Friday, February 26, 2010

IT News HeadLines (Techradar) 26/02/2010


Techradar
Review: Canon IXUS 105 IS

The humble Ixus 95 has been propping up Canon's stylish range of lifestyle cameras for around a year, so it's surprising to see it being be put out to pasture.

But technology's march is relentless, so the 95 shuffles off into retirement and the Ixus 105 bursts onto the scene.

The problem is that in the past year there have been few major improvements in the world of compact cameras - sensors have remained the same size, and the Ixus 105 is powered by Canon's DIGIC 4 processor, just like the outgoing Ixus 95.

Still, if you're in the market for a new digital camera Canon is always going to feature prominently on the shortlist.

While it might be a shame to see production of the Ixus 95 (which now costs only around آ£130) coming to an end, there's nothing to suggest Canon can't turn out point-and-shoot cameras that put the rest of the market to shame.

canon ixus 105 is

ixus 205

105 review

But there's stiff competition: the آ£200 mark is a busy place for compact cameras, with competitors such as the Panasonic Lumix FS30 offering terrific performance and even more megapixels. How does the Ixus 105 fare?

canon ixus 105 is

The question of megapixels is increasingly tricky - the Panasonic FS30 offers two more than the 105's 12.1MP.

The Ixus 105 turns out 4,000 x 3,000 images at its best quality setting, which is plenty for most print sizes, as well as giving it a theoretical advantage at higher ISOs, as the less-crowded sensor generates less noise.

canon ixus 105See full-res image

In truth, the two cameras are surprisingly similar towards the top of their ISO ranges.

Like the Ixus 95, the 105 has a maximum ISO of 1600, and although this setting sees some heavy-handed noise reduction softening the image somewhat we were still pleasantly surprised to note that pictures were usable as long as you resist the urge to crop into them.

canon ixus 105See full-res image

Indeed, image quality at ISO 1600 is so good it's a little surprising to see the 105 avoiding tacking on an ISO 3200 option.

Image quality was otherwise everything we expect from Canon.

Zoomed in, the 4x optical zoom lens loses a little sharpness in the corners, but our shots were otherwise well-defined.

The lens is a fast f/2.8 when zoomed out (it's a 28mm-112mm lens in 35mm terms), and even wide open is good and sharp, with our test pics showing the bare minimum of chromatic aberrations.

canon ixus 105See full-res image

Of course, setting the lens to wide open is rather hit and miss - the Ixus 105 doesn't offer much in the way of manual controls.

You can choose your own ISO, white balance and metering modes, but there's no way of setting shutter speed or aperture before you shoot.

And while the 9-point autofocus acquitted itself well during our tests, you can't choose a zone yourself.

canon ixus 105See full-res image

Start-up time in particular is very good, with the 105 going from off to ready to shoot in just 1.22 seconds.

However, there's not a huge amount of headroom available for those who want to shoot moving targets. Shot-to-shot time was lacklustre at a shade over 3.5 seconds, and while Canon claims the Ixus 105 can shoot at 0.9fps in continuous mode, our tests against a stopwatch put it at 0.38fps.

We tested the IXUS 105 at every ISO setting. Here are the results:

ISO 100:

ISO100See full-res image

ISO 200:

iso 200See full-res image

ISO 400:

iso 400See full-res image

ISO 800:

iso 800See full-res image

ISO 1600:

iso 1600See full-res image

Typically, cameras with a "normal" ISO range atone for the missing feature atone by including an HD video mode, so it's disappointing to note that the Ixus 105 remains resolutely SD.

It's video mode is fine as far as it goes - 640 x 480 at 30fps is ok for grabbing a few minutes of footage in a pub - but there's no way of getting anything like cinematic results without a decent widescreen mode.

For that, you'll need to buy the Ixus 100, which is around آ£30 cheaper than the Ixus 105 and has a smaller LCD screen and shorter lens, but offers 720p movie recording.

No optical viewfinder

The influence of the outgoing Ixus 95 IS and current Ixus 100 are obvious on the 105. They're nearly exactly the same size (the 105 is 2mm wider than the 95, according to the specifications), but otherwise the gorgeous design - tapered, curved edges and a luxurious-feeling metal finish - has been wisely left alone.

The 105 doesn't have an optical viewfinder - a good decision given the almost useless size of the Ixus 95's - which frees up a little space.

The 105's display has grown by 0.2in, although the 230,000 pixel resolution remains. Otherwise the controls are neatly laid out and well-sized despite the 105's diminutive dimensions. Our only complaint is that the buttons at the top feel a little plasticky.

canon ixus 105

No argument: the Ixus 105 is a great camera. It's capable of taking excellent pictures, but its price at release - آ£190 - strikes us as a little high. For only around a tenner more you can have the Canon IXUS 120, which is nearly identically-specified but offers 720p video into the bargain.

We liked:

The 105's image performance is everything we've come to expect from Canon's mid-range shooters. Even at ISO 1600 it produces excellent results we'd be happy to print at reasonable sizes.

Noise reduction can be a little aggressive but things could be worse. We're also fans of the tidy design, good looks, and reassuring-feeling build quality.

We disliked:

At the moment the price is too high - the 105 is very close to lots of other great cameras, some from Canon itself, and most offer the 105's missing 720p video mode.

Otherwise, the 105 doesn't have a terribly long list of stand-out features. It's nicely made and takes good pictures, but it's not amazingly fast. The lens isn't amazingly long and there's very little for photographers who want to learn while they take pictures thanks to the omission of a manual feature.

Related Links



Read More ...

Google adds Facebook status to search

Google has started adding the Facebook status of pages, not individuals, to its real-time search, following on from the news last week that it was integrating MySpace statuses into its searches.

Since it's been showing Tweets since the end of 2009, that means Google now carries updates from all the major social networks.

However, Microsoft's Bing still has the edge when it comes to Facebook. Bing can show the public status updates of individuals under the deal Redmond has with Mark Zuckerberg and Co; Microsoft has invested in the social networking site and provides its search.

Google, however, can only show the status update for Facebook Pages. Those, by definition, cover "organisations, businesses, celebrities, and bands to broadcast great information to fans in an official, public manner." There are about three million Facebook Pages, while the site itself has 400 million active users.

No money changed hands

The deals allowing both Bing and Google to shows Facebook data have cost the search engines any money, a fact confirmed by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. The idea is to drive even more people to the site.

Quite appropriately, Google announced the news via…a Tweet.




Read More ...

Hands on: Acer Aspire One 532G review

Originally netbooks came on to the scene as secondary devices to your normal computer. And while, to some extent, this does still seem to be the case – instead of computers limited to basic text documents and web accessibility, the new generation of netbooks are becoming portable powerhouses.

The Acer One 532G is sitting on top of the powerhouse pile. Boasting HD capabilities far beyond most netbooks in its range, it's a diminutive device that is part computer, part media machine.

53g2

Despite having a screen of just 10.1-inches – average for a netbook computer – the 532G has some great graphic acceleration, courtesy of the next-gen Nvidia Ion chip inside.

Using Nvidia's recently launched Optimus technology, the combined powers of these features means that the Ion GPU will only switch on when needed.

This will happen when you flick to a Flash-intensive website – like YouTube. This means lower power consumption and the fact that there's hardly any strain on your CPU.

There's is also a reported 10-hour's batter life – similar to a CULV computer – despite the graphic intensive work the 532G allows you to do.

532G

The 532G is a lovely looking netbook but one that doesn't exactly shout out that it has so much power under the bonnet.

Turn it on, though, and it's plain to see that there's something special going on. We watched a HD YouTube clip being streamed and there was no lag, no noticeable frame drops and no sign that the computer was under any strain whatsoever.

532g

Within the netbook, the Ion GPU has 512MB dedicated memory – something that's put to good use when viewing 720p content on the screen.

While it's a touch annoying that there's no 1080p capabilities here, it's not a major factor considering the size of the screen.

532g

Acer knows this and that is why it has added an HDMI output to the computer. This means you can hook it up to your HD TV and watch 1080p content on a bigger screen.

Being that there's no Blu-ray drive (this is a netbook after all), you'll have to sniff around the web for this content but it's good to have the option.

532g

Chassis-wise, the 532G is super-thin at just 1-inch and only weighs 1kg. The display is LED backlit and you will be able to get the netbook in three colours: blue, silver and red.

53g2

The Acer Aspire One 532G has a UK release date of late April and will be available for around the آ£399 (for a full-fat version) mark.




Read More ...

Microsoft gets legal approval to kill botnet

Microsoft has won approval from a US federal judge to deactivate 277 Internet domains the software giant claims are linked to a botnet.

Microsoft filed a suit against a botnet identified as Waledac, which it claims is spreading spam and malicious code.

As part of the court order, Judge Brinkema required domain name provider VeriSign to temporarily turn off the suspect Internet addresses. The aim behind this is to let Microsoft sever channels to the botnet before those behind it could re-establish network links.

New computer virus

The suit by Microsoft comes a week after Internet security firm NetWitness reported a new type of computer virus.

The Kneber botnet, as it's been named, has already affected almost 75,000 computers in 2,500 organisations around the world. Over half the machines infected with Kneber also were infected with Waledac, a peer-to-peer botnet

Alex Cox, the Principal Analyst at NetWitness, said: "It is 100 per cent certain that many organisations have no idea they are victimized by these types of problems because they're just not tooled to see them on their networks.

"The Kneber botnet is just one category of advanced threat that organizations have been facing the past few years that they are still largely ignorant or blind to today."




Read More ...

Gary Marshall: Exclusive: The UK's Internet Licence leaked

With Twitter users falling victim to yet another simple phishing scam, the Government has decided to take action.

From later this year, all UK internet users will need to apply for an Internet Licence and provide its unique number to their ISP.

No licence, no login details. The good news is it's going to be pretty easy, as this leaked copy of the questions shows.

APPLICATION for a UK INTERNET LICENCE

Please write in CAPITALS and in BLACK INK ONLY

1. You receive an email from Dr House, star of the TV programme House. You may have a horrible disease that is not Lupus, but he can diagnose you: just strip naked and do a sexy dance in front of your webcam. Do you:

a) Strip off and shake it like a Polaroid picture. It's House!
b) Send the email to all of your friends to make them jealous. It's House!
c) Refuse, because everyone knows House would get one of his team to send the email?

2. "Benk if Amerika" emails to ask for your personal details, even though you don't bank with Bank of America or know any Americans. Do you:

a) Click on the link immediately and fill out 27 screens of intrusive personal questions?
b) Moan about outsourcing and staff who don't speak proper English before filling out 27 screens of intrusive personal questions?
c) Wonder why they're emailing you again when you already did this last week?

3. You want to use Facebook. Do you:

a) Type Facebook Login into Google, ignore all the obvious signs that the first site in the search results isn't Facebook, and post your mobile phone number so that technical support can call you back?
b) Type Facebook Login into Google, ignore all the obvious signs that the first site in the search results isn't Facebook, and leave increasingly irate comments such as OMG THIS SITE SUCKS I HATE YOU ALL?
c) Go to Facebook?

4. Somebody on the internet has a different opinion to you. Do you:

a) Embark on a year-long hate campaign, recruiting entire armies of people to say nasty things wherever they go online, complaining to every conceivable organisation and occasionally posting scary things to their home address?
b) Compare them to Hitler, because saying they think iPhones are quite expensive is JUST LIKE THE NAZIS?
c) Get over it?

5. The internet enables you to contact anybody from minor pop stars to figures such as the Archbishop of Canterbury. What is the correct way to begin an email to the Archbishop?

a) Archie! OMG! WTF! LOL!
b) I am Mariam Abacha, widow of the late Nigerian head of state, gen. Sani Abacha…
c) Your Grace,

6. You would like to run a powerful and expensive computer program on your PC. Do you:

a) Find a reputable source of branded software downloads that is both secure and legal, such as Pirate Pete's Porn And Warez Pix. Dot com.
b) Buy it on eBay, saving 99% on the RRP, and wonder when Microsoft started writing its CD labels in marker pen.
c) Buy it from a shop you've actually heard of.

7. The managing director of your company, a remote and rather intimidating man, has emailed you MEGAN_FOX_NAKED_JPG.EXE. Do you:

a) Chuckle "now *that's* what I call a morale booster!" and double-click on the attachment?
b) Grumble at the assumption being made about your sexuality... and then double-click on the attachment?
c) Tut. How old does he think you are? Fourteen?

8. Microsoft will soon introduce a browser choice screen in EU versions of Windows, enabling you to choose a web browser from a range of options. Which one would you choose?

a) Internet Explorer. Millions of people can't be wrong!
b) Chrome. Google really cares about my personal privacy.
c) None of them. I don't wait for the finals - I use the nightly milestone builds.

9. If you forward this email to all of your friends, Bill Gates will give you a hundred dollars. Do you:

a) Forward the email to everyone you've ever heard of, including your bank details so Bill knows where to send the payment?
b) Think it sounds like a scam, but forward it to everyone you've ever heard of, just in case?
c) Email the sender and ask them why the word "gullible" isn't in the dictionary.

10. With so many cyber-criminals out there, it's very important to choose a strong password for security. Which is best?

a) 123456. I hope I don't forget it, like I did with all the other ones!
b) Password. It's a double-bluff: nobody's so stupid they'd use Password as a password, so the villains won't try it.
c) I'm not telling you.

Scoring:
MOSTLY As: FAIL
MOSTLY Bs: FAIL
MOSTLY Cs: WIN




Read More ...

In Depth: Why 3D browser games are taking over

One day, the prophets say, we won't have operating systems. Our iPadBookPhones will load directly into a browser, one so laden with plug-ins that it can play any game there and then - games which look as good as, if not even better than, the big-budget titles of today.

It's a lovely idea, but until the software, hardware, internet providers and games industries pull off some unprecedented almighty group hug, it's not terribly realistic.

What is increasingly realistic, however, is playing games from our browsers. In fact, given all the mud-flinging about piracy and DRM that's affecting mainstream PC gaming at the moment, it's not impossible that games streamed directly to a browser are the bright future of this ever-changing platform.

You already know about Flash, Adobe's omnipresent plug-in. It's the mainstay of 2D browser games, and incredible things have been done with it - as a whistlestop tour of Kongregate or Newgrounds will reveal.

Mars orbital

FLAT: Shockwave game Mars Orbital gives a good sense of what Adobe's plug-in is capable of graphically. Adequacy, basically

As soon as Apple relents and allows it onto the iPhone, it'll take over handheld gaming almost immediately. On the desktop, though, it's not really interested in 3D gaming. It's much more about making flat surfaces move - due to its movie/animation heritage - than about shifting polygons around.

Its kissing cousin Shockwave is much more willing and able to render 3D worlds, but graphically and in terms of interface complexity remains a long way behind 'real' games. So what are the other options? Microsoft Silverlight? Er, no.

Two types of browser game engine

There are two types of what you could call browser engines. There's the stuff that 'just works', so long as you have the plug-in, and then there are the ones that essentially call up the game and the game engine as a separate application.

To take two high-profile examples, there's Quake Live and Battlefield Heroes. The world got ever so excited when these were announced - it's Quake 3 in a browser! It's really not - though it's certainly impressive, it's loosely attached to a browser, not part of a browser.

Fire up that or Battlefield Heroes - both good-looking, if a long way short of full-on DirectX 9/10 shininess, titles - and while they do run within a browser window, it takes a lot of faff to initially get to that point.

In Quake Live's case, that's because the engine is a modified version of Quake III Gold which runs as compiled code on your PC. It's a bespoke game, rather than being data streamed by a broader plug-in that's been security-approved by the various browsers. That's the case for Flash and Shockwave, which thus can run supporting web applications without bothering you to OK and install stuff.

Quake live

BROWSER QUAKE: The remarkably fluid Quake III remake Quake Live brings the id Tech 3 engine to browsers

There are various one-off games/engines that exist in this grey zone, and if they were able to become more generalised plug-ins could quite respectably realise the 'It Just Works' ethos browser games need exhibit.

Take the Torque engine, an ongoing extension of the tech behind the cult 2001 shooter Tribes 2. Probably its highest-profile implementation is in the Penny Arcade Adventures - it's capable of decent prettiness in the right hands. It's also proven great for browser games - in the form of the InstantAction portal and plug-in, run by Torque's owners Garagegames.

A collection of free-to-play games from various genres, InstantAction might not have you uninstalling Modern Warfare 2 just yet, but it is doing relatively good-looking 3D with proper mouse controls in a browser. Fallen Empire: Legions is the best one to poke at, an FPS based around the Tribes Model. Which means jetpacks...

Fallen empires

WORTH PLAYING: Fallen Empire: Legions is the Torque engine's finest hour for now. Garagegames' interest seems to have turned to Xbox Live Arcade et al for the time being, but the continued improvements to the engine should trickle down to browsers

Alas, for now InstantAction games are locked into InstantAction's portal (which offers server browsing and social networking, as well as flogging a ton of micropayment items), so while there's plenty of fun to be had there, it doesn't look set to ever become a universal plugin. So what could make the humble browser into a click-and-play gaming platform? Well, that'll be Unity3D.

Unity3D has been around since 2005, but only really hit its stride in the last couple of years. It's a project that's half engine and half game editor, the latter being achieved in a predominantly visual environment rather than requiring any coding knowledge. Which we'll come back to in a second.

First, let's talk about the games. You may have caught comedy dino hunting/driving game Offroad Velociraptor Safari when it carved its way through Digg et al a couple of years back - that's a Unity game. As are the other sublimely silly titles from its creator, Flashbang Studios - Minotaur China Show, Time Donkey, Jetpack Brontosaurus Dreams...

They may not look like Gears of War, but they're exceptionally visually charming, they offer full keyboard/mouse controls and, so long as you've got the Unity plug-in installed, they work in any browser, right off the bat.

Unity isn't limited to bizarro indie projects, however. Just this month, EA launched Tiger Woods (oops) PGA Tour Online, a full-on, console-like golf game which runs inside a browser.

All content is streamed incredibly quickly, and it's probably the best-looking 3D browser game you've ever seen. It may not be visually comparable to the latest Tiger Woods PGA Tour on 360, but it will probably blow your expectations of browser games out of the water.

It's powered by Unity, and it's a dry-run for EA's current rethink of how to tackle the increasingly hot potato of PC games. EA's solution: browser games for a semi-casual audience, tied to a login, social networking and micropayments and thus completely free from piracy concerns.

Let's just reiterate that: one of the biggest games publishers in the world is making browser games.

Tiger woods

STEP FORWARD: EA's Unity-based Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online. It's a major step for the games publisher to take - and a major step forward for browser games, too

A browser-based FIFA is due later this year, and that'll really set things on fire. "Unity's initial market was comprised of smaller and independent developers", says its product evangelist Tom Higgins.

"Today, we're stronger than ever in the small scale indie developer market as evidenced by the rapid growth of our registered user base the last several months. As the technology has matured, though, its proven its performance and scalability, which has increased demand from major publishers and development houses."

In other words, we're going to see a lot more of this kind of thing. But at what point does Unity games start stepping on the toes of AAA PC and console games?

"When you look at a game like Bioshock 2 you're looking at the very front edge of 3D gaming, and that involves highly tuned engines specific to the purpose of those individual games," says Higgins.

"So while our engine might not reach the same dizzying heights, it can reach close, and do so in way that lets your content run on a much wider range of machines, platforms and configurations. With all that in mind I do think that the current generation ofUnitygames could be better, they could push the envelope further if desired as our engine still has more power yet to be tapped...

"As the developers continue to mature and we continue to drive our engine forward, I think that in-browser content made withUnitywill continue to close the gap against the consoles."

Unity really is becoming more impressive at a rate of knots, and the indie implementations are as interesting as the big-budget ones.

Take a look, for example, at Bullseye, a shooting gallery game recently released to drum up interest in the upcoming shooter Interstellar Marines, but which has become runaway enough a success that it's threatening to overshadow that which it's promoting.

Sure, the textures might not bear close investigation, but the curved geometry and the light and shadowing effects would sit just fine in a new console game. It's the kind of thing that has one suspecting that the first Warcraft-like MMO to use Unity will be huge.

Bullseye

IN SITE: Zero Point Software's Bullseye, a splendid-looking Unity-powered web game designed to promote its upcoming Interstellar Marines

On top of that, the Unity editor and engine is now free to anyone. Splash out for the Pro version and you get advanced features such as render-to-texture and post processing (as well as losing the Unity watermark and splash screen), but the free version's more than capable of making a great-looking browser game.

It's surprisingly non-scary to start game-making with, too: a tool that anyone can use to make a game, and can then publish on their website, with no money changing hands. This can only lead to great things.

So, is that mythical idea of browsers replacing operating systems any more realistic?

"I wouldn't quite say that I roll my eyes at that but it is in fact a little too 'pie in the sky' for my tastes," says Unity's Tom Higgins.

"Yes, there is definitely a trend to move away from traditional OS-bound desktop applications and more to web-based applications, or ones that rely on platform portable tools like Flash/AIR or, of course, likeUnity.

"So I definitely think that operating systems will feature less prominently in the decision making process as the tools folks rely on become more and more independent of that choice, but they won't entirely be replaced per se."

Fair enough, but when the choice comes down to a laborious installation of a 20GB game saddled with all manner of horrendous DRM or a good-looking browser game that streams what it needs to in moments from any web-enabled PC, it's clear that a new age is just around the corner.




Read More ...

Google goes gaga over Bloom fuel cell

Bloom Energy has unveiled its 100KW Energy Saver fuel cell at eBay's Silicon Valley HQ, attended by many notaries, including State Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The Energy Saver is a solid oxide fuel cell that converts almost any fuel source into electricity, according to the company.

Each Energy Saver unit contains thousands of fuel cells, and even when burning fossil fuel is 67 per cent cleaner than a coal-fired power plant.

The device was originally developed for the NASA Mars space programme. Each unit is about the size of a parking space and can generate enough power for about 100 homes.

Google gets in early

So far, the customers for the unit include Google, Coca-Cola, Staples, and eBay. As John Donahoe, CEO of eBay, said at the launch: "When Bloom came to us, it was an easy decision to become an early adopter of its cutting-edge new technology.

"As a result, we are meeting financial and environmental goals, while fuelling a more energy efficient global marketplace. That's good for us, our customers and the planet."

Although the Bloom Energy Saver has just been officially launched, Google has already been using one for 18 months.

It claims that it's experienced some significant savings in energy costs, and the only problem to date has been a few clogged air filters.

Rick Needham, manager of Google's green business operations, noted: "As we work hard to reduce Google's environmental footprint and improve our sustainability, we are pleased to be able to use on-site clean power generated by Bloom Energy."




Read More ...

Review: Hanns G HH191DPB

A 19-inch, 5:4-ratio budget display is not an ideal choice for a primary monitor, but it's a useful supplementary second screen.

The HH191DPB from Hanns.G puts in a surprisingly good performance for a budget display, and although it lacks the high-end reproduction necessary for pro-level graphic design or video editing, it's ideal for parking your tool windows or web browser to free up valuable space on your main screen.

The HH191DPB puts in a good performance for the gradients test. Colour ramps are smooth, and it does well to distinguish between near-black and near-white and pure black and white. Its photo reproduction is sharp and well defined, though the colours are a little strong out of the box.

Its text rendering is less strong, however, struggling to retain definition at low point sizes and lacking clarity throughout.

Displays at the cheaper end of the market rarely perform impeccably in single-screen tests, and this one doesn't buck the trend. The lower half of the viewing area is noticeably better lit than the upper half, giving an all-white screen a distinct blue hue at the bottom and a yellow tinge at the top.

As is the norm for less expensive monitors, its internal speakers are tinny, muted, woefully underpowered and virtually bass-free, but in a second-screen setup you probably wouldn't opt to use them except for emergencies.

The Hanns.G HH191DPB represents good value for money. Its low cost and small footprint make it an ideal second screen, a role in which its weaknesses are less relevant.

Related Links



Read More ...

Spotify dips into video with Jimi Hendrix exclusive

Spotify has made tentative steps into the world of music videos, with an exclusive video of Jimi Hendrix's previously unreleased cover of Bleeding Heart.

Driected by Julien Temple – he of Glastonbury fame – the video is taken from a Hendrix performance comped on to footage of Glastonbury's Pyramid Stage.

The video is a precursor to a live album which will be released 4 March and exclusively to Spotify Premium users.

Music video

This is the first time Spotify has dabbled in video content, but we have a sneaking suspicion it won't be the last.

The real story here, though, is the video is a taster of what to expect from the live album, available just to premium subscribers.

Expect to see more of these Spotify Premium exclusives – as this is one way Spotify will drag its 'free' audience into its subscription model.


Read More ...

Review: Panasonic TX-P42X10

We believe the Panasonic TX-P42X10 is the cheapest 42in plasma TV ever, which means that if it can retain the technology's normal advantage over LCD, it could be a budget classic.

It doesn't particularly entice you with its looks, though. The gloss black finish and silver metallic strip are pretty much in line with current mainstream aesthetic thinking, but somehow Panasonic just hasn't applied these basic elements with any real panache.

Other models in this range of TV include the P19X10, P32X10 and the P37X10. Also, if you have a big living room, there is a 50in option available.

The P42X10 is unspectacular with its connections, too. There are three HDMIs rather than four, and multimedia functions are restricted to the expected D-Sub PC input and an SD card slot that can play JPEG stills, but not video or music files.

Other specifications are a mixed bag: the main negative lies in the fact that the screen doesn't have a full HD resolution, it's HD Ready and tops out at merely 1,024 x 768-pixels. On the plus side, contrast is quoted at a strapping 2,000,000:1 in dynamic mode, or a still exceptional 20,000:1 native.

The TV also delivers Panasonic's V-real 4 video processing, as well as, surprisingly, 100Hz scanning. It's worth adding, too, that you can watch it from almost any angle without the picture losing contrast and colour saturation as so many LCD TVs are prone to.

Performance

The P42X10's black level response is excellent: profound in depth and, even more importantly, full of greyscale and colour subtlety. And since the screen doesn't need to drastically dim its brightness output to get good black levels, you get dark scenes that are both punchy and impressively three-dimensional.

The P42X10 is also free of motion blur, and even plasma's tendency to judder is calmed by the 100Hz engine.

A selection of standard-def DVDs and Freeview broadcasts, meanwhile, are reproduced with less noise than you'd expect and generally look very natural.

Improvements in LCD, LED and Panasonic's own NeoPDP plasma technology have highlighted shortcomings with the P42X10's 'original' plasma heart, though.

For starters, some colours occasionally look slightly unnatural, especially when it comes to greens and blues. HD pictures don't look as sharp and detailed as we know they can either. And occasionally there's a little dotting noise over skin tones during rapid camera pans.

The P42X10's sound is fair, with reasonable volume and dynamic range, though not as much treble clarity as we'd ideally like.

While lacking pizzazz, the set's almost infinite viewing angle could make it, by default, the TV of choice for people whose regularly have to watch the screen from its side.

Related Links



Read More ...

In Depth: 25 really useful Google Nexus One tips

So you just bought a Nexus One from Google - good job!

This outstanding phone might still have a few issues, as we wrote about recently in our Nexus One review, but packs a lot of power with a 1GHz processor, plenty of storage, and a slick OLED screen that shines brighter than most.

As you're discovering new features and downloading apps, we've provided a kickstart to make your experience even more rewarding.

1. Touch that address!

One remarkable feature that is not obvious at first: when you receive an e-mail or text message that has an address, you can touch and hold down for a moment. The Nexus One puts a red rounding box around the address and pops up a choice to copy it or see a map for that address. You can also touch and hold on e-mail addresses (to copy or send an e-mail) and on phone numbers (to call or copy).

2. Find recently used apps

Say you just beat your high score in a game like FRG Lite; you can find that app quickly by holding down the Home key to see any recently used apps.

Nexus one recent apps

FAST FIND: This menu shows all recently used apps. Access it by long-pressing on the Home button until the menu appears, then select the app you want

3. Load apps on an SD card

Free apps for the Nexus One are available on the Web if you know where to look -- just search for .APK files. When you find them, you can mount your Nexus One and copy the files to the SD card. To install these apps, you'll need a file manager like Astro -- just navigate to the SD card and run the app.

4. Mount your memory

Speaking of mounting, don't forget that, when you plug in the USB cable and connect your Nexus One to a PC or Mac, you need to mount the phone as a USB drive. Fortunately, you can access this function very quickly -- just drag down from the top of the screen where you see alerts, select the USB Connected option, and click Mount. Now you can access the phone storage from your computer.

5. Quick access to Maps

There's a quick way to access Google Maps. Just click the microphone icon in the widgets search toolbar and say "navigate to...." followed by a destination, such as bus terminal or airport. Click Go and you will see the map directions.

6. Add contacts to home screen

You can add a favorite contact right to your home screen, provided you do not have too many icons there. (Just flip to the left or right to a home screen with fewer apps if you need to.) Long-press in any open spot, and select Shortcuts. Now, go to Contacts and select the one you want and it will appear on the home screen.

7. Change the Live wallpaper

Speaking of long-pressing on the home screen, this is also how you change the live wallpaper -- those animated backgrounds that look so cool. Just long-press on the home screen in an open spot, and select Wallpapers, then Live wallpapers. Select the one you want to use for the home screen. Here's hoping Google makes a few more of these for the next patch release for the Nexus One!

8. Quick mute option

When someone calls you during an important meeting, and you have "Pants on the Ground" as your ringtone, it can be embarrassing (or just funny). You can mute your Nexus One by holding the volume control knob until the phone mutes, but there is a faster way. Click the power button, and -- at the unlock screen -- slide the sound knob to the right for a quick mute. Slide again to unmute.

9. Improve camera quality

Snapping photos with the Nexus One is easy, and the shots look much better than other smartphones thanks to the 5 megapixel quality. Still, you can improve the quality even more by accessing a few simple options. In the Camera app, select the Menu button and set the white balance for the type of lighting for your current locale; for example, use daylight for outdoor shots. Indoor shots will also look better if you use a lamp or even a flashlight to shine on the subject at hand.

10. Conserve photo space

Another tip for photographers: you may not need your shots to look perfect. In some cases, quantity is more important. You can adjust the camera settings for megapixels (down to just 1 megapixels) and set the picture quality to normal to save space.

11. Long-press for a home screen preview

You have five home screens to use for storing apps. You can get a quick preview of these screens by holding down on the dots (to the left and right of the main home screen). Thumbnails of all five home screens appear.

Nexus one thumbnails

AT HOME: Thumbnails for the home screen help you see which one is cluttered and which one has free space. Access it by long-pressing on the dots for accessing home screens

12. Share your video clips

It's called the Camera app, but you can use it to shoot video. Most importantly, you can share these clips on YouTube. First, switch to the camcorder by pressing on the switch near the record button. Shoot your clip, then go to Menu and select Gallery. With a clip selected, go to Menu and select Share. Select YouTube, login, and upload.

13. Set a custom unlock pattern

For added security, you can set an unlock pattern for the Nexus One. Go to Settings and select the Location & Security option, then select Set unlock pattern. Now, follow the wizard to connect the dots -- say, two up and two over. This pattern must be used to unlock the phone when you turn it on or lock it.

14. Use the doubleTwist manager

The iTunes app is for Apple fanboys, right? You can use doubleTwist instead to load your phone with music, photos, and movies. The app works with the Nexus One for managing your media files.

15. Dictate your words

The Nexus One can dictate what you say. Whenever you see the virtual keyboard, click the microphone and speak what you want to type.

Nexus one voice search

SPEAK UP: You can search using Google voice, or dictate memos to youself

16. Send photos to Facebook

Long-press on any photo and the Share option will replace the slideshow link. In this menu, you can send the image to your Facebook account. Just login and send.

17. Disable wireless for longer battery life

The Nexus One offers a power-saver widget -- to add it, long-press in an open spot on the home screen and select Widgets, then select Power Control. Here, you can quickly turn off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to conserve on battery power.

18. Remove unneeded apps

One way to save space on your Nexus One is to remove unwanted apps. Go to Settings, Applications, then Manage applications. The default sort if by name, but you can press Menu and select by size to see the memory hogs.

Manage nexus one apps

HOUSEKEEPING: You can view installed apps by name or, more helpfully, by size

19. Check your Google Voice balance

You can use Google Voice to make international calls -- you first need to load up your account with credits. The Nexus One app lets you check your balance for these assisted calls (they still use your cell service or landline minutes). Start Google Voice, go to Menu, and select Balance to see your account credits.

Google voice balance

IN CREDIT: You can access your Google Voice balance, which shows you credits for international calls -- but unfortunately does not work like Skype for free in-service calls

20. Search for apps quickly

Like the Palm Pre, the Google Nexus One has a hand search option for finding apps. To use it, press the Search button and then type in the app name you want.

21. Watch YouTube vids in HD

You can watch any YouTube video in HD, if available. Start the YouTube app, play a video, then go to Menu, select More, and select the option to watch in HD.

22. Set a custom ringtone

Unlike the iPhone, which forces you to jump through hoops to set a custom ringtone, you can make any song on your Nexus One your ringtone. Just start the Music app, find your song, long-press and select the use as ringtone option.

23. Shuffle your tracks

The Nexus One has an option to shuffle your music tracks. Just start the Music app, select Menu, and click on the Party shuffle option.

24. Access the airplane mode

If you hold down on the power button, you will see an option to put the Nexus One into airplane mode, which disables all wireless connections.

25. Use the voice recorder

The Nexus One offers a voice recorder app, but it is a bit hard to find. It is actually a widget, so long-press on an open area of the home screens, then select Widgets and add the Voice Recorder. Now you can record any conversation.




Read More ...

Review: Virgin 7.2Mbps Dongle

Mobile broadband has really taken off in the past few years, with all the major providers getting in on the act.

Having a broadband connection wherever you are is a great idea; it saves you the pain of finding a wireless hotspot, and basically enables you to work anywhere.

That's the theory at least. In many cases, speeds are slow and coverage patchy. However, faster and faster mobile broadband offerings are appearing all the time, and the latest such offering is from Virgin Mobile.

They've added a 7.2Mbps mobile broadband modem option to their tariff; the dongle is آ£25 on a آ£10-a-month contract with 1GB of data, or free on a 18-month fixed contract for the same data. There's a range of other payment options available too, but there's no 'unlimited' data plan.

Using the Virgin broadband dongle was a bit hit and miss; it always worked and didn't crash, but did display some odd behaviour.

After inserting the dongle we occasionally got a message that System Preferences needed changing, but they did not. We'd often get a warning on unplugging too.

That said, when the connection was up and running it was steady and reliable. However, the speed was nowhere near as fast as advertised.

At most we got 1.5Mbps, but the connection spent much of the time around the 0.5Mbps region. We tested in multiple locations and with different computers, and even tried a Windows PC to see if it was a Mac software issue. It wasn't.

0.5Mbps is enough to get email and basic web surfing very comfortably, but audio streaming or iPlayer? Forget it.

As it stands, the Virgin Mobile broadband dongle is difficult to recommend if you're looking for the speeds it claims to offer.

Related Links



Read More ...

Plan your cabs with the London Taxi iPhone app

While 99 per cent of London's black cab drivers are pretty trustworthy – there is always the 1 per cent of rogues that will try to take you on a merry trip around Olde London Towne in order to double the fare for the unsuspecting tourist or drunk.

No more! If you have an iPhone and use cabs on a regular basis, then the new London Taxi iPhone app is what you need.

It costs 59 pence and will ensure that you never get ripped off or overcharged by a cab ever again, providing you with an estimated fare for a ride in a black cab.

Developed by TFL planners

The app has been developed by two former Transport for London planners and the app bases its estimates using the TFL Taxi Tariff.

CabbyDavid of Twitter cab finding service @tweetalondoncab, has been quick to dismiss the app claiming: "If we were to go the routes [the app] suggested the fares would be double what they give."




Read More ...

Philips OLED Mirrorwall now available for آ£158k

The Philips Mirrorwall - a huge installation of OLED panels linked together - is now on sale to the man on the street.

The panel uses hundreds of Philips Lumiblade OLED lighting panels and a camera to capture movement in front of it.

It then displays that movement as a surreal and monochrome 'reflection' on the screen, meaning that you can see what you're doing mimicked in front of you!

Mirror, mirror, on the... oh, wait

Of course, some might note that this is what normal mirrors do - but they don't cost €10k-12k per metre square.

The installation is offered by rAndom International, and we hope that this cool looking wall is going to go into museums and large company receptions with more money than sense, rather than people's homes.

But don't worry if you can't afford that outlay - you can still rent the Mirrorwall for €10k per week (but you have to pay extra for delivery. And installation. And insurance. And.... actually, just buy a mirror and get a lamp).

Have a look at the Mirrorwall in action - and see if this is the kind of aspirational reflective dancing you'd sell your house for:




Read More ...

Review: Toshiba 42AV635

The Toshiba 42AV635 doesn't look like a TV that costs just آ£525. Its finish is solid and glossy and the illuminated Toshiba logo is a classy touch.

It's extremely well connected for its money, too, with highlights of four HDMIs and a USB input capable of playing JPEG stills.

Despite being Toshiba's entry level 42in LCD TV, the screen even carries a healthy number of picture features and adjustments.

It's still got the brand's Meta Brain (the umbrella name for a suite of picture processing tricks, including the multi-tasking Active Vision II); the AutoView system that continually compensates for both ambient light levels and the content of the images you're watching and last, but not least, Resolution+.

Provided you're careful not to set it too high, the scaling circuitry can do a really startling job of making standard-def pictures sharper and more HD-like without pushing up noise levels.

The 42AV635 also goes beyond the call of budget TV duty by providing a colour management system and such unusual fine-tuning options as a static gamma sliding bar, plus a similar system for balancing black and white levels.

Performance

As you would expect, with so much room for adjustment it's possible to get some really excellent results. High-definition pictures, for instance, look impressively sharp and detailed provided you deactivate all overscanning and noise reduction circuits.

And, as mentioned earlier, standard-def images are a cut above the norm, too, provided you strike the right balance between Resolution+ and the noise reduction routines.

Meanwhile, the set handles motion far better than expected for such a cheap, non-100Hz model with minimal blur, and no more judder than we'd expect to see at this price level. Most colours look pretty good, too: certainly bright scenes look punchy and believable and skin tones are surprisingly consistent.

However, some greens and reds seem just a little unnatural during dark scenes. Another problem manifests itself during unlit scenes: a very uninspiring black level response.

Even using the set's Cinema preset, which tones down the backlight output and shifts the black/white balance strongly towards black, dark scenes appear behind a distinctly grey wash, losing detail and depth in the process. Our sample also suffered from a distracting patch of extra brightness in the bottom left corner.

The 42AV635's audio, meanwhile, is about average, with reasonable amounts of volume, but not quite enough dynamic range to avoid mid-range compression and the lack of bass so common to flat TVs.

Related Links



Read More ...

British Library: web heritage in danger

The British Library, along with several other institutions, has warned that the UK's web heritage could vanish forever if it's not granted the "right to archive" – that is, to capture and keep sites.

In the last six years it's only managed to archive 6,000 sites, which are at the UK Web Archive (http://www.webarchive.org.uk/ukwa/) and available to the public.

However, that figure is from an estimated total of eight million out there. All archiving currently needs the permission of the site owner. Research shows that the life expectancy of most sites is no more than 75 days, with 10 per cent of all British sites lost or replaced every six months.

The British Library is leading a consortium that also includes the National Library of Wales and the Wellcome Library, to lobby the government for clarification of the Legal Deposit Libraries Act. Under this, a copy of every print publication in the UK has to be deposited in the British Library, and it was extended to online material in 2003.

However, there's never been any clarification on how to achieve this. British Library Chief Executive, Dame Lynne Brindley said: "Limited by the existing legal position, at the current rate it will be feasible to collect just one per cent of all free UK websites by 2011."

She added that the archive was vital to "avoid the creation of a 'digital black hole' in the nation's memory."

Holding for the future

So far the project has archived web forums discussing the 2005 London bombings, sites of MPs who've died, and sites of companies that went under during the credit crunch.

"We can't make a judgement about what people in the future will find useful," said a British Library spokesman.

The Wayback Machine (http://www.archive.org/) does offer a very wide-ranging web archive, and a few countries have begun to work on keeping their country's websites.




Read More ...

Virgin Media to roll out 100Mbps broadband

Virgin Media has announced that it plans to start the roll out of a 100Mbps broadband service before the end of 2010.

Virgin, which currently offers its 4.1 million customers the choice of 10Mb, 20Mb, or 50Mb connections, claims the new, improved speed, which uses fibre optic cable, will mean that users would be able to download an hour long TV show in just 31 seconds. An HD movie would take less than seven-and-a-half minutes to download.

The 100Mbps connections, which Virgin says are 24 times faster than the average speed of its competitors, is aimed at the tech savvy.

Company CEO Neil Berkett said: "There is nothing we can't do with our fibre optic cable network, and the upcoming launch of our flagship 100Mbps service will give our customers the ultimate broadband experience.

"Just as we led the way by launching the UK's first ever next generation service, we want to keep giving our customers the very best broadband available, by investing in technological innovation and transforming the experience they have when they are online.

"The launch of Virgin Media's 100Mbps service will be a historic moment and will mean the UK will be comparable to other leading broadband nations."

200Mbps coming

The fact that Virgin is using fibre optic cable means it can deliver very close to its advertised speeds, and it has ambitious plans for the future. It already has a 200Mb pilot programme in place in Kent, and is extending that to Coventry, where it's seeking volunteers to test the ultra-high speeds.

So perhaps being sent to Coventry won't mean isolation, after all.




Read More ...

Spark Radio iPhone app promises 30,000 stations

While there are a number of internet radio apps already available for the iPhone, the new Spark Radio iPhone app that launches this week is by far the king of the crop to date.

You can get Spark Radio for آ£3.49 over at the iPhone App Store, and the app is basically a collection of around 10,000 internet radio stations from across the world.

The developers promise that this will grow to around 30,000 stations by April.

Web-browser within

All the stations can be accessed via the web from anywhere via your iPhone on either a Wi-Fi or 3G connection (or via your iPod Touch, but only Wi-Fi).

The app is the work of two iPhone developers - Handcast and RadioTime, a company that provides radio content and tools.

You can search for your stations via genres and various other categories and Spark Radio also has a handy GPS feature which simply displays the stations near you.

Save stations as favourites and, should you wish to surf the net while listening in, there is even a web-browser within the app, something that the celebrated Spotify iPhone app was sorely missing.

Seems they have thought of almost everything.,




Read More ...

Is the Energy Star mark becoming meaningless?

Has the ubiquitous Energy Star mark negatively impacted on the standards for energy-efficient consumer technology goods?

Forbes notes this week that as the State Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Progam (aka Cash for Appliances) is being heavily promoted, that it is, "difficult to find some appliances that aren't Energy Star certified".

In 2008, for example, 79 per cent of all TV sets and 67 per cent of all dishwashers were Energy Star-qualified.

Means less to consumers

MNN reported back in November that an internal audit found that less-than-worthy appliances had received Energy Star certification due to improper tracking.

"EPA cannot be certain ENERGY STAR products are the more energy-efficient and cost-effective choice for consumers," that audit clearly stated.

Celia Lehrman of Consumer Reports tells Forbes: "It makes the Energy Star worth a little less to the consumer if it's something everybody's got.




Read More ...

Advertisers abandoning PlayStation Home

Advertisers are abandoning Sony's PlayStation Home virtual world, according to trade journal Brand Week.

Moreover, Brand Week also claims that advertisers have abandoned PlayStation Home in favour of Microsoft's Xbox Live service instead.

Sony slow on the uptake

The report says Sony used last year's Engage Expo to showcase PlayStation Home to advertisers. However, in 2010 Sony was nowhere to be seen at the conference.

"The product has disappointed both users and advertisers," says Brand Week. "In fact, Red Bull remains one of the few non-endemic advertisers to carve out space in the world."

The publication says that for some digital buyers, Home exemplifies Sony's snail-like pace when it comes to embracing advertising.

"Microsoft has MSN," said Jon Epstein, CEO of in-game ad firm DoubleFusion. "They are much more of a media company than Sony has traditionally been."

"From moment one, it [Home] kind of felt clunky," said John Rafferty, creative director at Publicis' Denuo. "And once you got through that, there wasn't much there."




Read More ...

Microsoft releases gaming and media updates for Windows 7

Microsoft has issued a number of new nonsecurity updates on Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center, most of which are for the latest versions of the client and server operating systems.

The first release is for a game, application, or firmware that is installed incorrectly or that causes system instability or has primary functions that do not function properly.

Media Center fixes

The first Windows Media Center update is the February 2010 Cumulative Update, improving the Win 7 experience for those with digital cable card tuners, and resolving some compatibility issues for some legacy Windows Media Center extensibility applications.

The second update fixes another issue where TV playback extensibility applications stop responding if no tuner is available to handle a tune request.

There is also a new fix for how Windows Internet Explorer 8 encodes and decodes JavaScript Object Notation (JSON)

Finally, Microsoft has also posted the optional Windows 7 antipiracy update available at the following direct links: Windows 7 32-bit (1.37MB) and Windows 7 64-bit (1.34MB) or as an optional update via Windows Update.




Read More ...

Nintendo announces slew of new hardcore games

Nintendo has pleased its legions of hardcore fans this week, announcing summer release dates for new Mario and Metroid games and lots more besides at a US media summit in San Francisco.

Nintendo also announced that the DSi XL, which releases in the UK next week, will be out in the US on 28 March. Nice for us Brits to get something first for a change!

Dragon Quest IX

New trailers and demos on Mario Galaxy 2, Metroid: Other M, Monster Hunter Tri and more were shown off, and Dragon Quest IX was finally confirmed for a western release.

We should find out final European and UK dates from Nintendo's European event taking place in London later today.

For now, if you are in the market for a new handheld, you can check out CVG's review of the DSi XL right here.




Read More ...

Dell's new tablet PC looks like a PSP

Dell is still developing its tablet PC – tentatively named the Mini 5 – for release later in 2010. But will it be an iPad challenger?

There are plenty of other tablet PCs about to hit the market - all based around Nvidia's new Tegra 2 chips - with numerous companies readying to make tablet computer related announcements at CeBit in March.

But when Dell enters the market, in what is still effectively a new consumer tech category, then the industry sits up and starts to take some notes.

The Dell Mini 5 looks like it will feature a 5-inch capacitive touchscreen with a 5-megapixel camera on the back and, according to Michael Dell, will arrive "in a couple of months."

The Mini 5 will also feature a separate front-facing camera for video conferencing, a 3.5mm headphone jack, Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 1-GHz processor.

Android 2.0, PSP-styling

It will run the latest version of Google's Android operating system, 2.0 or higher and will look closer to a PSP than an iPad, with the smaller screen.

"It's a device optimized for media consumption," Neeraj Choubey, general manager of the tablets division at Dell told Wired.com.

"It will offer the full web-browsing experience so you have something that you are holding in your hand that replaces everything the smartphone does and takes on quite a bit of the features of a laptop."

TechRadar has contacted Dell UK for further info on pricing and planned release dates for the UK.




Read More ...

Flash 10.1 on Android not a battery hog

Adobe has demonstrated Flash 10.1 running on a Google Nexus One Android phone, in order to show that the software is NOT a battery hog, as claimed by Apple recently.

Adobe's Flash evangelist Mark Doherty posted some hard numbers and video demos over on the FlashMobileBlog to counter Apple's recent FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) campaign.

Flash 10.1 doesn't appear to suck up much of the Nexus One's battery power in the demo given by the Adobe man.

Watch full-length movies with ease

Doherty plays a 17-minute embedded video in the full YouTube site and then notes that a mere 6 per cent of the phone's battery has been sapped.

Adobe's tests suggest they can get in the region of three hours of H.264 playback over Wi-Fi, so more than enough to watch three or four episodes of the latest Curb on your way to work then!




Read More ...

Sophos warns of Twitter phishing attack

Sophos' Graham Cluley has warned Twitter users of a recent phishing attack on the microblogging service.

Messages asking "This you????" followed by a link are being sent via the system to unsuspecting users.

If you click on the link you are then taken to a fake Twitter login page, where hackers are just waiting for you to pop in your username and password.

Take care with passwords

Cluley warns: "It's bad enough if hackers gain control of your Twitter account, but if you also use that same password on other websites (and our research shows that 33% of people do that all of the time) then they could access your Gmail, Hotmail, Facebook, eBay, Paypal, and so forth."

"So, be cautious about the links you click on, choose a strong password, and - if you have found that you're spreading suspicious messages from your Twitter account or believe that you have been compromised - change your passwords immediately.

"You should also check your Twitter account and check the Settings/Connections screen. If there are any third-party applications you don't recognise listed there, revoke their permission to access your account."




Read More ...

No comments: