Deep Spacecraft Will Be Guided by X Ray Pulses from Distant Stars

China’s First Satellite Guided by X-ray Pulses

China has launched the first satellite in the world which will not be guided from Earth but instead will be guided by the powerful x-ray pulses of distant stars.In order to support the big strategies for deep space exploration, comprising of a manned Lunar mission together with Martian lander, China has launched its first x-ray navigation system in the world.

 The X-ray Pulsar Navigations 1 - XPNAV1 satellite, launched on November 10 aboard a solid-fuelled Long March 11 rocket from the Jiuquan Space Launch Centre in the Gobi Desert, is said to be the first x-ray navigation system in the world that will go in orbit, that will defeat NASA;s Station Explorer for X-ray Timing and Navigation Technology –SEXTANT, scheduled to be installed on the ISS somewhere next year.

The navigation system is said to be dependent on x-ray pulsars set up in systems with two stars. Basically a dense neutron star’s strong magnetic field tends to pull in gas from the other star and when the gas influences the neutron star, it generates a strong X-ray hotspot.

Millisecond Pulsars Generate X-ray Pulses at Short Intervals

If the spin axis and the magnetic axis of the neutron star are not aligned, while the neutron star tends to rotate, pulses will be generated as the X-ray hotspots move in and out of the view of the observer. This is a beneficial tool for navigation.

Millisecond pulsars have a tendency to generate x-ray pulses at short intervals which by measuring the time differential from multiple known pulsars, such as GPS utilising pulsars rather than satellites, a spacecraft has the tendency of determining its location in the solar system within 5 km, which is good for deep space. The purpose is to find pulsars which tend to offer pulses at a reliable pace. X-ray pulsars frequently speed up or slow down the regularity of their bursts.

If it goes as intended, the XPNAV1 would accumulate data to build the pulsar x-ray database and would then be capable of using the data to verify its location independently. The 529-pound satellite is said to have two detectors for measuring x-rays generated by pulsars. XPNAV1, over the next five to ten years would build a database of x-rays from 26 pulsars which would measure their frequencies against other electromagnetic action in space.

X-ray Navigation – Superior Precision/Reliability

Moreover it would also measure the accuracy as well as its consistency of pulsar x-rays against the background noise in space without the need to worry about atmospheric interference. It would verify the usability of the data by checking the data to see if the same can predict the location of the satellite without depending on other navigation aids.

The benefit of x-ray navigation comprise of superior precision and reliability and the spacecraft would not need to depend on radio signals which tend to take longer in travelling into deep space and miss signal fidelity. X-ray navigation tends to be much cheaper and the spacecraft would not need large expensive ground based radio antennae for navigations signals.

Besides this the spacecraft would also be more autonomous wherein it would save bandwidth for the transmission of scientific data back to earth. The achievement of XPNAV1 would mean that China has not only been successful in achieving a most important milestone in space technology but has also enabled Chinese talkonauts as well as robotic probes to travel more easily further than orbit.

Waymo, Google's Self Driving Car Company

Google has been researching and developing a whole new level of driverless car technology for the past 7 years. Now Google has made their project into a new company named WAYMO. This company is under the Google’s parent company Alphabet. WAYMO is a technology based company which is made with an intention to make the self driving car to be safe to transport people and things and to be put a wide range of use and availability.

The company’s main focus is not to develop the self driving cars but to develop that technology in a effective and efficient way so that it can be widely put to use and easily available for other car developers. Now the testing of the project is made under all different scenario and this technology which is developed must be very useful and very simple to use and shouldn’t be complicated. Thus it can benefit everyone including public transport system. This technology can save time and distance and will be of much benefit. The WAYMO Company won’t be making cars whereas it will be fitting these technology advancement in that car.

The “Koala Cars” is a small car which is currently used by Google for testing and development of its self driving technology. The Fiat Chrysler seems to be the first car to come out with the Google’s software equipped who signed a deal with Google for its self driving technology in the company’s Pacifica mini vans this deal was made between the companies on May.

The development of this technology was started 7 years before in Google lab and now is being made ready to be put into production after a test made for 2.3 million miles in its fully robot controlled vehicle. There will a giant leap made by the company to put its developing technology in an finished car and to make it available to the public. They are in the process of developing more map routes, to make the user enjoy a smoother ride and make navigations very accurate. There must be a proper system to navigate and drive the vehicle in heavy snow covered road and in heavy rain in simple this technology must be able to adaptable in all weather.

On October 2015 it turned out to be a remarkable event for Google when the company gave the first full automatic car ride to a blind man in Texas and no one accompanied him on his journey. He was travelled in one of the Koala cars in Texas travelling through the public roads of Austin.

Google has developed and tested many project and everything is very special and unique whereas compared to this feature Google has been doing a good job and developing us to the future. Many people may ask “is it possible for us to physically not drive a car but to reach our destination safely?” well Google might and will give answers to these types of questions in the upcoming future.

Top 5 Tablets of 2016

The reign of tablet has taken a hit in past couple of years as the popularity and interest in these devices dwindled among the consumers. This trend is directly related to availability of high performing Smartphone with bigger screen which gave direct competition to the tablets. But tablet maker swiftly came up with an innovative idea of turning tablets into computer on a whole new different level within affordable price point. Here are some of the best laptops which you can buy during the holiday sale of 2016.

Apple

Apple supremacy in the tablet segment is still here. Apple has launched a slew of updated version of iPad range a while back to keep pressure on the competitors and upholds it supremacy. iPad Pro comes with a beautiful display and it is fast as a laptop and comes in two different screen choices of 9.7 inches and 13.9 inches. iPad Pro has a top-notch quality, high-end specification for faster performance, brighter display for enhanced viewing experience, incredible sound output with great speakers and the support for Apple Pencil & Smart Keyword is added benefit.

Google Pixel C

Google is gradually taking the Android segment with a storm by the launch of its own range of smartphone and tablets. Google Pixel C comes loaded with top-end specification which offers incredible performance. It has a high resolution 10.2 inch display along with a long lasting battery couple with an adonised aluminum frame for elegant look. It also has support for keyword but it has to be bought separately like Apple’s iPad.

Microsoft Surface Pro 4

Microsoft Surface Pro is the best when it comes to detachable devices. It might not have garnered praise or recognition like Google and Apple offering but in terms of design and performance it is way better than their offering. Surface Pro 4 come with 12.3 inch high resolution display, 6th generation of Core Intel processor and an optional keyword with an awesome tackpad. It is the most expensive tablet at the moment with a commanding price of over $1000 and it runs the latest version of Windows 10 OS.

iPad Mini 4

If you are looking for a small, light and sturdy tablet then iPad Mini 4 is the right choice. It comes with 7.9 inch Retina display, impressive camera, faster processor and multi-screen functionality. It is best suited for those who love to grab-and-go and it is powerful enough to run multiple apps at once and users can use two apps at the same time with the built in multitasking functionality.

Samsung Galaxy S Tab 2

Samsung device offers the best display screen with its homegrown vivid AMOLED display. Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 is one of the lightest and thinnest high end tablet available in the market. It has a an 8inch screen and a high performing speedy octa core processor which runs the latest version of Android. It has a fairly low boot time compared to other tablets and has the cheapest price point.

Windows Update Knocks Out Internet Connections

Just a few years back, users used to eagerly wait for the updates which will help them in unlocking the new features on their existing devices or software or programs. However things have changed drastically in the past year because a number of updates and upgrades have resulted in driving people nuts with making some serious affects on the devices as a whole. This has resulted in poor user experience and this ugly trend creeps into Microsoft’s popular operating system called Windows with the latest update.

ISP reports internet connectivity difficulties in European region

A recent update to the Windows OS has brought painful and unwanted internet connectivity issues on a number of devices. This has been widely reported by innumerable internet service providers in European region who has stated that they customers were unable to connect to the internet. This isn’t affecting any particular kind of router box rather its is rampant. On other hand Virgin Media has come with a detailed solution which allows users to connect with the internet and it has been provided to the customers. Microsoft also came into action after this and it issued a guidance to the users in effectively connecting to the internet.

Microsoft comes into action

Microsoft has well noted this development and brought some crucial guidance at dealing with it though it has only affected a certain number of users with Windows 10 OS. At first users are required to restart their system and if it doesn’t help then they can get more detailed alternatives by visiting Microsoft’s website from other device. Microsoft has zeroed out the problem in the system’s inability to connect with the network by automatically picking up addressing system in the broadband routers.

Steps compiled by Virgin Media to get connected with Internet

Here is complete set of guidelines issued by the Virgin Media which will help all the affected users in connecting with the internet in a swift fashion. At first users are requested to restart their system by going to the Start followed by Power and Restart. Once the system is booted up again then try to connect to the internet, if it doesn’t work then you will be required to reset the IP address and here are the necessary steps.

1.  Click on Start button. 
2.  Click on Run or press Windows Key along with letter ‘R’ 
3.  Type ‘CMD’ and press enter 
4.  A command prompt will appear on the screen. Now type in ‘ipconfig/release’ and press enter. 
5.  Now users can try to connect with the internet and hopefully this set get them connected.

In case this trick doesn’t work for you then the below mentioned steps which will help in clearing up the DNS settings.

1.  Click on the Start button 
2.  Click on the Run or press Windows key along with letter ‘R’ 
3.  Once again command prompt on the screen. Now type in ‘ipconfig/flushdns’ and press enter. 
4.  Now hopefully your connection will start working and you will be able to connect with the internet.

Later KB3206632 update was released to fix the fault.

Popcorn Time Ransomware Offers to Restore Your Files for Free — If You Infect Two Friends

Instead of luring users into clicking on the link and then asking for money hackers has come up with an innovative approach. Ransomware has been in vogue for almost a decade where modus operandi has become standardized. This has helped hackers in doing way with billions of dollars in last decade by taking way the control over the files or networks and devices leaving user’s at hacker’s wisdom. Most of the time user decides to pay upfront and get back the critical data or simply lose it by wiping up the machine. With constant campaign against such malpractices and attacks people have vigilant and the ransomware cases started to die down but didn’t went way at all.

Hackers have come up with an innovative alternative wherein the ransomware offers an opportunity to recover the files by simply making your two friends victim of the same.

New Ransomware ‘Popcorn Time’

This new ransomware has been named ‘Popcorn Time’ which offers a lucrative deal to the victims by asking them to infect two other friends in order to safeguard their own data. This ransomware is designed to find all the files present on the desktop along with the files present in My Documents folder and encrypt them using the AES-256 encryption.

Like every other ransomware this one also asks users to pay up in Bitcoin in order to salvage their files and the price is set at just 1 Bitcoin which amounts to $780. Secondly the warning screen also lays down the instruction for paying in the Bitcoins in case a user is not so familiar with this popular cyrpto currency. Even after paying the money users should understand that entering the decryption key wrongly for more than four time will result in losing all the data.

Apart from it this malware also offers an opportunity to get back the files by simply infecting any two of your friend’s system. Victims are simply required to click on the link containing the unique ID which will help in downloading the malware. Simply forward it to your friends and save your files is the modus operandi here.

Hackers living up to their bargain

Most of the promises made by the hackers are not kept but this ransomware originators are showing never seen before honor among the hackers attitude. When a user pays the ransom then he gets a decryption key which helps in restoring the files and it is old school. If ransom is unpaid then that data is lost forever. In a number of cases affected users even after paying up the ransom users were unable to get their data back.

Security analysts and firms are actively working towards finding decryption keys for some of the popular ransomware infections which will offer a free way of getting back the files to the victims. But such initiatives will become obsolete if hackers start using Popcorn Time or its enhanced variants in future which encourage towards making other infected in order to save their skins.