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 New Apple iMac 21.5-inch (Core i3) - PCMag Editors Choice!
Posted by maximus on Friday, July 30 @ 10:14:54 BST (44 reads)
The Apple iMac 21.5-inch (Core i3) ($1,199 list) is the latest version of the entry-level iMac all-in-one desktop. It swaps out its previous iteration's Intel Core 2 Duo CPU and Nvidia integrated graphics for a newer dual-core Intel Core i3 processor and ATI discrete graphics. Apple upgraded the iMac's internal components, but left the exterior untouched—going with the philosophy "don't try to fix what ain't broken." The $1,199 iMac is the system that can convert your friend/relative/significant other into one of the Mac faithful, and it (still) makes a great base station for an iPod, iPhone, or iPad. It has a great design, stellar performance, and a reasonable price. For all these reasons and more, the Apple iMac 21.5-inch regains the Editors' Choice for mid-priced all-in-one desktops.
read more...
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Letter from Apple Regarding iPhone 4
Posted by maximus on Friday, July 02 @ 15:51:45 BST (98 reads)
This letter has just been sent out by Apple in regard to the weak reception experienced by some users when they hold their iPhone4 in a certain way.
Dear iPhone 4 Users,
The iPhone 4 has been the most successful product launch in Apple’s history. It has been judged by reviewers around the world to be the best smartphone ever, and users have told us that they love it. So we were surprised when we read reports of reception problems, and we immediately began investigating them. Here is what we have learned.
To start with, gripping almost any mobile phone in certain ways will reduce its reception by 1 or more bars. This is true of iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, as well as many Droid, Nokia and RIM phones. But some users have reported that iPhone 4 can drop 4 or 5 bars when tightly held in a way which covers the black strip in the lower left corner of the metal band. This is a far bigger drop than normal, and as a result some have accused the iPhone 4 of having a faulty antenna design.
At the same time, we continue to read articles and receive hundreds of emails from users saying that iPhone 4 reception is better than the iPhone 3GS. They are delighted. This matches our own experience and testing. What can explain all of this?
We have discovered the cause of this dramatic drop in bars, and it is both simple and surprising.
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New Apple Mac Mini - Pcmag's Editors Choice!
Posted by maximus on Saturday, June 19 @ 10:01:31 BST (99 reads)
With a new aluminum unibody chassis and a host of new components, the Apple Mac mini ($699 list) is the best little Mac on the market—maybe even the best mini PC. Improvements include better 3D graphics, a new SD card slot, greater energy efficiency, and an HDMI port that HTPC (home theater PC) fans have been clamoring for. The Mac mini is finally the mainstream, compact PC you've been searching for. It defines its category, and as such, it earns our highest recommendations and our Editors' Choice.
For more see here
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Try iOS 4 for the iPhone Right Now
Posted by maximus on Wednesday, June 09 @ 16:07:59 BST (129 reads)
 If you're champing at the bit to try out iOS 4, the iPhone's next operating system, and don't mind taking risks with your iPhone, you're in luck. Several blogs are claiming you can try it out now. Apple recently released the near final version of iOS 4 to developers known as the gold master build. After Apple's release it didn't take long before iOS 4 was leaked online and available for anyone to download.
An industrious hacker has also released a jailbreak tool for iOS 4 for the iPhone 3GS, essentially making the new iPhone OS jailbroken.
iOS 4 for all
Several blogs have detailed instructions about how you can get iOS 4 on your device right now. However, since you need to use a developer build to do this and all iPhone development has to be done on a Mac, this trick will not work for Windows users. You also need to have either an iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G or a second or third generation iPod Touch.
But if you've got an iPhone and a Mac all you have to do is download the beta version of iTunes 9.2 and install it on your system just like you would any other application. Then you have to download the iOS 4 gold master build. Once that's done, you just plug your iPhone into iTunes and select it under 'Devices.' From there, select the restore option and press alt+click, select the iOS 4 ipsw file and iTunes takes care of the rest. Make sure you back up the files on your iPhone before you start this process, because installing iOS 4 this way will wipe out everything on your iPhone and then reinstall it.
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Intego discovers Mac spyware piggybacking on free screensavers
Posted by maximus on Friday, June 04 @ 11:09:04 BST (151 reads)
Ever heard of PremierOpinion? You soon will: but this doesn't quite look like the long-expected attack of malware on Macs. Instead it's a comScore subsidiary that's the culprit.
If you have downloaded and installed one of a long list (see the end of this post) of screensavers for the Mac, you've also got some spyware on board.
Yup. Spyware. On the Mac. The sector is becoming big enough to be worth the attention of the writers of scummy software. You might think it's not malware, but that's only because you haven't read the (long) list of things it does.
Intego, which has ploughed a fairly lonely furrow offering anti-virus checking for Macs (though it also picks up malware aimed at Windows machines, which Macs can pass on via email or Office documents), says it has found the spyware program - which it calls OpinionSpy, aka PremierOpinion - distributed within a number of free applications and screen savers on a variety of sites.
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Windows 7 Anti Piracy Update - KB971033
Posted by maximus on Tuesday, May 18 @ 08:54:43 BST (171 reads)
As part of its anti-piracy efforts, Microsoft recently released update KB971033 for Windows 7’s built in activation and validation system, called Windows Activation Technologies. This update is available through Window's built in updates system and is available free of charge.
What does it do?
KB971033 was designed to give Microsoft the ability to help you determine the legality of your Windows 7 installation. It does so by looking for software specially developed to circumvent the operating system’s genuine check. In its current state, according to the Genuine Windows blog, this update will be able to monitor the customer’s computer for over 70 known potentially dangerous hacks, cracks and exploits that might have been used. Those exploits might contain malware and might affect the user’s pc usage experience, the blog says.
How does it do it?
Once installed, update KB971033 will alert the user if it finds any malicious software that it was designed to locate. If it does find such a program, the user will be able to fix the problem, usually with just a few mouse clicks. Computers that are not affected by any of those programs will not display any messages, and the update will continue to run silently in the background.
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1C seeks Russian government investment
Posted by maximus on Saturday, May 08 @ 11:50:00 BST (202 reads)
Russian publisher 1C Company has requested that the Russian Communication Ministry help to fund the majority of a new game project, to the tune of 500 million roubles (£11m/$16.5m).
According to a Russian newspaper report translated by website RIA Novosti the project is intended to increase patriotism amongst young people and promote the Russian perspective of World War II.
The Communication Ministry highlighted its interest in creating low cost educational and professional simulators for pilots, as well as promoting Russia information technology exports.
1C has suggested a project consisting of six flight simulators, one of which has allegedly already been demonstrated to president Dmitry Medvedev.
Russian presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich categorised the games as "interesting" but failed to back the proposal, indicating that he was unsure whether it needed government support.
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Dragon Quest beats Metal Gear in Japan
Posted by maximus on Saturday, May 08 @ 11:39:07 BST (185 reads)
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 on Nintendo DS was the biggest selling game during Japan's Golden Week holidays, easily overcoming competition from Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker on the PSP.
Although Square Enix's Dragon Quest remains the most popular non-Nintendo franchise in Japan the Monsters sub-series does not command quite the same high sales as the mainline franchise. Instead of the 2 million-plus first week sales regularly seen by numbered sequels the new game recorded a more modest 623,643 unit sales.
Konami's new Metal Gear game on PSP sold in similar amounts to the debuts of the other numbered home console sequels in the series, with 434,366 unit sales overall.
The other major release of the week was Capcom's Super Street Fighter IV, with the PlayStation 3 version at number three with 80,882 unit sales and the Xbox 360 version at number five with 28,454 unit sales.
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UK iPad launch set for May 28
Posted by maximus on Saturday, May 08 @ 11:29:35 BST (210 reads)
The basic 16GB Wi-Fi model will retail for £429, the 32GB model for £499 and the 64GB SKU for £599.
The 3G Wi-Fi models will sell for £529 (16GB), £599 (32GB) and £699 (64GB), with pre-orders being taken from Monday, May 10.
The device has already sold over one million units in the US alone, with customers downloading over 12 million apps from the App Store.
The iPad will launch on May 28 in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. July is the current target month for launch in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore.
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Microsoft Offers Sneak Peek at Internet Explorer 9
Posted by maximus on Friday, March 19 @ 09:32:13 GMT (268 reads)
A publicly available platform preview demonstrates Microsoft's strides toward speed, compatibility and new features.
Unimpressed as we may have been when Microsoft released a final build of Internet Explorer 8 a year ago, the company hasn’t stopped toiling away on the most popular browser in the world. And it’s ready to show off what its software engineers have been hard at work on over the past year. On Tuesday, Microsoft allowed developers to peek through blinds into its R&D labs with the release of Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview.
Unlike a true beta test, the platform preview does not include all elements of a final browser – only the rendering engine, that critical component which turns a string of raw HTML and code into the familiar, graphic-laced pages you see before your eyes. The stripped down test build only allows users to plug in Web addresses and access developer tools.
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Xbox Live Dropping Xbox v1 Games April 15
Posted by maximus on Friday, March 12 @ 14:29:49 GMT (273 reads)
Microsoft's Xbox Live will drop support for online components of Xbox v1 games on April 15...yes, that means no more online play for Halo 2.
Microsoft has announced it will be discontinuing Xbox Live support for online components of Xbox v1 games effective April 15. The company says it is working to continue the evolution of the Xbox Live service, and that finally means doing something that will make the service incompatible with original Xbox v1 games. For the fans of Master Chief and his arsenal of explosive devices, that means online game play forHalo 2 will be going away.
The service termination applies to both using the Xbox Live service on original Xbox consoles as well as playing Xbox v1 games on an Xbox 360.
As a consolation, Microsoft will be offeringHalo 2 fans a free three-month Xbox Live Gold memberships and 400 Microsoft Points to spend on Xbox Live;Halo 2 players will also be invited to theHalo Reach beta when it launches.
Halo 2 won’t be the only game with an online component to fall victim to the change: other well-known titles that will lose their online components will includeStar Wars: Battlefront andCounterstrike.
The change will not impact Xbox and Xbox 360 owners’ ability to play Xbox v1 games offline.
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Motorola Abandons Google for Bing on Android Phones
Posted by maximus on Friday, March 12 @ 14:23:02 GMT (283 reads)
A new partnership with Microsoft will see Motorola's Android phones in China preloaded with Bing services, possibly in an attempt to gain distance from Google's heated censorship battles there.
Rumors of Apple running into Microsoft’s arms and adopting Bing on the iPhone have yet to come to fruition, but it appears that it wasn’t the only company mulling over the idea. On Thursday, Motorola announced that it would switch from Google to Bing as the default provider for search and maps on – perversely enough – Google-powered Android phones.
A partnership between Microsoft and Motorola will see the launch of Motorola phones with Bing already bookmarked in the Android browser, and add a preinstalled Bing widget. Initially, the deal will only apply to phones sold in China, where the company will roll out the changes immediately in new phones and retroactively through over-the-air updates in older models. Motorola hasn’t explicitly drawn out whether or not the alliance might eventually expand to other countries.
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Intel Debuts Six-Core Core i7 Chip for Gamers
Posted by maximus on Friday, March 12 @ 14:17:54 GMT (307 reads)
Intel has officially rolled out its Core i7-980X Extreme Edition, sporting 6 cores and the company's latest 32nm architecture.
At this week’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Chipmaker Intel officially took the wraps off a new chip intentionally designed to make gamers drool. The Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition sports Intel’s latest 32nm manufacturing technology, 6 processing cores, and a full dozen computing threads. In theory, the new chip should offer up to 50 percent better performance than the Core i7 processors that preceded it…not if only software can catch up to leverage those capabilities.
As with existing Intel Core i-series processors, the Core i7-980X Extreme Edition features HyperThreading that can effectively double the number of threads a single processor core can handle, meaning the six-core system can handle up to 12 threads executing at once. The new chip also sports AES-NI for enhanced security and support for up to 12 MB of shared L3 processor cache. The 32nm technology also means the processor doesn’t consume mammoth amounts of power…in fact, in some instances it uses less power than the four-core Core i7-975 Extreme Edition that preceded it.
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OpenGL 4 Looks to Take on DirectX 11
Posted by maximus on Friday, March 12 @ 14:01:05 GMT (274 reads)
The Khronos Group has unveiled the OpenGL 4 spec, which takes on DirectX 11 with hardware-accelerated tessellation and improved performance.
High-end gaming has been fixated on DirectX 11 technology lately, but that doesn’t mean OpenGL is out of the picture: the Khronos Group has just announced the OpenGL 4.0 specification, the first major update to the open graphics standard since the launch of OpenCL in late 2008. OpenGL 4 builds on the work of OpenCL by enabling modern application to tap into the computing power of graphics processors, boosting performance and freeing up a computer’s main processor for other tasks. In addition, the OpenGL 4 standard includes support for hardware-accelerated geometry tessellation (essentially, simplifying shapes), can render content and apply shaders with 64-bit accuracy, and sports improved shaders for better rendering quality and antialiasing capability.
“The release of OpenGL 4.0 is a major step forward in bringing state-of-the-art functionality to cross-platform graphics acceleration, and strengthens OpenGL’s leadership position as the epicenter of 3D graphics on the web, on mobile devices as well as on the desktop,” said OpenGL ARB working group chair (and Nvidia’s Core openGL senior manager) Barthold Lichtenbelt, in a statement.
Not all existing hardware will be able to handle OpenGL 4 capabilities; in the meantime, Khronos has released an OpenGL 3.3 specification to bring as much OpenGL 4 functionality to existing GPU hardware as possible. Nvidia says its forthcoming Fermi-based graphics systems will fully support OpenGL 4.0.
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iPhone OS 4.0 to Finally Bring Multitasking?
Posted by maximus on Friday, March 12 @ 13:55:15 GMT (264 reads)
After years of intentional handicapping, Apple may finally be preparing to set the iPhone free and run multiple applications at once.
The thorn in the iPhone’s side that has quietly hobbled it since day one could soon be plucked from its silver shell. New rumors allege that multitasking – a simple feature offered on a variety of other mobile operating systems from Windows Mobile 6.5 to Google Android – will finally arrive with iPhone OS 4.0. 
According to AppleInsider, “people with a proven track record in predicting Apple’s technological advances” have spilled the beans on multitasking in a coming update, which will allow third-party apps to run simultaneously in the background.
The new task manager will call upon technology used in Mac OS X, but specifics have been withheld. No firm timeline has come to light, but the same sources indicate the update is still in the works and has a “way to go.”
The iPhone OS already supports pre-emptive multitasking, but Apple has restricted its use to only its own services, like the phone, SMS and iPod. This explains how users are able to talk on the phone or listen to music while they surf in Safari, but can’t run a third-party app like Pandora to pull down tunes at the same time.
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PlayStation Move and sub-controller revealed
Posted by maximus on Thursday, March 11 @ 10:21:45 GMT (314 reads)
Sony has finally revealed that its new motion controller for PS3 is to be called PlayStation Move, and that it will have an additional nunchuk style add-on, similar to Nintendo's Wii.
Sony's motion controlled wand-style controller finally got its official name at this week's GDC conference.
PlayStation Move is set to be made available in three different bundles: standalone for those who already have the PS Eye; with the camera and a PS3; or with the camera and a game – which will cost under $100.
Lag-free and wireless
Latency (or lag) for the Move is nearly non-existent at one frame, a similar response you get from the DualShock 3 controller.
Sony demoed a one-on-one battle game called Gladiator Duel, and a table tennis game.
The wireless nunchuk style add-on is to be called the 'Sub-controller', and was demoed with Sony's Socom 4.
The Sub-controller features an analogue stick, so gamers can play more complex games like first-person shooters with PlayStation Move.
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12 things to expect from Virgin Media's next-gen box
Posted by maximus on Thursday, March 11 @ 10:13:07 GMT (288 reads)
When TiVo meets UK cable
Although Virgin Media are remaining coy on the details of its forthcoming next-generation TiVo-enabled boxes, there are plenty of assumptions that can be made.
With the partnership signed and sealed and development well underway on an interface that brings the Virgin Media hardware and the TiVo user experience together, what can you expect to find on the next-generation cable set-top boxes?
But how will TiVo recommendations work on boxes without a PVR? This is something that Virgin Media is working hard to solve – but the recommendations can apply equally to available Video on Demand (VOD) meaning that things like BBC iPlayer content, catch-up TV and, potentially, TV Choice on Demand will be graded and provided as TiVo recommendations.
2. 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon
Another useful addition to TiVo that is likely to appear in Virgin Media's user interface (UI) is functionality that allows you to see the cast of any given show and then what other shows and movies they appear in.
So, for instance, should you be watching Kiefer Sutherland in 24 and want to see if any of his extensive range of movies are being shown elsewhere in the listings (or available on VOD of course) then you can. You can also then surf onto his co-stars in those films and see what TV and film they are appearing in that's available and so on.
3. Context specific recommendations
Another offshoot of the recommendation engine is that when they are combined with some content hand-picked by an editorial team and the cast and crew information you can have a dynamic feed of relevant content that actually sits nicely with whatever it is you are looking at.
So, if you happen to be looking for a movie starring a particular actor, you could well get recommendations on the page that point to other work by some of the cast, other movies of the same type and movies that people who watched that film have also watched.
Plus, expect to see TiVo recommending shows you might like to watch on the linear channels, even if it cannot record them for you.
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Microsoft loses appeal in $290 million patent case
Posted by maximus on Thursday, March 11 @ 09:50:32 GMT (247 reads)
Texan court rules on i4i Word patent case
Microsoft was asked to stop selling its popular word-processing software in the US last August by a Texan court, relating to a patent infringement case by Canadian company i4i.
i4i was claiming that the software giant was guilty of infringing patents - specifically that Microsoft "willingly violated" a 1998 patent regarding methods for reading XML.
Microsoft appealed against the Canadian company's claim, but that appeal has now been turned down by the court.
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Corel unveils PaintShop Photo Pro X3 editing software
Posted by maximus on Tuesday, January 26 @ 15:25:49 GMT (382 reads)
Corel Corporation has just announced a new edition to one of their software lines: PaintShop Photo Pro X3. The Pro X3 version will host a variety of new features and functions, plus high definition video capabilities for the first time.
The PaintShop Photo Pro X3 program is intended for digital photographers of all skill levels. The editing program includes a a revamped Organizer, designed to select and edit information (tagging, ratings, quick touch-ups) on multiple selected photos at once.
Some of the highlighted additions include:
* HD Video Editing: Users can design HD slideshows and movies, combining both photos and video clips within the same tool.
* Camera RAW Lab: Allows the user to adjust several settings (i.e. white balance, exposure, saturation, etc.) before processing, and then copied to other RAW images. Supports over 350 RAW formats.
* Multi‑photo Adjustments: Changes made to one image can be applied to multiple photos at once
* Smart Carver and Object Extractor: Removing objects and scales without distorting the image; masks image details that are difficult to preserve
* Project Creator: A one-stop shop for creating and sharing photo and video projects (i.e. publish photo books, cards, calendars, etc.) Also allows for direct uploading to YouTube, Facebook and Flickr.
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PlayStation 3 'hacked' by iPhone cracker
Posted by maximus on Monday, January 25 @ 19:07:02 GMT (423 reads)
A US hacker who gained notoriety for unlocking Apple's iPhone as a teenager has told BBC News that he has now hacked Sony's PlayStation 3 (PS3).
George Hotz said the hack, which could allow people to run pirated games or homemade software, took him five weeks.
He said he was still refining the technique but intended to post full details online soon.
The PS3 is the only games console that has not been hacked, despite being on the market for three years.
"It's supposed to be unhackable - but nothing is unhackable," Mr Hotz told BBC News.
"I can now do whatever I want with the system. It's like I've got an awesome new power - I'm just not sure how to wield it."
Sony said it was "investigating the report" and would "clarify the situation" when it had more information.
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