Technology Information

The Evolution of the Apple Laptop: 1989 to 2012

2012-07-31T11:05:00.004-07:00

Apple's first portable machine, which was launched in 1989, got a very poor response because of its heavy weight and slow performance. But Apple has come a long way since then. From Apple’s first Macintosh Portable to the latest Macbook Pro with Retina Display, here is a timeline of Apple's portable laptops.

1. Macintosh Portable (September-1989)
“The power to be your best. Even when there’s no power”, was the theme line of the print ad of the Macintosh Portable. It was Apple’s first tryst in the portable computer market. However, it got a lukewarm response because of its bulky design and slow performance. It was sold for around $6500.

2. PowerBook 100 (October-1991)
The PowerBook was designed and manufactured by Sony for Apple. PowerBook received pretty good response from users, despite its slow performance. But the design played an important role in its success. It was then followed by PowerBook 140 and PowerBook 170. It was sold for around $2500.

3. PowerBook Duo 210 (October-1992)
It was a new breed of portables by Apple. The main idea behind the PowerBook Duo 210 was to give a fully fledged desktop computer, which can also be used as a portable computer. Later on, Apple launched DuoDock. DuoDock allowed Duo machines to expand its features instantly, like more VRAM and larger hard drive. PowerBook Duo 210 was sold for around $2250.

4. PowerBook 190 (August-1995)
PowerBook 190 was the last 68k CPU machine that Apple manufactured. It was sold for around $1700 for 4MB RAM model and $1900 for 8 MB RAM model.

5. PowerBook 5300 (August-1995)
PowerBook 5300 was the very first PowerPC PowerBook. In 1995 PowerBook came in 2 RAM/HD configurations and 4 Screen configurations. One of these configurations model no. was 5300s. Many 5300s were shipped as Dead On Arrival (DOA), which later became the reason for Apple’s downfall in the 90s. The PowerBook 5300 was sold for around $2300.

6. PowerBook G3 (November-1997)
As soon as PowerBook G3 was launched, it was named as the fastest notebook in the world. It was the first notebook to use Motorola/IBM’s third generation, PPC 750 processor. PPC 750 was the first processor specially designed to use a cache which was capable of interacting with the processor at a much faster speed than the standard L2 cache.

7. iBook (September-1999)
iBook was launched in 1999 at the MacWorld and it was the much awaited notebook at that time. iBook was the first notebook with a handle, a feature that was (and is) rarely seen in any notebook. It was sold for around $1599.

8. PowerBook G4 (January-2001)
PowerBook G4 was the new revamped version of the Apple’s PowerBook line of notebooks. It came with the stylish titanium enclosure, which was only 1 inch thick and 7 inch thinner than the PowerBook G3. However, this dramatic reduction increased the price. The PowerBook G4 was launched in two configurations, priced at $2199 and $2999 .

9. iBook (14.1 inch) (January-2002)
This iBook was launched in January, 2002 and was quire identical to its earlier model, but it came with a screen of 14.1 inch. It was sold for around $1799.

10. PowerBook G4 (17 inch) (September-2003)
PowerBook was similar to its earlier model, but the screen size was of 17 inch. It was sold for around $2999.

11. MacBook Pro (January-2006)
MacBook Pro was the first Apple notebook to use Intel based processors. MacBook Pro can be considered as the final version of PowerBook G4 and this was the first notebook that had Mac in its name. Later Apple decided to drop the Powerbook series and adapt MacBook series completely. It was sold for around $2499.

12. MacBook Pro (17-inch) (April-2006)
MacBook Pro contains 17 inch screen, plus all the features of the MacBook Pro 15.4 inch and many other improvements. This model was also shipped with Intel based processors and was sold for around $2799.

13. MacBook (May-2006)
Macbook came in two colors Black and White. Macbook received a speed upgrade from Apple. Apple installed Intel core 2 Duo processors in the new Macbook series. MacBook was launched in 3 configurations and was sold for around $1099, $1299 and $1499.

14. MacBook Air (January-2008)
MacBook Air was clearly the most sophisticated and the thinnest notebook ever released by Apple. It was the ultimate ultra-thin-high-end—ultra-portable notebook. Although Apple had to give up the optical drive for this, yet it didn’t stop consumers from buying it. Macbook Air received appreciation from bloggers and reviewers around the globe. It was sold for around $1799.

15. MacBook Pro (with Retina Display) (June-2012)
MacBook Pro with the Retina Display is the latest gift from Apple to its users. This version is similar to the other MacBook Pro versions, but Apple took a giant leap forward by introducing Retina Display in its MacBook Pro line. We have seen Retina Display in Apple’s iPhone and iPad only. Apple has decided to sell MacBook Pro with Retina Display in two configurations, priced at $2199 and $2799

Nokia launches 808 PureView for Rs 33899

2012-07-22T11:19:00.001-07:00

Nokia launched Nokia 808 PureView, a 41 megapixel camera phone, in the Indian market priced at Rs 33,899. Nokia 808 PureView also features both Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby Headphones technology, providing cinematic sound experience. In addition to superior still-imaging technology, the Nokia 808 PureView includes full HD 1080p video recording and playback with 4X lossless zoom and CD-like audio recording. The smartphone is also equipped with Nokia Belle operating system, 1.3 Ghz processor and an internal memory of 16GB.

Nokia 808 PureView includes full HD 1080p video recording and playback with 4X lossless zoom and CD-like audio recording.

This is the first smartphone to feature Nokia PureView imaging technologies, bringing together high resolution sensors, exclusive Carl Zeiss optics and Nokia developed algorithms, which will support new high-end imaging experiences for future Nokia products.

The Nokia 808 PureView features a large, high-resolution 41 megapixel sensor with high-performance Carl Zeiss optics and new pixel oversampling technology.

In addition to superior still imaging technology, the Nokia 808 PureView, also includes full HD 1080p video recording and playback with 4X loss less zoom and the world's first use of Nokia Rich Recording.

Rich Recording enables audio recording at CD-like levels of quality, previously only possible with external microphones.

The camera will use its over-the-top resolution capabilities to "over-sample" the image you shoot, says Nokia, so that if you shoot at 5 MP, each pixel in the final picture will actually use image data from the pixels around it.

The Nokia 808 PureView also features Dolby Headphone technology, transforming stereo content into a personal surround sound experience over any headphones and Dolby Digital Plus for 5.1 channel surround sound playback.

With superior low-light performance and the ability to save in compact file sizes for sharing in email, MMS, and on social networks, the Nokia 808 PureView makes it possible for anyone to capture professional looking images in any conditions.

The device uses a 1.3 GHz processor, comes with 16GB of storage and runs a 4" screen at 360 x 640, which is below HD resolution.

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

Hottest gadgets at the CES 2012

2012-07-22T11:18:00.000-07:00

From the world's thinnest smartphone to Samsung OLED televisons, here are the hottest gadgets that were unveiled at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Senior Vice President of Lenovo Liu Jun shows the new Lenovo television during a presentation by Qualcomm at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show at The Venetian on January 10, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

A G6 series LG Smart TV with Google TV is displayed at the LG Electronics booth at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center January 11, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Motorola's Droid 4 on display at the Motorola booth at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center January 10, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

A Toshiba Excite EX10 Android tablet running the Tablet Remote App Capable (TRAC) technology is displayed in front of a Toshiba 55-inch L7200 Series TV at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center January 11, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. TRAC will be available in Spring 2012 and uses remote codes built into the television so you can wirelessly control anything connected to a TV with the tablet using ..

Samsung OLED televisons are on display the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center on January 11, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Senior vice president and president of Lenovo's Consumer Business Group Liu Jun shows the new Lenovo smartphone during Intel's presentation at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show at The Venitian on January 10, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Nokia Lumia 900 Windows Phone is displayed at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center January 10, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The LG Z330 Ultrabook on display at the Intel booth at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center January 10, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. CES,

Motorola's Droid Xyboard 10.1 on display at the Motorola booth at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center January 10, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada.The tablet device features a water resistant coating and is currently available in the market.

An HP Ultrabook on display at the Intel booth at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center January 10, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Motorola's Droid 4 on display at the Motorola booth at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center January 10, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Apple unveils new MacBook Pro with Retina display

2012-06-14T01:55:00.003-07:00

Apple says its newest MacBook Pro laptop computer will be about as thin as its already-slim MacBook Air. It will also have a sharper display, akin to what the iPhone and the iPad now have. The MacBook Pro, with what Apple calls a 'Retina display', comes with a relatively high price tag of $2,199 or $2,799, depending on the configuration.

Apple says its newest MacBook Pro laptop computer will be about as thin as its already-slim MacBook Air. It will also have a sharper display, akin to what the iPhone and the iPad now have.

At 0.7 inches, the new MacBook Pro -- Apple's highest-end laptop -- ranks among the thinnest laptops in the market and will hit store shelves months before many Microsoft Windows-equipped "Ultrabooks."

Size The MacBook Pro with Retina display is 0.71 inch thick when closed, compared with 0.95 inch for the regular models. The Air is 0.68 inch at the thickest point, though it's as thin as 0.11 inch around the edges.

The MacBook Pro with Retina display features the latest Intel Core i7 quad-core processors up to 2.7 GHz with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.7 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M discrete graphics, up to 16GB of faster 1600 MHz RAM and flash storage up to 768GB.

The new MacBook Pro Retina display is the world’s highest resolution notebook display with over 5 million pixels, 3 million more than an HD television.

Storage. The Air is lighter partly because it uses flash memory rather than a regular hard drive for storage. That means less capacity for the same price. (With inputs from HT Media)

Weight. The Air remains the lightest of them all, at 2.38 pounds for the smaller model and 2.96 pounds for the larger one. The Pro with the same-sized display as the larger Air is about 50 percent heavier, at 4.5 pounds. The Pro with Retina Display is 4.46 pounds, compared with 5.6 pounds for a comparably sized Pro.

Display. The Retina screen measures 15.4 inches diagonally. The regular MacBook Pro comes in 13.3- and 15.4-inch models, while the Air is available with 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch displays.

To slim down the Retina-equipped MacBook Pro to near-Air dimensions, Apple got rid of the DVD drive and the traditional spinning hard drive. Instead, it uses flash memory for storage. The model also lacks an Ethernet port for Internet connections.

The MacBook Pro, with what Apple calls a "Retina display," comes with a relatively high price tag of $2,199 or $2,799, depending on the configuration.

7 Google X Projects Turning Science Fiction Into Reality

2012-06-14T00:57:00.000-07:00

We all love watching sci-fi movies. But wouldn’t it be better if all those futuristic gadgets became a reality? Google is one tech company that is working hard to blur the line between science fiction and reality. The company has a hush- hush lab headed by co-founder Sergey Brin somewhere in the Bay Area of North California. Called the Google X, the lab is said to be the den of 100 odd futuristic projects. Read on to find out
7 such Google X gadgets that will blow your mind.

1. Indoor Maps

Google maps are a godsend for the world. But the company cranked it up a notch by introducing Indoor maps. ‘Indoor maps’ give users the indoor layout of certain airports and malls in USA and Japan. The user is marked by a blue do. It becomes easy to maneuver your way using the Indoor maps.

This was one of the first launches by Google X and was minimally publicized. The company launched apps for smartphones with the indoor map feature too. The idea sounds promising and let us hope that Google goes on to map our whole world for us.

2. Google Glasses

‘Project glass’ has also had its share of publicity. Google is in the process of developing an augmented reality head-mounted display. In simple words they are developing a pair of glasses that run on android platform and will provide its users with a hand free display of information from the internet. it will work through voice commands similar to Apple’s Siri.

Sergey Brin recently made an appearance on a television show with his Google Glasses. The glasses are said to be “a heck of a lot further than people have imagined.” Do we already see a queue for their release?

3. Bat Cave

A running joke among Googlers is that Sergey Brin is Batman. We know he is cool enough to pull off being Batman but he is called so because he is apparently developing something similar to a ‘batcave’

There is a storage place where he works on his secret projects. No other person can access the repository but a few who have had a glimpse inside say that there were blueprints of buildings and power supply plans. Nobody knows what Brin might be designing, but it could be a new headquarter or a new data storage building. Whatever it may turn into, Brin has earned the reputation of the secretive superhero that has the capability to shock the world.

4. Robots

Google X laboratories are a playground for robots. These engineering marvels roam about freely on the campus doing activities we thought only humans were capable of doing.

Sergey Brin turned half human and half machine when he attended a course at NASA campus as a robot. While he was miles away at a computer that was capable of steering the Brinbot, his robot self went around different groups taking part in discussions with attendees through video conferencing. Now this sounds like a scene right out of star trek.

5.Google +

With Facebook raking in millions how Google could be behind? Sergey Brin along with Google’s senior vice president Vic Gundotra developed Google+ a social networking site. Launched back in 2011 the site achieved about 200 million users in this short time span.

Google is experimenting with the site by adding video hangouts and integrating search. The company has recently acquired Meebo to boost Google+. So we can expect it to become the next big social network.

6. Web Of Things

Technology has already made us lazy and Google is all set to add another level to that by developing a concept called the web of things. It will enable most of our home appliances to sense our needs and act accordingly. The devices will be connected to the web all the time and human beings can remote control them.

If this technology becomes reality we will see our dinner plates updating out status, refrigerators ordering our grocery and coffee makers brewing our coffee on their own. Wouldn’t that be a blessing?

7. Self driving Cars

The Google self driving cars turned into a reality recently with the state of Nevada giving them licenses. This is one Google X project that has caught on a lot of attention. The team lead by Google engineer Sebastian Thrun has designed these cars that drive themselves.

The Google cars are said to be better drivers who get ‘honked at more for following traffic rules’! These cars could get the alarming accident rate down in the US. The future of transportation has arrived courtesy Google X.

Apple to bring Siri to iPad, integrates Facebook

2012-06-13T02:39:00.001-07:00

Users will also be able to "Like'' movies and apps in Apple's iTunes store, Apple executive Scott Forstall said in San Francisco at Apple's annual developers' conference.

SAN FRANCISCO: Fresh off a disappointing initial public offering, Facebook is getting a big boost from Apple, which is building the social network deep into its iPhone and iPad software.

With the next version of Apple's software, users will be able to update their Facebook status by talking to their phones.

Users will also be able to "Like'' movies and apps in Apple's iTunes store, Apple executive Scott Forstall said in San Francisco at Apple's annual developers' conference.

Siri, Apple's voice-command application, will add a host of new languages, including Spanish, Korean and Mandarin Chinese, Forstall said. "She" will also be able to launch applications and movies. She will also run on iPads for the first time.

Apple says the new software, iOS 6, will launch this fall. It updates the software annually, usually coinciding with the release of a new iPhone.

Even as Apple lends Facebook a hand, it's cutting off one of its links to Google Inc., which makes a rival suite of software for smartphones. IOS 6 will use Apple's own Maps applications rather than Google's. The application will come with traffic reports and turn-by-turn navigation.

Apple also said the new version of its Mac operating system, Mountain Lion, will go on sale next month for $20. The update brings features from Apple's phone and tablet software, like the iMessage texting application, to the Mac.

Microsoft, Apple competitor's when it comes to computer software, is also making Windows more like its phone software, with the release of Windows 8 later this year.

Mountain Lion will also bring dictation to Macs. Users will be able to input text by talking to the computer, in any program. This is already a feature of Microsoft's competing Windows software.

On the hardware side, Apple showed off a laptop with a super-high resolution Retina' display, setting a new standard for screen sharpness.

The new MacBook Pro will have a 15-inch screen and four times the resolution of previous models, Apple executive Phil Schiller said.

Apple already uses Retina displays - with individual pixels too small to be distinguished by the naked eye - in its latest iPhones and iPads.

On the phones and tablets, the Retina display is a standard feature. On the MacBook, it's an expensive upgrade. The new MacBook will cost $2199 and up, $400 more than the non-Retina MacBook with the same-sized screen.

Apple's other MacBooks are being updated with the latest processors from Intel.

Missing from Monday's presentation was any mention of Apple's ambition to get into making TVs. Analysts had speculated that Apple would at least update the software on the Apple TV, a small box that connects a TV set to iTunes for movie downloads, as a prelude to perhaps launching a fully integrated TV set.

Top 10 Alternatives To Google Search

2012-06-13T02:39:00.000-07:00

Google is the big daddy of all the search engines. But when it comes to topic specific searches, Google may not give you the best results. There are various other search engines designed to derive results for topic specific search. Here is a list of 10 such search engines that can act like the perfect alternative to Google.

1. Guruji.com

Launched: October 16, 2006

Known for: specifically designed for India

Launched by Anurag Dod and Gaurav Mishra, two IIT Delhi engineers, guruji.com is a search engine designed especially for the Indian user. It scores over Google because of its language advantage. Users are able to type in their own vernacular languages instead of transcribing the vernacular term in English.

The search engine also provides users the services for searching images, services within a specific city, music, cricket, movie timing, and finance. Guruji.com will work because its search is region specific.

2. isoHunt

Launched: January 2003

Known for: One Of The Best BitTorrent Index

IsoHunt is a BitTorrent index with more than 1.7 billion torrents in its database. It is one of the most famous torrent search engines. Thousands of torrents are added to and deleted from it every day. Users of isoHunt perform over 40 million unique searches per month. The site has been involved in several lawsuits regarding copyright infringement. But the site founder, Gary Fung wishes to work with the content owners.

January 16, 2007, isoHunt was taken off-line but after a major hardware upgrade, the site resumed normal operation by January 22, 2007

3. Answers.com

Launched: 1999

Known for: Gives Consolidated Responses Taken From Several Sources

Answers.com was created in 1999 by Bob Rosenschein in Jerusalem, Israel. The website was then known as GuruNet.com which later acquired the Answers.com domain name. This search engine enables knowledge exchange which includes wiki WikiAnswers, ReferenceAnswers, VideoAnswers, and five international language Q&A communities.

This search engine intelligently and automatically integrates and retrieves information from disparate sources and delivers the result in a single consolidated view to the user. The searches can be made based on several categories.

4. Wolfram Alfa
Launched: May 15, 2009
Known for: Answering Factual Queries By Computing The Answer From Structured Data

Wolfram Alfa is where you go to find answers to very specific questions. Instead of giving a list of websites as answers this site gives users the specific responses. The website was developed by Wolfram Researches. Wolfram Alpha is based on the computational platform Mathematica, written by British scientist Stephen Wolfram in 1988.

Apple’s Siri uses Wolfram Alpha for 25% of its searches.

5. Pipl.com
Launched: October 2007
Known for: The Best Search Engine To Search People

As the name sounds this search engine lets users look for people. The searches are done based on the name and location provided by the searcher. Its results are much more accurate than those of Google is because they use ‘deep web’.

The website not only produces links to all the profiles on social networks like Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn, blog mentions, and photos on Flickr but also finds mentions of the searched name in public records, including property records, SEC filings, and birth databases. It also finds e-mail addresses and summarizes “quick facts” about the person.

6. Yummly.com
Founded: January 2009
Known for: The Ultimate Guide For Food, Cooking And Recipes

Yummly is the quintessential search engine for food and recipes. It uses semantic search for search and ‘understands’ food on a variety of levels, allows users to search by ingredient, diet, allergy, nutrition, price, cuisine, time, taste, meal courses and sources, and ‘learns’ about users based on their likes and dislikes. Yummly uses this information to categorize food for search and make recommendations.

Yummly was founded by David Feller and Vadim Geshel in early 2009. Its headquarters are located in Palo Alto, California.

7. Scour.com
Founded: 1997
Known for: The Perfect Mix Of Search Plus Social Networking

Founded in 2007, Scour was originally named Aftervote.com, a search engine with an AJAX backbone with one mission: to deliver the most relevant results as efficiently as possible. Almost exactly 1 year later, Aftervote was acquired by Internext media, owner and operator of the ABCSearch Network and re-branded to Scour.com.

Scour’s aim is to find the perfect mix of search and social networking. Users are provided with a platform to vote and comment on relevancy.

8. Dogpile.com
Founded: November 1996
Known for: ‘Fetching Results’ From Other Search Engines

Dog pile is a metasearch engine that ‘fetches’ the best results from other search engines such as google, bing and yahoo. They also get results from video and audio hosting websites. The search engine is owned by InfoSpace Inc.

The idea behind creating dogpile.com was to save the user’s time by bringing the best results from other search engines together. The time-saving philosophy even inspired their name. In rugby, players come together and pile on top of one another. This is exactly what Dogpile does – it compiles all the best results in one easy-to-access place.

The In July 2010, Dogpile was ranked the 770th most popular website in the U.S., and 2548th most popular in the world by Alexa.

9. Goby.com
Founded: September 2009
Known for: Search Engine For Travel Specific Queries

Goby.com is a search engine for the traveler. It lets users search through 400 categories for things to do while they travel. Users are asked to input the kind of activity they want, their desired location and the desired date. Related results are shown accompanied with the maps of the area. Users can also share information using the Facebook connect option.

Goby was co-founded in July 2008 by noted database pioneer, Michael Stonebraker, Mark Watkins, Vince Russo, Andy Palmer, and Mujde Pamuk. The company received series A funding from Flybridge Capital Partners and Kepha Partners. The company is headquartered in Boston, MA.

10. Everystockphoto
Founded: April 2006
Known for: Search Engine For Photos

It is license specific search engine for photographs. It allows users to tag, rate, comment on or collect photos. The website has a collection of licensed photos accumulated from several sources which are presented in a systematic format to users.

The website is owned by Vibrant Software, located in Vancouver, Canada. The site is also connected to twitter. They also have their own blog and news feed.

5 Creepy Technologies That Will Disturb You Soon

2012-06-12T01:50:00.001-07:00

We all love technology. The way it makes our lives better, the way it makes our work easier, the unimaginable things it perform and so on. But have you ever thought about how these advanced technologies are invading our lives.

Well, if you never heard about the below listed technologies, keep an eye on them. Because today or tomorrow, they are going to pop up into your “private” life, making others aware everything about where you are, who you're with, what you are looking for to even your feelings.

Environmental Tracking: We Know What You're Doing

Google’s latest patent for targeting the ads involve one interesting technology capable of determining not just where you are but what you are doing based on ambient sounds, temperature, and other environmental conditions.

For example, you might call some service may be Google, and thanks to the sounds of the crowd and an announcer, the service knows you're attending a soccer game on a cool night. Google could then send you a targeted ad, such as a coupon for dinner near the stadium or a deal on sweatshirts at the stand if the weather drops below 60 degrees.

But think, the same technology can be used for ill purpose, it could let others know where you go and what you do when you get there.

Mood and Voice Recognition: We Know How You Feel

Fujitsu and Nagoya University have recently invented a technology capable of "reading" certain moods and intentions. Specifically, the technology aims to nullify the phone phishing scams by picking up on keywords from the executor and by measuring the voice and pitch of the victim. If it detects many faults, then, you will get a scam alert that the call is fraud.

Using voice recognition and analyzing voice patterns for stopping crime is cool. However, imagine a bad guy using it while trying to sell you some fraud and he is being able to change his pitch and convince you as his phone tells him whether you are calm, distressed, or defensive.

Facial Recognition: We Know What You Look Like

Companies are competing to develop reliable face-recognition software for some time now. Facebook, has now facial recognition to identify your friends in photos. Another startup called Faced.me recentlyannounced a technology through which you select a picture and the software identifies the person in the picture in about a second. After that, you can connect with that user on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Under secured use, this kind of face-recognition technology seems to be cool. But it turns ugly when used as a tool for quickly connecting with someone by snapping their picture secretly and quickly learning someone's identity from that single photo, whether found on the Web or taken with a camera

Augmented Reality: We See What You See

The idea behind augmented reality is you point a camera-enabled device at something and instantly get information about it. For example, you could point a device at a still photo from an event. The device could identify the scene and start playing a video clip about the event. Google, meanwhile, developed Google glass through which you could, for example, look down a city street and see digital details overlaid on the screen such as street names, areas of interest, and directions.

Augmented reality will prove good for many applications based on entertainment, education, and business. But with it you're pretty much letting a third party "see" in real time where you are, what you're doing, who you're with, and so on.

GPS Tracking: We Know Where You Are

Last year, some mall owners faced public objection after announcing plans to discreetly track shoppers via their personal mobile devices. The purpose was to collect a precise view of customer foot traffic, which in turn help retailers improve the layout of their businesses. But they rolled back the scheme after being accused of violating customers' privacy.

This technology is good that it provides detailed, yet anonymous data on foot traffic, which could be used for designing better stores, stadiums, city streets, and so on. Unfortunately, it turns bad when a company could track you anonymously based on your device, collecting identifying information about you that could be sold or stolen.

Rare Apple-1 PC on sale

2012-06-12T01:50:00.000-07:00

Apple l, the first Apple computer made by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976 is set to be auctioned on June 15 by Sotheby's.It is expected to earn between $120,000 and $180,000. It is believed less than 50 of the original Apple l are still in existence, with only six known to be in working condition.

A visitor takes a photo using an IPhone of a fully functioning Apple I computer (C) on display with its interfaces at Sotheby's in New York, June 8, 2012. Sotheby's is to offer during an auction on June 15, 2012 a rare working Apple I. The Apple I, the first Apple computer made by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976, was produced at 200 units, with only some 50 units surviving and six known to be in working condition.

The Apple l, the first Apple computer made by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976, is seen on display at Sotheby's on June 8, 2012 in New York City. The computer was an integral component to the the personal computing revolution; it is set to be auctioned on June 15, 2012 and is expected to earn between $120,000 and $180,000. When originally sold, the monitor, keyboard and cassette interface were sold separately. It is believed less than 50 of the original Apple l are still in existence, with only six known to be in working condition.

Facebook App Center: All You Need To Know

2012-06-10T19:31:00.002-07:00

Last night Facebook held a press conference in San Francisco, where they announced their new App Center for iOS, Android and for web as well.

According to Facebook, this App Center is a place to find new Social Apps. This App center has already been rolled out for the web but is yet to make its debut in iOS and Android devices. We’ve noticed that all the web, canvas and mobile apps are listed in this App Center.

Facebook said this in its blog post: “The App Center is launching with over 600 apps, including new apps like Ghost Recon Commander, Jetpack Joyride, and Ghosts of Mistwood.” Facebook also revealed these stats about how users use applications:

More than 230 million people play games on Facebook every month

More than 130 games on Facebook have more than 1 million monthly active users.
More than 4,500 timeline apps have launched since f8 in September 2011.
Facebook drove people to the Apple App Store 83 million times in May.
Facebook drove people to iOS apps 134 million times in May (someone who already has the app and is directed back to it from Facebook.)
As of May, seven of the top 10 grossing iOS apps and six of the top 10 Android apps have integrated with Facebook.

This App Center will give you suggestions for installing new apps according to the apps that you’ve used before and which apps your friends are using. You’ll be able to browse the App Center through the Facebook app installed on your respective iOS or Android devices. Facebook has also created a webpage for browsing the App Center via a personal computer.

How it works?

Simply log into your Facebook account, type into your browser’s URL and you’ll be forwarded to the new web-based App Center of Facebook. There you’ll be able to see recommended apps, apps that your friends are using, top rated apps, and trending apps as well.

Then all you have to do is choose an App that you want to install, click on that app and you’ll be forwarded to the detail page of the app you just selected.

The app detail page is the one stop shop for all the information on an app. Here you can find how many users are using that app, what are the ratings, how many friends of yours are using it, who is the publisher and on which platform you can install it (like Android, iPad, iPhone, or Facebook.com).

If you are browsing the App Center via a computer, the App Center gives you an option to send that app to your mobile (if it is compatible to a mobile device). So, all the apps built for Android, iOS or the mobile web has a “Send to Mobile” button on the App detail page

Whenever an app requires a download, you’ll be forwarded to the install page on Google Play or Apple App Store.

This App Center of Facebook has also fueled rumors about Facebook developing its own mobile phone, which now seems to be true because there was no real need for Facebook to launch a separate app store. But whatever the case is, Facebook’s App Center opened new gates for developers for showcasing their free and paid apps. After all, Facebook is (sort of) a home for around 800 Million people.

2012-06-10T19:02:00.000-07:00

Unboxing the Nokia E63 NAM smartphone

Outstanding smartphones and tablets at MWC

2012-06-09T19:59:00.000-07:00

With Mobile World Congress in full swing there are tablet and smartphones announcements everywhere. Highlights from the showroom floor include the Nokia 808 PureView, the Huawei Ascend D quad, the HTC One X, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, ASUS’s 3-in-1 PadFone, the Samsung Galaxy Beam and an unnamed Fujitsu smartphone. Unless otherwise noted, pricing and release dates have not been announced.

A smartphone with an incredible high-resolution camera The Nokia 808 PureView is somewhat of an amazing anomaly in the smartphone world with its massive 41MP image sensor and in-house-developed pixel over-sampling technology. The Nokia 808 PureView is expected to launch in Europe in May.

The world’s fastest quad-core smartphone Huawei calls its Ascend D quad smartphone the “world’s fastest quad-core smartphone.” The device is powered by Huawei’s own K3V2 quad-core processor and boasts a slimline (8.9mm thick profile) design. The Ascend D quad series will launch in China, Australia, Europe, Asia-Pacific, North and South America, and the Middle East in Q2 2012.

A waterproof quad-core smartphone with a 13.1MP camera and fingerprint sensor Despite not having an official name for its flagship quad-core device, Fujitsu has been busy showing off its waterproof prototype smartphone.

A tablet for those who love to draw and take notes with a stylus Samsung has taken its tablet-smartphone hybrid Galaxy Note and turned it into a 10.1” tablet that works in conjunction with a stylus. The Galaxy Note 10.1 can be used with your finger or with an advanced pen-input called the S Pen.

A smartphone with a built-in projector The Samsung Galaxy Beam may not be a high-end smartphone but it does come with its own built-in 15 lumens projector.

11 Most Dreadful Internet Security Breaches

2012-06-09T19:58:00.000-07:00

Over the decade there have been attacks on the sites who declare to be the most secured domains on the web. Some of these are networking and email sites while others are core commercial banking and payment websites like Heartland and CardSystems which you had entrusted all your confidential data in.

Let us know about the most dreadful online security breaches of all times.

11. Twitter

Date: May 7 2012
Impact: 58978 user ids and passwords were stolen

An undefined agency dumped thousands of twitter account ids and passwords on a file storing site called Pastebin. Twitter covered up saying that most of these accounts were spams and fake accounts.

10. Gawker

Date: December 2010
Impact: 1.3 Million Ids and Passwords stolen

In December 2010 a hacking community that called themselves Gnosis had invaded the Gawker network to acquire more than a million passwords and gained access to the original source code of the network. Gawker did not hide the breach and immediately informed its user to change their credential while it was acting on the incident.

9. AOL

Date: August 6 2006
Impact: Shopping and Bank data stolen from 650,000 users

This was not even a breach. This is what TechCrunch calls “utter stupidity”. A text file was released by the head of AOL’s research department, Dr. Arbdur Chowdhary. Somehow the file got public and data of users across AOL network were flying around on the web.

8. Monster.com

Date: August 2007
Impact: 1.3 Million user information stolen

A group of hackers who had set up their server in Ukraine had breached into the most popular job recruitment site in US, allegedly by using High Profile user ids. The hackers generated spam and published them to other users to collect financial information. The hackers even blackmailed the user by installing viruses on their PCs and threatening them to completely format the systems if not paid.

7. Card System Solutions

date: June 17 2005
Impact: 40,000 Card details stolen

The hackers sneaked into the company’s server using a Trojan SQL query. The tool inserted a code into the browser every four days and stole the card details of thousands of users. This came as a waking call for the company as they had not implemented any encryption on the user details.

6. RSA Security

Date: March 17 2011
Impact: 40 thousand employee information stolen

An anonymous phishing mail called 2011 Recruitment Plan was sent to many employees. The mail breached the adobe flash player of the PC and installed a Trojan called Poison Ivy Rat that gave the remote access of the PC to the hackers.

5. TJX Inc.

Date: December 2006
Impact: 94 million credit cards exposed

The company did not have any firewall installed in the network. This allowed the hackers to steal about hundred million credit card details by toying with an in store kiosk that lets the users apply for jobs.

4. Play Station Network

Date: April 20, 2011
Impact: 77 million Playstation Network accounts hacked

Sony took responsibility of having conceded the biggest security breach of all times in which over 77 million accounts were hacked exposing millions of account ids and passwords including thousands of credit card details. All this while we thought the launch of PS3 was the worst thing that happened to Sony.

3. Heartland Payment Systems

Date: March 2008
Impact: 134 million credit cards exposed

Hackers monitored transactions of credit card accounts by running an SQL injection on the HPS site. They stole more than 134 million card details along with login ids and passwords. Heartland discovered two Russian intruders were scanning its corporate network a few months after the breach started.

2. Acxiom

Date: Aug. 8, 2003
Impact: 1.6 billion customer records hacked

A hack initiated by Scott Levine broke into Axciom network and over 1.6 billion customer records were stolen and 8.2 gigabytes of personal data had been downloaded with the span of a year. The incident caused a $7 million of damage and Scott was sentenced eight years in prison.

1. Epsilon

Date: March 30, 2011
Impact: To Be Determined

The names and e-mails of customers that were stored in over 108 retail stores, plus several huge financial firms like CitiGroup Inc. and the non-profit educational organization, College Board, were exposed after an unknown attacker hacked into Epsilon's systems. The estimated loss incurred by epslon is about $4 Billion.

Review: High capacity camera phones

2012-06-08T19:35:00.000-07:00

Wed 6 Jun, 2012 5:31 AM IST - NewsX 3:00 | 2,841 views
Planning to buy a phone that has a good camera? We give you a rundown of the most powerful-high capacity camera phones-Nokia's PureView808, Apple iPhone4s, HTC One X and Sony Xperia S.

Nokia launches 41-MP camera smartphone

2012-06-08T19:34:00.004-07:00

At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Nokia announced the 808 Pureview, a flagship Symbian device with a 41-megapixel camera. In addition to superior still imaging technology, the Nokia 808 PureView, also includes full HD 1080p video recording and playback with 4X loss less zoom and the world's first use of Nokia Rich Recording.

At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Nokia announced the 808 Pureview, a flagship Symbian device with a 41-megapixel camera.

The Nokia 808 PureView features a large, high-resolution 41 megapixel sensor with high-performance Carl Zeiss optics and new pixel oversampling technology.

Rich Recording enables audio recording at CD-like levels of quality, previously only possible with external microphones.

The device uses a 1.3 GHz processor, comes with 16GB of storage and runs a 4" screen at 360 x 640, which is below HD resolution.

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

8 Great Tech Brands Losing Money

2012-06-07T21:52:00.001-07:00

1. RIM (Research in Motion)

Lost: $125 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012

RIM is better known for its BlackBerry smartphones that were launched in 1999. They pioneered the smartphone market. But the company is now reporting losses after facing a tough competition from Google’s android smartphones. RIM revenues were down 24 percent as compared to last year.

BlackBerry’s share of the US smartphone market reduced from 16 percent to 12.3 percent last year. The company is coming up with BlackBerry 10 handsets later this year which may be their only hope.

2. Sharp

Lost: $4.67 billion annual loss

Sharp was one of the biggest names in electronic products market. The Japanese company is now losing money because of the falling prices and shrinking sales of its LCD televisions. They have reported an annual loss of $4.67 Billion till last April and there seem to be more losses on the cards in the coming fiscal year too.

3. EA

Lost: $205 million for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2011

EA created the super hit successes such as FIFA 12, NFS and Battlefield 3 which have sold over 10 million copies worldwide. But the company has not done well in the social gaming market. The company launched ‘The Sims Social’ as a competitor to Zinga but it did not do well. It was considered as a gamble on their part since they spent a lot of money in the social gaming area. As a result the company has lost $205 million for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2011 even though they generated $1.06 billion in net revenue over the same period of time.

Sharp is facing stiff competition from North Korean manufacturers. The company sold 46 percent of its stake in its biggest plant to a Taiwanese competitor Hon Hai to cushion its losses.

4. Sony

Lost: $6.4 billion net loss in the last fiscal year

Only recently Sony was the world leader in consumer electronic products such as televisions, cameras, DVD players and portable music players. But the company is now losing ground due to stiff competition from Apple and Samsung. The company has reported a loss of $6.4 billion net loss in the last fiscal year and their earnings outlook has deceased for the fourth time in a year.

The company that once ruled the game console market with its PS2 and portable music device market with the walkman series is also losing its market share in these segments too. The Wall Street Journal said the loss would be “the biggest-ever in the electronics conglomerate’s 65-year history.”

5. Nintendo

Lost: $461.2 million for the 2011 fiscal year

Nintendo once ruled the game console market with its Nintendo Wii but are now facing a hard time due to competition from Microsoft and Sony. Both these companies slashed their prices to beat Nintendo Wii as a result of which wii prices had to be brought down. As a result the company faced a loss of $461.2 million for the 2011 fiscal year. Smartphone based gaming is another competitor that Nintendo has to face.

6. Nokia

Lost: $1.2 billion in a quarter in 2012

Nokia has always captured the market for low end cell phones especially in developing countries. They were the largest handset manufacturers in the world till the first quarter of 2012 but Samsung has now taken that spot.

Nokia has not yet broken into the ever growing smartphone market where Apple and Samsung are the leaders. As a result the company is facing loses as big as $1.2 billion in the last quarter of 2012. They blamed the ‘greater than expected competitive challenges’. The company’s only hope is the new windows phone that they have launched.

7. Barnes & Noble

Lost: $11 million in 39 weeks ending January 28, 2012

Barnes and Noble came up with Nook e-book reader but stiff competition from other tablet and e-book readers such as Apple and Amazon has created problems for the company. The company faced a loss of $11 million in 39 weeks ending January 2012. These losses were blamed on the continuous investment for nook’s advertising and personnel. Microsoft has come to their rescue and has formed an alliance with Barnes and Noble to invest in their e-book and e-reader businesses in exchange for the creation of Nook models that run the Windows OS.

8. Acer

Lost: $212 million in 2011

Acer was known for its netbook and the cheap, portable and underpowered laptop the user base for which is not known to be very loyal. The rise of the tablet market and smartphones in the past two years has caused a fall in the sales of the netbooks. They reduced their prices which did not do much good and the company saw a massive loss of $212 million in 2011.

Their hopes are now riding on the new Ultrabook, Intel’s laptop and the next generation of netbooks which will be priced $499 to compete with iPads. The pricing strate

5 Things to Look Forward in Linux Mint 13 'Maya'

2012-06-07T21:52:00.000-07:00

Bangalore: Two giants, Mint and Ubuntu has been continuously trading blows for the number one spot in the Linux distribution world. But who is the real number one? Well it’s hard to say. Both of them are keen on bringing the best to users and right now they are on the verge of launching their new version by mid 2012. Just a few weeks ago we saw the groundbreaking beta release of Ubuntu’s Fedora 17. Ubuntu have already patched up to bring the full version by the end of this month. And now the Linux Mint Project has just given us a sneak preview of their next generation release – the Linux Mint or “Maya”.

As the final version of Mint 13 is about to release soon, here’s slight peek into the 5 things to look forward in “Maya”.

1. Two Editions:

The Maya will offer two desktop editions. The popular, Cinnamon Desktop 1.4 is one. If you don’t know what Cinnamon desktop is, here’s a slight preview.

This new desktop shows the current and all other the workspaces available on the system. Users can switch between the workspaces, drag or drop windows into workspaces and above that you can decide how many workspaces you need. You can either create the new ones or even delete ones you don’t want. Another best feature is that it supports 39 languages.

Returning to the edition, the second edition is the “productive, stable and mature,” (as the project puts it) MATE 1.2 desktop.

2. Long-Term support:

A definite advantage for the business users. The Long Term Support (LTS) which was an Ubuntu Linux 12.04 release has been adopted by the Linux Mint 13. The LTS for Mint is from the same platform, Ubuntu 12.04. A very long support, all the way until April 2017, is more enough to put a wide smile on business organizations.

3. A New Display Manager:

The Linux Mint 13 has another feature called the MDM; a display manager based on GNOME Display Manager 2.20. There are a number of standout features in Mint 13, such as wide range of languages to choose from, event scripting, graphical configuration tools, in built various styles and themes and a login feature that can be scheduled, either automatic or timed.

4. Yahoo on board:

With the increase in popularity of Yahoo search engine, the Mint 13 has simply made Yahoo as their default search engine for the users in United States, Canada, UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Along with Yahoo, the Mint project has already offered share revenues to DuckDuckGo and Amazon.

5. Fresh Beauty:

One of the best features that the Linux Mint 13 posses is its overall presentation beauty. With the latest themes- Mint-X and Mint-Z, the Mint 13 has just raised the bar. Along with the support of GTK3, the Linux Mint 13 also features some mind blowing beautiful photographs as backgrounds from an Irish artist called “masterbutler.”

Introducing Big Brusher, the toothbrush with a wireless

2012-06-06T21:26:00.004-07:00

Introducing Big Brusher, the toothbrush with a wireless SmartGuide that tells you how well you've cleaned your teeth

Cutting edge technology to ensure the brightest smile: New Oral-B PC Triumph 5000 with SmartGuide

What on earth has happened since I last bought an electric toothbrush?
Granted, it was probably around eight years ago. But nothing could have prepared me for the Braun Oral-B Triumph 5000 Electric Toothbrush - it's gone all technical!
Forget your smart phone, this is a Smart Brush! Judging by the technology behind Braun's flagship toothbrush it wouldn't be too far-fetched to imagine customers queueing overnight for it.
For this is no ordinary toothbrush: the huge box it comes in contains a unique wireless SmartGuide device that connects to the brush wirelessly and monitors your brushing - you could say it's Big Brusher.
It then gives you a dentist-like report on how you brushed and how you should be brushing to remove all that plaque. Like the older models, it has a timer on it so you monitor length of brush. It even documents the pressure with which you apply it to your teeth. If you put excessive pressure on your teeth, the red pressure sensor light appears.
It has several brushing modes including deep clean, whitening and massage. It also comes with a handy travel case and a wall mount so you can position your SmartGuide on the wall next to your bathroom mirror.

Oral-B Professional Care Triumph 5000: Bringing the toothbrush into the digital age

The only thing that's missing is a comfortable leather reclining chair to relax in while you're brushing.

Old school: What an electric toothbrush used to look like

When the battery is fully charged it lasts for 10 days. Additionally, its built-in battery indicator tells you when you're almost out rather than the toothbrush grinding to a halt mid-brush like in the old days.
So confident are Braun that their Triumph 5000 is the best on the market, it comes with a code which allows you to get an additional 1 year warranty to add to the 2 years standard warranty.
Oral B claims that the handset pulsates 40,000 times and rotates 8,800 times per minute to remove twice as much plaque as an ordinary manual toothbrush. In fact, it's the only toothbrush approved with a Platinum rating by the British Dental Association.
And who am I to argue? After a week's use I have to confess it feels like I've spent an afternoon with the dentist.
But with all the technology it actually takes a little of the boredom out of brushing your teeth. You even come to rely on it in the same way you do smart phones, asking yourself 'how did I ever manage before?'.
Braun Oral-B Triumph 5000 Electric Toothbrush: £179.99

Windows 8 will launch 'almost entirely on luxury PCs and laptops in a bid to take Apple's core market'

2012-06-06T21:16:00.003-07:00

Windows 8 will launch 'almost entirely on luxury PCs and laptops in a bid to take Apple's core market'

One of the largest manufacturers of PCs and laptops has today said Windows 8 will launch an offensive against Apple - by being as expensive.
Acer chairman JT Wang said that the first wave of machines bearing Microsoft's new operating system will aim for the luxury markets in North America - traditionally occupied by Apple's MacBook range.
Wang said the success of Windows 8 will depend on the North America market - and the company is pricing high as computer sales for low and mid-end PCs have gone down due to the economic climate.

A new operating system: Windows 8 is a fundamental re-write to the Microsoft software - the biggest change in the tech giant's history

A first look at Acer's Aspire S7 with Windows 8, exhibited at the Computex exhibition in Taipei yesterday

So, due to the economic climate, Acer is putting its efforts into luxury market, and Wang said Windows 8 needs to be as successful as Apple in the higher-end of the PC market to win recognition.
Wang made the remarks at the Computex tech conference at the Taipei International Convention Center, where he introduced six new Windows 8-based PCs, including two tablets, two 'Ultrabooks', and two all-in-one PCs.

He also praised the new operating system as a 'one-of-a-kind'.
He said: 'I’ve never been so supportive of Microsoft.
'The new operating system enhances users’ experience and productivity by allowing them to switch from entertainment applications to work applications in an instant.
'Acer will first focus on developing Windows 8 PC products, with plans to [commercially] launch its first Windows 8-based device in August and gradually launch all the announced products by the end of this year.'

Luxury identity: Acer's Chairman JT Wang launching his new product- line-up of Windows computers

He also said Acer is conservative about its second-quarter sales performance this year, as consumers are still waiting for the official launch of Windows 8.
Windows 8 is expected to stimulate demand for PCs later this year.
But one reason the operating system will not start out on budget machines is because hardware requirements has led to more expensive entry-level machines.
For instance, manufacturers will have to supply touchscreens on Windows 8 laptops, as the software is designed from the bottom-up to be touch-friendly.
Wang said this meant his company was targeting target markets such as North American, where ''purchasing power is strong and users appreciate product innovation'.
Microsoft is planning the official launch of Windows 8 in October - although some products may go on sale in September.

Samsung Galaxy S3 Release: Different From The S2?

2012-06-06T02:22:00.003-07:00

Samsung Galaxy S3 Release: What Rumored Feature Is Significantly Different From The S2?
Jessica Menton | Apr 12, 2012 10:13am EST | 0min:59sec
A new report from the Korean Digital Daily says the Samsung Galaxy S3 will have one significantly different feature to its predecessor: A physical home button. The Korean Digital Daily reported that the phone will come with the usual home button that is featured on other Samsung devices, including the Galaxy Note.

Samsung yet to make an official announcement about its next generation Galaxy tablet, but it seems the release of the Galaxy Note has been overshadowed by Samsung S3 rumors.

The success of the S2 is said to be one of the biggest reasons behind the S3's delay; but, experts in the industry say the delay has also been caused by the slow roll out of the Ice Cream Sandwich software on the S2. The most recent release date rumors point to a May 22 release in London.

Apple iPhone 5 Release Rumors

2012-06-05T23:33:00.000-07:00

Apple iPhone 5 Release Rumors: Siri Likely to get Upgrade with iOS 6

The current focus of iPhone 5 rumors surround the phone's release date and anticipated new design, but few people are talking about the iPhone 4S's favorite feature: Siri. Tech analysts from the iOS 6 News Blog predict that the new iOS 6 operating system, which is expected to be released ahead of the iPhone 5, will bring with it an even more sophisticated voice recognition system.

An upgrade to Siri could possibly mean a better developed interface. Rumors suggest the feature will be activated by simply shaking the phone and website search, navigation and social media sharing will all be possible through a simple voice command. When Apple launched Siri with the iPhone 4S last October, the voice recognition system was touted for its understanding of connotation ad meaning, making it a far more intelligent entity than simple voice recognition.

The feature is expected to be developed further in the coming year in an aim to rival conventional search engines like Google, with an intelligent voice assistant alternative. Apple's iOS 6 software is expected at the Worldwide Developers Conference, where the iOS 5 software was revealed last year.

RIM Launches the Blackberry Curve 9220 in India

2012-06-04T23:09:00.001-07:00

Research In Motion, the struggling smartphone manufacturer, launched the Blackberry Curve 9220 in Delhi earlier today.

The Curve is an entry level phone, by which RIM hopes to capture a significant section of the low-budget smartphone category. It is priced at INR 10,990. Apps worth INR 2,500 will be made available to buyers from App World, till June 30.

The phone boasts of very basic specifications, and is a good option for buyers who are looking for basic connectivity and internet access. The 9220 runs on the Blackberry OS 7.1 and, according to RIM, has the longest battery life among all Curve smartphone models. It supports quadband GSM. However, there is no 3G support, which could be a major factor working against the phone.

Curve 9220 has a 2.44" TFT screen, with a 65k colour (QVGA) display. That means, at a resolution of 320x240, this amounts to a pixel density of approximately 164 ppi. It has 512MB of RAM, and 512MB of phone memory. It has an external microSD support up to 32GB. However, a significant improvement has been seen in the form of Wi-Fi connectivity, FM Radio and a dedicated BBM key. These features will definitely enhance the user experience. The 9220 also has a primary 2MP camera.

The device features the standard BlackBerry business functionality. It will first hit Indian shelves tomorrow, the 19th of April. The device comes in 4 colours - black, teal, fuchsia pink and pure white. It will be made available in other regional markets in the coming weeks.

It remains to be seen whether buyers will be attracted to the device. RIM has recently announced a major price slash in India, in a desperate bid to recapture the lost market segments. The primary reason for its decline has been the inability of BlackBerry OS to keep up with the pace of the Android and iOS platforms.

Is Your Cellphone Distancing You From the Real World

2012-06-04T23:06:00.001-07:00

How often have you seen couples sitting together at nice restaurants but interacting with their cellphones instead of with each other?

How can you identify which relationships are on shaky ground? It’s those families that, while travelling in the same car, have members engrossed in the own private cellphone worlds.

How often have you walked into an elevator at work and pulled out your cellphone, scrolling though old messages in order to avoid talking to an acquaintance?

Today a cellphone does so much more than simply make calls. From socialising (now conveniently touted ‘social networking’) to keeping up with an overfull email inbox at work, to saving passwords, listening to music and taking pictures, cellphones have evolved into devices that become us more than our clothes or our designations at work. Anyone without a smartphone or a BlackBerry is considered old-school; being available at all times is now no longer a necessity but a ‘given’.

But is your cellphone distancing you from real-world relationships instead of connecting you to people? Take this simple test to find out whether you’re spending too much time liaising over the phone instead of engaging in real, face-to-face conversations:

1. Would you rather read out a joke to a group of friends you’re with, or would you send them the joke through BBM, WhatsApp or text message?

2. Do you call or text your family members/roommates who are in a different part of the house instead of getting up and going to the next room?

3. Do you take calls from unknown numbers when you’re at a family dinner or at a coffee shop with friends? What about unimportant calls from known contacts?

4. Do you ping friends living in your city on Instant Messenger/send them an email, or do you call them up to chat for a few minutes?

5. Do you usually carry your phone to the lunch table while at work? Keith Ferrazzi, in his book ‘Never Eat Alone’, writes that “invisibility is a fate worse than failure” when at work. He recommends finding out a little about a lot of topics by eating with a different person or group each day.

6. If you’re not doing anything at home, how likely are you to reach for your cellphone to update your Facebook wall or post a link on Twitter?

7. Is your phone the first thing you reach for as soon as you wake up? Do you read new emails and text messages before you get out of bed?

8. How comfortable or uncomfortable are you with leaving your phone at home for a day? How do you feel at the thought of your battery draining out and your phone being switched off for a few hours today?

If you felt even the slightest twinge of guilt while reading any of the questions above, ask yourself whether your phone is distancing you from the real world.

If you’re guilty of three or more of the above behaviours, you’re already on the road to isolation from the real world.

If you answered in the affirmative to five or more of the eight questions, you might already have withdrawn into your own shell.

This isn’t a problem that calls for a set of solutions, either from me or from anyone else. But in order to convince yourself to do something about it, check the SAR, or Specific Absorption Rate of your cellphone model. SAR measures how much radio frequency energy is emitted by the phone and likely to be absorbed by the human body. Did you know, for example, that the BlackBerry Curve ranks eighth from the top on the list of the 20 cellphone handsets emitting the highest radiation?

India's major grid solar power projects

2012-06-04T03:33:00.002-07:00

India's major grid solar power projects is blessed with about an estimated 5000 TWh of solar radiation. We look at the State/Union-Territory-wise list of grid solar power projects commissioned so far in the country. (Source: Press Information Bureau, Government of India)

India's National Solar Mission has targeted to deploy 20 million solar lighting systems for rural areas by 2022. The country is blessed with about an estimated 5000 TWh of solar radiation. This vast resource can be tapped to meet the growing energy demand. Even if a tenth of this potential is utilised, it could solve the country’s power problems. (Photo by Harold Cunningham/Getty Images - for illustrative purposes only)

Solar energy has particular relevance in remote and rural areas, where around 289 million people live without access to electricity. Solar energy is the most cost-effective option for India to reduce energy poverty without having to extend national grid services to provide power for individual homes and buildings. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Click on Next to view the State/Union-Territory-wise list of grid solar power projects commissioned so far in India: (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

State: Andhra Pradesh

Capacity: 100 kWp

[Photo By PP Yoonus (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons]

State: Arunanchal Pradesh

Capacity: 25 kWp

[Photo by Katochnr at en.wikipedia Later version(s) were uploaded by Windrider24584 at en.wikipedia. (Transfered from en.wikipedia) [GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], from Wikimedia Commons]

State: Gujarat

Capacity: 5000 kWp

[Photo by Bracknell (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons]

State: Karnataka
Capacity: 6000 kWp
[Photo by Amol.Gaitonde (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons]

State: Kerala
Capacity: 25 kWp
[Photo by Uri Sittan Tripo (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons]

State: Madhya Pradesh

Capacity: 100 kWp

[Photo By Abhishek727Abhishek Mishra (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons]

State: Maharashtra

Capacity: 1000 kWp

Photo by Rhaessner (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons

State: Punjab

Capacity: 2325 kWp

[Photo by Oleg Yunakov [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons]

State: Rajasthan
Capacity: 4950 kWp
[Photo by Josh Nguyen [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons]

State: Tamil Nadu

Capacity: 5050 kWp

Photo by Yoga Balaji (From a Digital Camera (Nikon)) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)]

State: Uttar Pradesh

Capacity: 375 kWp

[Photo by Marcin Białek (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons]

State: Uttarakhand

Capacity: 50 kWp

[Photo By Kailas98 (Own work) [GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons]

State: West Bengal

Capacity: 1150 kWp

[By Joydeep (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons]

State: Andaman & Nicobar
Capacity: 100 kWp
[Photo By Biswarup Ganguly (Own work) [GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons]

State: Delhi

Capacity: 2142 kWp

[Photo By Varun Shiv Kapur from Berkeley, United States (Zafar Mahal ruins) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons]

State: Lakshadweep
Capacity: 750 kWp
[Photo by icultist (agatti island Uploaded by Ekabhishek) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons]

State: Puducherry

Capacity: 25 kWp

[Photo by BishkekRocks (Own work) [GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons]

State: Others
Capacity: 790 kWp
Total for India: 29957 kWp
[By Fringe2013 (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons]
source:http://in.finance.yahoo.com/photos/india-s-major-grid-solar-power-projects-slideshow/india-s-major-grid-solar-power-projects-photo-1338796951.html

[GALAXY S III] Introducing Samsung GALAXY S III: A Day in the Life

2012-06-04T02:48:00.000-07:00

[GALAXY S III] Introducing Samsung GALAXY S III: A Day in the Life