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Cool Gifts for your Sister on Rakhi

AmitD — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 07:27:49 +0000

Some Raki Gifts For Ur Sister

We all know that the festival of Rakhi is all about sharing and caring between brothers and sisters. It’s also about giving and taking gifts or gadgets. If you have some money saved up this would be the right occasion to introduce your precious sister to a gadget as a gift from you. However remember to take it slow and start with the basics or something that she would actually use.

For you know how it is… next Rakhi you have to either match up to this year’s gift or you’d be expected to come up with something better. We’ve listed a ‘best’ and the ‘best possible for less’ gadget for a phone, music player, camera, and netbook options that would make good gifts that shall reap you huggable rewards. Go ahead, make this rakhi special for your sister.

Smart Swipe Device

AmitD — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:36:39 +0000

Smart Swipe Device

Some of you may remember when we reported on the IDVault, a device that kept all your passwords in one convenient USB thumb drive. It is also an extra level of security. In an age where everything is on the Net, someone could easily obtain our information with nothing more than a few passwords and numbers. The SmartSwipe was invented to insure that our credit card numbers would be safe. The SmartSwipe is a credit card reader that plugs right into the USB drive, and makes you look like a retail cashier. However, it is designed for those who shop online and will encrypt the credit card data before transmitting it to the computer. This is different than most online security programs, that only protect information on the way to the Internet.

So not only can users feel safe about their online purchases and other credit-card related business, but they have an easier way of entering information rather than typing in their credit card number and expiration date. You must be making several credit-card purchases a day in order to justify this purchase. Then again, if you can afford to live like that, then you could easily work the SmartSwipe into your budget.

You have to wonder if the $99.95 pricetag makes this device worth it.

How to run iTune faster

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 14:15:45 +0000

iTunes

I feel iTunes is the single slowest application on some PC’s. However, there are few ways to goose iTunes, to make it a little less pokey than usual. I’m not promising a dramatic speed increase, just somewhat more efficient operation.

First, turn off Genius by clicking Store, Turn Off Genius but that will delete all collected Genius data. It’s a neat feature, but this has been noticed that it seems awfully “busy” at times. Anything that’s demanding iTunes’ attention is also hurting its performance. I never thought it was that smart, anyway.

Second, click Edit, go on Preferences, Sharing, and then disable Look for shared libraries & Share my library on the local network. Whenever there’s ongoing network activity, you can count on a performance hit. Of course, if you are sharing your iTunes library, skip this step.

Finally, switch over to the Apple TV tab & disable Look for Apple TVs. It’s another case of superfluous network activity that can only hurt performance.

I’m sure Apple would do some fine-tuning in this regard.

Netbook tips: How to choose

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 12:30:54 +0000

Netbooks

First of all, why Netbooks? Because they offer people a mobile, easy way to wirelessly access the Web. And over the past few months a dozen or more new netbooks have hit the market, giving people a wider range of choices.

Netbook Structure: Most netbooks sport small LCD screens, 8.9-inches to 10-inches, versus an average of 15.4-inches for normal laptops. Netbooks generally weigh around 2.2 lbs (1 kilogram) each, far lighter than most laptops, and carry batteries that last up to 8 hours. They cost between US$199 and $799.

Here are some tips for your first netbook:

1. Make sure you want a netbook and not a full-fledged laptop computer.

What do you want to use this netbook for? Do you want a lightweight device for easy Internet access? Or are you really looking for a device to carry around that you can edit video on, play games, or use for other applications that test the computing limits of a netbook?

Don’t buy a netbook if you’re really looking for a laptop, it would be a mistake.

To ensure longer battery life, some key components on a netbook, such as the microprocessor, are less powerful than common laptops. That’s why they’re good for surfing the Internet, sending e-mails, or doing homework.

Anyone looking to do more should shop for a more powerful laptop, not a netbook.

2. Buy a netbook with an 8.9-inch screen or larger.

Tested an Eee PC with a 7-inch screen, the Surf, and found screen too small. I was not able to view an entire Web page on the cramped display. On a screen that small, you have to scroll left and right as well as up and down to see an entire Web page. Scrolling up and down is normal, but left and right was annoying.

That’s less of a problem on the slightly larger-sized screens and, in the 8.9-inch screen size, the weight and size of the netbook is nearly the same as devices with 7-inch screens.

The 10-inch screens are even better, yet add size and weight to the netbook.

3. Make sure you get a 6-cell battery for your netbook, although you may have to pay $50 more and the device will weigh more.

Most companies started out offering netbooks with 3-cell batteries as the standard, but that doesn’t offer a whole lot of run time, just 2-3 hours. A 6-cell battery doubles that, and in some devices designed around a 6-cell battery, such as Asustek Computer’s Eee PC 901, you can get up to 8 hours.

In a mobile device, battery life is vital. You don’t want to always have to look around for outlets, or fight over the last available socket in a coffee shop.

Most vendors are now following Asustek’s lead with 6-cell batteries. In fact, the netbooks listed on Amazon.com’s bestseller list for the past month nearly all carry 6-cell batteries, Acer’s Aspire One, Asustek’s Eee PC 1000HA and Samsung Electronics’ NC10-14GB.

Micro-Star International’s Wind series, which sports a 10-inch screen, is a good example of the difference in weight on the batteries. Wind netbooks with 6-cell batteries weigh 2.6 lbs (1.18 kg), while those with 3-cell batteries weigh 2.3 lbs (1.04 kg).

Vendors generally offer 6-cell batteries for all models. But most devices come standard with a 3-cell or 4-cell battery, so if you want a 6-cell you may have to ask for it, and expect to pay a bit more.

Another benefit of the larger battery is that it props up the back of the device, putting it on a slight angle that makes typing easier. Keyboards on netbooks are smaller than normal keyboards, and comfortable typing was one area I was not willing to compromise on.

4. Try out the keyboard and make sure it’s right for you.

None of the devices I tested had a better typing pad than Intel’s ClassMate PC, which has a keyboard far smaller than the Eee PC 1000. Keys on the ClassMate PC’s keyboard are raised and there is a lot of space between them, making them easy to find by touch.

By contrast, the Eee PC’s, Wind and Elitegroup Computer Systems’ G10IL designed their keyboard with flat keys and little or no space between keys because, I was told by Elitegroup staff, it makes them look nice. The trouble is, it also makes typing more difficult.

I really liked the keyboards on Acer’s Aspire One, Hewlett-Packard’s Mini 1000 and Everex’s CloudBook Max, but the best keyboard was on HP’s Mini-Note.

5. Software: see what comes preinstalled and consider trying the Linux OS.

There are two lessons on software.

First, some vendors have skimped on including software in their netbooks on the pretense that users can download a lot of free software on the Internet. That’s true, but it’s a bad excuse for not going the extra distance for customer satisfaction.

Who wants to spend time downloading when many netbook makers have added lots of software so users can play with their new netbook right away?

Asustek included a lot of useful software on its Eee PCs, as has Acer, which also added a nice opening screen that boots up in just 12 seconds.

Second, it may be time to the give the Linux OS a try.

The Acer opening screen I just referred to is based on Linux, and the Aspire One comes with the Linpus Linux Lite OS, which is very user friendly. I’ve used Windows for most of my life but switching to Linux on the Aspire One was smooth and easy.

Most of the netbooks I tested with Linux booted up far faster than Windows XP or Windows Vista. Which reminds me, don’t buy a netbook with Vista — it’s just too slow.

There are also free Linux-based word processing programs and spreadsheets available on the Internet such as Open Office, Sun’s inexpensive StarOffice and Web-based software such as Google Apps.

Google also offers a nice package of free software, Google Pack, which includes several popular applications such as Adobe Reader, Skype, RealPlayer for music and video, Norton Security Scan and two browsers, Google’s Chrome and Firefox.

Of course, it would be nice to see a Web site devoted to netbooks, with software specifically designed for low-power devices and smaller screens.

6. Price: if it costs more than $500, start looking at a regular notebook computer.

Companies have started promoting a wide range of netbooks at ever higher prices, but once you pass $500, netbooks start to compete with laptops, and a laptop will almost always give you more value for your money.

Laptop computers have far more powerful microprocessors and other components than netbooks, and sport DVD drives. BTW, there are no DVD drives on netbooks.

If size and weight are your main concerns, there’re plenty of small, full-featured laptops, including the Sony Vaio TT with an 11.1-inch screen, Lenovo U110-23042BU” Ideapad, also with an 11.1-inch screen, and of course Apple’s lightweight MacBook Air.

7. Look around at what’s available.

Many new netbooks have come out. There are a lot of look-alikes since newcomers have copied what the pioneers found to be the most popular configurations. The net effect is to put more good devices out there from a number of competitors. You may be able to pick up a nice machine for a very low price.

The IdeaPad S10, Inspiron Mini 9 and HP Mini 1000 do not currently come with 6-cell batteries, or at least I can’t find any. To me, that’s a big negative because mobility is so important.

Mobility may not be so important to you, so that’s why you need to decide what you want to get out of a netbook (or laptop) before you buy one.

There were a lot of nice netbooks out there worth considering.

Giga-byte Technology’s M912 is the netbook with by far the coolest technology with its touchscreen. The screen can also swivel around so you can show someone else what you’re working on.

But I was quoted a price of NT$19,900 (US$632) for the device, and since I’m not really sure how much I’d use the touchscreen, I figured it wasn’t right for me.

I almost decided on one of the netbooks with the bigger, 10-inch screens. My top choices were Asustek’s Eee PC 1000

with the Xandros Linux OS and a 40G-byte solid state drive (SSD) for storage and 6-cell battery, followed by Micro-Star International’s Wind U100 with a 6-cell battery.

Darren rightly pointed out that Asus’s Eee PC 1002HA, also with a 10-inch screen, looks like a very nice device, but neither of us have had a chance to try one out.

In any case, the 10-inch screen devices are a little bigger and more expensive than what I was looking for. Size is important to consider in terms of weight. Ten inch screens, hard disk drives (HDDs) and 6-cell batteries add a lot of extra weight to a netbook.

All of the netbooks I tried out include wireless Internet access through Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, but only Asustek’s more recent Eee PCs, including the S101, 1002HA, and 1000HA, offered the speedier 802.11b/g/n as of this writing.

Several netbooks are now on sale with built-in 3G modules and mobile phone service providers are offering them with 3G (third generation telecommunications) contracts, so people can access the Internet from anywhere on their mobile phone network.

People can also buy add-on 3G or WiMax cards for any netbook.

8. And finally, the best netbook available is.

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10 tips to make cellphone battery life longer

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 07:40:38 +0000

: Save your mobile battery

It’s no secret that cell phone batteries typically suck. The general rule of thumb is that if your phone is doing anything, your battery power is being tired. And if you’re doing something fun on your phone, you can bet your battery meter will be running low shortly. This means photos, games, and web surfing will all impair your battery’s performance significantly more than regular use. So what are some steps you can take to maximize your battery life without sacrificing the fun? Read on for 10 things you can do to increase your phone’s battery life:

1. Turn off all unnecessary sounds (keytones, alerts). One of my biggest pet peeves is how most phones these days come with keytones on. Do people really like hearing their phone beep, strum a musical note, or chime every time they press a button? You might like it, but ask your neighbor. Plus, turning these off will save you a good amount of battery juice. Think of all of the processing it must take to load up those midis when you touch a key.
2. Use either a ringer or vibrate, but not both. I understand if you’re in a concert or loud party you want to increase your chance of actually realizing your phone is ringing, but other than that, pick one or the other. There’s no need to have your ringer all the way to the point where it has both the sound and vibrate alerts active, so I would recommend against it.
3. Decrease your screen’s brightness to 50%. Go to the settings menu of your phone and change the LCD brightness. At first, the screen will look dark, but once your eyes have adjusted to it, you’ll forget about it. The LCD screen on your phone is one of the biggest power consumers on your phone.
4. Turn your backlight setting down. Most phones these days will allow you to adjust the amount of time your backlight stays on once you’ve stopped touching buttons. The default length on most phones is probably around 15-30 seconds, but there are settings that are much lower. I would suggest turning this down to 3-5 seconds to increase your battery life.
5. Turn off Bluetooth when you’re not using it. This can be an easy one to forget about if you’re often switching between using a Bluetooth headset, and the phone’s ear piece. Turning the Bluetooth off when you’re not using it will save your phone from having to go out and check if the headset is there every few seconds. Any type of transmission will weigh-down your battery life, so if you use infrared, turn that off when you’re not using it as well.
6. Close applications when you’re not using them. This one only affects those of us that have smartphones. Why do you need to keep that game on pause when you’re not using it? Or pocket Excel open? Just save and close them and you’ll minimize the amount of battery waste.
7. Keep your phone in cool climates. I know most of the time you won’t have a choice where to keep your phone – since it goes with you at all times. But when you do have a choice – such as when you’re at home – don’t put your phone on the hot stove, or on your super hot MacBook Pro or anything like that. Also, don’t keep your phone in a hot car. If you have extra batteries for your phone, go ahead and store those in the refrigerator – but make sure not to freeze them. BatteryUniversity recomments storing them at a 40% charge for best results.
8. When you’re phone is done charging, unplug it! There’s a common myth that you can over-charge your battery if you leave it plugged in. According to BatteryUniversity, “Once the battery is fully charged, no further charge is applied.“ So if no further charge is applied, then why do you need to unplug your phone? You want to protect your battery from heat, that’s why.
9. Don’t let your battery fully discharge. If you let your battery die frequently, you’re putting extra strain on the battery. Avoid this by plugging in your phone before it dies all the way.
10. Don’t do anything fun on your phone. I mentioned this above, but I’m serious here. If you’ve fun on your phone, your battery life will dramatically decrease. Accessing the web, playing games, navigating via GPS and capturing photos or video are not things to do while you’re in the middle of nowhere without a charger.

Tell us in your comments that what do you think about above mentioned?

Nokia phone that charge itself

10 tips to make cellphone battery life longer

3G Features For Mobile Phone

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 06:04:10 +0000

3G Technology For Cell Phone

3G services are available in Delhi today and it is going to be available this year throughout India.

So what does 3G mean to you? And what can you do with it on your mobile phone to enhance your mobile experience.Understand, what’s 3G.

3G Stands for 3rd-generation. 3G is loosely defined, but generally includes high data speeds, always-on data access, and greater voice capacity. The high data speeds are possibly the most prominent feature, and certainly the most hyped. They enable such advanced features as live, streaming video. There are several different 3G technology standards. The most prevalent is UMTS, which is based on WCDMA. (WCDMA and UMTS are often used interchangeably.) UMTS is the 3G technology of choice for most GSM carriers. The other major standard is cdma2000, which is an evolution of CDMA 2G technology. There are several types of cdma2000, each offering different data rates and levels of compatibility with 2G CDMA.

Why 3G, Here are the features:

Video Streaming that actually works.
Video Streaming is possible even over GPRS or EDGE but its very slow.
You will be able to watch a Cricket match Live on the road with live video and audio.
Video Calling.
Have you ever wondered why there is an additional camera above the display in some phones?
The camera is meant to be used for Video Calling. You can actually see the other person face to face and talk.
Faster Downloads and Browsing.

So you can do hi speed browsing on the go but one downside to all of this is that battery life is comparatively shorter for most phones on 3G networks.

3G Features For Mobile Phone

Cool Latest Gadgets and Gizmos News » Gadgets tips

Cool Gifts for your Sister on Rakhi

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Smart Swipe Device

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How to run iTune faster

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Netbook tips: How to choose

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10 tips to make cellphone battery life longer

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3G Features For Mobile Phone

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