Google Maps goes underwater, adds coral reef panoramas

Friday, September 28, 2012 in Google

Google has added panoramic images of various coral reefs to its Google Maps. Google has also released photos of six underwater locations, including Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the Apo Islands and several other coral-filled spots throughout the Pacific.
“Today we’re adding the very first underwater panoramic images to Google Maps, the next step in our quest to provide people with the most comprehensive, accurate and usable map of the world. With these vibrant and stunning photos you don’t have to be a scuba diver—or even know how to swim—to explore and experience six of the ocean’s most incredible living coral reefs,” says Google in a blog post.

Google's new initiative is part of Google's World Wonders project, a website that uses Google's Street View Technology to map the lesser known sites across the world.
Google has partnered with The Catlin Seaview Survey, a major scientific study of the world’s reefs, to make the images available to users of Google Maps. According to Google, the Catlin Seaview Survey used a specially designed underwater camera, the SVII, to take these photos.

“Whether you’re a marine biologist, an avid scuba diver or a landlocked landlubber, we encourage you to dive in and explore the ocean with Google Maps,” concludes Google.

Read more

Nokia Lumia 920 pricing revealed; higher than the Samsung Galaxy S III

Friday, September 28, 2012 in Mobiles

Pricing for the soon to be released Nokia Lumia 920 smartphone has been revealed for the selected European markets. The company published the pricing data on its local websites on Thursday, with Lumia being cheaper than the Apple's iPhone 5, but more expensive than Samsung's Galaxy S III smartphone.
According to a Reuters report, the Nokia Lumia 920 32GB variant will be sold at around 5,700 Swedish Crowns, which is around Rs. 46,116. It's notable the 16GB Samsung Galaxy S III in the country is around 4,515 Crowns, while the 32GB iPhone 5 is due to sell 6,995 Crowns.

In Italy, the Lumia 920 has been priced at 599 Euros (Rs. 40,925 approximately), against the 16GB Samsung S III's 529 Euros. In Germany, the Nokia Lumia 920 for 649 Euros (Rs. 44,352 approx.). It sells the iPhone for 820 Euros, the 32GB Galaxy S III for 740 Euros and the 16GB Galaxy for 530 Euros.

Nokia has pinned its turnaround hopes on its new Lumia series smartphones, featuring Windows Phone 8. However, experts believe the high pricing for the Windows Phone 8-based Nokia Lumia 920 could jeopardise the company's efforts to catch up with the competitors. Experts suggest the pricing of the Lumia 920, which is 10 to 25 percent higher than Samsung's Galaxy S III, also risks a consumer backlash.

Reuters quoted Ovum analyst, Nick Dillon elaborating: "Hardware-wise they are pretty similar, it would be hard for Nokia to justify that extra cost to consumers. Windows Phone is still largely an unknown to consumers - they would probably expect to pay less if they are taking a risk."

"Nokia will find it difficult to command a premium over Samsung's Galaxy S III which is the pricing benchmark for a non-Apple flagship smartphone," says Ben Wood, head of research at British consultancy CCS Insight.

The pricing of the Lumia 920 puts the device in direct competition against high-end smartphones such as the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S III. However, the S III has been in the market for quite sometime now, while the iPhone 5 will be rolling out in different markets very soon.

As far as the Indian market goes, the high-end devices like the Samsung Galaxy S III, Galaxy S II, HTC One X and Apple's iPhone 4S are priced between Rs. 30,000 Rs. 45,000. If reports are to believed, the iPhone 5 will also fall under the same price range. The Indian market has been traditionally price sensitive, even for the premium devices. Nokia, on the other hand, has a reputation of giving out affordable devices to the Indian consumers. However, it is a little unlikely that the Indian consumers will be willing to shell out more money the Lumia series, unless the Windows Phone 8 platform proves to much more compelling than Android and iOS.

What do you think of the Nokia Lumia 920's pricing? Has Nokia made a mistake? Will it correct it before launch? Let us know in the comments section below:

Read more

Zebronics unveils Phenom multimedia headphone with digital volume controller

Friday, September 28, 2012 in output devices

Top Notch Infotronix,which operates under the brand ‘ZEBRONICS', has introduced the Zebronics Phenom multimedia headphone with digital volume controller, mute button, mic on/off and inbuilt microphone.

The Phenom is aimed at the gaming enthusiasts. Zebronics says the new headphone delivers superior sound isolation, with full circumaural ear cups. The headset is built with foam ear cushions that mold to the shape of your ears for the comfort of users.

The 1.8 meter long cable has an attached multifunction remote control. The Phenom features padded soft contact surfaces, digital volume controller and movable Mic for optimum usage comfort. With a frequency response range of 20 HZ – 20000 HZ covering the full aural spectrum, it has been designed to provide excellent audio quality while playing games, listening to music and making calls.

“ntended to appeal to style-conscious users and match individual usages, the Zebronics Phenom has a Mic on/off and mute button to ensure that you have full control over the task you think of doing. It is available in Classic Black colour that would suit the personality of any kind of user, be they general users, professionals, gaming enthusiasts, female users, chatting friends and rock music,” company says in a release.

The Zebronics Phenom is available in the market for Rs. 749.

Read more

Instagram more popular than Twitter on mobileU.S

Friday, September 28, 2012 in Hot topics

U.S. smartphone users fired up the photo-sharing app Instagram more than Twitter during the month of August, according to new data from comScore.
As first reported by AllThingsD, Instagram, now owned by Facebook, had an average of 7.3 million smartphone users accessing its service every day in August, comScore said. In comparison, Twitter had 6.868 million daily visitors on mobile devices during the same period.

ComScore's data reflects usage among U.S. smartphone owners aged 18 and older accessing the service on a device running iOS, Android, or RIM operating system via a mobile Web browser or app.

Plus, beyond just visiting Instagram more, mobile users also spent more time on the popular photo-sharing app than they did on Twitter. Users last month spent an average of 257 minutes on Instagram via mobile compared to 169.9 minutes viewing content on Twitter.

Even so, Twitter still reigned supreme when it came to the total number of unique visitors. The micro-blogging service had approximately 29 million unique smartphone visitors during the month, compared to Instagram's 21.9 million. To put this in perspective, the data indicates that Twitter had a greater number of smartphone users visiting its site overall, while Instagram's fans were clicking on the app more frequently and spending more time on it each time they returned.

The data is notable given that Instagram is not even two years old yet, while Twitter has been around since 2006. Remember, Instagram was exclusive to iOS devices until April, when the company released an Android version.

Read more

Intel, partners showcase Windows 8 tablets and more

Friday, September 28, 2012 in CPU

Would you pay $650 for a Wintel tablet? That's the price Samsung will charge for its upcoming Windows 8-based Series 5 Slate powered by Intel's newly unveiled Atom Z2760 chip.
Samsung and several other Intel and Microsoft partners were on hand at an Intel-hosted event at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art on Thursday to showcase upcoming Windows 8 tablets and hybrid laptops that use Intel's dual-core, 1.8GHz System-on-a-Chip (SoC) formerly code named Clover Trail. The Atom Z2760 (pictured) will be released on Oct. 26 alongside Microsoft's next-generation, touch-optimized operating system, with hardware manufacturers like Samsung, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and others coming out with tablets and hybrid tablet-laptops built around the x86 SoC and running Windows 8.

Before getting started, Intel Mobile and Communications Group executive Erik Reid tried to clear up a bit of a PR mess over reported comments made by CEO Paul Otellini in Asia earlier in the week.

"We could not be more excited about Windows 8 and what it brings to the market ... and that's the message Paul delivered to the employees this week," Reid said, referring to and dismissing reports that Otellini described Windows 8 as not being ready for release.

Samsung was the only Wintel partner at the SFMOMA showcase to name a price for its upcoming product. The Series 5 Slate will sell for $649 as a tablet and for $749 with its dockable keyboard attached, the South Korean tech giant said.

Other products on display included hybrid laptops with detachable tablets like the Acer Iconia W510, Asus Vivo Tab, Dell Latitude 10, and HP Envy x2, all due out in the Windows 8 release timeframe, as well as a standalone tablet Lenovo called the ThinkPad 2 that could also be ready by Oct. 26 and another standalone from ZTE called the V98 that won't be made available until January.

One notable party missing from the event was Microsoft itself, which has its own Intel-based version of its self-produced, Windows 8-based Surface tablet on tap as well. Fujitsu and LG Electronics are also readying Windows 8 tablets and hybrids running on Atom chips, according to Intel.

Other than Samsung's, Lenovo's, and ZTE's offerings, these Clover Trail laptop-tablet hybrids are all being sold as a package deal, so the $749 Samsung will charge for both its tablet and keyboard set-up might be the benchmark for prices we can expect for the other manufacturer's devices.

For consumers, the new Wintel hybrids from Acer, Asus, HP, and Samsung are probably the best bets for a holiday purchase. Dell's Latitude 10 and Lenovo's ThinkPad 2 are being targeted at the enterprise, according to those companies.

All of the tablets and detachable tablets showcased at SFMOMA were in the 10-inch to 11-inch range, weighed in at as little as 1.5 pounds, and were in the 9-millimeter range for thinness. Some thicker Windows 8 tablets sporting more powerful and more power hungry Intel Core chips were on display at the event but ultimately this was a day for Clover Trail.

The Atom Z2760 is a 32-nanometer chip with hyperthreading that affords four-way processing on its two CPU cores, plus a built-in graphics engine that Intel pitched as delivering better graphics and video performance than ever before. You'll get more than 10 hours of battery life on a system packing the Clover Trail SoC, according to Intel, plus better than three weeks of connected standby.

Because it's built on the x86 architecture, the Atom Z2760 is basically tailor-made for Windows, Reid said. He and a colleague demonstrated a Clover Trail slate running such core Microsoft productivity apps as Word and Excel without a hitch, as well as showing a brief snippet of a shoot-em-up video game and a deejay application.

"Intel has made a lot of progress on their tablet SoC. If you look back just a year ago, Windows-based Intel tablets were high performance, but also were thick, heavy, had a fan, and got around four hours of battery life," said Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst for Moor Insights & Strategies.

"With the Atom Z2760, Intel now has tablets as thin as 9mm, light, fanless, and with all day battery life. That's a huge change and was driven as much by hardware design as it was software integration."

Intel spent a lot of time talking up voice recognition and gesture-based interfaces for future-generation ultrabooks, tablets, and hybrids at the recent Intel Developer Forum. None of that technology will be in the first wave of Wintel tablets and hybrids, it appears, but what you will be getting in systems like the HP Envy x2 and the Samsung Series 5 is a device that functions like both a standard Windows laptop PC and a pretty nifty tablet to boot.

Will that make a dent in the holiday market with popular products already out there like the Android-based Nexus 7 $249.00 at B&H Photo-Video from Google and Asus, the new Nook Tablet from Barnes & Noble, and the rumored iPad Mini from Apple—not to mention Microsoft's own Surface and tablets running the ARM-optimized Windows RT version of Windows 8?

Moorhead said it looks like Intel's play in the consumer tablet space may take a bit longer to gain steam than the traction it stands to get in the enterprise with the release of Windows 8.

"Tablets from HP and Dell will initially play very well in the enterprise space, a market which Apple is trying hard to penetrate. Intel-based tablets provide a much stronger value proposition than an iPad to enterprise IT, in that to the enterprise, they 'look' like a Windows PC. They're deployed, managed, and have the security that IT is already familiar with," the analyst said.

"As for the consumer space, while nothing keeps Intel from attacking that now, it looks like Microsoft and its ARM partners Nvidia and Qualcomm are more focused there right now."

Read more

Samsung Galaxy Music, Music Duos photos and specs leak ahead of announcement

Friday, September 28, 2012 in Mobiles

Samsung is expected to launch two music-centric budget Android phones in next month, and the specifications and images of the devices have leaked on the Internet ahead of the official announcement.

Samsung's forthcoming phones are called the Samsung GT-S6010 Galaxy Music and the Samsung Music DUOS Galaxy GT-S6012. The DUOS model will be the dual-SIM version of the Galaxy Music. No exact price or release date of the phones was leaked but expect the official announcement on October 11th.

The specifications of the phones include a 3-inch QVGA LCD display with a 320x240 pixel resolution, 3MP camera, and 4GB internal storage expandable up to 32GB via a microSD card, Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity. The music Android phones will run on Google Android 4.0 ICS straight out of the box with the expectation that the phones will be upgradable to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Being music phones, the Samsung GT-S6010 Galaxy Music and the Samsung Music DUOS Galaxy GT-S6012 boast of stereo speakers. Under the hood, the smartphones will be powered by an 850MHz single-core CPU and 512MB RAM. The budget Android music phones will have a 1300mAh battery.

Being music phones, they will support a wide range of audio formats like MP3, OGG, ACC, ACC +, eACC +, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, WAV, MID, IMY, FLAC and WMA.

Stay tuned, as we will bring you the complete lowdown of the device once they are unveiled on October 11th.

Read more

Intel debuts Clover Trail for tablets, launches new Atom Inside brand

Friday, September 28, 2012 in CPU

Intel is launching its next-generation Clover Trail platform. The new Intel Z2760 is a dual-core, quad-threaded device clocked at up to 1.8GHz, with support for up to 2GB of RAM and graphics provided courtesy of a single PowerVR SGX545 core. Chipzilla expects to see wide adoption from multiple partners, with a host of tablets expected to launch simultaneously with Windows 8.
he new SoC is closely related to Medfield, Intel’s 32nm smartphone platform that we reviewed earlier this year, but there are a few differences between the two. Certain subsystems have been improved, and the new SoC incorporates advanced power states and is capable of fine-grained power management beyond what we’ve seen in other Intel chips to date.

Here’s what the various power states look like under thermal imaging:

By dropping into Si03, the system can remain in what Intel calls connected standby, reducing power consumption to absolute minimal levels without completely shutting off.

Read more

Government may issue notice to telcos on 3G roaming pacts

Friday, September 28, 2012 in Hot topics

The Indian government may issue notice to the telecom operators on their 3G roaming pacts under which operators provide third generation mobile data service in circles outside their licenced zones. The revelation was made by Telecommunications Secretary R Chandrashekhar.
Row over the 3G roaming pact erupted late last year when the Indian government accused the service providers of 'breaching the licence norm' by entering into 3G roaming agreements. The Department of Telecom (DoT), which issued a directive to end the arrangement, in one of its internal notes pointed out that such agreement could lead to a significant loss of revenue to the government.

The telcos later moved the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) against the directive. The tribunal not only stayed the DoT directive but also asked the ministry not to rush to a “coercive" action on the matter.

3G airwaves were sold in a 2010 auction that saw much higher bids than the government had expected. It's notable not a single company managed to get a pan-India licence. Telecom operators such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular have entered into agreement with each other to offer 3G services in circles where they do not own the spectrum licence.

Read more

HTC One X+ rumoured with 64GB storage, 1.7GHz quad-core and Jelly Bean

Friday, September 28, 2012 in Mobiles

GSM Arena in its report says the HTC One X+ will have a faster quad-core CPU, clocked at 1.7GHz along with 64 GB built-in storage. Running on the latest Android version 4.1, Jelly Bean, the One X+ will come with 25GB of Dropbox storage. Other specifications include 8MP rear camera and Beats Audio integration. The One X+ has been priced $479.99 for the U.K. The device is however expected to be priced much lesser in Asian markets. Here's the alleged image of the One X+ spotted in brochure for UK's wireless carrier O2:

In the meanwhile, another image of the One X+ has surfaced on the web via @evleaks on Twitter:

Earlier rumours had suggested the device would feature a 5-inch HD display, taking on the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Note II. Read our previous coverage on the HTC One X+ here. Also check out the specs of the One X+ that had leaked on Twitter:

Read more

Is Amazon Hurting Staples?

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 in Hot topics

Staples (SPLS) is arming itself to face the enemy, and that's not rival office supply retailers Office Depot (ODP) or OfficeMax (OMX).

Rather, the superstore chain is turning its attention to online retail, where it will try to take on Amazon.com (AMZN).

Well, that's the plan anyway.

Funny Headlines

Staples issued a curiously headlined press release on Tuesday: "Staples, Inc. Announces Strategic Plan to Accelerate Growth."

The headline is amusing because a good chunk of the press release reads more like a staged retreat. Staples plans to reduce its retail square footage in North America by roughly 15% between now and fiscal 2015. The plan for this fiscal year involves closing 30 more stores than it opens and shrinking the size of 30 other stores by either downsizing the locations or moving to smaller spaces.

Accelerate Growth?

It gets worse in Europe where Staples now expects to close 45 stores and sell its European printing business.


Since when did "accelerate growth" become a euphemism for surrender?
Staples will be increasing its investment in online and mobile capabilities. A major part of that strategy is expanding its product lines to go beyond the current assortment of office supplies. It remains to be seen what Staples will be able to add beyond its facilities and breakroom supplies, copy and print, and technology products, but it's clear that Staples is hoping to be more of the "one stop shop" experience that Amazon has become over the years.

"I Need a New Toner Cartridge"

Office supplies seemed to be one of the few retailing niches that were Amazon-proof.

Staples -- as well as Office Depot and OfficeMax -- has local advantages that Amazon can't match. Office supply stores have localized fleets that can deliver orders for free the next day. Amazon only offers free two-day deliveries to members paying $79 a year to be part of Amazon Prime.

There is often a sense of urgency with office supplies. The printer cartridge has run dry! The last ream of copy paper just ran out! I can't believe your office chair just collapsed like that!
However, apparently Amazon is a problem for this seemingly web-proof industry. What seemed a few years ago to be merely weakness in the face of a recessionary backdrop continues even as Corporate America is gradually finding its footing.

Amazon is eating into the turnaround prospects for Staples, Office Depot, and OfficeMax. Staples wants to be the one to fight back, but this isn't something that the company's "easy" button can easily fix.

Motley Fool contributor Rick Munarriz does not own shares in any of the stocks in this article. The Motley Fool owns shares of Amazon.com and Staples. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Amazon.com and Staples.

Read more

Samsung revs up to compete with Apple, Google and Amazon in music market Famed hardware maker makes a bid to raise software stakes

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 in Hot topics

SEOUL — Samsung Electronics, which has vaulted the value chain on the strength of its hardware, will go out and buy mobile content providers, a senior executive told Reuters, to compete with Apple, Google and Amazon.com in a global digital music market worth nearly $9 billion.

 

The South Korean electronics giant has muscled its way to global leadership in TVs, smartphones, chips and display screens - packing internally sourced state-of-the-art components into consumer gadgets — but software remains a weak link.

“The message we’re getting from the top is to raise software capability, and buy rather than build, if needed,” Kang Tae-jin, senior vice president of Samsung’s Media Solution Center, said in an interview. “Our focus on software is primarily aimed at driving hardware sales, rather than making money. We have a full range of handsets in so many countries, and, to better market our products, we thought it’s better to start our own software business.”

Apple’s potential launch of an online streaming music service is prompting rivals to counter the iPod maker, which pioneered and still leads the digital music market. Success in today’s mobile market means integrating products to seamlessly connect hardware and software.

In May, Samsung bought online music service mSpot and has built its own Music Hub service to compete against Android’s Music Player, Apple’s iTunes and Amazon’s Cloud Player. Kang says Samsung is ready to do more deals.

The boardroom push, and Samsung’s aim to grow Music Hub to among the world’s top-four digital music services, has fuelled speculation that online streaming services such as Pandora Media and privately-held Spotify could become takeover fodder. Big content firms and broadcasters are jostling in a digital music market set to grow nearly a fifth this year, led mainly by streaming services.

Kang declined to comment on potential targets. “We want to grow the Music Hub to rank in the world’s top four services within three years in both revenue and subscriber numbers. And to shorten the time, we’re ready to do more acquisitions, if needed,” he said.

“Mobile business is what Samsung is doing really well, and as a result we have deep pockets. We are very serious about content business, as we showed with the acquisition of mSpot.”

Samsung has yet to prove itself in content, and remains some way behind Apple, which revolutionized the smartphone market in 2007 with an iPhone boasting seamless integration of software and hardware. Samsung’s proprietary bada mobile platform has little traction in the smartphone market, and its ChatOn messenger service has yet to grip users.

The Koreans - who have tended to stick with alliances with content partners rather than go in-house — may be late to a crowded music market, but Samsung sees scope in leveraging its scale in hardware and some stand-out features of Music Hub.

“One of the great advantages we have over our rivals is that Music Hub is pre-installed in our flagship product and will be available later in a bunch of other Samsung devices,” said Kang, who developed the Hangul 2000 software, a Korean equivalent of Microsoft’s Word processor, and was poached from mobile operator KT Corp in 2010.

Music Hub, available on Samsung’s Galaxy S III smartphones in the United States and several European markets, combines all the key available music service options on a single platform — offering paid digital downloads like iTunes, a personalised radio service like Pandora, music upload to cloud like iTunes Match and Cloud Player. Users can access a catalogue of over 19 million songs — including the Korean hit ‘Gangnam Style’ that has taken the pop world by storm and topped iTune’s download charts — and stream seamlessly to mobile devices. Apple says its iTunes Store has more than 28 million songs.

“Amazon, Google and Apple should really take note of Music Hub’s radio service,” Billboard said recently. “Whether or not the service is good, great or equal to something like Pandora really isn’t the point. What’s important is that Samsung has put the most mainstream of music products (radio) with less mainstream music products (downloads, cloud storage),” it said.

The toughest challenge is to turn around consumer perception that Samsung is only good at hardware, and to add killer apps to bind consumers to their Samsung devices.

“Pre-installing Music Hub on the Galaxy is powerful, but not enough,” said Kang, adding there be more aggressive promotions, including month-long free trials and give-away albums.

That will put the squeeze more firmly on Pandora, Spotify and other online music firms that lose money as they depend on paid subscriptions and advertising but have no hardware to sell.

“We have an internal target to break even in software. But, in general, selling content won’t make much of a contribution to the bottom line. We see other new business opportunities associated with content,” Kang said.

Samsung plans to have Music Hub working on a range of consumer devices — from smartphones to Internet-enabled TVs and fridges — and is likely to ultimately want to monetize it by hooking up with an ad platform.

“We’re preparing new services for launch early next year. With these offerings, people will start to think Samsung is good in software, too,” said Kang, declining to elaborate on those launches.

Read more

Amazon Details The Kindle Fire HD Emulator

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 in Hot topics

It’s been a little over two weeks since Amazon launched its latest Kindle device – the Kindle Fire HD. Developers are already hard at work crafting custom experiences for the tablets updated specs. Of course, developers might not have every device to test their apps on when it comes time to put the final touches on said app. That’s why Amazon offers a great emulator for the new device.

The Amazon mobile app blog detailed the specifics behind the Kindle Fire HD 7-inch emulator today. They point out that an actual Kindle Fire HD is the best way to test for all possible problems, but the emulator should do just fine for the basic testing.

The Kindle Fire HD emulator is rather robust and features support for all the major Amazon mobile APis including GameCircle, In-App Purchasing, and Maps. The emulator is also capable of running multiple instances so that you can compare the same test results simultaneously.

To further help with game testing, the emulator supports GPU emulation. This will help developers get the most out of testing apps, mostly games, that use the graphics-intensive OpenGL API. You can learn more about GPU emulation here.

On a final note, the folks at Amazon suggest that developers test their apps as if they’re signed in. This is because all Kindle Fires ship with the customers details already pre-registered to the device. The emulator, however, is not signed in by default. Developers can head to “My Account” under “Settings” to sign into their Amazon account in the emulator to ensure that the signed in experience is smooth and easy.

Read more

Netflix CEO calls Amazon Prime Instant Video a 'confusing mess,' defends pricing

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 in Hot topics

Something tells us that Reed Hastings isn't going to renew his Amazon Prime membership. The outspoken Netflix CEO described Amazon's Instant Video service as a "confusing mess."

"[Amazon has its Prime membership service] and it's really about low-cost shipping, but why is video in there? It's kind of a confusing mess," Hastings told the Wall Street Journal.

By comparison, Netflix solely focuses on video. Algorithms that inform users of what content they might enjoy are at the heart of why the company does a better job, according to Hastings.

For this reason, he puts both Amazon and Hulu on the lower end of his favorite video services queue.
Netflix pricing scheme defended

Hastings also defended Netflix's higher price in the same interview, and he did it with another knock on what Amazon has to offer.

"In the U.S., our content budget is about three times [Amazon's], and we've got about three times more content. And what our customers tell us is they want Netflix to have more content, not to have two-thirds less at a lower price."

Netflix's unlimited streaming plan is $7.99 a month, while Amazon charges $79 a year for Prime. That comes out to $6.53 a month and includes perks like free two-day shipping, $3.99 one-day shipping and a Kindle Owners' Lending Library.
The future of Netflix

The good news for current Netflix customers is that they shouldn't see a price increase or a tiered plan any time soon.

"Our fundamental view is we grow revenue by expanding the number of members, rather than increasing the pricing," Hastings told the WSJ. "We want Netflix to be a very simple experience: one price, a clean proposition."

Hastings also dismissed pay-per-view, ad-supported video like Hulu Plus and downloading and storing content. He called selling content to users "too complicated."

Instead, the Netflix CEO expects to win back customers by exclusively streaming season four of Arrested Development. The company has a total of five original programs scheduled for 2013.

Netflix's stock price, down 79.86 percent since its peak last year, made a modest recovery today. It gained 2.47 percent at the close of the trading day.

Read more

Amazon Starts a Shopping Site for the Environmental Crowd

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 in Hot topics

Amazon.com is going after the environmental crowd with a new site called Vine.com for buying green products.

Vine is part of Quidsi, the company that Amazon bought in 2010 that also runs sites like Diapers.com (baby stuff), Wag.com (pets) and YoYo.com (toys). Vine will sell everything from cleaning supplies to baby accessories, beauty supplies and clothes — as long as they are green.

That means wildly different things to different people, but Vine has created its own formula. Products must fall into one of the following categories: they must be designed to remove toxins, energy-efficient, natural, organic, powered by renewable energy, reusable, made of sustainable materials or water-efficient.

For example, bamboo cutting boards make the list because bamboo is sustainable. So do reusable cloth diapers, organic cotton bedding, low-flow shower heads, water filter pitchers and paraben-free cosmetics.

“This is a site that is not necessarily about saving the planet, though we feel the products are useful in that regard,” said Josh Dorfman, the site leader, who previously created the Lazy Environmentalist books and radio and TV shows. “It’s really saying to mom, ‘If you care about raising safe and healthy kids and you feel green products without chemicals can help along the way, we’ve figured out ways to help you do that.’”

A package that says natural is not enough, Mr. Dorfman said. Vine has asked vendors to verify that their products meet certain standards and has scanned ingredient lists to make sure they do not contain banned substances. Seventh Generation is an initial sponsor on the site.

Vine is catering to other civic-minded shopping trends, too, with sections stocked with fair trade products or products made within 100 miles of a shopper’s home.

None of this squares with the way people typically think of Amazon and the other e-commerce sites that it owns. Some small, local retailers say Amazon puts them out of business. Huge amounts of energy are spent operating warehouses, shipping products and wrapping them in bubble wrap and cardboard boxes.

“It’s a fair point that no matter how you’re going to engage in commerce, there’s going to be an environmental impact,” Mr. Dorfman said. “We’re not promising to be the greenest company right away, and we’re owning up to the fact that it’s not the way we operate across the entire company.”

It won’t be obvious on Vine.com that shoppers are buying from Amazon, just like on other e-commerce sites that Amazon owns, including Zappos.com, Shopbop.com and Woot. But it is another instance of Amazon’s spider-like reach in the online retailing world in its quest to sell people anything they want to buy.

Like Diapers.com and Quidsi’s other sites, Vine will deliver in one or two days, with the help of robots that pack boxes in the warehouse within minutes of an online order, and will emphasize customer service and easy returns. And Vine shoppers who just want a tube of Crest toothpaste or nonrecycled toilet paper can add items from other Quidsi sites to their shopping carts.

Read more

Barnes & Noble launches new tablets in e-books fight

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 in Hot topics

(Reuters) - Barnes & Noble Inc's first high-definition tablets, unveiled on Wednesday, were well received by analysts who said the devices keep the bookseller in the fight with Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc and Google Inc - for now.

The largest U.S. bookstore chain has staked its future on success in the growing e-books industry in the face of declining sales of physical books that last year led to the bankruptcy of the Borders bookstore chain.

Barnes & Noble introduced a $199 7-inch Nook HD tablet that will go up against similar, recently launched products by Google and Amazon.com this holiday season.

The company also unveiled a $269 9-inch Nook HD+ tablet that will compete with the Apple iPad.

"The devices are an improvement in important ways over the previous generations of the Nook, and they one-up Amazon in some areas," Forrester Research analyst Sarah Rotman Epps told Reuters.

While the new products are thinner and lighter than rivals and follow a few months after Microsoft said it would invest $605 million in Barnes & Noble's Nook e-reader and college business, the bookstore chain still faces a daunting task.

"Barnes & Noble is the smallest player trying to do the software and the hardware development, and they don't have the financial means beyond what Microsoft has already fronted them to keep up in the arms race," said Morningstar analyst Peter Wahlstrom.

In many ways, Barnes & Noble, which operates nearly 700 stores, has defied expectations. It beat Amazon to the marketplace with touchscreen devices and a color reader in recent years, and won plaudits from reviewers this year for its glow-in-the-dark Nook that allows someone to read with the lights off so as not to disturb others.

Since the chain launched its first Nook device, a basic e-reader, in 2009, it has won as much as 30 percent of the U.S. e-books market. Amazon is the leader with about 60 percent.

This race has proven expensive and, so far, unprofitable. The battle with Amazon is taking a toll. Barnes & Noble reported lower Nook sales last quarter, after earlier quarters of torrid growth, hurt by price cuts to fight Amazon's aggressive pricing.

"Barnes & Noble must continue to invest to introduce new products with enhanced features at prices that are the same as or lower than older, less-sophisticated devices," Barclays Capital analyst Alan Rifkin wrote in a research note. The problem is that hurts profits and margins, he said.

But the company's chief said the Nook devices are essential to helping it generate sales of digital content.

"We're growing the digital content portion of the business, and that's where we envision making our economics," Barnes & Noble's William Lynch told Reuters at a media event on Tuesday.

Shares of Barnes & Noble rose 6.2 percent to $13.03 in afternoon New York Stock Exchange trading.

BRUISING PRICE WARS

The tablet market is among the fastest-growing sectors of the technology industry. Research firm Gartner forecasts that sales will almost double this year, to 118.9 million units.

Barnes & Noble is in some ways at a disadvantage. Amazon can use its Prime shipping service and amazon.com site to draw users to its Kindle tablets. Apple, which has sold tens of millions of iPads, has an indisputable "cool" factor.

So Barnes & Noble needs to focus on its natural customer: the reader that comes to its stores to buy books.

"A key growth area is to get their existing customer base onto the digital platform," Forrester's Epps said, adding that the new devices would help.

For these new devices, Barnes & Noble added features that allows each member in a family to share a Nook tablet, becoming the first tablet to let each user create a home page and customize preferences.

There are also parental controls that can prevent kids from adult content or going shopping.

The company hopes a new video-streaming and download service for Nook will help narrow the gap with Amazon and Apple, which offer more content on their devices.

Barnes & Noble emphasized features such as image resolution and page-turning technology given the needs of its basic customers; book and magazine readers.

"We are playing in the tablet space, but reading is at our core," Lynch said.

The 7-inch tablet weighs 11.1 ounces. Its larger sibling is 18.2 ounces, making it lighter than the iPad and making them both more appropriate for reading, he added. The iPad weighs about 23 ounces.

Barnes & Noble's new devices, available for pre-order on Wednesday, will ship in October and be in U.S. stores in November. They will be on sale in Britain beginning in late November at chains including Sainsbury's and Waitrose.

Read more

Amazon seeks to throw out Apple claim

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 in Hot topics

 Amazon.com Inc has asked a federal judge to throw out Apple Inc's false advertising claim in a lawsuit challenging the online retailer's use of the "app store" name.

The claim is part of a March 2011 trademark lawsuit in which Apple, which this year became the world's largest company ever by market value, accused Amazon of misusing its "App Store" name to solicit developers for a mobile software download service.

Apple added the trademark claim last November, soon after Amazon announced the launch of the Kindle Fire tablet and, according to the complaint, began to call its app store "Amazon Appstore" rather than "Amazon Appstore for Android." It said this change could have contributed to confusion among consumers.

But in a filing on Wednesday with the US District Court in Oakland, California, Amazon said the term "app store" has become so generic that its use could not constitute false advertising.

Amazon added that even Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook and his predecessor Steve Jobs have used the term to discuss rivals, with Cook having commented on "the number of app stores out there" and Jobs referring to the "four app stores on Android."

"Apple presumably does not contend that its past and current CEOs made false statements regarding to those other app stores to thousands of investors in earnings calls," Amazon said.

"To the contrary, the use of the term 'app store' to refer to stores selling apps is commonplace in the industry."

Kristin Huguet, an Apple spokeswoman, declined to comment.

Apple is based in Cupertino, California, and Amazon in Seattle. A hearing on Amazon's motion is scheduled for October 31, and a trial is scheduled for August 19, 2013.

Read more

Global bacon shortage predicted for 2013

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 in Hot topics

A United Kingdom group is warning that a bacon and pork shortage in Britain is “unavoidable” and may already be a global problem.

Britain’s National Pig Association said in a press release that new data shows that the European Union pig herd is declining at a significant rate, a trend mirrored around the world. In a statement, the group warns that pig farmers are losing money because of high pig-feed costs caused by global failure of maize and soya harvests.

The association says that in the U.S., the government has introduced a pork-buying program in a bid to keep its pig farmers in business. The Chinese government is putting pork into cold storage, as a buffer against high prices and shortages next year, the group reports.

Pig industry leaders met this month to explore ways to ensure pork remains the world’s “most affordable red meat.” They reported that pig herds are being sold because prices are not rising fast enough in supermarkets to cover the cost of record-high pig-feed costs, according to the association.

“It usually takes at least six months for higher production costs to filter through to shop prices — but pig farmers simply haven’t got that long,” said National Pig Association chairman Richard Longthorp, who farms outdoor pigs in Yorkshire. “Some have got only a few weeks left before they run out of credit at the bank and have to sell up, and this is happening all over Europe.”

Read more

Obama holds advantage in three swing states

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 in Hot topics

(CNN) – A poll of voters in the key battleground states of Iowa, Colorado and Wisconsin released Thursday shows President Obama with an advantage over Republican nominee Mitt Romney.

The NBC/Wall Street Journal/Marist survey indicates Obama pulling ahead among likely voters by five points in both Wisconsin and Colorado with 50% to Romney's 45%, a margin that is within the poll's sampling error. But in Iowa the president holds an eight point lead with 50% to Romney's 42%, which is outside the poll's sampling error.

– Check out the CNN Electoral Map and Calculator and game out your own strategy for November.

In this case, 'likely voters' includes those leaning towards a candidate. Among the wider sample of registered voters, Obama's advantage is even greater: 6 points in Colorado, 8 in Wisconsin and 11 in Iowa.

The poll was conducted from Sunday through Wednesday of this past week, partially before and partially after a controversial video leaked of Romney speaking to high-dollar donors at a fund-raising event posted by the liberal-leaning magazine Mother Jones. The video caught fire Monday and Tuesday showing the GOP candidate speaking candidly about a number of issues including claiming that nearly half of Americans would automatically vote for the president because they are dependent on government and consider themselves "victims."

The poll also shows a notable gender gap among likely voters. Among women, Obama leads in all three states by margins ranging from 12% to 18%. Romney leads among men with margins ranging from 2% to 5%.

The poll shows Romney's favorability also taking a hit with voters in Colorado showing 43% favorable to 50% unfavorable; in Iowa, it's 42% to 50%; and in Wisconsin, it's 43% to 46%. Compare those numbers to Obama's favorability ratings in Colorado with 51% favorable and 45% unfavorable; Iowa with 53% to 42%, and Wisconsin with 51% to 44%.

According to the poll, the candidates remain in a dead heat on voters' perception of whether they will help the economy. Wisconsin shows 46% of likely voters picking Romney and 45% choosing Obama. In Colorado, the president has a slight advantage on this issue with 48% compared to Romney's 46%. Obama, however, is up on this issue by four points in Iowa with 47% to Romney's 43%.

And among voters age 60 and older, in Wisconsin Obama leads 48% to Romney's 46%. In Colorado, however, Romney leads 50% to Obama's 45% among seniors, and in Iowa Obama leads by a three point margin: 48% to Romney's 44%.

Other recent polls conducted in these swing states also show the president with an advantage among likely voters. A poll conducted by Marquette University Law School released Wednesday showed the president leading with 54% to Romney's 40% among Wisconsin likely voters. A Quinnipiac University/CBS News/New York Times poll out Wednesday indicated the battle for Colorado's nine electoral votes is much closer, with 48% of likely voters backing the president and 47% supporting Romney. There have not been recent polls released from Iowa.

Together the three battle ground states have 25 electoral votes.

The NBC/WSJ/Marist polls were conducted September 16 through 18 of 971 likely voters in Colorado with a sampling error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points; 898 likely voters in Iowa with a sampling error or plus or minus 3.3 percentage points; and 968 likely voters in Wisconsin with a sampling error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

CNN's Dana Davidsen and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

Read more

Hobbs’ Hump Day Hot Topics: President Obama Shuns World Leaders/Obama Lead Widens in Swing States/Obama-Romney Debates/NFL Replacement Refs

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 in Hot topics

PRESIDENT OBAMA SHUNS WORLD LEADERS

Life often boils down to how an individual perceives things. The old “glass half empty or half full” argument often holds sway on issues great and small, not to mention the appropriate way of pronouncing potato, tomato and schedule when thinking of a few words whose pronunciations sometimes vary according to perception.

That said, yesterday President Barack H. Obama was in New York City to address the United Nations. While in the Big Apple, the president chose not to meet privately with a number of world leaders barely a week after he chose not to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The president instead appeared on ABC’s “The View,” a move that has drawn the ire of the conservative pundit world. Yesterday afternoon, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity took frequent jabs at the president for his “mistreatment of an ally” (Israel) and his decision to meet with celebrities such as Jay-Z/Beyonce as opposed to world leaders.

Now the fact that Limbaugh and his ilk are unhappy with the president is of no shock as I am convinced that if the president held a press conference and announced that he personally had discovered a cure for Cancer, that the same men and women would find a reason to suggest why Cancer isn’t so bad after all. In sum—with those folks the president can never win and had he taken a full day to meet with each Middle East head of state, this crowd would have asked their listeners why our president must make concessions by meeting with world leaders.

But of interest was the chorus of criticism emanating from journalists and pundits that are usually fair or even supportive of the Obama administration, including CNN’s Anderson Cooper and David Gergen. Both Cooper and Gergen expressed concern that the president chose the view over a series of meetings and opined that in what is still a tight race, that doing so could crack what has previously been a pretty solid record on foreign policy.

Again, perception matters, and at the end of the day, while Americans understand that the president is extremely busy with running a nation and a campaign, the president has to understand that yesterday provided the Romney campaign an opportunity to take a legitimate whack at him and he should expect to hear about this from debate moderators in the weeks ahead.

OBAMA WIDE LEAD

Other than Fox new contributor and former Clinton White House adviser Dick Morris, who yesterday took to the airwaves and stated his belief that Romney will dominate Obama in the Electoral College, most recent polls suggest that the president’s lead over Mitt Romney in the critical swing states of Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida is widening.  According to the latest Quinnipiac poll, the president is even keeping voters who express disappointment over his first term.

While the overwhelming majority of registered Republicans are likely to vote for Romney, the concern that Romney must have going forward is the “perception” of his recent comments about 47 percent of Obama suporters being freeloaders as well as the Libyan uprising that claimed the life of four American citizens, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens. And while Romney’s surrogates continue to suggest that his 47 percent comments were taken out of context, most voters, particularly those concerned about unemployment and health care, see through the deception and harbor grave concerns about whether Romney, who came off in condescending tone, would be best situated to address their concerns.

The same holds true for foreign policy, where Romney’s taking of Ronald Reagan’s “peace through strength” mantra simply does not address the reality that in 2012, a war weary American people have to ask whether a President Romney would jump to fight at each and every opportunity.

OBAMA/ROMNEY DEBATES

They may not be a recrudescence of the Abraham Lincoln/Stephen Douglas debates, but I, for one, am looking forward to seeing Obama and Romney go head-to-head next month.

There is an air of confidence that I am noticing from the right wing punditocracy that suggests that Romney, who they opine is a more experienced debater, will dominate the president next month. In fairness, Romney has a ton of experience in the last year alone, where it seemed as if there was a Republican debate every week in the run-up to the primary season.

And I admit that Romney did handle himself very well in debate formats that center more upon one’s ability to touch upon quick hitting answers to complex questions.

The president, generally known as a brilliant orator, has a penchant for being long winded—no surprise as many lawyers are (as is lawyer Romney when in a non-debate format).

But I still say that the president should not be under estimated.  I am sure that some of the under-estimation stems from the fact that perception wise, some folks won’t say it, but Romney is considered to be smarter than Obama.  Nevermind the fact that both were educated at some of the finest schools in America, the perception for some, again, is that Romney is smarter.  It reminds me of one of my first criminal trials when after I had finished my closing argument, a visiting and elderly senior judge called me to the bench afterwards and said that “I was the most articulate colored fellow he had ever heard.”  The judge then asked where I had attended law school and when I said the University of Florida, he shot back “I should have known—Go Gators!”  Now I did not take offense to the “colored” comment because the judge was in his late 70′s and during his life, colored had been the official designation (thus the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People).  But I must admit that I wondered how he had lived almost eight decades and had never encountered any other “articulate colored fellows” particularly when I knew thousands of the same?

Digressing, while Obama does not often get the credit for being a policy wonk like Bill Clinton, I have read numerous accounts that he has the same Clintonesque ability to read volumes of information and to analyze it in short order. And I have no doubt that Obama’s natural intelligence, coupled with advisers who I am sure are preparing him to give short, quick comments and responses, that he will be more than up to the challenge that a debate-tested Romney will pose.

NFL REPLACEMENT REFS

I fell asleep early on Monday night and missed the end of the Seattle-Green Bay football game, but suffice it to say that Seattle did not score a touchdown. Period. The NFL and the regular refs need to come to an agreement really soon as the lack of clarity and professionalism on display on that final call is disturbing. Even more disturbing was the NFL’s shoulder shrug in the wake of the brewing controversy. The teams—and fans—deserve better.

Read more

Hot Topics: Hawaii Five-O could use this wave

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 in Hot topics

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is now trying to prohibit the selling of sugary and fatty foods in public and private hospitals in NYC. This comes as no shock since Bloomberg has been vocal in the banning of super-sized sugar drinks from restaurants and movie theatres in the city. If this passes, hospitals will no longer be able to sell deep fried foods, and they will only have healthy snacks and salad bars.

The song "Moon River" made him an icon. Singer Andy Williams died at the age of 84. He had cancer. He was one of the most popular vocalists in the 1960's and had a string of holiday specials in the 1970's and 1980's. Williams is survived by his wife and three children.

OK, sing it...."da da--da da---da da..... da da da dahhh..." This looks like it could be something out of Hawaii Five-O but these massive waves were nothing to mess around with. The powerful currents swamped ten canoes in Hawaii. Paddlers were heading out of Hale Harbor but they didn't get very far. One of the paddlers suffered broken ribs and a rotator cuff injury when her canoe collided with another in the water.

Read more

Gaming's hot topics: Xbox 720, PS4, Wii U, Grand Theft Auto 5 and Borderlands 2

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 in Gaming

The gaming industry has many hot button issues going on right now, with some being more obvious than others, so here are the percentage breakdowns for what people want to hear about the most.

According to a Google Analytics report, which gathers data and information specifically from this site, the biggest trending topic in gaming today is the Wii U.

That will most likely not come as a surprise to many of you, but of the top ten hottest stories, the Wii U has garnered more than 35% of all readers' attention. A significant portion of that number has been generated over the past few days with all of the Wii U news that has surfaced.

The second and third most popular topics in gaming today also come from the world of next-generation consoles in the form of the Xbox 720 and the Playstation 4. Rumors have been flying around regarding its specs, release date and price for months now.

Of the top ten most popular stories, the two highly rumored next-generation consoles have earned the attention of over 32% of people interested in the gaming industry.

Fourth, Grand Theft Auto 5 has been a major topic of discussion lately, with all of the new screenshots that have surfaced over the last month and the discussions of whether or not the title should be held off for next-generation release. GTA V has earned up to 20% of all readers' attention.

Finally, the fourth most popular topic in gaming today has been Borderlands 2. The highly anticipated sequel, which is scheduled to be released this Tuesday, has grabbed readers' attention so much so that it checks in with an 11% share of the market.

The other 2% that was not accounted for came from other various topics currently happening in the industry.

Some stories will die down in discussion and interest over time, but one thing is for sure, gaming will always be a hot topic. The gaming industry has many hot button issues going on right now, with some being more obvious than others, so here are the percentage breakdowns for what people want to hear about the most.

According to a Google Analytics report, which gathers data and information specifically from this site, the biggest trending topic in gaming today is the Wii U.

That will most likely not come as a surprise to many of you, but of the top ten hottest stories, the Wii U has garnered more than 35% of all readers' attention. A significant portion of that number has been generated over the past few days with all of the Wii U news that has surfaced.

The second and third most popular topics in gaming today also come from the world of next-generation consoles in the form of the Xbox 720 and the Playstation 4. Rumors have been flying around regarding its specs, release date and price for months now.

Of the top ten most popular stories, the two highly rumored next-generation consoles have earned the attention of over 32% of people interested in the gaming industry.

Fourth, Grand Theft Auto 5 has been a major topic of discussion lately, with all of the new screenshots that have surfaced over the last month and the discussions of whether or not the title should be held off for next-generation release. GTA V has earned up to 20% of all readers' attention.

Finally, the fourth most popular topic in gaming today has been Borderlands 2. The highly anticipated sequel, which is scheduled to be released this Tuesday, has grabbed readers' attention so much so that it checks in with an 11% share of the market.

The other 2% that was not accounted for came from other various topics currently happening in the industry.

Some stories will die down in discussion and interest over time, but one thing is for sure, gaming will always be a hot topic.

Read more

New Guaranteed Google Local SEO based Subscription Exceeding Expectations

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 in Google

Since Google’s algorithm, Panda and Penguin, update implementations began earlier in 2012, monthly search engine optimization services have been a hot topic in the news. These updates increased guidelines on website optimization such as an increase in number of web spam factors, including keyword stuffing, cloaking, unnatural links and content spinning. Due to these changes to Google’s search engine algorithm some “White Hat” or ethical Search Engine Optimization firms are flourishing with new innovative SEO services with true guarantees.

One example of the companies that are very successful with ethical and innovative services is JubilantWeb, a New York SEO Company. Jubilant Web has introduced a new way for companies to target their local community on Google search via a new “monthly targeted SEO subscription.” The process targets and conforms to various Google algorithm SEO factors with monthly friendly vertical campaigns which allow and highlight higher visibility for their clients.

JubilantWeb’s process involves the standard high level link building from related niche directories and high Page Ranked websites but, unlike the other Search Engine Optimization companies JubilantWeb also implements targeted optimized content, social media highlighting, press release optimization, and targeted online reputation enhancements which Google’s search algorithms heavily favor. These services are now bundled for a monthly guaranteed service in order to proactively provide consistent optimization and increasing traffic and relevance for their clients. As further incentive for local businesses, JubilantWeb has slashed the price of monthly SEO services for 10 to 30 key-phrases. Smart businesses are starting to reap the benefits by utilizing ethical SEO companies such as JubilantWeb that provide real guarantees with constant and proactive monthly SEO services which not only translates to maximum exposure on Google and other search engines, but an increase to their bottom line.

JubilantWeb.com: NY SEO Company, NY Marketing Company

For Engage Newswire services contact news(at)EngageNewswire.com

Read more

Google Stock At An All-Time High. Did Apple Help Them Out?

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 in Google

I know, I know. You’re tired of hearing about Apple Maps in iOS 6, but it’s a hot topic. Because of it, Google is being discussed in the news more and more. The fruits of that labor is now reflected in its stock price, which has surged to an all-time high of $747.90.

Does this Apple Maps thing have anything to do with it? Probably not directly, but as people look for places to put their money, it’s safe to say that Google Maps making news lately certainly doesn’t hurt the bottom line for the search giant.

Apple stock is currently down $15.93. That also has a lot to do with Apple “missing” analyst expectations on iPhone 5 sales, which I think is a load of bunk.



I’m certainly no stock expert, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that once your company and products start getting discussed a lot, people are going to take notice. Google Maps is a superior product to one that just got launched as part of the biggest campaign by Apple yet, the iPhone 5.

Will this stock price stick for Google? It’s still early on a Monday, so my guess is…yes. As these two companies continue going toe-to-toe, these kinds of fluctuations will be increasingly more interesting in the future.

Read more

Google updates Android books app to match rivals

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 in Google

With maps an improbably hot topic in tech these days, perhaps its no wonder that they're coming to more remote corners of Google services. Today's product: the Google Play Books app.

An update pushed today brings location awareness to e-books.
Google Play Books will now include information from Google Maps.

Google Play Books will now include information from Google Maps.
(Credit: Google)

"Starting today, when you come across an unfamiliar geographic location -- a faraway city or distant mountain range -- you can tap on the location to learn more about it," the company said in a blog post. "You'll see an info card with a Google Map and the option to get more information by searching on Google or Wikipedia."

Translation features have also been added to the app -- just highlight words and phrases and tap to see an option to translate them.

Other updates help bring Google Play Books to parity with rival apps from Apple, Amazon and others. A dictionary feature allows users to define a words with a tap; highlights and notes can now be added to the app as well -- and they'll synchronize across devices. A sepia reading theme and new page-turn animation round out the upgrades.

Read more

Avast! Antivirus Pro & Internet Security 7.0.1466.549

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 in Antivirus

Languages: Italian, English, Russian, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Chinese and others
Customize Your Security for Your Needs, tailor your antivirus software the way that best fits your personal computing habits. Pro Antivirus offers simple controls for keeping yourself virus-free in 2012.


Don’t Lose Your Game
Silent gaming mode means you can play (or surf) without interruption. Pro Antivirus works silently in the background when you want it to, without notifications or changes to system performance.

Shop and bank online without worry
SafeZone creates a private and isolated virtual window on your desktop for safely making your sensitive financial transactions when shopping or banking online.

Surf and socialize without annoyance
Sandbox lets you surf the web and run programs virtually (outside your PC), and Web, IM, and P2P shields ensure your safety on social networks (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), IM chats (Skype, ICQ, etc.), or file-sharing sites.

Benefit from real-time protection
Hybrid cloud technology streams your virus database updates to your PC in real-time, so your avast! software has all virus definitions as soon as they are known to our Virus Lab.

Know what’s coming before you click
Our cloud-based FileRep feature keeps reputation data on countless files, using select criteria (such as prevalence and emergence) for determining risks – so we can warn you of a file’s reputation beforehand.

See your avast! history
Your AVAST Account portal is your personal directory for all your avast! related data. Each month, we also prepare for you a Security Report that shows an overview of the most significant details (e.g. number of infected sites blocked).

Get help from a ‘Geek’ in your network
Our new Remote Assistance lets you initiate remote support from a family member or friend who agrees to help. Initiated by you, it routes through AVAST’s servers, bypasses firewalls, and can be terminated by you at any time.

Languages 38: Serbian, Thai, Arabic, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian
, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Portuguese (European)
, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese

Operating Systems Supported
Windows 7 (any Edition, 32-bit or 64-bit)
Windows Vista (any Edition excl. Starter Edition, 32-bit or 64-bit)
Windows XP Service Pack 2 or higher (any Edition, 32-bit or 64-bit)

Minimum Hardware Requirements
Pentium 3 Processor
256 MB RAM
380 MB of free hard disk space

Read more

Kaspersky Antivirus & Internet Security 2013 v13 0 0 3370 FINAL

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 in Antivirus

Key Features

System Watcher
Improved! Better anti-phishing protection
New! Automatic Exploit Prevention
Improved! Minimal impact on PC performance for a range of usage scenarios
Improved! Optimized antivirus databases
New! Reduced Battery Drain
Improved! Easy-to-use interface
Virtual Keyboard


Kaspersky Antivirus & Internet Security 2013 v13 0 0 3370 FINAL

*keys included*


Required for all installations
Operating Systems: Windows XP, Vista, 7 & Windows 8

Enjoy!

Read more

BitDefender Internet Security 2013 Build 16.18.0.1407 Final (x86/x64)

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 in Antivirus

BitDefender Internet Security 2013 is a security suite designed to provide your computer with the latest technologies against viruses and other virtual enemies.


Bitdefender Safepay - Keeps hackers at bay by automatically opening all your online banking pages in a separate, secure browser.
MyBitdefender dashboard - See all the status and licensing information about your software and services.
Security Widget - Enables you to keep track of all of your security related tasks, drag-and-drop files for quick scanning for viruses-right from your desktop!
Parental Control - Blocks inappropriate content, restricts Web access, monitors your children's online activity.
USB Immunizer - Immunizes any Flash Drive from viruses, when they are connected to your computer.
Active Virus Control - A proactive, dynamic detection technology which monitors processes' behavior in real-time, as they are running, and tags suspicious activities. Rescue Mode - If e-threats cannot be removed, the computer is re-booted in a trusted environment which is then used for cleanup and restoration.
Vulnerability Scanner - Checks for missing or outdated security software, missing Windows security patches. Bitdefender Autopilot - provides a hassle-free experience by making optimal security-related decisions without input from you. Social Network Protection - filters/blocks social-networking e-threats by scanning the links you receive from your friends.
Search Advisor - The Link Filter relies on intelligence provided by Bitdefender Cloud services to flag malware and phishing attempts in search engine results.
Personal Data Filter - Prevents critical data from ever leaving your computer.
Antiphising - Analyzes and blocks websites that support various scams or credit card phishing attempts.
Scan Dispatcher - finds and uses time-slices when system resource usage falls below a certain threshold to perform recurring scans of your entire system.

What's new in this version: Version 2013:
Bitdefender SafePay - for iron-clad security when shopping and banking
Windows 8 Compatible
Device Anti-Theft - Remotely locate, lock or wipe any internet connected device
USB Immunizer - protection for flash drives against e-threats
Security Widget

[INSTALL NOTES]

Step 1: unpack rar archive
Step 2: run setup
Step 3: Use Activator to activate
Step 4: Enjoy!

Read more

AVG Internet Security 2013 v13.0.2667 Final (x86/64) (2012)

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 in Antivirus

AVG Internet Security 2013 - is a program for protecting your PC from dangerous objects and network threats. Program blocks viruses, trojans, worms, spyware, and firewall to protect against network attacks. When using AVG Internet Security 2013 you will not have to worry about identity theft, spam or viruses.
The program contains a built-in anti-virus module, firewall, detection system, and unsolicited e-mail applications to steal confidential data. AVG Internet Security 2013 makes it possible to pre-empt the introduction of all types of threats to computer equipment from the Internet, protects against viruses, Trojans, spyware applications, veiled threats and hacker attacks. The new version presents a number of new features and improvements. Along with a new user interface, AVG 2013 added a number of opportunities to improve the safety and performance (for example, self-defense and speed up the boot process Windows).

AVG Internet Security 2013 includes the following modules:
• Anti-Virus - find and remove various viruses, Trojans, Internet worms.
• Anti-Spyware - Protecting your computer from installing spyware and other malicious software.
• Anti-Rootkit - protection against hidden threats, spreading malicious content.
• Anti-Spam - E-mail filtering and deleting spam.
• Identity Protection - Protection against new and unknown threats.
• LinkScanner Active Surf-Shield - protection in real time from infected web pages while surfing the Internet.
• LinkScanner Search-Shield - mapping of security assessments in real time for all the search results Google, Yahoo and MSN / Live.
• Web Protection & Firewall - a full-fledged firewall to protect your computer while it works on the web.
• ID Protection - now your passwords, credit card numbers and other personal data are protected from theft.

New in AVG Internet Security 2013:
• Improved checking for viruses using advanced algorithms for quick scanning.
• Improved compatibility with third-party firewalls detected.
• The revised threshold for memory consumption browser.
• Download Accelerator optimizes the time it takes to boot Windows.
• New user interface for easy navigation and security management.
• AVG 2013 is fully compatible with Windows 8.

Changes and improvements in AVG Internet Security 2013:
• Anti-Rootkit: Improved record of bad sectors.
• Anti-Spam: Enhanced configuration of all components of the Anti-spam.
• General: Removed component Alert Manager.
• General: Removed selection dialog updates.
• General: Removed component "System Tools."
• Installation: The installation log driver has been enhanced to provide more information.
• Installation: Search Shield component is not installed by default, and only after you select it for installation.

Key features:
• 100% virus detection. AVG Antivirus scan engine has received numerous awards for its excellent detection vredonostnogo package, including the VB100%. The unique combination of detection methods of AVG provides full protection against viruses, worms and Trojans.
100% protection against spyware (spyware). AVG is not only the search capabilities of spyware and keyloggers in the files and archive files, and search capabilities hidden keys in the registry.
• Detection "on the fly." AVG scanner monitors the calls to the file system and produces double-check files when accessing them, allowing you to build another layer of protection from infected files.
• Postal protection. AVG scans all email traffic, and connects to the mail clients such as: MS Outlook, The bat!, Eudora, and other SMTP/POP3 mail clients such as Outlook Express. Also supported by checking SSL-traffic.
• Anti-spam and phishing filters. Each letter, entering a mailbox that is checked by means of signature databases are updated every minute.
• Monitoring network connections. With built-in firewall AVG scans all incoming and outgoing connection requests from the computer, prevent network attacks on computer and network activity for the Trojans.
• Powerful scheduling. AVG automatically provides a daily schedule for scanning and updating, and will give you the opportunity to create their own scheduled events.
• Supports 24 languages, including Russian.

The procedure for treatment:
During the installation, copy any key from a file into the window key.txt registration program.
The key is valid until 2018, without the "gathering"

System requirements:
Operating system: Windows XP / Vista / 7/8
Processor: Intel Pentium 1.8 GHz or higher
Memory: 256 MB RAM (512 MB ??recommended)
Free hard drive space: ~ 510 MB

Read more

Dr.Web Anti-virus & Security Space 7.0.1.09060 Multilingual

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 in Antivirus

Dr.Web® for Windows provides reliable and highly efficient protection of your system and data regardless what type of the Microsoft operating system is installed on your computer. The Dr.Web® for Windows components allow in a real time mode to detect malicious programs from any external sources.


Dr.Web Anti-virus features:
- Best at curing active infections
- Installs in an infected system without its preliminary curing
- Fast multi-thread scanning
- Unique technologies blocking even unknown threats
- Full scan of archives at all nesting levels
- Best detection and neutralization of complex viruses
- Full scan of archives at all nesting levels
- Protects against unauthorized access by a network; prevents data leaks; blocks suspicious connections on package and application layers

Dr.Web Security Space features:
- Comprehensive anti-virus solution for PC
- Real time protection
- Best at curing active infections
- Installs in an infected system without its preliminary curing
- Fast multi-thread scanning
- Unique technologies blocking even unknown threats
- Full scan of archives at all nesting levels
- Best detection and neutralization of complex viruses
- Filters spam and other types of unsolicited messages without training the anti-spam
- Reliable on-the-fly scan of inbound and outbound http-traffic
- Efficient protection of children against exposure to objectionable content
- Protects against unauthorized access by a network; prevents data leaks; blocks suspicious connections on package and application layers
- Remote administration from other computers in the local network without installing the Dr.Web Control Center.

Read more

BitDefender 2013 + Lifetime Activator

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 in Antivirus

FAQ?

What are included?
1] BitDefender 2013 Uninstaller
2] BitDefender Total Security 2013 32Bit
3] BitDefender Total Security 2013 64Bit
4] BitDefender 2012/2013 Lifetime Activator
5] BitDefender 2013 Lifetime Activation Video Tutorial (MP4)
6] BitDefender 2013 Install Instructions (README.TXT)


My Antivirus reported Activator (FIX) as virus !!!

PLEASE READ README.TXT clearly for More Details regarding this

Its a false positive, as activator will make changes in the core of the application, it will be

reported as a virus. Please use activator only if you understand the risk...


The same Activator (FIX) can be used to activate BitDefender 2012 Products ?
Yes, The same activator can be used to activate any BitDefender 2012 or 2013 products

Can I automatically update BitDefender 2013 after Activating using this LifeTime Activator ?
Yes, you can update... Tested (for Sure / 100%)

Can I undo Activation ?
Yes, you can...

Where is LifeTime Activator
its in the folder FIX and the file name is "LBA_2.0BETA5.rar"

Can't play video tutorial given !!!
Install JetAudio v8.16 given in BONUS folder





BitDefender 2013 + Lifetime Activator

How to install BitDefender and activate it ?
1] READ ME.TXT included.
2] BitDefender 2013 Lifetime Activation Video Tutorial (MP4) Included.

Read more

AVG Anti-Virus Free 2013.0.2677 Final

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 in Antivirus

AVG Anti-Virus Free - a popular free antivirus. Fast, efficient and easy to use antivirus tool. Provides high performance computer and download updates to the information on the latest threats. Antivirus, antispyware, improved antiruktit protect against inadvertent receipt and distribution of even the most dangerous viruses (rootkits), and spyware. AVG LinkScanner component module with Surf-Shield provides basic protection when visiting websites on the Internet.
The main components of AVG Internet Security 2013:
Antivirus and antispyware
Anti-Rootkit
Web protection Surf-Shield
Protection of personal data
Email scanner
PC Analyzer
Additional components
Safe Search

Main features of AVG Anti-Virus Free 2013:
Anti-Virus (antivirus). AVG Free antivirus protects your computer from viruses, worms and Trojans.
Anti-Spyware (antispyware). AVG Anti-Spyware protects your computer from spyware, adware and other malicious software.
Anti-Rootkit (protection against rootkits). Programme Component Anti-Rootkit can search rootkits hidden in the operating system.
Resident Shield. Resident Shield works in the background and scans all files that are currently performed work.
E-mail Scanner. E-mail Scanner scans your incoming and outgoing e-mail.
LinkScanner. LinkScanner provides comprehensive protection for searching and browsing the Internet. Your computer is protected from Internet attacks, and you can determine the security of visited sites.
Identity Protection. Component Identity Protection provides proactive protection against identity theft and security of confidential information.
PC Analyzer. PC Analyzer will analyze your computer to identify the problems associated with registry errors, junk files, errors fragmentation, disk errors and broken shortcuts.
Update Manager. Update Manager manages the automatic updates of free anti-virus AVG, running over the Internet or LAN.

New in 2013:
Improved performance and speed.
"Cloud" reputation system files.
The new user interface in the style of Windows 8.
AVG System Self.

System requirements:
Windows 8/7 / Vista / XP 32 | 64-bit

Read more

AVG Anti-Virus Free 2013.0.2677 Final

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 in Antivirus

LiveCD ESET NOD32 - a boot disk that includes Antivirus NOD32, help start your computer, run a full scan for malware and restore Windows system after exposure to viruses and crashes / Just with which you can quickly start your computer and recover the incapacitated operating system. In addition, LiveCD ESET NOD32 will guaranteed to remove viruses, potentially dangerous files and sophisticated malicious software, which failed to neutralize in normal mode.


Additional Information:
To create a LiveCD ESET NOD32 need to download the ISO-disk image and burn it to a CD-ROM or USB flash-drive
To boot your computer using the LiveCD ESET NOD32 need to reboot, after changing your BIOS

Features:

LiveCD ESET NOD32 provides several ways to download:
• ESET live-CD Graphics mode - displays the desktop, with the ability to scan your computer, access the Internet, etc.
• ESET live-CD Copy to RAM - all the files are copied into the RAM disk, and then proceed to load mode Graphics mode, working without a CD (DVD)-ROM or USB flash-drive.
• ESET live-CD Text mode - Command line interface.
• Run Memtest utility - is launched verification of RAM your PC for errors.

System requirements:
• Windows 7/2008 / Vista
• 2003 / XP / 2k 32 | 64-bit with a bunch of viruses on board

Software name: LiveCD ESET NOD32
Program Version: 7473 [13/09/2012]
Language: English / Russian
Treatment: not required

Read more

Norton Internet Security 2013 20.1.1.2 Final + Activation

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 in Antivirus

Norton Internet Security 2013 – Strong on protection, light on system resources, award winning! It runs quietly in the background to detect and block today's complex threats and to protect your identity when you buy, bank, or browse online. The friendly and efficient product design helps minimize confusing security alerts and system slowdowns that can get in the way of your online experience. Norton Internet Security provides essential protection from viruses, hackers, spyware, spam and other privacy threats. A comprehensive set of security tools, NIS helps keep you safe online as you surf and email, swap files, download programs, and chat. NIS also allows you to automatically block annoying banner ads and pop-up windows, set up parental site blocking options for restricting access to specific Web sites, and selectively determine which, if any, Java applets and ActiveX controls should be allowed to download and execute on your computer. Enjoy the Internet with award-winning protection!


Key Technologies:
• Online identity protection
• Antivirus
• Antispyware
• Antispam
• Phishing protection
• Smart firewall
• Social network protection
• Browser protection
• Rootkit protection
• Network mapping and monitoring
• Worm protection
• Parental controls management

Norton Internet Security Features:
• Norton Protection System – provides four unique layers of powerful protection to proactively stop online threats before they can infect your computer.
• Insight – checks where files came from and how long they've been around to stop new online threats before they can cause you trouble.
• Download Insight 2.0 – protects you from dangerous applications by telling you if an application may harm the health and stability of your computer before you install it.
• Norton Safe Web – protects you while you surf the Web by warning of and blocking unsafe and fake websites right in your search results.
• Norton Management – is cloud based so you can download, install, transfer, update or renew Norton products from anywhere right over the Internet.
• Parental controls management – lets you track your kids' online activities through award-winning Norton Online Family so you can help protect them from online dangers.
• Network threat protection – detects threats as they travel over a network and eliminates them before they can reach your computer.
• Browser protection – protects you by checking for and blocking online threats as your browser loads, to stop online threats before they can do damage.
• SONAR 4 Behavioral Protection – monitors your computer for suspicious behavior to quickly and accurately detect and stop new threats.
• Norton Safe Web for Facebook – scans your News Feed for dangerous downloads and links to unsafe websites and warns you and your Facebook friends about them.
• FREE 24?7 support – offers you expert help and answers by phone, email, live chat or online whenever you need them. ****
• Vulnerability protection – stops cybercriminals from using security holes (vulnerabilities) in applications to sneak threats onto your PC.
• Norton Identity Safe – secures, remembers and automatically enters your website user names and passwords to prevent cybercriminals from stealing your information as you type. Now includes an online version so you can share logins among additional PCs protected by Norton Internet Security 2012.
• Antiphishing technology – Blocks fraudulent websites cybercriminals use to steal your identity and your money.
• Bandwidth management – Limits non-critical Norton updates when you connect to 3G networks to avoid using up your monthly data allotment or causing overage fees.
• Norton Pulse Updates – updates your protection every 5 to 15 minutes—without disrupting you—for up-to-the-minute protection against the latest threats.
• Email and instant message monitoring – scans email and IMs for suspicious links, attachments and other tricks cybercriminals use to steal your personal information.
• Smart two-way firewall – prevents cybercriminals from hacking into your PC and stealing your personal information—without constantly asking you to make the security decisions.
• Professional-strength spam blocking – keeps your mailbox free of unwanted, dangerous, and fraudulent emails.
• Network mapping and monitoring – shows all the devices connected to your home network, so you can spot uninvited guests using your wireless connection and/or eavesdropping on you.
• Norton Bootable Recovery Tool – creates an emergency CD/DVD/USB that gets your PC back up and running even if it's so infected that it wona?™t start up.
• Silent mode – puts alerts and non-critical updates on hold when you're watching movies or playing games in full-screen mode on your PC.
• Norton Control Center – gives you easy access to program settings and Web-based Norton services from your choice of a standard detailed view or a new simplified view.
• Smart scheduler – runs scans and updates only when you're not using your PC.
• Monthly report – tells you what Norton Internet Security has done in the previous month to keep you safe from threats.
• Power saver settings – maximizes your laptop's battery life by putting off non-critical activities until your computer is plugged in.

Supported OS:
Windows 8 / Windows 7 / XP / XP Pro / Vista

Read more

Today Google's 14th Birthday

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 in Google

Read more

Google Brazil chief arrested over YouTube video

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 in Google

Police announced the arrest of the head of Google Brazil over his refusal to remove YouTube videos that allegedly slander a mayoral candidate.

But as the crime that Fabio Jose Silva Coelho is accused of has "low potential to offend" he will not remain in custody, federal police said in a statement.

An electoral court has said Silva Coelho committed the crime of "disobedience" by not removing two videos that "slander, insult and defame" Campo Grande candidate Alcides Bernal.

The videos accuse the candidate of "instigating abortion, drunkenness, physical injury of a minor, illicit enrichment, and contempt as well as prejudice against the underprivileged," according to the indictment.

The tribunal, in the southwestern state of Mato Grosso do Sul, also asked Google to block YouTube in the town of Campo Grande, or the entire state, for 24 hours.

The first round of municipal elections in more than 5,000 Brazilian cities is scheduled for October 7.

The arrest warrant against the Google Brazil president was issued last week by a regional electoral tribunal judge, and another judge rejected an appeal by Google this week.

Google denied the videos were negative campaign ads and a spokesman for the Internet giant said the company was not responsible for the content posted on YouTube.

Google is facing similar problems over other Brazilian election campaign videos posted on YouTube.

Read more

Crysis 2

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 in Gaming

If you’re a PC gamer, the Crysis series needs no introduction. If not, you can also play a console version, but that’s like riding a cycle with training wheels and a little boy bell. I’m not a console hater, per se, but I do hate it when a great FPS game is “simplified” for console gamers. Although that’s not really the case here, I’d still prefer not to see an aim-assist option in the game menu. Another thing that can drive you crazy is the lack of a quick save function, something that we PC junkies are used to. But I get ahead of myself.

Crysis 2 is set in New York – in shambles of course. Everyone loves to bring the Big Apple to ruins for some reason, and you can expect a feast of Hollywood-ish destruction. In fact, the game begins with you as a grunt, looking at something trying to destroy the Statue of Liberty, just like every second B-grade disaster movie depicts. I won’t reveal the plot line, because there’s just about enough to begin with, but after a few forced cut scenes and some really corny acting, you end up with a Nanosuit. For the uninitiated, that’s a magical suit forged in the fires of Mordor by an evil wizard named Crynet that makes you want to scream “My precious” and cuddle it close to your body.

Anyway, without giving too much of the plot away again: aliens are involved, they’re mean looking blighters, and would crush you like a cockroach if it weren’t for your precious nanosuit. The suit is alive with AI and protects you with armour, strength and invisibility to fool Sauron’s…err… alien orcs and the human idiots as well.

The good bit of the game comes along when you notice that everything is kept in first person view, though some cut scenes seem to force your head to spin around like the girl from exorcist so that you don’t miss something important. Even upgrades are done by looking at an augmented reality menu on your hand, and twitching a pinkie gives you an extra something or another. Now if only there were a glove controller for the game – that would look and feel more realistic than mouse-clicking the glove.

The maps are actually quite linear, and not really as big as they feel. You’ll always have a voice of some friend or another to guide you along, and also seem to urge you forwards when you slow down to grab a bite to eat (in the real world). How I wish I could yell back at the characters, “Leave me alone, this dead bird isn’t going to eat itself you know!”

The suit is so smart, it auto-magically marks and informs you of targets and dangers, and also of much needed ammo refill stops. What’s next, a suit that does the shooting for you as well?

The game’s not easy, at a moderate level, but it’s no cakewalk either, and enemy AI seems to be pretty decent. Not in Recruit mode though, because then everyone’s IQ drops to under 80 and enemies react about as quickly as a certain president did when the actual New York was under attack.

All of the above may lead you to believe I hated this game, but in truth I enjoyed it a little more than Crysis. What all of the easiness brings is more attention to detail on the part of the gamer, and only when you’re not focussing 24/7 on saving your backside can you look at the screen as a whole and appreciate the lighting effects of the game. Yes, the graphics are pretty good, and in certain areas the lighting is surreal, making you double back to catch that perfect screenshot. It’s also overdone quite a bit in a few places though, but it’s more good than bad. However, hardcore PC enthusiasts will be flabbergasted at the lack of something like an “Insane” graphics setting that would bring the latest hardware to its knees. Damn the consoles, again! “How can Crysis 2 not kill my PC?” you will scream, because part of you wants the graphics to be even better a year from now.

What isn’t bad at all is the music. In fact it’s just brilliance personified, and I’m not just saying this because it’s composed by Hans Zimmer of Hollywood fame – I had no idea who the composer was when I started playing it. If you want to experience how much a good background musical score can mask all flaws in a game, this is a must-play. Money well spent, standing ovation, and all that jazz.

There’s a multiplayer mode of course, and I hear it’s getting rave reviews from some fraggers, but I wouldn’t know because I’d much rather play the campaign again and again. Besides, all the good multi-players (how do you say that?) are probably pulling down settings to bare minimum to get that nanosecond advantage, which just defeats the audio/visual experience of a game that’s known for little else. Plus, it’s like playing Quake III where everyone has invisibility – kind of pointless for multiplayer sissies like me to even attempt.

So what do I think of the game overall? Does it matter? Aren’t you just going to play it anyway? My only recommendation is that even if you own a console, play this game on a PC to fully enjoy what it has to offer, and finally realise how consoles suck when it comes to FPS gaming… Viva la PC!



Details:
Developer: CryTek
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Genre: First Person Shooter
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
ESRB Rating: M
Price: 999 (PC), Rs. 2499 (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)

Read more