Steve Jobs has resigned as Apple CEO "effective immediately"

In a surprise announcement Wednesday evening, Apple's Board of Directors announced that Steve Jobs is resigning as CEO of the company. Apple's Chief Operating Officer, Tim Cook, has been named Jobs' successor and plans to begin taking over as CEO effective immediately.

"Steve’s extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world’s most innovative and valuable technology company," Apple Board member and Genetech chairman Art Levinson said in a statement. "Steve has made countless contributions to Apple’s success, and he has attracted and inspired Apple’s immensely creative employees and world class executive team. In his new role as Chairman of the Board, Steve will continue to serve Apple with his unique insights, creativity and inspiration."

In 2004, Jobs underwent a complicated but successful surgery to remove a tumor in his pancreas, and was back at work within a few months. While the procedure is highly successful for the form of pancreatic cancer that Jobs had, it also removes much of the pancreas and some of the digestive tract. This can lead to further complications, such as the dramatic and visible weight loss Jobs' suffered in 2008.

In 2009, Jobs went on a six-month medical leave again; it was later revealed that Jobs had received a liver transplant. All seemed well after his return until January of 2011 when Jobs announced once again that he was going on medical leave—this time, Apple fans had a feeling he might not be back.

Below is the text of Jobs' letter addressed to the Board and the Apple Community that was distributed on Wednesday evening:

To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community:

I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.
Steve

key Tips things u should know before buying a tablet

It's the euphoria of tablets everywhere and every one of us wants to grab upon some kind of tablet. Today we have huge number of vendors flooding into the market with different types and shapes of tablets. The crux of the deal is to opt for the right tablets and this needs a complete research on the present layout of tablets in the market.

So before you lay your hands on anyone of them, make sure you are aware of the key things about a tablet. Here is a list of six things that you should know before buying a tablet.

1. Operating system:

Today the market offers you tablets with different types of operating system. While Android OS seems to be doing the buzz, Apple's iOS has been ruling the tablet industry for quite some time now. Android upgraded version Honeycomb 3.1 is the best suited for tablets, in case if you want to go for a tablet which supports android OS and if you are looking for enough customization then it is the ultimate hub.
2. Size & Weight:

Tablets come in different size and weight, so if you are looking for something ultra portable then 7 inch is the best to go for. But when it comes to browsing and gaming 10 inch tablet is the ultimate galore.
3. Connectivity:

Make sure you are aware of the connectivity facilities offered by different types of tablets and especially if you are an internet savvy person. Tablets come in either 3G orWi-Fi. Wireless connections work awesome in tablets whereas 3G are a profitable investment for people who are constantly travelling places.

Google+ launched in india and al around the world with loads of exicting features

Google+ is fast becoming an Internet sensation as was evident earlier last week when Google was forced to suspend Google+ invite following an “insane demand” for its social networking service. But does it have what it takes to challenge Facebook and other existing social networking sites?
Google+, unlike previous social networking products/services launched by Google, is here to stay. Though it is in the beta version, yet, it has met with overwhelming response and rumor has it that even the Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also opened a Google+ account.

Why? Because Google+ has several amazing features that promise to change the way we interact, socialize and connect to others over the Internet.

They are:

1) Circles - The Circles concept more closely follows the way you organize your contacts in real life. We meet different kinds of people everyday and interact with them in many different ways. Circles offers a simple means of organizing one's social network by grouping contacts into anything you can possibly imagine - family, friends, co-workers, etc. The groups can be formed by dragging the contact's picture/photo over a circle that represents the group (a group of people can also be dragged over a circle!)

2) Stream – Stream helps you receive instant updates from your friends and other contacts in your Circles list. It helps you decide and choose which circles and individuals you want to share your information with.

3) Sparks – Sparks pulls in stories, videos and other cool content relating to your specific interest. According to Google, the content in Sparks stream is different from the results you'd get if you put the same term into the search engine. Through Sparks, you can get an instant fountain of relevant information to share with friends. After you are asked to choose from a list of possible interests (biking, sailing, etc.), or to put your own specific interest, Google+ goes out and searches almost completely on-topic content from all over the Web.

4) Hangouts - Hangouts allows up to 10 users to video chat. All users can speak simultaneously and the loudest speaker takes the center stage.

5) Huddle - Huddle is a group SMS conversation feature where mobile phone numbers of members will be visible to all.

6) Instant Upload – Instant Upload allows the user to upload pictures and videos directly from the phone

Google+ also has amazing privacy features which will put Facebook to crying shame. It allows you choose which Circles you want to share that content with. Also, it lets you know clearly that the information you contribute to Google+ will be used to help refine search results.

Another advantage Google+ has over Facebook is their "data liberation," which allows you to pack up and take your data away from Google+ should you decide to leave the service.

This is a big plus for Google as privacy has always been Facebook’s Achilles’ heel as users have complained how difficult it is to leave Facebook and take their stuff with them.

Tablets - a new revolution

In little over a year, tablets have redefined the tech business and is threatening to pip laptops and PCs as the must-have computing gadget. Sleek, user-friendly and smart, the iPad carved out a market in April 2010. Now Samsung, BlackBerry, etc want a slice of the pie. Excerpts from a Jefferies report on how the tablet revolution is unfolding.



1) Soaring Sales


Demand for tablets will zoom over the next two years. More companies enter the market. But no changes at the top. Apple's innovations seem to be unbeatable.







2) Global Craze


After America, Asia will buy the most tablets this year. Is this the China effect? Mostly yes, but there are enough technophiles in other countries, including India.






3) Riding on Asia


The Chinese want to top the tab-owner list. Rest of Asia-Pacific follows close behind. Expect cheaper local brands to flood markets.


Tablet Purchase Intentions in Surveyed Regions


79% - China

66% - Asia Pacific (excluding China)

50% - Europe

48% - West Asia & Africa

42% - North America


4) Young Love


No surprises here: Most tablets are owned by young pros. But the 55+ generation beat the 45-54 years' age group in being tab-savvy.






5) Pad over PC

In just a year, 30% respondents of a Google survey use tablets as their chief computer. If companies ramp up their functions list, tabs may soon smoke out PCs & laptops in usage.





6) Keeping Time


Tabs are addictive and most users spend over two hours doing different things. Don't ask how they get the time.





7) Pick Me Up

Most users prefer spending time on their tabs than reading books or listening to the radio. But TV and phones are tough to beat.

See Our Old Currency

Victoria Portrait Series

The first set of British India notes were the 'Victoria Portrait' Series issued in denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, 1000. These were unifaced, carried two language panels and were printed on hand-moulded paper manufactured at the Laverstock Paper Mills (Portals). The security features incorporated the watermark (GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, RUPEES, two signatures and wavy lines), the printed signature and the registration of the notes.
   
Rupees Ten                                                    Rupees Hundered  
British India Notes facilitated inter-spatial transfer of funds. As a security precaution, notes were cut in half. One set was sent by post. On confirmation of receipt, the other half was despatched by post.

Half note  
This series remained largely unchanged till the introduction of the 'King's Portrait' series which commenced in 1923.




Green Underprint - Rupees Five Hundred  



Green Underprint - Rupees Five  


Red Underprint - Rupees Fifty  
Small Denomination Notes  

The introduction of small denomination notes in India was essentially in the realm of the exigent. Compulsions of the first World War led to the introduction of paper currency of small denominations. Rupee One was introduced on 30th November, 1917 followed by the exotic Rupees Two and Annas Eight. The issuance of these notes was discontinued on 1st January, 1926 on cost benefit considerations. These notes first carried the portrait of King George V and were the precursors of the 'King's Portrait' Series which were to follow.


Rupee One - Obverse


Rupee One -Reverse


Rupees Two and Annas Eight - Obverse
King's Portrait Series  

Regular issues of this Series carrying the portrait of George V were introduced in May, 1923 on a Ten Rupee Note. The King's Portrait Motif continued as an integral feature of all Paper Money issues of British India. Government of India continued to issue currency notes till 1935 when the Reserve Bank of India took over the functions of the Controller of Currency. These notes were issued in denominations of Rs 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, 1000, 10,000.



Rupees Fifty  


Rupees One Thousand


Rupees Ten Thousand  


the Bank's issues to January 1938 when the first Five Rupee note was issued bearing the portrait of George VI.


Rupees Five - First Note issued by Reserve Bank of India


This was followed by Rs 10 in February, Rs 100 in March and Rs 1,000 and Rs 10,000 in June 1938.

Rupees One Hundred


Rupees One Thousand  


Rupees Ten Thousand  


In August 1940, the one-rupee note was reintroduced, once again as a war time measure, as a Government note with the status of a rupee coin,


Rupee One Obverse


Rupee One Reverse


Rupees Two  


As an added security feature, the security thread was introduced for the first time in India.

George VI Profile  



George VI Frontal

The George VI series continued till 1947 and thereafter as a frozen series till 1950 when post independence notes were issued.

2011 Oscar Nominations

The final countdown to the Oscars has begun with  announcement of the nominees. Soon we’ll know which are the best movies of the year (that aren’t horrors or comedies, that were released in the last 6 months, that had a studio awards push behind them, and that consider a decade-long bias toward British actors playing monarchs). Here are the contenders in the main categories.

Best Picture
“The Social Network”
“The King’s Speech”
“Black Swan”
“The Fighter”
“True Grit”
“127 Hours”
“Inception”
“Toy Story 3”
“Winter’s Bone”
“The Kids Are All Right”

Directing
“The King’s Speech” Tom Hooper
“The Social Network” David Fincher
“Black Swan” Darren Aronofsky
“The Fighter” David O. Russell
“True Grit” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

Actor in a Leading Role
Javier Bardem in “Biutiful”
Jeff Bridges in “True Grit”
Jesse Eisenberg in “The Social Network”
Colin Firth in “The King’s Speech”
James Franco in “127 Hours”

Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale in “The Fighter”
John Hawkes in “Winter’s Bone”
Jeremy Renner in “The Town”
Mark Ruffalo in “The Kids Are All Right”
Geoffrey Rush in “The King’s Speech”

Actress in a Leading Role
Annette Bening in “The Kids Are All Right”
Nicole Kidman in “Rabbit Hole”
Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter’s Bone”
Natalie Portman in “Black Swan”
Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine”

Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams in “The Fighter”
Helena Bonham Carter in “The King’s Speech”
Melissa Leo in “The Fighter”
Hailee Steinfeld in “True Grit”
Jacki Weaver in “Animal Kingdom”

Animated Feature Film
“How to Train Your Dragon” Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois
“The Illusionist” Sylvain Chomet
“Toy Story 3” Lee Unkrich

Cinematography
“Black Swan” Matthew Libatique
“Inception” Wally Pfister
“The King’s Speech” Danny Cohen
“The Social Network” Jeff Cronenweth
“True Grit” Roger Deakins

Costume Design
“Alice in Wonderland” Colleen Atwood
“I Am Love” Antonella Cannarozzi
“The King’s Speech” Jenny Beavan
“The Tempest” Sandy Powell
“True Grit” Mary Zophres

Documentary (Feature)
“Exit through the Gift Shop” Banksy and Jaimie D’Cruz
“Gasland” Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic
“Inside Job” Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
“Restrepo” Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger
“Waste Land” Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley

Film Editing
“Black Swan” Andrew Weisblum
“The Fighter” Pamela Martin
“The King’s Speech” Tariq Anwar
“127 Hours” Jon Harris
“The Social Network” Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter

Foreign Language Film
“Biutiful” Mexico
“Dogtooth” Greece
“In a Better World” Denmark
“Incendies” Canada
“Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi)” Algeria

Makeup
“Barney’s Version” Adrien Morot
“The Way Back” Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
“The Wolfman” Rick Baker and Dave Elsey

Music (Original Score)
“How to Train Your Dragon” John Powell
“Inception” Hans Zimmer
“The King’s Speech” Alexandre Desplat
“127 Hours” A.R. Rahman
“The Social Network” Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Music (Original Song)
“Coming Home” from “Country Strong” Music by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
“I See the Light” from “Tangled” Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Glenn Slater
“If I Rise” from “127 Hours” Music by A.R. Rahman Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong
“We Belong Together” from “Toy Story 3″ Music and Lyric by Randy Newman

Visual Effects
“Alice in Wonderland”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1”
“Hereafter”
“Inception”
“Iron Man 2”

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
“127 Hours” Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
“The Social Network” Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
“Toy Story 3” Screenplay by Mike Arndt; Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
“True Grit” Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
“Winter’s Bone” Adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini

Writing (Original Screenplay)
“Another Year” Written by Mike Leigh
“The Fighter” Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson;
“Inception” Written by Christopher Nolan
“The Kids Are All Right” Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
“The King’s Speech” Screenplay by David Seidler

So The Wolfman is Oscar nominated. The King’s Speech leads the nomination count with 12. Then it’s True Grit with 10. Inception and The Social Network have 8.

Award shows in recent months tell us that Colin Firth is a lock for best actor, Natalie Portman for best actress, Christian Bale for supporting actor. And, as is typical, best supporting actress is up in the air. The best director oscar will likely go to David Fincher, with The King’s Speech probably winning best picture.

The Oscars will be presented in Hollywood on February 27. The entire Movie-Moron team will be there in black-tie suits, as special guests of the academy. Probably. Or maybe none of us.

source: movie moron . com

Programming Languages that are Most Popular

Most Popular?

There are a number of ways to measure the popularity of a programming language, for example, based on the number of:

• New applications written in the language
• Existing applications written in the language
• Developers that use the language primarily
• Developers that use the language ever
• Web searches
• Available jobs that require skills in the language
• Developers’ favorites

The following surveys attempt to rank which programming languages are most popular, each using a different measure:

Tiobe.com

Position Jan 2011	Position Jan 2010	Delta in Position	Programming Language	Ratings Jan 2011	Delta Jan 2010	Status
1	1		Java	17.773%	+0.29%	A
2	2		C	15.822%	-0.39%	A
3	4		C++	8.783%	-0.93%	A
4	3		PHP	7.835%	-2.24%	A
5	7		Python	6.265%	+1.81%	A
6	6		C#	6.226%	+0.46%	A
7	5		(Visual) Basic	5.867%	-1.49%	A
8	12		Objective-C	3.011%	+1.63%	A
9	8		Perl	2.857%	-0.71%	A
10	10		Ruby	1.784%	-0.69%	A
11	9		JavaScript	1.589%	-1.12%	A
12	11		Delphi	1.287%	-1.10%	A
13	18		Lisp	1.109%	+0.53%	A
14	17		Pascal	0.919%	+0.29%	A
15	-		Assembly	0.864%	+0.86%	A--
16	14		SAS	0.771%	-0.04%	A--
17	30		Transact-SQL	0.758%	+0.38%	A
18	33		RPG (OS/400)	0.717%	+0.40%	A-
19	20		MATLAB	0.706%	+0.17%	A--
20	28		Ada	0.679%	+0.29%	B