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The company is responding to the increasing use of Twitter and Facebook as a source of breaking news. It says that around 35 per cent of searches will be affected, and results will now include pages that are just minutes old if the company’s algorithm detects that the most recent information is the most relevant.

Writing on the Google Search Blog, the company’s Amit Singhal said that “Given the incredibly fast pace at which information moves in today’s world, the most recent information can be from the last week, day or even minute, and depending on the search terms, the algorithm needs to be able to figure out if a result from a week ago about a TV show is recent, or if a result from a week ago about breaking news is too old.”

The aim is to return information about what users are actually searching for, rather than necessarily what they have typed in. Singhal writes that “For recent events or hot topics that begin trending on the web, you want to find the latest information immediately. Now when you search for current events, you’ll see more high-quality pages that might only be minutes old.”

He added that searches for reviews and regular events will now also preference the latest information.

The update complements Google’s ‘Caffeine web indexing system’, which was completed last year and allows the website to crawl the web more quickly and on a wider scale.


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Twitter users are today mourning the loss of @shippamspaste, a popular spoof account that extolled the virtues of a range of fish and meat sandwich spreads to an audience of thousands.
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The account also related the professional and romantic misadventures of “Ben”, a “social media engagement intern” at Shippam’s, makers of crab spread, beef spread, chicken spread and more.

By this week Ben had attracted more than 10,000 followers with punctuation-free missives such as “theres no vegetarian pastes sorry but why not try the crab spread its only crabs”, "on a scale of 1 to 8 how engaged do you feel with the shippams brand today” and “once i tried to ask a girl out but i accidentally threw an egg at her”.

His tweets, already archived, were often appended with his trademark hashtag, #paste.

Unfortunately for Ben’s many fans, his popularity also attracted the attention of Prince’s, the food and drink firm behind Shippam’s pastes. Today the account was shut down by Twitter after Prince’s complained its brand was being impersonated, in breach of the microblogging site’s terms and conditions.

“It was bought to out attention by people asking if it was an official account,” a Prince’s spokesman said.


 
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KARACHI, June 16: The first indigenously manufactured multi-mission sword-class frigate, PNS Aslat, which is fourth and last in the series of F-22P frigates being acquired from China under a transfer-of-technology accord, was launched at the Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works on Thursday.

Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Noman Bashir was the chief guest on the occasion.

Speaking at the ceremony, Admiral Noman said that the launch of F-22P ship at KS&EW was a commendable accomplishment and a loud manifestation of the indigenisation policy of the government, especially attaining self-reliance in maritime defence capabilities.

Three other frigates — PNS Zulfiquar, Shamsheer and Saif — built in China under the 2005 agreement have already been commissioned in the Pakistan Navy.

Designed for a speed of 29 knots, the vessel`s main capability is anti-submarine warfare and air defence of a force operating at sea or convoy at a particular area. It is also capable of interdiction of hostile surface combatants and patrolling, monitoring and protection of the exclusive economic zone. Besides contributing to international security through UN peace-keeping and flag showing missions, the ship is competent to be used in search and rescue operations.

The 123-metre-long vessel has the capability of carrying surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles, depth charge system, torpedo, Z9EC helicopter, anti-air guns and Chaff IR launcher. The frigate is equipped with surveillance radar, fire control radar, integrated anti-submarine system, radar warning receiver system and laser warning system.

Acknowledging the efforts of Pakistani and Chinese engineers and technicians for the construction of the F-22P frigate at the Karachi shipyard, the navy chief congratulated the China State Shipbuilding Company, China Shipbuilding and Trading Company, Hudong Zhongua and Karachi shipyards for launching the ship as per schedule.

He said the occasion was yet another example of unparalleled Pakistan-China relations. Being an important milestone, the warship`s launch had not only strengthened the relations but also added colour and eminence to celebrations for 60 years of friendship between Pakistan and China, he said.

The naval chief appreciated the development work at Karachi shipyard that enabled it to meet challenges of constructing warships and attributed the success to sound planning of the KS&EW management and untiring efforts of its workforce.

Admiral Noman urged the ministry of defence production to continue supporting the KS&EW on their road to progress.

He emphasised building a strong navy capable of defending the country`s maritime interests. He said Pakistan did not possess aggressive designs but the sea trade routes, the vast exclusive economic zone and the international energy lines, which passed very close to the country`s coast, needed to be protected. This would be in the interest of not only Pakistan but of the entire international community, he added.

The construction of these ships started in 2005 after the signing of the contract between the ministry of defence production, Pakistan, and the China Shipbuilding Trading Company. Under the contract, three ships were constructed at the Hudong Zhongua shipyard of China, and the fourth was built at the Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works (KS&EW) under the transfer-of-technology arrangement.

Infrastructure at the KS&EW had been upgraded and HR trained in China and Pakistan to undertake the construction work. The first three ships had already been delivered to Pakistan Navy while the last ship launched on Thursday would be delivered as per schedule.

High officials of federal and provincial governments, armed forces, law-enforcement agencies, senior management of the Chinese companies and some guests from the corporate sector attended the ceremony.


 
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Nintendo on Tuesday unveiled the Wii U, a new gaming platform that adds a small screen to a controller that can interact with the larger TV screen or be used as a standalone handheld device.

The white Wii U controller features a built-in, 6.2-inch screen, as well as the usual control and circle pads and buttons. It also includes a microphone, speakers, an accelerometer, gyroscope, and front-facing camera.

Much of the focus at the E3 press event today was on that controller rather than the console. In demo videos, the console appeared in the background and wasn't much larger than the Wii U controller.

The Wii U will make its debut in 2012; Nintendo did not discuss pricing.

In addition to usual Wii gaming, however, the Wii U adds casual games, video chat, a Web browser, drawing app, motion controls, and other tablet-esque features. If you're playing a game and someone wants to watch something on TV, for example, you can switch your game to the Wii U controller. Satoru Iwata, Nintendo's global president, however, stressed that the Wii U "was not designed to be a portable video game machine."


 
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06 June 2011

The Rave dual SIM phone sports a colour screen with a 1.3 Megapixel camera, torch, sound recorder, digital audio player, video recorder and an ebook reader. The device offers up to 6.5 hours of talk-time or up to 650 hours of standby time on a single charge The device retails for
Rs 1,888 ( India Rupees)  for a 8GB drive. For more details, visit the Web site at www.maxxmobile.in


 
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06 June 2011
Video game company THQ plans to bring its uDraw gaming tablet to the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 later this year, hoping that player appetites for new experiences extend beyond motion controls to painting, drawing and Pictionary. THQ Inc said that the uDraw GameTablet will be available for the two consoles over the holidays. There's a Wii version out already for $70, but THQ is not saying how much the new, high-definition versions will cost.
THQ is best known for wrestling video games and SpongeBob and other licensed titles for kids. But the company has been trying to expand its offerings — the tablet is one such effort. THQ says it has sold 1.7 million of the Wii uDraw tablets since November, more than it had expected though still small compared with the more than 86 million Wiis that have been sold since Nintendo launched the console in 2006.
Though the tablet is aimed at gamers of all ages, the main audience for the Wii uDraw is children. That version is white and has a chunky design reminiscent of Fisher-Price toys. In contrast, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation uDraw tablets are black, sleek and don't require players to attach their game controller to the devices to use them.
Rather, the controllers' buttons are replicated on the tablet itself. In addition, the new uDraw has a touch-screen users can control by pinching with two fingers, something the Wii version does not offer.
The new uDraw comes bundled with "uDraw Studio: Instant Artist," a game that lets players paint and doodle using an attached stylus or their fingers, follow tutorials and play games. They can then share their creations online, including on Facebook. Other games use the tablet as a controller by tilting it to move characters on their TV screen.
"Things like drawing and creativity and new patterns of gameplay are ubiquitous," said THQ CEO Brian Farrell. "If you take a step back and look at Kinect and move (motion-controllers from Microsoft and Sony), they are all about new experiences."
UDraw isn't THQ's first step with video game art. In 2007 it launched "Drawn to Life" for the handheld Nintendo DS that had players draw things that then got installed in the game. Farrell said that game sold more than 1 million units.
THQ, which is based in Agoura Hills, California, plans to display the new uDraw tablet at the Electronic Entertainment Expo video game conference in Los Angeles next week.