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Saturday, November 17, 2012

Samsung Galaxy S4 unrivaled display an Apple beater

4:56:00 PM Unknown


While the Samsung Galaxy S3 is currently the flavor of the month among happy Android owners at the moment, it’s no secret that a lot of other consumers are already thinking about what the next-gen Samsung Galaxy S4 is going to offer. We have already given you an insight into potential S4 specs, but now we have some interesting details on the potential display screen that Samsung could be using for the Galaxy S4.


What defines a good smartphone display to you? Do you always look at size in inches first when choosing a smartphone, or is the specific information like materials, resolution and pixels per inch important to you as well? Apple claims to have one of the best smartphone displays in the world with their iPhone 5 Retina Display, which measures in at 4-inches with a resolution of 1,136 × 640 pixels at 326 pixels per inch.

The Galaxy S3 in comparison has a Super AMOLED-based 4.8-inch display with a resolution of 720×1280 pixels and a lower 306 ppi than the iPhone 5. Samsung are obviously working on making their display even better for the next Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone and fans could be in for a treat with a rumor that Samsung are preparing to unleash a 5-inch HD Super AMOLED display at CES 2013 in January early next year.



This display would eclipse anything that Samsung Mobile has released, but the most exciting aspect of all is that this new Galaxy S4 display from Samsung could offer 441 pixels per inch, which would obviously be an unrivaled display screen quality and easily better than Apple’s Retina Display for the iPhone 5.

It is early days yet, but the source over at this Korean publication (translation needed) certain sounds very promising indeed. To put this into perspective once again, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 ‘only’ has a ppi of 267 for their impressive 5.5-inch display. If Samsung are really planning to introduce a screen that is going to offer 441 pixels per inch, then that is surely going to make the tech world take notice.

More importantly, how can Apple respond to that? They would have to up their game instantly and ensure that the iPhone 6 has a matching display and they simply may not have enough time to make that happen, if Samsung are already bringing this new display tech to CES 2013.

If you already have an eye on the Galaxy S4, let us know what a 5-inch display with 441 pixels per inch means to you. Is it time to get really excited about the next-generation Galaxy S4?

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Source: product-reviews.net

Whispers are out that early sales of Windows 8 are far below Microsoft’s expectations

11:40:00 AM Unknown















According to sources inside of Microsoft speaking directly to the well-connected Paul Thurrott, Windows 8′s early sales figures have disappointed, and are below the company’s forecasts.

Interestingly, again according to what Paul is hearing, Microsoft is fingering weak hardware as the cause of the halting launch for Windows 8. Perhaps.

It’s fair to say that OEM hardware for Windows 8 isn’t much better than what came out before.

Sure, it’s more tablet focused, but with Dell trying to sling a device so utterly ridiculous that it actually laughter inducing, you know that the substance we’re reviewing here isn’t exceptionally strong.

No:



Interestingly, this is the key narrative that Microsoft needs to avoid. If the story that surrounds Windows 8 is that its selling poorly, that minor prophecy could become self fulfilling. Forget borking, Windows 8 could get Vista’d.

Comparisons

The Vista-Windows 8 comparison isn’t exactly fair. As TNW’s own Emil Protalinksi noted in discussion, Windows 8 packs more changes than Vista did, and thus if the operating system manages to sell more than the older version of Windows, “then Microsoft has succeeded.”

As TNW has noted repeatedly, Microsoft has provided all but no guidance on the sales rate of Windows 8; the 4 million unit number in three days was utterly obfuscated and thus unusable. In short, we have no official work on how Windows 8 is selling.

Fact: If it was selling well, Microsoft would be bragging. Fact: It isn’t. Conclusion: Windows 8 isn’t selling that well. Support: What Paul said.

The extent of the miss is the only remaining question.

Given that Windows 8 is unlikely to sell buckets of licenses as upgrades to individuals, Windows 8 will therefore be distributed to consumers via sales of new PCs, which are unlikely to grow much in the next year. That said, Windows 8 will sell at least a few hundred million copies in its life-cycle.

Is there any need to fret, therefore, about Windows 8, given that it will sell truckloads of copies, simply due to the dynamics of the PC market? Yes, as consumers could reject the new Metro Start Screen, increasingly turn to Macs, or drop out of the PC market entirely if Windows 8 is found to be too unpalatable.

However, a slow start is not the same as the market spitting out the new code. Perhaps it just needs a bit more time to chew.

Dell Image Credit: Tom’s Hardware. Top Image Credit: BUILDWindows
Source: thenextweb.com

Anonymous takes down over 650 Israeli sites, wipes databases, leaks email addresses and passwords

11:33:00 AM Unknown















When the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) this week began taking military action in the Gaza strip against Hamas (as the IDF announced on Twitter), Anonymous declared its own war as part of #OpIsrael. Among the casualties are thousands of email addresses and passwords, hundreds of Israeli Web sites, government-owned as well as privately owned pages, as well as databases belonging to Bank Jerusalem and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
While the hacktivist group doesn’t appear to be anywhere near satisfied yet, the YourAnonNews account, which has over 686,000 followers, did just send out this message:
If that’s not a declaration of success, I don’t know what is. There have so far been hundreds of takedowns of sites by Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks; one Pastebin trying to list them all includes 659 Web sites. Not all of them are still down, but some are, and others are still defaced.

Another AnonPaste includes 2,004 email addresses, the majority of which appear to have corresponding passwords, allegedly stolen from an MySQL database belonging to dirotmodiin.co.il, a site for finding real estate in Israel. Many of them are hosted on Israeli domains, but there are also the usual Gmail, Hotmail, and Yahoo accounts.

Yet as already mentioned, we’re talking about more than just DDoS attacks that are overloading Web sites, such as tel-aviv.gov.il, the municipal site for the second most populous city in Israel (after Jerusalem). There are also plenty of defacements, and, as of a few minutes ago, databases have also been wiped.

While the Israeli government almost certainly has backups of the aformentioned databases, these attacks as well as the defacements show Anonymous isn’t just doing its usual spree of overloading target sites. OpIsrael appears to have gotten multiple hackers involved who are interested in doing actual damage, or at least something that is slightly more permanent than just a 404.

Update at 8:20PM EST: The Twitter account is now claiming that over 9,000 sites have been taken down or defaced, but don’t be fooled: this is a meme reference.
A press release attempts to explain Anonymous’ motives behind the attacks:
Greetings World

For far too long, Anonymous has stood by with the rest of the world and watched in despair the barbaric, brutal and despicable treatment of the Palestinian people in the so called “Occupied Territories” by the Israel Defense Force. Like so many around the globe, we have felt helpless in the face of such implacable evil. And today’s insane attack and threatened invasion of Gaza was more of the same.

But when the government of Israel publicly threatened to sever all Internet and other telecommunications into and out of Gaza they crossed a line in the sand. As the former dictator of Egypt Mubarack learned the hard way – we are ANONYMOUS and NO ONE shuts down the Internet on our watch. To the IDF and government of Israel we issue you this warning only once. Do NOT shut down the Internet into the “Occupied Territories”, and cease and desist from your terror upon the innocent people of Palestine or you will know the full and unbridled wrath of Anonymous. And like all the other evil governments that have faced our rage, you will NOT survive it unscathed.

To the people of Gaza and the “Occupied Territories”, know that Anonymous stands with you in this fight. We will do everything in our power to hinder the evil forces of the IDF arrayed against you. We will use all our resources to make certain you stay connected to the Internet and remain able to transmit your experiences to the world. As a start, we have put together the Anonymous Gaza Care Package – http://bit.ly/XH87C5 – which contains instructions in Arabic and English that can aid you in the event the Israel government makes good on it’s threat to attempt to sever your Internet connection. It also contains useful information on evading IDF surveillance, and some basic first aid and other useful information. We will continue to expand and improve this document in the coming days, and we will transmit it to you by every means at our disposal. We encourage you to download this package, and to share it with your fellow Palestinians to the best of your ability.

We will be with you. No matter how dark it may seem, no matter how alone and abandoned you may feel – know that tens of thousands of us in Anonymous are with you and working tirelessly around the clock to bring you every aid and assistance that we can.

We Are Anonymous
We Are Everywhere
We Are Legion
We Do Not Forgive
We Do Not Forget

To the oppressors of the innocent Palestinian people, it is too late to EXPECT US
A second press release has even more to add.

Image credit: YourAnonNews
Source: thenextweb.com

Friday, November 16, 2012

Black Ops 2 update blamed for PS3 problems

12:25:00 PM Unknown




















It is not hard to find numerous PS3 problems being reported for Black Ops 2, although tracking down the cause of these issues could be a much harder task for the developers and of course gamers as well, but it seems that a number of PS3 users claim to know what is wrong and when the game starting freezing. Not only are Black Ops 2 gamers stating that the patch 1.02 is to blame, but we’ve also heard one PS3 player claim they’ve been told this by store employees at certain gaming outlets.

Vast problems with Black Ops 2 on PS3 with some issues more upsetting – the disruption you’re experiencing in Black Ops 2 might depend on what type of player you are, and how you like to play the game, but being told more players are needed to balance teams is annoying enough. This is especially an issue when you have arranged a time to play Black Ops 2 with friends and family, which is then taken up by a few hours of connection problems.

We’ve two test PS3 consoles in our office and while one has been used with Black Ops 2 over the last couple of days, seeing it constantly crashing and freezing in multiplayer and when playing zombies is not good, which has also stopped us using the game in the other system. We’re sure a number of gamers might find it hard to play Black Ops 2 with all the problems, and hate the idea of their system needing a hard reset numerous times. Has this stopped you playing Black Ops 2 on the PS3?



Being told not to update Black Ops 2 with the patch – it is very strange to hear such claims, but we’ve been contacted by one of our readers that claim they were told not to install patch 1.02. This came from an unnamed gaming store that stated this patch is what is causing the PS3 to crash when playing Black Ops 2, although nothing has been confirmed or denied by Activision in relation to this claim. It is also worth pointing out a few gamers state that patch 1.02 made everything “blurry and low quality“, which considering most users installed this patch before they played the game first time, it’s hard to verify these claims in comparison to playing without the patch.

You only need to take a look at our earlier article that touched on the Black Ops 2 crashing problems with the PS3 system, which is filled with comments by gamers stating their console is “auto-shutting” off during Black Ops 2 gameplay, and the game “freezes when loading up” and while playing zombies some people report the game gets locked with the “same few seconds constantly replaying“, which then needs a reset of the PS3 hardware.

Do you let your PS3 crash and need a hard reset when playing Black Ops 2, or do you wait for patch 1.03? This is the question a number of PS3 gamers are asking themselves, although plenty don’t want to risk damaging their hardware with it crashing and freezing thanks to issues with the latest Call of Duty game. Problems with matchmaking will be fixed soon as Activision reported they are testing server fixes right now, but we can’t help but feel that a Black Ops 2 software update is needed for the more major issues.

Do you feel the patch has anything to do with the Black Ops 2 problems you’re experiencing? If this is the case then it only confirms that another patch will be needed to correct the PS3 freezing problems. You might also want to read our earlier article about the zombies mode and solving the Tower of Babble secret.

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Source: product-reviews.net

Install I9300XXELK4 – Galaxy S III Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean LEAKED firmware

9:33:00 AM Unknown


We would like to give you the latest I9300XXELK4 Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean test firmware for the Galaxy S III. Big Thanks to forum member Saturn from XDA-Developers who made this possible by giving us the dump files from his device.

Android 4.1.2 is still under testing phase by Samsung and they will release the official final Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean update for the Galaxy S III in December. Samsung has added a ton of new feature in their Android 4.1.2 update and we wanted to give Samsung’s hardcore fans a sneak preview of what Samsung is up to in their dev center.

Some of the I9300XXELK4 New Features:
  • Android 4.1.2 – JZO54K
  • Multi-View (Multi Windows Multitasking, same as in Note II)
  • Page Buddy
  • Notification Panel (Notification Panel can now be customized)
  • Smart Rotation (Screen Display adjusts to your angle of sightings)
  • Continues Input in Samsung Keyboard (Like Swipe or Android 4.2 Keyboard)
  • Paper Artist App (Same as in Note II)
  • New Gallery App (Same as in Note II – This is AWESOME)
.
WARNINGS:
We want to give you BIG warnings if you want to test this firmware. We have repackaged this firmware into an ODIN Flashable firmware ourselves from the dump files we took from Saturn’s device. This Firmware is already pre-rooted as Saturn had rooted his device before we knew that he had this new TEST Firmware. This firmware will increase your binary counter, if you don’t know what this means then don’t flash this firmware. This Firmware will also change your device status to Modified. This firmware doesn’t contain any Modem so the Modem you are using before flashing this firmware will remain. This is a PRE-RELEASE version so not official from KIES. As this is a PRE-RELEASE firmware so expect some minor bugs.

We have FULLY TESTED this firmware and this firmware works perfectly as any other official firmware.

I9300XXELK4 Firmware Details: 
Android Version: 4.1.2 – JZO54K (Jelly Bean)
PDA: I9300XXELK4
CSC: I9300OJKELK5
MODEM: N/A
Region: Middle East
Carrier: Branded
Changelist: 487742
Build Date: 8th November 2012

Flashing Instructions:
- Unzip the file
- Open Odin 3.04 (already included in the firmware package)
- Restart phone in download mode (Home+power+vol down)
- Connect phone and wait until you get a yellow sign in Odin
- Add I9300XXELK4_I9300OJKELK5_HOME.tar.md5 to PDA
- Make sure re-partition NOT ticked
- Start flash, sit back and wait a few minutes.

Source: sammobile.com

Black Ops 2 Zombies Tower of Babble secret solved (Video)

9:06:00 AM Unknown


It has only been a few days since Black Ops 2 released, but already it looks like the main Black Ops 2 zombies easter egg secrets in the game have been solved. If you have been trying to complete the Tower of Babble quest for days, you’ll be pleased to know that we have a few videos which show you how to complete the side mission and unlock the Tower of Babble achievement or trophy.

In our initial article about Tower of Babble, we told you that nobody had completed it yet and it was easily the hardest zombies easter egg quest that Treyarch had put into the game, with perhaps Shangri-la or Call of the Dead a close second. That post was only two days ago though and in that short space of time, it looks like one clever group has managed to crack Treyarch’s secret.

If you don’t already know yet, there are two parts to the Tower of Babble quest. You can either choose to follow Richtofen’s guidance, or listen to Maxis instead. We can tell you that Maxis seems the easier out of the two, with Richtofens side providing much more of a challenge.

In one of the steps in which you’ll see below, players will have to collect 4 random EMP grenades from the box and this may be the part of the easter egg that you are currently stuck on at the moment – if you are following Richtofen’s voice with Sam. In the Maxis side, the most difficult aspect involves bringing the electric boss underneath the tower in the cornfields, but all is better explained in the two videos that we have to show you.



Unfortunately, it looks like there is no big prize for completing both easter eggs, other than the achievement or trophy. In previous zombie easter eggs, Treyarch would reward players with a complete set of perks or a wonder weapon, but you won’t get this on this occasion by completing the Tower of Babble quest.

Below are two videos which we have provided for you. The first solves the easter egg on Maxis side, while the second is the more difficult quest using Richtofen. Hopefully after watching both videos, you will be able to complete the steps as well and unlock the achievement for yourself – remember that you need all 4 players to complete this though.

So there we have it, the main Black Ops 2 zombies easter egg completed in a mere days. Have you managed to solve it already, or does the videos below help you a lot? We’ll be bringing you some more zombies secrets soon, including something excellent related to the Jet Gun wonder weapon.




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Source: product-reviews.net

LG Google TVs now have integrated OnLive cloud game streaming

8:35:00 AM valgeo

LG Smart TV owners may've noticed a new application pop up today on their G2 series sets, as OnLive's cloud game streaming app is being delivered via an over-the-air update today (first announced at E3 back in June) -- it seems that LG Smart TVs are the first to get Google TV's latest update. Beyond just viewing games, the app allows for actually playing them employing OnLive's wireless controller (sold separately). Per normal OnLive service, you can demo various games before buying them, and purchases on one OnLive account transfer across its many platforms (PC, Mac, Android tablets, the Microconsole, and LG TVs). The OnLive app can be found in the "Premium Apps" area, and it'll be pre-installed on future LG sets.

Of course, it's a question of how long any of this will last, as OnLive's had a rough 2012 -- the company lost the vast majority of its staff and its former CEO back in August. It was subsequently spun off into a separate company to keep from defaulting on its many, many overdue loans.

Source : engadget

Samsung hopes Galaxy Note will rub off on enterprise

8:30:00 AM valgeo

Samsung is optimistic about Galaxy Note II adoption in the enterprise, despite the product line appealing more to young consumers.

At yesterday's Samsung Galaxy Note II launch in Sydney, the vendor's director for enterprise and SMB Andre Obradovic told ZDNet that the enterprise clients he has spoken to are all excited about the half-smartphone half-tablet device range, or as many have dubbed it, "phablets."

The Note II was already available in other countries in early October.

"The business people I interact with see it as a business tool. The thing they like about it is the S-pen functionality, the screen, how it can run [Cisco] WebEX on here — the screen size is perfect for that."

Samsung has touted the Galaxy Note II as the most powerful smartphone in the market, and the device is packed with features, such as dual-screen multitask function, longer battery life, quick note-taking options that would be useful for the enterprise user.

There is no doubt that the Note II will be competing fiercely for a slice of the smartphone market, and IDC market analyst Aman Bajaj lauded Samsung for being able to crack the hybrid smartphone and tablet market with the first Note, which has a steady uptake in Australia, something that Dell failed to do with its Streak phablet.

But Gartner principal research analyst Lillian Tay was less sunshine and rainbows about the Samsung Note series making waves in the enterprise sector.

"It's still consumers that are buying the Note and not the enterprise," she told ZDNet. "Surprisingly, when the Note first came out, we thought it was a device for senior citizens, with the big screen and all.

"But now, you actually see a lot of the younger generations using it."

Tay said that part of the hurdle in the way for mass enterprise adoption of the Note range is that the enterprise market is still more skewed towards BlackBerrys and iOS mobile devices. It is still, according to Tay, not quite ready for Android devices.

"Yes, there are some that will start investing in software and mobile device-management software for a walled garden approach around data security, or are actually writing new programs to run on the web instead of getting legacy apps that won't run on Android," she said. "But it's still a lot of work in progress.

"Enterprises are still working to bring all these things together, and there has not been much uptake of Android devices in the enterprise."

Indeed, according to a survey by Appcelerator and IDC, enterprise app developers favoured developing for Apple's iOS. That's not to say that employees aren't bringing personal Android devices into their workplaces.

"But how they connect those devices to the enterprise network is the big question," Tay said. "How much security and how deep you are allowed into the organisation is also something that the enterprise is working on."

Obradovic had a very different take on Android in the enterprise, making a very clear distinction between "vanilla" Android and Samsung's version of the OS.

"Samsung Android is different to vanilla Android, and we really focus on making sure that we have a very rich catalogue of APIs and IT security policies that can be adopted within the enterprise customer base," he said.

Obradovic also highlighted enterprise worthy security features the vendor offers, such as over the air encryption, on-device encryption, and mobile device management software.

Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone will all be selling the Samsung Galaxy Note II. For those who want to buy it outright, the device is available for AU$899.

Source : zdnet

 

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Black Ops 2 1.03 patch for PS3 crashing issues

10:24:00 AM Unknown




















It is not surprising for a new game to launch with problems, and COD Black Ops 2 is no different and might see more issues thanks to how big the franchise is, but we didn’t expect the level of problems seen on the PS3 system since launch. We need to see the Black Ops 2 1.03 patch released as soon as possible to fix the PS3 crashing every couple of hours, which sometimes just freezes and other times you’ll get the PS3 just restart when playing Black Ops 2 in zombies or multiplayer. We’ve had hundreds of PR readers experiencing the same issues over the last 24 hours, and our Black Ops 2 hands-on has also been plagued with crashing and freezes, which are not acceptable by any means.

We have to give Activision support credit with their updates on the matter, and we’ve seen messages on Twitter explaining the problems with Black Ops 2 for the PS3, but also for PC and Xbox 360 as well. Some PC players have experienced crashes and these people are recommended to update drivers, although this is not possible for Black Ops 2 on the PS3 and crashing here can only be fixed by patch 1.03.



The tweet below has been published recently with information on fixes to the Black Ops 2 servers, which are part of the PS3 problem and the reason you might get “can’t connect to servers” messages, or have problems connecting to friends and family in multiplayer. Activision are reporting “matchmaking changes” they hope will fix the Black Ops 2 server issues. At the time of writing there’s no timetable as to when we can expect these fixes to go live, which are currently in the testing phase.



Black Ops 2 on PS3 has numerous issues – We are seeing our Black Ops 2 PS3 version crash every couple of hours, but other gamers see many other problems like messages stating “need more players” and “can’t connect“, although the most upsetting issue for PS3 users playing Black Ops 2 is freezing, which is happening to some gamers “every 20 mins“. This means a hard reset and that isn’t good for a hard drive, so these crashing and freezing issues on the PS3 are making some people feel like it’s a bad idea to purchase a new Call of Duty game at release. We expect bugs but not at the level seen with Black Ops 2 on the PS3 platform, and we don’t think restarting a PS3 a couple of times an hour is good for the hardware.



Your wish list for COD Black Ops 2 1.03 patch – if you’re on the PS3 console we’d love to know about the problems you’re experiencing, and of course what needs fixing with the first update since launch, other than the 1.02 patch we know very little about, so hit the comments with your suggestions and let’s hope Activision are listening.



Update: We’ve heard in the last hour from a number of PS3 players that are claiming the crashing is not just in online play, and Black Ops 2 campaign mode is also freezing up, which is further proof that the software needs a patch rather than just some server fixes.

UPDATE:  Black Ops 2 update blamed for PS3 problems

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Source: product-reviews.net

Google now allowing Google+ users to install Android apps directly from the stream

9:19:00 AM Unknown


Google has begun serving direct links to Android apps in timelines on Google+, providing an easy way for users to share their favourite apps and games, and allow other users to download them directly to their Android devices.

Google Play integration on Google+ isn’t new, the search giant previously allowed users to share music tracks and albums to their timelines (with free 30-second previews), but with Google Music and Movies going live in a number of new markets across Europe, app sharing has been silently added – although Movies can’t be downloaded directly.

To utilise the feature, simply paste the URL of the app you wish to share and Google+ will embed the Install/Buy button automatically:



When you click the Install button, Google will automatically load the Google Play page for that app, but it will also display a prompt asking you to confirm if you wish to install the app and on which device you wish to use it:



Interestingly, if you +1 a Google Play app on the Store itself, the app is shared but Install/Buy buttons are not served.

Either way, the feature will be a welcome addition for Google+ users and brands wishing to share their new apps, especially Google when it launches new titles or updates its apps.

Image Credit: Adam Berry/Stringer/Getty
Source: thenextweb.com