Featuring a unique, easy-to-use toolkit for class-driven development and the nicest Ajax library around, Prototype is quickly becoming the codebase of choice for web application developers everywhere.
Home PageThursday, May 31, 2007
Prototype - Best JavaScript Framework!
By: Parth Barot @ 6:59 PM 0 Comments
Categories: Ajax, Freeware, Goodies, Javascript, Programming, Software, Technology
Google Gears...Great thing!
Store and serve application resources locally
Store data locally in a fully-searchable relational database
Run asynchronous Javascript to improve application responsiveness
Home Page
By: Parth Barot @ 6:32 PM 0 Comments
Categories: Ajax, Goodies, Google, Internet, Javascript, News, Programming, Software
eBay Acquires StumbleUpon
Driven by word-of-mouth, the StumbleUpon community has grown 150 percent year over year and delivers approximately five million new recommendations a day to its large, highly engaged user base. StumbleUpon allows people to discover Web sites, people, videos, product information, communities and other online content based on personal interests. By allowing its community to rate the content, StumbleUpon gets smarter as it is used and provides an increasing level of relevance over time.
Read More...
Nintendo Wi-Fi service reaches 5 million users
Nintendo said Wednesday that its Wi-Fi Connection service--which allows Nintendo DS users to play wirelessly against each other--has surpassed 5 million users.
All told, the video game giant said, users have initiated more than 200 million sessions, playing games like Animal Crossing: Wild World, Mario Kart DS, Metroid Prime Hunters and others wirelessly.
By: Parth Barot @ 6:24 PM 0 Comments
Categories: Games, Home Entertainment, Microsoft, News, Nintendo, Sony, xbox
Cyberhawk 2.0.4.34
What's New in Cyberhawk 2.0.4.34
* Addressed Internet Explorer slow down and performance issues experienced by some users
* Improved malware cleanup and quarantine for more effective cleaning
* Added incremental install capability so that going forward updates can be delivered through patches instead of requiring a full uninstall followed by reinstall
* Fixed rootkit scanner hang issue when scanning directories with large numbers of files
* Rootkit scan dialog now includes a ‘Select All’ option and abilitiy to ignore or remember certain hidden objects in future scan results
* General improvements to overall protective capability
* Fewer false positives
* Miscellaneous other program fixes
Novatix Home Page
WinRAR 3.70 Final
New in WinRAR 3.70
* Version 3.7 includes numerous Windows Vista compatibility changes. New CHM help format. Support of UDF file format frequently used in DVD ISO images. Unicode support for CD ISO images. More space for file names in progress windows. New command line options for self-extracting modules.
WinRAR Home Page
Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.4
Firefox Home Page
First Look: Microsoft Surface Computing
In the video, Mark Bolger, Director of Marketing Surface Computing, explains to Larry Larsen what surface computing is all about. The computer is comprised of a Vista-based system, multiple cameras using infrared light and a DLP projector. “We’re looking at Microsoft’s first surface computer. We’re excited that we’re going to make an announcement for this product on May 30th, at the Wallstreet’s Journal D-conference. What we’re going to be doing is announcing that this product will be available later this year in commercial partners that we have lined up. Specifically, we’ll going to be going into hotels, retailers, entertainment venues, such as casino resorts.”
Bolger then demonstrates how he and Larsen can use a program called Paint (not to be confused with Windows’ MS Paint) with their hands in a multi-touch and multi-user environment. He then grabs two typical paint brushes and shows Larsen how the computer system detects different pressure and widths of the paint brush. He also shows how tagged objects with a dotted pattern can be used, more than once, to bring up a specific image (motionless or animated) on the table-screen.
Bolger then goes on to show an application from one of Microsoft’s partners, T-mobile. When he places a phone on the surface the computer instantly recognizes it and starts spewing out images and information about the device. “What we’re doing is we’re blending the physical and virtual worlds together into one vibrant experience on a tabletop,” he announces. When another phone is placed onto the table, the screen changes to compare the two devices in the space between them. Bolger physically moves them apart, giving the information displayed more space. Once the user chooses a phone, they can browse through possible plans, compare them, compare texting plans, check coverage areas, play a ringtone and add everything, by dragging and dropping, to the final invoice.
Read More @ Channel 10
By: Parth Barot @ 10:37 AM 0 Comments
Categories: Goodies, Hardware, Microsoft, News, Reviews, Technology
Facial recognition slipped into Google image search
The technology appears to be the fruit of Google's 2006 acquisition of Neven Vision, a company that had developed techniques for facial recognition in photos. Google is apparently taking that technology to heart by experimenting with facial recognition online. Even cooler (or creepier, as the case may be), one day Google's image search may be able to find faces of specific people based on image analysis/recognition alone instead of relying on the text associated with that image to identify the person in the photo.
Ars Technica
By: Parth Barot @ 10:30 AM 0 Comments
Categories: Goodies, Google, Graphics, News, Search, Software, Technology
Windows Live Mail, Live Writer & Messenger 8.5 Beta
Windows Live Mail is the free consumer client Microsoft will invest in moving forward. It is a superset of existing free clients and will replace Outlook Express, Windows Mail and Windows Live Mail desktop beta. While it used to be a paid feature, Hotmail customers can now access their account for free in Outlook 2003 and Windows Live Mail.
Windows Live Writer is a blogging tool that has been available in the US since August of last year. The tool was very well received by US bloggers at launch since it provides increased product functionality for Windows Live Spaces users and it also allows publishing to many of the largest blogging products in the world.
Windows Live Messenger 8.5 will also go out with a largely back-end update, but includes feature updates such as new look and feel in sign-in and conversation window, new emoticons, and integration with Windows Live OneCare Family Safety.
Windows Live Writer Beta 2
Windows Live Messenger 8.5 Beta 1
Windows Live Mail Beta
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Sony to Debut HD Radio Products in July
Sony Corp. says it will introduce its first HD Radio products in July, joining the growing group of companies seeking to make the next-generation digital radio technology a standard feature in audio products over the next several years.
HD Radio is new form of digital radio broadcasting that allows radio stations to deliver extra music content on up to four side channels that piggyback on the frequency it already uses. So far, more than 1,200 radio stations nationwide have adopted the technology, according to the HD Digital Radio Alliance, a group of broadcasters promoting the new format.
A listener, however, needs a special radio receiver to hear HD Radio signals, which also boasts improved sound quality. About 50 models are available already, often sold as part of a car stereo or home audio component, according to the alliance.
"Digital terrestrial radio is the last frontier in audio," said Andrew Sivori, a senior product marketing manager at Sony's personal audio division. "And it's coming to price points that are becoming more reasonable for consumers."
Sony's first HD Radio products will be the XDR-S3HD, a $200 tabletop AM/FM/HD radio, and the XT-100HD, a $100 tuner module for vehicles that will work with most Sony car stereo units.
The HD Radio alliance projects that more than 1.5 million HD Radio devices will be sold in 2007, as prices have dropped significantly from the time the first products debuted more than two years ago at about $800.
By: Parth Barot @ 11:31 AM 0 Comments
Categories: Audio, Goodies, Hardware, Home Entertainment, Radio, Satellite, Sony, Technology
Forget Photoshop: 15 Online Graphics Generators
Read Full Article...
By: Parth Barot @ 11:27 AM 0 Comments
Categories: Articles, Goodies, Graphics, Internet, Programming, Tutorials, Web
Monday, May 28, 2007
Apple patches more than a dozen holes in OS X
Apple has released an update that patches more than a dozen OS X vulnerabilities, several of which can lead to the remote execution of malicious code.
The most serious vulnerability resides in an OS X feature called mDNSResponder, which enables computers to locate and connect to devices such as printers and webcams on a local network. An attacker could use it to execute code by sending malicious packets to Macs connected to the same subnet, making the exploit ideal for use in internet cafes and offices.
"Remote roots like this don't come out every day," he said of the vulnerability.
Is Ubuntu Linux for You, Too?
This is just a small tutorial showing that ubuntu is as good as windows and supporting all kinds of softies and devices.
Main things included like mp3,dvds,digicam,ipod etc...
Show how its good and why its useful. All above this, its a open source so you don't need to give a penny for it!
When Dell Computer announced it was making the Ubuntu operating system available as a preinstalled option on select Inspiron notebook and Dimension and XPS desktop models in late May, Linux geeks and open-source advocates started hopping with joy. But what's in it for the non-geek computer user? And what is Ubuntu, anyway?
Ubuntu is a free, Linux-based operating system distributed by Canonical. It appeared in October 2004 and has since won over waves of converts, including high-profile geeks like Cory Doctorow. Even Dell founder and CEO Michael Dell runs Ubuntu 7.04, nicknamed "Feisty Fawn," on his personal laptop.
The Dell computers hit the shelves today, and other banner PC manufacturers like Toshiba are expected to follow suit with their own models soon.You should take this time to familiarize yourself with exactly what's in store if and when you pick up one of these machines.
If you ever need help getting started with the open-source OS, the user community at places like Ubuntu Forums tends to be pretty patient with newbie inquiries. That's important, because Ubuntu will prompt many questions.
By: Parth Barot @ 11:10 AM 0 Comments
Categories: Articles, Freeware, Goodies, Linux, open source, Reviews, Tips, Tutorials
An ffmpeg and SDL Tutorial
ffmpeg is a wonderful library for creating video applications or even general purpose utilities. ffmpeg takes care of all the hard work of video processing by doing all the decoding, encoding, muxing and demuxing for you. This can make media applications much simpler to write. It's simple, written in C, fast, and can decode almost any codec you'll find in use today, as well as encode several other formats.
The only problem is that documentation is basically nonexistent. There is a single tutorial that shows the basics of ffmpeg and auto-generated doxygen documents. That's it. So, when I decided to learn about ffmpeg, and in the process about how digital video and audio applications work, I decided to document the process and present it as a tutorial.
There is a sample program that comes with ffmpeg called ffplay. It is a simple C program that implements a complete video player using ffmpeg. This tutorial will begin with an updated version of the original tutorial, written by Martin Böhme (I have stolen liberally borrowed from that work), and work from there to developing a working video player, based on Fabrice Bellard's ffplay.c. In each tutorial, I'll introduce a new idea (or two) and explain how we implement it. Each tutorial will have a C file so you can download it, compile it, and follow along at home. The source files will show you how the real program works, how we move all the pieces around, as well as showing you the technical details that are unimportant to the tutorial. By the time we are finished, we will have a working video player written in less than 1000 lines of code!
In making the player, we will be using SDL to output the audio and video of the media file. SDL is an excellent cross-platform multimedia library that's used in MPEG playback software, emulators, and many video games. You will need to download and install the SDL development libraries for your system in order to compile the programs in this tutorial.
This tutorial is meant for people with a decent programming background. At the very least you should know C and have some idea about concepts like queues, mutexes, and so on. You should know some basics about multimedia; things like waveforms and such, but you don't need to know a lot, as I explain a lot of those concepts in this tutorial.
By: Parth Barot @ 11:09 AM 0 Comments
Categories: Articles, compression, Freeware, Goodies, open source, Programming, Tutorials, Video
LEAKED: Windows Live Messenger 8.5
The new build includes a completely new installer system (though it appears it might need some tweaking). Messenger itself also got a complete overhaul, featuring a new UI that combines the best of Windows Live and Vista. The new build also includes several minor new features, some of which are still unknown. Unfortunately support for Plug-Ins (or "Add-Ins") has been dropped.
The leaked build is only available in Spanish at the moment, but if you managed to download it somewhere, you can copy the old language file ("msglang.dll") of Windows Live Messenger 8.1.0178 over the new one ("msglang.8.5.1235.0517.dll"). Note that the installation directory has also been changed to "C:\Program Files\Windows Live\Messenger\" making the transition from MSN Messenger to Windows Live Messenger complete.
Read More...
UltraGet Video Downloader 1.0.1
Selected Features:
* Download whichever video from YouTube
UltraGet Video Downloader allows you to easily download and play media content from streaming websites like Youtube. It supports storing your own YouTube account in the program and automatically downloading any YouTube videos even they require user login.
* Easily import video URLs directly from YouTube
If you are using Firefox to view YouTube.com website, you can drag and drop any video clips you like to UltraGet and the program will do the remaining works.
* Internal YouTube Video Downloader to easily play downloaded FLV videos
Unlike other downloader tools, UltraGet includes an internal FLV (Flash for Video) video player which enables you to easily enjoy the downloaded flash videos. You can even select a part of the video clips to play.
* Extremely easy to use
Just copy and paste the video URL and press the Download button! The batch download feature saves you much time to enjoy your desired videos from YouTube.
* Completely Freeware
UltraGet Video Downloader is a freeware and contains absolutely NO ADWARE, NO SPYWARE, NO REGISTRATION, NO POPUPS, NO MALWARE or other unwanted software.
Home Page
By: Parth Barot @ 11:00 AM 0 Comments
Categories: Goodies, Home Entertainment, Internet, Reviews, Software, Video
Cell phone cameras help Japanese lose weight
Japan is slowly losing its reputation for low-calorie fish-and-rice diets and slim waistlines. As Japanese have turned to bigger portions and more meat and fried foods, obesity and related illnesses such as high blood pressure have become a rising concern. The Health Ministry estimated last year that more than half of Japanese men and about one in five women between 40 and 70 years of age (nearly 20 million people) were at risk of metabolic syndrome, a term for a cluster of conditions associated with obesity, high cholesterol and increased risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
CNN
By: Parth Barot @ 10:59 AM 0 Comments
Categories: Camera, Cell phones, Goodies, News, Technology, TV
Brimax 19" TFT Flat Panel Display
Brimax LM19XD LCD Display Review
By: Parth Barot @ 10:56 AM 0 Comments
Categories: Goodies, Hardware, Home Entertainment, News, Reviews, Video
Finland: Breaking "ineffective" copy protection is allowed
Two of the activists were charged with illegally manufacturing and distributing a circumventing product along with providing a service to "circumvent an effective technological measure." During the court proceedings, expert witnesses testified as to the ineffectiveness of CSS as a DRM system, an argument the court found compelling: "Since a Norwegian hacker succeeded in circumventing CSS protection used in DVDs in 1999, end-users have been able to get with easy tens of similar circumventing software from the Internet even free of charge. Some operating systems come with this kind of software pre-installed.... CSS protection can no longer be held 'effective' as defined in law."
Ars Technica
By: Parth Barot @ 10:53 AM 0 Comments
Categories: CD, DVD, hack, Home Entertainment, News, Privacy, Security
China tells 'dating' websites to stop selling sex
Physorg
SED technology delayed indefinitely
Canon cites two reasons for the delay: legal troubles (presumably still with Applied Nanotech, a subsidiary of Nano-Proprietary) and cost-related production problems. Producing these next-generation flat-panel TVs at affordable prices will take further production improvements.
SED technology promises good brightness, fast response times and a very high contrast ratio. Some of these claims seemed too good to be true when SED was first announced but while SED has been sitting on the sidelines both LCD and PDP technologies have improved over multiple retail generations.
Canon Press Release
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
80GB PlayStation 3 for South Korea
DailyTech
Driver Magician 3.21
Features:
- Back up device drivers of your computer in four modes.
- Restore device drivers from backup in one mouse click.
- Update device drivers of your PC to improve system performance and stability.
- Uninstall device drivers
- Live Update device identifier database and driver update database.
- Detect unknown devices.
- Get detailed information of the hardware drivers.
- Clone all drivers to an auto-setup package (.EXE), so you can restore drivers without installing Driver Magician.
- Add device drivers uninstallation function
- Support Window XP 64-Bit, Windows 2003 64-Bit and Windows Vista 64-Bit
- Rewrite device driver update function
- Improve accuracy of drivers update
- Fix a bug of memory leak
- Update unknown devices database and drivers update database
- Back up drivers of non-present devices
- Some minor tweaks
IBM's Record-Breaking POWER6 Processor
IBM's new 2- to 16-core server also offers three times the performance per core of the HP Superdome machine, based on the key TPC-C benchmark (2). The processor speed of the POWER6 chip is nearly three times faster than the latest HP Itanium processor that runs HP's server line. Even more impressive, the processor bandwidth of the POWER6 chip -- 300 gigabytes per second -- could download the entire iTunes catalog in about 60 seconds -- 30 times faster than HP's Itanium. But the new server offers more than just raw performance -- it is the world's most powerful midrange consolidation machine, containing special hardware and software that allows it to create many "virtual" servers on a single box. IBM calculates that 30 SunFire v890s can be consolidated into a single rack of the new IBM machine, saving more than $100,000 per year on energy costs (3). According to IDC, IBM has gained 10.4 points of UNIX revenue share in the past five years -- versus HP's loss of 5.3 points and Sun's loss of 1.4 points (4). IBM will use the new machine to target customers with less-efficient HP, Sun and Dell servers.
HPCWire
By: Parth Barot @ 12:28 PM 0 Comments
Categories: Goodies, Hardware, News, Processor, Reviews, system, Technology
Fujitsu Announces New WiMax Chip
The first shipments of the new chip are expected to be in Asia, with U.S. shipments to follow. Fujitsu will offer a Systems Design Kit and a PC Card Reference Platform Delivery Kit so that customers can move into production quickly. The SDK can use a variety of RF platforms to meet various frequency requirements globally. The company has successfully completed industry wide plugfests to validate its operation. Pricing has not been announced.
eWeek
Monday, May 21, 2007
Vista got cracked - AGAIN
So we’re right on the tracks of Windows XP, the early years. Microsoft comes up with an ingenious system (at that time, product activation), crackers bypass it. Microsoft fights back, crackers evade the complicated protection measures and round we go. To feed your curiosity, here’s a picture of the DVD NoPE is distributing (click thumbnail to enlarge).
Read More...
VirtualDub 1.6.18
Changelog:
- Improved compatibility of AVI files written in capture mode or with the "sector alignment" option.
- Fixed crash when selecting Cancel after removing certain video filters from the video filter chain.
By: Parth Barot @ 2:41 PM 0 Comments
Categories: Audio, CD, compression, conversion, divx, DVD, Freeware, Goodies, Home Entertainment, mp4, Reviews, Software, Video, xvid
AACS Copy Protection For DVDs Defeated
In mid-April, the AACSLA said that it had "expired" cracked AACS encryption keys, requiring consumers and manufacturers to update their video players with a new key though an online download. Discs to be reportedly released next week will be the first to blacklist compromised keys. But SlySoft appears to have a new key to the AACS digital lock. The AACSLA can also expire this key, but such a move will take weeks. In the meantime, the discs on the market will be copyable.
InformationWeek
By: Parth Barot @ 2:38 PM 0 Comments
Categories: Audio, DVD, hack, Home Entertainment, Internet, News, Security, Video
LG Electronics to cut PDP production
Falling prices in the display market as a result of fierce competition are causing the move. Until a few years ago, the market was neatly divided between PDP and the rival LCD technology. There's now fierce competition in the entire middle range of the market where the two overlap. PDP appears to be losing. In the first quarter of this year, shipments of PDP panels fell 1% compared to the same period last year – the first time the industry has seen a year-on-year decline, according to DisplaySearch. The market research company attributed the drop to a loss of market share to LCDs at screen sizes over 37 inches.
InfoWorld
Dell announces convertible tablet PC
Dell anounced that it is working on the machine on a company blog. In the same blog Dell showed a prototype of the tablet PC.
"We are entering the [tablet PC] market and we will enter the market later this year," said Jeff Clarke, senior vice president of Dell's business product group, during the minute-long video.
"The technology and customer and usage models have evolved to the point where it makes it right for Dell to enter the marketplace," he said. "We're excited and everybody, we're coming."
Dell's tablet PC will be targeted at the education, healthcare and corporate markets, said Clarke. Dell didn't offer any technical specifications of the machine but Clrke said it will be "one of the lightest weight" tablet PCs in the market. The version shown in the video was running Windows Vista.
PC Advisor
By: Parth Barot @ 2:33 PM 0 Comments
Categories: Dell, Goodies, Hardware, laptops, News, Reviews, Technology
Friday, May 18, 2007
Executor 0.90b
Many features like: customizable keywords, history, auto-completion (keywords, history, file system), drop-down or vista like list, start-menu importer, skinable, very customizable, url and email detection, one keyword can launch multiple keywords/files/urls/programs etc, optional icon and program title display, customizable hotkey, a number of special commands and parameters, filesystem autocompletion, optional sounds, intergrated calculator and more.
Home Page
Symantec sues 8 firms for $55M
CBC News
AOL Previews Silverlight Gadget
The AOL Social Mail Gadget will come with two skins (surfboards and guitars) but is also has the capability of using custom skins. AOL is shooting to have a full-scale beta test within the next couple of months and a release version later in the year, according to Ben-Yoseph.
InternetNews
By: Parth Barot @ 10:26 AM 0 Comments
Categories: Home Entertainment, Internet, News, Software, Vista, Windows
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Oracle to get Agile with $495m deal
Oracle is buying product lifecycle management (PLM) specialist Agile Software in a deal likely to result in an overhaul of its existing PLM suite.
The database giant, which has bought more than 30 companies in three years, is spending $495m, or $8.10 per share, for Agile. It hopes the purchase will squeeze SAP.
The deal serves up Oracle 1,250 Agile PLM customers, with Agile expected to announce a 12 per cent increase in revenue to between $37m and $38m for its fourth quarter.
Oracle president Charles Philips said in a statement Agile will serve as the foundation for Oracle's PLM offering while furthering the strategy of delivering industry specific enterprise applications.
Oracle's existing PLM suite spans CAD, project collaboration, project management and sourcing, and is available through eBusiness Suite. The suite provides a unified data model for a single view of the product from inception through to design, delivery and service.
By: Parth Barot @ 11:31 AM 0 Comments
Categories: Database, Goodies, News, Programming, Software, Technology
Wi-Fi group launches 802.11n compatibility brand
Wi-Fi overseer the Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA) will in June begin testing pre-standard next-generation 802.11n wireless networking kit to make sure the products all work with each other, the organisation said today.
The WFA announced earlier this year that it would begin interoperability tests despite the fact that 802.11n has yet to be formalised by standards-setting body the IEEE. Draft 1 of the 802.11n specification was held to be be near enough what the final standard will be for vendors to ship product based on it, and with Draft 2 recently agreed, support for the ratified specification is seen to be just a firmware update away.
The WFA is basing its testing on Draft 2. As yet there are not Draft 2-based products on the market, but the likes of Netgear, Belkin and D-Link have promised Draft 2 firmware updates in Q2, and with the WFA's announcement those are likely to appear promptly.
By: Parth Barot @ 11:29 AM 0 Comments
Categories: Communication, Goodies, Internet, News, Technology, WiFi, wireless
Remote control your torrents with uTorrent's WebUI
With uTorrent's WebUI, you can add, remove, and manage the downloads you've got running at home no matter where you are. Hit the jump and I'll show you how to get it all set up.
NOTE: uTorrent is Windows-only, but you can access and control uTorrent via the WebUI using virtually any browser on any platform (except for IE6, that is, which "is not supported and never will be").
Set up WebUI on your home computer
First, you'll need to grab a copy of uTorrent if you don't already have it. It's a standalone executable, so just put it wherever you like, give it a run, and let's get started.
Next you've got to grab the WebUI files (the first link in the post). Here's a direct link that should work for now, but I can't guarantee it'll always be the latest, so you might want to check the first link to make sure.
The file you've downloaded should be called something like webui_v0.310_beta_2.rar. The .rar extension is an archive, so use your favorite unzipping program (like Lifehacker favorite 7-Zip) to get to the goods inside.
Halo 3 to be released on Sept. 25
In a year when Hollywood is launching its biggest blockbusters ever, a video game is set to conquer them all. “Halo® 3,” the final chapter in the groundbreaking “Halo” trilogy, is set to shatter day-one entertainment sales records when it is released worldwide beginning Tuesday, Sept. 25. Created by legendary developer Bungie Studios and exclusive to the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system, “Halo 3” will set a new standard for interactive storytelling and social gaming by engaging consumers worldwide in Master Chief’s epic battle to save humankind. “Halo 3” will be available to audiences around the world starting Sept. 25 and will release in Europe on Sept. 26.So here we go! ready for the game buddies...
Read More...
By: Parth Barot @ 11:09 AM 0 Comments
Categories: Games, Home Entertainment, Reviews, Software, xbox
Apple Updates MacBook
$1099: 2.0 GHz, 13-inch white MacBook, 1GB RAM, 80GB Hard Drive
$1299: 2.16 GHz, 13-inch white MacBook, 1GB RAM, 120GB Hard Drive
$1499: 2.16 GHz, 13-inch black MacBook, 1GB RAM, 160GB Hard Drive
Upgrade options available on the refreshed MacBook's include a 120GB/160GB (5400 rpm) or 200GB (4200 rpm) hard drive and up to 2GB of DDR2 RAM.
Apple.com
Micron announces its 78nm-made DDR3 validated with Intel
Evaluation samples of Micron's 1Gb DDR3 components are available to select customers with production expected to begin early next year. Micron's 1Gb DDR3 components will be available in various output configurations (x4, x8 and x16), and will be fully compliant with the most recent JEDEC DDR3 specifications. These components will support module densities from 512MB through 4GB and a variety of module types, including UDIMMs, SODIMMs, and RDIMMs.
DigiTimes
Worldwide Software Piracy Rate Holds Steady at 35%
Worldwide, for every two dollars of software purchased legitimately, one dollar was obtained illegally. Global losses increased in 2006 by more than $5 billion (15%) over the previous year. Of the 102 countries covered in this year’s study, piracy rates dropped moderately in 62 countries, while increasing in 13.
BSA Press Release
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
15 Coolest Firefox Tricks Ever
Everybody’s favorite open-source browser, Firefox, is great right out of the box. And by adding some of the awesome extensions available out there, the browser just gets better and better.
But look under the hood, and there are a bunch of hidden (and some not-so-secret) tips and tricks available that will crank Firefox up and pimp your browser. Make it faster, cooler, more efficient. Get to be a Jedi master with the following cool Firefox tricks.
1) More screen space.
2) Smart keywords.
3) Keyboard shortcuts
4) Auto-complete
5) Tab navigation
6) Mouse shortcuts
7) Delete items from address bar history
8) User chrome
9) Create a user.js file
10) about:config
11) Add a keyword for a bookmark
12) Speed up Firefox
13) Limit RAM usage
14) Reduce RAM usage further for when Firefox is minimized
15) Move or remove the close tab button
Microsoft to offer free XBLA shooter
While it was originally spotted on the Entertainment Software Rating Board earlier this year, Microsoft kept mum on its Xbox Live Arcade game Aegis Wing until today, when it dropped a couple of smart bombs about the side-scrolling shooter.
First of all, Microsoft said the game would be free to download for all Live Silver and Gold users for a limited time. Second, it's going to be released this Wednesday at 2 a.m. Pacific time. Finally, the game is the product of a trio of students, conceived during a summer internship with Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade division and developed in conjunction with Carbonated Games (makers of Uno for Live Arcade).
More @ GameSpot
XChat 2.8.3e
- GNU-Linux
- FreeBSD
- NetBSD
- OpenBSD
- Solaris
- AIX
- IRIX
- DEC/Compaq Tru64 UNIX
- HP-UX 10.20 and 11
- MacOS X
- Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP
Monday, May 14, 2007
Tokyo team breaks the Ethernet speed record!
A team led by Toyko University researchers has set a new "land speed record" for IPv6 Ethernet, transferring data over a distance of 30,000km at an application rate of 9.08Gbit/s.
The team leader, Dr Kei Hiraki, claimed this will not be beaten for the 10Gig generation because the contest organiser, the Internet2 consortium, demands that each new record shows a 10 per cent improvement over its predecessor.
The team actually broke the record twice - first sending 7.67Gbit/s using standard protocols, and then two days later sending 9.08Gbit/s using modified protocols - and they did so in both the single and multi-stream classes. The record-breaking run took place last December but has only just been reported, at a recent Internet2 members meeting in the US.
"These records are final for the 10Gbit/s era because they represent more than 99 per cent of the upper limit of network capacity," said Dr Hiraki.
He added that the test crossed six international IP networks, thanks to the team also including the WIDE Project, NTT Communications, JGN2, SURFnet, CANARIE, Pacific Northwest Gigapop, and other institutions. Data travelled from Tokyo to Chicago, on to Amsterdam, then Seattle, and finally back to Tokyo.
SanDisk + Microsoft BFFs around software stuffed memory
Microsoft and SanDisk have inked a deal to create USB flash drives and memory cards with built-in software and user preferences to replace SanDisk's existing U3 Cruzer line.
Under the agreement, Microsoft will develop new software and SanDisk will cover the hardware for the products.
The hardware/software pairing will allow customers to carry applications as well as their customized Windows interface on a flash storage device.
SanDisk rep Mike Lanberg said the disks will let users access their encrypted financial, corporate, and personal data on public or shared computers without leaving the information behind when they leave.
The partnership will replace and expand upon SanDisk's current application-launching flash storage line, U3. The offering is expected to be commercially available starting in the second half of 2008. The U3 line will be sold and supported until the new release, Lanberg said.
SanDisk said its partnership with Microsoft will allow the applications to be more tightly integrated with Windows operating systems, as well as enhance data security. The flash storage drives will support both XP and Vista.
BlackBerry plugs in to Visual Studio
With as many.NET developers as there are BlackBerry users, it’s about time Research in Motion provided some Visual Studio development tools. There's not too long to wait, as RIM used its Wireless Enterprise Symposium this week to unveil its first Visual Studio plug-in.
Don't be confused - this isn't a .NET solution, and RIM hasn't ported the .NET CLR to its BlackBerry handsets. The company is remaining resolutely Java. Instead, RIM is taking its MDS Studio rapid application development tool and is turning it into a VSIP Visual Studio extension. As MDS Studio uses JavaScript and XML to deliver form-based applications that consume web services, it's easy to see how this fits in with Visual Studio and .NET.
RIM is expecting developers to use the MDS plug-in to add BlackBerry user interfaces to existing and new applications. Once it's installed, all you’ll need to do is add a BlackBerry MDS project to your existing solution (which will need to expose web services to the outside world). Application development takes a similar approach to MDS Studio, with a layout-based development environment, a set of controls that can be dragged onto the layout. Controls can be programmed declaratively, with additional business logic coming from JavaScript code snippets.
More @ RegDeveloper.co.uk
By: Parth Barot @ 10:48 AM 0 Comments
Categories: Cell phones, Goodies, Microsoft, News, Programming
iTunes 7.1.2 DRM cracked
More @ Here
Joost 0.10.2
Changelog:
- Channel chat fixes
- Ad bug on first content on channel
- CoreAVC release merge
- EPG fixes
- Channel Catalog button changes
By: Parth Barot @ 10:31 AM 0 Comments
Categories: Goodies, Home Entertainment, Internet, Reviews, Software, TV, Video
DivX 6.6.1
Benefits:
* Compress digital video 5 to 10 times more than MPEG-2/DVD format and hundreds of times over raw digital video
* Encode high-definition (HD) video at resolutions up to 1080p
* Play DivX videos on almost any 3rd party software media player
* Achieve the perfect balance between visual quality and performance with six carefully optimized encoding modes
* Enjoy maximized performance for all multithreaded processors (Intel Core Duo and Core 2 Duo, AMD Athlon 64 X2 and Athlon 64 FX)
*Reduce grain and low-light noise (common with DV cameras) withoutsignificantly degrading the video with the automated noise reductionfeature
What’s new in the latest DivX Codec
* Up to 12% faster decoding for smoother playback
* Over 10% faster encoding in “Insane” mode
* Up to 7% better compression for HD capture in "Fastest" mode
* Experimental support for SSE4 on new Intel Penryn CPUs
DivX Official Home Page
By: Parth Barot @ 10:30 AM 0 Comments
Categories: divx, Goodies, Home Entertainment, mp4, Reviews, Software, Video
SolveigMM Video Splitter 1.2.705.04
Features:
- Supports any AVI Format files - (*.avi )
- DV AVI type 1, 2; OpenDML
- Any video content. DivX; XviD; 3ivX, etc.
- Any audio content. MPEG-1,2 Layer I, II, III; AC3; OGG, etc.
- VBR MPEG audio. Keeps the synchronization
- Large AVI files. More than 2 and 4 GB
- AVI to ASF remultiplexing
- Supports Windows Media Format files - (*.asf, *.wma, *.wmv, *.wm)
- Any video content. WMV 1,2,3; MSS2; MPEG-4 AVC, etc.
- Any audio content. WMAudio V 2,7,8; MPEG-1,2 Layer I, II, III; AC3, etc.
- Video repair. Indexing damaged or unindexed files
- Supports MPEG Audio Format files ( *.mp1, *.mp2, *.mp3, *.mpa )
- MPEG-1 Layer I, II, III
- MPEG-2 Layer I, II, III
- K frame/GOP accuracy
- What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) preview
- Cut commercials - video cutting off several movie portions at one time is allowed.
- Supports batch files (*.xtl)
By: Parth Barot @ 10:23 AM 0 Comments
Categories: divx, Goodies, Home Entertainment, mp4, Reviews, Software, Video, xvid
Friday, May 11, 2007
Microsoft gathers hackers in Redmond
It is "Blue Hat" time again and Microsoft has gathered an exclusive group of responsible hackers this week at its Redmond, Wash., headquarters.
It is the fifth such event on the Microsoft campus. Employees are getting a security reality check from hackers who will talk about Microsoft's product security, Web security, mobile security and hardware security, among other topics. A schedule is posted on Microsoft's Web site.
In 2005 Microsoft invited several hackers to Redmond for the first time. That get-together was such a success that Microsoft decided to host such events twice a year.
Microsoft modeled and named Blue Hat after the widely known Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas. Many of the Black Hat talks dive deep into security flaws found in software. The Blue Hat name is tweaked to reflect Microsoft's corporate color, in particular the blue badges worn by Microsoft employees.
The multiday meeting of Microsoft insiders with hackers provides each side with a glimpse into the other's world. The goal, for Microsoft, is to improve its relationship with security researchers and find ways to develop more secure software, the company has said.
Source:CNET7 tips on writing clean code
The main goal with these tips is readability. This is important because usually your code has to be changed or reviewed by other people, and writing readably makes these people's jobs a lot easier. That may be obvious. What's less obvious is that it also makes your own job easier, because working on simple code is a lot easier than working on complex code, even while you are writing it, and the more readable code is always simpler.
An important part of making your code readable is to always work to communicate your intent. The basic idea is that it's usually not difficult to see what a single line of code does. The tricky thing is to see why it's doing what it does. So the more you can make your code communicate the thinking behind the code, the better it is. You'll see this point recurring repeatedly below.
I should add that most people seem to be aware of most of these rules, in a general kind of way. The main point of this posting is really to convince people that these rules are important. So important, in fact, that you should try to always follow them, and that you should have a really bad conscience about any code that breaks them. So bad that you just never write any such code. Some of these rules require you to write a little extra code, but I think I can claim that none of them cause you to actually lose time, on any project.
1. Always know why you are catching an exception
2. Never declare implementation types
3. Use descriptive variable names
4. Cut-and-paste code
5. Variables and communication
6. Don't preserve return values you don't use
7. Omit needless code!
By: Parth Barot @ 10:26 PM 0 Comments
Categories: Articles, Goodies, Programming, Software, Tips, Tutorials
PirateBay hacked!
what is written there:
Some people (and yes, we know who) found a security hole on our web site (in fact, actually in this blog).
They have got a copy of the user database. That is, your username and passwords. But, the passwords are stored encrypted, so it's not a big deal, but it's still very sad that it's out there. All e-mails are for instance encrypted as well, they will most likely not be able to decrypt them either (they are _very_ encrypted).
We encourage all our users to change passwords as soon as possible - and if you have the same password on the bay as other places, you should update them as well.
Sorry for the mess, but we are all human and we miss something sometimes.
Blog of Pirate Bay
Logitech QuickCam Ultra Vision SE Webcam
In this review, Benchmark Reviews will evaluate the progression of technology into a product which hopes to establish itself as the pinnacle of PicturePhone evolution: Logitech's QuickCam Ultra Vision Special Edition Webcam.
Enjoy true-to-life video calls with twice the image clarity of conventional Webcams, thanks to the precision-engineered, 5-element glass lens. QuickCam Ultra Vision uses Logitech RightLight2 Technology to give you the highest quality image regardless of your lighting, and RightSound for clear, echo-free audio. It´s video calling that truly is true-to-life.
It may look similar to most of the other products sitting on store shelves, but it is in fact very different. To begin with, it features a five-element glass lens system which works together to render 640x480 video quality on the level of high-end security cameras. Then, add to it a 1.3 megapixel sensor, and the still-image resolution climbs to 1280x960. Finally, mix in a few unique touches: a snapshot and video button, video activity signal, echo-free audio, adjustable angle lens, and a counter-balanced flexible stand. When it's all taken into consideration, the QuickCam Ultra Vision shares very little with the competition.
10 Smart Hacks for Google Reader
In today’s web of information, it’s easy to get caught up in the constant news stream. In fact, I have over 50 RSS feeds in my feed reader. Talk about a mental meltdown.
So, what do you do when you wake up to thousands of new items in your feed reader, with hundreds of items which
don’t even interest you? A few smart hacks will enable you to look through all of your favorite feeds in just 30 minutes or less using the power of Google Reader.
Google reader is extremely powerful and has a very clean interface. Google Reader allows you to read your favorite blogs in much the same manner as you would read your email.
Some of it’s many features include tagging, folder-based navigation, Firefox integration and the ability to import and export subscription lists as an OPML file. You can also star items for easy access, share your favorite items, and save your favorite items to del.icio.us.
All of these features have come to make Google Reader a dream machine for the productivity enthusiast.
Here are some tips for getting the most out of Google Reader.
1. Sort your feeds by priority.
Google Reader makes it easy to organize all of your feeds by topic. However, I would also suggest that you categorize
your feeds by priority as well. This way, you know which items are “Must Read” and which items “Can Be Skipped” on days that you’re busy.
2. Use Keyboard Shortcuts.
You can’t become a Google master without learning the keyboard shortcuts for Google Reader. These little tweaks can save you a good bit of time in the long run.
Some of the most common shortcuts include:
j/k: item down/up
o: open/close item
s: toggle star
m: mark as read/unread
t: tag an item
For a complete list of Google Reader shortcuts, grab this Cheat Sheet