Just over a year after Apple birthed the first iPhone, the long-awaited, next-generation iPhone 3G has arrived bearing a mildly tweaked design and a load of new features.
With access to a faster 3G wireless network, Microsoft Exchange server e-mail, and support for a staggering array of third-party software from the iPhone App Store, the new handset is the iPhone we've been waiting for.
It still lacks some basic features but when compared with what the original model was year ago, this device sets a new benchmark for the cell phone world.
With the iPhone 3G, Apple appears to have fixed some call-quality performance issues we had with the previous model--in our initial tests, the volume is louder with less background buzz than before. Music and video quality were largely unchanged, but we didn't have many complaints in that department to begin with.
We're worried about battery life--some early reviews indicate that the iPhone 3G lasts only a day--but we'll run full tests over the next couple of days and report our results on this page.
Price may well remain our largest concern. New AT&T customers and most current AT&T customers can buy the iPhone 3G for $199 for the 8GB model and $299 for the 16GB model. If you don't qualify for that price--check your AT&T account to find out--you'll pay $399 and $499 respectively.
Either way, you'll pay $15 more per month ($74.99 total) for a plan comparable with the original iPhone ($59 per month). So, while you'll pay less outright to buy the handset, you'll make it up over the course of a standard two-year AT&T contract.
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So should you buy an iPhone 3G? If you haven't bought an iPhone yet, and have been holding out for a new model, now is the time. If you're a current iPhone owner and you're yearning for a faster cellular network, then you should take the plunge.
But if you're an iPhone owner who won't use 3G (or can't; check your coverage at AT&T), then you should stick with your current model. The iPhone 2.0 software update provides Exchange server support, third-party apps support, and many new features without the added cost.
Design
You'd be hard-pressed to notice any design differences on the front of the iPhone 3G. The minor changes -- the silver rim is thinner and the silver mesh behind the speaker -- are so minimal we didn't notice them for a few hours after picking up the device.
Turn the phone on its side, however, and you'll see more changes. Apple has replaced the aluminum silver back with a plastic face in either white or black. The black version (our review model) is attractive, but we admit that we miss the original silver, which shows fewer fingerprints and smudges than the shiny black version. The white model is not our cup of tea.
The iPhone 3G's edges are slightly tapered to accommodate the curved back, making the device thinner around its perimeter than its predecessor, but a hair thicker (0.48 inch versus 0.46 inch) in the gut. Unfortunately, the curved back makes the iPhone 3G wobble slightly if you use it while resting on a table--which quickly becomes annoying.
The phone's height and width measurements (5.5 inches by 2.4 inches) remain the same, though it weighs just a tiny bit less (4.7 ounces versus 4.8 ounces).
At 3.5 inches and 480x320 pixels, the display is the same size as its predecessor, but displays slightly more dots per inch (163 vs.160), and still cranks out brilliant colors, sharp graphics, and fluid movements.
The layout of the home screen is identical to that on the first version, though you'll see two new icons from the outset: A Contacts icon takes you directly to your phone book, and the App Store icon opens the iTunes App Store. The display's glass surface, accelerometer feature, touch interface, and secondary menus remain the same.
The iPhone's 3G controls reveal a few changes, but none will surprise a current iPhone user. The Home button sits below the display, while the volume rocker and ringer mute switch rest on the left spine. The Power/sleep button rests on top of the phone in its normal position.
All controls are now silver instead of black. The SIM card slot hasn't moved either, and Apple now includes a SIM removal tool in the box. The bottom of the iPhone houses the speaker, the microphone, and the charger port, but you'll also notice two tiny screws on either side of the charger jack.
Think maybe you'll be able to replace your own battery now? Bummer: The battery is still not user-replaceable, so we don't recommend trying it (although we hear the battery is no longer soldered down).
We're very pleased that the iPhone 3G's 3.5mm headset jack now sits flush with the surface of the phone allowing you to use any 3.5mm headset you like; you're no longer restricted to a headset that can fit in the previous phone's inane recessed jack.
In the box you'll find the syncing cable, a display cleaning cloth, a headset, user documentation, the aforementioned SIM removal tool, and an electrical outlet plug. The plug is pleasantly smaller than on the original iPhone's, but it's compatible with a standard USB cable.
On the downside, you don't get a syncing dock. If you want one, you have to shell out $30 for it (boo!), and Apple made sure the iPhone 3G won't fit in the first iPhone's dock.
Features
The iPhone 3G hangs on to all the original iPhone features and throws in a few more, so we'll concentrate on what's new. Lucky for first-gen iPhone owners, most of the impressive array of additions -- save 3G support and enhanced GPS -- come along with the free 2.0 software update. (For more on the organizer features, stocks and weather widgets, YouTube app, notepad, threaded texting, and visual voicemail, see our original iPhone review.)
Exchange server support: Worker bees worldwide have awaited the iPhone 3G's full support for Microsoft Exchange server. In our tests, adding an Exchange account was ridiculously easy once we had the correct settings from our IT department--simply choose to add a new e-mail account in the main Settings menu, and you'll be taken to the standard list of available e-mail systems.
"Microsoft Exchange" and "MobileMe" (we'll try that later) will appear at the top of the list just above the choice for Gmail. You'll then be prompted to enter the applicable e-mail address, domain/username, server, and password. The authentication process took just a couple of minutes. Installing CNET's security certificate posed a bit of a challenge, but we eventually succeeded by mailing the certificate to ourselves through Yahoo Mail.
Once you're ready to go, the iPhone will sync your Outlook e-mail, contacts, and calendar. Be advised that while the iPhone can support multiple POP3 accounts at once (two Yahoo accounts, for instance), it syncs with only one Exchange server and, worse, with only with one calendar or contacts list at a time. If you have a separate personal calendar, your work calendar will replace it once you start the sync. (You'll be notified before it happens.)
As an alternative, though, you can sync e-mail without syncing your contacts and calendar. Also, you can keep work and personal e-mail accounts open at the same time, although you'll have to switch between the two (unlike on a BlackBerry). MobileMe is another way to work around this restriction, but we'll talk about the later.
When using Wi-Fi, e-mail syncing went quickly. As new messages came in, the iPhone registered them almost immediately. It seemed to bog down when we received a large clump of messages at one time, however. In those cases, we had to update the phone manually. In one instance, an update took a couple of minutes--long enough that we thought the phone had frozen.
We also noticed that if the iPhone loses its Wi-Fi connection, the syncing is interrupted even if the phone has 3G service. Even with these caveats, however, the experience was satisfactory. The Syncing via 3G was just as quick; if there was a difference, we didn't notice it.
When we deleted a message on our phone, the same e-mail vanished on our PC just a couple of seconds later. Messages deleted on the PC took longer to disappear from the phone; typically, we had to do a manual update to see them gone. Messages deleted on the phone will show up in your PC's Recycle Bin and vice versa.
You can access all folders in your in-box and move messages from your in-box to a specific folder. You can't search for messages, but you can call a contact if they include their phone number in their e-mail. Opening attachments worked as promised, and we like how you now can save attached images directly to your photo gallery simply by tapping the image.
To e-mail photos, you will need to do so in the traditional manner by opening the photo, selecting the e-mail option, and choosing which account you'd like to send from.
Though according to AT&T, using Exchange server support on the iPhone 3G will require the business data plan (the one that costs $45 per month), we're not sure how AT&T will enforce this rule. The iPhone does not prompt you of this restriction in any way.
MobileMe: The iPhone 3G supports Apple's new MobileMe service, which synchronizes from Mac's Mail, Address Book, and iCal applications: contacts, calendar appointments, e-mail messages, photos, and browser bookmarks. One advantage of MobileMe is that it allows you to sync personal and work calendars, and contacts. We'll test MobileMe on the phone once we get it up and running.
App Store: When you select the iTunes Store, you're taken to the App Store main menu, which somewhat resembles the mobile iTunes store in design. You search applications by name and category and you can browse through the lists of Featured applications or the Top 25. There also is a feature for seeing if your purchased applications have any updates.
We purchased a few apps for the iPhone. Downloads over Wi-Fi were pretty quick; most apps took just a few seconds, but keep in mind it will vary by the size of the app. Though you can purchase iTunes songs wirelessly only through a Wi-Fi connection, you can download applications of 10Mb or less over a 3G network and even over EDGE (if 3G isn't available).
Downloads over 3G took about the same time as they did over Wi-Fi, give or take a few seconds, but apps over EDGE are quite pokey. We also purchased applications through the online iTunes (7.7) store. We downloaded Super Monkey Ball and then synced it to our phone--a new applications tab appears under the iPhone menu. The process was quick and painless. What's more, navigation through the online apps store is easy. After loading apps, the icons will appear on the Home screen.
What's most remarkable about the online applications store is the sheer breadth of titles available, many of which take full advantage of the accelerometer. As of this writing, there are 27 pages available in a extensive range of categories. If there is one thing about the iPhone that's to love, it's the App Store -- even if not all the applications are keepers and Apple is maintaining strict control over who gets in.
Sure, Apple is not the first company to build a phone that takes third-party applications, but like the iPhone itself, the App Store is unique not for what it does, but for how it does it. The process is so easy that we can't imagine having the same experience on a Windows Mobile device. Of course, before you get carried away, remember that some apps are free but others will cost you.
The iPhone 3G's support for AT&T's wireless UMTS/HSDPA wireless broadband network comes too late for original iPhone buyers who grew frustrated with the slow Web-surfing speeds over the 2.5G EDGE network, but it makes for a much more satisfying second-generation device.
Safari consistently delivered speeds of about 300Kbps to 500Kbps and even faster at times in our tests. That's a huge jump over the typical EDGE speeds of less than 100Kbps. Web pages that used to take minutes took only seconds to load via 3G.
In preliminary testing, the iPhone 3G blew away its predecessor. When using the 3G network, WorldofWarcraft.com (a very bandwidth-heavy Web site) loaded as quickly as 38 seconds and as slowly as 47 seconds. In contrast, the same site loaded anywhere from 2 minutes to 2 minutes and 45 seconds on the original iPhone using EDGE.
We also tried accessing WorldofWarcraft.com on the iPhone 3G using EDGE. Its fastest speed also was 2 minutes but the slowest speed was a painful 3 minutes 30 seconds. The mobile site of CNET.com loaded in just 12 seconds on the 3G network but up to 23 seconds using EDGE. For more on Internet speeds, check out this Prizefight.
Of course, the 3G experience is all relative. Your experience will depend on many factors including 3G coverage in your area, the number of people on the network at a given time, and the kind of pages you're trying to access--as a rule, busier pages will load more slowly.
Also, it's absolutely essential that you test 3G coverage in your area using another AT&T 3G handset before buying the new iPhone. AT&T can give you guidance, but there's no substitute for real-world experience.
Outside of the United States, the iPhone's tri-band (850/1900/2100) UMTS/HSDPA support will deliver 3G coverage around the world. One final point is that 3G will suck juice from your phone, so you should consider switching it off (there's an options in the Settings menu) when you're not using it. At that point, the handset will default to EDGE.
GPS: While the current iPhone location services find your position by triangulating among nearby cell phone towers and satellites, the iPhone 3G uses Assisted GPS supplemented by satellites, which better pinpoints your location. It also offers live tracking so that you can monitor your progress as you drive (or walk) along.
We tested the GPS feature both in a car and on foot. When on foot, the tracking service from satellites was quite accurate. It pinpointed our location almost exactly and the small blue dot that represented our location followed us as we moved along. What's more, we didn't lose the connection as we walked between tall buildings or under an overpass.
Naturally, the satellite connection dropped out as we entered buildings but it switched automatically to find the closest cellular phone tower or hot spot. That method isn't quite as accurate--at times it could only show a circle spanning several city blocks--but you get the general idea of where you are.
There were times where we had to ask the iPhone to pinpoint our location again, particularly as we left buildings and switched back to a satellite connection. When riding in a car, the GPS wasn't quite as specific. The blue dot tended to jump block by block or as we came to stoplights.
Even with these additions, however, the iPhone's GPS features can't compete with standalone GPS devices. Google Maps provide point-to-point directions on the iPhone 3G, but the phone doesn't support turn-by-turn directions in real time, and it's unclear whether that capability will come later from third-party applications. Apple's SDK prohibits location-based services "designed or marketed for real-time route guidance," but that doesn't mean we'll never see them.
The iPhone's iPod: We can't blame Apple for leaving the iPhone's iPod functions unchanged. In the year since the original iPhone, no competitor has been able to match the iPhone's aptitude as a music and video player. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Apple's online iTunes store continues to reign as a top destination for music, video, and podcast downloads.
As with the first-generation iPhone, the iPod icon on the iPhone 3G's main menu reveals a submenu of any content transferred from your computer's iTunes media library, including music, videos, and podcasts. The iPhone's remarkably responsive touch screen and its intuitive navigation allow you to swiftly scroll through lengthy song lists or leisurely browse your music collection in an attractive Cover Flow view.
By default, the iPod menu includes shortcut icons for Playlists, Artists, Songs, and Video; however, these shortcuts can be easily swapped for other options that may be more useful to you, such as Podcasts, Albums, Audiobooks, Compilations, Composers, or Genres.
If you hunger for new music but lack the patience to download songs at home, the iPhone's iTunes Wi-Fi Store lets you browse new music and download purchases directly to your phone. As the name implies, the iTunes Wi-Fi Store unfortunately works only over your iPhone's Wi-Fi Internet connection, which is surprising, considering that downloads over 3G would strengthen the iPhone's appeal as on-demand music player.
The arrival of third-party applications to the iPhone has ushered in several new music-related capabilities, including a few free music applications we consider essential. For instance, radio fans can take advantage of AOL Radio and Pandora to stream music directly to the iPhone over both Wi-Fi and 3G connections. An in-house Apple application, Remote, transforms your iPhone into a full-featured remote control for your computer's iTunes music library or a separate Apple TV system.
The iPhone 3G does an admirable job supporting MP3, AAC, Audible, Apple Lossless, WAV, and AIFF audio files, as well as MPEG-4 or H.264 video files. Predictably, the iPhone does not support Windows Media file types such as WMA audio or WMV video, or more boutique formats like DIVX, FLAC, or Ogg Vorbis.
With the exception of songs downloaded directly to the phone using the iTunes Wi-Fi music store, loading audio and video content onto the iPhone 3G requires Apple's iTunes software. Unlike the initial release of the first-generation iPhone, you can now manually sync music files to your iPhone if you prefer not to have content automatically load from your iTunes library.
The iPhone 3G's sound quality and EQ enhancement features are indistinguishable from the first-generation version's and certainly good enough to make your existing MP3 player redundant. The iPhone 3G's built-in speakers crank out noticeably louder -- but still musically unacceptable -- sound. To squeeze the most from the iPhone's sound quality, we recommend investing in a pair of higher quality headphones or earbuds than those that come with the device.
The iPhone 3G's near-perfect storm of video features includes iTunes movie rental compatibility, excellent video podcast support, a dedicated YouTube player, autobookmarking, full-screen resizing, and support for embedded closed captions and chapter bookmarks.
The iPhone's critical shortcoming as a Web-enabled portable video player is its lack of support for the Internet's ubiquitous Flash video content. Smaller video gripes include our dislike of the iPhone's reflective screen and the lack of a flip-out kickstand. The iPhone 3G's video quality offers no surprises, displaying crisp and colorful 480x320 video on its 3.5-inch screen.
The phone tends toward negative blacks and low contrast when viewing the iPhone 3G at off angles, but the overall video experience is one of the best you'll find on a mobile phone.
With all of the iPhone 3G's cool new audio and radio applications, it's disappointing that Apple couldn't find a way to roll wireless A2DP stereo Bluetooth audio streaming into the device. In time, we hope third-party manufacturers will find a way to help users stream music from their iPhones to their Bluetooth-enabled speakers, headphones, and car stereos.
Camera: We were hoping that the iPhone 3G would throw in an improved camera, but we got the same 2-megapixel shooter as in the original model, although with a slight improvement in the photo quality. Colors looked natural, there was little image noise, and interior shots had enough light.
The camera's white balance can't handle bright sunlight, but that's not unusual for a camera phone. Camera features remain equally minimal and the blatant lack of multimedia messaging and video recording continue to rub us the wrong way.
Contacts search: A search bar now appears above your contacts list. Typing in any portion of the name will take you immediately to that person.
iWork documents and PowerPoint: We haven't tried iWork documents, but we were able to view PowerPoint e-mail attachments. The attachment was rather large (1.3MB), but it didn't take very long to download. Keep in mind that as with other Office documents, the iPhone does not allow you to edit attachments.
Bulk delete and move: This works in your e-mail boxes only. In your in-box you'll see a small "edit" button at the top right-hand corner. When you press the button, a small circle will appear next to each e-mail. Touch the circle to highlight as many messages as you like and then select the "delete" or "move" options.
Scientific calculator: As Steve Jobs said in his WWDC keynote, you'll now get a scientific calculator when you turn the phone on its side. You'll see a lot more buttons that will set a mathematician's heart aflutter.
Parental controls: You now will find a "Restrictions" selection under the General tab of the main Settings menu. There you can restrict access to the Safari browser, explicit songs, YouTube, and the iTunes and iTunes App Stores. You can select as many restrictions as you like.
Language support: The iPhone 3G also brings language support and typing keyboards in French, Canadian French, U.K. English, German, Japanese (QWERTY and Kana), Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Russian, and Polish.
You can select as many languages you want by opening the "International" selection under the General tab of the main Settings menu. For Chinese, you choose from Pinyin or a graffiti-style application for writing characters. As you enter characters, suggestions will appear to the right. To change between menus, choose from the small globe icon next to the space bar.
What else is new? The IPhone 3G offers a host of additional new features, from the noteworthy to the trivial. For the enterprise, there's remote wipe (to erase data in case of a stolen or lost phone) and integration with Cisco IPSec VPN for remote network access.
You'll also find calendar colors and a new interface for entering passwords. (Now the screen temporarily displays the last character you entered so you can verify that you haven't mistyped.) We found the new ability to take screen captures (by holding the Home button and pressing the power/sleep key) especially useful. Screenshots end up in the camera's photo gallery.
What's missing? We've mentioned already that Apple has stubbornly left out multimedia messaging, stereo Bluetooth, and video recording. But we also wish we'd gotten a landscape keyboard for messaging, cut and paste, voice dialing, Flash support for the Web browser, tactile feedback for the touch screen and a memory card (or at least a 32GB model).
Perhaps those additions will come in time. We'd also like the capability to send calendar appointments to contacts and an easier way to transfer files to the iPhone. Because there's no way to transfer them via iTunes, you'll have to e-mail files to yourself to access them on the iPhone. And even then, there's no accessible mass file storage.
Call quality: When we reviewed the original iPhone, we withheld our Editors' Choice Award largely over middling call quality because of low volume and a slight background hum. The iPhone 3G corrects these problems--our tests revealed louder volume and clearer audio.
We also noticed that we could hear better at a variety of angles, whereas the first iPhone had a sensitive sweet spot. Also, while it was difficult to hear the original iPhone in noisy environments, we had better luck with this model. Reception didn't vary between GSM and HSDPA calls.
iPhone 3G also improves speakerphone calls. The phone's external speaker creates louder output, and callers said they can hear us better. Voices don't sound quite as natural, but that's typical on a speakerphone. Automated calling systems could understand us via regular or speakerphone calls. The iPhone's signal remained strong. According to FCC radiation tests, the iPhone 3G's highest digital SAR is 1.38 watts per kilogram.
Battery life: Apple rates the iPhone 3G's battery at 5 hours of talk time over 3G and 10 hours over AT&T's standard cellular network; 6 hours of Internet time on Wi-Fi, or 5 hours over 3G; 7 hours of video playback; 24 hours of music playback; and a standby time of 12.5 days. In our first round of testing we 4.95 hours of 3G talk time and 8.75 hours talk time over EDGE. We'll continue to run further tests over the next few days.
Though our official lab tests aren't bad so far, real-world use will be a better judge of the iPhone 3G's endurance. And on that front, we've noticed that the iPhone 3G's battery life does seem to drop faster than on the original model, particularly while using the 3G network or GPS.
That's to be expected, but we noticed that after a couple hours of use, the battery life dropped by about 30 percent. Large color displays like the iPhone's tend to be battery drainers as well, so you should expect to use more juice when you're constantly switching between applications.
Activation: Unlike the original iPhone, you cannot activate the iPhone 3G via iTunes. Instead, you will have to activate the phone and sign your new contract in either an AT&T store or an Apple store. Though we understand the motivation behind this move -- AT&T is trying to ensure every iPhone sold is activated on its own network -- the experience isn't as nice as sitting in the comfort of your home.
Once you have your phone out of the store, you will need to sync it with your iTunes account after first downloading the latest iTunes 7.7 update (download for Windows or Mac) first. That took us a long time on the iPhone 3G's first day on sale but hopefully those glitches will subside.
If you're replacing an original iPhone, make sure you back up your data from the old iPhone first; you'll then be able to transfer it to your new handset. As before, you can sync multiple iPhones to a single iTunes account
Deep underground on the border between France and Switzerland, the world's largest particle accelerator complex will explore the world on smaller scales than any human invention has explored before.
The collider's ALICE experiment will look at how the universe formed by analyzing particle collisions.
The collider's ALICE experiment will look at how the universe formed by analyzing particle collisions.
The Large Hadron Collider will look at how the universe formed by analyzing particle collisions. Some have expressed fears that the project could lead to the Earth's demise -- something scientists say will not happen. Still, skeptics have filed suit to try to stop the project.
It even has a rap dedicated to it on YouTube.
Scientists say the collider is finally ready for an attempt to circulate a beam of protons the whole way around the 17-mile tunnel. The test, which takes place Wednesday, is a major step toward seeing if the the immense experiment will provide new information about the way the universe works.
"It's really a generation that we've been looking forward to this moment, and the moments that will come after it in particular," said Bob Cousins, deputy to the scientific leader of the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment, one of six experiments inside the collider complex. "September 10 is a demarcation between finishing the construction and starting to turn it on, but the excitement will only continue to grow."
The collider consists of a particle accelerator buried more than 300 feet near Geneva, Switzerland. About $10 billion have gone into the accelerator's construction, the particle detectors and the computers, said Katie Yurkewicz, spokewoman for CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, which is host to the collider.
In the coming months, the collider is expected to begin smashing particles into each other by sending two beams of protons around the tunnel in opposite directions. It will operate at higher energies and intensities in the next year, and the experiments could generate enough data to make a discovery by 2009, experts say. Check out the collider complex's six detectors »
Testing the unknown
Experts say the collider has the potential to confirm theories about questions that physicists have been working on for decades including the possible existence of extra dimensions. They also hope to find a theoretical particle called the Higgs boson, which has never been detected, but would help explain why matter has mass.
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The collider will recreate the conditions of less than a millionth of a second after the Big Bang, when there was a hot "soup" of tiny particles called quarks and gluons, to look at how the universe evolved, said John Harris, U.S. coordinator for ALICE, a detector specialized to analyze that question.
Since this is exploratory science, the collider may uncover surprises that contradict prevailing theories, but which are just as interesting, said Joseph Lykken, theoretical physicist at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.
"When Columbus sails west, he thought he was going to find something. He didn't find what he thought he was going to find, but he did find something interesting," said Lykken, who works on the Compact Muon Solenoid, one of six experiments inside the collider complex.
Why should the layperson care about this particular exploration? Years ago, when electrons were first identified, no one knew what they were good for, but they have since transformed our entire economy, said Howard Gordon, deputy research program manager for the collider's ATLAS experiment.
"The transformative effect of this research will be to understand the world we live in much better," said Gordon, at Brookhaven National Laboratory. "It's important for just who we are, what we are."
Black hole fears are "baloney"
Fears have emerged that the collider could produce black holes that could suck up anything around them -- including the whole Earth. Such fears prompted legal actions in the U.S. and Europe to halt the operation of the Large Hadron Collider, alleging safety concerns regarding black holes and other phenomena that could theoretically emerge.
Although physicists acknowledge that the collider could, in theory, create small black holes, they say they do not pose any risk. A study released Friday by CERN scientists explains that any black hole created would be tiny, and would not have enough energy to stick around very long before dissolving. Five collider collaborators who did not pen the report independently told CNN there would be no danger from potential black holes.
John Huth, who works on the collider's ATLAS experiment, called such fears "baloney" in a recent interview, and noted that in normal physics, even if the black hole were stable, it could just pass through the Earth without being detected or without interacting at all.
"The gravitational force is so weak that you'd have to wait many, many, many, many, many lifetimes of the universe before one of these things could [get] big enough to even get close to being a problem," said Huth, professor of physics at Harvard University.
At the scene
When visiting the general-purpose detectors CMS and ATLAS at the Large Hadron Collider, Lykken said he was awed that 30,000 tons of electronics would have to work without anyone fiddling with them all the time.
"It just blows you away to look at these things and realize they're not only incredibly complex and huge, but they have to actually work," he said. "They have to work without people banging on them all day because they're sitting underground all by themselves."
With twice as much iron as the Eiffel Tower, CMS will run at full power for the first time in conjunction with the first beam test Wednesday, Lykken said. The magnet serves to bend particles, whizzing by at almost the speed of light, to figure out what kind of particles they are.
Although the detector's parts weigh thousands of tons, in previous trials of CMS at lower power, the magnet actually yanked certain parts around because of its power, Lykken said.
"You're talking about such incredible power inside both the accelerator and detectors that you never really know until you turn it all on what's going to happen," he said.
Scientists around the world are pumped for the first beam. Fermilab, the high energy physics lab in Batavia, Illinois, and major collaborator on the Large Hadron Collider, will be host of a "pajama party" at 1:30 a.m. CT that includes a live connection to CERN to follow the action.
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Cousins believes that because the collider pushes the frontiers of science and technology, it would be "amazingly impressive if it works the first try," he said in a phone interview from CERN. Any little disturbance of the magnetic field anywhere in the tunnel could stop the beam from making it all the way around.
Still, after a 25-year wait, he's not complaining. "I personally will be fine if there's some problem that has to be overcome in the next few days,"
Oh Finally we get the news that iPhone 3G will released in Indian on August 18. Vodafone will launch the iPhone 3G first on the 18th of August. And after 15 days you can also get it from Airtel too.
Pricing and other essentials are still unknown. But will update you ASAP.........
NASA has put off the planned launch of its next-generation Orion spacecraft for a year, a setback to efforts to fly a successor to its aging space shuttles, the space agency announced Monday.
The Orion space vehicle in this artist rendering from Lockheed Martin's web site, won't see space until 2014.
The Orion space vehicle in this artist rendering from Lockheed Martin's web site, won't see space until 2014.
more photos »
"September 2014 is when we are saying we will launch the first crew on the Orion," program manager Jeff Hanley told reporters in a conference call Monday.
NASA officials plan to wrap up assembly of the International Space Station and retire the space shuttle fleet in 2010, freeing up money to build and fly the new spacecraft. Cost concerns are at the root of the delay, but NASA is also giving itself wiggle room to deal with the unforeseen technical problems that will inevitably crop up, Hanley said.
"It's the unknown unknowns that we have to hedge against," he said. "Having some number of months of schedule flexibility to meet our commitment, in addition to having some number of months of cost -- dollars -- flexibility, is key to keeping ourselves in a healthy posture."
Sometimes called "Apollo on steroids," Orion is designed to ferry astronauts to and from the space station and eventually back to the moon. Unlike the space shuttles, which land like an airplane, Orion is a capsule that will parachute to a landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Photo See photos of the full-size mock-up »
The new goal of September 2014 is a year later than NASA had planned to launch the first Orion, but still six months short of the March 2015 commitment date set by Congress. Program managers were hoping to fly the new vehicle much sooner than that to keep the gap between the last shuttle flight and the first Orion flight to a minimum.
"As we looked at the plan we had for September 2013 against the available dollars, it became clear to us that we needed to adjust our schedules," said Hanley.
It's prime time for the Mars probes: NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is at the halfway point of its 90-day primary mission, and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is sending back a flood of images from orbit. The pictures contain an incredible amount of detail - as the latest jaw-dropping panoramas illustrate.
One of the coolest views is a work in progress that's being put together by amateur image wizard James Canvin. He's a weather researcher and former astronomer who often posts his work to Unmanned Spaceflight and Emily Lakdawalla's Planetary Society Weblog. As more raw imagery come in from the Phoenix lander, Canvin adds it to a home-brewed mosaic that shows a 360-degree view of the probe's surroundings in Mars' north polar region.
The latest version of the Phoenix's mission success panorama (a.k.a. the Peter Pan, in honor of Phoenix principal investigator Peter Smith) appears on Lakdawalla's blog as well as on Martian Vistas, Canvin's own home on the Web. With his permission, we've created a zoomable HD View version - but if HD View doesn't work for you, you can still check out Canvin's 10,000-pixel-wide version on Martian Vistas.
"I'd better get working on the final version!" Canvin told me in an e-mail.
In today's posting, Lakdawalla explains why Canvin and other amateurs can get their own versions of NASA imagery on the Web before NASA does. Mission scientists use a more painstaking system for processing their images precisely and scientifically - while the amateurs (and, truth be told, most of us in the outside world) are interested primarily in a good-looking picture.
A thrilling view of Victoria Crater's Cape Verde, based on data from NASA's Opportunity rover, provides a prime example: The wide reddish sky and thin Martian clouds add to the drama of the scene, but they're artistic enhancements rather than the real thing.
Art plus science
Producing pictures of Mars in color is an art as well as a science. Sometimes the technical limitations of spacecraft operating tens of millions of miles from Earth limit what they can do. Even if everything works perfectly, it can take a while to combine the imagery taken through different filters. That's why you'll almost always see the black-and-white versions of Martian scenes first.
A prime example is the stunning picture that Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured on May 25, showing the Phoenix lander descending toward its landing spot on the end of a parachute. The black-and-white version of the image was released a day after the landing, but the partially colorized version didn't come out until this week.
NASA / JPL / UA
This partially colorized picture, captured by the high-resolution camera on NASA's
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows the Phoenix Mars Lander descending on the
end of its parachute. The inset photograph highlights the parachute and lander.
Click on the image for a larger version. Can you spot the heat shield falling away?
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The scientists who control the orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, or HiRISE camera, could get the color data only for a narrow strip of the panorama. Unfortunately, the lander was outside that target strip when the picture was taken.
"For this reason, processing the color bands did not take a high priority in the days following acquisition of this image," the HiRISE team explained.
Nevertheless, the color strips reveal extra information about the crater in the background: There's a slight bluish tint along the right edge of the rightmost strip, indicating that the bowl of the crater contains a dusting of ice or frost.
The high-resolution version of the image holds another surprise: The HiRISE team says the picture appears to show the spacecraft's heat shield falling away, as a tiny black speck below and to the right of the drifting parachute and lander. Can you find it? This detail image from the HiRISE Web site helps you spot the speck.
The heat shield also appears as a speck in HiRISE's latest view of the Phoenix landing site. Check out this high-resolution image to see the lander's parachute and backshell, the black dot of the heat shield, and the lander itself toward the lower right. If you've got your 3-D glasses handy, you'll get a kick out of HiRISE's red-blue stereo pictures.
HiRISE's pictures of the Phoenix site are just the tip of the iceberg. The full image catalog, updated weekly, shows a wide variety of Martian vistas - usually in false shades of blue and orange that are meant to emphasize the subtle differences in surface composition.
But wait ... there's more: Phoenix and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are only the latest probes on the Martian scene. To get the full picture, you'll want to keep tabs on NASA's Mars rovers as well as Mars Odyssey and Europe's Mars Express. And don't forget our special section on Mars exploration, "Return to the Red Planet."
Welcome to the Mac Micro.
The iPhone 3G is the beginning of a new computing platform. With 3G and the App Store, the best iPod ever is now one of the best handheld computers ever. We struggled with a bunch of day-one bugs, but we're confident that Apple will work them out. Oh, and it's finally a decent phone, too.
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Over the past year or so, Apple has made a subtle shift from developing products to building platforms, and it's a move we applaud. Products are disposable. Platforms grow. We witnessed the shift in the last update to the Apple TV, which gave an old box new features. You saw it when Apple made the iPhone 2.0 software available to original iPhone and iPod Touch owners, as well as to the new iPhone 3G users.
Buzz up!on Yahoo!
While not a huge physical upgrade over the original iPhone, the 3G hits two of the older model's critical weaknesses—poor phone call quality and slow Internet connection speeds—and makes it clear that the iPhone is now a platform, a pocket computer that software developers can empower to do anything its users want. It's a formidable smartphone (though not without weaknesses), a heck of a lot of fun to use, and a device that will grow with you.
What Hasn't Changed Much
By and large, the 3G looks, feels, and acts like an iPhone. It's still a big slab of touch screen with a single Home button. The display is the same 3.5-inch 320x480-pixel panel with multi-touch capabilities, but it's a little bit brighter than the previous iPhone's screen. There's a slightly thinner metal bezel around the screen and the back of the handset plastic rather than metal. It's also slightly rounded; the iPhone wobbles a little on a table if you push on its edges. The plastic back attracts fingerprints like nobody's business. A new metal grill over the earpiece and speakers helps improve the sound quality. And thank goodness, the 3G eschews the recessed headphone jack for a regular one that accepts ordinary, run-of-the-mill music headphones.
You still enter data on a touch keyboard that corrects your spelling, but still doesn't offer force feedback. That turns a lot of people off, but it's still one of the two best touch keyboards in the business (along with the LG Dare's.) The keyboard still rotates into wide mode for entering URLs, but not for typing text or e-mail messages.
The basic array of iPhone applications hasn't changed much. There's the Phone, iPod, iTunes, Safari, YouTube, Mail, Text (threaded SMS), Calendar, Camera, Photos, Stocks, Maps, Weather, Clock, Calculator, Notes, and Settings. Now there's a dedicated icon for Contacts and the App store. (For more on the App Store, see below.)
You still have to click a whole bunch of times to dial the phone. You can still pinch, spread your fingers, and drag them across the screen to manipulate pictures. Apple's Safari browser remains untouched, showing Web pages with beautiful desktop fidelity, but without Flash or Java.
The phone comes in 8GB (black) and 16GB (black and white) sizes, neither with a removable memory card slot. The iPhone's disappointing 2-megapixel camera, with absolutely no settings options (including no video recording) sadly hasn't changed; our 3G pictures looked identical to our 2G shots, though the 3G ones came tagged with GPS data. And there's no picture messaging to other phones (MMS), no removable battery, and you can't cut and paste text.
Speaking of batteries, the 3G has an even shorter rated battery life than its predecessor; 10 hours of 2G and 5 hours of 3G talk time, 5 hours of 3G data, 6 hours of Wi-Fi, 24 hours of music, or 7 hours of video. We'll test that over the next week, but in our experience so far, this iPhone may not even last a day of heavy use.
A little more than a century from now, our planet will be so polluted as to be virtually uninhabitable. That’s the cheery premise behind Disney/Pixar’s charming “Wall-E,” the most popular movie in the country last week.
AP Photo
The film takes place in the 2800s, when Wall-E, a cute little trash-compacting robot, is the last life of any kind remaining on Earth (aside from his indestructible pet cockroach). Long since abandoned, Wall-E goes about his solitary and meaningless work in a bleak urban landscape marred by dirty skies, sludgy seas and towering piles of consumer waste from Buy N’ Large, the free market’s last surviving megastore.
From “I Am Legend” to Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road,” recent pop culture has been full of post-apocalyptic stories. But “Wall-E” departs from those tales in one key aspect: The human race in this movie isn’t becoming extinct, it’s just on an indefinite vacation. In the future created by “Wall-E’s” filmmakers, we humans flee our ruined planet in 2110 for giant, cruise-ship-like space vessels, where we drift numbly through the solar system for the next 700 years. Coddled by servant robots, carted around on levitating recliner chairs, fed through Big Gulp-like cups and medicated by programming on ever-present hologram TVs, we have become infantile and morbidly fat.
In this way, “Wall-E” takes 21st-century societal trends – ecological destruction, rampant consumerism, corporate consolidation and obesity – and projects them forward to their most drastic consequences. Right-wing bloggers already have attacked what they see as the movie’s save-the-Earth message, although they might be heartened to see that in “Wall-E’s” vision of the future, government doesn’t seem to exist (the spacecraft are operated by Buy N’ Large).
Like many futuristic stories, “Wall-E” takes a cautionary view of technology. Its chief antagonist is a spaceship’s autopilot function (a nod to HAL in “2001: A Space Odyssey”), and the movie’s ending celebrates the benefits of. . .simple farming. Wall-E himself is a mostly low-tech creation, more mechanical than digital, although he displays remarkable feelings of curiosity, fear and love.
One final thought: Considering that Apple Computer’s Steve Jobs also ran Pixar, it’s no surprise that the solar-powered Wall-E reboots to the swelling sound of the Mac startup tone. But Pixar does have a sense of humor — the evil autopilot computer is voiced by Apple’s speech-recognition software.
–Brandon Griggs, Tech Section Producer, CNN.com
(AOL Autos) -- Consumer Reports recently announced its annual used cars ratings, and we weren't surprised to see one of the major categories was "Best in Fuel Economy."
With gasoline and oil prices on a seemingly endless upward spiral, that's a key factor these days when choosing a used car -- or even a new one.
The cars that made this list were, according to Consumer Reports, "the affordable and reliable vehicles [that] returned some of the best results in our real-world fuel-economy tests."
What follows is a list of the vehicles that magazine rated "Best in Fuel Economy" in the under $10,000 price range, with a short description of each vehicle. The mileage figures stated are the ones calculated by Consumer Reports in their own on-the-road tests.
2000 Honda Insight
Overall MPG: 51
When the Insight hit showrooms in 1999 for the 2000 model year, it was hailed as one of the cleanest and most fuel-efficient vehicles in the world. It was the first gasoline-electric hybrid to be sold in the U.S., and won several design, engineering and technology awards.
The Insight employs Honda's Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) system, combining an extremely lightweight 1.0-liter, three-cylinder gasoline automobile engine with an ultra-thin electric motor. Early models came with a 5-speed manual transmission, but a continuously variable transmission (CVT) was offered starting in '01.
2001 - 2002 Toyota Prius
Overall MPG: 41
This was one of the earliest generations of the fuel-sipping Prius, and it certainly has become a green living icon since then. Drawing its power from a combination of a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine and an electric motor, these earlier editions generated only 70 hp, but muscle isn't the point in a hybrid car. It's pod-like design had a certain retro-futuristic appeal, and was roomier than one might think.
2000 - 2005 Toyota Echo
Overall MPG: 38
The Echo was rolled out in 2000 as a no-frills compact econo-box, for those who wanted Toyota quality but were on a budget that precluded them from snagging a Corolla.
The interior is plain, but the engine is reliable and efficient, and the taut suspension delivers a ride comparable to larger models. This version of the Echo comes with a 1.5-liter four-cylinder 108-hp 16-Valve EFI engine.
1998 - 2002 Chevrolet Prizm
Overall MPG: 32
The Prizm of this era bore some resemblance to the Corolla, since both were built on the same assembly line in a joint GM/Toyota plant. A front-wheel-drive subcompact sedan, the Prizm was initially rolled out under the Geo nameplate, but later became a Chevy model.
Available as a base model and LSi, the Prizm is powered by single twin-cam four-cylinder engines that produced 120 hp in 1998 and 1999, but the addition of VVT in 2000 boosted the ponies to 125.
1998 Mazda Protégé LX
Overall MPG: 32
Mazda redesigned the Protégé in 1995, upgrading it considerably with a more rigid chassis and much-improved ride quality -- not to mention increased interior space.
This edition also offers a silkier ride, crisp handling and solid performance for a small car. This model year has a 92-hp 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine, and comes in three trim levels.
1998 - 2000 Toyota Corolla CE/LE
Overall MPG: 32/31
The Corolla has been a stalwart for more than 40 years, for its quality, dependability and, maybe most importantly, for its fuel economy. The 1998-1999 editions are powered by a 1.8 L, 120-hp, four-cylinder 16-Valve EFI, with aluminum alloy block and head.
By 2000, they'd tweaked the engine to deliver 125 ponies. A front-wheel drive job, the Corollas of this period come in three trim levels, but Consumer Reports chose the midline CE and top-end LE.
1998 - 2001 Acura Integra LS
Overall MPG: 32
The Acura Integra sport coupe and sport sedan lineups have always been standard-bearers for innovative technology, craftsmanship, and exhilarating performance.
It was the top-selling automobile in its segment from 1994 - 1998. It is available on five sport-coupe trim levels and three sport- sedan trims. The Intergra LS came with a 1.8-liter, 140-hp engine, automatic transmission is optional.
2004 - 2005 Scion xA
Overall MPG: 31/30
The Scion xA's body lines are rounder and more sculpted than the distinctly boxy shape of its xB cousin, but it's just as well-constructed and just as comfy inside. Low maintenance costs are a big selling point, as is the taut ride.
A 1.5-liter, 108-hp 16-valve four-cylinder comes standard on the 2004 - 2005, along with a five-speed manual transmission, and an automatic transmission was optional
Many attempts have been made to create the perfect robot dog, but we can now safely say that a new bot called the Dream Dog DX Golden Retriever reigns supreme over them all. More cuddly than a tribble and ten times more believable than the AIBO, the DX made its debut at the recent Tokyo Toy Show and blew visitors away with its realistic antics. Responding to voice commands, the DX will sit, roll over, bark and even nip at your fingers when you play with its nose. The "toy" is actually rather cute and comes closer to a realistic dog than any robot I've seen. The plaintive dog sounds it emits are enough to tug at your geek heartstrings. Imagine what life would be like if this thing had an embedded, live-updated Wikipedia database and speech functions enabled--scary. Available in September, the Dream Dog DX Golden Retriever will be sell for just 29,800 ($276) here.
Using clues from star and sun positions mentioned by the ancient Greek poet Homer, scholars think they have determined the date when King Odysseus returned from the Trojan War and slaughtered a group of suitors who had been pressing his wife to marry one of them.
It was on April 16, 1178 B.C. that the great warrior struck with arrows, swords and spears, killing those who sought to replace him, a pair of researchers say in Monday's online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
Experts have long debated whether the books of Homer reflect the actual history of the Trojan War and its aftermath.
Marcelo O. Magnasco of Rockefeller University in New York and Constantino Baikouzis of the Astronomical Observatory in La Plata, Argentina, acknowledge they had to make some assumptions to determine the date Odysseus returned to his kingdom of Ithaca.
But interpreting clues in Homer's "Odyssey" as references to the positions of stars and a total eclipse of the sun allowed them to determine when a particular set of conditions would have occurred.
"What we'd like to achieve is to get the reader to pick up the "Odyssey," and read it again, and ponder," said Magnasco. "And to realize that our understanding of these texts is quite imperfect, and even when entire libraries have been written about Homeric studies, there is still room for further investigation."
Their study potentially adds support to the accuracy of Homer's writing.
"Under the assumption that our work turns out to be correct, it adds to the evidence that he knew what he was talking about," Magnasco said. "It still does not prove the historicity of the return of Odysseus," he said. "It only proves that Homer knew about certain astronomical phenomena that happened much before his time."
Homer reports that on the day of the slaughter the sun is blotted from the sky, possibly a reference to an eclipse. In addition, he mentions more than once that it is the time of a new moon, which is necessary for a total eclipse, the researchers say.
Other clues include:
_Six days before the slaughter, Venus is visible and high in the sky.
_Twenty-nine days before, two constellations -- the Pleiades and Bootes -- are simultaneously visible at sunset.
_And 33 days before, Mercury is high at dawn and near the western end of its trajectory. This is the researchers' interpretation, anyway. Homer wrote that Hermes, the Greek name for Mercury, traveled far west to deliver a message."Of course we believe it's amply justified, otherwise we would not commit it to print. However we do recognize there's less ammunition to defend this interpretation than the others," Magnasco said.
"Even though the other astronomical references are much clearer, our interpretation of them as allusions to astronomical phenomena is an assumption," he added in an interview via e-mail.
For example, Magnasco said, Homer writes that as Odysseus spread his sails out of Ogygia, "sleep did not weigh on his eyelids as he watched the Pleiades, and late-setting Bootes, and the Bear."
"We assume he means that as Odysseus set sail shortly after sunset, at nautical twilight the Pleiades and Bootes were simultaneously visible, and that Bootes would be the later-setting of the two," Magnasco explained. "It is a good assumption because every member of his audience would know what was being discussed, as the Pleiades and Bootes were important to them to know the passage of the seasons and would be very familiar with which times of the year they were visible. Remember the only calendar they had was the sky."
Since the occurrence of an eclipse and the various star positions repeat over different periods of time, Magnasco and Baikouzis set out to calculate when they would all occur in the order mentioned in the "Odyssey."
And their result has Odysseus exacting his revenge on April 16, 1178 B.C.
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Scientists believe that NASA's Phoenix Mars lander exposed bits of ice while recently digging a trench in the soil of the Martian arctic, the mission's principal investigator said Thursday.
Trenches excavated by the lander's robotic arm have turned up white material mixed in with the reddish dirt.
Crumbs of bright material initially photographed in the trench later vanished, meaning they must have been frozen water that vaporized after being exposed, said Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson, in a statement.
"These little clumps completely disappearing over the course of a few days, that is perfect evidence that it's ice," Smith said.
"There had been some question whether the bright material was salt. Salt can't do that."
Phoenix Mars is studying whether the arctic region of the Red Planet could be habitable.
The probe is using its robotic arm to dig up soil samples, and scientists hope it will find frozen water.
However, an initial soil sample heated in a science instrument failed to yield evidence of water.
The bright material was seen in the bottom of a trench dubbed Dodo-Goldilocks that Phoenix enlarged on June 15.
Several of the bright crumbs were gone when the spacecraft looked into the trench again early Thursday, NASA said.
Phoenix's arm, meanwhile, encountered a hard surface while digging another trench Thursday and scientists were hopeful of uncovering an icy layer, the space agency said. That trench is called Snow White 2.
The arm went into a "holding position" after three attempts to dig further, which is expected when it the reaches a hard surface, NASA said.
Scientists have been using names from fairy tales and mythology to designate geologic features around Phoenix and the trenches it has been digging.
In 2002, the orbiting Mars Odyssey detected hints of a vast store of ice below the surface of Mars' polar regions. The arctic terrain where Phoenix touched down has polygon shapes in the ground similar to those found in Earth's permafrost regions. The patterns on Earth are caused by seasonal expansion and shrinking of underground ice.
Engineers also have prepared a software patch to send up to Phoenix to fix a problem that surfaced Tuesday in the use of its flash memory.
NASA said that because Phoenix generated a large amount of duplicative file-maintenance data that day, the mission team has been avoiding storing science data in the flash memory and is instead transmitting it to Earth at the end of each day.
"We now understand what happened, and we can fix it with a software patch," said Barry Goldstein, the Phoenix project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.
Phoenix landed near Mars' north pole May 25. The $420 million mission is planned to last 90 days.
Ambitious plans to build a revolutionary 420-meter shape-shifting skyscraper in Dubai have been unveiled by architects.
Each floor of the tower would rotate independently, architects claim, creating an ever-shifting shape.
The 80-story Dynamic Tower, described as the "world's first building in motion," will also be the first skyscraper constructed from prefabricated units, according to a press statement released by New York-based architect David Fisher's Dynamic Group.
Each floor would be capable of rotating independently, powered by wind turbines fitted between each floor.
"You can adjust the shape the way you like every given moment," Fisher said. "It's not a piece of architecture somebody designed today and that's it. It remains forever. It's designed by life, shaped by time." 
Watch how the tower would spin and twist »
Apartments will sell for about $3,000 per square foot, making each unit range in price from about $4 million to $40 million. Work on the tower is to be completed by 2010, according to Dynamic's Web site.
Fisher said that plans to build a second rotating skyscraper in Moscow were at an advanced stage and that the group intended to build a third tower in New York. He said developers and public officials in Canada, Europe and South Korea had also expressed interest in the project.
But some have expressed skepticism. Fisher has never built a skyscraper before. He says he has teamed up with reputed architects and engineers in the United Kingdom and India.
Although he has received a development license for construction in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, he has not disclosed the site of the building. The Moscow mayor's office said that it was looking into the project and that a decision had not been made.
Fisher has called prefabricated construction techniques the "future of architecture" and says they will radically transform 4,000-year-old "brick-on-brick" building methods.
By using preconstructed parts, Fisher said each story could be built in just seven days, resulting in environmentally cleaner building methods.
He said that just 600 people on an assembly site and 80 technicians on the construction site would be needed to build the tower, compared with about 2,000 workers for a traditional project of a comparable scale.
"It is unbelievable that real estate and construction, which is the leading sector of the world economy, is also the most primitive," Fisher is quoted as saying on Dynamic's Web site.
"Most workers throughout the world still regularly use trowels that was first used by the Egyptians and then by the Romans. Buildings should not be different than any other product, and from now on they will be manufactured in a production facility."
Dubai is experiencing a construction boom, with the Burj tower set to claim the title of the world's tallest building when it is completed in 2009. It is already home to the world's largest mall, and despite being in the Middle East, it boasts the largest indoor snow park in the world
