Sunday, December 20, 2009

Transform iPhone Into a Universal Remote


OK, so we know a thing or two about the "convenience" of using your iPhone as a remote control. For instance, using it to control Boxee was alright -- until we needed to make a call. Or we received a call. Not to rain on anyone's parade, but the idea of re-purposing your phone to act as a universal remote seems a little silly. But what do we know? Maybe you hold all calls while Jersey Shore is on anyways. In that case, Re could be your next favorite gadget. This bad boy lets your handset communicate with all your AV equipment via infrared, contains an extensive database of devices, and can learn from any IR remote. If that weren't enough, New Kinetix promises regular updates to the app -- and your typical remote can't do that! Compatible with the iPod Touch as well, there's no word yet on a price or release date, but we're expecting that we'll be getting plenty more details come CES time...more

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Cooky Robots


Cooking robots aren't exactly anything new (even if they haven't yet been perfected), but they generally come in the form of humanoid robots or, at the very least, robotic arms in order to be more adept in the kitchen. JST's ERATO research division has taken a decidedly different approach with these so-called Cooky robots, however, which are tiny, wheeled bots that scurry about your countertop and work as a team to make miso soup for you. As you might have guessed from the image above though, they aren't quite entirely autonomous, and require that you both label all the necessary ingredients with special cards, and pre-program things like cooking time and temperature. They'll take things over from there on out though and, as you can see in the video after the break, the results do at least appear to be edible.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

This Is Your Data on Silverlight


Here's an interesting video that gives you an idea of what working with data on the web can be like using Silverlight. The company is Data Applied, and if you can take the robotic narration you'll see some interesting data visualization examples. There's a link to sign up and try crunching your own data for free. I tried it out with and it's definitely worth a look. One nit I have is the mouse wheel deepzooms the data rather than scrolls the list. But there are interesting analysis you can run, like pivots, tree maps, forecasts and correlations. If you're a data viz junkie, you'll find a lot to keep you busy. (http://www.on10.net/)

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Quantum Algorithm Promising Superfast Search

Quantum computing has long dangled the possibility of superfast, super-efficient processing, and now search giant Google has jumped on board that future. New Scientist reports that Google has spent the past three years developing a quantum algorithm that can automatically recognize and sort objects from still images or video.

The promise of quantum computing rests with the bizarre physics that occurs at the subatomic level. Different research teams have worked on creating quantum processors that store information as qubits (quantum bits), which can represent both the 1 and 0 of binary computer language at the same time. That dual possibility state allows for much more efficient processing and information storage.

To take an example cited by Google, a classical computer might need 500,000 peeks on average to find a ball hidden somewhere within a million drawers. But a quantum computer could find the ball by just looking into 1,000 drawers -- a nice little stunt known as Grover's algorithm.

Google has been using a quantum computing device created by D-Wave, a Canadian firm. But a lack of information about how D-Wave's chip works has led to outside skepticism regarding whether it does indeed count as a quantum computer... read more

Friday, December 11, 2009

MIT Gestural Computing


MIT Media Lab, home to Big Bird's illegitimate progeny, augmented reality projects aplenty, and now three-dimensional gestural computing. The new bi-directional display being demoed by the Cambridge-based boffins performs both multitouch functions that we're familiar with and hand movement recognition in the space in front of the screen -- which we're also familiar with, but mostly from the movies. The gestural motion tracking is done via embedded optical sensors behind the display, which are allowed to see what you're doing by the LCD alternating rapidly (invisible to the human eye, but probably not to human pedantry) between what it's displaying to the viewer and a pattern for the camera array. This differs from projects like Natal, which have the camera offset from the display and therefore cannot work at short distances, but if you want even more detail, you'll find it in the informative video after the break. (http://www.engadget.com/)

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Top Ten Traits of Highly Successful People

We have all read about people who are successful briefly. They win a gold medal, make a fortune, or star in one great movie and then disappear.…These examples do not inspire me!
My focus and fascination is with people who seem to do well in many areas of life, and do it over and over through a lifetime. In entertainment, I think of Paul Newman and Bill Cosby. In business, I think of Ben and Jerry (the ice cream moguls)…As a Naval Officer, husband, businessman, politician and now as a mediator and philanthropist on the world stage, Jimmy Carter has had a remarkable life. We all know examples of people who go from one success to another.
These are the people who inspire me! I've studied them, and I've noticed they have the following traits in common:

They work hard! Yes, they play hard, too! They get up early, they rarely complain, they expect performance from others, but they expect extraordinary performance from themselves. Repeated, high-level success starts with a recognition that hard work pays off.

They are incredibly curious and eager to learn. They study, ask questions and read—constantly! An interesting point, however: While most of them did well in school, the difference is that they apply or take advantage of what they learn. Repeated success is not about memorizing facts, it's about being able to take information and create, build, or apply it in new and important ways. Successful people want to learn everything about everything!

They network. They know lots of people, and they know lots of different kinds of people. They listen to friends, neighbors, co- workers and bartenders. They don't have to be "the life of the party," in fact many are quiet, even shy, but they value people and they value relationships. Successful people have a Rolodex full of people who value their friendship and return their calls.

They work on themselves and never quit! While the "over-night wonders" become arrogant and quickly disappear, really successful people work on their personality, their leadership skills, management skills, and every other detail of life. When a relationship or business deal goes sour, they assume they can learn from it and they expect to do better next time. Successful people don't tolerate flaws; they fix them!

They are extraordinarily creative. They go around asking, "Why not?" They see new combinations, new possibilities, new opportunities and challenges where others see problems or limitations. They wake up in the middle of the night yelling, "I've got it!" They ask for advice, try things out, consult experts and amateurs, always looking for a better, faster, cheaper solution. Successful people create stuff!

They are self-reliant and take responsibility. Incredibly successful people don't worry about blame, and they don't waste time complaining. They make decisions and move on.…Extremely successful people take the initiative and accept the responsibilities of success.

They are usually relaxed and keep their perspective. Even in times of stress or turmoil, highly successful people keep their balance, they know the value of timing, humor, and patience. They rarely panic or make decisions on impulse. Unusually successful people breath easily, ask the right questions, and make sound decisions, even in a crisis.

Extremely successful people live in the present moment. They know that "Now" is the only time they can control. They have a "gift" for looking people in the eye, listening to what is being said, enjoying a meal or fine wine, music or playing with a child. They never seem rushed, and they get a lot done! They take full advantage of each day. Successful people don't waste time, they use it!
They "look over the horizon" to see the future. They observe trends, notice changes, see shifts, and hear the nuances that others miss. A basketball player wearing Nikes is trivial, the neighbor kid wearing them is interesting, your own teenager demanding them is an investment opportunity! Extremely successful people live in the present, with one eye on the future!

Repeatedly successful people respond instantly! When an investment isn't working out, they sell. When they see an opportunity, they make the call. If an important relationship is cooling down, they take time to renew it. When technology or a new competitor or a change in the economic situation requires an adjustment, they are the first and quickest to respond.
These traits work together in combination, giving repeatedly successful people a huge advantage. Because they are insatiable learners, they can respond wisely to change. Because their personal relationships are strong, they have good advisors, and a reserve of goodwill when things go bad. And finally, none of these traits are genetic! They can be learned! They are free and they are skills you can use. Start now!

Dr. Philip E. Humbert
http://www.philiphumbert.com/

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Square iPhone Payment System

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and the quiet startup formerly known as Squirrel are finally opening up a bit. The company now called Square, as we noted back in October, has launched a website for its iPhone payment dongle, although it's still in somewhat private beta testing. TechCrunch managed to catch up with Dorsey, who gave a brief overview of the product and then showed it off by charging $4 for a cup of coffee -- so it goes in San Francisco. See Square in action after the break. (http://www.engadget.com)

Saturday, November 28, 2009

FedEx Senseaware Tracks Everything

What do you get when you throw cellular and GPS radios in with an accelerometer, a thermometer and a light sensor? If you answered a decently featured phone, you'd be almost right. FedEx has concocted the above tracker to be able to tell you everything about the package it's in -- if it has been opened, dropped, outside of temperature range, or insufficiently loved by its deliverator. The GPS and cellular signals are used to provide a real time position, and all that data is fed through a web platform for the increasingly obsessive sender to monitor. It is now being deployed with 50 medical clients -- who actually have a use for all the intel -- and once production ramps up and economies of scale kick in, the opening price of $120 a month is expected to drop rapidly. You can expect the Senseaware tracker to show up worldwide some time next year. (http://www.engadget.com/page/3/)

Friday, November 27, 2009

10 Ways to Have a Better Day Today

1. Wake up 30 Minutes Early.
Get up 30 minutes before the alarm goes off and take the first half hour for yourself. Once you get busy and into the day there never seems to be the time for yourself. Take this time to plan getting the most from the day.

2. Read, Listen, or Watch Something Uplifting.
Make this a daily habit. Get out of starting the day with no mental food. A great day does not begin with the news or the paper, it begins with ideas or energy that will propel you through the day. What you first hear will stay with you throughout the day.

3. Eat a Good Breakfast to Start You Off Right.
Get something good into your body to wake it up and get it going. Think about the energy you will need to perform. Everyday we run a marathon. What would you need to eat and drink to win it.


4. Choose Your Winning Attitude.
There is enough to go wrong without sabotaging yourself. Your attitude is a choice you make. Don't let it come between you and your success. Be careful to keep it positive all day long.

5. Be Aware of What They are Telling You.
The people around us have a profound effect on how we get through life. Our closest friends and family are our greatest environmental influences. Make sure you have the best advisors you can find.

6. Make the Most of What You Do.
When you get to your work, make it the best place to be. Most people go to work and never think about work while they are there. Focus on your contribution. What would it be like if you were not around. Strive to give a 100% each and every day.

7. Always Remember that People are Listening.
Make a point of talking well of others. Wish others the best in life. What goes around does come around. Don't talk negative about anyone. Try to understand their circumstances Practice being a support system to your friends and family. They need you.

8. Be Honest and Fair to Others.
It does make a difference. What you give to others is usually what you get from others. Practice integrity that people can see and feel. Be aware of what you say. Learn to walk your talk at all times. The more people trust you, the more of their time they will trust with you.

9. Pace Your Energy to Last All Day.
Be careful of bursts of energy. Pace your energy throughout the day. If you get to crazy early in the day, you will reach a point of exhaustion before the day is over. By planning your entire day before you begin, you will have what you need. You've heard the old saying "look alive."

10. Get in Bed Early and Study for the Future.
I have a friend who keeps a journal at his bedside. Every night he writes what he learned new on that day. The only way to keep one step above the masses is to learn new ways to do things. Develop the habit of reading a work or personal development book before you go to sleep. Reading for 30 minutes a day is like a year of college. You can't succeed if you don't read. Remember throughout your day that life is what we make it, day by day. Practice having the best day ever. It adds up to a great life. (http://www.appleseeds.org/Better-Day.htm )

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Ostendo Now Selling CRVD Display



We first saw Ostendo's crazy CRVD monitor at CES 2008 with Alienware branding, and then again at Macworld 2009 with an NEC label, but it looks like those were just flirtations: the monster 2880 x 900 quad-DLP display has been quietly on sale directly from the mothership since late August. Ostendo tell us most of the units sold have been for defense simulation and training, but there are apparently some gamers out there hardcore enough to stomach the $6,499 price tag -- including a few who've purchased multiple units. We're also told that multi-monitor CRVD applications are forthcoming, which sounds insane -- and is even wilder on video. Check it after the break. (http://www.engadget.com)

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Running Google Chrome OS On Your PC

Hello guys, as you may have heard that Google has launched Chrome OS and not only this it is also Open Source, which mean you can customise it if required.

I have just tried it using VMware and its amazing. If you want to try following are few simple steps...

Step 1:- Download VMMware Player. You can use Virtual Box (by Sun), Which can be downloaded from http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/downloads


Step 2:- Chrome OS Image (.VMDK), can be downloaded from following location http://gdgt.com/google/chrome-os/download/ (you will be required to create a free account).


Step 3:- Loading Image, is very simple. Jut run the Virtual Box and create a new Virtual Machine. You can use pre-configured template of Win XP. In hard disk option add the Chrome OS image which you have just downloaded. It will be a zipped file, which you need to unzip first.



Step 4:- Running Chrome OS, Congratulations you have finlay configured it, its show time :). Select the Virtual Machine you have just created and click Start button.



When Chrome OS start, it will ask for username and password, you can use your own gmail account for this.




Once you are logged in , you will see interface very similar to Chrome browser but with more options.


Now you can enjoy Chrome OS, if you find any problem feel free to leave comments here.



Good luck!

Toyota Partner Robots Heading To The Moon



It started off innocently enough. Personal transporters, they told us, just robots to make life easier. Now look at them -- Toyota's Partner Robots are set for upgrades that include back-mounted solar chargers, spring-loaded jumping mechanisms, and a design hardy enough to withstand lunar temperature drops. Intended for the performance of exploratory missions on the moon -- alongside a four-wheeled robotic rover -- the new designs were introduced by Toyota in a presentation titled "Realization of Moon Exploration Using Advanced Robots by 2020." So, if the world doesn't actually end in 2012, by 2020 we'll have extraterrestrial robots plotting our demise anyway. More pictures of lunar colonization can be found after the break.(http://www.engadget.com)

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Google Chrome OS




Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks. Later this year we will open-source its code, and netbooks running Google Chrome OS will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010. Because we're already talking to partners about the project, and we'll soon be working with the open source community, we wanted to share our vision now so everyone understands what we are trying to achieve.

Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We're designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.

Google Chrome OS will run on both x86 as well as ARM chips and we are working with multiple OEMs to bring a number of netbooks to market next year. The software architecture is simple — Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel. For application developers, the web is the platform. All web-based applications will automatically work and new applications can be written using your favorite web technologies. And of course, these apps will run not only on Google Chrome OS, but on any standards-based browser on Windows, Mac and Linux thereby giving developers the largest user base of any platform.

Google Chrome OS is a new project, separate from Android. Android was designed from the beginning to work across a variety of devices from phones to set-top boxes to netbooks. Google Chrome OS is being created for people who spend most of their time on the web, and is being designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems. While there are areas where Google Chrome OS and Android overlap, we believe choice will drive innovation for the benefit of everyone, including Google.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Night Vision Plus From Bosch



Bosch’s enhanced night vision system “Night Vision plus” makes driving in the dark even safer for drivers and other road users.
Like its predecessor, this active safety system provides a high-contrast image of the area immediately ahead of the vehicle. Now, however, this image is also analysed. Pedestrians are identified and highlighted on the screen.

This allows the driver to take appropriate action at an early stage, considerably reducing the risk of accidents involving pedestrians. Analysis of accident data in Germany compiled in 2005 show, for example, that the danger of a fatal accident is twice as high at night as during the day.

“Night Vision plus” helps prevent night-time accidents involving pedestrians. The first production car to feature this system was the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class in 2009. The technology, known within Mercedes-Benz as “Night View Assist Plus” is also available on the new generation S-Class.

The Bosch active night vision system uses four main components to provide an accurate reproduction of the area immediately ahead of the vehicle. Infrared headlights, whose beams are invisible to the human eye, illuminate the road. The illuminated area is recorded by a camera which is installed behind the windscreen.

The images created then are processed by a control unit and shown on a high-resolution display in the cockpit. The infrared headlights have a range of 150 meters, three times more than common low-beam headlights. At the same time, however, they do not dazzle oncoming road users.

A separate control unit analyses the camera image pixel by pixel to pick up the infra red light reflected. Innovative analysis strategies then allow the system to distinguish between stationary and moving objects – when a moving object, for example a pedestrian is detected, it is highlighted on the screen display allowing early reaction by the driver. (www.hgvuk.com)

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Dell's Ultrathin Adamo XPS

Dell has been teasing its ultrathin Adamo XPS for weeks now, but all that goofing off will come to a solemn end next Thursday. On the same day that we sit down with Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer (and a little OS by the name of Windows 7 hits store shelves), Dell will also fully reveal the planet's slimmest laptop. The 0.39-inch Adamo XPS will cost $2,000, and while the nitty-gritty details are still under wraps, a new Business Week article notes that it'll boast a "heat-sensing strip on the lip that, when swiped with a finger, glows white and automatically opens the aluminum lid." The glamorous machine is part of a larger effort within the Round Rock powerhouse to revitalize itself and get people talking once again, and while this particular slab will obviously not be a high volume product, it could very well get a few more eyes pointed in its direction. Call us crazy, but we're guessing next week is going to be a wee bit zany. (http://www.engadget.com/)

Garmin's nuvi 1450 GPS


It's not that Garmin doesn't love the nuvi 1450 -- we're sure it loves each and every one one of its GPS units equally in their own special way or somesuch -- but it did release the device without so much as a press release or other typical fanfare. Bummer, but the 5-inch, 480 x 272 resolution touchscreen has now been unearthed and doesn't look too bad for its $449.99 price tag. Battery lasts up to three hours without charge and includes optional cityXplorer software for public transit listings and ecoRoute for fuel-conscious drivers. Available now if you're itching to take it with you on the next road trip. (http://www.engadget.com)

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

This May Be Your Next Mouse!







Get Microsoft Silverlight




Today at the User Interface Software and Technology Conference, Microsoft will show five new mouse prototypes that combine normal mousing with multitouch controls. Here is a video that gives you a brief introduction to each of the controls. I'll be meeting with this team when they get back, what questions do you have about these new mice? Which one is your most/least favorite? (www.on10.com)

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Mubi's Home Rover



It has been a while and there was a lot of dust on my robot.
Zain and me decided to add camera to our robot and explore home.
If you have seen my elarier post you must be familiar with a little bit intellgience of my robot.

-It has a programmable Microcontroller.
-Variouse sensors for controlling the movement ie. light, distance, range, collision etc .

You can write programs in logo language and donwload in robot.

As we decided to have a Live camera view from robot. So we added a Wifi camera mobile to it for video streaming. Which is connected to PC to show realtime video.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

MAEMO 5 Reviewed - Nokia N900

It's one thing to read a product preview here and there, but if you really want the Maemo 5 experience before you're even able to set foot in a store and buy an N900, look no further than mobile-review's characteristically exhaustive look at the platform. From the endless array of screenshots, you quickly get the impression that this is an attractive shell -- evolutionary and familiar for owners of the 770, N800, or N810, yes, but significantly freshened nonetheless. Here are a few big takeaways from the War & Peace-esque compendium:
There's apparently an N920 in the works that lacks a QWERTY keyboard. We've heard rumors in the past that the N900 will remain Nokia's sole Maemo 5 phone for at least a few months, so we might look to see this in 2010.
Process management invokes a curiously webOS-like card view which looks great. Helps when you have a beefy OMAP3 in there, doesn't it?
The call log effortlessly aggregates GSM and VoIP calls -- a neat trick, and a tip of the hat to Maemo's roots as a VoIP-friendly platform.
MMS isn't supported, strangely, though the platform's SMS support handles both threaded and traditional views.
While chatting up Maemo's calendar services, Eldar specifically says that he "Palm's WebOS-powered organizer much more enticing and promising." Lack of Google Calendar synchronization sucks, but we're not sure what that's all about -- Maemo does support Exchange ActiveSync, after all.
Eldar his the nail on the head regarding Maemo's Mozilla-based browser: it's always been good, just way too slow. The N900 cures those ails on better hardware, though "it hasn't caught up with the rest of the pack yet." Flash support seems wonky and performance isn't always great -- it depends on how many apps are running.
The music player is pretty bare-bones (typical Nokia), though anyone happy with the N97's sound quality will feel right at home here -- it's the same hardware.
The integrated Maps app apparently lags way behind the bar that Ovi Maps has set over on S60 -- super slow and "resource-hungry."Of course, the beauty of Maemo is its wide-open philosophy, so many of the niggles here that aren't corrected by Nokia proper will hopefully be handled by the community at large -- and the good news is that by the time you get done reading this review, the N900 should be on store shelves for you to try yourself. (http://www.engadget.com/)

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Windows Mobile, Sign Up for the Waze Alpha


Waze is a new mobile social application which provides maps, real-time traffic updates, and turn-by-turn navigation directions for mobile phone users. What’s interesting about this application is that it uses crowdsourcing to deliver both the map and traffic updates.
When launching the app, you’ll see an onscreen map which looks very much like any map in any other application. However, Waze’s dynamic map is created and constantly updated by its users who leave the application open while they drive. Using the phone’s GPS, the service learns where the roads are and this information is uploaded to the Waze.com website. There, members of the Waze community can make improvements to the map, adding in street names, fixing errors, and more.
Waze users can also add information to the Waze application about congestion, accidents, road construction, and other hazards or issues that are causing traffic delays. This info can be added while the app is open, but thankfully, Waze has had the foresight to disable typing while the car is in motion. Users can report map problems with a report button and even take photos of road hazards to share with other users. (Although hopefully they won’t do this while driving.)
Right now, the Waze app is only available on certain mobile platforms, but Windows Mobile users are encouraged to sign up for the Waze alpha program to help test the upcoming version of the Windows Mobile app. (http://www.on10.net/)

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Nokia Location-Aware Windows 7 Netbook

At this week’s Nokia World 09 event, the mobile technology company introduced a new netbook computer called the “Nokia Booklet 3G.” As its name implies, this small form-factor laptop comes with built-in 3G/HSPA technology for easy mobile access in addition to Wi-Fi. Plus, it supports hot-swappable SIM card slots which makes it very appealing to world travelers who often carry multiple phones and cards around. However, the coolest feature of the netbook has to be its A-GPS functionality. With this, it can take advantage of theWindows Sensor and Location Platform for “location-aware computing.” What that means is that both your computer and your applications know where they are.

The computer also includes other great features like a 12-hour battery life, an HDMI port, 3 USB ports, a headphone/microphone jack, a front facing camera, a 10.1-inch HD glass display, Bluetooth, and an SD card reader, all within its small 2 cm thick aluminum shell. No word on pricing yet, but the netbook will become available in the 4th quarter of 2009.(www.on10.net)

Monday, August 31, 2009

Windows 7 Sensor and Location - Deep Dive


The Windows Sensor and Location platform, new for Windows 7, enables your computer and applications to adapt to their current environment. Previously, we introduced the Windows 7 Location Platform Overview; in this video, we take a deep dive into the Location Platform architecture and APIs. Join Alec Berntson and Yochay Kiriaty as they explains why location gets a special set of APIs and what makes the Location Platform such an amazing platform for developers.
In the Windows 7 Developer Kit you can find Hands On Labs and additional content on Windows 7 Sensor and Location. You can find additional information about the Windows 7 Sensor and Location Platform in the:
Windows 7 Sensor and Location Platform Developer Center on MSDN
Windows 7 Sensor and Location Platform series of posts
PDC session recording - Windows 7: The Sensor and Location Platform: Building Context-Aware Applications.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

GSCREEN SPACEBOOK 2009 - Dual Screen Laptop

The world's first laptop with twin monitors is slated to hit the stores by the end of the year.

The dual-screen laptop, entitled Spacebook, was masterminded by Alaska-based technology firm gScreen.

The pioneering technology, that will let users to multi-task while on the move, will have two 15.4 in screens, reports the Telegraph.

The PC is estimated to cost enthusiasts around 3,000 dollars but not without concerns regarding the weight of the Spacebook and the pressure on the batteries to meet the energy demands of running two screens.

Gordon Stewart, the founder of gScreen, told US technology website Gizmodo, that the gadget could be expected to be up for grabs on Amazon by December this year, provided final modifications had been dealt with.

He said: "We designed this knowing that many may not need the extra screen at all times."

Spacebook is thought to be the first of its kind with twin screens of equal size.
(http://www.economictimes.indiatimes.com/)

The gScreen Spacebook series.

Spacebook planned Specs:
- 2 LED backlit display screens
- Windows VISTA/ WIN XP PRO (optional)
- Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 2.26-GHz
- 4 GB of RAM (2GB DDR2 SO-DIMM x 2)
- 320GB 7200-rpm HD
- NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800M GT with 512MB dedicated memory (or)
- NVIDIA® Quadro FX 1700M Graphics with 512MB dedicated memory
- 9-cell battery
- IEEE 1394 1 Graphics Card Output (15-pin, D-Sub) X 1, HDMI X 1 Mic-in X 1, Line-in x 1, Headphone X 1 PCI Express Card X 1 AC Power Adaptor Output: 19V DC, 90W Input: 100~240V AC, 50/60Hz universal Battery Pack Li-ion 9 cells

100% North American Sales and Tech support for all gScreen laptop computers.
The gScreen Spacebook is the first dual screen laptop with two 15.4-inch identical screens and a full-size keyboard, built into one laptop unit.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Microsoft Develop "White-Fi" Technology

Microsoft Researchers working in conjunction with researchers from Harvard University have developed a breakthrough technology which would allow the use of the “whitespace” spectrum for wireless broadband networking. White spaces are the portions of the unlicensed spectrum that’s between the parts previously used to broadcast analog TV channels. The FCC hasn’t allowed this portion of the spectrum to be used in the past because it would interfere with other users, most notably the TV broadcasters. Since the analog to digital TV transition, however, parts of the spectrum are now being made available for public safety communications (such as police, fire departments, and rescue squads) while other parts are being auctioned off for wireless services like wireless broadband.

Microsoft was one of the first companies to receive a license from the FCC to create prototype white space devices. In order for these devices to locate other spectrum users and not interfere with their signals (wireless microphones are often used in this space, for example), the researchers developed a special algorithm which measures the spectrum and locates available frequencies. If interference occurs, the white space devices switch to another channel quickly. In Microsoft’s experiments, the transition took 3 seconds.

The resulting set of protocols used for wireless internet networking using these methods are collectively being called “White-Fi” technology because of their similarities to the Wi-Fi systems used today. With “White-Fi,” the long-range wireless broadband necessary to cover rural areas, could soon become a reality. It could even allow you to connect to your home’s router from up to a mile away, noted Ranveer Chandra, a researcher working on this project.

Although White-Fi technology won’t provide as much bandwidth as other wireless technologies like WiMAX or LTE, it would at least provide broadband comparable to Wi-Fi networks but at longer distances. (www.on10.com)

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

RockMelt! A Mysterious Browser


Have you met RockMelt? Neither have most people, it seems -- but the Web is definitely a-buzzin' with word of the mysterious new browser. Thanks to a high-profile story in The New York Times , RockMelt's rapidly becoming the talk of the tech community.

So what exactly is RockMelt, and who's behind it? Most of the available info is sketchy at best. If you piece it all together, though, you can get a very rough picture of what the browser might be about. Here's a roundup of what's been revealed so far.

1. RockMelt's founders are two former Opsware employees.

The guys reportedly creating RockMelt are Tim Howe and Eric Vishria, both of whom used to work at networking company Opsware. Opsware was founded by Netscape creator Marc Andreessen and sold to HP in 2007.

2. Andreessen himself may be involved with RockMelt.

Andreessen is investing in RockMelt, according to unnamed sources quoted by The New York Times. Andreessen apparently alluded to the project in an interview earlier this summer as well, telling The Times he had "backed a really good team." Within minutes, The Times reports, Andreessen "appeared to regret his comment" and declined to elaborate any further.

3. RockMelt will be "different" from other browsers.

It's a vague statement, but Andreessen is quoted as telling The Times RockMelt would stand out from the pack of browsers currently on the market, focusing somehow on the "network of complex Web sites and applications" into which the Internet has evolved.

4. RockMelt may feature some kind of Facebook integration.

One of the areas of focus may involve some kind of social network integration. A Times reporter claims to have seen references to a RockMelt-Facebook relationship in a privacy policy once posted on the RockMelt home page. (The policy is no longer accessible from the site.) The reporter says the policy discussed the presence of features tied to a user's Facebook ID, including built-in access to Facebook updates and other content.

The idea of a Facebook relationship is echoed by materials published by tech blog ReadWriteWeb. The blog's lead writer, Marshall Kirkpatrick, says he obtained an early build of RockMelt. He calls it a "semi-independent desktop client for Facebook," offering a screenshot as an illustration.


Despite those reports, Facebook is denying knowledge of any kind of formal relationship with the startup. A Facebook spokesperson has gone on the record as saying the company is "not aware of any details about RockMelt and its product."

5. RockMelt may have its own URL shortener.

RockMelt has registered the domain me.lt as a URL shortener, ReadWriteWeb's Kirkpatrick claims. He says the domain was referenced on the RockMelt home page up until early this week.

According to DNS records, the me.lt domain was registered on April 16 of this year under the name "Klute-Thiemann Informationstechnologie GmbH & Co. KG." As of now, it points to a generic server landing page.

6. RockMelt's team is staying decidedly quiet.

The guys involved with RockMelt definitely don't want to say much about it. Eric Vishria tells The Times he and his group are "at very early stages of development," adding: "Talking about it at this stage is not useful." (www.pcworld.com)

Monday, August 24, 2009

Nokia Introduces Booklet 3G 'Mini' Laptop

Nokia rocked the world by introducing its spin on the laptop, called the Booklet 3G. If you're the rude sort (like us) you could call it a fancy netbook, what with its Atom processor and 10.1-inch display, but that screen is higher res than your average Eee, and it also sports integrated 3G wireless and a hot-swappable SIM card, so it's definitely trying to define its own niche. It looks to be running Windows 7, which isn't particularly netbooky, and also has integrated A-GPS with a copy of Ovi Maps, HDMI output, a rated 12 hour battery life, and the usual Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity, all in a 2cm (.78 inch), 2.7lb aluminum body that's understated, sophisticated, and should make most Nokia fans very happy -- Nokia fans who are looking for a tiny laptop, anyway. There's a fancy promotional video after the break, and while we don't have any anticipated release date or price just yet, we'll be learning more at Nokia World 09 on September 2. (www.engadget.com)

Garmin's First Windows Mobile Phone


GPS device manufacturer Garmin teamed up with electronic vendor Asustek Computer to create their first Windows Mobile smartphone which launched earlier this week in Taiwan. The phone, the Nuvifone M20, features a 2.8-inch touchscreen, a 3.0-megapixel camera, 4GB of flash memory, QWERTY keyboard, a full web browser, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a Qualcomm 7200A 528MH CPU. The phone’s camera also automatically geotags photos with date, time, and location data.

Of course, the phone features Garmin software for turn-by-turn directions in addition to other pre-installed applications like Microsoft Office and a location-based social networking platform called Ciao!TM that integrates various social networks into one interface.

What’s really cool are all the included location-based applications that deliver info like real-time traffic updates, gas prices, flight times, weather, White Pages and local search.

The phone is currently available in Taiwan and Hong Kong and will soon arrive in Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, and then later this year in Europe. No word yet on the U.S. (www.on10.net)

Friday, August 21, 2009

Twitter To Add Geo-Tagging


Micro-blogging service Twitter adds features that to allow users to add their location to their status updates, adding to speculation about how the service will make money.


Twitter is adding the ability to geo-tag individual updates Twitter is bringing easy geo-tagging to the popular micro-blogging service, and it adds another possible way that the service might be able to make money.

Writing on the company's blog, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone wrote:

We're gearing up to launch a new feature which makes Twitter truly location-aware. A new API will allow developers to add latitude and longitude to any tweet. Folks will need to activate this new feature by choice because it will be off by default and the exact location data won't be stored for an extended period of time. However, if people do opt-in to sharing location on a tweet-by-tweet basis, compelling context will be added to each burst of information.

As Stone mentioned in his post, third party developers like Germany's Twibble have already produced geo-location services for Twitter. They relied on information pulled from the location details in users' profiles or from location information in the form of latitude and longitude or hash tags in the tweet itself.

Twibble's mobile client was specifically designed add the location information by pulling the data from the GPS radios in smartphones. It is a relatively easy process, but it has its drawbacks. Updating my profile location took a few steps in addition to posting a tweet, which became cumbersome if I was moving a lot, and embedding my coordinates or a location hash tag in the tweet itself took up precious characters. Hopefully, the geo-location API will make the process much easier and embed the meta-data in my tweets in such a way as to leave all of my 140 characters. (www.guardian.co.uk)

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

LifeCam Cinema HD Unveiled

Microsoft just unveiled the latest in their line of LifeCam devices, the LifeCam Cinema HD. This is no basic webcam by any means as it offers 1280 x 720 HD resolution at 30 frames per second. That makes it the first consumer webcam support this level of HD, in fact. (It will also lead to some seriously high-quality Vimeo vids!)

The camera also features USB 2.0 connectivity, auto focus, a glass lens, a 4x digital zoom, a noise-canceling microphone, and a technology called “ClearFrame” which aims to deliver smooth and detailed video.

The new webcam is compatible with Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP out-of-the-box and also integrates with the Windows Live suite of tools including Live Messenger, Live Photo Gallery, and Live Movie Maker.

However, before you run out to purchase this hardware (which becomes available on September 9th), you’ll need to first check the hardware requirements. Since this camera does some heavy lifting, you’ll need at least a dual core 1.6 GHz processor in order to use it. However, a 3 GHz processor is recommended. You’ll also need 2 GB of memory.

The camera will retail for $79.99 here in the U.S. (www.on10.com)

Monday, August 17, 2009

TomTom for iPhone

Turn-by-turn car navigation for iPhone is here. Tom Tom has just announced Navigation application for iPhone. I think its very good idea.
TomTom has made navigation available for your iPhone 3G. All you need is:

the TomTom app including the latest maps
(coming soon to the iTunes App Store)
the TomTom car kit that offers secure docking, enhanced GPS performance, clear voice instructions and hands-free calling, while charging your iPhone at the same time.



Sunday, August 16, 2009

Stinger CE 6.0 R2 Robotics Kit


Just came across Stinger Kit. Its very good for learners and based on Win CE. Stinger CE Robotics Kit provides an fun, easy, and robust way for students to learn Windows CE 6.0. The Stinger CE combines our Stinger Robot Kit, Serializer Robot Controller, and an ICOP eBox-4300 Windows CE 6.0 R2 Spark Jump Start Kit for a proven platform for software development.

The Stinger CE Robotics Kit is designed to allow students to learn how to develop an embedded Windows CE device by:


Building and Deploying a WinCE 6.0 R2 image
Developing and Deploying WinCE 6.0 R2 applications
Developing Robotic applications using the Compact .NET Framework

This kit includes all of the hardware, software, and documentation you need to get started, right out of the box.

The Stinger CE Robot Kit Includes
Stinger Robot Kit
Serializer .NET Robot Controller
ICOP eBox-4300 Windows CE 6.0 R2 Spark Jump Start Kit
Null Modem Serial cable for debugging
5V Switching Voltage Regulator
Power Cable (regulator to eBox-4300
Push Button I/O/LED/Buzzer Board
Line Following Sensor or GP2D12/GP2D120 Sharp IR Distance Sensor (3) Package
Please note: This kit DOES NOT include batteries.
These batteries work well with the Stinger.

The 35 Best iPhone Apps

The following is a round-up of top picks iPhone Apps so far this year:

++Most practical++

1. Slacker Radio
A fantastic alternative to Pandora, which carries a larger catalog and offers Premium accounts that offers something we?ve always loathed about Pandora ? unlimited song skips. (Similar: Pandora, WunderRadio, Last.fm)


2. Hey Where Are You
A beautifully simple application that takes advantage of Push Notification, by letting users ask and answer the question ?Hey, Where Are You??


3. Textfree Unlimited
Currently the best alternative to high SMS plan costs, offering free text messaging using Push Notification.


4. Bento
Create simple databases to store information about every aspect of your life.

5. TweetDeck
Our new, favorite Twitter client that takes advantage of the same layout as its desktop counterpart ? multiple columns, separation of user groups, and more. (Similar: Tweetie, Twinkle, TwitterFON)

6. Print and Share
Print files, emails, web pages, contacts, images and even snapshots direct from your camera, straight to your home printer. Simple setup and works perfectly.

7. Flight Tracker
Watch flights in real-time and get up-to-the-minute arrival and departure times. This has saved me countless delayed pick-ups from the airport.


8. Read It Later
Store any web page for offline reading or to mark as a reminder to read. A bit tricky to setup at first, but it will quickly replace bookmarking for articles.


9. iEmoji
Activate emoticons in your keyboard to include in emails and text messages. Works only for iPhones, but the end reader does not need the app to see emoticons in your texts.

10. Birthday Reminder
Rarely check Facebook to see upcoming birthdays? This app downloads all of that information so you can access and easily see upcoming bdays offline.

11. Mover
Swap contacts and photos with other iPhones in an easy way. Requires both users to have the application, but it is free and quick to download. (Similar: Bump)

12. Simplify Music 2
Listen to your entire music library from your home computer, streamed quickly and without any lag. (Similar: Simply Music, imeem)


13. Cell Minute Tracker
We prefer Cell Minute Tracker to AT&T?s minute tracker any day. Much simpler, easy to navigate and much faster.

14. QuickOffice
Edit Word and Excel documents on the go.

15. Photogene
There are a multitude of photo editing apps out there, but you really only need one. Crop, rotate, adjust colors, and add filters with Photogene. (Similar: Camera Bag)

16. Skype
Superb quality Skype-to-Skype over WiFi using the Skype application. Finally be free of your computer and microphone to make those long distance calls. (Similar: Truphone)

17. Kindle
Skeptical at first, but found eBook reader surprisingly easy on the eyes and good for taking in a quick chapter. Offers plenty of free content, but won?t be replacing your physical Kindle.


18. Beejive IM 3.0
We mentioned this on last year?s roundup, but it deems reiteration. So far, the best multi-IM service client on the iPhone, now with Push Notification. AIM, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, and more.


19. Redlaser
Extremely reluctant to include this on the list, but it does deserve a bottom slot. Scan UPC codes for price comparisons on the go, but wait for an update for improved scanning and database.

++Best Games ++

20. Real Racing
Standard track based racing game, but has the best graphics on an iPhone game to-date. Worth it alone to see what the iPhone is capable of.


21. Sims 3
Slightly watered down Sims 3, but still an excellent version on the go. Fantastic graphics and runs well.

22. My Brute
Create a fighter and compete in daily arena matches. Very simplistic, but highly addicting and will bring you back daily.

23. Mecho Wars
Advanced Wars for your iPhone and iPod Touch, enough said. Interesting art style and background story.

24. Zenonia
The first fully featured traditional 2D action RPG for your iPhone and iPod Touch.

25. Peggle
The time sucking, simple Pachinko style casual PC game from PopCap ported to your device.

26. Marble Blast Mobile
Another PC game port where you roll your marble through various levels, filled with obstacles and hazards.
http://www.appvee.com/t/iphone-app-review-marble-blast-mobile


27. Myst
Do we even need to explain this one?

28. Merlin's Legacy
An original IP based around two dueling wizards, battling for control across a 2D side-scrolling field. Interesting game mechanic based on spells and timing.

29. Assassin's Creed
A smaller version of Assassin?s Creed on your iPhone and iPod Touch. Plays rather smoothly and provides solid entertainment.

30. Oregon Trail
The classic Oregon Trail, updated with fantastic graphics and animation. Will keep you entertained just like when you were in school. Try not to die of dysentery.

31. Rolando 2
The sequel to the popular game of rolling little Rolandos around to save the kingdom. Your hands may cramp from hours of play.

++ Fun Timewasters ++

32. Doodle Jump
Dominated the Top 25 list for quite a while. Accelerometer based movement¿you guide your Doodle to bounce off platforms, jumping to the highest point possible as you avoid getting hit.

33. Mouth Off
Cover your mouth with your device and show off an assortment of crazy mouths that animate to the input sound of your voice. I?ve annoyed dining mates with this one more than once.


34. Pocket God
Well done, episodic content based on a simple toy of dealing with your islanders. Fun to show off to friends and receive new updates.

35. Flight Control
Elegantly simple and highly addictive game. You direct various planes to different landing strips, all the while trying to avoid collisions. Updated with Bluetooth device co-op.
(washingtonpost.com)

Rogue Hotspot Warning!

CNN's Phil Black sees just how easy it is for hackers to dupe unwary Wi-Fi users into logging onto rogue access points.


Looking To The Futur!

CNN's Jim Boulden tests out a hi-tech hotel room, and we put potential back-saver Live Luggage to the test.



Friday, August 14, 2009

What Is Team Work!


Teamwork is a joint action by two or more people, in which each person contributes with different skills and express his or her individual interests and opinions to the unity and efficiency of the group in order to achieve common goals.

This does not mean that the individual is no longer important; however, it does mean that effective and efficient teamwork goes beyond individual accomplishments. The most effective teamwork is produced when all the individuals involved harmonize their contributions and work towards a common goal.

In order for teamwork to succeed one must be a teamplayer. A teamplayer is one who subordinates personal aspirations and works in a coordinated effort with other members of a group, or team, in striving for a common goal. Businesses and other organizations often go to the effort of coordinating team building events in an attempt to get people to work as a team rather than as individuals. (Wikipedia).


May be this video can explain it very well .







Good luck, leave comments!

Microsoft Zune HD - Ready


The new Zune HD wireless media player connects you to a new world of entertainment. With built-in HD Radio™ receiver, HD-compatible video, multi-touch navigation, OLED screen, and games, Zune HD delivers the next level in music and video experiences.

The 32GB version holds up to 10 hours of high definition video, or 48 hours of standard definition video optimized for device, or 8,000 songs, or 25,000 pictures.1

Reasons to buy
•HD-compatible video:
Play high quality video on the go or on your HDTV.
Watch supported 720p HD movies, TV shows, and videos in high definition on your HDTV through the Zune HD AV Dock (sold separately).

•OLED touchscreen:
Get instant access to your content with multi-touch navigation.
With a 3.3-inch size and vivid 16:9 display (480 x 272 resolution), truer and brighter entertainment is at your fingertips.

•Internet browsing:
Surf the Web anytime, anywhere you have a Wi-Fi connection. Check email, traffic, and news with a full-featured optimized Web browser, including a touchscreen QWERTY keyboard.

•HD Radio: Get more stations and better sound, without fees. The new Zune HD gives you access to many local HD Radio stations for more sports, news, and music with crystal-clear digital sound at no extra cost.

•Wireless: Buy, stream, and update your music – and download free games – wirelessly via a Wi-Fi connection. You can also wirelessly sync your Zune HD to your home PC via your home network.

•Quickplay: Cut through the clutter and get instant access to your content with shortcuts to favorites, recently downloaded or played music, videos, and more.

Preorder is available from August 13, 2009 until September 15, 2009.

More details & buy...

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

MS Office 2010 Web - Powered By Silverlight

The most ambitious goal Microsoft is striving for with Office 2010 is making the suite available via a familiar experience across the PC, phone, and browser. The Office Web Apps will help in achieving this goal. Microsoft has emphasized time and again the Office Web Apps will work well across different browsers without any plugins installed, but that Silverlight will be used to improve the experience.

Microsoft hasn't given away all the details on how exactly that will work, but we now know that at the very least, Word documents and PowerPoint presentations will prompt the user to install Silverlight. On the Office Web Apps blog, the software giant did talk about the improvements that are seen in Word and PowerPoint, worth quoting in full:

How Does Word Web App Get Better With Silverlight?

•Faster load performance, since typically fewer bytes need to be downloaded before showing the document.
•Improved text fidelity at 100% zoom. This includes better text spacing and rendering.
•Greatly improved text fidelity at other zoom levels not 100%.
•Text will respect settings set in cleartype tuner, so you’re able to determine how much (if any) cleartype you’d like to see. The cleartype tuner is available on the web for older versions of Windows, and is included in Windows 7.
•Improved accuracy of hit highlighting in Find.
PowerPoint Web App Gets Better With Silverlight Too

There are some automatic benefits to having Silverlight installed when running the PowerPoint Web App. For example, animations smooth out a bit, and the slide will scale with the browser window size. However Silverlight is not required for rendering or animation.

In short, if Office Web Applications users can install Silverlight on the computer they are using, they will definitely want to. If they can't install Silverlight, like at an Internet Café, Office Web Applications will still work.

The Office Web Applications (browser versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote) were announced in October 2008 at PDC. In July 2009, Microsoft disclosed that the Office Web Apps would be available in three flavors: at no cost but with ads through Windows Live, on-premises for all Office volume licensing customers, and via Microsoft Online Services where customers will be able to purchase a subscription as part of a hosted offering.

Microsoft is planning on supporting Internet Explorer 7, Internet Explorer 8, Firefox 3.5 on Windows, Mac, and Linux, as well as Safari 4 on Mac. Testers will get access to the Office Web Apps in August and the final versions will arrive in the first half of 2010, when the whole Office 2010 suite is expected to arrive.

Google Caffeine


Over the past few months, Google has been working on optimizing its search engine architecture for better, faster results. For some this may seem ridiculous: isn't Google already the fastest and most reliable search engine out there? Perhaps, but Google isn't about to rest on its laurels; it's committed to evolution.


The secret project is named Caffeine -- a wink at its speed increase -- and is designed to "push the envelope on size, indexing speed, accuracy, comprehensiveness, and other dimensions." Right now anybody can try out its coffee-amped powers. But don't expect a mind-blowing spectacle of change: Caffeine's tweaks are all under the hood. I Googled myself using both Caffeine and the ordinary search and found no difference between the two. "Most users won't notice a difference in search results. But web developers and power searchers might notice a few differences, so we're opening up a web developer preview to collect feedback," Google wrote in a blog post.


If you're dissatisfied with your new and improved search results, Google wants to know. Check out the bottom of your search page and you'll see a link asking "Dissatisfied? Help us improve." Click there and submit feedback on Caffeine. Google is always looking to improve its systems -- hence why everything stays in beta forever -- and could use a shout-out.


Matt Cutts, a Google software engineer, worked on Caffeine before its release and gave some Q&A on his blog. Cutts even answers the question that is likely on many minds: is Google giving itself a makeover in response to Microsoft's Bing? The answer is no. "I love competition in search and want lots of it, but this change has been in the works for months," Cutts wrote. "I think the best way for Google to do well in search is to continue what we've done for the last decade or so: focus relentlessly on pushing our search quality forward."


I'm not sure I believe that statement. Yes, Google has undoubtedly been working on Caffeine for months, but Microsoft has been building Bing for a while, too.


The test of Caffeine's success rests on whether or not people will care and understand, and if the changes prove more substantial than a few additional pages of faster results.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Mac Tablet Touted As Billion-Dollar Device




Apple's rumoured Macintosh tablet device could bring the company revenues as high as $1.25 billion, according to one noted Apple analyst.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster suggested that the device, which he estimates to arrive early next year, could account for up to 3 per cent of the company's 2010 revenues.



Munster estimated that the device would cost $600 retail and serve as a mid-point between the iPod touch and the MacBook notebook model. The analyst estimated that company could sell up to 2 million of the tablets over 2010, accounting for some $1.25bn in total revenue.

The tablet device, according to Munster, would be similar in function to the iPod touch and would run on a variation of the iPhone OS. The analyst suggested that the tablet would primarily focus on web and media-viewing features and would use the company's App Store to deliver software to the device.
An Apple tablet has been rumoured to be in the works for over a year. The company has long contended that it was not ready to get into the growing netbook market, saying that such low-cost systems lack the quality which the company desires in its offerings.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Windows Embedded @ Imagine Cup 2009

http://mrmubi.blogspot.com/2009/07/windows-embedded-imagine-cup-2009.html

Google Chrome - New Beta Released



Google has announced the availability of a new beta release of its Chrome Web browser. This version introduces several new features and user interface improvements, including support for a theming system that allows users to customize the browser's look.

Chrome was first released last year and hit 1.0 on Windows in December. Although the product was somewhat feature-anemic at launch, Google has been fleshing it out and adding a lot of useful features. The browser is attracting a growing number of users and is said to have overtaken Opera based on marketshare statistics published by several analytics firms. Google is building an entire operating system around the browser and is planning to thrust it into the fragmented netbook market later next year.

The new Chrome beta release brings significant improvements to JavaScript performance. Although Google adopted Apple's WebKit renderer, the search giant opted to build its own high-performance JavaScript virtual machine called V8. Google contends that the new and improved version of the V8 engine that is included in the latest beta is 30 percent faster than the one in the latest official stable version. This is a significant leap forward and it strongly confirms Google's assertion following Chrome's launch that V8 had plenty of room for further optimization.

The new beta also introduces support for themes. These can change the appearance of Chrome's chrome, including the tabs, the titlebar, the URL bar, the bookmarks toolbar, and the window frame. A Chrome design document draft has been published that describes how to create themes. Each theme consists of a JSON file that specifies the theme's graphical resources, colors, and positioning.

Google provides a gallery with some sample themes that can be used to test the system. Some of these, such as the Baseball theme, are rather exotic. To my eye, none of the sample themes really outshine the default look and feel, but the potential for customization will likely appeal to many users.

The browser's new tab page got a visual overhaul and now allows users to hide individual history items. The omnibox's built-in autocompletion got a subtle enhancement with the addition of icons that indicate the type of the individual autocompletion results. It's a nice improvement over previous versions and it helps improve the browser's usability.

The new Chrome beta delivers some HTML5 features, such as support for Web worker threads and rendering the
More here...

Windows Phone Demo


In case you haven’t heard, Windows Mobile has been rebranded. The term “Windows Phone” is now the name for all devices formerly called “Windows Mobile.” Along with the new name, the phone is about to receive a whole new look, too. At a recent Microsoft event, there was a demo given that showed off the new features of the Windows Phone’s upcoming OS update, aka Windows Mobile 6.5.

With the redesign, access to missed calls, text messages, and the like are available from the phone’s lockscreen. With just a tap, you can see the calls or texts you missed without having to first unlock your phone and launch the appropriate application.

You’ll also notice the phone’s new UI looks a lot like that of the Zune mp3 players with links to music, the phone, voicemail, text, email, your calendar, favorites, and more.



Included wizards make the process of setting up email, Bluetooth, and other options easy, especially for first-time users who have migrated to the Windows Phone from a feature phone.

Tapping on the “Start Menu” button no longer takes to you a folder view but instead delvers you to the brand-new homescreen interface where 24-bit icons appear linking you to all the Windows Phone applications. You scroll through the list up-and-down instead of side-to-side, so the list actually appears as one continuous page as opposed to “pages” you have to flip through.



One of the new application icons is “Marketplace,” an Windows Phone App Store where you can download both free and paid applications for the device. As with most smartphone app stores, the available downloads are arranged into categories for easy browsing. There will also be sections featuring showcase applications, the most popular applications, and the newest applications.



Another application icon on the homescreen will point to the new “MyPhone” service – a feature which synchronizes all the data on your phone to the cloud. The service doesn’t simply back up your contacts, either – it’s a place to store other phone data like text messages, photos, and music, too. For anyone who’s ever had a phone get lost or stolen, knowing that your data is safely backed up is a major blessing. And unlike some other sync services, MyPhone is included with the device for no extra charge. From the MyPhone site on the web, you’ll be able to manage your media and share files with friends on social networking sites. You can even upload photos to the website to have them synced back to the phone. If your phone is ever lost or stolen, you can use the MyPhone site to remotely lock and wipe your phone.
More here...

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Toshiba Plans 64GB SDXC Memory Cards


Toshiba said Monday it expects to be the first to bring SDXC cards to market, with testing samples of a 64GB version shipping in November and the real thing shipping in the spring of 2010. Those dates will be key moments in what doubtless will be a gradual transition away from the prevailing SDHC standard.

SDXC backers promise higher capacities and data transfer speeds for SDXC, which is important for devices such as video cameras that can produce lots of data at a sustained rate. But initially, a new generation of Toshiba's SDHC line will match the SDXC's maximum 60MBps data-reading speed, and maximum 35MBps data-writing speed, the company announced, using a new high-speed interface called UHS104.

The fast new SDHC cards, though, will only be available in 16GB and 32GB models. SDHC tops out at 32GB, but the SDXC specification extends to 2TB. In addition, through use of Microsoft's exFAT files system on SDXC cards, individual files can exceed 4GB, which is important for longer videos.

Capacity is undeniably important when it comes to carrying your video camera around for extended periods of time. But do you really need all that Motransfer speed? Leaving aside the confusing muddle of minimum vs. maximum transfer speeds and certification, even high-definition video only pushes the envelope so hard.

For example, Canon's high-end 5D Mark II SLR, which can record 1080p video at 30 frames per second, requires only a relatively modest 8MBps write speed for its CompactFlash card; high-end CompactFlash today can handle 45MBps.

Of course, there's also the matter of transferring photos and videos to computers, a tedious task at best that benefits from maximum speed. But that's often constrained, though, by the card reader and its interface to the computer.

Read more...

Friday, July 31, 2009

Three Things to Know About Office Web Apps

A new post on the Office Web Apps blog discusses some of the major tenets that have been driving the design and engineering of this new service launching alongside the upcoming Office 2010 software. The post describes how the team focused on trustworthiness, the familiar Office user experience, and the high fidelity of the content provided by the Web Apps. From these notes, we can gleam a bit more insight into what the new Web Apps service is going to look like and how it will behave.

1. Web Apps Won’t Cause Data Loss and They Won’t “Mess Up” Your Documents
One of the problems with some online file viewers and editors today is that they can “mess up” your document when you go to save it online. If the service in question doesn’t support a particular feature, for example, it won’t know how to properly display it. That won’t be the case with the Web Apps since they’re specifically designed to work hand-in-hand with the desktop software. For example, if a user uploads a file with a watermark, a feature which the initial release of Office Web Apps won’t support the editing of, the user can still make changes to the file and resave it without the Watermark being removed from the document. In other words, your files are safe.

2. Web Apps Will “Feel” Like Office
The Office Web Apps will deliver a familiar experience to the end user by offering a recognizable UI with many of the same features including matching icons, the same commands, the Ribbon interface at the top, and more. However, the goal is not to create an exact replica of the Office software UI. Instead, Web Apps will take advantage of the web platform’s strengths.

Web Apps will also offer a similar experience to what you would have in Office, even though the effects of this may be subtle. To give an example, the blog post demonstrated the difference as to how Microsoft Word would behave when you hit “enter” in a table versus how a basic text editor would behave.


3. The Document Always Looks and Acts the Same
The Office Webs Apps will ensure that no matter what kind of file you’re working with, it will always appear the same whether it’s being viewed on the web or on the PC. Not only will it appear with the same formatting and layout, everything in the document will be consistent, too, whether that’s calculations, animations, pagination, etc. In this respect, Web Apps docs behave much like the Adobe PDF – always the same file no matter where it’s viewed.
More here...

What to Look For When Buying Used


• Walk around the vehicle, looking for signs of body repairs and patches of paint that differ slightly from the original. Run your hand along the panels to check for any rough bodywork that may have been re-sprayed. Minor scratches and chips can be fixed but cracks and impact craters are another story.

• Telltale signs of repair include one headlight that looks newer than the other.
• Rust can be in hidden places, such as the inside of doors.
• Don't forget to look for rust spots underneath the car, and check for signs of oil leaks and other defects at the same time.
• If you can, bring a magnet with you when viewing the car. Run it along the bodywork. It will not stick to filler, telling you if any panels have been crash-repaired.
• Study the condition of the tyre sidewalls, and check the tread for signs of uneven or excessive wear. Check that all tyres are the same size, too.



Under the Bonnet
• Be brave and look under the bonnet. Corroded battery terminals or holding brackets, an oily engine, frayed wiring and cracked hoses are all signs of neglect.
• A coating of oil or sludge on the inside of the radiator cap is cause for alarm. To check this, remove the radiator cap and rub your finger along the inside of the cap to see if there are any substance buildups. There shouldn't be any.
• Remove the radiator cap and start the engine from cold. Look out for air bubbles surfacing in the water, which could indicate a defective cylinder head gasket.
• Check the oil level. To do this, remove the dipstick and clean the oil off with some tissue. Dip the stick back into the oil reservoir and gauge how much oil is in the engine. There will be a level indicator on the dipstick to tell you the required oil level. Low levels of oil indicate poor maintenance or a possible oil leak. This can be extremely expensive to repair and in a worst case scenario cause the engine to seize.
• Brake fluid levels are crucial if there is no brake fluid, the vehicle will be unable to stop. The brake fluid reservoir is located under the bonnet in the back right-hand area of the engine bay. Remove the rubber cap to show the brake fluid level. Low fluid levels could signal a leak.
• To check the shock absorbers, bounce the corner of the vehicle up and down several times when you release it, you should feel the vehicle bounce back twice, any more and you may need new shock absorbers.


On the Inside
• Check the brake and clutch pedals. If they look overly new they may have been replaced for the wrong reasons; if they look old and worn the car may have covered a bigger distance than claimed. They should have average wear for the claimed mileage.
• Ensure that all the controls (including heater, wipers and so on) are working as they should. Examine the windscreen, which is an expensive item to replace.
• Check to see if the oil, brake and battery gauges light up. Problems with any of the three could signify mechanical issues or owners' neglect.
• Check the headlights, brake lights and reverse lights before you take it out for a test drive. Also, test the horn and indicators.
• Observe the steering, clutch and brakes; the steering should not move more than two inches in either direction without turning the wheels; once you put the vehicle in gear, how far does the clutch rise before the vehicle moves? If it doesn't work until it returns to its original location, it may need an adjustment or replacement (replacing a clutch can be expensive).


The Test Drive
• The wheel should be in the correct straight-ahead position. Although correcting any deviations could entail no more than a slight adjustment, it could also indicate suspension damage.
• While the engine is running you should listen to see if it "idles" well. This means that there should be a constant and steady ticking over.
• Loud knocking or whines should be checked out by a mechanic. It may just need to be tuned; however, it could also lead to more difficult mechanical repairs.
• Observe whether or not it is easy to change gear. If you hear a grinding noise there may be transmission or clutch problems. If it is only happening on one gear, it is more likely to be the transmission.
• If the steering wheel shakes when making a turn, there may be a suspension problem. If all appears well, take the vehicle up to motorway speed and up some hills to test its performance. If the steering wheel vibrates at higher speeds, there may be an alignment problem.
• Press the brake pedal down fully and hold for just under a minute- it should hold firm. If it doesn't there could be a leak and you should drive with extreme caution. Check brakes at a slow speed to see if there is any pulling, screeching or sticking. If there is a pull, they may simply have to be readjusted; however, if there is screeching, it could mean the brake shoes are worn and need work. When it is safe to do so, check the brakes at higher speed for the same problems.

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