Richard Branson Wants To Build A High-Speed Hyperloop In India

LUCY NICHOLSON / REUTERS

Richard Branson's project, Virgin Hyperloop One, seeks to decrease travel time using vacuum-based underground tunnels.

British billionaire Richard Branson has announced plans to build a high-speed shuttle in India that could potentially revolutionize travel in the country.

 

The proposed hyperloop route between Mumbai and Pune, two major cities in the western state of Maharashtra, would reduce travel time from over three hours by train to just 25 minutes, according to a Virgin press release.

Branson, co-founder of the British multinational conglomerate, signed a preliminary agreement with Maharashtra’s government on Sunday, the Press Trust of India reports. The project will now undergo an extensive feasibility study.

“I believe Virgin Hyperloop One could have the same impact upon India in the 21st century as trains did in the 20th century,” Branson said in the press release. “The Pune-Mumbai route is an ideal first corridor as part of a national hyperloop network that will dramatically reduce travel times between most of India’s major cities to under two hours.”

20 Mouthwatering Iftar Spreads That Will Make You Very, Very Hungry

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It's that time of the year again. When the Instagram feeds become a test of restraint for non-Muslims, thanks to their Muslim friends. Yes, the kind of nightmare where all kinds of gorgeous, mouthwatering food dance before you and make the idea of gatecrashing someone's dinner without a warning a legitimate, respectable exercise.

Fasting, or Sawm, is one of the five pillars of Islam and it is required for all Muslims to keep Rozas once they reach puberty.

Iftar, which literally means 'breaking fast' during the holy month of Ramadan in Arabic, is an eagerly awaited part of the day for fasting Muslims and their food-loving friends. What's not to like about piles of delicacies beckoning to you to come devour them? Steaming mutton curries and fragrant biryanis. Juicy fruits, icy sherbets and desserts to satisfy everyone's sweet cravings. Tender kebabs to sink your teeth into. Slow-cooked vegetable and meat stews. Flaky egg parottas. Crispy, crackling jalebis and light soufflés. Seriously, what's not to like!? Of course, one must earn the feast by diligently keeping the strict Roza, or fast, during the day — no food, water, smoking or sex — for the entire month.

Shah Rukh Khan Spoke About Bollywood's Deafening Silence During 'Padmaavat' Controversy

DANISH SIDDIQUI / REUTERS

Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan speaks during an interview with Reuters in Mumbai, India, January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

While Sanjay Leela Bhansali's historical-fiction, Padmaavat, was being attacked by fringe groups, mainly the Karni Sena, the Hindi film industry maintained a stoic silence around the issue.

Bollywood's perceived lack of unity was interpreted as cowardice, with many writing op-ed pieces calling out the divisive nature of the industry members.

On Monday evening, Shah Rukh Khan was present at the Magnetic Maharashtra event, held at BKC's MMRDA grounds in Mumbai, where he was in conversation with Arnab Goswami, producer Ritesh Sidhwani, Amazon Prime Video India head, Vijay Subramaniyam, Viacom Group Head, Sudhanshu Vats, and Lokmat Editorial MD, Rishi Darda.

When the question of the industry's response to Padmaavat came up, SRK addressed it head-on. "Recently with the Viacom film (Padmaavat) we had people saying 'why don't the other stars come up, they are not coming up, oh they are hiding.' No, we are not hiding. As a matter of fact, the simple truth is this – there is a section of people who go on an 'uprising' so to say."

Khan said talking about the issue would give it more 'importance.'

11 Awesome (And Weird) Guinness Records Held By Indians

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In this Sunday, Dec. 7, 2014 photo, an aerial picture shows the Indian national flag formed by volunteers seeking to set a Guinness Record for the largest human flag formation at Nandanam YMCA ground in Chennai, India. (AP Photo/Press Trust of India) INDIA OUT

From the world's largest condom mosaic to the most number of hugs in under an hour, Indians hold some of the most interesting Guinness records. Here are 11 awesome and weird titles that you need to see to believe.

If you want to look up other crazy stunts Indians have pulled off, check out Guinness World Records that holds everything from the mundane to the most bizarre records ever made!

What The World Thinks Of Indian States, According To Google

KUTTANPILLA/IMGUR

Google Auto-complete is a great way to find out what the hive-mind is thinking. The feature has been around for more than 10 years; the suggestions are based on the popularity of what people type into the search engine.

Reddit user ‘kuttanpilla’ recently posted an awesome map of India with the first auto-complete suggestion for each Indian state.

The map shows up some interesting generalisations — users seem to be most concerned about why Karnataka is the most corrupt, why Gujarat is a dry state, why Arunachal Pradesh is disputed, and why Madhya Pradesh is poor.

Facebook abruptly removes VR shooting game at 2018 CPAC

IMAGE: OCULUS/EPIC GAMES

BY KERRY FLYNN17 HOURS AGO

Facebook pulled a demo of Bullet Train, a virtual reality game that lets players use an imaginary gun to pretend shoot people in a train station, at the 2018 Conservative Political Action Conference. 

The move comes following criticism for featuring a violent game so closely after the shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida left 17 people dead. 

SEE ALSO: I just don't understand these cheesy virtual reality movie 'experiences'

"There is a standard set of experiences included in the Oculus demos we feature at public events. A few of the action games can include violence. In light of the recent events in Florida and out of respect for the victims and their families, we have removed them from this demo. We regret that we failed to do so in the first place," Facebook's VP of VR Hugo Barra said in an emailed statement to Mashable. 

As the students and loved ones of the victims still mourn and the gun control debate is reignited, Facebook's decision to promote a shooting game struck a chord of poor timing. Here's a video of the experience, as shared on Twitter: 

Uber CEO: self-driving cabs will hit the streets by mid-2019

Credit: Uber

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Speaking at Bloomberg’s #TheYearAhead event in Davos, Switzerland, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said that the company is gearing up to roll out self-driving cabs for passengers to ride, by around mid-2019.

“We will have autonomous cars on the road, I believe within the next 18 months,” Khosrowshahi said. “And not as a test case, as a real [use] case out there.However, that’s not to say that every Uber cab will be self-driving; instead, the company will likely send autonomous vehicles for a small number of rides that it’s fully confident that its self-driving cars can handle. Khosrowshahi gave the example of handling a ride in Phoenix, saying that in 95 percent of cases, where mapping isn’t sufficient or weather is difficult, it’ll send a car with a human driver – but in 5 percent of cases, an autonomous vehicle will be up to the task, and be sent out instead.

He added that the plan is to improve that figure from 5 percent to 100 percent of trips over the next several years, and that Uber users will be able to choose whether they want a self-driving car or one with an actual driver.

That’s optimistic, given that Uber is still in a major legal tussle with Google spinoff firm Waymo over having stolen trade secrets; the battle has been raging since last February. Ahead of the trial, Waymo has sought $2.6 billion for just one of several such secrets, and last month, courts revealed a 37-page letter of allegationsagainst Uber from a former employee, highlighting numerous forms of misconduct, including ousted CEO Travis Kalanick’s involvment in the theft of Waymo’s tech know-how. Losing the case could put a spanner in the works for Uber.

Still, it’s interesting to hear how a major mobility firm like Uber is approaching the challenge of introducing self-driving vehicles onto our streets. The company has been testing its vehicles in San Francisco, Pittsburgh, and most recently, Arizona. As someone who’s hoping to never have to own a car in their lifetime, I’m happy to keep an eye on Khosrowshahi & Co. to see if they can make good on their promise.

Baking mischief and delight into your products will make people love them

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One boozy night in 2010, two developers and an illustrator were sitting in a bar discussing how utterly annoying they found the game FarmVille. As you probably remember, FarmVille was that horribly addictive social network game that let you grow crops and raise livestock, polluting your Facebook newsfeed with endless notifications about how to tend to your farm.

After a few more drinks, the group decided to figure out a way to mess with the game. They sketched up an app which let you post updates identical to those of Farmville’s, but instead, the messages were much more… savage. From giving your neighbors cows Mad Cow Disease to putting a meth lab or a slaughterhouse in the middle of your friend’s farm, the app, which they called Farmvillain, was designed to let you have fun at your friends’ expense – you know, the best kind of fun.

Feeling accomplished, the group sent their creation to a few close friends for a laugh. Within a few months, the game, created as a complete joke, had gone viral, with millions of people playing it worldwide. Undoubtedly, there were many people who absolutely loathed Farmvillain, but there were also millions of people who loved it. After two years, the friends ended up selling their game for quite a decent sum, forever shocked at how a stupid idea turned into something so many people loved.