Windows 8 Release

Windows 8 will be with us in 2012, according to Microsoft roadmaps apparently revealed at last week's Professional Developers' Conference (PDC).
Although microsoft has yet to officially discuss plans for Windows 8,a 2012 release would be consistent with previous Microsoft pledges to release a new desktop operating system every three years. Windows 7 was released a month ago.
The latest speculation suggesting a 2012 release has been credited to Microsoft Kitchen, a blog with the tagline "Serving up some seriously tasty Microsoft."
Despite showing roadmaps apparently picked up at PDC, the blog has little else to reveal about Windows 8.
However, a Microsoft employee may have inadvertently spilled the beans on one key Windows 8 feature last month.
Microsoft employee Robert Morgan appeared to detail the software giant's plans to make a 128-bit version of Windows 8, and even Windows 9, on LinkedIn, where he listed his job as 'senior research and development'. His profile, which has now been removed from the business networking site, said Morgan was "working in high security department for research and development involving strategic planning for medium and longterm projects".
It went on to reveal that his R&D projects included: "128-bit architecture compatibility with the Windows 8 kernel and Windows 9 project plan". He's also responsible for "forming relationships with major partners: Intel, AMD, HP and IBM".
Microsoft is also looking for employees to help shape Windows 8, according to reports online. Neowin.net spotted the vacancy for a Windows 7 software engineer on Microsoft's site.
"We just finished up work on Windows 7, and are pushing forth on Windows 8 planning and preparation," said the blurb in the job ad, which was replicated on the CodenameWindows website.
"As part of this team, you will help shape Windows 8. Components of our code include a core agent that runs as an NT service, an API layer and a UI application," added the advert.

Source : http://www.pcworld.com

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Posted in: Invention and Innovation,Technology

Zuckerberg IPO Haul Could Top $28 Billion

Facebook Inc.'s impending initial public offering of stock could yield 27-year-old founder Mark Zuckerberg's a fortune valued at $21 billion to $28 billion.
According to IPO paperwork Facebook filed Wednesday, Mr. Zuckerberg owns about 28% of the soon-to-be-public company, and is its single largest shareholder. If Facebook raises money at a high-end valuation of $100 billion, Mr. Zuckerberg's stock would be worth $28 billion.
On top of his stock, last year Mr. Zuckerberg was paid $1.49 million in salary, bonus and other compensation for his role as chief executive, according to the regulatory filing.
Facebook's filing added that Mr. Zuckerberg will sell shares in the IPO, but didn't stipulate how many. It said that he will use the proceeds to pay taxes.

A net worth of $28 billion would have placed Mr. Zuckerberg at No. 9 in Forbes magazine's rich list last year, following tech luminaries Bill Gates and Larry Ellison.
But even as Mr. Zuckerberg vaults into the pantheon of the world's richest people, the young entrepreneur has already proven he doesn't intend to act like a typical billionaire.
In a nearly 2,200-word letter filed with Facebook's IPO paperwork, Mr. Zuckerberg wasn't shy about his social ambitions, even as he played down the importance of running a business. "Facebook was not originally created to be a company. It was built to accomplish a social mission," he wrote.
Society, he wrote, is at a "tipping point" because of the Internet. Facebook gives "people the power to share and help them once again transform many of our core institutions and industries," Mr. Zuckerberg added.

That includes changing government, he wrote. "Over time, we expect governments will become more responsive to issues and concerns raised directly by all their people rather than through intermediaries controlled by a select few," he said.
Mr. Zuckerberg grew up in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., the son of a dentist and psychiatrist. He graduated from high school at the elite Phillips Exeter Academy, where he honed his talents in science and the classics.
In the nearly eight years since Mr. Zuckerberg founded Facebook in his Harvard College dorm room, the entrepreneur has grown from a college sophomore into a leading voice for a new generation of technology entrepreneurs.
In the early years after Mr. Zuckerberg moved his start-up to Palo Alto, Calif., he was known for wearing Adidas flip-flops to business meetings and placing little priority on building out an advertising business for his growing social network. He handed out business cards reading, "I'm CEO, B—."

Today, Mr. Zuckerberg has upgraded his wardrobe to Brooks running shoes and even dons a sports coat for special meetings, like with President Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey. And his social network has become so important to many big advertisers that they run Super Bowl ads directing customers to Facebook.
Mr. Zuckerberg has also set the tone for the lifestyles behind the latest Silicon Valley boom, eschewing the giant mansions and posh cars of the late 1990s dot-com bubble. Instead, he has lived in a modest house, and is known for his penchant for taking his dog on long walks. (He runs a Facebook page for his dog, Beast, a white Hungarian Puli.)
In 2010, when the movie "The Social Network" debuted and offered a sometimes unflattering Hollywood portrayal of his behavior in Facebook's early days, Mr. Zuckerberg treated his whole company to a day at the movies to watch the movie together.
Mr. Zuckerberg also didn't wait to begin establishing his reputation as a philanthropist. In 2010, amid the fallout from the Hollywood film, he announced the formation of a charity called "Startup: Education" and pledged $100 million to support public schools in Newark, N.J

Source : http://online.wsj.com

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Posted in: Quick News

Audi Q1 under consideration

According to a recent report, Audi is considering additional variants based on the A1.
As one source told What Car, "You've seen how our SUVs have been getting smaller - Q7, Q5, Q3 - and the A1 platform could go in that direction, but nothing is planned for the near future."
The latter comment is interesting, but previous rumors have suggested the crossover could be launched anywhere from 2013 to 2016.
Regardless, the insider said an A1 Cabriolet is unlikely because it would be positioned to close to the A3 Cabriolet.

Source : http://www.worldcarfans.com

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Posted in: Audi,Automotive,Car