InfoTrove

Saturday, January 24, 2015

Hong Kong police hunt young girl over diamond heist

Local media reported that the theft was from an Emperor Jewellery store in the Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district. Photo: Antony Dickson.

Hong Kong police say they are hunting a girl aged between 12 and 14 years old over the theft of a diamond necklace worth more than HK$36 million (US$4.6 million) from a luxury jewellery store.

Police say she helped carry out the audacious theft with two women and a man, all aged between 30 and 40.

The adults "pretended to be customers choosing items from the shop" police said, while the girl stole the necklace.

The gang of four then left the store before a staff member realised it was missing.

The necklace was 100-carat gold embedded with more than 30 diamonds, the South China Morning Post said, and police confirmed it was worth HK$36 million.

The young girl managed to steal a key from a drawer to open a cabinet while staff were distracted, the SCMP said, citing an unnamed police source.

"The three adults posed as big spenders and demanded employees show them jewellery in an apparent move to divert staff attention," the source said.

Local media reported that the theft was from the Emperor Jewellery store in the Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district, but the store would not confirm it had been targeted when contacted by AFP.

The girl was caught on CCTV as she left the mall, the SCMP said, showing a picture of a girl dressed in black trousers, a blue shirt and a grey hooded top.

Police described her as "slimly built".

The gang spent around half an hour in the shop and staff did not notice the necklace was missing until later in the day, the SCMP added.

Source: Yahoo! News SG


Friday, January 23, 2015

Microsoft unveils Windows 10

Photo: Google

Microsoft has lifted the curtain much higher on Windows 10, showing off a whole slew of new features that will be coming to PCs and phones later this year.

At its Redmond, Washington, headquarters on Wednesday, Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30) detailed how its new operating system will work across desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones -- oh, and it's going to use holograms.

Microsoft understands that Windows 8 wasn't well-received by customers, and most of its updates to Windows 10 reflect that. It offers a much more familiar experience to Windows 7 users who never made the jump to Windows 8. But it also brings some innovations to the PC that tablet and smartphone users have become accustomed to. And by adding holographic representations to Windows 10, Microsoft is hoping to take Windows to a world beyond screens.

"Today really is a monumental day for Windows," said Terry Myerson, head of Microsoft's operating systems unit. "Windows 10 is so much more than the latest version of Windows. Windows 10 changes the rules of the game."

Like a smartphone or tablet upgrade, Microsoft's new operating system will be available as a free update for anyone using Windows 8.1. That's a big deal for Microsoft, which makes a tremendous amount of money on Windows sales.

Windows 10 is Microsoft's first major operating system upgrade since Windows 8 was introduced in 2012. Windows runs on more than 91% of the world's computers, according to NetMarketShare.

Holograms. By far the coolest part of Microsoft's presentation was "Windows Holographic," Microsoft's attempt to immerse its customers into a computerized world. Windows 10 has been built to integrate holographic representations of its software. With the companion HoloLens glasses, Windows 10 users can interact with holograms all around them.

HoloLens comes with a holographic processing chip that understands your gestures, voice and where you're looking. It can map the world around you and display holograms that appear to be in thin air or on objects that surround you.

With Windows 10's HoloStudio app, Microsoft lets users create 3-D objects with their voices and gestures (like pinches and flicks) and then print them on a 3-D printer.

Cortana. Microsoft's version of Siri will be part of Windows 10. By using voice commands, Cortana can show your notifications, stock information, sports news, and other functions typical of smartphone voice assistants.

But you can also say "Hey, Cortana, show me PowerPoint slides about the charity auction" or "show me photos from December," and it will quickly run the search query.

No more Internet Explorer. Microsoft introduced a new, stripped-down browser that has been codenamed "Project Spartan." The new browser will ship with Windows 10, and it will function similarly to Chrome and Firefox.

The Spartan browser supports pen interactions, so people can mark up websites with their fingers or styluses and share them. Wit also features a reading mode and Cortana integration.

Spartan will be built on a different software platform from IE and the two are not compatible. That means Microsoft will continue to also ship IE with Windows to ensure that corporate apps continue to function properly.

Return of the Start menu. After being removed from Windows 8, Microsoft announced that the Start Menu will make a full comeback in Windows 10.

The new Windows 10 Start menu includes a new personalizable space for favorite apps, programs and websites. It can be viewed as a full-screen Windows 8-like display of tiles or a more familiar Windows 7-like drawer of apps.

Continuum. The biggest Windows 8 headache that Windows 10 is expected to cure is the way the operating system manages its separate "desktop" and "tablet" modes. At its event, Microsoft introduced a new Windows 10 design interface called "Continuum."

Windows 10 sticks to desktop mode when it recognizes a mouse and keyboard and tablet mode when there is no keyboard and mouse. But hybrid devices, such as the Microsoft Surface, will be able to transition seamlessly between the two modes. Pull off the keyboard, and you'll enter tablet mode. Snap the keyboard back on, and you're back in desktop mode.

One Windows for all your devices. There are currently three different versions of Windows: Windows 8.1, Windows RT for tablets and Windows Phone. Last year, CEO Satya Nadella said Microsoft planned to scaling back.

Windows RT and Windows Phone are just becoming Windows 10. Windows 10 phones will be able to live-sync with Windows 10 PCs, and the apps will function similarly across different devices. They'll still be incompatible with most traditional Windows software, but they'll be able to run all of the apps from the Microsoft store.

Xbox. Microsoft said the new Xbox app for Windows 10 will let gamers stream and play Xbox games on their PCs. They can also play games from the Steam video game network and save and share game-play clips.

A new look for Windows. Microsoft said that Windows Store apps and regular desktop programs will both run in traditional windows in Windows 10. The programs can be resized and minimized from the bar at the top.

Windows 10 will feature something Mac users have enjoyed for years: the ability to create new desktops and quickly switch between them.

The new "Snap" feature will allow Windows 10 users to work on up to four apps at once on the same screen. Snap has been around since Windows Vista, but Microsoft redesigned it for Windows 10 to include a new quadrant layout.

And a new button on the task bar will take you straight to a single screen that displays all your open apps and files.

Source: CNN Money

Mayweather lays blame on Bob Arum for delay in signing Pacquiao fight


After Manny Pacquiao set a deadline for Floyd Mayweather Jr. to sign the contract by the end of the month, the American boxer finally spoke up to air his side of the negotiations.

In an interview with Shade 45 Radio, Mayweather said he wants to fight Pacquiao and said that the deal is still ongoing but they are yet to reach an agreement.

"We’re trying, but it’s been extremely difficult dealing with Top Rank," said the undefeated pound-for-pound king. "I don’t want to sit right here and point the finger at Pacquiao and say that it’s him, because it’s not Pacquiao. It’s his promoter."

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said that Pacman had already agreed to the terms of the fight but Mayweather has yet to put down his signature to the contract.

The American boxer, however, said that Pacquiao has no say at all in the negotiations.

"Lot of times when Pacquiao says, ‘I agree,’ you don’t have nothing to do with this. You’re not a boss. On the chessboard, you’re a pawn," he said. "They want to point the finger at the other guy, which is me."

Mayweather said he is committed to making the fight happen, but expressed concerns about  Pacquiao's ability to attract an audience and generate revenue.

"Once again, we have to look at his pay-per-view numbers. His last fight didn’t even do 300,000 homes," he said. "So let’s make this make sense. I mean, he did get knocked out not too long ago."

The boxers will reportedly split the purse 60/40 for the potential May 2 fight, with the lion's share of around $120 million already assured for Mayweather.

Mayweather hinted that he is the bigger of both fighters and the one who will bring the money on the fight due to his unblemished 47-0 professional record.

Source: GMA News


Thursday, January 22, 2015

WATCH: Incredible iPhone 6 drop test from outer space


Apple’s iPhone always gets put through some pointless destruction tests.

We’ve seen it boiled in coke, shot with a gun and popped in the microwave.

But someone’s just put it through the most ingenious and biggest test to date.

Case maker, Ultimate Armour Gear, has just sent an iPhone 6 into space to show off how strong their cases are.

Attaching the phone and a GoPro camera to a weather balloon the phone reached a height of over 100,000ft before being released.

 
DROP: An iPhone 6 has been put through the ultimate test [YOUTUBE]

On it’s way back to earth the iPhone achieved speeds of over 70 miles per hour and temperatures of -79 fahrenheit.

After the nerve-racking decent the phone finally bumped its way back to earth.

According to the films makers the iPhone survived without a scratch and with a quick charge was as good as new.

But we guess they would say that!

Source: Daily Star



UPDATE: Divers find bodies belted in seats near AirAsia fuselage


PANGKALAN BUN: Indonesian divers Thursday (Jan 22) found five bodies still belted into their seats near the main section of an AirAsia plane that crashed into the Java Sea last month with 162 people on board, and are hopeful of reaching the fuselage.

A total of 58 bodies have now been found following the crash of flight QZ8501 which went down on Dec 28 in stormy weather as it flew from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.

"Our divers found five bodies buried in mud, close to the plane fuselage. They were still belted to their seats," S.B. Supriyadi, a rescue agency official coordinating the search, told AFP. "We believe they spilled out of the fuselage, which is 50 to 100 metres away," he said.

Three bodies have been retrieved and taken to the warship Banda Aceh, while the other two were still being recovered, he said. He added that divers had yet to reach the main section of the plane, which is thought to contain the bulk of passengers and crew, as visibility under water was only two metres.

"But it is a bright, clear day so we remain optimistic that the divers might reach the wreckage today (Thursday)," he said.

The main body of the Airbus A320-200 was spotted on the seabed by a military vessel last week following an arduous search in shallow Indonesian waters, but strong underwater currents and rough seas have prevented divers from reaching it. The jet's black boxes - the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder - were recovered last week, and investigators are analysing them.

Indonesian Transport Minister Ignasius Jonan said this week that the plane climbed abnormally fast before stalling and plunging into the sea. Just moments before the plane disappeared off the radar, the pilot had asked to climb to avoid a major storm but was not immediately granted permission due to heavy air traffic.

Source: Channel News Asia