Download Youtube High Definition [HD] Videos as MP4, FLV, 3GP & 720p

Youtube now supports High Defination quality videos which means that you can view super high quality videos online, but youtube does not offer you to download these videos directly which is the reason you need to look for different ways using which you can download the videos directly to your PC. You can even convert these videos into MP4, FLV or 3GP format and transfer to your mobile phones.


The higher quality videos are converted in Apple’s Quicktime MP4 Player and lower resolution youtube videos can be played in FLV format with the help of FLV player.

Is it hard to Download Youtube Videos?
Certainly not its really easy with just a click of a button. Access KeepHD.com and enter the Youtube URL of the video you want to download.

Surf through the Most Viewed HD Videos in Youtube here and select one of your favourite video. In the right side you would find the URL tab with the direct access link to this video.

Thats it, you will be given with 4 different quality download options which can help you download the video directly to your computer.

Amazon Kindle 2 Arrived and Google Books on Cell Phones

Amazon has released Kindle 2, the new Kindle e-book reader.

Kindle 2, the latest wireless reading device, weighing about 290 grams, which is lighter than a typical paperback and as thin as most magazines. Kindle has a new 5-way controller, enabling precise on-screen navigation for selecting text to highlight or looking up words. Kindle is completely wireless and ready to use right out of the box, with no other setup needed. Kindle also features a new Text-to-Speech feature that can read out text for the user.

Kindle 2 holds over 1,500 books. The Kindle 2 is pried at $359 (approx Rs. 17400), and will be released on February 24.

Amazon had recently announced that it is working on making Kindle e-books available on a range of cell phones also, the details of when and which phones are not yet available yet.

Google also announced recently that 1.5 million books titles available from Google Book Search service can now be read on Apple iPhone and the phones running Google’s Android operating system. For now that is G1 by T-Mobile.

Windows Mobile 6.5 and My Phone from Microsoft

At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Microsoft presented a demonstration of the Windows Mobile 6.5, and My Phone.

The Windows Mobile 6.5 would be released in the second half of 2009, which will only be available as the pre-installed OS on new devices. Windows Mobile 6.5 comes with a hexagon-based layout rather than the default grid layout. The hexagon layout almost matches with the shape of the fingertip’s point of contact, making it an intuitive design choice.

There is no more START menu, instead it is more of a dashboard, where gadgets and rich internet applications are housed. Windows Mobile 6.5 has a new Internet Explorer Mobile based on IE6 for Desktops. Windows Mobile 6.5 also comes with cloud sync service, offered for free by Microsoft.

My Phone beta funcitonality helps to backup contacts, calendars, text messages, photos and videos to My Phone service links with the Windows Live ID. This functionality allows information to be synchronized across multiple connected devices.

Multiple Inboxes in Gmail - New Feature

Gmail Labs has just launched a new feature to view multiple panes in the same Gmail window. You can setup your labels or searches as a new pane.

If you have setup multiple email accounts with Gmail, and have associated a label for each of those email accounts, this new pane feature helps you view each of the accounts new emails separately in the new panes. I really like this new feature, very useful.

To use this new feature, you have to first enable Gmail Labs for your account (if not done already), then go to Settings -> GMail Labs and enable “Multiple Inboxes” from the list of Labs options. Now you will get “Multiple Inboxes” menu on the Settings pane. You can create up to five different panes by manually entering the code for label or Gmail search options.

The HCL MiLeap AXMH0208 Ultra-portable Tablet Laptop is powered by Intel Atom A110 processor featuring 7-inch WVGA Swivel Touch Screen display, 80-GB

Made for Indian environment the HCL Mileap AXMH0208 ultra-portable Tablet laptop sports and a unique dustproof, shock-proof and durable design and they are powered by 800 MHz Intel Atom Processor A110 (Ultra Low Voltage edition), with 512 KB L2 Cache and upto 400 MHz Front Side Bus featuring Mobile Intel 945GU (ultra low voltage) Express Chipset Motherboard, 1-GB DDR2 533 MHz SDRAM (Max. upto 2 GB in 2 slots) and internal 80-GB 5400 rpm SATA hard disk drive.

The HCL Mileap AXMH0208 ultra-portable Tablet laptop does not feature optical drive. A USB based optical drive can be attached. The laptop allows input using a stylus and hand writing.

This revolutionary new range of Ultra Portable HCL Mileap AXMH0208 ultra-portable Tablet laptop is targeted at consumer who needs to stay connected, informed, entertained and productive-anytime and anywhere. The laptop is designed lightweight and small in size making it convenient for use at all sorts of places like in home, gym, trains, bus, planes etc. where a larger size laptop might feel inconvenient. Company claims the HCL MiLeap Series of Ultra Portables are uniquely suitable for Women and School Children due to its sleek and ultra light design.

The new HCL Mileap AXMH0208 ultra-portable Tablet laptop offers 7-inch (17.78 cm) WXGA Widescreen TFT LCD display powered by integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator GMA 900 Graphics chipset with upto 64-MB shared memory offering maximum 1024 x 600 pixels screen resolution in 16.7 million colors.

Navigational Pad

The HCL Mileap AXMH0208 ultra-portable Tablet laptop incorporates a unique Navigational Pad on the side of the LCD display that offers multiple navigational features such as touch screen, thumboard, digital stylus, touchpad mouse and One touch buttons. The Swivel 7-inch display cum note pad allows input using a stylus and hand writing just like a tablet PC does.

HCL Mileap AXMH0208 ultra-portable Tablet laptop does not sport any option for internal optical drive (CD/DVD) or internal fax/modem card.

Weighing just about 980 gms (without battery pack), the HCL Mileap AXMH0208 ultra-portable Tablet laptop is also equipped with integrated Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 Network 802.11a/b/g LAN connection, integrated Bluetooth v2.0 wireless connection and it sports integrated 10/100/1000 Ethernet LAN connection and integrated Bluetooth v2.0 wireless connection.

In addition, HCL Mileap AXMH0208 ultra-portable Tablet laptop also features integrated 1.3 Megapixel webcam and built-in Microphone and it also offers 2 USB v2.0 fast ports for wired connectivity.

With the Ubentu Linux OS preinstalled HCL Laptop Mileap AXMH0208 ultra-portable Tablet laptop is equipped with Intel High Defination Audio hardware and build-in Stereo 2 stereo speaker system 1.5 Watts each and the HCL laptop also features 4-in-1 Media Card Reader supporting Multimedia Card (MMC), Memory stick (MS), Secure Digital Card, and MS-PRO media cards.

According to HCL, Mileap AXMH0208 ultra-portable Tablet laptop like HCL MiLeap X Series laptops is designed to be a eco-efficient consumer and business notebooks, and are fully compliant with the RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) directive.

HCL Mileap AXMH0208 ultra-portable Tablet laptop comes with 6-Cell 11.1V Li-Ion 4400mAh Battery Pack which provides about 3.5 hrs of power backup without WiFi.

Ports

• 2 USB v2.0 ports
• IEEE1394
• RJ-45 LAN Port 10/100 Mbps Fast Ethernet Controller
• RJ-11 Fax/Modem Port
• External MIC Input
• External Audio Out
• VGA Port 15 Pin D-Sub
• 4-in-1 Media Card Slot

HCL Mileap AXMH0208 ultra-portable Tablet laptop Features

• Intel Atom Processor A110 Ultra Low Voltage, 800 MHz
• 512 KB L2 Cache, 400 MHz Front Side Bus
• Mobile Intel 945GU (ultra low voltage) Express Chipset Motherboard
• 1024-MB DDR2 SDRAM, 533 Mhz, Max. upto 2 GB (2 slots)
• 80-GB SATA 5400 rpm internal Hard Drive
• No Optical Drive
• 7-inch (17.78 cm), WVGA Widescreen TFT LCD Swivel Touch Screen Display, 1024 x 600 pixels screen resolution, 10cd/m2 brightness
• Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator GMA 900 Graphics chipset with shared memory
• Integrated WiFi 802.11a/b/g LAN connection
• Integrated Bluetooth v2.0 wireless connection
• Integrated 10/100/1000 Ethernet LAN connection
• Integrated Bluetooth v2.0 wireless port
• Integrated 1.3 Megapixel webcam
• 4-in-1 Media Card Reader, Multimedia Card (MMC), Memory stick (MS), Secure Digital Card, MS-PRO
• Two USB v2.0 ports
• Touchpad with 2 button
• Intel High Defination ICH7 Audio Hardware
• Build-in Stereo 2 stereo speaker system 1.5 Watts each
• Built-in Microphone
• 84 Kays keyboard with built-in touch pad with 2 click buttons
• Windows Media Player Launch Button
• Ubuntu Linux
• Dimensions: WxDxH - 225 x 275 x 32 mm
• 6-Cell 11.1V Li-Ion 4400mAh Battery Pack
• Weight: 980 gms (without battery pack), 1.44 Kgs (with battery pack)

The HCL Mileap AXMH0208 ultra-portable Tablet laptop Ultra-Portable touch screen Laptop powered by Intel Atom A110 processor with 80-GB internal SATA hard disk drive and Linux preinstalled is available in India for Rs. 21,490 (including 4% local tax) and laptop comes with one year on-site HCL warranty. Visit www.hclnotebooks.in for more details.

Lenovo IdeaPad S10 NetBook

Lenovo has recently launched its first NetBook in India, the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 which is powered by Intel Atom N270 Processor and it features 10.2-inch WXGA display, integrated Bluetoth v2.0+EDR wireless connection, 3-in-1 media card reader, and integrated Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g connection.


Lenovo IdeaPad S10 ultra-portable Netbook is designed as low-cost, Internet-centric mobile computing devices also called NetBooks and is powered by 1.6 GHz Intel Atom ULV (ultra low voltage) Processor N270, specifically designed for small devices and low power consumption, while maintaining the Intel Core 2 Duo instruction set compatibility.

The Intel Atom processor N270 uses a brand new design structure that packs in 47 million transistors into a single chip sized at just 22mm (0.87 inches), and the processor uses just 2.5 watts of power which is less than 1/10th of the 35 watts used by an Intel Core 2 Duo processor.

This new range of Ultra Portable Lenovo IdeaPad S10 NetBook is targeted at consumer who needs to stay connected, informed, entertained and productive-anytime and anywhere. The netBook is designed lightweight and small in size making it convenient for use at all sorts of places like in home, gym, trains, bus, planes etc. where a larger size laptop might feel inconvenient.

Powered by 1.60 GHz, Intel Atom Processor N270, the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 is equipped with a power-optimized front side bus of 533 MHz and a 512-KB of cache.

Weighing 1.25 Kgs with 6-cell power pack, the Lenovo S10 netbook offers 512-MB DDR2 (533 MHz) SDRAM with max 2-GB in 2 DIMM slots, a 160 GB Serial-ATA 5400 rpm 2.5 inch harddisk, but no optical drive. A USB based external optical drive can be attached if required.

The Lenovo IdeaPad S10 netBook is equipped with 10.2-inch wide screen Transflective TFT WXGA display powered by Intel Graphics Media Accelerator GMA 950 graphics chipset with upto 64 MB RAM that offers native resolution of 1048 x 600 in widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio in 16M colors. The graphics chipset supports Direct x 9.0 acceleration, Dual independent display option, Dynamic Display Detect, and Open GL 1.4.

The Lenovo S10 netBook comes with Windows XP Home OS preinstalled and it also features built-in 4-in-1 Memory card reader supporting SD, MMC, MS, MS Pro memory cards, 3 USB v2.0 ports, and IEEE1394 Interface for high speed communication between two devices like transferring images without any quality degradation from a stand alone camera or camcorder to a PC.

Lenovo IdeaPad S10 netBook offers integrated Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g wireless LAN connection along with Bluetooth v2.0+EDR wireless data connection for enhanced wireless connectivity. In addition, it also sports integrated 10/100 Ethernet Network Card. There is no internal modem so a USB based external modem could be attached.

Integrated Touch Pad features a wider touch pad area which provides two modes to avoid the incident touching of Touch Pad when using a mouse.

Lenovo IdeaPad S10 netBook also offers Lenovo’s own One-Touch-System-Recovery feature and it comes with various software preinstalled such as Shuttle Centre, Power 2 GO, Veriface, Easy Capture 2.5, IGRS Anywhere and Norton anti-virus software.

Other features of Lenovo S10 ultra-mobile netBook PC includes integrated 1.3 Megapixel resolution webcam, 4-in-1 Media Card Reader supporting SD, SDHC and Multimedia Card (MMC), 2 USB v2.0 ports, Realtek ALC6628 Hi-Definition Audio 5.1 CODEC Hardware with build-in 2 stereo speaker system of 1.5 Watts each and also sports built-in Microphone.

The Lenovo IdeaPad S10 netbook comes with 6-cell, Li-Ion, 5200 mAh, 7.4 volts Battery which provides upto 6 hrs battery life and the Netbook is designed to be a eco-efficient consumer and business notebooks, and are fully compliant with the RoHS (Restriction of HazardousSubstances) directive.

I/O Ports

• 2 USB v2.0
• Audio/S-video in
• External Display (VGA)
• External Microphone/Line-In
• Headphone/Line out
• IEEE 1394
• RJ-45 (Ethernet)
• TV/S-Video out port
• 3-in-1 Media Card Reader

Lenovo IdeaPad S10 NetBook Features

• Intel Atom Processor N270, 1.60 GHz
• 512-KB L2 Cache, 533 Mhz FSB
• 512-MB DDR2 (533 MHz), 2 DIMM slots (Max. 2-GB in 2 slots)
• 160-GB Serial-ATA harddrive, 5200 rpm
• No internal Optical Drive
• 10.2 inch widescreen TFT WXGA VibrantView display, 1024 x 600 pixels maximum resolution, 16M colors
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator Intel GMA 950, shared video memory, supports Direct x 9.0 acceleration, Dual independent display option, Dynamic Display Detect, Open GL 1.4
• Built-in Speakers
• Internal Microphone
• Integrated 1.3 Megapixel Webcam
• 10/100 Ethernet Network Card
• No internal Modem
• 802.11 a/b/g Wireless LAN Connection
• Bluetooth v2.0+EDR wireless connection
• 4-in-1 Memory card reader, SD, MMC, MS, MS Pro
• 2 USB v2.0 ports
• Windows XP Home
• 6 cell Lithium Ion Battery with 3.5 hrs backup
• Dimensions (WxHxD): 250.2 x 183 x 27.5 mm
• Weight: 1.25 Kgs (with battery pack)

The Lenovo IdeaPad S10 NetBook powered by Intel Atom N270 Processor and featuring 10.2-inch display. Visit www.lenovo.com/ for more details.

Dell Inspiron Mini 12 Laptop

Dell has announced a new ultra-slim Dell Inspiron Mini 12 Laptop in competition to MacBook Air and like which is powered by Intel Atom Z530 Processor and it features 12.1-inch Widescreen WXGA TFT display, Integrated 1.3 Megapixel Webcam, WiFi 802.11a/g/n LAN connection, and 6 hours of extended battery life.


Only 1.1-inch thick, the new Dell Inspiron Mini 12 ultra-portable Laptop is designed as low-cost, Internet-centric mobile computing devices also called NetBooks and is powered by 1.6 GHz Intel Atom ULV (ultra low voltage) Processor Z530, specifically designed for small devices and low power consumption, while maintaining the Intel Core 2 Duo instruction set compatibility.

This new range of Ultra Portable Netbook is targeted at consumer who needs to stay connected, informed, entertained and productive-anytime and anywhere. The Dell Mini 12 is designed lightweight and small in size making it convenient for use at all sorts of places like in home, gym, trains, bus, planes etc. where a larger size laptop might feel inconvenient.

The Intel Atom processor Z530 uses a brand new design structure that packs in 47 million transistors into a single chip sized at just 22mm (0.87 inches), and the processor uses just 2.5 watts of power which is less than 1/10th of the 35 watts used by an Intel Core 2 Duo processor.

The Dell Inspiron Mini 12 netbook is also equipped with Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology which reduces average system power consumption. The enhanced low-power sleep states (C1E, C2E, C4E) are optimized for power by forcibly reducing the performance state of the processor when it enters a package low-power state.

Designed specifically for mobile devices, the Dell Mini 12 laptop uses a brand new design structure the dynamic L2 cache sizing -that reduces electrical leakage in transistors-to conserve energy, giving you more time away from the wall outlet.

The 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor Z530 in Dell Inspiron Mini 12 netBook also includes a power-optimized front side bus of 533 MHz for faster data transfer (FSB) on demanding mobile applications and a 512 KB L2 cache (which temporarily stores data).

Dell Mini 12 12.1-inch netBook features 1-GB DDR2 667 MHz SDRAM (maximum 2-GB via a standard SO-DIMM module) and a 80-GB internal 2.5-inch 4200 rpm PATA hard drive. There is provision to connect CD/DVD optical drive of choice but no optical drive is packaged.

The new Dell Inspiron Mini 12 laptop sports 12.1-inch (30.7 cm) UltraSharp Widescreen WXGA TFT display with TrueLife technology offering maximum of 1280 x 800 pixels screen resolution powered by integrated Intel Mobile Graphics Media Accelerator GMA 500 graphics chipset with upto 128-MB shared video memory.

Weighing 1.24 Kgs with 3-cell battery pack, the Dell Inspiron Mini 12 ultr-portable laptop comes with integrated 1.3 Megapixels web camera built in directly above the LCD display and Dell laptop offers A-V communications package with directional microphone, noise-isolation earbuds and Skype software.

Available in single Black color, the Dell Mini 12 laptop is equipped with Intel Dell Wireless 1397 802.11b/g Half Mini Card WiFi Connection, integrated 10/100/1000 Fast Ethernet LAN connection and option for an external 56kbps v.92 Fax/Modem card via USB port. The Dell laptop also offers Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Internal (2.0) mini-card Wireless Connection.

The new Dell Mini 12 laptop comes with Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition OS preinstalled and it comes bundled with various legal software including Utility Driver CD, CD Writer Software, and DVD Playback Software.

The Dell Mini 12 laptop also offers 3 USB v2.0 ports, Intel High Definition Audio 2.0 with external stereo speakers delivering theater-style surround sound, dual headphone ports, two microphone ports, and on the right side it sports ExpressCard/54 slot (Media Center remote), wireless on/off switch, slot-loading optical drive bay, one USB port, and security lock slot.

The Dell Mini 12 laptop also features a standard Consumer Infrared port which allows navigate through music, videos, photos remotely with the travel remote control located in the express card slot and laptop also also offers integrated 3-in-1 memory card reader, which can read SD, xD, and MMC cards.

The Dell Mini 12 is equipped with3-cell 24 WHr Li-Ion battery which provides upto 3 hours of battery life and a 6-cell 48 WHr Li-Ion Battery is available which allows upto 6 hours life.

Ports

• 3 USB 2.0 compliant 4-pin ports (one on left and right side each)
• IEEE 1394a FireWire port
• 10/100/1000 Ethernet LAN card port RJ45 Port
• External Modem/Fax card via USB port
• 15 Pin External VGA monitor port
• HDMI port output for HDTV video
• ExpressCard 54 mm slot
• 3-in-1 removable memory card reader (in front)
• Dual digital array Microphones
• Consumer IR Port
• Audio jacks (1 line-in, 1-line out, 1 Mic-in)

Dell Inspiron Mini 12 Laptop PC Features

• Intel Atom Processor Z530, 1.6 GHz
• 512-KB L2 Cache, 533 MHz FSB
• Intel US15W Chipset Motherboard
• 1-GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM, 400 MHz, up to 4-GB DDR2 SDRAM Maximum
• 80-GB PATA HDD 4200 rpm
• 12.1 inch (30.7 cm) UltraSharp Widescreen WXGA TFT display with TrueLife, 1280 x 800 pixels maximum resolution
• Intel Mobile Graphics Media Accelerator GMA 500 with upto 128-MB shared video memory
• Integrated 1.3 Megapixel Webcam
• Built-in Microphone
• One External Speaker
• Dell Wireless 1397 802.11b/g Half Mini Card WiFi Connection
• Integrated 10/100 Fast Ethernet LAN
• External 56kbps v.92 Fax/Modem via USB port
• Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Internal v2.0 mini-card Wireless Connection
• Intel High Definition Audio 2.0
  
• 3 USB 2.0 compliant 4-pin connectors
• Dell MediaDirect technology for fast, one-button access to videos, music or photos
• 3-in-1 memory card reader
• 15-pin VGA video output & S-Video
• 3-cell 24WHr Li-Ion Battery, Upto 3 Hrs life
  6-cell 48WHr Li-Ion Battery, Upto 6 Hrs life
  
• Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic
• Dimension (WxHxD): 299 x 23.31/27.61 x 229 mm
• Weight: 1.24 Kgs (with 3-cell power pack)

Intel Atom Processor Z530 powered Dell Inspiron Mini 12 laptop with 12.1-inch WXGA Widescreen display will be available in Feb or March 2009 . Visit www.dell.com for more details.

Sony VAIO VGN-P15G/R NetBook With Solid State Drive

Sony has launched in India its first ultra-portable the Sony VAIO-VGN-P15G/R NetBook which is powered by Intel Atom Z520 Processor and it features a much smaller 8-inch Widescreen WXGA TFT display, 64-GB internal Solid State Drive, Integrated Webcam, WiFi 802.11a/g/n LAN connection, and 6 hours of extended battery life.


Only 20 mm thick, the new Sony VAIO VGN-P15G/R ultra-portable Laptop is designed as low-cost, Internet-centric mobile computing devices also called NetBooks and is powered by 1.33 GHz Intel Atom ULV (ultra low voltage) Processor Z520, specifically designed for small devices and low power consumption, while maintaining the Intel Core 2 Duo instruction set compatibility.

Sony VAIO VGN-P ultra-portable netbook is one of the slickest and most expensive netBook in its class.

This new range of Ultra Portable Netbook is targeted at consumer who needs to stay connected, informed, entertained and productive-anytime and anywhere. The Sony VAIO VGN-P15G/R is designed lightweight and small in size making it convenient for use at all sorts of places like in home, gym, trains, bus, planes etc. where a larger size laptop might feel inconvenient.

The Intel Atom processor Z520 uses a brand new design structure that packs in 47 million transistors into a single chip sized at just 22mm (0.87 inches), and the processor uses just 2.5 watts of power which is less than 1/10th of the 35 watts used by an Intel Core 2 Duo processor.

The Sony VAIO VGN-P15G/R netbook is also equipped with Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology which reduces average system power consumption. The enhanced low-power sleep states (C1E, C2E, C4E) are optimized for power by forcibly reducing the performance state of the processor when it enters a package low-power state.

Designed specifically for mobile devices, the Sony VAIO VGN-P15G/R NetBook uses a brand new design structure the dynamic L2 cache sizing -that reduces electrical leakage in transistors-to conserve energy, giving you more time away from the wall outlet.

The 1.33 GHz Intel Atom processor Z520 in Sony VAIO VGN-P15G/R also includes a power-optimized front side bus of 533 MHz for faster data transfer (FSB) on demanding mobile applications and a 512 KB L2 cache (which temporarily stores data) build on Intel US15W Chipset motherboard.

Sony VAIO VGN-P15G/R ultra-portable features 2-GB DDR2 667 MHz SDRAM (maximum 2-GB via a standard SO-DIMM module) and a 64-GB Solid State Drive (SSD) instead of standard hard drive. There is provision to connect CD/DVD optical drive of choice but no optical drive is packaged.

Solid State Drives (SSD) weigh less, use significantly less power and are less prone to damage as compared to conventional hard disk drives (HDD).

In addition, Solid State Hard Drives (SSD) significantly enhance performance in comparison to conventional hard disk drive. SSD’s boot times are 25-50 percent faster and data access is 300 times faster for reading and 150 % faster for writing.

The new Sony VAIO VGN-P15G/R is equipped with 8-inch (20.32 cm) ClearBright Widescreen WXGA TFT display on 2:1 Aspect Radio offering maximum of 1600 x 768 pixels screen resolution powered by integrated Intel Mobile Graphics Media Accelerator GMA 500 graphics chipset with upto 256-MB dedicated video memory.

Weighing only 594 gms with 3-cell battery pack, the Sony VAIO VGN-P15G/R ultra-portable netbook comes with integrated VGA resolution 0.3 MP web camera built in directly above the LCD display.

Available in Black and Crystal White, Garnet Red, Olivine Green colors, the Sony VAIO VGN-P15G/R netbook is equipped with Integrated Wireless 802.11b/g/n WiFi Connection, integrated 10/100/1000 Fast Ethernet LAN connection and option for an external 56kbps v.92 Fax/Modem card via USB port. The Sony NetBook also offers integrated Bluetooth Internal (2.0) mini-card Wireless Connection.

The new Sony VAIO VGN-P15G/R comes with Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic Edition OS preinstalled and it comes bundled with various legal software including Utility Driver CD, CD Writer Software, and DVD Playback Software.

The Sony VAIO VGN-P15G/R ultra-portable also offers 2 USB v2.0 ports, Intel High Definition Audio 2.0 with external stereo speakers delivering theater-style surround sound, dual headphone ports, two microphone ports, and on the right side it sports ExpressCard/54 slot (Media Center remote), wireless on/off switch, slot-loading optical drive bay, one USB port, and security lock slot.

The Sony VAIO VGN-P15G/R also features a standard Consumer Infrared port which allows navigate through music, videos, photos remotely with the travel remote control located in the express card slot and laptop also also offers integrated 3-in-1 memory card reader, which can read SD, xD, and MMC cards.

The SOny VAIO-P NetBook is equipped with3-cell 24 WHr Li-Ion battery which provides upto 3 hours of battery life and a 6-cell 48 WHr Li-Ion Battery is available which allows upto 6 hours life.

Ports

• 2 USB 2.0 compliant 4-pin ports
• IEEE 1394a FireWire port
• 10/100/1000 Ethernet LAN card port RJ45 Port
• 15 Pin External VGA monitor port
• ExpressCard 54 mm slot
• 3-in-1 removable memory card reader (in front)
• Audio jacks (1 line-in, 1-line out, 1 Mic-in)
• S-Video TV-Out Connector

Sony VAIO VGN-P15G/R Ultra-Portable Features

• Intel Atom Processor Z520, 1.33 GHz
• 512-KB L2 Cache, 533 MHz FSB
• Intel US15W Chipset Motherboard
• 2-GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM, 400 MHz, up to 4-GB DDR2 SDRAM Maximum
• 64-GB Solid State Storage (SSD)
• 8-inch (20.32 cm) Widescreen WXGA TFT ClearBright display in 2:1 Ratio, 1600 x 768 pixels maximum resolution
• Intel Mobile Graphics Media Accelerator GMA 500 with upto 256-MB dedicated video memory
• Integrated VGA Resolution 0.3 Megapixel Webcam
• Built-in Microphone
• Intel High Definition Audio compatible, 3D audio (Direct Sound 3D support) with built-in stereo speakers
• Integrated 802.11b/g/n WiFi LAN Connection
• Integrated 10/100 Fast Ethernet LAN
• Optional External 56kbps v.92 Fax/Modem via USB port
• Bluetooth v2.0 Wireless Connection
• 2 USB 2.0 compliant 4-pin connectors
• 3-in-1 memory card reader
• 15-pin VGA video output & S-Video
• Colors - Crystal White, Black, Garnet Red, Olivine Green
• 3-cell 24WHr Li-Ion Battery, Upto 3 Hrs life
  6-cell 48WHr Li-Ion Battery, Upto 6 Hrs life
  
• Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic
• Dimension (WxHxD): 245 x 19.8 x 120 mm
• Weight: 594 gms (with 3-cell power pack)

Intel Atom Processor Z520 powered Sony VAIO VGN-P15G/R ultra-portable (NetBook) having 8-inch display and 64-GB Solid State Drive is available with 1 year warranty. Visit vaio-online.sony.com/ for more details.

Toshiba Roll out TG01 - Could Become a iPhone Killer

Ever since the iphone was launched, many similar handsets have been released claiming to be the iKiller. Toshiba has also announced their smartphone, the TG01 which is set to compete with the iPhone 3G and HTC Touch HD. The TG01 has a 4.1 inch screen with WVGA 800 X 480 pixel resolution.


The screen also uses Toshiba’s HDTV technology for gamma correction and backlight control.

The device is powered by windows mobile.1 OS and has a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset and it is also the first one to run on that chipset. It has a slim 9.9mm thick body and is slimmer than both the iPhone and HTC Touch. It uses Toshiba’s own 3D user interface and is intended for one hand use and it also responds to gestures and shaking. A virtual trackpad is also present to help in browsing websites.

It has the Snapdragon 1GHz CPU and thanks to the dynamic speed control, it can throttle back during low usage. Toshiba claims that it can run for a whole day without requiring a recharge even if its multimedia features are used to full extent. Other features include Internal GPS with A-GPS, a 3.2 MP camera, EDGE/GPRS, 3G with HSDPA support. It also has Bluetooth 2.0, Wifi and supports Divx video playback. The IE mobile 6 browser that comes with it also supports flash. It has an inbuilt memory of 512mb which can be extended to 32GB with microSD card.

The smartphone will be available in Europe after a few months. No pricing details has yet been announced and it seems that it will be available in colors of black and white.

Simple Way to Download YouTube Videos: Just Add "pwn" before the Url

Long time ago i shared about KissYouTube in which you just had to add kiss before the url to download it, now a similar simple service is available which you can use to download YouTube videos in the standard quality FLV or in high quality MP4 format without using any programs or FireFox extensions.

How to Download YouTube Videos easily:

Just add "pwn" before the youtube url and you are ready to go, see image below

You will be presented with the options for downloading YouTube videos in different formats:
Remember "pwn", Download and Enjoy ( also works with .in YouTube video urls same steps just pwn it)

Free Download: Google Earth 5.0 Ocean Edition

The amazing Google Earth software has just got even better, Google has released a new version of Google

Earth having capabilities of going underwater, it will let you dive beneath the surface and witness underwater terrains that would otherwise would not be possible for a average human. It even sports a historical imagery feature by which you go back in time to see changes taking place on the Earth over time because of human influences, It also has a touring feature by which you can record your actions and places you visit to play them later.

The new version is called Google Earth for Oceans and ocean feature is turned on by default, zooming in on Ocean surface will let you dive beneath the surface where you can navigate 3D underwater sea floor terrain. It has 20 layers of content information contributed by ocean explorers, scientists and researchers having photos, videos and information that i am sure will surprise you.

Hewlett Packard (HP) has for a long time been associated with devices that integrate SIM support and they have however for a long time been stuck to their Pocket PC’s with large touch sensitive screens. Recently the company has decided to venture into the field of mobile phones and they have launched the Hewlett Packard iPAQ 514 Voice Messenger.

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The iPAQ 514 Voice Messenger is a smartphone primarily for business users, and not a phone aimed at those who are more concerned with the entertainment features on their phones. The phone runs on Windows Mobile 6 making the phone somewhat user friendly something that Microsoft has been able to achieve in all its software packages.
HP has focused on the business individuals and they have decided to keep the cost down by putting a 1.3 megapixel camera which is rather low and a display that measures just two diagonal inches and displays just 176 x 220 pixels.
The phone comes with an 802.11 b/g onboard as well as Bluetooth and other connections. The phone allows you to use VolP applications over Wi-Fi. The phone has some interesting features such as the WM6 which is a voice commander which recognizes voice commands and can make calls, launch an application or start music playback. The phone also allows you to read e-mails.

The following is a list of the features the HP iPAQ 514:

• 2G Network: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
• Dimensions: 107 x 48.6 x 16.3 mm
• Weight: 102g
• Display: TFT 65K colors, 176 x 220 pixels, 2.0 inches
• Ringtones: polyphonic (64 channels), MP3, AAC
• Phonebook: unlimited access both entries and fields, photocall
• Card slot: microSD (TransFlash), 64MB RAM, 128MB ROM, TI OMAP 850 200MHz processor
• GPRS: Class 10 (4+ 1/3 +2 slots), 32-48 kbps
• EDGE: Class 10, 236.8 kbps
• WLAN: WI-Fi 802.11 b/g
• Bluetooth v 1.2
• Mini USB
• Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.0 Standard
• Messaging: SMS, MMS, Email, Instant messaging
• Browser: WAP 2.0 / xHTML, HTML (PocketIE)
• Color: Black
• Camera: 1.3MP, 1280 x 1024 pixels, video
• Pocket Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, Media Player)
• Java MIDP 2.0
• Video Audio album
• Built in handsfree
• Voice memo
• Standard Li-Ion 1100 mAh
• Up to 188 hours standby time
• Up to 6 hours 30 minutes talk time
  

How to Enable & Disable USB Ports / Storage Device Access

If you want to disallow your staff from using external USB based drives, then you need to make some system settings changes in order to make sure your staff cannot access to the USB ports. This even works when you are at a location with USB port but with no access to it, you just need to make some registry changes in your PC.

How to Enable USB Storage Device Access :
If you already have a USB port on the PC but without the access to use it then you need to perform the following changes.

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
3. Locate and then click the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesUsbStor
4. In the details pane, double-click Start.
5. In the Value data box, type 4, click Hexadecimal (if it is not already selected), and then click OK.
6. Exit Registry Editor.

How to Disable USB Storage Device Access:
In order to keep your PC secure you can disable total access to the USB Storage devices.

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
3. Locate, and then click the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesUsbStor
4. In the right pane, double-click Start.
5. In the Value data box, type 3, click Hexadecimal (if it is not already selected), and then click OK.
6. Quit Registry Editor.

Generally its not recommended to allow access to USB Ports at offices and public PC unless required because the computers can get attacked by virus very quickly.

Note : Make sure you backup your registry before making any changes to it. You can easily restore it if you feel you have made any mistake in making the registry changes.

BlackBerry Storm parts pricier than iPhone's

Market research firm iSuppli has taken apart the BlackBerry Storm and discovered that the sum of its parts is worth more than those of Apple's iPhone 3G.

Components used to build new Research In Motion smartphone cost about $203, according to iSuppli. Verizon Wireless, the exclusive carrier of the Storm, sells the device for $199 after rebates and with a two-year service contract. Meanwhile, the total cost of components in Apple's 8-gigabyte iPhone 3G, which was introduced last summer, is $174. AT&T, the iPhone's exclusive carrier, sells the 8GB device for $199 with a two-year service contract.

These total device prices don't include the cost of software, licensing of patents, or distribution, but rather just the cost of the actual physical components. While the roughly $29 difference may not seem like much, it certainly adds up after millions of phones are sold.

Neither Verizon nor RIM has disclosed how many BlackBerry Storms have been sold, but published reports suggest that RIM sold about 500,000 of the devices during the first month the phone was on sale. Apple sold 1.1 million units of the first-generation iPhone, by comparison, in the first two months it was on the market. And sales after that quickly ramped up.

So why are Storm's components more expensive than those of the iPhone?

There are a likely several reasons. For one, the iPhone 3G is a second-generation product, and Apple may be getting better component prices from suppliers. But iSuppli also notes that the Storm is a more complicated device that requires more components. According to the research firm, the Storm's total component count is 1,177, of which 151 are mechanical in nature. The iPhone 3G includes 1,116 components.

The Storm also packs in more wireless technologies than the iPhone. For example, it offers the EV-DO air standard, along with CDMA 2000, GSM, WCDMA, and HSDPA. This allows the device to roam around the world on different carrier networks.

Another reason the Storm may be more expensive is because it's using an expensive chip from Qualcomm. The Qualcomm MSM7600 baseband processor costs about $35 and accounts for 17.2 percent of the Storm's total component cost.

The Storm is also more expensive than other RIM devices, such as the BlackBerry Bold, which costs about $177 to build. The Bold uses Marvell Technology Group's PXA9xx Integrated Baseband processor, which is less expensive than the Qualcomm chip. But iSuppli says the cost differential can mainly be attributed to the Storm's touchscreen and its supporting electronics.

The Storm, RIM's first touch-screen device, was supposed to be Verizon's iPhone killer. But customers who bought the device are complaining of buggy software and hardware glitches. A Wall Street Journal article published earlier this week suggests that Verizon and RIM rushed the device to market, perhaps before it was really ready. The newspaper notes that Jim Balsillie, RIM's co-CEO, said the companies reached the Black Friday deadline "by the skin of their teeth," after they had missed a planned October debut.

Internet TV telco subscribers to triple by 2012

Internet TV telecom subscribers are expected to grow worldwide by three fold over the next four years, according to a report released Monday market researcher In-Stat.

Despite the dire economic climate, the number of telecom TV subscribers is expected to reach 71.6 million by 2012, according to the report.

And key markets expected to benefit include Brazil, Korea and India, as recent regulatory changes create more favorable conditions for the technology.

"A number of new countries, including places as varied as Montenegro, Jordan and Ghana, saw the launch of their first commercial IPTV offerings in 2008," Michelle Abraham, In-State analyst, said in a statement. "Only a few markets, like Japan and Argentina, remain hamstrung by restrictions that hinder incumbent operators."

The In-Stat report is yet one more indicator of the growth expected in IPTV, with ABI Research anticipating similar increases in telecom TV subscribers.

Additional changes In-Stat notes are emerging on the horizon include the convergence of applications, such as the ability to control set-top boxes from PCs and mobile phones.

New iPhone firmware reveals code for next model

What will Apple's next iPhone look like? The only changes might be under the hood.
(Credit: Apple)

As might be expected, it doesn't seem that the iPhone 3G will be Apple's last iPhone.

MacRumors has discovered code inside the OS X 2.2.1 firmware released earlier this week that describes an "IPhone 2,1" model. Previous discoveries have shown that Apple uses this labeling nomenclature for both the iPhone and the iPod Touch.

The original iPhone was labeled "1,1", while the iPhone 3G was model "1,2." The iPod Touch has already advanced to a second-generation design, as the iPod Touch released at September's music event received the "2,1" label inside its firmware.

Little else is known about iPhone "2,1." It's reasonable to assume that since the iPod Touch number changed significantly with the addition of a new processor, that such an upgrade might be coming to the next iPhone. P.A. Semi has been working on iPhone chips since last spring, and other evidence has surfaced indicating that Apple might be planning to upgrade the iPhone's graphics sometime in the near future.

Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller seemed to imply earlier this year that Apple was locked into a June/July upgrade cycle with the iPhone, noting that Macworld's January date conflicted with a number of Apple's regular product cycles. So, perhaps another summer iPhone release is on tap.

Asus Eee PC Review

Eee pc is a sub notebook computer designed by Asus. It is noted for its combination of lightweight, Linux based operating system, and relatively low cost. It is distributed and labeled as Asus mini book in some places. It has managed to be a satisfactory device that delivers as promised. The promise that the Asus Eee PC 901 delivers is right in the name:Easy to learn,Easy to work,Easy to play

The Asus Eee PC 901 weighs approximately 2.43 pounds, making it portable, you can easily take it with you everywhere and anywhere you go. It has an average but impressive 7.8-hour battery life which gives you almost a full day of computing. It is generally has a drop-tested, shockproof design making it perfect for almost everyone including first timers, frequent travelers, and business professionals. It includes a low-end Intel Mobile CPU, 512MB of RAM, and a 4GB solid-state flash hard drive (versions with 2GB and 8GB hard drives will also be available).

The Asus Eee is basically a smaller version of a conventional ultraportable laptop. It has a small 7-inch screen, with a resolution of 800×480, the laptop weighs 2 pounds and measures 8.8 inches wide by 6.5 inches deep by a little less than an inch thick. It can fit perfectly into a large jacket pocket. A Webcam sits above the screen and tiny speakers reside on the left and right sides of the display.

Tiny keyboards, as on ultraportable systems such as the Toshiba R500 are characteristic of the device which include Chiclet-size keys having key placement and double-mapped keys as well. The tiny touchpad measures 1.75 inches by 1.25 inches and works well on the whole, but there’s only a single mouse button–click on the left side for the left mouse button, and the right for the right mouse button. Overall, the keyboard is easier to use than any UMPC we’ve seen, but far more cramped than any other ultraportable PC.

Summary of the features of the Asus Eee PC

Processor	900MHz Intel Mobile CPU
Memory	512MB RAM
Hard drive	4GB SSD
Chipset/Graphics	Intel 910
Operating System	Linux (customized by Asus)
Dimensions (WDH)	8.8 x 6.5 x 0.9 inches
Screen size (diagonal)	7.0 inches
System weight / Weight with AC adapter [pounds]	2.0/2.4 pounds
Category	Ultraportable

When You Want to Know Who Called Your Home Phone

If you have caller ID on your home phone, then you know this is a great feature. With caller ID, you can see that someone in your family called or one of your friends called. But, what if you see a number from a person you do not know. The phone number area code looks to be out of your area. In fact, you know the area code is not from your area. So, what do you do? How can you find out who where this phone number is from and who is the person calling you?

Well, since the advent of the Internet, it is now easy to find out where a particular phone number is from and who that person calling is. There are several ways to do, what is called a reverse phone lookup. Did you know this can be done? That is why having Internet access is amazing. There are actually companies on the Internet who, when you type in an unknown phone number, allow you to see where the number is from and who called you.

Doing a reverse phone number lookup can be done by typing into any search engine (Yahoo, Google, Fire Fox) “Reverse Phone Lookup” or “Reverse Phone Directory”. Once you find an online reverse phone number company, click on that website and type in the phone number showing on your caller ID.

Right now, there are at least five online reverse phone directories where any phone number can be typed in to begin doing a search on the number, and person calling. Just right now, I did a reverse phone lookup on a company that I contract work with and their city showed up along with the name of the company. This is good enough for me. Sometimes, if you are doing a reverse phone number lookup, you might have to pay a fee.

With everyone having cell phones these days, anyone can now do a reverse cell phone number online. That is great because sometimes, not always, unknown cell phone numbers which I did not add to my cell phone, are showing up on my LCD screen.

These days, almost any information you need, phone numbers included, can be found online. All you have to do is type in that unknown number into a reverse phone directory and right before your eyes, is the person who called you.

Nokia 8800 Mobile Phone Review

The Nokia 8800 is a mobile phone, a product of Nokia. It is light and weighs a mere 134g. It is a true personification of various artistic factors with sleek metallic body and extremely fine edges; all the right things combined leaving you breathless. The Nokia 8800 is not only about its unique astounding design, but it is a cool symbol of luxury.

The Nokia 8800 is loaded with the 256 colour TFT screen, which is protected with scratch resistant glass and it helps to retain the handset’s original physical appearance for a long time. Sliding the upper flip reveals an easy keypad with characteristically small keys. The camera lens is located at the top rear and is visible and thus can only be used when phone is open. The camera comprises of a 2.0 mega pixel camera with 8x digital zoom. To provide enough storage space, there’s a lone power button on the top of the handset, as well as two release buttons on the right and left spines to access the battery and SIM card slot. On the upside, the Nokia 8800 comes with a wired headset, a desk charger, a travel charger and suede carry pouch The 8800 comes with two BL-5X (600 mAh) batteries, with a manufacturer-specified talk time of up to 1.5-3 hours or up to 8 days standby time per battery. Nokia 8800 features a variety of functions apart from the colour screen mentioned above, that make it very convenient and efficient.

The 8800 has the usual PIM functions, such as a to-do list, a calculator, a stopwatch, a countdown timer, and a calendar. The company also throws in a couple of extras: a translator, as well as the Mobile Wallet 2.0 application, which lets you store personal information such as credit card numbers and receipts, and can be password protected. There is inclusion of integrated Bluetooth, a speakerphone, voice-memo support, and PC syncing with the Nokia PC Suite. There is also a WAP 2.0 wireless Web browser with support for EDGE speeds a connectivity feature. Perfect features for a businessman as well. The phone-book size is limited by the available memory.

The SIM card holds an additional 250 contacts, with room in each entry for five numbers; e-mail, Web, and postal addresses; and notes. You can pair a contact with an image, a group ID, or one of 64 polyphonic ring tones; the phone also supports AAC and MP3 ring tones. It is loaded with 128MB of in-built memory which allows you to store all the pictures and videos in 3GP format, without constraints communication is easier with the various types available including, text messaging, multimedia messages, as well as e-mail and instant messaging. Further entertainment is available through the FM radio and you can also download music through he internet with xHTML browsing or Bluetooth connectivity.

Deep inside the Windows 7 Public Beta: an in-depth tour

Last week's CES saw the announcement of the much anticipated public beta of Windows 7, with 2.5 million license keys promised to beta testers on Friday. Friday arrived, and as is now well-known, Microsoft's servers melted under the load. The key generation is now more or less working, and the 2.5 million limit has been scrapped, so it's time to take a look at what's on offer.

The first public sightings of Windows 7 were at Microsoft's PDC developer conference in October last year. The lead-up to PDC was unusually secretive, with Redmond giving little away about what Windows 7 would actually contain when it shipped, in contrast to the extremely public lead-up to Windows Vista's release. The covers came off at PDC, with the star of the show being Windows 7's new taskbar. Unfortunately, the build that was given out to PDC attendees lacked the new taskbar, so the one feature we all wanted to play with wasn't actually available. The public beta, build number 7000, finally gives us the new shiny taskbar. If all goes well, this will be the only beta Windows 7 gets; a Release Candidate should land some time around April, going RTM in July, and hitting retail two to three months later.

Windows Vista made a lot of changes to the driver model and the display layer, and took a much harder line on security, which was all very necessary work, but which caused a lot of teething trouble in its early days. Windows 7 doesn't undo any of that work; it does, however, build upon it to make using the OS simpler and more refined. The major focus with Windows 7 is how the user interacts with the machine, and so the major work in Windows 7 is to the user interface. Therefore I'll focus mainly on the new interface elements in this brief look. For those more interested in the system administrative perspective, our PDC Coverage would be a good place to start.

The taskbar

The taskbar is probably the defining feature of the Windows user interface. The introduction of the taskbar and Start Menu with Windows 95 was something of a landmark; it was the taskbar more than any other aspect of the Windows 95 UI that made Windows 95 feel modern, leaving Windows 3.11 far behind. While the Start Menu has undergone radical improvements (culminating in Vista's searchable Start Menu, which I can't live without), the taskbar has changed little since its introduction. Minor refinements have been made over the years—the IE4 shell update added the ability to dock special toolbars to the taskbar (most notably the Quick Launch icons), Windows XP added stacking to allow

multiple buttons to collapse if the taskbar became too full, and Vista added thumbnails when hovering the mouse

—but the basic mechanics of switching between running tasks ha

ve remained unaltered.

The new taskbar

Fire up Windows 7 for the first time and the taskbar is p

retty much what we saw back in October. No more Quick Launch toolbar, no more button text, just a

set of large icons. An icon on the taskbar doesn't necessarily mean that a program is running; programs can be pinned to the taskbar so that their i

con is persistent. Clicking the icon starts the program (if it's not running) or switches to it (if it is). If a program has multiple windows, clicking the icon shows a list of thumbnails; clicking the thumbnail switches window.

The new taskbar with multiple windows

Though the appearance is quite unlike any previous taskbar, and is liable to cause some consternation among those resistant to change, the basic operation of the taskbar is much the same as it has been in XP. In this regard, the biggest behavioral change is the conflation of running and non-running programs.

Personally, I like this. Whether a program is currently running or not is, to me, a minor detail, and so the mechanism I use to switch to an application should be the same regardless of whether the application is currently running. Forcing me to do one thing (Quick Launch or Start Menu) when the application isn't running, and a second (taskbar) when it is strikes me as unnecessary. With Windows 7, the same approach can be used in both situations; just click the icon.

There are small visual cues to indicate the state of each application; IE (left-most) isn't running, so has no box around the icon. Media Player (second from left) has a single window, so gets a single box. Chrome (third from left) and Explorer (fourth from left) have multiple windows, so they get a kind of stacked box.

The rather vociferous supporters of a certain Cupertino-based company will probably say that this aspect of the new taskbar (in conjunction with its large icons) shows that Microsoft has simply copied Apple. That may be so, but I'm not sure why anyone should care. The new taskbar works better than the old one, and that alone justifies the decisions Microsoft has taken.

More functionality New notification area

Window management Beyond the shell

UAC

How to download Windows 7 Beta Officially NOW and get an genuine activation key

Microsoft have managed to stabilize their servers and are now pushing the downloads along with activation keys without the 2.5 million key limit. However, you are required to use IE, download an Active X Control, and download a download manager to download the ISO. If you don’t want to, you can follow the tutorial below. Be sure to check out our post on 10 things you should know about before installing Windows 7 Beta.

Wait no longer. Although Microsoft is still trying to add servers and eventually post the download link on the Windows 7 website, we’ve figured out how to download the official Windows 7 Beta ISO images and acquire an activation key.

• Step 1 - Download:

The first thing you want to do is of course, download the ISO images of Windows 7 Beta.

Click here to download Windows 7 Beta (32-bit)
Click here to download Windows 7 Beta (64-bit)

Update: If your download keeps disconnecting, you must open Internet Explorer, then click on one of the following links:

Windows 7 Beta (32-bit) Download
Windows 7 Beta (64-bit) Download

• Step 2 - Get your activation key:

First login to your Microsoft Technet account using your Windows Live ID. Once you have done that, just click the links below and you should receive an activation key.

Windows 7 Beta 32-bit Activation Key:
https://www.microsoft.com/betaexperience/scripts/gcs.aspx?Product=tn-win7-32-ww&LCID=1033

Windows 7 Beta 64-bit Activation Key:
https://www.microsoft.com/betaexperience/scripts/gcs.aspx?Product=tn-win7-64-ww&LCID=1033

How to Unlock your iPhone 3G

The iPhone world has been clamoring for this one for awhile. And what better way to start the new year then by playing around with the Dev Team's newest creation--an official unlock for the iPhone 3G. We'll run through the basics of this wonderful little tool and show you exactly how you can jailbreak and unlock your phone. You'll be able to run as many third-party applications as you want on your device. And more importantly, you'll be able to use your iPhone on any cell phone carrier you want.

What's an Unlock?

Unlocking your phone allows you to use it on any carrier you want, not just AT&T. You'll pop out your AT&T SIM card and insert the SIM card of a different carrier. The iPhone doesn't allow you to do this normally, so a little bit of hacking is involved.

Is it safe? Will I break my iPhone?

Possibly. There's always the worry that the unlocking process will royally screw up your phone--but the only way to deal with that is to read the situations of others who have attempted the procedure before you. As long as you follow the instructions closely, you will greatly reduce your chances of bricking (screwing up) your iPhone. Beyond that, once you've unlocked your iPhone, you'll want to approach new iPhone updates with suspicion. Don't just click "update" in iTunes--wait for the various iPhone hackers to release (and safely test) new tools that will allow you to redo the same procedure on the new firmware.

Is it easy to do? Hacking an iPhone sounds difficult!

It is. It used to be difficult, but a number of one-button (or two-button) programs have emerged that greatly simplify the process of doing evil things to your iPhone. Don't worry. Even a cat could unlock an iPhone at this point.

How do I do it?

If you want a picture step-by-step, this link will walk you through the 3G unlock. But for the most part, unlocking a 3G iPhone is easy enough that we'll just need a few steps to tell you how to do it. Here we go!

1) Upgrade your iPhone to the 2.2 Firmware

This one's easy. Fire up iTunes and update your phone to the latest update, 2.2. If you've already done this, then you are one step ahead of the game. If not, you accomplish this task by clicking the "Update" button. Magic! Be sure to backup/sync your phone prior to doing so, and write down any note, programs, or settings you want to keep!

2) Pwn your Phone

Download Quickpwn. This is the application you'll use to jailbreak your phone prior to unlocking.

Connect your iPhone to your PC all USB-style and fire up Quickpwn. The program is as self-explanatory as a jailbreaking application could be. Select your phone. Select your phone's firmware (which should appear naturally, as you did the update through iTunes. If not, download it here). Install Cydia or Installer (we prefer the former). Follow the directions. Enjoy a hot cup of tea while you wait.

3) Install the application repositories

If you opted to install Cydia, fire up the application on your newly jailbroken iPhone and add the following application repository: http://apt9.yellowsn0w.com/

If you went for Installer, add this repository: http://i.yellowsn0w.com/

If you have no idea how to add a repository, fiddle around in each application's settings and options menus. It'll be there, trust us.

4) Install yellowsn0w

Use either Cydia or Installer to install yellowsn0w. Once the server finally lets you do so (it's getting hammered right now), run the application. Then turn off your iPhone. Grab a paper-clip and follow these instructions to pop out your SIM card. Slap in the SIM card from the new carrier you want to use. Turn on your iPhone. If the carrier doesn't pop up after a bit of a wait, repeat the process to remove the SIM and try doing it again.

5) Crazy Troubleshooting

Switching to T-Mobile? Turn off 3G on your iPhone settings (under Networking) before switching SIM cards.

Turn off any PINs on your SIM card before making the switch.

Make sure you're using the latest version of yellowsn0w. It should update in the Cydia/Installer menus automatically, but you can always make sure that the available version matches the newly released version by hitting up the official Dev Team blog.

i'll be monitoring the 3G unlock all day, and i'll let you know if we come across anything else! And you can always leave comments about the success / destruction of your iPhone 3G below.

Microsoft Gives Zune Solution

Microsoft has come up with a solution for those 30GB Zune players that have mysteriously failed for no obvious reason.

Microsoft has come up with the reason – and a solution – for the mysterious failure of so many 30GB Zune players yesterday. The problem was caused by a bug in the driver of the Zune 30 that caused it to improperly handle the final day of a leap year, meaning all Zune 30 devices were potentially affected.

Yesterday the company released the following statement that explains the problem – and also the solution:

"Early this morning we were alerted by our customers that there was a widespread issue affecting our 2006 model Zune 30GB devices (a large number of which are still actively being used). The technical team jumped on the problem immediately and isolated the issue: a bug in the internal clock driver related to the way the device handles a leap year. That being the case, the issue should be resolved over the next 24 hours as the time change moves to January 1, 2009. We expect the internal clock on the Zune 30GB devices will automatically reset tomorrow (noon, GMT). By tomorrow you should allow the battery to fully run out of power before the unit can restart successfully then simply ensure that your device is recharged, then turn it back on. If you're a Zune Pass subscriber, you may need to sync your device with your PC to refresh the rights to the subscription content you have downloaded to your device."

AMD Writes Down ATI...Again

A year ago - and last summer - AMD wrote down the value of its over $5 billion acquisition of ATI. Now, AMD is doing it again.

Back in 2006, heads turned when chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices plunked down about $5.4 billion to acquire graphics developer ATI…but things haven't quite worked out like AMD planned. A year ago, AMD was forced to write down some $1.7 billion of the "goodwill" value of ATI—essentially, admit it overpaid for the business—and back in July AMD wrote off another $880 million, citing ATI's underperforming mobile graphics and digital television technologies…which it sold to Broadcom in August for just under $193 million. All told, AMD had eaten about half the $5.4 billion it had sunk into the graphics developer…and now, in a new filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company admits it will have to write down the value of ATI by an unspecified amount that will have a "material" impact on the company's financials.

AMD cites the long-term financial outlook for the company, given the current global economic climate, as one reason for the write-down, along with AMD's own decline in stock price and reduced market capitalization. The company says it will not have to spend any money as a result of these "goodwill impairments," but has also announced the layoffs of some 600 employes, 100 more than it announced it would cut loose last month. Those job cuts come after AMD cut 10 percent of its workforce earlier this year, eliminating some 1,600 positions.

AMD shed its CEO Hector Ruiz and other top execs earlier this year, and has recently entered a $6 billion manufacturing partnership with Abu Dhabi investors to create the Foundry Company, which will essentially convert AMD into a fabless chip designer.