Altec Lansing Launches VS2721 E Speakers in India

Altec Lansing's VS2721 speaker system, with powered subwoofer, debuts in the Indian market. The three inch high frequency drivers on the two satellite speakers are supported by the compact 4 inch side firing Subwoofer.

Ms. Stella Chan, Altec Lansing, said at the launch of the product in India, '˜The elegant looking VS2721 2.1 speaker was originally designed for the European market only. We are delighted to be able to bring this product to India. VS2721 is certainly a nice addition to the Altec product lines.'™

This is Altec Lansings second consecutive launch of 2011 in India, after last month'™s launch of the BXR 1321 speaker system.

XFX to Release AMD Radeon HD 6670, 6570 and 6450

Graphic card manufacturer XFX has recently unveiled three graphic cards designed for everyday computing, XFX AMD Radeon HD 6670, HD 6570 and HD 6450.All the three cards make use of AMD's homegrown technologies like Eyespeed, which claims to provide a vivid HD experience as well as optimize everyday applications and Eyefinity which lets you watch movies, play games and work on documents spread out on up to three displays for the panoramic perspective of work and play.

The graphic cards feature AMD's APP accelerate that harnesses the power of AMD’s GPUs, with speed and better overall performance while utilizing everyday applications from Microsoft Office 2010 to web browsers like Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 and Mozilla FireFox 4.

The HD 6670, HD 6450 and HD 6570 will be available at Rs. 7500, Rs. 5000 and Rs. 7000 respectively and all the cards have 3 years warranty by Rashi peripherals.

Micromax Introduces Android-based Bling 2

If you were a fan of the glitzy Micromax Bling here is some good news. Micromax has recently launched the Android 2.2 (Froyo) based Micromax Bling 2.

The Bling 2 features a glossy frame made of Swarovski Zirconia. Micromax also has a set of preloaded apps like MiRoamer-Mobile radio, Saavn-Music on Demand, Mosho-Mobile shopping, Mundu Live TV (1 month free trial) and Whatsapp messenger. The Micromax app store is also making an entrance in the Bling 2.

The device also has a 2.8 inch capacitive touchscreen, GPS, Mi-Fi pocket wireless internet feature, 3MP camera and upto 32GB expandable with micrSD cards. The phone comes bundled with a white leather carry case enclosed with a compact mirror and special pouch for lipstick.

The Bling 2 retails for Rs. 8,990.

Corsair Ships The Flash Voyager USB 3.0 Family

The new Corsair Flash Voyager USB 3.0 models deliver USB 3.0performance, with read speeds up to four times faster than typical USB 2.0 drives. All Flash Voyager USB 3.0 models are reportedly shockproof, water-resistant, backward compatible with USB 2.0/USB 1.1 standards, and provide easy plug-and-play compatibility with most operating systems.

Thi La, Vice President of Memory Products at Corsair, was quoted as saying 'The boost in read speed provided by the Flash Voyager USB 3.0 family makes accessing video, images, and other large files significantly faster," "The shipment of more and more USB 3.0-enabled systems makes it clear that the market is rapidly adopting the new standard. The latest Flash Voyager models are ideal for getting the most performance from the latest PC gear.'

The Corsair Flash Voyager USB 3.0 comes in 8GB ( Rs 1399+), 16 GB (Rs 1999+), and 32 GB ( Rs 4399+) configurations. It will be available in all Corsair-authorized retailers worldwide along with a warranty period of 10 years.

Dell XPS 15z Unveiled, Claims to be World's Thinnest Laptop

Laptop manufacturers are constantly innovating to provide a feature-packed machine within a thin frame; latest to join the bandwagon is Dell. Dell recently announced the launch of the XPS 15z, which the company claims to be the world's thinnest laptop. This is Dell's first laptop in 'z' series of XPS and Inspiron laptops which aim to break the thickness barrier.

The XPS 15z is housed inside a 0.97 inch thick frame and weighs 2.51kg. It looks like Dell is trying to compete with the Apple'sMacbook Pro but the XPS 15z has a deeper and wider chassis.

Featuring a 15.6 inch screen, the XPS 15z is available in two variants powered Intel i5 2410M (2.3GHz) or i7 2620M (2.7 GHz) dual core processors. It comes with Intel Sandy Bridge processors and supports 4GB standard memory, expandable to 8GB and a 750GB hard-disk. It also includes Nvidia's GeForce GT 525M with 1GB or 2GB of graphics memory according to the configuration you choose. Optimized touchpad special backlit chiclet (spill-resistant) keyboard and a 1.3MP camera are the other hardware that makes up the 15z.

The Dell Inspiron 15z starts from USD 999. So expect to be priced around Rs. 45,000 forr the base model when it hits the Indian shores.

Logitech Z110 USB-powered Stereo Speakers Launched

Introduced by Logitech, the Stereo Speaker Z110 is a compact no-wall-outlet-required speaker that connects to your computer's USB port to receive power. This can simplify cable management for laptop users. The Logitech Stereo Speaker Z110 connects to any audio source that uses a standard 3.5 mm plug, such as the headphone jack on your MP3 player. Logitech has touted the Z110 as being versatile to keep desks neat without the clutter of unsightly cords, besides compact size that lets you fit them into a bag, or move them between rooms easily.

Logitech's Country Manager for India and South West Asia, Subrotah Biswas, said, "Logitech knows people today are enjoying their entertainment through a variety of sources and in a variety of places - whether in the home or on the go - and we designed these stereo speakers to support that dynamic lifestyle. These user-friendly stereo speakers make it simple for anyone to plug in, power up and enjoy." The Logitech Stereo Speaker Z110 is in India, with Rs. 625 being its suggested retail price.

Samsung Showcases Smart TV's

At a recently held product demo, Samsung showcased its D8000 (55 inch) and D7000 (46 inch) Smart LED TV's. Samsung's Smart TV line-up includes the D5500, 6000, D7000, D8000 as well the D8000 Plasma series.

Samsung Smart TV’s allows you to search for movies, TV shows and browse the web, all through your TV. The Smart TV has an inbuilt Wi-Fi allowing it to connect to the Internet. We were shown the Smart Hub interface, through which you see the Smart's TV's various features. The Samsung official stated that there were 400 Samsung apps available that can be used on their Smart TV series. The smart Hub includes the following functions: Search All - to search for the desired content on your TV, Your Video – that provides videos based on recommendations of user preferences, Web Browser - a Samsung's proprietary web browser, Social TV -which allows you to interact with your social network friends while viewing TV.

The TV can be accessed either by the remote that comes along with the TV set, or through an Android based phone (you will need to have the associated Samsung app for allowing the phone to imitate the functions of the TV remote). The use of the remote control to browse the internet was rather cumbersome.

The Samsung official demonstrated the use of Samsung's proprietary browser to check various websites. The official also demonstrated how, through the PIP function in the 'options' menu you could simultaneously view your TV show while browsing the Web. There was also a provision for a child lock feature when browsing the internet through the 'Clean Site' option.

We were also shown how to connect other devices such as mobiles and phones to the T.V. The official demonstrated connecting a laptop (through the PC Share Manager app) and an external hard disk to the Smart TV.

The Samsung official had claimed that the smart TV's can read a wide variety of video file formats including avi, mpeg, mpg4. We were told that while we can browse the web, we can’t download any attachments. The official claimed that in case we receive an email with an attachment, we wont be able to download it, although we will be able to view it- with certain mail services such as Gmail. Samsung claimed that the smart TV can detect malware (that might enter either through the net or through a connected external device, although they didn’t elaborate on how this feature might work).

The TV comes with 3D Bluetooth-enabled glasses, and we were shown a promo of the 3D capabilities of the TV, with the official demonstrating how features such as the depth is perceived with these 3D glasses.

We were told that the 3D hyper real engine that is used for the 3D imaging runs on the Genova P processors. We were also told that the TV features a 1 GB memory.

The official stated that with the 'Schedule Manager' feature on the smart TV, one will be able to program your TV to alert you when your favourite TV program is showing. This will be especially helpful if you have a non-DTH TV service.

The 12 Smart TV models come in screen sizes between 40 inches to 60 inches across the D5500, 6000, D7000, D8000 series with prices starting between INR 68, 900 to INR 400,000. The D8000 Plasma is available in the 64 inch screen size and i9s priced at 230,000.

LG V300 All-in-one Desktop Unveiled at Computex

LG recently unveiled its first Windows 7-based all-in-one multi-touch,3D-enabled desktop at Computex in Taipei, Taiwan.

The highest specification version of the V300 will have Intel second generation Core i7 processor, 8GB RAM, AMD Radeon HD 6650M graphics, a Blu-ray optical drive, and a 750GB HDD. LG has implemented its proprietary Film-type Patterned Retarder (FPR) display technology, which it uses in its range of CINEMA 3D TVs, on the V300 which allows a user to watch 3D content on the 23-inch full 1080p HD LED monitor with a 178 degree viewing angle provided by the IPS panel.

The all-in-one will also use three individual camera sensors for an accurate multi-touch experience. It will come bundled with a keyboard and mouse which are designed similar to the ones used for Mac desktops.

The LG V300 is set for a July release in Korea. LG hasn’t divulged any details regarding the pricing.

MSI Unveils N580GTX Lightning Xtreme Edition at Computex

MSI introduced the new N580GTX Lighting Xtreme Edition at Computex, which is currently being held at Taipei, Taiwan. The graphic card features new technologies like a Propeller Blade fan with "Smart Temp Sensor" and "Dust Removal" technologies as well as support for Afterburner's latest "Triple Temp Monitor" feature.

The N580GTX comes with 3GB graphics memory, Power4 Architecture power supply and a design suited for extreme overclocking.

Smart Temp Sensor: When temperatures exceed 45 degrees, the special coating on the fan will change from blue to white to warn users that the system might be running too hot and remind them to check the system's cooling status.

Dust Removal: When the system is turned on, the graphics card fan will rotate in the opposite direction for 30 seconds. By running in reverse, the fan helps to remove dust from the heatsink fins to ensure optimal cooling every time.

Triple Temp Monitor: This year at Computex, MSI displayed the new Afterburner: Triple Temp Monitor for GPU/Memory/MOSFET. Using temperature sensor chips on the graphic card, Afterburner's monitoring window can display the GPU, memory, and power supply module temperatures in real-time. This not only enables the user to monitor the graphic card's operation, but also to check system temperatures in order to make improvements to the system'™s overall cooling strategy for smoother operation.

Why hasn't USB 3.0 Caught-On?

Over the last few years, the Universal Serial Bus (USB) has become the universal interface. Starting in 1995, when USB 1.0 could only transfer 12 Mbps (Megabits per second), the standard started up slowly. But when USB 2.0 came along in 2000, with its 480 Mbps, the days were numbered for PS/2, serial, parallel, and even the FireWire interface. So, why hasn't USB 3.0, also known as SuperSpeed USB, with its 5 Gigabits per second (Gbps), become the interface of choice since its introduction in 2008? Well, there are several reasons.

This is pretty simple. It's fast. It's even faster than eSATA (External Serial Advanced Technology Attachment). When I tested USB 3.0 against eSATA last year, I found that in practice neither was quite as fast as their specifications suggests -- on reads my USB drive averaged 90 MBps, while the eSATA drive came in at 75 MBps. But, when it came to writing to the disk eSATA still processed data at 75 MBps while the USB drive dropped to 62 Mbps.

USB 3.0, like the other USB standards before it, also has the advantage though of being able to supply power to its devices. An eSATA device requires a separate power supply.

The USB 3.0 standard also uses interrupts instead of "polling" when a device is plugged in. With polling, when a USB device is plugged into the port, the computer keeps checking on it to see if needs anything. This keeps the computer from going into low power states and can quickly drain a battery. That's bad news on a laptop. By using interrupts, USB 3.0 doesn't waste time or energy on an idle device, this in turn saves battery life.

When a device does need power though. USB 3.0 supplies 50% more power draw. That means instead of just thumb drives you can power up external drives.

In addition, even if your PC doesn't have a USB 3.0 port, you can buy a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) card with two ports for about Rs. 1,000. There are already multiple USB 3.0 compatible external hard drives and case enclosures from vendors such as Buffalo Technologies; Seagate and Western Digital.

So, put it all together and you can see why USB 3.0 should be popular.

But it's not. It's still a fair amount of trouble to find computers with USB 3.0 built in. Today, HP, Sony, and Dell offer only a handful of PC withs USB 3.0.

Why USB 3.0 hasn't caught on

USB 1.0 and 2.0 ports and devices were interchangeable. Of course, any such combination would only go as fast as 1.0's 12Mbps. But with USB 3.0, even though the plug and PC connection look the same at a casual glance, they're not really compatible with the older models.

Instead of four wires, the USB 3.0 cable has eight wires. One is power, one is for the ground, two for USB 2.0 data ), and four wires for SuperSpeed data. If you take a closer look at a USB 3.0 cable you'll see that one edge of the plug is colored blue. The end that plugs into your USB 3.0 drive, scanner, printer, or camera, however, is not the compatible with a USB 2.0 device. So, while you can plug a USB 2.0 device with a USB 2.0 cable into a USB 3.0 port or a USB 3.0 device with a USB 3.0 cable into a USB 2.0 port, you can't use a USB 3.0 cable to connect a USB 2.0 device. Got that?

In short, you can't switch out USB cables willy-nilly if you're using USB 3.0. Since, at a quick glance you may mistake a USB 2.0 cable for a USB 3.0 one, it's a small, but vexing, problem.

By itself, that's not a big deal. Far more important is that Windows 7, even with SP1, still doesn't natively support USB 3.0. You can use USB 3.0 ports and devices of course, with the right device drivers, but in 2011, what Windows user worries about device driver compatibility? Mac users have the same problem. Even Snow Leopard doesn't have built-in USB 3.0 support. It's another annoying hitch. Ironically enough, Linux, which is always getting grief for not supporting this or the other device, is the only operating system with USB 3.0 support baked in.

On top of that, even though Intel was a member of the USB working group that helped create the USB 3.0 specification, it was only at Computex in Taiwan on May 31st 2011 that Intel finally committed to supporting USB 3.0 on an actual product line. Intel will ship the "new" USB on its Ivy Bridge chipset.

Don't get too excited yet though. Ivy Bridge, the successor to Sandy Bridge, has just had its release date moved back to March 2012. If you want a motherboard with USB 3.0 already built in sooner than next year, you can look to AMD. The other CPU chip giant has announced that its A75 and A70M Fusion chipsets will include USB 3.0. These chipsets are already shipping.

So why has Intel been such a stick in the mud? Well, Intel has its own high-speed interface agenda to push: Thunderbolt, formerly known as Light Peak, which Intel first showed at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in September 2009.

Thunderbolt is a fiber optic wire connection. It uses the same size connector as USB but even thinner wires. Unlike USB 3.0, which in theory can reach out to three meters with Gbps speeds but in practice goes to about two meters, Thunderbolt can transmit data up to 50 meters.

Thunderbolt can also be used with PCI Express and DisplayPort. Thus, it can be used both for devices and for display high-definition video. Intel also promises that you'll be able to power devices through it.

On top of that, Thunderbolt, although it's not here yet except in labs, can transmit 10Gb of data per second bidirectionally, twice that of USB 3.0. Need I add that it too is going to be included on the Ivy Bridge chipsets?

Unlike USB 3.0, though, which is an industry wide standard, Thunderbolt is Intel specific. So, while in many ways Thunderbolt does sound like it will better than USB 3.0, you'll only be able to use it with Intel equipment and with hardware that's been manufactured by vendors under an Intel license. Historically, proprietary inputs and outputs don't do well in the mass-market. You'll recall that, FireWire, Apple's take on the IEEE 1394 High Speed Serial Bus, never really took off even though it was far faster than its competitors.

So what's a user to do? Well, even though USB 3.0 has not taken off as quickly as many of us thought it would, I believe in the long run it will win out and become the next universal PC input/output (I/O) system. While Apple, Intel, and Microsoft have all failed to support it properly, it's still the most flexible, high-speed and open I/O out there and I foresee trouble ahead for Thunderbolt getting the kind of universal support that earlier versions of USB have gotten.

Times of India Launches App on Ovi Store

The Times of India (TOI), one of India'™s leading dailies, announced the launch of a specially tailored app which will be available for free download on the Ovi store (soon to be rechristened as Nokia store) for Nokia smartphones. The app is created by MobiMonster, a Delhi based developer firm.

The application will provide latest coverage national and international news, business, politics, city, sports, entertainment, lifestyle, health and science and technology news on the move. The TOI application supports both portrait and landscape orientations and also advanced gestures such as scroll and swipe.

The app also connects to social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter so that users of this app can share the links online. An auto update widget feature updates the app on its own whenever latest updates are released.

Rishi Khiani, CEO, Times Internet Limited said, "We are excited to launch The Times of India app for Nokia smartphones. This partnership is an important and strategic one for us as both brands lead their respective segments globally with India being a significant contributor to their overall businesses. With this app millions of Nokia owners across the globe will be able to access news on the move, updated on the hour, with The Times of India".

Viral Oza, Director, Marketing Nokia India, said, œMobile users everywhere are consuming more and more content daily from their mobile devices. Our partnership with Times of India is a big step towards providing readers easy and simplified access to news from their mobile devices. Times of India'™s unique content and Nokia'™s unparalleled reach now offer readers the chance to be completely up to date with news from India and the world, no matter where they are.

Twitter Likes it Short, Unveils Official URL Shortening Service

Third party URL shortening services such as Bit.ly and TinyURL may be hit by the news that Twitter has now introduced their official t.co URL shortener. With the new shortening service, Twitter users can include a link in their tweets and they will be automatically shortened to 19 characters. As a result Twitter users will no longer need to rely on third-party services and will not need to leave Twitter to get their links to fit within the 140 character limit.


Twitter explains the decision to offer the service as something that will "protect users from harmful activity, to provide value for the developer ecosystem, and as a quality signal for surfacing relevant, interesting Tweets." However, unlike the third-party services, t.co can't be used a general URL shortener and will automatically come into play only on Twitter.

Creative recently announced the launch of the Creative D80 Bluetooth wireless one-piece speaker.

"The adoption rate for Bluetooth enabled smart devices with built-in music playback has grown phenomenally over the last few years. Most people today store their music in portable Bluetooth enabled devices like the iPhone, Android phone, Blackberry or tablet computers like the iPad or Creative ZiiO, and the Creative D80 is designed to be the perfect compact Bluetooth speaker to go with these wireless devices. What's more, when you use the Creative D80 with Creative's highly affordable ZEN Style M300, you'll get one of the lowest costing wireless music systems money can buy," said Ernest Sim, Regional Sales Manager for the Indian Subcontinent at Creative. "The Creative D80 speaker is so compact that it can easily be carried anywhere throughout the home or almost everywhere in a backpack, and it’s priced for everyone."

Some of the key features of the D80 are that it plays audio through any stereo Bluetooth devices, offers fast and easy Bluetooth connection and integrated aux for connecting to other audio devices.

The D80 is available in white with a pink, or blue, or green grille or black with a black grille for Rs. 2,699.

Unlocked Apple iPhone 3GS 8GB Now in Stores

Ever dreamt of owning the iPhone? Your dream might just come true.Apple has launched the two-year-old iPhone 3GS for a much lower Rs. 19,990.

This means that competition in the mid-range smartphones segment just gets hotter. Samsung's Android-based smartphones Nexus S and Galaxy i9003 SLCD which were sitting pretty on top of the pile now have a new competitor in the iPhone 3GS. The iPhone 3GS is still a good phone and the plus point is that it is upgradable to iOS 5 when it is launched in the future.

The 3.5 inch screen of the iPhone 3GS has a resolution of 320x480.  It has a 600 MHz processor, and 8 GB memory. It runs iOS 4.3 (upgradable to iOS 5) and in terms of connectivity, the handset is capable of reaching speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps on 3G HSDPA.

Nokia's Windows 7-based Smartphone Codenamed Sea Ray

All those waiting eagerly for the announcement of Windows 7-based smartphones by Nokia have some good news. In what looks like a marketing strategy, Nokia revealed a prototype of their first Windows 7 phone codenamed Sea Ray.
CEO of Nokia, Mr Stephen Elop, displayed the phone in a secret event. In spite of his repeated attempts at controlling the dissemination of this news, somebody from the event captured the video and put it up on youtube. The crystal clear video quality has been the major cause of speculation in the online world where people are saying this is Nokia's very own marketing strategy.

The device looks very similar to the Meego-based Nokia N9 which Nokia unveiled recently. The Windows Phone 7 smartphone from Nokia shows the same "pillow" back design, and features Gorilla glass and a Carl Zeiss camera in the rear panel.

6 Registry Hacks to Make Your PC Faster

Tweak Your System Speed

The Windows Registry is a database that holds your operating system's configurations and settings. This includes everything from how long your mouse must hover over a taskbar icon before the preview pops up (in Windows Vista and Windows 7) to performance settings.

Windows 7 (and Vista) have more eye-candy features built into the operating system, but a number of Registry hacks and tweaks can speed up--or, at least, appear to speed up--the performance of your computer. Before we start mucking around with your PC's guts, however, we're going to make sure that you have a reliable backup of your Registry in case something goes sour.

Though editing the Windows Registry is not nearly as scary as it sounds, making an incorrect change can cripple your system. To ensure that this doesn't happen, it's important to take the precaution of backing up part, or all, of the Registry before you proceed.

Back Up the Entire Registry

To back up your Registry, you can use the free Registry-specific backup tool ERUNT (Emergency Recovery Utility NT). ERUNT is simple to use, more reliable than System Restore, and works with Windows XP, Vista, and 7 (even 64-bit versions). ERUNT also saves each restore point independently of the other points, unlike System Restore (in System Restore, all restore points are dependent on other points).

Back Up Part of the Registry

If you're changing just one part of the Windows Registry, and you know which part that is, you don't have to back up the entire Registry. Instead, you can back up the part you plan on changing using the Registry's export feature.

First, go to Start, Run, type regedit, and press Yes. This will open the Registry Editor.

Next, find the part of the Registry you're going to change. Right-click on the Registry key you plan on changing, and click "Export." The Registry Editor will prompt you to save a .reg file to your hard drive.

To undo Registry changes, just find your .reg file and double-click it. The .reg file will reset your Registry values to their existing values (but will not remove values that you've added).

Hack Your Registry

Now that you've backed up your Registry--perhaps more than once--it's time to start hacking away. To get to the Windows Registry, go to Start > Run (in Windows Vista/7 you will have to type run into the Start menu search bar and press Enter). Type regedit, click Yes, and the Registry Editor will open.

Hack 1: Speed Up Aero Peek

Windows 7's Aero Peek lets you see the desktop when you move your mouse cursor over to the "show desktop" button at the end of the taskbar. The standard delay time for the Aero Peek preview is 500 milliseconds, or half a second. Here's how to speed it up:

1. Open the Registry Editor and go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Software > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > Explorer > Advanced.

2. Right-click on the right pane and click New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name the new DWORD "DesktopLivePreviewHoverTime."

3. Double-click on DesktopLivePreviewHoverTime to open it. Under "Base," click Decimal and then enter the delay time (in milliseconds) in the "Value data" field. Click OK, and your Aero Peek time will be set. You can set the value to higher (a longer delay time) if you're activating it too often by accident, or to lower (a shorter delay time) if half a second is just too long.

4. Log off and log back on for the change to take effect.

Hack 2: Speed Up Taskbar Previews

When you roll over taskbar icons in Windows Vista and in Windows 7, little previews appear. The standard delay time for these previews is 400 milliseconds, or just under half a second. If this is too slow (or too fast) for you, you can adjust the delay time with an easy Registry hack.

1. Open the Registry Editor and go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Software > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > Explorer > Advanced.

2. Right-click on the right pane and click New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name the new DWORD "ExtendedUIHoverTime."

3. Double-click on ExtendedUIHoverTime to open it. Under "Base," click Decimal and then enter in the delay time (in milliseconds) in the "Value data" field. Click OK to set the time (default is 400 milliseconds).

4. Log off and then log back in for the change to take effect.

Hack 3: Speed Up Menus

If you'd like to speed up the menus in Windows Vista or Windows 7, try this easy Registry tweak:

1. Open the Registry Editor and go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Control Panel > Desktop.

2. Find MenuShowDelay and double-click to open. Adjust the value in milliseconds (the default is 400 milliseconds, or just under half a second).

3. Log off and then log back on for the change to take effect.

Hack 4: Prevent Reboots

If you have a habit of leaving your computer on all the time (as do I), you'll occasionally run into the problem of automatic system reboots. These usually happen after Windows downloads some sort of important update, and will usually be preceded by a notification (that gives you about 10 to 15 minutes warning, unless you click it away). If you're not around to see said notification, and you have a lot of windows or important documents open on your computer, these reboots can be a hassle.

So here's how to keep your computer from automatically rebooting with an easy Registry hack. This hack works for Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.

1. Open the Registry Editor and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Policies > Microsoft > Windows.

2. Right-click in the right pane and select New > Key. This will create a new folder. Name the new folder "WindowsUpdate."

3. Open WindowsUpdate and right-click in the right pane (there will be a value already in the pane called "Default"). Select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name this DWORD "NoAutoRebootWithLoggedOnUsers."

4. Open NoAutoRebootWithLoggedOnUsers and change the Value data to 1. Do not change the Base button to "Decimal"; instead, keep it at "Hexadecimal." Click OK.

5. Exit the Registry Editor and log off and log back in for the settings to take effect. Your system will now never force a reboot without your explicit permission.

Hack 5: Disable Notification Balloons

If you hate pop-up notification balloons on your Windows Vista or Windows 7 taskbar, you can disable them using a simple Registry hack:

1. Open the Registry Editor and go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Software > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > Explorer > Advanced.

2. Right-click on the right pane and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name your new DWORD "EnableBalloonTips."

3. Double-click on EnableBalloonTips and set the Value data to 0. It doesn't matter if you have Decimal or Hexadecimal clicked under "Base," because 0 is 0 in both decimal and hexadecimal.

4. Log off and log back on for the change to take effect. You'll no longer see any annoying notification balloons from the taskbar.

Hack 6: Boot XP Faster

Is Windows XP booting too slowly? Here's how to speed up your boot-time with a quick Registry tweak.

1. Open the Registry Editor and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SYSTEM > CurrentControlSet > Control > ContentIndex.

2. In the right pane will be a value called "StartupDelay." Double-click on StartupDelay to open it. Change the "Base" from Hexadecimal to Decimal, and enter 40,000 (the default setting is 480,000).

3. Exit the Registry Editor and restart your computer. Your computer should boot up considerably faster--while this worked for me on my Windows XP laptop, values lower than 40,000 didn't produce a noticeable difference.

Is Mozilla's Firefox 5 a More Stable Browser Than Its Predecessor?

This week's release of the Firefox 5 browser came shockingly fast for Mozilla. Firefox 4 came out of beta barely 3 months ago--the previous numbered release, Firefox 3, was released way back in 2008.

A quick look at the features and improvements in Firefox 5 however reveals what the Mozilla foundation did to accomplish the fast release: There are some significant upgrades under the hood, but this is really more of a 4.1 release than a full new version of the browser.

However, the big news is that the release of Firefox 5 may finally solve the stability issues users have complained about since the beta builds of Firefox 4. When the Mozilla foundation released the last major overhaul of Firefox back in March, it was a huge step forward for the browser. The update brought with it a host of new features like improved tab navigation and the ability to sync bookmarks across multiple computers.

Perhaps most importantly, Firefox 4 improved the speed of the browser which had been lagging in recent years.

However, Firefox 4 also brought a lot of complaints about random crashes. A user named bigdaddyken on Mozilla's support forums posted that "firefox 4 crashes constantly, on opening, different pages, etc. Old firefox worked fine." More than one thousand users reported the same issue, and this report was only one of many crash complaints on the forums.

PCWorld users have also had problems with the browser. In a comment on our early hands-on with Firefox 4 report, user xvMATTLEEvx said "Sure it has added features but that is just to keep up with everyone else it's nothing innovative like Mozilla used to be. On top of that Firefox 4.0 is suffering the same crashes and memory spikes Firefox 2.0 suffered. I am talking without add-ons not with add-ons."

Firefox 5 Feature List

The list of Firefox 5's new features isn't exactly designed to thrill. It's headed by "added support for CSS animations" and features other improvements like "improved discoverability of the Do-Not-Track privacy feature preference" and "improved spell checking for some locales."

Clearly the features listed here aren't the real news in Firefox 5. Users will probably be a lot more excited by the list of hundreds of bug fixes that come along with Firefox 5. While there is some reason to worry that this rapid update strategy brings as many problems with it as it solves, with any luck, these bug fixes will make Firefox 5 as crash-proof as it is fast.

Today, we asked our Facebook page users if they had any similar problems with Firefox 4 and quickly got more than 40 responses like Irving Cool who says "FF4 crashes a lot :S" or Wali Khan who stated his "New Firefox crashes every 5 minutes."

Let's hope Firefox 5 really solves the problems

McAfee Unveils Family Protection

McAfee, at a press briefing today, announced the launch of McAfee Family Protection, a parental control program that is said to protect children of all ages from online risks while allowing them the freedom to safely explore the Internet.

Venkat Krishnapur, Senior Director, McAfee India was quoted in the press release as saying "Online concerns for tweens and teens are not what they were two years ago. The threat landscape has changed dramatically – especially in the context of how children of various ages in urban India use the internet and how they are exposed to various forms of threats online. McAfee Family Protection is a powerful tool that helps parents get better insight to the digital lifestyles of their children. Parents can choose to block categories of sites, filter out only a handful of sites, or block nothing at all and simply review online activity reports. Its innovative features such as online activity reports, age appropriate settings and YouTube, games and website blocking and so on gives Indian parents a powerful tool to ensure their kids stay safe when using the Internet."

The press briefing featured an interactive discussion on the subject of safety of Indian kids in the online world. The results of the survey, conducted on the same issue across 10 Indian cities, were released and had some interesting finds. Among the more important highlights of the survey were that 62% of all polled kids have shared personal information online; 58% kids share their home addresses on the internet; 39% of all polled kids do not tell their parents about these online activities and 12% of all polled kids had been victims of some kind of cyber threat. As Dr. Sulata Shenoy, a child psychologist at Bangalore's Sagar Apollo hospital, one of the participants of the interactive discussion on the safety of children in the online world, pointed out, the research also showed the huge gap between what children are doing online and what their parents think they are doing. She has also stated that it was “very disturbing” to see children staying online for more than 10 hrs.

McAfee officials pointed out that kids in today's online world face the threats that can be summed up as the 3C's: through Content (pornography), through Contact (Cyber Bullying) and through Crime (Crimes against children).

Among the many ways discussed to combat cyber crime that targets kids, there was the suggestion that kids and their parents should have an open and constructive relationship in addressing the problems that the child faces in the online world. Moreover the kids should be instructed not to share sensitive private information like phone number, home address with strangers in the online arena.

Commenting on the features of the family protection kit, Krishnapur commented on the various features of this software: Settings that are customized according to age-groups – in other words, allowing a particular age group to see things that are appropriate for its age; filtering songs with explicit lyrics from iTunes; program blocking that allows parents the ability to block or allow access to certain programs (across 35 categories); the ability to monitor Instant Messages; limits on the amount of time that the child can use the internet; Social Network filtering that records all social network postings that contain profanity and posts that include confidential information that has been predetermined by parents--such as a home address, phone, school name, etc; YouTube filtering that Blocks the viewing of objectionable videos without blocking access to all of YouTube.

When asked as to why their family protection software should be chosen over other freely available programs such as Windows Parental Control, the officials said that the McAfee software is "far superior" to other rival programs as it effectively counters the threats that kids might face in teh online arena. The officials also pointed out that one of the software's main features is the extensive database (that is continually updated) that it relies on for filtering online content such as videos and websites. When asked about McAfee releasing new security features in view of their recent takeover by Intel and Intel releasing security features right at the hardware (processor) level, the officials said there is nothing in the offing for the near future.

The officials stated that the software is available independently for around Rs. 2272.

Symbian^3 Games You Can't Afford to Miss

Nokia has been hogging the headlines in the world of technology news lately with the announcement of the Meego-based N9, speculations surrounding the announcement of Windows 7 based Nokia handsets, Symbian Anna update and a slew of Dual SIM touch-and-type phones for the budget-conscious

And since Nokia is in the news, PCWorld India has decided to dedicate this week's top five mobile games to Nokia’s Symbian platform. Thus, I handpicked a few absolutely must have Symbian games for your Symbian^3 touch-enabled smartphones which are available on Nokia’s proprietary OVI store.

Fruit Ninja HD

The splash of red juice across the screen complemented by the perfect sound of the slash of a knife is murderously satisfying. No I are not talking about Dexter! Rather, I am describing a similar scene which you encounter while slashing a strawberry across the screen with your finger for a knife in Halfbrick's colourful Fruit Ninja. The game is still a huge hit among a lot of casual gamers who game on an iOS or Android device. It plays beautifully on a Symbian^3 device too and is a must-have.

Fruit Ninja HD is available for Rs. 25 on OVI store.

Dalton-the Awesome!

Don't be fooled by the cheesy name, Dalton-the Awesome! is a great platformer for the Symbian^3 device. A stick figure parkour superhero named Dalton runs away from zombies, jumps on them to kill them, uses a skateboard and becomes huge (think Honey I Blew Up the Kids or Mario after he gulps down a mushroom). The premise is interesting, simple and the music which complements it thoroughly reminds us of a soundtrack picked up straight from a Hollywood summer blockbuster. You cannot hate our friendly neighbourhood Dalton. Run Dalton Run!

You can download Colobox's Dalton-the Awesome! for free on the OVI store.

Asphalt 5

No gaming device, be it for casual or hardcore gaming, is complete without a racing game. Gameloft's Asphalt 5 fits the bill perfectly for Symbian^3 devices. With gorgeous graphics, extensive single player campaign, great handling for a car using the accelerometer and the need for speed (pun intended!) make this racing game is a must have for your Symbian^3 device.

Race to the OVI store and pick up Asphalt 5 for Rs. 75.

Angry Birds Rio

Can anybody get enough of this ridiculously addictive and insanely popular game by Rovio? Well I can't! Angry Birds Rio for the Symbian^3 device is the same experience you have had on any other touch-based device and never fails to amuse us. Enough said!

Go pick up a copy of Angry Birds Rio right now from OVI store for Rs. 50.

Spider-Man: Total Mayhem HD

There is something about Gameloft's Spider-Man Total Mayhem HD that I can't get enough of! I don't know whether it is the cartoony brilliance of the graphics, the highly effective fighting mechanism employed in the game, or just the fact that I can swing from one building to another and use spider sense to kick some enemy ass. The boss fights are as epic as they come and I would suggest not giving this third-person action game a miss.

Spider-Man: Total Mayhem HD is available for Rs. 75 on OVI store.

(All the games were tested on Nokia E7 and the screenshots were captured using a free application called Screencapture.)

Five Good Reasons to Download Firefox 5

After the wildly successful launch of Firefox 4 not all that long ago, it's hard to believe the next iteration of Mozilla's popular and free open source browser is already here. Sure enough, though, Firefox 5 was officially released on Tuesday complete with a raft of new features that promise to give the browser yet another boost.

I've been playing around with Firefox 5 for some time already, and though it's not as big an upgrade as Firefox 4 was, it's been rock solid--and fast. Here are five good reasons you should download Firefox 5 as soon as you can.

1. It Respects Your PrivacyMozilla's Do Not Track feature gives users more control over the way their browsing behavior is tracked and used on the Web by allowing them to tell the websites they visit that they want to opt out of online behavioral tracking. Now, in Firefox 5, Do Not Track is even easier to find in the Firefox Preferences section

Also of note is that Firefox 5 for Android includes the Do Not Track feature as well, making Firefox the first browser to support Do Not Track on multiple platforms, Mozilla says.

2. It's Small and FastI've been feeling like Firefox 5 is faster, and that impression was recently confirmed over at Digitizor, which ran it through a bunch of benchmarks. Firefox actually blew away both Chrome and Opera on the SunSpider JavaScript test, in particular (no other browsers were included), and its cold start time compared very well with that of Google's Chrome. Firefox 5 was also notable for taking up minimal RAM, even with 25 websites opened.

3. It Supports an Open WebWith improved standards support for HTML5, XHR, MathML, SMIL and canvas, Firefox 5 is the best browser choice for an open Web. The new Firefox Add-on SDK for Windows, Mac and Linux enables local development of add-ons, meanwhile, and the Firefox Add-on Builder Beta provides a hosted Web-based build environment. The new version of the multiplatform software also adds support for CSS animations.

4. It Sports 1000 ImprovementsIt's actually more than 1000 improvements and performance enhancements that have been included in Firefox 5. They may not all be huge, noticeable user-interface changes, but they definitely make the software better.

The Android version of Firefox 5, meanwhile, includes a raft of bug fixes, improved page load speeds--especially on 3G networks--and added IPv6 support.

5. It's Secure, Independent and User-DrivenFirefox is open source software, which means it's not only developed with the help of users, but its security is continuously monitored and improved by a global community of users and developers. Mozilla, meanwhile, is an independent foundation. There's no way a proprietary browser maker like Microsoft -- or even a company like Google, which has its fingers everywhere -- can compete with that independence and user focus.

Firefox clearly faces stiff competition from Google's Chrome, but further improvements are on the way in Firefox 6 and beyond. You can download it and see for yourself.

LG Introduces 3D Cinema Monitor With FPR Technology

LG Electronics, has recently introduced a series of new monitors which include a 3D Cinema Monitor, IPS monitor and what the company claims to be the world's slimmest LED monitor - E90.

Mr. Sanjoy Bhattacharya, Product Head-IT, said, "LG always strives to provide the best to its consumers and we are positive that this new innovation from the house of LG will enhance the leadership in monitor category. The launch of new range of monitor series has set a benchmark and we expect good response within next quarter. With the launch of 3D monitor and world slimmest LG is all set to provide more fun and entertainment for its consumers than ever before. Presently we have 33.7% (Standalone Monitor market share and we target to achieve 42% by end of 2011."

Built with FPR technology, the LG 3D Cinema Monitor offers brighter display and clearer images. The LG E90, at 7.2mm, comes with a Super Resolution feature that supposedly enhances dull images. The monitor is also built with LG’s Image Booster software that LG claims enhances the quality of steaming content from various video sites.

HTC Sensation Enters Indian Market

HTC has launched the Sensation Android smartphone in India, just days after launching the Salsa, another Google powered smartphone. A press release reveals the Sensation's launch price as Rs. 32,700.

Originally referred to as the Pyramid, the HTC Sensation runs Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and has a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor complemented by an Adreno 220 GPU. The Sensation also has 768MB of RAM and 1GB of internal memory that can be expanded up to 32GB with microSD cards. Imaging is taken care of by an 8MP auto-focus camera with a dual-LED flash that can capture 1080p videos at 30fps. It also has a front VGA camera.

The Sensation uses a 4.3-inch SLCD display with a resolution of  540x960 pixels made of Gorilla Glass. The Sensation also uses HTC's own Sense UI v3.0. The Sensation supports Wi-Fi, 3G and GPS.

The retro-looking X100 is a 12.3MP shooter that has 23mm Fujinon lenses. The 'Hybrid Viewfinder' is a unique combination of viewfinders found in high-end film cameras and digital compact cameras.
The retro-looking X100 is a 12.3MP shooter that has 23mm Fujinon lenses. The 'Hybrid Viewfinder' is a unique combination of viewfinders found in high-end film cameras and digital compact cameras.

The camera has a large-sized APS-C / CMOS sensor and the built-in EXR Processor helps in achieving highest resolution in your photographs. X100 also offers the ability to shoot high-quality HD (high definition) movies.

According to Mr. K. Tanaka, Managing Director, FUJIFILM India, "At Fujifilm, innovation is centric to our continuous R&D efforts. Time and again we have been introducing products with unique features. We are pleased to introduce world's first hybrid viewfinder in FinePix X100. Laced with this revolutionary new technology, the product promises a never-before camera experience."

Mr. A. Rajkumar, Country General Manager (DSC), FUJIFILM India, said, "Fujifilm sees India as an important market. We intend to bring the latest to the fore for our discerning customers. Our FinePix X100 is a premium digital camera that brings superior technology to the photo enthusiasts. Its one-of-a-kind features will surely benefit those who love to explore photography on a professional note and beyond just a hobby."