New Google Phone Nexus One

More details on the Google Phone Nexus One

No Multitouch included

Google's iPhone killer, the Nexus One is superfast, but unfortunately has no muktitouch capability. Tnkgrl Mobile got her hot little hands on the new gadget and reported some interesting details.
According to Tnkgrl, the Nexus One is thin and sexy looking but "there’s no multitouch support in the browser or in Google Maps". Also, the Nexus One is loaded with a 1400 mAh battery, a 4 GB micro-SD card, an OLED screen, a micro-USB connector and a 3.5mm headphone jack. US users will be happy to know that the phone 3G works on T-Mobile USA and is definitely unlocked. The phone is also noticeably faster than Motorla's Droid phone. Also, there’s no dedicated camera key, but it’s the same camera interface as the Droid. However, the camera flash is weak even if the low-light performance is decent.
As we reported earlier , the 'Google Phone' is not just another HTC phone with Google's Operating System Android, in fact the gadget is a proper Google-branded phone which the company is building right now and will sell it directly through retailers. The Google Phone will be an unlocked GSM phone. The gadget is powered by a Snapdragon chip and is loaded with a super high-resolution OLED touchscreen.
Now here is the interesting part - the Google Phone is thinner than the iPhone. It has no keyboard and two mics which are on the back of the phone to eliminate background noise. Also, it will feature a 'weirdly' large camera for a phone. And in case you dislike the touchscreen keyboard, you can simply write emails using by speaking into the phone using its voice-to-text feature.
The Nexus One is powered by the Android 2.1 operating system, and is supposed to be really, really, really, really fast. Here is a Twitter message from a Google Program Manager, who writes "Stuck in mass of traffic leaving work post last all hands of 2009. ZOMG we had fireworks and we all got the new Google phone. It’s beautiful." Another Googler Jason Howell tweeted "The new Google Phone runs on HTC hardware. I saw it w/ Android 2.1. Homescreen has new visual enhancements like animated desktop wallpaper."

Windows 7 ''XP Mode'' Finalized

Will arrive with Win 7 on Oct 23rd

Software giant Microsoft  revealed today that the company has "finalized the code" for the 'XP Mode' in its upcoming Windows 7 which releases on the 23rd of this month.

Like in Windows Vista, some older programs and softwares are not compatible with Windows 7, but the 'XP mode' will allow users to run those programs by switching to XP mode. "We expect many Windows XP applications to be compatible Windows 7 however Windows XP Mode is meant to serve as an added safety net so small and mid-sized businesses can migrate and run Windows 7 without any road blocks," said Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc. "Windows 7 Professional is designed to meet the needs of small and mid-sized businesses."

On the downside the XP Mode will be available with only three versions of Windows 7 - Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate. Also, your computer needs to have chip-level virtualization support activated to run the XP mode.

Microsoft has agreed to allow prospective owners of Windows 7 to downgrade the software to Vista and Windows XP. While Microsoft has allowed people to downgrade their software to a predecessor it is the first time it has allowed a downgrade licence to the operating system before. In fact it is technically possible that you could take the licence, in the way that it is worded, all the way back to Windows 95.

Microsoft Releases Free Anti-Virus Software

Lighter, faster than Norton/McAfee

It is the year of Microsoft - the software giant has just released Security Essentials software that will help protect your computer from pesky viruses, spyware, and other malicious programs.

But what's the big deal, you say, there are dozens of other anti virus programs? Just that Microsoft's Security Essentials is fully integrated with windows 7 and runs quietly in the background without popping up any annoying messages. What's more, its free!

Another aim of the Security Essentials is to make casual users aware of viruses and spyware to stay protected. Other famous anti-virus programs such as Norton are notorious for being too heavy and hogging too much memory, slowing down the computer. Microsoft's Security Essentials does just the opposite and still provides adequate security to you PC.

The Security Essentials will automatically download updates and your virus definitions will always be up to date. Like Norton and McAfee, the Security Essentials can be utilized to schedule full or quick system scans, exclude certain file types of processes from being scanned, and designate how you are alerted of various actions and what you want the default step to be.

You can download Security Essentials for free without signing up or registering; all you need is a genuine copy of Windows XP SP2 or SP3, Windows Vista (Windows Vista), or the upcoming Windows 7. Also, if you're planning on running Windows XP mode in Windows 7 you don't need to worry since Security Essentials will also run simultaneously in XP mode without affecting the computer's performance.

Although if you wish to install Microsoft Security Essentials, make sure you uninstall your previous anti-virus programs.

First Look: The Nokia X6

Stunningly pretty

More delicious candy for gadget freaks - Finnish mobile giant Nokii lifted the veil off its X6 handset at the Nokia World conference held in Stuttgart, Germany.

The Nokia X6 is more or less a successor to the 5800, and while the latter was loaded with some impressive specs, it unfortunately didn't look quite as attractive as other smart phones as the Iphone. The Nokia X6 fixes that as it looks absolutely mouthwatering, with a slim 14mm frame and 3.2-inch 640x480 touchscreen. The rest of the specs are quite close to what the 5800 packs; the X6 features a trendy 5-megapixel camera, 32 GB of storage, and 35 hours of music playback.

But the one thing that makes the Nokia X6 stand apart is the direct access to Facebook. “With direct access to Ovi Store, the Nokia X6 is a hive of activity that brings 20 friends and virtual communities, like Facebook , to your homescreen.” the nokia press release said. Also included is 'Lifecasting', another social networking feature which ets you publish your location and status updates directly to Facebook from the home screen of the phone.

According to Nokia, “Lifecasting goes beyond just publishing your status – it is about building deeper and closer connections between people. It triggers new kinds of communication patterns, such as sending messages or status updates or even navigating to a friend or a place. Lifecasting will premiere on the new Nokia N97 mini, companion to the successful Nokia N97.”

No word on when it releases in India or pricing, but we know that it costs about €459 in Europe, which makes it a full €200 cheaper than a 32GB iPhone 3G.

Sony releases sexy new A-Series Walkman

Thinnest Sony Walkman ever!

The gadget wars between Apple and Sony continue as the latter has just announced some a truly saucy new Walkaman, named the A-series.

The new candy comes barely a month after Sony released the S-Series and the E-Series, but what is so special about the A-series? Just that at 7.2mm, it happens to be the thinnest Walkman from Sony.

The A-Series can be snapped up in three flavours - the 16GB (NW-A84), the 32GB (NW-A846) and the 64GB version (NW-A847). Weighing just 62 grams, they are all packed with a 2.8 inch OLED screen at 240x400, FM radio and TV-out. Also included are MPEG-4, AVC and WMV video support, and MP3, WMA, ATRAC, PCM and AAC. The Walkman is compatible with Sony's Playstation 3 and you will be able to drag and drop to auto-transcode video from your computer.

The Sony A-Series boasts a playback time of 29 hours for music and 9 hours of video. Prices though are not very attractive as the 16GB would set you back $226, the 32GB $332 and the 64GB $443. All three models will be available in two colours, jet black and brown. In comparison, the Sony S-Series boasts 42 hours of music playback and up to 6.5 hours of video playback and costs $130 for the 16GB unit.

The A-Series will launch in Japan on October 31st, but no news on when it will launch in India or any other part of the world for that matter.

Second Take: The HTC Hero

Costs Rs 31,990 in India

A week ago Taiwan-based handset maker HTC Corporation launched the Android-juiced mobile phone HTC Hero in India.

Priced at Rs 31,990 the HTC Hero is loaded with 3.2-inch display and a 5 megapixel camera. Many have called the Hero as the best Android phone yet; the gadget has also been nicknamed as the G2, a successor of Android's very first phone, the G1.

HTC Hero's vital stats are 112 x 56.2 x 14.4 mm and it weighs just 135 grams. The 3.2 TFT touchscreen displays 65k colours at 320 x 480 pixels. Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate and trackball have been included as bells and whistles. The camera with Touch focus (via software update) has a max resolution of 2592 x 1944 pixels and can record videos at 15 frames per second.

The HC Hero boasts a standby time up to 440 hrs (2G) and up to 750 hrs (3G); while the talk time is allegedly up to 8 hrs (2G) / Up to 7 hrs (3G). The Hero is distinctive for its shape, which is mostly rectangular with an angled "chin" bar at the base. The design of the Hero is very clean with just six buttons below touchscreen. The six buttons are for making a calls, a home key, menu key and a hang-up key. The other two are for "search" and "back" and are placed to the bottom right of the phone. Apart from these six keys all input on the screen is through the touchscreen interface or the trackball.

There is a 3.5mm jack port on the top side and a recessed volume rocker switch on the side. In addition to the dedicated YouTube player the Hero also includes a media player that is mostly unchanged from previous releases. The audio player does, however, support a broad range of formats including MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA, MPEG4, WAV, MIDI, Real Audio and Ogg Vorbis, which makes it one of the most capable phone audio players around.

Google Chrome OS Screenshots Leaked

It has hardly been two days since Google announced the Google Chrome OS and now its screenshots have been leaked on the web. Google Chrome OS is based on the Linux kernel and is an open source project that is currently supported by Acer, Asus, Adobe, Freescale, HP, Lenovo, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments.

An anonymous person created a Chrome OS Leak blog and posted screenshots of the private developer beta of the OS. As per the blog post, Google representatives visited the Acer team to show distinct features of the Chrome OS. The Google Chrome OS installation on Acer Extensa 4620Z laptop took about 10 minutes. Here are a few highlights that were shown in the Chrome OS Demo.

The 'Chrome Bar' or the task bar, which auto-hides, appears at the bottom of the UI just like Apple Mac OS X's dock. Navigation is powered with 'Exploration' that is like a file explorer, and 'Browser', which basically is a web browser with search options. If configured, even the Chrome Bar can feature search bar. Apparently, Google Talk was the only application installed and it had a different logo.

Also, whenever Chrome OS based netbooks come out, the netbooks will carry the Chrome logo in place of the current Windows logo.

Free Laptop Security Software

http://adeona.cs.washington.edu/

This is the link but first you read this blog then download software

Overview

Adeona is the first Open Source system for tracking the location of your lost or stolen laptop that does not rely on a proprietary, central service. This means that you can install Adeona on your laptop and go — there's no need to rely on a single third party. What's more, Adeona addresses a critical privacy goal different from existing commercial offerings. It is privacy-preserving. This means that no one besides the owner (or an agent of the owner's choosing) can use Adeona to track a laptop. Unlike other systems, users of Adeona can rest assured that no one can abuse the system in order to track where they use their laptop.

Adeona is designed to use the Open Source OpenDHT distributed storage service to store location updates sent by a small software client installed on an owner's laptop. The client continually monitors the current location of the laptop, gathering information (such as IP addresses and local network topology) that can be used to identify its current location. The client then uses strong cryptographic mechanisms to not only encrypt the location data, but also ensure that the ciphertexts stored within OpenDHT are anonymous and unlinkable. At the same time, it is easy for an owner to retrieve location information.

How do I use it?

Using Adeona only requires downloading and installing a small software client. Adeona is free to use.

Why Adeona?

With the growing ubiquity of, and user reliance on, mobile computing devices (laptops, PDAs, smart phones, etc.), loss or theft of a device is increasingly likely, disruptive, and costly. Internet-based tracking systems provide a method for mitigating this risk. These tracking systems send, over the Internet, updates regarding the current location of the device to a remotely administered repository. If the device is lost or stolen, but maintains Internet connectivity and unmodified software, the tracking system can keep tabs on the current whereabouts of the device. This data could prove invaluable when the appropriate authorities attempt to recover the device.

Unfortunately, with current proprietary tracking systems users sacrifice location privacy. Indeed, even while the device is still in the rightful owner's possession, the tracking system is keeping tabs on the locations it (and its owner) visit. Even worse, with some commercial products, even outsiders (parties not affiliated with the tracking provider) can "piggy-back" on the tracking system's Internet traffic to uncover a mobile device user's private information and/or locations visited.

Adeona has three main properties:

• Private: Adeona uses state-of-the-art cryptographic mechanisms to ensure that the owner is the only party that can use the system to reveal the locations visited by a device.
• Reliable: Adeona uses a community-based remote storage facility, ensuring retrievability of recent location updates.
• Open source and free: Adeona's software is licensed under GPLv2. While your locations are secret, the tracking system's design is not.

The Mac OS X version also has an option to capture pictures of the laptop user or thief using the built-in iSight camera and the freeware toolisightcapture. Like your location information, these images are privacy-protected so that only the laptop owner (or an agent of the owner's choosing) can access them. Here are some examples:

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For more details check out the Frequently Asked Questions or some of the other documentation.

Adeona Announcements

Receive the latest news and updates about Adeona from the announcements RSS feed. Subscribe by clicking here.

In most modern browsers, you can also subscribe to the feed by clicking on the RSS icon located in the address bar. This is available throughout the Adeona website.

News about Adeona

• New Service Tracks Missing Laptops for Free [ pcworld.com, networkworld.com ]
• Open Source Adeona Tracks Lost & Stolen Laptops [ slashdot ]

Related News

• Keeping Laptops from Getting Lost or Stolen [ ftc.gov ]
• Laptops lost like hot cakes at US airports [ networkworld.com ]
• Laptops could betray users in the developing world [ newscientist.com ]
• Best Way To Get Back a Stolen Computer? [ slashdot ]
• 12,000 Laptops Lost Weekly At Airports [ slashdot ]
• Increase in Stolen Laptops Endangers Data Security [ chronicle.com ]
• Recovering a Lost or Stolen Gadget [ slashdot ]
• Which Lost/Stolen Laptop Trackers Do You Like? [ slashdot ]
• "Back To My Mac" Catches a Thief [ slashdot ]
• What Are the Best Laptop Theft Recovery Measures? [ slashdot ]

The History of Adeona

Adeona is named after the Roman goddess of safe returns. This system is the result of recent academic research started at the University of Washington, with participants now also at the University of California San Diego and the University of California Davis. The foundations of the Adeona design — and an analysis of its security and privacy properties — are published in a research paper at the 2008 USENIX Security Symposium.

The lead Ph.D. students on the project are Gabriel Maganis and Thomas Ristenpart, working with UW faculty members Tadayoshi Kohno and Arvind Krishnamurthy.

From

AMIT

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