10 facts about the new Galaxy S III

Samsung Electronics unveiled a new top-of-the-range Galaxy smartphone in London, updating the most direct rival to Apple's iPhone with a larger touch screen and more powerful processor. The South Korean technology group said the new Galaxy SIII model would go on sale in some markets in late May and around the world from June. "The Galaxy S is more like a good friend that listens to you and responds quickly," Samsung's Vice President Jean Daniel said. Here are ten facts about the Galaxy S III:

1. A picture is worth a thousand words.

2. The new Galaxy SIII model will have a 4.8 inch AMOLED screen, 8 megapixel camera and will use the latest version of Google's Android software, Ice Cream Sandwich version 4.0.

3. The screen is 1,280 by 720 pixels, it has HSPA+ connectivity, the removable battery is 2,100mAh, and it's packed with a quad-core Exynos processor. The phone will come in blue or white colours and in three memory sizes (16GB, 32GB and 64GB), with the ability to add memory via a microSD card.

4. The new smartphone features 'S Voice', a voice command option to listen and respond to users' words. The option can be used to go off users' phone alarm, turn volume up, send text messages, organize schedules, and automatically launch the camera and capture a photo.

5.The 'Smart stay' is an eye sensor system that prevents the phone from dimming. It recognizes how users are using their phone by having the front camera identify your eyes.

6.The 'S Beam' lets the user tap phones with another Galaxy S III owner to easily transfer files or documents.

7.Pop up play' lets the user watch a video while surfing the Web or answering email. The video simply becomes a small box that overlays on any other apps that are running, like picture-in-picture on a TV.

8.In addition, the Galaxy S3 can understand users' motions. If users are messaging someone but decide to call them instead, users can simply lift their phone to their ear and 'Direct call' option will dial their number.

9.The new Galaxy will be powered by Samsung's quad-core microprocessor, which the company hopes will also be used in handsets made by HTC and Motorola, as well as Apple, its biggest customer for components.

10.The Exynos 4 Quad, based on British chip designer ARM Holdings Cortex A9 technology, enables more tasks in a shorter period of time - for example streaming video can run on one core while the other cores update applications, connect to the web and scan virus-check, simultaneously.

Apple's Next Event to Be Held on October 4, Starring Its New CEO

That’s the day Apple is currently expected to hold its next big media event, according to sources close to the situation, where the tech giant will unveil the next iteration of its popular iPhone.

While there have been a lot of conflicting reports about the exact timing of the event, including some that pegged it as taking place this month, AllThingsD had previously posted that the rollout of the iPhone 5 would be in October.

While Apple could certainly change its plans anytime, sources said that the October 4 date has been selected by the company to showcase the iPhone 5. Sources added that the plan is now to make the new device available for purchase within a few weeks after the announcement.

And while the iPhone 5 is a much anticipated handset, the event itself has a lot more importance for Apple than many previous ones.

That’s because it will be newly installed CEO Tim Cook’s first big product introduction and the place where the public will get a first lengthy impression of him that may well set the tone for Cook’s new role.

And that’s why, said sources, although he’s never quarterbacked an Apple product announcement before, Cook is certain to preside over the iPhone 5 rollout.

He has to, of course. To pass the presentation on to anyone else — even one of Apple’s key executives such as Phil Schiller, who has handled the Macworld and Worldwide Developers Conference keynotes in 2009 — would undercut Cook’s new role and reinforce public perception that its legendary outgoing CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs is Apple and that it will be a different company without him.

So, like his predecessor and as Jobs’s right-hand man and chosen successor, Cook is expected to be the main presenter at all big Apple media events going forward.

That said, sources said, he’s sure to have help from Apple lieutenants, such as marketing head Schiller, iOS chief Scott Forstall and Eddy Cue, recently named SVP of Internet Software and Services.

Still, the pressure will be on Cook to turn in a good performance at the event, especially after what has so far been a very smooth leadership transition at Apple.

What will be interesting to see, of course, is if Jobs himself will also make an appearance, which is something that is likely to be determined by his health in a decision that will made very close to the event.

And while putting Jobs onstage with Cook could diminish the new leader’s first public effort, what better “one more thing” than Jobs himself making a cameo appearance?

Online gamers crack AIDS enzyme puzzle

Online gamers have achieved a feat beyond the realm of Second Life or Dungeons and Dragons: they have deciphered the structure of an enzyme of an AIDS-like virus that had thwarted scientists for a decade.

Photo by AFP

The exploit is published on Sunday in the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, where -- exceptionally in scientific publishing -- both gamers and researchers are honoured as co-authors.

Their target was a monomeric protease enzyme, a cutting agent in the complex molecular tailoring of retroviruses, a family that includes HIV.

Figuring out the structure of proteins is vital for understanding the causes of many diseases and developing drugs to block them.

But a microscope gives only a flat image of what to the outsider looks like a plate of one-dimensional scrunched-up spaghetti. Pharmacologists, though, need a 3-D picture that "unfolds" the molecule and rotates it in order to reveal potential targets for drugs.

This is where Foldit comes in.

Developed in 2008 by the University of Washington, it is a fun-for-purpose video game in which gamers, divided into competing groups, compete to unfold chains of amino acids -- the building blocks of proteins -- using a set of online tools.

To the astonishment of the scientists, the gamers produced an accurate model of the enzyme in just three weeks.

Cracking the enzyme "provides new insights for the design of antiretroviral drugs," says the study, referring to the lifeline medication against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

It is believed to be the first time that gamers have resolved a long-standing scientific problem.

"We wanted to see if human intuition could succeed where automated methods had failed," Firas Khatib of the university's biochemistry lab said in a press release. "The ingenuity of game players is a formidable force that, if properly directed, can be used to solve a wide range of scientific problems."

One of Foldit's creators, Seth Cooper, explained why gamers had succeeded where computers had failed.

"People have spatial reasoning skills, something computers are not yet good at," he said.

"Games provide a framework for bringing together the strengths of computers and humans. The results in this week's paper show that gaming, science and computation can be combined to make advances that were not possible before."

Audi celebrates 40 years of ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’

Now synonymous phrase reaches its 40th anniversary in 2011 and is just as pertinent as ever.

• ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ (Advancement through Technology) tagline, which is synonymous with Audi values, was first used by the brand in Germany in 1971
• Advertising agency BBH brought the slogan to the brand’s UK advertising in 1983

‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ is 40 years young in 2011, and the sentiment in the famous motto – which translates as ‘advancement through technology’ – encapsulates the Audi philosophy just as perfectly now as it did way back in 1971.

In that year the famous slogan made its debut in a German publicity campaign. It was first used by Audi in its UK advertising in 1983, and at a time when the origins of the nascent brand weren’t widely known here, London-based advertising agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) is credited with realizing its potential as a means of emphasizing German quality and engineering integrity.

Today, it is not only indelibly linked to the brand, but also one of very few ‘foreign’ phrases to have become firmly ingrained in British popular culture. It can be heard in everything from tracks by Blur and U2 to films such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

The classic BBH television ad which gave birth to this star of screen and sound bite made the link between the now iconic Audi quattro and the permanent all-wheel-drive system that made it more agile on the road than a glider in the air.

But the phrase is rooted in the pioneering innovations and technical leadership the brand was already synonymous with long before this point.

The newly-formed Audi NSU range was so impressively diverse – it included rear-engined, air-cooled NSU 2- and 4-cylinder cars, front-wheel-drive Audi models with 4-cylinder water-cooled engines, the lightweight Audi 100 and the aerodynamically wedge-shaped and rotary-engined Ro 80 – that a unifying brand claim was needed to epitomise what all models had in common. ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ united the new range and summed up the brand‘s philosophy in one.

The Audi range of today, and tomorrow, is just as deserving of the phrase. It spans virtually every category from city-friendly sub-compact hatchback, via leading edge saloons and Avants, steamlined Sportbacks and agile SUVs through to the world renowned R8 super car. All 32 models in the current line-up are characterised by advanced technology, be it in the construction process as in the lightweight aluminium and steel hybrid-bodied TT or all-aluminium R8, in remarkable engines such as the award-winning 2.5-litre five-cylinder TFSI or in innovative features such as all-LED lighting, head-up displays, MMI with Google mapping functionality and in-car WLAN internet connectivity.

Social Wars! Google Unveils Facebook Competitor Google+

Has Google just launched its most ambitious project yet?

After years of rumors and hints, Google Tuesday launched a trial of its Facebook competitor, a social network called The Google+ Project.

And the company clearly isn't shy about it.

In a blog post announcing the launch of The Google+ Project, Vic Gundotra, senior vice president of Engineering for the company, argued that the subtlety of real world interactions are lost online due to the rigidity of today's tools. Google, he said, could succeed where other services have failed.

"Online sharing is awkward. Even broken. And we aim to fix it," Gundotra said. The service launched in a limited beta Tuesday afternoon. And getting it live was a massive, lengthy struggle, explained Wired's Steven Levy.

"Developed under the codename Emerald Sea, it is a result of a lengthy and urgent effort involving almost all of the company’s products," Levy wrote. "Hundreds of engineers were involved in the effort. It has been a key focus for new CEO Larry Page."

To set Google+ apart from Facebook, which some recent reports have pegged at 750 million users, Google is claiming to have a better approach to privacy, taking on the hot-button issue that has burned both companies before.

"For us, privacy isn't buried six panels deep," Google vice president of product management Bradley Horowitz told Reuters.

Google's social network revolves around Circles -- long rumored to be the project's name -- which helps you segment the people you know into, well, circles: friends, family, coworkers and so on. Create as many as you want, and then drag a picture of a person into one of them to add them.

"Not all relationships are created equal," Gundotra said, adding a not-so-subtle dig at Facebook: "Today’s online services turn friendship into fast food -- wrapping everyone in “friend” paper -- and sharing really suffers."

The Google+ service consists of several linked components: a continuous news feed similar to Facebook's called “the Stream” and a second, related component called “Sparks” that reveals posts related to one’s specified interests.

Other elements of the new service include Hangouts, a video chat; Huddle, for group chats; and Sparks, a personalized recommendation service. Once logged into the Google network, nearly all Google sites will feature a special toolbar that runs across the top of the page, reminding you that you're logged into Google+.

But will it be enough to get those hundreds of millions to switch? Gundotra told Reuters that wasn't necessarily the goal.

"People today use multiple tools. I think what we're offering here offers some very distinct advantages around some basic needs," he said.

MAKE WINDOWS 7 GENUINE WITH ONE CLICK!

I can show you a way to make your windows 7 genuine with one click.

All you have to do is download REMOVEWAT tool.

This is a little tool to remove WAT (Windows Activation Technologies) completely from the OS, whilst still retaining genuine status and receiving all updates (optional aswell). You can also pass the genuine check in things like Windows Defender. There will be no windows activation section in control panel (thanks to nononsence)

no slmgr, no nags, no prompts, nothing. WAT gone.

Trust me! It worked like a charm for me. ^_^

Steps to follow

1. download the tool from here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?zjennitjzf5

2. save it when prompted

3. Run as administrator

4. click on 'Remove WAT'

5. Guess what? You are done.

HAPPY GENUINE WINDOWS 7!!

DOWNLOAD YOUTUBE AND FLASH VIDEOS EASY!

Here. Now you can download your favourite flash videos or youtube videos without nay effort.

If you are using Firefox as your browser then here you got it. All you have to do is go to this website and add the 'video downloadhelper' plugin to your Firefox.

Steps to follow:

1. Go to this site 

http://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/video-downloadhelper/

2. Click on the addon button

3. Install it when it prompts you to.

4. Restart the browser when asked.

5. While you watch the video just click on this plugin in the Browser menu to download.

You can Download in any format you like.

If you are not using Firefox or dont like firefox, there's another method too.

You have to download a software called "Flash Video and game recorder"

What to do?

1. Download the software from here

http://www.brothersoft.com/flash-video--game-recorder-288873.html

2.Install it on your system

3. Run it before you open the video you wanna record

4. It automatically records while you watch it.

P.S. It also records flash video games too.

HAPPY DOWNLOADING!!!

SWIPE AS YOU GO WITH GOOGLE'S MOBILE WALLET

                        

        Ever wish you can swipe as you go, literally, when it comes to paying?

       Google unveiled such a system Thursday, and this new payment method allows mobile phones to be swiped like a credit card, allowing goods to be paid for on the spot. This means your phone becomes your wallet.

      Google has partnered with Citibank and MasterCard Inc, the world's second largest credit and debit card network, for the project. Over 120,000 shops participate in this service, including giants like Macy's, Walgreens, Subway, Noah's Bagels, American Eagle, Bloomingdale's, Peet's Coffee, Toys 'R' Us and others.

     Sprint is also a partner at the launch, since it sells Google's Nexus S phone, one of the only phones in the U.S. capable of using the new Google Wallet. The Nexus S supports NFC, an open standard backed by many companies including Microsoft, Visa, Sony, Nokia and AT&T. However, Android now supports NFC technology and additional phones are expected to become available soon.

     "We're extending an open invitation to merchants and ecosystem partners like payment networks, carriers and banks to join us in creating tomorrow's best shopping experience," said Stephanie Tilenius, vice president of commerce for Google.

iPhone 4 launched in India

Kolkata, May 27 (PTI) Eleven months after Apple''s next-generation smartphone hit stores worldwide, the iPhone 4 was launched Friday in India, the world''s second biggest market for mobile phones. Declaring the roll-out of one of the most expected smartphones in the world by Bharti airtel here and in 34 other cities in India, Airtel CEO (West Bengal and Orissa) P D Sharma told PTI the iPhone 4 will create a separate space from the clutter of smartphones in the market, many of them having copied Apple features.

The Future Browsers: No URL Bar

Netbook and tablet users looking for more screen space to display content from their favorite websites are getting some help from a pair of popular Internet browsers.

Google and Mozilla are testing versions of the Chrome and Firefox browsers that hide the bar used to show the URL of websites you visit. The features are experimental and it's unclear if they will become part of the mainstream. Web surfers who want to always know where they are may have security concerns. 

Being able to type the address of a website is one of the most essential features we expect from web browsers today. Yet it is the URL bar and its purpose that is now being reconsidered by both Google as well as Mozilla for Chrome and Firefox. The next major revision of web browsers will include options to hide the URL bar. Further down the road, it is inevitable that the URL bar will become what it is supposed to be: A tool – not more and not less.

Chrome has always been a minimalistic web browser that may not have hit the general taste back in 2008 when it was first released. By mid of 2010, however, Google had taken a closer look at the Chrome UI and improved the menu bar beginning with Chrome 6. Google trimmed unnecessary features and merged buttons to save space and give web content more room. Both Mozilla and Microsoft followed an apparent trend and flaunts reduced interfaces designed for a new Internet era that gives web content the priority. In this rivalry, every pixel counts, and we may be seeing the most dramatic change to web browsers since their invention in 1993.

NCSA Mosaic from 1993, running under Windows 3.1

Mosaic, the web browser that is generally credited with bringing web content to the masses, was released more than 18 years ago by scientists at NCSA. The original Mosaic was a revolutionary application that gave Internet content a mainstream GUI and was ergonomically designed, as far as the Windows environment of the early 1990s allowed. Back then and until recently, the browser’s main purpose was navigation. In fact, the original Mosaic browser had two URL bars – sort of. The first field was reserved to display the document title. The second was the URL bar as we know it and it is one of just a handful other elements of the original UI that survived until today.

A Trend For 2011

Following the UI cleanup of Chrome in 2010, we first reported about Google’s intentions to kill the URL bar in February of this year. The first version of the idea is now implemented in Canary versions of Chrome 13. When enabled via a flag feature, the user can hide the URL bar via an option the tab context menu. A click on a tab reveals a URL bar that is attached to that tab and will disappear again when the mouse pointer moves away or the user does not begin typing. Google says that the elimination of the toolbar gives web designers 30 more pixels to work with – which is substantial on smaller screens such as tablets or netbooks (which is why we wonder, once more, why Google does not offer Chrome for Android and tablets. There are countless optimizations for a touch UI in Chrome, yet the browser is not offered for touch devices.)

Chrome Compact Navigation

The hidden URL bar in Chrome may not be the best design possible. Occasionally you do want to know the URL where you are and it can be quite annoying, if you have to move the cursor simply to get the URL. There are also security risk factors such as an increased danger of phishing attacks, as the user will not see the URL of a document by default and could be tricked into believing that a certain page is authentic much more easily.

Mozilla Labs followed up with an experimental add-on for Firefox 4 and Firefox 5 that also aims to killing the permanent URL bar. Less Chrome HD 1 has the same effect as the hidden URL bar in Chrome, but it is displayed as soon as the cursor is moved to the top of the screen. It is a simpler solution than Google’s version: The Chrome team has redesigned the user interface with some navigation features left in the tab bar, while Mozilla removes everything with the exception of tabs. Less Chrome HD 1 also comes with a rather painful side effect that the Firefox menu cannot be opened when the browser is used in maximized view. Chrome’s URL-less interface also has problems as it lacks a search field that should be part of the tab bar. Both approaches have their advantages and both are far from perfect.

Firefox without URL bar

Still, having played with the reduced Chrome interface, we are now convinced that this is the path browsers will take. Removing the URL bar may sound outrageous, but it is a decision that makes sense, in the end. We are clearly moving to a time where navigating the web isn’t the problem anymore. Visualizing content, especially new types of content such as specialized apps in as much space as possible is becoming more and more an issue as we are working with multiple web-enabled devices with different screen sizes. Entering the address of a web site is merely one task of many – and once you are at your destination, there is no need to permanently display the address (with the exception of security concerns, which will need to be addressed.) The additional space gained can benefit web applications that now look like they can be run in full-screen mode by default.

From a user perspective this approach makes a lot of sense. Web site owners may see this differently as their URL is suddenly devalued. The URL bar has been a marketing tool which turned web addressed into brand names. When the URL bar is gone, what does it matter if your site has a .com, .tv or .biz address, as long as a search engine will find it and give you a high ranking? When the URL bar is removed, there will be another challenge for Internet marketing managers. Keep in mind, this is a matter of when, not if.

There is no doubt, removing the URL bar will be most substantial change to web browsers since the release of Mosaic, the first publicly available browser.

Apple updates antivirus software, adds daily definition check

Update: I’ve captured a video that shows the File Quarantine feature successfully blocking an attempt to automatically install the Mac Guard malware. See below.

After a month-long Mac Defender/Mac Guard malware attack, Apple has finally released the security update it promised last week. The update takes Apple one step closer to turning an obscure security feature into something very close to full-fledged antivirus software.

Security Update 2011-003 includes changes to the File Quarantine feature, which beginning with Snow Leopard also includes antimalware checkssoftware. This update includes definitions for Mac Defender and its known variants, as well as an automated removal tool. It works only with the most recent version of Snow Leopard, 10.6.7. Earlier versions of OS X are apparently not included.

The two videos below show how Mac Guard (the current release of this malware) behaves before and after this security update.

Here’s a start-to-finish, unedited “before” video that shows how the Mac Guard fake AV program goes from a seemingly innocent Google search result to a full install in just three clicks, with no password required. This demo uses the latest version of OS X 10.6 and the default browser, Safari, with its default settings.

And here’s the “after” video. Notice how the File Quarantine feature identifies the downloaded file as malware and prompts the user to move it to the trash.

NEW Microsoft's Windows 8 demo

Microsoft’s demo of Windows 8 showed the company’s path to tablets, a unique user interface and a lot of promise. But Microsoft’s biggest risk with Windows 8 revolves around the familiar themes that always haunt the company: Reverse compatibility and the need to make Windows the Swiss Army knife of computing.

At AllThingsD’s D9 conference Windows chief Steven Sinofsky highlighted Windows’ future, which revolves around UI found on Windows Phone 7. Microsoft’s Live Tiles are sweet and a welcome addition to both tablets and PCs.

Can Microsoft manage all the complexity under the hood though?