Archive for August, 2009

Google Books in EPUB format

Monday, August 31st, 2009

Google recently announced that they now have over a million public domain books in the EPUB format. Moreover, these books are still available in the more popular PDF format. Although the Google Books projects is indeed a very popular one with end users, it has also attracted some criticism from book publishers. As a matter of fact in 2006, the Association of American Publishers and the Authors Guild had filed a lawsuit against the service. However, recently Google announced that the lawsuit had been settled and that they will be working closely with the publishers to make more books available online.

To download Google books on your desktop/notebook/netbook visit: http://books.google.com
To download Google books on your mobile device visit: http://books.google.com/m

To download Adobe’s PDF reader visit: http://get.adobe.com
To download a EPUB reader visit: http://www.fbreader.org/downloads.php

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Sony unveil PS3 Slim

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

Although it is indeed rare to find someone who does not agree that the PS3 is one of the best consoles around, I guess that most people will also agree that it is too bulky and its design not very attractive. This should soon change because Sony will be releasing a more slim version of their console. The following are the pros and cons of the new model:

Pros:

- 33% smaller than current model
- 36% lighter than current model
- Consumes 34% less power than current model
- Can still be used as a ‘cheap’ Blu-ray player!

Cons:

- HDD is 120 GB (that is still good but not as good as the current 160 GB version)
- Cannot play PS2 games
- Installation of third-party OSes is not possible

For more information on the PS3 Slim click here: http://uk.playstation.com/games-media/news/articles/detail/item229653/Entertainment-on-PS3-has-a-new-look

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HDTVs now come with built-in HDD and Blue-Ray Burners

Sunday, August 23rd, 2009

Mitsubishi will soon release two new HDTVs! What’s so special with that one might ask? Actually there is indeed something special with these TVs since they have a built-in 320 GB Hard-disk, and not only that! They also come with built-in Blue-ray burners! If that was not enough USB ports are also included! These TV sets will be released in Japan in October but there is still no information as regards any release date for other countries.

For more information on mitsubishi TVs click here: http://www.mitsubishi-tv.com

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Recover Deleted Files

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

Recently I decided to test some file recovery software, that is software which can undelete files after they have been deleted. These applications are very useful because sometimes users delete files and afterwards they realise that they want them back. Other times they can be also deleted accidently by inexperienced users.
The test consisted of the following:

(i) Operating System: Windows Vista Ultimate
(ii) Hardware: Nikon Digital Camera
(iii) Storage: 1GB SD Card
(iv) Notebook with integrated SD Card reader

Procedure:

(i) Using the digital camera I manually deleted over 400 pictures (around 900 MB) from the SD card
(ii) As soon as I deleted the pictures, I took the SD card out of the camera and put it in the SD slot in the notebook

Note: For any recovery to be possible no new files should have overwritten the space which was previously used by the deleted files. Hence, that’s why I decided to carry out the test immediately after the deletion.

Applications Used:

(i) Recover My Files (http://www.getdata.com)
(ii) PC Inspector File Recovery (http://www.pcinspector.de)
(iii) Recuva (http://www.recuva.com)

Results:

(i) Recover My Files: Did not detect one single deleted file!
(ii) PC Inspector File Recovery: Detected many deleted files but any picture that I tried to recover resulted in a corrupted file that could not even be opened.
(iii) Recuva: Detected and successfully recovered all the pictures. Most of the pictures were 100% viewable whereas a small minority had some parts (from the actual image) missing.

Hence, the clear winner was Recuva which moreover is 100% free software!

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World’s Cheapest Netbook Under US$100

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

A chinese manfacturer has just released a netbook with a price tag that is below US$10. The eBook LY-EB01 includes the most basic specs such as a 266 MHz AK7802Q216 ARM processor and only 128 MB of RAM. The opertaing system used is Microsoft’s WinCE 5.0 rather than Linux, Android or Windows XP.

Further information by the manufacturer is not currently available but for more information on Windows CE 5.0 click here:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms905511.aspx

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Opera 10.0 Beta 3

Saturday, August 15th, 2009

The latest beta version (10.0 Beta 3) of the web-browser Opera is now available for download. This beta includes support for a whopping 38 different languages. It also includes a spell checker, an integrated client to check email and a web feed reader.

To download Opera 10.0 Beta 3 click here: http://www.opera.com/download/?ver=10.00b3

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Windows 7 released for Technet and MSDN subscribers

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

Technet and MSDN subscribers can now dowload the final version of Windows 7. However, end-users will have to wait till late October until they can purchase a copy.

For more information on MSDN click here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-gb/default.aspx
For more information on Technet click here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/default.aspx

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Windows 8 Server coming in 2012 ?

Monday, August 10th, 2009

According to a leaked roadmap from Microsoft Italy, Windows 8 Server should be released in 2012. It has to be noted that Windows 8 is just a code-name so by the time the o/s is released it will be most propably called something else. Also, according to the same roadmap the next version of Windows server will be a major release (like Windows Vista) and not simply a release update (like Windows 7).

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iPods/iPhones overheating?

Friday, August 7th, 2009

It seems that not many people know that Apple’s second generation Nanos had a problem which sometimes made them overheat, catch fire, or even explode. Recent reports are suggesting that the problem has resurfaced in the current iPod Touch/iPhone. For instance in South Korea some iPods are already being recalled because of overheating. Also, in Japan the government issued a warning that iPods can overheat. Finally, in the US, Apple is being sued by the mother of a child whose iPod Touch exploded and injured the child’s leg.

For more information on the Apple iPhone and iPod click here: http://www.apple.com/iphone and http://www.apple.com/itunes

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The first 1 Terabyte 2.5inch Hard-Drive released

Tuesday, August 4th, 2009

Until some years ago the maximum size you could get for an 2.5 inch hard-drive was not more than 80GB even though it was easy to find 3.5 inch versions with more than 500 GB. However, in the last 2 years thanks to a higher demand for notebooks and netbooks the sizes of 2.5 inch drives started to increase at a fast pace. Nevertheless a 2.5 inch 1 TB hard-drive could only be dreamt of, at least until now. In fact Western Digital have just released the Scorpio Blue 1TB which runs at 5,200 RPM and includes an 8MB cache. Moreover, this hard-drive is a SATA 2 device. A cheaper 750GB is also available.

For more information click here: http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=685

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