Colliding Galaxies

Picture this after a heavy night out ... wandering galaxies, star-spangled fireworks and deep black holes. On the other hand, just have another beer.

In some recently released Hubble Space Telescope images, colliding galaxies resemble a cosmic toothbrush, an owl in flight, a grasshopper and a butterfly. Check them out on www.youtube.com under, “Hubble captures colliding galaxies.”

But it’s true, galaxies wander. Through the universe that is. And when they crash into contact with each other they merge and rip each other apart. There’s a violent embrace and like a sci-fi animation movie they perform fantastic other-worldly displays that create bizarre looking shapes and form tidal tails when viewed from earth.



ABOUT THIS IMAGE:
NGC 6240 is a peculiar, butterfly- or lobster-shaped galaxy consisting of two smaller merging galaxies. It lies in the constellation of Ophiuchus, the Serpent Holder, some 400 million light-years away. Observations with NASA s Chandra X-ray Observatory have disclosed two giant black holes, about 3,000 light-years apart, which will drift toward one another and eventually merge together into a larger black hole. The merging process, which began about 30 million years ago, triggered dramatic star formation and sparked numerous supernova explosions. The merger will be complete in some tens to hundreds of millions of years.
Credit: This image is part of a large collection of 59 images of merging galaxies taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and released on the occasion of its 18th anniversary on 24th April 2008.
Object Names: NGC 6240, VV 617
Image Type: Astronomical
Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration, and A. Evans (University of Virginia, Charlottesville/NRAO/Stony Brook University)
www.hubblesite.org – newscenter


“The violent activity triggers huge bursts of star formation that can churn out new stars 100 times faster than in an undisturbed galaxy like our own Milky Way. This accelerated star birth is followed a few million years later by cosmic fireworks as the heavier, faster-burning stars run out of fuel and explode as supernovae. Eventually, the colliding galaxies merge to form a new, more massive galaxy”, explains David Shiga writing for New Scientist.

Scientists believe that these events offer a preview of our own galaxy’s destiny some 5 billion years from now, when it merges with our neighbour, the Andromeda galaxy.

With all that cosmic turmoil happening out there in space, it makes you wonder why on earth we get so stressed about daily life on earth, doesn’t it?

Source: http://space.newscientist.com, http://hubblesite.org, Wikipedia

Mini-me music files

Compressed music files - 1,000 times smaller than MP3 - can this be possible? Yip, it is. Scientists at the University of Rochester in New York have digitally reproduced music in a file nearly 1,000 times smaller than a normal MP3 file. Whew, that’s a lot of extra storage on your iPod.

Source: www.rochester.edu

Giving electronics the finger

Boffins at Microsoft have been working on a high-tech armband that will let you interact with their electronic devices through a flick of the finger. The purpose is to make it even easier to work gadgets or computers, for instance, to answer the phone with just a twitch of a finger when you’re driving the car. In time, the researchers say, the armband might look like a watch or a bracelet. Arm-azing bling.

It’s called a muscle-computer interface or MUCI – not to be confused with mucus. It can be worn on the forearm and recognizes movements by monitoring muscle activity, and will be able to recognise which finger movements you’re making by decoding the voltage produced by muscle twitches.

And researchers at the University of Glasgow in the UK are taking it one step further. Soon you could be controlling your gadgets and MP3 players, for example, with just a foot tap, a change of walking pace, or a mere shrug of the shoulders!

So practice fidgeting. Your future might depend on it.

Sources: Paul Marks, New Scientist, 24 April 2008, Microsoft Research MUCI.

iPhone’s coming to South Africa

Get a second job if you need to, or be extra specially nice to your nearest and dearest, because according to reports in http://www.ioltechnology.co.za/ and http://www.thetimes.co.za/, the Apple’s popular iPhone is coming to South Africa soon.

The British cellphone giant Vodafone announced on 6th May, that it has signed the rights to sell the iPhone in 10 new countries including Australia, India and South Africa.

The handset, as many of you know, combines Apple's popular iPod music player, a video player and web browser with a nifty touch-screen device, and you can make a call just by pointing your finger (nicely please) at a name or number in the address book.

Shortly after its limited release last year, many people bowed down in reverence, hailing the handset as nothing less than revolutionary. A cellphone that is truly a mobile PC. Other technophiles, especially in South Africa, were left to turn a putrid shade of green in envy – some even imported the iPhone to have it cracked.

But no more. This desirable looking device should be available sometime later this year, although details about pricing and contracts have yet to be released.

So why has there been a time warp? Well, Apple was demanding a cut from iPhone users’ cellphone bills from the networks. “The limited release was due to a delay in establishing tie-ups with cellular operators, from which Apple receives a cut of call and data revenue,” reported Toby Shapshak writing for The Times on May 07, 2008.

Why are we drooling?
It’s a multi-band, internet-enabled multimedia cellphone. It’s got internet services, e-mail, web browsing and Wi-Fi connectivity. It features a virtual keyboard in the form of a multi-touch screen, and buttons. There’s a capable camera, an iPod media player, text messaging and visual voicemail.

Oh, and it’s not so shabby to look at either.

Now you can stop hyperventilating because there are a couple of “downers”.

What’s not so cool?
It’s not 3G or HSDPA-enabled, which makes connecting to the Internet slow. Currently the iPhone uses the slower 2.5G Edge data standard.

Although a 3G phone is scheduled for release this year, some say June, the question is, will this beefed-up version also be released in South Africa?

And if you’re not used to a touch screen you might find it takes a little time to get used to the navigation.

Will it work with MXit?
Currently MXit won’t run on the iPhone. The good news is that sometime in the future, we might make a special version for it.

Shake, rattle and roll

Handset manufacturers have cool new plants for devices that are not only touch sensitive, but also motion, rotation and shake sensitive. Our thumbs, which some people joke are becoming genetically modified for keypads, might soon be made redundant because keypads and buttons could soon be relegated to history.

So LG electronics unveiled the Secret (KF750) on 25th April, 2008, a snazzy touch phone that has Motion-Sensing, DivX. It’s the slimmest 5MP camera phone on the market at 11.8mm, includes photo and video editing features like Morphing (facial editing) and SmartLight that adjusts the picture’s light settings.

You can create music videos, and a single button accesses all five multimedia functions; music, photos, games, documents and FM radio. It’s loaded with a Google Package to surf the Internet, and the screen automatically shifts display from narrow to wide by holding the Secret horizontally. Gamers have got the added benefit of the motion sensing capability made possible by a tiny sensor called an accelerometer. This enhances games when tilting and rotating the handset so that you can, for example, catch a fish, or navigate your way through a maze.

Launched in Europe already, it will soon be available to the rest of the world.

MXit compatibility? Looking at the specs, it should work with MXit, but at the time of going to press, we can’t guarantee it.

Samsung G800

What is it?
A phone, a camera, an MP3 player


Who should buy it?
Photographers, that’s who. It features the first ever optical zoom for a 5MP camera phone. If you’re a pro you’ll like the face detection and Wide Dynamic Range (WDR). Digital camera features include panorama shots, multi shots and macro shots. There are video editing functions so that you can cut, past, and edit your own films. It supports High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), which means the photos or videos can be sent to others quickly.

Why buy it?
You’re after a digital camera and a multimedia mobile in one. You want a sleek, sexy handset that looks like a digital camera on one side and fashionable, eye-candy, cellphone on the other. You like a large, wide display 2.4”.


MXit compatibility
The Samsung G800 is MXit compatible and works quite well with it, altho’ sadly the camera does not work with MXit.


How Much?
At the time of going to press it was advertised at http://www.pricecheck.co.za/ for between R4,400 – R5,716.








Specs

• HSDPA (3.6Mbps)


• Embedded MP3 player


• Camera: 5 Megapixel, optical inner zoom (3X Optical, 4X Digital), Xenon flash, Auto Focus, Wide Dynamic Range, Face Detection, Image Stabiliser, Image Editor, Image Stamp, Panorama/Mosaic/Macro Shot, Landscape Camera UI, Camera Lens Cover


• 120MB memory + microSD card slot


• Display 2.4” 262K QVGA TFT LCD


• Features: Mobile blogging, PictBridge/USB 2.0/Bluetooth v 2.0, Multi-format Audia & Video, Full Browser, Google Search


• Size: 101.5mm x 52mm x 18.8mm

Love at first byte

Buying a cell phone? Considering a new contract phone?
MXit plays Cupid and offers 15 tips and questions to help you find your perfect phone.

You buy a handset because it’s cool, or you sign a contract in a hurry, and then you’re most probably stuck with the phone for a couple of years. The next thing you know, your friend’s bought a handset and it’s even better, and you wish you’d chosen that one instead.

Don’t decide on an impulsive whim, or just because the phone is really sweet. Understand what’s important to you, and make your choice based on some definite considerations. Then someone else’s nifty handset won’t seem quite so appealing after all.

1. Does it have a speakerphone? Or does it have an earphone, or Bluetooth for hands free calling - essential for in the car.
2. Is size or weight important? Would you rather have something small and slim to fit in your pocket?
3. Do you really need a 5MP camera or stacks of storage space for pics and music?
4. Check the speed of the user interface – important for overall ease of use and enjoyment of the phone.
5. Are you mad about music – is a good music player with ear-meltingly audio quality essential?
6. Do you want programmable ringtones – check if you can download them for free.
7. Is a touch screen important, and what about the size of the screen?
8. What’s the display quality like? Can you see the screen easily - contrast and backlight are important to make text and graphics easily viewable
9. Would you rather a large or small keypad?
10. The layout of the keypad and user-friendliness of the navikeys are important – especially for MXit. So make sure they are easy and quick to use because it will make a huge difference in the overall usability.
11. Will you be sending lots of emails – if so, is a Qwerty keypad important?
12. Are you always scrummaging around for your charger? Do you need a phone with a long battery life?
13. What design would you like? Flip-open, clamshell, or candybar? Slider-style (slide open) or swivel (twist open)? Try them all and decide which is best for you. A flip phone is not always so easy to open with one hand and if you go for a non-flip candybar style, make sure it has a locking device so that you don’t dial someone by mistake when you put it away in a hurry.
14. Do you want to be able to access the Internet? Most phones connect at slower speeds on the GPRS network; on EDGE. 3G networks are faster.
15. And most important of all: Ask - is the phone compatible with MXit?!