Michael Arndt is a man of matchsticks. Over the course of six years, using 956,000 matchsticks, 1686 tubes of glue, and at least three different varieties of mustache, he built a full-scale replica of a McLaren 4/14 F1 car, at a cost of around 6000 Euros. The giant model takes up Arndt's entire kitchen and probably his social life. It can be broken down into 45 parts for easy transport to various matchstick-builders conventions.

How to Spend Six Years Building a Matchstick Car

Stick these on your eyes so you can sleep while on the job. 

Are feeling sleepy in office? Really need some sleep..zzz…zzz… Here’s a solution, take a nap with these eyes stickers. Close your eyes and stick it, sleep for a few minutes and regain your energy. Don’t blame on me if you get caught for that or fired hahahah. For me, I’ll take a cup of coffee whenever I felt sleepy at work. But it is still cool to have those stickers, hehe. Not sure where to get them, maybe you can print some eyes from the net and stick it with tapes.

Just don’t try this if you drive a truck.

Tyler MacCready had an unusual childhood. In 1977, Tyler and his two brothers helped their dad build the Gossamer Condor - the first successful human-powered airplane.In their free time, the boys set their minds to their own project - a mini-plane, also powered by a human, called the Walkalong Glider.

In this segment, Alan learns to fly this unique variation on the standard paper airplane. Moving at a walking speed, Alan must release the glider just slightly ahead of him, then use his hands to direct air currents up into the wings of the little glider. Alan quickly becomes adept at this tricky skill. Real pros like Tyler- who has had 25 years of practice after all- can guide the glider without even using his hands. As he walks, the plane appears to float just above his head.

It's another example of how MacCready-style experimentation can push the limits of what's possible.

Video is here!

CHRIS UHLIK’S children can be found in their home computer lab almost every morning. Nicole is writing a story about her two lizards. Tony is playing an interactive spelling game, while Andy is learning multiplication tables. Even 5-year-old Joceline is clicking away at a storybook game.


Mr. Uhlik, an engineering director at Google, and his family live a practically paper-free life. The children are home-schooled on computers. Other sources of household paper — lists, letters, calendars — have become entirely digital.

Going paperless was a conscious decision by the Uhliks. But many families may be closer to entering a paperless world than they realize. Paper-reducing technologies have crept into homes and offices, perhaps more for efficiency than for environmentalism; few people will dispute the convenience of online bill-paying and airline e-tickets.

“Paper is no longer the master copy; the digital version is,” says Brewster Kahle, the founder and director of the Internet Archive, a nonprofit digital library. “Paper has been dealt a complete deathblow. When was the last time you saw a telephone book?”

Some homes may no longer have phone books, but many have scanners — and, increasingly, more than one. Flatbed scanners, which most people use for photographs, offer high resolution but are cumbersome for scanning large volumes of paper. New, cheap document-feed scanners that can digitize a stack of papers, receipts or business cards in seconds are becoming popular. Add multiple computers, digital cameras and maybe an electronic book reader, and suddenly paper seems to be on the endangered-species list.

After rising steadily in the 1980s and ’90s, worldwide paper consumption per capita has plateaued in recent years. In the richest countries, consumption fell 6 percent from 2000 to 2005, from 531 to 502 pounds a person. The data bolsters the view of experts like Mr. Kahle who say paper is becoming passé.

Businesses like Fujitsu and Hewlett-Packard that focus on transforming print documents into digital data are beginning to exploit a largely untapped market.

A paperless world isn’t automatically a boon for the environment, though. While these digital toys reduce dependence on one resource, they increase it on another: energy. Some devices are always plugged in, eating electricity even when not in use, and gobbling huge amounts of power when they are. Others, like digital cameras and laptop computers, use electricity while they are recharging.

And the shift might not happen as fast as some technology gurus predict. The paperless office, which some experts had said would be the norm by the 1990s, has so far failed to materialize. Employees are reckless about printing long e-mail messages, reports and memos, largely because the company picks up the bill for the laser printers, photocopiers, ink and paper.

But at home, where printers are slow, noisy and devour expensive ink cartridges, people are more cautious about hitting the “print” button. What little paper comes into the home — receipts, bills, invitations — can be scanned and then shredded. Filing cabinets can be emptied, the data kept, the paper gone.

“Some people are happy to throw away their past. Not me,” says Brad Templeton, who has founded an Internet newspaper and a software company and is the chairman of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “I’m a digital pack rat. I have phone bills from 1983 and taxes from the 1990s. But I have everything scanned, so it takes up no physical space. For me, scanners provide the magic of still having all my documents without the clutter.”

Although he would like to scan his entire book collection, Mr. Templeton, who is based in Silicon Valley, instead typically reads e-books when he is delayed at the airport or caught in a line somewhere. “It’s not as pleasant as reading a paper book,” he said. “But the e-book you have is better than the book you don’t.”

Many companies, like H-P, Fujitsu, and Canon, have leapt into the paperless home market with new scanners for personal and home use, which is the fastest-growing sales segment. Worldwide shipments jumped to 623,000 in 2007 from 354,000 in 2005, and sales are expected to top 1.1 million by 2010, according to IDC, a market research company.

Fujitsu introduced a document-fed scanner called the ScanSnap in 2003, expecting to sell it mostly to businesses. But the company quickly realized that there was a huge market for inexpensive, fast household scanners. Its small, portable ScanSnap was introduced in November, at a price of $295, well below the $495 price of the larger original.

Worried that you won’t be able to find what you need if it’s digital? That’s generally not a problem. Most scans can immediately be turned into text-searchable documents, so the information is just a few keystrokes away.

Some people prefer to bypass the purchase of a scanner and instead farm out the scanning — to India, where it can be done on the cheap. ScanCafé, which specializes in digitizing and retouching photographs, has an office in the San Francisco Bay Area, but most of its employees are in Bangalore. They will take a shoe box full of prints or a photo album and return the originals with a CD and your own online digital library. They scan paper documents, too, for about 40 cents a page.

Those services are useful for getting rid of accumulated paper, but the trend is not to produce the paper at all. Students and professors at colleges have traditionally used large amounts of paper, but they are moving away from the bulk of it as readings, papers, problem sets and exams are posted online.

Robert Burdock, a student at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, carries a digital camera to class so he can take a picture of any handout and immediately turn it into a text-searchable document on his laptop.

“Say I’m writing an essay on Edward III. A quick input of the term in Google Desktop and I’m presented with everything I have on the subject,” Mr. Burdock wrote in an e-mail message, which had a note at the bottom asking the recipient to consider the environment before printing. “This is a massive time saver when compared to manual searching and sifting.”

IN the desire for efficiency — to find exactly what you need the moment you need it — paper is being left behind. Mr. Uhlik, who also worked on Google’s Book Search, the book scanning project, has scanned about 100 of his reference books to try to make his home library digital and searchable. Because he wants to keep the house nearly paper-free, most of his remaining 1,000 books are in a shed. He occasionally pays his children to help scan them.

“Once the books are all scanned and backed up on several hard drives, I’ll never have to worry about the shed roof leaking and ruining them,” he says. “I’ve preserved them forever if I put them on the computer.”

Kipnis' outer limits theater, or what $6 million will buy.

When it comes to home theaters, I thought I'd seen it all. But nothing's come close to this. First, I'm going to try to describe the sheer magnitude of Jeremy Kipnis' theater. His Stewart Snowmatte laboratory-grade screen is the biggest I've ever seen in a home, and in the back of the theater, there's a Sony ultra-high-resolution (4,096-by-2,160) SRX-S110 digital projector. I'm looking everywhere, jotting down questions, and Kipnis sounds almost giddy talking about his theater's capabilities. He refers to his baby, the Kipnis Studio Standard (KSS), as "The Greatest Show on Earth." And from the looks of it, he may be right.

While the KSS is technically an 8.8-channel audio system, it uses a lot more than eight speakers and eight subwoofers. Kipnis felt that a lone center speaker sounded a tad undernourished compared with the eight Snell THX Cinema & Music Reference towers, so he opted for three Snell LCR-2800 center-channel speakers. The original contingent of eight subs sounded "really good" but, unfortunately, didn't deliver the full earth-moving-under-your-feet effect he wanted. So, he wound up with 16 18-inch Snell subs! To balance the other frequency extreme, and for the ultimate in transient speed and transparency, the Snell speakers' treble has been augmented with MuRata ES103A super tweeters. Thus, from the deepest deep bass (10 hertz) up to the extreme high-frequency range (100 kilohertz), the KSS is the most full-range system I've ever heard—and felt. The speakers are fed by a well-balanced combination of audiophile solid-state and vacuum-tube amplifiers. The KSS is astonishing in the way it delivers power, but with 11,315 very high-quality watts on tap, that's hardly surprising. Not only can it play ungodly loud, the KSS sounds phenomenal while doing so and never hurt my tender ears. The theater is big but far from huge. Its vaulted ceiling ranges from 8 feet high at the rear end to 16 feet at the screen end of the room (which is 26.5 feet wide and 33 feet long). The 18-foot screen fulfilled my IMAX fantasies, and the projector's va-va-voom color and brilliant light were transformational. I just tried to take it all in as I scribbled notes, afraid I might miss some of the juicier details.


AC power conditioning for the KSS is, again, done to the max. Next to the garage, there are two mammoth General Electric 13,800-volt/800-amp step-down transformers; all of the cabling is audiophile-grade wire, and every aspect of performance and presentation is scrutinized, even down to the 40-amp cryogenically treated circuit breakers for each and every component in the system.


How It Came to Be
I first met Kipnis in the early 1990s when he worked for Chesky Records as an engineer/producer. And later in the decade, I followed his exploits when he started his own classical music label, Epiphany Recordings Limited. Hooked on video at an early age, he was the first on his block to buy a laserdisc player in 1980 and went on to amass a huge collection of players and discs. He watched them on one of the very first projectors in the market, the Kloss NovaBeam Model 1, with a 6.5-foot curved silver screen in his Redding, Connecticut, home, where he still resides. The projector's legendary inventor, Henry Kloss, was a neighbor and good friend of Kipnis' parents, so you might say the seeds of the KSS were planted long ago. The man's passions run deep. Kipnis tells me, "I've been watching movies since I was four on really big screens in movie theaters, and three years ago, those experiences inspired me to design a home theater with the absolute best picture and sound."


But it's more than that. Kipnis sees the KSS as a laboratory, an ongoing experiment to advance the state of the art. And it's not just for himself; he's dead serious about selling the KSS to movie-industry professionals and wealthy home theater aficionados. He sees his huge screen as an intrinsic part of the experience. "It's an unprecedented level of immersion that I'm looking for." The mix of brands and models for his customers' KSS systems will be site specific, and he imagines that, unlike his installation, the componentry and speakers will be stealthily deployed. The KSS pictured here is Beta Ciné, so yes, there's an even bigger KSS, the Alpha Ciné, in the planning stages. It's intended for much larger venues, such as screening rooms or perhaps even actual movie theaters. The Gamma Ciné will be a scaled-down KSS for smaller living rooms, bedrooms, or kitchens. The Gamma Ciné will likely utilize rear-projection techniques. (When not in use, the screen will look like a wall, and all of the equipment will live behind the screen.) The philosophy of all three KSS systems is the same—nothing but the best picture and sound. Price estimates will be site specific, but the cost of Kipnis' home system would be in the $6-million range.


Scaling the Heights
Setting up the Sony SRX-R110 digital cinema projector is a demanding job, and Kipnis has invested a lot of time into maximizing its potential, all in an effort to advance the state of the art. He's an Imaging Science Foundation–certified technician and studied with video-tweaking legend Joe Kane.


The Sony projector doesn't have HDMI inputs that are HDCP compliant, but it upscales Blu-ray and HD DVD players' component outputs to its native 4K resolution. So sure, it might look even better if he could use his HD player's digital outputs, but Kipnis feels the picture quality he's getting right now is "far more outstanding and realistic than any other movie theater I've experienced on the planet." Pressing the question about keeping the KSS' video all digital, he admits that he's also considering commissioning a custom-built scaler from Silicon Optix or Snell & Wilcox. The ultimate goal is to produce a picture that's an open window to the world.


With a bit of luck, Kipnis will get to play the KSS for the likes of George Lucas, Peter Jackson, Steven Spielberg, and Martin Scorsese. And who knows—they each might be so thrilled, they'll buy one on the spot. That would be great, but I wonder out loud, "Would you have done all of this if you didn't hope to turn it into a commercial enterprise? Would you have done it just for yourself?" Without hesitating, Kipnis says, "Just to see what's possible? Yes, I would."


For more information about the Kipnis Studio Standard, please visit www.kipnis-studios.com .

Partial Equipment List for the Kipnis Studio Standard Beta CinE:

Picture Elements:
Sony SRX-S110 Professional Video Projector
Stewart 18-by-10-foot Snowmatte 1.0 Gain Laboratory-Grade Motion Picture Screen

Players and Sources:
Sony BDP-S1 Blu-ray Player
Sony PlayStation 3 Gaming Console
Toshiba HD-XA1 HD DVD Player
JVC HMDH-5U D-VHS Recorder
SATA Drive (72 HDTV Hours Total)
Mark Levinson N° 51 DVD/CD Media Player
Pioneer HLD-X0 Hi-Vision HDTV MUSE Laserdisc Player

Surround Processing and Decoding:
Theta Digital Generation VIII 32-bit 8x Oversampling Dual Processors (13)

Amplification:
Mark Levinson N° 33h Amplifiers (2)
McIntosh MC-2102 Amplifiers (30)
Crown Macro Reference Gold Amplifiers (3)

Speakers:
Snell 1800 THX Music & Cinema Reference Subwoofers (16)
Snell THX Music & Cinema Reference Towers (8)
MuRata ES103A Super Tweeters (10)
Snell THX Music & Cinema Reference LCR-2800 Center-Channel Speakers (3)

North American boffins have produced a knee brace which can generate several watts of power as the wearer's leg flexes while walking. The inventors believe the device could be useful for powering medical equipment - and even mobile phones.

In a paper for the boffinry journal Science, the researchers reveal their device's test results. The knee generator works on the same principle as the regenerative brakes used in battery-driven cars. It can clutch in and out, so creating resistance only during selected periods of the leg's motion.


Still not enough power to get this treadmill moving.

If the gizmo engages itself only during the "braking" period, when the knee is bending to absorb the body's weight after a footfall - thus actually helping the leg somewhat with its task - it puts out an average of 5W when fitted to a man walking slowly.

This isn't enough for most applications, of course - it can't power lights, vehicles or heating. But it compares well with the output levels offered by portable batteries. The knee brace could power ten mobile phones, or charge them up. And unlike ordinary hand-cranked or pedal generators, it doesn't require any attention from the operator - though he or she does have to keep walking.

According to biomedics and engineering prof Arthur Kuo of the University of Michigan, one of the inventors, the leg generator doesn't require a significant level of effort from the user - though it's still too cumbersome.

"We've demonstrated proof of concept," Kuo said.

"The prototype device is bulky and heavy, and it does affect the wearer just to carry. But the energy generation part itself has very little effect on the wearer, whether it is turned on or not. We hope to improve the device so that it is easier to carry, and to retain the energy-harvesting capabilities."

Kuo sees systems of this sort being used by soldiers, to charge the increasing load of electronics they carry. The idea could also power implanted medical gear like pacemakers or neurotransmitters.

One likely consumer app might be for hikers or other outdoorsy types wishing to keep their gadgets charged up. (Trade names: Walkman, ThighPod, You'll-never-walk-alone-Phone. Etc.) But it's hard to imagine regenerative knee braces being a big hit among those with frequent access to grid power.

That's very interesting invention

It's the sort of car that any self-respecting secret agent would be proud to be seen in.

This high-speed amphibious sports car can swim, hover above water and it's no slouch when it comes to flat-out speed either.

At the push of a button a hydraulic mechanism transforms the sports car into a propeller-powered boat.


Then an integrated 'hydrofoil' system lifts the car to 'fly' two foot above the water's surface.

The Rinspeed Splash was created by Swiss genius Frank M. Rinderknecht, 48, at his car company Rinspeed.

Frank says: "It's much more than an agile and lively sports car. It's a really cool and fun sports toy.

"It can reach 125mph on the road and accelerates to 60mph in 5.9 seconds." The water performance is impressive too, with the Splash reaching an impressive 45 knots.

"That's fast enough for water skiing or knee boarding," said Frank.

The car can reach high speeds either at sea....

...or on land with a top speed for around 120 miles per hour

The secret of the car is hydrofoil, a nautical technology used to lift the hull of boats from the water to increase speed.

But the Splash has adapted the method for serious elevation.

The body of the "Splash" is watertight and special buoyancy chambers provide extra lift.

The car impressed viewers at the Geneva Motor Show and is set to be a hit with concept car fanatics worldwide.

Frank says: "It's an almost magical transformation from street vehicle to a floating, 'flying' all-rounder."

The "Splash" is powered entirely by natural gas, which should keep any environmentally James Bonds happy,.

Here are a list of ten of the most unique keyboards on the market, or soon to be on the market.

In no specific order are 10 very unique keyboards that are designed to either make computing easier, the keyboard more comfortable, or to eliminate the usual big sized keyboard.

1.The Combimouse

      The Combimouse keyboard was created to try to combine the mouse and keyboard. The right keyboard is used for the mouse, with a two keys doubling as a left or right click. The spin wheel is located at the bottom of the left keyboard. This keyboard wasn't created to help you type faster, rather to universalize the keyboard and mouse. This is the first of many attempts to come at a universal keyboard. At the time you cannot purchase one of these, but they should hit the market in 2008.

2.The Evolution Keyboard

      This is both separable and connectable. Here it is pictured on a track mount. The two halves can be positioned how you want them, as they can move ninety degrees in any direction. How much would it cost to get your hands on one of these? The model with the track mount can range from $400 to $700.
 
3.The Wearable Keyboard

      A keyboard that you plug into the USB port on a computer and can type while it is attached to your arm. This is not exactly made for your general home office, and is more likely to be used at a work site where carrying a keyboard is not very practical. The price varies depending on the quantity. You can receive a quote from Terralogic.

4.The Optimus Maximus Keyboard

      This is one of the new fully customizable keyboards on the market. Each key is a tiny LCD screen. You can choose what each key is, and will show. If you want to reorganize the letters, you can do that. You can also set keys to perform other things, such as html codes, or special symbols if you like. You can buy one of these online for about $450.

5.The Virtual Keyboard

      The Virtual Keyboard is a laser keyboard. The unit is the size of a cigarette lighter, and uses Bluetooth technology to connect it with your pc. The keys are all illuminated onto a flat surface. You can simply type from there. Although the lack of feeling to the touch of the “keys” may not be same this is the ultimate space saver, and shows promise of many similar products, be it computer products or not, to come from this technology. You can get your hands on one of these for around $150.

6.The SafeType

      This keyboard is meant to put the keyboard in as comfortable of a position as possible. You can move the different sections to different angles, as well as take them apart and put them on your lab. However you choose it's all about putting it in such a way that makes typing more relaxed for you. You can purchase one of these for about $300.
   
7.The Tidy Tippist

      Here is a decorative keyboard with the keys disguised into the washable tablecloth. The keyboard and electrical components are sealed inside layers and layers of water resistant felt. It hasn't been put on the market yet, but you can expect its release in late 2008.
   
8.The AlphaGrip Keyboard

      A game controller style keyboard. It plugs into the USB and you can type while sitting back reclined in a chair, running on a treadmill, or lying in bed. It features a ten finger keyboard and mouse all in the shape of a controller. Once you get the hang of this you can successfully type at fifty to seventy words per minute. You can pick one of these up for $100.
   
9.The ElekTex Fabric Keyboard

      This is exactly as it sounds. It is a wireless keyboard place inside a piece of fabric. When you are done you can simply roll it up and put it away. If it gets dirty you can put it in the wash. Your best price would be on Amazon for $80 new.

10.The FingerWorks TouchStream LP

      The TouchStream is both a mouse and keyboard in one. The keyboard splits in half to try to provide extra comfort. The keys are all flat, which can make them feel strange to type on. It retails on the internet for about $350.

Kane is Back!
New recials, new weapons, new maps..
Command & Conquer is continuing!

Videos of C&C3:KW and Pictures of C&C3:KW

Planning a trip using Google Maps just got a little easier and useful. Google teamed up with The Weather Channel to create interactive layers that overlay weather data and radar information on top of Google Maps.

To use the feature click on the Google Maps' My Maps tab and select The Weather Channel feature to begin exploring.

The new service allows you to see current weather conditions and forecasts at a glance from across the globe as you view Google Maps. Everything from severe weather alerts, cloud coverage, and more can also be added to your view.



Major points of interest have a small bubble that displays current temperature and weather conditions. Click on a bubble and it expands to a larger bubble that provides links to a 10-day forecast, video forecasts for the region, and specialty forecasts (for example a "fishing forecast"). Any bubble that is outlined red and has red text signifies a severe weather alert.

Services similar to this have existed in the past, even ones that use the Google Maps' API, but this is the first sponsored by Google.

While some weather-heads may enjoy seeing the temperature and other info about a lot of different cities at any given time, this service will really shine when it works with Google Maps' directions feature.

Imagine how cool it would be to plan a multi-day road trip using Google Maps and then have Google anticipate the weather along the way - possibly suggest an alternate route based on blue skies. My fingers are crossed.

Occasionally I find myself working on a computer that has some problems. Maybe its malware, maybe its viruses, either way…it mucking up the PC and just generally slowing things down. Has this ever happened to you? If you’ve surfed the Internet for very long, you’ve probably experienced this and/or you’re prone to getting something downloaded and installed without your consent.

During these times I would normally use the trusty SpyBot - Search & Destroy application because it’s superior in many ways, but if I don’t have it with me or feel like just doing a quick online check without having to install a client application, the few choices below provide a good alternative.

BitDefender - Easy on-demand virus scanner using powerful BitDefender engines. It scans system memory, files and drive boot sectors. It also automagically cleans infected files. Uses ActiveX components (IE Only)

CA - Online virus scanner. Just agree to a little ActiveX component and you’re scanning with ease in just a brief moment. Uses ActiveX components (IE Only)


ESET - Online malware scanner. With just an acceptance of ESET’s TOS, you can scan your PC for known malware including viruses, worms, Trojans, phishing, and spyware.

ewido - Simple cleaner for malware. Uses ActiveX components (IE Only)

F-Secure - Simple virus scan from web. Uses ActiveX components (IE Only)

Jotti - Simple file checker. Jotti uses several scanners to look into the file you upload to determine if it’s infected.

McAfee FreeScan - McAfee FreeScan is a great virus scanner using the award-winning McAfee Scan Engine. Uses ActiveX components (IE Only)

NanoScan - Great, fast scanning application previously covered by the MUO Directory.


Panda ActiveScan - Get a free Panda scan that checks for viruses, spyware and other various internet threats. Current count over 185,000 viruses, worms, and trojans. Uses ActiveX components (IE Only)

TrendMicro - Scans for Viruses and Malware. It also scans for vulnerabilities and and fixes them to prevent re-infestation.

The most massive known black hole in the universe has been discovered, weighing in with the mass of 18 billion Suns. Observing the orbit of a smaller black hole around this monster has allowed astronomers to test Einstein's theory of general relativity with stronger gravitational fields than ever before.

The black hole is about six times as massive as the previous record holder and in fact weighs as much as a small galaxy. It lurks 3.5 billion light years away, and forms the heart of a quasar called OJ287. A quasar is an extremely bright object in which matter spiralling into a giant black hole emits copious amounts of radiation.

But rather than hosting just a single colossal black hole, the quasar appears to harbour two – a setup that has allowed astronomers to accurately 'weigh' the larger one.

The smaller black hole, which weighs about 100 million Suns, orbits the larger one on an oval-shaped path every 12 years. It comes close enough to punch through the disc of matter surrounding the larger black hole twice each orbit, causing a pair of outbursts that make OJ287 suddenly brighten.

General relativity predicts that the smaller hole's orbit itself should rotate, or precess, over time, so that the point at which it comes nearest its neighbour moves around in space – an effect seen in Mercury's orbit around the Sun, albeit on a smaller scale.
Bright outbursts

In the case of OJ287, the tremendous gravitational field of the larger black hole causes the smaller black hole's orbit to precess at an incredible 39° each orbit. The precession changes where and when the smaller hole crashes through the disc surrounding its larger sibling.

About a dozen of the resulting bright outbursts have been observed to date, and astronomers led by Mauri Valtonen of Tuorla Observatory in Finland have analysed them to measure the precession rate of the smaller hole's orbit. That, along with the period of the orbit, suggests the larger black hole weighs a record 18 billion Suns.

A couple of other black holes have been estimated to be as massive, but their masses are less certain, says Valtonen. That's because the estimates were based on the speed of gas clouds around the black holes, and it is not clear whether the clouds are simply passing by the black holes or actually orbiting them.

But Tod Strohmayer of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, US, says he is not convinced that Valtonen's team has really measured the mass of the large black hole in OJ287 accurately.

That's because only a handful of the outbursts have been measured with high precision, making it difficult to determine if the precession scenario is responsible for the outbursts. "Obviously, if subsequent timings continue to agree with the model, then that would provide further support," he told New Scientist.
No limit

Just how big can black holes get? Craig Wheeler of the University of Texas in Austin, US, says it depends only on how long a black hole has been around and how fast it has swallowed matter in order to grow. "There is no theoretical upper limit," he says.

The new research also tested another prediction of general relativity – that the black holes should spiral towards each other as they radiate energy away in the form of gravitational waves, or ripples in space. This radiation affects the timing of the disc crossings and their accompanying outbursts.

The most recent outburst occurred on 13 September 2007, as predicted by general relativity. "If there was no orbital decay, the outburst would have been 20 days later than when it actually happened," Valtonen told New Scientist, adding that the black holes are on track to merge within 10,000 years.

Wheeler says the observations of the outbursts fit closely with the expectations from general relativity. "The fact that you can fit Einstein's theory [so well] ... is telling you that that's working," he says.

The research was presented on Wednesday at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Austin, Texas, US.

A primary goal of any website or blog should be to provide its visitors with a pleasant and fulfilling experience. Regardless of what market the website is targeting, the opinions of users will play a huge role in determining the site’s level of success. Visitors that have positive experiences will be much more likely to come back later, refer friends, sign up for a newsletter, purchase a product, submit an inquiry about a service, etc.

When developing a website, the user’s wants and needs should always be in the forefront of the decision making process. It doesn’t matter what type of website you run, it needs to be user-focused. Unfortunately, sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the design and development process and create a site that satisfies the designer or the owner but doesn’t really provide visitors with much value.

What makes a website user-friendly? There are probably an endless number of factors, but let’s look at five of the major ones.

[1. Page Load Speed]

Although high-speed internet connections are becoming more and more common, there is still a large number of internet users that are on slower dial-up connections. Even with high-speed connections some pages just don’t load very quickly. Most of your visitors will be fairly impatient and pages that load slowly could chase them away. At the very least, slow loading times will reduce the number of pages that they’ll visit on your site.

Knowing your site’s audience can really help to know how your pages should be designed. A program like Google Analytics will show you the percentage of your visitors that are using different internet connections. Based on the numbers you can get a good idea of what type of impact page load speed will have on your overall audience. If your site attracts a high percentage of users with dial-up connections, you should be sure to keep pages loading as quickly as possible. If a very high percentage of visitors are using high-speed connections, you may be able to add a few extra elements to your pages.

Factors that influence the load times of pages include the number and size of images, extra items like flash, the amount of excess code (example, designing with a table-based layout instead of CSS), and the size of your pages. (Read more about website optimization).

[2. Accessibility]

If someone can’t use or access your website it serves no purpose for that visitor. Accessibility of websites has become a bigger priority for designers and developers in recent years, but there is still a long way to go. Even major corporations have struggled to achieve complete accessibility. Target was even sued over the accessibility of its website for handicapped individuals.

Some of the easiest things that you can do to improve the accessibility of your site include using alt tags for all images, use valid HTML and CSS coding, avoid frames, and allow text to be re-sized by visitors. There is of course much more to accessibility, which was covered in detail by 456 Berea St.

[3. Navigation]

All users want to be able to move through the website to find what they want. A huge factor in being user-friendly is providing simple and intuitive navigation. Major areas of navigation should be located consistently on all pages. Using common elements that users expect to find, like About pages and Contact pages will help as most internet users have come to expect them and will look for them at times.

A general rule of thumb is that any page on your site should be reachable with 2 clicks from your home page. For larger sites this probably isn’t realistic, but offering a sitemap and/or a sitewide search can really help.

Another important factor with navigation is that user’s shouldn’t have to guess where they will end up if they click on a link. Regardless of whether the link is part of a navigation menu, or if it is simply in the body of the text, visitors should understand where the link will lead them.

[4. Information]

Visitors are coming to your site for a reason. Whatever that reason may be, you want to provide them with what they are seeking. Are they coming to find basic information on your business’ services? Are they coming to read in-depth articles on a particular subject? Whatever the case may be, the information that your website provides needs to sufficiently meet the expectations of visitors.

A blog like this one will need to provide its readers with great, insightful articles in order satisfy its visitors. The website of a restaurant may need to provide hours of operation and a menu in order satisfy its visitors. Obviously, each situation is different. In order to have a user-friendly website you need to anticipate what visitors will expect to find at your site, and then put it right in front of them.

I know this is just the tip of the iceberg on the subject of user-focused websites. What factors do you feel are important (either from the perspective of a visitor or a designer)?

Since the Holiday’s were recently upon us and many of the readers out there no doubtably got a new cell phone, I wanted to introduce an old friend to your new cell phone. Google Mobile, meet our readers’ new phones. You guys will get along great together!

Google has been really stepping up their efforts in making many of their products usable from the mobile phone. Whether you’re using a regular cell, an iPhone, or even a SmartPhone, Google has you covered. So here at MakeUseOf.com, we’ve summarized all the Google Mobile services here in this comprehensive list.

Google’s Mobile Services

Search
Get a fast answer to what you’re looking for. Sports, Flights, Images, Weather…its all there. Even local listings have quick responses to your queries. You can even create a little iGoogle start page for quick access to your favorite headlines, updates, stock quotes and other feeds from various websites.
Just visit Google Mobile from your phone at: m.google.com

Google Mobile SMSSMS
Add GOOGLE to your contacts and use the mobile number 466453 (that’s Google on your number pad). Send a quick SMS to that contact with the text “help” for a instant response of the preferred way to text Google. Tips for Google Mobile SMS:

    * Local: blockbuster
    * Weather: w
    * Movies: m
    * Flights: aa 1234
    * Sports: score dallas cowboys
    * Definitions: d ozone
    * Products: price ipod or price
    * Calculator: 123*8
    * Driving Directions: to ex. tulsa,ok to dallas, tx

I use this service a ton. With the quick access to data by simply texting GOOGLE, I’m forever in “the know.”

Want more? Yes that’s right, theres more! Visit the SMS help page to find all the available queries that Google will respond to. (I’ve included a list of most of them…see below)
Google Mobile SMS Help

Google Mobile MapsMaps
Google’s mapping has come a long way. Their most recent version includes the new “My Location” whereby Google can find you you can find where you are without GPS. Google’s claim is that “you’ll never get lost again.” That might be a slightly lofty goal for some, but this release of their mapping software is leaps and bounds better than before. It’s available for most web-enabled mobile phones, including Java, Windows Mobile, Palm, and Nokia/Symbian devices. If you still need more coaxing to get started with Google Mobile Maps, take it for a test drive.

Gmail
Gmail for mobile devices is simply amazing. It’s lightning fast, works well, and even allows you to view common attachments (ex. photos, PDF files, Microsoft Office products, etc.). Most of the readers visiting this site I’m sure know about Gmail. As far as I’m concerned, it is the single greatest web app in the world. Google really showed what they were capable of and millions of accounts have proved their success in this endeavor.

Google Mobile YouTubeYouTube
You can check out the best YouTube has to offer right from your mobile device, including YouTube’s Featured Videos, Most Views, Recently Added, and more. Just point your mobile device’s browser to: m.youtube.com.
Uploading clips from your phone has never been easier either. All you need is a mobile profile tied to your YouTube account and you’re in business.

Even if you find a great video you’d like to share with friends, they’ve got that covered too. You can easily send videos from your phone to your friends.

Google 411
This one’s easy. Google’s answer to National 411 service. Just dial 1-800-GOOG-411 and follow the voice prompts. You’ll quickly find the business you’re looking for and Google will even connect your call for free! You can then even just say “text message” and Google will text you a map to the location they found for you. Oh how convenient. For more details go to previously posted Get FREE 411 Directory Assistance with GOOG411

Google Calendar
With Google Calendar’s web access, you can view your Calendar from anywhere. Browse any day to see all your events. You can even add events as you think of them by typing out the details and simply pressing “Add now”. Google Calendar will automagically add it to your calendar. Not only that, but these events are always in sync. As long as you’re signed in to Google, they will show up wherever you may roam and find yourself looking at your calendar. Just point your mobile browser to Google Mobile, then click the Calendar link and you’ll be all set.

Google Mobile NewsGoogle News
With Google News you can easily search for the latest news headlines right from your phone. You can even set your own personalized news to show the stories you’d most like to see. Google also includes thumbnails of images included in these news articles linked to the original article. Point your mobile browser to mobile.google.com to find the latest news articles and begin your journey with Google Mobile.

Picasa Mobile
If you use Picasa, you can easily browse through your latest photo album’s pictures and view any images stored on Picasa Web Albums. Just for you, Google resizes them to fit on your devices screen. With their built-in search functionality, you can find and download any photo you’ve posted online as well as find other Picasa friends and explore their photos too. Travel out to PicasaWeb’s Mobile site to start browsing pictures.

Google Mobile ReaderGoogle Reader
If you’re a user of Google’s Feed Reader application, they’ve thought of you when producing their mobile site for it. You can easily access your favorite feeds right from the phone. If you’re stuck in the doctors office waiting or other realms of boredom, kill time reading your feeds. They always stay up to date. On your phone, browse to Mobile Reader.

Google Notebook
Google’s Notebook has saved me a ton of work. The easy to use interface works perfectly for creating little notes complete with links to websites to view etc… Well, now Google’s added that to their repertoire of great mobile apps too. You can quickly jot down little notes that are synchronized to your Google account for looking at later. Or say maybe you keep your grocery list on Notebook but forgot to print it to take with you to the store. No problem, just grab your phone and browse to Google Mobile, click on the Notebook icon and pull up your grocery list. There it is in all its glory. Now, don’t forget the milk!

Google Docs
Finally, there is Google Docs. Google Docs Mobile (docs.google.com/m) is optimised for use on a smaller handheld screen and shows a list of recent documents and document folders from your Google Docs account. Supports word processing, spreadsheet and presentation documents. At the moment, you can only view, not edit, documents.

iPhone
If you’re an iPhone geek, you’ve no doubt already found your very own Google page. If not, just point your Safari mobile browser to Google.com and it will format for you. How nice of Google.

Do you use Google on your mobile phone? Have something to add? Let us know…