Owner: Computer Programming And Resources URL:http://shivendumadhava.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2008 04:42:58 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Related to Computer Tips and Tricks Site statistics:Click here
Motorola Z9 (AT&T) 2008-04-13 11:00:00 Another top-notch, high-end mobile phone from Motorola
, the new Z9 scores high on all performance measures. It's the best feature phone AT&T has to offer.On the outside, the Z9 feels chunky; it's long and wide (4.5 by 2.1 inches), but not very thick (0.5 inches), though it feels thicker than it is. On the top half, there's a large, bright 320-by-240-pixel screen, just a smidgen larger than the display on the V9. Below the screen, there's a cursor pad that looks like a scroll wheel (it isn't, actually) and some action buttons. Sliding the screen up reveals a keypad of large, flat number keys with finger-guiding dots. The keypad on our Z9 had a very minor build flaw wherein the plastic pulled away from the contacts slightly on the "5" key (it was minor and almost unnoticeable). Like all
RIM BlackBerry 8820 (T-Mobile) 2008-04-13 10:51:56 Last year, T-Mobile
introduced the BlackBerry
Curve 8320, the first BlackBerry to support Wi-Fi with UMA technology, which lets it make calls over wireless networks. Now T-Mobile is bringing the same ability to the Curve's corporate cousin, the 8820. If you haven't heard the news, T-Mobile's HotSpot @Home service lets you make unlimited Wi-Fi calls for $10 per month. Calls you place from a Wi-Fi hot spot (including T-Mobile HotSpots) don't count against your monthly minutes total. You can also start a call in Wi-Fi mode, leave the hot spot, and then continue the free call even though the handset automatically switches back to cellular in the background. That handoff turned out to be a bit problematic in my tests, but overall, the 8820 worked exactly as advertised.The BlackBerry 8820 follow
Samsung SPH-M520 2008-04-13 10:38:34 When it comes to cell phones, sometimes "good enough" is actually pretty nice. For example, although the Samsung
SPH-M520 is not a great mobile phone, it's fine for people who want to start dabbling in the wide world beyond voice but don't necessarily need all the capabilities of a smartphone. Still, there are better choices out there for folks interested primarily in talking or texting.The M520 is a wide, silvery slider with comfortable, nicely spaced keys. At a slim 4 by 2 by 0.5 inches (HWD) and 2.3 ounces, it won't bulk you up or weigh you down. The 2.2-inch, 176-by-220-pixel screen is unusually large and bright. Volume and camera buttons occupy the device's sides, along with a microSD card slot that accepts cards up to 4GB; my 4GB SanDisk card just worked fine.One attractive innovatio Read more:Samsung SPH
HP 2133 Mini-Note PC 2008-04-13 07:48:40 It didn't take long for PC makers to realize the gold mine ASUS struck with its Eee PC 4G. The Eee PC is a sleek, 2.2-pound ultraportable that costs less than $400—something the UMPC platform had promised but failed to deliver. Now, manufacturers are mobilizing to create an Eee PC "killer," so to speak. The HP 2133 Mini-Note PC ($749 direct) has the potential to be just that. It sports a sexy, 3-pound design, has features similar to the Eee PC, and offers a variety of operating systems to choose from. Even more compelling, however, is that this miniature device can be used by kindergarteners or top-level executives alike, and is affordable to most families with schoolchildren. My configuration was relatively expensive; others start as low as $499—a price that HP had to nail down in ord
Panasonic Toughbook CF-Y7 2008-04-13 07:31:06 Companies that design laptops from the ground up can sustain a competitive advantage over those that buy their designs from other (mostly Taiwanese) manufacturers. Panasonic
, for example, is what you could call a core manufacturer, optimizing its Toughbook laptop line with custom-tailored frames and integral components put together by its own engineers. Its latest, the Toughbook CF-Y7 ($2,370 street), owns the distinction of being the lightest 14-inch ultraportable in the market. Its unique pop-up optical drive, the semi-rugged exterior, and a big screen combine to form a system that weighs only 3.5 pounds. If only the price were more agreeable, this laptop would fit any environment, not just the hostile ones.The Toughbook CF-Y7 might look intimidating at first, because its dimensions (10
ASUS M50Sa-A1 2008-04-26 04:07:51 Only a couple of years ago, a typical media center laptop consisted of a 10-pound system that cost an arm and a leg and was married to an electrical outlet. Despite improvements in weight, price, battery life, and features, prices of media center systems have stayed upward of $1,500. The ASUS M50Sa-A1 breaks that price barrier, offering an assortment of features for just $1,299 (list) that is sure to excite home theater enthusiasts. This laptop includes fast parts, such as one of Intel's latest "Penryn" processors and an ATI graphics card capable of tackling the latest 3D games. Although the M50Sa is an incredible bargain, getting hold of one may be hard since it's available only at Newegg—a strictly online retailer.The tasteful chassis design uses the in-mold decoration (IMD) technique
Sony Ericsson Z750a (AT&T) 2008-04-26 03:55:59 The 3G SonyEricsson
Z750a is an absolute blockbuster of a value. For as low as $50 after rebates, you get a multimedia fashion phone with a high-speed modem that genuinely syncs with your PC in ways that many other devices struggle to accomplish.looks. At 3.8 by 1.9 by 0.8 inches (HWD), this rounded flip phone isn't slim, but it's shiny, with a mirrored front surface in silver, purple, or pink that attracts "oohs" and "aahs"—along with plenty of fingerprints. Still, we think it's quite pretty, and it stands out in a crowd. When you press a button, the time (and caller ID information) glow in soft blue under the shiny surface.Flip open the Z750a to find one of the best keypads in the business, with an excellent array of large, clicky number buttons that are handy for dialing and texting. Read more:Sony Ericsson
LG enV2 VX9100 2008-04-26 03:46:17 Hey parents: want to get hip and keep in touch with the kids in a way they'll appreciate? Head over to Verizon and pick up an LG enV2 VX9100. This cell combines solid call quality with big buttons and has a knack for SMS texting that might actually help the calls-only generation make the move to text messaging.The enV2 has a dual personality: straight on, it looks like your typical voice phone, and then when you flip it open it's got a full keyboard and a big screen. It's not too big, either: At 4 by 2.1 by .65 inches and 4.2 ounces, it's considerably smaller and lighter than the previous enV model—the VX9900. It isn't a smartphone: There's no easy way to sync it with a PC, it doesn't have a real Web browser, and the e-mail program is text-only (no formatting, no attachments). But it han
Samsung Katalyst (SGH-t739) 2008-04-26 03:34:24 These days, many consumers are ditching their landlines, making a cell phone their only phone. That's fine in many circumstances, but if you're not careful, you can easily exceed your monthly allotment of minutes and rack up huge overages. T-Mobile has a better idea: Buy one of its Wi-Fi–capable cell phones, use it to make free calls from your own wireless network or any T-Mobile HotSpot, and use your cell minutes only when you're away from a router. The Samsung
Katalyst is the company's latest handset to work with HotSpot@Home, and it falls right into the middle of the lineup bracketed by the Samsung t409 and the Nokia 6086 on the low end, and three BlackBerrys —the 8120, 8320, and 8820—on the high end.The Katalyst measures 4.0 by 2.0 by 0.7 inches and weighs 4.1 ounces. It's a slid
RIM Blackberry Pearl 8120 (T-Mobile) 2008-04-26 03:21:54 The BlackBerry Pearl
8120 for T-Mobile
is an excellent choice for people who want to try unlimited Wi-Fi calling using the carrier's Hotspot@Home system. The latest and greatest in the BlackBerry Pearl line, this iteration does a little bit of everything, and does it all well. But it really shines as a Wi-Fi phone for folks who think the BlackBerry Curve 8320 is too beefy.Hotspot@Home is a great service, but it's been plagued with uninspired or buggy phones like the Nokia 6086, the Samsung T409 and the Samsung Katalyst. Ideally, H@H should let you make unlimited calls for $10 per month from wherever you can get a Wi-Fi signal, using your T-Mobile phone number. On our tests, though, non-BlackBerry phones worked reliably only with a T-Mobile-supplied router, which is fine for making calls fr
Dell Vostro 1310 2008-04-26 03:03:18 The addition of the Dell Vostro 1310 ($1,258 direct) to the Vostro line is almost like bringing a supermodel into a team of geeks. Don't get me wrong—the other Vostros are far from underachievers, but they lack the style and the travel-friendliness that today's small-business users tend to look for. Dell created its Vostro line to address the needs of small business users and has succeeded at that by simplifying the purchasing and setup process. A Vostro laptop is basically an Inspiron minus the bright colors, the "bloatware," and the enterprise-level jargon. The 1310 adds design sense and portability—it's a lightweight 13-inch laptop that comes with a wealth of configuration options and appeals to regular Joes as much as to the newest dot-com start-up.The Vostro 1310 measures 9.5 by 1
AVG Antivirus 8 2008-04-28 05:12:43 The biggest news with AVG Anti-Virus 8 is that it includes Linkscanner, a technology that actively blocks malicious content from Web sites that may have been hijacked or otherwise compromised. Also, antivirus, antispyware, and antirootkit preventions have been combined into one product. The new drive-by download protection combined with AVG's award winning effectiveness in blocking and removing antivirus and antispyware code is tempered only by its somewhat slow performance in CNET Labs benchmark tests. While individual applications loaded fast, scan and boot times trended toward the slow end.InstallationWe were able to download and install AVG Anti-Virus 8 on a Dell XPS machine running Windows XP SP2 with no difficulty and without rebooting. If you are upgrading from a previous version of
AVG Internet Security 8.0 2008-04-28 05:00:33 AVG Internet
Security 8.0 has many new features including Linkscanner technology, which AVG Technologies acquired with its recent acquisition of Exploit Prevention Labs. Overall, the product falls flat as an Internet security suite. Missing from the suite is adequate antiphishing protection beyond e-mail blocking. AVG Internet Security 8.0 flags malicious Web sites, however, unlike the standalone version of Linkscanner there is no additional information provided about the threat. We also found the AVG suite to be resource heavy and produced false positives. AVG also installs the Yahoo as default search engine in up to two locations within your Internet browser, depending upon your installation choices.InstallationWe were able to download and install AVG Internet Security 8.0 on a Dell XPS
How to Downgrade from Vista to XP 2008-04-28 03:08:05 If "buyer's remorse" describes regret and self-doubt after a costly purchase, then "upgrader's remorse" seems to sum up the feelings some people have after switching to Windows Vista
.And why shouldn't they feel that way? Windows XP is noticeably faster than Vista on the same hardware, and it gets by with much less RAM and hard drive space. Microsoft's Service Pack 3 makes XP even faster, but the same cannot be said of Vista's Service Pack 1. And Windows Explorer crashes far more often in Vista (preceded, of course, by the notorious Green Ribbon of Death). Why, XP's staggeringly superior hardware support alone makes a convincing case for dumping Vista in favor of its predecessor.Problem is, downgrading a Vista PC to Windows XP can be a chore, and doubly so if you want to do it without refor
Fuji FinePix J10 2008-04-28 02:37:52 There's no shortage of cheap, easy-to-use shooters out there, but the real trick is to find one that takes good pictures without sacrificing key features. The 8-megapixel Canon PowerShot A590 IS holds the crown for the best entry-level camera we've seen, offering lots of advanced controls and excellent image quality for its wallet-friendly sub-$200 price tag. The new 8.2-megapixel Fuji FinePix
J10 produces decent image quality but is a bit short on features. It has an intuitive, elegant menu system, built-in image stabilization, and an ultracompact body similar to the credit-card-size Casio Exilim EX-S880. Despite these pluses, it has too many limitations to recommend to anyone other than a first-time digital camera user.The J10 comes in black or silver, and at 4.5 ounces with batteries an
LG Vu CU920 2008-05-01 00:40:10 The LG Vu CU920 for AT&T is the closest thing to an iPhone competitor I've seen yet. More than any other phone, it captures the iPhone's basic essence of fun via a tactile device on which you touch beautiful things to connect with others and be entertained. But its flaws exemplify what mainstream phone makers have failed to learn from Apple—and it doesn't connect well with your PC-based digital life.The Vu looks and feels a lot like last year's LG Prada KE850, which in turn looks and feels like a slightly thicker iPhone. The Vu is made of black plastic rather than metal and adds pick-up, hang-up, and camera buttons to a hardware volume control. But the general design principle is the same: a slick slab (4.25 by 2.16 by 0.51 inches—HWD; 3.16 ounces) with a big 3-inch, 240-by-400-pix
Verizon XV6900 (HTC Touch) 2008-05-01 00:33:37 Here's one of the big problems with the U.S. cell-phone market: A phone—let's call it the HTC Touch—starts out on GSM networks in June 2007. It's got a fresh, radical design. By October 2007, it's on Sprint in a new, faster format with all sorts of new goodies. The design isn't as fresh, but the features are compelling. But then it takes until late April of the following year for it to get to Verizon
—and guess what? It's starting to look a bit old.Verizon's XV6900, aka the HTC Touch, is the latest version of a year-old design that was given new life last October in Sprint's update. Some like to call it a "Windows Mobile iPhone" because of its lean design and lack of physical keys, and it does its best to make the notoriously picky Windows Mobile more finger-friendly.But in the time t
Toshiba Portégé R500 (SSD) 2008-05-01 00:24:55 Calling the Toshiba
Portégé R500 (SSD) ($2,599 direct) an ultraportable is an understatement. It's almost inconceivable that a laptop can sport a 12-inch screen and a full-size keyboard and yet weigh only 1.7 pounds (yeah, you read that right). Of course, several adjustments had to be made over the previous iteration of the Portégé R500 to get to this astonishing weight.This new configuration doesn't have a built-in optical drive, although you can integrate one as an option (which, of course, will add to the weight, as well as the price), and it comes with a 64GB SSD drive. The SSD drive optimizes disk transfer times and adds durability. Should you drop the system by accident, it won't break like a traditional spinning hard drive. (Granted, many laptops with spinning drives have an acc
Microsoft Windows XP SP3 beta 2008-05-01 00:07:38 With Service Pack 2 installed, Windows
XP has proven to be a notably durable and reasonably secure version of the operating system. The August 2004 release of SP2 dramatically upgraded the security of the original XP, adding the Windows Firewall and Windows Defender, along with easily configurable options to block or allow specific kinds of traffic into your system. Since SP2 came out, Microsoft
has continued to supply fixes and enhancements via Windows (and Microsoft) Updates. For the most part, Windows XP Service Pack 3 simply rolls all the fixes and upgrades into a single convenient package, though there are a few brand-new additions with SP3. Whether the new additions catch your eye or not, security upgrades make applying the service pack a good idea—but make sure you know about poss Read more:Microsoft Windows
What's in Windows XP Service Pack 3? 2008-04-30 23:58:40 Service Pack 3 for Windows
XP is approaching.Release candidate 1 of this service pack is available in a limited distribution. You probably don't want to mess with it yet. There's nothing in it so compelling that you need to install a pre-release set of fixes and minor features.It is an important service pack, though, because it makes one baseline platform for the most popular version of Windows, bringing them up to date with the latest fixes and some new features.So what is in XP SP3? You can find out in Microsoft 's Windows XP Service Pack 3 Overview. This white paper describes what is and is not in SP3. Some basic features are upgraded, such as Microsoft Management Console to 3.0 and WPA (WiFi Protected Access) to 2, but Internet Explorer is not upgraded to version 7.There are two new fe Read more:Service
, Service Pack
Microsoft Extends Windows XP Availability 2008-04-30 23:42:07 Microsoft will continue making Windows
XP Home Edition available until at least June 2010 on ultra-low-cost PCs.Microsoft announced on Thursday that it will continue making Windows XP Home Edition available until at least June 2010 on ultra-low-cost PCs (ULCPC), such as the ASUS Eee. The decision was prompted by Microsoft's hardware manufacturing partners, who wanted the "familiarity, compatibility and support only available on the Windows platform," according to Microsoft. The machines have less computing horsepower and smaller screens than typical desktops and laptops, so XP makes more sense for them than Vista.ULCPCs were originally intended for use in developing parts of the world and for students, but their appeal has spread to those who simply want a complementary computer they can c Read more:Availability
, Microsoft
Retroactive Patches For XP SP3 2008-04-30 23:32:21 It's no less ironic for being logical: Microsoft today revised one of the most recent Patch Tuesday's bulletins to account for Windows XP SP3.In MS08-024 (Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer) version 2.0 of the bulletin was released to announce that Internet Explorer 7 on Windows XP SP3 is an affected component. (Personally, I think they should have called the new bulletin version 1.0 SP1.) Given that the patch and SP3 were being finalized at about the same time it's only reasonable that Microsoft had to leave the new patch out of the service pack so that the service pack could be effectively tested. Still funny though.The update to MS07-040 (Vulnerabilities in .NET Framework Could Allow Remote Code Execution), issued in July 2007, is a little more complicated. The various .NE
Windows XP SP3 Won't Change Your Clocks Tonight 2008-04-30 23:29:59 If you happen to be one of the few people trying out the Windows
XP Service Pack 3 beta, be advised: your clocks apparently won't update automatically Saturday night/early Sunday morning. According to this Microsoft TechNet post, Microsoft decided to hold off on adding time-zone updates until about the time SP3 goes live, which will be in the first half of 2008, according to Microsoft. "Thanks for the suggestion," wrote Shashank Bansal of Microsoft on the TechNet site. "Our current plan is not to integrate the time zone package with SP3, but instead release a new updated update to windows update. the new package would be installable on SP3." All that basically means, apparently, is that when SP3 goes live, there will also be a new version of Windows Update released. That version was also s Read more:Change
, Clocks
, Tonight
Recommend Site To A Friend
