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Imagination to inception
I
grew up reading the masters – Arthur C Although I’ll be the first to admit that the con-
Clarke and Isaac Asimov. There was some- cept video is well done, and it definitely is a cool
thing to be said about the sheer believability looking gadget, it’s hardly practical.
of the content. Even if you were studying the A projected keyboard may be cool, but if you
laws of physics in school, these masters of sci-fi can use it only on a flat surface, why not a foldable,
were able to convince you that there were short- bendable one? The pico projector also assumes I
cuts past Einstein’s barriers of Physics. Thus, I would have a dock sitting about in a dark room to
happily went zipping across the universe with use my phone as a laptop replacement. However, I
the protagonists in the novel of the week, with think the cloud offers more of a solution there than
my imagination stoked, but my reasoning mind a one-stop gadget that tries to be everything, and
firmly planted in reality – thinking, “Hey, this just about achieves it. And where exactly would
really could happen in 3000 AD.” I project if I were in a taxi, or on one of our over-
Even today, I re-read a lot of them, so hooked cramped flights, with my legs almost pressed-up
to every page that I have to play hookie from work against my chest; and God forbid I wanted to have
because I was awake all night. I’m also one of those a meeting outdoors at noon in India!
people who will tell you that good sci-fi books Of course I have no doubt that if this phone were
died along with the two masters, but I digress... released tomorrow, hordes would spend their life
Since people hardly read books anymore, savings to get it. Being practical is so boring isn’t it? “...letting our
creativity and imagination is not something It’s not just about concept gadgets. The same imaginations
that’s inspired by paper anymore – it’s all video applies to the “cool” gadgets of today. If you can
and images these days. And for most, letting our afford it (or even if you can’t), you want it; doesn’t
run wild is way
imaginations run wild is way more exercise than matter if you need it, or if it’s practical. more exercise
we want. We need to touch, feel or experience in On my way to work one day, I was on Gtalk than we want.
some way…not imagine. from my phone chatting with a young reader (you We need to
Our regular dosage of oohs and aahs know who you are), who was about to go off to
comes from the movies. It’s hardly imagina- college, and wanted to spend about Rs. 26K on
touch, feel or
tion, because you only believe what you see... an iPod Touch 64 GB. experience in
but it does captivate us nonetheless. Another “Why?” I asked. some way…
way we find fantasy is in still images – desktop “Because it’s portable, has a lot of storage, and is not imagine”
wallpapers, paintings, comics, etc. However, the only device I will own for the next three years.”
the latest fad is the “concept”. Like everything “A netbook is portable, has a lot more storage Robert Sovereign-Smith
else before, this concept of “concepts” has been and will let you get college work done, and you’ll Executive Editor
editor@thinkdigit.com
around for ages already. Sometimes also called even have money left over to buy a PMP!”
prototypes, the concept first became famous “Hmm…will think about it…”
with the automobile industry. I wonder if he was able to resist the temptation,
However, over the years, we seem to tire of the and buy smart rather than buy cool. I doubt it,
latest fad – we’re already fed-up of the iPad and because I see people buying an iPhone, and never
the new tablet craze. We’re now busy salivating using it for apps, music or videos; and others
over the sleek and dreamy concept gadgets that who have bought a BlackBerry, but just to send
designers are only too happy to throw at us. Also, SMSes…and to be a BlackBerry Boy.
the days of concept imaging are already behind All it takes is a cool 3D video, and people hap-
us; we expect 3D videos these days! pily throw away practicality in favour of spending
The Mozilla Seabird is one of the concept big bucks on features they imagine would be cool
videos that caught everyone’s fancy in late Sep- to own. We may have lost the ability to use our
tember. For those of you who haven’t seen the imaginations properly, but the manufacturers of
video, do a YouTube search and watch it – in 3D. fantasy have certainly managed to master the art
If the comments on the mozillalabs.com site of inception – it’s not as hard as the movie made it
are any indication, an actual phone like this one out to be, apparently.
would sell like hotcakes. I read hundreds of the
1024 comments before it got boring, and all basi-
cally said, “Wow! I want one.”
Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com 1
November 2010 • Volume 10 • Issue 11
To.AdveRTise pRoduCTs.Reviewed
BAZAAR.................71
VP, Sales & Marketing:
Acer Aspire One 532h
Naveen Chand Singh.
AMD Phenom II 1075T
Mobile:.+91-99717 94688
AMD Phenom II 960 Black Edition
E-mail:.sales@thinkdigit.com
Apple iMac 21.5 inch
Apple MacBook 13-inch
NORTH:
Apple Magic Trackpad
Lalit Arun
Managing Director ASUS Crosshair IV Extreme
Dr Pramath Raj Sinha Mobile:.+91-95822 62959
ASUS Crosshair IV Formula
Printer and Publisher SOuTH & WEST: BenQ GL2030AM
Kanak Ghosh Vinodh Kaliappan BenQ V2410
Publishing Director Mobile: +91-97407 14817 Biostar TA880GB+
Asheesh Gupta Brag DB10
EAST:
Brag FJ8
Jayanta Bhattacharyya
Editorial. Cooler Master Storm Inferno
Mobile: +91-93318 29284
Executive Editor Robert Sovereign-Smith Corsair 600T
Editor-at-large & Online Arch. Ahmed Shaikh Creative Zen X-Fi Style
Head - Copy Desk Nash David Escan 11 Internet Security Suite
Writers Siddharth Parwatay, Kshitij Sobti, Ad.indeX
SMC Ez StylePad
Abhinav Lal
Brand.............................................................................. Page No Fly MV135
Trainee Sambhav Daffu
Contributing writers Anoop Verma, Hanu Logitech............................................................................................2 Galaxy GTX460 768MB GC
Prateek, Nitish Varma iBall...........................................................................................3,.111 G-fone 777
Fenda.................................................................................................5 Huawei C5600
Test Centre Consumer.Mate...........................................................................7 Huawei U9130
Manager (Mumbai) Rossi Fernandes Lian-Li EX-30
Manager (Delhi) Michael Browne Altec.Lansing................................................................................9
Dell.................................................................................................. 11 MEElectronics M6
Reviewers Nimish Sawant, Vinod Yalburgi
MEElectronics M9
Trainees Pujan Doshi, Rudresh Jariwala Intel................................................................................................ 13
Co-ordinator Shweta Mali Micromax E390
Maruti............................................................................................. 15
Movil MC100
Design
Micromax...................................................................................... 17 MSI N465GTX
Sr Creative Director Jayan Narayanan .
Sandisk..........................................................................................19 Norton Internet Security 2011
Art Director Binesh Sreedharan D-Link............................................................................................. 21 Palit GTX460 Sonic 2 GB DDR5
Associate Art Director Anil VK MM.India......................................................................................23 English Helper Read to Me
Lead Designer Vijay Padaya
Direct.I..........................................................................................25. Roccat Kone+
Manager Design Chander Shekhar
Sr Visualisers PC Anoop, Santosh Kushwaha Bajaj.Pulsar................................................................................. 27 Roccat Pyra
Sr Designers TR Prashanth, Anil T, NV Baiju Docomo......................................................................................... 31 Seagate GoFlex TV HD
Sr Photographer Jiten Gandhi NVIDIA.........................................................................................33 Silicon Power A50 250GB
ASUS..............................................................................35,.57,.59
. Skullcandy iCon2
Production and Logistics Sony DPF-X95
Sr GM - Operations Shivshankar Hiremath Top.Gun.........................................................................................37
Sony NWZ-A845
Manager Operations Rakesh Upadhyay IOCL...............................................................................................39
Tech-Com SSD-600 USB
Asst Production Manager Vilas.Mhatre Scrum.............................................................................................41
X-Mini Capsule
Asst Mgr Vijay Menon Strontium.....................................................................................43
Mgmt Trainee Omkar Tarde X-Mini Max II
Executives.M P Singh, Mohd. Nadeem Ansari
.
Trustport......................................................................................45 X-Mini V1.1 Black
LIC...................................................................................................47 Zebronics Zebmate 20
Brand Hitachi............................................................................................49 Zebronics Strider
Product Mgr Abhishek Poddar Netgear.......................................................................................... 51
Mgr - Product Marketing Chandan Singh HigH-end.Cell.pHone.TesT..64
Apacer............................................................................................53
Co-ordinator / Scheduling Kishan Singh
Top.Notch.....................................................................................61 Apple iPhone 3GS 32 GB
Circulation Sales Microworld...................................................................................63 Blackberry 9105 (Pearl 3G)
National Co-ordinator Samir Mehta Apacer............................................................................................65 Fly Ivory
Regional Mgrs Jayanta Bhattacharyya, HTC Desire
Texonic...........................................................................................69
Norbert Joseph HTC HD Mini
Executive Vijay Mhatre Bit.Fang.................................................................................98,.99
HTC Touch HD 2
Safenet........................................................................................117 HTC Wildfire
Reader Services Antaragni....................................................................................121 LG GM 360i
Lead Associate Sourabha Leo.Impact...............................................................................122 LG GT 540 (Optimus)
Sr Executive Prerana Panchal
Componex................................................................................. 123 Motorola Milestone
Executives Poornima, Itishree, Pinky, Sudhir
+91-22-678 99 678 / help@thinkdigit.com Asia.Power................................................................................ 124 Nokia E72
Samsung.................................................... Inside.front.cover Nokia N8
Community Advisory Council India.Digital...............................................Inside.back.cover Nokia N97 Mini
Ejaz Ashraf, Mayur Gaikwad, Samsung Galaxy S
.
DHL...............................................................................Back.cover
Bhuveneshwar Gupta, Prashant Joshi, Samsung l5800 (Galaxy 3)
Romin Joshi, Natraj Kadur, Rohan Mathew,
Published, Printed and Owned by Nine Dot Nine Samsung S8500 (Wave)
Amitabh Mishra, Abhineet Mittal, Dev Mukerjee,
Anuvrat Parashar, Dipankar Saha, Dilip Sanghvi, Interactive Pvt. Ltd. Published and printed on their Sony Ericsson X8
Suvra Sarkar, Arun Sriraman behalf by Kanak Ghosh. Published at Plot No. 725 Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro
GES, Shirvane, Nerul, Navi Mumbai 400 706. Board Sony Ericsson Xperia X10
Cover design Anoop PC line: 678 99 666 Fax: 678 99 667.
Printed at Silverpoint Press Pvt. Ltd, Plot No. A,
403, MIDC, TTC Industrial Area, Mahape, Navi Disclaimer
For every Digit contest, there will be only one
Mumbai 400709.
winner, unless specified otherwise.
Editor: Anuradha Das Mathur, Plot No. 725 GES, In the event of a dispute, the Editor’s decision
Shirvane, Nerul, Navi Mumbai 400 706. shall be final.
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Contents
November 2010 volume 10 \ issue 11
quiCk
NAviGATor
004 EntEr
inbox
buzz
012 mobile Watch
ConnECtions
Web Watch
Features
028 digital lifE
Droolmaal
Geek life
056 sCi of the robots
rise
tECh
space Junk
064 triEd and
tEstEd
Cell Phone shootout
bazaar
083 toolbox
Tips & Tricks
36
DiY
Q&A
096 strEEt smart
Agent 101
Price Watch
Consumer Protection
036 CovEr story
The Great indian Deal hunt
Killer rigs icons of Trust
Challenger brands
103 World viEW
109 tECh in mobile apps
Careers
@ Work 56
114 EsC
sKoAr!
rise of the robots!
unwind The Robot invasion has begun, and they
Community come in peace...
Digit 101
TrieD &
TesTeD 071
APPle imAC
Brand new iMac tested in our labs for your
074
brAG
Db10
075
smC ez sTYlePAD
The Android army’s tablets have started
reading pleasure Brand new entrant into the custom PC to trickle into our test centre
building market flexes it’s muscle
On the DVD
mindWarE PlayWarE
videos indian rock
• Video Tutorials music
on C++ for beginners • Bhayank Maut
• Hydrodjent
software • Kastadyne
• Adobe Extension Manager 2 • Split
• Adobe Shockwave Player 11 • Something Relevant
• Advanced RSS Mixer Personal • The Circus
• BlackBerry Theme Studio 6.0 • Undying Inc
distros music
28 • Ubuntu 10.10 • Motherjane
drool maal • Peppermint • Sanjeev T
• The Unrelenting Surge of
Drool over some of the coolest tips & tricks Vengance
gadgets and gizmos • Adobe Photoshop CS5
• Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 digit tv
020 recover your stolen Podcasts
• FIRA
• Acyut – The Indian robot
Cellphone • Distro Watch Weekly
• FLOSS Weekly
• Robot football
• Robot obstacle race
091 DiY
• SMC ebook reader
• Linux Link Tech show
• X–mini speakers
• The Linux action show
build your own PC temperature monitor game demos
Ebooks • Arcania: Gothic 4
• Demystifying Google Hacks • Blade Kitten
• iOS Reference Library • FIFA Soccer 2011
• Step by step Linux Guide
• VideoLAN Quickstart movies
• Carnival of Souls
Whitepapers • The Phantom of the Opera
• Design content rich websites
083 062 • 7 Deadly Mistakes of Social
Media Marketing ...and How to
music
• Hot Fiction–Dark Room
Tips space Junk Avoid Them • J.L.T– Elevation
&Tricks
• Mobile web design: how to • Loudog–Waste Your Time
Junk moves into dangerous create your success story • STEEP–Your Reality
territory– outer space! • Ten useful tricks to rank • The Phase–Dogma
Adobe Photoshop,
Premiere Pro, 3ds max... higher in search engines
iNDiAN roCK
sPeCiAl,
FirA CoverAGe
DvD
2 gb of vidEos
077 078
roCCAT PYrA GAlAxY GeForCe GTx 460
A gaming mouse not meant for the NVIDIA’s new Fermi chip unleashed
light hearted on our benchmarks
Viewsonic VX2258WM
Buzz Viewsonic launches the VX2258WM - a
Enter 06 News and happenings from around
the web
22-inch touchscreen monitor
October 2010
) I am regular reader of Digit since last
two years, but now I am a subscriber.
I was really happy to know that Digit
stands amongst the top 10 most read
English magazines in India in the Indian
Readership Survey 2010. I would like to
congratulate the entire team of Digit. I
would request to you please provide some
software about Indian Astrology for my
father, as he is also a reader of magazine.
Tushar
Thank you for becoming a subscriber to
Digit. It is readers like you, who read Digit
month after month, and recommend it to
friends which has kept the Digit magazine
readership higher than any other technology
magazine in the country. With regards to
the Astrology software, we will definitely
discuss it in our edit meets. View section. I think that this section software. I have suggested software for
Sambhav is a breath of fresh air to the magazine, the DVD on several occasions, but I do
especially the Timepass section. The new not get a status update
) I am hungry to learn ethical hacking format of the Bazaar is really wonderful. Vishal Karade
but don’t seem to find real and practical I am not a tech geek or not even gadget
stuff. It came to my knowledge that Digit obsessed. I am a student who awaits his Thanks for taking the time to send
had published an edition related to Ethical monthly piece of excellence. This is one of feedback. We really appreciate it. Apolo-
Hacking in its June 2010 issue. I am sure your greatest fans signing off. gies for your previous mails not being
this is the kind of content I am looking Amish Singh replied to. We will look into the matter.
for. I will be greatly obliged, if I can avail We will also try and make it easier for
a copy in the PDF format. And if pos- The very fact that you read Digit readers to understand circuit diagrams
sible the list of the software which are proves that you have a higher tech in the future. Look for the software you
extremely essential for Ethical Hacking quotient than your friends who do not demanded in the November issue of
and are free of cost. read it. We are glad that you liked the Digit.
Jayant Vishaal new additions we have made to the Nash
magazine in the form of World View and
Our Fast Track to Ethical Hacking is your Bazaar Mini. It really is quite motivating ) Just when I was thinking of renewing
surest answer to get practical information to know that readers are liking the hard my subscription which is expiring next
on the subject. We give away the PDFs of work being put into the new sections. month, i.e, November ‘10, you gave me
older issues in our December and June Siddharth another reason for not doing so. I have
issues. You can also buy the hard copy been waiting for your reply since a long
online at www.thinkdigit.com/cart.php ) I would prefer reading Fast track time and have now given up. I have been
Nash on my screen as it saves money and is a Digit subscriber for the past six years,
eco-friendly as well. One more sugges- and have asked for your advice so many
) According to me, a perfect magazine tion I would like to make is to make the times but have never got any help. I have
should always contain good pictures and circuit diagrams easy to understand. mailed you guys many times and that too
visuals. There must always be a catchy Sometimes, it is not so easy to under- from different IDs hoping to get a reply
cover. The covers of the October 2010 and stand the symbols specially for readers on at least one, but in vain.
April 2009 editions were truly unique. from non – engineering background. By You have constantly been a disappoint-
I started reading your magazine in May the way, the security tool in Toolbox was ment. Some people say “you guys rock”,
2007 and till now I have every edition awesome. I really loved your DIY special but I’d just say “you guys are a rock”.
preserved well. The issue which really of June 2010. Looking forward to more Words and questions go thrashing on you
stands out is the April 2009 one, which such DIY’s. and you are not even moved. I do not feel
was crafted with passion and hard work. If possible, please try to provide the connected to the Digit family anymore.
I also have some thoughts on your World status of the request of DVD demands of I hope you guys don’t reply to my
4 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
iPhone trumps BlackBerry
According to researchers at Strategy Analytics, 15.4 million Quad-SIM phone?
iPhones were shipped globally compared to only 12.4 million OTECH F1 has come out with a phone that
enter Blackberries houses four active SIM cards
question this time too, so I can dis-
Letter of the month
continue my subscription without
a second thought. Thanks for (not)
bei ng there when required. ) I have been a reader of your maga- Also, I would love following those bit.ly
Mohit Khanna zine since the very beginning and in the links that you have put out all over the
past few years I have been an on and off magazine. It would be a great idea to have
I am deeply sorry for the mental agony reader. Recently however I subscribed to (all) the links in a dedicated section on
you had to go through while composing the magazine since it was a way by which your website, so that I can just log on to
this mail. There is nothing more sad- I would get and read Digit each month. your website and follow the links that I
dening than losing a dedicated reader and However, I have not been happy with am interested in.
we promise to be more careful hence- the issues of late as the quality of content Also in reviews, it would be nice to sum-
forth. I will look into the matter as to seems to be deteriorating rapidly and marize the various scores(Cinebench,
why your queries went unanswered. It is put quite simply, I am finding the content DOOM etc.) in a box. That makes it easier
our constant endeavor to answer all user appalling. I think there has to be a more to compare.
queries on Agent001. Sometimes, we stringent editorial process to ensure that Sorry again for being too harsh, but I am
have lots of queries but due to space con- the articles are of good quality. paying for this magazine and I think I
straints we cannot publish all the replies. I will take the case of the September deserve better in terms of content.
But we make sure that whichever user 2010 Issue (Vol 10, Issue 09) Page 61: Prashanth K S
has mailed us, will get a prompt reply. All Macbook: in Column 3 you say that
we ask is for one chance to rethink your ‘Apple has implemented a very intel- We are always open to constructive
decision. ligent feature to switch from integrated criticism and you do not have to be sorry
Robert graphics to discrete graphics’. I do not for pointing out errors. Regarding the
know who has patented this, but there Apple MacBook review, we said that Apple
) I’m an avid fan of Digit. The magazine are now umpteen notebooks available has implemented the feature in this line of
is doing some really good work in edu- with switchable graphics and this is not laptops. We did not say Apple introduced
cating me in the IT field. I’ve been reading an Apple thing. There were a lot more of or came up with this concept. Our testing
Digit for around two years now and I’ve these content errors and writing errors. process is completely objective and our
gained a lot of knowledge. You have my You should be more careful of typos and reviews reflect a stringent testing process
thanks. ratings errors. and its outcome. We will try to be more
I have a request and suggestion. With I really do not like the snippets at the careful with typos and ratings errors as
the computer market rapidly flowing top as they are a reading distraction - you mentioned.
with many laptop models, particularly more like ads on a web page - and it Snippets in the features section are in con-
gaming laptops, there is a lot of confusion is quite distracting to read the article text of the article. We try to have snippets
amongst people buying laptops. I believe and then suddenly read the snippet that will arouse your curiosity on the topic
it is high time for the shoppers to learn on top while shifting to the next and help you explore the article beyond
something important, the different range column. what is mentioned in our write ups.
of graphics cards and processors and The World View section is one of the We are glad you liked our World View sec-
their capability of each model, etc. I hope most interesting pieces of the magazine. tion. We will definitely give a thought to the
you guys do a comparison test on laptops The articles are very interesting and I suggestion you made about the bit.ly links
having GPU’s with the Core i series proc- only wish that you have many more arti- and try to have them up on our website.
essors and premium AMD processors cles but shorter ones - limited to a page or As for the benchmark scores, we do put
in the range of entry-level, mid, high and two. For example, the October mag had them up on the website. You can find the
ultra high levels. I’m sure everyone will just one huge article spanning five pages. links to some of them in the Bazaar sec-
benefit from this. Instead three smaller articles would have tion.
Also, I want to enquire about the Col- been more fun. Nimish
lector’s edition. How many pages does it
contain?
I saw an ad about SKOAR EXPO! to be Thanks for your valuable suggestions. event that was to be held between 22nd
held for the 22nd-24th Oct 2010 at NSIC We will try to cover gaming laptops and 24th of October 2010. But due to
Exhibition centre in New-Delhi. I would in the future. We are working on the circumstances beyond our control, the
like to get free passes for two, if possible, Collector’s edition and you can rest event has been postponed.
for me and my cousin. assured that it will be very special. It We’re in the process of rescheduling, and
Keep up the good work. will certainly have many more pages we will make it a priority to inform you of
David H.Singson than a normal issue. Also, it is wonderful the new dates and send you passes.
to see your interest in the SKOAR! 2010 Rossi
6 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
Electric car in India Palm Pre 2 arrives
GM plans to come out with an electric car sometime Palm Pre 2 sporting the all new webOS 2.0 operating system from HP,
Buzz next year launched in France and will enter US and Canada markets soon
Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse sends lesser mice
scurrying, plays a fashionable Pied Piper
M
icrosoft has mouse wheel, though Microsoft Touch Mouse apparently
unveiled the tried to retain the effect – using went through 50 prototype
Arc Touch haptic feedback to make little designs to create, and the
Mouse and it’s vibrations and a little speaker consensus over the web is
just as unconventional as the to make little clicks, all to simu- that while the mouse might
first one. The Arc Touch Mouse late the feel of a mouse wheel. not be just perfect yet, it
moulds itself from curved to The sleek Arc Touch Mouse does point to a new path for
flat, and can be used on nearly is 15 mm thick and certainly mice everywhere, leaving
any surface, tracing with its a fashion statement. It offers us looking forward to even
2.4 GHz Nano transceiver and new ways to interact with more innovative designs
Microsoft BlueTrack tech- the computer, with its touch and interface possibilities
nology. The option of the flat and scroll sensitive strip and in the near future.
position also makes the Arc haptic feedback. Even the flat The Arc mouse is of course, now for a price of $69.95. The
Touch more portable than its position would have been an wireless – using two AAA bat- Arc Touch Mouse ships in
predecessor. Featuring a capac- interesting way to control the teries for power that lasts six December, and will be broadly
itive touch and scroll sensitive mouse, if Microsoft had built months on a single charge. It’s available online and in stores
strip, it does away with the that into the design. The Arc available for pre-order right this January
Flex in a
week
Intel’s new upgradable
processors yours; for $50
T
his video training
I
course will help you
understand how you t appears you could This means that any bugs What Intel is doing has
can use Adobe’s Flex soon be bringing home a detected in the hardware even key differences from the cases
framework to build your own (comparatively) cheaper after manufacture can pos- highlighted above. First of all
Rich Internet Applications computer with an Intel sibly be fixed by updating the this is not being done because
(RIA’s). You must be familiar Pentium G6951 processor, firmware. of faulty components, and if it
with basic programming con- and be able to upgrade it by This however is not a new was, $50 is way too much to ask
structs and processes and have purchasing a $50 (currently concept. Processors routinely for adding instability to your
a basic knowledge of XML, `2,291) card. The card comes come with features such as system. Intel has also already
HTML and CSS. with a code which can be used entire cores locked, however charged you for the hardware
The course consists of by the Intel’s Upgrade Applica- this is usually done due to you bought and paid for, recov-
videos and exercises organised tion to unlock features in your faulty components rather than ering the cost and making a
into training modules. If you computer. The upgrade could a means to derive further profit. profit. This is like purchasing
do get stuck (as all learners are double the amount of L3 cache, Even in these cases, for those a refrigerator with the freezer
expected to), the ‘Flex in a week’ and improve HyperThreading willing to take a risk, there are compartment locked, and the
forum is also available to help support, doubling the number means available to unlock and key for extra. Even so, the fact
you out of your jam. of threads, which is a substan- use the blocked features. If you of the matter is, if you had an
For more information, head tial upgrade indeed. buy a copy of Windows Vista or option between purchasing
over to http://goo.gl/uqq3. Upgrading hardware is Windows 7, your disc already two refrigerators which cost
decidedly more difficult than contains all versions from the the same, one without a freezer
upgrading software, which is lowliest Home Basic to the and the other locked, you might
one of the reasons why even Ultimate. However, the ver- find it wiser to invest in the one
hardware devices such as your sion installed depends on the with better future prospects.
CD/DVD ROM drive, mother- key used during installation, Anyone want to place a bet
board and many other such and is a matter of convenience on how long it will take before
devices, have the firmware. for them to be on the same disc. this gets hacked?
8 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
Credit Card 2.0 391,832
Citibank will start testing Card 2.0 a new credit and That is the number of secret Iraq War documents that
debit card device that claims to securely link multiple WikiLeaks has released, which is touted as the biggest military
Buzz accounts leak in history
Gaming comes to Tata OpenOffice forked
Sky and Hungama as LibreOffice
T I
n order to ramp up the under Oracle. The Document
at a S ky evolution of OpenOf- Foundation also needs Ora-
and Hun- fice.org, community cle’s approval before using
gama Dig- members have decided the OpenOffice.org brand,
ital Media to fork the project and hence the name “LibreOf-
Entertainment have develop it under an inde- fice,” and in case they do
teamed up again to pendent foundation. For get Oracle’s approval, it will
bring gaming into your this purpose they have set simplify matter quite a bit
living room, via the up The Document Founda- as the office suite could then
television. Calling it a tion which will be driving continue to go by its original
global first, the duo offer the further development of familiar name under the new
“high-end Java-based gaming” 35,000 Actve Games sub- OpenOffice.org under its new foundation.
that’s developed by Hungama scribers, without any adver- name LibreOffice. What The Document
Game Studio, via Tata Sky’s tising. OpenOffice.org is possibly Foundation is aiming to do
Actve platform. The two first As for the platform itself, the most popular open source is similar to what has hap-
teamed up on Actve Mall. Tata Sky and Hungama offi- office suite for Windows and pened with Firefox. Mozilla
Vikram Mehra, CMO of Tata cially launched it with what Linux, and has a port avail- Firefox’s past lies in the Net-
Sky, said it was all an effort to they call a celebrity/sports able for Mac OSX as well. scape browser which was
deliver casual gaming to the game - Yuvraj Singh Cricket It was mainly developed by open sourced and developed
130 million TV homes in India, Championship, obviously Sun, and used as a base for by the independent Mozilla
of which only 10 million own connecting it with one of their own commercial version Foundation into what it is
PCs, and 1 million own gaming India’s favourite pass times. of the suite called StarOffice. today. Hopefully, LibreOf-
consoles (and, Tata Sky just hit Neeraj Roy, CEO of Hungama With the recent acquisition of fice will have a similar effect
a subscriber base of 6 million). DME, said that they intend Sun by Oracle, OpenOffice. on Microsoft Office as Firefox
The DTH service announced to cater to the entire family, org is now in development had on Internet Explorer.
the value-add can be tried free and deliver around 50 games Certainly a vendor-inde-
by subscribers for a 15 day trial over the course of the year, pendent open source office
period before they choose to in various genres. To further suite which can challenge the
invest in the `40 for a months differentiate it from embedded foothold of Microsoft Office is
package. The service was soft- games on modern televisions, beneficial to the open source
launched almost a fortnight Hungama Game Studios aims community. Hopefully, Oracle
before its official launch, and to provide many new games will be kind enough to donate
Tata Sky claimed they snagged every month the OpenOffice.org brand
MIT: Linux will be multi-core ready
T
hree MIT profes- ence counters” that occurred as the counter down. The counter eting the counter up and down
sors and their stu- they kept scaling up the cores. keeps realtime record of which that they weren’t getting nearly
dents decided to Since multi-core systems end cores are using the data, and enough work done.”
undertake research up tasking multiple cores with when the counter resets itself All they had to was to
in multi-core scalability, i.e., calculations that require the to zero, the OS then deletes the rewrite the Linux code slightly,
if you keep increasing the same data set, the data remains data, and frees up the proc- instructing each core to keep a
number of cores, can you make stranded with one or the other essor memory for other tasks. local count that was only peri-
sure that performance keeps cores during the course of the As one keeps increasing odically synchronized with
up? calculation. When a core starts the number of cores however, the central reference counter,
They found that they could, work on the data, it sets a cen- what happens is that the data resulting in much improved
but only by modifying the way tral (available to other cores) gets split into ever smaller por- overall performance. Well, to
the operating system worked, counter up, and when it fin- tions. This results in the cores modify the system, it had to be
by addressing “clogged refer- ishes its task on the data, it sets “spending so much time ratch- open-source (at least legally)
10 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
Web Watch
Connections 16 Your fix of the latest buzz from the
world of the web 20 Find your missing partner
Your definitive guide to mobile phone theft
Nokia World 2010: Nokia shows off 3
new Symbian^3 devices
A
t Nokia World the end of the year.” The Nokia E7
2010, the Finnish Nokia N8, the flagship Sym- The Nokia E7 features a full
mobile giant bian^3 device, was the first to QWERTY keyboard on a hori-
launched three be launched in October. Before zontal slider, a 4-inch CBD
new phones – E7, C7, and we take a look at the three new AMOLED tilting touchscreen
C6 (C6-01) – all Symbian^3 devices, it is important to note display with a 640x360 pixel
devices. If you were hoping to that Nokia is also introducing resolution, 16GB internal
hearing about MeeGo devices, a new display called Nokia storage, 256 MB RAM, and 1 GB
you’re out of luck for now. ClearBlack Display, or CBD. ROM. One of the phone’s USPs
You will be able to see Promising better black as is its ability to create
MeeGo launches only in 2011. well as superior contrast ratio, PowerPoint pres-
For now, enjoy the Symbian colour and brightness, CBD entations on the
shower (Nokia N8 included) is an AMOLED technology move. It also fea-
with an interface that Nokia that’s set to compete with the tures an aluminium Nokia’s E7
hopes will support the smart- iPhone 4’s Retina Display, as body, and bright anodised col-
phone mantle for a while: well as the Samsung’s Super- ours. It will be priced at approxi- Nokia C6-01
“Today our fight back to smart- AMOLED screens. mately €495, or `29,552. Representing the lower end of
phone leadership shifts into All three phones feature the new Symbian^3 range, there
high gear. Despite new com- capacitive touchscreen dis- Nokia C7 is not much difference between
petition, Symbian remains the plays, 8 MP cameras with dual Certainly well-photographed, the the C7 and the C6-01, except that
most widely used smartphone LED flash, 720p HD video Nokia C7 is an entertainment and it has a smaller display, featuring
platform in the world. Our recording, 3G HSDPA con- social networking device and fea- a 3.2-inch CBD AMOLED screen
new family of smartphones nectivity, Bluetooth 3.0 with tures a 3.5-inch CBD AMOLED with a 640x360 resolution,
introduced today feature the A2DP, Wi-Fi b/g/n, WebTV screen with a resolution of and less internal storage, with
all-new Symbian OS, rewritten (free digital TV content), and 360x640 pixels, 8GB internal just 340 MB onboard. A 2 GB
to be faster, easier to use, more the innovative USB-on-the- storage, and stereo FM with FM microSD card will come bundled
efficient and more developer Go feature, which lets you transmitter. It will be priced at with the phone though. It will be
friendly”. All three phones directly connect USB flash approximately €335, or `19,999, priced at approximately €260,
will begin shipping “before drives to the phone. and has started shipping. or `15,523.
Videocon goes MarketPlace
Android with Zeus now available for
Indians, finally
V
ideocon has just compare it to the LG Optimus
A
launched an GT540, another Android full-
Android 2.1-based touch phone that was released ndroid has finally now, no operator billing sup-
full-touch phone, just over a month ago, priced at made its way into port has been provided.
the Zeus, and further extended `12,990. The GT540 currently international mar- Also part of Google’s interna-
its portfolio, by introducing however is based on Android kets in a big way, tional expansion of the Android
four other phones as well. 1.6, though it will support an and now offers the ability to Market is support for paid appli-
Providing full access to the upgrade to Android 2.1. buy apps to users in 18 more cations sales for developers, now
Android Market, the Videocon The Zeus ships with 2.1, countries, including India – available to 20 more countries,
Zeus (V7500) also comes with and is powered by a 600 MHz starting today. So, now you can which unfortunately doesn’t
a whole bunch of preloaded Qualcomm processor. Other log on to the Android Market include India (and Switzer-
applications as well as an 8GB specifications include a 3.2- with your smartphone, and use land). So, if you’re looking to sell
microSD card, all at a rather inch multi-touch screen, 5MP your credit card to purchase an Android application you’ve
attractive price of `12,900. At camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, apps via Google Checkout. developed, you’ll have to wait a
that price, you can’t help but A-GPS, and push mail. Prices are visible in rupees. For while longer.
12 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
No more Suggestions? Fake Alarm!
Google has renamed its popular suggestion ZoneAlarm’s customers are enraged over a fake
feature to “Autocomplete” as part of their antivirus scare, calling the notification a tactic, and
Connections integration with their Instant search many of them have opted to uninstall the software
Qualcomm’s plan LG adopts dual-
for the future core Tegra
W T
he NVIDIA Tegra smartphones, including the
ith all the MSM8x60 dual-core Snap- 2 is certainly a very upcoming Optimus series. This
news that dragon processor only by Q1 capable SoC, and makes LG the first company
came before 2011, and, devices featuring everyone is excited to adopt NVIDIA Tegra 2 on a
this, Qual- the 1.5 GHz QSD8672 dual- about the performance and large scale.
comm’s announcements core Snapdragon processor multi-tasking powerhouse LG expressed high hopes
almost sound trivial, but, are will ship Q4 2011. The 1.5GHz reaching the masses. While from the Optimus series, spe-
sure to make a lot of people dual-core processor was mobile devices with larger cifically with 3D graphics,
sit up and take notice. One of expected to hit devices by form factors (such as tablets hardware acceleration of
the biggest manufacturers of Christmas this year, so there and netbooks) have not faced online and local Flash content,
mobile processors, modems, has obviously been a hold up very serious problems in the and HD video playback up to
and other telecommuni- somewhere. prototype stages, the Tegra 2 1080p.
cations equipment, Qual- It is truly safe to say processor has made news in the LG announced that the
comm’s processor roadmap that mobile computing recent past for plaguing soon- first of its Optimus mobiles to
is always studied with much is becoming faster, more to-be mass produced handheld feature the Tegra 2 SoC will
interest, and its latest, is no capable and power efficient, portable devices with power be released this year, and we
exception. and the fight to make a proc- consumption issues, like the presume it would be the LG
Qualcomm has announced essor that wins on all the case of the new Sony PSP and C900 WP7. An LG spokes-
it will ship the first devices counts - power versus price Notion Ink Adam tablet being person commented on the
featuring the 1.2 GHz versus performance - is on! delayed... bright future of Optimus series
All those issues seem to with the NVIDIA Tegra 2: “LG
be a thing of the past, because is committed to making its
Nokia N8 launches, LG, a major player in the global
mobile market, has decided to
Optimus Series smart devices
the de facto standard in speed
starts shipping
adopt the Tegra 2 for its future and graphics performance.”
S
et to take on the the N8 represents Nokia’s first The Nokia N8 has been monthly instalments, and
world’s best smart- trump card to get back in to officially released in India, zero percent interest.
phones and mobile the smartphone game, and and will be on shelves starting Apart from the awesome
operating systems, you can be sure a lot of hopes with Nokia Priority Stores, 12MP camera, convenient
are invested from tomorrow, October 13th. USB-on-the-Go, and seamless
in it, and Priced at `26,259, the Nokia 720p HD video output, Nokia
a lot of N8 represents the Finnish is also promoting the N8 as
crossed phone maker’s top smart- a platform for a plethora of
fingers. phone model, and paves the applications. Not only will the
way for the got-a-lot-to-prove N8 have access to a majority of
Nokia’s N8 Symbian^3 platform. older apps from the Ovi Store,
If you are dying to it will support the Nokia-
get yourself an N8, developed and critically-
and just can’t rustle acclaimed Qt framework. This
up the bank notes, will surely see a large number
then take heart in of developers making apps for
knowing that Nokia Symbian, and, give them the
is providing an easy- flexibility of programming for
EMI scheme that the numerous other platforms
will get you a Nokia that are supported by the Qt
N8 with three equal framework.
14 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
Upside down
A great extension if you want to play a prank on your friends.
Connections It’ll turn web pages upside down! (http://bit.ly/6izWR4)
12 Must-add Chrome Extensions
Those of us from the geekier Chrome extension which will home about. Till then and per- can be right? To use LastPass
side of life are quite familiar save you the trouble by auto- haps even later, this little birdy you need to create an account
with improving the function- matically loading the next page that sits in the browser is all wherein you enter a ‘master
ality of a browser via exten- of a site inline when you reach you need to fulfill your tweeting password’. It locally encrypts
sions – thanks to good old the end of the current page for needs. It shows up notifications all your password data and
Firefox. Chrome added support infinite scrolling of content. By for various types of events such sends it to the cloud. The
for extensions post Version 4 default AutoPager works with as @ mentions or DMs. These service is capable of importing
and there has been no looking a ton of sites including Twitter, can further be customised. Of data from different browsers as
back. Here’s a hand picked YouTube and most essentially course there’s the ability to post well as many password keeping
selection of Chrome extensions Google. and a built in URL shortner. services such as RoboForm.
that will up your productivity, This however requires you to
enhance your browsing experi-
ence and let you have some fun
3Improved
social network-
5 Lookup stuff
instantly - Ap-
download the LastPass stan-
dalone application found on
too. One of the best things about ing - Facebook for ture Highlights www.lastpass.com.
extensions on Chrome is that Google Chrome http://bit.ly/bt97yZ
you don’t even need to restart http://bit.ly/8kjkAz Even smart guys need to
your browser, so add away. Simply put this extension lets look up a particular word
you read your Facebook news or phrase from time to
1 Sync Book-
marks - Xmarks
feed and wall, besides which
you can of course post status
time. This little extension
is a great tool for those
http://bit.ly/a2o7X5 updates. The beauty of this err rare occasions when
Xmarks used to be (and still is) unofficial extension lies in you want to look up any-
one of our most favourite Add- its simplicity. The extension thing from the meaning
ons in Firefox. Now available sits in your Chrome toolbar of a word or want to get
in Chrome as well, it syncs and shows a number for each more info on it on Wiki-
your bookmarks across any unread notification. You have pedia. Simply highlight a
computer and even browser. three buttons for each of the phrase to get instant access
The extension requires you feeds. to Wikipedia, YouTube,
to have an account with the Twitter, and more without
service. Once set up, it will sync leaving the page! The Apture in action
your bookmarks with a cloud extension can work well
based server. To get back your
bookmarks in the new browser/
with another extension that
looks up only word meanings
7
Play music in
your browser -
computer you’re using simply - Google Dictionary (http://bit. Last.fm free music
install the extension again and ly/7pGVi7) – Once installed you player
enter your login credentials. We can double-click any word to http://bit.ly/cOkj7T
were able to import our book- view its definition in a small Being complete music, junkies
marks from Firefox effortlessly. yellow pop-up bubble. this extension was the most fun
Hopefully the service will sur- discovery for the Digit Team.
vive its eminent demise slated
for some time next year.
6 Password
Management
The extension allows you to
play any list of tracks on www.
- LastPass last.fm directly from your
2 Improved
scrolling - Au- Facebook for Chrome
http://bit.ly/cAUNl4
LastPass is a rightly named
browser. The list gets loaded
into the extension and you
toPager Chrome extension. It signifies that get various play options such
http://bit.ly/8vU2PJ
Often sites have multiple pages
4 Painless Tweet-
ing - Chromed
once you install this extension
it is the last password you will
as repeat, shuffle and volume
control. The reason why it got
and it gets quite annoying to Bird ever have to remember in your all of us giggling like giddy
click next at the bottom, doesn’t http://bit.ly/7i74lr life. Additionally LastPass can little school girls is because
it? Well even if it doesn’t why Until the #NewTwitter rollout also help you automatically fill ordinarily last.fm gives non-
waste those many precious is completed the web interface up online forms. We all know subscribers only a 30 second
calories. AutoPager is that of Twitter is nothing to write how painful filling online forms preview of tracks. The exten-
16 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
View documents instantly Android Winamped!
The Docs PDF/PowerPoint Viewer (by Google) extension World’s favourite desktop media player,Winamp, is now
Connections instantly opens document files in Google Doc Viewer available in Android Market in beta
sion however picks up track Mail Checker Plus with it. The extension was cre-
details and streams it from http://bit.ly/92jBxs ated as part of Google Summer
alternate sources – full songs Most of us have our Gmail of Code 2010 by an Indian stu-
for everyone! The best way to inbox open in one of the tabs dent named Ankit Ahuja. It
use it for discovering tracks is all the time. Still, it becomes basically allows you to change
to play the ‘top tracks’ list or painful to keep shuffling the appearance of any web-
‘loved tracks’ list of users on between what you’re doing page by altering the CSS. The
last.fm whose taste matches currently and checking beauty of it is in the fact that
yours. If you link your last. mail. This awesome exten- you don’t need to know CSS at
fm account it’ll even scrobble sion will let you check your all. Simply install the extension
tracks. mail without ever leaving and go about altering elements
the tab you’re currently on. Gmail notifications on Chrome on a web page by clicking the
8 Gesture control
- Mouse Stroke
Click on the icon and you get
a pop-down dialog box which can come in handy to regular
CSS button in the address bar.
http://bit.ly/8YwVTN shows you your latest mail. You users too. Some intranet sites,
Those of you who have have options to only preview corporate mail accounts and
migrated to Chrome from the mail or expand the entire even bank websites need you to
Opera will surely miss using message right in the pop-down use Internet Explorer. In these
mouse gestures. The Mouse window. You can also delete, usecase scenarios this exten-
Stroke extension adds this archive, spam, star and mark sion saves you a certain amount
much appreciated functionality mail as read. The extension also of trouble. IE Tab uses your
to Chrome. Mouse gestures are displays notifications for new currently installed version of
patterns that you need to per- mail. It’s quite customisable too Internet Explorer to render
form while holding down the – you have options to change web pages in Chrome. Worried
right mouse button (usually) to the notification icon, turn off/ about security? Since it uses the
execute some basic navigation on notification sound, and icon IE engine it’s as secure (or not)
functions such as going back, animation. as the version of IE installed
forward, closing tab, scrolling on your system. The extension
up/down etc. The extension has
the possibility to add complex
10 Keep track of
tasks - New Tab
offers the ability to configure a
page to open automatically in
functions through custom ges- to Tasks IE Tab. You can feed in a set of
tures that you can program. http://bit.ly/5lx8Kv auto URLs that the extension
A simple extension that makes will then automatically open
9 Gmail notifica-
tions - Google
your New Tab Page display a
listing of your Google Tasks.
through IE within Chrome.
This way each time you [Ctrl]
+ [Tab] you see an in-your-
12 Customise the
web – Stylebot
face update on where you stand http://bit.ly/czo6Je
with your to-do list. If you don’t This is another developer spe-
like tasks displayed in a new cific extension, but regular
tab and would like a pop-out users can also have some fun
format try the Google Tasks
extension instead (http://bit.
ly/53C2XY). The power of CSS
11 Emulate IE - IE
Tab
You get a side panel that lets
you change things like colour,
http://bit.ly/91sBeC layout, text styles, and sizes of
Emulate IE? If you’re won- elements on the page.
dering why someone would Styles are saved persist-
do that, you’re not alone. After ently, so the next time you visit
all IE is the most popular the same page, they’re already
browser to download other applied. There’s even an exper-
browsers from. This is more imental option to sync styles
Listen to music with Last.fm of a developer extension but Tabs to tasks across multiple computers.
18 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
40 Nomophobia
Percentage of U.S. and British mobile users surveyed who say An abbreviation for “NO MObile phone Phobia”, it is
Connections they’d rather lose their wallets than their mobile devices the fear of losing your mobile phone
Rudresh Jariwala tips provided here, you would success- Don’t rely on IMEI!
rudresh.j@thinkdigit.com fully be able to atleast protect your valu-
able data if not recover your phone itself.
“My Precious”
As a member of the information age, you Hey buddy, that’s MY phone
would probably agree with us when we For those of you who prefer productivity
say that our mobile phones hold just as on the go and choose to spend your hard
much importance to us (if not more) as earned moolah on a smartphone over a
do our wallets or house keys. Walking standard sub 7k phone, you must under-
around without that slight bulge in stand that with your ‘smart’phone, comes
our pants paralyses us (figuratively of the ability to install smart applications.
course) and renders us helpless. A mobile Now unless the thief is intelligent enough
phone has become such an integral part to totally wipe the device and install
The International Mobile Equipment
of our daily lives that one would feel a fresh operating system before even Identity is no longer a reliable way of
utterlty abysmal should their prised inserting a SIM card, you are protected. tracking your phone. Hacks have been
posession get lost or worse still, stolen! There are various means of tracking developed which change the devices
universal IMEI hence rendering that
primitive way of tracking useless.
Find your missing cations work on a system wherein you
partner Your definitive
are required to set the application up
with a ‘buddy’ telephone number of a
friend/relative that you trust. The way
guide to mobile in which this works is that the inser-
tion of a new SIM other than yours will
What about your precious data?
What about all your hundreds of
phone theft set off a trigger and inform your buddy
number via SMS providing you the
contacts... and of those precious hours telephone number of the person cur-
you spent fiddling with your shiny rently in posession of your phone! This
new handset customising and person- is a great option as you don’t have to be
alising it to suit your needs and pref- bothered about whether or not the robber
erences!? Scary thought isn’t it? Fret has got GPRS enabled on his SIM or not.
not my friend, help is on the way... GPS & GPRS: Phones with an inbuilt
GPS chip can use geographical informa-
Oh crap! Someone please tion to inform your buddy of the current
call my phone! location of your phone in latitude and
So lets assume that the worst has hap-
pened. Someone has made off with your Take photos of the thief!
Apple has recently applied for patents that
Siren! will enable you to take a photo of the thief
or record the voice of the theif currently in
Many applications we tested also come
posession of your beloved Apple device.
with a remote siren activation feature. So
An existing implementation of something
if you are in the vicinity of your phone, the
similar on Android exists on www.
loud noise emitted will lead you directly to
androidtheft.com. For now, iPhone users
the perpetrator’s pocket!
may enable a passcode from the general
settings and also enable erase data which
significant other. What now? File an FIR will delete all your data if there are 10
in the police, report it to your service incorrect attempts.
provider yada yada...you know the drill. Theft Aware on Android
But you know what, if you are ignorant longitude via SMS. There are alterna-
enough to think that your phone is going down your device which you must lev- tives which require the new SIM inserted
to be ‘tracked’ down using your ‘IMEI erage to your advantage. We tested var- to have GPRS enabled as well which is
number thingy’, then you are highly mis- ious free and paid applications across all simply wishful thinking for us in India
taken my friend. You need to put yourself the popular platforms and have compiled at this point in time. There are also
in the driver’s seat and make sure that the our findings into a neat tabular column. existing services to remotely track your
perpetrator is caught. With the tools and SMS: Most of these tracking appli- phone using a browser, but the down-
20 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
www.dlink.co.in
Cloud services you may want to try
Kaala Bandar Sprite Migrate: http://goo.gl/Lugm
The city of Delhi alone has registered close to 5000 mobile Mobical: http://goo.gl/tOQG
Connections phone robberies in the past year Dashwire: http://goo.gl/Zqd0
Symbian S60 Android Windows Mobile Blackberry
the smarts to go and format your phone
We recommend Guardian Mobile Theft Aware RemoteTracker PhoneBAK Anti Theft
URL http://goo.gl/8QGD http://goo.gl/t5GA http://goo.gl/cx7p http://goo.gl/nkaJ
disabling all your tracking services in
Cost Free Eur 9.99 Free $9.90 effect. Does that mean you have lost all
Features your contacts, SMS messages, multi-
SIM change Notification Y Y Y Y media, applications and data? Absolutely
100% Invisible N Y Y N
not. The old school option is to perform
Remote Lock N Y Y Y
Remote Data Wipe N Y Y Y regular backups of the above using the
GPS Tracking N Y Y Y software that came bundled with your
Siren N Y Y N phone, regular being the operative word.
Multi SIM support N Y Y Y Then again, you could choose to
Gold and Platinum Free trial version
Many more features Free trial version take the route thats got the whole IT
Notes available with most expires in 3 days, Many
available as well expires in 30 days world abuzz and allow all the things
features available free alternatives
Other apps available you care about to be uploaded to the
Name Theft Aware Anti Theft Lite GuardMobile Roblock internet. What this would require you
URL http://goo.gl/t5GA http://goo.gl/XF50 http://goo.gl/m2Es http://goo.gl/NNLQ
to do then is simply buy a phone run-
Name F-Secure Anti Theft F-Secure Anti Theft F-Secure Anti Theft Berry Locator
URL http://goo.gl/FO8T http://goo.gl/FO8T http://goo.gl/FO8T http://goo.gl/BOns
ning the same operating system and an
Name SecureMe S60 ATF Lock RecoveryCop Getitback internet connection to get everything
URL http://goo.gl/RJcK http://goo.gl/JrmJ http://goo.gl/CuRo http://goo.gl/0pi6 you care about back on your new phone
Name SmrtGuard SmrtGuard mSafe SmrtGuard just the way it was. These backups
URL http://goo.gl/iq8n http://goo.gl/iq8n http://goo.gl/byqu http://goo.gl/iq8n
are automated and done for you on a
Name WaveSecure WaveSecure WaveSecure WaveSecure
URL http://goo.gl/Ts4c http://goo.gl/Ts4c http://goo.gl/Ts4c http://goo.gl/Ts4c
regular basis, so you don’t ever have
Name UMU StopThief Lookout Lookout Lookout to worry about doing it manually.
URL http://goo.gl/jtrg http://goo.gl/5251 http://goo.gl/5251 http://goo.gl/5251
In hindsight
side is that if the GPS has been disabled, berry users have encryption as a feature Looking back at the time you had your
you will have nothing to work with. in their phones by default and can set a beloved in your hands instead of the
Tip: GPS based applications password for their memory card access. cheap replacement you had to buy in
work best when you are outdoors. Remote Wipe and Lock: Another its place is something most of us can
means of protecting your data and relate to. Simply hoping that you had
Samsung Mobile Tracker making sure that all the data is wiped taken some preventive measures will not
Samsung mobiles have been coming off your phone is by way of using the
equipped with a tracking facility for a while same tracking software mentioned Build your own
now. The user has to simply enter two
above to send a command to your phone If none of the
mobile numbers of trusted people and
which would basically wipe all data security software
when a new SIM is inserted, the buddy
featured meet your
numbers automatically get a message off your phone. Android users cur- exact needs and
which can be used to track down the phone.
rently running FroYo have the remote requirements you
wipe feature built in (http://goo.gl/ can consider building
an application on
Protect your privates ICpL). Some of the featured applica-
your own. Check
If you have ever spent late nights in the tions can even lock your phone down out the Tech@Work
privacy of your bedroom sending lewd and essentially make it a brick pre- section for information on building mobile
S(ex)MS’s to your better half, you ought to venting the user from even booting up. applications for a living and you could be
laughing all the way to the bank.
be really worried right about now. Don’t This is not advisable though as it
torment yourself, because there are an will only coerce the robber into paying magically bring your blissful beauty back
abundance of options out there to keep a ‘know-it-all’ mobile guru in your local into your caring hands. Point being that
yours (and everyone else’s) dignity intact. mobile phone repair store to format though smartphones cost that extra rupee
Data Encryption: Using a password the phone completely and reinstall the or two, when utilised the right way are
protected encryption on your memory operating system... which is disastrous worth it in the end. The added value that
card is the first step towards ensuring as far as recovering your mobile is comes in due to applications that are cus-
that what’s meant for your eyes only stays concerned. These actions can again be tomisable for your needs can help ensure
that way even if your mobile is stolen. performed using either an SMS or the that what’s rightfully yours, stays yours.
Recent Symbian S60 devices such as web depending on your preference. So step out of the Shire my friend, and
the E series provide an inbuilt encryp- embrace technology for what it can make
tion facility. Android has ‘Tasker’ (non Step into the cloud possible instead of going on a wild goose
market version) and Windows mobile Ok, last resort! Your mobile has been chase (like our friend the Gollum) for a
users have ‘Mobile Encryption’. Black- stolen and that dastardly devil has had ring that has no tracking system on it!
22 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
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Gmail users can dial other Gmail Users Indexing Billions of Pages
Recently Gmail started a new facility that allows users in USA to make When Google started, the company indexed 25,000
Feature phone calls to numbers within USA or in Canada numbers for free web pages; today it indexes billions
Anoop Verma system. According to Google, its operating of programmers can undo. It is as simple
readersletters@thinkdigit.com system is a natural extension of its Google as that. If the Chrome OS becomes really
G
Chrome browser, and it has been named popular, hackers will definitely target it,
oogle seems to be in some kind Google Chrome Operating System. and then it will become as vulnerable as
of existentialist dilemma. It the Windows, and it might also require
desperately wants to dethrone Chrome OS vs. Windows 7 frequent updates to keep the system safe.
Microsoft, and yet majority of The exact date is still a subject of intense However, there is one area where
its services like the search engine, Gmail speculation, but some analysts have the Chrome OS might actually prove to
and Google Docs are mostly accessed been predicting that netbooks powered be awesome. While developing this OS,
through the IE browser, running on a by Google’s OS might become available Google is said to be taking the minimalist
Windows powered system. The only way towards the end of 2010. An OS that is approach, like it did in case of the Chrome
Google can change its equation, vis-à-vis open source, efficient and is available for Browser, which is known for its barebones
Microsoft, is by coming up with its own free is like a dream come true for every and super fast approach to browsing.
OS. But that is easier said than done. It was computer user. Cheerleaders for Google Performance is going to be optimised, and
Why Google can never
beat
Microsoft!
are gleefully declaring that the Chrome the eye-candy will be non-existent. You can
OS could pose as a direct challenge to expect the Google Chrome OS to perk up
Microsoft and its Windows operating on the screen in a jiffy; imagine turning on
system. In its blog, Google has announced, your computer and being able to browse
“Google Chrome OS will run on both x86 in 7 seconds. Primarily because of its
as well as ARM chips and we are working minimalist design, the Chrome OS will
with multiple OEMs to bring a number consume only a fraction of the space that an
Microsoft founder Bill Gates with Google of netbooks to market next year.” In the OS like Windows 7 does. It will capitalize
CEO Eric Schmidt same blog, Google also claims that its aim on the cloud computing paraphernalia and
is “completely redesigning the underlying will be geared to grant access to Google’s
in 1983 that the first Windows operating security architecture of the OS so that users existing web services in a moment’s notice.
system was introduced, and since then don’t have to deal with viruses, malware This kind of a makeup makes Google
Microsoft has dominated the world of and security updates. It should just work.” Chrome OS perfect for a netbook user, who
computing. The idea that more than 90% The words to be noted in the Google’s uses his system primarily for browsing
of PCs run on Windows sounds to some blog-post are, “users don’t have to deal with the Internet and for accomplishing low
ears like an archetypal cliché, which might viruses, malware and security updates.” intensity computing tasks in the cloud
remain true forever. In the ancient era, a You find yourself scratching your head space. But what about those who prefer
young David was able to slay the mighty and screaming – really? Is Chrome OS to use their systems for playing graphics
Goliath. But it is not necessary that the going to be a proverbial magic carpet rich games, download all kind so multi-
denouement to the OS wars should follow that will transport computer users to a media and software files from the Internet,
the same pattern. paradise, which is completely cleansed of and even indulge in activities like photo/
Google is really good at what it does, the evil programmers who have a fetish video editing and special effects. Will
but is it capable of coming up with an OS for creating viruses and malware? It is the lightweight model of Chrome OS
comparable to Windows 7? Rumours about quite probable that Google is getting too be able to support such activities? It is a
Google’s plans for a new operating system ambitious when it promises us an OS breeze to download and install pirated
had been around for quite sometime, that is completely immune to viruses and software on Windows platform, will
and in the middle of 2009, the company malware. An OS is, after all, a program that Chrome OS be this helpful? The point
accepted that it was aiming to create one set of programmers write; and what is that emailing and hanging out in the
an open source, lightweight operating one set of programmers do, another set Google’s cloud world is not the only activity
24 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
Microsoft Embraces the Cloud Initial Public Offer
With Windows 8, Microsoft plans to embrace the cloud, by letting On August 19, 2004, Google offered an IPO in which
Feature users take their workspace from one PC to another 19,605,052 shares were offered at a price of $85 per share
that a typical computer user indulges in. all. As of now netbook users are appre- ably, these devices are slightly cheaper than
Google Docs is a seminal achievement, ciating Windows 7, and the Redmond what we would normally pay for a Win-
and yet Microsoft Office continues to based company is claiming that 96% of dows powered netbook. But as it has been
be the choice of majority of the users. In the world’s netbooks run on Windows. said earlier in this article, mere lowering of
India more than 90 per cent of computers The Chrome OS must make it a point to prices is not going to do much for winning
are run pirated versions of Microsoft be really good; otherwise it might not be over customers. If a free OS were the key
Office, even though the original version of able to wean users away from their more to notch up big sales, then Linux would
Google Docs is available for free online. than 20-year-old addiction to Windows. have been the world’s top OS for many
Despite Google’s best efforts, things years. That is not the case. Linux powered
are not moving towards the cloud space systems have single digit market share.
in a really big way. The desktop model There is also speculation that in future
of computing is not going to go away in the Android and the Chrome OS might
near future. The only way the Chrome OS converge into a single platform that powers
can make headway is by offering users a all kinds of devices, from smartphones,
better desktop computing experience than to netbooks, tablets and PCs. Google’s
Windows 7 does. Even the most fervent co-founder Sergey Brin, has commented on
supporters of Google are not claiming that the possibility of Chrome OS and Android
the company is capable of pulling of such a coming together in the future. So if that
feat in near future. The version of Chrome Google’s core Chrome team with founders is what is going to eventually happen,
OS that we are expecting towards the end Larry Page and Sergey Brin during then why did Google start two different
of this year might not be able to garner Chrome’s launch in 2008. Photo: Reuters projects? This is part of the company’s
more than a single digit market share if strategy for creating an atmosphere of
its desktop potentialities are not compa- Will Chrome OS merge with friendly internal competition, between
rable to Windows 7. What users really Android? the teams developing Android and the
need is a powerful OS, which is capable There is one OS battle that Google seems Chrome OS. In the end, Google will be
of taking care of all kinds of entertain- to be on verge of winning. Its Android OS able to pick and choose the best ideas that
ment and work related needs. In order to is currently powering some of the hot- emerge from the two projects and weld
reach out to a really large audience, the test mobile phones. With advent of new them into a single unbeatable OS. No one
Chrome OS will have to support systems handsets like Samsung Galaxy S and HTC should harbour a figment of doubt about
like MS Office, gaming software, all kinds Desire, Android has attained a kind of cult Google’s determination to beat Microsoft
of music and video players and much else. status. As of now the Symbian Operating in the OS game; Android and the Chrome
The oft-repeated complaint about system from Nokia is the number one in OS are two pathways that, the company
Windows is that it evokes the feel of the the mobile OS space, RIM the maker of hopes, will lead it to a perfect OS.
pre-Internet era. With the launch of BlackBerry occupies the number two spot,
Windows 7, the company has done a lot and Apple is at number three. But the Waiting for victor
to change this perception. But there is amazing thing about Google’s Android is It is not as if the success of Android means
the factor of cost. Windows 7 is pricey, as its massive growth. If it continues to grow it is game over for Microsoft. In fact, the
compared to Chrome OS being made avail- at the same pace, then by 2013, the Android launch of Android might have helped
able for free. It is possible that the netbooks might become the world’s most favoured Microsoft to formulate a strategy to tackle
powered by Chrome OS might turn out to mobile OS. Microsoft’s Windows Mobile the Chrome OS when it is launched. It has
be cheaper as compared to those powered is also in the race, but it is the Android already become obvious that the Android
by Windows 7. But free OS is not such a big that is creating the highest amount of powered handsets are not that cheap.
deal. After all, there are so many Linux - a buzz. Close to 10,000 new apps are being Case in point is the new Samsung Galaxy
free OS - powered netbooks in the market created every month to cater to the myriad S, which costs around `30,000. Google
that are also quite cheap, but they have needs of Android based smartphones. has not been able to reduce prices in the
a very limited appeal. Users don’t mind What if Google were have to have the mobile handset space. A similar scenario
paying a reasonable amount of money same kind of success in the PC and netbook could play out in the netbook domain. If
for the OS, if it is as good as Windows 7. OS space? Google’s success with Android Google’s Chrome OS is not able to reduce
So if any company dreams that netbooks must be giving nightmares to Microsoft, the cost of hardware significantly, then
powered with its OS will fly off the shelf especially because Android has already users will have much less incentive to move
just because they are cheap, then they made a foray into netbooks. Even though away from the tried and tested Windows
are probably living in a fool’s paradise. Google continues to stick to its official posi- platform. In any case, it is not going to
Clearly the expectations are high from tion that Android is only for mobiles, the be that easy to wean people away from
the Chrome OS, and Google will have truth is that it is possible for us to get hold desktop centric systems in which Microsoft
to be at its innovative best to meet them of a netbook powered by this OS. Predict- continues to be in a dominant position.
26 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
Most expensive iPhone4
Augment your reality Hand crafted using five hundred individual
Digital life 30 A look at the wonders of augmented
reality in modern phones
diamonds, this edition of the 32GB iPhone
4 is priced at $8 million
Bond Bike
If you ever fancied your bike to have a flame
thrower with an anti-theft ejection seat, look no
further. The BOND (Built of Notorious Deterrents)
bike is meant for those who want to add a little
daredevil stunt to their ride. The all-terrain
caterpillar track makes the bike more agile on any
surface, the front wheel can be replaced by a ski-
board for riding the bike in cold weather. You can
throw flames on cars coming too close to your uber
ride or just paint a dragon with flared-up nostrils.
No word on the price though, check out the video
on http://bit.ly/drUEcV.
Crystal Clear Arabesques
On the outside, it’s made of glass. On the inside,
especially in the insulator, pure silver and 24 carat
gold is used to fabricate these speakers. No wonder
they’re heavy, even on your pocket – they weigh
a mammoth 100 kgs each and cost $68,187 for a
pair. The wiring used inside them costs $9609 per
metre. Leaving the big bucks aside, these speakers
perform worth the fortune they cost giving the hi-fi
connoisseur sense of money well spent.
AudioNote Ongaku
Built using a silver wired transformer, the Ongaku
amplifier will surely blow your mind and also burn a deep
hole in your pocket. The amplifier has five line inputs
using two NOS VT4-C tubes along with a NOS Telefunken
6463. It’s sure to give you an upper hand when it comes to
deep bass and dynamic compression. If you’re a true music
geek, then you can have one for $95,000.
28 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
Portable Xbox 360 starting at $3000 Android food!
Renowned game console modder Ben Heck has designed With its earlier versions named after different desserts,
Xbox 360 in laptop style, it features a 17 inch HD screen and Android OS 4 which is slated for a mid 2011 release is
internal hard drive rumored to be codenamed Ice cream. Drool maal
Mini rocks Sonoro
Following the design philosophy of Mini, this
device provides more while consuming less. A joint
collaboration between Mini and German audio
manufacturer Sonoro, the Mini rocks Sonoro (yeah that’s
what it’s called) is a limited edition internet radio and
is made from the same wood casing that is used on the
exterior of the Mini Cooper. Some of its features include
a 3-inch full range speaker, inbuilt digital equalizer along
with bass reflex tube.
Antelope Audio Zodiac
Considering the high priced equipment, Antelope Audio
makes, the Zodiac D/A converter is priced at just $4030.
The Zodiac features Antelope’s renowned oven-controlled
clock which is placed in a shielded temperature controlled
container to give the discerning audiophile precise sound
output. Power supplies and digital circuits are placed
separately on a gold plated boards to avoid cross-talk
which gives excellent noise cancellation.
Aiptek Pocket Cinema V20
Tired of watching your favourite video on a
small screen PMP? Then get yourself an Aiptek
pocket cinema projector. This pocket device
is capable of projecting 60 inch image on any
surface and has built in stereo speakers. Its
memory can be expanded to 32 GB using an SD
card. Its a great tool for office presentations and
playing games.
Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com 29
Origin of AR
AR has been around for a while now (the term How it works
was coined in 1992) but has only started gaining Learn how AR works
Geek life momentum in the latter half of this decade http://goo.gl/FI5F
Augment Your
reAlitY
Enter the fourth dimension
Rudresh Jariwala more people meting those requirements
rudresh.j@thinkdigit.com AR is slowly evolving from some-
I
thing of a novelty into something that
magine walking down the street people really want to to know about.
with little bubbles of information
floating in your field of view giving Facing Reality
you information about the world AR is about digital lifestyle, its about
around you. This is not something out meeting people and finding out exactly
of an Isaac Asimov novel mind you, its what you want when you want it in the
augmented reality and the funny thing
is that in the future all this is going to
be as routine as brushing your teeth.
Must watch videos!
AR has more applications than you think! AR in the automobile industry
Brace Yourself monitor how certain clothes would look http://goo.gl/Dto3
Augmented Reality (a.k.a AR) in lay on you, or maybe how a new hairstyle AR as it is in our world today
http://goo.gl/0QkE
man’s terms is the addition (augmenta- would go on your face without even
Watch this TV show
tion) of digital information over what having to move from your spot!
http://goo.gl/Lm4O
we see in the real world. Imagine Don’t go running off to your computer AR of the 22nd century?
standing in front of your computer’s just yet, like all new technology, it has http://goo.gl/oLDR
webcam and being able to see on the its requirements. Now with more and
30 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
AR in your shoes Straight from the horse’s mouth
Adidas has embedded AR Father of the Internet – Vint Cerf
Digital life content in their shoes http://goo.gl/QZMM
format you desire. Its going to be personal of AR if you have never seen what it is
CHiCken OR THe eGG? and natural. While it still has some capable of. Which is why you will find
That’s precisely the game being played by
maturing to do, corporations are pouring the inclusion of many
hardware and the content in the AR world
today, and we can’t decide which looks money into its research, and it will prob- videos (shortened
more ridiculous, wearing a HMD (Head ably arrive earlier than expected. Unfor- for you of course!)
Mounted Display) or walking around tunately it would be hard for to aid you in your
pointing your phone at everything! you as a reader to understand the power understanding of AR as it is today
How augmented reality will one day work for us
the applications of this game changer.
The aviation and automobile indus-
tries use AR for guided repairs and
assembly quality checks among many
other things. Advertising companies
are using it as a marketing tool and
artists have already started making
their masterpieces in the virtual world
that have no limits unlike the tradi-
tional canvas. Even real estate agen-
cies are giving out information about
vacancies and their exact location on
the building in a land far far away.
These examples are merely the tip of
the iceberg that is AR and its applications
are limitless provided you are willing to
open your eyes (literally). All you need is
a smartphone/tablet that has an internet
Information about a building augmented to suite your requirements connection, a GPS, a compass and the
32 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
Trendy eye wear?
Augmented visiting card Vuzix augmented reality
Design your own AR visiting card Wrap 920AR
Digital life www.visualcard.me
software. Wearable glasses are also going
to be available soon, and if companies
like Vuzix have their
way, at least we wont
end up looking like
cyborgs. Alas, unless
we see Steve Jobs unveil
AR of tomorrow such an innovation,
it is going to continue
to be a hammer in search of nails.
The software is present on almost
all modern smartphones today and
examples of such applications are the
Layar browser and the Junaio browser
which can be found on both the iPhone Augmented reality used in social networking
and Android. The Ovi store from
Nokia also has many AR applications Look into the crystal ball
if you wish to get your hands dirty. Once using AR becomes second nature,
The problem however for us in things like interaction with button
the real world today is the content. presses and 3D animations being used
There is just not enough content in for presentations (.ppt 2020?) will
the AR world today to give users that become commonplace. Content will be
nudge they need to whip out their pushed on to our field of view instead
mobile phone and look around. Content of only requesting for it and we cannot
creation is primarily a user oriented task even begin to explain the new frontiers it
and you can find a very nice example of will open for education and engineering.
user created content in
the ‘Tweeps Around’
app that runs in the
Layar browser.
Limitations
AR is not all rosy
though. It has IDF 2010 with AR indoors
limitations where
GPS accuracy comes Imagine taking driving lessons from
into the picture. Until the windscreen in front of you, with
we see an accuracy of a yellow paved road showing you the
less then one meter way. Its better than sitting in front of
in our own hand held a computer because it is reality you
devices, we wont be are experiencing, but you have infor-
able to truly leverage mation at your disposal right in front
what it has to offer. But of your eyes! There are possibilities
it is starting to show of it becoming ‘in your face’ as well
signs of improvement. should the early adopter not ensure
Intel recently used the blocking of unwanted content.
AR at their annual All in all, by the time we get to
Developers Conference experience augmented reality integrated
to give users of AR into the facets of our daily lives here in
browsers directions India, we will probably be reading an
to various venues augmented reality version of the Digit
where the events were ebook in the comfort of our rocking
taking place, and chairs, wondering about the time gone
it worked indoors! Content is king but context is queen: AR must work for us, by and how far we have come.
Now that’s useful. not against us
34 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
Icons of Trust Challenger brands
Cover Feature 42 Find out how much you trust those
brands out there 52 Upcoming brands that are rapidly gaining
market share and are part of your life
Agent 001 advertisements showing off the offers spiracy theorist, all I ask is that you
agent001@thinkdigit.com and discounts. Obviously, everyone is read the whole article and decide for
E
excited to buy something or the other. yourself whether I’m as crazy as you
very Diwali, people all across think. I just might be able to save you
the country indulge and What’s wrong with that? some money, or at least help you buy
spend on purchases of all Nothing, really. So long as you under- better products for the same price.
kinds – food, decorations, stand that companies don’t suddenly It’s not like these companies are
house renovations, furniture, house- go soft and decide to take huge losses evil, and looking to cheat you out of
hold appliances, you name it. The to make your holiday a festive one your hard earned cash; it’s just that
folks at Digit are most excited about by offering killer deals. It’s a num- everyone’s trying to outdo each other
the festive season too. I, for one, have bers game, and although you will get in terms of the deals they put on
no plans to go out shopping for fancy gadgets for cheaper, most of the time, offer. There are even instances when
curtains and footwear. As always, there are still times you might end up companies sell you older models, in
I’m most eager to see what consumer paying more than you usually would! sort of a stock clearing sale. Yes there
electronics goodies I can get some Now before you think I’ve gone are good deals to be had here, but if
deals on. I also have geeky friends stark-raving mad, or call me a con- you think you’re getting top of the
who expect me to find good deals.
In the last couple of years, Indians Maybe you shouldn’t buy right now...
have splurged on gadgets and con-
As much as we’d like to believe that prices are dropping and there are plenty of amaz-
sumer electronics like never before.
ing deals on the web and in the shopping malls, it’s not easy to find a deal that is actu-
Every festive season through the year,
ally amazing. For example, if you are looking to buy a laptop, and you want something
manufacturers make large price cuts expensive, it may be wiser to wait till the festival period ends. You might find that post the
on some of their products. Newspa- festival season, prices actually fall. Why? For one all those “bundle offers” will have gone
pers, sites and TV channels are flooded away, meaning that the manufacturers are not trying to palm off stuff in bundles, and
with offers and discounts of all kinds. you will actually pay for the price of the product you want. Also, sometimes companies
Walk into a mall, and you’ll see more produce or import more than they can sell, and this results in a surpluss, which obviously
than the usual share of hoardings and means cheaper prices...
36 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
Google TV being blocked
Certain networks in the US are blocking access to content on
Google TV
line technology for a bargain, think
again. You’re buying from a busi-
ness, not a charitable organization,
so money is still being made – by
the manufacturer, the retailer, and
even the guys who sell refreshments
at higher prices in crowded areas
on hot days. Sorry, I digressed, but CCNA Rs. 5,000/-
hate being ripped off, don’t you?
CCNP Rs.30,000/-
CCSP Rs.30,000/-
In order to best understand how
you could be ripped off, I’ve spent the
last month window shopping, talking
to shop keepers and people inside
Congrats to our Latest CCIEs
Free bundled memory cards are great, but
only beyond a certain capacity Mr. Jitendra Siyag CCIE Security # 27022
the business, and trying to figure Mr. Mahesh A CCIE # 26985 (v4.0)
out whether or not there really are Mr. Mohammad Saud Reyaz CCIE # 26899 (v4.0)
Mr. Suresh Kumar K. CCIE Security # 26621
any good deals out there. I started at The most popular type of deal is the
Mr. Solomon S CCIE Security # 26508
the beginning, looking at what was whole “discount” one. These are always Mr. Ashis Kumar J CCIE Security # 26299
on offer, and then trying to figure on MRPs, which is good if it’s on eata- Mr. Louis Kalliath CCIE # 26271 (v4.0)
Mr. Akram El-Samiri CCIE # 26163 (v4.0)
out how good or bad this deal was. bles, but completely useless in the con- Mr. Divin Mathew John CCIE # 25905 (v4.0)
sumer tech world. Not one of us should Mr. Renash Chandran CCIE # 25904 (v4.0)
pay MRP for tech shopping. Ever!
Don’t get suckered into believing
that sign that screams “50% Discount”.
More often than not, the products
with such high discounts are older
models, and the discount you’re actu-
ally getting on the product is more
likely to be about 5 to 10 per cent the
market operating price (MOP).
Another popular way of pushing
stuff on to you is freebies. Although
Look out for free bundles for camera in the what follows is just an example, you
lower price brackets should soon be able to start thinking
along these lines for most of these
Are prices really lower? “Free abc worth `xyz” deals.
Since Google searches spike the Let’s say you want to buy a TV,
most during the Diwali season, it’s and there’s an offer for a free digital
obvious that hordes of us are out there photo frame, worth `6,000 with it.
buying. The most common way of The best way to confront such deals
marketing the offers is to describe is to go look at the prices of photo
them as rock-bottom prices, and in frames. If not in that retail store,
terms of percentage discounts.
What the deal?
Like any other year, some catego- We have Graduated over 67 CCIEs.
ries will have hot deals, and others
will not. The festival of Dussera in
November gave me an idea of the kind
of deals we can expect this Diwali. I
had my work cut out for me. Stacks
of newspapers and brochures have
since flooded my room, and my
walls are covered with advertise-
ments that I’ve been decoding, and Mobiles phones are popular all through
then sorting as “Shop” or “Stop”. the year, so price drops are rare
Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com 37
GPU price drops expected
NVIDIA is expected to drop prices of their GeForce line of cards soon
Cover Feature after AMD launched the Radeon HD6000 series
perhaps in another you will find that just try and sway your decision based
the same photo frame is being sold at on what’s not selling, or what they
something like `1,800, or basically will get higher comissions for. Make
at a much lower price. So, if another up your mind about what camera you
shop has the same TV on offer for want, and then look for comparisons
`2,000 cheaper, without any freebies, online or in magazines like Digit.
you’re actually getting a better deal. With cameras especially, look for
Another way to look at our example freebies like memory cards, carry
is to look at the photo frame as product pouches or sleeves. You can also
you want to purchase. Would you get these at smaller dealers, but
spend that money (`6,000 in our you might have to ask for them.
example) on a photo frame? If not, don’t A free Blu-ray player with a LCD or
even consider the offer. If you’re not Plasma TV makes good sense Exchange offers
the shy type, do what I do and say, “I
don’t want the photo frame. I’ll pay you draw. Don’t get swayed by the shiny Some of the offers in the market today
might have something to do with exchang-
`3,000 less and take the TV and you new car, bike or whatever’s on display as
ing older products and getting new ones in
sell the photo frame for `6,000 and the lucky prize. If you’re really feeling
their place. Of course, you’ll have pay a big
lucky, buy a lottery ticket for a several
chunk of the new product’s price. There’s
crore bumper draw. You have about the a possibility that you will end up spending
same chances of winning either of them. more or less the same amount as the new
Also, don’t forget to check out the product. Look for at least a 20 per cent
smaller retailers. It’s not a hard and fast reduction in the retail price before opting
rule or anything like that, but I’ve found for an exchange. If not, you’ll most likely
that a lot of smaller retailers are gener- be giving away your old product for free
ally more interested in making a sale, and getting the new product for the usual
and will give you freebies that you can MOP you’d pay anyway.
actually use, or want. They are also more
open to bargaining, which means you’re Of course this sometimes only
paying closer to the real price. After applies to the more popular price
Be sure of the kind of wall mount being ranges. It’s not uncommon to find
provided that festive season or not, you’ll
get no freebies with dSLRs.
make an even bigger profit.” This is As for memory cards, with a 4
when I usually get the customary dirty- GB SD memory card available for a
look or wry smile from the salesman, and mere `800, don’t even try and feign
that’s the end of that. Of course, I have interest in any offer less than an 8GB
to admit that sometimes these deals do memory card. This is for cameras that
add up quite nicely, so don’t think they’re are in teh price range of `7,000 to
always bad...just as you shouldn’t think `10,000. For more expensive cam-
that they’re always good deals, either... eras, there better be much more than
The next type of pull is the lucky just a memory card in the bundle.
Free portable data cards are handy, but Cameras are an oddity, because
monthly charges might be high I’ve found that the smaller shops
actually have many more models for
all, they spend less on rent, electricity sale than you’ll find at a large mall.
and advertising, and thus can actually You might also come across offers
afford to have smaller profit margins. of a bundled watch, and other point-
Now, let’s take a look at some of the less accessories. Don’t fall for those;
hottest categories individually and the watches are almost always cheap,
I’ll walk you through what I found. and don’t even last very long.
Digital cameras Phones
Do your own research, because almost Mobile phones are another active
Home Theater Systems given away with all of the sales people I met just do not category of products. Some of us switch
TVs are useful, as TVs have poor speakers know what they’re talking about. They phones every year, or even more often.
38 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
1 TB optical disc
GTX580 soon? TDK shows off optical disc with a total
Rumours of NVIDIA launching their new GPU the GTX580 sometime capacity of 1 terabyte; it contains 16 double
towards the end of this year layered-layers Cover Feature
When will I see these deals again? price without the bundled freebies, and
you’re likely to get a further discount
Deals and price drops occur many times in the year. The festival of Diwali surely is the – though minimal, it’s still a discount!
most popular period. Statistics also show that price drop also occur during other festivi- Once again, look to buy phones in
ties such as Ganesh Chaturthi and Dussera. The week leading up to the New Year is also a smaller shops if you’re on a budget.
good period to go shopping. Of course, these days, even “friendship day” is enough to get They’re cheaper here. If you like
retailers in a frenzy advertising “amazing deals”. So basically, the answer is all year round.
living on the wild side, you could even
ask for a further discount without
It’s the lower prices that make phones since the phone market is very price bill and warranty, if the phone’s not
more popular than cameras or TVs. competitive, you can also ask for the too expensive anyway, but I hate
Thanks to the cut-throat competition recommending this to anyone.
and a huge number of brands competing
for the same space, prices are almost Televisions
always at rock-bottom throughout the There are more people thronging the
year. You will be hard pressed to find shopping malls looking for HDTVs
any good deals in the festive season, on than I’ve ever seen before. And the
any but the most expensive models. fact that we barely got used to LCDs
Even on the expensive models, the and Plasmas when LEDs came out;
offers are usually limited to Blue- and then before we knew it, there
tooth headsets and in some rare cases, were 3D LEDs in the market. There’s
external speakers. However, custom- a lot of interest being generated by
ising the look of your phone is catching all this new technology, because no
on, so expect to see some phone covers, Free portable speakers might be falsely other category has had such publi-
or screen protectors on offer. However, bundled as being very expensive cised innovations. The recent slew of
New Intel SSDs coming
Intel to launch its next generated of solid state drives in the
Cover Feature first quarter of 2011
MOP? MRP?
Maximum retail prices can differ vastly from market operating pric-
es. As we’ve mentioned before, never pay as per MRP in consumer
tech. The MOP is the actual street price.
Most “discounts” are given on the MRP, in order for them to
appear to be at a higher percentage. So a product that has an MRP
of `1,000, but is actually sold at `550, might be offered to you at a
whopping discount of 50 per cent. Which is basically an actual price
drop of `50, masquerading as a `500 discount! Sneaky, huh? It’s
best to monitor prices of things you want to buy before the sales
Some of the cell phone deals include free
begin, and then decide if you’re actually getting a good deal.
Bluetooth headsets
movie releases in 3D have helped too. gift it to someone who does need it. 3DTVs. It’s always best to wait until
The most common free offering with Many brands that make TVs also more movie titles are available. only
TVs are the free wall mount with free manufacture related consumer elec- the rich can afford to be early adopters,
installation. Some dealers might try tronics products such as home theater the rest of us should wait and get a
and charge you for the installation, but systems, DVD and Blu-ray players, or good deal on the technology when it’s
you should know that the manufac- other kinds of audio-video equipment. matured and when it makes sense.
turers themselves are now providing Expect entertainment bundles from Bundled movie titles are also a
this service free of cost, so refuse to buy such brands on TVs of higher values. common offer, but may or may not
from someone who doesn’t install for You will find Blu-ray players and HDMI matter much to you, depending on how
free, if you’re buying a big brand TV. cables bundled. Again, remember that fast your internet connection is. Also
If you don’t need the wall mount, try the prices of these products are bound make sure you look at the variety of
your best to get a further discount on to be exaggerated. For example, if choice, because the movies are usu-
the price. If all else fails, take the wall you’re buying an LCD TV for `70,000, ally the ones you would not buy.
mount, even if you don’t need it now – and there’s an offer to bundle a Blu- Deals to avoid are the ones that
you might want one later, and no use ray player and home theatre worth aren’t related at all. I found some
paying for one later when it’s available `50,000 – that’s obviously exaggerated. deals of a free internet connection
for free now. Besides, you could also Also, we are fond of 3D, but not with a TV. You want an internet con-
nection, choose one wisely, don’t
Daily Online Deals just accept one along with a TV...
The same applies for a DTH service.
If you are tired waiting for deals, there are
Although it may sound like a good deal,
a few sites online that have regular deals.
make sure you do your research on the
They aren’t the absolute best deals avail-
DTH service provider. You can opt for
able, but they will save you the trouble of
running around crowded malls and streets this if it happens to be the DTH provider
hunting for them. There are quite a few sites you were going to opt for anyway.
online, but very few of them are based in Free bundles might also include
India. One of the more relevant ones is Bind- products that are advertised without
aas Bargain (www.bindaasbargain.com). The model numbers or details. Avoid
site has new products with discounts being these deals, because you’re probably
put up everyday. Not all of their products Bindaasbargain.com going to get the lowest-end model of
are consumer electronics, but every couple all. One example I saw was “Free
of days, you’ll find stuff like DVD players,
DVD-player with 42-inch LCD TV”.
Bluetooth headsets, phones , etc being sold.
Similarly, Loot More (www.lootmore.com)
offers deals on electronics and PC peripher-
Laptops
als. Prices are more or less the same as in Laptops are another big category of
retail, but you get free shipping on most of products being sold in the market. Usually,
the products. 123Loot (www.123loot.com) individuals are the ones buying them, not
is another similar site which isn’t as pretty families. So this is a category where you
looking at the previous two, but has quite a should be sure of your needs, and make sure
lot of cameras, speakers, phones, storage you buy something’s that’s right for you.
drives and other PC and laptop accessories Lootmore.com Laptop prices do dip in the festive season,
being sold regularly. but not as much as home theaters or TVs.
40 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
$3000 for a Firefox bug China’s mapping service
A 12 year old was awarded $3000 for discovering a Firefox China launches its own world mapping service
vulnerability called Map World (www.tianditu.cn) Cover Feature
drive or if you’re “lucky” a colour That reminds me, I saw a lot of
SHOP OR STOP?
printer. However, remember that older processor-based laptops with
Decided on what you want to get this although it may sound good to get a free offers on them. These are clearance
Diwali? Make sure to read the Stop printer, you might end up spending sales, and are good if you use the
Before You Shop story in our Novem- a lot more because of your “free” gift. laptop only occasionally, but if you’re
ber 2010 issue. I’ve noticed that the cheaper printers buying one as your primary PC, look
which are bundled usually have the for new generation hardware.
Bundle deals mostly include acces- highest running costs, and since most Laptop models are also somewhat com-
sories that you may or may not need printer manufacturers now make their plicated, and it’s not uncommon for config-
– USB extension cords, mice, a flash money through the cartridges you uration to be downgraded and offered for
buy, it makes sense to give away cheap a discount. When looking at comparisons
printers with just about anything. You’d online, don’t just look at the model number
be better off buying a more expensive and the performance scores, but also look
printer – they have cheaper cartridges at the hardware specs. You don’t want to
and are cheaper to run in the long haul. buy a model that won our tests, only to
As for the other goodies, the USB find out that during the festive season the
cord, mouse and other accessories configurations were changed and you
that may be offered are rarely worth actually got a lot less than you expected.
more than a few hundred rupees, so I hope I was able to help you buy
don’t base your buying decision on smarter this Diwali. Remember, you
them. I’ve actually noticed that the can also write in to me if you run into a
better laptop models don’t actually deal that you just cannot decipher. Wish
Ensure that discounted laptops don’t have any offers on them. They just let you a very happy Diwali, and I hope
include downgraded hardware the hardware specs sell themselves. you will shop smart, and shop safe.
Jolly Jolicloud Yellow bird, not blue
Jolicloud 1.1, the newest version of the cloud YellowBird is a new service that allows user’s
based OS features a slick new interface with a to click and view 360 degree view of YouTube
Cover feature revamped laucher videos. Visit http://goo.gl/DLvf
Who do you trust? Which brands does India’s mostFind out...
tial community trust the most?
influen-
Team Digit where perceptions play an important role chasing decision, thereby buying some-
With valuable feedback from our readers in purchase decisions. And perceptions thing that is reliable and suits his needs.
readersletter@thinkdigit.com can be swayed in a number of ways. For you, this survey is a collation of
G
As a media company ourself, our job has experiences, and will ensure that you, your
eorge Macdonald once said “To been primarily one of education, because friends and your family will buy smarter.
be trusted is a greater compli- an informed consumer is an empowered For brands this is a reality check
ment than to be loved”. At consumer. Empowered to wade through allowing them to gauge if they’re really
Digit, every year, we’ve been the fancy marketing and jargon, the purple listening to their customers (existing or
reaching out to our readers all over India. prose and hype, and make a rational pur- potential).
Our mission is to gauge their T-factor on
the players in the personal technology Cell phOnes
space. We’ve heard our readers out, and The word cell phones might be a little
have collated and tabulated the results. outdated itself for these converged
Here’s what India’s oldest, and most influ- tiny multimedia computers of today.
ential technology community has to say. Distinct categories have emerged,
such as smart-phones, PDA phones,
Icons Of Trust? touch-phones, camera phones, music
Ideally, a good product would sell more phones, etc. The number of models
than a bad one. In reality, this is not always collectively churned out every year is
the case. There are always variables – mind-boggling, and no product enjoys
marketing and aggressive advertising for so stable a sales curve as cell phones.
instance, can often cover up for a weak Neither has any product penetrated
product, especially, in a country like India, the masses so thoroughly.
HOW WE TRUSTED
How is trust calculated? the respondents as to how satisfied they were after purchasing
All respondents are asked to complete a rather long and a product, how easily available was it, how hard was it to find
comprehensive questionnaire, which aims at arriving at scores information about it, how well-informed were the sales people
for five parameters: Awareness, Satisfaction, Cost of Ownership, about the product, how easy was it to get after-sales support. As
Credibility and Loyalty. These five factors are what determine how expected, this was the second biggest factor in determining the
much the respondents “trust” a brand. overall trust index.
Awareness: Not all of you own a product from all the categories Loyalty: A lot goes into making people stay loyal to a brand.
we cover, but buying decisions – in the future for yourself, or even in Although our interactions with fan-boys online is not always a good
the present for others who seek your opinion – depend a lot on your experience, you have to give credit to brands for being able to incite
awareness and the market’s awareness of a brand. You’re not likely passion in their buyers. To ascertain the loyalty that respondents
to buy or recommend something you’ve never heard of before, are held for brands, we asked them a series of questions such as
you? To get figures for awareness, we asked the respondents some “Would you buy another cell phone of the same brand again”, and
questions to see how many knew of the brands in this segment. whether, based on their experiences, they would buy a product in a
This is again sub-divided into first, unaided recall, such as, “Which is different category from the same brand. We also gauged how eager
the first brand that comes to mind”, and “What other brands are you the respondents were to recommend products from this brand to
aware of”; later, we provided people with a list of the brands, and friends and relatives, and whether the respondent generally spoke
asked them which they were aware of to measure aided recall. positively or negatively about the brand.
Credibility: Under this heading we questioned respondents about Cost of ownership: Not all products can be bought once, used
how much they trusted a brand. Questions were asked to gauge what forever. There’s expenditure even after the purchase for servicing
respondents felt about the quality, durability, technological advancement, and repair, which may or may not fall under the warranty period,
design, innovativeness, etc., of each brand. This is by far the biggest thus affecting your total cost of ownership. To ascertain this, we
contributor to the overall trust index, weighing in at 40 per cent. asked the respondents a series of questions to determine how
much they had spent on a brand after purchase. This factors in the
Satisfaction: As owners of a brand’s products, how satisfied you warranty, repair costs, upgrading (if any), etc. We also sought the
are with their products is one of the key factors that influence respondents’ opinions about which brands they felt were cheaper to
how much you trust the brand. In this regard, we questioned own, overall, as compared to other brands.
42 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
Chrome delivers on promise
Google’s Chrome web browser is now into version 7. As
promised, Google sends out a new version of Chrome
every six weeks
Market watch
This year has seen an interesting emergence of domestic brands,
and in a big way. We saw the launch of no less than five new brands,
and the year isn’t even over yet. Most of these brands are cautious,
initially launching entry-level phones. This is obviously the way to
go, in a market that is dominated by big names. And most people like
to play the volumes game, for that is what builds revenue. Building
and (successfully) marketing a handset worth `30,000, is not an
easy task, and requires lots of initial investments and expertise.
Over the year, we’ve seen some of these minnows gradually move
up the price ladder, obviously buoyed by their success in the lower
rungs. This is heartening from our perspective, as more competition
can only be good for us consumers. In fact, breaking into a market
already replete with brands is no easy task, and kudos to minnows
such as Spice, Intex, Micromax, Lava, Karbonn, Maxx, Rage, Lemon,
Videocon and others who we haven’t mentioned here. They have
forced some bigger brands to drop prices of mid-range products and
introduce entry-level phones!
Android has emerged as a platform to be reckoned with. We’ve
seen a number of vendors jump on to the Android platform, and
we’ve seen a number of flagship devices on this platform this year,
from the likes of Motorola, HTC and Samsung. We’ve also seen a few
cheaper Android phones, close to the `10,000 mark. This is also wel-
come, since initially we perceived this to be an expensive platform.
Windows Phone 7 (WP7) has just launched, and as expected,
there have been a slew of new releases from LG, HTC, Samsung and
even Dell. WP 7 challenges Android, for it is a complete redesign, and
nothing like its predecessor – it’s modern, highly usable and custom-
isable and the lack of native capacitive touch support, which was a
serious chink in Microsoft’s armour has been overcome.
This year also sees the welcome return of the teetering giant
Motorola. Once perceived to be on the brink of extinction, they’re
back, and quite miraculously, on account of a single phone – the
Motorola Droid (or Motorola Milestone), whose sales, single-
handedly restored their treasury reserves. As a salute to Android
that powered the Droid, they now have an entire range of phones,
on the platform.
Important results from our survey
1) The biggest shift in Nokia’s dominance of power came in the
awareness index, where Motorola and Samsung caught up to
Nokia, with identical scores and other brands like LG, Apple,
Blackberry and Sony Ericsson trailing slightly.
2) Last year, Nokia had a 2.5x lead over its nearest competitor in
the awareness arena. This dominion is history. People are more
aware of the other options available. The awareness level for
Motorola climbed 8 times, and HTC 6 times. So more of our
readers are aware that there are other viable brands.
3) Lots of people trust Apple, just a fraction less than those who
trust Nokia. People also trust Samsung, Sony Ericsson and
Blackberry, but less than the first two. A lot of people trust Sam-
sung over LG, although both are Korean brands. Strontium Technology India Pvt. Ltd
805,Madhuban Building building no-55
4) Blackberry was the major climber in terms of satisfaction from Nehru Place New Delhi-110019
last year. It climbed six points, meaning fewer BlackBerry owners Phone No-+91 11 40568675
sales enquiry-indiasales@strontium.biz
have anything to complain about. technical support-techsupport@strontium.biz
Service locations: http://www.strontium.biz/company/Smartlink.htm
Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com 43
Lego’s MINDriod Smooth talking nerds
The Android app MINDroid allows The Conversacube is a device that helps
users to remotely control Lego’s nerds make conversation with people by
Cover feature Mindstorm NXT robots giving them cues of what to talk about next
Trust index - Cell phones hDTVs
LCD and plasma TVs have taken
over the market. Just visit any of the
electronics chains in the country,
and you’ll see flat panels dominate
the show. However, there’s a lot of
jargon flying around and often one
doesn’t know which brand to trust.
Market watch
This year has not been the year of the
HDTV. That was last year. However, this
year has been the year of market penetra-
tion, as we see more and more people
opting for a flat-screen and chucking out
5) People felt Nokia make the sturdiest from the small ones. This means quite their older TVs. Most importantly, this year
devices – lasting longer than others. a few people are satisfied with their has been a year of falling prices, especially
6) Apple was voted as the most innovative Micromax’s, Intex’s and the like. of the larger sets. We’ve seen 32-inch TVs
brand. Nokia scored a close second, from brands like Samsung, LG, Sony and
while Samsung and Blackberry tie for The most trusted Philips fall from their lofty `40,000 prices,
a distant third. Apple was also voted Nokia wins again. But then the to `30,000. An even larger drop is in the
as the most technologically advanced momentum they’ve gained over the 42-inch segment that has fallen to below
brand. Interestingly Blackberry came in past five years will take even longer to `55,000, making it even more affordable.
second here. whittle down, if at all, so this comes as 3D televisions have appeared this year,
7) People don’t find the smaller brands to no surprise. However, globally, other and most of the big vendors are offering
be as innovative. Micromax led the min- brands have taken a larger chunk out them. While market adoption is yet to pick
nows, but still only got one-fourth of the of their sales pie, and our survey seems up, the pricing of such displays has become
votes that Apple did. to indicate this too. Apple is gaining more competitive. There’s a dearth of 3D
8) Nokias were undisputedly voted as ground, and gradually improving on content, but on account of future proofing,
the easiest phones to use. Interestingly, their iPhone design. Sony Ericsson if the premium’s not too great, it’s a nice
Samsung and Apple score second and is also an omnipresent threat, with a feature to have. We’ve also seen brands like
third, respectively. Perhaps the touch multitude of handsets catering to a wide Videocon and Moserbaer become more
interface hasn’t caught on as much as audience. Riding the Android wave competitive by offering better models that
we thought. we have Motorola, HTC and Samsung, are slowly reaching the level of the big
9) Most Nokia users said they’d happily closing in, but still a bit behind. Win- players like Samsung, LG and Sony.
buy another Nokia when upgrading. dows Phone 7 could be another catalyst LED TVs have become cheaper, and
Apple came second here. for these brands to further close the gap. there are more options available. Full LED
10) Generally, more people were happy Let’s see how the next year pans out. displays are slowly entering our market, as
with their Nokia phones, and they felt options to the inferior Edge LED models.
their devices were well priced, and
offered a comparatively better feature Trust index - HDTVs
set. When asked, they also said that
they found buying a Nokia phone rela-
tively hassle-free, due to an abundance
of supply. Additionally, servicing of
Nokia phones was cheaper, and dealing
with their customer support was also
a better experience. Sony Ericsson and
Samsung were the next most preferred
brands on these counts.
11) From the minnows’ point of view, one
thing is quite heartening. When looking
at perceived value of owing a cell phone
belonging to a particular brand, there’s
not much separating the bigger brands
44 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
Asus’s 1080p Eee PC
Asus’s Eee PC 1015PN is now confirmed and will Stanford’s test
be powered by a dual core Atom processor to Google is beta testing their high speed 1 Gbps fiber
Cover feature dish out full 1080p HD content internet service at Stanford’s residential sudivision
Important results The most trusted Ultra compacts are getting smaller,
1) Sony has gained a slightly better Sony has done it again, holding on and more powerful, even as video is
footing in the market, while LG and to their top spot by a small margin. emerging as a competitive feature. dSLR
Samsung seem to remain right where Samsung is the next most popular cameras also continue to get cheaper,
they were last year in terms of overall brand among our readers, garnering and today, a dSLR with lens can be had
trust. This is probably because Sony the second highest number of votes for for the same price as some higher end
cut prices this year. This gives them reliability, trust, performance, innova- ultra zooms. New models have been
a competitive edge, as traditionally tion, after sales, longevity, features and launched by most big players, and the
Sony has always been perceived as a quality. LG is a close number three. others have followed suit, evidently
costlier brand. anticipating a good boost in sales this
2) Sony takes a very strong lead DIgITal cameras holiday season.
in credibility. They had a 25 per Now considered a necessity, digital
cent higher level of trust in their cameras are a product category that Important results
brand, followed by Samsung. really heats up in the festive season. 1) 23 per cent of our respondents have
Sony’s HDTVs were also rated Arguably one of the most important purchased a digital camera in the past
as being at least 30 per cent categories of all, for these little devices year; 53 per cent of them in the last two
more durable than those of other capture memories that are irreplace- years. This tells us that barring cell
brands. This we feel, has less to do able – bad photographs haunt you for phones, digital cameras are the hot-
with the actual quality of build, life. There are a number of smaller test consumer electronics equipment
and more a brand perception. brands that have emerged as players, around amongst our readers.
3) Sony also emerged a clear winner in the offering competitive prices. A digital 2) Most people know about Sony or Canon
loyalty stake; 30 per cent more people camera is also one of the few devices cameras without being aided.
who buy a Sony TV, tend to stick with that one can actually grow out of. For 3) Canon is perceived to be the most
Sony, and recommend it to others. example, someone buying a cheap point- rugged brand, trailed closely by Sony,
Samsung follows in second spot, while n-shoot may upgrade to an ultra zoom and then comes Nikon.
LG trails to take third. later, or even to a digital SLR camera. 4) It’s almost a tie between Canon and
4) Panasonic has gained three points in Sony when it comes to who has the
terms of overall trust, whereas VU, market watch technological edge.
Sharp and Hitachi have maintained We’re slowly seeing a second wave of 5) When it comes to style, it’s Sony all the
last years level of trust with almost no penetration for cameras happening in way. Nearly 40 per cent more people
growth in our survey. India, as first timers continue to pur- feel Sony makes stylish cameras. Kudos
5) Results for innovation: Sony and chase cameras. Meanwhile megapixels to Sony’s marketing team for their suc-
Samsung were the first and second continue to grow, with no seeming cess in maintaining this image. Fujifilm
choice, respectively, with around heed paid to noise ratios of sensors. and Kodak got the lowest votes here.
8 points separating them. LG is a The feature sets also continue to 6) One important victory for Canon is
distant third. Samsung was the first expand, and we’re seeing models with their after sales service. People felt
to introduce LED TVs and 3D TVs optical zooms of up to 35x emerge. Canon is more responsive, and their
to India. We feel these two elements
might have played an important part
Trust index - Digital Cameras
in the perception.
6) Sony enjoys a 195 per cent lead over
LG from the responses we got about
display quality – rather shocking.
Even Samsung enjoys a massive 145
percent lead over LG. This might
have something to do with the fact
that Samsung uses PVA panels that
are known to produce deeper blacks
and generally enjoy a better con-
trast ratio. And, we should add, that
our tests have shown that such a big
difference is not warranted. Looks
like LG needs to improve their cus-
tomer perception, more than their
displays.
46 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
Android is No.1 India is the cheapest
Wall Street Journal conducted a poll for the A recent report from OTI shows that India has one of the cheapest cell
best mobile OS; with 6365 votes registered, phone plans in the world! Indians pay an average of $12.90 per month in
Cover feature Android scored a hefty 50.7%still on orbit comparison to Canadians who pay a whopping $67.50
repair facilities took less time to fix Market watch India. They’ve only just entered the
problems. Canon edges out Sony by 2.3 SSDs have emerged in the Indian Indian market this year, so perhaps
per cent, and Nikon trails by almost 50 market, available for the taking. this will change next year.
per cent of the votes. Granted, the pricing is atrocious, 3) When it comes to innovation, the
7) On an average, Canon users are the and often inordinately higher than scales tip in Transcend’s favour.
most loyal, and tend to recommend the US prices, but this is the premium Kingston loses out even to SanDisk,
brand to others. one pays for being an early adopter. and is at third spot here. Interest-
8) People also feel that Canon cameras are However, on the whole flash is cheaper ingly, HP occupies the fourth spot,
cheaper to maintain. than it used to be, and with a 32 GB while Corsair languishes some 30
9) Sony sneaks ahead in terms of overall pen drive costing merely `4,000, per cent behind.
credibility and satisfaction. We feel pocket storage is getting better. Cur- 4) Most people feel Kingston flash prod-
Sony’s wider portfolio of products rently, 64 and 128 GB USB drives ucts are technologically advanced,
might have something to do with this, are very costly, but we hope to see and also stylish. This could be on
although we can’t be 100 per cent sure. prices slowly drop as people slowly account of the compact drives and the
10) The biggest jumper this year is Sam- start purchasing 32 GB drives. larger metal-body AES drives that
sung. We feel this newfound popularity Flash is also used in cameras, and Kingston produces. Transcend and
is in part due to a slew of new models with HD video recording coming in, SanDisk occupy the second and third
launched in 2010. we’ve seen an increase in the density of spot, while HP is a close fourth.
flash modules used. 8 GB is pretty much 5) Consumer satisfaction is an all-
The most trusted the norm these days, while 16GB and 32 important element. How satisfied
Finally, we have a change at the top. GB cards have also become cheaper. are you with your flash-based
Sony topples Canon’s lead, and sur- product? Transcend owners love
passes it as the most trusted brand. Important results the quality of theirs, but they feel
Although the difference is minimal 1) Kingston takes the lead when it that Kingston drives are slightly
and involves a change of only three comes to quality, with Transcend more plentiful in the market. Their
points from last year, this is a big plus and SanDisk trailing close behind. thoughts mirror ours.
for Sony. While Canon jumped up two Surprisingly, Corsair lost out big 6) Kingston offers the best after sales
points from last year, Sony jumped five time. In fact, even HP, who is not a support, according to our readers.
points. Nikon also rose, but by a single big player in the flash market took They also resolve queries quicker,
point and remains at number three. the lead over Corsair. Evidently, apprently.
people associate Western Digital 7) 56 per cent of people who’ve bought
Flash sTorage with “storage”, whether Flash or hard Kingston say that they’d surely buy
If we could think of one aspect of drive, and a lot of people mentioned it. another product (other than flash)
computing technology that has grown 2) A-Data is one of the larger players from the same brand – a winning
by leaps and bounds, it has to be flash in the flash arena globally. However, score. 69.8 per cent of them say they’d
storage. Sure, today you can buy a 2 they garner a very low trust level in buy another flash drive from King-
terabyte hard drive, but hard drive
technology has hardly evolved in the
last three years. Its younger sibling flash
Trust index – Flash storage
however, is evolving by leaps and bounds.
Needless to say, flash will probably be
the future of storage – it’s compact, dis-
sipates less heat, has no moving parts
and is thus rugged. There are caveats
too, but these seem to be on the mend.
Whether it be inside your digital
camera, or as an SSD inside your notebook,
or even a USB drive, chances are flash has
already touched your life. We expect to see
a lot more of it in the future. Last year, our
survey was for external devices. This year,
we’ve featured dedicated sections to flash
and hard drive, as both technologies differ
sufficiently in technology, price and usage
scenarios to warrant this distinction.
48 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
Sony makes fans await GT5 Icons of Trust
For the second time Sony has delayed the launch For results on Laptops, PMPs, Cameras, Printers and
of Gran Turismo 5 in view of launching the much desktop PCs, make sure to get your hands on the special
Cover feature awaited Move motion controlled games December Collector’s edition
ston, but 71 per cent of Transcend about the specifications than relative terms. motherboards and graphic cards.
users remain loyal to their chosen Wireless networking is also getting a 3) If you’ve heard of it more than any-
brand – a mixed bag. shot in the arm, courtesy of an unexpected thing else, chances are you’ll trust it
8) Market awareness for Transcend is quarter – HDTVs. Many such displays in terms of reliability. D-Link wins
higher. Interestingly SanDisk also come advertising features like wire- here, with a small margin between
enjoys a good reputation – probably less browsing, and such, and while they Linksys and Netgear, who are
because of their good reputation in require a PC to work with (after all how number two and three respectively.
the photography circles. do you configure your router?) you can 4) D-Link is also perceived to be the most
essentially browse using your wireless technologically advanced brand. We
The most trusted connection. Such TVs are wireless ready, feel this has less to do with actual fact,
Our first tie! Kingston and Transcend and require a small dongle to work with. and more to do with popularity.
cannot outdo the other, and SanDisk 5) Apple’s strong reputation holds them
follows closely. HP occupies the third/ Perceptions from our survey in good stead. Despite having the tiniest
fourth place depending on whether you 1) D-Link is generally synonymous with product portfolio in the business, their
count our winners collectively or not. wireless products. Ask anyone to name routers enjoy a good reputation. In fact
This is surprising, for we haven’t seen a brand dealing in these products, they out pace some heavyweights such
much flash products from them, but a and chances are nearly 50 per cent Belkin, Zyxel, Senao and SMC in this
strong brand name can overcome the of them will say D-Link. We feel this regard. The leaders remain D-Link,
worst of situations and this is a pris- is due to them being in the market Linksys and Netgear (in that order)
tine example of this adage at work. longer than other brands. In addi- 6) Many people recommend D-Link to
tion to this, D-Link does quite a bit of others, but Linksys trails closely in
Wireless neTWorking advertising through various media. this regard. We feel Linksys’ recent
Thanks to the Internet revolution, Wi-Fi 2) When it comes to brand and quality marketing campaign for their routers
routers have become more commonplace trust, it’s D-Link all the way. Linksys seems to have helped their position.
these days. Wi-Fi routers are gaining trails by around 19 per cent, while Belkin has also done a lot of promo-
popularity mainly because they’re the Netgear is 36 per cent behind. Belkin tion, but we see them languishing at
easiest way to share an Internet connection. occupies fourth position. While the the bottom. Evidently, the brand still
With the way broadband has penetrated other three are fairly old players, needs to penetrate the market better.
the bigger cities, the inevitable push for Belkin is newer, and has been doing
a convenient, wire-free means to share a business here for around four The most trusted
high bandwidth line, surely couldn’t be far years, no more. Interestingly, quite D-Link maintained a lead on all five
behind. From humble routers supporting a few people have heard of ASUS, a parameters, thereby taking top spot.
802.11/g to the latest ones supporting brand that made wireless routers, Linksys is a very close second, while
802.11/n and a host of other features geared but are much more fabled for their Netgear an equidistant third.
towards better performance and signal cov-
erage there are a slew of models available.
Up to three years back, only enterprises Trust index - Wireless networking
looked for wireless solutions, now walk
into any computer hardware shop, and
there’s a good chances you’ll come across
a couple of options. There are a number
of brands too, and with this segment
heating up, we had to do a market check.
Market Watch
802.11n is the latest specification and
routers based on this standard have become
affordable enough for you to consider them.
Some brands are trying to break away from
the boredom of wireless specifications and
standards and simply segregate products
on the basis of usage patterns, using related
terms like “value”, “performance”, “home”,
“enthusiast” and so on. We applaud this
move, but at times it’s better to know a bit
50 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
Micromax Modu T 12 Indian languages
Micromax launched the world’s lightest 2.2-inch Lava Mobiles’ KKT-15 comes pre loaded with 12
touchscreen phone in collaboration with Modu T, an Indian languages in a move to attract more local
Cover Feature Israel based company users
The Legend
laurels – it’s aggressively targeting
the next higer segment with innova-
tive features and unbelievable prices.
The Q7, for instance, is a Wi-Fi-
Killers
enabled, QWERTY, dual-SIM phone,
priced under `5,000. Of late, the com-
pany has released touchscreen phones
that are well designed and aesthetic
– the Micromax Pike for example.
A look at some emerging brands, across product catego- Other innovations include a 3D user
ries, that have the potential to be future Icons of Trust interface in Qube, a phone that lets
you use it as a remote control for other
gadgets, and they’re also reported to be
Nimish Sawant Thanks to new dual-SIM entry- launching an Android phone very soon.
nimish.sawant@thinkdigit.com level phone brands such as Micromax, Micromax was also one of the
first players to successfully tap into
I
Karbonn, Lava etc., coming in to
cons of Trust, our annual survey India, competition is fiercer than the dual-SIM market, when none of
tries to award brands that provide ever before. Consider this: Micromax, the established brands like Nokia or
excellent products and great despite starting out a mere two Samsung had any offerings in that
service. This article is an attempt years ago, already has a whopping space. The company exploited that
to spot brands which have the poten- 10 per cent market share! Although option leading the way for many
tial to become an Icon of Trust in the Nokia still has a commanding lead other brands, which eventually
coming years. We have recognised with 54 per cent market share, this caused the current flood of dual-SIM
five product categories where we feel is still a lot less than it’s heyday. phones. Even Nokia and Samsung
some brands can provide Micromax started as a had to follow, and now offer dual-
a challenge to the existing rural player, coming out SIM handsets priced under `5,000.
“big” brands. So without with affordable phones Although most Micromax phones
further ado, let’s start that had really innova- are still manufactured in South
with the product category tive features, such as a East Asia (Taiwan and China), it
whose leader is defi- 30-day standby battery. has also started a manufacturing
nitely facing some heat. This was important unit in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh. It
because electricity is already has operations in Sri Lanka,
CELL PHONES scarce in rural areas. The Nepal and Bangladesh and has
Back in the day (which X1i, which was Micro- recently launched in Dubai as well.
was barely five years max’s first offering was All of this tells us that Micromax
ago) Nokia had a near a thundering success. is a brand to watch out for in the
monopoly in the cell Micromax gradu- near future. Although many other
phone market – around ally built its base in new brands have also made a splash
80 per cent market share the rural segment with in the Indian market, none have had
according to some reports phones having most of as great an impact as Micromax.
– with hardly any chal- the features found in In terms of brand building,
lengers. The scene is high-end phones (obvi- Micromax has also spent big bucks
completely different now, Micromax sells over a million ously not of the same on advertising – it’s reported to have
with Nokia being threatened phones every month quality), and entered an advertising budget of `100 crore,
on all fronts by challenger the Tier I markets over
brands. They’re not just nipping away the past year. With most of its phones
at Nokia’s feet, but actually taking a priced under `5,000, you may think
Must Read
sizable bite. Apple, Blackberry and Micromax is just looking at volumes http://bit.ly/bvB5WN
various others have created a serious by pushing cheap phones – not the An article profiling the rise of Micromax
dent in Nokia’s market share in the best of practices. Although this may and some of its future plans
smartphone category. Currently, be true to some extent, you can’t deny
http://bit.ly/ckYzCs
even though Nokia still has a larger the fact that a brand that sells over
What are the ingredients that have
market share than any other handset ten lakh phones a month is hardly
worked in the favour of Indian dual-SIM
manufacturer in India, its growth is a minnow. In fact, Micromax can handset manufacturers?
not as aggressive as it used to be. hardly be accused of sitting on its
52 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
Olympus E-5
Olympus E-5 will start shipping from
October end and is expected to sell
Fujifilm’s new line up
Fujifilm has announced three new cameras: REAL 3D
Cover Feature at $1,700 W3, FinePix F300EXR and FinePix Z800EXR
which is substantial by any means. as most entry-level dSLRs, but
Karbonn and Lava are two other with sleeker camera bodies.
companies in the dual-SIM market Olympus has three cameras in
that are slowly but surely catching up. this series – the PEN E-P1, E-P2 and
The basic strategy is the same – release E-PL1 – whereas Panasonic has five
entry-level, dual-SIM cellphones. cameras here, including the Lumix
Recently Lava has tied up with the DMC-G1, G2, G10 and GH1 among
National Geographic Channel (NGC) others. The success of this format can
to pre-load NGC content on all Lava be gauged from the fact that Sony and
handsets. Videocon has also released an Samsung have also come out with Olympus E-P2 is one of the Micro Four Thirds -
Android offering in the form of Zeus. Micro Four Thirds – Sony’s NEX3 system camera
All-in-all, the cellphone market is and NEX5 and Samsung’s NX10.
seeing a lot of challengers. Since the Canon and Nikon, so far have not come Olympus and Panasonic went beyond
price barrier has been conquered, out with any cameras in this segment. traditional methods of advertising.
the only way for these companies Clearly, Olympus and Panasonic have a As of now, Olympus and Panasonic
to survive is to up their innovation first mover advantage in this segment. are no threats to the top three. But
ante, and improve on the after-sales While Panasonic has a good pan they have a winner on their hands
service. Nokia is the undisputed India presence with over 100 branded with the Micro Four Thirds camera. In
ruler right now as far as the num- shops, Olympus severely lacks the the future other players may get into
bers go, but for once we really don’t same. One of the main reasons Canon, this, but both Olympus and Panasonic
know what the future holds. Sony and Nikon are top-of-the-line, as need to leverage this innovation as
far as camera sales is concerned, is due the market for dSLR’s is on the rise
DIgITAL CAMErAS to their robust network in the country. according to industry reports. From just
Canon, Sony and Nikon have domi- Apart from service centres and deal- 20,000 units sold, industry estimates
nated the digital camera market, as far erships spread put the annual sales
as India is concerned. According to across the length Because Micro Four Thirds of dSLR units to
market share figures in India, Canon is and breadth system cameras drop the mirror around 40,000 – a
the leader in the dSLR segment, while of the country, section, there is no scope to major chunk of
Sony rules the point-and-shoot arena. Canon, Sony and have a viewfinder in these which is expected to
If we consider the number of Nikon also have cameras. So all you have to rely come from entry-
models launched across all catego- exclusive show- on is the electronic viewfinder level dSLRs.
ries, from January 2008 to date – rooms. To pose
Canon 58, Nikon 51, Sony 60, a threat to this domination, Pana- HDTVs
Olympus 55, Panasonic 59 – it’s sonic and Olympus will just have to The HDTV market is currently ruled
obvious that everyone’s releasing the increase their presence in the country. by Sony which has around 25 per cent
same amount of new models. The dif- Advertising spends of each market share. The LCD TV market is
ference lies in the fact that Olympus of the big three – Canon, Nikon expected to grow from 16 lakh units last
and Panasonic launched many more and Sony – are much higher than year to 27 lakh units in FY 2010–11.
point-and-shoots, while Canon, Nikon the budgets that Olympus and This is one category where the top three
and Sony launched more mid- and Panasonic have, combined! rule the roost comprehensively.
high-end models. These are the ones It’s obvious that both Olympus and Videocon seems to be the only brand
that make the headlines, and the results Panasonic need to create more aware- at present which can provide a hint of
of this are highlighted when you look ness about their innovations. Canon has a challenge to the top three. With many
at the Google Insights data – Olympus a thriving community of photographers players entering the DTH market, we
and Panasonic trail the top three by a with a program called Canon Edge, are seeing a lot of LCD TV sales being
huge margin. thus reinforcing brand value. Nikon bundled with one or the other DTH
However, both these manufac- has also innovated on the advertising service provider. Videocon has already
turers are responsible for one inno- front by having a product placement introduced satellite LCD TVs in the
vative technology in particular that in a Bollywood movie. It is about time market, an industry first, that come
has caught our attention – the Micro along with complimentary subscrip-
Four Thirds standard. It was intro- Must Read tion of the Videocon d2h DTH service.
duced by Olympus and Panasonic http://bit.ly/bNSISX Satellite LCD TVs bypass the need to
in 2008. This technology does away Everything you wanted to know about purchase a set top box (STB). Also Vide-
with the mirror inside a dSLR camera, Micro Four Thirds ocon is setting up a TV manufacturing
thus allowing the same sensor size unit at Manamadurai in Tamil Nadu
54 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
New XPS laptops Tenders floated for $35 laptop
Dell has launched three new notebooks and has decided to The Ministry of Human Resource Development has
concentrate on Alienware, Inspiron and XPS series and do floated a tender for the cheapest laptop / tablet that is
away with the Adamo line expected to come out Cover Feature
unprecedented rate globally and India
Must Read
is no exception to the rule. According
http://bit.ly/cPSW3N to Gartner, first quarter sales of laptops
A feature on In Plane Switching panels grew by around 43 per cent. Although
on ThinkDigit’s newest segment on Home HP and Dell are leaders as far as lap-
Entertainment
tops are concerned, ASUS registered
a staggering growth of 113 per cent as
with an investment of `1,500 crore, compared to just 23.2 per cent growth
which may bring down prices further. for HP, and 33.1 per cent for Dell.
Videocon is also a contract manu- Just like its desktop counterparts,
facturer for a lot of companies. Philips laptops now cater to different target
has entered a 5-year deal with Vide- users based on their usage scenarios.
ocon, and the latter will manufacture, For example, there are laptops aimed at
market and distribute Philips TVs in everyday users, business users, gamers, A high end 3D gaming laptop - ASUS
the country. The point we are trying to multimedia junkies, users who are G51Jx
make here is, this gives Videocon the always on the go, etc. So even though we
edge over other LCD TV companies, have the leaders defined – HP, Dell and Dell’s Alienware series of laptops are
who generally source panels from Acer– we think we can stick our necks the only competitors here with their
abroad, and do most of the assembling out and try to predict challengers in insane configurations and innovative
abroad as well. With a manufacturing each of the aforementioned segments. designing of the M series laptops.
unit in India, combined with Videocon’s
robust distribution network, we should Netbooks Multimedia laptops
see an increase of its market share. No matter what the statistics say, there ASUS NX90Jq completely blew us
There are other players like Moser- is only one clear challenger in this away because of its unconventional
Baer and Godrej for instance, who category – ASUS. With its EeePC brand design featuring an 18.4-inch screen
offer LCD TVs at economical prices. of netbooks, and with two vertical
However, based on our test results, we an exhaustive Laptop sales grew by around tower speakers,
can tell you that they have a long way portfolio teamed 43 per cent in India in the first something that
to go before they can pose a serious with competi- quarter, of which growth in has not been seen
threat to Sony or Samsung. Offer- tive pricing, we Netbook sales rose by a whopping on any laptop
ings like 3D or something innovative feel that it will 71 per cent in the same period before. Apple is
like gesture gaming which was seen take a lot for another brand
in Godrej’s Game LCD TV look nice, the leaders to dismantle ASUS from to look at, as far as this category of
but this is a time when consumers this market. ASUS has a whopping laptops go. Now with the introduction
in general and first time buyers’ in 16 models in this segment alone, with of Intel Core i series of laptops in the
particular are more interested in better some interesting innovations – their Indian market, it is a definite chal-
quality for the money they spend. touchscreen netbooks (EeePC T91MT, lenger to HP’s Envy series of laptops.
3G netbook, etc.), for example, are cer-
LAPTOPS / NETBOOKS tainly making waves. MSI’s Wind series regular and business laptops
Laptops is one product category that of netbooks is the only other competi- The only way ASUS and MSI can com-
is seeing increasing differentiation tively priced range with a wide product pete with the leaders is on the pricing
by the day. With netbooks added to portfolio, and desirable qualities such front, but Acer also has very competi-
the fray, this market has become very as HD readiness, chiclet keyboards, etc. tive pricing. It’s hard to see ASUS and
diverse. Here again we forsee a lot MSI truly challenging the leaders here.
of challengers. But first up lets look gaming laptops After scanning through some
at some numbers to get an overall Here MSI has around 15 products forums, we realised that users are
picture of who stands where. on offer for the gaming community willing to spend extra money on a
As far as sales go, 8.05 lakh units with specifications to cover all types branded laptop which offers better
were sold between April and June of gamers. ASUS on the other hand after-sales service. HP and Dell
2010. This is a staggering 61 per cent has only two offerings in this space, are way ahead of others as far as
growth over the same period last but its G51Jx laptop is a 3D gaming the number of service centres go.
year. The undisputed leader here is laptop, a unique offering separating HP’s India web site has an exhaus-
Dell, with a market share of 29.2 per it from the rest. Gaming forums and tive list of service centres. This is
cent, followed by HP and Acer. circles are buzzing about HP and Dell one area where brands like ASUS
Netbook sales have also grown at an working on its own line of 3D laptops. and MSI need to play catch up.
Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com 55
Caretaker Built to deceive
Willow Garage, a Silicon Valley start-up has recently Georgia Tech researchers have developed an
launched its PR2– a robot that can fold towels, algorithm for robots that will enable them to
Sci-tech recharge itself and even bring you a can of coke deceive human beings
The
Rise
of the
Robots
Whether you know
it or not, the invasion
of the bots has begun.
It’s a slow-moving
take over, and they
come in peace
A soccer World
Over 50 teams, 200
participants from
across the globe,
Cup in India?
and we were there to
cover every minute
Nash David
nash.david@thinkdigit.com
T
he Federation of International
Robotsoccer Association
(FIRA) organised the 15th
Robot Soccer World Cup in
India this year. We were excited at the
opportunity to witness robots fighting
it out at a game of soccer, in addition to
other activities such as weightlifting,
walking and climbing. Moreover, several
of these robots were fully autonomous –
humans don’t control their moves.
The cup
FIRA 2010 was filled with surprises
and among them the most pleasant of all
were the Indian participants. Two high-
lights are a 17-year old called Fateh, and
56 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
Robot Institute of America Indian Robot Olympiad
The Robot Institute of America, in 1979, defined a robot as ‘A Three young girls from the Canadian International School
reprogrammable, multifunctional manipulator designed to move in Yelahanka, near Bangalore, won the Indian Robot
material, part, tools, or specialized devices Olympiad held in September 2010 Feature
Madhusudan Mukerjee mechanical creature which can func-
readersletters@thinkdigit.com tion autonomously”. Robots don’t have
S
to be anthropomorphic (human-like)
tar Wars fans will remember or bestial (animal-like), but the bottom
the scene in The Empire Strikes line is, they should be able to (a) do
back when C3PO, reprimanding things on their own with minimal or
R2-D2, says, “R2-D2, you know no human intervention, and (b) adapt
better than to trust a strange computer!” to changes in their environment.
Since Lucas and Spielberg began to make Leonardo Da Vinci is credited with
Hollywood movies, scenes like these the first design concept of a robot, around
have ensured that AI and robots have 1495. William Grey Walter’s Elmer and
become a part of the popular imagina- Elsie (1948) were the first electronic
tion. It’s a-bot time (pardon the shame- autonomous robots that had touch
less pun) that someone separated fact and light sensors, two vacuum tubes,
from fiction. So if you’ve ever wondered basic analogue circuits and could even
where we actually stand in the field of recharge their own batteries. Shakey,
robotics today, read on. the first mobile robot that had a form of
The popular perception of Robots is often
AI, was built by the Stanford Research
based on Hollywood representations such
The robot story Institute between 1967 and 1970. Shakey as these
Although there may be several ways could move, turn around, and plan its
of defining what a robot is, we like the own route, using bump sensors, a TV and PDP-15) computers via radio.
simple way Robin Murphy, a Pro- camera, a triangulating range finder Primarily, the four areas where
fessor of computer science and engi- and was connected to DEC Programmed robots have been most useful are
neering at Texas University, puts it – “a Data Processor microcomputers (PDP-10 manufacturing, space exploration, the
AcYUT. Fateh is dear to us because resources or opportunities.”
he’s a part of the Digit community, and FIRA 2010 also marked
at just 17 is already building robots all the foundation of FIRA
by himself. He started playing with India, and with it, the path
robots when he was still in school, for a national robotics event
and is proficient with C and micro- on a yearly basis. Hope-
controller level programming, and fully, this would serve as
also putting together the hardware. the much needed fillip for
Fateh credits Thinklabs at IIT universities and colleges to
Bombay for his foray into robotics. Fateh and his robot come together under a single
Not only did they help him hone up umbrella to showcase their
his skills in programming, they also got example of the passion that the young innovations and technical prowess in the
him familiar with the building blocks population of Indian students display. field of robotics. Janesh Janardhanan,
involved. Dr. Prahlad Vadakkepat, India has immense talent and potential, Secretriat and co-host, FIRA 2010
General Secretary, FIRA, believes however, many of these are unable to echoes these sentiments and is quite
youngsters such as Fateh, “are an tap into their true potential for lack of optimistic about the opportunity the
Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com 57
Robohelp Robotics in Digit
Mitsubishi tried to sell baby-sized Wakamaru Read Dr. Prof. Prahlad Vadakkepat’s
robots, in Japan, in 2003 as domestic helpers, but article on ‘Robotics, India and the Future’
Sci-tech the product failed in the January 2010 issue
military and healthcare. Typically, vehicles (UAVs) have been around
in these sectors, tasks that are repeti- since the Vietnam War, and UGVs
tive, hazardous, or need precision have (unmanned ground vehicles) and
been taken over by robots. Since the UUVs (unmanned underwater
1980s there’s been a growing interest vehicles) have been around since the
in robots, but it’s the 2000s that will 1960s, and several are now autono-
be their millennium. So are we going mous. The Mars Rover robots, Spirit
to witness the rise of the robots? and Opportunity, have been working
almost independently with timely tele-
Types of robots AIBO, the robotic pet was discontinued in operated guidance from their NASA
Robots, today, could be autono- 2006 mentors since 2003 (only Opportu-
mous, semi-autonomous or fully wheels, tracks or legs. We’ve already nity remains functional as of now).
controlled, and can broadly be clas- told you about Shakey, and newer
sified into the following types: examples include Honda’s ASIMO (a
1. Manipulators: Robotic Manipula- humanoid that can run at a speed of 6
tors are typically static (fixed-base) kmph), and Sony’s AIBO (an autono-
robots that are typically used in mous pet robot that looks like a dog).
manufacturing. These are rou- 3. Telerobots: Tele-operation is when
tinely visible in most assembly line a human operator controls a robot
factories all over the world, but a from a distance – of a few feet or
sequential phone-switching system halfway across the solar system. The
could be called a manipulator too. Sojourner robot, which explored the
2. Mobile robots: Mobile (movable) surface of the Mars in 1997, is one
robots are usually platforms with such example. Unmanned aerial Spirit - the NASA Rover for Mars
national event would provide. According project has moved across batches of “head”. An overhead camera tracks
to him, this would provide a perfect students passing out of BITS Pilani. the robot and a server instructs it to
blend of knowledge and opportunity Newer students are inducted into the move in the required direction. The
in addition to an indispensable com- team as seniors pass out each year. robot is autonomous – it knows how
munity that would harness the Indian Next, we met up with students to kick the ball, how to get up if it trips
contribution to the field of robotics. The and professors from countries such and falls, and how to chase the ball.
need of the hour is increased awareness as the UK, Singapore and Taiwan to The only information provided by
on the activities currently underway get a feel of what the future holds. One
in Indian educational communities. of the people we met was Dr. Tzuu- Classification of FIRA robots
We also spoke to the team behind Hseng S. Li, Dean, College of Electrical
The event was segregated into five
AcYut, the autonomous robot from BITS Engineering and Computer Science, categories as follows: Mirosot, HuroCup,
Pilani. AcYut won a special prize at the National United University, Taiwan. AndroSot, RoboSot and SimuroSot as
event for registering a World Record in defined by FIRA.
Mirosots are rather small robotic bodies
weightlifting – 40 CDs (a standard for
with dimensions restricted to 7.5x7.5x7.5cm.
weights in robotics events). The team These compete in a game of soccer, played
was quite forthcoming in explaining with an orange golf ball. The teams are
several terminologies associated with controlled via one host computer per
team. Similarly, HuroCup involves physical
robotics. What began as a student-led activities such as sprint, penalty kick,
obstacle run, lifting and carrying, weight
lifting, marathon, basketball and wall
climbing.
AndroSots closely resemble humans to
Dr. Li pointed at the significance of digital scale and proportion. These are two-legged
signal processing for logic and AI robots that interpret the position of the ball,
goal and members of the opposite team in a
Dr. Li played referee for the semi- game of soccer. Also, these robots are fully
autonomous.
autonomous and also autonomous RoboSots can be either fully or semi-
Androsot robot soccer events. In the autonomous. In the semi-autonomous
semi-autonomous event, each robot mode, the on-board camera is used by the
(l-r) Samir, Sushma, AcYut and Akash host computer to guide its movements.
was coded using coloured paper on its
58 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
Electronic skin
Robotics education Using nano-scale transistors and rubber, Stanford University researchers
Robhatah and PurpleLeap have tied up to have created an electronic skin – an artificial layer with tactile sensitivity –
provide high quality robotics education in India that could replace touch-sensors pretty soon, in robots Feature
4. Virtual robots: Also known as bots or tEtE-A-tEtE wIth ABhEEk BOSE, FOunDER, ROBOtS AlIvE
web-bots, these are actually software Are the entrepre- What about government policies?
programmes that simulate real robots neurial efforts in Robotics is still very new in India
or function like human beings in the field of robot- and the government is still trying to
the virtual world. WebCrawlers and ics succeding in get the relevant policies in space.
ELIZA – the chatterbot that simulates India?
conversation between two people on Starting up What does the future hold, over the
the web - are examples of virtual bots. in the robotics next 50 years?
5. Shape-shifting robots: Recently, Mr. Abheek Bose, domain is still a There are already successful robots
platforms for robots have moved founder Robots struggle. There is which perform small scale domestic
Alive
towards polymorphism. Serpentine a significant lack tasks like vacuum cleaning (Roomba
robots are the best example of shape- of skill and know-how as far as robotics & Scooba from iRobot). There is
changing robots. Recently, Carnegie is concerned so it is very difficult to get also large scale research especially
Mellon University’s Biorobotics Lab the correct kind of people in the job. in US, Japan, Korea and Germany
developed a snake-like modular which deal with fully capable house-
robot called Uncle Sam that looks Is the Indian education system condu- keeping robots. Further, there is a
like a series of tin cans and climbs cive to robotics? worldwide competition of house-
poles and trees before it surveys the The educational system in India keeping robotics, Robocup at Home.
landscape with a camera on its head. is not conducive to Robotics, because In the next 50 years, robots will be
6. Swarm robots: Inspired by the team- it is still considered a subject instead most definitely be doing some of man-
work of insects like ants, scientists of a stream of engineering. In devel- kind’s everyday domestic chores. I am
have been working on creating a large oped nations, robotics is taught still doubtful, however, that we will see
number of little robots working on a as an engineering discipline. this in India over the next 50 years…
single task – multi-agent teams that
the server is the location of the ball. During an important operation, where bridges, which currently require
Given the rapid developments in the human errors can occur, perhaps the humans to risk life and limb to get to
field of robotics, what can we expect in the future really is robot surgeons that are the areas in need of repair, a robot could
future? According to Dr. Vadakkepat and overseen by human doctors. It might do the job without any nervousness.
FIRA President Dr. Kim Jong-Hwan, “we, scare you to know that a robot is operating However, all said and done, perhaps
as humans have not been able to adopt on you, but it’s no scarier than worrying we’re expecting too much too soon from
robots into our daily lives because we are about whether your human surgeon has the robotics field. Yes we can’t have our
emotional beings. Aibo, Sony’s robot pet slept, isn’t in a bad mood or under stress. own Bicentennial Man in our lifetimes,
for example, wasn’t adopted as popularly In the automotive industry, when but we’re certainly going to see robots
for the lack of association in a more real- your car is being painted, you can enter our lives. However, in order for our
istic nature. You could tap and pet it, but be sure that the robot painter has country to stay amongst the top runners
you couldn’t get it to act naturally stupid!” used the optimum amount of paint of this exciting and promising segment of
with an evenness of the coat not technology, there needs to be youth
Why, robot? achievable by human hands. involvement. Watch out for our December
Robots are also finding their way into When building or repairing com- 2010 issue, when we will bring you closer
fields such as surgery and medicine. plex structures such as suspension to the world of robotics.
Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com 59
let’s march to the Sun!
NASA plans to send the Solar Probe Plus to the Sun in an Exclusive FIRA 2010 videos
unprecedented project by 2018. It will get closer to the You can watch exciting videos from FIRA 2010 on the Playware DVD
Sci-tech Sun than any other spacecraft ever before and the YouTube Digit channel at www.youtube.com/digit
have become quite popular, especially in the field. Panasonic’s HOSPI (a lore on January 30, 2010 – are steps in the
with the two international robot hospital robot that serves, cleans and right direction and will serve to increase
sporting competitions – RoboCup takes X-rays), humanoids like TOPIO the awareness of the layman to robotics.
and MIROSOT. Several robots need (a robot that plays table tennis) and Pranjal Rai, a research student
to work individually as well as in recent bionic innovations indicate that a in Education through robotics at
tandem with one another. This is growing presence of robots in our daily the National Institute of Design,
possible thanks to a branch of AI life is inevitable. Automated transport Ahmedabad, who has spent several
called Distributed Artificial Intel- vehicles, rescue robots and robotic months surveying the robotics scene in
ligence – the same kind of software explorers are already being worked on schools of India, found that most school
that powers web-bots or know-bots. to be enhanced for interaction with the authorities and faculty see robotics as
7. Nanobots: Robots at the nanometre general populace. The multi-disciplinary a hobby activity. At the personal level,
level are still more sci-fi than reality, influences of cognitive sciences, bio- Lego’s Mindstorms kits took the world
but recent advances in nanotech- robotics and linguistics are bound to by storm in 1998 but are still quite expen-
nology have made them a distinct pos- come up with better robots. So, although sive by Indian standards. Rai, to his sur-
sibility sometime in the near future. you’re not going to see WALL-E just yet, prise, found that most robot-kits for chil-
you will see robots help you out with dren ended up in disuse, being ignored
How robots work your housework in the near future. after a few attempts at play. In fact, let’s
In popular science fiction, Isaac Asi- face it, for most of us, studying robotics
mov’s three laws of robotics describe India connections
how robots should be programmed: According to Prof. Gayatri Menon,
• A robot may not injure a human Faculty and Coordinator of the Toy and
being or, through inaction, allow Game Design Department at the National
a human being to come to harm. Institute of Design, Gandhinagar, indus-
• A robot must obey any orders trial robotics have seen a spurt in develop-
given to it by human beings, ment in India over the last decade. ABB,
except where such orders would the European automation giant, has a bur-
conflict with the First Law. geoning business in India, with Indian
• A robot must protect its own existence companies buying industrial robots for
as long as such protection does not a variety of functions like welding, paint
conflict with the First or Second Law. finishing and material handling. In view
However, robot programmers haven’t of this, it has set up a Robotics Applica-
really reached far ahead yet in reality. tion Centre in Bangalore especially
for the purpose. Prof. Menon feels that
Prof. Gayatri Menon sees a bright future
Face forward the Indian industries have shed their
for Robotics in Education
In May 2010, Microsoft released its first inhibitions about using robots in their
stable version of the Microsoft Robotics factories over the last few years and the is not just a geek-thing, but perhaps the
Developer Studio (Microsoft RDS, perception that roboticization would lead geekiest of all the geeky things to do.
MRDS) - a Windows-based environ- to unemployment is no longer in vogue. The general perception in India is that
ment for robot control and simulation. Start-ups like Pulkit Gaur’s Gridbots robotics is hyper-technical. Prof. Menon
It has a high degree of compatibility (Ahmedabad), Dr. Prahlad Vedakke- believes that a serious attempt needs to
and is useful for students, professionals pat’s Robhatah (Bangalore) and Abheek be made to dispel these misgivings –
and commercial applications as well. Bose’s Robots Alive (Bangalore) are because robotics is probably the only
The interest of giants such as Microsoft not only actively pursuing innova- thing that could teach children
in robotics signals an exciting future tions in robotics but also interacting mechatronics, computer programming,
with faculty, students and researchers electronics, mechanics and bio-
through specially designed workshops mechanics in one shot – and with tons of
on robotic technology. These are usu- fun in the bargain. No doubt, if India
ally designed to provide a balanced wants to seriously enter the international
exposure to the theoretical as well as robotics scene in a significant way and
the practical aspects to robotics. make good use of the vast pool of
However, Prof. Menon feels that the technical talent that we already have a
introduction of Mechatronics as a subject collaborative effort between industry
in engineering colleges in India – and the and academia is the need of the hour.
Spielberg’s version of I, Robot revealed a growing number of robotics competitions Watch out for next month’s Collector’s
fallacy in the three laws such as the SmartMove contest in Banga- Edition for more on robotics.
60 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
Oldest junk India’s first satellite
US satellite, the Vanguard I, which launched in 1958 Aryabhatta, India’s first satellite weighed 360 kg
and worked for only six years, enjoys the unsavoury and was launched by the erstwhile Soviet Union on
Sci-tech distinction of being the oldest debris still on orbit April 19, 1975
Cleaning up the Cosmos shuttle, and that damage was caused by
a mere flake of paint – one tenth of a mil-
limetre wide!
We’re talked about e-waste before, but there’s a In February this year, the world woke
whole other type that’s threatening our future – orbital up to the news that a near head-on collision
debris, or space junk, as it’s more popularly known... between the residual portions of a spent
Chinese rocket and the European Space
Anoop Verma Agency’s (ESA) huge Envisat Earth remote-
readersletters@thinkdigit.com sensing spacecraft had been narrowly
I
averted. The tracking information released
n September this year, Boeing Dodging bullets by the US and Germany shows that these
announced its intention to pur- We’re surprised no one’s calling their two objects had floated past each other at a
chase a ticket for the new space space project Neo, after Keanu Reeves’ nail-biting distance of a mere 160 feet. The
race. It’s not all about getting spy character in the Matrix trilogy. Why? ESA’s Envisat tips the scales at 8 tonnes,
satellites and ICBM busters into orbit Because launching into space these days is and the old Chinese rocket is estimated to
anymore. The future is space tourism! If like dodging Agents who are shooting at weigh 3.8 tonnes. In space, that’s like two
Boeing’s efforts go as planned, by 2015, you with sub-machine guns. bullet trains at full speed missing each
a lucky few of us will blast-off from Future space tourists in so-called Space other by micro-meters.
Florida’s Cape Canaveral in a state-of- Taxis will actually face higher risks than What’s worse, if such a collision had
the-art “Space Taxi”. Of course, this drivers on the worst Indian roads. taken place, the threats of space junk would
Space Taxi won’t be as crowded as the On the periphery of our atmosphere, have increased in orders of magnitude
transportation we’re used to...it will have there are about 5,00,000 objects flying because of all the additional debris that
a maximum of seven people onboard – at about at breakneck speed. Nuts, bolts, these two huge objects would have left
least three of which will be professional shards of metal, plastic, etc. – all remnants behind after they were destroyed. Thank-
astronauts. And you won’t even have to of previous space missions, and old satel- fully, scientists on the ground were able
pay extra for meals, or water! lites, and all deathly dangerous. to steer the ESA Envisat out of harm’s
British tycoon, Richard Branson, Now, before you accuse us of sensa- way. All we can say is we have new-found
truly believes that space is the final tionalism, and think, “Sheesh, talk about respect for the astronauts who live aboard
frontier. He founded a company called over-hyped! Nuts and bolts indeed,” try the International Space Station – flirting
Virgin Galactic, which is expected to and imagine what a nut would feel like with constant threats.
begin test flights beyond Earth’s atmos- if it were shot at you at over 40,000+
phere in 2012. kilometers per hour! At such speeds, a Monitoring the junk
In less than a decade, space around nut would go through a tank; and in space, Mankind is yet to come up with a work-
Earth is going to get crowded – teeming that’s one dead tank. able solution to clearing our own garbage
with tourists. However, it’s already Already there have been numerous in space. With increased activity in space
crowded up there. In fact, Mumbai’s cases of near misses for vital satellites – DTh and HD channels need satellites
crowded local trains would seem empty, orbiting the earth. On one occasion NASA now, don’t they – the amount of junk is
in relative terms. had to replace a window on a space only going to rise. IN fact, if we don’t find a
Images from NASA’s orbital debris site might be able to emphasize the perils of space junk a lot better than all of the words in this article!
62 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
First tourist in space Laika’s sacrifice
In 2001, Denis Tito became the world’s first space tourist Laika, a Soviet dog, became the first animal to orbit the
to enjoy an eight-day holiday aboard the International Earth, aboard the spacecraft Sputnik 2. Sadly, Laika died
Space Station. His ticket cost him $20 million in space, as it couldn’t be brought back to earth Feature
solution soon, some theories suggest that they become almost impossible to track
we may be on the verge of a rather serious the smaller they get. Suggestions get
series of accidents – one big collision in weirder still – like making a gigantic
orbit could cause a chain reaction of sorts, vacuum cleaner! What exactly would a
sending debris everywhere, taking out all vacuum cleaner suck in, when space is
our satellites and knocking us back to the vacuum to begin with?
days of radio! The bigger pieces of junk are a little
The good news is that the those respon- easier to solve for. Ideas include sending-
sible for most of the junk to begin with, are up special space vehicles that can rendez-
finally waking up to the dangers. vous with the largest of the junk and and
NASA has started the Orbital Debris The International Space Station attach a propulsion system to send them
Program, which can’t really run a clean-up crashing back to Earth.
job just yet, but currently tracks the size could be used to spray orbiting junk and The best way forward is in fact to stop
and speed of the debris in orbit around knock them towards the atmosphere to polluting space to begin with. Whether
Earth. At least if they know what’s out burn up. Other ideas include junk-zap- governments or private organizations,
there they can try and avoid it. ping lasers that would put Hollywood sfx we need to make it mandatory to carry
to shame – after all, if lasers can take out back everything a mission carries into
Cleaning up missiles, they can also incinerate junk? space. We don’t know about you, but we’d
There are a lot of ideas on how we could Some suggestions just border on very much like to have the option of
do a cosmic cleanup, but not many are crazy, like deploying large nets mag- visiting space in our lifetime made
doable just yet. For instance, Jim Hol- nets to snag the junk. Actually, even available to us. This won’t happen, unless
lopeter, the man who helped designed blasting big shards of junk would we make it a point to let the powers that
rockets during the 1980s, has suggested only lead to smaller more dangerous be know how much we dislike the great
that aging rockets loaded with water particles – more dangerous because garbage dump in the sky.
Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com 63
Driver of the future Firefox Mobile
Google has developed a technology for cars Mozilla has launched Firefox for the
that can drive themsemves. These cars have Android and Maemo platforms
Tried & tested already logged over 1,40,000 miles
We’ve tested some Michael Browne forgiven for thinking we’re refer- captivating you and doing more,
Vinod Yalburgi ring to a desktop computer of five better. Gaming, visually rich
of the latest and best Abhinav Lal years past. At this point, you may interfaces, Flash browsers and
cellphones available Archit Kumar wonder if you really need these HD content are all pushing to
today, in the price readersletters@thinkdigit.com specs on your cellphone. You still cram into your pocket. Today’s
W
only use it to make calls and send quad core desktop processors
range of `10,000 and
hile multi- text messages right? You’d be cor- could well appear on a cellphone
up. For those shop- media phones rect. But you’re also missing out five years down the line. But this
ping for a feature rich, and smart- on a large chunk of the fun. test is not all about performance
multimedia phone, phones have Cellphones these days are a lot monsters. It’s about sleek bodies,
been around for a while, this has more than portable phones. Sure, finesse, style as well as usability,
there’s something for
truly been the year of the high- we lust after the best of them, ergonomics, productivity
everyone end smartphone, representing but in a world full of marketing and entertainment. It’s about
For logsheets and to the cellphone market what six jargon, what does more RAM choosing the right cellphone for
scores for these phones, core processors mean to desktops. and a better graphic chip do for you from among viable options.
check out this month’s One GHz processors, 512 MB of you? Cellphones, just like display And yes, there are an abundance
Mindware DVD.
RAM, 1 GB of ROM, you’d be technologies are moving towards of one GHz processors too…
The Best
Cellphones
Your Money
Can
Buy
Morotola sues Apple
Motorola has sued Apple for patent Google Latitide for desktop
infringement to add to the ever growing web of Google has integrated latitide into the desktops as well
law suits in the mobile industry www.google.com/latitude Cellphone
How we TesTeD CeLLpHones
T
his test has two components
to it - features and perform-
ance. The former is equal
parts a listing of specifications
noveMber 2010
and a checklist of features present/
absent. Each phone is evaluated
on the basis of build quality, ergo-
nomics and usability. We rate both Samsung S8500 Wave HTC Desire HTC Touch HD2
physical keypads and on-screen Price: `20,000 (MRP) Price: `28,900 (MRP) Price: `29,000
keypads similarly. SPeCiFiCATionS
On the performance front, signal
Display: 3.3-inches; CPU: ARM Cortex Display: 3.7-inch; CPU: Qualcomm Display: 4.3-inch; CPU: Qualcomm
quality, clarity and integrity is on A8 1 GHz; RAM: 2 GB; ROM: 512MB; QSD8250 (1 GHz); RAM: 576 MB; ROM: QSD8250 (1 GHz);RAM: 448 MB;ROM:
top of our priority list. We divide our Expansion: microSD; Camera: 5 Mega- 512 MB; Expansion: microSD; Camera: 512 MB; Expansion: microSD; Camera:
pixel; Battery: 1500mAh 5-megapixel; Battery: 1400 mAh 5-megapixel; Battery: 1230 mAh
testing of the signal quality, which
is a look at the quality of internals TeST CenTre rATinGS (All Scores out of 10)
like the antenna and baseband,
into three zones. Zone one has Features ..............................7.5 Features ..............................8.0 Features ..............................7.0
maximum signal strength, zone Great AMOLED display and camera. Great interface, sublime display, and Huge display and a pretty decent
Lack of QWERTY keypad is a big minus top notch hardware for a phone. platform that Sense UI makes better.
two is indoors, whereas zone three
represents the worst possible case Performance .....................7.0 Performance .....................8.0 Performance ............. ......7.5
of signal attenuation one can find. The Wave is a decent performer with Fast CPU and great overall hardware. Snappy, but not as snappy as the HTC
an impressive audio and display quality. Poor battery life and loudspeaker Desire. Good camera and surprisingly
For zone three, we generally use Quick and responsive touch interface. distorts. Keypad performs accurately. good battery life for large display.
a basement, or a region with bad
reception. We also test the quality Build quality ....................8.0 Build quality ....................7.0 Build quality ......................7.5
The Wave is solidly built with an The Desire is well built, and looks quite Built like a tank, with a solid metal
and loudness of the loudspeaker, as all-metallic body and incorporates a stunning. Plastic battery cover looks battery cover. The extra large display
well as the quality of the bundled human body curve design. cheap - it’s only minus in this test.. might not survive a drop though.
earphones. The camera and video
Value for money ............. 7.0 Value for money ............. 7.0 Value for money...............6.0
capturing components are also At `20,000, it burns a deep hole in your `28,900 isn’t cheap, but the Desire is a Price is expensive as WM 6.5 is archaic
tested and rated, as is the video pocket. Still, it makes a decent buy. lot of phone for what you pay. and HD2 is simply an old timer now.
playback, for which, the display
is the major factor, along with the We SAy
speed of processing. Bluetooth
7.5 7.5 7.0
speed is measured by transferring
an 11 MB file to the phone, via an
Apple MacBook. For judging photo
quality, we look for colour accuracy, The Samsung Wave has a no frills Desire is one of the best Android Good phone but better options
noise and grain, and focussing. The user interface. The solid build phones. Superb display, touch available. Unless you must have
display is rated on the basis of its quality and design aesthetics pro- interface, hardware and looks. a 4.3-inch display right now, wait.
colour, contrast and blackness vide good value for money. Good Battery life and loudspeaker could Touch response and display are
levels. multimedia performance adds the be better. Worth it if you want bettter on Desire. We say wait for
icing on the cake. something light yet powerful. HTCs WP7-based handsets.
bluetooth’s be gone save your Facebook
nTT Docomo has introduced Facebook now allows users to
headset for smartphones that sits in download a copy of their profile
Tried & tested front of your eyes into a .zip file
CeLLpHones
noveMber 2010 noveMber 2010
Sony Ericsson
Apple iPhone 3GS 32 GB Xperia X10 Mini Pro Nokia E72 Nokia N8
Price: `41,500 Price: `16,000 (MRP) Price: `16,000 (MRP) Price: `26,259
SPeCiFiCATionS
Display: 3.5-inch, 16-million, 480x320 OS: Android 1.6; CPU: Qualcomm Display: 2.4-inch, 16-million, 240x320 OS: Symbian ^3; CPU: ARM 11 680
pixels; CPU: ARM Cortex A8 (600 MHz); MSM7227 600 MHz; RAM: 128 MB; pixels; CPU: 600 MHz ARM 11; RAM: MHz; RAM : 256 MB; ROM ; 512 MB;
RAM: 256 MB; Camera: 3-megapixel Camera : 5-megapixel; Battery: 930 128 MB; ROM: 250 MB; Expansion: Display: 3.5-inch (360x640 pixels), 16
(VGA video recording); Weight: 135 g; mAh; Display: 2.55-inches (240 x 320 microSD; Camera: 5-megapixel; million colours; Battery: 1200 mAh;
Dimensions : 115.5 x 62.1 x 12.3 mm pixels); Weight: 120 g; Dimensions : 90 Battery: 1500 mAh; Weight: 128 g; Weight: 135 g; Dimensions : 113.5 x
x 52 x 17 mm Dimensions : 114 x 58 x 10 mm 59.1 x 12.9 mm
TeST CenTre rATinGS (All Scores out of 10)
Features ..............................8.0 Features ..............................8.0 Features ..............................8.0 Features ..............................8.0
One of the best touch interfaces. The Compact with a good feature set, a The E72 is a loaded device: good The camera dominates proceedings
list of features is wide, as is application QWERTY keypad that is actually quite camera, great battery, great QWERTY with a lot of settings. Symbian^3 on a
support. usable. keypad. capacitive display is also good.
Performance .....................8.0 Performance......................8.0 Performance .....................8.0 Performance .....................7.5
Audio and video playback rocks. As This phone is a good performer – music Sublime battery life is pretty The N8 performs well as a multimedia
a phone, performance is decent, but quality, the camera, call clarity, its unmatched as is the superb music device. It’s also pretty snappy, and we
not at par with phones from Nokia zippy, and best of all, battery life is quality. Call clarity is very good, better liked the performance of the on-screen
and BlackBerry. The capacitive-touch pretty decent. Overall we were quite than other most non-Nokia phones, but keypad. Call clarity was very good.
keypad is still one of the best around. satisfied. not the best around.
Build quality ....................8.5 Build quality.......................7.0 Build quality ....................7.0 Build quality ......................8.0
Sturdy all-metal construction. Only the Pretty solidly built and we liked the Solid steel battery cover, thick plastic The casing is almost entirely aluminium
display is delicate, and you might not slider mechanism – slick and robust. used all around, the E72 is slim too and and also has extremely strong Gorilla
want to drop it. Compact factor adds to the solid feel. that adds rigidity. Keypad is built well. glass
Value for money...............5.5 Value for money...............7.0 Value for money...............7.0 Value for money...............7.0
`41,500 is a lot to pay. Decent value for Great value for money for QWERTY, If you don’t want a touch-based device, Little expensive, but for the features we
around `30,000. Android 2.1 and good performer. then the E72 is superb value for money. feel this phone is pretty much worth it.
We SAy
7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5
The iPhone 3GS is a very nice The Sony ericsson X10 mini Pro With most people migrating The new nokia n8 is a step in the
phone with a lot of things going has a small but well laid out to touch-based phones, it’s all right direction. A great camera
for it and a few shortcomings keypad. it is a compact and well too easy to overlook QWerTy that actually offers a lot of
– we did not like the mediocre rounded device, delivering good based workhorses such as manual control, a good, snappy
performance while on a call, and all round performance. it fea- these. nokia knows how to interface, a very nice on-screen
the fact of the matter is that bet- tures an upgradeable and future make a great handset, and QWerTy keypad, and the usual
ter displays from other vendors proof platform. At `16,000 the the e72 is probably the pick of Symbian goodness that makes
are emerging like the display on Sony ericsson XPeriA X10 Mini the QWerTy-based e series their devices good phones. The
the Samsung Galaxy S. it is also Pro is a very nice device and for devices. it offers more features n8 is well built too with a metal
overpriced in comparison to other its price, it overshadows even the than BlackBerry devices in the body. We’d like a higher resolu-
smartphones in the market, and XPeriA X10 in terms of appeal, same league and whats more tion screen though, and the price
therefore cannot be recommend- if not sheer presence. it can be important is the affordable tag is slightly on the higher side.
ed, especially since the iPhone 4 obtained at a lower price if you price point at which nokia is other than that, the n8 is a very
might be available soon in india. look deep enough. offering this phone. feature rich phone, missing out
only, on a hardware keypad.
66 Digit | november 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
super shooter wiMax2 for HD streaming
Sony has introduced the first ever 16.41 The new 802.11m standard for WiMax2 is
megapixel sensor for mobile phones. The capable of wireless streaming of HD content
megapixel race continues delivering speeds in excess of 100Mbps! Cellphone
CeLLpHones
Sony Ericsson
HTC Wildfire Xperia X8 HTC HD Mini Nokia N97 Mini
Price: `16,590 Price: `15,990 Price: `23,490 (MOP) Price: `18,000
SPeCiFiCATionS
Display: 3.2-inch, 16-million, 240x320 Display: 3-inch, 16-million, 480x320 Network: 3G/2G, Windows Mobile OS: Symbian Series 60 rel. 5; CPU:
pixels; CPU: Qualcomm MSM 7225 pixels; CPU: Qualcomm MSM7227 Prof 6.5 with HTC Sense, CPU: 600 434MHz; RAM: 128MB; Camera: 5MP;
(528 MHz); RAM: 384 MB; ROM: 512 600 MHz; RAM: 168 MB; Expansion: MHz;ROM: 512 MB; ROM: 384MB, Screen 3.2-inches resistive touchscreen
MB; Expansion: microSD; Camera: microSD; Camera: 3.15-megapixel; Display:320x480 HVGA with capacitive (360x640 pixels); Weight: 138 g;
5-megapixel; Battery: 1300 mAh; Battery: 1200 mAh; Weight: 104 g; touch Screen, Camera: 5.0 MP with Battery: 1200 mAh
Weight: 135 g Dimensions : 99 x 54 x 15 mm autofocus; Weight: 110 g
TeST CenTre rATinGS (All Scores out of 10)
Features ................................ 7.5 Features ................................ 6.5 Features ................................ 7.5 Features ................................ 7.5
Performance ......................... 6.5 Performance ......................... 6.5 Performance ......................... 6.5 Performance ......................... 7.0
Build Quality ......................... 7.5 Build Quality ......................... 7.0 Build Quality ......................... 7.5 Build Quality ......................... 6.5
Value for money ................... 6.5 Value for money ...................6.0 Value for money ...................5.0 Value for money ...................8.0
We SAy
The HTC Wildfire can be A decent phone with a decent The HTC HD Mini is a pretty Perfect for those who want
looked at as a mini Desire.
Display is nowhere near as 7.0 feature set, the XPeriA X8
has a very mediocre display,
6.5 decent cellphone in its own
right, and as a handset, a 6.5 to enjoy a large touchscreen
and a QWerTy keyboard on
7.0
crisp, and the interface is not and Android also faces issues better buy than the HTC the Symbian platform. it’s
as nice. reason enough to stay away, as with lag, owing to slower hardware. Wildfire, mainly on account of the better, a good media player, but lacks DivX
nearly everything is in what you see and overall performance is good. The price higher resolution display. if you’re playback. All in all, it offers good value
touch in a touchscreen phone. Price isn’t tag makes it a bit more appealing, but looking for a touch screen around 25K, for money at its much reduced price of
much, but there are better alternatives. there are better options. there are way better options available. approximately `18,000.
CeLLpHones
noveMber 2010
Sony Ericsson
Xperia X10 Motorola Samsung
Milestone Galaxy S LG GM360i
Price: `28,000 Price: `24,000 Price: `31,500 Price: `10,250
SPeCiFiCATionS
OS: Android 1.6, CPU: Qualcomm OS: Android 2.1, CPU: 1GHz; RAM: Display: 4.0 inch 16M colors, 480x800 Display : 3-inch. 262K colors, 240 x
QSD8250 Snapdragon (1GHz); RAM: 512MB; Camera: 5MP; Screen 4-inch pixels, Super AMOLED; CPU: 400 pixels resistive touch; Facebook;
256MB; Camera: 8.1 MP; Screen 4-inch capacitive touchscreen (480x854 Qualcomm ARM Cortex A8 1 GHz 3 way home screen with customizable
capacitive touchscreen (480x854 pixels); Weight: 165g; Battery: 1400 processor; RAM: 512 MB RAM; ROM: widgets; Camera : 5 MP; Expansion :
pixels); Weight: 135g; Battery: 1500 mAh Up to 350 h / Up to 6 h 30 m 2 GB; Expansion: microSD; Camera: microSD; WiFi; 3.5mm headphone jack;
mAh; Dimensions : 119 x 63 x 13 mm 5-megapixel (720p video recording); push email; Weight : 89 grams
Battery: 1500 mAh; Weight: 119 grams
TeST CenTre rATinGS (All Scores out of 10)
Features ................................ 7.5 Features ................................8.0 Features ................................8.0 Features ................................6.0
Performance ......................... 7.5 Performance .........................8.0 Performance .........................8.0 Performance ......................... 7.0
Build Quality ......................... 6.5 Build Quality ......................... 7.5 Build Quality ......................... 6.5 Build Quality .........................6.0
Value for money ................... 7.0 Value for money ................... 7.5 Value for money ................... 7.0 Value for money ...................5.0
We SAy
7.5 6.0
At `28,000, the phone Milestone, at its reduced price Probably one of the most For a Price of `10,250 the LG
lacks many features that 7.0 – `24,000, is quite good. it’s powerful and fastest Android 7.0 GM360i doesn’t offer much of
will be missed by regular got a hardware keyboard to smartphones around. Display an upgrade over their Cookie
smartphone users, such a Flash boot, apart from its large screen, which is bright even from the sharpest angles. models except a 5 MP camera and Wi-Fi
support, multi-touch, 65k colour screen makes for good video output as well as it has a mediocre camera, that is about with push mail support. Better options
etc.However, it has a capable camera a good browsing experience. the only let down. A very good phone for are available for the same or lesser
and a snazzy Timescape Ui. a price of `31,500. price in the market.
Digit | november 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com 67
Sony’s Google TV remote In-flight calling?
Singapore airlines is going to
Sony has revelaed details of its upcoming
introduce in-flight calling and WiFi
Google TV remote
Tried & tested access in 2011
CellPhoneS
noVemBer 2010
Samsung l5800 Blackberry LG Optimus
Galaxy 3 Pearl 3G 9105 Fly Ivory GT540
Price: `12,300 Price: `19,900 Price: `15,499 Price: `12,900
SPECIFICATIONS
Display: 3.2-inches, 16 million colours, Display: 2.25-inches, 256K colours, Display: 3.2-inches, 262K colours, 240 3.0-inches, 256K colours, 320 x
240 x 400 pixels; CPU: ARM 11 667 360 x 400 pixels; CPU: 624MHz; RAM: x 400 pixels; CPU: ARM920T; ROM: 480; CPU: 600 MHz; RAM: 156 MB;
MHz; RAM: 256 MB; ROM: 512MB; 256MB; Expansion: microSD; Camera: 512MB; Expansion: microSD; Camera: Expansion: microSD; Camera: 3.15
Expansion: microSD; Camera: 3.15 3.15 megapixel; Battery: 1150mAh; 2.0 megapixel; Battery: 1200 mAh; megapixel; Battery: 1500 mAh; Weight:
megapixel; Battery: 1500mAh; Weight: Weight: 93.6 g Weight: 125 g 115.5 g
109 g
TEST CENTRE RATINGS (All Scores out of 10)
Features................................. 7.0 Features.................................6.0 Features................................. 5.5 Features................................. 7.0
Performance.......................... 7.0 Performance.......................... 7.0 Performance.......................... 6.5 Performance.......................... 6.5
Build.Quality.......................... 7.0 Build.Quality.......................... 7.5 Build.Quality..........................6.0 Build.Quality..........................8.0
Value.for.money....................8.0 Value.for.money....................6.0 Value.for.money....................6.0 Value.for.money.................... 7.5
WE SAY
7.0 6.5 6.0 7.0
Impressive features like At `19,900, The Blackberry The Fly Ivory lacks many The LG Optimus GT540
remote file-sharing and media Pearl 3G 9105 is quite expensive. features and is an average incorporates a neat and well-
playback, real-time news Although, the touch-sensitive performer. Slightly overpriced at organized menu interface, that
and stock updates, MS-Office optical track-pad is a saving `13,999, it lacks the subtle user- is aptly complemented by the
compatible bundled office grace for the phone, it does not friendliness of an Android OS or feature-rich Android operating
suite and hassle-free access to compare well with the Samsung Bada OS. Build quality is cheap system and a very responsive
online storage account through Galaxy 3 and LG Optimus GT540. as well. Touchscreen is not that touch-screen UI. It is a decent
thinkfree.com. At `12,300, it’s It was a decent performer responsive even with the stylus. performer with an impressive
great buy if you can overlook across all the tests and were There is nothing much to offer video playback quality being the
its low-battery life and not able to find any chinks in its in terms of quality applications super-highlight of the product.
ordinary loudspeaker quality. armour. Though the phone is very except for the data encryption The GPS based navigation guide
Running Android v2.1, it truly well thought out, the price leaves tool. Overall, the Fly Ivory leaves and the popular Google Maps
incorporates a powerful user a lot to be desired. Look at Nokia a lot to be desired to earn some add value for money. Overall, it
interface, well complemented before you buy this phone. respect in this price category. makes a good buy at `12,990.
by the ARM processor.
Buying guide - Cellphones
You want We Suggest Price range
A large capacitive touch screen with a full QWERTY Motorola Droid (Milestone), also look out for the `25,000 (M otorola Droid) -
hardware keypad upcoming HTC Desire Z `31,000 (Desire Z)
HTC Touch HD2, Samsung Galaxy S, Sony Ericsson
The biggest display you can get `28,000 - `31,000
XPERIA X10
Full QWERTY keypad, but on a compact device Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 Mini Pro `16,000
Best display around, I want to use this for movies HTC Desire `28,900
No touch screen for me, I want a good QWERTY
Nokia E72 `16,000
though
Sleek smartphone around `20,000 Samsung Wave S8500 `20,000
The best camera phone around Nokia N8 `26,259
The most fluid touch display, and the best on screen `32,000 - `41,500 (8 GB, 16 GB,
Apple iPhone 3GS
keypad 32 GB are options)
70 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
New Acer G monitors
Acer launches G-Series displays with 3D content Arab’s Streak
support Dell launches Streak in UAE for
AED 2299. Coming soon to India Bazaar
Apple 21.5 inch iMac
Faster iMac for your desk
Unlike the board and Magic Mouse as
previous gener- the same from the previous
ation of iMacs, generation. On the right hand
this generation side you have the slot loading
does not have SuperDrive and an SD card
any in-built slot just beneath it. The SD
graphics solu- card slot can also support the
tions. NVIDIA newer SDXC card format. As
GeForce 330M we mentioned during the iMac
is replaced by 27-inch review, the absence
ATI Radeon of a Blu-ray drive on such a
HD 4670 dis- product is baffling. Specially
crete graphics, so because the monitor’s res-
an entry level olution is perfect for Blu-ray
graphics solu- content.
tion. Discrete Applications have sur-
graphic solu- prising omissions like Aper-
tion means ture and iWork which are both
HD 4670 has present in the previous genera-
its own video tion iMac that we had tested
A
RAM memory in May.
fter testing the of 256 MB Synthetic tests like Geek-
new Core i series which is sufficient for graphics bench gave a score of 5,735
MacBook Pro intensive work or gaming. (which is higher than the 4,750
last month, we The 21.5 inch iMac still con- observed in Core i5 MacBook
got the latest iMac which tains the same 4 GB of DDR3 Pro as well as 4214 which was
Specifications sports an Intel Core i3 proc- RAM running at a higher obtained in the 27 inch iMac
Processor : Intel Core i3 3.06 essor at a good 3.06 GHz. 1333 MHz, up from 1066 MHz Core 2 Duo test). Xbench aced
GHz; Screen size : 21.5 inch Looks wise, as is the case with of the previous generation. as well with a score of 223.06
Backlit LED; RAM : 4GB the iMac and MacBook Pro Memory can be upgraded as opposed to 158.2 of the
GPU: ATI Radeon HD 4670 lineup, there are hardly any to up to 16 GB. As far as the MacBook Pro and 176 of the
noticeable changes. All the aesthetics go, Apple has not 27 inch iMac. Real life tests
Contact changes are present under implemented any changes like data transfer also gave
Apple India the hood. Let’s start by taking as far as the overall design impressive rates of around 48
Phone: 1800-425-0744 a look at the new features. goes. The unibody aluminum MB/s. Encoding around six
Email: indiasales@mac.com The 21.5 inch Core i3 model body with sharp edges is still MP3 files (approx size 54 MB)
Web site: www.apple.com/ supports Hyperthreading there. Screen looks as beau- to AAC format in iTunes 10
in/imac/ which is expected from Core tiful as always thanks to the took around 56 seconds. We
Price: `74,900 i series of Intel processors. backlit LED with an IPS panel, noticed that the iMac gets con-
This feature allows the two having a resolution of 1920 x siderably hot on the bottom left
cores in the processor to run 1080 with a 16:9 aspect ratio. hand corner on the rear side
four threads (or tasks) simul- Viewing angles like its pred- after prolonged usage.
7.0 taneously, thus speeding up ecessor are quite good. Due As is the case with all Apple
10 processor intensive tasks like to the glass cover, the screen products, the pricing is pre-
video editing, rendering in 3D tends to be reflective and mium. The iMac costs `74,900.
Features ...........................7.0
Performance...................7.0 modeling etc. It does not sup- watching movies with lights Ideal product for working pro-
Build ...................................8.5 port Turbo Boost technology around you can kill the expe- fessionals or a first time iMac
Value for money ............6.0 which is present in the higher rience. buyer. Multimedia experience
end Core i5 series iMacs. The Bluetooth wireless key- on the iMac is stunning.
Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com 71
Ultra Sony! Android for ASUS
Sony introduces world’s first 16.4 MP Camera Garmin-Asus puts Android 2.1 in Indian market for
Tried & tested in a cell phone, the Cyber-shot S006 `18,990
Creative Zen X-Fi Style Specifications
Screen size : 2.4-inch 262k
A good alternative to the iPod Nano Color TFT LCD; Audio
Z
Formats: MP3, WMA
en X-Fi Style is a non although you need to (DRM9), WAV, Audible4,
touchscreen PMP connect to a system AAC, FLAC; Capacity : 8GB
having similar aes- connected to the
thetics to Zen MX or the internet and manu- Contact
Zen Style 300. We received the ally add feeds in the Vinayendra Singh
compact 8 GB model which has a RSS Synchroniser. Phone: +91-92231 01322
glossy black and grey chequered Pink Floyd’s Time Email: india_getcreativek@
top portion contrasted by a solid was quite good during ctl.creative.com
white plastic rear finish. The X-Fi the instrumental intro Web site: http://in.creative.
Style also has nine operational - specially the high com
buttons. pitched sounds of the Price: `6,999
The home screen has menus alarms ringing - but
6.5
stacked on top of each other. As the separation was
you go up and down on the nav not that impressive The player is very responsive
10
pad, the menu expands along- when the vocal portions come in the mid-frequency range.
with an icon on the right hand along. Also at higher volumes one Bass is quite poor in most tracks. Features ...........................6.5
side. Very self explanatory and can hear mild distortion. Highs in It is priced decently at `6,999. Performance....................7.0
easy to navigate. Therion’s O Fortuna were not at But invest in a decent pair of ear- Build ...................................6.5
Similar to the Zen X-Fi 2, the all good. There was definite clip- phones as the bundled in ear- Value for money............6.0
X-Fi Style also has an RSS reader, ping of higher frequencies. phones aren’t good.
Specifications
Capacity : 16 GB; Audio for-
mats : MP3, WMA, AAC-LC,
Sony Walkman NWZ-A845
Linear PCM; Video formats : Sony’s reply to the iPod nano
W
AVC, WMV9, AAC-LC, MP4
ith the Attack’s Angel. Sound separation
Contact A-series in Floyd’s Money and Time was
Sony India NWZ brilliant.
Phone: 1800-103-7799 A845, Sony The video quality is the strong
Email: sonyindia.care@ has come out with its answer point of this PMP. It is far supe-
ap.sony.com to the iPod 5G sans the camera. rior to anything we have seen
Web site: www.sony.co.in Coming in a sleek form factor, on a 2.8 inch compact so far. The
Price: `11,990 the A845 has a 2.8 inch OLED contrast is stunning. It throws
screen, metallic buttons which up error messages if a format is
have a round dial type design not playable on the PMP. Sadly it
and Sony EX noise cancel- does not support a wide range of
ling earphones. It has a sturdy formats. You will have to import
plastic rear side and can hold 16 playlists either from Windows
GB content. The volume rocker lot of options to play around with Media player or iTunes, but you
and hold button are present like VPT suround sound, equal- cannot create playlists on the go,
7.0 along the right hand edge. iser settings, sound enhancement which is strange. Screen display
10 The home page comprises nine
menus including music, video,
among others.
Sound quality is quite good
goes for a toss in sunlit conditions.
At `11,990 this player is quite
Features ...........................6.5 photos, noise cancellation among thanks in part to the noise can- decently priced for the features
Performance ..................7.0 others. Media can be transferred celling Sony EX earphones. It and performance it offers. It does
Build Quality...................7.5 by connecting the bundled USB was able to produce great sound have with some minor flaws such
Value for money............6.5 cable. The option button opens across the entire spectrum. Bass as adding songs to playlist on the
up contextual options. You have a was quite noticeable in Massive move, limited format support.
72 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
Fujitsu 3D for cars Vertu’s Quest
Fujitsu new MB86R11 graphics controller gives car Vertu adds one more to its Constellation series of phones,
systems 3D 360 degree video support The Constellation Quest incorporating a QWERTY keyboard Bazaar
Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex TV
It flexes your media player beyond HD playback
Specifications
S
eagate’s FreeAgent all the various connectors to non - QWERTY keyboard on Internet Sites Sup-
GoFlex TV HD media the GoFlex TV with connected the screen is a big pain to type on ported : Video Feeds; Text
player is more than just devices highlighted. using the remote. Feeds; Weather; Finance;
a plain old media player. YouTube; Picasa;
It comes in a compact black Video Formats : MP4,
plastic box having a matte finish MP2, Xvid HD, AVC HD,
throughout. The front panel RMVB , WMV9, H.264,
opens to reveal a compartment MKV, MOV, AVI
wherein you can insert a Seagate
GoFlex portable hard drive. Contact
The user interface does leave Fortune Marketing
you impressed. It has a three Phone: +91-11-2641 4468
nice rows of menus which makes Email: sales@fortune-it.com
navigation a breeze. The top most Web site: www.seagate.com
segment comprises the regular It took around 24 seconds to get We feel that `6,900 is a bril- Price: `6,900
Movies, Music, Pictures, Internet to the main home page after we liant price point for its features
and Browse menus arranged switched on the GoFlex TV. The and performance. It is ideal for
7.0
horizontally with each menu video quality was brilliant. There movie enthusiasts who have a
10
represented by an icon. Internet was no skipping. Only when it drive full of movies across file
widgets section comprising comes to the Internet videos, the formats, and intend on watching
Features ...........................7.0
Performance ..................6.5
YouTube, Flickr, Video Feeds, speed can really enhance or com- it on big screens. Also the internet
Build Quality...................6.5
MediaFly, vTuner etc. The third pletely ruin your video viewing streaming options will leave net Value for Money ............7.0
and final segment comprises experience. Using the virtual junkies happy.
Specifications
Socket: AM3
Chipset: AMD 890FX
Memory type: DDR3
ASUS Crosshair IV Extreme
PCIe x16/PCI: 5/1 Mix-n-Match all the way!
G
SATA/e-SATA: 8/2
Bundled features: Blue- aming will never USB port which allows
tooth v2.0,v2.1 + EDR, be the same with remote overclocking
ROG Connect,Probelt ASUS’s Crosshair using a notebook/
kit, Crossfire cable. IV Extreme. It’s a Symbian S60
top of the line AMD mother- phone/
Contact board with an AMD 890FX iPhone/
Vinay Shetty chipset. One of the key high- Android.
Phone: +91-22-6766 8800 lighted features of this board ASUS has added a
/ 1-800-2090365 is its ability to use multi-GPUs lot of software for sensing rating
Email: reachus@asus.com from any vendor using Lucid’s and tweaking the board param- of 72
Web site: www.asus.in Hydralogix chip which is eters. fps at 1280x1024
Price: `18,600 embedded on the board. This We tested this motherboard with low details.
7.0 is one of the newer enthusiast using an AMD Phenom II X6 We overclocked our Phenom
10 boards for AMD processors.
The board has an extended-
1090T, Corsair 4 GB DDR3
RAM and ZOTAC’s GeForce
X6 1090T to a stable 3.89 GHz
using this board and it passed
Features ...........................7.5 ATX form factor and is neatly GTX 285 as primary GPU. all our stress tests.
Performance ..................7.5 laid out with each part uniquely Crysis gave out 101 fps for reso- We would like to recommend
Build Quality...................7.5 colour coded. Features is what lution of 1280x1024 with high this board only to aspiring pro-
Value for money............6.0 this board is all about. The rear details whereas S.T.A.L.K.E.R gamers with deep pockets and
of the board has a ROG Connect Clear Sky gave average day a lot of free time.
Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com 73
Million Dollar iPhone
Apple to go CDMA, the Indian way! UK based designer makes a 5 million
Reliance And Tata hold talks with to launch first Apple pound iPhone studded with 7.4 carat pink
Tried & tested iPhone CDMA phone in India diamond called as Diamond Rose Edition
Corsair Graphite CC600T
Cool Steel(Steal)!
M
aking its mark designed for better cable Specifications
on the computer management. This Dimensions : 591.8 x
peripherals reduces clutter in 264.1 x 508 mm
industry, Cor- the cabinet and 5.25-inch/3.5-inch bays : 4/6
sair had released a new series increases cooling Front Ports : USB 3.0,
of PC cabinets. The CC600T efficiency. There firewire, 2-channel audio
is a part of Graphite series of is a provision knob for fan speed control.
cabinets. for water-piped
It is an ATX/mATX Mid- cooling with the Contact
Tower cabinet with stainless help of holes pre- Corsair Memory
steel built and ABS plastic parts. drilled into the Phone: 1-800-4255464
It has rubber feet and side skirts. cabinet’s partition. Email: salesindia@corsair.com
The side panels are of stainless We did find Web site: www.corsair.com
steel and easily removable with some discrepan- Price: `10,900
the help of latch mechanisms. rounded cies in the cabinet.
There are two 200mm cooling edges to The front power
fans at top and front of the prevent any acci- and reset buttons are
7.0
cabinet. These fans are covered dental injuries. not well placed and are of poor
10
with a honeycomb mesh and We installed an Intel X58 quality.
easily removable. The side panel motherboard without any We recommend this cabinet Features ...........................7.0
Performance ..................7.0
is lockable with a key provided. tools whatsoever. All the screws for those who wish to spend
Build Quality...................7.0
There is one 150 mm fan at the require only your thumb to time overclocking their CPU
Value for money............6.0
back. The entire cabinet has operate. The cabinet has been over a long period of time.
Specifications
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD5
motherboard, Intel core
i7 950 @ 3.07GHz, 6GB
Brag DB10
DDR3 RAM, OCZ Vertex 2 Brand new entrant flexes its muscle
A
SSD, NZXT Sentry LX fan
monitor, Tuniq tower 120 brand new revealed two NVIDIA GeForce
extreme CPU cooler, Cosair entrant into the GTX 460 cards in running in
HX850W PSU, LG BD-RW, Indian custom PC SLI among many other eye
Windows 7 Ultimate 32 bit. building market, catching connectivity options.
Brag seems to have hit the nail The desktop itself ran very
Contact on the head with their flagship silently even with the side
Jude de Souza gaming rig, the Brag DB10. The panel open and heat dissipa-
Phone: +91-22-6740 2000 DB10 is totally customisable tion is very well managed
Email: jude@bragpc.com according to the user’s require- by the chassis. Bundling of
Web site: www.bragpc.com ments and budget. BRAG is an the wires was also very well
Price: `1,45,000 initiative of Prime ABGB and executed with no clutter what-
their knowledge and experience soever visible in plain sight. the overall feel of the rig. All in
7.0 in component selection is very One noteworthy feature is the all, this is a step forward for the
10 apparent looking at the build.
With a Windows experience
inclusion of an SSD in addition
to a HDD for storage which gave
professional gaming world in the
Indian custom PC market and
Features ...........................8.0 index of 7.5 and housed in a the system performance boost we hope to see these killer rigs
Performance ..................8.0 Silverstone Raven chassis, one where most others fall short. pick up momentum in the near
Build Quality...................8.0 can’t help but be overwhelmed The bundled Microsoft future. If you’re looking for high-
Value for money............5.0 by the sheer size of the uber cool Reclusa keyboard and Razer end gaming rigs, Alienware isn’t
beast. Uncovering the top panel DeathAdder mouse accentuated your only option anymore.
74 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
Micro Mode Nokia C6 to hit India
Micromax and modu tie-up to present the Nokia to showcase new C6 phone in
world’s lightest 3.5G touch phone in India India by December 2010 Bazaar
SMC Ez StylePad
Resistance is futile!
Specifications
T
hey say the seven OS : Android 2.1
inch media tablet is Processor : Cortex’s ARM 11
the fast emerging RAM : 256MB
sweet spot lying Memory: 32GB (SD card slot)
snugly between smartphone Connectivity : Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
upgrades like the five inch Video out : mini-HDMI 1.3
Dell Streak and huge 10 inch
iPad. The EZ StylePad is
the newest entrant into this
burgeoning market and SMC Contact
has chosen to launch starting SMC Networks India
with the Indian market. Phone : +91-22-6741 9133
It is built around a 720 So while Android 2.1 (with Mar- flash drives and the Mini-HDMI Email:sales@smc-india.com
MHz Cortex’s ARM 11 proc- ketplace) runs smoothly you port can stream 1080p content Web site: www.smc-asia.com
essor which may not have the will soon be resorting to using to an HD TV that is equivalent Price: `15,990
1 GHz magic number, but is your fingernails and scrolling to any standalone HD media
6.5
still a decent performer. It plays will still be a pain. player. It clocked a battery life
720p video flawlessly with a The back panel is glossy of 2.5 hours while playing video
10
wide range of file/codec support black and encloses two speakers on the device.
– a perfect media player than a – which incidentally are sur- Editor’s Comment : The Features ...........................7.5
browsing device. Whatever lag prisingly loud. The right edge tablet is well laid out and is Performance ..................6.5
we noticed can be attributed to sports two rather interesting feature-packed. But I would Build Quality ...................6.0
the resistive touch screen. Yup, ports - USB 2.0 and HDMI 1.3C. rather spend $100 more and Value for money ............6.0
that right it’s a resistive screen. The USB port can read FAT 32 buy the capacitive version.
Specifications
OS: OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard)
CPU: Core 2 Duo P8800
RAM: 4 GB DDR3
Apple MacBook Pro 13 inch
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce 320M Almost the same...
A
HDD: 320 GB 5400 rpm
Resolution: 1280x800 pixels pple has provided of the same generation.
their line of Mac The GeForce 320M
Contact Book Pros some doesn’t seem to be a
Apple India much needed solution for a casual
Phone: +91-80-41409000 boost in juice with the introduc- gamer. Our tests show it
Email: indiasales@mac.com tion of Core i5 and i7 processors. to be no faster than the
Web site: www.apple.com/ While the exterior looks exactly 9400M solution found
in/buy/shop/ the same (sorry to disappoint!), on earlier models. At an
Price: `89,900 it’s a step in the right direction MRP of `89,900, the
giving the Core 2 Duos the boot. seems there is a drop in quality latest Mac Book Pro 13 inch
7.0 Sadly for us though, the when compared to the 15-inch is not for everybody. But its a
10 model we received was a Core
2 Duo version, reiterating the
MacBook Pro that has a marked
better display – not only is the
rugged, highly functional piece
of equipment. Not exactly value
Features ...........................7.0 “nothing is new” tag. The CPU contrast slightly better, colours for money, but one would need
Performance ..................6.5 was a Core 2 Duo P8800 run- Unfortunately owing to the to think very hard to find an
Build Quality...................8.5 ning at 2.66 GHz. Sheesh! outdated processor, this Mac Apple product that is. Just try
Value for money............6.0 Another gripe we had is Book could not keep up with to skip the Core 2 Duo version
with the display quality. It the same 15-inch Mac Book Pro if your budget permits it.
Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com 75
HP’s upcoming phones
Moto-droid galore HP.plans.on.launching.their.WeboS.based.
Bazaar mini Motorola.has.just.announced.seven.new. phones.in.2011..HP.acquired.Palm.and.inturn.
Quick insights from indepth tests recruits.to.the.ever.growing.Android.army! WeboS.not.too.long.ago.
LCD HtPC
Printers CABinet
Printers
BenQ GL2030 BenQ V2410 Brag FJ8 Zebronics strider
Price: `8,199 Price: `15,499 Price: `87,000 Price: `1,999
SPECIFCATIonS
Screen size ....................... 20-inch LED Screen size ................................ 24-inch Processor ... AMD Phenom X6 1090T Dimensions ........ 180 x 400 x 410 mm
Resolution ......................... 1600 x 900 Resolution ........................ 1920 x 1080 RAM ................. 4 GB DDR3, 1200 MHz Form factor .................... ATX/Micro ATX
Response time ............................... 5 ms Response time ............................... 5 ms HDD .... 1 x 40 GB SSD + 1 x 1 TB HDD ODD bays ........................... 3 x 5.25-inch
Connectors ................................ 1 x VGA Connectors ............. 1 x VGA, 1 x HDMI Optical Drive...................... Blu-ray ROM HDD bays ..............................5 x 3.5-inch
TEST.CEnTrE.rATInGS.(All.Scores.out.of.10)
Features...............................5.5 Features.............................. 6.0 Features...............................6.5 Features.............................. 6.0
GL2030 has a humble 1600 x 900 24-inch LED backlit monitor. This Brag HTPC is a fully Not very feature rich. Provision
resolution. Glossy black bezel is It has the HDMI and VGA functional Home Theater PC that for fan at the rear. Fan on the
lovely. Lacks connectivity options. connectors on the rear side. gives you all connectivity options. side panel with speed control.
Performance......................6.5 Performance......................5.5 Performance......................7.0 Performance......................5.5
Spyder 3 Elite gave good Spyder 3 Elite gave a poor Excellent performer with a great Reset button is difficult to press.
contrast ratio. Impressive colour contrast ratio. Display Mate graphics solution and a 40 GB Smoothened edges for places
accuracy. Watching movies was a tests showed backlight bleeding. SSD thrown into the mix. your hands might reach.
good experience. Movie viewing could be better.
Build.quality.......................6.5 Build.quality.......................6.5 Build.quality.......................5.5 Build.quality.......................6.0
Bulky rear. Round glossy black Strong black matte finished The plastic exterior does not give Quality of metal and fan is not
base allows the monitor to bezel. Sturdy rectangular stand. it the most polished look for your very good. The overall build
swivel vertically. living room. quality is strictly mediocre.
Value.for.money...............6.0
. Value.for.money............... 5.5
. .
Value.for.money...............5.0 .
Value.for.money............... 6.5
The LED monitor comes at a At `15,499, this monitor is a tad Highly overpriced in its category. It is priced quite economically
decent price tag of `8,199. expensive for its performance. Display not included in price. at `1,999.
WE.SAY
6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0
The.monitor.has.good.contrast. The.V2410.is.a.sturdy.monitor. Though.the.Brag.FJ8.is.a.solid. The.Zebronics.Strider.is.definitely.
ratio,.but.the.1600x900.resolu- full.HD.monitor.which.should. performer.though.such.high.per- not.a.gamer’s.delight.as.claimed.
tion.may.disappoint.those.looking. have.been.priced.more.competi- formance.is.not.a.necessity.on.a. by.the.manufacturer..It.is.some-
for.a.full.HD.monitor..Gaming.on. tively..Gaming.experience.was. Home.Theater.PC..Connectivity. what.attractive,.which.makes.it.
the.monitor.was.not.as.great.as. quite.pleasant.but.not.very.good. options.are.aplenty.and.games. a.rare.specimen.in.the.entry-
the.movies.experience..There.are. while.watching.movies.due.to.the. (at.medium.resolutions).can.be. level.cabinet.category..Another.
very.few.video.settings.thanks.to. poor.contrast.ratio.and.bleed- played.on.this.high.performance. unique.feature.is.the.removable.
the.1600x900.pixel.resolution..It. ing.backlight..Even.the.cheaper. rig,.but.its.price.leaves.a.lot.to.be. side.panel.with.the.built-in.fan..
also.lacks.some.essential.con- GL2030.was.visibly.better..The. desired..Its.plastic.exterior.also. The.build.quality.is.not.really.
nectivity.options.such.as.the.DVI. pricing.is.not.justified.by.the. will.not.go.too.well.in.the.living. good.but.better.than.many.basic.
connection. performance.of.the.display. room..Although.the.Brag.FJ8.is. chassis..Priced.at.`1,.999,.it.is.a.
high.on.hardware,.but.very.high. fair.deal.for.those.who.are.look-
on.price.as.well..Cheaper.HTPCs. ing.to.build.a.cheap.gaming.PC.
ALso see: ALso see: can.be.built.if.playing.HD.videos. on.a.low.budget..You.can.easily.
1) BenQ G920WL 1) AsUs VH242H is.all.you.need..However,.if.you. find.tons.of.options.in.the.price.
Digit March 2010 Digit March 2010
2) AsUs VH202D 2) BenQ G2420HD want.a.compact.gaming.rig.for. bracket
Digit March 2010 Digit March 2010 your.living.room,.this.might.be.it.
76 Digit.|.november.2010.|.www.thinkdigit.com
Fastest ever
Cisco’s home solution It’s official, the iPad is the fastest selling
Cisco has announced Umi - the consumer gadget of all time, even surpassing the DVD
level HD conferencing system player! Bazaar mini
Mouse Printers
traCkPad
Roccat Kone + Roccat Pyra Cooler Master Storm Apple Magic Trackpad
Inferno
Price: `7,500 Price: `4,750 Price: `5,900 Price: `4,000
sPeCIFICATIoNs
Sensor resolution.........................6000 dpi Sensor resolution .................... 1600 dpi Sensor resolution ................... 4000 dpi Power source ................. 2 AA batteries
Polling rate ......................................1000 Hz Polling rate .................................1000 Hz Polling rate .................................1000 Hz Multi-touch gestures .............................Y
Buttons ............................................................8 Buttons ......................................................5 Buttons ....................................................11 Bluetooth ..................................................Y
Sensor type ...........................................Laser Sensor type .................................. Optical Sensor Type...........................Twin Laser OS ............... Mac OS X, 10.6.4 and later
TesT CeNTre rATINgs (All scores out of 10)
Features ..............................7.5 Features ..............................6.5 Features ..............................7.5 Features ............................. 6.0
Highly customisable when it Has five buttons which can be Has inbuilt memory which Works on Bluetooth technology.
comes to performance, looks and programmed easily. Provision for memorizes settings (software It accepts all the multi-touch
functionality. macro programming. not required). gestures.
Performance .....................7.5 Performance ................... 7.0 Performance .....................7.0 Performance .....................6.5
Excellent performance across Good quality receiver. Grip Good overall performance. Requires hard click due to
FPS games, very easy to tweak provided on sides. The scroll Performs well on all surfaces. buttons at the base. Multi-touch
sensitivity and acceleration button is very hard to press. 9 out of 11 keys are gestures work flawlessly.
settings to your liking. programmable.
Build quality ....................7.0 Build quality ....................6.0 Build quality ......................6.5 Build quality ......................7.0
Good overall build quality. Scroll Very nice design. The quality of It’s a palm-fit, right-handed, large Sturdy, minimalist design.
wheel and buttons around it plastic used and button quality mouse. Form factor similar to Cylindrical battery section
could have been a little sturdier. are both good. Roccat’s Pyra. houses two AA sized batteries.
Value for money .............4.0 Value for money............... 5.5 Value for money................7.0 Value for money...............5.0
Definitely one of the more Priced at `4,750 it is expensive. The price of `5,900 is justified At `4,000, it’s expensive. Saves
expensive gaming mice at `7,500. Meant for gamers on the go. for pro-gaming use only. desk space.
We sAY
6.5 6.5 7.0 6.0
It’s a very capable gaming Design wise the mouse has a lot Nine out of the eleven buttons It definitely takes time getting
mouse, but comfort levels for going for it despite some of its are customisable. We recom- used to, as you no longer have
larger mice such as this one are flaws. The compact mouse is mend this mouse only for those anything to hold on to as you
left to personal comfort and somewhat difficult to get used who are into pro-gaming. You would with a mouse. Definitely
also, the size of your palm. Price to. It has the similar macro can buy this mouse at a street not meant for gamers. It is well
should have been a little less, functionality that you find with price of `3,350. Mouse is not suited for office tasks and casual
and it would be easier to recom- full fledged gaming mice such as ambidextrous. It’s a little more users will enjoy the experience
mend it for any serious gamer. the Kone [+]. At a price of `4,750, expensive than some of the older of working with it. Don’t replace
As of now, there are much this is ideal for enthusiasts gam- mice such as the DeathAdder your mouse with the Magic
cheaper options that will give ing regularly on their high-end and the Diamondback. Trackpad just yet. The pricing is
you the same performance and gaming laptops. Those who way off the charts even for an
response times as this mouse. aren’t, keep safe distance. Apple product. We would recom-
AlSo See:
mend you wait till the prices drop
1) Roccat Pyra or a better alternative comes
Digit November 2010
2) Razer Imperator
along. good solution if you
AlSo See: AlSo See:
1) Razer DeathAdder 1) Razer DeathAdder
Digit July 2010 always wanted multitouch func-
3) Roccat Kova
Digit July 2010 Digit July 2010
Digit July 2010
tionality on your Mac desktops.
Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com 77
indian torch aMd’s llano
India welcomes the launch of AMD shows off next-gen ‘Llano’ APU which
Bazaar mini rIM’s Blackberry Torch with new offers integrated computation and graphics
Quick insights from indepth tests Blackberry os 6. capabilities onto the same piece of silicon
graPhiCs Card laPtoP
Printers
Galaxy GeForce GTX 460 MSI NGTX465 Twin Frozer Palit GeForce GTX460 Acer Aspire one 532h
GC Version II Golden edition Sonic
Price: `14,000 Price: `14,600 Price: `14,500 Price: `19,499
sPeCIFICATIoNs
GPU.................NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 GPU.................NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 GPU.................NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 Processor ............ Intel Atom 1.66 GHz
Core clock .......................................700 MHz Core Clock .................................607 MHz Core Clok.....................................700 MHz Hard drive .....................................160 GB
Memory size/type ........768 MB/GDDR5 Memory size/type ... 1024 MB/GDDR5 Memory size/type ..... 1024 MB/GDDR5 Display size................................10.1 inch
Outputs .......................2 x DVI , Mini HDMI Outputs .......................2 x DVI, mini HDMI Outputs ............................... 2 x DVI ,HDMI Weight ............................................ 1.26 kg
TesT CeNTre rATINgs (All scores out of 10)
Features ..............................7.0 Features ..............................7.0 Features ..............................6.5 Features ..............................7.0
Latest GF104 “Fermi” chip, SLI Full copper body, two fans, all Overclocked by 25MHz. DirectX 3G USB modem supported.
support, detachable fan makes it solid state capacitors, supports 11 compatible. NVIDIA 3D vision Backlit keyboard. Ships with a
simpler to clean the heatsink. 3D Vision Surround technology. ready. carry bag.
Performance .....................7.0 Performance .....................7.0 Performance .....................7.0 Performance .....................6.0
Performs at par with GTX 465 Frame rates are at par with other 3D mark gives an overall score of Poor battery life. Under average
on many benchmarks, factory GTX465 cards. Operates 20 per 15611. No noticeable increase in performer on benchmarks. Poor
overclocked means no effort to cent cooler than other GTX465 performance after overclocking. inbuilt webcam.
get extra performance. cards we have tested.
Build quality ......................6.0 Build quality ......................7.0 Build quality ......................5.5 Build quality ......................8.0
Simple plastic exterior, sturdy The full copper body makes the Quality of plastic body is cheap. Sleek stylish design. Ultra
build, will fit in most chassis card very sturdy and also very Quality of fan is also mediocre. portable, lightweight and solid
without any trouble. heavy at the same time. Smaller in size than other cards. build quality.
Value for money............... 7.0 Value for money...............7.0 Value for money...............7.0 Value for money............... 7.5
Great value for its price when At `14,600 we feel it is a very Decent price point. Performance Highly economical at `19,499.
compared to similar cards. decently priced product. could have been better. Gives a good bang for your buck!
We sAY
7.0 7.0 6.5 7.0
Considering it is the 768 MB The MsI NgTX465 Twin Frozer Performance of this card is The Acer Aspire one 532h is
variant and performs very well II golden edition does not pack similar to other gTX460 cards. an ultra-portable netbook that
across the board, it is an excel- any extra features. It is not even one of the cheaper cards around. typically suits the needs of
lent option to consider when overclocked. If you have not At the same time, we would have a frequent traveller. It has a
either upgrading from an older invested too much on cooling liked better build quality. Also, sleek and compact design. The
card or if assembling a brand system for your PC and not using Zotac’s geForce gTX460 AMP optional 3g connectivity adds
new gaming rig. The detach- it in an AC room Twin Frozer is a edition performs better than Palit additional functionality by letting
able fan is an added bonus when product made especially for you. geForce gTX460 sonic so you you get online wherever you are.
cleaning the card but care must Also an overclocking enthusiast can easily skip this one. Better battery life would have
be taken not to run the card with might be interested in this card. made it a much more compel-
the fan detached. overall, a good ling buy.
value for money card with some
unique features. AlSo See: AlSo See:
1) ASUS eNGTX 465 1) Zotac GeForce GTX 460 AMP!
Digit September 2010 Digit September 2010 AlSo See:
2) Sparkle GTX465 2) Zotac GeForce GTX 460 1) ASUS eee PC 1201HA
AlSo See: Digit September 2010 Digit August 2010 Digit February 2010
1) MSI N465GTX 3) ZoTAC Geforce GTX465 3) ASUS eNGTX 460 2) olive Zipbook x107h
Digit November 2010 Digit September 2010 Digit August 2010 Digit February 2010
78 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
samsung’s hotcakes
samsung claims they have sold more More air
than 5 million galaxy s smartohones Apple unveiled two new MacBook Air laptops in
since its launch in June 11.6 and 13.3-inch screen sizes Bazaar mini
MotherBoard Printers
CellPhone digital Photo FraMe
Printers
ASUS Crosshair IV Biostar TA880GB+ Micromax e390 Sony DPF-X95
Formula
Price: `15.500 Price: `5,000 Price: `6,999 Price: `11,990
sPeCIFICATIoNs
Socket/Chipset ........... AM3/AMD 890FX Socket/Chipset .......... AM3/AMD 880G Network ...........................................CDMA Internal memory .............................2 GB
Memory ....upto 16 GB DDR3 1333 MHz Memory ..upto 16GB DDR3 1333 MHz Screen ......................... 2.8-inch resistive Resolution .................. WVGA 800 x 600
PCIe x16/x4/PCI 2.2.........................3/2/1. PCIe x16/x4/PCI 2.2......................... 1/0/2 Battery .........................1000 mAh Li-ion Viewing area ........... 177.85 x 111.1 mm
SATA/e-SATA............................................7/2. SATA/e-SATA...........................................6 /0 Camera ........................................... 1.3 MP Image formats ....................JPEG, RAW
TesT CeNTre rATINgs (All scores out of 10)
Features ..............................7.5 Features ..............................6.5 Features ............................. 6.0 Features ............................. 6.0
SupremeFX X-Fi 8-channel audio AM3 socket supports Phenom Resistive display. Missing volume No additional features like alarm,
codec with Blu-Ray support. II CPUs. On-board ATI HD4250 up/down keys. Display quality is or music playback. Many themes
Onboard overclocking button. graphics (DVI-D/HDMI output). good and it has good battery life. for slideshow.
Performance .....................6.5 Performance .................... 6.0 Performance .....................5.0 Performance .....................7.5
Average performance on Benchmarks gave decent scores. Touch interface is better than Images are crisp and colours are
synthetic benchmarks. WinRAR Crisis gave a rating of 95 fps expected and it does not show rich. Does not take much time to
performance rating was good. at high details for resolution of too much lag. Poor audio quality turn on or access images from
Crysis rating was above average. 1024x768 which is decent. on speakers and earphones. memory card.
Build quality ......................7.5 Build quality ..................... 6.0 Build quality ..................... 6.0 Build quality ......................7.0
The board is neatly laid out with Build quality is not up to the Earphones are not good quality Sturdy build. Metal stand is
all solid state caps. It is built mark. Form factor is mATX. Light but overall build-quality is of good quality. The remote
around an ATX form factor. weight, poor quality plastic. slightly above average. provided is of mediocre quality.
Value for money ........... 6.0 Value for money...............7.0 Value for money...............5.0 Value for money............... 6.5
Very good price point for its better At `5,000, it offers high end Shortcomings in the audio and Too overpriced for just a photo
than average performance. features for a low price. ergonomics departments. frame. More features required.
We sAY
7.0 6.5 5.5 6.5
We recommended this board This board is available for `5,000 A slight improvement on the No doubt sony DPF-X95 is an
only if you are looking to build a and is a very good option for audio and we would be able to expensive device and has a
performance-oriented gaming rig a HTPC/soHo under `35,000 justify its `6,999 price tag which niche market. The quality of
in a budget of `70,000 - `80,000 but not viable for a hardcore seems to be pretty steep for a the product is extremely good.
combining any of the Phenom II gaming rig. It supports DirectX phone with such a small display. If you have a huge house and
X6 processors. the onboard core 10.1. Board can be overclocked Battery life is good, and the have everything but still you feel
unlocking button gives an instant in Windows as well using the interface is intuitive. other than you are missing something, you
boost in performance which is bundled software from the CD. that, there is scope for improve- might have your answer in sony
a very good feature for gamers. Upon overclocking, temperatures ment. Better phones at cheaper DPF-X95. Also it makes a great
rAID 0,1,5,10 configurations are remain relatively stable. We rates are available from other gift for that special someone.
supported. great option if you managed to overclock the X6 manufacturers. While it performs flawlessly, we
want the Crosshair IV extreme, 1090T to 3.66 gHz. would have liked a larger screen
but are following short on some AlSo See: and support for other multimedia
cash. 1) Micromax Qube playback options especially when
Digit October 2010
2) Wyncomm Y50 you’re spending so much. There
AlSo See: AlSo See: Digit September 2010 are cheaper alternatives if you
1) eCS P55H-AK 1) eCS elitegroup A890GXM-A 3) Intex IN 4410
Digit April 2010 are looking for a similarly sized
Digit October 2010 Digit April 2010
digital photo frame.
Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com 79
nokia’s Meego in 2011
nokia Ceo has announced that its first Meego
device will be out next year
processors
AMD Phenom II X2 560 Black Edition AMD Phenom II X6 1075T
Price: `5,500 Price: `10,600
speCifiCaTions
Core frequency: 3.3 GHz; Socket: Core frequency: 3.0 GHz; Socket:
AM3/AM2+; L3 Cache: 6 MB AM3/AM2+; L3 Cache Size: 6MB
(Shared), Cores: 2 (shared), Cores: 6
Bazaar
TesT CenTre raTings (all scores out of 10)
Features ................................8.0 Features ................................ 7.0
Performance ......................... 7.0 Performance .........................8.0
mini
Build Quality ......................... 7.0 Build Quality ......................... 7.0
QuIck Value for money ................... 7.0 Value for money ...................8.0
INSIghtS
From INdEPth We say
tEStS at a price point of `5,500, gave good performance
it is an affordable proces- 7.0 in most tests. Crysis gave 7.5
sor for daily office and an average of 288 fps at
internet work. for those 1024x768 resolution with
who want to play around with over- low detailing. also, Cinebench r10
clocking without shelling out of your gave 13,600 for CpU rendering.
pockets, this is a good option. for great value for money offering at
a little more, an athlon ii X4 945 just `10,600 which is much cheaper
would make better sense. than intel’s equivalent offering.
anti virus
Escan 11 Internet Security Suite Norton Internet Security 2011
Price: `1,250 (1 licence) Price: `1,220 (1 licence)
speCifiCaTions
The Digit Test Centre receives and tests OS: Windows XP / Vista / 7;
OS: Windows XP / Vista / 7;
enough products on a monthly basis Processor : Pentium II 200 or Processor: 300MHz or faster; Size:
to fill hundreds of pages with reviews. higher; RAM: 256MB 114 MB
Each and every one of the products TesT CenTre raTings (all scores out of 10)
reviewed in Digit is tested thoroughly,
Features ................................ 7.0 Features ................................ 7.5
and put through the same rigour as Performance ......................... 6.5 Performance ......................... 7.0
you’re used to seeing in our comparison Ease of use............................ 6.5 Ease of use............................ 6.5
tests. Bazaar mini is our way of ensuring Value for money ................... 6.5 Value for money ................... 7.0
that you get the results of our extensive We say
testing in a more timely manner, and in a
This is a light internet features like safe web,
compact and easy-to-read format. Send security suite and has a 6.5 application scanning and 7.0
feedback and suggestions on this new very impressive dock- facebook wall scanner
section to testcenter@thinkdigit.com. based interface. at `1,250, it is are interesting and cover a wider
quite economical. escan remote spectrum. it is a good antivirus-
support facility allows a tech sup- internet security combo. at `1,220,
port representative to access your it is economically priced and you
system remotely and trouble shoot, get a host of unique features and a
an interesting feature. refined user interface.
concept phone goes retro opera 11 is out
Jot is a concept phone for samsung which consists opera 11 is currently available in the ‘alpha’ mode and
of an oLeD screen and a physical rotary dial features extensions for the first time Bazaar mini
pMp HDD case software portaBle HDD
Read to Me English Helper
Zebronics Zebmate20 2 GB Lian Li EX 30 Price: `360 (shared environment), Silicon Power Armor A50 250GB
Price: `1,350 Price: `12,000 `2,100 (single user) Price: `2,800
speCifiCaTions
2 GB non-expandable memory; Dimensions: 175 x 123 x 260 mm; 19 different voice over presets; Interface : USB 2.0; Capacity: 250
1-inch multicolor screen; FM/ HDD sizes supported: 3.5-inch Formats supported : DOC, DOCX, GB; Dimensions: 133.8 x 78.3 x
Voice Recording;Text Reader SATA; Interface: USB 2.0, eSATA TXT, RTF, PDF etc. 16.2 mm; Weight: 200 g
TesT CenTre raTings (all scores out of 10)
Features ................................ 6.5 Features ................................6.0 Features ................................ 7.0 Features ................................ 6.5
Performance ......................... 6.5 Performance .........................6.0 Performance ......................... 7.0 Performance ......................... 7.0
Build Quality .........................5.0 Build Quality ......................... 7.5 Ease of use............................ 7.0 Build Quality ......................... 7.0
Value for money ................... 7.0 Value for money ...................4.5 Value for money ................... 7.0 Value for money ................... 5.5
We say
Zebmate 20 has a eX 30 is not disappoint- ideal for classrooms. good overall perform-
poor build quality with
6.0 ing at all in terms of 6.0 We recommend this
7.0 ance – transfer rates 6.5
buttons requiring hard quality. The perform- product for educa- are 27.1 MB/s for write
press. it does produce ance is also decent. But tional purposes and has and 33.6 MB/s while
decent sound, if you use a good at `12,000, it’s hard to recom- tremendous potential to grow in reading. The aluminium body
pair of earphones. at `1,350, mend. We would rather recom- that area if developed correctly. gives it an elegant finish and a
this pMp is very economical for mend you to go for a chassis and User interface design is simple good build. The price of `2,800 is
casual listening. not meant for motherboard upgrade. go for it and easy to understand. Layout a bit expensive. should have been
music enthusiasts. only if you need external storage. is pretty good as well. around `2,100 to `2,400.
speakers
X-mini Max II X-Mini V1.1 Black Tech Com SSD 600 USB X-Mini Capsule
Price: `2,990 Price: `1,290 Price: `1,300 Price: `1,990
speCifiCaTions
Output : 5W; Frequency response: Output : 2W; Frequency response: Power Supply: USB port, Li-ion Loudspeaker output : 2.5W;
200 to 18kHz; Battery capacity: 120 Hz to 20 kHz Battery or DC 5V; Output power Dimension : 60 × 60 × 44 (closed
400mAH :6W; Direct USB / SD playback resonator); Battery : 400 mAh
TesT CenTre raTings (all scores out of 10)
Features ................................ 5.5 Features ................................6.0 Features ................................6.0 Features ................................6.0
Performance ......................... 5.5 Performance ......................... 6.5 Performance ......................... 5.5 Performance ......................... 6.5
Build Quality ......................... 6.5 Build Quality ......................... 6.5 Build Quality ......................... 5.5 Build Quality ......................... 6.5
Value for money ...................4.0 Value for money ................... 6.5 Value for money ...................4.0 Value for money ...................6.0
We say
no replacement for We recommend it for its entry level speaker with an ideal product for
desktop speakers. But 5.5 competitive pricing and 6.5 passable mid frequency 5.0 those who would like 6.0
ideal for carrying around decent sound quaity. response. Clarity is not to share the listening
and playing music from your also, the option to connect as one of its high points. But it can experience of their Mp3 music
Mp3 player or phone provided many X-Mini capsules via the be used for casual listening. at a player with a group. resonator
it has an audio jack. at `2,990, buddy Jack connection, makes price point of `1,300, we feel this section adds some depth to the
this is a bit expensive for a pair of it quite impressive. The price of product is priced on the higher music which is good. it is priced
speakers that could have been `1,290 is quite a decent price for side. The gaudy red colour does at `1990 which we felt is a bit
great performers. this portable speaker. not add to the aesthetic appeal. expensive.
Digit | november 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com 81
Happy Birthday win7! Million pound iphone
Microsoft celebrated Windows 7’s first birthday a UK based designer has made a 5 million
Bazaar mini on 22nd october 2010; claims it to be the fastest pound iphone studded with 7.4 carat pink
Quick insights from indepth tests selling os ever! diamond called as Diamond rose edition
earpHones MoBile pHones
Skullcandy icon 2 mEElectronics m6 mEElectronics m9 g-Fone 777
Price: `1,479 Price: `1,990 Price: `1,250 Price: `5,299
speCifiCaTions
Form factor: On ear headphones; Form factor: In-ear earbud; Form factor: In-ear earbud; Dual SIM; Display: 3.2-inch
Impedance: 32 ohms; Cord length: Impedance: 16 ohm; Cord length: Sensitivity: 95 dB; Impedance : 16 WQVGA; Camera: 3 MP;
1.2m 1.4m ohms; Cord length: 1.4m Integrated social networking
TesT CenTre raTings (all scores out of 10)
Features ................................ 6.5 Features ................................6.0 Features ................................6.0 Features ................................ 6.5
Performance .........................6.0 Performance ......................... 7.5 Performance .........................6.0 Performance .........................5.0
Build Quality ......................... 6.5 Build Quality .........................6.0 Build Quality .........................6.0 Build Quality .........................6.0
Value for money ................... 6.5 Value for money ................... 6.5 Value for money ................... 5.5 Value for money ................... 6.5
We say
ideal for teenagers, Mid range frequencies it sounded coloured g-fone 777 is ideal for
who are into gaming as
6.5 were quite good. amaz- 6.5 in some tracks, not
6.0 those who are looking at 6.0
the design makes them ingly tight bass. Crisp in a good way. Bass a budget touch-screen
stand out. not for the highs. This is one great was decent but higher phone with decent
discerning listener as the sound set of in-ears that we have tested frequencies leave a lot to be camera and who will indulge
quality is not upto the mark and in quite a while. its response desired. sound isolation is quite in a lot of social networking.
due to slanting design, ear pieces across the frequency spectrum good though. Comes with many Multi tasking is absent and touch
do slip. at `1,479, the iCon 2 is is flawless. recommended at the ear tips across sizes. The price of response is not that great either.
quite economically priced. price of `1,990. `1,250 is economical. Competitive pricing at `5,299.
MoBile pHones
movil mc100 Fly mV135 huawei u9130 huawei c5600
Price: `4,499 Price: `3,949 Price: `6,999 Price: `3,999
speCifiCaTions
Dual-SIM (GSM+GSM); Display: Dual-SIM(GSM+GSM); Display: SIM card: 3G GSM; Display: CDMA SIM card; Display: 2-inch
3-inch TFT, Resolution: 240 x 400, 2.4-inch TFT screen; Resolution: 2.4-inches TFT, Screen size: 320 x TFT; Screen resolution: 240 x
Colours: 262K; Battery: 1350mAh 240 x 320; Battery: 1050mAh 240; Battery: 1250 mAh 320; Battery: 800mAh
TesT CenTre raTings (all scores out of 10)
Features ................................ 7.5 Features ................................ 6.5 Features ................................ 7.0 Features ................................ 7.0
Performance ......................... 6.5 Performance ......................... 7.0 Performance ......................... 6.5 Performance .........................6.0
Build Quality .........................6.0 Build Quality ......................... 7.0 Build Quality ......................... 7.5 Build Quality ......................... 7.0
Value for money ................... 6.5 Value for money ................... 7.0 Value for money ................... 7.0 Value for money ................... 7.5
We say
Touch-screen smart- MV135 is a good The Huawei U9130 is The Huawei C5600 is a
phone targeted at the
6.5 dual-siM multimedia 7.0 a feature-rich busi-
7.0 feature-rich multimedia 7.0
multimedia segment, cellphone justifying the ness cellphone with 3g smart-phone with oMH
with the 3D-yamaha tag - “phone theatre”. data services including CDMa data-service ca-
power amplifier. at the price at a price of `3,949, it makes a browsing, email client service pability as its Usp. Lifestyle fea-
point of `4,499, the MC100 gives good buy with appealing display with push email etc. overall, it tures like sensex updates, sports
you true value with apps like quality and multimedia speaker makes a great buy at `6,999, if updates etc. add value. overall, it
mobile tracker. Camera quality is performance. However, video you could overlook the quality of is a good buy at `3,999.
not so good though. recording is not very good. the camera and loudspeaker.
82 Digit | november 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
Tips & Tricks
Adobe Photoshop: of the images taken. It is best
Blending Exposures to take the images after setting
One major issue every serious the camera on a tripod or in a
photographer has to consider perfectly stationary position.
with nature or landscape pho- For this example, we have taken
tography is varying exposure two photos of the scene with a
and the lightest and darkest shutter speed of 13 seconds and
areas of an image. 25 seconds, respectively.
But luckily with modern In the 13-second exposure
methods of HDR (high dynamic image, the sky and most of the
range) and the ability to take ocean looks good, while rocks
pictures with more than one are darkened because of the
exposure using modern dig- shadows. On the other hand,
ital cameras, it becomes very the image with the 25-second
easy to blend images taken with exposure presents a good
varying exposures together amount of detail in the dark
into one single image with the Adobe Photoshop Workshop: Blending Exposures............................81 foreground colours of the rocks
right contrast. This also allows that make the sky and water
the image to more accurately Multi Camera Workflow using Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 .................83 extremely bright and practi-
portray the wide range of inten- cally invisible.
sity levels found in real scenes,
3ds Max ...............................................................................................................86
may it be with bright sunlight Getting started in
or faint sunlight. Another way Photoshop
With the two images in hand,
using a high end digital different regions are exposed to let us move on to Photoshop
camera. Let us look into varying intensities of sunlight. to blend in both the images to
both these approaches in First we have to obtain different get our final image. Open both
greater detail. images of the same scene, so the images in Photoshop and
that each part of the scene has copy one of the images into the
a good exposure in at least one file containing the other image.
Before: The two images
with different exposures
of doing the same would be by Different Exposures
applying different settings for To illustrate this method we
processing the RAW file taken shall consider a scene where
25 second exposure at f/16 and 100 ISO
After – The final image which is a result of blending in the two
images 13 second exposure at f/16 and 100 ISO
| www.thinkdigit.com | vol 10: 81 Digit | November 2010
Tips & Tricks
mask will cover up the the Foreground Colour
bad regions and will let to Black and from the
the regions with better Brushes options bar
exposure in the layer on top set the Opacity
below blend into the of the Brush to 50%.
final image. Select a soft edged
Now if there are brush or just change
three or more images the hardness of a solid
with varying exposure round brush to zero.
instead of just two like Choose a Brush size
we have taken in this large enough to be able
Get both the images as different layers illustration, based on to paint over the entire Click the Add Vector Mask button with
into the same file the type of the images bottom part of the the Layer selected
you are blending and the image. In this case, we
You can do this by right- complexity of the edges in each do this since the view of
clicking the image layer and of them you will be using the the rocks where there
duplicating it into the other file same process on each of them is good detail is only
or by dragging and dropping adding a mask to each of the from the lighter image.
the image into the other file. layers on top. The mask makes Now select the Layer
Make sure both images are in sure that only the good parts Mask and paint over it
different layers and none of from every layer are visible. using this brush.
them is a background image. To add a mask to a layer, first Keep repeating the
You can convert a background make sure the layer is selected brush strokes multiple
to a layer by double clicking on from the Layers Panel. Then times to show more
it from the Layers Panel and click the Add Vector Mask colour tones from the
clicking OK. button at the bottom of the layer below. Reduce the Select the layer and paint using the brush
brush size if needed
and work on other parts of the [Alt]+Click on the Create
layer as required. In this case, New Adjustment Layer Icon,
the entire bottom of the mask i.e. click on it keeping the Alt
is painted black and the other key on the keyboard pressed
regions where the rocks meet and then choose to add a Curves
the water should be painted a Adjustment Layer. Make sure
little more carefully. If you need you have checked the Create
Double click on the background to convert it to a normal layer to reverse any of the changes on a Clipping Mask checkbox
the mask, just change the brush and then click OK. Make sure
We shall start by adding the Layers Panel or add a Layer colour to white and paint over to adjust the curves as shown
layer with the darker exposure Mask from the Layers Menu. A the region of the mask you want in the image. Ticking the Clip-
to the image with the lighter mask which is displayed by a to change or revert back. ping Mask makes sure that
exposure, so that the darker white thumbnail appears next to
one is on top of the lighter one. the layer thumbnail. The white Add an
Make sure that both the layers colour of the mask indicates that Adjustment
are perfectly aligned by moving the mask is opaque. Painting a Layer
the layer after clicking ‘V’ to get region of this mask black makes In this particular
the move tool and then move it transparent depending on the illustration we low-
the layer holding the [Shift] amount of black and the layer ered the opacity of
key to perfectly position the below becomes visible through the brush even
layer in the image window. the mask. The amount of grey on further to 20% and
it indicates how transparent or painted over the
Adding a Layer Mask opaque the mask is. So the mask region of the hill
to the top Layer transparency changes based on so that it blends
The next step is the most the colour range between white properly with
important step in this process. and black painted onto the mask the image below.
We shall add a layer mask Now we will try
on the top layer to mask the Paint the Layer Mask to bring out even
regions that do not have a Now select the Brush Tool from greater contrast by
good exposure and show only the tools menu on the left or hit adding an adjust-
the good parts of the layer. The the B key on your keyboard. Set ment layer on top. Add a new Curves Layer on top of the layer
Digit | November 2010 | vol 10: 82 | www.thinkdigit.com
Tips & Tricks
to blend in the two images. Start with stacking the clips
from all cameras onto separate
Multi Camera Work- tracks of a new instance of a
flow using Adobe sequence. You then need to syn-
Premiere Pro chronise these clips by marking
One crucial factor for every the sync point with numbered
videographer and video editor clip markers, or simply reassign
is to get the right camera angle the sync point to a specific time-
Select Curves from New Adjustment Layer in the Layers Menu in a video sequence with the code for each camera.
right texture, light conditions Create a multi-camera
Dual processing of and contrast. While shooting target sequence by nesting
the Raw image professional videos, films the sequences of syn-
There is another way to do the and television programs; this chronised clips into new
exact same thing as illustrated is achieved by using a setup sequences. Record the multi-
above. If you have a high-end of multiple cameras (combi- camera edits by viewing the
digital SLR camera, you can nation of video or/and still) footage of all four cameras
make sure you take only a Raw which record simultaneously. simultaneously on all four
file of a picture and not process The recorded media is then cameras along with the
it for a final image. You only imported to a digital editing option to switch between
need a single exposure and environment. Adobe Premiere cameras to choose footage
make sure the exposure is from Pro is a professional video for the final sequence. In the
an unprocessed Raw file. You editing software covering all end of the workflow, you will
can basically create the same aspects of professional video need to adjust and refine the
effects as above using this editing, starting from cap- edits already made. The final
process. This is not possible turing the video, processing sequence can be re-recorded
though, if the still contains and final packaging. from one of the other cam-
You can make minor moving objects or if the picture You can start by taping an eras. The sequence can be
adjustments manually was not taken while the camera event with four video cameras edited using standard tools
the Curves Adjustment Layer was perfectly stationary. The (the maximum limit of the Pre- and techniques for editing,
affects only the layer directly primary method here is to miere Pro CS3, the version we applying effects, or multi
below it. bias the histogram to the right are using for this workshop). track composition.
as much as possible without For more footage you can nest
Making the Final clipping the bright spots with clips and sequences as shown Assembling
Changes respect to the exposure. Ensure later. Ensure good lighting con- multicamera footage
Now to verify the exact regions that you have best exposure for ditions to get a decent clip to Open Adobe Premiere Pro and
of each of the layer that are the darker areas. edit. Set acoustics according to import the recorded clips into
visible or the percentage of the Now process the first edi- position of the subjects of the a new project. Open a clip by
image that has been blended tion of the image using Adobe video, for each camera. The double-clicking on its instance
in to obtain the final outcome, Camera Raw software for a cameras must be placed such in the Project panel. Load the
click on the individual layers particular region of the image. that all subjects are covered audio waveform in the source
Eye icon and note which parts Select the blue Options for Work in the footage. Do not record monitor by toggling the
of the layers are made visible flow button located below the over retakes, but keep multiple “Toggle Video and Audio” (
due to the layer mask on the preview button and open this copies till the editing stage and ) button on the source monitor
top layer. The compound of file in Adobe Photoshop as a import these clips into a new till it is set as “Take Audio” (
both the layers after masking smart object. In Photoshop, Adobe Premiere Pro project. ). Use the waveform to sync
and adjusting the curves create a new smart object by Adobe Premiere Pro allows the sound clip to the video and
gives rise to the final image. selecting the New Smart Object you to sync source footage from then set the Toggle Video and
You can also click the Layer option under Layers > Smart multiple cameras. You can Audio button back to Video
Mask while holding down Objects. Duplicate the smart edit the footage by switching and Audio. Now right-click
the [Shift] key to tempo- object Layer. Double-clicking between sources during play- on the current time indicator
rarily disable it and view it will let the duplicate smart back. Premiere Pro has a tool and mark the clip using a
the original layer. [Shift] + object get affected by the Raw named multi-camera monitor numbered clip marker from
click it again to enable it again. dialogue box. Make adjust- that is used for this editing, more the Clip menu. Repeat this for
Notice since the mask has soft ments as needed. You can use like simulating live camera each footage. Now all you need
edges, we don’t have to specifi- exposure, light fill and bright- switching. After capturing the to do is drag and drop the clips
cally work on lines where the ness by making the appropriate footage in Adobe Premiere Pro, from the project panel into an
darker regions intersect the changes in the slider. Use the you can implement a simple independent video track in the
lighter regions. same process of masking above workflow to edit the footage. timeline.
| www.thinkdigit.com | vol 10: 83 Digit | November 2010
Tips & Tricks
Displaying the Multi edge or corner. In multi camera attempting to synchronise according to the out points of
Camera Monitor mode, you can use a few handy them. Sync points can be the clips.
Multi-camera monitor plays keyboard shortcuts such as marked by setting similarly • Time code synchronizes by
footage of each camera and Spacebar to pause / resume numbered markers for each a specified timecode. To make
a preview of the final edited the preview, [J] to run the clip or setting the time code this less cumbersome, video
sequence. After recording the preview backwards, [K] to stop manually for the clip, as was editing professionals choose to
final sequence, camera pre- the preview, and L to run the done in the assembly of the use only minutes, seconds and
view makes it active and record preview forward. clips. Avoid overwriting adja- frames to synchronize the clips.
footage from that camera. In cent clips if you have multiple This can be done by selecting
playback mode, the active Adding clips for clips on the same track. the ignore hours option.
camera is indicated by a yellow multi-camera editing Select the clips to be syn- • Numbered clip marker
border and red while recording. You can use any type of media chronised and target a track by synchronizes by the assigned
This monitor includes the con- in multi-camera editing ses- clicking its track header to align markers placed on the clip.
trols for standard playback and sion, including footage from other clips to it. If synchronisa-
transport. The sequence in the various cameras or still images. tion is by the in-point, the begin- Creating multi
preview display can be played The media can be assembled ning of each clip aligns with the camera target /
using the play around button into sequences of up to four in-point of the target track. If the nested sequence
( ) including any pre- or post- videos and four audio tracks in-point falls before the point Create a new sequence from the
file menu and drag the sequence
with the multi-camera clips
into one of the video tracks
on the new sequence. This
is nesting of a sequence.
Sequences can be nested
within sequences to innumer-
able depths in order to create
diverse groups and structure.
Multi-camera can be enabled
for selected clips by enabling
it in the clip menu. Nested
sequences appear as single clip
even though the source may
contain multiple tracks. Opera-
tions such as moving, trimming
and applying effects to a nested
sequence is similar to any
other clip. Changes in source
sequence are automatically
applied to the nest. Nesting
enables a video editor to repeat
complex sequences without
the necessity of reworking the
Multi-Camera Monitor workspace entire set of effects and opera-
tions. Playing same sequence
roll frames. and you can add more than one zero, the clip will be trimmed with different effect at each
To display the Multi- clip to a track if required. Upon accordingly during synchroni- playback. Reduce the estate
Camera Monitor, select the assembly of clips, synchronise zation. If a track of the linked used on the editing menu and
multi-camera target sequence them and create the target video/audio pair is unselected, keeps the workspace primp
in the timeline panel and then sequence by firstly creating a the pair becomes out of sync, and neat, and hence reducing
choose the multi-camera mon- new sequence and placing clips and out-of-sync indicators will any possibility of losing sync
itor from the window menu. from each camera on a separate appear on the clips. during editing.
Disable the show preview mon- video (and audio) track. Only Choose Synchronize from Apply new transition to
itor from Multi-Camera mon- one clip per track can be syn- the Clip menu and select each clip in the nest, which
itor panel menu to display only chronised. among: in case of clips can be done
camera previews (and hide the • Clip Start synchronizes for only one transition. A
recorded sequence preview). Synchronising clips clips according to the in points sequence, however, cannot be
The multi-camera monitor Mark the sync points for of the clips. nested within itself and nesting
can be resized by dragging any each camera’s footage before • Clip End synchronizes clips takes up more processing time
Digit | November 2010 | vol 10: 84 | www.thinkdigit.com
Tips & Tricks
due to the possibility of long
references. Nested sequence
changes on any change made
to the contents of the nest, how-
ever the duration and timecode
is not affected. Empty spaces
at the beginning (not end) of a
source sequence determines
the start point of the nested
sequence. Editing a nested
sequence does not require re-
rendering of the clips. Source
of nested sequences can be
opened by double-clicking on
the nested sequence.
Recording multi-
camera edits
Open the multi camera monitor Before clicking on the Record, the selected clip has Yellow Border
for a multi-cam sequence and
click the button for record on/off
( ). To enable recording during
playback, click preview of the
camera you want to record on
the multi-camera monitor.
Selecting Audio follows Video in
the multi-camera panel menu,
enables recording audio from the
selected camera. Mix the desired
tracks to one track on the source
sequence, and select the resulting
audio to record audio from the
selected camera to the audio track
(Audio follows video option must
be disabled in this case).
The playback button plays
video from all the cameras,
and the footage from active
camera is recorded in the target
sequence of multi-camera. You After clicking on the Record, the selected clip has Red Border
can switch between cameras by
selecting the particular preview cator must be positioned with the new footage. In some and drag the clip to the time-
or hitting the corresponding before the edit requiring cases you may need to swap line. You can also use the insert
keyboard number key (for adjustment. Run the multi- between different views of ( ) or overlay ( ) buttons in
example, 1 for camera 1). camera monitor preview, a scene taken from different the source monitor for the same
The stop or the record button and change the active camera cameras, such clips can be purpose.
releases the recording mode. by clicking on the desired overlayed or inserted in the
Playback controls can be used camera, whence the yellow multi camera sequence. This Adding transitions
for preview after the recording selection turns red, indicating can be done by double clicking You would like to add some
stops. This does not overwrite a record enabled status. The on the target sequence in the transitions like colour correc-
the recorded sequence. Effects editing can be stopped by hit- timeline which opens it in the tion, adding titles and green
recorded in a target sequence ting the stop playback button. source monitor which displays screen overlays to your clips.
are not displayed in the multi- footage previews of original Video and audio transitions can
camera monitor preview. For Adjusting / refining clips. Select the display for be added by using the shortcuts
viewing with effects, play the multi camera edits the footage to be added to the to add the default transition for
track in the program monitor. You can replace clips with other sequence (on select, the display both audio and video. Roll the
To re-record multi-camera footages by simply replacing border is in yellow) and choose current time indicator on the
edits, the current time indi- the clip on the timeline panel the source you want to modify timeline to the beginning and
| www.thinkdigit.com | vol 10: 85 Digit | November 2010
Tips & Tricks
Applying Transitions. A:List of effects (Camera Blur Selected); B:Effect Controls(Blur set to 10); C:Preview shows blur.
press Page Down which takes textures paths are pointing to,
you to the next edit point. and ensuring it’s the correct
Default video transition can path to the file on your system
be simply added by pressing or network server. Normally
[Ctrl]+[D], and the default though, the feature most
audio transition by pressing people overlook but which is
[Ctrl]+Shift+[D]. You can still a very powerful feature is
add other effects and transi- the asset tracking system and
tions from the Effect controls its capability to allot multiple
panel which has several Presets custom dependencies into the
and Audio and Video effects same file. This lets you store
and Transitions. any file present within the
3ds Max scene from any loca-
3ds Max tion very quickly. This could
Tracking Assets be anything from a simple
3ds Max has an inbuilt asset project status note, to complex
management system that is environment location photos, Select Asset Tracking from the Manage menu
extremely helpful in keeping or concept art in general. What
track of where your maps and this helps you with, is the fact press the Shift + [T] through the menu. Now you
that when the same shortcut, or click on the Jewel can assign files within the
3ds Max file is dis- Icon on the left top, ‘File’ in current 3ds Max scene file for
tributed or trans- older versions, then under future reference.
ferred between art- the Manage menu select Asset After assigning a depend-
ists and designers, Tracking. ency, you can simply right-
you can make sure 2) After clicking on Asset click the file, and then you
that the necessary Tracking, a floating window can either ‘View Image File’ or
information needed should appear with the dif- select ‘Reveal in Explorer’. By
to finish the project ferent Asset Tracking options. following this simple process,
is always tagged Now simply right-click to open you can speed up your work-
and marked in the a quadruple options menu flow several fold. It helps sig-
specific max file. with four different lists of nificantly when you constantly
1) To access this options. Select ‘Assign Custom need to access the respective
Autodesk 3ds Max feature and toolset dependencies’ by navigating files.
Digit | November 2010 | vol 10: 86 | www.thinkdigit.com
Tips & Tricks
materials and self-illuminated for Mental Ray. The best and
materials are light emitting for usually the quickest way for
rendering engines like Mental obtaining effective results are
Ray & Vray. Using these par- by using the Raytrace shadows.
ticular materials on an object In case you are working with
like a box will have the same the ‘light tracer’ and use ‘area
effect as that of a photometric shadows’ the result should ide-
area light or a Vray light. ally be the same as that of Men-
2) Always make sure you are talRay with Raytrace shadows.
using soft shadows in most
common cases before ren- Mesh and Polygons
dering. Hard shadows have a 1) It is always good to use an
tendency of making the object ‘editable poly’ rather than a
and the final image appear Mesh. An Editable Poly is
fake. You can change the set- optimized and required for any
tings on the Mr Omni / Spot advanced modelling. Using an
scale by changing the size of the editable poly has a lesser scope
light in the area light param- of you committing errors than
eters. For rendering using working with an editable mesh
Select Custom Dependencies from the Quad Menu Mental Ray you will have to and an editable poly has way
make use of RAYTRACED more options than you would
Decreasing render final output. shadows. For Vray just enable get with an editable mesh. Even
time 2) Decreasing the if you are working on
One of the most common things quality of the shadow an object with an edit-
you do when building complex will speed up the able mesh it is very
poly models is keep rendering render time signifi- easy to convert it into
the image to keep testing for the cantly. an editable poly object.
final outcome. It is very impor- 3) Decreasing the 2) Instead of smoothing
tant to lower the time it takes number of polygons in a box with mesh
for the test render to speed up the object also speeds smooth, you can make
the testing process and the gen- up your render time. use of “extended primi-
eral workflow. You can try and use tives” or a “chamfer
1) We first need to reduce the the optimize modifier box”, the result of
size of the image that needs to if you are not using which will be the
be rendered. It is recommended any mesh modifier on same. But note that the
you use a 150x110 pixel size the objects. chamfer box has lesser
output. Although this may 4) You can also reduce polygons.
not let you see the details of the the photon number 3) Instead of using
object, it is good to test lighting and the settings for mesh smooth you can
conditions and shadows in the “sample” in the render Render Preferences also simply use the
engine built in nurms feature
options. ‘area shadow’ in the Omni / for the editable poly. Just bind a
5) Make sure Spot settings and change the hot key to the “NURMS Toggle -
you haven’t size of the light. But note that Poly” option and you should be
used excessive in general, soft shadows take
lights where more time to render. To have
they are not nec- perfect shadows it is necessary
essary. Higher to create all objects with real
the number dimensions.
of lights, the 3) To get the best highlights and
slower the effects on highlights Omni light
process of ren- or MR Omni is the most pre-
dering is. ferred light.
4) Make sure to never use any
Light and area shadows while rendering
Shadows with Mental Ray since area
1) Generally shadows are firstly very slow
Render Setup
architectural and also they are not optimized Mesh vs. Poly
| www.thinkdigit.com | vol 10: 87 Digit | November 2010
Tips & Tricks
folder within the windows
folder. Delete this file and
restart 3ds max. Now under
‘Customize’ select load custom
UI scheme.
Other tips and tricks
1) To get rid of all the textures
you have used and applied in
your scene without having to go
to the map editor and deleting
each one of them one by one,
simply go to the material editor
and select ‘Reset material
editor slots’ under the ‘Utili-
ties’ menu. Now to get rid of all
the textures in the scene after
resetting the material editor
just select everything in your
scene and apply the blank mat
3ds Max interface to the selection.
2) Normally while moving
able to switch between low and 3ds Max. To fix this problem shapes without having too high across or rotating a specific
high poly meshes by pressing just convert your object to an a number of vertices. view port if your model turns
this one key without having editable poly and then convert into a wireframe it can be very
to use the mesh smooth modi- it back into an editable mesh. Getting back lost annoying. To get rid of this
fier. Similarly you can also set Convert it to an editable poly interface windows, problem, simply press the ‘o’
a hotkey for the Display Floater again and save the file. Now just toolbars or panels key on your keyboard and that
option and use it for having restart 3ds max and open the One of the biggest problems should do the trick.
quicker access to the control of saved file. Now merge the same beginners face is the change in 3) If you want to save a .mov file
the visibility and the proper- object in a new file to get back the existing max
ties of the elements present in the vertices. user interface.
your scene. You can also use the 5) If you are accustomed to There are many
Light Lister Tool which will be using splines to create new reasons because
very handy when there are a shapes, make sure you use of which your
number of lights in your scene. a small number of vertices. interface might
4) Sometimes while model- Once you convert these vertices have changes
ling an object using Max, all into smooth, bezier or bezier- or panels might
of your created vertices might corners you will be able to h ave b e e n Alpha Channel
disappear. This is a bug with create very organic and round removed from
your workspace. To revert back or a .tiff file with a simple blank
to your original settings, background, from the .mov set-
1)Check if you switched to tings select the animation codec
‘expert mode’ by accident. Try which comes with millions+
pressing Cntrl + X to switch colors. The + in this notation
between expert and normal implies that an alpha channel
modes will also be present with it.
2)You can simply reset the Similarly with tiffs, you will
workspace to default settings have to save it as a 32 bit tiff
by going to the ‘Customize and you will have the option to
User Interface’ menu under the save alphas as well. In case you
‘Customize’ tab. There go to the have used any transparent
Toolbars tab and hit reset. materials in your model note
3)You can also reset the inter- that they will also be included in
face by changing the settings these alpha channels but some-
file. Find the 3dsmax.ini file in times you might come across
your max folder which should problems with a few mental ray
Transparent Materials be present in your autodesk materials.
Digit | November 2010 | vol 10: 88 | www.thinkdigit.com
HTC doubles profit Internet Explorer falls!
Taiwanese phonemaker HTC’s earnings report shows their Statcounter revealed that last month, the
profits have doubled thanks to Android sales number of people using IE fell below 50% DIY
Nash David
nash.david@thinkdigit.com
W
hen we’ve
bought our-
selves a
brand new
computer, we tend to take
good care of it, ensuring tem-
peratures don’t rise beyond the
recommended level. Sooner or
later we tend to take our com-
puting marvel for granted, suck
as much as we can from it, till
it finally comes to a standstill
– refusing to budge this time!
All of this could be avoided
with corrective and preventive
measures taken before hand.
For one, most people find it
inconvenient to repeatedly go
to the BIOS of their system to
check the processor and cabinet Each LED glows as the temperature increases
PC temperature monitor
normal operational tempera-
ture, yellow indicating the
warming up phase and red
approaching breakdown point.
This month, we look at an electronic circuit that would help you Assembly
monitor your PC’s temperature. All you need to do is build this Refer to the circuit diagram.
circuit and place it near your processor. Depending on the tempera- Begin with temperature
sensor LM35DZ. If you look at
ture, the LED array would light up indicating a rising temperature the bottom side with the pins
facing you and the flat side
temperature. Again, installing as a waste of system resources. them of critical milestones. facing up, then the terminals
a software purely for diagnos- Popularly, users would rather
tics is unfortunately perceived have the system informing What to expect What you will need
The primary objective of this Capacitors
C1 - 1uF / 25V Electrolytic
Battery Variable circuit is to inform you of the
C2 – 10uF / 25V Electrolytic
resistor temperature of its vicinity, so Resistors
that you can take precautionary R1 – 2.2k
R2, R5, R7 – 1k variable resistor
Connecting measures. IC LM35DZ is a
R3 – 1k
wire precision Celsius temperature R4 – 1.5k
Battery snap
LEDs sensor. It converts ambient R6 – 470 ohms
R8 – 100 ohms
temperature into an equiva-
Diodes
ICs Capacitors lent analogue voltage. This D1-D10 – LEDs
Resistors analogue signal is translated ICs
U1 – LM35DZ Precision Cen-
Breadboard into an equivalent bar graph
tigrade Temperature sensor
by the bar/dot graph driver U2 – LM3914 Bar/Dot
IC LM3914. Ten LEDs form graph driver IC
Miscellanous
Wire cutter the bar graph. We recommend
Breadboard, connecting
using three colours – green, wire, wire cutter/stripper,
yellow and red to depict the 9V battery, battery snap
Make sure you have all the components before you begin building bar graph. Green indicating
Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com 91
HTML5 still not ready We all scream for ice-cream!
W3C asked developers to hold off all Google’s Android version names have leaked. After the current
the hype since HTML5 wont kill off FroYo, the next versions will be called Gingerbread, Honeycomb
Toolbox Flash anytime soon and then Ice-cream
from left to right are: +Vs, Vout tive of battery.
and GND. The three potentiometers
Begin by placing the sensor are connected in three different
on the breadboard as shown ways. R2, connected after R1,
in the figure. Next place IC uses only two terminals (the
LM3914. As you can see from third terminal is left open).
the circuit diagram, you need to Similarly, R7 also uses only two
connect an array of 10 LEDs to terminals, but the second and
the IC, one to each pin. For this, third terminal are connected
draw wires from pin nos. 1 and together. R5 uses all the three
10 to 18, as shown in the image. terminals as shown in the cir-
The anodes (longer terminal) cuit diagram.
of the LEDs are all connected Please ensure that the
together via resistor R8 to posi- negative terminals of the
Next connect LM 3914 and wires to connect the LEDs
electrolytic capacitors are Now disconnect the bat-
connected to the negative tery, remove both ICs from the
terminal of battery. Reversing breadboard and vary R2 such
the orientation of the capaci- that the resistance across R1
Start by inserting LM35DZ into the breadboard tors can cause malfunction. and R2 should be three times
This circuit has two modes the value of R3. For example, if
of operation – bar mode and you measure R3 and instead of
dot mode. In the bar mode, the 1k, it measures 990 ohms, then
LEDs light up resembling a you need to adjust R2 so that
bar graph. Similarly, in the R1 (approx 2.2k) and R2’s value
dot mode, the corresponding would add up to 2.99K.
LED lights up, referring to the Reconnect the ICs in the
specified temperature. circuit, switch the power on,
Before you can operate the and the LED should light up as
circuit, you need to calibrate it shown in the figure.
so that it operates in a linear
Draw wires from the pins of LM3914 to connect the LEDs way. Make all the connections,
connect the battery and switch
Disclaimer
the circuit on. Keep it on for a Although we’ve taken steps to
couple of minutes, so that the ensure that the circuit presented
circuit stabilises. Measure the here is functional, several
factors are beyond our control.
voltage at pin 7 of IC2. For this In order to avoid malfunction
set your multimeter to DCV. and to avoid dead ends, we
Keep the black probe connected recommend assembling the
circuit on a breadboard before
to the negative terminal of the finally soldering on a circuit
battery and the red probe con- board. Procure components as
nected to pin 7 of IC2. Vary per the list. The project presented
here is purely for educational/
resistor R7 so that the voltage at entertainment purposes only.
pin 6 and 7 stabilises at around We take no responsibility for
Now connect the LEDs in series, beginning with green followed 3.345V. Similarly, adjust R5 so any loss arising either directly
by yellow and finally red or indirectly as a result of use or
that the voltage at pin 4 stabi- implementation of this project.
lises at 2.545V.
92 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
Paid Android Market Glass-free 3D TVs coming
Google has enabled paid apps in the Market for Android Toshiba plans to launch 3D TVs later this year that
devices in India in mid-October don’t require those shoddy glasses Q&A
Messed up drives, flooded
mailboxes and quickly deflating
Digit QnA helps you undo all these, and more..
Direct3D device errors It’s important to see if the battery still System ready for GeForce
while playing games ends up powering the laptop as long as it GTS450
My computer has Windows XP SP3 normally does. If it does, then there isn’t Can I install NVIDIA’s GeForce GTS450
installed on it with 1GB of RAM. I much to worry about. It might be just a graphics card on my ASUS M2N68-AM
installed a game called ‘Quadro Racing’ problem with the readings. If the battery PLUS motherboard?
from your August 2010 DVD. However, isn’t lasting long enough, then the laptop My system configuration is:
after installing it, when I tried to run it, it might have a failing battery. If that is the AMD Athlon II X2 240 Processor 2.80
shows the following error and then termi- case, you’ll have to take it to the service GHz. 2 GB RAM, 320 GB HDD, 450 W
nates - ‘Could not create Direct3DDevice9! centre and ask them to help you get a power supply and graphics card is MSI
(error: D3ERR_INVALIDCALL)’ new one. There’s also a chance of the 9400 GT 1 GB.
Nisarg Shah charger being faulty. Bhva Tiwari
Chaos, thanks to virus Yes, you can install NVIDIA GTS450
I came across this virus two days ago and on your system.
it has been infecting every executable file
on my computer. Currently, I am using Dummy Windows instal-
Windows 7 along with Microsoft Security lation
Essentials. I feel it isn’t very good, but I My PC’s configuration is as follows:
have no other options. I scanned my PC Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 2.93 GHz,
Direct3D errors showing up while playing with it and it showed nearly 10 to 20 files 4 GB Kingston RAM, 500 GB Seagate
games in the temporary folder affected with virus hard drive, Biostar GeForce 9400 GT 1
names such as: GB Graphics Card, ASUS DVD-RW, 450
The error you are seeing either could “ Virus:Win32/Parite.B” W SMPS, Samsung SyncMaster B2030
be due to drivers, or simply because your According to Microsoft Security (20-inch), Windows XP Professional SP3
card does not support the game. We Essentials, all the viruses have been When I was installing Windows on my
recommend you to download the latest removed from my system. But when I computer, it started installing the OS in
drivers for your graphics card from the scanned my system again, selecting the the D: drive, so I manually switched it off.
manufacturer’s web site. If that doesn’t whole hard disk as the option, I saw the Finally, I successfully installed Windows on
work, you’ll need to replace your graph- same virus present everywhere in my C the C: drive. When I restarted my PC, the
ics card. partition. boot menu showed two operating systems.
Installation of games and even flash The first instance of Windows worked
Battery drops to 42 per games are corrupted. The virus - “ properly on booting, but the second one
cent in a second Virus:Win32/Parite.B” has attached itself was the dummy one created by forcibly
Last year, I bought a Compaq Presario to the files, so I have removed them. But powering off my PC during installation. I
laptop (model NO. CQ40 301TU) on rescanning, it was there again. The only once again formatted my C: drive, but the
It came with 1GB RAM, 160 GB hard disk files with viruses are music and video files. problem remains. How can I directly boot
and an Intel Celeron dual-core processor. Himanshu Prakash Pal to the first OS without seeing the boot
Last month, I formatted my system and menu ?
installed Windows Vista Home. Since then, It’s difficult to give a foolproof Whenever I check my Computer
I’ve got a problem with my system. As solution to your problem. If Microsoft System properties, it shows 3 GB of RAM.
soon as I unplug the power, my battery Security Essentials isn’t removing the In the system BIOS menu, it shows 4
level instantly comes down to 42 per cent virus from your PC, then you need to GB. Why is it so? What is the best resolu-
from 100 per cent. It’s been happening for find an alternative. Try a different anti- tion to run games such as Splinter Cell:
some time now. virus or security suite software such as Conviction and Assassin’s Creed II to run
Pankaj Bharvey Norton Internet Security, ESET NOD32 smooth?
Ujjain or Kaspersky anti-virus. Abhigyan
Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com 93
Google Street Spy
Turbocores appear Google’s Street View cars grabbed WiFi data as
HP’s new desktops powered AMD’s Turbocores appear; it drove along; data included emails, URLs and
Toolbox allows some of the cores to overclock by 300 to 500 MHz passwords.
You should first delete any tempo- 1024x768. For smooth frame rates, you’ll can I get the Linux OS? Do I need to get a
rary folders that might have been created also need to reduce the image quality licensed copy of Linux OS? Which is better
for the failed Windows installation. The settings to medium or low. OS - Windows XP Pro or Linux? Does
entries for the second installation can Linux have better games than Windows
What is overclocking? XP?
I recently purchased a Dell Inspiron 580s From where can I get your “Fastrack
desktop. I don’t understand the meaning To Ethical Hacking” on the net?
of TurboBoost. Can you explain what it Prathamesh Parab
means, and what is overclocking? Can you
also tell me how to overclock my proces- Linux is a free and open-source oper-
sor? I have a game Crysis Warhead, but ating system, which quite some people
when I play the game, it runs very slow. these days are using as an alternative to
Does it has something to do with the oper- Windows.
ating system. Can you suggest a solution Linux will run smoothly on your PC.
for it? Linux is available in the form of different
My system configuration: distributions depending on what your
Intel Core i5 processor needs are. Ubuntu is a popular Linux
4 GB DDR3 RAM distribution for new comers.
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium It’s freely available for download
NVIDIA GeForce G310 graphics card from www.ubuntu.com. Since Linux is
32-bit Windows OS cannot utilise RAM Pratik free, you do not need a license to run it
more than 3.25 GB on your PC.
TurboBoost is a kind of auto-over- It’s hard to say which of the two
be removed from the boot loader. First, clock feature found on Intel’s new line operating systems is better. If you like
go to the Control Panel > System. of processors. It automatically sets the playing games and need to run software
Then, go to Advanced > Startup and processor to run faster. Overclocking is that runs on Windows, then it’s better
Recovery. Here, you can edit the entries forcing the processor to run faster than that you continue using Windows.
and also set the timeout value for the its stock speed. This is done by increas- Windows has many more games than
bootloader. ing the FSB speed and processor multi- Linux. You can buy the FastTrack to
Your system can only use approxi- plier from the BIOS. It’s very risky and Ethical Hacking from www.thinkdigit.
mate 3 to 3.25GB of memory if you use a you can damage your hardware trying com/cart.php.
32-bit operating system. to do it.
With your current graphics card, You haven’t mentioned what graphics PC audio ports
you might have to reduce the game card came with your PC. The GeForce I have a 2-year old PC with the following
resolutions right down to 1280x720 or G310 is a very entry-level graphics card, configuration:
which isn’t ideal for games such as Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E7400
Crysis Warhead. You’ll need to upgrade 2.8 GHz
to a faster graphics card such as a Motherboard: Intel DG43NB
GeForce GTX460.
Questions on
Linux
My system configura-
tion is
MS Windows XP
Professional SP2,
Intel Core 2 Duo CPU
E4600 @ 2.40 GHz,
2 GB X 2 Kingston RAM,
ZOTAC GeForce 9400GT
I would like to know
some things about Linux
Firstly, will I be able to
Removing and making changes to the run Linux OS smoothly
bootloader entries on Windows on my PC? From where Buying previous Digit and Fasttrack issues on Thinkdigit.com
94 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
Samsung-Symbian LG cancels tablet
Samsung has announced that it will stop making Symbian LG drops plans of making Android 2.2 tablets, instead
phones post 2010 focuses on 3.0 devices Q&A
DVD Writer: Asus Graphics card: Palit GeForce 6200TC
Graphics Card: Intel X4500 Storage: 80 GB hard disk.
Sound Card: Realtek HD Audio I wanted to know the actual amount
RAM: 2 GB 666 MHz DDR2 of memory on my graphics card. Can
Cabinet: Zebronics Antibiotic you suggest some games which I
I want to overclock the processor but I can play with this configuration? Is
don’t know how. Also, my 3.5 mm jacks in there any DDR2 RAM sticks with 3 GB
the front of my PC are not working. memory on it. If not, then which RAM
Zavid Nikita Mahbub would be the best and cheapest with
2 GB DDR2?
Overclocking the processor is a Sonu Kumar
somewhat risky thing to do. You can end
up damaging the processor and board Using software such as GPU-z
in the process. You can overclock the will tell you the exact amount of
system by carefully increasing the CPU memory on the card. The GeForce
multiplier and FSB through the BIOS. 6200TC is a really old graphics
The motherboard you are using isn’t card. You should be able to play
ideal for overclocking the system though. games such as Half Life 2, Unreal GPU-z is a graphics card information utility
The front ports of the cabinet may not be Tournament 2004, Doom 3, GTA
working, or they may be disconnected. III, etc. DDR2 memory is popularly
Look in the manual for the front panel available only in the 2 GB format. 2 GB Greasemonkey scripts
ports for audio. Then, connect the corre- of Kingston Value RAM should cost Recently, I had logged on to my Orkut
sponding cables for the audio ports to you around `2,000. account to customise it but failed. I
the the motherboard using the bundled came across some Orkut themes which
cables. C++ compiler refuses to required some kind of an application called
work Greasemonkey user script, but I was
Lost my graphics card Please suggest a C++ compiler for 64-bit unable to get it. I would be very grateful if
driver CD Windows 7. I am unable to find any and you can show me a better way of customis-
I lost my driver CD for my GeForce I’ve heard that Turbo C++ is not compat- ing it, and also are there any ways of send-
FX5200 AGP graphics card. I searched ible with Windows. ing songs, videos and pictures as a scrap
NVIDIA’s site but I couldn’t find the right Sam from Orkut? If so, then please help me out.
one. Where can I get the driver for my Swagat Barkakoty
graphics card?
Sanoob Greasemonkey is a plugin for
Firefox. If you use Chrome, you won’t
NVIDIA’s site has need it. Install the addon for Firefox, and
downloadable drivers you should be able to use those custom-
for the GeForce FX5200. ised themes. Remember that, these
Click on Download themes will only change the way you see
Drivers > Download Orkut’s site, not your friends.
Drivers. Choose the
Product Series as Installing *nix system
GeForce 5 FX Series, and over Windows XP
then the Product itself. I want to use this October’s DVD and
Finally, choose the oper- install the Unix operating system. Is it
ating system and Search. possible to install an Unix OS system on
top of Windows XP OS?
Game recom- Yash Pal
mendations for Downloading drivers from NVIDIA’s web site
my PC It is possible to install a *nix distribu-
I have few queries regarding my PC. One of the easiest solutions to use tion once you’ve installed Windows XP
Configuration is as follows: the DOSBox environment and run or any other version. Linux will install
Motherboard: ASRock G31M-VS. the usual Turbo C++ compiler on it. a bootloader, which on bootup, will give
Processor: Intel Pentium dual core E5200. DOSBox is free for download from you an option to boot through Linux or
Ram: 1 GB DDR2 800 MHz. www.dosbox.com. Windows.
Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com 95
Price watch Jago re!
Street smart 98 Latest prices for you to plan
your shopping 100 Know your rights as
a consumer 102 Killer rigs
Plan your configuration
Q&A Special Your internet connection
speed depends completely on
your service provider. There is
Agent 001 answers all your little you can do to speed it up.
buying queries
P
C upgrade queries
The thing is, I just bought an AOC 18.5
Graphics card purchase Look for the Corsair VX450. It’s a inch LCD monitor. The maximum resolu-
tips stable power supply that should be tion supported is 1366x768. Currently
I need your help in making up my mind I am using an Athlon X26000+ with
before buying myself a graphics card. I 9500GT. Now, most of the latest games
use my machine primarily for gaming and are turning out to be too much for my
want to upgrade only my GPU to a DX 11 system to handle. It’s time I upgrade my
model. At the same time, I don’t want a system. I thought of the ASUS M4n68t-m
very expensive card as my system config DDR3 motherboard with Corsair 4 GB
is outdated. I’m looking at a price range of 1333 MHz RAM. For my CPU, I was
`7,000 to `9,000. contemplating the Phenom II 550. Buying
Is ATI Radeon HD 5770 a good choice all these leaves me around 7000 INR for
or should I opt for a Geforce GTX 460 The Corsair VX450 is a reliable 450W PSU my graphics card. Please suggest a good
series card? My config is as follows: one and also suggest whether my proces-
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 @ 3.00 GHz sufficient for pretty much any system sor upgrade is okay or not. My PSU is 500
ASUS P5Q - E. Transcend 3 x 2 GB Ram running a single upper mid-range W and has a PCI-E power connector.
@ 800 MHz, Seagate 2 x 500 GB HDD, graphics card. Soumyajit Ganguly
CoolerMaster eXtreme Power Plus 600 W
XFX 8800 GT - Alpha Dog Edition, Suggestions for graphics Look for a Biostar or a Gigabyte
Samsung 2233 SW Monitor card AMD785G or 880G-based chipset
Jayesh Potdar My PC has the following configuration: motherboard. The Phenom 2 555 BE is
Compaq Presario desktop highly overclockable, and it would a
The GeForce GTX460 is the faster of RAM - 512 MB DDR2 better option. A Radeon 5750 from XFX
the two cards, and I would recommend Motherboard - Intel or ASUS should fit your budget just fine.
going for it. Look for overclocked AMP! Monitor - BenQ 17-inch The 500 W power supply should run the
models from ZOTAC or ASUS’s TOP Currently, I’m using Windows Vista new graphics card without any problems.
models. Business service pack 2. I have a budget
While it’s a valid concern, your of `6,000. Please suggest an ATI graphics Mobile phone around
processor should not be too much card. I also have a few questions: What Rs. 20,000
of a bottleneck. Just make sure is a chipset? What are its uses? How can I want to buy a mobile phone for around
you run games at higher resolu- one increase browsing, download and `20,000. I have shortlisted two phones
tions and with FSAA turned on. upload speed? - Nokia XpressMusic 5800 and N97 mini.
Jack Krauser Can you suggest which one of the two
New power supply for would be better for mutimedia purposes?
upgrade? The system configuration you have Chadan Bora
My system configuration is as follows: mentioned isn’t complete, and it also
Intel Core i3-530, looks pretty outdated. If you’re looking Nokia Express Music is available under
Intel DH55TC motherboard to add a graphics card to play PC `12,000 and N97 mini is around `19,000.
Kingston 2 GB DDR3 RAM games, then I would suggest against it. Features wise both are quite similar except
Samsung 80 GB HDD You need to upgrade the rest of the in the camera department; where N97 has a
Seagate 500 GB HDD components before upgrading the 5MP camera and 5800 has a 3.15 MP one.
XFX 9400GT 1GB graphics card. The major difference however is that N97
LG DVD Writer A bunch of chips that work hand-in- has a slide-out full QWERTY keypad while
Foxin ATX 400 W PSU (No 6 pin connector) hand can be called a chipset. Mother- 5800 is complete resistive touchscreen.
I am planning to upgrade my system boards normally have chipsets. If you Going by value for money, we feel
with a GTX460 or GTS450 card. I want to are looking for a basic graphics card Nokia 5800 makes more sense unless
know what PSU I would need to run the for desktop use, then look for a GeForce you like the hardware keypad. Other
system. 8400GS, or a Radeon 4350 if you’re features are quite similar like sup-
Ayan Bhattacharya particularly looking for an AMD card. port for WiFi, same processor etc.
96 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
DNF showcased Team Fortress 2 trading
Duke Nukem Forever gameplay shown off in Valve adds in-game trading of items for the
Amsterdam; launch rumored to be in early 2011 popular Team Fortress 2 title Agent 001
Laptop within budget of which has WiFi with a 2 MP
`40,000 camera and is priced at around
I want to buy a lappie. My budget is 40k `4,000.
and I want a config that includes a 500
GB HDD, 4GB RAM and Core i3 or i5 Want to buy a LCD
(which ever is better). Can you suggest monitor-TV
which one to go in for? I want to buy full HD monitor
Rahul Sahu with a screen size between 22 to
24 inches. It should have inbuilt
Look at the Dell Inspiron 15 series. TV plug. My budget is stretchable
There are plenty of models in your price up to `12,500. If posible suggest
range. You should be able to find Core i5 one with 2ms response time and
430M processor configuration with a an LED screen. The TV plug is a The Samsung P2370 has all the video connectivity
500GB drive for a tad over the `40,000 must while response time is not so impor- options you would ever need.
mark. tant. My preference is towards the follow- of the memory, not the capacity. Faster
ing brands: the memory, the slightly higher
Benq, Asus, Acer, Samsung performance you get. Faster RAM also
Vishal Karade allows you space to overclock your
system. If you put in more RAM than
If you want to use composite or the motherboard supports, you’ll most
component connections to connect your likely hear error beeps. For your
DTH set top box to your LCD monitor, system, you can spend `2,000 on a 2
then there aren’t any options in your GB RAM stick.
price range. Very basic 24-inch LCD
monitors start from around that price Laptop suggestions
range. There are very few displays with required
TV tuners built into them. The few that I have been a regular reader since 2003
Dell’s Inspiron 15 series offer good bang for your
have it are priced that high. and now I need your help to
buck.
Look for the Samsung P2370MS if buy a laptop. My budget is `60,000 and I
you can stretch the budget up to `15,000 need a laptop with good build quality.
Phone under `6,000 or so. It’s a monitor with all the video My requirements are-
I want to buy a mobile for around connectivity options you’ll need for a Intel i7 6MB Cache, 1 GB graphics DX11
`6000 and I am confused between DTH set top box, gaming console or (Switcable graphics if available)
Nokia X2 and Samsung Champ. Which PC. It has built-in speakers as well. 15.6’’ HD screen with the highest possible
one is better and does the Champ have resolution, a 7200 rpm HDD (or SSD), 250
a long lasting touchscreen? Any other Memory related GB. SATA 3 would be preferred. RAM - 4
phone with similar features would do queries GB DDR3. Instant on feature is a must.
as well. I wanted to inquire about the process for At least one USB 3.0 port, Finger print
Rishab Garg upgrading the RAM in my Desktop. The PC scanner, DVD or Blu-ray drive
config is as follows: Navneet
Samsung Champ has a resistive touch Intel Pentium 4, 256 MB DDR2, 80 GB
screen which is not the best as after Hard Drive at 7200 rpm, Windows XP The configuration you’re demanding
prolonged usage you will have to press Home Edition. is difficult to find at `60,000. The closest
the screen to generate a response. It has a Also, I would like to know about the models we can suggest are the Lenovo
mediocre 1.3MP camera. On the other factors that determine the maximum limit Y560 (59-055616) and HP DV6 (3050TX).
hand, Nokia X2 has a regular keypad to which RAM can be upgraded. What They both come with similar configura-
with a 5MP camera. Also X2 supports does MHz have to do with RAM? What tions as you would like. There are
Push mail and IM which is a nice would happen if I just upgraded to 4 GB currently no laptops in this price range
addition. even if my PC supports only 2? with SSD drives in them. USB 3.0 and
As far as pricing goes X2 is around Mrinal Dhar Blu-ray drives are also missing. USB 3.0
`5,000 and Champ is around `4,000. is somewhat new and not all manufac-
Looking at the specs it’s safe to go with The maximum limit upto which PC turers have updated their configurations.
the Nokia model. Both are not 3G com- RAM can be upgraded depends on the Increasing your budget by another
pliant. Another interesting phone is the motherboard itself, and a little bit on the `15,000 should get you laptops with SSD
Intex IN 6633 which is a QWERTY phone chipset used. The MHz denotes the speed and Blu-ray drives though.
Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com 97
Powered by
Gingerbread man at Googleplex
A massive Gingerbread man was placed next to the desserts
(Android OS) at the Google campus, indicating the imminent
Street smart launch of the next version of Android
Spend Smart
The latest peripheral prices updated every month. Go ahead, shop this festive season
Processors
Brand Model Market Price (`) Socket/Interface Number of cores Clock speed
AMD Athlon II X2 250 3,500 AM3 2 3.00 GHz
AMD Athlon II X3 440 4,500 AM3 3 3.00 GHz
AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition 4,940 AM3 2 3.10 GHz
AMD Athlon II X4 630 5,150 AM3 4 2.80 GHz
AMD Phenom II X4 925 7,110 AM3 4 2.80 GHz
AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 11,250 AM3 6 2.80 GHz
AMD Phenom II X6 1090T 16,030 AM3 6 3.20 GHz
Intel Core i3-530 5,620 LGA 1156 2 2.93 GHz
Intel Core i3-540 6,440 LGA 1156 2 3.06 GHz
Intel Core i5-650 9,270 LGA 1156 2 3.20 GHz
Intel Core i5-661 10,470 LGA 1156 4 2.66 GHz
Intel Core i5-760 14,880 LGA 1156 4 2.80 GHz
Intel Core i7 940 14,940 LGA 1156 4 2.93 GHz
Intel Core i7-930 15,410 LGA 1366 4 2.80 GHz
Intel Core i7-960 29,760 LGA 1366 4 3.20 GHz
Intel Core i7-980X 55,530 LGA 1366 6 3.33 GHz
Motherboards - AMD
Brand Model Market Price (`) Socket/Interface Chipset PCI X16/PCI/SATA/USB
NVIDIA Geforce 7025/nForce
Asus M2N68-AM Plus 2,530 AM2+ 630a 1/2/4/4
Asus M4A785TD-V Evo 6,650 AM3 AMD 785G + AMD SB710 1/3/5/6
Asus M4A78T-E 6,930 AM3 AMD 790GX + SB750 2/2/2/5
Asus M4A79 Deluxe 12,550 AM3 AMD 790FX + SB750 4/2/5/12
Biostar TA785GE 3,940 AM2+ AMD 785G + AMD SB710 1/2/6/7
Biostar TA880GB+ 6,390 AM3 AMD 880G + AMD SB710 1/2/6/7
Biostar A880G+ 5,870 AM3 AMD 880G + AMD SB710 1/2/4/6
Biostar TA880G HD 7,830 AM3 AMD 880G + AMD SB850 1/2/6/7
NVIDIA GeForce 7025 +
Gigabyte GA-M68M-S2P 2,400 AM2 nForce 630a 1/2/4/8
Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-US2H 5,260 AM3 AMD 785G + AMD SB710 1/2/5/6
Gigabyte GA-880GM-USB3 5,570 AM3 AMD 880G + AMD SB710 1/2/5/12
MSI K9N6PGM2-V 2,270 AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 1/2/2/4
MSI 785GM-E51 4,500 AM3 AMD 785G + SB710 1/1/2/5
MSI 785G-E53 5,260 AM3 AMD 785G + AMD SB710 1/2/5/6
MSI 890FXA-GD70 10,150 AM3 AMD RD890 + AMD SB850 2/2/6/14
Motherboards - Intel
Brand Model Market Price (`) Socket/Interface Chipset PCI X16/PCI/SATA/USB
Asus P5G41-M LE 2,830 LGA 775 Intel G41 + ICH7 1/2/4/4
Asus P5Q-VM 5,490 LGA 775 Intel G45 + ICH10 1/1/6/12
Asus Rampage II Exteme 26,060 LGA 1366 Intel X58 + Intel ICH10R 2/2/6/12
Biostar TPower I55 11,900 LGA 1156 Intel P55 2/2/6/8
Gigabyte GA-G41M-Combo 2,660 LGA 775 Intel G41 + Intel ICH7 1/2/4/2
Gigabyte GA-H55M-D2H 4,460 LGA 1156 Intel H55 Express 1/2/6/12
Gigabyte GA-H55M-S2H 5,100 LGA 1156 Intel H55 Express 1/2/6/12
Intel X58 Express + Intel
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R 11,560 LGA 1366 ICH10R 2/1/8/10
Gigabyte Rampage II Gene 15,740 LGA 1366 Intel X58 + Intel ICH10R 2/1/6/12
MSI G31TM-P35 2,600 LGA 775 Intel G31 + ICH7 1/2/4/4
MSI G41TM-P33 2,680 LGA 775 Intel G41 + ICH7 1/2/4/4
MSI P55M-GD45 5,640 LGA 1156 Intel P55 2/1/6/10
MSI P55-CD53 6,080 LGA 1156 Intel P55 1/3/8/10
98 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
Powered by
Google music India
Google Music Search (India) is a free legal online music service
catering to Indian audiences and streams Bollywood songs as of
now in partnership with three Indian companies Price watch
Laptops
Brand Model Market Price (`) Processor OS Memory
Acer 5745 34,600 Intel Core i5 Linux 4 GB
Acer 5745 G 43,600 Intel Core i5 Win 7 HP 2 GB
Asus 1001P 16,970 Intel Atom Win XP Home 1 GB
Asus K40AF 33,940 AMD Turion X2 DOS 4 GB
Asus A52JR 41,920 Intel Core i3 Win 7 HB 4 GB
Compaq CQ41-221AU 30,030 AMD Athlon II Dual-Core Win 7 HB 3 GB
Dell 1014 29,290 Intel Core 2 Duo Linux 2 GB
Dell 1464 34,650 Intel Core i3 Win 7 HB 2 GB
Dell 1464 36,470 Intel Core i3 Win 7 HB 3 GB
Dell 1564 40,710 Intel Core i3 Win 7 HB 4 GB
Fujitsu AH530 42,410 Intel Core i5 Win 7 HP 2 GB
HP Mini 210-1099TU 17,225 Intel Atom Win 7 starter 1 GB
HP CQ62-105 34,350 Intel Core i3 Win 7 Pro 3 GB
HP DV4-2113TU 37,950 Intel Core i3 Win 7 HP 2 GB
HP DV6-3009TU 38,700 Intel Core i3 Win 7 HP 2 GB
HP DV6-3011TU 38,700 Intel Core i3 Win 7 HP 2 GB
iBall Lilbook-1044 18,890 Intel Atom Linux 2 GB
Lenovo B450 30,560 Intel Pentium Dual Core DOS 2 GB
Lenovo G560 35,860 Intel Core i3 Win 7 HP 3 GB
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 14 43,130 Intel Core i5 Win 7 Pro 2 GB
Lenovo V460 48,280 Intel Core i3 Win 7 Pro 4 GB
Lenovo V460 50,710 Intel Core i5 Win 7 Pro 4 GB
MSI U100 14,000 Intel Atom Win XP Home 1 GB
MSI Wind U135 Atom 17,290 Intel Atom Win 7 Starter 1 GB
MSI CX500 35,850 Intel Core 2 Duo Win 7 HP 4 GB
MSI CX420 41,330 Intel Core i5 Win 7 HP 4 GB
Samsung N210 21,100 Intel Atom Win 7 Starter 2 GB
Samsung R428 33,320 Intel Core i3 DOS 4 GB
Samsung NP-R439-DT03IN 35,980 Intel Core i3 DOS 4 GB
Samsung NP-R430-JA04 36,140 Intel Core 2 Duo Win 7 HP 4 GB
Samsung R480 43,740 Intel Core i3 Win 7 HP 4 GB
Sony VPCEA3BGN 43,180 Intel Core i3 Win 7 Pro 2 GB
Sony VPCEA35F/P 46,060 Intel Core i3 Win 7 HB 4 GB
Sony VPCS133GN 50,860 Intel Core i3 Win 7 Pro 3 GB
Sony VPCEA36FG/G 55,660 Intel Core i5 Win 7 HB 4 GB
Sony VPCEC35FG 62,360 Intel Core i5 Win 7 HB 4 GB
Sony VPCF137HG 124,660 Intel Core i7 Win 7 Ultimate 8 GB
Toshiba NB250-A1110 20,020 Intel Atom Win 7 Starter 1 GB
Toshiba L640-M4010 30,810 AMD Athlon Dual Core DOS 3 GB
Toshiba L640-I4012 34,550 Intel Core i3 DOS 8 GB
Toshiba L640-I4011 35,040 Intel Core i3 DOS 8 GB
Toshiba C640-I4531 44,240 Intel Core i3 Win 7 Pro 8 GB
Camcorders
Brand Model
Market Optical
Aperture
Projectors
Price (`) Zoom Brand Model Market Price (`) Type Brightness
Canon FS 36 19,200 37x f/2-5.2 mm BenQ MP515 27,810 DLP 2500 Lumens
Canon HF R17 30,130 20x f/1.8-3.6 mm LG BS275 31,110 DLP 2700 Lumens
Canon HF S200 57,480 10x f/1.8-3.0 mm LG HX-301-G 66,950 DLP 270 Lumens
Canon HF S21 79,620 10x f/1.8-3.0 mm LG DX540 102,180 DLP 4000 Lumens
Samsung C20 9,070 10x f/1.8-2.4 mm Sharp XR50S 37,080 DLP 2700 Lumens
Samsung F40 10,900 52x f/1.8 mm Sharp PGF-200-X 46,930 DLP 2100 Lumens
Samsung F33 15,270 34x f/1.6-4.3 mm Sharp PGD2500 50,990 DLP 2500 Lumens
Samsung K45 17,390 52x f/1.8 mm Sharp PGF312X 75,320 DLP 3000 Lumens
Sony DCR-SX63E 16,280 60x f1.8-f6 mm Sharp PGD-3510-X 93,280 DLP 3500 lumens
Sony DCR-SR88E 22,990 60x f/1.8-6.0 mm Sony VPL-EX7 38,320 LCD 2000 Lumens
Sony XR 150 37,080 25x f/1.8-3.2 mm Sony VPL-EX70 53,770 LCD 2500 Lumens
Sony XR 550 55,620 10x f/1.8-3.4 mm Sony VPLEX130 73,860 LCD 3000 lumens
Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com 99
Apple’s Quarter Sony’s Treat!
Apple sells 14.1mn iPhones, scores another Sony’s Xperia X10 gets an Eclair Treat with HD video playback.
Street smart record-breaking quarter Now it boasts 720p video recording
Taking the first step towards
protecting your investment
This Diwali, make sure you’re buying smart, and buying safe; it is your hard-earned
money we’re talking about here after all, isn’t it?
T
he technology industry has product or service, but also the person be there today. Try getting a replacement
scaled new heights over the who consumed it. For example, if your if something goes wrong, and you could
past few years. However, parents bought you a gadget – although even get beaten up in extreme cases.
so have your problems as a the bill may be in your father’s name, if And for what? A few Rupees less? Is it
consumer. Products just aren’t built something went wrong, both you and really worth the hassle? Also, you could
the way they used to be, and if you’re your father would have equal rights be buying pirated products, or cheap
not careful, you might end up with a to demand compensation as per the knock-offs, and paying almost full price!
dud, and one you paid a pretty penny warranty terms and conditions, and
for too. How do you avoid getting also be equally eligible to initiate action Brands and warranties
ripped-off, when you go out and buy against a service provider or seller, who A lot of new companies enter the market
this festival season? It’s hard isn’t did not fulfill the promise of warranty. well-prepared, and are often looking to
it, with thousands of offers being Before any purchase, you should use gain as much market share by giving
thrown in your face, and cut-throat any means to find out more about the you irresistible offers. Before you buy
price wars vying for your attention. actual product/service and the brand anything from a new brand, try and find
All you really have on your side is name you‘re paying for. You can do this out more about them. For example, don’t
knowledge. If you prepare yourself you by consulting with other buyers, or be afraid to ask the seller how many of
can navigate through the treacherous just looking up reviews online. There the brand’s service centres are in your
waters that our shopping malls have are dedicated web sites that provide city, and how many are near your home
become – relatively unscathed. It is, immense information and comparisons or office. Also make it a point to read
after all, a lot better to be careful before of products, without the bias of a seller their warranty terms. Sometimes you
you buy than to run about from might find that new brands
pillar to post trying to get a faulty offer better warranty terms,
product repaired, or approaching
We can help! such as an onsite warranty,
a consumer court to try and get If you’re facing a problem with as opposed to carry-in by
some justice, if you were cheated. your purchase, write to us at other brands. Of course
help@consumermate.com
The operative word here is the reverse might also hold
“consumer”. This is because true, as not all new brands
as a consumer, you graduate can afford this. In certain
from being a mere buyer, to someone, who may just be trying to offload categories, such as TVs or refrigerators,
anyone, who consumes the goods or the stock that hasn’t been selling. where an onsite warranty is the norm,
services that you (or someone else) it’s all the more important to check the
paid for. This could be eatables bought Where you buy terms for a new brand, and not just
from a shop, a service you paid for, Next on your list of things to be careful assume that everything’s as expected.
or basically anything in which a about is where you’re buying your
monetary transaction was involved. product from. It’s obviously better to
The Consumer Protection Act of buy from more reputed outlets, and
1986 confirms this, by dealing with the try as far as possible to avoid roadside
Expert buying advice
word “consumer” in two ways. The first vendors for important technology Visit Consumermate.com
is with respect to goods, and the second purchases. You never know what you’re for expert buying advice and
pertains to services. This is important getting from these roadside shops, and comprehensive information on
to know, because the term consumer many of them are fly-by-night operators. Laptops, Mobiles, TVs, Cameras
covers a lot more; it includes not just Just because you saw them there and Camcorders
the person who actually paid for a yesterday, doesn’t guarantee that they’ll
100 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
Great news! Angry birds flying
Physics says cell phones can’t cause cancer Android users can now download the full version of the
http://goo.gl/kv2N popular Angry Birds game from getjar.com or the Market Consumer protection
Know your rights Measurement Department, or with Warranty cards
Warranty cards a consumer court, if anyone sells Finally, if for some reason, despite
Another mistake we’re almost always you a product for more than the all the precautions you take, you
culpable of is worrying about the MRP. Remember to get the bill of find yourself being denied your
price, and not the documentation. course, so that you can prove it. rights, you should file a complaint in
Make sure to get those warranty In all honesty, if someone tries consumer court. You can even argue
documents stamped and filled out. and sells you somethng at MRP your own case, since a lawyer is not
Although most of us don’t really in the tech field, just walk away – mandatory. You need to make sure
care about this, and most big brands almost every gadget we’ve ever come that you have filed a formal complaint
will still honour their warranty just across is sold lower than MRP. It has with the manufacturer before
by looking at your bill, don’t assume been known to happen though, and approaching the courts, though,
that this will always be the case. vendors claim that this is because of in order to give the manufacturer
By law, if the warranty card is not a price rise – however, by law, all old the opportunity to address your
filled out properly by the dealer, the stock has to be sold at the old prices grievances. In fact, it is often
brand has the right to refuse you that were in force when the seller beneficial to your case if you’ve made
service. If you don’t believe us, read purchased it from the distributor. formal complaints and sent notices
the fine print on the warranty card. to the manufacturer, which might tilt
Why take chances with expensive Precautions the court’s decision in your favour.
purchases, when it will only It is also the duty of the Another advantage of issuing
waste a few minutes of your time manufacturing company to clearly these notices is that the matter
to get the dealer to fill it out? inform you about specific details is often escalated within the
of a product. For example, if a company, and you might find your
MRP mixer-grinder should not be run problem gets resolved quicker.
The maximum retail price (MRP) continuously for more than a At the end of the day, all that
of a product is binding by law. specific time, then it is the duty of matters is that you have peace of
You have the right to lodge a the company to warn you of that mind, and are not cheated out of
complaint with the Weights and through the documentation provided. your hard-earned money.
ComplAInTS ReCeIved
Mobile Phones the essential accessories of the product but still it is not committed by the sales
Case File #983 without which proper functioning of the person nor any customer care executive.
Coolpad mobiles are not providing products are not possible. You are right Now I am worried whether I will get
essential accessories like charger in saying that you can file a consumer the laptop or not.
Coolpad mobiles are not providing complaint with consumer court for the Sona Kelshiker
essential accessories like charger same. Before doing that write a letter to
I have purchased a Coolpad 2938 them in shape of a legal demand notice Answer by Consumermate:
mobile phone from Reliance store in to arrange a charger for you within two Dear Consumer,
Hiranandani. The charger of the phone weeks time failing which you can go Thanks for sharing your grievances with
started malfunctioning and i am not ahead with your complaint. I hope some us. But you have not made clear that
able to get the new charger of this sense will prevail over them and they from where have booked the product.
phone in open market. The reliance will arrange charger for you. It’s not a new case that a company
store directed me to go to Coolpad backing out once the product is sold and
service center. But there response is Laptops consideration received. Anyways, you
very bad despite writing to their head Case File #1009 can address a registered letter to the
office in Chennai. Not getting the delivery of Laptop company calling upon them to deliver
I am unable to use the phone and want I have booked a laptop and made 100% the product with in two weeks. In this
to make a legal complaint against this payment on 27.07.10 my Order No is case, you should file a complaint before
dealer and manufacturer. 840079839. My Quotation number is the consumer forum and before the
Zubair Ahmed Khan Sarguroh 24019051 and customer reference police as well as it may be case of fraud
number is 781878697. The dealer subject to facts of your case. I hope this
Answer by Consumermate: through whom I have booked the laptop would be sufficient for the purpose they
Dear Customer, is not responding to me . I have asked will deliver the product if they would be
It is duty of the company to provide you them to mail me final date of delivery sensible enough.
Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com 101
Basic rig = `20,545
Multimedia cum gaming rig = `30,415
killer rigs
everything you will ever need to build your own PC. whatever your budget.
High-end multimedia / Gaming rig = `45,395
High-end gaming PC = `58,870
Ultra high-end PC / Gaming rig = `1,59,805
Primary seCondary ComPonents
ComPonents
Cabinet Power suPPly mouse
ProCessor
n AMD Athlon II X2 245 / `2,750
n AMD Athlon II X4 635 / `4,975
n Phenom X4 945 / `6,650 n VIP 350 Watts / `850 n Logitech 3 button scroll / `300
n Intel Core i5 760 / `9,800 n VIP 400W Gold / `850 n Logitech 3 button scroll / `300
n Intel Core i7 960 / `26,500 n Corsair VX450 / `3,700 n Logitech MX518 / `1,200
n Corsair VX450 / `3,700 n Logitech MX518 / `1,200
n Corsair HX850W / `9,500 n Logitech G5 / `3,595
n NZXT Gamma Classic / `2,140
n NZXT Gamma Classic / `2,140
n Cooler Master 690 / `4,200
n Cooler Master 690 / `4,200
n Cooler Master HAF 922 / `6,600
sound Card
motHerboard n None
n ASUS NVIDIA 7025 M2N68-AM / n None
`2,200 n None oPtiCal drive
n Gigabyte MA78GM-US2H / n None n LG H55N / `950
`4,200 n ASUS Xonar DX / `4,300 sPeaker n LG H55N / `950
n ASUS M4A78-PRO / `5,850 n None n LG H55N / `950
n Biostar Tpower P55 / `6,700 n None n LG H55N / `950
n ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 / `19,300 n Altec Lansing VS2621 / `1,650 n LG WH10LS30 / `11,010
n Altec Lansing VS2621 / `1,650
n Altec Lansing MX 5021 / `6,500
keyboard
n Logitech Classic K100 / `280
n Logitech Classic K100 / `280
ram n Logitech Multimedia / `450
n 2 x 1 GB DDR2 800 MHz (Kingston) / `2,250 n Logitech Multimedia / `450
n 2 x 1 GB DDR2 800 MHz (Kingston) / `2,250 n Logitech G15 / `4,200
n 2 x 2 GB DDR2 800 MHz (Transcend) / `3,900
n 2 x 2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz (Kingston) / `3,750
n 3 x 2 GB Kingston HyperX T1 2,000 MHz /
`10,800
Miscellaneous
GraPHiCs Card
n None tablet
n Galaxy GeForce GT240
/ `4,750
n Powercolor Radeon HD
5750 / `7,525
n XFX Radeon HD 5850 / `16,200
n ASUS GeForce GTX 470 x 2 (SLI) / `41,400
n None HeadPHones
n iBall Design Tablet PF1209 / `8,750 n None
n Wacom Intuos4 Medium (PTK-640) `21,280 n Sennheiser HD 202 / `1,430 PrintinG solutions
n Sennheiser HD 280 Pro / `5,280 n Canon PIXMA iP1980 / `1,750
Hard drive n Canon iP3680 / `5,050
n Seagate 500 GB 7200.11 / `1,850 n Epson B-500DN / `21,250
n Seagate 500 GB 7200.11 / `1,850
n Seagate 1 TB 7200.12 / `2,850
n Seagate 1 TB 7200.12 / `2,850
n WD Black Edition 1 TB x2 / `9,000
monitor
n Dell S2009W / `6,975
n AOC 2236Vw / `7,870
n AOC 2236Vw / `7,870
n AOC 2236Vw / `7,870 mousePad
n BenQ G2420HD / `11,300 n None
n Razer Goliathus Speed (Oversized) / GaminG Controllers Power ProteCtion
`1,300 n MS Xbox 360 Controller / `1,300 n None
n Everglide Titan / `1,450 n Logitech Momo / `5,400 n APC 600 VA / `1,800
n Steel Series QCK Heavy / `2,000 n Logitech G27 / `15,020 n Numeric 1 KVA / `4,100
102 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
Our pick Of the best tech articles frOm arOund the glObe
(Must reads) (ars technicacorner) From Geek to ChiC: a deCade
The coolesT Thing $300
can buy
oF smartphone evolution
and no it’s not an ipod
touch. it’s this really crazy
quadrocopter called parrot
ar.drone. controlled with an
iphone it has with two cameras,
an onboard computer running
linux, and the ability to play
virtual games with real-world
hardware. Watch:
http://www.youtube.com/
ardrone
Over the past ten years, the smartphone has gone from a
The DeaTh Delusion
take a detour from technology
large, belt-holstered badge of geekiness to a mass-market
and have a look at this mobile computing platform. In this photo enhanced feature
philosophical take on some of Ars Technica surveys the last ten years or so of smartphone
the toughest questions we face
in life: are we really going to die
history with a look at two important smartphones from each
eventually? year. A must see article with must read comments.
http://bit.ly/dq3qGF http://bit.ly/b8axLz
Steve jobS haS been
kidnapped by ninjaS.
The Mac app sTore!? are you a bad enough troll
With its latest edition of the mac to reScue Steve jobS?
Os (dubbed lion), apple plans
to bring “managed software
distribution”, found on iOs, to
the personal computer. We fail
to see how this is different from
package managers or software There is no Plan B Intel: Atom definitely not Platform trolling: Windows edition
repositories that we’ve seen The internet is running out of cannibalized by tablets A tongue in cheek look at the historical
addresses. Find out why the transition Intel insists that the “dominant factor” platform wars between Mac fanboys
on linux since forever. Oh wait from the current internet protocol in Atom’s slowdown was not tablets and PC enthusiasts. This is one
you’ll probably have to pay for version 4, which is quickly running but softness in consumer spending. portrays PCs as irredeemably awful
software here. out of addresses, to the new version 6 Read this interesting analysis of the clumsy beings, while Macs as the only
might be a messy affair two overlapping segments sensible choice
http://zd.net/cvC7SK
http://bit.ly/dBpblm http://bit.ly/92WGaP http://bit.ly/dBpblm
Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com 103
(worldview)
TwiTTer is quiTe brain-Machine nanowriMo guiDe The baTTle rages on
useless inTerface don’t understand what you us citizens could soon find
renowned author malcolm experiments just read up there? themselves joining iranians
shorts
gladwell puts up a in this field it stands for national and chinese in being blocked
convincing case on how have been novel Writing month, a from accessing broad chunks
so-called social activism going on for monumental project that gets of the public internet. have
on twitter and facebook is some time. the latest is from participants to write an entire a look at this report and the
quite hollow when compared the university of tokyo where 50,000 word novel in a month. supporting petition. What
to real social movements in they’ve made this rat control here’s a Wired Wiki to teach is interesting though is that
the past. a little car with his mind. you how. demonoid is supporting it!
http://nyr.kr/9Y92DZ http://bit.ly/cdlgkU http://bit.ly/c23eZ1 http://huff.to/aOlcAv
extremetech:
Overclocking Guide 2010 - By Joel Durham Jr. and Denny Atkin
Copyright © 2010 one word we really want you to become necessary steps of overclocking. Passing a
Ziff Davis Publishing familiar with: stability. stability test is mandatory before you can
Holdings Inc.
The key to a successful overclock is being say you’ve overclocked anything.
I
If you use your computer for any able to use the computer when you’re done.
demanding tasks such as gaming, video That means: You can play games, crunch Our technique for overclock-
editing, or transcoding, there’s little numbers, transcode video, sync your iPod, ing any part (we’ll get into
reason not to overclock. You’ll get faster frame or whatever, without the PC locking up, specifics later) is simple:
rates, quicker renders, and the performance crashing, or suddenly rebooting. If the PC 1. Tweak. Raise the clock frequency just
of a system costing hundreds of dollars more. isn’t stable, your overclock is a failure. a small amount. Overclocking requires baby
How can you say no to that? Anyone can say they got their 2.66-GHz steps. If you’re overclocking a multiplier-
CPU up to 4 GHz with the stock cooler if unlocked CPU, raise it one number at a time.
the Overall Overclocking all it did was POST before it crashed, or Raise the Base Clock maybe five to ten mega-
technique even if it ran Windows but crashed when hertz at a time. Same with the graphics core
Before disclosing the basic overclocking you moved the mouse. We’re going to talk and/or memory. And also, don’t change two
technique that works for everything, there’s about stability testing, which is one of the settings at once.
2. Boot. Watch the system as it boots. Does
it POST? Is the RAM count correct? Does the
boot take longer than it usually does? Watch
for any signs that your computer isn’t acting
normally; they could be signs of instability.
3. Test. Run a stability test. We usually
test CPUs and memory with Prime95 (run-
ning one instance per core) for 30 minutes.
We prefer to test GPUs by playing a nice, long
session of a very recent, graphically intense
game. You can also set 3DMark Vantage to
loop its Extreme test, but a video card sta-
bility test is more effective if you’re constantly
watching the screen for glitches.
4. Repeat. In other words, return to step
1. If the overclock passes your stability test,
raise the frequency or multiplier further.
If Step 3 fails, drop back a notch and run
the stability test again. Once you’ve found the
If you had any doubts about why to Overclock, here’s why.
absolute fastest frequencies your computer’s
components can run, you’ve completed your
Note: Read these charts knowing that the overclocks they show are modest ones, and they’re up just for the sake of argument. Imagine
what you could do if you really pushed your stuff!
overclocking experiment.
104 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
(worldview)
blue screen of DeaTh 2 billion neTizens sMarTphone phoTography
lives on a united nations agency that dslrs can take good shots could
a gallery comprising recently found that be a wrong assumption, after all. With
screenshots of the infamous number of internet users the rate at which pixelage and image
error appearing at the most will surpass two billion by processing is constantly improving in
inopportune moments (for the end of this year. that’s smartphones, it’s not at all surprising that
microsoft) throughout history. a third of the world’s Wired magazine’s recent iphoneography
from hoardings to airport flight population connected! contest got some awesome entries. check
schedule screens and even the read this report on how developing out the gallery for winners and other
Windows 98 launch ceremony! countries need to step up access. pictures that were handpicked by Wired.
http://zd.net/brqpdG http://reut.rs/cf2wYA http://bit.ly/bFbjV4
Here are several things to be sure you back up
aware of your important data
When you overclock a PC, you can no on a regular basis.
longer truly count on it being stable. The To get Prime95
PC was not designed to run with different to run on multiple
things at different clock rates that aren’t cores, you must first
necessarily compatible with each other. tweak the desktop
What you gain in performance you lose in shortcut and then
peace of mind: This thing could crash at tweak the running
any moment. program. First, open
Never overclock a PC with critical data the desktop shortcut
on it. Overclocking affects the memory properties sheet and
and the CPU, and those in turn affect data the command line
written on the hard drive. Overclocking can switch Ax to the end Overclocking on an ASUS motherboard
end with corrupted data. You could lose of the Target box,
stuff. Keep your overclocking relegated to where x = the number of instances you need ally a switch or a jumper on the mother-
gaming machines, graphics workstations— to run (2 for a dual-core, 4 for a quad-core, board specifically for this purpose. If, for
anything except a PC with mission-critical etc.) Then, launch the program as many times some reason, the switch or jumper doesn’t
or personally valuable data on it. If you do as you need. Finally, in each instance of the work, or there isn’t one at all, power down
choose to overclock your everyday PC, make program, click Advanced, go to Affinity, and the PC, unplug it, open the case, and pop
the Specific CPU to run on out the small, round, disc-shaped battery
box, enter 0 for the first for about ten minutes. Then, replace it and
core in the first instance power back up. The BIOS setup program will
and click OK; 1 for the be at pure defaults.
second core in the second Overclocking doesn’t raise the amount of
instance; and so on. Then voltage a power supply draws from the wall.
you can start your CPU We purchased a power meter and tested an
torture tests. overclocked system that drew 119 watts before
When torture-testing overclocking, and drew 120 watts while over-
the CPU, monitor the tem- clocked at 10 percent over spec
perature with whatever
monitoring tool came Overclocking a CPu
with your motherboard. First off, let’s get this out of the way: There
If you don’t have a moni- are utilities that allow you to overclock a CPU
toring tool, go to the moth- through a Windows desktop.
erboard’s manufacturing Ignore them.
page, find the downloads Changing the speed your computer runs
for your specific model, at on the fly can sometimes result in a system
and download the utility. freeze or crash. Even worse, there have been
If you overclock too times we have used such a utility, rebooted,
high and the PC won’t and encountered a machine unable to POST.
POST, you have to reset Do your overclocking through the BIOS setup
the CMOS. There’s usu- utility. Trust us.
Windows Task Manager
Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com 105
(worldview)
The inTerneT of Things qr coDes for everyone google Tv: booM or TwiTTer preDicTs
chances are you’ve already surely you would’ve come across busT sTockMarkeTs now?
come across this phrase. those squiggly little boxes with What makes according to a recent study, the
shorts
it basically indicates an data embedded in them some google and emotional upheavals on twitter
emerging trend wherein more where or the other – be it the others think can predict changes in the dow
and more ‘things’ rather last page of a newspaper or we want the Jones three days later, with an
than people are connecting some add asking you to point internet on the idiot box? accuracy of almost 80 per cent.
to the internet. the result your phone at it. here’s a six here’s an in-depth look at Of course one mustn’t forget the
is a “a kind of global data step how-to from mashable that various approaches in this randomness of the markets in
field”. Watch the video by ibm teaches you how to make your space including google tV, the first place and the ability of
featured in this piece: own Qr codes in a jiffy. apple tV and roku researchers to co-relate anything.
http://rww.to/c9fpQF http://on.mash.to/dtcTbe http://bit.ly/b3wWpO http://bit.ly/aWDEWP
There are two ways to overclock some varies depending
CPUs, but many only support one of the on the motherboard.
methods. Extreme Edition Intel Core-series For instance, on an
and Pentium CPUs, and AMD FX and Black Asus motherboard,
Edition CPUs, allow you to tweak the mul- you’ll find them
tiplier. Older Pentium-series and Core 2 under the heading
processors require you to tweak the FSB of “AI Tweaker,”
(front-side bus). The Intel Core i3, i5, and whereas MSI cate-
i7 chips, and the AMD Athlon and Phenom gorizes them under
CPUs, don’t use an FSB. Instead, the Core “Cell Menu.”
i–series chips use a Base Clock, which AMD
BIOSes typically refer to as Bus Speed, so raising CPu
you tweak these values instead. We’re using and Memory
Base Clock as an umbrella term for ease of Voltage Increasing Voltage On A MSI Motherboard
writing this article. Sometimes you
With the Intel Core i–series chips, the actually have to increase the voltage going voltages. Some fast memory modules, for
CPU’s frequency is the Base Clock times to a part in order to successfully overclock it. instance, require you to raise the RAM
the CPU ratio. For instance, a Core i7-965 If you’ve pushed a component too fast and the voltage above the standard value just to run
Extreme Edition CPU has a Base Clock of PC won’t POST, before moving it a step back, at their rated speed.
133 MHz, and a ratio multiplier of 24, giving a raise its voltage ever so slightly. Raise voltage sparingly, and only one
speed of 3.2 GHz (133 MHz × 24 = 3,200 MHz This requires a bit of research, as different selection at a time. Too much voltage is one
or 3.2 GHz). Note that the numbers are actu- CPUs and memory modules have different of the rare things that actually can kill a
ally rounded, since the base component dead. We make
clock is actually 133.33 MHz. it a rule of thumb never to
If we then raise the ratio raise voltage more than 15
to 27, the CPU’s frequency percent; if a component
is now 3.6 GHz. (133MHz × needs more than that for a
27 = 3600 MHz or 3.6 GHz). successful overclock, we’re
That, if stable, is a fairly not interested.
decent overclock. Also, a word of warning
For an older Core 2 or for owners of Intel Core i–
Pentium CPU, the method is series CPUs: Because the
the same, except you tweak memory controller is inside
the FSB or Bus Speed values the CPU package rather than
instead of the Base Clock. on the motherboard chipset,
To sum up, raising either you must use caution when
the Base Clock or the CPU raising the memory voltage.
multiplier overclocks the Raising the voltage past
CPU. Most modern BIOS 1.65V can shorten the life-
interfaces let you tweak time of, or even damage,
either value. But where you your CPU. Some older
Adjusting clock speeds for the graphics card under the Nvidia Control Panel
find the CPU speed settings high-speed DDR3 memory
106 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
(worldview)
a chip is born soMe google bashing please The age of exabyTes
ever wondered google’s last attempt at breaking the social there’s no doubt about the fact that we
how those tiny networking code, resulted in the somewhat are experiencing a big data explosion.
monsters of botched, and at the same time marginally from just five exabytes of data being
calculation are popular google buzz. read this nYt report online at one time, recent estimates
made? the to know some of google’s short comings put monthly internet data flow at
process involves in this space and future plans. Will google around 21 exabytes of data. get your
ultraclean sealed chambers, robot arms, knockout facebook? One thing they want hands on this free report titled “the
containment suits, and tanks of caustic to steer clear from is making people enter age of exabytes” from readWriteWeb
chemicals. have a look at this photo essay personal info all over again. no one wants and learn how you can manage large
from the gadget lab. to fill up another form, right? volumes of data.
http://bit.ly/cMWJK9 http://nyti.ms/d5wRub http://rww.to/byybaN
modules, released before the overclocking sliders.
Core i7, actually recommended To overclock the video card,
voltages of 1.8 to 2V. You can simply slide the Graphics Clock
still use these on Core i–series and Memory Clock sliders to the
systems, but because you’ll right.
have to keep the voltage down Use the trial-and-error tech-
to 1.65V, you’ll likely have to nique described above; except
run this memory at lower-than- you don’t have to reboot. Slide a
rated speeds. notch over a little, test, and repeat.
That’s all there is to it. First tackle
Overclocking the core frequency, find its max,
Memory and then find the max you can
On Core i–series proces- overclock the memory frequency.
sors, the memory speed is
tied to the base clock, using a Conclusion: upgrade
memory ratio multiplier to set Your PC for Free
its final speed, just like with the Now you know the basic
CPU. The actual memory speed steps to overclocking your
is based on the Core Clock, CPU, memory, and video card.
times the memory multiplier, Depending on the motherboard,
times 2. DDR3-1066 memory, Overclocking an AMD graphics card using the Overdrive utility there might be a lot more about
for example, has a memory your own computer’s BIOS setup
multiplier of 4. (133.3 × 4 × 2 = 1,066 MHz). of data corruption. program to learn. Some allow you to adjust
You might inadvertently overclock the On Core i–series CPUs, faster memory the speeds that Intel’s Turbo Boost feature
memory on a PC just by overclocking the doesn’t have a big impact on real-world per- automatically boosts individual cores to
CPU. For example, if you increase the system formance. But the extra headroom of faster when others are idle, which throws one more
Base Clock to 166 MHz, the memory will now memory can make overclocking easier, as control into the CPU/memory overclocking
be running at 1,333 MHz. (166.6 × 4 × 2). If your high speed ratings let you boost the Base mess. Others let you delve into the timings of
memory is only rated at 1,066-MHz speeds Clock further without having to reduce the the memory’s latencies, but that, technically,
and won’t handle 1,333 MHz, you’ll need to RAM multiplier isn’t overclocking (there’s no clock frequency
drop the multiplier down to 3, which will run involved, but instead there are wait states to
the memory at 1,000 MHz, which is within Overclocking a Video Card play with).
its specified speed rating. Overclocking a video card is usually a To learn the specifics of your own mother-
Overclocking memory is one area where simple matter of wielding two software- board, lurk the forums at its manufacturer’s
we’re extremely conservative, as corrupted based sliders. Unlike memory and CPU site and fan sites. You’ll also find overclocking
RAM not only can lead to freezes and crashes, overclocking, you can and should overclock results for some popular motherboards, such
but to corrupted data on disk as well. And video cards in Windows (or whatever OS as the Asus P6T and MSI Eclipse SLI, on
memory just doesn’t typically overclock as you’re running). ExtremeTech. You should also learn as much
readily as CPUs and video cards do. It’s fun AMD’s video card driver interface has about your computer’s CPU and memory as
to run memory slower than the rated speed, ATI OverDrive, the overclocking page, you can. The more you know, the more suc-
but use caution when going much higher. The built right in. For Nvidia cards, you have to cessfully you can overclock.
tiny benefit is outweighed by the possibility download Nvidia System Tools to grab its [Details on: http://bit.ly/b0XYMw]
Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com 107
(worldview)
(worldview)
Geeks (PrOduCt launCHes)
don’t just
rule the Macbook air 11.6 inch Dell xps saMsung galaxy Tab
internet.
Take
a look
at this
amazing
gallery-
cum-article on how
geek culture is making
its way into street art.
this new apple air sports the company has refreshed this new tablet from
Be it a twitter bird a dual core 1.4 ghz intel its Xps lineup with nvidia samsung sports a 7 inch
taking a dump on an core 2 duo cpu, 1366 x Optimus and Jbl audio. the WsVga capacitive screen,
actual wall, or a bold 768 resolution and options laptops now sport a new 1 ghz processor, android
CTRL+ALT+DELETE for ssd 64 gb or 128 design and the 14,15 and 17 2.2, and promises 7 hours
as call for social change; gb all in a slimmer than inch models start from $899, battery life for movie play-
ever aluminium unibody $849, and $949, respectively. back. the first of these will
view them all here.
construction. this sleek all the base models have be available nov 11 from
http://bit.ly/bCrNrv
notebook is priced at $999 1gb nVidia 420m graphics. Verizon for $600.
C R O S S WOR D Across
With our new 5. Process of locating mobile device
World View
Do you
1 2
using towers it receives a signal from
7. Modes of thermometer project -
section,
lIke
3 4
Bar and...
we’re trying 10. Fear of loosing your mobile phone
ABSoLute
timepass
5
11. LM35DZ temperature
to expose
tHe wOrld VIew you to more 6
Down
seCtIOn?
1. resembling human, sounds
interna- 7 8
like a mobile app
2. A popular augmented reality
tional stories
9
browser
and culture.
10
3. Fastest selling gadget of all time
4. small magnetic disk enclosed in a
Instead of just a plastic body for storing data
list, we hand-pick the stories 6. Time magazine man of the year 1982
8. Alternate Keyboard Layout
we think you’d like. However, 11
9. A number, usually unique to identify
in order to ensure that we’re EclipseCrossword.com
mobile phones
doing a good enough job,
we’d love to hear your feed-
back and comments. Top 3 Picks make sure your boss doesn’t catch you goofing off with
one of these playing on your pc screen
IF YOu lIke,
Hate, skIP Or
absOlutelY lOVe
tHIs seCtIOn,
let us knOw. http://bit.ly/8ZeqP4 http://bit.ly/cyrs9u http://bit.ly/axg1Hl
1min 37 sec 3min 49 secs 2min 33secs
Send in your feedback to meet dot, the world smallest blendtech.com finds an an amazing illustrator + after
editor@thinkdigit.com stop motion character shot iphone 4 at a bar and blends effects sequence that musi-
using a nokia n8, with its 12 it to idust. We’re sure you’ll cally explains to you what a
megapixel camera cringe at it disintegrates quark is
108 Digit November 2010 www.thinkdigit.com
108 Digit ||November 2010 ||www.thinkdigit.com
Awash with camera Recognise the culprit
With more than 4 million CCTV cameras operating In USA the government is currently funding research into
around the country, UK has more video surveillance than technologies that will allow a camera to identify a person at
anywhere else in the world up to 500 ft by their facial features Smart SoHo
Stay Safe
with electronic security systems
Anoop Verma
readersletters@thinkdigit.com
R
eports of burglaries have
become so common in the
media that they have started
sounding clichéd to the deni-
zens of our urban concrete jungle. Quite
often burglaries entail not just loss of
material wealth, but also the very tragic
loss of lives. Then there is the threat
posed by fire. Most of the buildings are
typically encumbered with myriad ele-
ments that can easily serve as a catalyst Technologies, in its home
for a fire to break out. While many of us the security system, is offering
follow the method of security known as peace of an emergency SMS
“let’s pray to God that nothing bad will mind and service, through which
happen to our home or office,” a multi- the new sense of you can receive alerts.
tude of electronic security solutions are security that he and A congested modern urban
available to protect our precious belong- his family can now bask in. environment can easily turn
ings from falling prey to fire or burglary. Two Indian companies, into the breeding ground for
When Robin Sinha bought his house in Zicom and Micro Technologies, have myriad threats and so it makes
New Delhi, he wanted to have an extra garnered a lot of buzz when it comes sense for the residents and
layer of safety to protect his wife and to electronic security devices. They office owners to take assistance
one year old kid, during the hours that are into providing tools for home and of electronic security measures.
he would be away working in his office. office security and prevention of vehicle
“The crime rate in my city continues to theft. You can buy their systems online Keeping the home safe
go up on a day-to-day basis, and I didn’t or from myriad retail outlets across the Imagine the plight of a family
want to take any chances,” he says, “so I country. Some of the equipment that that in the thick of night is
decided to go in for Electronic Security, these companies manufacture cer- sleeping
which comprises CCTV system at the tainly seems
main door, and an alarm system.” Today, conducive
there is simply no dearth of excellent to raising
security systems that incorporate hi-tech the
wizardry of next-gen electronics. With confidence
many companies in the fray, for making levels of
and marketing such systems, there is residents. For instance,
enough competition to keep prices at with Zicom Safehomes, the
a reasonable level. Electronic security company is offering an “i-alert 24/7
systems are available to suit all kinds service.” This is an emergency response
of needs and budgets. Robin Sinha is system that is active 24x7, 365 days. If soundly
a middle class IT professional, but the any emergency situation is detected in at home, when out of nowhere a gang
amount that he spent in installing the your house, the system immediately of burglars turn up. Soon the family is
security system in his house has, in his sends a signal to the i-alert 24x7 service tied up, and the burglars have a free run
own reasoning, turned out to be worth for appropriate action. Similarly, Micro of the house. In order to avoid such an
Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com 109
The Crime Busters
A recent study in UK has revealed that almost every murder inquiry has ended up using some kind
Tech @ work of footage from a CCTV as evidence.
eventuality we need to stop burglars from
inTeRview
gaining entry. That is where electronic
devices such as magnetic sensors, glass Interview with Anand Swaminathan, Director, Zicom Retails
break detectors and microwave motion
detectors, come in. These are efficient in What kind security system do you think a normal middle class home
foiling intrusion attempts. The Micro- needs to install?
wave Motion Detector uses sophisti- There are two types of security systems for a household namely - Home
cated technology to detect human body Alarm System and Video Door phone. While Video Door Phone is a stand-
movement within the range of a protected alone system to detect and prevent intrusion; ‘Home Alarm System’ is a
area. The digital processing used in this holistic system, which protects a household on the parameters of intru-
system ensures high level of immunity sion, motion, glass break, fire and gas leak. In case an event is detected
from false alarms. In case of an intrusion, by the system, then the Hooter will start sounding an alarm.
a loud hooter (enough to be heard in the
entire building), will go off. If such an How difficult is it to use and maintain such security systems?
arrangement is in place, alerts are sent It is not difficult at all to use these security systems, which come with user-friendly applica-
to a 24/7 monitoring station and in the tions that are easy to operate. Like any other electronic items, they are susceptible to dust,
form of SMS to the subscribed numbers. moisture etc. so if proper care is taken and regular upkeep is maintained, then the system will
Another interesting item for home keep on giving good service. Plus, Zicom also has an online trouble-shooting centre, where a
security is the CCTV system. This system user can get any query answered.
of two-way communication is a great
tool for viewing and interacting with Tell us about your best-selling home security systems?
any visitor without having to open the Video Door Phone is our best-selling home security system. This system gives you the ability
door. You can observe suspicious move- to peep out of the front door from any room of the house and interact with the visitor without
ments outside your door by activating opening the door. We have an extensive range of aesthetically designed and elegant looking
the camera through the indoor unit. The Video Door Phones to suit every buyer’s need. The product range consists of Black & White
system comes in many different models with Handset, Black & White Hands free, Large Screen Colour Handsfree, and Large Screen
from which the user can choose after Colour Handsfree with Photoframe.
taking into consideration the budget
and safety requirements of a house. For What initiatives are you taking to bring about growth in your company?
safety from fire related hazards, you We are focussing on penetrating deeper into the market. We plan to appoint 5000 dealers in
can also opt for smoke detectors and the next 2-3 years. Our plan envisages a focus on corporate and institutional segment, where
the gas leak detectors. However, smoke the business potential is very high. Recently we have put in place a direct sales team, which
detectors may not be useful in a house will exclusively focus on the builders and architects vertical.
where people smoke as cigarette smoke
is notoriously prone to triggering the Who is your main competitor in India?
system. All electronic security systems Competition is getting hotter by the day, especially in the corporate segment. But the good news
must draw their power through the grid, is that now we are seeing branded entrants in this market and so there is a level playing field
so somewhere down the line there’s going unlike in the past, when we were having competition from unbranded Made in China products.
to be an addition to electricity bills.
Residents in high-rise buildings can
go in for a product, which in the lexicon hire extra security personnel either, and rechargeable batteries are working in
of electronic surveillance is known as the building saves money that it would perfect order. The most common mistake
multi-apartment video door phone. The normally pay as watchman’s salary. that people make is that they don’t
main advantage of this system is that it When a visitor arrives at the gate, and take maintenance too seriously. There
provides two layers of security - the first he presses the number of the apartment, could also be dispute between different
at the building’s gate, and the second at the owner of that apartment will be able members of the society over who would
the resident’s door. The system envis- to talk to the visitor via intercom and actually foot the bill for a system such
ages a panel at the main gate of the verify their identity. After that the owner as a multi-apartment video door phone.
building that has a keypad on which any presses a button in the interface while But if installed properly, and maintained
visitor has to press the number of the in the apartment to open the main gate. at regular intervals, such a system can
apartment he intends to visit. This will As most of these systems are powered definitely add to the sense of security.
lead to a chime in the home unit of the by rechargeable batteries, they’re not
desired apartment. The main advantage affected by power cuts. However, once Car Security
of this system is that it performs the the systems are installed in their homes, In USA, a car is stolen every 26 sec-
task of a watchman. You don’t have to home owners have to ensure that the onds, and in urban India the trend is
110 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
Mumbai diamond heist solved with CCTv
The four jewel thieves who carried out the audacious diamond heist worth over Rs.6.6 crore in
Mumbai were caught after they were identified in CCTV footage.
not encouraging either. The good news porate latest IP network technology,
is that most of the car thieves are low- and make it is possible for you to have
tech guys and can be beaten at their a view of what is happening in the
game with the use of multiple security premises from any part of the world.
solutions. In India, the most common In case of an intrusion or any unto-
car theft system in use is the one with ward incident there will be video
a loud siren, alerting the driver, who evidence, available on a user-friendly
hopefully is within earshot. The siren interface from which you can chrono-
can be triggered due to unauthorised logically retrieve data and use it to aid
entry, glass breakage, sudden move- investigation. A biometric access control
ment, and perimeter violation. system is fairly common these days and
Vehicle owners can also opt for is used in several large complexes to
mechanical immobilisers and electronic identify employees. Identification can
immobilisers that will completely lock also be done through retina scan, which
the vehicle’s engine in case the system is considered most secure. However,
detects any kind of foul play. Some car every new layer of security that an office
companies currently offer a system, installs might also have the effect of
where a GPS device comes hidden in the slowing down the day-to-day functions of
vehicle. In case of theft, the GPS system the establishment. So to remain efficient,
can be activated through remote con- a business organisation has to develop
trol and used for tracking the vehicle. an electronic system that is capable of
seamlessly processing large numbers of
Securing the Office Space employees and visitors. In large factories
The threats that an office faces from a and in establishments such as airports,
burglar or from an element like fire is railways stations, across the country
the same as residential premises. So such systems are already in place.
essentially, you can install similar devices With sensible usage of electronic
in offices too. The only thing is that the security systems, we can easily
office security systems will have to take ensure that the horrors surrounding
into account specific factors such as the losses arising from theft or fire can
number of employees working at the be avoided to a large extent
facility, the surface area, and
entry and exit points in the
complex. After a study of such
factors, a security system that
is unique to the needs of the
facility can be developed. If
the office is processing lot of
sensitive information, then
systems such as mobile signal
jammers can also be used.
In fact Zicom is currently
offering a private mobile signal
jammer, which is capable of
jamming cellular network
in its vicinity. Then there are
CCTV systems that incor-
Windows Phone Make an app now
Although it currently has a negligible market Go to the link below for a video on how to
share, with the launch of 7 many factions, including create a simple data app in Visual Studio
Tech@work developers are considering taking it seriously http://bit.ly/cvICtG
Careers in Mobile
solutions for customised Tablet devices”
said Siddharth Sharma from RapidSoft
Technologies, an Indian app development
App Development
company which caters to telecom clients
such as AT&T, Telefonica and Verizon.
Development landscape
demystified
With the Apps and Smartphone industry growing in The entire developer ecosystem can
leaps and bounds it’s the perfect time to think about broadly be categorised the demand side
a career in this field and the supply side. On the demand side
you have gaming, publishing, and content
companies trying to develop something on
their own in the mobile space. This kind
of content could even be in the cloud since
you have a web interface on mobiles as
well. The second category are people who
are developing their own applications and
porting those application on to the different
marketplaces. The third category are OPDs
or Offshore Product Development compa-
nies that exploit the arbitrage opportunity
that is created in this space. On the supply
side there are again three profiles for mobile
developers - MIS developers who form
a part of a large enterprise organisation
whose concerns are compatibility, scal-
ability, security etc. The second are the game
developers who work across the platforms.
The third category is web developers
working in the mobile space who develop
mobile web pages or Rich Internet Applica-
Siddharth Parwatay various platforms present in the market tions.
siddharth.parwatay@thinkdigit.com that run on mobile phones, tablets and even
Education, Certification and
W
netbooks; viz Adobe AIR, Java ME, Meego,
ho could’ve imagined in Symbian, Android, iOS (Apple), Samsung Employment
the time of an innocuous bada, RIM (Blackberry), Windows Mobile, The people most suited for this field are
little app called Snake, Brew and many more. those coming from a technical background.
that the Mobile App “The app industry is one of the most rap- They could be BE or BTech, BCA, MCA or
Development Industry would be where it is idly evolving technology fronts right now. Computer Science graduates. Such courses
today. A recent ABI Research report found Devices like Mobile Phones, Tablets and impart a certain amount of base knowledge
that consumers downloaded 2.4 billion very soon home appliances are going to run in terms of coding such as C++ or C# or
applications last year, and the downloads apps. Apps that can be downloaded, Apps technologies such as J2EE. But these cur-
are on an explosive rise to the tune of 7 bil- that can connect to the internet and Apps riculum driven skill-sets do not necessarily
lion by 2013. Others estimate the industry that can define lifestyles.” said Noaman prepare students for employability. Perhaps
is size to grow to about $17.2 billion by 2013. Kazi, Business lead at Hungama Digital this is why you have India-based training
Back in the day carriers had a walled Media Entertainment Limited. “We are cur- institutes such as www.FresherLab.com
garden approach, strictly controlling the rently leveraging the Android SDK to build and www.edumobile.org cropping up. “In
app content worldwide and in countries
like India the developer revenue share was “We are now working through our academic
as low as 30%. Apple came in with the initiatives, to reach out to the entire academic
AppStore and in one fell swoop changed community in India to build capabilities
the game for everyone, developers et al. both on the mobile and cloud fronts”
This was followed by the Android Market Moorthy Uppaluri, General Manager, Developer Partner Evangelism,
and Ovi Store from Nokia. Today we have Microsoft India
112 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
BB joins the bandwagon Learn for free
With the launch of PlayBook apps will soon The good folk over at mobile.tutsplus.com offer free
need to be written for this tablet too. Such development tutorials for all major mobile patforms,
opportunities keep opening up for app developers and here’s the kicker - it’s all free Work@tech
the course of the last seven years we felt that but very easy to pick up if you know object Resource Central
there is wide gap between the knowledge oriented concepts. Nokia Web Runtime • http://www.forum.nokia.com/Library/
imparted by universities and that required (WRT) is for web developers to write Tools_and_downloads/
for the market place and so we thought of widgets in HTML/JS/CSS. If you know • https://garage.maemo.org/projects/
pys60/
creating modular training programs to basic web development, you know how to • http://qt.nokia.com/products/
augment the university training available use WRT. It’s very easy to write code in but • http://developer.android.com/index.html
to most engineers”, said Sushant, CTO of you don’t have as much flexibility/access to • http://developer.apple.com/programs/ios/
• http://na.blackberry.com/eng/developers/
Porting Lab that runs EDUMobile. Devi platform stuff as the other three options.”
started/
Ahilya college in Indore offers an M Tech concludes Anup. Similar is the case for the • http://developer.bada.com
in Mobile Technologies and companies Windows Phone 7 platform. “We have come • http://create.msdn.com/en-US/
too are trying to bridge the divide between up with a completely new architecture, but
academically qualified candidates and as long as you know C#, Silverlight or .Net are more preferred right now. By and large
employable ones. you can develop for the Windows platform” freshers can expect to make anywhere
“As Windows Phone 7 launches, we’ve said Mr. Moorthy Uppaluri, General Man- between 2.5 to 3 lakhs.
put in place a lot of support systems for ager, Developer Partner Evangelism, Micro- “Most of the IT companies in India
developers. Be it access to devices to test soft India. Though diversity is desirable have Mobile Software departments and
their applications, access to the latest SDKs, it’s not always favourable in all cases. The the exploding Smart phone market is a big
and even getting their applications on MIS type of enterprise developers generally opportunity for everyone. On an average
to the marketplace. DreamSpark (www. work in platform specific teams. Hence the anyone with one year of experience in
dreamspark.com) is such an initiative opposite, leading to specialisation. iPhone or Android gets anywhere from
that gives out free tools such as Visual Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 35,000 per month”, said
Studio to students. In India we have about Is code enough? Sushant. “Candidates are expected to pick
3 million students who are part of these Mobile app development has two factors up languages and programming concepts
programmes”, said Mr. Moorthy Uppaluri, to it – coding and user experience. “Even if through their formal education course but
General Manager, Developer Partner Evan- you’ve written highly optimised code but not so much the actual working on develop-
gelism, Microsoft India.
“Being an independent application developer
Knowledge base is a lucrative but slightly risky career option.
If students want to gain capability, But say you get your app featured on an App
they should have the requisite skill sets to store and it becomes very popular, you may
develop across all Platforms. A platform is not make much money off it, but it will be
like a Channel of distribution. If you have of immense value when seeking a job”
expertise on only one type of Platform you
are leaving out opportunities to monetize Sushant Das, CTO, Chakra Interactive (EDU Mobile)
on other channels. If you’re comfortable
say with development in J2ME and want to have not paid attention to how a user will ment tools.”
port on to the Symbian platform you need interact with the application, it will fall flat.” From a fresher’s hiring standpoint we
to look at developing a few ancillary skills. said Moorthy from Microsoft. Developers check analytical ability and algorithm
“Qt is a good place to start” says Anup C must have designinterface skills in addition making ability at entry point.” added
Shan who is a web developer at Oracle and to technical knowledge. In India coding is Siddharth from RapidSoft. Companies
builds mobile apps as a hobby. “It’s Nokia’s not the differentiator. According to Noaman, depending on their size can take candidates
latest cross-platform application and UI “Multi touch, Pinch to Zoom, Accelerom- who have trained with say Aptech or NIIT,
framework. It’s used for the KDE environ- eters, are the trends and App developers or depending on their hiring guidelines
ment on Linux and is platform independent. have to use these concepts to make the insist on Engineering/MCA degrees.
With Qt you can write code once and it’ll experience richer, enticing and exciting - the When hiring freshers, companies put them
(supposedly) work on all Symbian, Maemo underlying technology is a mere tool for through about six months of training, in
and Meego devices. Besides, there’s a decent which the developer’s expertise is a basic which they make them conversant with the
amount of documentation available online. hygiene requirement.” different platforms and technologies. In
Symbian C/C++ which is like objective C RapidSoft the career path goes something
and gives decent performance for games Pay Scales and Career Path like this – Junior Developer, Program Lead,
is being phased out by Nokia because it’s Pay scales in App development com- Team Lead, Project / Delivery Manager. The
a little painful to code. Then there is the panies are a little higher than those of IT position of Project Manager can be attained
Pys60 project which has ported python to professionals from other backgrounds such in about 10 years and people in this position
Symbian. All you need to know is Python – as Java or .Net, simply because of current can hope to conservatively draw 14 to 17
which is not really taught anywhere as such, demand. iPhone and Android developers lakhs. The sky is the limit.
Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com 113
Blizzard Windows games marketplace
Game creator sues Microsoft is launching a marketplace for Windows and Xbox users
Game review called “Games for Windows” marketplace on November 15th
StarCraftII hack creators
By Faiyaz Shaikh
D
ead Rising 2, just like its pred- Rapid Questing with Genre: Action
ecessor, has a lot of potential high latency Studio: Blue Castle
to be a mindless zombie killing Just like its ancestor, this game is Publisher: Capcom
carnival; however, some aspects entirely restricted by time. So, completing *Platforms: PS3, Xbox 360 (reviewed on
of the game suck the fun right out. the main storyline requires rushing Xbox 360)
The zombie outbreak from the first through most of the game. There is a lot Price: PS3, Xbox: `2, 999/-
game — as zombie outbreaks typically of running around back and forth across
do — have spread to other parts of the the map and this translates into a lot of Pros:
Dead Rising game world. Dead Rising 2 lengthy loading screens. Consequently, Weapons crafting is the best
follows one such massive outbreak in you end up spending more time staring and only significant addition
a place called Fortune City which is not at the screen than actually playing the introduced in the sequel.
much different from the location of the game. Worse still, even the game’s cut- Unlimited zombies for eternal maiming
first game. A few new game elements scenes have loading screens. The saving pleasure. Multiple endings
have been introduced in the sequel, but system involves saving only at restrooms,
largely it is just like the first game. which are even rarer than the mainte- Cons:
nance rooms. So, failing a quest or dying Way too many loading screens
Take the good with the bad means that you often have to endure Time restricted quests
The most interesting and significant of another long session with multiple prevents exploration
these changes is the introduction of a loading screens. While the game is a lot Frustrating save system
weapon crafting system called Combo of fun, this bit really tests the resolve. Badly crafted cut-scenes
Weapons. Sundry objects and food items
scattered throughout the game world Age of Zombies Verdict:
can be combined to create new and Some may argue that Zombies have Dead Rising 2, just like its predecessor,
sometimes powerful weapons. This was been done to death in both movies, and has a lot of potential to be a mindless
the single aspect of the game which kept in video games; while others would zombie killing carnival; however, some
us going right till the end. While some of dismiss this argument as blasphemy. aspects of the game suck the fun right out
these combined weapons are very effi-
cient for racking up zombie kills, others There is something about this theme
are just good for some laughs at the that enables a unique blend of humor
cost of your undead brethren. However, and unabashed violence, minus the guilt.
just like everything else in the game, the In this respect at least, Dead Rising 2
designers had to make this just a little is pretty true to its genre. Except the
too hard. Weapons can only be combined restrictions which are in complete con-
by using work benches in maintenance trast to the game’s setting which is meant
rooms which are rare and farflung. for exploration and experimentation.
114 SKOAR! | November 2010 | www.skoar.com
Playstation Store in India
Indian PS owners will now get access to downloadable content of
the PS Store with an annual charge of Rs. 2850 for PS Plus program
Section opener name
F1 2010
By Abhinav Lal
F
1 2010
certainly
had a
lot to live
up to - being the
first FIA licensed
game to hit the PC ence, with the inside and
in 8 years. It is also the first F1 title to roof camera views rather
hit the Xbox 360, and is developed by beautifully obscured – worst
Codemasters, the guys who brought us in the spray of a car ahead of
Dirt (Colin McRae) and Race Driver. you. All this makes for some
F1 2010 has four main game modes: serious load times, even on a
Career, Grand Prix, Time Trial and Multi- rather well-endowed system. settings. This really
player. Career is your season, with your However, once race/qualifying/ shows its worth in F1 2010,
player rising up the ranks, starting with practice sessions are loaded, there where you will be very grateful for its
one of the lower-ranked teams, based on are no load times anywhere else. presence if you spin out on Lap 9/10.
player performance and contract offers. The plethora of view options is also Tweaking stuff in the paddock is part
Grand Prix is the equivalent of Quick Race, very satisfying, and very Codemasters, of the fun. So while you can upgrade
allowing you to play as any of the drivers with three outside views, one cockpit your car over the course of the season,
for any of the teams, on any of the circuits. view, one bumper view, and one roof you can also mess with a nicely detailed
If you are daunted by having to race view. Sitting inside the cockpit, with list of performance settings, from
all 59 laps of Qatar when you play, the low height giving you a seriously engine to gearbox to balance to tyres.
you’d be pleased to know the minimum close horizon, is something you want Multiplayer is surprisingly easy to setup
setting is 20% of the Race Weekend, the most of when you have to spot and fun, requiring just a Windows Live ID,
which can be amped up depending the next corner at 280km per hour. and is rather fast even on a low/medium
on just how many hand- aching min- On the simulation front, F1 2010 fol- broadband connection. You can also
utes you want to spend on track. This lows much of Codemasters’ previously set up a custom multiplayer Grand Prix
would get you approximately 10 laps established formulas, where controls and season, as well as of course, LAN gaming.
out of 60, an hour-long practice ses- physics are accurate enough not to feel Overall it’s a worthy game to have
sion, and twenty minutes of qualifying. arcade-like, yet, are not as unforgiving mastered. It will also last you a while,
As far as graphics go, the game is as you know the real deal would be, with quite a few hours for the learning
hardly stunning, but that’s not for lack especially in the rain. More proof of this curve, and then an entire season to
of realism, but more because it’s almost being a Codemasters’ game comes from finish, more contract offers and teams
realistically boring enough not to stun you. the inclusion of Flashbacks, which is a to join, multiplayer gaming, and beating
You’ve got to appreciate the overall nary-a- useful feature that sets back the clock on your own best times in Time Trial. All
foot-long look though. Rain is when you your accidents/errors a limited number in all, at Rs. 999 for the PC, F1 2010 is
truly see the finer touches to the experi- of times depending on your difficulty definitely a must have for F1 fans
SKOAR | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com 115
Home made space video
A Father and son duo from Brooklyn launched an iPhone 4 and a HD camera into space. The
two objects were attached to a weather balloon which sent home some awesome footage.
Esc Check it out now http://on.mash.to/9bQDPS
Twitter spoofs
Alternative services to post your irritating one liners
Well these websites are not exactly spoofs of twitter but they sure work on the similar micro blogging platform. While some are close
replicas of the ‘blue bird’ the rest are just innovative in their own right. So get over your Twitter fixation and explore!
Sweetter 3.0 Jaiku Hictu!
Along the same lines as Twitter we have Apart from the usual 140 characters, we Hictu! has a lot of variations and add-
Sweetter (what an original name). Here found a refreshing add-on in Jaiku that lets ons other than the custom message.
you can elevate your online nirvana by you add an icon (several choices) along Just like icons in Jaiku, Hictu! has
posting a 140 character message and with your message. The #tags don’t show moods which you can tag along with
earning Karma points.The more you with your message they appear separately your status. You can post your feeds
‘sweett’ the more Karma points you earn. beneath the feed. Start Jaikuing now! in specific chan-
nels like Science &
Technology, Music,
Humor. There are
options for video,
audio and rss posts
as well.
Here a few micro-blogging sites with a twist to them!
Blip.fm Ping.fm Plazes
If you want to broadcast your playlist Ping.fm allows you to update your Share your location with your friends in
then blip.fm is the place to be. Start your status message on more than 40 sites. real time. It uses Google Earth to map
internet radio station and leave a 140 Users can link their Ping.fm page to your position. Feeds of 140 characters
character message with each song you their other accounts like Facebook, can be updated which also link with
blip. Create playlists and watch your sub- Twitter, Buzz, WordPress and so on your Twitter account. Once your location
scribers grow. Acquire level badges when and create a message which shows is mapped can find people around you.
you reach certain number of listeners. up on their shared accounts.
Best video game innovations
From the classic 8-bit to Halo Reach, video games have always thrilled the ‘gamer’ inside us. But it takes years of developing to come out with
a super cool feature which becomes the main USP behind a game’s success. Here are some cool game changing innovations.
Regenerative health Running on walls Shoulder View
Regenerative health was considered Prince of Persia has been around since The much awaited Resident Evil 4
the best feature of Halo 2. After getting the 80’s. The breakthrough was when broke the barrier between first and
hit, the player’s health would regen- Prince of Persia: Sands of time included third person shooter. The game’s over
erate upon hiding behind cover if he the running on walls feature. This ena- shoulder camera allowed the user to
was wearing the special suit. bled the player to run along the walls. be in better control of his surrounding.
116 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
See more, talk more Autocad on Mac?
The face time app in the iPhone4 could soon After eighteen long years, the Autocad software is once
accomodate multiple connections allowing users again available on Mac. Switching shouldn’t be a problem
to video chat with more than one user. No official for users as all their Autocad files from Windows would
conformation from Apple though be Mac compatible Unwind
Top 3 ways to waste time on SEO
Search engine optimisation is something which each blogger or site owner would invest his time in. However its not always that your time
spent would result in more traffic or increased visitors. Here’s a look at how bloggers optimise their SEOs while in reality it yields nothing.
Commenting on blogs Submitting site to various directories Building another site and linking it to
Oh! you just left a constructive comment Although submitting your site to a number yourself
hoping people would click back on your of directories takes only a few minutes, most The last resort in any blogger’s book, building
suggestion. Well its almost certain that it of these directories send so little link juice additional sites that just link back to your
won’t happen, for the fact that 99% of the to your site that it’s not worth the effort. main site does not make any sense. Google
blogs have a no-follow link for comments. Apart from paid directories like Best of the recognises such web addresses even though
This means that the site owner does not web and Business.com, free directories take they are built from a different server. This
endorse your link, hence it does not count little regulatory measures and often include idea is not only time consuming, it’s also
as a vote for your site. spam sites. stupid.
diary
Nash went to Taiwan, Rossi to Norway, the rest of us were here - in the office, working! No we are not complaining
(not yet!) just giving you guys an update about the happenings. As a matter of fact their trips were work related but
who would mind hanging out with some of the most advanced robots from around the world and watching them turn
each other into twisted metal! Or for that matter going to Norway and rubbing shoulders with the guys who create
the Opera browser. Monil, Samyukta and Vinay (the interns - as they were called) have left us, leaving behind a more
peaceful and organised test center; we miss them though. Speaking of leaving, Shweta is back after a month long hia-
tus; she resumed work after a gruelling exam session (atleast that’s what she told us). In related news, you can send
a big shout out the newest member of Team Digit - Rudresh. Okay now the big news - Kareena (our office cat) has
delivered three cute kittens, so expect some home grown Lol Cat videos.
Sentinel HASP SRM Industry’s First Fully-Integrated Hardware
and Software-based Software Rights Management Solution
digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com 117
Home Entertainment Zone Storage and Memory Center
Digit Launches new section dedicated to LCDs, Home Theaters, Along with HEZ we have another new section called
Esc and all that is High Def. Visit: www.thinkdigit.com/HEZ Storage and Memory Center. Visit thinkdigit.com/SMC
SKoAr! Digit Facebook Pages
Do iS
M
N S!
Expo 2010
’T
Join the group that suits your http://www.facebook.com/IThinkGreen
need! Each one of us can make a difference
http://www.facebook.com/thinkdigit to the environment around us and
Due to circumstances
Your favourite magazine on your benefit ourselves by adopting green
beyond our control,
the event has been favourite social network. Interact tools, technology & practices.
postponed. with thousands of Digit readers and
We wish to thank all have some geeky fun! http://www.facebook.com/techkranti
those who wrote to us Let’s wake ourselves up and gather
for passes.
http://www.facebook.com/consumermate the tools of tech to change the
We’re in the process of
Expert buying advice and some future of our great nation. Join The
re-scheduling, and we
awesome offers. This Diwali season, Revolution!
will make it a priority to
visit www. consumermate.com before
inform you of the new
you take out cash from your pocket http://www.facebook.com/
dates and send you Digit Collector Edition will
gladtobeaprogrammer
passes be on stands December 1st.
http://www.facebook.com/IThinkGadgets Community of software programmers
Prebook now and get `50
Write to: Community of People who love who enjoy writing code and want discount. Check back cover of
editor@thinkdigit.com mobiles, laptops, cameras & other to grow their career in software Fast Track for further details
for free passes gadgets development
Reader Android App Reader Blog
Digit reader Kunal Dharamsi from 12 year old Jayant Raj, a “proud
Indore sent us a little Android app reader and thinkdigit forum
that he designed. It auto responds member” emailed us about a new
to text messages according to the tech blog that he has started
message set. He has deviced it such recently. His most recent post is
that the number to which reply must titled “8 advantages of having a
be sent should be equal to 10, so slow internet connection”. Not bad
that it does not reply to premium for a first time effort. Here is an
numbers. According to him “many such apps on the android market extract. :
often reply to premium numbers which costs too much”. We gave it >Losing weight because of
a whirl and it works just fine. So the next time you’re driving or in a nervousness while you are keep waiting for the your browser to
meeting you know how to auto respond to incoming texts. respond [LOL]
Download it at: http://bit.ly/bs3XBk >You can experience internet browsing in slow motion
If you are a budding app developer and want your applications >Blaming the internet when you get late on a task
featured on the DVD, write to dvdcontent@thinkdigit.com Visit: http://jayantjargon.wordpress.com for more
Nov 2010 Digit is taking interactivity to a new level, and will be organising events every month. You get
to meet and interact with people that you wouldn’t in the normal course of your life — industry
experts, Team Digit, and other readers with similar interests. Stay updated and stay ahead of
the curve by looking for this page in every month’s magazine.
Webinar Overclocking
Tired of your slow processor and graphics card? Fed up of long loading screens and appalling frame
rates in games? Join us for the Digit Overclocking Webinar, where we’ll take processors and graphics
cards unwillingly to their very limits. There’ll be plenty of playing around with multipliers, FSB, some
tweaking of voltages; hopefully we’ll have only a few BSODs and no fried hardware! And remember,
NovEMbEr 13 don’t try this at home! (unless you have attended this webinar)
TiME: 1700 HrS
For details on upcoming webinars and to view past webinars, visit thinkdigit.com/webinars
118 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
Digit Diary obsidian’s Fallout
Check out digit diary in the Unwind section to catch up Obsidian Entertainment launches Fallout - New Vegas,
with the latest happenings in the Digit Office which is not a sequel to FallOut 3? Community
Head over to www.thinkdigit.com/forum, for some of best discussions, buying advice,
and user reviews. Of course, you will meet like minded (and not so like-minded) geeks, leading to
some of the most constructive arguments you’ll ever have.
Check out this thread which discusses “Hardware that you should NOT buy”
If you buy HD5770 then be warned about some of the issues that you may face
__________________
Intel E8400||Asus P5Q||XFX HD5850||4GB 800MHz DDR2||Samsung T220
||Corsair 620HX SMPS||Zebronics Bijli Cabbinet||APC 650va UPS||
Not to worry. The 5770 cards manufactured after Feb2010 are less prone to
the gray bug.
_______________________________________________________________
Core-i5 750,Gigabyte P55 US3L,Corsair 4GB DDR3 1333Mhz,500GB WD Blue,NZXT Gamma,Corsair VX450
PSU,Sapphire ATI Radeon HD5770 1GB GDDR5
Yet a bunch of posts about HD5770 bugs are cropping up everywhere. It’s always a gamble with HD5xxx cards, mine
was a non reference version and said ver 3.1 on the box, but it had that issue (although sometimes I feel that I’ve
never tested the issue thoroughly and sent away a perfectly fine card, the guys there said this is the first HD5850 that
was being rma’d (and only one HD5770 had been rma’d so far), maybe MSI kombustor killed my card?? Gonna stay
away from kombustor and furmark from now on.
Intel E8400 | Asus P5Q | XFX HD5850 | 4GB 800MHz DDR2 | Samsung T220 |Corsair 620HX SMPS | Zebronics Bijli
It was working fine before you ran Kombustor and Furmark?
__________________
MSI P45 Platinum|Q9550[E0]@3.85Ghz@1.32V|NH-D14|TWIN2X4096-8500C5(5-5-5-15)@2.1V|HD4890[Xfire]
Corsair 650TX|Seagate 180GB+80GB|SONY-DVD-R|CM690|Scythe Kaze Ultrax2|S2409W|APC 1100VA|Scythe
Server
Yes, it was actually fine before running kombustor in that blasted unlock power draw mode. I played about 2hrs of
Metro 2033 and Just Cause 2 maxed out. Played another hour of crysis warhead and also ran 30 mins of furmark
in xtreme burning mode and such, ran occt for 30 mins no issue, that blasted kombustor killed my card, never run
kombustor in an ATI card with unlock power draw, all the people in different forums are saying this but I overlooked
it, damn.
__________________
Intel E8400||Asus P5Q||XFX HD5850||4GB 800MHz DDR2||Samsung T220
||Corsair 620HX SMPS||Zebronics Bijli Cabbinet||APC 650va UPS||
Digit | August 2010 www.thinkdigit.com 119
Digit | November 2010 || www.thinkdigit.com 119
Digit 101
Rescue from the webpage jungle
Confused with what you see on a webpage? Stop annoying people around you with stupid questions by referring to this guide.
Those logos below your webpage!
What is the world coming to? You can’t stumble upon. Its a
even figure out those small logos you discovery engine which
see at the end of every third website you finds you the most suitable
surf? Is it some hidden propaganda sites according to your like.
that the evil web wizard is spreading Just start stumbling.
through these barely visible icons? Nah,
it’s nothing like that. Those icons you Google Buzz is integrated
see beneath your webpage are nothing within your Gmail
but links to different social websites like account. Using this service, RSS readers
Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Stumble Upon
and so on. If you haven’t heard of any
you can share videos,
photos, status messages and where to
of them, worry no more. This detailed using your Buzz account. find them
table below would explain each darn link An RSS reader basically gets all the
you see on your page. Starting with the This little orange icon is for feeds you have subscribed to one
simplest one subscribing to RSS feeds. place and manages them in a chrono-
Once you have added the logical order. Its like reading mails in
your inbox, over here you read your
The Facebook icon – Any feeds on your RSS reader
subscriptions. Famous RSS readers
six year old would know like Google reader, the are Google Reader, Feed demon, Net
that the FB icon links that feeds will update themselves from the vibes and so on
site to its facebook page. site giving you the latest feeds
By clicking this icon Tumblr is a microblogging
you ‘like’ the particular site, where users can create
article or picture you are their tumblog and share
currently viewing. text posts, videos, images,
audio, quotes and so on.
If you see this blue bird
icon then just click on it to Delicious is a social
tweet (post on your twitter bookmarking service
account) where you can save and
share all your bookmarks
When you ‘Digg’ You can directly log-in
interesting stories that
you come across, you
using your Yahoo account.
What’s a
simply share them on your Digg account. Technorati is like a search Tag cloud?
You can start digging on a story by engine for searching Many a times while browsing you might
registering on digg.com or log in through blogs. Technorati features come across a tag which looks like this.
your facebook or twitter account to channels like Technology, These are nothing but tags or keywords
continue digging Business making it easier that the website contains. The bigger a
tag appears the more popular it is.
for the user to track down his favorite
Did you just stumble upon some area of interest. Click on this icon to share
interesting website then share it on a story on your technorati blog.
Social Bookmarking
Bookmarking a website for future reference on your computer is a common practice. However there is something called as social
bookmarking, which simply means saving bookmarks to a social website where you can add your own comments and tag the bookmarks
with keywords. The websites mentioned above are more or less examples of social bookmarking, where you share something interesting
with other users on a social network website. Users with whom you share can be known or unknown to you.
120 Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com
Newspaper on your PC Instant Facebook chat
We’re all habituated to reading our morning newspaper with a Facebook chat is highly addictive especially when you have
cup of tea. Won’t it be great to get the same news on your PC, and hundreds of friends. But using it within FB chat is quite
on your phone? Enter Calibre (http://calibre-ebook.com), a free cumbersome. Brower extensions are here to your rescue.
software which will download your favorite newspapers from
anywhere in the world to your PC. Once installed, simply click For Chrome – Facebook Chat extension (http://bit.ly/cuFDtA)
on the Fetch News button and you can choose the news sources Install the addon. Once installed, click on the Chat button in menu
you want. You can even set schedules for your newspapers, so you bar. You have to log into your Facebook account. Press the button
have them downloaded when you wake up in the morning. If you again, and you should find the Facebook chat window open there.
have a phone that has an eBook reader on it, you can transfer your
newspapers to your device in seconds. For Firefox
Add a bookmark for the URL www.facebook.com/presence/
popout.php in Firefox. Right-click on the bookmark from the
Bookmarks menu, and click on Properties. Set it to load the
bookmark in the sidebar. Open the bookmark and it’ll load in the
Firefox sidebar.
Digit | November 2010 | www.thinkdigit.com 121