For starters, there's the lack of a keyboard and mouse. Because we can assume that most of these Citrix Receiver sessions will be connecting to some kind of Windows instance on the back end, the absence of a proper input mechanism will severely hamper productivity. Even if you could somehow kludge Windows' pen and/or touch capabilities to work across the thin client divide, chances are good that the resulting user experience will be clunky at best.

Then there's the issue of device integration. Both Citrix and Microsoft have made great strides toward improving the remote Windows terminal experience. You can now connect a variety of devices to a terminal services session using the Remote Desktop Protocol's USB redirection support. And when you step up to the more advanced Citrix client, you gain support for rich media applications, including those that incorporate 3-D rendering.

You can even connect a camera through the latest version of Citrix Receiver, which is ironic since -- of all the devices you might choose as a thin client -- the Apple iPad is one of the few that lacks a Webcam. The same goes for the USB ports that, if available, would have made for a much more flexible thin-client end point.

But perhaps the most damning counterargument is that the Citrix Receiver for iPad is really a solution looking for a problem. The big draw for this proposed use case seems to be "running Windows 7 on an iPad." But if that truly is the goal, there are better -- and far less expensive ways -- to accomplish this.
Source:[pcworld.com]

The Storm 2 boasts of its SurePress touchscreen technology. This technology ensures that every command of the user is completed. The 256MB internal memory of this handset can be expanded via a 16GB microSD card. The Storm 2 also bundles up a BlackBerry Media Player and also offers support for Bluetooth stereo that assists in listening to music. The battery of this handset is said to provide around five hours of talktime and 13 days of standby time.

The 3.2 megapixel camera of this handset incorporates a 2x digital zoom and auto focus feature. The BlackBerry Storm 2 also offers support for Wi-Fi connectivity. The other upgraded features that this Blackberry smartphone includes are scroll, fine cursor control, Face detection and SMS interfaces.

The BlackBerry Storm 2 is now available for purchase on Verizon Wireless’ official webpage. The company is offering users the handset for $179.99 (approx. Rs. 8,374) after a discount of $100.
Source:[techgadgets.in]

The features of memory chip package are as follows :

• The package measures just 0.02 of an inch thick and packs 32 GB of storage.
• The new device features a significantly thinner and the package comprises eight stacked NAND flash chips, built using a 30-nanometer production process.
• The new chipset will double the storage capacity in the same size memory package.
• The chipset provides higher density with multi-functionality in current mobile designs.
• Power usage remains the same.
• Storage space has increased without increasing size and weight means people can store more digital content in their smartphones and other mobile gadgets, making them more useful as computing devices.
• The new Samsung chips could find a place in solid-state drives used as a replacement for hard disk drives.

Samsung is the world’s second largest maker of handsets. Due to gains in its chip business and higher mobile phone sales its earnings were tripled in third quarter from the same period a year.
Source:[cellbharat.com]

AS MOTOROLA saw the interest of Indian customers in its products, it has launched three new mobile phones, which would not be too expensive for its customer base. These are ZN300 and WX160/180 from MOTOYUVA WX series.

ZN300 is a slider phone, designed specially for consumers who use phones for saving heavy data and comes with QVGA display , a micro SD card slot with 32 GB memory space, a 3.5mm audio jack to woo the minds to music lovers, an opera browser and 3.1 MP digital camera with LED flash and strong features. It also has a bluetooth facility and video editing capability, for a very affordable price of Rs 7,999.

The other two mobile phones WX 160/180 also offer cost efficient prices for Indian market and user friendly functionality. Both the phones are designed similarly with different look in screens. While the WX180 has a 1.5 inch 65K colour display for smooth viewing of text and menus, the WX160 comes in a B/W display with colour background.

Both the phones feature embedded FM radio stations, with song and station information. With RDS, the phones have a sleek look with 140 SMS storage capacity and battery backup up to seven hours. WX160 comes in affordable price of Rs 1,499 and WX 180 at the price of 1,649.

All three phones are available at retail stores in India. make way for the Motoyuva WX generation,” said Faisal Siddiqui, Country Head, Mobile Devices, Motorola India at the launch of mobile phones.
Source:[merinews.com]

Other smart phone makers have been trying since then to dispel the notion that the iPhone is the be-all and end-all of mobile gadgets. The latest push comes from Verizon Wireless and Motorola, whose Droid is a good alternative for those seeking a feature-packed smart phone with a full keyboard and strong wireless service.

The Droid stands out from the crowd of iPhone wannabes with a slim but weighty body, noticeably angular look and large touch screen.

Its 3.7-inch screen is bigger than the iPhone's 3.5-inch one, and the extra real estate really makes it easier to navigate Web pages and play with applications. It also offers plenty of space on the home screen (and two side screens that you swipe to see) for software "widgets" that give a quick look at such things as your friends' Facebook status updates or the song you're playing on the built-in music player.

And the Droid's cost is comparable with the iPhone's — $200, after a rebate, with a two-year service contract with Verizon Wireless, its exclusive U.S. distributor.

The Motorola Droid runs the latest version of Google Inc.'s operating system, Android 2.0, which includes some enhancements such as the ability to zoom in on Web pages and photos by double-tapping on the screen. With one tap on a photo in your contacts list, you can also quickly see the ways in which you can contact your friends.

When it comes out on Friday the Droid will also be the first phone to include a cool, free mapping application from Google that can announce turn-by-turn directions.

Google Maps Navigation is easy to use and helped me out on a late-night ice cream run — I put the Droid in my pocket, turned up the volume and followed its female-robot-voice instructions while riding my motorcycle across town.

I was glad to see that the application quickly recalculates your route if you're prone to making wrong turns as I am. And if you live in a busy city with unpredictable traffic, you might like an option for getting alternate routes, all of which you can see overlaid on the same map along with their distances and estimated driving times.

Like other Android phones, the Motorola Droid has a voice search function. It can be used, for instance, to help navigate routes when you're in the Maps Navigation application. Saying "Navigate to Starbucks in San Francisco" should give you a list of Starbucks Coffee shops. Pick one, and you'll get turn-by-turn directions.

I'll probably stick with using the Droid's keyboard to get directions, though, as it had a hard time understanding me. The phone tried to send me to Ikea when I asked it to take me from my office to my apartment. It offered me all sorts of unrelated results when I tried to get directions to a French restaurant near my home.

That's not to say the keyboard is perfect. Unlike many other phones with standard, "QWERTY" keyboards, the Droid has keys that are pretty much flat, which often made it hard to type accurately. This wasn't helped by the fact that, aside from the space bar, the keys are all the same size. Two blank key-sized spaces on the bottom of the keyboard — one on the left, one on the right — made me wonder why Motorola didn't try to at least enlarge the often-used "return" key.

One Motorola Droid feature touted heavily in Verizon's television commercials is its ability to run several applications simultaneously, which is something the iPhone can't do. Generally, I found that the Droid does this pretty well.

There were hiccups, though. As I was listening to music, I tried to take a photo to send in a text message to a friend. Elvis Costello started to stutter as I pressed the shutter button. Another time, I tried to make a call while the Maps Navigation application was running and had to endure very loud instructions about where to turn while the phone was ringing.

I did like the Droid's five-megapixel camera, which matches the resolution of another new Motorola phone that runs Android, the Cliq, and can take sharper shots than contemporaries like the iPhone, whose camera hovers around 3 megapixels. There's also a very bright flash — another thing the iPhone and Cliq lack — so you can take photos in low light.

The Droid's big screen makes for a nice viewfinder, and a small menu of camera settings slides out from the left side of the screen so you can adjust the white balance and use different color effects. You'll have plenty of space to store the photos you take, too, because the Droid includes a 16 gigabyte microSD memory card.

The Droid runs on Verizon Wireless' network, and I was pretty impressed with its speed as I surfed the Web, looked up directions or checked e-mail. It also got a generally solid reception for making calls, and while my friends' voices didn't sound as clear as they could, I didn't have problems with dropped calls.

Motorola has been struggling to come up with a phone that comes close to matching the popularity of 2005's Razr, and the Droid is the latest indication that Motorola is really trying to figure out what consumers want.

It's also one of the most promising challengers to the iPhone, a field that now includes Palm's Pre and Research In Motion's BlackBerry Storm2.

Some Verizon Wireless customers have been holding out on getting the iPhone — available in the U.S. only through AT&T — because it means switching away from a service they are already used to and like. For them, the Droid might be a good reason to stick with that wireless provider.

Even if you aren't already using Verizon, if you're not swayed by the iPhone, you might fall for the Droid.
Source:[Google.com]

The first time you pick up the Motorola Droid ($200 with a two-year contract from Verizon; price as of 10/28/09), you'll notice its solid feel and heft--there's a lot going on behind the crisp, 3.7-inch touchscreen. Making good use of Android 2.0's new features, the Droid is a powerful Web surfing and communications tool that has a chance of living up to its hype. The Droid's biggest flaw, however, is in its hardware design: The keyboard is shallow and flat, which can make typing uncomfortable.

At 0.54 inch thick, the Droid is slightly beefier than the 0.48-inch-thick iPhone 3GS, but it still has room for a 40-key, slide-out QWERTY keypad. At just under 6 ounces, it's about an ounce heftier than the iPhone 3GS. When closed, the 4.56-by-2.36-inch Droid is almost the same size as the 4.5-by-2.4-inch iPhone 3GS.

Motorola is quick to point out that the Droid's 480-by-854-pixel display offers 409,920 pixels, more than double the 153,600 pixels that the 480-by-320-pixel, 3.5-inch screen on the iPhone 3GS offers. The Droid's resolution also compares well against that of Android 1.6-based phones such as T-Mobile's myTouch 3G, which has a 3.2-inch, 480-by-320-pixel display.

The Motorola Droid's keyboard doesn't occupy the full length of the phone; a four-way directional pad with a select button sits on the right side. The keys are backlit, but since they're mostly flat, you'll need to keep an eye on what you're typing until you get a feel for the phone. A small lower lip protrudes from the bottom when the phone is closed, revealing only the Verizon logo and the microphone. Like other Android phones, the Droid has an accelerometer and reorients quickly when you hold the display sideways.

Unfortunately, the handset has a few hardware-design quirks. The keyboard is so shallow--and the keys themselves are so flat--that our testers (with various hand sizes) had trouble using it. In addition, the top keys are very close to the ledge of the display, so your fingers are constantly knocking against it. The Droid is also missing physical Talk and End keys, which are pretty much standard on every other cell phone ever made. You must access these controls from the call application.

The Motorola Droid, which supports the 1900MHz and 800MHz CDMA EvDO bands on the Verizon Wireless network, comes with a 1,400-mAh battery rated at 270 hours of standby time and 385 minutes of talk time. It also has a preinstalled 16GB memory card and offers Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 support, which includes the use of stereo headsets and a Wi-Fi adapter.

The phone provided excellent call quality, even in a New York hotel lobby full of noisy Phillies fans headed to Yankee Stadium for the World Series. Parties on the other end of my calls reported no problems.

Especially snappy is the Droid's Web browser, which loads images quickly thanks to the powerful 550MHz processor and speedy hardware-accelerated graphics. Though you are at the mercy of your 3G high-speed data network coverage, once you're in it, Web surfing is breezy and smooth. Video from sites such as YouTube looks equally impressive; the playback of a high-definition YouTube cartoon ("Sita Sings the Blues") was excellent, with no stalling or audio dropouts. Audio also sounded great piped through a pair of high-quality headphones. The straightforward music player supports playlist building, album art, and shuffle and loop playback modes. You can purchase DRM-free music at the Amazon MP3 store via the preloaded app on the device.

Preinstalled on one of the three home screens are icons labeled Messaging, Phone, Contacts, Browser, Maps, and Market. Notably absent on the Droid are Verizon's V Cast services, which include live streaming videos and other entertainment offerings. A new Power Control widget allows one-touch control over power-hungry features such as the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi adapters, the GPS receiver, and the backlight. You can turn off data synchronization to save additional power, too.

As in Android 1.6, in 2.0 a universal search from the phone's home page delves into the contact list, browser history, and other content in the phone, as well as on the Internet. And as with all Android devices, you'll need a free Google account to take advantage of the phone's key features, including the contact list and the calendar, which are synchronized with your Web-based account.

You'll also find the familiar notification bar at the top; you can expand it by touching it and dragging it downward. At the bottom (or the side, in landscape mode) is a slide-open launch window with icons for all of the installed applications and links to the settings menu and other phone features.

Android 2.0 builds on the Google Maps features introduced in Android 1.6 by adding a Layers option that lets you place extra location-enabled features on top of the map you're viewing. A Wikipedia layer, for example, generates icons for locations on your map that have Wikipedia entries.

Since Google Maps navigation is voice-enabled, you can say the name of your destination to get turn-by-turn directions. One nice aspect of the new navigation features is the nifty use of Google's Street View: As you approach your destination, an interactive photo of the actual location pops up with an arrow to point you in the right direction. Instead of having to look for a building number, for example, the Street View provides visual confirmation that you're in the correct place--or at least mighty close to it.

The dedicated camera button provides quick access to snapshot and video taking. The Droid's 5-megapixel camera includes a dual-LED flash and supports DVD-quality video recording and playback at 720 by 480 pixels. As in Android 1.6, in 2.0 you handle the camera and video capabilities in a single window. The camera has a respectable amount of advanced features, such as scene modes, color effects, and white balance controls. Snapshots that I took outdoors looked great, especially on the Droid's stunning display. Indoor shots, however, suffered from a significant amount of graininess. The dual-LED flash tended to blow out colors and details for indoor shots, as well.

Another nice touch is how the Droid interacts with its accessories. When you place it in its car-window mount (sold separately; price not yet announced), the Droid automatically enters "Car Home" mode, in which it looks more like a stand-alone GPS device. Large icons labeled View Map, Navigation, Voice Search, Contacts, Search, and Home fill the screen, and the display rotates as needed.

When you insert the Droid into an optional tabletop dock (sold separately; price not yet announced), it sits at a good angle for watching videos or just poking through e-mail. It immediately switches to a sort of alarm-clock mode and displays the time in large figures while providing other information, such as the temperature, in smaller type below.

The challenge for Android app developers is to take advantage of 2.0's new features, including its ability to link apps more closely to the contact list. As you view a contact, you will see a floating set of icons for the services the person is connected to, such as Facebook. Note that while most existing apps should run fine on Android 2.0, some that were optimized for Android 1.5 and 1.6 may have to be tweaked for the new version.

The Motorola Droid certainly stands out among the growing Android army due to its superior hardware and enhanced 2.0 software. But will the Android Marketplace catch up to the iPhone's App Store? Therein lies the key to success for the Droid. The Droid certainly lives up to its promises and does a lot of things the iPhone doesn't. The iPhone will probably keep its smartphone throne for now, but it will have to deal with a powerful new competitor.
Source:[washingtonpost.com]

Gerhard Eschelbeck, chief technology officer at Webroot, claimed that as the web has become the primary vector in attacks, desktops are being targeted and people are becoming victims on a daily basis.

He also claimed that as netbooks are the future, they are a clear indication that PC use is all about the browser and open attack surfaces.

Eschelbeck said: “All of the content has become a prime target for attackers. We need to be prepared to prevent attacks from helping with weaknesses in the browser because it is a complex problem; it is also not just with Microsoft but all browsers. We need to look at this from the industry perspective.”

"These days you only need a browser, email client and Office, that is all you need and I use the browser a lot. The netbook is a shrunk version of the PC so it is all about the browser."

He also claimed that it is not the duty of the user to worry about patches, as it is the vendor's problem with the browser.

"I do not subscribe to the feeling that the end-user needs to know as it becomes part of the service and it should be the security job to work in the background silently and reliably," said Eschelbeck.
Source:[securecomputing.net.au]

Nokia 2220 has been showcased. The new slider phone coming from the largest mobile makers, Nokia is not multimedia friendly. The phone will come up with dual GSM band connectivity (900/1800 MHz) and 128 x 160 TFT display. The phone is reported to have a VGA camera with only 10MB inbuilt memory.

The upcoming handset has FM radio, Opera Mini and 3.5mm headset jack. Like the other Nokia handsets the 2220 also boasts of tremendous battery backup with 8 hours of talk time, or up to 400 hours of stand-by time.

With the afore mentioned features the phone is priced around $100.Alongwith basic black the phone will be launched in lustrous colors like red, green,pink and blue before the advent of the New Year.

The services, introduced Friday, are designed to help companies migrate to the new OS. Dell's Latitude laptops, OptiPlex desktops and Precision workstations will ship with Windows 7 on Oct. 22, the day the OS is released, Dell said.

Dell says it designed, deployed and supported early adopter programs for Windows 7 at several customers, including accounting firm Baker-Tilly, online sports betting company Betfair and Hoover City (Alabama) Schools. Dell also has more than a thousand Windows 7 pilot users internally.

Dell's new services begin with a readiness assessment that uses electronic discovery, Web-based surveys, comparative data and reference architectures to help organizations understand the requirements and potential problems of migrating to Microsoft Windows 7.

The assessment includes determining application and hardware compatibility and determining the effect on business processes, end users and server and network infrastructures. The assessment is used in designing an implementation plan, including providing training for end users and IT support staff.

Many businesses have held on to their Windows XP PCs, delaying upgrading during the economic recession. In addition, many organizations decided to skip deployment of the buggy Windows Vista, Windows 7's predecessor.

With so many aging PCs still in use, organizations will likely embrace Microsoft Windows 7, starting next year, analysts say. The new OS is seen as a superior product to Vista.

The latest announcement reflects Dell's aggressiveness in the services market, which the company is targeting as a way to broaden its offerings beyond just hardware. Dell competes with more diversified rivals, including Hewlett-Packard and IBM.

To that end, Dell last month said it will buy tech services company Perot Systems for $3.9 billion. Dell plans to close the deal in its November-January fiscal quarter.
Source:[informationweek.com]

The two facets that are at the heart of Windows 7 are based around the “Homegroup”, and new ways of inputting and viewing information. The Homegroup means that you can group together a number of things, from MP3 players to other computers, and so as soon as you join the network, you can instantly see everything you’ve seen before. Music, films and files really are available instantly. This idea is certainly not new, but the breakthrough comes in simplifying the sharing process to accommodate the countless videos, digital pictures and albums that people have created using digital technology. Windows Media Player, too, now supports far more file formats.

The new ways of dealing with information, meanwhile, mean that touchscreens are much better supported – in the future they will need to be – and that forthcoming applications based around combining television and the internet will slot in neatly, too. The same integration applies to online services such as social networking site Facebook, and, for instance, Windows Live with its shared picture galleries.

The icons here are bigger, too, but they don’t look patronising. The idea is that fat fingers should be as useful as the tiny pointer of a mouse. Shaking individual windows can be used to activate certain features, as well, which could be a natural move with a finger on a touch-screen, but not with the mouse.

Another crucial improvement for Windows 7 over Windows Vista is that the new operating system will run on a range of machines, from low-specification netbooks to high-powered desktops. We tested it on a mid-range Studio Hybrid, and found Windows 7 to be much more impressive than Vista.

There are substantial improvements in power management, too, with ports being turned off when they’re not in use, and so this is an operating system that does what it should: unlike Vista, it shuts up, and keeps things going while you, the user, can get on with whatever it is you need to be doing. Batteries will live longer, but the programme learns from your behaviour too. If the display is set to dim after 30 seconds and you move the mouse immediately it does, then you’ll get significantly longer before the computer dims its display again. So there’s time, say, to read something quite lengthy on screen without constant irritation.

Compared to Vista, Windows 7 feels turbocharged: computers will boot up faster and connect to a Wi-Fi network more quickly; searching for files and documents is easier, and results will be delivered more quickly, and grouped in to helpful categories to make it simple to find what you need.

Aesthetically, there is little to differentiate Windows 7 from Vista, but the biggest improvement is on the desktop itself, where the "gadgets" – weather forecasts, stock quotes etc – that used to sit in a separate bar along the right-hand side of the screen on Vista have now been separated out, giving a welcome boost to functionality and ease of use. Aero Peek turns all of the open windows and folders on your desktop translucent, allowing you to see what you’re working on, and switch quickly to the document or program you need. The addition of Jump Lists makes it really easy to access the songs, pictures or favourite websites you visit every day. You can “pin” items, such as videos or music, to the Jump List, rather like a virtual corkboard, and even use the Jump List to access common shortcuts, such as writing a new email message or creating a blank Word document.

Windows 7 will be a real breath of fresh air for Windows users who have struggled with Vista for the last couple of years. The whole operating system feels slick and well-designed, and there's no doubt that the inclusion of the Homegroups setting has streamlined the process of sharing content between machines and leveraging networks. These small tweaks will go along way towards making the Windows computing experience a more pleasurable one, and it's hard to recommend against an upgrade to the new software.

However, as with all new operating systems, expect some teething troubles in the first few weeks. Although Microsoft has worked more closely than ever before with third-party manufacturers to ensure drivers and peripherals will be available at launch, it's inevitable that some bugs will be found in such a complex piece of software.

Microsoft, and its partners, generally work swiftly to resolve these issues, but if you don't feel confident downloading or installing software patches to your computer, or perhaps trying to troubleshoot the odd head-scratching problem on your own, then it might be best to wait a couple of months until the early issues are ironed out before taking the plunge.
Source:[telegraph.co.uk]