Longest Solar Eclipse of the Century Today

If you have still not been alerted by our earlier story on the 2010 Annular solar eclipse, here we go again.

Longest Solar Eclipse of the Century Today

Today is the day you will witness the longest solar eclipse of this century take place. The annular solar eclipse would be visible in most parts of India but only the southern fringes of the country will see it as an Annular eclipse. For the rest of the country, it would be a partial solar eclipse.

The best places to see the eclipse in its annular from would be Dhanuskodi town near Rameshwaram. If you are already there, wait for the show to begin! The eclipse will last for over 10 minutes in mainland India and can go up to a maximum of 11 minutes 8 seconds in parts of the Indian ocean thus making it the longest solar eclipse of this century. The eclipse starts a at 10:44 am IST and will end at 2:29 PM (IST). This is not the total duration of the eclipse but the range of time different places would see the eclipse happen.

Annular solar eclipses occur when the Moon is too far to cover the Sun entirely. Therefore, when the eclipse reaches totality, you would see a ring (Annulus) around the moon and hence the name annular.

Please do exercise caution while watching this eclipse. DO NOT look directly at the Sun during the eclipse for it might put your eyes at risk even with your cool sunglasses. Also, do not try to use binoculars or telescopes and point at the eclipse directly without sufficient protection as you run the risk of being blinded.

Burj Khalifa,The tallest buiding in the world

(Arabic: برج خليفة‎ "Khalifa Tower"),^[3] formerly known as Burj Dubai, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is the tallest man-made structure ever built, at 828 m (2,717 ft).^[3] Construction began on 21 September 2004, with the exterior of the structure completed on 1 October 2009 and the building officially opened on 4 January 2010.^[1]^[7] The building is part of the 2 km² (490-acre) flagship development called Downtown Burj Khalifa at the "First Interchange" along Sheikh Zayed Road, near Dubai's main business district. The tower's architect and engineer is Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, LLP (Chicago).^[8] Bill Baker, the Chief Structural Engineer for the project, invented the buttressed core structural system in order to enable the tower to achieve such heights economically. Adrian Smith, who worked with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) until 2006, was the Design Partner on the project.^[8]^[9]
The primary builder is South Korean Samsung C&T, who also built the Taipei 101 and Petronas Twin Towers,^[10] followed by Belgian group Besix and Arabtec from UAE. Turner Construction Company was chosen as the construction project manager.^[11] Under UAE law, the Contractor and the Engineer of Record are jointly and severally liable for the performance of Burj Khalifa. Therefore, by adoption of SOM's design and by being appointed as Architect and Engineer of Record, Hyder Consulting is legally the Design Consultant for the tower.
The total budget for the Burj Khalifa project is about US$1.5 billion; and for the entire new "Downtown Dubai", US$20 billion.^[12] Mohamed Ali Alabbar, the CEO of Emaar Properties, speaking at the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat 8th World Congress, said that the price of office space at Burj Khalifa had reached US$4,000 per sq ft (over US$43,000 per m²) and that the Armani Residences, also in Burj Khalifa, were selling for US$3,500 per sq ft (over US$37,500 per m²).^[13] The completion of the tower coincided with a worldwide economic slump and overbuilding, causing it to be described as "the latest ... in [a] string of monuments to architectural vacancy."

Acer Liquid

Review Its first Android phone fails to impress

By Ian Williams

Monday, 4 January 2010, 17:42

THE LIQUID is Acer's first attempt at an Android phone and while it's an attractive phone with a few redeeming features, the company's lack of prior experience in this market is apparent in the Liquid.
Acer only recently stepped into the mobile market in 2009 following its purchase of E-Ten back in 2008. Since then it has released four Windows Mobile smartphones that failed to excite consumers, but it has plans afoot to launch a slew of new devices later this year. In between these we have the Liquid.
liquid-white

At first glance the Liquid is a good looking, somewhat bulky phone - at 12.5mm thick it's almost surprising that it lacks any kind of slide out keyboard. The curved sides, discrete keys and pleasant notification icons, highlighting missed calls, messages and battery status along the top all make it a very attractive even smart-looking smartphone.
The 3.5-inch display is bright and clear and boasts a 480x800 resolution capacitive touchscreen, making web browsing and similar activities nice and easy.
The four touch-sensitive buttons along the bottom - namely home, search, back and menu - are represented as rather obscure icons with no text, so they can be a little confusing at first if you're unfamiliar with Android devices. There is also a power button located about three quarters of the way up the left hand side of the Liquid, which is a slightly annoying position for trying to wake the phone up and use it single handedly, particularly as you have to hit the menu button or input the gesture code once you've turned the screen on.
On the right hand side you've got the volume control and a dedicated camera button, something that's not present on most Android devices currently. Speaking of which, the Liquid packs in a 5MP camera and Acer has sprung for a good lens, so you'll get decent shots from it, although the lack of any kind of flash means you're restricted to well-lit shots only.
Thankfully there is a 3.5mm headset so you can use a regular pair of earphones to listen to music, and data transfer and charging are done over mini-USB, which is great for the multitudes who have at least one mini-USB charger lying around, but odd that Acer didn't opt for the increasingly standard microUSB option.
The Liquid runs version 1.6 of Android, dubbed Donut, and according to Acer there are no plans to provide an upgrade to Eclair - Android 2.0 - although it's quite likely that it will happen sooner or later if only to add support for features such as multi-touch, which the hardware is capable of doing but Donut does not support natively. This upgrade should be a relatively easy and straight-forward process, judging by the automated over-the-air update Google provided to upgrade HTC's Magic and Hero range from 1.5 to 1.6.
The Liquid certainly is a snappy device, but although it runs on Qualcomm's Snapdragon platform the processor is clocked at 768MHz rather than the full 1GHz that Snapdragon has to offer, presumably in the name of longer battery life. However, while rivals such as the HTC Magic can be quite sluggish at switching between several processor intensive apps, the Liquid doesn't bat an eyelid at the workload.
That said, the on-screen keyboard can be somewhat slow, so trying to type at speed results in a lot of unregistered keypresses. This problem seems to crop up on most Android phones so it seems to be more down to the OS rather than the hardware. Furthermore, the usual dictionary and auto-correction used in Android didn't work properly on the review unit, so a lot of time was spent having to go back and correct words.
User accessible onboard storage is restricted to 256MB and Acer has thrown in a 2GB microSD card for good measure, more than enough for applications, photos and a little media and it's easy enough to buy a cheap 8GB or 16GB card if you want to up the capacity.
This was compounded by the lack of any kind of rollerball or other navigation device, which means that trying to move the cursor around some text or a similar action requires you to jab your finger vaguely at the touchscreen until you land it in the right place.
Acer hasn't put any type of skin over the Android interface, but it has added a few extra widgets and pre-installed apps including its own sync service, media player, and streaming application called Spinlet amongst others. This means you only get Android's standard three screens rather than the five or seven seen on those phones running Sense or a similar interface overlay.
As with all Android phones you get great integration with Google's email, calendar, contacts and Google Maps all thrown in and access to the rapidly growing collection of applications from the Android Marketplace.
The Liquid's biggest downfall has to be the battery. Despite being a rather large device, the battery is simply abysmal, getting less than a day of use even with fairly minimal usage and GPS, WiFi and Bluetooth all turned off. As well as the usual periodic synchronisation with Google's services, we had our favourite apps and widgets installed, including Twidroid, Weatherbug and London Tube Status so there was some background data usage but every other Android device we've tested with the same workload has lasted longer than the Liquid. Under a heavy load, if it's fully charged when you leave for the office in the morning, you'll probably need to charge the device when you get home from work.
In Short
The Acer Liquid is a lovely looking device with a good screen but its chunky size and appalling battery life mean you'll still want to opt for an HTC Hero if you're looking for a decent touchscreen only Android device. The Hero is about £50 more expensive, but we reckon it's worth the extra money. Still if this is the calibre of Acer's first attempt at an Android phone, we look forward to the Gas or Solid or whatever it will call the next iteration.

Leeds Proved Man U are Weak

MANCHESTER CITY will never have a better opportunity to put one over on rivals United than tomorrow's Carling Cup semi-final.

Because Manchester United are more vulnerable now than they have been for years.

And it is down to City, Chelsea and Arsenal to exploit those weaknesses before Alex Ferguson sorts his side out.

Leeds' shock FA Cup win at Old Trafford has highlighted what we have all suspected for a long time... that United are not the team they have been in the last few years.

They have not recovered from the blow of losing Cristiano Ronaldo and have been decimated by defensive injuries all season.

Too many of Fergie's recent big-name signings have failed to deliver at the highest level while United stalwarts Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and even Ryan Giggs are all approaching the end of their careers.

There are times this season when Wayne Rooney is being asked to do it all on his own and you can see his growing frustration at the lack of help.

Youngsters like Danny Welbeck, Darron Gibson and Johnny Evans are decent enough players.

But it has been difficult for them to live up to the standards set by the Golden Generation of Giggs, Scholes, Beckham and the Neville brothers.

Nobody knows the depth of their problems more than Ferguson. And no one is better equipped to deal with it.

It's absolute rubbish for anyone to suggest that this is the beginning of the end for Fergie.

He will go on for as long as he wants, no matter how old he is. And he won't allow this situation to get out of hand.

I don't care who the owners are or what plans they might have to refinance the club. Ferguson IS Manchester United and he calls all the shots.

Can you honestly imagine a situation where anyone tells him that he cannot buy any player he wants? That is never going to happen.

United are a global enterprise. They can't afford to stay in this slump for too long because sponsors are so fickle they will simply change their allegiance to another successful side.

That's why I believe United have to buy their way out of trouble. And Ferguson has got to get it right this time.

When Ruud Van Nistelrooy left United, they didn't miss him because of the emergence of Ronaldo.

But no one has been able to take over from Ronaldo and that is why they are suffering this season.

Nani has had plenty of opportunities to establish himself and never taken them.

He's been a serious disappointment and I can't believe he will be at Old Trafford for much longer.

Jose Antonio Valencia is a good Premier League right winger with plenty of pace. But you can't even compare him to Ronaldo.

Dimitar Berbatov has not delivered either and I'm still not sure what Ferguson expects from his £30million striker.

Are United happy with a languid player who chips in with the occasional goal? Or do they want someone who can lift some of the scoring burden off Rooney?

Michael Owen has also made much less of an impact than I expected and my fear as an England fan is that Rooney will run himself into the ground before the World Cup.

Rooney has been magnificent and busts a gut in every match but can't do it all on his own.

No one else at United is even close to double figures in terms of goals scored this season.

Contrast that to last year, when Ronaldo scored 25, Carlos Tevez chipped in with 15 and United won the League and reached the Champions League final.

It looks to me that some players have signed for United and only then realised this is as big as it gets.

All of a sudden they have to meet the manager's demands for a top, top performance every week. And they simply have not been able to deliver.

Some of United's problems will be sorted soon when Rio Ferdinand and Edwin Van der Sar return from injury to shore things up at the back.

But that won't paper over all the cracks, particularly those exposed in midfield during last season's Champions League final defeat by Barcelona.

Every club goes through a period of transition when winning major trophies can no longer be taken for granted.

But United expect to win something every season and the Carling Cup might be their best chance this year.

I will be fascinated to see what line-up Fergie selects against City for tomorrow's semi-final first leg. There is no way he will want to lose to 'the noisy neighbours', especially after their FA Cup defeat by Leeds, courtesy of Jermaine Beckford's goal.

But he certainly isn't ready to chuck in the towel in the title race or the Champions League.

Only an idiot would write off United. But right now they are like a scab that just won't heal.

And City, Chelsea and Arsenal are picking away at those wounds.

Google poised to take wraps off new mobile phone

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writer Michael Liedtke, Ap Technology Writer – Tue Jan 5, 12:03 am ET

SAN FRANCISCO – Google Inc. is expected to unveil Tuesday its vision for how a mobile phone should be made and sold, likely raising the stakes in the Internet search leader's bid to gain more control over how people surf the Web while they're on the go.
The catalyst in Google's latest attempt to shake up the mobile market apparently will be the Nexus One, the first smart phone designed by the company's own engineers.
Google has said little about the phone except to confirm that its workers received the handsets three weeks ago for a final round of internal testing. Google is expected to provide the first concrete details about the phone, along with the company's vision for how such devices should be made and sold, during a news conference Tuesday at Google's headquarters in Mountain View.
In its invitation to the event, Google said the wireless market has only seen "the beginning of what's possible" with the free Android operating system that it introduced for mobile phones in late 2007.
Android was designed to make it easier to interact on a mobile phone with Web sites and services, including Google's, while providing an egalitarian platform to run applications developed by outside programmers.
The applications don't have to go through an extensive review before they can be distributed to Android-powered devices, a contrast from the control that Apple Inc. holds on its hot-selling iPhone.
Until now, Google has been content to let other companies design the devices relying on Android. And those devices thus far have largely been distributed like most other mobile phones, tethered to major wireless carriers that typically require buyers to lock into two-year contracts in return for discounts on the handsets.
But Google now appears to be ready to push its operating system in a new direction while trying to give consumers more flexibility to connect a mobile phone with the wireless carrier of their choice.
Google intends to stamp its own brand on the Nexus One and sell it directly to consumers over the Web, leaving it up to the buyers to pick their own carriers, according to reports published in technology blogs and major newspapers. That could open new possibilities while igniting new tensions in the mobile phone market.
Just how much Nexus One shakes things up will likely hinge on the phone's price.
Most smart phones designed for Web access sell for $50 to $200, thanks to subsidies provided by wireless carriers in return for commitments to service plans that cost $800 to $1,000 a year. Without the financial aid, the phones would sell for $400 to $600 — a range that most consumers have been unwilling to pay, especially in a shaky economy.
T-Mobile has agreed to provide a subsidy for a Nexus One that works on its wireless network, according to published reports. Such an agreement wouldn't represent a substantial change from the status quo.
Yet Google appears to be betting that the Nexus One will make a big enough splash to persuade other major U.S. wireless carriers — AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. — to subsidize the device, too, said technology analyst Rob Enderle.
"If enough customers want this phone, the carriers will have no choice but to follow," he predicted.
That would also break the traditional practice of giving carriers the right to sell specific models exclusively for a certain period.
Google conceivably could offer a sharp discount on the Nexus One without carriers' help, hoping to recoup some of the costs by selling more ads on the devices. But the mobile advertising market is unlikely to grow quickly enough to offset the costs of the discounts for several years, so pursuing that strategy would likely crimp Google's profits — something that could drive down the company's stock price.
Another option is for Google to simply sell the phone at the full price, banking that it'll be attractive enough for buyers looking for the freedom to choose their own carrier.
A smart phone that empowers consumers to choose from a variety of carriers could post a threat to the iPhone, which is tied exclusively to AT&T in the United States. That tie-in has spurred complaints from some iPhone users who say AT&T's network bogs down amid heavy Web traffic, particularly in big cities such as New York and San Francisco.
With the competition between the two companies heating up, Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt resigned from Apple's board five months ago.
Selling its own phone also could foster more resentment toward Google among the business partners that have been backing Android as a viable alternative to the mobile operating systems made by Apple, BlackBerry manufacturer Research in Motion Ltd. and Microsoft Corp.
Verizon, for instance, has raised consumer awareness about Android during the past two months by bankrolling a marketing blitz for the Droid phone made by Motorola Inc.
In an effort to keep the peace, Google probably will try to position the Nexus One as a way to encourage even more innovation with its Android system, said Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin.
"They might tell everyone in the Android ecosystem, 'We applaud you for what you have done so far, we just want to take things even further and think we can help light the way,'" Golvin said.

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President Barack Obama will meet security chiefs to find out how the failed Christmas Day terror attack on a US passenger jet came so close to claiming hundreds of lives.

Mr Obama will also make a statement following the meeting when he will outline what steps will be taken to improve airline security.
Changes to the systems of watchlists, meant to monitor suspects trying to fly into the US, have already been made following the alleged attempt by Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, an al Qaeda operative, to bring down a Detroit-bound plane.
And Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said there could be more changes to follow: "We're looking to see whether these procedures need to be changed, upgraded.

Failed bombing suspect Mutallab

"That is my goal as Secretary to do everything I can to make sure that not only American citizens but all people travelling on airlines of any nationality can arrive at their destination safely."
Already America has increased the number of people on its 'no-fly lists' and extra security checks have been ordered on all passengers coming into the US from 14 countries designated either as state sponsors of terrorism or "of interest".
And all air passengers bound for the US will face increased random screening under new rules, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) confirmed.
Tom Blank, former assistant head of the TSA, told Sky News: "There are no guarantees out there - if you're looking for guarantees, either don't fly or put all the planes on the ground.
"But these steps that we are seeing put in place... are to mitigate some of the risks that we have seen, that we weren't completely aware of."

Tell-It-Like-It-Is

Longest Solar Eclipse of the Century Today

Longest Solar Eclipse of the Century Today

Burj Khalifa,The tallest buiding in the world