Web 2.0: News

What is ocPortal?

2012-05-19T16:18:52+00:00

Find here Jean’s contributions since 2009 to the ocPortal community:
http://ocportal.com/forum/forumview/misc/themeing.htm
and also from his hand a basic ocPortal theme modification tutorial beauty: http://ocportal.com/forum/topicview/misc/themeing/basic_theme_modification_3.htm
Be sure not to miss his demo website “Battlefield 3 – Global Conflict” at:�BF3

Read more about ocPortal at:�FRANK H. CROES

Microsoft to Offer $15 Windows 8 Upgrade Deal

2012-05-15T18:15:55+00:00

Ivy Bridge chips run hot due to Intel's thermal paste choice

2012-05-15T17:51:09+00:00

Last month Intel launched the 22nm Ivy Bridge processors as a successor to the Sandy Bridge Core chips. It didn’t take long for enthusiasts to get their hands on the new processors and start overclocking them. It was then discovered Ivy Bridge chips run hotter than Sandy Bridge–as much as 20 degrees Celsius higher when overclocked.

At the time, it was suggested that the heat difference was due to Intel changing from the fluxless solder used between the CPU and heat spreader for Sandy Bridge to a thermal paste solution for Ivy Bridge. And now that has been confirmed by Japanese website PC Watch.

Intel’s reason for the switch is clearly to save on the cost of production, and for the typical user who won’t be overclocking their machine it won’t make much difference. However, if you build your own systems you can solve the problem with one additional purchase: a good quality thermal paste.

PC Watch purchased a high quality paste and used it instead of what Intel ships the Ivy Bridge chips with. The result was an 18-23% drop in temperature, which also means there’s potential to clock the chip higher without having to make the switch to a more expensive cooling solution.

As the thermal paste is used underneath the heat spreader the chips ship with, it’s a little bit more involved to replace it when compared to the paste used between the chip and a heatsink. However, if you intend to overclock then it’s going to be worth the effort.

Read more at PC Watch

Pirate Pay develops BitTorrent traffic blocker to stop piracy

2012-05-15T17:45:05+00:00

AMD launches Trinity A-Series APU

2012-05-15T17:32:46+00:00

Are you interested in Facebook shares?

2012-05-13T00:24:19+00:00

Facebook wraps up IPO road show in Silicon Valley

Facebook board member Marc Andreessen, who also co-founded Netscape, leaves a hotel in Palo Alto, Calif., Friday, May 11, 2012 from an investors meeting about Facebook's IPO. CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other executives spoke to prospective investors at the hotel luncheon on Friday. The event was the last of the bigger roadshows Facebook Inc. is holding ahead of its initial public offering expected late next week. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

May 12, 2012� (AP) – Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other executives addressed about 200 prospective investors Friday at a hotel luncheon in Silicon Valley.

Friday's event was the last of the bigger road show events that Facebook Inc. is holding ahead of its initial public offering of stock, which is expected late next week. The luncheon was held at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Palo Alto, Calif. Zuckerberg arrived in a caravan of black SUVs and got in the hotel's back entrance.

He gave prospective investors a 10-minute presentation. That was followed by a 35-minute question-and-answer session with Zuckerberg, Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and Chief Financial Officer David Ebersman.

The event followed similar meetings in New York on Monday and Boston on Tuesday. Facebook will hold some smaller, private meetings in the coming week but nothing as big as those three. The company also has posted a version of its road show presentation online.

Facebook Inc. is expected to price its IPO on Thursday and begin trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market on Friday under the ticker symbol "FB." The offering could value the company near $100 billion.

�2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Twitter users given legal warning in Britain (Say no to WWW abuse)

2012-05-13T00:12:04+00:00

�

Twitter users given legal warning in Britain

A student who mocked English Premier League footballer Fabrice Muamba, pictured here on May 2, on Twitter after he collapsed on the pitch with a heart attack in March was jailed for 56 days after admitting a racially aggravated public order offense.

The Internet is not a law-free zone, the British government's top law officer warned Twitter users, adding that he would not hesitate to take action over offending posts. Attorney General Dominic Grieve, the government's chief legal advisor in England and Wales, spoke out following a series of high-profile court cases involving postings made on the micro-blogging site.

"If somebody goes down to the pub with printed sheets of paper and hands it out, that's no different than if somebody goes and does a tweet," Grieve told BBC radio.
"The idea that you have immunity because you're an anonymous tweeter is a big mistake.
"I don't want to take action but if I think it is necessary to prevent crime, such as racially aggravated harassment then I won't hesitate to do it."
A student who mocked English Premier League footballer Fabrice Muamba on Twitter after he collapsed on the pitch with a heart attack in March was jailed for 56 days after admitting a racially aggravated public order offense. Some 17 arrests have been made in connection with the alleged naming on Twitter of the woman that Wales footballer Ched Evans was last month convicted of raping.

In March, former New Zealand cricketer Chris Cairns won a libel action against ex-Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi in the first libel action heard in England against a post on Twitter.

Judge David Bean dismissed match-fixing levelled against the cricketer, leaving Modi facing a bill of more than �500,000 ($800,000)

Grieve said the government did not need to create new laws as existing ones already make it illegal to "grossly offend" or "cause distress".

(C)May 12 2012 AFP

Web Content Management System

2012-05-12T00:46:48+00:00

A web content management system (web CMS) is a bundled or stand-alone application used to create, manage, store, and deploy content on Web pages. Web content includes text and embedded graphics, photos, video, audio, and code (e.g., for applications) that renders other content or interacts with the user. A web CMS may also catalog or index content, select or assemble content at runtime, or deliver content to specific visitors in a personalized way, such as in different languages.

In the coming weeks, we will be looking at and experimenting with one of the most complete Web CMS available as Open Source: ocPortal.

We will be doing this in two stages:

First : Deploying ocPortal on your local PC Web Server

Second: Deploying ocPortal on your personal Webspace online Web Server

You will find ongoing Documentation, Download links and Tutorials available in the Student Menu section under CMS - Tutorials.

Use Your Android Phone as a Wireless Modem

2012-05-11T18:25:12+00:00

Have a laptop but no Wi-Fi? Turn your Android phone into a modem and get your computer connected to the Net in seconds.

You know you can surf the Net on your Android phone–but did you know that the same phone can also enable you to surf the Net from your PC?
We're talking about something called tethering. In a nutshell, tethering allows you to use your smartphone like a wireless modem: You connect it to your computer, then use its 3G connection to get online.

Editor's Note:If you're phone is already running Android 2.2 (as of 7/27/10, its release is limited to the Google Nexus One only), you already have tethering built in to your phone. If you're running 2.1 or lower, read on.

Carrier Considerations
Before you start thinking about tethering with your Android device, you should check with your carrier to learn about its policies and conditions. Some carriers offer their own fee-based tethering services for certain phones; others forbid the practice altogether or assess penalties if they discover you're doing it.
As long as your carrier doesn't object, the only other consideration is data usage. While tethering, you'll be harnessing your phone's 3G connection to use the Internet from a computer, so you will be consuming a potentially sizable chunk of data. If your smartphone plan includes unlimited data, you should be fine; but if your plan allows only a certain amount of data per month, be sure to keep that restriction in mind.

First Steps to Tethering
Carrier-provided options aside, there are numerous ways to tether your phone to your laptop or desktop PC. Many of them require tinkering with advanced configurations on your Android device; we won't be getting into those here. The option we'll be explaining involves little more than installing a couple of programs and clicking on a couple of basic settings.
Let's begin with your mobile phone: Open up the Android Market and search for an app called PdaNet. Download and install it to your phone (it's currently available free of charge).
Once the app is installed, you'll need to download the companion program to your PC. Click over to June Fabrics (that's the name), and select the edition that's right for you. As of this writing, the program supports 32-bit versions of Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7; 64-bit versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7; and versions 10.5 and 10.6 of Mac OS.
Before you move on to the next step, you need to adjust one setting on your Android phone. From the home screen, tap the Menu key and select Settings. From there, select Applications, and then Development. Now check the box that says USB debugging. When the confirmation dialog box appears, press OK.
This setting allows the PdaNet app to stream data directly from your phone to your PC. It is a setting frequently used by developers. In theory, however, as the confirmation box explains, it could be used maliciously. For your protection, you should go back into this menu and disable the USB debugging setting whenever you are not actively using the tethering function.

Starting Your Connection
Take a deep breath–you're almost done. Plug your Android phone into an open USB port on your PC. Run the PdaNet app on your phone and select the Enable USB Tether option. The app will confirm that you've downloaded and installed its PC-based cousin; click Already installed to continue.
After verifying the connection, the app will tell you that it's on and running as a background service on your phone. Now, go to your PC and look for the PdaNet icon in your system tray–it's a rectangular box that looks like a cell phone. Right-click the icon and select Connect from the pop-up menu that appears.
At this point, everything should be all set (woo-hoo!). The PdaNet PC program should pop up a confirmation that you're connected, and a notification should appear on your desktop informing you that the PdaNet modem is up and running. Your computer is now online through your phone's data connection; you can open a Web page, check e-mail, and do practically anything else you could normally do while connected to the Net.
One final note: You may have noticed that the PdaNet Android app has a second option on its main screen: Enable Bluetooth DUN. If you're using a computer that has Bluetooth functionality, you can connect your phone to your PC wirelessly using this option instead of the Enable USB Tether option discussed above.
�

How to check if your laptop has bluetooth

2012-05-11T18:17:02+00:00

Click Start

Right Click My computer

Click Properties

Click Hardware

Click Device Manager

Check Bluetooth in the list of devices installed.

How to Keep Your Free 25 GB of Microsoft Skydrive Storage

2012-05-11T12:37:59+00:00

for all those who already have a hotmail account !!!

�

Why e-Books Cost So Much

2012-05-10T14:10:27+00:00

Read more at:�FRANK H. CROES

Google's Self-Driving Car Licensed to Hit Nevada Streets

2012-05-08T17:19:48+00:00

Intel releases Ivy Bridge CPUs. We review the i7 3770K

2012-05-08T17:07:52+00:00

Microsoft pitches SkyDrive over iCloud to Mac Office users

2012-05-08T16:50:36+00:00

Personal Web Server

2012-05-07T15:49:36+00:00

This week, it's all about creating your own Web Server in your PC.

No Cost - No Need for a Web Host

You will be able to test our CMS right from your PC without requiring Internet connections.

Don't miss This!

'Internet Doomsday' ?

2012-05-06T15:55:20+00:00

DNSChanger virus spells 'Internet Doomsday' … The end is nigh, according to the FBI … 'Internet doomsday' will strike us all on July 9 …

That's what a couple of popular websites (HuffingtonPost being one of them) have had to say about the DNSChanger virus, but you should file this under the header 'A Crock Of S**t' as, although it�is�a real piece of malware, the botnet was taken down on the 8th of November 2011 in a joint operation by the FBI and the Estonian police.

DNSChanger is a TDSS/Alureon variant, and has a nasty full-rootkit behaviour that is hard to detect, and even harder to clean. An estimated four million computers (PC or Mac) have been infected, 500,000 in the US alone! It doesn't try to steal your creditcard or banking information: it simply redirects you to porn websites who, in turn, appear to have so far paid the perpetrators (6 Estonians - securely locked up and awaiting extradition to the US) about 14 million dollars to date!

In an amazing technical feat, the FBI and BINDS identified the infected DNS servers and closed them down, without notifying the millions of users, to stop widespread panic, substituting legitimate servers so that users didn't even notice the changeover. However, infected computers are still infected, but at least they are now reaching their intended destinations!

Joint operation of the (temporary - until July 9th - somebody has to pay for the service!) DNS server farm has been given to an organization called the DNSChanger Working Group (DNSWG) and the FBI. And from where I am sitting, the latter's involvement should scare the�bejesus�out of us, too!

Here's a simple�one-click test�to establish whether you are infected. You will get a GREEN or a RED.

My check was green, so I can only assume that if you receive the latter it will also give you more information on how to go about cleaning your PC. If it doesn't, do a search for a rootkit sniffing and cleaning proggy, and get it off your machine ASAP. Oh, and do your 'Mom'n'Pop' machines a favor and check them out, too!

�It's worth the click!

Cinco De Mayo 2012: How A Mexican Battle Became An American Party

2012-05-05T16:55:45+00:00

It might be a tequila shot for tourism.

Mexico, battling bad drug-war publicity and the hangover from a weak U.S. economy, is trying to bolster its leisure travel trade by beginning to play up another battle, and what has become basically a drinking holiday in the U.S. – Cinco de Mayo.
It's really an American tradition, co-opted by alcohol companies. Few places in Mexico celebrate the day, but it's based on the 1862 Battle of Puebla,

when outnumbered Mexican forces defeated the invading French Army. Now, the city where the battle occurred – roughly 80 miles southeast of Mexico City – has launched a marketing campaign, aimed at tapping into America's enthusiasm for the Cinco de Mayo holiday by luring visitors to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the victory.

Some Mexican-Americans fighting to counter the popular concept that Cinco de Mayo is merely a drinking fiesta see Puebla's push as a chance to teach Americans about its significance, and restore at least some of its original meaning as a celebration of self-determination and liberty.

"It definitely could be a very positive thing for tourism, but also for bringing maybe some education and understanding of the history of this important battle," Jose Alamillo, associate professor of Chicano-Latino Studies at California State University Channel Islands, told The Huffington Post.

Alamillo has done extensive study on the cultural impact and commercialization of the holiday in the United States. He counts more than 200 Cinco de Mayo parties across the country.

"Cinco de Mayo has been sort of appropriated," he said. "It has been transformed by corporate America. It has become, really, a holiday that big business has used to enter the Latino consumer market. And so they're making millions off this holiday without really honoring the tradition and the history behind the actual holiday."

Originally, Cinco de Mayo was born of patriotic fervor of Mexican-Americans in the United States – who saw the victory over the French as a blow against the Confederacy.

The French supported the Confederates during the Civil War. The Mexican-American residents of California, Oregon and Nevada backed the Union. So did Mexico's president, Benito Juarez.

To the Latinos in the United States, the French invasion of Mexico "was as if the Civil War had opened up a second front," David Hayes-Bautista, author of the newly released "El Cinco de Mayo: An American Tradition,"

Thus, the victory at Puebla became much more important north of the border – especially since the French went on to conquer Mexico.

"In Mexico it simply meant that the Mexican army had beaten the French army," Hayes-Bautista said. "In California what it symbolized, really, was that for the first time, basically since the Confederate guns that fired on Fort Sumter, finally the army of freedom and democracy had won against the army of slavery and elitism."

Celebrations of the event sprang up in Hispanic communities in the United States.

"That's when they sort of grasped upon this David versus Goliath story that we celebrate,"

Hayes-Bautista said, " because it shows that even though you're outnumbered and you're smaller, if your heart is pure and your cause is right you can triumph over evil."

Many of those early celebrations faded away as the generations that lived through it died off. So did a broad understanding of the holiday's original intent.

"It's just like Labor Day," said Rodolfo Acu�a, a Mexican-American activist and professor of Chicano/a Studies at California State University Northridge. "Labor Day in September has no meaning. You may have a couple of parades out there by some unions. But other than that, you really have no significance to it. It's like any holiday … unless it's kept alive by people it's not going to have any meaning."

Members of the Chicano Movement resurrected interest in Cinco de Mayo in the 1960s and 1970s, as a celebration of cultural pride. In the 1980s, as cash-strapped local groups tried to put on events tied to the holiday, they needed sponsors. Enter the liquor companies.

"The alcohol industry saw it as a way of targeting Latinos, and now we see the results," Claudia Baltazar, an alcohol prevention specialist with Cinco de Mayo Con Orgullo, told The Huffington Post. "Drinko de Mayo, that's how I've seen it in some advertising, which is really sad."

A San Diego-based non-profit, Cinco de Mayo Con Orgullo works with groups across the nation, Baltazar said, to create and support alcohol-free events.

"We try to create awareness about what the alcohol industry has done with this cultural celebration," Baltazar said. Their goal, she added, is "to try to rescue the celebration and inform the community about the true meaning of Cinco de Mayo."

In Mexico, Puebla holds annual celebrations of the battle. This year, for the sesquicentennial anniversary, it plans a parade with 8,000 military troops and 20,000 students and teachers, a star-studded musical and dance tribute culminating in a "massive" fireworks display and a free concert by Nuyorican pop star Marc Anthony at the city's 42,600-seat soccer stadium.

Other events run before and after the actual holiday, including the annual Festival Internacional de Puebla, featuring entertainers from two dozen countries; the International Mole Festival, with celebrity chefs and food experts preparing and sampling the region's internationally esteemed mole poblano; and the Feria de Puebla state fair, with bullfights, concerts and carnival rides.

The main event, however, is the Puebla parade. As an indication of its importance, the grand marshal this year is Mexican President Felipe Calderon. The organizers are emphasizing the ties between President Abraham Lincoln and Juarez, and the importance of the victory over the French for the Union. Among the 62 floats will be one sponsored by the Military Order of the Loyal League of the United States, made up of descendants of Union Army soldiers.

"They're going to parade in Union uniforms," Eric Rojo, a U.S. Army veteran and member of the group, told The Huffington Post. "They're the sons of Union veterans. They have their own rifles, swords, uniforms and flags. Because that's the whole point: this is an opportunity to show that the good relationship between Mexico and the United States is old and has very deep roots."

Rojo, who also is the Puebla Cinco de Mayo Planning Committee's Washington, D.C.-representative, said that military history is a key component of the current tourism push. But, he added, Puebla hopes the celebration's effects linger long after and promote the the city's natural, cultural and archeological attractions, as well.

"The celebration is the opportunity to capitalize, to promote Puebla," Rojo said, "but we want to emphasize that you can celebrate Cinco de Mayo in Puebla any day of the year."

The Mexican-Americans hoping to rekindle the holiday's true significance hope so, too.

"The battle didn't take place in California," Hayes-Bautista said. "However, the impact that it had is tremendous and actually in many ways reverberates to this day. We've just forgotten why it began."

Samsung Galaxy S3 vs Apple iPhone 5: titan superphone deathmatch

2012-05-03T13:58:34+00:00

Samsung Galaxy S3 vs Apple iPhone 5: titan superphone deathmatch [rumor roundup]by Mihai Andrici on May 01, 2012 with 91 Comments

It’s not that often that we cover anything related to the iPhone series, but, if you think of it, it is the best selling line of smartphones ever made. Under these circumstances, it does makes sense to compare the rumors that have been circulating about the next iteration of the iPhone series against the rumors regarding the upcoming beast of a device in the Samsung Galaxy S line. According to analyst expectations, these will be the two best selling smartphones of 2012, so why not subject them to a grueling rumor pit-fight?

While it does not mean that there aren’t at least a couple of other manufacturers that can produce even better smartphones (Motorola and HTC being two of my personal favorites), it’s the fight between the Apple and Samsung flagship smartphones of 2012 that will count the most towards shaping the future of smartphones as we know it.

First of all, it should be mentioned that the next Galaxy S is likely to be called the Galaxy S3, as some leaks seem to prove. on the other hand, the next iPhone is expected to be branded as the iPhone 5, iPhone 4G or as the new iPhone. I’ll refer to them as the Galaxy S3 and the iPhone 5 throughout the rest of this article.

Release Dates

The Samsung Galaxy S3 will be officially revealed on May 3 at the Samsung Unpacked Event in London and is expected to be released internationally around June. Many are basing this estimation on previous statements from Samsung officials that claimed that the official announcement of the smartphone will be made closer to its actual commercial availability. In the US, the Galaxy S3 is expected to arrive over the summer as Samsung will probably want the S3 to be available in as many countries as possible before the start of the summer Olympics in London in late July, an event they are putting a lot of money into as one of the main sponsors.

In the other camp, some credible sources claim that the iPhone 5 release date might come as late as October, due to the fact that the iPhone 4S is still selling very well, especially in some emerging markets where the iPhone has been launched for the first time. Being highly likely that Apple will want to milk the iPhone 4S cashcow for at least a full year, an October release date for the iPhone 5 seems to be the logical timing. The first 4 versions of the iPhone (up to the last model, iPhone 4S) were launched in June.

Design

Samsung has managed to keep the design of the Galaxy S3 very much a secret, and that is unlikely to change before May 3 when the smartphone will be officially released. That’s because all test units for the Samsung Galaxy S3 had a dummy case that did not reflect the actual design. Here’s one of these dummy cases:

This is a sketch that appeared in a leaked user manual for the Samsung Galaxy GT-9300, a smartphone that is believed to be the Galaxy S3:

As you would expect, there are quite a number of rumors regarding the design of the new iPhone, but all of them revolve around the same point: the iPhone 5 will sport a new design, probably something different enough to differentiate it from the two previous versions of the iPhone (4 and 4S), which were both (sadly, to the chagrin of many Apple fanatics) released with the exact same case. Some say that the iPhone 5 will be thinner – probably around 8mm thick – while some say it will be as thick as the 4S, but will sport a larger battery (and last only as long as the 4S due to reasons I’ll explain a little later). As far as construction materials go, some rumors claim that Apple will use Liquimetal (and make a lighter smartphone) while others claim it will feature a unibody design.

Display

Consumers have spoken - they love AMOLED display technology

It seems that as weeks pass, the rumored Galaxy S3 display size increases by 0.1-inches. It’s an odd thing, really. First there were rumors of a 4.6 inch display, then a benchmark result leaked a few days back seemed to point towards a 4.7-inch display, followed by the most recent of leaks, the leaked user manual that says the S3 will feature a 4.8 inch screen. The rumored resolution of the display is expected to be 720 by 1280 pixels (not accounting for the area of the display dedicated for the ICS soft buttons, if that will be the case).

As i’m sure you you may know, all previous versions of the iPhone – the original, 3G, 3GS, 4, and 4S, by their order of appearance – featured a 3.5 inch screen. While the number one motivation for using a 3.5 inch screen will always remain valid (at that size the thumb is able to reach all corners of the display), at some point Apple is bound to follow the reports claiming that most smartphone users actually prefer larger screens. It is possible that Apple will start following this trend sooner rather than later as the iPhone 5 is rumored to feature a 4 inch retina display.

LTE

ZDNET

According to a number of reports, the iPhone 5 will be the first Apple smartphone to include LTE-connectivity. As Apple have already used an LTE modem inside one of their products (the third generation iPad), it doesn’t seem that hard to believe, does it? That’s the reason why some believe the iPhone 5 will not be any thinner: to make room for a bigger battery that can sustain the higher power requirements of an LTE modem, a move Apple has already demonstrated with the “new” iPad 3.

As far as the Galaxy S3 is concerned, some unofficial reports claim that the S3 will actually come in two variants, one without an LTE modem, and one with a Snapdragon S4 SoC that will make use of the integrated LTE modem inside Qualcomm’s latest SoC (that also contains a 1.4GHz dual-core processor and an Adreno 225 GPU). The way I see it, the rumor above is inspired from HTC’s move with the one X. Why would Samsung decide to use a Qualcomm LTE modem if the one they produce seems to work perfectly well inside the LTE version of the Galaxy Nexus? They are, after all, one of the largest chipmakers in the world. What remains to be seen is they have been able to make quad core and LTE play nice. Have they succeeded where NVIDIA failed? Time will tell.

Processor & GPU

Let me highlight a trend for you: the Apple iPhone 4 used the same Apple A4 processor as inside the original iPad in the same way that the iPhone 4S uses the same dual-core Apple A5 processor as inside the iPad 2. Hopefully, it’s easy to see why Apple is expected to equip the iPhone 5 with the same A5X processor as inside the new iPad (3d generation). Granted, that isn’t the biggest upgrade you can think of, but if the iPhone 5 will also feature the new iPad’s quad-core GPU, the bump in graphical performance can be considered an evolutionary leap. The quad-core PowerVR SGX543MP4 GPU performs quite well at the impressive 2048×1536 resolution of the new iPad. As the iPhone 5 will surely have a much lower resolution, the graphical performance should be quite impressive.

Back in the Samsung camp, it was officially announced that the Galaxy S3 will use a quad-core Exynos processor produced by Samsung, clocked around 1.4GHz. In addition, one leaked benchmark result led many to believe that the S3 will feature the ARM Mali-400 GPU. Historically, Samsung’s Exynos line of CPU’s provide one of the best performance per power consumption ratios on the market.

Operating System

For those that like more than a basic app launcher, Android is the answer

The Samsung Galaxy S3 will run the latest version of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the OS released by Google, while Apple’s iPhone 5 is expected to run iOS 6 (a version expected to be revealed at WWDC 2012 in June).

So there you have it folks, these are the most credible rumors regarding the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the Apple iPhone 5. Not all of them might turn out to come true, but most of them will. What are your thoughts on the fight between the Apple and Samsung flagships of 2012? Who will take the crown as the best selling smartphone of the year? Which will be the best performing smartphone of 2012? I guess we’ll have to wait and see. As always, make sure you drop us a thought in the comment section below!

We're attending the Samsung Galaxy S3 launch, and will bring you the news live!

2012-05-03T12:59:30+00:00

Arguably one of the most important device launches in recent history happens tomorrow, and we will be in full attendance at Samsung’s Unpacked Event which begins at 6PM, in London, UK.

Tomorrow evening, the event begins (times below) and our writer, Sam Cater, will be live-blogging about everything being announced. Up and coming photographer Peter Sawyer will be there in attendance with Sam, and everything will be showcased for you to look through and see for yourself!

Times

May 3 9am HAST
May 3 12pm PDT
May 3 1PM MDT
May 3 2PM CDT
May 3 3PM EDT
May 3 6pm UTC
May 3 7PM GMT
May 3 8PM BST
May 3 9PM CEST/IST
May 3 10PM EEST
May 3 11PM MSK
May 4 3AM HKT
May 4 4AM JST

A chat window will go live here tomorrow which will let you read about Samsung’s new flagship phone as we cover everything that’s being announced. It is two-way of course, so you feel free to get involved and ask your own questions!

Here we will be breaking every single detail down, and we”ll recount every single iota of genuine information we’ll have learned about the Samsung Galaxy S3. We should have some great pictures, along with exact hardware specifications, dimensions, release dates, pricing and much more!

Adobe Creative Suite 6 is Out !!!

2012-05-02T14:33:10+00:00

For all the Adobe Fans out there.

http://player.vimeo.com/video/40721633?

Web Design Program

2012-05-02T14:18:37+00:00

http://www.xara.com/us/products/webdesigner/tutorials-demos/

Turn You iPad into a MacBook Air

2012-05-01T23:13:25+00:00

Watch The Brydge - shake-test by Brad Leong at:�http://vimeo.com/40708667

21st Century Amazons

2012-05-01T21:34:08+00:00

Read the whole story at:�FRANK H. CROES

Fujitsu is capable to turn any 2D Camera Phone into 3D capable ones

2012-04-28T16:39:01+00:00

Fujitsu is capable to turn any 2D camera phone into 3D capable ones

Fujitsu announced this week that it developed a technology capable to turn any 2D Camera Phone into 3D ones thanks to a clever mirror trick and could based software. Thanks to small set of mirror place on top of the Camera phone lense, Fujitsu will be capable to break any pictures shot with the phone into two identical ones and then will send the result to a cloud base software that will transform these pictures into a 3D one capable to de display on any 3D screens.
While Fujitsu did not yet disclosed any possible price or even launch date for this little wonder, the company however hope to release this new product very shortly!

Graphics Card

2012-04-28T15:39:15+00:00

HowStuffWorks "How Graphics Cards Work"

Graphics Card

2012-04-28T15:37:19+00:00

HowStuffWorks "How Graphics Cards Work"

Samsung Galaxy S3

2012-04-27T17:59:46+00:00

Samsung Galaxy S3 photo leaks, yes, again

It's time for today's "photo of the Samsung Galaxy S3" leak - these seem to occur more and more often as we come closer to May 3, when Samsung's Unpacked event will finally settle things one and for all.

The leaked photo in question (the one on the left) shows a device with a hardware home button with two capacitive keys on its sides (menu and back). You can see the volume rocker on the left and the power/lock key on the right - basically, the standard Samsung arrangement.

Note: the middle and right photos come from previous leaks.

The newly leaked photo is the one on the left

The screen is off, so there's no way to tell if the device uses the on-screen buttons that we've seen in previous leaks. But it does look an awful lot like the sketch in the alleged leaked manual. And the bezel is very thin - as it would need to be with the rumored 4.6-4.8" screen.

Samsung

2012-04-27T17:46:59+00:00

�

samsung's new quadcore processor for smartphones and tablets

Samsung today introduced the industry’s first quad-core application processor built on the High-k Metal Gate (HKMG) low-power process technology. With unprecedented performance capabilities exceeding 1.4GHz based on the ARM� CORTEXTM A9 quad-core, the powerful, yet energy-efficient Exynos 4 Quad, allows system-level architects to integrate maximized power efficiencies into smartphones and tablets which enables double the processing power at a 20 percent lower power bill over its predecessor, the 45nm process-based Exynos 4 Dual.

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., a world leader in advanced semiconductor solutions, today introduced the industry’s first quad-core application processor built on the High-k Metal Gate (HKMG) low-power process technology. With unprecedented performance capabilities exceeding 1.4GHz based on the ARM� CORTEXT A9 quad-core, the powerful, yet energy-efficient Exynos 4 Quad, allows system-level architects to integrate maximized power efficiencies into smartphones and tablets which enables double the processing power at a 20 percent lower power bill over its predecessor, the 45nm process-based Exynos 4 Dual.

Having identical form factor measurements (12mm X 12mm X 1.37 mm), the Exynos 4 Quad is pin-to-pin compatible with the 32nm process based Exynos 4 Dual, allowing mobile device designers to immediately adopt the new solution without additional cost, engineering or design efforts.

In addition, the new processor incorporates a full HD 30 frame per second video hardware codec engine for high resolution 1080p video recording and play-back, an embedded image signal processor interface for high-quality camera functionality and an HDMI 1.4 interface for sharp and crisp multimedia content transmission.

FHC – Will LTE Make In-Flight Use of PEDs Possible & Cheap?

2012-04-22T21:19:51+00:00

Read more at:��http://fhcroes.epe-cit.com/News%20-%202012-04-23%20-.html

Revisiting HTML/CSS

2012-04-22T16:26:42+00:00

�
For most it all seems so complicated!

It appears that our exploration of HTML and CSS during level 2 was very challenging for most of you. This week we will revisit the basic theory behind this important communication technology and look at how we can easily put it in practice in the exercises that were required to get your final course diploma. Please have available your FTP coordinates and a copy of your html/css work in progress. �If you prefer using your laptop to complete your project, then by all means bring it to class. We will use class time to create a fictional site step by step.� We should have some time left for you to apply this knowledge to your own project and get it finalized on the spot and out of the way before starting our CMS project next week.

Compatability Between AMD Sockets

2012-04-19T22:10:08+00:00

Decoding Compatability Between AMD Socket A Processors

Unlike Intel, AMD has decided to gradually upgrade their socket technology, rather than making a great generational leap. The advantage of this is a better upgrade path, but decoding the differences between socket AM2, AM2+, and AM3 requires a little research.
�

So Many Sockets!

�

When it comes to changing to a new processor socket, Intel tends to be definitive in its implementation. A processor listed as having a specific socket type will work only with that specific socket type, and nothing else. In most cases, the processor won't even fit into a motherboard with a different socket, much less boot up. This helps reduce confusion about what processors will fit into what sockets, but also makes the upgrade path of Intel products very restrictive. You either have a LGA1366 motherboard or you don't.AMD has a more organic approach to sockets. Since the introduction of the AM2 socket, AMD's products have exhibited varying degrees of compatibility between new and old socket types. This is evident in the naming schemes used by the company, as AMD has progressed from AM2 to AM2+ and now AM3. The advantage of this is that having an AM2 board does not mean that you are locked into only using older AM2 processors, creating a less restrictive upgrade path. As long as your motherboard manufacturer has been providing BIOS updates, it is possible that you'll be able to use a several year old motherboard with a Phenom II 940. However, there are some pitfalls that come with this less restrictive method, as compatibility is not complete and there are certain hardware combinations that can have difficulties you might not expect.
�

AM2 Soldiers On

Socket AM2 motherboards and processors first arrived at retailers back in 2006, making the socket about three years old. Normally, this would mean that the socket is at the end of its life-span - for comparison, Intel effectively announced the imminent obsolescence of LGA 775 late last year when it debuted Core i7 as an LGA 1366 processor. But AM2 continues on. There is little reason to believe that AMD will be quick to abandon its Athlon X2 processors, which remain entrenched as good values in the budget market, and AMD has also continued to provide those with AM2 motherboards with upgrade options.

�

Officially, AM2 is completely compatible with AM2+. However, there are unofficial difficulties that are common if you're attempting to use a motherboard from the dawn of the AM2 socket with a new AM2+ processor. The first major obstacle will be BIOS compatibility. Obviously, a company can not program their BIOS to recognize processors that will show up three years later, so the stock BIOS on older AM2 motherboards is not going to recognize a new AM2+ processor. You'll need to make sure your motherboard manufacturer has provided an updated BIOS with support for new processors.More difficult to tackle can be the problem of power. New, high-clock, quad-core AM2+ processors draw much more power than old dual-core AM2 processors, and some old AM2 motherboards can't provide the extra juice. This is a difficult problem to nail down, as both AMD and motherboard manufacturers are fairly silent on the issue. Some motherboard manufacturers do provide updated compatibility charts on their websites, however, so visiting the manufacturer's website is a good place to start your investigation.

What about AM3? Surprisingly, AM2 does theoretically support AM3 processors. There is no inherent socket incompatibility, and Gigabyte lists some of its old AM2 motherboards as AM3 ready. There is, however, some red fine print that defines how the AM3 processor will be limited in the AM2 socket.
�

AM2+ as the Middle Child

As the years progressed onward and AM2 became older, it was clear that Intel's LGA775 processors were generally slaying AMD's AM2 offerings. AMD's old Athlon X2 processors were simply not competitive with Core 2 Duos. The Phenom fared better, but AMD encountered problems with getting the Phenom's clock speeds set high enough to make it competitive with Intel's Core 2 Quad processors. So, AM2+ debuted.

The AM2+ socket added support for a quicker Hypertransport link and for split power planes between the processor and the memory controller. Perhaps more importantly to AMD's plans, AM2+ released new motherboard specifications that required AM2+ motherboards to be capable of providing more juice to the processor. This was an absolute necessity as the only Phenoms that AMD had which were in any way competitive with the Core 2 Duos or Core 2 Quads were power hogs, and motherboards built around the old AM2 specification were often incapable of providing the required power.

As mentioned above, AM2+ is officially completely compatible with AM2. In practice, this official line seems to be one hundred percent correct. If you have an AM2+ processor, then any AM2 processor should work. The Socket AM2+ is also completely compatible with new AM3 processors, and as long as your BIOS supports the new AM3 processor, you should not run into any issues. AM3 processors have a solid DDR2 memory controller and run within the same power requirements of AM2+ processors.
�

AM3 Steps Slightly Forward

�

AM3 is an extremely recent socket, so recent that only a handful of AMD processors and motherboards actually use this socket - in fact, even the top-of-the-line X4 920 and X4 940 are AM2+ processors. The only AM3 processors available at the time of this writing are the AMD X3 710, the AMD X3 720, and the AMD X4 910.In the short term, AM3 is not a significant step forward, as the only significant feature which has been added to the AM3 processors is support for DDR3 memory. Currently, DDR3 memory does not offer a significant performance increase over DDR2, but as hardware progresses it is expected that DDR3 will become the standard of the industry, putting socket AM3 in a better long-term position.

Like said previously, AM3 processors are fully compatible with the AM2+ socket, contingent on a BIOS update of the AM2+ motherboard (and many AM2+ motherboards are currently shipping with a BIOS version which supports AM3 processors). However, the AM3 socket is not compatible with AM2+ processors. This is superficially because the AM3 socket has two less pins than the AM2+ socket, so AM2+ processors do not fit. However, hardware websites which have removed those pins from the AM2+ processor so the processor fits have not had any success getting the AM2+ processor to work. In other words, if you have an AM2+ motherboard, you can use it with any AM3 processor you'd like. However, if you have an AM3 motherboard, you can only use it with AM3 processors.