Summer in north, winter in south, as ever in equator

The angle between the Earth's axis and the Earth-Sun line changes throughout the year. The seasons are mostly due to this changes by the axial tilt of the Earth. And mainly affect northern and southern hemispheres, not equator.

Twice a year, at the summer and winter solstice, Earth's axis of rotation makes an angle of about 23. 5 degrees with the direction perpendicular to the ecliptic (the north pole is inclined towards the Sun in June; the south pole is inclined towards the Sun in December). Twice a year, at the spring and fall equinox the two directions are perpendicular.

The oceans, which heat up and cool down slowly, explains why when we receive the most sunshine in solstice (June in North, December in South), this is regarded as the beginning of summer and not its peak. They are still cool from the winter time, and that delays the peak heat by about a month and a half. And similarly, the day of least sunshine in solstice (June in South, December in North), are know as the beginning of winter and not mid-winter day, because the oceans are still heat from the summer time, and that delays the peak cool by about a month and a half

On the web in 60 seconds

We all know the Internet is big and billions of pages are added to it every day.

But have you ever wondered what happens in just 60 seconds? Check out this research infographic by Go-Globe for some interesting facts.

ICANN says .whatever

It's the biggest change to the system of Internet addresses since it was created in 1984.

ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), the governing association and allocation of Internet domain names, approved on Monday the creation of new domain names, their number is now unlimited.

ICANN decision will allow top level domains that will end in, virtually, every word. Thus, web addresses will be able to move from general names: ".com", ".net" or ".org" to dedicated, such as: ".apple", ".audi" or ".samsung".

"ICANN opened the internet domain system to unleash the human imagination worldwide," said Rod Beckstrom, chairman and CEO of ICANN.


Applications for the new domain names will be accepted from January 2012 to April 2012 and the estimated cost for one domain will be 185,000 dollars. Expect hundreds of applications for domains such as: ".car", ".love", ".movie", ".web" and ".gay"

The measure is seen as a great opportunity for brands to get more control over their online presence.

Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere

The summer solstice typically occurs on June 21 in the northern hemisphere and December 22 in the southern hemisphere. Though in some years it also happens a day earlier, on June 20 and December 21.

It happens twice in a year, during summer and winter. On a solstice the sun is at its greatest distance from the celestial equator. 

The solstice is a Pagan celebration day and believers gather at spiritually significant sites, such as Stonehenge.

Traditionally, this period of the year fell between the planting and harvesting of crops, leaving a space for pleasure and relaxation in the lives of those living off the land, so June became the traditional month for weddings.

 

A floral doodle called the First Day of Summer by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami marks the summer solstice on the Google home page.

While the Google doodle marks the summer solstice with a First Day of the Summer doodle, the summer solstice from an astronomical view marks the middle of the summer season and the summer solstice is also referred to as 'midsummer.'

Intel Corporation

Intel Corporation is an American global technology company and the world's largest semiconductor chip maker, based on revenue. It is the inventor of the x86 series of microprocessors, the processors found in most personal computers. Intel was founded on July 18, 1968, as Integrated Electronics Corporation (though a common misconception is that "Intel" is from the word intelligence) and is based in Santa Clara, California, USA. Intel also makes motherboard chipsets, network interface controllers and integrated circuits, flash memory, graphic chips, embedded processors and other devices related to communications and computing. Founded by semiconductor pioneers Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore and widely associated with the executive leadership and vision of Andrew Grove, Intel combines advanced chip design capability with a leading-edge manufacturing capability. Though Intel was originally known primarily to engineers and technologists, its "Intel Inside" advertising campaign of the 1990s made it and its Pentium processor household names.

Intel was an early developer of SRAM and DRAM memory chips, and this represented the majority of its business until 1981. While Intel created the first commercial microprocessor chip in 1971, it was not until the success of the personal computer (PC) that this became its primary business. During the 1990s, Intel invested heavily in new microprocessor designs fostering the rapid growth of the computer industry. During this period Intel became the dominant supplier of microprocessors for PCs, and was known for aggressive and sometimes illegal tactics in defense of its market position, particularly against AMD, as well as a struggle with Microsoft for control over the direction of the PC industry. The 2010 rankings of the world's 100 most powerful brands published by Millward Brown Optimor showed the company's brand value at number 48.

Intel has also begun research in electrical transmission and generation. Intel has recently introduced a 3-D transistor that may improve performance and energy efficiency.