Say goodbye to Pajero land cruiser

Pajero has ruled the world's most treacherous roads besides a comfortable city land cruiser for many years. And needless to say has been darling of motor lovers for many many years - rather I would say it was one of the strongest hobby among motor vehicles lovers to keep a Pajero. But it seems its days of glory are over as Mitsubishi, the Pajero OEM, has decided to ditch the vehicle for good and forever.

Reportedly, Mitsubishi CEO Osamu Masuko has told US automotive trade publication, Automotive News, that the Pajero is a dead duck. There had been rumours the Pajero, known as the Montero in the US and on sale there until 2006, would make a comeback, but no. And Masuko has pointed the finger at fuel consumption as the reason for knocking the full-size fourby on the head. 

And not only USA, the vehicle will not be developed for any other market anywhere in the world, CEO Osamu Masuko  adds. This stunning announcement thus comes as the final world about the fate of Pajero land cruiser. Additionally, Galant will also be discontinued.

Instead, Mitsubishi plans to roll out a series of plug-in hybrid SUVs.  This includes a new Outlander PHEV and a small, coupe-styled crossover which is likely to replace the Lancer,  another model that has been destined for the dustbin of history.

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Hobby Lobby comes to an end

I first heard of Hobby Lobby in my childhood, the mid 60s, when one of my elder brothers Jamal Hameed Bhatti along with a friend of my eldest brother Gul Hameed Bhatti used to make RC airplanes from kits made by Hobby Lobby. We used to go to a rather non-functional runway of Lahore Flying Club and there we flew these RC planes made of Balsa wood and paper.

And inspired by the name, I initiated this blog of mine and named it Hobby Shobbys.

Now I hear that after many decades of serving the RC gadget lovers, the building from where the Hobby Lobby began in 1964 has been torn down (photo above).

This building had some nostalgic memories for all the RC pilots and gadget lovers, who looked upon it as the sole reservoir for anything that moved or flew with a RC.

JoAnne MArtin, wife of the man who founded Hobby Lobby sums up her 40 years association with Hobby Lobby as under:

I worked at HL for 40 years, met and married my husband there, and absolutely loved my job! My husband was the owner and the employees were my family! I watched both flourish and succeed! I still have my husband and I still have my family! Maybe the business and building are gone but memories will never go! I am happy knowing that my family loved it there and have moved on as "kids" will do. I think no one will ever forget their days at Hobby Lobby!

Good Bye Hobby Lobby - you shall always be missed.

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Google takes Beatles' fans inside Abbey Road Studios

Remember the famous walk of the Beatles on the Abbey Road? Well I do as it was in my early teens that this 'great' cross over happened, photographed and immortalized as the four Beatles crossed over.

Now Google has come up with an innovative idea - Google's new interactive tour of the studio.

The Abbey Road studio (above) was not only home to the Beatles singing and dancing to their melodious tunes, but also  other great singers like Stevie Wonder and Radiohead.

With this new interactive tour innovated by Google using the Street View technology, the Beatles' fans will have a rare opportunity to peep inside the famous Studio One - where many super hit songs and film scores were recorded.

Narrated by Giles Martin, the son of Beatles producer George Martin, each room's tour is chock full of timelines, photographs, YouTube clips, and time-lapse videos.

Take the tour Here

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Pluto captured in colour for the first time

Good news for the astronomers, sky gazers and hobbyists trying to probe the starry universe above. The New Horizons probe has captured its first image of Pluto - the distant dwarf planet.

The rather blurry and hazy picture which has been released by the US space agency NASA shows a reddish Pluto along with its biggest moon Charon.

It may be added that New Horizons is set to barrel past Pluto on 14th July this year. This significant event  will complete the reconnaissance of the "classical nine" planets of our Solar System.

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Brace for Apple iDrone

I think many would have thought that after unveiling the much awaited smartwatch, Apple has been dried of the ideas. But to surprise of many, there is yet many things the Apple has up its sleeve to ks and gadget enthusiasts.

Here comes Apple's Drone!! Surprised? Well some may be as drone may not have been on the wish list of gadgets geeks as far Apple is concerned.

The drone or should we say 'iDrone' has surfaced - though in a conceptual stage. But the photos leaked show something sleek and curvy that may one day be darling of the gadget lovers or those who love to fly remotely controlled planes.

As can be seen from the leaked photos, the iDrone is likely to be equipped with four cameras that may provide a panoramic aerial view live.

The iDrone is likely to be be seen in the sky around you a year from now in 2016.

Source: quadrocopter.org

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Most unsafe countries for Women Travelers

Travelling as a world's most liked hobby has always been fun. I love travelling too and have recently returned after travelling to a number of Schengen countries. But I am a ma.

Unfortunately, for women travelers, specially when travelling alone, the world out there is not really safe. A recent survey in the Daily Mail shows that women should be very careful when travelling alone to following destinations:

1. India
2. Brazil
3. Turkey
4. Thailand
5. Egypt
6. Colombia
7. South Africa
8. Morocco
9. Mexico
10. Kenya

Wonder why India tops the list? Well a recently, a number of female travelers to land of Taj Mahal have been raped. The report says that there is a sexual assault every twenty minute. According to India's National Crime Record Bureau crimes against women have increased by 7.1 per cent since 2010.

Watch the video below for tips for women travelling alone to these destinations:

So check it out with your tour operators where you are going and how can you be safe while travelling in unsafe countries by following the tips in the video above.

Read more at Daily Mail for caution about other countries

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4th Vintage Car Rally ends at Peshawar

The Vintage and Classic Car Club of Pakistan (VCCP) held its fourth annual Car Rally from Karachi too Peshawar that finally ended at Peshawar Services Club on Saturday, 30 November.

Around 60 classic cars, including a 1948 MG and Mustang, a Morris MG, a 1957 Humber Hawk and other vintage cars, preserved by their owners attracted a huge crowd who took photos of the special cars. Around 20 cars of different participants from Peshawar, including members of the vintage car show, Frontier Vintage 4X4 and several others took part in this unique event, presenting a softer image of the province where outdoor activities are a rarity now due to the prevailing law and order situation.

The rally initially started with 15 cars from Karachi, which was joined in with more cars from Lahore and Islamabad. Among the classic cars was a two-seater 1992 model Mercedes car especially gifted by the Amir of Qatar to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the occasion of inauguration of the Motorway in Pakistan.

The Tourism Corporation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa sponsored this fourth annual vintage car show and the National Bank of Pakistan sponsored the rally from Karachi to Khyber.

It may be added that the first vintage car rally in Peshawar was organised in 2006. It started from Kolkata, India to Peshawar and back to Kolkata. According to tour operator Zahoor Durrani, all the cars in the rally were of British-origin. He said the rally was much appreciated as it provided the people an opportunity to see the British era cars. “Such events are much needed to promote tourism and healthy activities, especially at a time when terrorism has brought life to a standstill,” he added.

Sources: The News | The Dawn (Including photo above)

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World's smallest RC helicopter - that can land on your computer mouse

It has been a long time since I talked of RC gadgets in my blog - RC gadgets which are fun to handle and fly.

But today I am forced to talk about an innovation, which really amazing. While we talk of giant size RC aeroplanes that RC gadget hobbyists boastfully fly around the world, I wondered we ever heard of something smaller - really small.

So let us talk of a smallest RC gadget. This is a helicopter toy which is amazing in details, functions and flight, and yet is the smallest RC helicopter.

This tiny RC helicopter has a body size of just 6.5 cm (2.5 in) long and weighs a scant 11 g (0.38 oz). The infrared controller, which takes four AA alkaline batteries, has a range of just 5 m (16 ft), which may be a good thing.

In fact it is so small that it can land over your computer mouse - if you have that precision in handling rs controllers.

This amazingly tiny helicopter toy is the brainchild of Namco Bandai subsidiary CCP toys - and claim this Nano-Falcon remote-controlled helicopter toy to be the world's smallest.

Read more about it at: gizmag

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World's oldest Vauxhall at Bonhams Auction

Attention vintage car lovers!!

The sale of the world’s oldest surviving Vauxhall motor car was among the highlights of the Bonhams Veteran Motor Car auction in New Bond Street, London, on Friday 2nd November.

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The 1903 Vauxhall two-seater beat its top estimate to sell for £94,460. Ordered new for Vauxhall managing director Percy Kidner on 6th November 1903, the car passed to its second owner in April the following year, in whose family ownership it has remained ever since. It remained in use as regular transport until about 1920 and then was laid up until 1948, when it was used again by the family before being loaned to The London Science Museum in 1955.

Read more about the auction of Vauxhall and other items at Art Daily

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Samsung officially annoces Galaxy Premier

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Good news for the Samsung lovers and gadgets geeks in Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and specially Russia!!

Samsung has officially announced Samsung Galaxy Premier, a special version of Samsung Galaxy series, something in between S-III and S-III mini for its customers living in regions mentioned above.

Samsung Galaxy Premier is laced with a 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED display, HSPA+ or LTE service, and an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera.

The special version is based on a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, SGX 544 GPU, NFC and is powered by Android 4.1.

Samsung plans to launch the Galaxy Premier in Russia next month, followed by a Ukraine in December. Samsung Galaxy Premier will be available across Southeast Asia, China, and Korea somewhere in early 2013.

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AMD launches eight-core Piledriver Vishera FX processors

Good news for gadgets geeks!!

AMD, one of the leading and innovative chip designer, has released its Pile-driver desktop processors code named Vishera.

AMD showed off Vishera at IDF last month where The INQUIRER snapped a photo of an overclocked chip running at 5GHz. Now the company has taken the wraps off its eight-core Vishera chip, a processor that it hopes will finally bury memories of its disappointing Bulldozer Zambezi chip.

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AMD's Vishera processors will continue to use Socket AM3+, meaning it is a drop-in upgrade for those customers lumbered with Zambezi processors.

The firm announcing four models all branded with the FX moniker. The low-end Vishera chip is the quad-core FX-4300 clocked at 3.8GHz boosted up to 4.0GHz, with 4MB of Level 3 cache.

Read more about it: The Inquirer

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Nvidia launches GeForce GTX 660 Ti desktop graphics card

While all the attention is paid to the extreme high end when it comes to graphics cards -- and which is the fastest card ever -- not as many gamers are willing to pay $500 or more for those boards. So it may not be as exciting when the new high-end technologies trickle down to the mid range -- that is, unless you're in the market for one of those cards.

A case in point is the new Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti, which is built using the same GK104 GPU (a.k.a Kepler) that powers the blazing - and pricey - GeForce GTX 680, but will cost around $299 instead of $499. 

Obviously, you won't get the same performance, but if you're upgrading from an older card, the benefits will be readily apparent. You will get 1,344 CUDA cores, 2GB of video memory, a 192-bit memory bus, and a base clock speed of 915MHz. Those specs are for any reference card, though customized and overclocked cards from Nvidia's manufacturing partners are available.

Read more: ZD Net

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Head-mounted iPhone - a challenge to Google Glasses?

Although Google Glasses have yet to reach common users - but already Apple is reported to be working on a wearable, head-mounted version of its his iPhone.

Google Glasses [Photo: Business Insider ]

Patents uncovered this week show that the technology giant has been investigating a head-mounted display with transparent glass. 

Google showed off early versions of its own 'computer glasses' - Project Glass - earlier this week. Companies such as Epson have already rushed to make their own versions. 

Apple's patents, filed in 2006, suggest that the company has been interested in the technology for a considerable time.

Read more: Daily Mail

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NVIDIA unveils GeForce GTX 670

Good news for the gadget and gaming hobbyists!!

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670

NVIDIA has unveiled the third GPU in the GeForce GTX 600 series — the GeForce GTX 670. This new GPU brings the 28 nanometer Kepler architecture to gamers at a significantly lower price point than the either GeForce GTX 680 or dual-GPU GeForce GTX 690.

The GeForce GTX 670 comes with a $399 price tag, compared to around $500 for the GeForce GTX 680 or $1,000 for the GeForce GTX 690. For this reduction in price, you do have to put up with 192 fewer CUDA cores, and a graphics core clocked at only 915MHz.

On the upside, you still get 2GB of GDDR5 RAM and all the benefits that the Kepler architecture has to offer, including GPU Boost technology that automatically overclocks the GPU to get the best performance possible. GPU Boost technology allows the GPU to deliver the highest possible in-game frame-rates while keeping the GPU within thermal limits.

Read details: ZD Net

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