Gold particles to drive cheap TVs, PCs

Mon, May 10 02:21 PM

Now, a new way to disperse gold particles through plastic!

Scientists have discovered a new way to disperse gold nanoparticles through plastic, which they claim could make possible a lot of unusual materials such as durable paint, faster computers and cheaper TV sets.
Adrian Fuchs of Queensland University of Technology, who led an team which found the new method, said the technique he developed was a model for dispersing metals in nanoparticle form throughout polymers or plastic materials.

"The properties of metals change when they are in nano form and so combining unique property of nanoparticles with plastic leads to a whole new range of composite materials that could be used for novel catalysts, drug delivery and coatings.

"Paint is essentially a plastic so when gold nanoparticles are added it makes colours more intense across the whole visible spectrum. The paint would also be more durable when exposed to a harsh environment," Dr Fuchs said.

According to the scientists, gold has good conductivity and becomes a useful catalyst when mixed with different metals.

"If you put gold nanoparticles with titanium dioxide using a plastic mould, you can make a very efficient catalyst to purify water; the titania absorbs the light and converts it into electricity which is then passed into the conductive gold," he said.

Dr Fuchs said his method for dispersing nanoparticles through plastic could also be applied to encapsulating drugs into plastic casings so that they could be ingested and used for cancer detection and destruction.

Smart phones exposing kids to suicide, sex

Mon, May 10 04:25 PM

Melbourne, May 10 (ANI): Smart phones such as Apple's iPhone are allowing children to download violent and sexually explicit games that have escaped government classification.

The classification loophole means schoolchildren given smart phones and similar devices by their parents are being exposed to material which would be restricted in other forms of media, such as video game consoles, magazines and movies.

The material can be downloaded on to iPhones from Apple's App Store in as little as 60 seconds, and only a credit card or debit card is needed to create an iTunes account to download the apps.

An example of such games is the '5 Minutes to Kill (Yourself)' game, which has an image of a man with a knife through his head as a logo, and where players have the option of a number of weapons to "get the job done".

Another is the 'Girls And Drinks' game where players are encouraged to drink excessively to attract "sexy" barmaids, with a spiel saying, "Choose a sexy bartender. The more you drink, the sexier she gets".
The suicide game triggered a furious response from Beyond Blue chairman and anti-depression advocate Jeff Kennett.

"Put this in the hands of a kid who is depressed or has been bullied, it's like throwing fuel on the fire to the problem," News.com.au quoted him as saying.

Apple has about 150,000 apps available on its site in Australia, and the ratings it gives are in small print on the games' listings.

The games do not contain ratings from the Government's Classification Board, as they are required to under Federal law.

The board's website notes "games must be classified by the board before they can be sold or hired in Australia".

A spokeswoman for the Federal Attorney-General's Department said it was "considering the issue of mobile phone applications".

An Apple spokeswoman said the company "self-rated" a number of the game apps on its site.
"Our approval process is about protection of consumer privacy, protecting children where we can," she added. (ANI)

Five hidden dangers of Facebooking

Five hidden dangers of Facebooking

Mon, May 10 03:15 PM

Washington, May 10 (ANI): An expert in online privacy has drawn attention to the five dangers of sharing information on social networking site Facebook.

Joan Goodchild, senior editor of CSO (Chief Security Officer) Online, claims marketing efforts by the company often results in a compromise on account holders' privacy, reports CBS News.

Goodchild noted five risks of using Facebook on 'The Early Show on Saturday Morning.' They are:

1.Your information is being shared with third parties

2. Privacy settings revert to a less safe default mode after each redesign

3. Facebook ads may contain malware

4. Your real friends unknowingly make you vulnerable

5. Scammers are creating fake profiles

 Earlier this week, 15 privacy and consumer protection organizations filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, alleging that the site manipulates privacy settings to make users' personal information available for commercial use. (ANI)

If your answer "NO", then you are safe................

 

Facebooking  Danger ?

 

Inside the mind of a Killer

“In the last six months after being appointed by the court to defend the country’s most hated terrorist, I have never seen Ajmal Aamir Kasab show any emotions. Initially, when I was assisting Abbas Kazmi, I hardly interacted with Kasab. But after Mr Kazmi left, I took charge of defending Kasab. Kasab never showed any remorse or said that whatever he had done was wrong and should not have been done.

He never even told me about his family or whether there was any way for him to get in touch with them. Although he is only around 20 years of age, he is very shrewd and very calculative. The manner in which he had been behaving during the trial, showed how strong his mental balance truly is. The impact of training particularly the lectures on jihad is such that he still believes that he would go to jannat after what he has done, as he has pleased God by his deeds. He is incredibly smart, stubborn and rigid. He may have become physically weak but not mentally, I was shocked when during his deposition, he said that he had come to Mumbai to become an actor. 

He knows how to misguide the court. I didn’t brief him at any point in time, neither did he tell me anything beyond what he said in court and to the police. The fact of the matter is that he never trusted me and always looked at me with suspicion. 

“Aap ko jaisa theek lage (As you deem fit)” was his usual line to me, whenever I discussed his case with him. It’s not about the rigorous physical training that Kasab was given, but about the way he was brainwashed and the impact of that, which is really scary. 

During the time when witnesses were deposing against him and were narrating their plight on that fateful day, Kasab never lost his composure. Had it been any other criminal, he would have showed some sympathy towards the witness at least once. But Kasab remained emotionless. On the contrary, he only laughed or smiled which is very unusual.Beyond what he said to the court about his childhood and his days in his village, he has not revealed anymore about himself. Kasab never said he missed his family and I don’t think he had any friends. He is not religious at all as I have never heard him reciting any prayers.”

(K.P. Pawar, defence counsel, spoke to Jigna Vora)