tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1756034762328194022024-02-20T05:42:08.266+05:30ALL ABOUT TECHNOLOGY,GADGETS,SOFTWARES,HARDWARES,GAMING,COMPUTER SCIENCE and INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYThis site contains blogs/articles related to programming,softwares,databases and dbms,hardware,networking and internet,gadgets,operating systems,gaming,hacks and crack,tips and tricks (visit 'Site Quicklinks' page). Everything here is explained in a very simple and understandable manner.!!ENJOY!! your visit. ^_^b3haPPy ^_^http://www.blogger.com/profile/13443274671387073843noreply@blogger.comBlogger126125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-175603476232819402.post-26141242141426650552012-08-05T21:07:00.003+05:302012-08-05T21:08:24.688+05:30Dump Gmail for Outlook.com? Four reasons you might<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="c-6 heavy" style="border: 0px; color: #8cbd5b; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Takeaway: </span>Microsoft’s Gmail competitor has finally arrived. You might be surprised to learn that it brings some useful innovations to webmail. Here are the big four.</div>
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<a href="http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-introduces-outlook-com-hotmails-planned-successor-7000001888/" style="border: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone" height="309" src="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/gallery/6377365-550-309.jpg" style="border: none; display: block; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 15px !important; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Outlook dot com" width="550" /></a></div>
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Microsoft now has a big-time Gmail competitor. Before you chuckle and say “that only took eight years,” keep in mind that Gmail is largely the same product that Google launched in 2004 — with some nice incremental tweaks to improve the user interface.</div>
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Microsoft wants to inject some innovation into webmail again — and it looks like they may have pulled it off. On Tuesday, <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-introduces-outlook-com-hotmails-planned-successor-7000001888/" style="border: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">the company unveiled Outlook.com</a>, which is both its successor to Hotmail as well as its enhanced webmail for individual business professionals. It draws on Hotmail, Microsoft Exchange, and the Metro UI from Windows Phone 7 and Windows 8.</div>
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Based on my look at the working preview of Outlook.com that Microsoft has already released into the wild as well as an interview with one of Microsoft’s product leads on Outlook.com, I think there are four reasons why some users — especially professionals — will be legitimately tempted to make the switch from Gmail.</div>
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1. Automatic folders</h2>
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The best new innovation in Outlook.com is what I like to call its “automatic folders” feature. The system attempts to smartly sort some of your mail for you by automatically creating virtual folders for common stuff like email newsletters, Facebook and Twitter alerts, and other repetitive messages that can end up burying more important emails from human beings you actually need to correspond with. Obviously, since this is run by an algorithm, there will certainly be some false positives and negatives and you might have to tweak it, but I like the low-touch nature of this feature. Microsoft has also tried to streamline the process of setting up your own inbox rules as well in Outlook.com.</div>
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In his <a href="http://blogs.office.com/b/microsoft-outlook/archive/2012/07/31/introducing-outlook-com-modern-email-for-the-next-billion-mailboxes.aspx" style="border: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">blog post</a> about the new service, Microsoft’s Chris Jones summed up the feature. “Outlook.com automatically sorts your messages from contacts, newsletters, shipping updates, and social updates,” wrote Jones, “and with our Sweep features you can move, delete and set up powerful rules in a few, simple clicks so you can more quickly get to the email you really want.”</div>
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Another mail management feature that I like in Outlook.com is that you can hover over a message and get a set of actions to delete the message or flag it as important or sort it to a folder — and you can even customize the functions you want to see on the hover-over.</div>
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2. Mobile experience</h2>
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The biggest benefit that Microsoft has in designing a new webmail service in 2012 is that it can optimize it for today’s intensely-mobile world.</div>
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“The way people do mail on their mobile phone tends to be a little different,” said Brian Hall, General Manager of Windows Live and Internet Explorer. “They don’t do as much mail management.”</div>
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With that in mind, Microsoft used the automatic folder feature as its way of helping organize and prioritize users’ inboxes in a way that can work in virtually any type of desktop or mobile email client.</div>
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“Most people on a phone or tablet use the native mail client,” said Hall. “In those instances you want to make sure you work with any inbox. It’s a different approach than Priority Inbox from Google because they have to go create clients for mobile or else it breaks Priority Inbox.”</div>
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Hall also stressed that Microsoft is focused on delivering an excellent mobile web experience. In fact, the company is so focused on the native client and mobile web experience of Outlook.com that it doesn’t currently have plans to build an app for Microsoft’s own Windows Phone 7. ”It works beautifully with the native client,” said Hall.</div>
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On the other hand, he said they are working on an Android app, because “Android devices are less likely to have an Exchange ActiveSync client.”</div>
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3. Privacy protection</h2>
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One of the creepiest parts of Gmail has always been the fact that it does text-mining on your emails and uses that information to surface targeted ads. That’s the price you pay for unlimited storage and a free service. For example, if you’re emailing back-and-forth with a family member about a trip to go hiking, Gmail will simultaneously surface text ads for things like Rocky Mountain vacations, hiking boots, and protein bars. While these ads are generally unobtrusive and occasionally even useful, it still freaks out some people to realize that Google is essentially “reading their mail.” This is especially true for business professionals and others who use email to transmit potentially valuable or sensitive information.</div>
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Capitalizing on this uneasiness, Microsoft is promising that Outlook.com will not do text-mining on your inbox, while still offering its service for free and with “virtually unlimited storage.”</div>
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“We don’t scan your email content or attachments and sell this information to advertisers or any other company, and we don’t show ads in personal conversations,” Jones stated.</div>
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That doesn’t mean Outlook.com won’t have ads. There are right-column ads on the main inbox screen, but there aren’t ads on individual messages. Also, I’m sure these ads are going to be targeted based on what Microsoft knows about you in general, just not on the content of your individual messages.</div>
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4. Social integration</h2>
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One of my favorite plug-ins for Gmail is <a href="http://rapportive.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Rapportive</a>, which fills the right column in Gmail with contact information about the person you’re emailing. It draws that information from LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook (once you’ve logged in to those services) and will even show you the LinkedIn job title and latest status updates from the contact you’re emailing.</div>
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Microsoft has taken this kind of functionality and built it directly into Outlook.com, filling the right column of its message screen with this same kind of social contact data, but displaying it in a little bit simpler, cleaner way that follows the Metro UI style. Outlook.com doesn’t appear to show quite as much data as Rapportive.</div>
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However, Microsoft has taken social integration a step further. You can not only view people in your social networks from within Outlook.com and see their latest updates, but from the “People hub” you can also respond to status updates on Twitter and write on someone’s Facebook wall, all directly from Outlook.com. You can also do Facebook chat within Outlook.com. The instant messaging functionality itself is another strong feature of Outlook.com. The implementation is certainly better integrated and more usable than GTalk in Gmail.</div>
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Bottom line</h2>
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Hall said Microsoft was focused on several key priorities in Outlook.com: ”Clean UI, design for tablets and all devices, connected with the services you actually use (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn), works great with [Microsoft] Office and SkyDrive, and actually prioritizes your privacy.”</div>
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Before I took a look at Outlook.com, I couldn’t imagine that there was much Microsoft could do to innovate in webmail, and I expected it to feel like a desperate late attempt to make Hotmail relevant by copying Gmail. While Outlook.com is definitely aimed squarely at Gmail, I was surprised at how fresh it feels. There’s some really useful innovation in there, and I think it’s really smart for Microsoft to go after Google on privacy. It means Outlook.com won’t be nearly as powerful of a money-maker as Gmail, but it could build some needed goodwill from users.</div>
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I also like that Microsoft isn’t afraid to admit that this is aimed directly at stealing some of Gmail’s thunder. Hall said, ”If you’re a heavy Google Docs or a Google+ user, then Gmail is probably for you. Otherwise, if you use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Office, then Outlook [dot com] is better.”</div>
</article></div>b3haPPy ^_^http://www.blogger.com/profile/13443274671387073843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-175603476232819402.post-2727189688997900622012-06-06T10:06:00.000+05:302012-06-06T10:08:55.590+05:3010 hurdles Windows 8 must clear to succeed<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="c-6 heavy" style="border: 0px; color: #8cbd5b; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Takeaway: </span>Microsoft has launched the Windows 8 Release Preview and is shooting for RTM in two months. Here are some major obstacles in the path of the OS.</div>
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When Windows 7 launched, it was a huge success for Microsoft. Its biggest challenges were the lingering anger around Vista and the satisfaction with XP. Windows 8 is being launched into a totally different set of market conditions and with the ambitious goal of unifying all form factors onto one operating system. Here are 10 challenges Windows 8 will need to conquer to be a success.</div>
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1: The Metro UI</h2>
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Make no mistake about it: An awful lot of people are pretty unhappy with Metro. From my use of Metro on a Windows 8 VM and a Windows Phone 7 device for more than a year, I can tell you that there is a night-and-day difference between Metro on a desktop and Metro on a touch screen. Not only is Metro <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">really</em> different from the traditional Windows UI, but even in the Consumer Preview, it feels like the mouse is a second-class citizen to touch. Unless Microsoft can get this right, a lot of first impressions of Metro will be bad.</div>
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2: PC OEMs — can they finally get tablets right?</h2>
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Microsoft’s fate is closely tied to the ability of its partners to get things right. The problem is, Windows 8 is as much (if not more so) of an OS for mobile form factors with touch UIs (tablets, smartphones) as it is for desktops and laptops. And this is the exact market that PC OEMs have proven bad at penetrating for around 10 years now. Sure, there have been some successes (like the iPaq line of PDAs). But there have been many more instances where the PC OEMs just could not figure out how to give customers what they wanted.</div>
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3: iPad, iPhones, and Android</h2>
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Windows 8 on tablets is going head-to-head with the well-established iPad. In fact, the iPad is so dominant in tablets Android can’t get much traction at all, despite its success in phones. All the same, Microsoft is trying to push Windows 8 tablets. On the phone front, WP7 has been facing a huge uphill battle against iPhone and Android, despite much critical acclaim and a vocal and enthusiastic user base. Windows 8 on a phone will not be much different from WP7 to most users. If WP7 has been having it tough, Windows 8 is not likely to do much better in phones. Windows 8 for mobile form factors feels like a solution in search of a problem for many users.</div>
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4: Distrust of cloud</h2>
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Windows 8 leverages cloud technologies in a great many ways, and it makes the OS easy to use. It’s pretty slick to sign into a brand new Windows 8 install and have all your contacts there, Facebook integration, etc. At the same time, this integration will raise all sorts of red flags to corporate IT departments, which will want to either cripple the devices or take a wait-and-see approach to moving to Windows 8, looking for folks to show exactly what data goes where and how… and how to stop it.</div>
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5: No Active Directory support on ARM</h2>
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Windows 8’s big market advantage should be that it can allow tablets and phones to work as a seamless part of Active Directory, but this is not supported on ARM architecture. While Microsoft is giving corporate IT admins ways of managing Windows 8 devices, IT departments tend to prefer consolidation, not proliferation of management tools. Microsoft is going to have to work hard to prove to IT departments that they do not need Active Directory integration for ARM devices.</div>
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6: Brand new app market</h2>
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The only way — other than developers testing — to get Windows 8-native applications (Metro applications) is through the app store. The question is, “Will the app store launch with a good number of apps?” Microsoft really surprised me with how many apps WP7 launched with, and it has been even more aggressive about getting apps into the Windows 8 app market early. And anything it can do to allow an easy port of WP7 apps to Windows 8 will be a huge help, especially if it is “no work required,” since the WP7 app store is around the 100,000 app mark at the time of this writing.</div>
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7: Microsoft Office</h2>
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Microsoft has been taking steps to bring Office to other platforms (notably iOS), and when it does, that will reduce Windows lock-in quite a bit. It is also working hard to expand its Web reach with Office. Add it up, and users’ biggest reason to need Windows goes away, unless they depend on plug-ins that won’t work on other platforms.</div>
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8: The economy</h2>
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The economy still stinks. A large part of getting a new OS into the market depends on people buying PCs, and a lot of folks are choosing to do without a new computer because of the cost.</div>
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9: Longer refresh cycles</h2>
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While computers keep getting faster, most applications are not getting more demanding. It used to be that you needed to be on the cutting edge of hardware to keep up with software, but no more. Now, even budget hardware from years ago is still more than adequate to run most applications. That means that the refresh cycle that used to be three years is being stretched to four, five, and beyond. To make it worse, the companies that skipped Vista are now moving (or recently moved) to Windows 7, and they’re not in a hurry to do another migration.</div>
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10: Windows 7</h2>
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Microsoft is its own biggest competitor with Windows 8 on the desktop and laptop. Windows 7 has been a big success, and for good reason: It delivers on the promises Microsoft has been making now for so long regarding security and reliability. Windows 7 finally “just works.” All the consumers and IT departments that have been clinging to XP far past its prime will be doing the same with Windows 7, and Microsoft is not likely to get them to jump onto the Windows 8 train easily.</div>
</article></div>b3haPPy ^_^http://www.blogger.com/profile/13443274671387073843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-175603476232819402.post-4159444889533858232012-03-21T09:47:00.002+05:302012-03-21T09:47:51.950+05:3010 reasons why Windows 8 may appeal to consumers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="c-4 space-1 takeaway" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #8cbd5b; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Takeaway: </span><span style="color: #e06666;">Will Windows 8 be a hit with consumers? Maybe. Here are a few things that could win them over.</span></div>
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<img alt="" class="alignright" height="298" src="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/gallery/6348111-620-496.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px !important; margin-left: 12px; margin-right: 12px; margin-top: 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Tiles" width="372" /></div>
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We have talked a lot about how Windows 8 will mean significant changes for software developersand how Windows 8 will affect (or not affect) businesses. But it’s important to keep in mind that plenty of Windows computers get sold directly to consumers, and those are the sales that are most likely threatened by non-Windows devices right now, like smartphones and tablets. Here are some Windows 8 features that consumers may find interesting.</div>
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1: Games</h2>
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One of the things that struck me about Windows Phone 7 was just how many games were quickly brought over from Xbox Live. Windows 8, with a similar infrastructure under the hood, looks like it will be the same way. I have always been a sucker for unique, quirky games, and by bringing the Xbox Live game set over, we should see lots of those for a low cost on Windows 8.</div>
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2: Tablets</h2>
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Tablets may not be for everyone, but if you are or may become a tablet user, Windows 8 has appeal. It is tough to see how you wouldn’t want to consider a tablet that can potentially run all your existing applications (assuming you get an x86/x64 tablet). Microsoft has worked hard to give Windows 8 a touch-friendly UI, and having used the MetroUI on a Windows Phone 7 device for more than a year now, I think it is a great touch system. I’m eager to use it on a tablet.</div>
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3: Messaging</h2>
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Windows 8 integrates messaging from common providers like Facebook, Live, and Twitter into one spot. It is nice not to have to go to different Web sites and leave a page open to monitor various data streams or get a bunch of third-party applications to do the same. The integrated messaging system is very slick and builds off of the unified contacts system. This is another feature borrowed from Windows Phone 7, and it is a great one.</div>
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4: App store</h2>
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Windows has had an official app store in the past, though it was not terribly obvious and few people used it. With Windows 8, the app store is hard to miss. Not only is it the easiest way to load Metro applications onto Windows 8 devices, it will handle updates automatically too. The days of having out-of-date software or dealing with a zillion update applications is finally over! And if you need to replace a machine, there’s no need to dig up piles of installation discs or remember what apps you installed and downloaded from what sites and hope you still have serial numbers — you can easily reinstall them from the store.</div>
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5: Reduced security risk exposure, increased stability</h2>
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The WinRT API that Metro applications are built on top of is designed to severely limit what Metro applications can do to the underlying system, as well as to user data and with each other. Internet Explorer running in Metro (but not the traditional Desktop) will not allow third-party plug-ins to run at all, either. This may be a curveball for developers, but for users it means that the risk of malware is significantly decreased. It will be very tough for applications to damage the system or affect user data maliciously or inadvertently.</div>
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6: Unified UI</h2>
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Microsoft has been moving more and more of its systems to the Metro UI. With Windows 8, all the big form factors (PC, phone, tablet, and video game consoles) will be using the same UI principles and styling. That makes it a bit easier to get a handle on how to use new devices and new applications across platforms.</div>
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7: Cloud sync</h2>
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Built into Windows 8 is cloud-based synchronization. By signing into a Windows 8 machine with a Live ID, all sorts of unified data is available across devices. For example, when I signed into a fresh Windows 8 Consumer Preview installation, all my Twitter, Facebook, and Live Messenger accounts were immediately established because I use the same Live ID on my phone. Changes I make to this data will instantly be reflected across the board as well. That’s pretty nice. It is especially helpful when replacing a device, because you don’t have to reestablish all these connections or re-import (or re-create) data.</div>
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8: Integration with services and applications</h2>
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As I’ve mentioned, there is some neat integration around messaging and data in Windows 8. The integration goes much deeper, though. For example, My Pictures in Windows used to be nothing more than a directory that got special treatment from Windows Explorer. Now it has the notion of Albums and Libraries, which represent where the pictures come from. Services like Flickr and Facebook are integrated by default as Libraries, and third-party applications can tap into this functionality as well.</div>
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Likewise, the People Hub collects information about people you know from a variety of sources (Facebook, email accounts, LinkedIn, etc.) and puts it all in one place. Instead of an application-centric view of data, Windows 8 presents a data-centric view, minimizing the number of places you need to go to get access to data, while at the same time increasing the number of places it can be used.</div>
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9: Email</h2>
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Windows Phone 7 gets a lot of kudos for its excellent email client. This email client has been brought over to Windows 8 and scaled up to the larger screen size. Unlike some previous versions of free email clients bundled into Windows, it is quite capable and for many people will be a significant upgrade. Like other parts of Windows 8, it provides a concentration of data from different places (in this case, email accounts) and presents a unified view that makes it easy to work with and respond to emails.</div>
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10: Simplicity</h2>
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One of the key things in Windows 8 is that if you stick with Metro applications, it is a very simple system to deal with. Power users will not necessarily be thrilled about losing the control that they are used to (although they can still have it if they head to the Desktop on x86/x64 machines). But those who just want to sit down and “get stuff done” will appreciate how the OS gets out of the way and lets you do what you want to do.</div>
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Things like the highly reduced maintenance of applications (thanks to the app store), concentration of all email in one place (rather than the need for a native client and a few Web clients), and messaging add up to a simplified experience. You’re no longer switching between dozens of applications and Web pages but working around a small number of Hubs on the system based on your current needs. It is a refreshing change from the current overload of system tray notifications, buzzers, noises, and flashing taskbar icons that typify the current Windows system.</div>
</article></div>b3haPPy ^_^http://www.blogger.com/profile/13443274671387073843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-175603476232819402.post-5988615313657652482012-03-19T19:44:00.002+05:302012-03-19T19:44:41.090+05:3010 reasons Windows 8 will be painful for developers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #8cbd5b; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Takeaway: </span><span style="color: #e06666;">If you plan to develop Windows 8 native apps, be prepared for some hurdles. Justin James looks at some of the biggest problems you’re likely to face.</span></div>
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Since the release of the Windows 8 Developer Preview, people have had a lot to say about the experience of playing with it. But few folks are talking about the changes it represents for developers. Windows 8 is the biggest update to the Windows development model since the move from Windows 3.X to Windows 95. While there are lots of good things, there are also a lot of pain points. If you are looking to develop <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Windows 8 native applications</em> with the new Metro UI and WinRT API, be careful of these 10 things.</div>
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1: Market reboot</h2>
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If you want your applications to be fully compatible with Windows 8 (including running on ARM CPUs), you’ll need to do a full rewrite in Metro/WinRT. This may be great for developers looking to break into markets with established players. But if you <a href="" name="_GoBack" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">are</em> </a>the established player, you are suddenly back at square one.</div>
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2: The asynchronous model</h2>
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Windows 8 development is highly dependent upon asynchronous operations for anything that is long running. While that may be a cute trick in some scenarios, it is downright frustrating in others (like trying to download a file). It isn’t just the work needed to handle the async call; it’s things like error handling and reporting problems back to the user. It requires a whole new approach to the UI from what developers (especially WinForms developers) are used to.</div>
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3: Lack of direct disk access</h2>
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Windows 8 cuts off direct access to the system in quite a few ways, but the one that will hurt typical developers the most is the lack of disk access. Windows 8 follows an extreme isolation model for applications, and if your application <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">requires</em> access to data outside its own confined little world (including networked services you can access), you can forget about porting it to Windows 8.</div>
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4: Touch UI paradigm</h2>
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Unless you have been writing a lot of mobile apps, shifting to the new UI style, which is designed for touch interaction, is going to pretty tough. It took me a long time to get a feel for what works well and what doesn’t. To make things more difficult, what looks and works well on a screen using a mouse and keyboard can be a poor experience with touch, and things that work well with touch often are a struggle to use on the screen. It’s a tricky balancing act, and as the uproar over the Metro UI in Windows 8 shows, even Microsoft is struggling to get it right despite having had a few years of Metro experience.</div>
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5: Playing by Microsoft’s app store rules</h2>
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If you want to be using the Microsoft app store, you will need to learn to play by its rules. While the rules are fairly reasonable, it will be a jarring experience if it is anything like the WP7 App Hub. For starters, Microsoft rigorously inspects the application and looks for all sorts of things, like unhandled exceptions and circular UI paths. Although this ensures a high quality app, it can be a surprise to developers. In addition, you need to work with an approval process. The details of the Microsoft application store are still under wraps, but recent experience with WP7 suggests that it won’t be fun.</div>
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6: Heavy emphasis on cloud</h2>
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While there is no mandate to use the cloud, Web services, and other off-premise techniques and technologies, it is most definitely encouraged. Things like automatic syncing of settings and data between devices (regardless of how it is done) will become the rule, not the exception, and users will be expecting it. Windows 8 makes this easy (you can have your locally saved information synced automatically with Live), but you will want to be judicious about how you do it for sensitive data. Encryption and other privacy and security techniques will become more important than ever.</div>
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7: Shift to “contracts” and “interfaces” for interop</h2>
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One unique aspect of the Windows 8 paradigm is the idea that applications can provide services to the OS (such as acting as a source of contacts or pictures), as opposed to just dumping the data into a common directory. This allows all sorts of sweet application concepts. But even though this is easy at the technical level, it’s difficult to figure out how to leverage at the conceptual level.</div>
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8: Market uncertainty</h2>
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Now we get into the more high-level pains. Microsoft is clearly pushing Windows 8 for tablets and maybe even phones. Right now, we’re seeing Android struggle in the tablet space, and at the same time, it seems like the Metro UI is universally panned by people who have tried the Developer Preview. But again, the Metro experience is geared for touch, and the Preview is usable only on a virtual machine, so the true tablet experience will be much different.</div>
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In addition, the people who have seen the Developer Preview simply do not represent the typical user one bit. Will the market adopt Windows 8 or reject it? Will Microsoft cave in and let people skip the Metro UI entirely? Will the tablet market for Windows 8 take off? These are all questions that won’t be answered until it is far too late to be a first mover in the market. If you are going to bet on Windows 8, you simply can’t properly assess the risks right now.</div>
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9: Lack of tablet hardware</h2>
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Speaking of the disliked Developer Preview, not having tablets to try Windows 8 on is a major problem. There is just no good way right now to get an idea of what the user experience will be like for your applications on those tablets. Not just in terms of the UI either, but of performance. Can the tablet CPUs run your app well? Is it too “chatty” for a device on a cellular connection? Are you using more storage than makes sense for the typical tablet we’ll see? Without a few tablet models easily available, we don’t know the answers here.</div>
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10: The trail of dead tech</h2>
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This is the one that really breaks my heart. Microsoft has a history of pushing a technology as “the next big thing” and then leaving it dying on the vine a few years later. We don’t know if Microsoft will back off its Windows 8 strategy before launch, right after launch (Kin), or a few years down the road (Zune, Silverlight). If the new Windows 8 paradigm is not a success, Microsoft may very well change course in a way that renders all your hard work on Windows 8 native applications a waste of time.</div>
</article><br />
</div>b3haPPy ^_^http://www.blogger.com/profile/13443274671387073843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-175603476232819402.post-85084639212433488412012-03-19T11:31:00.000+05:302012-03-19T11:31:18.707+05:30Analyze server performance with Microsoft Advisor: How to get started<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="c-4 space-1 takeaway" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #8cbd5b; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Takeaway: </span><span style="color: #ea9999;"><span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">B</span>enefits of using Microsoft Advisor (part of the Software Assurance program) to analyze how well your servers are tuned to get the best performance out of them.</span></div>
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System Center Advisor (or just “Advisor”) is a benefit of the Software Assurance (SA) license program for organizations running Microsoft SQL Server 2008 (and later versions), and Windows Server 2008 (and later versions). Advisor collects on-premise configuration data from supported Microsoft server installations, analyzes it in the Microsoft Azure cloud, and provides feedback in emailed reports and through an online portal. Potential issues (such as missing security patches) or deviations from identified best practices with regard to configuration and usage are identified.</div>
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Advisor is an effort to share the expertise of Microsoft support teams, in the form of proactive recommendations, delivered to server and application administrators, before availability or performance issues occur. Advisor is not a monitoring service — it does not offer real-time alerting and does not measure application delivery. It’s been described as an automated Best Practice Analyzer and configuration history database for supported server technologies. Microsoft is expected to add other server technologies to Advisor soon and on a continuing basis in the future.</div>
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Figure A</h4>
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The benefits to the Software Assurance customer for using the System Center Advisor benefit.</h6>
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<strong>Figure A</strong> (from the Microsoft System Center Advisor <a href="https://systemcenteradvisor.com/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">web portal entry page</a>) illustrates the ultimate goal for the customer: Reduced downtime. There is also the opportunity for improved server performance by informing administrators when servers are unpatched or misconfigured. Should things go wrong and you have to open a Microsoft support case, you can resolve issues faster by providing Microsoft with access to current and historical configuration data, which is stored by Advisor in the cloud.</div>
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There are two on-premise software components to the Advisor architecture: the gateway and the agent. A prerequisite to run the Advisor installer is the .NET Framework 3.5.1, which is enabled via the Features page of Windows Server Manager.</div>
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<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong>Gateway:</strong> An Internet-connected server on your network that can upload data collected from agents to System Center Advisor. The gateway uses TCP port 443 for encrypted transmission of the configuration of servers with Advisor agents to the Advisor web service at Microsoft.</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong>Agent</strong>: Collects information from a server on your network and sends that information to a gateway. The agent uses TCP port 80 for communication on your network between Advisor agents and gateways.</li>
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System Center Advisor is hosted in the Microsoft Azure public cloud at datacenters in the United States. Gateways upload data daily in a batch process, and a weekly email summary of issues detected by Advisor is delivered. The language of Advisor today is English, but the service is available in a number of additional countries.</div>
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Getting started with System Center Advisor</h2>
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Anyone can request activation of a free 60-day trial of System Center Advisor (<a href="http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-cloud/system-center/advisor.aspx" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">trial link here</a>). Existing volume license users with Software Assurance can start using a licensed instance of Advisor (<a href="http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/software-assurance/system-center-advisor.aspx" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">SA link here</a>). When you visit the System Center Advisor web portal and log in with the Live ID associated with your Advisor account, Advisor knows who you are and stages the right downloads for you in an Azure storage blob.</div>
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There are two files to download. An executable setup file (AdvisorSetup.exe), and a registration certificate file that digitally authenticates this Advisor gateway computer as part of your Advisor subscription. <strong>Figure B </strong>demonstrates downloading the two files with your web browser and kicking off an Advisor gateway installation.</div>
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Figure B</h4>
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<a href="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/fig-b_installing-advisor.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5429" height="341" src="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/fig-b_installing-advisor.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; display: block; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px !important; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-top: 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="fig-b_installing-advisor" width="500" /></a></div>
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Download two files and run a setup wizard to install a System Center Advisor gateway. You can repeat the download process with the web browser at each computer that needs an agent or gateway. Alternatively, you can copy the setup file to a network share or removable media and repeat the install with the shared media. When installing a gateway server, you need to point the Advisor setup to the registration certificate file downloaded along with the executable setup file, but the certificate is only needed for gateway install and should not be widely distributed.</div>
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Steps to configure Advisor on servers</h2>
<ol style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 40px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">After installing Advisor on a server, the Advisor Configuration Wizard program item appears on the server’s Start menu. The configuration wizard also runs automatically after first installing the software.</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">There is an option to restrict connections to an Advisor gateway to a specific set of agents in your domain. This option provides an Advisor customer with an additional layer of filtering to confirm an exact list of agents allowed to send configuration data to Advisor.</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">After completing the Advisor configuration wizard, within 24 hours you will see data in your account at the Advisor online portal.</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">No configuration or application data is collected from a gateway server just by installing the Advisor gateway server component.<ul style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">You need to expressly enable the Advisor agent component on the gateway server at the time you install the gateway, if you want the gateway server configuration analyzed by Advisor.</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">If you install a gateway without an agent, you can later re-run the setup executable (AdvisorSetup.exe) and select the Change option. Then select to activate the Advisor agent component as well as the gateway component.</li>
</ul>
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<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Finally, after installing a gateway server, you need to install agents on the servers to be analyzed by Advisor in the cloud. To install the Advisor agent, run AdvisorSetup.exe on each computer than needs an agent. The Advisor agent configuration wizard needs to know the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of your Advisor gateway.</li>
</ol>
</article></div>b3haPPy ^_^http://www.blogger.com/profile/13443274671387073843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-175603476232819402.post-59759761169571911182012-03-12T21:37:00.000+05:302012-03-12T21:38:00.175+05:3010 low-stress jobs for IT Pros<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="c-4 space-1 takeaway" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #8cbd5b;">Takeaway:</span><span style="color: #e06666;"> </span></span><span style="color: #e06666;">If you love IT but the stress levels are wearing you down, you might consider one of these less-intense job roles.</span></div>
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<article style="background-color: white; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
It is hard to say that there are any truly low-stress or stress-free jobs in the IT industry. IT workers operate on tight deadlines, mistakes can take entire companies down (or worse), and there never seem to be enough people to do the job. To make it even harder, IT pros are often asked to work with and even take direction from people who really have no clue about the technical details. But it is still possible to have a job in the IT industry that reduces many or even most of these pain points. Here are 10 IT industry jobs with relatively low stress levels.</div>
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1: Computer sales</h2>
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As far as IT jobs go, being a salesperson at a computer store is about as stress-free as it gets. Sure, you need to deal with customers who often have no idea what they are talking about but come armed with a bunch of misinformation from the Internet and from their friends. But you know what? Sales folks don’t take their work home or have to deal with deadlines, and that alone makes a huge difference in the stress levels.</div>
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2: Desktop support technician</h2>
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Desktop support can be tough, for sure. People’s PCs are not working and you need to get them back up and running as quickly as possible. The good news is, you should have a supply of PCs ready to go to get the user back up and running quickly if the problem is bad, so you can fix the broken machine in the shop. And yes, you are often forced to support a wide variety of applications, many of which you rarely have to work with. At the same time, most of the problems you see are the same list of issues, like bad hard drives and broken mice. Most important for the stress levels, while someone’s personal work (or a project) may get delayed until you fix the issue, systems administrators and network engineers have to fix problems that often affect entire departments, buildings full or people, or even the entire company.</div>
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3: Backups administrator</h2>
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Believe it or not, some companies are big enough to have folks dedicated completely to managing backups. The beauty of this job is that while needing to restore from backup is a super-critical task, it is a rare issue. The majority of your day is spent doing routine tasks that are not under the gun on deadlines.</div>
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4: Configuration (or presales) engineer</h2>
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If you’ve ever dealt with a company to spec out a server, you’ve worked with a configuration engineer. They come in a variety of flavors, but the common theme is that they are not the ones doing the actual implementation — which is where the stress of timelines and things not going right come into play. Once the purchase order is authorized, the configuration engineer has moved on to the next client. Again, this is a customer-facing job. But your customers tend to be knowledgeable, which takes a lot of the stress away.</div>
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5: Computer lab support</h2>
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When I was in college, we had many computer labs on campus, and one of the much-coveted on-campus jobs was to be one of the support folks for these labs. Many colleges still have computer labs, despite the proliferation of student-owned PCs. For me, this was the easiest, least stressful IT job ever. All I had to do was answer basic questions (like how to save a file), keep the printers full of paper and toner and jam-free, clean one or two computers per shift, and file a ticket if a computer broke. I wasn’t there to troubleshoot. I’d just reboot the computer if it gave the user grief. The only stress from this job was the low paycheck.</div>
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6: Application architect</h2>
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Of the wide variety of development jobs, I tend to see application architects as having the least amount of direct pressure on them <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">in general</em>. All development jobs are stressful in their own way, but architects’ code usually doesn’t deal with the troubles caused by actual users since the architects mostly write libraries that other developers use and guide the overall development of the application. Architects are often more separated from deadlines than other developers because the bulk of their work occurs at the front end of a project.</div>
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7: Build engineer</h2>
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The build engineer is the person responsible for automating the processes and procedures for building software from source code to running code. Many times, they will fold in a lot of other work as well, such as creating unit tests (or setting up unit tests to be run), making setup kits, handling automatic deployment of code to test machines on a regular basis, and managing the source control system. Like the architect, this job seems to butt up against timelines the least and requires minimal contact with people outside IT. While it is a difficult job that requires knowledge of a large number of technologies, it is the kind of position where you are left in relative peace and quiet to do your work.</div>
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8: Installation technicians</h2>
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The installation technician is the person who performs the initial installation and configuration of a piece of hardware, especially things like cable boxes and DSL modems. The beauty of this job is that while you are on a timeline and have a schedule, any major problems found at the client’s site are justifiable grounds for delaying the installation and are generally understood by the customer. As a rule, any mission-critical installations are performed well in advance of their deadline, which keeps a lot of the stress levels down.</div>
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9: Trainer</h2>
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Trainers have a great job: They come in, present their materials, and leave before the real carnage occurs. Yes, trainers are there to educate, and it can be frustrating at times to be a teacher. And of course, speaking for much of the day — and often on your feet for most of it — can be difficult. Trainers may spend a fair amount of time traveling, too. But all the tensions that the typical IT staff has to deal with, like projects, crashes, end users, just are not there.</div>
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10: IT industry analyst</h2>
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Without a doubt, one of the best jobs in the IT industry is that of industry analyst. These are the people who talk to industry leaders and then write reports filled with predictions of the IT future. Of course, like most folks, they do operate on a deadline. And to make things a bit more stressful, they tend to not be well respected by the rank-and-file IT workers. At the same time, though, they never have to actually implement anything. Even better, their mistakes do not result in dead servers, security breaches, or buggy applications. And by the time it is possible to find out whether their predictions were right, no one remembers them — or if they do, the “uncertainty of the rapidly evolving industry” is a perfectly acceptable scapegoat for mistakes.</div>
</article></div>b3haPPy ^_^http://www.blogger.com/profile/13443274671387073843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-175603476232819402.post-3724496676960411802012-02-19T22:05:00.001+05:302012-02-19T22:05:14.826+05:30How to create groups and assign users in Lion Server<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="c-4 space-1 takeaway" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #6aa84f; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Takeaway:</span><span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #8cbd5b; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="color: #e06666;"><span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">T</span>he basic steps of creating groups in Mac Lion Server and assigning users based on the groups.</span></div>
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<article style="background-color: white; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Once user accounts are created in Mac OS X Lion Server, administration is simplified by assigning users to groups. Using groups, permissions and rights can be granted to entire collections of users, such as by department, instead of to individual user accounts.</div>
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How to create a group</h2>
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Mac administrators can create groups by following these steps:</div>
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<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Open the Server app.</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Click Groups.</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Click the + icon. The New Group window will appear.</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Provide the group name in the Full Name field.</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Enter the Account Name.</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Click the Done button.</li>
</ol>
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Once groups are created, they appear within the Groups window. Groups can be deleted by highlighting the respective group and clicking the - icon.</div>
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How to assign a user to a group</h2>
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With a group or groups created, Mac administrators can follow these steps to assign users to a group:</div>
<ol style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 40px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Open the Server app.</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Click Groups.</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Double-click a group.</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Click the + icon.</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Enter the user name you wish to add to the group.</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Click the + icon to add additional users.</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Repeat the process until all appropriate users have been added to the group.</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Click the Done button.</li>
</ol>
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Another method of adding users to a group is to enter the group selections from the user account. Mac administrators can add individual users to groups by following these steps:</div>
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<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Open the Server app.</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Click Users.</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Double-click the user account for which group permissions are to be assigned.</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Click the + icon.</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Within the Groups window enter the name of the group to which you wish to assign the user.</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Click the + icon and enter another group name if multiple group selections are required, repeating until done.</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Click the Done button.</li>
</ol>
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Make a group a member of another group</h2>
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When necessary, groups can be made members of other groups. For example, maybe separate permissions need to be provided to select executive members of an HR group. To assign a group to another group:</div>
<ol style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 40px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Open the Server app.</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Click Groups.</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Double-click the group you wish to assign permissions for another group.</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Click the + icon.</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Enter the name of the group to which you wish to provide the current group membership.</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Click the + icon and repeat the process if additional group memberships apply.</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Click the Done button.</li>
</ol>
</article></div>b3haPPy ^_^http://www.blogger.com/profile/13443274671387073843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-175603476232819402.post-61389983423579441602012-02-17T14:37:00.000+05:302012-02-17T14:37:24.315+05:30How to create users in Mac OS X Lion Server<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="c-6 heavy" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #8cbd5b; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Takeaway: </span><span style="color: #e06666;"><span class="c-6 heavy" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">S</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">teps to create user accounts in Mac Lion Server, using both the Server app and Workgroup Manager.</span></span><br />
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You won’t find the Active Directory Users and Groups console in Mac OS X Lion Server. Instead, Mac administrators typically use the simplified Server app to create and administer user accounts on Lion servers.</div>
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For the purposes of this tutorial, I will review creating local user accounts. On Lion systems, local accounts enable a user to log in to the local system to access files, shares, services and other resources present on that system; local accounts cannot be used to log in to another computer upon which the same local user account isn’t already present. However, Lion users can log in to other systems using those systems’ local accounts and leverage local accounts configured on the server to access that server’s resources.</div>
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Create user accounts using the new Server app</h2>
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Within Lion’s Server app, highlight Users in the left-hand console, then click the + icon within the Users window. The New User window will appear. Enter the user’s full name (usually the user’s complete first and last names using proper capitalization and spacing), account name (an abbreviated name), email address and password (which must be entered twice). Check the Allow user to administer this server box only if you wish for the new user account to possess administration privileges, otherwise leave it unchecked.</div>
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Because the Account Name is difficult to change, review it carefully before creating the user account. The Account Name is a shortened name that is usually composed of letters, numbers and/or an underscore, hyphen and/or period. Note that, in Mac OS X Lion, users can authenticate or log in using the values supplied either in the Full Name or Account Name fields within the New User window.</div>
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Lion administrators can access a user’s additional settings by right-clicking the new user account and selecting Advanced Options. The user account’s User ID, group memberships, Account Name, aliases and login shell and home directory appear. Settings can be modified but errors can prevent users from even logging in, so be sure to administer edits carefully.</div>
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Create new user accounts using Workgroup Manager</h2>
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Lion administrators can also create new users using Workgroup Manager. To do so, open Launchpad, select the Server folder and choose Workgroup Manager. Enter the host name and administrator username and password within the resulting Workgroup Manager Connect window, then click Connect.</div>
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Next, click OK to close the directory node message. Then click the Accounts icon, followed by the New User toolbar icon. Click OK to acknowledge that users may not receive services access if service access control lists are in use, in which case services must later be individually configured for users.</div>
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Proceed by entering the new user information, leaving other default settings per Apple’s recommendations. Ensure you don’t provide the new user with administrator privileges unless you intend to do so, then click Save.</div>
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Note that, when creating new users within Workgroup Manager, new user accounts aren’t automatically added to the Workgroup group. User accounts created using the Server app, however, are automatically added to the Workgroup group.</div>
</article></div>b3haPPy ^_^http://www.blogger.com/profile/13443274671387073843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-175603476232819402.post-40028329306032663032012-01-29T22:07:00.000+05:302012-01-29T22:07:16.085+05:3010 skills for developers to focus on in 2012<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="c-4 space-1 takeaway" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #778596; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #8cbd5b; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Takeaway: </span>Quick: Throw out last year’s list of must-learn dev skills — it’s already obsolete. This new list will help you rethink your skill set to avoid falling behind.</div>
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Software development had a few years of relative calm. But now the rollercoaster is back on track and it’s picking up speed, as HTML5 gains a foothold and Windows 8 threatens to significantly change the Windows development landscape. If you want to stay ahead of the curve, you should consider learning at least a few of these 10 software development skills.</div>
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1: Mobile development</h1>
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If you don’t think it is worth your time to learn mobile development, think again. <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/the-pc-industry-is-heading-for-collapse/17828" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Global shipments of Android phones in 2011</a> are almost equal to PC sales. Add in the other big-name mobile devices (iPhones, iPads, and even the “dying” RIM devices), and what you see is that mobile devices now dwarf PCs in sales. What does this mean? If you make your living from software that can run only on a PC (which includes Web sites that don’t work or are hard to use on mobile devices), now is the time to learn mobile development.</div>
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2: NoSQL</h1>
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I appreciate a well-designed relational database schema as much as the next person, but they just are not appropriate for every project. We’ve been using them even when they aren’t the best tool because the alternatives haven’t been great. The last few years have seen the introduction of a wide variety of NoSQL database systems. And now that major service vendors (like Amazon and Microsoft) support NoSQL as well, there is no technical limitation on their use. Are they right for every project? No. Are they going to replace traditional databases? In some projects, and for some developers, definitely. This is the year to learn how to use them, as they will only become more prevalent in the year to follow.</div>
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3: Unit testing</h1>
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We’ve seen unit testing go from being, “Oh, that’s neat” to being a best practice in the industry. And with the increasing use of dynamic languages, unit testing is becoming more and more important. A wide variety of tools and frameworks are available for unit testing. If you do not know how to do it, now is the time to learn. This is the year where it goes from “resume enhancement” to “resume requirement.”</div>
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4: Python or Ruby</h1>
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Not every project is a good fit for a dynamic language, but a lot of projects are better done in them. PHP has been a winner in the industry for some time, but Python and Ruby are now being taken seriously as well. Strong arguments can be made for Ruby + Rails (or Ruby + Sinatra) or Python + Django as excellent platforms for Web development, and Python has long been a favorite for “utility” work. Learning Python or Ruby in addition to your existing skillset gives you a useful alternative and a better way to get certain projects done.</div>
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5: HTML5</h1>
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HTML5 is quickly pulling away from the station. The impending release of IE 10 is the last piece of the puzzle to make the full power of HTML5 available to most users (those not stuck with IE 6 or IE 8). Learning HTML5 <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">now</em> positions you to be on the forefront of the next generation of applications. Oh, and most mobile devices already have excellent support for it, so it is a great way to get into mobile development too. And don’t forget: HTML5 is also one route for UI definitions in Windows 8!</div>
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6: Windows 8</h1>
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Windows 8 should be released sometime in 2012, unless the schedule slips badly. While Windows 8 may very well get off to a slow start, being the top dog in an app store is often based on being the first dog in the race. The first mover advantage is <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">huge</em>. It is better to be in the Windows 8 app store at launch time than to take a wait-and-see approach. Even if Windows 8 sales disappoint, it’s better to be the only fish in a small pond than a fish of any size in a big pond, as recent app sales numbers have shown.</div>
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7: RESTful Web services</h1>
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While I personally prefer the convenience and ease of working with SOAP in the confines of Visual Studio, REST is booming. Even Microsoft is starting to embrace it with OData. JSON really was the final straw on this matter, relegating SOAP to be for server-to-server work only. Unless your applications can run in isolation, not knowing REST is going to hold you back, as of 2012.</div>
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8: JavaScript</h1>
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Before the Windows 8 Developer Preview, it was easy for non-Web developers to look at JavaScript as a Web-only language. No more! JavaScript is now a first-class citizen for native desktop and tablet development, thanks to the Metro UI and WinRT API in Windows 8. XAML + C# or VB.NET may be a good way for you to get things done, but if you want to maximize what you can get out of your knowledge, HTML5 and JavaScript are the best bet. They give you Web <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">and</em>Metro/WinRT, and you can also use them for some of the cross-platform mobile systems out there, like Appcelerator’s Titanium product.</div>
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9: jQuery</h1>
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If you are going to do any kind of Web development where you are working directly with HTML, jQuery is becoming a must-know skill. While there are plenty of credible alternatives, jQuery is quickly turning into the de facto tool for rich UIs with HTML.</div>
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10: User experience</h1>
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Other than getting that first mover advantage in new app stores, there is little to differentiate many applications on a feature basis; it’s a crowded field. User experience, on the other hand, is a different story. Creating a great user experience is not easy; it starts before anyone even downloads your application and continues through to the uninstall process. In the age of instant $0.99 and free app downloads, and ad-supported Web apps, the barriers to switching to another application are mighty low. If your user experience is poor, do not expect much business.</div>
</article></div>b3haPPy ^_^http://www.blogger.com/profile/13443274671387073843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-175603476232819402.post-32983847618165635462012-01-21T13:40:00.000+05:302012-01-21T13:40:33.486+05:30Hitting Windows 8 reset button: Security bonus saves time and money<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #8cbd5b; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Takeaway: </span><span style="color: #e06666;">The Windows 8 reset button from a security perspective.</span></div>
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The much ballyhooed Windows 8, Microsoft’s latest release of its flagship product, will allow users to restore their Windows 8 PC to its pristine factory state through the push of a single button. There are two distinct restore types: <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">reset</em> and <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">refresh</em>. A reset will restore a Windows 8 PC to its original factory state, consequently removing any personal data, apps, and settings. A refresh will reinstall Windows 8, but preserves any documents, wireless network connections, BitLocker settings, drive letter assignments, personalization settings, and installed Metro apps. Any file-type associations, display settings, and Windows firewall settings will not be retained after a refresh.</div>
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The reset/refresh options are different than the current system restore process found in Windows 7/Vista/XP in that Windows is completely re-installed (the current system restore reverts back to a “last known good state” therefore, not all current system settings or files are retained). Additionally, the system restore files are not immune from becoming infected with malware. I assume cybercriminals are already looking for any weaknesses in the new reset/refresh process. The time required to perform a refresh is approximately eight minutes, and six minutes for a quick reset. A thorough reset takes 23 minutes. The thorough option overwrites any existing data visible to the operating system.</div>
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Good news for support pros</h2>
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From a security perspective, the reset/refresh options provide a great method for quickly restoring malware infested computers to a “safe” state. Before security companies rush to play the antitrust card, they should realize that this capability complements itself nicely to any endpoint security software. The purpose of endpoint security software is to prevent any malicious software from being run or installed in the first place. However, as any IT professional can attest, having such software does not equate to complete immunity. Scareware, rootkits, keyloggers, trojans and other nefarious items can still make their way onto a computer. The reset/refresh option allows for a quick recovery when the security software “fails”. The security industry has yet to prove that their products are able to fully cover the entire prevent/detect/recover/remediate cycle.</div>
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Depending on the industry, anywhere between 40%-70% of IT support (or help desk) employee time is spent removing viruses and malware from company computers. Generally speaking, the time required for someone to run an antimalware removal tool and conduct further troubleshooting (if needed for particularly troublesome malware) can easily exceed an hour. This leads to productivity loss and subsequent frustration. Countless hours are spent attempting to either remove all traces of the malware from the computer or completely wiping out the machine, re-imaging it from scratch, and installing the latest patches. On top of that, time is needed to re-install any applications, copy over any files, and restore usability settings. Pretty soon an entire afternoon (or morning) is lost. This is crucial time taken away from IT support (and the employee whose laptop was infected) when they could have been working on more strategic projects that actually provide value to the company. When scaled by organization size, the productivity loss grows exponentially. The time that is spent cleaning up viruses and malware costs the company money and negatively affects the bottom line.</div>
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In a time where companies are cash strapped and desperate to find cost savings, reducing the time devoted to recovering from malware infections to mere minutes, will lead not only to reduced costs, but will translate into a competitive advantage. Making use of the reset/refresh one-click option in Windows 8 is a no-brainer. The security industry would be foolish to view it any other way.</div>
</article></div>b3haPPy ^_^http://www.blogger.com/profile/13443274671387073843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-175603476232819402.post-63004340361218511762012-01-11T22:14:00.001+05:302012-01-11T22:14:05.135+05:30Mandriva in danger of closing its doors<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #8cbd5b; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Takeaway: </span><span style="color: #e06666;"><span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">T</span>ake on the rumors of Mandriva closing its doors. January 16, 2012 is but a Monday away. Would the closing of Mandriva’s doors have a lasting effect on the Linux landscape?</span></div>
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Nothing is sacred these days. In times of economic crisis, anything could go any way, at any time. Such is the case with Mandriva. By January 16, 2012 we could all see the end of a distribution that was just starting to make itself relevant again. After so many ups and downs, causing it to flounder in obscurity, Mandriva releases its latest Powerpack, which helped to make GNOME 3 a viable desktop for both businesses and home users. And then…a share holder issue reared its ugly head.</div>
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Mandriva began as Mandrakesoft and suffered through more ups and downs than most Linux distributions had to endure. In 2006, the company emerged from bankruptcy to become Mandriva and, for the most part, lived in the shadows of Ubuntu, Fedora, Red Hat, Linux Mint (and many other flavors of Linux). But when Powerpack 2011 hit the shelves it looked as if everything was going to finally turn back around for the French distribution. Mandriva finally had what looked like a major hit on their hands and, before Powerpack could gain any traction, the news of a possible shutdown seeped from under the doors of Mandriva.</div>
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What’s going on?</h2>
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It’s fairly simple. In 2011 rumors began spreading that Mandriva was to be acquired by Linagora. But those rumors turned out to have no validity. That wasn’t the end of the rumor mill. Only the next words to be whispered about, weren’t so vapid. This time it was a regular contributor to the Mandriva community, Rapahël Jadot. On December 30, he spoke:</div>
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“Well, let’s make it short: everything was fine, but there is a big problem: a minor shareholder (Linlux) refuses the capital injection required for Mandriva to continue, even though the Russian investor had offered to bear it alone. “Except turnaround Mandriva should cease activity Jan. 16…”</div>
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What this means exactly is this. Linlux SARL, a minority investor holding 42 percent of the shares, is blocking a move to raise new capital for Mandriva — even though the majority shareholder (Townarea Trading & Investment Ltd.) has approved the plans.</div>
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Why is this happening?</h2>
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It seems accusations are pointing the finger of blame at Marc Goldberg, the lead at Linlux, who doesn’t want to see his personal investments in Mandriva reduced. This is not Goldberg’s first attempt at blocking investments. It could be his last. With the community driven fork, Mageia, alive and well, it would be a no-brainer for the current community of Mandriva developers to migrate, en masse, to greener (less drama-filled) pastures. But even with Mageia in development, the loss of Mandriva would (and should) be felt across the Linux-verse. Mandriva has done a lot for the development of Linux (and the most recent Powerpack should prove that). Beyond that, losing any Linux distribution at the hands of shareholders who seem hell-bent on destroying something with a storied past is beyond shame.</div>
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But what drags this down a darker path is how this reminds me of the changes the Linux community has gone through. I remember well meeting the small crew of Mandrakesoft at a Linux convention. They were exciting, fun, and ready to bust loose on the world a fantastic Linux distribution that would certainly change the way people look at Linux.</div>
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Now? That joy-filled group is no more and the distribution they were so proud of is on the brink of disappearing. I hope this doesn’t come to fruition. But should Mandriva go the way of Caldera Open Linux (and many other distributions), I hope Mageia continues on where Mandriva Powerpack 2011 left off. As well, I hope all of those that have put so much time, effort, care, and concern into Mandriva find new paths that will bring them success.</div>
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As for the shareholder that has done nothing but attempt to bring down Mandriva at every turn? Well, I hope he never bothers to invest in another Linux company again.</div>
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The really sad thing about this is that I’m not sure the loss of Mandriva will really effect Linux as a whole. There was a time when this news would have been a serious blow to the Linux platform. Now? Not so much. Mandriva’s turbulent past has caused this distribution to all but disappear from the Linux distribution map. I would like to say this would have lasting repercussions on the Linux landscape; but sadly enough, I don’t think it will. As much as I enjoyed the latest release of Mandriva, I believe the loss of this distribution will hardly be felt…especially with the Mageia fork in full-blown development.</div>
</article></div>b3haPPy ^_^http://www.blogger.com/profile/13443274671387073843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-175603476232819402.post-73299266049819127952012-01-04T22:46:00.000+05:302012-01-04T22:49:08.266+05:30CES 2012: Ultrabooks and quad-core mobile devices likely to take center stage<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #8cbd5b; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Takeaway: </span><span style="color: #e06666;"><span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">H</span>ardware trends that you should be watching for at CES 2012.</span></div>
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<a href="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/ceslogo.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-308 alignright" height="73" src="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/ceslogo.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px !important; margin-left: 15px !important; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-top: 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="ceslogo" width="124" /></a>In less than a week, thousands of reporters, vendors, and technology enthusiasts will descend on Las Vegas for CEA’s <a href="http://www.cesweb.org/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">International Consumer Electronics Show 2012</a>. As hardware manufactures show off their latest creations, a few trends always emerge. Last year, it was tablets. The year before, 3D TVs were all the rage. So what will be this year bring?</div>
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Television and computer display makers will be showing off new OLED TV and 4K displays, but these technologies are still a few years from being ready for mass consumption. Two technologies that will be will affect the tech markets in 2012, and be front and center at CES, are ultrabooks and quad-core mobile devices.</div>
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Ultrabooks</h2>
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These thin, energy-efficient laptops are designed to be ultraportable and almost as powerful as full-size notebooks. Driven by Intel, they’re basically the Windows version of Apple’s MacBook Air. I expect PC makers to unveil several new ultrabooks at CES 2012 and release many of them this year. Prices are likely to start around $1,000 (US) but drop as more models enter the market.</div>
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Quad-core tablets and smartphones</h2>
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The first quad-core Android tablet, Asus’ Transformer Prime, hit the market in December. Tablet and smartphone manufactures are expected to unveil several quad-core devices at CES 2012, and like ultrabooks, many will hit the market in early 2012.</div>
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Windows 8 Tablet - Wildcard</h2>
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Microsoft released the Windows 8 Developer Preview last year and is expected to release the full version in 2012. A big part of Windows 8 is the operating system’s support for ARM mobile processors and the new touch-centric Metro UI. Microsoft is clearly looking to break Apple and Google’s stranglehold on the tablet OS market. Rumors are swirling that Acer, Lenevo, HP and perhaps even Microsoft itself will unveil a WIndows 8 tablet at CES and release it late 2012. Having seen Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer hype a Windows-powered HP tablet at CES in 2010, only to have HP kill it shortly thereafter, I won’t believe the rumors until a device actually hits the market.</div>
</article></div>b3haPPy ^_^http://www.blogger.com/profile/13443274671387073843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-175603476232819402.post-60891140390005908872011-12-28T14:32:00.000+05:302011-12-28T14:32:14.739+05:30Why Apple is about to build, buy, or partner on a web search engine<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="c-4 space-1 takeaway" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i><u>Why Apple is about to build, buy, or partner on a web search engine</u></i></b></span></span></div><div class="c-4 space-1 takeaway" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #8cbd5b; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Takeaway: </span><span style="color: #e06666;">Apple’s Siri could change the game in search and put a lot of pressure on Google, but first Apple needs to deal with web search integration.</span></div><article style="background-color: white; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Apple’s iPhone 4S was a disappointment to all of those who were expecting a redesigned iPhone 5, but in the grand scheme of the things the launch of the iPhone 4S may turn out to be Apple’s<em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Chamber of Secrets</em>.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Forgive the Harry Potter reference, but <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Chamber of Secrets</em> is the second book in the seven-book Harry Potter series, and while it’s generally the least favorite of the books among Potter fans, by the time you get to the final book you realize that <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Chamber</em> contained critical plot information that foretold important future events.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-9839" height="200" src="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/siri-icon-112011.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px !important; margin-left: 15px !important; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-top: 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="siri-icon-112011" width="200" />The fact that the iPhone 4S was an incremental hardware upgrade and lacked a new design has largely overshadowed its one revolutionary feature that could shape Apple’s future: <a href="http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/siri.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Siri</a>voice commands and voice-activated search.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Apple has limited Siri to the iPhone 4S to start, but that probably has less to do with Siri needing extra computing power on the phone and more to do with Siri still being in beta. Since Siri requires a cloud connection, limiting Siri’s spread at first gives Apple the opportunity to stress-test its data centers and scale up for the future.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Even with its beta quirkiness, Siri is impressive. While Google Android and Windows Phone 7 both had a jump on the iPhone in terms of voice control, Apple has zoomed past both of them with the<a href="http://scobleizer.com/2010/04/28/breaking-news-siri-bought-by-apple/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">purchase of Siri</a> and its integration into the iPhone. The big deal for Siri is that it understands natural language and it is standardized across a lot of different applications on the iPhone. The user doesn’t even have to be aware of which apps to use. You can simply give Siri a natural language command and she automatically interacts with the right app to execute it. That’s a nice step forward for voice user interface (VUI).</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Siri experience hearkens back to the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B-XwPjn9YY" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">launch of the original Macintosh in 1984</a> when Steve Jobs climaxed his unveiling by saying, “I’d like to let Macintosh speak for itself” and it did (using Macintalk software), which blew the minds of techies at the time. Of course, in a larger sense, the whole thing also points back to the computer in Star Trek and its VUI. In other words, Apple has been entranced by the idea of integrating speech into everyday computing for a long time — almost from the beginning of the company.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-9844" height="361" src="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/siri-medrest-search-112011.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; margin-top: 5px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Siri search for Mediterranean restaurant" width="250" />However, as fun as it is to bark orders at your phone and have it obey your commands in real time, the revolutionary piece of Siri is what it does in Internet search. It’s early and Siri is still imperfect, but there are moments when Siri drastically streamlines the search process and gives us a peek at the future.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">For example, I recently asked Siri for “the closest Mediterranean restaurant” (right) and got a list showing 11 restaurants, their user ratings, and their distance from my current location. Clicking any of the selections in the list immediately took me to a map.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Another time, I asked Siri, “How many calories are in a kiwi?” She came back with 46 calories along with a full chart of all the nutritional information for a kiwi.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Last week when I was doing research for my article <a href="http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/hiner/iphone-and-surface-the-moment-apple-and-microsoft-diverged/9798" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">iPhone and Surface: The moment Apple and Microsoft diverged</a>, I got frustrated trying to find historical data on the market cap and revenue of Microsoft and Apple going back to 2007. In desperation (and half-jokingly) I asked Siri a question about Microsoft revenue in 2007 and surprisingly got an answer, based on data from Wolfram Alpha (which was also the source of the kiwi data). That eventually led me to Wolfram Alpha on the web (from my computer) to do a full lookup of the data, but the fact that Siri led me there was a big “ah ha” moment.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Siri can also help you find nearby physicians, lookup movie times, and pull up weather data when you ask questions like, “is it going to rain tomorrow?” Siri still has a hard time understanding normal speech at times and it’s limited by its access to freely available data sources like Google, Wolfram Alpha, and Yelp. But, Apple has shown us what’s possible with a much more approachable VUI than anything we’ve seen so far in the consumer market. Siri is almost like an <a href="http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/hiner/talking-computer-will-change-the-world-promises-not-to-kill-you/9250" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">IBM Watson</a> for the masses.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">One of the important things to notice about Siri is how it disintermediates search results pages in general and Google specifically. Instead of giving you a page of possibilities to choose from, Siri tries to give you a single authoritative answer to your question. Since Google makes all of its money by allowing advertisers to place their ads next to the items listed on the search results pages, it’s easy to see why Google Chairman Eric Schmidt is talking about <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/google-throws-stones-from-its-glass-house-calls-siri-competitive-threat/62727" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Siri as a competitive threat</a>.</div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The next step</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Now that Apple has opened the door to a natural language VUI and demonstrated new possibilities, the game really begins. Google and Microsoft will undoubtedly take cues from Siri and bring similar functionality to Android and Windows Phone, since both companies already have a lot of engineers working on voice technology. That means Apple is going to have to rapidly improve and innovate Siri if it wants to be a leader in VUI. Siri has two areas that need the most work: 1.) it needs to keep improving voice recognition, and 2.) it needs more data sources to feed Siri and integrate into its equation.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Currently, if Siri doesn’t have an answer to something, the fallback is to throw the question to a standard mobile web search. That’s not going to suffice for long – especially when you consider the level of integration that Google and Microsoft will be able to do since they both own search engines. Siri needs a web search that is tightly integrated into the service in the same way that Wolfram Alpha and Yelp are today.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">That leaves Apple with three options: build, buy, or partner.</div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Build</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Siri itself is already a bit of a search engine, and with all of the searches that are now happening through Siri and running through Apple’s servers, the company is amassing a treasure trove of data about the ways people are using voice search. Plus, all of the Siri data is tied to specific users and that will give Apple an excellent opportunity to do personalized search in the future.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Last year at the D8 conference when Steve Jobs was <a href="http://searchengineland.com/steve-jobs-at-d8-the-search-engine-edition-43390" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">asked</a> about Apple buying Siri and going into the search business he said, “They’re not a search company. They’re an AI company. We have no plans to go into the search business. We don’t care about it — other people do it well.”</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">While Jobs has famously denied lots of things that Apple eventually went on to do, it’s hard to see Apple building its own web search engine from scratch based around the core team it acquired from Siri. That would take years and lot of resources. Just look at how much money Microsoft has had to throw at building Bing, with only moderate success and no hope of turning a profit any time soon.</div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Buy</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The faster on-ramp for Apple would be to buy one of the smaller players in web search, integrate it with the Siri team, and put most of its resources into customizing a VUI that feeds Siri. There are a few decent candidates that Apple could gobble up: Blekko, DuckDuckGo, Yippy, Dogpile, and even good old AskJeeves.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Apple has $80 billion in cash reserves so it has plenty of resources to buy any of these search engines. The best options would likely be DuckDuckGo and Blekko. Both of them already do some things better than Google, but don’t get much attention because they’re so small.</div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Partner</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">If Apple were to partner with another company in search it would have to be Google, Microsoft Bing, or Yahoo (which has mostly abandoned its own search for Bing). Google is an obvious “no” since it’s Apple’s archrival in mobile. Bing might look like it makes sense in the short term, since Microsoft has fashioned Bing as a “decision engine” rather than a search engine and that fits pretty well with what Siri is trying to accomplish.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">But, Microsoft is destined to want to do something similar to Siri in Windows Phone and that will be enough to scare Apple away from a doing a deal with Microsoft.</div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sanity check</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">With Siri, Apple has lowered the friction on search and turned it into a mellifluous experience. But, to take it to the next level, Apple is going to need much tighter integration with web search. Building a search engine would take too much time and there aren’t many good options for Apple to partner with in search, so the most likely scenario is that Apple will buy a smaller player and integrate it into Siri.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Siri clearly has tremendous future potential for Apple across its entire product line. By the end of 2013, I expect that we’ll see Siri on most iOS devices and Macintosh machines. Nick Bilton even<a href="http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/27/whats-really-next-for-apple-in-television/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">believes</a> Siri is the revolutionary interface that Steve Jobs wanted to bring to television sets.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The bigger and more entertaining question is if Apple does jump into search with both feet, will the company freely release Siri on the Web and challenge Google directly? I doubt it, given Apple’s affinity for hardware/software integration, but it’s fun to consider, especially as we look at Apple’s new VUI as arguably the most important new development in search in the past decade.</div></article></div>b3haPPy ^_^http://www.blogger.com/profile/13443274671387073843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-175603476232819402.post-38410162716652765312011-12-27T21:05:00.006+05:302011-12-27T22:14:09.614+05:30CSS3 technology in action: Design examples<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="c-4 space-1 takeaway" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i><u>CSS3 technology in action: Design examples</u></i></b></span></span></div><div class="c-4 space-1 takeaway" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #8cbd5b; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Takeaway: </span><span style="color: #e06666;"><span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">H</span>ighlights of some beautiful examples of CSS3 design projects by some individuals who are at the forefront in tinkering with the new code possibilities.</span></div><br />
<article style="background-color: white; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">While CSS3 and HTML5 technologies are still fresh for most organizations, there are many trend-setting web developers who are taking the new tools by storm. This post will highlight several examples which utilize the full potential of CSS3 in delivering excellence in design, look, and feel. The first group includes several projects and experiments by individuals tinkering with CSS3.</div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">10 beautiful examples of CSS3 design</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong><a href="http://www.paulrhayes.com/experiments/clock/#clock" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">CSS3 Analog Clock</a></strong> by Paul Hayes is his quick project and experiment that works in Safari and Google Chrome. Essentially the working analog clock is a series of four images, and using CSS3 to overlay, transform, and transition the hands’ movement, the time is obtained from a short JavaScript.</div><h4 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.14em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Figure A</h4><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/12222011figure_a.gif" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1013" height="275" src="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/12222011figure_a.gif" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; display: block; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="12222011figure_a" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong><a href="http://natbat.net/code/clientside/css/snowflakes/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Snow Flakes</a> </strong>by Natalie Downe utilizes examples of CSS3 animation, text-shadow, transform, and keyframes to create a page of gently falling snow flakes. The snow flakes are called by a short script which controls the number of flakes, how fast they fall, and the duration of the snow fall. The animation is best viewed in Google Chrome.</div><h4 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.14em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Figure B</h4><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/12222011figure_b.gif" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1014" height="162" src="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/12222011figure_b.gif" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; display: block; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="12222011figure_b" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong><a href="http://girliemac.com/sandbox/matrix.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Matrix Effect</a></strong> by Girlie Mac embeds a Katakana font with CSS3 keyframes, transform, and animations using webkit prefixes to create this demonstration, again, best viewed in Google Chrome.</div><h4 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.14em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong>Figure C</strong></h4><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/12222011figure_c.gif" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1015" height="254" src="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/12222011figure_c.gif" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; display: block; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="12222011figure_c" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong><a href="http://nicolasgallagher.com/pure-css-speech-bubbles/demo/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Pure CSS Speech Bubbles</a></strong> by Nicolas Gallagher demonstrates the use of CSS3 backgrounds, linear gradients, border radius, and transform translate to create stunning speech bubbles in a selection of variants.</div><h4 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.14em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Figure D</h4><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/12222011figure_d.gif" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1016" height="374" src="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/12222011figure_d.gif" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; display: block; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="12222011figure_d" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong><a href="http://analog.coop/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Embossed Text Effect</a></strong> by Analog, a company of friends who make websites, uses a subtle 1px CSS3 text-shadow effect for their h2, h3, p, and li text, creating an embossed text effect.</div><h4 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.14em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Figure E</h4><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/12222011figure_e.gif" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1017" height="311" src="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/12222011figure_e.gif" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; display: block; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="12222011figure_e" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong><a href="http://www.zurb.com/playground/css3-polaroids/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Polaroid’s with CSS3</a> </strong>by Zurb is a gallery display using CSS3 transform and rotate to turn images into a set of randomly selected Polaroid pictures.</div><h4 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.14em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong>Figure F</strong></h4><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/12222011figure_f.gif" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1018" height="222" src="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/12222011figure_f.gif" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; display: block; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="12222011figure_f" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong><a href="http://www.alexandtheweb.com/demos/transitions-test.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">CSS3 Transitions Gallery</a></strong> by AlexandtheWeb demonstrates CSS3 transitions, transform, rotate, border radius, and masking to create this stunning example.</div><h4 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.14em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Figure G</h4><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/12222011figure_g.gif" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1019" height="268" src="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/12222011figure_g.gif" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; display: block; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="12222011figure_g" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong><a href="http://www.eleqtriq.com/wp-content/static/demos/2010/css3d/butterfly.html?iframe=true&width=850&height=626" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">CSS3 3D Butterfly</a> </strong>by eletriq demonstrates the use of CSS3 perspective, transform-origin, and transform-style to create a 3D butterfly object in flight. Display is available in Safari only.</div><h4 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.14em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Figure H</h4><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/12222011figure_h.gif" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1020" height="265" src="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/12222011figure_h.gif" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; display: block; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="12222011figure_h" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong><a href="http://blog.joelambert.co.uk/2011/05/10/handling-3d-geometry-with-3d-css3-transforms/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">3D geometry with 3D CSS3 transforms</a></strong> by Joe Lambert uses rotateX(deg), rotateY(deg) axis, transitions, and transformVector to create this <a href="http://www.joelambert.co.uk/cube3d/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">3D cube</a> with rotation controls (displayed in Safari).</div><h4 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.14em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Figure I</h4><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/12222011figure_i.gif" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1022" height="399" src="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/12222011figure_i.gif" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; display: block; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="12222011figure_i" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong><a href="http://joecritchley.com/demos/time-machine/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">CSS3 Time Machine</a></strong> by Joe Critchley utilizes CSS3 perspective, transform, and translate to create this image slide show similar to Apple’s Time Machine interface (displayed in Safari).</div><h4 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.14em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Figure J</h4><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/12222011figure_j.gif" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1021" height="266" src="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/12222011figure_j.gif" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; display: block; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="12222011figure_j" width="400" /></a></div></article></div>b3haPPy ^_^http://www.blogger.com/profile/13443274671387073843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-175603476232819402.post-24679434436129566942011-12-26T21:05:00.006+05:302011-12-27T19:35:38.726+05:30Five free replacements for Windows Explorer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;"><b><i><u>Five free replacements for Windows Explorer</u></i></b></span></div><div><br />
</div><br />
<div class="c-4 space-1 takeaway" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #8cbd5b; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Takeaway: </span><span style="color: #e06666;">If you’ve ever wished for more or better file management features than Windows Explorer offers, these free alternatives might be the answer.</span></div><br />
<br />
<article style="background-color: white; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I must say I’m not a fan of Windows Explorer as a file manager. When using it for simple file management, and it starts up the old Not Responding behavior, it can be a nightmare of frustration. This is a pain because Explorer is so interconnected with so many other tools. That’s why I often rely upon one of the free replacements for the default Windows file manager. There are quite a few. Here are my top five. Give these a try and more than likely you will come out with one you like.</div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1: CubicExplorer</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.cubicreality.com/ce/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">CubicExplorer</a> is a fine example of how to make a full-featured, yet lightweight file manager for Windows. This particular file manager offers some great features: tabbed exploring, bookmark files and folders, search filters, a built-in text editor, file preview, transparency levels for different programs, themes, shortcut key support, breadcrumb navigation, session saving, and much more. CubicExplorer is broken up into three panels: Main navigation window, Navigation tree, and Filter/Preview/Dropstack panel. The Dropstack panel allows you to drag and drop files/folders into groups for temporary quick access.</div><h4 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.14em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Figure A</h4><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="alignnone" height="522" src="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/gallery/6316211-620-522.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Cubic Explorer" width="620" /></div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">2: Explorer++</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">What I like about the <a href="http://www.explorerplusplus.com/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Explorer++</a> file manager is that it’s not required to install, so you can run it from a flash drive. No more having to put up with wonky Explorer on your machine or any other machine. Pop this tool on a flash drive and carry it around with you — you’ll have a file manager that will work when Explorer is flaking out. Explorer++ features:</div><ul class="unIndentedList" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></ul><ul style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Complete portability</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Tabbed browsing</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Real-time previews as files are selected</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Easy-to-remember keyboard shortcuts</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Customizable user interface</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Full drag-and-drop support</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Advanced file operations</li>
</ul><ul class="unIndentedList" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></ul><h4 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.14em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Figure B</h4><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="alignnone" height="651" src="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/gallery/6316214-620-651.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Explorer++" width="620" /></div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">3: Xplorer2</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://zabkat.com/x2lite.htm" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Xplorer2</a> comes in two flavors: free and not free. The free version (called the Lite version) doesn’t have all the features of the paid version (you’ll be missing Advanced Searching and Customer Support) but is still a solid file manager. You can browse the entire shell namespace, preview docs/pics/music/video, view side by side, filter using wildcards, synchronize folders, and obtain more information per file/folder than you get with the default file manager.</div><h4 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.14em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Figure C</h4><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="alignnone" height="532" src="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/gallery/6316213-620-532.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="xplorer2" width="620" /></div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">4: NexusFile</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.xiles.net/downloads/#NexusFile" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">NexusFile</a> brings a bit of style to Windows. Not only is it skinnable, it also offers some great built-in features: tabbed browsing, built-in FTP, built-in archive, advanced rename, Split/Join File, and much more. NexusFile might well be one of the most powerful Windows file managers you will come across. Its only downfall is that the interface could take some time for new users to grow accustomed to. But for anyone who has used a typical FTP client (or an older file manager), the learning curve will be nonexistent.</div><h4 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.14em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Figure D</h4><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="alignnone" height="465" src="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/gallery/6316215-620-465.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="NexusFile" width="620" /></div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">5: <a href="http://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/Q-Dir" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Q-Dir</a></h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">As the site says <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Warning: Once Q-Dir, always Q-Dir!!!</em> Whether that applies to you will depend upon what you want from a file manager. If you want a crazy amount of interface control, <a href="http://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/Q-Dir" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Q-Dir</a>might be the perfect fit for you. Q-Dir offers a large number of preconfigured viewing options to satisfy just about any need. You want four panes? You got it! That is, after all, what the Q stands for: quad. You can install this file manager on your hard disk or as a portable solution. It offers preview filters, drag and drop, clipboard, exporting to XLS/CVS/TST/HTML, screen magnifier, color filter, highlight filter, and much more.</div><h4 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.14em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Figure E</h4><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="alignnone" height="471" src="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/gallery/6316216-620-471.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Q-Dir" width="620" /></div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Choices</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">If there is a feature you’ve always wanted in a file manager for Windows, it probably exists in a different tool. The five free alternatives we’ve looked at here represent a nice cross section of the possibilities.</div></article></div>b3haPPy ^_^http://www.blogger.com/profile/13443274671387073843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-175603476232819402.post-64558783050491696332011-12-25T20:00:00.006+05:302011-12-26T19:06:56.767+05:30Five feature-rich Web browsers for the Android platform<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="c-4 space-1 takeaway" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i><u>Five feature-rich Web browsers for the Android platform</u></i></b></span></span></div><div class="c-4 space-1 takeaway" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #8cbd5b; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Takeaway: </span><span style="color: #e06666;">Want more than basic browsing on your Android device? Here are five alternatives with enough features to satisfy nearly everyone.</span></div><br />
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<article style="background-color: white; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Android platform offers its own built-in browser, but it doesn’t include the selection of features available with other browsers — features a lot of users want. There are plenty of browsers out there with features to spare. But which should you choose? Just because a browser has tons of features doesn’t make it the best of the best. It takes a combination of features, performance, and reliability.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Here is my short list of best-in- breed Web browsers for the Android platform. As you’ll see, the default browser has been excluded from consideration.</div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1: Firefox</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It took long enough, but the mobile version of everyone’s favorite open source browser finally arrived — and boy is it packed with the goods. <a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=org.mozilla.firefox&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsIm9yZy5tb3ppbGxhLmZpcmVmb3giXQ.." style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Firefox</a> (<strong>Figure A</strong>) features browser sync, add-ons, tabs, personas, built-in sharing, location-aware browsing, one-touch bookmarks, Awesome Screen (learns your typing habits), multi-search engine integration, full-screen view, and much more. Although Firefox doesn’t load quite as quickly as Chrome, it does render pages fast and renders them to perfection.</div><h4 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.14em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Figure A</h4><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="alignnone" height="800" src="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/gallery/6326704-499-800.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="firefox" width="499" /></h2><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">2: Dolphin</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=mobi.mgeek.TunnyBrowser&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsIm1vYmkubWdlZWsuVHVubnlCcm93c2VyIl0." style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Dolphin</a> (<strong>Figure B</strong>) was kind of the Firefox for mobile before Firefox arrived. Dolphin was one of the first mobile browsers to begin offering feature sets unheard of by other browsers. It still offers some great features, while retaining great performance. The features include add-ons, gestures, webzine, multi-touch pinch zoom, tabbed browsing, sidebar, speed dial, smart address bar, bookmark folder, user agent, themes, and multi-language support. But what’s best about Dolphin is that even with all of the features, it still performs as well as any mobile browser available.</div><h4 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.14em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Figure B</h4><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="alignnone" height="800" src="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/gallery/6326703-499-800.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="dolphin" width="499" /></div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">3: Skyfire</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.skyfire.browser&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5za3lmaXJlLmJyb3dzZXIiXQ.." style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Skyfire</a> (<strong>Figure C</strong>) is one of the more interesting browsers, offering features such as flash video, user agent switching, Facebook QuickView, Fireplace Feed Reader, Popular Pages, Related Ideas, Skyfire OneTouch Search, Facebook Like button, Twitter integration, Sports, News & Finance buttons, Google Reader, and customizable Skybar (scrollbar). Many will look at Skyfire as a mobile browser for the social network inclined.</div><h4 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.14em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Figure C</h4><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="alignnone" height="800" src="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/gallery/6326707-499-800.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="skyfire" width="499" /></div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">4: Opera</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.opera.browser&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5vcGVyYS5icm93c2VyIl0." style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Opera</a> (<strong>Figure D</strong>) is still around, and it still provides a unique browsing experience. It has always been one of the fastest-rendering browsers as well as offering one of the most feature-rich Web experiences. The mobile version does not come up short on either front. Opera offers features such as a more mobile-friendly interface, pinch-to-zoom and smooth panning, synchronize bookmarks, speed dial, and built-in Twitter and Facebook support. One especially unusual feature is that games and free apps can be downloaded from the Opera Mobile Store (found in Opera Mobile’s Speed Dial). You will notice two versions of Opera: Opera Mobile and Opera Mini. For tablets and more powerful devices, go with Opera Mobile. For smaller and less powerful phones, go with Opera Mini.</div><h4 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.14em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Figure D</h4><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="alignnone" height="387" src="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/gallery/6326706-620-387.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="opera" width="620" /></div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">5: Miren</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=cn.miren.browser&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNuLm1pcmVuLmJyb3dzZXIiXQ.." style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Miren</a> (<strong>Figure E</strong>) is one of the lesser known browsers, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth trying. It does a great job of blending desktop features on mobile devices. It’s fast, it offers a solid list of features, and it has an outstanding, clean interface. The feature list includes tabbed browser with smart full-screen mode, top site navigation, smart suggestions, fast rendering speed, Flash support, multi-touch pinch zoom, bookmark management, and bookmark import/export. One of its nicest features is the ability to quickly jump back and forth between full screen and windowed mode.</div><h4 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.14em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Figure E</h4><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/gallery/6326705-620-387.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="alignnone" height="387" src="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/gallery/6326705-620-387.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; display: block; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="miren" width="620" /></a></div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Plenty of choices</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Five browsers for one platform — and that’s just scratching the surface. If you want a leaner browsing experience, you can get that as well. But if you’re looking for a diverse feature list and solid performance, try one of the above browsers. Actually you should try them all, because each has something unique to offer that might be the best match for your needs and personality.</div></article></div>b3haPPy ^_^http://www.blogger.com/profile/13443274671387073843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-175603476232819402.post-29245194254952966072011-12-24T21:58:00.001+05:302011-12-24T22:30:27.923+05:30Five free antivirus tools for Windows<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="c-4 space-1 takeaway" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i><u>Five free antivirus tools for Windows</u></i></b></span></span></div><div class="c-4 space-1 takeaway" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #8cbd5b; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Takeaway: </span><span style="color: #e06666;">The field of AV solutions has gotten crowded, making it tough to sort through your options. Here are several solid (and free) tools worth a look.</span></div><br />
<article style="background-color: white; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Without antivirus protection, a Windows machine is a ticking time bomb. Of course, there are hundreds (if not thousands) of possible antivirus solutions for the Windows operating system. Some are worthless and some are viruses themselves. But others are pretty darned dependable. I wanted to share my favorite free real-time antivirus solutions for the Windows operating system. You might already have a favorite, but it’s always good to have another option in your back pocket. Just remember to have only one installed at a time.</div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1: Avast Free</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">For the longest time I recommended AVG Free to clients. That time has come and gone. Now, when a client needs a free go-to antivirus software package, I always recommend <a href="http://www.avast.com/en-us/index" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Avast Free Edition</a>. Avast has a ton of features for a piece of free software. But more important, it does a great job protecting PCs from those nasty infections. It also does a good job blocking spyware. The free version is limited to virus and malware protection, but what more do you need? Well, if you need online protection (such as safe shopping), ID protection, and advanced firewall, you’ll need to drop some coin for the professional version.</div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">2: Microsoft Security Essentials</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">If you or your clients are looking for a bare bones antivirus solution that does one thing and one thing only (but does it very well), download and install this outstanding free Microsoft product. What I really like about <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security_essentials/default.aspx" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Security Essentials</a> is that once installed, it’s unobtrusive. You will hardly know it’s there. Unlike some solutions that bring your machine to a grinding halt, Security Essentials uses little CPU and can do a scan without your even realizing it’s happening. Security Essentials is also one of the easiest to install, configure, and use. So for those less-than-savvy end users, this might be the one you want.</div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">3: Avira Free Antivirus</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Just two clicks to install, and your machine has some basic, yet solid antivirus protection. No, <a href="http://www.avira.com/en/avira-free-antivirus" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Avira Free</a> will not protect you from phishing like its premium brother. Nor does it have a gaming mode like its premium upgrade. But Avira Free will do a great job of protecting your machine from viruses, with an easy-to-use interface and an incredibly fast scanning engine. In fact, this might well be the fastest antivirus scan you will ever use. What I like about this entry is that it checks for viruses, Trojans, AND rootkits. Not many free antivirus solutions go that far.</div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">4: BitDefender</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.bitdefender.com/solutions/free.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">BitDefender</a> is one of those solutions that few know about but more should. It’s an outstanding solution that has the standard features (virus scan/removal, scheduled scan, immediate scan, quarantine, reporting). It’s one of the on-demand solutions. BitDefender does not include any real-time features but makes up for it with a strong scanning engine that can be scheduled for use at any time. What I like about on-demand scanning is that it doesn’t interfere with email or Web browsing. When push comes to shove, I always trust the BitDefender line of tools — and the free version is no exception.</div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">5: Comodo Antivirus</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://personalfirewall.comodo.com/index.html?key6subkey1=&key6subkey2=CH140835202&key6subkey3=8&key6subkey4=en-us&key6subkey5=US&key6subkey6=1&key6subkey7=personalfirewall.comodo.com/index.html&key6subkey8=1101&key6subkey9=19201080&key6subkey10=true" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Comodo Antivirus</a> is probably the least well known tool on this list, but that doesn’t make it a lesser product. In fact, it could be a strong solution if you’re looking for guesswork-free protection. Comodo automates the decision-making process for blocking or allowing trusted or untrusted files. If anything is questionable, it’s sandboxed for your examination. Comodo tracks and protects from malware as well as viruses. And with an adjustable security level (via a simple-to-use slider), it’s easy to modify the level of protection you want on a desktop. Comodo was also designed with optimization in mind. Although not as unnoticeable as Microsoft Security Essentials, Comodo does do a great job of remaining in the background.</div></article></div>b3haPPy ^_^http://www.blogger.com/profile/13443274671387073843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-175603476232819402.post-73393870105500937212011-12-06T09:53:00.000+05:302011-12-06T09:53:38.625+05:3010 things to love about Windows 8<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="c-4 space-1 takeaway" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i><u>10 things to love about Windows 8</u></i></b></span></span></div><div class="c-4 space-1 takeaway" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #8cbd5b; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Takeaway: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e06666;">Here are some number of promising features and positive changes that Windows 8 offers.</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDLlDawvBsVpCNOSOoivfHkKj9lv8khO4YjaiS1ogiQv4q1EfX_tqovBmSWwMxOv4JJ2i9fLCuicQOMc1aJSixunXb0tyfBJjAlvgh04Vdc8krPqptUsREvU8-xpric5swRsDBFuqDlQyz/s1600/windows-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDLlDawvBsVpCNOSOoivfHkKj9lv8khO4YjaiS1ogiQv4q1EfX_tqovBmSWwMxOv4JJ2i9fLCuicQOMc1aJSixunXb0tyfBJjAlvgh04Vdc8krPqptUsREvU8-xpric5swRsDBFuqDlQyz/s400/windows-8.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Windows 8</td></tr>
</tbody></table><article style="background-color: white; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Now that the Windows 8 Developer Preview has been available for a while, it is easier to take a step back and evaluate it without the powerful emotions that strike most people the first time they deal with it. Looking at it from a long-distance perspective, there’s a lot to like about Windows 8, especially if you are ready to cut the cord from an installed desktop application base and transition to Web applications and Windows 8 native applications. Here are 10 things I think are great about Windows 8.</div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1: It’s designed for tablets and touch</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Microsoft is working hard to make Windows 8 work well with tablets and the touch UI paradigm, to the point of alienating traditional desktop users. It remains to be seen how Microsoft will respond to criticism over the Metro UI. But I can tell you that after using a phone with the Metro UI for well over half a year now, I think it is extremely effective for touch, and I would love to have a tablet running Windows 8.</div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">2: Apps “share” data</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">One of the big changes in the application development model is that native Windows 8 apps (those using the new Metro UI and WinRT API) really do not directly communicate with each other, even through the file system, except via carefully defined interfaces. While this handcuffs developers a bit, it means that when applications <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">do</em> share data, Windows is aware of how they do it and makes it easy. For example, you could have an application that handles images and use it to share the pictures with, say, an application to upload them to Facebook. That unleashes a lot more power for developers because it means that applications from different vendors will work together seamlessly, and the developers do not even have to write anything specific for the application theirs works with.</div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">3: The apps can be integrated into the OS</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Just as the applications can “share” with each other, they can do the same thing with Windows itself. Again, this allows some really neat integrations to be done without much work by application makers. You can see things like a new social networking application come out and within weeks, Windows will be able to use your friends who are on it in its contact list, or the pictures can go into your picture gallery. The possibilities are endless.</div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">4: It offers ARM support</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">While the ARM CPUs may not be for everyone or every purpose, lots of mobile vendors have a deep commitment to that platform and understand it well. The ARM devices will not be able to run legacy Windows applications, but they will run the Windows 8 native apps without a hitch. That’s great news for hardware makers, software developers, and users.</div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">5: It beefs up security</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The new programming model for Windows 8 native applications is extraordinarily secure. While I am sure that exploits will be found, it will be difficult for the native applications to break free of their chains. Microsoft has really flipped it around. Instead of allowing everything and slowly adding restrictions over the years (and breaking applications in the process, like XP SP2 and Vista did), it’s starting from an “allow nothing” stance.</div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">6: App markets will benefit developers and users</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Application markets are nothing new. Even Vista had one (although no one seems to remember it). With Windows 8 native applications, Microsoft is making the application market the primary way of getting apps onto the computer, much like Windows Phone 7. That’s great news for developers who need to get some more visibility for their applications and who do not want to deal with payments processing and such, especially for low-priced apps. And the application market is great for users, too. As we’ve seen, app markets encourage lower prices, and Microsoft will surely apply the same strict quality control that it has to the Windows Phone 7 app market.</div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">7: System restore is easier</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Microsoft has built new utilities into Windows 8 that makes it much easier than ever to send the system back to “out of the box,” while preserving your data. Providing a more appliance-like experience is critical for the typical user, and the help desk will appreciate it too.</div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">8: Cloud sync is everywhere</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">While not everyone is in love with the cloud as an idea, Windows 8 has great facilities for allowing applications and users to automatically sync data between devices using the cloud. That’s great for users who can seamlessly transition between their tablet and desktop PC (and perhaps their phone), as well as for tech support, who can just replace a broken device instead of worrying about data loss.</div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">9: It offers simplified administration and configuration</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Control Panel has been stripped down to the bare essentials, and you can’t even think about tasks like registry editing, defragging, etc., from the Metro UI. (You can do these tasks through the legacy desktop, if needed, but that won’t work for ARM devices.) Throughout Windows 8, a primary theme has been giving the user a more appliance-like “It just works” experience. Power users might howl about it, but the truth is, the Windows experience is still far more complex than the average user wants to deal with. Windows 8 is a great move in the right direction for those users.</div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.43em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">10: System stability is improved</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Windows 7 has really set the standard for system reliability. Short of hardware or driver problems, the old blue screen of death is almost never seen anymore. Windows 8 takes this to the next level. The same changes to the application development model also improve system stability. Applications can’t run over each other’s data easily, and the new WinRT API just does not allow the kinds of shenanigans that have caused unstable systems over the years. If you stick with native Windows 8 applications, reboots (other than for patching) and crashes should be extraordinarily rare.</div></article></div>b3haPPy ^_^http://www.blogger.com/profile/13443274671387073843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-175603476232819402.post-28781161573658293872011-11-12T22:10:00.000+05:302011-11-12T22:10:53.805+05:30What to expect in Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="c-4 space-1 takeaway" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i><u>What to expect in Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich</u></i></b></span></span></div><div class="c-4 space-1 takeaway" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #778596;"><span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #8cbd5b; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Takeaway: </span> </span><span style="color: #e06666;">A look at what we can all expect from the next flavor of Android.</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/6232426-540-360.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-3827" height="233" src="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/6232426-540-360.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px !important; margin-left: 15px !important; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-top: 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Ice Cream Sandwich" width="350" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Android 4.0 IceCream Sandwich</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">The next Android OS — 4.0 or Ice Cream Sandwich — is going to have the best of 2.0 and 3.0 on the world’s fastest growing smartphone. However, the tablet interface is quite a bit better than the smartphone iteration. That, of course, doesn’t mean 4.0 will have everything on the desktop the tablet has, but the smartphone version of the Android desktop will get a much-needed face lift.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Let’s take a look at what we can all expect from the next flavor of Android.</div><h2 style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.43em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Multitasking</h2><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">This is one of the best improvements Android smartphone users will appreciate. Instead of the 2.0 take on multitasking, Android for the smartphone will gain a big plus by improving multitasking by behaving similarly to that of the tablet. Instead of long-pressing the home button to bring up a list of most recently used applications, just tap the multitasking button to reveal all currently opened apps and select the app you want to bring to the fore.</div><h2 style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.43em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Widgets</h2><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Another outstanding feature, coming over from the tablet interface, is the ability to resize widgets. In the 2.x version of Android, widgets could not be resized. Yes, some widgets offered various sizes to add to the desktop, but even that could be limiting. Now, however, a widget can be placed on a desktop and then resized to precisely fit the desktop in exactly the way you want it.</div><h2 style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.43em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Better spell checking</h2><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Predictive typing tends to get in my way. This is especially true after a while of the keyboard learning of my mistakes. Well, 4.0 adds a new spell checker into the mix to attempt to improve this feature. This spell check will work across applications (and is not limited to only SMS messaging).</div><h2 style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.43em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Screenshots</h2><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Finally. No more using the Dalvek Debug tool or rooting a phone just to be able to get screenshots. Now, all you will have to do is press the home button and the volume down button to save a snapshot of your screen.</div><h2 style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.43em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Camera</h2><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">One of the faults I have endured with Android is the remarkably slow response of the camera. Well, with 4.0, the camera response time is instant. The instant reaction is not associated with the amount of time the camera app opens, but how quickly the picture is taken after pressing the shutter button.</div><h2 style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.43em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Notifications</h2><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">The smartphone version will not benefit from the amazing notifications found on the tablet. But even without that great system, the notification system on the smartphone version of 4.0 will get some nice improvements. One of the major improvements is that notifications can be seen without having to unlock the phone. The current iteration allows you to see that you have a notification but not the contents. The upgrade will allow for the viewing of the contents of the notification.</div><h2 style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.43em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Copy/paste</h2><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Finally, copy and paste will be even easier. All you will need to do is highlight the text to be copied and drag the text to where you want it.</div><h2 style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.43em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Data Tracking Tool</h2><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">This will come in handy for anyone that needs to keep constant track of their data. The tool will tell you exactly which apps are using how much data. That way, when you’re going beyond your plan’s allotted data, you can easily figure out why!</div><h2 style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.43em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Other minor updates:</h2><ul style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The home screen can now span the entire device</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">No more physical home, back, menu, and search buttons — these buttons are now virtual</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Deleting an item or dismissing a notification is as simple as a swipe to the right</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Calendar is now zoomable</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Voicemail shows up in a call log</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Voice mail can be sped up or slowed down</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sync contact information (including HighRes pictures) from social networks</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Facial recognition login</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Beam web pages, contacts, and directions using Near Field Communication (NFC)</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">New semi-circular HD optimized font: Roboto to make screen even easier to read</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Pan your camera to capture single motion panoramic photos</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Built-in filters for easy editing of photos after capture</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Out of the box speech-to-text input</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Reject an incoming call with a custom message</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Set data usage restrictions to help prevent overages on carriers with limits</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Gmail upgrade allows swiping through new messages</li>
</ul><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">The upgrades to Android 4.0 will be significant to the end user. The new Android interface will not only be better looking, it will be more user friendly and even more flexible. The details on the when are sketchy, but it will be in 2012. It’s also anyone’s guess as to which carrier will start getting the updates first, but I’m fairly confident that AT&T will be somewhere around dead last.</div></div>b3haPPy ^_^http://www.blogger.com/profile/13443274671387073843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-175603476232819402.post-49416115748291863632011-11-09T14:39:00.000+05:302011-11-09T14:39:10.342+05:30Five great tools for troubleshooting your Mac<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b><i><u>Five great tools for troubleshooting your Mac</u></i></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Recently Forrester Research released a report stating, in a nutshell, that it’s time to start supporting the Mac in the enterprise. If you haven’t had an opportunity to read the specifics head over to <a href="http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/10/27/hell-freezes-over-forrester-urges-it-to-support-the-mac/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Fortune's Apple 2.0 Blog">Fortune’s Apple 2.0 blog</a> and check out the brief version.<span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span>If you’re interested in the full report it’s a bit pricy at $499 but you can purchase a copy directly from <a href="http://www.forrester.com/rb/Research/people_are_bringing_macs_to_work_%26%238212%3B/q/id/60821/t/2" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Forrester.com">Forrester</a>.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">As more Macs make their way into organizations, large and small, here are some great support tools for maintaining and troubleshooting Macs.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><h3 class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.29em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong><a href="http://www.memtestosx.org/joomla/index.php" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Memtest OS X">Memtest OS X</a></strong></h3><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Its usually pretty rare thing these days for a Mac to crash and lock up frequently, however, when and if it does happen memory is the first thing I think to test. Memtest OS X is great open source tool that runs from the command line for identifying issues within memory.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><h3 class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.29em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/index.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="DiskWarrior"><strong>DiskWarrior 4</strong></a></h3><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">I’ve used DiskWarrior for years and have to come to rely on it as my primary data recovery tool. Instead of rebuilding damaged data on the faulty disk, DiskWarrior rebuilds the damaged drive based on the data, which can reduce imminent drive failure. It’s simple, powerful, and for m,e has been a reliable way to recover data.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><h3 class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.29em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong><a href="http://www.bombich.com/index.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Carbon Copy Cloner">Carbon Copy Cloner</a></strong></h3><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">These days I find myself relying primarily on Time Machine for backing up data. Time Machine, however, doesn’t always provide the flexiblility that is required for some tasks. This is where Carbon Copy Cloner comes in.<span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span>Carbon Copy Cloner features the ability to back up to additional drives that Time Machine sometimes can’t access. It can be scheduled to back up at specific times, and is great for making a bootable backup of your existing drives.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><h3 class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.29em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.micromat.com/protogo" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="TechTool Protogo"><strong>TechTool Protogo</strong></a></h3><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">TechTool Protogo is a great utility that you can take with you. Much like the aforementioned utilities, TechTool Protogo is great for scanning hard drives, testing hardware, backing up, and much more — only without the need to install it directly to a potentially unresponsive Mac. Just install the suite of tools on a USB thumb drive and take it with you.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><h3 class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.29em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.islayer.com/apps/istatpro/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="iStat Pro"><strong>iStat Pro</strong></a></h3><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">iStat Pro is one of my favorite utilities. iStat is a simple widget that can be installed into Dashboard and is a powerful utility for accessing system information in a flash. It’s great for monitoring Wi-Fi signal strength, hardware temperatures, hard drive capacity and usage, and so much more. You can even install iStat Pro for iPhone and monitor your Macs remotely!</div></div>b3haPPy ^_^http://www.blogger.com/profile/13443274671387073843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-175603476232819402.post-40017085908641178342011-11-08T01:28:00.000+05:302011-11-08T01:28:09.544+05:30Can Google survive its blind faith in the algorithm?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="c-4 space-1 takeaway" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><u><i>Can Google survive its blind faith in the algorithm?</i></u></b></span></span></div><div class="c-4 space-1 takeaway" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #8cbd5b;">Takeaway:</span><span style="color: #e06666;"> </span></span><span style="color: #e06666;">It’s been a tough year for Google search. It’s had a difficult time targeting content farms and has accidentally removed good content.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Google’s search engine is a triumph of technology. There’s no denying that.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">It was the capstone that completed the initial structure of the Internet. But, the Internet is now in the midst of a dramatic remodel and it’s unclear whether Google search will get the refresh it needs to make it more appealing than ever or if it will be one of the things that gets painted over.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc25JxnDvhSNPfnZvPjKn3bxzbbzXVtnoJjf1gCz6ScLDJ7ZPzhGEBbjn2GRmVi7_7knzaWku5YTLtzXeQcxwFSd8asTfdykyWnDUg9h9sUi5lfoG8RLxcQ4MbsAkO6pOGdOsR7MzJ-nji/s1600/google_algorithm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc25JxnDvhSNPfnZvPjKn3bxzbbzXVtnoJjf1gCz6ScLDJ7ZPzhGEBbjn2GRmVi7_7knzaWku5YTLtzXeQcxwFSd8asTfdykyWnDUg9h9sUi5lfoG8RLxcQ4MbsAkO6pOGdOsR7MzJ-nji/s320/google_algorithm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_9659" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; float: none; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline; width: 510px;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Google entered 2011 with two major problems that threatened the company’s immediate relevance and it’s long-term future:</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">1.) The search results on Google.com were becoming increasingly ineffective because they were littered with “web spam” and articles from “content farms” (sites creating faux content to turn as many ads as possible).</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">2.) Social media has been replacing traditional web search for many different kinds of information gathering and Google didn’t have a legitimate play in social.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">The company went a long way toward addressing the second issue in July with the launch of Google+. After several high-profile social flameouts — such as Google Wave and Google Buzz — they’ve pretty much nailed it with Google+.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">To be clear, we still don’t know whether Google+ will be able to win over the masses, but it has become wildly popular among tech and media professionals and it is already causing Facebook to react and make changes to buffer itself against people abandoning it for Google+. </div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">As huge as social media is, the even bigger challenge for Google has been the declining potency of its search engine. In recent years, Google searches have become a lot less useful and a lot more frustrating. It has become more difficult to find stuff that you know is out there — even stuff that you’ve searched for (and found) previously. Another example is pages that have posted to the web more recently. They get overpowered in the Google algorithm by older pages that have had time to accumulate more incoming links.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">The big problem is SEO — search engine optimization. A whole cottage industry has arisen around helping sites optimize their pages to get ranked as highly as possible in Google. As a result, the sites that land at the top of Google search results have become more about which sites are best optimized rather than which ones have the best and most relevant content.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Even worse, whole companies have emerged whose entire purpose is to create low-quality content that is highly-optimized for Google and loaded up with ads to turn a quick buck. These “content farms” have become big business. One of them, Demand Media — which <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2011/01/27/demand-media-ceo-content-farm-label-is-insulting/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">hates to be called a content farm and shuns the label</a> — is now a public company and <a href="http://www.demandmedia.com/press-releases/2011/08/09/demand-media-and-google-renew-and-expand-global-advertising-relationship-through-new-three-year-agreement" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">brags about having a close partnership with Google</a>.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">I’ll let you judge for yourself whether Demand Media is a content farm. Below are four articles from its flagship site, eHow. Are these helpful or useful? Would a site that aims to serve readers and not just serve ads publish these?</div><ul style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.ehow.com/how_6201446_calculate-age-birthdate.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">How to Calculate Age From Birthdate</a></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.ehow.com/how_4899918_sign-aol.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">How to Sign on to AOL</a></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.ehow.com/how_6861213_add-aol-ipad.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">How to Add AOL to your iPad</a></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.ehow.com/how_6547609_belch.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">How to Belch</a></li>
</ul><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">(We’ll talk more in a moment about whether Google considers eHow a content farm.)</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Recognizing the growing risks that this stuff poses to Google’s relationship with users, and ultimately its business model, the company has moved aggressively in 2011 to fix the situation. It started with a <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/google-search-and-search-engine-spam.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">contradictory blog post in January</a> in which Google defended the quality of its search engine as “better than it has ever been in terms of relevance” while also throwing down the gauntlet on web spam (sites that “cheat their way into higher positions in search results”) and content farms (”sites with shallow or low-quality content”).</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Then, it dropped the real bombs – a series of major updates to its search algorithm. These have been dubbed the “Panda” or “Farmer” or “Panda Farmer” updates (don’t laugh). The first one (Panda 1.0) came in February, and <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20124834-93/has-content-become-advertising-for-advertising/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">it obliterated search traffic to a bunch of sites</a>, but oddly, eHow (the site most notorious for the “content farm” label) escaped unscathed.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Google eventually unleashed Panda 2.0 in April, Panda 2.1 in May, Panda 2.2 in June, and Panda 2.5 in September. According to SEO analyst Sistrix, these Panda updates eventually crushed eHow, which relied on Google search to drive most of its traffic. Despite <a href="http://www.seroundtable.com/ehow-google-panda-13293.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">reports of eHow’s traffic dip</a> earlier this year, Demand Media denied that it had been hurt by the Panda updates. Then, earlier this month, <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Demand-Media-Addresses-eHow-bw-2143773312.html?x=0&.v=1" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">the company admitted eHow’s traffic problem</a>, although it tried to brush it off as “an internal technical issue.” The public hasn’t been fooled, as <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/demand-medias-stock-has-completely-collapsed-closing-yesterday-at-560-a-share-the-company-has-been-hammered-by-2011-10" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Demand’s Media’s stock has fallen precipitously</a>.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">So, Google apparently bagged its big game in the Panda hunt. The problem is that it took months to do it and a lot of algorithm trial-and-error and <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/pda/2011/apr/13/google-panda-uk-update-winners-losers" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">there was plenty of collateral damage done in the process</a>. It’s as if Google looked at its backyard, spotted a bunch of dandelions, and instead of taking hand trimmers and going out and clipping them, Google decided to build a highly-advanced chainsaw to deal with it. The chainsaw eventually got rid of the dandelions but it also whacked some chunks out of the hedges, put some gashes into the ground, and took out part of the back fence.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Still, what this all comes down to is Google’s faith in the algorithm. Google says that it doesn’t single out sites to include or reject in Google search results. It simply builds an algorithm that systematically finds the most relevant stuff and ignores (or removes) the least relevant stuff. Google argues that this creates a fairer and more objective system, and that introducing human filtering into the system would make it biased and subjective. While that may be true, the big question is whether human intervention would make Google search more effective, and ultimately more accurate.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">The problem with the algorithm (and artificial intelligence in general) is that it has no common sense or wisdom — at least not yet. Meanwhile, the systems that Google search is increasingly competing with for information discovery — social search and mobile apps — use the collective wisdom of the community or targeted experts to deliver better information more quickly than Google search, in many cases.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Despite the early success of the Google+ social experiment, the Panda updates during 2011 show that Google still believes in the algorithm above all things. The company thinks that throwing more math, PhDs, and servers at any problem is the right answer. As we’ve seen, that approach has started to fail Google in 2011. It has had a difficult time targeting content farms and it has ended up accidentally removing a bunch of useful content in the process. The big question now is whether Google can learn from this experience and change, or if it will eventually fade into becoming a fallback mechanism that people use when they can’t find the information they need from social search (asking their Twitter or Facebook friends) or a mobile app.</div></div>b3haPPy ^_^http://www.blogger.com/profile/13443274671387073843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-175603476232819402.post-3201919372686196802011-11-02T10:44:00.000+05:302011-11-02T10:44:34.860+05:30Tech trends for 2012: Where career potential lies<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b><i><u>Tech trends for 2012: Where career potential lies</u></i></b></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Takeaway:</span></b><span style="color: #e06666;"> Nucleus Research, Inc. has released its top ten tech trends for 2012.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong>1. </strong><strong>The Productive Enterprise</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Nudged by the ready adoption of Facebook, many enterprise software vendors are incorporating social capabilities to their apps. But, according to Nucleus, for every organization that has successfully adopted social capabilities, there are two that struggle to make it work. The biggest concern is that social media will leach productivity (like Facebook does) without adding to the collaboration wanted. Savvy enterprises will find a way to align social tools to support clear business purposes.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong>2. The cloud will change development</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">The cloud has made development faster and more iterative. When changes can be made on the fly, companies can deploy once and then adapt an app as business needs change. As we go forward, the cloud will make development more virtual. Crowdsourcing efforts and the integration of social networking tools into the dev environment will provide opportunities for developers no matter where they live.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong>3. SAP will reemerge</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">SAP revenues have gone up and the company has introduced innovations in areas like mobile device access. According to the report:</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 30px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">We’ve started to see real traction with Business ByDesign. This is partly because customers that have growth aspirations are also risk averse given the economy. Also, cloud delivery makes BusinessBy Design less onerous to support than traditional ERP deployments.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Nucleus also cites last <a href="http://www.forbes.com/2010/02/12/sap-management-chairman-markets-equities-business-software.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">year’s exodus of top-level executives</a> to be a good thing for its future.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong>4. Going big</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Nucleus thinks that tech buyers are increasingly “going to look at big vendors with an 80 percent solution versus a best-of-breed application that must be managed, integrated, and negotiated separately.”</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong>5. More ways for everyone to manage big data</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Nucleus recognizes that although big data is definitely being overhyped, “companies will soon make smarter decisions using analytics to comb through huge amounts of data.” The report says that this is one area where we’ll continue to see innovation, like integration of field-programmable gate arrays.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong>6. Capital will move from labor to technology</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">While the unemployment rate will continue to hover near 10 percent, Nucleus sees technology hiring going up. A recent Nucleus survey (Nucleus Research 106, Nucleus 2012 IT spending survey, September 2011) found that technology spending is winning hands down. And there will be the need for people to support those technologies and to train end-users.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong>7. Smarter software</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Nucleus says, “We expect to see more intelligent applications that search for and push information related to what workers are doing directly to their desktop, a rise in usability for analytical and text mining tools whose capabilities were previously only for the gearheads, and presence and location monitoring to drive new ways we interact with enterprise software.”</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong>8. Labor will get optimized</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Nucleus claims that workforce management software will change to show which employees are the most productive, show up on time, and create the least scrap. “Workforce management vendors such as Dayforce and Kaba are now delivering this data to managers by combining analytics tools with data gathered at time and attendance kiosks.” Slackers, beware!</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong>9. Healthcare investment</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Although the technology for moving paper health records into electronic form as been around for a while, Nucleus says that the availability of low-cost secure cloud applications such as those from Digitech Systems will drive significant investment in 2012.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong>10. Renewed focus on customer experience</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Nucleus says it continues to see str5ong investment in CRM and related applications. They expect to see more investment in analytics, activity monitoring, and big data crunching as companies aspire to “the prefect combination of targeting, touching and treating their customers.”</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10pt; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The full Nucleus Top 10 Predictions 2012 research note is available at <a href="http://nucleusresearch.com/research/notes-and-reports/nucleus-top-ten-predictions-for-2012/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">NucleusResearch.com</a>.</span></div></div>b3haPPy ^_^http://www.blogger.com/profile/13443274671387073843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-175603476232819402.post-60810387202776725322011-10-20T11:54:00.000+05:302011-10-20T11:54:38.283+05:30Ubuntu 11.10 brings Ubuntu Unity closer to fine<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="c-4 space-1 takeaway" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><u><i>Ubuntu 11.10 brings Ubuntu Unity closer to fine</i></u></b></span></span></div><div class="c-4 space-1 takeaway" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #8cbd5b; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Takeaway: </span><span style="color: #ea9999;">With the release of Ubuntu 11.10, Ubuntu Unity makes some progress on the desktop front. Is it enough? Here's the take on the state of the desktop from Canonical.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">If you’ve been following me long enough, you know since the inception of Ubuntu Unity my relationship with that new desktop has been one of love-hate. When Unity was first rumored and the designs and philosophy were made known, the relationship was one of love. But when 11.04 was released, that relationship quickly shifted to hate. But now, 11.10 is out and Ubuntu has had a chance to make good on their Unity promises. I have to say, after upgrading to 11.10 … I’m pretty impressed with the improvements.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">I’ll preface the rest of this by saying it’s not perfect, but it’s closer to being a fine desktop than it’s previous iteration.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Now … just what has improved? Let’s take a look. I am taking this from the perspective of an end-user, so there will be no talk of development this or power-user that. What I am interested in is whether or not Unity has come far enough along for the average end user.</div><h2 style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.43em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">The Good</h2><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/ubuntu_dash.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="Figure A" class="size-medium wp-image-3119 alignright" height="168" src="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/ubuntu_dash-300x168.png" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px !important; margin-left: 15px !important; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-top: 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="ubuntu_dash" width="300" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">The Unity Dash has had a bit of overhaul, making it easier to access various pieces. Figure A shows the Dash in action. Click on the Dash icon to reveal a new overlay that allows you to do the following (via icon):</div><ul style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Open up various categories of apps (Media, Internet, and More).</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Open up default apps (as configured within System).</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Find files.</li>
</ul><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">You will also notice, at the bottom of the Dash overlay, a row of tabs. These tabs are (from left to right):</div><ul style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Dash Home</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Applications</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Documents and folders</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Media</li>
</ul><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/dash_filter.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><img alt="Figure B" class="size-medium wp-image-3122 alignleft" height="168" src="http://i.techrepublic.com.com/blogs/dash_filter-300x168.png" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px !important; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 15px !important; margin-top: 15px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="dash_filter" width="300" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">So what the developers of Unity have done is make it incredibly easy to get to various applications, files, and folders. This is a big plus for not just average users, but for any level of users. Another nice addition to the Dash is the ability to quickly filter results by categories. Take a look at Figure B (sorry, wallpaper is set to randomly change.)</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Click on the Applications Tab in the Dash Overlay and you can then filter by various categories, making the search for that specific file or application much easier.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">It is also possible now to eject external discs and USB devices from the Launcher. Simply right-click the device to reveal a menu offering:</div><ul style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Open</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Eject</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Safely Remove</li>
</ul><h2 style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.43em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">The not so good</h2><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">The Metaphor is still the big issue. Most end users do not like change — of any kind. They don’t like drive letters to change, they don’t like the look and feel of things to change. This is the one glaring problem with driving such a grand, sweeping change such is Ubuntu Unity. New users will take one look at it and say “Where’s my Start button? Where are my icons?” There is no way around this and new users will just have to accept that change is an inevitability with the PC desktop. Even with Windows — change happens and users have little to no choice but to move on. Eventually the touch-screen friendly desktop interface such as Unity and Gnome 3 will be less a shock to users (granted it would help if Canonical would come through on the promise of touchscreen hardware to happily marry with the interface).</div><h2 style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.43em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">More not so good</h2><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Why is it the developers of Ubuntu Unity have decided that configuring the desktop is just not something we mortals need. Sorry people, but I am a serious tinkerer on the desktop. I want my desktop cake and I want to eat it too! But alas — configuring the Unity desktop is just not meant to be (outside of changing your desktop background.) This does need to change. People (even new users) want to configure that desktop!</div><h2 style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.43em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Even more not so good</h2><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">I’m still not sold on the Apple-like application menu. No more do applications have their own menu. You want to access an application menu, you have to have that application in focus and then go up to the main bar at the top of the window. This isn’t terribly efficient when you have many windows open.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">And speaking of many windows open — I want, nay need, my sloppy focus. I do not like to have to click on titlebars (or any location within the window) to give a window focus. I am all about making as few clicks and points with the mouse as possible. Give me sloppy focus and auto-raise back!</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">The conclusion thus far</span></b></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Okay, so Unity is beginning to show promise. I have two suspicions here:</div><ol style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 40px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Given time Unity will finally become a legitimate player on the average user desktop field.</li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Given the proper touch-screen hardware, Unity will finally be able to show just how user-friendly it can be.</li>
</ol><br />
</div>b3haPPy ^_^http://www.blogger.com/profile/13443274671387073843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-175603476232819402.post-9469156367924672102011-10-17T17:10:00.000+05:302011-10-17T17:10:22.067+05:30The top five alternatives to the iPhone 4S<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="c-4 space-1 takeaway" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>The top five alternatives to the iPhone 4S</b></span></span></div><div class="c-4 space-1 takeaway" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #8cbd5b; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Takeaway: </span><span style="color: #e06666;">If you’re feeling left out because you’re not getting an iPhone 4S, here are five other great phones to consider if you’re looking for an upgrade.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5B_BTnh5GJxCB4GWLR8G1ojcc4TKNon7bFuVBe92TNzFIhsaKm2mhKDk1AAKuQbVXpwI4Vo1snzBhDWAHhCDwZFWjp81rIZltyBX2H2_2usOfFAnTT15pVt3bshRlsQaVYvB8ywFy522j/s1600/1314390408-leaked-iphone-4s-chasis-shows-some-antenna-changes-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5B_BTnh5GJxCB4GWLR8G1ojcc4TKNon7bFuVBe92TNzFIhsaKm2mhKDk1AAKuQbVXpwI4Vo1snzBhDWAHhCDwZFWjp81rIZltyBX2H2_2usOfFAnTT15pVt3bshRlsQaVYvB8ywFy522j/s320/1314390408-leaked-iphone-4s-chasis-shows-some-antenna-changes-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">iPhone 4S</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Despite the initial cries of disappointment from the tech press, the <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-13/apple-s-iphone-sells-out-at-all-three-u-s-carriers-ahead-of-store-debut.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Apple iPhone 4S is reportedly almost sold out</a> heading into its official launch on Friday. If you’re ready to upgrade your phone but can’t get a hold of an iPhone 4S on Friday, don’t forget that there are plenty of great alternatives in the smartphone market right now.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">I know that there are also plenty of you out there who are tempted by an iPhone but want to avoid getting locked into the Apple ecosystem or simply don’t want to give up your loyalty to Android or BlackBerry. So, for those of you who can’t (or refuse) to get an iPhone 4S but are looking for a phone upgrade, here are five devices worth considering.</div><h2 style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.43em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">1. Droid Bionic</h2><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKsKr4eFXD44fpPbX-RUp93jZYes1jqPZTTIlGgzo3a-85iYqdKSnE1Js4xedjPRlEqkzvuHFDjpkEO6DyDgkkSWUO5Wzru-1WbGA8i_SNq8XT4OvZM4s79et_U4Ha_aPk7zMLSFdPYcho/s1600/motorola-droid-bionic-overview-specs-q2-release-date.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKsKr4eFXD44fpPbX-RUp93jZYes1jqPZTTIlGgzo3a-85iYqdKSnE1Js4xedjPRlEqkzvuHFDjpkEO6DyDgkkSWUO5Wzru-1WbGA8i_SNq8XT4OvZM4s79et_U4Ha_aPk7zMLSFdPYcho/s320/motorola-droid-bionic-overview-specs-q2-release-date.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Droid Bionic</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><br />
</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">This is arguably the best Android device on the market. It’s not the coolest looking or feeling device. It has a similar odd shape to the Motorola Droid X with extra thickness on the side of the phone that has the camera. But, it’s a sturdy device and it’s wicked fast in hardware, software, and the Verizon 4G LTE network. It also has much better battery life than the HTC Thunderbolt (the former Android king) and Motorola’s Webtop software lets you use this device like a computer using the desktop or laptop dock.</div><h2 style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.43em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">2. Samsung Galaxy S II</h2><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJZd77QwctMWPLSlicKfq_DAwThXlWJKi3nN5E2n2tDOz7OCWYQgJFWD1sPCCbNvADTZBwgjV0UWUOoB2fbfH7GqZTFNQhqnaliqNP5dSfTgrJknrnLa63Y4O09klD4Fk6K5ukzA01kqHa/s1600/galaxy2_seine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJZd77QwctMWPLSlicKfq_DAwThXlWJKi3nN5E2n2tDOz7OCWYQgJFWD1sPCCbNvADTZBwgjV0UWUOoB2fbfH7GqZTFNQhqnaliqNP5dSfTgrJknrnLa63Y4O09klD4Fk6K5ukzA01kqHa/s320/galaxy2_seine.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Samsung Galaxy S II</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><br />
</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">If you have iPhone envy because of the svelte design, then the Samsung Galaxy S II is the phone you should consider (see below). It is thin, well-designed, relatively powerful, and has a brilliantly bright screen. It doesn’t feel nearly as cheap as the plasticy first-gen Galaxy S phones. Plus, the Galaxy S II is available across lots of different carriers in the U.S. and internationally (unlike the Droid Bionic) and it’s less expensive than the $300 Bionic.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><h2 style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.43em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">3. Motorola Photon</h2><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWvtwLaZBqqyJscjtEP52VaSLBg89ncai6DsdNrN9zT_zCtblWBAOWYJKT0vElGwo8RfVy55RfyV6llpoLbk_uBtcPNjkEoMce79vHHc8bLizpwmlkwKrnU7BamFGvdRcSeRzxfcF03fHZ/s1600/motorola-photon-accessories.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWvtwLaZBqqyJscjtEP52VaSLBg89ncai6DsdNrN9zT_zCtblWBAOWYJKT0vElGwo8RfVy55RfyV6llpoLbk_uBtcPNjkEoMce79vHHc8bLizpwmlkwKrnU7BamFGvdRcSeRzxfcF03fHZ/s1600/motorola-photon-accessories.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Motorola Photon</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><br />
</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">This is a cousin of the Droid Bionic mentioned above, only this one has a better hardware design and it runs on Sprint instead of Verizon. It’s another speed demon. It has a dual-core NVIDIA Tegra processor and runs on the Sprint/Clearwire WiMAX network for 4G. Like the Bionic and Motorola Atrix, the Photon includes the Webtop software and the ability to dock into a PC-like experience on the desktop or into the laptop dock. You can’t do that with an iPhone.</div><h2 style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.43em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">4. HTC HD7</h2><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1INug8oE1WG08C_VkmGKC-xZV2Hv0zOBdV3VcYuagN39oJTHx5nXPH1eFOZuW8DzR0FbRywAlDAsKXQNwEKW1F4or09lAgJQi9yn1KkL8521KW23wX4efdYfA_Fqo5Cc2ouMPFEycnmfg/s1600/htc-hd7-group-350px.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1INug8oE1WG08C_VkmGKC-xZV2Hv0zOBdV3VcYuagN39oJTHx5nXPH1eFOZuW8DzR0FbRywAlDAsKXQNwEKW1F4or09lAgJQi9yn1KkL8521KW23wX4efdYfA_Fqo5Cc2ouMPFEycnmfg/s320/htc-hd7-group-350px.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HTC HD7</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><br />
</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Don’t forget about Windows Phone 7, especially since its big upgrade to 7.5 “Mango” is happening this fall. WP7 offers a solid experience, especially for smartphone novices, and the number of apps available are climbing rapidly. The best WP7 device I’ve used is the HTC HD7, which reminded me a lot of the HTC Thunderbolt, in terms of hardware design. There are also similar models such as the HTC HD7S (AT&T), the HTC Trophy (Verizon), and the HTC Titan (in the U.K.).</div><h2 style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.43em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">5. BlackBerry Bold 9900</h2><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7YXuPWTxwn6L8zSy05YouEsOmlgCGHYrh4tj4Plc-g1ff8cKfqb3GCeUvV-HfWCSCm4e4Nff6IZ1ByDap4cUsiBfGgvS64OcxmUK2fIfEQFvQpSIgYIH6n4jm8_aafDZYiuFXpHoURDea/s1600/Blackberry-bold-9900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7YXuPWTxwn6L8zSy05YouEsOmlgCGHYrh4tj4Plc-g1ff8cKfqb3GCeUvV-HfWCSCm4e4Nff6IZ1ByDap4cUsiBfGgvS64OcxmUK2fIfEQFvQpSIgYIH6n4jm8_aafDZYiuFXpHoURDea/s320/Blackberry-bold-9900.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BlackBerry Bold 9900</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><br />
</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Since some of you are still loyal to BlackBerry and even more of you are still locked into using BlackBerry because that’s what your company uses, I have to mention the BlackBerry Bold 9900. As far as BlackBerries go, it’s the best one yet. It doesn’t have the versatility of iPhone and Android, because of the lack of apps, but it still does email and messaging really well, the web browser has improved immensely, the display is great (albeit a little cramped), and it has most of the biggest mobile apps (Kindle, Twitter, Foursquare, etc.). And, if you still prefer a hardware keyboard, it’s got the best one that RIM makes.</div></div>b3haPPy ^_^http://www.blogger.com/profile/13443274671387073843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-175603476232819402.post-69823469663843608912011-10-13T20:57:00.000+05:302011-10-13T20:57:30.839+05:30What you need to know about iOS 5<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;"><u><i><b>What you need to know about iOS 5</b></i></u></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnO3LXaQ3XuKlrZrX8P9TW6oTUVmQXKyk_TGlsV-K_3eKFPRPzh-_rI7T2TgDP1nUpelOOd_R4YgWetH4y8rqg-ska0A5m5CNrha2pERm3016OpzGBDG_0awK5kE9KGttx9hqUMC4TkxZt/s1600/ios5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnO3LXaQ3XuKlrZrX8P9TW6oTUVmQXKyk_TGlsV-K_3eKFPRPzh-_rI7T2TgDP1nUpelOOd_R4YgWetH4y8rqg-ska0A5m5CNrha2pERm3016OpzGBDG_0awK5kE9KGttx9hqUMC4TkxZt/s1600/ios5.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apple iOS 5</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="c-4 space-1 takeaway" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="c-6 heavy" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #8cbd5b; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Takeaway: </span><span style="color: #e06666;">The fifth generation iOS, the engine that powers Apple’s popular iPhone and iPad devices (among others), introduces several important changes and refinements.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Apple’s iOS, though only four years old, has changed the way users connect, purchase and maintain applications, collaborate, and more. The fifth generation iOS, the engine that powers Apple’s popular iPhone and iPad devices (among others), introduces several important changes and refinements. Here are the top 10 things you should know about Apple’s new iOS 5.</div><h2 style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.43em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">1: Requirements</h2><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">The fall 2011-release iOS 5 upgrade works with a variety of current and legacy handsets, tablets, and devices. iOS 5 is compatible with the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4. iOS 5 is also supported on the 3rd and 4th generation iPod Touch as well as the original iPad and iPad 2. There is no cost for the upgrade.</div><h2 style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.43em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">2: PC Free</h2><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">One common complaint prior to iOS 5 has been that a computer was required to fully utilize and back up new iPads, iPhones, and iPod Touch devices. No more. iOS 5 severs the tether and makes it possible to activate and configure new devices without having to tie them to a computer. Further, with iCloud support, iOS 5 devices can be backed up automatically without having to use a computer.</div><h2 style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.43em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">3: Mail improvements</h2><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">iOS 5 also introduces overdue Mail improvements. The new iOS provides indentation support, enables rich text (bold, italic, and underline) formatting, and can even flag messages. iCloud, meanwhile, helps ensure email accounts stay synchronized across multiple devices. As email’s importance continues to grow, such refinements on the iPhone and iPad platforms are a necessity.</div><h2 style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.43em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">4: Tabbed browsing</h2><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">A seemingly minor innovation when originally introduced on computers, tabbed browsing enables users to maintain multiple active Web pages within a single browser instance. The feature has proven popular, especially as users have become more dependent upon Web-based applications and Web-based email. iOS 5 updates the Safari browser to bring tabbed browsing to compatible iPhones, iPod Touches, and iPads. This enables multiple concurrent Web page sessions and considerably simplifies the process of switching between open pages,.</div><h2 style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.43em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">5: Reminders</h2><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">A cottage industry of iOS to-do and task list application providers has arisen over the past few years. That’s because Apple’s iOS didn’t previously do a very good job natively managing or synchronizing organizational tasks. Reminders is a new iOS 5 feature that addresses that shortcoming. With iCal, Outlook, and iCloud integration, changes automatically synchronize across multiple devices. Better yet, users can associate due dates and locations with the tasks they set. Productivity and efficiency result, while dependency upon a third-party application decreases or is eliminated altogether.</div><h2 style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.43em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">6: iCloud support</h2><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">iCloud support within iOS 5 means applications, photos, music, settings, and other data isn’t lost if a compatible Apple device goes missing. Because iCloud stores data on the Web, files, configuration information, and even applications previously purchased on one device can be pushed to a replacement or other authorized device wirelessly. Calendars, contacts, and mail benefit from iCloud, which powers wireless synchronization between devices, too. iCloud even enables synchronizing iOS data with a PC, so Windows users benefit from iCloud/iOS 5 integration. And 5GB of free storage means the price is right.</div><h2 style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.43em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">7: iMessage</h2><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">The simplicity and immediacy of text messaging has fueled its meteoric popularity. One can hardly even visit a neighborhood grocery or airport without hearing others’ text alert beeps. Built into the Messages app, iOS 5’s new iMessage feature enhances traditional messaging by adding support for sending photos, videos, locations, and contacts for iPad and iPod Touch users. iMessaging includes group messaging support, too, which better enables team collaboration and communication. iMessage also synchronizes iMessage conversations across multiple devices.</div><h2 style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.43em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">8: Notification Center</h2><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">As iPhone and iPad use has grown within businesses and as users have loaded a veritable cornucopia of applications on those devices, mobile users sometimes feel assaulted by the number of updates, new email alerts, unread text messages, and other notifications.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Prior to iOS 5, all these different updates lived in different locations and sometimes proved distracting. iOS 5 users can take advantage of the new Notification Center to select which notifications they receive. And copping a popular feature I associate as being introduced with Microsoft Outlook 2003, new notifications appear briefly (in this case at the top center of the screen) before fading out of view. The Notification Center presentation of these messages is less distracting and doesn’t require switching applications, yet it still communicates the same information quickly.</div><h2 style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.43em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">9: AirPlay</h2><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Many users will find iOS 5’s new AirPlay innovation a critical component of the new OS. Others may never use it. But those who do will find the video mirroring feature an intriguing and convenient improvement in the mobile OS.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">AirPlay enables presenters to wirelessly stream their iPad 2 display information to an HDTV via an Apple TV device. Attendees see exactly what’s on the presenter’s iPad, meaning iPads can fully replace desktop or laptop presentation systems in boardrooms, classrooms, conference rooms, and other presentation areas.</div><h2 style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.43em; line-height: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">10: Calendar improvements</h2><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #37414b; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Calendar operations receive a needed boost within iOS 5, too. iOS 5-powered Calendars now synchronize across multiple devices leveraging Apple’s iCloud technology. Further, iPad users can display year views of their Calendar, while iPhone and iPod Touch users can display a weekly view of their calendar — previously unavailable options. Individual calendars can now be added and edited directly from iOS 5-powered iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches. Possibly most important, though, is the fact that Calendar attachments are now viewable on compatible iOS 5 devices without having to switch applications.</div></div>b3haPPy ^_^http://www.blogger.com/profile/13443274671387073843noreply@blogger.com