LHC reaches record collision rate at 4TeV per beam

Physicist Despina Hatzifotiadou inspects the wiring on the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider (Image: CERN)

In just 12 days of operation in "stable beams" mode, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has already exceeded the maximum peak luminosity – a measure of the instantaneous collision rate – achieved last year. The LHC has now reached 3.9 × 10³³ collisions per square centimetre per second, while the top value for last year was 3.6 × 10³³ cm-2 s-1. Stable beams mode enables the experiments to collect data for physics analysis. 

So far this year the total amount of data delivered to the experiments – the integrated luminosity – is now about 0.6 inverse femtobarn, a measure of accelerator performance equivalent to about 60 trillion collisions. Last year, it took about 12 weeks of operation to reach that number.

The number of proton bunches colliding in the machine is steadily increasing, with 1092 bunches per beam achieved so far. Over the coming days, this number will be increased to 1380 bunches per beam, the maximum value for this year.

This year, the higher collision energy of 4 TeV per beam (compared to 3.5 TeV per beam in 2011) and the resulting higher number of collisions expected both enhance the machine's discovery potential considerably, opening up new possibilities for searches for new and heavier particles. So keep an eye on us!

Source: http://public.web.cern.ch/public/

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Left Brain vs Right Brain

» Left Brain:
I am a scientist. A mathematician. I love the familiar. I categorize. I am accurate. Linear. Analytical. Strategic. I am practical. Always in control. A masters of words and language. Realistic. I calculate equations and play with numbers. I am order. I am logic. I know exactly who I am.

» Right Brain:
I am creativity. A free spirit. I am passion. Yearning. Sensuality. I am the sound of roaring laughter. I am taste. The feeling of sand beneath bare feet. I am movement. Vivid colors. I am the urge to paint on empty canvas. I am boundless imagination. Art. Poetry. I sense. I feel. I am everything I wanted to be.

Do you have a dominant side to your brain or do you have a good mix of both? I feel there is always one side which stands out for everyone.

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5 Features of Windows 8 Beta

Windows 8 answering needs of computer users. with the latest version which according to Steven Sinofsky (Head of Windows) better than Windows 7. Many changes and features that are embedded in Windows 8 makes Windows8 has a special attraction.

Here are 5 new features in Microsoft Windows 8 manufacturers are still in Beta version. The plan Windows 8 will also be presented on smartphones and tablet PCs.

1. Picture password

Forget about how to lock the computer with a password in the form of letters of the alphabet or numbers are difficult to remember. Picture Password feature allows you to lock the computer by using a photograph.

While trying to open the lock on the photo, tap on the photo section has been set previously. Windows 8 implement the direction of movement, finger movement, the point of movement and movement combinations. For example,you set-up finger movements rotate clockwise, then the system will record and consider the movement as a password.

If you forget that the movement has been set previously, you can still use as normal password that uses characters.

2. Metro navigation

On Windows 8, the navigation is done by shifting to the right or left. With a menu interface with Metro tile feature (sectional view), making this feature a great view of the most pronounced.

The tile will then be grouped according to your wishes. Even so, provided the alternative to switch to desktop mode like the look of previous versions of Windows.

On a smartphone or tablet PC, can also navigate using the touch of a your finger virtual keyboard. Similar to the iPad virtual keyboard which has a separate arrangement (split) on the left and right hand fingers so easily accessible.


3. Internet Explorer version 10

Windows 8 not forget to pin of the latest their flagship browser, the IE version 10 (Beta). It looks less eccentric than most browsers. Most noticeable on the url row located under the (usually above). While the use of thumbnail-sized tab at the top of the fairly large.

About Display of latest IE is arguably a bold look and try to be different than any other browser.


4. Windows app store

Microsoft seems to really emulate Apple in this case. Which provides an application store called Windows Store. Applications are available some are free and some are paid.

5. SkyDrive

Windows 8 has a twin iCloud, the cloud storage system called SkyDrive. How it works is similar to iCloud, namely as storage media in the cloud that can be accessed on any device based on Windows 8.

Users are given 2GB of free space to use SkyDrive.

Windows 8 in late February on display yesterday in Barcelona, Spain, has pinned the contacts application, calendar, email, and messaging. But for the Office program does not appear in Windows 8. Either did not exist or because Windows 8 is still in Beta stage.

Windows 8 officially released its plan for computers end of this year. While the tablet PC and smartphone version is still in development.

For those of you who want to taste Windows 8 Beta version, just download here.

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Ubuntu For Android, A Desktop OS In Your Pocket

A few days ago, Canonical Ltd. revealed that they had been working to create a version of Ubuntu that runs on Android phones. As a Linux user myself, I found this hugely interesting. So how would it work, and what would it enable you to do?

What Is Ubuntu?

Ubuntu is a variant of the Linux Operating System, popular due to the huge community which provides constant development to make a user-friendly Linux build. It can do everything Windows can, but is completely free, hence its rising popularity.

The current Ubuntu release takes no more than 30 minutes to install, and has every generic configuration possible. This means it automatically works with pretty much any hardware, be it a Display, WiFi card, Wireless Mouse, etc. It also has an entire Office package included from the start. LibreOffice, Thunderbird, and Firefox are ready to go.

How Would the Android Version Work?

I’ve done a little research, and it seems that Ubuntu would be installed alongside Android in some way. When your phone is placed in a docking cradle with a display attached and a wireless keyboard and mouse nearby, it runs a mobile-processor optimized version of Ubuntu, which uses these peripherals just as a normal computer would. Apparently it runs almost like a Virtual Machine; Canonical claim that Ubuntu and Android share the same kernel, running at the same time.

This is how the whole thing is supposed to work. Presumably yanking the phone would just shut down the monitor, and keep everything running on the phone.

Why It’s Brilliant

Smartphones are already computers, but this would mean you’d be carrying a desktop operating system and Android phone wherever you go.

It is especially good for businesses! Instead of distributing a smartphone and laptop to each employee, they only need to give out an Android phone and two docks – one for home and one for work. Everything is unified: email, contacts, browsing history, bookmarks, everything you do at work travels with you in your pocket, ready to be picked up at home.

The Ubuntu developers also claim their smartphone version will help motivate manufacturers to redouble their efforts to cram in additional power. They hope that the ability to run Ubuntu on an Android Smartphone becomes a selling point, leaving manufacturers climbing over themselves to start releasing supercharged devices, with the aim of running Ubuntu as slickly as possible. The developers hope it encourages 4G handsets too, since “Office Apps shine with low latency and higher bandwidth”.

Features

Take Phone Calls and Respond to Messages

Ubuntu would either take control of these systems on Android, or substitute its own while you work. I know that companies have been releasing software for years that lets you send and receive messages or calls on your desktop computer over USB or Bluetooth to your phone. As far as I know this would be the first time it has ever been done with such deep integration. An incoming call wouldn’t be coming over Bluetooth; in a sense, people would be calling your computer. Like calling a Skype number to reach you, except people dial your normal mobile number. No Skype fees either!

Is Ubuntu handling this incoming call, or is it Android, or both?

Full Desktop Environment

The images I have seen show what is clearly the Unity/Gnome3.0 interface which comes shipped with new Ubuntu distributions at present. I want to know how it performs on Smartphone hardware. I also want to know how people can install additional Linux packages. The regular Desktop version of Ubuntu uses a massive package repository to manage package builds, downloads, and upgrades. Would this mobile edition use the same system, or would the programs be fixed and unchangeable?

Great Default Applications

Amongst the list of applications this build of Ubuntu is set to receive is Google Chrome, Calendar, and Docs. Then Thunderbird, Gwibber instant messenger, VLC Media Player, PiTiVi, Ubuntu Music Player (possibly Rhythmbox), a photo gallery, and the Android Dialler.

Final Thoughts

At the moment Ubuntu for Android is in some kind of private Alpha or Beta testing, but I can’t wait to see it formally showcased in videos. It will also be interesting to see the uptake rate too. I doubt it will be very popular at first, certainly not in the mainstream world. I hope that over time it does expand outwards though; it’s a great idea and I hope it takes off.

Source: http://drippler.com

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Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1

Earlier today we got an eyes-only look at Samsung’s newest member of its stylus family, the Galaxy Note 10.1. We swung by Samsung’s booth later in the day to get a closer look. The Galaxy Note 10.1 is physically similar to the new Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 (man, they’ve got to work on those names) but uses a faster processor, an active digitizer stylus and Samsung’s customized apps. As an extension of the original Galaxy Note it’s pretty compelling – much more so than the lukewarm refresh that the primary Galaxy Tab line seems to be getting.

The Note 10.1 keeps the look and ergonomics of the Galaxy Tab 10.1, the German version of the original created to comply with Apple’s patent lawsuits. Note the forward-facing speakers to either side of the screen. It’s a little thicker and heavier than the original, likely due to the extra Wacom hardware around the screen. Speaking of Wacom: the digitizer is a new and more accurate version of the original Note’s; while you can use the larger stylus that comes with the Note 10.1 on the smartphone, you won’t get the added benefit of extra precision. Unfortunately, there’s no bay in the Galaxy Note 10.1′s body to accommodate the larger S-Pen.


Samsung didn’t say when the Galaxy Note 10.1 would be made available, or for how much – but you can expect it to demand a premium over the other 10.-inch models. Keep a lookout at the Mobile World Congress portal this week for more hands-on looks at new hardware.


The new tablet gets an upgraded 1.4Ghz dual-core Exynos processor, but otherwise keeps the specifications of the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 edition. That includes an HSPA+ radio, at least in the version that Samsung is showing off at MWC. ON the software side it’s equipped with Ice Cream Sandwich and Samsung TouchWiz, plus Adobe Photoshop Touch and Adobe Ideas – a perfect compliment to the pen-based input. Samsung’s handwriting recognition in particular seems much advanced from the Gingerbread-based Galaxy Note smartphone.

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