Google Android, the mobile phone OS by Google has been released. The phones will be on sale from T-Mobile on October 22nd 2008.
Review: The Samsung U740 for Verizon Wireless
23 Sep
Posted by Daniel as Cell Phones, Verizon Wireless
Not too long ago I made the plunge and purchased the phone that everyone seems to be talking about. The Samsung SCH-U740. It is famous for its dual hinge which allows you to open it like a regular flip phone, or sideways with a full QWERTY keyboard for texting and email. 
- Samsung U740 Phone
The phone itself is RAZR thin (no pun intended 
and has a 1.3 Megapixel camera and video camera, Full VCAST offerings, Bluetooth, and EVDO. Overall I have loved the design of the phone and you see a lot of wows when you flip it in landscape mode. The controls take some getting used to and I was not crazy about the number keypad as it can be difficult to use. I also wish that it would retain what it is doing when you go to switch to landscape mode. For instance if you are working on an email and want it in landscape mode you have to close the phone which closes the email app. Also, it should be noted that it has no sync support for Mac machines. Call quality was excellent, signal great, and excalibur EVDO speeds. This phone also has a very long lasting durable battery. I would be very interested to see how this phone does compared to the new LG ENv2.
So despite some minor quibbles with the design we at Daily Tech Dose have fallen in love with this phone and would recommend it to anyone who needs a functional design with a RAZR like size. Maybe next time we could have put a PDA like OS on it? Windows Mobile? Only time will tell!
Adobe CS4 is ready to be launched on September 23 2008. Keep updated here.
Changes? Oh Yeah!
New features
Although Adobe has not made any formal announcement about the new features to be introduced in CS4, some new features have been shown in beta tests and demonstrations. Visually, the suite is undergoing a new UI overhaul to standardize look and feel across all CS4 applications, similar to how Office 2007 included a reworked interface.
- Dreamweaver - Many new features aimed towards improving workflow and ease of use:
- Live View - The ability to view a web page under standards-based browser conditions, while still retaining direct access to the code (using the WebKit renderer, as does Safari and Chrome)
- Related Files - Manage related files more easily; all files related to the currently displayed page will be displayed in a toolbar
- Code Navigator - Displays all code sources that affect the current selection in a window
- CSS - Help information to be displayed to the user while editing CSS
- Code hinting for Ajax and Javascript
- Improved spry widgets and HTML datasets
- Increased compatibility with Photoshop
- Fireworks - There are several new features included in the Fireworks beta:
- Increased compatibility with Photoshop, Illustrator and Flash
- Web design and CSS export - allows graphical design of web pages, which can then be exported with standards-compliant CSS sheets created automatically
- PDF export ability
- Live style updates - when a style is updated, all elements using the style are also updated
- Adobe Type Engine - enhanced typesetting abilities, similar to that already seen in current versions of Photoshop and Illustrator
- Live gradients
- Flash - It is believed that Adobe will be performing a substantial overhaul of Flash for CS4. Possible changes include:
- Hardware Compositing / GPU Rendering
- Pixel Bender
- Keyframes no longer necessary for tweens or motion
- Inverse kinematics
- “Mobile Convergence”, making it easier to make Flash content for mobile devices
- Object-based tween modeling
- 3D rotation
- Photoshop
- Compatibility fixes for Microsoft Windows Vista
- Content Aware Image Resizing will be one method of transforming pictures, due to Adobe hiring one of its inventors
- Some of the old filters as well as rotation and zoom will be able to use the GPU for increased/real-time performance
- The brush size can now be more easily adjusted
- 64-bit processors will be utilized more than with previous versions
- Further integrates Bridge into one menu bar at the top
- Options for using greyscale application icons
- Soundbooth - According to Adobe Labs, several new features are available in the beta release:
- Arranging audio files on multiple tracks
- Making quick edits and applying fades
- Matching volume levels with a single command
- Removing unwanted noises and background sounds
- Adjusting tempo and pitch
- Recording and polishing voice-overs
- Adding effects and filters
- Previewing MP3 compression quality
I have been using Windows XP for several years now and I have found some programs to be absolutely essential for operation, speed, and stability of the Windows operating system.
CCleaner: This program is amazing. It cleans all the unnecessary files off a computer. Files such as temporary files, cookies, and other annoying junk files that decrease the performance of a PC. It also find and corrects Registry errors that can make a computer unstable and slow and plague Windows. CCleaner also gives the user the ability to uninstall programs and customize which programs are started when the computer is started. On a computer that has never had CCleaner run on it, it is possible to get rid of gigabytes of unnecessary files! This program also has a very active community so the software is updated frequently. Overall it is a great program that was well thought out and it is also free!
Auslogics Disk Defrag: The default disk defragmenter that comes with Windows is sufficient most of the time but questions have been raised as to it’s effectiveness. Also, the speed is horrible. Well Windows disk defragmenter cannot stand up to this defragmenter. Auslogics provides a free disk defragmenter that is my opinion superior to the default disk defrag. It has a user friendly interface with a visual representation of the actual actions taking place during the defrag. The best thing is that it can take less than ten minutes to defragment an entire hard drive! So know more sitting for an hour and waiting for your hard drive to be defragmented. It even tells the percentage of how much it has increased speed. I think this program far surpasses the default disk defrag in Windows and I recommend it to anyone looking for a better disk defragmenter.
Keep posted for more articles in this series!
iTunes 8.0 Was a Free Upgrade and Added Numerous New Features like:
Genius Playlists
Meet Genius: a brilliant way to create perfect playlists. Play a song, click the Genius button, and iTunes creates a playlist of other songs from your library that go great together. Genius playlists help you discover songs in your library you never knew you had — and rediscover forgotten favorites.
Genius Sidebar
While you reacquaint yourself with the music you already own, let Genius introduce you to new music you’ll love. As you select songs in your library, the Genius sidebar displays songs from the iTunes Store that go great with it. The Genius sidebar won’t recommend songs already in your library, and you can preview and buy recommended songs directly from the sidebar.
iTunes Views Screenshot
See your iTunes library in a new way. Select Albums in Grid View and iTunes 8 displays your entire music library using cover art. Select Artists, Genres, or Composers and iTunes automatically creates groups of albums based on your selection. Simply skim across a group to see the albums inside, and start playing an album with a single click. Movies, TV shows, podcasts, and audiobooks look great in Grid View, too.
HD TV Shows
Purchase select episodes of your favorite TV shows in high definition for just $2.99. Or get the whole season in HD with a Season Pass. And when you buy HD, iTunes doubles your viewing pleasure: You also get an iPod-ready version with a file size and resolution that’s ideal for smaller screens.
Enhanced Accessibility
Accessibility
iTunes 8 is now screen reader friendly on both Mac and PC. Manage your iTunes library using VoiceOver in Mac OS X Leopard or Window-Eyes for Windows XP and Windows Vista. Or use your screen reader to purchase or download content from the iTunes Store — including iTunes U.
iTunes Visualizer Screenshot
New Visualizer
Turn on the new Visualizer and lose yourself in a 3D-scape of spheres, ribbons, and lights that pulsate to the beat and tempo of the song you’re playing.
So far I have been pretty happy with the browser choices available for OS X, You have Safari which I tend to use, Firefox, and Opera as well as some more minor ones. Well here is one that I feel beats all three for us Mac Users. This browser combines great speed, looks, and functionality. It even was able to import my firefox extensions! Give it a try.
Came across this site. If you are having trouble finding a presidential canidate this may be the site for you!
I am sure many of you have heard about how all analog signals are going to be dropped by January 1 2009. This will not affect most of us on Cable or Satellite but it will affect those people who are still using the “Bunny Ears” style analog antenna. At first I was hesitant about this change, I was wondering how people in Rural Areas who probably didn’t have a digital signal available to them would cope. Well I have some relatives who lived out in a rural area and still used the old analog signal. They asked if I would be willing to come over and setup their new digital box for them. I was supprised to find that the box costs $49.95 at Wal-Mart. That seemed to be a high price for a little converter box. Then I saw the $40 coupon that the government had been handing out for the signal switch. I found out that device would up costing about $10.
Setup of the device was pretty easy. You just run your existing Coaxial or A/V connection through it, make sure your TV is on channel 3 (or 4 depending on your settings and area) and then you turn the device on. Immediatly I was struck by the menu system, it looked like something from my personal Sat. TV connection. You set the language and then scan for available channels. The scan takes under 3 mins and quickly revealed that my relatives were able to pick up 9 channels. We were flipping through them and were shocked to find that these channels were often as clear as Cable or Sat. TV! The box even tells you scheduled programming and your signal strength to that station. Here is the verdict:
Pros: Clear Channels, Parental Controls, Programming Guide
Cons: Not all stations are available in digital and it is annoying to have to switch back and forth between analog and digital.
The scanning option tells you that you will have to rescan for stations as you adjust your antenna. It makes you kind of paranoid that you may be missing out on some stations by not scanning for stations every minor antenna adjustment.
Verdict: This is a great buy for $10 (with government coupon available at https://www.dtv2009.gov/) You will gain a great picture quality by this small convenient upgrade.
Ever since the launch of the AppStore I have been unimpressed with the quality of games that have been released. However I did find one game that I found highly enjoying, Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D. The game is accelerometer based which adds a lot. The graphics are average but the game as a whole is very enjoyable. It includes Cup Racing, Time Trials, Plain Quick Races, and a Story mode. The controls take a few minutes of getting used to but nothing too painful (*Cough* Super Monkey Ball *Cough*). It could use some more levels, especially in Story mode. I also noticed that performance would occasionally drag on my iPod Touch and cause the device to heat up a little. However in the long run this game is great clean fun for all ages and I highly recommend it. 
I have started doing some IT work for a local Law Firm and one of the things I have been looking for is a program that will allow me and the employees to securly access their network remotely when on the go. I really didn’t want to use the built in stuff in Windows Server to set this up because it would be a pain and we would always have to be worrying about security. So I was browsing the website that has the answer to (almost) every question - Google- and I came across a free service that says it will do just what I need I will keep you posted. www.logmein.com/hamachi
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