Samsung S3370 Christened the Star Nano 3G in India

Looks like Samsung wants to cash in on the popularity of the word "Nano" in India. No, the Apple iPod Nano ain't that popular in India! We are talking about the Tata Nano - the world's cheapest car which has a nice fan following in the country.
What other than this can explain the rationale behind the naming of the Samsung S3370 to the rather weird and awkwardly long "Star Nano 3G". What is pertinent to note is that the phone also goes by the following names: Samsung Corby 3G, Samsung Pocket3G and Samsung Acton in the various markets where it is sold.

The Star Nano 3G, as the name suggests,  will be 3G ready and comes with a 2.6-inch QVGA display - a notch smaller than the normal, 2.8-inch Corby screens. The phone features Samsung's TouchWiz UI, 3G, MP3 player, Bluetooth, FM radio, mobile tracker, access to Samsung Apps, a very basic 1.3MP camera, and Micro SD card support. It also comes with a host of social networking apps including Google Talk, Palringo Chat and AIM.
The Star Nano is priced at Rs. 7,320 and will come with a leather pouch, a stylus and a 2GB memory card

Tips for Bloggers

Exist as a real person and not as a bot

Since a blog is a place where you need not be formal, you need to be very casual, as this will let you connect with the reader really fast. You need to put up your experiences as though you were telling your friends about it and not as you would report on a news website.
Be topical

Try not to go off topic on your blog if your blog is about certain specific topics. For example, you should not post a travel experience on a blog which is all about technology. Posting off topic tends to drive people away from the blog, as the reader may be put off if he/she visits your blog for certain topics and finds out that there is something else posted there. To ensure a loyal reader following, you therefore need to stick to the topic.
Stick to a schedule

If you are a regular blogger who is supposed to post blogs at certain regular time intervals, then you need to stick to that schedule. Not being able to stick to the schedule tends to drive readers away because of the disappointment they experience when they do not see an eagerly awaited new post at the planned time. In such cases readers usually try to find if there are other similar blogs and you are more likely to lose loyal readership.
Be the master of your blog topic

For those who want to post blogs about serious topics, being authoritative is a must. Always make sure to double check what you post, as your reputation depends on it. Checking all the facts before posting will make sure that you will not get caught with your pants down. Pay proper attention to the grammar, because if you don't, it creates an impression that you are not a responsible blogger.
Stay current

A blog is something that should never appear to be stale, it has to remain fresh. Frequently updating your blog will make sure that its popularity will soar, with more readers visiting your blog looking for something new.
Interact with your readers

A blog is a very personal piece of your opinion that you put online to share with others. Reader opinions can therefore vary, with some agreeing, while others disagreeing with you. Interaction with the readers is necessary in improving the popularity of your blog. Make it a point to regularly reply to comments wherever and whenever possible.
Interact with other blogs

It goes like this, if you want to be helped, you must help others too. In a similar way, make it a point to visit other blogs and comment. You will soon see that other bloggers will return the favor.
Advertise on social networking websites

If you are a blogger, it is almost certain that you already use social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Orkut, etc. Trust me, there is no better free way of advertising your blog and pulling in more readers than these social networking websites. Try it and you will soon see how much of a difference it makes.
Make adequate use of plug-ins

There are different plugins available for blogs and you must make proper use of these. There are plugins such as gravatar and Flashy titles which make your blog look more appealing to the reader. Plugins such as Akismet can filter spam. You must also use recent posts, popular posts and related posts, which increase the popularity of blogposts other than the one the reader is reading, even though that post may not be on the main page.
Make use of adequate keywords

To pull in more traffic to your blog, it needs to be more visible to search engines such as Google. Search engine optimization in itself is a huge topic, but you can simply include relevant keywords to make your blog appear near the top in the search engine. You can set the page title as a headline for example. Using proper page title is one of the keys to attract readers.
Keep it simple and clear

A blog is meant to be read and understood by anyone and everyone, so the language used has to be kept simple. Try to avoid complicated terms and idioms and go an extra mile to give explanations wherever possible.
Keep adding and refreshing content

Like any other website, a blog needs constant replenishment of new content to keep people interested in coming back. Old blogs can be archived and categorized into similar themed content, which will be easy to find. Refreshing the content regularly means that the web spiders will crawl pages at regular intervals to increase page ranking in the search.
Make use of RSS

Including your blogs contents in an RSS feed in your blog will maximize the reach of your blog and increase the chances of it being distributed over a larger readership.
We are sure that the above tips will be useful to you and will help you better popularize your blogs.

Gmail now lets you Move the Icon Column

Google's Gmail team has been actively making both small and big improvements to the web-based email service. For better classification of emails, Gmail Labs has introduced a new feature - Move Icon Columns. So you now have the option to see icons depicting attachments, Chats, Google Calendar Invitations, Buzz posts, etc. in front of the sender.

If you have to hunt for an email with an attachment sent by your friend, the only detail you'd know about that mail is your contact's email. Now hunting the mail by a contact's email or search keywords can be tedious at times. By moving the icons in the front of the sender, it becomes a bit easier to spot a particular mail.

To try out the new Move Icon Column option, click on the Gmail Labs button and scroll down till the option comes up. This is not a major change but a minute interface change that will help you organize your mail better.

Accessorize your Laptop - Part 1

Here are some nifty add-ons and accessories for your notebook. Some of these will help you be more productive, protect your precious investment when you travel and dress it up to match your personality.    
Backpack

A backpack is one of the first things you should be looking at, especially if you move around a lot with your notebook. There is a variety to choose from in different price ranges, so it's up to you how much you want to spend. I would say don't skimp on the quality of the bag and preferably go for a reputed company. Belkin, Targus, Built NY, HP, etc. are some of the reputed brands that offer good protection for everyday use. If you're the adventurous type or someone who travels a lot, then all-weather bags is what you should be looking for. 

Bluetooth mouse

No matter how well designed the trackpad on your notebook might be, it's still no replacement for a regular mouse. Bluetooth notebook mice are your best friend here, small, easy to carry and no messy wires. There are plenty available in the market from Logitech, Microsoft, Belkin, etc. and if you're looking for something cheaper then you have APC, iBall, Genius and Zebronics. Wireless notebook mice start from Rs.1000 upwards depending on the features and size.

The Logitech V470 is a great notebook mouse; compact and well built

Cooling pads

If you're still stuck with an old AMD chipset notebook, then there is a good chance of you having heating issues with it. This is where cooling pads come in. Belkin and CoolerMaster currently offer a good range but you can also get one from Antec, APC, iBall or Logitech. Priced anywhere between Rs.400 and Rs. 3,000, you can choose one depending on your requirement. Passive pads simply help you raise the notebook from the ground, so you get better circulation. Active pads have a built-in fan and are usually powered by USB. These blow fresh air directly into the bottom vents keeping the notebook cool.

The Coolermaster NotePal X2 R9-NBC-4WAK-GP is an affordable active cooling pad with cool blue LEDs

Skins

If you're bored of that dull grey color of your laptop, then this option might interest you. To pep up your notebook give it a new skin. Laptopskins is an Indian site that sells such skins. They also provide free shipping anywhere in India. Another such site is Skinzwork, which offers similar service. If you're a bit wary buying online then you should easily be able to find these in your local electronic stores as well. 

Notebook skins are a great way to express your personality and make your notebook unique

USB Hub

A USB Hub is always handy to have when you find yourself running short of ports. This Belkin Swivel hub is available for around 800 bucks. The best part about this one is that it can rotate 180 degrees, so it doesn't interfere with other ports. Of course cheaper alternatives are available for 200 bucks at your local computer dealer.

The Belkin Swivel USB Hub is the perfect tool that will 'twist' to fit any notebook perfectly

Wireless Data Card

You're not going to have Wi-Fi around you all the time and for those who are constantly on the move - like journalists, who need to get their story across as soon as possible - a wireless data-card can be your best friend. Today you have plenty of options to choose from, and lucky for you, we recently conducted an in-depth review on data cards currently available. This is the best way to get connected to the world wide web no matter where you are.

The Tata Photon plus is one of the best performers

Play Free Pacman Forever

Recently, the 30th anniversary of one of most beloved classic game PacMan was celebrated by Google's title doodle on its search page. It was not yet another doodle but a web-programming marvel. If a user clicked on the doodle, he/she could actually play the Pacman game. Isn't that just simply brilliant! Several Pacman lovers spent hours playing the game on the Google search homepage
Millions went crazy over the Google Search home page and finally the search giant decided to dedicate a page to Pacman. So now you can play Pacman game anytime online at this special page - http://www.google.com/pacman. Here's an interesting trick - If you click on the Insert Coin button then you can have second player to join you in the Pacman game. That is amazing, isn't it?
Be careful while playing this game online as you may get yourself hooked for hours. That Pacman dedicated web page is one of the best boredom killers on the Internet.

Nokia E5

The E5 is the first device announced for the Eseries portfolio after Nokia clarified its handset naming convention back in March. To understand the positioning of the E5, one simply needs to look at the letter and the accompanying digit. The E in Eseries comprises productivity and business devices, and the number 5 (on a scale of 1 to 10) means the cost of the E5 is best described as middling. But with an estimated retail price of 180 euros, the E5 could well go for next to nothing with a two-year plan from a telco operator.

Design

The look and feel of the E5 is completely different from the current E72. That's probably more good than bad since the E71 and E72 are barely distinguishable in terms of the hardware. We can imagine Nokia engineers trying to break away marginally in the design of the E5, but still stay true to its E71/E72 heritage.
The E5 weighs 126g with battery included, which is a mere 2g lighter than the E72. But in the hands, the predominant smooth matte plastic of the E5 gives it a gentler, even pebble-like and less sharp appearance. This is complemented with a convex wave contour at the back, which probably added to the girth of the phone. The biggest and probably only hint of metal you'll get on the E5 is the battery cover. If we could peg a numerical value to the look and feel of the E5, it would be in relation to its cost. The E5 is about half the price of the E72 when this was first announced last year, which means the quality, metallic feel of the E72 has also somewhat been halved.

There are also differences all around for the E5. The spacebar now spans the width of four letters on the keyboard compared with two on the E72. If you look further back, the keyboard on the E5 follows more closely to the configuration of the E71. Holding down the Sym, spacebar and Ctrl keys activates Bluetooth, torchlight and silent mode, respectively. Instead of four shortcut buttons for Home, Calendar, Contacts and Messaging on the E72, the E5 now has just two keys for Home and Messaging. The E5 doesn't have a front-facing camera since it doesn't support video calls and the primary 5-megapixel shooter at the back is now recessed, unlike the protruding module on the E72.
The E5 has a 2mm connector port for charging although the micro-USB port could also be used to juice the battery. The latter option would be more convenient for those who want to charge and synchronize their phone with the computer at the same time without running two cables out from the device.

Features

The E5 runs the same S60 3rd Edition software with Feature Pack 2 like the E72. However, there are a number of differences beyond that. The E5 has a lower 18-bit screen color depth (24-bit on the E72), shorter camera focus range from 50cm (10cm on the E72), and lacks an accelerometer sensor. In addition, it has twice the amount of RAM at 256MB and a larger F2.4 aperture (F2.8 on the E72), which hints of better camera performance in low-light conditions. The fixed focus camera on the E5 also has the Extended Depth of Field feature, which increases the distance of the depth-of-field, keeping more objects in focus.
The 1,200mAh battery, according to the specifications, has a rated talktime of 18.5 hours on GSM and standby of up to 29 days. These are pretty impressive figures to boot. The E5 will come with Ovi Maps and free drive/walk navigation.
We're not too keen on the Home screen shortcuts, which let us place our favorite contacts, messages and a few other applications on the top layer of the interface. They don't add a lot of value to the experience, but they are there and some people may find it useful.

Outlook

The differences between the E5 and the E72 may not be a lot and, in fact, it may not even matter to most people. Given its estimated retail price of 180 euros, the biggest reason the E5 will catch on with users is the affordability of the phone. The E5 is expected to be available in Asia next quarter.

Logitech Pure-Fi Mobile

Logitech Pure-Fi Mobile is a portable Bluetooth wireless speaker system that can be paired with your mobile phone to listen to your music through its speakers or receive calls with the help of a built-in microphone. It also has a USB input, so you can connect it to your notebook or desktop computer. An analogue input is also provided, so you can connect other devices such as your MP3 player to it.

Bundle

• Logitech" Pure-Fi Mobile
• AC power adapter (100-240 V)
• Soft protective travel case
• USB cable
• 3.5 mm auxiliary audio cable
• Quick-start guide

Design & Construction

The Pure-Fi Mobile has a very compact and portable design. On the front are four speaker grilles, of which, only the leftmost and rightmost grilles contain the actual loudspeakers. The ones in the middle are pressure drivers (also known as passive radiators), which are not powered drivers, but just a speaker cone suspended that move in sync with the active drivers due to the change in air pressure in the speaker enclosure. In the center is the microphone and the status light.

On the top left are buttons for answering and ending calls and a mute button.

 

In the middle is the battery status indicator, power button, source button for switching between Bluetooth, USB audio and analogue input, and indicator lights for each of these.
On the right are the volume control buttons.

On the rear side of the device is the USB port for connecting the charger or connecting it to your computer for playing the audio over USB. It can also charge over USB from the PC. The feet for the Pure-Fi Mobile are tucked away underneath and can be rotated outwards so the device can rest on them.

The Pure-Fi Mobile is fairly light and can easily be carried around in your bag. The provided pouch is also handy, as it can store the device as well as the charger, and the cables all in a neat little package.

Performance

We first tested the Pure-Fi Mobile by connecting it to an Apple iPhone 3G through Bluetooth. Pairing was simple and effortless. You first have to press and hold the source button till its LED flashes blue and green, which indicates that the device is in pairing mode. Then search for it through the phone, select it and then the two devices are paired.
Once connected, all the audio from the phone is routed through Pure-Fi Mobile. You can play your music and videos and also make and receive calls as Pure-Fi Mobile also has a built-in microphone and call and receive buttons.
We first played some music on the Pure-Fi Mobile and unfortunately we weren't much impressed. Granted that it is a portable device with small drivers and expecting a powerful, bass heavy sound would be completely wrong, but I found it lacking in clarity. The mids were the only part of the entire audio spectrum that were portrayed somewhat correctly, but they too were overly upfront. The treble was a bit muted and lacked brilliance. The bass was non-existence and the pressure drivers did not help much.
Then we connected the Pure-Fi Mobile to a notebook via the USB cable. The audio quality improved slightly but there wasn't much of a difference. Next we connected it to our Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 audio card through the analogue input. Once again there wasn't too much of an improvement in the audio quality.
One thing we must mention is that despite the small size, the Pure-Fi Mobile can go pretty loud, loud enough to be used in a small part by connecting it to your phone. They are about three times more powerful than standard notebook speakers.
We then tried making some calls through the Pure-Fi Mobile. We first paired it with the iPhone 3G and later connected it to the computer for calls over Google Talk. Unfortunately, we observed that the microphone was very weak and had a hard time picking up our voice. We had to speak really loud for the device to pick up our voice.
Battery Life

Logitech rates the battery life of the Pure-Fi Mobile at 12 hours. But when we tested the device in our lab, we paired it with a mobile phone and let it play non-stop at 60% of its volume, which was sufficiently loud and what most people would use it at. We got an amazing 17 hours of playback time. The device did take a fairly long time to charge fully though, about three-four hours.
Verdict

The Logitech Pure-Fi Mobile is a very unique product, combining a portable Bluetooth speaker system, which can also be used for taking calls, with portable speakers for your notebook and your MP3 player. It has a very compact form factor and simple design. Unfortunately, we found the audio quality a bit lacking and the microphone performance was also not up to the mark. The battery life was quite amazing though and Pure-Fi Mobile can last a whole day even if you use it continuously. Priced at Rs. 10,995 MRP, the Pure-Fi Mobile can be purchased for around Rs. 8,500, which is not a bad price for all that the device does. However, we would only recommend the device if you must have something like it, as there are not many other options available right now.

Google TV Announced Finally

Google has finally announced the much awaited Google TV in partnership with Sony, Logitech and Intel. Rishi Chandra, Google's group product manager said, "Google TV is a new platform that we believe will change the future of television," at the Google I/O annual developers conference in San Francisco. Google TV will sport Android based graphical user interface. Complete Google TV supporting product is expected to arrive in Fall (September-October) this year.
Google wants to incorporate a single seamless experience to the user. Based on Google Android, this embedded OS will have Chrome web browser to surf websites and Android Market for downloading various apps. Navigation and interaction would be the two intuitive features of Google TV. The search function incorporated is expected to give faster navigation to TV channels, shows, movies, websites and apps.

Google is working with Sony and Logitech to put Google TV in their products like televisions, Blu-ray players, digital video recorders and other devices. These special devices would have Bluetooth and even Wi-Fi inside them. Intel would be providing Atom chip variants for these devices. Brooke Crothers of CNET's Nanotech blog stated that Intel CE4100 system-on-a-chip would be the brain power in Google TV boxes. More information about Intel CE4100 chip can be found here (pdf).
Logitech would be coming out with a QWERTY keypad loaded wireless remote control. Apart from that, Google TV may also be designed to work on your existing devices. Flash support also comes along in the Google TV and soon the SDK along with web APIs would be released for the developers. So users can expect more Flash applications and games on their TV sets.
With this new product Google has once again smartly jabbed Apple TV which comprises of physical hardware and a software to be used along with. Google has combined TV with web with its new platform and has opened up gates for selling apps through Android Market.
We'll have to wait when Google TV beta SDK is released. Get more information about Google TV at http://www.google.com/tv/.

Google's Android 2.2 Froyo beats Apple iPhone

Google has announced Android 2.2 update codenamed Froyo on the second day of Google I/O Conference at the Moscone West, San Francisco. With this update, Google has smartly put Apple in a soup. Android Froyo will run Flash and HTML5 platforms for both - native and web applications. That is a direct hit on the Apple-Adobe squabble that sparked over Adobe Flash platform for iPhone.
Apple iPhone would be leaping directly to HTML5 for web apps. We don't know much about their future plans to make that platform available for native apps too. Android 2.2 Froyo runs Flash Player 10.1 smoothly and the overall system performance has been boosted up to 5 times compared to the previous update. While Apple simply mentions that its upcoming iPhone 4.0 update will bring an improved performance and faster interface.
Moving ahead, Android 2.2 Froyo loaded device is capable of wirelessly streaming non-DRM music from iTunes or any other music library. Apart from that, apps from desktop too can be transferred to mobile wirelessly.
The real kicker is Android's harmony with Flash and HTML5 in both native and web apps sense as that puts Apple's iPhone platform on the backseat. Developers would get an option to choose between Flash and HTML5 while Apple iPhone developers have to go ahead with HTML5 only.  On should not forget that Apple has its own reasons for choosing HTML5 only.
Apple has kept the iPhone community buzzed with new multi-tasking features. Let us remind you that is device dependent and will work on most recent iPhone OS based models.
We already heard the buzz that the Android 3.0 'Gingerbread' update is on the anvil. Talks are that will support WebM, new open media file format. Now, there is an option for the users and developers to either join the Apple camp or the Google Camp.

Google Wave Now Open to Public

At the on-going Google I/O Conference, Google has made a couple of changes to its existing line of products. For starters, the experimental service Google Wave will now be available to general public. Google Calendar has a spruced up interface and there are a few improved features in Google Docs. These changes are effective immediately.
Google Wave has taken a long time and loads of criticism for causing all the fuss over the web, especially Twitter. Until now, Wave was an invite-only service which has now been opened up to general public. Google Account holders can sign into Wave and can start using it from today. You can now start striking conversations with other Wave users and even chat with their existing contacts. If you are new to Wave and are going to try out it out for the first time, make sure you've quite a lot of patience. You'll need it as

Wave can be a bit confusing for beginners.

Google has shined up the interface of the Calendar and made it look just like other Google apps. A noticeable change in Google Calendars is that the Tasks link has been removed. The color palette has been altered and the text has been tweaked a bit.
Meanwhile, Google Docs has an improved comments feature and also a new dictionary feature. Google Forms also gets new themes and users can make use of new special characters added to the tools.

Dell Inspiron Mini 10 New (1012)

Following the launch of Intel's Pine Trail range of Atom processors, every manufacturer seems to be busy with refreshed versions of their respective netbooks. Today we have for review Dell's Inspiron Mini 10. While some makers, like Asus, have made nominal changes to the exterior, the Mini 10 has gone through a complete makeover since its last iteration. This earlier model was appreciated for having an HDMI port on-board, but trashed for a paltry 3-cell battery that was packaged along with it. Dell has tried to perfect their netbook formula with this model. Let's find out if they have succeeded in doing so.

Design and Build
The Dell Inspiron Mini 10 looks nothing like its predecessor. But like earlier models, this one too is available in a good variety of colored tops. The base is white for most models. The netbook looks pretty cool and unique; unique because of the way the screen hinge rests on the bottom half and not at the edge, unlike most laptops. The build feels plasticky, but is fairly sturdy nonetheless. At 1.37 kilos, it is fairly lightweight and in line with most netbooks today (that also weigh under 1.5 kg).The resistance offered by the hinges of the lid isn't that great, but thanks to the placement, the screen doesn't stretch back all the way. So, even if the hinge resistance wears off, say after long use, it wouldn't be a big issue to continue using the netbook.

On the inside we have a typical 10-inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display. It's quite bright and displays content with good clarity. A higher resolution (1366 x 768 pixel) display is also available in the higher priced SKU. The webcam, however, delivers slightly grainy output. The keyboard design is similar to the bigger Inspirons. Although not of an isolated (chiclet) design, the keys are well-spaced and offer decent tactility. Typing on them was a fairly non-strenuous affair.

The Function keys (F1-F12) are primarily configured to change brightness, volume, toggle Wi-Fi, check battery status etc. This is now implemented better, since the typical Alt-F4 (close application) shortcuts work as well. You can also make Function keys perform as normal if you prefer. Below that is a wide touchpad that's carried over from the previous model. The touch response is accurate. Although it does not have multi-touch gestures, like two-fingered scrolling, the side-scrolling strips work just fine. You can also configure one-handed zoom in/out to the left edge of the pad, which is nifty.

To the sides, we have the typical array of ports. On the left, there is VGA, two USB and a SD/MMC/MS card reader. To the right we have LAN, another USB port, and the headphone/microphone jacks. HDMI from the earlier model has been removed from this one. One noticeable problem was the positioning of the air vents. All of them are placed at the bottom. In most laptops, you'll find at least one to the sides. As a result of this, the bottom part gets a little hotter than usual.

While it's bearable when performing non-intensive tasks, we did realize the heating was a little over the top when running benchmarks on it. However, the paltry 3-cell battery on the earlier model has been replaced with a higher capacity 6-cell one. Still, the design of the laptop avoids it protruding too much, which is nice. The two speakers under the belly emit clear output at a fairly audible volume. Lastly, the Mini 10 came with a cute little one piece adapter (unlike the typical wire-adapter-wire chargers), which is not as messy to carry around.

Other than the little extra heating, we didn't have any other complaints with the design and build of the new Dell Inspiron Mini 10.

PCMark 05

SiSoft Sandra 2009

Real World Performance
Our review unit came pre-installed with Windows XP SP3. Using XP feels a little dated now that Windows 7 has become common fare, even in netbooks. Thankfully, higher-end SKUs offer you an option of either Windows 7 Starter or Home Basic. Still, XP runs pretty smooth on the newer-generation hardware. That's right, the Atom N450 1.66 GHz processor and 1GB of RAM were good enough to keep it running swifty. Moderate amount of multi-tasking shouldn't be too much for this baby.
We tried HD video playback on it. While 1080p HD videos lagged as expected, 720p videos mostly ran without a hitch (we installed the latest K-lite Codec pack and played them on Media Player Classic). Come to think of it, the HDMI port from the previous model would have been a nice addition in this version, to project those movies onto an LCD TV. 
Battery Life
The Dell Inspiron Mini 10 came with a 56 Whr, 6-cell battery. We put it through our first test -- the 720p video drain. Brightness and sound were set to max. Here it delivered an unbelievable run-time of seven hours. That's a great figure, probably the highest I've seen in my time. 
Under regular usage, i.e. typing a word document in an online document editor, when connected over Wi-Fi, it again gave us an up-time of roughly seven hours. Note that the brightness level here was a notch or two under maximum. So, for basic office usage (without wireless internet) that number could shoot to Dell's 8-hour claims on their website. That's very good battery life and it clearly shows the improved power optimization in the newer generation Atom CPU.

 

Price and Verdict
The price of the Dell Inspiron Mini 10 starts from Rs. 15,900 (delivery charges extra) on the Dell India website. This comes with 1GB RAM and 160GB hard drive with XP pre-installed. The pricing is pretty fair. The high-end version, with a higher-resolution (HD) display, 2GB RAM, 320GB hard disk and Windows 7 Home Basic also carries a value for money tag of Rs. 20,000.
Dell has tried hard to perfect the netbook with this one and we have very little to complain about it. The only con that we would point out is the soaring temperatures at the base. But under non-intensive usage, when seated in an air-conditioned room, the heating wasn't that noticeable.
The Dell Inspiron Mini 10 is a very good netbook to go for. It looks good, is fairly comfortable to use, has great battery life and you have three configurations to choose from. We give it two thumbs up! 

Must-have Firefox Add-ons

Being a hardcore Opera user for a long time now I never really bothered with other browsers that much. Sure, we've all tried different browsers at some point, but after that we always go back to our favorite. A little more than a month back Firefox released a new version - 3.6.3 - and after hearing some good things about the new version, like support for extensions like Chrome, I decided to give it a try. As it turns out, I'm actually quite impressed with it.

I wanted to see if it was possible to integrate all the good functionality of Chrome and Opera into Firefox. I did notice that Firefox gets a little sluggish if you install many extensions, and after a weeks use, the start up time is noticeably slower. So let's check out some of the must-have extensions for Firefox.
Speed Dial
If you're a migrating Opera user then the first thing you'll notice is the lack of a Speed Dial feature in Firefox. This is something that I really can't do without ever since Opera integrated it. However, it has its limitations and you can't have more than 25 speed dial buttons. While this is good enough, there's no harm in adding more, especially if you have a large widescreen monitor.

The Speed Dial extension gives you just that, plus a lot more. You can control exactly how many rows and columns you want, the size of each window, use thumbnails for each site instead of actually showing the site and much more. It doesn't end there; you can even create groups, which are like tabs that contain more windows. So you can have one tab for 'News' and store all shortcuts for news sites, another for 'Technology', etc.  
Personas

This is a very nice tool for managing all your themes as well as finding new ones. A little fox icon appears in the bottom left corner of the browser through which you can choose various themes from different categories. Unlike Chrome, the themes are applied instantly without having to save them first.

Yoono

This is probably the best extension I've come across so far, and if you're a regular on Facebook, Twitter and other IM's, then you'll love this. For Yoono is a one stop solution for all your socializing needs as it integrates all the popular chat clients like GTalk, MySpace, Twitter, Windows Live Messenger, AIM, Yahoo Messenger and even LinkedIn, Flickr, FriendFeed. It also supports multiple accounts for each service. While you get a pop up in the bottom of the screen for any update you receive. This too is completely customizable; from the position of the Yoono bar to the color. 

 

Download Statusbar

Instead of the annoying separate download window that pops up in Firefox, this extension gives you a slick little notification just above the information bar below, with a lot more details, like the site from where you downloaded the file, ETA, speed, etc.

Cooliris

First introduced as a Google Chrome extension, Cooliris lets you browse your photo and video collection in a radically different way. Not only that, it has also tied up with many sites, like YouTube, Flickr, etc., so you can view photos from the web as well in a side scrolling carousel.

Tab Mix Plus

Lastly, we have this extension that adds more functionality to tabs and adds some basic features like duplicate, change tab focus, tab clicking options, undo closed tabs and windows, plus much more. It also includes a full-featured session manager.

That's all for now, if you come across something that we've missed, feel free to comment below.

Pakistan Bans Facebook over Caricatures

Lahore High Court has issued an order to ban the access of popular social networking site Facebook in Pakistan for holding a contest of Prophet Muhammad's Caricatures. Chinese News Agency Xinhua reported that Judge Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhry had instructed the Ministry of Telecom to block the access of Facebook in Pakistan and submit a written reply by May 31.
Islamic Lawyers Movement had filed a petition against a competition that was about Islamic religion founder Prophet Muhammad's blasphemous caricatures on Facebook. The lawyers stressed, "The competition has hurt the sentiments of the Muslims." The Ministry of Telecom officials told the court that after the news was reported, Facebook pages showing Prophet Muhammad's blasphemous caricatures were blocked.
However, the lawyers argued that the entire website should be blocked and hence Facebook is reportedly blocked in Pakistan by Telecommunication Authority. So until a written reply is received, the website will apparently be inaccessible in Pakistan .
That goes out to Facebook, ouch!

The Pirate Bay Goes Down, Again

Swedish torrent site The Pirate Bay is down yet again as its service provider CB3ROB LTD. & Co. has received preliminary injunction from major Hollywood studios. As per this injunction, CB3ROB LTD. & Co. was prohibited from connecting The Pirate Bay website to the Internet by the Regional Court of Hamburg through the CyberBunker Operator, reported Torrent Freak. Last year, The Pirate Bay operators had undergone a trail for helping several individuals to download pirated movies, music, videos and other copyrighted content.
Sven Olaf Kamphuis, Managing Director for CB3ROB confirmed the receipt of the injunction. Kamphuis has decided to "stop routing The Pirate Bay's traffic until his lawyers have carefully read and reviewed the legal documents".
The Pirate Bay website might be temporarily down and we think it would be up and running soon as they always have a 'Plan B' with proper backup mechanisms. So far, no one but The Pirate Bay operators know where its servers are located. 

Microsoft Revamps Hotmail to Take on Gmail

Microsoft has announced a revamped version of Hotmail and now calls it Windows Live Hotmail. In a press briefing in San Francisco, Chris Jones, corporate vice president for Microsoft spoke about the changes in the company's mail service. The new Hotmail focuses mostly on the revised Inbox features, adding/sharing photos and MS Office documents. Is Microsoft taking on Google? We say this as all these features are already present in Gmail.

It was about time that web's one of the most popular free mail service Hotmail got a well-deserved revamp. New Windows Live Hotmail does carry the same social networking interface on the landing page. Once you go to the Inbox, you'll be offered options to manage the clutter. For instance, the new Sweep feature that helps you get rid of the mails that you don't want anymore. These mails could be newsletters, or website offers which you have signed up for sometime in the past but don't want to receive now.  Such mails can be directly moved to other folder or Trash cab. This is pretty much similar to the Gmail filters option.

New Hotmail also offers automatically sweeping the mails from the Inbox. In case you've added your Gmail and Yahoo Mail Inboxes, then they can be swept too. Apart from that, the new Hotmail will allow auto-preview of photos without leaving the Inbox. It also offers a preview of photos from third party services like Flickr and SmugMug. Alternatively, it gives users an option to upload photos and share them through Microsoft' cloud-based SkyDrive. Thus, users just have to email a link instead of sending a bunch of photos.
Even videos from third party services like Hulu and YouTube can be watched without leaving Hotmail. For the mobile devices, Microsoft will allow pushing Windows Live e-mail, contacts and calendar onto cell phones using Exchange ActiveSync. However, for using Hotmail and corporate Exchange account, users will have to use a smartphone that supports dual ActiveSync connections.
Hotmail will also allow viewing, editing and sharing Microsoft Office documents even if the Office suite isn't installed in the system. So naturally, Hotmail will take help of MS Office Web's editing tools.
Hotmail users will also get a number of separate views for watching social network updates, shipping information, email from other inboxes and so on.
The most important update is that Microsoft will now offer an option to use an encrypted HTTPS secured connection. We believe this option should be set as default just like Gmail did after it saw a cyber attack originating from China.

Microsoft will also offer an option to add multiple aliases to a single account and update a mail account with a new name. Both these features are currently under the testing phase and would be made available sometime later.
New and revamped Windows Live Hotmail will be rolled out to users in the coming week.

Tips to Save Battery on your Notebook

When laptops came into existence more than a decade ago, other than the obvious advantage of size and weight over a regular PC, they also served another important purpose - freedom from wires. A fully charged laptop of today runs for two hours at least. Netbooks, due to the use of low-power consuming internals, stretch that uptime to more than four hours on an average.
There are times when we are caught up somewhere without a wall socket nearby. So, what do we do in such situations to get the maximum juice off your battery? Read on.
Turn off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth when not in use

This is a common mistake many tend to commit - leaving Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on even when not in use. These two wireless modules (especially Wi-Fi) can eat up your battery life pretty fast, as they keep searching for new networks and devices to connect.
If you're not going to use internet over Wi-Fi, it's ideal to simply turn it off. How? Look for a Wireless symbol button on your laptop. It could either be on one of the Function keys (F1 to F12). Or it could be a physical button on the laptop itself.

This is the symbol for Wireless on your laptop

Still can't find one? No sweat - type "View network connections" in the Start Menu search bar in Windows Vista/7. Right-click the "Wireless Network Connection" icon and click disable. However, don't forget to enable it when you want to use Wi-Fi again. For Windows XP users, the same thing can be done in "Network Connections" in the Control panel.

Decrease screen brightness

A considerable chunk of power is used to illuminate your laptop's display. By having a conservative approach towards screen brightness, one can shoot those battery life figures upwards. For the uninitiated, brightness controls are typically on the Function (F1-F10) keys. Lower it down to a level where you can view the screen comfortably without any hindrance. Not only will it save battery life but also protect your eyes from the otherwise bright rays from the screen.

 

Select a suitable power scheme in your Operating System

Today's laptops by default have automatic power management when you unplug your charger. Some manufacturers, like Asus and Lenovo, even make their own set of software to optimize power. But it's always better to know how to choose the appropriate power scheme in your OS.
In Windows Vista/7, right-click the battery icon and click "Power options". Generally there are two to three states; "High Performance", "Balanced" and "Power saver". When you're using your laptop on battery, and are not going to be multi-tasking a lot, keep it on "Power saver" since it will give the most mileage, but slightly reduced performance. Only if you feel that the laptop is behaving too sluggishly, change it back to "Balanced". Click "Change plan settings -> Change advanced power settings" in order to manually tweak power optimization for every component in your laptop. Review those advanced settings and change what you feel is appropriate.

Windows XP unfortunately does not have such a high-level of power optimization. Nonetheless, right-click the desktop, click properties. Then Click Screensaver, followed by the "Power options" button below. Under Power schemes, select "Max battery" to boost battery life.

Improve your power-saving etiquettes
Now that you've selected the right kind of settings in your power profile, it's time to make good use of them. For example, when you're walking away from the laptop, close the lid, so that the laptop goes to "Sleep" mode (in Vista/7) or "Stand-by" (in XP). This is a state in which the laptop consumes the least amount of battery, and comes back to life in a few seconds when you turn it on again.
Second, disconnect any peripheral storage devices like portable hard disks, pen-drives or wireless modems after use, since they will draw power from the laptop battery in order to function. Third, make use of earphones or headphones instead of playing music off the loudspeakers, since the former should consume a little less power. Don't keep CDs in the drive when not in use, to avoid occasional spins when you open Windows Explorer.
Replace the battery

Laptop batteries, like cell-phone batteries, lose their capacity to hold power as years pass by. That's why you may see that your new laptop back then used to give you two to three hours of life, but after a few years struggles to run for even one hour. But that doesn't necessarily mean its time to change your laptop. You can simply get a replacement battery to get it back to the way it used to be.
First, check with your laptop service center. Alternatively, search for "Laptop Battery" on Google.co.in and select "Pages from India". You'll find dealers who provide OEM replacement batteries for a decent price. A typical 6-cell Lithium-ion battery will be priced in the range of Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 5,000.
These are the basic guidelines to boost your laptop's battery life. Do you have any advanced techniques that you use to suck every little drop out of those cells? Share it with us in the comments section below.

Google Nexus One Might be Sold Globally Soon

With more powerful and Android-based phones rolling in the market, Google has decided to stop selling Nexus One online. Google Android's VP Engineering, Andy Rubin noted on the official Google blog, "We'll stop selling handsets via the web store, and will instead use it as an online store window to showcase a variety of Android phones available globally." This means the Nexus One would be widely available in the retail outlets.
Google Nexus One is manufactured by HTC and is currently available only in U.S., the UK, Singapore and Hong Kong exclusively through Google's Online Store. However, it looks like Google is now planning to make Nexus One available through select retailers globally.
Nexus One would be made available in more countries, and we hope India is included in it. We think Google has realized that consumers want to touch, feel and experience the Nexus One instead of just checking out its demo online. We can expect more details at the Google I/O Conference starting May 19 at Moscone West, San Francisco.

New Asus Laptops with 13.5 Hours Battery Life

Asus constantly keeps adding new models to its Eee PC lineup. Two more models join the family - Eee PC 1015P and 1015PE. Both these new Eee PC models have Intel Pine Trail platform and boast battery life of a jaw-dropping 13.5 hours. Asus has loaded Windows 7 Starter edition on both these new laptops and one of the reasons for the long battery life is six-cell 63Wh battery pack. The difference between both netbooks is the design and color. As of now, no pricing or availability details have been shared offcially.

These two models - Eee PC 1015P and Eee PC 1015PE join the Seashell family and sport 10.1-inch LED Backlight WSVGA display supporting 1024x600 pixel resolution. Asus has equipped these new Eee PC models with 1.66GHz Intel Pine View-M N450 microprocessor, up to 2GB DDR2 RAM, up to 320GB HDD and 500GB Asus web storage. For a longer battery life, Asus has added 6-cell Li-Ion battery pack that promises battery life of 13.5 hours, of course at certain settings.
The Intel Atom Pine View chip has integrated graphics and integrated memory controller crammed on the same die. The thermal design power rating of this chip is 5.5 Watts and is expected to conserve battery life worth a few hours. 

Asus Eee PC 1015P and 1015PE come pre-loaded with Windows 7 Starter edition. Other features of these netbooks include Wi-Fi 802.11n support, Bluetooth 2.1, VGA connector, three USB 2.0 ports, LAN port, 0.3 megapixel webcam, and multi-media card reader. For high-definition audio, Asus packs in Stereo Speakers with Hi-Definition Audio CODEC and also Mic.
Let's wait for these long running netbooks to be officially priced and made available.

HTC Wildfire: A Budget-friendly Android Handset

While we had HTC Tattoo getting lost amongst the budget friendly Samsung i5700 and Samsung i7500, the company has introduced yet another Android handset. New HTC Wildfire comes loaded with HTC Sense based Android smartphone for the budget conscious folks. This new smartphone from HTC has an app sharing widget that allows users to recommend any app via text message, email or over social networks.
New HTC Wildfire is a candybar that supports Quad-band GSM networks, dual-band UMTS/HSDPA that is 3G. HTC puts its proprietary Sense user interface over Android 2.1 Eclair mobile OS and thus make best of the 3.2-inch QVGA touchscreen. Shutterbugs would be happy to know that this phone has a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with LED Flash.
The internals of the HTC Wildfire has Qualcomm MSM7225 525MHz processor, 512MB ROM, 384MB RAM and microSD expansion slot. Other specifications include Wi-Fi 8012.11 b/g, GPS/AGPS, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and has 1300mAh battery to give a decent battery life. The HTC Sense UI makes the Android phone friend with social network services.
HTC Wildfire, if aptly priced, could play an important role in fighting HTC's honor in budget-friendly Android handsets. HTC will offer this handset in four different colors and it will be made available in Europe and Asia in the third quarter of this year.

Free Alternatives to Paid Software

While there are many ways of doing one particular job, we at times are so obsessed with a particular tool that we fail to look at other alternatives that might help us to do the same job differently.
This is why we'd like to introduce you to Free alternatives to the most popular way of doing things, in this case software that you need, but not necessarily the way you want it. To simplify the process and streamline the myriad software out there, we have listed freeware in seven broad categories.
Before we get into the software listings, please note that all software is related to Windows operating system, unless mentioned otherwise. Also, note that all prices are mentioned in Indian Rupees; actual street prices may vary.
Office Software
As plain as the title sounds, the software is a lot more than that. It enables one to write, imagine, graphically present ideas, etc.
What You Think You Want:
Microsoft Office Microsoft Office  - Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 8,000 depending on the edition, with Home & Student being the cheapest, minus Microsoft Outlook. Microsoft Office has always been the de facto standard in Office application. After all Microsoft are the pioneers of this commercial software.
What You Need:
Open Office

This is a fantastic open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in several languages and works on all Windows versions, and most Linux packages. It stores data in international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages. It is created by Sun with support for several plugins that enhance functionality.

IBM Lotus Symphony
Another excellent office suite based on Open Office technology is created by IBM. The suite though isn't as wide in functionality as Open Office's native Suite is. Lotus Symphony is basically three applications Lotus Symphony Documents, Lotus Symphony Spreadsheets, Lotus Symphony Presentations with extensible support through plugins.

Neo Office

Strictly for Mac users, Neo Office is made by users for users with plenty of positivity and helpful donations. NeoOffice features word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation programs for Mac OS X. Neo Office is built on top of Open Office.org's office suite with code enhancements for the Mac specifically.

 

Photo Editing/Management

In today's age where almost every mobile phone has a camera stuffed into it, photo editing and photo management has become not an option but a necessity.
What You Think You Want:

Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Elements is the premier unrivalled software when it comes to photo manipulation and editing. Though Elements is a cut down version of Photoshop and costs a fraction compared with Photoshop, it still costs around Rs. 5000. It's great for amateur photographers, but certainly not to just edit occasional vacation photos.
What You Need:

Paint.net

Fantastic free software meant as a replacement for Microsoft Paint included for free in Windows. This software started off as an undergraduate program, mentored by Microsoft itself. The program is as close as any freeware can be to Adobe Photoshop with excellent support for layers, unlimited undo, special effects and an active growing community with several plugins. The program requires Microsoft's dotNET architecture installed.

GIMP

The venerable GIMP is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is the first free photo manipulation program for photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. Created as a response to expensive commercial software, GIMP has some very powerful tools that better Photoshop's tools. So much so that GIMP offered the magical "Content Aware Fill" ages back that Photoshop CS 5 is now released with, called the "Resynth" plugin. See the comparison here.
Picasa

If it is photo management that you need, don't give Picasa a miss. It has the easiest and the most intuitive interface any photo management program/photo re-touching program can have, plus it is wonderfully linked with Google's very own Picasa online photo sharing service where you can automatically upload your photos through Picasa. Simplicity is bliss!

IrfanView

Though not the most intuitive and best looking freeware out there, it's a great photo management software nonetheless. Sure Picasa has the looks and the cool functionality but IrfanView features a lot of heavyweight functions that Picasa doesn't even come close to having.

 

 

 

Email Clients

Though not an essential tool for most, some business users swear by it. Email clients let one view emails offline and setup multiple email accounts all from one place.
What You Think You Want:

Microsoft Outlook, the de facto program when it comes to maintaining multiple accounts. A pioneer when it comes to commercial email client and costs a pretty penny since it is sold as a bundle along with Microsoft Office. Even the standalone costs around Rs.4000.

What You Need:

Thunderbird

From the makers of Firefox comes this email client that brings what Firefox lacks. Riding on the same philosophy of Firefox, Thunderbird too has incredible extension support that goes far beyond what Outlook alone can do. The best part is that Thunderbird is compatible with Windows, Linux and Mac, sporting the same look and functionality everywhere.

 

 

Security

Security for your PC is as important as White blood corpuscles are for your body.
What You Think You Want:

Norton, McAfee, Kaspersky, Bitdefender. Yes, all these security products are all great products and essential but they also cost substantial amounts of money (around Rs.2,000) with a unique exception of Kaspersky and Bitdefender here in India, which are marginalized. But damn it, we want it free, like it free and will get it free!
What You Need:

Comodo Internet Security Suite

The fantastic free Security Suite that takes care of your entire PC. It includes not only anti-virus and firewall, but also Defense+, which  protects critical system files, Memory Firewall which protects against sophisticated buffer overflow attacks and Anti-Malware that kills malicious processes before they can do harm; and all this for absolutely no cost! Security never got better.

Other Anti-viruses
There are simply too many free antivirus programs to recommend one single best. All are fantastic and have their own advantages, but these are only nitty-gritties in what all the programs do, catch viruses exceptionally well. All free antivirus programs share the same great engine as their bigger counterparts but lack certain advanced features that control freaks may like more than the regular crowd.
Here is a run down of three of the best;

AntiVir

Avast

AVG

 

 

Compression software
As essential as having antivirus software on your PC, though not as serious; compression software not only compresses (zips) files but also decompresses (unzips) them.
What You Think You Want:
Winzip or Winrar, though both are excellent popular software under the category of shareware (limited trial or use with a nag screen), they can cost Rs.1500 or Rs. 1300 respectively.
What You Need:
Windows Explorer Zip
Believe it or not, Windows' own zip functionality - built-in since the days of Windows XP (2001) - is a fantastic freeware (if you can call it that). It is very well integrated and can with a simple right-click compress files on the fly. However, what it does lack is .rar support and few other formats that are used occasionally online.

7-Zip
Where Windows Zip falls off, 7-Zip picks it up by offering various formats other than just Zip itself. It is a simple software to use and also the only one as it handles more than enough compression formats.

 

 

Audio& Video Player/Convertor

Being in the generation of ever present cameras in the form of phones, digicams and streaming YouTube videos we cannot help but come across some form of audio and video convertor that is needed to be played on myriad of devices right from Sony PSP's to Apple iPads.
Players

What You Think You Want:

If it's a player that you want for viewing movies, videos, audio files - Windows Media Player itself is excellent, though many prefer PowerDVD when it comes to movie watching, which is easily priced close to Rs.7000 depending on the version you choose. And this will still not satisfy your needs, especially if you watch videos and movies downloaded from the internet.

What You Need:
What you need is one player to "Rule them all", at least in terms of playability, and there is only one such player, VLC  player and it's excellent partner K-Lite Mega Codec Pack both these do the same job but in different ways. VLC has everything built-in into it as a self-contained player, whereas K-Lite Mega Codec Pack comes with a powerful and impressive Media Player Classic but also allows every other player to utilize its own codecs which it installs system wide. Install both; you never know which player will come in handy to watch that oddly encoded movie.

As per Audio specific players, there are again too many to mention. However, here are three of the most popular players that standout from the rest and should suffice for your large music collection. All these players can pay audio (some can play video as well), each player supports additional plugins that enhance functionality and has song library management.

Winamp

iTunes

Foobar2000

 

Audio/Video Converters
What You Think You Want:

What you want is a convertor that can convert from one format to another, be it audio or video, there are several such as Total Video Converter or MyVideoConverter costing around Rs.4000, while audio converters such as dBpoweramp or Easy CD-DA Extractor are similarly priced. That's a lot of money to convert multimedia files!
What You Need:

When it comes to audio as well video, Windows' very own wonderful Windows Media Player can easily convert files on the fly for you, in its own Windows Media format. However, if you are looking for all-in-one players, you'll need to use separate video and audio conversion suites.

In video, we have the excellent Pazera conversion Suite with absolutely no restrictions whatsoever. However, it does take a bit to get used to. In the audio category we have Switch Sound File Converter and Free MP3. Most free converters are cut down versions of paid versions that sport hefty features or faster multi-core support, nothing we cannot live without.

 

CD/DVD software

With the ever-present use of USB flash drives, burning CD/DVD seem obsolete. "Seems" is the operative word here, no computer is complete without the essential need for CD/DVD software. Most DVD writers come with some sort of software that is included in the cost. However, there are many free software that can alternatively do so much more or simply act as a full-time replacement.
What You Think You Want:

Nero, as plain as simple as it is. Most consumers equate burning discs equal to using Nero as it is the most bundled software along with drives today. An excellent piece of software but it is a cut down version and does suffer from bloat to a certain extent. Nero 9 can cost up to Rs. 2,500 for the Burning ROM edition.

What You Need:

As funny as it sounds, Nero Lite does exist for those who are too attached to Nero, but it can only do data writes, no Audio CD, DVD video, etc. However, for those willing to step outside Nero's comfort zone will see wonderful opportunities to explore such as fully featured software with zero restrictions, Blu-ray writing, CD/DVD label creation, over-burning etc.
Cd Burner XP

DeepburnerFree

Burn4free

Total Savings

What's the total cost saved if one uses free alternatives to their commercial counterparts?
Well, considering that you will need all the above the software, the total cost savings across all categories, is something like Rs.31,000. (Please note that medium cost has been taken into account of the software where various editions are present)
Wow! That's a lot of money. Even if you consider that you shave of at least half of this cost in case you use only part freeware, it's still a lot of money that you can save.
Just remember "Best Things in Life Are Free!"
However, this list is no way a complete list of all freeware. But since we surely have missed your favourite software somewhere, don't hesitate to give us a shout right here in the comments below.
Cheers and happy downloading. Oh, and if you are so inclined, do donate to the wonderful freeware authors out there to show your support.