World's Fastest Cars

Supercars and high speed are a part of every car enthusiast's fantasy. They are like endangered species rare enough to keep attracting our attention over and over again and never do we seem to get bored with them. We have compiled for you a list of some of the world's fastest street-legal cars.

However, identifying the world's fastest car isn't as easy as one would expect, as there are a number of criteria that go in to putting together the world's fastest car. Some models are well known for their 0-100 kmph acceleration, while some have engines with horsepower outputs comparable to rockets. Yet, there are some which can accelerate from standstill to 100 kmph within the blink of an eye. However, we decided to present to you only the top 10 street-legal factory-made, fastest cars in the world in terms of maximum speed, as declared by the manufacturers.

Barabus TKR
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For those who thought that Veyron would take the first spot hands down, there is news for you. Barabus TRK is the latest offering in the list of the fastest super cars, having dethroned the Bugatti beast.

Designed, engineered, certified and marketed by a British company called Barabus Sportscars Limited, and produced in Italy, TKR was conceived to combine more power than a Formula One racecar with the driving pleasure of a road car. TKR has 1005 bhp, and can do 0 to 100 kmph in an unbelievably 1.67 seconds. With a relatively small engine, as compared to other fastest cars, this 6-litre V8 twin-turbocharged with dual intercoolers has a declared top speed of 435 kmph, nearly 20 km more than that of Veyron.

Bugatti Veyron
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Many people think this monster is still the fastest car in the world. With a proven top speed of 408 kmph, Buggati Veyron comes second in the list of fastest car. Also listed amongst the world's most expensive car, this French beauty can accelerate from 0 to 100 km in 2.5 seconds.

The Veyron is four-wheel-drive, and with four turbochargers, 8-litre W16 engine makes a minimum 1000 bhp. It is therefore no surprise to discover that the car contains 17 different cooling devices. A super-fast shifting seven-speed DSG (direct shift gear) gearbox and mega price-tag completes this ultimate high-speed package. Veyron weighs almost two tons, which makes it the heaviest car on the top 10 fastest cars list.

Koenigsegg CCX
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Having spent almost the entire century trying to capture the McLaren F1's top speed record, the Swedish supercar came up with Koenigsegg in 2005 which had a top speed of 387 kmph only to see Veyron re-arranging the list once again few months later.

So to bury the pain, the Swedish maker came up with a new version of Koenigsegg, CCX. However, they could not beat Veyron and managed to achieve a top speed of 403 kmph and is rated the third fastest car in the world. With 4.7-litre V8 twin superchargers engine, CCX develops 806 bhp and 915 Nm of torque, enough to propel a car from 0-100 kmph in 3.2 seconds. Read More ....

Apple's new OS: "Leopard" First look

Apple's upgraded Leopard operating system debuted this week as trend-setting iPods and iPhones cause the ranks of Macintosh computer lovers to swell.Eagerly-awaited by Apple's notoriously cultish followers.Leopard's release was delayed so the company's engineers could devote their time to getting iPhones to market in the United States in June.Rival Microsoft, whose software powers 90 per cent of the world's computers, released its own new operating system, Vista, in January.






Time Machine
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Leopard features include playful “iChat” video-conferencing and a “Time Machine” that resurrects lost data. The 3D Time Machine was inspired by a survey that indicated only 26 per cent of Macintosh users regularly backed up information on their machines to avoid losing it forever in system crashes.

The feature automatically copies music, pictures, applications, files and “absolutely everything” a person puts on their Macintosh, according to Apple vice president of platform experience Scott Forstall.

The operating system enables people to remotely search for files on all computers connected to their network. In the event a file is lost, users can search back through time to find deleted files, applications, photos and other digital media and then instantly restore the file. If required, Leopard can also restore an entire system from the Time Machine data on an external drive.


Widgets
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Leopard also has simple tools for people to create “widget” applications that stream feeds such as news or syndicated cartoons from websites onto small windows on computer screens.

It includes improved text-reading, Braille support and closed-captioning for people with disabilities. There's also a dictionary with Wikipedia built in, allowing users to access up-to-date information on any subject.



IChat Theatre
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Modifications to iChat allow people linked via Web cameras to share slide show presentations, playfully distort their pictures or insert fake backdrops.

iChat Theater makes it easy to show photos, presentations, videos or files in a video conference; screen sharing which lets users remotely view and operate another Mac; and Photo Booth effects for fun distortions and video backdrops that can instantly make users appear to be anywhere they choose.






Stack-up
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Another useful addition to Leopard is Stacks. It is a virtual “stack” of documents that lives in the dock area, giving users one-click access to files.

They can create their own Stack, when a user clicks on it, the Stack will display all the documents in a cascading pile. Downloads too are automatically added to the download Stack to help the user find them easily.



Mail Goes New
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The new OS also packs some new features in its email programme. There's Data detection software that will spot key words in messages, such as appointments, dates and times.

On running the cursor over these details and it will ask the user if he wants to add them to his calendar application as an event. Not only this, if it senses an address, it will even generate a Google Map. There are also additions like sticky notes and to-do lists.





Parental Controls
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Microsoft's Vista boasted it, so how could Apple be behind. Under Leopard's Parental Controls panel, if a user sets up multiple user accounts, including individual ones for children, he can manage and control the amount of time they can spend online (including different allowances for weekends and school nights) and the kind of websites they are allowed to access.

It also has content filters to weed out inappropriate content and activity logging to monitor their web use.





Embraces Microsoft
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Crucially, Leopard is the first Apple operating system that will also allow you to install a Windows operating system alongside it. The BootCamp programme has been available for download on some other Apple machines, but it required a level of technical expertise to install and run that some novice users may have found daunting.

In Leopard, it's all built in: you just need to buy a copy of Windows and let the BootCamp assistant guide you through the installation process.





Google Desktop
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Google Desktop for Mac has been updated adding support for the new Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard.

In addition to Leopard support, Google Desktop allows indexing of drives where Spotlight has been disabled Desktop no longer tries to index PGP disks; Time Machine won't back up Desktop indexes, nor will Desktop search Time Machine backups; and Desktop preferences pane now supports keyword searching in System Preferences for various settings.

Four questions for India's selectors

The Challenger Series may provide the Indian national selectors with an idea of the bench strength available to them, but the October 27 meeting to pick the national side for the first two one-dayers against Pakistan is likely to focus on players who aren't in Ahmedabad.Lets look at the four key questions the selectors will need to answer


The Big Three
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Phasing out Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid is expected to be the moot point, and the selectors need to decide what direction to take. The clamour for youth has turned louder, especially after the World Twenty20 win in South Africa, and the selectors realise that giving in will allow them to groom a young and athletic side for the future.

The most logical option seems to be to play two of the three per game, resting the third on a rotation basis, but it's a move that's unlikely to be approved unanimously. Leaving Sachin Tendulkar out may be too thorny an issue for the selectors to handle; his scintillating one-day form - he has averaged 47.55 since June this year, with eight half-centuries - also works in his favour, as does the fact that he's tipped to be offered the Test captaincy.

Sourav Ganguly, averaging 40.12, with six fifties, since June, doesn't have similar leeway but his bowling, some selectors feel, adds an extra dimension to the side. However, the one whose spot is most under threat is Dravid, who has struggled in his last ten ODIs, with an average of 8.88.

Dravid has reached double figures on just three occasions, and missed out on the final one-dayer against Australia in Mumbai, where he was replaced by Dinesh Karthik. With promising middle-order batsmen like S Badrinath and Rohit Sharma pushing for slots, the selectors, it is understood, are inclined to "rest" Dravid, for the opening two matches at least.


The Test Captaincy
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The other big announcement concerns the Test captaincy - though the selectors have decided to defer that a bit. When the moment arrives, it is widely expected to be a two-horse race featuring Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Tendulkar. A two-captain policy, one for Tests and the other for the shorter formats, is unprecedented in India but the chances of Tendulkar being given another shot at the job, one that he last held in 2000, look increasingly likely at the moment.

With a big home series against Pakistan and an equally important away assignment in Australia coming up, the selectors might decide to offer the reins to the most experienced hand in Indian cricket. Tendulkar's Test captaincy record, spread over two terms, is a woeful one - he has won just four of 25 Tests - but the respect he commands from the entire side, and his talismanic value, would work in his favour. The selectors have three other options in front of them - India's winning-est captain, Ganguly, legspinner Anil Kumble, and middle-order batsman VVS Laxman - but these seem to be candidates only on paper.With Harbhajan Singh back in the frame, Powar and Chawla may not be automatic picks


Opening Gambit
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If Tendulkar and Ganguly keep their places, as is expected, it would be interesting to see which other opening options are considered. A few cracking cameos in the World Twenty20 gave Virender Sehwag an opening, but he faces stiff competition from his Delhi team-mate Gautam Gambhir. Robin Uthappa is the other opener in the fray but his ability to adjust to the middle order, and to up the ante when the field is spread out, should win him a place in any case.


How To Spin ?
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The England tour saw the emergence of Ramesh Powar and Piyush Chawla as India's new spin-combination but a lot has changed since. Both are fighting for spots with a couple of experienced hands, Harbhajan Singh and Murali Kartik, who have brought themselves back into the picture. Harbhajan has used the Twenty20 format to resurrect his one-day career while Kartik, varying his pace and length, turned in one fine spell after another against Australia.

Chawla, a revelation in the one-dayers in England, has recently returned from injury, but it will be surprising if the selectors recall him straight away. Powar was India's best bowler in the ODI series against England but insipid in the first three games against Australia. He might need to do more, with both ball and fitness, to regain his berth. A few months ago the Indian spin cupboard appeared bare; suddenly, it seems, the selectors are spoilt for choice.