Dhanush at Nokia Lumia smartphones launch

Dhanush

True to the theme of 'Amazing Everyday', Nokia celebrated the launch of its Nokia Lumia smartphones in the city with a grand and surprise bash for consumers with an energetic performance by Dhanush and Mir with Bandage at a mall.

The campaign reached its peak with a series of impromptu concerts that were kicked off in Delhi a few days back with the music composer duo Vishal and Shekhar. In Bangalore and Mumbai, consumers were treated to performances by artists Raghu Dixit and Indian Ocean and KK and the evergreen band Parikrama at a mall respectively.

Consumers welcomed and cheered Dhanush and encouraged encores of his popular "Kolaveri Di". A cold Christmas turned out to be fun with audiences singing and dancing to it. A few even quickly captured Dhanush's appearance on their mobiles and shared it with friends online.
Additionally, residents of Delhi were treated to a surprise cricket match with Indian cricketerHarbhajan Singh with shoppers at a mall on Christmas Eve. The match was a modified version of the original sport. Harbhajan Singh chose two players to play with. The match had four balls in an over with runs being awarded for placement of the ball on the net. Finally, team members got to take a picture with the celebrity cricketer post the match. It was an evening of both unexpected delight and amazement that when they realized that they could play cricket with their favourite cricket star.

As part of the 'Amazing Everyday Campaign', Nokia also organized impromptu treats for consumers like a surprise 40 minute helicopter ride over the river Hooghly for some lucky early buyers of the Lumia smartphones and a luxurious BMW pick up and drop between their homes and the nearest Nokia Priority Partner, for consumers who had pre-booked the device. Nokia is invading cities with fascinating and surprising elements making the enthusiasm around the Lumia range contagious. The company is creating, for consumers, unique and interesting moments in their daily lives by adding a bit of a thrill to their mundane routine.

ACER NEVER GIVE UP

In response to the rumor that Acer will withdraw from the tablet PC and smartphone markets, the company's founder, Stan Shih, has said that although Acer's tablet operation has not performed well, it is not time to give up the business.




Acer's board of directors has discussed the company's product development and streamlining its corporate organization, and has consented to strategies of simplifying operational goals through focusing on profitable products, Shih indicated.


Considering the much overlapped development of tablet PC and smartphones, a simplified organization is expected to increase operation efficiency, reduce conflicts in product development and consolidate resources for developing niche and competitive products, Shih explained.


Acer has clarified the rumor by stating that Acer has no plans to quit the tablet PC and smartphone business operations or downsize related personnel but will made optimal adjustments to decrease the number of product models for selective and strategic input of operational resources. If the adjustments lead to success, Acer will expand tablet PC and smartphone business operations, the company said.

DROPBOX 2.0 APP

Dropbox released version 2.0 of its Android app this morning, and it’s a complete revamp of the last version. The update includes a total redesign of the app as well as plenty of welcome features for faster and easier file management.
Dropbox did a fantastic job with the new design. It’s simple, clean, and it’s one of the very few Android apps I don’t find ugly in the least. The new navigation bar at the top has three tabs: Dropbox, Uploads, and Favorites. Each of them have their own new features.
Every file in your Dropbox folder now has an arrow to the right of it. Tap it, and you’ll bring up a pop-over menu with options to share, favorite, delete, etc. The option to favorite a file is a new feature in Dropbox. It’s saved in the Favorites tab and you can access it any time even without an Internet connection because it saves locally. You can rename specific files from the app now, too.
The Uploads tab has been streamlined and includes support for uploading files from (and exporting files to) local storage — and not just one file either. Bulk upload is a nice addition in Dropbox 2.0 if you have a lot of files but only a little time.

NEW SUBSCRIBE BUTTON

On December 7th, Joanna Shields, vice president and managing director of facebook EMEA announced that Facebook will introduce a new “Subscribe” button on a user’s profile. This was already available for pages since mid September, now it is available for user profiles too.


This subscribe button is available for user’s profiles. When a user clicks on “subscribe” all your public updates will be available to the user on his news feed, without you having to approve the request.




                                       
This does not mean that you have no control over who’s subscribing, you do have options to block subscribers. There is also no limit to the number of subscribers for the profiles.


Well, now while you create posts ensure that you select which are public posts and which are within closed loop. You will require to manage your public profile and friends within the same profile page.


The traditional “like” button allowed you to see some of the posts from the profile, however, this new subscribe button will make available all the public posts from the profile you subscribe to. 


This is yet to be launched at some places, so if you are not seeing it on your pages, it will be there soon. Until then let us wait for the update to be rolled out to our profiles.


So, with the new subscription system introduced in Facebook since September, users are faces with a choice to either create a Facebook page or a profile. Well, there are no statistics that prove which works well for public figures, I would suggest try both (there are no negative effects after all.

IPv6(INTERNET PROTOCOL VERSION 6) TRIAL ON 2013

 China will allow commercial use of its next-generation internet system by 2015 after putting it on trial in 2013, a media report said.
The new system expands the capability of the Internet Protocol address and improves the speed of the internet. It is also expected to create employment, the Chinese cabinet said in a statement Friday.
The new technology, called IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6), is an upgrade of the current IPv4 whose IP addresses are about to be all used up, People's Daily reported.
The new system expands the capability of the Internet Protocol address and improves the speed of the internet.
The new IPv6 technology opens up a pool of internet addresses that are a billion to trillion times larger than the total pool of IPv4 addresses and are virtually inexhaustible for the foreseeable future, experts said.
The IPv4 was developed in the early 1980s and has a capacity of just over 4 billion IP addresses.
The new IPv6 network bandwidth can reach 2.5-10 gigabytes per second, 100 times faster than the current speed.
The government will try out the system on a small scale by the end of 2013 before expanding it in 2014 and 2015.
China is the world's biggest internet market with about 500 million online users.
Chinese companies are also encouraged to develop new technologies on the new IPv6 network, such as cloud computing, Internet of Things - uniquely identifiable objects (things) and their virtual representations in an Internet-like structure - and Three Network Convergence - an initiative that hopes to integrate telecommunications, TV and radio, and the Internet in the world's most populous country.

NOKIA LUMIA 900

A leaked image that appeared on My Nokia Blog suggests that the Finnish giant is expected to unveil another top-end Windows Phone called Nokia Lumia 900 at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show (CES) to be held in Las Vegas in January second week. The company is also expected to announce several other smartphones along with the Lumia 900 at the event. 


According to Web reports, Lumia 900 which resembles Lumia 800 in looks, will come with a 4.3-inch ClearBlack AMOLED display and will include the new Windows Phone Tango update. The smartphone is also likely to feature a front-facing camera and is expected to come in a variety of colour options. 


Lumia 900 is also said to sport a 1.4GHz processor, an 8 megapixel rear camera with single LED flash. It is also rumoured to pack support for 4G LTE networks. 

Inhabitat's Week in Green: hydrogen fuel cell-powered laptop, hybrid buses and bioluminescent bacteria

The newswires were buzzing with alternative energy developments this week as Inhabitat reported that Apple filed a patent for a hydrogen fuel cell-powered laptop that can last an entire week without needing a recharge. We also celebrated the warm winter holidays with a look at the world's first solar-powered menorah, GE unveiled an awesome set of 3D-printed Christmas tree ornaments, and we brought you a first look at the dazzling LED-studded 2012 Times Square new year's eve ball. We also showcased several amazing examples of paper technology as Sony flipped the switch on a paper-powered battery and Joon & Jung unveiled an alarm clock with a cute paper shell.
Eco transportation was a hot topic as well this week as Porsche unveiled plans to develop the third generation of its flywheel-boosted 911 GT3 R hybrid and the UK's new hybrid double-decker busses hit the streets of London. We also showcased plans for a greenery-filled AirTrain that harnesses Nasa-patented air purifying technology and we brought you Foster + Partner's plans for a striking new high-speed rail station in Galicia, Spain.
In other news, this week we saw Waterstudio launch plans for a floating Sea Tree skyscraper that provides habitat for flora & fauna, a scientist has harnessed bioluminescent bacteria to combat pollution in a fragile Florida ecosystem, and researchers developed a new breed of self-fixing electronics that use liquid metal capsules to heal themselves. Finally, we brought you several hot developments in wearable tech - a set of 3D printed eyeglasses, a site that uses your webcam to measure your clothing size, and theworld's first pair of over-ear headphones made with sustainable materials.

LG's 55-inch 'world's largest' OLED HDTV panel is official, coming to CES 2012

We only have a few more days left until the festivities truly kick off at CES 2012 in Las Vegas, but LG has already tipped its hand with a press release promising the "world's largest" OLED panel for the show. We've seen smaller screens from LG before and it had already promised a 55-inch OLED HDTV for mid-2012, so this news is just another sign the company is ready to take its technology mainstream. LG's tech uses white OLEDs overlaid with colors, which it claims makes for a lower error rate and clearer "ultra definition" screen, with more colors than standard LCDs. Check after the break for one more promo pic of LG's super skinny 5mm prototype, we'll get a better look at it (and the inevitable competition from Korean rival Samsung) at the company's booth January 9th.

SONY SELLS ITS STAKES TO SAMSUNG

Tokyo, Japan - Sony Corporation ("Sony") and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. ("Samsung") today announced that the two companies have signed agreements to transition the current business relationship with respect to LCD panels.

Under the agreement, Samsung will acquire all of Sony's shares of S-LCD Corporation ("S-LCD"), the two companies' LCD panel manufacturing joint venture, making S-LCD a wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung. In consideration for the share transfer, cash consideration of approximately KRW 1.08 trillion* will be paid to Sony by Samsung. Concurrently, the two companies have entered into a new strategic agreement for the supply and purchase of LCD panels with a goal of enhancing the competitiveness of both companies. The agreement also allows Sony and Samsung to continue cooperative engineering efforts focused on LCD panel technology.

For Sony, this transaction will enable it to monetize its shares in S-LCD and aims to secure a flexible and steady supply of LCD panels from Samsung, based on market prices and without the responsibility and costs of operating a manufacturing facility. With whole ownership of S-LCD, Samsung anticipates heightened flexibility, speed and efficiency in both panel production and business operations.

Established in April 2004, S-LCD has continued to deliver advanced and cost-competitive LCD panels to both of its parent companies, contributing to the expansion of the respective parties' TV businesses, and the large-sized LCD TV market overall. However, LCD panel and TV market conditions have now changed. In order to respond to such challenging conditions and to strengthen their respective market competitiveness, the two companies have agreed to shift to a new LCD panel business alliance.

The share transfer and payment are targeted to close by the end of January 2012, subject to necessary approvals from regulatory authorities.

As a result of this transaction, a non-cash impairment loss of approximately JPY 66 billion is expected to be incurred by Sony in the third quarter of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012, due to the reevaluation of its S-LCD shares. This loss includes an impact from the fluctuation of exchange rate. Despite this one-time loss, Sony estimates that the transaction will result in substantial savings on and after January 1, 2012 in respect of costs associated with its
procurement of LCD panels. The current estimate of the yearly savings in respect of such costs is approximately JPY 50 billion, compared to LCD panel procurement costs estimated for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012. Neither the one-time loss nor the estimated cost savings were included in Sony's forecast of consolidated financial results for the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2012, announced on November 2, 2011. Sony is currently reevaluating this forecast, taking into account this transaction and other factors that might affect its full year FY2011 consolidated financial results forecast.

Facts about S-LCD
Established: April 26, 2004
Capital: KRW 3.3 Trillion
(Samsung Electronics: 50% plus 1 share, Sony: 50% minus 1 share)
Representative: Location: Production Items:
Donggun Park, CEO
Tangjeong, Chung Cheong Nam-Do, South Korea 7th and 8th generation Amorphous TFT LCD

APPLE'S BEST APPS OF THE YEAR 2011

The year of 2011 for Apple has been an up and down rollercoaster ride and a buzz-worthy one. On the news not too long ago was a report from The Wall Street Journal about Apple vs. Samsung legal battle in regards to Samsung's alleged product "copying" of Apple's products, and of course, the big news about the passing away of Apple's beloved former CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on October 5.


This time, however, it's a different twist on a positive note for Apple as the company just revealed its best apps for the year 2011.


Apple's picks for the best iOS apps and games selection includes top-performing apps in different genres of Podcasts and Books, TV shows, movies, music and App Store.


Winners of this year's best of the bunch are picked and ranked under "Best paid apps" and "Best free apps," "Best iPad apps" and "Best iPhone apps."


The best free app of the year went to Instagram, a photo-sharing app that is also one of the world's fastest-growing social networks.


In addition, the best free app game of the year went to Tiny Tower, an app that lets users grow an economic empire by building towers and populating them with businesses and bitizens.


Whereas, the best paid app of the year went to Snapseed, a photo-editing app that lets users pinch, mold, and shape effects to make jaw-dropping beautiful photos.


Meanwhile, the paid app game of the year for iPad went to Dead Space, a horrifying game that lets users act as a hero and fight for survival on an eerie space station overrun by zombies in the year 2508.

The Top 30 Android Apps And Games Of 2011

Editor’s note: Contributor Brad Spirrison is the managing editor of mobile app discovery services Appolicious,AndroidApps and AppVee.  Spirrison now turns his attention to the best Android apps of the year.

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Android apps come in all shapes and sizes – literally.

Unlike iOS applications, which are basically created for two form factors, Android apps need to be developed with dozens (if not hundreds) of device-types in mind. This is on top of the inconsistent operating system releases still mucking things up. While all of this fragmentation is a headache for developers, ignoring a platform with 50 percent market share would ultimately lead to their peril.

The best Android apps are thus the ones that can both push the technological envelope while also remaining accessible to the vast majority of users. This is no easy feat.

We divided our list of the best 30 Android apps into four distinct categories. The top ten apps come from third-party developers, and, if not exclusive to Android, were created primarily for the platform. Additional sections include the best new or significantly updated apps from Google, as well as the best apps and games that appeared first on iOS but later arrived to Android in 2011.

As is the case with our lists of best iOS apps and games of 2011, hundreds of additional titles are worthy of consideration. Our top 30 showcase the growth and maturation of Android apps over the last year. They are also worthy downloads.

1. Any.DO: To Do List | Task List (full AndroidApps review)

Funded by Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, Any.DO is the best productivity and to-do application tailored specifically for Android devices. The app’s elegant interface is optimized to limit actual typing through voice-driven commands. Users can swipe each task when complete, and shake their phones to clear them from the screen. The app also offers (mostly) seamless integration with Google accounts.

2. Lightbox – Photos & Effects (full AndroidApps review)

More than just an Instagram for Android, Lightbox offers features like photo journals and the ability to arrange pictures by personal timelines that make it unique and, to some, indispensable. The app’s stunning visual display and compatibility on multiple Android devices set the standard moving forward for photo-sharing apps on the platform.

3. Amazon MP3 (full AndroidApps review)

Along with Google Music (see below), Amazon MP3 is the best way for an Android smartphone and tablet owner to kick an iTunes habit. The app provides access to a library of nearly 20 million songs, 5GB of free storage, and reliable offline listening. Subscriptions to Amazon’s Cloud Drive service start at a reasonable $20/year for 20GB of storage, but you can store as much of your own music as you like with that subscription.

4. AirDroid (full AndroidApps review)

Android devices offer so many customization features that sometimes using a larger screen, mouse and full-sized keyboard will help you get the most out of your smartphone or tablet device. This free app lets users operate their smartphones from a PC with a Wi-Fi connection. Additionally, AirDroid emphasizes privacy protection with password changes for each use.

5. SwiftKey X Keyboard (full AndroidApps review)

After launching a beta app last year, SwiftKey X arrived on Android smartphones and tablets in 2011. The app has larger keys as well as superior word and sentence prediction algorithms than what is typically found on Androids. SwiftKey also learns from previously typed emails and messages, and offers three color schemes to simplify the process and brighten things up.

6. Skitch (full AndroidApps review)

Acquired by Evernote, Skitch lets users annotate photos with sketches, images and words. The app has dead simple editing tools and the ability for users to draw with multi-colored crayons. Skitch is a great app for kids in addition to serving as a functional and unique photo-sharing service.

7. BlueStacks Cloud Connect (full AndroidApps review)

While still in Alpha, BlueStacks is demonstrating how Android applications can run on Windows-based PCs. The Android app works in concert with the Windows-based BlueStacks App Player to run mobile applications on PCs. The venture-backed company and application, which has attracted more than 500,000 early adopters since launch, expects to debut a Mac OS version in 2012.

8. Qello (full AndroidApps review)

Available as separate applications for Android smartphones and tablets, Qello offers a great catalog of high definition concerts (mostly rock, but with other genres sprinkled in). Users can sample the 500+ titles for free, or lease any of them on a weekly ($1.99) or monthly basis ($4.99).

9. AccuWeather for Honeycomb (full AndroidApps review)

Developed specifically for Honeycomb-based tablet devices, this all-inclusive weather application showcases the beauty and utility of Android on larger form factors. The Lifestyle section, which informs users on things like whether it is a good day for biking or bad day for allergies, is a nice humanized touch.

10. HD Widgets (full AndroidApps review)

Android is all about customization, and there is no better and more comprehensive widget app available than this one. Optimized for Android tablets and smartphones, HD Widgets is great for Android experts and first-timers alike. Users will also appreciate the “fanatical” customer service of the developers.

Here are the five best Android apps developed by Google that were released or received significant updates in 2011.

11. Google Currents (full AndroidApps review)

As long as Flipboard remains exclusive to iOS devices, this new release from Google serves as the premier news reader on Android smartphones and tablets. More of a fast and elegant aggregator than social magazine, Google Currents benefits from an organized layout and dead simple third-party publisher platform. There is also — shockingly — nice integration with Google+, including curated content from the likes of Robert Scoble and Guy Kawasaki.

12. Google+ (full AndroidApps review)

Google became a relevant player in social networking this year with the successful launch of Google+. While the service is also available as an iPhone app as well as a web app through BlackBerry, Windows and Symbian platforms, Google understandably treats its own platform as first among equals. Check-ins for business, for instance, rolled out first on the Android app.

13. Google Maps (full AndroidApps review)

A November update to this trailblazing application introduced indoor mapping functionality to mobile devices. Google Maps 6.0 helps users more easily navigate within airports, shopping malls and other locations where GPS technology is spotty.

14. Google Docs (full AndroidApps review)

While no mobile application matches the utility of Google Docs on a desktop or laptop, this official version for Android is pretty close. If you’re a hardcore Google Docs user, this app will help you break free from your desk and still read and edit docs and spreadsheets on the fly.

15. Google Music (full AndroidApps review)

Like Amazon MP3 cited above, Google Music is a way for Android users to comfortably cut the cord (or cloud) on iTunes (at least on their mobile devices). The app lets users store up to 20,000 songs for free in the cloud, with a portion available for offline access.

These next 10 apps were initially released for iOS devices. They are included here for their utility, entertainment value and impact on the Android ecosystem.

16. Price Check by Amazon (full AndroidApps review)

When Amazon unveiled this price-comparison app to Android devices just before Black Friday, the company’s retail Death Star became fully operational. Sure, Price Check was available to iPhone owners a year earlier, and there are similar apps across all major mobile platforms. But having an Android app gives Amazon critical mass in this category, and allows the company to (again) upend physical retail as we know it. This includes offering discounts to consumers on their phones during the point of comparison.

17. Netflix (full AndroidApps review)

There were a lot of things that Netflix did horribly wrong in 2011. Releasing a killer Android app for smartphones and tablet devices was not one of them. As Android tablets become ready for prime time and more plausibly compete against the iPad, entertainment apps like Netflix will flourish.

18. SoundTracking (full AndroidApps review)

The most innovative music detection and discovery app of the year finally arrived to Android in December. SoundTracking not only identifies a song a user is listening to, but shares it with Facebook, Twitter and foursquare friends and followers. The advantage of the Android app, relative to the iOS version which launched earlier this year, is that users with Spotify and Rdio can listen to entire tracks (as opposed to 30-second snippets from iTunes).

19. Hipmunk Flight Search (full AndroidApps review)

Hipmunk differentiates from the run-of-the-mill flight search applications by predicting how painful your traveling might be. The app’s “Agony Index” takes into account factors beyond price including flight duration, Wi-Fi access and other variables. Once users choose the least painful flight, the app accommodates direct booking and provides access to third-party services.

20. Fooducate Shopping Scanner (full AndroidApps review)

This app translates nutritional information found on food packaging into plain English, and offers a letter grade as to how healthy or harmful an item can be. The app offers comprehensive coverage of both mainstream brands and niche delicacies via the scanning of barcodes. Best of all? The app suggests healthier, similar alternatives to the worst offenders.

21. Marvel Comics (full AndroidApps review)

Reading classic comics within this app works on virtually any size Android screen — which is no easy feat. Marvel Comics also offers panel-by-panel viewing that features beautiful art and more legible word balloons. While most titles require a subscription, there are an ample amount of classic comics available for free.

22. Syncplicity (full AndroidApps review)

For digitally promiscuous users who store and share files on multiple devices and operating systems powered by Android, iOS and Windows, Syncplicity is a useful way to manage libraries found within all of them. Unlike many cloud-based alternatives, Syncplicity uses encryption to secure files.

23. Starbucks (full AndroidApps review)

After launching initially on iOS and BlackBerry smartphones, the official Starbucks app finally arrived on Android earlier this year. Better late than never. The app lets users manage their Starbucks Cards and purchase coffee and the like at nearly 7,000 U.S. locations.

24. LinkedIn (full AndroidApps review)

After what seemed like an eternity in beta, LinkedIn finally launched an Android app ready for prime time in the spring. While not perfect, the LinkedIn app is a much better alternative than the company’s more limited mobile site. Finally, this indispensable professional networking service found a full-time gig on Android.

25. Path (full AndroidApps review)

A significant December update to this social blogging app on Android and iOS devices served as an early holiday present to its passionate and vocal adherents. Beyond sharing photos, users can now tell the world about what music they are listening to and other activities they are doing. The app’s new design and “Automatic” feature, which recognizes when users deviate from routine schedules, also separate Path from the pack.

And finally, we present the five best games to arrive to Android devices in 2011. Notably, they all first appeared on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

26. Cut the Rope (full AndroidApps review)

While not a household name like Angry Birds, Cut the Rope is among the most addictive and popular mobile games of all time. The graphics and music are superb, and Cut the Rope is optimized and plays very well on larger Android tablet devices. This is another multi-platform grand slam for (Angry Birds) publisher Chillingo.

27. World of Goo (full AndroidApps review)

One of the most original and well-crafted physics-based puzzle games around finally made its way to Android devices in late November. Originally an indie hit on PCs, World of Goo is a construction game in which users must connect goo balls together to build structures so that other goo balls can get to the end of each stage. The abstract art and imagery alone make it worth the five bucks to download.

28. Where’s My Water? (full AndroidApps review)

A clever and addictive puzzle game by Disney, Where’s My Water? combines whimsical design with killer gameplay. Players are tasked with keeping a sewer-dwelling alligator named Swampy clean and pristine while guiding him through urban terrain. Easier said than done, particularly with Swampy’s alligator buddies standing in the way.

29. Plants vs. Zombies (full AndroidApps review)

This classic title from PopCap, which was acquired by Electronic Arts in July, first came to Android earlier this year via the Amazon App Store. It was sold exclusively on Amazon until early December. Fans of the cartoony tower defense game will enjoy tapping into Plants vs. Zombies on Android devices.

30. Asphalt 6: Adrenaline HD (full AndroidApps review)

The best racing game available for Android devices, Asphalt 6: Adrenaline HD combines plenty of cars and game modes — including a psychedelic “Adrenaline” boost — with superlative visuals and gameplay. This one deserves the checkered flag.

Why Chrome has Skyrocketed but Safari Hasn’t

The past few days, there’s been a lot of talk about web browsers. The report that Google will be paying Mozilla close to one billion dollars over the next three years to ensure that their search engine remains the default for Firefox is fascinating for a few reasons. The biggest is that Google now makes a Firefox competitor, Chrome. And it got me thinking about Safari.

Remember Safari?

While Chrome has skyrocketed from 0 percent market share in August 2008 to over 25 percent last month, Apple’s web browser lingers somewhere between 5 and 8 percent, depending on what numbers you look at. While its growth seemed to stall out in late 2008/early 2009, Safari has been growing again since then. But it has been at a very slow, methodical pace compared to the Google browser.

Given the fact that both browsers are based on WebKit — a layout engine which was born out of Apple — why hasn’t it been Safari that has taken off, instead of Chrome?

The easy answer that most people jump to is Windows. Microsoft’s OS is still by far the dominant one even with record Mac sales quarter after quarter. But while Safari is usually associated with the Mac (since it’s baked into OS X), it has actually been available for Windows quite a bit longer than Chrome has been.

Safari for Windows was unveiled in beta in June 2007. It was formally released in March 2008. Chrome wasn’t unveiled until September of that year. Incidentally, it was Windows-only at the time. But it took Google’s browser just a year to surpass Safari in market share.

So if it wasn’t Windows, what else led to Chrome’s rise?

Another thing people often point to is speed. A number of benchmarks point to Chrome being the fastest browser available in terms of both page rendering and JavaScript performance.

But remember too that when Safari for Windows was announced, several of the same tests showed that it was the fastest browser available for both Macs and PCs (remember, Chrome didn’t exist yet). If this was just about speed, shouldn’t Safari have taken off starting in June 2007 similar to the way that Chrome did in September 2008?

On the flip side, most users throughout the years have complained that Safari for Windows more or less sucks. It’s been a long while since I’ve used it myself, but I recall it being somewhere between Firefox and Internet Explorer in terms of practical performance (that is, how fast it actually feels when using it, tests be damned). But Apple has continued to iterate on it and the latest version, 5.1, is still available on both platforms.

Others point to Google itself as the reason for Chrome’s rise compared to Safari. It’s true that Google does quite a bit of promotion for their browser, including on Google.com every once in a while. But it’s hard to imagine that being a bigger advantage then either IE or Safari which are both baked into Windows and OS X respectively. To get Chrome, a user still has to download something (unless they’re using Chrome OS — but if that’s the case, they’re already probably going to be using Chrome on their other machines). I would imagine that most IE and Safari users don’t download their browser, they use it because it’s the default that comes pre-installed on their machines.

Plus, Safari being bundled by default with iTunes for a time should have helped it gain massive Windows market share. But it would appear that many people downloading it simply weren’t using it.

Maybe it’s extensions that give Chrome the advantage? Maybe, but Safari has had them as well since mid-2010. Sure, Chrome’s extensions are better and much more plentiful, but if that is all that was holding Safari back, developers probably would have stepped up their game there. Plus, Firefox had extensions way before either Chrome or Safari and while they undoubtedly helped grow that browser, it’s also shrinking now in the face of Chrome.

With the launch of OS X Lion, it seemed as if Safari might be poised for a bit of a renaissance. Because the default controls were inverted, third-party software like Chrome was largely broken to begin with on the new OS. Safari also offered features like better multi-touch support and Reading List (which syncs between iOS and OS X Lion) which rivals didn’t match. But with a few months of data in, it looks like the Safari growth is still the same slow and methodical variety, likely rising simply as more Macs are sold.

Given the rise of mobile, it would seem that the massive usage mobile Safari is seeing might help Safari on desktops/laptops too. But again, the numbers don’t really suggest that. Safari is growing, but slowly. Meanwhile Chrome, which isn’t actually a part of Android — not yet, anyway — is skyrocketing without any sort of mobile presence.

Personally, I’m a Chrome user myself. I’ve tried a few times to use Safari as my primary browser (most recently with the OS X Lion upgrade), but I always end up switching back. To me, it’s still about practical performance. Things like: with a dozen or more tabs open, Chrome seems to perform in a way that Safari cannot.

Plus, I can’t live without the URL/Search Omnibox that Chrome offers. And I’m addicted to “pinned” tabs (browser tabs I always have open and are shoved to the left and shrunken down, out of the way from general tabbed web browsing).

It has been nearly 9 years since Safari was first formally introduced on stage by Steve Jobs at Macworld 2003. It has steadily improved and grown market share, but the rise of Chrome in less than half of that time has made Safari look a bit silly.

Of course, that could all change rather quickly if devices like the iPad really are the future of general purpose computing. On mobile devices in general, there’s no question in my mind right now that mobile Safari is ahead of what Google is doing. That’s why it’s odd that the opposite is true on more traditional computers.

And it’s not entirely clear why. Some point to Apple neglect — since the App Store has been such a phenomenon, they’re more inclined to throw resources at native work rather than web work, is the basic argument — but again, given the state of mobile Safari versus the other mobile web browsers, that doesn’t seem to be the case. It could simply be that Google’s Chrome team is really good at what they do, and nailed it from the get go. Good things happen to good products.

GoPro HD Hero 2 review

GoPro has been in the HD action sports and helmet cam game for some time now, with its Hero line proving a popular sight atop many a daredevil's lid. Now, you can add HD Hero 2 ($300) to the ever growing list of options now, as this is the latest (and they say greatest) incarnation to date. Last time we tested the Hero Original -- as it's now called -- against the Contour HD, but now we're pitting new against old, like for like, side by side. Not only will we discover how the new boy stands up against the camera it effectively usurps, we'll also see how it fares out in the field. Above all, we'll see whether a smattering of new recording options, and a supposedly "two times sharper" image make it worth the extra dollars.

Hardware

Once you unbox the Hero 2, you'll be greeted by many of the same accoutrements as before. The packaging is the same Perspex-crowned cardboard box, the camera pride of place, while all the accessories are tucked away down below. The kit you get depends on which edition you buy, with three available at launch: Outdoor, Motorsports and Surf. We've been testing the Outdoor set, which is little more than a new name for what was previously known as the Helmet Hero.
In the box are four adhesive mount clips, an elasticated head mount, a padded helmet mount, three pivot arms, a waterproof case, a non-waterproof case door (for better audio), a battery and of course the camera. All very familiar if you own any GoPro gear, so much so that the new camera itself is almost identical too. There are subtle differences in the size of the recording LEDs, HDMI port, 3.5 Mic input and of course the product name emblazoned on the front, but aside from that they're identical, meaning that their cases are interchangeable also.
What is new with the HD Hero 2 is what's going on beneath that unassuming little case. According to GoPro, the Hero 2 is two times as powerful in every way. That means "two times sharper image" (however that's measured); 11MP Photos, up from the original's five; ten photos per second, up from three; time lapse down to 0.5 second increments, previously 1 second; max fps 120, up from 60; and 170 degrees FOV all the way up to 1080p, previously 170 stopped at 960p, dropping to 127 degrees at full resolution. Fortunately you won't be expected to pay double price for all this extra spec, but more on that later.

Mounting

Accessory-wise, the pivot arms are there to let you position the HD Hero 2 in a number of different positions, but they are somewhat fiddly, and limited in the number of angles. You have enough to get the camera extended, away from helmet obstructions, and change the mounting angle should you need to. As before, the adhesive clips cling to anything with vigor; because of this you have to be committed to whatever you are sticking it to. If you want to film your friend snowboarding, pray that she doesn't mind you slapping one of these on her board, as it'll be there almost permanently.
Sometimes clipping the camera in and out of these mounts can be difficult, especially if space is limited, or your fingers are gloved / wet / cold, which might be quite often considering this is an action sports device. Likewise, the pivot arms are screwed in place, and the little plastic screw heads can be extremely difficult to loosen manually with weather beaten fingers, mercifully the caps have an exposed Philips-head screw, so you can get a screwdriver in to do the job when your fleshy digits fail.

The tie-up helmet mount pad is great for those lids with air vents, and means you don't have to use up one of your four adhesive clips, but it does leave itself more open to loosening or coming undone, so a little bit of a trade off. The head-mount makes you feel wonderfully self-conscious when you adorn it, like some sort of techno-miner, but it's fairly comfortable and practical, which is by far the most important thing here.

In use

Once you've worked out how you're mounting it, the rest of the set-up is a cinch. Like its elder sibling, the front button controls power and cycles through menu options, while the top button selects, and of course, sets the camera rolling. Once again you have to contend with a tiny LCD screen for navigating through menus, but the interface is a little more friendly than before, with slightly clearer icons and text replacing the calculator-esque codes of before.
Kicking off basic filming is easy: simply select movie mode and press go. Once you're rolling the camera beeps and red LEDs on the front and top flash to let you know it's still going. The previous model suffered from not beeping loud enough to be heard over engine noise, and it's still the case with the Hero 2, meaning you aren't always sure it's shooting unless you can physically see it. Annoyingly, there is still no way of viewing what you've just shot until you either get home and upload it, or buy a the BacPac accessory at an extra cost. As a middle ground, if you have an iPad with a camera kit, the GoPro files play back just fine right off the bat. Other tablets should also handle them without a problem.

The resolutions available are the same as on the HD Hero Original, just with more frame rate options and FOV angles, conspiring expand the number of stylistic possibilities. For example, WVGA mode can now be shot at 60 and 120fps; 720p has three FOV options: 90, 127 and 170 unlike before where you just had the wide 170 setting; 960p gets a 48fps setting and up at the top 1080p again the two additional FOVs are now available.
The 1,100 mAh battery should see you through a good 2.5 hours of use according to its claims and in our tests it barely registered a loss of over half on the indicator while out and about, shooting regularly. Outputting the video you shot is now possible over HDMI which usurps the component cable offered with the last generation, but you'll need the lead already, as it's not supplied in the box like previously.

Video quality

The first thing you'll notice if you have the luxury of having both cameras is that the HD Hero 2 is noticeably clearer. Many people tend to think in pure numbers: megapixels, resolution and so on, but then forget that a lot of it really depends on the piece of glass the image is coming through. We noticed that images were generally sharper, but this was most visible with more complex textures such as asphalt, grass and so on.

The additional resolution settings and FOV options are more of a luxury than a necessity, but combined with the higher level of sharpness do give the device a more complete and professional feel. Audio still suffers dramatically when inside the waterproof case, and fares mildly better with the more sound-friendly door.
The color balance between the two models is also notably distinct, with the HD Hero 2 reproducing much more authentic tones compared to the Original's slightly brasher levels. Performance under lower-light levels also seemed to have enjoyed a marked improvement.
There are still times when you can sense that this is ultimately a click-and-go camera. For example, some jaggies are still noticeable at times, and white balance can be a little off on occasion, but all things considered, it generally puts in a solid performance.
The videos below were taken in two very different light situations, but give you a good understanding of how well the camera might perform under different weather conditions. The first was shot on a cloudy winter day about an hour or two prior to sundown and it holds up pretty well.

Wrap-up

Pound for pound, the HD Hero 2 is a marked improvement, and continues very much in the advancing footsteps of its predecessors. The price is not much more than the Original when that was new at $299.99. That said, some of our gripes remain, and they might be significant enough to change your buying decision depending on your requirements.
The main one, we found, is that the camera itself is quite heavy, especially when cased and mounted. Heavy enough that when you've got one slapped on your helmet, you definitely know about it, and sudden head movements can cause you to feel a tip in the balance – somewhat off putting when mid-action.
Likewise, the mounts themselves might lend themselves to larger, smoother surfaces, but if you want to attach it to something less regular, you might struggle. Sure you can buy different mounting kits and tools, but it soon adds up. Not to mention how fiddly it can be to get set up just right too. If you need to change the camera position on the go, you might find yourself missing some of the action. This can all be negated to some degree with the right preparation, but worth considering if prep-time isn't a luxury that you might have. For the most part, GoPro has improved on what was already a popular product, so we expect newcomers to be pleased, but upgraders might want to consider if there is enough net benefit.

GoDaddy $1 .COM, .NET & .ORG Domains Coupon code for December 2011

It seems that those redemptions are already over and OUT. So to keep everyone happy the domain name company has decided to start a similar discount offer (as it does every month) for the .COM, .NET and .ORG TLDs.

Staying on the top as the number one domain name service provider is not easy for any company. GoDaddy is also facing some stiff competition from competitors in the same market like Name,Whois and others.

So such monthly discount coupons/offers definitely help the cause for GoDaddy and it’s market-share. Anyways without going into a deep analystic mode let’s take a look at how to get these TLDs at a discounted price of 1 dollar or 53.48 rupees (plus ICANN fees of course).

GoDaddy $1 Domain

GoDaddy 1$ Domain Coupon Code – gift1

Looking at the coupon code name gift1, one gets a feeling that it’s a gift from GoDaddy to all it’s users on the occasion of Christmas (which is nearing).

So register lots of .com, .net & .org domain names quickly so as to avail full advantage of this discount. In case you registered some domains and availed the earlier mentioned $1 domain discount, you are still not out of this race. Your old CCs will still work for this specific offer.

If you are not aware of the domain registration process then refer to this tutorial and replace the code mentioned there with the latest coupon code i.e. gift1.

Hope you enjoy and take full advantage of this 1 dollar domain discount from GoDaddy.

DROID 4

The most awaited Droid 4 of motorola launched. The youth here after face their mobile al time.

Motorola DROID owners have upgraded to Verizon’s Galaxy Nexus now that many of them are past their two-year upgrade point. But there’s still something to be said for physical keyboards, and those waiting for a high-end QWERTY phone have been largely ignored on Verizon for the last several months. The DROID 4 has been eagerly awaited by those wishing for some LTE goodness mixed with RAZR styling, but the latest rumored date (yesterday) didn’t pan out. In the meantime, have a gander at these renders dug up by Droid Life, covering every digital millimeter of the upcoming phone