Public Reviews

WANTED Movie Review : Wanted Hindi Film Review

2009-10-04T04:46:00.002+05:30

WANTED, the new hindi movie is running on your nearest theatre these days. Have you got an opportunity to enjoy the film? If not, this is the right time to buy a ticket and watch the movie. After a long time bollywood industry and Salman Khan gave the audiance a fantastic movie to enjoy. After all the medium-budget movie WANTED is hit. We made a survey on local theatre at Barrakpore and Kolkata over the audiance. Their comments are given below.

Sanjay Das (age: 24): The film is superhit. Nice to see Salman Khan again in full form.

Bijoy Guha Niyogi (age 36): Real Action Film. WANTED is overall a good movie.

Anjali Saha (age 19): Wow! Sallu was looking so sexy, you know. I enjoyed the movie with my class-mates. We all enjoyed Salman a lot.

Amit Dey (age 55): I'm not very regular to movie shows. But this one was exceptional. I spent the time with full off Bollywood-e (Bollywood-like) actions.

Rima Chatterjee (age 32): Not very natural scenes. The actions were extreme. But overall ok.

According to the visitor's review, we're rating WANTED with 8 points out of 10. You must watch the fil, Wanted if you're a great fan of Salman Khan and real bollywood action. Amazingly, the hero, Salman never received a hit even for a single time while doing all these dhulai (fighting). Good Movie. Hats off to the director, producer, actors and actresses and the WANTED Team

Photofunia.com Review Best Online Poster Creation Tool

2009-10-02T04:34:00.006+05:30

This is my review on PhotoFunia.com the online poster making tool. I visited the site for first time around 6 months ago. I'm using the tool now everyday. I'm a regular blogger and I used visit my social networks regularly. Orkut is my favourite social network. I've got the best tool for editing my photos online and to create nice looking posters.
Photofunia has got a huge collection of poster templates, which will definitely make you satisfied. And most importantly, their service is completely free. I'll rate 9 out of 10 for their service. Their site is a bit slow due to huge traffic, otherwise everything is OK. They are using the best face detection techniques to create posters from effect template. Thank you photofunia for providing such a great online tool.

Review By: Amanpreet
Delhi, India
amanpreet0808(at)gmail.com
User of Photofunia.com

Avast Anti-Virus Home 4.8.1335 Review By User

2009-10-02T01:04:00.002+05:30

One of the best free antivirus available free of cost. It is the best antivirus rated 5 stars by CNET.com, softpedia, Virus Bulletin Magazine, AV Comparatives etc. Microsoft certified it as gold partner. In recent survey by AV Comparatives – in February 2009 it was found that avast has over 98 % detection rate than other well known paid anti-virus engines and also the third fastest scanning speed. To see all this avards go to the following URL.

http://www.avast.com/eng/awards.html

It is one of the most trusted antivirus with over 80 million worldwide users. The most interesting thing is that the home edition is distributed free of cost, no trails. You have to just registered it to Alwil and you will get a product key which is valid for 12 months, you can again get the key after 12 months from Alwil the makers of this great antivirus.

Features of this anti virus are:

Resident shield and self-protection
Free automatic updates
Web and P2P protection
Anti-spyware & anti-rootkit tool
Over 30 language versions

to register the antivirus and get the key you can go to the following URL:
http://www.avast.com/eng/home-registration.php

So just make it a try and you will see how effective it is. Stay secure.

Reviewer: bhipin bhargavan

TechBongo Solutions Review TechBongo Hosting Review

2009-09-14T04:30:00.003+05:30

TechBongo Solutions is providing cheap web hosting in Kolkata.
They are providing cheap windows hosting services and cheap linux hosting services.

Their servers are fast with high uptime.

100% recommended for local business and personal websites.

Accepting payments from Indian Bank, cash, Paypal etc.

Support is really good. Overall, TechBongo Solutions hosting is recommended to users who are searching for cheap website hosting service in Kolkata circle.

Also providing cheap domain name registration service and cheap website development service.

Google Chrome Review Google Internet Browser Review

2009-09-02T01:08:00.005+05:30

Google's streamlined and speedy browser offers strong integrated search and an intriguing alternative to Firefox and Internet Explorer.

Google takes aim squarely at Microsoft with the release of its new Web browser, Chrome. Even though it isn't jam-packed with features, Chrome lives up to its hype by rethinking the Web browser in clever and convenient ways that make using the Web a more organic experience than you'd get with either Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 or Mozilla's Firefox 3.

Initially available for download for Windows Vista and XP, Google plans to expand its Chrome offerings to the Mac and Linux platforms as well. The company doesn't offer any timeline for these versions, though.

Chrome automatically detects the Web browser you're using and prompts you through the process of installation (right down to telling you how to access downloaded files within Firefox, for example). When you first run the application, Chrome imports your bookmarks, passwords, and settings from Firefox or Internet Explorer. It even can grab username and password data, and it automatically populates those fields for you when you use Chrome for the first time to visit a particular site.

After running through a quick import checklist, Chrome opens on your desktop--and right away you begin to experience the Web in a new way. Chrome's layout is very simple: You'll see a row of tabs running along the top, a Web address bar, and a bookmarks bar that runs beneath the address bar. A separate recent-bookmarks box appears at the right of the screen.

Like its Google stablemates, Chrome has a remarkably minimalist interface. There is no full-scale menu bar and no title bar--and few distractions. All controls are buried beneath two icons to the right of the Omnibar (as Google refers to its address bar): a page icon for managing tabs and using Google Gears to create application-like shortcuts from your desktop to a Web site; and a wrench for history, downloads, and other browser options.

You can set your own home page, or you can use the 'most visited' sites page as your starting point. This page provides thumbnail images of your most frequently visited sites, shows recent bookmarks, and supplies a search field for searching your page history. You can change your default search engine, too: This option is located beneath the wrench icon, under Options .

Chrome's design bridges the gap between desktop and so-called "cloud computing." At the touch of a button, Chrome lets you make a desktop, Start menu, or QuickLaunch shortcut to any Web page or Web application, blurring the line between what's online and what's inside your PC. For example, I created a desktop shortcut for Google Maps. When you create a shortcut for a Web application, Chrome strips away all of the toolbars and tabs from the window, leaving you with something that feels much more like a desktop application than like a Web application or page. The lack of forward and back buttons means that if you browse between pages in a saved Web application you may find yourself a little confused if you want to go back a page. Chrome does let you right-click to navigate backward, however.

This being Google, search is an integral part of Chrome; and Google has added some clever features to make searching easier. Chrome goes beyond its Microsoft and Mozilla competition by searching your browser history's page titles as well page content. The history results show the title of the page, as well as a thumbnail representation of the page (for most sites but not all; it was unclear why some sites were visually represented while others were not), but it doesn't show the actual Web page address. The lack of URL information can make it difficult to identify the specific Web page you're going to, especially if the site's title bar description is not specific (because, say, different sections of the same site have identical title bar descriptors).

For example, earlier today I took a look at our slideshow, Technology for the Obscenely Wealthy. To find the article in my browser history, I simply typed 'obscenely wealthy' in the Omnibar. The resulting list showed every page I had visited that contained the phrase 'obscenely wealthy'. Conveniently, the Omnibar lets you search not just your history, but Google and other sites as well.

The default search engine is Google, as you might expect. However, you can choose from a list of other search engines, or you can manually add your own search engine. Type 'google fish sticks' to search for fish sticks on Google. The same syntax works for Yahoo, Ask, Live Search, and other sites that are already recognized by Google or that you add to Chrome's collection of search engines.

Chrome includes a number of features that appear in other browsers, such as a private browsing mode (dubbed Incognito), tools for Web developers to use in viewing and troubleshooting source code, and the ability to restore all tabs from a previous session. Chrome also features tab isolation: If a Web page causes a problem with Chrome and leads to a crash, the crash will affect only the tab displaying the page and not the whole program. Internet Explorer 8 will offer a similar feature, but Chrome takes the idea a step further by adding a task manager that gives the user an idea of how much memory and CPU use a page is eating up, and by allowing you to kill anything that is causing a problem. Unfortunately, you have to configure this tool manually.

Unlike the original beta, the nonbeta release of Chrome features an actual bookmarks manager (the beta we initially reviewed featured only a drop-down menu on the right-hand side of the bookmarks bar). The bookmarks manager lives in a separate window, and uses a two-pane layout: The left-hand pane displays folders of bookmarks, and the right-hand pane shows the contents of bookmark folders. A search field is in the upper-right corner of the bookmarks manager window, and results appear as you type. If you've ever used Safari, Chrome's bookmark manager will look very familiar.

By default, Chrome will not restore your session; if Chrome crashes, it takes everything with it unless you manually configure the browser to act otherwise (the configuration options are buried under the wrench icon, in the Options/Basics menu). In contrast, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 automatically restore your previous session in the event of a crash.

The sites I visited that rely on JavaScript and Ajax seemed to work fine, but Microsoft's Silverlight does not support Chrome at this time, even though it works with Safari, which uses the same WebKit browser engine as Chrome.

Google has produced an excellent browser that is friendly enough to handle average browsing activities without complicating the tasks, but at the same time is powerful enough to meet the needs of more-advanced users. The search functionality of the Omnibar is one of many innovations that caught my attention. PC World has chosen to rate this beta version of Chrome because of Google's history of leaving products and services in long-term beta and in an ongoing state of evolution. In the past there has been some speculation that Google would develop its own operating system, but I think that Chrome's launch makes one thing is clear: The Web browser is Google's operating system.

--Nick Mediati
Originally Reviewed By
PC World

Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) Review

2009-08-08T01:15:00.000+05:30

It's here – it’s finally here. I’m talking about the public beta for Internet Explorer 8. Here’s the download page for Internet Explorer 8.

Now it may seem premature to be so excited, especially about a BETA 1 release. We’ll let me digress and explain why I’ve felt such keen anticipation.

In November 2007, I was hired to write some materials on Microsoft’s new WindowsHPC offering. This led to work on the new PerformancePoint Server product and even some research papers comparing Windows Server 2008 to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.

Well, being this heavily involved, I thought I’d ask my client for a favor. Yep – you guessed it: I wanted a crack at the new IE8 software while it was in private beta. I thought that since I was working with three different teams at Redmond I was sure to get a preview.

I was wrong. And for me it has been a long anticipated wait. Yes, I was downloading the beta the moment the links were live.

At first look, Internet Explorer 8 doesn’t seem much different from version 7. In fact, most of the base features are the same. Therefore, XP users who are still reeling over the complete Vista interface overhaul can relax – it still looks like Internet Explorer. However, they’ve packed in some cool new features. Let’s look at what they are and discuss how this newest browser will not only be more fun to use, but actually help you be more productive.

What’s New in the World of Web Browsing?

IE 8 has five new or improved features for the end user. (A little later I’ll cover some of the “under the hood” adjustments in this new release.) The features we’re talking about are:

• Activities

Activities in Internet Explorer 8

• WebSlices

• Favorites Bar

• Automatic Crash Recovery

• Improved Phishing Filter

So let’s take a closer look at each. We begin with Activities:

Activities are services that, to put it simply, normally call for a copy and paste action in IE7 and earlier, in order to access additional information.

For example, if you needed to get the address and map a route to a sports arena, you’d go to their website, copy the address, then paste it into a map website such as Live Maps. With Activities, you simply highlight your selection and the activities button appears. This button gives you the option to map an address (a preview of activities is available without launching a whole new tab or page). Post to your favorite blog site, send an email message, search, translate, define, and even share the content easily.

WebSlices are an exciting new technology in Internet Explorer 8. WebSlices work like RSS feeds; you simply go to sites that are enabled for WebSlices, like eBay or Facebook. Simply click on the WebSlice button and add it to your favorites bar.

Then from any webpage, your updated content will appear with bold type. Clicking on the item will open a view to give you an update. From here, you can either open the full page or delete the WebSlice (without ever leaving your current page).

The Favorites Bar is both a new feature and an improved feature. What does this mean? The Favorites bar replaces the links bar from IE 7. (The Links bar provided one-click access to favorite sites). The Favorites bar has been renamed (the improved part) to associate this as the place to put your WebSlices, RSS feeds, links and even Office documents (this is the new part). All this provides easy access and management to useful web content.

Automatic Crash Recovery (ACR) is another new feature in IE8 that many would say is long overdue.

The advent of tabbed browsing means that users can be more productive within a single browser. How many times have you had several different tabs open only to have a site crash IE 7 and lose all your content? Well, Automatic Crash Recovery is designed to recover your web pages in case of a crash or “hang” in your web browser. ACR will help minimize disruptions and improve your productivity.

An Improved Phishing Filter has now added a safety filter, and this safety filter does more than block sites that are used for phishing. Internet Explorer 8 builds on the success of the phishing filter and now blocks sites known to contain malicious software that could harm user’s computers.

In summary, these improvements make browsing easier, more productive, and really much more fun. With IE8, Microsoft has succeeded in changing the Web browsing experience.

Now this is a beta release, so there are some things to note. I myself do not use extra toolbars such as Google or Yahoo toolbar. I’m not one for clutter, not on my desktop and not in my browser (but that being said, I know I’m the exception not the rule. I also realize that this has more to do with my own personal OCD computer habits). However, reports have been coming in from several sources that Internet Explorer 8 beta 1 has not been playing well with the toolbar plug-ins, and has caused browser crashes. Nevertheless, it’s a beta and that what betas are for – to work out the bugs.

Now I mentioned earlier that there are some things going on in IE 8 that are “behind the scenes,” so to speak. Some of these improvements are a move to Standards support; this includes CSS compliance, improvements to AJAX navigation, built-in developer tools to test pages before they’re put into production, and improvements to HTML and Active X controls.

Add in backwards compatibility for legacy browsers and it’s easy to see Internet Explorer 8 is striving to the premier Web browser for both the end user and developer/Web designer.

Well, I have installed and run with IE8 for three days now and I can only add that I can’t wait to see how the various Web sites take advantage of the new features, particularly the WebSlices and Activities features. No doubt Web browsing is going to morph and Internet Explorer 8 is in position to be a big part of that change.

This Review was originally posted byRonald Barrett
Source: http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/article.php/31771_3732696_2/Internet-Explorer-8-Review.htm

Bajaj Pulsar 180 cc Review

2009-06-16T03:01:00.005+05:30

Following the war waged against its supremacy in the 150cc+ segment by TVS and Yamaha, Bajaj has come up upgraded variants of its pulsar family of motorcycles. Bajaj has launched new 2009 pulsar 150cc and 180cc models. Can these upgrades extend the life of pulsar brand? Is the new pulsar is good enough to take on the new bikes like Yamaha FZ-16? We check out the new Bajaj pulsar 180cc

Bajaj Pulsar 180cc: Visually, there is not much difference to tell this a 2009 model. However, on closer attention you can reveal a lot. New pulsar 180cc borrows few cues from 180cc. Tank shrouds on both sides of the tank gives it an aggressive profile. Adding to that is the 37mm front forks. 180cc embraces the contemporary all black theme. From the forks to engine to rear suspension everything gets matte black finish. A new bold analog white back tachometer makes it to easy to read even at bright sunlight.

Bajaj Pulsar 180cc: Clip-on handle bars, split seats and split grab rail are other new cosmetic upgrade in the pulsar 180cc.But the real attractive quotient is the larger profile 120/80 * 17 inches tyre at the rear which adds muscle to 180cc. New pulsar 180cc also gets a new rear sprocket and the O-ring chain. Similar to the 200cc pulsar, kick lever is thrown out and ignition is only through battery in the new pulsar 180cc.

Bajaj Pulsar 180cc: Coming to the heart, 180cc pulsar retains the same DTSi engine. The 178.6cc mill produces slightly more power than its predecessor, it now generates 17.02bhp at 8500 rpm (compared to the earlier 16.5bhp at 8000rpm ). The peak torque stood at 1.45kgm at 6500rpm. On the road it translates into it gives slight edge on the performance over its predecessor. Also the 5-speed gearbox is smooth and case of false neutral is not existent. It reaches 60kmph from standstill at 6 seconds and manages to reach a top speed of 125kmph. However the increase in performance has an impact on the fuel efficiency. It returns only 40kmpl in the city and 47 in the highway.

The DTSi engine freely revives upto and sporty exhaust note pumps up the adrenaline

Bajaj Pulsar 180cc: On the dynamics, the increase in wheelbase by 25mm to 145mm compared to the predecessor makes it more stable. Braking is through 260mm disc at the front and 130mm drum at the rear. Thanks to new fatter rubber, the straight line stability remains good and there is a significant improvement in cornering ability. Pulsar’s trademark ride quality is the key differentiators over its competitors. But for the sake of performance and spirited driving, Bajaj engineers have compromised on ride quality. Ride has become little stiffer.

Bajaj Pulsar 180cc: The new pulsar 180cc may not be an all new exciting bike. But its a proven pulsar with welcome upgrades. Also the price is only marginally increased around Rs3000 and continues to be a good value for money bike.

Grand Hotel Agra, India Review

2009-06-11T01:55:00.002+05:30

Stayed here Dec. 1, 2007 and was happy with the experience. The room was large & clean; actually was the best HOT shower we had in 3 weeks travel throughout India. Breakfast buffet was so/so. Didn't eat at the restaurant. During wedding season the noise can be a problem, but we found that was an issue almost everywhere we went. We asked to be placed away from the event and the staff was accommodating. Would stay here again.

Liked — Cleanliness
Disliked — Location
Date of stay December 2007
Visit was for Personal event (wedding, ...)
Traveled with Friends
Age group 50-64
Member since August 18, 2007
Would I recommend this hotel to my best friend? most likely
I recommend this hotel for Older travelers, Families with young children, Families with teenagers, Tourists
I do not recommend this hotel for Young singles, An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, People with disabilities
I selected this hotel as a top choice for Museums / Cultural / Historical sites

Review By: psychomom715
Identity: Traveller

Google SketchUp Reviews, Google SketchUp Illustrations

2009-06-09T01:04:00.006+05:30

CNET editors' rating: 4.0 stars Excellent

Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 reviews

Product summary

The good: Google SketchUp is free; elegant, with an intuitive interface and flexible 3D modeling tools, instant learning curve; tight integration with Google Earth.

The bad: Google SketchUp doesn't allow you to push or pull curved surfaces easily to make them three-dimensional; currently Windows only.

The bottom line: Google SketchUp is a flexible, powerful app for quick 3D sketching on the fly, but professionals will want the $500 version.

Specifications: License qty: 1 user ; License type: Complete package ; Operating system: Apple MacOS X 10.3 , Microsoft Windows NT , Microsoft Windows 2000 , Microsoft Windows Vista

CNET editors' review

Reviewed by:

Susan Glinert

Edited by:

Elsa Wenzel

Reviewed on: 05/04/2006
Released on: 04/27/2006

Google SketchUp is a fast, flexible, and fun 3D modeling application that allows you to quickly mock up designs of objects, buildings, or anything else you dream up. You can use SketchUp for fun to draw three-dimensional virtual neighborhoods or for practical projects, such as renovating a kitchen or building a bookshelf. Google broadens the power and novelty of this program by enabling you to share your creations with the public online; just upload your designs to Google's 3D Warehouse Web site or drop them into Google Earth. In turn, you can view models made by other SketchUp users and save them to integrate into your own designs.

You can download this 19.11MB app for free to a PC running Windows 2000 or up with at least 128MB of RAM (512MB is recommended). Installation took us just a few minutes in our tests on a Windows XP computer. SketchUp can serve both amateurs and professionals, but commercial designers with sophisticated printing and exporting needs should consider the $495 SketchUp Pro 5, a higher-end modeling app that includes animation and organic terrain modeling, or the pricier AutoCAD.

This scene took us only a few minutes to assemble and colorize, thanks to SketchUp's prebuilt components and its Materials panel.

Most 3D software is complex and confusing for newbies, but immediately after loading the free Google SketchUp, we swiftly mastered the basics by finishing its three short tutorials. There's not a drop of difficult CAD terminology, and you can leave open a neat, context-sensitive, animated Instructor panel for additional help if you need it.

Google SketchUp's no-frills interface consists of a large, central canvas flanked by a single left-hand toolbar containing most of the icons needed to build models, with the rest of the features available from the Main Menu atop the screen. This compact setup leaves maximal space for drawing; however, if you wish, you can display up to 12 floating task-specific toolbars, such as those for Drawing, Construction, and Camera.

SketchUp is intuitive; just drag around the mouse to draw rectangles, arcs, segments, or circles, then select the Push/Pull tool to extend shapes into the third dimension. The tools do most of the heavy lifting for you. For example, as you draw freehand, with straight lines, or with the pencil tool, SketchUp guesses where you want endpoints to meet and snaps them shut for you. SketchUp also highlights the edges and the centers of shapes when the cursor passes over them, making it painless to draw with accuracy. Similarly, guidelines appear when you cross the cursor over another line, so you can visualize how your object relates to the rest of the scene. Unfortunately, you can't easily push or pull curved surfaces to produce rounded objects, such as a bubble skylight.

Visual cues and snapping points make the construction of objects, well, a snap.

SketchUp helps you color in your models instantly via the Paint Bucket tool or by choosing from the more than 100 swatches, including vegetation, glass, and metal, in the Materials palette. Once you draw, say, a three-flat building, you could detail its red bricks, ivy-laced walls, and gravel driveway in a matter of minutes.

Want your design's blue-sky setting to evoke high noon? The Shadow Settings palette is especially cool: just use the sliders to set the time of day and the month to add the properly angled shadowing effect to an object. Other neat features include the ability to display a transparent version of your model, inspect hidden geometry, walk around or orbit the scene, and rotate objects in all directions.

SketchUp can import images, size them appropriately, then apply them to objects as surface skins.

When you import artwork from Google 3D Warehouse or elsewhere to use in your model, SketchUp is intelligent about guessing your intentions. For instance, when we imported a picture of a zebra, then clicked the wall of a house, SketchUp correctly positioned the zebra as a wall mural and automatically gave it the proper perspective.

Once you've finished your model, you can upload and share it with other users, thanks to the unlimited, free storage space at Google's 3D Warehouse Web site--where you can also grab other people's models (we dropped the Taj Mahal into the center of the Pentagon). Even cooler, you can populate Google Earth with your own models. We sketched a house, dropped it into Google Earth's satellite photos, then e-mailed our street address to some friends in Japan so that they could see what we drew. Checking within Google Earth, our friends were also able to view a 3D car model that we had dropped into the parking lot of an apartment house in Japan.

Google SketchUp's support Web site offers a searchable knowledge base, FAQs, and a contact link to reach technical service via form e-mail. A user group and detailed video tutorials provide extra assistance.

The simplicity of the free Google SketchUp makes three-dimensional drawing possible even for those who lack knowledge of design or perspective. In addition to its ease of use, Google's free online storage for your designs and SketchUp's integration with Google Earth allow you not only to create your own world, but also to share it with others. We look forward to seeing how users will explore the creative potential offered by SketchUp.

Sony VAIO C Review, Sony VAIO Features

2009-05-30T02:45:00.005+05:30

The recently introduced Sony VAIO C Series laptop sports an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 13.3" widescreen display, features sleek styling with a selection of colors and starts at about $1,099. That description sounds suspiciously like the Apple MacBook, and there's no doubt Sony is trying to take a bite out of Apple's recent success in the portable notebook market space with the VAIO C.

The Sony VAIO VGN-C140 13.3" widescreen laptop

Overview
The Sony VAIO C comes in a number of configurations and colors. You can configure a VAIO C online at SonyStyle.com or buy a stock configuration from various retailers. When you configure the VAIO VGN-C190 at SonyStyle.com you have a dizzying array of colors to choose from (Green storm, Pink swirl, Angel, Red storm, Blue streaks, Urban Gray, Spring Green, Blush Pink, Espresso Black, Sea Shell White). Sony also offers a free 60 character engraving in the top left side of the screen -- I don't recommend this if you want to protect resale value of your notebook though.

Sony offers a free 2-line 30 character per line engraving on your VAIO C190 notebook if you configure online

Processor wise you can choose either a cheapy Intel Celeron processor for the VAIO C or select from the full range of Core 2 Duo processors (from the Intel T5500 1.66GHz Core 2 Duo up to the T7600 2.33GHz Core 2 Duo). The only screen offering is the 13.3" WXGA and the base amount of RAM is 1GB, since this notebook is being touted as "Vista Compatible" Sony made a wise decision here. Built-in wireless 802.11 a/b/g is standard. Finally you can choose from a range of 40GB - 120GB hard drives and have the choice between a DVD burner (dual-layer) or a more basic CD Burner / DVD optical drive.
For this review we're taking a look at the Sony VAIO VGN-C140G/B that was purchased for $1,179.99 before rebate from Amazon.com, but after a mail-in rebate of $100 that price gets knocked down to $1,079.99. Following are the specs for the notebook under review:

Screen: 13.3-inch screen WXGA (1280 x 800) with XBRITE-ECO (glossy finish)

Color: Espresso Black with copper accents

Processor: 1.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5500

Hard Drive: 120 GB hard drive (SATA, 5400RPM)

Memory: 1 GB RAM (PC4200, 533 MHz, DDR2 SDRAM, 2 x 512 MB) -- 2 GB max memory

Optical Drive: multi-format/dual-layer DVD/CD burner

Ports and Slots: Two USB 2.0, one FireWire 400 port, one ExpressCard 34, one S-Video, memory card reader adapter, headphone / line-out, microphone-in, modem, 10/100 Ethernet

Wireless: Tri-mode Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g)

Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 (128 MB of shared RAM)

Operating System: Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 (Windows Vista capable and Windows Vista Premium ready)

Dimensions: 9.28 inches, 12.98 inches, 1.47 inches (depth, width, thickness)

Weight: 5.1 pounds, travel weight of 5.8 pounds with the adapter and battery

Screenshot of VAIO C desktop at first bootup

Build and Design
You have to hand it to Sony, they've done a nice job with the styling of the VAIO C and the selection of colors and designs is unprecedented. The Espresso Black with copper accents that comes with the C140 is sleek, cool and professional looking. The slightly dimpled finish on the keyboard and palm rests area is effective in making the notebook look more spritely. The pinhole sized LED indicator lights at the front of the notebook are attractive looking, albeit hard to read what they actually mean. The translucent power button is easy to find and also effective in making the VAIO C look more suave -- I'm a sucker for nice looking power buttons.

Nice lights

The lid of the VAIO C also has a nice look, the silver VAIO badge is pleasong and the look is very clean.

VAIO C140 lid, the Sony logo is the front of the notebook -- from this view it is upside down but when the lid is open it appears right-side up to onlookers

Build-wise the VAIO C is classified by Sony as a thin-and-light notebook. At 1.5" of thickness it's not exactly skinny, but it's not as thick as one of those 2-inch thick 17" screen notebook monsters. Honestly, I would have liked to have seen this notebook at 1.2" of thickness. If you're looking for a true thin and light weight 13.3" screen notebook the Sony VAIO SZ is a better option, but much more expensive.

At 1.5" of thickness the VAIO C isn't exactly super model thin, it's as thick as an 800 page paper back computer programming book

(view large image)

Notice that the VAIO C is quite a bit thicker than the larger screen but thinner 14.1" ThinkPad T43

The case of the VAIO C case is composed of plastic while the lid is some type of magnesium-alloy to offer better protection of the screen area. I was bracing myself for a dissapointingly cheap plastic case with a lot of flex to it, but to my pleasant surprise that's not what I found. The VAIO C offers a very sturdy and relatively thick plastic casing. While the VAIO SZ offers a high-end carbon fiber build case that makes the SZ lighter, I don't think it's a ton better in terms of sturdiness than the C. I stood in a Best Buy with a VAIO C next to a VAIO SZ and did my standard push and flex tests all over each notebook and found them to be about equal.

13.3" Sony VAIO C on the left next to a 14.1" screen ThinkPad T43 on the right

The VAIO C lid does not have a latch to hold it closed, which is a little disappointing to me, but once closed the lid does stay firmly down. The trick is opening it, you really have to use two hands and get one finger under the lid to lift it open. The hinge for the screen is very good, it is firm and holds the screen in place well -- I even found the VAIO C to have a more convincing hinge mechanism than the somewhat wobbly VAIO SZ hinge.
One knock against the VAIO C is that for the ExpressCard 34 slot Sony gives you a plastic dummy to fill the slot when it's not in use, having a spring based flap would be preferable, removable plastic pieces are easily lost.
Performance and Benchmarks
The Core 2 Duo that comes with the VAIO C-series is no laggard in terms of performance, even at the 1.66GHz low-end we have configured. Having said that, the VAIO C is not being pushed by Sony as a portable performance machine as it does not offer a dedicated graphics option -- that's the realm of the VAIO SZ series. The 120GB hard drive provided does spin at 5400RPM, so that's pretty decent. The two 512MB memory sticks included are 533MHz variety and Sony doesn't even offer 667MHz memory if you configure a C190, surprising since the FSB on the Core 2 Duo can support speeds of up to 667MHz, so there may be a slight performance bottleneck there.
Super Pi

Notebook	Time
Sony VAIO C140 (1.66GHz Core 2 Duo T5500, with 533MHz memory speed)	1m 23s
Fujitsu LifeBook A6010 (1.66GHz Core 2 Duo T5500, with 667MHz memory speed)	1m 22s
Dell Inspiron e1505 (2.0GHz Core Duo)	1m 16s
Lenovo ThinkPad T60 (2.0GHz Core Duo)	1m 18s
Toshiba Satellite M100 (2.00GHz Core Duo)	1m 18s
Samsung X60 (1.66GHz Core Duo)	1m 29s
Dell XPS M140 (1.86 GHz Pentium M)	1m 41s
Sony VAIO FS680 (1.86 GHz Pentium M)	1m 53s
IBM ThinkPad T43 (1.86 GHz Pentium M)	1m 45s

PCMark05 Comparison results:

Notebook	PCMark05 Score
Sony VAIO C140 (1.66GHz Core 2 Duo T5500, with 533MHz memory speed, Intel GMA 950 graphics)	2,911 PCMarks
Fujitsu LifeBook A6010 (1.66GHz Core 2 Duo T5500, with 667MHz memory speed, Intel GMA 950)	2,994 PCMarks
Fujitsu N6410 (1.66GHz Core Duo, ATI X1400)	3,487 PCMarks
Alienware M7700 (AMD Athlon FX-60, Nvidia Go 7800GTX)	5,597 PCMarks
Sony Vaio SZ-110B in Speed Mode (Using Nvidia GeForce Go 7400)	3,637 PCMarks
Toshiba Tecra M6 (1.66GHz Intel T2300E, Intel GMA 950)	2,732 PCMarks
Asus V6J (1.86GHz Core Duo T2400, Nvidia Go 7400)	3,646 PCMarks
Sony VAIO FE590 (1.83GHz Core Duo, Nvidia Go 7400)	3,427 PCMarks

CineBench
Cinebench is a good rendering benchmark tool based on the powerful 3D software, CINEMA 4D. Its rendering tasks can stress up to sixteen multiprocessors on the same computer. It is a free benchmarking tool, and can be found here: http://www.cinebench.com. The basic CPU test provided the following results, you can see the VAIO C failed to match the similarly priced MacBook Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz based notebook but of course did better than an old Pentium M based ThinkPad T43.

Cinebench 9.5 Benchmark	Sony VAIO C140 (1.66GHz Core 2 Duo)	MacBook Core 2 Duo (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo)	ThinkPad T43 Pentium M 2.0GHz	Lenovo ThinkPad T60 Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz
Rendering (Single CPU)	266 CB-CPU	331 CB-CPU	222 CB-CPU	327 CB-CPU
Rendering (Multiple CPU)	487 CB-CPU	596 CB-CPU	N/A (not dual core)	592 CB-CPU

HDTune Benchmark results:

The 120GB hard drive size is nice and certainly appreciated, especially good is that it spins at 5400RPM and not a slower 4200RPM. I wouldn't want a 7200RPM spinning drive in this type of laptop, it drains the battery too much -- bettery to add more RAM for performance.
Screen
The 13.3" screen is a WXGA 1280 x 800 job, it's a comfortable size for viewing and in my opinion quite a sweet spot for portability. I like how Sony made it so the display sits down slightly below the base, thereby giving the VAIO C a lower overall profile when in the open position (good for tight quarters such as use on a plane).
The display is nice and fairly bright with even backlighting, it offers 8 levels of brightness. The display is an XBRITE-ECO type, this is not as bright as the plain old "XBRITE" display. Sony claims the XBRITE-ECO to offer better power efficiency, but really it's just a dimmer backlight than what you get in say the VAIO FE or VAIO AR where the display can get as bright as the sun (seemingly). Nonetheless, I found the XBRITE-ECO display to be quite bright enough, and the glossy finish makes the colors vibrant for watching movies.
What I didn't like about the display is the very poor vertical viewing angles. If the display isn't aligned just so with your eyes then screen colors distort really fast. Horizontal viewing angles weren't fantastic, but acceptable.

Keyboard, Touchpad and Other Input Buttons

The keyboard on the VAIO C is quite usable, it's got 86-keys spread out over 6-rows and the keys are full sized. The key travel is decent and the touch is light. If you have long fingernails it's kind of easy to catch the key above the key you're pushing down and pop it up a bit -- so trim those nails or you might be popping off keys (I've seen this happen on the VAIO SZ). The keyboard is really pretty firm too, there's a little bit of flex on the side areas, but nothing horrible and will be unnoticed by most.
The touchpad is very usable and just the right size. The mouse buttons are a good size too, I'd rather they have a bit more travel and springiness to them and were a little less noisy, but they're not horrible and most certainly usable.
With the VAIO C the only dedicated hardware buttons we get are the power button and Wireless on/off button that's located on the front of the notebook. It's dissapointing Sony didn't include more media buttons along the top like they did on the VAIO SZ.
Input and Output Ports
Let's take a quick tour around the port offerings of the VAIO C:

Front side: Wireless on/off slider switch and Memory Stick Pro reader slot

Back side: Nothing except the battery

Right side: Two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400, S-Video, Monitor-Out, heat vent, Kensington lock slot, Power jack and speaker above the power jack

Left side: Ehternet and modem port with speaker above, microphone and headphone jacks, ExpressCard 34 slot above the DVD burner optical drive area

The port selection is actually quite good, except for the fact we only get two USB 2.0 ports. I'd like to see three, but I can get by with two on a notebook of this size. It's the same number of USB ports as the competing MacBook.
Sony included a reader for the Memory Stick Duo on the front of the notebook and then provided a 5-in-1 memory card adapter that fits in Express Card 34 slot to read SD/xD/MMC/MemoryStick type cards. Why didn't Sony just upgrade that front memory card reader to a 6-in-1 instead of giving us two memory reader slots.

Sony includes a seperate memory card reader that goes into the ExpressCard 34 slot

Audio
The VAIO C has stereo sound via speakers on the left side and right side. If you check out the pictures of the sides of the notebook you'll see the speakers located on flanking side areas. With the speakers being on the side they don't exactly direct the sound at you and I thought this would be problematic, but the audio is surprisingly good and volume level also quite good. They're actually some of the better speakers I've heard from a notebook of this size. The headphone jack is located on the left side when you want better audio quality or need to avert disturbing others.
Heat and Noise
The VAIO C runs nice and quiet with the 1.66 GHz Core 2 Duo. It would run warmer if say a faster 2.33GHz was configured, but as far as this review unit goes there's nothing to complain about. The bottom right side gets a bit warm, but never so much that it would be uncomfortable on the lap. I ran three benchmarking tools at the same time to stress out the machine and make it work hard, but even then temperatures stayed reasonable and comfortable to the touch. So while I complained about the thickness of this notebook, the amount room inside allows things to stay cool so extra thickness isn't all bad.
The fan is on the back right side and it is quiet when running, you have to put your ear down at desk level to hear it over any other ambient noise in the room. Some people would prefer not to have the fan on the right side as it can push warm air onto your mouse hand, but during these colder months I actually appreciate that.
Battery and Power Adapter
Sony quotes the battery life of the included 6-cell battery at 3.0-4.5 hours of use depending on how you use the notebook. In my test of using the notebook at half screen brightness, wireless off, and idling for 2 hours and then light usage (typing in Word) for 1 hour I got exactly 3 hours of use. So that falls on the low-end of Sony's claim, and if I were doing anything during that 2 hours of idle time you'd get less battery life. You can get a 9-cell battery ($299) for a longer usage time unplugged, but the 9-cell will stick out from the back and add weight to the system.

Picture of underside of VAIO C with battery removed

The power adapter for the VAIO C is unnecessarily huge. If you take a look at the pictures of the adapter next to the notebook you'll see what I mean -- this brick adds a full .7 pounds of travel weight to the VAIO C. Dissapointing since Sony is touting it as a travel friendly notebook, why not make the adapter travel friendly too?
Software
Sony includes some useful and a lot of not so useful software with the VAIO C. Here's a rundown of what you get

Click to DVD - Sony DVD Creation software

DVgate Plus - Sony Digital Video editing software

Trial Versions of Sony popular games (Bewitched, Jeopardy!, Da Vinci Code, Wheel of Fortune)

DISCover My Games application

Microsoft Works 8.5

60-Day Trial Version of MicrosoftOffice 2003

Norton Internet Security 60-Day Trial

Napster

TrendMicro Anti-Spyware 30-Day Trial

A bunch of AOL Software (AOL Explorer Browser, AOL High Speed trial, AOL 5GB storage , AIM, AOL Video, AOL Desktop Search, AOL Music)

All I can say is Sony has broken a record for the amount of AOL trial software on one notebook. What a shame, I didn't even know there was an AOL Video or AOL Music application but unfortunately you get them along with a garbage AOL toolbar showing up by default on your Internet Explorer browser.

AOL has its software all over the VAIO C, and your default start page is AOL.com

All this software is unappreciated, it slows down the system and takes up hard drive space.
Conclusion

The Sony VAIO C ends up being a decent portable notebook that's very nice looking and is built well. It overlaps a bit with the VAIO SZ, but because it's cheaper and not quite as powerful due to the integrated graphics, there's room for it in the VAIO lineup. It also stacks up well feature for feature against the MacBook. The VAIO C is of course missing the built-in camera, slot loading drive and OS X that the MacBook has. On the flip side, the VAIO C offers a media card reader, Wireless on/off switch, S-Video and an expansion slot in the form of the ExpressCard that the Apple MacBook is missing. If you'd like to be able to use Mac OSX I'd say go with the Apple MacBook, but if you're sure that Windows XP or Vista is your OS of choice I think the VAIO C should win out so long as price is in line between similar configurations of these notebooks (and at the current time they are).
Pros

Very nice looks with a bevy of color options when configuring

Fast Core 2 Duo processor and base 1GB of RAM amount ensures good system performance

Good build quality and sturdiness

Good abilities to read all types of media cards, albeit through use of two media card slots

13.3" form factor is nice and fits easily in any backpack

Stays cool and makes little noise

Good keyboard

Cons

Too much garbage software installed, especially AOL stuff

Screen has bad vertical viewing angles, could be a bit brighter

Only two USB 2.0 ports

Power adapter is big and overall travel weight of close to 6 lbs is too much for a notebook of this size

Only 533MHz speed memory is available in the C series at time of review

Microsoft Windows 7 Review : Windows 7 RC Review

2009-05-27T14:55:00.006+05:30

With the Windows 7 Release Candidate build (build 7100) leaked to torrents recently, it’s finally possible for us to get a look at what Microsoft’s new OS will be like when it’s finally released to what appears to be an eagerly awaiting tech community.
With the ISO downloads in hand, I’ve been busy installing and using the Release Candidate code on a number of systems and can bring you my “no holds barred” list of Windows 7’s “the good, the bad and the ugly” features.

The Good
Let’s begin by looking at the good side of Windows 7, and let’s kick off our analysis of the “good” by looking at what I think is the best feature of Windows 7: performance.

One of the biggest complaints leveled at Windows Vista at the time it launched was that the performance it delivered was abysmal. In fact, in almost every benchmark test carried out, XP easily beat Vista.
Not only was the OS a drag on performance, but the first wave of graphics card and chipset drivers from the major OEMs delivered abysmal performance which dragged down benchmark scores for games. This meant that the OS seriously burned the earlier adopters who made the leap to Vista.
Bad reviews of Vista on blogs and forums quickly followed and the operating system was permanently tarnished. From that point onward, nothing that Microsoft could do to the OS could change how many saw the OS.
Testing shows that a post SP1 installation of Vista is usually faster than XP SP3 on a similarly speed machine, but there’s an entrenched code of Windows users who totally refuse to believe this.
To make sure that history didn’t repeat itself, Microsoft made performance top priority in the development of Windows 7. And it worked.
Even the earliest code to leak out of Microsoft showed that Windows 7 could outpace Vista, and with each subsequent build that was leaked, we saw an improvement in performance.
When it comes to the final release of Windows 7 (and don’t ask me when this will be, I don’t yet have a clue), I won’t have any performance-related worries when I upgrade systems.
Now I don’t want to leave you with the impression that there’s nothing more to Windows 7 than a performance boost. There’s a lot more to like in Windows 7. For example, the new user interface. When Microsoft released Vista, the feeling that I and many others had was that the UI changes represented a change for the sake of change, and that they did nothing to improve the user experience or make the OS easier to navigate.
I don’t feel that way about the Windows 7 UI, and while I do have a few gripes about the new UI, overall I think that it’s a marked improvement over both the Vista UI and that of XP.

Then there’s backward compatibility. When users moved from XP to vista, there was a very good chance that the move would necessitate the purchase of some new bit of software of hardware (or both).
Since Windows 7 is built on core technologies introduced in Vista, the compatibility speed bump is much smaller and most users will be able to upgrade without having to spend money on new hardware or software.
And finally, there’s the new “XP Mode” feature that was unveiled last week. This feature will allow users of Windows 7 Ultimate and Enterprise to have access to a Windows XP SP3 virtual machine to run any software that’s not compatible with the new OS. While I’m sure this feature won’t end all compatibility issues, it could be quite interesting.

The Bad
I promised you a warts and all look at Windows 7, and that’s what you’ll get. Let’s move on to look at what’s bad in Windows 7.
First on the bad list is a repeat of a complaint that was leveled at Vista – that there are too many editions. Putting aside the Enterprise edition, which only volume licensing customers will ever see, Windows 7 comes in five flavors:
• Starter
• Home Basic (only available in developing nations)
• Home Premium
• Professional
• Ultimate

Microsoft claims that these editions are required to offer the end user with the right range of features at the right price. Personally, I think that the old days where there were two editions of Windows, Home and Professional, was better because it meant far less end user confusion.

Posted By: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Tags: windows 7 review, win 7, microsoft windows 7 rc review, windows review, review, windows 7

Grattitude: earthweb.com

Hostgator Review, Hostgator Performance Review By Clients

2009-05-24T16:07:00.000+05:30

Hostgator Review

Hostgator, founded in 2002 is one of top shared hosting companies, ranking consistently among the best by most of the review sites. What makes hostgator stand out from the crowd is their excellent support and customer friendliness. If you are not satisfied with the support, you could even get hostgator president Brent Oxley to personally take a look at your problem.

Recently hostgator went green, probably making them the first main stream host to do so. They purchase renewable energy credits up to 130% of their total power consumption.

Hostgator Plans

Name	Platform	Price	Space	Bandwidth	Domains
Hatchling	Linux	$6.95	350 GB	3000 GB	1
Baby	Linux	$9.95	600 GB	6000 GB	Unlimited
Swamp	Linux	$14.95	1000 GB	Unlimited	Unlimited

Hostgator Features Review

Hostgator offers linux hosting only(even though they are expected to start windows hosting in the near future). All their packages come with all the features needed for a serious website. Baby and Swamp packages allow unlimited domains(add on), which makes a lot of sense if you have multiple websites. They use cPanel, which is the best control panel around. You get Fantastico script installer which will install most of the popular open source scripts with few clicks.

They support PHP4 & 5, SSH, Cron jobs, Python, Ruby On Rails etc. Also, all the packages include enough POP3 accounts(20 for Hatchling and unlimited for others).

Hostgator Performance Review

Hostgator host their sites on top-of-the-line Dual Xeon servers in their data centers (thePlanet) at Dallas. The data centers are well equipped and connects to 10 backbone providers. They offer 99.9% uptime Guarantee which is the industry standard.

We started realtime testing of hostgator uptime on Feb 2008. The test is done on a site hosted with hostgator, using a third party uptime monitor service. Overall, hostgator had been the best performing host from all the hosts monitored. They provided consistently high uptime, month after month. There has never been a single case of site being down for more than 10 minutes at a stretch. Hostgator indeed lived up to their reputation.

Below is the screen shot from our report. For an live report, you may check the uptime report available here.

Hostgator Price Value

They have three hosting packages starting from Hatchling ($6.95 pm) to Swamp ($14.95 pm). The price is reasonable for the features and space/bandwidth provided. Recently Hostgator increased the space and bandwidth to unimaginable levels. They also reduced the price of all plans, by introducing 24 and 34 month pre-payment options. The monthly payment now have a small set up charge and is costlier than 12 month rates. Our advice - don't get excited by the unlimited space and bandwidth. They do have limits on file numbers(inodes) and CPU usage to make sure that only reasonable sized accounts remains in the shared servers. But for any site with a reasonable traffic, hostgator plans are more than sufficient. You obviously can not expect a site with few million page views a month to run on a shared host, no matter what bandwidth they offer.

Overall, hostgator is fair priced and provides enough resources for a shared web host.

Hostgator Support Review

Hostgator offers 24/7/365 toll free support. In addition, they have Ticket System, Knowledge base, tutorials etc. Also they have an active forum which helps in fixing most normal issues. Support tickets are fast, often response will be made in less couple of hours.

Special Discount On HostGator.com CLICK HERE

Posted By : Devin

California, USA

contact@annoyingcall.com

I had the worst experience with Proearn.info

2009-05-24T14:52:00.000+05:30

Hi Readers,

I purchased a resellers hosting pack from a Kolkata (India) based company whose servers were located in USA. The fraud company told me lot of good words regarding themselves. I was moved by them and purchased a linux resellers and a windows resellers pack worth $34 and $60 respectively. The company is closed from last week. They are not even communicating. They are saying on their website, 'The company is overtaken by Star Info Cyber Services', though I haven't found any company with this name. If there is anyone else who was fooled by the same company please let me know. We need to get United to stand against the scam.

Company info: Proearn Solutions (The Fraud Company)
Website: Proearn.info
Email: funning17@gmail.com
The Contact Persons : Sandeep Bhattacharya and Jacob

My contact details is given below

Prithwiraj Bose
Kalyani, West Bengal,
India
Email: techbongo@gmail.com
Phone: +91 9883246001

Advertise On This Blog

2009-05-23T05:43:00.005+05:30

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2009-05-22T13:00:00.014+05:30

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