Microsoft Creating App Store for Windows 8?

Microsoft wants Windows 8 to 'have an app for that' too.

These days the talk of App Stores is all about Apple for its iPhone and iPad, as well as the Android Marketplace for those running the Google Mobile OS. RIM, Palm and Nokia are also players in the apps market, so it's definitely the new way to distribute software.

Microsoft could be planning the same sort of thing, but for the full-blown desktop OS Windows 8. According to the leaked slides, Microsoft wants to make it easy for users "getting applications they want, that they can feel confident in, that they can use on any Windows 8 device."

Windows 8 won't be confined just to the desktop and laptop space; Microsoft is aiming to make the operating system suitable for slates, laptops and all-in-ones. While Windows 7 already accomplishes this, the addition of the App Store makes it more crucial for Microsoft to ably handle software offerings consistently across the various form factors.

Next 4G Phone from Sprint is the Epic 4G

Meet the next 4G handset, the Epic 4G.

Sprint's HTC EVO 4G is a monster smartphone and the nation's first 4G handset. Packing a 1GHz CPU, 512MB of RAM, a 4.3-inch (480×800) LCD touch screen, an 8-megapixel camera (capable of shooting video in 720p), HDMI out and Android 2.1, the EVO 4G is hard to match.

However, rather than let the EVO 4G enjoy the 'superphone' moniker alone, Sprint yesterday announced the next 4G phone, the Epic 4G. The Samsung device previously known as the Galaxy X, the Epic 4G boasts a 1GHz Hummingbird CPU; 512MB of RAM; 1GB ROM; a 4-inch super AMOLED touchscreen display with multitouch; a slide out QWERTY keyboard; WiFi 802.11 b/g/n with hotspot support for up to five devices; Bluetooth 2.1; a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash and 720p video and Android 2.1. There's 16GB of storage included and this is expandable to 32GB. Of course, there's also the all-important WiMAX, which Sprint says can deliver peak download speeds of more than 10Mbps (3-6 Mbps on average).

Seagate ''Ships'' First 3 TB External HDD

It's the world's first external drive with a 3 TB storage capacity.

Seagate said on Tuesday that the world's first 3 TB external hard drive is now available for purchase. Part of the company's FreeAgent GoFlex Desk line of drives, the new addition is USB 2.0 compatible by default, however Seagate offers an adapter--sold separately--that lets users connect the drive to USB 3.0 and FireWire 800 ports.

Sony Reveals PlayStation Network Plus Details

Sony has revealed some details of what gamers paying $50 per year for PSN Plus can expect for their money.

When Sony announced PlayStation Plus at E3 there was a lot of confusion as to what the paid version of PSN would offer users. Yesterday evening, Susan Panico, Senior Director for PlayStation Network, clarified the features of PSN Plus in a blog post to the PlayStation blog.

At launch subscribers will get full access to the PlayStation Network game WipEout HD; PSP minis; as well as PS One classics like Fieldrunners, Age of Zombies, Rally Cross; and a game trial of Infamous. There'll also be free monthly episodes of Qore.

Other features of PSN Plus are free monthly games that once downloaded, are yours as long as you remain a subscriber. If you delete the game and decide you want it back, you can redownload it for free (as long as you're still a subscriber). You'll also get exclusive PlayStation Store discounts ranging from 20 percent to 50 percent. Members will also be included in demos and betas before anyone else.

There'll be free trials for users, which will allow you to download an entire game and play it for a set amount of time (usually an hour) as a 'try before you buy' option. If you decide to buy, you can pick up where you left off when your free hour expired.

Lastly, Susan talking about a feature that will download patches and updates automatically if that's your desire.

Pricing is $49.99 for a year and $17.99 for three months of service. If you purchase a year, you'll get three months free.

Anyone interested?

Windows 7 SP1 Beta Now Out in the (Testing) Wild

Windows 7 SP1 Beta. It's a lot of hotfixes in a bundle... in beta.

As we reported last week, Microsoft has sent out beta invites for testers to give the upcoming Windows 7 SP 1 a go. The beta's been sent out and is now live for those who get to try it (or who find another ways of obtaining it).

According to Ars Technica, the build number is 7601.16562.100603-1800, meaning it was compiled on June 3, 2010 at 6 p.m. Furthermore, support items have appeared on Microsoft's website for those who are having troubles installing the SP1 beta, which confirms the availability of the test patch.

As Microsoft previously indicated, SP1 will not offer Windows 7-specific features, but rather serves as a culmination of updates released since the OS hit the market--a few additional hotfixes thrown into the mix.

For Windows Server 2008 R2, the new service pack will provide RemoteFX, a 3D graphical experience for remote users, and Dynamic Memory, a feature that allows Windows Server Hyper-V to "dynamically allocate more or less memory to each VM as needed, provided a more scalable and better performing VDI environment."

The public release of SP1 is slated for later this year.

YouTube Scores Huge Victory in Copyright Case

Google-owned video sharing site, YouTube, has won a landmark copyright case against Viacom.

It's been more than three years since Viacom first took YouTube to court in a $1 billion lawsuit alleging willful infringement of its content. YouTube has always maintained that it removes copyrighted content when requested to do so by the owner and in doing so, is fully compliant with the requirements laid out by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). 

Intel to Use eMLC in Next-Gen Enterprise SSDs

The next-gen of Intel SSDs using 25nm flash are coming later this year.

Intel recently announced that its 25nm NAND flash chips are now shipping in volume to customers. This also means that we can soon expect a refresh of the Intel SSD's that are currently based off of 34nm Postville parts later this year.

Intel's next generation 25nm SSD parts for enterprises will use a new type of enterprise multi-level cell (eMLC) flash memory, which are expected to be even more resilient than other existing technologies, according to a roadmap seen by X-bit Labs.

Those looking to beef up their home gaming rigs will probably be more interested in the SSDs targeted towards enthusiasts. The next round of Intel X25-M will come in 600GB, 300GB, 160GB and 80GB capacities. This will mean roomier drives for those with the resources to purchase one, while the 80GB and 160GB models hopefully will be more affordable to those looking for a speedy OS drive.

For reference, the 34nm-based 80GB and 160GB models can be had for around $200 and $400, respectively.

Broadband Users in Pakistan Tops 0.81 Million

Broadband users in Pakistan have reached 816,807 mark, as of April 2010, as per recently published stats by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority.

PTA stats said that Internet Service Providers of Pakistan added a total of 44,370 broadband subscribers in April 2010 compared to addition of 55,932 broadband subscribers in March 2010.

These statistics suggests that DSL still has 55 percent market share of total broadband market in Pakistan (in terms of subscribers), while WiMAX stands second with 30 percent subscribers’ market share.

EVO witnessed highest growth rate in last two quarters and has added its market share in terms of subscribers by 3 percent, while WiMAX subscribers’ market share grew by 2 percent.

On other hands, DSL users decreased by 3 percent and HFC saw a decline of 2 percent in market share in last 7 months.

Following graphs will further reveal the picture of broadband market of Pakistan:

Pakistan Registers 98 Million Mobile Phone Users

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has announced that Pakistan has a total of 98 million mobile phone users as of May 2010.

In its latest stats for mobile subscribers, PTA said that mobile companies added a total of 697,073 cellular users in May 2010 with 0.72 percent growth rate, as compared to 0.55 percent growth rate in April 2010.

All cellular companies showed positive growth except Zong, which witnessed negative growth for second consecutive month.

Microsoft Does Want Core Games, FPS for Kinect

Looks like Microsoft is aiming towards the casual gamers first.

Last week during Microsoft's E3 2010 press conference, the company showed what Xbox 360 gamers could look forward to with the upcoming Kinect motion-sensing device. Demos showed players jumping around, waving limbs, and even one player interacted with a virtual pet. Although the technology was impressive, the games for the most part seemed only geared for a general audience. It was as if Microsoft was trying to tell Nintendo "haha we can do the same thing you can do but without the pesky controller."

So while Kinect does look like a fun gadget for the entire family, what about the core gamers? Where were the kick-ass titles (outside the awesome unnamed Star Wars game) that will make them jump off the couch and spend $150? Microsoft doesn't plan to alienate those gamers--the company is just expanding. That aspect should have been obvious when Avatars arrived with the NXE update.

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Samsung 512GB SSD Has Toggle-mode DDR NAND

This is a big, fast SSD. We want it.

SSDs are now hitting sizes that are beginning to make them viable replacements for the magnetic counterparts. Samsung has introduced a new SSD offering in a 512GB configuration – boasting both capacity and speed, utilizing high-performance "toggle-mode" DDR NAND.

"The highly advanced features and characteristics of our new SSD were obtained as a direct result of an aggressive push for further development of our NAND flash technology, our SSD controller and our supportive SSD firmware," said Dong-Soo Jun, executive vice president, memory marketing, Samsung Electronics. "Early introduction of this state-of-the-art toggle DDR solution will enable Samsung to play a major role in securing faster market acceptance of the new wave of high-end SSD technology," he added.

The new 512GB SSD makes use of a 30 nanometer-class 32 gigabit chip that the company began producing last November. The toggle-mode DDR structure together with the SATA 3.0Gbps interface generates a maximum sequential read speed of 250 MBps and a 220MBps sequential write speed, both of which provide three-fold the performance of a typical hard disk drive.

New Xbox 360 is Actually Called the Xbox 360 'S'

Just like a Boxster S.

When Microsoft unveiled the new Xbox 360 just before E3, it called it… the Xbox 360. No, not slim, or mini, or nano; it was just the Xbox 360. The older model is termed the Original Xbox 360.

We suppose that calling it slim would be inaccurate because it's not really that much slimmer. And Sony didn't do much to call the new, smaller PS3 anything different (other than lean more heavily on the PS3 name rather than calling it a "PLAYSTATION 3").

Now that the new Xbox 360 consoles are hitting stores, we wanted to share with you one observation about the new console. Even though Microsoft is still calling it the same name as old, the sticker on the back shows clearly that it's the Xbox 360 S – perhaps taking a page out of Porsche naming conventions.

Check out the picture below that was taken by AnandTech.

Sony's Laptop Can Also be a 3G Wireless Hotspot

Nice feature to have, but most of you can get it on your own laptops through extra software.

Sony this week launched new Vaio Z and Y Series laptops that can also act as mobile hotspots. Sony calls its embedded wireless technology Share My Connection (SMC).

Sony's feature is aimed at those with wireless broadband subscriptions with Verizon, who will then be able to share the internet access with up to five other PCs or networked devices, such as smartphones, mp3 players, and cameras.

GAEMS' Console-In-A-Case Makes Xbox 360 Mobile

It might be a bit of a chore to cart around, but if you're determined to lug your Xbox 360 along when you go on holidays, then you'll need a way to carry it, won't you?

The new Xbox might be smaller and more portable but that doesn't mean those of us with last generation consoles can't take ours with us wherever we go. And while we're at it, should the fact that our cabin in the woods doesn't have a TV stop us? No, it should not. That's where the GAEMS Portable Console Gaming and Entertainment System comes in. It's a travel suitcase with built-in 15-inch, 720p display. There's also some speakers and a nice, dense polyurethane bed to protect your console against minor bumps and dings.

How to Get Rid of the Incessant Buzz of Vuvuzelas

Something different about this World Cup? We hear it too.

If you've been watching any of the World Cup soccer games lately, then you'll know what a vuvuzela is, even if you've never seen one in real life. You'll know it by its buzzing sound – the product of an instrument in African culture.

While the host nation's culture should be respected, those watching from home worldwide aren't as appreciative of the constant droning, buzzing noise. Quite frankly, it can take away from a match for those who aren't used to hearing anything other than cheering from the crowds and words from the commentators.

This noisy World Cup phenomenon has presented an opportunity for audio companies such as Waves Audio from Tel Aviv, Israel, who is now selling audio processing tools to filter out the sound of the vuvuzela in real time.

According to the EETimes, the solution comprises of two pieces of plug-in software: WNS Waves Noise Suppressor and the Q10 Paragraphic Equalizer.

Lifehacker has found that most audio editing software, even some home theatre EQ's, can do the job of filtering out the B-flat drone.

iPhone 4 has twice the RAM of iPad and 3GS

The new iPhone 4 has twice the RAM of Apple's magical and revolutionary iPad.

When the iPhone 4 was announced, a lot of people were surprised that some features, like iMovie, were exclusive to iPhone 4. Not even the iPad, with its identical A4 processor, was said to be getting all the same apps.

However, it seems the issue is one of hardware, more specifically, RAM. MacRumors reports that while the original iPhone and iPhone 3G boasted 128MB of RAM and the 3GS and iPad had twice that with 256MB, the iPhone 4 has 512MB of RAM.

Though Apple isn't exactly known for releasing the processor speed and RAM of any of its iPhones, the company supposedly confirmed the 512MB at WWDC last week.

Amazon Working on New Video Game Technology

A job posting for a position at Amazon has revealed that the company is working on some top secret, "completely new" gaming technology.

The fact that Amazon is looking to hire a Senior Product Manager for Digital Video Games is reason enough to be curious. However, Amazon went one step further and revealed that this person will be in charge of a "stealth project" focused on the creation and launch of a completely new type of technology for customers.

Applicants should be smart, analytical, and enthusiastic and have extensive experience working with software developers to build new technologies.

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Sony Launches Surround Sound System for PS3

Sony had an insanely long press conference yesterday but in nearly two hours of announcement and demos, the company never once mentioned its new Surround Sound System for the PlayStation.

Launching this fall and dubbed Surround Sound System for the PlayStation 3, the system will cost $199/€199. Providing virtual Dolby or DTS surround across a 2.1-channel system,Electronista reports that the the all-in-one speaker includes a Night Mode to cut down on audio passing through the room but can put out up to 30W of sustained bass and 10W for each stereo channel. Connectivity comes via an optical audio input or an analog audio input for devices like the PSP.

Zong On Hay? Then Win SMS, Mins, Cars, Bikes and Cash

Zong has announced rewards for those who will remain on its network with number switched on – yes, just keeping your number switched on, may get you free SMS, minutes and a chance to win prizes including Suzuki Mehran, Bikes and cash.

This is first of its kind reward program for prepaid cellular users. Zong says that this program is designed to gain the most out of a consumer based reward programs which sidelines the usual practice of all operators of offering Sim lagao/Jagao campaigns.

Free SMS:

Customers will get free SMS based on the number of days they keep their phone on !

For example if a customer keeps his phone on for 5 days; on day 6th day subscriber will receive a SMS that he/she has won 10 free SMS and should call on 710 to redeem them. These free SMS are valid for 2 days. If the subscriber keeps their phone on for 5 more days until day 10; on day 11, they will receive a further 15 free SMS (redemption process will remain same). The grid below shows the free SMS received by 1 subscriber depending on how many days their phone is kept on.

Example : If you keep your phone on for 31 days, they will have received a TOTAL of 150 free SMS from ZONG – 10 free SMS after 5 day, 15 free SMS on 11th day, 20 free SMS on day 16, 25 free SMS on day 21, 30 free SMS on day 26 and 50 free SMS on day 31.

Therefore if you keep your phone continuously on for 120 days, the total number of free SMS you will receive from ZONG in this period is 865 SMS.

Please note:

• All incentives are given automatically on redemption through 710 – you will receive a SMS as you are eligible.
• This reward is time based.

Free Minutes and SMS

In addition, if you spend more than or equal to Rs 210 in the last 30 days, you will receive additional free SMS and free On-net minutes. The grid for this is given below:

Example:

For example, if you spend Rs 210 in the last 30 days from the beginning of this offer, you will receive 5 free on net minutes and 20 free SMS, valid for 3 days.

In the next 30 days, if you spend Rs 300, you will receive 20 free on net minutes and 30 free SMS, valid for 3 days. You will receive a notification via SMS, all you need to do is call 710 to redeem your free minutes and SMS.

Lucky Draw:

15 days from the start of the campaign, there will be a lucky draw for Subscribers who have kept phone on for 15 days continuously will be eligible for participation. Also, for every day they keep their phone on after the 15th day they will get them many extra entries in the lucky draw .

There will be 3 types of lucky draws held the details of which are shown below. For each type there will be qualifying number of days (15) that the phone must be kept continuously “ON” and for every subsequent day the phone is kept on a new entry will be awarded in the lucky draw.

The table below shows the qualifying number of days and prizes.

Lucky Draw for Suzuki Mehran

• All ZONG prepaid subscribers who have kept their phone on continuously for more than 15 days are automatically eligible for this draw.
• Draw for Suzuki Mehran will be done monthly through a computer program and winners will be notified by SMS to visit their nearest CSC for further details.
• Tax is deducted on prize @ 20% of value

Lucky Draw for Bikes

• All ZONG prepaid subscribers who have kept their phone on continuously for more than 15 days are automatically eligible for this draw.
• Draw will be done weekly through a computer program and winners will be notified by SMS to visit their nearest CSC for further details.
• Tax is deducted on prize @ 20% of value

Lucky Draw for Cash Prizes

• Any ZONG prepaid subscriber who has kept their phone on continuously for 15 days is automatically entered into this lucky draw.
• Lucky draw for cash prizes will be held daily after 15 days from the start of the campaign.
• There are daily cash prizes for Rs 1000 and Rs 500.
• The cash prizes will be handed over to the winning subscribers through the CSCs.
• Each winner will be sent an SMS, they will have to go to their nearest CSC, with winner notification SMS, original CNIC, MSISDN.
• Tax is deducted on cash prize money @ 20% so winners of Rs 1000 will receive Rs 800 cash in hand and winners of Rs 500 prize will receive Rs 400 cash in hand
• For cash prizes, subscribers who generate more than Rs 50 in 3 days, get an extra entry into the cash lucky draw

Terms & condition

• Each winner will be notified via SMS and all prizes must be collected from Customer Services Centers within 5 days of receiving SMS notification (this applies to cash, bike and car prizes) otherwise it will be void
• Prizes will only be given to winners whose names and CNIC matches the name and CNIC on the winning number.
• The decision of company on all awards will be final.
• Validity of Free SMS for first 30 days will be 2 days, above 30 days is 3 days
• Validity of free SMS/minutes given on basis of monthly usage will be 3 days each.
• This is a limited time offer.

VIDEO: Windows 7 Running On JooJoo Tablet

It looks like the people over on the JooJoo forums are working hard to run alternative OSes on their devices.

The JooJoo wasn't exactly a hot device when it launched. It was expensive and all it did was surf the web. Unsurprisingly, not many people were willing to fork out $500 for a device that packs a browser and not much else. It's unfortunate, because the device is actually rather sexy looking, but there just wasn't enough going on to tempt people. But what if it ran Windows 7?

A member of the JooJoo forums, darkdavy, has hacked his JooJoo to run Windows 7. He admits that it's running quite hot at the moment but the touchscreen capabilities are in full working order and the battery is lasting up to four hours on one charge. Darkdavy says everything is working fine save for the accelerometers. However, this is easily solved by using display rotation. Engadget points out that other members of the forums have successfully installed Windows 7 Home and Windows Embedded Compact 7 on the Linux-based tablet.

VIDEO: Windows 7 Running On JooJoo Tablet

VIDEO: Windows 7 Running On JooJoo Tablet

The Tiniest MP3 Player Ever?

Here's a gadget that's barely larger than a sugar cube.

If you're bemoaning the trend of contemporary MP3 players with all those unnecessary bells and whistles, then The Kube is perfect for you. Despite its miniscule size, this cubic portable media player lasts up to six hours on a full charge. With a total max charging time of one hour, this charge-to-usage ratio is pretty efficient.

Microsoft Office 2010 Goes on Sale, Worldwide!

Microsoft has announced the worldwide availability of Microsoft Office 2010, Microsoft Visio 2010 and Microsoft Project 2010.

Office 2010 is available in 10 languages and will expand to 94 languages. Product comes in following variants

• Office 2010 Home and Student : $149
• Office 2010 Home and Business: $249
• Office 2010 Business Professional: $449

You can try Office 2010 before purchasing for 60 days, here is the link

The suite, which was announced last year had 9 million downloads in its beta program.

We tried contacting Microsoft Pakistan to find out places for buying Office 2010 but we didn’t get the concerned person on the phone. We will update this post if we get a call back as promised.

Microsoft Pakistan held a launch event for Office 2010 in Lahore last month.

iPad Hacked to Insert Verizon MiFi Device

Looks like a hacker grew tired of AT&T's service and installed Verizon's MiFi hot-spot device.

A surprising article over on a Dish Network reseller website reveals an iPad 3G hack that incorporates Verizon's portable hot-spot device, the MiFi. This enables the Apple tablet to not only ignore AT&T and connect to Verizon's 3G network, but to serve as a local hot-spot for other Wi-Fi capable devices. The end result shows an incredible increase in speed based on tests conducted with a SpeedTest.net application.

Rather than merely jailbreaking the iPhone OS to incorporate a software solution to tether Verizon's device, the hacker instead removed the iPad's back panel and ripped out AT&T's 3G card altogether. "You’ll see it has two connections for the 3G antenna, one on the screen (not shown) and one at the top of the iPad (hence the black plastic bar on the 3G model)," he said, referring to a picture of the AT&T component still seated in the tablet. "This is the very reason I didn’t buy a WiFi iPad, but opted to pay extra for the 3G components. I did this only to remove what I paid the extra cash for!"

After the AT&T card was removed, the hacker then attacked the Verizon MiFi shell and removed its small circuit board located inside. While nearly the same size as the AT&T component, the MiFi circuit board was more rectangular in shape, thus it wouldn't fit in the original spot. The hacker had no choice but to trim down the iPad's resonating chamber--this was accomplished with minimal loss to sound quality. The MiFi board also received a few tweaks long before its insertion: its power button was removed, and the hacker also had to determine how the board was actually powered correctly.

But what about the speed test? Based on the app, the hacker's iPhone had a download speed of 193 kbps and an upload speed of 42 kbps when using the AT&T 3G service. However when the Verizon MiFi board was successfully up and running, the test showed that the iPad had a download speed of 1192 kbps and an upload speed of 693 kbps. That's a big difference.

Microsoft Launches Super Glossy Xbox 360 Slim

Microsoft spent most of its E3 keynote talking about Kinect but it did save a few minutes at the end to cover the launch of its brand new Xbox 360.

Dubbed the Xbox 360 Slim, the new console is quite a bit smaller. Redmond actually revealed the Slim by hiding it inside the casing of an old Xbox 360. We're estimating it's about 60 percent of the size, but we could be totally wrong on that one.