LIFE is like a book
Some chapters are sad,
Some happy and some very exciting.
But if you never turn the page,
you will never know
what the next chapter holds.
Saturday, 19 October 2013
BOSE NEW SPEAKERS SOUNDLINK MINI TOTALLY AWESOME
DESIGN
It has a flat metal grill and a solid aluminium shell, the SoundLink Mini evokes the image of a radio from the 1960s, yet sleeker and more updated for today. It measures just 2 by 7.1 by 2.3 inches (HWD), and its satisfyingly sturdy-feeling 1.5pound heft and aluminium casing give an impression of solidity. The controls are arranged neatly in a row of rubber buttons on the top of the speaker, with raised Volume Up/ Down buttons franked by Power and Mute buttons on the left and Bluetooth and Auxiliary input buttons on the right.
The right side of the speaker holds a power connector and a 3.5mm audio input. The back is covered by a metallic grille just like the front's, nut without a Bose logo painted on it, showing the passive radiator built into the speaker. A large rectangular foot on the bottom of the speaker keeps it in place and covers the rechargeable battery, along with contact points for the included charging cradle and a micro USB port.
CHARGING
Unlike many other Bluetooth speakers, the SoundLink Mini doesn't charge through its micro USB port; that's only for servicing the speaker and upgrading the firmware. According to Bose, the speaker's battery can last 7 hours on a charge.
PERFORMANCE
For its small size, the SoundLink Mini puts out some impressive sound. It has more directional sound, but it also put more power and sounded just as good placed against a wall and facing entire room. Although the bass made the speaker itself shake, its small size limited its ability to deliver real wall-shaking bass, though the reverb and harsh riffs of Daft Punk's "Robot Rock" created a suitably large-sounding soundscape. The SoundLink Mini's solid high-mid performance gave it a slight edge over the Logitech UE Boom, which can sound slightly tinny in comparison.
The BoseLink Mini is a little powerhouse that produces clear, solid sound, but for its size and price its performance is impressive.
PRICE - $199.95
3D STORAGE DRIVES WITH 100TB+ CAPACITY TO COME IN FUTURE
As long as engineers at Florida International University have found a way of breaking the 2D limitation of magnetic hard drive storage. By moving to three dimensions, the researchers have massively increased areal density, with the possibility of 100-terabyte (and larger) hard drives now firmly on the horizon.
While we've covered a lot of magnetic storage breakthroughs, they have all been fundamentally 2D in their implementation, and thus are ultimately restricted by superparamagnetic limits (magnetic bits can only be so small, before neighboring bits/changes in temperature can randomly after the magnetism). Heat-assisted magnetic recording(HAMR), for example, can allow for magnetic grains that are just a few nanometres across an areal densities in the terabits-per-square-inch domain - but even then, we're still looking at a hard cap of around 60 terabytes per hard drive.
To move beyond the limits imposed by superparamagnetism, the only solution is move beyond simple 2D improvements - making magnetic
grains smaller - and instead move into the third dimension.
At Florida International University, the researchers have created a new hard drive platter that allows for the writing and reading of 3D magnetic data. In essence, instead of having just one magnetic layer, the new platter has three magnetic layers, with isolation (insulation) layers sandwiched in between. On a conventional hard drive platter, a magnetic site stores just a single bit - here, a triple stack of magnetic layers, each magnetic site can store up to eight bits of data (north/north/north, south/south/south, N/N/S, N/S/S, etc.)
To read data, a weakly magnetic head is used to measure the vector sum of three magnetic fields. To write data, each layer of the recording medium has slightly different properties, so that they can only be written by a specific type and strength of magnetic field, which is output by a special recording head.
For now, FIU's new magnetic recording medium is an in-the-lab tech demo. Where conventional hard drive platters are mass-produced using a simple process (magnetron sputtering), FIU's platter is more like a small disc of silicon that goes through dozens of painstaking process, including e-beam lithographic patterning. This isn't to say that multilayer 3D (ML-3D) recording won't become a reality, but alternatives such as HAMR are much closer to commercial adoption. That ML-3D might be used to create 100-terabyte (or larger) hard drives in the future, though, still exciting news - and, interestingly, perhaps the technology that will finally kill off magnetic tape, which is still hanging in there as the preferred bulk offline storage medium.
Friday, 18 October 2013
GOOGLE NEXUS 7 REWIEW
GOOGLE NEXUS 7
PHYSICAL FEATURES AND NETWORKING
The new Nexus 7 is slimmer, lighter, and more comfortable to hold than the original, which was already more comfortable to hold than Apple's oddly wide iPad mini. This model is 4.5 by 7.9 by 0.34 inches (HWD) and 10.2 ounces, with tampered sides and a soft-touch back that somehow feels classier than the original Nexus 7's faux leather.There are very few ports here just micro USB, headphone, and microphone and marginally narrower side bezels framing the sharp 1,920-by-1,200-pixel IPS LCD panel, which is a big advance from the original's 1,280-by-800 screen. At 323ppi, it's almost exactly the same density as the Apple iPhone 5's Retina display and higher than any iPad's. It's bright enough for most circumstances, colors are very true, and viewing angles are good. But the screen is small enough to not totally kill battery life. We got 7 hours 37 minutes of video playback on maximum brightness. That's shorter than the 10 hours commanded by last year's Nexus 7, which sported a less-dense screen, but it's still quite a respectable.
The Nexus 7 comes in three models. The first two are Wi-Fi only, with support for 802.11a/b/g/n on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands(the latter another upgrade from last year). The third unit works on Verizon's LTE network and AT& T's and T-Mobile's LTE and 3G networks.
All of the models have GPS, which makes this tablet a killer in-car navigation system. The GPS on my test model locked in very quickly. The tablet also has Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC, although surprisingly there's no support for Google Wallet.
PERFORMANCE, OS, AND APPS
The Nexus 7 is the first Android tablet, running a 1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm S4 Pro APQ8064 processor. Think of this tablet as about two-thirds of the way up the current performance ladder, with the Samsung Galaxy S4 phone at the top. It almost doubled the performance of last year's Nvidia Tegra3 - based Nexus 7 on pure processor and graphic banchmarks and positively crushed the iPad mini on the Geekbench system benchmark: The mini scored only 748; this guy 2,643. Using the chrome browser, the Nexus 7 beat the iPad mini on the SunSpider browser benchmark by about 30 percent.
Real-world performance isn't solely dependent on processor speed: How many pixels you'are pushing, the OS, and third-party apps are also important. That's where the Nexus 7 ran into a bit of trouble. Some of test apps either didn't show up in the market or got buggy.
Need for Speed: Most Wanted, for instance, displayed weird graphics artifacts. Netflix's UI was sluggish, although videos played just fine.
Asphalt 7: Heat, one of my standard test games, didn't even show up on a search. Sometimes when searching Google's own Play store, animations would get jittery or the text box would loose focus.The popular video player MX player quit on launch. I suspect a lot of these problems are Android 4.3 issues that will get solved quickly as the app creators update their work.
With no memory card slot, I suggest buying the 32GB Nexus 7 (with 26GB available) over the $229 16GB unit. The new Nexus 7 adds a 5 megapixel rear camera to the tablet, keeping the 1 megapixel front camera as well.
The new Android 4.3 camera app's UI is extremely simple, although you still get some options like capture size,a countdown timer, a few scene modes, panarama, and Photo Sphere. Photos taken with the main camera were clear enough in good light, although bright areas were washed out and there was some visible color noise. In low light, the noise really ramped up. Front camera images tended to be very soft, even smeary(but not blurry)in low light. The main camera captured 1080p video at 30 frames per second (fps) indoors and out; the front camera captured 720p at 30 fps. There's no image stabilization, but there is a time-lapse mode.The front camera is fine for video chatting, and the main camera will suffice for augmented-reality apps, bar code scanners, language translators, and all the things you really should be using a tablet camera for (not snapshots).
Asus amped up the stereo speakers here, and they're now quite loud, although they're still tinny. Fraunhofer surround sound gives some real stereo separation material coded for it, such as Google Play movies. Still, the only way you're going to get bass in with headphones.
The Nexus 7 had no problem playing MPEG-4 and H.264 videos in resolution up to 10809, as well as streaming Netflix and Google Play movies.There's no DivX or Xvid support by default.
The Nexus 7 doesn't have any wired way to output video to a TV, but it works with Google's Chromecast to play some streaming(not local) media on TVs.
Small tablets are most often used for some media, some gaming, some Web browsing, and some ebook reading. Provided third-party developers update their apps for Android 4.3 and I think they will, soon - the new Nexus is best because of its sharp screen, comfortable ergonomics, and solid performance at an ideal price.
MOUSE CUM SCANNER
THIS double-duty device can both navigate your computer and scan by mousing over your documents, recipes, and receipts. The software automatically pieces together the image on your screen in high resolution (320dpi) and lets you adjust contrast, re-size, zoom, and crop. Its optical character recognition(OCR) technology converts scanned text for editing in Microsoft Word and other word processing programs.
PRICE
$59.99
NEW COMPACT CHARGER FOR APPLE PRODUCTS
PRICE
$39.95 for Lightning connector , $19.95 for 30-pin connector
NVIDIA 64-BIT TEGRA 6 MIGHT POWER FIRST 64-BIT ANDROID DEVICES IN 2014
Apple was accused of employing a marketing gimmick recently when it announced a new 64-bit processing core for the A7 ARM chip, which powers the new iphone 5S. The benefits of moving to 64-bit processing o mobile devices aren't yet clear, but that hasn't stopped other ARM chip makers from lining up to mention their own 64-bit plans. Nvidia announced several years ago that it had licenced ARMv8 technology to build its own 64-bit core, and the time draws near when that endeavor will come to fruition. Tegra could finally be ahead of the pack.
All of Nvidia's current and past ARM chips have used CPU designs licenced directly from ARM Holdings, which are then paired with Nvidia's custom ultra low-power GeForce GPU. Together these components make up the Tegra system-on-a-chip (SoC). Tegra 4 uses the fastest ARM-designed cores currently available - the Cortex-A15 - but even with these top-of-the-line cores Nvidia is at a disadvantage thanks to custom mobile CPUs.
Apple and Qualcomm both design their own CPU cores based on ARM instruction set, which they pay a pretty penny to licence. Apple stepped it up to the ARMv8 set with the Cyclone CPU core in the A7, while Qualcomm is still focussing on ARMv7 with the Krait 400 core (but it is expected to announce an ARMv8 based core soon). It's a lot of work to design a CPU core rather than just licence one directly from ARM, but 64-bit is only the most recent example of how a custom core can help a company iterate and add new features. For example, Qualcomm's custom chips can dynamically change clock speed on each core based on system load. Nvidia had to jury rig an extra companion core in Tegra to handle low-power tasks.
It's believed that Nvidia started work on ARMv8 back in late 2010 or early 2011. If true, the company could possibly have a samples so called "Project Denver" 64-bit processing core ready in early 2014 as part of the Parker SoC. This is actually two generations past current ARM chips. Tegra 5 (code name Logan) is expected to hit devices in early 2014, position to move quickly toward this SoC and cut Tegra 5's run a bit short. Although, Parker was slated for a 2015 release the last time Nvidia spoke about it.
No one can deny that Tegra 4 is a much more competitive chip than the Tegra 3 was last year, but Qualcomm's custom Krait cores design iteration have allowed it to nearly take over the Android device ecosystem. There are only a handful of devices announced with Tegra 4 chips, one of them is Nvidia's own Shield console. Meanwhile Snapdragon 600 and 800 power almost every high-end smartphone and tablet from 2013.
Over the last few years, Nvidia has no doubt poured many millions into Project Denver and Parker SoC. Qualcomm is surely working toward a64-bit chip down the road, but the company has been tight-lipped about future plans. The last thing Nvidia wants is for the market leader to beat it to ARMv8 with 64-bit. Whether or not 64-bit has real utility on mobile devices running 32-bit software, getting this right could set up Tegra for undeniable success, a distinction that has so far eluded it.
NEW ALFA ROMEO 4C
Alfa Romeo has just taken the wraps off its latest entry into the world of supercars, the Alfa Romeo 4C Launch Edition. With a brand new all aluminium direct injection 240 HP petrol engine the 4C will be arriving in Europe to go head-to-head with the Porsche Cayman.
Featuring bleeding edge technology the 4C uses an ultra-lightweight carbon fibre monocoque chassis weighting just 65kg whilst the low-density high-strength body panels are then painstakingly fitted on afterwards.
Thanks to incredibly lightweight design 4C features a 1750 240HP all-aluminium petrol engine which can rocket the car from 0-60 in just 4.5 seconds slower than the new Aston Martin Vanquish.
One of the most talked about features through is the DNA selector which currently features on Alfa's other road cars. Whilst cars like the MiTo Quadrifoglio Verde feature three options 'Dynamic', 'Natural' and 'All Weather' the 4C Launch Edition now has a fourth 'Race'.
When set in 'Race' mode the instrument panel will change color showing only race-relevant information whilst both the stability control and anti-slip are deactivated.
Finally the 4C will feature Alfa's next-generation TCT twin dry clutch transmission using 'shift paddle's. Alfa already uses a similar system on the Giulietta and MiTo but where the 4C is different is it's 'Launch Control' function which optimises all the cars systems to provide the quickest acceleration possible.
Of course it wouldn't be next-generation if that's all it did, by sharing the same software with the DNA system the shift sequences are directly affected by which DNA mode you've selected.
The 4C Launch Edition is truly for the elite with only 400 being made in Europe and costing $71047.
Thursday, 17 October 2013
APPLE MAC BOOK 13" WITH RETINA DISPLAY
Apple Mac Book Pro 13 with Retina Display
SCREEN AND RESOLUTION
This new 13" in Macbook Pro lowers the price of owning a Retina Display laptop, while still squeezing almost as many pixels into that's lighter and easier to carry than its 15" brother.
The stunning 2560 x 1600 display is arguably a more useful size than that of the 15" model, and although the larger model retains its title of highest-resolution laptop display (at 2880 x 1800), the 13" steals the pixels-per-inch prize with 227 ppi (compared with the 15" model's 220ppi ).
The experience of typing or reading long articles now become a wonderful massage for your eyes. Everything from high resolution photos to icons to notifications are mesmerizing, with vibrant colours that put previous Mac Books to shame.
DESIGN AND BUILD
Like the Mac Book Air, the 13" Retina Mac Book Pro has no optical drive. While this may be a pain from time to time, leaving out the drive has enabled Apple to craft a beautiful, sleek design that should be enough compensation the next time you need to insert an installation disc.
Otherwise, there's no radical overhaul to Mac Book styling. The sexy aluminium body is still present and correct, albeit slimmer (19mm) and lighter (1.6kg). While other manufacturers go for light and skinny from the off, Apple has always won the build battle by making something desirable first, and then concentrating on making it smaller and lighter. It's a tactic that seems to be working again.
The keyboard and track pad are as subtly responsive and easy to use as ever - attributes not to be sniffed at when so many Ultra books get it so horribly wrong.
Your new Mac Book can deal with the world around it via two Thunderbolt ports, two USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI output, an SD card reader and Bluetooth 4.0. However, there's no Ethernet socket - another occasional annoyance, particularly while travelling.
PROCESSING POWER AND GAMING
.jpg)
It may not be as portable as a Mac-book Air, but with a 2.5GHz dual core i5 running the show, the 13" Retina has been built to be the only laptop you'll ever need.
It may not be able to match the sheer horsepower of the 15" models (thanks to their quad-core Core i7 chips and NVIDIA Ge force 650M graphics) , but the 13" pro is still very impressive. You won't ever see the spinning-wheel-of-death, even when editing 1080p videos or playing Portal 2 at 2560 x 1660 (don't panic when the setting menu text becomes very, very small).
The new 13" Pro is available with 128GB and 256GB (flash) storage options, the latter will costing an extra 250 pounds.
Just don't expect to be able to open up the Retina Display Mac-book Pro and slot in your own SSD.
If you're serious about playing Mac games in ultra-hi-res at speedy frame-rates or spending a good chunk of your life editing massive video files, we'd guide you toward the 15" version. But for rest of us, the 13" size is more practical for on-the-go computing.
BATTERY LIFE
In common with its 15" brother, the Retina Display Mac Book Pro is not the longest-lasting of laptops away from a wall socket.
Battery life is slightly over 15". Apple claims around seven hours, but we found we could run for up to four-a-half hours of constant web surfing,image editing, gaming and watching movies between charges.
With all those pixels to push around that amazing display, that kind of battery performance is hardly a big surprise. Just make sure that newly redesigned Mag Safe power connector is never too far from reach.
THANKS
MANINDER SINGH DHALL
A TO Z
A - Attend to your duties regularly and sincerely.
B - Be honest.
C - Consider well before taking any decision.
D - Do your duty towards your nation.
E - Everyday, do remember God.
F - Fight the battle of life bravely and boldly.
G - God is supreme, don't forget in prosperity.
H - Health is wealth to be kept and never to part with.
I - Idleness is the root of all evil.
J - Judge everything according to its merits.
K - Keep your mind off evil thoughts.
L - Love your neighbor as yourself.
M - Make yourself complete and a good citizen.
N - Never gamble in any way.
O - Obstacles are to be taken as a challenge.
P - Politeness should be made the essence of life.
Q - Question not the existence of God, whatever your religion may be.
R - Riches have wings don't run after them.
S - Slow and steady wins the race.
T - Truth fears no test.
U - Use your leisure time fruitfully for future as it depends on how time is used.
V - Vanity is a possession of shallow minds.
W - Where there is a will there is a way.
X - X press your friendship towards all casts and creeds.
Y - Yield not to evil through but to positive thinking.
Z - Zealous labor for the right and noble cause lasting happiness.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)