tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63332778877356191172024-03-13T09:15:11.901-07:00Nerds Nirvana"A man who won't die for something is not fit to live. :Martin Luther King"Usyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00594124774136485082noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6333277887735619117.post-32320750417606418942009-11-15T17:55:00.000-08:002009-11-15T18:00:36.268-08:00Go: Google’s new open source programming language<span style="color:#000099;">Google never seems to just be satisfied with the status quo, and when they run out of fields to compete in they create their own! Google’s new “Go” programming language is one of their newest ventures, a language which is an amalgamation of Python and C++.</span><span style="color:#000099;"><br /></span><span style="color:#000099;"><br /></span><span style="color:#000099;"> </span><span style="color:#000099;">The Go language, in development since September 2007, has been unveiled by Google along with the release of a free and open source compiler. In fact, Google has released both a stand-along compiler implementation with cryptic names such as 6g (amd64 compiler), 8g (x86 compiler), and 5g (ARM compiler) and one which is a front-end for GCC (gccgo).</span><span style="color:#000099;"><br /></span><span style="color:#000099;"><br /></span><span style="color:#000099;">Born out of frustration with existing system languages, Go attempts to bring something new to the table, and mix the ease of dynamically typed and interpreted languages with the efficiency of compiled languages.</span><span style="color:#000099;"><br /></span><span style="color:#000099;"><br /></span><span style="color:#000099;"> </span><span style="color:#000099;">So why make a new programming language?</span><span style="color:#000099;"><br /></span><p><span style="color:#000099;">Google believes that the current languages have run their course. The prominent languages in use today (C/C++, Java, C#) are all based around a similar syntax, and updating and adding new features in these language consists of piling on libraries, with little or no upgrade to the core of the language itself. What Google intends to do requires more than just the addition of a new library.</span><br /></p><p><strong><span style="color:#009900;">Hello World in Go:</span></strong><br /></p><span style="color:#ff0000;">package main<br /><br />import "fmt"</span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><br /><br />func main() {<br /> fmt.Printf("Hello, ??n")<br />}<br /></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;">The landscape of computing has changed a lot since C, and as Google notes “Computers are enormously quicker but software development is not faster.” Languages have had to morph quite a bit to take on support concepts such as parallel processing, and garbage collection.<br /><br />Go, on the other hand has been designed by Google from the ground up as “a concurrent, garbage-collected language with fast compilation”.<br /><br />In order to not alienate the majority of developers though, its syntax is quite similar to C, and would not take much time for a developer to catch on to.<br /><br />Go has accomplished some impressive feats. The language is designed to compile fast and Go can compile a “large" program in a few seconds on a single computer. It is designed to simplify the creation of application which can better utilize today’s multi-core processors. The language supports concurrent execution and communication between concurrent processes natively, and is fully-garbage collected.<br /><br />Goroutines allowed are Google’s answer to threading in Go, and any function call which is preceded by the go statement runs in a different goroutine concurrently. A feature called channels allows for easy communication and synchronization between such routines.<br /><br />Unlike other object oriented languages, Go has a much “simplified” type structure, which disallows sub-classing! Go offers a different flavour of object oriented programming using interfaces, which Google believes will simplify use.<br /><br />By using interfaces, explicit type hierarchies need not be defined, instead, a type will satisfy all interfaces which are subsets of its methods. The relationships between types and interfaces need not be defined explicity! This can have some interesting implications as people can add interfaces to connect unrelated types even later in the development of an application.<br /><br />Go seems inspired by Python as well. Python has been one of Google’s favoured languages and was the sole language supported on Google’s AppEngine when it launched. Like Python, Go supports “slices”, which allow you to refer to parts of arrays using a simple syntax. Thus for an array “a” with 100 elements, a[23,42] will result in an array with elements 23 through 42 of a. Go also tracks the length of arrays internally, further simplifying array usage. Additionally, Maps in Go allow you to create “arrays” with custom index types, and are a native feature of the language.<br /><br />One consistent point in the features of Go is that it is better to have one excellent implementation of commonly used features such as garbage collection, strings, maps etc. rather than have them rethought and re-implemented in each program.<br /><br />As nearly all Google products, Go is “beta” and not yet suitable for production use. By releasing it early Google hopes to garner a community around it and hopes that enough people will be interested in it to justify continued development.<br /><br />Get out there and grab Go now! Like any Google product it has the capacity to become standard for the next generation.</span>Usyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00594124774136485082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6333277887735619117.post-44146226889817951542009-11-03T10:43:00.000-08:002009-11-03T10:45:03.712-08:00NC State’s New Fingernail Size Chip Stores Data Worth Space in 20 HD DVDs<strong><span style="color:#003333;">North Carolina State University engineers have developed a material to allow a small fingernail size chip that stores data worth space in 20 HD DVDs. It is equivalent to 250 million pages of text. </span></strong><strong><span style="color:#003333;"><br /></span></strong><strong><span style="color:#003333;"><br /></span></strong><p><strong><span style="color:#003333;">It is far greater than the storage capacity allowed by any computer memory system.</span></strong><strong><span style="color:#003333;"><br /></span></strong></p><p><strong><span style="color:#003333;">The team of the researchers has been led by Dr. Jagdish “Jay” Narayan, John C.C. Fan Family Distinguished Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and director of the National Science Foundation Center for Advanced Materials and Smart Structures at NC State. The team employed the strategy of selective doping. It involves adding impurities to specific materials thereby causing a change in its properties. </span></strong><strong><span style="color:#003333;"><br /></span></strong><strong><span style="color:#003333;"><br /></span></strong><strong><span style="color:#003333;">The research is expected to result in more efficient production of energy and a better fuel economy for vehicles. Besides, the heat produced by semiconductors during the production is also expected to be reduced dramatically, making the entire process more effective in turn. </span></strong><strong><span style="color:#003333;"><br /></span></strong><strong><span style="color:#003333;"><br /></span></strong><strong><span style="color:#003333;">Metal nickel was added to a ceramic, magnesium oxide. It resulted in nickel atoms, 10 square nanometers in size. The 90% reduction in size (a pinhead has a diameter of 1 million nanometers) is dramatic. </span></strong><strong><span style="color:#003333;"><br /></span></strong><strong><span style="color:#003333;"><br /></span></strong><strong><span style="color:#003333;">“Instead of making a chip that stores 20 gigabytes, you have one that can handle one terabyte, or 50 times more data,” Narayan says. The discovery also aides “spintronics”. The emerging technology harnesses the production of energy that’s produced by spinning electrons. The process releases no heat. The team manipulated the electron spin. It resulted in harnessing the energy of the electrons as well. The results of the study may be highly significant for all those aiming at producing more efficient semiconductors.</span></strong><br /></p>Usyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00594124774136485082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6333277887735619117.post-40041739712117585452009-11-03T07:38:00.001-08:002009-11-03T07:48:59.464-08:00Motorola Droid vs. Apple iPhone [Comparison Round-up]<div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "> <img src="http://www.thinkdigit.com/FCKeditor/uploads/DroidvsiPhone.jpg" /><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#663366;"><br /></span></span></strong></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; "><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#663366;">So the Motorola Droid – the</span></span></strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></strong></span><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.thinkdigit.com/Mobiles-PDAs/Motorola-Droid-is-the-Google-Phone-we_3567.html" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(35, 118, 188); "><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#663366;">‘Google phone’</span></span></strong></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></strong></span><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#663366;">we’ve all been waiting for – is finally here and ready to take on the undisputed king of the hill, </span></span></strong><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#663366;">Apple’s iPhone.</span></span></strong></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></strong></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000099;">Thankfully, price watcher</span></span></strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000099;"> </span></span></strong></span><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.billshrink.com/blog/total-cost-of-ownership-motorola-droid-versus-iphone-3gs-versus-palm-pre/" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(35, 118, 188); "><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000099;">BillShrink</span></span></strong></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000099;"> </span></span></strong></span><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000099;">has already declared that the end cost of usage for both the iPhone and the Motorola Droid, over two years, would be the same: approximately $2800-$3800, depending on your tariff plan. Keeping that in mind, the only thing left to compare between the two are the phone’s functions itself.</span></span></strong></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000099;"> </span></span></strong></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000099;">A lot of websites have started the comparisons, so here’s a quick round-up for your benefit.</span></span></strong></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000099;"> </span></span></strong></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: small; "><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/28/motorola-droid-first-hands-on/" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(35, 118, 188); "><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000099;">Engadget</span></span></strong></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000099;"> </span></span></strong></span><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000099;">(with video):</span></span></strong></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000099;"> </span></span></strong></span><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000099;">“The kinetic scrolling on the Android is much faster than on the iPhone. However, the iPhone still has an edge in browsing the Internet using Wi-Fi and the default browsers of both systems. (But) the Droid definitely seems faster than previous Android devices.”</span></span></strong></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000099;"> </span></span></strong></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: small; "><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/10/motorolas-droid-first-look/" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(35, 118, 188); "><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000099;">Wired</span></span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000099;">:</span></span></strong></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000099;"> </span></span></strong></span><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000099;">“The Droid goes beyond the iPhone in two key areas: Like the Palm Pre, applications can run in the background, and switching among them is a smooth process. And as a robust GPS device it accepts and gives turn-by-turn verbal instructions, making it the closest approximation yet to a total GPS solution that obviates the need for a dedicated vehicle device.”</span></span></strong></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000099;"> </span></span></strong></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: small; "><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.dancewithshadows.com/tech/motorola-droid-vs-apple-iphone-3gs/" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(35, 118, 188); "><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000099;">DanceWithShadows</span></span></strong></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000099;"> </span></span></strong></span><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000099;">(with point-by-point analysis):</span></span></strong></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000099;"> </span></span></strong></span><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000099;">This comparison may seem to have been overly biased towards the Droid. Some may go as far as say it was written by an Android/Google fanboy... From the first looks, the Motorola Droid does seem like a serious contender to the title.</span></span></strong></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000099;"> </span></span></strong></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: small; "><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://techpp.com/2009/10/29/iphone-3gs-vs-motorola-droid-phone-a-detailed-comparison/" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(35, 118, 188); "><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000099;">TechPP</span></span></strong></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000099;"> </span></span></strong></span><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000099;">(with point-by-point analysis):</span></span></strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000099;"> </span></span></strong></span></span><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000099;">It is very tough to beat Apple on the music and applications front. But looking at the specifications and initial reviews of Motorola Droid, it does have lots of things going for it that previous devices have not.</span></span></strong></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "> </div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br /></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "> </div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><img alt="Droid iPhone comparison chart" width="468" height="2784" src="http://www.thinkdigit.com/FCKeditor/uploads/Droid iPhone comparison chart.jpg" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; " /></div></span></span>Usyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00594124774136485082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6333277887735619117.post-19929305208730134012009-10-18T14:29:00.000-07:002009-10-18T14:45:18.613-07:00SiliconIndia Mobile Application Conference in B'lore on OCT 31st 2009<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px; "><span style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 14pt; ">Hey,<br /><br />Just wanted to let you know about an exciting event siliconindia is organizing on October 31<sup style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; ">st</sup>(Saturday in Bangalore). </span><span style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 14pt; ">This is a full-day conference that will explore the new opportunities that are emerging and ask the larger questions of the industry leaders within mobile space, shedding some light on where the industry is headed and how entrepreneurs and developers can take advantage. <br /><br /></span><span style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 14pt; "></span><span style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 14pt; ">Come listen to some of the brightest minds in mobile technology discuss the future of mobile technology. <br /><br />SPEAKERS <br />Arvind Rao, Chairman, CEO and Co-founder, OnMobile <br />Vishwanath Alluri, CEO,Chairman and Founder IMImobile <br />Vishnu Sunderam, Co-founder CEO, Interchain Solutions <br />Selvamuthiah Somasundaram, Sr. VP & Co-Founder, Satnav <br />Raj Oswal, Founder & CEO, O'interface <br />Dilip R Mehta, IIM Bangalore, Ex-MD RPG Cellular and HMV Saregama <br />Prashant Dogra, Customer Marketing Manager, Navteq <br />Shanker Janakiraman, Director & CEO - India, Symbioun Technologies <br /><br />TOPICS: <br />Mobile applications explode. Who wins and who loses? <br />Carriers and handset makers want a piece, too: Where will they go? <br />LBS Challenge: Maximising Revenue and Engaging the Consumer <br />Mobile Payment Services: The Road Ahead <br />Mobile Marketing <br /><br />Sponsors: Nokia, Sun, Navteq, Satnav <br />Exhibiting companies: Eterno, iPath, MapmyIndia, Mobikwik, OnMobile, ObjectSol, Satnav, ShortHand, Symbioun, Tencube, Trakut, Trademarkia, Vassoft, Wirkle <br /><br />WHEN: October 31, 2009 (Saturday) <br />TIME: 9 AM to 6 PM <br />WHERE: NIMHANS Convention Center, Near Diary Circle, Bangalore <br /><br /></span><span style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 14pt; ">To attend this event, register FREE at </span><span style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 14pt; "><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.siliconindia.com/mobileconference/register.php" style="line-height: 1.2em; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "><span style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: blue; ">http://www.siliconindia.com/mobileconference/register.php</span></a> </span><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Palatino Linotype';font-size:6;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Palatino Linotype';font-size:6;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 22px;">Contact number: 080 43402031</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Palatino Linotype';font-size:6;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Palatino Linotype';font-size:6;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 22px;">I hope to see u all there</span></span></div>Usyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00594124774136485082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6333277887735619117.post-22332553026524809312009-10-10T16:30:00.001-07:002009-10-10T16:31:56.743-07:00Need For Speed: SHIFT<div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); "><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"><img alt="Need For Speed Shift" width="425" height="142" src="http://www.thinkdigit.com/FCKeditor/uploads/Need%20for%20Speed%20Shift%201.jpg" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; " /></span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">The Need for Speed series zoomed to popularity with the breath-taking and ultra-fun NFS II, garnering a position as the premium arcade racing game over the years. When it switched tracks with Porsche Unleashed and ProStreet, it was met with mixed reactions: the first was a hit, the latter was the darkest moment in this fine franchise’s history. </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">The idea of an NFS game with simulation racing doesn’t go down well with most people, with the common refrain being: “When I play NFS, I want to bang into other cars and get that arcade feel; if I wanted realistic racing, I’d stick to the F1 and GT series.” But not many know that the NFS series actually started out as a realistic simulation racing game.</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">Since NFS: Most Wanted, the franchise hasn’t seen any game that has been a major hit. With the widely different tastes of its followers, Electronic Arts (EA) decided to trifurcate the series into a simulation racer, an arcade racer and an online component. </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">Shift is the first of this new lot, where NFS is going back to its roots and giving sim racing one more try, undeterred by the calamity known as ProStreet. And surprisingly, they’ve almost pulled it off…</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: larger; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">TEST LAP</span></span></b></span></span></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">In many ways, Shift is an attempt to convert the arcade-racer to the world of simulation racing. There is a lot of focus on making the transition easy, with the game providing several driver aids to start off. Of course, it is difficult to realise what driver aids you would need and what you wouldn’t; but NFS has you covered there.</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"><img alt="Need For Speed Shift" width="425" height="197" src="http://www.thinkdigit.com/FCKeditor/uploads/Need%20for%20Speed%20Shift%203.jpg" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; " /></span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">Kicking off your campaign, you first need to figure out how good a driver you are and equip your car with driving aids accordingly. Taking a test lap around a circuit, your team’s engineers figure out your driving style (‘casual’ or ‘pro’) based on the mistakes you made, and give you a few driving aids accordingly. The Pro drivers, obviously, have no driving aids and will be on their own, while casual drivers will get help when it comes to braking, handling, etc.</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">This is a great way to ease an arcade racer into the simulation game. When playing games like Formula 1 for the first time, I had a horrible time figuring out which driving aids to enable and which to disable, learning the ropes slowly as I went along, leading to a tedious and tiresome experience. But NFS: Shift is downright intuitive, smartly figuring out your level of racing and providing you with suitable aids.</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">The good part about this system is that the game also slowly asks you to remove some of the aids as you progress. Slowly, but surely, you can kick off the training wheels to handle a car by yourself – and it’s a road worth travelling.</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: larger; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">AGGRESSION OR PRECISION?</span></span></b></span></span></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">The switch from arcade to simulation racing has also been boosted by introducing two driving profiles: aggression and precision. When most arcade racers are first shown a simulation game, the biggest shock and subsequent turn-off for them is the inability to play ‘bumper cars’.</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">NFS: Shift does away with this, allowing drivers to adopt an aggressive style which has them sending other cars flying off the circuit. In fact, you can even earn points for the same as you progress!</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">This is all thanks to a new medal and experience system introduced into the game, which seems like it’s put in to make up for the lack of a storyline. After all, there has to be something to the game more than ‘Finish the race on top, rinse and repeat till bored’. </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"><img alt="Need For Speed Shift" width="425" height="239" src="http://www.thinkdigit.com/FCKeditor/uploads/Need%20for%20Speed%20Shift%204.jpg" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; " /></span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">The profile points and medals raise your ‘driver level’, unlocking various challenges, cars and other goodies along the way; but you will have to stick to either aggression or precision in your style of racing. Each podium finish earns you a certain amount of stars, so get as many as you can of those!</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">The precision profile is very easy to achieve when you start off with all your driver aids switched on, but as you shed them one by one, it gets more and more difficult. The style requires you to stick to the best racing line possible, indicated on the track in front of you at all times. </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">The speed required on the line also plays a part in determining your points, and is depicted by the line switching between three colours in real-time: green (accelerate), yellow (coast) and red (brake). The real-time switch is absolutely brilliant, helping you learn how to tackle corners and hairpin bends as you make your way across the various circuits.</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: larger; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">OPPONENT FURY</span></span></b></span></span></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"><img alt="Need For Speed Shift" width="425" height="251" src="http://www.thinkdigit.com/FCKeditor/uploads/Need%20for%20Speed%20Shift%205.jpg" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; " /></span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">The artificial intelligence you are pitted against plays a huge role in bringing these races to life, as Need For Speed’s two distinctive racing profiles for you also apply to your opponents. So you will come across drivers who have an aggressive racing style and given an opportunity, they will try to take you out rather than overtake you! Meanwhile, others will stick to the racing line like maniacs, shifting between gears with a precision that you can only marvel at as you come in second.</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">This adds a lot of spice to what could otherwise have been just another mind-numbing ‘beat your opponents’ fare. What’s more, as you keep racing, you will come across the same drivers over and over, helping you figure out their style. It’s not as good as racing against a friend, but this is the closest that A.I. has ever gotten.</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">And if you are craving for a boss battle, NFS: Shift isn’t going to disappoint. Unlocking regional grand events will have you taking on the premier driver in that area; and as usual, his car can be yours by the end of it!</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: larger; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">TRACK TEMPERATURE</span></span></b></span></span></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">The circuits and tracks have been a recurring problem for Need For Speed, and by far the biggest goof-up in ProStreet. Designing a track is an art form: it requires a combination of various factors, such as the limitations of cars, driving styles, technical issues and an intuitive sense of how to make it all look good. You can put an F1 race at night and place it in the wonderful city of Singapore, but with the horrible turf and track layout, it makes for a boring grand prix to watch.</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">Thankfully, with NFS: Shift, the developers have got this part right, mostly because they have stuck to various famous F1, Formula 3 and Formula Nippon tracks from around the world. Recreating these wonderful tracks and getting to drive some of the best sports cars on them is an experience you won’t forget. </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">Can you imagine the sheer delight of getting behind the wheel of a Porsche Cayman and rocketing across the brilliant F1 track at Spa, zooming down from over 300km/h to take that famous hairpin bend? That alone is reason enough to give NFS: Shift a try!</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"><img width="425" height="239" alt="" src="http://www.thinkdigit.com/FCKeditor/uploads/Need%20for%20Speed%20Shift%206.jpg" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; " /></span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: larger; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">SHIFTING BETWEEN CARS</span></span></b></span></span></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">The best part about NFS: Shift, though, is the fact that it lets you get into several high-end cars pretty early on in the game.</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">The game does employ the usual stratagem of ‘win a race, get some dollars, buy a car and pimp it out’. And that itself has a huge amount of cars available across four tiers, which you unlock as you progress. But even while you are on Tier 1, you can’t help but check out the goodies that lie in wait for you, right? In NFS: Shift, you could end up taking some of these out for a ride early on!</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">Developers Slightly Mad Studios and EA Black Box hit upon the wonderful idea of ‘International Races’ – a mechanism similar to NFS: Porsche’s ‘Factory Mode’ – which are unlocked when you earn more profile points. These are race events organised by manufacturers to pit their cars against one another, or against cars from their own stable. </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">So early on in the game, when you are driving a junky Nissan GT or some such, you have the opportunity to race two Lamborghinis against each other, or see which is the faster car between an Ford GT and a Dodge Viper SRT10.</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">Apart from helping to break the monotony of your current car, this lets you get a feel of how much diversity the game has to offer. The handling of each car is noticeably different, providing a great gaming experience overall.</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: larger; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">UNEVENT-FULL</span></span></b></span></span></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">The one disappointing factor about the game is the variety in race events. The Need For Speed series has brought some of the most challenging and varied racing events to the world of virtual motorsports, but Shift falls well short of the bar in this area.</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">There are five basic types of races: standard races, same-car races, time trials, drift mode and duels. None of these events bring anything new to the table; in fact, if it wasn’t for the variety of tracks available, this lack of change would have made the game boring within the first 10 races. And an NFS game without Drag races? Blasphemy!</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"><img alt="Need For Speed Shift" width="425" height="168" src="http://www.thinkdigit.com/FCKeditor/uploads/Need%20for%20Speed%20Shift%202.jpg" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; " /></span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">The only change, as such, is in the duels. The format is the same as that which was introduced in NFS: Carbon’s ‘Canyon Duel’ – you and an opponent go head-to-head, with the winner being him who finishes first or develops a predetermined lead to the second-placed driver. The slight change is that duels are a ‘best of three’ event this time, with you started ahead in one, starting behind in the second, and starting on par in the third.</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">The lack of innovation on-track is an extremely disappointing factor, but could be chalked up as the developers not wanting to change too many things when trying to lure arcade racers from their dark, underground night-races to the bright and sunny world of simulation racing.</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: larger; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">GRAPHICS AND AUDIO</span></span></b></span></span></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">What can’t be forgiven is the absolute lack of attention that Slightly Mad Studios has given to the graphics and audio departments.</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">Right off the bat, let’s be clear: the graphics aren’t bad. By any base of modern video game standards, this is good enough – but perhaps not for the year it’s being released in. What is horrible to see is how incredibly demanding it is on a system. </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">Checking it out on a PS3 and an Xbox 360, NFS: Shift does not look that much more superior than some of the games we have already seen a long time ago, such as Race Driver: Grid and Project Gotham Racing 4. And when it comes to the motion blurs that accompany a nitrous boost, it’s amazing how Burnout Paradise still manages to look so much better even after a year!</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"><img alt="Need For Speed Shift" width="425" height="239" src="http://www.thinkdigit.com/FCKeditor/uploads/Need%20for%20Speed%20Shift%208.jpg" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; " /></span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">NFS: Shift does look a lot better on the PC than either console, which is not surprising as most modern PC systems will offer better bang-for-buck in the graphics department. What is downright frustrating is how resource-intensive the game is.</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">Burnout Paradise and NFS: Undercover run perfectly with all settings set to high and resolution at 1680x1050 on the test system, which has a 2.6GHz Core2Duo, 512MB GTX 275 graphics card, 2GB RAM. Throw in NFS: Shift on it, and the game coughs and wheezes till the resolution is taken down a notch and all other settings are put to medium.</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">The high demands would have been understandable if it brought a lot more to the table than previous NFS games, but with only a slight boost in the graphics department, the additional resources needed are simply not justifiable.</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">As for the audio, the lesser said the better. Sure, all the cars sound different, but the absolute monotony this creates is incredibly annoying. The horrible RJ in ProStreet may have made you want to throw a brick at your screen, but the silence that Shift proudly sports is unnerving and boring.</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: larger; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">FINAL THOUGHTS</span></span></b></span></span></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">All put together, Need For Speed: Shift isn’t the wild ride that we have come to expect from the franchise. It’s an emperor trying out new clothes, while still trying to make the followers accept the change in garments.</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">Taken in the context of a game that is meant to build a franchise of simulation-based racing games, NFS: Shift is the perfect introductory point for arcade racing fans to get into this new groove. Race Driver: Grid was the only other game that made the transition as simple as this.</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">In a way, this is EA’s attempt to make another slow transition, buoyed by the success of changing the super-fun FIFA 2006 into the now super-serious FIFA 2009 and FIFA 2010, which has seen Pro Evolution Soccer quaking in its boots. </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">All indications point to this new game doing the same for the Need For Speed franchise, as it courts arcade racers to simulation gaming, and serious sim racers to the world of NFS. The title almost sums up the message of this review: Shift!</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"><img alt="Need For Speed Shift" width="425" height="225" src="http://www.thinkdigit.com/FCKeditor/uploads/Need%20for%20Speed%20Shift%207.jpg" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; " /></span></span></b></div></span></div>Usyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00594124774136485082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6333277887735619117.post-9847849444775946222009-10-10T15:47:00.000-07:002009-10-10T15:49:07.198-07:00Wacom brings multi-touch to your ageing PC<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><i><img width="430" height="301" src="http://www.thinkdigit.com/FCKeditor/uploads/CTH460K_in_use430.jpg" alt="Wacom Bamboo Touch" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; " /></i></span></b></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><i><br /></i></span></b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:100%;color:#444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><i>Wacom, the leading manufacturer of graphic tablet interfaces for computers has announced availability of its new line of Wacom Bamboo tablets, which now offer multi-touch functionality.<br /><br />One of the most frustrating things about new technology innovations is that to take advantage of them, you need to make a significant investment. Windows 7 brings multi-touch capability, however without a multi-touch input device the functionality is useless, till now it meant an rather large investment on a multi-touch screen, . Now with Wacom's latest Bamboo series, you can add multi-touch capability to your computer, even if it runs Windows XP, and for a much more affordable sum.<br /><br />Wacom's Bamboo line of tablets is intended for the hobbyist, who can use the precision and sensitivity of the tablets for day-to-day tasks, but would shy away from the heavy investment required for Intuos or Cintiq.<br /><br />Now with the launch of their new multi-touch products they plan to expand their market even further, to the average consumer. The Bamboo tablets provide two finger multi-touch support using a capacitive sensor, and support gestures similar to those of Apple products. The second generation Bamboo line now comes in four flavours, Bamboo, Bamboo Fun, Bamboo Touch, and Bamboo Pen.</i></span></b></span></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><i><br />The Bamboo and Bamboo Fun offer both touch and pen interfaces. They can automatically switch between pen and touch mode of operation, giving you maximum benifits of both. Bamboo Fun is a larger variant of Bamboo.<br /><br />The Bamboo Touch is a touch only tablet, which is aimed at people who wish to get the multi-touch experience on their computer but don't need the pen functionality for their purposes. It is essentially the cheapest way to get basic multi-touch functionality on your computer.<br /><br />The Bamboo Pen is a pen only tablet, essentially the same as the first generation Bamboo products.</i></span></b></span></span></div><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><i><br />The Bamboo Touch and Bamboo pen, which both provide only single touch / pen functionality, are expected to retail at Rs. 4,950 for either of them, while the Bamboo and Bamboo Fun will retail at Rs. 7,200 and Rs. 12,500 respectively.</i></span></b></span></span></p></span></span></div>Usyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00594124774136485082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6333277887735619117.post-77230325678320948922009-10-10T14:29:00.000-07:002009-10-10T14:33:51.824-07:00Sony India launches two new Walkman PMPs with built-in speakers<img src="http://www.thinkdigit.com/FCKeditor/uploads/Sony%20Walkman%20NWZ-S540.jpg" alt="Sony Walkman NWZ-S540" /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;">Sony India has expanded its Walkman Video MP3 player family with the new NWZ-S540 and the NWZ-E440 series – promising superior audio and visual entertainment on-the-go with enhanced Sony audio technologies.</span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;"><br /></span></span></span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:100%;color:#444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;">The 4GB Sony Walkman NWZ-S540 is available in a solid black body for Rs. 6,990. Meanwhile, the E440 comes with several different colours (red, pink, violet, black) and costs Rs. 5,990 for the 4GB model and Rs. 6,990 for the 8GB model.</span></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><img alt="Sony Walkman NWZ-E440" width="425" height="200" src="http://www.thinkdigit.com/FCKeditor/uploads/Sony%20Walkman%20NWZ-E440.jpg" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; " /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; "><b style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Sony Walkman NWZ-E440</b></p></span></span></div>Usyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00594124774136485082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6333277887735619117.post-81590984931443754022009-10-02T10:22:00.000-07:002009-10-02T10:26:08.832-07:00Google Chrome Operating System<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Google Chrome</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#993399;">has always been a little more than a browser: it's optimized for running web applications, each tab runs as a separate process, the interface is minimalistic and there's even a task manager. "We realized that the web had evolved from mainly simple text pages to rich, interactive applications and that we needed to completely rethink the browser. What we really needed was not just a browser, but also a modern platform for web pages and applications, and that's what we set out to build," said Google in September 2008.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#993399;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#993399;">Google's blog announces a natural extension of the Chrome project: an operating system for netbooks. "Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks. Later this year we will open-source its code, and netbooks running Google Chrome OS will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010. (...) Google Chrome OS will run on both x86 as well as ARM chips and we are working with multiple OEMs to bring a number of netbooks to market next year. The software architecture is simple — Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel."</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#993399;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#993399;">As people use more and more web applications, the operating system becomes less important and it makes no sense to pay for it. The desktop mail client could be replaced by Gmail, the calendaring application could be replaced by Google Calendar, the office suite has lightweight alternatives: Google Docs and Zoho, it makes more sense to use an online feed reader like Google Reader, your scientific calculator is less powerful than Wolfram Alpha and you'll rarely need a video player when you have YouTube, Hulu and other video sites.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#993399;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#993399;">This idea is not new and there are already operating systems optimized for the browser. For example, Good OS announced last year Cloud, an operating system that "integrates a web browser with a compressed Linux operating system kernel for immediate access to Internet, integration of browser and rich client applications, and full control of the computer from inside the browser". If Google manages to create a great user interface, the new operating system could be very successful.</span></span></div>Usyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00594124774136485082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6333277887735619117.post-29838929021506092382009-10-02T09:22:00.000-07:002009-10-02T09:26:10.874-07:00Microsoft Vs Google.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; "><h2 style="text-align: justify; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; clear: both; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC0000;">1. Search</span></span></h2><strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Google:</span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> What is there to say, really? Search is to Google as Windows is to Microsoft. They dominate the search market by a wide margin, despite Microsoft’s best efforts (including the company’s </span></span><a href="http://mashable.com/2009/07/07/google-chrome-os-2/" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">failed attempt</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> to buy Yahoo).</span></span></span></div></strong><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; "><strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Microsoft:</span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> They had to do something drastic to compete in search, and they did with their recent launch of </span></span><a href="http://mashable.com/tag/bing" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Bing</span></span></a><span class="blippr-nobr" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><a href="http://www.blippr.com/apps/393174-Bing" target="_blank" rel="http://www.blippr.com/apps/393174-Bing.whtml" class="blippr-inline-smiley blippr-inline-smiley-03" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> (</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><img class="wp-smiley" src="http://static1.blippr.com/images/inline-face_03.png?1237798206" alt="Bing" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-right-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-bottom-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-left-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); " /></span></span><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">)</span></span></span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">. It’s received a lot of press, a lot of positive reviews, and has clearly </span></span><a href="http://mashable.com/2009/06/14/bing-google-sergey/" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">caught Google’s attention</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">. But does anyone seriously think it will overtake Google’s dominance in search anytime soon?</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; "><strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;">Advantage:</span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"> </span>Google. By light years.</span></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><br /></span></div></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; "><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;">2. Documents</span></span></b></div></span><strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Microsoft:</span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> Microsoft Office, with Word, Powerpoint, and Excel have been the leading way to create and edit documents for years, and for good reason – they’re widely used, widely known, and feature-rich. There’s also now </span></span><a href="http://mashable.com/2008/03/03/office-live-workspaces-public-beta/" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Microsoft Office Live</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">, which while not as collaborative as </span></span><span class="blippr-nobr" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Google Docs</span></span><span class="blippr-nobr" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><a href="http://www.blippr.com/apps/338339-Google-Docs" target="_blank" rel="http://www.blippr.com/apps/338339-Google-Docs.whtml" class="blippr-inline-smiley blippr-inline-smiley-05" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> (</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><img class="wp-smiley" src="http://static1.blippr.com/images/inline-face_05.png?1237798206" alt="Google Docs" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-right-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-bottom-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-left-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); " /></span></span><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">)</span></span></span></a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">, isn’t a bad solution and has the benefit of being connected to the desktop apps.</span></span></span></div></strong><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; "><strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Google:</span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> Google Docs have been growing in features and users. They provide a level of collaboration that Microsoft documents simply don’t offer. But they don’t provide as many options as Microsoft Office and they just don’t have nearly as many users. This is one area where the majority of users still prefer the desktop to the web.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; "><strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;">Advantage:</span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> Microsoft</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;">3. Communication, Email, and IM</span></span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; "><strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Microsoft:</span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> While Google’s probably more revered for </span></span><span class="blippr-nobr" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Gmail</span></span><span class="blippr-nobr" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><a href="http://www.blippr.com/apps/336653-Gmail" target="_blank" rel="http://www.blippr.com/apps/336653-Gmail.whtml" class="blippr-inline-smiley blippr-inline-smiley-07" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> (</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><img class="wp-smiley" src="http://static1.blippr.com/images/inline-face_07.png?1237798206" alt="Gmail" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-right-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-bottom-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-left-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); " /></span></span><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">)</span></span></span></a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> and its communication suite, Hotmail is still bigger, and Live Messenger is heavily used. Microsoft also produces the popular Outlook software and has software in a variety of arenas, such as Windows Live Meeting, giving the company an edge in the enterprise.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; "><strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Google:</span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> The search giant has a suite of very popular communication products – Gmail and </span></span><span class="blippr-nobr" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Gtalk</span></span><span class="blippr-nobr" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><a href="http://www.blippr.com/apps/336764-Gtalk" target="_blank" rel="http://www.blippr.com/apps/336764-Gtalk.whtml" class="blippr-inline-smiley blippr-inline-smiley-05" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> (</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><img class="wp-smiley" src="http://static1.blippr.com/images/inline-face_05.png?1237798206" alt="Gtalk" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-right-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-bottom-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-left-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); " /></span></span><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">)</span></span></span></a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">being the best known. The X factor in this debate though, is the upcoming </span></span><a href="http://mashable.com/tag/google-wave" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Google Wave</span></span></a><span class="blippr-nobr" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><a href="http://www.blippr.com/apps/348749-Google-Wave" target="_blank" rel="http://www.blippr.com/apps/348749-Google-Wave.whtml" class="blippr-inline-smiley blippr-inline-smiley-07" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> (</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><img class="wp-smiley" src="http://static1.blippr.com/images/inline-face_07.png?1237798206" alt="Google Wave" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-right-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-bottom-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-left-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); " /></span></span><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">)</span></span></span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">communication platform, which has impressed us so far. There’s also the intriguing </span></span><a href="http://mashable.com/2009/03/12/google-voice" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Google Voice</span></span></a><span class="blippr-nobr" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><a href="http://www.blippr.com/apps/394640-Google-Voice" target="_blank" rel="http://www.blippr.com/apps/394640-Google-Voice.whtml" class="blippr-inline-smiley blippr-inline-smiley-05" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> (</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><img class="wp-smiley" src="http://static1.blippr.com/images/inline-face_05.png?1237798206" alt="Google Voice" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-right-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-bottom-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-left-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); " /></span></span><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">)</span></span></span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">offering to consider.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; "><strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;">Advantage:</span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> Push</span></span></p><h2 style="text-align: justify; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; clear: both; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">4. Mobile</span></span></h2><strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Google:</span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> Google’s has good traction with its </span></span><span class="blippr-nobr" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Android</span></span><span class="blippr-nobr" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><a href="http://www.blippr.com/apps/336868-Android" target="_blank" rel="http://www.blippr.com/apps/336868-Android.whtml" class="blippr-inline-smiley blippr-inline-smiley-07" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> (</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><img class="wp-smiley" src="http://static1.blippr.com/images/inline-face_07.png?1237798206" alt="Android" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-right-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-bottom-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-left-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); " /></span></span><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">)</span></span></span></a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> mobile OS given it’s relatively new to the space. It runs on more than </span></span><a href="http://mashable.com/2009/04/25/android-not-dead-yet/" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">one million T Mobile phones</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> and has a strong app platform. Many of Google’s apps also run well on mobile phones, especially </span></span><span class="blippr-nobr" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Google Maps</span></span><span class="blippr-nobr" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><a href="http://www.blippr.com/apps/337264-Google-Maps" target="_blank" rel="http://www.blippr.com/apps/337264-Google-Maps.whtml" class="blippr-inline-smiley blippr-inline-smiley-07" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> (</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><img class="wp-smiley" src="http://static1.blippr.com/images/inline-face_07.png?1237798206" alt="Google Maps" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-right-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-bottom-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-left-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); " /></span></span><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">)</span></span></span></a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> and </span></span><span class="blippr-nobr" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">YouTube</span></span><span class="blippr-nobr" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><a href="http://www.blippr.com/apps/336658-YouTube" target="_blank" rel="http://www.blippr.com/apps/336658-YouTube.whtml" class="blippr-inline-smiley blippr-inline-smiley-05" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> (</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><img class="wp-smiley" src="http://static1.blippr.com/images/inline-face_05.png?1237798206" alt="YouTube" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-right-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-bottom-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-left-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); " /></span></span><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">)</span></span></span></a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">.</span></span></span></div></strong><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; "><strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Microsoft:</span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> Windows Mobile still shipped </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Mobile" target="_blank" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">tens of millions of units</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> last year, far outpacing Android. It also has apps to run Office, Outlook, and Windows Media Player. We think the long-term trend favors Google, but as of right now Microsoft is the leader.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; "><strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;">Advantage:</span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> Microsoft, but perhaps not for long.</span></span></p><h2 style="text-align: justify; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; clear: both; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;">5. Operating System</span></span></h2><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; "><strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Microsoft:</span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> This is Microsoft’s bread and butter. Windows is the reason Microsoft makes $60+ billion in revenue every year and has stayed on top for so long. Its stranglehold is legendary. Yet Windows Vista proved that it is not invincible.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; "><strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Google:</span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> Let’s say this: we can’t wait to see what Google has in store for Google Chrome OS. We’re skeptical that it could ever kill Windows, but Google will be Microsoft’s most powerful challenger yet.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; "><strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;">Conclusion:</span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> We look forward to the upcoming war.</span></span></p></span>Usyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00594124774136485082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6333277887735619117.post-22929104227355496022009-10-02T08:04:00.000-07:002009-10-02T08:53:54.578-07:00Bhuvan - ISRO answer to Google Earth<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:10px;"><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 7px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size:10px;"><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; float: right; "><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#467AA7;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a class="addthis_button" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&pub=vikasprogrammer" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; color: rgb(70, 122, 167); text-decoration: none; "><br /></a></div></div><div class="column1-unit-rev" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; width: 640px; "><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; "><div style="text-align: center;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><img src="http://bhuvan.nrsc.gov.in/index_files/ban1.jpg" height="95" width="381" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; " /></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"><br /></span></span></div></span><span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Google Earth’s got some competition now — from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which today unveiled its beta version of Bhuvan (meaning earth in Sanskrit).</span></b></span></div><span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">A web-based tool like Google Earth, Bhuvan promises to give better 3-D satellite imagery of India than is currently being offered by the US-based software giant plus a host of India-specific features like weather information and even administrative boundaries of all states and districts.</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">The application can be downloaded from http://bhuvan.nrsc.gov.in/ (But the website doesn’t look promising at all!)</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#993399;">From Bhuvan website:</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Bhuvan is an initiative to showcase this distinctiveness of Indian imaging capabilities including the thematic information derived from such imagery which could be of vital importance to common man with a focus on Indian region. Bhuvan, an ambitious project of ISRO to take Indian images and thematic information in multiple spatial resolutions to people through a web portal through easy access to information on basic natural resources in the geospatial domain. Bhuvan showcases Indian images by the superimposition of these IRS satellite imageries on 3D globe. It displays satellite images of varying resolution of India’s surface, allowing users to visually see things like cities and important places of interest looking perpendicularly down or at an oblique angle, with different perspectives and can navigate through 3D viewing environment. The degree of resolution showcased is based on the points of interest and popularity, but most of the Indian terrain is covered upto at least 5.8 meters of resolution with the least spatial resolution being 55 meters from AWifs Sensor. With such rich content, Bhuvan opens the door to graphic visualisation of digital geospatial India allowing individuals to experience the fully interactive terrain viewing capabilities.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;">Features:</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;">* Access, explore and visualise 2D and 3D image data along with rich thematic information on Soil, wasteland, water resources etc.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"> * Visualise multi-resolution, multi-sensor, multi-temporal image data</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"> * Superpose administrative boundaries of choice on images as required</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"> * Visualisation of AWS ( Automatic Weather Stations) data/information in a graphic view and use tabular weather data of user choice</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"> * Fly to locations ( Flies from the current location directly to the selected location)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"> * Heads-Up Display ( HUD) naviation controls ( Tilt slider, north indicator, opacity, compass ring, zoom slider)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"> * Navigation using the 3D view Pop-up menu (Fly-in, Fly out, jump in, jump around, view point)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"> * 3D Fly through (3D view to fly to locations, objects in the terrain, and navigate freely using the mouse or keyboard)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"> * Drawing 2D objects (Text labels, polylines, polygons, rectangles, 2D arrows, circles, ellipse)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"> * Drawing 3D Objects (placing of expressive 3D models, 3D polygons, boxes)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"> * Snapshot creation (copies the 3D view to a floating window and allows to save to a external file)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"> * Measurement tools (Horizontal distance, aerial distance, vertical distance, measure area)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"> * Shadow Analysis (it sets the sun position based on the given time creating shadows and effects the lighting on the terrain)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"> * Urban Design Tools (to build roads, junctions and traffic lights in an urban setting)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"> * Contour map ( Displays a colorized terrain map and contour lines)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"> * Draw tools (Creates simples markers, free hand lines, urban designs)</span></div></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"></span></div></div></span></div></span></div>Usyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00594124774136485082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6333277887735619117.post-29370143384549114022009-10-02T05:41:00.000-07:002009-10-02T08:02:17.539-07:00Google Wave - communication and collaboration on the web<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; "><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="blippr-nobr" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Google</span></span><span class="blippr-nobr" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.blippr.com/apps/336661-Google" target="_blank" rel="http://www.blippr.com/apps/336661-Google.whtml" class="blippr-inline-smiley blippr-inline-smiley-07" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> (</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><img class="wp-smiley" src="http://static1.blippr.com/images/inline-face_07.png?1237094634" alt="Google" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-right-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-bottom-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-left-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); " /></span></span><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">)</span></span></span></a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> promised to deliver something spectacular on the second day of the Google I/O conference, and they </span></span><a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/went-walkabout-brought-back-google-wave.html" target="_blank" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">did not disappoint</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">. Google has just announced </span></span><a href="http://wave.google.com/" target="_blank" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Google Wave</span></span></a><span class="blippr-nobr" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><a href="http://www.blippr.com/apps/348749-Google-Wave" target="_blank" rel="http://www.blippr.com/apps/348749-Google-Wave.whtml" class="blippr-inline-smiley blippr-inline-smiley-07" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> (</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><img class="wp-smiley" src="http://static1.blippr.com/images/inline-face_07.png?1237094634" alt="Google Wave" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-right-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-bottom-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-left-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); " /></span></span><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">)</span></span></span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, a new in-browser communication and collaboration tool that is already being hailed by some as the next evolution of email. Yes, Google Wave is potentially that disruptive.</span></span></p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Created by two of the guys behind </span></span><span class="blippr-nobr" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Google Maps</span></span><span class="blippr-nobr" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><a href="http://www.blippr.com/apps/337264-Google-Maps" target="_blank" rel="http://www.blippr.com/apps/337264-Google-Maps.whtml" class="blippr-inline-smiley blippr-inline-smiley-07" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> (</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><img class="wp-smiley" src="http://static1.blippr.com/images/inline-face_07.png?1237094634" alt="Google Maps" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-right-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-bottom-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-left-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); " /></span></span><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">)</span></span></span></a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> with a small team in Sydney, the concept behind Google Wave is to “unify” communication on the web. It’s a hybrid of email, web chat, IM, and project management software. It features the ability to replay conversations because it records the entire sequence of communication, character by character. Because of this, discussions are also live in Google Wave: you will see your friends type character-by-character.<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span id="more-124473" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "></span><br />The features don’t stop there, either. Google Wave also supports the ability to drag attachments from your desktop into Google Wave. It loads that file and sends it immediately to anyone in the conversation. It’s also embeddable, so you can embed Google Wave conversations on any blog.</span></span></p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; "></p><center style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/gwave1.gif" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; " /></span></span><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; "></p></center><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">As you can see, it looks very similar to a </span></span><span class="blippr-nobr" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Gmail</span></span><span class="blippr-nobr" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><a href="http://www.blippr.com/apps/336653-Gmail" target="_blank" rel="http://www.blippr.com/apps/336653-Gmail.whtml" class="blippr-inline-smiley blippr-inline-smiley-07" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> (</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><img class="wp-smiley" src="http://static1.blippr.com/images/inline-face_07.png?1237094634" alt="Gmail" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-right-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-bottom-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); border-left-color: rgb(150, 150, 150); " /></span></span><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">)</span></span></span></a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> inbox, except it’s more focused on your contacts, whose faces you can see in your contacts sidebar on the left. As for conversations, well, it’s a bit different than anything we’ve seen before. You can reply and add your thoughts anywhere within a message. Communication within Google Wave is completely shared.</span></span></p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The key to it all is the faster line of communication. Attaching documents, like you do in email, is unnecessary in Google Wave. Real-time conversations and collaboration make it an ideal tool for business teams as well. Imagine an entire office having Google Wave open to quickly share and receive files. It combines some of people’s favorite aspects of many different web communication tools.</span></span></p><div id="video" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><object height="265" width="425" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "></object></span></span></div><a href="http://www.google.com/" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></a><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; "></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">You’re going to have to wait a while though: Google Wave will not be available to the public until later this year. Right now it’s only available to a select group of developers, who will be able to create their own Wave servers. It’s also an open-source project with a lot of API integrations, so we can expect a lot of user-driven innovations and extensions for the platform as well.</span></span></p></span>Usyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00594124774136485082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6333277887735619117.post-17651093889573062482009-10-02T05:38:00.000-07:002009-10-02T05:40:00.872-07:00What does an SMS cost for the operator?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; "><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Operators have to pay for bandwidth of data channel based on usage. Usually signaling link is typically charged at a flat rate. SMS doesn’t cost extra for operator since it is sent over the signaling channel (Remember the flat rate for Signaling link).</span></span></span></p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> In SMS, messages are sent with a “</span></span><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">store-and-forward</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">” mechanism meaning the message is sent only when the channel is free. The messages are sent to a Short Message Service Center (SMSC), and then relayed to the intended recipient. If the messages do not reach the recipient upon the first attempt, then the SMSC will try again. It is important to understand that SMS delivery is not guaranteed. Many messages cannot be delivered, but the delivery is called “best effort.” The amount of attempts to send a text message varies with the company.</span></span></span></p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> To make the SMS transmitted over signaling link, the maximum allowed payload length is </span></span><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">140</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">bytes (Others will be used for header info etc). SMS uses </span></span><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">7 bit</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> characters (Not 8) leaving 128 possible character values instead of normal 256. Hence a text message contains 140*8/7 =</span></span><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">160</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> characters at the max. If we use Unicode character which takes 2 bytes for each character, max character in a message will be </span></span><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">70</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">.</span></span></span></p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; "><o:p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></o:p></p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; "><o:p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></o:p></p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Note:</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> The article is written in general. There are exceptions to the concept where the operator insists the message to be sent over data channel. In this case the message will charge the operator also.</span></span></span></span></p></span>Usyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00594124774136485082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6333277887735619117.post-79025593185267954022009-10-01T13:02:00.000-07:002009-10-01T13:04:40.674-07:00Nvidia introduces next-generation graphics chip: ‘Fermi’<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); "><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; "><img alt="Nvidia Fermi graphics card Jen-Hsun Huang" width="425" height="357" src="http://www.thinkdigit.com/FCKeditor/uploads/Nvidia%20Fermi1.jpg" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; " /></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(128, 128, 128); "><i style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Image Source: Bit-tech.net</i></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(128, 128, 128); "><b style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Nvidia chief executive Jen-Hsun Huang holds up one of the first</b></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(128, 128, 128); "><b style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">graphics cards based on the new Fermi chipset</b></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#808080;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#808080;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-weight: normal; "><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">While the new ATI Radeon HD5850 is winning accolades all over the Internet for its great performance, Nvidia isn’t one to be left far behind. At its GPU Technology Conference in San Jose, California, the company announced yesterday that it has created a next-generation graphics chipset, which it is code-naming ‘Fermi’.</span></span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> </span></span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Fermi has more than 3 billion transistors and has 512 parallel processors, or more than twice the number from last year’s chip, said Jen-Hsun Huang, chief executive of Nvidia. The 3 billion transistors are a significant leap over the ATI 5850’s 2.15 billion transistors!</span></span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;"> </span></span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Here are some of the salient features of the new technology:</span></span></span></b></div><ul style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">C++, complementing existing support for C, Fortran, Java, Python, OpenCL and DirectCompute.</span></span></span></b></li><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">ECC, a critical requirement for datacenters and supercomputing centers deploying GPUs on a large scale</span></span></span></b></li><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">512 CUDA Cores featuring the new IEEE 754-2008 floating-point standard, surpassing even the most advanced CPUs</span></span></span></b></li><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">8x the peak double precision arithmetic performance over NVIDIA’s last generation GPU. Double precision is critical for high-performance computing (HPC) applications such as linear algebra, numerical simulation, and quantum chemistry</span></span></span></b></li><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">NVIDIA Parallel DataCache – the world’s first true cache hierarchy in a GPU that speeds up algorithms such as physics solvers, raytracing, and sparse matrix multiplication where data addresses are not known beforehand</span></span></span></b></li><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">NVIDIA GigaThread Engine with support for concurrent kernel execution, where different kernels of the same application context can execute on the GPU at the same time (eg: PhysX fluid and rigid body solvers)</span></span></span></b></li><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Nexus – the world’s first fully integrated heterogeneous computing application development environment within Microsoft Visual Studio</span></span></span></b></li></ul></span></b></span></div></div></span></div>Usyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00594124774136485082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6333277887735619117.post-11550572785119049482009-10-01T12:43:00.000-07:002009-10-01T12:47:00.279-07:00[Rumour] Apple’s tablet with 10-inch screen, iPhone OS coming on January 19!<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); "><img alt="Apple tablet iPad" width="425" height="273" src="http://www.thinkdigit.com/FCKeditor/uploads/Apple%20iPad.jpg" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); "><div class="dtxt" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); "><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "> </div><div style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;">We always look forward to Apple products, since they have propensity to redefine the field they set foot in – the iPod and the iPhone serving as prime examples of this!</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;">Rumours have been flying for </span></span></b><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.thinkdigit.com/Laptops-PCs/Secret-screenshots-of-the-Apple-Tablet-emerge_3352.html" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;">some</span></span></b></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;"> </span></span></b><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.thinkdigit.com/Laptops-PCs/Apple-tablet-to-launch-in-October-for_3181.html" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;">time</span></span></b></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;"> about Apple working on a tablet PC, and now, iLounge has got what we will – as ridiculous as it sounds – call “the most detailed rumours yet”. Here's the big news up front: it will be introduced to the world on January 19, and subsequently released to retail in May or June, like the iPhone!</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;">One of the significant pieces of information contained in this post seem to be the fact that it runs the iPhone OS! In fact, it even looks like an iPhone, with the same characteristic curved back. It will supposedly come in two versions, with and without 3G support, paralleling it further with the iPhone and iPod Touch.</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;">The ‘iPad’ – as iLounge prefers to call it (and so do we) – will supposedly feature a 10.7-inch screen (up from 7-inch from the first prototype) and will have 5 to 6 times the resolution of the iPhone. It can quite obviously be expected to leverage the same multi-touch technology that has left the iPhone with no serious competitor.</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;">Targeted more as a ‘media player and light communication device’, it is not a competitor to netbooks (if nothing else, it will undoubtedly be much more expensive!). iLounge is reporting that the device will be used for reading e-books, magazines and cropped newspapers.</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;">While a bit of oomph is but expected in an Apple product, the bit about the iPhone OS is worrisome. On a device like the iPhone, 85,000 applications seem like a big deal, and the limited scope of the device means most people won't miss applications that don't make it to the store. </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;">However, a device like the iPad is closer to a personal computer than a smartphone, and as much as Apple wouldn’t like to be compared, it’s akin to a netbook. In this case, the reliance on third-party applications will be greater, making the review process even more counter-productive. </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;">Apple's policies like not being allowed to replace the browser, or using undocumented API, will be a much bigger hurdle here. The AppStore will certainly be a powerful source of applications to begin with, but a product of this nature needs a freer ecosystem.</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;">Additionally, the lack of a good keyboard input (so far) is a bit unsettling. Sure, the iPhone has a wonderful virtual keyboard, but the same wouldn’t be quite as usable on a 10-inch tablet. Hopefully Apple will come up with something as revolutionary as the iPhone keyboard to make up for the lack of a physical one.</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;">With a much larger screen and higher resolution, this device could serve as a competitor to the growing number of eBook readers. Asus has already talked of a dual-screen multi-touch </span></span></b><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.thinkdigit.com/General/Ultra-cheap-Asus-EEE-e-book-reader-coming-this_3399.html" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;">EEE e-reader</span></span></b></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;"> costing under $200, Microsoft has been reported to be working on the</span></span></b><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.thinkdigit.com/Laptops-PCs/Move-over-Apple-Microsofts-upcoming-tablet-Courier_3458.html" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;">Courier</span></span></b></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;"> tablet, and Michael Arrington has been hard at work on his </span></span></b><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CrunchPad" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;">CrunchPad</span></span></b></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;">, aiming to keep the price under $400. Unless Apple has a great pricing plan in store for the iPad, we think this one is going to be relegated to the shelves of Mac fanboys…like me ;-) :-)</span></span></b></div></div></span></div>Usyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00594124774136485082noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6333277887735619117.post-59376971958765442982009-10-01T12:34:00.000-07:002009-10-01T12:36:30.746-07:00Another Tasty Recipe from Microsoft Research OS Labs<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); "><h2 style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">It requires no stretch of the imagination to say that Microsoft is interested in operating systems; Windows being their claim to fame.<br /><br /></span></span></h2><h2 style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"><br />Now Microsoft is showing signs that they are indeed looking into the future of operating systems, and maybe, Windows might not be it.<br /><br /></span></span></h2><h2 style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"><br />There have long been rumours of Microsoft's next operating system, Midori based on their Singularity operating system research project. <br /><br /></span></span><a title="Singularity" target="_blank" href="http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/singularity/" id="w..g" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">Singularity</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"> is an experimental operating system, in which all code, even device drivers, and the kernel itself are written in managed code, making the operating system much safer. The operating system also has a large focus on concurrency.<br /><br /></span></span><a title="Barrelfish" target="_blank" href="http://www.barrelfish.org/" id="qic6" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"><i>Barrelfish</i></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"><i>,</i> a recent release in collaboration between ETH Zurich and Microsoft Research, calls itself a multi-kernel operating system. Its focus is on leveraging the increasing number of cores in desktop processors. The mainstream operating systems today, Windows, and Linux, have both been designed for single-core computers, with multi-processing support added on later. <br /><br />The <i>Barrelfish </i>project instead tries to redefine the entire operating system keeping in mind that multi-core is here is stay. Today we have dual-core, quad-core, and even hexa-core, but given a decade, we may be looking at hecto-, kilo-, or even mega-core computers! These will require a rethinking of the very organization of the operating system.<br /><br />Barrlefish does just that. It treats the multi-core processor environment as a collection of networked processor cores, and applies the concepts used with distributed computing to manage the execution of the computer's processes. This has the effect of making the system much more scalable. An interesting part of this approach is also that the processor cores need not be homogeneous! The multiple kernels could all be running on processors of different architectures, once kernel might be executing on an ARM, while another on a x86, and a third on a GPU!<br /><br /></span></span><a title="Heleos" target="_blank" href="http://research.microsoft.com/pubs/81154/helios.pdf" id="x0ny" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"><i>Heleos</i></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"><i>, </i>another research OS in MS labs and their latest revelation, takes the concept of heterogeneous multiprocessing further, and introduces "satellite kernels". The research paper explains the need for operating system kernels which are gnostic of the platform that are running on, to the extent that they can take advantage of it.<br /><br />It explains that current operating systems are designed with a homogeneous running environments in mind. For this reason, an operating system is written for either an IA64, or an x86, or a PPC, or an ARM platform, however it cannot leverage all of them. Our computers however are no longer homogeneous. We have CPUs and GPUs of different architectures, each with multiple cores. The GPU is highly optimized for a vector processing, and has an architecture which vastly differs from that of the CPU, with a completely different instruction set and performance characteristics. <br /><br />The Helios project introduces satellite kernels, which essentially presents the developers with a "single,uniform set of OS abstractions across CPUs of disparate architectures and performance characteristics." This satellite kernel is a micro-kernel, and runs all other services and drivers in individual processes.<br /><br />With Singularity and Barrelfish both available as open source releases, it seems Microsoft might just be headed for a more open future. Although it is unlikely that these operating systems are anything you will see under the Microsoft brand any time soon. Currently, it seems Microsoft is testing the waters for its next generation operating system, whatever that may be. Instead these operating systems seem to be the a look into the structure of Windows many revisions away, if it'll even be called that by then.</span></span></h2></span>Usyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00594124774136485082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6333277887735619117.post-71988413864960372742009-09-24T07:39:00.000-07:002009-09-24T07:45:26.364-07:00Creative launches Zen Mozaic EZ300 MP3 player in India<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; "><div class="floatleft blueheading" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; float: left; width: 360px; "><h2 style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 22px; color: rgb(30, 91, 126); font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#660000;"><br /></span></span></span></h2></div><div class="rating ratingheight" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 10px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; float: right; background-image: url(http://www.thinkdigit.com/images/ratingbg.gif); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: initial; text-align: center; width: 50px; height: 78px; background-position: 0% 0%; "><a href="http://www.thinkdigit.com/details.php?mode=rating&rateValue=-1&article_id=3449" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(131, 131, 131); "><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#660000;"><br /></span></span></span></a></div><div class="dtxt" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); "><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; "><img alt="Creative Zen Mozaic EZ300" width="425" height="491" src="http://www.thinkdigit.com/FCKeditor/uploads/creative zen mozaic EZ300.jpg" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; " /></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#660000;"> </span></span></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#660000;">It’s a pity to see the Apple iPod take out MP3 players that are superior in so many ways. But such is the marketing blitzkrieg that Cupertino launches that no one else stands a chance, even with a superior product. Creative has long come out with portable media players that offer better audio quality and bang-for-buck than Apple, but it has sadly always been relegated to the sidelines.</span></span></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#660000;"> </span></span></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#660000;">The company is now seeking to change that with the launch of the Zen Mozaic EZ300 in India, but we doubt the result will be any different.</span></span></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#660000;"> </span></span></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#660000;">Here’s a quick look at the features it offers:</span></span></span></div><ul style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#660000;">1.8-inch TFT LCD (65K colours, 128x160 pixels resolution)</span></span></span></li><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#660000;">Supports MP3, WMA, WAV</span></span></span></li><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#660000;">Supports JPEG, GIF, BMP, PNG and TIFF</span></span></span></li><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#660000;">Built-in speakers to share your music</span></span></span></li><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#660000;">Audio recording</span></span></span></li><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#660000;">FM radio with 32 presets</span></span></span></li><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#660000;">Equaliser with 8 presets and 5 customisable settings</span></span></span></li><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#660000;">Battery life of over 32 hours of continuous playback</span></span></span></li><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#660000;">Drag-and-drop file transfer</span></span></span></li><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#660000;">Creative Centrale software</span></span></span></li><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#660000;">Calendar, contacts, task list</span></span></span></li><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#660000;">Weighs 43 grams</span></span></span></li></ul><p> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; "></p><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#330099;">The</span></span></span></strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#330099;"> </span></span></span></strong></span><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://uk.europe.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=213&subcategory=214&product=18430&nav=-1&listby=" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(35, 118, 188); "><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#330099;">Zen Mozaic EZ300</span></span></span></strong></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#330099;"> </span></span></span></strong></span><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#330099;">is available in two models in India:</span></span></span></strong></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#330099;">1. The</span></span></span></strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#330099;"> </span></span></span></strong></span><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#330099;">4GB Mozaic</span></span></span></strong><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#330099;">, which lets you store up to 1,000 MP3 songs or 66 hours of MP3 (approx. 4 mins per son at 128kbps), costs</span></span></span></strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#330099;"> </span></span></span></strong></span><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#330099;">Rs 4,999</span></span></span></strong><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#330099;">.</span></span></span></strong></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#330099;">2. The</span></span></span></strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#330099;"> </span></span></span></strong></span><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#330099;">8GB Mozaic</span></span></span></strong><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#330099;">, which lets you store up to 2,000 MP3 songs or 133 hours of MP3 (approx. 4 mins per son at 128kbps), costs</span></span></span></strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#330099;"> </span></span></span></strong></span><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#330099;">Rs 6,499</span></span></span></strong><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#330099;">.</span></span></span></strong></div></span></span> <span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#660000;"></span></span></span><p></p><ul style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><li></li></ul></div></span></span>Usyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00594124774136485082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6333277887735619117.post-28236385266482520842009-09-24T06:48:00.000-07:002009-09-24T06:49:51.113-07:00SSD's Versus Traditional Hard Discs - What Are The Main Differences?<span style="font-family:verdana;"><strong><span style="color:#660000;">SSD or 'Solid State Drives' are an increasing term we hear these days, and by the looks of it this technology may just be getting more popular. </span></strong></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><strong><span style="color:#660000;"><br /></span></strong></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><strong><span style="color:#660000;"><br /></span></strong></span><p><span style="font-family:verdana;"><strong><span style="color:#660000;">SSD or Solid State Drive is the alternative for the more traditional hard drives found on laptops and pc's, and there are a number of differences between the two storage devices.</span></strong></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><strong><span style="color:#660000;"><br /></span></strong></span></p><p><span style="font-family:verdana;"><strong><span style="color:#660000;">The traditional hard drives found on pc's and laptops have some moving parts which include the spinning disc (where the magnetic data is stored) and an arm that moves around inside (which actually reads the data from the disc) </span></strong></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><strong><span style="color:#660000;"><br /></span></strong></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><strong><span style="color:#660000;"><br /></span></strong></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><strong><span style="color:#660000;">A SSD has no moving parts though, but it does have a limited amount of times that data can be writen to the device. Because there are no moving parts, it is also silent and accessing the data is much faster than a conventional hard disc. One of the biggest advantages also, is the fact that a SSD normally uses less energy, and is much more robust, being more resistant to external impact such as bumping or dropping which would normally damage traditional hard drives. </span></strong></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><strong><span style="color:#660000;"><br /></span></strong></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><strong><span style="color:#660000;"><br /></span></strong></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><strong><span style="color:#660000;">Probably one of the biggest manufacturers of SSD's - SanDisk, released their SanDisk Netbook SDHC Removable Flash Memory Card in June 2009. One drawback for SSD's are that until now, they have been fairly expensive compared to normal hard drives. </span></strong></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><strong><span style="color:#660000;"><br /></span></strong></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><strong><span style="color:#660000;"><br /></span></strong></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><strong><span style="color:#660000;">SDD's will probably become the norm eventually, replacing the normal hard drives we have today, but for that to happen the technology needs to become cheaper. This will most likely happen over time, as new technology continues to improve on, and even replace more traditional technologies.</span></strong></span><br /></p>Usyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00594124774136485082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6333277887735619117.post-27158894335062446992009-09-24T05:56:00.000-07:002009-09-24T06:00:07.926-07:00First images of Microsoft’s Project Pink 'Pure' and 'Turtle' phones leak<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Just 3 days ago, i read that Microsoft’s had plans to step into the mobile phone hardware market by coming out with two new handsets under the codename Project Pink. These phones are going to be made by Sharp, who'll get to share branding with Microsoft. Sharp produced the Sidekick hardware for Danger, who was bought by Microsoft two years ago. Pink will be primarily aimed at the same market as the Sidekick (teenagers), and the branding and identity for it is highly developed, pointing toward a later stage in the development cycle.</span></b></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:100%;color:#444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></b></span></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Microsoft Turtle</span></b></span></span></span></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Turtle is being described as “a chunky child’s version of the Palm Pre”. The phone has a ‘plasticy’ look to it and should appeal to teens. We spot a slot for a camera at the back, but no LED flash – usually an indication of the price being kept down. The idea of a low-cost handset with ample social networking (as is apparent by the interface) should go down well with that segment. But enough of our dribble, take a dekko yourself:</span></b></span></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></span></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><img width="425" height="309" alt="Microsoft Project Pink Turtle" src="http://www.thinkdigit.com/FCKeditor/uploads/project%20pink%20-%20turtle.jpg" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; " /></span></b></span></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></span></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Microsoft Pure</span></b></span></span></span></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Pure, on the other hand, is more a well-rounded attempt at a competitor to something like the HTC Touch Pro. It’s a regular slider, looks to have the basic features that any of the other mid-range phones do (including an LED flash, by the looks of it) and retains the bubble-plastic keys. Have a look here:</span></b></span></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></span></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><img alt="Microsoft Project Pink Pure" width="425" height="390" src="http://www.thinkdigit.com/FCKeditor/uploads/project%20pink%20-%20pure.jpg" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; " /></span></b></span></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></span></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">My Impression? The phones look perfect for entry-level social networking handsets, and the possibility of them syncing with Zune Marketplace and being able to run Apps from there is quite a pleasing though, apart from the numerous programs already available for Windows Mobile, which the handsets will run. </span></b></span></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></span></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The idea of Microsoft’s maiden foray into the mobile phone market to be by targeting the low-cost teen segment is a bit surprising. But as long as the price is kept down, these shouldn’t do too badly</span></b></span></span></div></span></span></div>Usyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00594124774136485082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6333277887735619117.post-7001464433774588682009-09-24T05:50:00.000-07:002009-09-24T05:51:38.760-07:00Tata DoCoMo brings Samsung’s first Google Android phone, Galaxy I7500, to India<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#993300;">Samsung India has launched its first phone based on Google’s Android operating system, the Galaxy I7500, in an exclusive partnership with new mobile carrier Tata DoCoMo.</span></span></span></b><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;color:#444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; font-size: 11px; "><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#993300;">As for the Samsung Galaxy itself, here's what you'll get with it:</span></span></b></i></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#993300;"> </span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#993300;"><img alt="Samsung Galaxy I7500 Android phone India" width="425" height="366" src="http://www.thinkdigit.com/FCKeditor/uploads/Samsung%20Galaxy%20I7500%20-%20features.jpg" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; " /></span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#993300;"> </span></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#993300;">The phone is apparently available on Tata DoCoMo’s GSM service for an introductory price of Rs. 28,990, along with a special offer that avails the buyer of 500MB of free data download for the first six months. The handset is available in other services as well, although those were not detailed.</span></span></div></span></b></span></span></div>Usyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00594124774136485082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6333277887735619117.post-66681375702108795572009-09-24T05:22:00.000-07:002009-09-24T05:48:16.302-07:00Data transfer at light-speed!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">Your ethernet may be quitely chugging away at 10 or 100 Mbps, but if Intel has their way, you'll be upgraded to 100Gbps over the decade! The new Light Peak technology uses light instead of electric signals to transmit data, meaning faster speeds, smaller cables, and less signal loss. <br /><br />While this technology is already in use in data-centers, it hasn't beached into mainstream computing yet. As current electricity-based solutions begin seeing their limit, it was only a matter of time. <br /><br />In the coming year Intel plans to release this technology for use in consumer devices and mainstream computing, for the first time giving people the taste of transfer speeds up to 10Gbps. Over the decade Intel hopes to bring this up to 100Gbps.<br /><br />Since this as optical technology, multiplexing multiple connections over a single cable will be much simpler, and thus a single cable cold be used to connect your computer to multiple "peripherals, workstations, displays, disk drives, docking stations, and more."<br /><br />Light Peak is designed to be cheap, and in fact claims to be smaller and cheaper than current telecom modules. The Light Peak optical modules are up to 120 times smaller and up to 30 times cheaper than current telecom modules! The optical fibres used in it are in fact nearly as thin as human hair, and use LASER chips called VCSEL (Vertical Cavity, Surface Emmiting LASER) which are a mere 250 microns by 250 microns.</span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:100%;color:#444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:100%;color:#444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><table style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><tbody style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><tr style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; "><td style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><img width="107" height="153" alt="" src="http://www.thinkdigit.com/FCKeditor/uploads/FullChip_tn.png" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; " /></td><td style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "> <img width="107" height="161" alt="" src="http://www.thinkdigit.com/FCKeditor/uploads/Closeup_tn.png" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; " /></td><td style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "> <img alt="" src="http://www.thinkdigit.com/FCKeditor/uploads/FullChip_LaserOn_tn.png" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; " /></td><td style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "> <img width="107" height="161" alt="" src="http://www.thinkdigit.com/FCKeditor/uploads/Closeup_LaserOn_tn.png" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; " /></td></tr><tr style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: smaller; font-weight: bold; "><td style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Light Peak module with four fibers each capable of carrying 10Gb of data per second.</td><td style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Close-up of the Light Peak module.</td><td style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Light Peak module with laser light added for illustration (actual infrared light is invisible to the eye).</td><td style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Light Peak module close-up with laser light added for illustration (actual infrared light is invisible to the eye)</td></tr></tbody></table></span></span></div>Usyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00594124774136485082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6333277887735619117.post-74626682014796113312009-09-24T02:38:00.000-07:002009-09-24T03:37:30.558-07:00Linus Torvalds says Linux is bloated<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"><b>Windows has always seemed like such a perfect example of software bloat, that Linux has always somewhat escaped attention. Since the latest version of Windows, (Windows 7) somewhat reverses the trend, perhaps Linux is the next to be cross-examined?<br /><br />Now </b></span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linus_Torvalds" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"><b>Linus Torvalds</b></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"><b>, the one who started it all, has himself claimed that Linux, has begun to acquire some unnecessary fat. During LinuxCon on Monday, he claimed, "We are definitely not the streamlined, hyper-efficient kernel I envisioned when I started writing Linux."<br /><br />Most Linux fans would love to claim that it is evolving faster than Windows, yet that also means that it is accumulating features and bloat as much faster! <br /><br />Even so the thing to note here is that while one wouldn't dream of running Windows Vista on a 5 year old computer, one can get nearly any recent distribution of Linux running on even a 10 year old computer with a little bit of optimization. This isn't just because Linux is more optimized, but also because Linux still supports those old chipsets.<br /><br />Any popular software is popular because it caters to the needs of a wide range of people, and as Linux gets more popular, it risks the chance of bloat in the forms of features and support for hardware which only a few really need. Linux is created to fit in everywhere from a PS3 to a research laboratory!<br /><br />An </b></span></span><a id="i9-1" href="http://www.linuxfoundation.org/publications/whowriteslinux.pdf" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" title="interesting statistic" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"><b>interesting statistic</b></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"><b>: on an average, 10923 lines of code are added to the Linux kernel every day and 5547 lines are deleted every day. This still means that the Linux kernel is growing at a rate of 5376 lines of code a day.<br /><br />While many Linux users enjoy the freedom of choice that the OS supplies by allowing the desktop environment, the command line, the file manager, and nearly everything, to be replaced, few touch the Kernel itself, and as such it is that which needs to be optimized.<br /><br />Linux is surely getting bloated, and chances are your stock kernel is filled with support for hardware which you have little chance of encountering, and features you are unlikely to use. However, the fact that it is still possible to use Linux in embedded devices (Moblin, Android, Maemo, Linux on the Amazon Kindle, etc.) is thanks to the fact that the Linux Kernel is open source and highly configurable and adaptable.<br /><br />Over time software are bound to accumulate features which will have little use to many of the people who use it and people will have to realize Linux is no exception.</b></span></span></span>Usyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00594124774136485082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6333277887735619117.post-75700574307814132482009-09-17T14:20:00.000-07:002009-09-17T14:42:08.212-07:00Teaching computers to read: Google acquires reCAPTCHA<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpM4cEZ0soYKIBW36HRwIS6W_t0Lj0KktR8-k67-3RcFV4kHjaXGSbFZeJZbvBjoouMXPmxh9R2l-5M0C4gmHSn5rOCVJ7b8NL-m8QKzgsBMqrF8TjfZ8IRQDHAwmWh0GGQw-Q9hyw-YcW/s400/dcvf9tks_13fp86ngd5_b.jpg" /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; ">The image above is a <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAPTCHA" style="line-height: 1.2em; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 0, 153); outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: bold; "><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253223136_9" style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; ">CAPTCHA</span></a> — you can read it, but computers have a harder time interpreting the letters. They tried to make it hard for computers to recognize because they wanted to give humans the scoop first, but i am happy to announce to everybody now that <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253223136_10" style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; ">Google</span> has acquired <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://recaptcha.net/" style="line-height: 1.2em; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 0, 153); outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: bold; "><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253223136_11" style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; ">reCAPTCHA</span></a>, a company that provides CAPTCHAs to help protect more than 100,000 websites from spam and fraud.<br /><br />Since computers have trouble reading squiggly words like these, CAPTCHAs are designed to allow humans in but prevent malicious programs from scalping tickets or obtain millions of email accounts for spamming. But there’s a twist — the words in many of the CAPTCHAs provided by reCAPTCHA come from scanned archival newspapers and old books. Computers find it hard to recognize these words because the ink and paper have degraded over time, but by typing them in as a CAPTCHA, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8246463980976635143#" style="line-height: 1.2em; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 0, 153); outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: bold; "><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253223136_12" style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; ">crowds teach computers</span></a> to read the scanned text.<br /><br />In this way, reCAPTCHA’s unique technology improves the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253223136_13" style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; cursor: pointer; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; background-position: initial initial; ">process that converts</span> scanned images into plain text, known as <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253223136_14" style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; ">Optical Character Recognition</span> (OCR). This technology also powers large scale text scanning projects like <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://books.google.com/" style="line-height: 1.2em; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 0, 153); outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: bold; "><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253223136_15" style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; ">Google Books</span></a> and <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://news.google.com/archivesearch" style="line-height: 1.2em; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 0, 153); outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: bold; "><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253223136_16" style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; ">Google News Archive Search</span></a>. Having the text version of documents is important because plain text can be searched, easily rendered on mobile devices and displayed to visually impaired users. So they'll be applying the technology within Google not only to increase fraud and spam protection for Google products but also to improve books and newspaper scanning process.<br /><br /><br /></span></div>Usyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00594124774136485082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6333277887735619117.post-33750656121375277442009-09-14T18:08:00.000-07:002009-09-14T18:12:18.186-07:00Oracle Shows Its Commitment to Sun Customers<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC9933;">I got a mail from the VP & Managing Director of SUN on </span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 12px; white-space: nowrap; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC9933;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Monday, September 14, 2009 4:27 PM saying that::-></span></span></span></b></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;color:#CC9933;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 12px; white-space: nowrap;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;color:#CC9933;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 12px; white-space: nowrap;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 15px; white-space: normal; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; display: block; "><span style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>Many of our customers and partners have been asking for additional clarification around Oracle's intentions relating to Sun hardware, Solaris and other products once the acquisition is completed*.</b></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; display: block; "><span style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>I would like to draw your attention to the latest Oracle advertisement that appeared on the front page of the </b></span></span><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252976828_0" style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; cursor: pointer; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; background-position: initial initial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>Wall Street Journal</b></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b> on September 10, 2009 and on </b></span></span><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252976828_1" style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>Yahoo Finance</b></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></span><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://communications1.sun.com/r/c/r?2.1.3J1.2Tc.15QIhe.COdi%5f2..H.GMW8.2U%5fk.bW89MQ%5f%5fCZRaFOK0" style="line-height: 1.2em; text-decoration: underline; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "><span style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-family:arial;"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252976828_2" style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=ORCL</b></span></span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>. You can also find it on the front page of </b></span></span><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://communications1.sun.com/r/c/r?2.1.3J1.2Tc.15QIhe.COdi%5f2..H.GMWA.2U%5fk.bW89MQ%5f%5fCaPUFOT0" style="line-height: 1.2em; text-decoration: underline; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "><span style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-family:arial;"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252976828_3" style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>www.sun.com</b></span></span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b> and at</b></span></span><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://communications1.sun.com/r/c/r?2.1.3J1.2Tc.15QIhe.COdi%5f2..H.GMWC.2U%5fk.bW89MQ%5f%5fCaWIFOV0" style="line-height: 1.2em; text-decoration: underline; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "><span style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-family:arial;"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252976828_4" style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>www.oracle.com/features/suncustomers.html</b></span></span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>.</b></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; display: block; "><span style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>This advertisement makes a very clear statement about Oracle's intentions and commitment to Sun technology and customers after the transaction closes.</b></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; display: block; "><span style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>I would like to thank you for your continued patience and understanding as our organizations continue to take the steps toward a future that will bring a new level of commitment, service and excellence to our valued customers and partners worldwide.</b></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; display: block; "><span style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>Yours sincerely,</b></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; display: block; "><span style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>Anil Valluri <br /></b></span></span></span><span style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>VP & </b></span></span><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252976828_5" style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>Managing Director</b></span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; display: block; "><span style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>*</b></span></span><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252976828_6" style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; cursor: pointer; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; background-position: initial initial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>Oracle</b></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>'s acquisition of Sun is subject to certain closing conditions. Please refer to Oracle's SEC filings for additional risks related to the proposed acquisition of Sun.</b></span></span></span></p></span></b></span></span></div>Usyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00594124774136485082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6333277887735619117.post-42073862193642529002009-09-14T17:57:00.000-07:002009-09-14T18:01:15.000-07:00LG finally beds Android with GW620<img src="http://www.thinkdigit.com/FCKeditor/uploads/LG%20GW620-1.jpg" alt="LG GW 620" /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-size: 11px; "><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br /></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "> </div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><img alt="LG GW620 high res" width="425" height="283" src="http://www.thinkdigit.com/FCKeditor/uploads/LG%20GW620-2.jpg" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; " /></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br /></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#33FFFF;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">It’s been a long time coming, but LG’s love for Windows Mobile phones has finally waned enough for it to feel the itch and stray to Google’s Android OS.</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The company has officially debuted its first Android-based mobile phone, the GW620, which comes with a touchscreen and slider keyboard. The phone will be released soon, but the price has not been indicated. Funnily, the </span></span></b><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.lge.com/about/press_release/detail/21912.jhtml" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">press release</span></span></b></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> talked a lot about what the company is doing with Windows Mobile, given the occasion!</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">But first, the new phone: The LG-GW620 features a 3-inch resistive touchscreen (320x480 pixels, 256K colours) and slide-out Qwerty keypad to meet the growing needs of consumers who rely on their mobile phones for more than just making calls. </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The device benefits from an operating system that was created from the ground up to take advantage of the many mobile applications and services developed by search leader Google.</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">“The LG-GW620 will appeal to first-time smartphone customers by offering a new and different kind of user experience,” said Dr. Skott Ahn, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “Our objective is to provide a wide selection of smartphones to satisfy the diverse preferences of today’s consumers. This Android phone is just one of many smartphone models we plan to introduce worldwide in the years ahead.”</span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">And this stress on diversity throughout the press release makes us wonder why LG is so adamant on making sure people know it still loves MS. Take a look at these two paragraphs, for instance:</span></span></b></div><ul style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">“The announcement of LG’s first Android-powered smartphones comes only a week after the world’s third largest mobile phone company announced that it would be introducing three new Windows Mobile smartphones in the next few weeks. These developments underscore LG’s commitment to offering greater consumer choice in the expanding smartphone category."</span></span></b></li><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#996633;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">“In addition to the Android model, LG announced in early September that it will be introducing a minimum of 13 new smartphones over the next 16 months that utilise Microsoft’s Windows Mobile. The newest release, version 6.5, was announced just last week.”</span></span></b></li></ul></div></span></div>Usyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00594124774136485082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6333277887735619117.post-64352993677296821962009-09-14T17:55:00.000-07:002009-09-14T17:56:00.506-07:00Nokia's 'Booklet 3G' Netbook With 12 Hour Battery-Life. Form and Functionality.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana; color: rgb(169, 169, 169); font-size: 13px; "><p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;">If you're a fan of Netbooks, and also a fan of Nokia, you'll soon be able to indulge your preference. On 2 September 2009, Nokia plans to release availablity and pricing details for their new netbook called the"Booklet 3G"</span></b></p><p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;">Yes, Nokia is bringing out its own kind of Netbook, and even though it may look like a regular netbook, it will carry the classy, smooth design we're used to see from Nokia.</span></b></p><p></p><p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;"><img src="http://www.new-technology-world.com/newtechnology/images/nokia.jpg" border="0" /></span></b></p><p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;">The Booklet 3G will be Windows based and powered by the popular and efficient Intel Atom processor with a whopping 12 hour battery life. This means people will be able to leave their power cables behind a little more often, without losing connectivity.</span></b></p><p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;">Weighing only 1.25 kilograms, this new lightweight plans to pack a significant punch with its highly portable alluminum casing. It's little more than 2 centimetres thick.</span></b></p><p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;">Connectivity options include 3G/HSDPA as well as Wi-fi, offering users high speed access to the internet.</span></b></p><p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;">The device features a HDMI port enabling HD video out, a built-in camera for video calling, bluetooth and SD card reader. Featuring a 10-inch glass HD ready display and a built-in A-GPS (which works with the Ovi Maps gadget), pinpointing your exact position takes only seconds.</span></b></p><p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;">We cannot really be surprised by this move, considering that Nokia is one of the world's leading providers of connectivity. Considering that Nokia is probably one of the most well known names in the world today, consumers should be able to look forward to be able to add to their list of gadgets the new Booklet 3G.</span></b></p><p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330099;">Nokia seems to be upping their game every time a new product is released, and we expect pretty much the same this time. Of course consumer expectations will likely be high with this new addition to their product line, but if Nokia continues to deliver the high quality we've grown accustomed to over the years, I'm sure it will be a hit with users.</span></b></p><p></p></span>Usyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00594124774136485082noreply@blogger.com0