Add power to your mobile phone: Qualcomm's SnapDragon

First on the list of common annoyances are underpowered smartphones that take too long to perform tasks or crash when more than two applications are open. One potential answer could be Qualcomm's Snapdragon chipset which its makers claim is about 50% more powerful than those in current smartphones.

The first versions of the chipset run at 1Ghz and help to power hi-res graphics, new user interfaces, while running Windows Mobile.The Toshiba TG01 is the first handset to sport it. Qualcomm is working on a version that runs at 1.5Ghz - which, it claims, will be broadly equivalent to the processors found in most netbooks.

Enrico Salvatori, vice president at Qualcomm, said the chipset's ability to support applications is what makes "the mobile internet user experience compelling". "The Snapdragon is delivering high performance in terms of multimedia, video, high definition, encoding and decoding, and supporting of a camera", he said.

Qualcomm has also developed Mirasol screens that draw their inspiration from structures found in nature. The screens use tiny amounts of battery power and can be seen in bright daylight. Reflective properties on the device's screen produce brighter images outdoors, according to Cheryl Goodman-Schwarzman from Qualcomm MEMS. "Colour comes in to the display, and it reflects back out colour. The brighter the light, the clearer the display," she said.

Everyday is Valentines' day for Mr. M. Noor 34 and wife Wok 103! David Lim, Auckland, New Zealand

KUALA TERENGGANU, MALAYSIA, 15-2-2009: When Muhammad Noor Che Musa and Wok Kundor tied the knot just over three years ago, nobody gave their marriage much of a chance to survive. After all, he had just turned 34 and the bride was 103.

Wok Kundor and her husband Muhammad Noor Che Musa are deeply committed to each other despite the big age gap.

Now, three years on, the couple who reside in Kampung Tok Bak near here have surprised many by staying happily married and proving that love will conquer all, if given a chance.

Noor, from Tanah Merah, said almost every family member, friend and neighbour had once dismissed his decision to marry Wok as a desperate attempt for companionship.

"In the beginning, we were the talk of the town, if not the whole state and country. We ended up in the news a few times.
"But now, most of the people I care about, especially my family and close friends, have accepted Wok as my life partner. Most of our neighbours have also accepted that this marriage is for the long-haul," he said yesterday.

Wok, who was born in Bachok but has been living in Kuala Berang district for more than 50 years, said some neighbours hurled hurtful remarks at them in the beginning but patience and perseverance finally won them over.

"I couldn't say the same about the press though, as from time to time, some newspaper or magazine from as far as Singapore, Indonesia, China and Japan will come looking for stories.

"They must have been disappointed to find out that we're living a normal life.

"Sometimes, I just wish that people will leave us alone but I guess there's really no chance of that happening as there are not many 106-year-old women with 37-year-old husbands," she said laughingly.

When asked how it had all began, Noor said it was certainly not love at first sight. What started as friendship developed into something stronger and eventually led to a matrimonial bond which, according to him, would only take death to part them.

"I know some people are wondering why we decided to get married but rest assured that it has nothing to do with material things as we are living modestly on my income as odd-job labourer and Wok's RM200 allowance from the Welfare Department," he said.

"I don't know how poor we are but we lost most of our worldly possession, including television set, washing machine, stove, fans and even our beds when our house was burgled in December. We have yet to replace some of the items."

Wok was quick to add that the most important thing was they had each other.

She claimed it was a good thing that they did not have their television set as it had given them more time to read the Quran together.

As for the secret to their blissful marriage, Wok said like any other, theirs also had some ups and downs but she added it was vital to remember not to go to bed angry with each other.

When asked if he had to make sacrifices in order to be with Wok, Noor said it was no sacrifice at all and that he had never been happier.

Both husband and wife also admitted they were not too familiar with Valentine's Day but said if it meant a day for professing love for one another, then every day for the past three years had been Valentine's for them.

Force Trainer Toy Uses Your Brainwaves to Imitate Yoda-Like Telekinesis (David Lim, Auckland, New Zealand)

Here's one of the most interesting tech toys that have recently emerged from the toy crafting laboratories of Uncle Milton Industries. The Force Trainer is special both because of its affiliation to the Star Wars universe, and because of the innovative technology it uses.

The device has a headset that translates the intensity of your brainwaves into what looks like Force telekinesis powers. If you are strong in the Brainwave Force, you will see a ball move upwards inside a 10-inch tall tube. Just don't try to imagine Darth Vader using the Force Trainer, or the entire thing will be a little too ludicrous, even to veteran fans of the SW franchise. You will have to shed about $100 from your money mound if you want to try out your Jedi potential.

The Force Trainer's brainwave-based system is, in fact, a modified version of similar devices normally used for EEG medical testing. The more you focus on the sphere, the more it will rise, which is cool, even without the Star Wars wrapping. Now, don't you go and picture a brainwave flow emitted by your noggin and delicately nudging the “training sphere.” The ball is actually pushed by a volume of air released when the device detects a certain quantifiable amount of brainwaves from the user.

The creators of the toy probably know they've got a sweet deal going on here, but they still slapped on some Star Wars-like sound effects for good measure - which will probably become boring after a while. Hopefully, there will also be an option for turning them off. After all, a true Jedi needs absolute concentration, disregarding trivial annoyances. Do you really think Obi-Wan Kenobi paid any attention to the musical score, despite its coolness?

Anyway, it's still a little strange to see this kind of technology just waltzing in people's homes. Strange, but also encouraging, in the big picture.

5 Things You Didn't Know: The Department Of Defense

The United States Department of Defense is an agency of superlatives: the DOD is the country’s largest government agency and its oldest, and it is the primary occupant of the Pentagon, the biggest office building in the world. Yet for all that, its official statement on what it does is remarkably blunt: “We are war-fighters first and as such, have no peers.” In general, the DOD handles issues related to national security and military affairs, making it the primary target for groups who resent U.S. military involvement overseas. Love it or hate it, we present 5 things you didn’t know about the United States Department of Defense.

1- The DOD's budget equals Exxon and Wal-Mart combined

Just what kind of monstrosity is the DOD? It employs over three million people, 1.3 million of them on active duty in the military, qualifying it as America’s largest employer. It operates on a gargantuan annual budget of $419 billion, a 2006 total that falls just shy of matching the annual budgets of retail behemoth Wal-Mart ($227 billion) and ExxonMobil ($200 billion) combined. Furthermore, the DOD’s three million total employees is more than double that of those two companies put together, a figure that falls shy of 1.5 million.

2- The DOD no longer investigates UFOs

Another thing you didn’t know about the DOD is that it long ago gave up on finding Martians in the skies over the U.S. In 1948, the U.S. Air Force launched Project Sign to look into the rash of reported UFO sightings. Over the next 21 years (and through two name changes -- first Project Grudge, then Project Blue Book), they investigated over 12,618 reports of UFOs and found explanations for 11,917 of them. The remaining 701 went unexplained. In 1969, Blue Book was shut down, having concluded that none of the investigated UFOs presented any threat to national security, none displayed technology any more advanced than what was known at the time and none suggested they might be occupied by little green men.

3- The DOD only commands the Coast Guard in wartime

The U.S. Coast Guard, long the whipping-boy of the military’s five branches, is the one branch that does not ordinarily fall under the authority of the DOD. Rather, during peace time it falls under the authority of Homeland Security (as of 2003). Prior to that, it was part of the Department of Transportation from 1967. As law enforcement officers, the members of the Coast Guard also have the same legal authority as U.S. Customs officers. During war-time, the Coast Guard becomes an agency of the U.S. Navy, although this may only apply to combat units within the Guard. Historically, despite their role to “serve and protect America’s coastlines and waterways”, units of the Guard have seen action in almost every major military conflict in U.S. history over the past 100 years.

4- The DOD's Secretary of Defense does not sign autographs

You might think the mailbox of the head of a military force despised by much of the world would be overrun by death threats, but apparently the problem is autograph requests. Robert Gates, in an evident break from his predecessors, “has decided not to provide what have come to be considered customary autographs for collectors.” The DOD will, on request, send you his photo, but they’re so tight about the whole thing that they inform you of your motives beforehand: “Your request implies respect and support.” In other words, no using Sharpies to give Gates a prison tear tattoo. The Secretary of Defense is a Cabinet post and is likely to change with the new administration, signaling good news for the Cabinet-level autograph-seeking multitudes.

5- The DOD licenses insignia to retailers

The last thing you didn’t know about the DOD is that they’ve got your back. In an effort to boost its image and even land a few new recruits, the DOD -- specifically, the U.S. Army -- is a client of big-time brand licensing firm the Beanstalk Group, whose diverse client list includes Ford Motor Company, Universal Studios, Paris Hilton, and Mary-Kate and Ashley, to name just a few. Beanstalk’s recommendations to the U.S. Army were to establish a “line of Army-inspired clothing… using insignia from the First Infantry Division” since “strong brand identification through retail sales of products potentially can enhance the Army’s recruiting efforts and the public’s general goodwill towards the Army and its activities.”