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Ancient crystal skulls

It is claimed that 13 ancient crystal skulls have been found with mysterious properties.

The Mitchell-Hedges family loaned the skull to Hewlett-Packard Laboratories for extensive study in 1970. Art restorer Frank Dorland oversaw the testing at the Santa Clara, California, computer equipment manufacturer, a leading facility for crystal research. The HP examinations yielded some startling results.

Researchers found that the skull had been carved against the natural axis of the crystal. Modern crystal sculptors always take into account the axis, or orientation of the crystal's molecular symmetry, because if they carve "against the grain," the piece is bound to shatter -- even with the use of lasers and other high-tech cutting methods.
To compound the strangeness, HP could find no microscopic scratches on the crystal which would indicate it had been carved with metal instruments. Dorland's best hypothesis for the skull's construction is that it was roughly hewn out with diamonds, and then the detail work was meticulously done with a gentle solution of silicon sand and water. The exhausting job -- assuming it could possibly be done in this way -- would have required man-hours adding up to 300 years to complete.
Note: 5/08, crystal skulls find themselves in the lates Indiana Jones movie!

Reference: http://www.world-mysteries.com/sar_6_1.htm

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Where do computer viruses come from

70 percent of virus writers work under contract for organized crime syndicates.

Reference: Linux World

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What are the different types of laptop batteries?

There are currently three types of batteries commonly used to run people's laptops:
1) Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd) batteries were the standard technology for years, but are now out of date.
2) Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) batteries are a cadmium-free replacement for Nickel Cadmium.
3) Lithium Ion (Li-ion) is the battery you want for your laptop and is the current standard for portable power.

Reference:

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What is the worst computer virus ever?

The "Love Hurts" virus hit in spring 2000 and infected affected millions of computers and caused more damage than any other computer virus to date. Users were infected via e-mail, through Internet chat systems, and through other shared file systems. The worm sent copies of itself via Microsoft Outlook's address book entries. The mail included an executable file attachment with the e-mail subject line, "ILOVEYOU." The worm had the ability to overwrite several types of files, including .gif and .jpg files. It modified the Internet Explorer start page and changed Registry keys. It also moved other files and hid MP3 files on affected systems. Visit Symantec's Security Response for instructions on how to remove LoveLetter.

Reference: http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,103992-page,1/article.html

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