Ibu sebak ambil keputusan SPM arwah anak

Fatimah menerima keputusan cemerlang SPM milik arwah anaknya, di SMK Puncak Alam, semalam.

PUNCAK ALAM – “Memang saya tak dapat tahan air mata tatkala ambil keputusan anak apabila mengenangkan arwah tidak dapat meraikannya,” demikian kata ibu kepada Nur Asyiqin Zaini, 18, yang meninggal dunia pada 26 Januari lalu.

Nur Asyiqin yang sedang menunggu keputusan Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) disahkan meninggal dunia akibat denggi di Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah (HTAR) Klang.

Menurut Fatimah Ismail, 47, dia tidak dapat menahan sebak apabila naik ke pentas bagi menggantikan anaknya untuk mengambil keputusan SPM.

“Saya masih ingat arwah bersungguh-sungguh menelaah pelajaran kerana tak sanggup nak lihat kami kecewa lebih-lebih lagi guru yang menaruh harapan tinggi kepadanya.

“Arwah akan menangis selepas habis menjawab kertas peperiksaan kerana katanya, dia tak dapat jawab dengan baik," katanya.

Menurutnya, arwah seorang anak yang tak pernah tinggal solat dan sentiasa bawa al-Quran ke mana-mana, walaupun ketika ditahan di wad.

Fatimah berkata, dia sekeluarga cukup bangga apabila arwah meraih keputusan cemerlang dan tersenarai dalam 19 pelajar cemerlang Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Puncak Alam.

“Setiap kenangan dan kejayaan arwah akan kami kenang buat selamanya dan menjadi penyuntik semangat untuk tiga adiknya yang masih bersekolah,” katanya.

- Sumber: Sinar Harian 

The camera industry's too-late attempts to compete with iPhone

Apple is now running a crowdsourced marketing campaign called "Shot on iPhone 6" that showcases how the built-in camera capabilities of the iPhone 6. 

NEW YORK: As proof of how far and how fast the camera giants have fallen, consider this: Apple is now running a crowdsourced marketing campaign called "Shot on iPhone 6" that showcases how the built-in camera capabilities of the iPhone 6 — combined with apps such as VSCO Cam or Instagram — can match or surpass anything you might get with a professional camera.

At some point, America's vaunted camera makers — think Kodak and Polaroid — simply became too big to innovate and started to play catch up with all the big digital photography innovators.

With that in mind, here are some of the too-late-to-market innovations that the camera industry has mustered of late — you can view them as inspired attempts to catch up and pass the iPhone 6 or as the last gasp of a dying industry:

1. The Polaroid Socialmatic

Described by some as an "Instagram concept camera," the Polaroid Socialmatic has an appearance that probably reminds you more of the icon for Instagram than it does the logo for the original Polaroid OneStep. That's a big problem. The Socialmatic, a 14 megapixel digital camera with WiFi sharing capabilities, combines the functionality of a vintage Polaroid instant print camera, meaning you can share either online or via print. It's what the camera industry should have been creating for its instant print consumers who were starting to embrace the Internet instead of waiting for Instagram to show them what to do.

One big problem is that the Polaroid Socialmatic retails for $300 on Amazon while the Instagram app for Apple iOS is free. This might be a classic example of how the camera industry completely missed the social aspect of photography enabled by the Internet. Who cares if you can take a great photo, if you can't add a cool filter and then share it easily with your friends online?

2. Kodak PIXPRO SP360 Action Camera

At a time when the GoPro camera has become wildly popular, it's no surprise that companies such as Polaroid and Kodak have attempted to jump on the bandwagon. They may have missed the digital photography revolution, but they are determined that they won't miss the action sports photography movement. This might be an area where they can steal a march on Apple.

As a result, you get something like the yellow, palm-sized Kodak PIXPRO SP360. It's clearly positioned as a GoPro competitor, offering unique, first person 360-degree camera angles, perfect for something such as skydiving. Earlier, there was the Polaroid Cube, a rugged (splash-proof and shock-proof) action cam offering 124-degree views for sports enthusiasts. But again, it's a case of too little, too late.

3. The Lomo'Instant Camera

If you use Instagram enough, it's easy to recognize the trademark "dreamy, ever-so-slightly blurry" features of the Lomo-fi filter, which replicates the effects of a classic Lomography camera. So it's no surprise perhaps that Lomography has fought back. The Lomo'Instant is a new instant camera designed with a mix of add-on lenses to create Lomo-worthy effects. This is the instant camera with cool lenses and filters that should have been created years ago.

While the reviews for the Lomo'Instant have been largely positive since it was introduced on Kickstarter in June 2014, this is not a fundamentally better solution than what already exists. You're paying for an "ugly duckling" of a box with challenging ergonomics instead of getting the Instagram app for free. That's a point that Apple is making in its "Shot on iPhone 6″ campaign — you can achieve the same effects as camera professionals simply with a few apps and editing tools.

4. The Polaroid smartphone

Just announced this week at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the Polaroid smartphone is an Android phone in a wide range of cool colors, designed for the European market. Think of this as a very late low-to-midrange iPhone 5c competitor. The logic is simple: If smartphone companies can make great cameras, then camera companies can make great smartphones, right?

The only problem is, Apple and Samsung are so entrenched as the market leaders in the smartphone industry, that it's hard to see how Polaroid can ever make more than just a minor dent in overall market share. There have been other entrants in this new class of hybrid camera-smartphones, but none of them has matched the brilliance of the idea for the Kodak Instamatic 2014 — an "elaborate ruse" of a product showcasing an Android smartphone with incredible specs that brings back the innovation glory of the Kodak Instamatic of the 1960s.

5. Fujifilm Instax Mini

The one thing smartphone cameras can't do that the early cameras did is print instantly. The photo quality didn't matter so much as the ability to get it instantaneously without waiting for photos to be developed in a lab. Companies such as Polaroid and Fujifilm understood that concept, and had the chance to apply their learnings from the analog era to the emerging digital zeitgeist.

The major problem with the colorful Fujifiilm Instax Mini camera is that it only marks an incremental innovation rather than anything truly disruptive in how to make prints. It's as if the camera industry is stuck in the 1960s, unwilling to consider new options for getting instant prints to consumers. It doesn't have to be that way. One "instant print" solution that people have been raving about is the nearly $1.5 million Kickstarter-backed Prynt, which enables instant photo printing for iPhones and Android smartphones simply by snapping on a camera case.

6. Sony QX10

Tabbed as the "zaniest camera of 2013," the Sony QX10 is the camera that doesn't look anything like a camera. It's essentially just a lens barrel that you clamp to a smartphone in order to take better shots. There's no LCD and no way to carry it around without attaching it to something. You can call the Sony QX10 innovative — the camera that's not a camera — or you can view this as a way-too-late attempt to catch up with the movement toward apps and filters as the way to create professional-looking shots, not snapping on a bunch of lenses. 

- Source: The Washington Post

Taylor Swift surprises a 4-year old cancer patient and grants her final wish

The 20-minute call with Taylor was a dream come true for Jalene, and her growing number of fans and supporters all over the country. - File Photo

SAN ANTONIO: Four-year old Jalene Salinas' bucket list isn't long. She wanted to make a snowman, go to school, drive a big wheel car — oh, and dance to her favorite song with Taylor Swift: "Shake It Off."

For the last 10 months, Jalene has battled an aggressive form of brain cancer. And with doctors giving her only a few months to live, the San Antonio girl and her family launched a quest to cross everything off of her final to-do list.

She's met the San Antonio Spurs, she caught the attention of actor Taye Diggs, and she inspired the hashtag #ShakeItOffJalene aimed at getting pop superstar Taylor Swift's attention.

And it worked. Jalene and her family got a big surprise on Monday night: Taylor Swift on FaceTime.

The little girl's health is failing and she can no longer walk, her mother Jennifer Arriaga said told KENS-TV. But that didn't stop her from catching up with her favorite singer like they were old friends.

"I'm so sorry you're having a bad night. I'm so happy to talk to you though and I'm so happy you like 'Shake It Off,'" Swift told her. "You look beautiful tonight, you really do. You're just as pretty as your pictures."

Jalene was weak and in pain and didn't say much, but she seemed eager to chat as much as she could: "We have a baby named Josh," Jalene tells Swift.

The 20-minute call with Taylor was a dream come true for Jalene, and her growing number of fans and supporters all over the country.

"We try to just be positive and happy for her," Arriaga told KENS. "We don't want to waste any time that we do have with her." 

- Source: The Washington Post

Kantoi menyamar perempuan untuk mengintai

Lelaki menyamar seperti perempuan yang disyaki mengintip dalam sebuah tandas kolej. - Foto ihsan Twitter

SINGAPURA - Polis menahan seorang lelaki menyamar seperti perempuan yang disyaki mengintip dalam sebuah tandas kolej.

Menurut Strait Times, jurucakap polis memberitahu bahawa seorang remaja berumur 21 tahun ditahan pihak pengurusan kolej kerana menceroboh.

Menerusi beberapa gambar dan video yang dimuatnaik ke laman Twitter dan YouTube, seorang lelaki memakai skirt, rambut palsu dan bertopi dilihat melutut dan merayu kepada sekumpulan pelajar yang menyerbunya.

"Lelaki ini berpakaian seperti perempuan dan masuk ke dalam tandas wanita untuk mengintai rakan saya," kata seorang pelayar, Norrick Nolesta di Twitter.

Polis masih menjalankan siasatan.

- Sumber: Sinar Harian  

Blackberry lancar telefon pintar kedua tanpa papan kunci fizikal

Blackberry lancar telefon pintar kedua tanpa papan kunci fizikal. Gambar - Twitter/@BlackBerry

Blackberry masih belum putus asa untuk bersaing dalam pasaran telefon pintar tanpa papan kunci fizikal.

Pada Selasa, Blackberry memperkenalkan Leap, model terbaru bagi telefon pintar yang menggunakan skrin sentuh sepenuhnya di Kongres Mudah Alih Dunia (MWC) di Barcelona.

Leap merupakan telefon pintar keluaran Blackberry yang kedua tanpa papan kunci fizikal selepas Z3 yang diumumkan pada Februari 2014.

Blackberry kini memfokuskan kepada bateri 2,800mAh yang dikatakan boleh bertahan sehingga 25 jam dan ciri-ciri keselamatan termasuk sokongan penyulitan, perlindungan malware selain kemampuan untuk menyelamatkan, memadam dan memulihkan telefon.

Pemproses bagi Leap ditingkatkan kepada 1.5GHz dengan RAM 2GB, kamera 8-megapiksel, storan dalaman 16GB dan paparan skrin 5 inci 1280x720 piksel.

Blackberry Leap akan mula berada di pasaran pada April di Amerika Syarikat dengan harga pasaran AS$275.

Syarikat itu juga dalam proses melancarkan telefon pintar slaid dengan papan kunci fizikal 'slide-out' yang disimpan pada bahagian bawah skrin sentuh penuh.

Ia juga dalam bentuk melengkung seperti Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge selain mengeluarkan empat lagi peranti lain tahun ini. 

- Sumber: Agensi

Pertemuan Piah, Sirul penuh air mata

Rombongan “See For (C4) Yourself” mempertemukan Piah dan anaknya Sirul di Pusat Tahanan Imigresen, Australia, hari ini. - Foto ihsan Harakahdaily.net

SHAH ALAM – Suasana pilu dan hiba menyelubungi Pusat Tahanan Imigresen (IDC), Villawood, Sydney sebaik sahaja rombongan misi “See For (C4) Yourself” berjaya mempertemukan ibu Sirul Azhar Umar, Piah Samad dengan bekas anggota Unit Tindakan Khas (UTK) itu, kira-kira 5.30 petang waktu tempatan, hari ini.

Menurut Ketua Penerangan Pas Pusat, Datuk Mahfuz Omar yang mengetuai rombongan itu berkata, hanya linangan air mata menjadi pengubat kerinduan anak-beranak itu yang berpelukan sebaik sahaja pertemuan tersebut.

“Suasana begitu hiba dan sayu bagi kami pada saat mula pertemuan tersebut apabila si ibu dan anak berpelukan.

“Tangisan air mata kerinduan seorang ibu kepada anaknya yang berjauhan dan belum tentu nasib yang melanda,” katanya dalam satu kenyataan, hari ini.

Rombongan misi tersebut ke Sydney, Australia yang bertolak semalam untuk bertemu dengan bekas anggota UTK itu yang kini ditahan di sebuah pusat Imigresen di negara kangaroo itu.

Mahfuz sebelum berlepas berkata, misi itu lebih kepada misi kemanusiaan semata-mata bukan bertujuan untuk mencetuskan kontroversi.

Lebih menyayat hati lagi apabila ibu Sirul sempat membawa bekal sambal bilis dari kampung kepada anaknya yang kini dalam tahanan pihak berkuasa Australia.

Mengulas lanjut, Mahfuz turut menyifatkan misi kemanusiaan anjuran Pas itu berjaya apabila dapat mempertemukan kedua-dua anak beranak itu termasuk adik perempuan Sirul, Noriatin Umar.

“Saya berpandangan misi kemanusiaan ini berjaya apabila dapat mempertemukan seorang ibu kepada anaknya yang dikasihi.

“Puan Piah membawa sambal bilis dari kampung manakala saya membeli anggur dan kasut sukan yang dipesan oleh Sirul,” ujarnya.

Mahfuz turut merakamkan penghargaan dan terima kasih kepada kerajaan Australia kerana memberikan kebenaran untuk bertemu dengan Sirul.

“Saya mengucapkan jutaan terima kasih kepada kerajaan Australia khususnya pihak berkuasa Pusat Tahanan Imigresen yang memberikan kebenaran kami bertemu Sirul. Sirul juga menyatakan salam penghargaan buat semua yang prihatin terhadapnya,” katanya lagi.

- Sumber: Sinar Harian 

Origins of AIDS virus strains traced to gorillas

Two of four strains of the virus that can cause AIDS come from gorillas in southwestern Cameroon, scientists reported.

WASHINGTON: Two of four strains of the virus that can cause AIDS come from gorillas in southwestern Cameroon, an international team of scientists reported in studies published Monday in the United States.

The new information means that researchers now know the origins of all strains of the HIV virus that occur in people.

HIV (HIV-1) has at least four strains. Known as Groups M, N, O and P, each one had its own origin -- from ape to man, on at least four separate occasions.

Groups M and N were known to have come from chimpanzees in Cameroon. But until now the origin of the O and P strains had been unknown.

Results of the study led by Martine Peeters, a virologist at France's Research and Development Institute (IRD) and the University of Montpellier, appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

HIV-1's Group M is the most widely spread, behind the greatest part of the epidemic with more than 40 million people now infected around the world.

Group P has only been detected in two people so far. And Group O has been found in central and western Africa, infecting about 100,000.

The breakthrough was made possible thanks to genetic samples from chimpanzees and gorillas from Cameroon, Gabon, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"From this study and others that our team has conducted in the past it has become clear that both chimpanzees and gorillas harbor viruses that are capable of crossing the species barrier to humans and have the potential to cause major disease outbreaks," Peeters said.

"Understanding emerging disease origins is critical to gauge future human infection risks," she added.

Since 1981, about 78 million people have been infected by HIV, which destroys immune cells and leaves the body exposed to tuberculosis, pneumonia and other opportunistic diseases.

Thirty-nine million have died, according to UN estimates.

The team of scientists is from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Montpellier, the University of Edinburgh, and other institutions. 

- Source: Astro Awani