Hebatnya Allah Ciptakan Tulang Manusia

"Tiap-tiap ruas tulang anak adam itu ada sedekahnya setiap harinya" (HR Bukhari, Muslim)

Seorang doktor ahli bedah yang berfungsi juga sebagai staf pengajar anatomi di Universiti Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta menemukan fenomena wudhu yang sangat berkaitan dengan anatomi tubuh manusia khususnya tulang. Bertahun-tahun mendalami ilmu bedah dan anatomi, akhirnya doktor tersebut menyimpulkan bahwa jumlah bilangan ruas tulang yang kita basuh setiap kali berwudhu sama dengan jumlah keseluruhan tulang manusia dan sama dengan jumlah bilangan hari dalam 1 tahun hijriah.

Kebanyakan manusia tidak pernah memperhatikan jumlah tulangnya sendiri, bahkan seorang doktor sekalipun. Menurut ilmu anatomi, jumlah tulang manusia dewasa adalah 206 ruas (Henry Netter, 1906). Akan tetapi secara embriologis, pusat penulangan semasa kehidupan janin dalam kandungan adalah sekitar 350-an pusat penulangan (Leslie Brainerd Arey, 1934), yang kemudian banyak pusat-pusat penulangan yang menyatu, membentuk satu tulang dewasa. Bilangan pusat penulangan itu ternyata dekat dengan bilangan hari dalam satu tahun.

Dalam kaitannya dengan kaedah harian wudhu, pembasuhan anggota wudhu kebanyakan sebanyak 3 kali, dan ada yang 1 kali (membasuh kepala dan telinga).

Cuba kita perhatikan jumlah penyusunan tulang pada bahagian-bahagian tubuh yang dibasuh pada saat berwudhu;

a.Lengan dan tangan: 30 batang tulang yang terdiri ;

1 buah tulang lengan atas

2 buah tulang lengan bawah

8 buah tulang pergelangan tangan

19 buah tulang telapak dan jari-jari

b.Tungkai dan kaki (31 batang)

2 tungkai bawah

8 buah tulang pergelangan kaki

21 buah tulang telapak dan jari-jari

c.Wajah (12 batang)

1 buah tulang dahi

1 buah tulang baji

1 buah rahang atas

1 buah rahang bawah

1 buah tulang air mata

1 buah tulang pelipis

2 buah tulang hidung

2 buah tulang pipi

d.Rongga mulut dan hidung (41 batang)

32 gigi geligi

1 buah tulang langit-langit

1 buah rahang

7 buah sekat dan karang hidung

e.Kepala dan telinga (12 batang)

2 buah tulang pelipis

2 buah tulang ubun-ubun

1 buah tulang

1 buah tulang baji

1 buah tulang dahi

1 buah tulang belakang kepala

6 buah tulang pendengaran

Bahagian tubuh dari poin a-d dijumlahkan

30+31+12+41= 114.

Angka tersebut dikalikan 3 oleh karena ketika berwudhu, dilakukan pembasuhan sebanyak 3 kali, menjadi

114x3= 342.

Poin e tidak dikalikan 3 karena saat wudhu, kepala dan telinga dibasuh hanya 1 kali. Angka 342 dijumlahkan dengan 12 didapatkan angka 354.

Angka ini sama dengan jumlah seluruh jumlah hari dalam 1 tahun hijriah, sekaligus sama dengan jumlah seluruh tulang manusia.

Dengan demikian membasuh anggota tubuh disaat berwudhu seakan-akan sudah membasuh seluruh tubuh.

Apakah ini suatu kebetulan??

sumber: http://halaqah.net/v10/index.php?page=342

Belanda Haramkan Sembelihan Ikut Cara Islam

Ahli-ahli Parlimen Belanda sudah bersiap sedia untuk meluluskan rang undang-undang bagi mengharamkan penyembelihan haiwan cara Islam dan Yahudi.

Bagaimanapun dalam kompromi saat-saat akhir , anggota dewan bersetuju membuat pindaan bagi mengecualikan pertubuhan-pertubuhan agama daripada pengharaman itu, jika mereka dapat membuktikan kaedah penyembelihan mereka tanpa menggunakan kejutan elektrik, tidak menyebabkan kesakitan tambahan.

Ahli-ahli Parlimen berhaluan tengah daripada beberapa parti mencapai kompromi itu sejurus sebelum perbahasan terakhir mengenai rang undang-undang tersebut, kerana khuatir sokongan mereka terhadap pengharaman itu boleh menyebabkan mereka kehilangan sokongan daripada pengundi Islam dan Yahudi.

Seperti di kebanyakan negara Barat, undang-undang Belanda menetapkan penyembelih haiwan mesti menggunakan kejutan elektrik, bagi memastikannya tidak sedar, sebelum binatang itu boleh disembelih, untuk mengurangkan kesakitan dan rasa takut.

Namun pengecualian diberikan selama ini untuk haiwan yang disembelih cara Islam dan Yahudi yang menghendaki haiwan itu berada dalam keadaan sedar.

Pemimpin Parti bagi Haiwan, Marianne Thieme yang mengemukakan rang undang-undang itu yakin pengharaman itu akan diluluskan.

Beliau tidak fikir penyembelih Yahudi dan Islam akan dapat membuktikan kaedah penyembelihan mereka menyebabkan kurang kesakitan berbanding jika haiwan dikenakan kejutan elektrik terlebih dahulu.

“Menjadi andaian semata-mata bahawa penyembelihan tanpa kejutan elektrik boleh dibuktikan lebih mesra haiwan berbanding penyembelihan dengan kejutan elektrik, tetapi pindaan ini memberi peluang kepada pertubuhan-pertubuhan agama untuk mencari dan mengemukakan bukti itu,” kata Thieme.

Bagaimanapun kompromi itu tidak meredakan kemarahan kumpulan-kumpulan Islam dan Yahudi yang menyifatkan pengharaman yang diusulkan sebagai serangan ke atas kebebasan beragama.

“Ini cara gila untuk menggubal undang-undang, bahawa kami perlu membuktikan apa yang sudah lama kami yakini,” kata Ronnie Eisenmann daripada Komuniti Yahudi Amsterdam.

Wakil-wakil pertubuhan Islam pula berkata, jika penyembelihan cara Islam diharamkan oleh kerajaan Belanda, penduduk Islam akan terpaksa membeli daging halal dari negara jiran seperti Belgium dan Jerman.

sumber: utusan malaysia

KEHEBATAN ADOBE PHOTOSHOP

Model Keretapi Terkecil Dunia ( berfungsi!!! )

Rumah Anjing yang Mewah Melampau

Bila haiwan najis "mughallazah" dimuliakan...

Sedangkan manusia sesama manusia dibiarkan kelaparan...

...

Sources Claim Hezbollah Prepared To Open Front With Israel To Relieve Pressure On Syrian President

Sources close to Lebanese Shite group Hezbollan have said that the organisation may open a front agaisnt Israel to deflect pressure from Syrian president Bashar al Assad if his position becomes significantly threatened. The Syrian leader has been rocked by pro democracy protests in recent weeks and months that have claimed the lives of 1,500 protesters according to some sources.

The source, which claimed that the US lost an alley in ousted Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarrak and were now seeking to even the balance of power by toppling Assad, said "the region now is at war, a war between what is good and what is backed by Washington... Syria is the good".

Syria is one of Hezbollah's major allies and provides significant funding and arms to the group in their wars with Israel, the latest of which was in 2006. Hezbollah is also dependent on Syria to allow the transfer of arms from its other major regional ally, Iran, into Lebanon.

In turn Syria has used Hezbollah as a means of retaining influence in Lebanon after it was forced to withdraw from the region after the assination of Lebanese pro independence President Rafiq Hariri in 2005. Both Syria and Hezbollah have been implicated by the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon as having roles in the assassination.

Questioned as to whether the groups support for Assad was inconsistent with its support for other "Arab Spring" pro democracy movements in Egypt and Bahrain the source claimed there was no contradiction. "When the regime is against Israel and is committed to reforms then Hezbollah decision is to be by the side of the people and the leadership through urging them for dialogue and partnership," the source claimed.

Hezbollah receive wide support from many in the region due to their role in expelling Israel from Southern Lebanon in 2000 and repelling an Israeli attack in 2006.

Lebanon has recently announced a new government dominated by Hezbollah sypathisers following the withdrawel of the group from Lebanons previous government in Febuary.

OIC: “Water Situation in Gaza Deteriorating”

The OIC said that it is essential to establish plants to desalinate seawater in order to compensate for the sharp need of fresh water in Gaza, and called for halting the drilling of new water wells as they undermine and drain the underground water reservoir.

The OIC added in its report that some international and local organizations played in May an important role in the process of reconstructing Gaza and its infrastructure although the Israeli siege in hindering significant reconstruction and development projects.

It said that the ongoing Israeli violations, the illegal siege and attacks, are leading to civilian casualties while attacks against Palestinian fishermen are still ongoing as the army is opening fire at them and confiscating their boats.

The OIC added that the increasing number of solidarity ships who made it into Gaza, and the ongoing preparations to send for aid ships, reflects the increasing international awareness, and the international support for ending the illegal siege.

It further highlighted the suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza as a result of the ongoing electricity crisis in the coastal region.

The Gaza Strip is still lacking hundreds of medications and spare parts for medical equipment.

Approximately 178 types of medications and 123 types of medical supplies have run out, and an additional 69 types of medications and 70 types of medical supplies are expected to run out within the next three months, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza reported last week.

Over 300 patients have died, since Israeli imposed the siege on Gaza in 2007, due to a lack of essential medical equipment. The patients were denied permits to leave the Gaza Strip to seek medical attention elsewhere.

'Freedom Flotilla 2' prepares to sail to Gaza in next few days

At a recent press conference by an Israeli naval commander, the commander said he did not believe that the flotilla would contain weapons, and acknowledged that the passengers on the boats are known peace activists committed to non-violence. But the Israeli government continues to warn that it will attack the flotilla with military force, and has pre-emptively blamed the volunteer participants in the flotilla for any Israeli attack on the boats.

US delegation participant Robert Naiman responded, “If you concede that we are peace activists who are not carrying weapons, what exactly is the urgency to confront us with force? Why not just let us proceed to Gaza unmolested? Does it pass a 'straight face test', as Speaker Boehner might say, to claim that it will set a horrible international legal precedent binding the Israeli government if you were to let us pass unmolested to Gaza, having conceded that we are peace activists who are not carrying weapons?”

Last year, a similar Freedom Flotilla was attacked by Israeli forces and nine peace activists were killed by Israeli commandoes.

In a statement by the US State Department on Wednesday, the US government mentioned last year's attack and warned US citizens against participating in the flotilla, stating, “U.S. citizens are advised against traveling to Gaza by any means, including via sea. Previous attempts to enter Gaza by sea have been stopped by Israeli naval vessels and resulted in the injury, death, arrest, and deportation of U.S. citizens. U.S. citizens participating in any effort to reach Gaza by sea should understand that they may face arrest, prosecution, and deportation by the Government of Israel.”

An investigation by the Turkish government of last year's Israeli attack released its results two weeks ago, showing that the nine men killed were hit by a total of 30 bullets fired at close range, with five of the men killed by shots to the head. The 19-year old American citizen who was killed, Fulkan Dorgan, was killed by five bullets fired at a distance of 45 cm to his face, the back of his head, his leg and his back.

The US government has never investigated the Israeli attack on last year's flotilla, and has repeatedly voiced support for Israel's actions. Israel's Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu reiterated that the US is Israel's “best friend”, in his visit to the US two weeks ago. Last week, US President Barack Obama told a room full of campaign contributors from the US Jewish community, all of whom donated around $25,000 to participate in the event, that the US would remain a steadfast and uncompromising supporter of Israel.

In his statement, Flotilla participant Robert Naiman contradicted Israeli claims that their blockade on the Gaza Strip has been eased recently, saying, “Exports from Gaza remain largely blocked; restrictions on Gazans' travel to the West Bank and East Jerusalem for work, study, and medical care remain; imports of construction materials remain largely blocked; restrictions on Gaza's farming and fishing remain. Unemployment in Gaza is among the highest in the world, the UN reports.”

SAJAK HARI BAPA

TAJUK : Ana kenal seorang bapa .........
PENULIS : Tak tahu

ana kenal seorang bapa
masih muda
anak-anaknya belum mencapai usia remaja

tapi dia ada SP yang jelas untuk anak-anak dan keluarganya
dia seorang bapa penyayang
sering bermain dengan anak-anaknya
juga seorang suami romantik
memanggil isteri2nya dengan panggilan sayang
memanjakan mereka

berbelanja makan di tempat mewah
bercuti di hotel dalam negara
katanya harta disimpan untuk apa
kepada keluargalah afdal bersedekah

namun
ada rahsia yang baru-baru ini dikongsi mereka
tika datang hujung minggu
si bapa dan anak-anak serta isteri2nya
membawa baldi, sabun dan berus

ke mana mereka?
rupa-rupanya mereka ke surau-surau di sekitar KL
membersihkan tandas-tandas yang tidak terjaga
membaiki pam-pam yang rosak
agar jamaah selesa
dan Islam tidak dipandang pengotor

mereka lakukan secara sukarela
cepat-cepat beredar sebelum masuk waktu zuhur
supaya tiada siapa yang tahu angkara siapa
dan supaya ikhlas terus terjaga

di minggu lain pula
membahagiakan anak-anak yatim
membawa mereka tertawa
melihat karenah binatang di zoo
dan melupakan sebentar duka mereka
kerana masih ada insan yang peduli.....

kata beliau
mendidik anak tidak cukup dengan hanya
menghantarnya ke sekolah agama semata
dan merasakan sudah selesai usahanya
namun harus dengan tarbiah
dan inilah caranya mengait hidayah
puasa, qiamullail, sedekah, menolong orang susah
adalah sebahagian dari tarbiah
dan harus dimula dari sosok seorang ayah

pasti anak-anaknya hebat nanti kan?
kerana ayahnya benar-benar seorang Hero.......

Kamal Khalil
Skudai Johor

*******************************

TECHNOLOGY : WASP Injector Knife

No matter how far personal weaponry advances, the last line of defence has remained the same. If a threat gets really up close and personal, divers, soldiers, campers and hunters all have to rely on their trusty knife when all else has failed. The trouble is, if your shark, elephant or enemy combatant is close enough for you to stab them, they're well within range to lay some serious hurt on you if your knife aim isn't true - and there's plenty of angry animals out there capable of disposing of you even with a blade hanging out of them. That's why WASP have created the Injector Knife, which forces a massive charge of freezing compressed air into the stab wound. WASP claims the shock and tissue freezing can stop the largest of land predators in its tracks, and it's even more effective on underwater predators.

The WASP knife is fairly simple in principle; the removable handle contains a bulb of compressed gas, and there's a thumb button which releases that gas almost instantly through a thin tube that exits near the point of the blade. The gas is expelled at around 850psi of pressure, and expands to around the size of a basketball inside whatever the knife has been poked into. The handle unscrews to fit new gas bulbs, and it's easy to carry more than one handle if there's the chance that the knife's lethal charge could be needed more than once in relatively quick succession.

The initial gas release is extremely cold, and can snap-freeze all tissue and organs in the area surrounding the blast, which has a devastating and instant effect on the hapless victim. The effect is compounded if used on an underwater predator - not only is there the instant shock and freezing effect, but the large injection of air causes the recipient to float upwards, and as it rises and the atmospheric pressure decreases, the ball of air continues to expand with catastrophic consequences.

The WASP Injector Knife is also virtually silent when discharged inside an enemy's flesh - not that the enemy can be expected to remain silent through such internal trauma - but it effectively maintains the knife's potential as a stealth killing option while massively multiplying its lethality.

The WASP Injector Knife system is available through the WASP website for US$380. It's still a last resort for when all else has failed and a big, nasty threat is virtually upon you - and you'll still need to be smuggling coconuts in your shorts to have the nerve to stab and hit that button at the right moment - but if I was standing there with a knife in my hand and an angry brown bear advancing on me, I'd want that knife to be one of these.

TECHNOLOGY : Scarpar's high speed, all-terrain powerboard

Two years ago, we had a look at the Scarpar - a twin-tracked, high speed all terrain powerboard that seemed like a promising power toy. Well, we've just spoken to Scarpar CEO Andrew Fern, who has confirmed that this unique vehicle is going into production later this year, and he's taking deposits as of now. Basically everything on the board has been changed since the last prototype we saw - it now runs an independent electric motor in each of the two articulating tracks, and the hand-held throttle and brake unit is now wireless. And as Fern describes after the jump, getting it to a production-ready point has been a herculean effort; his design team more or less had to create their own realm of engineering theory to deal with such an unprecedented set of vehicle dynamics. The following interview is a fascinating look into the development cycle of a new product. Most importantly though, the Scarpar still looks like extreme fun, and a remarkable way to launch yourself into the foliage.

It seemed like such a simple idea when we first looked at it - a tank-style track at each end of a skateboard, combining the fun steering and carving of a skateboard with all-terrain drive capability and the ability to reach high speeds. The Scarpar is a hard device not to like at first glance.

But CEO Andrew Fern found that consumer enthusiasm doesn't necessarily translate itself into capital in this day and age: "When you've got a device to take to market, venture capital and angel capital are noticeably absent. Everybody's looking for the next Twitter or Facebook or whatever, but if you've got a physical device, it's a pretty tough slog."

So, armed with a small team and a "bootstrap" budget, Fern has taken longer than expected to push the project toward a commercial reality. Based in Queensland, Australia, he engaged aerospace/automotive specialists EDAG as his engineering partners and set them to work on turning the Scarpar prototype into a safe and well thought through product.

But the engineering process proved far from straightforward: "It has been a lot more complex and difficult than even EDAG estimated it could be," says Fern, "I mean, how hard can it be? It's just a board with tracks and a motor, and the tracks articulate. But when you get down to it, OK, what are the losses in the system, and how much torque do you actually need to turn those tracks - and by the way, where are those tracks going to come from? Because they don't exist. So every part has to be made.

"The tracks themselves are a really good example of the engineering challenges. The tracks are basically a one meter continuous loop, the equivalent of a timing belt. But a timing belt is not designed to be bashed from the outside ... We needed the precision of a timing belt, but we needed the ability to take a hit from the outside of something like a snowmobile track ... Now, a snowmobile has no constraints in terms of weight, they have a huge amount of power, so they don't have to build things light. Whereas we're trying to build a track that weighs a couple of kilos, that can run at 50 km/h, and be bashed from the outside, and is still precision enough to make the losses very low so we can actually power the thing... The engineering challenges with making something like this lightweight are really significant."

China building world’s biggest radio telescope

Since its completion in 1963, the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, with a diameter of 305 m (1,000 ft) and a collecting area of 73,000 square meters (790,000 sq ft), has been the largest single-aperture radio telescope ever constructed. But Arecibo is set to lose its title with construction now underway in Guizhou Province in southern China of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). Upon its expected completion in 2016, FAST will be able to see more than three times further into space and survey the skies ten times faster than Arecibo.

FAST was first proposed by China for the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), which has since opted to combine the signals of thousands of smaller antennae spread over a distance of more than 3,000 km (1,864 miles), combining for a total collecting area of approximately one square kilometer (0.38 square miles). The SKA will be built in the southern hemisphere with South Africa and Australia currently vying for the right to host the project.

Despite this, an international review and advisory conference on the science and technology of FAST held in Beijing in 2006 concluded FAST was feasible. In the following year funding for FAST was given the green light and the approved budget now sits at CNY700 million (approx. US$107.9 million). Construction in the Dawodang depression in south Guizhou commenced in March.

Unlike Arecibo, which has a fixed spherical curvature focusing radio waves into a line above the dish where they are focused to a single point by more mirrors, FAST's cable-net supporting structure will be able to deform the surface in real time through active control. As PopSci explains, this will allow a subset dish's 4,400 triangular aluminum panels to form a parabolic mirror anywhere within the larger bowl that is nearly the size of the entire Arecibo dish.

Using FAST's unparalleled sensitivity and high surveying speed, the project is expected to enable the surveying of neutral hydrogen in the Milky Way and other galaxies, the detection of new pulsars (both galactic and extragalactic), the search for the first shining stars, and of perhaps most interest to many people, the search for extraterrestrial life. It is expected to be able to detect transmissions from over 1,000 light years away.

With a construction period of 5.5 years, FAST is due to be completed in 2016.

TECHNOLOGY : Getac announces flagship X500 rugged notebook

Getac's range of rugged notebook computers continues to grow with the release of the company's new flagship X500. Aimed at Getac's core military customers, the X500 is designed to withstand the most extreme working conditions. With Intel Core i5-520M (2.4GHz) and Core i7-620M (2.66GHz) processor options, 2GB of RAM and the option of a NVIDIA GeForce GT330M MXM GPU with 512MB of VRAM, the X500 is also the most powerful ultra-rugged PC in the company's 22-year history.

The X500 sports a 15.6-inch 1366 x 769 QuadraClear sunlight-readable LED display with 1,000 cd/m2 of brightness. The display is also multi-touch capable and pressure sensitive, so it can be register touch input from just about anything, including gloved fingers. There's also a glide touchpad with scrollbar and full-sized, waterproof and backlit QWERTY keyboard of the mechanical membrane variety - a waterproof, backlit rubber keyboard is also available as an option.

Coming with Windows 7 the X500 can receive a performance lift on processor-intensive applications with the 2.66GHz i7 CPU able to be boosted to 3.33GHz thanks to Intel's Turbo Boost technology, while RAM can be upped from 2 to 8GB. The X500 comes with a 320GB HDD as standard, with an optional 160GB SSD also available. The multimedia bay can be filled with an optional Super multi-DVD, a second battery or a second HDD or SSD to operate as a RAID system.

In its standard configuration the X500 boasts a range of I/O ports, including three USB 2.0 ports, one USB/eSATA combo port, two RS-232 serial ports, two PCMCIA ports, an ExpressCard, SmartCard, dual RJ-45 ports, HDMI and VGA outputs. Custom options include the addition of USB 3.0 ports, fiber optic connections, RS-485 or a high-powered Wi-Fi booster.

Military-certified for extreme conditions, the X500 is MIL-STD-810G certified for ruggedness and shock protection, MIL-STD-2169B certified for High Altitude Magnetic Pulse (HEMP), boasts an IP65 rating for protection from water and dust, and has UL1604 certification to ensure it can be safely operated in the presence of potentially flammable or explosive materials. The X500 is also NightVision-ready for working under the cover of darkness using night vision goggles, and is EPEAT gold certified.

The X500 measures 16.1 x 11.41 x 2.56-inches (410 x 290 x 65 mm) and weighs 11.68 lbs (5.3 kg) in its standard configuration. It will be available from Getac from July 6 with prices ranging from US$4,999 to $6,599, depending on configuration.

TECHNOLOGY : Panasonic's Toughbook H1 Field - the 'world's most rugged handheld tablet computer'

Panasonic has announced a new field-ready addition to its Toughbook range, the Toughbook H1 Field tablet computer. Built with highly mobile professionals in mind, the new weatherproof and shockproof model benefits from a dual battery setup that should help ensure power is always available, a sunlight-visible touchscreen interface, reinforced solid state storage and a molded hand grip for extra comfort.

As with other models in the Panasonic Toughbook family, the H1 Field is weatherproof (to IP65 standards) and is built to survive being dropped from a height of six feet to MIL-STD-810G standards. Claimed to be "the world’s most rugged handheld tablet computer", a magnesium alloy chassis holds a bright (500 nit or candela per square meter) 10.4in XGA dual-touch tablet display that "includes a circular polarizer, plus anti-glare and anti-reflective screen treatments, making it easily viewable in direct sunlight." Working in extreme temperatures shouldn't prove problematic either thanks to the H1 Field's wide operating temperature range of -20C - 60C (-4F - 140F).

Running on Windows 7 (XP available on request) and powered by a Intel's 1.86GHz Z540 Atom processor, the H1 Field also benefits from potentially perpetual power thanks to a twin hotswap battery setup. When the battery in the left compartment is removed for charging after providing its claimed six hours usage, a second one in the right compartment provides the unit's power. When that's ready for charging, popping a battery back in the left side should provide the field sales operative, supervisor, inspector, maintenance worker or first responder at which the unit is aimed with an uninterrupted power supply.

Each tablet comes with 2Gb RAM and a 65Gb reinforced flex-connect solid state drive along with a host of optional extras, including SmartCard, RFID and barcode readers, a 2MP autofocus camera with dual LED flash, GPS and fingerprint reader. Wireless options on offer include Qualcomm’s anywhere, anywhen Gobi2000 mobile broadband technology (EV-DO and HSPA) which will initially be certified on the Sprint and Verizon wireless networks (with other carriers on the way), Intel WiFi Link 5100 802.11a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR.

Panasonic has taken care to ensure that the its new 3.14lbs, 10.4 x 10.6 x 1.3 - 2.3 inch unit is both portable and comfortable to use, being without hotspot areas, being well-balanced and having a molded hand strap as well as an integrated carrying handle.

Price estimated at US$3,379. More information is available via the Toughbook website.

TECHNOLOGY :FishEyes rod and reel shows you the fish before you catch them

When you cast a fishing lure out into the water and it goes beneath the surface, it enters a dark, mysterious world that you can only imagine. Perhaps that's overstating things a bit, but the fact is, you can't see where it is or what's around it. A fish finder can provide you with some basic information (if you're in a boat) but it doesn't actually show you what it looks like down there. That's where the FishEyes Rod and Reel with Underwater Video Camera comes in. Its built-in color LCD screen provides you with a live image of your lure, and any fish that happen to be near it.

Instead of traditional fishing line, FishEyes has 20 feet (6 meters) of combined analog video and power cable. This cable runs from the reel-mounted monitor to a small waterproof video camera, that is equipped with an LED light that can be remotely switched on or off. While it might be fun just to lower that camera into the water and watch its underwater adventure on the monitor, users can also add a fishing lure or an included bait basket on a short length of fishing line beneath it. They can then try to entice fish that they see near the lure, or not bother staying in areas where there are no fish.

Needless to say, this setup appears to be intended more for jigging off of docks or stationary boats, than for casting way out across the water or trolling - if the camera were to get dragged into an object on the bottom and snagged, the user would either have to write it off, or be willing to do a bit of diving. Inadvertently catching a fish that's big enough to snap the line might also be a risk, although presumably the fishing line holding the lure would give way before the cable holding the camera.

Regardless of how practical FishEyes might or might not be for all fishing scenarios, it looks like it would at least be useful for checking if fish were in the area, or just for taking a peek at your local aquatic environment. It sells for US$79.99.

TECHNOLOGY : Asociación RUVID-one hand handling

Your driving instructor probably told you to always keep two hands on the wheel, and your feet ready at the pedals. For people lacking the use of one or more upper or lower limbs, however, this isn't always possible. Such people shouldn't be precluded from driving, but they shouldn't have to worry about not being able to fully control their car, either. While there are some solutions that can be applied to existing steering wheels and pedals, a group of Spanish researchers have come up with something else - a single device that allows drivers to steer, accelerate, change gears and brake with one hand.

The prototype was created by Asociación RUVID, a consortium of five Spanish research institutes and companies.

Because many of its users might have reduced strength in the hand operating the device, it is completely electronically controlled - no mechanics are involved. Because drivers are used to the haptic feedback provided naturally by a mechanical steering wheel, however, motors have been added to the device to simulate those sensations.

The ease with which the device is operated can also be adjusted, to meet the limitations of individual users.

One of the RUVID members, the Institute of Biomechanics of Valencia, recently presented the prototype at the 13th EAEC European Automotive Congress, in Spain.

PERUBAHAN TARIF ELEKTRIK MALAYSIA ( 1Jun2011 )

Perdana menteri mengumumkan struktur tarif baru elektrik yang akan diguna pakai oleh semua pengguna domestik, komersial dan industri di Semenanjung.

Berkuatkuasa 1 Julai, pengguna bawah 200 kwj (kilowat-jam) setiap bulan dengan anggaran bil elektrik kurang RM43.60 akan membayar kadar seperti sekarang selagi mereka kekal jumlah penggunaan.

Kumpulan pengguna ini terdiri 59 peratus isi rumah di Semenanjung.

Manakala mereka yang menggunakan lebih daripada 200 kilo, perlu membayar tambahan hampir 20 peratus lagi (lihat jadual).

Bercakap dalam satu sidang , Abdullah berkata, bagi jumlah penggunaan antara 0 hingga 400 kwj sebulan (kediaman) - kadar tarif bagi 200 kwj pertama sebulan ialah 21.8 sen satu kwj; 201 hingga 400 kwj berikutnya 34.5 sen satu kwj. Caj minimum bulanan RM3.

Bagi jumlah penggunaan lebih 400 kwj sebulan (kediaman), kadar tarif bagi 50 kwj pertama ialah 30 sen satu kwj; 501-600 kwj berikutnya 39 sen satu kwj; 601 -700 (40 sen), 701-800 (41 sen), 801-900 (43 sen) dan 901 kwj ke atas (46 sen). Caj minimum sebulan RM3.

Manakala pengguna komersial dan industri pula akan mengalami peningkatan tarif sebanyak 26 peratus. [Tarif lengkap di laman web Pejabat Perdana Menteri]

Bagaimanapun, pertimbangan dibuat kepada peruncit, pekedai dan pengusaha restoran kecil serta pengguna industri seperti perusahaan kampung yang penggunaannya tidak melebihi 200 kwj setiap bulan. Kenaikannya adalah 18 peratus.

Bagi kategori-kategori lain:

Tarif B (tarif perdagangan voltan rendah) bagi jumlah penggunaan keseluruhan di antara 0 hingga 200 kwj sebulan, bagi semua kwj 38 sen. Caj minimum bulanan RM7.20.

Bagi penggunaan keseluruhan melebihi 200 kwj sebulan, 40.8 sen. Caj minimum sebulan RM7.20.

Tarif C1 - tarif perdagangan am, voltan sederhana, bagi setiap kilowat kehendak maksimum sebulan RM24.8. Bagi semua kwj 29.6 sen. Caj minimum bulanan RM600.

Tarif C2 - tarif perdagangan puncak/luar puncak voltan sederhana, bagi setiap kilowat kehendak maksimum sebulan dalam tempoh puncak RM36.60.

Bagi semua kwj dalam tempoh puncak 29.6 sen. Bagi semua kwj dalam tempoh luar puncak 18.2 sen. Caj minimum bulanan RM600.

Tarif D - tarif perindustrian voltan rendah - bagi jumlah penggunaan keseluruhan di antara 0 hingga 200 kwj sebulan, bagi semua kwj 34.2 sen.

Caj minimum bulanan RM7.20. Bagi jumlah penggunaan keseluruhan melebihi 200 kwj sebulan, 36.6 sen. Caj minimum bulnan RM7.20.

Tarif Ds - Tarif perindustrian khas - (untuk pengguna yang layak sahaja) 34.4 sen per kwj. Caj minumum RM7.20

Tarif E1 - tarif prindusrian am voltan sederhana bagi setiap kilowatt kehendak maksimum sebulan RM24.6 satu kilowatt bagi semua kwj 28 sen per kwj. Caj minimum bulanan RM600.

Tarif E1s - tarif perindustrian khas (untuk pengguna yang layak sahaja) bagi setiap kilowat kehendak maksimum sebulan RM19.1. Bagi semua kwj 27.2 sen. Caj minimum bulanan RM600.

MARILAH KITA BERJIMAT. KALAU GUNA TAK BANYAK, TENTU TAK KENA CAS BANYAK. YANG KENA CAS BANYAK IALAH MEREKA YANG BANYAK GUNAKAN PERALATAN ELEKTRIK DAN MEREKA YANG SUKA MEMBAZIR. KALAU ANDA SEORANG YANG JIMAT, DAN BIL BULANAN ANDA TAK LEBIH RM40 SEBULAN MACAM SAYA, JANGAN MELATAH CEPAT. RELAAAAX!!!! KITA BAYAR BIL MACAM BIASA JE!!!

BodyGuard stun-device to help mere mortal crime fighters

Crime fighters may soon be adding another tool to their arsenal - one that is literally designed to strike fear into the hearts of evildoers. With an integrated taser, video camera and protective forearm armor, the BodyGuard is a stun device that wouldn't be out of place on the forearm of a certain caped crusader in Gotham City. BodyGuard has already been used in Mock Prison Riots in West Virginia and is headed to real world city streets with testing and evaluation of the device due to commence in Los Angeles later this year.

Prompted by a number of cougar attacks on one of his favorite hiking trails in Orange County, Dave Brown set about developing a device to protect himself from animal attacks that could be worn while riding a bike. He hit upon the idea of a hands-free stun device and quickly recognized the potential for such a non-lethal device in the area of law enforcement.

The result is the BodyGuard, which houses its various components under a high-impact plastic shell attached to a forearm sleeve and glove. The current BodyGuard 9X1-HD01 prototype features two taser spikes mounted near the wrist that are designed primarily to act as a deterrent by sparking loudly and sending an arc of electricity between them to intimidate suspects. The spikes are activated by pulling a safety pin and pressing a button embedded into the palm of the BodyGuard glove.

An LED flashlight and a green laser target that lets the suspect know they are being recorded by the BodyGuard's 720p HD video camera are also designed to help keep any confrontations from escalating. But if things do get out of hand, the wearer can deliver a non-lethal jolt of electricity to temporarily incapacitate the suspect by touching them with the wrist-mounted electrodes.

Brown has also designed the BodyGuard to be modular to allow for the addition of a other equipment, such as GPS, radio communications, live video transmitter/receiver, biometric readers, automated license plate readers, chemical sensors, or a heart rate monitor to send out an alert for an officer in distress.

The device might share its name with a well-known movie, but the links to star Kevin Costner don't end there. Through his background as a motion picture operator, Brown has been able to enlist the support of Costner, who he counts as a friend and is one of the backers of Brown's company, ArmStar.

While the first pre-production run of BodyGuards are set to undergo evaluation with the Los Angeles sheriff's department later this year, Brown says the device has also attracted the attention of the Department of Defense, which is looking at how the BodyGuard could be used by soldiers in the field. Brown might also want to consider the burgeoning real-life superhero market.

The first million dollar laptop

March UK-based bespoke luxury goods creator Luvaglio has created the first million dollar laptop. That’s what the first of their luxury laptops will sell for. Full details of the laptop have not been released at this point, but it is known that it incorporates a 17" widescreen LED lit screen with a specially designed anti-reflective glare coating for clear and brighter image, 128GB of Solid State Disk space and a slot loading Blue-Ray drive. There is an integrated screen cleaning device and a very rare coloured diamond piece of jewellery that doubles up as the power button when placed into the laptop and also acts as security identification. Images here, video here.

Luvaglio CEO Rohan Sinclair Luvaglio told Gizmag earlier today: “Unlike many of the highly priced products being released, we took our time to develop something out of the ordinary with real attention to detail. “

“I didn't want us to simply re-house a laptop into a diamond studded casing, or diamond encrust the entire thing simply to make it expensive. We've put thought in from the keyboard down to the power charger. There is an integrated screen cleaning device and a very rare coloured diamond piece of jewellery that doubles up as the power button when placed into the laptop and also acts as security identification. We have used diamonds elsewhere but have given them purpose.”

According to Luvaglio, “the brand is committed to re-defining luxury in a few sectors, technology being one of them.

“Many claim to produce luxury goods but we believe that the true element of luxury is having something that says "YOU", that money can't buy.

“At present and from our previous luxury work, our initial clients will be chosen from this selection as we have already established trust.

“The range to be released shortly would allow the owner to become the creator and visit our showroom at two or three well known upmarket stores we are in discussion with, whereby our selection of materials, finishes and accessories will be available to view and a choice selected.

“The choice will be based on our selection but of course other colours and finishes can be done on request. We have access to diamonds that are simply rare and near impossible to get hold of, so are able to offer a very embodied choice.

“The presentation boxes are of course supplied and finished in the choice that is selected by the client. Exact figures I am unable to provide at present due to negotiations but will certainly be more obtainable then our master piece.”

The first such masterpiece will sell for more than US$1,000,000.