PushBullet for Android sends text and files to your phone in the blink of an eye

There was a time when even the most passionate Android users had trouble getting excited about the apps available on the platform. This no longer the case as Android has overtaken the competition as the most used mobile operating system. Developers pay attention to Android, and Google’s improvements in recent years have provided for some interesting app experiences you just don’t get on other mobile operating systems. One such app is the newly released PushBullet, which takes advantage of Android’s notifications, file system, and push messaging. I think this might be the newest essential Android app, and here’s why.

PushBullet is basically a way to get information from your PC to your phone with the minimum hassle possible. You can send three different kinds of text notifications, each with application intents attached to add functionality. You can also send files from your PC browser directly to your Android device.

Setting up PushBullet is a fairly straightforward process. After you install the Android app, you will be directed to the PushBullet website to manage your devices. It uses Google Apps to connect to your phone or tablet, so you don’t have to mess with PINs or logins to make it work. Just select your Google account in the app and on the website, and you’re done.

Your devices will be listed on the PushBullet website, so it’s easy to push to a specific device if you have more than one. The interface is very clean when creating your messages. There are four tabs: one for each of the three kinds of text notifications, and one for file push.

The note option allows you to choose a title, and add a block of text that will appear in the notification. On Jelly Bean devices, this notification is expandable too. Tapping on it will open the PushBullet app so you can see the entire block of text — you can send quite a lot.

The address message again has a title field, but the address you enter into the next space will be used to trigger Google Maps on your device. This is called an intent in Android. When you tap on the notification, Maps will search for the location automatically. This is really handy if you’re on the way out the door and need to navigate with the phone.

The list notification is expandable, so it’s nice for at a glance shopping or to-do management. However, tapping on this notification pulls up the PushBullet app showing each item in a column with checkboxes. You can mark things off as you go, and the app keeps track of what’s crossed off so you can come back to it later.

The file push piece is what sets PushBullet apart. Just select the file tab on the website, choose the file you want to send, and it will be shot over to your device immediately. The file is automatically saved to your Download folder. The speed of this process is dependent on your connection speed, but I’ve found it to be more than adequate. The only bummer here is that the file size is currently limited to 5MB, but that might be lifted as PushBullet matures. This process is worlds easier than manually moving files with Dropbox or similar solutions.

PushBullet on the phone keeps track of all the messages you have sent over. This is very useful in case you accidentally clear a notification that you end up needing later. Find it in PushBullet and tap the restore button up top. This works for both text and file pushes.

I’m genuinely impressed with how fast PushBullet works. It’s barely a second from the time I click the mouse to when the notification appears on my device. The developer says more features are coming, and that’s good to hear. There are still some gaps, like not being able to push from the phone back up to the PC. The file push interface is a little clunky and could use some snazzy HTML5 drag-and-drop action too.

PushBullet has loads of potential, but it’s already pretty useful now. This app is completely free, so don’t hesitate to try it out :) 

Intel wants to improve Stephen Hawking's SPEECH

Intel wants to improve Stephen Hawking’s speech

As Stephen Hawking’s condition continues to gradually decline, Intel is stepping forward to try to improve the speed at which the physicist can communicate. Hawking has been battling Lou Gherig’s disease for decades and cannot talk on his own. He relies on a computerized voice synthesizer that he communicates with only by using twitches in his cheek muscle.

Currently the physcist’s proprietary system is connected to a sensor on his eyeglasses. Often he has to spell out words one letter at a time, twitching his cheek to select each character. This inefficient process, combined with Hawking’s deteriorating physical condition, means that Hawking can now only input about one word per minute.

He reached out to Intel to come up with a better solution, and the chipmaker is rising to the occasion. Specifically, Intel chief technology officer (CTO) and director of Intel Labs Justin Rattner is working on a system that could take other facial expressions and gestures to help Hawking dictate his thoughts more easily and quickly, either through some sort of morse code interpretation or a robust facial recognition infrastructure.

Intel is working on a platform that would be able to track Hawking’s mouth and eyebrow movements, steps that it hopes could increase the speed at which he forms words by as much as 10 times faster than he currently can. This will not only aid Hawking in the future but it also advances Intel’s growing interest in smart technologies for the elderly and those with assisted living situations.

For Hawking, who recently celebrated his 70th birthday, it is a necessary step if he hopes to continue to provide insights and knowledge to the physics community. Intel has been at the forefront of helping him make that happen since the 1990s, and hopefully it will be able to address these new challenges as well.

SPIRITUALITY at deeper thought

Agreement on the meaning of spirituality is very important as we begin to consider this subject. This is because in the course of time this word “spirituality” has acquired diverse, and sometimes conflicting meanings.

Diverse Meanings of Spirituality 
If we search through the Internet today we discover that there are more than 5 million entries when we search for spirituality definition and more than 11 million entries when we search for spirituality meaning. When we put the quotation marks in order to search for the exact terms, we discover that there are more than 15 thousand entries for “definition of spirituality” and more than 1.9 million entries for “meaning of spirituality.”  This just shows us even on a cursory level the diversity of definitions and meanings of the word “spirituality.”

What is most obvious in the meaning of “spirituality” is that it comes from its root word, which is “spirit”. The suffix “-uality” qualifies the use of “spirit” in this instance. 

So a basic definition of spirituality is the quality of one’s sensitivity to the things of the spirit. And what are these things of the spirit? These are those that cannot be directly perceived by our senses but whose effects can be deduced or inferred by our observations, like love, justice, peace, etc.

Basic to this understanding of spirituality is the premise that we regard the human being and/or the rest of creation as composed not only of matter, but of something immaterial, something invisible, something beyond our present knowledge. There is always more to what we can perceive with our senses and know with our reason.

So the basic meaning of spirituality is that it is a term which encompasses everything that we cannot see directly with our eyes, directly perceive by the other senses and know by our mere reason. That is spirituality in its basic meaning.

• My Thought

The definition of spirituality can be best understood in Hinduism! Spirituality simply means every living form primarily is spiritual... a spiritual being... a cosmic essence that manifests the cosmic system! As detailed in various sacred scriptures of world... our soul atman... the spirit within is absolute master and controller of body and not vice versa!

As per Bhagavad Gita meaning of spirituality means diving deep into inner self and realizing our true identity... our soul atman... the spirit within! It is only through path of spirituality human beings gained enlightenment (kaivalya jnana) and finally salvation (moksha). The stage of enlightenment can never be reached via path of religion... path of rituals!

We need understanding difference between spirituality and religion. For reaching God we need traveling path of spirituality... path of absolute wisdom! God Almighty can never be reached via path of religion... path of bhakti yoga!

How To Lead a Spiritual Life...????

This title presumes that the person knows what the spiritual life is. But most people do not know what a spiritual life is. 

• Comparison of Three Levels of Life

All of us live a physical life, the life of our body. So, we simply look at our body and ask how does this body live. We lead a physical life because of the body that we have.

Almost all of us also live a mental life, the life of our mind. We think, we reflect, we reason. So we have a mind. The ones who do not live this life would be the mentally retarded. They have a mind but their mind no longer grows. They may be 50 years old physically but their mind has remained at the level of a 1 or 2 years old. But for most of

us we lead a mental life.

But to lead a spiritual life is different. For one it may be confused with leading a religious life. Up until the last century most people thought that the religious life was a spiritual life. So, we had religious orders and congregations whose members thought that they were leading a spiritual life because they were leading a religious life: praying, reading the Bible and other spiritual books, meditating, helping their neighbors, etc.

• Spiritual Life Is Not Necessarily a Religious Life

But lately we noticed a phenomenon. Non-religious persons have been busy in learning more about the spiritual life. And when they discuss the spiritual life, they were not at all referring to the religious life of people. In fact, some of these non-religious persons who were doing research on the spiritual life thought that the spiritual life is in many ways totally different from the religious life.

So, the question is, if the spiritual life is different from the religious life, how do you start to lead it?

The religious life is started by a certain ritual, like baptism or the donning on of a religious garb or habit. The spiritual life is best started by a teacher who guides the student to this spiritual life. The teacher may employ a ritual or he may not. But he is there to guide the student as a tour guide would guide a traveler as they enter a building of historical importance. 

This was the approach taken by Teresa of Avila who wrote a book on the spiritual life with the title of THE INTERIOR CASTLE. She conceived of the spiritual life as a mansion with many rooms or a castle with many dwelling places. 

Again our question is: How do you start to lead the spiritual life?A reflection on a common experience we have may make us understand the answer to this question. After we answer this question, we answer the second question: How do you continue to lead this spiritual life after you have started leading it?

• The Start of Our Spiritual Life

Here is the common experience we have which may help us understand how we can start to lead the spiritual life. 

When we were children our parents told us to do something, either pick up their shoes or go to a certain part of the house. Most of the time we obeyed. There were times when we did not obey. For the times when we obeyed, we ask now, Why did we obey? 

It was because we heard the voice of our parents and we naturally thought of obeying the word signified by that voice. In other words, the means of communicating between us and our parents, besides gestures and looks, was the word. This is very important to notice because it is the word which, upon reflection, we realize has power. 

When we grew up, we have had more uses of the word. But it is the word that has power. In the army especially, one word can move thousands of soldiers to stand on their feet at attention. The commander shouts "Attention" and all the rest follow. 

The word is most powerful. This is the entrance to the spiritual life, knowing a word and using it to enter into the life of the spirit. The spirit is in the word as it were. 

In some centers of spirituality people are trained to utter a word again and again slowly until this word sinks into their subconscious mind. This is what they call a mantra, a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that a person repeats again and again, producing spiritual effects in his being. What the mantra does is to awaken the spirit within us, just as a word would awaken physically a sleeping person.

And this is where the guide or teacher is handy. He would help the student find a mantra that is suitable for him. 

This is the start of leading a spiritual life. 

• The Continuation of Our Spiritual Life

The continuation of leading the spiritual life is simply understanding more of the mantra that has been given to him. In some societies only the teacher and the student know the mantra. It is a secret word. But it is this secret word that gives spiritual power to the student. 

The student or spiritual person meditates on the meaning of this word. He reads more about it, reflects on the meaning he finds in his readings. He does this until the time comes when he stops reflecting on its meaning. He stops reflecting because it has entered already into his very being. It is like eating. When we eat we chew. But when the food is absorbed already by our stomach we stop to chew that portion of food we were chewing before. 

So, also in the spiritual life which begins from the word we reflect upon. Time will come when we can no longer reflect on the meaning of the word we had reflected before. This is because the reality of the word has already entered the depths of our being. 

The ideal would be for a student to receive this word from his teacher. But this word can be any that you think is conducive to your temperament and religious upbringing. If you are a Christian, you may choose the word "God" or "Jesus". One Benedictine suggested the word "Maranatha" which means "Come Lord". If you are a Muslim you may choose the word "Allah" or "Rahman" which means "the God" or "the Most Merciful". If you are a Hindu, you may choose "Brahman" or "Atman". And so forth.

To summarize then, to lead the spiritual life, enter it first by meditating upon a word. Then continue leading this life by meditating more upon this word until you can no longer meditate on it, because this word has entered into your very being.

The Benefits of Spirituality

More and more people now are getting more and more interested in spirituality. The reason for this is because spirituality is offering them benefits which they cannot find in religion or in their own churches. This article discusses the benefits which people have discovered in spirituality. This also tells those who are just beginning to learn about spirituality what benefits they can get from this subject matter which has been dubbed as the new black art, a way of conjuring the good things in life.

We can go through the alphabet and for each letter identify a benefit people have gotten from spirituality. That would give us 26 benefits, using the English alphabet. But that would be artificial. Somebody has already done this.

• Major Benefits of Spirituality

I want to point out three main benefits which people have enjoyed in learning and being engaged in spirituality. Then I will also point out three minor benefits. But since this is a spiritual topic and there is really no end to a discussion on the things of the spirit, we can also say that there is no end to the benefits which we can enjoy in spirituality.

The first main benefit is a sense of freedom or greater freedom. Religion has often been looked at as a repressing element in one's life: Do not do this, do not do that. Now with spirituality people have found a new sense of freedom: You can do this, you can do that. 

Let us give an example. In churches people are reminded by their leaders to behave properly, to come to the church services regularly and to support the needs of the church. But these injunctions are received by the church members as obligations, as things they have to do, otherwise they will lose their good standing in the church. These obligations bind them, so they feel.

On the other hand people who have left or are transcending this kind of church life find that spirituality is a life that buoys them up, that does not press them down as in the churches. Spirituality enables them to come out of themselves so that they can be themselves. A fifteen minutes sincere prayer and meditation in the secret of their room is more likely to uplift their spirit than the one hour sermon by the pastor or the fifteen minutes homily by the priest.

The second main benefit is a sense of real direction. In religion people have been trained to be directed to heaven: Do good here on earth so that when you die you go to heaven. This is the rather simplistic teaching of all religions. In spirituality, heaven is no longer a place in the distant future where we are going to after we die. Heaven happens to be just around the corner in the company of other spirits and spiritually minded people. Heaven is where we enjoy the company of like-minded spirits.

The third benefit is a sense of wholeness. Life is no longer a stream of splintered units: This is for my family, this is for my business, this is for my church, this is for my friends, this is for the charitable organizations I belong to. Life has become a whole. All the concerns and activities in life revolve around one center, the integration of the self with others.

• Minor Benefits of Spirituality

Those are the main benefits. Now we go to the minor benefits which you can consider as the consequences of the main benefits.

The first minor benefit people have found in the practice of spirituality is a new sense of self-confidence. Having found their real selves as spirit beings, no longer as blind products of evolution, they now realize they have self worth more valuable than all the material treasures of this earth. This sense of self worth gives them self-confidence.

The second is a new sense of creativity. This follows from the sense of self-confidence. Now they are no longer tied by the tradition of their society. This is not surprising because the spirit is a creative force. It is the Spirit who created our world or caused it to be created. Spiritual persons think along new lines. Instead of thinking that such a thing cannot be done because it has not been done before, they think "Why not?". All the inventions we now benefit from are products of people who have been deeply spiritual, who dreamed of things to come and saw visions of sights never seen before. 

The third is a new sense of healthy living, both physical health and mental health. Having a new sense of freedom, of new direction in the here and now, not in the by and by, and having a new sense of wholeness, having a new sense of confidence and creativity cannot but produce a new sense of healthy living. The spiritual person affirms: I can now stay healthy with the aid of the spirit telling me what to do to my mind and body. After all the spirit knows what is best for our mind and body. It is for the spirit's interest that we remain healthy because he lives in our mind and body.

North Korea - The Most Isolated Country in the WORLD

World's Most Isolated Country : North Korea  

North Korea @ glimpse

• Location   : Above South Korea
• Capital      :Pyongyang
• Population:24554000  (2011)
• GDP          :Per capita: $2400 

13 Interesting Facts about North Korea

1.  You can’t turn off the government radio installed in your home, only reduce the volume.
2.  Idolatry in North Korea is such that it is second-nature for ordinary citizens to “rescue” portraits of Kim Il Sung before all else in the case of a house fire (there are even special bunkers for statues in case of war).
3.  Many people don’t even know that man has walked on the moon.
4. There is no Internet, cell-phones have been banned.
5. A main cause for all problems are Americans. Mothers teach their children to sing songs about bad Americans, there are many postage stamps showing the death of “U.S imperialists”
6.  A six-day work week, and another day of enforced “volunteer” work, ensures that the average citizen has virtually no free time.
7.  The very first thing you do when you visit North Korea’s capital Pyongyang is visit and give a flower to a big statue of “Dear Leader”.
8.  About 0.85% of the population are held in prison or detention camps.
9. Most traffic control is performed by female traffic directors (reportedly handpicked by Kim Jong-Il for their beauty), as the lights are switched off to save electricity.
10. Dogs are banned in Pyongyang to keep it clean.
11.  Visitors of North Korea are given special guides and can’t go anywhere without them.
12. North Koreans are used to often disappearing electricity and have many candles prepared.
13. North Korea has the fourth-largest military in the world, at an estimated 1.21 million armed personnel.

"Some call it Darkest Spot in the WORLD"

Some call it “the Darkest Spot in the World”, “the Ghost City”, or “the Hermit Kingdom”. If you happen to visit North Korea’s capital Pyongyang at first you might think that it’s not as poor as the press writes, everybody is well-dressed and everything is extremely clean, even a bit too much. Only later you would get to learn more about the reality behind that big facade that they are showing to foreigners. Special well-dressed people hired to walk in the underground stations, looking happy and smiling all the time, special shops filled with fruits and other goodies, fake buildings near the wall with South Korea to show off to their southern brothers – this is how they want us to see them.

This is the “Propaganda Village” seen from the South Korea’s side. It is propaganda, because nobody actualy lives here, it’s only facade buildings to show off to South Korean’s. You can also see there is the biggest flag in the world. The buildings around have huge broadcasting speakers that, every day for 6 to 12 hours pump out propaganda and messages praising how wonderful life is in the North Korea.

An article about North Korea can’t be without the picture of Kim Il Sung, the “Dear Leader”. This is a statue for him in all his beauty which stands 20 meters tall

North Korea was ruled by Kim Il Sung’s succesor Kim Jong-il a.k.a. the “Dear Leader”(1941-2011). He was not just a simple ruler, but considered as a GOD.

One of the guides that are given to every North Korea visitor. She’s cute, must be selected from hundreds of candidates

A nice view of Pyongyang

Wide streets without any traffic is a common thing in North Korea. A road to nowhere

This is how North Korea looks from the space – a dark spot of the world. It also shows what is the difference between communism and capitalism as South Korea is very well lit.“Except for my wife and family, that is my favorite photo,” once saidSecretary Rumsfeld. Some people joke, that they must be the greenest, most eco-friendly country on the planet and every nation should follow their example. Oh and by the way, that one and only little white spot in North Korea is Pyongyang.

Must be a busy day for a traffic lady.

Typical buildings of Pyongyang and a HUGE amount of cars in one place, and almost all of them are old Mercedes. Notice that the streets is still empty.

Just regular children, with their parents at the station. When photographer wanted to make a picture, the children saluted spontaneously. And the boy is dressed in a military uniform, probably ready to fight against U.S imperialists.

Mass games or mass gymnastics are regularly performed only in North Korea, where they take place to celebrate national holidays such as the birthdays of rulers Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. There are tens of thousands of performers taking part in this highly regimented performance. The show looks really amazing, and the big picture in the background is not LED, LCD or PLASMA screen – it is made by thousands of schoolchildren changing cards in their hands, and the picture is even animated

Overheating Battery Causes Fire on Boeing 787 Dreamliner

Boeing 787 Dreamliner

Flying is one of the safest ways to travel, and statistically is much safer than driving. However, you really never want to be on a flight when something goes wrong as your options are limited, and passengers on a Japan Airlines flight from Tokyo to Boston can count themselves lucky today.

The Japan Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner used for the flight caught on fire after landing, but thankfully after passengers and crew had left the plane. The fire is thought to have been caused by a battery that forms part of the auxiliary power system on the aircraft.

The battery apparently overheated and one of the maintenance workers noticed smoke appearing on the exterior of the aircraft. The fire broke out in the rear of the Dreamliner.

Dreamliner that caught Fire

A full investigation is now underway by the FAA with Boeing involved for assistance on figuring out the cause. As the Dreamliner is still a fairly new aircraft it could just be a minor problem. However, if it turns out to be a design flaw then this could be a very expensive fix for the company.

The Dreamliner has already experienced a number of electrical problems, with one even forcing an emergency landing last year. Even so, a fire is one of the worst things that can happen to an aircraft considering how much fuel they carry.

The worst case now is if a major design fault is found and the FAA decide to take further action due to the other faults that have already been identified on the aircraft. For now, I’m just glad I don’t have a flight booked on a Dreamliner anytime soon.

 Via BBC

Flower on MARS

CURIOSITY rover on Mars

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had sent a Car sized robotic Rover exploring Gale Crater on Mars as part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission (MSL). It was launched on 26th November, 2011 and landed on Aeolis Palus in Gale Crater on Mars on August 6, 2012. 

Recently the Curiosity Rover have found out and Extraordinary thing to look at.

A peculiar petal-shaped cluster spotted on Mars by NASA scientists has Sparked Speculation that flowers might be blooming on the Red Planet.

One of the photograph from Curiosity Rover showing the Pearl colored Flower on Mars

One of the photograph from Curiosity Rover showing the Pearl colored Flower on Mars

This so-called "Martin Flower" is seen in an image captured by NASA's Curiosity rover in end of December'2012. In the Image, pearl colored petals appears to sprout from a rock's surface.

Space fans on online discussion forums remarked that it might be quartz embedded in the rock. One optimistic commenter suggested it might be the pistils of a blooming flower, the New York Daily News reported.

A similar find in October last year had turned out to be a piece of plastic that had fallen from the rover itself.

"But the cluster appears to be part of the rock," NASA spokesperson Guy Webster told the Daily News in an email.

"I would guess that the 'flower' was someone's descriptive term for its appearance, not meant as an interpretation that flowers exist on Mars," he wrote.

Another point I would like to introduce to you is that "Curiosity rover has found the soils on MARS similar to soils of HAWAI."

Lets hope for the well-being of mankind and may Curiosity finds a signs of life on MARS...

Amazing_Crescent Moon Tower (Dubai)

The Crescent Moon Tower is the architectural design project submitted to the 11^th ThyssenKrup Elevator Architecture Award by the California-based firm Transparence House. 

• In response to the challenge to design a tall emblem structure for Za’abeel Park, one that should signify the modern face of Dubai, Transparence House chose a larger than life crescent shape that has a two-fold statement.  

• First it boldly identifies Dubai as part of the Islamic world, and second, because of the technical difficulty of building such a structure, it proclaims Dubai’s advanced level of technical and economic development.

• The Crescent Moon Tower is designed to accommodate a children’s library, a conference facility, a restaurant, multiple cafes, and an open-air observation platform.