Google Earth

Google Earth combines the power of Google Search with satellite imagery, maps, terrain and 3D buildings to put the world's geographic information at your fingertips.

* Fly to your house. Just type in an address, press Search, and you’ll zoom right in.
* Search for schools, parks, restaurants, and hotels. Get driving directions.
* Tilt and rotate the view to see 3D terrain and buildings.
* Save and share your searches and favorites.
Since Google Earth was launched, users have been exploring our world and creating content overlays (KML files) to share their explorations with others. We're now highlighting user-created KML files each week in the new Google Earth Gallery. You can also choose to add the gallery's Google Gadget to your iGoogle page.

View a world full of 3D contentGoogle Earth gives you a wealth of imagery and geographic information. Explore destinations like Maui and Paris, or browse content from Wikipedia, National Geographic, and more.


Explore Popular PlacesView some of the most popular Google Earth content, published by many organizations and millions of users around the world. Open the files and browse them just like a document, but in a visually intuitive and interactive interface.


Google Earth PlusUpgrade to Google Earth Plus to add GPS device support, faster performance, the ability to import spreadsheets, and higher resolution printing.


Google Earth ProNeed Google Earth for your organization? Google Earth Pro is the ultimate research, presentation, and collaboration tool for location-specific information.

detail from : http://earth.google.com/

Global Positioning System

GPS is a Satellite Navigation System

* GPS is funded by and controlled by the U. S. Department of Defense (DOD). While there are many thousands of civil users of GPS world-wide, the system was designed for and is operated by the U. S. military.
* GPS provides specially coded satellite signals that can be processed in a GPS receiver, enabling the receiver to compute position, velocity and time.
* Four GPS satellite signals are used to compute positions in three dimensions and the time offset in the receiver clock.
* Position and Time from Four GPS Satellite Signals

Space Segment

* The Space Segment of the system consists of the GPS satellites. These space vehicles (SVs) send radio signals from space.
* GPS Satellite
* The nominal GPS Operational Constellation consists of 24 satellites that orbit the earth in 12 hours. There are often more than 24 operational satellites as new ones are launched to replace older satellites. The satellite orbits repeat almost the same ground track (as the earth turns beneath them) once each day. The orbit altitude is such that the satellites repeat the same track and configuration over any point approximately each 24 hours (4 minutes earlier each day). There are six orbital planes (with nominally four SVs in each), equally spaced (60 degrees apart), and inclined at about fifty-five degrees with respect to the equatorial plane. This constellation provides the user with between five and eight SVs visible from any point on the earth.
* GPS Constellation
* GPS Satellites and Ground Tracks
* GPS Nominal Orbit Planes

Control Segment

* The Control Segment consists of a system of tracking stations located around the world.
* GPS Master Control and Monitor Network
* The Master Control facility is located at Schriever Air Force Base (formerly Falcon AFB) in Colorado. These monitor stations measure signals from the SVs which are incorporated into orbital models for each satellites. The models compute precise orbital data (ephemeris) and SV clock corrections for each satellite. The Master Control station uploads ephemeris and clock data to the SVs. The SVs then send subsets of the orbital ephemeris data to GPS receivers over radio signals.
* GPS Control Monitor

User Segment

* The GPS User Segment consists of the GPS receivers and the user community. GPS receivers convert SV signals into position, velocity, and time estimates. Four satellites are required to compute the four dimensions of X, Y, Z (position) and Time. GPS receivers are used for navigation, positioning, time dissemination, and other research.
o Navigation in three dimensions is the primary function of GPS. Navigation receivers are made for aircraft, ships, ground vehicles, and for hand carrying by individuals.
o GPS Navigation
o Precise positioning is possible using GPS receivers at reference locations providing corrections and relative positioning data for remote receivers. Surveying, geodetic control, and plate tectonic studies are examples.
o Time and frequency dissemination, based on the precise clocks on board the SVs and controlled by the monitor stations, is another use for GPS. Astronomical observatories, telecommunications facilities, and laboratory standards can be set to precise time signals or controlled to accurate frequencies by special purpose GPS receivers.
o Research projects have used GPS signals to measure atmospheric parameters.

GPS Positioning Services Specified In The Federal Radionavigation Plan
Precise Positioning Service (PPS)

* Authorized users with cryptographic equipment and keys and specially equipped receivers use the Precise Positioning System. U. S. and Allied military, certain U. S. Government agencies, and selected civil users specifically approved by the U. S. Government, can use the PPS.
* PPS Predictable Accuracy
o 22 meter Horizontal accuracy
o 27.7 meter vertical accuracy
o 200 nanosecond time (UTC) accuracy

Standard Positioning Service (SPS)

* Civil users worldwide use the SPS without charge or restrictions. Most receivers are capable of receiving and using the SPS signal. The SPS accuracy is intentionally degraded by the DOD by the use of Selective Availability.
* SPS Predictable Accuracy
o 100 meter horizontal accuracy
o 156 meter vertical accuracy
o 340 nanoseconds time accuracy
* These GPS accuracy figures are from the 1999 Federal Radionavigation Plan. The figures are 95% accuracies, and express the value of two standard deviations of radial error from the actual antenna position to an ensemble of position estimates made under specified satellite elevation angle (five degrees) and PDOP (less than six) conditions.
* For horizontal accuracy figures 95% is the equivalent of 2drms (two-distance root-mean-squared), or twice the radial error standard deviation. For vertical and time errors 95% is the value of two-standard deviations of vertical error or time error.
* Receiver manufacturers may use other accuracy measures. Root-mean-square (RMS) error is the value of one standard deviation (68%) of the error in one, two or three dimensions. Circular Error Probable (CEP) is the value of the radius of a circle, centered at the actual position that contains 50% of the position estimates. Spherical Error Probable (SEP) is the spherical equivalent of CEP, that is the radius of a sphere, centered at the actual position, that contains 50% of the three dimension position estimates. As opposed to 2drms, drms, or RMS figures, CEP and SEP are not affected by large blunder errors making them an overly optimistic accuracy measure
* Some receiver specification sheets list horizontal accuracy in RMS or CEP and without Selective Availability, making those receivers appear more accurate than those specified by more responsible vendors using more conservative error measures.

for more details : http://www.colorado.edu/geography/gcraft/notes/gps/gps_f.html

Bible Corruption vs. Quran Corruption

Bible Corruption vs. Quran Corruption
who is Doing the Corruption?

Nowhere in the Quran, the Bible is referred to as being textualy corrupted. The verses in the Quran that Muslims use to accuse the Bible with textual corruption are only attempts used by some Muslims to defend Islam. Even if the Quran were to accuse the Bible of corruption, to substantiate this would be extremely difficult in light of what we have today in the manuscript and archaeological evidence. Regardless of the accusations people make, whether the Quran or the Bible is corrupt, each has to stand on its own. The Quran to be proven divine, has to stand under the light, and be examined and found reliable historically, archaeologically, prophetically, scientifically, and textually... The same examination needs to be done on the Bible. These accusations, however, can be answered by simply examining some of these verses; "Can ye (O ye men of Faith) entertain the hope that they will believe in you? Seeing that a party of them heard the Word of Allah. And perverted it knowingly after they understood it." (Al-Baqarah[2]:75). "Of the Jews there are those who displace words from their (right) places, and say: `We hear and we disobey'; And `Hear you may not hear'; and with a twist of their tongues and a slander to faith..." (Al-Nisa[4]:46a). It is a common thing when debating with Muslims about corruption they will look for the word "corruption", make a statement and ignore the rest of the context. It is known fact today, people hear the Quran or the Bible, and change the words that were said by twisting their tongues, but nowhere they changed the text. Interpretations are always abused by many, but the text remain protected. Textual corruption is easily detected in the Bible since originals are available. In the case of the verse above, it refers to an argument between Muhammad and the Jews of Madinah. The Quran claims that the Jews tried to hide the prophecies of Muhammad in the Bible, but perverted it after they heard it (understood it). It is agreed among Muslims that textual corruption (Al-Tahreef Al-Lafthi), by adding, deleting, and substituting words to the Quran is impossible. However, making verbal changes, omitting, and twisting verses while reading and reciting the word of God is possible. No one can find verses in the Quran referring to textual corruption of the Bible. If that was true, Muslim scholars would have produced them. We could ask: Why was there no reference in the Quran for textual corruption? There are several reasons for that:

(1) Muhammad believed that he was mentioned in the Bible. How could he refer to a book that was corrupt, and speaking of him.

(2) Muhammad was tryingto reach to Jews and some Christian sects. It would be impossible for these people to be reached if he accuses their Bible as corrupt.

(3) It would be difficult to say that God's word can be corrupted, since the Quran testifies that God's words are protected by God. That is why the Bible's integrity and purity is evident the moment one reads the Arabic Quran.

You could ask: Why the Arabic only? It is because the translators of the Quran into English and other languages have the intention to export what they believe to the West, and for the West to adopt Islam, they must teach the West to put away their Bible, since the Bible (according to Muslims) is corrupt. So, twisting the words and applying textual corruption into the translated Quran is the only way. You may say: Such an accusation demands evidence!

Since the subject concerns evidence, here it is: Take for example Surah Al-Ahqaf[46] verse 30, in your major translations by Muslims. Take the translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. It says: "They said, "O our people, we have heard a book revealed after Moses, confirming what came before it; it guides (men) to the truth and to a straight path." Look at the words highlighted above that say "before it." In the Arabic the words are not "before it." Let's do a word for word translation, and I leave it to the Arabic reader to be honest to himself when he reading this word for word translation:

Arabic: kaloo ya kawmana inna sami'ina kitaban unzila ba'd Musa

English: they said O our people we have heard a book revealed after Moses

Arabic: Musadekan Lima Bayna Yadayehe
English: confirming what is between his hands

Arabic: Yahdee ela al-hak wa-ela tareekin mustakeem
English: it guides to the truth and to a straight path

Look at the highlighted words that say "between his hands." These words have been replaced by "before it." This is done to override the original words which is "bayna yadayehe" (between his hands). If the words are translated correctly, the reader will conclude that the Bible that was at Muhammad's time (between his hands) as being correct and can be used as a guide to the truth, which Muslims want to cover up, since they know that the Bible that is at Muhammad's hands, is the same as the Bible we have today, but Islamic pride forces them to ignore the facts. The words (between his hands), is all over the Quran, and it has been changed throughout the whole English Quran to say (before it), putting the Bible at an unknown time in the past before the Quran. Here is another one from Abdullah Yusuf Ali; "It is he who sent down to thee in truth, the Book, confirming what went before it; and he sent down the Law (Of Moses) and the Gospel (Of Jesus)." (Al-Imran[3]:3). Here is a word for word translation:

Arabic: nazzala alayka alkitabu bel-hakkee musaddekan lima bayna yadayehe
English: He sent to you the book in truth confirming what is between his hands

Arabic: wa-anzala al-tawratah wal-enjeel
English: and He sent the Torah and Gospel

In the way he translates the verse, we have "between his hands' translated to "before it', and his addition of (Of Jesus) after Gospel, insinuates a well known modern Muslim claim, that is: the Gospel of Jesus is the name of the original Gospel, which was lost, and that is why he put the name (Of Jesus) after the word Gospel. Muslims claim that the Gospel according to Matthew, The Gospel according to Luke ... are the accounts of men, they will ask: what happened to the Gospel of Jesus? (For more, see Fatir:31, Yunus:37, Yusuf:111, and Al-Maida:51).

We must answer this question of the Gospel of Jesus, it is simple: If your father in a distant country writes you for many years, and he sends a message after a message of his soon coming. One day he knocks on your door. Should he carry a message with him? No, he is the message! And after he comes, and visits, and goes back to his distant country, he could send more messages to tell about his first visit and his second visit in the future.

The Gospels of Luke, John, Mark are what the Quran was referring to, the Quran, was speaking of the Bible in His (Muhammad's) time, which He attested to, and respected. We could ask: What did the Quran mean when it referred to the Bible in the following verses; "Oh Yahya (John the Baptist) take hold of the Book with might, and We gave him wisdom as a child." (Mary:12). "And he (God) will teach him the book and the wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel." (Al-Imran[3]:48). "and Mary believed in the words of her Lord and His books." (Al-Tahrim[66]:12). Tens of other verses in the Quran speaks highly of the Bible, and not one accuses it with corruption.

Table of contents: Dear Muslim, let me tell you why I believed

Answering Islam Home Page

info site : http://www.scribd.com/doc/26233/Bible-Corruption-vs-Quran-Corruption

Blueprint for a Green Laptop

In 2009, worldwide laptop sales are expected to surpass desktop sales for the first time—reaching more than 150 million. Most people will keep a laptop for just three years or so before shelving it or tossing it onto a junk heap. Here's how designers plan to make this ubiquitous gadget more eco-friendly across its entire life span, from manufacture to recycling.


PROBLEM: Petroleum-filled plastic
SOLUTION: Make cases from corn
New bioplastics—plant-based polymers—require less oil and energy to produce than traditional plastics. One challenge: upping heat resistance so electronics won't melt them. Fujitsu makes a laptop with a half-natural, half-conventional case and is now testing a castor-oil plastic that's up to 80 percent bio-content.

PROBLEM: Landing in landfills
SOLUTION: Upgrade, don't trash
The EPA estimates that Americans discard 19,000 tons of laptops a year. But soon it may get easier (and cheaper) to upgrade your laptop than to replace it, keeping e-waste out of dumps and saving the energy and materials needed for a whole new computer. Laptop-maker Asus recently released a model that lets users change the processor, graphics card and other parts just by removing one panel, instead of spending hours disassembling the computer.

PROBLEM: Power-sucking displays
SOLUTION: Create greener light
An LCD can eat more than half of a laptop's power, mostly due to its fluorescent backlight. Some laptops are lit with more-efficient LEDs instead, but the next step may be to nix backlights altogether. Displays made of OLEDs, or organic light-emitting diodes, form images with electroluminescent films. In small sizes, as in cellphones, OLEDs can significantly cut power use (depending on the image's colors); companies hope that this advantage will scale up.

PROBLEM: Guzzling power from the grid
SOLUTION: Harness the sun
Portable solar chargers suited for laptops already exist. A company called MSI Computer has even developed a prototype laptop with photovoltaic cells integrated directly into its case.

PROBLEM: Toxic waste
SOLUTION: Get the lead out
Concerned that dumped gadgets could leak poisons, the law is cracking down on dangerous ingredients. (The lead in solder, for example, is now being replaced by silver and copper.) Last year, the European Union enacted legal limits on toxins in electronics sold there, and the U.S. introduced a similar (though voluntary) rating system for computers. President Bush recently mandated that 95 percent of government-purchased electronics meet the American eco-standards, eliminating about 3,000 tons of hazardous waste by 2011.

PROBLEM: Tricky recycling
SOLUTION: Make a digital parts list
Recycling computers can be expensive and time-consuming. Dismantlers usually pull out valuable parts for reuse or resale, but they have to examine each computer individually to determine what's in it. If manufacturers add a radio-frequency ID tag to a laptop, says Valerie Thomas of Georgia Tech, it could instantly tell recyclers how to recover components.

PROBLEM: That spinning hard drive
SOLUTION: Switch to flash memory
Future laptops could knock 10 percent off their energy use just by replacing hard drives with solid-state, or flash, memory, which has no watt-hungry moving parts. Dell debuted a laptop with a 32-gigabyte solid-state drive this year. By 2012, manufacturer Samsung says, the drives may hold about 30 times as much data.

PROBLEM: Energy-intensive manufacturing
SOLUTION: Build more- efficient factories
Producing a laptop requires nearly as much energy as it will use over the rest of its life, but new plants may slash this consumption. One of the world's greenest computer--chip factories could go online as early as 2009. The Texas Instruments plant in Richardson, Texas, will consume 20 percent less electricity and 35 percent less water, spit out 50 percent fewer nitrogen oxides—and cost 30 percent less to build—than TI's previous plant. In one energy-saving measure, the plant uses the waste heat generated by its huge air conditioners to warm water for free, eliminating the need for four polluting gas boilers.

for more info : http://www.popsci.com/popsci/environment/9fdcdae055883110vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html

Endocarditis ; Pembengkakan Jantung

Link style :
- Introduction
- Signs and symptoms
- Causes
- Risk Factors
- Another Relation Link

Introduction

The inside of your heart contains four chambers and four valves lined by a thin membrane called the endocardium. Endocarditis is an infection of this inner lining.

Endocarditis typically occurs when bacteria or other germs from another part of your body, such as your mouth, spread through your bloodstream and attach to damaged areas in your heart. Left untreated, endocarditis can damage or destroy your heart valves. Endocarditis can be life-threatening.

Endocarditis is rare in people with healthy hearts. People at greatest risk of endocarditis have a damaged heart valve, an artificial heart valve or other heart defects.

Some people at risk of endocarditis need antibiotics before certain medical or dental procedures.

Signs and symptoms

Endocarditis may develop slowly or suddenly — depending on what's causing the infection and whether you have any underlying heart abnormalities.

Signs and symptoms may include:

* Fever
* Chills
* Weakness
* Fatigue
* Aching joints and muscles
* Night sweats
* Shortness of breath
* Paleness
* Persistent cough
* Swelling in your feet, legs or abdomen
* Unexplained weight loss
* Blood in your urine
* A new heart murmur
* Tenderness in your spleen — an infection-fighting abdominal organ on your left side, just below your rib cage

Sometimes endocarditis causes red, tender spots under the skin of the fingers. These are known as Osler's nodes. You may notice tiny purple or red spots known as petechiae (puh-TE-ke-e) on other areas of the skin. Similar spots may appear in the whites of your eyes or under your

Causes

note : Endocarditis occurs when germs enter your bloodstream, travel to your heart, and lodge on abnormal heart valves or damaged heart tissue. Abnormal growths (vegetations) that contain collections of bacteria may form in your heart at the site of the infection.

Endocarditis occurs when germs enter your bloodstream, travel to your heart and attach to abnormal heart valves or damaged heart tissue. Bacteria are the cause of most cases, but fungi, viruses or other microorganisms also may be responsible.

Sometimes the culprit is one of many common bacteria that live in your mouth, upper respiratory tract or other parts of your body. In other cases, the offending organism may gain entry to your bloodstream through:

* Certain dental or medical procedures. Dental procedures that cause bleeding may allow bacteria to enter your bloodstream. Bacteria may also be a concern with procedures done elsewhere in the body, such as in the respiratory tract.
* An infection or other medical condition. Bacteria may spread from an infected area, such as a skin sore. Gum disease, a sexually transmitted disease or an intestinal disorder — such as inflammatory bowel disease — also may give bacteria the opportunity to enter your bloodstream.
* Catheters or needles. Bacteria can enter your body through a catheter — a thin tube that doctors sometimes use to inject or remove fluid from the body. Contaminated needles and syringes are a concern for people who use intravenous (IV) drugs.
* Common activities. Even everyday activities such as brushing your teeth or chewing food can allow bacteria to enter your bloodstream — especially if your teeth and gums are in poor condition.

Typically, your immune system destroys bacteria that make it into your bloodstream. Even if bacteria reach your heart, they may pass through without causing an infection.

Most people who develop endocarditis have a diseased or damaged heart valve — an ideal spot for bacteria to settle. This damaged tissue in the endocardium provides bacteria with the roughened surface they need to attach and multiply.

Risk factors

note : Your heart is composed of two upper chambers and two lower chambers. The upper chambers — the right atrium and the left atrium — receive incoming blood. The lower chambers — the more muscular right and left ventricles — pump blood out of your heart. The heart valves keep blood flowing in the right direction and serve as gates to the chamber openings. The chambers and valves are lined by a thin membrane called the endocardium.

If your heart is healthy, you're unlikely to develop endocarditis. Even most types of heart disease don't increase the risk of endocarditis. The organisms that cause infection tend to adhere to and multiply only in malformed, damaged or surgically implanted heart valves.

Those at risk of endocarditis are those who have:

* Damaged or artificial heart valves. Certain medical conditions — such as rheumatic fever or infection — can damage or scar one or more of your heart valves, making them more prone to endocarditis.
* Congenital heart defects. If you were born with certain types of heart defects, your heart may be more susceptible to infection.
* A history of endocarditis. An episode of endocarditis damages heart tissue and valves, increasing the risk of a future heart infection.

If you have a known heart defect or heart valve problem, ask your doctor about your risk of developing endocarditis. Even if your heart condition has been repaired or hasn't caused symptoms, you may still be at risk.

Some people without heart problems are at risk of endocarditis as well. Intravenous drug users have a greater risk of infection because sharing or reusing needles can expose the bloodstream to infectious agents. People who are hospitalized with IV tubes also may be exposed to infection.

Another relation link :

- When to seek medical advice
- Screening and diagnosis
- Complications
- Treatment
- Prevention
- Self-care

for more info : http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/endocarditis/DS00409