TECHFORBES

easyComment: comments with one click using firefox plugin

admin — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 10:43:03 +0000

easyComment is an extension for Firefox that I use for several days and it is very simple use . The idea is simply to locate the site’s feedback form Or comment form and fill out the form with one click, that is what is responsible for the extension.

Once installed, the options in easyComment fill the data we use to comment, as shown below:

Then every time to comment on a blogpost, click on easyComment text on the status bar and you will find that form automatically filled. That’s it.

For now easyComment extension supports sites based on Wordpress, Movable Type, DotClear. To install this plugin, You need to login mozilla addons to install it.

Game Review: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 - Xbox

admin — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 03:59:07 +0000

Golf fans have been waiting for this to the best-known game with apprehension after the largely disappointing reception given to its predecessor. The 2008 version failed to build on the success of the 2007 original, but PGA Tour 09 gets the series back to par.
Among the new features is a training mode, in which Tiger’s coach highlights aspects of the player’s game that could be improved based on shots in previous games and challenges.
In truth, these are little more than extended practice sessions of specific shots but they do provide a skills boost that applies to the next game.Unlike previous games in the Tiger Woods franchise, the skills gained are not static - your rating in areas such as shot power and accuracy improve as you complete training challenges, compete on the tour and purchase improved kit at the pro store with your winnings. But play badly in the next game - for instance taking more puffs to finish than on previous courses - and the rating goes down. This means concentrating on game basics and not just relying on previous achievements.
Another useful new tool is the club tuner, which analyses your natural swing using the analogue stick and suggests tweaks to aspects such as the degree of elevation on the face of specific clubs and a natural bias towards drawing or fading shots. You can then practice shots using the new settings, which we found to be of greater value than the actual training challenges.
The appeal of this title lies in its gameplay and this is an area where EA rules supreme. The analogue swing stick takes some practice but gives a fine degree of control over shot power. The application of draw and fade has been transferred to the bumper buttons, which if anything makes this subtle control a little too easy.
The biggest change has been made to the putting preview, which is more realistic than previous versions, taking account of the fact that the ball will deviate from the predicted line if less than 100 per
cent power is applied.
The preview line itself is easier to read, though, and because of this can be used only once when weighing up a puff. As you get only one shot at using the tool, this encourages you to read the contours and elevation of the The online side of the game has been speeded up by simultaneous drives so you don’t have to wait for each player connected to your game to take shots in sequence. Instead, different coloured lines show the trajectory of each ball as it is played.

There are some new courses, with a wider range of terrains to freshen up the look and an even more detailed game face application so you can style your golfer’s appearance to meet tour standards. On the commentary side, Scotland’s Sam Torrance has been added to the otherwise transatlantic team. There’s not as much humour as in PGA Tour 08- they could do worse than getting Peter Alliss in for the next update.

Lenovo Ideapad Y510 review

admin — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 03:41:37 +0000

While the IBM Lenovo Thinkpad series is targeted at business executives, the latest series, the Ideapad is targeted towards multimedia enthusiasts. This one too like the Thinkpad features a solid construction body. The outer shell of the laptop has been provided a rough matte finish that lends uniqueness to the notebook.
Running Wmdows Vista Home Basic, the Y510 is powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo processor clocking 1.66Ghz, 1GB RAM and 160GB hard disk drive. The design of the notebook is pretty conventional with an orange coloured volume button and another special button - the shuttle key. Pressing the same reveals hidden touch panel controls that lets you control playback and also change the equaliser settings. Being a multimedia notebook, the Y510 features Dolby Surround Sound speakers.
The glossy 15.4-in widescreen display is good. The display is well integrated to the lid and makes it look bigger than actually it is. A gripe that we have with the Y510 is that is does not have a dedicated graphics display and uses an integrated one. The 1280×800 pixels resolution was crisp, and colours were vivid. Watching DVDs on the Y5 10 was pleasant, thanks to the screen and the sound. Integrated with Dolby Home Theater audio system, the music sounded great with thumps. The subwoofer is present on the bottom of the notebook, next to the battery.
Apart from these multimedia features, the Y510 also features an integrated 1.3-megapixel camera. This one acts as a security control as it scans the face and then only allows the access. The Veriface face recognition software powers the face recognition software. The Y510 also has a 6-in-i card reader, an ExpressCard slot, an 8X DVD burner, three USB ports, and VGA, headphone, microphone, FireWire, Ethernet, and modem port. Besides this, the Y510 features Wireless.
The Y510 also features a one button recovery mode. For this the user needs to press the button labelled as “Novo” just above the power button. As mentioned earlier, the Y510 comes pre-installed with Windows Vista Home Basic, Norton Antivirus (90-day) and OpenOffice suite.

The Y510 is available for Rs. 49,490 and comes with one year warranty.

HCL Leaptop B24

admin — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 03:59:05 +0000

HCL B24 is based on a 1.9GHz Core 2 Duo processor, which is better than some of the rivals in this test. Even so, the Leaptops performance is strong enough to cope with office software, digital photography and light video editing. Where the Leaptop B24 really scores, though, is on its wide feature set. At just Rs.39,990, the Leaptop is one of the cheapest products reviewed here, yet it includes a l4in widescreen display like that of the LG Xnote 403. We would have liked the screen to be a bit brighter, but it’s adequate for watching DVDs or working with big spreadsheets or presentations.There’s also a little webcam built into the display. There are four USB ports located on the sides of the leaptop. The back part of the notebook features a VGA connector for using with an external monitor. This one also lacks a S-Video port and the Firewire port. There is a presence of audio connectors and memory card reader. There is also a PCMCIA Express card slot.
On the wireless connectivity; the Leaptop B24 features Bluetooth and Wireless Lan. The storage is a mammoth 250GB hard disk and a DVD writer. The Leaptop scores on the performance due to the 3GB RAM that is comes installed with.
The size of the screen pushes the weight close to our 2.5kg limit, but the Leaptop is still light enough to carry around without too much trouble.

Battery life is also respectable. Even so, the Leaptop B24 sheer value for money is hard to beat. There are more powerful laptops available, However there are some downsides of this laptop like the OS installed is FreeDos. Hence you need to spend some money for buying a Vista OS. With good looks and build quality, the Leaptop B24 is suitable for people who want a reasonable priced laptop or for people who are buying a laptop for the first time.

most useful tools and websites for mobile broadband users

admin — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 03:39:24 +0000

1.Opera Mini
Most mobile phones come with a web browser of some kind, but you may want to ditch it and download this excellent free alternative instead.
2.Google
Whether you are using a notebook PC or mobile phone, Google is still the best way to find your way around the web.And with Google Maps in your pocket, you’ll never get lost again.3.Joost
Tune in to a week’s worth of TV via the web.
4.eBay
If you’re tempted by a bargain when out shopping,first check whether it’s available for less online.
5 Timesofindia
If you didn’t have time to go through the latest Time of India edition, simply view stories from around the world online, with handy links to sports and weather, too.
6 Wordpress
Now blog endlessly even on the move.The first Open Source app that lets you write posts, upload photos, and also edit your WordPress blog from your iPhone or iPod Touch.
7 Backpackit
A Backpack Page can have any combination of todos,notes,images,and files. So,you can sign up and organize your business and share information with yourteam on your mobile.
8 Last.fm
The world’s largest social music platform. Show off your taste, see what your friends are listening to, hear new music,get personal radio, recommendations and much more.
9 Voeveo
You can boost your mobiles’ memory, learn to play guitar, learn another language, manage your finances, care for the environment,and turn your mobile phone into a fancy clock. If you develop mobile applications and are looking for a distribution outlet,Voeveo allows you to upload, manage and deliver your applications to mobiles anywhere in the world, while you retain ownership of all your work..

10 Portableapps Suite Standard 1.1 Download this mini collection of free portable tools and take your own web browser, email program, calendar, media player and office suite with you on a USB memory key wherever you go. Perfect for internet cafes.

Port your iPhone on this stand for a TV like viewing

admin — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 03:27:47 +0000

The Xtand is actually an iPhone stand.This iPhone accessory is named as Xtand, probably because of the’X’shaped holder that the iPhone rests on. Thankfully,the manufacturers did not name it iStand. On the first place you would be thinking, why would somebody use a stand to keep an iPhone.Well, it’s pretty simple, if you are a kind of person who has invested in the iPhone for watching movies on its splendid large screen than this gadget is a great buy.

Fits both, first and the second generation of iPhones, the Xtand offers precise grip to the iPhone and will surely not let it fall.At first we were a little skeptical to push in the iPhone on the Xtand, fearing that it would spoil the back part of the phone with marks. But once on the stand,the iPhone held firmly. There were absolutely no marks on the iPhone after removing it from the stand.The Xstand is made for the purpose of making of your iPhone more viewer friendly and it does so without any complaints. Xstand definitely provides a good viewing angle to the iPhone, much better than holding the iPhone in your hand or keeping it flat on the desk.
We see this device much useful to people who travel on airplanes. The only gripe that we have with this accessory is that it is too large to be carried in pockets. If the makers come up with a folding solution of the same, it would gain more popularity.

Buy at www.xtand.net

Norton Internet Security 2009

admin — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 06:14:00 +0000

Norton Internet Security (NIS) is one of the best- known names in anti-virus and security software.
However,we’ve often heard complaints from users who have been annoyed by the fact that it was prone to slowing down the computer when running its scans,and bythe messages that pop up offering warnings or advice.
So for the new 2009 edition, Norton’s maker Symantec has primarily concentrated on performance, ratherthan simply adding new features.We wouldn’t go so far as to say that NIS 2009 is’zero impact Symantec claims, but we did find it a lot less intrusive than previous versions of the program.
The improvements start from the installation,which took us just one minute to perform on our test notebook (it actually took us longer to complete the online registration).When it’s running, NIS 2009 only uses 7MB of memory, so it doesn’t take up a lot of resources that might be needed by other programs.
And if you’re playing games or watching video and don’t wantto be interrupted for a while you can right-click on the Norton icon in the Taskbar and activate the new silent mode.This temporarily stops messages from appearing on screen and tells the program notto download any new updates.
In addition to the regularfour hourly checks for information about new viruses,there are new so-called ‘pulse’updates that can perform a quick check everyfew minutes just to make sure there have been no recent updates that need to be installed.
If you’re worried that your PC might have been infected,NIS 2009 includes a new module that performs a very quick scan just to check that everything is OK,which on our PC took only 43 seconds. The quick-scan option uses a new feature called Insight that checks the files on the computer against an online database of known and trusted files. Files that area normal part of Windows are included on this list,so NIS skips past these to save time and only check files that it doesn’t recognise.
There’s still the option of running a full scan for maximum security,and such scans can also be set to automatically run when you’re not using the computer. So while Norton Internet Security 2009 doesn’t provide many new features,its focus on improving performance and minimising distractions is very welcome.
Our main complaint is that there’s no printed manual,and we sometimes struggled to find our way through the online Help files to locate specific features. However,with 24-hour online chat and telephone support now available,there is the comfort of knowing that there’s someone ready to help when you need it.

Contact Symantec India
Info www.symentecstore.com
Retail Price Rs.2,700 (Approx)
Buy www.symantec.com

System Mechanic 8 - Keep your computer running smooth

admin — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 06:07:43 +0000

The idea behind System Mechanic is that it can give your computer a thorough check-up as well as tweak it to keep it running smooth. Installation was painless,and the program automatically runs a basic check as soon as it starts.This seeks out unnecessary files, things that are taking up hard disk space, basic Registry errors and lack of memory. It offered to automatically fix all of them,as well as backing up the Registry, but usefully it also gives the option of going in and seeing exactly what the problems are. That’s good if you’re not sure you want to delete certain things or if you want to see exactly what it proposes to do to the Registry.
We ran a thorough scan which took around an hour, but took in a surface scan of the hard disk (which checks for potentially dangerous physical errors) as well as a more thorough search of the Registry. All the tools can be accessed separately as well, including others such as one that wipes unwanted files.
One thing we aren’t convinced about is the subscription — unlike most utility programs, System Mechanic requires you to subscribe, for it to work.The initial price includes 12 months, as well as automatic updates and upgrades during that time, but if you don’t renew it, it will stop working.That’s fine for anti-virus software, which needs to keep itself up-to-date, but this kind of program should still be useable without updates after a year.
The Pro version of System Mechanic, which isa little more expensive, adds anti-virus capabilities as well as a firewall and the Search and Recover product, which can recover accidentally deleted files.
As it stands, though, the standard System Mechanic 8 product is an impressively comprehensive set of tools that covers almost all of the bases for most users. It’s true that most users won’t use most of the tools available, but if you need them, System Mechanic is an excellent collection.

Contact Iolo Systems
Info www.iolo.com
RetaU Price Rs.2,700 (Approx)

An upgrade to the N95,the N96 is better in many areas

admin — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 05:55:15 +0000

Lastyear,the Nokia N95 had left a pretty good impression on us. Being a revolutionary Smartphone, the N95 also had some flaws. Enterthe Nokia N96.This time, Nokia has ironed out the flaws that the N95 has. But is the new N96 worth the money?
Well to start with,Nokia has improved the looks and made the N96 slimmer by 3mm (the N95 is 21 mm). Unlike the N95 with its sharp edges, the new device features smooth curves from all sides.The slider mechanism is also much betterthan the N95 and does not feel tacky any more.The N96 has a two-way slider that reveals the music playback controls when the screen is slid down and the regularT9 numeric keypad when slid up.
The screen size of the phone is 2.8in with a 16 million colour display.The display qualityof the phone is good and watching videos on the same is pretty decent. Nokia has included a kickstand that is located around the lens of the camera.The kickstand lets you place the phone at an angle that lets you watch videos as if you are watching it on a television set. Feature-wise,the N96 is almostthe
same as the N95 - the HSDPA handset features Wi-Fi,assisted GPS (A-GPS),5- megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens, and Bluetooth with A2DP support.The N96 excels in terms of its mammoth storage space.The N96features 16GB of internal storage and can be expanded with a microSD card.The storage is at par with the much hyped Apple’s iPhone (reviewed in this issue).
The Indian version of the phone comes pre-loaded with some music tracks and a full length movie —“Om Shanti Om. device also features a 3.5mm audio jack that can be used with your favourite earphones.
The N96 is also an N-gage gaming device.This means you can enjoy all the N-gage games, provided you buy them online from an N-gage store.
Since the device is based on the Symbian OS,the use and feel does not feel different from other Symbian devices.A gripe that we have about this phone is with the battery.A phone that is loaded with such features should sport a large capacity battery. However,the N96 requires a charge once in a couple of days, depending on the usage. With A-GPS present in the phone, it’s great to use it when you are driving to a new location.
Being a multimedia phone,the picture qualityfrom the 5-megapixel Carl Zeiss lens is great. It features a dual-LED flash with Autofocus. However,we were surprised not to see a Xenon flash on the N96 that is available on the N82 and other N-series phones.This gripe is balanced by including a video recording flash which the N82 lacks.
If you are looking for a new multimedia phone loaded with features,you might be tempted to go for this phone.But we would suggest the iPhone over this. As far as N95 owners or other N-series device users go,the price of the phone is sky rocketing. Priced at Rs.36,000 we would definitely not recommend it. Simply because the pricing does not complement the upgrade features over the N95.

SPECS
OS:Symbian OS 9.3
EDGE/3G:Yes/Yes
WLAN:Yes
Bluetooth:Yes
USB:Yes
Screen:2.8in/240×320 pixels
Internal memory: 16GB
Memory expansion slot: Yes
Camera: 5-megapixel
Stand-by time: Upto 220 hrs
Talk time: Upto 3 hrs 40 mm
Retail Price Rs.36,000

iPod Touch - Multimedia player that can also play games

admin — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 05:49:34 +0000

Weighing just 115gms,with a sleek, contoured chassis,and a neat interface, the next generation iPod Touch, is surely the most stylish gadget you can possess after an iPhone.Whether you are a gamer or are into social networking, news, sports, or business — the new iPod Touch has something for everyone!
Apart from music videos, and photos, you can access the iTunes music store wirelessly, browse the web with Safari browser, watch Youlube videos, schedule your Calendar, and many more things.The most fun part of the new iPod Touch are the applications available on the iTunes store.The Touch lets you to check your mails, provided you are connected to a wireless network.The large 3.5in multi-touch display lets you access all of the above applications with your fingertips.You can glide through albums with Cover Flow,type with the touchscreen keyboard,flick through photos and enlarge them with a pinch,zoom-in and zoom- out on a section of a web page, and control game elements precisely. Touch lets you cascade nine home screens depending on the number of applications you add on to it. Holding on to any icon on the home screen for a few seconds makes them dance all about,and that’s when you can drag and relocate them wherever you want.
Sporting the same revolutionary interface as the iPhone,it now includes Genius playlists support. Genius finds the songs in your library that go well together and makes a Genius Playlist for you.You can listen to the playlist, save it for later,or even refresh it and give it another go,You might not be aware of the innumerable tracks that your iPod Touch has, but you can count on Genius to figure it out. Another major change that Apple has made to this player is the inclusion of speakers.Although the music does not sound as great as with your earphones, the speakers nevertheless come in handy while playing games.
The Touch responds to motion using a built-in accelerometer. Touch detects when you rotate it from portrait to landscape and then automatically changes the contents of the display. So you immediately see the entire width of a web page, or photo in its proper aspect ratio or control a game.The accelerometer makes for a perfect portable gaming console, specially for racing games, where your entire iPod acts as a steering wheel, like in the Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D, and for tap-and-tilt games such as Super Monkey Ball, in which your character responds to your every movement.
Besides being slimmer than the previous generation Touch, the new one features many good points that make it an all round entertainer. So when we rated the previous generation as Best Buy, this one deserves a bit more, probably a Must Buy.