Samsung unveils Series 9 prototype, with 13-inch 2560x1440 pixel display

Samsung has shown off a Series 9 ultrabook prototype at IFA 2012, one with a Retina Display of sorts – a high resolution 13-inch 2,560x1,440 pixel display.

In comparison with the 15-inch MacBook Pro Retina Display, which has a resolution of 2,880x1,800 pixels, the 13-inch Samsung Series 9 display has roughly the same pixel density, 226ppi, compared to Apple’s 221ppi offering.

Interestingly, Samsung has given the 13-inch Series 9 WQHD display a matte finish, much to the relief of laptop users working in brightly-lit environments.

For now, the 13-inch Samsung Series 9 WQHD ultrabook is supposedly only a concept, though speculation has it that the company would likely be putting it into production soon, and release it in December - so don’t hold your breath.

Apple’s MacBook Pro Retina Display did create a lot of buzz when it was announced, however, that popularity waned in the face of the exorbitant price tag. Currently, the more affordable, but ultraportable and very capable, 13-inch MacBook Air is moving faster off the shelves.

With such a limited audience for such niche, artist-friendly devices, Samsung is obviously trying to counter Apple’s offerings at every price point. We wonder if they should be concentrating on capturing the mass-market instead.


Source:- ThinkDigit

Karbonn introduces Smart A18 dual-SIM ICS smartphone at Rs. 12,990

Karbonn Mobiles has introduced Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich-based smartphone called 'Smart A18'. The new Karbonn smartphone supports dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) and has been priced at Rs. 12,990. However, the Smart A18 has already made it to the online shopping sites such as Flipkart where it is selling at Rs. 9,790.

Some of the key specs of the Smart A18 are:-

•  4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen with 480 x 800 pixels resolution
• Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
• 1GHz processor 
• 512MB of RAM
• 5MP camera
• 1.3MP front camera
• 2.55GB built-in storage, microSD card slot that supports storage up to 32GB
• 1,500 mAh battery
• Connectivity: 3G, USB, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Samsung Galaxy Y Duos Lite up for preorder

Samsung Galaxy Y Duos Lite is now up for pre-booking on the Samsung India e-store here. To pre-book the device, customers have to pay Rs 1,000 as advance payment. Additionally, customers can choose the 'Notify Me' option and enter their e-mail addresses to add the product to their wishlists and to be notified once it is available at the e-store. Those preordering the Samsung Galaxy Y Duos Lite will get an 8GB microSD Card worth Rs 499 free. 

Customers prebooking the Samsung Galaxy Y Duos will be issued an electronic coupon against the advance payment. To adjust the advance payment in the final price, the coupon code will have to be used when buying the Galaxy Y Duos Lite from the e-store.

Some of the key specs of the Samsung Galaxy Y Duos Lite are:-

• 2.8-inch (7.1cm) display, capacitive touchscreen with a 240 x3 20 pixel resolution
• Android v2.3 (Gingerbread)
• 832MHz processor
• 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi with Wi-Fi hotspot
• GPS with A-GPS support for Google Maps
• Bluetooth with A2DP and USB 2.0 (Micro)
• 2MP camera
• FM radio
• 1200mAh battery
• 4GB Internal memory, expandable up to 32GB 

The Cash On Delivery payment option is not available on Galaxy Y Duos Lite during prebooking. After the phone is launched, customers who have pre-booked the phone will be sent an exclusive e-mail notifying them of the launch. Samsung adds that the products will be dispatched on a first-come, first-served basis to customers who complete the purchase process. 

Interestingly, the product listing on the store mentions the expected launch date of the phone to be September 5, 2012. 


Source:- Tech2

How to Beat Facebook Addiction

When addiction word comes, we all think about alcohol, cigarettes, drugs and other narcotics. But in 21st Century, the era of Internet or more accurately the era of social networking, the most addicted thing is none other than Social Networks like facebook,  twitter, youtube, pinterest, myspace.....the list is endless. Millions of us are addicted. The Government tells us that our time wasting internet addictions are costing the country billions of dollars every year. Our productivity at work is dismal because we spend most of the day reading our Fun Wall or checking out our favorite blogs. Can this additive behavior be beaten?

The answer is Yes.

Maybe your affinity for Facebook began with a simple desire to keep in touch with your friends, or make new ones online. Maybe you were just bored. But now, you're finding it difficult to spend an hour of your waking life without checking or thinking about Facebook. Here's how to help yourself quit.

Try this quiz yourself. It will tell you how much facebook rules your life.

In this article, I will show you some ways to reduce you facebook addiction to a normal level. I found these steps in The Daily Mind and WikiHow

How to tell if you are facebook addict

1. You are behind schedule because you are on Facebook

If you are ever late because you were checking your updates on Facebook or watching a related video on Youtube then you know you are addicted. This is classic addict behavior. It is time to get help.

2. You think about it when you are offline

I have several friends who struggle to get to sleep because they are thinking about the latest game or wondering how their website statistics are looking. If you do this then it could be a sign that you are heading towards a problem.

3. Your friends and family comment on your excessive internet use

When other people around you start to notice that you have a problem it is generally a pretty accurate indicator that you are losing it. If your mates, coworkers or family members have made comments about how much you use the net then you need to read the rest of this post.

4. You check your accounts from your Mobile

If you use your Mobile for monitoring your social media accounts then you need help.

5. You get stressed when a Facebook “friend” doesn’t add you

Have you ever noticed yourself getting stressed over something that has happened on Facebook or Myspace? Do you ever feel like your online life is more real than your offline life? If you have been stressed about what rapper you turned out as or what magic egg someone sent you then it is time to open your eyes.

How to beat facebook addiction

1. Admit that you have a problem: Take a deep breath and then repeat this out a loud – even if you are in your office or an internet cafe.

“I have an internet addiction problem.”

Good. Now that you have acknowledged your problem we can proceed. There is no point in trying to beat an addiction if you do not seriously believe that you have one. This is important.

2. Track your usage: Keep tabs of what you actually do on Facebook. After every session, ask yourself, "What did I just accomplish by checking Facebook?" Odds are, you're probably just logging in to see if you've been poked, check for updates, write a new note, add a song, and other mindless tasks you do to waste time — even if you logged in for a set purpose, like accepting a friend request.

3. Follow a Facebook schedule: For each Facebook goal, write down how much time and at what frequency you'll need to be on the site to achieve that goal. Then, write down the total number of hours per week that you should be spending on Facebook.

• If it seems like too much time, adjust your activity times accordingly.
• Following this schedule might bring your Facebook addiction under control without requiring you to quit altogether.
• Look at this example schedule for inspiration:
• Staying in touch with [[Make Friends in College|college — Check every other day; spend no more than 15 minutes responding to messages only from college friends (1 hour per week)
• Maintaining a group — Check every morning and evening for 10 minutes each, only to remove any spam or junk. Note to self: do not respond to posts, comments or messages during this time (2 hours, 20 minutes per week)
• Keeping a group interesting — Spend 30 minutes every other day reading all of the comments and responding (2 hours per week)
• Finding new friends — Browse profiles for 30 minutes, twice a week (1 hour per week)
• Total time I plan to spend on Facebook per week: 6 hours, 20 minutes

4. Focus on the other activities you're neglecting: If you find yourself spending, say, 10 hours a week on Facebook, make a list of all the other things you could accomplish in that time.

5. Turn off email notifications: Email notifications are like little red devils coming to sit on your shoulder and begging you to come back and visit Facebook. Turn them off. You don’t need to be notified every time someone sends you a message. If it was that important they should email you or, God forbid, use the telephone. You also don’t need to be notified every time someone rates your sexiness, adds a fish to your aquarium or sends you a new bumper sticker! Turn off email reminders so you can get on with your work.

6. Meditate as soon as the thought arises: One of the most powerful ways to beat Facebook Syndrome is to look directly at the tempting thought as soon as it arises in your mind. You do not need to judge it or try to push it out – just look at it. The thought might arise as a worrying thought that begs you to check your updates so you don’t offend anyone. Or it might appear as a carefree thought saying that one quick look won’t hurt. Whatever it arises as the meditation is to just look at it. When you can do that the power of the thought will be drained well and truly.

7. Leave Facebook: If you've created a schedule but can’t stick to it — or if you've decided that any time spent on Facebook is wasted — you may need to quit cold turkey. This is a last resort and is easier said than done.

• There are two options here: you can either deactivate your account, which lets you take a breather without losing any information, or permanently delete your Facebook account, which is the real deal.
• If you've started any groups, transfer admin rights to someone you trust.
• Send an email to your Facebook contacts explaining your decision to leave. Include your current contact information so they can get in touch with you without Facebook.
• If you plan to permanently delete, clear every last bit of information from your profile. Don't forget to remove your photos!

Lenovo introduces IdeaTab S2110, A2107 and A2109 ICS tablets : IFA 2012

Lenovo has introduced three new Android IdeaTab tablets at the IFA show in Berlin. The new devices namely S2110, A2107 and A2109 run on Google's Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system.

Lenovo IdeaTab S2110

Previously showcased at the CES event as the IdeaTab S2, the Lenovo IdeaTab S2110 is being touted as a 'premium entertainment tablet'. The IdeaTab S2110 has thickness of just 8.69mm and weighs about 580 grams. The 10-inch Lenovo tablet features a 10-point multi-touch display, 5MP rear camera with LED flash, 1.3MP front-facing camera, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity and micro-HDMI port for full HD viewing of 1080p on an HDTV, USB port and 1GB of memory.

The IdeaTab S2110 comes with a portable dock, which supposedly boosts up battery life by up to 20 hours and adds two additional full-sized USB 2.0 ports as well as a 3-in-1 SD card reader. Check out the full specifications of the Lenovo IdeaTab S2110 here.

The tablet is already up for sale in U.S. at $399. For dock-enhanced model, the price is $499.

Ideatab A2107, A2109

Lenovo touts the Ideatab A2107 and A2109 as the affordable tablets with essential entertainment, social media, and productivity capabilities.

The Lenovo A2107 features a 7-inch display with a 720p HD resolution, a microSD card, Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi, a built-in FM radio, two speakers, and a battery that run 10 hours on a charge. It will also come with the option of 3G connectivity.

The Lenovo A2109 has a 9-inch, four-point capacitive display (1280 X800 resolution), quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 CPU and graphics card. The device also has two speakers and a micro HDMI port, dual microphones, a 1.3MP camera up front and a 3MP camera on the back, a microUSB port, up to 16GB of storage and a microSD card that supports up to 32GB more.

The Lenovo A2107 is scheduled to launch later this year, while the Lenovo A2109 and Lenovo S2110 are available in U.S., starting at $299 and $399, respectively. 


Source:- ThinkDigit

Lenovo unveils IdeaPad U510 ultrabook, Y and Z series laptops : IFA 2012

At the IFA consumer electronics show, Lenovo introduced its new IdeaPad-branded PCs, including the IdeaPad U Series Ultrabook and IdeaPadY and Z Series laptops.

IdeaPad U510 Ultrabook

Lenovo has previously launched U310 and U410 ultrabooks. The new 15-inch IdeaPad U510 is just 21mm thick and weighs under 2.2kg. The U510 runs on Windows 8 OS. It is powered by the third generation Intel Core i7 Ivy Bridge CPU and has 1TB of HDD storage with an optional 32GB SSD cache, up to 8GB of RAM, and a battery life of up to six hours.

For connectivity, the device has USB 2.0, USB 3.0, VGA and HDMI, and there's an SD card reader as well. The device is equipped with an integrated DVD reader/writer or an optional Blu-ray Disc drive. This unit’s display is 1366x768 pixels and has a 16:9 aspect ratio as well.

The IdeaPad U510 is scheduled to hit shelves next month starting at $679. Meanwhile, check out the full specs of the device here.

IdeaPad Y400 and Y500

Lenovo has expanded its Y-series offerings with the new IdeaPad Y400 and Y500. Both the Y500 and Y400 come with a UltraBay feature which allows users can instantly swap out for dual graphics capability.

Both the devices are equipped with up to third generation Intel Core i7 processors, NVIDIA GeForce GT655M 2GB dual graphics, up to 16GB DDR3 memory, and as much as 1TB of HDD storage. The IdeaPad Y400 and Y500 have 14-inch and 15.6-inch LED backlit widescreen HD displays respectively, and a dual-layer backlit AccuType keyboard with a large one-piece touchpad. The IdeaPad Y400 and Y500 also come with JBL speakers and Dolby Home Theater v4.

IdeaPad Z400 and Z500

Lenovo says its Z400 and Z500 are '25 percent slimmer than a standard laptop' and are 14-inch and 15.6-inch laptops respectively. They both have 1366 x 768 resolution screens, but only up to three hours of battery life. Lenovo points out that the Z400 and Z500 come with standard voltage Intel Core i7 processors, instead of the low-voltage processors used on ultraportable notebooks. The devices have up to GeForce GT 645M graphics with 2GB of video memory for gaming possibilities. They also have DVD drives, optional Blu-ray players, and hold up to 1TB of storage and up to 16GB of RAM, and start at $549.

The IdeaPad Z500 is slated to launch in September, while the Z400 will arrive in November.


Source:- ThinkDigit

Oracle releases emergency Java patch

Oracle has released a new version of Java to address the serious security flaws that attackers have been exploiting all week. 

Users are encouraged to immediately apply the latest Java update to close the zero-day vulnerabilities in the Java Runtime Environment, Oracle said in its advisory on Thursday. 

If exploited, these security holes allow attackers to download and execute arbitrary code on victim computers. Researchers have identified two flaws in JRE 1.7 which attackers were chaining together to push the Poison Ivy Remote Access Tool (RAT) onto victims.

The out-of-band Security Alert CVE-2012-4681 includes fixes for “three distinct but related vulnerabilities and one security-in-depth issue” affecting Java running within the browser, said Eric Maurice, director of Oracle software security assurance, in a blog post on Thursday. 

CVE-2012-4681, CVE-2012-1682, CVE-2012-3136, and CVE-2012-0547 don't affect standalone Java desktop applications or Java running on servers. They only affect applications accessed through the browser using plugins.

“Due to the high severity of these vulnerabilities, Oracle recommends that customers apply this Security Alert as soon as possible,” Maurice wrote.

Oracle's latest update fixes both reported zero-days, Tod Beardsley , the Metasploit engineering manager at Rapid7, told Security Watch. The team verified the flaws were fixed in the latest Java update (Update 7) with the open-source Metasploit penetration framework, Beardsley said.

“At this point, I'm confident that the patched code eliminates the vulnerability,” Beardsley said.

Disable Java
The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US CERT) has advised users to disable the browser's Java plugin, or uninstalling Java entirely. Security Watch outlined the steps to disable Java earlier this week. Even with the patch in place, if users don't need Java, it's worth still keeping it disabled. Why give attackers a potential avenue of attack if it's not necessary?

Security researchers have long been saying users should not be running Java or have the plugin installed unless they regularly access websites that still require the technology (many consumer-focused sites no longer require Java although there are a few that still do).

Most browsers allow for whitelisting of known-good sites, and most web sites don't rely on Java for dynamic content, so it doesn't cause much inconvenience to disable Java entirely until you learn that you need it for a particular site, Beardsley said.

“This is not likely the last Java 0-day we'll see,” Beardsley said.

Oracle Be Nimble, Oracle be Quick
It’s very rare for Oracle to do an emergency patch, Beardsley said, as the company “almost never” deviates from its Critical Patch Update cycle. The fact that they released this Java update early shows that they are getting more flexible in their approach to securing their products, Beardsley said.

“I'm thrilled that we went from a malicious, in-the-wild exploit on Sunday, to a safe and effective exploit on Monday, to a new Java update on Thursday,” Beardsley said, calling it a “a huge success story.”

Andrew Storms, director of security operations at nCircle, had some strong words for Oracle, calling the entire incident a “complete security communication fail on Oracle's part.”

The company didn't release much information in the release notes and there was a bit of a lag time between when the update went live and when Maurice posted his blog post. The company was also deafeningly silent over the past four days, giving no indication that an out-of-band update was coming.



Source:- PCMag