Find out the Best Deals, Offers, Tips

Online Casino

2008-09-21T09:40:00.002+05:30

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Online Backgammon

2008-01-01T22:43:00.000+05:30

How fortunate are the Internet Backgammon players who come across the Gammon-Fortune site! Gammon-Fortune.com seized the opportunity to give people a safe place to play backgammon having fun and enjoy themselves. Now you can visit the Gammon-Fortune.com site and know that all the most important tournaments the Sit & Gos and the Freerolls, are listed here daily, weekly and monthly. Gammon-Fortune has the best Online Backgammon games any other website has with few simple and easily understandable rules. What's more in it??? Well, there are many language versions, for speakers of French, German, Greek, Turkish and Hebrew. To add on more, Gammon-Fortune prides itself on its high standards of customer care. That is why they provide excellent support services by e-mail and are even available around the clock. So if palying Backgammon online is your game and interest, Gammon-Fortune should be your Backgammon portal to land upon!

Donate Boat

2007-12-23T12:14:00.000+05:30

A non profit corporation, BoatAngel is the website through which you can donate boat. If you have a used boat or if you have a boat just laying around not being used anymore then it can be sold and raise money for various charity purposes. If you have more than one boat and you just not know what to do with it then, you can better donate them to Boat Angel and get more benefits in exchange. All done without any trouble. Boatangel makes it sure that you are able to donate boat and get a tax deduction. They will also come to your place to pick the boat, so you don't have to bother to drive anywhere. They also accept donations for cars, planes, and RVs if you need to get rid of any of those.

You will love and appreciate the good works of Boat Angel if you look at their list of the projects in different states. They also help single mothers, homeless, orphans and teens. The money that has been raised till date has been used for over 2,000,000 meals, funded medical operations, given supplies to schools, funded a boat angel outreach center, and has helped in major world wide emergencies.

Boatangel accepts boat donations and sells them on ebay for the prupose of creating and distributing absolutely free of charge Children's Animations on DVDs. So, If you have any questions you may go to Boat Angel website or give them a call at 1-800-227-2643 and they will explain you everything you need to know on how to "donate my boat".

Online Casinos

2007-12-08T13:01:00.000+05:30

If you are looking for great casino maybe this post can help you. It is my pleasure to give and share some great online casino news with all my loyal blog reader. I would like to share about online casino resources. Nowadays it is so popular to gamble on net with just a click. It is so easily accesible and has a fast trade rate.

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Online Slots

2007-11-24T18:05:00.000+05:30

Do you know Sloterix.com is the oldest slot site in the internet? That is why Sloterix is a trustworthy website! If you don't have much spare time to play slots at Casinos you can always play slots in an online slots in the comfort of your home? Sloterix is gives a chance to gamblers to play online slot machines. They have various kind of slot games. With 24 hours 7 days a week dedicated technical support, you can never go wrong, it never look this good, you can even interact while enjoying your game, with over 100,000 registered players which will never make you fell bored.

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Carangel3

2007-11-23T09:05:00.000+05:30

Nowadays there are plenty of organizations who accept donated vehicles. But in most of the major metropolitan cites, the idea of helping someone by donating a car, motorcycle, recreational vehicle, boat may prove troublesome.

With so many cars on the road and with so many charities to choose from, a potential donor may just simply want to know, what's the best way for to donate a car in Los Angeles?"

CarAngel.com, a non-profit charitable organization, makes the concept of car donations simple. Which means, if you have a junk or an old car that you do not have chance of getting it sold, you may consider donating it. Although CarAngel.com is an L.A. car donation company, it offers nationwide service.

For a donor, CarAngel.com has some great advantages:

- Receive your IRS tax deduction forms for an automobile, RV, boat, plane, or trailer online;
- Avoid time-wasting Department of Motor Vehicles paperwork and smog certificate problems;
- Free vehicle pickup, running or not. (restrictions apply).
- Avoid the issues of selling your used car via expensive classified advertising.
- Avoid unwanted phone calls;
- Avoid having to displaying a vehicle;
- Avoid negotiating the sale price;
- Cancel your insurance the same day but retain the same license plates;
- All tax and other legal forms are available online as well as current tax advice;
- CarAngel.com takes donations quickly and processes them swiftly.
- CarAngel is also offering Free Children's DVDs featuring The Adventures of Donkey Ollie.
- Carangel also use car donations to anti-drug documentaries.

So why not try Carangel.com in case you are look for car donation for a good cause? Carangel.com is an Auto donation charity, non-profit. that helps at risk youth, and homeless to get their lives back on track as well as sending uplifting books into prisons and creating children’s DVDs. Individual car donations are sold by the charity at retail and wholesale auctions generating needed funds for their charity programs and giving the donors quick disposals of their car, truck or recreational vehicle. In short, it's an efficient and useful donation method.

Single mothers, orphans, homeless, teenage and adult rehabilitation patients and prison reform individuals are all assisted via the donation company's charity distribution facility, Car Angel Ministries. Also the vehicle donator gets to select their preferred group they think they might be in need.

If you are seeking a qualified charity, consider Car Angel Ministries. It has already done thousands of car donations with as many satisfied donors . For more information, visit the web site, www.carangel.com.

Logo Design

2007-11-21T22:34:00.000+05:30

If you have got a company for yourself, then we all know you definitely need a logo to see your business rising to top. A logo is a typically, a design for immediate recognition, inspiring trust, admiration, loyalty and an implied superiority to the business and a good way to stand out from the competition. Logo helps people to associate good names with your business. Logo design is a most important area of graphic design, thus the most difficult to perfect. The logo, is the image embodying an organization, because logos are meant to represent a company brand or corporate identity and foster their immediate customer recognition; it is counterproductive to frequently redesign logos. But creating a logo often seems prohibitively expensive and difficult if one do not happen to have any artistic skills by themself.

But now with LogoYes.com, designing a logo for one's company is lot more easy than one can even think of. At LogoYes.com, one can bring their company’s image to life with an easy to use, user friendly interface that lets one to create their own logo for a surprisingly the best affordable price. One can view sample company logos and browse through LogoYes.com’s logo design tips or can quickly choose "Do it yourself logo design" feature to set out a new logo design.

LogoYes.com is the leading and the most popular online provider of logos and also matching design products to organizations worldwide. LogoYes offers a free online service to create your own logo using their Patent-pending process. It is a 100% true "try-before-you-buy service" which means they will never charge you a single penny if you do not like the logo you created.

LogoYes.com’s library contains over twenty thousand symbols, which means one is certain to find something that works for them. And with LogoYes.com, one can also experiment with a variety of designs before they pick the one they really want and then only pay money for it. That’s right, unleash your creative skills, design a Logo yourself and pay only if you are satisfied with the logo and want it. You can not find any logo designer in the market that will offer you this kind of deal and with the same package options that would include business cards and a launch kit for surprisingly affordable prices, with LogoYes.com you can be all set ready in business as fast as you can click your mouse.

Scammed???

2007-11-06T22:24:00.000+05:30

The internet police? Whoa. I don't know if that sounds like a cool idea or a scary one.

The reality is that there is no organization that polices the internet for criminal activity, and for better or worse that's what gives the web its uniqueness. Think of the internet as the Old West, where law is maintained only through an uneasy and largely unspoken agreement among communities, while vigilantes and outlaws end up sparring from time to time.

While the net is on the whole a law-abiding place, we all know there are some bad apples in the bunch who infect websites with spyware and send scam instant messages. Nowhere is this worse than in the realm of email: The aggravating majority of all mail traffic is now spam.

So what can you do about bringing spammers to justice? Not a lot. Though it may feel like you get a lot of spam, you are really just a drop in the bucket. You could report it to your ISP or an anti-spam organization, but most organizations like Spamhaus (which tracks spammers worldwide) actively discourage individual abuse reports. The FBI and Secret Service have jurisdiction over electronic, financial crimes in the U.S. (and, yes, sending spam is illegal), but unless you've lost money (and a substantial amount of it), they aren't going to investigate an individual spam message. There's just too much of it, and the feds do know about the worst spammers already; most of them live in foreign countries outside the easy reach of the law. (If you have been defrauded, the Internet Crime Complaint Center should be your first stop. If you fear a physical threat, contact your local police.)

So how should you handle plain old spam, the kind you get every day? If you use webmail, click the "mark as spam" button. If you use an offline mail client, install a spam filter and use it religiously. (I use SpamBayes.) Nearly all ISPs also offer their own anti-spam services, which you should use in addition to your own protection. With multiple layers of protection, you shouldn't see more than a couple of spams getting through to you every day. But as for becoming an anti-spam vigilante, trying to run the bad guys out of town, well, there's just no upside to it.

MySpace founder lied about his age

2007-11-05T16:49:00.000+05:30

I feel so much better now that Tom—founder of MySpace and instant friend to all (and only friend to some)—lied about his age. Tom, as just about everyone knows, is your first friend when you sign up at MySpace. His friends (aka everyone in MySpace) become your friends.

Now, according to documents reviewed by Newsweek, it turns out that Tom will be 37 in November, and not 32 as his profile says. Yikes. Lying on MySpace. What a concept. I wonder if Tom's the first fibber in cyberspace? Somehow I doubt it.

Ask the social scientists and they'll tell you that lying on MySpace is not lying. It's called experimenting with your persona, role-playing, living your fantasy. Lying on MySpace is sort of like calling a magazine Seventeen, but knowing full well that the average reader is five years younger. I suspect that MySpace is a Never-Never Land for more than a few members.

You have to wonder what was Tom thinking when he lied about his age. I mean if you were going to go through all the trouble of lying, wouldn't you want to make it more worthwhile? Say you were 28? 25?

If the motivation was to be young enough to still talk to teens, well that's kind of creepy. Talking to a 32-year-old or a 37-year-old is not something most teens feel any more comfortable doing. If the goal, as some of the press is speculating, was to be one of the young, scrappy pups who launch a successful startup by age 30 (you know that you can get into groups like the Young Presidents' Organization if you make your first million before the three-decade mark) well…he probably wasn't too focused on what would happen when he hit 40.

Mark Zuckerberg, be forewarned. If you're a 50-year-old walking around in a 20-something-year-old body, the time to ‘fess up is now. And me, I'm waiting for the day when the in thing is going to be able to say that you started a great new company when you were 80.

How do you feel about Tom's age-old lie? Couldn't care less? Shattered? Would you lie about your age if it helped promote your business?

J.K Rowling's 1st Book after Harry Potter

2007-11-02T21:47:00.000+05:30

J.K. Rowling has completed her first book not to feature teen wizard Harry Potter an illustrated collection of magical fairy stories titled "The Tales of Beedle the Bard."

Only seven copies of the book are being printed, Rowling said Thursday. One will be auctioned next month to raise money for a children's charity, while the others have been given away as gifts.

Rowling drew the illustrations herself and provided the handwriting for the five stories that make up the collection of fairytales.

"The Tales of Beedle the Bard" is mentioned in the final Potter book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," as a gift left by headmaster Albus Dumbledore to Harry's friend Hermione, and provides clues that help destroy evil Lord Voldemort.

"'The Tales of Beedle the Bard' is really a distillation of the themes found in the Harry Potter books, and writing it has been the most wonderful way to say goodbye to a world I have loved and lived in for 17 years," Rowling said in a statement.

The volume, bound in brown morocco leather and mounted with silver and semiprecious stones, will be auctioned at Sotheby's on Dec. 13 with a starting price of $62,000. Proceeds will go to The Children's Voice, a charity that helps vulnerable children across Europe.

"Deathly Hallows," the seventh and final installment in Harry's adventures, was published in July. The seven books have sold nearly 400 million copies and have been translated into 64 languages.

Rowling told the British Broadcasting Corp. that the book of fairytales had helped her say goodbye to Harry's world.

"It's not about Harry, Ron and Hermione, but it comes from that world," she told BBC radio in an interview broadcast Thursday. "So it's been therapeutic in a way."

Rowling said she was working on a new book, "a half-finished book for children that I think will probably be the next thing I publish."

On Wednesday, Rowling and the makers of the Harry Potter movies filed a lawsuit against RDR Books, a small U.S. publisher that plans to bring out a companion volume based on the Harry Potter Lexicon fan Web site.

Rowling has said she plans to produce her own encyclopedia of the wizarding world and says the book would infringe on her intellectual property rights.

Fast PC Startup tweak

2007-11-02T21:41:00.001+05:30

I don't know about you, but I love spending the first 10 minutes of every workday watching Windows start up. It's like a Zen thing. If you'd rather get right to work, though, the following tips should help you make Windows start much more quickly.

Lighten the Load

A typical PC loads a lot of programs every time it starts. Each of the icons in your system tray (the area near your clock) represents an auto-start application. And there are probably other programs on your machine that start automatically but don't make their presence known so easily. Each autoloading app slows your boot time--a little or a lot. And because most of them continue to run in the background, they rob you of a little performance.

Before you start eliminating autoloaders, though, make sure you can undo your changes. In Windows XP, Select Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System Restore. Select Create a restore point, click Next, call your restore point something like before removing autoloaders, and choose Create. Click Close once you've created the restore point.

In Windows Vista, select Start, Control Panel, System. Under 'Tasks' on the right side of the window, click System Protection. In the System Properties box that comes up, click Create at the bottom of the window.

XP users should now select Start, Run, type msconfig, and press . (In Vista, select Start, type msconfig into the Search box, and press .) Click the Startup tab, and you'll see a list of all your autoloading programs, each with a check box. Uncheck an item, and it will no longer load at startup.

Choose Your Autoloading Apps

Which applications should you leave checked so that they continue to autoload? First and foremost, you don't want to operate without your antivirus, firewall, and other security programs. Yes, these programs slow your PC's boot-up and shutdown, and they can even cause conflicts, but the cost of not having them running is too high to bear.

For any other program in the list, use your judgment. Don't ask yourself "Is it a good program?" but "Does it need to be on all the time?" For instance, I unchecked Adobe Elements' Photo Downloader, a program that I use whenever I download photos from my camera, because it serves no purpose when I'm not downloading photos. On the other hand, I allow Copernic Desktop Search to autoload because it needs to index my data files continually.

After unchecking the programs that you don't need to autoload at startup, click OK and reboot. Windows will load with a very wordy message box that might look like an error message. Just check Don't show this message or launch the System Configuration Utility when Windows starts (the wording is slightly different in Vista) at the bottom of the dialog box and click OK.

Windows Dusting and Cleaning

If an autoloader diet doesn't sufficiently accelerate your boot-up, try these tweaks:

Clean out the Registry. The larger your Windows Registry, the longer the OS will take to boot. My favorite Registry cleaner is ChemTable's $30 Reg Organizer, which is both a powerful Registry editor and a general Windows maintenance tool. If you don't want to pay to put things in order, try the less-powerful EasyCleaner from ToniArts.

Use fewer fonts. Loading hundreds of system fonts takes time. If you have more than 500 fonts on your PC, remove a few. Sue Fisher's free The Font Thing utility will help you whittle your font selection down to size.

Add RAM. Faster hardware means faster boots (and shutdowns, and everything in between). There's no cheaper, more effective way to improve your hardware's performance than by adding RAM. See our video tip, "How to Upgrade Your RAM" for step-by-step instructions.

Quick PC fixes

2007-11-02T21:36:00.000+05:30

1. Your Wi-Fi network is now dog-slow. If it's not a network outage, you likely have interference. Try relocating your router to shield it from disruptions such as microwave use or calls from a cordless phone. Or you may be on a crowded channel. Change the channel via your router's configuration page; look for a 'Channel' section and try 1, 6, or 11. See "How to Improve Your Wi-Fi Network's Performance" for more ideas.

2. Your display looks terrible. Check display settings by right-clicking the desktop; choose Properties in XP or Personalize in Vista, then Settings. If you can't increase resolution and color quality, click Advanced, Adapter. If Standard VGA Adapter or another generic adapter is listed, download a driver specific to your PC (see How to Reinstall Windows XP for details on doing this). If your adapter is there, try a prior driver version. In XP, click Properties, Driver, Roll Back Driver; in Vista, open the Personalization Control Panel, choose Display Settings, Advanced Settings, Properties, and click Driver, Roll Back Driver.

3. Your printer is spewing out garbage. A cancelled print job may not have cleared properly from the printer's memory. Turn the printer off for a minute, then back on. While you're waiting, go to Start, Printers and Faxes in XP, or Start, Printers in Vista, to delete anything in the print queue. If the problem continues, download and reinstall the driver.

4. Your default printer is no longer the default. Some apps, like Microsoft's OneNote, install faux-printer-like devices as output options, and some will also unhelpfully make them the default for all print jobs. Select Start, Run, type control printers, and press . Right-click the printer you prefer, and click Set as Default Printer.

5. You see daily, consistent error messages citing memory problems. To check if bad RAM is actually the trouble, download the free MemTest86 and stick it on a boot disk; then run the full battery of tests.

6. Your PC starts up too slowly. Click Start, Run and type msconfig. Then click the Startup tab to see all of the apps that load at startup. Uncheck anything you don't want to start at boot-up--but uncheck programs one at a time, as you need many of these apps to run your PC. (For more on pruning safely, see How to Make Windows Start Up Faster.)

7. Videos play sans audio or image. Your codecs are probably out of date. Get multiple updates via a free pack such as the ACE Mega CodecS Pack or the K-Lite Codec Pack.

8. You broke a key off your keyboard. If part of the key mechanism is broken, consider scavenging an unused key (, perhaps) and use its mechanism with your broken key (Apple's tutorial at PowerBook G4: Keycap Replacement will walk you through the procedure--it should work for almost any keyboard). Replacement keyboards for laptops can usually be found on eBay for $40 or less; many step-by-step guides show how to do the job, such as the one for a Toshiba laptop keyboard at Laptoka.com's page, How to remove and replace laptop keyboard yourself.

9. You bent a pin on one of your PC's ports or cables. Using pliers will probably make things worse, but the tip of a large-diameter mechanical pencil will fit most pins. Just slip it over the bent pin to straighten it out.

10. Folders show only large icons. Change the default in Windows Explorer by setting the right view on any folder, and then click Tools, Folder Options. Click the View tab, then Apply to All Folders (Apply to Folders in Vista).

Virus on phone

2007-11-01T19:38:00.000+05:30

Just when you were getting the hang of protecting your computer from viruses they must have sneezed and found your cell phone. One in every 10 phones is now a smart phone—capable of handling data and messaging. That means it's become easy and lucrative for hackers to attack your cell phone. And the dangers are just as real. From 2004 to 2006 the number of phone viruses doubled every month.

According to Symantec, viruses spread on cell phones in a variety of ways: Internet downloads, MMS (multimedia messaging service) attachments, and Bluetooth transfers to name a few. They'll often show up as game downloads, updates to your phone's system, ringtones, or alerts. McAfee Avert® Labs has identified about 450 different variants of mobile threats, and that's not including phishing attacks and spam. According to McAfee research, 83 percent of worldwide carriers have had security incidents in 2007.

What do these viruses do? Reports are trickling in: A Seattle family was watched, monitored, and threatened because of spyware on their cell phone. A man's cell phone content was wiped clean after he downloaded a virus-infested ringtone. Crashes, instable or slower than usual performance, quick battery consumption, incorrect or skyrocketing mobile phone bills, a dramatic increase in messaging charges—any of these could be a virus.

One of the original cell phone viruses (2004) was transmitted through a Bluetooth connection. Like your PC, some phone viruses are just annoying—a popup or a silly joke. Others are a bit more insidious, like the one that resets your phone monthly.

But the latest and most sophisticated crop are what's called "pranking for profit." This can involve things like redirecting your calls to a different carrier in a different country, racking up a hefty phone bill. Or sending an MMS message to everyone in your contact directory, leaving you with enormous extra charges. Or "vishing" when you'll get a voice-call that asks for information, faking it by posing as a legitimate business. A downloaded application may send information about your phone account to hackers. Snoopware (which is spyware on steroids) might capture your keypad clicks.

How do you know you've been infected? Pay attention when your phone starts behaving badly. Are your contacts disappearing? Are your calendar entries gone? Does your phone bill have strange charges?

If so, suspect a virus before you suspect user error.

Next up? We'll look at the new tools from Symantec and McAfee designed to protect your phone from infection.

Google-Powered Phones Out by 2008

2007-11-01T19:34:00.000+05:30

As expected, Google won't be building a "Google phone" per se, says the Wall Street Journal; instead, the search behemoth is developing a mobile platform that could shake up the wireless industry.There isn't anything earth-shatteringly new in the Journal article—the idea that Google is preparing a platform for cell phones has been bouncing around for months now—but the story adds a few interesting details about Google's plans and outreach efforts with phone manufacturers and carriers. (Naturally, Google isn't commenting one way or the other about the article.)

Anyway, Google will reportedly announce its mobile plans in about two weeks (or so says the Journal), and those plans call for a bundle of software and services to help hardware manufactures built Google-powered handsets. As predicted, the phones would come with easy access to Google's search engine, as well as Gmail, Google Maps, YouTube, and the like; Google, meanwhile, could make billions by serving up targeted (and even GPS-aided) mobile ads. The search giant also plans to open its platform to third-party development, so we can expect a galaxy of applications that'll tie in to Google's mobile services. The first Google-powered phones could come to market by the middle of the next year, the Journal reports.

So, who's first up to make a Google phone? Most likely HTC and LG, according to the Journal; meanwhile, Google has been cozying up to wireless carriers, including T-Mobile here in the U.S., so it's entirely possible we could see a Google-powered HTC or LG handset in T-Mobile's lineup by 2008.

2009: a 128GB Flash Memory Card

2007-11-01T19:25:00.000+05:30

That's good for storing, oh, about 32,000 songs on an iPod Nano-sized MP3 player, or about 77 days of straight music. If only the battery would last that long.Tech columnist Dean Takahashi reports that Samsung has developed new, smaller flash-memory chips that could result in tiny iPods and MP3 players with mammoth storage capacities. (Yes, you can already get 120GB MP3 players, but they all require bulky, delicate hard drives). The 64-gigabit NAND memory chips, designed using a 30-nanometer production process (compared to today's typical 50-namometer process), can be combined into a single 128GB flash-memory card. To put that in some perspective, you could cram about 80 standard-def movies onto one of these new cards (assuming each movie averages 1.6GB, which sounds right for a ripped DVD) or about 30,000 songs (averaging 4MB each). Samsung says it hopes to start shipping the new chips by 2009.

Sounds amazing, right? But how much will the new chips cost? Open question, but at least one analyst thinks Samsung could have a "difficult time" cranking out a substantial number of the chips by the projected 2009 ship date—and that means higher prices.

Wi-fi security system is 'broken'

2007-11-01T19:21:00.000+05:30

More holes have been picked in the security measure designed to protect the privacy and data of wi-fi users.

The latest attack lets criminals defeat firewalls and spy on where someone goes and what they do online. It comes after a series of other attacks that, experts say, have left the basic protection in wi-fi comprehensively "broken". But compatibility issues mean that many will have no alternative but to use the much weakened protection system.

Lock picking

The basic security measure in the technical specification for wireless networks, 802.11, is known as Wired Equivalent Privacy. WEP encrypts data flying back and forth between a computer and an access point to stop people spotting and stealing confidential information. It does this using an encryption key but numerous attacks have shown how easy it is to get hold of this key and unlock access to the wi-fi network or your data.

"WEP as a security measure is so broken that your (and everyone else's) kid sister can easily circumvent it," said computer security researcher Ralf-Philipp Weinmann, co-author of the aircrack-ptw tool that can crack WEP in minutes. Anyone caring about their privacy, said Mr Weinmann, should not use WEP to stop others using their wi-fi hotspot. Mr Weinmann and his colleagues unveiled aircrack in early 2007 but prior to that three other research teams, in 2001, 2004 and 2005 showed how to circumvent WEP.

The latest attack, created by Vivek Ramachandran of AirTight Networks, tricks a computer into thinking it is logged on to a wi-fi network it trusts. It exploits the basic hand-shaking system in wi-fi to get hold of lots of data it can analyse to crack a key. While the chance that someone will piggyback on your wi-fi network is low, there have been cases in the UK where this has happened.

In London one man has been arrested and charged under the 2003 Communications Act for using someone else's wi-fi link without permission. Alongside this is the risk of people using your broadband connection for potentially criminal activity. However, said Mark West of the home tech help company Geek Squad, many people are forced into using WEP despite its shortcomings.

"WEP might be all they can run," he said. The well-publicised problems with WEP have resulted in improved security systems for wireless networks known as Wi-fi Protected Access (WPA). An improved version of this, called WPA-2, appeared in 2004 but is not yet widely used.

Mr West said backwards compatibility problems might mean that people cannot opt for the better protection found in WPA or WPA-2. Using either of these requires Windows XP fitted with Service Pack 2, Vista or OS X on the Mac. Linux also supports WPA. Drivers for wi-fi access cards might also need to be updated and the firmware on a hub might also need refreshing. Any other device that tries to link via wi-fi will also need updating.

For many, said Mr West, updating all these separate components could be too much to ask. A spokesman for BT said that it used WEP on its home hub products because of the compatibility issues. "We use WEP for a very sensible reason," said the spokesman, "there are a number of devices out there in the marketplace that do not use WPA."

When helping people install wi-fi networks Geek Squad started trying to use WPA-2 but often had to fall back on the weaker protection. WPA-2 was only made mandatory on wi-fi access points manufactured after September 2006, which means much wireless hardware still relies on WEP. "It's often the lowest common denominator," said Mr West, adding that it was better than nothing.

He said: "It's more of a deterrent that will prevent most people being able to access that router."

Biryani

2007-10-24T17:16:00.000+05:30

A regal dish, Mughlai Biryani is fit for a king and was probably eaten by many too! This makes the perfect one-dish meal for when you have company. It combines ingredients typical to the Mughlai style of cooking.

INGREDIENTS:

For the meat: 1kg lamb/ chicken cut into 2" pieces (if using chicken, use breast or thigh fillet)
4 large onions sliced thin
2 tsps garlic paste
2 tsps ginger paste
1/2 cup almonds
6 tbsps ghee/ vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil
1" stick of cinnamon
5 cloves
3 pods cardamom
8 peppercorns
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 cup yoghurt
Juice of 1 lime
1 cup chicken/ beef stock
2 tbsps finely chopped coriander leaves
2 tbsps finely chopped mint leaves
Salt to taste
For the rice: 2 cups Basmati rice
Hot water
Salt to taste

PREPARATION:

Put the almonds in a bowl of hot water (enough to cover them) and set aside for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes remove skins from all the almonds by pressing each one between your thumb and forefinger. The almonds will slip out of their skins!
Mix the garlic and ginger pastes, the peeled almonds and grind to a smooth paste in a food processor.
Wash the rice in a sieve and add enough water to fully cover the rice - at least 4" over the surface of the rice. Add salt to taste. Set the rice up to boil. Cook till almost done. To determine when it has reached that stage, remove a few grains from the pot and press between your thumb and forefinger. The rice should mostly mash but will have a firm whitish core. Turn off the fire. Strain through a colander and keep drained aside.
Heat 3 tbsps of oil in a pan and fry 2 of the onions till caramalized - golden brown. Drain and keep aside on paper towels for later use.
Heat 3 tbsps of oil in another pan and add the whole spices - cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, peppercorns. Fry till the spices turn a little darker.
Add the 2 remaining onions and fry till they are translucent.
Add the ginger-garlic-almond paste and fry for 2-3 minutes.
Add all the spice powders - coriander, cumin and garam masala and mix well.
Fry till the oil begins to separate from the masala and then add the lamb/ chicken. Keep frying till the meat is fully sealed (it will become opaque and lose its pink colour).
Now add the yoghurt, lime juice, stock, coriander and mint leaves and salt to taste (if needed). Mix well.
Cover the pot and allow to cook till the meat is tender.
Grease a deep baking dish and evenly layer the cooked rice, meat (and its gravy) in it to form at least 2 sets of layers (rice-meat-rice-meat-rice). Garnish with the previously caramalised onions. Cover the dish tightly. If the dish does not have a cover use 2 layers of aluminium foil (shiny side of both layers pointing down towards the rice) and secure on to dish with baking string.
Put in a pre-heated oven set at 350 F/ 180 C/ Gas mark 4 for 20 minutes.
Turn off the oven and let the dish sit in the oven till you are ready to eat. Only open when you are ready to eat. The way to serve Biryani is to gently dig in with a spoon so you get through the layers.
While Mughlai Biryani tastes great by itself, add a raita like Chatpata Channa Raita (chickpeas in hot-sour yoghurt) and you're really in business!

LINKS

2007-09-29T20:59:00.000+05:30

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Simplest Video Camera

2007-09-26T08:23:00.000+05:30

Flip Video, a low cost pocket-sized camcorder from Pure Digital, since the first day I held it. A new improved version, the Flip Video Ultra, is ready, and there's a lot to love about it, including the price tag. Slimmed down and styled up, the Flip Video Ultra comes in colors, is more streamlined, and has software built into the camera that lets you upload immediately to AOL, YouTube, or other video sharing sites.

The camera is shirt pocket-sized and runs on AA batteries. The Flip Video I've been using is one of the only gadgets I own where I can say nice things about its battery life.

But what sets Flip Video apart is that all the software you need to perform simple video-editing chores and then publish to your favorite video-sharing site are built right into the camera. No extra software required.

There are only a few buttons on the camera for playing, stopping ,and zooming in and out so its easy to get up to speed. Once you're ready to transfer your work, a retractable USB connects you to your PC. Plug the USB into a PC and you also have tools to edit, archive, and share your work, all built in to the camera. You can quickly send a video greeting card or email, add music, transitional effects, or voice to the video. It's by no means a full-fledged video editing package, but it's sufficient for most people most of the time.

The new Ultra has an improved 1.5-inch display and microphone. The first generation camera held either 512MB or 1GB of video. The new version is available in 1GB ($150) or 2GB ($180). The video is captured at VGA resolution but still looks good enough to output to a TV. The new camera has a video output and a slot for a tripod.

I find the Flip Video camera useful for all sorts of things. I've used it to document trips, narrating what I'm seeing so that I can remember the names of all of those pretty mountains, churches, and museums. It's great for documenting schoolwork, analyzing your golf swing, creating a walk-through of your home for sale, and more. I've given the camera to kids as young as 5 years old and adults as old as 80 to try. They instinctively figure out what to do. A story in USA Today said that Flip Video is currently the No. 1 best-selling video camera at Amazon and Target.

Bluetooth Hacking

2007-09-26T08:17:00.000+05:30

According to research firm Insight Express, 73 percent of mobile device users are not aware of the security risks associated with Bluetooth-equipped devices. Ooi Szu-Khiam, senior security consultant at Symantec Singapore, told ZDNET in an email that in the past year, numerous mobile viruses, worms and Trojan horses have emerged, and their evolution is cause for concern. These potential risks are commonly known as bluejacking, bluesnarfing, and bluebugging to techies and security experts, and they're all bad news for your phone. You can read more about these threats in detail over at ZDNET, but here's a quick rundown of what they are in a nutshell:

Bluejacking is a technique used to send unsolicited text messages to mobile users via Bluetooth.
Bluesnarfing is the unauthorized access of information on your phone through a Bluetooth connection. This attack allows hackers to copy data off your phone, including contact lists, emails, text messages, and even private videos or photos.
Bluebugging is the most serious threat of all. A hacker has the ability to initiate phone calls, send and receive text messages, read and write phonebook contacts, eavesdrop on phone conversations, and connect to the Internet.

What you can do

Ooi suggests users install security software on their mobile devices that include antivirus, firewall, anti-SMS spam, and data-encryption technologies. He also recommends users take the following precautions:

Stay offline: Turn off features that you are not using. If you have a Bluetooth-equipped device and do not need the function, then don't turn it on.
Stay invisible: If you are using the Bluetooth function and don't require your device ID to be visible to others, make sure the device's visibility setting is set to "hidden" so malicious hackers will not be able to scan and search for it.
Verify incoming transmission: Do not accept and run attachments from unknown sources unless you are expecting them. For example, if you receive a message to install an application and you don't know its origin, don't run it.
Use passwords: Ideally, use passwords with a large number of digits. A four-digit PIN or password can be broken in less than a second, and a six-digit PIN in about 10 seconds, while a 10-digit PIN is likely to take weeks to crack.

I'm sure you've heard it all before, but a refresher never hurt anyone. You might want to pass this along to someone who may not be up to speed on Bluetooth security.

Scommesse Online - Online Betting

2007-09-23T10:59:00.000+05:30

These recent days Online Betting is the one of the Upcoming Area in the Sports like Cricket, Football, Tennis and many other games. Along with the Online Betting, the Live Scores are also shown on all the such betting online sites, reason for the same is the customers like us can change the betting in accordance to the game (as the match proceeds on), we have betted on.

One of the such Betting Online site I have come across, that is ScommesseOnline, which provide their visitors with the speacial discount of the betting, when they open an account and become a registered member for betting with them and the Process for opening an Account is also very easy and quick. Scommesseonline.com is a good site for soccer scores. In it you can find all the odds of european bookmakers and take the bonus when you open a new account. They have all the lastest and Updated Betting Round around the world in all the major ongoing sports like Tennis, Soccer, Football, and even Volley ball. So, all the Bettting and Sport lovers what are you waiting for… just go and enjoy Betting on the Sport you like the most.

Some HDTV facts

2007-09-21T09:30:00.000+05:30

Disappointed by how fuzzy CNN looks on your new HDTV? Wondering why Jack Bauer looks so soft and plump on your new flat-screen? Maybe it's because you're not really watching HD on your high-def TV.

According to Audioholics, almost half of the 24 million homes with HDTVs lack an HD cable or satellite feed, and about a quarter of those surveyed didn't even know they were still watching non-HD signals. Why such big numbers? Actually, it's not hard to understand; I can't tell you how many times I've watched salespeople at TV stores push HDTVs on hapless shoppers, going on and on about the razor-sharp picture and surround sound, but not bothering to tell them how to get HD signals into their living rooms.

The Audioholics story ticks off six things you need to know before you buy an HDTV, and it's a must-read if you're in the market for your first high-def set. Here's a brief summary of some of the pointers, along with some thoughts of my own:

Your new HDTV needs an HD feed: Just plugging your regular cable or satellite box into your new HD set won't get you a high-def picture. You'll need to contact your cable or satellite provider and ask for an HD set-top box (satellite subscribers may also have to upgrade their dishes), and you may want to sign up for an HD subscription plan, as well (which typically offer channels like Discovery HD Theater and HDNet). Still watching TV using an over-the-air antenna? A good, properly aligned rooftop antenna may still do a good job of pulling down HD signals, but unless your HDTV has a built-in HD tuner (many don't), you'll have to buy a separate high-def tuner box to go with your set.

Your HDTV/set-top box/cables must be configured properly: First, make sure you're using the right inputs when connecting your HD set-top box to your HDTV. You must use either the component-video inputs (a trio of RCA-type plugs, marked "Y," "Pb," and "Pr") the DVI input or the HDMI input. The composite and S-Video connectors on your TV can't receive HD signals, so if the cable guy starts hooking those inputs up, time to raise the red flag. Also, your cable or satellite HD box must be set to send an HD signal to your display; go to the set-top box menu and look for the display settings, and select either 720p or 1080i (depending on the native resolution of your HDTV). Finally, once you're ready to watch HD, make sure you're watching the right channel. If you're used to watching ABC on, say, cable channel 7, that's only the standard-def version of ABC; the HD version is probably much further down the dial, usually in the 700s. Check your programming guide.

Most TV programming is still in standard definition: I'm still amazed by how many people think that an HDTV will display all their shows in high definition. Now, if you're only watching scripted (i.e., non-reality) prime-time shows on the major broadcast networks, then yes, there's a good chance that most of those shows are in HD (save a few holdouts, like "Scrubs" on NBC). But the vast majority of programming that's out there, ranging from "Queer Eye" and "Regis and Kelly" to "Pardon the Interruption" and "Sesame Street", is produced in standard definition, and your HDTV won't magically convert SD shows to HD. Check out TitanTV to see what's in HD in your area.

SD typically looks terrible on an HDTV: Standard-def shows can look remarkably bad on a 50-inch display. Imagine taking a grainy Polaroid picture and blowing it up to monster size. If you miss how CNN used to look on your old 27-inch direct-view set, keep in mind that you were watching it on a much smaller screen.

HDTV screens are wider than SD pictures: Because HDTV screens have a wide 16:9 aspect ratio, your new set will stretch the boxy 4:3 shape of a standard-definition show to fill the screen, which will make everything look short and squat. You have two choices: either live with the short-and-squat look on your SD channels, or dig into your HD set-top box settings and add sidebars to the SD channels. Yes, you'll have to deal with black bars on the left and right sides of the screen, but at least the picture won't look like a circus fun-house mirror.

An upconverting DVD player doesn't turn standard DVDs into HD: I'm a big fan of DVD players that upconvert standard-def DVDs to 1080i or even 1080p, but make no mistake; because the source DVD disc is standard definition, you're still watching an SD picture (albeit, one that's been extrapolated to HD proportions). If you want true HD images from your DVD player, you'll have to pony up $400 or more for a Blu-ray or HD DVD drive.

Still confused? Then check out the Audioholics story, which goes into much greater detail.

Zoho: Free App Suite Vs. MS Office

2007-09-17T21:09:00.000+05:30

Microsoft has had a near monopoly on office applications since WordStar and WordPerfect lost surrendered. But there's a second battle raging with a totally new kind of application. Keep your eye on Zoho. It's a web-based office suite that lets you share and publish documents as easily as you can create and save them. And it's easy on the pocket (read: FREE).

When you sign up you'll be able to access the growing Zoho family: Zoho Writer, Zoho Sheet, and Zoho Show—a writer, spreadsheet, and presentation tool. Zoho also has a Virtual Office that includes email and shared calendars. It has tools for business users like Zoho CRM and Zoho Creator for developing customized apps.

Not Zoho-ed out yet? Then try the Zoho Planner for to-do lists and notes, Zoho Chat, Zoho Wiki, Zoho Meeting (an online conference), and even Zoho Notebook (for organizing multimedia online note taking).

I haven't seen this much free stuff given away since Bob Barker.

The apps are pretty darn robust and full featured. Zoho Write, Sheet, and Show are not quite as feature-rich as MS Office, but have a lot of cool web features like tags and posting directly to a blog. They are miles richer than Google Docs, Google's suite of free web-based apps. Just take a look at some of the screen shots and you'll see that everything looks familiarly different. The real power comes with the ability to publish or share. You can share a document with the world, keep it private, or invite a few others to join you as either readers or collaborators.

What's the catch? Well, eventually Zoho plans to keep the consumer tools available for free, but charge businesses to license and use the tools to create custom environments. At the moment, all of your documents get stored, published, and shared on the Zoho server. The company is just releasing an applet that lets you read the Zoho Write files while you're offline, but has no way to create documents unless you're physically connected to the Internet. This makes it a great tool for the type of 24/7 folks who think the Internet is synonymous with breathing, but may not work as well for the rest of us.

And like all things web, Zoho is a work in progress. I wanted to strut my stuff and show the Yahoo! Tech team my shared spreadsheet. They got to look for a few minutes before their systems timed out. Zoho evangelist Raju Vegesna said the day I used the service might have been an update day.

Zoho is for the adventurous (not to mention the financially constrained). That said, it's highly functional and a great way to extend your document life into the new web world.

Slow PC handy help!

2007-09-15T08:28:00.000+05:30

This is a very common question about a very common problem: My computer is slow, what can I do?

Rest assured that while there are indeed plenty of things you can do to speed up your PC, it may not be entirely the case that the computer is getting "slow" but rather that everything else is getting "fast." You noted that you normally use a newer machine, and many people who express that their computers are slow also have multiple PCs, maybe a newer model at work that is much, much faster. It's possible that your expectations have simply gotten higher over time, and by comparison, your older computer is getting left in the dust. You spend most of the day working on a fast machine, so your perception is that your older computer is getting slower and slower, when in reality it may be just as fast as it ever was. The mind plays a lot of tricks like that. It's something to think about.

Now on to your real question: How to speed up a PC, whether it's slowing down or not. Here's the steps I follow when trying to give a little extra oomph to a PC that needs it.

Clean up the disk. Uninstall unneeded programs (especially those that run at startup and/or put something in the system tray), run Disk Cleanup, and defragment the drive. This is a good first step that will almost always take a few seconds off boot time and application loads for any computer.

Run a full anti-virus and anti-spyware scan. You never know what's lurking on your machine, and these anti-malware tools can help you get rid of other PC-clogging detritus on your PC, even if it's not harmful.

Clean up the registry. This is controversial, as some experts claim registry cleaners don't really help. I've seen evidence to the contrary, so I recommend doing it if you've got a major slowdown. CCleaner is free and worth running.

Delete old network connections. Your computer may be trying to connect to shared hard drives that no longer exist. In Windows Explorer right-click on any network shares you don't actively use and click Delete. Under Tools, also click "Disconnect Network Drive" to see if there are any others lurking about.

Stop auto-starting programs. Click Start > Run and type "msconfig" at the prompt. Click the Startup tab and look at all that junk that loads when you launch your PC. Do you really need "Adobe Reader Speed Launch"? Probably not. Turn off anything else that looks useless, but be careful not to disable Windows system components.

Those are the easy and free things you can do. If your computer is still slow you need to move on to the bigger guns.

Upgrade RAM. This is the one killer trick that will make almost any computer run faster. With an older PC, you will rarely have enough RAM to run today's memory-hogging operating systems and applications, and adding a high-capacity stick or two of quality RAM will give you a quick speed boost. Adding RAM is fairly simple, even for a novice, and you should be able to do the job in 5 or 10 minutes.

Reinstall Windows. If the above tricks haven't helped, it may be time to wipe the slate clean and start again, reformatting your hard drive, reinstalling your applications, and restoring your data files from a backup. You'd be surprised how much more responsive a freshly reinstalled Windows system can be, as you've wiped out years of temp files, garbled registry entries, old versions of software programs that have been upgraded repeatedly, and all sorts of other electronic junk. Reinstalling is easy if you have the "recovery disk" that came with your PC, and only a bit more involved if you're using a retail copy of Windows XP. Just be sure you back up everything you want to take with you before you pull the trigger!

Upgrade your hard drive. This is a more complicated solution, but if you're reinstalling Windows (per the prior tip) you might consider upgrading to a bigger and possibly faster hard drive, too. Hard disk storage is a performance bottleneck on every machine, and magnetic disks degrade over time. Some performance issues could be caused by a failing hard drive, even, and upgrading to a new model could really put some zip back in your system. As a bonus, you can use the original hard drive for backups or occasional storage, if you put it in an enclosure.
I hope these tips help you.

Top Texting Phones for Students

2007-09-12T21:59:00.000+05:30

Today's students text more than they email, so they'll need a messaging phone to keep up with their lightning-fast thumbs. These handsets all boast full (or at least hybrid) QWERTY keypads, along with plenty of style and multimedia features to spare.

Helio Ocean - A QWERTY keypad, great Web browsing and downloadable music.Everyone's raving about the iPhone, but don't forget this feature-packed sleeper waiting in the wings. The Ocean is a two-way slider—slide one way for a standard number keypad, the other for QWERTY action—that's a messaging machine, including a full-fledged email client and IM (AIM, Yahoo! Messenger, and Windows Live Messenger). Add in streaming multimedia and GPS-aided Buddy Beacon, and you've got a power mobile package.

LG enV- A clamshell packed with a QWERTY keypad and multimedia.This is popular clamshell may lack the Ocean's strong e-mail capabilities, but it's a perfect fit for students who love to text their buddies—either via SMS or instant message. The enV is relatively compact for a QWERTY phone, and it also packs in 3G data support for streaming video clips and downloading music over Verizon's V Cast multimedia service. Best of all—you can snag it for $30 or less.

Sidekick iD - A pared-down Sidekick that's aces with messaging.

The iD is a stripped-down version of the pricey Sidekick 3; it lacks the music and Bluetooth capabilities of its pricier big brother. That said, the Sidekick has always been all about messaging, and the iD doesn't disappoint. Armed with AIM, Yahoo and MSN IM clients, the iD also has push e-mail—a rarity for a handset this cheap—along with an easy-to-use QWERTY keypad and signature flip-up display.

Samsung BlackJack - Compact Windows smartphone with impressive features.

Definitely not a toy, Samsung's slim Blackjack is a great fit for older students who want some serious mobile power along with multimedia fun. Armed with Windows Mobile, a suite of Office applications, and full corporate e-mail support, the BlackJack also streams video clips over AT&T's Cellular Video service, and you can sync your Napster and Yahoo! Music subscription tunes to the phone. And at 3.5 ounces and just a half-inch thick, the BlackJack fits nicely in a jeans pocket.

BlackBerry Pearl -BlackBerry power in a small, sleek package.

For years, BlackBerrys were just dull, dutiful, business-minded handsets—until the Pearl came around. With its stylish design, trackball (a first for a BlackBerry) and hybrid-QWERTY keypad, the Pearl manages to look the part while still packing in plenty of hardcore e-mail capabilities. You also get a 1.3-megapixel camera (another rarity in the BlackBerry world) and a full-on media player.

iPhone Unlock App for $99?

2007-09-12T21:52:00.000+05:30

The Web was alight yesterday with reports that an iPhone-unlocking app went on sale for a cool $99. Folks, do yourselves a favor and keep your wallet stowed—and here's why. First, some background: as you probably know, a bevy of hackers have recently come out with various methods and software for unlocking an iPhone (which lets you use it with any SIM card, not just AT&T's). Naturally, it was only a matter of time before someone got the bright idea of making a little cash in the bargain. So it wasn't much of a surprise yesterday when news broke that an iPhone-unlocking app (no soldering required) from iPhoneSIMfree.com had popped up on the Web for $99.

Now, I don't think there's anything philosophically wrong with unlocking your iPhone—hey, it's the wave of the future, whether the major U.S. carriers like it or not. But paying $100 for this particular iPhone hack is just plain dumb, for a couple of reasons.

Number one: While the software has been proven to work by the likes of Engadget Mobile, there's no guarantee that Apple's next iPhone update (which will probably enable the upcoming Wi-Fi iTunes music store) won't render the unlocking app useless—and if that happens, "you will be charged to unlock [your iPhone] again" (or so says the fine print on the vendor's Web site). Apple's been known in the past to break third-party iTunes plug-ins through software updates (especially the ones that circumvent its DRM schemes), and I wouldn't be surprised if Jobs & Co. disabled iPhone unlocking apps in the same way—and then you'd be out a C-note.

Number two: As we speak, competing hackers are busy reverse-engineering the iPhoneSIMfree.com software, with the intention of distributing their own unlocking apps on the Web for free. So if you wait a few weeks (or even days), you'll probably be able to download a perfectly good iPhone-unlocking app without paying a dime.

Beyond the issue of whether you should pay to get your iPhone unlocked, don't forget that doing so will void your warranty, and if you fry your phone in the process, the cool kids at the Apple Genius Bar probably won't have much sympathy for your plight. Oh, and the legal implications are murky, too.

So, anyone out there throwing caution to the wind and buying the iPhoneSIMFree app anyway?

Zeno Acne Clearing Device

2007-09-12T21:15:00.000+05:30

What is Zeno?
Zeno is a dermatologist-recommended, battery-powered medical device that is used to treat individual pimples with heat therapy. It is supposed to eliminate or significantly reduce the duration of pimples for those with mild to moderate inflammatory acne. Zeno is not for those who have lots of acne or severe acne. Zeno is placed directly on individual breakouts which receive a 2.5 minute treatment cycle. It works best at the first sight of acne – when the skin is red, inflamed, and slightly sore. If the breakout is a black or whitehead, it is too late as Zeno is to be used at the earliest sign of a pimple. Zeno is ineffective on cystic acne and should not be used to treat this type of acne.

How does Zeno work?
Zeno has a built-in computer that delivers the exact amount of energy into individual pimples so that the bacteria are killed over the course of one to three treatments. This energy is released thru the treatment tip cartridge which adjusts the energy automatically to make sure each treatment delivers the perfect amount of energy into each pimple. The computer within Zeno also tracks the charge level of the battery as well as how many treatment cycles have been performed. The treatment tip cartridge has a memory chip is pre-programmed with a specific number of treatments. This number is embossed on the top of the cartridge. Each treatment cycle is pre-programmed to be 2.5 minutes in length. The cartridge needs to be replaced after all cycles have been exhausted. Cartridges are easy to remove and replace and can be purchased from the Zeno website or wherever you purchased your Zeno.

Unlike topical medicines and creams, Zeno does not dry the skin or fade bedding and clothing. In fact, the only side effect one is likely to experience from using Zeno is a slight redness at the treatment site but this dissipates fairly quickly. Zeno is not meant to be a replacement for one’s normal skincare routine but to supplement where a pimple has overwhelmed your natural balance and snuck in under the radar.

So how do you use Zeno?
Zeno is meant to be used at the very first sign of a pimple. So if from previous experience, you know that a sore, pinkish spot on the skin is likely to erupt into a pimple, that’s the time to reach for Zeno and start treatments. The user guide inside of Zeno states that clinical trials have shown that pimples treated with Zeno can fade or disappear with just 24 hours if they are caught early. Following the treatment instructions, 90% of the participants in a clinical study reviewed by the FDA found that pimples treated with Zeno faded or disappeared within just 24 hours compared to just 37% for pimples treated with a placebo.

After Zeno’s battery has been fully charged, just remove the cover, turn it on and wait for it to heat up. After Zeno beeps to inform you that it is ready, simply place the treatment tip directly onto the pimple and press the start button. It automatically delivers treatment for 2.5 minutes after which you can move it to a different pimple. Each breakout should be treated 2-3 times over a 12-24 hour period.

Warnings
Use Zeno only for pimples. Do not used Zeno for skin lesions such as moles, warts or ingrown hairs, insect or spider bites or stings. Do not use Zeno for skin infections or for open sores or wounds because it may delay proper treatment or injure your skin.

Do not use Zeno if your skin is sensitive to heat, sun or chemicals because Zeno uses heat to treat pimples and the heat may damage your skin.

Don’t use near water.

Don’t use in the tub or shower.

Do not use on or around the eyes or lips. These very sensitive areas of the face may make the use of Zeno too painful. You may experience significant skin redness and swelling or even burns.

Facial hair may prevent full and complete contact with the pimple. It is important to have full and constant contact with the pimple during the treatment cycle.

Things you should never buy used

2007-09-06T10:51:00.000+05:30

Sometimes the financial or safety risk outweighs the savings. Do you really want to sleep on someone else's mattress?

I listed lingerie as one of the items for which you'd best pay retail. There are plenty of other examples where the cost savings don't justify the risks of buying used:

Laptops You're taking a chance when you buy any used computer, but the math really doesn't work when you're talking about a unit that's as prone to abuse and problems as a laptop. They're more likely to be dropped, banged around and spilled on, simply because they're out in the world while a desktop computer sits (mostly) safe at home.
That's why laptops are one of the few products where springing for an extended warranty with free tech support makes sense, in addition to the standard warranty that typically comes when you buy new. Buy used, and you'll have neither option -- along with no idea what maltreatment your laptop has suffered or when the hard drive, optical drive or other important parts will die on you.

Car seats A car seat that's been in one accident may not protect your child in another. And damaged car seats aren't uncommon; a survey commissioned by Sainsbury's Bank in England discovered one in 10 car seats currently in use in that country had been involved in an accident. (The bank is calling for a ban on the sale of secondhand seats.)
Brand-new car seats can often be purchased for as little as $50, and safety technology tends to improve with each year, said Denise and Alan Fields, parents and authors of "Baby Bargains." That makes getting a new one pretty much a no-brainer.

Plasma TVs Here's another of those rare cases where you want not only the warranty that comes with the television, but an extended warranty. You'll want the coverage because if your screen dies, it can cost thousands to fix or replace -- sometimes almost as much as it would cost to buy a new TV.
While defect rates have declined from 7% in plasma TV's early years to about 1% with some of the better models, problems with this technology are still common enough -- and repairs expensive enough -- that an extended warranty makes sense, said Phil Connor of PlasmaTVBuyingGuide.com.

DVD players In the previous article, I recommended buying used DVDs, since their quality tends to remain high (unless they have scratches, which are usually pretty easy to spot).
The same is not true of DVD players, however. These have lasers that will eventually wear out and cost more to replace than the unit is worth.
Whenever repairs cost that much, buying new is often advisable. Add to that the fact that prices are constantly dropping while the technology is constantly improving, and buying new becomes a slam dunk.

Vacuum cleaners Here's another item that's particularly prone to abuse and that may cost you more to fix than if you'd simply bought new. Consumer Reports says a good, basic upright can be purchased new for less than $100, and that the fancy features that push prices higher often aren't worth the extra cost. Just make sure to buy one that you're comfortable pushing and that has a decent filtration system to prevent dust from kicking back out into the air.

Camcorders Someday they'll build a camcorder out of rubber, so that it'll bounce when you drop it, which is almost inevitable. The damage from a fall may not be obvious when you buy used, but it may soon require a costly repair. Camcorder motors can also wear out and may cost you a couple hundred dollars to replace.
If you want to save money on a camcorder, consider buying last year's model.

Shoes Poor-fitting shoes can cause everything from bunions to back problems, so don't buy footwear that's already been molded by someone else's tootsies. This is particularly important for kids whose feet are still growing. Shop sales, buy last year's models, but don't give in to the temptation to save a buck now that's going to cost you more in pain and hassles later. Poor-fitting shoes can cause everything from bunions to back problems, so don't buy footwear that's already been molded by someone else's tootsies. This is particularly important for kids whose feet are still growing. Shop sales, buy last year's models, but don't give in to the temptation to save a buck now that's going to cost you more in pain and hassles later.

Mattresses Think of all the stuff you do on your mattress. Now think of sleeping in someone else's stuff. Ewwwww. There's also the fact that mattresses aren't meant to last forever. Even the good ones typically have a life span of just eight to 10 years, and it's hard to know for sure how old a used mattress may already be.

Helmets Like a car seat, a helmet is meant to protect against one accident and no more. A crash typically crushes the foam inside the helmet casing, according to the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute, so the damage may not be visible. Since you usually can't tell if a helmet's ticket has already been punched, you're smarter to buy new. Kid's sports and bike helmets retail for about $20; you'll pay $30 to $40 for the adult size. Motorcycle helmets usually start around $100 and climb steeply from there; you can contain the cost by resisting the fancy paint jobs.

Choosing GPS

2007-09-06T10:29:00.000+05:30

If you often travel to new places, have trouble reading maps, or simply hate to ask for directions, you might want to consider a portable GPS navigation system. Once you give it a destination, the system can plot out a route, deliver spoken directions, and display each turn as you drive, or in some cases, walk.
Most units let you choose guidance options that include plotting the shortest, fastest, and even a toll-free route. An internal database also includes common points of interest such as gas stations and ATMs, and the nav system can route you to the nearest one. You can even choose a nearby restaurant by the type of food.
Although not always as easy to use as the in-dash systems available on many new vehicles, portable systems are catching up. Features like internal, rechargeable batteries and pre-loaded North America map databases are now commonly included on budget systems. More premium features such as real-time traffic reporting are becoming available on more affordable units, although those often require additional hardware.
Portables have the distinct advantage of being easy to move from car to car, enabling a family to share a unit or lend it to others. Their low weight and small size are well suited to long-distance business travel and vacations by plane (for use in a rental car when you arrive), or to walking and biking tours (for use as a handheld device).
And with prices from about $250 to $700, portable units are much less expensive than the typical price tag of up to $2,000 for an integrated, in-dash factory system.

WHAT'S AVAILABLE
Many manufacturers offer units that will get you where you need to go, and more are entering the market as sales continue to skyrocket. Systems from Garmin, Magellan, and TomTom have historically scored highest in our ratings. Those navigation-focused companies now face competition from Delphi, Harmon-Kardon, and Rand McNally -- none of which were available for our previous test. Our latest report also includes units from Alpine, Audiovox, Cobra, Lowrance, and Navman.
Units have decreased in size since the first portables came on the market, but too small a device is hard to read or operate. We find that the common 3.5-inch screen, measured diagonally, is a good compromise between portability and usability. We found the Gamin nuvi 660 to be particularly easy to use with its wide-screen format, while remaining portable.
Special features like photo viewing, video player, hands-free calling, and live traffic reporting are available in an increasing number of units.

HOW TO CHOOSE
None of the navigation systems we've tested is perfect. They don't substitute for local knowledge, and all databases had minor errors. But a portable system will usually get you there, guiding you on the way and providing you with peace of mind when you are traveling to unfamiliar areas. The highest-rated models make it especially easy to enter destinations and they give the most helpful directions.
Navigation is the priority We recommend focusing first on how well the system works for navigation, using the ratings to prioritize nav features and map database coverage, over entertaining, nonessential extras.
Built-in battery convenience Look for a unit with a built-in battery that will operate for at least four hours on a charge, especially if you want to use it for walking. While all systems include a plug for your car's 12-volt outlet, a built-in battery leaves you the option to use the power port for another device, such as a cell phone, and it eliminates cord clutter. A battery also enables you to pre-load a route before you enter the vehicle. Some models are also packaged with a traditional AC plug for in-home use and recharging.
Text-to-speech capability A system that speaks street names rather than says simply "turn left" can help you negotiate an unfamiliar area and is especially useful in urban driving, where streets can be close together. It is a handy feature that reduces the need to take your eyes off the road to scan the on-screen map.
Avoiding traffic A system with traffic-reporting capability can be helpful if you travel a lot in congested cities that have good traffic-monitoring coverage. Between the map and detour functions, the system can help you to route around traffic-slowing problems. But just like with traditional radio traffic reports, there are some weaknesses in the nav-system-based services, specifically related to the timeliness of the report.
Modern features A full-featured model can effectively upgrade an older car with features like Bluetooth hands-free telephone capability, MP3 player, an iPod connection, and an FM transmitter.
Travel gear If you travel outside the United States, look for a unit that offers maps for navigating overseas. Most will function in the U.S. and Canada, but some models, such as the TomTom Go 910, will also work in Europe and other countries. Of the tested group, only the budget-priced Magellan RoadMate 2000 is pre-loaded with maps limited to the 48 contiguous states.
Size matters The more portable the unit, the better--especially if you frequently pack it in a suitcase. Some are no bigger than a wallet and weigh less than 7 ounces, while others are as large as a paperback book and weigh considerably more--two pounds or more.
Mounting. Most models mount to your windshield using a suction cup attached to either a ball-in-socket, rigid, or gooseneck-type arm. We find the rigid arms are better at holding the units in place, especially over bumps

HotelReservations.com

2007-09-06T09:17:00.000+05:30

HotelReservations.com offers a worldwide search for hotels, motels, resorts, and even vacations rentals. After searching through their extensive system for a hotel, they will give some of the most competitive rates of any other hotel site. Most of my searches through HotelReservations.com ended up being considerably cheaper than booking directly through the hotel.

With the guarantee of a 100 dollar rebate, it seems like HotelReservation.com is making an attempt to persuade us online travel shoppers to come and use their travel site. With Hotelreservations.com you can save up to 70% off of your reservations and then there is also the $100 rebate if you make a reservation on the Internet. Potentially getting money back if you find an online reservation cheaper at anther site is pretty cool.

Hotelreservations.com has been providing travelers great vacations at prices so hard to resist. They always make sure that your vacation trip will be hassle-free the moment you left your city, until you finally check out of your vacation hotel. HotelRservations.com now offers the best vacation packages tailored to your needs. This is now your chance to experience the grandeur of Rome or enjoy the warmth of the tropical islands of Hawaii. Dance to the rhythm and the beat of Reggae in Jamaica. Or simply try your luck in Las Vegas casinos.

In addition to making reservations for hotels, flights, cars, vacation rentals or combination vacation packages, many other options are available. Just searching through the site gives me some ideas for future trips. They also have a destination guide that you can use to plan your dream vacation. Whether it is an African Safari in Swaziland or a beach escapade in the Philippines. HotelReservations.com can do it for you. Dance to the infectious beat of the Samba in Brazil or sway your hips to the elegant tune of waltz in Vienna. Hotelreservations.com even has a Special Internet Rate Price Guarantee, which assures clients of the lowest possible rate available on the Internet.
Traveling with your entire family, friends or office buddies? It’s not a problem. Hotelreservations.com will help you organize a seamless and problem-free group tour for you and your friends and family to enjoy! Hotelreservations.com accepts payment through Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. Rest assured that your transaction will always be secured and be fully protected.

One thing I really value when I reserve a hotel is that I can change or cancel my hotel without paying any fees. HotelReservations.com will take care of your requests immediately and not hassle you about it without charging any extra fees. Changes and cancellations can be made online or even over the phone 24 hours per day with their toll free number.

Besides for offering a hotel search, they have an extensive car and air search that will help you find the best rates on your car rental or air flight to your destination city. I try to use HotelReservations.com as the main website for planning my trip, and then compare it to other websites to make sure I am getting the best deal. Most of the time HotelReservations.com has already found the best deal for me and I book directly through them.

Pitt And Jolie Ready for 5th child

2007-09-04T10:14:00.000+05:30

Brad Pitt and his partner Angelina Jolie are ready for another child, the actor said Sunday as he was promoting his new film.

Pitt and Jolie, with children in tow, were in Venice to talk about his film on Western outlaw Jesse James. The movie is competing for the top Golden Lion award at the city's film festival.

Pitt and Jolie already have four children including a 15-month-old girl, Shiloh, born to the couple. Jolie has also adopted three children close in age from Cambodia, Ethiopia and Vietnam.

Asked by Italian state TV whether they were ready for a fifth, Pitt replied: "Yeah we're ready."

He did not indicate whether they planned another biological child or if they would adopt.

Earlier on Sunday, Pitt told a news conference fatherhood was fun and good for his work, though he's not getting much sleep.

"It's the most fun I've ever had and also the biggest pain ... I've ever experienced," he said when asked what it was like to become a family with four children in a short space of time. "I love it and can't recommend it any more highly although sleep is nonexistent."

Having four small children "makes me much more efficient because when I work, I really have to focus. I know I've less time to get things done. Actually, I'm quite pleased by it," said Pitt.

"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," stars Pitt, Casey Affleck and Sam Shepherd, and was directed by Andrew Dominik. Pitt described it as " more a gangster film than a Western."

Pitt plays James in the last year of his life as he lapses into paranoia over potential betrayal by accomplices and intimates.

Problems being an Workaholic

2007-09-04T09:53:00.000+05:30

In a nation of overachievers, hard work is a virtue. If you work hard, you'll achieve your goals. If you work even harder, you'll achieve even more. Right?

Perhaps not. There are, in fact, several downsides to working too hard. Being the office workaholic can cost you coveted promotions, hurt your home life, and even turn friends into enemies. Evaluate yourself with the following five questions.

1. Are you busy ... or disorganized?

Are you constantly staying late and coming in early yet producing the same output as others? If so, your boss may come to view you as inefficient and possibly disorganized. Dave Cheng, an executive coach with Athena Coaching, says, "There are some people, type A's, who get a lot of satisfaction from doing lots of work, but the quality isn't necessarily superior."

Focus on getting your work done in a reasonable time frame. If you have perfectionism or time-management issues, ask your supervisor to help you prioritize things and learn when to let go of a task. Cheng says, "Just because you're working longer doesn't mean you're working better."

2. Are you delegating ... or hoarding?

If you have any aspirations at all to move into management, you must learn to delegate work. Again, tasks need to be completed in a timely fashion; if you're having trouble finishing a project, you must delegate to other team members, even if you happen to relish the task you're giving away.

Cheng, who has more than 12 years of experience in corporate human resources, reveals, "Some workers feel like if they do everything and they're the only one who knows how to do it, they're making themselves irreplaceable. However, sharing information and teaching others around you is a valued skill as far as management is concerned."

Focus on completion and quality and be generous enough to let a colleague learn and shine. If you lack sufficient support, ask your boss about expanding your group.

3. Are you hungry ... or is your plate full?

Once you've solidified your reputation as the office workaholic, you may find that when your dream project comes through the door, you aren't asked to work on it. Why? Your boss probably thinks you don't have the bandwidth to take on anything else. Always keep a bit of room in your schedule to sink your teeth into new challenges and opportunities.

Cheng reminds professionals, "Your ability to say no to certain things gives you the freedom to say yes to others."

4. Do you have friends ... or 'frenemies'?

Your workaholic ways are likely alienating once-valued associates. Above and beyond the obvious grumblings of, "You're making the rest of us look bad," your colleagues may dread collaborating on a project with you.

Lose the overly methodical approach, don't expect folks to come in early or stay late for meetings, and focus on process and outcome.

5. Do you work to live ... or live to work?

The best workers are well-rounded professionals with full lives, in and out of the office. Each year, new studies abound about the importance of vacations, hobbies, and enjoying your leisure time. But are you listening?

Your friends and family will be in your life a lot longer than you'll hold most jobs. Also, pursuing leisure activities you're passionate about can lead to a second career.

Cheng concludes, "Work-life balance is a choice. If you reflexively say yes to taking on extra work, you may live to regret it."

Mouth Watering Recipes

2007-09-02T09:54:00.000+05:30

STORECUPBOARD ESSENTIALS

Japanese miso (fermented soybean paste), for instant soups, sauces and marinades.

Lemons, to bring food to life.

Dijon mustard, for vinaigrettes and to add flavour to fish, lamb and chicken before roasting.

Oats, for porridge in winter and Swiss-style muesli and crunchy granola in summer.

Dark chocolate: one square is better than any heavy pudding.

Yogurt instead of cream.

Avocado, to use on sourdough bread instead of butter and to add creaminess to salads.

Pistachio nuts, sunflower and pumpkin seeds and Swedish crispbreads for snacking.

Seaweed - dried sea vegetables such as wakame, nori and arame are packed with nutrients and add flavour to soups and salads.

Bananas: the best breakfast there is, mixed with oatmeal, yogurt, grated apple and mixed seeds. Freeze them on sticks for healthy ice lollies, or whizz them with porridge oats, dates, yogurt and apple juice for breakfast smoothies.

SIZZLING HALOUMI WITH PRAWNS

Serves 4

Haloumi is a rich, salty Greek-Cypriot cheese that is rubbery and dull when cold, but delicious when sizzling hot.

7oz/200g haloumi cheese, rinsed

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

7oz/200g cherry tomatoes

16 small or 12 medium raw prawns, peeled

1 lemon, quartered

For the dressing:

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp green olives, crushed

8 caper berries (or use 1 tbsp drained capers in vinegar)

1 tbsp roughly chopped dill

Cut the haloumi into ½in/1 cm thick slices. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a non-stick pan.

Add the tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes. Remove and add the remaining olive oil. Cook the prawns over a high heat until they are no longer translucent, turning them once. Wipe out the pan and return to the heat. Fry the cheese until it is golden, turning once.

Arrange the prawns, tomatoes and haloumi on four plates. Mix the dressing ingredients together and spoon over the top. Serve with lemon wedges.

SPICED YOGURT CHICKEN

Serves 4

Yogurt makes a good, quick marinade because it not only tenderises the chicken, it carries the spices into it as well. Serve with lemon-scented rice for a quick, simple supper.

7oz/200g natural low-fat yogurt

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger

1 small green chilli, finely minced

2 tsp garam masala

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp turmeric

A pinch of cayenne powder

1 tbsp vegetable oil

4 chicken breasts, skinned

A handful of rocket leaves

For the lemon yogurt:

1 tbsp preserved (salted) lemons, rinsed

4oz/110g plain natural yogurt

1 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped

Combine the yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, chilli, spices, vegetable oil and half a teaspoon of salt in a non-reactive bowl and mix well.

Cut a few slashes in the thicker part of the chicken breasts, and toss well in the marinade. Leave for at least 30 minutes, turning once or twice.

Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6. Place the chicken on a rack set above a foil-lined baking tray and bake for 30 minutes or until golden.

Dice the preserved lemons and mix with the yogurt and coriander.

Serve the chicken on the leaves, with the lemon yogurt. Scatter with coriander and serve with steamed rice.

LEMON CUPCAKES

Makes 10

"Cupcakes are just a cute form of portion control," says Jill. These are dense and surprisingly satisfying. All the same, it's best to invite nine friends to tea so you're not tempted to eat another one.

4½oz/125g butter, softened

4½oz/125g caster sugar

3 eggs, separated

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp grated lemon zest

6oz/180g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

7floz/200ml plain, natural yogurt

3 tbsp icing sugar

Lemon juice

10 blackberries

Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4 and set 10 paper muffin cases into a large muffin tray.

Beat the butter and sugar until pale.

Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well. Beat in the lemon juice and zest. Sift the dry ingredients and fold them into the mixture, alternating with the yogurt.

Beat the egg whites until stiff and peaky. Fold into the batter.

Fill the paper cases and bake for 30 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.

When cool, mix the icing sugar with enough lemon juice to make thick icing.

Spread a little on each cake, add a berry and leave to set.

Rush Hour 3 (2007)

2007-09-02T09:48:00.000+05:30

After the surprising success of 1998’s Jackie Chan-Chris Tucker buddy comedy “Rush Hour” (I mean, really, who expected this to become a profitable franchise?) and its high-grossing 2001 sequel “Rush Hour 2”, the “Hour” team returns for a third go. And, as this summer is proving, just because it’s a third sequel doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad. The filmmakers – returning director Brett Ratner and “2” scribe Jeff Nathanson – adhere religiously to the formula that made the first two films hard to dislike: Mr. Tucker’s motor-mouth and Mr. Chan’s dizzying physicality. Having sent up the fish-out-of-water scenario in America (the original) and China (“2”), “Rush Hour 3” takes both characters out of their respective elements and drops them in Paris to hunt down the mysterious Shy Shen.

Exactly who or what Shy Shen is and why he or she is worth hunting down gets less and less interesting the more it is revealed. But the film’s plot (in “3” more than ever) is at best an afterthought. In fact, the plot is almost insultingly poor. There are virtually no motivations for the wasted international cast, including French model Noémie Lenoir in the femme fatale role, French (by way of Israel) actor Yvan Attal as a hysterically nationalistic cabbie, Japanese star Hiroyuki Sanada ("Sunshine", "Ringu") as someone for Mr. Chan to fight with, and even Max von Sydow and Roman Polanski as famous actors cashing large paychecks. All these characters exist in scenes strung loosely together to get the Chan-Tucker team from A-to-B with as many opportunities for comedy and action as possible.

What saves “Rush Hour 3” is its own disinterest in its plot. The first half of Mr. Nathanson’s zippy script is wall-to-wall with one-liners from Mr. Tucker, whiz-bang action set pieces featuring the aging but still graceful Mr. Chan, and even (dare I say it?) some clever moments - including a send-up of Abbott and Costello’s famed “Who’s On First?” routine and a memorable multi-lingual interrogation scene that ingeniously gets around the MPAA ratings board. During its finest moments, the filmmakers channel that perfect blend of comedy and mystery that Blake Edwards did so masterfully in the early “Pink Panther” films.

Obviously, “Rush Hour 3” isn’t high comedy and, after three films, we’re not expecting that from this series, but the “Rush” franchise trademarks – tongue-in-cheek action comedy – are all here in fine form. As always, Mr. Tucker is hit-and-miss, but he has a looser screen presence this time around and his success ratio is much higher than usual (he hysterically tells a French-speaking Asian criminal, “You’re Asian! Stop humiliating yourself!”), and Mr. Chan (at 53!) may be getting a little long-in-the-tooth to be hopping around the Eiffel Tower but, as the outtakes show, he suffers for his art. The “Rush” series is like an energetic puppy, it’s hard not to smile as it trips over itself to earn your love. This may not be their finest “Hour”, but it’s a good way to spend 90 minutes.

Halloween (2007)

2007-09-02T09:33:00.000+05:30

Along with a fascination with Charles Manson and The Munsters, and the distinction of having traded in a mundane last name (Cummings) for one befitting a truly geeky horror movie lover, Rob Zombie also has the distinction of having spoken out against sequels – when he killed off the protagonist of his second film The Devil’s Rejects, Mr. Zombie boasted that he did this because he believes sequels cheat the audience. So there’s an interesting tinge of irony to his decision to write and direct a remake of the first in a long line of Halloween movies, one that lasted eight movies in total, over almost 25 years.

Although Mr. Zombie approaches things differently from the original – focusing well over a third of the film on Michael Myers’ childhood antics and giving Laurie Strode (Lamie Lee Curtis in the original and Scout Taylor-Compton this time) less than half as much time to scream and run and fight for her life – the basic story remains the same. Michael is a twisted young fellow. We’re subjected to enough of the abuse and neglect he suffers as a child to see that there are reasons for this. And Michael acted out while he was still a kid (he’s ten in this one, as opposed to six in the original). You get to witness the acting act in full, plodding detail here, so I need not give you the details, except to assure you that it’s enough to get him sent to the loony bin for a long time.

Seventeen years after being put away, Michael escapes and that brings us to Halloween, the anniversary of his first slicing and dicing, and he’s back in town, apparently seeking to take care of some unfinished business. In pursuit is his former psychiatrist (Malcolm McDowell), who takes a break from his book and lecture tour shilling his Myers-focussed psycho killer expertise to try to bring the big guy back under control.

The original, of course, is considered a horror movie classic, having inspired hundreds of movies featuring creepy silent monster killers in pursuit of copulating teens. But this time out, while there’s more naked flesh and freer reign to show blood and guts, Mr. Zombie has elected to go with a plodding psycho killer fest, with Myers doing his rounds in a rather uninspired businesslike manner. It’s only in the film’s final 20 minutes that things become exciting, and even then, poor Taylor-Compton is given little chance to raise her profile anywhere near as much as Curtis did in the original.

Taylor-Compton screams gamely once she’s given the chance, but otherwise does not distinguish herself, and McDowell gives an earnest effort as Dr. Sam Loomis, but I can’t shake the sense that he comes across more like an infomercial psychic than a legitimate mental health professional. Several of the other cast members (including William Forsythe, Sid Haig and Bill Moseley) are regulars in Mr. Zombie’s movies, not to mention his wife, Sheri Moon Zombie, who plays Michael’s mom.

As for the big guy himself, Tyler Mane has little to do as the adult Michael, but Daeg Faerch, who plays the ten year old version, is genuinely creepy.

There’s plenty of slicing and dicing here, and a few moments of tension toward the end, but this is mostly a workmanlike and uninspired remake of a movie that really wasn’t thrilling enough to inspire seven sequels anyway – let alone a remake. Sorry, Mr. Zombie.

Intel Centrino

2007-09-02T09:25:00.000+05:30

Im not at all kidding, I get this question once a week at least. And I'm shocked, because Intel spent $300 million marketing the Centrino brand when it launched in 2003, and more since. And yet, confusion about what Centrino means remains rampant.

If you really want to know what Centrino is, it's this: Nothing. Centrino is primarily just a marketing term that Intel uses to describe a whole bunch of laptop technologies. But those technologies have changed over time, so what Centrino described in 2003 is completely out of date in 2007. Yet old and new PCs are both "Centrino." I've never understood why Intel felt it needed to make a brand out of a bunch of laptop components (in addition to the much more important CPU branding), but we're stuck with it, regardless.

At a higher level, Centrino refers to three components of a laptop:

The CPU (now the Core 2 Duo or the rare Core Duo you still find)
The wireless card (now the 802.11a/g/n Wi-Fi adapter)
The chipset (which dictates the RAM support, BIOS, integrated graphics, and other unde-the-hood technologies that you largely need not worry about)

A computer must contain all three of these things to be described as Centrino and earn that valuable sticker on the case.

You'll also see "Centrino Pro" and "Centrino Duo" logos. Again, these are marketing terms that don't really mean much. Don't worry about the difference between them, they're about the same. However, if you see a rare logo that doesn't have "Pro" or "Duo" after it, it's probably a PC with a Core Solo chip in it and should be avoided.

If you're buying a new computer, remember to look beyond that Centrino label: For all you know it could be referring to a technology from four years ago. You want to find out specifically what the CPU is and what the wireless technology is: Insist on a Core 2 Duo computer; getting an 802.11n-capable Wi-Fi chip is also a good idea for future-proofing your laptop.

Nokia replaces 46 Million Phone Batteries

2007-09-02T09:21:00.000+05:30

Watch your ears, people. Nokia has just issued a warning that the batteries in some—well, make that a lot—of its phones are prone to overheating. About 46 million batteries are suspect, according to the Finnish cell-phone maker.

According to Nokia, its BL-5C batteries, which power about 50 different models of Nokia phones (including the popular N72, N91, and E50 handsets), may overheat while being charged. The phone manufacturer says about 100 cases of battery overheating have been reported worldwide, although none occurred while someone was actually using their phone. Nokia is offering to replace any BL-5C batteries free of charge. While Nokia claims that no injuries have been reported due to overheating batteries, I can only imagine how hot the buggy batteries are getting; my pair of non-Nokia cell phones, which are supposedly A-OK, already get pretty warm while they're charging in their cradles.

So, how can you tell if you've got a bum battery? First, check this page and see if your make of Nokia phone is listed. If it is, then crack open the back cover, find the battery ID number (instructions for finding it are on the same page) and search for it on Nokia's site; a message will pop up if you need to send the battery in for replacement.

Using Word Pad

2007-09-02T09:08:00.000+05:30

If you really want and need formatting - and you're too cheap to buy Microsoft Word - Windows XP's WordPad will do. If you've been locked out of Word by Microsoft's nefarious Office (De)Activation Wizard, you'll no doubt rely on WordPad to keep limping along until Microsoft can reactivate you.

If you find yourself reading these words because Office has slipped into "reduced functionality mode," take heart, but be forewarned: If you aren't careful, you can really clobber your Word files by saving them with WordPad. If you have to edit a Word 97, 2000, 2002, or 2003 document with WordPad, always follow these steps:

1. Make a copy of the Word document, and open the copy in WordPad. Do not edit original Word documents with WordPad. You'll break them as soon as you save them. Do not open Word documents in WordPad, thinking that you'll do a Save As and save with a different name. You'll forget.

2. When you get Word back, open the original document, choose Tools --> Compare and Merge Documents. Pick the WordPad version of the document, and click Merge. The resulting merged document probably looks like a mess, but it's a start.

3. Use the Revisions Toolbar (which is showing) to march through your original document and apply the changes you made with WordPad. This is the only reliable way to ensure that WordPad doesn't accidentally swallow any of your formatting.

WordPad works much the same as any other word processor, only less so. Its feature set reflects its price - you can't expect much from a free word processor. That said, WordPad isn't encumbered with many of the confusing doodads that make Word so difficult for the first-time e-typist, and it may be a decent way to start learning how simple word processors work.

To get WordPad going, choose Start --> All Programs --> Accessories --> WordPad

Technical Stuff
Like a Word document or a text file, Rich Text Format (RTF) is another type of file. RTF documents can have some simple formatting, but nothing nearly as complex as Word 97, for example. Many word-processing programs from many different manufacturers can read and write RTF files, so RTF is a good choice if you need to create a file that can be moved to a lot of places.

If you're just starting out with word processing, keep these facts in mind:

To format text, select the text you want to format; then click the formatting you want from the toolbar, or choose Format --> Font.

To format a paragraph, you can simply click once inside the paragraph and choose the formatting from the toolbar, or choose Format --> Paragraph. Alternatively, you can select all the text in the paragraph, or in multiple paragraphs, before applying the formatting.

General page layout (such as margins, whether the page is printed vertically or horizontally, and so on) is controlled by settings in the Page Setup dialog box. To get to the Page Setup dialog box, choose File --> Page Setup.

Tabs are complicated. Every paragraph starts out with tab stops set every half inch. You set additional tab stops by choosing Format --> Tab, but the tab stops you set up work only in individual paragraphs: Select one paragraph and set a tab stop, and it works only in the selected paragraph; select three paragraphs and set the stop, and it works in all three.

WordPad treats tabs like any other character: A tab can be copied, moved and/or deleted, sometimes with unexpected results. Keep your eyes peeled when using tabs and tab stops. If something goes wrong, choose Edit --> Undo immediately and try again.

Remember
WordPad lacks many of the features that you may have come to expect from other word processors: You can't even insert a page break, much less a table. If you spend any time at all writing anything but the most straightforward documents, you'll quickly outgrow WordPad.

HerFabLife.com

2007-08-31T07:36:00.000+05:30

HerFabLife.com is the latest social bookmarking community for young urban hip and trendy women who are interested in the latest fashion styles, the newest restaurant, bar, spa, salon, retail store openings. It's a site where many young people meet and exchange their latest finds of restaurants, concerts, events, fashion styles, shops, etc etc. Name it and they have it. It's concept comes with a social networking style so it's easy to communicate with members and exchange ideas, places, get to know new beauty shops or spas etc, includes tags feature for easy sorting. In my point of view it's an excellent place to hangout for women who are trendy and stylish but yet my consumption can be wrong, so you also can take a look inside it and evaluate by yourself. The HerFabLife.com is the perfect place for women from different backgrounds from all over the world to share their experiences about the latest lifestyle trends. They don't have to be a guru; they can just come to the HerFabLife.com to check out cool new trends and products. People who use the HerFabLife.com are: Readers, Shoppers, Bloggers, Retailers/Business Owners. They are in search of the freshest and most interesting new products, brands and designers from around the world. Fashion and lifestyle is created between people, and so you can network, contribute content to the site, voice your opinions and vote on content you like or dislike. They also provide you with Your Personal Lifestyle Guide and also with Your fav lifestyle guide. This is the site that allows women to give their opinions and vote the content that their like and dislike in the website, they are allows member to contribute content as well. You can post your latest finds and thus be a guide to others, or you can sit down and see what others have come up with.

You now know everything about this cool website, so what is holding you back, Get a FabLife Just Now!!

Kids And Media (TV, Internet)

2007-08-30T11:12:00.000+05:30

It's something every new parent grapples with: How much TV is too much TV?

Researchers at the University of Washington have found really young kids seem to be watching a lot of it. And while they're not sure how bad that is for them, they know it's not entirely good. Here's what their survey turned up:

90 percent of children under the age of 2 watch TV and videos regularly
40 percent of infants under 3 months are, too (Three months?)
29 percent of parents whose babies are watching TV and DVDs believe the educational programming is good for their brain stimulation, though no research has proven this

Sure, every parent of a baby and young toddler needs a break, but check out the full story in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer to help you decide how much is okay. Remember that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no television for children younger than 2, and only one to two hours a day of quality programming for older children.

Resist the temptation to put TVs in children's bedrooms, too. The academy says one of out of every five children age 2 or younger has a TV in his bedroom. There's another reason this may not be a good thing — an increased risk of obesity for preschoolers who have TVs in their bedrooms.

So, truthfully, do you think babies should watch any TV or videos? Please share how you manage the balance of educational videos, TV, and good old-fashioned play with your little ones.

How To (Realistically) Set TV, Internet Limits for Kids

Tip: No TV, Internet, or video games until homework is finished.
Reality: This one is the easiest one to follow in our house because it's pretty clear cut. (No doubt it's harder to ensure if kids are home alone after school.) Once homework is finished, then we can talk about computer time and TV. But homework includes reading, and we've been slacking on this one. 10-years-old does not read as much as her older sibs, so we've added reading time to the before-TV-Internet list again.

Tip: No instant messaging or emailing during homework time.
Reality: This one is harder to stick to as kids get older. Still, it's worth a try. That's why it's important to keep computers in central areas. But this, too, needn't be a hard and fast rule for teens. The reality is once they move to college and into the workforce, they'll be juggling multiple instant messages while doing work and surfing the web. So help them make good decisions about what work needs their undivided attention and what work can be completed with some interruptions.

Tip: No computers in bedrooms.
Reality: As more teens start to use laptops and more homes integrate wireless Internet access, there will be times when kids have computers in bedrooms. But laptops are portable, so you can make sure homework is done in a more central place in the home and that laptops are turned off and out of bedrooms at bedtime.

Tip: Set time limits on TV and computer time.
Reality: Easier said than done and not always terribly realistic because life doesn't move in neat segments of time. Some days this will work, others it won't. Set guidelines and keep talking (and showing) your kids why it's important to read newspapers and magazines, and spend time outside. Alternatively, You can do crossword puzzles together.

That's just a few. Feel free to add your true-life approach to striking the right media balance at home for you and your kids.

Online Private Photo Sharing

2007-08-30T10:45:00.000+05:30

A friend of mine, a new mom who is very tech savvy and comfortable socializing and sharing info on the web, recently raised a good question for young parents. Like lots of first-time parents, she put images and videos of her child with her name on the web for friends and family to see. She used Flickr and Yahoo! Video, which makes it easy to send links that people can click on and be brought immediately to a public photo or video gallery.

But when she did a search on her daughter's name, she was surprised to immediately find links to the images. It made her stop and think about how they handle their child's images on the web before she is old enough to have any say in how she is presented online. For now, she has taken the most prominent links down, and she and her husband have decided not to use their daughter's full name on anything they post in the future. Friends of theirs take an even more cautious stance: they will not put any images of their children on the web before they are old enough to say whether they want them there or not.

Either way, it's an interesting dilemma for parents who have come of age at ease with sharing images and writings about themselves on MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, and other social-networking sites. But when it comes to children, parents need to weigh their kids' right to privacy with the desire to share their joy with the world.

When Richard M. Smith, an Internet security consultant based in Boston, searched on his grandson's name, he was surprised to come upon a page of Flickr photos of the baby set up by his son-in-law. "Seems like a problem," he wrote in an email message. Because Smith is concerned about safety as well as privacy, he notes that putting full names of family members online is not a good idea, especially when there are tools that allow people to search on names of adults and come up with home addresses.

If you've set up a family web site, Smith notes that you can use a ROBOTS.TXT file to tell search engines to go away so the site does not show up on search index pages.

The simpler solution, he said, is to choose web-based photo-sharing options that allow you to keep the sharing between family and friends and not in the public domain. With that in mind, here are a few ways to share in a less public way:

Privacy settings: Flickr now has a "hide your photos from public searches" feature in the "my account" section of the site. You can also change privacy settings to restrict those who view your photos to friends and/or family. If you do this, you'll need to invite some friends and family to sign up on Flickr, which may take a little explaining for some less tech-savvy family members. (Note: You can not make uploaded videos to Yahoo! Video private.)

Private photo and video sharing sharing: All the major photo web sites have sharing features, though many require the viewers to register with the sites to see the photos. Shutterfly does not, which is one of the reasons why I like it. To share videos with family members and friends, try Motionbox, which has a private setting, and One True Media, which allows you to share videos on a personal TiVo channel.

Family social networking sites: Some charge subscriptions, some are free. A few free ones worth checking out are Famoodle, FamilyRoutes, and Kincafe. For a scrapbooking approach, try Smilebox.

Those are a few ideas for sharing photos and videos of your family with the people you want to see them and not necessarily anyone who finds them on the web. If this is something you've given some thought to, too, please share in the comments below how you share images of your little ones with an eye toward privacy and safety.

JustSayHi.com

2007-08-29T08:10:00.000+05:30

Online Dating is very common today in society, some people even find their future partners online. In the recent 5 years down the line, the internet has had a boom of dating sites. There are so many dating sites but majority of them require you to pay a fee after you register so you can send messages to other users but this new free online dating service I am talking about today is called JustSayHi.com and is 100% free with no credit card needed ever. You won't find many other free dating sites which can be compared to this feature. JustSayHi.com is truly wanting to help you find someone special and not solely wrapped up in making money off your wallet like some other sites out there. With life getting more and more busy with growing complexity in workplace each day, it can be very difficult for people to get out in open and meet people. Especially if one is looking for someone special, and looking to start a relationship or begin dating. The site is laid out very nicely, making it extremely user-friendly and easy to navigate. The response time and the content is very impressing. I like this more than any other site, because nobody wants to sit and search around for hours for a profile with my preference. This site makes it easy to join and begin searching for other singles.
The internet has been accepted for quite sometime and everybody is taking help of internet for common place for dating, and numerically the dating pool includes billions of people. The fact that this site is free does give them a winning edge over their competitors and their traffic flow is pretty high. Apart from the similar features which we see in other sites like making a profile, uploading a photo and sending messages to other user, JustSayHi also has a community forum and you can also rate participants after a date. Now it is really possible to meet thousands of fun loving, attractive, men and women in your area on a totally FREE dating site. What are you waiting for? Join and feel the difference and start going out on dates!!

CriticsRant.com

2007-08-29T07:37:00.000+05:30

Are you a movie buff? Are you one of them who just have to watch movies on first day first show? I know I am one because I’m always checking the newspaper for the newest movies coming out. However with movie ticket prices going higher every week, you might want to be sure of what you going to see would be worth the ticket before you purchase. CriticsRant is a website that gives free reviews of the various TV shows, video games and movies. The movie reviews give you a good idea of how good or bad a particular movie is as you have the benefit of reading both the review as well as the numerous comments on the reviewed movie left by your fellow CriticsRant users. CriticsRant.com is a new and witty website for movie reviews, TV shows and video games. Not only in CriticsRant.com you can give (or get) your honest, in-depth "rants" on movies, games and TV shows, but you can also win a DVD just for sharing your two penny, regardless if it's negative or positive in their daily DVD giveaway contest. Now that’s a real good deal, don't you think so?

MyFitnessPal.com

2007-08-28T23:59:00.000+05:30

Hey are you overweight and still can not control yourself over food you eat? Or better, do u want to shred some of your calories quickly? Or are you seriously considering yourself to go on diet? Oh yes, now you got a choice and rather do not be seated on a chair all day thinking of how you going to do this. All you have to do is log in to My Fitness Pal and check out how to start on things to burn some calories easily. The site tells you about the nutritional contents of what you are eating, and consequently, how you can make better food choices. You can now keep a check on the amount of calories taken in by you with the help of a calorie counter.

MyFitnessPal.com provides all the help for natural weight loss. The site has a BMR Calculator which can give us an estimate of how many calories you'd burn if you were to do nothing but rest for 24 hours. It represents the minimum amount of energy needed to keep your body functioning, including breathing and keeping your heart beating.

This Wonderful site which i came across yesterday has more things to offer for free of cost. They also have BMI Calculator which help us find a healthy target weight range. BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight. Believe me these little tools along with many other useful tips really is helpful when it come to be fit. It is almost like you will be on a doctor's suggestion without spending single penny because the site is 100% free!! I was really intrigued by all this website had to offer, and I'm sure you will be as well. Take a look today and see what you think.

Trustsource.org

2007-08-27T23:16:00.000+05:30

If you are having confusion about buying a product from website or not sure of how much it is going to help you with so much money spent, then it is time you can be now assured of seeing what other people have to say about the particular product you are interested to buy. You can now see products that are offered on the web if actually they worked for people who have bought them and then after reading their reviews u can easily make up your mind on whether to stick on your decision or just try the product and see a difference. Thanks to trustsource.org now you can find out by reading the reviews of people who have already encountered and tried with millions of product already. It is about time that you can actually rely upon people and their review for products they used without bothering about the advertiser's flashy catchup line and their new ways of promoting products.

Revolutionary products like Provillus, which acts against hair loss by aggressively seeding the scalp to allow for new hair growth. It also gives the scalp the correct nutrition to bring damaged hair follicles back to health. Hair gets healthy and as a result hair fall lessens and it does help in stopping pre-mature greying of your hair. As hair fall is one of the rising problems, many people actually tried the product. Since then this product has received a five star rating by the people who have used it and are fully satisfied.

For whatever you intend to use for yourself, this site is just as helpful. Once you are in the review section where people write their experience with the product you will get a clear answer about your doubts in mind if you really want to buy what you thought of. Let's consider the range of cellulite cream that Trust Source offers. Like all the products these are tested and then reviewed by consumers. Many Cellulite creams are getting introduced in market so it becomes difficult for the consumers to decide on which brand to go for or which one would be without any side effects. Trust source lets users to review on the products under each category and then ranks the product according to users good/bad review making it easier for customers to decide.

Another amazing range of quality star products are those designed to help relieve the unpleasant and intolerable side effects of the menopause, especially the hot flashes that so many women find uncomfortable. From homeopathic drug to herbal medicine, these products along with everything else at Trust Source, are tested by the company itself to ensure that they do what they claim. It has been clinically proven that products that are best chosen by Trust Source are to be effective in the relief of Menopausal symptoms. However, members of the public are then invited to give their opinion. As far as this products are concerned, it's thumbs up all the way.

Finally to sum up, if ever you want to check if a certain product that you're thinking of buying really comes highly recommended or not, log in and check it out first in Trust Source. For now, you can start looking at TrustSource.org, you will never ever regret! Trust source will never push you for wrong products and I am sure you will get the very best of your health with the money you spend on your products.

Gizmo Updates

2007-08-27T12:19:00.000+05:30

CD Destroyer:

Ready to purge all those CDs loaded with credit card numbers, personal documents, and top-secret files? Here's a compact, USB-powered contraption that'll make mincemeat of your discs in mere seconds.
Sniffed out by Gizmodo, the $29 CD Destroyer will take any CD or DVD and—with help from a trio of carbon-steel teeth—carve a series of cool, elliptical scratches on its surface, effectively turning your disc into a pretty-looking coaster. According to the specs, the CD Destroyer can carry out its destructive duties within about five seconds—good news for anyone with a stack of incriminating discs to trash. The Destroyer comes with a USB cable for power, and the manufacturer has thoughtfully thrown in a leather carry case for paranoid road warriors.

iPhone Hacked:

A new (and unauthorized, of course) piece of software developed by a team of hackers will let you use the iPhone with any SIM, not just AT&T's, according to Engadget.The blog reports that the coders at iPhoneSIMfree.com called Engadget editors and walked them through the unlocking process, which requires a software app that the team has yet to release on the Web. The Engadget bloggers say the installation took just a few minutes, and that once competed, they were able to make calls on their test iPhone with a T-Mobile SIM card. Practically every iPhone feature was still working, according to Engadget, save Visual Voicemail. Sure, it may all sound a little fishy, but Engadget has a bevy of screenshots and videos backing up the story.So, how can you unlock your own iPhone, you ask? First of all, the hackers behind iPhoneSIMfree.com haven't released their code yet, and it's not clear when they plan on doing so. Also, even if you do get your hands on the unlocking software, you'll almost certainly void your warranty in the process, so do it at your own risk. Still, if you've been chomping at the bit to get an iPhone but don't want to sign a contract with AT&T, your lucky day may be fast approaching.

PS3 Adds DVR features:

Looks like European PlayStation 3 owners will soon be able to watch and record TV on their consoles, thanks to a new DVR add-on coming in 2008. But what about those of us stuck in the U.S.?Sony Europe announced today that the new device, dubbed PlayTV, will be available early next year in the UK, France, Italy, Germany, and Spain. According to Wired News, Sony reps in the U.S. say they are "investigating" the possibility of a PlayTV for the States, but there's no official launch date—or even confirmation that PlayTV will come here at all. Bummer.Anyway, PlayTV will come with a pair of DVB-T (the digital broadcast standard in Europe) tuners, allowing you to watch one show while recording another, and an electronic programming grid will let you select individual shows or an entire series for future recording. You'll be able to watch and record shows in HD (up to 1080p), while PSP owners can stream shows to their handhelds over Wi-Fi or transfer them via USB for later viewing—nice. Of course, Sony's announcement begs the question: what ever happened to talk of IPTV functionality on the Xbox 360? There are whispers that 360 TV features may be coming this fall, but nothing official. Stay tuned.

Zonbu- Green Colour PC

2007-08-27T11:33:00.000+05:30

PCs have become a bit ho-hum lately. But I'm predicting that this is the year we're going to see new designs and innovation in the PC world. As a matter of fact, at the recent Computex (a very large computer show in Taipei) there were some extraordinary ultra slim PCs on display, measuring about seven inches in width and weighing as little as two pounds. PCs you can balance in the palm of your hand. I wrote about some of these new ultra mobile PCs recently.

But one of the most unique designs I've seen is a completely different sort of PC entirely, and it doesn't cost thousands of dollars. It's a $99 PC called Zonbu. It's not a notebook nor a traditional desktop. It's the size of a small cigar box, but it combines a "green PC" design with a Linux OS and a web based service. In many ways, Zonbu is the sensible, affordable, and future-thinking way to go.

According to Gregoire Gentil, one of Zonbu's founders, the idea was to bring some of the benefits of the workplace environment, with its managed PCs, to the home. The Zonbu business model is more like a cell phone carrier's than a PC vendor's. You sign up with Zonbu; it provides both the service and hardware.

To get started, you attach a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and an Ethernet connection to the Zonbu box. (A wireless version will be available at a later date.) The box boots up immediately and sends you to the Zonbu site. In addition to the $99 box, you'll pay $12.95 a month for 100GB of storage on the Zonbu site. Your monthly fee also guarantees updates to software and drivers.

Inside the Zonbu there are no moving parts (hence no fan), so the unit uses very little electricity. Without a hard drive or fan, it's also blissfully quiet. Instead of a traditional hard drive you get a 4GB compact flash drive that houses the applications. Running the Linux operating system, Zonbu comes loaded with some of the most popular open source applications. Applications include a web browser with Google, games, a photo organizer, media player, a full Office suite (that can read and write to MS Office file formats), and even an iTunes-like application. It runs Skype and a universal instant messenger. Zonbu claims the software on the machine is a $2,000 value. For those of you that haven't used some of the open source applications, they feel very much like the Windows or Mac apps that you might be used to. Zonbu's software choices, for the most part, are best of breed in the open source world: Open Office.org and Mozilla Firefox, for example.

Zonbu's creators claim that the box is carbon emission-neutral because of its low power consumption. And, because of its tiny size, they say they are minimizing e-waste, both in the production and disposal of the unit. Finally, the Zonbu manufacturing process complies with the standard of the European RoHS Directive to minimize the use of harmful substances in the manufacturing process.

Beginning in July, customers can buy Zonbu on the web site and participate in an early customer program. If you're thinking that Zonbu is perfection, think again. There is a downside to being different. If there are certain Windows or Mac applications you need to use (say, Photoshop for instance) you're out of luck. A Linux machine is not going to run most of the games your kids want to play, either. Synching up your BlackBerry and other peripherals is also not an easy thing to do. At this time there's no support for Bluetooth, webcams, or scanners either. And if the company doesn't make it, well, you've got a little box of nothing, since so much of the experience is housed on their servers. And remember that by the time you've spent $13 a month on service, plus your $99, you could have gotten a pretty spiffy PC.

My vote would be to think seriously about a machine like this as a second or third household machine for surfing the Internet, office applications and simple media tasks. It's blissfully easy to set up and manage, lightweight, quiet, well stocked with software, backup and management included, and it's "green." Not perfect, but it's sure a welcome addition to the world of me-too computers.

Nasty Spyware

2007-08-25T12:41:00.000+05:30

Not even James Bond could bring any glamour to the nastiness of spyware, which is a software program that installs itself (without your knowledge) on your computer. After it's installed, the software collects information about you, and when you're online it sends the information to the spyware program's owner. Most spyware fits into either of two categories:

Surveillance spyware
Advertising spyware

How Spyware works
Surveillance spyware scans documents on your computer and can capture your keystrokes as you type. It can spy on forms you're filling out on a Web site (such as your login password or your credit card number) and the text you enter in a chat window. Government and detective agencies have been known to use this type of software, as have jealous spouses.

Advertising spyware is software that is installed when you're installing other software (usually software you download from the Internet) or that is installed in the background while you're visiting a Web site. It's common for advertising spyware to be included (without your being told) when you install software that's advertised as "free, if you don't mind seeing advertisements when you use it." One of the most pervasive distributors of spyware is software you download to take advantage of "peer to peer" file exchanges (for music and video). Advertising spyware logs information about your computer - and about you. The information includes passwords, your Web browsing habits, your online buying habits, and so on.

Both types of spyware can also install viruses and worms on your computer. Many of them change your browser settings (such as your home page), and your efforts to correct the changes are temporary; the spyware changes them again.

One of the annoying features of spyware is its connection to pop-up ads. Using the information it has collected about you, the spyware initiates pop-up ads whenever you connect to a Web site. The spyware software producer receives income whenever you respond to one of these pop-up ads, so the theory is "the more the better." After a while, using the Internet becomes almost impossible because of the barrage of pop-ups. Regardless of your Internet Explorer controls for your children, the pop-ups often contain pornography.

Spyware Removal:

The only way to remove spyware from your computer is to use software designed for that purpose. The following two programs are well regarded by computer professionals:

Ad-Aware from Lavasoft.com Lavasoft.com
Spybot S&D (for Search & Destroy) Spybot.com

Some Important Cell Phone term definition

2007-08-23T15:44:00.000+05:30

Confused by the alphabet soup of cell phone acronyms? I don't blame you. Here's a cheat sheet that'll help you navigate the waters while your shopping for your next phone—or trying to get the most out of the handset you've got.Most of the confusion arises when it comes to the various types of cell phone networks. For example, when I ask my aunts and uncles which networks their phones work on, they'll usually tell me their carrier instead of whether they're using GSM or CDMA—and frankly, before I started writing about cell phones for a living, I didn't know the difference, either. So first, let's start with a quick overview of the two main standard for cell networks:

GSM: Short for Global System for Mobile Communications, GSM is the most widespread standard for cell phones networks in the world. If you're a jetsetter who likes keeping in touch during your far-flung travels, you should go with a GSM-enabled phone. The main distinction of a GSM phone is that it comes with a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card—a little plastic chip that, as its name implies, identifies your phone on the GSM network. If you take the SIM card out of your GSM phone and put it into another GSM handset, you'll be able to place and receive calls on the second phone using your own cell phone number. GSM phones are also capable of handling six-way conference calls.

CDMA: Short for Code Division Multiple Access, CDMA networks are much more prevalent in the U.S. than they are abroad, and while CDMA boasts many of the same features as GSM networks (including caller ID, call waiting, and text messaging), there are some key differences—namely, CDMA phones don't use SIM cards. Instead, your phone's identity and number are programmed into the handset by your carrier, and you can't easily switch numbers on CDMA phones as you can with SIM-equipped GSM phones. Also, CDMA phones can only handle three-way conference calls, versus six-way calls on GSM networks.

OK, so you've got your two main flavors of networks, but now I'm going to stir another variable into the mix: 3G. Here's the deal: GSM and CDMA are both considered second-generation, or 2G, networks (the first generation being AMPS, an analog network used mainly back in the 1980s). Unlike the old voice-only AMPS networks, digital GSM and CDMA networks can handle both voice and data calls, which means you can send text messages, surf the Web and get caller ID info. But data flows slowly over GSM and CDMA—think dial-up, only slower. Streaming video and music? Forget it.

That's where 3G, or third-generation networks, come in. These so-called 3G systems allow data to flow at speeds you'd expect from a home DSL modem or better—and at those speeds, you get features like streaming video and full-track music downloads. The main types of 3G networks include:

EV-DO: An add-on for CDMA networks, EV-DO (or Evolution-Data Optimized) delivers data speeds between 144Kbps to 2Mbps to CDMA cell phones, perfect for streaming video and music. Sprint offers EV-DO access through its Power Vision phones (which are typically a little pricier than standard models); on Verizon Wireless, look for the "V Cast" label.

UMTS and HSDPA: Both UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) and HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) are upgrades to GSM networks, and like EV-DO, they provide DSL and cable-like data speed. The only difference between UMTS and HSDPA (besides the technical nitty-gritty, of course) is that HSDPA is even faster than UMTS; for that reason, HSDPA networks are often called 3.5G rather than just 3G.

Somewhere between 3G and 2G lies, naturally enough, 2.5G networks, which give you data speeds that are slightly faster than dial-up—no good for streaming video, but fine for messaging or mobile Web browsing. These networks include:

1xRTT: A variant of the CDMA standard, 1xRTT (or "1 times Radio Transmission Technology") gives you data speeds between 30Kbps and 90Kbps, a bit better than your typical 56Kbps dial-up modem. Most of the non-3G phones on Sprint and Verizon have 1xRTT capabilities.

GPRS and EDGE: The 2.5G flavors of GSM networks, GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) and EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution) also give you data in the 30Kbps to 90Kbps range, with EDGE running slightly faster than GPRS. Again, most of the non-3G phones on AT&T offer either GPRS or EDGE, while T-Mobile—which has yet to launch a 3G network—only does GPRS and EDGE.

Some other terms are:

xHTML: eXtensible HyperText Markup Language

A newer version of the HTML markup language (code) used to create Internet web pages. Unlike the older HTML, xHTML includes several core features designed specifically with mobile devices in mind. Special versions of xHTML - such as xHTML Basic and xHTML Mobile Profile - are designed specifically for mobile devices. xHTML also includes features that allow a website designed for a full PC to automatically display in a simplified version on a mobile device. xHTML also adheres to strict XML rules, which makes it much easier for devices with limited processing power (like phones) to understand and display quickly and consistently. xHTML is a core part of the WAP 2.0 standard, replacing the WML language that was used in WAP 1.x.While most new phones support xHTML, many older phones only support WML and/or HDML.

XML: eXtensible Markup Language

A standard that forms the basis for most modern markup languages. XML is an extremely flexible format that only defines "ground rules" for other languages that define a format for structured data designed to be interpreted by software on devices. XML by itself is not a data format.Examples of XML-based standards include xHTML, for creating web pages, RSS, for feeds of new information (such as news headlines), and SyncML, for managing personal data such as contacts, email, files, and events.

WML: Wireless Markup Language

An industry-standard markup language for creating tiny web sites optimized for phones.WML was a core feature of the WAP 1.x standard.WML is being phased out in favor of the newer xHTML standard, part of WAP 2.0.Older phones may only support WML sites.

WLL: Wireless Local Loop

Wireless service systems that compete with or substitute for local wireline phone service.

WAP: Wireless Application Protocol

A technology designed to allow efficient transmission of optimized Internet content to cell phones.

VOICE MAIL: A service provided by a phone network to store and manage voice messages for individual users. Like an answering machine, voice mail can handle a call when the person being called is unavailable, by playing a greeting message and recording a voice message from the caller. From a modern mobile phone, the voice mail system can usually be accessed by pressing and holding the "1" key, although some phones use a different key, or require dialing a code. Once connected to the system, voice messages can be retrieved and managed using a traditional phone menu interface. Many voice mail systems also offer advanced options such as different greetings for different times or dates, or fax management.

VOICE DIALING: This lets you speak a name to dial a number instead of entering a number manually or choosing it from the phone book.There are two types: speaker-dependent (recorded) and speaker-independent (recognition).With speaker-dependent, voice dial entries must be explicitly created by speaking and recording the name 1-3 times. The phone will only respond to recorded names, and usually only when spoken by the same person who recorded them. The maximum number of voice dial entries is usually limited to a fraction of the size of the whole phone book.With speaker-independent voice recognition, no recording is required. The name can be spoken by anyone, and the phone will automatically match the spoken name with the closest name entered in the phone book.Speaker-dependent is the most common type, especially on older phones. If the type isn't specified, it is usually speaker-dependent.

VGA: Video Graphics Array

A standard size/resolution for digital cameras, images (files), and displays. VGA size is 640 pixels wide by 480 pixels tall (or vice-versa in portrait orientation). VGA is larger than CIF, QCIF, and QVGA, but smaller than megapixel.

SVGA: Super Video Graphics Array

A standard size/resolution for images (files), and displays. SVGA size is 800 pixels wide by 600 pixels tall (or vice-versa in portrait orientation). SVGA is larger than CIF, QVGA, and VGA, but smaller than 1 megapixel.

SYLUS: A small pen-like instrument used to "write" on a touch-screen device. A stylus is often nothing more than a simple stick of plastic, except that its tip is specifically designed to not damage the screen. The stylus provides far more accuracy than could be achieved with a fingertip, and provides a familiar pen-like experience for inputting handwriting or drawings.

SOFT KEYS: Soft Keys are multi-function keys that use part of the display to identify their function at any moment. Because of this, they are usually located directly underneath the display.

QUAD BAND: Designates a GSM phone that supports all four major GSM frequency bands, making it compatible with all major GSM networks worldwide. The four bands include the 850 and 1900 MHz bands - used in the Americas - and 900 / 1800, used in most other parts of the world. Compared to a tri-band phone supporting the 900 / 1800 / 1900 bands, a quad-band phone adds support for GSM 850 for full coverage in the Americas. Compared to a tri-band phone supporting the 850 / 1800 / 1900 bands, a quad-band phone adds support for GSM 900 for full coverage in Europe and Asia.

PIXEL: The smallest visual unit in an electronic display or visual data file; a single "dot". Most modern electronic displays are composed of a grid of pixels. Each pixel can be turned on or off, or - in the case of full-color displays - dimmed or made a specific color. In this way, pixels are individually controlled to cause the whole display to show information and graphics. An important measure of an electronic display the number of pixels. More pixels allow the display to show more detail and more information. This is called "resolution", and is typically stated in terms of vertical and horizontal pixels (such as 240 x 320). Pixels can also be used to describe the smallest visual unit in a visual data file, such as a captured photograph or video clip.

MEMORY CARD SLOT: Memory card slots are used primarily to add memory to a phone, in the form of a memory card. Extra memory can be used to store and transfer photos, videos, music, computer files, or backups of phone data such as the phone book and calendar. Some card slots also support cards with other functions, such as Wi-Fi connectivity or an NFC reader. In this way the card slot can be used to add features to a device. The most common standard for this capability is SDIO, which we list as a separate feature. There are several different types of cards. Each has a different shape and size, but cards from a phone can also be used with other devices which use the same type of card. Such devices might include handhelds, digital cameras, and MP3 music players.

BROWSER: In wireless phones, built-in software that allows the user to access special Internet sites using their phone. While nearly all browsers in phones can view sites made especially for phones, only some can also display "full" web sites.

BLUETOOTH: Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology used to create PANs (Personal Area Networks) among your devices, and with other nearby devices.Bluetooth allows you to leave your phone in your pocket, while talking on your phone with a Bluetooth headset - with no wires. You can also exchange contact or scheduling information with other Bluetooth-enabled phones nearby, or send such information to a nearby Bluetooth-enabled printer.Another common use is to give your laptop computer or PDA wireless high-speed Internet access via Bluetooth and your phone. Many newer automobiles also have Bluetooth, which can interface with a phone in a pocket, to allow automatic hands-free phone capability. More innovative uses include playing a game against someone with a similar phone nearby, or using a special Bluetooth pen to send SMS messages by simply writing them on paper. Bluetooth functionality is divided into separate types of connections known as "profiles". Each of the various scenarios outlined above involve a different profile. Not all Bluetooth devices support all profiles. For example, most phones support the Headset (HSP) and Handsfree (HFP) profiles, for connecting the phones to headsets and car kits, respectively. But not all phones support the Object Exchange (OBEX) profiles, which let you transfer files (like photos) (FTP) and/or information (like contacts and events) (OPP) to and from other devices. Another profile supported by only some phones is Dial-Up Networking (DUN), which lets you connect a laptop or PDA to the Internet via the phone. Other optional profiles support connecting to printers (BPP), keyboards (HID), and stereo headphones (A2DP, AVRC).Most Bluetooth phones are "class 2", which means the Bluetooth feature has a range of up to 30 feet. Class 1 phones (which are rare) can have a range of up to 300 feet. Bluetooth is named for the 10th century Viking king Harald Bluetooth, who united Norway and Denmark.

AIRTIME: Time spent communicating using a mobile phone. The time is tracked by wireless carriers (service providers) to determine billing charges. Usage includes sending or receiving calls and other wireless transmission such as faxes, e-mail or data files. Most carriers charge for a whole minute even if only part of a minute is used.

Whew! That's a lot of terminology. I'll tackle more wireless acronyms in future posts; in the meantime, if you're curious about the technical details of the various cell networks, I'd suggest combing through Wikipedia.

Nokia N95

2007-08-22T08:17:00.000+05:30

Ever since the Nokia N95 first debuted back in September 2006, it's been one of the most anticipated and highly coveted smart phones. In fact, Nokia didn't even have plans to bring the N95 to the United States, but after the high number of requests from U.S. customers, the company finally decided to ship the hot smart phone across the pond. What's all the hubbub about, you ask? Well, let's see: it boasts a 5-megapixel camera that can also record VGA-quality video, a robust media player with a 3.5mm headphone jack, a dual-slider design, and integrated GPS, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. Not to mention, it's a Symbian smart phone as well.

Unfortunately, when you've got an overhyped phone like this, there's bound to be some disappointments. First, the N95 does not work on the United States' 3G network (namely, Cingular/AT&T's HSDPA network) for high-speed Web browsing and data transfer, which is a major disappointment. Also, all of the phone's features take a toll on the device's battery and processor, as standby battery life was pretty sad and performance was somewhat sluggish. But do the pros outweigh the cons? Is it worth paying the $750 for the phone? Well, we're not 100 percent sold. We so desperately wanted to like this phone, but for that money, we want a device that can keep up with our demands and not require us to go running to the outlet to constantly recharge. Plus, we'd also like the see the inclusion of 3G. Still, we know there are the gadget lovers and tech enthusiasts out there that will plunk down the Benjamins for this high-end phone, and we can't deny that you'll get your fill of features. The Nokia N95 is available now unlocked through Nokia's flagship stores, select wireless retailers, and online.

Design
Considering all the features that are packed into the Nokia N95, you'd think it would be a pretty hefty phone, but not so, my friends. The N95 measures a compact 3.8 inches long by 2.1 inches wide by 0.8 inch thick and weighs only 4.2 ounces. It feels comfortable to hold, and the soft-touch finish on the back of the device makes it easier to grip. That said, we couldn't help but think that the phone felt, well, kind of cheap. In particular, the front cover felt plasticky and rickety (more on this below). From an aesthetic standpoint, the N95 certainly falls more into the short and stocky category rather than svelte and sexy, but I think it's still a good-looking phone with its plum-and-silver color scheme.

Of course, another attraction of the N95 is its innovative two-way slider design. Not only can you slide the front cover up to reveal the alphanumeric keypad, you can also slide it down to expose the media player controls. The dual functionality is nice, but we had a couple of concerns. First, the cover, which houses the screen and navigation buttons, felt loose and rattled around a bit. It just didn't feel like it was securely locked into place, thus leading to our next complaint. When putting the phone into a pants pocket or even when thrown into a bag, it was too easy to slide open the phone. There is a keypad lock, but we would prefer that the N95 just had a stronger mechanism for locking the position of the front flap.

Moving onto the display, the Nokia N95 features a gorgeous 2.6-inch QVGA TFT screen with a 16 million-color output and 320x240 pixel resolution. Be aware, however, that it isn't a touch screen. Images and text looked great, with deep color saturation and sharp definition. You can change the theme of the home screen, backlighting time, and font size. There's also an ambient light detector to adjust the backlighting depending on your environment, which helped keep the display readable in various lighting conditions. However, we noticed the N95's screen had a nasty habit of holding fingerprints and smudges, so keep some kind of wipe cloth close by. We should also note that when you slide open the phone to access the media player controls, the screen automatically switches to Landscape mode but once you close the phone, it doesn't automatically switch back. You have to open the dial pad to get back to portrait mode, which is annoying.

Beneath the display are the N95's navigation controls, which consist of two soft keys, the Talk and End buttons, shortcuts to the main menu and the multimedia menu, a Clear key, an Edit key that lets you choose the text input type, and a four-way toggle with a center select button. For the most part, the controls are easy to use, though they're a bit slick and the toggle and outer ring of buttons (see image above) could have been bigger. Still, it's an improvement over the Nokia E65's miniscule keys. The N95's numeric keypad features large, tactile buttons with bright backlighting, and they're raised above the phone's surface so it's easier to dial by feel. Unfortunately, the media player controls are less tactile and require a bit more pressure to register the command.

Since the N95 is a multimedia-centric device, Nokia smartly equipped the phone with a 3.5mm headset jack so you can plug in your favorite pair of earbuds or headphones for a better listening experience. It's located on the left side, in addition to an infrared port and the microSD expansion slot. On the right side, you will find the volume rocker, a shortcut to your photo gallery, and the camera activation button. The latter is in a position so that when you're holding the phone horizontally, it actually mimics the look and feel of a digital camera. The N95's camera lens itself (and flash) is located on the back and is guarded by a protective cover. Finally, there's a power connector and mini USB port on the bottom, and the power button on top of the handset.

Features
It's hard to decide where to begin with the feature-packed Nokia N95, but since imaging is one of its biggest draws, we'll start there. The N95 is equipped with an impressive 5-megapixel camera--unheard of in the cell phone and smart phone world--with a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens. (Carl Zeiss was an optician who first started manufacturing lenses for microscopes and then used his expertise for camera lenses.) The breadth of customization and editing options available on this phone is astounding--almost like an actual digital camera. You can choose from seven shooting modes, ranging from close-up to sports to night portrait, and five quality settings. You can adjust the brightness, contrast, white balance, color tone, ISO light sensitivity, and exposure value to get the best picture possible. The flash even has a red-eye reduction option. Plus, there's also a self-timer and a sequence mode for multiple shots.

The N95 can record video at a maximum VGA resolution (640x480) at 30 frames per second, though you also have a choice of four other quality settings. The N95 can record video with sound in MP4 or 3GP (for multimedia messages) format, and length is only limited by the available memory. There's a handy timer that shows you how much video time you have based on the memory and the quality setting (this feature is available in camera mode as well). Editing options are a little more limited in video mode; you only get two shooting modes (automatic and night) and white balance and color tone settings. In addition, there's a video stabilization feature to help reduce camera shake as you're recording video.

We were impressed by the quality of photos and videos the N95 produced, as one would hope with a 5-megapixel lens. Pictures boasted vibrant colors and sharp lines and edges, and unlike some smart phones, the N95 didn't require you to have a super steady hand to get a clear shot. The camera phone also did a decent job with nighttime pictures, though they were still pretty dim. Video quality was also good. There wasn't any of that graininess that sometimes plagues videos shot by camera phones. We also wanted to mention the camera's interface, as we found it extremely easy to use and change camera settings, which can sometimes be challenging when you don't have a touch screen.

Once you're done, you can touch up your videos and photos with the included image editors. For example, you can add clip art and reduce red eye on still images, or cut audio for videos. There's about 150MB of internal memory for saving your photos and videos to the phone, but we recommend saving them onto a microSD card, especially since the N95 can support up to 2GB expandable media. And sharing your memories is also easy with the ability to view them as a slide show, print them via Nokia's Xpress Solutions, upload them to the Web or Nokia's Lifeblog app, or transfer them to other devices. Also, Nokia includes video-out cables so you can hook up your N95 to your TV to view all your media on the big screen.

As a multimedia computer, the Nokia N95 isn't limited to just pictures and video. There's also an integrated music player that supports MP3, WMA, W4A, AAC, AAC+, and eAAC+ files, as well as OMA DRM 2.0- and WMDRM-protected songs. The music library categorizes tracks by artists, albums, genres, and composers; you can also create playlists right on the phone and adjust the sound with the built-in equalizer. The N95 also has an FM radio, though you'll have to use the included headset to access the radio, since it acts as the tuner. RealPlayer is also onboard with 3GPP and MPEG-4 video streaming support. Again, we applaud the decision to incorporate a 3.5mm headphone jack, which goes a long way in making the multimedia experience that much better.

On top of all that, Nokia has also packed a GPS receiver into the N95, along with a mapping application. With it, you can get color maps, route planning, and a healthy points-of- interest database. There's also a trip computer that shows you information about the total distance, time, average speed, and so forth. However, to get any kind of turn-by-turn directions, you'll have to download an upgrade to the device that costs an additional $91.93 for a one-year license or $11.81 for a month. The N95's GPS performance was satisfactory, although it took quite a while for the unit to get a satellite fix. Once connected though, it did a good job of tracking our position and gave accurate route calculations.

Aside from the GPS radio, other wireless options on the Nokia N95 include integrated Bluetooth 2.0, Wi-Fi, and an infrared port. The smart phone supports a number of Bluetooth profiles, including wireless headsets, hands-free kits, wireless keyboards, and A2DP for Bluetooth stereo headsets. As far as Wi-Fi, the N95 is compatible with 802.11b/g standards; in addition, there's support for Universal Plug and Play, which lets you use a Wi-Fi connection to hook up with a compatible PC, printer, or home entertainment system, but the number of UPnP devices is limited at the moment. The N95 was able to find and connect to our test access point, and we were able to surf the Net within minutes, using Nokia's excellent Web browser. Now, here's the bad news: the N95 does not work on the U.S. 3G networks. There's support for Europe's HSDPA/WCDMA 2100 band, but not for the U.S. HSDPA bands, so we're left with just regular 'ol EDGE speeds. Granted, we've been a bit spoiled after getting a taste for 3G, but for such a high-end and advanced phone as the N95, 3G support would have been huge.

While all the aforementioned features are great, you can't forget that the Nokia N95 is, first and foremost, a phone. The N95 includes a speakerphone, speed dial, conference calling, voice-command support, a vibrate mode, and text and multimedia messaging. Unfortunately, the video calling feature found on the European version of the N95 is not supported here in the United States. The phone's address book is only limited by the available memory, and the SIM card holds an additional 250 contacts. There's room in each entry for multiple phone numbers, work and home addresses, e-mail addresses, birthday, and more vitals. For caller ID purposes, you can assign each contact a photo, one of 44 ringtones, or a group ID.

Last but not least, the N95 runs the third edition of the S60 platform on the Symbian operating system for your productivity needs. An app called QuickOffice lets you view Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents, and it optimizes the pages for the phone's screen, so you don't have to scroll all over the place to read text. There are some nice shortcuts to jump to the top or bottom of the page to reduce the up-and-down scrolling, and there's also a search function. However, if you want any editing capabilities, you'll have to upgrade the preloaded copy of QuickOffice. For messaging, the N95 supports IMAP4, POP3, and SMTP e-mail accounts and comes with a full attachment viewer. The N95 does support a number of push e-mail solutions, as well as Microsoft Exchange Server synchronization, but this is dependent upon your service provider and company's e-mail solution, so check with your IT department if you have any questions.

There's a handy wizard when you first power up the device to help you configure your e-mail, and we used it to easily set up our SBC Global account. Other productivity apps and PIM tools include Adobe Reader, a Zip Manager, a calculator, a notepad, a measurement converter, a clock, and a voice recorder.

Key features
Two-way sliding construction
Dedicated music keys
Landscape screen mode
Stereo speakers
microSD memory card slot
UMTS, Wi-Fi, USB, stereo Bluetooth and Infrared support
miniUSB port
FM radio
5 megapixel camera with auto focus
Records video in VGA resolution
GPS receiver with free basic navigation
Symbian 9.2 OS with S60 3rd edition UI plus Feature Pack 1
Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
TV-out port

Main disadvantages
Poor battery life
Charging through USB is not possible
No FM RDS
Voice assisted GPS navigation is charged
GPS chip doesn’t work with third party applications
Cannot edit office documents

Specification

General
Network
HSDPA / GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
Announced
2006, September
Status
Available

Size
Dimensions
99 x 53 x 21 mm, 90 cc
Weight
120 g

Display
Type
TFT, 16M colors
Size
240 x 320 pixels, 40 x 53 mm
Ringtones
Type
Polyphonic (64 channels), Monophonic, True Tones, MP3
Customization
Download
Vibration
Yes

Memory
Phonebook
Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall
Call records
Detailed, max 30 days
Card slot
microSD (up to 2GB), hot swap, 128 MB card included
- 160 MB internal memory

Data
GPRS
Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
HSCSD
Yes
EDGE
Class 32, 296 kbps; DTM Class 11, 177 kbps
3G
HSDPA
WLAN
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, UPnP technology
Bluetooth
Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
Infrared port
Yes
USB
Yes, v2.0 miniUSB

Features
OS
Symbian OS 9.2, S60 rel. 3.1
Messaging
SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging
Browser
WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML
Games
Downloadable
Colors
Silver
Camera
5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, video(VGA 30fps), flash; secondary CIF videocall camera

- Built-in GPS navigation- Installed Maps application covering over 100 countries- Dual slide design- Java MIDP 2.0- MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+/WMA player- 3.5 mm audio output jack- TV out- Stereo FM Radio- Organiser- Office document viewer- T9- Push to talk - Voice dial/memo- Built-in handsfree

Battery
Standard battery, Li-Ion 950 mAh (BL-5F)
Stand-by
Up to 220 h
Talk time
Up to 6 h 30 min

Mobile Stalking

2007-08-20T20:54:00.000+05:30

Whether you're single or married, anyone with enough determination can easily track your digital footprints. Most of us see technology as a way to connect to the rest of the world, but technology in the wrong hands can be fatal. An article on the Red Tape Chronicles got me thinking about all the gear high-tech stalkers actually use to locate their victims. One woman interviewed for the article says her husband's jealousy was so out of control, he turned to spyware and GPS locators to track her every move. That's how he found out she visited her college web site one day, and was beaten all weekend long because he thought she was trying to reconnect with a former flame. Unfortunately, the abuse didn't stop there. Later she found out he used to searched her call history, email friends pretending to be her, and even sent her mom an e-card laced with spyware after the couple divorced.

Cindy Southworth, technology director at the National Network to End Domestic Violence, says "there's nothing new about abusive spouses using technology to terrorize. What is new is that now nearly all abusers use high-tech spying tools to try to extend their domination." That's a scary thought, and one reason to take action if you think your lover is spying on you. The National Network to End Domestic Violence recommends updating your antivirus software regularly to detect any spyware. If you're thinking about leaving, don't use your home computer to research your options, use a friend's computer instead. Be careful out there, and remember that email and instant messaging tools are not private enough. If your spouse is monitoring your every move, he/she probably has the password to all your personal accounts.

Cleaning up your PC is no joke

2007-08-18T16:41:00.000+05:30

We computer pundits write about cleaning up your hard drive all the time, but less frequently do we cover how to keep your computer equipment clean... from dust, spilled drinks, and other gunk. Not only is it kind of nasty to type on a keyboard that's stained with Jolt Cola droplets, but having a computer case filled with dust bunnies can shorten the lifespan of your machine by restricting airflow and causing your machine to overheat.
The good news: Getting your PC clean is a relatively simple affair that anyone can perform in just a few minutes. Here's a quick step-by-step guide.

Start with a dusting:
Compressed air is your friend. Dust-Off is a fine brand, but really they are all the same as long as you get the "greenhouse gas" friendly canisters. A large can should last you for years. Open up your PC's case and take it outside if there's an excessive amount of dust. Give it a few quick blasts from the can with the goal of getting all the dust bunnies out of the box. Extended spraying is a no-no, as the air that comes out is quite cold and can cause condensation to build up on electronic parts if you hold down the spray button for too long. Use the nozzle straw attachment to get to hard-to-reach places like under the motherboard.

Dust some more:
Now turn your attention to the rest of the computer. Particularly, dust out the fans and intake grilles, including the power supply. If you have a notebook computer, this is especially important, as those fans do a lot of work and are especially prone to clogging. Flip your notebook over (turned off!) and blast it clean.

Clean your keyboard:
While you have the duster handy, use the straw attachment to clean out your keyboard. You could use a mini-vacuum, but they're more trouble than they're worth. A few quick sprays will send crumbs a-flying. Next you'll want to clean off the surface of the keyboard. Most are pretty tough, so you can use a regular household cleanser to do the job. Don't spray 409 directly on the keyboard, but lightly dampen a cleaning rag or paper towel with the stuff and wipe it down gently. You don't want liquid dripping between the keys. You can use a Q-Tip moistened with alcohol to clean anything that has dripped down between the keys. If you want to go crazy, here's how to clean your keyboard in the dishwasher.

Shine up your mouse:
You can use the same technique with your mouse, which you should clean on all sides. Mice pick up a lot of gunk on their undersides, so just scrape off anything that's accumulated there. If you still have a non-optical mouse that uses a ball (God help you!), open it up, clean off the ball with the damp towel, and use a Q-Tip to clean off the rollers inside. Alcohol works for rollers that are excessively dirty.

Turn your attention screenward:
Your LCD or CRT screen is probably disgustingly dirty. I've written specifically on how to clean LCD screens in this post, so just follow those instructions. The same technique works for CRTs, too. Lately I've been trying out something called Purosol Molecular Screen Cleaner, which works quite well on both laptops and TVs and even camera displays.

Miscellany:
Cell phones, PDAs, and peripherals can usually all be cleaned with a combination of the above advice: Use LCD cleaner on anything with a display and mild household cleaner on any plastic parts. Q-Tips do wonders for any nooks and crannies.

Cleaning LCD screens:
Old CRT-based TVs and computer monitors were tough. For the most part, you could spritz them with Windex and wipe them down when they got dirty. I never had a problem getting a TV clean.
But now the world has moved to LCD, plasma, and other flat-panel technologies. And with laptops especially, screens are very prone to getting filthy because people just can't keep their fingers off of them. But how do you clean an LCD? Here's what I do.

For starters: No Windex. While LCDs have glass inside them, they are coated with an optical film, and the chemicals in glass cleaner (namely ammonia) can damage that film. That film can also be easily scratched, so don't use paper towels or any dry cloth other than microfiber or other lint-free cloth either. Also, as with a TV, be sure to turn the device off before you try to clean it and until it is totally dry, as any liquid can cause a short.

Personally, I now use a commercial LCD screen cleaner (the kind that comes in a spray bottle and includes a special cloth) for all my LCD monitors, LCD TVs, and laptop screens. I've never had a problem (though I've read reports of people who've had discoloration due to these cleaners), and my screen always comes out sparkling. You can usually find them near checkout at any electronics or computer store, or get one online. That Belkin cleaner looks just perfect.

What I DO NOT recommend are the prepackaged wipes that are moistened with cleaning liquid. (You often get a second wipe for drying.) In my experience, these always leave residue on your display, and I don't trust the dry, paper wipes not to scratch the screen. After using them, I find the screen rarely looks much better than before I cleaned it. Since I switched to the spray-bottle products, I've been much happier with the results.
If you want to save some money, you can try mixing your own ammonia-free LCD cleaner. You could start with plain water, but use distilled water. I've also read that you can add a little white vinegar or vodka to the water to aid the cleaning, but I've never tried that personally.

On a related note, you might also notice that laptops get smudged and dirtied by keyboards, which can happen if the notebook is poorly designed such that the screen actually touches the keys when it is closed. To remedy this, I cut up an old t-shirt and place it over the keyboard when I close it. It also makes for handy dust rag for quick tidying up.

If you got any special tips for cleaning your LCD or plasma screen? Share them below!

Some Important Online Dating Rules

2007-08-17T17:42:00.000+05:30

In case you're still wondering, yes, online dating is cool. I have been to so many weddings where the bride and groom met online that I have no doubt it's a great way to meet the love of your life. The old stigma of online dating is gone, but the practicalities of making it work still exist. Here are some common sense ideas to consider before you dive into the online dating pool.

1. Where to post your profile or look for potential dates
Go local
Unless you're looking for a long-distance relationship, try to limit your searches and postings to local sites. Search your city name plus ‘online dating' and you'll be amazed at the number of resources available.
Go with a common interest or hobby
You can search by interests on the big sites or search smaller sites that are only geared towards one hobby or passion. For example Fitness Singles has subcategories in everything from bowling to yoga. Religious dating sites like Baptist Friends or Jdate are great if religion is important in your life. Lifestyle dating like a vegetarian dating site, dating sites for smokers, and sites for different sexual orientations are available at almost all the big online dating services.

2. The Profile
You can be the greatest person on the planet, but if your profile or picture don't reflect who you are, you won't get a lot of potential dates.
Choose your screen name wisely
Know that your screen name says a lot about you, and will attract (or repel) Mr. or Ms. Right. SexyBaby1234 is going to get a certain type of response—it's the online equivalent of wearing too much makeup and too few clothes, attracting a man who's primarily interested in... well, not your mind. For guys, Insane49erfan reeks of an ESPN-obsessed facepainter who will propose to you during halftime. If you don't want to use a variation on your first name like jennie99, try something mild or meaningless like greenfire, bw4576, or turtle22.
Have a sense of humor in your profile
You don't need to come off like a stand-up comedian, but you should try to show that you've got a brain and don't take yourself too seriously.
Stay positive
Try not to express any bitterness about previous relationships. Keep your profiles positive and happy. Nobody will attracted to ‘downerguy' who just wants a girl who "won't burn him AGAIN."
Stick to the reality of who you are
It's humbling to sum yourself up in a few sentences, but if you can't be honest, it's only going to be harder for you down the line. Write your profile and ask a friend to read it who you think will be honest. If you are lying to yourself so badly that you don't even realize you are off-base, well this blog post won't help.

3. The Picture
Pick out a good picture where you look happy. Don't go all ‘Glamour Shots' with a stuffy posed studio picture or too artsy with the sepia tones or the diffused glow. Avoid the raging party shot that shows you downing a beer bong with a Jagermeister chaser. And, keep all your clothes on unless you want regulars from ‘Candy's Love Shack' emailing you about a deep and meaningful relationship. Need help picking a good shot? Ask a friend, or submit two photos to thefacegame.com so strangers can tell you which they like best.

4. Safety

Be wary of scams, and keep your personal information private
Avoid anyone asking for money, seeking too much personal information, or doing or saying anything that makes you feel weird. Trust your instincts, and if you have bad luck or bad instincts with dating (you know who you are), ask a friend what they think.
Meet in a public place on a first date
Don't have the date pick you up, stay sober, and tell a friend you'll call them after the date to let them know you're home safely.
Use a third party email address
Don't give out your main personal account and definitely not your business account.
Now, go forth, date online, and fall in love!

Now, go forth, date online, and fall in love!

Scams

2007-08-16T17:32:00.000+05:30

Scams and How to Avoid them

The Internet serves as an excellent tool for investors, allowing them to easily and inexpensively research investment opportunities. But the Internet is also an excellent tool for fraudsters. That's why you should always think twice before you invest your money in any opportunity you learn about through the Internet.

Where the Frauds Are

The Internet allows individuals or companies to communicate with a large audience without spending a lot of time, effort, or money. Anyone can reach tens of thousands of people by building an Internet web site, posting a message on an online bulletin board, entering a discussion in a live "chat" room, or sending mass e-mails. It's easy for fraudsters to make their messages look real and credible. But it's nearly impossible for investors to tell the difference between fact and fiction.

Online Investment Newsletters

Hundreds of online investment newsletters have appeared on the Internet in recent years. Many offer investors seemingly unbiased information free of charge about featured companies or recommending "stock picks of the month." While legitimate online newsletters can help investors gather valuable information, some online newsletters are tools for fraud.
Some companies pay the people who write online newsletters cash or securities to "tout" or recommend their stocks. While this isn't illegal, the federal securities laws require the newsletters to disclose who paid them, the amount, and the type of payment. But many fraudsters fail to do so. Instead, they'll lie about the payments they received, their independence, their so-called research, and their track records. Their newsletters masquerade as sources of unbiased information, when in fact they stand to profit handsomely if they convince investors to buy or sell particular stocks.
Some online newsletters falsely claim to independently research the stocks they profile. Others spread false information or promote worthless stocks. The most notorious sometimes "scalp" the stocks they hype, driving up the price of the stock with their baseless recommendations and then selling their own holdings at high prices and high profits.

Bulletin Boards

Online bulletin boards – whether newsgroups, usenet, or web-based bulletin boards – have become an increasingly popular forum for investors to share information. Bulletin boards typically feature "threads" made up of numerous messages on various investment opportunities.
While some messages may be true, many turn out to be bogus – or even scams. Fraudsters often pump up a company or pretend to reveal "inside" information about upcoming announcements, new products, or lucrative contracts.
Also, you never know for certain who you're dealing with – or whether they're credible – because many bulletin boards allow users to hide their identity behind multiple aliases. People claiming to be unbiased observers who've carefully researched the company may actually be company insiders, large shareholders, or paid promoters. A single person can easily create the illusion of widespread interest in a small, thinly-traded stock by posting a series of messages under various aliases.

E-mail Spams

Because "spam" – junk e-mail – is so cheap and easy to create, fraudsters increasingly use it to find investors for bogus investment schemes or to spread false information about a company. Spam allows the unscrupulous to target many more potential investors than cold calling or mass mailing. Using a bulk e-mail program, spammers can send personalized messages to thousands and even millions of Internet users at a time.

How to Use the Internet to Invest Wisely

If you want to invest wisely and steer clear of frauds, you must get the facts. Never, ever, make an investment based solely on what you read in an online newsletter or bulletin board posting, especially if the investment involves a small, thinly-traded company that isn't well known. And don't even think about investing on your own in small companies that don't file regular reports with the SEC, unless you are willing to investigate each company thoroughly and to check the truth of every statement about the company. For instance, you'll need to: get financial statements from the company and be able to analyze them; verify the claims about new product developments or lucrative contracts; call every supplier or customer of the company and ask if they really do business with the company; and check out the people running the company and find out if they've ever made money for investors before.

The "Pump And Dump" Scam

It's common to see messages posted online that urge readers to buy a stock quickly or tell you to sell before the price goes down. Often the writers will claim to have "inside" information about an impending development or to use an "infallible" combination of economic and stock market data to pick stocks. In reality, they may be insiders or paid promoters who stand to gain by selling their shares after the stock price is pumped up by gullible investors. Once these fraudsters sell their shares and stop hyping the stock, the price typically falls and investors lose their money. Fraudsters frequently use this ploy with small, thinly-traded companies because it's easier to manipulate a stock when there's little or no information available about the company.

The Pyramid

Be wary of messages that read: "How To Make Big Money From Your Home Computer!!!" One online promoter claimed that investors could "turn $5 into $60,000 in just three to six weeks." In reality, this program was nothing more than an electronic version of the classic "pyramid" scheme in which participants attempt to make money solely by recruiting new participants into the program.

The "Risk-Free" Fraud

"Exciting, Low-Risk Investment Opportunities" to participate in exotic-sounding investments – such as wireless cable projects, prime bank securities, and eel farms – have been offered through the Internet. But no investment is risk-free. And sometimes the investment products touted do not even exist – they're merely scams. Be wary of opportunities that promise spectacular profits or "guaranteed" returns. If the deal sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

GPS

2007-08-15T22:53:00.000+05:30

What is GPS?

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system made up of a network of 24 satellites placed into orbit by the U.S. Department of Defense. GPS was originally intended for military applications, but in the 1980s, the government made the system available for civilian use. GPS works in any weather conditions, anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day. There are no subscription fees or setup charges to use GPS.

How it works
GPS satellites circle the earth twice a day in a very precise orbit and transmit signal information to earth. GPS receivers take this information and use triangulation to calculate the user's exact location. Essentially, the GPS receiver compares the time a signal was transmitted by a satellite with the time it was received. The time difference tells the GPS receiver how far away the satellite is. Now, with distance measurements from a few more satellites, the receiver can determine the user's position and display it on the unit's electronic map.

A GPS receiver must be locked on to the signal of at least three satellites to calculate a 2D position (latitude and longitude) and track movement. With four or more satellites in view, the receiver can determine the user's 3D position (latitude, longitude and altitude). Once the user's position has been determined, the GPS unit can calculate other information, such as speed, bearing, track, trip distance, distance to destination, sunrise and sunset time and more.

How accurate is GPS?

Today's GPS receivers are extremely accurate, thanks to their parallel multi-channel design. Garmin's 12 parallel channel receivers are quick to lock onto satellites when first turned on and they maintain strong locks, even in dense foliage or urban settings with tall buildings. Certain atmospheric factors and other sources of error can affect the accuracy of GPS receivers. Mostly, GPS receivers are accurate to within 15 meters on average.

Newer GPS receivers with WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) capability can improve accuracy to less than three meters on average. No additional equipment or fees are required to take advantage of WAAS. Users can also get better accuracy with Differential GPS (DGPS), which corrects GPS signals to within an average of three to five meters. The U.S. Coast Guard operates the most common DGPS correction service. This system consists of a network of towers that receive GPS signals and transmit a corrected signal by beacon transmitters. In order to get the corrected signal, users must have a differential beacon receiver and beacon antenna in addition to their GPS.

The GPS satellite system

The 24 satellites that make up the GPS space segment are orbiting the earth about 12,000 miles above us. They are constantly moving, making two complete orbits in less than 24 hours. These satellites are travelling at speeds of roughly 7,000 miles an hour.
GPS satellites are powered by solar energy. They have backup batteries onboard to keep them running in the event of a solar eclipse, when there's no solar power. Small rocket boosters on each satellite keep them flying in the correct path.
Here are some other interesting facts about the GPS satellites (also called NAVSTAR, the official U.S. Department of Defense name for GPS):

* The first GPS satellite was launched in 1978.
* A full constellation of 24 satellites was achieved in 1994.
* Each satellite is built to last about 10 years. Replacements are constantly being built and launched into orbit.
* A GPS satellite weighs approximately 2,000 pounds and is about 17 feet across with the solar panels extended.
* Transmitter power is only 50 watts or less.

What's the Signal?

GPS satellites transmit two low power radio signals, designated L1 and L2. Civilian GPS uses the L1 frequency of 1575.42 MHz in the UHF band. The signals travel by line of sight, meaning they will pass through clouds, glass and plastic but will not go through most solid objects such as buildings and mountains.

A GPS signal contains three different bits of information — a pseudorandom code, ephemeris data and almanac data. The pseudorandom code is simply an I.D. code that identifies which satellite is transmitting information. You can view this number on your Garmin GPS unit's satellite page, as it identifies which satellites it's receiving.
Ephemeris data tells the GPS receiver where each GPS satellite should be at any time throughout the day. Each satellite transmits ephemeris data showing the orbital information for that satellite and for every other satellite in the system.
Almanac data, which is constantly transmitted by each satellite, contains important information about the status of the satellite (healthy or unhealthy), current date and time. This part of the signal is essential for determining a position.

Sources of GPS signal errors
Factors that can degrade the GPS signal and thus affect accuracy include the following:

* Ionosphere and troposphere delays — The satellite signal slows as it passes through the atmosphere. The GPS system uses a built-in model that calculates an average amount of delay to partially correct for this type of error.
* Signal multipath — This occurs when the GPS signal is reflected off objects such as tall buildings or large rock surfaces before it reaches the receiver. This increases the travel time of the signal, thereby causing errors.
* Receiver clock errors — A receiver's built-in clock is not as accurate as the atomic clocks onboard the GPS satellites. Therefore, it may have very slight timing errors.
* Orbital errors — Also known as ephemeris errors, these are inaccuracies of the satellite's reported location.
* Number of satellites visible — The more satellites a GPS receiver can "see," the better the accuracy. Buildings, terrain, electronic interference, or sometimes even dense foliage can block signal reception, causing position errors or possibly no position reading at all. GPS units typically will not work indoors, underwater or underground.
* Satellite geometry/shading — This refers to the relative position of the satellites at any given time. Ideal satellite geometry exists when the satellites are located at wide angles relative to each other. Poor geometry results when the satellites are located in a line or in a tight grouping.

Who uses GPS?

Who uses GPS? GPS has a variety of applications on land, at sea and in the air. Basically, GPS is usable everywhere except where it's impossible to receive the signal such as inside most buildings, in caves and other subterranean locations, and underwater. The most common airborne applications are for navigation by general aviation and commercial aircraft. At sea, GPS is also typically used for navigation by recreational boaters, commercial fishermen, and professional mariners. Land-based applications are more diverse. The scientific community uses GPS for its precision timing capability and position information.

Surveyors use GPS for an increasing portion of their work. GPS offers cost savings by drastically reducing setup time at the survey site and providing incredible accuracy. Basic survey units, costing thousands of dollars, can offer accuracies down to one meter. More expensive systems are available that can provide accuracies to within a centimeter.
Recreational uses of GPS are almost as varied as the number of recreational sports available. GPS is popular among hikers, hunters, snowmobilers, mountain bikers, and cross-country skiers, just to name a few. Anyone who needs to keep track of where he or she is, to find his or her way to a specified location, or know what direction and how fast he or she is going can utilize the benefits of the global positioning system.

GPS is now commonplace in automobiles as well. Some basic systems are in place and provide emergency roadside assistance at the push of a button (by transmitting your current position to a dispatch center). More sophisticated systems that show your position on a street map are also available. Currently these systems allow a driver to keep track of where he or she is and suggest the best route to follow to reach a designated location.

Top 10 Highest Paid Jobs

2007-08-15T22:27:00.000+05:30

Changing your job doesn’t always have to mean completing a four-year degree. With help from government statisticians, we’ve compiled a list of ten exciting, well-paying jobs that you can start with just a high school diploma and an associate’s degree. Many of these jobs even allow you to start earning money while you train. That means you’ve got no more excuses to put off your education and your career.

1. Employment Recruitment Specialist
As America moves away from manufacturing and toward a service economy, employers need help identifying and recruiting strong job candidates. An associate’s degree in business and the ability to build great relationships with prospects can land you an entry-level job in this competitive field, exposing you to essential on-the-job training. Many full time recruiters earn $40,000 or more per year.

2. Personal Financial Advisor
If you understand how money works, you can earn a salary of $60,000 or more as a personal financial advisor. An associate’s degree in finance can often get you started in this field, usually working alongside experienced advisors at banks and brokerages. From there, you can learn to help clients make wise investments while earning yourself hourly fees or commissions. Two out of five professionals in this field are self-employed, often working from home.

3. Physical Therapist Assistant
Hard work and hard play has created a huge demand for physical therapy services. Earning $37,000 a year or more, you can help busy physical therapists with routine tasks and procedures designed to keep patients moving. Basic medical assisting training can help you land an entry-level job that provides even more essential training, as well as the potential to earn your own license later in your career.

4. Pharmacy Technician
As our aging population needs help moving around, they also require unprecedented assistance managing their medication. Pharmacies rely on technicians to count pills, label bottles, and reduce the workload of licensed pharmacists. You can learn how to play a critical role on a pharmacist’s team during an accredited training program. With salaries averaging at around $22,000 per year, pharmacy technician jobs usually offer flexible schedules, convenient work locations, and good benefits.

5. Health Information Technician
The volume of data we’re generating about our wellness can be staggering. Health information technicians organize all of our personal data into coherent streams for hospitals, pharmacies, and health insurance providers. In health information technology program, you can learn how to verify patient data, how to check for inconsistencies, and how to maintain the privacy of highly personal information. Most health information technician jobs pay $25,000 or more per year, often with generous health care plans provided by employers.

6. Library Technician
Library technicians help librarians organize their collections while working directly with users who want to access books, tapes, or other records. Most frequently employed on college campuses, library technicians can also use an associate’s degree to find jobs in law firms, large corporations, and government agencies. Many library technicians earn $24,000 or more per year, while participating in employer-sponsored tuition reimbursement programs.

7. Database Administrator
Every time you hit the ATM, order a hamburger, or buy groceries, you’re also creating a data trail. As businesses of all kinds have adopted database technology to streamline their operations, the demand for skilled database administrators has exploded. Decades ago, a database administrator job usually required a master’s degree. With today’s advanced tools, an associate’s degree in information technology can prepare you to pass a certification exam that will qualify you for an entry-level job that pays $36,000 or more.

8. Multimedia / Flash Animator
Flash animation has blossomed from a basement hobby to an essential tool in any creative organization. Learning how to create effective, elegant animations for business requires a passion for design and the kind of technical training you can earn at one of many digital arts & animation schools. About three in ten Flash animation professionals are self-employed, especially since many animators work a variety of freelance jobs before landing a full-time gig that can pay $38,000 or more.

9. Fashion Designer
Fashion design is a highly competitive, almost cutthroat industry. However, it’s one of the few places where your portfolio says more about you than your degree. If you have a passion for great clothing, you can enroll in an associate’s degree program to build essential technical skills. A top notch fashion design arts school can also help you land important internships and apprenticeships that can lead to entry-level jobs. With experience and a list of satisfied clients, you can become a professional earning more than $55,000 per year.

10. Food Service Managers
We may love to eat, but we may not always want to cook. That’s why food service managers are in such high demand. You don’t have to fight your way to the top of a food critic’s list to become a well-paid food service manager at a hotel, a catering hall, or a conference facility. You just need training from a hospitality & culinary management program and some experience in the kitchen (or as a member of the wait staff) to earn $39,000 or more supervising high quality meals for guests.

Tattoo

2007-08-15T20:46:00.000+05:30

Tattoo History

Tattoo History is intended to provide you with a sampling of the rich, diverse history of tattooing and culture of tattoos around the world. I hope that these tattoo articles and links represent some of the best information available about Tattoo History today.

At one time tattoos were only accepted among sailors, bikers or freaks. Today it seems like almost everyone has a tattoo. Hell, your mom's probably got one in a place you don't want to know about. So where did this trendy art originate, and how did it reach our culture? Bob Munden, tattoo artist at the Fiery Dragon Tattoo and Body Piercing Studio, said tattoos have existed in far-off cultures for a long time. "Tattoos have been around since the beginning of time. They've found mummies that are four and five thousand years old. Munden said that tattoos at this time served as a symbol of social status. "Each one told a story about who you were or what your position in society would be," he said. Many people associate tattoos with bikers and rock stars. However, tattoos haven't always been associated with extremists. Famous explorers even donned tattoos, Munden said. "Explorers got it from the Polynesians. The Polynesians used tattoos as a historical device," he said. "Tattoos told their family history, like the Indians used to write it out on buffalo hides. Each Polynesian had a different tattoo that told a different story." Explorers weren't the only ones who got tattooed in the days of yore. People of royalty and high status even had them. King George V, King Oscar of Sweden and even Sir Winston Churchill's mother had tattoos. Munden said people of high status acquired tattoos as a way of exemplifying power. "Only the rich and the people who were really important were the ones who had that type of stuff. The lower classes didn't have positions in government, so they didn't have tattoos," he said. In olden times, all tattoos were given by hand, Munden said. When electrical tattooing became accessible, Munden said the process became easier. "This sped up the process, and it made things a lot easier for us," he said. Munden said a common misconception held by the public throughout time about tattoos is that they make you look tough. "A tattoo doesn't make you tough or mean," he said. "If you weren't bad or tough before you got the tattoo, you are not going to be after you get one," he said.

TATTOO FACTS & STATISTICS

-Thirty-six percent of those ages 18 to 25, and 40 percent of those ages 26 to 40, have at least one tattoo, according to a fall 2006 survey by the Pew Research Center.
-The National Geographic News stated in April 2000 that 15% of Americans were tattooed (or approximately 40 million people!)
-Esquire Magazine estimated in March 2002 that 1 in 8 Americans was tattooed.
-According to the American Society of Dermatological Surgery, they stated in 2005, that of all the people they treat with laser and light therapy, only only 6% are getting a tattoo removed.
-Harris Poll, 2003, estimates that fully 36% of those aged 25-29 have one or more tattoos.
-A 2006 a study done by the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found that 24% of Americans between 18 and 50 are tattooed; that's almost one in four. And the survey showed that about 36% of Americans age 18 to 29 have at least one tattoo!

*Search Engine Lycos, ranks the Top 50 search terms every week. "Tattoos" was the third most popular search term in 2002, the fourth most popular search term in 2001, seventh most popular search term for the year 2000, and the eleventh most popular search term in 1999. "Tattoo and tattoos" is one of only seven search terms to never fall out of the Top 50 Search terms in the 199 weeks since Lycos has been keeping track. The other six are Dragon Ball, Pamela Anderson, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, Las Vegas and the WWE/WWF.

*In July of 2002 "tattoos" reached its highest ranking ever, coming in as the number two most requested search term on the internet. "Tattoos" was requested more often than Britney Spears, marijuana or Kazaa, illustrating that skin ink is more popular than "sex, drugs and rock n' roll!"

-- Lycos dropped the term "tattoos" from it's Poll because the term was so popular. According to Lycos, tattoos rarely drops out of the top ten search terms requested on the Internet and

--Lycos dropped the term because they wanted to make room for other searches.
Search engine Ask.com found these stats about tattoo searches:
LA fashion week reminds us once again that trends come and go. But,while the Devil may wear Prada, Search Engine Ask.com reveals that tattooshave been stealing the scene as the #1 searched beauty term since 2003. Nolonger taboo, the popularity of tattoos prove that skin is always in.

-- Virtually every language is searched for in tattoo designs: from Aztecsayings to Russian phrases, but Japanese and Chinese characters/symbolsare among the most frequently searched.-- Location, location, location: Backs rank the highest in searches(lower, upper and all over). But, not far behind: necks, arms, wristsand ankles. Unmentionables also rank high.

-- Angelina's number, choice and types of tattoos rank the highest in thecelebrity category. Ask.com searchers are also intrigued by othercelebs. Most notably, Nicole Richie, Alyssa Milano and heavy metalrockers Metallica.-- As for who searches for tattoos more: given the top five rankeddesigns, which are tribal, cross, stars, butterflies and fairies, we'dsay women.

TRIBAL TATTOOS

Tribal Tattoos Worldwide looks at the traditional tribal tattoo practices of indigenous and aboriginal peoples around the world and is a celebration of cultural diversity and tattoo culture. Tattoos have passed through the mists of time... tattoos are seen in all corners of the world... tattoos that have deep cultural or religious meaning. Check out this collection of tattoo design pictures for a look at some amazing, early examples of 'real' tribal tattoo work -- images from around the globe and tribal designs drawn down through history.

Download Tattoo Images!

Windows Tips

2007-08-15T15:51:00.000+05:30

XP Tips & Tweaks
These tips and tweaks have come from hundreds of individuals across the internet. I
have included some of web sites links (below) that cover this popular topic.
I have not tried most of these tips, so let me know if some don't work or have
mistakes.

Stop Jerky Graphics
If you are connected to a LAN and have problems with jerky graphics, this might be the
solution:
· Right-click "My Computer".
· Select "Manage".
· Click on "Device Manager".
· Double-click on your NIC under "Network Adapters".
· In the new window, select the "Advanced" tab.
· Select "Connection Type" and manually set the value of your NIC. (Not "Auto Sense"
which is default.).
· You should reboot.

Shutdown XP Faster
Like previous versions of windows, it takes long time to restart or shutdown windows
XP when the "Exit Windows" sound is enabled. To solve this problem you must disable this
useless sound.
· Click Start button.
· Go to settings > Control Panel > Sound, Speech and Audio devices > Sounds and Audio
Devices > Sounds.
· Then under program events and windows menu click on "Exit Windows" sub-menu and
highlight it. Now from sounds you can select, choose "none" and then click Apply and
OK.
Now you should see some improvements when shutting down your system.

Easily Disable Messenger
Go into: C:/Program Files/Messenger. Rename the Messenger folder to "MessengerOFF".
This does not slow down Outlook Express or hinder system performance.

Turn Off System Restore to Save Space
By default, Windows XP keeps a backup of system files in the System Volume Information
folder. This can eat up valuable space on your hard drive. If you don't want Windows to
back up your system files:
· Open the Control Panel.
· Double-click on System.
· Click the System Restore tab.
· Check "Turn off System Restore on all drives".
· Hit Apply.
· You may now delete the System Volume Information folder.
Warning! If you turn this off you will not be able to use Windows System Restore to
restore your system in case of failure.

Very Slow Boot When Networking
On some XP Pro installations, when connected to a network (peer-peer in this case),
the computer boot time is over 1:40. The system seems to freeze after logging in and the
desktop may not appear or will freeze for a minute. As timed with the utility,
Bootvis.exe, the problem was with the driver mrxsmb.dll, adding over 67 seconds to the
boot time. Turning off and restoring file and printer sharing eliminated 65 seconds from
the boot time.
· Alt-click (or right-click) on Network Places > Properties.
· Alt-click on Ethernet Adapter connection > Properties.
· Un-check "File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks" > OK.
· Reboot.
· If you need file or printer sharing, repeat the above, re-check the box and re-boot
again.

Slow Start-up When Using Norton Internet Security 2002
If you are using Norton Internet Security 2002, and are experiencing slow start-up of
XP, (i.e. you can see the desktop with icons etc. but it takes 30-60sec before you can
start using the computer), this fix might help:
· Click on Start button.
· Select Control Panel.
· Open "Network Connections".
· Under "LAN and High-Speed Internet", right-click on your "Local Area Connection" and
select "Properties".
· Under "General" tab, select "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" and select "Properties".
· Select "Use the following IP address:".
· Under "IP address" enter following : 192.168.0.1
· Under "Subnet Mask:" enter following : 255.255.255.0
· Click "Ok".

Correcting System Hang at Startup
If your system hangs about 2 or 3 minutes at startup, where you can't access the Start
button or the Taskbar, it may be due to one specific service (Background Intelligent
Transfer) running in the background. Microsoft put out a patch for this but it didn't
work for me. Here's what you do:
· Click on Start/Run, type 'msconfig', then click 'OK'.
· Go to the 'Services' tab, find the 'Background Intelligent Transfer' service.
· Disable it, apply the changes & reboot.

Disable XP Boot Logo
It is possible to disable the XP splash screen, which will slightly speed up the
overall boot process. Be aware that removing the splash screen will also cause you not
to see any boot-up messages that might come up (chkdsk, convert ... ), but if your system
runs without any problems then it should not matter.
· Edit boot.ini.
· Add " /noguiboot" right after "/fastdetect".
Upon restarting, the splash screen will be gone. It can be re-enabled by removing the
new switch.

You Can Bypass the Recycle Bin On the Fly
To bypass the Recycle Bin on a one-time basis, when you are deleting a file (or a
group of selected files):
· Press and hold down the shift-key while you press the del-key (or use the delete
command). You receive the following confirmation-request message:
Are you sure you want to send to the Recycle Bin?

Remove Unwanted Shortcuts
· In the Welcome to the Desktop Cleanup Wizard dialog box, click Next.
· In the Shortcuts dialog box, a list of shortcuts are displayed in the Shortcut to
Clean Up list. The shortcuts that you click are removed from the desktop and placed in
the Unused Desktop Shortcuts folder on the Windows desktop.
· If you do not want a shortcut to be removed from the desktop, click to clear the
check box for that shortcut, and then click Next when you are finished.
· In the Completing the Desktop Cleanup Wizard dialog box, view the items in the
Shortcuts box to confirm that you want them removed from the desktop, and then click
Finish.
The Desktop Cleanup Wizard moves the selected shortcuts to the Unused Desktop
Shortcuts folder and then quits.

Restore Shortcuts
If a shortcut that you want is removed, follow these steps to restore the shortcut:
· On the Desktop, double-click the Unused Desktop Shortcuts folder. The Unused
Desktop Shortcuts dialog box is displayed. Note: If the Unused Desktop Shortcuts dialog
box is maximized, click the Restore Down button (appears to the left of the red Close
button).
· Drag the shortcut that you want to the Windows desktop.
· Close the Unused Desktop Shortcuts dialog box.

How to Turn On Automatic Updates
· Click Start , click Control Panel , and then double-click System.
· Click the Automatic Updates tab, and then click one of the following options:
- Download the updates automatically and notify me when they are ready to be
installed. (This is the default setting.)
- Notify me before downloading any updates and notify me again before installing them
on my computer.

How to Turn Off Automatic Updates
· Click Start , click Control Panel , and then double-click System.
· Click the Automatic Updates tab, and then click Turn off automatic updating. I want
to update my computer manually.

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First look at iPhone

2007-08-10T18:02:00.000+05:30

Well before you turn on the iPhone it’s clear that this is a phone apart. The first difference takes place at the store (you can buy these only at Apple stores or retail outlets of network carrier AT&T, for the wallet-busting sum of $500 or $600, depending on whether you get 4 or 8 gigabytes worth of flash memory). Instead of going through the usual complicated contract signing and credit-vetting ceremony with a fast-talking and slow-processing salesperson, Apple has come up with a startling idea: you simply buy the thing and go home. Then you open up the snugly fit black box—the design blitz at Apple begins with the packaging— and take out the handset. It’s a classic example of the Apple look: slim, shiny and elegant. The iPhone has but a single button on the front—its sole function is to return you to the menu. The only other controls are a small sleep-wake switch on the top and a volume meter and ring/vibration switch on the side; they protrude so slightly that you can hardly see them.

Setup is a snap. As with the iPod, the device is a satellite of Apple’s free iTunes software. Plug the iPhone into a computer with your iTunes library (Mac or Windows) and the automatic sync function not only carries over your songs, videos and movies on iTunes library, but also photos, your contacts and calendar items. It also copies your e-mail address book and information onto your phone. This is one of the few phones that easily imports your information from your PC; because this is usually such a painful process, the vast majority of people with mobile phones never get around to moving over all their contact and calendar items. Signing up for phone service is easily handled in a straightforward process through the iTunes store. The only scary part comes when you have to provide a Social Security number to establish your credit, but Apple assures me that the data isn’t retained. Prices are those of the standard AT&T plans, $60, $80 or $100 a month, depending on how many minutes. All the plans include unlimited data for e-mail and Internet.

Hit the wake button on top, use your finger to swipe an unlock (the iPhone is otherwise dormant so it won’t accidentally turn on in your pocket and wind up calling the boss or playing a Jay-Z song). When the menu screen appears, you get a first indication of how Apple has cleverly managed to compress tasks best done on a large screen or a full-featured laptop into that tiny piece of silicon real estate. Apple does this in part by implementing a tactile vocabulary full of swipes, pinches, stretches and taps on its vaunted “multi-touch” screen. One of the greatest strengths of the iPhone is its stunning 3.5-inch display, which takes up almost the entire surface of the front, ringed by a halo of chrome. Using sensors, the iPhone can automatically switch from vertical “portrait” orientation to horizontal “landscape” mode, allowing better access to Web pages and the proper orientation to movies. Those tools are utilized in four keynote applications and (so far) 11 other programs included in this launch version. Here’s a partial rundown:
Phone: Did I mention that you can make phone calls with this thing? The iPhone has an excellent implement of state-of-the-art features like integrating contacts with the phone function. Plus, the phone allows you to merge up to five conversations into a conference, and a great feature called Visual Voicemail lets you view on screen all the voice messages left for you to play back in the order you choose. Apple also includes a special version of their white earbuds with a tiny microphone on one wire. Those buds don’t fit my ears well, but there will be plenty of third-party alternatives. I tried the Bluetooth-enabled Jawbone headset, as well as a Shure headphone adapter with a microphone along with its noise-blocking earbuds. Another nice touch: when the phone is at your cheek, the screen goes dormant. But when you lower the phone to tap in some numbers in a voice mail system, the screen reappears to take in your input. You can also play with other applications while you talk. (One weird effect: if you’ve been using the iPhone a lot it feels warm on your cheek. Not laptop-catch-on-fire hot. But still.) A quibble: Apple offers a range of nice if not show-stopping ring tones, but wouldn’t it have been awesome if the iPhone let you choose snippets of songs in your iTunes library as ringtones?
iPod: Jobs calls the iPhone the “best iPod we ever made.” It’s certainly the one that most beautifully displays videos and movies, and it’s fun to turn the iPod sideways and see “cover flow,” the array of album covers already familiar to iTunes users. Also, the new way of navigating—swiping down your song list or fast-browsing by skimming your finger on a vertically arranged alphabet on the right of the screen—is a superior interface. But the best iPod? Workout lovers will want to keep their Nanos and Shuffles for the gym. And heavy music users accustomed to 30 or 80 gigabytes of storage will be unhappy at the limited capacity of the iPhone. (Of the 8 gigs on my iPhone, I now have 669 songs, one three-hour movie, three half-hour television episodes, 361 photos, and a bit of “other,” meaning e-mail and contacts. It’s almost full.) Possibly, those considering an iPhone might be daunted at the idea of having to carry it around in addition to their current iPod. Also, I was disappointed that Apple didn’t implement a way to buy songs or videos directly from the iPhone—you have to synch them from iTunes on a PC first. What’s the use of having Wi-Fi on an iPod if you can’t go to the iTunes store?
Safari: Web-browsing is where the iPhone leaves competitors in the dust. It does the best job yet of compressing the World Wide Web on a palm-size device. The screen can nicely display an entire Web page, and by dragging, tapping, pinching and stretching your fingers you can zero in on the part of the page you want to read. Web pages you wouldn’t dare go to on other phones are suddenly accessible, though those that require Flash, Windows Media or Real Media formats won’t work. A clear, very readable implementation of bookmarks helps you get to your favorites without typing.
Other Applications: It’s very simple to send SMS text messages with Apple’s custom application—identify the contact and type the message as you do with Apple’s iChat app. It can also get very expensive—simply typing “yo” qualifies as one of the 200 SMS messages that come with your plan. (You can pay for extra texting.) It’s disappointing that Apple didn’t include an instant messaging application for the iPhone that easily lets you use AIM or other services. There are Web workarounds (I used a beta version of Heysan, a mobile instant messaging service) but they are nowhere near as what Apple would have done if it had used its skills to simply port iChat to the iPhone.

On the other hand, Google Maps works wonderfully, taking full advantage of the touch screen, and integrating nicely with the phone function and even your contact list (you can instantly see where your friends live). It will expertly route a trip for you and even clue you in on the traffic density.

The specially formatted YouTube videos work great on Wi-Fi, but can display in a lower quality when you’re not at a hotspot and are using AT&T’s EDGE network. At launch, only a small percentage of the millions of video will have been reformatted to work with the phone. (Fortunately for me, this included a couple of swell Amy Winehouse videos.) The fact is that YouTube without the long tail of hundreds of thousands of videos is barely worth the effort. But Google and Apple promise that by fall the entire collection will be available for iPhone streaming, and that users will be able to fill up every idle moment with unproductive glory.

The calendar works as you’d hope, with a charming odometer-style way of setting the time of appointments. The 2-megapixel camera works decently (though I sometimes hit the shutter unintentionally). It’s easy to send a picture, make it your wallpaper or—this is neat—assign it to a contact. (It would have been nicer to have one-touch posting to Flickr, Facebook, etc.) Photo display is terrific, and using the Photos application you swipe from one picture to the next, and can watch in either vertical or landscape mode. Other programs, like the stock ticker, weather and calculator, are useful and visually pleasing, but not groundbreaking additions.
What about flaws? A lot of people considering the expensive plunge into iPhone-land have stated some specific worries, and two weeks of use has cast some light on these. First is the difficulty of using a virtual keyboard that pops up on the screen when it’s time to enter text. The people at Apple rhapsodize about the intelligent keyboard. Steve Jobs boasted that he’s pretty good at two-thumb typing, and several others at Apple claim that they are just as proficient as a Blackberry power user. So far, I’m nowhere close. It took me a couple of days to get used to hitting the right keys using a single finger. Maybe I’m a spaz, but I’m only beginning to get the hang of two-thumb typing. I am impressed, though, with the iPhone’s ability to correct misspellings, and I’ve had the best results by blasting through despite my mistakes and relying on the intelligence built into the system to correct my errors. That said, I think that for most consumers the keyboard issue may be overblown. People who see smart phones mainly as e-mail devices are a subset of the much broader audience Apple is trying to reach. If you are considering a phone primarily to monitor and reply to mail, you may stick to your Blackberry.

Others were worried that the battery would wear out after a couple hours of use. I found that unless I did a lot of video watching or Web browsing, I could generally last the day, and then charge it overnight. One day I purposely ran the battery down; the iPhone winked out after 14 hours, including six hours of talking, Web-browsing and music-listening.

One more intractable problem is Apple’s decision to use the slower EDGE data network, as opposed to a faster 3G net. (As partial compensation the iPhone is designed to find the fastest network, especially Wi-Fi hotspots.) The EDGE network actually has two speeds, and when you’re on the slower one, Web pages load up with what feels like dial-up speed.

Another concern is that constant use of fingers on the touch screen will make it mucky. I’ve found that the glass screen cleans easily with a damp cloth or baby wipe. As for wear and tear, I’ve been jamming it in my pocket with keyrings, coins and pens, and so far it’s nearly as good as new.

Apple is already working hard at improving this first version of the iPhone. I think the best way to make it more valuable would be to encourage outside developers to create new uses for it, and Apple has indicated that they are welcoming Web-based applications geared to their new device. But as the Google Maps program shows, the results of a separate client application created for the iPhone can be spectacular, and I think the company will do well to keep those coming. Apple also is taking the unusual accounting step of not logging the revenues of iPhones all at once, but taking it over the length of the contract: it says this will enable it to keep improving the software and adding new applications. So the iPhone you buy now may have many more features and services by the end of your contract.

Bottom line: In a sense, the iPhone has already made its mark. Even those who never buy one will benefit from its advances, as competitors have already taken Apple’s achievements as a wake-up call to improve their own products. But for all its virtues, the iPhone is still a risky venture because it’s yet to be proven that, despite the wow factor, millions of people are ready to pay several hundred dollars more than the going rate for phones—and in some cases, paying even more to bail out of their current mobile contracts. There’s also a potential backlash from those sick of the hype. During our iPhone conversation, however, Jobs professed that he wasn’t concerned about inflated hopes, and certainly not whether he would meet his own projections of 10 million sold in 2008: “I think we’re going to blow away the expectations.”

Certainly all those people lining up to buy iPhones will find their investment worthwhile, if only for the delight they get from dazzling their friends. They will surely appreciate the iPhone’s features and the way they are intertwined to present a unified experience. But in the future—when the iPhone has more applications and offers more performance, with a lower price—buyers will find even more value. So smart consumers may well wait for that day. But meanwhile they can only look with envy as the person sitting next to them to them on the subway, or standing ahead of them in the Whole Foods line, is enjoying the phone that finally fulfills the promise of people-friendly palm-top communication and computing.

New Age Anti-Virus "RUDRA"

2007-08-10T17:46:00.000+05:30

Imagine an anti-thief system at your home, which provides protection only against known criminals. But the list of criminals grows everyday coming in different forms and armed with new tricks. The anti-thief system updates only after a theft has been committed. Are you safe with such a system? Strangely, all the antivirus solutions existing in the market today do the same thing.
But, in a major breakthrough, Chennai-based Sanrasoft on Wednesday unveiled ‘Rudra’, a breakthrough anti-virus technology based on the intention of malicious codes. This technology will be able to protect personal computers (PCs) not only from known viruses but also from any unknown malicious codes (malware) which includes Viruses, Trojans, Worms, Spyware, Keyloggers and Hackers. Thus the technology offers a holistic solution. It is important to note that in the history of anti-virus technology, this is only the third time that such important breakthrough has been achieved and for the first time from India.
N. S. Bhaskar, Inventor of Rudra and Managing Director, Sanrasoft said, “Sanrasoft’s path-breaking technology takes a snapshot of PCs in complete detail in its malware-free state and continuously monitors system and file changes. New files, changes in configuration, changes in system control files and changes in critical application program files are all evaluated for potential threats. Any change in the system state that represents a potential threat is immediately acted. It not only removes the potential threat but also restores the system to its original malware-free state thus protecting PCs against unknown viruses too!”
The other two anti-virus technologies that are widely prevalent today are signature-based and heuristic-based. Signature-based, the first anti-virus technology, identified the binary string (finger-prints) which is unique to each virus and updated its database. If there is any future instance of attack, the software identified the virus and prevented the same. Heuristics identifies viruses based on the suspicious behavior, without the need for fingerprints. While the signature-based technology needs constant update and may not have the complete database of all viruses, the heuristic technology does not differentiate legitimate and suspicious acts and raises false alarms.
On the other hand, Sanrasoft’s ‘Rudra’ technology offers a fundamentally different approach to virus and malware protection. Rudra identifies and removes all viruses from personal computers in their “signature-unknown” state. This technology is designed to protect PCs from known and unknown viruses and it prevents any unauthorized program from executing on PCs.
Sanjay Bhardwaj, CEO, Sanrasoft said, “Rudra will avoid the rigors of constant updates to prevent virus attacks. After Rudra, users can be rest-assured that their data will be protected in their nodes even from unknown viruses. We foresee a great demand for our products (which is in the final stages of rollout ) not only from India but from across the globe”.
The total damage done to the world economy by the activity of virus writers, hackers and spammers has long since exceeded tens of billions of dollars annually. The amount continues to grow. According to research carried out by Computer Economics, total losses in 2004 were close to US$18bn, with a trend towards a 30-40% annual growth rate. The total market for such standard solutions was estimated as being US$2.7bn in 2003 and $3.3bn in 2004, with US$3.8bn being the predicted figure for 2005.

New Nokia Phones

2007-08-09T16:28:00.000+05:30

Nokia 7900 Prism

Nokia today unveiled the Prism collection, its latest range of mobile phones aimed at style-conscious consumers.

The Prism collection consists of the Nokia 7900 Prism and the Nokia 7500 Prism, handsets which combine individual style and state-of-the-art technology.
The two mobile models will be available in the third quarter of 2007 with an estimated retail price of EUR 400 (US$550) for the Nokia 7900 Prism and EUR 210 (US$289) for the Nokia 7500 Prism, before taxes and subsidies.
Nokia Prism collection is highlighted by cutting-edge colors, materials and graphics. Its signature diamond-cut design, featuring sharp angled lines, geometric patterns and graphic light-refracting colors, ensure these models stand out in the mobile phone market.

Opposite its sleek, liquorice-black front, the Nokia 7900 Prism comes with an anodized aluminium backcover, which is coin-stamped and laser-etched in Nokia Prism's signature diamond-cut design. Its design is amongst the first to feature an Organic LED main display that supports up to 16 million colors and displays light-focused screensaver graphics. In addition, the Nokia 7900 Prism features a "living wallpaper", which subtly changes throughout the day according to time as well as battery and signal strength, so that each screen is unique.

For greater personalization, the Nokia 7900 Prism offers a gallery choice of 49 illumination colors. Once selected, this color radiates from under the graphic key-mat as well as from the LED display. Lights are also emitted from the top of the phone to signal missed calls and messages.

The Nokia 7900 Prism features dual band 3G technology for fast and easy downloads and browsing, and quad band GSM capability for worldwide connectivity. In addition to a 2 Mpx camera, the Nokia 7900 Prism comes with 1GB of internal memory for lots of pictures, video, contacts and more.

Nokia 7900 Prism specification:

General

Network
UMTS / GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
Announced
2007, August
Status
Coming Soon

Size
Dimensions
112 x 45 x 11.3 mm, 55 cc
Weight
101 g

Display
Type
OLED, 16M colors
Size
240 x 320 pixels, 2 inches

Ringtones
Type
Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3
Customization
Download
Vibration
Yes

Memory
Phonebook
Yes
Call records
20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls
Card slot
No
- 1GB internal memory

Data
GPRS
Class 32, 107 kbps
HSCSD
Yes
EDGE
Class 32, 296 kbps
3G
Yes, 384 kbps
WLAN
No
Bluetooth
Yes, v2.0
Infrared port
No
USB
Yes, microUSB

Features
Messaging
SMS, MMS, Email
Browser
WAP 2.0/xHTML
Games
Yes + downloadable
Colors
Black
Camera
2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video(QCIF), flash
- Java MIDP 2.0

- UPnP technology

- MP3/AAC/eAAC+/WMA player

- FM radio

- T9

- Calendar

- Calculator

- Built-in handsfree

- Voice memo

- Living wallpaper

Battery
Standard battery, Li-Ion 850 mAh (BL-6P)
Stand-by
Up to 240 h
Talk time
Up to 3 h

Nokia 7500 Prism

The Nokia 7500 Prism is the Nokia 7900 Prism's quirky sibling. The Nokia 7500 Prism's slick black exterior is spliced with bright, interchangeable color accents. The Nokia 7500 Prism has a 2 Mpx camera and it can record high quality movies. The Nokia 7500 Prism can play music for nine hours and hold up to 1500 songs on an optional 2 GB microSD card.

Nokia 7500 Prism specification:

General
Network
GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900
Announced
2007, July
Status
Available

Size
Dimensions
109 x 44 x 14 mm, 70 cc
Weight
83 g
Display
Type
TFT, 16M colors
Size
240 x 320 pixels, 2 inches

Ringtones
Type
Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3
Customization
Download
Vibration
Yes

Memory
Phonebook
1000 entries, Photocall
Call records
20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls
Card slot
microSD (TransFlash),
- 30 MB internal user memory

Data
GPRS
Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
HSCSD
Yes
EDGE
Class 10, 236.8 kbps
3G
No
WLAN
No
Bluetooth
Yes, v2.0
Infrared port
No
USB
Yes, v2.0

Features
Messaging
SMS, MMS, Email
Browser
WAP 2.0/xHTML
Games
Yes + downloadable

Colour

Black
Camera
2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video (QCIF), flash
- Java MIDP 2.0

- UPnP technology

- MP3/AAC/eAAC+/WMA player

- FM radio

- T9

- Calendar

- Calculator

- Built-in handsfree

- Voice memo

Battery
Standard battery, Li-Ion 700 mAh (BL-4B)
Stand-by
Up to 240 h
Talk time
Up to 2 h 50 min

External Hard-Drive

2007-08-08T17:33:00.000+05:30

The high capacity external hard drives covered in this report are best for multimedia files, such as digital video, high-resolution photos, or music collections that occupy considerable hard drive space on a computer. These external hard drives provide a convenient way to increase your hard-drive space with the added benefit that the drive may be unplugged and connected to another computer.
But when it comes to portability and smaller-capacity storage, USB thumb drives prevail. These flash memory devices connect easily, remove quickly, and are simple to use. See our companion report on USB flash drives if you need to store less than 4GB of data. Current USB drives top out at about 8GB, and mainstream models reach 4GB.

Multimedia files – especially uncompressed video files – can take up a lot of hard drive space on a computer, and many users quickly exceed the space on their internal hard drive. An external drive is an easy way to increase hard-drive space without installing a new internal hard drive. An external drive can also be used as a backup drive in case your computer's drive becomes corrupted or unstable. Reviewers uniformly recommend that users back up their computers – or at least their most important files – at least once a week. Backing up data to multiple CDs or DVDs can be cumbersome, often requiring several discs, but an external hard drive can hold much more data. Backup software makes performing this task virtually automatic.
In general, test reports measure actual capacity against manufacturers' claims, disc speed (also called spindle speed), external data transfer rate and connectivity (USB, FireWire, eSATA). They also examine ease of use, software and physical design features, such as whether the drive sits vertically or horizontally.
Ease of use is another important consideration. Reviewers concur that backup software makes a difference in the utility of these drives. Nearly all external hard drives come with software to help schedule backups and move files, and new features include system rollback capability, as well as security options that keep your drive safe from sudden disconnects, shutdowns and virus invasions (an occupational hazard for drives that are switched among multiple systems). Keep in mind there's no need to use the manufacturer's supplied software with an external hard drive. Most allow you to drag and drop files, bypassing software entirely. If you want to perform scheduled backups, there are also many effective third-party software solutions available.

Types of external hard drives
External hard drives come in two main form factors. The highest-capacity hard drives can be about the size of a hardcover book, with capacities from about 300GB to 1,000GB (also known as a terabyte). These high capacity drives aren't portable -- they're meant to be parked on your desk. They rely on an AC brick for power.
Portable external hard drives are about the size of a paperback, and the smallest models are about the size of a deck of cards. These smaller drives usually connect with a USB or FireWire cable and most come in capacities of 40GB to 160GB. They are small enough that they can pull all the power they need through the USB or FireWire port, so you don't need an external power supply. The third main form factor are tiny USB thumb drives which come in capacities up to 8GB, and these are covered in our report on USB flash drives.
Reviews say you shouldn't consider an external hard drive of less than 40GB, and most recommend buying as much storage as you can realistically afford. Consumer Reports magazine recommends a size of 200GB to 300GB for most families. Laptop users who want a more portable drive will need to settle for less.
Disk speed, also called spindle speed, refers to the disk’s rotational speed, which partly determines the speed of data transfer. Reviews say 5,400rpm is the lowest disk speed you should consider. Portable hard drives generally run at this speed, which matches that of most laptop hard drives. A speed of 7,200rpm tends to be the most common for larger external hard drives, and 10,000rpm drives are slowly becoming more commonplace.
Buffer size represents the amount of cached, or stored memory your drive can handle while waiting for the next request from the system. Clearly, the bigger the buffer, the more data it can hold and the more quickly it can deliver that data. Budget external hard drives tend to have a 2MB buffer, although 8MB is common too. Opt for the latter if you can, as it can make a noticeable difference. A few of the latest drives have 16MB buffers.

Important Features: External hard drives

Choose an external drive based on your source system, operating system and backup needs. If you mainly plan to store or backup data files, you don't need the fastest external hard drive. Those who plan to back up multimedia files need more storage capacity and faster transfer speeds.If you want an eSATA drive, you'll need an adapter for your computer.

Look for preloaded easy-to-use backup capabilities. Whichever external drive you choose, you'll want software that makes backups easy so that you backup often. Some models build this into the hardware design by providing one button backup capability.

If your storage needs are modest, consider a USB flash drive instead. Because it's solid state and doesn't have the mechanical vulnerabilities of platters wobbling at 7,200rpm, flash technology is emerging as one of the safest and most practical storage mediums today. Current capacity tops out at about 8GB, but larger capacities are on the horizon.

You might need different backup software. Experts and owners often aren't crazy about the backup software that ships with external hard drives. However, you can always use other software.

Assume that eventually, your drive will fail. Many reviewers recommend that you choose two smaller drives – one as a backup to the other – instead of a single large drive. There's certainly safety in numbers, so the more repositories of important data you're able to find, the better you'll sleep at night. Reviewers uniformly agree that an external hard drive should be part of an overall backup strategy, which should also include backing up to removable media or storing important files online.

Evolving TV

2007-08-08T16:18:00.000+05:30

LCD TVs and plasma TVs are both thin and wall mountable, but you get more screen real estate for your money with a plasma TV. Plasma TVs can also achieve deeper black levels, making for more cinematic movie-watching. LCD televisions usually look brighter, however, and many can double as a computer monitor (see our separate report on LCD TV ). Most plasma TVs come in 42-inch or 50-inch sizes (measured diagonally), but smaller and larger models are available. On the other hand, LCD TVs generally measure 42 inches or less. In general, if you want a wall-mountable HDTV over 42-inches, plasma is your best bet. Another option is a rear-projection HDTV , but these are about 18-inches thick and can't mount on a wall.

The end looms for analog TV
Regardless of which technology you choose, all TVs have been affected by some recent events. Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have established a firm deadline of February 2009 for the end of analog broadcasting. That means that you'll need a television with an ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee) compatible digital tuner in order to watch TV over the air with an antenna. Be aware that cable and satellite TV deliver their signals in a completely different way and are not affected by the change in over-the-air broadcasting.
As part of that ruling, Congress and the FCC are requiring that manufacturers include a digital tuner in new televisions. TVs equipped with a digital tuner need no additional equipment aside from an antenna to receive digital signals over the air. For cable subscribers, if the digital tuner is QAM-capable, you will also be able to receive non-premium, unscrambled HDTV and other digital content. (QAM is the transmission scheme cable companies use to distribute digital TV signals.) For premium programming, you will still need an external decoder, usually a cable box.
There is a loophole, however. True monitors -- displays with no built-in tuner at all -- are exempt from the ruling. This type of tuner-less plasma display works well for those who get all of their programming from cable or satellite TV (the cable or satellite box acts as the tuner) -- but they won't work for getting TV with an antenna, either now or after the switch to digital. If you subscribe to satellite or cable, however, a plasma monitor will work just fine.

While not vitally important in the past, you should make sure your new plasma television has an HDMI input. New high-definition DVD players (HD-DVD and Blu-ray) use this input, which supports High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP). This system is intended to prevent people from making copies of high-definition movies. Right now, not many people own HD-DVD or Blu-ray players, but they'll become more common in the future. In order to "future-proof" your TV, reviews say you should make sure your TV has an HDMI input even if you won't need it right away. Most plasma TVs and monitors come with an HDMI input.

Plasma TV vs. LCD TV
Plasma televisions and LCD TVs are both capable of delivering a relatively big picture within a thin case, but there are some differences between the two.
Plasma TVs are mainly available in 42-inch and 50-inch screen sizes, with some larger sizes now being introduced. If you want something smaller than 42-inches, look to LCD televisions, which come in a much wider range of sizes. In 42-inch and 50-inch sizes, plasma is usually (but not always) less expensive than LCD.
Although experts say both types of displays are getting closer, neither plasma nor LCD can yet equal the image you'd get from a conventional CRT-based HDTV. However, those TVs top out at about 34-inches, and they are both bulky and heavy. The advantage of plasma, of course, is a large, sleek screen that takes up very little space. But while they might be thin, plasma TVs are still quite heavy, often requiring professional installation (for wall mounts) and good venting to keep them from overheating. LCD TVs weigh less, but they're still cumbersome to mount on a wall.
Plasma TVs are known for their better ability to display dark colors as compared to LCD TVs. This makes them a good choice for movie watching where dark scenes are common, and it’s the reason why most reviewers say plasma is a better choice for a home theater. LCD TVs appear brighter, but they don't usually display details in shadowy areas as well. If your room is brightly lit, an LCD TV may be a better choice. Plasma TVs can sometimes look washed out in a bright room, and they often have problems with reflections. Reviewers also say that the best LCD TVs are beginning to catch up to plasma TVs in their ability to display deep blacks and good shadow detail.
Plasma TV screens have wider viewing angles than LCD flat panel televisions. That means you can sit at more of an angle and still get the best picture. With most TV technologies, including plasma TV, the picture stays the same from virtually any angle. With LCD TVs, however, sitting too far to one side will result in a loss of brightness. In addition, LCD televisions can sometimes have problems with moving images. That's because it takes longer for LCD pixels to switch color than for plasma pixels to change. However, according to reviews, that is becoming less of a problem in the latest LCD TVs.
Burn-in used to be an issue with plasma TVs. If you leave the same image on the screen too long, there is still a small risk of it being etched permanently into the screen, creating a lasting impression. Text "crawls" across the bottoms of news stations and network logos are particular problems. New technology, however, reduces the risk of burn-in and analysts at PC Magazine say that burn-in is no longer a major concern. LCD TVs have no burn-in risk.
The latest plasma televisions are estimated to last 25,000 to 35,000 hours before losing half of their brightness; the expected lifetime of LCD TVs and conventional TVs is about twice as long. However, if you use a plasma TV about eight hours a day every day, it should still last over ten years. By then, experts say, you'll probably be ready for a new TV anyway.
Altogether, for flat screens of 42-inches (measured diagonally) or larger, plasma is a good choice for many shoppers because it tends to offer a better price/size ratio, although that gap is closing. (Note, however, that 1080p plasma displays are currently far more expensive than their LCD counterparts.) On the other hand, LCD TVs are better for well-lit settings and are available in a wider range of sizes.
Virtually all plasma TVs today are HD (high definition), with screen resolutions of 1024 X 768 or 1024 X 1024 (for 42-inch TVs) or 1366 X 768 pixels (for 50-inch TVs). While that's still not quite enough to do 1080i HDTV full justice, all the models can easily handle 720p, which is the other commonly used HDTV standard. Full-resolution (1920 X 1080) plasma displays are also now becoming available.

The Vista Alternative

2007-08-06T16:07:00.000+05:30

The best alternative to Windows Vista may be something you already own: Windows XP. Microsoft will continue to support XP at least through 2008, when it will release a major security update for XP, Service Pack 3. And don’t be surprised if support is stretched well into 2009, since the response to Vista has been underwhelming and there’s a tremendous demand for continuance of XP. There’s no reason not to buy Vista with a new PC, particularly if you’re a gamer or performance freak. But there’s no reason to rush, either, if you’re mostly web browsing, emailing, printing photos and writing the occasional memo. Your current XP installation just needs a tune-up and minor upgrade with ad-ins that mimic Vista functions.

Perform a clean install of XP, ideally on a new hard drive. Spyware, viruses, rootkits, bogus registry entries, software you should have thrown out, damaged files, old copies of old copies, even problematic networking settings — all conspire to slow down your computer.

Yes, you can correct most of these problems by hand or with various programs, but it’s often easier to start over. First, delete the programs and files you don’t regularly use. Then use XP’s File and Settings Transfer Wizard (Start/Accessories /System Tools/Files and Settings Transfer Wizard) to back up all your relevant files. Pay particular attention to your address book and favourites. The safest method is to save files across a network to another computer, although the Wizard also has options for removable disks and even your hard drive.

If you have particularly valuable files, copy them off separately to a CD or DVD.

Since hard drives are cheap, it pays to buy a new one for the new install and to keep your old one intact as a security blanket until you’ve “migrated”. If you use your old drive to store the transfer files, you can restore from it. With a laptop, installing a new hard drive is a lot tougher — you might want to get a cheap USB hard drive to store your transfer files.

Now comes the real pain: PCs usually come with a system restore disk that is an image of Windows plus whatever free software was included. Generally this will wipe your drive and rebuild your PC to its original software. At that point, you need to download various updates (in Explorer, see Tools/Windows Update.) This isn’t something to put off as most updates relate to security.

Just getting Windows up to snuff kills most of a day by the time you’ve sorted out hard drive installation and downloaded all these files.
If you’ve reinstalled XP recently, you’ll note that one tremendous advantage of Vista is that it is a complete product (with little updating required). I saved a couple of hours over an XP reinstall, even if it did kill my sound card.
Once you have XP up and running again, it’s time to Vistafy it. A lot of the technology developed for Vista is available for XP as well.

Security is your first priority, since you want to keep that clean new XP copy healthy. Download Windows Defender (microsoft.com/ athome/security/spy ware/software /default.mspx), Microsoft’s anti-spyware solution, along with a decent anti-virus package.

The next worthy Vista component you should add is Windows Live Mail (get.live.com/betas/ maildesk top_betas), a long-overdue update to Outlook Express. It will, of course, import your mail and address books when you install it.

Live Mail’s main new feature, however, is an excellent and flexible spam filter that quickly sorts incoming mail into legitimate inbox and junk categories. You can set it to keep all your mail, reject only the most obvious spam, or nail all the spam, most likely along with some real mail. However, it is quite easy to go through the list of new junk mail and restore the “oopsies”.
Windows Live Mail is a godsend for cheapskates like me — I get a half-dozen PR pitches a day that I want to glance at before tossing. There’s a whitelist option — for example, email from people you trust is never thrown out — as well as blacklisting options for people and even countries. Spam filtering also tends to keep out various digital nasties that hitch rides on email.

If Microsoft’s automatic update doesn’t download Internet Explorer 7 (microsoft.com/windows/products /winfamily/ie/default.mspx), you’ll want to add it to your collection, too. Lots of improved security, as well as useful features like tabs for browsing. But aficionados still give open-source Firefox the edge.

The Bourne Ultimatum

2007-08-06T09:22:00.000+05:30

"This Summer Jason Bourne Comes Home"
Directed by: Paul Greengrass
Starring:
Matt Damon - Jason Bourne
Julia Stiles - Nicky Parsons
David Strathairn - Noah Vosen
Joan Allen - Pamela Landy
Scott Glenn - Ezra Kramer
Paddy Considine - Simon Ross
Edgar Ramirez - Paz
Albert Finney - Dr. Albert Hirsch

The Bourne Ultimatum, the third installment in the Bourne series based on Robert Ludlum’s novel. The Bourne Ultimatum is an eye peeling, edge of your seat action romp that leaves the audience feeling they ran around, chasing Jason Bourne through the streets.
A mysterious man meets with Simon Ross, a reporter to bring to light top secret government programs. Ross (Paddy Considine) also runs stories about Jason Bourne. Bourne realizes that Ross may have answers to his questions. Bourne sets up a meet with Ross to discuss how Ross comes by his information. After avoiding the bad guys, a series of decisions leaves Bourne (Matt Damon) alone again, but this time, with Ross’s notes. He follows the notes where they take him. While Bourne is with Ross, government bad guy Noah Vosen (David Strathairn) is trying to find out who is leaking top secret information. He is willing to do anything to find and kill the leak. Agent Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) gets stuck in the middle. There are explosions, fights, Morocco, and clever out-maneuvering.
The Bourne Ultimatum is stuffed like road kill with outstanding action sequences. Stunt Coordinator Dan Bradley, Fight Choreographer Nick Chopping, and Assistant Fight Coordinator Jonathan Eusebio should be incredibly proud of their creation. Their work, so much more than the director, makes this film such a spectacle to watch. The fights look like if the actors were just one millisecond off, they’d be toast. The fists, the feet and the improvised weapons were flying. The scenes in Morocco are dazzling; roof to patio, through windows, and through unsuspecting stranger’s homes. Dan Bradley has got to be proud of chase scenes using cars in different and surprising ways. I would be dismayed to shun the actors in the movie, but the stunt actors should be as praised as the face actors in The Bourne Ultimatum. The stunt people, the stunt coordinators and the fight coordinators deserve nothing less than a perfect score. They put the up in this shoot-em-up!
The sound in the movie is also special. Christopher Assells, the sound effects editor, editing gives the fight scenes credibility. Either director Paul Greengrass or Assells made the brilliant decision to make the fights sans music. That coupled with the outstanding foley in the beautifully choreographed fight scenes make the audience unable to look away and afraid to look!
Matt Damon is an action hero when he steps into Jason Bourne’s skin. I was surprised by the depth of the plot and a good deal of my surprise was due to Damon’s acting. How do you make a person who can’t remember why he’s fighting so adamant about the fight without making him a fighting zombie? Damon does it with such precision. He gives Bourne a rich depth of character for a character who can’t remember his past.
The supporting cast is fine. I wish I could say more. Their scripts are dull and can sometimes be downright cheesy. David Strathairn is unfortunately saddled with the worst character in the movie, evil-in-charge-agent-man, Noah Vosen. The character uses so many cheese-log-esque lines, I wonder if the writers, Tony Gilroy, Scott Z. Burns, George Nolfi, and Tony Gilroy actually read his lines out loud. Was the director there when Strathairn was saying the lines? While they may be accurate to what a person in his position might actually say, it feels trite. The best supporting character, in my opinion is the asset at the end of the movie.
Even with the moments of eye rolling cliché, I liked the story in The Bourne Ultimatum. I often have figured out movie’s endings fifteen minutes in, especially in spy-action movies. I didn’t figure out the ending before the reveal at the end. The Bourne Ultimatum should not be missed in the theater; it would lose a great deal of the splendor and spectacle if you waited for DVD. This movie is worth the cost of admission.

The Bourne Ultimatum is stuffed like road kill with outstanding action sequences. Stunt Coordinator Dan Bradley, Fight Choreographer Nick Chopping, and Assistant Fight Coordinator Jonathan Eusebio should be incredibly proud of their creation. Their work, so much more than the director, makes this film such a spectacle to watch. The fights look like if the actors were just one millisecond off, they’d be toast. The fists, the feet and the improvised weapons were flying. The scenes in Morocco are dazzling; roof to patio, through windows, and through unsuspecting stranger’s homes. Dan Bradley has got to be proud of chase scenes using cars in different and surprising ways. I would be dismayed to shun the actors in the movie, but the stunt actors should be as praised as the face actors in The Bourne Ultimatum. The stunt people, the stunt coordinators and the fight coordinators deserve nothing less than a perfect score. They put the up in this shoot-em-up!

The sound in the movie is also special. Christopher Assells, the sound effects editor, editing gives the fight scenes credibility. Either director Paul Greengrass or Assells made the brilliant decision to make the fights sans music. That coupled with the outstanding foley in the beautifully choreographed fight scenes make the audience unable to look away and afraid to look!
Matt Damon is an action hero when he steps into Jason Bourne’s skin. I was surprised by the depth of the plot and a good deal of my surprise was due to Damon’s acting. How do you make a person who can’t remember why he’s fighting so adamant about the fight without making him a fighting zombie? Damon does it with such precision. He gives Bourne a rich depth of character for a character who can’t remember his past.

The supporting cast is fine. I wish I could say more. Their scripts are dull and can sometimes be downright cheesy. David Strathairn is unfortunately saddled with the worst character in the movie, evil-in-charge-agent-man, Noah Vosen. The character uses so many cheese-log-esque lines, I wonder if the writers, Tony Gilroy, Scott Z. Burns, George Nolfi, and Tony Gilroy actually read his lines out loud. Was the director there when Strathairn was saying the lines? While they may be accurate to what a person in his position might actually say, it feels trite. The best supporting character, in my opinion is the asset at the end of the movie.

Review Die Hard 4.0

2007-08-06T09:02:00.000+05:30

Year: 2007
Director: Len Wiseman
Starring: Bruce Willis, Justin Long, Timothy Olyphant, Maggie Q, Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Plot
Officer John McClane battles high-tech terrorists set on destroying the US infrastructure and stealing financial data.

Quick Review
Live Free or Die Hard succeeds as an nicely paced action film. Bruce Willis and Justin Long give the film a humorous and charismatic energy. For the most part we’ve got semi-intelligent enemies. The action is visually engaging and entertaining. However, this film falls well short of the standard set by Die Hard and Die Hard with a Vengeance. The action is simply too unrealistic, the plot too sloppy, and the premise reminiscent of the idiocy of Die Hard 2: Die Harder.

Full Review

The first three Die Hard films defined the elements of this series: intelligent, hi-tech villains; a blue-collar, sarcastic hero; and rough and tumble action with a lot of give and take. I’m happy to say that the newly released Live free or die hard contains all these elements. However, in certain aspects the creators have taken things too far with Live Free or Die Hard. More, faster, and bigger does not always equal better.
I have two major problems with Live Free or Die Hard. First, accepting the premise of this film requires you to distort your sense of reality to an incredible degree. The thrust of the plot is that a group of terrorists operating out of a van could take control of the computer systems of the United States. These villains can do it all: switch traffic lights across a city; magically drop prices on Wall Street; and impersonate US military command. It’s amazing. Anything they want, they can plug into it and control it within seconds. The plot suffers greatly from this silly premise, but it gets even sillier as the movie goes on.
Alert: Minor Spoiler Paragraph!
For example, in a tiny nod to reality, a few select computer systems can only be accessed from within their respective geological locations, which forces the terrorists to actually go there to put them out of action. But conveniently for the terrorists, all of the electricity in the eastern United States runs through one huge power plant (huh?), which is guarded even more conveniently by a huge defense force of um, six men. Not six military men, mind you, but six men of such tactical brilliance that they run up to the terrorists and get killed instantly. If your sense of reality hasn’t snapped yet, it gets even a bigger test with what happens next. After the terrorists have their plans thwarted in shutting down the electricity from within the plant, they then blow it up by diverting an overload of natural gas to the location. Huh? Why didn’t they just do that in the first place? This is just one of several places where reality distorts to make the plot work.
The second problem I have with this film is the action. While the Die Hard series has always embraced a “Hollywood” nature of its action, in Live Free or Die Hard they go over the edge with this quite a few times. Officer John McClane, played by Bruce Willis, has always been given a liberal dose of Energizer Bunny Hollywood durability. However, in Live Free or Die Hard he even outdoes himself in this regard. A select few of his enemies, too, at times approach indestructible levels that badly stretch the sense of believability in this film. Also, in many cases the action in the film is spectacular yet unrealistic. A perfect example: there is the dramatic scene where McClane launches a speeding car high enough to take out a helicopter. The scene is beautifully shot and visually thrilling. At the same time, you find yourself shaking your head in disbelief. This happens over and over in this film, and it’s a shame, because the exaggerated action combined with the unrealistic plot take Live Free or Die Hard in the direction of the weak second film in this series.
Up to this point, you might be thinking that I hated this movie, but amazingly, that’s not the case. I actually had a good time watching this film. Live Free or Die Hard manages to get enough things right to overcome its ample weaknesses.
First, although the action does go well beyond the bounds of believability, it is still excellent action, fun to watch, and driven by some fair pacing. The visual effects are light, but that in no way pulls the film down. The explosions are top-rate. There are fantastic stunts in the movie. One of the villains, in particular, does a brilliant job with some acrobatic climbing and jumping. His final scene is actually so good that it’s too bad it ends so quickly. The fights are quick moving and intense. I especially liked the back-and-forth battle that occurs early in the movie. The “intelligent enemy” has always been a driving force behind the action in the Die Hard movies, and for the most part they manage to recapture that essence with Live Free or Die Hard. There are exceptions, however, where the enemy does have a dummy moment more typical of standard action films. The fighter pilot, in particular, deserves a Darwin Award for his performance.
Second, the acting and characters in Live Free or Die Hard overpower a script that ranges from solid to tired. Bruce Willis does another fine job as John McClane. I was concerned that his age would play a factor, but even at age 52, Bruce Willis still delivers the goods in fine style. His banter is top notch. I had some good chuckles throughout the film. His wit and sarcasm make him one of the more likeable heroes in action movie history. Also, Justin Long does a convincing job as a computer hacker targeted by the terrorists. McClane spends a good part of the movie trying keep him alive, and the two actors have good chemistry. Their interaction spices up the movie considerably. I liked Timothy Olyphant as the main villain, although at times he appeared a bit wooden.

And as an added bonus, check out the Babe rating of this film! The first three Die Hard films scored some of the lowest ever in terms of Kaboom Review Babe ratings. It’s obvious, however, that the makers of Live Free or Die Hard have been reading this blog, as they added the sexy Maggie Q as Mai Lihn to the villain’s ranks. Amazingly, we even get more eye candy in the pleasant Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who plays John McClane’s daughter. Disappointingly, she looks much better in other photos than she does in this movie, but on the whole she adds points to the Babe rating. Our Hunk rating doesn’t stand up so well, though. Bruce Willis, to be blunt, has seen better days. The rest of the cast is average at best.
In the end, Live Free or Die Hard succeeds as an action film. Bruce Willis and Justin Long give the film a humorous and charismatic energy. Pace is good. For the most part we’ve got semi-intelligent enemies. The action is visually engaging and entertaining. However, this film falls well short of the standard set by Die Hard and Die Hard with a Vengeance. The action is simply too unrealistic, the plot too sloppy, and the premise reminiscent of the idiocy of Die Hard 2: Die Harder.Interesting FactBruce Willis’ stunt double was hospitalized after breaking both wrists and bones in his face while making this movie.

Related Reviews: Die Hard, Die Hard 2: Die Harder, Die Hard with a Vengeance

Scores

Pace: 77

Plot: 42

Action: 85

Consistent Premise: 27

Script/Quotes: 63

Characters: 88

Acting: 76

Villain: 65

Body Count: 43

Time to First Dead Body: About 1 minute 30 seconds

Babes: 62

Hunks: 37

Explosions: 89

Special Effects: 70

Stunts: 92

Ending: 86

VoIP

2007-08-05T17:12:00.000+05:30

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) are also called Internet Telephony. The definition of Internet Telephony maybe as, A category of hardware and software that enables people to use the Internet as the transmission medium for telephone calls. For users who have free, or fixed-price Internet access, Internet telephony software essentially provides free telephone calls anywhere in the world. To date, however, Internet telephony does not offer the same quality of telephone service as direct telephone connections.
Internet Telephony is transport of telephone calls over the Internet, no matter whether traditional telephony devices, multimedia PCs or dedicated terminals take part in the calls, and no matter whether the calls are entirely or partially transmitted over the Internet.

How it Works?
Internet Telephony is based on packet switching, where the connection is shared instead of using a dedicated one as in PSTN. When a voice is sent via the data network, the voice is first digitalized and placed into packets. This technique requires an application on the sender's site to digitalize the voice into a digital signal. On the receiver's side, this digitalized signal needs to be converted back to an analog signal so it can be played back to the receiver.
History
If you have an ear open to new computer technologies, you are sure to have heard about VoIP. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is an emerging set of applications which allows you to make telephone calls over the Internet. It is already starting to replace existing telephone networks, with some people and businesses opting to cancel their traditional phone line and use VoIP instead. VoIP was originally developed to provide voice communication between computer users in different locations. Although it still has this application, it has been further developed into a telephone network in its own right. People using VoIP can call any telephone anywhere in the world and can receive calls on telephone sets connected to the Internet or Local Area Network (LAN).
Background: It all started back in 1995 when Israeli computer enthusiasts made the first computer to computer voice connection. In the same year this technology was developed into a software package called Internet Phone Software. All that was needed to talk to another computer user was a modem, sound card, speakers, and a microphone. The software digitized and compressed the audio signal before sending it over the Internet in data packets. These voice connections could only occur between computers which had the software installed. The sound quality was very poor -- nowhere near the quality of standard telephone connections. The technology continued to be developed and by 1998 gateways had been established to allow PC-to-phone connections. Later that same year phone-to-phone connections that used the Internet for voice transmission were set in place. These phone-to-phone connections still required a computer to initiate the call, but once the connection was established, the callers could use a regular phone set.
Why are we going for VOIP?
VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol, is rapidly becoming a top choice for people wishing to avoid costly telephone service. Why? The system works by allowing you to make phone calls using a computer network, such as your Internet provider. The way it works is similar to email; most providers offer unlimited long-distance calling for a low monthly fee or for a low per-minute rate. Where long-distance fees can run high very quickly through traditional phone providers, Voice over IP can provide the same types of calls for a much lower rate. VoIP is the calling choice of the future, and providers are already scrambling to provide the best service for the best price. For the consumer, this is great news. As companies compete for business, rates and service options continue to improve. Why will you love VoIP? The following are three top reasons. Huge Savings Imagine being able to keep your current phone number and make as many long distance calls as you wish (within a certain area) for one low price. No more fluctuating phone bills, outrageous long distance charges, or other surcharges that repeatedly shows up on your bill. Voice over IP offers just that. Just as email changed how people communicate, so too will VoIP. Depending on the provider you choose, you may be able to combine your Internet service with your phone service into one lower monthly bill. As VoIP becomes more common, it will be available in more areas. However, even for those who are not yet able to change their local number to Voice over IP, there is still the option of switching your long distance. This requires a phone number outside of your area code, but the savings will be well worth it. Further, if you make many phone calls to a particular area code, choose a number from that area and your contacts will be able to call you as if it were a local call. Not a bad way to go while you are waiting for local service! Options Voice over IP comes with many options, including both the ones you are used to as well as some new ones. Imagine checking your phone calls through your computer while you are traveling, or having an email sent to you every time you have a new voice mail message! The technologies that integrate your computer and your phone service are opening up a whole new playing field in communications. VoIP combined with your computer, mobile phone, and other gadgets will keep you more connected than ever. Of course, if you choose not to be connected, that is possible as well. Many Voice over IP providers include features you are used to, such as caller ID, call waiting, and call forwarding. You may also have the option to block callers, use an "away" message, or "do not disturb" options. Additional features may include three-way calling (again avoiding costly charges), speed dialing, distinctive rings, and many other options. Moreover, if you don't want to give up some of the benefits to which you've become accustomed, many providers offer directory assistance (for a fee, although this could change) and the ability to access 911 emergency personnel, which is a concern for many people.
It's Not Going Anywhere VoIP is the future of calling. As the technology evolves, more and more integration options will come available. Depending on the use, you may be ready to switch over now and enjoy the cost savings. For home users, switching to Voice over IP can be a very cost-saving option, particularly for those who make many long-distance calls. Home-based businesses may also benefit from switching. Larger business may do well to wait a bit, or start integrating the technology on a smaller scale. As VoIP evolves, so too will options for larger businesses. When making the switch to VoIP, do a bit of research to choose the best option. Avoid getting locked-into a long-term contract, as new providers are competing with existing ones, and you'll want to take advantage of better rates and services if the come along.
For Beginners:
For those who have never heard about the potential of VoIP, be prepared to radically change the way you think about your current long-distance calling plan. VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is very simply, a method for taking ordinary analog audio signals and turning them into digital signals that can be sent over the Internet. So what? Well, for those of you who are already paying a monthly fee for an Internet connection, this means that you can use that same connection to place free long distance phone calls. This process works by using already available VoIP software to make phone calls over the Internet, essentially circumventing phone companies and their service charges. Interestingly, VoIP is not an entirely new thing. In fact, a number of providing companies have been around for some time. But it has only been with the more recent explosion of high-speed internet access usage, that VoIP has gotten any attention. Now the major telephone carriers are setting up their own VoIP calling plans throughout, another testament to the potential of the technology.
Advantages:
While your current long-distance plan covers you for only one location, say calls made from your office, with VoIP, you can make a call anywhere that you can get a broadband connection. That is because all three methods above, unlike analog calls, send the call information via the Internet. This means you can make calls from home, on vacation, on business trips, and almost anywhere else. Anywhere you go, with VoIP you can bring your home phone along with you. In the same way, computer-to-computer connections mean that as long as you have your laptop and a connection, you are ready to go. There are also some nifty benefits to having your calls transmitted over the Internet. For example, some VoIP service providers allow you to check your voicemail via your e-mail, while others allow you to attach voice messages to your e-mails.
Future of VoIP
While most analysts believe it will be at least a decade before companies and telephone providers make the full switch to VoIP, the potential for the technology's use today is already quite astounding. A report by the Forrester Research Group predicts that by the end of 2006, nearly 5 million U.S. households will be using VoIP phone service. With the savings and flexibility that the technology already offers, and new advances just ahead on the horizon, we can expect those numbers will only increase in the future.
Cheapest And Best Software Available (in my opinion):
Internet Calls are the cheapest in the market for computer to computer VoIP over broadband connection. They provide 10 seconds trial period. And once you buy credit after registering in their site, you can call free for over 45 destination countries for free (120 days from your registration date) and whats more is you can send cheap International SMS also.