tech news – Etiole

Windows 8 welcome screen leaked : looks hot and promising

Monik — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 19:46:10 +0000

Windows 8 Welcome Screen leaked screenshot after break. How is it? (Click to enlarge)

Doesn't it resemble something? Somewhat like Windows Phone 7 Metro User Interface. Background image can obviously be customized. CTRL + ALT + DELETE seems obvious option to log in but there will be more options like clicking the image and logging in. For Tablet versions, Windows 8 unlocking would be done by swiping a pattern on the skin. Thanks DownloadSquad.

Twitter into URL shortening business too?

Monik — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:09:06 +0000

Bit.ly, Is.gd, Tr.im, Hop.im and a lot more. Goo.gl too. Now? It's Finally Twitter! Twitter, the massive microblogging platform the popularized the whole concept of URL shortening starting with TinyUrl.com because people wanted to share URLs which were well above 140 Characters and so they needed something to shrink it and they also need some space to describe it, so this gave birth to URL Shrinking revolution. But this recently has taken a turn and as been contributing to a lot of Spam and phishing taking place on Twitter via Direct Messages because the biggest advantage of having a shortened URL is that you can hide the destination location of the url so people can be fooled easily by describing the link with some text giving a misinterpretation of what it would lead to while, it leads to some poker or a warez website which is a scam or something. From now, all the direct messages and Email Notifications from Twitter will have links shortened from Twt.tl and this will help Twitter monitor URLs and prevent such fishing attacks. Here's a excerpt from their blog post,

Today, we’re launching a new service to protect users that strikes a major blow against phishing and other deceitful attacks. By routing all links submitted to Twitter through this new service, we can detect, intercept, and prevent the spread of bad links across all of Twitter. Even if a bad link is already sent out in an email notification and somebody clicks on it, we'll be able keep that user safe.

It surely points that in no time, we will have all replies with twt.tl links too, who knows?

7 reasons why the Nexus one won’t kill the iPhone

Monik — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 13:09:07 +0000

When Nexus one came out and even before it's launch, people started claiming it as the iPhone killer. It's been the story with nearly all the phones and the most recent one was Motorola Droid.

Applications

If you see Apple's iPhone has about a 100,000 applications. Yes, there's a app for everything you would ever think off. Google's android currently offers 20,000 applications. Apple crossed 3 Billion downloads recently and 1 billion downloads were achieved in a short span of about 3 months.

Features

If we speak of the camera, Google's Nexus one has got a 5 megapixel camera while the iPhone has got a 3 Megapixel. You might be guessing that, now i can't argue on it, nexus is the winner. Frankly, no. If you use a iPhone you surely love the camera interface and with Video recording capabilities in iPhone 3.0 you might never think of using any other phone again. Also i just wanted to clear out that a two megapixel difference does not affect the picture quality hugely, mostly it's the quality of the image sensor which i think Apple has got. You really don't argue over the multi-touch interface iPhone has got!

Design

Simplicity is brilliant design. Apple's iPhone completely a living example of that statement. Apple's design skills have been everywhere, from it's iPods to those unibody MacBooks and iPhone's design is just too much to ignore. No doubt, that Nexus one's design is nice but it surely isn't enough to beat the iPhone as of yet (even if you don't agree with this it's alright). The black color on the iPhone goes very well and can suit nearly any of your clothes and styles. This is Apple's plus point too.

Pricing and availabilty

Google's phone is priced at $530 without contract and $180 with T-Mobile contract. iPhone is priced at $199 with AT&T contract and $599 for unlocked. $20 and $50 difference doesn't make it a big winner though. Well if you know Apple has got the name and some sort of a mindset in most people's mind. If you think buying an iPhone is cool why won't you be ready to spend some money more to get the trendy stuff? Also, when your getting access to 80,000 applications more? The iPhone is available in 77 countries while the Nexus one is present in 48 countries. Also Nexus is ignoring markets like India too where they can expect a high sale number due to huge population. Nexus one will be coming to more countries soon later this year.

Internet Experience

iPhone was the first phone to revolutionize the internet browsing experience. Being first is always a good chance and in this case it surely is. I am not saying that no one can challenge it, (infact many did, like Palm with the pre) but not many have not been successful with their attempt so chances are low.

Integrated Store

One of the biggest advantage iPhone has is the iTunes store. Movie rentals, applications, music and everything you ever want. Android compared to the iPhone store is a kid. Apart from that, the PC and Mac integration with the iPhone is the best thing you ever wish for. One library for everything Apple (ipods, iphone, macs!) is what i love.

Marketing

Buzz. iPhone's there in the newspapers in everyday, it's on television for things which i am sure Apple didn't pay for. Geeks dream of it. Bloggers love it. Celebs also love it! Nexus one is a new contender but if Google really wants to kick off iPhone, it surely needs a real strong marketing campaign.

Maintainence

iPhone maintenance costs are very very high but it being in the market for such a long time it doesn't take a long time to find a good service centre (either authorized, or some guy sitting in his garage). Here's another picture of Nexus one Vs. other phone comparison. Have a look over it for some good pricing numbers too.

Forget everything. A new iPhone version could also be on it's way, 4G iPhone which might give iPhone a great comeback in turns of technology and till now Apple has not disappointed us and i hope so they really won't on 26th January! Image Credit : BillShrink, TechTree. You might like to check out AppleInsider's post too.

Looking for a perfect Christmas gift? Google has one!

Abhishek — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:57:18 +0000

From fascinating and artistic youtube videos to creative television adverts, the Google Chrome browser is literally everywhere these days. Google has decided that it will leave no stone unturned in the publicity of the fast and sleek IE-killer and why not, after all its the backbone of the soon to be born Google Chrome OS.

As for the holiday season,the search giant has come up with a new breathtaking site which allows people to give the gift of Chrome.

The Chrome for Christmas site allows users to send greeting cards to their loved ones(or even strangers) with a gift i.e the Google Chrome Pokeball neatly wrapped in artistic designs to be chosen by the sender. The sender can attach a photo and a video too along with a short message. The receiver gets a link which shows the Google Chrome logo popping out of the gift wrap in a funky way leading to a link to download Google Chrome. This campaign is definitely avant-garde as far as browser publicity is concerned which itself might give the browser a lot of attention. There is also the plain old,Give the gift of Chrome site which allows users to gift chrome 365-days a year. So,if you haven't found the perfect Christmas gift yet, why not give the gift of Chrome to the frustrated IE users? Links: Chrome for Christmas Give Chrome Google Chrome Download Poll: [polldaddy poll=2386724] Picture Credit : JohnChow.com

Google Goggles : A new visual search application for Android phones

Abhishek — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:09:11 +0000

Imagine a book you spotted in a bookstore and wanted to get more information about it instantly. Or maybe a monument you saw and you wanted to know the history behind it."C'mon you can't take Google with you everywhere" is what you would say. Or not if you own an Android phone. Google recently unveiled Google Goggles, a labs application for Android phones which allows users to google about a particular object by merely pointing the phone's camera at it. This project, still in the early stages is yet another unique innovation from the Big G. More about Goggles The visual search application works on phones that run Android v1.6 or later. Pointing the camera at say 'Taj Mahal' would immediately provide related search results. On a smaller scale, pointing at a book shop's name would search for the book shop, its address and even reviews. It currently won't work on your bonsai plant or your cute dog but Google plans on improving the technology to the point where you could be able to search the plant's name by photographing its leaf. Let's hope Google comes out with Goggles for non-Android phones too. Similar Technology from Nokia A similar technology has been already developed by Nokia and is aptly titled 'Nokia Point and Find'. It is available on select Nokia phones(N97,N95,E71 and a few more).You can download it from Point and Find's website(see link below) Links: Google Goggles Nokia Point and Find

Nokia’s N900 is Skype ready : Skype integrated to the core

Monik — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:43:03 +0000

Nokia's buzzing handset, N900 has been in the headlines for lot of time and it does have a tough reason to be there. For all Skype lovers, here is a good news. Nokia N900 has got Skype Integrated with it, to the core! You don't need to download ant skype application or launch any. All you got to do is login and call!

Once you are logged in, just shuffle over your contacts, make a Skype to Skype call which is completely free or Make a call abroad for damn low charges. So what do you get out of this?

No Hassles downloading software and installing it on you Phone
You can use it on your 3G or Wifi
You can Chat and Call your Skype Contacts
Everything is integrated so when you browse contacts you see buttons like Chat Via Skype or Call via Skype
You get to save money
Your Mobile Service Operator gets difficult competition

Check out this video by Mark Douglas who is the Product manager of Skype Mobile who explains skype with Nokia N900!

Microsoft Suffers Revenue drop but People are Still Happy

Monik — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:33:49 +0000

Microsoft's, Third Quarter Reports are out and the Companies Revenues is made public.

What's Funny to observe is that, Microsoft's revenue has dropped about 14% but people seem to be happy about it. Why? Well, as per estimates Revenue was to be $12.32 but fortunately, it's $12.92 which is not as worse as what was expected.. Well, guys at Microsoft would also be happy about this ;) The Online Revenue drops from to $490 million well last year it was $520 million. The Major Blow is to the Windows Live Division which reports a drop from $4278 million last year to $2620 this year. The Entertainment Division has suffered just a loss of about $2 million. Servers and Tools Revenue was the only one which saw growth of 17 Million Dollars. Here are the Reports, [caption id="attachment_2592" align="aligncenter" width="511" caption="Microsoft Revenue Reports"][/caption]

Microsoft Stores Open Today : Retail and Online (Change) with Great Buzz and excitement!

Monik — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:54:24 +0000

WIndows 7 has been taking away all the headlines from top most blogs, newspapers and Television shows. Here's another reason why it might be there.

Microsofts Awaited Retail Store have been launched along with the Official Release of Windows 7 Today along with the online store. Great.

The Online Stores Opened up recently, and now they will be selling a lot more than just windows 7. They will be selling Computers Running on Windows 7, 3rd Party Accessories, Xbox 360's and Game Titles. Awesome. Apart from that, you can also buy Pc Games and Zune Devices form the Store. Same here, with the Retail Store which first opened today, in Scottsdale which received a tremendous response from users. Beleive me, just check out these Videos and pics. [caption id="attachment_2566" align="aligncenter" width="420" caption="People Waiting For Store Opening"][/caption]

Well, if thats not enough the first four fans, who were waiting in the line received Free Zune HD's from Microsoft. (Moral : Be good to them, the'll be good to you). Here are some Pics from the Store at Scottsdale.

For More Pics, check out Microsoft Stores, Flickr Photostream.

Adobe Reader Lite : Blaze Fast Version of Adobe Reader

bastab — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:33:38 +0000

So, for the majority of us, we like to use none other than Adobe Reader for opening our .pdf files for going through the e-books, referring to the foreign University registration form or going through the inter-college band blast FAQs, naming a few. But the common problems for most of us have been the size and slow speed of the application that can be real hazards at times. I have been adviced by friends to use ‘Foxit’ reader in place of Adobe, and I was surprised enough to find that software to be as compatible for opening all sorts of .pdf extensions with equal ease alike Adobe Reader. But somehow I could not compel or rather convince myself to uninstall my Adobe Reader and use the ‘Foxit’ one instead. I had always this feeling that maybe I will not be paying hard for my choice and trust on Adobe, and will not have to regret to neglect the ‘Foxit’. And now, I found out this application called ‘Adobe Reader Lite’, which Adobe has come up with after the introduction of ‘Lite’ versions seemingly being a trend among the Technology giants. After Nero Lite in the application software scenario and Facebook Lite in the social media scenario, Adobe came up with its Adobe Reader Lite. This application primarily is based on Adobe Reader 8, and is said to be its ‘Blaze Fast version’. The resulting fast speed is supposedly due to the removal of the several plugins that made it slow enough. Also these given features have been checked: 1.License agreement pop-ups 2.Autorun and desktop shortcuts 3.Unnecessary plug-ins 4.Removes all auto update features and AcroRd32Info.exe with no errors in the event log These steps can be significant enough to keep the regular users, who use to avoid hussles of loading bigger applications and waiting for it to get activated and flock to ‘Foxit Reader’ instead. Get your copy of Adobe Reader Lite http://www.majorgeeks.com/Adobe_Reader_Lite_d5915.html

Breaking : Twitters List Features Goes live and makes it easier than ever to follow people

Monik — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:18:14 +0000

Twitters List Feature seems to be the most awaited one. Sometime back there was some news about twitter adding a new feature where you could automatically follow a group of people, and you won't have to go and click follow, follow, follow for people you wanted to add. This Feature is in Beta and now it has gone live for users, Including me and few more people. Here's a Quick Review of the new feature.

You'll see a box over your twitter profile, if your few of the lucky users who get to try out this feature, anyways this feature will be rolled out to public soon though.

Let me tell you what lists generally mean, it's like a group kind of thing where you can add the people your following, for example twitters made a list called, @twitter's team. Well, if you visit the list now instead of going to each workers profile you can simple just click on Follow the list and you will be able to follow the complete list in one go! How to Add it? It's simple. Just click on create new list on the top banner to get started. Then you'll be greeted with a box. What's Hit is that you can make private lists too :) Then after that i'll be taken to the list page, where i have to add the profiles of the users i am following. These lists will be arranged in this URL Manner - twitter.com/USER/LISTNAME So then i follow what's given there and i slowly move on to the Following page, where on the left hand side of every profile i see, another small icon which on clicking allows me to add that person to the list. Well, I can add the person to as many lists as i want. Simple, Right? Now, after adding people the list shows the latest tweets of the people you've added to the list, and above that it shows you to follow the list. So in One go you can follow all my friends! Well, how does it work? Here's a view of twitter team whom i followed as soon i got this feature. Well after the list feature being added, i see profiles also in a bit different manner. Now, near the Followers and Following Numbers on RIght hand side of your profile you can also see "Lists" and the no. of tweets gets shifted to below your user name. Have a look at my profile. Another Feature i found out was to see, which lists you are included in and which lists you've made all together. These can be accessed by clicking on the Lists Link on your profile page (Shown Above). Pretty Good Step by twitter ;)