New report states that Windows Threshold or Windows 9 will at last add a feature of Notification center. This feature was very much required in the Windows operating system.

As per the report of Microsoft website Neowin, user can get all the latest information from every app through this new feature. The company has released Windows 9 notification center from Desktop Taskbar which generally known as System Tray. It is the place from where user checks the battery life, network status, time, and date and volume settings. In Windows 9, Operating system will automatically store the notification of different apps. Furthermore, the reports said that the company has also added a Clear button for the purpose of deleting all notifications.

Although, the report explains everything quite in detail, but still it does not offer any specific picture of the Windows 9 notification area. Neowin foretells that there will be an addition of some other new features and modifications before it is accomplished. Moreover, the report says that Windows 9 will offer everything which a user wishes to see in it.

 

Microsoft is planning to launch Windows 9 at an event on 30^th of September. In that event the company will also allow people to download a Technical Preview of Windows 9. This Technical preview will contain a working beta for its early downloaders. The company has already added a few new features, but it is preparing to include some more for the improvement of Windows.

However, Microsoft has not officially declared any plans regarding the event of 30^th of September. The firm has not even announced a single thing related to Windows 9. Nevertheless, Microsoft in BUILD 2014 said that it is currently working on the next chief release for Windows. At that point it also displayed some feature which the users are eagerly waiting to release.

It is not wrongly said that through Windows 9 the desktop interface is attempting to make a return. In Windows 8 the Desktop is just a thing for users to interact in a new way with the older apps. Foremost, it gave an impression as if Microsoft wanted to shift users to the Start Screen and its new interface. The firm unveiled its future plans that it is intending to bring Windows Store apps to the Desktop for the convenience of users. In addition, it is stated that the company will launch a miniature Start Screen to work as the new Start menu. In this manner the people who still opt for Desktop instead of laptop can avail the benefits of few major improvements.

There are also rumors that Cortona, the Windows Phone personal assistant will make an appearance in Windows 9.

If Microsoft really launched its Windows 9 at an event of 30 of September the company probably release the final form of Windows in the beginning of 2015. However, it is not yet announced whether the company will give operating system to the user of Windows 8 for free or not.

According to a study presented at the American Psychological Association’s 122nd Annual Convention, physically fit sixth graders and specifically girls are less likely to report feelings of depression when they reach seventh grade. Even when existing symptoms of depression and weight were considered, sixth grade girls who performed better on a cardiorespiratory fitness test had less chances of feeling depressed when they were followed up again in seventh grade.

 

The study used 437 students out of which 55% were girls, at six middle schools in metropolitan county in North Texas. Participants were made to answer questions about symptoms of depression and fitness. The sample consisted of 89% white and 9% African American with 27% identifying as Hispanic.
Camilo Ruggero, PhD of the University of North Texas pointed out that a similar effect of fitness was seen on the boys albeit not to the extent it was seen in girls, meaning that symptoms of depression were alleviated with fitness in boys as well, however not to the same extent as the girls.

It is quite alarming that 28% of the girls in sixth grade and 29% in seventh grade had elevated symptoms of depression. In boys 22% in seventh grade while 19% in eighth grade. According to the World Health Organization depression in adolescence is associated with a range of poor health outcomes later on and is often the main cause of disabilities in this age group. Ruggero said that depression in this age could lead to chronic depression later in life. He suggested other interventions such as one on one group therapy to prevent depression.

The study establishes a strong link between physical fitness and depression in adolescents. While it is most probably true that better fitness would lead to higher levels of life satisfaction. Much remains uncertain here, for example, the study doesn’t point out how depression was alleviated. Fitness comes from exercise, which regulates the neurotransmitters which may be involved in depression. Another possibility is that depression in adolescents may be linked with a negative self image and low self-esteem from weight problems. Fitness helps curb these emotions and perhaps that is the reason it alleviates symptoms of depression. What is required is a deeper understanding of the mental disorder itself so we can get better equipped to prevent it.

Astronauts in space have trouble sleeping because of work conditions, the stress of their missions and the feeling of weightlessness can also make it quite difficult to fall asleep. As a result most of them take sleeping pills for some rest. A study was conducted in 2011 when the last US Space Shuttle flew, to calculate the sleeping patterns of astronauts. The results showed that astronauts in the space shuttle had less than six hours of sleep on average and astronauts at the International Space Station had a few more minutes of sleep. About 75% of the astronauts took sleeping pills which, more often than not, was Zolpidem (Ambien).

Laura Barger, a research fellow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and instructor at Harvard Medical School in Boston confirms that sleeping less than six hours is associated with performance deficits. Apart from the lack of sleep, the high use of sleeping pills is quite alarming as well. Laura Barger suggests that if the astronaut had to be awakened in case of an emergency in the middle of the night their performance could be impaired because of the sedative effect of the drug. Apart from that, even the drowsiness caused by the drug the next morning holds some risks to missions and to astronauts themselves. Furthermore, Zolpidem is also associated with sleep-driving. This is a condition similar to sleep walking, except the person starts driving and has no recollection of the following events the next day. In the case of astronauts, this could be alarmingly dangerous considering that they have to deal with such expensive equipment and work in such a precise manner.

While the researchers in the study did not collect data on the performance of the astronauts, they claim to have evidence for the astronauts being sleep deprived because once they got back to Earth, they slept more, like many sleep deprived workers on weekends. Christopher Winter, a sleep medicine specialist who was not involved in the research points out that the methods for quantifying sleep were not as precise as they are in lab studies and says that people in new and stressful environments have a tendency to underestimate their sleep. This obviously doesn’t mean that the study is wrong about astronauts being sleep deprived, it merely points out a methodological flaw which challenges its validity.|

NASA rules say that 8.5 hours of sleep must be included in the astronauts schedule. Working conditions obviously get in the way like noise and heat or cold. Barger says that solutions need to be found for these problems especially as future missions will be longer, including an eventual trip to Mars.

Despite being a leader in the smartphone industry Samsung has somehow always retained the image of a follower rather than an innovator like Apple or Google. The label does have a degree of validity as former employees of Samsung would admit so themselves. Jay Subhash a former senior product manager who left Samsung in April says, “The company is in somewhat of a Catch-22 when it comes to changing its culture.”

In light of the falling smartphone sales, Samsung is under pressure to re invent itself. The problem lies in the fact that the Confucian culture of Korea in general remains a secret for its industrial success, those who defy norms, challenge their bosses on creative issues or generally stand out don’t last long. Such a culture holistically prohibits change which obviously adds on to industrial and economic efficiency but it ends up compromising on creativity and innovation.

Samsung has wanted to address this issue for quite some time, but it requires a paradigm shift in the way the employees work and feel about their job. An effort was made this summer to cater a more worker friendly environment by allowing workers to wear shorts to work on weekends, this was done at the main Suwon campus south of Seoul. Flexible working hours were introduced along with maternity leave so that the workers don’t have to worry about job security.

Chairman Lee Kun-hee who is 72, remains hospitalized as a result of a heart attack in May. He had a reputation for managing the company with a sense of “permanent crisis.” The ascension of his Harvard educated son Jay Y. Lee, 46 could lead to favorable changes that benefit the company, however bringing change that effects the whole company creatively is no easy task considering the size of the company and has a possibility of back-firing. Samsung really needs to adopt a culture that welcomes innovation, openness and creativity, but the fact remains, that doing so may jeopardize it’s strongest assets, its militaristic hierarchy which allows it to outpace its competition through high levels of efficiency and productivity. This is no easy task and Samsung understands the problem and has been at it for quite some time now.

Samsung made an effort with its “Creative Lab” program through which employees can individually or in teams take a year’s time to develop an idea if it is deemed worthy of pursuit. Samsung reports that it had 14,000 ideas last year through this and some other initiatives that the company took. So that ought to bring some much needed changes.

It must also be taken in to account that the culture is also constantly evolving with the global society and younger employees don’t just want a healthy pay but require more from their employers. This is bringing about gradual but consistent change in the work culture.

A current Samsung employee suggests that “Change is inevitable.” This may hold some truth but perhaps the important question is whether Samsung can evolve with the particular needs of the industry and maintain its position at the top utilizing the changing trends of society and channeling them in their products lucratively.

The European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft reached at its final destination after a long expedition of four billion miles. The fire began at 10 am GMT and continued till six minutes. It decreases the speed of Rosetta and compelled it to move with the velocity of a human being.

In the next few months, it is expected that Rosetta and its comet will leap towards the sun.  Rosetta is the epithet applied to it because of a Rosetta stone, whereas C-G is a term coined for both the Rosetta and its comet. In November, a small 220-pound lander is to exit the spacecraft, set down on the comet and harpoon it to the surface. It would be the first time in the history that a spacecraft would smoothly land on a comet. According to Mathew Taylor, project scientist of the mission, it will go down and get the faultless matter from the surface of the comet. At the moment, the comet and its shadowing is 330 miles away from the sun. The travelling speed of the comet is reported as 35000 miles per hour. The basic thing is that its meeting point would be right at the position of the comet for the whole next year.

Comets comprise of ice, dust and rock  which are basically the remnants from the creation of the solar system. Researchers are expecting to get some significant evidences regarding the formation of  the solar system.

As Comet Siding Spring approaches to make a close encounter with the Red Planet, the Mars Odyssey orbiter will have to change its orbit to avoid potential dangers. The orbital connection takes place on August 5th in anticipation of the celestial encounter taking place on October 19th.

The orbiter is worth $297 million, however there is no danger of it colliding with the comet but dust from the comet will be shot out at unbelievable speeds because of heating from the Sun and this could cause problems.

At its closest approach, the comet will come within 82,000 miles of Mars and at that point dust will be rushing at the speeds of more than 126,000 miles per hour. At these speeds particles as small as 1/50th of an inch could be hazardous.

 

NASA officials wrote in a press release that researchers plan to use instruments from the Mars orbiters to study the coma surrounding the nucleus, the tail of Siding Spring and its possible effects on Martian atmosphere. Attempts will be made to better understand the composition of the comet, coma a tail.The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) which is due to arrive just one month before the comet makes its close encounter will study the interaction between the comet and solar wind from the Sun and the effect of the gas on Martian atmosphere.

The period under which the planet shall encounter the greatest danger will last about twenty minutes and that is also when the spacecraft will be more at risk as this will be the period when the planet encounters the greatest concentrations of dust and debris from the comet.