Why 3-D Smartphones Are the Best Bet for 3-D Adoption

 At the recent CTIA Wireless conference in Orlando, Fla., two major manufacturers jumped into the 3-D market, a market that has been mostly dominated by TVs until this point. While it may seem counterintuitive to relegate 3-D shows to a small smartphone screen, 3-D smartphones might actually have the best chance of promoting 3-D adoption among consumers.

The display
Portability is one of the most important considerations. While 3-D content would look better on a large screen, people can't carry their 3-D TVs around with them. Passing the time on a boring plane ride with a 3-D movie is one of the perks of a 3-D smartphone.

It also widens the customer base because those who would have said they don't have time at home to watch a 3-D movie might want to stream a 3-D show to their phone while traveling.

But there's an even more important benefit to the 3-D smartphone displays: They don't require 3-D glasses. The glasses for 3-D TVs are expensive (many over $100 each), require batteries and are usually not numerous enough for an entire family. The 3-D smartphone bypasses every one of these problems by negating the need for glasses and making the viewing experience personal.

It's not a perfect solution. The screens on the two major 3-D smartphones – the HTC EVO 3D and the LG Optimus 3D – use parallax technology, which has certain flaws. For instance, the screens must be viewed straight on; turning them even a single degree distorts the image. However, these flaws are a relatively minor concern. It's far easier to turn your wrist a bit to adjust the viewing angle than it is to search the couch cushions to find that second pair of 3-D glasses.

The price
Currently, 3-D TVs are very expensive, costing thousands of dollars — and that's before you buy the 3-D Blu-ray player and the extra glasses. 3-D smartphones, on the other hand, will be subsidized by carriers, just like any other phone, making them much cheaper alternatives. There's also no need for disc players and DVRs because of the next point.

The content
A phone's mobile network provides an automatic content delivery system. Movies and shows can be purchased for download or rented for streaming with relative ease, and users don't have to be sitting in their living room either.

For now, there is still very little content for 3-D mobile devices, though that will likely change. Sprint representatives at CTIA indicated the carrier plans to create a content portal for the HTC EVO 3D, and T-Mobile will likely do the same for the LG Optimus 3D. If there is enough content available soon after launch, consumers will flock to it because of the ease of finding and playing movies and TV shows.

The camera
Both the EVO 3D and the Optimus 3D have dual cameras that allow the user to shoot their own 3-D images and video. And the 3-D display lets them view it instantly. As long as the cameras work well (all indications are positive so far) then 3-D phones offer the full package: the ability to not only view but create 3-D content. 3-D TVs can't do that.

Of course, there are 3-D camcorders reaching the market, but they are inferior to 3-D smartphones because of the next point.

The price/functionality quotient
The biggest benefit of getting 3-D media through a smartphone is that the device does so many other things as well. The screen may be smaller, but you're getting far more functionality for a cheaper price: phone calls, texting, Internet browsing, hundreds of thousands of apps, FM radio and more.

While there are different implementations of these features in some new Internet-connected TVs, the interface is invariably clunkier and less fully featured than what you find in a simple 3-D smartphone. For this reason alone, 3-D content makers have a better chance of selling their products because people will likely have a 3-D-capable smartphone sooner than an everything-capable 3-D TV.

It may still take a while
While the benefits of 3-D smartphones are obvious, they may remain a rarity for a while. It's still unclear if people are truly interested in 3-D content, regardless of whether or not it requires glasses. The available 3-D content will need to multiply exponentially, and the parallax screens could be further refined. But if anything can inspire 3-D adoption among American consumers, the new 3-D smartphones can.

Addiction: Most People Can’t Function Without Their Smartphones

“We expect that Nokia’s smartphone portfolio will make further significant market share losses during 2011 and 2012 until it has completed its adoption of Microsoft’s Windows Phone software as its new primary software platform for smartphones” said Standard & Poor’s credit analyst, Matthias Raab.

Listen, I love my smartphone too, and I spend way too much time on it as I’m sure you do as well, but I think it’s important to know the difference between what can be done on your mobile device and what should be handled on a good old-fashioned desktop.

If you want a larger display, go play on your computer, or go buy a tablet. I agree that it’s beneficial to be able to handle tasks on-the-go, or watch TV when you’re waiting in the doctor’s office, but the line has to be drawn somewhere.

The Gallery - Hair

In October 2009 I did this post - which pretty much cover's my many hair 'do's'. So instead, with his permission of course, I thought I would share a picture of my lovely husband. This is a picture of him when I first knew him.

Note: He did not enter into natural sunlight at this point due to his blueish skin... The rest of us were enjoying the sun that day.

However, this picture truly demonstrates his mane of hair. (all natural)

In fairness to him. This was me when he first met me.

The hair is just a dangley mess. (It was all natural) And yes, my jumper was inside out.

And there was of course the '80's perm which give's hubs a run for his money.

And that is definitely enough sharing of hair raising stories (groan).

Colin Farrell on pal Elizabeth Taylor: "I miss her"

Colin Farrell may have seemed like an unlikely guest at Elizabeth Taylor's funeral last week, but the Irish actor and the Hollywood icon were actually good pals.

"How did we become friends? You know, the old story of boy meets girl, and boy pesters girl with too many phone calls at inappropriate hours of the night," Farrell joked to "Access Hollywood." "I was just lucky enough to become her friend in the last year and a half. I adore her … still."

Taylor was also a big fan of Farrell. In an interview published in the March issue of Harper's Bazaar, the movie legend dished about today's crop of leading men. "I love Johnny Depp, and I love Colin Farrell — both brilliant, nuanced actors with great range," she said.

Farrell read the poem "The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo" at Taylor's funeral and said he was "sad and honored" when a friend of the star called to ask him to be part of the service.

"It was a tricky poem as well," he noted. "Even in passing she had me under the thumb, sweating bricks! … I just miss her; I just miss her; I just miss her."

Hugh Jackman offers X-Men with Shah Rukh Khan

 The occasion was the closing ceremony of FICCI FRAMES 2011, which brought Bollywood's Shah Rukh Khan and Hollywood's Hugh Jackman together on the same platform.

Though Shah Rukh Khan's fan following is unmatchable, the Baadshah of Bollywood is a self confessed fan of Wolverine star Hugh Jackman. Talking about Hugh, Shah Rukh Khan said, "I have seen a lot of Hugh's films and also his work on TV. I loved Wolverine the most and during our discussion just a while back, Hugh offered me to be part of the next X-Men installment. I told him I am in. I would definitely love to do X-Men with him. Just as Shah Rukh Khan made that revelation, Hugh jumped in and said, "Well, Oh! I just asked you to finance the film." This was just one of the many light-hearted moments that electrified the crowd present at FICCI. 

Both the stars were a treat with their quick wit and amazing sense of humour. Though the two were just joking about the next X-Men film, we hope Shah Rukh Khan and Hugh give the idea of working together a serious thought! 

Windows Phone 7 To Overtake iPhone by 2015

According to InformationWeek , by the year 2015, assuming we aren't killed in the 2012 apocalypse, the Windows Phone 7 will overtake Apple's iPhone. Now this doesn't mean that the WP 7 will be in first; Google's Android phones are projected to blow away the competition with a 45% market share, with Windows in second at 20%.

Apple's iPhone andits iOS system will have roughly the same market share they currently own at just over 15%. The presumed increase will come as the IDC surmises that Symbian owners, who represent just over 20% of the market today compared to WP 7's 5%, will happily convert to the Windows platform, leading to Symbian's demise.

Android is poised to take over this year as more and more popular phone's utilize its operating system. It's predicted to ascend to 40% market share this year, so the projected figures aren't that crazy.

It's just Microsoft's market expanding that much seems ridiculous at thispoint. The sales have been underwhelming and updates have been botched so unless they increase the quality and service of their phone, it's going to go the same direction that the iPod killing Zune went. There's a reason it's not taking over at thismoment and besides an assumption that Symbian will fall down, there's no reason to assume Microsoft's phone will takeover.

Most people will probably goto Android as it continues its takeover from the biggest and most user friendly company, Google. Apple and Google specializein service while Microsoft botches updates.

Scarlett Johansson & Sean Penn Are Dating

Scarlett Johansson and Sean Penn made their "official" debut together over the weekend at Reese Witherspoon & Jim Toth's wedding.

Read more »

Trend Alert: Ankle-Booties

These are still big and shouts boho chic. They match easily with almost anything - from your sundresses to jeans, from shorts to flirty skirts.

Celebs like Kate Bosworth and Emma Roberts are obsessed over theirs, wearing their suede booties with anything.

Vanessa Hudgens has also been spotted with this footwear.

*credits: Vanessa-Hudgens.org

Spotted in a more trendy version of the booties are Rachel Bilson, Sienna Miller, Nicky Hilton and Blake Lively in camel-toned suede Chloe ankle-booties that features some leather details.

10 Million Users Leave Myspace Within A Month

Comscore's latest Media Metrix table shows that the website has lost a staggering 50 million users since last February 2010 despite numerous attempts by its owner News to add features that would stem the flood of visitors moving to its rivals like Facebook or Twitter.

Myspace has been credited with launching the careers of many music heavyweights like Arctic Monkeys, Kate Nash and Lily Allen and the sale of the site back in 2005 to Rupert Murdoch's content media empire was seen by many, as the proof that Social Networking went mainstream.

Facebook is the culprit behind the slow demise of Myspace over the last five years which saw the former overtake the latter in April 2008 and grow to more than 500 million users by the beginning of 2011.

The rise of Facebook crushed not only Myspace but also the likes of Friendsreunited and Bebo and the ultimate humiliation came as Myspace announced that it struck a deal with the enemy to "easily create a personalized stream of entertainment content".

The company also has already laid off a number of employees and has renamed itself from being a social network to an "entertainment destination".

Apple Releases New iOS 4.3.1 Update

Apple has released the iOS 4.3.1 update which deals with certain graphics and mobile connectivity issues as well as provding some minor enhancements.

The minor security and performance update was released to coincide with the launch of the iPad 2 in 25 countries including the UK. Apple released the update a week or so earlier than many had expected. The update brings security and performance enhancements to Apple's iPhone 4, iPad, iPhone 3GS and the iPod Touch.

According to the company, the update fixes a graphics glitch found on the fourth generation iPod Touch, patches several bugs related to activating and connecting to some cellular networks, fixes an issue with the Apple Digital AV Adapter that caused images to flicker and fixes bugs that caused problems while authenticating some enterprise web services.

There had been some reports that the software would improve the iPhone's battery life, though this is yet to be confirmed.

It is still not clear whether the update fixes vulnerabilities that were being exploited by developers to jailbreak iOS devices. Apple would also would not confirm if the issue fixes a critical bug in the Safari browser that was discovered and exploited in the Pwn2Own hacking contest.

Vanessa Hudgens: Evolving Red Carpet Style?

Side note: Hi all! It's been awhile, hasn't it? I apologise for the late of updates due to some technical problems which resulted in a week-long repair of my laptop, hence I haven't had the opportunity to do much net-surfing and subsequently, blogging. For those of you who have been invited to visit my personal blog, I've updated there! Do check it out too. :)

Recently, Vanessa Hudgens had been busy promoting her latest movie, Sucker Punch with the rest of the cast which includes Abbie Cornish, Emily Browning and Jamie Chung.

At the premiere, the 22-year old wore a sequinnned number by Jenny Packham, completing the look with a snake-print minaudière and a half up-do with springy curls. This outfit didn't look too bad on Vanessa, who has been a long-time fan of Jenny Packham gowns on the red carpet. But it seems evident that Vanessa is moving away from the short, fun frocks and replacing her soft neutral make-up with darker lips and eyes. It's probably gonna take me awhile to get used to it, but I think this should be the furthest she should go, since her dark hair makes her make-up look even heavier.

Over at the Nylon party, celebrating the Sucker Punch girls' magazine covers, Vanessa graced the night with a Rachel Comey white frock, accessorizing with a Jimmy Choo clutch and a spike necklace. Two things I didn't like about this look: her long boyfriend cardigan and her sheer socks worn with her strappy Pollini heels. The cardigan was unncessary, or if she had wanted such a gothic look to match with her footwear, dark lips and accessories, she should have gone straight for a black leather jacket. But the worst part has got to be what she was wearing on her feet. Her heels are a size too big and I'm wondering if her socks are an attempt to cover that fact. The whole outfit didn't tie in together, for me.

Vanessa Hudgens wore the Summer Lovin' dress by Blu Moon to another party held in Vegas to celebrate the success of the movie. The actress covered up with a printed jacket, also by Blu Moon, which I thought was, in Chinese I'd like to call it "画蛇添足". In direct translation, it means "drawing a snake and adding feet". She appears to be pulling off a "Nicole Richie" here, but I think a simple black slouchy, bat-wing jacket would suffice. On top of it all, she wore a headpiece and necklaces which added to the already complicated look. There was just way too much going on.

*credits: Vanessa-Hudgens.org

So, what do you think of Vanessa's transformation on the red carpet - Yay or Nay?

Evan Rachel Wood filmed n*d* scene with Kate Winslet's help

Evan Rachel Wood says actress Kate Winslet helped her film a full-frontal nude scene for the HBO miniseries "Mildred Pierce."

Winslet, a 35-year-old British actress, appeared naked in the 2008 movie "The Reader." She won her first Oscar for her role.

"She coached me through my first nude scene, "Wood, 23, told E! News at the recent New York premiere of "Mildred Pierce." "I mean, she's done it all. She was literally next to the camera going [thumbs-up]."

"You keep the room as empty as possible and just kind of being there for her, really, and letting her know there was someone to hold her hand and throw a robe over her at the right moment ... made her feel better," Winslet added. "It is really strange, nudity. I know I've done it many, many times now, but you never really get used to it. You don't!"

In "Mildred Pierce," Winslet plays the title character, a divorced, single mother who decides to open a restaurant business. Her new business venture does not help her strained relationship with her daughter, Veda, played by Wood. The miniseries is based on a 1941 novel by James M. Cain and is set to premiere at on March 27 at 9 p.m. ET.

Joan Crawford won an Oscar for her portrayal of Pierce in a 1945 movie, which was nominated for a total of six Academy Awards and which also starred Ann Blyth, Jack Carson and Eve Arden.

Wood, an American actress who was once engaged to shock rocker Marilyn Manson, is known for her roles in the movies "The Wrestler" and "Across the Universe" and the HBO vampire series "True Blood."

The Gallery - An Education

OK a very late entry for me with the Gallery this week (rubbish, I know), but I can't miss out on being part of the Bloggers Year Books, so here it is. My school photos (kinda).

Now, this first one is my school photo is from when I was about 10. Yes, that was a jump suit and yes, that is an Abba patch. (I was damned proud of that...). Look at those collars! It was the seventies.

Here I am about 12(ish). I have always hated this photo. Just felt like I was gurning. looking at it now, doesn't seem too bad. The collars have reduced, slightly, in size.

After this I don't seem to have anymore school photo's after this but I have this. This was my passport photo for a school trip to Italy skiing when I was about 15. I thought I was extremely cool.

And finally, this is a picture taken when I was at college. I loved/love this photo of me, which is a very rare thing. It was taken by my boyfriend at the time. He called my name and I turned around and he took the photo. It was taken with my old OM20 which was a fab camera and on black and white film. Happy memories.
                                               

Death of Hollywood Queen Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor , the Oscar-winning movie goddess and pioneering AIDS activist whose off-screen marriages, divorces and death-defying exploits rivaled her films for drama died today, her family said in a statement.

She was 79, and had been hospitalized in recent weeks for congestive heart failure.

"Her legacy will never fade, her spirit will always be with us, and her love will live forever in our hearts," son Michael Wilding said.

Taylor starred in 50-plus movies. She made the leap from child star to world's biggest star. She won two Oscars, for Butterfield 8 and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf ?
Other signature films included National Velvet , Father of the Bride , Giant , and Cleopatra , on the set of which she began a notorious love affair with costar Richard Burton , whom she would marry, divorce, remarry and divorce again.

In all, Taylor celebrated eight marriages and endured seven divorces.
"I never planned to acquire a lot of jewels or a lot of husbands," she said in a recent interview with Kim Kardashian for Harper's Bazaar . "For me, life happened, just as it does for anyone else."

Of all her off-screen accomplishments, most notably she helped raised more than$200 million for AIDS research. In the family statement, Wilding praised his mother's "brave and relentless fight" for the cause.
In 2009, Taylor announced, via her Twitter page—yes, she rolledwith the times—that she was to undergo heart surgery to repaira valve. Her most recent hospitalstint, at L.A.'s Cedars-Sinai, where she died, began in February.
"Everything was handed to me. Looks, fame, wealth, honors, love," she said in 1999. "But I've paid for that luck with disasters,the deaths of so many good friends, terrible illnesses, destructive addictions, broken marriages."
"All things considered, I'm damnedlucky to be alive."

Download new Firefox 4 full version from mozilla

    Firefox 4 is a worthy expression of Mozilla's ideals. The browser is competitively fast, sports a new minimalist look, and includes some excellently executed features. Unfortunately, that describes most of Firefox's competition, too.

Review:

Firefox 4 had a rough time in its early development, but those days are over. The browser that you can download now is in the same speed category as its competition; offers many similar features (stronger in many areasand slightly weaker in others); includes broad, cross-platform support for hardware acceleration and other "future-Web" tech and standards; and is amust-have for Android users.

Installation

Installing Firefox 4 was a fine, quick experience. Beta users, whotoiled for 10 months using betas of varying stability and quality, might be disappointed that Firefox 4 doesn't clean up the beta detritus left behind. That's the cost of using a beta, though.

Firefox 4 does not include automatic updating the way that Opera and Chrome do, although checking out the About option under Help in the menu will automatically start updates downloading, and then ask you toapply them. Firefox 4 has gotten significantly faster at restarting, and the process that used to take several minutes this time took less than a minute on our test computers. Note that this is for updates after you've already installed Firefox 4. Updating from version 3.6 to version 4 is likely to take several minutes, because of the significant code changes that have been made.

Careful Firefox observers will notice that the browser no longer ships with a separate icon for Safe Mode. Simply hold down Shift; when you click on the Firefox icon to open a box you willbe allowed to customize which settings carry over to Safe Mode.

Firefox automatically installs a Windows 7 taskbar icon if you choose it as your default browser. Uninstalling the browser does not leave behind any icons or folders if you choose to remove your settings at the same time.

Interface

If you're a big Firefox fan, you'd better hope that you're either not very attached to the version3.6 look or you're extremely taken by the new design. Firefox 4's main interface is completely different from what's come before, retaining only the larger back button that debuted in version 3. Not surprisingly, the new design also brings the browser significantly closer to theminimalist style first adopted by Google Chrome in 2008, although it looks most similar to Opera 11.

The menu bar has been squished into an orange button on the upper left, with menu options spread across two columns. Nearlyall the submenus have been redesigned as well, although the hot keys remain the same, so thelearning curve isn't particularly steep. In fact, the menu redesign makes it much easier to get to bookmarks, add-ons, and history, as they now all live on one menu pane. The menu button is not available to Mac users.

Besides the major changes to themenu, smaller changes have greatly improved usability. For example, there's now a Get Bookmark Add-ons link in the Bookmarks submenu. The History submenu now has Recently ClosedTabs and Recently Closed Windowssections.

Tabs are now on top by default, and while the forward and back navigation buttons haven't moved, the stop and refresh buttons are now attached to theright side of the location bar, next to the bookmark star. Whenyou're typing a URL, the "Go" button appears in green. While resolving a URL, the box changes from the "Go" arrow to an "X" forthe new Stop button, and the green changes to red. The visual cues are minor but help to highlight their new location in the interface. Returning the Stop andRefresh buttons to their Firefox 3.6 locations can be done via the Customize option. What little colorremained in the default interface,mostly the green Back button, has been leeched out for a mutedgray. You can customize the Firefox skin with the restartless Personas add-ons, added in Firefox 3.6.

Right of the location bar lives thetraditional search box, with its drop-down list of search engines. Above that on the tab bar there is a new button that lists all youropen tabs, and you can add a button to access the Tab Groups feature. For some reason, the final version of Firefox 4 doesn't ship with the button by default, although the betas often did. Youcan add the button by right-clicking on the interface and choosing Customize, then draggingand dropping the Tab Groups iconnext to the List All Tabs button. We don't consider many customizations to be essential, but this one is.

The Status bar that lives at the bottom of the interface is now hidden by default, again in keeping with the minimalist philosophy and the competition. There's a new Add-on bar as well,also hidden by default, to which extension icons can be added if you want to keep add-on icons easily available but out of the way of the main interface.

One of Firefox's singular strengthsis its capacity for customization, which remains unparalleled, and is accessible even to novice users. While the competition does offer add-ons and extensions, Firefox remains far ahead of all of them in interface customization.

Features and support

Firefox 4's features are robust and generally competitive. There is some minor functionality missingin a few cases where the browserremains behind the competition, but Firefox is generally one of themost progressive major browsers available, an early adopter if not always an innovator.

The most important new feature in Firefox 4 is Sync. As with many recent Firefox features, it started off as a rough add-on, and often deleted data. If you were scared off by its early bad behavior, you'll be glad to know that Mozilla has worked out the kinks: Sync now smoothly syncs your Bookmarks, Passwords, Preferences, History, and Tabs not only with other computers, but also with your Android version of Firefox . (There's also Firefox 4 for Maemo devices . It doesn't yet support syncing add-ons, which is one of those frustrating missing functions mentioned above.)

To use it, click on the Menu button and choose Set Up Sync from the left column. That will take you to a window where you can connect an existing Firefox Sync account or create a new one. Within Firefox Sync, there are two important security points. One is that Firefox encrypts your data before sending it over an encrypted connection to its servers, where it remains encrypted. Mozilla says that the company would not be able to access it even if somebody there wanted to. The second is that you have the option of setting up your own personal sync server. In an age when private data stored by corporations gets hacked and stolen with shocking regularity, setting up a personal sync serveris one way to ensure that you bear the responsibility for your own data.

Another big feature in Firefox 4 issupport for restartless add-ons . These add-ons are written differently from standardFirefox add-ons, and are expected to become the format for add-ons in the future. As such, not many restartless add-ons exist--only about 115 at the time of writing this review, compared with the thousands of"standard" add-ons. This will continue to pose a big problem for Mozilla, as older add-ons become a bottleneck for Firefox that other browsers, with their newer add-on frameworks, don't have to manage.

Firefox 4's add-on manager has been completely overhauled, and now includes support for the aforementioned restartless add-ons. There's a lot of useful new technology here, as compared with the version 3.6 add-on manager. Not only can yousearch for add-ons from within the add-on window using the search box in the upper right corner, you can add them withouthaving to jump to the external Mozilla Add-on Web site , also known as AMO. The manager calls out the AMO add-oncollections, which you can create more explicitly in the Get Add-onstab. The add-on manager also allows you to browse Personas, the restartless Firefox themes. It's slightly annoying that clicking on an add-on group or collection opens the page in a new browserwindow, whereas clicking on a specific add-on opens that add-on's download page within the add-on manager. That's a very minor criticism, though.

Other changes to the add-on manager include forward and back buttons specific to the manager, in the upper left corner, and left-side navigation tabs for specifically focusing on Extensions, Appearance, and Plug-ins. Meanwhile, two little improvements to the manager willimpress keyboard junkies. There's a new hot key for pulling up the add-on manager, Control-Shift-A, and you can type about:addons directly into the location bar to access the add-ons manager in a tab.

The tab-grouping feature seems to be suffering a bit of an identity crisis, though its functionality is untouched. Originally called Tab Candy, then renamed Panorama, and now known as Tab Groups, it presentsyour tabs as an array of thumbnail images. The thumbnails reside in rectangular boxes that constitute a group. Tabs can be dragged from one group to another, and groups can be named and moved as well. You canadd a tab to an existing group orcreate a new group by right-clicking on the tab and choosing Move to Group. The hot-key combo Control-Shift-E will also jump between the main interface and the Tab Group window.

The overall idea is to make it easier to switch from one tab to another, to group or regroup related tabs, and to get a global view of what's going on with yourtabs. It's potentially a big improvement in browser usage, compared with aiming a mouse at an ever-skinnier tab, cycling through a list with alt-tab keystrokes, or pecking at a drop-down menu to reach the tabs that overflowed off the deep.

The bookmarks and history menushave been redesigned, and now the hot keys open them by default as sidebars. Go through the Menu button to get the full menus. We were actually quite impressed with the layout of the menu button options for bookmarks and history, finding it much more useful with quick access to recently closed tabs and new bookmark tags. This is probably the most useful in-browser bookmark manager around, especially if you enable Sync and use it with your Androidphone or tablet.

Firefox 4 supports App Tabs, which reduces the width of a tab to its favicon and pins the tab permanently on the left. The tab will glow when updated, a useful indicator for things like Web mail. And when you start typing into the location bar, one of the search choices will be related open tabs so that you can quicklyswitch to an existing tab.

Under the hood there are TONS of changes. The biggest is full hardware acceleration across all platforms, which means that Firefox draws on your graphics card to speed up complex rendering. You'll see dramatic HTML5 support, including for high-def WebM video, and broad support for the HTML5 canvas, video, audio, geolocation, drag and drop, and form tags. OpenType fonts are supported, asis CSS3 and newer JavaScript values. WebGL and hardware acceleration give the browser a massive boost, which we'll discuss in the Performance section below.The short version of all this is that Firefox 4 is on the cutting edge of the next generation of Web standards, and that benefitsyou immensely by offering faster rendering times of Web sites thatcan do more.

There's a decent list of other, smaller changes to Firefox that are worth pointing out because they'll enhance your work flow in the browser. One of these is Switch to Tab. Open a new tab, start typing the name of an already-open tab, and the URL willappear in the drop-down with"Switch to Tab" beneath it. Selectthat one, and the new tab closes and you're whisked to the preexisting tab. It's a great trick for cutting down on the amount of time it takes to sift through 45 open tabs, and removes the chance of having the same tab accidentally open twice, or more.

The location bar, or as Mozilla calls it, the Awesome Bar, retains the features introduced in Firefox3.5, such as the options to searchyour history and bookmarks and to tap your default search engineto provide you with quick results. However, the "feeling lucky" instant jump to what it thinks is the Web site you're most likely tobe looking for has been disabled because of internal Mozilla concerns about accidentally sending personal information to the search provider.

Private browsing reflects the browser's faster start-up and shutdown times so that it jumps between standard browsing and Private Browsing mode significantly faster than in version3.6.

The new Do Not Track feature indicates via a header notificationthat you want to opt out of targeted advertisements. However, it requires that the Web site you're viewing, and therefore that site's developers, respect the header itself. While this is great for future-proofing the Web, as implemented at the time of writing, not many Web sites have taken notice of it. While that doesn't mean it won't eventually have a big impact, thattime is not now, and it's better toinstall an add-on like AdBlock Plus to get more complete ad-tracking protection.

There are two smaller yet important changes to the way that Firefox protects you. One is the implementation of the Content Security Policy, which is designed to block one of the mostcommon types of browser threats, cross-site scripting attacks, by allowing sites to tell the browser which content is legitimate. Though CSP also placesthe burden on the site developers, it's backward-compatible and aimed mostly at well-known sites hosting immense volumes of data and content.

Another security improvement is the implementation of HTTP StrictTransport Security (HSTS). This prevents your log-in information from being intercepted by telling Firefox to automatically create a secure connection to a site's servers.

The new feature set alone makesit worth upgrading to the latest version of Firefox. While some older Firefox users may feel that these features add unnecessary bloat to a browser that offers add-ons specifically so that you can customize your browsing experience, Firefox 4 is actually dramatically faster than Firefox 3.6. We address the browser's behavior in the section below.

Performance

As mentioned earlier, Firefox 4's performance has been greatly improved by the addition of graphics processing unit (GPU) hardware acceleration. It allows the browser to shove certain rendering tasks onto the computer's graphics card, freeing up CPU resources while making page rendering and animations load faster. These tasks include composition support, rendering support, and desktop compositing.

JavaScript plays a major role in the Web, and Firefox 4's new JaegerMonkey engine combined with the GPU acceleration gives the browser some serious juice. We'll update this section with CNET's performance benchmarks as they become available, although initial results show Firefox 4 testing competitively against other browsers. Mozilla's own JavaScript benchmarks show the browser running 3.5 times faster than Firefox 3.6.12 on the Mozilla Kraken benchmark, three times faster than Firefox 3.6.12 on the WebKit SunSpider benchmark, and six times faster than Firefox 3.6.12 on Google's V8 benchmark.

One interesting publicly available benchmark is the new JSGameBench from Facebook, which looks to test HTML5 in real-world gaming situations. The Firefox 4 beta was the fastest tested without WebGL , and was the second fastest with it.

Note that to effectively use hardware acceleration, you must make sure that your graphics card drivers are up-to-date.

Browser benchmarks are a notoriously fidgety lot, and often come up against legitimate complaints that they look at too narrow a set of features--such as checking only JavaScript rendering times. In hands-on use, at least, Firefox 4 can more than hold its own. It's not clear that it's enough to counter the past two years of Chrome decisively winning the fastest-browser PR campaign, but that may no longerbe the point. All five major browsers are now similarly fast atJavaScript tests, and you may start looking at other criteria to determine which browser is best for you.

In hands-on experiences, one of the best performance differencesbetween Firefox 3.6 and the current version is that Firefox 4 crashes far, far less. That's due inno small part to improvements made to the plug-in crash protection, which prevents plug-ins like Adobe Flash, Apple QuickTime, and Microsoft Silverlight from dropping the browser dead. If one of them crashes, simply reload the page.

Conclusion

Definitely a worthy heir to the Firefox name, Firefox 4's one drawback is that, like its competitors, it uses massive amounts of RAM. Don't expect that to change as the browser is relied upon to perform more and more tasks that once occurred inother programs. It will also be lessof a problem as hardware improves.

Firefox 4 faces a much more challenging field of competition than Firefox 3 did. Some people have probably abandoned the browser for the significant speed differences between version 3.6 and Google Chrome. However, the competition has forced Mozilla andothers to put out better browsers in order to thrive. Firefox 4 is arguably the best browser on the market today.

 Download new Firefox 4 full version from mozilla Page

Cameron Diaz named Female Star of 2011

Cameron Diaz has been named CinemaCon's Female Star of the Year, while Ryan Reynolds picks up the male version of the title.

The actress deserves the award because of her versatile acting ability and willingness to try different roles, said the group's managing director Mitch Neuhauser, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"Since making her debut on the big screen in The Mask, Cameron Diaz has continued to capture the attention of audiences around the world with her inescapable charm, innate comedic timing, and unparalleled screen presence," he said in a statement.

"From the outrageously comedic There's Something About Mary, to the action packed Charlie's Angels, and the critically acclaimed Being John Malkovich, Diaz has proven to audiences that she can take on any role and we are thrilled to be able to present such a remarkable actress with the CinemaCon Female Star of the Year Award."

As for Ryan - who will be making his superhero debut as Green Lantern this summer - he has impressed with his performances.

"Ryan Reynolds is one of Hollywood's most sought after leading men, who has entertained audiences with his charmingly comedic on-screen presence," Mitch added.

Cameron, who next stars in Bad Teacher alongside Justin Timberlake, and Ryan will pick up their statues at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on March 30.

Google to crack down further on ads for fake goods

        Google is promising a few improvements to its online ad system to help stop the spate of advertisers hawking counterfeit items.

      In a blog posted yesterday, the search giant tallied the number of advertisers using AdWords at more than 1 million spread across at least 190 different countries. As a result, finding specific accounts that advertise phony products can be a challenge. Google was able to shut down around 50,000 such accounts just in the second half of 2010, but the company admits that more needs to be done.
To help stop the proliferation of fake items sold through AdWords, Google is promising three new improvements to its online ad system.
Offering an online form in which brand owners can file complaints over counterfeit goods, Google now says it will respond to such complaints within 24 hours.
The company is also pledging to do a better job of catching AdSense ads that link to phony items. AdSense allows other companies to earn revenue by placing Google ads on their own Web sites. Specifically, Google says it will work more closely with brand owners to catch advertisers who don't play by the rules and will kick them off the AdSense program.
Finally, Google has set up a new help page for people to read the policies against counterfeit goods and report complaints over different types of abuse.
Over the years, Google has been the target of lawsuits by brand owners upset about the use of certain keywords in AdWords, in part arguing that such a policy allows non-brand owners to more easily advertise counterfeit products. Google has always maintained that it works with brand owners and is quick to clamp down on any misuse of its ad system.
Following a series of lawsuits , Google was cleared last year in a suit filed by luxury goods maker Louis Vuitton and other companies. The European Court of Justice found that Google was not liable for violating the trademarks of advertisers by offering keywords identical to those trademarks. But the court did find that Google is obligated to remove such ads if the brand owners complain that their rights have been violated.

Obama pledges $200 million to Central America drug fight

President Barack Obama pledged $200 million on Tuesday to Central America's anti-drug fight on the final leg of a regional tour to bolster U.S. tieswith southern neighbors who have often felt neglected by Washington.
Obama unveiled the aid plan as aides announced he would cut short his El Salvador visit slightly on Wednesday and head back to Washington, where the political debate over the U.S. military role in air assaults against Libya's Muammar Gaddafi was gathering momentum.
Shifting to tiny, impoverished El Salvador after visiting economically thriving Brazil and Chile, Obama arrived with his attention split as he faced questions and criticism at home and abroad over U.S. goals in the U.N.-approved Libya campaign.
The final visit of Obama's Latin American tour marked a change inemphasis from issues of trade andinvestment that dominated his first stops, which were aimed at reasserting U.S. interests in countries where China poses growing competition.
Talks with President Mauricio Funes, a moderate leftist the White House sees as an emerging partner, focused on reassuring him of cooperation on drug enforcement and searching for common ground on volatile immigration matters. Both issues resonate loudly with Washington'sneighbors and among U.S. voters.
At a joint news conference, Obama offered $200 million fresh funding to governments combating drug traffickers and street gangs in Central America, which has suffered a spillover of drug violence from Mexico's powerful narcotics cartels.

"We are launching a new effort against gangs in Central America to support efforts here in the region ... including the social and economic forces that drive young people towards criminality," Obama said. He said it would help train security forces, strengthen courts and tackle underlying poverty.
Funes welcomed the new initiativeand praised Obama for acknowledging the need for greater U.S. efforts to curb U.S. demand for illegal drugs, which countries in the region see as theroot of the problem. U.S. drug consumption and gun-running have been a particular source of tension with Mexico.
RE-ENGAGING
The El Salvador visit will wrap up a five-day mission to re-engage with a region where Washington's approach has ranged from heavy-handed use of power for much of the 20th century to one of neglect in recent years.
Obama's trip is seen to have helped reinforce hemispheric ties but the Libya attacks do not go down well with most of Latin America and he has delivered no major breakthroughs on long-promised trade pacts or keytrade disputes. The trip was also judged to have done little to counter China's inroads.
Obama's travels were dogged by concern over the Western air campaign over Libya. He is struggling to balance handling world crises with his domestic priorities of jobs and economic recovery, considered crucial to his2012 re-election chances.
He mostly stuck to his travel plans even as aides scrambled to keep him up to speed on Libyan developments and unrest in the Arab world.
Obama's visit to San Salvador's cathedral to pay homage at the tomb of slain Archbishop Oscar Romero was shifted from Wednesday to Tuesday, and the White House said a tour of Mayanruins set for Wednesday was scrapped to let him hold a call with Libya advisers in the morningand then fly out about 2 1/2hours early.
In San Salvador, Obama repeated his commitment to reform the U.S.immigration system but did not say when he would seek legislation. There is disappointment in the region overhis failure to act on immigration and he is given little chance of digging into the hot-button issue ahead of the 2012 election.
Despite that, Obama's visit carriedpolitical symbolism. Funes won the presidency in 2009 as head of a coalition led by a former leftist guerrilla movement that was opposed by the United States during El Salvador's long civil war. He is the country's first left-of-center president since the conflict.

Iphone 5 : what's new

The iPhone 5 is said to be getting a bigger screen, NFC and a new antenna.

Another day, another iPhone 5 rumor. This time it comes from the China Times ( translated ), which is claiming that a prototype of Apple's next iPhone is already in the trial stages of production and will be packing a slightly larger screen, a Near Field Communications (NFC) chip, an A5 processor, and a tweaked antenna design that will combat attenuation when it arrives later this year.
The news, which was picked up by GadgetsDNA , comes following months of on-again, off-again news that Apple is exploring NFC in its products, with a larger goal of building out a payment network that will let consumers use their phones to pay for purchases at retail locations. Competitors like Google have already begun supporting NFC in the Android OS, with hardware makers like Samsung and Nokia having shipped NFC-enabled devices. Meanwhile, the payment tools that will find a place at retailers are being readied.
Guesses that Apple intended to drop an A5 processor into the next iPhone began almost as soon as the chip was introduced with the unveiling of the iPad 2 at the beginning of this month. Shortly following the release of iOS 4.3, crafty code sniffers were also able to find mentions of the processor as part of the build for a yet-to-be-announced device in the iPhone family.
This is also not the first time there have been murmurs about a new antenna design. Readers might remember the iPhone 4 antenna became the center of attention shortly following the phone's release, after a number of tests confirmed that signal strength could be affected by gripping the phone. Apple responded by holding an event to share data about the issue and demos of it happening to other smartphones, as well as to announce a program that would provide iPhone 4 buyers with a free case, or a return of the device. The company then made slight tweaks to the exterior, wraparound antenna between the GSM and CDMA versions of the iPhone; expectations remain that the design for the next iPhone will continue that trend.
As for the larger screen, the China Times report builds on a story in Digitimes from mid-February claiming that the iPhone 5 would sport a 4-inch screen, adding a half inch to the existing 3.5-inch display that has remained constant throughout all four generations of the iPhone. The validity of this rumor was further strengthened a few weeks later, with a purported 4-inch screen part showing up on a Chinese reseller's Apple parts site.
Along with the iPhone 5 rumors, the China Times also adds that Foxconn parent company Hon Hai Precision Industry plans to expand its operations into Sao Paulo, Brazil, specifically for the creation of products for Apple. That facility is said to be opening in 2013. The closer proximity to the U.S. could make for a significant change in shipping of products to the States and South American countries, as well as help keep up with some of the demand for products like the iPad 2, for which Apple now lists a lead time of 4 to 5 weeks for new orders.

Uc Browser 7.6 released: Wonderful mobileweb experience

New feature in UC Browser
Uc browser have superp download manager(with resume) , copy & paste, easy access tap browsing.
Optimized Address Bar and Search Bar
Intelligently predict your input, to precisely autocomplete.

Speedy Browsing
"Keep-Alive" and "WWW Preload" is now supported, speed up your browsering experience!
Shortcuts
Mobile View | Zoom View
[ Dial ] Quick Access
[ 1 ] Context Menu
[ 2 ] Move Up
[ 3 ] Switch Tab
[ 4 ] Page Up| Move Left
[ 5 ] OK| Zoom In/Out
[ 6 ] Page Down| Move Right
[ 7 ] Back
[ 8 ] Move Down
[ 9 ] Forward
[ 0 ] Home
[ * ] Reload
[ # ] Enter Address
[ C ] Close Tab
* Select Menu->Settings->Preferences->Shortcuts to change the default value.
Preferences

Font Smoothing: To smooth and clear the font.

Page Segmentation: To set the max size of a page divided to display.

Image Quality: To set the definition of a image to display.

GIF Animation: To display GIF animation in one frame or more.

Underline Links: To set if underline is displayed for hyperlinks.

Content Folding: To fold similar contents together to shorten page, you may press the blue "+" to unfold.

Cache Size: To set how many webpages can be revisited without connecting network.

Cache Path: To set where to load the web cache.

Cache Image: To set if cache images to local.

Login Record: To save the login records to avoid repetition.

Cursor Speed: To set the moving speed of the cursor under Zoom View.

User Agent: To show the site which browser you are using. Some sites may prevent some specific UA.

WAP Access via Server: To visit any website via UC Server to have a better render effect and less data traffic, though some sites may restrict that.

Block Size: To set the max section size when downloading a large file.

Download link: http://handheld.softpedia.com/progDownload/UCWEB-S40-Download-66879.html

Firefox 4: Three Ways It Beats IE and Chrome Browsers

There's a new version of the Firefox browser coming out this week, and it's so good you may want to adopt it instead of eitherMicrosoft's IE or Google's Chrome.

Indeed, I've already made the switch using an almost complete version of Firefox 4; the finished product will be ready to downloadon Tuesday, March 22. [10 Things to Drool Over in Firefox4] Having said that, the three majorbrowsers these days are all very good and it's a certain amount of trouble to switch; you've got to move your bookmarks and get used to a somewhat different environment. So when I say I'm moving back to Firefox, it's no slam against Chrome. (Microsoft's new IE 9 is getting good reviews, but I haven't had a chance to tryit out.)

The main reason I like Firefox 4 somuch is a feature called Panorama. Essentially it's a way ofvisually grouping tabs as if they are running in a separate instance of the browser, a real asset for inveterate multitaskers.In fact, a number of Firefox 4's tab-related features work much better than Chrome's. That may seem like a small point, but for meat least, tabs are a reflection of what I'm doing on the Web at anygive time.

I don't want them to get in my way. Firefox 4 has a different look than earlier versions and it's somewhat cleaner, though unlike Google and other browsers it still maintains separate bars for navigation and search. Some elements have moved around to give Firefox a more svelte look, but it's still not as minimalist as Chrome - though I'd say thats altogether a matter of taste. 1. Panorama Say I'm working on a project about health care and have six orseven sites open that I'm using asreferences. At the same time, I like to have my Google calendar and contacts showing and maybe a news page. I'm also looking at material for a column on iPhone apps and that's another four tabs. Now I've got 14 or so tabs crowding the top of my screen and because the tabs are squeezed, it's hard to tell which iswhich. Very annoying. Of course, I could stop and bookmark some of those pages, but if I'm really multitasking I like to have everything at my fingertips.

I could also open another instance of the browser, but that takes time and eats up system resources such as memory. With Panorama you click a small icon in the upper right hand corner that says "list all tabs" as you roll over it. When you enter the Tab Groups view for the first time, you'll see thumbnail previewsof all of your tabs. To make a group, simply drag one tab out ofthe group and then drag a second one on top of it and so on. Firefox then draws a box around them. Then do another group. Like any other windows, they can be moved around and sized. You can also give them a name, say health care, iPhones and Info. When you click on one of the boxes, you go back to your ordinary browser page, but only the tabs in the group you've selected are showing. Want to switch back? Simply click on the icon, and select the group you want to see and voila, you're working with it. Another helpful tab feature allowsyou to search for a tab. In the tab view simply start typing the name of the tab and Firefox will find it for you and highlight it. 2. Pin the tab on the browser If you've used Chrome, you've probably familiar with the pin tabsfeature, which is handy, but Firefox does it better, particularlyfor apps and add- ons. You pin a tab by right-clicking on it, and selecting, "pin."

That tab, or app, is then represented by its icon ona corner of your screen. Unlike Chrome, in which the pinned material goes away when the session ends, Firefox apps remain pinned until you unpin them. If you pin a page that changes, like Gmail or Twitter, the little icon will change color when that page has been updated. Very handy, though it does lend itself to getting distracted from the task at hand, a fault of the user not the browser. 3. Switch to tab Finally, I want to mention one other feature called Switch to Tab. It's a little subtle but reducesclutter and drain on resources. Say I'm looking at the CIO home page for a while and then switch to something else. If I've forgotten that I have CIO.comopen and start to type the url again, Firefox will recognize it and ask me if I want to "switch" to that tab instead ofopening it again. Smart. As far as speed goes, I've seen a few benchmarks that say Firefox is now a bit faster than Chrome, but in the real world I'm not at allsure you'd notice the difference. Similarly, it appears that Chrome scores a little higher on some compatibility tests, but I'm not sure if that really matters.

In at least one important area, Chrome remains ahead: search. Because it is so closely integratedwith Google's search engine, Chrome works better in that department, and makes it easier to add non-standard search engines to your repertoire. The best news of all is that browser wars are back with a vengeance. All of the major vendors are conducting an arms race, doing their best to leapfrogthe competition. In this battle for market share, we users keep getting a better product. How's that for a nice change?

Google Says "China Responsible for Blocking Gmail"

       Google has accused the Chinese government of disrupting its email service Gmail and clarified that there were no technical issues with the service or the website from its end. Gmail has been made inaccessible in China as a part of intensified Internet crackdown, reported The Associated Press. Google, in an official statement, noted, "There is no technical issue on our side; we have checked extensively. This is a government blockage carefully designed to look like the problem is with Gmail."

      As per a Google spokesperson, China is the world's most populous Internet Market and users have been reporting about the intermittent access to Gmail since January. Users face major problems in accessing the Gmail homepage, sending emails and also the instant messaging. The blockage is allegedly a the part of the existing web censorship in China and is more sophisticated since it doesn't block the service entirely but just makes it annoyingly intermittent.

      In the past, Google's Gmail snooping issue and the cyber-attacks within China has soured the relations between the company and China. Now, this controlled disruption will certainly make Google think over its presence in China. The company has already moved its search engine domains for Chinese language from mainland China to Hong Kong.

As of now, the Chinese government hasn't responded to Google's allegation but we expect a denial as response soon.

Pirates of the Caribbean4: On Stranger Tides” New Trailer Released

          Disney released another set of movie stills this time featuring Johnny Depp in the upcoming film “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” coming to theaters May 20, 2011. “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” by director Rob Marshall (Memoirs of a Geisha, Chicago) stars Johnny Depp (Sin City 3, Public Enemies), Ian McShane (Kung Fu Panda, Deadwood), Penelope Cruz and Geoffrey Rush.

       “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” captures the fun, adventure and humor that ignited the hit franchise –this time in Disney Digital 3D(TM). In this action-packed tale of truth, betrayal, youth and demise, Captain Jack Sparrow crosses paths with a woman from his past (Penelope Cruz), and he’s not sure if it’s love–or if she’s a ruthless con artist who’s using him to find the fabled Fountain of Youth. 

When she forces him aboard the Queen Anne’s Revenge, the ship of the formidable pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane), Jack finds himself on an unexpected adventure in which he doesn’t know who to fear more: Blackbeard or the woman from his past.

   

Rush reprises his role as the vengeful Captain Hector Barbossa, and Kevin R. McNally returns as Captain Jack’s longtime comrade Joshamee Gibbs. Claflin stars as a stalwart missionary, while Berges-Frisbey is transformed into a mysterious mermaid. 

Pirates 4 Mermaid "Syrena" Astrid-Berges-Frisbey Hot Pictures

      

Japan Tsunami & Earthquake damage costs likely to top $237 billion, says World Bank

     Japan may need five years to rebuild from the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami that has caused up to $237 billion of damage, the World Bank said yesterday. The disaster 11 days ago, which killed more than 8600 people and left more than 13,000 missing, ravaging north-eastern Japan, was likely to shave up to 0.5 percentage points from the country's economic growth this year, the bank indicated.

     The impact would be concentrated in the first half of the year, it said. ''Damage to housing and infrastructure has been unprecedented,'' the World Bank said. ''Growth should pick up though in subsequent quarters as reconstruction efforts, which could last five years, accelerate. The bank cited damage estimates of between $124 billion and $237 billion, and cost to private insurers of between $14.1 billion and $33.2 billion.

     It said the government would spend $12.1 billion on rebuilding in the current national budget and ''much more'' in the next one.

     A short-term drop in consumer demand and manufacturing production would also hurt trade with regional neighbours, the bank said. South Korean electronics companies have seen the price of memory chips from Japan rise 20 per cent because of disrupted production, while Thai car exporters may run out of Japanese parts next month, it said.

     Japan's north east, the epicentre of the disaster, is home to ports, steel mills, oil refineries, nuclear power plants and manufacturers of car and electronics components.

    Many of those facilities have been damaged, while nationwide power shortages have severely crimped car and electronics production. The US billionaire investor Warren Buffett says that a massive natural disaster would not hamper the future of the Japanese economy and could prompt a new bout of stock buying.

     ''I'm not looking at Japan's economic future differently from 10 days ago,'' he told reporters in South Korea. ''Extraordinary events offer [a] buying opportunity.''

   Australian uranium miners have been urged to consider more forward-sales agreements to secure funding for their projects, in the wake of the Japanese nuclear crisis. The call at the Pay dirt conference in Adelaide yesterday follows a devastating week for uranium stocks.