A Russian internet investment company has offered $200million (£125million) for a 2 per cent stake in Facebook, in a deal which would value the social networking website at $10 billion.
Digital Sky Technologies (DST), which is controlled by Russian businessman and internet entrepreneur Yuri Milner, also said it would offer to buy at least $100 million of Facebook common stock from existing investors.
The DST offer, for 1.96 per cent, represents Facebook’s first major funding injection since 2007, when Microsoft paid $240 million for a 1.6 per cent stake in the company, valuing it at $15 billion. Since then, some investors have reportedly become frustrated at the social networking site’s reluctance to capitalise on its 200 million worldwide users. In April, the New York Post reported that the company’s private equity investors had informally valued it at only $3 billion.
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook chief executive, said in a statement that a number of firms had approached the company, but Digital Sky stood out “because of the global perspective they bring - backed up by the impressive growth and financial achievements of their internet investments.”

“This investment demonstrates Facebook’s ongoing success at creating a global network for people to share and connect,” he said. “We’ve worked hard to bring more than 200 million people – 70 per cent outside of the US – onto Facebook to share with friends, family and co-workers.”
Despite recent public statements from Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer, stating that Facebook did not need extra cash, it can now use the money to fund its growing operations, including bandwidth, storage, and engineering costs, analysts said.
DST already owns stakes in Russia’s most popular website, Mail.ru, and has recently bought up large holdings in a host of eastern European internet companies. Based in London and Moscow, DST websites account for over 70 per cent of all page views in the Russian-speaking internet and its social networks are the market leaders in more than 13 countries, with a combined population of more than 350 million.
Contrary to initial reports that DST had demanded a seat on the Facebook board as part of the deal, Facebook said that the Russian vehicle would not be represented. Mr Zuckerberg said he expected Facebook to be cash flow positive in 2010.

NANO SENSORS TO MONITOR SAFETY OF BRIDGES

"It looks like a piece of thin black sheeting, but it can act as a sensor to monitor the strength of structures such as bridges, aircraft and ships," said researcher Cheng Yan.







The polymer nanocomposite contains carbon nanotubes which change the conductivity of the material when cracks appear in structures where it is used. By monitoring the electrical conductivity of the material, early detection of structural faults may be possible.






"Structures like these can be monitored constaantly for cracks, metal fatige and warping," said Yan. "Repairs can be carried out before the damage becomes critical."






The nanocomposite is strong but lightweight since nanotubes are 1,000 times stronger than steel but are extremely light due to their nanoscale dimensions. The composite material could be applied like sheets of fibreglass which conform to the shape of the surface, making them less expensive than alternative active monitors that use conventional sensors, Yan claimed.






Yan's research team is also cooperating with other materials engineers to make other types of polymers using various nano-sized fillers that would increase their conductivity, strength and durability.

The Sidekick II has got some huge improvements over the T-Mobile Sidekick I. The Sidekick II is a tri-band world phone. Flip it open and you’ll be greeted by the big color screen. You can send unlimited emails and the new keyboard is really easy to use. The T-Mobile Sidekick I suffered from a lack of buttons for easy access to basic functions. Not anymore. Dual purpose buttons make it easier to place calls and browse the Net using Sidekick II. You don’t need to search the Settings menu to change the volume or adjust any other details. You’ve got external buttons for that and also to turn the handset on or off. T-Mobile Sidekick II also has an external directional pad that’s a great help if you are one of those avid gamers. The keyboard can be used for all text messaging, emailing, and calendar updates. The 240 x 160 pixels screen on the T-Mobile Sidekick II can support 65,000 colors. The Sidekick II is around 25 per cent thinner that the Sidekick I. It also gives you a comfortable feel when you are using it as a phone. The integrated camera, LED flash unit and self-portrait mirror are on the back of the handset. The T-Mobile Sidekick II comes loaded with the Hiptop OS and the handset has a 48 MB internal memory. Did you run out of memory storing those phone numbers? The phone book of the Sidekick II can accommodate 2000 contacts and multiple entries per contact. You also get the usual menu of recently missed, received, and dialed calls. You’ve got polyphonic ring tones with 16 chords. If you need more you can download some great ring tones from T-Mobile’s t-zones service. You can also assign a picture and ring tone to each caller. Well, the t-zones service can be used to download some great games too. Okay, here’s one more reason you would love to own a Sidekick. T-Mobile has priced it fairly and you can get a Sidekick data plan ($29.99 per month) to use Sidekick II’s e-mail, messaging, and browser functions. Well, that is not the end of the good news though. Another Sidekick avatar is around the corner. T-Mobile Sidekick III will be launching Christmas

T MOBILE.

The T-Mobile Sidekick II, the successor of the famed T-Mobile Sidekick, can be called the ultimate communication gadget. Launched in the US market by leading telephone carrier T-Mobile, the Sidekick II is not only helps you communicate, but has some great features that allow you to have a great time communicating! The T-Mobile Sidekick II has been launched after ironing out some of the problems that plagued the earlier version. Here’s some vital statistics. The Sidekick II is fully loaded and weighs 6.49 ounces. It measures 5.12 x 2.60 x 0.87 inches and comes with a lithium-ion battery that provides up to 4.5 hours of digital talk time and 60 hours of digital standby time. Sidekick Ii runs on the GSM/GPRS 900/1800/1900 frequencies and has a one year limited warranty. Enough of what the T-Mobile Sidekick II’s great features. Let us see why it provides real bang for the buck and has reviewers drooling over it.

THE NEW SONY ERICCSON

The SONY ERICCSON C905 was the flagship model for Sony in 2008 AND finally being released in October after being announced in June. The Sony Cyber-shot brand renowned for digital cameras was introduced to mobiles phones with the launch of the K800 and K790 back in 2006. The Sony C905 is a phone and digital camera all rolled into one and has all the Cyber-shot features you might usually expect and more.
Key Features of the C905
The Sony Ericsson C905 has an impressive design specification which makes it a high end mobile camera phone. The C905 slider phone is the successor to the popular 5-megapixel K800 I but takes photo imagery to another level.
The TFT display uses 256k colours and is 240 x 320 pixels. Internal memory is clocked at 160MB with an additional M2 memory stick supporting up to 8GB. Battery life allows for stand-by up to 380h without re-charging (based on not making or receiving calls) and talk-time up to 9h. The phone is available in night black, copper gold, ice silver and tender rose colours.
The following are the key technical features of the C905:
· Xenon flash – uses white LED for snapping high quality night time photos. Shoot well lit photos indoors or in dark environments.
· BestPic – press camera key fully down for 7 shots at once that range from before to after the key was pressed. Useful for shooting moving objects and helps make you look skilful with a lens.
· Auto focus – provides sharper pictures by homing in on the subject. The phone features 16x digital zoom.
· Face detection – makes facial features the focus of your shot and includes red-eye reduction.
· Image stabiliser – reduces the chance of blurred images caused by hand movements during picture taking.
· Geo-tagging – applies a label to show where you took your photos.
· HSDPA – delivers broadband like speed of 3.5G for super fast downloads and streaming.
· Wi-Fi enabled – support for fast wireless Internet connectivity in hotspots.
· GPS – built in satellite navigation with trial version of Wayfinder Navigator pre-installed.
In terms of price the Sony Ericsson C905 is best recommended as a

Pros and Cons of the Sony C905
· Photo quality is second-to-none and needs to be seen to be believed.
· A combination of cutting-edge technologies means the phone has great usability.
· The handset is rather large and chunky which can work well in camera mode but is inconvenient at other times.
· Build quality is questionable and keys are not ideal for texting with a rather merged together, flat structure that can cause you to press the wrong key.
· A common fault has emerged with the handset that has seen some handsets being returned with a malfunctioning ear speaker. This means you are forced to use loudspeaker only when making and receiving calls.
The Sony Ericsson C905 is a phone you should definitely consider if you are a photo enthusiast. The C905 camera can outperform many regular digital cameras and is a great way to save money by purchasing a phone and digital camera all rolled into one.
The disadvantages lie in some poor functionality including limited battery life and emerging faults surrounding sound and connectivity issues. The high price of a handset will also put a dent in your budget if you aren’t planning to use the phone on contract.
Competition for the Sony Ericsson C905 comes from the Samsung i8510, another 8-megapixel camera phone, which just beat the C905 to release and was renamed the Innov 8. However, the Cyber-shot camera provided by the C905 makes it unbeatable in terms of photo realism and perfect pictures.

The latest fitness fad has among adults and everyone an unusual goal: bulking up the three pounds of mush between your ears. Sales of “brain fitness” software increased from a few million dollars in 2005 to $80 million in 2007, according to an estimate from the consulting firm Sharpbrains. Plenty more products are available on the Web. Computerized cognitive training includes games that test memory, attention, and problem-solving skills, plus good old arithmetic and linguistic ability. Brain-training Web sites promise improved mental stamina, the ability to concentrate for longer periods, and a better memory for directions and names—even heightened mood.
The science behind these supposed brain boosters remains promising but inconclusive. Multiple studies in older adults indicate that on-screen exercises can slow age-related cognitive decline, but improving the cognition of other groups is another question. Recent findings do suggest that healthy younger adults can improve their smarts as well: The ability of twentysomethings to solve patterning problems improved after practicing on unrelated memory tests, one University of Michigan study found. The finding suggests that skills in one game can apply to different mental challenges, similar to the way running is good for parts of the body other than just the legs.
The following six Web sites all offer cerebral calisthenics, mostly built around quick, free mental stimulation that’s good for a break at work. Those who are more serious about online brain training may want to subscribe to track their progress. While the science sorts itself out, the Web sites already have one undeniable benefit: They’re awesomely good................

technological advancements.

To help our Earth’s inhabitants avoid the fate of the dinosaurs and the Clovis people, researchers with the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-Starrs) have been developed the world’s largest digital camera, which can capture 1.4 billion pixels, to scan the skies for approaching asteroids or comets. The camera is scheduled to begin its search this month with the Pan-Starrs-1 telescope in Haleakala, Hawaii.
Pan-Starrs will repeatedly scan the same portions of the sky to look for changes, such as the supernova discovered during the telescope’s test runs last fall. And if an asteroid is detected hurtling toward Earth Scientists and engineers are still working on ways to use spacecraft to alter its orbit.

PORTABLE HARD DRIVES

A Portable hard drive is one of the best available solutions in contemporary times for storing high volumes of data and keeping it secure. In a Floppy disk there is no guarantee of data retention and the amount of data stored is negligible, as compared to a portable storage device. The portable storage device is considered to be a better option than a CD (700 MB) or a DVD (4 GB or 8 in case of a dual layer DVD), as one does not need a writer to copy data on it. These drives are a viable option compared to thumb drives/pen drives. A thumb drive can store up to 2 GB of data, which is much less compared to the portable drives. Also, carrying a portable drive is not a problem at all, given its sleek and compact design. The potential of a portable drive to store high quantity (20, 40, 60, 80, 120 GB) of data is also an advantage.The portable storage drives available in the market today are plug and play devices. One does not need anything else to run it. Just plug the device to a PC/notebook via a USB cable and you are on. The devices are USB 1.0 and 2.0 compatible. It is also very easy to copy files from a PC/notebook to a portable storage device. Just copy the files from the former and paste it in the device. You can also keep the device attached to the PC and run files from it. Some of the popular brand portable storage devices available in the market include LaCie, Iomega, Fujitsu, and SeaGate among others.

The new N96 is official! The word's all over the Internet, with pictures and a limited spec sheet. Nokia finally made the phone available at GSMA Barcelona today, and our man there reports that the phone is a union of the N81 and the N95. The N96 has a 5MP camera with Carl-Zeiss lens and Xenon flash, and will come with S60 3rd feature pack, which is yet to make a release. To make the surfing experience a little richer, a fully flash-enabled surfing interface is included. The phone will come with 16GB of space built in, with an option to double that Nokia N96 CHARACTERISTICS.
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General Network --> GSM900 / GSM1800 / GSM1900 / GSM850 / HSDPA Introduced --> 2008 Q1 Status --> Coming soon Form factor --> Slider Antenna --> Internal
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Size Weight --> 125 g (including battery) Dimensions --> 103 x 55 x 18 mm
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Display] Type -->Graphical Colours -->TFT, 16M colors Size -->240 x 320 pixels
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Memory Shared Memory 16 GB - Photocall - microSD (TransFlash) - 128MB RAM, 256MB system memory
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Ringtones - Polyphonic Yes, 64 voices - Monophonic, True Tones, MP3
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Networking GPRS --> Yes, Class 32, 107 / 64.2 kbps Modem --> Yes, Class 32, 296 kbps; DTM Class 11, 177 kbps 3G --> Yes, HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps WLAN --> Yes, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, UPnP technology USB --> Yes, 2.0, microUSB Bluetooth -->Yes, 2.0 with A2DP WAP Yes Browser --> Yes, WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, RSS reader Infrared --> Yes Email Client --> Yes - Symbian OS, S60 rel. 3.2 - Instant Messaging - Push to talk
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Features Vibration --> Yes SMS --> Send / Receive MMS --> Send / Receive Camera --> Yes, 5 MP, 2592x1944 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, video(VGA 30fps), flash; secondary VGA videocall camera Java --> Yes Changeable Games --> Yes Games --> Yes Clock --> Yes Alarm --> Yes Calculator --> Yes To-Do List --> Yes Voice Dialing --> Yes Voice Memo --> Yes T9 --> Yes Handsfree --> Yes FM Radio --> Yes - Built-in GPS receiver - A-GPS function - DVB-H TV broadcast receiver - Dual slide design - MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+/WMA player - 3.5 mm audio output jack - TV out - Organizer - Office document viewer
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Standard Battery Type --> Li-Ion Amperage --> 950 mAh Standby Time --> 220 hours Talk Time --> 3 hours 40 minutes

ROADIES

HELLO PEOPLE HAV U AALL SEEN THE ROADIES EP OF 31 JAN,\ITS ROCKIN ,IM JUST WATCHIN IT.
BY TEH WAY ALL COMMENTS R WELCOME.