Petrichor

Guidelines for Satyam Freshers - Part 3

2008-04-15T05:51:00.000-07:00

3. Package:

Now about package, Although Satyam mentions your package in your OL with full details you must refer to it and another thing is that at Satyam, people have same package in training duration too and what you will get in hand depends on your designation and salary mentioned in OL...coz Salary offered to you depends on your designation and your Institute’s band in Satyam (i.e. IITs, NITs, Others)...

Guidelines for Satyam Freshers - Part 1
Guidelines for Satyam Freshers - Part 2

New Playa'

2008-04-14T15:03:00.000-07:00

Kantaris Media Player 0.3.4

There is a new media player in the market that vaters to people who are not satisfied with VLC player’s less than aesthetic appearance or require an alternative to Windows Media Player. Kantaris, being developed as an open source program, is based on VLC (VideoLAN Client) and bass audio library. Hence, it can open any video or audio file that you can throw at it and more. Kantaris is sure to appeal to users of Windows Media Player, not only because of the similarity in skin, but the fact that being based on VLC it doesn’t need to install separate codecs. The top navigation panel includes ast.fm and Apple’s movie trailer along with playback and menu. Also included are some nice visualizations while playing audio. The latest release comes with hotkey support and bug fixes for incompatibility with certain audio files. While the player still doesn’t offer support for operating systems other than Windows 2000 and above, its development progress indicates a Linux and Mac compatible version in the future.

For: Sleek skin, vivid visualizations, integration with internet radio and movie trailers.
Against: Need numerous bug fixes.

My Disclosure Policy

2008-04-14T04:08:00.000-07:00

This policy is valid from 14 January 2008

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

This blog abides by word of mouth marketing standards. We believe in honesty of relationship, opinion and identity. The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post will be clearly identified as paid or sponsored content.

The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

To get your own policy, go to http://www.disclosurepolicy.org

Guidelines for Satyam Freshers - Part 2

2008-04-12T00:32:00.000-07:00

2. E-support & related formalities:

Generally you get your Virtue-Id with OL or very soon after receiving your OL. By this Virtue-Id you can log on to www.esupport.satyam.com , where you have to fill a lot information about you...if don’t do that, no worry at all you will have to fill all these things at the time of your joining... , yeah on the joining day you get forms, which are directly printouts of record of your these accounts so better to feel a bit comfortable there fill them at home......here again if you facing any problem regarding virtue-Id...Its better to contact helpdesk...and you are advised to contact them between 10 AM-1 PM on work days for getting quick response...

Guidelines for Satyam Freshers - Part 1

Store more

2008-04-11T16:52:00.000-07:00

GMail Drive 1.0.12 beta

Since google introduced gmail, almost everybody has used it at one time or another as a virtual storage device by appending attachments to a self-addressed e-mail. Gmail Drive simplifies the process to harness the 6000+ MB of a gmail account. The program, after installation, adds an additional icon to the ‘My Computer’ as if it were a drive actually attached to your hard drive, instead of a virtual drive space. Login to your gmail account, by right clicking on the drive icon and get started. If you fail to login on the first try, you need to persevere. Any of the three – drag and drop, or right-click and send to, cut-copy-paste- commands work. Upload time depends, of couse, on your conection speed. Even EXE, CHM, ZIP files can be stored Deleting the e-mails prefixed with ‘GMAILFS’ from your gmail account will delete it from the Gmail Drive and vice versa. While Google’s ‘Terms of Service’ doesn’t ban usage of a gmail account as a virtual drive using the Gmail Drive software, there is always a possibility that they may do so in the future.

For: Easy installation, good interface with Windows Explorer
Against: Can’t store files above 20 MB

Guidelines for Satyam Freshers - Part 1

2008-04-10T05:22:00.000-07:00

Hi Satyamites,
In this post am gonna give you guidelines on what to do after getting paced at Satyam Computer Services Ltd

1. Regarding Offer Letter (OL):

Once you got selected for Satyam means your name has been declared in final list at your selection drive, then you need not to be worry about your Offer letter at least for 2-3 months and then Satyam sends you, your OL through mails only and generally to complete batch so if your batchmates start getting OLs and even after about 1-2 months passing of that you don’t get your OL, you must contact to helpdesk at helpdesk@satyam.com or call to 1800 345 4004 Satyam help desk extension is 5 for joining helpdesk that will solve your problem surely...and keep this in mind Satyam gives OL through mails, i.e. only soft copy...hard copy will be given to you at the time of reporting..., so All the Best.

(to be contd...)
Guidelines for Satyam Freshers - Part 2

New Indian websites launched

2008-04-10T01:52:00.000-07:00

www.getaserviceprovider.com: For everyone who requires any kind of service but has no idea where to find them, this site aims to be a directory of service providers where users can vote to rate them based on their experiences, and also request quotes for a job from multiple service providers before deciding whom to hire.

www.books.yulop.com: Dedicated to all types books in Indian regional languages, Yulop Books currently lists over 2500 volumes in kannada which users can order online. The site plans to extend to other languages as well, and allow users to request particular books as well as post their own articles and interact with the authors.

MS to catch up with Google

2008-04-09T21:04:00.000-07:00

With the unsolicited acquisition proposal for Yahoo at the beginning of February, Microsoft proved that it was more than willing to put its financial resources at work in order to catch up with Google. Microsoft's $44.5 billion marriage proposal is still valid, with the Redmond Company working to erode Yahoo's initial negative answer into a "yes." But the Sunnyvale Internet giant is just the largest item on Microsoft's shopping list for the online search and advertising market. And the latest name to get scratched off that list is Rapt.

The Redmond Company announced that, following the competition of the take-over, Rapt's advertising management solutions would be transitioned to its Atlas Publisher Suite. The new components would boost the offerings associated with the Microsoft’s Advertiser and Publisher Solutions Group and aimed at digital media publishers.

"Online publishers have a complex array of needs, and they require more attentive and sophisticated partners to help them solve these challenges. With this acquisition, we are uniquely positioned to help publishers succeed on all fronts. Our end-to-end solution will include workflow tools, ad package and delivery, turnkey distribution, content partnerships, and yield management and optimization," said Brian McAndrews, senior vice president of the Advertiser and Publisher Solutions Group at Microsoft.

According to Microsoft, the Atlas Publisher Suite, resulted via the acquisition of aQuantive in 2007 for $6 billion, will now feature an enhanced array of management capabilities focused on integrated assets, inventory, forecasting, yield and sales, on top of ad delivery and operations handling. Rapt's acquisition comes on the heels of the YaData purchase at the end of February, and of the EU Antitrust Commission's approval for Google's purchase of DoubleClick.

In terms of Google's monopoly on the advertising and online search markets, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said, at MIX08, that the Redmond Company was not going anywhere. So far, the recipe that Microsoft is exercising to perfection if throwing money at the Google monopoly, and its best move has yet to be completed as long as Yahoo continues to say "no."

"We've got an aspiration about online. And in online, yes, it's Google, Google, Google, and we're in the game, and we're just the little engine that could. We're working away, we're working away, and we’re working away. It may be my last breath at Microsoft, but we're going to be there, and we're going to be working away building share," Ballmer stated.

Make Earth a better place to Live - In

2008-04-08T14:59:00.000-07:00

Gonna start this post with M.K Gandhi’s quote:
“Be the change”

Not only me, but everybody in this world want to make earth a better place to live in. But had we done anything crucial to make earth greener. Do you know that by saying making earth a better place to live in am not only mentioning the environment that’s around us, but also the people around us? Most recent research found after considering the physical harm to the user, the drug's potential for addiction, and the impact on society of drug use, they came up with this list of the top 10 most dangerous drugs as follow; Heroin, Cocaine, Barbiturates, Street Methadone, Alcohol, Ketamine, Benzodiazepines, Amphetamine, Tobacco and Buprenorphine. If you, your love one, or some members of your family have addicted to one of these drugs, it is now the time to take action, find professional care to support the healing process. Chapman House offers their highest quality of professional care available for those with chemical dependency, dual diagnosis/co-occurring disorder.

In order to have a peaceful and calm world, the health of everybody should be in proper condition. This is a remedy for most of our problems. But how could we make this happen? It’s simple. We could just help people around us who are addicted by drug usage, tobacco usage, alcohol addictions etc. Please visit www.chapmanhouseinc.com to find out more how Chapman House addiction treatment services offers. This site also provides information on Chapman House adult addiction treatment center, drug rehab facility and our exclusive adolescent program located in Orange County, California. Chapman House offers wide range of options includes drug treatment for co-existing disorders, alcoholism, drug addiction, food addiction and eating disorders and more. They also offer family intervention, psychological testing, drug testing, drug rehabilitation and other services to help end addiction. Take your time to learn what Chapman House offers, as we all know this is not an easy decision to make for you, your family and your love one.

Yahoo might reject Microsoft's next offer

2008-04-07T17:21:00.000-07:00

An emergency meeting was held over this weekend by the Board-Of-Directors – Yahoo at Sunnyvale, CA. The purpose of this board meeting really being to discuss on whether to accept or reject Microsoft’s second bid of $29.36 billion. The board believes that the current bid seemingly undervalues Yahoo nad is expected to reject the offer, something that will probably make yahoo an all time rival for Microsoft.
According to the Financial Times, the board was meeting late on Sunday as mentioned by the inside source. As of now, Yahoo executives believe Microsoft’s bid is too low. The seemingly low price maybe because of the due in part to the slip in Microsoft’s share price in the past few months. Back on February 1st, Microsoft had bid for .95 shares of Microsoft stock for yahoo’s each common stock or $31 cash. That offer had made a total value of approximately $44.6 billion during that period. But now Microsoft’s stock has since slipped to $29.36 a share which might be the reason for the low value bid.

Gagner De L'Argent

2008-04-07T11:39:00.000-07:00

Il est un fait que vous pourriez faire de l'argent en ligne - argent gratuit. Vous entendrez parler de cela partout et tout le temps, mais avez-vous déjà trouvé une façon de faire cela par vous tous. C'est simple. Il suffit de vous connecter sur www.make-money.fr et d'apprendre à votre façon de faire de l'argent en ligne (argent facile sur le net) et de devenir riche.

Choose the best!

2008-04-07T10:29:00.000-07:00

Here’s one site that offers some expert advice on your doubts about penis enlargement. The people here are professionals in this field for over years and could get you information on any kind of products such as enhancement pills, penis extender etc. This is one site where in you could get all the information about the penis extender products and select the one that suits you the best.

Know your pills!

2008-04-07T08:02:00.000-07:00

Though you have settled in for a conclusion of using Penis Enlargement Pills, you must make sure that you take in the right pill. Am not trying to say that the product available out there is a bad one. But you must choose the one that suits you the best for your penis enlargement. For complete reviews about all the penis enlargement product reviews, click here.

Griffin Journi Mobile Speaker

2008-04-07T07:43:00.000-07:00

"This Journi is not the reward!"

There are so many iPod speaker systems these days that we’ve resolved to cover only the most interesting devices. Boring, me-too products need not apply. Griffin’s Journi made the cut by virtue of its stylish industrial design. When closed, the Journi looks every bit like a stylish woman’s clutch. Unfold the rigid outer shell, insert tab A into slot B, and you have a convenient speaker stand with a built-in iPod docking port. An ingenious dial on the back of the speaker adjusts a rubber support disc behind the iPod, so you can mash any model iPod’s buttons without putting undue stress on its dock connector. You can keep the iPod ensconced in its dock when you take the speaker system with you, too. A magnetic catch holds the assembly securely closed. The Journi’s shell offers genuine protection, but take care when you unwrap it: The top of the iPod can flop around, putting strain on the docking connector. Another set of magnets holds a small infrared remote control inside a well on the back of the Journi. The remote lets you skip tracks forward and back and play and pause songs; it also switches the speakers on and off and controls their volume.

The Journi’s Lithium-Ion battery can be recharged using either A/C power or a USB connection (you can sync a docked iPod to iTunes in the latter scenario). You can measure battery strength by pushing a button on the left side and counting how many of the four LEDs light up. After giving the Journi all those style points, listening to it was a bit of a letdown. We typically shun post-processing audio tricks (Creative’s 24-bit Crystalizer being a notable exception), so we were disappointed to discover we couldn’t defeat the Journi’s SRS Wow circuit. The amplifier, meanwhile, is noisy enough that we heard its hiss above our PC’s fan, and it distorts badly when pushed. Finally, the 2.5-inch passive radiators offer little bass compensation for the small 1.97-inch active drivers, resulting in a rather shrill audio experience.

Live TV

2008-04-07T07:33:00.000-07:00

Live Show, Recorded Videos, Live Broadcast, Music Videos, Comedy Clips – it’s a never ending list. Wondering about what am talking about? Its blogtv.com. It features some cool videos that you can’t neglect just like that. Just visit the site and the user interface will take care of the rest. Am saying that, the overall layout of the website is cool and refreshing. Glad we got a great live TV site.

E-Commerce Software

2008-04-03T01:31:00.000-07:00

If you are looking out for great e-commerce software, then this is the post that you need to take a look at! The below contents contains information solely about this.
One can’t deny the fact that a single person can’t do all the jobs simultaneously. That’s why all the business men are in search of good e-commerce software. E-commerce software that is both reliable and easy to use as well is the most sought one. But where could anyone get such software. Even if it is out there, how come one can search and find the exact one that suits him/her the best. No worries. Your problem ends here.
Ashop.com offers you one of the best ecommerce software available out there. It is the winner of “My Business awards” in the year 2006. Apart from being awarded, the look of the software itself relieves you from half of the pressure that you get from your routine work. This software not only features some cool user friendly interface but also includes a great package that you won’t regret. Even if you are new to this business and new to operate the e-commerce software, it won’t be a problem for you. You could breeze away your job easily! Hope that you’ll find this post useful.

Best deal for a business man!

2008-03-31T19:31:00.000-07:00

Why waste your time browsing online, while you could finish your job easily with the touch of single software. Yes, there are application packages in order to help you do your online business smoothly without any hassles. It’s not often you see an ecommerce software getting so popular among the business people and online merchants. But this one, I had recently come to know about, is an application software solely made for shopping cart purpose. I didn’t realize this one little software package could handle all of my online business pressures. But it took care of all my works as a breeze. This is the one stop solution for merchants people like us to do our online business. Do not think that, in order to operate this software, you must have a complete knowledge about it! Naa, Its very easy to operate, you need not be a geek to explore the features of this package, as it is all there – in front of your eyes. In this software package, the shopping carts are 100% optimized to top the search engines. The number of featured clients is increasing day by day. Thanks to ashop commerce for providing us such a good shopping cart software. I hope that you will take a look at this shopping cart wonder!

Finally NVIDIA 9800 GX2 released!

2008-03-21T14:43:00.001-07:00

Though this most awaited video card is not yet ready for prime time, it keeps the enthusiasts at bay. Consider this, the bad performance offered by the drivers makes the Quad SLI benchmarks had to be postponed. As of now, Nvidia's aim with the GeForce 9800 GX2 is simple, as with all very high end cards. NVIDIA wants to take back the coveted title of the most powerful videocard that it had surprisingly lost by a small margin to its rival ATI's Radeon 3870 X2 came out. It not usual, even today, to build a card on two mainstream chips. Yet, as I had said before, it's a design that has some advantages from a production point of view. We aren't the only ones to take this position. NVIDIA's CEO himself stated last month that he was convinced the GeForce 8800 GTX remained the most powerful card and that a single GPU board was the best approach, though if a dual-GPU board was the fastest in the world, it would be accepted.

Make money out of your scraps

2008-03-21T14:19:00.000-07:00

Got tons of scraps in your office? Don’t know how to dispose it? Why consider these as scraps when you can actually make some money out of it. Didn’t quite get me right? Rawpolymers.com is here to solve our problem. Things that you consider as wastes, like plastic polymer products can be sold out at good rates. There is no catch in it. The only condition is that these products that you are about to sell must be free from contaminations like Paper labels, Dirt, Organic matters, Moisture, Nylon, PVDF, PVC, Polystyrene, PET, ABS, PBT. If you’ve got plastic (polymers) that satisfy these conditions then these people will take care of that. What’s more? You can even buy HDPE materials (Recycled plastic material) from them at best rates. Just enter into their site for further details.

Fix Vista Networking

2008-03-18T09:47:00.000-07:00

In the name of security, Vista wholly revamps the way networking operates. The Network and Sharing Center (part of the Control Panel) can be daunting and confusing when you want to share files on your local network. Here’s the easy way to get the job done. First, make sure you use the same workgroup name on all PCs. In Vista, this setting is in the System control panel. Click Change Settings on the main page to join another workgroup. Second, you’ll have a far easier time if you use the same username and password on all PCs you want to network. In Vista, you set up users in the User Accounts control panel. Administrator rights make this considerably easier, though it’s officially discouraged. Now you’re ready to set preferences in the Network and Sharing Center control panel. Here’s how it should look:

Network discovery: On this makes your PC visible on the network.
Public folder sharing: Up to you The Public folder is a special folder Vista creates in which you can put data you know you want to share across the network with multiple users. You might store your pictures, videos, and music here, for example. It’s just like any other folder, except it can be simply managed and shared with one click here. Turn it on (either read only or read/write) and you’ll see the Public folder in the Computer view directly under the Desktop folder.
Printer sharing: Up to you only if you want to print across the network.
Password protected sharing: On
This is the setting that lets users with a valid login on the Vista PC reach shared folders on that computer. Turn password-protected sharing off and users can do just about anything. Leave it on for better security.

Refine the registry with TweakVI

2008-03-18T09:44:00.000-07:00

Look, we know you’ve been promised repeatedly that if you just tweak this one registry entry, your computer will never crash and it’ll run three times faster. And then you did it and nothing happened, right? TweakVI, a downloadable application designed to fi ne-tune Windows registry settings, won’t turn a Celeron into a Core 2 Quad, but in our tests it did modestly improve general benchmark performance, in the range of 5 to 10 percent. Download and install the free version of the app from http://tinyurl.com/24yz6q. When you run it, you’ll want to focus your energy on the System Information and Tweaks section, then the CPU Tweaks... subsection under that. Don’t expect miracles, but try running your usual benchmarks before and after installing TweakVI—you might be surprised. That said, a $50 yearly subscription to unlock all of TweakVI’s features is pretty much out of line; the free version should provide most everything you need.

Tech Info

2008-03-18T05:57:00.000-07:00

Technology is one such field that needs to be fed regularly with brilliant brains like that of yours. Now that technology has seen a vast development, you may be confused in which domain to be trained and which one of the tech schools suits you the best and nourishes you with great technology. In order to get an idea on various domains and get trained at the best technical school and get the state of the art IT Training, log on to this cool site “tech-training-schools.com” and have a glance. You could easily have a better idea on this and could come to a conclusion.

Wish a dish

2008-03-18T05:56:00.000-07:00

It’s not only because you like different tastes and have good cooking talents, you could excel in all types of food. It’s the method of cooking that leaves everyone speechless. A cook is solely responsible for a dish to be prepared mouth watering.
If you think that you could be one of those gifted people, who provide human’s greatest pleasure, be trained in a proper school. You need not while away your time just for searching chef school or culinary schools available over the internet. Just log on to culinary-school-finder.com and find the best suited culinary school for you.

Make it double.

2008-03-14T21:11:00.000-07:00

Japan (Tokyo) - A Japanese newspaper has put some number on the failure of HD DVD and the cost of its shutdown for its main promoter, Toshiba. According to Nikkei, Toshiba expects a 50 billion Yen or almost $500 million loss from its HD DVD operations, which however could hit almost twice that because of charges resulting from the shutdown of production lines.

This number, by the way, only reflects the cost of the past 12 months and does include any other costs incurred since 2002, when the development of the format began. As of now, these numbers are based on information from industry sources and we won't find out how much the real loss was until Toshiba will report its financials in April.

Toshiba's guidance for the full year was a profit of 290 billion Yen, while analysts are now expecting the company to end up at about 250 billion Yen. It is unclear which portion of the HD DVD shutdown charges will be included in the firm's fiscal year, which ends on March 31.

Toshiba pulled the plug on HD DVD on February 19, stating it was impossible to win the format war after Warner announced its switch to Blu-ray in early January. Despite the ongoing $300 million "The look and sound of perfect" campaign, the HD DVD camp lost support from major movie studios, retailers and rental outlets within six weeks.

AMD goes for WorkStation

2008-03-14T21:07:00.000-07:00

Workstation graphics isn't particularly a high-volume market, at least not if we compare this segment to the desktop and notebook market, but it is an extremely lucrative and actually rapidly growing business. Shipments climbed from 686,700 units in Q4 2006 to 847,900 in the fourth quarter of last year, translating into an annual growth rate of 23.5%, ahead of the general PC market which came in at about 14.1%, according to iSuppli.

ATI and Nvidia have been fighting over the workstation market, which allows them to sell their (2D tuned) graphics cards for prices of well over $2000 on the high end, for some time now. ATI and now AMD, however, never really gained traction in this market, with Nvidia dominating the segment with a market share of about 86%.

AMD now tries to open up the workstation graphics market to the lower end, offering a new card for $250. The "ATI FireMV 2260 2D workstation and desktop accelerator card" is specifically aimed at financial institutions, where the card can "increase trader density" thanks to its "exceptional energy efficiency" which reduces cooling requirements: The card actually comes without a cooling fan and simply incorporates a passive heat sink.

AMD said that the low-profile card will fit into in practically any PCI, PCI Express 1.0 and PCI Express 16x slot and is the first card of its kind to offer two DisplayPorts. According to the company, the 2260 is capable enough to enable traders to receive 2D and 3D live video feeds and run Windows Vista and its Aero graphical user interface. The card is expected to begin shipping in April.

Quad-Core notebooks to enter market

2008-03-14T21:06:00.001-07:00

Intel is planning to launch its first quad-core CPU for notebooks, the Core 2 Extreme QX9300, in the third quarter this year with pricing set at a new high of $1,038 in thousand-unit tray quantities, according to sources at motherboard makers. With the market demand for top-level notebooks still below average, Intel expects the quad-core notebook CPUs will not become standard in the performance/mainstream notebook market until the second half of 2009, and therefore should not impact the desktop PC market, noted the sources.

Trendy look!

2008-03-14T06:50:00.000-07:00

Wanna be a trend setter? Looking out for a good fashion school? Then this is the right place for you. No, am not talking about my site. Of course, you get a lot of info from here :). I am talking about the fashion-school-finder.com. They provide you with all the necessary information on fashion schools in California. Not only about the fashion school in California but also about the fashion schools in Los Angeles. Visit the site if you need more information on fashion schools.

Extra Large Solution

2008-03-14T06:38:00.000-07:00

Are you thinking of a way for your penis enlargement? Thinking of how to avoid unnecessary pills, pumps, patches and creams? You want something on penis enlargement information? Then this is the right product for you. Euro extender is a special penis enlarger which comforts you while it does its job perfectly. There is a Size Calculator on the website too. You can read testimonials of user who use their products for penis enlargements. They also have support forum for you to keep you updates.

No, Not anymore!

2008-03-14T06:11:00.001-07:00

It’s not that only they who could enhance their breasts for perfect shape and structure. Don’t be ashamed of your small penis. Not anymore! There are male enhancement products too! Sinrex, is one such male enhancement product is there for you. It not only ensures penis enlargement but also assures of overall male health and longevity. Now they are offering 90 day guarantee. Hurry up, before anything worse could happen because of this small problem.

Ya, its true!

2008-03-13T05:01:00.000-07:00

By this time you are reading this post, my financial crisis would’ve been disappeared. My only hobby is to write blogs. Mind you am a serious blogger. I’d like to share latest information and tell people what I am thinking about the latest products, gadgets and applications. This might seem boring, but once you get into this, you’ll be allured by it.
Now I could make money out of my own hobby! Yes. You’ve heard nothing wrong! You could get paid for blogging. Thanks to Smorty.
Just advertise on blogs and get paid. Not only me, anyone could easily make money for what they are doing. Now am pretty sure that each and everyone would start blogging. I do admit that to start a blog and maintaining it is not as easy as one might think. But once you know how to do that, you could go with more than one. What’s more, you’ll be paid for each and every step of task you undertake. Let’s put that part apart, and start off with how to start a blog and see some real money! Shall we?
a) Go to blogger.com and create an account with a blog of your choice.
b) Maintain that blog regularly by posting in about your thoughts.
c) When you feel that your blog has enough posts indexed by Google, apply for smorty.

There you go! Some easy money!

BioShock

2008-03-12T23:20:00.000-07:00

Believe the hype, this undersea action-adventure is the best game so far!

I’ve played thousands of games since I stomped my first Koopa in Super Mario Brothers—way back in 1986. Since then, I’ve played text games, 2D adventures, first-person shooters, simulations of every sort, strategy games, and role-playing games. I even played a “cyberpunk thriller” once. Of all the games I’ve played in the last 21 years, none has evoked such powerful emotions as BioShock.
BioShock tells a generic story: Kill the bad guy, escape from the dystopia. In that regard, it’s just like countless games I’ve played before. But unlike those other games, BioShock’s story is rife with subtext—objectivist philosophy is obviously the underpinning for Rapture, the game’s underwater setting, but the game is also injected with parables illustrating the dangers of hubris and science unchecked by a code of ethics.

Heavenly shopping!

2008-03-12T08:12:00.000-07:00

Make your online shopping more easily. Get rid of the regular method of paying to the shop keepers. Hail this innovative method of payment. Don’t take risk by paying money from your account directly. Just log onto to Couponchief.com and buy coupon that suits you the best. And voila! There you are. You could do the shopping with these coupons on your favorite shops. Now couponchief has added almost every famous online shop. Get the promo codes and while away your shopping time. They even give discounts for your purchase. Get the coupon and make a wise decision. Some of the famous stores available at couponchief are BestBuy.com coupons, Dell Home, circuitCity coupon codes, BlueNile, Staples, etc.

Pa. Vijay turns producer

2008-03-12T07:48:00.000-07:00

Pa. Vijay, the lyricist turned actor, is said to be ready to don another role. The decision is rumoured to be fallout of a predicament faced by ‘Thai Kaviyam’, in which the lyricist plays the lead role. The film, written by the Tamil Nadu CM M. Karunanidhi, is now crippled by a controversy over the expenses made so far.

Sources reveal that, though the movie has been on roll for quite some time, only one and half songs and a few talkie scenes have been finished. The expenses, on the other hand, have touched a whooping amount of Rs. 50 lakhs. The producer, upset by the obvious mismatch, has demanded explanation and detailed accounts. He has even gone to Producers’ Council to settle things with the director.

Since the producer too is close to the ruling party like Vijay himself, both have been advised by the party circles to settle the issue amicably. As part of the compromise formula, Vijay is said to have offered to pay the amount spent so far and take up the responsibility of the producer of the film. The producer too is believed to have accepted it.

Track'em

2008-03-12T05:34:00.000-07:00

Ever thought of your company’s vehicles are being misused? Don’t you know what to do with your driver? Or ever wondered how to make a track of your vehicle.I have observed how people get restless when their car driver is not available and they don't know where he would be. At times your drivers disappear from your visibility. This is smaller thing compared to what kind of worries fleet owners have. Specially when your customers need to know where their delivery is - as tracking becomes more important in this business. And it again gets the priority depending on what is being delivered.

These days GPS services are getting pretty cheap and when combined with online tracking functionalities they can be extremely powerful. When GPS systems first started to come out, they typically requires long-term contracts. The technology has gotten cheaper and the systems to manage that technology have also been simplified and scaled out. You shouldn't have to get a GPS system shackled to a long-term contract. You should not have to get a GPS system that requires you to maintain a large number of GPS tracking units even when the size of your fleet varies over time moving up and down.

With that said we would like to check out GPSInsight vehicle tracking system, an online company that provides a relatively cheap and very powerful system for tracking fleet vehicles.

GPSInsight's service helps you to identify what your drivers are doing. You can figure out where they're going, if they're staying on Route, you can even determine if they are exceeding the speed limit for driving dangerously or taking the most efficient path to their destination! It's very important to know what your drivers are doing with your vehicles.

GPSInsight sets up a GPS tracking system for your fleet of vehicles within few days, not long period like in past.

You can take a look at a number of online tutorials at GPSInsight where you can see just how powerful their systems are and all of the advantages that you can manage with the online systems that support the actual devices in your vehicles. They only charge a couple dollars per unit and that means you don't have to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars per vehicle to buy the equipment and hundreds more to install it. The installations are fast and quick and very cheap to get the system up and running. Also dont miss the company's blog - Blog for GPS vehicle tracking

GPSInsight provide excellent support systems through GPS Insight support wiki for customers and they are constantly evolving their online tools such that you'll receive new product services on a regular basis. It’s good for seasonal needs as well, as your fleet gets ramped up or ramped down as the business goes in the time of the year. As you need not to go for long term contract, GPSInsight's flexibility will help you save lot of money.

what's the Buzz?

2008-03-11T17:29:00.000-07:00

A Blogger’s work doesn’t end with starting and maintaining a blog. He has to update the blog regularly with some quality content. Moreover he has to increase the site traffic by generating more number of visitors. The only way to pull more number of visitors to one’s site is to advertise and share your blog with others. This site Buzzfuse.com helps you in sharing your site with others.

Anjathey's success story

2008-03-11T12:07:00.000-07:00

Mysskin’s 'Anjathey' is going places. Literally. The movie, which is running with packed houses in Tamil Nadu, is getting released in Karnataka and Kerala. Both states will have ten prints each. The movie, which has been receiving critical acclaim from all quarters, will be screened in the prestigious PVR complex in Bangalore. Since the movie has many stars from Kerala, it is but natural that it would be received well by the Kerala audience. The movie will be released by Srivas Films in Thiruvananthapuram, Palgat, Kozhicode and Ernakulam.Meanwhile, the houseful shows in Chennai has resulted in an increase in the number of screens.

Everything is Planned!

2008-03-11T11:01:00.000-07:00

Planning on a vacation for this holiday or setting up a shot period plan for going out for this weekend.
Good things happen at the unlikeliest time. I saw this Hotel Reservations the other day and thought it would be nice presentation before my readers who look for hotel reservations. I do like to write travel. Before me finalizing the decision to review the website, I thought it would be possible only if the website has hotel reservations from Kerala. Kerala is my place, you see. Sure there are hotel reservation deals for Kerala hotels, just as there are for hotels from Goa, Delhi, Kolkata, etc in India, among destinations at 100 different countries.
The website has done its homework to offer hotel reservations at 70,000 properties in 100 countries of seven continents. A brief overview article on India, in the destination guide section gives an accurate account of prevalent weather conditions in different parts of India, clearly telling first time visitors what they can expect where and when in India. The account of rain, snow and temperature conditions one can experience at different parts of India during different months is accurate. You can get some cool discounts for registering at this site. Not only you could book your destinations but also include the reservations of Motels, resorts etc.
There are also useful run downs on communication facilities, costs, legal issues, destination recommendations, special interest destinations like Yoga Meditation Ashrams, an account of important festivals, etc. Same kind of overviews are available on most destination countries and I expect them to be accurate too. Apart from hotel reservation deals, there are also airlines ticket booking, car rentals, vacation rentals and vacation packages – normal things you can expect from travel websites. HotelReservations.com also offers Price Guarantee for hotels, condos and resorts – something business and pleasure trip planners can look forward to. Travelers can also contact Hotel Reservations directly over telephone.

A Place for Trend-Setters!

2008-03-11T09:55:00.000-07:00

This post is dedicated to the people who set the trend in this world, in this world of fashion. Just like the computer world, the only other field that gets updates on a daily basis is the world of “Fashion”. There are many reasons for one to be fascinated by fashion, fashion world, fashion designing and the latest fashion technology. There are even some people who are looking out to be the trend setters. Nowadays they provide good syllabus in the fashion field. But there are a lot of schools coming in for this purpose. For example, New York fashion schools provide one of the best learning and practical environment for the students who are keen on setting the trends in the world of fashion.
The problem is that, which school suits you the best. The only thing that can be done in order to solve this problem is go online. You need not be a geek to go online and find a fashion school in New York. But it is highly impossible for one to select the best school that offers best academics and that should suit that individual. Difficult isn’t it?
Here comes the life saver – Just log onto fashion-school-finder.com and get the fashion school New York of your choice.

Make a decison!

2008-03-11T08:57:00.000-07:00

No one could deny the fact that a lot of offers are being made to the public through phone calls and mail. There are some firms that even spam your mail box or make unnecessary calls to make a deal with them. Finally you will be left with no choice other than selecting credit cards for bad credits.
This makes the customers go crazy on them and they get confused on what firm to choose for their requirements to be fulfilled. The needs of the people may be of different kinds such as credit card requirements, personal loans, auto loans etc.
But at last I found out a solution on deciding the best firm for your requirements. By this you method you could easily avoid any bad credit credit cards offers that come to you.
The solution is simple just log on to the badcreditoffers.com site and choose the best deal that suits you. This site offers you all kinds of options.
The next time you need a credit card, make sure that you take a wise decision.

MS Natural Ergonomic Desktop 7000

2008-03-11T05:53:00.000-07:00

We’ve long admired Microsoft’s Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000; its combination of a downward tilting typing surface and a split layout is the perfect salve for our aching wrists. But we aren’t as fond of the Natural Wireless Laser Mouse 6000, which is unfortunate, as the devices are paired in one bundle for the weak-wristed. The wireless version of the Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 is virtually identical to the wired one, but it communicates with your PC via a 2.4GHz transmitter. The key action and layout of the two boards are the same; the only differences between the two are that the wireless board sports a slightly lighter color scheme and its status lights (for Caps Lock and its cronies) are replaced by software toggles to conserve battery life, which is good. The Ergo plank didn’t run down its two AA batteries after two months of constant use. The Natural Wireless Laser Mouse is another story. While we appreciate that the mouse allows for a neutral hand position, which lets you grip it in your hand’s most relaxed position, we don’t like the loss of precision that holding the device like a soda can engenders. Even after several weeks of use, we weren’t able to consistently make horizontal mouse movements; the cursor invariably drifts down when you use your wrist to move the mouse from right to left. We also wonder why this mouse requires standard disposable batteries. Unlike keyboards, wireless mice need rechargeable batteries; they simply suck up too much power to use standard AAs. Although we were able to use the mouse for extended periods of time unassisted, we don’t feel that this device is a significant improvement over a more accurate, traditional mouse paired with a good gel-covered wrist rest. The keyboard is a good match for gamers, but we can’t recommend the mouse for anyone who needs to make high-precision movements. Unfortunately, this wireless keyboard’s score is brought down by its subpar companion.

My Disclosure Policy

2008-03-11T05:46:00.000-07:00

To get your own policy, go to http://www.disclosurepolicy.org

Shopping on BlackFriday

2008-03-07T15:16:00.000-08:00

Its true that everybody loves shopping. But everybody agree to the fact that it saps all our energy. Moreover shopping during the occasion festival time is much difficult. In order to do an ideal way of shopping, proper planning is the key. Black Friday is one of those days where we find huge crowds standing out in many shops from early morning. Its practically impossible for one to do shopping during these days and blackfriday.info provides the answer for all your needs. You got it, blackfriday.info website helps you plan the perfect shopping experience you desire. With their user friendly interface you can easily place order. Also during black friday you can save money by checking out the site and taking the best deal offered by black friday ads. One of the stuff which fascinated me was the email alert which allowed me to know when new ads were posted in blackfriday.info.

CircuitCity is my favorite, they provide all the products at lowest prices. Infact my dad bought our 4.1 digital camera at Circuit City. With its excellent customer service and high quality products, Circuit City get a lot of customers during black friday. Hence in order to avoid that one can simply log on to blackfriday.info and gain access to all the products of Circuit City. Thereby saving time, energy and the last minute rush. With its excellent information on shopping during black friday , blackfriday.info is my choice for all those shoppers out there.

Throttle User Account Control

2008-03-06T15:35:00.000-08:00

Spare yourself the headache of endless pop-ups

You won’t get far in Vista before you start losing hair thanks to UAC, Vista’s overbearing security pop-up system. If you’re an even remotely sophisticated user, turning off UAC should be job one. It’s easy to do: Visit the User Accounts control panel and click “Turn User Account Control on or off,” then uncheck the box on the following screen. If you just want a little more control over UAC (without turning it off altogether), download TweakUAC (www.tweak-uac.com), which suppresses UAC messages whenever you’re logged in as an administrator.

Run Vista Command Line as Admin

2008-03-03T15:33:00.000-08:00

Don’t let the OS limit command-line rights

Typing cmd in the Start menu’s search box will bring up the familiar command-line window, but depending on your machine’s confi guration, you might be stuck in a restricted mode even if you’re logged in as an administrator. To launch an unrestricted Admin command line, type cmd at Start, then press Ctrl-Shift-Enter. You can also do this by right-clicking the CMD.exe result in the search box and selecting Run as Administrator in the drop-down menu. You’ll notice you’re in Admin mode by the Administrator prefi x in the window’s title bar. Now you can move and copy fi les and folders from the command line and run system tools such as msconfig; by default these privileges are locked out.

Display Port Finally Cometh

2008-02-25T13:48:00.000-08:00

Computer users will see VESA’s new video interface in shipping products (we mean it this time)

It’s been a long time coming, but once the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) approved the DisplayPort 1.1 specifi cation in April,it became all but certain the digital interface would replace DVI and VGA in computer products. After all, the interface standard—which is capable of meeting the demands of high-def video and copy-protected content—has the blessing of many PC industry heavyweights. Those companies are now stepping up with announcements about forthcoming products that will feature the new connector. First, there was word of Dell’s prototype half-inchthick LCD that uses DisplayPort and which is rumored to be shipping late this year. Now Samsung has stated its plans to use DisplayPort (as opposed to Dual-Link DVI) in its next 2560x1600 30-inch panel. And AMD, as well, says, “We will begin shipping native DisplayPort interfaces on our graphics products in early 2008.”

Program, Optimize Thyself

2008-02-24T09:54:00.000-08:00

AMD proposes psychic extensions for CPUs

AMD is floating a set of new instructions that could make it easier for programs to tune themselves. Called Lightweight Profiling (LWP), the new instructions would become part of AMD’s AMD64 instruction set.
LWP would add little overhead yet give applications direct feedback from the CPU on how a process for the application is running. If the process is generating excessive cache misses, branch mispredictions, or thread locks, the app—with real-time feedback from the CPU—would, in theory, correct the problem and run faster. LWP could help programmers in the daunting task of optimizing for the increasing number of execution cores in PCs. That number is predicted to reach from eight to 16 within a year or two. AMD hasn’t said when LWP will be integrated into its CPUs, but it will apparently not be available in upcoming quad-core Opteron and Phenom FX CPUs.

Game /Art

2008-02-24T01:45:00.000-08:00

“Games are not art.” I said as much, rather pompously, in this spot many years ago. It generated as much reaction as I ever received, oddly enough. Gamers want to believe their passion is more than just a diversion—that it could aspire to greatness, even transcendence. A friend of mine, a game designer, insisted that games were merely awaiting their Orson Welles. In other words, the medium merely needed an auteur to come along to create and refine a new vocabulary for this form that would lift it to the realm of capital A Art. The games-as-art debate got a bit of a jump start recently with a back-and-forth between film critic Roger Ebert and author/director Clive Barker. Ebert made the case that games can’t be “high art” and Barker said that they can. Ebert was a bit of snot, but he’s right for the wrong reason. He claims that interactivity, what Barker called the “malleability” of the forms and narratives of games, removes it from the realm of high art.
That’s only half right, and BioShock made it a little clearer to me just why that’s the case. If any game can make a claim to be Art, its BioShock, which deals with weighty issues, is beautifully stylized, and breaks the bounds of the medium. Even its use of Randian Objectivism as the source of its dystopia is strikingly original and persuasive. It is clearly the product of artists: writers, visual artists, musicians, sound artists, and designers. But it’s not, in the aggregate, Art, for a simple reason. Gamers are not lining up to play BioShock for its Objectivist discourse: They are lining up to play, to explore, to solve puzzles, to shoot things. The main purpose of a work defines it as Art, not the incidentals. The main purpose of a game is to be played, like football or poker or kick the can. However rich a narrative, whatever depths of philosophy or human nature or character are explored along the way, these are not the point of the game. They may be central concerns of the creator (artist?), but they are incidental to the gamer: fine wallpaper for the abattoir.

JOURNALISTS SUE HP

2008-02-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

It’s been a year since Hewlett-Packard officials were caught spying on company board members and journalists to root out a media leak, but the issue is getting renewed attention. Several journalists from the Associated Press and News.com are filing suit against HP, citing invasion of privacy and violation of California’s business code. HP had earlier offered the affected parties a financial settlement, which they rejected.

LIMEWIRE GOES LEGIT

2008-02-23T05:17:00.000-08:00

Following the leads of Napster and BitTorrent, LimeWire is looking to put its peer-to-peer prowess toward the service of good. The company, whose eponymous P2P software has been popular with content pirates, hopes to gain a more wholesome following with a new online portal that offers only legal content. A stand-alone website, which will eventually be accessible via the LimeWire software, will connect people to legitimate DRM-free music for a competitive price. So far, LimeWire has struck deals with two indie music publishers.

ABC.COM STREAMS HD

2008-02-23T03:33:00.000-08:00

ABC.com is stepping up its online strategy by now streaming many of the network’s shows in HD. The site’s HD channel is still in beta, but theoretically, a person with a monitor capable of high-def resolutions (at least 1280x720), a broadband Internet connection, and the affiliated media player by Move Networks can view entire television shows, such as Lost, Ugly Betty, and Grey’s Anatomy, in HD for free over the web.

Universal Tests DRM-Free Tunes

2008-02-23T01:40:00.000-08:00

Could DRM be making an exit? Universal Music Group recently announced that it will sell DRM-free MP3s through a variety of vendors, including Amazon, through January 2008, as an experiment. One place you won’t be able to get the unencumbered music tracks, though, is iTunes. Universal says it’s using Apple’s store as a control group, but we think the test could prove whether it’s possible to break Apple’s dominance over digital distribution. Universal will use digital watermarks to identify songs that have been downloaded via the service; the watermarks won’t contain a unique user identifier but will presumably be used to see which of the songs are shared by P2P users.
We hope Universal’s experiment will convince the company that it’s more profitable to ensure fair use than it is to treat its customers like criminals.

Malicious Wiki Edits Exposed!

2008-02-22T14:58:00.000-08:00

WikiScanner reveals who’s been cleaning up their own pages and slamming the competition someone at the BBC seems to think Dubya’s middle name is Wanker. A new program called WikiScanner (http://wikiscanner.virgil.gr/), which automatically matches Wikipedia edits to the IP addresses they came from, reveals instances of vandalism, whitewashing, and trickery by everyone from the FBI to the Vatican to the BBC. While most of the edits are mild and quickly rectified, others are more insidious. Users from Exxon, Microsoft, and the Turkish government have been caught removing references to, respectively, the ecological impact of the Exxon Valdez spill, Xbox 360 failure rates, and the Armenian genocide. WikiScanner, which was written by grad student Virgil Griffith, shows that not all users of the peer-edited encyclopedia have transparency in mind. Thankfully, finding these conflict-of-interest edits just got a whole lot easier.

The Future of CPU Integration

2008-02-22T05:19:00.000-08:00

For years now, AMD has been crowing about the integrated DDR controller in its processors— something Intel’s chips don’t have. Integrating the memory controller with the CPU definitely has performance advantages, but what’s the next step in CPU integration?
For clues, consider Sun Microsystems’s new server processor, the UltraSPARC T2 (code-named Niagara 2). The first thing everyone notices about this “server on a chip” is that it has eight 64-bit processor cores—twice as many cores as the best server processors from AMD and Intel. In addition, each core can simultaneously run eight threads of execution—four times as many threads per core as the best Hyper-
Threading processor ever shipped by Intel. With eight processor cores per chip and eight threads per core, the UltraSPARC T2 can simultaneously execute 64 threads. Using Sun’s virtualization extensions, a single chip can run 64 different operating systems (or 64 instances of the same operating system) at the same time. Because each core runs at 1.4GHz, Sun likens the chip’s aggregate CPU performance to a singlethreaded chip running at 89.6GHz—a stretch of the truth, but impressive nonetheless. However, I consider the chip’s other integrated features even more impressive. The UltraSPARC
T2 has four integrated memory controllers, two 10-gigabit Ethernet controllers, an eight-lane PCI Express controller, and eight cryptography accelerators. Each dual-channel memory controller supports Fully Buffered (FB) DIMMs. The Ethernet controllers are multithreaded independently of the processors, so their actual throughput should handily beat an external Ethernet solution. The PCI Express interface runs at 2.5GHz, nearly twice as fast as the processor cores. The eight crypto engines support the most common security algorithms (such as DES and AES) and are much faster than general-purpose CPUs at this kind of number crunching. Sun isn’t exaggerating much by calling the
UltraSPARC T2 a server on a chip. And despite its unprecedented level of integration for a server processor, it consumes less than 100W and starts at less than $1,000. But the most interesting thing about the UltraSPARC T2 is what it foretells about x86 PC processors in terms of multicore integration, massive multithreading, and peripheral integration. Eventually, I believe, AMD and Intel will go with the flow of this Niagara.

Symphonies of Destruction

2008-02-21T13:15:00.000-08:00

One fringe benefit of having a hardcore gaming laptop for a few months is that I’ve been able to dig deeply into the new generation of multiplayer action games with all the settings cranked up to the max and enjoy some truly spectacular hours of online homicide. And do it without being tied to my desktop. There’s something about playing Quake Wars in bed that’s just so wrong, yet so right. Four CPUs, one man, a bed: It’s like some kind of über-geek fetish fantasy. The real pleasure, however, comes from just how solid this generation of multiplayer action is. With Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, Team Fortress 2, and Unreal Tournament 3 forming the core of dedicated multiplayer action, and Call of Duty 4 and Crysis holding the flanks, we are positively swimming in top-flight game design for the online frag crowd. To an outside observer, these games might all seem like more of the same in different wrappings.

But to gamers who truly love online action, you couldn’t have asked for three more radically different approaches than Quake Wars, TF2, and UT3. Each is like a musical composition in a different key. In terms of pure personal appeal, Quake Wars is at the top of my list, since its use of classes and multiple fluid objectives manages to capture some of the feel of an ever-shifting battlefield. If the old Strogg/GDF matchup has grown a little tired, it’s a minor complaint within a system that handles classes and their functions so well. What Team Fortress 2 lacks in objectives and complexity it more than makes up for with its fresh style, focused team play, and outstanding unit balance? And though I haven’t logged time with the final version of Unreal Tournament 3, the material Epic has been showing certainly takes its work on Gears of War to the next level and places UT3 at the fast-and-frenzied instaspawn end of the pectrum. It’s simply wonderful, this late in the life span of the multiplayer action game, to see three teams wind up with such radically different approaches to the same concept. Only people who don’t know the genre would see these titles as mere interchangeable carnage. That’s like saying Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms all sound the same because they wrote symphonies.

ASUS BC-1205Pt

2008-02-20T06:52:00.000-08:00

With Asus’s BC-1205PT you get to read high-def discs, but only if they’re of the Blu-ray variety, so you’ll want to have a strong affinity for that format (and its affiliated movie studios) to take the plunge because while you do save money by forgoing the ability to write to Blu-ray, the BC-1205PT still isn’t cheap. Its a couple hundred dollars more than a high-performance standard DVD drive and its DVD burn performance is far from top-notch. The BC-1205PT is rated at 12x for DVD+/-R write speeds—a good deal slower than today’s top DVD burners, now at 20x, and not surprisingly, burn times take a hit. It took us 7:12 (min:sec) to fill a Single-layer DVD+R with the BC-1205PT, compared to the 5 minutes flat it took our favorite drive, Samsung’s SH-S203B (Reviewed October 2007) Burning to a double-layer DVD, the Asus drive maintained a 3.96x average speed and filled the disc in 27:09, more than twice the time it took our Samsung. Only when burning to DVD-RW media did the Asus and Samsung perform on par, writing 4.38GB to a single layer disc at 15:07 and 14:31, respectively. When reading data from all of our test discs, Asus’s drive had notably slower seek times than both the Samsung and the LG GCC-H20L reviewed here. Middling performance aside, the BC-1205PT offers a SATA interface, the CyberLink BD Solution suite for playback and burning chores, and a simple, black face plate.

Great Expectations!

2008-02-19T05:27:00.000-08:00

No one could now oppose the fact that you could make money out of your own blog; Why? Because - I had been maintaining this blog for the past four weeks and heard many times at several sites about making money out of your own blog, but didn’t really get what they really meant, till I heard from my friend that he was earning lots and lots of money from PPP (PayPerPost) for simply doing his own job – Blogging.

For beginners, Blogging is an online journal. You maintain a blog (like a journal) online and post whatever you feel, think, like etc. Like in this blog you may find several interesting information about some cool gadgets, new technologies and latest buzz that’s going around. Not only you could share your views, ideas and thoughts with the online community but also earn money by maintaining a blog. Just follow these simple and easy steps in order to become a blogger.
Step 1: Log onto blogger.com and create an account and start a blog.

Step 2: Give an attractive title and find an appealing blog URL.
Step 3: Maintain the blog by posting useful information and attract more people to visit your blog.
Step 4: After a month, if you feel that your blog has some decent number of visitors, create an account at PPP (payperpost.com) and submit your blog and wait for approval of your blog.
Step 5: Once approved, you can make money through your blog.

Things to remember:

->Maintain an attractive blog so that you get more visitors, since more the number of visitors more the opportunities you will get in PPP.
->Before applying your blog, see to that your blog has been one month since the first post was made and you have written more than ten posts with some ORIGINAL content.

Google Unleashes an Android

2008-02-15T03:05:00.000-08:00

After months of speculation, Google recently announced its entry into the crowded mobile market. However, instead of designing the long-rumored Gphone, the search giant released Android, a Linuxbased mobile OS. Google developed Android in conjunction with the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of mobile service providers, handset manufacturers, chipmakers, and software developers, and the company has recently made a free, downloadable development kit available. To help spur innovation, Google is also offering $10 million in prizes to developers, in awards ranging from $25,000 to $275,000. While the OS itself is open, Google has placed no restrictions on how the platform is utilized, so service providers could, for instance, remove VoIP capabilities from Android handsets in order to tie users to income-generating voice minutes. In the United States, Android-based devices will initially be available on Sprint’s and T-Mobile’s networks, with numerous handset manufacturers planning to release devices in early 2008. AT&T, which has a major stake in Apple’s iPhone, is not
a member of the OHA; as to whether the service provider would ever offer Android-powered phones, a spokesperson stated, “AT&T does not comment on what it might or might not do in the future.”
While Google hasn’t directly explained how it plans to generate revenue from Android, the OS will make it easy to use Google’s entire suite of apps on mobile devices, bringing an almost PC-like experience to cell phones—and more mobile users on the web almost certainly means more eyes on the search giant’s Ad Sense-generated advertising.

Related Articles:

Google Ponders Spectrum Plans
Fly Me to the Moon!
Google Desktop Search as default in Vista
Google just got better
Virtual Lunar Trip
Google sets its sight on Wikipedia with “Knol”

OCZ Buys Hypersonic

2008-02-14T20:38:00.000-08:00

RAM vendor branches out into the PC market

In a buyout that has raised some eyebrows, RAM and PSU vendor OCZ will buy boutique PCmaker Hypersonic to help diversify its business.
Hypersonic will operate as a separate division, but some competing PC vendors are concerned about buying components from what is now a competitor. OCZ officials told reuters that PC vendors shouldn’t feel any threat, as the company has no plans to give preferential treatment to Hypersonic on RAM or other components. OCZ’s main purpose with the acquisition is to grow Hypersonic by giving it access to new markets and platform vendors that OCZ has relationships with. In the long term, it will help protect OCZ’s business from the mercurial swings of the RAM market. In May, the company purchased PC Power and Cooling for $13 million.

AMD’s Odd Phenom

2008-02-13T15:50:00.000-08:00

Soon after AMD announced its new triple-core Phenom processor, the jokes began. Some people think a multicore processor with an odd number of cores is...well, odd. Others ridiculed AMD for making triple-core chips by disabling one core on a defective quad-core die. Intel CEO Paul Otellini cracked, “We see a distinct advantage in having all the cores on our dies work.” Actually, there’s nothing odd about an odd number of processors. For 30 years we’ve had PCs with only one processor, and that’s an odd number. But seriously, there’s no technical reason, a multicore chip can’t have any number of processor cores. Sometimes it’s easier for chip designers to lay out an even number of cores because the die will be nearly a true square, which fits more efficiently on circular silicon wafers. However, different layouts are possible and often desirable. Designers can surround an odd number of cores with caches, buses, and other logic to achieve a square die. Indeed, such layouts are becoming more common as microprocessors
integrate more components. Remember that AMD’s processors have on-chip memory controllers and soon will integrate graphics cores, too.
The slap that AMD is merely converting defective quad-core Phenoms into triple-core Phenoms hits closer to home. Rumors abound that AMD’s production yields—especially for the new 45nm fabrication process—are terrible. These rumors are hard to verify because semiconductor manufacturers closely guard their yields as trade secrets. Although poor yields are definitely bad, there’s
nothing wrong with salvaging chips by disabling the defective logic and relabeling the product. In the 1990s, Intel sold 486 processors either with (486DX) or without (486SX) an integrated FPU. Early 486SX chips were found to be 486DX chips with disabled FPUs. More recently, some massively parallel processors have the ability to route around defective cores and keep working. One example is a 430-core chip from PicoChip Designs that’s found in cellular and wireless-network base stations. Should PicoChip scrap an otherwise functional die because it has “only” 429 working processor cores? As PC processors integrate large numbers of cores, inevitably some cores will be defective. It will become commonplace to salvage those chips by disabling the bad cores. And that’s fine, as long as the chips are honestly labeled.

The Home Is Going Digital

2008-02-12T20:45:00.000-08:00

High tech is moving into the living room—and the kitchen, bedroom, and garage, too

So many attempts to bring the worlds of PCs and consumer electronics together have failed that the word “convergence” prompts snickers from journalists. But the market is poised for explosive growth, according to a new market study published by Parks Associates and EHX Publishing. Oddly enough, it’s not the PC that’s driving this train, according to the authors of this study; it’s the rapid adoption of flat-panel displays. The study predicts the size of this market will grow to $17 billion within the next five years—and that number doesn’t take into account consumers who build their own networks. Computer manufacturers such as Sony and HP clearly want a piece of this pie, but they’re taking very different roads to get there.
Sony’s not using the C word, but Xavier Lauwaert comes close when he describes the market for the digital home. Sony retreated from the desktop PC market several years ago, but its VAIO brand remains strong in the notebook arena, and according to Lauwaert, the company sold a significant number of its CableCARD and Blu-ray-equipped VAIO XL3 media center PCs in 2007. HP is taking a different approach. We DEC line because the PC doesn’t have to be in the living room anymore.” HP now seems to be taking a three-pronged approach to the market, with its innovative TouchSmart PC, entertainment-oriented Pavilion HDX notebook, and headless MediaSmart Server running Microsoft’s Windows Home Server. But we see the digital home encompassing more than entertainment—and so does Logitech. The company followed up its 2004 acquisition of Intrigue Technologies (best known for its innovative Harmony remote controls) and 2006 buyout of Squeezeboxmaker Slim Devices by snapping up WiLife in November. WiLife designs and manufactures the LukWerks video-surveillance system, which operates on a powerline network and can stream video to remote clients via the Internet. New wireless technologies such as Z-Wave and ZigBee (IEEE 802.15.4) are enabling do-it-yourselfers to add extensive observation and command features to their homes and apartments, allowing them to monitor and control their lighting, appliances, temperature, and more. Motion and moisture sensors can even alert homeowners to break-ins and leaks via email or MMS. It’s an exciting time to be a geek.

AMD Alleges Benchmark Cheating by Nvidia

2008-02-11T09:19:00.001-08:00

AMD and Nvidia have been engaged in a veritable pissing match over the HQV HD video benchmark, with AMD accusing its rival of cooking its Forceware drivers in order to achieve higher scores than its product deserves. Nvidia, in turn, has accused AMD of engaging in a disinformation campaign. The issue stems from beta Vista drivers (Forceware 163.11) that Nvidia provided to reviewers testing HD-video performance with videocards based on its GeForce 8600 GTS graphics processor. AMD’s Aboubakeur Nacef ran the benchmark and took photographs that he says reveal ghosting caused by overly aggressive use of noise-reduction in Nvidia’s PureVideo HD decoder. “My feeling,” Nacef told reuters, “is that Nvidia was in panic mode and needed to release something quickly.” Nvidia’s Rick Allen, countered that Nacef was “using an older driver and overly aggressive driver settings to cause the problem.” Nacef responded that Forceware 163.44 had the same problem but that he hadn’t tested version 163.69, the latest version available at press time.

AMD to Try Tri-Core

2008-02-11T09:17:00.000-08:00

Are there folks who want something better than dual core but less extreme than a quad solution? That’s what AMD is hoping as it prepares to release a tri-core Phenom in 2008. AMD is positioning the three-core chip as something that will help differentiate PCs that use it from their dual-core brethren. But Intel’s further slashing of its quad-core prices—already at the $200 mark—could lessen a tri-core’s appeal. More troubling is how AMD is producing these chips. The tri-core is likely to be based on the same quad-core die as Phenom, so is AMD disabling one core or is it trying to fi nd a market for its defective quad-core chips?

Spy vs. Spy— Cyber Style

2008-02-11T09:14:00.000-08:00

A diplomatic brouhaha has coincided with a recent spate of cyber warfare, with representatives from a number of governments claiming their nations are the victims of coordinated attacks on their computer infrastructure. Systems in England, France, Germany, New Zealand, and the United States have all been attacked in recent months, and while governments in those countries have not directly accused the Chinese government of coordinating the attacks, intelligence agencies have noted that the attacks do seem to be originating from China. The Chinese government, however, denies any involvement in the incidents, and, in fact, says it has been the victim of cybersleuthing from Western governments. Lou Qinjian, vice minister of Information Industry, stated that 80 percent of the recent attacks have come from computers based in the United States, although he did not directly state that the U.S. government was coordinating the intrusions.

Fly Me to the Moon!

2008-02-11T09:12:00.000-08:00

Google is hoping to inspire private space exploration by ponying up $30 million to fund the X Prize Foundation’s latest challenge, the Google Lunar X Prize, which tasks entrants with building and launching an unmanned lunar rover. Google will give $20 million to the first group to land a craft on the moon that can roam
500 meters and transmit a video back to Earth. It will kick in another $5 million if the team completes additional tasks such as photographing man-made objects or discovering water or ice. If your team is slow to launch, don’t worry. The second-place fi nisher will pocket $5 million, but you’d best get to work; the grand prize drops to $15 million after December 31, 2012 and the competition ends on December 31, 2014.

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Holmes is back!

2008-02-11T09:09:00.000-08:00

A sinister cult is trying to awaken the Great Old One Cthulhu from his watery slumber, and only Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson can stop it from happening! No, it’s not a description of my high school fan fiction (well, actually, it is, but let’s not talk about that); it’s the premise behind Frogware’s latest Holmes game: Sherlock Holmes—The Awakened. Recruiting Holmes into the Cthulhu mythos of H.P. Lovecraft is a popular geek pastime that sometimes actually works. With The Awakened, the exercise gets a solid 3D presentation and narrative that reminds us of the more sedate pleasures of the puzzleadventure game. Adventure gaming never quite dies but continues to dwell in a shadow realm, on the fringe of the mainstream. Each time I play a new example of this genre, it reminds me of a time when the puzzle-adventure was the dominate PC genre, in the golden days of Sierra and LucasArts. The ascendancy of 3D action gaming signaled the decline of the narrative adventure, and it has never—and likely will never—recover its position. Yet these games still reward the person who adjusts to their slower pacing. As always, I only really understood that when seeing such a game through the eyes of another. My son sat by my side for about an hour as I played through The Awakened. Since the environments are in 3D, he assumed it was another action game. When we’d approach a character, he’d say, “Can you shoot him?” “No, I have to talk to him,” I explained. When he saw that Holmes carried a knife, he asked, “Can you use that as a weapon?” “No, but I can use it to cut this rope in order to open the trap door,” I said. At that, he began to get it. He began suggesting places to search, items to combine, ways to test and examine objects back at 221B. And slowly, he got caught up in the story, the puzzles, the process. He adjusted his expectations and took the game on its own terms. Sometimes, we need to step away from the latest 3D adrenaline rush, slow down, light a pipe, pick up a magnifying glass, and let pure story take us where it will.

Google Desktop Search as default in Vista

2008-02-11T08:46:00.000-08:00

Starting with Service Pack 1, Vista users will be able to set a third-party desktop search engine, such as Google’s Desktop Search, as their Windows default, replacing the OS’s integrated search. Microsoft released documentation in September detailing the syntax and other commands that will let third-party apps use the search functions in the Start Menu and Explorer windows and enable users to set them as their default search applications. The change was prompted by Google’s accusations earlier this year that Microsoft’s search was too tightly integrated into Vista. Google saw this as a violation of the 2002 antitrust settlement in which Microsoft agreed to make it easier for customers to choose third-party software in Windows. SP1 does not, however, allow users to disable Vista’s indexing service, another one of Google’s gripes.

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Make money out of your blogs !

2008-02-11T08:14:00.000-08:00

Now that blogging took the online world by storm, every individual has started creating his own blog. What’s blog exactly? – Online Journal, publication of personal thoughts, to catalog someone's personal life or what . . . . In fact you can’t find a single precise definition for it, as there is no exact definition for a blog. A Blog is whatever you do. Ok, you have created a blog; you have shared your experience and provided the world with some useful information, now what?
Get paid for what you have done so far. Log on to some blog advertising sites, post your opinion or review it and make money. Blogsvertise.com is one such site, which offers some cool plans for making some serious money! So what are you waiting for? Jus log onto the blog advertising sites and make money now!

HD on DVD?

2008-02-09T01:26:00.000-08:00

DCA Inc., the specialists in mastering have for the first time, saved 135 minutes of HD film on a traditional double-layer blank DVD. The format officially approved by the DVD forum bears the name "3X-DVD-ROM" and is a part of the HD-DVD standard. VC1 and H.264 are used as codecs as in case of HD DVDs, but then, longer films generally fit on the disk only in the low 720p-resolution.
The disks play on any HD-DVD player as well as in PC DVD drives with a minimum of 3X speed. Its special feature is that 3X DVD-ROMs can be burnt without a problem on any PC using an appropriate burning program and a DVD burner. With this, the disk could become what the VCD was to the DVD--a cheap entry in the new technology, till HD-DVD burners and blanks become cheaper. So, sounds like just the perfect thing for the Indian market which is always looking for cost effective measures and simulations of the real thing!

Cheers to the beyond!

2008-02-09T00:26:00.000-08:00

While we hear about the rave parties going bust all over, this is one with more than a fairly legitimate reason. A reason that surrounds each one of us and our most gorgeous beyond space Rave parties are usually about all things psychedelic and there's nothing that can really be compared to the high-saturation purples, pinks, blues and all colors fluorescent that we fins in each inch of our vast solar system.
To commemorate Yuri Gagarin's spaceflight in 1961, NASA opened up a hangar at the Ames Research Center in Mountain View. They called it 'Yuri's Night World Space Party' and it happened on the same day in 126 events across 35 nations across the globe. It was NASA's tribute to 'global heritage of space exploration' which was celebrated with techno-rave music, futuristic dances and mind-blowing psychedelic light shows.
To give the party a rather good boy image, NASA had also put up science-imagery program called World Wind (software) besides a telescope aimed at Saturn. There was also an exhibit by artist Pierre Comte of how it feels to paint in low gravity. Besides, all of this there were some great dancers and other space monuments splashed in every nook and corner of the venue, and to say this was just one of the 126 events!

The Sage

2008-02-08T23:15:00.000-08:00

McAfee, Inc. recently announced its second issue of sage, a semi-annual security journal designed to update and inform technical personnel and security executives on cutting-edge topics that can help them make better informed security decisions. the new issue of Sage includes articles from an all-star cast of McAfee researchers, managers and evangelists, on topics including cybercrime, Microsoft Windows Vista security, spyware, spam, cell phone security, data leakage and security risk management.
Sage is available for download through the McAfee Threat Center. You can access it at http://www.mcafee.com/us/threat_center/default.asp.
Sage examines the near-term future of the security business--the threats, defenses and issues security professional will face over the next five years. Today, the majority of cybercriminals target PC users, but we can expect more attackers to branch out to other areas of technology, such as voice over Internet protocol and radio frequency identifications (RFID), as those technologies become more widely adopted. This journal also gives insight on the future of securing applications which is one of the biggest concerns of the manufacturers and the consumers.

Although programmers add some security measures during development, new spyware technology often far surpasses the best planning of even the most diligent engineers, opening new fronts of attacks. Spyware will follow us into new technologies, such as Bluetooth and RFID. This has also been taken into consideration in Sage besides topics like Vista and its security in the near future which is actually a great concern as more and more hackers will try to disrupt it as time goes by.

LivePC

2008-02-08T22:26:00.000-08:00

The brainchild of a faction of PhD graduates and their professor Dr. Monica Lam, all from the University of Stanford, is a virtual PC which they have tagged moka5. This is based on the platform of VMware Player and is available as freeware! Their objective was to radically evolve the consumer's experience of personal computing and simplify it and make it as easy and comfortable as watching television! Their research which has spanned five years has resulted in moka5 which is a platform that is apparently free of all troubles of security, maintenance and can run software without installations on the host system and simplify computing as far as possible for the end user. Although, there are many similar virtual PCs around, moka5 seems to have taken the lead in terms of the features, security and ease of use beating its competition hands down. If you don't believe us, try it out for yourself on www.moka5.com and get easy.

Cyber Sleuths

2008-02-08T22:09:00.000-08:00

India's first regional cyber security and research centre was inaugurated in Chandigarh recently. This state-of-the-art organization called the Regional Cyber Security and Research Centre (RCSRC) is a joint project of Chandigarh Administration, Punjab Engineering College and NASSCOM and has been set up at the Punjab engineering College itself. The centre's mission will be to encourage, promote, facilitate, and execute interdisciplinary research in areas related to the nexus of the society and the digital world. It holds a lot of promise to cut down on cyber crime and its backing by the distinguished Board of Mentors from the IT industry, academia, and administration and defense services proves its mettle.

Closer look

2008-02-08T21:57:00.000-08:00

Technology in sports has been constantly making groundbreaking equipment to take you as close to the sportsperson and their experiences across sports. With the craziest of angles and analysis technology, sport technology has been in the lead lately. Be it a game of cricket or extreme sports, bull fighting or river rafting, each sport has now found new insight in presentation thanks to miniature cameras which can be mounted just about anywhere. It's not novel to find cameras on the helmets of sky divers or on the headlight of extreme bikes to give you a thrilling perspective. This trend has been further enhanced with a new eye! Sports broadcasts could appear more realistic to TV viewers in the recent future.

A mini camera developed by the Fraunhofer-Institut for Integrierte Schaltungen can transmit receptions taken from the view of a Formula-1 racing driver or a ski jumper in HDTV quality, yes HDTV quality! With a size of 4x4x8 centimeters, the camera is small enough to find its place in the F1 cockpit or on top of a helmet and yet give an HD quality output. According to Stephan Gick, researcher at the Fraunhofer-Institut(IIS), this innovation has became successful with two main principles: The dissipation of the electronics and thus the heat generated was maintained very low for the mini casing and the highly integrated. All its camera settings can be controlled through the web -- because finally the sportsperson cannot be the cameraman as well!

Don't quite know and would not prefer where all inventors are planning or projecting to put wee little HD quality cameras but then again it's a boon!

Inkless Printing

2008-02-08T21:11:00.000-08:00

Printing is on its way to be revolutionized and how! ZINK is a breakthrough technology which promises to utilize zero ink, yes NO ink at all! It generates the required color images and photos without using ink, ribbons or toner! The ZINK technology enables a new category of color printers and paper that work as an integrated system to print with a unique technique. The key to this process is the patented ZINK paper, an advanced composite material with dye crystals embedded inside and a protective polymer overcoat layer outside. Before printing, the embedded dye crystals are colorless, so ZINK paper looks like regular white photo paper.

The ZINK printer uses heat to activate and colorize these dye crystals. The printing process is now radically simple. Just add paper and press "print". The result is high quality, long-lasting, durable, and affordable images and no the paper is pretty affordable and highly durable! Because Zink doesn't use most of the components of normal printers it can be miniature in size and according to the claim on their website it will be portable and highly compatible with other consumer electronic devices making all of these capable of executing a print. So, this leaves the printer with only requirement of paper and you are through with the finest quality print! The advantages of ZINK include the compression of space because it does not use ink cartridges besides it is not affected by gravity! The ZINK printing process leaves no waste stream. The photo itself is the only artifact of the printing process. We are waiting and watching for now!

Google just got better

2008-02-06T13:15:00.000-08:00

Recently, Google announced its critical first steps toward a universal search model that will offer users a more integrated and comprehensive way to search for and view information online. The company also introduced an updated homepage design with several new navigation features that make it faster and easier to users to find the information they are looking for. Google's vision for universal search is to ultimately search across all its content sources, compare and rank all the information in real time, and deliver a single, integrated set of search results that offers users precisely what they are looking for.

Google is also in the process of deploying a new technical infrastructure that will enable the search engine to handle the computationally intensive tasks required to produce universal search results. The new navigation includes dynamically generated links. For example, a search for "python" will now generate links to Google Blog Search, Google Book Search, Google Groups, and Google Code, to let user know there is additional information on his or her query in each of those areas. Search seems to be getting more and more advanced and this is only going to make it much easier for us!

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Watch out!

2008-02-06T13:08:00.000-08:00

Beware of images with the file extensions BMP or PNG! This is because an error in thes formats enables hackers to smuggle in the desired damaged codes. Users of Photoshop CS2,CS3, Elements of 5.0 and Paintshop Pro 11.2 are advised to open only those images which have reliable sources. These loopholes were reproduced in XP as well as Vista in a test. The attack was detected because the program crashed. The attacker only has rights for starting the photo editor. And yet this is all the hackers need to penetrate deeper into the system.

Security experts from various security films are already issuing warnings that more and more loopholes are being used in applications to dive into systems to corrupt them. The main reason for this is hackers turning to more neglected programs such as Photoshop since the improved security mechanisms in Windows Vista thwart many attack attempts.

Free SMS

2008-02-06T12:51:00.000-08:00

You never liked the idea of e-mail using your cellphone and have always been more comfortable with sending those info-packed short SMS? Well, here's news for you and it's free!

Webaroo, a leading content firm recently announced the launch of SMS GupShup, a free group messaging service for users in India. SMS GupShup offers a simple way to create groups of any size and communicate with them. Messages sent by the group creator are forwarded by Webaroo to all members of the group. Using a single SMS message, users can join any group as an SMS on their phone. Similarly, users can use SMS messages to create their own groups, invite friends and post messages to the group. Additionally, users can also run a poll, rating and quiz within their group. Groups and messages area archived online at www.smsgupshup.cmo, except for private groups. And here's the best part--the service is absolutely free to users and will be supported by advertising. Users can join groups to stay connected with friends, to receive alerts and notifications, to stay updated with news and current events and even to receive weather updates or sports scores from their favorite sources, etc., this service can benefit a huge range of users for mass communication. Using SMS GupShup movie fans can publish quotes and reviews, music lovers can share trivia, colleges can notify their alumni of forthcoming events, bands can announce upcoming performances, and such innumerable possibilities of information can be distributed to groups.

No Country for Old Men (2007) - Info

2008-02-04T11:15:00.000-08:00

No Country for Old Men (2007)

User Rating: 8.6/10 (49,605 votes)

Overview

Directors:
Ethan Coen
Joel Coen

Writers (WGA):
Joel Coen (screenplay) &
Ethan Coen (screenplay)

Release Date:
21 November 2007 (USA) view trailer

Genre:
Crime / Drama / Thriller

Tagline:
There Are No Clean Getaways

Plot Outline:
Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon some dead bodies, a stash of heroin and more than $2 million in cash near the Rio Grande.

Plot Keywords:
Milk / Coin Toss / Rifle / River / Car Accident

Awards:
Nominated for 8 Oscars. Another 69 wins & 31 nominations

Cast: (Cast overview, first billed only)
Tommy Lee Jones ... Ed Tom Bell
Javier Bardem ... Anton Chigurh
Josh Brolin ... Llewelyn Moss
Woody Harrelson ... Carson Wells
Kelly Macdonald ... Carla Jean Moss
Garret Dillahunt ... Wendell
Tess Harper ... Loretta Bell
Barry Corbin ... Ellis
Stephen Root ... Man who hires Wells
Rodger Boyce ... El Paso Sheriff
Beth Grant ... Carla Jean's Mother
Ana Reeder ... Poolside Woman
Kit Gwin ... Sheriff Bell's Secretary
Zach Hopkins ... Strangled Deputy
Chip Love ... Man in Ford

Cloverfield (2008) - Info

2008-02-04T11:05:00.000-08:00

Cloverfield (2008)

User Rating: 7.9/10 (38,720 votes)

Overview
Director:
Matt Reeves

Writer (WGA):
Drew Goddard (written by)

Release Date:
18 January 2008 (USA) view trailer

Genre:
Action / Mystery / Sci-Fi / Thriller

Tagline:
Some Thing Has Found Us

Plot Outline:
Revolves around a monster attack in New York as told from the point of view of a small group of people.

Plot Keywords:
Yuppie / Exploding Building / Mountain Dew / Stairwell / Lizard

Cast: (Cast overview, first billed only)
Lizzy Caplan ... Marlena Diamond
Jessica Lucas ... Lily Ford
T.J. Miller ... Hud Platt
Michael Stahl-David ... Rob Hawkins
Mike Vogel ... Jason Hawkins
Odette Yustman ... Beth McIntyre
Anjul Nigam ... Bodega Cashier
Margot Farley ... Jenn
Theo Rossi ... Antonio
Brian Klugman ... Charlie
Kelvin Yu ... Clark
Liza Lapira ... Heather
Lili Mirojnick ... Lei
Ben Feldman ... Travis
Elena Caruso ... Party Goer

Untraceable (2008) - Info

2008-02-04T10:59:00.000-08:00

Untraceable (2008)

User Rating: 6.1/10 (1,773 votes)

Overview

Director:
Gregory Hoblit

Writers (WGA):
Robert Fyvolent (screenplay) &
Mark Brinker (screenplay) ...

Release Date:
25 January 2008 (USA) view trailer

Genre:
Crime / Thriller more

Tagline:
A cyber killer has finally found the perfect accomplice: You. more

Plot Outline:
FBI agent Jennifer Marsh is tasked with hunting down a seemingly untraceable serial killer who posts live videos of his victims on the Internet. As time runs out, the cat and mouse chase becomes more personal. more

Plot Synopsis:
This plot synopsis is empty. Add a synopsis

Plot Keywords:
Cyberspace / Snuff / Violence / Serial Killer / Acid more

Cast: (Cast overview, first billed only)
Diane Lane ... Jennifer Marsh
Billy Burke ... Detective Eric Box
Colin Hanks ... Griffin Dowd
Joseph Cross ... Owen Reilly
Mary Beth Hurt ... Stella Marsh
Peter Lewis ... Richard Brooks
Tyrone Giordano ... Tim Wilks
Perla Haney-Jardine ... Annie Haskins
Tim De Zarn ... Herbert Miller
Chris Cousins ... David Williams
Jesse Tyler Ferguson ... Arthur James Elmer
Trina Adams ... Female Cop #3
Brynn Baron ... Mrs. Miller
John Breen ... Richard Weymouth
Dan Callahan ... Trey Restom (Spoiled Preppie)

Rambo (2008) - Info

2008-02-04T10:53:00.000-08:00

Rambo (2008)

User Rating: 8.1/10 (13,879 votes)

Overview
Director:Sylvester Stallone

Writers (WGA):
Art Monterastelli (written by) and
Sylvester Stallone (written by)

Release Date:
25 January 2008 (USA) view trailer

Genre:
Action / Thriller

Tagline:
Heroes never die.... They just reload.

Plot Outline:
In Thailand, John Rambo joins a group of mercenaries to venture into war-torn Burma, and rescue a group of Christian aid workers who were kidnapped by the ruthless local infantry unit.

Plot Keywords:
Warlord / Shot In The Back / Person On Fire / Explosion / Bomb

Cast: (Cast overview, first billed only)

Sylvester Stallone ...
John Rambo
Julie Benz ... Sarah
Matthew Marsden ... School Boy
Graham McTavish ... Lewis
Reynaldo Gallegos ... Diaz (as Rey Gallegos)
Jake La Botz ... Reese
Tim Kang ... En-Joo
Maung Maung Khin ... Tint
Paul Schulze ... Michael Burnett
Cameron Pearson ... Missionary #4 (Jeff)
Thomas Peterson ... Missionary #2 (Dentist)
Tony Skarberg ... Missionary #3 (Videographer)
James With ... Mission #5 (Preacher) (as James Wearing Smith)
Kasikorn Niyompattana ... Snake Hunter #2
Shaliew Manrungbun ... Snake Hunter #1

27 Dresses (2008) - Info

2008-02-04T10:46:00.000-08:00

27 Dresses (2008)

User Rating: 6.6/10 (3,312 votes)

Overview

Director:
Anne Fletcher

Writer (WGA):
Aline Brosh McKenna (written by)

Release Date:
18 January 2008 (USA) view trailer

Genre:
Comedy / Romance

Tagline:
This January, always a bridesmaid, never a bride.

Plot Outline:
After serving as a bridesmaid 27 times, a young woman (Heigl) wrestles with the idea of standing by her sister's side as her sibling marries the man she's secretly in love with.

Plot Keywords:
Cabbie / Female Nudity / Digital Camera / French Fries / Slide Show

Cast: (Cast overview, first billed only)
Brian Kerwin ... Hal
Charli Barcena ... Young Tess
Peyton List ... Young Jane (as Peyton Roi List)
Jane Pfitsch ... Cousin Lisa
Alexa Gerasimovich ... Flower Girl
Katherine Heigl ... Jane
Jennifer Lim ... Bridal Salesgirl #1
Krysten Ritter ... Gina
Brigitte Bourdeau ... Salesgirl Olga
Judy Greer ... Casey
Danielle Skraastad ... Bride Suzanne
Anne Fletcher ... Rude Taxi Stealer
Marilyn L. Costello ... Bride Suzanne's Minister
James Marsden ... Kevin
Michael Ziegfeld ... Taxi Driver Khaleel

The Eye (2008/I) - Info

2008-02-04T10:32:00.000-08:00

The Eye (2008/I)

User Rating: 5.4/10 (575 votes)

Overview

Directors:

David Moreau

Xavier Palud

Writer:

Sebastian Gutierrez (screenplay)

Release Date:

1 February 2008 (USA) view trailer

Genre:

Drama / Horror / Thriller

Tagline:

How can you believe your eyes when they're not yours?

Plot Outline:

The remake of the Hong Kong film "Jian Gui", a woman who receives an eye transplant that allows her to see into the supernatural world.

Plot Keywords:

Remake Of Chinese Film / Eye Transplant / Corneal Transplant / Ghost / Remake

Cast: (Cast overview, first billed only)

Jessica Alba ... Sydney Wells

Alessandro Nivola ... Dr. Paul Faulkner

Parker Posey ... Helen Wells

Rade Serbedzija ... Simon McCullough

Fernanda Romero ... Ana Christina Martinez

Rachel Ticotin ... Rosa Martinez

Obba Babatundé ... Dr. Haskins

Danny Mora ... Miguel

Chloe Moretz ... Alicia Millstone

Brett Haworth ... Shadowman

Kevin K. ... Tomi Cheung

Tamlyn Tomita ... Mrs. Cheung

Esodi Geiger ... Nurse

Karen Austin ... Mrs. Hillman

Ryan J. Pezdric ... Nurse Room Attendant

Zeus Trojan: The father of them all

2008-02-03T12:50:00.000-08:00

The newly discovered Zeus Trojan is a blackmailer, robber and spy—all in one. Zeus has become widespread only recently though. Investigations by antivirus specialists at Kaspersky Labs have revealed it to the public. It was detected as “gpcode.ai”, a Trojan which encodes files on affected computers and releases them again only after a ransom is paid. Some details struck the experts, who discovered more to this Trojan than first met the eye: gpcode.ai marks its presence with the “_SYSTEM_64AD0625_” String in the RAM. This string is suspected to be in many of the latest Malware programs. The Trojan gets installed in the system as ntos.exe and downloads the file zeus.exe and zupa.exe and connects to the network of infected “bots” already in existence. Zeus.exe is an aggressive snooper. Zupa.exe communicates with the botnet center and receives instructions. According to Kaspersky, one of the Zeus networks that got shut down comprised of more than 100,000 zombie PCs before it was detected.

Hackers will target the Olympics, US presidential elections in 2008

2008-02-02T10:25:00.000-08:00

High-Profile events will be the biggest targets for malicious hackers in the year 2008, says online security news provider Network World. In Particular, the 2008 Olympics to be held in china will be used to propagate malware and carry out fraud and identity theft. Websites and online networks will be potential sources of infection in case of such attacks.

The firm also stated that a rising number of compromised websites would quietly attack unsuspecting visitors. “Parasitics”, or worms that target specific files on users’ machines and then embed themselves there to spread their payloads.

Indian Cricket league matches broadcast online

2008-02-02T09:50:00.000-08:00

Cricket fans had a unique treat last month, with the ICL's recently concluded T20 tournament broadcast live on its website, http://www.indiancricketleague.in.Visitors steamed footage of each match from multiple angles. The online video player is powered by ORMUX, a rich media content delivery framework developed by Pune-based Spadeworx Software Services.

"The richness, agility and personalized viewing experience that we are able to offer are breathtaking. The experience is spreading virally, and viewership is increasing exponentially each match" said ICL Manager, Strategy and Research, Vijay Bharadwaj.

95 percent of all corporate email is spam

2008-02-02T09:29:00.000-08:00

Email and web security vendor Barracuda networks has released its annual spam report, in which it claims that between 90 and 95 percent of all email sent in the year 2007 was unsolicited. The company analyzed over a billion email messages sent to its 50k clients every day in preparing the report.
A related study of 261 business professionals found that 57 percent of respondents viewed spam as the worst form of junk advertising, more so than postal junk mail and telemarketing. While 50 percent received five or fewer spam emails each day, 13 percent reported receiving over 50 such messages each day.

Good News for Mid-Range Gamers

2008-02-02T08:59:00.000-08:00

Nvidia confirms the release of 8800 GS series. I had a sneak peek of it at evga and XFX site.
Here are some pics of it

You can get the details of this card from he official site of EVGA or from XFX

It will be priced between the 8600 GT and the MIGHTY 8800GT series (i.e., around $180). Hope that this card (like its elder brother) becomes the best card for the buck!

Features:

Full DX10 support – Full Direct X 10 and Shader Model 4.0 support delivers uparalleled levels of graphics realism and film-quality effects.

Unified Shader Architecture - Combines vertex, pixel and geometry shaders for an overall more efficient architecture.

Second Generation Purevideo HD – High-definition video decoder and post-processor delivers unprecented picture clairty, smmoth video and accurate color for movies and video.

128-bit HDR with FSAA – Realistic High Dynamic Range lighting, now with support for anti-aliasing!

Built for Microsoft Windows Vista – Fourth generation GPU architecture gives Windows Vista users the best possible experience with Windows Aero 3D user interface.

$100,000 cell phone

2008-02-01T21:30:00.000-08:00

The Prada and Giorgio Armani phones are one thing, but this.... well this is quite another. Japanese mobile company Softbank Mobile is teaming up with Tiffany & Co to create a nearly $100,000 cell phone (exact price tag is 10 million yen or $94,000 USD). This luxury mobile phone is adorned in 400 diamonds for a total of 20 carats. Ask any girl you know - if there is anyone that knows diamonds, it's Tiffany's!

Well at least it's pretty. SIKE! My eyes, my eyes! That thing is OOOOGALAY!

As if the rich folks really need another gadget to tote around and leave the rest of us bitter about. This is truly insane!

Anticipated launch date between Feb and March of this year. I wonder if it'll come in the little blue box?

Ayesha Takia to hit tamil screens

2008-01-25T18:34:00.000-08:00

Vijay’s Azhagiya Tamil Magan is almost reaching its final stages and is slated for a Diwali release. And Ilayathalapathy is gearing up for his next venture Kuruvi, to be directed by Dharani and produced by Udhayanidhi. Meanwhile, the actor has given the go ahead signal to producer London Karunas and the movie will be directed by Prabhu Deva.

With the arrest of Salman Khan, uncertainties loom large over the Hindi Pokkiri, which also happens to be Prabhu Deva’s directorial venture. Incidentally, Ayesha Takia starring in the Hindi Pokkiri has been signed up for this London Karunas-Prabhu Deva’s project too. Being a double heroine subject, the other leading actress is yet to be finalized. Since both Prabhu Deva and Vijay are busy with their ongoing projects, this new venture will start rolling once they are free from their earlier commitments.

In the meantime, London Karunas has two projects on hands – one a Jeyam Ravi-starrer directed by E-fame Jananathan and the other with Ajith in the lead directed by Raju Sundaram.

Far cry 2 - update

2008-01-25T18:17:00.000-08:00

Far Cry 2 Exclusive Impressions - Dynamic Environments and Savannah Battles.

-Ubisoft's sequel to the excellent shooter Far Cry will offer a huge, seamless experience powered by some serious technology. We take an exclusive look.

The original Far Cry was a first-person shooter that started off on a vast tropical island, and it offered a remarkable open-ended experience as you fought squadrons of soldiers in sprawling outdoor environments. Then, you discovered a claustrophobic military complex and spent the rest of the game fighting mutant monsters in tight corridors--though that part of the game isn't remembered as fondly. The sequel will embrace the strengths of the first game by pushing even harder on the open-ended nature of the original game. In fact, the game will be built entirely around the concept of open exploration, offering a world that's about 50 square kilometers in virtual size. We had a chance to take a look at the powerful and impressive tech that will power the sequel, as well as to see several of the gun battles in motion.

It's hard to say which aspect of Far Cry 2 is most impressive--the game's powerful tech and excellent audiovisual effects help create a beautiful-looking, constantly changing world full of clever enemies, as well as weapons and vehicles with realistic damage models. However, its fast-paced gameplay looks extremely challenging and should offer plenty of opportunities to use very different strategies in how you want to approach your missions--whether using brute force, sniping enemies from a distance, or even using hit-and-run tactics by keeping a fast vehicle nearby. One thing's for sure: Far Cry 2 is one of the most impressive games we've seen in a long time. The game is scheduled for release later this year on the PC and was recently confirmed for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 as well. We're told that the console versions are being developed with the PC version and will feature all the content of the PC versions. The console versions will ship some time after the PC version hits store shelves.

There Will Be Blood (2007) - Info

2008-01-24T11:08:00.000-08:00

There Will Be Blood (2007)

User Rating: 8.9/10 (17,782 votes)

Overview
Director:
Paul Thomas Anderson

Writers (WGA):
Paul Thomas Anderson (screenplay)
Upton Sinclair (novel)

Release Date:
11 January 2008 (USA)

Genre:
Drama

Tagline:
There Will Be Greed. There Will Be Vengeance.

Plot Outline:
A story about family, greed, religion, and oil, centered around a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business.

Plot Keywords:
Greed / Oil / 1910s / Father Son Relationship / Silver Mine

Awards:
Nominated for 8 Oscars. Another 31 wins & 33 nominations

Cast: (Cast overview, first billed only)
Daniel Day-Lewis ... Daniel Plainview
Martin Stringer ... Silver Assay Worker #1
Kevin J. O'Connor ... Henry Brands
Jacob Stringer ... Silver Assay Worker #3
Matthew Braden Stringer ... Silver Assay Worker #2
Ciarán Hinds ... Fletcher Hamilton
Dillon Freasier ... H.W. Plainview
Joseph Mussey ... Silver Assay Worker #4
Barry Del Sherman ... H.B. Ailman
Russell Harvard ... H.W. Plainview - Older
Harrison Taylor ... Baby HW
Stockton Taylor ... Baby HW
Paul F. Tompkins ... Prescott
Kevin Breznahan ... Signal Hill Man
Jim Meskimen ... Signal Hill Married Man

Virtual Lunar Trip

2008-01-23T22:19:00.000-08:00

What do you get when a legendary aerospace giant joins hands with a leader in the Internet space? Satellites beaming images to the internet? Images of dying stars, fly-by views of planet rings, panoramic views of planetary surfaces? Perhaps webcasts beamed live from the International Space Station (ISS).

The two companies, NASA and Google, have been discussing an R&D alliance since 2005. They have finally outlined their joint projects. With Google's help, NASA plans to make its rich content available over the Internet. According to NASA, soon there will be Google Earth Flyovers available for the surfaces of Mars and the moon. We can also expect real-time weather forecasting and visualization, as well as tracking of the ISS and space shuttle activity.

Joint projects in the future will go beyond melding NASA data into Google application. Other planned projects deal with human-computer interaction, education-related collaborations and possibly even joint missions.

New Age - Speak for Yourself - Imogen Heap

2008-01-23T18:19:00.000-08:00

Album Name : Speak for Yourself
Artist Name : Imogen Heap
Original Release Date: September 27, 2005
Genre : New Age / Electronica / Alternative / Indie Rock

Editorial Reviews: (Amazon.com)
If the voice sounds familiar, that may be because a couple of tracks have been featured on The O.C., while Frou Frou's "Let Go" appeared in Garden State. (Frou Frou is a collaboration between Heap and producer Guy Sigsworth.) Her sophomore release, after a UK-only debut, is a fine showcase for the singer/songwriter's swooping vocals. Her style, which incorporates layers of multi-tracking, lies somewhere between Sinead O'Connor's banshee howl and Jem's more delicate musings. There's more of a groove to her ouvre, however. At times, she almost sounds like Norway's Annie--by way of Kate Bush. The overall effect is plush and luxurious, if occasionally generic (a more stripped-down approach would really allow that instrument to shine). The one song that doesn't quite fit the electro-pop pattern is the vocoder-saturated "Hide and Seek," in which Heap enters Laurie Anderson territory (specifically 1982's "O Superman"). It's a risk that pays off, although its placement midway through the recording threatens to throw the balance off. (It would have made more sense at the end.) Aside from writing and singing, the multi-talented musician also recorded and produced Speak for Yourself. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

For further details click here

New Age - Aman Iman: Water is Life - Tinariwen

2008-01-23T18:06:00.000-08:00

Album Name : Aman Iman: Water is Life
Artist Name : Tinariwen
Original Release Date : March 13, 2007

Editorial Review (Amazon.com) :
When you hear this music clan -- group just doesn't seem to be the right designation for a band of nomad desert musicians/soldiers –- a listener can hear the calm of the desert night air and the serenity of the musicians who live there. The Taureg people truly seem to be of the land and never more so than here on the band's third album, Aman Iman. The loping percussion and the circular guitar lines conjure wide-open desert images evoked in the repetitive grooves. Some may grumble that the members are playing much as they did on the first and second albums, blending Arabic song structures, desert wails, and primordial blues guitar riffs, but for it to be any different would be akin to asking the people in Tinariwen to change who they are. Never have words been truer than those of the title, but this album also appends that sentiment, proving that music is life for the desert Taureg too. --Tad Hendrickson

For further details, click here.

New Age - An Ancient Muse by Loreena McKennitt

2008-01-23T17:58:00.000-08:00

Album Name : An Ancient Muse
Artist Name : Loreena Mckennitt
Original Release Date : November 21, 2006
Genre : New Age / Celtic New Age

Editorial Review (Amazon) :

It's been nearly a decade since Loreena McKennitt's last studio album, The Book of Secrets, but An Ancient Muse picks up the caravan exactly where she left off on her mystical journey through the cultures of the Middle East and northern Sahara. The Canadian singer opens this album the same way as she did her last two recordings: with an incantation, calling out in a wordless voice across an echoing space, cleansing the air and the mind. What follows is a lot like those albums as well, a pan-global excursion centered on Middle Eastern themes and instruments cast into a dramatic exotica. Oud, dumbek, kanoun, hurdy-gurdy, duduk, nyckleharpe (a Swedish-keyed fiddle), and other ancient sounds from the region and beyond ornament her music, though "ornament" might no longer be accurate. With the exception of Hugh Marsh's gypsy violin solos and a handful of other players, it's the Western instruments that serve as ornaments on An Ancient Muse. McKennitt long ago evolved the Celtic sound that launched her career. She's virtually abandoned the harp, which hasn't appeared on her CDs since 1991's The Visit. The lone uillean pipe on "Beneath a Phrygian Sky" sounds like an echo calling from the McKennitt's past. Nevertheless, the Celtic ballad form remains central to her music, and she still draws inspiration from ye olde writers of the British Isles. Lyrics from Sir Walter Scott adorn "The English Ladye and the Knight," recalling "The Lady of Shalott." But despite McKennitt's soaring alto, the tale drags under the dirge-like meter and ponderous arrangement. The epic track of this album is the aforementioned "Beneath a Phrygian Sky," with distorted electric guitar accents and an acoustic guitar melody carrying McKennitt on another journey into her romanticized version of the ancient world. --John Diliberto

Apple rumor site Think Secret shuts down due to legal pressure

2008-01-21T10:11:00.000-08:00

After years of protracted legal battles, a website dedicated to news and rumors about upcoming Apple products has been shut down. In a settlement with Think Secret owner Nicholas Ciarelli, the website will cease operations, but will not disclose the names of its sources. Further details of the settlement will remain confidential. A four-line statement on the website is the only information available about the deal, calling it “a positive solution for both sides”.

Apple is well known for refusing to comment on unreleased products, regularly sending cease-and-desist notices to anyone who publishes information that is claimed to be leaked from inside sources. Think Secret has been a thorn in its side for many years, and has often published accurate news of unreleased products. Apple has spent many years trying to use legal pressure to discover Think Secret’s sources.

The settlement now raises questions as to how long independent bloggers can survive it corporations such as Apple uses all the legal and financial resources at their disposal in sustained campaigns against them.

Sony & Microsoft announces support for DIVX video in their consoles

2008-01-20T06:44:00.000-08:00

In a surprising move, both Sony and Microsoft announced that their gaming consoles PS3 and Xbox 360 respectively, would support the playback of compressed DivX video.DivX has long been a format favored by enthusiasts and movie pirates because of its high quality, small file sizes and lack of digital copy protection hassles.

Both Sony and Microsoft now seem to have realized that consumers demand seamless, trouble free media experiences. Both want to make inroads into customers’ living rooms, which will be difficult to achieve if they force users to convert their video files into esoteric formats and deal with copy-protection error messages.

Intel shows off miniscule flash drive

2008-01-19T09:42:00.000-08:00

Intel announced its new Z-P140 PATA solid-state drive for mobile devices in mid December. The device, to be available in 2GB and 4 GB capacities, is smaller than a fingernail. Measuring just 1.8mm in thickness and 0.6 grams in weight, it is far smaller and lighter than current 1.8-inch solid-state drives.
The Z-P140’s controller can address up to 16 GB of flash memory, enabling mobile devices in the near future to be equipped with full operating systems and applications, with enough room for storing photos, music and videos.
Intel already makes the Z-U130, a USB-based solid-state drive that is suited for ultra mobile, embedded and low-cost PCs. A serial ATA (SATA) version could be announced in the near future as well.

Conflict : Denied Ops

2008-01-18T18:17:00.000-08:00

Conflict : Denied Ops

In Conflict: Denied Ops, you take control of Graves and Lang, two CIA Special Activities Division (S.A.D.) agents. These are the guys they send in when things really hit the fan and the government needs to maintain a layer of plausible deniability with the mission if and when it goes pear-shaped. Unlike some other team-based military-themed shooters, Denied Ops gives you the ability to control one character, give orders to your teammate, or even switch characters on the fly by pressing a button. The command system covers the basics, such as movement, regrouping on your position, and suppressive fire, and extends all the way to character-specific objectives such as protecting an escort NPC or planting C4 to blow up enemy artillery. This flexibility means that while you will realistically want to swap characters to take advantage of their weapon loadouts--Graves has a sniper rifle and Lang wields a light machine gun--you can feasibly spend as much or as little time as you wish with one character.

As good as the team AI is (provided you tell it what to do), we can't help but recommend you don't leave it to its own devices, as we found in our playtime that it tended to lag behind the player you have control of unless you continue to issue movement and attack orders as you move. We're not sure if it's a casualty of our test build, but while you could command your second player to jump into a vehicle and man a turret, swapping seat positions and asking him to drive didn't pan out the way we had hoped. We sat there waiting for him to do something, and even after we issued orders to drive, he would jerk forward a couple of feet before coming to a complete stop and refusing to budge. On the plus side, the game doesn't have to be played alone. It features split screen, system link, and online co-op play in the campaign mode. The game can hold its own in the single-player mode, but we can see this game being the most fun for two players to take on together. It also gives you the option to alternate between characters on a mission-by-mission basis rather than always assuming the tough-guy or sneaky-guy role.

Once killed, you'll have to switch characters and heal the fallen soldier, because leaving a character for more than three minutes of dirt nap will see you fail a mission. Resurrecting is as easy as activating the "heal" function, which sees you stabbing your bud in the arm or neck with some kind of magical anti-bullet serum. There's no limit on the number of times you can jab your wingman, so provided you can get to him safely, you'll be able to continue as long as one character is standing. Unfortunately, the hit zones on both healing and environmental interaction (like ladder climbing) are quite small and use the same button to perform a melee attack--A on the Xbox controller, and the space bar in the PC version--meaning that often when you're trying to resuscitate your fallen partner, climb a ladder, or climb onto a small ledge, you'll swing the butt of your gun, doing your friend a disservice with a sharp blow to the face or swinging ineffectively at brick walls.

Like with your pseudo-necromancy skills, there's no limit to the amount of ammunition you can carry for your weapons, making every target a potential lead holder. Unfortunately, smoke, flash, and frag grenades are a different story, since you'll be able to carry only a couple of each. Luckily for you, scattered around the levels are ammo supply boxes, letting you refill your ammo, so you'll never be left wanting for one more flash before breaching a room full of enemies.

The ammo concept gives the game a more arcadey feel than many other first-person shooters, and the automatic weapon upgrades you'll receive along the way take a lot of the fun out of specialist roles such as heavy weapons or sniping, since you arent required to spend in-game currency or complete challenges other than finish missions.

The game opens with very little in the way of backstory--which is befitting given the covert-ops nature of the team you're controlling--and drops you in Venezuela charged with infiltrating a communications post housed in the ruins of the Santa Cecilia Monastery. Once inside, you'll need to locate and acquire information relating to General Ramirez and his potential unfriendly nuclear capabilities. This first mission is set in a worn castle complete with large sandstone brick buildings. Inside you'll find plenty of henchmen trying to stop your advance towards the basement, which houses a slightly out-of-place-looking server cluster that you'll need to destroy using Graves' C4 packs. Doing so unleashes waves of foes to take care of while you scramble back through the ruins towards your next objective. Back in natural light, you're targeted by an attack helicopter, but since you don't yet have a rocket launcher, you'll need to take out the gunner, sending the chopper crashing to the ground.

Following the twisting cobblestone paths in the bowels of the monastery leads to an open area where--depending on your method--you'll need to clear multiple hostiles. We found that Graves and his rifle were most useful here, with a crouched stance giving the best mix of agility and rifle accuracy at range. Explosive barrels litter the place, making their collateral damage from being shot the most visually dramatic and effective way to take out hiding groups of foes.

Once clear, you'll get your first chance with a vehicle, and using a double right mouse click or pulling the left controller trigger while hovering your weapon sights over the tank will order your mate to get aboard. After a roll through the countryside and blowing up some RPG-wielding soldiers, you'll confront an enemy tank. The Halo-style driving makes it easy to lurch forward and fire off a cheeky round before ducking back behind cover. Environmental building destruction is scripted, so there's no risk of losing your cover. Rinse and repeat before friendly air support drops by to blow up a barricade blocking your progress, and you can stroll over the finishing line to complete the first mission.

After completing the first mission, you'll open one of three mission choices in different locations, and you can do them in whichever order you wish. Here you can choose between Sveta Archipelago and investigating the Sveta-Ostrov whaling station based on intel from the stolen data at the monastery. Then there's Metuwe Township in Rwanda where you'll be in search of a phantom radio transmission. Lastly there's Kolyma Castle in Siberia, which sees you tracking down known underworld warlord Alexsei Morchenko and his nuclear suitcase bombs. Regardless of which mission you choose, you'll complete tasks like rescuing and protecting informants, escorting prisoners to safety, holding a position until reinforcements arrive, or destroying SAM (surface-to-air missile) sites. Completing these levels unlocks additional weapon upgrades, including a rifle silencer, a shotgun attachment, a 200-round box magazine for Lang's machine gun, and a 40mm grenade for those close-quarter firefights.

Regardless of what objective you pick, the second mission begins with weapon upgrades, giving Lang access to a HEAT rocket launcher, which is useful for those helicopters and tanks that will try to stop you along the way to your task. Graves gets a gun camera for his rifle, allowing you to take shots from behind cover by engaging the camera with the left and right D pad buttons and with the Q and E buttons for PC players. It's not as dramatic as being able to shoot down threats at range, but since you can swap characters at will, you can always find a safe spot, switch, destroy your target, and go back to sniping in just a few button presses. With the exception of hallway clearing--and even this becomes easier once you have the shotgun upgrade in conjunction with unlimited ammo--we found we spent a lot of our time playing as Graves. Often you'll sneak up on lone soldiers facing the opposite away--who are prime candidates for single-shot skull ventilation. Headshots are by far the easiest way to eliminate enemies, with torso rounds even from the 7.62mm rifle taking an average of two to three shots to get targets down.

Conflict: Denied Ops seems to be shaping up quite well. Its combination of fun, solid single-player and online co-op play looks like it may give the title some legs. Check back for a full review when the game is released in February 2008.