Ten Tallest Buildings in the World

Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan – 1671 ft (509 m) 101 Floors

Taipei 101 became the world’s tallest building to be constructed in the new millennium and the first to cross the half-kilometer mark. The construction cost was $1.76 billion and it was completed in 2004. This multi-use steel-and-glass skyscraper was designed by C.Y. Lee & Partners and has 61 elevators. It reflects the traditional Chinese pagoda, with a soaring podium base, eight tiers of eight stories (eight is considered a number representing prosperous growth in China), narrow pinnacle tower, and a spire.
The building has an 18 ft, 882-ton ball-shaped damper at the top that counteracts swaying motions during typhoons and earthquakes. Although CTBUH only takes into consideration the floors above ground level, there are 5 floors underground too. The number “101” represents not only the number of floors, but also the mailing code of Taipei’s international business district. It was hailed as one of the Seven New Wonders of the World by Newsweek magazine in 2006 and as one of the Seven Wonders of Engineering by The Discovery Channel in 2005.
Shanghai World Financial Center – 1614 ft (492 m) 101 Floors

This super-tall skyscraper in Shanghai dominates the skyline over East China and is destined to become a symbolic icon, giving the city a new status and depicts the arrival of a new era in Asia. It was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and officially opened its doors to the public on August 28, 2008. It is a mixed-use building with excellent urban shopping malls at the base, a 174-room luxurious five-star hotel at the top and sixty-two floors filled with offices. There are three observation decks between the 94th and the 100th levels. It has a total of 31 elevators and the construction cost was US $1.2 billion. The most remarkable feature of this majestic building is the aperture at the top of the building. It is the 2nd tallest building in the world.
Petronas Twin Towers – 1483 ft (452 m) 88 Floors

The beautiful world-famous Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia were constructed in 1998. The name sounds as romantic as they look together, standing side by side. These elegantly slender towers once held the title of the world’s tallest buildings before being ousted from that position by Taipei 101.
Petronas Tower 1 is the 3rd tallest building in the world.
Petronas Tower 2 is the 4th tallest building in the world.
However, they still remain the tallest twin buildings in the world. They were designed by Argentine-American architect Cesar Pelli and were built on Kuala Lumpur’s race track. The structure is made of high-strength concrete and has a curtain wall of glass and stainless steel sun shades that help diffuse the intensity of light.
The major feature of the towers is the sky-bridge between the towers on the 41st and 42nd floors, which is the highest 2-story bridge in the world. Visitors are allowed on the Skyway. The sky-bridge is also meant to be used in case of a fire or for other emergencies.
The Sears Tower – 1451 ft (452 m) 108 Floors

Located in Chicago, Illinois, The Sears Tower was constructed in 1974, and held the title of the world’s tallest building when it overtook the World Trade Center in New York. Although it is no longer the tallest building in the world, the Sears Tower is the 5th tallest and still has the world’s highest occupied floors, highest elevator ride and the highest roof deck. The top of the tower is the highest point in Illinois. It is said that four states can be seen from the top of the Sears Tower.
This tower was designed by architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur Khan in a “bundled tube” system with nine squares, sheathed in a dark tinted glass curtain wall. The building leans a few inches due to its asymmetrical design and this can be felt occasionally. The Sears Tower has a separate tourist entrance and attracts more than 1.5 million tourists each year.
Jin Mao Tower – 1380 ft (421 m) 88 Floors

The name of the landmark super-tall skyscraper, Jin Mao, literally means “Golden Prosperity Building.” Currently ranked the 6th tallest building in the world, it was designed by the Chicago-based Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and was constructed in 1999. It is located in the Lujiazui area of the Pudong district of Shanghai, People’s Republic of China. The architecture ingeniously combines elements of traditional Chinese culture with the modern architectural styles of the time, which makes it one of the most well-constructed buildings in China. The proportions of this structure revolve around the number 8, which according to Chinese belief signifies prosperity.
It houses the very luxurious Shanghai Grand Hyatt hotel and several offices. The construction cost is estimated to be 530 million dollars. The tower has several exhibition halls, banquet halls, entertainment venues, and an observation deck on the 88th floor that can fit about 1000 tourists. The daily maintenance of this tower is reported to be an unbelievable US$121,000.
Two International Finance Center (IFC) – 1362 ft (415 m) 88 Floors

Constructed in 2003, the IFC with its two skyscrapers overlooking the Victoria Harbor is a prominent landmark in Hong Kong, China. One International Finance Center is 38 stories high. The Two International Finance Center, which is the world’s 7th tallest building, has 88 stories and has been designed to house financial firms with advanced telecommunications, featuring raised floors for better cabling and floor plans that are almost without columns. About 15,000 people can be accommodated in this building. Although there are 88 stories, there are some floors that are considered to be taboo and which are not used, such as the 14th and 24th floors, as these numbers signify evil for the Chinese.
The IFC mall has an array of famous retailers and several top jewelry retailers, health & skin care and fashion houses, restaurants, and a cinema. It is one of the few buildings in the world to be equipped with double-deck elevators.
CITIC Plaza – 1283 ft (391 m) 80 Floors

The China International Trust and Investment Company (CITIC) Plaza, built in 1997, is located in Guangzhou, in the growing Tianhe District. It was the tallest building in the world when it was built and is currently the tallest concrete building in the world. It is ranked as the fourth tallest building in China, seventh in Asia and eighth in the world. This building is part of a complex which has two other 38-story residential buildings.
CITIC Plaza has two antennas on the top like spires. This elegant building is surrounded by several other tall buildings and gives an indication of the increasing prosperity of Guangzhou. It is close to the Tianhe Sports Center where part of the Asia games 2010 will be held.
Shun Hing Square – 1260 ft (382 m) 69 Floors

The Shun Hing Square tower, built in 1996, is one of the world’s tallest buildings and occupies the 9th place currently. This brilliantly constructed building is in Shenzhen, China and is said to be one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. It has the distinction of being the tallest all-steel building in China and the fifth tallest building overall in China. An interesting tid bit about this building: it was built at an incredible speed of four floors in nine days. The spires on the top of the building add to the height and without them, it stands at 325 m tall.
Shun Hing Square is a complex that has an office tower and another 35-story building for residential, office, and retail purposes. The 69th floor has an observation deck called the Meridian View Center. Tourists will have to pay US$12 to go up to that observation deck.
Empire State Building – 1250 ft (381 m) – 102 Floors

The Empire State Building of New York, in the United Stats was built in 1931, and it is one of the oldest and most famous buildings in the world. There probably aren’t many people who have not heard of it. Now rated as the 10th tallest building, it was the world’s tallest building for forty-one years until the World Trade Center was constructed in the year 1972. After the unfortunate incident with the World Trade Center in 2001, the Empire State Building once again became the tallest building in the State of New York.
It has also been named as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The beauty of the Empire State Building is highlighted by the beautiful lights at the top of the building. In fact, the view of the building at night is considered to be a tourist attraction all on its own.
Coming Up
Standing tall among all others is another marvel, the Burj Dubai Tower in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is still under construction and will not be considered the tallest building until completion in September 2009. It already has 160 stories and overtook Taipei 101 and surpassed the KVLY-TV mast in the U.S. (which is 629 m), achieving the status of being the tallest man-made structure on the planet. The eventual height remains a secret, but speculation is that it will reach 900 meters.
There may be a magical moment in the future. The plan for the proposed Sky City 1000 by Japan shows its height at 1000 meters and 196 floors. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Burj Dubai, Dubai, The United Arab Emirates (167 Stories)

EDIT: The Burj Dubai had a delayed opening. It’s name has been changed to the Burj Khalifa, and it officially opened and became the world’s tallest building on January 4, 2010. It stands at 828 meters (2717 feet) tall. You can view a picture of the completed building below.

Credit: Wikipedia

Nikon D3x

    
Specifications
all the same as the D3 specifications, except:

Sensor
FX (24x36mm) CMOS, slightly less than 24.4 MP (not 24.5MP as claimed; do the math yourself).
I'm being generous with 24.4 MP. If you count megas the same way hard drive makers do (1k = 1,024), then the D3X really oly has 23.26MP.

Sensor Cleaner
None, just like the D3.

Formats and Resolution (exactly like D3, just more pixels):
What's new is that the pixel counts are exactly 3:2. Previous Nikons never hit 3:2 exactly, so when I'm editing and rescaling at the pixel level in Photoshop, I had to whip out a calculator more often with the older cameras.
FX (24 x 36mm): 6,048 x 4,032 (L), 4,544 x 3,024 (M) and 3,024 x 2,016 (S).
Pro 5:4 FX Crop (24 x 30mm): 5,056 x 4,032 (L), 3,792 x 3,024 (M), 2,528 x 2,016 (S).
Wimpy DX format (16 x 24mm): 3,968 x 2,640 (L), 2,976 x 1,976 (M), 1,984 x 1,320 (S).
Nikon is gouging on the MP rating. 6,048 x 4,032 pixels = 24,385,536 pixels, or less than 24.4MP, nowhere near the claimed 24.5MP.
Claiming 24.5MP, which is leaving 114,464 pixels missing, is an important psychological ploy. 24.4 sounds like 24, which it is. 24.5 sounds like 25MP, which feels like a lot more pixels than 24MP. I'm serious: where did Nikon get the 24.5MP number? They're lying.

ISO
ISO 100 ~ 1,600 in third, half and full stops.
Also ISO 50 ~ 3,200 in third, half and full stops in trick modes.
One noisy ISO 6,400 setting, in a trick mode.
Auto ISO, too.

Live View:
Yes, just like my point and shoot and the D3. Whoopee; I've never used it on my D3.

Finder
Huge, bright 100% view of the full, fat FX frame. 0.7x magnification with 50mm lens.

AF System
Same AF system as the D3.

Frame Rates
Specified:
5FPS in FX and 5:4 modes. Since Nikon only claims "approximately 5 FPS," that means "somewhat less than 5 FPS."
7 FPS in DX crop.
Measured:
5.02 FPS with still target, 4.74 FPS in AF-C tracking a slowly moving target in release-priority (not always in focus) mode.
 

Flash Sync
Only 1/250, same as D3. (The D40 is twice as good, at 1/500, for less than one-tenth the price, ha ha.)
 
Shutter Death
"Tested to exceed 300,000 cycles." No big deal, the warranty doesn't specify mileage, and even if you can kill a D3X shutter after the warranty dies, it's not that expensive to replace one as a service part.

Picture Controls
Same as D300 and D3, etc.

ADR (Automatic Dynamic Range)
Same as D700, which means it adds an excellent AUTO setting not in the D3. The settings are Auto, Extra High, High, Normal, Low and Off.

Storage
Dual CF slots, same as D3.

Lens Compatibility
Same as D3, which means any manual or autofocus lens made since 1977 works great. Of course you'll have to focus the manual lenses yourself, and you'll only have A and M modes, but you'll have full EXIF data and color matrix metering.
Older lenses made from 1959-1976 work just as well, so long as they've been updated to AI.
More at Nikon Lens Compatibility.
 
Lateral Chromatic Aberration Correction
Yes, same as D3. This does an excellent job of eliminating lateral color fringes from just about any lens you can put on the D3X, automatically. It's always on; you can't turn it off. This is superior to Canon, who haven't copied this yet, and on whose cameras you still can see lateral color fringes with many lenses.

Vignette Control
Can be turned on to lessen darkened corners due to lens problems.

LCD
Same excellent 3" 640x480 LCD as other Nikons like the D90 and D3.

Power
EN-EL4a battery, same as D3.

Size
Rated 6.3 x 6.2 x 3.4" (159.5 x 157 x 87.5 mm), exactly the same as the D3.

Weight
Rated 2 pounds, 11 ounces (1.22 kg or 2.7 pounds), completely stripped
This is 20g (0.7 oz.) less than the D3, which usually means that something that used to be made of metal is now plastic.

Environmental
Rated only for operation at between 0~40ºC (32~104ºF), which seems lame since all my Nikons work great in far colder temperatures.
If the D3X really doesn't work below freezing, I'd be surprised.
RH less than 85%.

Top 10 Reasons To Root Your Android Phone

People say there are always two classes of technology users; those who take and use technology the way it is brought to them, no questions or complaints, while others who want to indulge deep into the very essence of what’s being offered, and want to empower themselves with everything to take the maximum out of that technology. This rule of thumb holds true for mobile phones as well. The power user crowd has always been different from the average.

Back from the old Windows Mobile ROM cooking days, people have been questioning limitations of every device and finding workarounds. When iPhone was launched back in 2007, the power user (a.k.a hackers and geeks) side of the users quickly realized the true potential the device held, and the cruel software limitations that Apple had sealed it with. What became ‘Jailbreaking’ on iPhone was quickly translated to other platforms as well, and when the world saw the first Android back in 2008, the same concept got adapted there too.

Android, despite being open source, still did not give a user complete control over the device. This laid basis for many potential abilities remaining dormant, and subsequently Android devices began to get ‘rooted’. Now this begets the question, why root? With so many Android-based handsets out there now, this question has become even more important.
Rooting essentially means gaining root-level access to your device. Those who have used Linux OS will easily understand, but for users like me who have been loyal to Microsoft’s operating system all their lives, this means that by rooting your device you get complete control over what should remain in the device and what not. Rooting means you are the master and in control, not to mention the fun of it.
Hence, here’s a list of my top 10 reasons (in no particular order) that I consider worthy of rooting your device for.

Performance Update

There are just too many flavors of Android in the market, with every OEM or carrier adding their own personalization and customization to devices. While they may appeal to some, they do not let the device take full advantage of what the hardware is capable of. With root access, you can actually tweak the OS to behave entirely differently, and with infamous developers like Cyanogen working on custom ROMs and mods, people have actually reported performance boosts. Take the G1 for example. The device never got 2.1 officially, but thanks to Cyanogonmod G1 owners can not only the tastiness of Eclair but also report much better performance than the stock ROMs.

Hardware/Software Interaction

Most Android devices come with hardware that is fairly heavily capable, yet the OS limits them and becomes the bottleneck. By rooting, you actually remove the bottleneck and hence can take full advantage of your beloved Android. For example, overclocking a device’s CPU is fairly simple and rather safe thanks to many third-party apps, yet the OS does not allow it natively, and hence overclocking can only be done with a rooted phone. Or suppose you want to use your mobile’s LED as flashlight (HTC Desire, anyone?) but cannot because HTC won’t allow it? Rooting will allow you to bypass this limitation!

APPS2Sd

One of the most talked-about feature (or disadvantage) of any Android device is the limitation where you can install applications only in the phone’s internal memory

and not the SD card. While Google may reason that SD cards are slower in general and cannot run apps as effectively as internal memory, fact of the matter is that most Android devices do not come with massive internal storage spaces, and hence greatly limit the number of applications that can be installed at a time. With rooted devices, you can use Apps2SD, which will copy ALL your applications to a ext2/3/4 formatted SD card an will also store future builds in card. Freedom to choose!

Unavailable Features

When Google brought forth the Nexus One, one of the aesthetically pleasing features was Live Wallpapers. Unfortunately, most of the Android phones vary so greatly, that despite the hardware being compatible with Live Wallpapers, the software won’t allow them to run. My Samsung Galaxy Spica is a perfect example. The handset’s hardware can easily handle Live Wallpapers, yet Samsung chose to exclude it. Thanks to rooting, you can have them on your device as long as hardware allows.

EXTRA APPLICATIONS

Folks at XDA-Developers have created a wonderful application, SetCPU, which allows easy overclocking of various Android CPUs. However, due to the permissions required for such level of operation, a superuser access is necessary, and that can come only from a root access. This is just one example. The internet is flooded with many such applications that remain useless unless you have rooted your phone.

Multitouch

If you have ever typed on an iPhone, you would always remember the smooth, fast typing action that you achieve on that amazing keyboard. Or if you can recall that pinch-zoom actions. These are the products of a multitouch screen.
While most Androids can deal with multitouch, various manufacturers have decided to omit it in their devices. This is not always because the hardware is incapable, but because the software does not let it happen. This becomes even more irritating when you see that HTC Hero had multitouch input support back from the Android 1.6 days, but more modern more powerful 2.1 devices never got it (again, my Spica).
Thanks to rooting, it has become possible to get multitouch input in various devices, most notably the G1.

WIFI AND Bluetooth Tethering

After having rooted your device, you can also use WiFi or Bluetooth tether to share your cellular data connection with your laptop or PC. The application works with ad hoc connections and will get you up and running online on your laptop in no time. Similarly, tethering can also be achieved over a Bluetooth connection. You may check out the app in question here, but remember, rooted-phones only!

Better Keyboard

I have expressed before and I will say again; I do not dislike the Android keyboard. However, it just isn’t enough. HTC, with their SenseUI, brought to their devices the revered HTC IME keyboard which had predictive text input, and made typing a breeze. Since it was an HTC only keyboard, people with phones from other manufacturers were left blindfolded. Again, the root-developer community ported the keyboard for all platforms, making possible for all rooted phones to take advantage of the better input method.

APPS From other builds

Almost every build of Android OS differs from others when it comes to default apps. G1 hasn’t got the same stuff as myTouch 3G; Nexus One differs from HTC Desire. What’s more, these applications from one build cannot be ported to another. Hence you are stuck in more than one ways. However, with custom ROMs, the developers usually gather the best of the lot in one complete package, that would leave a user satisfied, not craving. And to get these custom ROMs running on your phone, you need root.

Because you can!

I am serious, I consider this a reason. You have a powerful, capable device that you have paid for. You should have the right to modify or change it in any way you like. The device is your property, and you would naturally want to see it working at its maximum potential. Hence the point of rooting.
With the latest Froyo announcement at Google’s 2010 I/O conference, most of these reasons may become useless. But Froyo will not be pushed for all devices, at least not immediately. While it will aim to reduce the fragmentation in Android division, until it happens, a rooted device is the only option you have.
Last, please do remember that rooting voids your warranty. Although you can always go back to a stock version of the OS, it is risky business, hence proceed with caution.

3D Ready HDTVs Available To Buy Now

The RollTop is a flexible notebook concept that can be folded like a roll of paper allowing the user ultimate convenience of carrying and storing it even in a congested place. It features a 17” flat-screen OLED display when fully rolled out with the multi-touch facility that will offer the ease and functionality of that of an iPhone. Also, when required, it can be folded into a 13” smart tablet pc. Aside from the touch-screen controlling, itfeatures full fledged keyboard like conventional notebooks with which convenient typing can be performed. When folded, this compact notebook takes the size of a water carrier and can easily be hanged over the shoulder with a hanging belt.

3D TV Requiring 3D Glasses - The downside:

Well although everyone would agree that current 3D technology requiring special 3d glasess to be worn is exciting, there are some downsides:

1.) 3D glasses used to view the 3D image are expensive, you wouldn't want to damage one.

2.) 3D glassess are usually manufacturer specific and will function on only one manufacturers range / series of TVs.

3) Lose your 3D glasess and you lose your ability to watch 3D content, the images will be displayed mixed and unwatchable.

4) Your 4 friends have come to your home to watch your favourite 3D film, but you only have 1 spare pair of glassees - What do you do?

3D TV Without The Need For Special 3D Glasses

Luckily manufacturers have recognised these disadvantages and are working on 3D TV displays that don't require glasses in order to watch the 3D content. These type of TVs are called Autostereoscopic 3D TVs.

How do Autostereoscopic 3D TVs work (without the need for glasses)?

To understand how Autostereoscopic TVs work, you should

first understand how we view objects in real life:

Your eyes act as 2 separate lenses which register two different angles of an object in front of you. Your brain then blends these two images together to produce a 3 dimensional image.

Autostereoscopic 3D television operates on a similar principle, however two different types of autostereoscopic technologies can be used:

Lenticular Lense Technology

Involves the use of lenticules, these are tiny cylindrical plastic lenses.

How It Works

The lenticules are pasted in an array on a transparent sheet, which is then stuck on the display surface of the LCD screen. When the viewer sees an image, it is magnified by the cylindrical lens. Lenticular lense technology is heavily dependant on where you are sitting. This technology requires the viewer to be in the perfect position in order to get the full 3D effect. Adjusting your postioning slightly could could stop your 3D viweing experience. Lenticular Lense Technology is less preferred by manufacturers.

Parallax Barrier Technology

This technology is very much a consumer-friendly technology with wide interests from manufacturers such as LG and Sharp. This technology quite importantly allows for regular 2D viewing.

How It Works

A fine grating of liquid crystals placed in front of the screen makes the parallax barrier. Slits exist in the screen corresponding to certain columns of pixels of the screen. These positions are carved so as to transmit alternating images to each eye of the viewer. The viewer is required to be seated in the perfect position. This very clever technology provides direct light through its slits from each image slightly differently to the left and right eye, whenever a voltage is applied to the parallax barrier. This creates an illusion of depth and presents a 3D image to the viewer.

The huge bonus with parallax technology as mentioned earlier is its ability to switch from 3D to 2D and back again. In fact manufacturers claim that this could be done with one button on a remote! How convenient would this be? Its easy to imagine watching 2D images one minute then swiftly switching to 3D mode the next when your friend arrives with the latest movie relase in 3D. Just make sure your friend also sits in one of the perfect viewing positions to watch the 3D content!

Is It Worth Buying A Standard 3D Television With Glasses Now?

You should know the answer to this one...with Autostereoscopic TV technology set to rapidly improve, why waste time purchasing extra 3D Glasses to view 3D content. If you wear standard glasses to read or watch tv anyway, then this option is definately for you.

3D Tv - No Glasses required...now thats perfect!

3D Ready HDTVs Available To Buy Now

As we all know, the big shift in the TV world is now 3D HDTV. Manufacturers are falling over themselves to release their new series of 3D Ready TV into 2010.

What If You Can't Wait?

It seems the latest cinema and games releases are being produced in 3D content, so if you cannot wait for the next wave of 3D TVs set to be released in the later half of 2010.

What are the 3D Ready TVs available now?

The below TVs are 3D ready and available to purchase now or in the very short term, however you'll need compatible 3D glasses to be able to watch the 3D content.

Broadband Internet Speeds

The results of the second annual global study on the quality of broadband connections done at end of 2009 reveal that 62 out of the 66 countries analyzed had improved the quality of consumer broadband services since last year. However, new data from the study highlights the extent of the digital quality divide between urban and rural areas and, for the first time, compares the quality of fixed and mobile broadband services.
The first groundbreaking Broadband Quality Study was published in September 2008 to highlight each country’s ability to benefit from next-generation web applications and services. The research team found that broadband quality is linked to a nation’s advancement as a knowledge economy and countries with broadband on their national agenda had the highest broadband quality. This year’s report covers an additional 24 countries and includes new analysis on broadband quality in more than 240 cities.
Highlights / Key Facts:

• Overall average broadband quality increased across the globe:
  • Global average download throughput increased by 49% to 4.75 Megabits per second (Mbps)
  • Global average upload throughput increased by 69% to 1.3 Mbps
  • Global average latency decreased by 21% to 170 milliseconds
• South Korea tops the 2009 Broadband Leadership table.

		Broadband Penetration (% of households)	Broadband Quality Score 2009	Broadband Leadership 2009
1	South Korea	97%	66	139
2	Japan	64%	64	115
3	Hong Kong	99%	33	111
4	Sweden	69%	57	110
5	Switzerland	90%	40	108
6	Netherlands	83%	46	108
7	Singapore	96%	32	107
8	Luxembourg	99%	27	107
9	Denmark	82%	45	106
10	Norway	84%	38	102

• South Korea rose just above last year’s broadband quality leader Japan with a 72% improvement in its Broadband Quality Score (BQS). This improvement has been driven by continuous efforts by the government to strengthen the country’s position as one of the world’s ICT leaders. Combined with higher broadband penetration, South Korea rises above Japan in the global Broadband Leadership rankings.
• Japan stands out as having the cities with the highest BQS in the world, with Yokohama and Nagoya leading the BQS rankings and Sapporo not far behind.
• Sweden has the highest quality broadband internet in Europe. It is rapidly catching up with Japan and South Korea as its BQS improves 38% from 2008. Sweden is the most successful country in closing the broadband quality gap with residents outside the most populated cities enjoying better quality than those in the cities.
• Lithuania, Bulgaria and Latvia come just behind Sweden in quality boosted by recent city-based fibre rollouts and cable improvements but low broadband penetration means these countries have yet to break into the broadband leaders’ category.
• 39 countries have a BQS above the threshold required to deliver a consistent quality of experience for the most common web applications today, such as social networking, streaming low-definition video, web communications and sharing small files such as photos and music.
• Nine countries, South Korea, Japan, Sweden, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Latvia, The Netherlands, Denmark and Romania, were found to have the broadband quality required for future web applications, such as high definition Internet TV viewing and high-quality video communications (such as home telepresence) that will become mainstream in the next 3 to 5 years. In 2008, only Japan exceeded this threshold.

• The research compares countries according to their stage of economic development :
  • Amongst the developed, innovation-driven economies, South Korea achieved the greatest improvement in broadband quality over the past year with a 73% increase in BQS. Sweden, the USA and the Czech Republic also saw significant above average improvements.
  • Amongst efficiency-driven economies, Bulgaria topped the most improved list with a 57% increase in BQS from 2009. Lithuania, Romania and Latvia also achieved above average improvements.
  • Amongst factor-driven economies, Kenya actually trebled its BQS but the overall score for Kenya remains well below the threshold required for today’s applications. Vietnam and Qatar followed Kenya as having made the most progress in broadband quality for countries in this stage of economic development.

• The cities with the highest BQS of all the countries in the study were:

Top 10 Cities	BQS	Next 10 Cities	BQS
Yokohama, Japan	85	Rotterdam, The Netherlands	55
Nagoya, Japan	82	Riga, Latvia	54
Kaunas, Lithuania	79	Copenhagen, Denmark	53
Sapporo, Japan	72	Bucharest, Romania	52
Seoul, South Korea	68	Stockholm, Sweden	51
Malmo, Sweden	67	Vilnius, Lithuania	50
Osaka, Japan	65	Zurich, Switzerland	49
Wuhan, China	60	Tokyo, Japan	49
Uppsala, Sweden	57	Goteborg, Sweden	49
Sofia, Bulgaria	56	Kosice, Slovakia	48

• The research team compared the difference between the BQS in the most populated cities with the BQS in the rest of the country. Although a digital quality divide was found in the majority of countries, 13 countries showed significant differences in BQS between its major cities and the rest of the country. Lithuania, Russia and Latvia had the biggest digital quality divide, while rural residents in Sweden, United Arab Emirates and Iceland enjoyed similar, if not slightly higher quality broadband services than their city counterparts.
• The country with the highest broadband quality outside of its major cities was Japan, followed by Korea and Sweden.
• The study also included data on the quality of mobile broadband services for the first time. On average, mobile devices connecting to WiFi services meet the broadband quality threshold required for today’s mobile Internet applications. The average BQS of 3G and 3G+ technologies do not currently meet the threshold due to low upload throughput.

A 75 year old woman from Karlstad in central Sweden has been thrust into the IT history books - with the world's fastest internet connection.

Sigbritt Löthberg's home has been supplied with a blistering 40 Gigabits per second connection, many thousands of times faster than the average residential link and the first time ever that a home user has experienced such a high speed.

But Sigbritt, who had never had a computer until now, is no ordinary 75 year old. She is the mother of Swedish internet legend Peter Löthberg who, along with Karlstad Stadsnät, the local council's network arm, has arranged the connection.

People in India still struggling to get 256k connection.

Internet connections are fastest in South Korea

People in the United States basically invented the Internet. So U.S. connections must be the fastest and cheapest in the world, right?
Not so much.
Broadband Internet speeds in the United States are only about one-fourth as fast as those in South Korea, the world leader, according to the Internet monitoring firm Akamai.
And, as if to add insult to injury, U.S. Internet connections are more expensive than those in South Korea, too.
The slower connection here in the U.S. costs about $45.50 per month on average, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In South Korea, the much-faster hookup costs $17 per month less. An average broadband bill there runs about $28.50.
So why is U.S. Internet so much slower and pricier than broadband connections in South Korea? The question is timely, as the U.S. government pushes forward with a "broadband plan" that aims to speed up connections, reduce costs and increase access to the Internet, especially in rural areas.
Map: U.S. Internet is slower than Slovakia's?
The comparison between South Korea and the United States is not perfectly instructive, especially since "we probably won't ever be South Korea," said Robert Faris, research director at Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet & Society.
"The whole political and social climate is so different, the geography is different, the history is so different," he said. "It's all pretty different."
With those caveats in mind, here are the five potential reasons U.S. Internet speeds are slower and more expensive than those in South Korea. This list was gleaned from interviews with broadband experts and from policy papers:
Korean competition
Countries with fast, cheap Internet connections tend to have more competition.
In the U.S., competition among companies that provide broadband connections is relatively slim. Most people choose between a cable company and a telephone company when they sign up for Internet service.
In other countries, including South Korea, the choices are more varied.
While there isn't good data on how many broadband carriers the average consumer has access to, "I think we can infer that South Korea has more [competition in broadband] than the United States," Faris said. "In fact, most countries have more than the United States."
Some academics, including Yochai Benkler, co-director of the Berkman Center, have criticized the U.S. government's broadband plan as not doing enough to create the kind of competition that is present in other countries.
In a New York Times editorial, Benkler says competition will reduce costs for broadband consumers.
"Without a major policy shift to increase competition, broadband service in the United States will continue to lag far behind the rest of the developed world," he writes.
Culture and politics
There are stark cultural differences between hyper-connected Korea, where more than 94 percent of people have high-speed connections, according to the OECD, and the United States, where only about 65 percent of people are plugged into broadband, according to an FCC survey.
The South Korean government has encouraged its citizens to get computers and to hook up to high-speed Internet connections by subsidizing the price of connections for low-income and traditionally unconnected people.
One program, for example, hooked up housewives with broadband and taught them how to make use of the Web in their everyday lives.
Parents in Korea, who tend to place high value on education, see such connections as necessities for their children's educations, said Rob Atkinson, president of the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation.
These cultural differences mean Korea has a more insatiable demand for fast Internet connections, he said. That demand, in turn, encourages telecommunications companies to provide those connections.
Faris, of the Berkman Center, said no one society has a stronger appetite for Internet connectivity than another. Korea's government simply has whetted that appetite, and provided the incentives to make high-speed connections accessible to a large segment of society.
Political culture has more to do with it, he said.
"The United States is a more litigious culture than others, and the power of the FCC [Federal Communications Commission] to regulate is not as strong here as it is in other countries," which means its less likely that the U.S. will pass policies to promote the growth of ultra-fast broadband.
Open versus closed networks
There is vigorous debate in the telecommunications world about the role "open networks" have in creating fast, cheap Internet connections.
The idea behind an "open" system is essentially that, for a fee, broadband providers must share the cables that carry Internet signals into people's homes.
Companies that build those lines typically oppose this sharing. A number of governments, including South Korea and Japan and several European countries, have experimented with or embraced infrastructure-sharing as a way to get new companies to compete in the broadband market.
The U.S. does not require broadband providers to share their lines, and some experts cite Korea's relative openness as one reason the Internet there is so much faster and cheaper than it is here.
The most important thing is that countries create a way for companies to enter the broadband market without having to pay for huge amounts of infrastructure, said Faris.
Population density
South Korea, with more than 1,200 people per square mile, is a lot denser than the United States, where 88 people live in the same amount of space, and where rural areas and suburbs are large.
The result for broadband? It costs less to set up Internet infrastructure in a tightly populated place filled with high-rise-apartments, such as South Korea, than it does in the United States, where rural homes can be great distances apart.
In both countries, copper wires tend to carry broadband signals from fiber optic cables and into the home. Data can travel fast on copper wire, but it slows down the farther it goes.
In South Korea, that's usually just from the base of an apartment building to a particular unit. In the U.S., copper wire may have to link a home with a fiber optic cable that's a mile away.
Korea had a plan ... a decade ago
In the 1990s, South Korea set a priority that it would be a highly connected country with a high degree of Internet literacy.
"They made this a priority 10 years ago and they've really executed on it," said Atkinson, from ITIF, the Internet policy think tank.
The country is still four to five years ahead of the U.S. when it comes to broadband policy, even as the United States tries to catch up, said Taylor Reynolds, an economist at OECD.
"Korea has long been a leader in broadband and in very fast broadband," he said. "And, in fact, the technology that Korea has used for probably the past four to five years is VDSL, and that's a technology that's now being put in by AT&T" in the United States.
Meanwhile, Korea is abandoning that technology in favor of the next big thing, Reynolds said. That likely involves bringing super-fast fiber optic cables straight into homes. And, according to a recent report by the Berkman Center, that could make South Korean Internet 10 times faster than it is now.
Faris said Korea's clear-cut plan helped lead to its faster broadband speeds.
"A big difference is that Korea made a decisive move to expand Internet in the country," he said. "They said we want to be very good at connecting to the Internet. A lot of government money was thrown at it ...

"The U.S. has taken a fairly hands-off approach to the sector. They've left it to the private sector. There's been some money put into it, but not that much, on a per capita basis. We just haven't taken it that seriously."

Nanotechnology implementaion in future

The future of nanotechnology is completely uncharted territory. It is almost impossible to predict everything that nanoscience will bring to the world considering that this is such a young science.
There is the possibility that the future of nanotechnology is very bright, that this will be the one science of the future that no other science can live without. There is also a chance that this is the science that will make the world highly uncomfortable with the potential power to transform the world.
Even positive changes can make world leaders and citizens alike very nervous. One of the top concerns regarding the future of nanoscience includes molecular manufacturing, which would be the ability to bring materials to life from the simple molecular reconstruction of everyday objects.
This technology could end world hunger. At the same time, this process could lead to experimental molecular manufacturing with live beings.
The future of nanotechnology could improve the outlook for medical patients with serious illnesses or injuries. Physicians could theoretically study nano surgery and be able to attack illness and injury at the molecular level. This, of course, could eradicate cancer as the surgical procedures would be done on the cellular base.
Cancer cells would be identified, removed, and the surgical implantation of healthy cells would soon follow. Moreover, there would be an entire nano surgical field to help cure everything from natural aging to diabetes to bone spurs. There would be almost nothing that couldn’t be repaired (eventually) with the introduction of nano surgery.
While this sounds like a promising future, the natural process of life and death would be completely interrupted. Without death, the world would become overpopulated and leave no place for the ecosystems that we rely on for our survival. We could potentially end up in a world that requires the personally controlled delivery of oxygen through tanks and masks.

The future of nanotechnology could very well include the use of nanorobotics. These nanorobots have the potential to take on human tasks as well as tasks that humans could never complete. The rebuilding of the depleted ozone layer could potentially be able to be performed.
Nanorobots could single out molecules of water contaminants. We could put these tony robots to use keeping the environment cleaner than ever since they could break it down to each atom of water pollution. These nanorobots could also take over human jobs, especially those in high tech positions. If we wipe out too many human high paying, high tech positions then we threatened the world economy.
The future of nanotechnology rests in the hands of the current scientists that are ready and able to help guide this very young science into the next realm. There are those who fear the future of nanoscience and there are those who are ready to embrace it. Walking a careful line in cohesive junction with human interests is going to be a tricky but worthwhile accomplishment.
There is a possibility that the future of nanotechnology could also be the end of the science. There is a great burden on the scientists of nanotechnology. These men and women have to be able to keep the progress in play while keeping the interest in nanotechnology alive despite the potential limitations.
Nanotechnology is already quietly expected within the scientific community to be the answer to the world’s problems. Just like the previous answer to the world’s problems the human element cannot be factored in until the future becomes the present.
Much of the funding for nano—research may very well require something amazing in order to continue. The funding that keeps nanotechnology alive is invested in the potential future progress that this technology promises.
If it fails to deliver at least some of the potential, funding and interest might vanish right before the eyes of the scientists who spend their lives trying to increase life’s wonders through the manipulation of atoms and molecules.

Superconductor

Superconductivity: the phenomenon exhibited by certain substances of conducting electrical current without resistance when cooled to low temperatures. (Webster 1343) Heike Kamerlingh Onnes first discovered this property in 1911 when an amount of mercury (Hg), supercooled with liquid helium (He) to 20 Kelvin (K), demonstrated no measurable resistance to electrical current.  However, at that time, practical implementations did not seem plausible because of the extraordinary amounts of energy necessary to obtain the coolant, liquid helium, and the extreme low temperatures needed to achieve a superconductive state.  Up until 1986, scientists believed that the critical temperature (T_c) for superconductors was 20 K and below.  However, that year, IBM scientists in Zurich discovered compounds that were superconducting at temperatures up to 35 K (Ashley 59).  Only one year later, at the University of Houston, Dr. Paul Chu discovered a compound that would display superconducting properties at 94 K.  This was a major discovery because liquid helium would no longer be needed to cool the superconducting substances.  Nitrogen (N), which exists in liquid state up to 77 K, could now be used in place of He. This change from N to He was a major benefit because its liquid temperature is achieved with much less energy and N is much more available than He.
    This new generation of superconductors, aptly dubbed 'High Temperature Superconductors' (HTS), provided new hope for industrial and commercial uses. Most HTS's are ceramic in nature when compared to earlier 'Low Temperature Superconductors' (LTS) which were metallic. The companies at the forefront of this emerging technology include   Pirelli Cable Corporation ,  Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI),   Southwire Company, and  American Superconductor.  Also aiding in the continuing research of superconductors is the  National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) , the  Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and the  Department of Energy (DOE)  which funds most of the research.
    These organizations are currently researching two specific cable designs; each with its own benefits and drawbacks.  One type has the actual HTS material enclosed in a cryogenic environment, which, in turn is surrounded by a conventional room-temperature dielectric.  A more popular design is one in which there are two concentric HTS conductors used.  The first type is suitable for pipe 'retrofitting'.  While less HTS tapes are used in the room-temperature dielectric model, there is a relatively high percentage of electric and thermal loss.  Therefore, while the initial costs are low, the overall lifetime operating costs are high compared to the other model.  This model, unlike the room-temperature one, uses many expensive HTS tapes, making the initial cost higher.  Once in operation, the initial costs can be justified by the fact that they are much more efficient.  The cryogenic cables can carry a higher current, have smaller dimensions, and lower power losses than their room-temperature counterparts (Rahman 32).
 
    While these two designs are different, their main component, the HTS tape, is the same.  The HTS tapes are the actual superconducting substance with a covering called a sheathing attached. There are four main materials that can be used to produce HTS: yttrium-barium -copper-oxide (YBCO), bismuth-strontium-calcium-copper-oxide (BSCCO), thallium-barium -calcium-copper-oxide (TBCCO), or mercury-barium-calcium-copper-oxide (HBCCO).  YBCO standard wire thickness can support 1,200,000 A/cm₂ at 75 K and 0 Tesla (T).  YBCO's structure is very resistant to current loss from microscopic malformations, compared to its counterparts. BSCCO wire yields either 44,000 or 74,000 A/cm₂ at 77 K and 0 T depending on manufacturing process.  However BSCCO is anisotropic which means that its manufacture is much more complicated due to the fact that the particles must be properly aligned in order for optimal current flow.  TBCCO wire current density is 68,000 A/cm₂ at 77 K and 0 T.  This compound along with HBCCO have not been fully researched due to their toxic nature.  Most implementations of HTS today use YBCO or BSCCO conductors (Balachandran 147).
 
Benefits 
    The science of HTS is one of great importance because electricity accounts for 36% of the total energy used in the United States.  By the year 2020 consumer demand for electricity will increase by 50%.  It is paramount to find a more efficient means of energy transport to reduce unnecessary energy loss.  This is why HTS cables may very well be the answer to the future energy problems.  Compared to conventional copper wire structures, HTS cables retain twice as much energy from resistance losses.  Overall, the current capacity is 3 to 6 times more than that of conventional methods (Ashley 62).  If HTS cables were to be used in place of conventional wiring, the space needed to transport the same amount of power would be magnitudes smaller, and if the pre-existing conduits were altered to run HTS cables, the increased energy supplied by these 'pipes' would benefit all involved.    
 
    HTS cables also provide increased stability over conventional counterparts.  The cables are less prone to electrical spikes and surges, because of their underground placement, thus protecting all components attached to the affected electrical grid.  In addition, HTS wiring structures are quite compatible with future add-on HTS structures allowing for the implementation of the industry concept of  'deferred expansion'. 
    The combined benefits of HTS wiring will also ease stress placed upon the environment caused by power production facilities.  If there is less loss of energy in the transport, then less energy would have to be produced, and hence there is less emission.  Current transformers use an environmentally unfriendly, oil coolant to increase performance, however, by using HTS wiring the nitrogen cooling process can be interfaced and integrated with the transformers, creating a less hazardous leak potential.  The underground wiring will also require less above ground space, thus saving trees and nearby obstructions.
 
Problems 
    Certain implementations of HTS wiring are appearing in devices such as motors, generators, fault-current limiters, and cellular phone base stations, all of which are aimed at increasing efficiency of the specific device.  HTS use as a means of long distance energy transport  presents some problems which are unique to this type of technology.  The grains of the HTS powder must be aligned properly in order for the electric current to flow.  An ill-begotten microstructure directly weakens the macrostructure properties and greatly reduces the superconductive property.  Another problem is that the BSCCO is stable only in a very narrow temperature range and is therefore precise control is needed in the creation of the substance (Balachandran 147).  A major flaw of YBCO is that it forms weak microstructural links and those imperfections act as barriers to the flow of the current.
        Not only are there problems intrinsically present in the materials, but difficulties arise in the manufacturing process.  It is hard to manufacture the HTS tapes with a high enough critical density yet be in the temperature range that would produce the superconductive property in the material.  The higher the density, the higher the temperature used in the manufacturing; and if the temperature is too low, the density will not be high enough (Larbalestier 736).  Another problem is that the manufacturing process is very expensive.  The materials of the tape are not readily available and must be chemically produced in a very controlled environment to ensure the purity of the substance and in order to ensure that the superconductive properties will be present.  Also, the mechanical properties of the HTS tapes themselves are not conducive to industrial manufacturing at the present time.  When they are wound or processed, they bend and twist which cause macroscopic flaws that lessen their superconductive properties.  A technique has not yet been perfected to produce tapes that are without flaws.
 
    Finally, a problem arises in the covering of the tape, or the 'sheath'.  Silver (Ag) is used for this process because it is compatible with the ceramic of the superconductor (it does not react with it), it is highly ductile and can be shaped around the superconducting material, it is permeable to O₂, it conducts electricity, and although unproven, it is hypothesized that it aids in the alignment of the grains (Balachandran 148).  Silver is expensive and not very strong.  Therefore, great quantities of it are necessary to protect the ceramic core.  Because of the amount of silver needed, there is not as much room for the superconductive ceramic powder and less power can be transferred.    While it would be beneficial to find a different substance to use to coat the core, it is difficult to find another material that is cheaper and stronger and still fulfill all of the other requirements (i.e. conduct electricity, is highly ductile, and permeable to O₂, etc.).
    After the manufacturing of the HTS, applications are hampered due to a series of problems.  In order to change the power system of a city to HTS cables, they would have to not only clean the oil out of the existing pipes in order to retrofit them, but they would have to re-route the power from other parts of the city in order to keep the daily routine going.  Also, the joining of one HTS cable to another is a dilemma.  They do not solder well because of the HTS properties involved and the insulation at the joint is not very tight and that can cause leaks in the insulation which leads to energy dissipation.  To ensure that it does not occur, more insulation is needed. With all of the added difficulties that arise, the initial price of the installation of the HTS cables increases.  Thus, they become unattractive because of the cost.
 
    Once the cables are in place, situations still arise that are unique to this kind of operation.  The temperature at which the cables operate range from 60-80 K which is expensive and difficult to maintain without heat transfer.  Also, if breaks occur in the cable, there would be a loss of coolant and energy would be lost.  The insulation deteriorates due to thermal/chemical aging and/or water seepage (Rahman 32).  Most interesting though, when a magnetic field is present, it causes the flux lines in the HTS to move and hamper the current flow.  The flux lines are really electromagnetic forces that can hamper the flow of the electricity.  Therefore, if the flux lines are hampered, the electricity flow is affected (Balachandran 148).
 
Solutions 
    While the problems seem daunting, there are solutions that are being worked on.  By the year 2010, it is projected that the superconductivity worldwide market will be $45 million (Balachandran 145).  Therefore, it is safe to say that scientists see the problems not as roadblocks, but merely as obstacles that can be overcome.  Some of the techniques that they have suggested include what Argonne National Laboratory is researching.  They are using process which uses Argon to synthesize a phase of BSCCO which would allow precise control of the powder make-up which would then directly affect the current carrying capability.  ORNL is using an aerosol spray manufacturing technique to produce superconductive powder with properties such as narrow distribution of particle size which causes the electricity to flow better,  and overall homogeneity of the particles which would in turn increase current flow.
   Also, the sheathing problem, which seemed daunting is being tackled.  One technique is dispersion strengthening which leads to stronger sheathing and more of the space can be used for the actual HTS material which means that more current can pass through the wires.  Also, the thinner sheaths mean that less silver needs to be used which in turn helps to keep the costs down.  Another way that the sheathing problem is being approached is through the use of silver alloys.  They have the same benefits as the above sheaths, but do directly lower the manufacturing costs.  A great deal of silver is still needed but these sheaths will be stronger and thus efficient.  Because of that, the overall costs will be lower. 
     Superconducting cables used in place of conventional wiring is an exciting prospect.  While there are still many problems that scientists have to deal with such as the cost, the idea is still exciting.  Superconducting cables would be more efficient, better for the environment and more powerful.  The challenges that the scientists need to overcome are not as distant as they once were.  One day, instead of copper wiring, HTS cables will be used and people will be wondering how they ever got along with out them.

The Facts About Electronic Cigarettes

Maybe you smoke and you like it. Maybe you want to keep on smoking but can't take smoking outdoors in the freezing cold or the broiling sun. Maybe your family or office has made you into a second class citizen who has to "take it outside" and can't smoke in your own home. Well, that's all changed because of electronic cigarettes.
The electronic cigarette is the new way to smoke without tar, smoke, fire, or smell. You get all the flavor and satisfaction with electronic cigarettes but without the part that makes smoking so offensive to others and tough on the lungs. It's because electronic cigarettes (or electric or e-cigarette) are very similar to the function and taste of a traditional tobacco cigarette. The electronic cigarette works in the same fashion as it's tobacco based cousin except that it uses vapor with nicotine. There is no fire, no smell and no tar.
Electronic cigarettes create water vapor from a liquid with nicotine. You can choose from 0 Mg of nicotine to 16 Mg in most brands. Sixteen Mg is about equal to the strongest unfiltered cigarettes. When the user inhales the nicotine vapor, it gives them the same taste and feel of a regular cigarette but doesn't contain all of the thousands of deadly chemicals that regular cigarettes do. There is no tar, and no carbon monoxide because there is nothing burnt as you smoke.
One of the best features of electronic cigarettes is the fact that you can also use electric cigarettes almost anywhere. Since the smoking regulations only regulate the use of smoking products that contain tobacco, you are able to get your nicotine fix almost anywhere. Non smokers should not mind as there is no smell and no second hand smoke. You may never go outside in the cold to smoke again.
Best of all, you save money. Most electronic cigarettes cost about half of what regular cigarettes cost to smoke. Most smokers will save over $1,000.00 per year.
Worried about trying them? Most top brands come with a money back guarantee so you can try them and see if they are right for you.
So, don't stop smoking of you don't want to, just stop smoking like they did 300 years ago and let technology give you all the pleasure of smoking with none of the draw backs. They even come in fashion colors and lots of flavors like coffee, menthol, apple and more. Try getting that from a traditional cigarette.
If you are a smoker or know a smoker, these make great gift. The starter packs with everything you need cost about $60 top $150 depending on brand.

The History Of Facebook

Facebook is a popular social network  that has grown to rank with MySpace has. But what is it about Facebook that has special appeal and makes it even more popular than MySpace? What makes Facebook Facebook? And what made it a mega hit?
It all got started back in 2003, as Facemash. Mark Zuckerberg created it, along with help of his friends and roommates Chris Hughes and Dustin Moskovitz. Zuckerberg was in his sophomore year at Harvard when opened it up, as a way to get his mind off his crush.
Facemash placed photos of undergraduate two side by side, and asking the viewers which one is “hotter”. The site was originally only for Harvard, but quickly grew to other colleges, then high schools and finally for anyone over age 13.
After it was initially started, it was forwarded to Harvard’s school admins and it was quickly shut down. Zuckerberg was charged and faced expulsion for breaching privacy.
Later on, Harvard dropped their charges against Zuckerberg. After the charges were dropped, the following semester he recreated Facemash, and opened The Facebook in February 2004.
In 2005, he dropped “the” from the name and URL. Also in September 2005, he launched the High School version of Facebook. When he first started the high school version, each high school had to be invited before being allowed to join the network. Shortly after launching the high school version he started allow companies to have their own networks on Facebook as well.

Now a group of  operators, a year after they launched their high school version, they opened it up to the public for everybody over the age of 13.
Syria and Iran have blocked Facebook from being accessed in their countries. Some companies have forbidden it from their offices. It has also been said that Zuckerberg had stolen the code and intellectual property from former classmates of his.
They have been sued more than once and have been the subject of criticism.
In Aug 2007, the code that normally creates the pages for Facebook showed instead of the content, leaving many to wonder if their data on Facebook is even safe. 
In February 2009, Facebook changed their privacy policy, causing an up roar along the way. They made it so that their users once upload data onto their servers, that they own all the rights. Even after the user deletes their account. Many users got upset by this, and entered a debate that was all over the internet.
EPIC filed a claim against Facebook with the FTC, while Zuckerberg tried to defend Facebook’s policy change. To do damage control they switched back to their old policies, though they are in the middle of rewriting them again. They will allow users to vote on the new terms, before they are adopted officially.
It has been rumored that a film about Facebook being made, though the Facebook spokesperson has said that they have not agreed to cooperate with anyone about making a film.
A 1.6% stake in Facebook had been sold to Microsoft Corp.  for $240 million in October 24th 2007.
Facebook’s history is a mixture of trouble and success from very early on. They have seen more than their share of legal issues and likely will as long as they exist. Currently it is the number one social network with MySpace and Twitter both behind it.
They have over 175 million active users worldwide currently and is growing every day. Though they may have had their share of issues, they still maintain a well kept site that hasn’t gotten lost through the Web 2.0 shuffle.