Our wishlist for the next WP7 handset

Windows Phone 7 has been a fresh change from the millions of rows and columns of icons we have seen in smartphones in the recent past. Although the operating system is super fast and effective, it does lack in a few areas, when compared to Android and iOS. Here’s what we would love to see in the next Windows Phone 7 handset.

Guest Mode
Everybody has personal stuff on their phone. From stored passwords, to ‘logged-in’ social networks, to credit card details, to personal images and documents. There’s a constant fear of spilling out ‘classified information’ when somebody wants to view your new smartphone. What do you do then? Enter guest mode.

With Guest mode, there'll be no more of THIS!

We’ll quickly explain this once, if you’ve not understood it already. Guest mode allows you to hide your personal data like e-mail, social networking updates, files and login info. You have two passwords on your smartphone. Password A enables guest mode, while password B enables your normal phone functionality. It’s an extremely simple to implement feature, but somehow hasn’t been included. No longer do you have to stay worried about showing your latest WP7 handset to your friends, as you’ll have guest mode! C’mon Microsoft, please do this for us and everybody else.

Media formats and Zune
The single most irritating feature in Windows right now is Zune and how it greatly limits media formats for your smartphone. Why do all videos have to be transcoded by Zune? It’s similar to iTunes for iOS devices, but we’d have loved a free approach by Microsoft. Anyway, all is still not over and removing Zune dependency would definitely be a ‘feature’ we’d all love to have. And while we’re at it, more media format support out of the box would definitely be a brilliant addition. After all, they’re all ‘smart’phones, aren’t they?

No more Zune!

To think of it, everything in their user interface is slick and fast. From sending emails to updating your Facebook status, to clicking pictures, to accessing music - the whole experience is a breeze. Why doesn’t the same outlook have to be carried over to connectivity to the PC, data transfer and playback? Playing any video format is definitely on our priority list and transferring music files using mass storage is an easier task to accomplish as well. Even phone updates currently require you to connect your phone via Zune, whereas OTA it's quicker, faster and sexier!

More UI customization
Not particularly happy with the look of the user interface? Too bad, you can’t do a thing about it. Like iOS, WP7 is a closed system and while we aren’t particularly complaining out here, how you feel about the interface from the word go, will clearly decide your overall experience and satisfaction with the phone.  WP7 is as rigid as iOS. The best you can do at the moment is change tiles, add or remove them or simply change the background and tile colour.

Gimme more!

We’ll reiterate this again, we aren’t complaining about the user interface. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the UI, but sometimes you might want that slight amount of customization that might alter the look and feel of your phone. A desktop wallpaper, an alternate launcher, or simply minor tweaks in the layout mean that you’ll never get tired of the tile interface and you’ll have one more option to choose from.

Sony Xperia S Review

What started as a beautiful marriage 10 years ago, ended this Jan where Sony and Ericsson went their own separate ways. This was more of a sweet than bitter parting of ways as Sony can fully concentrate on upping their game in the mobile space and make use of various patents and technology acquired by Ericsson over the years in their other products as well. This leaves Ericsson with a heap of cash for their stake in the joint venture. With Sony at the wheel, it was time for them to change things up and create a new experience for their mobile phone division, something that would be distinctly recognizable as a Sony phone and not a Sony Ericsson.

A handsome looking phone

While the former partners had some iconic phones over the decade, I personally wasn’t sold on their designs and never really like any of their handsets so much, that I would go out and buy one. One of the main reasons for this was their habit of using way too many chrome and glossy bits all over the phone and the fact that the buttons were always small and fiddly, which didn’t really inspire quality (even if it was well built). Take their last high-end phone, the Xperia Arc. A great phone, no doubt, but again, too many glossy plastic bits and a bit of chrome overdose. When they announced their new lineup at MWC 2012, the NXT series did pique my interest since it was a far cry from what we’ve come to expect from them, and most importantly, Sony seemed to have done away with all the chrome bits, which scores high in my book. While the official launch of the Xperia S is for India is still a week away, we were lucky to get our hands on a unit and although our encounter was brief, it was enough to come up with a verdict. Out of all the tests, we weren't able to run our series of battery tests but worry not, as we will be updating this review once we get it for a longer time. This may or may not affect the rating, so we’ll see what happens.

Design and Build
The Xperia S is currently Sony’s highest-end offering in their NXT series. The phone comes packed in a slim box along with some reading material, microUSB cable, power adapter and an in-earphone headset. Available in black and white, the Xperia S feels absolutely lovely to hold and although the chassis is built from plastic, it’s really hard to tell. The phone feels sturdy and well built with no creaking joints even if you squeeze it. The phone appears a bit blocky due to the lack of rounded edges and a slim profile. At 10.6mm, I wouldn’t exactly call it fat and it’s pretty light as well with the battery at 144g.

Nice detailing around the headphone jack

For connectivity, we have a plastic flap-covered microUSB port and HDMI port on either sides while the 3.5mm headphone jack is placed on the top. Buttons on the phone include the volume rocker, camera shutter and a power/sleep button. The lanyard, mic and antenna for the radios are placed towards the bottom of the phone. Like I mentioned earlier, the buttons don’t have any annoying gloss finish, which is good but they are still a bit tiny and thin and can be annoying when you want to quickly unlock the phone or snap a quick picture. I really like the little attention to detail, like the brushed metal ring around the headphone jack. This gives it a nice polished touch. On the front, we have the 1.3MP front facing camera along with a scratch-resistant 4.3-inch screen. There’s even a notification light on the left side which toggles between three colours depending on the type of alert. With a resolution of 1280 x 720, the Xperia S sails past the iPhone’s Retina Display with a pixel count of 342ppi. Coupled with the Sony Mobile BRAVIA Engine, this makes anything and everything on the screen appear super sharp and crisp. Colour reproduction is very good and so is the sunlight legibility. The display also supports 10 finger multi-touch gestures.

The translucent strip is certainly looks cool

Coming to the bottom portion of the Xperia S, we have the new translucent strip which holds the labels for the capacitive buttons. The buttons themselves aren’t on the strip as we assumed before, but instead, they are placed just above it represented by three silver dots. Now, this does take some getting used too as you’ll instinctively want to press something that lights up. The three buttons are ‘Back’, ‘Home’ and ‘Options’. I didn’t find the sensitivity of the capacitive buttons all that great and there were many instances when it refused to register any input. We hope this is merely a software glitch and wish Sony releases a fix for it soon.

The 12MP shooter

Coming to the back of the phone, we just have the 12MP camera, LED flash and the speaker. The battery cover is opened by simply pushing it upwards and it pops out. The Xperia S uses a microSIM card and there’s no expandable memory support, just 32GB of onboard storage. Also, the battery is not user replaceable. Overall, the Xperia S really impressed us with the design and build, it definitely feels like a premium phone, which it is. One thing that needs some work are the capacitive buttons.

Micromax Plans Feature Phone With A Solar Panel

Globally, Micromax may not be a frequently heard of brand. However, in India, the brand has a wide audience and the brand is very popular for their handsets, mainly because they cater to a very wide consumer base. With their tag line, ‘Nothing like Anything,’ the brand in the past have launched a range of handsets with neat features, such as dual SIM capabilities, handsets that feature above average battery life and other interesting attributes. As per an exclusive report by The Mobile Indian, it appears that the brand is going to introduce a new feature on their upcoming and yet unnamed handset by adding a solar panel that allows one to charge the phone easily.

Solar charging handset from Micromax coming soon

As per the report, Rahul Sharma, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Micromax has stated, “We have been at the forefront of innovation. We were the first to launch long battery life phones, dual SIM phones and many more. Our next innovation is to get rid of the mobile phone charger by including a solar panel in our next phone. This solar charger will top up the charge in 3 hours to support 1.5 hours of talktime."

As of yet, no other details have been let out about this upcoming handset, but Rahul Sharma has informed the Mobile Indian that it will not be a smartphone and will instead be a feature phone. For those not in the know how, feature phones are basically mobile phones by manufacturers that are not considered to be smartphones. They may possess various features and capabilities that are not found in general mobile phones, but additional features put them slightly above basic mobile phones. They usually have a JAVA-based operating system, as opposed to Android or Windows Phones and are generally cheaper than most smartphones.

This is not the first mobile phone to implement a solar panel as a means of charging as in the past, Vodafone have released the VF 247 priced at Rs.1,500. The launch of the Micromax handset is scheduled to take place within a week and when it is announced all the features of the handset will come to light.

IPL rides high on glamour quotient at fifth season's opener

Amitabh, Priyanka, Kareena and US singer Katy Perry dominated the glitzy opening ceremony of the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League.

Chennai, (IANS): From a bevy of Bollywood stars, including Amitabh Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor, as also US singer Katy Perry, the glamour quotient dominated the glitzy opening ceremony of the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the YMCA Ground here Tuesday night.

In his signature baritone, Bachchan set the stage alive with a heartwarming poem written by lyricist Prasoon Joshi.

This was the actor's first stage appearance after undergoing abdominal surgery. He looked hale and hearty as he came on stage dressed in velvet coat and trousers, to recite "Janam Yadhi Phir Se Mile".

The 69-year-old was accompanied by dancers from the Shiamak Davar troupe, who described the essence of the poem through their performance.

His routine was followed by Colonial Cousins, DJ Ravi Drums and Soth African percussionist group 1st Project who mesmerised with their peppy numbers.

Bollywood's "junglee billi" Priyanka Chopra then took the packed audience by surprise when she went up in the air during her performance, and got cricketer Harbhajan Singh to dance a little jig with her.

Looking chic in a black and white sequinned top, black pants and a red wrap-around skirt, the actress opened her act with her popular song "Aaj ki raat".

She did away with her skirt for a sporty look as she was pulled up in the air with a harness for an aerial act on the "Don" tune. The 29-year-old mesmerised the audience with her confidence, and landed on the stage for a power-packed dance on the number "Dhantanaa" from the film "Kaminey".

She moved around in the audience, and urged the front row members, including Sourav Ganguly and Harbhajan Singh, to dance. Bhajji, as the latter is lovingly called, was sporting enough to get up and join her for a jig.

Later, Priyanka took to the stage again to interact with the cricketers of title holders Chennai Super Kings, who are led by India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

She pulled Dhoni's leg, and asked the boys to join her for a dance on hit Tamil song "Nakka mukka".

Kareena Kapoor then stole many hearts when she danced to her chartbuster "Chhamak chhallo" and swayed to "Dil mera muft ka" but the cherry on the cake was her warm "Vanakkam".

The packed audience cheered in unison for the 31-year-old as she came on stage dressed in a blingy black overcoat.

"Kaun hai jisne mujhe mudke nahin dekha (Who is the one who didn't turn around again to see me)" from her popular movie "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham", played in the background as Kareena appeared on stage. And going by her flashy outfit, the dialogue suited the moment perfectly. Even if one wanted, one couldn't miss her presence on stage.

Kareena set the stage on fire with "Chhammak chhallo", "Pyaar ki pungi", her latest mujra number "Dil mera muft ka" and grooved to some remixed versions of her songs like "Yeh ishq haaye", "Teri meri prem kahaani" and "Criminal".

Her performance was fairly long and vivacious and left the audience asking for more.

India's very own Michael Jackson, Prabhu Deva, performed some scintillating dance numbers as well.

The audience's enthusiasm went up to the next level as the Tamil superstar performed his signature moves to songs like "Main aisa kyun hun" from "Lakshya" and "Tera hi jalwa" from "Wanted" in his hometown.

The 39-year-old even went down the stage to mingle with the audience while shaking a leg and people were seen enjoying his performance to the fullest.

Indian cricket board president N.Srinivasan in his speech promised to help 185 Indian cricketers with the proceeds from the four play-off stage matches.

Srinivasan said the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will be distributing the proceeds among 185 international and domestic cricketers.

"The proceeds from the play-off matches will be distributed among former cricketers, who have represented India at the international level and also among domestic players. The BCCI will give a one time assistance to those cricketers and around 185 Indian cricketers will benefit. It is a small gesture from the BCCI to all those who have done yoeman's service to Indian cricket," he said.

Standing alongside the nine IPL team captains, Srinivasan said it was a proud moment for him.

"It is a proud moment for me to stand here on this stage with nine captains. IPL has gone from strength to strength and has become one of the premier tournament of the world," he said.

Srinivasan also said that IPL has helped the BCCI to develop infrastructure for the sport all over the country.

"We distribute proceeds from the IPL to all the state associations to build infrastructure. BCCI spends substantial amount on helping to develop the game at the grass roots," he said.

 

Micromax Funbook Can Work Only With Tata Photon Plus!

 
Micromax has entered the tablet market in India with its Funbook tab. The company is also offering a Tata Photon Plus bundled with additional 1GB data download for the first two months. The device will work only with Tata Photon Plus EVDO data card. It means that the users are not allowed to use any other USB modem other than the preloaded Tata Photon Plus.

Gadget freaks opine that this is likely to restrict the reach of the tablet device, which is priced at Rs 6,499. Speaking about the device, Deepak Mehrotra, CEO, Micromax Informatics Limited, said, “We are looking forward to cater to the educational and entertainment needs of the Indian youth at an affordable price.” But given the fact that it is restricted to one telecom service provider, it is sure to force the buyers to look for other options. When asked about the reasons for tying up with one service provider, Mehrotra said, “It a part of our collaboration initiatives. For the time being, the device can only work with Tata Photon Plus.” 
However, he refrained from commenting about the services and reach of Tata Phone Plus. He said, "It's not what we would like to comment on. We will try to increase the reach of our device through our distribution network." Mehrotra also did not comment on the time frame when the tablet will support other service providers.

It is worth mentioning here that Micromax Informatics Limited unveiled its edutainment tablet- Micromax Funbook in New Delhi yesterday. The company claims that the 1-cm thick Funbook is the slimmest and lightest tablet in India.

Powered with the latest Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich Operating Software (OS), the Funbook runs on a 1.2 GHz Cortex A8 processor and has a 17.8-cm (7-inch) capacitive touch screen. Micromax has targeted the youth, right from primary school students to civil service aspirants with their ‘pass hoga aur time pass bhi hoga' tag. The tablet features a 0.3 mega pixel VGA front camera and is available in silver and black colours.

Along with Vriti e-learning app, the Funbook has ready-to-use study materials for all school boards in India like ICSE, ISC, and preparatory materials for Medical, MBA, Engineering and other exams. The tablet is powered by BIGflix, which allows users the freedom to choose from over 1000 movies in 9 languages. The languages are Hindi, English, Bengali, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi and Punjabi, that cover across almost all genres. It also allows users to view over 48 channels like MTV, Colors, UTV Bindaas, UTV Movies, NDTV, etc. The device is available on the company's website.

Egyptian Entrepreneurs Hope Technology, Google Funding, Will Spur Economy

The Egyptian revolution sent the country’s economy into a tailspin. Egypt was already plagued by high unemployment, particularly among those under the age of 30. Amid ongoing unrest, foreign investors have put projects on hold. Once-reliable industries like tourism are struggling. But several dozen technology entrepreneurs think they have what it takes to spur job creation, despite political uncertainty. They are taking part in a competition sponsored by Google, which will award a $200,000 prize to one business.

In a conference room at the elegant Fairmont Hotel in Cairo, two young men are playing a fierce game of table tennis. Around them, youthful entrepreneurs slouch in bean bag chairs, pecking furiously at their laptops. Hundreds of Egyptians are jammed into small booths around the perimeter of the room. Each one is ready to explain how his or her tech business has the potential to be the next big thing.

"With IntaFeen,you can share your location with friends and family on the go. Whether you are in a restaurant, watching a movie, eating ice cream, in a park, you share this information with your friends and family," said Adel Youssef, the founder and CEO (chief executive officer) of Wireless Stars. He said spent five years working in the United States but moved back to Egypt because he saw unexploited opportunity. He and his team have created a mobile application called IntaFeen. It’s a location-based social network. Users write reviews of restaurants and movies.

They earn “badges” for places where they check in frequently. Youssef says the idea is based on the popular “Foursquare” application, but has a different cultural sensibility. "If you see the badges of Foursquare they are designed for U.S. culture or West culture. My favorite badge is gym rat. A gym rat in the U.S. is someone who is actively working in the gym. If you see someone here and you give him this badge, that is insulting," he said.

About 110,000 people from Egypt to Ghana to Pakistan have downloaded the IntaFeen app.

Organizers say the point of the competition is not just for Egypt’s young techies to show off, but to address one of Egypt’s most pressing problems: unemployment. Egypt’s official unemployment rate is 12-point-4 percent, but many believe it to be much higher. Around 90 percent of the unemployed are young, under the age of 30. But can tech companies really create jobs?

Maha Elbouennein, the head of communications for Google in the Middle East and North Africa, said "These are 50 companies that didn't exist six months ago. In order to be participating in the program, they have to be registered, legal entities. This isn't a business plan competition. So the evidence in itself, that 50 companies exist today that didn't six months ago is evidence enough about how it’s helping the economy and it’s growing. It’s creating jobs."

Elbouennein says, of course, Google has its own financial interests in the region. "Google basically wants people to live on the Internet," he said.

If technology businesses get bigger in Egypt, inevitably, so will Google.

Some of the entrepreneurs have set their sights beyond North Africa and the Middle East. Yasmin Elayat is the CEO of Groupstream, a storytelling platform that lets users interact with one another by adding photos, tweets and blog posts into an online “stream.” Groupstream is going to launch in the United States, first. "The idea started when we noticed that during the Egyptian revolution, Egyptians were documenting our country’s history in real time on social media and Facebook and Twitter and on photos and videos on cell phones and cameras," she said.

Elayat turned that initial spark of an idea into a crowd-sourced documentary project called 18 Days in Egypt. But she says she soon realized that the same technology could be useful for those who did not have anything quite so dramatic as a revolution to document. "It doesn't even have to be news. I see my cousin, she’s like 11 and her whole life is on social media. She doesn't even know what it feels like to hold a photograph anymore," she said.

Google has narrowed a list of 4,000 entrants down to 20 businesses and will pick a winner in May. But win or lose, many of the entrepreneurs share the same hope: that Egypt’s youth, which have been at the forefront of so much political change and upheaval in the last year-and-a-half might now become the leaders of a technological revolution.

Instagram for Android is now available

Instagram has been around since 2010, available only to iOS devices. Android users have been waiting patiently, with repeated promises of an Android version arriving soon.

While we knew the Android version of Instagram was coming sooner rather than later, with the release being teased just last month at South by Southwest Interactive, the exact release date wasn't clear. Well, the day has finally arrived.
With more than 430,000 Android users on the waiting list, Instagram is now available in Google Play. The app carries with it the same features (except tilt-shift/blur) and a similar user interface to that of the iOS version. Users are able to browse friends' photos, view the popular photos, and upload their own photos, as you would expect.
Android users will join a community of 30 million registered users, who contribute more than 5 million photos a day. More than 1 billion photos in all have been uploaded to Instagram, strictly from iOS devices. With the addition of Android devices, these numbers are sure to grow at a considerable pace.
Instagram for Android is compatible with smartphones running Android 2.2 and up. Tablets aren't supported at this time. Download Instagram for Android.
Are you excited to see Instagram on Android? Or are you tired of Instagram-like photos taking over your social streams? Let us know your thoughts below!

Apple sets earnings news for April 24

Apple will let us know on April 24 whether it's doing fabulously, pretty darn well, or -- the horror -- just so-so.
That's when the company will reveal its revenue and earnings for its second fiscal quarter, the one in which it released its new iPad. Consumers scooped up 3 million of those devices in the first weekend alone, in what Apple called "the strongest iPad launch yet." Not too shabby for a tablet that has come to define and dominate the marketplace and popular perception.
Apple surely has quite a head of steam built up. This morning, J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz boosted his iPad forecast for the March-ending quarter to 13.8 million units, and he likewise upped his estimates for iPhone sales to 31.1 million devices.
For the preceding quarter, which ran through the end of December, Apple reported revenue of $46.33 billion and profits of $13.06 billion, or $13.87 per share.
Moskowitz also raised his price target for Apple shares to $715, up from an earlier target of $625, because of "mid-term catalysts," including coming refreshes to the iPhone and MacBook lines, and greater penetration into Asia-Pacific markets. Another analyst, Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets, yesterday boldly set a target of $1,001.
Such are the expectations that Apple will continue its steamroller-on-steroids success.
Apple's shares are trading at around $630 this morning. The company's stock crossed the $400 barrier just at the end of 2011, and it hasn't looked back since.

New Isotope Measurement Could Alter History of Early Solar System

Scientists have calculated a new value for the half-life of samarium, an isotope used to track how our solar system came into being. Above: Superheated plasma loops following a solar flare eruption. (Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO)

solar system might look quite different than previously thought, according to research at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory published in Science. The study used more sensitive instruments to find a different half-life for samarium, one of the isotopes used to chart the evolution of the solar system.
"It shrinks the chronology of early events in the solar system, like the formation of planets, into a shorter time span," said Argonne physicist Michael Paul. "It also means some of the oldest rocks on Earth would have formed even earlier -- as early as 120 million years after the solar system formed, in one case of Greenland rocks."
According to current theory, everything in our solar system formed from star dust several billion years ago. Some of this dust was formed in giant supernovae explosions which supplied most of our heavy elements. One of these is the isotope samarium-146.
Samarium-146, or Sm-146, is unstable and occasionally emits a particle, which changes the atom into a different element. Using the same technique as radiocarbon dating, scientists can calculate how long it's been since the Sm-146 was created. Because Sm-146 decays extremely slowly -- on the order of millions of years -- many models use it to help determine the age of the solar system.
The number of years it takes for an isotope to decrease by half is called its half-life. Since Sm-146 emits particles so rarely, it takes a sophisticated instrument to measure this half-life.
The Argonne Tandem Linac Accelerator System, or ATLAS, is a DOE national user facility for the study of nuclear structure and astrophysics, and is just such an instrument. "It's easy for the ATLAS, used as a mass spectrometer, to pick out one Sm-146 atom in tens of billions of atoms," said physicist Richard Pardo, who manages the facility and participated in the study.
By counting Sm-146 atoms with ATLAS and tracking the particles that the sample emits, the team came up with a new calculation for its half-life: just 68 million years.
This is significantly shorter than the previously used value of 103 million years.
The new value patches some holes in current understanding, according to Paul. "The new time scale now matches up with a recent, precise dating taken from a lunar rock, and is in better agreement with dates obtained with other chronometers," Paul said.
The study was recently published in Science. Argonne scientists Catherine Deibel, Brad DiGiovine, John Greene, Dale Henderson, Cheng-Lie Jiang, Scott Marley, K. Ernst Rehm, Robert Scott, and Richard Vondrasek also participated in the study.
The work was supported by the DOE Office of Science and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

Toshiba Satellite P755D review

The Toshiba Satellite P755D is a decent multimedia laptop, with a Blu-ray drive, Harman/Kardon stereo speakers, and a 15.6-inch widescreen high-def display. This "high-performance" model in Toshiba's "everyday value" Satellite line lists for $700 (as of April 2, 2012). Its quad-core AMD processor won't set any speed records, however.
Toshiba pays attention to multimedia. The Dolby Advanced and Waves MaxxAudio systems produce great sound even at high volume, both from the speakers and over earphones. An HDMI port lets you hook up to your HDTV to play Blu-ray movies, too. Regrettably, the 15.6-inch display has a relatively low resolution of 1366 by 768--and since the screen is mirror-shiny, avoiding reflections is hard.
The microphone port has a potentially handy feature called Toshiba Sleep and Music, which lets you play your MP3 player through the laptop's speakers, even when the laptop itself is powered off. In addition, you can charge your digital devices through the USB Sleep and Charge port, which also operates even when the laptop is turned off, though it will drain the battery unless you've plugged the laptop into the wall.

Ports are plentiful, including VGA, ethernet, three USB connections and one USB 3.0 port with the aforementioned Sleep and Charge, headphone and microphone jacks, a security lock slot, and a memory-card reader (on the front edge). The P755D also comes with Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0. The 640GB hard drive has a "Toshiba HDD Protection" impact sensor that automatically parks the drive head to protect the hard-drive surface from damage should you bump the laptop. A pop-up warns you if the machine is bumped and the heads are being parked; you will be surprised how easily you can provoke it into action.
Across the top of the keyboard are the power button and touch-sensitive buttons for wireless, the Eco power-saving utility, speaker on/off, and volume control.
The keyboard is nice: Its smooth, large, black keys are reasonably responsive, though their descent is not as deep as on a more expensive Dell Inspiron, for example. The multitouch touchpad is tricky to use--whenever I accidentally touched it with two fingers, the cursor froze, and each time I had to take a moment to figure out what was wrong. The touchpad buttons are a bit stiff, too. A button turns on a light for the control buttons across the top of the keyboard, as well as a light bar across the top of the touchpad, but the rest of the keyboard is not backlit.
Unfortunately, the performance of this affordable laptop isn't exactly stellar. The AMD Fusion A8-3520M processor can't keep up with Intel's Core i5 or i7 CPU on general computing tasks, and in our tests the P755D limped along with a modest WorldBench 7 score of 54. AMD is known for its integrated-graphics performance, and here the system takes a step up--at modest quality settings, you can play modern games at a reasonable performance level (in our tests, it ran Dirt 3 at 28 frames per second at high detail and the native screen resolution of 1366 by 768). The battery lasted 4 hours, 42 minutes, which is a middling result for this category of laptop.
The Satellite P755D comes with Microsoft Office Starter 2010, which consists of Word and Excel with advertising. That's the only major built-in application, though the laptop also comes with Internet Explorer and Google Chrome, plus Toshiba DVD playback software and a Corel Blu-ray player. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the Corel Blu-ray player to work; I downloaded a free player to watch a Blu-ray movie, and that worked fine.
In addition to the Microsoft Live Essentials suite of Photo Gallery, Mail, Movie Maker, Messenger, and the Live Writer blogging application, Toshiba provides two custom programs: Toshiba Book Place for obtaining free and paid electronic books, and Toshiba Apps Place for accessing a lengthy list of small games, utilities, and applications (some are free, some are trials, a few are paid). Getting into Toshiba Book Place (a rebranded Blio book store) takes some time, however, as it requires moving through several lengthy and problematic software updates that you cannot bypass. Most of the programs in Toshiba Apps Place are minor, similar to those disks of freeware games and utilities you used to get with a computer magazine subscription.
The Toshiba Online Backup utility pops up early and cannot be dismissed; you must set it up whether you want to or not. I didn't want to, so I found this tool almost as annoying as the included Norton Internet Security, a pest of a program that nags you about activating the 30-day trial every time you start the computer. I suppose it might be wise to browbeat new computer users into installing some basic level of security, but experienced users with security preferences of their own will not be amused. As for missing applications, I thought Skype was installed--a Skype sticker sits right there on the keyboard--but the laptop has only a link to download Skype. Odd that it wouldn't be preinstalled.
The Toshiba Eco Utility, which you enable with the press of a button, automatically reduces the laptop's power consumption by turning down the screen brightness, shutting off the hard drive when not in use, putting the machine to sleep if idle, and adjusting CPU use (for this quad-core AMD A8, presumably it disables one or more cores when the system is under low load, though the documentation is not specific). It also displays a live graph of your wattage use, and even estimates how much less carbon dioxide you are causing to be emitted under the Eco feature. Leaving aside the arguable virtues of saving the Earth by turning off CPU cores, I guess this button can serve as a handy shortcut for extending the P755D's battery life when you're on a cross-country flight.
Hardware documentation consists of a startup card and an online guide buried in a Toshiba subdirectory. I know we're all about electronic documentation and preventing trees from being cut down just to explain the system, but at least the company could have put an icon to the online guide on the toolbar, or on the otherwise bare Windows 7 desktop. You get no software documentation at all.
At 5.4 pounds, the P755D is no ultralight, but it's not too heavy for its size; some weight savings may be due to the all-plastic casing. Fortunately, the plastic is solid and doesn't bend.
DISPLAY SIZE 15.6" widescreen DISPLAY TYPE* HD TruBrite® LED Backlit display DISPLAY RESOLUTION 1366x768 (HD), 16:9 aspect ratio, Supports 720p content AUDIO Headphone jack (stereo), Microphone jack (mono), Waves MaxxAudio® 3, harman/kardon® stereo speakers WEBCAM Webcam and microphone WIRELESS LAN* Wi-Fi® Wireless networking (802.11b/g/n) BLUETOOTH Bluetooth® V3.0 + HS MODEM No Modem port LAN 10/100 Ethernet LAN PROCESSOR* AMD Quad-Core A6-3420M Accelerated Processor OPERATING SYSTEM* Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) GRAPHICS ENGINE* AMD® Radeon™ HD 6520G MEMORY* 6GB DDR3 1333MHz memory HARD DRIVE* 640GB HDD (5400rpm, Serial ATA) OPTICAL DRIVE* Blu-ray Disc™ Rewriteable (RE) and DVD SuperMulti drive with Labelflash®

Emraan’s new love story in pictures

Check out the stills from ‘Jannat 2’ where Emraan romances Miss India International Esha Gupta

 

1. ‘Jannat 2’ is a sequel to the 2008 film ‘Jannat’ produced under the same banner

    

   Read More : http://in.movies.yahoo.com/photos/emraan%E2%80%99s-new-love-story-in-pictures-slideshow/jannat-photo-1333515114.html#crsl=%252Fphotos%252Femraan%25E2%2580%2599s-new-love-story-in-pictures-slideshow%252Fjannat-photo-1333515123.html

 

What you didn’t know about ‘Titanic’

Did you know that at $200 million, the movie cost more than the ship itself. Here's more

 

All the pictures in Jack's sketchbook were drawn by James Cameron

Read More : http://in.movies.yahoo.com/photos/behind-the-scenes-titanic-slideshow/behind-the-scenes-photo-1333450266.html#crsl=%252Fphotos%252Fbehind-the-scenes-titanic-slideshow%252Fbehind-the-scenes-photo-1333450274.html

Kate Winslet: Then and now

15 years ago, Kate was a chubby 21-year-old, red curls blazing! Today she is a fabulous actor who has come to terms with her weight (she lost all the 'baby fat'). As Titanic is re-released in 3D, take a look at Kate Winslet, then and now.

THEN - While Kate's sense of style is questionable at the very least, her smile seems awkward and forced too.

Read More : http://in.lifestyle.yahoo.com/photos/kate-winslet-then-and-now-slideshow/#crsl=%252Fphotos%252Fkate-winslet-then-and-now-slideshow%252Fkate-winslet-photo-1333445552.html

 

Army bombshells in Bollywood

From officer's mess to Bollywood, daughters of military dads have made it big.

 

NUPUR MEHTA: When Nupur Mehta, the starlet who created a flutter - thanks to the match- fixing links a British daily levelled against her - revealed her army connection recently, the armed forces' contribution to Bollywood once again came to the fore. Nupur, a Delhi girl born to Colonel (retired) J. K. Mehta, an army surgeon, and Dr Chitra Mehta, gynaecologist in a city hospital, may not have tasted Bollywood success yet but there are plenty from the army ranks who have risen to superstardom. 

Read More : http://in.movies.yahoo.com/photos/army-bombshells-in-bollywood-slideshow/#crsl=%252Fphotos%252Farmy-bombshells-in-bollywood-slideshow%252Farmy-bombshells-in-bollywood-photo-1333444381.html

 

Ash goes traditional at Dubai

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan led the fashion and glamour stakes at the Dubai World Cup which she attended over the weekend where she presented the award for the 'Most Elegant Dressed Lady' at the event.

Aishwarya was present as the brand ambassador of watch company Longines which she has been part of for the last 13 yrs. At the event she was the perfect picture of style and elegance.

Read More : http://in.omg.yahoo.com/photos/ash-goes-traditional-at-dubai-slideshow/#crsl=%252Fphotos%252Fash-goes-traditional-at-dubai-slideshow%252Fash-goes-traditional-at-dubai-photo-1333444689.html

Who is the hottest girl in Housefull 2?

Among the four leading ladies in ‘Housefull 2’ we wonder who is the hottest. Take your pick

Wrapped in lehengas-cholis, our delicious divas will compete for screen space and clearly on the hotness meter as well. Here we see them in the avatar of a newlywed bahu

Read More :http://in.movies.yahoo.com/photos/who-is-the-hottest-girl-in-housefull-2-slideshow/#crsl=%252Fphotos%252Fwho-is-the-hottest-girl-in-housefull-2-slideshow%252Fwho-is-the-hottest-girl-in-housefull-2-photo-1333451161.html

 

Hubble spots first-of-its kind ‘steamy’ planet

Our solar system comprises three types of planets, namely rocky, terrestrial worlds (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars), gas giants (Jupiter and Saturn), and ice giants (Uranus and Neptune).
Planets orbiting distant stars come in an even wider variety, including lava worlds and “hot Jupiters.”
Now, observations by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have added a new type of planet to the mix.
By analyzing the previously discovered world GJ1214b, astronomer Zachory Berta (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) and colleagues proved that it is a waterworld enshrouded by a thick, steamy atmosphere.
“GJ1214b is like no planet we know of,” said Berta.
“A huge fraction of its mass is made up of water.”
GJ1214b was discovered in 2009 by the ground-based MEarth (pronounced “mirth”) Project, which is led by CfA’s David Charbonneau.
This super-Earth is about 2.7 times Earth’s diameter and weighs almost 7 times as much. It orbits a red-dwarf star every 38 hours at a distance of 1.3 million miles, giving it an estimated temperature of 450 ° Fahrenheit.
In 2010, CfA scientist Jacob Bean and colleagues reported that they had measured the atmosphere of GJ1214b, finding it likely that the atmosphere was composed mainly of water. However, their observations could also be explained by the presence of a world-wide haze in GJ1214b’s atmosphere.
Berta and his co-authors used Hubble’s WFC3 instrument to study GJ1214b when it crossed in front of its host star. During such a transit, the star’s light is filtered through the planet’s atmosphere, giving clues to the mix of gases.
“We’re using Hubble to measure the infrared color of sunset on this world,” explained Berta.
Hazes are more transparent to infrared light than to visible light, so the Hubble observations help tell the difference between a steamy and a hazy atmosphere.
They found the spectrum of GJ1214b to be featureless over a wide range of wavelengths, or colours. The atmospheric model most consistent with the Hubble data is a dense atmosphere of water vapour.
“The Hubble measurements really tip the balance in favor of a steamy atmosphere,” said Berta.
Since the planet’s mass and size are known, astronomers can calculate the density, which works out to about 2 grams per cubic centimetre. Water has a density of 1 g/cm3, while Earth’s average density is 5.5 g/cm3. This suggests that GJ1214b has much more water than Earth, and much less rock.
As a result, the internal structure of GJ1214b would be very different than our world.
“The high temperatures and high pressures would form exotic materials like ‘hot ice’ or ‘superfluid water’ - substances that are completely alien to our everyday experience,” Berta added.
Theorists expect that GJ1214b formed farther out from its star, where water ice was plentiful, and migrated inward early in the system’s history. In the process, it would have passed through the star’s habitable zone. How long it lingered there is unknown.
GJ1214b is located in the direction of the constellation Ophiuchus, and just 40 light-years from Earth. Therefore, it’s a prime candidate for study by the next-generation James Webb Space Telescope.

Was Einstein wrong-or was cable loose?

The world of science was upended last year when an experiment appeared to show one of iconic scientist Albert Einstein's fundamental theories was wrong - but now the lab behind it says the result could have been caused by a loose cable.
Physicists at the CERN laboratory near Geneva appeared to contradict Albert Einstein last year when they reported that sub-atomic particles called neutrinos could travel fractions of a second faster than light.
Einstein had said nothing could ever travel faster than light, and doing so would be like traveling back in time.
But James Gillies, a spokesman for CERN, said on Wednesday the lab's startling result was now in doubt.
Earlier on Wednesday, ScienceInsider, a website run by the respected American Association for the Advancement of Science, reported that the surprising result was down to a loose fibre optic cable linking a Global Positioning System satellite receiver to a computer.
Gillies confirmed that a flaw in the GPS system was now suspected as a possible cause for the surprising reading. Further testing was needed before any definite conclusions could be reached, he added.
The faster-than-light finding was recorded when 15,000 neutrino beams were pumped over three years from CERN to an underground Italian laboratory at Gran Sasso near Rome.
A possible explanation has been found. But we won't know until we have tested it out with a new beam to Gran Sasso, Gillies told Reuters in Geneva.
Physicists on the experiment, called OPERA, said when they reported it last September that they had checked and rechecked over many months anything that could have produced a misreading before announcing what they had found.
A second test whose results were announced in November appeared to provide further evidence that neutrinos were travelling faster than light. But many experts remained sceptical of a result that would have overturned one of the fundamental principles of modern physics.
Gillies said CERN would be issuing a full statement early on Thursday.

Blue whales hear sounds in wider range: study

Blue whales are known to create the loudest noises of any living thing to communicate across vast distances. Now, a new study has found that they can also hear sounds beyond their vocalisation range.
In their study, researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography observed the response of blue whales in the Southern California Bight to mid-frequency sounds created by military sonar, which occur between 1000Hz to 8000Hz, much higher than blue whale calls, which are 100Hz and lower.
They collected thousands of hours of recordings over two summers, and found that, when mid-frequency active (MFA) sonar (which is used to find submarines) was active in the region, blue whales' low-frequency vocalisations, known as "D-calls", dropped by almost half, the 'Discovery News' reported.
The researchers say it's a sign that despite being well outside the whales' vocalisation range, such relatively high- frequency sounds are within their hearing range.
One possible explanation for being able to hear sounds of such high frequency, lead researcher Mariana Melcon suggest, "is that it may be advantageous, for instance, to hear their predators, ie, killer whales, which vocalise in the same frequency range as MFA sonar."
Conversely, when confronted with the noise of shipping, which does largely fall within their vocalisation range, the whales increased their D-calls -- which, the researchers say "may be the vocal response of the animals to overcome the noise".

Robotic surgeries costlier but safer: study

Patients who have robot-assisted surgeries on their kidneys or prostate have shorter hospital stays and a lower risk of having a blood transfusion or dying but the bill is significantly higher, a study found.
The analysis, which appeared in the Journal of Urology, compared increasingly common robotic surgery with two other techniques for the same surgery and found that direct costs can be up to several thousand dollars higher for the robotic type.
Touted as less invasive and more efficient, robotic surgeries typically use a laparoscopic or “keyhold surgery” approach, in which tools and a tiny video camera are inserted into the body through one or two small incisions.
Robotic surgery replaces a surgeon's hands with ultra-precise tools at the ends of mechanical arms, all operated by the surgeon from a console.
“I think the take-home message is that robotic (surgery), looking at our study, had certain beneficial outcomes compared to open and laparoscopic procedures,” said study leader Jim Hu at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
Hu and his team analyzed surgery data from a national government database to see if the costlier robotic surgeries were cost effective with extra benefits over older techniques.
During the last three months of 2008-- the most recent data available that allowed a comparison among robotic, open and laparoscopic surgeries, more than half of all prostate removals involved robot-assisted surgery.
About three per cent of prostate patients had standard laparoscopic surgery and 44 per cent had open surgery. Open and laparoscopic surgeries were still more common than robotic surgeries for kidney repairs and removals.
Among patients who had their prostate removed, none died from laparoscopic or robotic surgery, whereas two out of every 1,000 died after the open procedure.
About five per cent of the men who had open surgery needed a blood transfusion, compared to less than two per cent of men who had robot-assisted surgery. The open-surgery group also stayed in the hospital about one day longer than the robotic group.
The results were similar for people who had kidneys removed.
The trade-off was the cost, with robotic prostate removal costing about $10,000 on average, roughly $700 more than laparoscopic surgery and $1,100 more than open surgery.
For kidney removal, robotic surgery cost $13,900, which was $2,700 more than laparoscopic and $1,300 more than open surgery.
David Penson, a surgeon at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, who was not part of the study, said more consideration should have been given to the condition of patients afterwards. Emphasis should be limited on procedure, he said, as opposed to surgical skill.
“Years ago, this was thought to be the be-all-end-all operation, particularly with prostate surgery. We were going to get patients out of the hospital quicker, have better potency and incontinence outcomes," Penson said.
“And the reality of it is that... there are some benefits but not as much as we had hoped.”

LEDs and camera used to create ‘invisible’ Mercedes Benz

Using optical camouflage, technology experts at Mercedez Benz have figured out how to make an entire car disappear.
The researchers created the illusion that their new zero emissions F-Cell Mercedes Benz is not even there at all, the Daily Mail reported.
Taking the principle that to see through something you need to see what’s behind it, they covered the driver’s side of the car in mats of LEDs, and mounted a digital SLR camera on the opposite side of the vehicle.
The camera shoots video on the passenger side of the car and the video is displayed in real time on the driver side of the automobile.
This ingenious approach, originally pioneered by scientists at the University of Tokyo, works on the same principles of the blue screen used by TV weather forecasters and Hollywood filmmakers.
The idea also mimics the iPad 2 Halloween costume that seems to display a gaping hole in the human body.
In Mercedes’ promotional video, stupefied Muggles stare and fall about in shock as the team put the car through its paces along the highways of Hamburg and the bridges of Bavaria.
Meanwhile online, while some pessimistic YouTube users were wary, anticipating that invisible cars would no doubt lead to brutal crashes, others fantasised about bring able to park anywhere at all, without getting a ticket.

Now, robotic jellyfish powered by hydrogen

Researchers at Virgina Tech have created a hydrogen-powered robotic jellyfish, named Robojelly, which could be used in underwater search and rescue operations.
Being fuelled by hydrogen also means that it could never run out of energy.
Constructed from a set of smart materials, which have the ability to change shape or size as a result of a stimulus, and carbon nanotubes, Robojelly is able to mimic the natural movements of a jellyfish when placed in a water tank and is powered by chemical reactions taking place on its surface.
“To our knowledge, this is the first successful powering of an underwater robot using external hydrogen as a fuel source,” said lead author of the study Yonas Tadesse.
The jellyfish is an ideal invertebrate to base the vehicle on due to its simple swimming action: it has two prominent mechanisms known as “rowing” and “jetting”.
A jellyfish’s movement is down to circular muscles located on the inside of the bell – the main part of the body shaped like the top of an umbrella. As the muscles contract, the bell closes in on itself and ejects water to propel the jellyfish forward. After contracting, the bell relaxes and regains its original shape.
This was replicated in the vehicle using commercially available shape memory alloys (SMA) – smart materials that “remember” their original shape – wrapped in carbon nanotubes and coated with a platinum black powder.
The robot is powered by heat-producing chemical reactions between the oxygen and hydrogen in water and the platinum on its surface. The heat given off by these reactions is transferred to the artificial muscles of the robot, causing them to transform into different shapes.
This green, renewable element means Robojelly can regenerate fuel from its natural surroundings and therefore doesn’t require an external power source or the constant replacement of batteries.
At the moment, the hydrogen-powered Robojelly has been functioning whilst being clamped down in a water tank. The researchers admit that the robot still needs development to achieve full functionality.
“The current design allows the jellyfish to flex its eight bell segments, each operated by a fuel-powered SMA module. This should be sufficient for the jellyfish to lift itself up if all the bell segments are actuated,” Tadesse explained.
“We are now researching new ways to deliver the fuel into each segment so that each one can be controlled individually. This should allow the robot to be controlled and moved in different directions,” Tadesse said.

Soon, control robotic planes by simply waving your arms

Researchers have devised a new system that could one day allow drone aircraft taxiing on a runway to recognise and follow hand gestures.
Presently, drones can land autonomously on aircraft carrier decks, but are controlled by humans during taxiing.
With piloted aircraft, navy flight-deck marshals follow a codified set of hand gestures to direct them to, for example, cut their engines, open weapon bay doors or move to a refuelling bay.
To test whether these gestures could be recognised by a computer, Yale Song and colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology wrote an algorithm that analyses 3-second clips from a depth-sensing camera trained on a person performing flight-deck gestures, the New Scientist reported.
The system recorded body, arm, wrist, hand and finger positions and could consequently identify a flight-deck command with an accuracy of 76 per cent.
The team revealed that it is currently working towards improving recognition levels.
 “I can’t see why this wouldn’t work ultimately,” said Peter van Blyenburgh, head of UVS International, a drone trade group.
“The gestures are clearly defined – an image sensor should be able to pick them up,” Blyenburgh added.
The study will appear in ACM Transactions on Interactive Intelligent Systems.

Soon, camera that uses opaque walls as 'mirrors' to peer around corn...

Researchers led by one of Indian origin have come up with a new imaging system could use opaque walls, doors or floors as ‘mirrors’ to collect information about scenes outside its line of sight.
In December, MIT Media Lab researchers caused a stir by releasing a slow-motion video of a burst of light traveling the length of a plastic bottle. But the experimental setup that enabled that video was designed for a much different application: a camera that can see around corners.
In the study, researchers have described using their system to produce recognizable 3-D images of a wooden figurine and of foam cutouts outside their camera’s line of sight.
The research could ultimately lead to imaging systems that allow emergency responders to evaluate dangerous environments or vehicle navigation systems that can negotiate blind turns, among other applications.
The principle behind the system is essentially that of the periscope. But instead of using angled mirrors to redirect light, the system uses ordinary walls, doors or floors — surfaces that aren’t generally thought of as reflective.
The system exploits a device called a femtosecond laser, which emits bursts of light so short that their duration is measured in quadrillionths of a second.
To peer into a room that’s outside its line of sight, the system might fire femtosecond bursts of laser light at the wall opposite the doorway.
The light would reflect off the wall and into the room, then bounce around and re-emerge, ultimately striking a detector that can take measurements every few picoseconds, or trillionths of a second. Because the light bursts are so short, the system can gauge how far they’ve travelled by measuring the time it takes them to reach the detector.
The system performs this procedure several times, bouncing light off several different spots on the wall, so that it enters the room at several different angles.
The detector, too, measures the returning light at different angles. By comparing the times at which returning light strikes different parts of the detector, the system can piece together a picture of the room’s geometry.
Previously, femtosecond lasers had been used to produce extremely high-speed images of biochemical processes in a laboratory setting, where the trajectories of the laser pulses were carefully controlled.
“Four years ago, when I talked to people in ultrafast optics about using femtosecond lasers for room-sized scenes, they said it was totally ridiculous,” said Ramesh Raskar, an associate professor at the MIT Media Lab, who led the new research.
Andreas Velten, a former postdoc in Raskar’s group who is now at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, fired femtosecond bursts of laser light at an opaque screen, which reflected the light onto objects suspended in front of another opaque panel standing in for the back wall of a room.
The data collected by the ultrafast sensor were processed by algorithms that Raskar and Velten developed in collaboration with Otkrist Gupta, a graduate student in Raskar’s group; Thomas Willwacher, a mathematics postdoc at Harvard University; and Ashok Veeraraghavan, an assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science at Rice University.
The 3-D images produced by the algorithms were blurry but easily recognizable.
Raskar envisions that a future version of the system could be used by emergency responders — firefighters looking for people in burning buildings or police determining whether rooms are safe to enter — or by vehicle navigation systems, which could bounce light off the ground to look around blind corners.
It could also be used with endoscopic medical devices, to produce images of previously obscure regions of the human body.

Google Chrome took lead over Internet Explorer on March 18

Google Chrome briefly emerged as the world's most popular web browser last weekend, overtaking Microsoft’s Internet Explorer for the first time, according to statistics.
StatCounter, which compiled the figures, said Google Chrome took the lead on March 18, when office workers were using their own computers instead of ones controlled by corporate IT departments.
"While it is only one day, this is a milestone. At weekends, when people are free to choose what browser to use, many of them are selecting Chrome in preference to IE," The Telegraph quoted StatCounter's chief executive Aodhan Cullen, as saying.
According to Statcounter data, Chrome was used for 32.7 per cent of browsing, while Internet Explorer had 32.5 per cent share on March 18.
But Microsoft's share recovered to 35 per cent, while Chrome's share slipped to 30 per cent on March 19.
Chrome relegated Firefox from second to third position worldwide for the long term in December.
Some analysts have questioned whether Google can also overturn Internet Explorer due to Microsoft's dominance of incorporate desktops.
"Whether Chrome can take the lead in the browser wars in the long term remains to be seen, however the trend towards Chrome usage at weekends is undeniable," Cullen said.
StatCounter data is collected from a sample of over 15 billion page views on more than three million websites.

Spotify unveils series of new music applications

Spotify has launched 13 new applications that are developed by a range of record labels and music distributors in a bid to offer more rounded music experience on its service.
One of the new Spotify applications, ‘The Complete Collection’, will allow users to browse images, lyrics and album liner notes to learn about iconic artists, while tuning to their playlist.
Another application, ''Def Jam'', developed by Def Jam Recordings, will enable hip-hop fans enjoy better music discovery in this genre and offers neat curation tools.
The first Spotify application, introduced in November 2011, included reviews and playlists from music magazines such as Rolling Stone, concert information from Songkick and software that displays lyrics in time with songs.
Spotify's chief executive Daniel Ek said it had opened up to third-party developers because "there’s really only that much that Spotify itself can do".
"We thought the true core of Spotify would be to make all the music available instantly," The Telegraph quoted him, as saying.
Users of Spotify''s ad-supported service will be able to access new applications since they are available free of cost.
The approach represents an attempt to transform Spotify into a platform for a wide array of music-based apps, just as Facebook plays host to hundreds of social games.

Now, a new theory on size of black holes

Planetary scientists have come up with a new theory on the size of black holes -- claiming some of them have no "table manners", and tip their "food" directly into their mouths, eating more than one course simultaneously.
For its research, a team from the University of Leicester in the UK and Monash University in Australia investigated how some black holes grow so fast that they are billions of times heavier than the sun.
Prof Andrew King at University of Leicester, who led the study, said, "Almost every galaxy has an enormously massive black hole in its centre. Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, has one about four million times heavier than the sun.
"But some galaxies have black holes a thousand times heavier still. We know they grew very quickly after the Big Bang. These hugely massive black holes were already full-grown when the universe was very young, less than a tenth of its present age."
Black holes grow by sucking in gas. This forms a disc around the hole and spirals in, but usually so slowly that the holes could not have grown to these huge masses in the entire age of the universe.
The scientists made a computer simulation of two gas discs orbiting a black hole at different angles. After a short time the discs spread and collide, and large amounts of gas fall into the hole. According to their calculations black holes can grow 1,000 times faster when this happens.
"If two guys ride motorbikes on a Wall of Death and they collide, they lose the centrifugal force holding them to the walls and fall," says King. The same thing happens to the gas in these discs, and it falls in towards the hole.
This may explain how these black holes got so big so fast. "We don't know exactly how gas flows inside galaxies in the early universe but I think it's very promising that if the flows are chaotic it is very easy for the black hole to feed," said King.
The findings are to be published in the 'Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society'.

Facebook asks employers not to demand passwords of jobseekers

Facebook has warned legal action against companies that ask job applicants for passwords to the social network, saying such a request violates its terms of service.
Facebook Chief Privacy Officer Erin Egan issued the warning in the wake of a published report that companies and governmental agencies were increasingly asking job applicants for access to their accounts as part of a pre-employment screening process.
In an open note to its users, Facebook has taken a stand against the growing trend of employers requesting the account passwords of jobseekers as a condition of employment consideration, saying they "don't think it's the right thing to do."
To be more specific, the company says giving potential employers access to personal accounts is detrimental to both the user and the user's friends, and could have legal ramifications for the employer.
"As a user, you shouldn't be forced to share your private information and communications just to get a job," the note, credited to Egan, flatly says.
"And as the friend of a user, you shouldn't have to worry that your private information or communications will be revealed to someone you don't know and didn't intend to share with just because that user is looking for a job."
The note goes on to say that employers requesting passwords open themselves for potential problems like discrimination claims and that they could "assume liability for the protection of the information they have seen."
Still, the note finishes by reaffirming that while Facebook will do what they can to protect their users' right to privacy, the user is most responsible for protecting that right.
"While we will continue to do our part, it is important that everyone on Facebook understands they have a right to keep their password to themselves."

TOMTOM VIA 125: Plug & Go

For your next road trip, don’t leave the house without your car navigation system. With a sophisticated navigation system—in-dash or on top of it— you’ll never have to struggle with confusing maps or unintelligible instructions ever again. It reduces driver stress too. Of course, commuters can’t wish away the traffic jams, but some navigation systems monitor traffic to avoid chaos on the roads. After one car trip with the Dutch manufactured TomTom Via 125 navigation system, I was hooked!
This R18,990-a piece portable navigation device couldn’t be simpler to use—just plug in and tap the touch screen. You will be on your way very quickly with its intuitive user interface. TomTom’s updated maps feature all the monuments, chowks, parks or attractions you need to find your way. Wherever you need to be, search for the nearest landmark and let TomTom show you the route.
Designed for convenience, the device even lets you use your voice for many different tasks, such as entering addresses and making calls hands-free. One can navigate complex junctions with ease using advanced lane guidance. No wonder, driving with these more fuel-efficient routes saves you money as well as reducing your impact on the environment.
Car navigation systems are fast becoming one of the most popular mobile electronics items on the market. Making your journey as convenient as possible, a navigation system features turn-by-turn directions that are both audible and visible, technology that automatically redirects you if you miss a turn, and point-of-interest-mapping in case you need a bite to eat or are looking for the nearest ATM.
I firmly believe that portable navigation devices are must-haves these days, especially if you travel or drive frequently. There is no shortage of navigation devices on the market with prices ranging from the low of R7,000 to as high as R50,000. But buying a direction-giving device that fits your particular needs can be confusing unless you know precisely what to look for.
You may believe that car navigation systems are just a glorified map for those who can’t remember correct road directions. Believe me and I am not exaggerating TomTom Via is so much more than just a map that says, “You are here.” It has a lot of great features that you may not even know about, making it more useful, easier to use or just plain fun. For instance, it clearly shows which lane to take at junctions so you don’t miss your turning. On the most difficult highway intersections, realistic 3D representation of the junction keeps you relaxed and safe.
Normally, car drivers prefer their navigation system to blend in with the dashboard to appear as seamless as possible. The TomTom navigation device sits on top of the dashboard and matches your car and style. And when it comes to screen display, the bigger navigation devices are, the better. Units with bigger screen sizes are easier to use and navigate. TomTom Via has clear display, reflective coating and anti-glare features. It is easier to read on the 5-inch screen in the daytime. Its touchscreen technology gives you the optimum view with the easiest control to make operating your device a pleasure.
Helping you to keep your eyes on the road, spoken instructions on the TomTom Via include street names, to make turnings even clearer. Guidance come available in Indian accented English plus 10 additional regional languages—Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Punjabi, Malayalam, Marathi, Bangla, Gujarati and Oriya. You can choose icons for your most frequent destinations and add your own text. This makes your navigation experience truly your own with even easier and quicker navigation to the places you go most often.
There’s a convenient foldaway mount that’s integrated with your device, so it’s always there when you need it. It attaches easily to your windscreen. And using the optional mounting disk, you can turn it upside down and position it on your dashboard too, where the screen automatically flips to the right way up.
My verdict:
TomTom Via can be a good choice for easygoing navigation on Indian roads.
Estimated street price: R18,990
Key FEATUREs
Dimensions: 134 x 93 x 19 mm (W x H x D)
Screen size & type: 5.0-inch, 16:9 resistive wide screen
Screen resolution: 480 x 272 pixels
Connectivity: Bluetooth for hands-free calling
Memory: 4 GB internal flash memory
Spoken navigation languages: English, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Punjabi, Malayalam, Marathi, Bangla, Gujarati, Oriya
Battery life: Upto 2 hours autonomous operation

LENOVO IDEACENTRE C320: Pay less for more

Desktops aren’t just for desks anymore. They’re showing up in every room of the house—gaming in the bedroom, streaming movies in the living room, emailing in the kitchen. Lenovo IdeaCentre C320 is the new addition to C Series models of Lenovo’s all-in-one desktops. Lenovo claims that this new PC will offer consumers an affordable space-saving solution, with the multimedia features that other conventional PCs offer.
The 20-inch wide LED-backlit touch screen display comes with a resolution of 1600 x 900p. It includes Windows 7 Home Premium combined with Intel Core i3-2120 CPU at 3.30 GHz with a storage capacity of 1 TB, 4 GB RAM and AMD Radeon HD 6450A graphics card. It has a pre-installed Lenovo Eye distance system which detects your distance from the screen and displays a message that you are too close to the screen. There’s also an option for a multi-touch enabled touchscreen being provided.
The C320 offers an optional USB 3.0 port, which lets users take advantage of faster speeds than the traditional USB 2.0 standard. Of course, you need to use USB 3.0 drives to make proper use of it. On some configurations, there’s also option to connect larger TVs or monitors using the HDMI port.
In PC Mark Vantage test, the C320 scored 7144 which is a good score and has a 4509 score in 3D Mark, which is the best score we have seen in recent models of Lenovo all-in-one desktops. It has a Power cinema which includes photos, videos, music files and games. The feature list includes Wi-Fi 802.11n, USB 3.0 and 6 USB 2.0. The desktop also features a 0.3 MP Web camera, but the quality does not match with that of 0.3 MP in IdeaCentre B320. The speaker quality is very good supported by SRS premium sound. In addition, the keyboard keys are very well placed and are in a combination of a vivid colours which makes it look fancy.
Estimated street price: R28,650
Specs
Display: 20-inch touchscreen display
Resolutions: 1600 x 900p
Operating system: Windows 7 Basic
Processor: Intel Dual Core i3, 3.3 GHz processor
Storage: 4 GB RAM, 1TB HDD
DVD writer, WiFi connectivity
HDMI, USB 3.0, wired keyboard and mouse

Canon PowerShot S100: Sleek and serious

This time it is even better. The follow up to the S95, Canon PowerShot S100 is a sophisticated pocket-friendly point-and-shoot digital camera that has the power advanced users and enthusiasts need to create standout images. As with other PowerShot cameras, the compact PowerShot S100 incorporates all of the advanced Canon technologies that make capturing superb photos and video as easy as pressing a button. Yet, when it’s time to get creative, the very same camera in the hands of a skilled photographer can produce stunning images that would be at home in a gallery.
As automatic or manual as you need it to be, the PowerShot S100 is, at once, a pocket camera and a serious photographic tool, impressing even demanding pros. It incorporates the Canon HS SYSTEM, now featuring the new DIGIC 5 Image Processor for enhanced image quality and amazing low-light performance. It has got a high-sensitivity of 12.1 megapixel 1/1.7-type CMOS sensor, 5x zoom lens with a focal range of 24-140 mm and fast maximum aperture of f/2.0, and a 3.0 inch LCD display with a resolution of 461K dots. It also offers a maximum ISO of 6400 at full resolution, built-in GPS, 1080p movie recording at 24fps, full range of manual shooting modes, RAW format support and 9.6fps burst shooting.
Canon S100 has a lighter and slimmer body, weighting just 198 gms. The grip in this compact camera is also good, it has a rubberised grip on the back side of the camera. Some of the additions that this camera bring include High ISO NR settings (Low, Standard, High), Sport AE Point, Wind Filter (on/off) and Power IS for movies. You can also customize the ring function button. The TFT colour LCD got a wide viewing angle.
We had taken a number of photos in a variety of settings and this camera performed great almost in all scenarios. It really impressed with its low light performance, thanks to its new CMOS sensor. The Canon S100 provides great image quality, with its longer and wider zoom than its predecessor S95. The latest inclusions of DIGIC 5 processor gives this camera an edge over its competitors.
In the video mode, one improvement you will notice is its ability to zoom in and out during video recording. In terms of video performance, the colours were sharp with a good amount of detail and the auto-focus in this camera also works pretty good at keeping up with panning and zooming. The S100’s new intelligent IS system features 7 stabilisation modes which are automatically set by the camera depending on the scene you’re shooting.
The added feature of GPS in this camera comes handy. The GPS feature options includes On/Off, and GPS Logger (On/Off). Switch GPS on and the camera warns you to monitor battery life. There is also the option to update the camera’s time from GPS. Included in the box is Map Utility software so that you can track where you’ve been. Little disappointed with its battery life, we could shoot 170-200 images in full charge.
Overall, the PowerShot S100 is a well-designed camera which gives you good image quality.
Estimated street price:R26,999

Now, a car that changes colour with your mood!

 
Imagine your car changing its colour as per your mood. Well, your imagination is now a reality.
All thanks to French car manufacturer Peugeot which has unveiled a new car, Peugeot RCZ, that uses an innovative reactive paint to change its body colour in order to reflect its owner's emotions, be it happy, sad or anything in between.
In fact, engineers at Peugeot UK have developed this pioneering new technology by using a psychochromatic coating or mood paint, which alters the molecular structure of the paint to emit light at varying wavelengths.
The driver's moods are detected via heat sensors integrated into the steering wheel, which read their body temperature and pulse rate to change the exterior colour of the car accordingly, say the engineers.
"This really is a world first for motoring, to have developed a paint that accurately reflects the emotion of the driver, will no doubt have our competitors green with envy.
"Particularly as our customers can experience this innovation behind the wheel of the RCZ -- a sports coupe that already inspires goose-bumps with its double-bubble roof line," Vince Clisham, the product manager at Peugeot, said in a media release.

Dropcam Begins Shipping The $149 Dropcam HD WiFi Security Camera

Dropcam is back with its second and most advanced security camera. Introduced back at CES 2012, the Dropcam HD is finally ready to ship and delivered within 5-7 business days. It’s quite a good bargin, too.
Not much has changed since we first looked at the unit in early January. This model does 30 fps, night vision, two-way audio and 16x the resolution as the original Dropcam Echo. The live video is accessible through a cloud service for $9.99 a month. Dropcam also offers a DVR functionality. At $149 it’s priced very aggressively against other products with a smaller feature set.
By shipping this second product, Dropbox has officially made a dent in the startup hardware field. It takes a lot to ship a first product, but it’s even harder to stick around long enough to ship a second. As Dropbox’s CEO Greg Duffy explains in the interview with TechCrunch’s John Biggs below, don’t ship before it’s ready. It’s never too late to launch a great product.