Internet hai toh friendship hai Friendship hai toh sharing hai

 Just enjoyed (read:ROFL) Airtel India's new advertisement . It goes something like this :-

"Internet hai toh friendship hai
Friendship hai toh sharing hai"

The above lines means that if there is Internet , there is friendship and if there is friendship , there is sharing . This is true but not with Airtel . The largest sharing network is torrents . Torrents with high seeds usually get good speeds but Airtel is really throttling torrents and the speeds are decreasing by the hour . The initial stage was experimental wherein they resorted to simple TCP connection-reset method to drop the connection (both sides, so its not enough to simply drop reset packets on client end). This was leading to <1KBps download rate (occasionally lost reset packets allowed very few connections through) . Now they have moved to other more sophisticated methods to throttle torrent traffic. Currently they are using Sandvine traffic shapers to cap torrent downloads . Most technicians dont know what throttling and traffic shaping is. Also, peer to peer means "someone is leeching your connection" to them. Unfortunately this is not unexpected, you dont expect an end user support person to be network specialist. However there is no way to escalate it higher up (or they hide it pretty well). So its time for airtel to change the song of the advertisement to :-

"Internet hai toh friendship hai
Friendship hai toh throttling hai"

which means that if there is Internet , there is friendship and if there is friendship , there is throttling , which is very appropriate for Airtel India . 

iPhone 5 preview

Way back in February, we learned Apple was planning to ditch the traditional Dock connector to go with something smaller. With the next iPhone, new technologies like LTE 4G networking will need every millimeter and milliamp of battery they can get, while AirPlay and Wi-Fi sync are reducing the need for physical cables.
The moment rumors of a new Dock port emerged, many expressed hope it would feature a MagSafe-style connector, like Apple's MacBook line of laptops. Symmetrical, it could be plugged in without worrying about up or down, and magnetically coupled for better ease of use. Others dream of ThunderBolt (sadly, that requires PCI architecture, which iOS currently does not have). Others simply wanted to make sure all their old Dock accessories would still be compatible and still work.
Compatibility is an easier topic to look into, if only slightly...

The current 30-pin Dock connector is a monstrosity of legacy standards and abandoned interconnects. Up until a few years ago, the 30-pin Dock connector had 6 FireWire pins, 4 of which have now been re-tasked to HDMI. It still has 2 serial pins (sending and receiving), and 4 video pins (including the aging composite and component), it has an accessory detector and an audio connection detector, it has grounds on both ends, and it has 2 pins that are unassigned.
The Dock probably doesn't need the unassigned pins anymore. It probably doesn't need all those grounds. Given Apple's fearless aggression when it comes to dropping aging technology, it probably doesn't need the composite and component video pins, or the serial pins.
If Apple really wanted to, they could probably cut all the way down to 4 pins of pure USB (2 data, power, ground). If they did that, however, they could just go with a micro-USB connector, put a smile on the EU's face, and be done with it.
But they're not. They're going with a Dock connector, only newer and smaller. It's tempting to assume the worst, that Apple wouldn't go to micro-USB simply to maintain proprietary control over their Dock connector licensing program. We could also assume the best, however, Apple might be doing what they did with the original Dock -- making a single connector that can do multiple things in the most compact packaging possible. Likely there's elements of both at play.
Multiple things, however, means more pins. TechCrunch claims they've heard 19 pins. iLounge heard 8. 9to5Mac found strings in iOS 6 for 9 pins.

So lets build back up again.
4 USB pins, plus 4 HDMI (2 data, 2 clock) pins would come out to 8 pins total. Add a proprietary detector pin, and you have 9. (There'd still be a 3.5mm jack for legacy audio.)
Take those 9, however, and add back the 4 audio Line pins (left and right, in and out) for and you have 13. If USB 3.3v and 5v are kept separately as they are now, that's 14. 2 serial pins, 3 composite and component pins (video out + Pb, Y, and Pr), and that could be a way to reach 19.
Obviously, for accessory makers and current and past accessory owners alike, a 19 pin Dock would offer a far more options. With the adapter we learned about in July, it would allow backwards compatibility for the widest range of existing accessories, including the aging video standards.
Unless Apple makes a very elaborate, and very expensive adapter or set of adapters -- which based on past history is highly unlikely -- an 8 or 9 pin Dock would greatly reduce compatibility with current and past accessories. Old cables could charge and transfer USB and HDMI data, but not much else.
Bottom line, space will be at a premium in the iPhone 5, and given the way Apple shoves old connectors aside, even their own FireWire, to make room for the future, it wouldn't be surprising if the newer, smaller Dock connector goes with the fewest pins possible.

Galaxy S3 Bursts into Flames

A Galaxy S III owner in Ireland had posted on a forum that his brand new S3 exploded! The phone exploded with a hearable bang, mounted in the owners carkit. The owner was not hurt, but the explosion apparently left some nasty molten plastic remains on the inside of his car.

The photo’s you see here originate from the original blogpost and are showing a significant amount of molten plastic, about halfway between the USB port and the right edge. The screen still worked but the reception was dead.

This is not the first smartphone to be reported overheating or exploding. In March of this year, a Korean schoolboy said that the spare battery for his S2 exploded in his pocket.

Samsung has already issued a statement on its Samsung Tomorrow blog, saying:

“There have been recent online posts displaying pictures of a Samsung GALAXY S3 that appears to have heat-related damage at the bottom of the device. Samsung is aware of this issue and will begin investigating as soon as we receive the specific product in question.”

Bottomline is that this doesn’t look good. While it’s certainly not the first smartphone burst into flames – the damage is pretty substantial. A spokeswoman said the company will be looking into the matter.

This accident caused the Galaxy S3 to burn from the inside out and melted its case, but it still worked afterwards even though the signal was lost.

"The phone was destroyed and it slightly burned a piece of plastic on the inside of my car," said the person in the post. "And they are refusing to give me a replacement; they had to send it off. Probably nothing I can do, but I'm really annoyed. That could have burned the side of my face or through my pocket and my leg, or set fire to my bed. It's very dangerous."

Samsung issued a statement this week promising to investigate the claim and get to the bottom of what seems to be an overheating of the smartphone.

"There have been recent online posts displaying pictures of a Samsung Galaxy S3 that appears to have heat-related damage at the bottom of the device," said the company on its official blog. "Samsung is aware of this issue and will begin investigating as soon as we receive the specific product in question."

HTC One X Wi-Fi problems confirmed as hardware issue says HTC

 

HTC has confirmed that some of its One X handsets are experiencing issues with the Wi-Fi antenna inside the unit.

TechRadar has received reports from several readers complaining of the issue and after speaking to HTC, we have received the following response:

"After investigating isolated reports of Wi-Fi connectivity issues in the HTC One X, we have identified a fix that strengthens the area of the phone around the Wi-Fi antennae connection points."

HTC committed to a great experience

HTC went on to say, "While many customers have not experienced any problems with signal strength, we have taken immediate steps to implement a solution in our production process to prevent this issue from happening in the future.

"HTC is committed to making sure every customer has a great experience and we apologise for any inconvenience this issue may have caused while we conducted a thorough investigation."

So if you're about to purchase a HTC One X, but are concerned about the antenna problem then fear not, for the Taiwanese firm has addressed this issue at production level. However this doesn't help those who currently own a problematic handset.

We got back in touch with HTC, asking what users with the issue can expect, and a spokesperson said: "HTC is asking anyone who is experiencing a Wi-Fi issue with their phone to contact our customer service team for help."

We’ve been hearing users from XDA and other forums mention squeezing the phone or applying pressure to get a better connection to WiFi and HTC has apparently confirmed that. Stating that they have, “identified a fix that strengthens the area of the phone around the WiFi antennae connection points.” Basically confirming this is a hardware problem, and that the antenna pins aren’t getting good enough contact. HTC later went on to say they’ve “taken immediate steps to implement a solution in our production process to prevent this issue from happening in the future,” but for those who already own the phone are out of luck. Hopefully they’ll be allowing exchanges. 

Nexus 7 First Impressions

Google's Nexus 7 ($199 for 8GB, $249 for 16GB) is a game-changer. The first tablet with Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean," it's the most bang for the buck you can get in the market right now. It's versatile, well-built, fast, and a lot of fun to use. It basically renders every 7-inch tablet priced at more than $300 pretty much irrelevant. If you're looking for a small tablet to surf the Internet and play games, this is the one to buy. It easily unseats the Amazon Kindle Fire ($199, 4 stars) as our Editors' Choice for small tablets.

Physical Features and InternetThe Nexus 7 feels well-built, even classy for a $200 tablet—and trust me, I've handled plenty of cheap tablets. Kudos go to the hardware manufacturer, Asus, a company that typically builds good stuff. A Gorilla Glass screen dominates the front of the tablet, and around back, there's a slightly grippy, stippled black rubber panel. At 7.8 by 4.7 by 0.4 inches (HWD) and 12 ounces, it's comfortable to hold in one hand for long periods. 

Turn the tablet on using the prominent Power button at the top right corner, and you'll see a perfectly fine 1280-by-800, 7-inch IPS LCD with a huge black bezel around it. The screen is higher-res than the Kindle Fire, which clocks in at 1280-by-600. This is one monster of a bezel, and it makes you wonder if the screen could have been larger, or the tablet smaller. The answer is "probably not for $200." 

The display is bright enough to see indoors and out, on par with the Kindle Fire's, although it's more reflective and less saturated than the high-end AMOLED screens used by the far more expensive tablets like the Toshiba Excite 7.7 ($499.99, 3.5 stars) and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 ($699.99, 3.5 stars). 

A Wi-Fi-only device, the Nexus 7 connects to the Internet using 802.11 b/g/n, albeit only on the 2.4GHz band.The tablet supports Bluetooth for audio and NFC to transfer files to other NFC-equipped Android devices. Interestingly, Google Wallet doesn't appear in Google Play on the Nexus 7, so, for now, at least, it doesn't look like you can make NFC credit-card payments here.

Performance and AppsThe quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 chipset inside is one of the fastest mobile processors around. This unit runs at 1.3GHz in single core mode, and 1.2GHz when two to four cores are active. It's far faster than the Kindle Fire's older dual-core chipset. While our Antutu system benchmark won't run on the new version of Android, we ran a bunch of other benchmarks, including Geekbench and Quadrant for system scores, Browsermark and Sunspider for the Web, and Nenamark for graphics.

System-wise, the Nexus 7 performed on par with other recent Tegra 3 tablets like the Toshiba Excite 7.7. Geekbench is a cross-platform benchmark, and the Tegra 3 tablets score considerably higher on it than the dual-core Apple iPad does—in this case, 1,472 to the iPad's 761. Graphics performance was rock-solid with a 55.9 fps rating in Nenamark, higher than the Excite 7.7 and the Asus Transformer Pad TF300 ($379, 4 stars).

Games just rock here. Both Zen Pinball and Riptide GP had the smooth ease of control which marks a really good gaming experience. There was no jerkiness, no lag, and no compromises. The Kindle Fire has games, but they aren't as glamorous as the Tegra Zone entries.

This is the first Google device to install Chrome as the default browser, and that's great; it's about 30 percent faster than the older stock Android browser, and it has a better tab interface.

The performance news gets even better with Android 4.1 thanks to "Butter." That's Google's code-name for a project that makes everything in the Android UI smoother, and it works. Screen transitions are indeed smoother, and there's no lag with the touch keyboard. The whole experience feels more polished and professional than previous Android iterations.

Butter doesn't solve everything, though. Android has problems with processing stylus touch inputs that can make it difficult to use drawing programs. Android 4.1 apparently fixes this, but consumers won't see the advantage yet because the apps involved need to be retooled for the new OS. 

Thus we get to the stickiest issue with Android tablets: The perpetual lack of great apps designed to use high-end hardware. This is less of a problem with Tegra-powered 7-inch tablets than with larger tablets, or those with different chipsets, but it's still an issue. Apps designed for 4-inch phone screens don't look so bad on 7-inch tablets (although they don't look great), and Nvidia has been busily helping developers churn out a few dozen super-high-end games for its chips.

You're going to find the range of apps designed for Android tablets to be in the single-digit thousands rather than the hundreds of thousands you'll find on the iPad. But the success of this tablet might improve that, and you certainly have some decent apps to start working with. The list on the Tablified Market ($1.49, 4 stars) is an excellent starting point.

One X vs Galaxy S3: HTC explains why its smartphone is better

One X vs Galaxy S3: HTC gives facts why its smartphone is better

HTC One X          Samsung Galaxy S3

               BEATDOWN 

At the end of the day, it’s up to buyers to choose between the Galaxy S3 and the One X, and if they end up buying the first one, it’s not necessarily because the Samsung phone is the better choice. There are other factors that could influence that decision. The Galaxy S3’s late announcement, the almost simultaneous launch in several markets including the U.S., Samsung’s marketing efforts and the increased hype around the third device in a family of illustrious predecessors, are all factors that will eventually help the Galaxy S3 beat the One X when it comes to overall sales.

What HTC seems to lack is a strong smartphone brand name – Samsung has a strong “Galaxy S” family of high-end smartphones – although the company has corrected that this year, by launching its “One” line. Hopefully in time, the “One” line would become equally popular. 

Macbook Pro with Retina display

Today at the WWDC 2012, Apple updated its Macbook line-up with faster processing speeds, USB 3.0 ports and FaceTime cameras. While we thought, it would be a software centric keynote, Apple surprised us with the new Macbook Pro line-up. The company has not only updated the Macbook Air and Macbook Pro but has also crafted an all new MacBook Pro posing a sleek profile and sporting the Retina display.

“Today we’ve updated the entire MacBook line with faster processors, graphics, memory, flash storage and USB 3 connectivity,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “We’ve made the world’s best portable family even better and we think users are going to love the performance advances in both the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.”

MacBook Air
The thin Macbook Air has been spruced up with faster processing speed. It is equipped with Ivy Bridge, Intel’s third generation processor and one of the highlights of Computex 2012. Further, the Intel Turbo boost lets the processor clock at 3.2GHz. Then there is up to 8GB RAM, 512GB flash storage and the ability to read at 512Mbps and also graphics that run up to 60 percent faster on computers. The 11-inch model will feature 1366 x 768 resolution while the 13-incher has a 1440 x 900 screen.  Apple is aiming at everything faster as both devices will come with USB 3.0 ports and capacity for up to 8GB of RAM.  FaceTime will now offer 720p high-definition video from the forward-facing camera and the Macbook Air will also support high-definition FaceTime cameras. The new updated Macbook will begin shipping today in the U.S.

next gen Macbook Pro sporting a Retina display

The 11-inch MacBook Air with a 1.7 GHz processor, 4GB of memory and 64GB of flash storage start at 67,900 inc VAT( 64,666 ex VAT), and 128GB of flash storage start at 74,900 inc VAT(71,333 ex VAT). The 13-inch MacBook Air comes with a 1.8 GHz processor, 4GB of memory and available with 128GB of flash storage starting at 1,900 inc VAT (78,000 ex VAT), and 256GB of flash storage starting at 99,900 inc VAT(95,142 ex VAT). Configure-to-order options include a 2.0 GHz Intel Core i7 processor, up to 8GB of 1600 MHz DDR3 onboard memory and up to 512GB flash storage. 

MacBook Pro and Next generation Macbook Pro
At the keynote, Apple didn’t stop its hardware extravaganza. It went on to announce the new Macbook Pro soon after the Macbook Air update. The MacBook Pro also gets the Ivy Bridge upgrade. The 2.7GHz Ivy bridge processors can be turbo boosted up to 3.7GHz. The hardware upgrades include Nvidia’s GeForce GT 650m graphics, USB 3.0 with ports backward compatible with USB 2.0.

While we thought, Apple was all set to move to the new OS, the company put forth the big surprise of the event – next generation Macbook Pro. The all new Mabook Pro looks sleeker and chic. It isn’t tapered like the Air, but looks very thin. Its highlight is the Retina display with a 2880 x 1800 resolution (or 220ppi), while the casing measures a mere 0.71-inch thin. The new device tips the scale at 4.46 pounds. Along with the high resolution, Apple said that these devices will also bring in better contrast ratios, viewing angles and reduced glare. Obviously with that resolution, Apple did load it with stock apps for its users to reap the benefits. Then there’s Final Cut Pro and Aperture. The spec sheet is inclusive of 16GB of RAM, Nvidia Kepler GT 650M graphics, up to a quad-core 2.7GHz Core i7 processor, a maximum 768GB of storage (SSD, naturally), and a battery life that stretches up to seven hours and a standby time of 30 days. Apple also adds the thin MagSafe connector and a new fan. The starting price of the next generation Macbook Pro is $2,199 (approx 1,22,475).

Sleek and slim MacBook pro....

The 13-inch MacBook Pro is available with a 2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of memory and 500GB hard drive starting at 81,900 inc VAT(78,000 ex VAT). With a 2.9GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of memory and 750GB hard drive it starts at 99,000 inc VAT(95,142 ex VAT). The 15-inch MacBook Pro is available with a 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, 4GB of memory, Intel HD Graphics 4000 and Nvidia GeForce GT 650M, and 500GB hard drive starting at 122,900 inc VAT(117,047 ex VAT). The 2.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of memory, Intel HD Graphics 4000 and Nvidia GeForce GT 650M, and 750GB hard drive will start at 52,900 inc VAT(145,619 ex VAT). Configure-to-order options include faster quad-core processors up to 2.7GHz, additional hard drive capacity up to 1TB, up to 8GB of memory and solid state storage up to 512GB.

The MacBook Air and MacBook Pro will ship with OS X Lion. However, those who buy the Mac are eligible for a free copy of OS X Mountain Lion when it becomes available. Priced at just 7,140 inc VAT( 5,991 ex VAT), the new AirPort Express features a completely redesigned compact enclosure and new wireless and connectivity capabilities. Simultaneous dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi allows users to easily create a network that delivers optimal performance and range. The AirPort Express also features an audio-out port to connect external powered speakers or an A/V receiver and use AirPlay to wirelessly stream from iTunes on your Mac or iOS device.