iPhone 4 will be available in India in September

After launching it in Europe and US, Apple is all set to offer its highly demanded and successful gadget iPhone 4 in India in coming September. The gadget has been very successful in western markets and is selling like a hot cake. Indian gadget freaks are desperately waiting for the gadget to arrive in the country.

iPhone 4 operates its functionality on iOS4, the latest software developed by Apple for its mobiles. The software enables the device to run more than one program simultaneously. The new Apple iPhone 4 features:

•  FaceTime, 
• supports video calling  
• Apple's new Retina 960×640 pixelsdisplay, the highest resolution display ever built into a phone,  
• HD video recording
•  Apple's A4 processor
•  a 3-axis gyro and up to 40% longer talk time – in an all-new design of glass and stainless steel.
• LG LCD Display technology called In-Plane Switching technology (IPS) for enhanced viewing experience

Apple said that the new iPhone is the thinnest smartphone in the world, at 9.3 millimeters. T
The cost of this new device in western markets is set at $199 and $299 for 16GB and 32GB respectively. For Indian users, the 16GB version of the device is expected to cost around Rs. 35,500 while the 32GB version will be priced at around Rs. 41,500.

Earlier, Vodafone announced that it is all set to bring the iPhone 4 to the Indian market in the coming months.

NETRA:Tool for Refractive Assessment

THE HUMBLE mobile phone is soon going to be your ophthalmologist. You will be able to self-test your eyesight just as you check your body temperature, blood pressure or blood glucose using digital devices. All you will need to do is run a simple application on your phone, look at the screen through a tiny attachment and press a few keys.

And within seconds, you will have the status of your eyesight on your phone's screen. This is an innovative piece of technology developed by a group of researchers led by India-born Ramesh Raskar at the media lab of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

It has yielded encouraging results and will soon be field-tested in India in collaboration with the Hyderabad-based L. V. Prasad Eye Institute.

The device has been named NETRA or Near-Eye Tool for Refractive Assessment. The device has the potential to make routine eye-testing simpler, cheaper and accessible to millions of people. It takes advantage of the huge improvements in the resolution of digital displays and their widespread proliferation on mobile phones, which have become ubiquitous in developing countries.

NETRA currently works with phones having high-resolution displays. But researchers are expanding the range of phones that it can work on and are also developing pattern designs that can work with low-resolution phones.

"You can think of it as a thermometer for visual performance. Just as a thermometer measures corporal temperature and does not prescribe medicine, NETRA measures the refractive error and does not necessarily prescribe glasses," says Raskar, who heads the Camera Culture group at the media lab. "It allows a user to self- assess the performance of his or her eyes over time. The goal is to empower people, not replace optometrists."

Apart from the software to run on the phone, all that's needed is a snap-on plastic device, which, researchers say, can be produced for about $2 (about Rs 93). But it would cost much lesser if produced in large quantities. The plastic device can be clipped on to the front of a cell phone's screen.

The micro-lens array in front of the LCD essentially creates a 4D display. The user looks into a small lens and presses the phone's navigation keys until sets of parallel green and red lines overlap. This is repeated eight times, with the lines at different angles, for each eye.

The whole process takes less than two minutes, at which point the software loaded on to the phone provides the prescription data. The prototype developed by Raskar's team has an array of tiny lenses and a grid of pinholes that, combined with the software on the phone, forces the user to focus at different depths.

Swype: a software that predicts words as you glide across your keyboard

Seattle-based Cliff Kushler,the man  who invented the T9 software for quick typing on cell phones, has created yet an another path breaking software called  Swype with partner Randy Marsden which predicts words as you slide your fingers on the keypad.

Swype allows users to glide a finger across the virtual keyboard to spell words, rather than tapping out each letter.

"We've squeezed the desktop computer, complete with keyboard and mouse, into something that fits in a pocket. The information bandwidth has become very constricted. I thought, if we can find a better way to input that information, it could be something that would really take off," the New York Times quoted him as saying

He said that Swype is a big breakthrough that could reach billions of people.

Swype's software detects where a finger pauses and changes direction as it traces out the pattern of a word.The movements do not have to be precise because the software calculates which words a user is most likely trying to spell.Capitalization and double letters can be indicated with a pause or squiggle, while spacing and punctuation are automatic.

Kushler, who is chief technology officer of Swype, estimates that the software can improve even the nimblest text-messager's pace by 20 to 30 percent.Swype charges phone makers a licensing fee for each device sold and is also contemplating for add-ons.

Thunderbird 3.1 release candidate issued

Mozilla issued a second release candidate for version 3.1 of its open sourceThunderbird email and news client, code named "Lanikai". Mozilla developers consider  the latest development milestone to be stable and it is expected to be the last release before the final version of Thunderbird 3.1 arrives "around mid-June".

Thunderbird 3.1 will be the next major release of the popular cross-platform email client and is based on the Gecko 1.9.2 platform.
 New features include 

•  addition of a new quick filter toolbar
•  Saved Files Manager
• an updated migration assistant. 

Other notable changes include 

• better Personas theme support
•  interface design changes 
•  stability and memory improvements. 
• Upgrading from version 2.x of Thunderbird has also been improved.

The second release candidate addresses several bugs, including a critical issue that caused it to crash on some Mac OS X systems. As with all development releases, use in production environments and on mission critical systems is not advised. Users testing the release are encouraged to provide feedback and report any bugs that they encounter.

More details about the release, including a list of known issues, can be found in the release notes. Thunderbird 3.1 RC2 is available todownload for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. Thunderbird binaries are released under the Mozilla Thunderbird End-User Software License Agreement and the source code is released under disjunctive tri-licensing that includes the Mozilla Public Licence, GPLv2 and LGPLv2.1. The latest stable release is Thunderbird 3.0.4 from the end 

no Ubuntu for tablets

Ubuntu sponsor Mark Shuttleworth has told IT news service Golem that rumours circulating in recent days of a special version of Ubuntu Linux for tablets are based on a misunderstanding. During LinuxTag in Berlin, Shuttleworth told the news service that comments in an interview with Chris Kenyon, Business Development Director at Canonical, have been misinterpreted.

Future Ubuntu versions will continue to be developed for netbooks, desktops and servers. According to Shuttleworth, Ubuntu is working with OEMs on Ubuntu Light, a special netbook version which will be pre-installed on laptops and netbooks and used in parallel with Windows as an instant-on system, but that there was not a special Tablet version of Ubuntu in development.

Samsung's bada platform now in India

A new mobile operating system has hit the Indian market. Samsung Electronics  launched its new smartphone platform bada in India. First announced in November last year, this new addition to Samsung's mobile ecosystem enables developers to create applications for millions of new Samsung mobile phones, and consumers to enjoy a fun and diverse mobile experience.

The bada platform was launched at the Global Developer Day organised by Samsung Electronics in Bengaluru.

Samsung bada supports various service-centric features such as social networking device synchronisation, content management, location-based services and commerce services -- all supported by back-end bada servers. These developer-friendly features support developers to implement various services with minimal effort.

Samsung bada enables developers to take full advantage of mobile device capabilities to create applications with ease. Applications can use device functions to make phone calls, send messages or access the contact list. Also, various service applications can share information such as personal profiles, social relations, schedules or contents with a simple user confirmation in order to provide services with greater personal relevance and cooperative service extension.

The company also announced the Samsung bada Developer Challenge at today's launch event. The Challenge is the first chance for developers to win a share of a $2,700,000 prize fund, simply by using the features of the new bada platform to build a variety of applications for bada devices. The Samsung bada Champion (Ist Prize winner) wins a grand prize of $300,000. 

Speed Dreams 1.4.0 is finally available

The open-source racing game "Speed Dreams" is available for both windows and Linux after  2.5 years of graphics and code development.The teams plans a version 2.0 release at the end of the year.The currently supported platforms are Linux (x86, x86_64) and the 32-bit windows.

The current official release features :

• visually reworked menus
• 3 amazing fine tuned and balanced new car sets 
• An updated TRB1 car set (well balanced, more realistic behaviour),
• 3 exciting new tracks and many visually improved ones,
• Smashing liveries for all these cars 
• 2 new TRB first-class robot for the Supercars, 36 GP and TRB1 car sets 
• 2 new leader-board modes  smoke on spinning tires 
• brand new gauges, and many many other small visual improvements,
• experimental Simu V3 physics engine 

http://www.speed-dreams.org/

Official Google Blog: Announcing Google TV: TV meets web. Web meets TV.

Official Google Blog: Announcing Google TV: TV meets web. Web meets TV.: "We’re working together with Sony, Logitech and Intel to put Google TV inside of televisions, Blu-ray players and companion boxes. These devices will go on sale this fall, and will be available at Best Buy stores nationwide. You can sign up here to get updates on Google TV availability."

Google TV: web meets TV

If there’s one entertainment device that people know and love, it’s the television. In fact, 4 billion people across the world watch TV and the average American spends five hours per day in front of one*. Recently, however, an increasing amount of our entertainment experience is coming from our phones and computers. One reason is that these devices have something that the TV lacks: the web. With the web, finding and accessing interesting content is fast and often as easy as a search. But the web still lacks many of the great features and the high-quality viewing experience that the TV offers.


Google TV is a new experience for television that combines the TV that you already know with the freedom and power of the Internet. With Google Chrome built in, you can access all of your favorite websites and easily move between television and the web. This opens up your TV from a few hundred channels to millions of channels of entertainment across TV and the web. Your television is also no longer confined to showing just video. With the entire Internet in your living room, your TV becomes more than a TV — it can be a photo slideshow viewer, a gaming console, a music player and much more.



Google is working together with Sony, Logitech and Intel to put Google TV inside of televisions, Blu-ray players and companion boxes. These devices will go on sale this fall, and will be available at Best Buy stores nationwide. You can sign up hereto get updates on Google TV availability.

read more about google TV http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/announcing-google-tv-tv-meets-web-web.html

some Tips and tricks to maintain a virus free computer

Is your computer infected with virus? Do you often get mysterious error messages? Well this is a common problem faced by almost all the computer users across the globe. There are many viruses and worms out there that could infect your computer. Some of them are harmless, but, they do have the capacity to do any number of nasty things, up to and including, erasing all data from your computer. However there are ways to keep viruses away from your PC. Here are the some tips and precautions to maintain a virus free computer.

• E-mail is one of the easiest ways by which your computer can catch a virus. So it is always recommended to stay away from SPAM. Open only those emails that has it’s origin from a trusted source such as those which comes from your contact list. If you are using your own private email host (other than gmail, yahoo, hotmail etc.) then it is highly recommended that you use a good anti-spam software. NEVER click on any links in the emails that comes from untrusted sources.

• USB thumb/pen drives is another common way by which viruses spread rapidly. So it is always a good habit to perform a virus scan before copying any data onto your computer. NEVER double-click the pen drive to open it. Instead right-click on it and select the option “open”. This is a safe way to open a pen drive.

• Another way is through e-mail client Be careful about using MS Outlook. Outlook is more susceptible to worms than other e-mail programs, unless you have efficient Anti-Virus programs running. Use Pegasus or Thunderbird (by Mozilla),Evolution mail, or a web-based program such as Hotmail or Yahoo (In Firefox).

• Internet is the main source of all the malicious programs including viruses, worms, trojans and other viruses. In fact Internet contributes to virus infection by up to 80%. So here are the tips for safe surfing habits so that you can ward off virus infection up to the maximum extent.

1. Don’t click on pop-up windows that announce a sudden disaster in your city or announce that you’ve won an hourly prize. They are the ways to mislead Internet users and you should never trust them. 
2. You can also use a pop-up blocker to automatically block those pop-ups.

• Most of us use search engines like Google to find what we are looking for on the web. It is quite obvious for a malicious website to get listed in the search results. So to avoid visiting those untrusted malicious websites, you can download and install the AVG LinkScanner which is a freeware. This tool can become very handy and will help you to stay away from malicious websites.

• Install a good antivirus software and keep it updated. Also perform full system scan periodically. It is highly recommended that you turn on the automatic update feature. This is the most essential task to protect your PC from virus. If PC security is your first option then it is recommended that you go for a shareware antivirus software over the free ones. Most of the antivirus supports the Auto-Protect feature that provides real time security for your PC. Make sure that this feature is turned on.

• Install a good Antispyware program, that operates against Internet malware and spyware.

• Never open any email attachments that come from untrusted sources. If it is a picture, text or sound file (these attachments end in the extensions .txt, .jpeg, .gif, .bmp, .tif, .mp3, .htm, .html, and .avi), you are probably safe, but still do a scan before opening.

• Do not use disks that other people gave you, even from work. The disk could be infected with a virus. Of course, you can run a virus scan on it first to check it out.

• Set up your Windows Update to automatically download patches and upgrades. This will allow your computer to automatically download any updates to both the operating system and Internet Explorer. These updates fix security holes in both pieces of software.

• While you download files from untrusted websites/sources such as torrents, warez etc. make sure that you run a virus scan before executing them.

• And finally it is recommended not to visit the websites that feature illegal/unwanted stuffs such as cracks, serials, warez etc. since they contribute much in spreading of viruses and other malicious programs.

•  The major issue is the OS. Most of the computer viruses are created for Microsoft's windows operating systems.You can completely get rid of the menace of viruses by using open-source Operating Systems. These open-source OS use the Linux kernel which is very secure and robust. There are various Linux distributions to cater the needs of the users. Some of them are Ubuntu , Suse, Fedora, Mandriva, etc,.These OS are offered for  free and are immune to viruses. It is recommended that you use these Linux operating systems.

Nokia launches bicycle-powered charger

NOKIA, The world's largest mobile phone maker, launched four low-priced handsets and a recharger that can be connected to a bicycle's dynamo which charges when the wheels turn.The bike kit has a charger, dynamo and a holder to secure the phone to the bicycle.

The bicycle charger kit and handsets, come with a standby battery time of up to six weeks, FM radio and flashlights are aimed at users with limited access to electricity.
 

The price of the charger kit, which also includes a holder for securing the phone to the bicycle, will vary according to market, but in countries like Kenya,  it would be around 15 euros (18.43 dollars)
 

The dynamo, a small electrical generator, uses the movement of the wheels to charge the handset through a standard 2 mm charging jack used in most Nokia handsets.

To begin charging, a cyclist needs to travel around six kilometres per hour (four miles per hour), and while charging times will vary depending on battery model, a 10 minute journey at 10 kmh produces around 28 minutes of talk time or 37 hours of standby time, the spokesman said. The faster you ride, the more battery life you generate.
The charger is set to become available through selected retailers and the company's online store before year-end, Nokia said.

Myah OS

Myah OS is a linux distribution specifically for internet multimedia office gaming. it uses KDE the popular desktop environment. The latest version is Myah OS 3.0 Dragon.Dragon is the code name for Myah OS built around the KDE 3 desktop.

Myah OS has full multimedia support and a wide range or software. There is a complete KDE desktop as well as Koffice, Ktorrent, Amarok and many more KDE base software. Dragon brings the best of KDE and the best of Myah OS together in the same system.

http://myah.org/index.php

ROCK Linux

ROCK Linux is a modern Linux Distribution with a powerful auto-build process. It's mostly designed for skilled Linux/Unix Administrators. It's available for multiple platforms. ROCK Linux is a small distribution, but it's not a "mini distribution". It comes with over 200 packages including X11 and the GNOME Desktop - but excluding menu driven configuration tools (most professional users prefer configuration files). A reasonably well configured installation of Rock Linux should be useful for any computer user (even beginners).

ROCK Linux is a distribution build kit, a group of tools to build GNU/Linux distributions from source. It comes with a set of predefined distributions like the Crystal ROCK desktop target or the small, bootable bootdisk target, and allows users to easily customize the build process and create new targets.
The distributions that ROCK Linux generates are sometimes called ROCK Linux themselves, although the term ROCK Linux based distribution is more appropriate.
In a way ROCK Linux is a tool for managing OS solutions. It comes with the package managers mine and bize, the rocket tool for updates over network, and the ability to build (emerge) single packages into an existing Linux OS. For system administrators, a setup tool (stone) and reasonable System V style init scripts as well as other configuration files are provided.

http://rocklinux.net/

BlueCat Linux

BlueCat is LynuxWorks' distribution of open source Linux, enhanced to meet the requirements of embedded developers. BlueCat includes a royalty-free, open source Linux distribution and is compatible with the LynxOS RTOS, an industry leader in hard, real-time embedded software. With its heritage of reliability, availability, and serviceability, BlueCat has a common source base and development tools for multiple embedded targets.

BlueCat Linux delivers the flexibility and cost benefits of open-source software. It's uniquely constructed to be a stable, commercial-grade embedded operating system release which provides immediate productivity and optimized performance through:

• Packages that are tailored to your varying requirements for tools and technical support
• A comprehensive set of tools and board support packages for developing, debugging and deploying Linux into embedded environments
• 20 years of LynuxWorks™ expertise and experience in embedded operating systems, the UNIX® programming model, POSIX® and more

BlueCat Embedded Linux features

• Cross-development environment
• 2.6 kernel
• Microsoft Windows XP Pro
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4
• Target support:
• Intel® IA-32, XScale®, PowerPC® 4xx, Embedded Xilinx FPGA-based processors and MicroBlaze
• LynuxWorks development environment
• Luminosity Eclipse-based IDE
• GNU tool chains, gdb and gcc
• Multithreaded debugger
• Kernel debugging capabilities
• Embedded target tools
• Footprint minimization and kernel configuration
• TinyLogin support
• BusyBox support
• Watchdog timer (for specific BSPs)

http://www.lynuxworks.com/embedded-linux/embedded-linux.php

ScribeFire now available for google's chrome browser

The FireFox's popular extension,'ScribeFire' for blogging, is now officially available for Google's chrome browser.

ScribeFire is a full-featured blog editor that integrates with your browser and lets you easily post to all of your blogs. You can post to blogs from Wordpress, Blogger, TypePad, Windows Live Spaces, Tumblr, Posterous, Xanga, LiveJournal, or any other blog that supports the MetaWeblog or MovableType APIs. You can edit and update existing posts. You can schedule posts for the future (if your blog allows that). You can delete posts. You can save drafts. You can tag and categorize. ScribeFire for Chrome has a simple interface that is so simple even a caveman could use it, and anything you're working on is saved if you close the editor and restored when you come back. It really is the easiest way to update your blog.

The disappointing thing is that it lacks many features  of the Firefox's version.

Download ScribeFire for chrome browser