Dungeons and Dragons Online: behold the power of free

Dungeons and Dragons Online is enjoying a second life in terms of player count and buzz, all thanks to a new business strategy: giving the game away. Turbine is making their MMO as accessible as possible, and that includes making players who don't pay anything as happy as possible. Subscriptions are up 40 percent. Ars explores how free can be very profitable.

Dungeons and Dragons Online went live back in 2006, and a number of my friends took part in the beta, enjoying the game immensely. Then the product went live, and they never played again. The reason was simple: the game was $50, the monthly fee was $15, and for many gamers that's a hard sell. Then suddenly, a week or so ago, everyone was playing again. A thread about the game popped up on our forum. Where did this buzz come from? Simple: the game was once again free to play.

You can still buy a subscription, and that comes with a number of benefits, but you can also download the client for free, and play a huge chunk of the game without paying a single cent. We caught up with Fernando Paiz, the Executive Producer of the game, to explore what might be the next big thing in online gaming: not charging.

"We're hitting and exceeding our internal targets, so far we're very happy," he told Ars when we asked how the game has grown since becoming free. "All aspects of our business are growing. Hundreds of thousands of new players in the world are playing for free, with a very high percentage using the store." The internal projections for growth were doubled. Even more surprising, subscriptions have gone up 40 percent since the game has gone free-to-play.

Here's how it works. Anyone can download the client and create a character and start playing. As you level up, you can buy everything from hair dye to new adventures and dungeons using Turbine points, which can be bought with either real money or earned in the game. You can still subscribe, which gets you more character slots and a monthly allotment of Turbine points, as well as some other perks.

GlideTV Navigator: A pointing device for your living room PC

With the exception of Netflix and YouTube, many online video providers aren't natively available on set-top boxes or game consoles--Hulu being the most notable example. That's led many online video junkies to go with the most direct workaround: connecting their PCs directly to their big-screen TVs. Generally, it works like a charm--but requires a big keyboard and mouse to sit on the coffee table for navigation duties.

It's that niche--the living room input device--that the new GlideTV Navigator is designed to fill. The wireless pointing device is a disembodied trackpad flanked by a handful of backlit buttons, including volume and playback controls, as well as dedicated enter, back, and escape keys. The $149 package includes a charging cradle and a USB receiver. While the Navigator is compatible with Windows PCs, Macs, and the PS3, GlideTV's on-screen keyboard application will only be available for Windows.

According to GlideTV, the Navigator is designed to offer an ergonomic alternative to navigating such mediacentric applications as "Windows Media Center, Apple iTunes, Boxee, Apple Front Row, SageTV, Firefox, and any web browser." We'll be reviewing it later this month, at which time we hope to compare it to other alternative input devices, such as gyroscopic mice and the Logitech diNovo Mini Keyboard.

Viper's new iPhone app replaces your keychain

Car security company Directed Electronics is unveiling a new iPhone application Tuesday that lets customers control parts of their Viper SmartStart-enabled vehicle from their iPhone or iPod Touch.

The app, called Viper SmartStart, is quite similar to Zipcar's recently released iPhone app, except it can work with your car, and not one you're renting for the weekend. It too creates a virtual keychain control module that can do things like lock and unlock your vehicle, open the trunk, and activate the alarm, getting rid of the need to carry around one of those keychain clickers as long as you've got your phone handy.

Coolest of all, though, there's a "Smart Start" button in the center of the screen that can turn on your vehicle. The company is promoting this as a simple way to defrost or cool off a car before you get in--that is, assuming you correctly set the climate controls the last time you were inside.

Since the app uses the iPhone's data connection to send the commands, you can control your car (or cars) from anywhere you have an EDGE or 3G signal. It also means you can use it on a non-cellular data device like the iPod Touch, as long as it's near Wi-Fi.

The app is completely free, but it requires you have Viper's SmartStart system installed in each car you want to take control of. This costs $499 for a new installation, or $299 for cars that already have a Viper alarm system, as well as an active subscription to Viper's Smart Start service. Buyers of the system get a year of the $29.99 service included when they get the service installed; then they have to pay after that.

I'm still waiting for a version that can give you live video and steering controls, like the ridiculous, yet awesome invisible Aston Martin Vanquish from "James Bond: Die Another Day." Though something tells me that's not happening anytime soon.

Watch the company's promo video after the break.

Google Hops On A New Satellite To Watch Us From Space

Last year, there was a lot of coverage of Google striking a deal with satellite imagery company GeoEye to be able to use the high resolution images from its new GeoEye-1 satellite for their Google Earth and Maps products. The exclusive deal saw Google shift away from its partnership with rival DigitalGlobe, which provides many of Google’s rivals with imagery. Now, it looks like Google is back on board with a new DigitalGlobe satellite.

In a post today on its Lat Long Blog, Google reveals that DigitalGlobe has just launched their next-generation satellite dubbed WorldView-2 (no idea if this is to one-up GeoEye-1), and that the company will be getting new imagery from it. In the post, Google notes that it works “directly with several commercial satellite imaging providers.” Presumably, that means the deal with GeoEye is still in place, and now Google has found itself on yet another state-of-the-art satellite that peers down on all of us, gathering data.

Now, the government has regulations on just how closely Google and these companies can look (mostly because the government itself wants to be the only ones that can see really, really close up on us). But still, this is starting to get mildly creepy. I’d love to know how many satellites they are using up there to get their imagery.

It was recently revealed that Google was breaking away from TeleAtlas as the provider of its mapping data in the U.S. (though it is supposedly still using it for some other parts of the world). One reason they can do that is because they now have so much data from this satellite imagery (as well as their Street View imagery).

Oracle: 11g Xpress Edition 'a Year or Two' Away

It may be "a year or two" before Oracle releases a no-cost Express Edition (XE) of its 11g database, according to Andrew Mendelsohn, the company's senior vice president of database server technologies.

That's because Oracle is going to wait until after the first patch set ships for 11g Release 2, which was launched in July, Mendelsohn said in a brief interview following a speech at Oracle's OpenWorld conference in San Francisco on Monday.

Oracle took the same approach with the current 10g Express Edition, according to Mendelsohn, who oversees database development at the vendor.

Developers and ISVs (independent software vendors) prize XE because it includes many core features, and allows them to prototype, deploy and distribute applications without any licensing costs.

However, XE is limited to 4GB of user data, 1GB of memory and a single CPU, and is available on only 32-bit Windows or Linux systems. Users with greater needs would need to upgrade to a paid database version such as Standard Edition.

Some Oracle database administrators believe there is a deliberate reason for the protracted rollout.

"It's an approach that ensures that adoption is nil," said Paul Vallée, founder of the Pythian Group, a database management outsourcing company in Ontario, Canada. "I don't think they're interested in adoption. ... I think they have to have it out there just for maybe a check box, just to maybe say they have a free edition."

IBM and Microsoft also offer certain versions of databases at no cost.

Oracle simply isn't "gunning for market share in the free database segment," Vallée added. "If they were, the strategy would be to release this exactly the way it is and then sell support and commit to patch sets for it."

That is essentially the model Sun Microsystems has used for the open-source MySQL database. Oracle is attempting to buy Sun Microsystems for US$7.4 billion, but the deal is on hold while European officials conduct an antitrust review.

Instead, Oracle wants lower-end customers to use a paid version of the database, such as Standard Edition One, said Pythian Group CTO Alexander Gorbachev. A Standard Edition One processor license costs $5,800, according to Oracle's latest price list.

It's unclear how the arrival of MySQL will affect XE, or any other aspect of Oracle's database strategy, Vallée said.

Oracle plans to increase investment in MySQL, CEO Larry Ellison said during a keynote Sunday.

Sony Ericsson Satio, LG GM750, HTC Tattoo reach Vodafone

Vodafone UK today added three touchscreen smartphones to its roster that in most cases represent world premieres. The Sony Ericsson Satio is now finally shipping after having been detailed in May and is the handset designer's first Symbian S60 smartphone; besides full third-party app support, it's considered a high-end media phone with a 12-megapixel camera, a 3.5-inch touchscreen, GPS and Wi-Fi. For Sony Ericsson, the phone is a symbolic first as one of its first major devices to use microSDHC cards instead of Memory Stick Micro for storage.

The British carrier is giving the Satio away for free but requires at least a £35 ($55) monthly plan with a two-year contract or a more expensive plan on a shorter 18-month term.

Also on tap is the HTC Tattoo, a promised budget Android phone. It represents a budget alternative to the Hero or Magic with a resistive 2.8-inch touchscreen and a 3.2-megapixel camera but the same 3G, GPS and Wi-Fi as other HTC devices. Like with the Satio, Vodafone says the Tattoo is free to own but only requires a £25 ($40) plan on a full contract.

Lastly, the LG GM750 stands as one of Vodafone's first Windows Mobile 6.5 devices and has the more touch-friendly aspects of Microsoft's OS as well as LG's own S-Class 3D interface. It has just a 3-inch touchscreen but a 5-megapixel camera as well as 3G, and Wi-Fi. Pricing for the GM750 matches the Tattoo and only needs a £25 plan to be free to own.


Sony Ericsson Satio




HTC Tattoo






LG GM750

Goodbye MS Works, hello ad-supported Office 2010 Starter!

While I haven't had any customers ask to purchase Microsoft Works in years, it still appears on the odd retail boxed laptop. With the coming release of Office 2010, Microsoft has decided it's high time to tag and bag Works and replace it.

Stepping in to fill the void will be Office 2010 Starter, which will be targeted at the average consumer's needs. Starter will package only Word and Excel with basic creation and editing abilities, and will be ad-supported.

Over on the Office Engineering Blog, VP Takeshi Numoto posted "Office Starter 2010 will provide new PC owners with immediate exposure to the Office 2010 experience on new PCs right out of the box." You know, kind of like how just about every boxed PC does that now with the 60-day Office 2007 trial. Except instead of a time-limited but full-featured Office experience, you'll get a stripped-down feature set at no cost. Ever.

Microsoft dangled another Office lock-in carrot recently with the introduction of Office Web Apps. Whatever the motivation - competition with Google Docs and OpenOffice.Org, for example - I'm sure most Windows users will welcome the opportunity to get any legal MS Office apps for free.

Hmm...Office Starter, huh? There's not going to be some asinine 7 document limit in this thing, right?

Sidekick pulled; Microsoft may have had no backup

A major, avoidable error by Microsoft caused the permanent Sidekick data loss from over a week ago, sources said this weekend. Multiple tips to Hiptop3 claim that Microsoft had no backup of the Storage Area Network (SAN) used to hold Sidekick information and lost the data when Hitachi encountered a failure during an upgrade. The company may now have little choice but to start fresh and have users re-sync data from their Sidekicks once a fresh SAN is ready.

Microsoft has neither confirmed nor denied the details of the failure but on Sunday told the Wall Street Journal that it's aware the outage is an "extraordinary situation" and is taking every step possible to restore service.

Although still controversial and unconfirmed, rumors have maintained that the failure may stem from Microsoft thinning Sidekick support at Danger by either letting staff go or diverting some of them towards its in-house phone project, nicknamed Pink. The change may have left just a small team with heavy outsourcing as the only ones left to orchestrate the backup.

Regardless of cause, T-Mobile has recently had to pull all Sidekicks from stores and hasn't said if or when it expects to sell the messaging phones again.

HP Mini 311 to get full Ion chip, 80GB SSD

HP's Mini 311 is already slated to get a performance upgrade if the company's own service manual reflects the real product. The current version is limited to the lower-power Ion LE graphics core as well as 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive, but myHPMini has discovered that the manual references the full-power Ion chip as well as configurations with 2GB or 3GB of RAM. Storage would likewise get a boost with an option of a much faster 80GB SSD as well as 250GB or 320GB hard drives.

With the exception of the SSD, all of the features are contingent on having a system equipped with Windows 7, which itself will come in 32-bit Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium or Professional editions. The warning suggests HP plans to significantly expand the Mini 311's options sometime after October 22nd, when 7 will likely replace Windows XP as the default OS on the netbook.

Sprint adds Motorola Debut i856 push to talk handset

Wireless provider Sprint on Monday began shipping its first slider phone that supports its Nextel Direct Connect push-to-talk service, the Motorola Debut i856. The Debut lets users switch from an active push-to-talk call to an interconnect voice call with a dedicated button. The handset also has a built-in MP3 player with dedicated external music controls and a 3D Audio equalizer.

Stereo Bluetooth support lets users hook up wireless headphones or headsets while a 3.5mm audio jack lets the use standard and common headphones. There is also a 1.3-megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom and video capture capabilities. A GPS sensor lets captured images be geo-tagged. A 2.2-inch color display has 176x220 resolution. Storage comes in the form of external microSD cards, with up to 8GB versions supported.

Sprint's TeleNav Navigation service and web browsing are supported by the Debut as well. The Debut is priced at $100 with a new two-year contract and after a $50 mail-in rebate.

Google launches Search Options for Mobile ... but not Windows Mobile

Searching Google from your mobile browser just got a little bit easier, as long as you're an iPhone, Android or Palm device. Windows Mobile and Blackberry users are left out of Google's new Search Options for Mobile feature, and they're complaining about it in the comments of the Google Search blog. The thing is, they're not really missing much. Search Options for Mobile is marginally useful, but I suspect most users will never realize it's there.

Search Options lets you switch from a general web search to forums or reviews only, which I suppose is useful if you need reviews on the go. You can also filter your results by date, which is useful, but certainly not essential. Finally, there are two new ways to view search results: with images from the pages, or with longer snippets. It's nice that this stuff is there, but we've all lived without it since May, when it was first introduced to the non-mobile version of Google. WinMo and Blackberry users hardly have anything to cry about here – except how woefully inadequate their browsers are.

Winpatrol 2010 is out, and the little black scotty is leaner and meaner than ever

It's become a common practice to defend your PC with a handful of security apps rather than relying on a single program. One lesser-known app worth investigating is WinPatrol.

Just released, WinPatrol 2010 builds on the strengths of previous versions. It's now even lighter on memory use, weighing in at about 5Mb on my Windows 7 x64 system. Scotty's also learned to play nice by tweaking internal behaviors to reduce conflicts with antivirus applications.

The new version's cookies tab now handles Firefox and Google Chrome in addition to Internet Explorer. Users of the WinPatrol Pro will also enjoy improved realtime scanning speed - 30% quicker than the free version.

Winpatrol also scores serious points for its Pro licensing plan. Not only do you pay once for the software and receive a lifetime of upgrades, but developer Bill Pytlovany believes that your license should follow you - not your computer. That means you're free to enjoy your paid WinPatrol on any and all PCs that you personally own and use. Nice!

Both the free and pro versions of WinPatrol 2010 are available for download now, as is WinPatrol To Go -- the portable version, which is also free.

PERSONAL POCKET SAFE

Personal Pocket Safe comes with a special software that allows you organize files and information such as bank statements and bills, insurance policies and even passwords.
The security involves DataLock PIN protection, 256-bit AES encryption and epoxy shield that destroys memory in case of forced access.

“We are thrilled by the recognition and awards we have received leading into this year’s CES,” said John Tate, President of Black Box Innovations. “We are looking forward to making our first appearance at the International CES and being featured as Day 23 on this list is a great start.”

Western Digital My Book Studio desktop external drive

Western Digital has just rolled out its latest My Book Studio desktop external drive that will come with updated features, with one of them being particularly outstanding to stand head and shoulders above the rest of the external hard drive crowd. We’re talking about a customizable e-label here, ladies and gentlemen, where it will remain always visible even when there is no power being supplied to it, making it a snap to know just how much space you have left in the drive and what contents there are within at a glance. Targeting Mac users and creative professionals, the new My Book Studio drives will boast a FireWire 800 interface that makes it a snap to transfer data and super fast speeds compared to the USB 2.0 standard, making folks who deal a whole lot with photo and video editing and graphic design happy.

FLO TV turns TV into handheld wonder

Guess the TV is going to hang around for a little while longer, albeit this time it will take a much more personal route, coming in the form of the FLO TV Personal TV which will allow TV fans to view their favorite news, live telecasts of sports, children’s programming as well as wholesome entertainment on a singular, dedicated device meant specifically for mobile TV viewing. No idea on whether such a device will beat out the iPod touch and other portable media players, since you can watch what you want to on those devices as long as you have the right file loaded on them, while subjecting yourself to the rigorous setups of TV channel programming leaves your daily schedule at the mercy of the programmers. No idea on pricing, but it ought to be out later in time for the mad holiday season rush.

New Fifa 10 footie reviewed

RONALDO's trademark free-kick stance? Check.

Tevez in a Sky Blue shirt? Check.

Campbell at Notts County? Hang on a minute? Pah, so much for Fifa 10 being the most accurate footie sim ever.

But it's easy to forgive the world's No1 football franchise the odd walk-out by overpaid, huffy players.

Because almost everything ticks all the right boxes in FIFA 10. The series has become so assured, so confident and so slick it's almost impossible at first glance to see how Fifa 10 is much different to Fifa 09.

But the oh-so-subtle incorporation of things like 360° dribbling, more rugged jostling for the ball and more realistic, and desperate, defensive clearances are a sign of how slickly the game is coming along.

If you don't notice the difference, try playing 10 for a couple of hours then go back to playing 09 for a bit.

You may as well be playing Emlyn Hughes International Soccer on the Commodore 64. Fifa 10 is NOT as close to football as pulling on your boots and playing the real thing - the worst injury you'll get in Fifa is a broken marriage.

But it's as real as you will ever get to reliving a match in HD on Sky Sports on a Sunday afternoon.

It looks lovely. The menus are slick and, again, the track list is eclectic to say the least.

But really, really good standout songs from The Enemy and some Argentinian bloke called Fidel Nadal will make their way into your head over the coming weeks.

More importantly FIFA 10 does the business on the pitch.It excels in the midfield where tight passing triangles, bursts of pace and ingenuity are required to give you that all too rare foray towards goal.

Good play is rewarded but equally defenders are given a fighting chance against pacey strikers with increased sterngth.

The much talked about 360° dribbling (you could only run in eight directions before) isn't instantly obvious but grows on you until arcing runs from the touchline into the box become the staple of a good attack.

All this beauty, grit and downright realism is largely down to one man - Gary Paterson. A Scot who took the reins of the much laughed at franchise a few years back and has turned it into the masterpiece it is today.

He is a man clearly in love with the beautiful game, surprising considering he is an Aberdeen fan.

Fifa ain't flawless. Some throw-ins still annoyingly go straight to the opposition, as do keeper throw-outs.

And while online seems as solid as a rock, I've had frustrating issues connecting to some people on my friends list.

But the evolution continues and, for once, FIFA can revel in its own glory knowing it is that OTHER football game that has all the hard work to do.

Wacom launches new tablet PC - Bamboo

Wacom, tablet PC maker, has introduced a new multi touch technology PC named as Bamboo.

According to the company, Bamboo is the first interactive tablet, which combines multi-touch functionality and pen tablet technology in a single device.

Bamboo second generation provides customers a new innovative way to interact with the digital device by means of pen and touch input.

The new technology has placed Wacom among the leaders of the technology market.

Wacom is committed to make technology simpler to operate by the use of advanced touch multi-technology. The company is focusing on developing interface technology for a range of digital devices such as Desktop PC and mobile phones.

Mr. Masahiko Yamada, President of Wacom said that the touch and pen technology is not only a new interface technology but also it would change the way users interact with the computer or any other digital device by making it more natural and simpler.

The new multi-touch technology has reformed company’s image as the global leader in specialist pen tablets to an organization developing interfacing solutions of high standard making digital lifestyle devices more powerful yet easy to operate.

Reliance Mobile To Introduce Blackberry Tour In India

Reliance Mobile, on Wednesday, has introduced the Blackberry Tour smartphone on its CDMA network. The launch of the smartphone is a result of the partnership between the Indian Telecom major Reliance Mobile and Canadian firm Research In Motion.

The BlackBerry Tour is a 3G-enabled CDMA based high end smartphone. It features a 2.44 inches display screen offering a resolution of 480x360 pixels. It consists of a QWERTY keyboard for easy typing and quick messaging. The phone is loaded with a number of multimedia functions such as web browsing, email support and social networking.

Mr. Vrajesh Shelat, Head of Reliance Mobile Wireless Data Business, said that Reliance Mobile has been the market leader in the field of CDMA communication technology since its arrival in India. The BlackBerry Tour offers all the advanced features as well as technologies required by today’s dynamic users.

The BlackBerry Tour is priced at Rs 27,990 and will be available nationally from October 12.

The company has also launched a promotional scheme for the pre-booking customers. Under the scheme pre-booking, customers will get a free subscription of BlackBerry Internet Service on Reliance Mobile's CDMA network for the first two months.

Nokia launches most-awaited ‘N79’ in Indian Market

Nokia, the world's biggest mobile phone maker, has launched the N79, a characteristic typical of the iconic Nseries that combines intelligent and customizable design with a fully-loaded multimedia device.

The newly launched handset is powered by Symbian OS 9.3, Series 60 v3.2 UI operating system, instead of the typical Windows Mobile OS. In addition, it comes equipped with a complete range of multimedia experiences such as AGPS with voice navigation, high-speed connectivity, superior web browsing experience, 10 pre-loaded N-Gage games.

Moreover, while many mobile phones only include a measly 1.3 megapixel camera, the Nokia N79 comes with an extra formidable 5 Megapixel camera, along with Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, dual LED Flash, which captures sharp, clear images and videos that can be edited without even using a personal computer.

Combined with the device’s high-fidelity sound from its dual speakers, the device comes with the integrated FM Transmitter, which makes it a true companion for music lovers. As far as memory is concerned, the mobile uses microSD, which allow it an extendable memory of up to 8GB, on top of the 50 MB of internal memory.

Each Nokia N79 pack comes with two additional interchangeable Xpress-On smart covers in different colours, which have an inbuilt microchip that ensures that when the back cover is changed, the display theme changes automatically to match the colour of the cover.

As a special offer for Indian consumers, the Nokia N79, comes preloaded with ‘Anthems 1998-2008’, a compilation of 19 all-time favorite classic club songs and 17 new age music videos, presented by the Ministry of Sound.

The company claims that it’s newly launched ‘Nokia N79’ offers up to 372 hours of battery time in standby, and 5 and a half hours while talking.

The Nokia N79 is available at a price tag of Rs 22,939 through Nokia outlets, across the country.

Apple launches new bug free version of iPhone OS 3.1

Apple has introduced a new version of its buggy iPhone OS 3.1, which has been released just a month ago. The new upgraded OS version 3.1.2 will provide a bug free secure environment and will enhance the performance of iphone.

The new iPhone OS 3.1.2 has fixed several iPhone bugs such as bug that put a stop to the waking of iPhone from sleep, bug that crash the iPhone in case of video streaming and one that interrupt all the network services until the user restart the iPhone.

According to the Gartner report, the iPhone OS is losing hold of the its second place in smartphone OS market as newly launched Google’s Android OS is gaining popularity. The report predicts that Android would grab 12.9 per cent of market shares by the end of 2012 as against its current 1.6 per cent, and it would made Android to come close to iPhone OS predicted 13.7 per cent market shares.

Apple said that the user can access the updates directly by plugging their iPhones into their computers and then clicking the update tab in the iTunes. These updates are fully compatible with the iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS.

Intex launches Dual SIM support (GSM+CDMA) mobile handset ‘IN-5050’

Intex Technologies, a 12-year-old IT Hardware and Electronics company, has finally entered CDMA based mobile phones genre with the launch of much awaited dual SIM (GSM + CDMA) mobile handset- IN 5050.

Earlier, the company was operating in GSM genre only with 7 models.

The latest sleek candy-bar handset, which weight just 88 grams, allows the users to multi-task by installing two separate SIM cards belonging to two different service providers (GSM/CDMA) and make a smooth shift between them, without switching off the mobile phone.

IN 5050 is equipped with a 1.3 megapixel camera along with Bluetooth, through which one can record and share some unforgettable moments. It allows users to store upto 1000 number phonebook and 400 SMS memory. Furthermore, the device also features Dual Speakers for a clear, high quality audio output.

To make the deal more attractive, the latest gizmo comes with freebies like 1 GB memory card, an extra battery and a portable battery charger. The device offers upto 160 minutes of talk time on full charge and upto 130 hrs of standby time.

Intex has been expanding its existing product lines at a really fast pace. Recently the company had introduced IN 2020, IN 2222, IN 1210 and IN 3333 mobile phones in the market and had also unveiled nine notebooks targeting different consumer segments.

The phone is available at a price of Rs 7,200 through company’s channel network comprising of 1000+ distributors and 12,000+ dealers spread across the country.

Windows 7 Boots Slower Than Vista, Says Study

Microsoft's new Windows 7 operating system boots slower than its unloved predecessor, Windows Vista, a PC tune-up developer said today.

The claims by iolo Technologies, a Los Angeles maker of PC software, contradict Microsoft's boasts that Windows 7 starts up faster than Vista.

According to iolo's tests, Windows 7 starts up 42% slower than Vista -- one minute, 34 seconds versus one minute, six seconds -- on a brand new machine when the time trials are run to the point where the machine is usable, at least by iolo's standards.

Windows 7 does seem to start faster than Vista, said iolo, with its time-to-the-desktop measured as around 40 seconds. But iolo measured startup as the point where the computer is "fully usable," with a low load on the processor.

Microsoft has said it's dedicated significant resources to making Windows 7 boot, and resume from sleep and hibernation, faster than Vista, which has been panned since 2007 for starting slowly.

Other tests, however, have echoed iolo, and showed that in some cases Windows 7 does boot slower than Vista. PC World, a sister publication to Computerworld , for example, benchmarked the new operating system as starting about 10% slower than Vista when 32-bit versions of the two were compared, although it was 14% faster on 64-bit.

iolo also said its tests indicated that Windows 7's startup times, like Vista's, degrade over time. After several "commonly-used" applications have been installed on a new Windows 7 box, for instance, its boot time -- again, as measured by the company -- slows to two minutes, 34 seconds, an increase of 64%.

Over an even more extended span, Windows 7's boot times get more sluggish than that: By the end of a simulated two-year period, Windows 7's startup times increased more than 330%.

Boot times have become a hot topic. Last week, Chinese computer maker Lenovo said its new ThinkPad notebooks and ThinkCentre desktops will boot Windows 7 56% faster than when loading XP or Vista, thanks to operating system, driver, and power management tweaks it made.

iolo said it will release more details and results of its Windows 7 boot-time benchmarks on Monday.

Samsung Android phone gets a name, release date

After weeks of anticipation, Sprint today said that starting on November 1 it will sell Samsung’s first Android handset available in the United States.

The 10 best Google Android apps

The new Samsung Moment will run on Sprint's EV-DO Rev. A 3G network and will sell for $179.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate and a two-year service agreement. The phone will also feature expandable memory of up to 32GB, a 3.2-megapixel camera and Active Sync for corporate e-mail access.

Samsung first began showing off its Android phone models during the CommunicAsia show in Singapore this summer when it debuted its Samsung Galaxy model. Samsung has been placing a lot more emphasis on developing Android-based smartphones this year, after initially falling behind rival device manufacturer HTC, whose T-Mobile G1 was the first Android phone available in the United States.

The Samsung Moment will be the second Android smartphone to run on the Sprint 3G network, as the carrier announced last month that the Android-based HTC Hero would go on sale on Oct. 11. AT&T is currently the only major U.S. wireless carrier to not have an Android phone in its lineup, as Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile have all either started selling Android phones or have made plans to sell them in the near future.

Verizon and Google made big headlines yesterday when the two companies jointly announced that they will be working together to develop Android-based smartphones, PDAs and netbooks, and to deliver users applications sold through the Android Market app store. Verizon says it will have two Android-based handsets on the market by year-end with more to come by 2010.

The Android platform, which was developed by Google in 2007, is a Linux-based open platform for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware and some key mobile applications. Google has been promoting the platform as a way to spur innovation in developing mobile applications that will give users the same experience surfing the Web on their phone as they currently have on their desktop computers.

Sometimes, Letting Data Die A Natural Death Is Ok

The big story today is about Microsoft subsidiary Danger losing all T-Mobile Sidekick customer data from their servers. Danger is the company noted for the T-Mobile Sidekick, the revolution in cloud mobile, and most memorably, almost everybody living in 90210 having to get new phone numbers because of Paris Hilton.

Valued T-Mobile Sidekick customers received a notice today from the company updating them on the “data disruption” problem. The good news is that data is no longer being disrupted. The bad news is that there is no data left to be disrupted.

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Microsoft Planning 128-Bit Version Of Windows 8?

Windows 7 is not even out the door yet and rumors are already circulating about the next version of Microsoft's OS, Windows 8.

According to Microsoft employee Robert Morgan, future iterations of Windows, including Windows 8, could support a 128-bit architecture. Two weeks ago his now defunct LinkedIn profile disclosed that he had been working on "research and development projects including 128-bit architecture compatibility with the Windows 8 kernel and Windows 9 project plan".

Further to this, Morgan's profile also let slip that Microsoft are hoping to form a number of future relationships with major players such as IBM, Intel, AMD and others in the run up to 128-bit support. (Keep in mind that 64-bit computing is just now going mainstream.)

An interview with Robert Morgan, who has been with the company since 2002, is expected to appear on Windows 8 News within the coming days, hopefully shedding more light on what to expect from the next version of Windows, codenamed Chirdori.

So while we wait to learn more on the future of Windows, be sure to check our our coverage on Microsoft's latest effort, Windows 7.

Switched On: Towards telepresence's tipping point

To steal a line from Las Vegas' tourism board, what happens in the custom install channel has stayed in the custom install channel. While technologies routinely filter down from the enterprise to consumers, products and services that are the province of professional system integrators rarely become something the average consumer can manage, despite their perceived coolness, convenience and, in the case of some electrical and thermostat control, cost benefits. Examples include automated lighting, heating and air conditioning, multi-room video, and surveillance.

But this is starting to change. One capability that has somewhat filtered through recently has been multi-room audio, which had to go wireless with the Sonos music system. While a Sonos system is still a relatively expensive product, but it is a drop in the bucket when compared with systems such as those from Russound. And telepresence may be getting next in line. The recent release of the Avaak Vue lives up to its promise of being a relatively simple and affordable product that extends webcams to walls, allowing consumers to peek in at will at what is going on at their home. Access is from a simple Web site that allows you to view up to 50 cameras around the home by dragging and dropping them onto a Web page.

Continue reading Switched On: Towards telepresence's tipping point

Hitachi's face-recognizing display turns off, saves power when you look away (video)

CEATEC is a breeding ground for new innovations, and Hitachi made sure to get its name on the A-list with a simple face-recognizing television that seeks to save power whenever you glance away. Essentially, the prototype plasma on display packs an inbuilt camera that notices when your face is peering at it, and whenever you glance away, a power-saving mode goes into action. Unfortunately, that means that the panel goes black, and while we understand the point here, we can envision such a feature causing all sorts of rage around the house, particularly if you've got a handful of viewers trying to keep watch from a few feet further away than yourself. Hit the read link to have a look at how things work in practice -- here's hoping you can opt for the sound to stay on throughout the blackout, at least.

Continue reading Hitachi's face-recognizing display turns off, saves power when you look away (video)

Samsung's WinMo 6.5-powered Armani smartphone gets previewed

Got a cool grand to drop on a Windows Phone? Oh, yeah? Then have a gander at Samsung's latest fashion piece, the Armani-branded M7500. The cool cats over at PhoneArena managed to get their paws around a unit, and as predicted, they didn't hesitate to bust out the camera and give us all a good look. They also took the chance to give us a brief overview of how the handset handled, calling it "bulky even for a WinMo smartphone," though praising the high-res display and well-spaced keyboard. Feel free to hit the read link if you're interested in more, but don't be shocked to hear more than a little criticism.

LG's 5.1 HB954SP Blu-ray HTIB system makes room for your iPod or iPhone

If you've somehow managed to hold out from joining into the HTIB revolution, the time for caving is upon you. LG has just tapped Sir Mark Levinson to engineer the acoustics behind its latest bundle, the HB954SP. Packing a 5.1-channel sound system that includes 1,000 total watts of power, a quintet of oval drivers and a ported subwoofer, the system gets direction from a BD-Live-enabled Blu-ray player that's actually a fair bit more stylish than the tried-and-true black rectangle. You'll also find a pair of HDMI inputs, an iDock function for charging and controlling your iPod / iPhone right from the BD deck, 1080p upscaling of traditional DVDs, touch sensitive controls, a USB port for loading up external media and an optical audio input. There's nary a mention of price, but it should splash down this November for a hefty premium.

Mizzou's nuclear battery to power things smaller than your brain can imagine

Oh yeah, everyone loves the extended battery, but are we really kosher with the added bulge? A team of boffins at the University of Missouri certainly aren't, as they've spent the last good while of their lives researching and developing a new nuclear battery that could be used to power devices much smaller than, well, most anything. The radioisotope cell, as it's called, can reportedly "provide power density that is six orders of magnitude higher than chemical batteries," and while some may question the safety of this potentially volatile device, the liquid semiconductor (used instead of a solid semiconductor) should help ease concerns. The current iteration of the device is about the size of a penny, and it's intended to power a variety of MEMS systems. Now, if only these guys could find a way to make a standard AA last longer than a week in our Wiimote, we'd be pleased as punch.

This Week's Gaming Stories You Cannot Miss

There were many, many interesting stories happening in the world of video games this week. From Wolverine claws appearing on PlayStation Home to these gross-looking beasts from the latest Final Fantasy, there's a lot to see over at Kotaku. More »

A True Foreign Beauty: The Winning 2014 Asian Games Stadium Design

We can argue about whether it looks like an alien spaceship, a colony on a distant planet, or something else, but let's agree that the winning stadium design for the 2014 Asian Games is mind-blowingly gorgeous. More »

F-Secure Internet Security 2010 Review

F-Secure has released a new internet Security 2010 software featuring redesigned interface coupled with very easy to use parental control features that you can setup during your initial installation while F-Secure is downloading updates in the background, this new build is easy on system resources and F-Secure claims to have 60% faster virus scans than the previous version.

Our installation of the F-Secure Internet Security 2010 on a test PC having C2D E6320 and 2.5 GB RAM was finished in around 1 minute, after a restart and verification of the key, it showed the programs requesting Internet access like Steam client and others installed in our system, after clicking allow couple of times we were good to go , downloading updates and further installation took another 15 minutes on our 1 Mbps connection.

The parental control settings in the F-Secure 2010 Internet security are one of the easiest out there, so lets have a look at the parental controls

Browsing modes


You can also set time limit on the daily and weekend Internet browsing.

Better Content blocking based on cloud computing technology

System Scanning- Virus, Spyware removal

The overall speed of the scanning was good, our almost full 160 HDD including lots of software, games, applications, was scanned in 1 hours and 4 minutes, however there isn’t a pause scan option while scanning the hard drive so if you stop the scan, you would have to run it again from scratch. Pause scan option is particularly good when you just want to Hibernate your PC after pausing the scan and then turn it on later to resume scan from where it left, very helpful these days as HDD capacities have grown manifolds and scanning takes time. It detected all the viruses we have in our virus-pendrive with ease and the Anti-Spyware was pretty hard on the advertising agencies, and detected their tracking cookies as Spyware.

Full System Scan in Action - no pause button

Other thoughts: After installation of F-Secure our Local Area Network stopped working, we weren’t able to access files of our test PC from other PCs on LAN

, Even after configuring again with the Windows “Set up a home or small office network” it didn’t work, nor does it showed any warnings or asked for permission. I have to set this up manually by going to Settings -> Firewall

-> Firewall Settings -> Trusted Network Adapter -> Select your Network Interface Card.

It was not able to detect our LAN IC on our Intel DG965RY motherboard, after selecting the network IC, local network access was restored. This might be a problem specific to our system.

Pros and Cons of F-Secure Internet Security 2010

Pros :

• Very Easy on System Resources
• Great Design and User Interface
• Provides superb protection, it was able to detect and clean 4 viruses on our test system, which up to date free Avira couldn’t.
• Easy to Set-Up
• Good and easy to use Parental Control Settings
• Browsing Protection
• Statistics: provides quick overview of security history
• Anti-Virus, Anti-Spyware and Anti-Spam protection in one package
• Compatible with Windows 7, Windows Vista and Window XP
  

Cons:

• While performing full system scan, System got noticeably slow and CPU usage went to as high as 75%, 10% being average
• No Pause Scan button
• Didn’t Detect LAN card automatically (this could be specific to our system)

Download F-Secure Internet Security 2010 trial

Intel's Light Peak Technology - Optical Cabling For the Masses

Intel has unveiled Light Peak, an optical cabling technology that can transfer data between your computer and peripherals at 10 Gb/s, fast enough to transfer a full-length Blu-ray movie in less than 30 seconds. Fiber-optic cabling is not new, but Intel executives believe Light Peak will make it cheap enough and small enough to be incorporated into consumer electronics at a price point that consumers and manufacturers will accept.

Fiber optics typically use a cigarette-box-sized optical transceiver, which contains tiny lasers and photo cells, to facilitate the connections. Intel miniaturized the box down to the dimensions of a wafer thin dime. Optical cables are already pretty tiny; each one is just 125 microns wide or about the width of a single human hair. The transceiver can deliver two channels of information over the fiber-optic cable—necessary since PCs need at least two ports.

click on image for fullview

Intel states that the technology will eventually scale up to a blazing 100 Gb/s.

Inside each transceiver are two tiny lasers only 250 microns wide, or the width of two human hairs, that transmit the light over each channel. The industry name for the lasers is VCSELs which stands for Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser. Accompanying the lasers is a matching pair of photo detectors that receive laser light from the other end of the channels.

Another advantage of the optical cabling is that, unlike electrical cable, multiple protocols can be run over a single cable. Photons don't interfere with each other the way electrons do so multiple devices can share a single cable even if those devices are using different protocols. This will allow manufacturers to make even smaller yet more efficient components when building computer and electronic devices since they can use a single Light Peak component for connected devices. Light Peak's optical cabling will also allow for much longer cables since light does not degrade the same way electricity does over long distances.

Intel representatives explained that Light Peak could provide a better cabling solution to companies like 3ality. It makes a 3D video camera that transmits data at 8 Gb/s per second and currently uses bulky electrical cables.

Light Peak stands ready to replace the existing data transfer technologies of USB and FireWire and there is even speculation that Apple may skip over USB 3.0 and go straight to Light Peak. There are reports on the web that Light Peak is an outgrowth of Apple's desire to replace the multiple ports on their systems for a single port that could service all connected devices and that Apple's Steve Jobs might haves reached out to Intel's Paul Otellini for a fiber-optic solution.

Light Peak-based products could arrive as early as 2010.

Illustrated walk-through: Creating a bootable USB flash drive for Windows XP

Takeaway: A bootable flash drive can come in handy--but trying to create one might have you pulling out your hair. Windows expert Greg Shultz shares the method he followed, from configuring the BIOS to allow the USB port to act as a bootable device to creating a bootable image of Windows XP using the free PE Builder software (and a pair of Windows Server 2003 SP1 files) to formatting and copying the image onto a UFD.
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The ability to boot Windows XP from a USB Flash Drive (UFD) offers endless possibilities. For example, you might make an easy-to-use troubleshooting tool for booting and analyzing seemingly dead PCs. Or you could transport your favorite applications back and forth from home to work without having to install them on both PCs.

However, before you can create a bootable UFD, you must clear a few hurdles. You saw that one coming didn't you?

The first hurdle is having a PC in which the BIOS will allow you to configure the USB port to act as a bootable device. The second hurdle is having a UFD that that will work as a bootable device and that's large enough and fast enough to boot an operating system such as Windows XP. The third hurdle is finding a way to condense and install Windows XP on a UFD.

If you have a PC that was manufactured in the last several years, chances are that its BIOS will allow you to configure the USB port to act as a bootable device. If you have a good quality UFD that's at least 512 KB and that was manufactured in the last couple of years, you've probably cleared the second hurdle. And once you've cleared those first two hurdles, the third one is a piece of cake. All you have to do is download and run some free software to create the bootable UFD.

I'll start by showing you how to determine whether your PC's BIOS will support booting from USB and explain how to configure it to do so. Then, I'll show you how to download and use the free software to create a bootable UFD running Windows XP Professional.

The UFD hurdle

You probably noticed that I didn't mention how to determine if your UFD would support being configured as a bootable device, except that it must be a good quality unit of recent manufacture. Well, I've discovered that when it comes to the actual UFD, you'll just have to try it and see what happens. As long as you have a PC with a BIOS that will allow you to configure the USB port to act as a bootable device and you have configured the installation correctly, it should work. If it doesn't, you probably have a UFD that can't boot.

I tested three UFDs on two new computers and had mixed success. First, I attempted to use a 128 MB PNY Attache but received an error message that said "Invalid or damaged Bootable partition" on both PCs. Next, I tried a 1GB Gateway UFD and it worked on both PCs. Then, I tried a 256 MB Lexar JumpDrive Pro and it worked on only one of the PCs. You can find lists of UFD brands that others have had success with on the Internet.

Checking the BIOS

Not every new BIOS will allow you to configure the USB port to act as a bootable device. And some that do allow it don't make it easy. On one of my example systems, it was a no-brainer. On the other, the UFD had to be connected to the USB port before it was apparent that I could configure it as a bootable device. Let's take a closer look.

On the test system with a PhoenixBIOS version 62.04, I accessed the BIOS, went to the boot screen, and found that USB Storage Stick was one of the options. I then moved it to the top of the list, as shown in Figure A, thus making it the first device to check during the boot sequence. (This particular BIOS also allowed me to press the [F10] key during the boot sequence and select any one of the available bootable devices, so it really wasn't necessary to move it to the top.)

Figure A

The settings on the Boot Screen of the PhoenixBIOS made it a no-brainer to select the device.

On the test system with an AMI BIOS version 2.59, I accessed the BIOS, went to the Boot Sequence screen, and didn't find a USB boot option, as shown in Figure B.

Figure B

A USB boot option didn't appear on the Boot Sequence screen.

I then went one step further and checked the Hard Disk Drives screen and still didn't find a USB boot option, as shown in Figure C.

Figure C

The Hard Disk Drives screen only showed the SATA hard disk.

I then plugged a UFD into the USB port, booted up the system, and accessed the BIOS. When I checked the Hard Disk Drives screen, the UFD appeared in the list and I could select it as the first drive (Figure D).

Figure D

With the UFD plugged into the USB port, I could configure the UFD as a bootable device.

When I returned to the Boot Sequence screen, the UFD was indeed set as the first bootable device (Figure E).

Figure E

As the Boot Sequence screen indicates, the UFD was set to be the first bootable device.

Rounding up the software

To condense and install Windows XP on a UFD, you'll need a program called PE Builder by Bart Lagerweij. You'll also need two files from the Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1. And of course, you need to have a Windows XP Professional CD.

You can download PE Builder from Bart's Web site. At the time of this writing, the most current version of PE Builder was 3.1.10a.

You can download Windows Server 2003 SP1 by following the link in the Knowledge Base article "How to obtain the latest service pack for Windows Server 2003." Be sure to get the 32-bit version!

Keep in mind that at 329 MB, Windows Server 2003 SP1 will take some time to download. And although you need just two small files, the only way to get them is to download the entire package.

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Warning

Do not run the Windows Server 2003 SP1 executable file! Doing so will completely corrupt Windows XP. We will use a set of special commands to extract the two files and then delete the rest of the package.

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Preparing the software

Installing PE Builder is quick and easy. Just run the installation program and follow the onscreen instructions. To make things simpler, I installed the program in the root directory in a folder called PEBUILDER3110a.

Once PE Builder is installed, you'll need to create a folder in C:\PEBUILDER3110a called SRSP1, as shown in Figure F. This is the folder in which PE Builder will look for the extracted Windows Server 2003 SP1 files.

Figure F

Once PE Builder is installed, you'll need to create folder called SRSP1 in C:\PEBUILDER3110a.

Now, you can begin extracting the two needed files from Windows Server 2003 SP1. When you download the Windows Server 2003 SP1, the executable file will have a long name: WindowsServer2003-KB889101-SP1-ENU.exe. To save on typing, you can rename the file to something shorter, such as WS-SP1.exe.

To begin, open a Command Prompt window and use the CD command to change to the folder in which you downloaded the Windows Server 2003 SP1 executable file. I downloaded the file to a folder called Downloads. Now, to extract the files contained in SP1, type the command

WS-SP1.exe -x

You'll immediately see a dialog box that prompts you to select a folder in which to extract the files and can type the name of the same folder, as shown in Figure G. Click OK to proceed with the extraction procedure. When the procedure is complete, just leave the Command Prompt window open.

Figure G

You can extract the files into the same folder containing the Windows Server 2003 SP1 executable file

The extraction procedure will create a subdirectory called i386 and extract all the Windows Server 2003 SP1 files there. Use the CD command to change to the i386 folder and then copy the setupldr.bin file to the SRSP1 folder with the command:

copy setupldr.bin c:\pebuilder3110a\srsp1

Expand the ramdisk.sy_ file to the SRSP1 folder with the command:

expand -r ramdisk.sy_ c:\pebuilder3110a\srsp1

These three steps are illustrated in Figure H.

Figure H

You'll copy and expand the two necessary files to the SRSP1 folder.

Now, using Windows Explorer, verify that the two necessary files are in the SRSP1 folder, as shown in Figure I. Once you do so, you can delete all the Windows Server 2003 SP1 files.

Figure I
You'll want to verify that the setupldr.bin and ramdisk.sys files are in the SRSP1 folder.

Running PE Builder

Now that you've extracted the necessary files from the Windows Server 2003 SP1 package, you're ready to use PE Builder to create a compressed version of Windows XP. To begin, place your Windows XP Professional CD into the drive and hold down the [Shift] key to prevent Autostart from launching the CD. Then, launch PE Builder.

In the Source field on the main PE Builder screen, simply type the letter of drive in which you put the Windows XP Professional CD, as shown in Figure J. Make sure that the Output box contains BartPE and that the None option is selected in the Media Output panel. Then, click the Build button.

Figure J

Fill in the Source field on the main PE Builder screen.

As PE Builder compresses Windows XP Professional into a bootable image, you'll see a detailed progress dialog box. When the operation is complete, as shown in Figure K, click the Close button.

Figure K

PE Builder displays a detailed progress report.

Preparing the UFD to boot Windows XP

At this point, you're ready to format and copy the Windows XP Professional bootable image to the UFD with the BartPE USB Installer. To do so, open a Command Prompt window and use the CD command to change to the pebuilder3110a folder. Then, insert your UFD into a USB port and take note of the drive letter that it is assigned. On my example system, the UFD was assigned drive E.

Now, type the command

pe2usb -f e:

You'll then be prompted to confirm this part of the operation, as shown in Figure L. While the operation is underway, you'll see progress indicators.

Figure L

You'll be prompted to confirm that you want to format your UFD.

Once the BartPE USB Installer finishes its job, you'll be prompted press any key to exit the program. Now you can use your UFD to boot your computer into the BartPE interface for Windows XP, as shown in Figure M.

Figure M

The BartPE interface provides you with a pared down version of Windows XP.

You can find a list of specialized applications on Bart's Web site, which you can install on your UFD as Plugins. For example, you can find such things as Firefox or McAfee command-line virus scanner.

Conclusion

Booting Windows XP from a UFD requires that your PC's BIOS support booting from USB and that you have a UFD that can be formatted as a bootable device. If you can meet these two requirements, all you need is PE Builder, a couple of files from the Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1, and a little effort to configure a UFD to boot the BartPE interface to Windows XP.