WHDI Reviews – Wireless HDTV News

Google is always trying to surpass itself, by improving and rebuilding its features continuously. The search giant, Google has added some new features in its cloud-based email service, Gmail which is one of the most widely used and popular email sites in today’s time. Google’s software engineer, Christian Kurmann has announced in a post on the official Gmail blog that the new features will help users to search mails through file sizes and exact dates which will make the search simpler and faster. He went on to say that Gmail is always trying to help their users in various new ways. Users could now distinguish mails based on size, exact match, flexible date options and much more.

This blog also gave an example by stating that if a user wishes to find all the emails in his account which are larger than 5MB, he may search for size:5m or larger:5m. Similarly, mails that have been received or sent a year ago can be found by searching older_than:1y. It was also mentioned that these new features will work in sync with other Gmail features launched by Google recently, including an auto complete in search and a totally new compose box.

Initially, the company had started off with field trials which enabled the user to access their Gmail accounts and search for mails and other files from Google Search itself. However, this is being tested only on desktop searches as of now and these trials require the user to sign up by themselves to use this new, innovative feature. It is being speculated that the on-going competition between Google, Microsoft and similar sites will prove to be beneficial for users as they are continuously trying to outdo each other in order to provide their users with nothing but the best.

Facebook is testing now and then new things to keep its market position as the largest social networking site intact. It has now tested share button on its mobile touch site, m.facebook.com. The share button comes in a total package with more used buttons of ‘Like’ and ‘Comment’. The new button is one of the most common features for Apps (mobile). The company took time to test this new share button although there was no technical glitch for implementing the share button earlier too. The main reason was that this option was not given a priority. However things have changed now and if this new test is successful, it will mean that it will be also done on Android and iOS apps soon.

These new feature will prove to be a boon for page owners. The new button will help them to reach a further wide audience and will help their ideas to get propagated. The Share option appears when the users click to view a post. The new option appears as a large button in the News Feed. It has been noticed that the new option does has not appeared uniformly over all the posts and this clearly indicates towards the presence of a bug. Another reason for this could be the type of post or privacy settings related to the post. The new change has given a lot of options to the user as now they can quickly share a photo, status update and other posts. Earlier, the share option was only available for sharing links or when the user opened the site in Facebook browser and sought for additional options in the top right corner.

The new change overall will prove beneficial both to the users and the company as it will enhance the social networking experience and allow the users more freedom on the net.

Apple and HTC joint hands and announced the settlement of a pending and on-going trial between both companies.  A licenced agreement which was done for 10 years was decided but nothing more was let out or announced publicly. However, the execs of both companies seemed pleased with the joint settlement and mentioned that innovation was definite from both parties, and was stated as a primary goal.

This just makes consumers wonder if the Apple-Samsung patent war had softened Apple’s stance towards the whole issue a little. If one looks back at the battle between HTC and Apple you can see how HTC matches up to Samsung. Due to an ITC order issued from Apple, they have been successful in delaying the entry of HTC phones into the United States of America.

Several months back, a potential agreement was also thought of between both companies, but soon after HTC declared war on Apple, to the extent that it called for a ban on LTE iPads and IPhone; regarding LTE issues as it had patents against the LTE technology. Apple answeredby trying to put an import ban on HTC phones, thus trying to stop it from even entering the country.

The UK however, seemed to be HTC ruling region. Due to the patents that HTC ensures in the UK region, Apple didn’t seem t stand a chance to enter that territory with their products. The patents HTC laid out were four of its main components such as, gesture-based unlocking, multi-touch interfaces, bounce back transition animations and multilingual keyboards!

However, if you compare the war that Samsung has waged against Apple, both Apple and Samsung have had their share of wins. However, Samsung is a much larger company compared to HTC, and spending millions of dollars on litigation doesn’t seem to be very profitable to HTC, especially since it hasn’t had many ups in the recent past.

A new Super-Earth has been discovered by an international team of astronomers that is said to exist in the inhabitable zone of a close by star, which is a party of a six-planet system. The planet system was initially contemplated to consist of three planets orbiting very close to the star for supporting liquid water. The new planet, called HD40307g, is seven times bigger than the size of Earth and is considered to have appropriate conditions for supporting life.

Mikko Tuomi from the University of Hertfordshire stated, “We pioneered new data analysis techniques including the use of the wavelength as a filter to reduce the influence of activity on the signal from this star. This significantly increased our sensitivity and enabled us to reveal three new super-Earth planets around the star known as HD 40307, making it into a six-planet system”.

Out of the newly discovered planets, one of the greatest curiosities lies with the one with the outmost orbit from the star, having a mass seven times that of the Earth. Since its orbit about the star is at a distance similar to Earth’s orbit around the Sun, hence it gets same amount of energy from the star just like the Earth gets from the Sun, which increases its possibility of being inhabitable. The incidence of a stable atmosphere and liquid water for supporting life seems possible and more significantly, the planet rotates on its axis as well while it orbits the star which creates a day and night-time effect on the planet, generating a Earth-like environment.

Guillem Anglada-Escude from the University of Goettingen said, “The star HD 40307, is a perfectly quiet old dwarf star, so there is no reason why such a planet could not sustain an Earth-like climate”.

Previously this year, another planet with a same orbit was identified by the Kepler spacecraft and it was found to be 600 light years away from Earth. This new planet though is much closer and is just 42 light years from the Earth.

A recent technical flaw on Twitter caused a little controversy as it was reported by the users on Thursday that they received password reset e-mails by Twitter for their respective accounts. This technical issue primarily raised concern that such an attack on Twitter had compromised quite a lot of accounts.

Twitter users reported on Thursday morning that they received e-mails informing them that their passwords had been altered and proposed directions on how to renew their credentials for signing-in.  Twitter stated,

“As part of that commitment, in instances when we believe an account may have been compromised, we reset the password and send an email letting the account owner know this has happened along with information about creating a new password. This is a routine part of our processes to protect our users”.

Initially, Twitter didn’t react instantly to any request, however it posted a statement on its status blog, “In this case, we unintentionally reset passwords of a larger number of accounts, beyond those that we believed to have been compromised. We apologize for any inconvenience or confusion this may have caused”.

Twitter also warned the users to beware of e-mails when changing your password is concerned. The users who wish to change their account passwords can do so via Settings menu. However, if the user is not able to get into his account then he can verify his spam folder to check if he has been sent a password reset e-mail by Twitter.

Although the company validated that it did send official notifications but in general it’s safe not to click on such links which indicates unforeseen password reset notices for avoiding phishing cons. Twitter has offered a link to its users for resetting their passwords, yet it should be manually typed or pasted into the address bar. In addition it should also be confirmed that the link leads to Twitter.com.

James Bond had first driven an invisible car in the movie Die Another Day. Japanese researchers are trying to make that a reality for the common man, as they are manufacturing a kind of car would help drivers to park very easily and also give a panoramic view of the area behind and outside the car onto the rear seats. This view would include small children, animals and all sorts of objects which would be otherwise invisible below the rear window.

This invention would prove to be pretty useful for drivers who find difficultly in parallel parking. Drivers can actually ‘see through’ the rear bodywork of the car, which seems to be transparent inside. The functioning of this car is based on the fact that two cameras are placed on the boot lid, which capture a complete view of the scenes behind the car. It has been explained that the images which these cameras capture, are combined by computer and get reflected onto the seats creating an illusion that the car’s back portion is completely transparent when seen from the driver’s seat. Being developed in Tokyo, developers of this car report that the driver will experience something totally new with the feel of a complete glass car when driving this vehicle. Work is going on in laboratories to put this new found technology into action.

New ideas are being now worked upon which will help make other parts of the car transparent, like the back, giving a complete see through look to the car. This would include manufacturing such car doors which would be a prototype, transparent one helping huge vehicle drivers to see if a cycle has pulled up or a child is standing next to the vehicle at a traffic signal or parking lot. This invention is sure to reduce the number of deaths that occur due to road accidents, proving to be a blessing in disguise.

Microsoft’s Visio has been very much the standard flowcharting software, even though the alternatives available offer all the same things, if not more. Visio’s not being available for Window’s 8 came as a shock for some. Grapholite Diagrams is the best, well-executed alternative for it. Comparing this software with Visio would be a complete waste of time as it doesn’t seem as if the latter is going to be added to the software library of Windows 8 anytime soon.

Though Grapholite Diagrams do not surpass Visio by any means, it isn’t inferior to it either. In flowcharting, a number of templates are needed to build on, on which text and shapes are build. Shapes, themes and colors of various types are available to work with, which seem pretty simple at the first glance. The execution is very well designed in a manner that even with a touch interface, this software can handle the required tasks pretty well while other useful features are brought in conveniently at the same time. Being based on the radial interface of OneNote MX, this software has been designed as an equally functional version of it. All the actions and commands are available by just click the mouse or even better, at the tap of a finger. Besides this, there are a various display options to choose from, which help the user to change the diagram, color, shape, opacity and connection between points, as desired. Intricate detailing helps small paths to be traced easily too.

The application bar contains a panel of customized options which can be hidden or shown as needed. Printing and sharing or exporting of diagrams as images can also be done with almost all the options made available that an individual may need when working with this software. Being the most sought after software currently, it is cheaply priced and easily available online.

The newly launched Windows 8 has a new look which generates seamless ideas and experience for users, either on PC, Tablets, Laptops or Smartphone. It features a new colorful array of tiled display with bright colors icons and graphics. The explanation of Windows 8 becomes extremely important due to newness of the touch feature. Being different from its predecessors, Windows 8 is the biggest innovation of Microsoft after Windows 95. So much advancement in an operating system leads to confusion, concern and curiosity. The specifications of windows 8 have led to the rise of many questions which are left unanswered. There is some uncertainty related to the design also.

Few questions which have been put up by users are: How to close or shut down the system or reboot it without getting to see Metro? Why are people supporting Microsoft even when they are aware of the fact that it is trying to terminate free computing to encash more money. Windows 8 supports screen friendly interface. Windows 8 provides better security and safety to your computer as it supports built in security equipments with Pin numbers and picture passwords. It allows easy login with Microsoft or Windows Live ID and synchronization in between devices.

However, Windows 8 is for fresher as those who have already used other version of Windows, require good practice in order to get used to this new version. Users face inconvenience while working on Windows 8 and renders unintuitive navigation.

With the use of Windows 8 in day to day life, new question keeps popping up in every mind. Being the biggest innovation of time, the answers have to be sought and sorted. However, so far the response has been positive. This new technology has been adopted by users overnight and many users are now trying to get a deeper knowledge about it.

What was more alluring in the Microsoft Surface Tablet launch was mainly the keyboard cover, which possibly makes the tablet one of the best tablet computers available in terms of efficiency with no additional bulk. The enticing Surface keyboard is available in two varieties. The Type Cover is the slimmest mechanical keyboard that comes with a capacitive sensing track pad. It is a dual protective cover that is 6 mm thin and weighs less than 0.55 lbs. The Type Cover is obtainable only in one color-black and is worth $129.

With multi-functioning QWERTY keyboard along with the Function Keys (F1-F12) aligned in a row to share, search and settings together with Windows shortcut keys and media controls makes navigation through Surface easier and sleek. The Type cover provides the effortlessness and swiftness of a traditional keyboard to give yet additional productivity.

The other variety consists of the Touch Cover, which is a pressure receptive laser fitted keyboard and protective cover.  It is 3 mm in measurement and weighs less than half pound. It is slim and amazingly responsive. The touch cover costs $119 and can be obtained in five exciting colors: red, white, black, magenta and cyan.

Featuring fully functioning in-built multi-touch track pad embedded with two buttons, windows shortcut keys and media controls, the touch cover provides maximum quickness to the user to navigate through surface. Moreover, the Touch cover is spill resistant and can be easily cleaned. The smooth and vivid touch surface allows the user to experience onscreen type up to 2x faster.

When need to move, you can fold both the Type cover and the Touch cover over the screen to protect from scrapes and bashes. Folding the touch or type cover disables the keyboard and keystrokes itself and the Surface display automatically gets turned off on closing the cover to conserve battery life.

Colorado is seeing results from recent legislation passed to regulate the payday loan industry.  (See here for more information.)  At least, some officials claim that the trend being seen is a result of the legislation.  Others claim that while the new laws may deserve some of the credit; other factors contributed as well.  The annual analysis of subprime lending done by the attorney general shows that the number of payday lenders in the state has dropped over 14%.  Not only that, but there has been a decrease the actual number of  payday loans of near 60%.

The fact that the new legislation capped the dollar amount of the loans at $500 and limited the amount of interest payday lenders could charge is likely at least partially to blame. However, another factor that probably plays a role in the decrease is the fact that unemployment rates in the state have increased, and payday loans are only available to those who are employed. The biggest factor, however, may be the combination of the new laws and the availability of small-installment loans.

The increase in small-installment loans made was a drastic 180%.  This is not confusing when you consider these loans are capped at $1,000 rather than $500, and interest is a much more reasonable 10%, a low level still not reached by payday loan lenders despite new laws. Also, these loans have a payoff of term of up to a year, where payday loans still must be paid in as little as 6 months.  Legislation increased that from two weeks, but the difference is still a major one.

The side-by-side comparison is eye opening, and could like lead to a bigger change in the payday loan industry than any legislation ever could.  With payday loans generally offering cash of around $375 and finance charges averaging $237, the small installment loan offering of $380 with fees of $80 is a welcomed site to borrowers.  Colorado only has 5 licensed small installment lenders currently, and payday loans still outnumber them 70 to 1, but the times they could be a changing.