Google circle:- A major new social network

ReadWriteWeb has confirmed details Google’s development of a major new social network called Circles. The service will offer photo and video sharing along with status updates that can be sent to specific, customizable social circles. Everything users share on Circles will be shared only with the most appropriate circle of social contacts in their lives, not with all your contacts in bulk. Circles may be shown off at an event co-hosted the ACLU, an organization focused on privacy and the liberties it affords. It may not be a big public launch yet, but it's clear that this is a major product in the works at the very least.

School and work, friends and family, the sacred and the profane; we've always been able to communicate different things to different people in different circumstances. Facebook, Twitter and other online social networks have collapsed all those contexts into one big bucket. We speak to our "friends" all at once, no matter what we might want to say to one group of people or another. And thus we often feel less comfortable than we might saying anything at all.

Google is expected to be in the final stages of development and may be showing off a preview at the SXSW conference .

Update: Google has said they will not announce anything. ReadWriteWeb learned from those suspected to be working on the project that it may not be under development currently after-all.

Where Facebook groups and Twitter lists have failed, Google Circles may be able to rope-in a massive audience of users seeking a more personal, organized network with more freedom of expression.

The lead user experience researcher for Google, Paul Adams published a very interesting presentation that points out the fundamental flaws of Facebook’s social network experience.

There isn’t anyone better suited to take on Facebook than Google. However, I don’t see what is to stop Facebook from implementing similar grouping features.

on Google Circles as Facebook’s tactics for world domination are continually shown as less than honorable. I also can’t wait to be empowered to share unique and relevant content to many diverse social circles.

Google Circles should prove to be a great communication medium for personal and business networking and marketing

Google Tries Again :- Google has launched many different social efforts over the years but has remained far behind Facebook and Twitter in its efforts. Social networking is an important technology for Google to find success with as it's a key way that people spend time online and that targeted advertisements are delivered to those people.

Google Buzz felt overbearing and bolted on. It also got privacy terribly, terribly wrong. Google Wave was more confusing than collaborative. Google's Open Social interoperable widget platform was hugely hyped as a distributed Face book killer, but it now primarily focused on enterprise social networks.

Reports emerged last June that Google has been working on a secret social project called Google Me.

In December a screenshot was leaked to techCrunch showing a new toolbar item on Google.com called "Loop." (Loop seems similar to Circles - I think Circles is better.) I believe that Circles will be a toolbar level service as well.

It's hard to think of a stronger angle to take than support for contextual integrity of communication and conversation, of personas in social networking.

Google has tried and failed in many other (though not all) social efforts. Bringing some of the best thinking and the best innovators in the world to a new effort to tackle one of the world's biggest problems is very ambitious.

Presuming that the things we're hearing are true (I believe they are), then we'll follow up with in-depth coverage of Google Circles once it's launched. That may be tonight, it may be as far in the future as the Google IO developer conference in two months - but I believe we are going to see at least some parts of it today. More clear than the timing is that this is definitely happening: Google is putting some of its most innovative social thinkers behind a major product called Circles and focused on personas.

The tallest people all over the world

Bo Xishun, the tallest person in the world, and his girlfriend, Xia Shujuan, were married in Chifeng city, Inner Mongolia on March 26. Bao Xishun, a Mongolian nationality herdsman, was born in 1951. He is 2.36 meters tall. In 2005, he was recognized as the tallest living man by the Guinness Book of Records. His wife, Xia Shujuan, is 28 years old and 1.68 meters high.

George Bell ,The staggering 7-foot-8 deputy sheriff from Norfolk, Va., finished head and shoulders above the rest and was officially crowned the Guinness World Records' tallest man in America , 2007.

Guinness World Records said that 8 foot 1 inch (2.47 meter) Sultan Kosen, from the town of Mardin in eastern Turkey, is now officially the tallest man walking the planet,2009.

Wadlow reached a strggering height of 8 feet 11.1 inches(2.72m) and weighted 490 lbs (220kg) nearly 500 ibs at his death at the tender ago of 22 years old. He was plagued with physical problems, not the least of which was leg weakness, bone deterioration and serious back problems.

Sandy Allen, the World's tallest woman is no more. She died at the age of 53 , in an Indiana nursing home. Sandy Allen was 7-foot, 7-inch (2.32 metre) tall and was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the "World's Tallest Woman".

Yes, on this photograph, the World's Smallest Man meets the Woman with World's Longest Legs!

With a height of 74.61 cm (2ft 5.37 in), He Pingping from Mongolia is the World's Smallest Man. he met 1m 96cm (6ft 4in) tall Svetlana Pankratova, from Russia, in Trafalgar Square, London, to launch the 2009 edition of the Guinness World Records book. With 132 cm (4 ft 3.9 in) long legs, Svetlana Pankratova has her name in the record book for the Woman with the Longest Legs in the World.

Ri Myung Hun a.k.a Michael Ri was a center with the national basketball team of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Once he was declared the tallest living human being in the world. Michael Ri planned to play in the NBA in the 1990s but he failed because of the U.S. ban on trade with North Korea. He's 7'8"1/2 (235cm).

Sultan Kösen (born 1983) is a Turkish basketball player. He had a back problem which prevented him from standing completely straight. A technician of the Galatasaray found him in a small town near the border of Turkey and Iraq. He stood 242 cm tall. After his back operation, his height was recorded at 247 cm (Approx. 8 ft 1 in).He is, as of now, the tallest player in the history of basketball.

Suleiman Ali Nashnush (1943 - 1991) is one of twelve individuals in medical history to reach or surpass eight feet in height. He was a Libyan basketball player and actor. In 1960, he successfully underwent surgery to correct his abnormal growth. He was one of the tallest basketball players ever at 8′0½” (245 cm) and played for Libya.

Leonid Stadnyk’s excessive growth began after brain surgery when he was 14 years old. He developed a pituitary gland tumor which caused the gland to secrete large amounts of growth hormone, resulting in what doctors describe as acromegalic gigantism. Twenty years after the surgery, the doctors have discovered the tumour had mysteriously disappeared and he is currently healthy. Leonid Stadnyk’s excessive growth began after brain surgery when he was 14 years old. He developed a pituitary gland tumor which caused the gland to secrete large amounts of growth hormone, resulting in what doctors describe as acromegalic gigantism. Twenty years after the surgery, the doctors have discovered the tumour had mysteriously disappeared and he is currently healthy. He's 8'5" (257cm).

Top 10 famous Longest Bridges in the World

Bayonne Bridge

The Bayonne Bridge is the fourth longest steel arch bridge in the world, and was the longest in the world at the time of its completion.

It connects Bayonne , New Jersey with Staten island New York.It was built by the Port of New York authority and opened on November 15, 1931.

Total length - 5,780 feet

Width - 85 feet(25.91 m)

Rio Niteroi Bridge

Its official name is “President Costa e Silva Bridge”. It connects the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Niteroi in Brazil. It is currently the longest pre-stressed concrete bridge in the south hemisphere. From its completion in 1974 until 1985 it was the world’s second longest bridge in the world. Actual construction work begun in January 1969, and completed in March 1974.

Total length - 13,290m(8.25miles)

Width - 72m(236.22ft)

Seven Mile Bridge

The Seven Mile Bridge is a famous bridge in the Florida Keys, in Monroe County, Florida, United states.

There are two bridges in this location. The older bridge, originally known as the Knights Key-Pigeon Key-Moser Channel-Pacet Channel Bridge, was constructed from 1909-1912 under the direction of Henry Flagler as part of the Florida East Coast Railway’s Key West Extension, also known as the Overseas Railroad.

Total length - 10887.5 meters(6.765 miles)

Widht - 11.58 meters(38ft)

Confederation bridge

The Confederation Bridge (French: Pont de la Confédération) is a bridge spanning the Abegweit Passage of Northumberland Strait, linking Prince Edward Island with mainland New Brunswick, canada.

Construction took place from the autumn of 1993 to the spring of 1997, costing C$1.3 billion. The 12.9-kilometre (8 mi) long bridge opened on 31 May 1997.

Total length - 12.9km(8mi)

Donghai Bridge

Donghai Bridge is the longest cross-sea bridge in the world and the longest bridge in Asia. It connects Shanghai and the offshore Yangshan deep-water port in China. This Bridge is 20.2 miles or 32.5 km long. It was completed on December 10, 2005. Largest Cable-stayed sections, with span of 420 m to allow for the passage of large ships..

King Fahd Causeway

The King Fahd Causeway built to connect Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. It is a bridge combination connecting Khobar, Saudi Arabia, and the island nation of Bahrain.

Total length - 25km(16mi)

Width - 23m(75ft)

San Mateo Hayward Bridge

The San Mateo Hayward Bridge is also called as San Mateo Bridge. It is linking the San Francisco Peninsula with the East Bay. The bridge’s has its eastern end in Hayward and western end in Foster city which is recently emerged into the urban world within U.S. The bridge is maintained by Caltrans which is a state highway agency.

Chesapeake Bay Bridge

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge is also known as the Bay Bridge. It was built in 1952 and named the William Preston Lane, Jr. Memorial Bridge after William Preston Lane, Jr. who, as governor of Maryland, implemented its construction.

Total length - 22,790 ft(6,946m) or 4.316mi(6.946km)

Width - 28ft(8.5m)(eastbound), 38ft(11.6m)(westbound)

Penang Bridge

The Penang Bridge is a dual-carriageway toll bridge that connects Gelugor on the island of Penang and Seberang Prai on the mainland of Malaysia on the Malay Peninsula. The bridge is also linked to the Norht-South Expressway in Prai and Jelutong Expressway inPenang . The total length of the bridge is 8.4 miles, making it among the longest bridges in the world, the longest bridge in the country as well as a national landmark. PLUS Expressway Berhad is the concession holder which manages it.

THE AKASHI KAIKYO BRIDGE

The Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge in Japan heads the list of the top 10 longest single spand bridges in the world. Europe’s longest singel span bridge is the Great Belt Bridge in Denmark, although current plans for a bridge between mainland Italy and Sicily across the Messina straights would surpass it if given the go ahead. The Tsing Ma (Hong Kong to China), has the longest span for a bridge with both road and train traffic.

Toothpick city ....................!

DAY 3 Move than 10,000 feared dead Japna's biggest crisis since WW-2

Japan fought on Sunday to avert a meltdown at three earthquake crippled nuclear reactors, describing the massive quake and tsunami, which may have killed more than 10,000 people, as the nation's biggest crisis since world war 2.
The world's third largest economy is struggling to respond to a disaster of epic proportions, with more than five million without water or power and whole towns wiped off the map.
" The earthquake, tsunami and the nuclear incident have been the biggest crisis Japan has encountered in the 65 years since the end of world war 2," a grim faced Prime Minister Naoto kan told a news conference.
As he spoke , official worked desperately to stop fuel rods in the damaged reactors from overheating, which could in turn melt the container that houses the core, or even explode, releasing radioactive material into the atmosphere.
The government said a building housing a second reactor at the same complex in Fukushima
was at risk of exploding after a blast blew the roof off the first the day before. The complex is 240km north of Tokyo.
Later it said it was pouring seawater into a third reactor to release a build up of pressure.
However, japan's nuclear safety agency said there had been a rise in radiation at the onagawa facility due to leakage from the Fukushima plant and there was no problem with the cooling process there.
Kan said the crisis was not another chernobyl, referring to the nuclear disaster of 1986 in soviet Ukraine.
Broadcaster NHK, quoting a police official, said more than 10,000 people may have been killed as the wall of water triggered by Friday's 9-magnitude quake surged across the coastline, reducing whole towns to rubble.
Kyodo news agency said about 300,000 people were evacuated nationwide, many seeking refuge in shelters, wrapped in blankets, some clutching each other sobbing.
Kan said food, water and other necessities such as blankets were being delivered by vehicles but because of damage to roads, authorities were considering air and sea transport.
Thousands spent another freezing night huddled in blankets over heaters in emergency shelters along the northeastern coast, a scene of devastation after the quake sent 33-foot wave surging through towns and cities in the Miyagi region, including its main coastal city of Sendai.
Kyodo news agency reported there had been no contact with around 10,000 people in one town, more than half its population.
A new explosion rocked Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex on Monday, sending a plume of smoke into the air.
Reuters reports from Tokyo: Japanese authorities have been working desperately to avert a meltdown, compounding a nuclear catastrophe caused by Friday's massive quake and tsunami.
The core container was intact, Jiji news agency said, quoting the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co, but the local government warned those still in the 20-km (13-mile) evacuation zone to stay indoors. Kyodo news agency quoted TEPCO as saying workers were injured in latest explosion.

Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park and Yosemite Valley are world famous for impressive cliffs, waterfalls and rock formations - It is very beautiful but dangerous too

A Yosemite park from San Francisco is a popular way for San Francisco visitors to see Yosemite Valley since the park is only about a three and a half hour drive away.

Yosemite National park Mapto Map to help locate and identify the following points of interest most of which can be viewed either from Yosemite Valley, Glacier Point or Tioga Road:

El Capitan

A 3,000 foot high block of granite on the Northern side of Yosemite Valley is known as El Capitan. The vertical face of "El Cap" is a favorite of experienced rock climbers with dozens of named (and difficult) climbing routes. Hikers can get to the top via a trail that begins at Yosemite Falls.

El Capitan (like Half Dome) was considered impossible to climb until a combination of improved skills, expansion bolts, pitons and rope and a 47 day effort led to the first success in 1958. By 1970 the first free climb was completed.

Half Dome

Probably the most recognized symbol of Yosemite, this huge domed granite mountain rises over 4,000 feet above Yosemite Valley and is 8,800 feet high.

Glacial activity trimmed the northwest side of Half Dome leaving a 2,200 foot cliff with the steepest vertical grade in the US. Thought unclimbable for many years, there are now several known routes up the face of Half Dome.

A hike to the summit of Half Dome can be accomplished in one or two days. From the valley floor you climb past both Nevada and Vernal Falls to Little Yosemite Valley. Camp here or do the complete route in one long 10-14 hour day. Although the climb is steep it is crowded on summer weekends so crowded that permits will be required on weekend in 2010–11 for Half Dome's top half. The National Park Service has produced an excellent video that you should watch if you are contemplating this very difficult hike.

Cathedral Rocks and Spires

Higher, Middle, and Lower Cathedral Rocks and directly adjacent Higher and Lower Cathedral Spires on the opposite side of the valley from El Capitan, form the canyon through which Bridalveil Creek flows.

These cliffs, buttresses and pinnacles are also popular rock climbing locations with Middle Cathedral Rock being the most popular.

Natural Yosemite Firefall

Horsetail Fall

"Let the Fire Fall!"

This shout, by a ranger leading the nightly campfire program at Camp Curry, signaled the event everyone had been waiting for. Glowing embers—all that was left of a large fir bark fire—were carefully raked over the edge of the cliff at Glacier Point, 3,000 feet above, to form what looked like a waterfall of fire.

The Yosemite Firefall tradition, which began as early as 1872, ended in 1968 but in recent years visitors to the valley have discovered a natural phenomenon that some are calling a natural Yosemite Firefall.

The Three Brothers

The Three Brothers are said to be named for the three sons of Tenaya, the last chief of the Ahwahneechee tribe of Native American Indians.

Sentinel Rock

This granite peak overlooks Yosemite Valley from a location between Cathedral Rocks and Half Dome on the Southern side of the valley opposite Yosemite Falls.

There are three difficult climbing routes up Sentinel Rock. Those who attempt the climb need to beware of the dangerous descent.

Bridalveil Falls

Often the first water fall visitors to Yosemite Valley see, Bridalveil Falls drops 620 feet from a U-shaped hanging valley. Once just a stream flowing down a valley until glacial activity carved away Yosemite Valley leaving this 'valley that falls off a cliff.'

Bridalveil Falls flows all year transforming from a thunderous torrent in the spring to a light swaying flow later in the season.

An easy one half mile hike on a paved trail will take you to the base of this waterfall.

Yosemite Falls

Yosemite Falls is actually three separate falls, Upper Yosemite Fall (1,430 ft.), Middle Cascades (675 ft.) and Lower Yosemite Fall (320 ft.).
The total 2,425 foot drop makes Yosemite Falls the highest in North American and fifth tallest waterfall in the world.

All three sections of Yosemite Falls can be seen from Glacier Point.

Frequently dried up by August, Lower Yosemite Fall is still the most visited landmark in Yosemite because of its easy accessibility. A hike to Upper Yosemite Fall, by contrast, is a strenuous, all-day endeavor.

Each winter an ice cone up to several hundred feet high forms at the base of the waterfall. The ice cone typically completely disappears by early April.

The beauty and grandeur of Yosemite Falls was instrumental in the preservation of the park motivating key individuals to call for preservation of the valley's natural wonders and eventually the action by President Abraham Lincoln to set aside Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees for the enjoyment of the public in 1864.

Nevada Fall and Vernal Fall

These two waterfalls are best seen from Glacier Point or by hiking the 7 mile round trip Mist trail. Nevada Fall (594 foot) is above Vernal fall (317). Both flow all year.

Be careful to head warning signs and watch your step as the Mist Trail is the most dangerous trail in the valley. Also be prepared to get wet, very wet in spring and early summer. A number of hikers have entered the river to cool off or take pictures and been swept away.

Return to Yosemite Valley via the John Muir Trail for different views.

Ribbon Falls

Ribbon Falls is the seventh highest waterfall in the world at 1,610 feet. President Theodore Roosevelt camped with naturalist John Muir in the meadow below the falls during his historic visit in 1903 where they discussed doing some "forest good."

Ribbon fall typically dries up by mid- to late-summer. The waterfall is next to El Capitan on the opposite side of the Valley from Bridalveil Falls.

There are no trails to either the base or the top of Bridalviel.

Glacier Point

With panoramic views of Yosemite Valley, including Half Dome, Yosemite Falls, Nevada and Vernal Falls as well as the High Sierra—Glacier Point is the most spectacular view in Yosemite Park.

The road to Glacier Point is usually closed beyond Badger Pass Ski area from November to May.

Although Base Jumping from El Capitan is no longer allowed in the park Hang Gliders are able to launch, under strictly controlled conditions, from Glacier Point and land in Yosemite Valley.

An 88 year tradition of a nightly Fire fall from Glacier Point ended when the Glacier Point Hotel—the owners performed the ritual—burned down in 1968.

Tunnel View

One of the most famous views of Yosemite Valley is from a view point on Highway 41 known as Tunnel View.

Just after exiting Wawona Tunnel when entering the valley from the south you will see El Capitan and Bridalveil Falls on opposite sides of the valley and Half Dome in the distance.

Portal View

Pull outs along Big Oak Flat Road (Highway 120) near the tunnels provide great views of El Capitan, Half Dome, the Yosemite Valley and, far below, the Merced River.

Because the pull outs are on the right side heading toward Yosemite Valley, some near tunnel exits or sharp turns, it is easier and safer to stop at them when traveling in that direction.

Tioga Road

The most famous scenic drive in Yosemite Park stretches 39 miles from Crane Flat to Tioga Pass through forests, meadows, lakes and granite domes.

Open in summer only, the Tioga Road was originally a wagon road across the Tioga Pass built by the Great Consolidated Silver Company in 1883.

Tuolumne Meadows

This stunningly picturesque sub alpine region is a great place to camp and hike with many varied trails. Near the Western entrance to Yosemite, the Tuolumne Meadows area is only accessible by car during the summer via Tioga Road.

Tioga Pass

California's highest automobile pass, Tioga Pass, is where Tioga Road (Highway 120) enters Yosemite Park's western edge crossing the Sierra Nevada's crest at 9,945 feet. Mono Lake is 13 miles east of the park's boarder.

Wawona

Wawona is not far from the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias and the South entrance to Yosemite Park.

The Wawona Hotel, dating form the late nineteenth century, and other historic buildings comprising the Pioneer Yosemite History Center are accessible by car year-round. During the summer you can enter the restored buildings at the Pioneer Yosemite History Center where people in period costumes portraying homesteader, mountaineer and cavalry trooper will share Yosemite Valley history with visitors.

Huge Japan quake causes tsunami, fires, landslide

TOKYO (Reuters) - A massive 8.9 magnitude quake hit northeast Japan on Friday, causing many injuries, fires and a four-metre (13-ft) tsunami along parts of the country's coastline, NHK television and witnesses reported.

There were several strong aftershocks and a warning of a 10-metre tsunami following the quake, which also caused buildings to shake violently in the capital Tokyo.

TV pictures showed a vast wall of water carrying buildings and debris across a large swathe of coastal farmland.

Public broadcaster NHK showed flames and black smoke billowing from a building in Odaiba, a Tokyo suburb, and bullet trains to the north of the country were halted.

Black smoke was also pouring out of an industrial area in Yokohama's Isogo area. TV footage showed boats, cars and trucks floating in water after a small tsunami hit the town of Kamaichi in northern Japan. An overpass, location unknown, appeared to have collapsed into the water.

Kyodo news agency said there were reports of fires in the city of Sendai in the northeast.

"The building shook for what seemed a long time and many people in the newsroom grabbed their helmets and some got under

their desks," Reuters correspondent Linda Sieg said in Tokyo.

"It was probably the worst I have felt since I came to Japan more than 20 years ago."

Passengers on a subway line in Tokyo screamed and grabbed other passengers' hands. The shaking was so bad it was hard to stand, said Reuters reporter Mariko Katsumura.

Hundreds of office workers and shoppers spilled into Hitotsugi street, a shopping street in Akasaka in downtown Tokyo.

Household goods ranging from toilet paper to clingfilm were flung into the street from outdoor shelves in front of a drugstore.

Crowds gathered in front of televisions in a shop next to the drugstore for details. After the shaking from the first quake subsided, crowds were watching and pointing to construction cranes on an office building up the street with voices saying, "They're still shaking!", "Are they going to fall?"

Asagi Machida, 27, a web designer in Tokyo, sprinted from a coffee shop when the quake hit.

"The images from the New Zealand earthquake are still fresh in my mind so I was really scared. I couldn't believe such a big earthquake was happening in Tokyo."

The U.S. Geological Survey earlier verified a magnitude of 7.9 at a depth of 15.1 miles and located the quake 81 miles east of Sendai, on the main island of Honshu. It later upgraded it to 8.8.

A police car drove down Hitotsugi Street, lights flashing, announcing through a bullhorn that there was still a danger of shaking.

The Tokyo stock market extended its losses after the quake was announced. The central bank said it would do everything to ensure financial stability.

Japan's northeast Pacific coast, called Sanriku, has suffered from quakes and tsunamis in the past and a 7.2 quake struck on Wednesday. In 1933, a magnitude 8.1 quake in the area killed more than 3,000 people. Last year fishing facilities were damaged after by a tsunami caused by a strong tremor in Chile.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.