An annotated mock-up of Facebook's new application 'dashboard' provided to developers.(Credit: Facebook)
A post Thursday on the Facebook developer blog announced that in a few weeks, the social network will be launching its "Dashboard" for third-party applications built on its platform. Right now, developers are allowed access to a "sandbox" where they can experiment with the new format and see what will be different.
What will the dashboard, part of a newly organized Facebook home page, bring to ordinary users? For the most part, it cleans up the Facebook app experience for users who may have installed dozens of third-party applications, and separates games--many of the platform's biggest sensations--into their own tab.
Applications that a user has used recently are grouped at the top, displaying news updates like "It's your move in your Scrabble game against Bill Gates." There's also a grid to show which applications that Facebook member's friends have been interacting with recently, along with suggestions for others that they might like based on what they already use. A set of "counters" in the left-hand sidebar shows members that they have updates and alerts from individual applications.
Developers haven't always been thrilled by Facebook's occasional crackdowns on what apps can and can't do, from e-mail notifications to prominence on members' profiles. But redesigning and cleaning up the app experience so that it's easier for Facebook users to find new apps and get more updates from the ones they already use is likely to be a well-received move.
Microsoft made Windows 7 operating system available from October 22, 2009 which was about three months back. A Microsoft centric Spanish blog Muywindows posted exclusive screenshots of Windows 7 Service Pack 1 Demo installer. Obviously, we foresee first Service Pack for Windows 7 in works at Microsoft's Labs.
Usually, the first Service Pack from Microsoft comes at least after a year the launch of Operating System. Windows Vista was launched on January 30, 2007 and its first Service Pack came out on February 4, 2008. Now, Windows 7 was launched globally on October 22, 2009 so ideally, we may expect the Service Pack 1 to arrive sometime year-end. That's when the Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference takes place.
Windows 7 Service Pack 1 is purported to have about 150 updates in the current build. One may expect support for newly released hardware and USB 3.0 supporting devices along with several other fixes. The blog also revealed that Microsoft will send them Windows 7 SP 1 Demo preview in coming few weeks. This Service Pack 1 will be passed to selected Testers in July and final version is expected in late 2010.
It's kind of early to predict when exactly will Microsoft release this first Service Pack. If we compare it with Apple's releases then Mac OS X Snow Leopard also got major updates in two weeks after the OS was released. Unlike Microsoft, Apple doesn't offer any 'Service Pack' for its OS but does release major updates time to time.
We've got to hand it down to Apple. Every time they set their eyes on a new, innovative product concept - the world inspects it with magnifying glasses. The amount of attention it receives is possibly comparable to superstars like David Beckham or Sachin Tendulkar. Exactly three years ago, the world cheered Apple as they launched their iPhone, which later went onto receive iconic success. But it's not like Apple has hit the nail on the head with every product they've launched. Products like the Apple TV or the Macbook Air weren't as well received, and appeal only to a small percentage of the audience. On January 27, Apple will hopefully banish all rumours cluttering the internet by unveiling the Apple Tablet. Till now, the media has been keenly following any dope about this mystical product. So without further ado, let us look into what the fuss is all about.
The Name Popularly searched on the internet as the Apple Tablet, this device could possibly be called the iSlate or iPad - following the "iProductName" nomenclature they've had for many of their computing devices. What is it? Steve Jobs had clearly mentioned a few years ago that they had no interest in creating cheap, under-powered devices like the netbook. Looking at Apple's portable computing devices, there's an empty gap in their portfolio between their iPhone and the entry-level Macbook laptop. Thus it seems that Apple would place the Apple Tablet in between these two. Tablet computers are not a new invention. We've seen them in different avatars like the swivel-screened laptops or more recently, MIDs (Mobile Internet Devices). A tablet PC is a portable computer that uses a touchscreen for user input and is traditionally operated by a stylus. But knowing Apple, their device should be primarily usable with fingers. Tell me more about the device The Apple Tablet will supposedly be based on the same design concept as the iPhone or iPod Touch. Its face will be occupied by an eight to ten inch touchscreen. It will be thinner and lighter than a Macbook, and will hence be easier to carry in a backpack, but too large to be carried in the pocket. But it's not like people are cool with the idea of carrying PCs in their pockets anyway, right? There was a big debate whether it will run a full-fledged OS X like other Macs or a stripped down version like the one in the iPhone. The balance now seems to tilt in the favour of the latter. That way Apple gets to have more control over the content being delivered on this device. You do know how they like to deliver the final judgment over what goes on the App Store and what doesn't. There's again a difference of opinion between what internals will it possess. Will it be a typical Intel Core 2 Duo based platform used in Macbooks or an ARM-based processor used in the iPhone? Again, the scale tips towards the latter here - since it will be running an iPhone-like OS. It will sport a vastly higher resolution display than the iPhone and will connect to the internet via Wi-Fi or 3G (thanks to a built-in SIM card slot). GPS and Bluetooth modules can also be assumed to find their way into this device. Another surprising but possibly sensible addition is a camera for video-conferencing. It is odd that Apple still didn't include one in the iPhone till now. But anyway, the tablet is not going to be a replacement for your cell-phone. Maybe Apple thinks that having this sort of audio-visual communication would set it apart from the iPhone.
Nokia has filed a recent patent application that describes a device that is physically flexible and (obviously) sports a flexible display.
If you know your Nokia history well, you might recall the Nokia Morph concept phone showcased by the company just about two years ago. Back then, it was nothing but a cool concept a device that we wished, existed. Two years down the lane, has technology evolved so much that a concept phone with flexible display can actually be manufactured?
Why not? Samsung has already shown us quite a few AMOLED flexible displays at the CES 2009 and is reportedly working towards a fully functional device. Sony showed off its flexible OLED screens last year. In fact, Samsung also plans to bring such displays into the mainstream consumer market in the near future. Such AMOLED displays are reportedly ready for mass production. The only issue that might be stopping them is to find a way how to make the rest of the device flexible.
Coming back to the Nokia patent, the application talks about a user interface, a device and a method for an improved user interaction, and in particular to a user interface, a device and a method for an improved user interaction through the use of a flexible display.
Nokia seems to be planning a device that will change its shape according to your needs and will also do things for you just by changing its shape. You can bend the device to resemble a can to make the device search for nearby pubs and bars. Or if you choose to bend the device to resemble a bowl, it should give you a list with the closest restaurants. If you bend the device to resemble a house or a tent, it will search for hotels and accommodation.
While at first this might sound cumbersome, it sure does sound interesting.
Opera Mini 5 beta 2 If you browse the internet on your phone, you absolutely have to try Opera Mini. The slick looking interface is very intuitive and easy to use. The home screen also has nine speed-dial shortcuts to your favourite sites. A multi-provider search engine textbox lies to the left of the address bar. It will automatically use a faster Wi-Fi connection over mobile internet whenever it finds the opportunity. Browsing full-fledged websites on a small screen isn't as painful as it used to be. It wraps the text in a way that avoids horizontal scrolling. It opens every website with a preview pane, thus allowing the user to pan and zoom on the desired section. Actions like zooming in and out and scrolling through sites are smooth and fast. Sites also load at a fair pace over slower EDGE connections, thanks to Opera's page compression technology. Since we're all so used to multi-tabbed browsing, Opera Mini brings the same functionality to our phone - thus letting us multi-task with more than one website at a time.
Other than phone calls and SMSes, instant messaging has become one of the favourite modes of communication. Of the many multi-protocol IM apps we've seen, I liked Nimbuzz. This app lets you sign into various messaging services like Google Talk, Yahoo, MSN, Skype, Facebook and many others. All your friends appear in one common list. The interface is pretty slick looking and the fonts are fairly big and clearly readable. You can chat with multiple buddies, thanks to its tabbed interface. If you have friends and family abroad and want to call them for cheap; Nimbuzz serves you here as well. All you need is an International credit card. Just head over to Nimbuzz.com and buy credit (USD 10 or 25 etc.). After the transaction, your account balance will reflect in the mobile app. Now just dial the international number and call. The app places a phone call over the internet, thus call rates are pretty cheap; a call to the US is USD 0.02 (roughly one rupee). In my experience, over Idea's 2.5G EDGE network I was able to call people without a hitch. The audio quality will be better and consistent if your phone is latched on to a Wi-fi network. Lastly, all you sparrows can also use its custom Twitter menu to post new messages, check the timeline with options to re-post a tweet etc.
Google Maps If you have GPS on your phone (heck, even if you don't), Google Maps is quite a useful app - especially for people with a bad sense of direction. The Map view has fairly updated street names as well as building/landmark names. Thanks to Assisted GPS, it acquires a fix on your location quite fast. The best purpose of this app is to get directions from Point A to Point B. However, the only problem is that it will show you one preset route instead of giving you multiple options like other navigation software. But it has been accurate most of the time and has served me well on many journeys. Another cool feature is Google Latitude. With it, you can allow your friends to view your location. But in my experience, it does not update locations on the fly. It is rather inaccurate at times, which is slightly disappointing. Despite a few downfalls, Google Maps comes in quite handy. The next beta version of the app will include turn-by-turn navigation; much like dedicated navigation devices. That is when it will truly become a gem of an app.
Close to 90 percent of the people I know use Gmail. The reason why people prefer this mail service to any other is because it completely changed the game with respect to web-mail. While other providers were trying to make their interface more colorful and eye-candy, Gmail kept it simple but functional. Other than GBs of free storage, it also offers some innovative features like threaded conversations. Now you can get all that on your mobile phone. The Gmail app looks and feels similar to their web-based version. Mails get downloaded pretty fast. Each number on your keyboard is a shortcut for commonly performed tasks. The app also has an offline mode. In the rare probability that you end up in a no-network area, you can still compose messages, which will be sent once you're back online. A couple of things I missed in the app: 1) there's no way to add attachments. 2) The navigation buttons are swapped (like those stupid older Motorola phones). For example: Menu is on the right and Cancel on the left. 3) Lastly, scrolling through long mails is slightly laggy.
Symbian Series 60 has become quite a mature platform. But not including a stopwatch in current day phones is completely ludicrous. This was even available in my cheap Nokia 1208! Nonetheless, it is imperative for all to go out there and download this free alternative. It can let you run five stopwatches at once with 40 split/lap times. Tip: On a Nokia E series QWERTY device, the A key is to start the timer.
Notorious games maker Rockstar Studios has released Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for iPhone platform. This Grand Theft Auto game is already available for Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable platform. As announced last September, Rockstar has finally released the GTA Chinatown Wars for iPhone and iPod Touch devices. Download Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for $10 (Rs. 480) from the App Store (iTunes link). Developed by Rockstar Leeds studio, this GTA game seems like direct port of DS and PSP title. In this game, protagonist Huang Lee is out to deliver ancient sword to his Uncle Kenny after his father's murder. Lee's delivery of the sword will ensure regaining control of the Triad gangs of the Liberty City by his family. After being robbed and left to die in the morally bankrupt city, Lee will head out to seek his revenge. Controls of joystick are given on the screen and appear to be bit translucent. Game graphics looks neat, at least in images. This game is compatible with iPhone and iPod Touch devices running iPhone OS 3.1.2 firmware or higher.
The original PlayStation 3 did not have a great start in the market as anticipated. Following the phenomenal success of its predecessor, everybody expected the PlayStation 3 to follow suit, however that did not happen. Although announced much before its main rival, the Microsoft Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3 made it to the market almost a year late. This late start ensured that several of the great titles went to the 360 and even before the PlayStation 3 was released it had the advantage of a bigger game library and a chunk of the market share.
Even after it was released, Sony's console was plagued with problems. The PlayStation 3 was quite expensive, especially compared to the 360. Even though it had a much superior hardware, not many people found it worth investing Rs. 40,000 in what they thought was essentially only a game console. Pricing aside there were other issues as well. Developers complained about the difficulty in coding games for the PlayStation 3, whereas they had no problem at all doing it for the 360, due to its similarity to a regular Windows machine.
The games that came out initially weren't that great as well and the cross platform games often worked better on the 360, while the PlayStation 3 version was riddled with poor graphics and slower frame rates. The fact that the games themselves (being on Blue-ray discs) were much more expensive than the 360's didn't bode well with the consumers. Design & Hardware
What Sony has done here is not new. They have done this before with the PlayStation 2 in its mid-life, wherein it was robbed of its sliding disc mechanism and a hard drive but was morphed into a slimmer, smaller and lighter design that was not much thicker than a diary. The new design breathed life into the sales of PlayStation 2. With the PlayStation 3 Sony has done more or less the same (and hopes for a similar response from the consumers), and here we will outline all the differences between the new and the old version.
First of all is the obvious difference in size. The new PlayStation 3 retains the same basic shape of the older PlayStation 3 but has a much smaller form-factor. This might not be noticeable at first sight, but place them side by side and the difference is astonishing. The curved top means you still can't keep things on top of the PlayStation 3 and it continues to reserve the top position over your audio equipment. The new PlayStation 3 is also much lighter and easier to carry. Build quality is just as solid as before.
The new PlayStation 3 loses the gorgeous glossy finish of the older version and gains a new matte finish. Due to this the new PlayStation 3 does not look as striking as the previous version; the older one was much more of an eyeball magnet but the newer version looks more timid in comparison, as if it is trying hard not to be noticed. You do get the new stylized 'PS3' logo in the new font however, which is the only interesting detail on the top. Unlike the PlayStation 2, which was also officially called the 'PS2', the PlayStation 3 was called just that. However, in the new version we see the so far unofficial name 'PS3' being used for the first time, officially.
The disc mechanism is in the same place as the previous version, however, below it you can now see two physical buttons, instead of the touch sensitive 'buttons' on the older version. We found these to be better than the previous version and felt more tactile to use. They are backlit as well, which make them easier to find in the dark. The new power indicator lamp can only be seen from the top and is too dim to see in bright light. There is a blue indicator light above the eject button, which lights up when you have a disc inserted.
Above the drive slot is the famous 'PlayStation' logo, this time in just white instead of the red, blue, green and yellow version. But unlike the previous PlayStation 3, the logo on the new version does not rotate. This is perhaps because the new version is not designed to stand on its own vertically. It's not that it doesn't stand at all, but it doesn't stand securely like the previous version. Just like the PlayStation 2 Slim, it requires an optional stand that needs to be purchased. We found this to be an annoyance as Sony could have easily designed it to stand vertically and only changed a perfectly good design so they could earn a few more bucks by selling the optional stands, just like they did with the PlayStation 2 Slim.
Below the disc mechanism, you can see the two USB ports on the left with the status LEDs for the hard drive and network activity. On the right is the slot where you can access the built-in hard drive. The new PlayStation 3 still uses the same notebook PC hard drives instead of the proprietary drives like on the Xbox 360, which means you can easily buy one for cheap and upgrade the memory.
On the back you see all the same ports as on the previous version save for one small omission. The power button on the previous version has been removed on the new PlayStation 3. Apart from that you get the same HDMI output, proprietary audio-video output, optical audio out, Ethernet port and the power port. Unlike the 360, which has the massive external power brick, the PlayStation 3 has always had an internal power supply, and kudos to Sony for managing to retain it even in the much smaller new version.
As far as the hardware is concerned, the new PlayStation 3 is mostly identical to the older version, save for one difference. The newer version uses a 45nm Cell processor as compared to the 90mm in the previous version. The smaller fabrication allows the Cell processor in the newer PlayStation 3 to run cooler and also consume less power.
Connectivity-wise the PlayStation 3 still supports the same formats as the previous version. You get Bluetooth v2.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, which to be honest feels a bit outdated. We expected to see Bluetooth v2.1 and 802.11n support in the newer version. You also get two USB 2.0 ports at the front, where you can connect external drives, keyboards, mice and other accessories, such as a gaming wheel.
The guys at iFixit have done a complete teardown of the new PlayStation 3, which reveals the interesting innards of the new console and how various things are packed within that fairly compact body. Software
The new PlayStation 3 uses the same software as the older version, except for a couple of differences. First of all, the new version does not have support for installing another operating system, such as Linux. Now I'm sure most people would not care much about it but there were quite a few who bought the original PlayStation 3 not just for its gaming and multimedia capability but also because they could turn it into a computer by installing Linux on it.
A new addition to the software is the support for TrueHD and DTS-HD MA audio. The new PlayStation 3 can now stream these two lossless audio formats to a compatible audio system, so you can enjoy better sound clarity. Another addition is the BRAVIA Sync feature, which upon connecting to a compatible Sony BRAVIA television would let you control the PlayStation 3 through the TV remote control.
The new version also comes with VidZone, which is an online music video download service and allows the user to access free streaming of music videos from the VidZone.TV website. The VidZone catalogue encompasses over 1.5 million tracks, 25,000 music videos and 15,000 realtones, including full access to catalogues from Sony BMG and EMI.
Apart from these it is the same XMB menu from the previous version. It still looks great, especially after the new theme with the sparkling effect in the background, and is very easy to use and navigate. The software can be upgraded over Internet or you can download the file from the PlayStation website and then transfer it to a USB flash drive and install it on the system.
Last week we put the Acer Aspire 5738DG, a 3D-ready laptop, through its paces. Today we're checking out its cousin, the 5738PZG. This model tries to ride the crazy touch bandwagon that people have been attracted to ever since the conception of the iPhone. No, the 5738PZG isn't a tablet notebook, where you'd usually find a touch-enabled LCD screen. Instead it's a regular desktop replacement model with a touch-screen fitted in. Is it merely a gimmick or does it have a functional advantage? We'll find out.
Design and Build The 5738PZG is identical to the 5738DG model tested last week (which in turn is similar to the original 5738Z model in terms of design and build). So let's just quickly recap the physical aspects of this device. Looks-wise, it has a plain Jane design with its glossy blue top and black-grey color-combo on the inside. The build quality is pretty decent. The screen hinge offers good resistance, and this is essential in this model, since the screen is going to be fingered a lot. On the lap, soft taps to the screen don't make it fall back. Acer has also provided a stand that helps keep the screen in place when the laptop's placed on a desk.
The screen is sufficiently large at 15.6 inches and sports a regular 1366 x 768 pixel display. While content on it is quite readable, a slightly higher resolution would have really made our day. At 2.8 kilos, it isn't even close to being lightweight, but quite fair for a 15.6-incher model in this range. It has a regular array of ports but like the 5738DG model, it too lacks the Expresscard slot. Not to say that a lot of people are going to be inconvenienced by this, but there was no question of space constraint to do away with it anyway -- thus it would've been nice if it was available.
The speakers are fairly loud but crack at higher volume levels. The web-cam delivers a decent video quality. The keyboard has well-sized keys that offer good tactility, making typing a very comfortable experience on it. A separate num-pad on the side will prove useful for people dabbling with numbers all day long. But we've seen a key or two breaking off on Acer models sporting this style of the keyboard. This makes us doubtful of their quality and whether they will last long enough. The touch-pad is fairly large but its touch response is just about average. Although it supports multi-touch gestures like two-finger scrolling, Acer has still kept a side of the touch-pad dedicated for traditional one-finger scrolling. This is good for people adamant on using the latter way to scroll, but disadvantageous for others as it reduces the usable area a little while using multi-touch.
Performance The Acer Aspire 5738PZG comes with Windows 7 Home Premium pre-installed. We are comparing it to the 5738DG model tested last week since it comes with similar specs except for a better Core 2 Duo T6600 processor. We're also comparing it to the Samsung R470 that sells for around the same price as the 5738PZG. PCMark Vantage
3DMark 06
SiSoft Sandra 2009
Real World Performance Let's talk about the main attraction of the 5738PZG, the touch-screen. It accepts two inputs at once, thus enabling multi-touch gestures like pinch-to-zoom, rotation of images etc. Acer also bundles an application by the name of Touch Portal. It basically lets you exercise the screen's touch-enabled prowess by flicking through audio, video and photos. Microsoft's pre-installed games like Garden Pond and apps like Surface Collage and Surface Earth are pretty cool to use. The touch-response is pretty decent too. And with a touch-friendly OS like Windows 7, Acer almost seems to have cracked it. Almost.
The only question that kept me from using all the touch functionality after 30 minutes of usage was - why would I stretch my arm all the way to the screen when the same can be done using a touch-pad that's way closer? Not to mention that stretching your arms does hurt after 10 minutes or so. The on-screen keyboard is quite large, but why will I tap on the screen when I have a physical keyboard (that's much more accurate to use) right below my hands? I conclude by saying that the touch-screen feature provided in this laptop is nothing better than a gimmick.
On the performance front, the benchmark figures show that the laptop slightly lags behind in comparison to the other two. This is because the CPU on the 5738PZG is based on the older architecture and not the newer "Core 2" architecture in the others. But it's capable enough to run day-to-day apps smoothly. Even CPU intensive tasks can be handled by the CPU at a fair pace.
We tried running the Street Fighter IV benchmark with all settings tuned to 'High'. Here, it delivered a 23.6 fps score. The game stuttered a bit -- not a good sign considering this game isn't as taxing on system resources as most newer ones. We believe that the under-powered GPU is to blame here. A 4600 series GPU would have been appreciated. Thus, the 5738PZG is not a good machine for playing the latest games. It will only be able to run smoothly games that are a couple of years old.
ViewSonic claims to enhance movie watching experience with its four new MovieBook models. It's not just about watching movies anymore; it's about watching HD content. These MovieBooks will support playback of up to 1080p HD video content and select models would also feature touchscreen.
ViewSonic has brought out four MovieBook models of different screen sizes - VPD550T, VPD513T, VPD403 and VPD313T. Out of these four VPD550T features ultra-high 800x480 resolution supporting touchscreen. This touchscreen MovieBook model has 8GB internal memory and supports 1080p HD video output. Another VPD513T model has same ultra-high 800x480 resolution screen that supports 720p content and offers 8GB storage. Both these MovieBooks have HDMI out for connecting them to external and bigger displays.
For a bit compact screen size like that of a PlayStation Portable, VPD403 MovieBook offers 480x272 resolution (yes, that's iPhone/iPod screen resolution) and video out support of 720p HD content. This portable movie book offers support for variety of formats and has 4GB internal storage. Going more compact, VPD313T has 3-inch screen size supporting 480x272 resolution with 480p screen and supports variety of audio-video formats.
The interface looks customized and based on Linux Kernel. However, we anticipate more portable movie and entertainment players loaded with Android OS in future.
Besides watching movies, one can also read books, watch photos and listen to music on any of these MovieBooks. The prices of the MovieBooks are as follows: 200 - (Rs. 9,600 approx.) 190 - (Rs. 9,100 approx.) 150 - (Rs. 7,200 approx.) 140 - (Rs. 6,700 approx.)
The new MovieBooks will start shipping in the first quarter of the year. Specifications and details of the new MovieBooks were not available.
Google continues to smile on iPhone and Android users. On Thursday, the search giant rolled out some localization improvements for US searchers.
Though Bostonians are clearly a museum-minded folk, San Franciscans seem to be able to juggle both museums and Muse lyrics.(Credit: Google)
Type a query into Google.com from either an Android device or the iPhone and Google will now spit out results based on your current or previously logged location. Search "muse" as Google did in its side-by-side screenshots above and you'll see the most-often-sought terms in your area.
Hence, it isn't exactly that Google has made its search suggestions any better at anticipating your intended query. More accurately, Google is relying on the hive mind to contextualize location-based searches.
Based on Google's test, localized search suggestions will work best for businesses, and maybe the odd search for British rock bands.
To make sure you get the full impact, go into the Google.com home page settings from your mobile browser and turn on "save recent locations" and "allow use of device location."
Google continued to dominate the search market in December, trailed by Yahoo and Microsoft, according to media research firm Nielsen.
According to Nielsen's December US Search Rankings, released on Wednesday, Web users queried search engines more than 9.9 billion times in December. Google accommodated almost 6.7 billion queries, capturing a 67.3 percent share of the month's searches.
Yahoo placed second in Nielsen's December search rankings. It was queried more than 1.4 billion times, tallying 14.4 percent market share. Microsoft's Bing, which garnered 986 million queries, captured 9.9 percent market share, according to Nielsen. Ask.com, My Web search, and Comcast search followed, with 1.7 percent, 1.0 percent, and 0.5 percent market share, respectively.
Google's lead over the competition grew in December from November. The company's November market share was 65.4 percent, while Yahoo's search share in November was 15.3 percent. It's also worth noting that Bing dropped significantly in December from its 10.7 percent market share in November.
Apple's little tiffin box shaped Mac Mini has received another shot in the arm in the form of an updated hardware. Folks at Apple sent us the 2.53 GHz model for review and we ran it through our benchmarks to see how much better this new model is.
Bundle
Mac mini
Mini-DVI to DVI Adapter
110W power adapter and power cord
Install/restore DVDs
Printed and electronic documentation
Design & Construction The Mac Mini design has largely been unchanged since its debut in 2005. It still remains one of the best-looking compact computers that you can find anywhere. The steel grey sides with milky white top and the large Apple logo look simple and elegant. It is difficult to believe that this is actually a full-fledged computer encased within something that looks like a fancy tiffin box.
The front side has the slot loading SuperDrive. As is usual for desktop Macs there is no physical eject button, which is in sync with Apple's philosophy of having the minimum number of buttons possible, and the only way to eject the disc is through the OS. On the right edge of the slot is a receiver for the wireless remote. Below that is a tiny white LED light that indicates the status of the Mini.
Now let us move to the rear side, as the sides are completely deprived of anything. The rear side has a plethora of ports, which includes 5 USB 2.0 ports, Firewire 800 port, mini-DVI port, Mini DisplayPort audio In/Out and power port. The 5 USB ports might sound exciting but it is important to remember that of these, two will be reserved for the keyboard and mouse. This means you'll be left with only three (unless you use a wireless combo that will have a single Bluetooth dongle, in which case you'll end up with four ports).
The rear location of USB ports is inconvenient, especially if you plug in or remove portable drives often. I assume Apple refrained from placing the ports at the front or the sides to have a clean and uncluttered design, a decision, which from the point of view of aesthetics, makes perfect sense but doesn't when you think of ergonomics.
The ventilation on the Mac Mini is placed at the back and at the bottom around the edges. The Mini runs surprisingly cool with the top and the sides always being lukewarm at the most, even during the most processor intensive activities. And then there is the time-honored Mac ability of running quiet as a whisper. The only sound it ever makes is of the drives kicking in softly when you turn it on or it comes out of Sleep mode.
Hardware & Software The new Mac Mini comes in two variants. The lower model has a 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor whereas the higher end model has 2.53 GHz Core 2 Duo. This is a major step up from the previous generations 2.0 GHz processor, on both the models. The older model had 1 GB and 2 GB DDR3 RAM respectively, but the newer version has 2 GB for the base model and 4 GB for the higher end model. Hard drive capacities have gone up from 120 GB to 160 GB on the base model and the higher end model retains the 320 GB hard drive of the previous higher end model.
The rest of the hardware remains the same with a NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM (shared with main memory), 8x slot loading SUperDrive, Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR, built-in Gigabit LAN and a built-in mono speaker.
The new Mac Mini now comes with Mac OS X Snow Leopard, which includes iTunes, Time Machine, Quick Look, Spaces, Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat, Safari, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Front Row, Xcode Developer Tools, along with iLife '09, which includes iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iWeb, GarageBand.
Performance Here are the figures from the XBench and Geekbench benchmarks that we ran on our 2.53 GHz model. We have compared it to the previous generation Mac Mini, the MacBook and the base model of iMac.
Geekbench Scores (Higher values are better) XBench Scores (Higher values are better)
The higher end model that we tested had performance that belied its size. Do remember that this is basically the same hardware that is found in the base model of iMac (except for the hard drive, which is 7200 rpm on the iMac). The fairly powerful processor ensured you can do processor intensive jobs like video/encoding, image editing and watching high definition movies with ease. Also, the abundance of RAM on the higher end model meant that you could run Photoshop with ease. That is some serious power for something that looks no bigger than your average internal DVD drive. The Mac Mini also has a built-in speaker but considering the size and its internal location, it was not much louder than that of a mobile phone speaker.
For its size the kind of performance that the Mac Mini provides is quite respectable. Apple has updated the hardware and surprisingly kept the price similar to that of the previous generation model, which is not something you see others manufacturers do very often. This makes the new Mac Mini much better value. The new Mac Mini is priced at Rs. 33,900 for the base model and Rs. 43,900 for the high end model. Many may say that they can assemble a computer at the same price and it would have a more powerful hardware and a monitor, keyboard and mouse included. However, there is no way you can assemble something that has the same small size and design simplicity as the Mac Mini. And nor would it be running Mac OS X Snow Leopard, which is a good enough reason to consider it over anything else. The Mac Mini won't be able to run all the fancy new games that a Windows based assembled PC can at that price, but it surely can do anything else just as well (and some even better), and at the same time look good while doing it.
Asus has unveiled its new ATI Radeon HD 5000 series graphics cards
EAH5970, EAH5770 and EAH5750. Loaded with GDDR5 memory, the new Asus graphics cards feature Voltage Tweak technology that enables users to tweak GPU voltage through Smart Doctor application. Asus is offering new EAH5970 graphics card for Rs. 51,000 (excluding taxes), while EAH5770 will cost Rs. 13,500 (excluding taxes) and EAH5750 FORMULA will cost Rs. 11, 500(excluding taxes). All these cards come with a three-year warranty.
The new Asus EAH5000 series graphics cards feature Asus Voltage Tweak technology that allows users to push GPU voltage from 1.05V to 1.35V using SmartDoctor application. The GPU performance can be boosted from 725MHz to 950MHz and memory can be clocked from 4000MHz to 5012MHz.
Asus bundles the dual-GPU EAH5970 graphics card with Colin McRae: DiRT 2 game and supports DirectX 11. With about 3200 shader processors, graphics core stock clocked at 725MHz, 2GB GDDR5 video memory clocked at 4000MHz and not to forget it's a power hungry slab of silicon. This graphics card offers HDMI, twin dual-link DVI card and DisplayPort
Both EAH5770 and EAH5750 FORMULA graphics cards carry the aerodynamic cooling design of a Formula One car. Due to this design, the airflow volume is increased by seven percent. Heat dissipation is improved by up to fourteen percent and up to 10,000 hours of cooling is promised with unique dust-proof design.
Asus EAH5770 has 800 stream processors, GPU core clocked at 850MHz, 1GB GDDR5 memory clocked at 4800MHz and uses 128-bit memory interface. On the other hand EAH5750 FORMULA graphics card has 720 stream processors, GPU core clocked at 700MHz, 1GB GDDR5 memory clocked at 4600MHz and uses 128-bit memory interface. Both these cards have HDMI, two DVI-I and D-Sub ports but both lack DisplayPort. For real-time overclocking, the EAH5770 and EAH5750 FORMULA feature GameOSD and SmartDoctor applications.
Have you ever wished you could somehow port your doodles on to your PC? Many a time when we are in meetings or simply brainstorming for new ideas at work or in general, the first thing we do is pick up a pen and paper and get cracking. However, when we do get a solution and wish to share it with others we have to write out an email. This somehow may not be able to convey fully what that image on your notepad does. Sure, you could scan your drawings and send it, but now you can avoid this with the help of Mobile Digital Scribe from IOGEAR. This little gadget allows you to capture all your work on paper in a digital format and then directly dump it on your PC. You can then later save it as a Word document or send it directly via e-mail. How well this actually captures your writing is something we'll have to test, but it sounds really interesting.
Bundle
Digital Scribe
Digital pen
Batteries
Instruction manual
Software CD
Design The digital pen comes with a swappable refill, the solid plastic one is used when you want to use the pen as a mouse and the ink refill when you want to capture your writing. The software is then used to download the data from the pen from where you can convert it and use it the way you please.
The digital scribe comes with a multifunction display that shows you different modes the Digital Scribe is in (text or mouse). It also alerts you when the battery level is low. The button is used to switch it on and off and also start a new page. There is a sensor in the front of the Digital Scribe that is able to pick up movements of the digital pen, which in turn is stored in the memory of the little gadget. The unit can store up to 188 pages of data, after which you'll have to erase the memory and start over.
The digital pen looks and feels like a regular ball point pen, except that it has a little button near your thumb, which acts as a left click in mouse mode. The refill can be extracted using the other side of the cap and replaced with the stylus. The pen is powered by two button cells that are provided in the package.
The software includes a basic program that allows you to download the captured files and then either save it in a text format or even export it to a Word document with the help of the second software known as My Notes Lite. Here you can make any grammatical corrections add some text or image before sending it via email or a final document.
Performance Setting it up is very simple; simply install the software package and keep the Digital Scribe for charging via USB. You can either use the stylus or the ink cartridge depending on what you plan to do. I must warn you that the three clips on the unit are quite delicate and will snap off easily if you try to clip it onto anything thicker than a couple of pages of paper. So if you have a notepad then its best you clip it on the side. IOGEAR states the ideal position for a lefty or a righty in their instruction leaflet. The range of the unit can extend up to an A4 size paper, which is good enough, as it was designed to capture notes, and I doubt any one will use anything larger than an A4. To test this out we created a complex drawing of sorts to confuse the unit and also added some text in very bad handwriting. The complex scene was a beautiful sunset on a tropical island, which took a long time to complete. To start off, you just tap the pen in front of the unit to activate pen mode. Then start drawing anywhere on the page and the unit will capture everything. If you want to start on a fresh page, just press the button on the unit once and the number shifts to the next page, you can't go back to the previous page though. Once you're done with your masterpiece, simply plug the device to your PC and open up the Digital Scribe application to import your drawings.
Here you can save it as a text file directly or if you want to convert the text into a proper word document then just click on the 'a' button. This opens up the 'My Script Notes Lite' software where you can choose which portions of the text you want converted into formatted text. As you can see from the image below, most of the words were correctly recognized and converted.
In mouse mode, you can replace the ink cartridge with the stylus, which can also be used to directly draw on the screen. All you need is a large surface, which can either be a pad or even your desk surface. The program supports 12 languages as well, so it can be used by a wide range of consumers.
Pricing The MRP for this device is Rs. 9,500 with a one-year warranty, although you can find it for Rs. 8,500. While this may seem expensive, any reputed OCR software would cost you around 7-8K anyways. However, here you're not only getting an OCR software, but also a gadget that is able to capture all your drawings and notes for a quick and easy backup on your PC or sharing it with your colleagues.
Verdict The Mobile Digital Scribe from IOGEAR is perfect for someone looking for a device to capture their notes, especially at meetings or project work, and easily dump them on the PC. Not just that, you can quickly email your work to your colleagues or even covert your written material into formatted text, thanks to the bundled OCR software. Lastly, the digital pen can also be used to write or draw images directly on the PC and can also double up as a mouse. The asking price of 8.5K (MOP) is not bad when you consider all the features it offers.
Geekbench Scores (Higher values are better) 
XBench Scores (Higher values are better)
