Science and Technology

It's been nearly one year since New Horizons sped past Pluto, but the space probe is still sending back incredible images from its flyby of the dwarf planet.

The latest image released by NASA may be the best one yet, with the high resolution mosaic photo showing Pluto's exotic terrain in close detail. The images were snapped from 9,850 miles away and about 23 minutes before the probe approached its closest point in its historic flyby of the dwarf planet.

"This new image product is just magnetic,” Alan Stern, New Horizons principal investigator said in a statement. "It makes me want to go back on another mission to Pluto and get high-resolution images like these across the entire surface."

NASA has also put together a video guided tour of the 50-mile-wide strip comprising the mosaic, interesting facts, pointing out everything from "chaotic and angular mountain ranges" to Pluto's nitrogen glaciers.

New Horizons passed Pluto on July 14, 2015. Since then, the probe has been busy on an estimated year-long data dump, transmitting information from its journey back to Earth.

The piano-sized probe is now speeding through the Kuiper Belt, an area at the edge of our solar system. New Horizons loses about a few watts of power each year, according to NASA, but is estimated to have as much as 20 years left in its life expectancy.

About $13 million in bitcoins will be auctioned in Sydney in June after Australian police confiscated the digital currency as proceeds of crime, an official said Tuesday.

Ernst & Young was running the process, which is only the second such bitcoin auction in the world after the U.S. Interesting facts, Marshals Service sold 144,000 bitcoins over a two-year period that had been confiscated from Ross Ulbricht, who founded the online drug bazaar Silk Road, the accountancy firm's transaction partner Adam Nikitins said.

Bidders can register until June 7 for the 24,518 bitcoins on offer. The 48-hour sealed auction will take place from June 20.

Based on Tuesday's bitcoin price of $533.80, the cryptocurrency is valued at almost $13.1 million.

Nikitins expects strong interest in the auction since the bitcoin price has become less volatile after the U.S. auctions. Ernst & Young has received expressions of interest from the United States, Europe and Australia, he said.

"Over the last few months, the price of bitcoins has been steadily rising and the volatility has gone out of it," said Nikitins, adding that was expected to lead to greater interest.

Nikitins would not say who the bitcoins were confiscated from, but said registered bidders would be told.

The Victoria state government has confirmed that is had seized about 24,500 bitcoins in late 2013 from a Melbourne drug dealer.

Richard Pollard, 32, was sentenced in the Melbourne County Court in October to 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to drug trafficking on the Silk Road website.

Ulbricht, 32, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court in May last year to life in prison after he was convicted of charges accusing him of operating the website for nearly three years from 2011 until his 2013 arrest.

Like the U.S. auction, the Australian bitcoins will be mostly sold in lots of 2,000. One lot will contain 2,518.

Bitcoin is a digital currency that allows people to buy goods and services and exchange money without involving banks, credit card issuers or other third parties. The coins are created by users who "mine" them by lending computing power to verify other users' transactions, receiving bitcoins in exchange.

Bitcoins also can be bought and sold on exchanges with U.S. dollars and other currencies. Their value has fluctuated over time. At its height in late 2013, a single bitcoin was valued above $1,100.

Fact of the day: Reddit has sent out 100,000 password resets in the last two weeks amid a boost in account takeovers by "malicious (or at best spammy) third parties."

The site clarified that Reddit itself has not been exploited, and suggested that the recent LinkedIn password dump was partly to blame for the uptick in account takeovers. The revelation comes after the login credentials for 117 million LinkedIn accounts, stolen in a 2012 data breach, were posted for sale on a dark web marketplace last week. The haul — priced at five bitcoins, or around $2,300 — includes email addresses and easily crackable passwords.

"Even the best security in the world won't work when users are reusing passwords between sites," Reddit Engineer Christopher Slowe wrote in a post on the site.

Slowe urged users to create a strong, unique Reddit password — emphasis on the word unique.

"I don't mean 'use that really good password you use on sites you care about,'" he wrote. "I mean 'one that is used for Reddit and Reddit alone!"'

He also recommended that users set and verify an email address. It's not required on Reddit, but, as Slowe pointed out, the site currently has just one way for users to reset their accounts: by email.

Finally, Reddit users should check their own account activity page for suspicious activity. If you see IPs you don't recognize, especially from countries you don't spend much time in, be sure to change your password.

Meanwhile, Reddit is also looking to weed out "abandoned accounts with no discernible history" that exist as placeholders in its database, Slowe wrote. The company plans to soon start issuing password resets to these accounts; if it doesn't get a reaction in about a month, it will disable them.

Dark Sky: Hyperlocal Weather (Free + IAP)
People are evangelical about weather app Dark Sky on iOS – but now it’s available on Android too. It gives you super-specific forecasts for your current location, including warning you when it’s about to rain. Notifications and daily summaries make it worth the monthly subscription.

Spaces (Free)
Google has had a few misses when it comes to social networking apps, but Spaces looks like it has a shot at succeeding. Why? Because it has a tight focus on sharing with “small groups” of friends and family, meaning you only need a few contacts on it for it to be useful. Photos, websites and YouTube videos can all be pulled in.

Science Journal (Free)
This is one of the most intriguing apps Google has made for Android in some time: “a tool for doing science with your smartphone”. It uses the various sensors in the device to measure the real world around you, then plots the results for you. Google already has a few suggestions for how it might be used.

Sleepcast (Free)
If the default alarm clock on Android isn’t helping you wake up in the best way, Sleepcast may be worth a try. It’s a musical alarm clock that pipes your tunes to the nearest wireless speaker or hi-fi – Sonos for example – although it can just play on your smartphone too.

Tastemates (Free)
There have been attempts before to build social apps based on people’s shared tastes, and none of them took off. Tastemates faces a challenge, then, but it’s going about it in a slick way. It wants to get you sharing your music, film and TV recommendations, then getting new suggestions from people like you.

Swapshots (Free)
The Royal Mail’s new app is getting criticised by early reviewers for using Facebook to log in, but if you don’t mind that, the app is a good idea. It’s a simple way to turn your smartphone snaps into printed photos, delivered to whoever you like within the UK for 85p a time. To grandparents, for example.

Somme 100 (Free)
This is the latest app from historian Dan Snow’s app development firm, which has partnered with the British Legion for this first world war-focused app. It’s a mix of text, videos, photos, audio and maps from one of the most infamous battles in military history.

WRIO Keyboard (£2.49)
Clumsy-thumbed Android users may appreciate the latest alternative-keyboard app to be released for their smartphones. Taking up nearly half the screen, WRIO is trying to “get rid of typos” with its honeycomb layout. It takes a bit of getting used to, but its large keys and swipe gestures can speed up your typing.

quickReply (Free)
Quicker replies to notifications are going to be part of the upcoming Android N software, but this app offers a similar feature for previous Android versions. When you get a notification from a messaging app, for example, you can reply without opening the main app: in theory offering less distraction from whatever you were doing.

Lumi News (Free)
The latest news-aggregation app comes from the co-founders of music service Last.fm, and like others in its genre, it aims to learn your news habits and serve up stories that will interest you. There’s a good mix of major and off-the-beaten-track news sources, but the proof of its value will come a few weeks down the road.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (£2.49 + IAP)
Brothers started life as a console and PC game, before making the jump to iOS and now Android. It’s a beautifully-crafted adventure starring two brothers trying to help their poorly father. The gameplay offers well-worked dual-stick action, and without giving anything away, this has an emotional punch beyond its rivals.

Bushido Bear (Free + IAP)
Spry Fox is the developer behind outstanding puzzlers Triple Town and Alphabear, and it’s kept the latter’s theme for this action title. It’s a bit Fruit Ninja-esque as you swipe your finger around the screen to attack enemies, but with plenty of twists of of its own as you unlock and upgrade characters.

Hungry Shark World (Free + IAP)
The Hungry Shark games are closing in on 300m downloads on mobile, which is a just reward for their fun – and often bloody – take on aquatic life. Here, you’re playing various sharks, exploring the ocean and taking bites out of fish, crabs and humans as you grow.

Liyla and The Shadows of War (Free)
This game caused a stir recently when Apple rejected the iOS version for its politicial themes. It’s had no such problems on Android, where this game set in the Gaza Strip has been picking up rave reviews. Presenting a Palestinian viewpoint on the conflict there, it’s a sign of how games can offer perspectives on real-world warfare and political situations.

Leap Day (Free + IAP)
This colourful platform game offers plenty of nostalgic thrills for longtime gamers, but it also has a modern twist: each day, developer Nitrome makes a new level available, with the idea being that players complete it to fill up their in-game calendar. Which might seem like a gimmick, but the game is really fun.

Mekorama (Free + IAP)
Mekorama has been compared to mobile hit Monument Valley, which is understandable given its isometric puzzles. It’s very good, though, and its killer feature is the ability to create and share your own levels, as well as playing those made by other players.

The Lego Movie Video Game (£0.50)
Lego is on a good run of decent mobile games, even if The Lego Movie’s arrival on Android is pretty late. The game follows the plot of the film, with many of its characters making an appearance. Its mix of building, battling and exploration will keep young Lego fans amused.

Britney Spears: American Dream (Free + IAP)
Developer Glu Mobile had a hit with Kim Kardashian’s mobile game and a miss with Katy Perry’s, so it’s hoping Britney Spears will follow the former’s path. Assuming you’re a fan, it’s a fun social game that sees your character making their way in the pop world.

Elsword: Evolution (Free + IAP)
If you like your Japanese RPGs, Android has a well-stocked catalogue of games to try. Elsword: Evolution is the latest to launch, and it’s one of the best examples. It’s a side-scrolling adventure with plenty of fights and character customisation to get your teeth into, plus clans and global leaderboards on the social side.

Skylanders Battlecast (Free + IAP)
Finally, tech news , Activision wants a piece of the (lucrative) Hearthstone card-battling pie on mobile. It’s chosen children’s game franchise Skylanders to do it, with a deck-building title drawing on the characters from the console games. Parents may balk at how high the in-app purchases go, though.

Those are our choices, now tell us yours. What Android apps and games have you been enjoying in the last month, and what do you think of the ones we’ve recommended above? The comments section is open for your thoughts.

The download size depends on the version and varies from PC to PC. In fact, Windows 10 Home is around 2.6GB, but 3GB is a good round number. Updates, patches and apps will add to that.

Time taken

This tech news taken depends on the version, the speed of the PC and, especially, the speed of the hard disk or SSD (solid state drive). About from 30 to 90 minutes, but typically it takes about an hour.

Saving files

Direct downloads

Go to the Windows 10 Upgrade page and click the button that says “Download now”. It should upgrade your current Windows to Windows 10. If not, see the next answer....

Direct upgrades

Activation keys

Try again

When you upgraded, Microsoft stored your PC’s hash code on its activation server. You can now upgrade to Windows 10 whenever you like, even after the free upgrade offer ends.

Saving emails

Whither Vista?

Enterprise problems

Stopping the upgrade

Amazing facts, Later this year, Google is going to start handing over more space to advertisers, and allow their ads to pop up in loads of new places: Google Maps ads could even start showing up while you're driving.

In an effort to boost its primary source of revenue (search) in the face of rapidly changing customer behavior (mobile), Google said it is making search ads bigger. Last year, Google (GOOGL, Tech30) added a third ad at the top of its mobile search results page. But Google's latest changes are far more substantial.

Google currently gives search advertisers 25 characters for a headline and 70 characters for a description. That's going up to 60 characters for a headline, split between two lines, and 80 description characters.

In a blog post, Sridhar Ramaswamy, head of Google's ads business, called the new strategy "the biggest changes to our text ads since AdWords launched fifteen years ago."

The results are promising -- for advertisers, anyway. The clickthrough rates on the new text-only ads are up 20% compared to the current ones, according to Google.

Google will be simplifying the work flow for businesses to create display ads with images. The company says advertisers need to "simply provide headlines, a description, an image, and a URL," and Google will automatically design ads for the business.

Location-based ads will start showing up on Google too. If you search for "shoe store" or "car repair near me," ads for local businesses will populate the search results. Google is also redesigning local business pages, allowing customers to explore a store's inventor and get special offers.

And Google suggested that Maps customers may start seeing "promoted pins" for coffee shops, gas stations or restaurants that are along their driving route.

The new features, unveiled at Google's Performance Summit on Tuesday, will be rolling out later this year.

The changes come as Google is trying to stay ahead of customers' changing demands. Google isn't exactly struggling now In fact, mobile has been growing steadily.

But eMarketer expects that to change -- Google's ad revenue is forecast to grow 9% this year, less than the 15% growth from 2015. Mobile ads are growing fast, but advertisers still aren't willing to pay as much for mobile ads as desktop.

If Google can improve the effectiveness of its mobile ads, the company hopes it can force advertisers to pay more.

Tech news: IBM's thousands of employees are fired, but it's also hiring like crazy.

As IBM transitions from a software and services business to a cloud company, it is letting go workers whose skills carried IBM in the last decade but are no longer in vogue. IBM said last month that it would lay off an unspecified number of people in those legacy businesses, but it announced that it would hire an equal number of people for its high growth units to replace them.

The company has posted about 7,000 positions online but said there are even more open positions that haven't yet been advertised. All told, IBM (IBM, Tech30) told CNNMoney it hopes to fill about 20,000 open positions. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report that number.

Those new bodies can't come fast enough. IBM has rattled off 16 straight quarters of sales declines, and last month it announced its worst quarterly sales since 2002.

It wasn't so long ago that IBM was predicting that its profit would reach $20 a share by the end of 2015. That proved to be way too ambitious -- IBM posted earnings of just $14.92 at the end of 2015. (IBM abandoned that $20 target in the third quarter of 2014).

The company was ill-prepared for its customers' sudden warm embrace of cloud computing. Why buy big, expensive IBM mainframes and servers when you can pay Amazon (AMZN,Tech30) or Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30) to house all your data for you -- for cheaper? Why spend money on software for your computers, when those programs can be hosted in the cloud?

Over the past several years, IBM has attempted to shift its strategy. It is now a major cloud player, racking up $10.2 billion in cloud sales last year. And it has poured millions of dollars into big data analytics, mobility and security. Its most notable project that fits the "new IBM" bill is Watson.

IBM said sales of those "strategic imperatives" are growing fast -- up 26% in 2015.

But steering a ship as big as IBM in a new direction takes a lot of time. IBM's executive leadership says it expects that its strategy will pay off soon, but Wall Street analysts aren't expecting IBM's sales to grow for at least another couple years.

Despite all the hiring, IBM is getting significantly leaner. IBM employed about 434,000 people when Ginni Rometty took over as CEO in 2011. Its headcount is now below 378,000.

Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It has the third-largest planetary radius and fourth-largest planetary mass in the Solar System. Uranus is similar in composition to Neptune, and both have different bulk chemical composition from that of the larger gas giants Jupiter and Saturn. For this reason, scientists often classify Uranus and Neptune as "ice giants" to distinguish them from the gas giants. Here we come up with a list of interesting cool randomfacts about Uranus planet for kids. Let's check out to know more about Uranus moons, mass,rings, surface, coldest planet. Science facts

Interesting cool random Uranus planet for kids

Uranus planet facts

#1

Uranus cannot be seen from the Earth without a telescope.

#2

The seventh planet from the Sun, it was not known in ancient times, unlike the planets fromMercury to Saturn.

#3

Uranus was first seen by William Herschel in 1781 during a survey of the sky using a telescope.  In 1782 George III appointed Herschel as Astronomer Royal. StartsWilliam Herschel was born in Hanover, Germany.  He moved to England in 1757 in order to follow a career as a musician but after buying a book on astronomy he became interested only in watching the sky.  

#4

Herschel also discovered 2 of Uranus moons with a larger telescope.

#5

Uranus is one of the “gas giants”, the four outer planets which are entirely composed of gas,Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

Interesting facts about Uranus planet for kids

#6

Most of the centre of Uranus is a frozen mass of ammonia and methane, which gives it the blue-green colour.  The atmosphere also contains hydrogen and helium.

#7

Uranus orbits the Sun lying on its side and takes 84 years to complete one orbit.  The Earth goes round the Sun in 365 days, one year.

#8

Because Uranus is lying on its side as it orbits the sun, for nearly a quarter of its orbit one pole of the planet is in complete darkness.  

#9

Uranus takes 17.9 hours to turn once on its own axis, faster than the Earth, which takes 24 hours and gives us the change from day to night.

#10

Uranus was the ancient Greek God of the heavens whose sons were the Giants and Titans.

Uranus Planet Interior and Structure - Facts about Uranus planet

#11

Uranus is the smallest of the four “giants”, but is still several times larger than the Earth. It has a diameter of 29297 miles, or 47, 150 kilometres, compared to the Earth’s diameter of just under 8000 miles, or 12,760 kilometres.  

#12

Uranus has a total of 27 moons, most of whom are named after characters in Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream.  The five major moons are called  Titania, Oberon, Miranda, Ariel and Umbriel.  Umbriel is not from Shakespeare but is the “melancholy sprite” in a poem by Alexander Pope.

#13

Distances in the Solar system are measured in Astronomical Units (AU), with the Earth’s distance from the Sun being 1 AU.  Uranus is 19.2 AU from the Sun.  Figure 2 shows the distances of the first seven planets from the Sun, measured in AU.

#14

Uranus spins lying on its side (like a barrel), this is perhaps due to a large collision early in its formation.

#15

Uranus was the first planet discovered by telescope.

Uranus and Neptune Planet

#16

Since Uranus takes 84 Earth years to go around the sun, this means that each of its poles is in daylight for 42 years and in darkness for the next 42.

#17

Uranus atmosphere is mostly hydrogen but it also contains large amounts of a gas called methane. Methane absorbs red light and scatters blue light so a blue-green methane haze hides the interior of the planet from view.

#18

Uranus hides its interior but scientists guess that under the hydrogen-methane atmosphere is a hot, slushy ocean of water, ammonia and methane thousands of miles deep wrapped around a rocky core.

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