Technology Wand

In a move that could keep ties with online games programmers strong, Adobe Systems is adding 3D graphics support to a coming version of its widely used browser plug-in.

The move is an important advancement for Flash, a software foundation that eases programmers' difficulties with incompatibilities among various operating systems and browsers. And it'll come none too soon: Flash is under siege by a host of Web standards, and part of that work focuses on 3D Web graphics.

Adobe plans to detail new 3D abilities coming to Flash Player.

(Credit: Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)

The 3D plans came to light on an agenda for the Adobe Max conference in October. "Join Sebastian Marketsmueller, Adobe Flash Player engineer, for a deep dive into the next-generation 3D API [application programming interface] coming in a future version of Flash Player," said the agenda item for a talk titled "Flash Player 3D Future."

The "deep dive" is on the last day of the conference, so it's reasonable to expect the official news to arrive earlier--say, during the Monday keynote address on October 25.

Later, Flash Player product manager Imbert Thibault offered a bit more of a teaser in a blog post. "I tell you, some serious stuff is coming for 3D developers.

"If you are into 3D development for games, augmented reality, or just interactive stuff like Web sites, you just can't miss the session," Thibault said. When exactly the technology will arrive isn't clear, but Thibault said it is coming "in a future version of the Flash Player."

Adobe added some 3D features to the 2008 release of Flash Player 10, but they were limited--for example, 2D objects could be manipulated in a 3D space. It wasn't a full 3D environment like that you'd see in a first-person shooter game or the Second Life virtual world.

And although Adobe invested a lot of time in the newly released Flash Player 10.1, much of that was getting the software to work on hardware-constrained smartphones, where Flash is largely nonexistent today. Because Flash's interface didn't change, the version number was only a minor bump upward.

Adding a 3D interface to Flash would be a significant change for programmers, so expect a full step up in release numbers. Version 11 sounds like the right time frame for 3D's full arrival, given the significant effort under way by many players to rebuild Flash features without relying on Adobe's proprietary (albeit publicly documented) technology.

Some of what Flash can do is being rebuilt with standards including HTML, the Hypertext Markup Language used to describe Web pages, CSS, the Cascading Style Sheets used for formatting, SVG, the Scalable Vector Graphics technology, and JavaScript, the programming language of choice for Web applications. Examples of the new era coming in recent browsers include support for HTML's 2D graphics technology called Canvas and CSS's downloadable typeface technology called WOFF, or Web Open Font Format.

But the future of 3D on the Web is murkier. Major browsers, including Mozilla's Firefox, Google's Chrome, and Apple's Safari, are being fitted right now with 3D technology called WebGL. It's based on an existing standard, OpenGL, that has wide if not universal support.

3D doesn't end with WebGL. Google is using it as a foundation for library of code to provide a higher-level Web graphics 3D interface that began as a browser plug-in called O3D.

Here's the rub, though: Internet Explorer. Although Microsoft is supporting a wide range of new standards in its forthcoming IE9, WebGL is not on the list.

"I think it's different markup," said Dean Hachamovitch, general manager of IE, in an earlier interview, meaning that WebGL is antithetical to Microsoft's current "same markup" marketing push that Web developers should be able to write code for one Web page that works compatibly under all browsers.

Flash sidesteps such browser compatibility issues by providing an interface.

However, it comes with its own baggage, such as the fact that Flash elements on a Web page often are isolated from other elements and behave differently. And Flash brings stability and security concerns, as Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs pointed out in a high-profile explanation of why Apple banned Flash from the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.

Online games are a major use of Flash, as sites such as Kongregate and Armor Game can attest and as Jobs acknowledged in his letter. Thus far, however, those Flash games tend to be casual affairs; the heavy-duty blockbusters are usually written to take advantage of an operating system's native interface, such as Microsoft's Direct3D.

Notably, Google is trying to marry this native approach with Web-based methods using its Native Client technology, which lets Web applications tap into a computer's processing power.

While Flash isn't likely at least in the near term to replace games that use the native operating system, getting 3D abilities would substantially expand the range of games developers could write, bringing new depth to those for racing cars or tossing wads of paper into a trash can, for example. Support for hardware acceleration would be essential for Flash 3D graphics, especially on mobile devices with limited processors and battery life.

It's not clear which of these approaches or others will prevail, so Web developers will have to choose carefully which technology to use for new projects.

It's clear that change is in the air. Scribd opted to move from Flash to HTML5 and other Web standards for its online document business. But despite Google's ardent support for the Web standards, YouTube continues to rely on Flash as its primary vehicle for delivering video, and Google has built Flash directly into Chrome.

Adobe hasn't said when the next version of Flash Player will arrive, but here's one clue: Adobe Chief Technology Officer Kevin Lynch promised Flash will support Google's VP8 video compression technology, and he promised that version would arrive within a year of the May release of VP8.

Another big item likely to arrive in the next Flash Player is 64-bit support. Here again, Adobe hasn't been willing to commit to a time frame, but given that browsers are following the processor and operating system transitions from 32-bit to 64-bit, a release soon must be a priority.

Flash developers obviously have plenty on their plates. But one last thing: don't assume that Adobe is betting on the Flash horse alone. It's also getting more involved in the world of HTML and CSS.

At the same Max conference, another talk will focus on creating Web applications with HTML5 and CSS3. "Get up to speed on the latest developments in HTML, JavaScript, and CSS," the agenda exhorts. "HTML5 has become a powerful way to add interactivity and video to the Web."

iPad, tablets to cannibalize 'Wintel' laptops

noreply@blogger.com (Abhijit Damedhar) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 09:14:00 +0000

Sales of Windows-Intel laptops will take a hit because of iPad and tablet growth, according to research notes released by Barclays Capital.

Dell's Streak uses Google's Android operating system and a processor based on an ARM design. No Intel or Microsoft here.

(Credit: Dell)

Sales of the iPad and similar tablets will jump next year, with some of that heady growth coming at the expense of Netbooks and low-end notebooks, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing a series of research notes sent out by Barclays Capital.

Tablet sales are forecast to reach at least 15 million units this year, jumping to 28 million in 2011, Barclays said. "We believe the initial phase of the tablet surge will cannibalize a portion of the notebook category, particularly a chunk of the netbook market and low-end notebook market," according to Barclays analyst Ben Reitzes.

Right now, almost all of the tablet growth is coming from Apple's iPad, which may sell as many as 10 million units this year and is forecast to sell more than twice as many next year. Other vendors will also contribute to sales. Dell is slated to bring out a few different tablet designs in addition to the small Streak tablet, and Hewlett-Packard is also expected to follow suit with at least one tablet.

A report earlier this year by Avian Securities forecast Netbooks rising from 37 million in 2009 to 47 million in 2010. Almost all Netbooks use Intel processors and Microsoft's Windows operating system as do a large portion of notebooks sold worldwide. (Avian expects notebook sales to increase from 140 million to 180 million in 2010.)

Because of the expected surge in tablet sales, however, in 2011, more consumer-based personal computing will shift to devices using Google operating systems, such as Android, and ARM processors and away from Windows-Intel laptops, Barclays said. This is in addition, of course, to the popular iPad that runs Apple's OS.

ARM processors are already used in Apple's iPad and Dell's Streak. These power-efficient chips are expected to power a number of future tablets. ARM chip suppliers include Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, Freescale, and Nvidia.

Minor software update for Backflip now available

noreply@blogger.com (Abhijit Damedhar) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 09:11:00 +0000

Motorola issued a software update to AT&T's Backflip this week to address the touch screen, messaging, Bluetooth, and more. Very similar to the Cliq update from a few months back, it's a minor release designed to improve the phone's overall performance.

Among the changes customers should notice are improvements to battery life, text messaging, device stability, and 3G connections. Other, less noticeable, tweaks address streaming audio and video interruptions and better audio through Bluetooth headsets. Motorola offers more information about the update on its support page.

On a related note, the Backflip is still scheduled for an Android 2.1 update in the third quarter of this year. Motorola is currently testing Android 2.1 for the T-Mobile Cliq and Cliq XT. After postponing that update on the last day of the second quarter, Motorola is expected to roll out Eclair at some point near the middle of August.

Hands-on with the Toshiba Portege R705

noreply@blogger.com (Abhijit Damedhar) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 09:10:00 +0000

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

We know that the quest for the perfect laptop is ultimately fruitless. Different users have different needs, budgets, and expectations, and tomorrow's technology threatens to make any just-purchased laptop semi-obsolete before it even comes out of its cardboard box. That said, the new Toshiba Portege R705 comes about as close as anything we've seen this year, offering a great mix of price, design, features, and performance.

The Portege R705 is a 13-inch laptop (similar to Apple's MacBook), which is the biggest screen size we'd consider carrying around on a regular basis, but also the smallest we'd be able to comfortably use for full-time computing. It's thinner than the current white plastic MacBook (but not as svelte as the MacBook Air or Dell Adamo XPS), and has a sturdy magnesium alloy chassis.

Toshiba lists the Portege R705 for $889, but as of this writing, it can be found online for $799. A handful of business-oriented configs are also available (called the R700, instead of the R705), adding a docking port and a few other corporate-friendly features for $999 and up.

For $100-$200 less than an entry-level MacBook, you get a newer Intel Core i3 processor (the basic MacBook has an older Core 2 Duo CPU), a large 500GB hard drive, and Intel's Wireless Display technology, which allows the laptop's display to be beamed to a remote TV or monitor (this requires a sold-separately $100 Netgear adapter that connects to your TV). Not to draw too many MacBook comparisons, but it also has an SD card slot (as does virtually every Windows-based laptop no matter the price), something the $999 MacBook lacks.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

There are a few issues. The integrated Intel graphics are a drag, and the keyboard isn't backlit, which would have been a nice touch on this slick-looking system. Also, out of the box, the hard drive accelerometer was far too sensitive, parking our HDD head every time we so much as breathed on the R705.

Those problems aside, the Portege R705 looks and feels like a much more expensive laptop, and is our new go-to choice for those who want a 13-inch experience but can't (or won't) join the MacBook masses.

New features make Yelp 2.0 a must-have

noreply@blogger.com (Abhijit Damedhar) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 09:08:00 +0000

The latest release of Yelp (2.0) landed in the Android Marketlate last week and it's a fantastic update. For those few of you who are unfamiliar with the title, Yelp lets users search for places to eat, shop, hang out, work out, and more based on location and reviews from the community. Expecting a simple enhancement to the user interface, I was pleased to see the addition of some great features, including check-ins and augmented reality.

Hitching their cart to the check-in craze, Yelp 2.0 allows user to share their location across Facebook whenever they stop for a bite to eat. According to the Yelp blog, Twitter support is expected in a future update. Once finished, it's a breeze to take a picture to associate with the establishment and leave behind quick tips such as, "Make sure to try the spicy tuna roll!" for the next guy.

The fun new feature in Yelp comes in the augmented-reality Monocle option. Opening this feature activates the camera and brings up a radar display. Using a combination of compass and GPS, one can search the surrounding area for restaurants, bars, or "everything." Results are displayed on the screen over top of the camera view with names, ratings, and approximate distance shown at a glance. Tapping an item pulls up the full Yelp profile compiled by the community at large.

If you're the type of person who likes to happen upon new places and share your experiences, I would give Yelp 2.0 a try. I think you'll be surprised at how much you'll find yourself using it.

Opera Mini updates for Nokia, Sony Ericsson phones

noreply@blogger.com (Abhijit Damedhar) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 09:06:00 +0000

Opera surprised the mobile world when it overhauled its Opera Mini browser for Java phones last September. The tremendous improvement brought the browser a more attractive interface and sophisticated features, like tabbed browsing.

On Thursday, the browser company released an update to Opera Mini for select Nokia phones.

Opera Mini 5.1 tweaks the browser skin to allow more Web pages to be open simultaneously. Back-end updates have addressed scrolling speed in particular and processing speed overall.

In a press release, Opera "highly" recommends the update for handsets with limited memory or smaller screen sizes. The update targets performance issues, like out-of-memory errors or open Web pages that require reloading to view.

As for the models being called out, Opera specifically names the following handsets as ideal candidates for the update:

Nokia 5130 XpressMusic
Nokia 6300
Nokia 2700
Sony Ericsson K550i
Sony Ericsson W810i

To download Opera Mini 5.1, point the mobile browser to m.opera.com.

YouTube now supports 4k-resolution videos

noreply@blogger.com (Abhijit Damedhar) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 09:04:00 +0000

Thought 1080p video on YouTube was big? Think bigger.

YouTube on Friday announced that its player now supports 4k, a standard resolution for films that measures 4096x3072 pixels. As YouTube Engineer Ramesh Sarukkai explained in the announcement on YouTube's official blog, "4K is nearly four times the size of 1080p," and it dwarfs even Imax, which projects films in the slightly smaller 2k format, with its 2048?1080-pixel resolution.

Of course, the proof of 4k's merits is in the pudding, which is why YouTube has a special playlist of five films that can be played back in their original 4k resolution. As Sarukkai warns, viewing these properly requires considerable bandwidth speed, as well as the right gear.

Speaking of which, even with a fast connection, home users will need the proper equipment to enjoy 4k videos in their native resolution. This means a large display, or 4k-capable projector--neither of which can be had on the cheap. It's also worth mentioning that while quite good-looking, streaming 4k video still has to jump through some of the same compression hoops that lower resolutions of HD video must do, meaning that they'll be playing at a much lower bit rate than you'd see, if you were to watch it from the source. On smaller videos, this can be less noticeable, but when blown up big, compression artifacts can be easier to spot.

1080p remains top size in most consumer HDTVs, as well as the service's previous resolution limit. Newer-model phones like the iPhone 4 and HTC Evo are just now becoming capable of shooting in the lesser 720p resolution, leaving 1080p and above to dedicated filming hardware.

Download Hitman Pro 3.5.6

noreply@blogger.com (Abhijit Damedhar) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 07:56:00 +0000

This software can help you find and remove new unknown threats.

Hitman Pro does not need to install any third party sofware. It is a stand alone program which looks for unknown and suspicious files, giving each of them a score using a patent pending technique. Unknown and suspicious files are automatically identified by online identification servers. This means no software on your system.

Hitman Pro does not scan your system alphabetically, it scans disk objects in physical order on your disk. This also significantly lowers the stress on your hardware. Furthermore, a lot of analysis tasks are performed concurrently by deploying tasks multi-threaded. And if you own a multi-core processor, this software can efficiently use the extra cores in order to increase enumeration speed even more.

Hitman Pro doesn’t need to scan every file on your system. Why not? We have profiled standard systems so it knows which files are good. Also, Hitman actually focuses on finding objects that don’t behave like good software. Software that does not follow trustworthy guidelines will automatically receive a higher score than software that is uninstallable by the user, identifyable, digitally signed, unencrypted, uncompressed, visible and accessible.

The engine also tries to find out where the software came from, how it got on your system and what other people say about it on the internet. That probably sounds common sense or seem impossible to some of you but we are certain you will be astonished on how well the scoring system works.

To remove malicious software the developers have also built a special removal engine that is capable of removing the toughest threats. A native NT application is capable of removing resilient threats before Windows starts. And of course, including corresponding references like registry keys and shortcuts. All without the need of updates and signatures.

Limitations:

· Unlimited free scanning and free 30-day version to remove detected malware

What's New in This Release:

· Fixed a problem related to the removal of specific versions of the TDL3 rootkit.

Download Now

Opera Web Browser 10.70 Build 3452 Beta Final

noreply@blogger.com (Abhijit Damedhar) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 07:53:00 +0000

One of the fastest, smallest and smartest full-featured web browser

The most full-featured Internet power tool on the market, Opera includes tabbed browsing, pop-up blocking, integrated searches and advanced functions like Opera's groundbreaking e-mail program, RSS Newsfeeds and IRC chat. And because we know that our users have different needs, you can customize the look and content of your Opera browser with a few clicks of the mouse.

The Opera Web browser offers several new features for functionality, security, usability, customization, searching, saving, taking shortcuts and accessing Web content.

Whether you're going to work, working from home, developing Web sites, or just looking for a quick, solid browser that can help you quickly access the Internet, Opera delivers a superior Web experience for every aspect of your online life, with lots of tech tools for power users.

Here are some key features of "Opera Web Browser":

Speed Dial:
· Now you have a new way to access your favorite Web sites. Just open a new tab to get your Speed Dial. It's easy to populate and addictive to use.

BitTorrent:
· You don't need a separate BitTorrent application to download large files. Simply click a torrent link and start the download.

Site preferences:
· Want to view a site in a different way or deny certain cookies? Want to block pop-ups on certain sites only? Right click and select "Edit site preferences".

Thumbnail preview:
· It is easy to have many tabs open at once in Opera. But exactly which tab had that video you wanted? Hover your mouse on any tab to see a thumbnail preview.

Fraud protection:
· Opera's advanced fraud protection protects you against web sites that try to steal your personal information.

Add your favorite search engines:
· Right-click on the site's search field and select "Create search" from the menu.

Widgets:
· Small Web applications (multimedia, newsfeeds, games and more) that make your desktop experience more fun. Use the Widgets menu to discover new widgets and access your favorites.

Transfer manager:
· View download progress and access all your downloads from one simple transfer manager window.

Password manager:
· The password manager remembers your usernames and passwords so you will not have to.

Mouse gestures:
· Opera supports mouse gestures, allowing you to perform certain movements with the mouse to access commonly used features.

Notes:
· Notes can be kept in conjunction with a Web site you want to refer to later, or remind you of any particular information you may like to review again.

Keyboard Shortcuts:
· Keyboard shortcuts - like mouse gestures - make your browsing faster and more efficient. Read more about all the keyboard shortcuts in Opera.

Tabbed browsing:
· Surf the Web easier and faster by opening multiple Web pages within the same application window

Integrated search:
· Search Google, eBay, Amazon and more with our integrated search field. You can also search directly in the address field using keywords

Fast Forward:
· Fast Forward will detect the most likely "next page" link and greatly simplify navigation in multi-page documents such as search results and image galleries.

Voice:
· The voice feature allows you to control Opera's interface by talking and to have documents read aloud. Voice is currently offered in English

Full-screen mode:
· The F11 key toggles Opera's projection mode, using the whole screen for browsing and, if a projection style sheet is present, displays 'slides' suitable for presentation.

Kiosk mode:
· Opera supports kiosk mode - a lock-down mode in which the browser can be used for unattended computers in public places.

Opera mail:
· Our built-in POP/IMAP E-mail client is a combined e-mail program, news reader, mailing list organizer and RSS/Atom newsfeed reader.

Standards support:
· We take pride in supporting all major Web standards currently in use, including CSS 2.1, XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.01, WML 2.0, ECMAScript, DOM 2 and SVG 1.1 basic.

Requirements:

· 20 MB of free disk space.

What's New in This Release

· Our further-optimized JavaScript engine is over 50% faster than in Opera 10.50.
· Enhanced support for advanced Web standards such as HTML5 and WebM video is now included.
· Opera can prompt you to share your location, making geolocation-supporting websites more useful.
· Search suggestions for selected providers help you enter find results more easily.

Download Now

GIVEAWAY -WinUtilities 9.77

noreply@blogger.com (Abhijit Damedhar) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 07:48:00 +0000

A collection of tools to optimize your system performance
WinUtilities is a collection of tools to optimize your system performance and to remove unneeded files and internet tracks.

WinUtilities allows you to delete your application and internet history, find and remove invalid registry entries, manage your cookies and more.

With a startup Cleaner and manager you can also see what programs start automatically with windows and optionally disable selected items.

Furthermore, WinUtilities includes options to find true duplicate files, fix or remove broken shortcuts and safely uninstall software.

Other features include secure file deletion, Application Protect, Parent Control and Monitoring, Files Tools and more.

Here are some key features of "WinUtilities [GIVEAWAY]":

· Disk Cleaner - Cleans disks from information that clogs your system and reduces the performance of your computer.
· Registry Cleaner - Scans the Windows registry and finds incorrect or obsolete information in the Windows Registry.
· Startup Cleaner - Helps you to easily manage program execution at windows startup.
· History Cleaner - Erases all traces of activity on your computer, save spaces and protect your privacy.
· File Splitter - Splits any type of file into smaller pieces and rejoin them to the original file.
· File Shredder - Erases files and make sure that no data thief can get his hands on your sensitive data.
· EXE Protector - Protects any Windows executable file with a secure password.
· Memory Optimizer - Optimizes the Memory Management of Windows. No special configuration is needed, Memory Optimizer will auto configure itself.
· Duplicate Files Finder - Helps you to free disk space by finding and removing duplicate files from your system.
· Shortcuts Fixer - Provides you with an easy way to address the invalid shortcuts and reports back to you so that you can remove it from your system.
· Process Manager - Allows you to check your system's performance and manage the running processes.
· Uninstall Manager - Manages the programs installed on your system and uninstall unneeded software.
· System Information - Shows you the detailed information for your computer hardware and software.
· Registry Backup&Restore - Back up and restore the Windows Registry.
· Registry Search - Searchs the Windows Registry by a specific wildcard. then you can delete or export them.
· BHO Remover - Manages the BHOs that are currently installed.
· Auto Shutdown - Schedules your computer for log off, stand by, hibernate, or shutdown at a specific time.
· Windows Tools - Provides you an easy way to launch the utilities build in Windows.
· System Control - Organizes and manage your Windows Settings
· Task Scheduler - Configures the cleaning tasks that take place automatically.

Requirements:

· CPU: 133MHZ
· RAM: 32MB
· Disk space: 15MB

What's New in This Release

· Database updated
· Minor tweaks

Reasons why this program is marked as ad-supported:

· Offers to change the homepage for web browsers installed in the system
· Offers to change the default search engine for web browsers installed in the system
· Offers to install ASK Toolbar that the program does not require to fully function

Download Now

Motorola BACKFLIP gets Software Update 13.37

noreply@blogger.com (Abhijit Damedhar) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 07:43:00 +0000

A new software update was released for the Android-based Motorola BACKFLIP on AT&T's airwaves. According to the release notes of the solution, this is not an operating system upgrade, as many users might have been expecting. However, even if Android 2.1 hasn't been included in the new firmware update, the owners of a Motorola BACKFLIP should still benefit from a nice range of enhancements.

According to the leading handset vendor, the new AT&T Motorola BACKFLIP 13.37 software is an update that would be applied in two steps. The solution comes with a series of improvements for the mobile phone's messaging, display, camera and Bluetooth functionality. Users should enjoy increased performance on their devices as soon as the new update was downloaded and installed on their handsets.
The release notes for AT&T Motorola BACKFLIP 13.37 software include:
- General improvements to text messaging - especially for longer message threads
- Color and clarity improvements to the display.
- Repairs random occurrence of camera application quitting while in use.
- Better audio and connectivity to Bluetooth headsets.
- Ringtone files no longer have size restrictions.
- Improves overall connection to the 3G network.
- Improves performance of downloaded applications from the Android Market.
- Additional device stability reduces occurrence of unresponsiveness and/or programs quitting unexpectedly.
- Improves battery performance when battery is fully drained and charging.
- Repairs rare instances of streaming audio and video interruptions that have resulted in device powering off-and-on.

Motorola also notes that users should consider downloading the software solution over a Wi-Fi or 3G network. However, data charges apply when the solution is being downloaded over a mobile network, and Motorola recommends that users would download it over a Wi-Fi network instead. A fully charged battery and an active SIM card installed on the device are required.

Users should be notified automatically when the update is available for their handset. To start the download manually, users would have to head to Settings → About phone → System updates and hit Download. Placing or receiving calls won't be possible during the installation process. All the necessary downloading and installation instructions can be found on Motorola's website here.

(After Windows 7) Windows 8: 32-bit vs. 64-bit

noreply@blogger.com (Abhijit Damedhar) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 07:37:00 +0000

The installed base of 64-bit (x64) Windows 7 has reached 46% in June 2010, vs. 54% for 32-bit (x86) Windows 7, according to statistics released by Microsoft. It is clear from the data shared by the Redmond company that end users are starting to choose x64 systems and equivalent Windows 7 editions over older x86 architectures. The software giant underlines that this is an increasing trend, and that it expects 64-bit Windows 7 to become the norm, and 32-bit Windows 7 the exception. Of course, the question now is, what will the future hold for Windows 8?

Microsoft does have a few options. It could of course continue to serve both 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows 8, just as it did with Windows 7 and Windows Vista. Or it could drop the x86 flavors of Windows 8 altogether, and produce only x64 Windows 8 SKUs. This would certainly be a bold move for the software giant, but Microsoft is sure not to come to a conclusion in this regard without carefully considering the overall impact.

In June 2010, just 1% of all Windows XP machines were running a 64-bit copy of the OS, and just 11% of Vista computers had the x64 version installed. The vast majority of XP users, 99% are still running 32-bit systems, and the same is valid for 89% of Vista customers.

Only now, a little over eight months since the advent of Window 7, does 64-bit computing appear to be on the brink of becoming ubiquitous, and making 32-bit architectures a thing of the past. x64 processors have been available for a while now, but only 64-bit Windows 7 seems to have gained sufficient traction, in concert with new OEM computers shipped worldwide, to push x86 processors onto their shelve in history.

There already is a precedent. In 2009, Microsoft offered the first x64-only Windows operating system. With the introduction of Windows Server 2008 R2 (Windows 7 Server), the software giant dumped support for x86 processors completely. Could a similar move be considered for Windows 8?

End users are certainly behind the x64 adoption wave. 64-bit platforms and modern CPUs pave the way for parallel processing, mean more RAM (up to 192 GB for Windows 7), better security etc. But it seems that the entire world is slowly arriving to a consensus, as far as 64-bit is concerned.

There are factors outside of Redmond to take into consideration

“OEMs today have fully embraced 64-bit. We have seen many OEMs convert entire consumer lines of PCs to 64-bit only – which can be seen quite a bit today in North America. According to Stephen Baker at NPD, 77% of PCs sold at retail in April 2010 in the U.S. had a 64-bit edition of Windows 7 pre-installed. And businesses are adopting Windows 7 64-bit as well. According to Gartner, by 2014 75% of all business PCs will be running a 64-bit edition of Windows. Intel recently migrated to 64-bit Windows 7,” revealed Brandon LeBlanc, Windows Communications Manager on the Windows Client Communications Team.

“As I mentioned previously, there are more compatible hardware and software for PCs today thanks to the amazing work from our partners (ISVs and IHVs) making their products compatible with 64-bit. Through the Windows Logo Program (the “Compatible with Windows 7” logo today), hardware partners are required to develop 64-bit drivers for their devices and software partners are required to have their applications compatible with 64-bit Windows 7. This groundwork was laid with the Windows Logo Program for Windows Vista and carries through to today with Windows 7,” revealed Brandon LeBlanc, Windows Communications Manager on the Windows Client Communications Team,” LeBlanc added.

Of course it is still too early to ask Microsoft in which direction it will go with Windows 8. And too early for the company to start sharing its plans with the public. The unconfirmed schedule for the delivery of Windows 8 indicates that Windows 7’s successor will be offered in mid-2012. In this context, by the summer of 2011, when the first Beta of Windows 8 should drop, we can also expect the company to reveal whether its next Windows client will be x64-only or not.

There are aspects independent from Microsoft that will undoubtedly influence this decision. If the adoption of x64 PCs and Windows 7 continues at the same rate, then a x86 flavor of Windows 8 will be less likely. But if a high uptake rate works in concert with original equipment manufacturers also dumping 32-bit, and with the ecosystem of hardware and software solutions around Windows shifting the focus to 64-bit entirely, then a 32-bit Windows 8 would simply no longer make sense. It’s worth noting although that just 2 years ahead of the reported delivery date for Windows 8, Adobe still has to produce a 64-bit version of Flash, although the plug-in is ubiquitous, and x64 Internet Explorer has been available for quite some time. And Adobe are by no means not alone.

What do you think? Should Microsoft make Windows 8 exclusively 64-bit, and continue selling 32-bit Windows 7? Or should the company deliver both x86 and x64 flavors of Windows 8, per the Windows 7 and Windows Vista model?

Download Google Chrome 6.0.458.1 - Problem Fixed

noreply@blogger.com (Abhijit Damedhar) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 07:34:00 +0000

Google has released the latest update in the developers channel of Google Chrome. Google Chrome 6.0.458.1 dev is available for Windows, Mac and Linux users who want to check out the very latest technology built into Google’s web browser. The udpate fixes several issues affecting users, a couple of them related to AutoFill. It also fixes a bug which prevented Chrome dev from launching on Windows.

Issues fixed in Google Chrome 6.0.458.1 dev:

· The InfoBar is no longer shown when the user first submits a form;
· AutoFill now continuously updates profile data when the user submits new forms. Profile data is now aggregated and the AutoFill InfoBar has been removed, in order to achieve this;
· When editing a field in a previously auto-filled form, Chrome now only displays unique suggestions;
· Enabling sync no longer freezes Chromium;
· Chrome now starts if other FFmpeg DLLs are present on the system - Windows specific.

There is still a known issue in the latest Chrome build. In certain cases, applying several themes in a row leads to a crash. The issue has been patched by Google developers, but it hasn’t made it into Chrome 6.0.458.1. The next developers channel release should include the patch as well.

There aren’t many visible updates in the latest Google Chrome, it’s mostly a bug-fixing release. The previous release, Google Chrome 6.0.453.1 introduced the consolidated menu buttons on Windows. Google has been toying with the idea of grouping the Page and the Wrench menus into a single one, in the quest for less clutter and a minimal interface. The Page menu is rarely used and the most popular entries have now been folded into the main Wrench menu. This has been turned on by default on Windows for now, but should be introduced for Mac and Linux soon.

Google Chrome for Windows download hereGoogle Chrome for Linux download hereGoogle Chrome for Mac download here

Samsung Wave Reached in Canada

noreply@blogger.com (Abhijit Damedhar) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 07:29:00 +0000

On Thursday, leading mobile phone brand in Canada Samsung Mobile announced the launch of a new device in the country, namely the Samsung Wave (S8500). The first smartphone in the world to run under Samsung's own mobile operating system, bada, is already available for purchase in Canada via two wireless carriers, namely Bell and Rogers, the company announced.

The new Samsung Wave comes to the market with a Super AMOLED touchscreen display, the first of the kind in Canada, and is meant to offer Samsung the possibility to build a “total eco-system around the bada platform.” The Samsung bada SDK (Software Development Kit) (available for download from Softpedia too, via this link) and Samsung Apps, an integrated application store, should drive the availability of applications for the platform upwards.

“The Samsung Wave represents our strategy to deliver rich, exciting smartphone experiences to everyone via one of the highest quality display screens in the industry,” Paul Brannen, vice president, Samsung Mobile, commented on the new launch. “We also anticipate thatSamsung bada will significantly expand the smartphone consumer market in Canada, which will create an ocean of opportunity for developers.”

Samsung Wave hits the shelves with a wide range of high-end specs and features attached to it. Among them, we can count the world's first Super AMOLED display, a 5.0-megapixel photo snapper with LED flash, auto focus and HD (720p) video recording capabilities, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, USB v2.0 (Full -Speed) connectivity options, A-GPS, microSD memory card slot with support for up to 32GB of additional storage space (a 2GB card included in the package), TouchWiz 3.0, Dolfin Browser 2.0, and more.

“Multi-codec support for DivX, Xvid, MP4 and WMV, and support for virtual 5.1 surround sound delivery transforms the device into a personal entertainment system. HD video (720p) decoding and recording capabilities make the Samsung Wave an outstanding device for capturing, sharing and viewing video. The Samsung Wave is the first handset in the world that incorporates the Bluetooth(R) 3.0 and WiFi 802.11n standards,” the handset vendor stated.

Next PlayStation Console Started Developing

noreply@blogger.com (Abhijit Damedhar) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 07:27:00 +0000

Sony has always insisted that it has a ten-year life plan for the PlayStation 3 and the unveiling and upcoming launch of the PlayStation Move motion tracking seems to emphasize that point.

But the company is thinking about the future too, a possible PlayStation 4, and one of its main goals is to involve video game makers in the creation process from the early stages, in order to make sure that a new home console will render it as easy as possible for innovative developers to create new titles for it.

Shubei Yoshida, who is the president of Sony Worldwide Studios, told Develop, a United Kingdom-based magazine, that “When Ken Kutaragi moved on and Kaz Harai became the president of SCE, the first thing Kaz said was, 'Get World Wide Studios in on hardware development'. So he wanted developers in meetings at the very beginning of concepting new hardware, and he demanded SCE people talk to us.” The executive then went on to confirm that Sony was “undergoing many activities that we haven't yet been talking about in public” with some of them “future platform related activities.”

When the PlayStation 3 was initially launched, a lot of developers said that it was too hard to make video games for it, Steam refusing to create ports of their titles until recently. The console rebounded with Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Killzone 2 showing off the power it really holds, and even Steam has announced that it is bringing Portal 2 to the PlayStation 3, complete with Steamworks features.

The problem is that those initial years, when big franchises sold lower on the PS3 and when the console sold significantly lower than the Xbox 360, affected Sony and the company must be eager to avoid having the same issues with its next generation of gaming gadgets.

LG eXpo GW820 gets Software Update

noreply@blogger.com (Abhijit Damedhar) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 07:25:00 +0000

Wireless carrier AT&T seems set to offer software updates for more than just one handset available on its airwaves. Following news regarding the availability of a new firmware solution for the Android-based Motorola BACKFLIP, reports on a new software released for the Windows Mobile 6.5-based LG eXpo (GW820) have just emerged.

“A software update is available for the LG eXpo (GW820). This software update provides multiple bug fixes including Read/Receipt message delivery and backup PIN usage when using the fingerprint scanner to secure the device. Once updated, the device will display software version V10g,” a recent post on AT&T's forums reads. According to WMExperts, the new software solution also includes improvements for signal strength and for fingerprint scanner, in addition to removing the MMS app from the equation and replacing it with the stock WM version.

LG eXpo (GW820) was one of the hottest Windows Mobile 6.5-based handsets released on the market last year. The handset was the first smartphone on the US market to pack a 1GHz processor inside, while also including the option to use an optional detachable pico-projector with it. The same as at launch, the mobile phone can be purchased from AT&T for $199.99 upon the signing of a two-year contract agreement. It is available on the carrier's website here.

As for the new software update available for it, all the necessary details are available on LG's support website, also the place from where users would be able to download the actual update. Here's what one would have to do after accessing LG's site:
- Mouse over Mobile Phones on the left hand side
- Select Mobile Support
- Select AT&T as the carrier and eXpo GW820 from the drop down lists
- Select the GW820 eXpo Software Update link
- Follow the instructions to download and install the software update

Unfortunately, LG and AT&T do not offer a detailed changelog for the new software update. No changes with the UI or OS on the device have been observed, which means that the solution was only meant as a maintenance update.

SystemRescueCd 1.5.8 Fixes a problem in GParted

noreply@blogger.com (Abhijit Damedhar) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 07:23:00 +0000

SystemRescueCd has been updated bringing newer Linux kernels and a newer GParted. With SystemRescueCd 1.5.8, both kernel lines offered have been updated to Linux kernel 2.6.32.16 and Linux kernels 2.6.34.1 respectively. A newer version of GParted, the graphical partitioning tool, has been included which fixes a couple of critical bugs from the previous release.

Highlights of SystemRescueCd 1.5.8:

· Standard Linux kernels 2.6.32.16 - 32-bit and 64-bit versions;
· Alternative Linux kernels 2.6.34.1 - 32-bit and 64-bit versions;
· GParted 0.6.1 - fixes two critical bugs.

Those are all the updates in this somewhat early release, but the critical nature of the bugs in one of the most important packages in the distribution may have contributed to the rush. SystemRescueCd is generally updated once every couple of weeks, though that’s not necessarily set in stone.

SystemRescueCd 1.5.8 also comes with the first update to the newer kernel line, Linux kernel 2.6.34, which debuted in SystemRescueCd 1.5.6. Since then, the standard kernel line used is 2.6.32 while 2.6.33 has been dumped. The last release, SystemRescueCd 1.5.7 introduced a minimal Samba server and a new file recovery tool for EXT3 filesystems.

About SystemRescueCd

SystemRescueCd is a Linux Live CD operating system that offers an easy and quick way to repair systems and recover data after serious crashes. With utilities ranging from disk diagnostic mechanisms (such as TestDisk and sfdisk) and partition managers, to basic, day-to-day applications (like text editors, Midnight Commander, etc.), SystemRescueCd also provides support for all important filesystems, including the Btrfs and EXT4 ones. SystemRescueCd is a solution that anyone who is experiencing data loss or other system-related problems should consider using.

SystemRescueCd 1.5.8 is available for download here.

System Rescue CD - ISO

HTC Pure Review - US version of Touch Diamond2

noreply@blogger.com (Abhijit Damedhar) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 07:16:00 +0000

Especially released for AT&T network operator, HTC Pure is the American version of HTC Touch Diamond2. The only technical difference between the two is the 3G network compatibility, HSDPA 850 / 1900 for Pure and HSDPA 900 / 2100 for Diamond2. So, if you live in Europe and you got yourself a Pure smartphone when visiting the States, then you won't be able to use its 3G network.

Of course, those that really want to be able to do that, and are not afraid of juggling with the device’s ROM software, can install another ROM, which will open up the 2100 MHz network, the standard 3G line for the continent. HTC Pure is an affordable smartphone for AT&T customers, but if you're looking for something that excels in multimedia and Web browsing, I suggest you keep searching or stick with the iPhone. Thanks to PureMobile, we had the chance to test the HTC Pure and share our thoughts with you.

HTC Pure was officially made available on the market on October 2009. The device is being distributed by AT&T for about US$50 with a 2-year contract or free of plan for around US$350.

HTC Pure features a standard bar look: simple and professional. It is average in size and weight, and has been marketed as a smartphone that's big on screen and small in everything else. It measures 108 x 53 x 13.7 mm and weighs 117.5g (including battery). As you can notice from the pictures, HTC Pure is built around its 3.2-inch display, which makes it look a little bit smaller. Just below the screen, there's a touch-sensitive zoom bar that helps users browse between menus when the TouchFLO 3D interface is employed.

There's also a set of buttons placed below the zoom bar: Accept/End calls keys, Menu key and Back key. Above the touch screen, an earpiece and an LED status light can be noticed. HTC decided to move the loudspeaker from the back of the phone, where it usually stands, on the right side of the device. This will reduce the chance that music will sound muffled because you accidentally placed your hand on the loudspeaker.

The left side features two large and thin volume keys, while the microUSB port has been placed on the bottom of the smartphone. The latter has been covered in a plastic stripe to protect it from getting too much dust inside. The power button on top is also used to wake up the gizmo from standby mode. There's also a 5-megapixel camera on the back in a thin metallic plate that doesn't have any specific functionality. HTC Pure also includes a standard stylus placed on the bottom right corner.

The only design-related drawback is the shiny plastic that covers the entire phone. Even though it makes the gadget look nicer, it is in fact a fingerprint magnet. Overall, HTC Pure features a very simple, yet elegant design that perfectly fits its business phone status.

Display and Camera

HTC Pure features a 3.2-inch TFT resistive touchscreen that supports 65K colors and a 480x800-pixel resolution. Being a resistive display has some disadvantages, such as low sensitivity to touch, thumb-control functionality, visibility under strong sunlight, and the lack of the multi-touch feature. Pure features the accelerometer function, but the rotation process is slow or not working correctly sometimes. Usually, you need to rotate the device a few times to change to landscape or portrait mode. Still, the quality of the image displayed is excellent, as the contrast is very good and the colors shiny.

The 5-megapixel camera is simple to use, as it doesn't have any complex features. Basically, you will only need to point and shoot what you want. There's no dedicated button for the camera, but you'll be able to employ the touch button that appears on the display. You can zoom in/out by swiping your fingers on the grade scale at the base of the display. You may take advantage of the touchfocus feature by slowly clicking the touch shutter appearing on the screen. That will make your photos look clearer.

The camera interface is simple and straightforward, as you can see from the screenshots. The maximum resolution you can use for pictures is of 2592 x 1944 pixels. Clips can be recorded in CIF mode at a maximum resolution of 352x288 pixels (15fps).

Unfortunately, the camera misses LED flash, or any other editing software and complex features. The basic settings you can use are limited to the usual, White balance, ISO, Brightness and Effects. To my surprise, the pictures look more than decent for a smartphone camera. Check out the pics below.

Menu and Software

HTC Pure runs the new Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional operating system (HTC Topaz platform), featuring the second version of the TouchFLO 3D interface. The same innovative, touch-sensitive control for interacting with the device introduced with Touch Pro is also present within the Pure.

The TouchFLO 3D enables finger-swipe navigation through menus, but won't work when the GUI is disabled. You can disable TouchFLO 3D by going to Main menu / Today / Items, uncheck TouchFLO option and check anything you wish to be displayed on your Home screen. The touch-sensitive bar will help you browse the menu very fast. Keep your finger pressed on any of those icons and then gently swipe to the left or to the right until you reach the window menu that you need.

The navigation can be easily done without the need of a stylus, by using only the finger and swiping to the right or to the left on the Home screen, just as I have described above. The Start menu will not get you directly to the main menu of the smartphone, nor list the most used programs. To facilitate the writing method and to come to the aid of those who are used to various inputting methods, HTC has introduced three types of keypad layouts: Phone keypad, Compact QWERTY, and Full QWERTY. For businessmen, HTC has included the Office Mobile package, which now comprises the OneNote Mobile application, besides the usual Excel, PowerPoint and Word Mobile programs.

Zooming can be done by double-tapping on the screen. Don't try pinching, it doesn't work. The Internet Explorer browser has been gifted with Adobe Flash Lite, which works flawlessly.

The rest of the pieces of software included are pretty much standard for a Windows Mobile device, with several exceptions coming from AT&T. The HTC Pure includes the standard productivity tools: Notes, Tasks and Calendar; the Office Mobile suite with Word, Excel and PowerPoint; Adobe Reader (version 2.5) for viewing PDF documents; Voice Recorder; and lots of games, some of them requiring registration on AT&T’s network.

Internet-related programs are: a Streaming Media application, which does exactly what the name suggests and is designed to be easily used with the finger; Windows Live Messenger and Phone Search; Internet Explorer for Web navigation; MobiTV, Online Locker, NewsBreak, Mobile Banking, Facebook, WikiMobile, MSN Weather, MSN Money, The Weather Channel, Market and Microsoft MyPhone. The last two new features were the highlights of the announcement that made the 6.5 version of the operation system official. Market, as the name suggests, is the place where you will be able to download applications compatible with Windows Mobile.

The Microsoft MyPhone service enables you to synchronize and save your Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Text Messages, Photos, Videos, Music and Documents with your MyPhone account on the PC. Basically, you have access to everything that I have mentioned above from your PC, and you'll be able to add new contacts, events and the likes on the PC and then synchronize it with your Pocket PC.

For the multimedia part, the HTC Pure offers the Windows Media Player for audio and video playback, and Pictures & Video for browsing photos and video files.

Regarding the communications, the device includes Internet Sharing, which allows it to be used as a modem; the Comm Manager for enabling/disabling and changing various communications settings; Bluetooth Explorer for managing Bluetooth connections; built-in GPS receiver with A-GPS support and AT&T Navigator.

Other features include a File Manager, a search tool, a ZIP utility, a tool for encrypting files on the memory card, Clear Storage for restoring all settings to their default values, an application for configuring the connection with the internal GPS unit, a Java emulator and the very useful Task Manager, which can be employed to switch between or close running tasks and also to change the behavior of the "x" button, to make it really remove applications from the memory, instead of sending them in the background.

Communication

HTC Pure features quad-band support for 850/900/1800/1900 Mhz and HSDPA 850 / 1900 frequency bands. For wireless Internet connectivity, the Pure offers both GPRS and EDGE, but also the faster HSDPA. Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g can be used at available hotspots to speed up things and reduce data-plan costs.

For wireless data transfer between mobiles, the HTC Pure employs Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP support, while, for data synchronization with the PC, the device offers miniUSB 2.0.

The smartphone features a built-in GPS receiver that works with the AT&T Navigator. HTC Pure is compatible with all email clients and protocols (POP3, IMAP) and can be synchronized with the PC. The device is compatible with SMS, EMS, and MMS text features. Instant-messaging options include Windows Live Messenger, but other IMs can also be installed. The interface is pretty straightforward and user-friendly. It supports up to four email accounts.

The in-call sound quality is not that good, as I've seen much better. The GSM signal good as long as you don't keep the device set on the 3G band.

Processor and Memory

The smartphone is powered by a Qualcomm MSM7201A processor family processor, running at speeds of up to 528 Mhz. Overall, I experienced a few freezes and some lags. I'm not sure whether the gadget or the software embedded is the reason behind these freezes, but they are really annoying.

HTC Pure comes with 288 MB RAM and 512 MB ROM memory. The storage space can be expanded up to 8GB through the hot-swappable microSD slot card, which is placed under the back cover.

Multimedia

There isn't too much to talk about here, as the Pocket PC doesn't have a 3.5mm jack port, nor headset. Although the device comes with a 3.5mm adapter, the sales package lacks even the lowest quality earphones, which says something about the target of the phone. You will be able to listen to music using the integrated Windows Media Player 10, which also features an Equalizer function. Overall, the application employed for audio and video playback is more advanced, compared with older HTC handhelds, as it features a very nice user interface. The music player supports MP3, WAV, eAAC+, and WMA format files.

The sound is very good especially as you have access to a wide range of equalizer modes, but you can also make your own settings. The Windows Media Player version 10 supports MP4, WMV, H.263, and H.264 video files.

The smartphone features the Radio FM function, which can auto-scan and memorize up to 20 base stations. The radio can be run in the background and listened to in the loudspeaker. There's also a YouTube client embedded, if you like to watch short movies. Overall, I had a good experience with the multimedia delivered by HTC Pure, but those intent on buying it will need to invest extra money to get some headphones.

Battery

The HTC Pure is powered by an 1100 mAh Li-Ion battery, which, according to the official specifications, gives the device an autonomy of up to five hours and 40 minutes of talk time, and 360 hours in standby mode.

During our tests, the battery depleted after three hours and 20 minutes of standard usage, with the backlight set to the maximum. The results are far from the official numbers, which makes me believe the battery's autonomy won't be satisfying for a typical businessman.

Impressions

I have the feeling that HTC Pure is in fact a pretty decent device spoiled by the software it embeds. Windows Mobile 6.5 handsets are way more difficult to handle than Android-based ones. The difference is huge in performance as well. A high number of freezes and lags turned a smooth experience into a nightmare. I am aware that the device is a mid-budget smartphone with a certain target, but it has some drawbacks that can make even the simplest of users dislike it. If I were to choose between HTC Touch Diamond2 and its Pure clone, I would definitely pick the former.

The Good

HTC Pure distinguishes through its rather low price and a few other gimmicks that make it a possible choice for those looking for a mid-budget smartphone. I would enlist here: elegant design, Wi-Fi and HSDPA connectivity, 5-megapixel camera, good music sound, decent 528 MHz CPU, Stereo FM Radio with RDS function, as well as the GPS receiver.

The Bad

The major drawbacks of the smartphone are the frequent freezes, plus the numerous software bugs (Bluetooth not working correctly sometimes, Wi-Fi not always connecting, etc.). The small keys of the virtual QWERTY keyboard are a nightmare. Besides the fact that you need to click every key with the tip of your nail (which has to be very small), you have 50% chances of clicking the wrong key. I would also add here the low battery life, the lack of headset and a 3.5mm jack port.

Sales Package
Sales Package

HTC Pure Pocket PC;
1100 mAh Li-ion battery;
Stylus;
3.5mm adapter;
User Guide;
Charger;
Mini-USB data cable.

HTC Gold, Samsung i8700 Cetus and Nokia E7 (3) are Confirmed

noreply@blogger.com (Abhijit Damedhar) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 08:48:00 +0000

Rumors about some of future devices set to be launched this year have been partially confirmed by a leaked UK roadmap, which is scheduled for the next few months in the country. According to Omio'sleaked info, the most important handset manufacturers are present on the list, as well as some of the “hotties” that we've been talking about lately: Nokia N8 and E5, Sony Ericsson Xperia X8, BlackBerry Curve 9300 and many more. The leaked roadmap also features some of the launching dates of these gadgets, which are subjected to change, of course.

The first three handsets to hit the market in July are supposedly Nokia E5-00, Sony Ericsson W20 and Samsung i5500. Nokia E5-00 has already been announced and now waits to be shipped. The smartphone takes Nokia Eseries to the next level, as it features a full QWERTY keyboard, Symbian OS v9.3 (S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 2), HSDPA connectivity and a powerful ARM11 600MHz CPU.

Sony Ericsson W20 is also listed on the manufacturer's website and is a mid-ranged Walkman series slider. The device will be available in three colors: Jazz Black, Chacha Silver and Swing Pink. Samsung i5500 is a cheaper alternative to high-end Android smartphones. Also known as Samsung I5500 Galaxy 5 or Samsung i5500 Corby Smartphone, it features the latest Android 2.1 OS, as well as Wi-Fi, GPS, HSDPA connectivity, a 2-megapixel camera and Touch Wiz v3.0 UI.

In August, we should expect another two handsets to hit the shelves, namely: Nokia X6 8GB and BlackBerry 9300. Announced in June 2010, Nokia X6 8GBis the mid-budget version of the X6 16GB music phone. It brings about the same features with the exception of the included memory: HSDPA 3.6 Mbps, Wi-Fi, 8GB storage memory, Symbian OS v9.4, GPS with A-GPS support, and a 5-megapixel camera.

RIM's Curve 9300 is set to be released around August as well, after unconfirmed rumors already placed it as “FCC confirmed.” Little is known about the BlackBerry device, like its Kepler codename and the fact that it features a full QWERTY keyboard (d’oh) and a 3.2-megapixel camera.

September brings us two more already announced handsets: Nokia X2 and Sony Ericsson Hazel. The latter is an eco-friendly device stuffed with lots of great features: HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps (HSUPA, 2 Mbps), Wi-Fi, a 5-megapixel camera, GPS with A-GPS support, HD Voice ready function. Nokia X2 is supposed to be launched in UK stores on September 1. The candybar adds to Nokia's Xseries as a mid-budget music phone featuring: dedicated music keys, 3.5mm jack port, 48MB internal memory and microSD card slot.

More eagerly anticipated gadgets are to come in October, such as, HTC Vision and HTC Ace, Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8 (Shakira), Nokia N8 and Sony Ericsson Yendo. While there's been some talk about HTC Vision, which seems to be the QWERTY version of the HTC Desire, nothing is yet known about the HTC Ace. The Android-powered Sony Ericsson Xperia 8 has been officially announced in June and features: a 3.0-inch TFT capacitive touchscreen, Android OS, v1.6 (Donut), HSDPA and Wi-Fi connectivity, a 3.2-megapixel camera, GPS with A-GPS support and a 600MHz CPU.

The N8 is supposed to be the new flagship of the Finnish giant. The smartphone was announced in April and there is a dedicated topic on Nokia's Official Blog where Nokia officials are demonstrating some of its capabilities. Sony Ericsson Yendo (also known as W150 TeaCake) is a low-budget Walkman handset that features a 2.6-inch TFT resistive touchscreen.

The leaked UK roadmap ends with November, some of the best devices launching close to the winter holidays: HTC Gold, Nokia E7 and Samsung i8700 Cetus. The first to run Windows Mobile 7, HTC Gold, is trying to put a stop to Android's supremacy, but chances are pretty slim.

Nokia E7 is another high-end Eseries handset expected to feature an AMOLED touchscreen, full QWERTY keyboard. E7 will be running the latest Symbian^3 OS. The last device mentioned in the leaked info is Samsung's i8700 Cetus; unfortunately, we don't know anything about it yet.

Fortunately, we will be able to confirm all the info above, as the first devices are expected to be announced in a few days.

Download Latest Firefox 4 Beta 1

noreply@blogger.com (Abhijit Damedhar) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 08:46:00 +0000

Firefox fans have reason to celebrate, the first beta of the upcoming Firefox 4 is here and there’s plenty to like. Firefox 4 Beta 1 is just the first step, of many, towards the final release, but things are shaping up already. The biggest changes will be to the UI, though Linux users won’t notice too many differences in the first beta. Firefox 4 Beta 1 comes with a brand-new, in-browser Add-ons Manager, support for the emerging WebM open-source video format and many other goodies.

“Firefox 4 Beta 1 is now ready to download and test! This first version gives an early look at what’s planned for Firefox 4. Stay tuned, because there is more to come and we plan to release new beta versions every two to three weeks,” Mike Beltzner, Mozilla’s Director of Firefox, announced in a blog post.

“Firefox 4 Beta 1 includes dozens of major features and improvements – by testing them early we’ll be able to respond to your feedback for future versions of Firefox. Once you download Firefox 4 Beta 1, you’re part of our beta program and will receive regular updates as more features launch,” he added.

There are plenty of new features, changes and improvements in this release, but a few stand out. The user interface will go through a major revamp in Firefox 4, probably the biggest one since the open-source web browser was launched. Many of the planned changes haven’t landed for Linux yet, so Firefox 4 Beta 1 will look rather familiar.

In the final release though, the menu bar will be gone, replaced by the Firefox menu button, and the tabs will be on top. Both changes have been heavily debated, especially the latter, and Mozilla has provided a detailed explanation for the choice.

One new feature that is very close to its final form is the Add-ons Manager. Most browsers are moving away from modal dialog windows to tab-based configuration. The new add-ons manager resides in a dedicated tab, but is otherwise pretty much on par with the one in Firefox 3.6. It’s UI however will change before Firefox 4 final.

Firefox 4 Beta 1 also introduces support for the recently launched WebM video format which incorporates Google’s open-sourced VP8 codec. Mozilla has been a strong backer of open video codecs and refuses to bundle support for the popular H.264 codec for HTML5 videos.

The first beta implements what Mozilla now calls “Crash Protection,” a technology for separating the processing threads of several plugins from the main Firefox process. This should lead to greater stability, if the plugin crashes it won’t take down the browser, and eventually to greater security as well once the feature is fully fleshed out.

Highlights of Firefox 4 Beta 1:

· You can search for and switch to already open tabs in the Smart Location Bar;
· New Addons Manager and extension management API;
· Significant API improvements are available for JS-ctypes, a foreign function interface for extensions;
· The stop and reload buttons have been merged into a single button;
· The Bookmarks Toolbar has been replaced with a Bookmarks Button by default;
· Crash protection for Windows, Linux, and Mac when there is a crash in the Adobe Flash, Apple Quicktime or Microsoft Silverlight plugins;
· CSS Transitions are partially supported;
· Full WebGL support is included but disabled by default at this time;
· New HTML5 parser.

Firefox 4 Beta 1 Download here

Download for 34-bit

Download for 64-bit

Download Windows Embedded Standard 7 MUI Packs

noreply@blogger.com (Abhijit Damedhar) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 08:40:00 +0000

Microsoft has made available for download the first Multilingual User Interface (MUI) Packs for the latest iteration of its Windows Embedded platform. No less than nine MUI Packs are now available for download to customers leveraging Windows Embedded Standard 7, according to Lynda Allen, Microsoft Embedded program manager. The release of additional languages for the successor of Windows Embedded Standard 2009 comes as the Redmond company released the first updates for the operating system formerly codenamed Quebec.

There are a total of 18 MUI Packs available for download from the Microsoft ECE Site, both for the32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) flavors of Windows Embedded Standard 7. The languages covered by the software giant are Dutch, Brazilian, Turkish, Portuguese, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish and Greek. “These language packs are live on ECE and will be available shortly through the WEDU client,” Allen added.

But at the same time, there are additional updates offered for the RTM versions of Windows Embedded Standard 7. “The first update on the ECE site, May 2010 Windows Embedded Standard 7 Update, is a roll up of security updates applicable to Windows Embedded Standard 7 up until May 2010, grouped under a master KB number KB982936,” Allen explained. Below you will be able to find a list with all the content of the update rollup.

According to Allen, all the fixes enumerated below can also be grabbed through the new servicing client that Microsoft is offering customers to tend to the toolkit’s distribution shares, Windows Embedded Developer Update (WEDU).

Here is the list of fixes for Windows Embedded Standard 7, via Allen:

"•KB971468 Vulnerabilities in SMB Server could allow remote code execution
•KB975560 Description of the security update for Quartz: February 9, 2010
•KB977165 Vulnerabilities in Windows kernel could allow elevation of privilege
•KB978251 Vulnerabilities in SMB client could allow remote code execution
•KB978262 Cumulative Security Update of ActiveX Kill Bits
•KB972270 Vulnerability in the Embedded OpenType Font Engine could allow remote code execution
•KB974571 Vulnerabilities in CryptoAPI could allow spoofing
•KB975467 Vulnerability in the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service could allow denial of service
•KB978601 Description of the security update for Windows Authenticode Signature Verification: April 13, 2010
•KB979309 Description of the security update for Windows Cabinet File Viewer Shell Extension: April 13, 2010
•KB979683 Vulnerabilities in Windows Kernel could allow elevation of privilege
•KB980182 Cumulative security update for Internet Explorer
•KB980232 Vulnerabilities in SMB client could allow remote code execution
•KB981332 Description of the security update for Visual Basic Scripting (VBScript) 5.8: April 13, 2010
•KB978542 Vulnerability in Outlook Express and Windows Mail could lead to Remote Code Execution
•KB982199 CreateProcess fails for 32 bit Applications on Windows Embedded Standard 7 64-bit runtimes when redirection disabled
•KB979099 An update is available to remove the application manifest expiry feature from AD RMS clients
•KB979306 February 2010 cumulative time zone update for Windows operating systems."

32-bit (x86) Windows Embedded Standard 7 RTM, 64-bit (x64) Windows Embedded Standard 7 RTM and the Windows Embedded Standard 7 Evaluation toolkit are available for download.

External mirror 1 - Standard_7_32bit.part1[EXE]

External mirror 2 - Standard_7_32bit.part2[RAR]

External mirror 3 - Standard_7_32bit.part3[RAR]

External Mirror 4 - Standard_7_32bit.part4[RAR]

External Mirror 5 - Standard_7_32bit.part5[RAR]

External Mirror 6 - Standard_7_32bit.part6[RAR]

External Mirror 7 - Standard_7_64bit.part1[EXE]

External mirror 8 - Standard_7_64bit.part2[RAR]

External mirror 9 - Standard_7_64bit.part3[RAR]

External mirror 10 - Standard_7_64bit.part4 [RAR]

External mirror 11 - Standard_7_64bit.part5 [RAR]

External mirror 12 - Standard_7_64bit.part6 [RAR]

External mirror 13 - Standard_7_64bit.part7 [RAR]

External mirror 14 - Standard_7_Toolkit.part01 [EXE]

External mirror 15 - Standard_7_Toolkit.part02 [RAR]

External mirror 16 - Standard_7_Toolkit.part03 [RAR]

External mirror 17 - Standard_7_Toolkit.part04 [RAR]

External mirror 18 - Standard_7_Toolkit.part05 [RAR]

External mirror 19 - Standard_7_Toolkit.part06 [RAR]

External mirror 20 - Standard_7_Toolkit.part07 [RAR]

External mirror 21 - Standard_7_Toolkit.part08 [RAR]

External mirror 22 - Part 1 2009 [EXE]

External mirror 23 - Part 2 2009 [RAR]

External mirror 24 - Part 3 2009 [RAR]

External mirror 25 - Part 4 2009 [RAR]

External mirror 26 - Part 5 2009 [RAR]

External mirror 27 - Part 6 2009 [RAR]

External mirror 28 - Part 7 2009 [RAR]

Acer Aspire One 521 and 721 Netbooks Get to Europe

noreply@blogger.com (Abhijit Damedhar) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 08:35:00 +0000

Acer, as consumers might know, has been one of the main advocates of the entry-level laptop market, otherwise known as the netbook market, for quite some time. As such, it is not at all surprising to hear that it is quite aggressively promoting each and every new such PC that it manages to put together. This is made especially obvious by the Aspire One 521 and Aspire One 721. This pair of netbooks of unusual size have finally managed to land in European stores.

Netbooks, as a market, excelled during 2009, and were one of the main reasons, if not the major reason, why the dismal performance of 2008 didn't repeat itself. Acer was especially productive on this segment, scoring significant revenues. The aforementioned two netbooks are part of the company's effort to propagate that success forward. They are even unusual, in a way, because they do not employ the now well-known Pine Trail platform.

Instead of the Intel Atom chips, the 10.1-inch Aspire One 521 and 11.6-inch Aspire One 721 have configurations centered around the AMD Athlon II Neo K125 central processing unit. This chip is backed up by 1GB of DDR3 (2GB on the AO721) memory and the ATI Radeon HD 4225 integrated graphics. The netbooks also boast 250GB hard disk drives and the full range of connectivity and I/O options that any laptop should have. Specifically, Gigabit Ethernet is present, as is a 1.3 megapixel webcam, a multi-gesture touchpad, a 93%-sized keyboard, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and a 6-cell battery.

The AO521 and AO721 last for up to 7 and 5.5 hours on a single battery charge and are pre-loaded with Windows 7 Starter and Windows 7 Home Premium, respectively. European stores list them as available for shipment with price tags of 329 Euro and 399 Euro.

	External mirror 1 - Standard_7_32bit.part1[EXE]
	External mirror 2 - Standard_7_32bit.part2[RAR]
	External mirror 3 - Standard_7_32bit.part3[RAR]
	External Mirror 4 - Standard_7_32bit.part4[RAR]
	External Mirror 5 - Standard_7_32bit.part5[RAR]
	External Mirror 6 - Standard_7_32bit.part6[RAR]
	External Mirror 7 - Standard_7_64bit.part1[EXE]
	External mirror 8 - Standard_7_64bit.part2[RAR]
	External mirror 9 - Standard_7_64bit.part3[RAR]
	External mirror 10 - Standard_7_64bit.part4 [RAR]
	External mirror 11 - Standard_7_64bit.part5 [RAR]
	External mirror 12 - Standard_7_64bit.part6 [RAR]
	External mirror 13 - Standard_7_64bit.part7 [RAR]
	External mirror 14 - Standard_7_Toolkit.part01 [EXE]
	External mirror 15 - Standard_7_Toolkit.part02 [RAR]
	External mirror 16 - Standard_7_Toolkit.part03 [RAR]
	External mirror 17 - Standard_7_Toolkit.part04 [RAR]
	External mirror 18 - Standard_7_Toolkit.part05 [RAR]
	External mirror 19 - Standard_7_Toolkit.part06 [RAR]
	External mirror 20 - Standard_7_Toolkit.part07 [RAR]
	External mirror 21 - Standard_7_Toolkit.part08 [RAR]
	External mirror 22 - Part 1 2009 [EXE]
	External mirror 23 - Part 2 2009 [RAR]
	External mirror 24 - Part 3 2009 [RAR]
	External mirror 25 - Part 4 2009 [RAR]
	External mirror 26 - Part 5 2009 [RAR]
	External mirror 27 - Part 6 2009 [RAR]
	External mirror 28 - Part 7 2009 [RAR]