Windows 8 feature

Windows, being one of the most used OS, brings great challenges for Microsoft to keep its users impressed in the next version of Windows.

Although Windows 7 has done exceptionally well since its release, Microsoft has been constantly working to make the next version of Windows a better one by further improving upon the existing features, and have added new impressive Windows 8 features along with a stunning UI.

Microsoft released the early version of Windows 8 on a prototype tablet last week. Those of you who would like to taste and experience the all new Windows 8, you can download the Developer Preview, which is currently in pre-beta version. The developer version shows off the current stage of the OS. It is available for free download, and comes in three different packages:

• (1) 64-bit version – Only the OS
• (2) 32-bit version – Only the OS
• (3) 64-bit version with developer tools

Windows 8 offers a number of new Windows 8 features from its all new UI to Windows App Store and improvised security features. Here’s a list of new features and improvements which will arrive with Windows 8:

Windows 8 is the first edition of Windows which will work on both ARM based tablets and traditional x86 (as well as x32 and x64) PCs based on ARM processors from Intel and AMD.

“Support for ARM-based chipsets, touch, and sensors makes Windows 8 work beautifully on your choice of a full spectrum of devices, such as 10-inch slates with all-day battery life, ultra-lightweight laptops, and powerful all-in-ones with 27-inch high-definition screens,” Microsoft contends, in a Windows 8 Guide distributed with Windows Developer Preview

The “Windows To Go” seems to be an exciting feature that basically allows Windows 8 to boot from a USB device (called as Live USB), including user’s programs, settings and files. The feature is designed to work with both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0, and on both legacy NIOS and UDFI firmware. However, Microsoft says that a user will not be able to “Hibernate” with this feature.

“Windows To Go is a new feature in Windows 8 that enables enterprise administrators to create USB drives containing complete, managed Windows images that users can use to boot and run Windows on any Windows 7 or Windows 8 capable computer. Windows To Go makes it possible for employees to use a managed device whether they work from home, a client office or in a free seating environment. This session will discuss Windows To Go, its hardware requirements and building compatible and complementary software.”

Another interesting thing about this feature is that, if the USB drive is removed, Windows will automatically freeze, but will continue to operate if the USB drive is inserted back in the next 60 seconds after removal.

To compete with Apple, Windows has confirmed the introduction of a Windows Store, similar to Mac App Store, which allows users to browse through Windows applications, while developers can publish their Metro-style apps on Windows 8 devices.

Few days back, Microsoft gave a strategic view of its app store, and gave a quick demo on how it works. Microsoft revealed that the Windows App Store will be the only place where users can access the Metro-styled apps. Here’s a quick demo that shows how users will be able to buy their apps:

Speaking about the UI, Windows 8 certainly has got a mind blowing interactive UI, which has been extensively redesigned to a “Metro-style” design, which shows the most important information to you, embodies simplicity, and gives you full control over it. The UI is designed to provide a fluid and intuitive interaction and navigation with touch, or a mouse and keyboard.

Julie Larson-Green, Corporate Vice President, Windows who stated: “Everything that’s great about Windows 7, is better in Windows 8,” gave a quick hands on look at the Windows 8 user-interface. Here are some of the screenshots she released:

Windows Logon Screen – Unlike the traditional way of entering a password to unlock the screen, Windows 8 can be unlocked by just tapping on the right areas of the screen.

Windows 8 Start Screen – The Start screen is yet another impressive UI. The screen basically groups all your applications together, which you can easily drag and drop, or add new things.

Control Panel

Playing Videos in Windows 8

Windows 8 Task Manager

The Windows Defender which was first released with Windows Vista is getting a security upgrade with the upcoming Windows 8. This would probably edge-our third-party antivirus and anti-malware programs. Windows Defender will become a full-fledged anti-malware solution for Windows 8. This will include protection against all types of malware such as virus, worms, trojans and rootkits.

In addition to that, Windows Defender will provide real-time detection and protection from malware threats using a file system filter, and will interface with Windows secured boot, which is another security feature.

The developer preview of Windows 8 comes with a Metro version of Internet Explore (IE) 10. Since it is a preview version, it does not support any browser plugins and extension – including Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight. However, it will feature full screen browsing mode by default, implements several new HTML5 capabilities, turbocharges HTML5 performance, and adds some security options for Web applications.

It is reported that Windows 8 is expected to have the same system requirements as Windows 7, and will run on existing PCs/laptops that run Windows 7. Here are the following minimum system requirements to run Windows 8:

Processor: 1GHz or faster 32-bit or 64-bit processor

RAM: 1GB (32-bit) or 2GB (64-bit)

HD Space: 16GB for 32-bit (or 20GB for 64-bit)

Ten Tallest Buildings in the World

Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan – 1671 ft (509 m) 101 Floors

Taipei 101 became the world’s tallest building to be constructed in the new millennium and the first to cross the half-kilometer mark. The construction cost was $1.76 billion and it was completed in 2004. This multi-use steel-and-glass skyscraper was designed by C.Y. Lee & Partners and has 61 elevators. It reflects the traditional Chinese pagoda, with a soaring podium base, eight tiers of eight stories (eight is considered a number representing prosperous growth in China), narrow pinnacle tower, and a spire.
The building has an 18 ft, 882-ton ball-shaped damper at the top that counteracts swaying motions during typhoons and earthquakes. Although CTBUH only takes into consideration the floors above ground level, there are 5 floors underground too. The number “101” represents not only the number of floors, but also the mailing code of Taipei’s international business district. It was hailed as one of the Seven New Wonders of the World by Newsweek magazine in 2006 and as one of the Seven Wonders of Engineering by The Discovery Channel in 2005.
Shanghai World Financial Center – 1614 ft (492 m) 101 Floors

This super-tall skyscraper in Shanghai dominates the skyline over East China and is destined to become a symbolic icon, giving the city a new status and depicts the arrival of a new era in Asia. It was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and officially opened its doors to the public on August 28, 2008. It is a mixed-use building with excellent urban shopping malls at the base, a 174-room luxurious five-star hotel at the top and sixty-two floors filled with offices. There are three observation decks between the 94th and the 100th levels. It has a total of 31 elevators and the construction cost was US $1.2 billion. The most remarkable feature of this majestic building is the aperture at the top of the building. It is the 2nd tallest building in the world.
Petronas Twin Towers – 1483 ft (452 m) 88 Floors

The beautiful world-famous Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia were constructed in 1998. The name sounds as romantic as they look together, standing side by side. These elegantly slender towers once held the title of the world’s tallest buildings before being ousted from that position by Taipei 101.
Petronas Tower 1 is the 3rd tallest building in the world.
Petronas Tower 2 is the 4th tallest building in the world.
However, they still remain the tallest twin buildings in the world. They were designed by Argentine-American architect Cesar Pelli and were built on Kuala Lumpur’s race track. The structure is made of high-strength concrete and has a curtain wall of glass and stainless steel sun shades that help diffuse the intensity of light.
The major feature of the towers is the sky-bridge between the towers on the 41st and 42nd floors, which is the highest 2-story bridge in the world. Visitors are allowed on the Skyway. The sky-bridge is also meant to be used in case of a fire or for other emergencies.
The Sears Tower – 1451 ft (452 m) 108 Floors

Located in Chicago, Illinois, The Sears Tower was constructed in 1974, and held the title of the world’s tallest building when it overtook the World Trade Center in New York. Although it is no longer the tallest building in the world, the Sears Tower is the 5th tallest and still has the world’s highest occupied floors, highest elevator ride and the highest roof deck. The top of the tower is the highest point in Illinois. It is said that four states can be seen from the top of the Sears Tower.
This tower was designed by architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur Khan in a “bundled tube” system with nine squares, sheathed in a dark tinted glass curtain wall. The building leans a few inches due to its asymmetrical design and this can be felt occasionally. The Sears Tower has a separate tourist entrance and attracts more than 1.5 million tourists each year.
Jin Mao Tower – 1380 ft (421 m) 88 Floors

The name of the landmark super-tall skyscraper, Jin Mao, literally means “Golden Prosperity Building.” Currently ranked the 6th tallest building in the world, it was designed by the Chicago-based Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and was constructed in 1999. It is located in the Lujiazui area of the Pudong district of Shanghai, People’s Republic of China. The architecture ingeniously combines elements of traditional Chinese culture with the modern architectural styles of the time, which makes it one of the most well-constructed buildings in China. The proportions of this structure revolve around the number 8, which according to Chinese belief signifies prosperity.
It houses the very luxurious Shanghai Grand Hyatt hotel and several offices. The construction cost is estimated to be 530 million dollars. The tower has several exhibition halls, banquet halls, entertainment venues, and an observation deck on the 88th floor that can fit about 1000 tourists. The daily maintenance of this tower is reported to be an unbelievable US$121,000.
Two International Finance Center (IFC) – 1362 ft (415 m) 88 Floors

Constructed in 2003, the IFC with its two skyscrapers overlooking the Victoria Harbor is a prominent landmark in Hong Kong, China. One International Finance Center is 38 stories high. The Two International Finance Center, which is the world’s 7th tallest building, has 88 stories and has been designed to house financial firms with advanced telecommunications, featuring raised floors for better cabling and floor plans that are almost without columns. About 15,000 people can be accommodated in this building. Although there are 88 stories, there are some floors that are considered to be taboo and which are not used, such as the 14th and 24th floors, as these numbers signify evil for the Chinese.
The IFC mall has an array of famous retailers and several top jewelry retailers, health & skin care and fashion houses, restaurants, and a cinema. It is one of the few buildings in the world to be equipped with double-deck elevators.
CITIC Plaza – 1283 ft (391 m) 80 Floors

The China International Trust and Investment Company (CITIC) Plaza, built in 1997, is located in Guangzhou, in the growing Tianhe District. It was the tallest building in the world when it was built and is currently the tallest concrete building in the world. It is ranked as the fourth tallest building in China, seventh in Asia and eighth in the world. This building is part of a complex which has two other 38-story residential buildings.
CITIC Plaza has two antennas on the top like spires. This elegant building is surrounded by several other tall buildings and gives an indication of the increasing prosperity of Guangzhou. It is close to the Tianhe Sports Center where part of the Asia games 2010 will be held.
Shun Hing Square – 1260 ft (382 m) 69 Floors

The Shun Hing Square tower, built in 1996, is one of the world’s tallest buildings and occupies the 9th place currently. This brilliantly constructed building is in Shenzhen, China and is said to be one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. It has the distinction of being the tallest all-steel building in China and the fifth tallest building overall in China. An interesting tid bit about this building: it was built at an incredible speed of four floors in nine days. The spires on the top of the building add to the height and without them, it stands at 325 m tall.
Shun Hing Square is a complex that has an office tower and another 35-story building for residential, office, and retail purposes. The 69th floor has an observation deck called the Meridian View Center. Tourists will have to pay US$12 to go up to that observation deck.
Empire State Building – 1250 ft (381 m) – 102 Floors

The Empire State Building of New York, in the United Stats was built in 1931, and it is one of the oldest and most famous buildings in the world. There probably aren’t many people who have not heard of it. Now rated as the 10th tallest building, it was the world’s tallest building for forty-one years until the World Trade Center was constructed in the year 1972. After the unfortunate incident with the World Trade Center in 2001, the Empire State Building once again became the tallest building in the State of New York.
It has also been named as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The beauty of the Empire State Building is highlighted by the beautiful lights at the top of the building. In fact, the view of the building at night is considered to be a tourist attraction all on its own.
Coming Up
Standing tall among all others is another marvel, the Burj Dubai Tower in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is still under construction and will not be considered the tallest building until completion in September 2009. It already has 160 stories and overtook Taipei 101 and surpassed the KVLY-TV mast in the U.S. (which is 629 m), achieving the status of being the tallest man-made structure on the planet. The eventual height remains a secret, but speculation is that it will reach 900 meters.
There may be a magical moment in the future. The plan for the proposed Sky City 1000 by Japan shows its height at 1000 meters and 196 floors. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Burj Dubai, Dubai, The United Arab Emirates (167 Stories)

EDIT: The Burj Dubai had a delayed opening. It’s name has been changed to the Burj Khalifa, and it officially opened and became the world’s tallest building on January 4, 2010. It stands at 828 meters (2717 feet) tall. You can view a picture of the completed building below.

Credit: Wikipedia

Nikon D3x

    
Specifications
all the same as the D3 specifications, except:

Sensor
FX (24x36mm) CMOS, slightly less than 24.4 MP (not 24.5MP as claimed; do the math yourself).
I'm being generous with 24.4 MP. If you count megas the same way hard drive makers do (1k = 1,024), then the D3X really oly has 23.26MP.

Sensor Cleaner
None, just like the D3.

Formats and Resolution (exactly like D3, just more pixels):
What's new is that the pixel counts are exactly 3:2. Previous Nikons never hit 3:2 exactly, so when I'm editing and rescaling at the pixel level in Photoshop, I had to whip out a calculator more often with the older cameras.
FX (24 x 36mm): 6,048 x 4,032 (L), 4,544 x 3,024 (M) and 3,024 x 2,016 (S).
Pro 5:4 FX Crop (24 x 30mm): 5,056 x 4,032 (L), 3,792 x 3,024 (M), 2,528 x 2,016 (S).
Wimpy DX format (16 x 24mm): 3,968 x 2,640 (L), 2,976 x 1,976 (M), 1,984 x 1,320 (S).
Nikon is gouging on the MP rating. 6,048 x 4,032 pixels = 24,385,536 pixels, or less than 24.4MP, nowhere near the claimed 24.5MP.
Claiming 24.5MP, which is leaving 114,464 pixels missing, is an important psychological ploy. 24.4 sounds like 24, which it is. 24.5 sounds like 25MP, which feels like a lot more pixels than 24MP. I'm serious: where did Nikon get the 24.5MP number? They're lying.

ISO
ISO 100 ~ 1,600 in third, half and full stops.
Also ISO 50 ~ 3,200 in third, half and full stops in trick modes.
One noisy ISO 6,400 setting, in a trick mode.
Auto ISO, too.

Live View:
Yes, just like my point and shoot and the D3. Whoopee; I've never used it on my D3.

Finder
Huge, bright 100% view of the full, fat FX frame. 0.7x magnification with 50mm lens.

AF System
Same AF system as the D3.

Frame Rates
Specified:
5FPS in FX and 5:4 modes. Since Nikon only claims "approximately 5 FPS," that means "somewhat less than 5 FPS."
7 FPS in DX crop.
Measured:
5.02 FPS with still target, 4.74 FPS in AF-C tracking a slowly moving target in release-priority (not always in focus) mode.
 

Flash Sync
Only 1/250, same as D3. (The D40 is twice as good, at 1/500, for less than one-tenth the price, ha ha.)
 
Shutter Death
"Tested to exceed 300,000 cycles." No big deal, the warranty doesn't specify mileage, and even if you can kill a D3X shutter after the warranty dies, it's not that expensive to replace one as a service part.

Picture Controls
Same as D300 and D3, etc.

ADR (Automatic Dynamic Range)
Same as D700, which means it adds an excellent AUTO setting not in the D3. The settings are Auto, Extra High, High, Normal, Low and Off.

Storage
Dual CF slots, same as D3.

Lens Compatibility
Same as D3, which means any manual or autofocus lens made since 1977 works great. Of course you'll have to focus the manual lenses yourself, and you'll only have A and M modes, but you'll have full EXIF data and color matrix metering.
Older lenses made from 1959-1976 work just as well, so long as they've been updated to AI.
More at Nikon Lens Compatibility.
 
Lateral Chromatic Aberration Correction
Yes, same as D3. This does an excellent job of eliminating lateral color fringes from just about any lens you can put on the D3X, automatically. It's always on; you can't turn it off. This is superior to Canon, who haven't copied this yet, and on whose cameras you still can see lateral color fringes with many lenses.

Vignette Control
Can be turned on to lessen darkened corners due to lens problems.

LCD
Same excellent 3" 640x480 LCD as other Nikons like the D90 and D3.

Power
EN-EL4a battery, same as D3.

Size
Rated 6.3 x 6.2 x 3.4" (159.5 x 157 x 87.5 mm), exactly the same as the D3.

Weight
Rated 2 pounds, 11 ounces (1.22 kg or 2.7 pounds), completely stripped
This is 20g (0.7 oz.) less than the D3, which usually means that something that used to be made of metal is now plastic.

Environmental
Rated only for operation at between 0~40ºC (32~104ºF), which seems lame since all my Nikons work great in far colder temperatures.
If the D3X really doesn't work below freezing, I'd be surprised.
RH less than 85%.

Top 10 Reasons To Root Your Android Phone

People say there are always two classes of technology users; those who take and use technology the way it is brought to them, no questions or complaints, while others who want to indulge deep into the very essence of what’s being offered, and want to empower themselves with everything to take the maximum out of that technology. This rule of thumb holds true for mobile phones as well. The power user crowd has always been different from the average.

Back from the old Windows Mobile ROM cooking days, people have been questioning limitations of every device and finding workarounds. When iPhone was launched back in 2007, the power user (a.k.a hackers and geeks) side of the users quickly realized the true potential the device held, and the cruel software limitations that Apple had sealed it with. What became ‘Jailbreaking’ on iPhone was quickly translated to other platforms as well, and when the world saw the first Android back in 2008, the same concept got adapted there too.

Android, despite being open source, still did not give a user complete control over the device. This laid basis for many potential abilities remaining dormant, and subsequently Android devices began to get ‘rooted’. Now this begets the question, why root? With so many Android-based handsets out there now, this question has become even more important.
Rooting essentially means gaining root-level access to your device. Those who have used Linux OS will easily understand, but for users like me who have been loyal to Microsoft’s operating system all their lives, this means that by rooting your device you get complete control over what should remain in the device and what not. Rooting means you are the master and in control, not to mention the fun of it.
Hence, here’s a list of my top 10 reasons (in no particular order) that I consider worthy of rooting your device for.

Performance Update

There are just too many flavors of Android in the market, with every OEM or carrier adding their own personalization and customization to devices. While they may appeal to some, they do not let the device take full advantage of what the hardware is capable of. With root access, you can actually tweak the OS to behave entirely differently, and with infamous developers like Cyanogen working on custom ROMs and mods, people have actually reported performance boosts. Take the G1 for example. The device never got 2.1 officially, but thanks to Cyanogonmod G1 owners can not only the tastiness of Eclair but also report much better performance than the stock ROMs.

Hardware/Software Interaction

Most Android devices come with hardware that is fairly heavily capable, yet the OS limits them and becomes the bottleneck. By rooting, you actually remove the bottleneck and hence can take full advantage of your beloved Android. For example, overclocking a device’s CPU is fairly simple and rather safe thanks to many third-party apps, yet the OS does not allow it natively, and hence overclocking can only be done with a rooted phone. Or suppose you want to use your mobile’s LED as flashlight (HTC Desire, anyone?) but cannot because HTC won’t allow it? Rooting will allow you to bypass this limitation!

APPS2Sd

One of the most talked-about feature (or disadvantage) of any Android device is the limitation where you can install applications only in the phone’s internal memory

and not the SD card. While Google may reason that SD cards are slower in general and cannot run apps as effectively as internal memory, fact of the matter is that most Android devices do not come with massive internal storage spaces, and hence greatly limit the number of applications that can be installed at a time. With rooted devices, you can use Apps2SD, which will copy ALL your applications to a ext2/3/4 formatted SD card an will also store future builds in card. Freedom to choose!

Unavailable Features

When Google brought forth the Nexus One, one of the aesthetically pleasing features was Live Wallpapers. Unfortunately, most of the Android phones vary so greatly, that despite the hardware being compatible with Live Wallpapers, the software won’t allow them to run. My Samsung Galaxy Spica is a perfect example. The handset’s hardware can easily handle Live Wallpapers, yet Samsung chose to exclude it. Thanks to rooting, you can have them on your device as long as hardware allows.

EXTRA APPLICATIONS

Folks at XDA-Developers have created a wonderful application, SetCPU, which allows easy overclocking of various Android CPUs. However, due to the permissions required for such level of operation, a superuser access is necessary, and that can come only from a root access. This is just one example. The internet is flooded with many such applications that remain useless unless you have rooted your phone.

Multitouch

If you have ever typed on an iPhone, you would always remember the smooth, fast typing action that you achieve on that amazing keyboard. Or if you can recall that pinch-zoom actions. These are the products of a multitouch screen.
While most Androids can deal with multitouch, various manufacturers have decided to omit it in their devices. This is not always because the hardware is incapable, but because the software does not let it happen. This becomes even more irritating when you see that HTC Hero had multitouch input support back from the Android 1.6 days, but more modern more powerful 2.1 devices never got it (again, my Spica).
Thanks to rooting, it has become possible to get multitouch input in various devices, most notably the G1.

WIFI AND Bluetooth Tethering

After having rooted your device, you can also use WiFi or Bluetooth tether to share your cellular data connection with your laptop or PC. The application works with ad hoc connections and will get you up and running online on your laptop in no time. Similarly, tethering can also be achieved over a Bluetooth connection. You may check out the app in question here, but remember, rooted-phones only!

Better Keyboard

I have expressed before and I will say again; I do not dislike the Android keyboard. However, it just isn’t enough. HTC, with their SenseUI, brought to their devices the revered HTC IME keyboard which had predictive text input, and made typing a breeze. Since it was an HTC only keyboard, people with phones from other manufacturers were left blindfolded. Again, the root-developer community ported the keyboard for all platforms, making possible for all rooted phones to take advantage of the better input method.

APPS From other builds

Almost every build of Android OS differs from others when it comes to default apps. G1 hasn’t got the same stuff as myTouch 3G; Nexus One differs from HTC Desire. What’s more, these applications from one build cannot be ported to another. Hence you are stuck in more than one ways. However, with custom ROMs, the developers usually gather the best of the lot in one complete package, that would leave a user satisfied, not craving. And to get these custom ROMs running on your phone, you need root.

Because you can!

I am serious, I consider this a reason. You have a powerful, capable device that you have paid for. You should have the right to modify or change it in any way you like. The device is your property, and you would naturally want to see it working at its maximum potential. Hence the point of rooting.
With the latest Froyo announcement at Google’s 2010 I/O conference, most of these reasons may become useless. But Froyo will not be pushed for all devices, at least not immediately. While it will aim to reduce the fragmentation in Android division, until it happens, a rooted device is the only option you have.
Last, please do remember that rooting voids your warranty. Although you can always go back to a stock version of the OS, it is risky business, hence proceed with caution.