InSaNeZ

PS3 Price Cut Hits India

2009-08-20T13:15:00.002+05:30

Earlier on in the day we contacted Sony India regarding the PS3 price cut but didn’t get any answers since the relevant people were out of the country. Now suddenly out of nowhere I get a press statement regarding the PlayStation 3 price drop that by the way should be implemented today itself and it goes something like this:

For all those who have been patiently waiting, the new price for the PlayStation 3 80 GB model has been announced. The PlayStation 3 80 GB prices have been set at Rs 19,990, a clear 20% drop in price. To make the purchase even more attractive, the PS3 80 GB will be offered with two Free Games: Uncharted : Drake’s Fortune and GT5 Prologue.

Here’s what Atindriya Bose, head of Sony PlayStation India had to say, "We stand committed to develop gaming as a coveted interactive entertainment avenue for the Indians. The high adoption of Playstation by the Indian consumers will be further fuelled by the new prices and offerings before the Indian festive seasons. The new sub - 20K price on PS3 not only positions it as an attractive gaming console but makes it perhaps the best value for money Blu-Ray entertainment device for the family. "

So there you have it. A PS3 and two games for twenty grand. Are you happy with the price cut? Will you now go ahead and buy a PS3? Share you happiness or sorrow in the comments section below.

2009-08-20T13:14:00.000+05:30

A very strange bit of information has been floating around with regard to Samsung’s recent launch of the Omnia HD i8910. At the reviewers meet I attended as well as included in the press kit I received we were told that the handset came equipped with a 1GHz CPU which was quite impressive of course.According to a report that was not entirely true. I decided to look into it myself and checked with my sources.

The truth actually is that the Omnia HD coming with a 1GHz processor is in fact not entirely true. Allow me to elaborate. A = the HD is equipped with a 600 MHz ARM Processor that’s a fact. B = It also however comes with is a 430Hz 3d Accelerator Processor. A + B = 1GHz of power and that’s the bottom line.

So perhaps Samsung should have been a little more explicit with the break up and of course this could also be a marketing strategy. Technically they aren't wrong either but they did specify a 1GHz Processor powering their 3D UI.

I’d very much like to hear your thoughts dear readers.

Microsoft's Bing Wins Share From Google, Yahoo

2009-08-20T13:13:00.002+05:30

Microsoft Corp's Bing search engine continued to make small gains on rivals Google Inc and Yahoo Inc in the U.S. Internet search market in July, according to the latest data from research firm ComScore.

Microsoft, which launched Bing in early June, racked up 8.9 percent of U.S. Internet searches in July, up 0.5 percentage points from June. Google, the leader in the market, and Yahoo, the distant No. 2, both lost 0.3 percentage points of market share in July, to 64.7 percent and 19.3 percent, respectively. Late last month Microsoft and Yahoo finally signed an agreement to cooperate on Internet search advertising, with Bing powering searches on both companies' sites and Yahoo handling the ad sales. The deal has yet to be approved by regulators and likely won't take full effect in the market until early 2012.

Nokia Sees Sales Growth in India Despite Drought

2009-08-20T13:13:00.001+05:30

Nokia, the world's top cellphone maker, does not expect a drought to hit its sales in India, its second-biggest market, and will expand a rural micro-finance offer for buying handsets.

Chief Executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said sales of Nokia's high-end smartphones
were also growing in India, the world's second-largest mobile market with around 430 million users and where nearly 60 percent of mobiles are Nokia phones
. Nokia is betting on markets such as India, where more than 10 million mobile connections are being added every month, at a time when global cellphone sales are falling as recession-hit consumers in emerging and developed markets rein in spending. Poor monsoon rains have pushed India to the brink of drought, which could crimp consumer incomes and spending particularly in rural areas where much of the industry's growth is coming from. Nokia executives however saw little impact on sales, saying people could use phones more as they cut spending on travel. "We don't think the market will slow down for mobility in rural India," D. Sivakumar, managing director of Nokia's Indian unit said. Nokia recently piloted a scheme in two states where it sold handsets on a weekly installment of 100 rupees ($2) over 25 weeks.

On Wednesday, the company said it would rollout the microfinance offer in 12 Indian states. Kallasvuo said India would remain one of Nokia's top growth markets, as 81 percent of the country's mobile users were in urban areas and they were driving demand for high-end phones. "India is very often perceived to be a low-end market. That is not the case," he said, adding Nokia's high-end phone models such as N97 and N86 were selling nicely in the country. In May, Nokia opened its online software and content store, named Ovi Store, hoping to follow the success of Apple Inc's App Store, and Kallasvuo said users India were among the top five in terms of downloads from the online store.

My Journey through Life

2009-08-20T13:09:00.000+05:30

As a kid I never had high aspirations. While most of my friends aimed at becoming doctors, astronauts (what’s up with kids and astronauts) or successful people, I for one was as clueless as a... clueless person. By the time I graduated from college most of the people I knew went on to do their MBAs while I was stuck with multiple brochures in my hand and a gigantic question mark plastered across my life.

Luckily that’s the time I got my first gaming rig with a GeForce MX440 graphic card et al. I felt like the cat’s whiskers. Need for Speed: II SE and Blood II: The Chosen were the first two games I ever owned and I remember waking up early every morning just to race across the Australian Outback or slaughter hordes of creatures as Caleb, the Chosen. Little did I know but I was regressing slowly into a cocoon of sorts socializing only with people who shared similar tastes as mine. And as you can imagine, there weren’t too many back in the day.

And then one day I came across IGN.com and my life changed forever. I knew I had found my calling. The thing is that ever since I started gaming I had decided to work in the industry but sadly I wasn’t smart enough or inclined to learn the software necessary for game development. It was only after I started reading IGN on a daily basis did I realize I could enter the industry as a Game Journalist.

Unfortunately for me, India in the year 2002 didn’t have too many publications that reviewed games on a daily basis. But I had made up my mind and the next time my parents asked me what I wanted to do for a living, I proudly told them I wanted to be a Game Journalist. They looked at me like I was on drugs since my folks actually wanted me to become a Chartered Accountant (lol). But parents being supportive and all, let me pursue my dreams and thus started my long journey.

Initially it was really tough finding a job but luckily I landed a gig with a gaming magazine. Unfortunately their office was insanely far and I was looking at a two hour commute every day. Still I stuck to my guns since this was something I really loved doing and I put in nearly a year there before that distance finally got to me. From there I moved to another publication before I landed up at Tech2 and the rest – as they say – is history.

Samsung ES55 Review

2009-08-20T12:33:00.004+05:30

If you're style conscious and looking for a camera that doesn't burn a hole in your wallet, then the Samsung ES55 might just be a worthy contender. Let's find out...

The ES55 is sleek and small at just 90 x 59 x 22 mm in size, and weighs just 116 g. The body features straight lines, curved edges and a compact frame, giving it a petite but industrial look that's enhanced by its dark gray powder coated paint job. The camera's also available in silver and pink.

The button placement's convenient. The shutter release and power buttons are on top, but there's no zoom toggle ring around the shutter release. Instead, the zoom toggle's at the back of the camera, under which are the menu button, navigation pad, the preview button and the function key. Besides these there's a 2.5-inch 230,000 pixel LCD screens.

At one glance, you can tell that the ES55 is built for portability and good looks. The frame's sturdy and not cheap looking like many other budget cameras, and the LCD performed well even outdoors. Where build quality's concerned, the ES55 gave us nothing to complain about.

The Samsung ES55 features a CCD sensor that's capable of going up to 10.2 megapixel, and a lens that's capable of 3x zoom. The image quality isn't too great - edges are not too well defined and saturated colors leave artifacts (which aren't too evident though). The camera's color reproduction on the other hand, is brilliant and so its auto-white balance is spot on.
Where ISO performance is concerned, the ES55 was quite impressive since it gave us more than usable shots up to 400 ISO. The cameras ISO sensitivity starts off at 80 and goes up to 1600.

Like most Samsung cameras, the ES55's Night Performance was pretty good. Details were a little lost in some areas of our test shots though, and brightly lit areas were overcompensated for and burnt out.

Where modes are concerned, this one's got all a basic user would need, with a few extras. It has Auto, Program, Digital Image Stabilization (for those extra shaky shots), Scene and Movie modes. What I loved was its extremely easy to use interface and a photo help guide to show you the ropes when it comes to taking great pictures. The camera's macro performance wasn't the best and it couldn't focus on objects closer than 4-inches.

To sum up, at Rs. 7,990 the Samsung ES55 offers good value for money, but don't expect it to excel too much where image quality's concerned. It has all the features you'd expect from a budget compact (with a few bonuses such as a decent program mode), and offers average performance in most areas. If you're looking for a cheap, stylish compact, don't dismiss this one!

Gamescom 2009: New NFS Shift Screens Emerge

2009-08-19T02:41:00.002+05:30

EA has released spanking new screenshots of their latest Need for Speed game, Shift. We thought you may like looking at them so here they are.

PS: Click on the screenies for a higher resolution.

Gamescom 2009: PS3 Slim Announced

2009-08-19T02:38:00.003+05:30

At the ongoing Gamescom held in Germany, Sony not only announced a 100$ price cut for the PlayStation 3 but they also announced a slim version of the PlayStation 3.

Kaz Hirai, head honcho of PlayStation said the PS3 Slim will be available worldwide by the first week of September. As far as specs are concerned the PS3 Slim offers pretty much everything the regular PS3 did in addition to a spiffy 120 GB hard drive. It will of course be a more anorexic version of a PS3 that’s 33% smaller and 36% lighter.

The PS3 Slim will be priced at $299 and since it’s too late to disturb the folks at Sony, we’re going to speak to them first thing tomorrow morning regarding availability in India.

Gamescom2009: Brutal Legend Demo Next Month

2009-08-19T02:31:00.001+05:30

Tim Schafer’s latest game, Brutal Legend is looking rocking awesome (see what I did there?) and EA is giving us a taste of things to come via a single player demo that’ll hit both Xbox Live and PSN by the 15th of September 2009.

Brutal Legend releases on the 16th of October – sorry Rocktober - and if you still don’t know why this game is gonna be totally bitching, maybe this description of the demo will convince you:

Brutal Legend is an epic action game from visionary developer Tim Schafer. Jack Black stars as Eddie Riggs, a legendary roadie summoned to a heavy metal world where he must fight for the liberation of humanity from the demon Emperor Doviculus. In the demo, players get a preview of the game’s non-stop hack n’ slash action and mayhem. The demo opens as Eddie awakes in the age of metal where he must quickly learn how to use the powerful ancient axe, ‘The Separator’ and electrifying guitar ‘Clementine’ to unleash combo moves that destroy the demons of darkness.

As he comes face-to-face with zipper-faced nuns and devilish druids, Eddie encounters the beautiful and tough-as-nails Ophelia, an ally and would-be love interest. Together, Eddie and Ophelia use double team attacks for more powerful combo moves to defeat the rock demons that are after them. Luckily, they are bestowed with a super-charged, druid-destroying vehicle, ‘The Deuce’ that can be upgraded with weapons and armor throughout the game. From the bowels of the druid dungeon to the tops of corpse mountains, the Brütal Legend demo is just the beginning of an epic journey.

Gamescom 2009: Dante's Inferno Dated

2009-08-19T02:26:00.001+05:30

EA’s answer to God of War III, Dante’s Inferno has been given a February 2010 release date at Gamescom 2009. The game will ship in America on the 9th of February and will hit the European market three days later. Since we follow the European release schedule as far as most publishers are concerned, expect the game in India by the 15th of February.

And in case you’ve just woken up from a deep slumber, here’s what the game’s all about:

This multimedia project is a fresh take on Dante Aligieri's epic poem trilogy, The Divine Comedy. However, this is no college course in literature -- instead, it's a dark, visceral, action-packed adventure that will take you to hell... literally. The bitter flaws of humanity become the horrors you must battle as you venture through the nine circles of the underworld -- Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Anger, Heresy, Violence, Fraud and Treachery.

Head over to the official site for more on the game.

Fanboys - The Bane of the Video Game Industry

2009-08-19T02:23:00.001+05:30

Fanboys! Hate ‘em or loathe ‘em but you just can’t ignore them. They’ve been around forever, hiding in the shadows conducting arguments from time to time but it’s only in recent times that they've burst into the foreground with their brainless ideologies and incoherent ramblings. Sure they’re good for a few laughs especially when they get creative with their insults but the bottom line is that fanboys, as a race are giving the video game industry a bad name.

For the uninitiated, a fanboy is a creepy little individual who blindly loves a particular product and can take absolutely no criticism levied toward that product.

For the uninitiated, a fanboy is a creepy little individual who blindly loves a particular product and can take absolutely no criticism levied toward that product. They will blindly defend it till the day they die (or grow a brain) dissing everyone who thinks otherwise. They are always right and you, the stupid mortal with your limited amount of knowledge are always wrong.

There are fanboys in every aspect of mainstream media. You have Comic book fanboys, Apple fanboys, PC fanboys, Star Trek fanboys, Star wars fanboys and many more but recently Video Game fanboys have emerged as the more dominating and dangerous breed. Every major video game franchise like Halo, Metal Gear Solid, Gears of War, Final Fantasy etc has given birth to thousands of such fanboys who spend every waking minute spewing hate across forum boards the world over.

Image Courtesy: Angry Video Game Nerd

What’s worse is that a lot of these fanboys have aligned themselves to particular consoles as well. They’re so blinded by their love/hate for Microsoft/Sony/Nintendo, they’re actually willing to forgo AAA titles just because they don’t appear on their beloved console.

According to them Microsoft/Sony/Nintendo are evil corporations hell bent on sucking you dry – financially of course. But guess what? You have an option to not buy their products. It’s that simple. Also every console out there has its share of disadvantages or screw ups. At the end of the day, it’s what you want as an individual. There’s no need to come in and troll on a sensible discussions with remarks like "Xbots are f***gs" or "LOL! You’re such a PSF*g".

The Rise and Fall of Quick Time Events

2009-08-19T02:22:00.002+05:30

Dragon's Lair - the grand-daddy of quick time events

Back in the day, when the power of PC/console gaming hardware was the equivalent of what we'd call hamster-powered today, game designing was a rather restrictive affair and the balancing act between gameplay and presentation was far more difficult than it is now. In games where characters were little more than really low pixel-count sprites, complex character animation was possible in game engines themselves. But when studios opted for better visuals, the hardware could not support engine-driven animations and a game-engine's processing load at the same time.

What developer 'Advanced Microcomputer System' did to overcome this, was they dumped a whole lot of pre-rendered animated sequences on a disc, and depending on whether you fail or progress at any point in their 1983 hit "Dragon's Lair', the coinciding animation would be played. To break it down, the game was basically a sequence of pre-rendered cut-scenes driven by your actions. This helped surpass the need for a complex game engine, giving the hardware that much more resource to use power the game's visuals, so the game could adopt near-animated-movie looking visuals that were leagues ahead of the simple low-res sprite-based characters in game of those times. Understandably, gameplay got rather restrictive since the game was more cinematic than real-time/free-form. To keep things interactive they added context sensitive actions, where the game would require you to follow a certain key-presses in timely manner in order to progress. The grand-daddy of Quick Time Events was born.

Quick Time Events (QTE) is a method of gameplay where the player's given limited control of a game's character during cut scenes or cinematic sequences, and it generally involves the player following onscreen prompts to press buttons or perform other actions (like shaking the controller). Failing these segments takes the scene in a different course, most often to the player's death - Wikipedia

Dragon's Lair's gameplay was entirely based on context sensitive actions, and it worked really well for the primitive adventure game. As hardware grew in power over the years, the limits that plagued developers were lifted. Entire games based on QTEs were no longer feasible, since the new gamer wanted more control. The second step in the evolution of QTEs made the mechanic a small part of games, rather than the core gameplay mechanic it was in Dragon's Lair. Games like DieHard (1996) and more importantly Shenmue (2000) were born. Yu Suzuki, the reputed game designer behind Shenmue, was the one who coined the term 'Quick Time Event'. Most of the gameplay in Shenmue was freeform/real-time, but in a few instances it would move to QTEs, such as when you'd fight another character, or chase down crooks. The contained gameplay of QTEs in an open real-life simulating, free-form gameplay structure like Shenmue's, worked really well to break the pace and add variety to the gameplay.

Yu Suzuki of Shenmue fame coined the term 'Quick Time Events'

QTEs were popularized by God of War, which featured the best implementation of it to date. The contrasts between the highly fluid combo system of the game, and the occasional restriction of timed QTEs, was stark and the game used it beautifully to do every thing from finishing off boses, to ripping the head off hydras. With the abundance of free-flow combat in the game, QTEs became sort of an appetizer interspersed to test the twitch based gamer within, and at the same time break away from monotony that could have been borne off even a combat system as deep as that of God of War's. What made its implementation perfect here, was firstly - that God of War didn't over do it and you'd have QTEs only while fighting tougher enemies or bosses (apart from the occasional off-beat places such as breaking out of stone from a Gorgon's gaze or lifting heavy objects), secondly - QTEs allowed you to pull off really cool moves, such as dodging attacks and following up with counter attacks, jumping on the back of an enormous cyclops and pulling ripping his eye out, with just a few button presses. Doing so manually would have been a real pain.

Implementation of QTEs in God of War were top notch

Then came games like Ninja Blade - which was pretty much a game based around QTEs. In a day and age when there are so many options to design your control scheme around, Ninja Blade went the lazy way and pumped QTEs through out the game, to the point that you'd lose track of where the Quick Time Events end and when the actual gameplay begins. Having QTEs in such quick succession in a fast paced action game really ruins the pace, and makes you feel like you're just a spectator watching the game from a far. Also, throwing it in when you least expect it (or when want it the least) makes QTEs that much more painful.

In a game like God of War, you could pretty much anticipate when QTEs were going to take place, so you wouldn't be forced to follow fixed sequences when you're frustratedly unprepared. To make matters worse, every time you'd fail a QTE, you'd move to the starting of it over and over again till you'd get the timing perfect. Not only does this completely ruin the pace of the game, it pretty much stagnates it to a frustrating stand-still if you're stuck.

Ninja Blade had way too many QTEs!

To sum up, QTEs are a welcome addition to games in small doses. An overdose of them can alienate you from the core gameplay, ruining the experience completely. Also, having you do simple things such as opening doors or grates using button mashes, is terribly annoying and I sure hope developers stop doing it. Making QTEs too difficult and manditory is terrible too, since if you can't get the timing right, you're pretty much left twiddling your thumbs and cursing the developer.

Check this out!

2009-08-16T23:25:00.017+05:30

IE 8 is Microsoft's champion in browser wars

2009-08-14T17:26:00.002+05:30

Microsoft is touting freshly-launched Internet Explorer 8 as its champion in the competitive Web browser arena, urging holdouts to upgrade from earlier versions of the software.

IE 8 has been catching on since its release five months ago, but Microsoft is hoping to leave behind aging IE 6 as well as much-maligned Vista after Windows 7 operating system launches in October.

Despite being released nine years ago, IE 6 still claims 27.2 percent of the browser market, according to figures released in July by Net Applications.

"The reason to still be on IE 6 at this point is lack of awareness, or the 'good-enough' problem that people are satisfied with what they are using," said Amy Barzdukas, general manager of IE and consumer security at Microsoft.

"Particularly in this economy, it is difficult to be cavalier and just say update to IE 8."

Schools, hospitals and other cash-strapped operations could be daunted by the cost of upgrading computer systems to new software.

IE 6 also tends to be used with pirated versions of Windows XP operating system because newer software is better designed to expose illegitimate copies, according to Barzdukas.

Microsoft reports seeing more XP use in emerging economies such as Brazil and India where piracy rates are higher than in the United States.

A drawback to people sticking with IE 6 is that Microsoft's image can be maligned by software deficiencies that have been fixed in newer versions," according to Barzdukas.

"People can get frustrated with that experience and say Microsoft stinks, or IE stinks, and base that perception on technology released ten years ago," Barzdukas told AFP during a visit this week to San Francisco.

"We want them to experience the latest."

Microsoft on Thursday released NSS Labs research indicating that IE 8 excels at blocking phishing and malware attacks.

In Microsoft-sponsored testing at a Texas lab, NSS found that IE 8 and an open-source Firefox browser from Mozilla tied for first place when it came to catching "social-engineering" phishing attacks.

"Internet Explorer 8 and Firefox 3 were the most consistent in the high level of protection they offered," the NSS study said.

When it came to blocking malicious software, malware, IE 8 caught 81 percent of the "live threats" as compared with the 54-percent finish by the second-place Firefox browser.

"I think our biggest area of concern in terms of competition is getting people onto a modern browser and protecting people from the bad guys," Barzdukas said.

"We don't spend a lot of time worrying about what the other browsers of doing."

Google leapt into the browser wars last year with Chrome software that industry insiders suspect will mesh with a new operating system the California Internet powerhouse plans to launch in 2010.

Apple has long challenged Microsoft with operating systems and other software customized for Macintosh computers. Mozilla's free Firefox web browsers based on open-source software have been gaining fans.

Barzdukas said her team is "juiced" by competition in the browser market.

"I think we have a great opportunity for the industry to evolve what the browser is able to do," Barzdukas said.

"IE is still the most broadly used browser in the world; we will continue to evolve. We are focused and here to play."

Microsoft this month abandoned a plan to strip IE 8 from versions of Windows 7 shipped to the European Union.

Microsoft said it will instead present customers with a "ballot" option, allowing them to choose whether to install IE or another browser.

Microsoft said the option had been tentatively welcomed by the European Commission, and received positive feedback from computer makers.

The Brussels-based EU executive, which wields broad anti-trust powers, had called on Microsoft to open Windows to different Internet browsers in order to fend off litigation.

Upcoming Hack and Slash Games

2009-08-14T16:54:00.006+05:30

Conventionally Hack and Slash games are games where you quite literally hack and slash away at your enemies using swords and other such melee weapons. Today that definition has been expanded a bit to include titles like God of War, Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden and in some cases, certain Prince of Persia games as well. Keeping that in mind we’ll take a look at hack and slash games releasing this year.

Darksiders

The apocalypse has finally arrived destroying pretty much everything in its path. Now it’s up to War, one of the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to find out who caused this premature annihilation of the world. Borrowing certain gameplay elements from God of War, Devil May Cry and the Grand Theft Auto series, Darksiders looks like an enjoyable, bloody romp.

Brutal Legend

Eddie Riggs is your run-of-the mill roadie who finds himself trapped in an alternate heavy metal dimension where humans beings have been enslaved by demons. Being the metal head that he is, he must now use the power of rock and roll to free his brothers from this terrible oppression.

Dragon Age Origins

A spiritual successor of sorts to Baldur’s Gate, Dragon Age Origins is a conventional hack and slash role playing game that deals with clichéd yet enjoyable mythical stuff. Choose from one of three classes as you strive to liberate the land from evil and discover your “Origins” in the process.

Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2

Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 is basically a remake of Ninja Gaiden 2 for the PS3 with a generous amount of exclusive content thrown in like newer enemies, newer playable characters, a co-operative mode and lots more. On the flip side the gore and violence has been toned down a bit as opposed to the Xbox360 version of the game that was a total bloodbath.

Australian charged with infecting 3,000 computers

2009-08-14T16:48:00.002+05:30

A 20-year-old Australian man has been charged with infecting more than 3,000 computers around the world with a virus designed to capture banking and credit card data, police said Thursday.

The man, whose name will not be released until he appears in an Adelaide court on Sept. 4, has been charged with several computer offenses that carry prison terms of up to 10 years, South Australia state police Detective Supt. Jim Jeffery said in a statement.

Police also uncovered information that will identify other offenders, Jeffery said.

The man, who lives in the state capital, Adelaide, is also accused of illegally creating a capacity to disable computer systems by bombarding them with unwanted traffic from up to 74,000 computers he controlled around the world. This type of sabotage is known as a distributed denial of service attack.

Police have not said whether the man allegedly used stolen banking information to commit identity fraud.

The arrest followed a three-month investigation involving state and federal computer crime detectives.

Apple Tablet's Killer App Revealed?

2009-08-14T16:33:00.010+05:30

According to Gizmodo, an insider has revealed that the Apple tablet is indeed real, and mostly what people are expecting: A 10-inch touch-screen tablet running the iPhone OS, priced somewhere between $700-$900. However, there's a twist. The tablet can act as a secondary screen/touchpad for Apple computers. This makes it different from and more appealing than every tablet that has come before.

Multiple monitors have gained tremendous appeal over the years, and it's not hard to see why. Having a secondary monitor allows you to reference one thing while manipulating data on another. The more screens the better I say.

A lightweight tablet that can act as a secondary monitor is perfect for mobile professionals that need the extra real estate. Because it's based on the iPhone, its hardware will be lighter and thinner than if it were based on the Intel Core 2 platform. The overall device should be about as portable as existing portable usb monitors like those by Mimo. By making the tablet thin and light, mobile users won't mind slipping in their notebook case with their laptop. By further capitalizing on the tablet by using it as an input device, the Apple tablet becomes even more appealing. I'm a fan of the multi-touch input device used on MacBook pro laptops, and having a multi-touch display as an input device opens up a whole realm of possibilities, especially for graphic artists.

While the leaked information specifies that the screen/touchpad functionality works with Macintosh computers, I think Apple would be foolish to not market the device to the PC crowd as well. A stand-alone tablet is a hard sell at $700-$900, and the real value comes when it's mated with a computer. Since the PC market is much bigger than the Mac market, Apple stands to sell many more devices by appealing to the broader audience.

Since one of the rumors that has been thrown about is a potential subsidy deal with Verizon for 3G data, I can't help but wonder if the tablet can be used as a tethering device for a laptop. For lots of people, this might seal the deal. I find it hard to justify signing another wireless contract for web-surfing on a tablet or netbook; it becomes a better value proposition if internet access is also extended to a laptop. While I originally thought that an Apple tablet would be on overpriced toy, it sounds like Apple might be intent on making the tablet a valuable asset for the mobile professional.

July Video Games show sharp Decline

2009-08-14T16:29:00.003+05:30

Hurt by the recession and few hit game launches, U.S. retail sales of video games dropped sharply in July, showing an even bigger decline than what many analysts were expecting.

Market researcher NPD Group said Thursday that sales of game hardware, software and accessories plunged 29 percent from the same period last year, to $848.8 million.

July marked the fifth straight month to show a sales decline this year. On top of that, the drop was steeper than what analysts were looking for. Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey, for example, had expected a 15 percent decline. Year-to-date sales were down 14 percent at the end of July, totaling $8.16 billion.

"While year-to-date results are weak, there are some big titles set to be released over the next several months, including 'Madden' this month, which should help spur sales," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier in a statement.

Squeezed by the recession, customers are being more selective about what video games they buy, and many are waiting for blockbuster game launches coming later in the year.

They are also hoping for console price cuts. NPD said hardware sales slowed down considerably in July, and analysts attribute much of this to anticipated price cuts for the gaming consoles.

Sales of portable gaming systems and consoles tumbled 37 percent, to $280.9 million. The handheld Nintendo DS was by far the month's best-selling system, with 538,900 units sold. It was followed by the Wii with 252,500 units and Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 with 202,900 units. Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 sold just 121,800 units.

"We need hardware to turn around or the industry is going to be in trouble," said Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter. He added that the industry will most definitely turn around, in September, because of huge game launches planned for that month.

But, he added, the trough on the decline "is worse than I thought."

Last year's spring and summer saw the launch of blockbuster games like "Wii Fit" and "Grand Theft Auto IV." In comparison the first half of 2009 has been unusually slow when it comes to top-flight game launches. Combined with the recession, the retail games industry is not doing too well.

But Frazier said the worst comparisons "should be behind us, and looking beyond August we have 'The Beatles: Rock Band,' 'Halo 3: ODST,' and of course, 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2' to look forward to."

July's software sales fell 26 percent to $437 million. The No. 1 game was Nintendo's "Wii Sports Resort," followed in No. 2 and No. 3 by Electronic Arts Inc.'s "NCAA Football 10" for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, respectively. "Wii Fit," which launched in May 2008, and "Mario Kart" from April 2008, rounded out the top five.

Dell Looks to Linux to Expand Netbook Presence

2009-08-14T16:11:00.004+05:30

In an effort to expand its Linux offerings, Dell is researching new netbook-type devices and will soon offer netbook Linux OS upgrades, a company official said on Wednesday.

The company is researching the possibility of offering new Linux-based mobile devices called smartbooks, said Todd Finch, senior product marketing manager for Linux clients, at the OpenSourceWorld conference in San Francisco. The company will also upgrade its Ubuntu Linux OS for netbooks to the latest version in the next few weeks, he said.

Smartbooks are netbook-type devices that are powered by chips designed by Arm. The devices mostly support the Linux OS and are designed for those who rely on the Web for most of their computing. Dell couldn't say whether it would ultimately offer a smartbook.

Smartbooks have similar characteristics to netbooks, including cramped keyboards and small screens. No major PC vendor has yet announced an interest in smartbooks, though small vendors are pushing them as an alternative to netbooks, which are mostly based on Intel's Atom chips and come with Microsoft's Windows OS. Many vendors, including Qualcomm and Freescale, are providing Arm chips for smartbooks that could hit shelves by the end of this year.

Smartbooks with Arm chips have inherent advantages over x86 chips like Atom, such as lower power consumption and longer battery life, Finch said. The chips are also becoming more powerful, as indicated by the growing number of applications on smartphones, he said.

"I think it's natural and reasonable for us to begin looking at them as they begin scaling their processors up," Finch said.

Putting an Arm chip -- mainly found in smartphones -- inside a lightweight PC could provide an early entry point for Dell into the smartphone space, said Jay Chou, research analyst at IDC. Dell has hinted at entering the smartphone area many times, but no product has materialized yet.

While netbooks are the craze, smartbooks are hard to ignore, Chou said. Interest in the device will grow over time because it enables lightweight and low-priced computing devices, which could interest PC makers. Pricing is also a major criteria for buyers, and Linux netbooks are cheaper than their Windows counterparts.

But smartbooks could struggle as Windows remains the dominant OS for netbook-type devices, with a strong software ecosystem around it, Chou said. Smartbooks may have a hard time gaining traction, and much of their future success will depend on the software ecosystem.

The target market for smartbooks will be no different from Linux-based netbooks as they both have the same usage scenario, Dell's Finch said. Like smartbooks, Linux-based netbooks are targeted at those looking for quick access to Web-based applications. "The more [Web-based] applications there are, the better it is for Linux," Finch said.

The growing interest in Linux is partly driven by Dell's success with Linux on its netbooks. Close to a third of all netbooks Dell ships during certain quarters are preloaded with Linux, he said.

Dell is currently the fifth-largest netbook vendor worldwide, according to IDC's Chou. Linux-based netbooks made up about 5 percent of overall worldwide shipments during the last quarter.

However, a bulk of Dell's netbooks today ship with Windows XP, which remains the OS of choice for consumers, Finch said. The popularity of Windows won't change overnight, he said.

"There are still a large percentage of people that prefer Windows, even on a netbook," Finch said. Many are familiar with the look and feel of Windows, and are unwilling to trade in for the longer battery life offered by Linux. He couldn't comment about the possible adoption rates of Windows 7, which is due for release on Oct. 22.

Dell currently offers Ubuntu Linux version 8.04 with the Mini 10v netbook, which is being upgraded to the latest 9.04 version -- code-named Jaunty Jackalope -- in the next few weeks. Dell will be pre-loading the Web-centric Ubuntu Netbook Remix, which is designed for small screen sizes, on future netbooks. Its Web-centric design provides quick access to online applications, and the OS builds in support for a larger number of drivers.

The company is also researching Google's Chrome for use in netbooks. The OS is a thin version of a Linux-based operating system that also will provide quick access to the Web and online applications.

Bionic Commando Review

2009-08-14T14:22:00.014+05:30

Insanez Score: 7/10

Pic Courtesy of Gamespot

I have just now finished playing Bionic Commando on my PC. Yeah i know its a little late but considering that i played it only for about 1 hour each week after a week of its release, its pretty impressive. So, first of all, the so called game review sites that rate this game below 7 on an average(the score system may be different, but you get my point) are full of crap. Yeah the game has flaws, but its beautiful and whole lots of fun. Here's my take on Capcom's latest Bionic Commando.

For the PC version of Bionic Commando gameplay is where the good news starts and where I can grant Capcom a brief reprieve from the justified insults the needless complex and poorly-told story deserves.

Bionic Commando is essentially a third person shooter just like any other third person shooter from the last few years. You run around 3D virtual spaces, capping baddies and jumping from platform to platform in your constant push towards the next level.

Like most other third person shooters set in demolished cities of recent times it has a romantic subplot where you have to find your missing wife. See Gears of War 2 for details.

There are a few things which set Bionic Commando apart though – mainly the lack of a decent cover system and the addition of the bionic arm ability, which lets you swing through the skies like a robotic spiderman, albeit with a limited range. It’s this bionic ability that much of the game's plot and nuances are based around as you ~~run~~ swing about figuring new ways to use it to your advantage.

The Bionic Arm is an advantage you desperately need too – Nathan has apparently eschewed the idea of power armour in favour of a green vest and dreadlocks and has a handful of vulnerabilities that enemies are all to happy to seize on. Your metal arm makes you especially susceptible to electric attacks for example, though it also allows you to interface with enemy relays and find extra plot info throughout the game. Yay!

Most levels which don’t have a specific ‘find this’ or ‘kill that’ objective generally involve finding these relays and deactivating the electric floating minefields so you can carry on to the next area.

Electric floating minefields. I’d say ‘you couldn’t make this stuff up’, but it honestly only remind me how true I wish that statement were. Unfortunately though, someone did make it up and then managed to convince someone else to make it into a game which I would then be forced to play.

The good news though is that, wheras using your bionic arm on the console versions of the game was a tricky task (and navigating said minefields was impossible), on the PC it works just fine. The range of your bionic arm still feels a little bit short at times, but that just adds an extra level of tension when you jump off a building and try to latch on to a roadsign as you fall.

It’s a fundamental and expected change to the way Bionic Commando controls, but being able to use a mouse and keyboard to target enemies makes a COLLOSAL difference to the game and further goes to prove that yes, PCs are just plain better. Swinging around on the console version was more difficult than trying remove a splinter from your eyeball would be if you had a clunky bionic arm like Nathan’s. On the PC version it feels much more natural and satisfying – like using said bionic arm to punch hippies or rescue kittens.

Granted, the swinging mechanic still has problems. There’s still that strange lack of momentum which means that you always swing at the same speed and to the same height, but at least you aren’t constantly falling to your death. Those low-res blue radiation clouds still fence you in, but now at least you can move past them a lot faster and being able to aim so much quicker even means that you can usually save yourself before you tumble into a pool of water and drown, meaning you don’t get constantly bumped back to the irritating far-apart checkpoints. Yay!

Now for the bad news again; the fact that the improved speed and accuracy allowed by a PC interface is apparently the only real improvement made for the PC version of Bionic Commando. The game is easier to play now, but it’s still the same in every other regard.

One of the things to have stayed the same between the two versions is the graphics, with the PlayStation 3 version of Bionic Commando which I played before looking pretty much identical to the PC version I’ve been playing recently.

That’s not to say that the graphics are all that bad though – when the in-engine cutscenes rolls then the game can look quite good and I impressed that in all our fiddling with Bionic Command the rope-physics didn’t screw up once!

On the other hand though, the environment textures are noticeably poor (did I mention the splodges of blue radiation that grip to most buildings like dirty underpants to a wall?) and though the levels look big they’re actually quite small. The game may want you to think that it’s wide-open and free-roaming, but it’s actually more linear than a game of Pong!, with the only replay value coming from the unlockable extras and collectible items.

Killing enemies from a distance is definitely preferable

On the plus side though, the system requirements for Bionic Commando are far from lofty. The minimum spec is a dual core CPU (Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or AMD Athlon X2 5200+ 2.6 GHz), 1.5GB of RAM and a DX 9.0 and Shader Model 3.0 compatible graphics card with 512MB of memory – a GeForce 7800, Radeon X1900 or higher.

The recommended spec is a little bit higher than that obviously, but that shouldn’t be a problem for most gamers nowadays. Capcom suggests a quad core CPU (Intel Quad Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or AMD Phenom 9500) backed by 2GB of RAM and a DX 10.0 Shader Model 4.0 compatible GPU with 512MB of RAM – that’s a GeForce 9800 GTX+ or Radeon HD 3800 or higher. Both technical spec-sheets say you’ll need 8.0GB of disc space for the install too, which explains why it took so long to install on the PlayStation 3 the first time around…

That sudden jump in graphics card requirement between the two sets of requirements above may be a little intimidating to some gamers, but it’s also not entirely realistic – a quick FRAPS test showed that Bionic Commando's supposed DirectX 10 content made no difference, for example.

To be honest though, I didn’t really need FRAPS to tell me that Bionic Commando on the PC doesn’t have any DirectX 10 content – it’s pretty obvious that the game is really just a straight port from the Xbox 360 version. It’s spelled out quite clearly in the way that the tutorials keep referring to the Xbox 360 gamepad buttons; “Press Y, B, A to do this combo and control your descent either the right thumbstick.” Ugh. Capcom couldn’t have just switched the words around when they I doing the port?

No, apparently they couldn’t. They couldn’t really change the game one iota – Bionic Commando on the PC has the same quote-unquote story, the same boring multiplayer that’s limited to just DM, Team DM and CTF and the same…well, it’s just the same. Let’s leave it at that. Everything is the same and the only thing that’s better is the increased speed and accuracy allowed by a PC interface – something that Capcom can’t take credit for until it at least starts to properly support PC peripherals in the in-game instructions.

Is Bionic Commando a game best played on the PC? Yes, it is and it gets an extra point up from the console version is recognition of it’s increased playability – it’s a game I’d happily recommend to anyone.

Sony VAIOs with Faulty NVIDIA Chips

2009-08-14T14:16:00.004+05:30

Sony says certain VAIO models may have 'video, image distortion issues

Sony's VAIO laptops have been in a soup lately. Sony said that a small percentage of Sony VAIO laptops packing NVIDIA GPUs inside may have 'distorted video, duplicate images or blank screen' due to failure of NVIDIA graphics chips. No ways! NVIDIA graphics chips go bad again? Apparently, this is in conjunction to the same NVIDIA G84 and G86 chips notebook GPU overheating issue for which the company was sued. Sony offered to repair the fault verified VAIO laptop for free but won't be refunding any amount for the same.

Last week, Xavier Lauwert, senior manager product marketing for Sony, stated on official Windows 7 Blog that certain Sony VAIO laptops will have hardware virtualization disable. It was hardly a week when Sony came up with support note stating that certain VAIO models may have 'video, image distortion issues'.

Sony, in a support note, stated that "Until recently we had not identified any VAIO models that were affected by this issue." Wow, so it actually took one year to narrow down on affected models! The NVIDIA GPUs that have been causing image distortion issues in Sony VAIO notebooks are listed here.

Below is the list of affected Sony VAIO models:

-VGN-AR1xx, VGN-AR2xx, VGN-AR3xx
-VGN-FZ1xx, VGN-FZ2xx, VGN-FZ3xx, VGN-FZ4xx
-VGC-LT1xx, VGC-LT2xx

Check out the image below to match the model name of your VAIO computer with the list of affected models. Usually, the model name is pasted on the back panel where the battery is located.

Sony is doing whatever possible under its powers to repair the affected laptops for no cost. Also, in addition to the standard one year limited warranty, Sony promises to provide a three year warranty extension for the NVIDIA graphics chip. In the past too, there have been cases where laptop and desktop makers like Apple, Dell, and HP have released BIOS fix or offered free replacement for the faulty Nvidia chips.

Contact your nearest Sony service/support center, if you're facing issues with your Sony VAIO laptop with the model name from affect models list mentioned earlier.

iPod Sound Docks - An Overview

2009-08-14T13:53:00.010+05:30

In the iPod environment the Dock is probably one of the most important accessories that are available for the media devices. Of course we know they come in all shapes and sizes and designs. Some of the biggest names in the audio industry from Altec Lansing, JBL, Bose and others like Logitech, TDK et al have contributed to this aspect of the iPod’s accessory market. We can’t neglect the other third party manufactures of course and some of their ‘innovative’ (I use that word loosely) concepts. A while back I had listed a few of these Oddball iPod docks and I thought a follow up was in order so here are a few more of those rather ‘unique’ speaker systems.

Eco Friendly Docks???
I’m all for the environment and obviously eco friendly products. And why not, it’s important to keep the environment clean and safe but this is ridiculous.

The whole idea of keeping the environment safe is to avoid cutting down trees for inane purposes like making an iPod dock. However the dock showcased above is actually made from salvaged timber. Portions have been cut out to fit the electrical components of course and the ends have holes for the speakers.

While that may seem like an innovative use of un-used firewood, the next one is one for the books.

This dock is actually handmade from Cedar and there wasn’t any mention of it being salvaged in any way. Does that mean that a tree died for this? It has two ports for dual iPods to be connected and apparently costs about $120 which works out to about Rs. 5,775. Are you kidding me? Eco friendly this ain’t!

Animal-Like iPod Dock
While skimming around the web looking for information for this article, which I have to admit was quite entertaining, I came across this baby, the iPig iPod Dock.

I’ll be brutally honest and admit that it’s not the ugliest dock I’ve seen and does have a certain ‘Cuteness’ quotient to it. The dock has a sub woofer at the base of the ‘animal’ with its eyes that function as two smaller speakers and two smaller speakers under each ear. Even its ears are functional as a control for the volume. It has a 3.5mm Line In option as well and guess where that port is… ok ok I’ll tell you, it’s at the rear. Is that cute or what?

Speaking of animal-like iPod docks, one that’s actually available right here and made its way to our labs is what’s called the Lulu Cat iPod dock. The remote control is in the shape of a paw. A flat panel speaker is located in the ‘head’ of the cat. Another cute one, but really, a cat and a Pig, what’s next, pink elephants?

Steering Wheel
The iPhone is by far one of the better handsets when it comes to mobile gaming. The quality and design of the games created for this device from Action, Adventure, Racing or even Puzzle are at a very different level as compared to any of the other handsets out there. Although we’ve seen play-gear attachments for the device here’s one that really takes the cake.

Following in the footsteps of the Wii’s accessory list with controllers and add-on’s for the same designed to look like actual weapons and such to give their games a more realistic feel, the iPhone Steering wheel is actually not that bad a device. It comes with a stand that has a suction cap at the bottom so you can stick it to any surface, pop your device in between and you’re good to go. Some of the racing games designed for the iPhone could easily rival devices like the Sony’s PSP and the Steering wheel could make them a little more fun. However consider the fact that the iPhone and iPod Touch are portable devices, this is not something I want to cart around and play while I’m in a train or in a doctor's waiting room for that matter.

Lego iPod Dock
One of my favorite toys while growing up was Lego. Normal kiddy building blocks were not as intricately designed as Lego blocks and not as diverse in terms of the ability to pretty much make anything if you have the right shapes. They even have an art category just for creators who use Lego blocks as their canvas. Needless to say it’s not really rocket science for a guy who knows his way around electronics to build an iPod Dock out of Lego.

NeoTune headphones with iPod Dock
In this corner, weighing in at a hefty 180g (or so), is the NeoTune Headphones with its built-in iPod dock. Designed to accommodate only the 2nd Gen iPod Nano which is rather strange considering that was no small device, this headgear is perfect for this list. The funniest thing about the NeoTune is that it could make a pretty neat pair of headphones, if it were usable with any other normal player.

The NeoTune has no wire attached so it can’t be plugged into any other player that supports audio out via earphones. So in other words you’d look a little bit silly walking around with a set of headphones that have an iPod sticking out of one them. However, according to reports, the Japanese company that manufactures the headset are planning on a newer version that will accommodate the Shuffle and that, dear readers, is probably something t look forward to, the concept does have some merit you’ll have to admit.

DJ Dock
One of the zaniest iPod docks, and I couldn’t find a better word to describe it, that I came across was the KNG FUNKIT Dock. It looks just like it sounds and comes with its very own DJ.

The KNG dock is absolutely brilliant as a portable speaker system and seems more like something I’d have as part of my Action Figures set rather than use it for an iPod. Built to look like a DJ spinning his tunes it has a little torso where the iPod sits and two table top turntables with built in speakers at the bottom. Very jazzy! The design concept makes it look like the iPod itself is cuing tracks with one hand on his headphones and the other on the turntable.

As iPod docks go, it seems like there’s plenty of room for design and creativity. They can be creative or odd or arty as hell and still get your attention. The best of this set in my opinion is the KNG DJ Dock. What’s yours?

Apple Mac Mini 2.0 GHz [Review]

2009-08-13T21:44:00.004+05:30

The cheapest Mac in Apple's line up has arrived at our labs. The Mac Mini received a hardware update this March, wherein the graphics and the processing power along with the memory was upgraded to make it up-to-date with today's demands. We run it through our tests to see whether it is still the best compact computer that you can buy.

Bundle

Mac Mini
Power adaptor
Power Cable
mini-DVI to DVI adaptor
Software CD
User Guide

Conspicuous in its absence is the lack of the wireless remote for operating Front Row which earlier used to be a part of the standard bundle of the Mac Mini. Also, as is usual for the Mac Mini, there is no keyboard, mouse or external speakers provided.

Design & Construction

The Mac Mini design has largely been unchanged since its debut in 2005. It still remains one of the best looking compact computers that you can find anywhere. The steel grey sides with milky white top and the large Apple logo look simple and elegant. It is difficult to believe that this is actually a full-fledged computer encased within something that looks like a fancy tiffin box.

The front side has the slot loading SuperDrive. As is usual for desktop Macs there is no physical eject button, which is in sync with Apple's philosophy of having the minimum number of buttons possible, and the only way to eject the disc is through the OS. On the right edge of the slot is a receiver for the wireless remote. Below that is a tiny white LED light that indicates the status of the Mini.

Now let us move straight to the rear side, as the sides are completely deprived of anything. The rear side has a plethora of ports, which includes 5 USB 2.0 ports, Firewire 800 port, mini-DVI port, Mini DisplayPort audio In/Out and power port. The 5 USB ports might sound exciting but it is important to remember that of these, two will be reserved for the keyboard and mouse. This means you'll be left with only three (unless you use a wireless combo that will have a single Bluetooth dongle, in which case you'll end up with four ports).

The rear location of USB ports is inconvenient, especially if you plug in or remove portable drives often. I assume Apple refrained from placing the ports at the front or the sides to have a clean and uncluttered design, a decision, which from the point of view of aesthetics, makes perfect sense but doesn't when you think of ergonomics.

The ventilation on the Mac Mini is placed at the back and at the bottom around the edges. The Mini runs surprisingly cool with the top and the sides always being lukewarm at the most even during the most processor intensive activities. And then there is the time honored Mac ability of running quiet as a whisper. The only sound it ever makes is of the drives kicking in softly when you turn it on or it bring out of Sleep mode.

Hardware

The Mac Mini comes in two variants. Both have 2.0 GHz Intel Core2Duo processors. The base model has 1 GB of DDR3 RAM and a 120 GB HDD, whereas the higher end model has 2 GB of DDR3 RAM and 320 GB HDD. The Mini recently gained the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics with 128 MB shared memory on the lower model and 256 MB shared memory on the higher model.

Both come with slot loading 8x SuperDrive as standard. For connectivity the Mac Mini has Wi-Fi 802.11n along with Bluetooth v2.1+EDR for high speed connectivity. There is also a built-in mono speaker.

Software

The new Mac Mini comes with Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard built-in. It also has iLife '09 pre-installed, which includes applications such as iTunes, Time Machine, Quick Look, Spaces, Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat, Safari, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Photo Booth, Front Row, Xcode Developer Tools.

iTunes is a music playback and management software and is also used for accessing the iTunes store to purchase and download music, movies, podcasts and applications for iPhone/iPod Touch and for syncing your iPod and iPhone.

Time Machine is used for backing up your files on an external drive and restoring them in case you accidentally edit or delete them.

Spaces lets you create up to 16 different workspaces (desktops), so you can arrange your windows and applications in multiple workspaces without cluttering them in one.

Spotlight lets you quickly search your system and display your files and applications. It also shows the definition of the word from the built-in dictionary and can also make quick calculations when you type numbers.

Dashboard displays the widgets on the screen; you can choose from the pre-installed ones or download your own. Mail and iChat are the email and messenger clients respectively.

Safari is a web browser based on the webkit engine. It is an incredibly fast browser and Apple even goes to the extent of calling it the fastest browser in the world, which actually is true. But there isn't a major difference in speed when compared to something like Mozilla Firefox, which is also available for the Mac OS X.

The Safari is however a bit short on features when compared to browsers like the Opera and also lacks the sheer magnitude of add-ons that are available for Firefox. Although the Mac version of Safari does have a few add-ons available that adds some crucial features such as ad blocking.

QuickTime is the default video player. It can also be used for video conversion, however, that requires it to be upgraded to Pro version, which is a paid option. Unfortunately, the default codec support is very scant, so you'd require something like the Perian that adds some codecs to QuickTime. But even Perian doesn't support all the codecs, so it would be advisable to just install VLC Player for Mac.

Front Row is a media player application that brings all your photos, videos, music, podcasts, etc. under one app. It has a very easy to use interface that reminds one of the interfaces on the iPods. However, this application is best used with the help of the Apple Remote, which is no longer supplied with the default bundle in the new MacBooks.

Photo Booth is an image capture and video recording application. It uses the iSight camera above the display. You can add various effects to the images or distort them through the settings. The quality of the camera isn't great though, so images in low light turn out a bit noisy.

Xcode developer tools can be used to create applications that can run on Mac operating system.

For professionals, Apple also offers a range of professional applications for image and video editing. You have Final Cut Studio (includes Final Cut Pro 6, Motion 3, Soundtrack Pro 2, DVD Studio Pro 4, Compressor 3 and Color) which is a professional video and audio production suite, Aperture for post-production work on images and Logic Studio, which is a music production suite. You can also go for the iWork '09, which includes Pages - a word processing application, Keynote - a presentation application and Numbers - a spreadsheet application. Or you can get the Mac version of Microsoft Office.

Come September, we'll also see the launch of Snow Leopard, which is a major update to the Leopard operating system. It would be priced at $29 for current Leopard users and promises to bring a lot of improvements that will take an already solid OS to a completely different level. This is one update you should not miss.

Performance

(Note: The Mac Mini was tested by connecting it to a LG W2243T monitor with a resolution of 1920x1080 at 60 Hz)

Here are our results of XBench and Geekbench:

For such a tiny machine the Mac Mini is fairly powerful. A student or an average home user would not need more than what is on offer here. I used the Mini as my primary PC at office for two weeks and was satisfied with the way it performed. I had several applications running at the same time such as the Safari, iTunes, MS Word, Mail, Expose, QuickTime Player, Calculator and a few others and still the Mini did not feel sluggish. I also tried playing HD movies, which has now become the format of choice for movie lovers, and even at 1080p resolution the movies played beautifully without any lag.

I installed Windows on the Mac Mini through Boot Camp to see how it would perform while gaming. I tried modern games such as Crysis, Call of Duty 4, Mirror's Edge and NFS Pro Street. I tested the games at 1920x1080 resolution since that was the native resolution of the monitor I used. Unfortunately, even at the lowest settings on the games at that resolution the frame rate was lagging, sometimes dropping to below playable levels. On lowering the resolution, the games did become a bit smoother, but not until I dropped the resolution to very low levels did the games become absolutely smooth. Hence it is fair to conclude that the Mac Mini is unsuitable for gaming.

Verdict

The Mac Mini being the cheapest in the Mac family is like a stepping stone into the Mac club. This is a great machine for those who want to try using a Mac but find the MacBooks and the iMac out of their reach. However, being the cheapest doesn't mean it is an inferior machine.

Apple has equipped the Mac Mini with a fairly powerful hardware to keep an average home user happy. This machine can accomplish regular tasks such as web browsing, word processing, music and HD movie playback with ease. You can even manage some low-level image or video editing or casual gaming but if you want to get serious performance in either of these departments, then you'll definitely need to look beyond the Mini, as it is just not designed for these tasks.

Priced at Rs. 36,600 for the 120 GB models and Rs. 48,200 for the 320 GB model, the Mac Mini does seem a bit expensive, especially when you consider that it does not include the additional cost of a monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers. A Windows PC user will scoff at these prices as you can clearly assemble a far superior PC at this price. However, when you consider the stunning small form factor of the Mac Mini, its satisfactory performance that belies its size, the wonderful Mac OS X Leopard operating system, and the iLife suite of applications that it comes with, the Mini is still good value for the price.

Specifications

Are you planning on buying a 32-inch LCD TV? Wait.....Read this.

2009-08-13T21:27:00.005+05:30

I remember the days an LCD would be the center of attention of any household, quite elusive and out of reach for many. Now, after close to 10 years of development we can point out that every household in India has the capability to get an LCD TV. Prices have come down, and the 32-inch entry level segment always remains the most sought after series every Diwali. Now with the auspicious seasons coming up around the corner, as usual we're bombarded with a myriad of marketing slogans, thinner bezels, chrome accents, ridiculously high Dynamic contrast ratios etc. At the end of the day TVs really never conform to their specs. The latter has become a tool to sell ad entice, thus it's vital to switch on all the models and sift through their rendering capacities, in terms of luminance (very important for pure whites) and then color accuracy and naturalness in the video. After all, it's the combined effort of a couple of processors and then the all important panel itself.

So, for this roundup we have 8 brands, all popular in the market, namely: Samsung, Sony, Philips, Sansui, LG, Moser Baer, VU ad Hitachi. Any brand missing was due to their lack of cooperation. Each of these TVs are selected from the brand's wide range of products, and the most preferred model for an entry level category is selected, and of course , only latest releases; models adopting any possible new technology is taken. This is where we encountered many proprietary features, christened quite interestingly by the companies. Some were cool, some were just bells and whistles. So overall, we needed to see which one is a worthy winner, and viable for a purchase. The test processes we adopted to see who the winner was, are described hence.

The Test Process
The tests can be divided into 2 broad categories, the first one is an aggregate of physical tests in which we check aesthetic beauty, build quality, ergonomics, Remote control etc. The other is performance based tests wherein each TV is subjected to software test patterns and video sequences, to see how the panel can handle the aspects of video.

Thus, under external tests, any design element that straightaway makes the TV look better and unique (not peacocking weird) is given plus points- like Samsung's Touch of Color, or generically speaking, slim bezels, metallic accents, bezel contours etc. After all it is a luxury item, and needs to look good. After that, the Joint of the stand and the wall mounting capabilities are looked at. For wall mounting, all the TVs conform to VESA standards, so no problem there. But stand joints need to be firm, no wobbling. Position of connectors, their easy accessibility, button placement etc. also differ from model to model, thus their viability is looked at.

For video performance, the first thing to look at is Greyscale, where we start off with 256 bar pattern to see how well minute levels of light pass through, especially at lower(blacks) and high ends(white). Near white and near black bars are looked at for clipping, blooming, coloration etc. A series of 0 IRE to 100 IRE( black to white) screens are displayed and luminosity is checked, to see the luminance curve.

Then color saturation is checked for red, green, blue and also secondaries: cyan magenta and yellow. We use Displaymate and HCFR Colorimeter software a lot for this purpose. This is also a subjective test with High res JPEGs and Motion sequences from DVE test DVD, as slight oversaturation sometimes looks good in the right amounts.

Finally for motion and detail checking, the DVE test sequence and some action trailers are employed, all in HD minimum 720p files. These scenes are a racecar driving by (to check motion blur), animated geometric objects rotating around to check jaggies, wide shots with minute detail in them to see aliasing problems and many more. Highly colorful and detailed sequences are used to see how the TV can spew frame after frame. These scores are entered into our comparison chart, and overall test result is then drawn out based on those scores.

Sony KLV-32S550

MRP/MOP - Rs.42,990

This stout little product from Sony's acclaimed stable takes on the very important responsibility of being an entry level offering. Aesthetics wise we have a simple design, with a blockish rectangular, straight edged bezel. The frontal frame has a matte black finish panel rimming the screen, while the stand is glossy black. Connections available are 2 HDMIs, a VGA in, 1 component video and 2 composite video ins, besides a headphone out and another composite video out - pretty much covering bare essentials.
The TV has a very good UI, option wise, as there are plenty of items to tweak and change, right from the obvious contrast /brightness to variable backlight, gamma, Noise reduction, Enhanced White level etc. This all make up the face of the Bravia Engine 3, Sony's new Video engine. The panel resolution is 1366 x 768, and for some reason Sony has not stated any further panel specs like brightness and response time.

Performance wise we can surely point out that the panel is bright. Extreme whites have the ability to dazzle. One caveat is that the backlight should not be kept too high, as its brightness can make dark parts cloudy. Mostly the grayscale stays around 6500K, which is good for neutrality in the image. Pure blacks are decent, not spectacular, a very typical LCD-esque phenomenon. Colors are deep and slightly oversaturated in all of the RGB, but this actually does good to the image, at least subjectively for us, especially in movies' skin tones. Nature scenes look vivid and have a sense of depth due to a good contrast. Detail and motion do not bring up any serious jaggies or edge distortions, just a bit here and there in 720p video. In DVD video there is a little moiring problem.

FOR: Very bright, healthy contrast, Good options in UI to calibrate
AGAINST: Expensive in comparison

Samsung LA32B530P7R
MRP Rs.48,000/-
MOP Rs.38000/-

How can Samsung not be on any list that has to do with LCD TVs. Not only have these guys innovated on the higher end of the spectrum with LED edge-lit TVs, but also in our currently spotlighted segment of 32 incher entry level models, with full HD panels. This makes a huge difference in detail and sharpness for Blu-ray owners, mkv junkies and gamers alike. But detail is no use without a vibrant and bright image, thus performance-wise this Samsung will have to go through the patterns and prove its worth.
Aesthetics wise the TV is simple yet classy, a clean design with a glossy black exoskeleton. There is also a thick glass sleeve running along the bottom border to add effect. Connections are usual with 2 HDMIs, 2 component, 1 composite and a headphone out. The panel is Full HD 1920 x 1080, with a contrast ratio of 60,000:1 (dynamic), Brightness rating is not given.
The best thing about this TV is the parameters the menu offers to dial in a good image: there is white balance, gamma, black level adjust, dyamic contrast, variable backlight etc. And of course the images look very sharp and crisp due to a higher definition of the panel itself. Greyscale wise, the TV is not so hunky dory and spectacular, rather it is a sober, decent performer, with black levels being its Achille's heel - they are not so deep. Whites are still better with accurate color temp at pure 100 IRE white, no tinges and coloration.
FOR : Full HD panel, Very good parameters in the UI to calibrate, Quite pure whites even at high contrasts, Very little clipping at high whites thus brightness is clear and vibrant, Reasonable
AGAINST : Weak blacks

LG 32LH20R
MRP - Rs. 38,000
MOP - Rs. 35,000

LG offers a simple looking "clean design" LCD TV as their entry level 32 incher. The model name is 32LH20R, and comes out of the box with huge stickers shouting feature names. Once stripped of all this the design is actually nice, with a gloss black finish all around the bezel and oval stand. The surfaces are slightly curved, tapering outwards. Buttons are actually on the back panel, with corresponding labels printed on the side.
The connections are the basic bouquet with 2 HDMIs, a VGA in, 1 component in, and an RS-232 control. The panel is 1366 by 768, with a brightness of 500 cd/m2. The type of panel is IPS (in plane switching), something widely advertised by LG, though this panel type is not exclusive to them. The response time is 5 ms, and Dynamic contrast ratio is 60,000:1.
The TV has a very nice UI, with satisfactory controls. The dynamic contrast level when turned on, has a slight lag in adjusting different screens, which can irritate while gaming. The contrast on its own is not bad if set above 90 levels, but not extremely bright. There is no bleeding and haloing of whites. Blacks are not the strongest, low black bars in our tests were indiscernible. The good part of this TV, is the minute and clean detail. Right from our word processor to intricate test patterns, all movement was highly commendable, the IPS panel can be credited for this.
FOR: Aesthetically very pretty, No bleeding and clipping of whites
Against: Slight lag in Dynamic Contrast adjustments, blacks are weakish.

Sansui SAL32HBT
MRP Rs. 41,900

Sansui is a brand that only has 32-inchers and 26 inchers officially in India, thus they seem to be concentrating very much on the small screen LCD space, plus price wise too they try to be highly competitive, so it's always interesting to see what we are getting here. This model is quite a unique one design wise, as the speaker grilles are visible in the bottom panel (something that phased out sometime back). There is a huge power indicator LED there too. The finish is gloss black, with a small connector window behind offering regular ports like 2 HDMIs, 2 component, one VGA and 2 composite.
As for rated specs, we have a 1366 x 768 panel with 450 cd/m2 brightness. The response time is 6.5 ms, and contrast stated as 10,000:1. Not too many propriety features, thus we got straight to the patterns for this one. The gray scale part of the television did not spring up any real disappointments, except the fact that the overall gray had a very slight bluish tinge. Even though the color temperature setting was at normal on the menu, this still was the case. Extreme white levels were quite bright and held good contrast amongst themselves. There was no blooming. Only the slight bluish tinge, thus overall the luminance graph is a little skewed. Another problem was the sharpness and scaling abilities of this TV that are limited. A full HD signal just goes awry in detail and small fonts get badgered.
FOR: Colors are accurate enough, no problem there.
AGAINST: Expensive, Not neutral grayscale (colorations in grey), design is not classy like others

VU LC-32P69
MRP/MOP Rs. 38,000

VU recently released their Intelligent TV, thus it seems like these new players in town have some ambitious plans. This model of course is their no frills offering, a neat looking 32 incher with some ritzy embellishments on the front panel that make it a winning contender in terms of looks. The finish is as usual glossy, with a nice round LED on the bottom panel, under a metallic strip accenting across. One point here is that this TV has a power on switch virtually hidden, on the bottom side of the frame. Other buttons are on the left side.
Connections are sparse with only 1 HDMI, 1 composite, 1 S-video and a SCART in (no use to us in India). They call this the Hollywood series, and have a panel type they name A+ panel. The Contrast ratio is 5000:1 native, and brightness is 500 cd/m2. Response time is rated at 6 ms.
Once on we encountered their UI, a simple centrally laid out gray colored affair. There weren't too many parameters available except the contrast, color brightness ones. This TV has one problem, blacks are really weak. On our brightness test, we had to really raise the levels to see low black bars, by then everything looked faded. Thus hardcore movie buffs and video guys might not like it. The detail and motion aspect is very good though, no real artifact or moiring problem, in native 720p material. Colors and white levels come better than average.

FOR: Good design, Colors are quite accurately saturated.
AGAINST: Not many parameters to calibrate, weak blacks.

Moser Baer MBI LTH 32845
MRP Rs.35,900

From CD to LCD, should be the brand's latest positioning, as these optical media biggies are stepping into the already crowded market of HDTVs. Their 32 -inch hand of cards is called the MBI LTH 32845. The bezel is stouter than others, and makes the TV look a little on the heavy side. The weight is normal though, and so is the finish which is regular gloss black. The back panel has the connections centrally located, in a small window containing 2 HDMIs, one component VGA in and a digital audio out, an optical one at that. It also sports a USB drive for JPEGs and MP3s. As for rated specs, their site states a regular 1366 x 768 panel, with 500 cd/m2 brightness. The response time is 5 ms, and Contrast ratio is 30,000:1(dynamic)

In the performance section, for pure black levels, this TV passed the test, but did not score high. Our tests comprise of several levels of black and dark gray, which this TV could not discern at the very extremes. Brightness wise the TV is more than decent, better than a couple others in this round up. Even the purity of the whites were surprisingly good, no color tinges and blooming in high contrast settings.
Fine detail can be slated as a better than average performance, as the menu's sharpness setting did not create haloing and edge distortion upto 70% of its bar. Motion was as good as any other TV, with relatively little jaggies, and on native 720p the finer things were pleasant.

FOR: Decent overall grayscale performance, Detail was good
AGAINST: No aspect of the TV was really spectacular, everything just hovering around the average

Hitachi L42S02A
MRP - Rs. 41,000
MOP - Rs. 33,900

It seems Hitachi has cordoned off all their design ideas and fancies to their Ultra Thin series, as this model is quite a basic looking piece, and could use a bit of pizzazz. It's got a gloss black bezel, with an old fashioned speaker grille at the bottom panel. Back panel is bare, with the input terminal window facing downwards, another iffy for the lazy. Connections are 2 HDMIs, one VGA in, 2 component ins and a couple of composite video inputs. There is a set of input on the left panel too: a headphone out and a composite video in. The resolution is 1366 x 768, and we have native contrast at 1000:1, with a 500 cd/m2 brightness. Response time is 5 ms, and the main thing with Hitachi LCDs that is advertised in bold - an S-IPS panel. Thus we have better viewing angles and the ability to throw a tennis ball at the screen without contorting the image (not recommended).
Speaking of pure luminance information, we have medium, or average black levels. We had to raise the brightness to get any detail in low blacks. On the opposite side, we have whites which are pretty accommodating, no real clipping or blooming even on higher contrast levels. Colors should be kept at 'normal' temperature, and at 50 or less in the color setting. Another good thing about the TV was the detail, and of course the viewing angles. All this combined makes the image really sharp and well focused, from a wider range of viewing.

FOR: Good viewing angles, very good detail and sharpness due to IPS panel
AGAINST: Average blacks

Philips 32PFL5609
MRP/MOP - Rs.47. 990

Philips is another one of those brands that contribute to the development of a technology on the whole, and series like their Ambilight range had gained immense popularity years back when it came. This model we have is a new 32 incher by them, called the 32PFL5609. It's from their 5000 series, and this one too is Full HD. The design is curvaceous, with rounded corners and glossy black finish. The power LED is a small simple white one on the left corner, and that's about it on the bare bezel.
The connections include 3 HDMIs (only TV on this list that has 3), 2 component video, 2 composite Headphone out, and last but not least a USB, that plays MPEG4 video files like DivX etc., also MPEG1 files like .dat and .mpg files, besides MP3s and JPEGs. The panel is 1920 x 1080, brightness is 500 cd/m2, response time is 5 ms, and finally DCR is 50,000:1.
The TV, once switched on, has something very different from the rest: a setup wizard, which runs a set of images in 2 different settings, and you have to choose which one is suitable. The TV then tries to calibrate according to your preferences. It doesn't do the best job, but it's really interesting. But then, from here, the UI menu is not so extensive for manual calibration, with not even half as many parameters available as the Samsung. The only slight flaw in performance we encountered was a warmer than normal color hue. Reds seem oversaturated. Otherwise the pure black levels are quite deep and impressive, plus there is an automatic light sensing preset that adjust brightness according to ambient light. This works nicely.

FOR: Full HD panel, very good contrast, Nicely saturated colors, especially warmer hues
AGAINST: Expensive.

Winner
Samsung wins it. The Samsung LA32B530P7R is not so expensive if sourced at MOP, and performance wise about 75 -80% of the visual parameters we checked came out very good. Few weak points like black levels etc. can be worked out. The Philips TV is close second as it costs a bit more.

Nimbuzz Comes to Android Phones

2009-08-13T20:38:00.001+05:30

Nimbuzz has announced the launch of its multi community mobile social messenger application for Android handsets.

Unique for Android users, Nimbuzz has introduced a revolutionary buddy list layout, Skype IM, a time-sensitive user interface, home-screen notifications, auto-reconnect, clickable URLs, and local social network support.

Alongside home-screen notifications that alert the user on the home screen of activities such as incoming chats while the application runs in the background, Nimbuzz has also added a time-sensitive user interface option that detects how long the user presses on a contact in the buddy list. A fast-click instantly opens the contacts profile; a long-click opens a live chat window.

These updates work alongside the auto-reconnect feature guaranteeing seamless connectivity, by instantly reconnecting whenever a connection is lost. The smart buddy list displays information in an intelligent way, combining avatar and presence information in one, with community icon and resource information, if the person is online on the mobile or PC, at the same line.
Integrating Skype IM is unique to Nimbuzz, which already supports multiple communities including Facebook, Google Talk, Yahoo! Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, ICQ and many more. Clickable URLs that make for a multi media chat experience, and the additional support for local social networks such as StudiVZ, Hyves, Gadu Gadu, and Giovani, add to the feature list.

Evert-Jaap Lugt, founder and CEO of Nimbuzz said, “Mobiles are no longer just about hardware but software. Nimbuzz increases the value of the handset and enriches the user experience. Our Android version is a perfect example of what we do best, integrating Nimbuzz’s award winning service to bring the best out of each operating system and handset.”

The free app is available to download from the Android Marketplace.