The New iPod Touch

Hmm... Looks like an iPhone. The new flagship iPod has the same size screen as the iPhone, but it's thinner at eight-millimeters. The interface is very much like the iPhone (told you, kamukha e(looks like it)). Some of the nice features are 3.5-inch widescreen display and WiFi. As for battery life, the touch is said to last 22-hours when playing back audio and 5-hours when watching video, web surfing will be a different story. The iPod touch is available in 8GB and 16GB flavors and will be priced at $299 and $399, respectively.

HDMI and Component video - Which is superior in quality?

Here's a nice article regarding video formats. HDMI is the new and current technology for video connections especially for the emerging High Definition video format. DVI is common to PC and LCD monitors even before HDMI. Component Video has been with us ever since the DVD days (and professional VCDs and VCRs). What's the difference? Let's find out.

Introduction

Amid a global spectrum of high definition format battles, none is so misunderstood as the debate between HDMI and component video. Some videophiles expect HDMI to completely outpace the "vintage" analog format, while true experts in the field know there are distinct advantages and disadvantages to each format. This article will give you a better idea of the technologies that make up these video formats, and prove that the differences are not as lopsided as you may think.

Assumptions That Mask The Facts

If you talk to any half-witted video enthusiast or ask an associate at your local big box retailer - bearing in mind that the two groups are pretty much the same - they'll unmistakably tell you that HDMI is better than component, case closed, end of story. This is just based on tired assumptions of the entire audio/visual industry. HDMI is based on a digital technology while component is analog, HDMI is a more recent development and HDMI costs more. Conventional wisdom says that newer formats are better, digital is always the best and a higher price tag equals higher quality.

Living under the guise of these kinds of stereotypes will eventually tear your brain to shreds. They're just not true. Component video cables can deliver really high quality pictures, just like HDMI. They also tend to be a bit more robust, especially if you need a really long cable.

Another issue is that digital is rarely all that it's cracked up to be. On one side, digital technologies have vastly improved mechanisms to weed out imperfections caused by their analog counterparts. Unfortunately, on the flip side, it's also an excuse to employ cuts to make the new technology as cheap as possible. Specifically, when the HDMI standard was developed, a very robust system of checks and balances was tossed out, in favor of a cheap alternative that can lead to degradation of the cable signal over time. The analog component cable has no such built-in flaw, and in most cases should be able to last a lifetime without problems.

Taking An In-depth Look At The Formats

While both cable formats present a picture as essentially a mosaic of red, green and blue color components, the way they do this is based on two completely different processes. For component, three individual inputs are needed; the signal is usually referred to as YPbPr. The "Y" component focuses on the brightness of the image as the "green" channel, the "Pb" component is the blue channel, and the "Pr" component presents the red part of the picture. All three signals are then put together to create the final picture.

HDMI, on the other hand, uses a standard called Transmission Minimized Differential Signaling (TMDS). What this basically does is incorporate three different channels for each color set, allowing one cable to sync all the channels together in a straight-to-digital format. Component cables typically take a digital signal, convert it to analog for internal conversion processes, and then convert it back to digital for output to the TV.

The resting assumption is that, because of the digital-to-analog-to-digital mechanism involved with component cables, there's always a bigger loss of picture quality. That sentiment is ridden with naivety, though, because HDMI suffers similar issues. Even though it's a digital format, it's hardly a universal conversion from every single output source. HDMI cables also need to convert signals to their own format. The only difference is that it's just messing around with conversions between different digital signals instead of digital and analog.

In other words, the stuff that's going on inside these crazy cables is whacked, no matter what kind of cable you're using. While it's an easy cop out to just assume a more antiquated analog format will have more trouble reproducing a purely HD image, that statement lacks thorough consideration.

HDMI has also been panned because it's much easier for the signal to degrade over time. Long-range HDMI cables are also known to lose quality because of a less-than-perfect set of standards for the format. Analog cables, on the other hand, can last decades and stretch for dozens of feet without any sort of automatic degradation.

Because of its universality with one single input for audio and sound, HDMI has become the much preferred standard for HDTV hook-ups. That doesn't mean it necessarily has a huge leaps-and-bounds advantage over component, though. Component video provides a more reliable picture, carries a more robust set of standards and generally works better for long-range professional-type set-ups.

It should be noted that the other major high definition video standard, DVI, runs with the exact same technology as HDMI, except it does not carry audio. Your HDTV may have DVI inputs instead of HDMI, and everything written here about HDMI video is the same for your video signal.

Conclusion

The real point is that there's not really a winner: the argument to be made is that both formats function just fine. HDMI is nice because it incorporates both audio and video, and that's a very nice extra feature. However, if your cable company's HD converter box only supports component output, that's not a reason to jump to another service provider. Analog technologies date back decades upon decades and are built on a long-standing tradition. And while digital formats are supposed to deliver more fulfilling standards, they're often under-utilized in favor of making cheaper products.

Author: Mark Raby

Taken from Tom's Hardware Guide.

Clone iPhone - Close to the real thing?

Tired of waiting for the iPhone to be released here in the Philippines? Or you already have one thanks to your relatives at the US, but can't use it as a phone because it's sim-locked? Well, wait no more. Here's a phone that looks and functions like an iPhone (almost), works on most networks on different countries, and is cheaper than the real thing.

Growing Beyond Fakes

The end of Chinese cloning will come when Chinese products become good enough to stand on their own, just as Japan's did in the 1970s and Korea's did in the 1980s. The difference is that China is moving much faster toward this goal than Korea or Japan ever did. Less than a year ago, the Chery QQ was junk. On July 3, Chery and Chrysler announced an agreement to build Chery vehicles that will wear the Dodge badge. Chrysler will sell the cars in Eastern Europe and Latin America beginning next year, and in 2009 will bring them to Western Europe and North America. The deal grew from Chery's plan to improve quality by outsourcing engineering and design to Western companies. There's little doubt that Chery will learn from its new partners.

An important factor in this transformation is China's improving consumer economy. Just as the Chery deal made the news, the Beijing government instituted a nationwide minimum wage. Although the move was made as a response to rising food prices, it increases production costs for
Chinese manufacturers, forcing them to move away from rock-bottom products. In cities, Chinese paychecks have already risen fast enough to create a thriving consumer class. As those consumers demand better products, China's manufacturers will begin to develop items that meet export standards.

Take, for example, the iPhone. The key to its simple interface is a screen that responds to several touches at once. It makes rapid text entry possible and allows keyboard-and-mouse-type navigation through Web pages and the phone's built-in applications. The screen is built by a German company called Balda, but the technology itself, licensed to Apple's supplier, is neither American nor European. It was originally developed to aid in the rapid input of Asia's huge, character-based alphabets. It comes from China.

The Next iClones

Copies of the iPhone are now dividing into two categories: the inspired-bys and the wholesale duplicates. The first category includes work-alikes manufactured by well-known cellphone makers, like HTC—one of the largest manufacturers of smartphones—and Sun Microsystems. HTC announced that it will be bringing its "Touch" model to the U.S. this fall. In May, Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz followed in the footsteps of Steve Jobs (and Meizu's Jack Wong) by displaying his own one-off version of a touchscreen prototype at a software-developers convention. Sun's chairman, Scott McNealy, had no qualms about making the iPhone comparison: "We have our own shirtsleeve version of Steve Jobs announcing a phone," he told the audience.

The number of duplicates is also growing. Although Meizu may have gone silent because of fears of an Apple lawsuit—after my visit in Hong Kong, they stopped responding to my e-mails and phone calls—other companies are moving ahead. A few days before Apple's launch, an online video surfaced depicting a sleek new product called the P168 [watch the video below]. The phone came in a black box, marked with both the iPhone and the Apple logos. The video showed the phone being unpacked and operated (the start-up screen also featured the Apple branding). There were features that the iPhone didn't have, such as the ability to operate on two different networks at once; six speakers; and, addressing a major prerelease complaint about the iPhone, a removable battery. I asked my translator if she could find one on the street. They weren't available in Beijing—yet—but a few weeks later, a friend discovered one in Guangzhou. The manufacturer of the P168 wouldn't comment for this story, but the hardware was real, and it worked.

Neither the miniOne, the P168 nor even HTC's model are likely to carry the mystique or quality of the iPhone. But that's not really the point. Those phones will be available to millions more consumers than Apple's product, at a lower price. The rest of the world will accept the clones as if they were the original. That will make them no different than a flood of Chinese products—cars, pharmaceuticals, food, appliances—that are emerging from the shadows and climbing the learning curve to the point that they will no longer be clones at all. They'll be the real thing.

Article by Dan Koeppel
http://www.popsci.com/popsci/technology/e7e48a137b144110vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd/5.html

Videos of the Clone iPhone -

Curious gadget fans dissects iPhones

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - It took Apple Inc. more than six months to build the iPhone but curious gadget fanatics needed only minutes to tear one apart.

Within hours of the first iPhones going on sale on Friday, enthusiasts scrambled to be the first to discover what makes the devices tick, posting photos and videos of disassembled phones on the Internet.

The information is more than just academic. Apple keeps a tight grip on information about parts suppliers so "tear downs" of its products are closely watched by investors keen to figure out how to place their bets.

In the past, word that a particular part was being used in Apple's popular iPod music players has sent that company's shares higher.

"With every new release of an Apple product, the hype and interest ratchets up a notch," said Andrew Rassweiler, an analyst with market research firm iSuppli.

Rassweiler and his team at iSuppli were working through the weekend to catalog the phone's guts for a report estimating the cost of every component, crucial for figuring how much it cost Apple to make each iPhone.

"We have had more people thrown at it this week than any other previous product," Rassweiler said.

Apple is offering the phone in two versions costing $500 and $600 depending on memory capacity, but the high price and limited availability wasn't enough to stop some people from giving into curiosity.

Some dissected the phones with the clinical skill of a surgeon while others resorted to brute force, enraging those swept up in the hype and winning praise from those gleefully resisting it.

By Sunday afternoon, a video on YouTube showing two guys banging away at an iPhone with a hammer and nail had garnered 56,000 views and was the 13th most-watched clip on the site, prompting some extremely angry comments. Watching the clip, it is difficult to see what was learned from the destruction.

The creator, whose user page identified him only as Rob in Miami, Florida, posted a second clip defending his unorthodox methods.

"We didn't smash it just to smash it. We smashed it to see what was inside. We were under a time limit," Rob said. "We resorted to extreme measures."

Ifixit.com, an Apple parts and repair guide site, conducted one of the most sophisticated dismantlings, posting dozens of high-quality photos alongside technical commentary.

"They've done some things that are above and beyond. They did some very innovative things," site cofounder Kyle Wiens said of the iPhone's manufacture.

Their efforts yielded a few nuggets of information. The iPhone boasts a main processor and memory chips from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., an audio-processing chip from Britain's Wolfson Microelectronics Plc and a Wi-fi wireless chip from Marvell Technology Group Ltd.

Opening the iPhone was the easy part. For many, the real prize is hacking the phone to get it to do things Apple never intended, such as run on networks other than that of AT&T Inc., the exclusive U.S. service provider.

Some programmers also want to find a way to run their own programs directly on the phone's operating system rather than being limited to programs run through the Web browser.

By Scott Hills, Reuters

News from Yahoo!

5 steps to keep your computer running smooth and fast

Most people who use computers today use them for work, games, research or socialization. With more and more people trying to begin home businesses, the computer has become the essential tool for their business startup and operation. People want to optimize their computers so that they will be as efficient as possible; however, there are many factors associated with the performance output of a personal computer.

In order for a computer to reach and maintain maximum performance, many factors must be considered. On the hardware side of the equation, one must consider their processor speed and

system memory. With regards to the software side of your computer, you must be aware of your computer's privacy protection, system security, and anti-virus software. Additionally, you should do your best to take care of your Windows operating system - such as Windows XP or Windows Vista - including its registry and the files cleanup process.

To keep a PC running smoothly and error-free, there are some basic steps that anyone can follow. Fortunately, none of these steps are really at all difficult. Anyone can do these tasks, with a little bit of basic education. Keep this article around for future reference, just in case you need it again.

Shut-Down Processes

First off, it is important to understand that programs need to be given the proper signals to shut down. It is strongly recommended that you never simply unplug your machine to turn it off. Please go through the normal shut down procedures, no matter how long those processes might take.

If you lose power, it really is an unavoidable event. Microsoft has done a good job at helping Windows know when it was shut down improperly, so the next time you start up your computer, your operating system might repair itself. Typically, when you restart your computer after an improper shut down, it might take a few minutes longer to boot up than usual. Let Windows do its long boot up after it has unexpectedly shut down. The longer boot up process is Windows attempt to repair any corruptions caused by the unexpected shut down of your computer's operating system.

If you need to shut down your system more quickly than usual, we strongly recommend that you utilize the Control-Alt-Delete key combination, and then select Shut Down from your Windows Task Manager window. By utilizing this shut down method, Windows will make appropriate notes to itself that it will need to do some cleanup on its next boot up sequence.

If Windows is not allowed to clean up after itself, you run the risk of corrupting the operating system or different programs you have loaded on your computer. Corruption of programs may force you to reinstall those programs. Corruption of your data files is the worst-case scenario ? you could lose hours or years of work in a single moment, as a result of your impatience. Don't be impatient; let your computer do what it needs to do to repair and protect your system files.

Unnecessary Applications Running In The Background

The "background" is not the image on your desktop. "Running in the Background" is a reference to programs that are running on your system in invisible mode. In some cases, they are completely invisible, and in other cases, the only indication that they are operating is their icon in your System Tray, next to your clock. Certain programs think that they need to be operating in your System Tray at all times. QuickTime, Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger are three of these types of programs. Microsoft Office even thinks it should be loaded and running in your background. If you use these applications frequently and need access to them almost instantaneously on a frequent basis, then yes, you probably should let them run in the background. But, most of us only use those applications on an infrequent basis.

The theory of having those applications running in the background is that it prevents you needing to wait thirty seconds while the software loads, when you need access to those applications. But, there is a significant amount of trade-off for thirty seconds of reduced wait time. That trade-off is a less-responsive computer. In worst-case scenarios, the thirty seconds saved at program start-up could trim minutes of productivity from your full workday.

While your system is operating, you can right-click on any icon next to your clock and most programs will allow you the option to select Close Application. By closing unnecessary applications, you can literally speed up the Windows operating system.

With most versions of Windows, you can also go to Start - Run and then type in "msconfig" and click OK. Once the Windows System Configuration Utility opens, click the tab that reads Startup. You can review the list and deselect items that you will not want to open when your computer boots up. It is important to note here that you should only close applications that you recognize and know that you can live without. Don't turn off an item in the Startup window, unless and until you know what that file really does. A quick search for that file name on the Internet will generally turn up lots of pages explaining what those files do in your Windows operating system environment.

Mean Kids On The Internet

Mean kids, who are also computer nerds, frequently grow up to be computer programmers who create Viruses and Spyware applications.

The mean teenagers of the programming world get their kicks from turning our lives upside-down, with viruses that create a multitude of problems on whatever machines they can get their software installed. Virus writers with a criminal history frequently grow up to be people who write Trojans and Spyware applications that seek to steal our private information

A Trojan is a malicious program that pretends to be a screensaver or some other non-threatening and fun kind of thing. When you execute it on your computer, it installs malicious software and then it does its dastardly deeds.

Trojans and Spyware typically try to harvest private information from your computer for the financial benefit of its creator. Most of these kinds of computer programs only want to shove their advertising in your face (Adware) or track your Internet usage habits, so they can sell that information to other businesses; but the really ugly versions try to steal your credit card data and other financial data from your computer.

For some people, Trojans and Spyware computer programs are responsible for as much as a 60% deterioration of a computer's performance capability.

Forgotten Programs On Your Computer

Do you remember some of those 30-day free trial software applications that you tried once or twice, but never used again? Some of these applications may be running in the background of your computer. All of these programs are also still taking up space on your hard drive.

Never go into your Windows Explorer and simply delete folders that contain the software programs you will never use again.

Instead, every two or three months, you should utilize your Add / Remove Programs procedure, which can be accessed by going to Start ? Settings ? Control Panel - Add or Remove Programs, and remove old computer programs that you no longer use. This can frequently free up a lot of extra space on your hard drive. It can also free up some extra memory in your computer, if the program had been running in the background of your operating system at startup.

Final Closing Thoughts

If you still encounter problems after following the above suggestions, you may wish to try out "Advanced Windows Care v2 Personal". It has been designed to help you perform all of these essential protection and maintenance processes for your computer, enabling you to get on with more important tasks like making more money. This software can remove Adware and Spyware programs from your computer system, protect your privacy, prevent security threats, fix registry errors, and much more.

This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_179748_10.html

SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hundreds of gadget fans, or their paid stand-ins, lined up on Friday to be the first buyers of Apple Inc.'s iPhone, a music and video playing phone expected to reshape the mobile industry.Apple stores became magnets for technology enthusiasts who waited for the phones to go on sale at 6 p.m. local time in each U.S. time zone.

More than 600 people were lined up at two Apple stores in New York, and the crowd cheered at one of them as the doors opened. Smaller groups of several dozen customers waited outside AT&T stores. AT&T Inc. is the phone's exclusive wireless carrier for the next two years.

About 200 people stood outside a San Francisco outlet for a device that has whipped technology lovers into a frenzy usually associated with the launch of a new video game console.

"The phones out there are just garbage. I've gone through several phones, even the expensive ones. This is different," said Albert Livingstone, 62, in Chicago. "It's the newest toy. I'm 62 -- I don't have much time left to buy toys."

The iPhone melds a phone, Web browser and media player. Technology gurus praised it as a "breakthrough" device, but questioned whether users would have a hard time with its smooth touch-screen, instead of a keyboard, and pokey Internet link.

The svelte gadget is a gamble by Apple co-founder and Chief Executive Steve Jobs to build upon the company's best-selling iPod music player and expand the market for its software and media services.

Apple aims to sell 10 million iPhones in 2008, which would amount to a 1 percent share of the global market. It has not given a goal for the device's launch, but some analysts said it could sell up to 400,000 units in the first few days.

"They want to extend the dominance they have in terms of their ability to create really elegant hardware and software integration," said Mark McGuire, analyst with research firm Gartner. "This is the next big business unit for them."

Shares in Apple rose 1.2 percent to $122.04 and have gained more than 30 percent since Jobs unveiled the phone in January. AT&T shares rose 1.9 percent to $41.50.

Many analysts say Apple stock could climb as much as 30 percent again in the coming year if the phone catches on, but some cautioned that the shares are already richly valued because of the high expectations.

"Apple shares have already benefited from a powerful hype cycle," Cowen & Co. analyst Arnie Berman wrote in a report.

by Scott Hillis and Franklin Paul, Reuters.

What is Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP)?

So what is VoIP? Internet telephony is a rapidly-growing phenomenon that shows no sign of slowing down. Keep reading and you will find out all you need to know about VoIP. Look at how this innovative technology has led to a revolution in the way that many businesses and home users are choosing to make telephone calls.

A VoIP phone allows real-time communication through the Internet. It can digitise the sound of a human voice so that it can be routed through the net. The development of this technology began way back in the early 1980’s when developers were looking for ways to communicate with each other via their machines. The technology was then adapted by the some technologically savvy sections of the business community who used data networks to route voice traffic.

However it is the growth of low-cost broadband Internet access that has really fuelled the spread of Internet telephony and brought it into the mainstream. Anyone with a high-speed Internet connection can now use VoIP technology to make what seem to be very cheap calls .

In addition to these cost savings that a VoIP connection offers, there are other factors that make this technology so attractive to users. The versatility and flexibility of VoIP are examples of this. The software is location independent. So it is possible to relocate your home or business without having to change your phone number. With a USB VoIP phone you are able to make and receive calls on a laptop whilst away from your desk or use a wireless VoIP handset for calls in a public hotspot.

Ease of use is another reason that people have been attracted to VoIP. Users can often be put off from using new technology if they find that it looks difficult to use. This issue has been addressed by the developers and the era when Internet telephony was the domain of the geek is long past. Nowadays all anyone who wants to make a call has to do is pick up and dial. It really is as simple as that.

There are now a wide range of VoIP services available that would suit both business and home users. New services are being made available by service providers as the market continues to grow. As things stand VoIP stands alongside the traditional telephone network for reach and in many ways outshines it for versatility. Internet telephony looks set to continue to be one of the fastest-growing applications on the Net.

This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_176946_45.html