A place for Amazing & Funny Pictures, Jokes, Computer, Technology, Health, Useful Information & Interesting Stuffs
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
The Most Educated Countries in the World
College graduation rates continued to improve around the world during the recession, according to a recent international economic study. In more developed countries, the percentage of adults with the equivalent of a college degree rose to more than 30% in 2010. In the United States, it was more than 40%, which is among the highest percentages in the world. However, improvements in higher education are harder to achieve in these countries. More developed economies have had the most educated populations for some time. While these countries have steadily increased education rates, the increases have been modest compared to developing economies. At just above 1%, the U.S. has had one of the smallest annual growth rates for higher education since 1997. In Poland, an emerging market, the annualized rate was 7.2% from 1997 to 2010.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) Education at a Glance 2012 report calculated the proportion of residents with a college or college equivalent degree in the group's 34 member nations and other major economies. Based on the report, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 10 countries with the highest proportion of adults with a college degree.
The majority of countries that spend the most on education have the most educated populations. As in previous years, the best educated countries tend to spend the most on tertiary education as a percentage of gross domestic product. The United States and Canada, among the most educated countries, spend the first and third most respectively.
Photo — Link
Among the 10 countries with the highest proportion of educated adults, unemployment rates for those with a college equivalent ranged from 2.8% in Australia to 5.4% in the Canada. In each country, the rate remained lower than that country's national average. The OECD provided information on the percentage of residents aged 25 to 64 with a tertiary education for each of its 34 member countries, as well as for eight other nations. 2010 statistics on educational attainment, graduation rates, GDP per capita and unemployment rates also were provided by the OECD. The latest figures covering country-level education expenditure are from 2009.
Photo — Link
Thinkstock> Pct. population with tertiary education: 51%
> Average annual growth rate (2000-2010): 2.4% (5th lowest)
> GDP per capita: $39,050 (11th highest)
Canada is the only nation where more than half of all adults had a tertiary education in 2010. This was up from 40% of the adult population in 2000, when the country also ranked as the world's most educated. Canada has managed to become a world leader in education without being a leader in education spending, which totaled just 6.1% of GDP in 2009, or less than the 6.3% average for the OECD. A large amount of its spending went towards tertiary education, on which the country spent 2.5% of GDP, trailing only the United States and South Korea. One of the few areas Canada did not perform well in was attracting international students, who made up just 6.6% of all tertiary students — lower than the OECD's 8% average.
02. Israel
Photo — Link
Thinkstock> Pct. population with tertiary education: 46%
> Average annual growth rate (2000-2010): N/A
> GDP per capita: $26,531 (13th lowest)
Israel only joined the OECD in 2010. That year, its GDP per capita was more than $7,000 below the OECD's average. Despite this, the country's high school graduation rate was 92% in 2010, well above the OECD's 84% average. Some 46% of residents had a tertiary education, versus 31% for the OECD. Israel spent 7.2% of GDP on educational institutions in 2009, the sixth most among all nations. And for the first time, preschool education will become free in 2012 even for children as young as three years old, Haaretz newspaper reported. This should benefit Israel as, according to the OECD, "early childhood education is associated with better performance later on in school."
Gardens of Maui
Hawaiian Island archipelago is located on the northern tropical circle in the Pacific. Maui is the second largest and probably the most beautiful island in the Hawaiian archipelago. High mountains, deep green canyons, swift waterfalls, amazing black and white beaches, jungles full of life - it's incredible beauty of Maui.
The magnificent beauty of the gardens GARDEN OF EDEN ARBORETUM and BOTANICAL GARDEN, the collection of which there are more than 500 species of plants.This park is also famous for the fact that its territory was removed beginning famous movie "Jurassic Park.
The gardens were established in 1987, and are located in a valley floor at approximately 800 feet (240 m) elevation. Plants are labeled with botanical name, common name, and country of origin.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Close Up With Stingrays
Close up with the stingrays: Photographer captures special holiday snaps of tourists swimming underwater off the Cayman Islands
- Photographer Claudio Gazzaroli, 38, captured the moment on camera during a trip to Grand Cayman in Caribbean
- Stingrays in local area off the coast are known to be friendly and many people go there for snorkelling experiences
- Animals can live for 25 years and spend much of their lives inactive buried in the sand, drifting with tide's movement
By Mark Duell
They're renowned for their friendliness off the Cayman Islands coast - but this stingray looks a little grumpy as he swims just below the water's surface.
Photographer Claudio Gazzaroli, 38, captured the moment on camera during a trip to Grand Cayman in the Caribbean, where tourists flock each year to swim with the majestic animals.
He said: 'A lot of people go to this place to snorkel with stingray, so the rays are really friendly. You can see the beauty of this wild animal and it is a stunning place to experience this encounter.
Under the sea: Stingrays can live for 25 years and spend the majority of their lives inactive buried in the sand, drifting with the movement of the tide
Breathtaking: Tourists flock to the Caribbean each year to swim with the majestic animals - and photographer Claudio Gazzaroli, 38, captured the moment on camera
Swim time: Like sharks, they use sensors called ampullae of Lorenzini, which allow them to hunt prey by detecting their natural electrical pulses
Microsoft unveils its first tablet, the Surface
The Surface appears to be a cross between a tablet and a PC, and Microsoft's challenge now will be to educate the market as to why different is also better.
Microsoft Corp put its Surface tablet center stage at its Windows 8 launch event, hoping the sleek new device will spark a fightback against Apple Inc and Google Inc in the exploding mobile computing market.
With interest in traditional computers waning, the world's largest software company is attempting to reinvent the Windows PC in a new format and directly challenge Apple's all-conquering iPad.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Convert existing TV to smart TV
UG007 TV stick features Bluetooth, Android 4.1, dual core CPU
The UG007 is a new PC-on-a-stick with a 1.6 GHz Rockchip RK3066 dual core processor, 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of storage.While there are plenty of those around, there are a few things that make the UG007 different.
The new model features built-in Bluetooth support (as well as 802.11n WiFi), and runs Google Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean.
The rest of the specs are pretty much par for the couse, including Mali 400 graphics, a USB 2.0 port, HDMI output, and a microSD card slot.
You can use this sort of device by plugging the HDMI port directly into a TV or monitor, hooking up a power source, and connecting a USB or wireless mouse, keyboard or remote control. Basically, it lets you run Android apps on a TV or monitor.
The first TV sticks of this type started to hit the market earlier this year, and in the last few months we've seen a number of models with faster processors, more storage, and other improved specs. But Bluetooth is still relatively rare.
Reno Botes from Ugoos tipped me off about the new mini PC. You can find more details at the Ugoos website — but you'll need to contact the distributor for pricing details. Botes says units should be ready to ship by the end of the week.
Or you could just scan through AliExpress, where a number of sellers are already offering the UG007 with prices as low as $60.
Unlike some TV stick/mini PC devices, it's unlikely that you'll be able to run Linux on the UG007 any time soon. Rockchip doesn't make a habit of releasing source code that would help developers port Ubuntu or other operating systems to run on devices with the company's chips.
