Archive for 2016

Real Madrid v Wolfsburg: Cristiano Ronaldo's stunning Champions League goalscoring stats

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Cristiano Ronaldo is the top scorer in Champions League history - and his remarkable goalscoring feats continued against Wolfsburg on Tuesday night.
The Real Madrid star equalled Lionel Messi's mark of five Champions League hat-tricks with a treble to help Real overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit and see them through to the semi-finals.
Ronaldo had broken his own record for goals in the group stage of the Champions League by scoring 11 in six games in the first half of the campaign - including four in the 8-0 win over Malmo. That bettered his previous best group-stage haul of nine, which was matched by Luiz Adriano last season. 
He then netted twice in Real Madrid's last-16 win over Roma, and his latest hat-trick against Wolfsburg means he leads the Champions League scoring charts this term with 16 goals from 10 appearances.
Only Ronaldo himself has scored more in a single Champions League campaign - he hit 17 in the 2013/14 season.
His treble on Tuesday puts him eight clear of second-placed Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich. Barcelona rival Messi is down in fifth with six goals this term.

Ronaldo's rapid hat-trick

Ronaldo's final three goals against Malmo came in an 11-minute burst - the third-fastest treble in Champions League history. Only Mike Newell (nine minutes for Blackburn v Rosenborg) and Bafetimbi Gomis (seven minutes for Lyon v Dinamo Zagreb) were quicker.
The Real forward has now scored 34 goals in 36 Champions League knockout appearances for the Spanish club.
In total, Ronaldo has 93 Champions League goals in his career - 10 more than Messi - and has gone level on hat-tricks scored with the Barca forward.

Vitamin D 'heals damaged hearts'

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By James GallagherHealth editor, BBC News website
  • 4 April 2016
    •  
  • From the sectionHealth
Man in the sunImage copyrightThinkstock
Vitamin D supplements may help people with diseased hearts, a study suggests.
A trial on 163 heart failure patients found supplements of the vitamin, which is made in the skin when exposed to sunlight, improved their hearts' ability to pump blood around the body.
The Leeds Teaching Hospitals team, who presented at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology, described the results as "stunning".
The British Heart Foundation called for longer trials to assess the pills.
Vitamin D is vital for healthy bones and teeth and may have important health benefits throughout the body but many people are deficient.
The average age of people in the study was 70 and, like many people that age, they had low levels of vitamin D even in summer.
"They do spend less time outside, but the skin's ability to manufacture vitamin D also gets less effective [with age] and we don't really understand why that is," said consultant cardiologist Dr Klaus Witte.
Patients were given either a 100 microgram vitamin D tablet or a sugar pill placebo each day for a year.
And researchers measured the impact on heart failure - a condition in which the heart becomes too weak to pump blood properly.
The key measure was the ejection fraction, the amount of blood pumped out of the chambers of the heart with each beat.
In a healthy adult, the figure is between 60% and 70%, but only a quarter of the blood in the heart was being successfully pumped out in the heart failure patients.
But in those taking the vitamin pills, the ejection fraction increased from 26% to 34%.
Dr Witte told the BBC News website: "It's quite a big deal, that's as big as you'd expect from other more expensive treatments that we use, it's a stunning effect.
"It's as cheap as chips, has no side effects and a stunning improvement on people already on optimal medical therapy, it is the first time anyone has shown something like this in the last 15 years."
The study also showed the patients' hearts became smaller - a suggestion they are becoming more powerful and efficient.
Topless manImage copyrightThinkstock
In the UK, people over 65 are advised to take 10 microgram supplements of the vitamin.
However, Dr Witte does not think high-dose vitamin D should be routine prescribed just yet.
He told the BBC: "We're a little bit off that yet, not because I don't believe it, but data have shown improvements in heart function, they may show improvements in symptoms and we now need a large study."
It is also not clear exactly how vitamin D is improving heart function, but it is thought every cell in the body responds to the vitamin.
Most vitamin D comes from sunlight, although it is also found in oily fish, eggs and is added to some foods such as breakfast cereals.
Prof Peter Weissberg, from the British Heart Foundation, cautioned that the patients seemed no better at exercise.
And added: "A much bigger study over a longer period of time is now needed to determine whether these changes in cardiac function can translate into fewer symptoms and longer lives for heart failure patients."

Facebook Plots Secret Chat for Messenger

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By David Jones 
Facebook apparently has been working on mobile pay and secret chat features for its Messenger app, according to a report published this week by The Information, based on clues found in extracted software code on Messenger for iPhone.
Facebook Plots Secret Chat for Messenger
Commands embedded in the software hint at secret conversations, similar to what's found in WhatsApp, the voice and messaging service owned by Facebook, according to the report.
Other references reportedly found in the code include commands to pay in person and pay in Messenger when picking up an item.
"Since Facebook has long said it would continue to develop and support its own message app, it makes sense that it would adopt specific WhatsApp features into its own solutions," said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT.

Mobile Piggyback

The mobile pay feature is credible as well, King told TechNewsWorld. However, it remains unclear whether Facebook would compete with Android Pay and Apple Pay directly, or if it would piggyback on one of those services.
"That would require a far lower initial investment and less risk than starting its own service, and eliminate the complexities of negotiating partnerships with banks and financial services," King said.
Facebook does not intend to get into the payments business directly, but would consider partnering with other companies, CEO Mark Zuckerberg indicated during a conference call with analysts earlier this year.
"On payments, the basic strategy that we have is to make it -- especially in a product like Messenger -- that, where the business interaction may be a bit more transactional, to take all the friction out of making the transactions that you need," he said.
"So we don't view ourselves as a payments business. That's not the type of company that we are. We'll partner with everyone who does payments," Zuckerberg added.
Other possible additions to Messenger include shopping and delivery features, and the ability to synchronize calendars so users can update to-do lists, share articles and update their status.

Digital Assist?

The rumored features have the potential to turn Messenger into a virtual digital assistant, according to Susan Schreiner, an analyst at C4 Trends.
"Potentially, it could learn our likes and dislikes, make suggestions about articles to read or e-books to purchase," she told TechNewsWorld. "The Messenger app already enables you to send money to friends, so the next logical step would be using the app for in-store purchases."
Facebook would have to overcome a couple of hurdles, said Paul Teich, principal analyst at Tirias Research.
"Facebook is an advertising distribution channel," he told TechNewsWorld. "Mobile pay will give them more insight into personal transactions. It will be a crowded market, but they have mindshare and are on a huge number of smartphones in good buying demographics."
If the company really wants to turn the secret chat feature into a confidential experience like WhatApp's, it will have to be willing to give up certain information, Teich said.
"Secret chat would presumably keep no record at all of messages sent," he said. "That means metadata too -- otherwise throwing away the message payload, but keeping data such as time and length of messages, sender and receiver."

Windows 10 'blue screen of death' could actually become useful

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Windows 10 users who dread the "blue screen of death" could one day find it helpful, if news of an upcoming feature turns out to be correct.
An unloved staple in Windows for years, the blue screen of death can pop up whenever some type of hardware or software problem, such as a memory conflict or a bad driver, causes your PC to crash. In the past, BSODs said either very little or too much, most of which was indecipherable to the average person. But that could be changing with the next major update toWindows 10.
Due for official release this summer, the free Anniversary Edition of Windows 10 will add a QR code to the BSOD screen, according to a Reddit user who posted a shot of the screen. You'd be able to scan that code using your phone and be directed to a Web page that could shed light on the cause of the crash. You could also relay the information to a Microsoft support rep, who might then be better equipped to determine the source of the bug and even help you troubleshoot or fix it.
After the lackluster response to Windows 8, Microsoft is eager to show that its successor, Windows 10, is an appealing and easy to use operating system. Bugs are a fact of life. But the new BSOD could turn what has always been an annoying and perplexing screen into something that could be helpful in the event of a problem.
The Windows 10 Anniversary Edition is currently available in preview mode for users of the Windows Insider Program. Through the Insider Program, freely available for any Windows user, you can receive advanced previews of upcoming editions of Windows 10 and offer Microsoft your questions, comments or criticisms.
For now, the QR code brings you to a generic page that explains how to troubleshoot blue screen errors. If the feature is finalized, though, the code presumably would take you to a page dedicated to whatever specific problem crashed your PC.
When asked about the new BSOD, a Microsoft spokeswoman sent CNET the following statement:
"We are constantly experimenting with existing and new features in the Windows 10 Insider Preview in an effort to improve the user experience with Windows 10. We encourage Windows Insiders to share their feedback in the Feedback Hub app."
courtsey:http://www.cnet.com/

After Android M update, should you buy Samsung S7 edge or S6 edge?

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Apart from ‘Always-On’ display and concierge service, the older S6 edge now features same software functionalities found on the new S7 edge, which costs around Rs 56,900.


 NEW DELHI: Samsung has finally pushed the latest Android Marshmallow update to its Galaxy S6 edge. Indian consumers have already reported receiving it. The new software update package also adds edge screen features,introduced on S7 edge, to the older S6 edge.

Apart from 'Always-On' display and concierge service, the older S6 edge now features same software functionalities found on the new S7 edge, which costs around Rs 56,900. The older flagship is available for as low as Rs 40,999.

The S7 edge boasts better performance, camera, IP68 water and dust proofing and sports a new design. However, consumers looking for an alternative to iPhone 6/6S (16GB) or someone keen on buying the S7 edge but cannot afford it, the S6 edge would offer same edge screen advantage.

The S6 edge doesn't support microSD cards like S7 edge. Users will have to stick to around 25GB of onboard storage on the 32GB version.

Samsung via its My Galaxy app has also introduced an buyback scheme for S6 edge users. This allows people to get a discount, in the price range of between Rs 20,000 and Rs 22,000, while exchanging it with a new S7 edge unit. The discount price depends on the condition and age and is determined by Cashify. The app suggests a discount price and nearest store which is offering the upgrade scheme.

Read also: Galaxy S7 vs Lg G5 vs iPhone 6S

Both Galaxy S7 and S7 edge smartphones sport similar hardware. While the Galaxy S7 offers a 5.1-inch display, weigh 152 gram and is powered by a 3,000mAh battery, on the other hand, the bigger S7 edge sports a 5.5-inch display, 3,600mAh battery and weighs 5 gram more. The two new high-end smartphones have a Quad HD Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels.


Samsung has finally brought back the microSD card slot. They now support up to 200GB microSD cards.
Courtsey: Time of India

Facebook tests tech to help blind people enjoy photos

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Facebook tests tech to help blind people enjoy photos

  Last Updated On 05 April,2016 10:19 am
The technology works across Facebook's family of applications.
MENLO PARK (AFP) - Facebook on Monday began using artificial intelligence to help people with visual impairments enjoy photos posted at the leading social network.
Facebook introduced machine learning technology trained to recognize objects in pictures and then describe photos aloud.
"As Facebook becomes an increasingly visual experience, we hope our new automatic alternative text technology will help the blind community experience Facebook the same way others enjoy it," said accessibility specialist Matt King.
The feature was being tested on mobile devices powered by Apple iOS software and which have screen readers set to English.
Facebook planned to expand the capability to devices with other kinds of operating systems and add more languages, according to King, who lost his vision as a US college student studying electrical engineering.
The technology works across Facebook’s family of applications and is based on a "neural network" taught to recognize things in pictures using millions of examples.
More than two billion pictures are shared daily across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp, King said.
"While this technology is still nascent, tapping its current capabilities to describe photos is a huge step toward providing our visually impaired community the same benefits and enjoyment that everyone else gets from photos," King said.
The Silicon Valley-based social network said that it was moving slowly with the feature to avoid potentially offensive or embarrassing gaffes when it comes to automatically describing what is in pictures.
Words used in descriptions included those related to transportation, outdoors settings, sports, food, and people’s appearances.
The Facebook technology made its debut less than a week after Microsoft enticed software developers with a suite of offerings that let them tap into the power of cloud computing, big data, and machine learning.
The Cortana Intelligence Suite boasted the ability to let applications see, hear, speak, understand and interpret people’s needs.
Microsoft said that a "Seeing AI" research project was underway to show how those capabilities could be woven into applications to help people who are visually impaired or blind better learn what is around them, say by scanning scenes with smartphone cameras or specially equipped eyewear.
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