Kindle vs Kindle 2.

1. The Kindle 2 is lighter (10.2 ounces) compared with the previous one (10.3 ounces).

2. The design looks much better in Kindle 2 with symmetrical design.

3. The screen is bigger -- six inches tall and turns the page 20 percent faster than the previous one.

4. Text-to-Speech feature: Kindle 2 has this built-in feature and a computerized voice will read any Kindle book that you read. It has three speech rates and has both female and male voices.

5. No price drop: The price of Kindle 2 is the same as the previous version and remains at $359.

6. Large Memory: Kindle 2 will hold more books (up to 1,500), seven times more than the previous one.

7. Faster Downloads: The Kindle users can download books faster with the new device.

8. Color: Only one color is available at this time, white color.

9. The Kindle 2 is available on a pre-order basis but won’t start shipping until February 24th. Previous Kindle owners will get the first option to buy.

10. The Kindle Store in Amazon carries more than 230,000 books.

11. Almost all of the New York Times best sellers list is available at Kindle Store.

Rubik's TouchCube Is The World's First Touchscreen Rubik's Cube

Techno Source has developed the world’s first touch screen Rubik’s cube. It acts just like an iPhone instead of rotating you can use finger swipes to move the cells and solve the Rubik’s cube.

TouchCube is Rubik’s cube with a touch screen. Instead of spinning and revolving the rows and columns of cells, you can just use your finger to move the cells upwards or downwards.

A built-in accelerometer in the TouchCube makes these movements possible without the need of manually rotating the cells.

The TouchCube offers more than what a mechanical Rubik’s Cube offers. It also helps you how to solve the puzzle step by step. It also saves the current position so you can come back and solve it later on, a built-in memory makes this feature possible.

Techno Source has been working on this product for the past three years and hopes to release it this fall for an estimated price of $150.

If you love Rubik’s cube, you can give it a spin or touch.

New in Gmail Labs: Add your precise location to your signature

Gmail now allows you to add the location you are sending the email from. If you travel and want to send an email, Gmail will add your current location. This is available in Labs in your Gmail Settings.

Marco Bonechi, a Google Engineer developed this feature during his 20% time, which allows him to work beyond his job description.

If you move from place to place a lot, then it will be useful for the receiver where you are sending the mail from. Bonechi has made this feature possible in the Labs setting in your Gmail. Once enabled, it will append the location in your signature and add the city and country you are sending the email from.

How to add location in your Gmail?

1. Go to Settings and click “Labs”.
2. Go to “Location in Signature” and enable the feature.
3. Click “Save Changes”
4. Go to Settings again and click “General” tab.
5. Go to “Signatures” and click the “Append your location to the signature."
6. Click “Save Changes”.

Now every email you send, you will see the location added to the signature as follows:

Add your location in Gmail. Gmailblog.blogspot.com

Gmail uses your public IP address to determine your location and many cases it may or may not be accurate. For more accurate location you can use Gears application, which helps you to save data offline. According to Marco, Gears uses Wi-Fi access point signals to recognize your precise location.

If you want your email readers to know where you are sending the emails from then this is a good feature to have.

Official Gmail Blog: New in Labs: Add your location to your signature

Sync Your Contacts and Calendar Events With Google Sync For iPhone

Google Sync is another great product from Google for iPhone users. Now you can sync your contacts and calendar events between your iPhone and computer.

Besides, iPhone, it is also available for the following phones and operating systems:

• BlackBerry
• Nokia S60
• Nokia standard
• Sony Ericsson
• Windows Mobile

To start using Google Sync click this link to see how to set up this synchronization process.

Leave a comment if you are using it and how do you rate it.

Noca: The Next PayPal?

Noca payment method. Photo: TechCrunch.com.

Noca, an online payments start-up is launching its official payment service today. It charges extremely low payment fees compared to PayPal, Google Checkout and other payment services.

Noca was started by two ex-Visa employees and is a follow-up its micro-payments systems it offers in Facebook applications like OneClickPay and Help Your World.

How does Noca differ from PayPal, Google Checkout or Amazon Flexible Payment Service?

PayPal, Google and Amazon charge a minimum transaction fee ranging from 2 to 4 percent of the transaction amount plus $0.30 or more). Usually these charges are imposed by credit card companies like MasterCard and Visa and these companies charge in addition to it, making the transaction fees very high. Noca wants to eliminate that by directly debiting the payment from the bank accounts instead.

Noca charges a miniscule 0.25 percent of the transaction amount as fees. For example if you want to charge $1,000, your fees will be $2.5 in Noca, whereas in PayPal assuming a 2 percent charge plus a fixed $0.30 transaction fee, your fees will be $20.30. You will save $17.80 in net fees charges, making it attractive for both buyers and sellers. One doesn’t have to charge too much for such transaction fees.

How Noca Payment works?

Once the purchases are made via Noca payment method, Noca withdraws the charges from the Buyer’s bank account and credits the Seller’s account within 1 to 2 business days.

The Buyer enters the account and routing numbers into a virtual check via a secure server. Noca sends a security code text message to the Buyer, which the Buyer has to enter as a confirmation. Once the Buyer enters the code, Noca processes the payment and credits the Seller within 1 to 2 business days.

If Noca assures security for both sellers and buyers, many sellers will prefer Noca over PayPal and other services.

Bank Robber Cartoon

I saw this cartoon in the local daily Independent. It sums up the current banking crisis:

Google Makes 1.5 Million E-Books Available For iPhone, Android

1.5 million books for iPhone and Android Phones from Google.

Thanks to Google, now you can read millions of ebooks for free in iPhone and Android phones. You don’t need a dedicated reader like Kindle to read books anymore.

If you already have an iPhone, Android phones or any smartphones with JavaScript application, you can start reading 1.5 million books for free. Google is making these books available for free through its main book site, books.google.com. For mobile option click http://books.google.com/m.

All the books that are available via Google are available in public domain (that is books published before 1923). If you love reading classic literature, history books then you will find this useful.

Google’s Viresh Ratnakar, Frances Haugen, Guillaume Ponci, Brandon Badger made this announcement in their blog:

"What if you could also access literature's greatest works, such as Emma and The Jungle Book, right from your phone?...Or, some of the more obscure gems such as Mark Twain's hilarious travelogue, Roughing It? Today we are excited to announce the launch of a mobile version of Google Book Search, opening up over 1.5 million mobile public domain books for you to browse while buying your postage."

All these books are available in sites like Project Gutenberg, but reading them in your mobiles phones is very difficult. Google has made it easier by making all their ebooks mobile friendly.

In October 2008, Google had to pay $125 million in settlement fees to the publishers for digitizing their books online. Now Google provides buy links and allows limited search of new books. Google’s book site was mainly started to allow book searches so users can find favorite quotes or lines from books. But now it is morphing to new areas by making the whole books available online.

You can either read the books in your computer at http://books.google.com or in your iPhone/Android phones at http://books.google.com/m. Plus you can still search inside the book or the entire site.

Gmail Adds Folder-Like Feature With "Move To" In Labels

One of the most requested features in Gmail is "folders" but what most don't know is "labels" are an advanced form of folders. When others try to switch to Gmail, the one feature they sorely miss is the "folders". So, Gmail has provided that feature in "labels" without compromising it and satisfying everyone in the process.

The difference between folders and labels is in folders you can only assign one email to one folder, whereas in labels, you can assign the same email in different labels at the same time.

For example if you receive an email from a friend "M" about a great YouTube video, then in "folders", you will assign your friend's email either in "M" folder or in "YouTube" folder but not in both. Whereas with "labels" option, you can assign the same email in "M" and in "YouTube" labels. So whenever you click "M" or "YouTube" labels in Gmail, you can see your friend's email. Labels are more useful than folders because of this difference. But some still want folders option, so Google has added this new feature in Gmail.

The new Gmail will look something like below, you will see a new button "Move to" along with new "Labels". The latter was available previously in "More Actions" before.



When you receive the email, you can click "Move to" and assign a label. After you do that the email will be archived and put into that label folder and the email will be moved from the inbox to the "label" assigned. This "Move to" feature eliminates the "Archive" step.

This feature is not available in everyone Gmail account, but in the blog they promised it will show up in all accounts very soon.




Official Gmail Blog: New ways to label with "Move to" and auto-complete

New Google Earth version includes 'maps under the sea'

Google has launched a new Google Earth version which has detailed maps under the sea, historical imagery, 3D Mars map imagery and more.

Marine lovers would love this new version, Google Earth 5.0, which has complete maps of the oceans underwater, a bathymetric map (the ocean floor) and 3D details of the sea floor.



What's New in Google Earth 5.0?

The project was completed by the dozens of ocean scientists and advocates from the California Academy of Sciences, friends from the National Geographic, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, the U.S. Navy, Scripps Oceanography and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and others.

After a marine scientist Dr. Sylvia Earle told Google that Google Earth was not complete without including underwater terrain, the Google project team worked hard to get the new version Google Earth 5.0.



Historical Imagery Feature in Google Earth.

The team wrote in the Google blog:

"We on the Google Earth team had been working hard to build a rich 3D map of the world, but we had largely ignored the oceans — two thirds of the planet. Inspired by Sylvia, the team got to work. I hope you are as excited as I am to explore our new Ocean and all of the fascinating stories and images our partners have contributed."

It also has hundreds of videos at various data points underwater as references. Some of them come from the famous explorer Cousteau.

Other new features include:

1.) Historical imagery. Do you want to know how a particular image of an area changed with time? The new version has this feature that will let you explorer the area with time.
2.) Touring: You can browse the Google Earth and record the areas you visited which you can share with students or others, which will be very useful to share research data with others.
3.) 3D Mars: In collaboration with NASA, Google Earth provides a detailed 3D map of the Red Planet with high resolution images, 3D terrain and annotations with landmarks.

If you don’t have Google Earth, then you should try it is like an Internet version of the globe, only it has thousands or more features than the plain globe. You can download the Google Earth 5.0 here.


Explore The Ocean with Google Earth 5.0


Record the tour in Google Earth 5.0.