Huge 158.2 carat diamond with an estimated value of more than £1m found in Russia

An enormous diamond with an estimated value of more than £1million has been discovered in Russia.

The precious 158.2 carat gem was uncovered by the Alrosa company, the country's largest diamond mining enterprise, it was revealed today.

The find was made last month at diamond-mining factory number 16 of the Nyurbinsk ore mining and processing enterprise in the republic of Yakutia in the north-east of Russia.

This huge diamond with an estimated value of more than £1million has been discovered in Russia

According to Alrosa’s specialists, the diamond may fetch more than £1million at auction.

Once processed the rock could be cut into several diamonds, each of them worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, said a spokesman for Alrosa in a statement.

The company is one of the largest diamond companies in the world, accounting for about 28 per cent of global production, and producing 97 per cent of all diamonds in Russia.

It boasts proven diamond reserves that enable it to maintain diamond production for more than 25 years.

The precious 158.2 carat gem was uncovered by the Alrosa company, the country's largest diamond mining enterprise, it was revealed today

According to a list of the world's biggest uncut diamonds published by the website 24hgold the new find is the 32nd heaviest ever discovered. 

The heaviest diamond ever recorded is the Cullinan stone found in South Africa in 1905 which weighed in at a whopping 3,106.75 carats (621.35g).

The diamond was found by Thomas Evan Powell, a miner who brought it to the surface and gave it to Frederick Wells, surface manager of the Premier Diamond Mining Company in Cullinan, South Africa.

The stone was named after Sir Thomas Cullinan, the owner of the diamond mine.

The rock was split and cut into seven major stones and 96 smaller stones.

The find was made last month at diamond-mining factory number 16 of the Nyurbinsk ore mining and processing enterprise in the republic of Yakutia in the north-east of Russia

Edward VII had the Cullinan I and Cullinan II set respectively into the Sceptre with the Cross and the Imperial State Crown.

The second biggest uncut diamond discovered is 1,000 carat Nameless diamond which was found in either Brazil or central Africa, although the date of the discovery is unknown.

At 995.1carats the Excelsior which was cut into 21 smaller gems is the third biggest to be found and the famous Star of Sierra Leone, found in 1972, is the third heaviest diamond on the list.

Beware what you click! Killer 'bug' in Android smartphones could completely wipe your device just by opening a web link

Security experts have warned Android smartphone owners to update their software and be wary of clicking untrusted links - as they could reset your phone back to its factory setting without warning.

Researchers found that malicious hackers can create web-links that can wipe your phone - meaning all your files, personal details, images and music would be wiped, just by getting you to click on a web-link.

The exploit has been tested on Samsung phones, but could potentially be work on handsets from companies such as HTC.

The bug exploits a feature in many phones from Samsung where clicking on a link can automatically dial a number into your dial-pad and click 'Call'.

The Galaxy S2 is likely to still be at risk from the 'link-jacking', which could reset a phone by following a URL - which can automatically dial 'magic codes' from your phonebook

While this is a handy feature in some cases - for instance, calling a restaurant directly from a web-page - it opens the door for malicious uses.

Many manufacturers add hidden commands to your phonebook - for instance, dialling *#*#4636#*#* will automatically show you your phone's secret setting menus.

But some manufacturers, including Samsung, add additional codes - and one of them automatically resets your phone, without any way of interrupting the process.

The exploit was first announced by Ravi Borgaonkar, from the Technische Universitat in Berlin.

He said web links could be embedded in text messages, clicked on in a web browser, or scanned using a QR 'barcode' tag.

When Borgaonkar announced his finding yesterday, he said there was nothing a Samsung owner can do to stop it.

ANDROID: A MILLION NEW USERS EVERY DAY

Android is rapidly becoming one of the most established operating systems in the world.

This month - just before the iPhone launch on September 12th - Andy Rubin, the Google executive who founded Android, announced that 500 million Android devices had been activated across the world.

The pace of adoption is rapidly speeding up - from around 500,000 activations a day a year ago, to 900 daily activations in June, to more than 1.3million activations a day by September.

So far, there have been few serious security breeches for Android and Apple devices, in terms of causing a financial cost to the end-user.

But as our phones become more widespread and become a bigger part of our daily lives - for instance, when used as a wallet to make payments - it is likely hackers and criminals will find new ways to target devices.

However, the exploit only appears to work on some models, and Samsung has released a security update to block the problem.

Samsung said there is a fix out for the flagship Galaxy S3 has already been issued, but has not referred to other models yet, such as its bestselling Galaxy S2.

The spokesman said: 'We would like to assure our customers that the recent security issue concerning the GALAXY S III has already been resolved through a software update.

'We recommend all GALAXY S III customers to download the latest software update, which can be done quickly and easily via the Over-The-Air (OTA) service.'

Users can find updates by clicking on Settings | About Phone | Software updates.

Some users also report the problem can occur on HTC handsets, but this is still under investigation.

Developers for Android said they had also adapted the operating system to prevent the exploit.

However Android's well-known slow update process - due to the varieties of different handsets, and phone networks insisting on adding 'bloatware' to their own devices - means this may not roll out to users quickly.

In practice, few users are likely to come across a link which will affect their phone in this way, but anyone who is concerned should seek out an app in the Play Store called TelStop.

Source : Dailymail

Hackers claim they cracked iPhone 5 just EIGHT HOURS after its release

A San Francisco hacker says he has cracked the new iPhone 5, less than eight hours after its release to the public. 

Grant Paul, who develops software for Apple's iOS operating system, posted photos on his Twitter page of a 'jailbroken' iPhone 5. 

Apple ships its iPhones and other mobile devices with restrictions that only allow Apple-approved software to be installed.

Tweet heard 'round the world: Hacker Grant Paul posted this screen shot of his iPhone 5 running Cydia, an app available only on hacked devices, as proof he had 'jailbroken' his new phone

However, hackers have worked to 'jailbreak' all previous versions of the operating system by exploiting security flaws.

Instructions for stable 'jailbreaks' are posted online, which allow normal users to free their phones of Apple's restrictions.

Tech news site The Next Web reports that Mr Paul's hack of the new phone is remarkably fast. 

The iPhone 5 runs on Apple's new iOS 6 operating system, which does not have the same security flaws as previous versions of the software.

Other hackers have also found cracks to jailbreak older devices running the new operating system.

Already hacked: Less than eight hours after throngs of fans rushed Apple stores to buy the new iPhone on Friday, Mr Grant hacked the new device

Proof: Mr Grant also posted these two photos to quiet skeptics who said he hadn't actually cracked the new phone. Most in the tech community accepted these images as evidence the device had been 'jailbroken'

The development doesn't mean a hack is available for lay-users -- though it does mean one will likely be online much sooner. 

Apple fans lined up around the world to have the first chance at buying the iPhone 5 at 8am on Friday. 

At 3.49pm on Friday, Mr Paul tweeted a photo of an iPhone5 screenshot that included Cydia, the app used to download non-Apple-approved software on jailbroken iPhones.

The implication of the photo was that Mr Paul had been able to download Cydia to his iPhone 5 only because he was successfully able to hack it.

He celebrated the remarkable achievement with an understated tweet: 'Taller screens like Cydia too. :)'

As skeptics weighed in, Mr Paul posted a screenshot of the Cydia home page and then a photo of his phone with Cydia on it. 

The tech community has largely accepted the pictures as proof that the iPhone 5 has successfully been cracked.

Bet Apple wish they could turn the clock back: Swiss firm accuses iPhone 5 of copying their iconic face design

Switzerland's national rail company has today accused Apple of stealing the iconic look of its station clocks for the iPhone.

Apple, usually the ones suing others for copyright or trademark infringement, is accused by the Swiss Federal Railways of copying the rail company's iconic 1944 clock design - right down to the second-hand ending in a circle

The iconic design, which was created by acclaimed designer Hans Hilfiker, was licensed from the train company - known as SBB -  by watchmaker Mondaine, helping spread the brand across the globe.

Can you tell the time? Apple's iPad clock app (left) versus Mondaine's iconic clock face

A spokesman for SBB said the Apple design was 'identical' to the one pioneered by the rail company in 1944. 

Reto Kormann confirmed that Apple had not asked for permission before doing using the design.

He said: 'We've approached Apple and told them that the rights for this clock belong to us.'

Up close: Mondaine's designs are known world-wide

Although he did add: 'We are proud that this icon of clock design is being used by a globally successful company.'

Kormann said SBB would seek an 'amicable agreement' with Apple that could see the clock design used in return for a license fee. 

Apple's public relations offices in Germany and Switzerland didn't respond to repeated calls and emails requesting comment. 

Technology fans have noted before how many of Apple's iconic designs are based on Braun products from the 1950s.

Meanwhile Apple has itself launched several patent and design rights claims against rival companies in the past - with its complaints including competitors copying the iPhone's rounded corner designs.

Last month it won a $1.05 billion judgment against Samsung Electronics in a U.S. patent case. 

The new iPhone 5 was launched today in eight countries.

The Ten Greatest Failed Supercar Companies

For every Ferrari, there are a dozen bankrupt companies that tried, unsuccessfully, to enter the supercar game.

Photo Credit: Lotec

10.) Lister

Why it ruled: Anyone who played arcade games in the ‘90s remembers the Lister Storm. With a 7-liter V12 derived from one of Jaguar's Le Mans prototypes and a top speed over 200 mph, it was the fastest four-seater from the mid-90s through the mid-2000s. Lister raced it for a few years, even with Top Gear's Sultan of Slide Tiff Needel behind the wheel. They were bonkers expensive, and the company only built four road cars. Other than a few failed LMP cars, we haven't heard anything since.

Photo Credit: Dave Price

9.) Cizeta-Moroder

Why it ruled: Cizeta was kind of like the mid-90s version of Pagani and it only had two things you need to know about: a transverse-mounted V16 and double pop-up headlights. It doesn't get more excessive than that.

Apparently the company, started by a bunch of guys from Lamborghini, will still build you one for a few hundred grand short of a million, but we haven't seen any proof.

Photo Credit: Cizeta/Carstyling.ru

Full size

8.) Aixam-Mega

Why it ruled: If you're getting the idea that the ‘90s was full of supercar startups, you're right. In '92 France's Aixam-Mega even thought it could make money building the Mega Track, a four-wheel drive supercar with a 394-horsepower Mercedes V12 and 8-13 inches of ride height. The most badass crossover of all time didn't exactly pan out and now Aixam is back buildingplastic microcars. Lame.

Photo Credit: Mega

Full size

7.) Dome

Why it ruled: Way before the NSX was pronounced Japan's first supercar, there was the Dome Zero. Dome got started building race cars (Dome is the company that helped Toyota get started at Le Mans back in the ‘80s), and they tried their hand at making a supercar in '78 and ‘79. The Dome Zero (and then P2) looked cooler than a Countach, but only had a 150-horsepower Datsun straight-six. The company couldn't get the car approved for road use, but licensing Dome Zero toys gave them money to go racing.

They still make race cars, at least.

Photo Credit: Dome

Full size

6.) Lotec

Why it ruled: Lotec was pretty much the king at building supercar vaporware in the ‘90s. They came from Germany, were made out of carbon fiber, and had twin-turbo Mercedes engines. Production numbers couldn't have exceeded the single digits, but they claimed 800 to 1,000 horsepower and top speeds of 268 miles an hour. Not that any of this has been verified, but damn did the Sirius and the Lotec C1000 look ugly weirdly awesome.

The company claimed to be in business in '09, but the last one we saw was one was sitting dejected in a North Carolina dealership.

Photo Credit: Lotec

5.) Bizzarrini

Why it ruled: Giotto Bizzarini used to be one of Ferrari's top engineers (he's the guy who designed Lambo's legendary V12), but when he tried to make his own cars, things didn't really work out for him. With big Corvette V8s in slinky Italian bodies, his cars were awesomely fast for the street, but they were slow on the race track. Without wins, nobody wanted his cars, so he went out of business.

Moral of the story: don't try to out-Ferrari Ferrari.

Photo Credit: FurLined

4.) De Tomaso

Why it ruled: Argentine Alejandro de Tomaso took the same idea that got Shelby famous and nearly made it work himself: cram a big American V8 in a little European chassis. De Tomaso started with the radical Vallelunga, then the flimsy-but-so-sexy Mangusta, and then the legendary Pantera. With a Ford V8, it was sold in Lincoln/Mercury dealerships, and then independently up through '92.

The company has been bought and sold a hundred times since then, most recently for a bland CUV built by a guy in jail.

Photo Credit: FurLined

3.) Vector

Why it ruled: Vector was good at two things: drawing cars that look like doorstops and making insane promises it couldn't keep. Want a 600-horsepower American supercar? Oops, it broke down. How about a re-bodied Diablo? Why not one with 2,000 horsepower?

Okay Vector, we're not listening anymore.

Photo Credit: Vector

2.) DeLoreanWhy it ruled: So the DMC-12 wasn't exactly fast enough to be a real supercar, but DeLorean tried to make a sexy, desirable car of his own. He tried so hard he got involved in a crazy drug scam to keep his company afloat. If there's one way to completely bankrupt a car company, it's with coke.

Oh, you can still get new DMC-12s, even electric ones and ones built by Will.i.am.

Photo Credit: FurLined

1.) TVR

Why it ruled: TVR has a long history of building batshit fast sport cars. They were like the British version of the Viper, only they'd been in business for decades. The company ran out of money in the 2000s, got rebooted by a Russian tycoon, and then flopped again.

They were just too fast, too raw, and too wild to survive in today's car market.

Photo Credit: Ben_in_London

Via : Jalopnik