GOOD:Built-in high-speed modem, good quality screen with high brightness, ability to change service providers BAD:Low battery life for a netbook, flimsy build quality, no 6-cell battery upgrade available VERDICT:India's first netbook with built-in high-speed internet access
Olive Telecom has tied up with BSNL to offer its latest Zipbook with 3G broadband, the V-X108, in India.
The Zipbook, when launched, was one of the first laptops in the country to come with a built in 3G data card for ready Internet access. We had also reviewed one of the models from its line-up. The one we reviewed came bundled with a Tata Indicom connection, if you recall. When you buy the V-X108, you now have the option to go for a BSNL connection which offers 6GB worth of free download per month, for the first three months.
As for the Zipbook, it is a 10-inch netbook running an Intel Atom N450 1.6-GHz processor and Windows 7 Starter Edition. The Zipbook also boasts of a 1.3MP webcam and comes with Microsoft Security Essentials pre-installed. It is priced at 20,999 and is on sale now.
Weary office workers may now take a comfort nap at their desk -- thanks to a new necktie with an inflatable pillow which can be blown-up in less than a breath.
The Pillow Tie, which looks just like a normal tie when worn with a suit, is the ultimate gift for those who like to burn the candle at both ends, claimed its manufacturers.
To be available from next month in over 60 stylish designs, the tie holds a discreet air bag in the back side and a small mouthpiece hidden behind its 'arrow end' to blow up.
This allows the wearer to simply lift the tie to their mouth, inflate it and lay their head and 'pillow' on a desk.
According to its manufacturers, the tie does not even need to be removed from the neck and can be deflated in seconds if the boss returns to the office and you want to appear busy.
Pillow Tie can also be used to support your head against a train or tube window on the daily commute, said the company which uses the slogan: "Because most functions that require a necktie... deserve to be slept through."
The tie is made from a microfibre and silk blend which means they do not crease or leave a mark on your face when you lie on them.
The inflatable air bag, made from durable PVC plastic, fits in a special pocket inside the tie. It can hold a head weighing up to 25 pounds (over 11 kg) and is completely undetectable when worn and uninflated.
It can also be used to cushion your head against the train window if you want to get some sleep on your commute home.
The tie inflates in seconds and can be returned to normal almost instantly. It comes in a great range of designs and colours and looks just like a normal tie that can be worn with your suit.
"It's ideal for office workers or as a novelty gift for dad and granddad."
Saturday, September 11, 2010
MasterCard's MoneySend App for BlackBerry Phones
MasterCard has announced new MoneySend app for Research in Motion's BlackBerry platform devices. The credit card giant's MoneySend service enables users to send money to friends, family and also make purchases from informal vendors. Using the new MoneySend, BlackBerry owners can settle person-to-person accounts. Before you get excited, do note that this service would be available in U.S. only.
New MasterCard MoneySend app can be downloaded from the BlackBerry App World.
MasterCard MoneySend app is already available for Apple's iOS and Google's Android platform. Rival PayPal service also has mobile apps for all three platforms - iOS, Android and BlackBerry. MoneySend is PayPal-like person-to-person payment service. It is like a prepaid credit card that will allow transferring money from and to your account. However, both the sender and the receiver must have the MoneySend app and be a registered user of the service.
Take a look at the MoneySend App features:
Accept credit or debit card payments from anyone for free.
Send money to family members. Sending fees apply.
Pay for informal goods and services.
Request money from people who owe you money.
Simplify your business or non-profit collection effort using Request FundsTM feature
View your MoneySend transaction history from your mobile phone (BlackBerry, Android, iOS)
A firm handshake not only shows confidence but it also certifies your hold on life.
Men and women blessed with a strong grip seem to outlive those whose handshakes feel limp or feeble, said scientists.
Similarly, the slowest walkers were almost three times more likely to die at any age than those who set the fastest pace, according to the British Medical Journal.
And those who struggled to get out of their chairs had almost twice the death rate at any given time as those who could stand up with ease.
Those who have good balance can walk briskly and can quit a chair easily tend to live longer.
In future, simple tests, such as evaluating a person’s ability to stand on one leg or squeeze a handle, could be used quickly to separate the frail from the strong.
The weaker could be prescribed weight training or other exercises to help keep them active for longer.
Researchers reached their conclusions after taking age, sex, and body size into account. The studies of the other ‘measures of physical capability’ focused on older people but came to similar conclusions.
Tell this to the American pastor who wants to burn a copy of the Koran tomorrow – September 11: A Paris imam has invented a mosque that Muslim’s can now carry with them everywhere. Yes, it is the world’s first portable mosque.
Imam Hassen Bounamcha , the portable mosque’s inventor, is based at the Aubervilliers Mosque outside Paris.
Named the Mirhbox, the 2-meter high structure when deployed takes the form of the mirhab – the niche in the wall of a mosque to indicate in which direction Mecca lies, and it is made of plywood, plastic, aluminum and cardboard. Inside it the faithful one will find a Turkish rug to kneel on during his prayers.
Right now the Mirhbox is available only in France, but the Imam has told the Paris media that he has had inquiries from all over the world and soon one would be able to buy it just about everywhere.
Its priced from 450 euros ($570) for a top-range model that includes a built-in loudspeaker, to 69 euros for a children's model.
I now have a question for the world’s airlines? Will they allow a passenger to board a plane carrying one? And will the air crew allow a passenger to set one up in the aisle?
Which brings me to another question. When will Christians become so devout again that they will walk around with portable cathedrals? And Jews with portable synagogues?
Maybe we have a lesson or two to learn from Muslims ...
You may not always have a Wi-Fi connection, but still want to be able to access your Gmail messages and attachments. This is where Gmail Offline comes into play. Google Gears lets Google cache your messages on your hard drive. You can simply launch your browser to www.gmail.com and view your messages in your inbox. Not only this, you can even write replies to these messages even without an internet connection. Gmail will sync as soon as a web connection is established and you can send and receive messages.
Learn more about it by taking a look at this video.
Dropbox
Since a netbook usually has limited storage capacity, it is a good idea to store data online. Dropbox lets you upload up to 2GB of files to the cloud and then access them through a web portal or from your desktop anywhere as long as there is an internet connection available. You can download this application to your netbook and create a folder where you can drag and drop files you want to store online. To access files in this folder from anywhere, you need to simply type in your username and password. Dropbox is available for Windows, Mac and Linux at www.dropbox.com.
Paint.NET
Due to the limited processing capabilities of a netbook, a heavy photo-editing application such as Adobe Photoshop cannot run satisfactorily. Paint.NET is a free application that can serve as a replacement for Photoshop for quite a few of the normal tasks that most of us use. And Paint.NET is quite light on resources and it also takes just about 10 Mb of hard disk space. It has an intuitive interface and supports features such as layers, noise removal and several editing tools.
Resizing and adjusting image attributes can be done easily. This application is also suitable for netbooks because it handles multiple files in a single window rather than using multiple windows, which is not suitable for the small screen of a netbook. You can download Paint.NET from www.paint.net.
360 Desktop
With a paltry resolution of just 1024 x 600, netbooks simply do not have adequate screen real estate to be able to use multiple windows at the same time. Desktop 360 is an application that lets you overcome this hindrance. Using this program, you can keep windows open side by side and scroll through them sideways 360 degrees as if your desktop is on an axis. A small widget at the top of your screen shows you a translucent map of your desktop and lets you go to any of the open windows you wish to go to. Also, the background image is replaced by a suitable wide panoramic image. 360 Desktop is available only for Windows and you can get it at www.360desktop.com.
Digsby
As we mentioned before, the low resolution screen of the netbook may not be adequate for handling multiple open windows. This puts restrictions on not just application windows, but even instant messaging programs. You may not want to use 360 Desktop as a solution in this case, as you would wish to be alerted to all the different instant messaging clients, so they all need to be visible at the same time.
Using unified instant messaging client Digsby, you can login and chat via Google Talk, Yahoo Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, Facebook Chat, ICQ and Jabber through one centralized interface in a single Window. The different IM networks appear in the form of different tabs, which you can cycle through easily by pressing Ctrl+Tab. You can also view your recent email messages associated with these IM services and social networking updated associated with Facebook, MySpace and Twitter through Digsby. You can get it from www.digsby.com.
