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Sunday, 11 May 2014

Would you want one?



Normally I would not post anything remotely related to boats on this blog, but the moment I saw this bad boy, I knew I just had to share it with you guys (and girls :-) ), it does after all make use of the latest technology known to man...when it comes to boats that is. And even though it is just a a concept and still a long way from actual production, it is an indicator of where the boating world is headed, frankly, I must say that I am dully impressed by the direction being taken, I imagine I would have to be a super hero first before I can buy one of these, so I'm going to buy my super dude outfit and head out to fight heinous crimes like jay walking and rudeness in my neighborhood.

Designed by Eduard Gray, Strand Craft 122 is a 38-meter long super yacht equipped with twin Rolls-Royce engines and apparently an optional 14,000-horsepower booster engine. It would theoretically go a top speed of 55 knots. You can also count on four double and very large staterooms, heads, reception, salon areas and comfortable crew cabins, 52″ LED TVs and sound systems in all rooms.

Inside this ‘floating garage’ is an 880-horsepower V12-powered supercar that can reach a speed of over 230mph which makes it a combination of supercar and super yacht.

Beats...Beats by Dre?

According to a report in the Financial Times, Apple is close to completing the acquisition of Beats Audio. The deal is said to be worth $3.2 billion and could be officially announced as early as next week.
Apple’s acquisition of Beats Audio will allegedly include both its audio streaming service and its hardware business. The latter includes the wildly popular lineup of headphones and audio speakers.
A potential purchase of Beats Audio for $3.2 billion will mark Apple’s highest profile acquisition to date. Normally, the Cupertino giant does not pursue deals of this magnitude.
In case the deal goes through, the Beats Audio management team will report directly to Apple’s CEO Tim Cook. Unsurprisingly, both Apple and Beats Audio refused to comment on the matter.
This is not the first time Beats Audio gets acquired. Back in 2011, HTC bought 50.1% of the audio brand for $300 million. The partnership between the two companies however, did not go as planned, so Beats Audio bought back the HTC shares in September last year. At the time, Beats Audio was valued at about $1 billion, thus meaning that the company more than tripled its worth in a tad over six months.

Sunday, 27 April 2014

Windows anyone?

Start menu allegedly returning to Windows 8.1 in August

One of the key features is actually an old feature of Windows that will be making a comeback: the Start menu. After bringing the Start button back in the first update, Microsoft will now bring back the entire Start menu in the second. The menu will be familiar to anyone who has used Windows 7 and will also feature some live tiles on the side.
Along with the Start menu, another feature being added is the ability to run Windows 8 modern style applications within windows on the desktop side. This will let you run your modern apps without having to go over to the other side and not have them take your entire screen. This will definitely help those who run a mix of modern style and traditional Windows apps simultaneously on their system.
These features were said to be part of Windows 9 that will be arriving next year but it seems Microsoft is pushing for an early release.

Just in case you missed it


The official video of the Samsung Galaxy S5

Fall of a Titan

It’s been in the works for a while but the acquisition of Nokia by Microsoft was by no means a surprise to anyone and was. And Microsoft isn’t wasting any time with publicly showing the change.
Images from Harri Kiljander (Director of F-Secure Lokki) show what appears to be Nokia House in Finland with a crane truck up front, preparing to take down Nokia’s logo and another photo showing the S and F from Microsoft’s logo, reportedly being prepared for mounting. The “On The Move” sign under the Nokia logo adds an air of irony to the otherwise saddening image.
In the aftermath of the deal Microsoft will acquire around 32 thousand employees (around 4 thousand of which in Finland and around 18 thousand directly connected to manufacturing), a 10-year non-exclusive license of Nokia’s patent portfolio and a robust devices business while Nokia walks away with the ripe sum of €5.44 billion.
Hopefully Microsoft, as biggest manufacturer of Windows Phones starting today, will not let down the millions of Nokia owners and fans and will continue to innovate as Nokia did.

Window Pane

Windows Phone is yet to become the game changer Microsoft wants it to be. It didn't quite experience the kind of explosive growth that could've put Nokia back in pole position, but it has been steadily climbing up the ranks. Maybe an upgrade of the scale of its 8.1 version is all it needed to go into overdrive and really challenge the big two in the smartphone game.
While some analysts are predicting huge gains in the next few years, others are sending the OS straight to the OS cemetery, right next to Symbian and Bada. Sure, nobody knows what the future holds but Microsoft is certainly trying to leave nothing to chance. It has been busy building up its arsenal and now it's ready to do some real damage.
Redmond must be quite confident everybody is going to be impressed that the update progress screen is filled with bold statements like "loaded with new features and improvements we think you are going to love", "reinvented with you in mind", "and it will be worth the wait".
And it's not just empty promises either - the 8.1 update is here to change the face of Windows Phone forever. You've got a notification center with toggles and improved multitasking to boost productivity, more customizable Live Tiles with cool wallpaper to sexy up the looks and automatic Store updates to make app-handling even easier. There's also Cortana for those looking for something extra.
Here comes the complete list of novelties we've managed to find so far.

What's new:

  • Action Center to display all of your notifications, plus customizable quick toggles
  • Cortana virtual assistant at your command
  • Universal Search
  • Start background on all of your tiles
  • Customizable number of tiles per row - four or six
  • Internet Explorer 11 with better UI, faster page load, in-private browsing, tab sync across devices and Reader mode
  • New Dialer app with Speed Dial, shortcuts to contact, and call time
  • Built-in Facebook with deeper integration, real-time notifications
  • Redesigned status bar
  • Quiet Hours mode for control over your notifications at night or events marked as busy
  • Move/install apps on SD card
  • Automatic app updates in Store
  • VPN support
  • Wi-Fi Sense
  • Better sound control with separate scrubbers for Notifications/Ringer and Apps/Media
  • Better multi-tasking with suspend mode
  • Camera burst mode, customizable viewfinder
  • Swype-like keyboard
  • Battery Sense app
  • Storage Sense app
  • New Music and Video apps
  • Podcasts app
  • Better backups with app data sync
  • App data syncing across devices
  • Customizable lockscreen and glance screen notifications
  • You can change the default SMS app and the default SMS notifications
  • Support for QHD displays, dual-SIM and fingerprint scanners, on-screen buttons

What's still missing:

  • System-wide file manager
  • Options for more quick toggles
  • Richer app catalog
  • Cortana is some way behind Android and iOS rivals
That list of disadvantages is getting shorter with every next iteration, so Microsoft is certainly doing something right. At this point WP8.1 not only matches its rivals in almost all key aspects of the user experience, but puts its own twist on some popular features, while offering a few exclusives along the way. This last part is particularly important as it will help Microsoft's OS try and steal some users from competing platforms, and not just serve as an entry point into smartphones.

Long hiatus



Dear devoted followers of "The Tech Whisperer", I would like to hereby extend my most sincere apologies for the long drawn out lack of updates that was plaguing this site, I promise it was not due to a lack of technological innovation, but rather due to malovelent individuals that will always oppose any and all forms of progress, they managed to hack our servers and install some malware. The problem has however been dealt with in the form of a new I.T. Guru by the name of Hishi, with that said, let's get back to giving you guys the best and the rest that has been happening in the technology world

Tuesday, 25 March 2014

HTC One Plus



I have to say, it has been a long time coming, literally. finally after months of waiting and countless leaks, the HTC flagship, the One Plus has finally been revealed to the world, and I can tell you, it was worth the wait. For those of you who are tech savvy, you will remember the original HTC One, truly a smartphone in it's own class in...terms of beauty, it's internals were nothing short of the best at the time it was launched either, but they were hardly something to write home about as other droids were pushing out faster and better hardware. But the second coming of the One is something entirely different, this time around it not only manages to best some of the top dogs currently on the market, but it manages to do so while looking exceptionally well too, in fact this phone looks so good, you would have to think really hard about picking an iPhone over it, and that is saying something, we all know the iPhone is arguably the best looking phone on the market, whether you are an apple fanboy or not. with that said, head over to the link to read more on the unveiling of the One Plus.
http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_m8_goes_official_with_duo_camera_5_screen-news-8128.php
To all the Namibian students currently studying in Malaysia, this phone is one hot piece of tech that's worth your Ringgits, so use your scholarship and get the HTC One Plus.


Monday, 17 March 2014

Heart problems anyone?

With its latest flagship, the Galaxy S5, Samsung decided to ramp up the health tracker angle, so much so that they included a heart rate sensor – the first of its kind on a mainstream smartphone.
In certain countries this qualifies it to be considered as a medical device, and Samsung’s home country of Korea is among them. Seoul’s medical ministry recently evaluated whether the Galaxy S5 qualifies as a medical device, and although it has decided not to label it as such, has stated that the smartphone technically is one. Furthermore, the ministry has plans on rewriting the law to distinguish between devices with heart rate monitors that are designed specifically for medical purposes, and ones that are intended for leisure. The Galaxy S5, obviously, would fall into that second category.
Failing to receive an official medical certification is not necessarily a bad thing, as medical devices oftentimes require additional rounds of testing, which could potentially push back the device’s April 11 release date.
For more on the Galaxy S5, check out the exclusive hands-on from our time with the device at its MWC launch last month.
http://mts3042aron.blogspot.com/#

Sunday, 9 March 2014

DirectX11 to get an upgrade

Microsoft will be giving game developers a closer look at the next version of its graphics API set on March 20 at Game Developer Conference or GDC. Microsoft didn’t reveal much about it right now and all we know for sure is that AMD, Intel, NVIDIA and Qualcomm are onboard with it right now.
But while Microsoft did not reveal much on its website, the GDC schedule for the DirectX event does give a good hint at what we can expect. According to the description, it seems DirectX 12 will offer lower-level access to hardware, similar to AMD’s Mantle API. Having low-level access to your hardware means you are able to get the most out of it and make better use of it.
Although DirectX 12 will be announced later this month, it is not expected to release until next year. Considering Microsoft usually releases major version of DirectX with new versions of Windows, we could see it arrive with Windows 9 next year. DirectX 12 will also be in future versions of Windows Phone and will supports the same features as on the desktop version of Windows, so a game made for DirectX 12 on Windows will technically run on Windows Phone.
I'll find out more details couple of weeks from now when DirectX 12 is announced.

Monday, 3 March 2014

Veyron Slayer?



Koenigsegg is celebrating its 20th birthday this year, and for the occasion, the Swedish specialists are taking the hypercar to the next level with its new Agera One:1 at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show. In fact, it claims that, because it is the first production car with a one megawatt of power (1,341 horsepower), and a power-to-weight ratio of one-to-one (kilogram to horsepower), it goes beyond super or hyper and is actually the "world's first megacar."

Koenigsegg Agera One:1 rearThis road-bound rocketship is powered by twin-turbocharged, 5.0-liter V8 with the previously mentioned 1,341 hp and 1,011 pound-feet of torque. A seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox and electronically-controled differential makes sure all that grunt gets to the wheels. It is equipped with seemingly science-fiction features like variable geometry turbos in custom, 3D-printed housings and a 3D-printed titanium exhaust. While Koenigsegg claims top speed was not a factor when creating the One:1, it says that it has a simulated top speed of around 440 kilometers per hour (273 miles per hour), which would make it the worlds fastest production vehicle. However, the One:1 can never hold the Guinness world record for top speed because only six will be built, all of which it says are already spoken for.

Instead of speed, Koenigsegg says that the One:1 is meant to be a "track focused car." The Swedes claim 2 Gs of cornering capability on road-legal tires, thanks to up to 1,345 pounds of downforce at 160 mph from an active rear wing and independent, active left and right front flaps. In addition to those aids, the ride height, dampers and spring rates all adjust with the car's speed. The chassis can predict the road ahead using GPS, and drivers can even study telemetry later with a 3G connection sending the car's data to an iPhone app.

The One:1 seems to be the next automotive quantum leap on par with the Bugatti Veyron. However, no one outside of Koenigsegg has actually driven it yet. It will be very interesting to see if real life stands up to what the megacar claims on paper

LUMIA HUNTING



Do you own a Lumia 1020? or the 1520? or just about any Lumia really, seeing as their cameras are nothing short of brilliant, any way, word on the tech street is that Oppo, yes the new mobile maker is going to blow every Lumia's socks off with it's neat little party trick, you guessed, it's camera. In it's upcoming flagship phone, Oppo is rumoured to be putting a 50 megapixel sensor, and no, that was not a typo, 50 megapixels is the word on the streets, seeing as the Lumia's maxed out at 41 megapixels with the Lumia 1020, I would have to say it's going to be easy pickings for the Oppo Find 7 (that's the mobile phones name in case you were in the dark as to what 7 we were finding)

Saturday, 1 March 2014

I want you



Ladies and Gentleman, and everybody in-between,  I need you  to be interactive with me on this blog, your comments are highly valued on this site.
If you feel that the updates that I have been posting so far are not to your liking, then please by all means, let me know how you would like me to spice things up, you are after all my clients, and I would love nothing more than to ensure that you enjoy your time on this site.

Yours truly: Uncle Chie

Cellphone: Want or Need?




We call them mobile phone because they are,well, mobile, but when they first came out, they were big and clunky and yes still mobile because you could carry them around but they were hardly portable. they were the size of bricks and weighed a lot, they were like Thor’s hammer, only a select few could actually manage to carry them around. Over the years, mobile devices have evolved so much that they look entirely different from when they first came out, they have lost the antennae the keypads and gained new features in turn, they have gained cameras, GPS, radio, touch screens Bluetooth, NFC, the list is endless. And it seems we are just in the thick of things, with fingerprint scanners 4K resolution screens and super fast processing chips now part of the mobile phones arsenal, who’s to say one day these devices wont make your coffee.

Wednesday, 26 February 2014

WhatsApp is calling


Finally the call on the WhatsApp logo makes sense.

WhatsApp is adding voice calling to its popular instant messaging app, with iOS and Android the first two OSes to get the new features.
At WhatsApp's MWC press conference, CEO Jan Koum said that some BlackBerry and Nokia phones will be next in line for the voice messaging update, although the company didn't give any idea of exactly when we can expect it to land beyond "Q2" - that's April to June.
It's not the biggest WhatsApp news in recent memory though, overshadowed by Facebook dropping $19bn on the messaging service.  The question remains though, what's in it for Facebook.

Nokia joins the Droid army



This week's launch of Nokia's new X handsets has generated more headlines than you'd expect for a family of fairly low-end devices.
That's because the Windows Phone-supporting, soon-to-be-part-of-Microsoft phone firm has embraced Android. Here's what you need to know: tech first, and then what it means for Nokia, Windows Phone and Microsoft.

Which Nokia phones are running Android?

So far we've seen three. The four-inch Nokia X and X+, and the Nokia XL – which is a five-incher.

What does the X represent?

It's the cross between Android apps, Microsoft services and Nokia hardware, apparently.

What's the pitch?

Nokia design for cheap-Android money.

How much will they cost?

The Nokia X is €89, the X+ €99 and the XL €109.

Are they any good?

They're not going to delight specs fiends - you're looking at 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragons with 512MB of RAM (768MB on the X+ and XL), and you can forget about PureView cameras or wireless charging - but that's not who they're aimed at. They're perfectly decent phones with rock-bottom prices and nice design.

Where will they be sold?

For now, the X range will be sold in Asia, South America and Eastern Europe. There are no current plans to bring it to Western Europe, North America, Australia, Korea or Japan.

Is Nokia using the same Android as Samsung?

No. There are actually two Androids: the one we're all familiar with that comes with Google Maps and various other Google services, and the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), which doesn't.
AOSP is available to anybody who wants it, and they can do what they like with it - but if they want to include key Google services such as Google Maps or Chrome, they need to pay for a Google Mobile Services (GMS) license. Nokia is using the AOSP version of Android.

Has Nokia paid for a GMS license?

No. Instead of Google services, the X phones will use Nokia and Microsoft services such as Skype, Here Maps, Bing, OneDrive and so on.

Which version of Android is Nokia using?

Nokia's fork is based on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. The skin is based on FastLane, the interface already used in Nokia's Asha devices. It looks rather like Windows Phone, which is entirely deliberate.

Jelly Bean? That's quite old, isn't it?

It is: it's been out since late 2012. The more recent KitKat, Android 4.4, has been specifically optimized for low-end hardware and would run better: we found the phones were "a little jittery". The use of a comparatively old Android suggests that Nokia has been working on this for a while.

Do the phones use Google Play?

No. Nokia has its own app store.

Will it be a crap app store?

Nokia says no: it promises hundreds of thousands of apps.

Will there be lots of third party apps to choose from?

Nokia says developers will find it simple to port their apps to its flavor of Android. It's produced three APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) for maps, app notifications and payments to replace the Google services its version of Android lacks.

Can I get apps from elsewhere?

Yes. In addition to the Nokia store you'll be able to download apps from third-party app stores, and you'll be able to sideload apps too - although of course, as with any sideloading it's important to make sure you're getting your apps from trustworthy sites.

Has Nokia basically 'done an Amazon' here?

Yes, it's the same thing Amazon did with the Kindle Fire. It's an interesting move, because a forked Android is essentially yet another mobile OS for customers to consider.

Has Nokia dumped Windows Phone?

No. The official line is that the low-cost Android devices will introduce "the next billion" users to Nokia kit and Microsoft services. The reality is that Windows Phone is getting stuffed in the low end market by increasingly impressive and affordable Android devices, and that's still an important sector for Nokia. By making low-cost Android devices, Nokia believes, it can get new phone buyers to develop a Nokia habit.

How does Microsoft feel about it?

That's a very good question. Windows Phone vice president Joe Belfiore was asked specifically about it at MWC, and after an awkward pause he said that as far as Microsoft was concerned, "some things [Nokia does] we're excited about, some things we're less excited about."
If this were Old Microsoft, we'd expect Nokia's Android adventure to end as soon as the ink was dry on the contract making Nokia a Microsoft subsidiary.
Now that Microsoft's under new management, we're not so sure. These phones might not be shipping Microsoft operating systems, but they will be connecting to Microsoft services such as email, messaging and search. If they prove to be a hit, killing the range might not be the best move for Microsoft to make. That's a very big if, however, and the X range could end up as not just the first Nokia phones to run Android, but the last too.

SPEEDING TICKETS



The name Bugatti is synonymous with mind boggling speeds, speeds incomprehensible by the mere mortal's mind,it is with caution that i urge you to watch this video, as dementia can follow soon after due to your minds incapability to comprehend the speeds being achieved in the video, it's absolute madness! The Bugatti then, truly lives on the fringe of car science


http://youtu.be/LO0PgyPWE3o

Travelling through the Galaxy




When Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S5, the world sat up and took notice, simply because it's one of the most anticipated phones for 2014. But how did the South Korean giant become so influential in the mobile phone market? Lest we forget, it was a no-hoper just a few years ago, spraying out demi-smartphones that were met with shrugs and derision in equal measure. Then Android emerged, Samsung decided that enough was enough, and it decided to take the plunge and become a fish in Google's pond. The Galaxy i7500 - where our journey begins - was by no means a smash hit, and the Galaxy S did little to improve the situation. It was with the S2 that Samsung really began to get its act together, and even though last year's S4 fell a little flat, the buzz that remains is proof that Samsung is still the only major player that can take on Apple in terms of overall mobile handset sales, and that it's truly become a shark in the Android lake.



The key specs
Screen: 3.2-inch OLED, 320 x 480 pixels
Battery: 1500mAh
CPU: 528MHz, 128MB RAM
Key features: One of the early phones to run Android
Internal storage: 8GB
OS: Android 1.5
Price at launch: £499

Packing a 5-megapixel camera, the i7500 sported an OLED 3.2-inch screen that offered a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels, and made use of a conventional D-pad — how mobile technology can change in the space of five years. The device weighed in at 116g, which is a little lighter than today's Nexus 5.
Under the hood the handset had a 528MHz Qualcomm MSM7200A CPU and an Adreno 130 GPU powering the display, a setup which we found to be laggy on occasion. The i7500 had 8GB of built-in storage and 128MB of RAM (absolutely paltry by today's standards but not so bad for 2009).
Despite a relatively large 1500mAh battery, battery life was disappointing: during heavy use it only lasted 3-4 hours, and the handset had to be charged at least once a day.
An underwhelming start for the Galaxy range then, and definitely room for improvement. Android was still in its infancy, and Samsung was still finding its feet: in October 2009, HTC was the only other manufacturer making mobiles running Android. The price was off-putting too, with the i7500 originally costing £499 to buy SIM-free.

Galaxy S


The key specs
Screen: 4-inch Super AMOLED, 480 x 800 pixels
Battery: 1500mAh
CPU: 1GHz Cortex-A8, 512MB RAM
Key features: Stronger TouchWiz overlay, front-facing camera
Internal storage: 8GB / 16GB
OS: Android 2.1
Price at launch: £449

The next Galaxy handset appeared a little over a year later, in June 2010. The D-pad was gone, and the Galaxy S had a far more recognisable shape and style to it, with the now ubiquitous back, home and menu buttons in place.

The display was bigger (spot the emerging trend), offering a 480 x 800 pixel resolution across 4 inches of Super AMOLED screen real estate.
The S originally appeared with Android 2.1 Eclair and bowed out with 2.3 Gingerbread. The RAM was boosted to 512MB, 8GB and 16GB storage options were available, and a 1GHz Cortex-A8 processor kept everything running. A PowerVR SGX540 GPU was in charge of graphics, and the handset tipped the scales at 119g.
Android had added support for a forward-facing camera, so the Galaxy S included one, as well as a 5-megapixel shooter around the back. The battery was again a Li-Ion 1500mAh model, and again the phone struggled to get through a working day without a recharge. The 2.3 Gingerbread update did wonders in this department though, almost doubling its lifespan.
"There are a few faults, but on the whole it's a cracking bit of kit, and you really could do a lot worse," was my conclusion, and Samsung now had a foundation it could build on. In 2010, the SIM-free price for the Galaxy S was £449.


The key specs
Screen: 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus, 480 x 800 pixels
Battery: 1650mAh
CPU: dual-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A9, 1GB RAM
Key features: Blazing fast internals, strong camera, brilliant screen
Internal storage: 16GB / 32GB
OS: Android 2.3.4
Price at launch: £499

The S2 was the first Galaxy phone to cause a significant splash in the mobile handset pond.

It brought along with it an improved Super AMOLED Plus screen that was expanded to 4.3 inches, a faster dual-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A9 CPU, 1GB of RAM and a superior Mali-400MP GPU.
The Galaxy S2 debuted in April 2011 with Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread and would eventually get as far as 4.1 Jelly Bean, a sign of its prowess and longevity. In terms of storage space, 16GB and 32GB models were available.
In our review of the phone, its thinness and lightness (116g) came in for praise, as did the display, responsiveness and 1080p video recording capabilities.
The camera had been bumped up to 8 megapixels and now had a flash, while the 1650mAh battery was good for almost two days of average use — a target that many of today's phones would love to be able to stretch to. At launch, SIM-free prices for the S2 hovered around the £500 mark.
After the moderate college radio success of the Galaxy S, Samsung finally had a chart-topping hit on its hands: within five months, it would shift 10 million of its S2 phones.
"If you're after a one-word summary of the Samsung Galaxy S2: awesome. We've were waiting for a phone to set a benchmark among the dual-core breed, and we found it in the Samsung Galaxy S2."


The key specs
  • Screen 4.8-inch Super AMOLED, 720 x 1280 pixels
  • Battery 2100mAh
  • CPU quad-core 1.4GHz Cortex-A9, 1GB RAM
  • Key features Smart Stay, Android Beam, Pop up Play - all about the software and screen
  • Internal storage 16GB / 32GB / 64GB
  • OS Android 4.0.4
  • Price at launch: £499
It was the second home run for Samsung in a row: the S3 arrived to almost universal acclaim, and we called it "the best smartphone around right now" in our original review. Again, the screen was bigger: the Super AMOLED display grew to 4.8 inches at a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels, and the weight grew to 133g as well.
The heavy lifting was done by a quad-core 1.4GHz Cortex-A9 CPU, while the Mali-400MP GPU showed up again alongside 1GB of RAM. The S3 originally came with Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich and was at the same £500 SIM-free price level as its predecessor.
As on the S2, an 8-megapixel camera was around the back, though various software optimisations helped to create slightly better photos. In terms of storage, 16GB, 32GB and 64GB options were available.
Not even battery life could spoil the S3 party: the 2100mAh battery was good for eight hours or so of heavy use, which placed it very favourably amongst the other handsets of 2012. Speed, design, battery life, display, responsiveness, bundled features... the phone scored highly in every department.

Galaxy S4

Galaxy S4
And so to Samsung's current flagship phone until the S5 replaces it this April.
The key specs
  • Screen 5-inch Super AMOLED HD, 1080 x 1920 pixels
  • Battery 2600mAh
  • CPU quad-core 1.6GHz Cortex-A15, 2GB RAM
  • Key features Air gestures, Smart Scroll, Smart Pause, Drama Shot, Infra red remote, humidity sensor
  • Internal storage 16GB / 32GB / 64GB
  • OS Android 4.2.2
  • Price at launch: £600
The Galaxy S4 arrived in the world in April 2013, offering users a whopping 5-inch 1080 x 1920 pixel Super AMOLED screen, an upgraded 13-megapixel camera, Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and a 2600mAh battery that typically lasts at least the length of a day.
The specs of last year's model remain impressive: a quad-core 1.6GHz Cortex-A15 CPU, a PowerVR SGX 544MP3 GPU, 2GB of RAM and 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of built-in storage.
It weighs in at 130g and offers a slew of sensors to track your eyes, measure humidity and more besides. You can currently pick up a SIM-free S4 for around £400, though it was closer to £600 at launch.
Despite a high TechRadar review score, and sales of 40 million units in the first six months, Samsung is reportedly disappointed with the S4's impact on the market. As far as we're concerned though, the phone was a success, if not on the same level as the S2 and the S3.

Galaxy S5

Galaxy S5
So, onto the latest iteration of the Samsung Galaxy family: the S5, and it's powerful while remaining a little underwhelming.
The key specs
  • Screen 5.1-inch Super AMOLED HD, 1080 x 1920 pixels
  • Battery 2800mAh
  • CPU Quad-core 2.5GHz Snapdragon 801, 2GB RAM
  • Key features Waterproof, Super fast autofocus, heart rate monitor, fingerprint scanner
  • Internal storage 16GB / 32GB / 64GB
  • OS Android 4.4.2
  • Price at launch: £TBC
In February 2014 the Galaxy S5 was launched unto the baying public, and delivered in a number of stable ways. Gone were the theatrics and the pointless sensors, to be replaced by a heart rate monitor, a blazing fast autofocus and a fingerprint scanner.
The main specs were up again: the CPU was faster at 2.5GHz, the screen was larger as a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED HD option, the camera boosted to 16MP and the battery now rocking up at 2800mAh.
On top of that Android 4.4.2 was included to make things look a lot slicker and the overall interface was overhauled to make things like the lock screen much clearer and generally improve the flow through the device.
The fitness elements were boosted through S Health 3.0, which brings the most holistic tracking app ever for your fitness, according to Samsung, while most other elements stayed the same - although the rubberised back is a lot a grippier.
We're still awaiting a price, but chances are it will be the same as before, hovering around the £500-£600 mark depending on your spec choice.
Our hands on: Samsung Galaxy S5 review found that the "Galaxy S5 has a great camera, strong screen, impressive packaging, a waterproof casing and a blazingly fast engine pumping things along.
"But it doesn't have an amazing camera, incredibly battery life, stunning design or genuinely innovative feature, and that cause a few people to wait and see what the competition brings."
...and so there you have it: a complete walk down the Samsung Galaxy memory lane. Are there any particular handsets that you have fond memories of? Or are there specific innovations that you'd like to see Samsung offer next time around? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Saturday, 22 February 2014

Tomb Raider:

For all the gamers out there, this title is sure to get some of you feeling a little nostalgic while some will just be plain excited, a brilliant story line and amazing graphics make for one hell of a gaming experience.

Viruses, worms, infections....Typos too


In the beginning, when most of the internet was still rolling green fields, there was no need for antivirus software. Early web users could swap files with anyone without risk of infection - and they did, en masse, on messageboards and servers across the early web. Those were carefree days.
But in the early 80s, just like in the real world, everything changed. A program called 'Elk Cloner' was the first computer virus to appear in the wild. It was more of a practical joke than anything else, merely displaying a short poem if the videogame it was hidden inside was played more than fifty times, but it gave others more malicious ideas. Trojan anyone?

http://www.techradar.com/news/software/security-software/will-we-ever-be-able-to-rid-the-world-of-computer-viruses--1226119