What kind of laptop is right for me?

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While a laptop has become a ubiquitous accessory for modern life, the actual process of choosing the right model can take some serious time and research.

In this guide, we'll outline the different categories of laptops and which types are best for different users. We'll also take a look at CPU, hard-drive, and networking options.

Below are a handful of typical user experiences that should help outline what type of laptop is right for you. Chances are, you'll fall somewhere in between two or more of these archetypes, so carefully consider what you'll be using your new laptop for.

The student
Students typically require low prices and portability above all. A laptop that can be carried from class to class is key, so many students turn to low-cost Netbooks, which are small, low-power systems that generally cost less than $500. The downside is that these have small screens and generally use underpowered single-core CPUs.

Another option is a 13-inch thin-and-light laptop, which is somewhat less portable, but makes for a better experience when sitting down to write papers and do research. These have dual-core CPUs and often include optical drives. Apple's 13-inch MacBook is a prime example.

What to look for: At least 1GB of RAM; 160GB or larger HDD; 13-inch or smaller display.

The business traveler 

Those who work on the road require a robust computing experience, a sturdy, rugged system to safeguard data, and often, access to security and management tools to satisfy the requirements of their IT departments.

Lenovo's ThinkPad and Dell's Latitude are two popular examples of laptop lines made with the business traveler in mind. Both brands offer security features such as Intel's vPro platform and TPM chips, internal software and hardware components that work alongside your operating system.

What to look for: 2GB to 4GB of RAM; 160GB or larger HDD; 12- to 15-inch display; Windows Vista Professional or Windows 7 Professional; mobile broadband modem.

The photographer and/or videographer
Video game players aren't the only ones who need powerful processors, discrete graphics, and massive, fast hard drives. Those who work with high-definition video or high-resolution photographs are among the most demanding of laptop power users.

Apple's 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pro laptops are among the most popular for these purposes. This is especially true as Final Cut, the widely used video-editing software, is only available for Macs (Adobe's Photoshop, however, is cross-platform).

Either a 17- or a 15-inch screen that runs at a high native resolution is suggested. You should also look for plenty of RAM--up to 8GB is ideal--and a large 500GB hard drive that runs at the faster 7,200rpm speed (typical drives run at 5,400rpm).

What to look for: 4GB-8GB of RAM; 320GB or larger 7,200rpm HDD; 17-inch or larger display.

The gamer
While a bit of an endangered species these days, PC gamers are among the most fervent user groups. Most serious PC gamers will naturally gravitate toward desktop computers, with their flexible upgradeability, faster components, and better cooling. But gaming laptops have made great strides in recent years.

Intel's Core 2 Quad and Core i7 CPUs are recommended for 3D gaming, as is a top-of-the-line discrete GPU, such as Nvidia's GeForce N260. High-end brands such as Alienware offer flashy, expensive laptops that can be customized with the latest components, while Gateway's P-series is a good example of a budget-minded 17-inch gaming laptop, with slightly older parts, but excellent overall value.

What to look for: 4GB to 8GB of RAM; 320GB or larger 7,200rpm HDD; 17-inch or larger display; discrete graphics GPU.

The home user
Anyone who does not fall into one of the above categories is likely to fit in here. From parents and children gathered around the laptop at homework time to watching Hulu videos in bed, these are systems that typically stay anchored to one desk, den, or kitchen--perhaps taking the occasional road trip or moving around from room to room.

The traditional 15-inch laptop is still the most popular size, although 14- and 16-inch versions are becoming more common. Every PC maker makes standard mainstream laptops, and they generally have more similarities than differences.

For much less than $1,000, you can expect to find an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, 2GB of RAM, a 250GB or larger hard drive, and a DVD burner. Usually the most configurable of laptops, you can add extras, including a Blu-ray drive or discrete graphics, to many mainstream models.

What to look for: 2GB to 4GB of RAM; 250GB or larger HDD; 14- to 16-inch display; DVD burning optical drive.

Source : http://reviews.cnet.com/laptop-buying-guide/?tag=revCatWrap

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Facebook's 'Like' button illegal in German state

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A German state would very much like for its residents to keep their fingers--and other assorted pointers or cursors--away from Facebook's "Like" button.

The state of Schleswig-Holstein has ordered all government offices to remove the button from their Web presence and shut down any Facebook "fan" pages, on the grounds that these things violate German and European data privacy laws. A release from the Independent Centre for Privacy Protection in the German state claims that information collected from German users' "liking" and other activities is sent back to the United States where Facebook uses it to create a profile, all of which runs afoul of Germany's uberstrict privacy laws.

Sites that don't comply with the take-down order could face a 50,000 Euro fine.

The agency goes on to urge German residents to go a step further and give Facebook one big existential thumbs down. It warns to resist the temptation to click on social plug-ins or to even start a Facebook account, all to "avoid a comprehensive profiling by the company."

"Whoever visits facebook.com or uses a plug-in must expect that he or she will be tracked by the company for two years," reads an English version of the release.

Facebook says it has been working with German authorities to work out privacy concerns, and that the case of Schleswig-Holsteing is an outlier. Company spokesman Patrick Noyes issued this statement:

"We firmly reject any assertion that Facebook is not compliant with EU data protection standards. The Facebook Like button is such a popular feature because people have complete control over how their information is shared through it. For more than a year, the plugin has brought value to many businesses and individuals every day. We will review the materials produced by the (Independent Centre for Privacy Protection), both on our own behalf and on the behalf of Web users throughout Germany".

Blogger Jeff Jarvis thinks what's really going on here may be a bit of grandstanding by one German official against the big, bad company from California. Earlier he posted on Google+:

"(Thilo) Weichert (who heads the Independent Centre for Privacy Protection and issued the takedown order) is a grandstander. I saw that firsthand when I debated him in a panel set up by the Green party in Berlin, where he attacked not only Google but his constituents--the people he is supposedly trying to protect--who use it: "As long as Germans are stupid enough to use this search engine," he spat, "they don't deserve any better." He went farther, comparing Google with China and Iran. "Google's only interest is to earn money," he said, as if shocked".

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20094866-93/facebooks-like-button-illegal-in-german-state/#ixzz1VaVCKbkJ

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Logitech G-series peripherals for gamers

This news sure to please the lovers of online games, and that, under the CES, Logitech has introduced a collection of peripherals designed specifically for this audience. The kit consists of a great design keyboard, mouse, and of course good headphones. All these devices have very good features ideal for today's games require powerful computers to perform adequately.

To begin talk keyboard, Logitech G19, which has an LCD display with a resolution of 320 × 240 pixels, the top team and that shows you information about an estimated 60 games, thanks to a software that is necessary previously installed. You can also see in it the current processor load and even VoIP calls.
Moreover, this keyboard offers 12 keys of control, especially designed for gamers, and even up to 5 pulses detected simultaneously, this for games that require that possibility. It also lets you incorporate other devices thanks to a pair of USB 2.0 ports built.
The mouse also has very good benefits, and the Logitech G9x offers the possibility to customize this device through a system of checks and charges, in addition to significant improvement in the resolution, which now features 5000 dpi.

Finally Logitech G35 Logitech headphones with surround sound and isolating external noise. It also has a small microphone that lets you alter your voice using a preinstalled software that is activated by simply pressing a button on the headset this.
If you want this kit, will cost about $ 430, and the keyboard will cost $ 200, Headset 130 and mouse $ 100. And Europe will be available in March.


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Which one will you choose, Mac or PC?

In the world of technology, if there is an existential question that has never managed to solve is to: Mac or PC? Both systems have fierce supporters and detractors and comparisons, though necessary, are always odious. They know very well the creative from Apple, which received no little criticism last year for an advertising campaign that compared the two.

In the spots showed the absurdity of a master computer problems in a suit chubby classic and next to him, design a smiling waiter who solved the same problems without muss. The campaign, although bleeding for the PC was not very effective, but the doubt remains. Especially when one of the reasons given advocates for not buying PC Mac no longer exists. Historically, Macs have always had an image of expensive equipment for professional use . Today, the price difference between the apple and the PC is not as exaggerated and requires further analyze the performance of each team.

PRICES start talking numbers. The current price of a desktop PC without a monitor or accessories such as keyboard or mouse, start at 400 euros and thereafter . The PC range is the cheapest Apple Mac Mini, which costs 600 euros.

 A PC with monitor, keyboard and mouse of about 550 euros. The basic iMac, which also includes these extras, it costs 980 euros. In the first case we are talking about a computer with an Intel Core Duo at 1.66 gigahertz. The PC, however, boasts more RAM (a gig compared to 512 megabytes) and hard drive (250 gigabytes compared to only 60 ). If the monitor option, the tables seem to continue to benefit PC: 250 gigabytes of space in front of 160 and half the memory in Mac than in PC .

The i-Mac, though, has webcam (about 35 euros on PC) and Wi-Fi (30 other PC) integrated and sold with any software that the user needs. OPERATING SYSTEM PC does not have system operating and cheaper version of Windows Vista is 75 euros. Adding these extras, the price goes up to 790 PC. Meanwhile, up the memory and hard drive i-Mac to PC levels raise the price to 1,200. 790 to 1,200 euros compared remains a hefty difference but if something can boast the Mac design. The Desktop PC above consists of a box for the CPU 15 kilos and a separate 17-inch monitor and about 6 kilos for a total of 21 kilos divided into two packages. The i-Mac computer attaches to the back of the monitor, which, nevertheless, only measures 8 inches wide. The total combined weight is 7 kilos.

 For the Mac Mini, the difference is even more blatant: 15 kilos of the CPU PC from a box the size of a tupperware that only weighs 1.3 kilos. Last April, Apple reported record sales growth. Nothing less than a 94% increase in 2005, and a 62% so far this year. MORE SALES Philip Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide product marketing at Apple, said the company's sales are growing at a rate three times higher than the notebook PC.

The differences between PC and Mac are blurred even more in the case of laptops. Especially as far as prices are concerned. The cheapest Apple costs 1,000 euros, while a laptop brand with the same performance from the normally 800 euros. It is important here to distinguish the difference between computers and brand PC clones.

The former are teams assembled by little known or workshops. Although it is common practice in the desktop, the internal mechanics of laptops is more complicated, which makes clones are less common. Equipment brands such as Dell, Lenovo, Acer and Sony are considerably more expensive than clones and are equivalent to Apple. WORK ESCONDIDO The reason for this increase is not only the label with the brand.

Behind it all a work in providing the computer manufacturer of the most balanced and give the team the most robust possible. No virus Speaking of damage, according to Apple's own, and here are the world more than 114. 000 virus and all are designed to infect PCs. The information may seem biased, but the truth is that the OSX operating system based on UNIX, only recorded cases of infections. The final conclusion can be summarized with the word strength. Macs are more expensive, but s or internal architecture is light years away from a PC. Even if the components are simpler, more power is better utilized. The proof lies in the turnover rate of both. A PC is old in two months and replaced with another every three years on average. The Mac stand up to five years without the user feels the need to buy a new one.

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Ohohoo iPhone 5 now rumored to launch October 7

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The iPhone 5 could go on sale on Friday, October 7, with preorders to start on September 30, according to the latest rumors in the ongoing saga of the hotly anticipated next edition of Apple's smartphone.

Citing intel from its own sources, 9To5Mac said yesterday that Apple had been eyeing either October 7 or October 14 as potential iPhone 5 launch dates. But with preproduction apparently running smoothly, the site says, Apple has opted for the earlier date.

Apple will reportedly offer the phone for preorder a week before it hits store shelves, looking at either September 29 or 30, though 9To5Mac's sources pin the 30th as the most likely date. Assuming the preorder date is accurate, at least for now, that also means Apple would have to hold its iPhone 5 unveiling sometime in September. Apple typically shows off new iPhones and iPads at high-visibility media gatherings some days or weeks ahead of the devices going on sale.

The October 7 date has also been floated by TiPb. However, the tech news site suggests taking the reports with a grain of salt since even if the date is on the money at this point, Apple's plans are fluid. Even 9To5Mac admits that "the date could and likely will change again."

But October itself has been strongly suggested as the launch month for the iPhone 5 by All Things D's Kara Swisher, pointing to information from her own sources.

TiPb isn't quite sure the new phone will be an iPhone 5. The site said it keeps hearing that the device will be an iPhone 4S with some improvements but the same design as the existing phone, a rumor that's been around for awhile.

Other reports say that Apple will launch two phones--the new and improved iPhone 5 and a more budget-friendly iPhone 4S, one that may even tap into the company's iCloud service to provide cloud-based storage. TiPb says that the debut of two new phones from Apple could explain the conflicting rumors that it's heard.

And yet other reports have put a potential iPhone launch date as early as September 7.

Adding further tidbits to the iPhone 5 saga, Macpost has published images purporting to be of replacement parts for the new phone. Replacement parts such as a camera lens and an audio jack have recently popped up online among different Chinese resellers, according to the site, and show some subtle differences from parts for the iPhone 4.

Finally, global carrier Telefonica will reportedly start cutting back on its stock of the iPhone 4 through September 12. Revealing the news, Engadget cited a source who said that such a move "will of course prepare us for the launch of a new smartphone." The source didn't offer up a specific date when the new phone will debut, though Engadget said it's heard that the launch will occur in October.

CNET's iPhone 5 rumor roundup offers a peek at all the latest rumors about Apple's upcoming new phone.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20093442-37/iphone-5-now-rumored-to-launch-october-7/#ixzz1VVT8w6jV

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WebOS: What Went Wrong?

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HP announced Thursday that it will discontinue its WebOS line of devices, which includes the HP Veer 4G, the HP TouchPad, and the yet-to-be-released HP Pre 3 smartphone. The death of WebOS devices is sad, yet unsurprising, news. The entire journey of WebOS has been marred by pitfalls since the very beginning--and things only got worse over time.

WebOS’s Troubled Start

WebOS has a special place in my heart, and I’ve always wanted it to do well. The Palm Pilot was my first foray into the smartphone/PDA world, so when I heard rumors in late 2008 that Palm was going to revive its platform, I was excited to see what the operating system would look like. Palm OS, which was available on some of the earliest PDAs and smartphones (such as the Pilot, the Treo, and the Centro), did not have the features or aesthetics to compete with the iPhone, RIM’s BlackBerry OS, or even Windows Mobile.

Fast-forward to the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show: Palm staged a huge media event, unveiling the brand-new WebOS operating system and a new phone to go with it, the Palm Pre. Palm seemed ready to take on the iPhone with Jon Rubenstein--the ex-Apple engineer who helped create the iPod--at the helm. WebOS seemed to have it all: a gorgeous user interface, touch-friendly navigation, multitasking support, an apps ecosystem, unique messaging features, and even iTunes support. At the time, pretty much no smartphone could match the iPhone when it came to apps, multimedia features, and user-friendly design. Android was hardly a threat with only one phone, the clunky G1, available in the United States. The Palm Pre looked slick, too. With its full touch display and slide-out QWERTY keyboard, it hit the sweet spot between the iPhone and the BlackBerry. The term “iPhone killer” was certainly thrown around a lot at its debut.

But there were signs of trouble right out of the gate, starting as early as the day after the splashy launch. First off, Palm did not allow the media to touch or use the Pre. We could watch the Palm product representatives use the Pre, but we couldn’t even hold the hardware in our hands. While a few other companies do the same with their prerelease hardware, it is a big risk to take this approach with a flagship product. How were reviewers, like myself, supposed to make any kind of judgment on the phone? Palm seemed not quite ready to show off the Pre.

The Long Wait for WebOS

It became more and more apparent that the Palm Pre wasn’t ready for prime time. At CES, Palm said that the Pre would arrive on Sprint in the “first half of 2009.” But as 2009 went on, we saw no sign of the Pre. Oddly, Palm did release the Palm Treo Pro, a smartphone running Windows Mobile 6.1. I wondered: Was this a stopgap to tide customers over until the release of the Pre?

In a Q&A session with RCR Wireless News, Sprint/Nextel CEO Dan Hesse stated that the carrier wouldn’t rush the Pre's release date. He said that Sprint and Palm were working tirelessly to bring it out as soon as possible, but that they wanted to be entirely confident that the Pre was in perfect condition when it released. That pretty much confirmed our prediction that the Pre’s announcement was, ahem, premature.

In the meantime, RIM, Samsung, Nokia, HTC and other manufacturers were churning out BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Symbian phones with better cameras, larger screens, and more capacity than the Pre. Additionally, Google’s Android OS gained some traction as more app developers turned to the platform and the HTC Magic launched in Europe. On top of everything, rumors of the next iPhone were building momentum.

Finally, Sprint and Palm announced a June 9 availability for the Pre, at a price of $200 with a two-year contract. And as fate would have it, the iPhone 3GS launched ten days later. With more storage capacity for the price, a better camera, and a much stronger app portfolio, the iPhone 3GS overshadowed the Pre. I don’t think Palm was trying to compete with the iPhone by having a close launch date: June was the last month in the first half of 2009, which was the time frame Palm had promised back in January.

Read More : http://www.pcworld.com/article/238470/webos_what_went_wrong.html

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Firefox 6 Sudah Rilis

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Untuk yang tidak sabar melihat desain baru browser Mozilla Firefox, ada kabar gembira, karena PCmag mengabarkanbrowser ini sudah bisa diunduh dan diinstal di Windows, Mac, dan Linux. Rencananya versi ini akan mulai dipublikasikan pada 16 Agustus, tapi ternyata Mozilla merilisnya lebih awal.

Dari segi desain dan kecepatan, Firefox 6 tampil lebih prima. Perbaikan lain yaitu pada support plugindan seting privasi yang lebih baik. Pengguna bisa memilih untuk membuka tab di browser atau di perangkat grup Panorama.

Selain itu, Forefox 6 memungkinkan pengguna mengatur penyimpanan password, cookies, pop-up, images dan opsi lain, secara terpisah untuk tiap situs berbeda. Lewat pengaturan add-ons, plug-in baru akan terverifikasi secara otomatis, jadi pengguna langsung tahu kalau versi yang mereka gunakan adalah yang terbaru.

Perubahan lain misalnya tampak pada tampilan nama domain di address bar. Nama domain yangsekarangtampil lebih kecil, untuk dilihat sekilas saja oleh pengguna.

source : http://teknologi.inilah.com/read/detail/1765239/firefox-6-sudah-rilis

Download Link : http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/new/

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Firefox 6 silently released ahead of official unwrap date

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Mozilla isn't officially breaking the seal on Firefox 6 until tomorrow, but the code for the latest iteration of its popular open source browser is already available online.

It is currently tucked away on the organisation's FTP server. A blogger over at TechnoBolt spotted that the code has been downloadable since at least Saturday 13 August.

In fact, in recent months it seems to be pretty standard for Mozilla to do a soft launch of its browser via its FTP server, without making an official announcement. The code can often be tracked down a day or two before the latest version of Firefox is given a marketed release.

Mozilla is still stating that Firefox 6 won't be available for download until Tuesday 16 August.

Notably, the browser-maker is also releasing a beta version of Firefox 7 on the same day as well as pushing out an early build of Firefox 8.

Mozilla said it was switching to much smaller tweaks to each browser release at the end of last year, in a clear nod to Google's Chrome release schedule.

The idea is to iterate often and so make the upgrade process appear seamless to web surfers that use the browser. Mozilla had previously spent many months crafting each new release, often making the updates a more major affair.

Here's the code for Mac, Windows and Linux versions of the software. We'll have more about the official release, including what new stuff has been injected into the browser, tomorrow.

Download link : http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/new/

source : http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/08/15/firefox_6_code_lands/

What’s New in Firefox

The latest version of Firefox has the following changes:

The address bar now highlights the domain of the website you're visiting

• Streamlined the look of the site identity block
• Added support for the latest draft version of WebSockets with a prefixed API
• Added support for EventSource / server-sent events
• Added support for window.matchMedia
• Added Scratchpad, an interactive JavaScript prototyping environment
• Added a new Web Developer menu item and moved development-related items into it
• Improved usability of the Web Console
• Improved the discoverability of Firefox Sync
• Reduced browser startup time when using Panorama
• Fixed several stability issues
• Fixed several security issues
• Please see the complete list of changes in this version. You may also be interested in the list of changes in the previous version

source : http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/6.0/releasenotes/

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Android 101 - How to update your apps

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Installing applications from the market is one thing, but keeping them up to date with the most current version is a whole other piece. Most developers are constantly working behind the scenes to improve their applications, and every so often they drop a new version for us all in the Android market, and installing them is quite important. We are lucky enough to have the ability to have our applications auto update in the market now, but not everyone is a fan of that. Personally I like to read the change log and see what exactly has been improved, or if the developer has any notes regarding the update.

For me, I update manually, and here is how.

1. Launch the Android market
2. Press menu, then select my apps
3. Next to each app requiring an update it will say "update" in orange or green (depending on if you have the new market)
4. Tap the app, then click update (if there are multiple apps requiring update the top will have an "update all" button

See, keeping your applications up to date is quite simple, and something you should try to do often. There is no need to check the market every hour, but once a day or so should be sufficient to keep yourself all caught up and all your applications performing at their maximum potential.

source : http://www.androidcentral.com/android-101-how-update-applications

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Facebook: Ceglia contract an 'outright fabrication'

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Facebook says its inspection of a computer belonging to a man who claims to have a contract that entitles him to half-ownership of the social-networking giant has turned up an "authentic contract" that does not mention Facebook.

Forensic analysis proves that the alleged 2003 contract between Paul Ceglia and Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg was an "outright fabrication," Facebook said, asking that Ceglia's suit against Zuckerberg and Facebook be dismissed, according to a Facebook filing yesterday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York. The contract, which Facebook contends Ceglia was trying to conceal, was found embedded in electronic data from 2004 and refers only to StreetFax, a Web site Ceglia was trying to develop, Facebook said.

Facebook lawyers also complained that Ceglia had refused to supply documents covered by a discovery order in June and was "willfully concealing" six USB drives that contain relevant documents related to possible manipulation of the original contract.

"It is very likely that Ceglia used these removable devices to manipulate and store documents, including the purported Facebook contract, in the belief that this evidence would not be discovered or that the devices could easily be discarded if necessary, as Ceglia has now apparently done," Facebook lawyers said in their filing. "This is the digital equivalent of throwing critical evidence into Lake Erie."

Ceglia has reportedly relocated his family to Ireland as a result of the attention the case has attracted and could not be reached for comment. San Diego-based law firm Lake, which represents Ceglia in the case, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, attorney Jeffrey Lake acknowledged in a filing with the court today that the StreetFax contract differs from the one previously admitted as evidence in the case but said his client has an explanation for why the two contracts differ. Lake did not indicate what that explanation might be.

Ceglia claimed in a lawsuit filed last year against Facebook and its CEO and Zuckerberg that Zuckerberg entered into a contract with Ceglia in 2003 to design and develop the Web site that would ultimately become Facebook--a company now with an estimated value of more than $70 billion.

Ceglia has said he hired Zuckerberg through a Craigslist ad to write code for a project called StreetFax and paid Zuckerberg $1,000 for coding work; he also allegedly invested $1,000 in Zuckerberg's The Face Book project, which gave him a 50 percent interest in the company, as well as an additional 1 percent interest for every day after January 1, 2004, that The Face Book was delayed.

Zuckerberg and Facebook, which had previously called the alleged Facebook contract a "cut-and-paste job," filed a discovery motion in June for the original contract, e-mails in native form, and inspection of all computers in Ceglia's possession, as well as those in his parents' house.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20093258-93/facebook-ceglia-contract-an-outright-fabrication/#ixzz1VJCnkCzV

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Toshiba Thrive

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Spesification

Dimensions: 272 x175 x 15mm

Weight: 771g

10.1-inch (1280 x 800) IPS LCD capacitive display

Android 3.1 (Honeycomb)

1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 Dual-core processor

5MP (rear) camera w/ AF

2MP (front) camera

1GB RAM

SD card slot (expandable to 32GB)

MiniUSB port

3.5mm headphone jack

Wifi 802.11 b/g/n

A-GPS support

Oh, Toshiba Thrive, where do you fit in this sea of tablets? Having succeeded where the Folio 100 fell short, there are still the doubters and the skeptics, brushing off your bulk as the ultimate design faux pas.

Fortunately, there's more to the Thrive than it's bigger backside, and a lot of it is worth mentioning. In the world of ultrathin and uberlight tablets, the Thrive dares to be different, and that's not a bad thing.

And since Android is all about choices, it never hurts to have a new kid on the block, even if it's not for you. But it might be. Join us after the break to see if Toshiba's newest foray into the tablet market is worth your time or was a second-best from the moment it moved here

Hardware

At first glance, the Toshiba Thrive is quite the looker. The top of the box is all black, with a slick looking picture of the front of the tablet. It's all very dark, mysterious, and thin looking. Black is a thinning color, after all.

The kicker is when you actually take it out of the box. Then you see it's not thin. Well, not thin compared to what's out there already.

That picture might give you the impression the Thrive is skinny. Compared to Apple's offering, and the current gold standard for thin and sexy, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, the Thrive looks a bit chunky, coming it at 272 x 175 x 16mm.

In the grand scheme of things, 16mm is actually quite small. When your thinnest competitor is a sleek 8.6mm, though, you're without a doubt the bigger of the two, by almost double. Despite the thickness, the Thrive still feels great in the hands. Yes, it's thicker. Yes, it's a (little bit) heavier. No, it will not dramatically ruin your experience. To say otherwise is hogwash.

The front of the Thrive is one smooth slate, save for the slightly raised silver semi-circle that surrounds the front-facing camera. The standard Honeycomb configuration is present, so there's not a physical button to be seen, front-side. If you're holding the tablet in portrait mode, your power, charging, and Wi-fi notification lights are on the right bezel.

The screen is the standard 10-inch resolution (1280 x 800), and while Toshiba didn't rattle any cages by maintaining the status quo, they made a great decision in going with an IPS display. The colors have been really vivid in all my time spent browsing and toying around (the white wallpaper seen above illustrates the point) and I'm definitely impressed with it.

The Thrive is also sporting rounded corners, a la every-new-Android-device-that's-coming-out-these-days, and also has a grip-textured back instead of any matte finishes or completely plastic designs. What the leaves you is nothing but glass on the front and ribbed, gripping material on the back. It's a smart move, especially considering that there's more material to get your hands onand a bit more weight, so giving you something to really latch onto and feel secure while handling your device is superb.

The top bezel is fairly simple, holding the reflective plastic, clasp-looking thing that houses both cameras. On the right side you've got a sliding lock to prevent the back cover from being taken off. Typically, I'd probably keep this locked, but because of that nasty wake-lock issue, I found myself having to battery pull a couple of times. Fortunately, even if you move into landscape position, there's still nothing you'll be regularly using here.

The right-hand bezel has our more oft-used functions, like the volume rocker and the power button. This is also where the aforementioned status lights are, if you're looking at the front of the screen. The volume rocker has a nice, clicky feel to it, as does the power button. It also works well in portrait (press up for more volume), but when rotated into portrait, the volume rocker becomes opposite the on-screen indicator. Is it a deal-breaker? No, but it's a little difference, and spending five minutes with it in landscape will get you trained, but it's there so I had to mention it.

Due south of the volume rocker is an orientation lock. For a while, I never bothered with it, but when I accidentally slid it into lock position and couldn't figure out why my tablet wasn't rotating our of portrait, I did some investigating. It's a nifty addition, if you're in a position where you're getting a lot of accidental rotation, I guess.

Slide towards the opposite side of this bezel and you'll meet one of the Thrive's first specialties: the SD card slot. No, not microSD. A full-size, ready-to-go, SD card slot. Click in an SD card (think similar to a digital camera) and you'll get a notification next to the clock, saying your card was detected. You might require a reboot for your storage to show up on the "Storage" menu in the settings, but it's definitely there and it works.

Exploring with a file manager showed the SD card, ready and waiting, which was awesome. Unfortunately, you can't move things on and off the SD while it's in the tablet (say, if you plugged the Thrive into a computer), but as we all know, that's a Honeycomb limitation, not a Thrive one, so don't let it tarnish your opinion on the Thrive's functionality.At first glance, the bottom bezel is pretty boring. Uncovered, you've got your charging input and a headphone jack. If you'll notice, though, there's what seems to be a removable panel to the right of said headphone jack. And removable it is.

Pop that sucker open and you'll see three of the Thrive's biggest selling points: a full-sized USB port, an HDMI port, and a mini-USB port. The full-sized USB port works like a charm. Plug in a thumb drive and watch it get detected. If you don't like the SD card route, you've definitely got options. The HDMI port is so standard these-a-days, but it's nice to not have to grab an adapter just to use it.

And the microUSB? I imagine it's suppose to work with the included PC-sync cable, and in that regard, it does, mostly. I'm not sure if this is a widespread issue or if my unit is just a little out of whack, but if I tried using the tab at any point while it was plugged into my computer, the cable would jiggle loose and disconnect. My only way of syncing was leaving it flat on my desk, and while it's not terrible, I'd love to hear this is unique to me and not something everyone can expect.

ove onto the last bezel of the four and you'll see two speakers (one on each end) and what looks like a suspiciously removable cover. This cover is actually a huge pain to take off, requiring really long nails and/or something longer and skinnier to actually complete the task once you've got it about halfway but your not-even-fat fingers keep pushing it back down, but I digress...

When you've finally got the cover off, there's a connecting port staring back at you! For what? Accessories, I'm hoping. Give me a keyboard I can use with this while it's in landscape mode and I'll be a happy man. That's not to say the virtual keyboard isn't good, I'm just a product of the tactile feel generation, and not having to lean the Thrive on my legs would be a huge boon.

As for those speakers, they're good, but not great. Muse sounded pretty good in my sound tests, and while it's not really bass-heavy, it's workable. Why Toshiba opted to put the speakers on the bottom is beyond me, but since you can rotate any which way you'd like, you can totally have them pointing upwards and your screen will adjust accordingly.

The software

The Thrive launches with Android 3.1 on it, with all of it's goodies like Google Videos. Toshiba's also been pretty proactive about system updates, with a pre-release update and not one but two system updates while I've had the unit in my possession.

As for Google Videos, no, there's still no tablet app in the Market, but the workaround menno uses still works. As long as you use the web browser, you can rent and watch movies without issue. Limitless played without issues, for those interested.

There also are couple of Toshiba-specific apps, like App Place and Book Place, which are just what they sound like.

App Place is Toshiba's app store, and it definitely bears some striking resemblances to our own beloved Android Market. I definitely appreciate a 60-day trial (instead of an outright purchase), but if you look closely, you'll notice it's not a trial at all, but a "60-day trail." Yes, it's a little niggle, but something I'd still definitely fix in an OTA.

Book Place looks to be Toshiba's entry into the e-books market, and it seems pretty clean and functional. You can hit up the latest promotions to see all the books under $4, and you're also given a few sample books to toy around with as well.Probably the best Toshiba-branded app of the bunch is their file manager. The Toshiba file manager has a clean, intuitive interface, much like any of the HD, tablet-centric file managers in the Market, but also has options to view your USB or SD card's storage as well. In my experience, checking what's on external storage works like a charm. Other than that, there's not anything revolutionary, software-side.

Read More : http://www.androidcentral.com/toshiba-thrive-review

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Google to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5B

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Google said today it has agreed to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, giving the search giant valuable intellectual property and getting it directly into the handset business.

Google will pay $40 a share in cash for Motorola, a 63 percent premium over the company's closing stock price on Friday. The acquisition will "mildly" add to earnings once the deal closes by year's end or early 2012, Google said.

The deal simultaneously lends stability to and shakes up the Android world. With Motorola, Google gets a treasure trove of patents to defend itself and its partners against a rising tide of legal opposition. Over the past few months, major technology players such as Apple and Oracle have sued either Google or its partners in an attempt to slow down their competitors and extract licensing fees.

"We believe we'll be in a very good position to protect the Android ecosystem for all of our partners," David Drummond, Google's chief legal officer, said today during a conference call. He declined to provide specifics on the company's future legal strategy.

At the same time, the deal puts Google in the awkward position of competing against many of its partners. For the first time, Google will have a direct hand in the mobile business that it fostered from a distance. While Google creates the Android operating system critical to running millions of smartphones and tablets, it has yet to get into the design and manufacturing business itself, aside from a few experimental models with handset partners such as HTC and Samsung.

Google Chief Executive Larry Page said during the conference call that Motorola will be run as a separate unit and reiterated Google's commitment to keeping Android open. He declined to get into specific dynamics of how Motorola will compete with other Android vendors such as Samsung, HTC, or LG Electronics.

Instead, Google focused quite a bit on the protection it will gain from the deal.

In the same vein, Motorola Chief Executive Sanjay Jha had talked up the strength of his company's patent portfolio during its most recent quarterly conference call and suggested that he was willing to step into the legal fray as well. Motorola already has an outstanding dispute with Microsoft and Apple. Last month, billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn disclosed that he was pushing for Motorola to sell its patent portfolio because the need for intellectual property has reached at an all-time high.

On today's call, Jha touted the company's 17,000 patents and 7,500 pending patents. They include many non-essential patents that aren't core to a phone's operations but can be used to improve features such as voice quality. It's unclear whether Android partners will get access to those patents, or whether Motorola's patent portfolio will simply offer legal cover.

Motorola, along with HTC, has been a major early supporter of the Android operating system. Jha chose to scrap Motorola's other projects and focus solely on Android, which paid off immensely when Verizon Wireless chose the original Droid to push as its flagship phone during the 2009 holiday-shopping season. AT&T more recently chose Motorola's Atrix as a flagship phone. Motorola has also renewed its ties with Sprint Nextel. Last month, it reported better-than-expected second-quarter results and hinted at a strong fourth quarter.

But the company has struggled recently too. While the Atrix was heavily promoted by AT&T, it wasn't a breakout hit. Motorola's first tablet, the Xoom, failed to make a dent in the market, even after a price cut. The 4G capability for its Xoom is still unavailable despite hyping the feature at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. And the company's long-delayed Droid Bionic for Verizon Wireless isn't expected until next month.

Page, however, said that Motorola continues to have "tremendous opportunity for growth," adding that he likes Jha's vision for future products. Beyond smartphones and tablets, Motorola has a television set-top box business and has relationships with carriers and cable providers, an area where Google can push its connected-TV ambitions. Likewise, Jha said he sees the opportunity for more convergence between the set-top box and mobile devices.

"We'll be able to deliver products that will delight customers," Jha said.

Drummond said he expects that the deal will require regulatory approval and added that he is confident it will be approved.

"Android is clearly adding competition, innovation, and user choice," he said. "Protecting that ecosystem is pro-competitive almost by definition."

Google, meanwhile, will be attempting to maintain its neutral stance in Android land even after the deal.

"Our vision for Android is unchanged and Google remains firmly committed to Android as an open platform and a vibrant open source community," Andy Rubin, senior vice president of mobile at Google, said today in a statement. "We will continue to work with all of our valued Android partners to develop and distribute innovative Android-powered devices."

Rubin added on the call that the other major Android vendors showed "enthusiastic support" for the deal.

Google offered a Web page listing comments from other vendors.

"We welcome today's news, which demonstrates Google's deep commitment to defending Android, its partners, and the ecosystem," J.K. Shin, head of Samsung's mobile division, said on the page.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-20092362-94/google-to-buy-motorola-mobility-for-$12.5b/#ixzz1VDchR1om

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Fraud with electronic maps to know their number

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At the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas, experts from the Aperture Labs revealing cracked mobile payment system Square.


At the time devoted to the problems of combating computer crime conference Black HatThat takes place in Las Vegas (USA), Adam Laurie and Zach Frank, representing dealing IT security company Aperture LabsDemonstrated the shortcomings of the payment system Square.

Company Squareoffers a compact reader for electronic cards and related software. With their help, the owner of the smart phone platform Android, and iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch can turn your device into the ATM, which just does not give or accept cash. Software and reader - free, for transactions made through the Square, you lose 2.75% in commission.

Idea Square - is excellent, but the implementation of several failed. Ex-hackerLori pointed out that the reader for electronic cards inserted into the audio jack of smartphones, from which it was concluded that the card numbers are transmitted in the form of audio files. Engineer to write a program that performs encoding. At Black Hat, they showed the system from a laptop, which was installed their program, and "Aypada" with proprietary software Square. To steal money using it enough to know only the card number, an attacker who takes the "mined" at his own expense, "pays" only 2.75% commission. Agree, it's much more fun to the traditional scheme, which involves weaning the owner of the credit card, purchasing goods on her and post them for sale Bandera (fence).

It is reported that Square quickly integrates into your reader data encryption.

History entertaining in that it illustrates the negative side, the openness and interconnectedness of all things on the Internet: an absolutely unknown to the owner an e-card company may endanger his financial security.


Based on the materials Agence France-Presse.


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Apple has made a ban sales of Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Europe

It seems the patent war is beginning to bear success of Apple. This week, she managed to achieve yet another victory on this front, where victory is very important. The court of second instance in Dusseldorf (Germany) on the suit Apple has decided to ban advertising and sales of the new tablet Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in all European countries except the Netherlands. Earlier, the apple company managed to achieve the implementation of the ban of the same model from the Korean manufacturer in Australia.

The reason why the court decided to prohibit the sale of the tablet is the same - a violation of intellectual property Apple, protected by patents. Samsung reaction to this decision was, of course, negative. "request for an injunction was directed, without notice to Samsung , - said the director of Samsung's PR Kim Titus (Kim Titus) in a statement. - And the court decision was issued without a hearing on this matter or the provision of (the defendant) evidence of his innocence " . Thus, the point in this case has not yet delivered, and the trial will proceed. However, Samsung already makes a loss, unable to sell his plate in European countries.
Curiously, the court's decision did not affect the timing of the start of sales tablet in Russia. As it became known, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 will hit stores already home on August 25. Known and prices: version Wi-Fi + 3G c 16 GB of internal memory will cost about 24 thousand rubles.


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Bagaimana mengintegrasikan Streams pada Facebook dan Google +

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Berapa banyak situs jaringan sosial yang anda miliki? Bagi beberapa orang, Google + menjawab pertanyaan itu, tapi bagi banyak dari kita,yang merasa enggan untuk mencoba sesuatu yang baru dan mengutak atik kenyamanan yang sudah ada dalam social network kita. Namun, dengan sebuah ekstensi daro Google Chrome yang disebut SGPlus dapat membantu menghubungkan. SGPlus ini memungkinkan Anda membaca Facebook dan Twitter feed dalam G + dan memungkinkan Anda posting ke semua tiga sekaligus. Berikut bagaimana menggunakannya:

1. Instal ekstensi SGPlus untuk Chrome. (Untuk saat ini, tidak berjalan di browser lain).
2. Bacalah tutorial. Ini akan muncul setiap kali Anda reload G + sampai Anda menyelesaikannya , sehingga Anda lebih baik hanya mengklik melalui pertama kalinya.)
3. Klik SG + ikon di kanan atas browser anda dan pilih Facebook atau Twitter tab. Satunya pilihan Anda akan " Sign In " Klik, dan validasi seharusnya dilanjutkan secara otomatis. Setelah Anda masuk dengan salah satu atau keduanya, Anda dapat mengatur fitur dari tab yang sama, meskipun setting default bekerja dengan baik untuk kebanyakan orang.
4. SG + mendeteksi ketika Anda memuat halaman Google + dan stream pada FB dan Twitter feed di halaman G +. Catatan bahwa mungkin memakan waktu cukup lama setelah instalasi pertama Anda. Posting Anda di G + juga harus mulai muncul di FB dan Twitter jika Anda telah mengaktifkan fitur itu, meskipun sekali lagi itu mungkin memakan waktu pada awalnya.
5. SGPlus mungkinmembutuhkan waktu lama saat pertama kali melakukkan post. Selain itu anda dapat mencoba untuk log in ke FB atau Twitter, dan ada gangguan sesekali dengan feed, tetapi untuk sekarang,namun dapat membuat hidup jaringan sosial Anda jauh lebih mudah.

Source : http://howto.cnet.com/8301-11310_39-20088831-285/how-to-integrate-your-facebook-and-google-streams/?tag=rb_content;featuredArea2

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