10 ways Windows 8 tablets can take on the iPad

Microsoft's latest Windows is a really attractive OS, and the tablets and hybrids we've seen so far are pretty impressive.
In a market where too many firms' strategy is simply "copy Apple", Microsoft is prepared to - yes! - Think Different.
Here are ten ways Windows 8 tablets could compete with the iPad 3.

1. Corporate customers

While many people do use their iPads for work, Apple hasn't explicitly targeted the big corporate market - and that's a huge business that Microsoft knows very well. Tablets that securely connect to corporate systems could be a big win for Microsoft here.

2. New Office

Microsoft Office remains Windows' killer app, especially in the business market - one reason Microsoft's own Tablet PC didn't succeed was because Office compatibility was ''Sabotaged''  - so you can be sure that Office will be on both Intel and ARM-powered tablets. It'll be interesting to see whether Microsoft takes the opportunity to completely transform the Office UI for the ARM version: Office Metro-style, anyone?

3. Dual-mode machines

The iPad is very, very good at what it does, and what it does doesn't include being a desktop device. Microsoft thinks there's an opportunity there. Fancy a tablet that's finger-flipping good until you dock it, at which point it becomes a "proper" Windows PC with am OS designed for your keyboard and mouse or trackpad? We do, and we really hope Microsoft can make it work elegantly. Windows tablets with split personalities could be a lot of fun, not to mention seriously useful - as would...

4. Hybrid tablets

The combination of a dual-mode OS with dual-mode hardware - think Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/tablets/hands-on-asus-transformer-prime-700-series-review-1054037.or Lenova Idea Yoga (watch video)  could be very interesting indeed. Tablets that effortlessly switch between work and play modes could turn out to be the electronic equivalent of daytime to evening workwear.

TWICE AS NICE: Lenovo's IdeaPad Yoga is a tablet that transforms into a notebook, "like the Tablet PC but good"

5. Mega Metro

Metro is Microsoft's newest, whooshiest interface, and we like it a lot. We're not alone: pretty much everybody who uses Metro likes Metro, and we reckon that if everything else - hardware, app selection, price and so on - were equal, some people would choose a Windows tablet over an Apple one because they prefer Metro to iOS.

6. SkyDrive

Microsoft's vision for cloud-based sharing is very ambitious: your Windows ID will bring your stuff and your settings to whatever device you happen to be on, whether that's a tablet, a PC, an Xbox or something else. That's not just music: the goal is what Microsoft describes as "all your content. Anywhere."

                             
 CLOUD ATLAS: Microsoft's SkyDrive puts cloud storage, synching and sharing at the heart of Windows.

7. Beaming between devices

Microsoft is reportedly working on "beaming" between Windows devices for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, so for example you'll be able to beam content from your Windows 8 tablet to your PC or phone over whatever wireless connection happens to be present - Bluetooth, WiFi-Direct (http://www.techradar.com/news/digital-home/new-wi-fi-standard-takes-on-bluetooth-642675) or NFC - without any fuss. That's the kind of thing that makes people say "wow" and reach for their credit cards.

8. Side-by-side apps

The iPad's single-minded focus on the app you're using is usually a great thing, but sometimes you want to do two things at once - such as read what's in one application while you write in another. Provided the screen's big enough, Windows 8 will let you see two apps simultaneously.

9. Nokia tablets

No disrespect to Microsoft's many hardware partners, but Nokia's the one we're really interested in when it comes to designing exciting tablets: the Finnish firm is famed for its hardware, and we're getting some tantalising hints of interesting new models, Possibly as Early as this summer.

10. A wider choice

It's probably safe to say that nobody can make iPad-spec tablets that match Apple's quality, price tag and enormous profit margins, but then not everybody wants an iPad. As we've seen with devices from the likes of Asus and Amazon, there's plenty of room in the market for devices that don't just ape Apple.

                

New iPad vs Transformer Prime - best tablet test 2012

Chrome 17 released, will preload autocompleted URLs as you type

Google has just released Chrome version 17, which brings several minor enhancements to the company's web browser—including a new Web address preloading feature and improved protection against malicious downloads.

The new Chrome introduces a "preemptive rendering" feature that will automatically begin loading and rendering a page in the background while the user is typing the address in the omnibox (the combined address and search text entry field in Chrome's navigation toolbar). The preloading will occur in cases when the top match generated by the omnibox's autocompletion functionality is a site that the user visits frequently.
When the user hits the enter key and confirms the autocompletion result, the pre-rendered page will display almost instantly. The feature extends Chrome's existing predictive page loading functionality to autocompletion results. Unlike Chrome's instant search capability, however, the autocompletion preloading waits until the user hits the enter key before displaying the rendered page.

Google has also added some new security functionality to Chrome. Every time that the user downloads a file, the browser will compare it against a whiltelist of known-good files and publishers. If the file isn't in the whitelist, its URL will be transmitted to Google's servers, which will perform an automatic analysis and attempt to guess if the file is malicious based on various factors like the trustworthiness of its source. If the file is deemed a potential risk, the user will receive a warning.

Google says that data collected by the browser for the malware detection feature is only used to flag malicious files and isn't used for any other purpose. The company will retain the IP address of the user and other metadata for a period of two weeks, at which point all of the data except the URL of the file will be purged from Google's databases.

Users who are concerned about the privacy implications of this functionality can prevent the browser from relaying this information to Google by disabling the phishing and malware protection features in the browser's preferences. You can refer to the official Chromium blog for additional details about the malware detection feature.

Chrome 17 is available through the browser's automatic updater and can also be downloaded from Google's website https://www.google.com/chrome. More information about the new release is available in the Official Chrome blog pls visit http://chrome.blogspot.in/2012/02/faster-browsing-safer-downloading.html.

Ubuntu for Android: Linux desktop on a smartphone

Summary: In Canonical’s latest move, the company purposes bringing its Ubuntu Linux desktop to high-end Android phones.

                           You may soon be seeing Ubuntu Linux on your Android smartphone.

You have to give Canonical, Ubuntu Linux's parent company credit for thinking big. Today Canonical is unveiling Ubuntu for Android. What is in the world is that? It’s bringing the Ubuntu Linux desktop to to multi-core Android smartphones docked with a keyboard and monitor. With it, Canonical claims you’ll be able to use Android on the phone and Ubuntu as your desktop, both running simultaneously on the same device, with seamless sharing of contacts, messages and other common services.

The company states that the phone experience will be pure Android–it’s a normal Android phone. When the device is connected to a computer screen, however, it launches a full Ubuntu desktop on the computer display. It’s exactly the same Ubuntu unity desktop many of you are already using and it will include all of Ubuntu’s current applications, from office productivity to photography, video and music.

These hybrid Android/Ubuntu smartphones and tablets will share all data and services between the environments. Both Android and Ubuntu run simultaneously on the device. So Android applications such as contacts, telephony and texting are accessible from the Ubuntu interface.

The idea is that Ubuntu for Android will gives mobile workers a company phone that is also their enterprise desktop. Canonical contends that “The first PC for the next billion knowledge workers could be a phone - but they won’t just want to use it as a handset. They will want all the flexibility and productivity of a full desktop, as well as the convenience of a smartphone on the move. Ubuntu for Android represents the first opportunity for handset makers and network operators to address this growth opportunity in emerging markets.” In a statement, Mark Shuttleworth, Canonical and Ubuntu’s founder said, “The desktop is the killer-app for quad-core phones in 2012. Ubuntu for Android transforms your high-end phone into your productive desktop, whenever you need it”

Just don’t plan on downloading it any time soon. Ubuntu for Android is directed at “manufacturers targeting the corporate phone. The customized version of Ubuntu drops in cleanly alongside the rest of Android, and the necessary Android modifications are designed for easy integration. Hardware requirements include support for HDMI and USB, standard features in high-end handsets planned for late 2012.”

In an attempt to persuade OEMs and carriers that Ubuntu for Android is a good deal, Canonical also states that “Ubuntu for Android justifies the cost to enterprise customers of upgrading to higher bandwidth 4G connections and contracts. Cloud apps like Google Docs work best with a full desktop, and shine with the lower latency of LTE. Network operators can deliver their own branded applications and services as part of the Ubuntu desktop, in partnership with Canonical.”

At the same time, Canonical still has its own plans for purely ubuntu -powered smartphones,Tablets,Tv's to check visit(http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/ubuntu-linux-heads-to-smartphones-tablets-and-smart-tvs/9834). This new effort seems to fit in nicely with Canonical’s recently announced plans for a more aggressive push towards the Business desktop's.,

Other companies are already  exploring the use of smartphones and tablets with the desktop. This is, after all, Windows 8 Metro's Plans, Apple will be bringing Mac OS X and ios and even closer together in mountain Lion,Google is integrating Chrome and Android .

A Promising Alternative Search Engine

Its name is one of those silly concoctions that developers are going in for but DuckDuckGo has some very good points as a search engine. It is free of the clutter that Google now has and does not have all those paid ads masquerading as search results that Google displays. Google has been a good search engine of choice for years but its search results are unsatisfied. They are full of search engine optimized chaff. I have tried a number of computer related searches lately and I like DuckDuckGo's results better.

                                   
Google’s incessant tracking is another factor that is beginning to weigh against it. DuckDuckGo says it does not track you and that it does not “personalize” your search results. Go to this link(http://dontbubble.us/) to see its illustrated guide about these issues.


The interface is simplicity, you might even say bare. So simple, in fact, that you may miss the links down in the lower corners of the screen for things like settings(http://duckduckgo.com/settings.html) and information(http://duckduckgo.com/about.html).

There are actually a number of sites about DuckDuckGo and something called the DuckDuckGo community platform(https://dukgo.com/base/welcome) has additional information about the search engine.Here is a trick to use if you do not like DuckDuckGo’s results for a particular search or just want to compare with Google. Enter a search query in DuckDuckGo and add “!g” (without quotes) and you will be taken to the same search query in Google. This is one example of what DuckDuckGo calls a “bang”.This page explains(http://duckduckgo.com/bang.html) how to use bangs to modify queries to search hundreds of other sites directly.

DuckDuckGo has been garnering some awards lately. It is one of PCMag’s Top 100 Websites of 2011 and is one of Time Magazine’s Top 50 Best Websites of 2011. 

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Samsung Galaxy S3 release date, specs and rumour round-up

The release date and specs rumours of the Samsung Galaxy S3 are two of the hottest questions in the world of tech right now. Such is the success of the Korean tech company's current flagship Android smartphone the Samsung Galaxy S2, mobile tech fans now have an almost rabid lust to see the next generation of the phone.

Release date

Initially it was widely rumoured that we would see the Samsung Galaxy S3 at Mobile world Conference this year.

Specs

  The Galaxy S III, model name GT-I9300, up for pre-order for a price of $799.The Galaxy S III will come with a 4.6-inch Super AMOLED Plus touchscreen with a resolution of 720 x 1280. This means a ‘retina’ quality pixel density of 319ppi.

Known specifications include an Exynos 4212 quad-core 1.8GHz processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB of internal Storage, a 12MP rear facing camera, a 2MP front facing camera and 4G LTE connectivity.

It will also have version 4.0 of Samsung’s TouchWiz interface and we understand that it will run Google Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. 

Waterproof?

Technology website Techradar is reporting that Electronics waterproofing outfit P2i is in talks with "large Korean manufacturers about making their phones water-resistant".

Eric Cohill, COO for P2i said "There is major interest from carriers in the US to discuss criteria to help against water ingestion for customers. We're working with major carriers to create a standard of performance [for water repellence] which can give OEMs something to work to when creating smartphones. There are several hundred pound gorillas in the phone industry, we've got the 'fruity companies' and the big Korean brands, and they're all becoming interested as they don't want to be second best in the market."

Design

Here's an image that mobile phone website phoneArena.com has reportedly been sent by an anonymous "tipster". If this image proves to be true, it will mean the S3 will have no front facing physical buttons, which in turn will free up room for a larger screen. Interesting...

 

How to Install Firefox 11 in Ubuntu

Mozilla Firefox 11 has been released, it has features such as the ability to migrate history, bookmarks and cookies from Google Chrome, automatic synchronization of your add-ons, support for SPDY protocol to load webpages faster, support for CSS text-size-adjust property, support for outerHTML property on HTML elements, HTML5 parser used to view source syntax highlighting, added Style Editor to easily edit CSS, added Page Inspector 3D View to visualize webpages in 3D, HTML parsing support for XMLHttpRequest, and much more.

  The tutorial  guide's theusers with the installation of the upcoming Mozilla Firefox 11.0 web browser in the Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot), Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal), Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) and Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Lucid Lynx) operating systems.

To install Mozilla Firefox 11.0 on your system follow the next step-by-step (with screenshots) tutorial.

Step 1 - Add the Firefox 11.0 repository
 
No matter that whatever Ubuntu operating system you are running, open a terminal and paste the following command:

 sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mozillateam/firefox-next

 Enter your password when asked and hit the Enter key. Hit Enter again when asked.
Don't close the terminal window!


Step 2 - Install Firefox 11.0 on Ubuntu

Now paste the following command:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y firefox

                           
Wait for the installation to finish and close the terminal window.

That's it! The new Mozilla Firefox 11.0 is now fully installed in your Ubuntu machine. You'll need to restart Firefox for the changes to take effect.

                                 Firefox 11.0 on Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot) 

In time, your Mozilla Firefox web browser will automatically upgrade to newer versions, so make sure you update your system regularly.