A Plan to Catch the Conficker Worm

On April 1, a computer worm called Conficker, which has already infected millions of machines worldwide, is expected to do something bad, though no one knows exactly what. Some experts fear that an army of infected machines could be ordered to launch a coordinated attack or send out a barrage of spam. But a tool released today could help lessen the impact by allowing big companies and institutions to quickly weed out infected machines by scanning entire networks for signs of infection.

Analysis of the Conficker worm has previously revealed that infected computers will "phone home" on April 1 to receive a new set of instructions. It is already possible to detect the worm by scanning machines individually, but this is a relatively time-consuming process. It's also possible to detect the bug by watching for outgoing communications sent across a network, but the latest version of Conficker is designed to stay silent until April 1.

Dan Kaminsky, director of penetration testing for the Seattle-based security company IOActive, helped create the new scanning tool and says that it can identify an infected machine by recognizing the way it presents itself to the wider network. This makes it quick and easy to scan for the worm remotely and does not require any special access to machines. "It's like driving through a neighborhood looking for houses with big signs on their doors," Kaminsky says. 

The tool was created after Tillmann Werner and Felix Leder, members of an independent research organization called the Honeynet Project, asked Kaminsky to review their research on Conficker. The pair had figured out that the worm changes the way a machine appears on a network. Kaminsky seized on this, suggesting that the researchers create a tool that uses this information to find infected machines. The researchers built such a tool and worked through the weekend to get it ready for broad distribution to suppliers of other security software. "Whatever vulnerability scanner a company is using, it should have support for this by the end of the day," Kaminsky says.
Bruce Schneier, chief security technology officer at BT Counterpane, says the new tool's ability to seek out the virus remotely should be useful, since it will let people scan a huge number of machines very quickly. This is important, Schneier says, because the worm is such a nasty pest. "Conficker is an extremely well-written, extremely well-designed, extremely well-executed worm," says Schneier. "It really is an impressive piece of work, and there's someone really smart behind it." But Schneier adds that it's important for computer users and administrators to protect their machines against a variety of malware, not just a single threat.

"If you've been running a good environment, you shouldn't be worried about this," says Rich Mogull, founder of the security-consulting company Securosis, who helped connect the Honeynet researchers and Kaminsky with network-security vendors over the weekend. Mogull notes that Microsoft has already released several patches that block the vulnerability that Conficker uses to infect a machine. However, he says that companies worried about Conficker should start scanning for it right away, after checking to see if their network-security tools have been updated. 

Kurt Rohloff, a scientist who studies Internet worms at the research and development company BBN Technologies, says that the tool could prove useful, though he doubts that there's time to find and neutralize every computer infected with the worm. Rohloff says that the new scanner could be used to take preventive action by identifying infected hosts and removing them from the network, though he admits that this approach is "drastic, because you're removing connectivity." 

Kaminsky notes that the tool is intended for organizations with large networks. For individuals, he says, the best approach is to make sure that the latest security updates are installed and up-to-date antivirus software is running. Since Conficker blocks a computer from accessing certain security websites, users could test for the worm by trying to visit those sites, Kaminsky says. Werner and Leder plan to release a paper within the next day, describing the technical details of their discovery.

Apple netbook: MacBook Mini via Russians

Is this the real deal? We have absolutely no idea whether this is just another photoshop mock up calling it the MacBook Mini. Mind you, April Fools is coming up! These are spyshots of what is allegedly the Apple netbook which we have all been waiting for, they were leaked and printed in a Russian magazine. What’s more is that the specs revealed showed no signs of on board 3G wireless connectivity, that’s odd for a netbook these days. Inside the supposed MacBook mini, there’s a 10.4″ screen with a 1,280×768 screen that handle HD videos. There’s also an Atom processor, 2 GB of RAM, WiFi, running Geforce 9400M, bluetooth, a 64GB solid state drive for storage, a USB port and a Mini DisplayPort. We haven’t received any other news as of now, should this be filed into the “another concept idea archive”, what do you think?

Melissa virus turns 10

A decade ago there was no Facebook, no iPhone, and no Conficker. There was dial-up and AOL and a nasty virus called Melissa that ended up being the fastest spreading virus at the time. 

CNET News talked to Dmitry Graznov, a senior research architect at McAfee Avert Labs who was among the researchers who worked to fight the Melissa outbreak and track down the creator. 

Q: How was Melissa discovered? 
Graznov: Avert as a whole discovered it as did some of the competitors. It was submitted to us by customers as it started to spread around the world (on March 26, 1999). 

What made Melissa different from previous viruses?
Graznov: It was the first mass-mailing virus, which used e-mail to spread on a large scale.

What harm did the virus do?
Graznov: In some cases the load on the e-mail servers in some organizations was so high that the servers were effectively shut down. 

How many computers were affected and what did the virus do?
Graznov: Hundreds of thousands of computers were affected. That's a guess...Melissa infected other documents a user opened in Microsoft Word. It also connected to Outlook if it was running and selected 50 entries in the address book and e-mailed an infected document to those addresses...including mailing lists...As a result, the virus was sent not just to 50 people, but to thousands of people easily. We didn't have any firm numbers to go by, but we did have reports from customers saying their Exchange servers were overwhelmed.

How long did the outbreak last? 
Graznov: Several days, but the infections continued to be registered for a long time after that. It was just a macro virus and we were well equipped to provide detection and removal for people's computers even then...The fact that it was so widespread in the world already meant it took a long time to remove the infections.



Security researcher Dmitry Graznov as he looked in 1999 when he was chasing down the creator of the Melissa virus for McAfee Avert Labs.
(Credit: Dmitry Graznov)

How did the virus writer get caught?
Graznov: I was running, actually still am, a project called Usenet Virus Patrol, which scans Usenet articles for viruses. The author of Melissa posted the virus to a newsgroup called "alt.sex." It was zipped up and sent as if it was a list of passwords to like 80-something different porno sites...It was just bait to entice people into downloading it and opening it. Once it was opened, it started e-mailing itself around. It was relatively easy to go back and find the exact Usenet posting that started all this. In the header of the posting it was possible to find out not only the e-mail address from which it was sent but also the IP address of the computer from which it was sent. That IP was linked to an AOL account and from that the FBI subpoenaed AOL and they provided the dial-in logs...and found out what computer was assigned that IP address and from what telephone number the call was made. The AOL account was a compromised one...The phone call that used that account came from New Jersey and the FBI linked the phone number to a particular address. That is how they found the guy's computer...The data we provided them was the clue that led straight to the criminal. (David L. Smith pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 months in prison and $5,000 in fines.)

What was the motivation behind Melissa?
Graznov: There was no material gain. Back then, people didn't do it for money. They did it for mischief, for fame...Today there is huge money in computer crime...Back then, we had 200 times fewer pieces of malware than we have today.

Any comments on Conficker and Melissa and how far we've come?
Graznov: Conficker is a completely different type of thing. It's not a macro virus. It's an executable and a botnet, and it downloads lots of stuff on your computer. It's basically a network for sale. It can be rented out. It can be used for password stealing. Back in 1999 there wasn't such a thing as a business model for malware...Today, big money is involved in computer malware. You cannot even compare them.

Brain Images Reveal the Secret to Higher IQ

Pixilated brain: At the bottom, an MRI image shows a slice of the human brain. At the top is shown a magnified portion of this section, created using diffusion imaging. To create the image, scientists measured the direction of the water diffusion in brain tissue. The "flower petals" at each point show the directions of fastest diffusion. These are aligned along the neural pathways of the brain, because water diffuses directionally along the well-insulated neural wires that carry electrical signals. The different directions of diffusion are color-coded red, green, and blue. In this example, the bright red areas reveal the thick fiber tract, called the corpus callosum, which transfers information between the left and right sides of the brain.
Credit: David Shattuck, Arthur Toga, Paul Thompson/UCLA
New research suggests that the layer of insulation coating neural wiring in the brain plays a critical role in determining intelligence. In addition, the quality of this insulation appears to be largely genetically determined, providing further support for the idea that IQ is partly inherited. 

The findings, which result from a detailed study of twins' brains, hint at how ever-improving brain-imaging technology could shed light on some of our most basic characteristics. 

"The study answers some very fundamental questions about how the brain expresses intelligence," says Philip Shaw, a child psychiatrist at the National Institute of Mental Health, in Bethesda, MD, who was not involved in the research.

The neural wires that transmit electrical messages from cell to cell in the brain are coated with a fatty layer called myelin. Much like the insulation on an electrical wire, myelin stops current from leaking out of the wire and boosts the speed with which messages travel through the brain--the higher quality the myelin, the faster the messages travel. These myelin-coated tracts make up the brain's white matter, while the bodies of neural cells are called grey matter.

White matter is invisible on most brain scans, but a recently developed variation of magnetic resonance imaging, called diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI), allows scientists to map the complex neural wiring in our brains by measuring the diffusion of water molecules through tissue. Thanks to the fatty myelin coating, water diffuses along the length of neural wires, while in other types of brain tissue it moves in all different directions. Researchers can calculate the direction of fastest diffusion at each point in the brain and then construct a picture of the brain's fiber tracts. A well-organized brain has well-functioning myelin, in which water can be seen clearly moving along specific paths. "Diffusion imaging gives a picture of how intact your brain connections are," says Paul Thompson, a neuroscientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, who lead the study. 

Thompson and his colleagues took DTI scans of 92 pairs of fraternal and identical twins. They found a strong correlation between the integrity of the white matter and performance on a standard IQ test. "Going forward, we are certainly going to think of white matter structure as an important contributor of intelligence," says Van Wedeen, a neuroscientist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, who was also not involved in the research. "It also changes how you think about what IQ is measuring," says Wedeen. The research was published last month in the Journal of Neuroscience.
IQ inheritance: By comparing the brain scans of twins, scientists discovered that the quality of the fatty tissue that insulates neural wires is largely inherited. The parietal lobe, which is involved in logic and mathematics, is 85 percent genetically determined, whereas the visual cortex is about 76 percent, and the temporal lobe, which is involved in learning and memory, is only 45 percent genetically determined. 
Credit: David Shattuck, Arthur Toga, Paul Thompson/UCLA
If white matter is linked to both processing speed and IQ, this raises the question: is intelligence merely a function of how fast your brain works? Previous research has linked processing speed to IQ, but the tests used in the study are measures of general intelligence, including verbal skills, math, and logic. "Processing speed plays a big part in how intelligent you are, but it's not the only factor," says Shaw.

The new study is among the first to link a specific neural architecture to IQ in healthy individuals. "Most people have focused on grey matter," says Shaw. "This is good evidence we should be looking at white matter as well." Previous studies using DTI have linked white matter damage to Alzheimer's disease, chronic alcoholism, and traumatic brain injury. 

The UCLA researchers took the study a step further by comparing the white matter architecture of identical twins, who share almost all their DNA, and fraternal twins, who share only half. Results showed that the quality of the white matter is highly genetically determined, although the influence of genetics varies by brain area. According to the findings, about 85 percent of the variation in white matter in the parietal lobe, which is involved in mathematics, logic, and visual-spatial skills, can be attributed to genetics. But only about 45 percent of the variation in the temporal lobe, which plays a central role in learning and memory, appears to be inherited.

Thompson and his collaborators also analyzed the twins' DNA, and they are now looking for specific genetic variations that are linked to the quality of the brain's white matter. The researchers have already found a candidate--the gene for a protein called BDNF, which promotes cell growth. "People with one variation have more intact fibers," says Thompson. 

The search for the genetic and neuroanatomical basis of intelligence has been controversial, largely because opponents fear it will spawn a deterministic view of abilities and education. "People worry that if something is genetic, they have no power to influence it," says Thompson. "But that's not true at all." For example, both an average runner and a genetically gifted one can benefit from training. 

But the debate may be moot since, as Wedeen points out, it is unlikely that an individual brain scan could predict a person's IQ. "The report described aggregate data over number of individuals," he says. "That's not the same as saying we can do a scan and determine a person's intelligence. That may be in the offing, but we don't know that yet."

New Xbox 360 development kit comes with chrome accented console

Unveiled at GDC 09, the new Microsoft Xbox 360 development kit includes this sleek console with chrome accents and rightly speculated, a larger capacity hard drive though we don’t know yet exactly how much. Eyes only though, because we don’t we this will be available for purchase anytime soon, of course you might see one or two on eBay at some point, I’m sure!

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars rating

OVERALL RATING:9.3/10

Gameplay: 9.5

The action is non-stop, and if you dissect the gunplay, it very much feels like an inspired, modern-day version of Contra or Metal Slug meets Smash TV. The mix is impeccably designed; conceptually, I would have had doubts. But the developers made it work and it plays beautifully.

Graphics: 9.0
The miniscule characters won't impress anyone. But the high-speed vehicles, ultra-detailed city and impressive camera work will blow your mind.

Sound: 8.9
The sound effects could have come from a 16-bit game but the musical presentation is amazing. The radio feature is back, and though none of the songs feature vocals (presumably due to file size limitations), the quality is very good. The story is presented without voice-overs (again due to limitations), but that doesn't hurt the game at all.

Difficulty: Medium
A fair challenge without any extreme parts in either direction.

Concept: 9.0
New additions, such as Rampage mode, drug dealing and improved car stealing are perfect for the DS.

Multiplayer: 9.0
Stash Dash, Defend the Base and Single/Season Race modes take the action online for extended fun. Gameplay is limited to just two players, but it rocks.

Overall: 9.3
An amazing and entrancing experience that lives up to the Grand Theft Auto name.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars review

ust when it seems that the DS’ lifespan has reached its end and that no more innovation can be produced, in walks the other, lesser-hyped Grand Theft Auto sequel: Chinatown Wars. This handheld adaptation looks good on paper, but players have no idea what they’re in for. The camera change (top-down), cel-shaded graphics and bad experiences with other DS action games will inevitably create a degree of skepticism. But once you start playing – once you feel the thrill of driving, the intensity of combat, the joy of completing a mission and the simple pleasure of getting rich, it will be hard to form a thought other than that this game is unbelievably amazing.

Down to the Basics

First and foremost, Grand Theft Auto is a driving/action series. It succeeds because the vehicular controls are the best in the biz; without them, the franchise wouldn’t have gotten this far. Though you don’t have analog sensitivity helping you drive in Chinatown Wars, the D-pad works pretty well. Like any GTA, most of the cars offer unique handling properties. Sports cars are tight and fast, muscle cars are moderately fast but slippery, and trucks are slow but very powerful. There are many other handling variations within the car lineup, and though it’s not on par with the console versions (did you really expect it to be?), the variety is extremely impressive.

Drawing upon the power of the DS, the act of stealing a car is no longer as simple as breaking in and driving away. When a car is already in motion, the gameplay remains the same: tap the X button to wrestle with the driver and hope you’re able to steal the car before he drives away. But if parked, the vehicle won’t start on its own. Thus, you’ll have to hotwire the engine, drive a screwdriver through the keyhole, or use a number-matching device (a computer that tricks the engine) to start the car. In any case, the touch screen is used to perform these actions, allowing the player to feel like he’s a part of the car-stealing excitement. Things are particularly intense – and dangerous! – when a cop runs up just before the engine starts.

As anticipated, the police are once again a major part of the GTA experience. However, this time you are given the luxury of surviving by fighting back. In previous GTAs, your only recourse was to run. If you hurt a cop in the process, your wanted level would increase, reducing your chances of a successful escape. In Chinatown Wars, you’ll still be penalized for shooting cops. But this time you can reduce your wanted level by ramming police vehicles into objects. The resulting gameplay is deeper and more aggressive – the kind of experience you’d expect to see if Criterion (makers of the Burnout series) and Rockstar teamed up.

Chinatown Wars is potentially the DS’ longest game, thanks to a meaningful quest that is packed with unique missions. Become an assassin, deliver car bombs, plant explosives and take out rival gangs. Find a sniper rifle, put it together with the touch screen (an act that is too cool for words), and use it to finish an enemy. Control machinegun-equipped boats and jet skis, battle helicopters with a rocket launcher, and participate in bonus Rampage missions (found in specific areas of Liberty City) where bullets are unlimited.

Delightfully Distracting

In between fighting scum and running from the cops, Chinatown Wars introduces a new gameplay element that is scarily addictive: drug dealing. You won’t sell directly to users, thank goodness. But by searching the city for men in dark alleys (marked on the map as blue dots initially, then blue briefcases once discovered), you’ll be able to buy and sell coke, heroine, acid, downers, weed and ecstasy to dozens of other dealers.

With e-mail taking the place of the cell phone in GTAIV, you’ll receive messages not only regarding the main missions but also to announce who’s buying or selling drugs at a better price. In the real-world, the whole thing is disgusting, but in this fictional setting it’s quite amusing. Cops show up all the time, turning your latest deal into a speedy chase; if caught with drugs, they – along with all weapons – will be confiscated.

Since this is a game, you don’t have to worry about the real-world consequence of serving 10 years in prison. But you do get some of the real-world benefits: dealing drugs is the quickest and easiest way to earn money in a GTA game, allowing players to buy up every safehouse and every weapon they desire and still have money left over. Weapons, by the way, can now be delivered right to your doorstep thanks to a new Ammu-Nation service.
Obviously, Chinatown Wars isn’t for kids, so not every DS owner will (or should) have the joy of playing it. That said, every player of appropriate age must play this game. Chinatown Wars is the best handheld release on any platform since God of War: Chains of Olympus. In fact, that’s the only title that can compare. If you love the GTA franchise and want a GTA-sized experience on a handheld, Chinatown Wars will turn you into a zombie – an addicted, unproductive, can’t-stop-smiling zombie that never wants to put the game down.

Samsung showsoff latest 16.6mm-thick digital camera TL100

The latest Samsung TL100 is 12.2-megapixel camera thats just 3.7 inches wide by 2.2 inches high by 0.6 inch deep. Like any decent pocket sized camera in its class, the TL100 has a largish LCD at 2.7 inches and a 3x optical zoom. It also has the shooting options currently in vogue: face, smile, and blink detection and full-resolution ISO settings up to 1600. The camera also boasts Samsung’s new Smart Auto feature, which automatically selects the appropriate scene mode for the environment users may be shooting in

Toshiba Regza SV LCD TV

Due to be released later this year, Toshiba’s SV series super skinny tv’s are what they claim to be “the most advanced Toshiba LCD TV model ever to launch” in the UK. Why? Because technology wise, these tellies sport Active Vision M200HD picture processing and an RGB LED backlight. Available in 46 and 55 inches, each model also gets a digital tuner, Toshiba’s MetaBrain engine which gives you Dolby Volume that promises even sound, DLNA technology, a game mode and four HDMI InstaPort ports.Due to be released later this year, Toshiba’s SV series super skinny tv’s are what they claim to be “the most advanced Toshiba LCD TV model ever to launch” in the UK. Why? Because technology wise, these tellies sport Active Vision M200HD picture processing and an RGB LED backlight. Available in 46 and 55 inches, each model also gets a digital tuner, Toshiba’s MetaBrain engine which gives you Dolby Volume that promises even sound, DLNA technology, a game mode and four HDMI InstaPort ports.

The new SV series is also capable of playing mp3 and DivX videos via usb (with the DivX content upscaled too) and gets an SD card slot for viewing jpegs, what can’t this badboy do? Suggested to be released by August this year, these tellies will definitely be on the high end in terms of pricing, that might not be so good for this time of the year!

ASUS folding origami laptop to ship soon, pricing revealed!

This year at the CES we were thrilled to see the teaser featuring ASUS’s latest fold / unfold laptop concept in development, however the fact that a laptop as thin as this and looked much like origami just seemed too unrealistic. Well now, we know that ASUS weren’t joking at all, in fact in an interview with TechRadar, ASUS CEO Jerry Shen confessed that this very machine would be shipping in the September to October time frame and that the end-user price would be “somewhere between $1,000 and $1,500″. I wonder what exactly will the specs be like? Considering this price range is actually quite reasonable and much cheaper than our good friend, the Dell Adamo!

Microsoft launches latest browser IE 8

Microsoft has launched the latest version of its web browser, Internet Explorer 8 (IE8)
Microsoft says that IE8 is more secure, allows users to cut down on common tasks and will be an integral part of its forthcoming Windows 7 system.
Although IE is still the most popular browser, it faces stiff competition from Google, Firefox, Opera and others.
The release is Microsoft's first major browser update since 2006, when the company released Internet Explorer 7.
"Customers have made clear what they want in a Web browser - safety, speed and greater ease of use," said Microsoft boss, Steve Ballmer.
"With Internet Explorer 8, we are delivering a browser that gets people to the information they need, fast, and provides protection that no other browser can match."
Speaking to the BBC, Chris Green - the former editor of IT Pro - said that despite the "marketing puff" the new version of Internet Explorer was a significant improvement on previous editions.
"I've been using Internet Explorer 8 for more than six months and is vastly better than IE7, which was big on features but poor on performance.
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The relationship between IE and Windows is called anti-competitive by some and essential by others
Darren WatersTechnology editor
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"The safety features in IE8 are very good. It can spot dubious websites and alert you if you're about to fall foul of, let's say, a phishing website, because it has a constantly updating list of dodgy sites."
Simple searching
Microsoft has also introduced a feature that it is calling "accelerators" which, say the company, make it easier to perform web-related tasks directly from the page by simply right-clicking a word or phrase.
Computer Active's deputy editor, Tom Royal, told the BBC that it was refreshing to see Microsoft pioneer features in a web browser rather than playing catch-up.
"The accelerated menu is something no other browser has.
"The contextual popup menus are a real step forward - for example, highlighting and right-clicking on a postcode automatically brings up Google maps.
"This has real potential and will make surfing the web much easier. I'm sure others will follow up with something similar," he added.
Microsoft has also taken a leaf out of Mozilla's book when it comes to searching.
While Firefox allows users to switch between sites like Amazon and Wikipedia, IE takes this a step further, displaying a preview of suggested searches and results appearing in a drop-down list.

Searching topics can be done with a mouse click within an existing page
The new browser can also follow news headlines and track eBay auctions, weather forecasts and blog posts with a feature the company is calling Web Slice, which is, essentially, a news ticker on the favourites bar.
Microsoft's share in the web-browser market has been steadily declining and it remains to be seen whether IE8 can reverse that trend.
"A browser is still a very personal choice," said Mr Royal.
"Some people like theirs simple and fast, while others want stuff with loads of features. IE has always been all things to all people but the perception is that it's the browser that's just there rather than the one you would choose to use.
"For now, I would avoid using the new version not because it isn't any good, it's that there are usually lots of undiscovered bugs and security flaws on any piece of new software," he added.

iPhone 3.0 3G modem, internet tethering?

This may be just complete nonsense or some kind of photoshopped pic, at least our experience tells us to think that way and speculate it to avoid disappointment. We’re not sure whether what you see below is some kind of hack, could it be that with the new iPhone OS 3.0 on the iPhone 3G, we’ll be able to use it as a 3G modem for our computer? We realise this is already possible, but it is not without its own limitations, if the below is true, then could it mean that this would be a feature of iPhone 3.0 (this doesn’t sound like something Apple would do at all!).

Star Wars Boba Fett Lego armor

Another amazing creative Lego product - Star Wars boba fett armor, which you can actually wear! Not sure that it will fit everyone though. This armor also includes the jetpack we saw in the Star Wars movies, which one to be exact I need a Star Wars fan to remind me. This is definitely something to wear if you want to look cool and stand out at a fancy dress party!

A NEW COSMOS ON THE WEB

This screenshot from the Web-based version of WorldWide Telescope shows Venus'surface, mapped by the Magellan probe and enhanced with other imagery.A year after making its debut as a downloadable software program, Microsoft Research's WorldWide Telescope is going public on the World Wide Web. It's the latest move aimed at widening the "market" for free online exploration of the cosmos.

There's lots of software that gives you the universe on your computer - ranging from the kind of programs you pay good money for (such as Starry Night, Redshift and TheSky), to free programs available over the Internet (Sky on Google Earth, Stellarium and Celestia, as well as the classic WorldWide Telescope, a.k.a. WWT), to Web-based planetariums (Google Sky and Heavens-Above).

Today Microsoft took the wraps off its own Web client, based on the standalone version of WWT, at the annual MIX conference in Las Vegas. (Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

Many of the WorldWide Telescope's features have been carried over: You can see thousands of the night sky's coolest sights in multiple wavelengths, thanks to a rich database of imagery from space telescopes as well as ground-based observatories.

For example, you can bring up the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) in optical wavelengths, load in Spitzer's infrared view, and then use a slider button to morph one view into the other. The dark, dusty swirls in the optical view turn out to be exactly where the infrared emissions are the brightest.

You can also sit back and let someone show you around, thanks to tours that have been prepared by space fans ranging from professional astrophysicists to a 6-year-old kid. And you can load up panoramas created by probes on Mars, Apollo astronauts on the moon, or photographers visiting the Mauna Kea observatories in Hawaii (or the lobby of Microsoft Research's headquarters, for that matter).

The release is meant to make the WorldWide Telescope available to non-Windows computer users as well as Windows users who may be reluctant to install a big piece of software, said Jonathan Fay, one of WWT's co-creators at Microsoft Research. He said 2 million users have downloaded the standalone program, but for every Web site visitor who has done the download, there have been almost 100 visitors who have not.

You still need to have Microsoft's multimedia plug-in, known as Silverlight, but Fay said he hopes users won't find that to be a huge hurdle.

"If they've seen Web advertising, they've probably already installed Silverlight," he said. (The plug-in was used for NBC video streaming during last year's Olympics, and it's also playing a supporting role in this month's "March Madness" tournament.)

Also, there are some features that haven't been carried over - such as the ability to create those cool guided tours, or navigate the universe in 3-D. "If you can use the 3-D mode, that's what you want to install," Fay said.

Fay keeps a MacBook Air laptop sitting on the edge of his desk at Microsoft Research, connected to the Internet through a flaky wireless connection, just to get a sense of how the Web client works for real-world users. The graphics aren't as high-resolution as they are in the classic WWT, and the imagery is slower to load - mostly due to the connection speed - but at least it works.

Fay and the other main man behind the project, Curtis Wong, are focusing on making the high-quality version of WorldWide Telescope good enough for professional researchers to rely on. Astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics are already using WWT to help keep track of their image databases, and Fay hints that more announcements are on the way. (I'll provide updates at the end of this item if and when they are announced.)

Amateur astronomers are also taking to the WorldWide Telescope, in part thanks to efforts such as the Astrometry site on Flickr. Photographs of celestial sights can be coded up so that they drop right into the WWT Web view. Fay said the WorldWide Telescope plays well with the Virtual Astronomy Multimedia Project, an effort to standardize how astronomical photos are tagged.

In the past few weeks, it seems as if the competition between Microsoft and Google has been heating up in the celestial sphere: Google Earth has added the ability to create guided tours, a la Microsoft's WWT, and rolled out an eye-pleasing array of Martian imagery. (Google's "Live From Mars" image stream, drawing upon the latest pictures from Mars orbiters, came online shortly after last week's launch.)

Now Microsoft has raised the bar for Web-based space exploration, moving into a realm where Google Sky has had the lead.

Fay said the way WWT uses Silverlight could be adapted to other applications as well, including Web-based gaming environments and experiments in geographic-based crowdsourcing. "This is a game-changer in terms of what people are going to expect from the Web," he said.

And in fact, the folks from Microsoft and the folks from Google are learning from each other. Neither Google Sky nor WorldWide Telescope are being done for the money, since both programs are free. Rather, they're helping to blaze a technological trail for other pursuits - while at the same time providing something useful and fun for scientists as well as the general public.

"The more, the better - and the science is going to benefit in the end," Fay said.

Dell Adamo

Just like it was suggested yesterday by Google, Dell’s latest ultra thin luxurious flagship - Adamo is now available and you can order it online worldwide wherever you are. As you may be aware, the Adamo is available in white (Pearl) and black (Onyx). In addition to that the specs differ by a tiny bit with Desire being the bigger brother of Admire. The below is a breakdown of the official specs and pricing for those in the UK and US.

The main specs for the Admire version (Pricing: £1,649 / $1,999) will be:
1.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor with Centrino technology
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium 64 bit
2GB 800MHz DDR3 dual-channel memory
128GB solid state drive
1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor with Centrino technology
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium 64 bit
4GB 800MHz DDR dual-channel memory
128GB solid state drive
Mobile Broadband

While both the Admire and Desire will have the following shared features:
Super-thin 13.4-inch 16:9 (High Definition; 720p) WLED display
Full-size keyboard with back-lighting and scalloped, metallic key cap design
Integrated 1.3 megapixel camera and integrated digital microphone
IO: Display Port, USBx3 (1 eSATA combination), Audio Out and integrated RJ-45 port
Communications: Gigabit LOM, Bluetooth 2.1, 802.11n (3×3)
5+ hr battery life using Li-Polymer cells; 40 Whr
Compact power adapter
Dimensions: (w x d x h) 331 x 242 x 16.39 mm
Weight: 1.81 kg

Softwares that will come as standard for both will be the following:

Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9, Adobe® Flash Player, Dell Dock, McAfee SecurityCenter 30-day Trial, Dell Webcam Application, Dell Video Chat, Microsoft® Windows LiveTM , Dell Connect Point, Dell Quickset, Dell Touchpad

Faster Flexible Electronics

A new way to build microwire transistors could double flexible electronics speeds.For years, engineers have been trying to make flexible electronics faster and less expensive to manufacture, but this has proved difficult. For instance, organic microwires, which can be used to make flexible electronics, are hard to align as circuits. Now researchers at Stanford University and Samsung have developed a technique that allows them to precisely position organic microwires on a substrate and build complex circuits with relative ease. The new technique involves putting microwires in a liquid solution and filtering them through paper to form the circuit's transistors.

Zhenan Bao, a professor of chemical engineering at Stanford, who led the work, says that engineers can maximize the number of microwires in a circuit using the new technique. "That allows us to significantly increase the output current from these devices," she says. 

Bao explains that the organic microwire transistors made using the new technique operate two and a half times faster than previous ones. This means that a flexible display made in this way could refresh about twice as quickly as those made using existing methods.

Most electronic devices, such as cell phones and computers, use microchips that are made from silicon. Transistors made from organic microwires may not be as fast as silicon ones, but they are better suited to making flexible electronics. They can be created cheaply, without using high temperatures that would melt plastic, and can also coat large areas, potentially creating huge flexible displays.

"Our goal is to make electronic devices that are lighter in weight and can be coated over a large area," says Bao. "This includes displays that are put onto a plastic substrate and can be folded, low-cost sensors that are disposable, and electronic tags put on merchandise."

Organic microwires can already be added to a solution and printed onto a substrate. But they tend to clump together and lie at odd angles, making it difficult to connect the electrodes needed to form a transistor. "Previously, many groups have shown that they can make transistors out of nanowires and microwires," says Bao. But they have not been able to align all these wires affectively. "All these wires are sitting on top of each other randomly," Bao says. "It's difficult to pack a dense layer of wires into the same area."

The new approach begins with depositing patterned metal onto a substrate made of silicon dioxide. The metal will form the electronic terminals of the microwire transistors. Next is the most important step: aligning the microwires across these terminals. The researchers do this by making a mask with a design that corresponds to the alignment of transistors on top of the terminals, and placing it onto a piece of filter paper. The microwires, which are contained in a liquid solution, are then poured onto the mask, and vacuum suction pulls them to the open areas of the mask. When the mask is removed, the wires are aligned on the filter paper correspondingly. Next, the filter paper with the patterned wires is put in contact with the electrodes on the substrate, and the wires are transferred when the whole thing is dipped into water.

John Rogers, a professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, says that the Stanford and Samsung approach could be used to quickly make large-scale microwire circuits that are as good as those constructed using more complex methods.

Bao and her colleagues are currently testing the idea that their alignment technique could work with other materials, including inorganic microwires, which have electrical and structural properties that are different from organic microwires. In addition, she says, her team plans to increase the complexity of patterns on a paper mask in order to create even more complex circuitry.

Roundup of top solar gadgets for Apple iPhone

We decided to sum up some of the best solar gadgets we knew of that either have been designed for or are compatible with the iPhone (2G and 3G) / iPod Touch. We know solar gadgets are very popular these days especially among those who are cautious about being eco-friendly, the environmnet and of course the often talked about CO2 emission. We managed to put into this list five solar gadgets, we did think there were more but some like the one from Brando has been discontinued over time and some that had heard of were actually replicas of the genuine thing so we excluded those out!

We are by all means not related to any of the companies talked about below.

Freeloader 8.0 by Solar Technology (£29.99)

Freeloader 8.0 is something we’ve mentioned in the past before and received mixed comments, it is basically a charging device with solar panels that charges a multitude of the latest mobile gadgets including the iPhone and iPod Touch.

The Freeloader 8.0 solar charger is especially useful for the iPod, which it can power for 18 additional hours or a PDA, which it can power for 22 hours. The solar charger comes in cool silver or hot pink plus USB and miniUSB adapters as well as nine other types including Sony Ericsson, Samsung, Nokia and LG phones.

The Freeloader 8.0 has two especially sensitive foldaway solar panels that can charge your devices even on cloudy days and it will even recharge its own batteries at the same time it charges peripheral devices. The Freeloader also has the option for users to buy an enlarged solar panel, called the Supercharger, which reduces recharge time by half.

More info on Freeloader here and here…

SOLiCharger by Solight ($39.95)
Unlike the Freeloader 8.0, SOLiCharger is a much more tinier, lightweight (40 grams) lithium-ion based battery pack that plugs into the bottom of your iPhone (we believe should work with iPod Touch as well). The SOLiCharger also works both as a battery storage pack and as a direct solar energy charging device. The best thing about the SOLiCharger is that it’s got no cords or adapters.

Main features:
Works with both original and 3G iPhone
Plug the SOLiCharger into your iPhone to provide up to a 50% charge to your iPhone battery
Built-in solar panel on the back side charges the SOliCharger (takes up to sixteen hours of sun to fully charge)
Weighs only 1.4 oz.
Charges quickly in one of four ways: 
Directly from the SUN! Free solar power!
Directly from your computer via the Apple/USB cord
Directly from the 110v Apple® USB charging cord
Directly from any 12v Apple compatible car charger

Simply plug in the SOLiCharger to an iPhone charging cord and it will fully charge in just 1.5 hours. You can even plug it into your phone and charge both at the same time. Then if your phone runs low on power, simply plug the SOLiCharger into the phone and it will immediately begin charging the phone. You can use your phone while it’s charging.

If there’s no power source available, no problem! The SOLiCharger has a built-in solar panel on the back side that will provide up to a 50% iPhone battery charge when the SOLiCharger is fully charged (can take up to sixteen hours of sun due to the capacity of the battery - 800mAh - and the small size of the solar panel). You can even charge the SOLiCharger in the sun while it is attached to your phone.
iCharge Eco (Pricing: TBC)

Developed by a Japan based company, the iCharge Eco charger looks to be a promising solar charger. Like most Japanese made gadgets, it looks brilliant, colourful and solid. The unfortunate news is that we have not heard of whether this will be available anywhere else but Asia. Not only charging iPods and iPhones, the iCharge Eco design is what you could say a mini version of the Freeloader. (Look out for this space for updates on availability!)

The iCharge Eco also charges PSP/iPod/Nintendo DS, and mobile phones. It delivers an output of DC5.0-5.5V/600mA and comes with a 1,350mAh battery that takes around 3.5 hours to charge via an AC adapter, 5 hours via USB, and 15 hours via its built in solar panel.

TuffCharge Solar by Freeplay (£49.99)

Unveiled by Freeplay at this year’s MWC, TuffCharge Solar is a battery pack based iPhone case equipped with the ability to convert solar energy using solar panels. Your iPhone slides nicely into the TuffCharge Solar case which thus provides extra protection from damage (but at the cost of weighing 81g more), at the same time the TuffCharge case has a built in battery which gives your iPhone an additional 1400mAh battery, doubling your battery life.

As you can see, the casing looks slick, the solar panel on the back is hardly noticeable. A line of LEDs also on the back lets you know when there is enough daylight / sunlight triggering a charge status of your case’s battery. This does however take the solar panels approximately 11 hours to fully charge the TuffCharge battery given the most ideal conditions. An hour of sunlight is supposedly enough for 60 minutes of talk time or a couple of hours music playback, which isn’t bad especially if you’re outdoors and desperately needed the power. Your connections also feed-through the TuffCharge case which means you won’t need to take your iPhone out of the when you need to charge or sync your iPhone.
The TuffCharge Solar will be available from September this year in black or white for £49.99.

University students design ice cream serving robot

A robot that can automatically serve ice cream with selected toppings and pass on a spoon? 26 students at Ohio Northern University under supervision of their professors have built an ice cream serving robot consisting of two Kuka industrial robots which man their stations inside a kiosk of custom-fabricated components. Check out the video after the break, what they have achieved in this project is brilliant!

Apple iPhone firmware OS 3.0 event announced - March 17

Some exciting news today folks, Apple have just announced that a special event will be held on March 17 (in just five days!) at 10am PST (1pm EST). Its expected that Apple will be showing off the latest version of the iPhone OS firmware version 3.0 along with a brand new updated SDK (software development kit).

So far, the news has been that MMS will finally be coming to the iPhone, in addition tethering via bluetooth and USB have also been suggested! I’m sure there will be many more to be revealed on that day, its now just a matter of how much info gets leaked. We expect to see something exciting with this new version of OS, wonder what Apple has in store for everyone!?

One step closer to Minority Report - MIT creates sixth sense technology

A genius team of researchers at MIT takes us one step closer to living in the world where Tom Cruise played in Minority Report and had computers equipped with technology even fancier than that of the Surface PC (not so fancy anymore I guess). Sixth sense! Is it possible? The video after the jump is not to be missed!

Apple unveils latest iPod Shuffle - world’s tiniest music player

Apple has unveiled the next generation of iPod Shuffle which will feature a newly implemented technology for iPods called Voiceover which uses a speech engine to tell you the name of the singer or the title of the song in up to 14 different languages (English, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish). At half the size of the previous generation iPod Shuffle, latest successor is just 7.8mm thick and looks even more stylish with no control buttons at all.

The controls on the new Shuffle have been moved from the body of device to the earphone cord, this may be innovative but how long do you tend to stick around with Apple’s earbuds as opposed to using your own favourite headphones? Apple claims that this iPod Shuffle is now the world’s tiniest music player, smaller than the size of an AA battery.

The new iPod Shuffle will come in two colors, silver and black. Apple will continue to sell the second-generation version with the 1GB capacity for $49. But will phase out the 2GB version which is currently selling for $69. The new Shuffle is out now for $79, though you can still get the second generation 1GB version for the time being for $49.
Here’s the official press release…

CUPERTINO, Calif., March 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple® today introduced the all-new iPod® shuffle, the world’s smallest music player at nearly half of the size of the previous model, and the first music player that talks to you. The revolutionary new VoiceOver feature enables iPod shuffle to speak your song titles, artists and playlist names. The third generation iPod shuffle is significantly smaller than a AA battery, holds up to 1,000 songs and is easier to use with all of the controls conveniently located on the earphone cord. With the press of a button, you can play, pause, adjust volume, switch playlists and hear the name of the song and artist. iPod shuffle features a gorgeous new aluminum design with a built-in stainless steel clip that makes it ultra-wearable.
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“Imagine your music player talking to you, telling you your song titles, artists and playlist names,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of iPod and iPhone™ Product Marketing. “The amazingly small new iPod shuffle takes a revolutionary approach to how you listen to your music by talking to you, also making it the first iPod shuffle with playlists.”

iPod shuffle is based on Apple’s incredibly popular shuffle feature, which randomly selects songs from your music library. And now, when you can’t remember the name of a song or an artist playing, with the press of a button iPod shuffle tells you the name of the song and artist. iPod shuffle can even tell you status information, such as battery life. With the ability to hold up to 1,000 songs and the VoiceOver feature, you can now easily switch between multiple playlists on your iPod shuffle. iPod shuffle can speak 14 languages including English, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish.

The new iPod shuffle comes in silver or black and features a sleek and ultra-wearable design with a built-in stainless steel clip. iPod shuffle is the smallest music player in the world and is incredibly easy to clip to almost anything and take with you everywhere you go. iPod shuffle features up to 10 hours of battery life.*

Pricing & Availability

The third generation 4GB iPod shuffle is now shipping and comes in silver or black for a suggested price of $79 (US) through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. iPod shuffle comes with the Apple Earphones with Remote and the iPod shuffle USB cable. iPod shuffle requires a Mac® with a USB 2.0 port, Mac OS® X v10.4.11 or later and iTunes® 8.1 or later; or a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port and Windows Vista, Windows XP Home or Professional (Service Pack 3) or later and iTunes 8.1.

*Battery life and number of charge cycles vary by use and settings. Seewww.apple.com/batteries for more information. Song capacity is based on four minutes per song and 128-Kbps AAC encoding; in 256-Kbps AAC format, song capacity is up to 500 songs; actual capacity varies by encoding method and bit rate.

Koenigsegg NLV Quant - supercars can be green too you know!

A Koenigsegg supercar made of one gigantic piece of high-tech solar panel that runs purely on electrons? Yes exactly, this is no joke. The Quant is the offspring of the latest Koenigsegg-NLV (NLV Solar AG) partnership, its a four-passenger coupe with an electric motor driving each rear wheel. The combined output of this unique package is 512 horsepower, which is expected to bring the supercar from knot to 60 in about five seconds. La Vecchia explained at this year’s Geneva Motor Show that the so-called Flow Accumulator Energy Storage (FAES) invented by NLV is a combination of an electro-chemical battery and a redox cell. Each 15-20 minute charge will last you well over 300 miles, that’s ridiculous… yes I know. Remember, its fully electric, not hybrid.The price of this green monster? Nothing has been said just yet, but considering the technology put into this, you will need to be pretty darn rich to be this ‘green’. Here are a few mouth watering pictures below…!

Cool gaming laptops from CeBIT: Acer Aspire 8930 and Clevo M980NU

Apart from netbooks which are gaining a substantial popularity over regular sized laptops in the recent years. Gaming laptops have also been popular, most likely because of their advantage in being able to move abouts whenever necessary. What we have below are two of the latest gaming laptops revealed by Acer and Clevo at the CeBIT this year.

As for the specs fo the Acer Aspire 8930, its a 18.4-inch that boasts Intel’s new Core 2 Quad Mobile Q9000 CPU, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, a 500GB 7200 SATA hard drive and NVIDIA GeForce 9700M GT graphics with 512MB of dedicated video memory. It will however cost $1800, which is quite alot for an Acer. Check out some pictures of the Acer Aspire 8930 below

Clevo’s M980NU is another rather large gaming PC also sporting a 18.4″ LCD. The LCD features full HD with a 1920 x 1080 pixel format. You will know when this beast is powered on because there are blue LEDs everywhere. Notebook Check took a preproduction model for a ride and checked the massive 18.4″ LCD. The LCD showed a decent brightness of 220 cd/m2 in the middle but they did mention that light fall-off toward the edges were a bit pronounced. Contrast ratio was a very good 595:1. This monsterous machine has dual Nvidia GTX 280M with mobile quad-core CPU support, so you gamers will know what that means - hybrid graphics modes! What’s strange is that nothing has been mentioned on how much memory it will come with, but we suspect nothing short of 4GB of RAM. In addition to this, the M980NU is also equipped with three HDD ports, touch sensors, HDMI, TV turner and fingerprint security. The M980NU to me is probably not just an incredible gaming PC but an entertainment heaven!

Motorola RUSH 2 pictures

Check out some leaked pictures of the Motorola RUSH 2, one of the four phones Moto said late last year that they would be depending on to bring them back into the game (where they didn't literally say it). For now, the pictures only indicate that they will be arriving the US, as its got a Verizon badge on it but who knows where else it might turn up. To me I don't believe this will be an expensive phone, neither do I believe Motorola will be able to put a big price tag on it by the way it looks. No offence to any Motorola fans but the RUSH 2 as pictured doesn't look like the prettiest phone compared to lots others on the market at the moment, but maybe it sports some exciting technology?…

Mobile-review was able to dig up these pictures of the RUSH 2 sporting a Verizon badge. According to them, it’ll be known as the A455 when it hits VZW, though no one knows when that might happen.

Sony Cybershot DSC HX1 digital camera - ’sweep panorama’

Sony launched this week their latest Cybershot flagship, the DSC HX1 digital camera. The most important feature of this camera is the ’sweep Panorama’ technology which allows you to capture a 180 degree panoramic photograph in just 3 seconds, stunning stuff! The camera will be available from April priced at approx. $500.

Remember you can always click into our gallery page (tab above) to see more pictures!

If you are interested in more details of this amazing camera, check the following press release!

Sony Cybershot HX1 Debuts High-Zoom ‘Exmor’ CMOS Sensor

Extraordinary Image Quality Plus High-Speed Shooting


LONDON–(Marketwire - March 2, 2009) -

– 9.1 effective megapixel ‘Exmor’ CMOS sensor for high-speed shooting and reduced image noise

– High speed continuous shooting up to 10 frames per second

– Premium quality G Lens with 20x optical zoom and 28mm wide angle

– Record 1080/30p HD movie clips

– ‘Sweep Panorama’ mode captures extra-wide landscapes

– 3.0″ tilt-angle Clear Photo LCD Plus screen

The Sony Cybershot HX1 teams stunning picture quality, lightning-fast shooting and powerful creative features in a stylish, supremely easy to use digital camera.

The new flagship of the Sony Cybershot range showcases a range of sophisticated image sensing, optical and processing technologies that offer unrivalled creative possibilities.

Offering cutting edge performance and a powerful 20x optical zoom range, the compact HX1 digital camera fits effortlessly into a weekend bag or small travel case. It’s an ideal companion for anyone who needs top-flight imaging performance and advanced shooting functions without the bulk of packing a digital SLR camera and all its accompanying lenses.

The HX1 digital camera, with an effective resolution of 9.1 megapixels, debuts a new Sony-developed ‘Exmor’ CMOS sensor. Originally developed for the Sony Alpha digital SLR programme, ‘Exmor’ technology delivers outstanding images with reduced noise, especially when shooting in high ISO settings.

In tandem with the powerful BIONZ image processor, the ‘Exmor’ CMOS sensor supports full-resolution shooting at an incredible 10 frames per second (max) using a mechanical shutter. Outpacing many pro-spec digital SLR cameras, this super-fast shooting rate is ideal for capturing high-speed action or spontaneous events like parties, where anything can happen in a moment.

The ‘Exmor’ CMOS sensor supports two new shooting modes that reduce image noise when you’re shooting in low light. If you’re capturing static subjects, new Handheld Twilight mode grabs a high-speed burst of six frames, combining them to create a single optimised image with dramatically reduced noise levels. If your subject is moving, Anti Motion Blur mode also superimposes six frames to produce one crisp, composite image with less subject blur.
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Also powered by the ‘Exmor’ CMOS sensor and BIONZ processor, the Sony Cybershot HX1 features a brand-new shooting mode that captures breathtaking landscapes, city scenes and more; ‘Sweep Panorama’. Just hold down the shutter button and swing the camera horizontally (or vertically). The Sony Cybershot HX1 seamlessly stitches together a high-speed burst of frames to create an extra-wide, high resolution image. Panoramas can be viewed as a scrolling preview on the three-inch LCD screen or new S-Frame digital photo frames or previewed on a PLAYSTATION 3.

Making its Sony Cybershot debut is a new G Lens that has been designed to complement the extraordinary imaging possibilities of the ‘Exmor’ CMOS sensor and BIONZ processor.

Developed originally for the Sony Alpha Digital SLR family, the G Lens in the HX1 digital camera teams aspherical lens elements and ED (extra-low dispersion) lens for uncompromising optical precision. You’ll experience superb resolution and minimal chromatic aberration at all settings, from 28mm wide-angle right up to 560mm super telephoto. This generous 20x optical zoom range accommodates a huge range of shooting possibilities, from landscapes and fun-filled family moments to action-packed sports events.

The Sony Cybershot HX1 is the first compact digital camera from Sony that’s capable of shooting 1080/30p HD movies. It captures crisp, detail-packed HD video clips plus stereo sound at a smooth 30 frames per second.

HD movies and still photos can be enjoyed with superb quality on your BRAVIA or any HD Ready television*. BRAVIA Sync displays the camera’s playback screen on the TV screen, allowing handy control of slideshow, zoom, image index and other functions with your BRAVIA TV’s remote.

The Sony Cybershot HX1 makes it brilliantly easy to get great results without the worry of adjusting camera settings correctly. Intelligent Scene Recognition has been enhanced with the addition of Smile Shutter. This lets you capture beautiful smiles automatically, even in tricky situations like twilight or backlighting.

The HX1 digital camera features a tilt-angle 3.0″ LCD screen that gives extra flexibility for framing your shots comfortably in any position. Clear Photo LCD Plus technology delivers superb picture quality and contrast, with a resolution of 230,000 dots that’s capable of resolving fine details.

A new jog dial simplifies ‘click and rotate’ selection and adjustment of camera settings. For extra convenience, there’s also a Digital SLR-style Custom button that can be assigned to Smile Shutter, White Balance adjust or metering mode select functions.

The Sony Cybershot HX1 digital camera is available from the beginning of May 2009.

*requires optional HDMI cable

Features HX1
Effective Pixels 9.1 megapixels
Sensor 1/2.4 type ‘Exmor’ CMOS Sensor
Lens ‘G Lens’
Zoom 20x Optical Zoom
Bionz Processor Yes
HD Movie 1080/30p HD
Wide Angle lens 28mm
ISO 3200
Display 3.0″ Clear Photo LCD Plus Tilting type
Battery Life 195 mins
SteadyShot Optical SteadyShot
Colours Black

Environmental Info

Sony is engaged in a constant review of its manufacturing, operational and business practices to ensure that its products are developed in an environmentally responsible way. This approach can broadly be divided into three areas:

Product

Halogenated materials can pose a risk to the environment if disposed of improperly. To minimize this risk, halogen-free flame retardants are used for certain printed circuit boards.

The Cybershot HX1 body is made from 100% recycled plastic.

Process

The extended user manual is provided electronically on CD-ROM to reduce paper use. Product packaging is made from 100% recycled paper to reduce the impact on the environment. VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) — free vegetable oil based ink is used to print the carton.

Thanks to Mark for the tip!

Windows Vista Service Pack 2 now available for download

How many of you still care about Windows Vista updates? While the team here at GadgetLite have switched to using Mac OS X for some time, we know that around 20.2% of you readers/visitors are Vista users, so I guess there is some point in telling you about this new upcoming Windows update. Microsoft has announced to the public about the release of Windows Vista SP2 for anyone who wants to test the latest update before it arrives on the Windows Updater.

Its been announced that this service pack 2 update will apply to both Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. The interesting point I find is that they say most of the components of this update has in fact been available as standalone updates. In other words, this is like download an entire package of updates for your Windows instead of downloading them one by one.

“You can download the Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 RC from our Customer Preview Program site or install through Windows Update using our Windows Update Experience Kit,” he adds.

“If you have the SP2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Beta installed, you will need to uninstall that first before installing the RC.”

Take a look at the full details of the SP2 here

CeBIT 2009: MSI’s MacBook Air-like X340 ultra slim laptop looks stunning

You will recall not very long ago MSI unveiled their latest plans to counter Apple’s MacBook Air with two new ultra slim laptops, the X340 and X360. And what we have here is the X340. At the time we knew very little, but now more specs have been revealed at the CeBIT. The X340 will be equipped with a 13-inch wide LED display in the golden 16:9 ratio, the X340 will support various multimedia functions with HDMI and built-in Blu-ray.

The MSI X340 will of course also play its role in helping the environment, the X340 is powered by ultra-low power consumption CPU, it will be available in gold, white and black (the glossy black looks brilliant, don’t you think so?).

Halo Wars Rating

OVERALL RATING:9.0/10

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

Developer: Ensemble Studios

Category: Action

Release Dates

N Amer - 03/03/2009
Gameplay: 9.0
A highly action-oriented RTS game, Halo Wars gets huge props for creating a control scheme that proves that RTS games can be done comfortably and intuitively on a console.

Graphics: 8.0
The game features some pretty cool effects and brightly colorful environments, and the unit models take on some impressive amounts of damage. Unfortunately, the choppy framerates are a problem when the action gets hairy.

Sound: 9.5
The soundtrack is on par with the rest of the Halo games, which is a big compliment. The voice work is also great and the sound effects are appropriately huge.

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 8.5
Halo Wars is a great entry to the series, and also introduces a lot of story elements that provide some great insight to the Halo universe.

Multiplayer: 9.0
The 6-player skirmishes that allow you to choose between Covenant and UNSC are a great touch and a lot of fun online.

Overall: 9.0
A solid RTS on the Xbox 360, Halo Wars may not break the mold, but it does provide an impressive entry to the series and one that finally makes the genre feel at home on a console.

Halo Wars Review

If you’re a gamer, you’d have to have been living under a rock to have never heard of the Halo franchise. The flagship series behind Microsoft’s console efforts, Bungie’s Halo series has been among the most successful across two different console generations, first appearing on the original Xbox before finishing the fight on the Xbox 360. 2007’s Halo 3 marked the end of the initial Halo trilogy of games, as well as provided a bookend to the adventures of the Master Chief, leaving many gamers to wonder what the future had in store for the hallowed franchise.

Fortunately for Halo fans, Microsoft is not one to rest on their laurels, as 2009 is set to bear not one but two titles from the Halo universe, including a standalone expansion titled Halo 3: ODST launching this fall and a new prequel set before the events of the first Halo title, Halo Wars. However, in a departure from the previous titles in the Halo series, Halo Wars is a real-time strategy game instead of an action title, giving players the opportunity to command several units across the game map from a top-down perspective instead of a first-person one. While consoles and strategy games have seldom mixed in the past, developer Ensemble Studios (the highly-capable team behind the great Age of Empires games on the PC) has taken great strides to make sure that Halo Wars lives up to the Halo name, providing tons of action while staying pretty accessible for gamers of all skill levels.



Halo Wars takes place roughly twenty years before the events of the very first game in the series. Without giving anything away, the storyline and characters in Halo Wars are as deep as anything a fan of the series would hope for, revealing plenty of plot twists and elements from the series, as well as some pretty big revelations here and there.

As far as the actual mechanics of the gameplay, Halo Wars is a lot more action-oriented than most PC RTS titles. You won’t spend a lot of time building up your structures and units, as you’ll instead focus more on exploring the sections of the map and eliminating the threat of your enemies.

While Halo Wars does seem to focus more on the action element of things, there are still some pretty substantial unit creation functions. You’re able to create new structures and buildings capable of improving your current technology as well as build units as you play. The game also employs the use of Hero units that have special abilities and functions, setting them apart from other units on the map.



One of the elements that seem to be a hotbed for frustration when it comes to console RTS games are the controls. While several games in the genre have taken great strides to make the experience comfortable and accessible, none have come close to matching the mouse/keyboard configuration on the PC. Halo Wars also puts its own unique spin on controls, and while it still doesn’t quite hit the mark to matching the overall comfort of PC strategy games, it comes pretty darn close. 

The controls in Halo Wars are quite solid and benefit from being built from the ground up for console gaming. The thumbsticks allow you to look around the map and zoom in on your units, while the A button is used to select units that are highlighted by your cursor. The X button is your main interaction button, allowing you to move units around the map and interact with other units or attack enemies with your primary attack function. Pressing Y when targeting an enemy unit allows you to perform a secondary attack function, like throw grenades or run enemies over if you’re in a Warthog. The secondary attack function is a nice addition that helps keep the game in its action roots while still making it deep and compelling for hardcore strategy fans.

Additionally, aside from the basic functions of the face buttons, the game also streamlines the controls to allow you to select the units you want a lot more easily. Using the bumper buttons, you can select all of your units or all of the units currently on-screen with a simple button push, or you can use the right trigger to switch between different unit types. Additionally, the D-Pad is used to utilize any Heroes that you may have, using their special abilities, as well as cycling through your Bases, Armies and any Alerts that may come up. Halo Wars uses every button on the controller, but fortunately never feels overwhelming or cluttered.



The game also features some cool online abilities, allowing players to participate in six-player skirmishes over Xbox LIVE. Online, you can play as either UNSC or Covenant forces, utilizing each of their respective technological advances and specialized units.

Graphically, Halo Wars is a pretty solid looking game. The unit models are nicely rendered and take on realistic damage as they see combat, and the environments are colorful and feature some great details that fans of Halo games will get a kick out of. The one main issue with the game’s aesthetic are the framerates, which can be very choppy when the action is in high gear.

The game’s soundtrack is very well done, with a great score that punctuates the on-screen action very well. The sound effects are crisp and the voice work is also spot on.

While PC gamers and hardcore RTS enthusiasts probably won’t be able to see what all of the fuss around Halo Wars is about since their platform has put out much more groundbreaking RTS titles in the past few years, console gamers and Halo fans who have yet to experience a truly great RTS game on a console will now have their chance.