Techsneak

iPhone Diamond

2009-01-14T11:45:00.000-08:00

After the iPhone gold, now it is the iPhone diamond which will grace the rich. This beauty can be yours if you have $41,225 to spare. Designed by a company named Amosu which is famous for making jewel studded gadgets. This iPhone has a total of 420 diamonds. Aspiring customers can order this phone in three colors namely,white, black and pink sapphires.

Access xp user account if you forget your password

2008-12-19T10:02:00.000-08:00

If you think that if you forget your login password for your account in windows xp, you can never recover it and reinstalling the operating system is the only option, then wait! Maybe you can try this out.

Boot your pc in safe mode. To do this, press F8 key several times while your pc begins to boot. If you do this right, you will see a screen which shows the different ways in which you can start your windows xp. Select the option to boot in safe mode using the up or down arrow keys. Now, when your xp in safe mode has started, go to control panel > administrative tools. Click computer management. Double click Local Users and Groups, double click the folder Users. Right click on the account name that is locked out, and click on Set Password. Leave the New Password box blank, also leave the Confirm Password box blank. Click OK then OK and finally reboot your system. Now you can access your user account in xp easily.

Stars Wars in Windows XP

2008-12-18T10:48:00.000-08:00

Open the run dialog box from start menu in Windows XP. Type ‘telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl’ in the field(without quotes) and hit enter. As you hit enter a separate window will open and after a few seconds you will see the Stars Wars movie in the Microsoft Windows style!

Go… try it yourself!

How to speed up your computer easily

2008-12-18T10:38:00.000-08:00

Do you think your computer’s speed is getting slower and slower day by day? Does your pc takes ages to complete a certain task? If yes, then some of the tips mentioned below may help you speed up your pc.

If your hard disk is jam packed with data, it could possibly be the reason for your machines slow performance. If the partition of the hard disk containing your operating system is low on disk space, you better make some. Sometimes a lot of unnecessary programs take up a large amount of space. So, try to install those programs which use less space and less memory. Remove the programs that you no longer use from add or remove programs list. Disk Defragmenter is another utility available in windows xp which can increase your system speed. It is designed to increase access speed by rearranging files stored on a disk to occupy contiguous storage locations, a technique commonly known as defragmenting. The purpose is to optimize the time it takes to read and write files to/from the disk by minimizing head travel time and maximizing the transfer rate.

A virus can cause your system to slowdown or work inappropriately. Viruses are everywhere. They come through emails, p2p sites, or even through your friend’s cd. So it is always better to be guarded then seek cure afterwards. Keep your antivirus running all the time and make sure you have the latest virus definitions installed. After the removal of virus, you can see a visible difference in the performance of your machine. Some of the most popular antivirus available are NOD32, AVG Antivirus, Kaspersky, McAfee and Norton Antivirus.

Spy-ware is Internet jargon for Advertising Supported software (Ad-ware). It is a way for shareware authors to make money from a product, other than by selling it to the users. There are several large media companies that offer them to place banner ads in their products in exchange for a portion of the revenue from banner sales. This way, you don't have to pay for the software and the developers are still getting paid. If you find the banners annoying, there is usually an option to remove them, by paying the regular licensing fee. It tends to slowdown your pc’s performance considerably because of the various services being run by it. You can see them in the processes tab of task manager in xp. Some of the most popular spyware removal tools are :

Lavasoft Ad-Aware (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/)

Spybot-S&D (http://www.safer-networking.org/)

Spy Sweeper v2.2 (http://www.webroot.com/wb/products/spysweeper/index.php)

HijackThis 1.97.7 (http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html)

Upgrading your computer’s RAM or simply memory makes a hefty difference in the speed of your pc. If you cannot remember the last time you upgraded your system’s memory then probably it’s time to. As you install newer and newer programs, the total memory usage increases. So the only option left is to upgrade it.

Earn by designing logos - 99designs

2008-12-07T12:16:00.000-08:00

Some days before I stumbled upon a cool site called 99designs. The site provides a platform to logo and graphic designers to showcase their work and earn money from it. The basic ideology is that a contest holder announces a contest and provides all the necessary information and background of his/her company or firm of which the logo is to be designed. The designers then submit their entries accordingly. Designers can submit any number of entries but they need to be relevant to the description provided by the contests holder. The winning entry is selected by the contest holder and is given the prize money. The site has tons of contests on different topics having different prize money. I have seen prize money as high as US $2000! Navigation on the site is very simple. To enter a contest, you just need to register on the site first and there you go! I have always been inclined to drawing and designing stuff so I tried my hand at a couple of contests. Not too lucky to win a contest till now though!

here's the link: www.99designs.com

Future operating systems from Microsoft

2008-08-03T13:05:00.000-07:00

Microsoft is working on at least three new operating systems namely Windows 7, Windows 8 and Midori. Windows 7 is expected to release by 2009 end or 2010 start.

As a successor of Windows Vista, Windows 7(codenamed Blackcomb) will come up with a host of new features like a new media center, support for systems with multiple graphics cards, new paint, new wordpad, support to integrate gadgets directly to windows explorer etc.

A research project Midori when lauched will be Microsoft's Windowsless O.S. It is said to be an internet centric operating system and will aim at providing complete connectivity between devices and applications.

Windows 8 hasnt been officially announced by the company but sources claim that Microsoft has started hiring professionals for its development. See here

World War II : Road to victory

2008-08-02T12:39:00.000-07:00

Ever wanted to create history? If yes, here is your time. Matrix Games and IQ Software have announced the release of ther debut game, World War II : Road to victory. World War II : Road to victory is a strategy based game wherein the player can get the actual World War II experience. The battles are fought at places from France and Russia covering the Europe to the deserts of North Africa.

You can move your allies to your side to gain more power, concentrate on strengthening your combat units from airborne soldiers and armored divisions up to nuclear weapons, use resources to upgrade you arms and ammunition and a lot more. You have the choice of playing the game as a single nation or multiple nations to have the real experience. Historical leaders enhance the performance of your armies, strategically important events that seek your attention take place in the game from time to time. Your decisions in such issues decide the course of war. Amazing graphics and sound effects coupled with excellent gameplay make it a must play game for every strategy game enthusiast.

Cuil - Google's new rival

2008-07-31T12:49:00.000-07:00

A new search engine 'Cuil'(pronounced cool) is all set to give sleepless nights to google employees. It is being said that Cuil is the biggest search engine and has an index span of around 120 billion web pages.

Cuil is the outcome of hard work by Anna Patterson, ex-google employee, her husband - Tom Costello, and two other ex-google engineers, Russel Power and Louis Monier. Cuil started operating from 28th July 08 and got enormous response from surfers.

Rather than placing the search results in a vertical manner, one below the other like most search engines, Cuil places them in a magazine like manner i.e. horizontally in columns, which looks pretty neat.

Google has been getting competition from various search engines in the past like Teoma, Vivisimo, Snap, Mahalo and Powerset but this is the first time that a search engine developed by ex-google engineers is in the contest. Google responded to Cuil on its blog by saying,"Having great competitors is a huge benefit to us and everyone in the search space, It makes us all work harder, and at the end of the day our users benefit from that."

Logitech ChillStream Controller

2008-07-31T12:31:00.000-07:00

Logitech ChillStream gamepad has got Xbox 360ish looks. Actually it is for PC. With its patented Cooling System technology you can forget about those sweaty palms while playing games. It actually flows air onto your fingers and the palm of your hand to prevent them from getting sweaty. The gamepad has good ergonomic design to fit comfortably in your hands. The buttons are well placed, so that you can have hours of gameplay without any strain in your palms. It has nice rubber grips on the side which give better grip while holding the gamepad.

Specifications

System Requirements
Windows® XP, or Vista™
PC with Pentium® processor or compatible
Available USB port

Package Contents
Logitech® ChillStream™ Controller
User guide
Gaming software
1-year limited warranty

The Art of Murder : FBI Confidential

2008-07-31T11:14:00.001-07:00

The Art of Murder : FBI Confidential is basically a point and click game developed by City Interactive which has also developed games like Project Freedom, WWII: Pacific Heroes, and Wings of Honour previously.

The plot of The Art of Murder: FBI Confidential revolves around a rookie FBI agent named Nicole Bonnet. New York is witnessing a series of gruesome murders. Players have to play the game as Nicole and unfold the mystery to find out who is behind all these killings. Naturally the game has a dark and dingy storyline suitable for mature players only.

The Art of Murder: FBI Confidential keeps the player involved throughout the game with its excellent graphics and amazing sound effects. One has to constantly deal with puzzles and twists to crack the codes and advance in the game. It has got 20 in-game 3D characters, 100 puzzles, 15 main locations (200 pre-rendered images in total), and 5,000 dialogue lines.

Here are some of its pics:

Nokia Supernova 7310

2008-07-28T12:47:00.000-07:00

I think this is the most decent and good looking phone in all of the Supernova phones released by Nokia. It has no jingles and bells, just a purely sober phone. Some of its features include a 2 MP, to shoot pictures at 1600x1200 pixels, Xpress-on covers with 3D textured designs, TV out etc.

Dimensions : 106.5 x 45.4 x 12 mm, 58 cc
Weight : 83 g

Display Type : TFT, 16M colors

Size : 240 x 320 pixels, 2.0 inches

Vibration : Yes

Memory : Phonebook 2000 entries, Photocall

Call records : 20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls

Card slot : microSD (TransFlash), up to 4GB, buy memory, 32 MB internal memory

Data : GPRS Class 32, 88 kbps

HSCSD : No

EDGE : Class 32, 296 kbits

3G : No

WLAN : No

Bluetooth : Yes, v2.0 with A2DP

Infrared : port No

USB : Yes, v2.0 microUSB

Browser : WAP 2.0/xHTML

Colors : Steel Blue, Wasabi Green, Candy Pink, Mushroom Silver, Plum Jam, Electric Blue, Yellow Mellow

Camera : 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video (QCIF@15fps)

Other Features :
- Java MIDP 2.0
- Stereo FM radio with RDS
- MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+/WMA player
- MPEG-4 player
- Built-in handsfree
- Voice command/dial/memo
- Xpress-on covers with 3D textured designs
- Push to Talk
- Macromedia Flash Lite 2.1
- TV-out
- T9

Battery : Standard battery, Li-Ion 860 mAh (BL-4CT)

Stand-by : Up to 300 h

Talk time : Up to 4 h

Nokia Supernova 7610

2008-07-28T11:55:00.000-07:00

Love it of hate it, this is Nokia 7610. Looking at its shiny face it feels that it has got a touch screen user interface. But wait, slide it to reveal the keypad. I wonder why is Nokia still not making cellphones with touch screen interface.

Nokia 7610 is scheduled to hit the markets by 3Q 2008.
This 99 gm phone boasts of a 16million color screen which is now a days Nokia's standard. It has 3.15 megapixel camera. It has 64 MB inbuilt memory and option of expanding memory using microSD card.

Specificaions

Size Dimensions : 98 x 48 x 15 mm, 63 cc

Weight : 99 g

Display Type : TFT, 16M colors

Size : 240 x 320 pixels, 2.0 inches

Vibration : Yes

Memory Phonebook : 2000 entries , Photocall

Call records : 20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls

Card slot : microSD (TransFlash), up to 2GB, 512MB or 2GB included, 64 MB internal memory

Data : GPRS Class 32, 88 kbps

HSCSD : Yes

EDGE : Class 32, 296 kbits

3G : No

WLAN : No

Bluetooth : Yes, v2.0

Infrared port : No

USB : Yes, v2.0 microUSB

Browser : WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML

Colors : Muted Gray, Steel Blue, Red, Bright Lilac, Pristine White

Camera : 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, autofocus, video(VGA@15fps), dual LED

Other features :
- Java MIDP 2.0
- Stereo FM radio with RDS
- MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+/WMA player
- MPEG-4 player
- T9
- Built-in handsfree
- Voice memo
- Xpress-on covers

Battery : Standard battery, Li-Ion 860 mAh (BL-4S)

Stand-by : Up to 300 h

Talk time : Up to 5 h 20 min

Apple iPod Touch

2008-07-28T11:36:00.000-07:00

When we talk of portable video players, 'Apple' is the first name on everyone's lips. Though there are plenty of other options available in the market, but it is Apple who dominates the portable entertainment market. It has a complete inventory of eye candy products packed with power and performance. Whenever Apple launches something new, there one thing to be sure of, good looks. From earphones to desktops every product looks so damn cool!

If you want me to describe Ipod Touch in one word, probably I won't be able to do so. That's because this product has so much to flaunt that you get dumbfounded! Apple iPod Touch's design looks almost similar to the much popular iPhone, but you know what? They are pretty similar from the inside too!

Apple iPod Touch has an all metal body and a 3.5 inches LCD scratch proof screen. Such a type of screen is being used in a lot of products now a days. It fits perfectly in your hands thanks to its ergonomic design. Like iPhone, it has just one button on its face( to call back the main menu screen) because the interface is touch screen based. There's not even a volume control button because volume is adjusted by moving your finger on the screen slider, pretty impressive! It is 4.3 inches long, 2.4 inches wide and just 0.31 inches thick.. Display is crystal clear, it can play videos at 640x480 resolution at an impressive 30fps rate. Audio has always been a plus point for Apple products. This one passes the test too with flying colors. Just plug in those earphones and forget about the world! Apple iPod Touch has got everything to make your internet experience worthwhile. Yes, it is Wi-Fi enabled and packs quite a punch of services namely Wi-Fi enabled Safari Web browser, POP/IMAP e-mail support, YouTube video portal, access to iTunes music store. You just have to be at a Wi-Fi access point to use these services.

Some of things that differentiate iPod Touch from iPhone are :
You cannot make phone calls
No camera,
No Bluetooth

But all this comes with a hefty price tag. At least it is too much if compared with similar products of same category. My final take on the product? Apple iPod Touch is an incredible entertainment device that can provide you quality entertainment and is sure to keep you hooked for life. But all this comes with a hefty price tag, so if you have no problem spending you dad's hard earned money,go on, it's all yours!

Specifications

Display:
3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display
480-by-320-pixel resolution at 163 pixels per inch

Audio:
Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
Audio formats supported: AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV

Video:
H.264 video, up to 1.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Low-Complexity version of the H.264 Baseline Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; H.264 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Baseline Profile up to Level 3.0 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats

Headphones:
Earphones
Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz

Input and output:
Dock connector
3.5-mm stereo headphone jack

Power and battery:
Built-in rechargeable lithium ion battery

Playback time :
Music playback time: Up to 22 hours when fully charged
Video playback time: Up to 5 hours when fully charged
Charging via USB to computer system or power adapter (sold separately) :
Fast-charge time: about 1.5 hours (charges up to 80% of battery capacity)
Full-charge time: about 3 hours

Custom Boot Screens

2008-07-27T12:18:00.000-07:00

The screen that shows that your operating system is being loaded while booting is called a boot screen. This picture shows the default boot screen for windows XP.

To change you boot screen, you can use an application called BootXP. On running the program for the first time, it will ask you to make a backup of your boot.ini file. Click save and run BootXP. This is necessary if you want to revert to the original Windows XP boot screen.. With BootXP, you can set your own images as boot screens. Just browse for the amage file, select and click,'Set as boot screen'. The next time you boot your machine, you can see your favourite photographs while loading Windows XP.

You can also download boot screens from www.themexp.org. In BootXP, browse the boot screen file in which it was downloaded, select 'ntoskrnl.exe' in 'Your boot screens' tab and click 'preview boot screen'. If you are satisfied with it click 'set as boot screen'. You can check it by restarting your machine.

Faster Printing in XP

2008-07-27T11:55:00.000-07:00

Windows XP uses a service called 'Print Spooler' to print your documents, while you can simultaneously work on other application. What print spooler actually does is that it collects all the printing data and saves it to a temporary file before initiating the printing process. This may be time consuming when printing multiple documents or images. You can turn print spooler off and print directly from the printer rather than letting windows save your printing data in a temporary file and then start the printing.

To do this, head to Start > Printers and Faxes. Right click on the name of your printer, click on properties, click on Advanced tab, select ' directly from the printer' option to disable spooling. One thing to be kept in mind though, you may not be able to work on other applications until the whole printing is done.

Faster End Task

2008-07-27T11:23:00.000-07:00

While working on your computer, if an application hangs, you press Ctrl+Alt+Del to open up the task manager dialog box. You select the application name from the application tab, and press end task to terminate the program. It is observed that the application takes some time to terminate after pressing the end task button.

To reduce this time, go to Start menu > Run. Type regedit and press OK. The registry editor will show up. Navigate through the options to locate 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ ControlPanel \ Desktop'. On the right side of the window pane, right click on ' HungAppTimeout' and click on Modify. You should see the 'Edit String' dialog box. The numerical value in the 'Value Data' field denotes the time in milliseconds to end the program. Change its value to somewhere around 500 and click OK. Finished!

What a cool cabinet!

2008-07-26T15:15:00.001-07:00

Does your computer cabinet gets too hot while running? Do your applications occasionally hang? Has your cabinet got a bit noisy over a period of time? If yes, then its time for some cleanup.

Open your cabinet by removing the left side cover. Before proceeding make sure that you are well grounded in order to prevent your computer from electrostatic discharge (ESD). ESD can occur when working in your computer and will cause components you touch to no longer work properly. The best way to prevent it is wear an antistatic wrist band which is easily available in the market.

Accumulation of dust over fans and other components hinders air flow in your cabinet, which ultimately causes it to heat up and reduce the efficiency of your machine. Use a vacuum cleaner to get rid of the dust. If you dont have one, you can also use an air-pump used for bicycles, to blow away the settled dust. Make sure the cords are not hanging unevenly, cluttering you cabinet all over. Tie them together with rubber bands and keep them as much away as possible from fans. This trick is extremely effective as the air coming inside the cabinet can be diverted out without any disruption.

Still not satisfied with the performance?
Consider adding additional fans in your cabinet. There are mainly two types of fans available. Ball bearing type and sleeve bearing type. A ball bearing type fan is a better choice as they are more effective and outperform the sleeve bearing type. Check for vacant space available at front or back side of your cabinet to install a fan. One of the most important point to keep in mind is to know the direction of air throw by the fan. If done correctly, you'll find yourself with an excellent air circulation mechanism. Usually, there are directional arrows marked on the fan blades to help you.

That's it, you are chilled!

Nikon coolpix P80

2008-07-26T13:42:00.000-07:00

Nikon coolpix P80 is another camera from the Digital SLR cameras series from Nikon. Although the design is just like any average regular compact digital SLR, dont go for the looks as it actually packs a lot of power unseen from the surface. You can shoot pictures at 10.1 megapixels so that you can print your images in sizes as large as 20x30 inches. With an incredible 18x optical zoom capability you get really crisp and sharp photos.

If you want to capture videos and at high frame rates, like say during a footbal match, you can do so by shooting at 3 megapixels at an amazing rate of 13fps! You can also connect the camera to a TV output via data cable and record you favourite programmes and movies on the memory card. Nikon's In-Camera Red-Eye Fix™ technology fixes the red eye removal problem ,while face priority AF technology searches for multiple faces in a photo and automatically focuses on them giving superior results.

You can manually set the configurations for shutter priority, aperture priority and exposure modes. This gives you complete control and allows you to shoot pictures with full flexibility. Nikon coolpix P80 has been built to reduce the effect of vibration while taking pictures. It has an image stabilization feature to compensate the effects of vibration such as blurring of the photos.

Specifications:

• Effective Pixels : 10.1 million
• Top Continuous Shooting Speed at full resolution : 1.1 frames per second
• LCD Monitor Size : 2.7 in. diagonal
• Sensor Size : 1/2.33/
• LCD Monitor Resolution : 230,000 Dots
• Storage Media : SD, SDHC
• Movie Modes : Movie with sound, Time lapse movie
• Interface : Hi-speed USB
• Built-in Flash : Yes
• Video Output : NTSC, PAL
• Battery / Batteries : EN-EL5 Lithium-ion Battery, Nikon Rechargeable
• Battery Life (shots per charge) : CIPA 250 shots (CIPA)
• Approx. Dimensions : Height: 3.1 in. (79mm), Width: 4.3 in. (110mm), Depth: 3.1 in. (78mm)
• Approx. Weight : 12.9 oz. (365g)

Sample photos :

Prince of Persia 2008 announced

2008-07-24T11:23:00.000-07:00

Good news for all the Prince of Persia game enthusiasts (including me!). Ubisoft has finally made it official that it is working on another sequel of Prince of Persia series of games. The game is expected to hit the stores on 1 November 2008. The name of this installment is still unknown.

Surprisingly, the character of prince has once again been changed i.e. It is not the same prince whom we saw in The Two Thrones. Last time, the prince's character was changed after Prince of Persia : Sands of Time in Prince of Persia : Warrior Within. But no regrets, he still looks cool, tough and sturdy.

It is not yet clear as on which all platforms will the game be launched, I strongly feel that it won't be available on PS2 as most of the games these days are being built for the PS3. Who knows! All we can do is wait.

Meanwhile, check out the screenshots and wallpapers of the game:

Need for Speed Undercover coming!

2008-07-21T12:04:00.000-07:00

Did you hear that?
Another NFS sequel is on its way. And this time it is called Need For Speed : Undercover.
Unlike previously, when almost every sequel took nearly 12 months to release, NFS Undercover will be given a 2 year development time. So, expect something worth waiting.

EA CEO John Riccitiello said "We were torturing a very talented group of people up in Vancouver, which makes it harder to be as innovative every year. So, I think we are going to get better from here," Riccitiello said. "Last summer we added head count and split the team in two, so now there are two teams on a 24 month cycle. And this is sort of their first 16 and-a-half month game...Because we didn't do it far enough ago to give us a full two year dev cycle."

Nokia 7210

2008-07-21T11:38:00.000-07:00

I have a bad habit of searching resemblence in two of more cellphone designs. So, to me this one looks pretty much like Motorola L6 or L7. I wonder if anyone feels the same way too, or is it just me.

Coming on to the actual business, Nokia 7610 is a nice funky mid range phone with a good design. It has got GPRS and EDGE but no support for HSCD, 3G or WLAN. Featuring 30MB of internal memory, it has the option for expanding memory using microSD upto 2GB.

A 2MP camera to shoot pics with upto 1600x1200 resolution, Java MIDP 2.0 interface, Flickr upload support, Adobe Flash 3.0 support are some of its other features.

Specifications >>

Size Dimensions 106 x 45 x 10.6 mm
Weight 69.8 g
Display Type TFT, 256K colors
Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.0 inches
Ringtones Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3
Customization Download
Vibration Yes
Memory Phonebook 2000 entries , Photocall
Call records 20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls
Card slot microSD (TransFlash), up to 2GB
- 30 MB internal memory
Data GPRS Class 32, 88 kbps
HSCSD No
EDGE Class 32, 296 kbits
3G No
WLAN No
Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
Infrared port No
USB Yes, v2.0 microUSB
Features Messaging SMS, MMS
Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML
Games Snake 3D, Bounce II, Sudoku, Sea Sweeper
Colors Bubble Gum Pink, Vivid Blue
Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video (QCIF@10fps)
- Java MIDP 2.0
- Stereo FM radio with RDS
- MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+/WMA player
- MPEG-4 player
- Built-in handsfree
- Voice command/dial/memo
- Macromedia Flash Lite 2.1
- Adobe Flash 3.0
- Flickr Upload
- Widsets
- T9
Battery Standard battery, Li-Ion 860 mAh (BL-4CT)
Stand-by Up to 250 h
Talk time Up to 2 h

Nokia 7510

2008-07-01T11:19:00.000-07:00

The 7510 is one of the latest babies of Nokia from its 'Supernova' series.
Basically, a clamshell, with nothing new in its design. We have been seeing similar flip phones with more or less similar designs these days.

It features a push to open side button, something new and unconventional. Now, the phone is a bit heavy at 124 gms if you compare it with todays featherweight, extra light phones. But afterall its a flip phone, so it's got to be heavy!

It can support upto 8gb of memory(microSD card), but surprisingly it has got just 27 mb of internal memory. It does not support 3G, has a decent 2MP camera, 240x320 pixels screen and will be available in four colors namely, Storm Blue, Red, Emerald Green, Espresso Brown.

Specifications:
Dimensions : 92.5 x 46.4 x 16.7 mm, 63 cc

Memory : Internal 27MB, Expandable upto 8gb

GPRS : Yes, Class 32, 88 kbps

EDGE : Yes, Class 32, 296 kbits

3G : No

Bluetooth : Yes, v2.0 with A2DP

Camera : 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels

OS : Java MIDP 2.0

Battery : Li-Ion 870 mAh (BL-5BT)

Talktime : Up to 6 h

Standby time : Up to 300 h

Push-to-open mechanism

Stereo FM radio with RDS

MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+/WMA player

MPEG-4 player

T9

Built-in handsfree

Voice command/dial/memo

Xpress-on covers

Nokia releases Supernova series

2008-06-28T13:20:00.001-07:00

Today, Nokia announced its Supernova series of new generation cellphones. They are certainly looking hot and ready to grab attention. Currently, there are four cellphones released in this category. They are named 7210, 7310, 7510 and 7610.

Nokia had already released the 7210 and 7610 models some years before, it seems like Nokia is running out of model numbers to name their phones!

Out of the four phones, one is a slider, a flip phone, and to candybar ones. The phones are scheduled to hit the market by 2Q and 3Q of 2008.

Bill Gates leaves Microsoft

2008-06-27T13:07:00.000-07:00

Today, Bill Gates bade goodbye to his multi million dollar company Microsoft to join Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a charity organization founded by him. He had been heading Microsoft for the last 33 years, a joint venture of him and his childhood friend Paul Allen.

"There won't be a day in my life when I won't be thinking about Microsoft, the great things that we're doing and wanting to help," said Gates, who wiped away tears while addressing his employees at Microsoft's headquarters, Washington.

Born in Seattle, Washington in 1956, William Henry III Gates was an ordinary boy. He started his education in a local Public School. Bill studied in this school till sixth grade, before entering Seattle’s Exclusive Lakeside School, from where he continued his remaining education. That year Lakeside bought a Teletype machine that connected to a mainframe computer over phone lines. Seattle’s Exclusive Lakeside School was one of the few schools provided the students access to computers then. Gates was introduced to computers 1968 when he was in eighth grade. During this period, he met Paul Allen who was also studying along with Bill. Like Bill, Allen too was interested in computers.

Bill studied till tenth grade. After completing their schooling he, Allen, and some others succeeded in convincing a local computer company to give them free access to PDP-10, a new minicomputer made by Digital Equipment Corporation. This was one of the initial and crucial steps taken by Gates in his career. During the mean time he and his friends tried to find flaws in the PDP-10; whereas at the same time Bill spent much of his time learning the programming languages namely, LISP, BASIC and Fortran.

In 1972, Gates and Allen founded Traf-O-Data, a company that designed and built computerized car counting machines for the purpose of traffic analysis. The project introduced them to the programmable 8008 microprocessor from Intel Corporation. Bill joined the Harvard University in 1975.While attending the university he teamed with Allen to develop a version of the programming language, BASIC for a company called Altair 8800. After a period of some years he founded Microsoft. The purpose of the establishment of this company was basically to provide developed programming languages such as BASIC to other major companies.

Microsoft dealt with International Business Machines (IBM) in 1980 for providing Operating Systems to their products. Microsoft provided IBM with its first operating system, MS-DOS. IBM’s success made MS-DOS an industry standard product. Consequently, MS-DOS’s demand increased rapidly and Microsoft’s revenues skyrocketed. At that time, Microsoft was the fastest growing company in America. In 1986, Bill Gates took a crucial step of offering his stock to the public. And lo! The rapid appreciation of Microsoft’s operating systems by the public made Bill Gates the youngest ever self-made billionaire in the entire world in no time.

By the 1990’s Microsoft conquered the IT field all over the world. But this was the beginning. Soon, Microsoft developed another operating system namely, Windows and an Office suite. These products achieved dominance and Bill Gates amassed a fortune worth Billions of dollars. It is said that his total worth today is almost equal to the total worth of all the billionaires put together ten years ago. Bill Gates is also the author of two books, The road ahead (1995, 1996 revised) which dealt his vision of technology’s role in society and Business @ the speed of thought; discussing the role of technology in running business.

The extent of his single mindedness to be the major force can be seen by the fact that he is the member of his one time archrival Apple. Today he is the chief software architect and the chairman of Microsoft as well as one of the most influential figures in the history of computers.

Dialup woes

2008-06-25T11:54:00.000-07:00

Why do I have to waaaiiiittt sooo much?

Dialup sucks!

Right now I am trying to download Autopatcher with a dialup connection and it is such a heck.

The download speed barely crosses the 10kbps mark, on the top of it the network connection gets idle from time to time. So, you have to check it all the time if everything is working fine. The real problem is that you cant leave it to download all the stuff on its own. The whole download would have took approximately 18 to 20 hours, phew! So I aborted it in despair. This is the same ol' story I guess for everyone who uses (or has to use!) a dialup connection for surfing. You want to download something, but cant.

I've been thinking of getting a broadband internet connection. But that is not possible, because the connection guys dont provide service in my area. So what I have to do is just wait for my colony to get urban enough to get a broadband connection.

So a long wait ahead I guess!

And yeah, this is my first post!
I'll be posting about computers, internet, games, gadgets, tips and tricks, automobiles, and whatever else I like.

Happy surfing!