Diablo III - when will it be ready???

The rumors were true. Blizzard entertainment has announced Diablo III. The game is currently in development for OS X and Windows although there is no release date or price yet. The company is known for telling the public that this game will be released only when they are done. Blizzard unveiled Diablo III at a world wide invitational gaming event held in Europe, and has posted details on its website including the cinematic trailer and game play video that offers an in-depth look at some of the games new capabilities and features. Diablo II was released in the year 2000. Since then the company has turned its attention to its Warcraft franchise and is also working on Starcraft II.

Hope the game gets released soon. Any known updates on the game, please post it in the comments section. I cant wait to play this game!!!

Source : Macworld US

AMD's Revenge

For nearly two years, the only GPUs I recommended were made by Nvidia. After the AMD-led acquisition, ATI was simply no longer competitive in the graphics business. The ATI that obliterated Nvidia with its Radeon 9700 was long forgotten, and Nvidia had been doing so well that we didn’t even really notice. Nvidia’s product releases were good enough that we didn’t even pick up on the fact that we were suffering because of a lack of competition (more on that in a bit).
The first sign of competition from ATI came with the RV670, the basis for the Radeon HD 3850 and 3870. Nvidia preempted the RV670’s launch by releasing one of the best values in PC graphics I’ve ever seen: the GeForce 8800 GT. Nvidia rained on ATI’s parade, and although the RV670 was competitive, it merely got an honorable mention as it was good but not great. Our review on Anand Tech of the 8800 GT was aptly titled, “The Only Card That Matters.” ATI really hated that.
During Nvidia’s launch of its successor to the G80 (the GPU that was the basis for the GeForce 8800 GTX), we began to get the feeling that something may be wrong. While Nvidia’s GT200 is a tremendously impressive GPU, it is simply priced too high. The GeForce GTX 280 carries a $650 price tag and is generally outperformed by Nvidia’s own $500 GeForce 9800 GX2. The GT200 is also a strictly high-end GPU, leaving the 8800 GT and the new 9800 GTX to occupy the $200 and $300 price points, respectively.
Then came AMD’s revenge.
The RV770 is a much larger, faster, and improved version of the RV670. But speed alone doesn’t tell the whole story here; the RV770 launched as the Radeon HD 4850 and 4870, priced at $199 and $299, respectively. The main differences between the two are clock speeds and memory bandwidth, but at these prices AMD as completely reset performance expectations—even more than Nvidia did with the 8800 GT last year.
The $199 Radeon HD 4850 is generally faster than Nvidia’s GeForce 9800 GTX. It is so fast, in fact, that Nvidia had to drop the price of its 9800 GTX from $299 down to $199 to remain competitive. But even with the 9800 GTX’s lower price, the Radeon HD 4850 is still the better overall buy.
The Radeon HD 4870, at $299, now finds itself without a competitor from Nvidia. It is clearly faster than the 9800 GTX and in many cases out performs the GTX 260, priced at $399.
Herein lies the benefit of competition that we were missing with AMD/ATI not putting much pressure on Nvidia for the past couple years. While Nvidia continued to advance technology, the only reason the GeForce 9800 GTX moved to $199 when it did was pressure from RV770. And I suspect that the GeForce GTX 260 is going to have to move down to $299 very quickly.
At the end of last year, AMD saw a hole in Nvidia’s product line and went after it with the Radeon HD 3850 and 3870. Fortunately for Nvidia, it had a flexible enough chip at the time that it could scale, target, and respond to the AMD threat with the GeForce 8800 GT. This time around, Nvidia is caught in the middle of a couple transitions: First, GT200 just started shipping and it will be a while before it can be cost-reduced, and second, Nvidia just began shipping 55nm GPUs. While it’s completely within Nvidia’s ability to respond to the threat posed by RV770, AMD’s timing has ensured that any response will be after the Radeon HD 4800 series has had a chance to do well in the market.
If you need a new graphics card and plan on spending either $199 or $299, the Radeon HD 4850 and 4870 are the best you can get.

Source : Computer Power User

Mac OS X taking over Windows?

2008 is looking to be the year of Mac OS X. According to industry analyst Net Applications, Mac OS X’s share of the global OS market has jumped roughly 32% from last year. In June 2008, Mac OS X powered 7.94% of the computers accessing the 40,000 Web sites that Net Applications monitors for research purposes. A year ago, Mac OS X was juicing just 6.03% of those sites. Microsoft, meanwhile, saw Vista’s usage share for June 2008 climb 8% from June 2007. Unfortunately, Windows overall usage share total for June fell 2.45% from 2007. So, Is Mac OS X really taking over Windwos' Vista? Along with the iPhone 3G release, Apple has seen a tremendous progress within a short period. Will it continue to progress? Well, we have to wait and watch, while Microsoft tries something different to catch up with Apple's progress.

Intel's Bioelectronic chip for Chemical Detection

Imagine if you could get a lab test in the doctor’s office and see the results before you left. The Intel Bioelectronic chip might one day make that possible. The chip was an experimental project that the world’s biggest chip maker showed off at its annual Research@Intel day. The chip resembles diagnostic chips that companies such as Affymetrix already make. But the chip doesn’t use optical technology to sort through various chemicals it comes into contact with. Rather, it uses silicon electrical sensors with something called a field effect device to detect DNA or other chemical traits more easily. Udi Virobnik, the Intel researcher behind it, said that such chips could be used as universal diagnostic machines, detecting a wide range of health risks, rather than just a single-test diagnosis, as is the case with chips already in use.

Useful shortcut keys for Windows Media Player

When we are interestingly watching a movie in windows media player, a slight movement of the mouse cursor would make the menu bar appear on the screen thereby creating disturbances. So, to avoid such disturbances and also perform some useful tasks, you can make use of the shortcut keys available in windows media player. Here is a list of useful shortcut keys in windows media player.
ALT + 1 – 50:50 Zoom.
ALT + 2 - Zoom to 100 percent.
ALT +3 – Zoom to 200 percent.
ALT + ENTER – Full Screen.
ALT + F – Go to Windows media player File Menu.
ALT + T – Go to Tools menu.
ALT + P - Go to Play menu.
CTRL + 1 – Switch to default mode from skin mode.
CTRL + 2 – Switch to Skin mode from Default mode.
CTRL + B – Play the previous file.
CTRL + F – Play the next file.
CTRL + P – Play/Pause the current file.
CTRL + SHIFT + B – Rewind a file.
CTRL + SHIFT + F – Fast forward a file.
CTRL + SHIFT + S – Slowdown the track speed.
CTRL + SHIFT + G – Speedup the track speed.
CTRL + SHIFT + N - Play the track at normal speed.
F7 – Mute.
F8 - Reduce the volume.
F9 – Increase the volume.

Top 5 computer problems

If you have a PC, then you have most likely suffered from computer problems. Most people have accepted that there PC will eventually crash due to a virus or some massive error. However this is a myth. Your PC is built to last more than a decade. However you must keep well tuned for it to make its third birthday. Nevertheless, most people would rather buy a shiny new PC rather than spend an hour trying to fix computer problems on there 2 year lap top or desktop. After another two year after their purchase lack of maintenance will cause their new PC to lose its performance speed. Whats next you guess, $3000 Windows Vista Ready PC. This is known as the consumer vicious cycle.

Why have does your computer have problems?

Well, the biggest problem that your computer has is its owner. More than 80% of computer problems stem from neglecting to perform simple maintenance task such as cleaning your registry, emptying your cache files and updating software regularly. If these task a perform diligently. You would be reading this article from a five year old machine running on Windows 98 operating system. So, lets take a look at the top five computer problems and how to avoid them.

1. Computer's performance has slowed.

This is the number one complaint from most users. There are several reason why this has occurred. However, most can attributed to lack of maintenance. Fragmented data, corrupted registry, spyware, and load of unnecessary programs and services running can all eat away at your PC speed and performance. Manage your programs and cleaning your registry would easily award you a 30% gain in performance speed. Check out The 4 ways to speed up my computer 

2. Lockup, freezes, and blue screens of death.

This is a another common computer problem. However, this particular issue is a bit more serious; therefore, it needs a few diagnostic steps. In most cases this problems are caused by spyware. To avoid this problem update your anti-spyware program daily. Having the most up to date signatures will help you avoid having a serious spyware problem. However, if you have concluded that your PC is spyware free. You should update your hardware drivers. The computer cannot communicate with various hardware components without an up to date driver. When it cannot find a driver, the CPU locks up. Also, increasing your virtual memory can also help to avoid freezes. Virtual Memory will allow to you get more use out your computer's RAM. Check the resource box for more info on the subject.

3. The computer spontaneously reboots or turn itself off.

This computer problem can be usually attributed to a hardware issue. Usually its the power supply is dying or in most cases a dirty or defective cooling fan. The computer trying to cool itself by automatically switching off. So, if you feel a bit of extra heat coming out the computer. Clean the fan and make sure it running properly. If your fan is functional, check your power supply. Also, you will be surprised how many people fail to make sure the cables are attached tightly. This be the cause of this particular computer problem

4. Strange noises and vibrations.

This is almost totally a hardware issue. You computer is made up of thousands of parts. Its not unheard of that one of them can become unhinged. Overheating can cause expansion of wires and melt some sensitive. High pitch noises such as squealing or whining sounds can be cause electronic components. Whatever the reason, you conduct a small investigation. Remove the case and run the computer to discover the origin of the computer problem. If its not a simple matter such as a loose wire or fan issue, it may be time to call a computer tech.

5. Your home page, default search engine, or web browser has changed itself.

This is also known as "high-jacking". Spyware has been installed on your computer via social networking or from email link. This action has allowed spyware to install a java script into your web browser. The spyware then sends a message to your browser to change your user settings. For example change your home page to another web page.

As you have discovered from reading the article, the most common computer problems can be handle quite easily by simple maintenance of your PC. Next time you are suffering from computer problems, take a few minutes to run some diagnostic test before rushing out to computer technical center claiming your PC is broken. What all you need to do was just make sure it was plugged in. 

Batmobile and Batbot of The Dark knight

Warner Bro’s Batman, the Dark Knight was released recently and it is a massive hit. Every scene in the movie was crafted to perfection. Its hard to see an two and half hour English movie and in the Dark Knight, each and every minute is thrilling and awesome. I liked each and every scene of the movie but I felt one scene was more awesome. It was the scene where the Batmobile gets repaired and batman pushes the eject button. I was expecting that the seat would eject like the one in warcrafts. But, the left side of the Batmobile turns into a Batbot and goes cutting the road. The designs of both batmobile and batbot are catchy and every lover of boys toys would love to earn one such beast. I thought those vehicles were graphics but I came to know that they are specially designed and manufactured for the movie. The Batmobile’s engine is a 5.7 liter Chevrolet V8 engine. The car weighs 5000 pounds and can reach the speed of 100 kmph in just 5 seconds. The batbot has the front and rear wheels of the batmobile as its wheels. The handle bar of the batbot looks weird like a war armor protecting the hands of the batman. Turning the shoulder is enough to steer the batbot. The engine of the batbot is placed inside the rear wheel itself. The awesome design of the batmobile and batbot has created a fan follow for itself. And I am one among them. I wish I had any one of these. Hmmm, I know need tons and tons of money for that. Right now, I have to assume my scooty as my batmobile and ride it!!!

Fix Apple Boot Camp's Heating problem!!

hey guys for those of you who haven’t got a hand on boot camp, here is a brief explanation of the problem

The problem

When you install windows onto your apple system, the boot camp devs have somehow managed to 'forget' that there requires some interface with windows to the firmware so the cooling fans can be controlled. This leads to a state where after an hour or so especially of gameplay or cpu/gpu/hdd intensive operations the heat inside builds up to around 90 C this is when the firmware realizes that its hardware is going to DIE, the self defense mechanism kicks in and the fans turn to 'leaf-blower' mode. From the entire web searching and tinkering i did i came across a blog, that stated how to deal with this problem as it is a big issue!!

this is quite easily noted in mac books and pros!

The fix

There appears to be a bug in a program developed for OsX - the prg is smsFanControl (http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/23049). The bug is that if u change the settings for the fan in OSX and reboot (not shut down or anything else) the settings remain when u reboot into windows XP.

The program lets u set the min fan revs for each of the cooling fans, it has a default setting and a high-rpm mode (min 4000 rpm). So when you are going to windows for some hardware intensive programs change this setting!!!

And yea there is this other program i came across, but didnt give it a go till now!

Its called Input Re-mapper (http://www.olofsson.info/)

hope dis is useful!!

Remove scratches on iPod

The iPod is a beautiful player, but it can also be fragile. Luckily, with a cheap can of metal polish, you can get your iPod back into tip-top shape. All you need is a can of metal polish, and a soft cloth and your iPod. Before you apply the polish to your iPod and start scrubbing, you will want to make sure your iPod is relatively clean, so give it a gentle cleaning with some water and a soft cloth. Apply the polish to the soft cloth and start scrubbing you iPod in small circular motions. Start off gently, keeping in mind that you need to apply more pressure to get rid of some of the deeper scratches. Be patient, though, as you may have to scrub the iPod for a while before you start to really notice the difference. After anywhere from five to 20 minutes, you should have a hugely restored finish on you iPod, and the saucy stainless steel back that makes the iPod so attractive should be looking close to brand new. When you decide to call it quits, be sure to clean the polis off your iPod. If you want to get rid of the scratches on the front of the iPod, repeat these steps but be careful. The last thing you want to do is mess up you controls and the screen.

Garminnuvi 880

Say hello to the 880, the newest member of Garmin’s nüvi family. And when I tell you to say hello, I mean it: The nüvi 880 is the first portable GPS device to boast full speech recognition capabilities. You can access almost all of its functions using your voice infact, only a few tasks require the touch screen. I found it a truly amazing (albeit expensive) experience that works surprisingly well. With a list price of $999.99, the Garminnüvi 880 is positioned at the very top end of the GPS market. But it has nearly every feature I’ve come to expect in a luxury navigator, including text-to-speech conversion,multisegment routing, an excellent Blue-tooth phone interface, and even integrated media players and travel tools. There’s built-in support for Microsoft’s MSN Direct service, too, providing useful information such as live traffic, weather, movie times, and even local gas prices. The real showstopper here, though, is the amazing speech recognition functionality. On my tests, the unit comprehended my voice commands with astonishing accuracy, despite the acoustically challenging environment of a noisy car.Frankly, I’m hooked.  This is the GPS device I want on my windshield.

Cars with internet?

Internet – the word that is ruling the world now. But it has its own limitations. You can't not browse the internet when you are on the move atleast out of an wireless network. Especially when you are driving a car and need to look after your business, send some important mails etc. But the days of internet in your car is no longer. Yes, you can get internet connection in your car but have to wait for this to happen. American automobile manufacturer Chrysler has plans to equip its cars with a system that will enable people to surf the internet while driving. The Uconnect web system is what the company says can bring the wireless internet access to cars’ dashboard. Officials at Chrysler have revealed that Uconnect web uses cellular and WiFi technology to provide instant access to the internet on the move. According to them anyone on the car will be able to check mail, download music, play games and even upload photos. But the company wants to know whether its customers wants such a system to browse behind the wheels. Some other researchers believe that this technology can be used to make cars communicate with themselves so that they could provide increased safety, relieve congestion and manage traffic. Well, if this kind of system do come to exist, then surely it would be cause a revolution in both the automobile and communication fields.

Indian designs a Flying Saucer

Here is what i read in the local newspaper.
A scientist of indian origin from the university of Florida in the US has conceptualized the design for a plasma propelled flying saucer. The scientist in question is Subrata Roy, University of Florida mechanical and aerospace engineering associate professor. Roy has submitted a patent application for a circular, spinning aircraft design reminiscent of the spaceships seen in countless hollywood films. He calls his design a "wingless electromagnetic air vehicle" or "WEAV". The proposed prototype is small, the aircraft will measure less than six inches across and will be efficient enough to be powered by on board batteries. The propulsion system for Roy's saucer sprouts from his extensive US airforce funded plasma actuator research.
According to Roy, the design can be scaled up and theoretically should work in a much larger form. Even in miniature, though, the design has many uses. The most obvious functions would be surveillance and navigation. The aircraft could be designed to carry a camera and light and be controlled remotely at great distances.
Well, if he does succeed in creating the flying saucers, then the Martians can expect UFO's in their planet. LOL!!!

Smart Pills

Are you a person who take medication on a regular basis and feel that it is an waste of time for you? Wont you feel happy if a new system is invented for taking care of your medication automatically? Well, the days of such systems are not far away.
Scientists are developing microchips and polymer pouches which can release drugs into your body when you need them against specific cells that trigger the disease. One such advancement is the Smart Pill, a single drug put in a polymer pouch that detects chemical signals in the body to prompt the release of drugs at desired therapeutic levels, avoiding the need for frequent administration. The pill doesn't release the drugs it orchestrates their release.
Already, this system has been followed to combat certain cancer, heart disease and schizophrenia. Another advancement in the system is the use of microchips plaed under the skin to deliver drugs ranging from pain medication to chemotherapy. These chips, presently in advanced stages of trials are desinged with tiny doors loaded with multiple drugs and covered with caps. An electrical signal much like a remote control from the outside the body dissolves the caps and releases the medication.
If these pills were successfully developed, then it would definitely create a revolution in the medical field.