It has been about one year since Google released new Chromebooks, which are laptops running on Google’s Chrome OS, a Linux-based Operating system that revolves around one thing: the Chrome web browser. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, the idea is that every application that you run with Chrome OS is web-based (a website) and runs in the Chrome browser. Google fundamentally believes that this is a great alternative and a more secure way of computing because everything is inherently isolated, so there’s less chances that your computer may be compromised.

But this post is about the new hardware, the Samsung Series 5 550, a 12.1″ (1280×800) Chromebook that weighs 3.3lbs (1.48kg) and is powered by an Intel Core processor with 4GB of RAM. Obviously it as WIFI and Ethernet to connect to the Internet, and 3G is an option – one that you should truly consider as this is definitely a computer meant to be connected. At $449, this computer lands can’t be categorized as “cheap” as there are many options that offer a full classic computing based on Windows, which can itself run the Chrome Browser. But the first question is: how is it to use Chrome OS, one year later.

Read full post →Samsung Series 5 550 Chromebook Review

The cloud does seem to be the place to be these days, and Microsoft certainly knows it. In fact, Microsoft has announced updates for their SkyDrive service which will target both Mac and Windows platforms. A new feature for Windows 8 Release Preview that is due early next month (next month, by the way, starts tomorrow, so it is shorter than it sounds) has been tested, where this will enable one to retrieve photos from just about any computer or machine that has SkyDrive installed. This will happen even if your cloud storage space is already at its maximum, although for most of us, chances are we have yet to maximize our 150,000 file limit. Microsoft has also promised power users additional good news by bumping up the file limit to 10 million files, all this without having to pay more or choose a plan that is different from the similar 7GB free/100GB paid limits.

I know that many folks have already started a countdown to the Euros that will be kicking off very, very soon in Poland and Ukraine, and for those who cannot wait, you can always enjoy some soccer action on your home video game console. For some years, it had always been a fight between the FIFA series by Electronic Arts and Pro Evolution Soccer, with purists trending to the latter while newbies and casual gamers prefer the more commercialized FIFA range. Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 is a different ball game altogether (pun not intended), where it has an all-new AI as well as superior control that paves the way for additional freedom like manual passing and full manual shooting.

Needless to say, you will need to master those controls if you were to beat the computer at higher difficulty settings, not to mention put the ball into the net of your human opponents the next time you play. Anyone already preparing themselves for a marathon session of Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 when it arrives?

NetherRealm Studios otherwise known as ‘those guys who made Mortal Kombat’ seem to want to break away from the endeavor and have collaborated with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to bring us an all new DC fighting game titled Injustice: Gods Among Us. After the release of its latest iOS game Batman: Arkham City Lockdown in December last year, the developer has plunged in head first to bring us this new fighting game featuring DC superheroes and villains that we’ve all grown to love.

Read full post →NetherRealm Announce DC Fighting Game and Trailer – Injustice: Gods Among Us

Life is all about firsts, isn’t it? The first son, the first daughter, the first kiss, the first car, the first wife…all right, let’s not go there, but you get the picture. Digital music sales, for all intents and purposes, has been lagging behind CD sales all this time – until 2012, that is. For the first time in history, digital music sales have finally overtaken revenues from CDs as well as other physical formats, with record executives treading carefully in a rather reserved cheer. This has happened in Britain, but will it also be emulated elsewhere? We garnered information that downloads and audio streaming made up 55.5% of overall UK record industry revenues in the Q1 of 2012, and it would be interesting to see just how the subsequent quarters are going to perform. This particular switch from physical to digital music in Britain is a path that the US has already tread, where downloading and audio streaming made up for over 50% of record industry revenues for 2011. Did you contribute to the bottom line, or are you still a CD fan?

When human beings purchase a mobile device, we think about things like specs, app availability, design, form factors and for some, even popularity. However, when something which works on blunt fact is asked to select something, it will do so based on information and data that it has collected. That at least is how we have been seeing it work.

Prior to this, we’ve seen Siri, the voice-recognition assistant application on the iPhone 4S indicate that the Nokia Lumia 900 which runs on the Windows Phone OS was the ‘Best Smartphone Ever’. After a quick fix, it apparently now gives witty responses to the query.

Read full post →Samsung’s S-Voice Agrees With Siri, Says Windows Phone is the Best Smartphone

So we did talk about a couple of water resistant smartphones from Sony yesterday, and perhaps there might just have enough demand for a water resistant portable media player, too. After all, since there are water resistant headphones in the market, who are we to say that there should not be water resistant PMPs as well to go alongside such peripherals? The Panasonic SV-ME1000 is certainly one of them, where this Android-powered device will sport a 7” 800 × 480 resolution display that will be embedded within a waterproof IPX6/7 body. Android 2.3, Gingerbread is the order of the day here, considering how you are not going to use this as a productivity tool, it should be all right without Ice Cream Sandwich. Other hardware specifications include a 1Seg TV tuner, Wi-Fi connectivity, a SDXC memory card slot, 4GB of internal memory, a 0.3-megapixel shooter in front and a 2-megapixel camera at the back.  I seriously do not think that this will ever make it Stateside, but who knows? Stranger things have happened, but the Panasonic SV-ME1000 looks likely to remain a Japan-only device.

With the advent of modern technology, how many of us rely on snail mail these days? Do you even know the postman’s schedule in your neighborhood? Well, for those of us who tend to spend time at a Post Office branch, you will be pleased to know that you are able to make full use of contactless credit, debit cards and payment-enabled phones. The Post Office will begin to implement contactless payment terminals throughout its entire range of 11,500 branches from June 6th onwards, which will more or less make it the largest user of contactless acceptance technology in Europe. The entire roll out will be completed before October is over – at least that is what is being envisioned.
Read full post →Post Office looks at contactless payment system

Raw Color is involved in a fair number of projects, but the latest one which was presented at the Salone del Mobile last month, sporting a Cryptographer which is capable of reimagining the digital transmission scene as it can create patterns of code on shawls. These will comprise of various icons that will represent the letters in a SMS, where the code will be added to the textile through the clever use of bleach, where it will be applied by a pen that is attached to the print head of the Cryptographer. The icons will be sorted by letter frequency in the English language, beginning with the most commonly used ones in order to make it possible to estimate compositions that ensures a careful balance between round, square, open, and closed shapes is maintained. I wonder what kind of artistic slant will some folks be able to think up?

We took a gander at a couple of Xperia smartphones from Sony just yesterday, in the form of the Xperia acro S as well as the Xperia go (or Xperia advance in the US), where both of them are water-resistant. Today, however, there is the Sony Xperia neo L that is said to go global instead of just remaining as an exclusive handset specially meant for the China market only. What makes the Sony Xperia neo L special from the rest? For starters, this is the first Sony smartphone to feature Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich right out of the box, sporting a decent 4-inch IPS LCD FWVGA display, a 5-megapixel camera with 720p video recording capability, as well as a similar Snapdragon chipset as those found in the older generation neo handsets.

At its core lies the Qualcomm MSM8255 single-core 1GHz Scorpion processor as well as Adreno 205 graphics chipset. It will have a larger display, longer albeit thinner body and a slight change in design compared to the Xperia neo V, apart from the newer operating system version, of course.