Image: Aileen (via Flickr)

We have to accept the fact that our lives revolve around gadgets and we cannot live without them. These gadgets are power hungry and unless we keep feeding them, they close down, shutting everything and bringing life to a still. Our reliance on gadgets can be scary, if we are not prepared.

Most of us carry at least two of these energy monsters; laptops, phones, iPods and digital cameras, which make sure they run out on us just when we need them the most. How many times have you had your laptop give up when you are about to send an important email? Didn’t your digicam die when you spotted something you wanted to capture? It happens to all of us all the time.

But you can be smart and get the better of your gadgets. There are a few tricks that will help you squeeze more juice out of the batteries in these gadgets, to ensure they keep ticking for longer.

Keep them cool at all times

We all love the fact that our gadgets have fancy covers and cases to keep them safe. We even buy a good looking case when we see one. What we fail to understand is that these cases are the number one enemies of your devices. As if battling the heat outside and the warmth of your pocket or bag is not bad enough, your devices are tortured and stand no chance in these hell holes.

Batteries die faster due to heat. The power in batteries comes from a chemical reaction and extreme temperatures make batteries work harder to generate the same amount of power, using up the battery life in huge chunks. So, you will have to keep your devices cool if you want your battery to last longer.

Stay away from features you do not use

Today’s devices come with numerous features, such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, backlights etc. In the excitement of having all these features, you never bothered to learn that these features hog batteries.

The first thing to do is to turn off all the features you are not currently using, in order save power. Secondly, your iPods and phones have lights that enable you to see the screen more clearly, and these lights can be detrimental to your battery health. It is good to either completely turn off the lights or lower the intensity to save power. With laptops, apart from taking care of the backlight, you can also remove all the devices, such as a USB flash drive etc. that you are not using. Turn off the LCD on your digicam and look through the view finder.

If you are in the midst of a photo shoot and your camera beeps indicating low battery, you can make it go longer by turning off the flash. Get into the habit of switching off flash whenever possible as this will give a long lease of life to your batteries.

Refrain from turning devices on and off

Image: Thruhike98 (via Flickr)

Most of us are guilty of making the mistake of turning off and restarting our devices often, because common thinking is that turning off devices when not in use saves power. The fact is that devices consume maximum battery when they are starting up, so switching off should be done only as a last resort. If you phone has an “airplane” mode, use that instead of switching it off. In that mode, you can save a lot of battery life as it will not catch cell signals and is better than turning it off completely.

For laptops, you can use the “hibernate” mode, especially if you are going to be using it soon. Similarly, you must ensure not to switch off your camera often between snaps. Instead, turn off the LCD screen and leave the camera on, if you know you’re going to be taking pictures within the next few hours.

These precautions may seem simple but are guaranteed to keep your battery kicking for long. You will not have to face disasters of your devices dying on you. Conserving battery power not only gives a longer battery life but also keeps the devices in good condition for longer.

Credit: Nicholaschan (via Flickr)

We’ve been talking about Windows Mobile 6.5 for months and finally you can get your hands on one.  It has been launched on Oct 6, 2009. WM6.5 is being backed by most major players.  In Europe, mobile operators Orange, Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom AG (T-Mobile); and Samsung, Acer, Sony Ericsson, LG Electronics, HTC and Toshiba.

AT&T has announced two phones based on Windows Mobile 6.5: The HTC Tilt 2 and the Pure.  Microsoft expects to have a huge variety of phones running the OS by the end of the year, which includes touch screen phones with slide-out keyboards, compact flip phones as well as sleek full-keyboard smartphones.

With this version, Microsoft seems to get its mobile platform in order.  Here are some improvements in 6.5 compared to the previous version.

New Today screen – Although, the classic Today screen is still there, 6.5 comes in a new version that gives this mobile a fresh look.  Unfortunately, the users may not be able to experience this screen as some manufacturers replace it with their customization, such as HTC.

Honeycomb Start screen – The old screen with all those boring old icons is gone and in its place is a beautifully themed list of modern images for default apps.  The Start menu does not exist and users can go to the new Start screen by pressing the Windows icon in the upper left of the screen.

Credit: Techfever (via Flickr)

New lock screen – This one needs to be appreciated.  Instead of just having one way to get back into the mobile, the lock screen in 6.5 gives users various points of entry depending on the status. For example, if there is a new text message, users can go directly to that through a separate unlock route.

MSN Widget – Allows users to get real-time information on stocks, sport scores, weather and others.

Gesture support – This new feature allows users to scroll through web pages, contacts and other screens using just simple drags, clicks and taps.

Windows Marketplace – The Windows Marketplace takes WM6.5 into the world of managed mobile app stores.  Users will be able to download the latest apps for the phone.  It will be made available to 6 and 6.1 versions also.  Answer to the iPhone?

Windows Media Player Mobile – Users can view the video on full-screen and the song or video can be paused to receive a call.

Designer themes – Microsoft entered into deals with many international well-known fashion designers and artists to provide exclusive themes that are shipped free of charge.  Users are given the option to create their own themes on a PC and transfer them to the phone.

Restyled Internet Explorer – Finally, we come to the most important feature of Windows Mobile 6.5, which is the Internet Explorer Mobile 6.  It enriches web viewing by bringing the desktop browsing experience to the mobile.  It is easy to use with just a swipe of the finger and uses the latest technologies to make viewing all sorts of pages extremely easy.  The company has also added a good looking UI, better HTML support, new JavaScript engine and a zoom slider.  Overall, this feature is something users are going to enjoy immensely.

Apart from the above mentioned changes, everything else remains almost the same.  Microsoft wants this 6.5 version to concentrate on touch, by replacing the old stylus with the finger-friendly menu.  Another major thing with this mobile is the on-list scrolling with which users can avoid touching the thin scrollbar.  This is great for users who spend their time messaging and emailing.

Another good service to note is “Find My Phone” which is a service used to locate a missing phone, make it ring even if it is set to vibrate or even lock or wipe the device remotely.  This service costs $5 per use only, unlike Apple’s iPhone-finding service that requires a yearly subscription of $99/year.

We have to see if all these changes and improvements in Windows Mobile 6.5 will see Microsoft coming back into the smartphone market, what with the rising competition from free alternatives like the Android.  While 6.5 is said to be released as a placeholder to Windows Mobile, a larger overhaul is expected in Windows Mobile 7 (codename “Photon”), which will debut sometime next year.

The pressure on the major internet retailers like Amazon.com is forcing them to scale down their operations in states where they are being demanded to collect taxes from buyers.

Online business is growing rapidly and is expected to reach almost $160 billion this year, according to Forrester Research.

Online Retailers With A Physical Presence In A State

But most online sales do not have to collect sales tax, unless they have a physical presence in the state. If an online retailer has some sort of a physical presence in any state, such as a business office, warehouse or a store, then it must collect sales tax from customers of that particular state.

To better understand, let’s take an example: If you have a store in California and you sell online who is also from California, you will need to collect sales tax from that person, even if the item is being shipped from a warehouse located elsewhere.

Currently, there is no need of collecting sales tax from customers who are located in a state where there is no such physical presence.

This rule comes from a decision by the Supreme Court in 1992, where it was said that mail-order merchants did not have to collect sales taxes for sales into states where they did not have any physical presence. This ruling includes all remote sellers, including online retailers.

Independent Partners Selling Through Major Online Retailers

While many online retailers may not have presence in many states, they are still responsible for collecting taxes if they have independent partners in states. For example, Amazon and Overstock permit independent companies with physical presence in different states to sell their goods through their sites and charge them a fee. These major retailers will have to collect taxes even in states where these independent companies exist, as they are selling indirectly through them.

This rule came into effect last year in New York. If you have been following the internet sales tax drama, you would remember that it was even challenged in court. Now, Hawaii, Rhode Island and North Carolina also have passed similar laws. As a response to this law, both the internet giants have cancelled all their associate programs in these states.

Amazon will not really be affected even if all their associate partners are cancelled, as it constitutes only 10% of their total sales. In fact, the margins from these indirect sales are lower than their direct sales.

Local Stores Creating Legal Subsidiaries Online

There are exceptions to this rule. Local stores sell products online tax free by establishing separate legal subsidiaries to handle the business online. Since the online business does not have a physical presence in the state, they do not have to collect sales tax on online purchases. This practice of getting around the rules to avoid sales tax is not appreciated by the “solely” brick-and-mortar retailers who still have to collect taxes from their customers.

Why Local Retailers Feel At A Disadvantage

With so much of the business being done online, the brick-and-mortar retailers feel at a disadvantage and insist that the government makes online retailers collect taxes too. They fear that because of the cheaper rates being offered online, consumers will soon buy only online instead of buying from them. Since most of the states are in need of revenue, they are more than willing to do this.

Implementation Of Use Tax

Many states have now implemented the “use” tax. Use tax is different from sales tax. It is called “use tax” when the customer pays it and “sales tax” when the seller pays it to the state.

Customers, who buy online and live in a state that collects sales tax, are required to pay the tax to the state, even if the online retailers do not collect it. Use tax is a way of making sure that the state collects revenue on every taxable purchase made within its territory. But because collecting use tax even on smaller items means a lot of trouble, states have only implemented this on big items. Things are changing and several states, including Maine, Nebraska, New Jersey, Connecticut and North Carolina are inclined to collect use taxes on all purchases online. However, the complicated rules and lack of enough resources have made it difficult to follow through with this.

In fact, this is the general opinion of most people, who feel that there is no reason why online retailers should not collect taxes from their customers just like any other business.

Initially, online retailers and others argued that collecting taxes for purchases online may restrict the growth of online businesses. More and more states are coming up with stringent methods of collecting taxes. Most states now feel that they are losing out millions of dollars of tax revenue and offline retailers feel their online competitors are being given an unfair advantage. Going by this, it seems more likely that the tax advantage of buying and selling online may come to an end soon.

The Netbook, typically weighing 2-3 pounds could be your latest personal navigation device that shows you the way around.

Dell has introduced a GPS and Wi-Fi card in their netbooks, and turned them into gizmos that can offer turn-by-turn directions as perfectly and as efficiently as any other good standalone navigation device.

Alan Sicher, a senior wireless product manager at Dell said, “Smartphones already have GPS capabilities. We are now bringing it to netbooks so the devices know where you are and can help you where you want to go.”

Now that the traditional standalone GPS gadget has been around for a while and taken for granted, navigation device makers are looking to create something innovative and are looking to offer their software on other devices too.

TomTom, one of the top Dutch manufacturers of automotive navigation systems recently announced that it would be offering turn-by-turn directions apps on the iPhone. It will also be offering accessories such as a car mounting dock and a power charger.

Dell on the other hand is looking at making the most of the netbook sales by incorporating this feature into its notebooks, specifically the Dell Mini 10 netbook.

The Mini 10 is one of Dell’s main creations in the category of netbooks that typically run Windows XP (not Vista) and have less memory and processing power than the regular laptops. But they also cost less than $500.

Customers can choose the Wireless 700 card for $69 when ordering their netbook. This card combines Broadcom’s GPS technology and Skyhook Wireless Wi-Fi positioning solutions, which can determine a device’s location through satellite signals, the IDs of Wi-Fi networks nearby or both.

This is the first time Dell has licensed Skyhook’s software for use in any of its products. This “Loki” software integrates with browsers such as Internet Explorer and Firefox to help users retrieve information from the web, based on their location.

With the integration of GPS cards into netbooks, they will function almost like a personal navigation device, and may help netbooks impinge on the market for standalone GPS devices. Users can just open their netbook and get directions as well as make their netbook location aware. The navigation software called “CoPilot” is said to offer 2D and 3D map views, allow users to save addresses for a trip, provide route optimization and give turn-by-turn directions to drivers. It offers all the features and is as efficient as any standalone GPS device.

In spite of the efficiency with which they work, one cannot help but wonder how these netbooks with GPS devices will fare with the customers. Is it actually feasible to use a netbook as a GPS device; in spite of netbooks being small? Some people feel that carrying it around or using it in the car to find routes may not be all that easy, especially when a cellphone can make the same job much easier.

However, these GPS enabled netbooks may prove to be helpful for international travelers. According to Sicher, “If you are traveling to Europe roaming costs can be pretty pricey for your cellphone. The GPS netbooks could also be handy in areas where cellphone coverage is weak.”

Another point that has to be noted is that although the turn-by-turn directions navigation software on the netbook will be free for people who buy the card and the netbook, the maps are expected to be updated on a yearly basis and customers may be charged for these updates.

Dell is going all out to make this a success and like TomTom, is also offering accessories, such as a dock for the netbooks and a car charger. Dell says it will make the Wireless 700 option available for Windows Vista and Windows 7 computers, as well as for other Dell systems and not just the Mini 10.

With the inclusion of GPS, the netbook now provides much more value for money and this may take off with the customers just the way Dell hopes it would.

External storage devices such as hard drives can be used everywhere; offices, homes and when traveling with a laptop. Small drives can have large capacities and are bus powered, and take the power from the laptop, thus eliminating the need for an external power supply.

Here are a few excellent external storage devices that seem to be doing their job perfectly.

Thecus N3200

Thecus is known to make life simple. The N3200 is yet another reliable storage device that offers RAID 5, with a perfect combination of performance and data security. With 3 hard drive bays, easy to use software and friendly Web interface, this a great option for all sorts of data storage needs. This device is perfect for home users. The media servers allow connections to DLNA-compatible devices. The iTunes server offers music streaming for the entire home. The Photo Web Server allows users to share their photos anywhere on the network. Users get all these wonderful features and more at an extremely reasonable price.

Seagate FreeAgent Go

This is a small and light external drive that looks good and has excellent transfer speed. The 500GB capacity is good enough even for large files. It is so silent that you will hardly notice it’s there. It can easily fit in a pocket or a briefcase and just needs to be plugged in to a USB port on a computer or a laptop. This is a perfect option for people who are on the go and need a reliable storage solution without being weighed down by it. Seagate provides several variants of colors and drive capacities to cater to a wide segment of users. The capacities available are 250GB, 320GB and 500GB, and in colors of Tuxedo Black, ruby Red, Titanium Silver, Solar Orange, Champagne Gold, Sky Blue, Think Pink, Forest Green and Spring Green.

Maxtor BlackArmor

This is a 320GB portable storage device that offers hardware encrypted storage solution. It is probably the easiest drive to use when compared to the others in the market. It may not be in the running for any design contests as it is not flashy, but with Black Armor, as the name suggests, it is all about internal security. It is great for people looking for the maximum protection possible. Once the username, password and password hint and answer are set, this device is completely locked down and ready to go. A five-year warranty adds to the attraction. With plenty of storage, all types of big files can be stored.

My Passport Studio II

This portable hard drive is bus powered and does not include a power adaptor. The drive has been specifically designed for Mac users but it can be reformatted with NTFS to be used on PCs running on XP or Vista. It uses either a FireWire 400 or a USB port. Although, this hard drive is not a speed demon, it does have exceptional speed and looks attractive and compact, almost like a small pocket planner. It is great for people looking for a stylish looking drive for portable storage and file backup.

QNAP TS-639 Pro Turbo NAS

This stately 9TB data storage device adopts vertical hard drive mounting which allows vertical air convection for excellent heat dissipation. Powered by Intel 1.6 GHz CPU and 1 GB DDRII memory, this device delivers superior performance for multiple business applications. The energy-saving Intel processor reduces power consumption. The USB 2.0 ports allow linking other external storage drives to it at faster speed. The one touch USB backup allows data transfers to the NAS device. It is a perfect storage solution for modern businesses that require a reliable, high performance and secure data center to store all their important digital assets.

The hard drive to choose depends on the type of business and storage needs. Users who need to edit videos or images need faster transfer speeds and good storage capacity, while other users may just need a secure environment for their important data.

An Apple Tablet perhaps!

Rumors are rife that Apple may be on the verge of releasing an Apple Tablet soon, and it all started with a report by the Financial Times claiming that it has inside news that the Apple tablet is ready to be launched.

One set of rumors say that it will be released as early as September and the others say in early 2010.

It is speculated to be 3G enabled, have a 10-inch touch screen and high computing power, providing users the ability to even watch movies. It is said to be more like a large iPod rather than an iPhone, complete with the ability to download media through iTunes. It may also give users the ability to read books, rivaling the Amazon Kindle. Financial Times quoted as revealing that, “It’s a portable entertainment device. It’s going to be fabulous for watching movies.” It sounds like this device is going to be an iPod Touch with the processing power and memory of a netbook. Steve Jobs is said to be the brain behind this. If this is so, then the product is certainly going to be solid.

There have been no rumors on the carrier this 3G device will be on. Amidst all the assumptions, we can also assume that it would be AT&T. But Apple may also deal with someone else, as there had been problems with AT&T and Apple has been communicating with Verizon too.

There have been expectations for some time that Apple would come out with a device slightly below the netbook and above the iPhone or iPod. Although, Apple has not denied these rumors, it did say that they would not offer a $500 piece of junk. Does that mean that if they are bringing out a tablet, it is going to cost more than $500? Analysts say that this “Applepad” may cost anywhere between $600 to $1000, placing it between an iPod and the MacBook.

As September approaches, the sources claiming to know what’s happening with Apple are increasing. A music industry source says that they have been informed by Apple about plans of holding a keynote on September 7, 2009. An analyst revealed that the 10-inch device will have a touch screen and is specifically designed for gaming.

This does not come as a surprise and could very well be true, as Apple has always been secretive about its products.

Months ago, Reuters reported that Apple ordered 10-inch touch screens from Wintek, which is a Taiwan-based manufacturer that makes touch screens used in the iPod Touch and iPhone. The kindle-clone rumors are also based on the news that Apple has been receiving paper-bound books in huge numbers at its Cupertino headquarters. As unlikely as this may sound, it is said that Apple may be scanning all these books to create a library of electronic titles for an e-book section on the iTunes Store, perhaps with the launch of a new Tablet Apple seems to be cooking up. However, when asked, CEO, Steve Jobs dismissed this idea last year, saying, “people don’t read anymore.” But Steve Jobs is notorious for denying anything and everything about a new product until the day the product is actually ready to be shipped.

Apple has kept a close watch on the netbook market closely, and it sure sees that people are interested in some sort of a middle device, that can take its place between the smartphone and a laptop. If Apple is really planning on producing a tablet that is a combination of a gaming machine and an e-book reader, even if it is priced slightly higher, it may do well.

These rumors have had such a great impact on computer manufacturers that many have slowed production of similar devices, just to wait and see what Apple has under the covers.

Apple has the history of bringing out new iPod devices at events during September or October, to leverage on the holiday season sales.

Is it time to start saving some money for this new gadget from Apple? We may know for sure towards the end of the year, when Apple will probably start its advertising campaign.

Intel Core i7 processor is the product of the next-generation Nehalem architecture, which features the latest innovations and is the most sophisticated in the world. It is currently one of the fastest processors and is highly acclaimed by the entire IT community as a technical marvel.

This is the first time Intel has introduced such an advanced single-die chip with four cores for the desktop market. All of its previous quad-core chips had two dies on a single chip. The new technology is meant to boost performance on demand and maximize data throughput. This is also the first mainstream Intel chip with an integrated memory controller.

Intel claims that these Core i7 processors are the best desktop processors in the world. The combination of Intel Turbo Boost technology and Intel Hyper-Threading technology provides users the ability to multitask applications faster and with wonderful digital media creation.

According to Patrick Gelsinger, senior vice president and general manager of Intel’s Digital Enterprise Group, “Intel has delivered the fastest desktop processor on Earth to the most demanding users on Earth, the ones who are using their PCs for video, gaming and music. “When you couple what is Intel’s biggest leap in chip design with other incredible innovations like Intel’s solid state drives, the Core i7 processor has redefined the computer of tomorrow.”

The three main architectural changes to Core i7 are; faster memory, hyper-threading and turbo mode.

At the center of the new architecture is a change in the way the chip can access memory. Core i7 receives data directly from the system RAM, instead of the CPU communicating with the memory via the Front Side Bus. In fact, it was AMD that pioneered this integrated controller strategy a few years back. With this technology, users will find it very beneficial with applications that access a lot of memory on a frequent basis.

The Quickpath Interconnect technology Intel uses, makes the i7 processor transfer incoming as well as outgoing bytes faster. Core i7 has 8 MB L3 cache with a very efficient cache subsystem, along with an integrated memory controller with 3 channels of DDR3 1066 MHz memory, which results in up to 25.6 GB/sec memory bandwidth. This high bandwidth and lower latency is great as it provides amazing performance for data-intensive applications.

The hyper-threading feature allows it to run up to 8 threads at a time, which means the performance output for anything using this processor is excellent; which includes gaming, video editing and every other activity on the computer and internet. In comparison with the previous Intel processors, this new processor is forty times faster and does not consume any extra power. This power saving technology was earlier mostly found in notebooks but now it is also available in Core i7 Intel based desktops.

Intel i7 processor’s Turbo Boost technology can adjust the speed of the CPU dynamically. This chip has the capacity to switch off the cores that are not in use and supply all the power to the core that is in use, making it run faster, maximizing speed for all the demanding applications, accelerating performance for the workload in a most effective manner.

The Intel HD Boost works by providing the best processing efficiency, improving a wide variety of multimedia applications. The DX58SO board is specifically designed to use the high power of the new Intel Core i7 processors for the support of the multi threading features, ATI CrossfireX technologies and 3 channels DDR3 RAM.

To experience the best out of the latest PC games, such as World at War and Far Cry2, a computing platform that can provide excellent graphics and high-level multi-threading features is needed and Intel Core i7 provides exactly that.

With the intelligent multi-core technology that gets into overdrive as soon as user activity intensifies, Intel Core i7 delivers breakthrough performance in everything a user does on the computer; from gaming to all other applications. This chip is heading the list of the best in the market right now and people, who spend a lot of time on their computers and are particular about getting the best out of their computers, need look no further than Intel Core i7.

Advances in computers began in the 1960s and the impact they have on our society today is immense. We are able to access the World Wide Web, which has become our lifeline. Acquiring knowledge has become much simpler and things are done faster than ever before. Living in the electronic age has great advantages and we have the world at our doorstep, or should we say finger tips.

But with all the comfort and convenience that computers offer, there are potential problems they can cause too, such as health perils associated with their usage.

The physical manifestation of problems is usually noticed after years of using computers. As we all know, sitting for long in a fixed position puts strain on the lower back. If we ignore that, it can lead to major problems later on. It is better to take care before our body intervenes and things get out of hand.

The other problems that come along with using computers include wrist pain, carpal tunnel syndrome and blurry vision. Good exercise and periodic rest, both for the body as well as the eyes is essential.

For a long time, we concentrated only on these health problems; however, other computer-related injuries, such as computer equipment falling over, have always been overlooked. It is time to take a look at such issues and understand how not to fall prey. Researchers have found an increase of an unbelievable 732%, in these injuries when compared to a survey conducted in 1994.

It was totally shocking to read about a very recent incident where a three-year-old girl broke her skull and died on the spot. This happened because a television set toppled and fell on her head.

This is not an isolated case and there are many cases related to computer monitors. Research shows that young children are particularly at risk. The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System revealed 78,000 injuries, which include head injuries due to toppled monitors in a period of 13 years. The highest injury rate is seen to be with children below five, while children under 10 and elders above 60 also had elevated injury rates.

Another key fact to note is that nine out of ten injuries occurred at home. Lara Mckenzie of a hospital’s Center for Injury Research and Policy said, “Future research on acute computer-related injuries is needed.”

Research can only show us what is happening, how many cases are reported and if there has been an increase or decrease in such cases, but the saying, “prevention is better than cure” seems most relevant with the hazards related to computers than anywhere else.

It is up to the parents to ensure safety of their kids. There are a few things that can be done to keep children safe from such injuries:

Keeping the computer against a wall, ensuring it does not sit on the edge of the table or computer desk is important. This way the chances of kids reaching and pulling at it are reduced. The computer desk should be in the study and away from kids’ play areas. You must also make sure the desk on which the computer is kept does not wobble. Another major problem that has been seen is very small children getting entangled in the computer cables and cords. They have to be placed at the back of the desk and tied properly and securely. It is a great idea to have wall anchors holding the computer table or desk. This way, even if children happen to pull at them, there is no danger of them toppling over. In fact, when there are kids around, a good idea is to anchor everything and not only the computer desk.

These days, with children starting to use computers at a very young age, it is necessary to keep an eye on the computer equipment at all times, to ensure there is nothing wrong.

These are small things which will make a huge difference. Such precautions can help avoid computer-related injuries and keep your children safe, even with computers around.

In spite of government officials clarifying that this is only meant to protect children from pornography and all other unhealthy content, there have been protests galore from various quarters.

According to Liu Zhengrong, deputy chief of the Internet Affairs Bureau, “The nationwise move is purely to protect the youngsters from Internet pornography and violence. The software has proved to be effective in trials in schools.”

Even the producer of this software, Jinhui Computer System Engineering Co. said the software only filters nude pictures and other pornography. Their official media quote says, “Our software is simply not capable of spying on Internet users, it is only a filter.”

However, computer makers and human rights activists look at this differently. They feel the government is doing this to censor the Internet. Critics fear that the software may work as a spyware to keep tab on all access to politically sensitive websites and blogs run by Tibetan activities and groups of dissidents. There have been complaints from manufacturers of foreign brands too, saying it is not going to be easy installing the new software in such a short time.

Experts are of the opinion that all this effort by the government is going to be a waste of time, as consumers will be able to delete the software or reformat their hard disks after they get their new computers.

The government is said to have spent $6.1 million on the “Green Dam-Youth Escort” filtering software.

Many Chinese geeks have been playing with this new software for the past few days and several reports have made their way online. They say that while the porn sites are blocked by the software when trying to access on the Internet Explorer, Firefox allows access. This means, this software may help with the average kid but not the tech savvy kid. Teachers and parents also comment that many normal websites are also banned, including course-related material. Some interesting reports also say that the software has the ability to record Internet usage data as well as being spyware – it transmits reports to Jinhui Corp., and there is no guarantee that personal information is not collected secretly.

The software manufacturer is also said to have received death threats and thousands of harassing phone calls. A well-known magazine argued that control over censorship to protect children should be left in the hands of parents and teachers. Although, the government can use any mechanism to guide parents to take responsibility for their children, it should not try and take the place of a parent.

This outcry by citizens, the legal challenges, satirical cartoons and petitions made the government take a long look at their proposal again. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology changed its stance and revealed that users are not forced to install or use the Green Dam Youth Escort software – though the software will come with all PCs that are going to be sold from July 1, either pre-installed or on a CD.

With people so used to their freedom in using the Internet, this kind of authoritarian moves may just be a thing of the past.

This will use a new technology called Grand Central Dispatch (GCD) that can better use the multicore processors and graphic processors in chips. It takes complete advantage of optimizing the Mac OS X multicore for easy allocation of tasks across multiple cores and processors.

Previously, turning up the clock speed on the processor was the method used by chip makers to develop high speed systems. As the clock speed increased, software also ran faster. But the problem with doing that is the generation of more heat and consumption of more power. The chips are also idle most of the time, with the memory cycles not meeting the speed.

Because of these problems, the focus was shifted from increasing clock speed to making multicore processors, which means chips with multiple processor cores were put into a single CPU, and this consumes less power and provides better performance.

Although, the computing power in a multicore processor was greater, software did not automatically become faster. To be able to get the best possible performance out of these processors and squeeze out every bit of power from the multicore systems, software applications should use multi-threaded programming that can perform more than one job at a time. Operations had to be performed in parallel, which meant that most of the applications need to be rewritten to take advantage of the multicore systems. But because threads are difficult to program, most software developers do not make the effort to make their applications multicore capable. This is where the revolutionary Grand Central Dispatch technology helps.

Apple is introducing the new Grand Central Dispatch (GCD) in its new Mac OS X Snow Leopard. In this operating system, all the threads are handled by the operating system and not by the applications. Programmers now write less code in the applications, with the system performing much more efficiently. Programs that are GCD enabled will be able to use all available cores by distributing work evenly across them. This is done automatically and results in far better performance in a multi-core Mac. Performances will significantly increase once GCD is used by developers for applications.

GCD makes everything far more efficient by using only the number of threads that are needed for a particular job to be done. GCD frees resources that it is not using in contrast to an application without GCD, which consumes resources even when there is nothing to do. With this, every application on the Mac becomes far more efficient and faster.

The integration of the new GCD technology into Mac OS X Snow Leopard, makes is easier to use all the multicore processors to their fullest capacity, and improves overall performance of the Mac. The Mac OS X also comes with General Purpose Graphical Processing Unit (GPGPU) support, which provides a better graphical display.

Multicore processors are proving to transform the way developers write applications. With the Grand Central Dispatch technology, it is the operating system that takes the responsibility for thread management, which was earlier the responsibility of the developers. Now, the enormous power of hardware can be exploited to the fullest.