tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91574478758340869542024-03-13T05:56:25.651+05:30The Haxters LabDizzyconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15161757963660958143noreply@blogger.comBlogger162125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9157447875834086954.post-19256340666203142052011-04-27T21:49:00.001+05:302011-04-27T21:49:45.506+05:30Apple Brings the iPad 2 to India Starting at Rs. 29,500<p><b>I</b>t’s raining Apple news today. The Cupertino giant officially unveiled the White iPhone 4 earlier, and there are rumours of an upcoming iMac lineup refresh. Eclipsing that is a majorly relevant announcement for us Indians though – one that confirms that Apple will be launching the iPad 2 in India (and eleven other countries) on April 29.</p> <p><img alt="India's got iPad 2" src="http://im.tech2.in.com/gallery/2011/apr/ipad2_india_272027592203_640x360.jpg" width="620" height="348" /></p> <p>India's got iPad 2!</p> <p>The iPad sequel didn’t include the Retina Display but it did come with FaceTime video calling and a bunch of other technical improvements, including being a whole lot slimmer than the original. Check the specs out:</p> <ul> <li>9.7-inch LED backlit IPS Panel display running at 1024x768 </li> <li>Dual-core 1GHz A5 processor </li> <li>WiFi a/b/g/n and 3G (optional) </li> <li>Available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB variants </li> <li>720p Video Recording at 30fps </li> <li>Front-facing VGA camera from FaceTime video calling</li> </ul> <p>The iPad 2 will go on sale at 0900 on April 29 and will be priced at Rs. 29,500 (16GB), Rs. 34,500 (32GB) and Rs. 39,500 (64GB) for the WiFi only models, and at Rs. 36,900 (16GB), Rs. 41,900 (32GB) and Rs. 46,900 (64GB) for the WiFi + 3G versions. The Smart Covers are also being made available, and will cost Rs. 2,100 and Rs. 3,800 for the Polyurethene and Rich Leather variants respectively.</p> <p>The announcement comes as a bit of a surprise considering the original iPad only released here three months ago but hey, we're not complaining.</p> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9157447875834086954.post-80268702439024656412011-04-16T17:49:00.000+05:302011-04-16T17:50:01.756+05:30Gmail Takes Personalization to The Next Level<p><b><font size="7">G</font></b>oogle, very recently, added a volley of themes in its mail service, Gmail. With the look of the mail pages looking cool with the humongous array of colors and characters, the theme gained instant popularity.</p> <img alt="An extension of YOU" src="http://im.tech2.in.com/gallery/2011/apr/gmaillogoorig_161023347887_640x360.jpg" width="620" height="256" /> <p>Now, Google hands over the makeover power in your hands! Taking personalization to a new level, Gmail now allows you to make your picture as the theme of your mail account, and have the color co-ordination redone, too.</p> <p>To begin with, one would have to go to 'mail settings' option made available in the Options tab. Once there, users will have to select the option 'Themes'. Scrolling down that long list, users will find the coveted option of 'creating your own theme'. From there on, users can use their albums in Picasa to create the themes they like, or choose any random picture and use it to customize the main area and the footer of their Gmail pages.</p> <p>A certain limitation found in this feature was that using one’s photo might not seem such a good idea since that would get sliced as it gets separated in the mail body and footer, probably, a beautiful sunset picture would work best.</p> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9157447875834086954.post-65567349767930156332011-04-11T16:27:00.001+05:302011-04-11T16:27:46.940+05:307,000 mobile phones hacked in Britain( The Economic Times )<p>LONDON: Nearly 7,000 mobile phones, including those of actress Sienna Miller and former culture secretary Tessa Jowell, were hacked by a British tabloid, a lawyer has claimed. Without accepting the numbers, the newspaper has since apologised. <br />Lawyer Charlotte Harris, who is representing several of the celebrities involved, said 7,000 people may have had their mobile phone voicemail messages intercepted by The News of the World. <br />The daily has now apologised to the victims, saying: "We publicly and un-reservedly apologise to all such individuals. What happened to them should not have happened. It was and remains unacceptable." <br />The hacking took place between 2004 and 2006, the Daily Express reported. <br />Harris said her clients will not accept a settlement from the newspaper until they have received full disclosure. <br />"What we have at the moment is an apology and an admission. We haven't even got near the truth yet," she said. <br />"If you hack into one person's phone, you have access to everyone who has left a message for them. And then if you go into the person who has left a message, you get all of theirs. <br />"You have got to be running into several thousand, just from that methodology. It is certainly not a handful - maybe 4,000, 6,000, 7,000, a huge amount of people," Harris said. <br />Cabinet minister Danny Alexander described the phone hacking as "outrageous", while London Mayor Boris Johnson called on all newspaper editors to declare any hacking carried out by their staff.</p> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9157447875834086954.post-54305867096011622282011-03-31T18:35:00.001+05:302011-03-31T18:35:52.996+05:30Microsoft Might be Distributing Pre-Beta Windows 8 Releases<p><b>M</b>icrosoft has done pretty well with their latest Operating System – Windows 7. Rumours now doing the rounds speak about Microsoft doling out pre-release builds to various OEMs including HP.</p> <p><img alt="3D capable?" src="http://im.tech2.in.com/gallery/2011/mar/microsoftwindows8logo_640x360.jpg" width="620" height="348" /></p> <p>According to <a href="http://www.winrumors.com/microsoft-begins-distributing-windows-8-to-oems-via-connect/">Winrumors</a>, Microsoft is distributing build 7971.0.110324-1900 of Windows 8, which is said to be a really early pre-release build of the OS. Microsoft is using their Connect external testing system to distribute the Milestone 3 build. It is also being said that the program is being advertised as “Windows 8 and Server vNext Pre-Release Program” on Microsoft’s connect site and accessing the program requires a special invite code. <br />Other news of the latest iteration of the popular operating system speak about Windows 8’s interface being fully 3D compliant. The new OS will supposedly have a faster “hibernate” system which will take a whole of 3-6 seconds and save all open documents and currently running tasks. Plus it’s also being said that there will be a dual-UI option with a tile-based UI codenamed Mosh also included to the current layout. <br />The last of all is that the Microsoft might be looking to release the beta version of Windows 8 sometime in September this year and while all the rumours listed above look neat, we still advise you to take it with a pinch of salt!</p> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9157447875834086954.post-1449858692958779212011-03-31T18:15:00.000+05:302011-03-31T18:16:01.809+05:30Now, a Flex Touchscreen Demonstrated<p><b>Y</b>ou’ve obviously seen and used the standard touchscreen which can be panned and swiped. However, at Interaction 2011, researchers from the Osaka University showed off a touchscreen that flexes!</p> <p><img alt="'Flex'ible?" src="http://im.tech2.in.com/gallery/2011/mar/110074r_finaluse_311443353492_640x360.jpg" width="620" height="348" /></p> <p>The researchers tried out this new flex-ing touchscreen with Google Maps at the conference. The content on the screen acts the way any flexible material would. Therefore, each time you would pan, swipe the screen will flex into a corner making way for the next screen you would open. <br />The researchers claimed that unlike normal situations wherein it would get cumbersome to keep opening multiple windows and keep going back to the previous windows, with the flex touchscreen the minimized window will still remain pushed in a corner, ready to be maximized again. This touchscreen interface is compatible to use on multiple platforms due to the ease of transferring the software to any device like the iPod, iTouch and on huge screens, too.  <br />Touchscreen interfaces can now be expected to have better zoom preference, i.e pinch to zoom and flex effect.</p> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9157447875834086954.post-35351771231494092062011-03-31T18:11:00.000+05:302011-03-31T18:12:06.783+05:30Transcend Launches New Range of Class 10 microSDHC Cards<p><b>T</b>ranscend has been synonymous with memory products for quite some time now and they aim to further their range with the introduction of a new speedy Class 10 microSDHC cards.</p> <p>The new cards will be available in 16GB capacities and are of course, designed to play nice with mobile handsets, digicams and even tablet PCs. Transcend’s new microSD cards are capable of reaching maximum transfer rate of 20 MB/s on devices supporting SD 3.0 which means HD recording should be a lot smoother. The cards will each come with a microSDHC card adapter allows the usage of a wider range of SDHC capable devices.</p> <p><img alt="Size doesn't always matter, in this case it does though" src="http://im.tech2.in.com/gallery/2011/mar/transcend_microsdhc_311607122253_640x360.jpg" width="620" height="348" /></p> <p>All Transcend's SDHC and microSDHC cards are supplied with a limited lifetime warranty, and are backed by Transcend's technical support and customer service. The Class 10 microSDHC card is now offered in 4GB, 8GB and 16GB capacities and is available for a suggested price of Rs. 800, Rs. 1,300 and Rs. 3,800 respectively.</p> <p>Just in case you’re wondering, a 16GB microSDHC card can store up to 6552 pictures (based on 5 megapixel JPEG compression format), over 88 hours of standard quality video (MPEG-4 video at 384 Kbps), or 240 minutes of HD video (AVCHD at 9 Mbps).</p> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9157447875834086954.post-27124994086592105572011-03-27T21:02:00.000+05:302011-03-27T21:03:47.769+05:30Samsung Wave S8530 II hacked to boot Android OS<p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_dk1196vutSw/TY9YxscFBfI/AAAAAAAABzU/H58HJBwZhrw/s1600-h/Samsung%20Wave%20S8530%20II%20hacked%20to%20boot%20Android%20OS%5B2%5D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Samsung Wave S8530 II hacked to boot Android OS" border="0" alt="Samsung Wave S8530 II hacked to boot Android OS" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_dk1196vutSw/TY9Y07IHxNI/AAAAAAAABzY/FYsqaRVQIJU/Samsung%20Wave%20S8530%20II%20hacked%20to%20boot%20Android%20OS_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="204" height="154" /></a></p> <p>amsung had launched its ambitious Bada mobile operating system for feature phones and introduced Wave series of smartphones. Polish Forum Bada-world.pl guys have <a href="http://bada-world.pl/androbada/androbada-t3549.html">released</a> proof video of Samsung Wave S8530 running Android 2.2.1 Froyo instead of Bada OS. This was bound to happen. While Samsung was convincing many about the Bada OS meant for feature phones with smartphone level hardware, the enthusiasts thought otherwise. </p> <p>Polish hackers have managed to boot the Samsung Wave S8500 with Android 2.2.1 ROM of Galaxy S - since both have same hardware. Dubbed as the AndroBada Project, the hackers state that it is in early stages as the phone boots and allows using Wi-Fi as well as GSM network. Since their efforts led to burning two bada phones, the further development would continue only when they buy a new handset. </p> <p><img border="0" hspace="0" alt="Wave S8530 II running Android 2.2.1 Froyo" align="baseline" src="http://images.techtree.com/ttimages/story/114927_big2.jpg" /></p> <p>As per the hackers, any app works except the widgets and themes. No other features are functional because the stability of the CPU hasn t been achieved. The Wave S8500 carries the same 1GHz Hummingbird CPU found in the Galaxy S. Running Android on other OS running hardware isn t something new. We already know about the Android ported on iPhone 3G last year and the developments on the same project has been taking place at slow pace. It seems like this AndroBada Project might be just limited to Samsung .</p> <p> </p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:03d8e35d-f98b-4cfc-8417-178a46b16d4e" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="fde24148-8077-4451-940e-2d37ef923d3d" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiHfJct1Ktg" target="_new"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_dk1196vutSw/TY9Y2KLrNcI/AAAAAAAABzc/joFAgWzdreI/video9f6f43015f16%5B5%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('fde24148-8077-4451-940e-2d37ef923d3d'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"520\" height=\"292\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/yiHfJct1Ktg?hl=en&hd=1\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/yiHfJct1Ktg?hl=en&hd=1\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"520\" height=\"292\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" alt=""></a></div></div></div> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9157447875834086954.post-56891609649695382302011-03-27T10:39:00.001+05:302011-03-27T10:39:31.852+05:30iOS 4.3.1 released, fixes a few bugs<p><a href="http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/25/ios-4-3-1-released-fixes-a-few-bugs/"><img border="0" hspace="4" alt="" vspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2011/03/ios431-update-1.jpg" /></a></p> <p>Apple's just dropped iOS 4.3.1 on iTunes users across the land, fixing a handful of issues related to enterprise apps, AV-out, iPod touch graphics problems, and cellular network connections; not the most exciting changelog, but it's better than a slap across the face. As usual, the update is available for pretty much the full suite of iOS products -- iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch alike. Go on, grab it!</p> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9157447875834086954.post-53688263292803311442011-03-25T16:56:00.001+05:302011-03-25T16:56:25.458+05:30Zebronics Launches Laptop Cooling Pad<p> </p> <p>Zebronics has unveiled the latest addition to its line-up of notebook accessories - the Zeb-NC3000 laptop cooling pad, a cool recliner for notebook computers.</p> <p><img border="0" hspace="0" align="baseline" src="http://images.techtree.com/ttimages/story/114918_zeb-nc3000laptopcoolingpad600.jpg" /></p> <p>The Zeb-NC3000 comes with a retractable USB cord enables you to stow it away neatly and there are no other cables or power adapter required. Moreover, it is angled for comfort of use, which also provides enough clearance for the wide-sweep, 80-mm fan to create an airflow volume of nearly 19 cubic-ft per minute at a speed of 2000 RPM. </p> <p>It comes in two color options - matt black and electric red. Suitable for notebook size ranging from 8-inches to 15-inches, the Zeb-NC3000 Cooling Pad from Zebronics is constructed from a good plastic material with a soft-touch feel. The Zeb-NC3000 will cost you Rs. 950.</p> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9157447875834086954.post-87137921823617551302011-03-18T18:13:00.001+05:302011-03-18T18:13:09.662+05:30IE9 Downloads Cross 2.3 Million in One Day<p>The final version of Internet Explorer 9, the latest iteration of Microsoft's web browser, was released to public two days ago on of March 15. In just 24 hours, the browser managed to cross 2.3 million downloads. That's a pretty impressive number, considering only Windows Vista and 7 users can download this browser. Of course, Microsoft couldn't be more pleased with this news, as is evident from their <a href="http://windowsteamblog.com/ie/b/ie/archive/2011/03/16/2-3-million-downloads-of-ie9-in-the-first-24-hours.aspx">blog post</a>. In comparison though, Firefox 3 managed to cross 8 million downloads in a day, creating a world record for itself back in 2008. Then again, Firefox is a multi-platform browser, available to Mac and Linux users as well. </p> <p>We are glad that IE9 is getting a good response. It's quite a good browser and for the first time, Microsoft has a browser that can compete with the best of the browsers out there. Unfortunately, unless the Windows XP users upgrade to Windows 7, we don't really see the percentage of IE6 users to drop any time soon. Too bad IE9 is not available for XP users. <br />To download IE9, click <a href="http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/internet-explorer/downloads/ie-9/worldwide-languages">here</a>. To read our full review, click <a href="http://haxterslab.blogspot.com/2011/02/internet-explorer-9-rc-review.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </p> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9157447875834086954.post-78058546368831258782011-03-10T17:19:00.000+05:302011-03-10T17:21:09.584+05:30Special Facebook Keyboard sells for $30<p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_dk1196vutSw/TXi7H3dTkEI/AAAAAAAABt4/A7dtztIC2mM/s1600-h/114746_matter2.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="114746_matter" border="0" alt="114746_matter" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_dk1196vutSw/TXi7KHCr1jI/AAAAAAAABt8/Z-gwz-Ha4KQ/114746_matter_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="204" height="154" /></a></p> <p>Features 19 dedicated hotkeys for Facebook functions</p> <p> </p> <p>Facebook is certainly one of the most popular social networks today. Android based <a href="http://www.techtree.com/India/News/INQ_unveils_Facebook_Phones_Cloud_Touch_Cloud_Q/551-114447-893.html">INQ Cloud</a> and <a href="http://www.techtree.com/India/News/INQ_unveils_Facebook_Phones_Cloud_Touch_Cloud_Q/551-114447-893.html">HTC ChaCha</a>, Salsa phones come with a dedicated Facebook key. Several widgets and apps for Facebook have been developed already. Now, Social Keyboards has announced a brand new Social Network Access Keyboard that comes with 19 dedicated touch keys which are basically shortcuts for different Facebook functions. <br />Customized from the Dynex Mutlimedia Keyboard, the new SNAK allows all Facebook addicts to create an album, share photos, create invites and perform those functions quickly. The keyboard has 104 keys, connects via USB and supports Windows 7 operating system. <br />Here's a list of 19 hot keys that are located on the keyboard: <br />- <strong>Home</strong> - Takes you directly to www.Facebook.com <br />- <strong>Messages</strong> - Takes you directly to your Inbox <br />- <strong>Notifications </strong>- See what's new on your network <br />- <strong>Edit Profile</strong> - Quickly access and edit your profile <br />- <strong>Events</strong> - Find and create events swiftly <br />- <strong>Groups</strong> - Join new groups or edit existing groups <br />- <strong>Friends</strong> - View, Edit or Contact a full list of your current friends <br />- <strong>Phonebook</strong> - Find all of your friends' phone numbers instantly <br />- <strong>Help Center</strong> - Facbook's help center <br />- <strong>Account Settings</strong> - Quickly access all of your personal account settings <br />- <strong>Privacy Settings</strong> - Adjust who can view your profile <br />- <strong>Sleep</strong> - Instantly hide Facebook, putting your computer to sleep <br />- <strong>Photos</strong> - Access a full list of all current photos <br />- <strong>Upload Photos</strong> - Upload a photo directly with a click of a button <br />- <strong>Upload Videos</strong> - Upload a video directly with a click of a button <br />- <strong>Games</strong> - Mafia Wars, Farmville, Cafeville, etc. <br />- <strong>Links</strong> - Find all links posted by you and your friends <br />- <strong>Ads + Pages</strong> - Edit your Ads and Pages for your business or secondary page <br />- <strong>Facebook For Developers</strong> - Press this button if you are a developer or webmaster</p> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9157447875834086954.post-15414347279377678632011-02-27T16:42:00.000+05:302011-02-27T16:43:22.218+05:30Internet Explorer 9 RC Review<p><img border="0" alt="Internet Explorer 9 RC Review" src="http://images.techtree.com/ttimages/story/114625_matter.jpg" width="216" height="162" /></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><font size="5">Interface:</font></p> <p><font size="5">I</font>nternet Explorer has had a long and successful journey. Despite being outclassed by other browsers in almost every aspect it continues to dominate the browser market. It is able to do this simply because it was being shipped by default along with the most popular operating system in the world. <br />It would be wrong to say that Microsoft has been sitting on its laurels and doing nothing about improving their browser and bringing it up to speed with other browsers and more importantly, web standards. However, it seemed they either did not care much about the browser or the people using it, as the last couple of updates have mostly been cosmetic with nothing major been done with respect to performance. For those enlightened few, Internet Explorer has always been the browser used to download other, better browsers when you first buy your computer or re-install Windows. <br />But with Internet Explorer 9, things have always seemed different from the start. It seems that the software giant has finally woken up and has decided to do something significant about its browser. Whether it was the slowly decreasing market share or the fact that it finally got fed up of all the IE jokes, but Microsoft is finally taking significant steps in making this next version of their web browser not just better than the one that came before it, but also better than what the others have to offer. <br />After a series of developer previews and a beta, Microsoft recently released the release candidate of Internet Explorer 9. So we decided to take it for a spin and see just how much better is this new version and more importantly, if it is on par with what Mozilla, Google, Apple and Opera has to offer. <br /><strong>User Interface</strong> <br />Microsoft claims that Internet Explorer 9 has the least amount of UI chrome of any web browser out there and they really do deliver on that front. Internet Explorer 9 by far has the slickest and most minimalistic interface of any web browser we have seen. It is because of a combination of several UI changes that were first demonstrated by Google Chrome. It gets rid of the menu bar altogether and instead places the menu options in a concentrated menu on the right.</p> <p><img border="0" hspace="0" align="baseline" src="http://images.techtree.com/ttimages/story/114625_newtab.jpg" /></p> <p>Internet Explorer 9, however, goes one step ahead of Chrome and places the tab bar in the same row as the address/search bar, thus saving an extra row. This does have its disadvantages, which are quickly apparent when the tabs start piling on but those who indulge only in light browsing won't really be bothered by them. <br />One good thing about the release candidate is that it allows you to place the tabs in a separate row below the address bar. We noticed that while the browser UI doesn't look nearly as attractive once you do that, it feels less cramped if you happen to have a lot of tabs open all the time. </p> <p><img border="0" hspace="0" align="baseline" src="http://images.techtree.com/ttimages/story/114625_tabs.jpg" /></p> <p>Microsoft has also removed the status bar from the bottom, although it can be enabled from the menu. Instead you get a floating status bar like the one in Chrome, the displays the URL when you hover over a link. <br />The new tab page in Internet Explorer 9 now shows the most visited sites, just like in Chrome and Safari. Unfortunately, you cannot pin sites the way you can in either of the browser nor can you add your own sites the way you can in Opera. You can hide the sites but then you get ten empty windows - which looks weird. There is a suggested sites feature which, when enabled, shows you sites that you might like based on your browsing history. You can also reopen last session instantly or activate the InPrivate browsing mode, which first debuted with Internet Explorer 8. <br />Unfortunately, even though the tab page is pretty good, you cannot set it appear when you start the browser. For some odd reason, the first page can only be the homepage, which you can leave blank if you like. It would be nice to have the most visited sites when you start the browser. </p> <p><img border="0" hspace="0" align="baseline" src="http://images.techtree.com/ttimages/story/114625_menu.jpg" /></p> <p>Above the shiny exterior of the new Internet Explorer 9, if you dig down to the settings menu, you would notice that it has hardly changed since Internet Explorer 6. There isn't anything terribly wrong with it, but since they have changed every other aspect of the UI, a new settings menu would have been welcome as well. Even the right control menu is the same, which still has the "Open" on top, which is unnecessary as you could easily just left click the link instead of right clicking and then selecting Open.</p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong><font size="5">Features:</font></strong></p> <p><font size="5">I</font>nternet Explorer 9 brings a host of new features to the table. One of the biggest is hardware acceleration of multimedia content. This means that Internet Explorer 9 can now use the GPU to accelerate content such as videos, 3D graphics rendering. This cuts down the strain on the CPU, leaving it free to do other tasks. A similar feature can be found in the upcoming Firefox 4 and Chrome 10 as well. <br />The other major addition is the improved HTML5 video and audio tag support. If a web developer chooses to have HTML5 video/audio tags to embed content on the web page instead of the Flash then Internet Explorer 9 should have no problem playing them back, provided the audio/video content is in a format that it understands. Internet Explorer 9 currently supports only H.264 video codec and MP3 and AC audio formats. <br />Internet Explorer 9 also has improved  CSS3 support, improved JavaScript performance and full support for Web Open Font Format (WOFF). <br />We particularly liked the new address bar, which can be used to search as well. The default search engine is Bing, but we chose to use Google as it worked better. When you select Google as the search provider, you can just type the name of the website and then the browser search for it on Google and automatically take you to the first link. This is similar to what happens if you select the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button on Google.com, however, it only works if you put in the name of a website and not if put in random text, in which case it just opens Google's search page. If you select Bing, however, all it does it search for it on Bing and then you have to manually select the first link. <br />Another addition is the presence of Aero Snap for the tabs. It's not too different from what you do on other browsers. All it does is add a cool looking effect to the mundane task of pulling tabs out of a window or placing them back. Internet Explorer 9 also groups tabs that originate out of a single tab with the same color, a feature which it picked up with Internet Explorer 8. It's a useful feature that makes switching between tabs easier.</p> <p><img border="0" hspace="0" align="baseline" src="http://images.techtree.com/ttimages/story/114625_pinnedtabs.jpg" /></p> <p>A new feature in Internet Explorer 9 is the ability to pin tabs to Windows 7 s taskbar. To pin a tab, you have to drag it out of the window and over the taskbar. Apart from letting you quickly access your website, this feature also has another cool function. Websites can add additional functionality to the pinned tab in the taskbar that can be accessed by right clicking it. So Facebook, for example, shows options such as News, Messages, Events and Friends and clicking those launches the browser and opens that section of the website. Similarly, Twitter has functions such as New Tweet, Mentions, Direct Messages, etc. Some of the other websites that have this functionality right now are Amazon and IMDb. You will notice that in pinned tabs the browser controls take the color of the website, which means on IMDb they would turn yellow and red in Gmail Developers can easily have this functionality for their websites; although it remains to be seen how often people use this function. Since out browsers are always open, we rarely had to. </p> <p><img border="0" hspace="0" align="baseline" src="http://images.techtree.com/ttimages/story/114625_imdb.jpg" /></p> <p>Every tab in Internet Explorer 9 runs its own process on the OS, which means if one tab crashes it won't bring down the entire browser. This feature was first introduced by Chrome and is slowly trickling down to other browsers. One disadvantage of this is that the browser takes up more RAM, thanks to the multiple processes it runs. <br />Internet Explorer 9 also has a new download manager, which was a long overdue feature. It finally shows you multiple downloads and now in the Release Candidate the speed of the downloads without you having to hover over the downloading file. One thing we noticed about it is that it keeps asking you every time you wish to download something. Other browsers let you mark a particular type of file as safe and after that the browser won't ask before downloading. We hope Microsoft adds this functionality in the final version, because frankly it can get on your nerves if you are downloading several files. </p> <p><img border="0" hspace="0" align="baseline" src="http://images.techtree.com/ttimages/story/114625_download.jpg" /></p> <p>One area where Internet Explorer 9 lags considerably behind the other browsers is in add-on or extension support. Although it does support add-ons, there are a few to choose from right now. In comparison, browsers like Firefox and Chrome have thousands and even Safari has more than you'll ever need. Opera recently joined the add-on party but somehow did not see the same enthusiasm from the developers for creating new add-ons for it.</p> <p><strong><font size="5"></font></strong></p> <p><strong><font size="5">Performance:</font></strong></p> <p><font size="5">B</font>efore we get on with the benchmarks, we must say that we are generally very impressed with the way Internet Explorer 9 performs. The biggest reason for this is speed, which is on par with the best that the other browsers have to offer. Even scrolling is smooth, thanks to the hardware acceleration, which reduces the strain on the CPU. Those coming from an older version of Internet Explorer will be greatly impressed with how much it has progressed over the years. <br />We did face some trouble with certain websites, where the content wasn't displayed in the correct order. We also had severe issues when working with the CMS of our website, which we never faced with other browsers. At times websites used to stop responding and this was a recurring problem with some of them. Because of these things we were vary of using the browser for doing important stuff, such as online shopping, in case things don't work out well. Some of the issues were just bugs, which would no doubt get sorted out in the final version. Others felt more like something that will continue to stay for a while. <br />Internet Explorer 9 uses DirectWrite for rendering the text using hardware acceleration. The text looks slightly different than it did in previous versions of Internet Explorer or in other browsers. It s a lot smoother than, say, that in Firefox 3, Opera or Chrome but not as much as in Safari. Also, it only works well with larger fonts, which look really nice but makes smaller fonts look fuzzy, unlike in Safari. The upcoming Firefox 4 suffers from a similar problem, although it is much worse in its case. <br />As you can see in the benchmarks below, Internet Explorer 9 also came last in most of the benchmarks that we performed. The most surprising one of the lot was the HTML5 Test, in which Internet Explorer 9 performed quite poorly, despite Microsoft boasting otherwise. We compared it against the latest stable versions of all the other major browsers. We wanted to include Firefox 4 but for some reason it wasn't working so well and was stuttering badly, so we had to remove it from the test. Internet Explorer 8 failed to work with many of the tests, so we had to remove that as well. <br />The benchmarks were run on an Asus G73Jw Notebook, running on a 1.73GHz Intel Core i7 Q740 CPU, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M GPU, 8GB RAM and Windows 7 Ultimate 64-Bit. </p> <p><img border="0" hspace="0" align="baseline" src="http://images.techtree.com/ttimages/story/114625_peacekeeper.jpg" /></p> <p><em>Peacekeeper Scores (Higher values are better)</em></p> <p><img border="0" hspace="0" align="baseline" src="http://images.techtree.com/ttimages/story/114625_sunspider.jpg" /></p> <p><em>Sunspider Scores (Lower values are better)</em></p> <p><em></em></p> <p><em></em></p> <p><em><img border="0" hspace="0" align="baseline" src="http://images.techtree.com/ttimages/story/114625_v8.jpg" /></em></p> <p><em><em>V8 Benchmark Suite (Higher values are better)</em></em></p> <p><em></em></p> <p><em></em></p> <p><em><img border="0" hspace="0" align="baseline" src="http://images.techtree.com/ttimages/story/114625_kraken.jpg" /></em></p> <p><em><em>Kraken JavaScript Benchmark (lower values are better)</em></em></p> <p><em></em></p> <p><em></em></p> <p><em><img border="0" hspace="0" align="baseline" src="http://images.techtree.com/ttimages/story/114625_html5.jpg" /></em></p> <p><em></em></p> <p><em><em>HTML5test.com Scores (Higher values are better)</em></em></p> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9157447875834086954.post-9283225137686816402011-02-27T13:12:00.000+05:302011-02-27T13:12:00.556+05:30How to Choose a Wi-Fi Router<p>The days when most of us had a single PC or laptop are gone. Many of us use a PC and a laptop and there are those who have many more. The modern geek’s home usually has a primary desktop, a netbook or notebook, a smart phone and obviously an HTPC in the living room right next to the television set. Networking all of these PCs and laptops is possible with a simple hub or switch but there are a bunch of cables involved.</p> <p><a href="http://tech2.in.com/media/images/2011/Feb/img_302712_wifi.jpg"><img border="0" alt="" src="http://tech2.in.com/media/images/2011/Feb/img_302712_wifi_450x360.jpg" /></a></p> <p><em>Wi-Fi routers these days offer more than just wireless connectivity</em></p> <p>The easiest solution is investing in a WiFi router. If you don’t already have one, you may be able to buy one from your internet provider. Some providers offer Wi-Fi routers on rental basis whereas some offer an over-the-counter purchase option. The only problem there is that you have no control over the model. Its better if you buy your own router, but like buying any other product these days, things can get a little confusing. Let’s look at some of the most important things to consider before going out to buy one.</p> <p><strong>How much will I need to spend?</strong> <br />Wi-Fi routers can be bought for as little as Rs. 600, if you buy it from your ISP. Other branded routers start from as little as Rs. 1,300 and go right up to Rs. 12,000 or more depending on the kind of features. If you’re looking for a basic router that you want to use with your devices for just browsing, then something in the range of Rs. 1,300 to Rs. 2,500 will be fine. The moment you want higher speeds for streaming good quality video content and more advanced features, then be willing to increase your budget. <br /><strong>ADSL2 connectivity</strong> <br />Many of the larger ISPs today use ADSL to distribute internet connections and customers are provided with ADSL modems to use with their PCs. If your ISP uses ADSL, then look for a compatible router which has the ADSL2 modem functionality built into them. These are bound to be a little more expensive than regular Wi-Fi routers but you’re no longer dependent on a separate ADSL modem for internet access. <br /><strong>Which one - 802.11g or 802.11n?</strong> <br />Most routers are sold as either 802.11g or 802.11n. They’re all backward compatible but 802.11n offers faster speeds than 802.11g. IEEE 802.11g has a speed limitation of 54Mbps whereas 802.11n offers speeds of up to 150Mbps in a single stream. Dual band setups can reach twice that speed. The performance of routers as we’ve seen changes one from location to another. IEEE 802.11g offer enough speeds to transfer fairly large files and browse the internet and even stream Youtube and DVD-quality content over the network. You’ll have problems streaming HD 720p and 1080p content though. <br />IEEE 802.11n’s improved bandwidth definitely increases that limit but streaming HD 1080p content is still off limits when you move from one room to another. Once again, this depends on the layout of your home or office.</p> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9157447875834086954.post-5223057424692097772011-02-23T09:05:00.000+05:302011-02-23T09:05:00.437+05:30Samsung develops mobile DRAM capable of 12.8GB/sec data transfers, making all other memory jealous<p><img border="1" hspace="4" alt="" vspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2011/02/samsung-mobile-dram-wide-io.jpg" /></p> <p>Samsung's memory labs are cranking out yet another innovation in the mobile DRAM sector, with the goal being to make the next (<em>next</em>) generation Galaxy Tab -- and any other mobile device relying on Samsung memory -- faster than ever. This go 'round, the crew has developed a 1Gb mobile DRAM module with a wide I/O interface for smartphones and tablets, enabling it to transmit data at 12.8GB/sec. For those keeping count, that's an eightfold increase in bandwidth compared to LPDDR2 DRAM chips, and the company has also managed to trim power consumption by 87 percent all the while. In order to boost the data transfer rate, Samsung's new wide I/O DRAM uses 512 pins for input and output, dwarfing the 32 pins used in the previous generation. Following this, Sammy's hoping to provide 20nm-class 4Gb wide I/O mobile DRAM sometime in 2013, but <em>we're</em> hoping to see this particular development sashay into tablets that hit the market long before then. Sadly, there's no specific word on when, but you know we'll be handing that information over just as soon as we get it.</p> <p> </p> <p><font size="5">press Release:</font></p> <p><em><strong></strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>Samsung Develops Mobile DRAM with Wide I/O Interface</strong> <br /></em></p> <p><em>SEOUL, Korea--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology, today announced the development of 1 gigabit (Gb) mobile DRAM with a wide I/O interface, using 50 nanometer class* process technology. The new wide I/O mobile DRAM will be used in mobile applications, such as smartphones and tablet PCs. <br /></em></p> <p><em>"We will continue to aggressively expand our high-performance mobile memory product line to further propel the growth of the mobile industry." <br /></em></p> <p><em>"Following the development of 4Gb LPDDR2 DRAM (low-power DDR2 dynamic random access memory) last year, our new mobile DRAM solution with a wide I/O interface represents a significant contribution to the advancement of high-performance mobile products," said Byungse So, senior vice president, memory product planning & application engineering at Samsung Electronics. "We will continue to aggressively expand our high-performance mobile memory product line to further propel the growth of the mobile industry." <br /></em></p> <p><em>The new 1Gb wide I/O mobile DRAM can transmit data at 12.8 gigabyte (GB) per second, which increases the bandwidth of mobile DDR DRAM (1.6GB/s) eightfold, while reducing power consumption by approximately 87 percent. The bandwidth is also four times that of LPDDR2 DRAM (which is approximately 3.2GB/s). <br /></em></p> <p><em>To boost data transmission, Samsung's wide I/O DRAM uses 512 pins for data input and output compared to the previous generation of mobile DRAMs, which used a maximum of 32 pins. If you include the pins that are involved in sending commands and regulating power supply, a single Samsung wide I/O DRAM is designed to accommodate approximately 1,200 pins. <br /></em></p> <p><em>F</em><em>ollowing this wide I/O DRAM launch, Samsung is aiming to provide 20nm-class* 4Gb wide I/O mobile DRAM sometime in 2013. The company's recent achievements in mobile DRAM include introducing the first 50nm-class 1Gb LPDDR2 DRAM in 2009 and the first 40nm-class* 2Gb LPDDR2 in 2010. <br /></em></p> <p><em>Samsung will present a paper related to wide I/O DRAM technology at the 2011 International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) being held from February 20 to 24 in San Francisco. <br /></em></p> <p><em>According to iSuppli, mobile DRAM's percentage of total annual DRAM shipments will increase from about 11.1 percent in 2010 to 16.5 percent in 2014. <br /></em></p> <p><em>For more information about Samsung Green memory, visit <font color="#ff0000">www.samsung.com/GreenMemor</font></em><font color="#ff0000">y</font></p> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9157447875834086954.post-73697623717169384202011-01-29T21:21:00.000+05:302011-01-29T21:23:49.215+05:30TataDocomo 3G Plans For Prepaid users (Maharashtra & Goa) !!<p> <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_dk1196vutSw/TUQ3r2onEsI/AAAAAAAABmg/CkmDg6iE640/s1600-h/1%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="1" border="0" alt="1" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_dk1196vutSw/TUQ3t3C30mI/AAAAAAAABmk/bRkQne1pk6E/1_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="605" height="265" /></a></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_dk1196vutSw/TUQ3v8irJcI/AAAAAAAABmo/pdcs7XkAXvo/s1600-h/2%5B3%5D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="2" border="0" alt="2" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_dk1196vutSw/TUQ3yqVG48I/AAAAAAAABms/XjC2K0NebwQ/2_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="611" height="295" /></a></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_dk1196vutSw/TUQ31L0YttI/AAAAAAAABmw/iHaOLN3ktrU/s1600-h/3%5B3%5D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="3" border="0" alt="3" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_dk1196vutSw/TUQ33jg2NaI/AAAAAAAABm0/xdIZxSZt81E/3_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="615" height="355" /></a></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_dk1196vutSw/TUQ36ItRssI/AAAAAAAABm4/7zK0FkOpxkw/s1600-h/4%5B3%5D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="4" border="0" alt="4" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_dk1196vutSw/TUQ39Kbde6I/AAAAAAAABm8/xjlGjcqHBVs/4_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="623" height="221" /></a></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_dk1196vutSw/TUQ3_wFY2lI/AAAAAAAABnA/TNdQmIpABw4/s1600-h/5%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="5" border="0" alt="5" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_dk1196vutSw/TUQ4CUtFpTI/AAAAAAAABnE/jFnLjgEl-_o/5_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="623" height="392" /></a></p> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9157447875834086954.post-11641580918131415952011-01-28T10:26:00.000+05:302011-01-28T10:27:30.315+05:30Google Starts Censoring Rapidshare, Torrents and More<p>If you’re a download junkie, your days of finding premium torrents andRapidshare links are slowly coming to an end. Google has done what we never thought they’d really have the guts to do; <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/google-starts-censoring-bittorrent-rapidshare-and-more-110126/">sources</a> say they’ve actually started censoring terms like Rapidshare, Megaupload, BitTorrent, torrents and more. Obviously these companies aren’t happy with this, and have apparently already started speaking up against this ‘act of injustice’.</p> <p><a href="http://tech2.in.com/media/images/2011/Jan/img_293242_google-piracy.jpg"><img border="0" alt="" src="http://tech2.in.com/media/images/2011/Jan/img_293242_google-piracy_450x360.jpg" /></a></p> <p><em>To Arrr is human.</em></p> <p>What Google has done, is make a list of piracy-related keywords that have been removed from its auto-complete list. For instance, anything with the word torrent added to it will not be suggested by the search engine. What is a little weird here, though, is the fact that Google hasn’t banned words like Pirate Bay, which is a popular torrent site. <br />If you want someone to put the final blame on for this, it’s definitely the entertainment industry you want to stick it to. Associations such as the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) and the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of India) have been applying pressure on Google for a while now, and it’s no surprise to many that they’ve finally come through. <br />So is the just the beginning of a long list of prohibitions and bans that will finally lead to the death of piracy? Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.</p> <p><font size="7"><strong>WTF !!!</strong></font></p> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9157447875834086954.post-6121669883866147592011-01-27T12:39:00.001+05:302011-01-27T12:39:38.201+05:30Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook Page Hacked<h4>Hacker posts message about transforming Facebook into a "social business"</h4> <img border="0" alt="Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook Page Hacked" src="http://images.techtree.com/ttimages/story/114276_matter.jpg" width="200" height="150" /> <p>First they targeted Nicolas Sarkozy's Facebook page, and now they have targeted none other than Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg's <a href="http://www.facebook.com/markzuckerberg">page</a> on his own social networking website according to a <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2011/01/25/zuckerberg-fan-page-hack/">report</a>.</p> <p>An unknown hacker hacked into the Facebook account of the 26-year-old celebrity CEO and recent Times Person of the Year, and posted this message.</p> <p>"Let the hacking begin: If Facebook needs money, instead of going to the banks, why doesn't Facebook let its users invest in Facebook in a social way? Why not transform Facebook into a 'social business' the way Nobel Price winner Muhammad Yunus described it? http://bit.ly/fs6rT3 What do you think? #hackercup2011"</p> <p><img border="0" hspace="0" align="baseline" src="http://images.techtree.com/ttimages/story/114276_fbmzhack.jpg" /></p> <p>Within no time of posting this message, more than 1800 people had already liked this post and there were over 500 comments below it. It is pretty obvious that Zuckerberg did not post this message and his profile page was taken down by Facebook when it discovered the hack.</p> <p><img border="0" hspace="0" align="baseline" src="http://images.techtree.com/ttimages/story/114276_fbtakendown.jpg" /></p> <p>The post has since been deleted and Zuckerberg's page is now back up again. Strangely, Facebook has not commented about the hack and there is no mention about it on Mark Zuckerberg's now online Facebook profile either. It is therefore anyone s guess about how the hacker broke into his account.</p> <p>Online security firm Sophos has made and posted a video about this hack and you can see it in the video below.</p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:e7a8af9b-c20a-4ac0-9467-e4207f3d898d" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="ca2e6193-a91a-4179-9571-dd33b0ff0535" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4djYIOZ6Qc" target="_new"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_dk1196vutSw/TUEaLvjw2nI/AAAAAAAABmA/AgP261ISQr8/videof30d9e666ab9%5B4%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('ca2e6193-a91a-4179-9571-dd33b0ff0535'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"514\" height=\"288\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/c4djYIOZ6Qc?hl=en&hd=1\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/c4djYIOZ6Qc?hl=en&hd=1\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"514\" height=\"288\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" alt=""></a></div></div></div> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9157447875834086954.post-44594515451907472162011-01-17T18:59:00.001+05:302011-01-17T18:59:02.856+05:30Google Drops H.264 in Chrome; What Does it Mean?<img border="0" alt="Google Drops H.264 in Chrome; What Does it Mean?" src="http://images.techtree.com/ttimages/story/114185_matter.jpg" width="200" height="150" /> <p> </p> <p>You must have read recently that Google is dropping support for H.264 codec in their web browser Chrome. While initially this might not seem like a big deal it could have some serious implication, whether or not you use Chrome. If you have no idea what we are talking about, read on to find out. <br /><strong>What Google did? <br /></strong> <br />Google <a href="http://blog.chromium.org/2011/01/html-video-codec-support-in-chrome.html">said</a> they wanted to enable open innovation, and therefore are dropping support for the proprietary H.264 video codec from Chrome and going with the open source WebM (VP8) and Theora formats. This means that in future, when browsers are supposed to play HTML5 videos without the need of proprietary codecs, Chrome will not be able to play videos encoded with H.264. <br />They also <a href="http://blog.chromium.org/2011/01/more-about-chrome-html-video-codec.html">said</a> they were doing this because they wanted to have a common format that everyone used. Since Mozilla and Opera don't support H.264 - as they don't want to pay the licensing fee - they felt it was better to go with the open source WebM instead of the proprietary H.264. Everyone who doesn't use it currently (read: Microsoft and Apple) can adopt it for free and everyone will support a common format and everything will be hunky dory. If only that was true. <br /><strong>What this means? <br /></strong> <br />Even though Google has dropped support for H.264, all the millions of H.264 videos won't disappear overnight (H.264 is the most widely used codec on the Internet for streaming videos). This means that when a Chrome user encounters an HTML5 video encoded in H.264 in future, which he will, he will be forced to watch it through the Flash player. <br />On the other hand, if every video publisher on the Internet decides to go with Google, they will have to encode all their videos twice, once in H.264 and the other in WebM, something that they won't be willing to do. <br /><strong>Why this sucks? <br /></strong> <br />WebM is technically an inferior format compared to H.264. Also, unlike H.264, WebM is not hardware accelerated on most devices. WebM is also very new and hence hardly used at all. Instead of sticking to a popular format and then convincing Mozilla and Opera to adopt it, Google went the wrong way. It picked a relatively new format that no one uses and is now trying to convince everyone to adopt it. <br />Google may not have a market share as high as Microsoft's Internet Explorer to make every video publisher to immediately start converting their videos in WebM. However, they do own YouTube, which houses a massive percentage of the Internet's videos. Tomorrow, if they will start serving HTML5 video on YouTube only in WebM format, and if your browser does not support WebM, then you will have to use Adobe's Flash player plugin to playback the H.264 version (if it is still available). This defeats the whole purpose of having the HTML5 video tag, which was supposed to enable users to watch videos without having to rely on plugins. <br />Apple and Microsoft currently don't support WebM and it seems doubtful that they ever will. What this means is that if you have to watch a YouTube video on, say, an iPhone in future, then you are out of luck. The iPhone supports HTML5 videos in H.264 and has no support for either WebM or Flash player. This means you will neither be able to watch the video in WebM format directly, nor the H.264 version through a Flash player. <br />Google said they will be releasing a plugin to enable WebM playback on the Internet Explorer and Safari, which again makes no sense. Why do they keep forgetting that the point of HTML5 video was to get rid of the damn plugins? <br />Once Google drops support for H.264 from HTML5 video on YouTube, users will have to rely on Flash to watch these videos. Now I'm sure everyone knows how much Flash sucks and one of the best things Apple has done in their lifetime was to try and drive people away from Flash and promote native HTML5 video playback within the browser. But now Google is again making people go back to relying on Flash so that they can continue to watch online videos. <br /><strong>How is Google being an ass? <br /></strong> <br />Google claimed that they wanted to adopt the WebM format because they wanted to go open source. Yet, they also ship Chrome with Adobe's Flash plugin, which is the complete opposite of open source. How can a company claim to support open source when they are shipping software with proprietary plugins? <br />Google's move to drop H.264 also reeks of malice and is a way to get back at Apple. Apple's devices currently support only H.264 codec for video playback on the web. If tomorrow Google drops the support for this codec on the biggest video sharing website on the Internet, they will effectively block Apple's devices from accessing YouTube. If Apple ever has to enable YouTube support on their devices they will have to change their stance on either WebM or Flash, which means accepting defeat to either Google or Adobe. <br />Google's was the only browser that supported both H.264 and WebM, and the users of Chrome would have never had to bother what video they were watching since their browser was compatible with either format. But now Chrome users would have to shift to using the built-in Flash plugin and live with its idiosyncrasies every time they encounter a H.264 encoded video. <br />We also can't help but think Adobe has a hand in this. Think about it. If HTML5 video becomes the norm, which it eventually will, people will have no reason to continue to use Adobe's Flash player. Apple was the major player who promoted HTML5 video and the first one to drop Flash support completely on their mobile devices. But now thanks to Google's move, not only will people have to continue to rely on Flash players in future if they want to watch H.264 encoded videos (which won't disappear overnight) but Apple also would be in fix and would have to consider getting Flash on their devices. Although we believe if it comes to that, Apple would rather choose WebM over Flash. <br />I think Google isn't really promoting the open source community but rather Flash. Just because Google is going WebM doesn't mean every other video publisher will drop H.264 and adopt WebM. This means users will forever be stuck using Flash player for watching videos. What Google (and Mozilla and Opera) needs to understand is that by promoting esoteric formats such as WebM for HTML5 video will only stifle its growth while making people depend on proprietary plugins such as Adobe Flash. <br />We would love to hear your opinion on the matter. Do leave a comment below. Do you agree with what Google has done? Or do you feel that dropping H.264 was a bad idea? How do you like the idea of having to use Flash all the time for watching online videos? And if you own an iOS device, how would you feel if tomorrow you don't get access to YouTube videos? Let us know in the comments</p> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9157447875834086954.post-24411610954902684392011-01-17T18:48:00.001+05:302011-01-17T18:48:32.835+05:30Do More With Your Graphics Card..<p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_dk1196vutSw/TTRBm0YuilI/AAAAAAAABic/Pt_kaZbnDlE/s1600-h/Do%20More%20With%20Your%20Graphics%20Card%5B2%5D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Do More With Your Graphics Card" border="0" alt="Do More With Your Graphics Card" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_dk1196vutSw/TTRBpXk_NUI/AAAAAAAABig/yQuWpG1fFRs/Do%20More%20With%20Your%20Graphics%20Card_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="204" height="154" /></a></p> <h4><font style="font-weight: bold">Benefit from having a GPU in your system</font></h4> <p> </p> <p>Graphics cards have come a long way since the days when they were primarily used for gaming. Not to say that their purpose has changed over the years, but apart from gaming there are many other applications in which graphics cards are put to good use. Today we'll explore some of the areas which benefit greatly from having a GPU in your system. <br /><font size="4"><strong></strong></font></p> <ul> <li><font size="4"><strong>Video Decoding</strong> <br /></font>With the prices of full HD monitors hitting rock bottom, DVD resolution movies simply don't cut it anymore. While HD movies offer better clarity for such monitors, they also put some strain on the CPU. Entry level CPU's can handle 720p videos fairly well, but when it comes to full HD or 1080p videos, the CPU utilization can easily shoot up to 50%, making the PC quite sluggish, giving you a laggy playback. A graphic card can easily offload this task from the CPU giving you a smoother and lag free playback of full HD content. </li> </ul> <p><img border="0" hspace="0" alt="video decoding" align="baseline" src="http://images.techtree.com/ttimages/story/114180_video_decoding.jpg" /></p> <p>Previously, it was only paid software like Cyberlink's Power DVD that supported GPU acceleration and that too only for an original Blu-Ray. However, now you have free players like Media Player Classic: Home Cinema and VLC that also support hardware acceleration. If you have any graphics card from Nvidia's 8000 series and above, ATI's 3000 series and above or Intel's X-4500 HD chip (found in G45 chipset) and above, you should easily be able to offload the video from the CPU. <br />You can select this setting while installing the player itself. You'll immediately see a difference in playback as the player is more responsive, even skipping ahead in the movie is a lot quicker. To check if it is actually offloading, simply open Task Manager and click the Performance tab. The CPU utilization should not go beyond 20-30% in a 1080p movie.  <br /><font size="4"><strong></strong></font></p> <ul> <li><font size="4"><strong>V</strong></font><font size="4"><strong>ideo Encoding</strong> <br /></font>Unless you have a PMP or a smartphone that let's you play videos directly by dragging and dropping them in, you'll have no choice but to re-encode your favorite shows or movies in a smaller mobile format. Even if your device can accept DVD or even HD movies, you still might want to consider converting them for the sake of saving some storage space. Once a task left to the CPU, which was really long and painful, not to mention you couldn't really do anything once the encoding process began, your graphics card can now cut that time in half or even less depending on how many shaders units your graphics card has. </li> </ul> <p><img border="0" hspace="0" alt="video encoding" align="baseline" src="http://images.techtree.com/ttimages/story/114180_video_encoding.jpg" /></p> <p>One of the popular software's to support Nvidia's CUDA and AMD APP (formerly known as ATI Stream) software is Cyberlink's Media Show Espresso. This program comes with many presets for different devices like iPod, PSP, Xbox, PS3 etc., so you just drag and drop your video, select the device you would be playing it on and the software does the rest for you. This is apid software however. AMD has their own free conversion tool which can be downloaded from their site but it's a not the best and only limited to a few video formats. MediaCoder is a free video encoder that supports Nvidia CUDA and also a wider variety of file formats as input and output. It is a little buggy, but the developers are constantly updating it, so hopefully one day we'll have a stable version that also supports AMD cards.</p> <p> </p> <ul> <li><font size="4"><strong>Flash 10.1</strong> <br /></font>With Internet broadband reaching very affordable levels, it's fairly common to see a 1Mbps line in households today. Thanks to that, we now have the liberty of watching HD YouTube videos quite easily instead of waiting for them to buffer. Just like regular HD videos, HD YouTube videos are generally H.264 files (.MP4) that are typically decoded by the CPU. However with the latest Flash 10.1 plug-in, all your YouTube videos can now be decoded by the GPU, provided you have a compatible one. <br />This means you can easily watch 1080p YouTube clips without any lag or stutter and continue using your PC at the same time. HTML 5 will also have GPU acceleration, but unlike Flash, it will be the browser that natively supports it rather than a pug-in, like we have today. <br /><strong>Photo and Video Editing</strong> <br />Adobe's Photoshop CS4 introduced the world to GPU acceleration in photo editing. Certain tasks like zooming in and out, flipping or rotating a 3D image is quite heavy on the CPU no matter how much RAM or how fast you're CPU may be. Your graphics card is able to perform such operations a lot faster with more fluidity. </li> </ul> <p><img border="0" hspace="0" alt="photo video editing" align="baseline" src="http://images.techtree.com/ttimages/story/114180_photo_video_editing.jpg" /></p> <p>vReveal is another paid program that uses Nvidia's CUDA technology. The same goes for video editing software such as Cyberlink's Power Director and Super LoiLoScope that make use of GPU to accelerate the video creation process. Since Nvidia is really pushing their CUDA technology upon developers, you'll find that many of these programs work only with Nvidia cards. <br /><font size="4"><strong></strong></font></p> <ul> <li><font size="4"><strong>HTPC</strong> <br /></font>There's a reason why HTPC builders include a graphics card in their build. Current generation graphics cards are capable of handling high bit rate video and audio like Dolby TrueHD, DTS HD, 7.1 channel LPCM audio and bit streaming audio, which is used in BluRays. Along with this rich support for various HD audio formats, the graphics card is also used for accelerating the video being played. One would typically install a custom interface for their HTPC, since you're going to be using it sitting on your couch. XBMC 10.0 is one of the more popular installations and the latest version has support for GPU acceleration of a wide variety of video formats. </li> </ul> <p><img border="0" hspace="0" alt="htpc" align="baseline" src="http://images.techtree.com/ttimages/story/114180_htpc.jpg" /></p> <p>Other than entertainment, your GPU can also be used to help the medical community through the Folding@Home initiative. This is distributed computing project to help scientists understand protein folding, misfolding and related diseases. The program was first released for the PS3 and is now available for the PC that uses your GPU (ATI and Nvidia) to fold proteins. So you see, other than gaming, there are many areas where you can put a graphics card to good use. </p> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9157447875834086954.post-53270366086459218152011-01-13T19:07:00.000+05:302011-01-13T19:08:44.603+05:30Why Facebook eats most of your time?<p><strong>LONDON:</strong> If you think that Facebook eats up most of your time, then it's only going to get worse, suggests a new study. <br />Researchers at City University of Hong Kong have suggested that users become more active in online social networks as they grow bigger, reports New Scientist. <br />The researchers considered behaviour in two online networks: the Chinese blogging site Sina and a peer-to-peer file-sharing system called Tianwang. <br />By comparing the growth of these networks with user activity, they managed to settle a long-standing argument. There are two competing schools of thought when it comes to the growth of online social networks. One suggests that networks grow in a linear fashion: in other words, the activity of each user doesn't change much and so network activity grows in proportion with the number of users. <br />However, the second theory suggests that network growth is non-linear: as a network grows in size, users also use it more, causing total network activity to increase far more quickly than the linear model would predict. <br />The study results support the non-linear hypothesis, as the researchers observed that both blogging and peer-to-peer file-sharing sites see users becoming far more active on the networks the larger they get. <br />In the case of the peer-to-peer network, the team found that if the number of users doubled, their activity rose by a factor of 3.16. They also discovered that the bigger the inequality in activity between users, the quicker the network would grow. <br />"It makes sense that the total activity in a social system would be non-linear, because in a social system, the more people there are, the more things there are to do," said Mike Thelwall, of the University of Wolverhampton, UK. <br />"This would probably transfer to Facebook and Twitter, too. You might start to rely on Facebook or Twitter if a high proportion of your friends were on them," said Thelwall. <br />The team has also found that the increased activity follows a pattern known as a time-invariant power law-one of the upshots of which is that all users tend to become more active in the network. So there's no point deluding yourself: Facebook definitely is sucking up more of your time than ever before.</p> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9157447875834086954.post-50906161964531756512010-12-20T12:47:00.002+05:302010-12-20T12:56:26.141+05:304G in India on a testing phase: 80 Mbps Download Speed<font size="2">After the acquisition of Infotel Broadband Ltd by Mukesh Ambani?s Reliance (RIL), the rumour was there in market that Mukesh?s Reliance will come up with the most speedy Internet connection in India. As Indian market is still waiting for proper implementation of 3G network by major players, Reliance has started testing 4G connections<br /><br />As per some initial reports, RIL team at Navi Mumbai started trials of 4G connection and got download speed of 80 Mbps and upload speed of 20 Mbps. It is way ahead than current 3G connection of 3.1 Mbps or 7.2 Mbps. Tata Indicom (Docomo) and Reliance Communication (Anil Ambani?s ) also stsrted giving 21 Mbps download speed on supported devices. Reliance is using Ericsson equipment to test this 4G network. As the above testing results are in ideal scenario, that may drop to 40 to 50 Mbps depending on the system load and distance from the nearest tower etc.<br /><br />As wireless Internet is at boom in India and other parts of world but still we are way behind most of the western countries. We are still waiting for the proper coverage of 3G network when Smartphone makers started selling 4G phones in countries like US and UK. But finally we are getting good news on Wireless Internet connectivity, as Reliance is expected come up with good plans in future for such fast Internet connections.<br /><br />Reliance is currently having 22 of 44 licenses of broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum which were auctioned in June 2010. As they need to start the implementation in less than a year, so we can expect to get the service by March ? May 2011.<br /><br />Hope to get better wireless data transfer option in future. Share your thoughts on this 80 Mbps 4G connection trails by Reliance. Do you think, Mukesh Ambani?s Reliance can come up with better plans than current 3G offers?</font>Dizzyconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15161757963660958143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9157447875834086954.post-9886431891366279892010-12-17T23:36:00.000+05:302010-12-17T23:38:34.188+05:30How to use a BlackBerry without its Service?<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_dk1196vutSw/TQunFaZle_I/AAAAAAAABgM/ZccI6dBaBNA/s1600-h/How%20to%20use%20a%20BlackBerry%20without%20its%20Service%5B2%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="How to use a BlackBerry without its Service" border="0" alt="How to use a BlackBerry without its Service" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_dk1196vutSw/TQunH3ly7UI/AAAAAAAABgQ/iDF0sDEpuQM/How%20to%20use%20a%20BlackBerry%20without%20its%20Service_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="204" height="154" /></a> <p>We said it over and over again in the write-up that we love BlackBerry phones, but hate some of the pricing structures and restrictions that Indian network operators have forced upon us. Do you already own a BlackBerry and now feel that its services are of no great use to you? Or, are you adamant to buy only a BlackBerry cell phone but don't want to cough up the monthly charges? The following info is of good use to you then. But before that, let's clear up the air about how BlackBerry phones work with mobile Internet. <br />older BlackBerry phones (for example, the 7000 series or phones with an OS prior to BlackBerry OS 3.8) could only rely on their special service for any kind of data exchange -- be it Internet browsing, push e-mail or any 3rd party application. BlackBerry's service works on the typical GPRS mobile Internet that all other phones use.  <br />But since BlackBerry OS 3.8, they gave the users an option to configure the phone with typical GPRS settings (or TCP settings). Most newer BlackBerry phones (like the Curve 8520/8900 and Bold 9000/9700 etc.) support the use of 3rd party apps over regular GPRS without subscribing to BlackBerry's Internet service. So, follow these steps in order to get it working on your BlackBerry.  <br /><strong>1) Update your BlackBerry OS to the latest version </strong> <br />As I mentioned before, it is only after BlackBerry OS 3.8 that BlackBerry allows you to input regular GPRS settings. So, if you have a device running anything older, update your OS by connecting the phone to your PC, running the BlackBerry Desktop Manager software that came with the phone, and updating the OS. </p> <p><img border="0" hspace="0" align="baseline" src="http://images.techtree.com/ttimages/story/111461_updateblackberry2.jpg" /></p> <p><strong>2) Choose a regular GPRS plan </strong> <br />You may not want to subscribe to BlackBerry's monthly plans, but you will have to activate typical GPRS service nonetheless. Most operators have a pay-as-you-go GRPS schemes without any rentals, where they charge you per KB. Typically, the rates are 10 paise / 10 KB. That's around Rs. 10 per MB. So, if you're going to sparingly use the Internet on your BlackBerry, such a scheme would be OK. But if you're going to actively use the Internet, better opt for a fixed monthly rental plan. For instance, Tata Docomo and Airtel offer 2GB per month for Rs. 99. In my experience, if you are moderately going to use Internet on a cell-phone, 100 to 256 MB per month should be sufficient. So, check with your operator for various data plans and select a suitable one. <br /><strong>3) Key in these settings on your BlackBerry</strong> <br />On your BlackBerry, in the main menu, click Options -> Advanced options -> TCP <br />You'll see three fields -- APN, Username and password. The "APN" is the Access Point Name. This is one of the settings that allows you to establish a GPRS connection with your service provider, and it's different for different providers. For example, Vodafone's APN in India is 'portalnmms', Idea's is 'Internet', Loop mobile's is 'www'. Most providers leave the username and password fields blank. So, all you need to find out is the APN for your cell-phone operator. You can also look up on their website, it'll mostly be in the "Value Added Services -> Mobile Internet" section. Look for "Manual GPRS settings". You'll find the APN as one of the mentioned settings there. Or better yet, just call their customer care and ask for it. </p> <p><img border="0" hspace="0" align="baseline" src="http://images.techtree.com/ttimages/story/111461_tcpsettings.jpg" /></p> <p></p> <p><strong>4) Download alternative software</strong> <br /><em></em> <br />a) It is pretty obvious that since you aren't subscribing to BlackBerry's Internet service, you won't be able to use push e-mail on your phone. Also, you won't be able to use the built-in mail client for downloading any e-mails. If you use Gmail, then you need not worry since there's a dedicated <a href="http://www.google.com/mobile/mail/">Gmail app</a> that works on regular GPRS. But what about your office e-mail ID? Here's a workaround <br />Link your official mail to your Gmail account. Simply log into your Gmail, on the top-right corner, click Settings -> Accounts and Import -> Add POP3 account. Type in your official e-mail ID followed by the password. Next, it will ask you to enter POP settings. <br />If you aren't aware of these details, ask your system admin at the office for information. If you want to keep work and personal e-mails completely separate, then just create another Gmail account and follow the steps from before; since the Gmail app supports handling of multiple Gmail accounts.  <br />Now, all e-mails from your official mail ID should get downloaded onto Gmail at regular intervals, which, in turn, will be viewable via the Gmail app on your BlackBerry. The app is pretty easy-to-use and has all the basic features of Gmail like the awesome search engine, threaded conversations etc. It also blinks that LED next to the ear-piece indicating new e-mails. <br />Alternatively, you can also look at <a href="http://www.logicprobe.org/proj/logicmail">Logic Mail</a>, a 3rd party SMTP/POP e-mail client app. All these workarounds may not be as prompt as push e-mail, but then if you don't mind receiving mails with a little delay, then this would suffice. <br />b) Next, certain pre-installed apps made especially for BlackBerry will not work with the GPRS settings that we've just keyed in. Apps like Google Talk, Yahoo/MSN messenger, BlackBerry Instant Messenger, Twitter and Facebook will not work as they need BlackBerry's Internet service to be activated. So, we'll need to install alternative apps. For Google Talk/MSN/Yahoo Messengers, install an app called Nimbuzz. It is a multi-protocol chat client supporting all the former mentioned chat services along with Facebook Chat, AIM, Skype and ICQ too. Unfortunately, you won't be able to communicate with your BlackBerry Messenger pals without its service; no workaround for that one the best of my knowledge.</p> <p><img border="0" hspace="0" align="baseline" src="http://images.techtree.com/ttimages/story/111461_nimbuzz.jpg" /></p> <p>c) The built-in browser mostly works, but its not one of the best to surf full-fledged websites. So, its always a good idea to have Opera Mini installed alongside.</p> <p><img border="0" hspace="0" align="baseline" src="http://images.techtree.com/ttimages/story/111461_operamini5.jpg" /></p> <p>d) For Twitter, the <a href="http://seesmic.com/seesmic_mobile/blackberry/">Seesmic</a> app works fine without the Blackberry Internet Service. For Facebook, you could rely on m.facebook.com <br />e) Lastly, the Google Maps application works fine over regular GPRS Internet, at least in newer handsets from the Curve, Bold or the Storm series.</p> <p>At the end of the day, these are just a few hook-or-crook methods that will let you use some of the features while bypassing the subscription to BlackBerry's services. But these are just alternatives, and not close to the real thing. They will not offer you the highly integrated set of software and services that BlackBerry promises to deliver. So, all in all, if you want a tension-free experience on your BlackBerry, then it's just better to cough up the moolah to use their service. </p> <p>But if you're like finding escape pathways and alternative roads, then try the above tips out. Got any more else that you'd like to share? Fire it up in the comments section below.</p> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9157447875834086954.post-29609062504981683862010-12-13T18:43:00.000+05:302010-12-13T18:45:00.636+05:30TATA DOCOMO 3G MOBILE PREPAID PLANS DETAILS<p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_dk1196vutSw/TQYcIb5yU9I/AAAAAAAABfM/v9eBAvccZ60/s1600-h/image003%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image003" border="0" alt="image003" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_dk1196vutSw/TQYcLhF379I/AAAAAAAABfQ/kEtxtQLnaLw/image003_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="518" height="265" /></a> </p> <p>Take your pick from the best 3G plans in India and connect with the world at a more personal level. Check out an array of flexible Voice & Data plans and continue to enjoy per second billing.</p> <p>What more! Every Prepay & Postpay plan comes with a limited period Bonus Offer.</p> <p><b><u>3G Mobile Prepay Plans</u></b></p> <p>Enjoy Flexible Plans and More with Tata DOCOMO Small Screen <b><u>3G Prepay Plans</u></b></p> <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_dk1196vutSw/TQYcNrDiCaI/AAAAAAAABfU/KEBC_27zjrU/s1600-h/1%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="1" border="0" alt="1" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_dk1196vutSw/TQYcP8TmJ5I/AAAAAAAABfY/BTdxq2ihBbg/1_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="399" height="150" /></a> <p><b>Bonus Offer on Small Screen Plans: Additional </b><b><u>100 MB data</u></b><b> with every recharge done till </b><b><u>31st December'10.</u></b><b></b></p> <p><b><u>Special Tariff Vouchers</u></b></p> <p><b>If you want to try out first and experience 3G or if you want to Top Up additionally to the Combo Plans.</b></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_dk1196vutSw/TQYcSNdR19I/AAAAAAAABfc/eN-X1uvSn-k/s1600-h/2%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="2" border="0" alt="2" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_dk1196vutSw/TQYcUd70yuI/AAAAAAAABfg/Jh7h-wsTnsE/2_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="391" height="176" /></a> </p> <p><b><font color="#ff0000" size="5">3G Service is not available in Mumbai.</font></b></p> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9157447875834086954.post-69898219503030021602010-12-13T18:34:00.000+05:302010-12-13T18:35:23.899+05:30Reliance Communication launches 3G services in four cities..<p>New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS) Reliance Communications, a part of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, Monday launched its third generation (3G) mobile phone services in Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata and Chandigarh with wider applications choice at much greater speeds.</p> <p>The company also announced that it will launch 3G services across its 13 telecom circles by the end of this fiscal, while targeting a national footprint in association with some other operators in the rest of the nine circles during the next year.</p> <p>'The launch of Reliance 3G is an integral part of our 'Vision 2015' of a wire-free India built on an affordable-for-all platform, simplified tariffs, personalised services and content-rich portfolio,' said Syed Safawi, chief executive of wireless with the company.</p> <p>According to him, the 3G services will offer features such as video-calling, mobile TV, video streaming and applications access at super-fast speeds on a wide variety of both mobile phone and personal computing devices.</p> <p>The company has also lined up packages on a daily basis starting from Rs.10 and beyond depending on the application and content requirement of the customer. Subscribers will also have the option to pay based on per-use, per-second or per-week basis.</p> <p>The company said that it has also forged pacts with Universal Music for content, <a><font color="#000000">Nokia</font></a> and Ericsson for applications and Motricity for web portal. Existing subscribers will be automatically upgraded to 3G services if they have a 3G-enabled smart phone.</p> <p>On video-calling, the company said that they are awaiting the government's permission to launch the service in the country. It is optimistic about getting the clearances along with other operators.</p> <p>'We are fully ready to launch video-calling as soon as we have the government clearance along with all the other operators,' said Mahesh Prasad, president of the company.</p> <p>The company currently holds 3G licences in telecom circles of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Rajasthan, Punjab, Maharasthra, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, North East, Jammu and Kashmir, Orissa and Assam.</p> <p>Part of the $13.6 billion Anil Ambani group, Reliance Communications says it ranks among the top four telecom companies in the world in terms of subscribers in a single country with a customer base of over 124 million.</p> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9157447875834086954.post-78200486792802807592010-12-06T11:03:00.000+05:302010-12-06T11:04:04.352+05:3010 reasons I'm dumping my iPad for a Galaxy Tab<p><strong>Author</strong>: Debra Littlejohn Shinder</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>Samsung’s Galaxy Tab is a 7-inch tablet that looks a lot like an overgrown Galaxy S phone, without the phone functionality. It debuted in the U.S. this month and will be available from all four major U.S. wireless carriers. (Note: Versions of the device sold outside the U.S. do have phone functionality; this is a limitation imposed by the U.S. carriers.) Reviews ranged from glowing (”<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/11/technology/personaltech/11pogue.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss">It’s a Tablet. It’s Gorgeous. It’s Costly</a>“<em>)</em> to scathing (”<a href="http://gizmodo.com/5686161/samsung-galaxy-tab-review-a-pocketable-train-wreck">A Pocketable Train Wreck</a>“)<em>.</em></p> <p>I bought an iPad for one simple reason: I wanted a light, thin tablet I could easily use out on the patio, while riding as a passenger in a car, while lying in bed, or while sitting on the sofa in front of the TV. All of these are situations where a regular laptop or notebook, or even the bigger and heavier convertible tablets, just didn’t work as well. The iPad was the only thing on the market at the time that fit those criteria at a cost of under $1,000.</p> <p>But I’ve had a love/hate relationship with the iPad from the beginning. I love the form factor and the ease of connecting to a network and setting up my Exchange email account. But I hate the lack of storage expansion, its frustrating inability to display Flash-based Web sites, and the difficulty of entering text on its keyboard. And it’s still just a tad heavier and bulkier than I’d really prefer for the uses to which I put it. Most of all, I hate Apple’s ironclad control over what apps I can install.</p> <p>I’ve been eagerly awaiting a viable alternative. I’m a Windows loyalist from way back, and I’ve used Windows Mobile smart phones since I got my first, a Samsung i730 back in 2005. I still have an Omnia II running WinMo 6.5, but recently I was won over to Android, first by testing a Droid X and then by testing a Samsung Fascinate. I fell in love with the Fascinate, which is a Galaxy S phone, so I had a feeling I was going to like its big brother, the Galaxy Tab. And I was right. In fact, despite the Tab’s somewhat high price, I’ve decided to dump the iPad for the Tab. Here are 10 reasons why.</p> <p><em>Note: This article is also available as a </em><a href="http://downloads.techrepublic.com.com/abstract.aspx?docid=2337113"><em>PDF download</em></a><em>.</em></p> <h4><strong>1: Size</strong></h4> <p>Yes, I loved the iPad’s 9.7-inch form factor when I got it. That’s because it was so much smaller and thinner than the tablets (Windows-based convertibles and slates) I’d used in the past. But it still wasn’t quite enough. It’s just a little too big to slip into my favorite small bag. Want to put it in your pocket? Forget about it. And unless you’re a big, burly guy (I’m not), holding it in one hand isn’t easy to do.</p> <p>Steve Jobs pronounced 7-inch tablets “dead on arrival.” He might think bigger is better, but I disagree. The Tab’s 7.48- by 4.74-inch dimensions (compared to the iPad’s 9.56-by-7.47) make it roughly half the size of the iPad. And that means it’s easier to hold onto and manipulate, easier to “thumb type” on, and easier to fit into a small bag or even a large jacket pocket.</p> <p><img title="iPad vs. Galaxy" alt="" src="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/gallery/486148-500-369.jpg" width="500" height="369" /></p> <h4><strong>2: Weight</strong></h4> <p>At 25.6 oz. (a little over a pound and a half), the iPad seems light — especially if you’re comparing it to older style tablets that weighed 3 to 4 pounds. However, if you hold it up for a moderate period of time, you find that it gets tiring. This is especially important if you use your tablet for reading ebooks. And carrying it around adds a noticeable, if not burdensome, weight to your bag.</p> <p>The Galaxy Tab weighs in at a trim 13.4 oz., less than a pound. The difference might not seem like much, but it makes it far easier to use for longer times without tiring and makes it more likely that I’ll bring it along at times when I might not bother to bring the iPad because of its bulk and weight.</p> <h4><strong>3: Expandable storage</strong></h4> <p>One of my biggest complaints about the iPad was the lack of a flash memory slot to allow me to add more storage space. Of course, Apple didn’t want me to buy an SD/microSD card from one of many vendors — they wanted me to buy a higher capacity, more expensive iPad from them. That type of blatant gouging is one of the reasons I hate giving any of my money to Apple.</p> <p>The Galaxy Tab has a microSD slot that will officially accept cards up to 32 GB in capacity. I don’t know, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we can tweak it to use 64 GB cards when they become readily available, just as we could use 8 GB cards in phones that officially only accepted cards up to 4 GB.</p> <p>Another nice thing about the Tab is that the memory card slot is easily accessible — unlike on the Galaxy S phones, where you have to remove the back to change out the card (although I give Samsung credit for <em>not </em>making you remove the battery to change the card, as you have to do with many of today’s phones). On the Tab, the slot is on the side of the device and you just open the small cover to access it.</p> <h4><strong>4: Choice of 3G carriers</strong></h4> <p>The iPad has finally come to Verizon Wireless — well, sort of. The problem is that it’s the Wi-Fi only version, since Apple doesn’t make an iPad with built-in support for CDMA/EVDO (the technology used by Verizon and Sprint). To use it with Verizon’s 3G network, you have to buy their MiFi mobile hotspot device and then connect the iPad to that via Wi-Fi. The upside is that you can connect up to five devices to the MiFi — but it means carrying around yet another (albeit small) component.</p> <p>The Galaxy Tab is going to be available through all the major wireless carriers and will have 3G capabilities built in, so there is no extra device to carry.</p> <h4><strong>5: Better Bluetooth</strong></h4> <p>The iPad comes with Bluetooth 2.1 support, whereas the Galaxy Tab has Bluetooth 3.0. The later version supports faster speeds, up to 24 megabits per second. (Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR supports a data rate of 3 Mbps.)</p> <h4><strong>6: Two cameras</strong></h4> <p>The iPad lacks a camera of any kind. I don’t really mind not having a rear-facing camera, since my phone has a camera and is much better suited for taking photos. Holding the big almost 10-inch iPad up to snap a picture would be awkward anyway. But I always thought the tablet form factor would have been perfect for video conferencing — if only the device had a front-facing camera.</p> <p>The Galaxy Tab has <em>two </em>cameras, a 3.2 MP rear-facing and a 1.3 MP front-facing one. And the device itself is small enough so that the rear camera will be a lot less awkward to use.</p> <h4><strong>7: Flash</strong></h4> <p>Steve Jobs has made it clear that he hates Adobe Flash and doesn’t want it on the iPhone or iPad. I’m not a big fan of Adobe myself, but there are just too many Web sites out there that rely on Flash, and the lack of support for it can make browsing the Web with an iPad a frustrating experience.</p> <p>The Galaxy Tab includes Flash Player 10.1, so you can access those Flash-enabled sites. This does slow things down a bit, but it’s far better than not being able to access them at all.</p> <h4><strong>8: Swype</strong></h4> <p>The iPad is too big for thumb typing, and although you can (sort of) touch type on it, that’s likely to result in a lot of errors, in my experience. That leaves me doing a modified version of touch typing, in which I have to look at the keyboard while I’m typing, and it slows me down. Worse, it’s uncomfortable to try to do it for any length of time. Thus, I use the iPad for consumption but try to avoid creating text content on it.</p> <p>The Tab, like the Galaxy S phones (and other Android phones I’ve tried) comes with Swype. It’s a different way to enter text, by sliding your finger from key to key, and at first you can’t believe it would really work, but it does. I first became acquainted with Swype when I got my Omnia II Windows Mobile phone, and within a week was able to enter text at over 50 wpm — on a phone! I swore I’d never have another phone that didn’t use Swype. After you get used to the longer distance your finger has to travel, it works fine on the Tab, and it’s far less tiring than typing on the virtual keyboard.</p> <p>We keep hearing rumors of Swype coming to the iPhone/iPad, but so far, it hasn’t happened.</p> <p>Even if you prefer to tap the keys instead of Swyping, the Tab has a feature that makes text entry much better than on the iPad: You can tap and hold a key to get a secondary character. On the iPad, if you want to type a number, you have to switch to the alternate symbol keyboard. On the Tab, you can simply hold down the appropriate alphabetic key to type the number displayed above the letter. Switching back and forth between the alpha and numeric/symbol keyboards on the iPad drives me nuts, so I love this feature.</p> <h4><strong>9: Comparable battery life</strong></h4> <p>One thing I really did love about my iPad was the battery life. Compared to just about every other portable computing device (other than a simple MP3 player), its stamina was amazing. I easily got close to 10 hours of fairly heavy usage out of it, and since I don’t normally use it that heavily, I could go a week sometimes between charges.</p> <p>This was the deal breaker on most of the alternative tablets I saw. Many of them sounded great — until you got to the part that said “Battery life: 4 hours.” I wanted something that was comparable to the iPad, that would at least let me use it heavily for a full workday without recharging. The Galaxy Tab doesn’t quite measure up to the iPad in this respect — but it’s good enough. It’s rated at seven hours for video playback, and longer for less intensive tasks. That stacks up well against the iPad, with which I got about eight hours when streaming video constantly.</p> <p>Another plus is that you can charge the Tab from your computer’s USB port, although you have to use the cable that comes with the device to do it since Unfortunately, Samsung used a proprietary connector on the Tab’s side. This was a strange decision, given that the Galaxy S phones have a standard mini USB port.</p> <h4><strong>10: Freedom</strong></h4> <p>For those who chafe at being under Apple’s thumb when it comes to software, the Tab offers something that’s priceless — the freedom to install apps that don’t have to be “approved” by the phone’s maker. The Android Market is a convenient and easy way to download apps, but you aren’t limited to its offerings.</p> <p>Of course, the carriers do lock down their devices to an extent, and depending on where you buy it, the Tab may have vendor-installed crapware on it that you can’t easily remove. However, rooting the Tab is easy; there is a one-click app for that called z4root. And it’s likely that custom ROMs for the Tab will emerge in the near future, as they have for Android-based phones .(Just remember that rooting — similar to jailbreaking an iPhone/iPad — voids your warranty.)</p> <h4><strong><u>Summary</u></strong></h4> <p>The iPad is slick and pretty and does some things well. I had fun with mine, even though at times I felt like throwing it into the lake. But it lacked a lot of the things I want and value most, such as the ability to expand storage, to “type” at a decent speed,and to carry and hold it comfortably for long periods of time without it becoming burdensome. I also need to be able to view Flash content and do video conferencing. The Tab offers all that, and more.</p> <p>Sure, the next generation of the iPad will probably include some of these features. But there are some that the iPad is likely to never give us, such as expandable storage and freedom of choice when it comes to our apps. Those things might not be important to everyone, but they’re important to me. So important that I’m dumping my iPad in favor of the Tab.</p> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0