New Technology 2011 Gadgets, Best Gadgets, Desktop Gadgets

I write this post with a very heavy heart. I registered the domain for this blog on Dec 31st, 2006 and officially started off with my My First Post on Jan 13, 2007.

That tells me that I have invested a time period of over 4 years, translated into over 35,000 hours and I am happy and very much satisfied with what I have done. Heck! Technorati even tells me that this blog has surpassed most other tech blogs to be included in the list of ‘Top 100 Technology’ and ‘Top 100 Gadgets’ blog around the world.

However, with much satisfaction and success comes the challenge to maintain and live up to what people expect from you. This blog, I can proudly say, at least in Pakistan, started what I call the ‘pedia frenzy’ and since then things have gotten out of hands for me. Not only did people steal the identity of this blog (all the blogs of the same name on .net, .eu, .in, .org etc are not owned by me) but they declined to credit me for something that I started and to be honest I do not feel bad about it.

This blog, my baby as I call it, taught me how to love doing something in life and still make it lucrative. Trust me, it wasn’t about the money, it was never about the money, it was about how one in the information-era is capable to consume and share information. That’s what it was all about but in the course that I followed I found many people were there with me for their personal benefits, to which I feel no remorse; all of them probably had their reasons.

Then, a recent incident, with this blog made me re-think the whole strategy on which I am working. Google banned AdSense on this blog passing a reason that does not make a bit of sense to me. This blog, as Google says, is violating the Adsense quality guidelines for user-experience. For me, it doesn’t make sense as this blog has always been in compliance with all policies and there is not a single reason why our blog’s revenue should face such a major slump.

But then, it hit me. It’s not just AdSense. It is how God wants to communicate with me and tell me that I need to move on. No one should put all their eggs in the same basket and that’s what I have been doing for a very long time. This blog will always remain dear to me and this is in no way a good-bye, this blog will keep running even if we make any revenue out of it or not.

The purpose of this blog post is to let our readers and friends know what I am going through and how they can extract a lesson out of it. God is watching and trust me! karma is a bitch. What I want you to learn from my story is not how you can become a millionaire with blogging rather how you can make a living out of something you love and something you want to do.

I will be shifting my main focus to iPhoneism.com, a new blog that I recently started with Adnan Farooqui. He has served as the editor at this blog for quite some time and will be my partner in the new project. I would like to thank him for all his work and dedication.

For those who wonder what I am doing right now, I work for a digital media agency called bramerz and I am very happy with my day-time job.

Update: This blog is not shutting down and will continue to operation normally with new posts being updated daily.

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It’s really not been a great week for Sony. The news that their PlayStation Network had been hacked was bad enough, but then the Japanese electronics giant was forced to tell its 70 million users that their personal data, and even their credit card details may have been stolen.

Once users had finished cancelling every card they’d ever even thought of attaching to PSN, the thoughts then turned to compensation. Just what will Sony do to make things right? According to a statement from Sony, they’re working on something â€" but they’re not letting on just what they’ll be doing to appease us.

In the company’s latest Q&A session regarding the current problems, Sony did its best to ease players’ fears for their saved game data and trophies by assuring them that their data will simply re-sync as soon as PSN is brought back online. But what about those users who subscribe to online games such as DC Universe Online? According to Ars Technica, Sony is working on a ‘make good’ plan.

"To thank players for their patience, we will be hosting special events across our game portfolio," SOE said in a statement. "We are also working on a ‘make good’ plan for players of the PS3 versions of DC Universe Online and Free Realms. Details will be available soon on the individual game websites and forums."

The same goes for PSN as a whole and streaming service Qriocity. Seybold said that Sony is "evaluating ways to show appreciation" to users for the downtime, but specifics as to how that will be done are currently unavailable.

Ars Technica also notes that, according to gaming blog Kotaku, Sony has brought the FBI into the investigation into what’s happened. We’re sure that will help the vultures as they seek to sue Sony, too.

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It’s been a few days since Google announced Android 2.3.4 for Nexus S and Nexus One. The new update brings video and voice chat through Google Talk along with a few bug fixes. But, as with all Android updates, the roll out is gradual and it may be sometime before you get it. For those of the impatient ones amongst us with Nexus S phones, here’s a proper guide for you to manually upgrade your phones to Android 2.3.4 ( from Android 2.3.3 ) to try out and enjoy the new video and voice chat functionality. Read on after the break for the full guide.

First of all, make sure you’re on Android 2.3.3. It doesn’t matter if you’ve rooted your Nexus S (although root access will be gone after upgrading to Android 2.3.4). Also make sure you’re not using using any custom ROM, if you are, revert back to stock Android 2.3.3 first.

For now, we only have download links for the following Nexus S models: i9020T and i9023. For i9020T, make sure you’re on build GRI40 and Baseband KB1 while for i9023, make sure you’re on build GRI54. You can check this by going to Settings> About phone and scrolling down.

Download the firmwares from the respective links: Android 2.3.4 for i9020T and Android 2.3.4 for i9023

Once downloaded, rename the files to update.zip ( make sure it’s not update.zip.zip, the zip should only be the extension ). Connect Nexus S to your computer and copy the file to the root of you device’ memory i.e. it shouldn’t be in any folder.

Turn off your Nexus S. Restart it by holding down the power button  and volume  up button. On this screen, use the volume button to move down to recovery and press the power button.

When you’re into recovery, move to apply update from /sdcard using the volume buttons and press the power button. This will show you the list of files and folders in your sdcard. Use the volume button to move to the update.zip file and press the power button again. On the next screen, select yes and this will start the update process.

Once the installation is done, your phone will reboot and you’ll be using Android 2.3.4. You can now enjoy free video and voice chat via Google Talk!

If for some reason, your installation fails, let us know and we’ll try our best to help you out!

If you find this helpful, check out our following guides for Nexus S too:

• How to unlock Nexus S bootloader
• How to root Nexus S
• How to Install MeeGo on Nexus S [Guide]

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Related posts:

Google Talk Brings Video/Audio Chat to Android

Multitouch for Nexus One available through official Google Update along with other features

Android 2.1 Update Announced for US phones

Google holding an Android Press Conference on 5th January. Possibly related to Nexus One

Android 2.2 Froyo Build FRF83 released for Nexus One Users

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Editor’s note: In last decade, when Former Pakistan President Pervaiz Musharraf was at the pinnacle of putting the country in a stable economic position, we had put in a request to the Presidential Secretariat to have his comments on where IT and Telecom were headed. Though we never got a chance to conduct the interview in person as the followup we wanted, the Secretariat was kind enough to have the former President’s remarks to our questions. Of course, this was thrilling enough considering this was the same President who continually talked about IT and Telecom being in the top 5 sectors that would change Pakistan as we know it. Here’s a portion of the transcript that we ran in Netxpress back in early 2007.

What is your vision for the Information Technology and Telecom’s role in the future of Pakistan?

At the World Summit on the Information Technology, the global leaders endorsed that we should move towards creating an Information Society in order to compete with services in these two sectors. We have come a long way in putting Pakistan on the right track in pursuit of sustainable growth in IT and telecom. It is evident from the fact that almost 2% of GDP comes from Telecom alone, however we still need to do a lot more in terms of promoting growth of these sectors and to attract FDI and business from around the world. Lower costs of factor of production in our country should prove as a catalyst in achieving this objective.

What ground work has been set out in the few years to ensure that Pakistan reaches this goal?

Pakistan allows foreign investment in the telecommunication sector on a repatriable basis. In addition, foreign investors are now allowed to hold 100% repatriation of profits (previously it was restricted to maximum of 60% profit repatriation).

Government of Pakistan in view of the emerging global trends and growing national needs for telecommunications development, approved following three policies for deregulation and opening up of the telecom sector: fixed line telecom deregulation policy, cellular mobile policy and broadband policy. Major objectives of these policies are to promote infrastructure development, increase in foreign and local investment in the sector, harness local entrepreneurship, increase quality and choice of affordable services for businesses and consumers, extend competition amongst licenses, implementation of these policies in a fair and transparent manner have thus far achieved tremendous success. Several of these new licenses have started their operations in the country resulting in paradigm shift in the telecom landscape in Pakistan.

Pakistan’s telecom sector is cited as a model for developing countries because of success of its policy and regulatory framework, deregulization, privatization, excellent growth and investment in the sector.

As a very important initiative towards providing universal access to telecom services and to increase out reach of these services to rural communities, the Government has brought legislation for developing Universal Service Fund (USF) framework to enhance tele-density and to provide basis telecom services to the under/ unserved areas of the country. Contributions raised from USF would be transparently deployed and the prime focus on Human Resource Development and Capacity Building.

Other major initiatives that the government is actively pursuing include:

• Mobile Number Portability (MNP)
• Introducing/ Implementing Equipment Identity Register (EIR) to combat threat of mobile headset theft in the larger public interest.
• Convergence and 3G roadmap being prepared with a consultative process.
• Human Resource Capacity Building plans have been identified and dialogue being carried out with the stakeholders and universities to launch projects.
• Frequency and interference issues are being resolved on priority basis.
• Further legislative3 framework is underway to check anticompetitive behavior to facilitate sector growth and all rules to support policy to be put in place with in current calendar year.

In addition to the phenomenal growth of in telecom sector during this time, if the Government is to create an enabling environment through sound policy and facilitation, the privatization of PTCL will help introduce new innovative services to the customer and create a health competition in the sector.

What kind of opportunities do you see for the IT industry to help promote a more positive image of Pakistan in the international market?

The image of Pakistan and growth of the IT industry have a close relationship according to our surveys and reports by professional consultants the distorted image of Pakistan, which is largely based on misinformation has a negative effect on the industry. When business visit Pakistan, they are pleasantly surprised that the situation on ground is quite different then the preconceived image. We are taking various measures to improve this perception. As the IT industry grows in Pakistan and attracts more international players, they would get a first hand view of the country and the positive image would begin to emerge.

Except for increasing the number of foreign investment into Pakistan; how else would you measure the IT and Telecom industry’s success?

The success of the IT and Telecom industry has various parameters with FDI being only one component. The contribution to GDP, creation of jobs and the availability of the services to citizens will enable the creation of a competitive industry.

When the IT policy was created it was first time in the country’s history that the private sector has created something for the government to implement. How open will the government of Pakistan be to changing or creating policy in order to help boost the local industry?

The government is quite receptive to the feedback and the contribution of the private sector. This is evident in the process followed for the development of major policy documents in recent years including the fixed line telecom policy, electronic transaction ordinance and electronic crimes act. In all these cases, workshops were held with the private sector and documents were placed on the web for general feedback before they were submitted to the cabinet.

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Mobilink Jazz Introduces Daily Mobile Internet

By M Mathar · Saturday, Apr 30, 2011 47 Comments

Jazz Jazba now introduces daily unlimited internet service with no limits on internet usage.

Now you can use daily unlimited internet on you Jazz Jazba connection with no data limit in Rs. 9.99 per day.

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Microsoft today released its Q3 2011 financial results and they’re good with the numbers beating those expected by all the analysts with net income reaching a staggering $5.23billion.

Despite these results however, Apple has managed to beat them with regards to profit, as noted by TechCrunch’s MG Siegler.

Last October, despite Apple pulling ahead in revenue, the profit gap was about $1.1 billion in Microsoft’s favor. Last quarter, that gap was down to roughly a $600 million. And now, rather remarkable, it’s over $700 million in the other direction â€" a $1.3 billion swing in just one quarter. And you can probably expect that trend to continue.

When it comes to revenue, Apple is firmly in the lead too with $24.6 billion compared to Microsoft’s not-to-be-sneezed-at $16.43 billion â€" staggering numbers no matter which way you slice it.

Oh how things have changed in just a few short years. With Apple posting record sales figures quarter after quarter, the Cupertino outfit shows no sign of letting up while Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 is proving to be a similar story to the company’s older Windows Mobile â€" namely uninspiring. Perhaps their new partnership with Nokia will help things along in this regard.

No matter which side of the Apple-Microsoft divide you might fall on you have to admit, both companies know how to make money!

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Awesome updates from the Google Mobile team just keep rolling out. Recently Google released a Google Docs app for Android, and now comes the ability to video/voice chat using Google Talk. Similar applications, like Fring and Tango, have sought to bring a facetime-like experience to Android. Now, with video chat being built-in to Google Talk(on Android 2.3+), the use of alternative apps will be a choice, not a necessity. Here’s an overview of what you can expect in the potentially game-changing Google Talk update:

What does it do?

The update brings the ability to video and voice chat with other gmail users. Users can chat with other Android users, along with those using Google Talk on their computer. Calls can be made over 3G and 4G(depending on carrier), and, of course, Wi-Fi.

How does it work?

Next to your Google Talk contacts, a video/voice chat button pops up. Simply press the button to initiate a call. Text chats are overlaid on top of the video so you don’t have to leave your call to read them. If you leave the chat to do something else, the video will pause, freeing up your screen. However, the audio will continue like a normal call, with the video resuming upon entering the call once again.

This looks awesome! When can I get it?

The Google Talk update will be distributed to Nexus S devices via an over-the-air update for Android 2.3.4. Some time in the future, this update will be released to other Android 2.3+ devices as well. Keep in mind that the Nexus S is a developer’s phone, meaning that a public release of the new Google Talk could be as far away as 3 months.

Here’s a video from Google demoing the new Google Talk update:

While the Google Talk update isn’t necessarily imminent, it’s definitely something to look forward to. We’ll be sure to let you know once this update becomes publicly available, so stay tuned!

Related posts:

Fring brings video calling to Android phones â€" works with front facing camera in HTC EVO

This week in Google/Android: Buzz, 1 gigabit a second, …

Facebook App 1.5 for Android Released â€" Supports Chat and Push Notifications

New Enhancement in Gmail Labs allows better quality Video Chat

Google Voice Chrome Extension Controls Google Voice from the Menu Bar

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After the minor Firefox 4.0.1 update, we wrote about Firefox 5.0 Alpha 2, and now â€" Firefox 6.0 Alpha 1. The first alpha version is now available and at least we don’t find any major changes in it so far. May be in the next few releases.

Firefox development sure seems on steroids these days, specially after how much time they took with the Firefox 4 development.

Download Firefox 6 Alpha 1 (6.0a1)

You can download Firefox 6.0a1 from here: Download Firefox 6.0a1

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FM Stations in Pakistan started tapping into the community for news and updates long before Twitter hit the scene. Citizen Journalism sits at the heart of community radio. But unlike the social media which allows users to interact because of the power of its interactive media, radio, like other traditional media, has settled into a one-way street â€" you have an update, make a call and have your voice recorded so it can be streamed at the appropriate time to the listeners. Unlike social media where you are in control of not only what the update is and how you send that update out but also when you stream it out.

But this is all common and rather old knowledge. So why bother to bring it up now?

Well, I am an avid listener of Apna Karachi FM 107. Have been since the very beginning. If you want a traffic update about anything happening in Karachi, chances are the RJs and production team at FM107 will know because they have a loyal community that keeps them updated.

But that controlled delivery of information irks me. Despite the fact that their site finally went up online, listeners still have to wait until the RJ makes a traffic update announcement. Should the stations make use of GPS maps or citizen reporting sites such as See N Report to encourage more interaction amongst the community? Should FM stations use RSS feeds to push updates to user cell phones? Should SMS alerts be used?

For a radio station, what should their digital strategy be? Should they even have one?

What do you think? What advice would you share with the radio channels to make them more savvy of their listeners?

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Inbox-IBM presents: Secure Data Solutions with Smart Storage and Virtualization

By Ahsan Javed · Friday, Apr 29, 2011 0 Comments

IBM Pakistan and Inbox Business Technologies jointly introduced IBM Storwize RAS, which will help businesses manage their applications and information explosions, effectively and thus, increase their storage utilization, storage administrator productivity, application performance and availability.

The main purpose of this event was to showcase how organizations can secure their data with the latest technology, as with the advancement in operations and globalization, organizations need to be proactive in being prepared to deal with the data security challenges effectively.

The event highlighted the fact that the growing complexity of IT environments; as a result of diverse business applications and devices; is forcing midsized businesses to pursue more and more virtualization technologies, so as to attain efficiency in their business operations. Further, the event highlighted out that challenges arise when companies introduce virtuallization without changing their business processes and architectures.

Migally, Data Protection Sales Leader-System Storage (MEA), IBM, spoke on the issue of ‘Smart Data Protection’, thereby providing some valuable insights.

Inbox Business Technologies has acquired a leading position in the local IT-industry, by operating in different sectors; like Defense, Telecom, Financial and Education; and facilitating them. The company, through its numerous and unique IT services, is helping these organizations perform efficiently by creating a secured business environment.

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It’s all official, Microsoft’s Xbox Kinect is the fastest selling consumer electronics device ever.

According to the people at the Guinness World Records, Microsoft’s Kinect sold on average 133,333 units per day over a 60 day period. That totals a mind-boggling 8 million units in two months.

Gaz Deaves, Editor of Guinness World Records 2011 Gamer’s Edition, said:

The sales figures here speak for themselves. We can confirm that no other consumer electronics device sold faster within a 60-day time span, an incredible achievement considering the strength of the sector.

These numbers mean MS shifted more Kinects than Apple sold iPads or iPhones during their first 60 days of being on sale.

Labeled as a fad by many, Kinect took the world by storm with its futuristic approach to gaming, though a lack of titles since launch has left existing Kinect owners with shiny new kit but few games to use it with. It’s early days though, and few can argue with the hardware’s promise.

You might like to check out

• Microsoft Kinect Beats Apple Products to Become Fastest Selling Gadget in History
• Microsoft Sells 2.5 Million Kinect Units in Just 25 Days Since Launch
• Xbox 360 Outsells Both PS3 and Wii in US For 5th Consecutive Month
• Kinect 10-Days Sales Figures at 1.3 Million Units Sold Worldwide Shows Complete Pwnage of PlayStation Move

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We brought you a guide on how to jailbreak iOS 4.3 beta on iPhone 4 using Msftguy’s custom PwnageTool bundle back in Jaunary. Now, since iOS 4.3 is out of beta has been publicly released, a similar procedure with different PwnageTool bundles can be used to jailbreak iOS 4.3 on iPhone 4 GSM, iPhone 3GS (old bootrom) and iPhone 3GS (new bootrom). The process is primarily aimed for advanced users as it requires creating a ramdisk, but we’ll try to keep it as simple as possible.

NOTE: The PwnageTool bundles used here were released for GM build, however they work perfectly fine on the final release of iOS 4.3 as well. It is a tethered jailbreak, meaning you will have to reboot your device every time in a jailbroken state (we’ll show you how). Your baseband will not be upgraded.

Step 1: Download the following tools:

1) iTunes 10.1.2

2) PwnageTool for iOS 4.3

3) PwnageTool bundle for your device from following links:

> iPhone 4 GSM

> iPhone 3GS (Old Bootrom)

> iPhone 3GS (New Bootrom)

4) Universal Ramdisk Fixer

5) iOS 4.3 for your device [Direct Links]

6) TetheredBoot Utility

 

Step 2: Now we need to patch / modify PwnageTool with the downloaded custom PwnageTool bundle to jailbreak iOS 4.3.

1) Right click on the PwnageTool which you have already download and then click on “Show Package Contents”.

2) Navigate to Contents/Resources/FirmwareBundles/ and paste the downloaded custom bundle file in this location, then close the folder.

Step 3: We have to patch the Ramdisk now.

1) Launch Universal Ramdisk Fixer you downloaded.

2) Just follow the simple on-screen instructions to fix the ramdisk.

Step 4: Its now time to create custom iOS 4.3 firmware.

1) Launch iTunes.

2) Launch modified PwnageTool and select your iPhone. Then click the blue arrow to continue.

 

3) Now in “Browse for iPSW…” select the official iOS 4.3 which you downloaded in step 1.

4) Now create the custom firmware and save it on your computer.

 

Step 5: To restore this custom iOS 4.3 on your device, put your iPhone in DFU mode.

1) Simply follow the PwnageTool onscreen instructions for this purpose.

2) Once your iPhone is in DFU mode, launch iTunes and it will tell you it has found an iPhone in recovery mode.

3) To restore the custom iOS 4.3 firmware your’ve created, press the Alt/Option key and click on “Restore” in iTunes.

4) Wait for few minutes. Your iPhone will reboot jailbroken on iOS 4.3 after it has been restored successfully.

Step 6: Now, since this jailbreak is currently tethered, you’ll need to use TetheredBoot (downloaded in step 1) to boot it into jailbroken state. There are three files needed to make TetheredBoot work for iOS 4.3. These files are kernelcache.release.n90, iBEC.n90ap.RELEASE.dfu, and iBSS.n90ap.RELEASE.dfu.

To get these files, first change the extension of iOS 4.3 from .ipsw to .zip and then extract it. You will find the above files under /Firmware/dfu/ folder.

1) Put these three files and TetheredBoot utility into a folder and name it “tetheredboot”.

2) Now connect your device with your computer and boot it into “Recovery Mode”. This is done by holding power and home button until “Connect to iTunes” screen appears on iPhone.

3)

Now start “Terminal” and run these commands:

sudo sh

Now type your admin password and run :

cd desktop/tetheredboot

./tetheredboot iBSS kernel

4) You’ll be asked to put your device into DFU mode. Just follow the same method you used in step 5.

5) After a few moments, you will see “Exiting libpois0n” in the Terminal windows which indicates your iPhone will be booted within a few moments.

Enjoy!

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The cricket-fever has gripped almost all the South-Asian, cricket-crazy countries, including Pakistan. With Pakistan on a winning streak, (so far, and let’s hope it continues!), the entire nation has tuned in to the ICC show-event. So have mobile-makers, Nokia, with their Cricket Companion application on the Ovi App Store.

Ever since Pakistani software development company, Mindshare, launched the bestseller software, the Photo Editor, on RiM’s Blackberry phones, Pakistan’s software sector had received a much needed boost in the international arena. Now, this image was further improved upon when another application of Pakistani origin, the Cricket Companion, made it big on Nokia’s application store. This application was designed by a Lahore-based company, Tricastmedia.

According to the official description of the application on the Ovi website, it is a “GPRS based application that can be installed on the handset and enable users to view complete and latest ball-by-ball coverage of all International ODI and Test and 20/20 Matches.” Naturally, when we consider how cricket-mad and excitable a nation we are, it is no surprise that already the application has certainly become extremely popular at the Ovi application store. In fact, this along with some other Pakistani-oriented applications on Ovi, namely news and social apps like Dawn, Express Tribune, Face2Face, Basant theme, Pakistan theme and Geo News have helped make the idea of downloading applications popular in Pakistan.

The huge number of downloads that these applications have witnessed in recent years could help serve a two-pronged purpose also. So far, we have shown that the application-downloading culture has come to the country and it would be interesting to see just how many downloads of this particular application there are, especially in the immediate future. Furthermore, the Pakistani online community could unite and lend their support to turning the application into one of the most downloaded applications on the Nokia Ovi store! Considering the image that the world usually sports of Pakistan, it would be a pleasant change to put Pakistan in the news for reasons other than terrorism or corruption, and also help to show that, contrary to common belief, there is increasing awareness regarding technology and applications in Pakistan.

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Apart from the fact that you will be able to buy Apple iPad 2 from tomorrow, the first initial hands on reviews of the iPad 2 are starting to come in. How before the release? Apple actually provides pre-release hardware to particular organizations for initial reviews. Find what they have to say, after the break.

1. AllThingsD

• Cameras take mediocre still photos, decent video
• Battery life not as strong as first iPad, but impressive.
• “It never crashed in my tests, unlike every Android tablet I’ve tested.”
• “As of now, I can comfortably recommend it as the best tablet for average consumers.”

2. Engadget

• “iPad 2 managed an astonishing 10 hours and 26 minutes of non-stop playback” â€" better than iPad 1 in their testing.
• Cameras are “pretty bad” for stills, reasonably useful for video
• GarageBand is a “groundbreaking piece of software for tablets”
• “The iPad 2 isn’t just the best tablet on the market, it feels like the only tablet on the market”

3. NYTimes

• “My friends, I’m telling you: just that much improvement in thinness, weight and speed transforms the experience. “
• 5-megapixel camera on the back (no flash) (This is probably the only review that says the iPad 2 has a 5-megapixel camera, others beg to differ)

4. MacWorld

• “Pick up an iPad 2 after handling an original iPad, and you’ll notice the difference right away. This is a lighter, thinner device.”
• “The iPad 2 also has 512MB of RAMâ€"twice that of the original iPadâ€"and a 200MHz bus speed, likewise twice that of the original.”
• “Though the iPad 2 is an improvement on the original iPad in numerous ways, itÂ's still an evolutionary product, not a revolutionary one”
• “In short, the iPad 2 is the fastest iOS device ever made, by a long shot.”

5. SlashGear

• “We were able to software decode a side loaded 1.4GB .avi file in OPlayer on the fly, while watching it, without and lag or stutter. The same clip in the same app on the original iPad loads slower and drops frames and audio during playback.”

So from what we see in these initial iPad 2 reviews, it has been confirmed that the iPad 2 has 512 MB of RAM, and not the 256 MB RAM found on the original iPad. The tablet is thinner, faster and lighter than its predecessor and outruns it in the performance arena.

It’s only till tomorrow that we have to wait, after that, we’ll all be seeing plenty of reviews and iPad 2 unboxings in the following days.

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Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) release date is March 14th. Confirmed, this time! Last month, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer hinted that the next major release of their browser, Internet Explorer 9, will be releasing on March 14th and they have confirmed it now!

IE9 will launch with a press event and a launch party at SXSW on March 14. Internet Explorer 9 will be available for download from 9PM Pacific time.

[Via Engadget]

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MNP: Why have WLL/SCO/Fixed Customers been left out

By M S · Thursday, Mar 10, 2011 0 Comments

As you may be aware from the numerous articles on this website, MNP (Mobile Number Portability) regime was implemented in Pakistan in March 2007 and this was a first MNP execution in South Asia.

MNP gives the user the advantage of changing their networks while keeping their number (with the code), and thus allows flexibility with respect to tariff plans, services etc.

PTA has been mandated to promote and protect the interests of users of telecom services in Pakistan, by proving them viable alternatives to the users and to “promote a wide range of high quality, efficient, cost effective and competitive telecommunication services throughout Pakistan; and promote rapid modernization of telecommunication services and systems”.

When the Government of Pakistan realized that subscribers were averse to switching networks since they could not retain their numbers, in order to boost competitiveness and establish market conditions, the MNP regime was established under the watchful eye of PTA.

Pakistan MNP Database (Guarantee) Ltd (www.pmdpk.com) is the company which is responsible for MNP implementation in accordance with Mobile Number Portability Regulations 2005, and it was formed in October 2005 and all six cellular operators in Pakistan are members of the company.

With the bulk of the customers on GSM (as per current PTA data, the number of subscribers have increased to 100 million plus), MNP has just focused on mobile service operators.

Given the fact that at least for fixed line numbers, customer have no options other than PTCL and for wireless local loop operators, the bulk of the customers are again on PTCL, with a total subscriber base of approximately 2.76 million subscribers, as per figures provided by PTA, it seems unlikely that MNP for WLL will catch the attention for PTA anytime soon.

Same is the case with SCO (Special communication Organization), that no one can port SCO number to and from any other network in the country.

When we called PMP and asked about any possibilities of taking WLL/LL operators onboard, it said there no such thing in their to-do-list for now. However, one can expect these WLL/LL operators to offer MNP as well, maybe in distant future.

Another factor which will also weigh-in, is the fact that any MNP solution will not be cheap and all relevant stakeholders will need to be convinced that it is cost effective, and that at the end of the day, will actually bring benefit to the customers and that the customers will port WLL numbers.

Unlike its GSM counterparts, the interest of multi-national companies in WLL licenses and the companies has not been very enthusiastic and there are hardly any WLL companies enjoying foreign backing and the much needed, foreign investment (not counting PTCL/Etisalat which is the only dominant service provider proving all kinds of services).

An analyst while commenting over the issue opined that PTCL won’t let this happen, ever. He said that significant market player, PTCL in our case, bears the maximum cost of MNP services â€" so there is no chance that PTCL will even considering listening to any such kind of proposal.

It is matter of fact that many PTCL/WLL customers may want to go to cellular services, especially those who have fixed line in their business offices.

Whether the concerned stakeholders i.e. the regulator & the companies can be convinced to take this next logical step is another question altogether.

Related Stories

• Mobile Internet Users Increasing Tremendously in Pakistan
• WLL Industry Outperforming Fixed Line in Pakistan
• Rising Trend of MNP, 2.4 Mln Requests Entertained So Far!
• Cellular Subscribers’ Stats for July 2009
• PTCL to Extend Plus Package
• MNP Users Annoyed of Spam from Previous Networks

Tags: fixed, LL, MNP, Pakistan, PTA, PTCL, regulation, services, Telecom, WLL

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Microsoft are finding out tonight that no matter how nicely you ask, you just can’t guarantee people won’t leak your new software. Today Win7China (via Windows8Beta) have managed to get hold of a few screenshots of Microsoft’s next operating system, as well as have some info to share with everyone.

The headline feature to come out of the leak is a new ‘restore’ feature. According to reports, the new feature will mean users will always have the option to return their system to a vanilla install of Windows 8 at any time and in just two minutes. At the moment the only way to reliably do this is to make your own clone of a drive before installing your applications â€" not something an average user will do.

If you do have to do a complete reinstall of Windows 8 though, it doesn’t look like you’ll have the usual long wait while the OS works its magic. According to Win7China, Windows 8 installs in just 8 minutes. They claim the same machine needed over 23 minutes to install Windows 7. Just how this huge improvement is achieved is unclear, though we’re not sure we care!

Other interesting changes include the addition of the ability to login using a Windows Live ID, with the ID’s display picture being shown in the redesigned system tray.

More leaked screenshots of Windows 8 are embedded below:

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For Microsoft’s Bing to succeed against the gigantic Google, the Redmondians need a lot of user base. In order to achieve this goal, Microsoft has rolled out a new feature for its decision engine which they are calling Bing Deals. This feature is meant for shopping fanatics and bargain hunters who are always on the lookout for sizzling deals.

Those who are familiar with Groupon will have no trouble using the Deals feature offered by Bing. Bing Deals works by providing you access to more than 200,000 unique offers in over 14,000 cities and towns. Not only can you search the best offers there are, you can also share it with your friends and family members.

Currently Bing Deals is limited to US users only and can be accessed via Desktop and official site (m.bing.com). The functionality will be rolled out for other markets at a later stage.

Android and iPhone users can get this same feature by downloading the official Bing app from the respective App Stores. Windows Phone 7 users won’t be getting this feature just yet since the functionality requires HTML5 whose support is yet to be implemented in Microsoft’s glance and go experience offering Windows Phone OS.

[via ZDNet]

 

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Next weak is the annual Pwn2Own competition, in which security analysts and hackers alike attempt to find and show off security exploits on various devices. While Pwn2Own generally centralizes around computers, this year the mobile display is receiving a lot of attention. The mobile display will test the security of four devices: the iPhone 4 running iOS, the Blackberry Torch 9800 running Blackberry 6 OS, the Nexus S running Android, and the Dell Venue Pro running Windows Phone 7.

Even more interesting than Microsoft’s interest in the Windows Phone 7 security is the fact that George Hotz, aka geohot, is scheduled to take a run at the Dell Venue Pro. The rules state that the user must have very little interaction with the device and must compromise useful data. “Any attack that can incur cost upon the owner of the device (such as silently calling long-distance numbers, eavesdropping on conversations, and so forth) is within scope.” The winner in each devision will receive a cash prize in addition to the device itself.

After the lawsuits with Sony began, Mr. Hotz mentioned on his blog that he was going to buy a Windows Phone 7, and caught Microsoft’s attention very quickly. Hotz was offered a Windows Phone 7, and it is unknown as to whether or not he capitalized on this offer. Based on Hotz’s exploits in the past against both Apple(Limera1n and Blackra1n) and Sony(Ps3 Jailbreak), it’s not difficult to believe that whatever Hotz brings against the Windows Phone 7 at Pwn2Own will be worth watching.

What do you think? Will Hotz breach the Windows Phone 7?

UPDATE: George Hotz has backed out of Pwn2Own to focus on the Sony Lawsuit. However, Team Anonymous and Anonymous_1 will still be attempting the Windows Phone 7.

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Now this something big! It is rumoured that RIM’s BlackBerry Messenger mgith be soon available on Android and iOS devices.

BGR reports that RIM is still working on the strategy and when to make it available for Android and iOS users, but it could be anytime before the end of this year.

BlackBerry Messenger for Android and iOS will be available for free or RIM might charge a one-time fee.

There are lots of other services and apps offering similar functionality i.e WhatsApp and Kik, but BlackBerry Messenger is still the most popular messaging app which is soon going cross-platform.

It is expected that BlackBerry will offer a stripped down version of BBM on Android and iOS i.e without feature to send photos, audio, videos etc. I’m not sure how this will go, but we (Android and iOS users) would love to try out the BlackBerry Messenger on our devices and see what is the hype all about.

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