Pointing to KTVZ article, MacRumors confirms to us that Apple has bought the said land with a view to establish a large data center there.

Tech giant Apple Inc. confirmed Tuesday to NewsChannel 21 that it plans to build a data center at a 160-acre parcel in Prineville it just bought from Crook County for $5.6 million, a stone’s throw from the huge facility built by Facebook.

According to reports, the Cupertino-based technology giant has purchased the land for $5.6 million on February 15th, to set up their own new data center. Location-wise the purchased land is not too far from the large data center of Facebook.

It is said that the new data center will be used to power the Apple’s iCloud service, together with other services. It is important to note here that Apple is already hosting a good number of smaller data centers in different parts of California.

On the technical side, having a data center opened in a city is not of much worth to the local population, as they usually don’t provide much job opportunities to the locals and also they consumed too much of power. For instance, Apple’s new data center in Oregon is supposed to be powered on 31-megawatss of power, enough to power 22,000 houses.

The data center, on the other hand, will also bring small implications, such as short-term construction jobs. It will, however, bring a considerable boost in tax collection to the area. With the growth of company, the demands for servers to power the large range of products will also increase.

The latest Twitter for iPhone app version 4.1 features several enhancements, including improved Direct Message handling and enhanced image quality. These two features are certainly not new but these are back with improvements. Twitter has also brought back swipe shortcuts and the ability to copy text to its iPhone application.

These features were dropped by Twitter in the recent update and majority of the app users didn’t like the change and many of them even opted for third-party apps, including Tweetbot. But Twitter didn’t take long to respond to users’ feedback and bring both these features back on board.

The dropping of swipe gesture feature surprised many users, particularly those who need to reply lots of tweets and were left with additional taps required to update their post. As swipe gesture features are back, the users will certainly be pleased to have them back as they can now easily reply to their tweets, retweet, and can do much more.

The other popular feature that was dropped in the previous update was the ability to copy text from tweets with the iOS ‘tap and hold’ feature into the iPhone app. This feature is also back in the latest version of Twitter for iPhone app. However, the feature is back with a restriction as users will no more have the ability to control the copies text as the whole tweet will be copied to the clipboard.

Twitter not only bring old feature back, there are plethora of new features introduced in the latest version as well. Twitter also says that it has improved the functionality of the application through this update. Now the point is whether the changes are enough to draw users back to its app which previously shifted to third-party alternatives.

Twitter for iPhone 4.1 will soon be available in the Apple’s App Store for download as soon as the roll out completes.

What is more prominent about the PlayBook OS 2.0 is an integrated email client. When Rim launched its initial version of the PlayBook, it met with heavy criticism for not including a native email app support in it, particularly when messaging is considered as one of the major strength of the BlackBerry brand.

Now the PlayBook 2.0 launched with an integrated inbox that backs multiple email accounts as well as social messaging from Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. The company has expanded this social integration to the Contacts and Calendar applications as well.

In addition to this, BlackBerry App World has also been updated to offer a host of new PlayBook applications, such as a selection for Android apps that are supported by the tablet for the very first time. However, the support for Android is limited at the moment.

Similarly, RIM has also updated the BlackBerry Bridge that let PlayBook users to view apps from their BlackBerry smartphones on the tablet’s screen through a Bluetooth connection. With this update, users will be able to use smartphone as a remote keyboard and mouse controller.

The new version of PlayBook also includes a range of application updates, including updated document editing functions, enhanced Web browser, a new Print-to-Go app and Video Store as well as a renewed on-screen keyboard.

In order to make it appropriate for the enterprise market, RIM has also added BlackBerry Balance into its PlayBook 2.0 to cope with corporate data. The company is also releasing a BlackBerry Mobile Fusion, a web-based interface for managing BlackBerry smartphones and tablets in corporate surroundings. Research In Motion is hoping to extend this support to iOS and Android devices not later by next month.

The current users can download the BlackBerry PlayBook 2.0 for free. Although, it comes with a range of improvements but perhaps RIM is a bit too late to play it cards as it is way too hard to regain the lost status for its much-maligned hardware.

He is currently serving as CEO of Virtual Instruments that provides products ensuring the performance and availability of applications set up in virtualized and private cloud computing environments. Thompson has also previously served as Chairman and CEO of Symantec from 1999 to 2009. In that ten year tenure at Symantec, he raised the company’s revenues from $600 million to $6 billion. He resigned from CEO post in 2009, while remained a member of board until 2011.

Thompson also remained a part of IBM in the past where he served at different executive positions, including sales, marketing, software development and General Manager of IBM Americas. Some reports suggest that he also served as Commerce Secretary under the Obama Administration.

Microsoft’s Chairman, Bill Gates said, “John has extraordinary technology and business expertise, and we are delighted that he is joining Microsoft’s board of directors.”

The Microsoft’s board of directors consists of Gates, CEO Steve Ballmer; Dina Dublon, former chief financial officer of JPMorgan Chase; Raymond Gilmartin, former chairman, president and CEO of Merck & Co. Inc.; Netflix founder and CEO Reed Hastings; Dr. Maria M. Klawe, president, Harvey Mudd College; David F. Marquardt, general partner at August Capital; Charles H. Noski, vice chairman of Bank of America Corp.; Dr. Helmut G. W. Panke, former chairman of the board of management at BMW AG; and John Thompson.

The history reveals that both Symantec and Microsoft have never been in a healthy relationship, but Thompson’s nomination as member of board is interesting news. According to ZDNet, Thompson described Microsoft as a partner, ally and competitor to Symantec back in 2007.

The company has recently announced an extension for Windows Vista as well. The extension given to the Vista’s consumer will expire in 2017, three years before Windows 7. The gap of three years between the two versions is quite reasonable considering the fact that Vista is an older operating system.

Following is an excerpt taken from Microsoft’s original statement:

Microsoft is updating the Support Lifecycle Policy to ensure that all consumer editions of our desktop operating systems are eligible to receive five years of Mainstream Support and five years of Extended Support. In the past, commercial customers who updated to the most current supported Security Packs (SPs) could receive security updates, even when Mainstream Support for a product ended. This update formalizes that all editions of our operating systems will receive security updates as long as they are using the most current SP.

It seems that the Redmond-based company is trying to bring all its support policies into proximity. This is certainly a smart move from Microsoft to keep things simple and clear for both Vista and Windows 7 users.

Let us consider a Microsoft’s future operating system as well for a while. A lot of confusion prevails in the mind of the people regarding Microsoft’s next operating system, Windows 8. It seems that to make its next operating system a hit, the company is taking its time through granting extension for its existing operating systems. For instance, there is a common assumption that if Windows 8 fails, it will take some time for company to release a replacement, so people need to have some reasonable operating systems operational in that sort of situation. The extension is simply making things simpler and easier for the Microsoft to experiment with its next operating system.

Though, there is some weight in the assumption, we can’t ignore the potential of Microsoft as well. It is working with its next operating system as it did with its previous operating systems. So, the extensions can merely be a part of company’s set goals and associating them with next operating system seems a little unjustifiable on Microsoft’s part.

The full-on new edition of the game was released by the company some months ago. Considering the importance of new versions, Rovio kept on releasing the new versions for its Angry Birds games. Every new version is full of new levels and the occasional new bird. However, the company is still ignoring the Symbian-only Angry Birds Magic with its NFC tricks. The last we saw was the promotional movie fastened with Angry Birds Rio in March 2011.

Rovio has not disclosed much of the details about its forthcoming Angry Birds Space. The only news that we have got from the company is that the game will be released on March 22. For some unknown reasons, the game developer has also included NASA and National Geographic as partners in application’s release. We are still assuming how both these partners fit into the whole scenario except for providing background imagery for the game.

Now the question arises, how will Space differ from current Angry Birds games? Perhaps, the first most clear change would be seen in the modification with the strength of gravity, as the name of the game suggest. Another speculation is that the game might have a ‘lightspeed destruction’ mode. We are still unsure of the details as company has not yet disclosed them. We hope that Rovio will have something more to share with as we approach the launch date. All we can do is to wait for Rovio to share more details with us.

According to Smarthouse, the service will be rolled out initially in Australia, United States and Europe, with both American and European customers will be able to use service by late first half of this year.

Blockbuster, the biggest rental movie provider in the Australia, failed to perform well in the United States because of the current Internet-based Netflix and rental Kiosk Company Redbox dominance. The company was forced to shut down many of its stores as a part of cost-cutting plan. The Dish Network, US satellite broadcaster has recently acquired the company and will soon introduce a new streaming service based on its deal with Samsung.

Redbox in a response to this acquisition bought the Blockbuster’s Express Kiosk business in the country.

CEO of the Franchise Entertainment Group, Paul Uniacke, who also holds the rights to the Blockbuster brand in Australia, stated that its deal with Korean company is a brilliant one. This deal will open the doors of service for the users owning Samsung products, including televisions, Blu-ray players, smartphones and tablets, and even personal computers.

According to sources, since the streaming service will be made available to the users of United States and Europe during the first half of 2012, the users in Australia will have to wait until September to be able to use streaming services.

In order to make this new service seamless and smooth, the Korean company is reportedly working on developing a new global billing platform, which will let users to sign-up and pay for new media content. This will also help Samsung to expand its range of value-added services to offer a smooth and clean user-experience to its customers all across the world.

YouTube Next Cause, the most recent addition to the Creator program, is in fact a day-long summit going to be held in San Francisco on April 2nd. During this summit, the company will provide non-profits training and consulting on YouTube best practices for promotion and community engagement.

YouTube representative Jessica Manson said that “We want to help non-profits turn their view counts into actions – dollars raised, petitions signed.”

Manson pointed out three tips for non-profits aiming to expand their channels. Firstly, connect with the community by replying to comments and giving them an action step, like a petition to sign. Secondly, upload content regularly to create a consistent relationship. Thirdly, don’t ever believe that great videos need heavy budgets. ‘Invisible People’ is a project that portrays the stories of people living without homes and ‘The Uncultured Project’ is the one that shoots in Bangladesh with just a flip of camera. These are the two obvious examples of videos telling stories accomplished at low budget.

“Non-profits will receive an incredible networking opportunity with Google’s thought leaders and gain insider knowledge on the best ways to engage audiences,” Manson further adds.

Out of the 16,000 organizations in YouTube’s non-profit program, almost 30 have received over 10 million views on their videos, while 271 have received over 1 million views. To make things more seamless, video sharing platform launched its Playbook last month.

In the NextUp Program of YouTube, the non-profits program is the latest inclusion. In the past, the program has assisted YouTube entertainers move their YouTube content into their primary careers. The program has equally helpful for athletic trainers and chefs.

A Brazilian website, Gemind, reports that we will soon be able to see extended storage levels and desktop apps for Windows and Mac OS X. The website also shares with us screenshot from the web interface of SkyDrive, which explicitly advertises downloadable clients for Windows and Mac. It points out that this isn’t the LiveMesh product, and plainly applies to SkyDrive.

In addition to the possible clients for Mac and Windows, the site also reveals new pricing plans for beyond the standard 25GB of free storage. The new pricing plans offer 20, 50, and 100GB more storage for free. The image given below will give you a clear idea of how the new pricing plan will work out based on Brazilian Real figures.

• +20 for $11/yr
• +50 for $27/yr
• +100 for $54/yr

Fans of storage service will certainly be pleased to see the additional ranks of pricing. Moreover, the desktop apps will make it easier and faster to access SkyDrive than the previous web interface. The Redmond-based software giant is looking forward to make its cloud storage service a true competitor for Dropbox and Apple’s iCloud.

If Microsoft truly wants to take benefit out of its cloud storage service, it has to come up on its own rather than relying on Amazon or any other third-party services. Microsoft seems to realize the fact of having its own strong cloud storage service and keenly working to improve it over time to have its fair share in the cloud market.

The Vice President & Deputy General Counsel of Google, Don Harrison commented on the EU’s approval that it is “now just waiting for decisions from a few other jurisdictions before we can close this transaction,” including China.

According to Reuters, a representative from the Chinese Commerce Ministry said that they are investigating the $12.5 billion deal to ensure whether the deal will monopolize any of the firm’s status in the country.

According to Chinese law, any business that generates revenues over $1.55 billion (10 billion yuan) per annum, of which $62 million generates from China, must get government approval before it can be purchased.

Reuters recent report that the investigation is underway is a positive sign. However, Google told that it filed application last year and is still waiting for an approval from Chinese authorities:

We filed in September and are awaiting review.

An argument rose last year as the search giant didn’t file its application when the deal was first announced in August. Although, China was not initially mentioned by Google as a market where it would need to gain approval initially, but was indirectly referenced when Google said in a statement that the deal was “subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals in the US, the European Union and other jurisdictions, and the approval of Motorola Mobility’s stockholders.”

Given that the deal is granted its essential approvals worldwide, the search giant is hoping to get its hands on a host of new technology and proficiency. Apart from mobile business, the acquisition will open the doors for set-top boxes, other hardware and most importantly 17,000 registered patents with 7,500 still pending.

The search giant said in a blog post that the “deal will not change our commitment to run Android as an open platform,” however, it will help company to promote its Android platform – the world’s most used mobile operating system.

There are many lucky users who have already switched to the latest version of Twitter after the rollout began last year, but there are still a good number of users who have just switched to the newer version. This certainly was a slow and systematic rollout.

It has been announced by Twitter today that the roll out is finally complete and everyone has now successfully been moved to the new Twitter, often dubbed as ‘#NewNew Twitter’:

Users lucky enough to have their hands on the new version earlier are now pretty familiar with the new layout of the site, while those who are just happened to switch to the new version of Twitter seem a bit in chaotic state of mind.

Twitter’s approach of rolling out the new version of its site is quite impressive. It certainly helped the company to prevent massive support requests. Certainly, for users who are not a big time fan of the site, the things seem to be messed for them. Similar approach has been implied by the world’s largest network, Facebook to introduce its new features. We have seen in past that rolling out any of the new feature instantly caused a havoc among the users as well as companies.

Apple has finally responded to the earlier reports that Path together with many other iOS applications has been using users’ contact information without asking for their permission. People were waiting for Apple’s response since the reports first appear on the scene, but Apple its time before responding.

It seems pretty clear that why Apple was quite, after all  it is Apple’s Apple Store team that is responsible for approving these apps that receive user’ private data without asking for permission. The company has finally got out of its shell to speak on the issue.

While talking to AllThingsD on an unauthorized uploading of user data, an Apple representative had this to say:

“Apps that collect or transmit a user’s contact data without their prior permission are in violation of our guidelines,” Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr told AllThingsD. “We’re working to make this even better for our customers, and as we have done with location services, any app wishing to access contact data will require explicit user approval in a future software release.”

Surprisingly, Path isn’t the only app that is uploading the users’ private data. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Foursquare, Yelp and several other apps are found guilty of doing such actions. Members of Congress have also sent a letter of concern to the Apple’s CEO Tim Cook over the prevailing issue.

It seems that the problem is addressed by the Apple’s team and everything is working seamlessly. This also shows the strength of media that how it provoke public chaos and bring about change. The Cupertino-based company took about a week to address all the issues regarding unauthorized uploading of users’ private data.

These are the two major hurdles restricting Google to finalize the acquisition. Now, getting approval from the regulators of both the countries, Google is now all set to finalize its purchase. Acquiring Motorola will give the search giant the ability to manufacture its own line of smartphones, appropriate for its most popular Android platform. Currently, Motorola is known to be the one of the biggest manufacturers of Android phones. It also owns a good number of patents in the mobile market.

While announcing the European approval, the Vice President and Deputy Council of Google, Don Harrison stated in a blog post, “the combination of Google and Motorola Mobility will help supercharge Android. It will also enhance competition and offer consumers faster innovation, greater choice and wonderful user experiences.”

The DOJ’s Antitrust Division through a statement announced its approval. The statement is not just limited to announce the approval of Google-Motorola deal, but also announced approval for Apple’s acquisition of certain Novell patents along with Apple, Microsoft and RIM’s acquisitions of certain Nortel Networks patents.

DOJ statement is read as, “After a thorough review of the proposed transactions, the Antitrust Division has determined that each acquisition is unlikely to substantially lessen competition and has closed these three investigations.” DOJ later added that “the division’s investigations focused on whether the acquiring firms could use these patents to raise rivals’ costs or foreclose competition.”

Interestingly, the DOJ’s antitrust regulators didn’t impose any restrictions on the acquisition, just like EU regulators. However, the Europe’s competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia made this clear that approval does not mean that the merger clearance blesses all actions by Motorola in the past or all future action by Google.

This would be the search giant’s first extension into the technology hardware business. This acquisition will certainly help Google to further improve its skills in mobile technology.

The South Korean electronics giant, Samsung has shaped a large part of Apple’s supply chain for its iPad and iPhone, making Flash and DRAM memory for the devices. It also fabricates Apple’s custom ARM-based A4 and A5 processors that power the Apple’s most popular products. It is also reported earlier that Samsung is manufacturing A6 processors for Apple as well.

Peter Misek, an analyst of Jefferies thinks that Apple isn’t only benefiting Samsung’s revenues, but also helping with a “large portion of Samsung’s Austin fab (fabrication facility),” particularly assuming that it is “manufacturing the upcoming quad-core A6 app processor there.”

After its South Korean plant, Austin Fab is the company’s second non-memory chip fabrication plan, which is spread over 1.6 million square foot, with a valuation of $3.6 billion.

The companies are involved in a number of legal battles on different fronts in several countries, but still Apple is cutting ties somewhere.

Misek says:

“All else equal, we see Samsung losing share in Apple’s supply chain and other Asia suppliers gaining share. We believe semi equipment could benefit from the increased order flow. We believe that in 2013 when Apple starts production of the A7 that the company will likely add TSMC as a supplier in addition to Samsung.”

Initially, the Cupertino-based company has been connected with TMSC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company), with Apple reportedly issuing trial to the company to make its next generation A6 processors, shifting production away to a non-competitive supplier.

The next A6 processor is assumed to be a quad-core chip, which will power the Apple’s next generation iPad tablet. The tablet is expected to launch with LTE support and reportedly scheduled for early March launch.

Google’s Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Don Harrison sad in a blog post, “This is an important milestone in the approval process and it moves us closer to closing the deal. We are now just waiting for decisions from a few other jurisdictions before we can close this transaction.”

As for US regulators are concerned, Reuters has reported earlier that Google will soon get an approval from US regulators. Many reports suggested that the decision will come any time this week.

Talking about Google’s acquisition of Motorola, Harrison said “the combination of Google and Motorola Mobility will help supercharge Android. It will also enhance competition and offer consumers faster innovation, greater choice and wonderful user experiences.”

If we look at the market status of Motorola, it owns one of the largest collections of patents in mobile industry. With this acquisition, Google would certainly be able to manufacture its own line of smartphones to go with its popular Android mobile operating system. Motorola also has a massive network of hardware manufacturing facilities that will help Google as well. Motorola, at the moment, is one of the biggest producers of Android-based devices.

To finalize the deal, Google will pay $12.5 billion to acquire Motorola Mobility. However, the deal is pretty much dependant upon the approval of US regulators now.

Antitrust regulators of the European Union didn’t impose any restrictions on the Google-Motorola acquisition. However, the competition commissioner of Europe, Joaquin Almunia said that the approval “does not mean that the merger clearance blesses all actions by Motorola in the past or all future action by Google.”

Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility is its first extension into the technology hardware business. Google has already faced a lot of antitrust criticism in the past when it decided to move into other online sectors, such as daily deals and shopping.

Recently, Amazon has also started shipping its Kindle Touch across the globe. From a technical standpoint, it indicates that the device is already available in Brazil and Japan, but launching it officially in both these countries would help company boosts its sales, as full scale launch will also offer it in local versions, including Portuguese and Japanese.

We have also got a clue that Amazon is busy concentrating on licensing online content in the two countries. It was back in May last year, when the reports emerged of talks between Amazon and local publishers in Brazil. Since then, the company has employed local staff with a view to acquire content for the Kindle.

Reuters quoted a local newspaper, the Nikkei that thinks that Amazon will begin offering its Kindle product from April with a price tag of around 20,000 yen (US$260). The newspaper also reports that the company will work together with NTT DoCoMo in order that customers don’t pay communication charges while downloading e-books over DoCoMo’s network.

PublishNews reports that Amazon will finalize its first deal with Brazilian publishers by March or April and will begin work by June or July.

Amazon is still considering cost estimates before setting up the final prices for its devices. Still, reports claim that company is up to selling its most basic Kindle product nothing more than R$199 (US$116).

Although, it seems much more expensive than what it is offered in US for, it will have the most desirable price than any of the other available tablets and e-readers on the Brazilian market.

The report has been confirmed officially by the search giant, as the company revealed that several of its services have been blocked in the country by the local government.

This is not the first time that Iran blocked the SSL sites. The country has taken this sort of steps in the past as well. According to the search giant, the Internet users in Iran have been unable to access its encrypted search, YouTube

and Gmail services since February 10. It is not only the Google’s products that are inaccessible in the country; there are several other major websites which are inaccessible in the country for last some days.

While citing Iran’s Mehr News Agency, Bloomberg reports that over 30 million Iranian Internet users have been affected by the blockage as they have been unable to access their email accounts, including Gmail and Hotmail. The News Agency also points out that Information Technology Organization and the Telecommunication Infrastructure Co. of Iran said that it is unaware of the fact.

However, the monopoly Iran has on the Internet in the country is not a new phenomenon – given the fact that the local authorities are pondering over to plan ‘its own Internet’ for the country. Blocking of the websites is not a new thing done in Iran, as there are several websites which are still inaccessible in the country since years, including many tech blogs. We aren’t even sure even our own website is accessible their or not.

We are trying to reach Google for further comments. Stay tuned and we will get back to you with more updates on this as soon as possible.

Google TV said that it is upgrading the YouTube experience on Google TV with a new, redesigned application. The YouTube app for Google TV is available for download on the Android Marketplace. Initially, the idea behind Google TV was to design a user experience that smoothly and effortlessly merges web video with the boob tube, to alter the way consumers communicate with TV. However, the Google TV fell flat initially. While reviewing the latest version, Matt Burns says that it still has to go long way.

The search giant has promised some ‘major improvements’ to its new YouTube application. For instance, navigation is made seamless and swift, new ‘Discover’ feature has been added to its UX that essentially brings YouTube channel categories to Google TV, eventually improving their browser-ability within the app. New channel pages have also been included in the new version that enables users to navigate playlists and videos and easily subscribe them to favorites.

According to Google, users will be able to see related videos from the same user by pressing the up and down arrows on their remote controls or to locate the ‘Info screen’ to leave a thumbs up, to leave a comment, or to add up in their list.

The new version of YouTube app for Google TV looks impressive as this is solely tweaked to offer users an improved YouTube experience on Google TV. However, the app isn’t a mega announcement that most of the users were expecting previously, but still it manages to get positive reviews from users.

The device has already been spotted in imaged in China, forcing us to believe that reports are true. It seems that both Microsoft and Nokia are busy testing their Windows Phone 7 device running the Tango operating system in the region.

Images of the handset device appeared on the Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo shows that the device is being tested with the country’s third largest operator. However, we have no clue about its pricing plan and other details related to its launch as we have not yet heard any official words on Lumia 800’s China launch.

Being one of the stronger brands in China, this move from Nokia is an aggressive one together with China Telecom. The introduction of Lumia 800 in the Chinese smartphone market would be a healthy addition which will soon be joined by Apple’s iPhone.

In addition to Lumia 800, some sources also predict that Lumia 900 is also being lined up for launch in China and it will be there for launch one month later in April after Lumia 800’s release. It is still to be seen whether Nokia will bring its lower-budget Lumia range and Asha series in the country.

A rumbling surfaced earlier in 2011 suggesting that the Redmond-based software giant, Microsoft has signed a deal with retailer Suning, but the software giant neither confirmed nor commented on the report. The Head of Microsoft’s Windows Phone division, Andy Lees, while speaking at AsiaD event said that “a launch was scheduled for some time in 2012.”

Nokia has speculated the importance of the potential of Chinese market and for this reason it has also relocated its Asia Pacific head from Singapore to Beijing. Also, Nokia has recently decided to move its production units to Asia with a job cut in Europe and Mexico.

When Nokia was asked to comment on the possible launch of Nokia Lumia 800 in China, company dodged by saying that “it doesn’t comment on market speculation.”

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is basically a flagship model running a stock version of Android 4.0 or Ice Cream Sandwich and not many changes made in the device itself from the Korean company. This means that any software element – infringing or otherwise – directly related to the search giant, Google.

Apple filed the lawsuit late last week. It names four patents including the one that had some success in the past against Android devices, while the remaining three seems to be a big threat for the Google’s business.

The four patents mentioned in the complaint include a ‘data tapping’ (a term coined by Mueller) patent, a patent related to Siri’s search functionality, a slide-to-unlock patent and a patent that auto-complete words when typing into iOS.

All these patents are somewhat new filings that is why some of them not seen in legal action prior to this motion. In the past, however, we have seen ‘data tapping’ patent bringing some success to Apple against Android devices. This patent has been successfully used by Apple to win an injunction against the import of HTC devices by ITC that begins in the April.

Apple has already faced Samsung in different courtrooms all across the world and in some of them it even won the injunctions. Being designed by Samsung, Apple can raise the argument against the Galaxy Nexus as well, claiming that Samsung is obsessive and unapologetic infringer on Apple’s patents.

Motorola is another Google-owned company that is under attack by the Cupertino-based company over infringing on its patents. The two companies are against each other in the German courts, while Apple also filed a lawsuit in the US against Motorola for misusing of patent licensing on reasonable, fair non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms.

Considering the lawsuits filed by Apple against Android makers, this filing is a significant one as it is based on strong patents and set ups a powerful timeline for a ruling, which one expect within coming months.

The current round of filing by Apple against a stock version of Android that is being shipped on a flagship Samsung device indirectly involving Google in the battler as well along with Samsung.

You can opt for two ways to get the extra Credits that are effective at the moment. In first method, you need to be lucky enough to catch an ad that will extend the offer for you. While in the second method, user can redeem $1 purchase for up to $5 (including Facebook’s free credits) for in-app currency. Image will tell you the whole story:

To conclude the post, Facebook’s disclaimer states that user will have to make the purchase through a credit card or PayPal account. Also, the users who are provided with the offer “may not have previously purchased on Facebook.” One can assume that the chance of seeing the extra Credit options will be higher for those who have not previously purchased credits via the site.

It is not yet confirmed whether the offer has taken off in reality or not. We don’t even get much from the social networking giant’s S-1, pre-IPO filing. So, this move from the Facebook seems to be an impressive one as this will help draw more new customers by giving them free money.

The Washington Post reports, among the major sites blocked, include Google, Google Reader and Facebook.

A good number of Iranian users believe that connectivity woes are caused by Iranian government. Form the mid-February to early March, the 33^rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution is celebrated in the country each year. Perhaps, in an attempt to restrict any anti-government demonstrations forming online, the Iranian government has restricted Internet access during this politically charged event.

All the websites using HTTPS (a more secure version of HTTP protocol that assists in keeping Internet users’ information private) are amassed by error messages.

Some other encrypted sites are also being blocked by the government, including the proxy servers that some Iranian use to bypass government blocks of Western websites, The Verge reports. It is also said that this blockade is an initial move from the Iranian government to isolate digitally savvy Iranians from the rest of the Internet.

In past, the Internet has played a vital role in Iranian political rallies. After a disputed election in 2009, the company saw mass protests which were dubbed as the “Twitter Revolution” as protestors used the social network to systematize themselves. During the 2010’s anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, the Internet slowed to a crawl. Even in the year past, protestors used the Internet once again to establish solidarity marches with Arab Spring documentations in the Middle East.

The Hangout is scheduled for February 16 at 2 p.m. EST. The hangout will feature company’s archivists Ted Ryan and Jamal Booker who will take questions from the Coca-Cola Archives. It is worth mentioning here that the Archives have been featured on CNBC and Bloomberg TV and also in Coke’s Virtual Online Museum. However, it is not open to the public and any such event has not yet hosted by the company.

According to Ryan, the talk will be ranged from 30 to 45 minutes and will be based on Olympics memorabilia and a document showing Coca-Cola’s original patent award in 1887. However, the entire talk won’t be scripted and majority of the responses will be based on the questions imposed by participants.

The Hangout would be hosted on Coca-Cola’s Google+ Page and also through its Coca-Cola Archives Facebook Page and Twitter feed. Like all Google+ Hangouts, only nine feeds at a time can be seen, while the rest of the participants watch the action for that time.

It was back in November when the search giant opened Google+ to brand pages. Over 3.5 million users have added brands in their circles since that time, researcher Simply Measured stated. Interestingly, Coke, at the moment, has the sixth largest brand page, considering ‘circles’, which are said to be around 326,000, according to estimates. These numbers are seemed to be small enough when compared to Coke’s Facebook fan base, which is around 39 million.

Director of Worldwide Interactive Marketing for Coca-Cola, Michael Donnelly says that he is hopeful about Google+ growth. He added, “From a social perspective, we want to be where our consumers are.” He further adds that we are considering other ideas for Hangouts including analyst talks with investor relations and panels with teens.

It has been claimed by Cadbury UK that it was the first brand to host Hangout on February 9. However, lots of other brands including Dell and Macy’s follow the suit. The US President Obama also held a Hangout on Google+.

According a tweet posted by Murtazin, the official update would begin to rollout earlier next month, eventually conveying stable builds of earlier released, which had reportedly leaked from the South Korean electronics giant:

“Android 4 aka ics for sgs2 will be officially available from march 1(depends from country/operator). Update over the air or using kies.”

A public announcement was made by Samsung on December 20, 2011, confirming that the Galaxy S II, Galaxy Note and Galaxy Tab range would get official ICS or Android 4.0 update. It was said earlier by the Samsung that both Galaxy S II and Galaxy Note will get Ice Cream Sandwich updates in the first quarter of 2012, with updates for other smartphones and tablets will be rolled out later.

We have also heard about rumblings claiming that Samsung was up to announce an Android ‘Value Pack’ for the Galaxy S users, after confirming that the Galaxy S and original Galaxy Tab won’t receive any update because of lower specs. However, the hopes shattered when Samsung said that these are mere speculations and company wasn’t announcing any such compensatory ‘Value Pack’ for Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab users.

It is also important to note here that the South Korean company has not yet confirmed the official date of release. So, all these reports are nothing but rumblings at the moment. If these reports are true, then the update rollout is only three weeks away from making its way to Galaxy S II and Galaxy Tab.

This is certainly a very big move from Twitter as this draw more traffic particularly during a time of crisis. When we look back to the disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan, we will come to know about the importance of this service.

At the time when cell towers aren’t operational, SMS service is not of any use. So, to overcome this, Twitter said that Iridium and Thuraya would be there to provide access to Twitter even in any emergency situation.

This is what Twitter had to say about its most recent move:

Of course, there may be times when people cannot access SMS. We’ve been working on some solutions when that occurs:

Satellite operators

We’ve partnered with the two largest satellite operators, Iridium and Thuraya, to give their subscribers access to Twitter SMS. Now, even if phone lines and the Internet are inaccessible — for example, in a war zone or after a natural disaster — people will be able to share news and stay informed via Twitter.

Long codes

We work with as many carriers as we can to support SMS around the world. If your carrier does not currently support Twitter SMS, you can still Tweet. Just use one of our long codes.

Furthermore, the company has also provided us with a full list of short and long codes that offer access to the micro-sharing platform. The full list can be viewed here.

This move is even appreciated and suggested by the government of United States as well. The US government is of the view that one should take to social media sites like Twitter to let their loved ones know that they are O.K at the time of earthquakes or any other natural calamity. This would also be helpful to get assistance in areas that need it the most.

Twitter must be a very keen observer particularly at the time when Facebook filed its paperwork to go public. The social networking giant claimed it to be one of its strengths as economy booster. On the other hand, Twitter’s idea of connecting people globally during the time of crisis or disaster certainly is worth admiring.

The search giant sent this letter to IEEE on Wednesday that outlines company’s position on Motorola patents if and when the supposed acquisition is finalized. The execution could reportedly happen next week. The most noticeable was the search giant’s firmness over continuing to enforce a 2.25% fee on iPhones based on model’s using Motorola patents.

The search giant’s standpoint appears about two weeks after Motorola Mobility filed a lawsuit against Apple blaming the company of infringing on its technology patents. Motorola filed its complaint in a Florida federal court, regarding patents for the iPhone 4S and Apple’s iCloud service.

When it comes to patents, these are a major issue for the search giant and probably an essential impulsion for the Motorola Mobility acquisition. The bid came at the crucial time after a public argument last summer between Google, Apple and Microsoft over the patents’ rights.

On its official blog, the search giant raised the issue of patent in August last year to kvetch regarding an “organized campaign by Oracle, Apple and other companies, waged through bogus patents.” Google’s Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, David Drummond, went on accusing Apple and Microsoft for being “in bed together” in a try to harm Google’s business through patent claims.

Apple, however, remained the most prominent figure in the skirmish, while Microsoft’s General Counsel Brad Smith began with Twitter to indicate that the Redmond-based software giant had invited Google to jointly bid on patents from Novell. Frank X. Shaw, the software giant’s lead of corporate communications, also posted a letter from Kent Walker, however, Google’s general counsel, rejecting Microsoft’s invitation concerning the Novell patents.

Furthermore, all C-level executives, including COO Sheryl Sandberg (whose salary is disclosed to be $300,000), will be eligible for dual performance-based bonus.

You must be wondering about such high salaries of these executives including Sandberg and Zuckerberg. The fact is these two along with other executives have good shares of stock in the company that makes them eligible for such a high salaries.

There is something more ‘investor friendly’ detail in the IPO information as well that there is no golden parachute agreement available for Zuckerberg and Sandberg, which could compensate the pair in case they should forced out of the company, reveals Contra Costa Times.

Other significant news is that the company’s value hit a record high with AllFacebook reports that the company is now worth somewhere between $103.4-110 billion based on its share price that stood at $44.

The social networking giant filed for a $5 billion IPO past week. The documentation filed by the company revealed a series of figures and data that unveiled its user-base to be 854 million, with 250 million posted pictures and 2.7 billion likes and comments everyday on the website.

As of financial state of the company, it disclosed its total revenue to be stood at $3.7 billion with net income at $695 billion in 2011.

The layoff will affect workers in three of the company’s facilities, including Salo, Finland; Komarom, Hungary; and Reynosa, Mexico. In a release, Nokia claims that these facilities will now focus on smartphone product customization. It was also mentioned in the release that the device assembly which had been executed at the facilities previously, will now be moved to Asia “where the majority of component suppliers are based.”

The laying off will continue throughout the year.

Nokia had already announced its intentions to ‘align’ its workforce earlier in September – halting operations in its facility in Cluj, Romonia was part of that announcement. However, the company didn’t hint towards this sort of cut off in any of its previous announcement.

The layoff comes at the time when Nokia is looking to transit from the Symbian-based mobile phones to Luma running Windows Mobile. Unfortunately, the Finnish mobile company lost $1.4 billion in the fourth quarter as company saw a drop of 21% from the previous year.

Considering the continuous cycle of its falling market shares forced Nokia to cut jobs in April of last year that resulted in the loss of 4,000 jobs in Denmark, Finland and Britain.  Moreover, the company also shifted its 3,000 workers working on Symbian to Accenture.

The stock price of Nokia was up by 1% on the news on Wednesday afternoon, EST.

All Things D reports, while citing sources familiar with the situation that the professional network proposed Rapportive ‘low teen’ cash worth in millions of dollars and the deal is still open.

We tried to approach CEO of Rapprotive, Rahul Vohra, but he dodged our attempts to talk to him, while LinkedIn straightaway declined to comment saying that “company doesn’t comment on rumors.”

Rapportive is in fact a sidebar for Gmail that provides information from related email contacts’ social media accounts, like LinkedIn, when you open and compose emails. It also enables users to add those email contacts as friends on social networks with no need to leave your inbox.

Although, the startup has not disclosed the number of people using it, Vohra, back in September, gave us a hint by saying that the startup users viewed over 65 million contacts per month. He also mentioned at that occasion that the company was planning to offer premium products in future.

Currently, there are two major competitors to Rapportive, including Xobni, Smartr and Mingly. In fall of last year, the professional network also acquired an identical contact management startup named ‘Connected’.

Back in May, the search giant released a ‘people widget’ for Gmail that worked similar to Rapportive. The startup ended up integrating the widget into its products.

The Redmond-base software giant launched its popular service SkyDrive on iOS in December. At that moment, Android didn’t get its share from the Redmond-based company.

Although, it took some time, but Android users finally have good news coming out Microsoft camp.

Microsoft through a blog post made an announcement for the launch of OneNote for Android. This is what company had to say about it:

For all of you who’ve been asking (and patiently waiting) for a version of OneNote for your Android phones, we have great news: OneNote Mobile for Android is now available! Download it from the Android Market app store today!

Mobile versions of OneNote are currently available on Windows Phone, iPhone, iPad, and now Android. No matter which platform you prefer, OneNote Mobile lets you easily capture and access all of your notes and ideas on the go.

Being present on the Android market, the trifecta smartphone supports iOS, Android and its own Windows Phone Platform. Microsoft took a little too long to announce its Android app because the company has better chance of drawing PC users to Android Market than to App Store.

The app will enable users to create to-do lists which include images and bulleted lists, along with clickable checkboxes to mark off the tasks that you have done with. If you are an Android user and using OneNote on PC, then you must be the happiest person.

On similar app that Android users have already been using is Evernote. You must agree with me that the version of Evernote launched for Android in July 2011 is simply remarkable.

OneNote for Android

The new camera is named as the D800. Shockingly, the camera snaps photos at an eye-popping 36.3-megapixels – more than double the maximum resolution of the D4 that snaps photos at 16.2-megapixel. Moreover, the D800 is capable of capturing ultra-crisp photos credit goes to its full-frame CMOS sensor that Nikon called as FX format. Here ‘Full frame’ means the image sensor is the same as a frame of 35mm film that is distinctly larger than a typical APS-C sensor in a normal DSLR.

In order to control such a massive number of panels, you need to have performance of the class and for that reason the new camera sports off a new image processor named the Expeed 3. According to Nikon, with both full frame sensor and processing engine, makes the pixel count of the camera the world’s highest. However, to qualify for the claim, the company has to include DSLRs interchangeable lenses with full-frame lenses.

Considering the D800, it has all the features of a DSLR – you will be able to take lenses out smoothly, capture video at 1080p, 30 frames per second and an ISO that can be cranked up to 6400 or 25600. An optional MB-D12 battery pack is also available that offers a continuous-shooting mode through which can snap six full 36MP photos per second.

The D800 also features a 91,000 pixel RGB sensor that automatically detects human faces in the frame, establishes the right level of exposure and enables better auto-focusing, flash control and white balance. Nikon believes that the camera is best for landscape and artistic photography.

The D800 will go on sale in March with a price tag of $3,000. The D800E will be launched in April with a price tag of $3,300. You can have a look at some of the sample images taken by both cameras from Nikon here.

The search giant launched its signature browser Chrome for the desktop almost four years ago. Google has now released a mobile version of its browser that will enable users to sync all of their information for an error-free, smooth and clean mobile experience. Unluckily, the mobile version of browser is not available to everyone – only the users having Android-devices running Ice Cream Sandwich can take advantage of this release.

From official statement released by Google Chrome team:

In 2008, we launched Google Chrome to help make the web better. We’re excited that millions of people around the world use Chrome as their primary browser and we want to keep improving that experience. Today, we’re introducing Chrome for Android Beta, which brings many of the things you’ve come to love about Chrome to your Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich phone or tablet. Like the desktop version, Chrome for Android Beta is focused on speed and simplicity, but it also features seamless sign-in and sync so you can take your personalized web browsing experience with you wherever you go, across devices.

According to Android team, other than syncing all bookmarks and browsing information, they have reorganized the tabs in accordance with mobile devices. As for app, it is equally effective on both mobiles and tablet devices. The easy-to-use swipe gesture features will help users to navigate between different tabs quite easily.

However, there is no mention of Chrome browser coming on the Android-devices running older versions of mobile operating system. There is a common thought that the app will support all Android devices, once it will complete its successful beta run.

You can have a look at the video demo of the beta version of Chrome for Android here.

Chrome for Android (Beta)

People that choose a role playing game may have a number of reasons to do so. A common one is probably related to the title of the genre and that is to play the role of another person.

Escaping their daily routine, by entering a new world (historic, fantastic or futuristic) for a number of hours that can vary depending on the length of the game and the ways of spending time in it while not doing quests.

It has been already proven that some games may succeed even when they still have bugs, side quests with problems, graphical art issues as long as they have a strong main story to back them up. I am thinking of the Gothic Series as I write this, and how the marvelous story in the 3rd game of the series inspired the community to develop new patches after the last official one launched, and how they covered most of the game problems to provide an almost perfect gaming feeling for themselves and other fans of the game.

Role playing games can either be played offline or online. Going for those that can be played offline, provides the user with other characters in game known as NPCs, which behave like normal humans and are programmed to have different reactions according to your direct actions. For instance when you steal something from Gothic II game, if you are spotted by a guard, he will ask you for money to compensate for your act (known as fine) while if you are spotted by a regular citizen he will try to attack you.

As for online RPG games, commonly known as MMORPGs, the game world involves both NPC and real life players, which brings more diversity for the overall feeling. An advantage for online RPG games is that apart from competition that may arise in guild quests, they generally encourage social cooperation between players and social interaction for the mutual benefit of all players. A known and very used collaboration, apart from the guild, is the party, where 2 or more users decide to perform a specific task or do a quest together to further increase their chances of success.

Unlike real life, in RPG games people generally want to help especially if you are new, this being yet another advantage of living an online experience.

A personal favorite example of how a tycoon game can help the real world is the English game from Russian WWF (World Wildlife Fund) game that puts you at the head of the virtual WWF and allows access to all the real life guaranteed or possible funds in order to help you save the Amur leopard, which is probably the most endangered big cat in the world (with less then 35 left in the wild). The interesting thing is that from the beginning you are asked to try and solve an international problem in a period of 30 years in game and if the solution is found to inform the WWF and provide them with every step you took to achieve this.

We talked about the economic side of tycoon games, but we can also include simulation games, and I am talking about the popular “Sims” game that simulates the real life of a family. It is obvious that by playing this game, you will learn quite a few things about what appliances you need around the house.

Thinking of tycoon games as a whole, it is probably the fact that we can learn so much from the comfort of our homes about how different things are run (hotels, zoos, train companies etc) that makes them more and more popular, especially with the lack of learning in public schools and with employees constantly looking for people that have more “practical” skills then the others.

Seeing how our children are raised in a more and more digitally active society, it is only natural for them to gain some advantages that they can learn from tycoons and these types of games also help them in handling different people later in real life situations which they may face.

When thinking of the most valuable hint for online gaming, one should never share the password to their account, not even to game masters (admins) as they will never ask it, and the people who do, usually want to scavenge your items and leave you bare-naked. Your id may be provided if a game master specifically asks you, as you might have won a prize or if you want them to check a specific bug in your inventory (pouch, chest or storeroom) that you may have encountered on your account.

Avoid “free bonuses”  that you receive as personal messages from unknown members that promise you a great item or a huge sum of money if you give them your account or who knows what else. The only legit free bonuses can be offered by official partners or by the admins via an event.

If you are new at playing a specific game or genre then it is clear that you should gather more information on how the game should be played and learn tips and tricks on how characters can be built for success; searching for online information usually helps but be sure not to pay for it (the forum of the game may have all the info that you need). Provided you have enough time on your hands, you could also try and experiment with a test character, see what works and what does not, and after that create another character with the best skills that worked for you.

As for system requirements you should never ignore them, and try to always have more than the minimum, preferably even more than the recommended as online games can often move slowly because of bad combinations between your hardware and software along with a bad internet connection. Yes, you guessed it right, another must is a good internet connection that does not disconnect you from the game every 10 minutes (just imagine what would happen if you were in a group quest that takes place once a day). You should try (if available) a demo of the game before paying for it, as this may answer some of your questions before spending money on something that you may not want after all.

MMORPG games can also sell their game to people that want to create private servers (and pay for the copyrights). Also, upgrading from one season to another (see Mu online game for instance) can require another fee from the private servers owners.

Ads are of course one of the main sources of income for free to play games and they can be easily displayed on the game forum, where most gamers get too at least once, if not more often. Advertisers can pay for CPM (cost per thousand impressions) for games with 10000 or more gamers; you can realize what that means on a monthly basis. Developers also incorporate in game ads and try to make them mostly unobtrusive to avoid affecting the game play in any way.

Cash shops are extremely popular (on both private and public servers, although the ones on private servers don’t contribute to the creators of the game) and they provide either powerful items, or distinctive cloths that can separate one from a large groups of players.

Memberships are one of the most popular ways for free to play MMORPG games to raise money, as they can offer stronger, rare items or cheaper rates at shops, or bundles of potions otherwise not available to standard players. Among the advantages a paid member may have, we can include access to specific maps, arenas (group quests) or even types of quests.

Seeing how developers make money off a free to play MMORPG, their goal is to make better games in order to attract players and thus to increase their earnings overall (work hard, earn hard).

Most MMORPGs can be downloaded and played in a short time, offer a quick registration form, and easy to create account mode, because they want to make it  easy and fun for new players to join the community and contribute to the overall funding they receive from all their sponsors.

A few examples of good quality free to play MMORPG include “Lords of the Rings Online”, “Silkroad”, Dungeons and Dragons, Allods Online, RuneScape, Pirates of the Caribbean etc. What we should learn from this is that some tittles rely on quality previous releases (either movies or games) that are very well known already, so they have devoted gamers that will want to play the game from the start (even from the beta).

Final Fantasy IV: Complete Collection for the PSP features some of the most recognized titles off the franchise, including the original game and FF IV: The After Years, which was a pseudo-sequel that was released only for the Wii. The story here begins where FF IV left off and Ceodore will be the main protagonist for this game. For those who haven’t tried playing the title on the Wii, then you can expect a brand new story that is integrated with a classic gameplay experience that is even reminiscent of the first few years of the franchise.

Players of Final Fantasy IV: Complete Collection on the PSP have the option to start playing the original title, although this one is the Japanese version and will be notably more difficult. You will then move onto The Interlude, which takes place 17 years (in the game context) following the events of the original title. This will take up to 10 to 12 hours of your playing time on the PSP, so it might be worthy checking out as it will also help to bridge the gap in the events of the FF IV and that of After Years.

When it comes to gameplay, everything is old-school and fans will definitely be in for a thrill. Your favorite turn-based fighting style will still be available here, thus quickly turning into a hack n’ slash action. In general, the gameplay remains the same although you will meet new characters and enemies to make it unpredictable. There is a good mix of familiar and unfamiliar in this new title that will surely get you glued for hours!

Apart from a brand new story, the graphics for FF IV: Complete Collection for the PSP console is also overhauled. The visuals had been spruced up to maximize the technical capacity of the handheld gaming console, while the action does deliver its own merit when showcased in the sheen of the PSP screen. Even the character animation and enemy designs were given an upgrade.

Square Enix is fast looking to score another success on the PSP with Final Fantasy IV: Complete Collection. It still showcases that traditional RPG fanfare but there is more to it than what fans had experienced from the franchise before. There are memorable characters in store for fans here, while a great story will absorb you into the gameplay experience. This is a nice opportunity to look back on the great tradition that Final Fantasy has introduced into the gaming world, while getting the chance to play The After Years is a nice bonus for PlayStation gamers. If you are looking to add another high quality title into your PSP this year, then this game has got to be it. The title was released for the Sony PSP on April 19, so it is now available if you want to get started on the action.

While being a gamer is a good thing, and it has been proven that some games develop skills (like shooters developing faster reactions for example) it is not good to take it to the extreme. A real life example involves a boyfriend kissing his girlfriend while the computer was running a free MMORPG game. When he heard the sound of a jewel falling down on the ground on the spot where his character was leveling in, away from keyboard – known as “afk mode” – he threw her on the ground to get to the keyboard faster and grab it – acting like this should raise serious questions in one’s mind.

Many people (including you and me) have been addicted at some point – we may refer to this as a temporary addiction  when we wanted to finish that game we waited for so long (remember Starcraft 2, Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, Warcraft 3, Max Payne 2 etc) or simply because we really loved the game (role playing games known as RPG certainly are included here – see Gothic or Elder Scrolls series).

But the true addicted gamer will be far worse then a temporary one, as he will live his life to play games (or just one game), and we have had real life examples of people even dying in different parts of the world (known cases in China and Korea).

Common characteristics of addiction include gaming for hours. A normal gamer should take breaks every one hour of play and even do something else for a change in the day other then gaming. When you start delaying your meals and water drinking, or you end up eating in front of the computer while a cinematic from the game is playing, then you can be sure that you are addicted.

Another sign of addiction and perhaps one of the worst, involves your boss leaving another message on your answering machine, about you being late again while you are still playing or taking a short break to make yourself yet another coffee, as you listen to it.

While the above are only some of the most obvious signs of addiction to games, you should start worrying if your girlfriend, family or friends are telling you that they feel ignored or if your boss wants to fire you and you are not sure why.

There are games, that try to keep a balance between paid and unpaid players, which provide items per points (that you can buy for real cash), but also provide items for game cash (that you can earn in game for free) but have a level requirement to motivate players of all types to play the game.

Browser games are the best example from the online genre as they rely on both ads and memberships. On the one side you have ads all over the site while you are playing, on the other hand you have paid membership that can either provide you with a small in game bonus, and no adds, if you pay a weekly or monthly fee, or provide a big bonus in game, but still keep the ads. Some of the most common bonuses for browser games are advantages regarding turns, like recovering more action points per turn.

The games on social sites, usually involve a lot of activity and a lot of interacting and involvement of friends and family as well, as they require different things like neighbors or items that can only be sent by friends, and while they are entirely free, they too provide the option of buying credit for you to gain some advantages to increase your development.

As for the online games that rely only on ads, we can exemplify here the games for single player or multiplayer from various “free games sites”, that don’t charge anything for playing and don’t offer any advantages either (flash or java games are the most common) but the sites they are posted on are full of ads (especially banners).

So in conclusion, online games are free, and while some can be played as such, others provide unfair advantages to players that pay for them.

Bambuser application can be accessed very easily from mobile phones also. One has to simply sign in and register on their website and install the application on their mobile phone. After downloading the application, it must be configured as per the phone through the setting option. After successful registration the user can log in and start broadcasting their videos to their family and friends and can also receive comments on them from the viewers.

Bambuser application has a facility to connect with the social network site Facebook and can exclusively broadcast their videos only for their Facebook friends. It is also possible to broadcast only for private use by making the necessary setting in the software application.

Basic service of Bambuser is free to all the consumers and non profit organizations. However the mobile phone operator can charge the user for streaming videos which should be clarified with the operator. Bambuser also offers business and commercial services which are used for advertisement and other commercial purposes.
Bambuser is simple to use and operate using a phone browser. Viewing broadcast on mobile phones is still in beta and is currently compatible with IOS, Android, and Symbian devices. Bambuser can also be accessed in some blackberry and Windows Mobile phones.
Bambuser software also enables the user to share their broadcasting details through email, SMS and even through Bluetooth. Broadcasting details can also be shared through social networking sites like Facebook and twitter after setting the necessary permissions.
After you have signed up on Bambuser the application shows your camera output on the main window with a title name which can be changed as per the user. On screen you can see your connection status as connected, not connected or broadcasting and a streaming health meter. It also has the feature to switch between the front and the rear camera during the broadcast.
Bambuser is one of the most innovative tools to make and distribute real time videos through mobile, webcams or any other device all around without any cost. You only have to sign up and your username becomes the channel name for any one to access your broadcasting details.

Due to the popularity of this application, the owners of Justin TV have constantly innovated and designed various new techniques in order to make this application more user-friendly and easily accessible. Justin TV can now be accessed from mobile phones conveniently. The users of Justin TV now have the option to broadcast videos stored on their mobile phone or they can broadcast live videos using their mobile phone cameras.

Justin TV application requires the user to register for accessing their services. Once the user has registered they can log in and start using their services. The user can see the camera preview on the main window with a title box and a red button to start or stop the broadcast.

The user can also connect with other social networking sites like Facebook or twitter by configuring the setting options on the main menu.
Currently Justin TV is available only for Android and IOS devices but soon it will be available on many more devices. The videos broadcasted through Justin TV can be viewed by anyone simply by logging to the site and can also chat with the video owner at the same time.
One drawback of Justin TV is that it has no option for streaming videos using the front camera of the mobile phone neither it has any option to change the settings for broadcasting in higher quality, but the ease and simplicity of the application scores much more than its disadvantages.
The videos are saved on the server and can be viewed at a later stage in case if anybody missed the live broadcasting. The videos stored can also be edited or deleted by its owner.
Justin TV has no doubt helped its users in multiple ways. Lots of companies and people are using this medium to broadcast their opinions or for pure commercial purposes. There is no doubt that Justin TV will constantly innovate in order to become more user friendly.

Ustream software not only helps the user to broadcast their videos to millions of users but it also helps the users to view videos in different categories. It has lots of videos which are related to vast range of categories like business, spiritual, medical etc. The viewer can choose as per their likes and interests.

Just like any other software Ustream too has to be downloaded and configured as per the mobile phone. It is currently available for Windows phone 7, Android and IOS devices and sooner it will be available to all other major phone services.

In order to use the application the user has to first register with a valid username. The username is then used as the channel name through which user can broadcast videos. Once connected the video is first displayed on the main screen with a red button to start or stop video broadcasting.

Unlike any other streaming software, Ustream serve multiple purposes. Ustream provides access to videos of different categories from millions of users, which anyone can view and leave their comments about the video.

Ustream also has a feature to conduct opinion polls for a video from its viewers. This poll can be very useful for the owner of the video as this would help him to know the public opinion.

Ustream also has the feature to connect to popular social networking sites like Facebook and twitter through which the user can share details about their videos and even put comments on them. It also has the feature to enable the user to remove any comments which are offensive and explicit in any sense.

Accessing Ustream features from mobile phone has provided a great opportunity to capture moments instantly and share it friends and relatives. Instant videos can be broadcasted within few seconds and get quick feedbacks. All videos are stored on the main server which can be edited or deleted by the video owner.

Ustream has no doubt added value to smart phones and have made them a powerful recording device. Ustream is constantly working to make its application compatible with all mobile phone devices.

Computers can be purchased for various purposes. Some of them require them for entry level purposes like documentation or for internet surfing and some require them for running and designing complex softwares and hence they need a powerful machine with high memory and speed.

There are number of things which should be researched properly before purchasing a computer. Some of them are: -

Budget: One has to keep in mind the price which they can easily pay for a particular machine. A machine with high configurations and multiple accessories will cost much more than a plain simple computer. One has to decide their requirement and budget as the price can move up sharply if one decides to add more features.

For beginners, it is recommended that they should go for a plain simple machine with an option to upgrade at a later stage. If the budget is tight and the specification is high, than one can also consider the option of second hand purchase with some assistance.

In order to reduce cost, one can also self-assemble the computer provided they have the necessary computer assembly knowledge. Assembling helps the user to make a customized machine in a short span of time and in much lower cost.

Space: Computers are available in different size and shapes and one must select the shape as per the space available. At times it becomes too difficult for the customer to arrange the space for its plugs and other ports if space is limited. They should always be purchased keeping in mind that they have to be upgraded in the near future and as such adding ports and wires should not be a problem then. If space is available then one should go for a full tower desktop.

Processor: Processors are the brains of the computer. The speed of the processor makes the computer slow or fast. There are lots of processor manufactures available in the market. Some popular processor manufactures are Intel, AMD and Apple which are reputed and reliable brands. The speed of the processor also impacts the overall cost of the computer as faster processor cost much more than their slower counterparts. In any case one should never purchase a processor with speed less than 1.4GHZ. The user can also purchase processor with more than 2GHZ speed if it is within their budget.

Main Memory: Main memory or RAM is the place where the operating system and other program run. A bigger RAM memory increases the speed of the computer as it has more space to execute computer programs. It is recommended that one should never go for a computer which has less than 256MB RAM. Computers now days are available with more than 1GB RAM which allows the user to work faster and to do multiple tasks.

Besides the above mentioned features there are many more important aspects like warranty, graphic card, external memory etc. which one has to consider before purchasing the computer. Proper knowledge of these terms will help the buyer to get a fair deal.

Take inventory, what are you going to use a computer for, are you the only one using the computer, how important is what you do on a computer and how much do you truly have to spend on a new computer. Do not worry about what color or shape it is, instead focus on productivity.  How can I take advantage of a new computer to increase my standard of living?  Many people underestimate the power of a good computer. A good computer can change lives.
The work you do should be an important deciding factor when buying a computer.  A person in the graphic arts field may need a powerful computer to render drawings and artwork.  A large screen may be good do so that you can see the detail of what you are doing.  People who primarily play games on their computers would want similar characteristics in a new computer.  Plenty of RAM and computing speed to render those space ships and aliens and a large screen to see the enemy before they get you.  You get the idea.  On the other side, some people just use their computers to do word processing or check email.  These tasks do not require a lot of processing power and fancy display screens but you may want a particularly designed keyboard that is comfortable to use.  The display screen would not have to be sophisticated if you only use your computer for word processing, spreadsheets or email.  Putting your money where your work is and cutting back on options you do not need or will not use can increase your productivity while saving money.
What you intend to use a computer for will influence what brand of computer to buy.  Many musicians prefer Apple Macintosh or Apple G1 computers because they com preinstalled with audio functions that may have to be added to IBM type computers.  If you are starting a business and using your computer as a server then maximum RAM and computing speed must be considered.  Some computer manufacturers specialize in the design of servers.  You may want to consider a rack mounted computer for portability, cooling concerns and saving.

Before you buy a computer ask friends who are familiar with computers, visit computer stores and ask sales people about your needs in relation to a new computer.  You may be able to find what you need on Ebay, in the classified ads or in a used computer shop.  So, sit down and think about your needs and not what you want and it should be easy to decide which computer to buy.

This Open source was originally conceived by Bruce Perens and was called The Debian Free Software Guidelines.  Bruce belonged to the Linux community of researchers and programmers who have developed highly functional open source, free operating systems.  You can down load or get a CD with an open source operating system on it like Ubuntu or Debian and install it on your PC and you are good to go, free!  From fully blown accounting software to operating systems and utilities, open source provides ample free software.
This all came about starting in 1983 when OSS or open source software was introduced to the public and it replaced older versions of free software or shareware.  Since then, versions of open source software have become fairly well designed and always free.  Open source allows for programmers and software designers to modify, transport and improve the original code, kind of like a coop.  Therefore, if you see room for improvement in a particular open source software package, you can modify and enhance the source code and compile it and then distribute the new and enhanced open source software.  This coop approach to software design has rivaled the big commercial software distributors.  For example, you can get an open source program known as Paint.net that is just as good as PhotoShop™ or even better.  There is a set of open source programs (Open Office.org – OOo) similar to Microsoft Office™ that has the same word-processing, spreadsheet, database and presentation functionality as MS Office™ does.
Therefore, you can begin to imagine how useful Open Source can be to a beginning entrepreneur or student.  This Open Source software can lead to success by providing good, cheap and portable software free.  You cannot get any cheaper than that.  Go online to OpenOffice.org and download an Office Software Suite of programs that could bring you immense success.

In computer basics 101 you will learn that the essence of computing is nothing more than ones and zeroes or on and off.  Random access memory are electrical switches that, depending on the voltage of the switch, are considered to be on or off.  Flip a switch on and the electrical current will flow through it producing a desired result.  Turn a switch off and everything stops or is “off.”  By grouping and combining these ones and zeroes a computer will produce code or software that will create a preferred outcome.  One can begin to abstract that the more RAM you have in your computer, the more you can do.  RAM is very, very important to the functioning of a computerized or digital device.  Weather it is a large mainframe computer or your average home PC, the amount and quality of RAM in a computer system makes all the difference.

As your knowledge of computers grows you will learn that there are various architectures of computer technology.  Legacy systems may be incompatible with the latest RAM technology.  Know what type of RAM is superlative for your system.  Assemblages of RAM are SDRAM, DDR3, DDR, DDR2, ECC and ECC-DDR.  These different types of RAM ‘modules’, that can be added or removed from your computer-  the more, the better.  Processing chips today use RAM as a scheme of quick computation.   Therefore, it is important to understand that the speed and quality of your RAM can have an impact on many different functions or components of a PC like video display, audio processing, image scanning and local or wide area networking.  Are you beginning to get the idea?  RAM is very important.
Do not worry, the prices for RAM have come down in recent years.  With the proliferation of chip manufacturers and the increase in supply and a decrease in demand, because most everyone has a computer, chip prices have fallen.  You can get a lot of RAM for a relatively small price.  In addition, there are many books and online guides about how to install RAM into a computer.  The steps are rather simple.  Check to make clear in your mind what type of RAM your system uses.  Next, make sure you know what configuration the RAM has to be in when installed.  Some systems require similar sized RAM modules installed in pairs to work properly.  Refer to your user manual for such information.  Then open the cover of your PC and you will see small rectangular circuit boards residing in slots on the motherboard.  These circuit boards have rows of about 5 to 10 brown or black computer chips on them.  Normally, there is a clip on the side of the motherboard that you press on and the RAM module will pop out.  You can replace it with a better RAM module by slipping the new one into the vacated slot and pressing down delicately on it until it closes and snaps into place.

When you upgrade your RAM you will instantly notice and increase in PC performance.  Stay up to date with the latest RAM technology and you will begin to understand the importance of RAM.

Why would some one have water inside their computer?  Why would you build exotic heat sinks made out of copper?  Why do people risk frostbite by pouring liquid nitrogen onto a CPU.  The reason is over clocking.  When over clocking, increasing the voltage to a computer processor speeds it up but also heats it.  That is why computer experts use water, liquid nitrogen and fancy heat sinks, to cool the processor during over clocking.  Over-clocking is a method of increasing the processing speed of computer chips.  Most people do not do it and some do not even know what it is, but there are geeks of all types who enjoy the success of increased computing productivity derived from Over Clocking.

It would take an entire book and then some, to go over all the aspects of over clocking but here are some things you should know.  Over clocking, started in the 1980s and is used to increase the speed of processing in a computer chip.  Chips that are normally over clocked are the central processing unit (CPU) and video graphic array (VGA) chipsets.  When crystals are supplied with an electrical current, they vibrate. The more intense the current the faster they vibrate.  By increasing the clock crystal an individual can pump up the internal chip bus speed.  Match the other chips on the motherboard to this master clock speed and you are good to go.  Depending on the specifications of the motherboard mechanisms you may have to use two crystals set at different speeds, one to control faster operating chips and one to control slower chips.  To do this requires significant electrical and computer engineering knowledge.

Around 1990 a new method of over clocking became popular called multiplier changing.  With an adjustable class motherboard you can switch jumpers to increase the speed of the motherboard.  This second method may be easier than the first.  Changing the multiplier is controversial and has been dubbed as remarking, a manner of fraud.  Chip producers and motherboard makers are at odds with each other about over clocking.  Over clocking makes motherboards to appear to be lightning fast, but on the other hand, over clocking can damage fragile chips.  Because chip manufacturers want to protect their reputations, they have locked their chips as a security measure to prevent certain forms of over clocking.  Nevertheless, a few chips are made for engineering and scientific purposes and are sought after by over-clockers.  These chips can receive a handsome ransom.

The proper procedures to over-clocking should include knowing what the term over clocking means, to know the limitations and capabilities of your motherboard and computer components.  Understand your BIOS and CMOS variables and how to manipulate them.  Know if your processor is locked or open for varying.  Understand the relationships and limitations between RAM and unlocked processors.

Over clocking you processor is only the beginning, you will have to tweak your system by adjusting components to a point where the complete over clocking operation becomes stable.  You may have to adjust FSB, RAM, voltage and multiplier speeds to reach an acceptable level of stabilization.  Test as many components as possible to make sure there are no faulty operators.  Check the bus speeds to ensure maximum data transfer.  You should use only the highest quality processing chips.  Understand the differences between chip designs and architectures.

So, are you ready to over clock?  Get up to speed on over clocking by going online and do a search for “over-clocking” and you will be presented with a large amount of information on the subject.  There are many over clocking forums that you can join to have companions with you while you journey down the Over Clocking PC Super Highway!

Today computer games are on steroids or you have to be to play them.  Beefy processors, lightning fast video graphics, control gizmos and gadgets, laser control, peer-to-peer gaming, outrageous audio and video design are just some of the latest things you will interact with when gaming in today’s time.

You may ask, “How do I play these games, there are so many choices of games and gaming technology?  Well, there are some things you should consider when entering into the world of computerized gaming.  First, look at your wallet, this is a good beginning point or barometer on how much you should spend on gaming, the sky is the limit when purchasing gaming equipment and software.

Computer games come in big and small packages.  You can download free versions of Pacman that are much more entertaining than the original Pin Ball arcade versions.  Mario Brothers and Donkey Kong are some others that you can get for little or no money.  Then there is a whole bunch of cheesy games you can get free, every now and then you may find one that will keep your attention.  To get some decent games for free go to www.cnet.com and do a search for games (hit enter, on the left side click on “free”).  Of course, you will need a device to play them on.  Most everybody has a computer these days but if you do not borrow a friends or buy one for yourself.  You can get good deals these days on desktop and laptop computers that are gaming capable.  It took a few years for computers to get up to speed to crunch out truly entertaining games.

You can buy a used Nintendo system for about $29 or you can spend as much as $100-$300 and get a state of the art Xbox or Playstation3 gaming computer and you may be able to find one used or on EBay.  Check your nearest thrift store.  There are also handheld game consoles that a very entertaining for about $70 and up.  Then there is the PC.  Most any version of a computer game played on a dedicated gaming console like Xbox or Playstation can be played on your own personal computer.  This is where it can get very expensive.  Some graphics boards cost $300 to over $1, 000.00.  Some gamers “overclock” their systems to increase processing speed. This could range into the thousands of dollars (search “overclocking” to learn more).  Do not forget about speaker systems, soundboards, controllers or joysticks.  In addition, you can go all out with simulated cars and plane cockpits that you sit in and control like the real thing.  This could cost you $10, 000 if you get the best of the best.

Here is the point.  The gaming world is massive.  Read reviews and take note of prices to pick out your gaming gear.  Do not over do your wallet.  You need game software that can be free or cost thousands of dollars.  Headsets, controllers, video screens, surround sound systems and much more is available for the computer gamer.  You can find everything you need if you shop wisely.  Knowing what you want and can afford is a big advantage.  So get out and put together your dream game system.  Play the game of computer gaming.

Cloud computing is a technology which provides applications and services to the users on demand. It helps in optimizing the resources and reduces the overall IT budget of the enterprise. It enables the user to pay for what they are using or a subscription based services without investing any upfront capital on software and hardware licenses. It helps the enterprise to become more flexible in choosing the type of service they require.

Cloud Computing offers large number of advantages like:

Flexibility: Cloud computing offers a lot more flexibility to the employees of an organization as they can work from anywhere and anytime. They only have to connect to the internet to access and work on their office files and other official documents. These files can also be accessed from smart phones like Blackberry which helps the employee to retrieve information from any place and time.

Ease of Access: Accessing software is hassle free and easy to use and operate. The downloading time is very less and depends upon the speed of the internet. Access of data and files can be done in minutes provided the speed of the internet is good.

Affordable: Using softwares through Cloud computer is much cheaper than purchasing licenses. Besides the cost it also helps in saving computer memory and data management becomes much easier. Subscribing to software is much cheaper than paying one time heavy fees. There is no refund in case the application is not good, however in cloud computing the company has the option to discontinue a service or switch to other superior software.

Besides the advantages, it has certain disadvantages too:

Data Security: All data and important computer files of the organization are stored on the internet, which can be destroyed or deleted, causing severe loss to the organization. Data can also be hacked and stolen from servers by competitions to gain an upper hand. However cloud computing companies are assuring the enterprises that their data is secured and well protected.

Internet Connectivity: For using the cloud computing service it is necessary to have an internet connection without which one cannot access files or data. Poor connectivity and constant interruptions can affect the employee’s productivity.

These are some of the disadvantages of the cloud computing which scores very less as compared to the advantages it gives. It is still in its initial stages and will soon evolve and would be soon used by individual users just like TV channels.

We’ve high hopes for this new release, yet the first impressions we had from the previous beta releases weren’t quite what we expected. Let’s see how it goes.

You can get Ubuntu 11.04 here.

What’s new?

The launcher

The dash

Workspaces