Installing and Running Windows 8 Using Parallels Desktop on a Mac

Get a copy of Parallels. It costs $79.99. You’ll also need a copy of Windows 8, either on DVD or other media or as an .iso file. Before you install Windows 8, you must install Parallels Desktop, which is the same simple process as installing any Mac program. Now you’re ready to install Windows 8. But since you’re installing Windows 8 as a virtual machine, you have to install it from within Parallels Desktop. Run Parallels and select File→New. A screen like the one shown in Figure 1.1 appears.


Getting started to create a virtual machine for Windows 8 on a Mac using Parallels

On this screen, you have the choice of migrating Windows from an existing PC (which makes sense if you already have a Windows 8 PC) or installing Windows from either a DVD or an .iso file. Down toward the bottom of the screen, there’s also an option for downloading Windows 8 for free. Keep in mind that this will be a trial version of Windows 8, not a fully paid one, so you can only use it for 90 days. It will likely be the Enterprise edition of Windows 8. You’ll download it as an .iso file. 

When you migrate, you’ll choose the method you want to use for the migration: over a network, from an external storage device, or using a USB cable you can buy from Parallels in the company’s “Switch to Mac” kit. From there, follow the wizard’s instructions. 

If you’re instead installing a fresh copy of Windows 8, select the “Install Windows or another OS from DVD or image file,” and click that option. On the next screen (Figure 1.2 ), choose whether you’re going to install from a DVD or .iso file (Parallels calls it an image file). If you’re installing from an .iso file, browse to the location of the file and choose it. Then click Continue.

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Photos show Reeva Steenkamp's transformation

Newly-revealed photographs of Reeva Steenkamp show the South African beauty as a young aspiring model, and as a star cover girl, just months before her tragic death.

One group of images, taken by Reeva's friend Kerry Smith some eight years ago, show the then 21-year-old law student and modeling wannabe posing on the beach at Port Elizabeth, South Africa, where she grew up -- and where her grieving parents recently scattered her ashes.

Her dark hair, freckles and innocent good looks are a world away from the shots of a bikini-clad Reeva featured in glossy magazines which millions around the world are now familiar with.

"That's Reeva in her natural beauty," Smith said. "Not a stitch of makeup on. Hair blowing in the wind with the sea behind her, sun setting behind her."

That's a view of the model shared by another photographer, Gareth Barclay, who took a series of pictures of Reeva in the months before her death.

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Green machine: Intelligent robot claw recycles waste

 

 (CNN) -- A recycling robot could help address the escalating global waste problem, according to Finnish technology company ZenRobotics.

The ZenRobotics Recycler (ZRR) is an intelligent robot which separates construction materials on a conveyer belt, plucking out recyclable materials and depositing them in bins for collection. The robot is designed to replace manual sorting, which can be dangerous and frequently prohibitively expensive.

Worldwide, the construction and demolition sector is thought to contribute over one third of all waste. The U.S. alone contributes a staggering 325 million tons of waste every year, and the UK produces another 120 million tons.

While household and municipal waste has fallen in recent years across the developed world, Waste Watch -- a not-for-profit sustainability organization based in the UK -- suggests that over 80% of all human waste that potentially could be recycled currently goes into landfill.

ZenRobotics founder Jufo Peltomaa notes that the problem is equally severe across the EU: "In the EU alone there's 900 million tons of construction and demolition waste. If you were to convert that to the average sized car, the queue would go 45 times around the globe."

Peltomaa and his team at ZenRobotics constructed the ZRR to help deal with this problem. "It's a really difficult job for robots and machine learning systems to do," says Peltomaa. "There are currently no such systems in the world, so our system is the first."

The ZRR identifies different types of waste using a process called "sensor fusion." By analysing the data, the sensors sort through objects on a conveyor belt and distribute them into surrounding chutes. The sensor fusion system uses a range of technologies including weight measurement, 3-D scanning, tactile assessment and spectrometer analysis, which measures how much light reflects from various different materials.

ZenRobotics believes its creation will help ease the burden of the repetitive and dangerous job of waste filtration, which is currently done manually.

"Currently, construction and demolition waste is handled by manual pickers," says Peltomaa. "That's a pretty good solution, but it's hazardous for your health. There are poisonous materials, sharp and heavy materials, plus asbestos etc."

In the EU alone there's 900 million tons of construction and demolition waste
Jufo Peltomaa, ZenRobotics Founder

Peltomaa says that the idea for a recycling robot came to him when he had stayed up late watching a documentary on the Discovery Channel, in which a B52 bomber was crushed and recycled. The waste was placed onto a conveyor belt attended to by "bored-looking" employees picking through the rubble.

Peltomaa says he immediately noticed two things: "First of all it's really dangerous to be there because the process is really hazardous (and) second that the technology (we) had was a perfect fit. So we decided to do robotic sorting."

The ZRR's sensor fusion system works through a complex analysis procedure conducted once items are put onto the conveyor belt. The robot's sensors gather data, which is sent across to the bespoke artificial intelligence system, christened by the team as the "ZenRobotics Brain."

The brain assesses each object's material (wood, metal, stone, etc.) and decides what to do with it. Commands are then issued to the robotic arm, which picks up the objects and deposits them in the

appropriate bin, ready for collection.

Renowned industrial designer Stefan Lindfors says he believes the robot could contribute to global efforts to improve recycling, but adds that the real problem is something significantly more fundamental: "there should be less waste for us to have to sort to begin with."

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Beyoncé performs at Twickenham Stadium in Surrey, England, on Saturday, June 1

Beyoncé performs live during the Sound for Change concert at Twickenham Stadium in Surrey, England, on Saturday, June 1. The concert was sponsored by Chime for Change, an organization founded by Gucci, "working to promote education, health and justice for every girl, every woman, everywhere." Beyoncé was the main attraction at the concert and is a member of the organization's founding committee.

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'India’s phone, Internet monitoring system is chilling'

New Delhi: The Indian government’s intention of laying out the Central Monitoring System (CMS) has come under question a day after it was revealed that the US’ National Security Agency has been monitoring data of mobile phone users.

“The centralised monitoring is chilling, given its reckless and irresponsible use of the sedition and Internet laws,” said Cynthia Wong, the senior Internet researcher at international NGO Human Rights Watch.

The UPA government introduced CMS in Parliament in 2012, and it was rolled out in April 2013. The system is expected to enable the government to monitor all phone and internet communications in the country. It will provide state bodies like the National Investigation Agency, centralised access to the country’s telecom network and facilitate direct monitoring of phone calls, text messages, and Internet use bypassing service providers.

While India claims that CMS will be a secure system, the NGO has said that the government has released very little information about what agencies will have access to the system, who will authorise surveillance, and what legal standards must be met to intercept various kinds of data or communications.

“Surveillance tools are often used by governments and bureaucrats for political reasons instead of security purposes, and often in a covert way that violates human rights,” Wong said.

The NGO also said that India has a poor record of protecting free expression on the Internet. Section 66A of the Information Technology Act – which deals with information that is “grossly offensive” or “has menacing character”, or causes annoyance or inconvenience – has been used repeatedly to arrest critics of the government.

Indian activists too have raised concerns that the CMS will inhibit them from expressing their opinions and sharing information. Experts say such surveillance capabilities have purposely been used around the world to target critics, journalists, and human rights activists.

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