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US military's 'Iron Man' armor will be ready for testing by June, says admiral

Posted date: 2:30 PM / comment : 0 , , ,

US military's Iron Man armor
The first prototypes for the US military's Iron Man armor will be ready for testing by this summer, said the head of US Special Operations Command today. At a special conference in Washington DC today, Defense Tech reports, Navy Adm. William McRaven stated that three unpowered prototypes of the Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit, or TALOS, are currently being assembled, with an expected delivery by June. The suit will undergo an evaluation period and hopefully be field-ready by August 2018.
During the conference, McRaven emphasized the suit's potential to save lives. "That suit," he said, "if done correctly, will yield a revolutionary improvement in survivability and capability for special operators." The TALOS was commissioned last October, and may one day be armed with its own on-board computer, health monitors, and MIT-developed liquid armor that can harden in a matter of milliseconds. The hope is to allow the wearer to walk through a stream of bullets — not unlike the Marvel superhero.
Presently, 56 corporations, 16 government agencies, 13 universities, and 10 national laboratories are working together to develop the armor. McRaven wants to up involvement to include mechanics and craftsmen on the project, and may seek the authority to approach the Pentagon to distribute prize money for interested experts.

Google announces $2.7 million bounty for hacking Chrome OS

Posted date: 11:41 AM / comment : 0 , , ,

Google has reportedly announced a whopping 2.7 million dollars bounty if security experts are able to hack its Chrome browser-based OS at the Pwnium 4 hacking contest.
Hacking Chrome OS
This year at the Pwnium 4, researchers would be allowed to choose between Intel- or ARM-powered laptops, while last year, they had to try to crack a Chromebook with an Intel processor. According to PC World, hackers would be paid prizes of 110,000 dollars and 150,000 dollars for exploiting the Chrome OS, and the highest bounty would be rewarded to those who deliver an exploit able to persistently compromise a Hewlett-Packard or Acer Chromebook.
Last year Google put 3.14159 million dollars in the contest, but paid out just 40,000 dollars to a prolific hacker who goes by “Pinkie Pie,” the contest’s sole participant, for what Google later called a partial exploit. Google said that it would consider larger bonuses to researchers who demonstrated a “particularly impressive or surprising exploit,” like one that could circumvent kASLR, a new variant of the better-known ASLR anti-exploit technology used by Apple, Microsoft and Chrome OS.
The report said that for hackers to qualify for the prizes or bonuses, they must provide functional exploit code and details on all the vulnerabilities put into play. Pwnium 4 is scheduled to take place on March 12 at the Canadian Security conference.
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Could this electric beast be the fastest Supercar

Posted date: 10:24 AM / comment : 0 , , , ,

At full speed, the Rimac Concept_One is little more than a cherry red blur, flashing from one corner of the horizon to the other in the blink of an eye.
A new generation of cars are coming. <strong>Take a look what's lurking under the hood...</strong>
Electric Beast
If its projected performance figures prove to be true, this radical electric concept car -- the brainchild of an award-winning young Croatian designer -- could accelerate faster than all but two of the fastest supercars on earth.

The Rimac Concept_One's figures are impressive. Not just for an electric car, but for traditional petrol-engine cars as well.

For years electric vehicles have been regarded as the frumpy inner-city siblings of their hardier countryside 4x4 brethren or zippier track-friendly supercar sisters. Electric vehicles have tended to have names like Leaf, Buddy or Spark as opposed to Vanquish, Venom or Phantom.
All this may be set to change when Rimac goes into production. First unveiled at Frankfurt Motor Show in September, 2011, the Concept One is an electric vehicle that aims to be even faster than the Bugatti Veyron. Its precocious 25-year-old inventor, Mate Rimac, says that the car produces 1018 horsepower, can accelerate from 0 to 100 kph (62 mph) in just 2.8 seconds, has a top speed of 305 kph (190 mph), and can travel 600 kilometers (372 miles) on a single charge.

Mate Rimac says that he has always been motivated by the desire to demonstrate the superiority of electric over petrol-powered cars: "I have two passions; cars and technology," Rimac says. "Technology because Nikola Tesla was born in Croatia, and he invented the electric motor that is used in so many applications today. And I knew simply by theory that this motor is so much better to drive a car -- even a sports car.

"I decided to combine my two passions, technology and cars and make an electric car that can prove the electric motor is much better even on the racetrack. Not just city cars for boring stuff, but to show people that the future will be interesting -- that one day when petrol is gone and you only have electric cars in the world, you won't have to compromise in terms of performance, speed or (how) far (it can go)."

While he was still in high school, Rimac bought a lime green BMW for less than €1000 and began modifying it with new parts. "I couldn't wait to pull out (the motor) and put batteries and electric motors inside instead of the gas engine," Rimac says. After several years of rebuilding and alteration, Rimac set a world record with his car, which became the fastest accelerating electric car in the world. The car is still recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records for the fastest quarter mile by an electric vehicle.
After setting five separate world records with his modified BMW, Rimac began to work towards building his very own car from scratch. He enlisted the help of the highly-regarded young car designer Adriano Mudri, and began work on the Concept_One.

Now Rimac is turning his dream car into a reality on a shoestring budget: "In the car industry, it's common to design a new car with 1 billion to 5 billion dollars. But, most of those cars carry over components from previous versions -- engines, gear boxes and stuff. We had to design a car (including) the whole technology under the skin, (while) the company itself didn't have a desk to put a computer on. And we did all that with less than 0.1% of the budget which is usual in the car industry," Rimac says.

Preliminary impressions from the automotive press have been generally positive, although many, such as GTspirit.com, said that they approached the concept of a vehicle that has "no sound, no downshift and no smell of burnt petrol" with trepidation. Some also disputed the figures Rimac has released, suggesting that their projected performance statistics may be ambitious.
Still, the notion that an electric car might soon not just match, but outperform the best petrol vehicles on the planet is certainly a captivating one. When Rimac releases a production car into the wild in the not-too-distant future, the eyes of the world will certainly be watching.

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Google Starts Ranking ISPs Based on YouTube Performance

Posted date: 10:53 AM / comment : 0 , , ,

We've of course seen no limit to the complaints by users that YouTube videos often get stuck buffering, despite blisteringly-fast connections. Most customers blame their ISPs, while most ISPs (or companies paid by ISPs) blame Google. The real reason is often the power and cash struggles going on behind the scenes over CDN and peering links, with last-mile ISPs, core network ISPs, and content companies like Google all sometimes playing a role in making your YouTube performance suck.
Click for full size

Google Starts Ranking ISPs Based on YouTube Performance


With that in mind, Google has posted a new video quality report. Right now the report is simply a series of slides explaining how video gets delivered to you, but ultimately Google is going to start logging ISP connection speeds and ranking them based on YouTube streaming performance.

The concept appears to not be all that dissimilar from Netflix's attempt to name and shame ISPs for lower quality streaming performance (or name and shame them into using Netflix's Open Connect CDN, depending on how you'd like to look at it). 

Ultimately Google will list the best ISPs in each region based on YouTube performance, and when ISP subscribers are able to watch 90% of the YouTube videos in HD (720p) at consistent quality, that ISP will be branded as "YouTube HD Verified."

"We wanted to give users a measure of performance that they can truly understand," Google's Shiva Rajaraman tells the Financial Post. "The other side is we felt this would be beneficial for ISPs too, because now they can describe their service and the various product offerings and price points they might have to their customers in a way that they can truly understand: You can access YouTube in HD on my ISP, or not."

ISPs, some of whom have been blaming Google for stuttering YouTube performance, may not see things that way. Either way, the collected data should help Google highlight exactly where YouTube performance breakdowns are occurring, helping to make the discussion of who is at fault a little less muddy than it historically has been.

You can check out the methodology here for how Google plans to rank ISPs. The company also provides some tips on improving YouTube performance here.

Preparations for 2022 World Cup Qatar is to keep workers like slaves

Posted date: 10:28 PM / comment : 0 , ,

The Football World Cup 2022 in Qatar provides a new scandal: According to the "Guardian" toiling in the preparation of the tournament thousands Nepalese construction workers in slave-like conditions. Recently had died a worker on average almost daily.
Hamburg - Rarely has there been a World Cup that was years ago for so many negative hit the headlines as the planned 2022 tournament in the Emirate of Qatar . Have there been especially critical of the procurement practices and the scarcely tolerable temperatures , it is now a matter of life and death.
According to the British newspaper "Guardian" Nepalese immigrants are used under extremely poor conditions in the beginning of the construction boom before the World Cup of thousands.
Migrant workers in Doha: Shocking revelations about World Cup preparations
Migrant workers in Doha: Shocking revelations about World Cup preparations

The newspaper cites documents the Nepalese embassy in Doha, according to which only between the 4th June and the 8th August 44 workers have died from Nepal - more than half of them from the consequences of a heart attack or accident at work.
In addition, thousands of Nepalis are to be exploited in the construction of the country as slaves. Some reported that they had received no wages for months, others complained that it had provided to them despite extreme heat no drinking water available. About 30 Nepalis had sought refuge at the embassy in Doha to escape the predicament.
According to the "Guardian" of the International Trade Union Confederation ITUC has calculated that at least 4,000 foreign workers will have lost their lives before the first World Cup match will kick off.
"We would like to leave, but the company will not let us," the paper quoted a Nepalese immigrant who is employed on the construction site of the giant Lusail City project.There, north of the capital Doha, to be built a new city, including the football stadium. "I'm angry about how the company treats us, but we are helpless," says the man. "I regret to have come here, but what should we do?"
The organizing committee of the World Cup said loudly "Guardian" that the work that would have directly to do with the tournament, would yet to begin. Nevertheless, it was "very concerned about the allegations against certain contractors and subcontractors" who were entrusted with the work on the Lusail City. We will pursue the matter with "the highest seriousness." The relevant government departments would launch an investigation into the allegations.
The world football governing body FIFA announced to contact the responsible persons from the desert state. "These reports will be discussed at the Executive Committee meeting on 3/4 October," shared the FIFA on Twitter.

Researchers achieve fastest real-world fiber speeds of 1.4Tb/s

Posted date: 10:39 AM / comment : 0 , ,

Alcatel-Lucent and BT have today announced trial speeds of up to 1.4Tb/s with a record spectral efficiency of 5.7 bits per second per Hertz (b/s/Hz)on an existing core fiber connection. This is believed to be the fastest speed ever achieved in commercial grade hardware in a real-world environment and is equivalent to transmitting 44 uncompressed HD films in a single second.
Fastest Real-World Fiber Speed


The field trial, conducted over an existing fiber link between the BT Tower in London and BT's Adastral Park research campus in Suffolk, used a new 'flexible grid' infrastructure (Flexgrid) to vary the gaps between , usually set at 50Gigahertz (GHz). By increasing the density of channels on the fiber, this approach achieved up to 42.5 percent greater data transmission efficiency compared to today's standard networks.
The trial demonstrated that use of the Flexgrid approach can increase BT's core network capacity using existing optical fibers, potentially reducing the expense of laying more fiber as bandwidth demands grow. This could allow BT to more easily scale its core network capacity to meet consumer and business demands for more bandwidth-hungry services such as streaming video, whilst more efficiently using its existing core fiber infrastructure.
The trial was conducted through the overlaying of an "Alien Super Channel" comprised of seven 200 Gigabits per second (Gb/s) channels bundled together to provide a combined capacity of 1.4Tb/s. By reducing the spectral spacing between the channels from 50GHz to 35GHz using the 400Gb/s Photonic Services Engine (PSE) technology on the 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS), spectral efficiency is enhanced by almost 43%. The 1830 PSS can be used as an optical extension shelf of the 7750 Service Router (SR) and the 7950 Extensible Routing System (XRS). Flexgrid is the key to creating high-capacity, spectrally efficient super channels. The super channel is "alien" because it operates transparently on top of BT's existing optical network.
Key Facts:
  • During October and November of 2013, BT and Alcatel-Lucent successfully demonstrated a number of world-leading high-speed alien wavelength technical achievements, including a record spectral efficiency of 5.7b/s/Hz which is equivalent to fitting a 1Tb super channel in less than 200GHz spectrum.
  • The speeds were achieved on a 410km fiber link between BT's Adastral Park research campus in Ipswich and the BT Tower in London
  • The trials were performed using production equipment that was software reconfigurable between 200Gb/s using 16 QAM modulation and 100Gb/s using QPSK modulation
  • Alien Wavelengths allow telecom operators like BT to introduce new features and technology without the need to update the existing optical transport infrastructure
  • Flexgrid maximizes the  of the installed fiber infrastructure, deferring the need to deploy costly new fiber infrastructure
  • Trial and evaluation of the 1.4Tb/s alien super channel showed stable, error-free operation, when being transmitted with a mix of 40Gb/s and 100Gb/s native wavelengths. This was achieved for standard 50GHz sub-channel spacing and for flexgrid with sub-channel spacing down to 35GHz
  • Working with BT to efficiently and cost effectively increase high-speed network capacity is aligned with The Shift Plan, the industrial strategy to reposition Alcatel-Lucent as a specialist vendor of IP Networking and Ultra-Broadband Access

Japanese Engineers Launch The World’s Fastest Passenger Train

Posted date: 1:53 PM / comment : 0 ,


fastest-train-in-the-world2-750x350
The people of Japan have been enchanted by the longest, largest and fastest maglev train in the world. From the middle of the twentieth century, the engineers are working on the maglev train concept. In 1968, James Powell, a researcher at Brook haven National Lab, thought of using maglev trains (derived from magnetic levitation). The old wheel and axle model has been replaced by levitation system in maglev which lifts the cars by magnetism.
The lift and push are provided to the train by the repulsive and attractive forces of magnetism used by this system.
The maglev trains that are operating at the present have been designed by the engineers in the preceding decade. A new maglev train has been tested on the Yamanashi Maglev Test Line recently.
The most recent maglev train in Japan is known as the LO Series and can run at speeds of up to 311mph (500 km/h). In its first run along the 26.6-miles test track, the train reached its top speed before it touched the 3-mile marker.
People who had the honor to ride on this high-tech LO told that they did not feel any turbulence or heard any noise while the train was moving at the great speeds. But it was a different story for the observers outside the train.
Japan’s-MagLev-Train-is-Fast-Very-Fast-1-610x457
“[One] reporter felt a shock wave and a massive gust of wind as the train sped past him. He also reported a deafening sound that made conversation all but impossible,” said Asahi Shimbun.
It is still to be considered if this type of turbulence restricts LO from use in densely populated areas. Engineers have sufficient time till the planned inaugural date of LO in 2027 to reduce these external forces.
More maglev trains are expected to come in the areas of India, China and even the US in the future decades. The Maglev trains and Hyperloops will expectantly make mid-distance travel fast, calm and advanced.

Ronaldo won the Ballon D’Or but Messi deserved it!

Posted date: 9:29 PM / comment : 0

Cristiano Ronaldo won the fourth 2013 FIFA Ballon D’Or and he rightly deserved it. The types of performances he showed last year have been, without a doubt, extraordinary.
The fact that in terms of performance statistics, he outscored the other two contenders to top the charts makes his case very strong. If he had failed this time, the credibility of Ballon D’Or would have been seriously questioned.
In the end, it was a good result for football in general.
However, the result doesn’t reflect accurately on who the best footballer in the world is. People have made all sorts of arguments in favour of each of the three nominees.
Cristiano Ronaldo had a staggering number of goals.
Franck Ribery was an integral part of a team that won every competition during the year.
Lionel Messi had another stellar season that looks slightly less worthy only because we compare his numbers for the year to the unbelievable standards he has set for himself in the past.


If we talk about the ‘true’ best player in the world, then statistics of goals and assists alone or being an integral part of an all-conquering team can’t be taken as a lone criterion. In fact, these are just two of the things that should contribute to the criteria which, in addition, consist of factors such as impact on the team, the ability to influence a game and turn it single-handedly on its head. When all these elements are considered, Messi still appears to be the number one player in the world, not to mention having won four Ballon D’Ors in a row.
Lionel Messi
Ronaldo and Ribery are both great players and supreme professionals. Ronaldo won many games for Real Madrid and so did Ribery. But none of them are as good at influencing a game as Messi is.
Lets recall the match from last season that took place at the San Siro against AC Milan, when Barcelona lost by 0-2 in the first leg, of the round of 16, in the Champions League. But Barca fought back in Camp Nou in the return leg to overturn a deficit; that had never been done in history before.
Messi rose to the occasion in unimaginable fashion and scored two splendid goals early in the game through shear individual brilliance. Such was his performance that it left everybody in awe and disbelief.

In the next round, Barça was again in trouble against Paris Saint Germain (PSG). Messi, despite being injured, got off the bench and, in a short cameo, turned the game in Barça’s favour.
And if statistics are all that important, then what about the 29 goals scored in 21 consecutive games in La Liga against every single opponent? Is that really a feat easy to achieve?
Franck Ribery
The case of Ribery for the Ballon D’Or was even weaker. Bayern Munich conquered everything but the success. This was the result of a synergistic team that they have successfully developed rather than the result of a player’s individual brilliance. Ribery is a great player but both Ronaldo and Messi are miles ahead of him.
Ballon D’Or is an individual award and hence should be awarded on individual brilliance, no matter how well the team performed. If winning something is the criterion, then there is no need to look for outstanding players in any other club – players from the wining sides of La Liga, the Premier League, Bundes Liga and the Champions League should all qualify for football’s most prestigious individual awards.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Some analysts say that Ronaldo is a more absolute player because he can use both feet, can score from free kicks and from headers, and is extremely quick and strong. Very true!

But just because Messi scores fewer goals from his other parts of the body, doesn’t mean his genius can be overtaken. This argument is the same as saying that an artist, who can draw well using either of his hands or his feet, claims he is better than Pablo Picasso. Messi is a genius and not a single player can produce the same magic as he does when the ball sticks to his feet like a magnet.
His goal against Athletic Bilbao last year was majestic and proved how well he handled the ball.

Ronaldo may produce a moment of similar genius sometimes, but Messi has been doing it week after week for many years. The more you see him do it, the more you are convinced of his ability, vision, talent and composure to execute outrageous skills that can leave you in utter disbelief.
Messi has something extraordinary that has earned him a place in the debate of world’s greatest player. Ronaldo has won two FIFA World Player of the Year awards now but it is still not likely that the argument of him being ‘the greatest player of all time’ will start floating in the football world. Ronaldo scores an amazing number of goals but looking at his playing style for Real Madrid, most of the time he heads in from long balls and free kicks or taps-in Karim Benzema’s and Mesut Ozil’s fine crosses.
Barca’s midfield engine works in a very different way and whenever Messi scores, it’s either his individual brilliance or the outcome of an outrageous link up with his team mates – team goals that you don’t see coming from any other team in the world, as often.
He scores goals and creates them too.
Sometimes without scoring a goal or setting it up, he leaves you in disbelief with a magical defence splitting pass that not even some of the best midfielders in the world could pull off.
Ronaldo won the award but it was a very closely fought contest.
Unlike the previous three occasions, Messi has won approximately twice the points than his counter. If Messi was not injured during the close of the season and then again for the most part of the new season, there is a significant chance we may have seen Messi picking up his fifth successive award this week.
Ronaldo could have lost it to Ribery, had they not extended the voting period after his heroics for Portugal against Sweden.
People say Ronaldo took Portugal to the World cup but they forget that Messi did the same, firing Argentina into the World cup with outstanding performances requiring no extra qualifying play off.
Ronaldo winning the Ballon D’Or is still praised because it’s good news for football. The decision is going to fuel up the rivalry of these two football maestros further, bringing us many more magical moments. It will also extinguish the unjust campaigning and media war disputes over the best player award such as Sepp Blatter’s ‘harmless’ jokes about Ronaldo.
But putting everything aside, Messi is undisputedly the best player in the world, by a long long way!

New Bridge Can Be Built In Two Weeks.

Posted date: 3:36 PM / comment : 0 ,

A pilot study of the new bridge concept, the i-bridge, is included in Peter Harryson’s doctoral dissertation in concrete construction at Chalmers. The bridge consists of extremely light sections that are assembled on site. The load-bearing parts consist of v-shaped fiberglass beams that are reinforced with carbon fibers on the underside. The beams interact with a thin bridge deck that is prefabricated out of steel-fiber-reinforced cement with extremely high strength. Since these materials are very durable, they are advantageous in a life-cycle perspective, and they are highly suitable for industrial construction. However, these materials are not in use in the new construction of bridges today.
“The new bridge type is a construction that projects several years into the future, but the study shows that it would be technologically possible to build this bridge today if the concept is further elaborated,” says Peter Harryson. “However, at present the economic conditions are constrained by the major investments that would be needed to start production, and by the high prices for fiber-composite materials.”
 

Today the new type of bridge is estimated to cost more than twice as much as a conventional bridge. But the economic potential of the bridge concept can be enhanced considerably if the economic calculations are done in another way. Besides the shorter construction time, there are several advantages both from a life-cycle perspective and in terms of the working environment that could be valued higher.

The project has been part of (the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems) Vinnova’s research program “Road, Bridge, Tunnel.” Peter Harryson has been an industrial doctoral candidate with the Swedish Road Administration, which has provided funding.

With new bridge-building materials, industrial  production methods, and an efficient  construction process, it will be possible to start using a bridge only two weeks after construction starts on the site. This is shown in a new dissertation from Chalmers University of Technology

Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by Chalmers University of Technology.

Eid Miladun Nabi: Celebrations with Congregations,Rally & Govt. Building Covered with Lights.

Posted date: 3:03 PM / comment : 0


Eid Milad-un-Nabi congregations, rallies and processions are being taken out in all cities of the four provinces including Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Kashmir.
An International Seerat Conference is being held on the occasion in the Federal Capital to highlight the life and achievements of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). Seerat conferences also being organized at provincial levels where religious scholars and intellectuals will shed light on Prophet Muhammed's life, sayings, teachings and philosophies.
In Islamabad, the celebrations began with a 21-gun salute, while special prayers were offered after Fajr prayers for the prosperity of the country. Public and private buildings, commercial centers, bazaars and streets in the twin cities have been illuminated and decorated with buntings and banners as well as welcome slogans to mark the religious festival.
Streets and markets around the city are decorated with ribbons and buntings. Government buildings including the Civil Secretariats and the Assembly Chambers, high Courts & many other govt. building are decorated with colourful lights. 

The traditional Miladun Nabi (PBUH) processions also being taken out from Jamia Masjid Rawalpindi amid the tight security and will culminate in the late night at the same place. The procession passing through the Bani Chowk, Circular Road, Murree Road, Gawalmandi, Trank Bazaar, Iqbal Road and Committee Chock. According to Central Committee of Jashn-e-Eid Miladun Nabi, more than fifty processions from different routes to merge into the main rally.
All adjacent roads on the route of the procession have also been decorated with colorful flags, placards and banners. Candles and oil lamps (Chiragan) are lit on the eve of 12 Rabi-ul-Awwal to welcome the Prophet's arrival and to celebrate his birth.

The cultural organizations have planned special calligraphy exhibition and competitions of Naat and Qirat by involving students and youngsters to guide them about the significance of this day.
Sweets distributed in all schools, colleges, orphanages, widow and destitute homes, disabled and handicapped person homes and among prisoners.
The newspapers and magazines have brought out special issues while the electronic media airing special programs highlighting the sanctity and significance of the day.
Eid Milad-un-Nabi (PBUH) is a public holiday in Pakistan. All government and semi government offices, and most private offices, businesses, shopping malls, post offices and educational institutions are closed on this day.
Meanwhile, strict security arrangements have been made all across the country for Eid Milad-un-Nabi (PBUH).
As part of the arrangements mobile phone services have been shut in Quetta, Rawalpindi and Peshawar on Tuesday. A ban also enforced on pillion riding in Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Sindh. A recommendation has been made to prohibit pillion riding in Dera Ismail Khan.

Strict security remains enforced along the procession routes and Army and Rangers kept on stand-by in Rawalpindi. In Karachi, the processions are being monitored by CCTV cameras and security provided by Rangers and police. Foolproof security has been arranged in Lahore. In Quetta, over 2,000 personnel of the police and FC deployed and the route of the procession monitored by CCTV cameras.

Inventor of AK-47 rifle Mikhail Kalashnikov dies at 94

Posted date: 7:22 PM / comment : 0 ,

         The inventor of the iconic AK-47 assault rifle, Mikhail Kalashnikov, has died at the age of 94. His ingenuity earned him widespread admiration, but his legacy became more controversial when his weapons were used in some of the world’s bloodiest conflicts.

  Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed "deep condolences" over the death of the engineer.
        
         Kalashnikov who continued working well into his nineties, had been suffering from heart and intestinal problems, and on November 17 was admitted into intensive care in Izhevsk in central Russia - where the plant that produces the eponymous rifles is located. The official cause of death will be revealed following a mandatory autopsy.A public funeral will be organized by the regional administration, in consultation with surviving relatives, though no date has been named so far.

Patriot, genius, villain?

        For most of his life, Kalashnikov, who was famous for his frugal lifestyle, was feted as a straightforward hero.The self-taught peasant turned tank mechanic who never finished high school, but achieved a remarkable and lasting feat of engineering while still in his twenties.He was forever asked if he regretted engineering the weapon that probably killed more than any other in the last fifty years.
"I invented it for the protection of the Motherland. I have no regrets and bear no responsibility for how politicians have used it," he told them.On a few occasions, when in a more reflective mood, the usually forceful Kalashnikov wondered what might have been.
"I'm proud of my invention, but I'm sad that it is used by terrorists," he said once.
"I would prefer to have invented a machine that people could use and that would help farmers with their work – for example a lawnmower."
Indeed, at his museum in Izhevsk, where he spent most of his life working at the factory that was eventually named after him, there is an ingenious mechanical lawnmower Kalashnikov invented to more easily take care of the lawn at his country house.It’s not what he will be remembered for.Considering his age and circumstances, it was hardly surprising that Kalashnikov felt he could best serve his country by creating weapons.
Senior Sergeant Mikhail Kalashnikov as he designed his AK-47 assault rifle.
Born in 1919, Mikhail was the seventeenth child of well-off peasants. When he was eleven, during Joseph Stalin’s collectivization campaign his parents had their land confiscated, and the whole family was exiled to Siberia (a fact rarely mentioned in fawning Soviet-era biographies).As the country began to mobilize ahead of a war that seemed inevitable, but was as yet undeclared, Kalashnikov chose to go into a tank brigade.His aptitude for engineering was immediately apparent.He was allowed to create several modifications – a tank shot counter, a running time meter – that were to be adopted for the whole Red Army, and made him famous. He was destined to go on an engineering course, when Operation Barbarossa intervened.
        Kalashnikov’s own career as a tank commander was cut short in the first few months of the conflict on the Eastern Front, when an explosive shell ripped open his shoulder.Kalashnikov says the germ of the idea came to him as he recuperated in hospital.But the invention of the AK-47 was not a Eureka moment, but a trial-and-error process of modifications and improvements undertaken by a team over six years.While for propaganda purposes Kalashnikov’s invention was presented as a radically new development, it was based on several principles that had already been seen in British, Russian and Italian weapons to which the inventor had easy access as he drew up his blueprints.Its main precursor was the German StG 44, the first truly effective automatic weapon of World War II.But at the same time, Kalashnikov’s masterstroke was to combine the mechanisms of previous weapons to create something with a completely new function.
        AK-47 is not a weapon designed for accuracy tests at the firing range. It is a weapon for firefights at close quarters, in harsh Russian conditions.It can be assembled by a person with no military training, is fired by simply pointing at a target, and it can be easily looked after without a cleaning kit. It does not jam by itself (due to the generous allowances between moving parts, which also explain its mediocre accuracy at range) and it does not stop functioning in any weather conditions.The AK-47 fulfilled its design brief to perfection, even though there is no way Kalashnikov could have known who it would be used by in the end. More than 60 years after its invention, it remains the world's most ubiquitous weapon.
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