Along the similar lines, the company has renamed its controversial Internet.orgapp as Free Basics. With the help of its app, Facebook aims to provide certain free data services and websites to the mobile users.

A few months ago, amid widespread controversies, Facebook opened up theInternet.org platform to the developers. Currently, this moonshot project of Zuckerberg includes 60 new services focussed at productivity.

The new app Free Basics by Facebook is also equipped with stronger security measures and aims to get more users online all over the world.

“We’re making this change to better distinguish the Internet.org initiative from the programmes and services that Facebook provides, including Free Basics,” says Internet.org Vice-President Chris Daniels.

He adds, “Anyone currently using the app will be able to continue using the Android app though it will now be called Free Basics by Facebook in Google Play.”

The previous Internet.org web URL is now redirected to Freebasics.com.

In India, the social networking website is also piloting Express WiFi service that will encourage the local entrepreneurs to set up WiFi hotspots in various areas.

“We help them in terms of technical solutions, business model and marketing,” said Munish Seth, Country Manager Facebook Connectivity Solutions India. Facebook has already set up such hotspots in partnership with ISPs in parts of Uttarakhand and Bangalore.

Looking to promote the teaching of basic computer science in schools, the state government today said that all schools in Kerala, both government and aided, will soon be equipped with electronics and Raspberry Pi kits.

Speaking at the inauguration of an 'Electronics@School' project, initiated by the state IT Department, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that 6,000 government schools would be given electronics kits to support and nurture a "maker- culture" among their students.

"Besides providing Raspberry Pi kits to 10,000 students selected on merit basis, steps will be taken to provide every government and aided school with a Raspberry Pi kit for common coding practice," Chandy said.

He also launched the distribution of electronic kits under the Electronics@School project and gave away prizes to winners of a coding competition held as part of the first phase of the 'Learn to Code' project.

These projects are being implemented jointly by the Kerala Start-Up Mission and IT@School. Minister for IT and Industries, PK Kunhalikutty, launched the second phase of 'Learn to Code' project and flagged off the distribution of Raspberry Pi kits to 7,500 schoolchildren.

The minister suggested it would be appropriate for the Department of General Education to take up these projects for their better implementation.

"The projects aim to skill Kerala's schoolchildren to cope with the future revolution in technology and entrepreneurship," Kunhalikutty said.

Education Minister PK Abdu Rabb said both the 'Learn to Code' and 'Electronics@School' projects would be made part of the curriculum.

"Th

"The project's aim is to add 40,000 talented youngsters from schools to the vibrant maker community being developed through community participation programmes initiated by the Kerala Startup Mission," said PH Kurien, Principal Secretary, Department of IT and Industries.

Prizes for district-level winners were, meanwhile, handed out at Saturday's function.

IT@School Wayanad District Coordinator VJ Thomas was acknowledged for facilitating and guiding the maximum number of projects.

In the pilot phase, which was launched by Chandy in February, 2,500 selected students of class eight across all district centres were given Raspberry Pi kits and trained in programming by IT experts.

The Raspberry Pi is a computer developed by an UK-based firm for aiding the teaching of basic computer science in schools.

The Andhra Pradesh government is planning to use drone cameras in Rayalaseema region to increase surveillance on red sander smuggling, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said on Saturday.

Mooting the suggestion during a meeting in Vijayawada to review law and order situation in the state, he said drones cameras or static balloon cameras may be used to keep a vigil on the red sander smuggling.

These cameras will use unused (TV) spectrum under TV White Spaces Project.

The state government in recent months intensified its efforts to check red sander smuggling in the districts bordering Tamil Nadu.

It stepped up patrolling by special task force in Seshachalam forests. In April this year, the police gunned down 20 wood cutters in the forests in Chittoor district.

(Also see:  'US Government, Police Working on Counter-Drone System')

The wood cutters from Tamil Nadu were allegedly hired by smugglers operating from that state.

Several smugglers have been arrested and red sander worth crores of rupees was seized in last few months. The arrested smugglers include a Chinese national.

Also called red sandalwood, the precious wood is used in traditional medicines and woodcraft across China, Myanmar, Japan and other countries of East Asia.

A tonne of red sander fetches Rs.20 lakh to Rs.25 lakh in the international market.

Story first published: Aug 24, 2015 11:08 IST

A French firm has designed a conceptual shelter for future astronauts on Mars that would be 3D-printed on the red planet using locally-available materials.

Resembling an igloo from the surface, the shelter, dubbed Sfero, would be partially buried beneath the ground. A

The interior comprises three floors. The uppermost floor measures just 3 sq. m, and food can be grown here, while the next floor down measures 29 sq. m and comprises a work area and bathroom.

The lowermost floor measures 40 sq. m and contains sleeping quarters. The occupants would navigate between each floor by a spiral staircase, 'Gizmag' reported.

The firm Fabulous envisions that the red planet's own substrata could be used as a raw material for 3D printing. The process would involve a central mast that can extract iron from the planet's soil and rock, and also seek out permafrost to turn into water and use as insulation between the structure's inner and outer shell, reducing the effects of solar radiation.

The firm envisions the shelter being tested in California's Mojave Desert or somewhere in Hawaii, while the Gale Crater is slated as the shelter's final Mars location. The project has been created in response to Nasa's call for designs for 3D-printed habitats for Mars, despite the competition being only officially open to US residents, according to 'Dezeen'.

"We still decided to show the French expertise in 3D printing, space travel, and architecture, presenting a standout record," said Fabulous founder Arnault Coulet.

Courtesy: NDTV Gadgets

The South Korean company in the meantime has launched Galaxy smartphones with curved edge displays. If a new leak is to be believed, we might finally see a foldable Samsung smartphone in January - with the company reportedly already testing the smartphone. Additionally, Samsung's mysterious Galaxy View device has been certified by the Bluetooth SIG claiming it's a tablet.

According to a tipster from China (via GforGames), Samsung's foldable smartphone has been codenamed Project Valley and is being tested with two different chipsets - Qualcomm Snapdragon 620 and Snapdragon 820. Other details tipped by the tipster claim that the handset will feature 3GB of RAM; come with expandable storage, and will come with an embedded battery.

It's worth noting that a previous report had claimed that Samsung was testing the unannounced Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset 'aggressively'. The test results were said to determine if the chipset would be featured in next year's flagship models or not.

In other news, Samsung's mysterious Galaxy View device which was teased during its IFA event and expected to the oft-leaked 18.4-inch tablet from the company has purportedly been certified by Bluetooth SIG with model name SM-T670. The Bluetooth SIG listing of the tablet doesn't reveal many details; except that the Bluetooth version will be 4.1.

To recall, Samsung just as it did at the Galaxy Unpacked event last month, teased a new upcoming product at the end of the IFA show - what appeared to be a large tablet. Dubbed Galaxy View, the teaser was mysterious enough to hide most details but a kick stand was visible on the back panel. We will have to wait for Samsung to make the announcement.

This ingenious project is dubbed as Pacific Research Platform and is funded by National Science Foundation. The fiber optic high-speed network will allow the data transfers of 100 gigabits per second across 10 University of California campuses and in 10 other state universities and research institutions. Just to let you know the enormity of the achievement, Google Fiber allows about 1 Gbps whereas I get about 100 Mbps data transfer speed on my Internet connection. So, I leave the basic math to you.

Necessity is the mother of  inventions, or rather we should say “innovations”, in today’s world. Recently, we saw how a physicist created his own supercomputer from old PlayStations to help him study the Black Holes.

You might also see the network speeds of 10Gbps overall capacity in some of the Internet connections out there. Generally, the Internet connections are rated at higher data speeds, but the real transfer rate is merely a fraction of the total capacity.

Recently, President Mr. Barack Obama desired his wish to get the world’s most powerful andthe fastest supercomputer for the United States. This supercomputer will be 20 times faster than the current supercomputing king Tianhe-2.

The high speed network will also be of immense help in large scientific research projects and laboratories such as CERN’s Large Hadron Collider to keep and maintain the important data at various locations and retrieve it at the blink of an eye.

This high-speed network of optical cables is not just fast, but also secure. It has a hardware security features that ensure its safety while connected to the Internet and blows any hacking attack.

Don’t want to sound grouchy, but as the world continues to advance and get faster, patience is losing its virtue. And, this novel development will definitely get a thumbs up.

When I loved myself enough, I began leaving whatever wasn’t healthy. This meant people, jobs, my own beliefs, and habits – anything that kept me small. My judgement called it disloyal. Now I see it as self-loving!