Microsoft Schedule Events for 2011

Written By Lingkar Dunia on Friday, December 31, 2010 | 12:23 PM

The time is running, so as Microsoft is also moving towards new goal and ambitions in New Year 2011. Microsoft has released the schedule events for 2011. CEO Steve Ballmer talks about Microsoft agenda for 2011, but early leaks have indicated that Ballmer is going to talk about Microsoft�s and its partners� plans in the slate/tablet space. While some are expecting Microsoft to share details about plans to port Windows to ARM and/or about Windows 8.

Microsoft Events for 2011 are as follows:

Dynamics CRM 2011 launch: The virtual (Webcasted) launch event is January 20, 2011, for Microsoft�s �CRM 5? release. The Online version of the product will be available in January; the on-premises version in the first quarter of 2011.

Mobile World Congress 2011: In February (14-17 in Barcelona), Microsoft is expected to talk up some of its future update plans for Windows Phones at the show. Maybe we�ll hear a bit about �Mango,� the next release of the Windows Phone OS (possibly 7.5) that some of my tipsters have said will deliver in-browser support for HTML5 and Silverlight.

Microsoft MVP Summit: This year, the Most Valuable Professional (MVP) invite-only summit is slated for February 28 to March 2 in Bellevue, Wash.

Game Developers Conference 2011: Could Microsoft be ready to share more about its future plans for Kinect by February 28? (GDC runs from February 28 to March 4 in San Francisco in 2011.)

Microsoft Management Summit 2011: In Las Vegas from March 21 to 25, MMS will be dedicated to the latest on all products and services management-related. Expect possible updates on Windows Intune, the various System Center products, virtualization and more.

Convergence 2011: The annual confab for Microsoft Dynamics ERP/CRM customers and partners is April 10 to 13 in Atlanta. There will be news around the upcoming versions of Microsoft�s four ERP suites, no doubt and maybe even some very early CRM 6 talk.

Mix �11: A beta of Silverlight 5 is one of the expectations for this year�s Mix, which is happening (sadly again) in Las Vegas from April 12 to 14. Maybe we�ll see the final Internet Explorer 9 release at Mix, as well.

TechEd 2011: Microsoft�s annual educational conference, where the talks (typically) focus on already-announced products, is happening from May 16 to 19 in Atlanta this year. Who knows: Maybe we�ll hear more about the Office 365 rollout (which my sources are hearing will happen around the first week of June).

E3 2011: This year�s game extravaganza is June 7 to 9 in Los Angeles. As usual, lots of Xbox, Xbox Live, games and game peripherals should be on the agenda.

Worldwide Partner Conference 2011: It�s off to Los Angeles again this year for Microsoft�s annual partner confab, taking place from July 11 to 14.

Professional Developers Conference 2011: No dates or location on this one (yet), but many Microsoft watchers are expecting this year�s PDC to be where Microsoft rolls out a public beta (or at least a Community Technology Preview) of Windows 8.
12:23 PM | 0 comments

LADIES IN LAVENDER

Written By Lingkar Dunia on Thursday, December 30, 2010 | 1:04 PM

A couple of nights ago the lovely little film Ladies in Lavender appeared on TV, so we recorded it and watched it, for perhaps the third time.  Directed by Charles Dance, and starring Judi Dench and Maggie Smith, featuring lots of beautiful Cornish seaside, and rich with folksy nostalgia, it is a gem.

Somehow, though, the plot seemed thin.  The beautiful country scenes, lovely shots of seagulls flying, and -- of course -- the wonderful acting, seemed very necessary to bulk out a very simple plot.  It was not a surprise to note in the credits that it was based on a short story.  So I did a little research, to find that "Ladies in Lavender" is the second story in a 1916 collection called Far-Away Stories by William J. Locke (1863-1930), a writer who featured in the NYT bestseller list a long time ago, but is now forgotten. 

Charles Dance, it seems, found the story by accident.  He was working on a film in Budapest at the time.  This book was one of a pile used as set dressing, and he picked it up and leafed through it, to fill in an idle moment.  And he very shrewdly deduced that with the right actresses and the right treatment, "Ladies in Lavender" could turn into a hit.

So what is the short story like?  Luckily for my curiosity, Far-Away Stories has been digitized.  My first reaction is that Dance paid great respect to the story and the author, capturing its special ambience, even using quite a lot of the dialogue.  It is one of the reasons the film works so well.

The ending is not true to Locke's intention, which was to draw a grittily sad conclusion (in the story, after Andrea flits off to London, the sisters never hear from him again), but he judged his audience well, because in the film the gently sentimental leavetaking, accompanied by Joshua Bell's superb violin playing, is a wonderfully warm-and-woolly conclusion.

There are a couple of other departures from Locke's story.  The "old maids" in the story are in their forties, so are not old ladies.  They both (not just Ursula) fall in love with the beautiful young man, and vie jealously for his attention, so suffer equally at the end.

And "beautiful" he is indeed, which I found amusing.  Witness the paragraph where Ursula finds out that the young man speaks in some incomprehensible foreign tongue.  She tries him out in her bad German -- at which "his face lit up with a smile so radiant that Miss Ursula wondered how Providence could have neglected to inspire a being so beautiful with a knowledge of the English language."

But as a hint of the rather brutal ending to come, it worked.  The style seems pretentious now, but William J. Locke knew exactly what he was doing. 

1:04 PM | 0 comments

Apple May Sue Over Privacy Suits by App Developers


The problem for Apple regarding privacy suits is not yet stopped, Apple soon going to face more difficulty from several App Developers, for illegally sending personal information to ad networks without the users' knowledge or consent. According to one industry lawyer, there could be more lawsuits on the way.

Apple is no stranger to lawsuits over the iPhone. The company has been sued by big companies like Nokia, Motorola, and HTC. Apple has also been sued by individuals for not revealing that the battery was not user-replaceable and, in 2009, for MMS not being available on the iPhone.

This is also not the first time Apple has been named in a lawsuit against an app developer. In 2009, Tune Hunter sued music-finding service Shazam of patent infringement and named Apple, as well as a host of other companies, in its lawsuit.

The latest privacy lawsuit claims ad networks are able to trace an iPhone or iPad using the unique device identifier. The suit says the practice violates federal computer fraud and privacy laws.
12:28 PM | 0 comments

Facebook Top Online Sharing Website In 2010


According to the latest statistic report from AddThis of Top Sharing Website of 2010. Facebook is dominating as a top online sharing website of 2010, and it reveals that Facebook claims 44 percent of online sharing happens in 2010. Last year, the social networking site was the platform for 33 percent of online sharing, and its growth has only made it more dominant.

What is most surprising about this data is that Facebook�s count does not include any information shared through its �Like� button. Add to that the title of most visited website this year,and we can only imagine what kind of Facebook domination 2011 will bring. Check out the infographic for a look at how consumers shared over the Internet in 2010.
11:46 AM | 0 comments

Skype for iPhone Video Calling Feature Over 3G and Wi-Fi

As we expected before, Skype for iPhone is turning out in 2011 with latest feature of video calling to its Skype App for iPhone. In Skype 3.0 version, you can place video calls from Skype on the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and 4th-Generation iPod touch, and you can also receive video calls on the iPad and the 3rd-Generation iPod touch. Video calling works over both Wi-Fi and 3G.

On iOS devices with two cameras, you can stream video from either. iPhone 3GS users, of course, can only stream video from that device�s sole rear-facing camera.

You can use the Skype app to place calls to other folks using the app, or to folks using Skype on their computers. As it did before, the Skype app continues to offer instant messaging, text messaging, audio-only chats, and the ability to call landlines and mobile phones at low rates.

Apple�s FaceTime technology is currently limited to Wi-Fi calling only. One might wonder whether Skype�s timing for adding video chat to its app might aim to make us forget about the company's recent extended outage, but that would require remembering said outage happened in the first place.

Skype for iPhone is free. Video calling requires iOS 4.0 or later, but the app can run on any device with at least iOS 3.0.
11:31 AM | 0 comments

Summer nights on National Radio

Written By Lingkar Dunia on Tuesday, December 28, 2010 | 1:46 PM

It occurs to me that I really should announce that I will be on radio tonight, a guest of radio presenter Liam Ryan.  The program is called "Summer Nights" and is billed as the alternative to listening to cicadas.

I believe it will be streamed (or whatever the right techo word might be) for some time, so overseas listeners can catch up.  I might even listen myself!

What will we talk about?  Right now, I do not have a notion, but imagine it will have a lot to do with ships and the sea, and maybe even female pirates and other seafaring women.  And then there are Tupaia and Wiki Coffin ...

Will 25 minutes be long enough?  We shall see.
1:46 PM | 0 comments

The Tanenbaum/Gruber ghostwriting saga

I came across this six-year-old story by accident, when I bought a book at the Wellington Public Library book sale.  It was a book called FURYby a writer I thought I might have vaguely heard of, Robert K. Tanenbaum.  The blurb assured me that Tanenbaum is a NYT bestselling writer, and the price was just fifty cents, so I was sold and the well-thumbed book was bought.

I took it home, and tried to read it.  I couldn't believe how awful it was; the writing was inept, the characters cardboard stereotypes, the main plot thin, and the many sub-plots bewildering.  There was also a constant nasty thread of racism.  It was like trying to read several comic books at once, all of them compiled by someone who watched Fox News too much.  I lost patience a third of the way through, looked at the predictable ending, and tossed the book into the trash.  How, I wondered, did this bloke make bestselling status, churning out this kind of rubbish?

So I looked up the book on amazon.com to see what other readers thought, and found out, to my amazement, that the bestselling books weren't written by Robert Tanenbaum at all!  I had just been dead unlucky, picking out one of the few that had been penned by the fellow himself.  If I had read one of the previous many that had been ghostwritten, I would have had a much more enjoyable experience.

Sarah Weinman, blogger of the Idiosyncratic Mind (see recommended blogs in the RH column) provided more of the story, and her links led me into a world of wonderful commentary, written by bloggers such as Jules Older.   To put it in a nutshell, Tanenbaum, an astoundingly successful lawyer, was asked by a publisher to write a legal thriller, a la John Grisham, and he accepted the job and set to -- to find that it was harder than he imagined.  He showed his efforts at opening chapters to his close cousin, Michael Gruber, who informed him (kindly, of course) that it needed a lot of work -- to be entirely rewritten, in fact.  Then he offered to do it for him, in return for half the advance.  It was a system that worked well, reaping megabucks from megasales (shared strictly fifty/fifty) for more than a dozen books.  And then the cousins fell out.  The partnership was broken, and books started coming out under Gruber's own name, while Tanenbaum either took to writing himself, or found another ghostwriter, with unfortunate results.

Then the secret of the collaboration was exposed -- by Gruber, who claims that it was due to the astute detective work of a reporter with (for heavens' sake!) Romantic Times, but could well have been a publicity stunt by Gruber himself, to help the sales of his books.  It makes an interesting discussion point -- should Gruber have gone public?  After all, it is the job of a ghostwriter to be just that, a ghost, something for which he is paid -- and splitting advances and (presumably) royalty payments down the middle was a very fair arrangement, particularly when the books sold as well as these apparently did.

To my intense amusement, Tanenbaum's latest effort -- which, judging by the editorial comments on amazon.com, is as bad as Fury -- is called Betrayed.
1:08 PM | 0 comments

Amazon Kindle 3G Top Selling Device in Amazon's History


As we mentioned before in our article about Best E-Book Reader Device, In that article we had discussed about Amazon Kindle and Sony E-Reader Device, as they are most top rated E-Reader device today with fully loaded features and now Amazon has confirmed that Amazon Kindle 3rd Generation is the top selling product in Amazon's History.

Amazon confirmed this news in its latest press release of holiday sales figure of 2010 and confirmed that the 3rd Generation Kindle is now the best selling product in Amazon's history. Holiday sales propelled the
e-Reader past the previous reigning champ, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The WiFi and 3G version of the Kindle were the #1 and #2 sellers in the electronics categories, beating out the 8 GB iPod touch. The duo also topped the charts for the best-selling products site-wide on Amazon this holiday season. Christmas day was a banner day for the Kindle with the e-Reader boasting of a record number of activations, Buy Once, Read Everywhere app downloads and Kindle book purchases. Once folks fired up their brand new Kindle, they purchased The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which were the #1 purchased and #1 gifted Amazon Kindle book this holiday season.

You can read our article about Best E-Reader Device and review it to get your hands on world�s best Amazon Kindle 3rd Generation.
7:14 AM | 0 comments

Sony Ericsson's Gingerbread Smartphone 'Hallon' Pictures Leak

Written By Lingkar Dunia on Monday, December 27, 2010 | 7:20 AM

Sony-Ericsson
After the successful launched of Samsung Google Nexus S, the mobile companies still not stop to build smartphones with latest technology, Now Sony Ericsson is back with its another latest device codename 'Hallon' which is build on latest Google Android Technology "Gingerbread".

Sony Ericsson's latest device 'Hallon' picture has been leaked on Engadget. This new Sony Ericsson model appears to be packing a big photographic punch. As you can see from the picture below the device appears to have a very large front-facing camera. Could this hint at a focus on facial recognition or video calls? Maybe HD video?


The images come from a Picasa account filled with test pictures and seems to be on the Vodafone Germany network. More interesting, one of the pictures shows Sony�s Timescape UI, a modification of Android 3.0 (Gingerbread). Like many Android manufacturers, Sony is choosing to modify the core Google Android interface to make its devices look slicker and different from the competition.

Also interesting is the lack of a search button on the bottom of the unit, a common feature of Android phones. Pocketnow guesses that the device is codenamed �Hallon� and has a model number of MT15i.
7:20 AM | 0 comments

Welsh Poet Gillian Clarke awarded Queen's Gold Medal

Written By Lingkar Dunia on Saturday, December 25, 2010 | 12:39 PM


It is quite an honor-list to join, one that contains names like WH Auden, John Betjeman, Philip Larkin, and RS Thomas (also Welsh).
Gillian Clarke admits that she feels "humbled" and "stunned" to be included.

The award recognizes her whole body of work, the latest of which is a collection called A Recipe for Water, published last year.

Cardiff-born Clarke was named Wales' third national poet in 2008.
12:39 PM | 0 comments

That "Alix Bosco" theory

Greg McGee addresses the rumor that he is the enigmatic author Alix Bosco

Well, there's another theory blown out of the water.

In a very well-crafted column in the latest issue of Booknotes, (the newsletter of the New Zealand Book Council), well-known playwright Greg McGee reviews the crime fiction on his bedside table.

"I've been flattered by a rumour that I am Alix Bosco," he remarks, Bosco being the pseudonymous author of Cut and Run, and winner of the inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award.

McGee knows the book well, as he is one of the team that is working it up for TV, and, he says, "can vouch for it as a beautifully structured whodunit.  I thought," he adds thoughtfully, "I should read Bosco's follow up, to see if I should still be flattered."  And lo, he proceeds to review this second book, Slaughter Falls, in succinct, thoughtful prose.

Well, he decides at the end, he is still flattered, but not, alas, "as flattered as I'd be if I'd been mistaken for Justin Cartwright," author of To Heaven By Water.

Love that sense of humor!  And cause for thought, as well.  If you, dear reader, had a chance to be mistaken for some famous, infamous, or moderately known writer, which writer would you choose? 
12:18 PM | 0 comments

Download Total Audio & Video Converter Software - Full Version


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2:22 AM | 0 comments

More iPad 2 Features and Rumors Leaked


Before we have discussed about expected iPad 2 features which Apple going to be includes in its next iPad version. And now we are back with some more useful information�s and rumors which are focusing more on new features, the rumors actually come from anonymous sources in China, and have technical details about Apple�s next-generation tab.

According to a report, the new iPad will be smaller and flatter, with better, improved speakers on board. That information comes by way of the Kanteidan Blog, out of Japan. It says the new iPad�s outer case will lose three millimeters from the length and width, which won�t affect the 9.7-inch LCD screen. Reportedly, the iPad 2 will also be flatter on its back side, in some ways emulating the iPod Touch.

More important than the minor size changes are the iPad 2�s rumored on-board speakers. We heard something about openings on the rear of the case that have been speculated to allow for an SD card reader or USB port, but the source for Kanteidan Blog says the opening is actually for rear-facing, wider-range speakers.

And as expected, the source also says the iPad 2 will have a front-facing Facetime camera, as well as a rear-facing camera capable of shooting video and high-definition photos.

It�s not a ton of new information, and we�ve heard or expected to hear a lot of this stuff before. But the addition of higher-quality speakers may kill the idea that iPad 2 will support USB, something that was an exciting possibility for connectivity to various other devices. Seems that dream might be squashed. But for now you can use third party iPad Audio Speakers to enhance your audio output.

Stay Tuned for more !!
1:23 AM | 0 comments

ARCHITECTURAL BLUE

Written By Lingkar Dunia on Wednesday, December 22, 2010 | 12:21 PM

Catalogue of wonderful cyanotypes of India and Germany released


ROBERT A. SCHAEFER, JR. photographer
Zig-Zag wall of Roof Garden, New Delhi (2009)

I was honored to receive a copy of the catalogue of an exhibition of photographs that was held at the Goethe Institute in New Delhi late last month, following a show at the Government Museum and Art Gallery in Chandigarh.

The artist is our good friend Robert Schaefer, who lives in Manhattan, but travels frequently to Germany and India.  Quite apart from its visual brilliance, his photography has historic significance.

The cyanotype process was invented in England in 1842 by Sir John Herschel, as an improvement on its predecessor, the daguerrotype.  The medium, which may be cloth as well as paper, is coated with light sensitive chemicals.  The negative is placed on top of the paper, then a sheet of glass to weight it down, and then placed in a source of ultraviolet light, usually the sun.  The result is the beautiful shade of monochromatic blue that you see in the illustration above.

You've seen it many times before -- it was the process used for architectural blueprints.

For a copy of the catalogue, contact the Goethe Institute, New Delhi.
12:21 PM | 0 comments

Facebook Revenue & Google Revenue Comparison


Two most promising and popular Website in the word of Internet Facebook and Google share same popularity and fan following all over the world, But there is something people should aware about their Revenue Comparison.

Facebook is now become one of the top competitor of Google and sometime internet expert thinks that they are true competitors, Despite the fact Facebook is slated to pull in $2 billion dollars in revenue this year, it�s behind where Google was six years after launch according to a recent report.


Facebook is said to be worth $59.4 billion. Some are saying that Facebook may be a bigger money maker than Google, and private investors are scrambling to get a share of the stock that has surged over the past couple years thanks to private markets like SecondMarket, Second Shares, and other deals taking place behind closed doors.

But check out the following comparison chart below. Looking at Facebook�s revenue growth compared to other online-advertising-driven monster companies like Google and Yahoo, it appears Facebook is well behind where Google was when the company was Facebook�s age.

Business Insider explain the slow growth in the beginning: �It�s true that Facebook did not emphasize revenue early in its early years, but neither did Google.�
9:06 AM | 0 comments

BOOKLIST REVIEW OF TUPAIA

Written By Lingkar Dunia on Tuesday, December 21, 2010 | 12:08 PM

Tupaia, Captain Cook's Polynesian Navigator



Author of maritime histories and the Wiki Coffin nautical mysteries, Druett resurrects a figure encountered on Tahiti by eighteenth-century British explorers Samuel Wallis, James Cook, and botanist Joseph Banks. Named Tupaia, he was recorded in the visitors' journals and in several self-portraits reproduced in this book, sources that Druett reinforces with Polynesian oral tradition to portray what manner of man he was. About 40 years old, he had fled to Tahiti after a war between his native island of Raiatea and attackers from Bora Bora. When Wallis dropped anchor in 1767, he gradually grasped Tupaia's significant status in incidents of parlay between the British and Tahitians, in which Tupaia emerged as intermediary, translator, and explicator of Polynesian society. At Cook's arrival in 1769, Tupaia's talents were remembered. Druett recounts the advantage the British took of them, even taking Tupaia on board for the continuation of Cook's voyage to New Zealand, Australia, and Java, where Tupaia died after falling ill. The only biography of Tupaia, Druett's astute portrait vitally contributes to annals of exploration and cultural contact."
-- Gilbert Taylor, Booklist.
12:08 PM | 0 comments

Chrome 10 Includes Free HTML5 Games

Google is now experimenting with its new upcoming Chrome Browser Version 10. It seems that Google wants to include every new feature in Chrome 10, According to the sources Google is now integrating free HTML 5 Games in Chrome 10. According to the Google Operating System Blog the Chrome 10 Dev Channel build will include two HTML 5 Games; "Poppit and Entaglement". So If you are running the Dev Channel build, the games will install themselves automatically. If you don't want them you will need to uninstall them manually.
Poppit is a game where your primary objective is to pop groups of like colored balloons. Popping the balloons releases prizes, once you've collected all of the prizes you win the game. Entanglement is a puzzle game that takes place on a hexagon shaped board with hexagon shaped pieces. You have to connect the pieces to create an unbroken line by laying down tiles next to each other without going over the edge.

Many are wondering if the added software is a sign of things to come for Chrome OS, or if it's just a small addition to get people excited about HTML5. The consensus among online users seems to be that Google should ask or suggest software before installing it or including it into the OS.
7:12 AM | 0 comments

Windows Phone 7 Grew Faster Than Android Marketplace


After the launched of Windows Phone 7 people were really expecting that new version of Windows Phone 7 will surely hit and get successful coverage in market amongst Android, iPhone and other popular devices. Now the latest research report from IDC, remarked that the Windows Phone 7 marketplace grew faster than Android's did at launch. The report noted that Microsoft added 4,000 applications in just two months, a milestone that took Android's marketplace over five months to achieve.

There are a number of factors as to why the Windows Phone 7 has grown as fast as it did. As Engadget.com points out, there are already thousands of developers who know the programming language, which means they can quickly turn code into an app without much trial and error.

The same can't be said for Android, which required Java programmers to learn new libraries and constructs. You also need to include the fact that there are more programmers looking to cash in on the rapidly expanding mobile app market. Programmers are also porting over their apps from iOS and the Android market to Windows Phone 7, expanding their portfolio to multiple platforms.

Microsoft could easily become the third largest mobile app market by the middle of next year, which doesn't face very much competition in terms of WebOS, BlackBerry OS and Symbian.

Despite all of that, this is a major accomplishment for Microsoft and its consumers. With a larger marketplace for consumers to download applications and games, more consumers will begin to migrate to Windows Phone 7.
7:02 AM | 0 comments

Facebook Vs. Twitter - Users Statistics 2010

Written By Lingkar Dunia on Monday, December 20, 2010 | 8:49 AM

The Year 2010 was the revolutionary year for Social Networking, and two most successful social networking website of 2010 Facebook and Twitter are likely to get most users all over the world. Digital Surgeons took a short survey and describe the statistic demographics report about Facebook vs. Twitter (A Breakdown of 2010).

It�s no surprise that a higher percentage of Twitter users �update their status� every day than Facebook, being that updating your status is the only way to actually use Twitter. For all you businesses out there, pay attention to the fact that 40% of all people on Facebook follow a brand, and 51% of those people will actually purchase a product or service from a specific brand. My speculation is that these numbers will go up at least 50% by end of next year as companies get smarter and continue to re-prioritize how and why they do business.
Click to Enlarge Image!
8:49 AM | 0 comments

THE NEW ZEALAND EDITION OF TUPAIA

Written By Lingkar Dunia on Sunday, December 19, 2010 | 1:53 PM

Illustrating the down-under edition


British Library, 15508/12


There was some excitement last week when acquisitions editor at Random House New Zealand, Jenny Hellen, sent in the first draft for the jacket of the down-under edition of Tupaia, due to be launched in May.


The design is still under wraps, so I cannot reveal it. What I can say is that it is brilliant and wonderful and eye-catching and irresistible. I can also tell you that it features Tupaia's iconic artwork, Joseph Banks trading a piece of tapa cloth for a lobster, in a stand-off with a Maori fisherman.

This is how it is described in the text:

Tupaia, who had been entertained by the busy trade in lobsters, made a sketch of Banks trying to barter a piece of tapa for a particularly large crayfish, held firmly by its Maori owner. It is his most famous work, because of the emotions expressed in the humorous little scene. Both figures have their legs braced, and are glaring into each other's eyes; the Maori holds the lobster by a string, ready to snatch it back at the first opportunity, while Banks keeps his piece of tapa just out of reach. The outcome of the battle of wills is left to the imagination of the viewer.


Many years later, Banks noted that this sketch is a caricature, which was exactly as Tupaia intended. Then the scientist dismissed it by saying "all wild people" possessed a "genius for Caricature" -- for him, it was nothing remarkable. What he did not take into consideration was that the sketch is unique.


It is the only surviving portrait of Joseph Banks himself that was made on the voyage of the Endeavour.

1:53 PM | 0 comments

MAN SENTENCED FOR SHOOTING BANANA

'Tis the season for odd headlines



Or else the so-called silly season has started really early.  The annual best and worst lists of books, television programmes, films, DVDs or what-have-you have been succeeded by frivolous quotes and headlines.  The latest was sent to me by a friend in Cambridge, England. 

To summarize, a Russian student has been sentenced to three and one-half years in an English prison for shooting a banana in what appears to have been a drunken spree in the student accommodation block of Bell Language School.  Dimitry Palikhata, 19, was subdued by security staff at about 1:30 am on July 21 after firing a revolver out of a window, and then aiming another sniper shot at a banana.

It may seem a rather excessive sentence, but what must be borne in mind is that Palikhata had smuggled the revolver into the country, plus at least 29 live rounds of ammunition.

Tut, tut, security staff at whatever airport he arrived.  They don't deserve the praise handed out to the brave and quick-thinking guards at the language school.
1:15 PM | 0 comments

Amazon Kindle and Sony E-Reader Review; Best E-Book Reader Device

Today, I am going to share my personal experience and review about Best E-Book Readers. Many people always get confused about which E-Reader are suitable for them and which E-Reader they should buy. So here's my Review and Experience about two top E-Readers Gadget from most promising companies. "Amazon Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device"Amazon Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device and "Sony's E-Reader Touch Edition (PRS650RC)"Sony's E-Reader Touch Edition (PRS650RC).

Technically both Amazon Kindle and Sony E-Reader Touch are best in their own way, But some of the different features between them are as follows and you can compare both by these points and purchase the one as per your choice.

Highlight Points of Amazon Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device:
All New, High Contrast E Ink Pearl Screen:
Our graphite Kindle DX display uses the latest generation E Ink Pearl technology with 50% better contrast for the clearest text and sharpest images

Beautiful Large Display:
The 9.7" diagonal E Ink screen is ideal for a broad range of reading material, including graphic-rich books, PDFs, newspapers, magazines, and blogs

Read in Sunlight with No Glare:
Unlike backlit computer or LCD screens, Kindle DX's display looks and reads like real paper, with no glare. Read as easily in bright sunlight as in your living room

Slim:
Just over 1/3 of an inch, as thin as most magazines

Books In Under 60 Seconds:
Get books delivered wirelessly in less than 60 seconds; no PC required

Free 3G Wireless:
No monthly payments, no annual contracts. Download books anywhere, anytime

Long Battery Life:
Read for up to 1 week on a single charge with wireless on. Turn wireless off and read for two to three weeks.

Carry Your Library:
Holds up to 3,500 books, periodicals, and documents

Buy Once, Read Everywhere:
Kindle books can be read on all your devices. Our Whispersync technology saves and synchronizes your Kindle library and last page read across your Kindle(s), PC, iPhone, Mac, iPad, Android device, and BlackBerry device

Share Meaningful Passages:
Share your passion for reading with friends and family by posting meaningful passages to Twitter and Facebook directly from your Kindle

Global Coverage:
Enjoy wireless coverage at home or abroad in over 100 countries. See details. Check wireless coverage map.

Built-In PDF Reader:
Carry and read all of your personal and professional documents on the go. Now with Zoom capability to easily view small print and detailed tables or graphics

Auto-Rotating Screen:
Display auto-rotates from portrait to landscape as you turn the device so you can view full-width maps, graphs, tables, and Web pages

Read-to-Me:
With the text-to-speech feature, Kindle DX can read newspapers, magazines, blogs, and books out loud to you, unless the book's rights holder made the feature unavailable

Highlight Points of Sony's E-Reader Touch Edition (PRS650RC):
The Sony Reader Touch Edition is an eBook reader that packs in a lot of features but still fails at delivering an extremely comfortable reading experience. It almost has everything to be a great eBook reader but it falls short with the most basic characteristic an eBook reader should have: an eye-friendly screen. In this review, we'll discuss the pros and cons of the Sony Reader Touch Edition.

Starts with Basic following Points:
  • Accessories - USB Cable, Quick Start(TM) Guide, WarrantyFeatures
  • Choose more books from more places
  • Carry up to 1,200 of your favorite books at a time or more
  • Intuitive design with full 6 clear touch screen
  • Paper-like display for easy, natural reading
Design
The size of this eBook reader makes it more compact than most popular eBook readers, giving it an edge in portability. The design of the Sony Reader Touch Edition is definitely sleek, complementing its touchscreen display and elegant frame. However, the eBook reader's biggest problem lies in its touchscreen display. There is too much glare on the screen that reading an eBook might become a difficult and uncomfortable experience. This design flaw causes eye strain, which may prove to be its undoing. The touchscreen makes this flaw somewhat bearable if you are not a heavy reader, but if you are constantly reading eBook after eBook, the intuitive navigation provided by the touchscreen display may not be enough to distract you from the fact that it's almost impossible to read comfortably with the constant glare on the screen.

User Interface
The touchscreen interface gives you an intuitive way to turn pages by either flicking the page. The option to set the direction gives you the choice of flicking forward or backward, whatever is more comfortable for you. It doesn't have a flashy interface, which is fine because its main purpose is to let you read an eBook and not be pretty. Swiping, flicking and tapping on the touchscreen makes navigating the user interface a breeze.

Features
The Sony Reader Touch Edition has a built-in dictionary that is not very exhaustive, but still pretty useful in most cases. It's very handy too since you can use it as you are reading a page without losing your place in the eBook. Just tap on a word and this feature kicks in. Double tapping a page calls upon another feature which is bookmarking. Double tap a page and it becomes bookmarked. Double tapping it again removes the bookmark. It's a very handy feature that is easily accessed. Its features, although simple, are quite elegant and handy.

Performance
The battery life of the Sony Reader Touch Edition is one of its strengths. You can use it for up to 11 days before its battery gives out, which is a great way for regular readers to enjoy this device on a regular basis without the hassle of charging it every once in a while.

Conclusion:
So that was my Review and Experience about two most promising E-Readers "Amazon Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device" and "Sony's E-Reader Touch Edition (PRS650RC)".

So now its up to you which one you should purchase and make your life more easier.

Amazon Price Detail:

To Purchase "Amazon Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device" Click here

To Purchase "Sony's E-Reader Touch Edition (PRS650RC)" Click here
2:39 AM | 0 comments

PlayStation Games & Apps Coming to iPhone & Android


Before we had reported about popular iPhone game "Angry Birds" availability for PS3, Wii and XboX 360. But now it seems that every gaming platform are rotating their way and now you will be soon able to play PlayStation games, apps into iPhone and Android platform. Yes you have heard it correct "Playstation Apps are now coming to iPhone and Android Now".

This news was revealed on Official Playstation Blog in Europe, the aptly named Official PlayStation App will make landfall in the U.K., France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands "very soon" and while no mention was made of a North American launch date, I can't imagine we'll have to wait for the U.S. version too much longer.

Unfortunately, you won't be able to play Super Stardust HD or Echochrome II on the upcoming app, but at least you'll be able to keep tabs on your PS3 trophy count, as well as what your pals are playing and whether they're online.

The PlayStation app will also deliver the scoop on new PlayStation games and hardware, as well as any incoming announcements (such as PS3 or PSP firmware updates or PSN service bulletins) from the official PlayStation blog.

Last but not least, you'll be able to share articles on the PlayStation app with fellow gamers via Facebook and Twitter.

The new PlayStation app will work on any iPhone or iPod Touch with iOS 4 or better installed, while the Android version requires Android 1.6 or higher.

The European wing of Sony's PlayStation division adds that it's "already working" on a new version of the app that will add support for more countries and languages, and that we can expect "tons more features" in the months ahead.

The ability to actually play mobile PlayStation games on a phone, however, might end up being relegated to the long-rumored, supposedly Android-powered PlayStation Phone, sightings of which have been popping up on the Web for weeks now.

Unsurprisingly, the PlayStation Blog post had nothing to reveal about the mysterious "Zeus Z1" slider, which is said to have its own PlayStation app specifically for mobile games.

At least we'll have the PlayStation app and our old PSPs to tide us over until the Z1 or whatever it ends up being called finally rears its head.
1:45 AM | 0 comments

Google Maps 5.0 for Android Available Now

Written By Lingkar Dunia on Saturday, December 18, 2010 | 10:22 PM

Google finally launches Map 5.0 for Android technology. The Next Generation of Mobile Maps, this new version includes many new features and technology for smartphones users like 3D Interaction and Offline Reliability. You can have free, turn-by-turn GPS navigation with voice guidance for driving or walking directions. You can Explore the map in 3D. With two fingers, drag down to tilt and see 3D buildings where available; twist to rotate (on supported devices).

You don�t have to worry (so much) about being offline, as the app now caches the areas next to the one you�re currently in, meaning you�ll be able to seamlessly keep navigating for a while even when offline. If you�re using Google�s turn-by-turn GPS navigation, the app can now calculate a different route, even if you�re offline. You still need a connection to start a route, however. This feature will be rolled out gradually over the next couple of weeks.

Click to Enlarge Image!
Click to Enlarge Image!
Google has launched Google Maps for mobile a little more than five years ago. Since then, they have added dozens of features, and grown from a few thousand to more than 100 million users. Still, a couple of things have remained the same: a flat, north-up map and the need for a strong Internet connection. Now they are changing that for the first time.

The new version of Google Maps will work on Android 1.6 devices, but only owners of Android 2.0+ devices will be able to enjoy the new 3D and offline capabilities. Get Google Maps 5.0 in Android Market
10:22 PM | 0 comments

Kissing and Albert Einstein

Written By Lingkar Dunia on Friday, December 17, 2010 | 7:15 PM

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

"Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves."
-- Albert Einstein

Quoted by the Dominion Post (tongue in cheek) in a story about a young man who crashed his car while kissing his girlfriend.

7:15 PM | 0 comments

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