Monday, 16 June 2014

Android 4.4.3 arriving on Samsung Galaxy S5 this month and S4 in July

A leaked document online shows that the Samsung Galaxy S5 is slated to get an update to Android 4.4.3 later this month and that its predecessor, the S4, can expect it next month.
The latest update to the popular mobile operating system began rolling out to Google Nexus and Motorola devices earlier this month. It makes sense that the largest manufacturer of Android devices (and indeed smartphones in general) will begin rolling out updates to its flagship handsets as quickly as possible after launch.
Although there are no major changes, bug fixes are in plentiful supply and the Dialler has been redesigned. This won't be present in Samsung's update though as the dialer is customized through TouchWiz.
The information originates from a document leaked to Android Geeks entitled 'KTU84 Update Status Report'. It lists development of the update for Galaxy S5 models SM-G900F and SM-G900H as being 'completed' with an ETA of June and development for Galaxy S4 model GT-I9506 as being in 'final testing' with an ETA of July.
Android Geeks warns, however, that although the dates sound as though they could be correct, the document originated from an anonymous tipster and advise to take the report with a pinch of salt. It does looks similar to other leaked internal Samsung update documents though that haa since proved correct so it could be a matter of just days, or at most, weeks before both S5 and S4 owners are running the latest edition of Android once again.

How Switzerland Scored The Most Dramatic Goal Of The World Cup So Far

In a sudden turn of events in the final seconds of their opening match, Switzerland took advantage of Ecuador's own missed opportunity and scored the most improbable and dramatic goal of the World Cup so far, giving the Swiss the win with just 20 seconds remaining.
It looked like Switzerland and Ecuador were headed towards the first tie of the World Cup. But in the final minute of stoppage time, Ecuador took advantage of a bad pass by Switzerland and started what looked like a promising counter-attack.
Snapshot_20140615_131349 
Ecuador's Antonio Valencia had a full head of steam and with four defenders back, it looked like he had a direct path to the goal and a chance for an open shot as the defenders were waiting for the cross.
Switzerland World Cup
 
As a defender closes in on Valencia he plays a perfect cross to an open teammate.

Snapshot_20140615_132204
 
But instead of taking a one-timer or an immediate shot, the Ecuadorian player hesitated, allowing two Swiss players to converge on the ball and close off any shooting lanes.

Switzerland
 
 A nice sliding tackle by one defender causes Ecuador to turn the ball over without even taking a shot.

Switzerland World Cup
Rather than defend the ball, three of the Ecuadorian players are now standing around and showing their disgust at the missed opportunity. This leaves Switzerland with an advantage on the attack.
Sensing the advantage, one player for Ecuador appeared to intentionally try to draw a foul so his team could reset.

Switzerland World Cup
Instead, the referee allowed the play to continue which allowed the attack to continue and effectively took another Ecuadorian player out of the play.

Switzerland World Cup
Amazingly, Ecuador has left themselves in a position where the Swiss have a 6-on-4 advantage in the final seconds of a tied match. A long cross to the other side sets up the final play.

Snapshot_20140615_134115
However, the play almost never happened as a high bounce on the pass nearly sent the ball out of bounds. Instead, Ricardo Rodriguez manages to get a toe of his boot on the ball and keep it in bounds.
Snapshot_20140615_134823 
Rodriguez manages to control the ball and move towards the box. Meanwhile, Haris Seferovic, who delivered the pass to Rodriguez from the other side, is now sprinting past the defenders in the box.

Snapshot_20140615_135309
 
A perfect pass from Rodriguez around the defender left a wide-open Seferovic with an easy shot into the top of the net.
Snapshot_20140615_135835
 
 The referee would blow the whistle 20 seconds later and the match was over and the celebration was on.
Snapshot_20140615_140341 
Especially for the Swiss Cheeseheads.
Snapshot_20140615_140439

Faisalabad industrial zone: Chinese group to invest $2b, set up largest spinning unit

According to officials, the textile park will create job opportunities for thousands of people, estimated at more than 35,000. PHOTO: FILE
FAISALABAD: A major Chinese group has purchased about one-fourth of land in an industrial zone, run by the Faisalabad Industrial Estate Development and Management Company (FIEDMC), and is expected to make an investment of $2 billion to set up a big cotton spinning facility.
Shandong Ruyi Technology Group has bought 1,036 acres of land out of the total area of 4,500 acres. It will name its part of the project as “Shandong Ruyi Textile Park”, officials say.
Overall, 72% of land has been sold in the M3 Industrial City, one of the largest schemes in the country. Many leading industrialists of the city, known as Manchester of Pakistan, have also acquired big pieces of land for setting up industrial units.

Shandong Ruyi, the fifth largest textile company of China, will establish a 600,000-spindle spinning factory in the industrial estate, which will become the largest spinning unit in Pakistan.
According to officials, the textile park will create job opportunities for thousands of people, estimated at more than 35,000. Shandong Ruyi has its own cotton fields in Australia and Vietnam from where it will import cotton to meet the needs of the spinning mill.
To meet its energy requirements and avoid disruption of work, the company will install a 135-megawatt coal-based power plant to run its unit. After fulfilling its requirements, the company plans to sell surplus electricity to other industrial units.
“This provides a huge opportunity to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply for running industrial units,” said Amir Saleemi, Chief Operating Officer of FIEDMC, in an interview to The Express Tribune.
According to him, the spinning mill will have an annual capacity to produce 157,000 tons of yarn, 500 million metres of Batik fabric, 100 million metres of denim fabric and 10 million pieces of jeans.
The Chinese group would also provide energy to other textile units, easing the pressure on Sui Northern Gas Pipelines, he said, terming it a big project that would open doors to employment opportunities and bring foreign exchange.
The group has split the project into two phases. In the first phase, it will set up the largest textile mill and in the second phase workshops and equipment, vending and packing units will be established over an area of 536 acres. Apartments for employees will be built over 200 acres of land as per international standards.
Overseas investors
“New businessmen and investors are also investing in the industrial estate, particularly overseas Pakistanis from Dubai, United Kingdom, United States and other countries,” said Saleemi.
The estate would play host to textile, pharmaceutical, food, cereal, cosmetics, electrical panel and power industries as well as rice processing factories, he said.
According to Saleemi, Pakistan’s largest private-sector steel mill has already become operational there while the biggest rice processing unit will also be set up.
Value-addition chains, spread over 225 acres, for small and medium-sized industries had already started working in designated zones, he said.
This is a gigantic project which will play a vital role in boosting national output. It will take at least two years before big industries become operational. According to the rules and regulations, businessmen, who buy plots, are bound to construct factories within two years.
Coal-based power plant
Overall, 650 mills will be established in the industrial estate. Few of them have already started working including the steel mill. They will receive uninterrupted electricity supply from a 100MW coal-based power plant that the management will develop.
To facilitate new investors, FIEDMC has sold plots on installments spread over four years, a period when investors will be able to build their units and start production, making it easier for them to pay installments. “Our motive is ‘pay as you earn’,” said Saleemi.
The company will also provide a combined effluent treatment plant to reduce the cost of production. Duty-free access to the European market would also bring new investors, Saleemi said.

iFind Bluetooth location tag throws out the batteries

We've seen wireless tags for locating items, or your smartphone, before, like Nokia's Treasure Tag or HTC's Fetch Tag. iFind, however, is a class above the rest, because without a battery, this thing, like that iconic Energizer rabbit, will just keep on going and going and going and going.

You might wonder how this tag will run without batteries. After all, it still has electronics inside it. According to makers WeTag, they are employing a patent pending process they call Electromagnetic (EM) harvesting, which gathers the kind of energy that is regularly emitted by things like Wi-Fi trasmitters, cellphone antennae, and more. The energy is then stored in specialized power banks to juice up the tag. And by using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), the tag consumes even less energy than regular Bluetooth devices.
ifind-2
This innovation affords iFind a few interesting advantages over other tags of its kind. First is that it is promised to last a lifetime, at least in terms of operational duration. It doesn't have batteries to recharge or die on you, so that you get to use the tag 24/7 without fear of a drained tag just when you need it the most. It also keeps the tag small and thin. It can easily be slipped into a wallet without adding any bulk. In all other aspects, the tag works just as any device of its class. You can pair as many iFind tags as you want with a smartphone running Android, or iOS, as long as the device and OS version supports Bluetooth 4.0. Each tag has its own unique ID which you can pass to friends to help you look for a tag, and whatever's attached to it, using the smartphone app. Looking for a tag is like a game or Marco Polo, but the app does try to estimate directions and distance to help you. Inversely, if it's the smartphone that you've misplaced, just shake the tag vigorously to trigger the app's alarm.
For now, iFind is only a Kickstarter project, but it seems to be quite popular, managing to raise $443,000 when it was only asking for $25,000. That allowed it to hit many of its stretch goal features, including one that will let users set a configurable distance before the tag triggers the alarm. If it manages to reach the $500,000 goal before the campaign ends in 14 days, WeTag will be adding a "Last Seen GPS Location" feature that will help narrow down the location of the tag, though the tag itself will not have any GPS hardware. All in all, not that bad for an immortal, wafer-thin tag that costs $18 on Kickstarter, $30 if you want it to come in pairs.

To meet energy needs: Pakistan, China to establish Special Purpose Vehicle

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in a meeting with the Chinese officials on Saturday. PHOTO: PID
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in a meeting with the Chinese officials on Saturday. PHOTO: PID Company to aid in fast-tracking work on 1,100MW Karachi coastal power project. CREATIVE COMMONS
ISLAMABAD:  As a measure to ease the deepening energy crisis, Pakistan and China may soon establish a specialised company to construct the 1,100-megawatt (MW) Karachi coastal nuclear power project that would aid the work being completed on a fast-track basis.
The issue of setting up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), a company being set up to achieve limited objectives, was discussed during a meeting between the Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Chinese Ambassador to Islamabad, Sun Weidong, according to officials.
The meeting was also attended by Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) Chairman Ansar Pervez and Attorney General of Pakistan Salman Butt.

The officials said that China also agreed to release a loan tranche of $330 million for carrying out work on the project. The PAEC will build the power plant Karachi Coastal Power at an estimated cost of $9.5 billion or Rs958 billion with the help of Chinese assistance. Out of the total cost, China will provide a loan of $6.4 billion.
It will be the second mega project after Chashma 3 and 4 power plants, known as C3 and C4, which are also under way with the help of China. Beijing is providing $1.3 billion out of the total cost of $1.9 billion of C3 and C4.

In an attempt to increase power generation, Pakistan is turning its attention to producing nuclear energy on a relatively bigger scale. According to the Energy Security Action Plan, the share of nuclear power will be increased in electricity production by installing 8,800MW nuclear power plants by 2030.
Nuclear plants will provide electricity at cheaper rates compared to power produced from thermal sources. At present, the country is experiencing a widening gap between power supply and demand, leading to extensive outages that disrupt life and business and shaves 3% off economic growth annually.
For Karachi Coastal Power, the government has allocated Rs12.2 billion in the budget for the next financial year 2014-15, beginning July. The officials said both countries decided to set up a project specific company as the government cannot spare Rs100 billion to Rs125 billion each year out of the thin federal Public Sector Development Programme.
They added the rupee component will still be shown in the PSDP. However, it was not immediately clear whether the $6.4 billion loan will be the liability of the company or the Pakistan government.
The government has decided to adopt a fast-track policy for the implementation of the projects starting with the Chinese cooperation, an official handout of Ministry of Finance quoted Finance Minister Ishaq Dar as saying.
It added as the country was experiencing a gap between power supply and demand, there was a need for early completion of ongoing energy projects which can help tackle energy shortages.
Dar stated that that these efforts were not only creating attractive opportunities for Chinese investment but new avenues of employment and trade were also opening for the people of Pakistan.
The Ambassador discussed avenues for enhancing bilateral cooperation in various fields between the two countries and appreciated Pakistan’s plans for the development projects initiated by the present government, the handout stated.

Sunday, 15 June 2014

The Leap Motion Controller

 A tiny device with huge possibilities.

The Leap Motion Controller tracks both hands and all 10 fingers with pinpoint precision and incredible speed. That wide-open space between you and your computer is now yours—to play, create and explore. Reach into another world without actually touching anything.

More details: https://www.leapmotion.com


The science behind Brazuca, the official ball of the 2014 World Cup

Brazil still needs to complete three stadiums, but their official soccer ball, the Brazuca, is perfect, scientists say.
Adidas_Brazuca
Image:Adidas/Wikipedia
A conventional soccer ball has 12 black pentagons and 20 white hexagons, good enough for a friendly match with your mates. But that design is so last century when it comes to the innovation needed for the 2014 World Cup.
Researchers in Japan compared the stability of the Brazuca, the official ball of this year’s World Cup, with other soccer ball designs used over the past five years, including the 14-panel Teamgeist 2, which was introduced in the 2008 Euro Cup, and the Jabulani, which was used at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
They tested the balls in wind tunnels to see if the wind changed the trajectory mid-air or if it affected the side and lift forces. Over at the LA Times Karen Kaplan explains the results of three tests:
The wind tunnel experiments revealed that the Brazuca was tops when it came to the stability of the drag forces (or air resistance) acting on the ball. All of the balls were tested in two different orientations, and the results for the Jabulani and the Cafusa were quite different depending on which side of the ball was facing into the wind. But the plots for the Brazuca were nearly identical in both conditions.
Another set of wind tunnel tests measured the side and lift forces of the balls as their (simulated) velocity increased from 20 to 30 meters per second. (In reality, the balls remained stationary and the wind blew faster.) Once again, the Brazuca performed well (though the Teamgeist 2 was better) and the Jabulani performed poorly.
In the final set of tests, each soccer ball was struck 40 times (20 times in each of two orientations) by an “impact-type kick robot” that delivered the ball to a goal net 25 meters away. The Brazuca and the conventional ball were most likely to wind up in the same part of the net after each kick. The flights of the other balls changed quite a bit depending on which side was facing the kicking robot.
The 8-panelled Jabulani, designed by Adidas, got the worst scores when it came to drag and both players and coaches have criticised its design, claiming that its trajectory tends to change direction.
But soccer teams will be happy with the Brazuca, also designed by Adidas. It has a circumference of 27 centimetres, six X-shaped panels that guarantee constant weight and roundness.
Let the games begin!

A new robot can read your emotions

Pepper is the first robot who knows what mood you're in, and can change his behaviour accordingly.

o-PEPPER-ROBOT-facebook.jpg
Image: Softbank
The robot, developed by Japanese company Softbank, uses sensors to read your mood, and will be released next year for under US$2,000.
Pepper was introduced to the world last week, and marks a historic moment in robot design.
The 1.2m, 28kg humanoid robot gets feedback about our moods via facial-recognition technology, cameras, audio records and sensors in its head, CNN reports.
And instead of being programmed, Pepper learns how to behave over time to make you happy. Their feedback is also uploaded to cloud storage so other units can modify their behaviour accordingly.
The rolling robot can also speak in 17 languages.
The inventors imagine Pepper will be useful as a household robot, but there's no word on whether it'll be for sale outside Japan as yet.

Intel unveils Devil’s Canyon, its first 4GHz CPU, plus a 20th-anniversary Pentium processor


Intel’s fifth-generation Core processor family—code-named Broadwell—might be late, but the company has cooked up a couple of brand-new Haswell-class desktop CPUs that PC enthusiasts are sure to dig. Code-named Devil’s Canyon, Intel unveiled the all-new Core i7-4790K and Core i5-4690K processors at Computex on Tuesday (Taiwan time). Intel is also marking the
20th anniversary of its Pentium processor by introducing the all-new Pentium G3258.

The Core i7-4790K is notable for its ability to run all four of its cores at a base clock frequency of 4.0GHz. Other Intel CPUs have been able to reach this frequency on one or several cores for brief periods (a burst mode Intel identifies as “Turbo Frequency”), but this new part will run that fast consistently and boast a turbo frequency up to 4.4GHz.

The new Core i5-4690K, meanwhile, will operate at a base clock speed of 3.5GHz with a turbo frequency up to 3.9GHz. Both new CPUs have unlocked clock multipliers, which will enable the end user to push these chips' operating frequencies even higher.
                   The Core i7-4790K is the first Intel CPU to run all four of its cores at 4.0GHz consistently. 


In an embargoed briefing last week, Intel VP Lisa Graff said Devil’s Canyon was developed on a very fast track, starting in December, 2013. “We gave our engineering team a target,” Graff said, “we wanted a part that could run at 4GHz on all four cores. But we also put a lot of restrictions on them: ‘You can’t change the cooling solution, you can’t change the socket, and it has to work with our existing chipsets.’”

Works with existing motherboards

That means the new parts will plug into existing motherboards with LGA 1150 sockets and either Intel’s Z87 or 9-series chipsets. Graff said that motherboard manufacturers will need to tweak their Z87 boards to accommodate the new CPUs, in part because the chips' TDP (thermal design profile) has edged up from 84 to 88 watts.
Intel’s engineers “hit the two things you need to address to crank up the frequency,” Graff said, “You need to make some packaging changes, so they added a huge number of capacitors to deliver smooth power. And they produced a new thermal solution that works with existing cooling solutions.”
Intel Devil's Canyon logo
           Intel's Devil's Canyon logo.
The new thermal solution Graff spoke of is known by its very long acronym: NGPTIM (Next-Generation Polymer Thermal Interface Material). It’s essentially grease that the factory applies to the heat spreader housing the processor.
When a heatsink and fan (in an air-cooled system) or a water block (in a liquid-cooling system) is clamped to the CPU, the grease spreads over the top of the chip's heat spreader and helps transfer heat from the chip package to the heatsink or water block so it can be dissipated.
Consumers will be able to buy the new CPUs with or without Intel’s own heatsink and fan, but I predict most DIYers will favor third-party cooling solutions from the likes of Corsair, Zalman, NZXT, and others.
While both Devil’s Canyon parts are quad-core CPUs, the Core i7 variant supports eight execution threads, where the Core i5 model supports only four. By the same token, the Core i7-4790K will have 8MB of cache, where the Core i5-4690K has 6MB. But both processors will have the same integrated graphics processor—an Intel HD 4600—and both will be capable of addressing DDR3/1600 memory over two channels. Intel expects the new Core i7 part to sell for $339 and the Core i5 for $242 (that’s for quantities of 1000 without a heatsink and fan).
Intel Devil's Canyon and 20th anniversary Pentium
Intel is introducing a new unlocked Pentium processor: The Pentium 3258.

The Pentium reinvented

Graff also unveiled an unlocked Pentium processor, the Pentium G3258. It will operate at a base frequency of 3.2GHz, but like the Devil’s Canyon parts, it will have an unlocked multiplier to attract PC enthusiasts. This dual-core part will have integrated Intel HD Graphics and be capable of addressing DDR3/1333 memory over two channels. It will be compatible with Socket 1150 motherboards with Intel 8- or 9-series chipsets, and it will have a TDP of 53 watts. Intel expects it to cost $72 (in quantities of 1000, without a heatsink or fan).
This isn't the first time Intel has revealed information about Devil's Canyon and the new Pentium processor. Graff discussed both parts at a press briefing related to the 2014 Game Developers' Conference in March.

HP’s new technology rethinks computer architecture

The Machine is six times more powerful than existing computational devices.

HP has unveiled a new machine that has the potential to revolutionise computing and cope with the massive amounts of data generated by mobile devices and the Internet of things (a network composed of household appliances, cars, vending machines and many other devices).

The Machine is designed to cope with tonnes of information by using clusters of special-purpose cores that are more efficient than generalised cores. It is wired with photonics instead of copper wires, meaning it consumes 80 times less energy and is much faster. According to HP, it can handle 160 petabytes of data in 250 nanoseconds.

The Machine is six times more powerful than existing servers. However, the first models powered by this technology won’t be commercially available until 2018.

National Engineering Robotics Competition(NERC) 2014

 
Event Details
  • Start Date Friday 20th June 2014
  • End Date Monday 23rd June 2014
  • Start Time 10:00 AM
  • End Time 8:00 PM
  • Website http://www.nerc.com.pk/
 
  • Venue College of Electrical & Mechanical Engineering, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
  • Address
    College of Electrical & Mechanical Engineering, Peshawar Road, near Daewoo Terminal, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
  • City Islamabad
  • Contact 0519278050
     
    NERC (National Engineering Robotics Competition), an annual competition conducted by the Mechatronics Department at the College of E&ME;, NUST.

    NERC (National Engineering Robotics Competition) is a hands-on, learn-by-doing engineering contest, in which participants design and build a robot that will play in a competition at the end of June 2014. The goal for the students is to design a machine that will be able to navigate its way around the playing surface with the robots being totally autonomous, so once a round begins, there is no human intervention!

    Though there are no formal prerequisites for NERC, we’ve found that students can learn everything they need to know by working with each other, and mostly, by hacking on their robots.
    For more info,
    Visit our facebook page:
    https://www.facebook.com/nerc.eme
    Visit our website:
    http://www.nerc.com.pk/
     

Saturday, 14 June 2014

Specification of PM Youth Laptops to be Distributed Among 100,000 students

Laptops to be distributed among 100,000 Talented students will have the following specifications:



Model: Haier 7G – 5H 4005
Inter Core i3 1.7 GHz
[Basic Parameters ]
Category Notebook
Time to market in December 2013
Product Type Home
The thin portable product positioning , Ultrabook notebook
Operating system pre-installed Windows 8
[ Processor ]
CPU series Intel Core i3 4 -generation family
CPU Type Intel Core i3 4005 U
CPU clocked at 1700.000(1.7GHz)
Core frequency 2000.000
3MB cache
Motherboard chipset Intel QM87
[Storage Device ]
Memory capacity 4GB (4GB RAM)
Memory type DDR3 1333MHz
Hard disk capacity 500GB
Hard to describe 5400
No built-in CD-ROM drive type
[ Display ]
Screen size 14.000
Screen resolution 1366×768
[ Graphics ]
Two graphics card type ( performance -level graphics card + integrated graphics )
Graphics chip NVIDIA GeForce GT 740M + Intel GMA HD 4400
Memory Type DDR3
Memory capacity 2GB
128bit memory interface
[ Audio ]
Built-in audio chip audio system
Speaker Built-in speaker
[ Camera / network communications ]
Camera 720p HD webcam
Wireless LAN 802.11b/g/n wireless protocol
[ Interface ]
3 × USB2.0 data interface
Video Interface VGA, HDMI
Reader -in-1 card reader
Audio interface headphone output interface
[ Input Device ]
Touchpad pointing device
Chocolate Keyboard Keyboard description
[ Power Description ]
Battery Type 4-cell lithium battery
Life specific time depending on use environment
[Appearance]
Notebook Weight 2100
Shell material magnesium alloy
Description Hyun brushed steel casing
[ Warranty Information ]
Warranty Policy Genius, enjoy Warranty Services
Warranty time 1 year

25 Super Cool Gadgets You Should Have Before You Die

FIFA fever: Pakistani fans flock to Brazil to witness biggest sporting carnival


ISLAMABAD: Around 500 excited Pakistani fans are travelling to Brazil to witness the biggest sporting carnival- the 2014 FIFA Football World Cup, Brazilian Ambassador in Pakistan Alfredo Leoni said on Thursday.
“We have issued visas to around 200 people from Pakistan, while the rest of Pakistanis are travelling to our country from other parts of the world,” Leoni told Rawalpindi Islamabad Sports Journalists Association (RISJA) here at Brazilian Embassy.
A RISJA delegation led by its chairperson, Syed Ehteshamul Haq and President Nasir Raja called on Brazilian Ambassador and presented him a souvenir in connection with FIFA World Cup that rolls into action in Brazil on Thursday.
Leoni praised Pakistan for supplying the balls for the World Cup and added that he was optimistic that the friendship and economic ties between the two countries would bolster in the years to come.
He said football is the world’s most popular sport and the fact that FIFA chose Pakistan to manufacture footballs for the World Cup tournament is not only an honour for Pakistan but also for him.
“Though Pakistan is 164th ranked soccer team, it has left all others behind in production of quality balls. I feel proud to be Ambassador in a country whose 100 percent balls would be used in the FIFA World Cup,” he added.
Pakistan produces around 70 percent of the total number of hand-made soccer balls in the world. Around the time of the World Cup the production jumps to more than 60 million balls. Sialkot is the hub of the country’s football manufacturing industry.
Apart from producing footballs, cricket bats, and badminton rackets for domestic consumption, this small town also exports to the rest of the world.
Syed Ehtesham and Nasir Raja said that Brazil is amongst the top favorites in the 32-nation event and expressed their good wishes for Brazilian team and the nation. Brazil has come a long way since 2010 with a young squad eager to dominate in the international arena.

10 Best Natural Places to Visit in Pakistan

Natural beauty is un matched. Pakistan have world most beautiful places for visit, specially at its best in northern areas of Pakistan and Kashmir region. This part of the country is famous all around the world because of sky high mountains, lush green valleys, mighty rivers, beautiful lakes, and amazing wildlife. The Pradise on Earth ‘Neelum Valley’ Mini Switzerland ‘Swat Valley’ and Mountain Kingdom ‘Hunza valley’ are the major tourist attractions in Pakistan. All these places are real natural beauty of the world. Here, below is a list of top 10 Best Natural Places to Visit in Pakistan. The naturally beautiful places of Pakistan, you will not found these beautiful places all over the world.

Top 10 Best Natural Places to Visit in Pakistan

1. Neelum Valley


Neelam Valley is a 144 km long bow-shaped valley in Azad Kashmir Region. The Valley is situated at the North & North-East of Muzaffarabad (The Capital of Azad Kashmir). Running through the Lesser Himalaya, the Neelam River valley has excellent scenic beauty, panoramic views, towering hills on both sides of the noisy Neelum river, lush green forests, enchanting streams and attractive surroundings make the valley a dream come true.
Neelum valley is one of most attractive place for tourists due to its famous lush greenery, springs, streams,lakes and hilly and sloppy mountains. Some of its famous places like Athmuqam, Kutton Jagran, Karen, Neelum, Ratti Galli, Baboon, Noori top, Sharda, Sharda Fort, Sharda University (The Oldest University of Sub-Continent) Kel, Surgon, Halmet, Taobut and many more.

2. Hunza Valley

 

The Hunza Valley is a mountainous valley in the Gilgit–Baltistan region , It was formerly a princely state. The Hunza valley is situated north/west of the Hunza River, at an elevation of around 2,500 metres. The Valley has three Regions – Upper Hunza (Gojal); Center Hunza and Lower Hunza.
Hunza valley is the most beautiful place to visit and have many places to see. Some of these beautiful places are. Rakaposhi Base Camp; Diran Base Camp; Hoper Glacier; Passue and Gulmit; Khunjrab Pass; Atta Abad lake and Nagar valley.

3. Swat Valley


Swat is a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. It is the upper valley of the Swat River, which rises in the Hindu Kush range.
Swat Valley, Mini Switzerland of Pakistan has many attraction for visiting such as Mahodand Valley & Lake, Natural Ushu Valley & Ushu Forest, Malam Jabba (Famous ski resort in Swat Valley), Madyan, Swat & Kalam Vallies, Bonir, Der and many other naturaly beautiful sites.

4. Kalash Valley

 

Kalash Valley is one of the major tourist attractions in Pakistan. This is situated in the Chitral district of Pakistan. This valley has a historic background but its history has controversies. Kelash is actually a very old Greek civilization. The people belonging to this civilization are called ‘The Kelash’. Belongs to old tribes and have their own religion and culture. This valley has a unique and amazing culture. The People here live in small villages which they built on the hill sides. These villages are at the banks of the streams and rivers. People construct their homes with rough shaped logs. People of Kalash are cheerful, they celebrates many festivals like Uchal Festival, Phoo Festival and Chomos Festival. There are many attractive sites for visiting.

5. Kaghan Valley

 

The Kaghan Valley is a beautiful valley in the north-east of Mansehra District . It attracts many tourists from not only Pakistan but also from the whole world. Laying in lower Himalayan mountains range, the Kaghan valley, famous for its bewitching splendor and natural beauty, is one of the most charming tourist resorts in scenic Hazara division. There are many beautiful and attractive spots like Shogran, Jared, Naran,Lake Saiful Muluk, Lake Dudipat Sar, Lake Lulu Sar, Babusar Pass and much more to do.

6. Murree Hills

 

This is a summer hill station, summer resort and is sitated in Murree, the subdivision of Rawalpindi District. Murree was the summer capital of the British Raj in the Punjab Province. People from all over the Pakistan wish to go there in summer to enjoy its beauty and in winter season for astonishing experience of snowfall. Bhurban and New Murree (Patriata) are a main tourist center. One of the most favorite tourist point of Murree is Galliat, it has fascinating greenery and scenic beauty that attracts tourist belonging different regions of Asia. Most Popular Picnic Points of Murree Hills are Dunga Gali , Muskpuri Hill , Nathia Gali, Bara Gali and Mall Road.

7. Shandur Pas

 

Shandur – The Highest Polo Ground on Earth, is about 3738 meter an above sea level and lies midway between Chitral and Gilgit. Each summer a hug event called the Shandur polo festival is organized here, which is a big source of attraction for the tourists. Different come against each other in this freestyle contest. The pass is generally unpopulated and passing through its snow covered slopes in winters is an exceptionally difficult adventure. The polo ground is about 168 Km from the main town Chitral and accessible by jeep. The road is closed during winter due to heavy snow.

8. Rawalakot

 

Rawalakot is a town in Azad Kashmir, and is the district headquarter of Poonch Division. It is in a beautiful valley surrounded by hills, which is located 80 km away from Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Rawalakot is a summer visiting point The winters in Rawalakot are cold and chilly. There are many attraction for visitors like Banjosa; Toli Pir; Poonch River; Tatta Pani; Banjosoa Lake; Sudhngalli and many more.

9. Ziarat

 

Ziarat is the capital of Ziarat District, Balochistan, Pakistan. Ziarat is a famous holiday resort of Balochistan and nearly every trip from Karachi to Quetta stops at Ziarat. Ziarat was the summer residence of the chief commissioner of Baluchistan, and sanatorium for the European troops at Quetta. There is a good water supply, and the hills around are well-wooded and picturesque. A visit to Quetta is incomplete without a trip to Ziarat. Ziarat is a hill station in the Sibi district of the province of Baluchistan. It remains quite cool during summer and receives enough snowfall during the winter.

10. Jehlum Valley

This is an ideal valley of Azad Kshmir region for both the domestic and international tourists. The curling river Jhelum passes through from East to West between the high green mountains of this valley. This valley has a most beautiful valley “Leepa Valley” . This is the most fascinating & loveliest valley in Azad Kashmir. Its lush green rice fields in summer and typical wooden Kashmiri houses present a wonderful view to the people visiting the area. Walnut, Apple, Cherry and honey of Leepa are very popular and in great demand. There are many visiting sites like Peerchanasi, Chikar, Chinary, Leepa, Chakothi, Ghari Dopatta, Chokothi Cham-fall and Zilzaal Lake.



 

Self-driving cars are not a thing of the past

Automated Commuting — A way for commuters to have separate automobiles yet leave the driving to computers has been developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.... [Engineers] call the car a Commucar. It could be driven and parked anywhere on any road, but would also be suitable for use under automatic control on special, 60-mile-an-hour main arteries…. The Commucar would be a light, compact, electric auto that would have arms on each side. It could draw power through either arm from an electric siderail while it was on a Commucar throughway. It would also be steered and switched at junctions through these arm-siderail connections.

UPDATE

Engineers have not given up on self-driving cars. Instead of the mostly mechanical approach envisioned in 1964, newer versions run on batteries and use sensors and GPS to go driverless without connecting to tracks or rails. In May, Google revealed a prototype of their first planned self-driving car. The company’s test vehicles have logged more than 700,000 driverless miles.

Google Nexus 6 Release Date, Specs and Rumors

Every year sees the release of a brand new smartphone by Google in the Nexus series.
Google unveiled Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 in the late 2012 and 2013, respectively, giving rise to speculations regarding the late 2014 release of Nexus 6—expected to be launched as Android Silver—a new project by Google.

A representative from Google Sundar Pichai revealed in February that the Nexus phone will not be released during the first half of 2014. No further details regarding the launch were made public. Gadget leaker @evleaks has updated that the Nexus-like mobile phone, which could not necessarily be branded as Nexus, is not expected until February 2015.

Among many rumors churned out by the rumor mill, there are plenty of leaks regarding the the performance of Google Nexus 6. If these rumors are to be believed, the performance of the latest gadget by Google will be nothing less than 16 times the performance of a customary smartphone. Apparently, 16 nm scale chipsets are being manufactured for the smartphone, with a battery life supported by 3100-mAh, accompanied by True Octa-Core with 2.4GHz processor to ensure a performance that is unbeatable. The device could be available in 64GB and 128GB versions.

With a cloud of doubt hanging over the existence of Nexus 6, not much has been revealed in terms of features and specs. The much talked about smartphone could feature a 5-inch Ultra HD display. The camera sensor of the phone would apparently be 20MP with ultra low light sensitivity. The 4GB smartphone could come with health, thermo and atmosphere sensor, in addition to a fingerprint sensor. Reports also suggest that Nexus 6 could be made by LG, using LG G3 as a reference device. Maybe Nexus 5 having used the LG G2 as a reference fueled the buzz.

The story has taken an interesting turn as @evleaks has reported that Nexus 6 is dead and that Google will shift focus to the rumored Android Silver project, which could be aimed at the iPhone and could function in the manner of Google Nexus program.

Reportedly, Android Silver could make use of several manufacturers, with LG and Motorola being rumored as two of the companies involved. Intel has suggested that Android Silver devices would get quick software updates, will offer high-end hardware and will be launched in the United States, Japan and Germany.

One of the first Android Silver devices could be an LG-made device. This might have been the culprit behind these Nexus 6 rumors. For all we know, Nexus 6 could still make it.