TechDoers

Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia has unveiled a new smartphone with an unprecedented 41-megapixel camera. The 450 Euros device, 808 PureView, runs on software that Nokia is reportedly phasing out in favour of the Windows Phone. The new smartphone, which was announced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, is expected to launch in Europe in May, The Telegraph reports. With 41 MP, the phone is able to shoot images that Nokia claims can be printed in "poster size". Files, however, condense four or five pixels into one, and Nokia claims they are smaller than equivalent products from rivals. A Carl Zeiss lens shoots in continuous focus HD video, at 1080p. Mary McDowell, the firm's executive vice president for mobile phones, said the company's engineers had been working on the product "for years". She said it was "natural" to assume that its technology would be used in other Nokia products in the future. McDowell added that while the device was larger than its rivals, it was still sized to fit in pockets, rather than replace a full-size camera. According to the report, the device uses a 1.3GHz processor, comes with 16GB of storage and runs a 4" screen at 360 x 640, which is below HD resolution. (ANI)

2012-02-29T04:23:00.001-08:00

Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia has unveiled a new smartphone with an unprecedented 41-megapixel camera.

The 450 Euros device, 808 PureView, runs on software that Nokia is reportedly phasing out in favour of the Windows Phone.

The new smartphone, which was announced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, is expected to launch in Europe in May, The Telegraph reports.

With 41 MP, the phone is able to shoot images that Nokia claims can be printed in "poster size".

Files, however, condense four or five pixels into one, and Nokia claims they are smaller than equivalent products from rivals.

A Carl Zeiss lens shoots in continuous focus HD video, at 1080p.

Mary McDowell, the firm's executive vice president for mobile phones, said the company's engineers had been working on the product "for years".

She said it was "natural" to assume that its technology would be used in other Nokia products in the future.

McDowell added that while the device was larger than its rivals, it was still sized to fit in pockets, rather than replace a full-size camera.

According to the report, the device uses a 1.3GHz processor, comes with 16GB of storage and runs a 4" screen at 360 x 640, which is below HD resolution. (ANI)

Comparison - Sony Xperia S Vs Apple IPhone 4S

2012-02-05T04:19:00.000-08:00

The Sony Xperia S was announced during CES 2012. It is the successor to the Arc S, itself an upgrade to the original Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc. The Apple iPhone 4S was announced in October 2011.

Both the Sony Xperia S and the Apple iPhone 4S are quad-band devices. The Apple iPhone 4S has the edge in supporting both CDMA and GSM systems in one device. The Sony Xperia S is a little larger but weighs only a little bit more at 144g while the iPhone 4S weighs 140g.

Both devices come in Black or White and the jury is still out on which device actually looks better.

The Sony Xperia S has a larger screen (4.3 vs 3.5-inch) and a few more pixels as a consequence of that (720 x 1280 pixels against 640 x 960 pixels). The main camera is now a 12-megapixel one against the 8-megapixel camera of its rival. Its secondary camera is also a little better (1.3 vs 0.3-megapixels).

The Apple iPhone 4S is capable of recording 1080p video. This is despite it having a lower megapixel rating for the camera than its rival. Compared to the 32 GB internal storage of the Xperia S, the iPhone comes with more options (16/32/64 GB).

It appears that the Sony Xperia S is quite evenly-matched with the Apple iPhone 4S. The iPhone 4S is of course expected to be the more expensive device for a long time if not always, and we think that the Xperia S will lose out in this comparison mainly because of the older Android OS.

When the Android 4.0 updates roll out with the Sony Xperia S, then the choice is much harder to make. The Xperia S is likely to be cheaper than its rival, but the Sony brand has some way to go before it matches the appeal and the prestige of the Apple brand.

Sony Xperia S (not announced yet)

3.5G HSDPA + WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Touchscreen candybar, 12.0 MP camera, 32GB Memory, Android OS 2.3 (Gingerbread)

Sony Xperia S was announced at CES 2012 with a 4.3-inch 720p display and some pretty impressive specs - a gap-free laminated Reality Display. The Xperia S features a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 12-megapixel Exmor R camera R camera sensor, NFC support, and PlayStation certification.

According to Sony, it’ll come with Android 2.3 and not Ice Cream Sandwich, at least not until second quarter of the year. And the Xperia S comes in black and white – for now.

iPhone 4S (RM 3200+)

3.5G HSDPA + HSUPA + WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Touchscreen Candybar, 8.0 MP Camera, 16/32/64 GB Memory, iOS 5

The iPhone 4S is a world phone which supports both GSM and CDMA connections. The iPhone 4S will come in three variants, the brand new 64GB ($499), 32GB ($299), and 16GB ($199), and it will come in black and white. The pricing is the same as for the iPhone 4 last year.

Its exterior is similar to the iPhone 4, but the phone gets the A5 dual-core processor, which Apple claims will be able to run graphics seven times faster than its predecessor. Last year's antenna issue is also addressed, the iPhone's steel band is able to 'intelligently' switch between antenna's for improve call quality.

Other iPhone 4S exclusives, is the Siri voice recognition system, for example you ask Siri a question example "Do I need a raincoat today?" Siri will try and make sense of it and responds "It sure looks like rain today." Other examples include "What is the time in Kuala Lumpur?" Siri will then show you the world clock. Yes it comes with iOS 5, but only 4S users will be able to enjoy it.

There is also an upgraded 8-megapixel camera, the sensor gets an upgrade too with something called backlight illumination, and an image signal processor that enables face detection and 26 percent improved white balance. And it will take 1.1 seconds to take the first shot, and half a second for the next. 1080p video recording is supported too.

The battery is still able to handle the dual-core processor with 8 hours of talk time, 14 hours of 2g talk time, 6 hours of 3g browsing, 9 hours of WiFi browsing. The 4S will have 14.4 HSPA + downlink, an improvement over the iPhone 4's 7.2 Mpbs.

AfterShokz Headphones: Listening To Music With Your Bones, Not Eardrums

2012-01-30T08:34:00.000-08:00

A new way of listening to music is available now, without having the need to stuff things in your ear. AfterShokz Headphones (using Bone Conduction Technology) deliver sound directly to the inner ear, bypassing the eardrum. Bone conduction headphones were originally created for military use. But, now you can experience it too!

What makes these headphones different than the conventional ones?

When you are using regular headphones/ earphones, the sound waves travel via ‘air’ to finally reach your eardrums. Whereas, in case of headphones using Bone Conduction Technology, all sounds are delivered through your skull to the inner ear, without interference from air; not to mention the crystal clear accuracy that the headphones shall provide.

The main intent of creating this technology was clearly to allow the user to be able to communicate through media while still being able to hear what is going on around. The earphones in use today have major drawbacks – when the surroundings are too loud, the users have to pump up the volume; on and around-ear headphones are just ‘unwieldy’ and make the dork in you stand out; and the in-ear ones, though providing good quality, block the user from the outside world.

To those who find it hard to believe, try holding a watch between your teeth, the ticking is audible. A tuning fork held to your forehead will also do. Bone conduction simply is, passing of frequencies through the skull plates to the inner ear. A high frequency makes parts of the skull vibrate, so as to put it in layman’s terms. Correspondingly, low frequencies make the skull vibrate as a whole. From this, the inner ear can deduce the frequency being passed.

AfterShokz Headphones have been designed such that they press on the cheekbones and have good grip. And you do get to experience high fidelity and stereo quality sound. Normal earphones are irritating when used for long durations; the in-ear ones block air access to the ear canal, the other ones simply hurt since people tend to use them at high volumes. Joggers and active people have to keep adjusting them from falling away.

Drawbacks:

Whether this technology has any drawbacks is not known. However, a skeptic may point that making a person’s skull vibrate all the time may be harmful in the long run.

Availability:

Three models of AfterShokz Headphones are available: AfterShokz Sport Headphone, AfterShokz Mobile with In-Line Mic, and AfterShokz Game Headphone.

Grid World

2012-01-24T04:21:00.000-08:00

A form of networking. Unlike conventional networks that focus on communication among devices, grid computing harnesses unusedprocessing cycles of all computers in a network for solving problems too intensive for any stand-alone machine.

A well-known grid computing project is the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) @Home project, in which PC users worldwide donate unused processor cycles to help the search for signs of extraterrestrial life by analyzing signals coming from outer space. The project relies on individual users to volunteer to allow the project to harness the unused processing power of the user's computer. This method saves the project both money and resources.

Grid computing does require special software that is unique to the computing project for which the grid is being used.

How is a server different from a desktop?

What are storage area networks?

Can I use a high-end desktop in place of a server?

How do you know when you need a server?

grid computing

Do I need more than one server?

How much memory and disk space will it need?

Will I have to replace it in six months?

How much will a server cost?

www.webopedia.com/TERM/G/grid_computing.html

How to give dynamic values to custom components in android

2012-01-19T22:30:00.000-08:00

Hi I have a custom component in my XML and it has static values for textHeader,textValue,textStatsCount,textStatsColor
this is the xml code

<com.my.androproject.customWidget.Textdesigner

    android:layout_width="122sp"

    android:layout_height="56sp"

    android:layout_marginTop="50sp"

    android:layout_marginLeft="25sp"

    androproject:textHeader="Operations"

    androproject:textValue="28" 

    androproject:textStatsCount="+20"

    androproject:textStatsPercent="+40%"

androproject:textStatsColor="#00FF00" />

In the Textdesigner class

public class Textdesigner extends RelativeLayout {
    // this constructor call will used when instantiating the object manually (not from a layout XML file).
    public Textdesigner (Context context)
    {
        super(context);
        init(context);
    }

    // this from xml layout
    public Textdesigner (Context context, AttributeSet attrs) {
        super(context, attrs);
        init(context, attrs);
    }
}

I want to set the values for textHeader,textValue,textStatsCount,textStatsColor from java code(dynamically). I dont know how to do that??? Please help me..
I want to create a new component by using the custom component class Textdesigner ..

can any one help me how to do that in java code... any link or tutorial for learning custom components will be great.. Thanks in advance..

How To Fix Shockwave Flash Crashes in Google Chrome

2012-01-17T20:34:00.000-08:00

If your copy of Google Chrome has taken on a sudden and inexplicable hatred for Shockwave Flash, we’re here to help. Read on as we show you how to tame Chrome and get it to play nice with Flash.

More so than other browsers, Google Chrome is particularly susceptible to a specific but not uncommon situation in which it simply will not coexist peacefully with Adobe Flash—frequent slow downs and annoying crashes are common as a result. The following tutorial will help you get Chrome back to its speedy self.

What’s Causes The Issue?

The reason we’re talking about Chrome and not, say, Firefox, is because of the way Chrome handles Flash content. While other browsers call upon the Flash installation of the host system, Chrome includes an internal Flash installation. When everything goes smoothly this isn’t a problem—the internal Flash installation is updated with every new Chrome release.

Unfortunately things can fall apart pretty easily if Chrome gets confused and attempts to utilize both the OS installation of Flash and the internal Chrome installation of Flash. The result is serious browser lag, temporary lockup, and then a browser-wide crash of all active Flash instances. You don’t realize how many web sites use Flash until every single tab locks up with a crash warning—”The following plug-in has crashed: Shockwave Flash”

How Do I Know A Conflicting Flash Installation Is Causing The Crashes?

First of all, despite the warning about Shockwave, the actual warning has nothing to do with Adobe Shockwave which is a separate program/multimedia system from Adobe Flash. Second, while not every instance of Flash flaking out in Chrome can be attributes to a Flash install conflict, we’ve found it to be the most common reason users are experiencing Flash-related problems.

How can you tell if a Flash conflict is the source of your trouble? Run Chrome. In the address bar, type about:plugins in the address bar. After you press enter you’ll be greeted with a list of all the plug-ins installed in Chrome (this is different than user-installed Extensions). Look down the list of plug-ins for the Flash entry. If the entry looks like Flash (2 Files) there is a very good chance the source of your Flash-related crashes is a conflict between the two.

In the upper right hand corner of the browser window there is a small toggle labeled [+] Details. Click on that toggle to expand the entries for all the plug-ins. Return to the entry for Flash.

You should see something like the screenshot above: two entries for Flash, one for the internal Chrome installation (highlighted in red here) and one for the host OS’s installation (seen below the highlighted entry).

You need to click on the Disable link for Chrome’s internal installation of Flash (make sure you disable the one located in Chrome’s AppData folder and not the separate stand-alone Flash installation). Once you do so the entry for the internal installation should look like so:

Go ahead and close the tab and then close Google Chrome. Restart Chrome and resume normal browsing—visit Adobe’s test page to ensure everything looks good:

Remember, you’ll no longer be getting automatic updates with each Chrome upgrade. Make sure to check for updates at Adobe’s Flash download page and/or turn on the update check in your local installation of Adobe Flash.

If for whatever reason disabling the built-in Flash doesn’t help, we suggest playing around with different combinations. Try turning off the OS Flash installation instead of the built-in Flash installation for example. Also, try visiting a flash-based web site while Incognito Mode (when you enter Incognito Mode it turns off all your Extensions which may or may not be causing issues with Flash). Finally, as a last ditch effort, you can reinstall Chrome (if Flash works in every other browser but Chrome, this is likely the only option you have left).

How to Make Bluetooth Work With a PS3

2012-01-17T18:14:00.000-08:00

One of the biggest advantages to owning a PlayStation 3 is the ability to use any Bluetooth-capable headset to chat with other players. Although the PS3 does natively support Bluetooth technology, you will have to follow a few short steps to sync your headset to your PS3.

Instructions

1.Update your PS3. If you do not have the latest system update, you may not be able to sync your devices correctly. To update your PS3, go to the "System Settings" menu and select the "System Update" icon. After you have finished updating, restart your PS3.

2.Put your Bluetooth device in discovery mode. Generally, you activate this by holding the Bluetooth activation button--but because headsets vary, you may need to consult your manual for precise instructions.

3.Go to the "Settings" tab on the PS3's cross-media bar and select the "Accessory Settings" menu. From the new menu, select "Scan for Bluetooth Device." The PlayStation 3 should detect it automatically.

4.Return to the "Settings" menu and select "Audio Settings." Go to "Input/Output Settings" and select your headset as the device. Your Bluetooth headset should now be completely synced with your PS3 and ready for online chatting.

ANDROID A TO E Dictionary

2012-01-17T17:52:00.000-08:00

What is ADB?
Welcome to our our latest feature here at Android Central. This one's geared more for you folks who are just getting started with Android, but it's a great refresher for you veterans as well.

Tucked away at AndroidCentral.com/dictionary is -- you guessed it -- a glossary full of Android-type terms that we use every day. Don't know what we're talking about? Chances are a quick look with explain things for you. We're constantaly updating the dictionary. So if something's missing, chances are we're getting to it. (Feel free to yell at us in the meantime, if you want.)

So let's kick things off with an easy one.

ADB: Stands for Android Debug Bridge. A tool used to connect and sends commands to your Android phone from a command line on a desktop or laptop computer.

What is a bootloader?
At its most basic level, your Android smartphone is like a hard drive, made of up several partitions. One of those partitions holds the Android system files, another holds all the app data you accumulate (which is how you're usually able to update without losing all your stuff), and others to do more behind-the scenes stuff.

Think of the bootloader as a security checkpoint for all those partitions. Because if you're able to swap out what's on those partitions, you're able to break things if you don't know what you're doing. Or, with a little hackery, you're able to run custom ROMs.

There's a lot of squawking about bootloaders being "locked." Actually, most phones shipped with a "locked" bootloader, including the developer-friendly Nexus devices. (Nexus devices and a couple tablets are easily unlocked with a single command.) No, more accurately, most bootloaders are locked and encrypted, meaning the traditional "fastboot oem unlock" command won't do a thing.

And that's a bone of contention for those who love a manufacturer's hardware and want to tinker with their devices. HTC and Samsung and Motorola -- just about everyone, really -- ships devices with locked and/or encrypted bootloaders. Tinkerers (we really don't like calling 'em "hackers") have to find a way around the encryption, usually with some sort of an engineering bootloader that wasn't supposed to be available to the general public. But in recent months, we've seen HTC provide a free tool that will unlock the bootloaders on a number of its devices, and ASUS just got on board, too. Sony Ericsson recently has provided unlocking tools. Motorola's promised to do so as well, but there's been little movement. LG and Samsung ship with unencrypted bootloaders.

Why keep a bootloader out of reach? Probably the biggest reasons are that the carriers and manufacturers don't want to have to support hacked phones. The other is that a lot of time and money is spent developing these things. HTC Sense ain't cheap. Neither is TouchWiz. But Samsung and HTC both have managed to find a middle ground with the modding community, and pressure is on other companies to do so as well.

What is CES?
In just a few short days we'll be back yet again in Las Vegas for the 2012 International CES. That's Consumer Electronics Show, if you don't know, and it's the largest gathering of nerds west of the Mississippi. Or east of the Mississippi. Or anywhere near Mississippi.

CES isn't just a mobile show, though. It's everything electronics. And while that means you don't get quite as much mobile tech as you will, say, at Mobile World Congress (in Barcelona in late February) or CTIA (in New Orleans in May), we'll still see our share. In January 2011, CES is where we got our first good look at the likes of the Motorola Xoom Honeycomb tablet. And the Droid Bionic, Cliq 2 and Atrix, and the HTC ThunderBolt, Inspire 4G and EVO Shift 4G. And LG Optimus 2X and Revolution.

Here's what's coming up this year:

CES doesn't officially start until Tuesday, Jan. 10. That's when the show floors open.
But Monday, Jan. 9, is Media Day. Press conference after press conference. It's a little insane, actually.
And stuff's actually going down on Sunday, too. Le sigh.
Unlike years past, the Adult Entertainment Expo isn't taking place at the same time, adjacent to some of the same venues. There shall be no (or at least not quite as much) accidental mixing of nerds and nipples. (We can't be held responsible for what happens in Vegas after hours, though.)
We're going to have more liveblogs than you'll be able to follow. It'll be epic.

What is Dalvik?
We hear that word getting thrown around a lot on the Internet when talking about Android and its inner workings. While there's no easy explanation we can give in just a few paragraphs, we can cover the basics and point you in the right direction if you need to feed your nerdly side. In its simplest terms, Dalvik is a virtual machine that runs applications and code written in Java. A standard Java compiler turns source code (written as text files) into Bytecode, then compiled into a .dex file that the Dalvik VM can read and use. In essence, class files are converted into .dex files (much like a jar file if one were using the standard Java VM) and then read and executed by the Dalvik Virtual Machine. Duplicate data used in class files is included only once in the .dex output, which saves space and uses less overhead. The executable files can be modified again when you install an application to make things even more optimized for mobile. Things like byte order swapping and linking data structure and function libraries inline make the files smaller and run better on our devices. The Dalvik VM was written from square one with Android in mind.

Confused yet? Don't feel bad, geeky programming talk usually has that effect. Think of it this way -- when you build a Java application for your computer, a Java Virtual Machine runs the compiled output of the source code. This is why Java runs on just about any operating system. Dalvik is a mobile-optimized version of a Java Virtual Machine, built with code from the Apache Harmony project, which is open-source and runs better than a standard Java VM would on our limited hardware, designed so that you can run more than one instance of the VM at a time -- ie multitasking. Because Dalvik is open-source, it's also been ported to other operating systems, like the one on the BlackBerry PlayBook. It's pretty damn complicated, pretty damn cool, and Oracle (the company that bought Java from Sun) hates it.

Android uses Dalvik because while the license for the standard Java Virtual Machine is GPL2 (free and open-source), when placed in a mobile device and using the Java Micro Edition, it is not. The big dispute between Google and Oracle is all based around Dalvik. Google claims it was written in a "clean-room" environment without using any of Oracle's code, and Oracle disagrees. We claim to have no idea, we're just glad it works as well as it does.

What's an ETF?
An early termination fee is something you agree to, albeit grudgingly, when you sign a contract with a carrier. In return for, say, Verizon, selling you a phone for $199 instead of the "full" $499 off-contract price, you agree that you'll stay with that carrier for a given amount of time. In the U.S., that's usually two years. (In Canada, it could be an excruciating three years.) So you get a cheaper phone, and the carrier gets guaranteed monthly payments.

You can break out of that contract, but there are penalties. That's where the ETF comes in. If you want to break a contract and move your service to another carrier, you'll have to pay the early termination fee. It's usually prorated depending on how many months are left on your contract, which is good. But it still can be several hundred dollars. (Occasionally you'll hear about your new carrier promising to pay the ETF for you.)

Here are the ETF conditions for the four major U.S. carriers as of this writing:

Verizon: $350 for an "advanced device"; $175 for others.
Sprint: $350 for an "advanced device"; $200 for others
AT&T: $325 for an "advanced device"; $150 for others
T-Mobile: $200 if more than 180 days left on contract; $100 for 91-180 days left on contract; $50 for 30-90 days. With less than 30 days remaining, ETF is $50 or amount of your bill, whichever is less

What is fastboot?
In Android, fastboot is a special diagnostic and engineering protocol that you can boot your Android device into. While in fastboot, you can modify the file system images from a computer over a USB connection. It's a powerful, nerdy tool that deserves to be broken down into terms we all can understand -- let's try and do that.

Not all phones have a fastboot mode that the user can access. It's turned on with Nexus devices by default (as well as a few other phones and tablets) and has been enabled by independent Android developers and enthusiasts on some other phones. It also requires more than what ships with the Android SDK, and different USB drivers for Windows computers. Fastboot runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux and all the information about setting it up can be found in the forums if you're interested. Once set up, you boot your phone to fastboot and you can flash image files to your phone's internal memory. Flashing a custom recovery like ClockworkMod is a popular use case, as is resetting it all back using factory images after we're done breaking things. The images you flash don't need to be signed with a particular key, so just about anything will try to flash -- even if it shouldn't be used, so use care. There are other commands you can use with fastboot, and they're a bit more advanced. Things like erasing partitions and overriding kernel command line options can be done, and this makes the tool very useful for developing hardware and software solutions that may need customized booting procedures. With a little bit of knowledge, and the right Android hardware, fastboot can be a great tool.

How to Reduce Noise in a Sound File

2012-01-13T09:41:00.000-08:00

Please follow this manual to reduce the noise in a sound file. Here we take the recorded sound from cassette tapes and vocal recording for example:

1. Download and install MP3 Music Editor software in your PC and double-click the desktop icon of the program to launch it.

2. Click the button "Open a new sound file" or press Ctrl+O to import the recorded sound from cassette tapes/vocal recording.

3. On the right top, click the "Reduce cassette noise/Reduce recorded breath" to process.

4. When the operation is done, you'll find the cracks or breath magically removed.

How to Use Your Android Phone as a Modem; No Rooting Required, Redux

2012-01-03T21:57:00.000-08:00

Last year we showed you how to tether your Android phone to your computer, no rooting required. The only catch was that it cost $16—now we’re back with a just as simple but free-as-in-beer solution.

Our original guide was inspired by a reader email, asking us to help configure their Android phone and laptop for tethered browsing, and detailed how to use the robust PDAnet to tether. This guide is inspired by the recent release of Tether, a free application from Koushik Dutta, the brains behind the awesome ClockworkMod package for Android. Read on as we show you how to use ClockwordMod Tether.

One word of warning before we continue; although we found Tether to be a perfectly acceptable alternative to PDAnet, it is still an Alpha release. If you’re worried about hiccups or downtime (and your job depends on you having face and reliable internet access) we’d highly suggest reading our original guide focused on PDAnet as PDAnet is a mature and well tested tethering tool.

What You’ll Need

Accept for a quick download, you should have everything you need on hand already. For this tutorial you’ll need the following items:

Your Android Phone
Your laptop, netbook, or desktop computer
A USB sync cable for your Android phone
A copy of Clockwork Mod Tether Alpha (Available for Windows/Mac/Linux)

Once you’ve downloaded the appropriate copy for your OS, you’re ready to rock. Let’s get started!

Installing Tether

After downloading the installation app, launch it. Although you won’t have to do anything too fancy to install tether you will need to approve a variety of system changes—the warnings look serious but that’s just because Windows Vista/7 is particularly aggressive about warning users.

Click through the installation process, about halfway through a command prompt window will pop up and the installation process will prompt you to approve the installation of an unsigned driver. Approve it.

At the end of the installation process Tether will launch your default web browser and direct it to Tether Drivers sub-page of the ClockworkMod site. If you already have the most up-to-date USB drivers for your particular Android phone, you can skip this step. For everyone else, take a moment to grab drivers for your phone. Don’t see your phone listed? You can always check out the driver list provided by Google here. At any rate, you’ll need to make sure your drivers are up to date before continuing.

If you’ve previously used PDAnet on your computer (whether the trial or the full package) you’ll need to uninstall it before continuing. Tether will not work if PDAnet is installed. Once your drivers are up to date and you’ve confirmed PDAnet is uninstalled, it’s time to fire up Tether.

When you first run it there isn’t much going on, it simply sits by idle waiting for you to start the process. Now is the time to plug in your Android phone’s sync cable and tether the phone to your computer. You’ll need to have Debug mode enabled. Take a moment to navigate, on your Android phone, to Settings > Applications > Development and checkUSB Debugging. Once you’ve confirmed debugging is on and your phone is connected, click Start in the Tether interface on your computer.

Tether should spring to life; don’t worry too much about the output whirling by in the Tether Log window. Tether will automatically install the Tether application on your Android phone (if it doesn’t you can find it in the \ClockworkMod\Tether\Common\ folder and install it manually).

At this point the USB logo on both the Tether desktop app and the Tether Android app should be green like so:

And that’s it! You’re connected to the internet via your Android phone. No more hunting for Wi-Fi nodes, you’ve got a easy to use tether right in your pocket.

Troubleshooting Your Tether Installation

Although we had a painless Tether installation, it’s still an Alpha release app. We’ve rounded up some solutions to common problems here.

First, when in doubt, restart both your computer and phone. Second, use the task manager to kill all instances of tether.exe and node.exe before restarting the tether.exe—some users report that the first time they run Tether it doesn’t work but after killing the process and starting it again everything is fine.

Getting a DUN Null error? Make sure you’ve uninstalled PDAnet—double check even if you think it’s not installed, maybe you tested it out years ago and forgot.

Connection hangs between phone and computer? Make sure your USB drivers are up to date. It’s possible to have just-good-enough older drivers that get the phone and computer talking but fail to completely connect the two together.

Installation failed? Run it again as administrator and make sure to approve the driver requests it makes.

If you need additional help or have run into a quirky installation issue, make sure to check out the discussion thread about ClockworkMod Tether here.

Motorola Xoom tablet gets a price cut

2012-01-02T04:18:00.000-08:00

Price cut seems to be the new weapon in the arsenal of tablet makers in India battling tough competition from Apple's iPad. After Reasearch In Motion (RIM), which recently slashed the prices of its PlayBook tablet by as much as 50%, it's now Motorola India.

According to a report in Android OS, the company has reportedly slashed the prices of its Honeycomb-powered tablet Xoom in the Indian market. While the report doesn't mention the exact price cut, it states that various online stores are selling the tablet at sharply reduced prices.

The report states that the online retailer Flipkart is selling the Wi-Fi 32GB version of the tablet for Rs 26,500, while Koovs is selling the same model for Rs 21,500 and the Wi-Fi+3G model for Rs 25,000.

Earlier, the 32GB 3G version of Xoom was priced at Rs 33,000 and Wi-Fi version was selling for around Rs 31,000. Xoom is powered by a 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM. It sports a 10.1-inch display with a 1280 x 800 resolution, includes a 5 megapixel rear camera and a 2 megapixel front facing camera, HDMI output with 32GB of inbuilt memory which can be expanded with microSD cards. The tablet is also set to get the Ice Cream Sandwich update.

Last week, the Canadian firm RIM slashed the prices of its PlayBook tablet by more than half to cash in on the festive season and rising demand for tablet PCs in India.

Buoyed by the response, the company has now extended the discount, which was earlier slated to end on Dec 31, 2011, by a week.

New easy to use app to root Android Phones, Unlock root

2012-01-01T12:13:00.000-08:00

To download click here

Works on almost all android devices. Visit the site for further info!!

Weather Underground App Now Available for Android and iOS

2011-12-31T07:59:00.000-08:00

Android/iOS: Weather Underground was the first internet weather site and collects data from 22,000+ local neighborhood stations; now you can get that awesome weather reporting on your mobile device.

Weather Underground is a fantastic weather reporting site that taps into a vast network of local weather stations to report up-to-date and accurate weather. Rather than rely on an hour old update from an airport 30 miles away, Weather Underground gives you a recently updated average from all the weather stations scattered around you–some of the stations update as frequently as every 2.5 seconds.

Reports include current temperature, “feels like” temperature with the wind chill factored in, hourly and 7-day forecasts, as well as wind speed and direction, humidity, dew point, visibility, air pressure, radar readouts, and weather warnings.

Hit up the link below to grab a free copy for your Android and iOS devices.

Link: Weather Underground

2011 in Gaming: The Year in Under 2 Minutes!! Watch the Video!!

2011-12-31T07:55:00.000-08:00

Another year, another evolutionary step forward in gaming and graphics. Check out this action packed video to review gaming highlights from 2011.

How many games can you pick out? Miffed one didn’t make the reel? Sound off in the comments.

Hardware Upgrade: How To Install New RAM

2011-12-31T07:53:00.000-08:00

RAM is one of those upgrades everyone seems to skimp on when buying a PC, only to later wish for more. Regretting your underpowered memory purchase? Here’s how to speed up your machine by installing some additional memory.

Memory is often one the critical bottlenecks on a PC, so faster, larger stores of RAM can go a long way to making your PC perform better and with more stability. It’s not hard, even for beginner geeks. Crack open that PC in today’s hardware upgrade!

Identifying and Buying Your New RAM (The Hard Part)

Your RAM is likely installed in these slots on your motherboard, called the DIMM slots. This motherboard has room for six sticks of memory. Note the pins and how the RAM lines up with them—important to note to install properly. The median is off center to show you clearly which direction to orient them. If you’re strong, you can probably force them in backwards, but computers don’t really respond well to that kind of bullying.

Each motherboard has specific requirements for RAM. Sometimes you can install slightly different kinds of RAM, but this could result in decreased performance or even shorter life for your new memory. If at all possible, install memory best suited to your mainboard, meeting as many of the following requirements as possible:

Timing
Speed/Data Rate
Voltage
Number of Pins (Mandatory)
Maximum supported memory
Maximum supported memory per DIMM slot
Does your mainboard require memory in pairs or not?

While all the specs for your RAM are important, the number of pins are probably the first thing you should look at. There are going to be multiple references to the number of these pins—you can clearly see the comparison of them here, above. Note that depending on the type of RAM, including speed/data rate, a stick may have more or fewer pins, and will have the notch or notches in different locations. Your motherboard is only going to take RAM with only one kind of pin count. Again, you can probably force it in, but it will probably be the end of your PC!

While installing additional or all-new memory is not terribly complicated, even for a beginner geek, buying the proper memory can be a frustrating challenge. If you are confused, you can check out our easy beginner-friendly guide to buying memory. Here you can figure out these confusing requirements your motherboard has and buy the right RAM for your system.

What Kind of Memory Does My Computer Have Installed?

Brands of RAM do matter, especially to geeks. HTG doesn’t endorse any particular brand, although certain authors do have their favorites. If you have had good (or even terribly bad!) experiences with certain manufacturers, tell us about them in the comments.

Installing RAM in Your PC (The Easy Part!)

Every mainboard has nitpicky requirements for the settings of the RAM, but almost every machine has RAM installed the same way. DIMM slots have latches on either side that both lock in and release RAM from the pins they’re seated on to function. Let’s take a look at one very easy installation of RAM.
With your PC case open you won’t need any tools but your bare hands. Wearing gloves is generally not a good idea. And if your PC is not powered down and unplugged, you run the risk of hurting yourself or your equipment.

This particular PC has RAM on risers, which are installed in special DIMM slots (DIMM slot-like, actually) on the mainboard. Your technique for installing into mainboard DIMM slots will most likely be nearly identical to this—in fact it will have even fewer steps.

(Author’s Note: With every installation of RAM or any PC component, you’re going to want to stay grounded so that the static electricity from your body doesn’t flow into your new memory, or parts of your PC. While these parts are very sensitive, I have personallynever had problems with static, only with foolishly installing things the wrong way. It is, however, best practice to stay grounded the entire time and not remove your parts and install them on a separate surface. Installing RAM on these risers, with the parts removed, was more clear and more easy to photograph and the fundamentals are exactly the same of installing in a PC mainboard. Just remember your PC may look more similar to the first examples, rather than this one. And, as in any hardware upgrade, keep in mind that you can run the risk of damaging your equipment. Keeping all that in mind, understand that installing RAM is actually quite easy.)

We can see the DIMM slots each holding a stick of RAM, very similar to the ones on your mainboard. Always remember that your memory is very sensitive to static shock, and be careful to ground yourself and work on the most non-conductive, non-static surface available–your floor or carpet are not acceptable surfaces!

To remove a stick of memory from a DIMM slot, gently push down on the tabs on either side in tandem. Don’t force it, but apply firm pressure as needed. Your memory should begin to pop free from inside the DIMM slot. If it doesn’t come free easily, rock it gently back and forth from the sides to remove it. Above all, be gentle, as damage to the DIMM slot could ensure that your PC will never work properly again!

Handle the stick of RAM by the sides as shown, touching as little of it as possible. You want to keep your fingerprints and hand oils off of your new memory. Sit the old RAM aside on an anti-static surface and find your new RAM for installation.

With your DIMM slot tabs open, line up the pins and firmly (but not roughly) press on the outside of the stick of RAM to install. If the RAM is seated properly, the pressure from you pressing in the RAM will actually begin to snap the DIMM slot tabs shut, locking the new RAM in place. Make sure that the tabs are locked into the notches on the side of the RAM.

You also may need to install your memory in pairs. If this is the case, you will probably have to buy your memory in kits—pairs of RAM meant to be installed together. Make sure you do this!

In our example, we return our risers to our mainboard spot, adding the additional steps most HTG readers won’t have to face.

And that’s pretty much all there is to installing RAM! Again, your PC may not have the risers shown before, but installing memory in the DIMM slot as shown above is similar in all cases—a DIMM slot is a DIMM slot, pretty much. The techniques and best practices for removing and installing new RAM will be the same no matter what device you install into. Just stay cautious of static, don’t be too rough with your parts, and you’ll be on your way to speeding up your PC’s performance in no time.

Too many tool bars!!! Hilarious image!!

2011-12-28T21:54:00.001-08:00

click on image to view!!

Enjoy the ‘Let It Snow’ HTML5 Demo from Microsoft

2011-12-28T21:52:00.000-08:00

Want to enjoy some snow-powered goodness on your computer? Then browse on over to Microsoft’s ‘Let It Snow’ HTML5 demo page!

Once you get to the site you can choose the number of snowflakes you want to see using the Selector Menu in the lower left corner. After that sit back and enjoy the snowy goodness. You can also use your mouse to clear off the sign to see the message underneath, then let the snow cover it up again.

Keep in mind that performance may vary on your system based on browser used and the hardware on your computer (the demo does depend on hardware acceleration to run at its best).

Let It Snow [Microsoft]

Samsung Galaxy 5 Running Ice Cream Sandwich all thanks to CM9

2011-12-28T02:46:00.000-08:00

While big smartphones struggle to get their fix of Google’s new OS, Ice Cream Sandwich. Folks over at MadTeam, the ones that got us the original Cyanogen on the Galaxy 5, Gingerbread (android 2.3) based on CM 7.2 which i'm currently using myself!, have managed to port over Android’s new kin ICS to the Galaxy 5. Although the port is not complete and is not recommended for daily use, infact basic functionality of the device is broken. For more info click on the madteam link below....

Changeling:

Working:

Hardware Acceleration (Some Parts)
Touchscreen
WiFi
Audio

Broken:

Telephony
3G
GPS
Sensors
Bluetooth
Market
USB Mounting
WiFi Hotspot
Tethering
JIT is Disabled (So, the ROM is slightly slow)
Keyboard (Doesn’t appear completely on the Screen)

While the team is currently removing the bugs, It is recommended that you stay away from this build bless you want to loose all functionality. We expect the full release to come out soon, and will present a full upgrade guide once we have tested the build for ourselves.

[Madteam]

Galaxy Tab gets unofficial Ice Cream Sandwich

2011-12-28T02:38:00.000-08:00

A group of Galaxy Tab 8.9 owners couldn’t wait anymore and decided to homebrew their own Ice Cream Sandwich build for the Tab 8.9. Using files from the upcoming final build of Cyanogen Mod 9, this home cooked build is anything but final. Bluetooth, GPS, hardware acceleration and the accelerometer are functioning, while Wifi still remains a problem. The group is refraining from releasing builds for download at the moment, but they are promising quick updates.

Android Reverse Tethering for windows users.

2011-12-27T23:10:00.000-08:00

Tethering is the ability to surf on your pc using the 3g of your phone
Reverse tethering is the opposite : surf on your phone using the ADSL of your PC.

This work only for rooted users !!!
For non rooted users, you can try my other solution, but require more manipulations and is limited to surf Click here:

Installation :
Unpack the zip file. This zip files contains the windows part, ADB and the android APK.

No need to uninstall older version of the android application.

Ensure you have debugging enabled on your phone :
Settings > Applications > Development > USB Debugging > Turn On

AndroidTool
The AndroidTool.exe is the windows part
The low level communication tool (ADB) is included in the zip file.
AndroidTool will try to find ADB in c:\android-sdk-windows\platform-tools\adb.exe
If not found he will use the provided one.

The first time you use the program :

If you want to use another version of ADB, clik "config" and in the first tab enter the path to the ADB
Select the DNS server to use in the right list. On complex system, some dns can be detected.
Click on “Show Android interface”. This will install the latest android package and the dependencies (busybox and redsocks).
The SuperUser process may ask you to allow “Usb tunnel”

To start tethering click “Connect”.
Again, The SuperUser process may ask you to allow “Usb tunnel”

If the android process crash after receiving superuser rights, close the windows program and start again. (It’s a beta)

The android interface (first tab) will show connections forwarded to windows.
Others tabs are just for debugging (give information about system route tables and connections). Not yet finished.

Start your browser
Google chrome will complain that no connection is available. Don’t care. That work.
Firefox , opera and dolphin don’t have problem with that !!!

The current version of the application can’t forward low level ICMP packet (PING).
From Android Os point of vue, there is no internet connection.

Market :
The search market work, but due to the same connection problem, it’s not possible to download. I hope Google will fix the market.

Other apps :
This beta 2 detect automatically ports like http (80), https (443) , Market (5228) . UDP ports like DNS also work.
You don't need to add static ports in the windows program (config / ports).

Tested under :
Tested under more than 20 android models.

Download:

ReverseTethering beta 3.zip here

How to root any Android Phone!!!

2011-12-21T06:59:00.000-08:00

YOU CAN ROOT ALMOST ALL ANDROID PHONES!

What is rooting??

Android may have a reputation for being most open mobile platform, but some users still find themselves wanting more.

With a few exceptions, most Android phones won't let you tether your phone to a computer for free, control your processor speed, or download apps that are only available on other phones.

The answer is to root your Android phone. It's similar to jailbreaking for iPhone, but the process varies for each manufacturer and model.

This is a one-click root with almost all phones and all android versions. I personally tested this with my Galaxy 5, SE W8, Samsung Captivate and my Nexus S.

Requirements:
1) Superone click (PC Application to root your phone) Download it from here

The program requires Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0+ or Mono v1.2.6+
Operations systems with native support:

Windows Vista
Windows 7
Ubuntu

If you run Microsoft Windows XP, install .NET Framework v2.0 or above
If you run Mac or another Linux flavor, make sure you install Mono:

For more information about making it work in linux:
See here

2) Your phone's USB cable

3) Of course, your non-rooted Android Phone

PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU START WITH ANYTHING!!!!

You NEED to put your phone on USB Debugging mode
You NEED to install make sure the Android drivers for your phone are installed on your PC
Make sure you DO NOT mount your SD card.
If you still can't get something to run, try doing it in recovery mode....

Steps:
1) Connect your phone to your PC (Make sure all your phone's drivers are installed)
2) Open Superoneclick.exe
3) In the superoneclick window select root (That's all , It's done :-) )
4) After the process is done you'll get a confirmation message
5) After rooting, Superuser.apk will automatically be installed on your phone.

Thanks for reading.... :)

Convert Your 1Gb Memory Card To 2Gb Free

2011-12-19T19:15:00.000-08:00

Memory cards are used in all forms of digital media like digital cameras, computers, mobile phones and music player. So they are widely used but what if you have purchase a card some months ago and you feel that its storage in not enough to fulfill your needs. Well, there is a good news for you. You can convert a 1GB memory card to 2 GB with the help of free software.

Procedure:
1) First of all we have to make sure that its a 1 GB memory card. This only works on 1GB And it supports only in some of the rare cases of memory cards.
2) Now Backup all your data in that because we have to format the drive.
3) After backing up now open the Skimedi Fix 2GB Capacity application. i will upload a link at the end of post.
4) A small window will pop up showing the FIX and Cancel option. And you have to browse the drive where it is located (generally G: or L: drive for USB sticks)

5) After selecting the drive press on FIX and then the updating process will be followed up. It will ask your conformation whether you agree to format or not. click on yes.
6) Later it will ask to replug the device. Just replug the memory stick card and put it back. The size of the memory will be increased from 1Gb to 2Gb. you can see the properties before and after the cracking process.
7) After that you can also check the memory size in phone and also you can test the size by copying all the data to it which is around 2Gb.
8) I personally tested this and now i have converted my 1Gb to 2Gb and using 1.8 space with no problem.

9) You can reopen the Skimedi Fix and select the drive again where it shows us the size as 1912mb which is nothing but 2Gb.
10) Some times we get a parameter error while copying the files which have crossed the 1Gb size so this may not be 100% successful.

For Downloading CLICK HERE

Remove Facebook virus that posts nude links on your friends wall

2011-12-18T19:19:00.000-08:00

Now a days most of them have been affected by the Facebook porn viruses posting nude links on your friends wall.InBB has found out a solution for this.

We will advise you to stay away from this worm/virus if you have not been injected already, but in case if you have already been injected and waiting to remove it here’s how to fix it.

Safari: Go to Safari -> Preferences -> Extensions – find and select the extension “YouTube Premium”, now tap on uninstall to completely remove the extension.
Mozilla Firefox: Go to Tools -> Addons -> Extensions – find and remove the add-on “YouTube Premium”
Google Chrome: Go to Tools -> Extensions – find and remove the extension “YouTube Premium”

Try a reboot for a clean and safe PC or Mac. This should have resolved the issue of new Facebook porn virus posting nude video link on your friends wall. Be aware and avoid any suspicious link next time.

Note: The spam of partially nude video post on your friends wall have actually been discovered using a web browser extension. You may think that how is it possible since I have not installed any extension that will cause this issue. What happens is when you click on the virus which is in a form of video, it does’t actually play any video, instead it asks you to install some sort of extension to unlock the video. If you will click on the link and install that extension that’s when that nude spam will go to your friends wall. If you will only click but deny to install the extension, you’ll still be safe. Above are the instructions on how to remove the new Facebook porn virus.

Windows 8 Public Beta Coming in February 2012

2011-12-17T22:36:00.000-08:00

All this time we have been wondering about what would be the release date for Windows 8 beta,as per the rumors till now it was expected on the CES 2012 which would be held in the month of January and the Final release by the second half of 2012.

Now according to recent reports by TNW sources close to Microsoft has apparently informed them about a supposed public beta release for Windows 8 in the month of February 2012.Though no details whatsoever about the Windows 8 beta build were revealed to them by the informer.

Microsoft released the Windows 8 Developer Preview online a few weeks ago at the Build Developers Conference and it got a tremendous response by the community.Over the past few weeks yet another build image leaks started floating around which is said to be the Pre Beta build of Windows 8.
Though we were expecting an earlier release date with CES 2012 on the horizon this new report about the late February release would again start some more heavy discussion threads over internet communities for sure.

Access Remotely on Windows/Mac From your iOS devices

2011-12-17T20:05:00.000-08:00

If we can use our iOS devices as remotes for desktop computers, and if we can run desktop computer screens remotely from another computer, why not run desktop computer screens remotely with an iOS device?

The Splashtop app claims to be the only app that will do everything remotely. Many of them don’t do sound, but this does, as well as flash. This means all those things you can’t do on your iPad or iPhone, you can now do if you run your computer remotely. Even better yet, it was on sale for $2.99.

For Dowloading Splashtop Stremer Click here. and Install it

After downloading the Splashtop app on the iOS device, it asks you to download the “Splashtop Streamer” app on your desktop computer

If you’re having trouble finding your computer in the listing of available desktops, there is a link in the bottom right that says, “How Do I Find My Computer?” Clicking this brings up a screen that explains how to locate the computer.It Gives an idea on finding it on your local network

Once you are fully connected, a Hints screen explaining how to adapt the Lions finger gestures for the iPad experience appears. You can opt to have this show every time or never again.

Once you have the desktop “live” on your iOS device, you have an option of having the “special” keys, such as Alt, Command, Fn-keys, arrows, etc., in a pop-up row along the bottom of the screen. I use a keyboard/cover with my iPad, and I find that I can’t use all those keys on my keyboard with this app, and sometimes have to use them on the bottom row. Additionally, when I re-enter the app, I sometimes have trouble getting the editing/typing to begin working again until I pop up that bottom row of special keys.