Curiosity to land on Mars on August 6

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), also known as the Curiosity rover will finally land on Mars on August 6. It was launched 8 months ago on November 26. I had even blogged about it then! The landing sequence is very interesting and complex. It takes only about 7 minutes from touching the Mars atmosphere and landing on the ground.

Start Countdown: We Collide Head-on with Andromeda in Just 4 Billion Years

New results from NASA scientists working with Hubble’s data, suggests with more certainty that our Milky Way galaxy will collide with the Andromeda galaxy in another 4 billion years.

We have long known that our neighbor Andromeda galaxy is hurtling towards us, and will probably collide us in the future. But we were not sure, if the collision will be head-on or it will miss us. Also we were not sure about the timing and impacts of this event. With more data from Hubble, we are now able to predict the collision with more certainty.

Amazon Kindle 4

I bought a Kindle 4 recently. It is a beautiful e-book reader - cheap, lightweight, slim, easy to hold in one hand. The E-Ink technology it uses, is really amazing. The screen seems almost like paper, without any glare, readable in direct sunlight. And the letters on it are solid, you don't see individual pixels. The first time I opened the device, I mistook the screen for a paper cover on it! The device came with a USB data cable which can be used to transfer books and documents. It is also charged via the USB cable. It has super long battery life. One full charge is supposed to last for a month, if you read half an hour daily. I also like the inbuilt Oxford dictionary. You can instantly look-up any word in the dictionary, without leaving the current page. It has page turning buttons on both left and right side, which are very useful for shifting the device from one hand to the other.

Into the World of Computer Gaming

I had a Desktop PC with Gigabyte G31M-S2L motherboard, Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 2GB RAM for a long time. But, it didn't have any dedicated graphics card. Most computer games wouldn't work on my PC. Recently, I bought a descent mid-range graphics card (AMD Raedon 6670 1 GB DDR5) for Rs. 5400. Now, I can play almost all the latest games in High Resolution.

Be a Schemer!

Google had launched Schemer a few months back. I recently got an invitation and signed up. It is a good concept. It is basically a service to keep track of the things you want to do in life. But it is more than just a notebook. You can find recommendations from friends, experts and celebrities about the things that are worth doing. It may be exploring a new city, watching a movie your friend recommends, or finding new activities for your weekends. You can also create your own schemes and share it with the world, or keep it private if you like.

Overall, I like the concept. Often, we think of something awesome to do (in future). But usually, after a few hours or days we forget all about it among other day-to-day matters. This is where Schemer can help. It can remind you of all the things you want to do in life. Of course, you have to remember to check Schemer, once in a while!

I have got some invitations. If you are waiting for one, try the below link. Though the service is available worldwide, location based recommendations may not work well outside US.
 
http://www.schemer.com/invite/tpvhfivlf3gkq

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

This Saturday, my friend and I went to watch the The fourth installment of Mission Impossible series, called the Ghost Protocol. First off, I want to say the movie is awesome. Two and half hour of total awesomeness! Tom Cruise was stunning as always, with his cool stunts, especially climbing the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Quick trivia: Burj Khalifa is currently the tallest structure in the world.

Curiosity heads for Mars

Mars Science Laboratory or MSL has been launched successfully on Nov 26 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. It will take 8 months to reach Mars. It contains a car sized rover named Curiosity.

Curiosity blasts off in the backdrop of Atlantic Ocean