Web Conferencing Features

Web conferencing programs come with a tremendous variety of features and capabilities. Some can merge with a company's existing e-mail, calendar, messaging and office productivity applications. Some allow attendees to view the presentation in their regular web browser without installing any additional software.

Depending on the software, people can:

• View slide presentations from programs like PowerPoint
• Draw or write on a common whiteboard by using their computer mice or typing
• Annotate images and diagrams using the same whiteboard principle
• Transmit still pictures or video to other attendees via a webcam (This increases the required bandwidth and can sometimes slow the transfer of the presentation.)
• View information from the moderator's computer desktop using screen sharing
• Share documents, often even if attendees don't have the software that created them, using application sharing
• Hold interactive question-and-answer sessions that integrate video and audio
• Send public or private messages through instant messaging
• Annotate or modify documents and spreadsheets from compatible applications
• Transfer files between attendees
• Ask and answer questions through audio chat (as an integrated part of the software) or by phone

Some web conferencing programs can replicate real-world whiteboards.

Since these meetings take place over the Internet, programs include options for security and encryption. Most programs require moderators and attendees to use a login name and password to access the meeting. Some use SSL or TLS encryption to protect data. Some companies also host web conferences on internal servers so that the data stays behind the corporate firewall. The moderator or host can monitor who is participating in the conference through sign-in logs and roll calls.

A Typical Online Meeting
Web conferences can vary dramatically depending on software, hosting and how the moderator runs the meeting. Here are the basic steps used with many meeting programs:

1. The moderator gathers content for the meeting, including spreadsheets, documents and presentations from other applications.
2. The moderator sets a time and date for the meeting and uses the meeting software to invite attendees via e-mail.
3. The attendees accept the invitation, and their calendar programs add the meeting to their calendars.
4. The meeting moderator opens the conferencing software before the meeting is scheduled to start and makes sure the connections and content are working properly.
5. When the meeting time arrives, the attendees click on the URL in their invitation email to go to the meeting.
6. The visual portion of the meeting takes place in the meeting software or in a web browser.
7. The moderator and participants communicate by phone, voice chat or instant messenger during the meeting.
8. At the end of the meeting, the moderator and attendees close their programs or browser windows and sign off.

Teleconferencing Online

Web conferencing allows people to communicate through text and video in addition to audio. The simplest web conferencing methods use chat and instant messaging programs to host text-based group discussions. More sophisticated programs exchange visual information with webcams and streaming video. Some allow people to share documents online.

Companies can either purchase conferencing software and host their meetings themselves or use a hosting service. Hosting services provide the software and server space on which to conduct meetings. Either way, the company or the hosting service must have software to coordinate the meeting and ample server space and bandwidth to accommodate it.

Web conferencing programs combine tools already common to web pages and Internet communication. They bundle these tools into one interface to create an interactive meeting environment. These tools include:

• HTML, XML and ASP markup
• Java scripts
• Flash animation
• Instant messaging
• Streaming audio and video

Some programs are entirely computer- and Internet-based. Others use the telephone system to distribute audio content. To participate in the online meetings, participants must have:

• A computer
• An Internet connection
• A telephone, if audio content is not provided online

If the conferencing program relies on Internet-based audio chat and webcam feeds, the participants' PCs should have:

• Microphones
• Webcams
• Video capture cards

In general, every online presentation or meeting has a moderator and attendees. The moderator sets the time and date of the meeting, prepares the content and makes sure everything works properly before the meeting begins. Attendees can either view the presentation without giving feedback or can collaborate, based on the settings and capabilities of the programs. Often, moderators can record the presentation for later viewing and can pass their moderator capabilities to attendees during the meeting.

But what can people do in these virtual meeting rooms? Let's find out.

Other Uses for Web ConferencingWeb conferences aren't just for businesses. Hospitals can use audio and video conferencing to supplement their emergency room staff. For example, some Massachusetts hospitals use video conferencing to allow neurologists to confer with stroke patients. Web conferencing has also allowed deployed soldiers to communicate with their families and even get married.

How Teleconferencing Works : Introduction to How Teleconferencing Works

In the past few years, corporations have gotten bigger and more spread out. Many American employees -- more than 44 million in 2004 -- also do at least some of their work from home [ref]. Since offices and employees can be thousands of miles apart, getting everyone into the same room for meetings and training has become decidedly impractical for a lot of companies.

That's why teleconferencing -- the real-time exchange of information between people who are not in the same physical space -- has become such a big industry. The American audio conferencing industry alone reported $2.25 billion in revenue in 2004 [ref]. Through teleconferencing, companies can conduct meetings, customer briefs, training, demonstrations and workshops by phone or online instead of in person.

In this article, we'll look at different types of teleconferencing, from conference calls to online meetings.

The simplest phone teleconference is a three-way call, available in many homes as a service from the telephone company. Another very simple (but not necessarily effective) method is to have two groups of people talk to one another via speakerphone. The limits of three-way calling and the sound quality of speakerphones make both of these options impractical for most businesses.

Conference calls let groups of people -- from a few to hundreds -- communicate by phone. Banks and brokerages often use conference calls to give status reports to large numbers of listeners. Other businesses use conference calls to help coworkers communicate, plan and brainstorm. To connect to the call, attendees call a designated number (MeetMe conferencing), or an operator or moderator calls each participant (ad hoc conferencing).

Conference calls connect people through a conference bridge, which is essentially a server that acts like a telephone and can answer multiple calls simultaneously. Software plays a large role in the bridge's capabilities beyond simply connecting multiple callers.

A company can have its own bridge or can contract with a service provider for conference call hosting. Providers frequently offer add-on features for conference calls, such as:

• Attendee polling
• Call recording ­
• In-call operators or attendants

Companies using Voice over IP (VoIP) telephones can also host conference calls themselves if the VoIP software supports them.

Many phone conferencing systems require a login and personal identification number (PIN) to access the system. This helps protect confidential and proprietary information during the call.

Video phones can add a visual element to conference calls, but businesses often need to share other visual information.

Use of VoIP in Amateur Radio

Think of amateur radio, or ham radio, as an early version of the Internet. Using a worldwide network of radio towers, antennas and transceivers, amateur radio enthusiasts are able to communicate with fellow hobbyists around the globe, sometimes by voice and sometimes by Morse code.

Amateur or ham radio operators can use VoIP technology to set up temporary stations such as this one used by the Red Cross following Sept. 11.

Amateur radio is limited by the distance that radio waves can travel. To send a signal to the other side of the world requires calculated timing and more than a little bit of luck. Every 11 years, for example, there's a peak in the number of sunspots produced by the sun, which increases the intensity of something called ionospheric propagation [source: International Solar Terrestrial Physics Program]. By bouncing radio signals high into the ionosphere, ham radio users can send long-distance messages. During off-peak years it's much more difficult.

Now amateur radio fans are using VoIP technology to link users around the globe. Here's how it works. Ham radio has always relied on FM repeaters, large radio towers that act as base stations for accessing the radio network from home. By attaching an Internet-connected PC to these repeater stations, people can communicate with the repeater using VoIP.

Several amateur radio fans have developed special software that helps connect home radio transceivers to the Internet. Users can connect their ham radio transceivers to their PC sound card and use the computer software to search for available repeater stations across the world [source: ARRL]. No longer are ham radio fans limited to the closest repeater station. If you live in Indiana, you can call into a repeater station in Mozambique and chat with local amateur radio aficionados instantly.

There are also software programs that allow you to communicate with other amateur radio users directly from your PC, without having an actual ham radio [source: ARRL]. Some ham radio purists wouldn't call this amateur radio, while others hope that this new technology will draw more young people into the hobby.

VoIP Cell Phones

VoIP-enabled cell phones are just entering the consumer market. In the United States, only T-Mobile's HotSpot@Home service allows customers to make cell phone calls over a VoIP network. HotSpot@Home relies on a device called a dual-mode cell phone.

Image courtesy of T-Mobile HotSpot@Home lets you make cell phone calls over your home WiFi network. Learn how this useful technology integrates seamlessly between two networks.

Dual-mode cell phones contain both a regular cellular radio and a Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) radio. The Wi-Fi radio enables the cell phone to connect to a wireless Internet network through a wireless router. If you have a wireless Internet router in your home, or if you're sitting at a Starbucks with wireless Internet access, you can use your cell phone to make VoIP calls. Here's how it works:

1. When the cell phone is in range of a wireless Internet network, the phone automatically recognizes and connects to the network.
2. Any calls you initiate on the wireless network are routed through the Internet as VoIP calls. With HotSpot@Home, all VoIP calls are free.
3. If the phone is out of range of a wireless Internet signal, it automatically switches over to the regular cellular network and calls are charged as normal.
4. Dual-mode phones can hand off seamlessly from Wi-Fi to cellular (and vice versa) in the middle of a call as you enter and exit Wi-Fi networks.

Similar to dual-mode cell phones are Wi-Fi phones. Wi-Fi phones aren't technically cell phones because they only have a Wi-Fi radio, not a cellular radio. Wi-Fi phones look like cell phones (small, lightweight handsets), but can only make calls when connected to a wireless Internet network. That means all Wi-Fi phone calls are VoIP calls.

Wi-Fi phones are useful in large companies and offices with their own extensive wireless networks. And could prove to be the next big thing, with the expanding market for municipal Wi-Fi. [source: Dr. Dobb's Portal]. Imagine that your entire city was covered by a high-speed wireless network. That means cheap (if not free) VoIP calls wherever you go.

In England, a company called Hutchinson 3G (or simply 3) has partnered with the popular VoIP service Skype to introduce the 3 Skypephone. The Skypephone allows users to make free cell phone calls to other Skype users. The phone can also make regular cell-phone calls to non-Skype users for the normal fees. Here's how it works:

1. To make a Skype call using the 3 Skypephone, you have to be on 3's cellular network.
2. To initiate a Skype call, find a Skype user in your phone's address book and press the big "Skype" button.
3. The call first goes over 3's cellular GSM network to a fixed Internet line, which then connects the call to Skype [source: mobileSift].
4. From your 3 Skypephone, you can make free VoIP calls to other Skype users whether they have a Skypephone or not. You can talk to Skype users on their PCs or using other Skype VoIP products.

The 3 Skypephone isn't currently available in the United States.

VoIP Call Monitoring

VoIP has its distinct advantages and disadvantages. The greatest advantage of VoIP is price and the greatest disadvantage is call quality. For businesses who deploy VoIP phone networks -- particularly those who operate busy call centers (customer service, tech support, telemarketing, et cetera) -- call quality issues are both inevitable and unacceptable. To analyze and fix call quality issues, most of these businesses use a technique called VoIP call monitoring.

VoIP call monitoring, also known as quality monitoring (QM), uses hardware and software solutions to test, analyze and rate the overall quality of calls made over a VoIP phone network [source: ManageEngine]. Call monitoring is a key component of a business's overall quality of service (QoS) plan.

Newer Skype services are
equipped to handle
VoIP protocol.

Call monitoring hardware and software uses various mathematical algorithms to measure the quality of a VoIP call and generate a score. The most common score is called the mean opinion score (MOS). The MOS is measured on a scale of one to five, although 4.4 is technically the highest score possible on a VoIP network [source: TestYourVoIP.com]. An MOS of 3.5 or above is considered a "good call" [source: ManageEngine].

To come up with the MOS, call monitoring hardware and software analyzes several different call quality parameters, the most common being:

• Latency -- This is the time delay between two ends of a VoIP phone conversation. It can be measured either one-way or round trip. Round-trip latency contributes to the "talk-over effect" experienced during bad VoIP calls, where people end up talking over each other because they think the other person has stopped speaking. A round-trip latency of over 300 millisecond is considered poor [source: TestYourVoIP.com].
• Jitter -- Jitter is latency caused by packets arriving late or in the wrong order [source: SearchVoIP.com]. Most VoIP networks try to get rid of jitter with something called a jitter buffer that collects packets in small groups, puts them in the right order and delivers them to the end user all at once. VoIP callers will notice a jitter of 50 msec or greater [source: TestYourVoIP.com].
• Packet loss -- Part of the problem with a jitter buffer is that sometimes it gets overloaded and late-arriving packets get "dropped" or lost [source: TestYourVoIP.com]. Sometimes the packets will get lost sporadically throughout a conversation (random loss) and sometimes whole sentences will get dropped (bursty loss) [source: TestYourVoIP.com]. Packet loss is measured as a percentage of lost packets to received packets.

There are two different types of call monitoring: active and passive. Active (or subjective) call monitoring happens before a company deploys its VoIP network. Active monitoring is often done by equipment manufacturers and network specialists who use a company's VoIP network exclusively for testing purposes [source: VoIP Troubleshooter.com]. Active testing can't occur once a VoIP network is deployed and employees are already using the system.

Passive call monitoring analyzes VoIP calls in real-time while they're being made by actual users [source: VoIP Troubleshooter.com]. Passive call monitoring can detect network traffic problems, buffer overloads and other glitches that network administrators can fix in network down time.

Another method for call monitoring is recording VoIP phone calls for later analysis. This type of analysis is limited, however, to what can be heard during the call, not what's happening on the actual network. This type of monitoring is usually done by human beings, not computers, and is called quality assurance.

Advantages of Using VoIP

VoIP technology uses the Internet's packet-switching capabilities to provide phone service. VoIP has several advantages over circuit switching. For example, packet switching allows several telephone calls to occupy the amount of space occupied by only one in a circuit-switched network. Using PSTN, that 10-minute phone call we talked about earlier consumed 10 full minutes of transmission time at a cost of 128 Kbps. With VoIP, that same call may have occupied only 3.5 minutes of transmission time at a cost of 64 Kbps, leaving another 64 Kbps free for that 3.5 minutes, plus an additional 128 Kbps for the remaining 6.5 minutes. Based on this simple estimate, another three or four calls could easily fit into the space used by a single call under the conventional system. And this example doesn't even factor in the use of data compression, which further reduces the size of each call.

Let's say that you and your friend both have service through a VoIP provider. You both have your analog phones hooked up to the service-provided ATAs. Let's take another look at that typical telephone call, but this time using VoIP over a packet-switched network:

Click "Play" to see how packet switching works.

1. You pick up the receiver, which sends a signal to the ATA.
2. The ATA receives the signal and sends a dial tone. This lets you know that you have a connection to the Internet.
3. You dial the phone number of the party you wish to talk to. The tones are converted by the ATA into digital data and temporarily stored.
4. The phone number data is sent in the form of a request to your VoIP company's call processor. The call processor checks it to ensure that it's in a valid format.
5. The call processor determines to whom to map the phone number. In mapping, the phone number is translated to an IP address (more on this later). The soft switch connects the two devices on either end of the call. On the other end, a signal is sent to your friend's ATA, telling it to ask the connected phone to ring.
6. Once your friend picks up the phone, a session is established between your computer and your friend's computer. This means that each system knows to expect packets of data from the other system. In the middle, the normal Internet infrastructure handles the call as if it were e-mail or a Web page. Each system must use the same protocol to communicate. The systems implement two channels, one for each direction, as part of the session.
7. You talk for a period of time. During the conversation, your system and your friend's system transmit packets back and forth when there is data to be sent. The ATAs at each end translate these packets as they are received and convert them to the analog audio signal that you hear. Your ATA also keeps the circuit open between itself and your analog phone while it forwards packets to and from the IP host at the other end.
8. You finish talking and hang up the receiver.
9. When you hang up, the circuit is closed between your phone and the ATA.
10. The ATA sends a signal to the soft switch connecting the call, terminating the session.

Probably one of the most compelling advantages of packet switching is that data networks already understand the technology. By migrating to this technology, telephone networks immediately gain the ability to communicate the way computers do. It will still be at least a decade before communications companies can make the full switch over to VoIP. As with all emerging technologies, there are certain hurdles that have to be overcome. We'll look at those in the next section.

VoIP: Packet Switching

A packet-switched phone network is the alternative to circuit switching. It works like this: While you're talking, the other party is listening, which means that only half of the connection is in use at any given time. Based on that, we can surmise that we could cut the file in half, down to about 4.7 MB, for efficiency. Plus, a significant amount of the time in most conversations is dead air -- for seconds at a time, neither party is talking. If we could remove these silent intervals, the file would be even smaller. Then, instead of sending a continuous stream of bytes (both silent and noisy), what if we sent just the packets of noisy bytes when you created them?

VoIP phone users can make calls using their Internet connection.

Data networks do not use circuit switching. Your Internet connection would be a lot slower if it maintained a constant connection to the Web page you were viewing at any given time. Instead, data networks simply send and retrieve data as you need it. And, instead of routing the data over a dedicated line, the data packets flow through a chaotic network along thousands of possible paths. This is called packet switching.

While circuit switching keeps the connection open and constant, packet switching opens a brief connection -- just long enough to send a small chunk of data, called a packet, from one system to another. It works like this:

• The sending computer chops data into small packets, with an address on each one telling the network devices where to send them.
• Inside of each packet is a payload. The payload is a piece of the e-mail, a music file or whatever type of file is being transmitted inside the packet.
• The sending computer sends the packet to a nearby router and forgets about it. The nearby router send the packet to another router that is closer to the recipient computer. That router sends the packet along to another, even closer router, and so on.
• When the receiving computer finally gets the packets (which may have all taken completely different paths to get there), it uses instructions contained within the packets to reassemble the data into its original state.

Packet switching is very efficient. It lets the network route the packets along the least congested and cheapest lines. It also frees up the two computers communicating with each other so that they can accept information from other computers, as well.

VoIP: Circuit Switching

Existing phone systems are driven by a very reliable but somewhat inefficient method for connecting calls called circuit switching.

Circuit switching is a very basic concept that has been used by telephone networks for more than 100 years. When a call is made between two parties, the connection is maintained for the duration of the call. Because you're connecting two points in both directions, the connection is called a circuit. This is the foundation of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).

Click "Play" to see how circuit switching works.

Here's how a typical telephone call works:

1. You pick up the receiver and listen for a dial tone. This lets you know that you have a connection to the local office of your telephone carrier.
2. You dial the number of the party you wish to talk to.
3. The call is routed through the switch at your local carrier to the party you are calling.
4. A connection is made between your telephone and the other party's line using several interconnected switches along the way.
5. The phone at the other end rings, and someone answers the call.
6. The connection opens the circuit.
7. You talk for a period of time and then hang up the receiver.
8. When you hang up, the circuit is closed, freeing your line and all the lines in between.

Let's say you talk for 10 minutes. During this time, the circuit is continuously open between the two phones. In the early phone system, up until 1960 or so, every call had to have a dedicated wire stretching from one end of the call to the other for the duration of the call. So if you were in New York and you wanted to call Los Angeles, the switches between New York and Los Angeles would connect pieces of copper wire all the way across the United States. You would use all those pieces of wire just for your call for the full 10 minutes. You paid a lot for the call, because you actually owned a 3,000-mile-long copper wire for 10 minutes.

Telephone conversations over today's traditional phone network are somewhat more efficient and they cost a lot less. Your voice is digitized, and your voice along with thousands of others can be combined onto a single fiber optic cable for much of the journey (there's still a dedicated piece of copper wire going into your house, though). These calls are transmitted at a fixed rate of 64 kilobits per second (Kbps) in each direction, for a total transmission rate of 128 Kbps. Since there are 8 kilobits (Kb) in a kilobyte (KB), this translates to a transmission of 16 KB each second the circuit is open, and 960 KB every minute it's open. In a 10-minute conversation, the total transmission is 9,600 KB, which is roughly equal to 10 megabytes (check out How Bits and Bytes Work to learn about these conversions). If you look at a typical phone conversation, much of this transmitted data is wasted.

Using VoIP

Chances are good you're already making VoIP calls any time you place a long-distance call. Phone companies use VoIP to streamline their networks. By routing thousands of phone calls through a circuit switch and into an IP gateway, they can seriously reduce the bandwidth they're using for the long haul. Once the call is received by a gateway on the other side of the call, it's decompressed, reassembled and routed to a local circuit switch.

Although it will take some time, you can be sure that eventually all of the current circuit-switched networks will be replaced with packet-switching technology (more on packet switching and circuit switching later). IP telephony just makes sense, in terms of both economics and infrastructure requirements. More and more businesses are installing VoIP systems, and the technology will continue to grow in popularity as it makes its way into our homes. Perhaps the biggest draws to VoIP for the home users that are making the switch are price and flexibility.

With VoIP, you can make a call from anywhere you have broadband connectivity. Since the IP phones or ATAs broadcast their info over the Internet, they can be administered by the provider anywhere there's a connection. So business travelers can take their phones or ATAs with them on trips and always have access to their home phone. Another alternative is the softphone. A softphone is client software that loads the VoIP service onto your desktop or laptop. The Vonage softphone has an interface on your screen that looks like a traditional telephone. As long as you have a headset/microphone, you can place calls from your laptop anywhere in the broadband-connected world.

Most VoIP companies are offering minute-rate plans structured like cell phone bills for as little as $30 per month. On the higher end, some offer unlimited plans for $79. With the elimination of unregulated charges and the suite of free features that are included with these plans, it can be quite a savings.

Most VoIP companies provide the features that normal phone companies charge extra for when they are added to your service plan. VoIP includes:

• Caller ID
• Call waiting
• Call transfer
• Repeat dial
• Return call
• Three-way calling

There are also advanced call-filtering options available from some carriers. These features use caller ID information to allow you make a choice about how calls from a particular number are handled. You can:

• Forward the call to a particular number
• Send the call directly to voice mail
• Give the caller a busy signal
• Play a "not-in-service" message
• Send the caller to a funny rejection hotline

With many VoIP services, you can also check voice mail via the Web or attach messages to an e-mail that is sent to your computer or handheld. Not all VoIP services offer all of the features above. Prices and services vary, so if you're interested, it's best to do a little shopping.

Now that we've looked at VoIP in a general sense, let's look more closely at the components that make the system work. To understand how VoIP really works and why it's an improvement over the traditional phone system, it helps to first understand how a traditional phone system works.

How VOIP works ?

If you've never heard of VoIP, get ready to change the way you think about long-distance phone calls. VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol, is a method for taking analog audio signals, like the kind you hear when you talk on the phone, and turning them into digital data that can be transmitted over the Internet.

How is this useful? VoIP can turn a standard Internet connection into a way to place free phone calls. The practical upshot of this is that by using some of the free VoIP software that is available to make Internet phone calls, you're bypassing the phone company (and its charges) entirely.

VoIP is a revolutionary technology that has the potential to completely rework the world's phone systems. VoIP providers like Vonage have already been around for a while and are growing steadily. Major carriers like AT&T are already setting up VoIP calling plans in several markets around the United States, and the FCC is looking seriously at the potential ramifications of VoIP service.

Above all else, VoIP is basically a clever "reinvention of the wheel." In this article, we'll explore the principles behind VoIP, its applications and the potential of this emerging technology, which will more than likely one day replace the traditional phone system entirely.

The interesting thing about VoIP is that there is not just one way to place a call. There are three different "flavors" of VoIP service in common use today:

• ATA -- The simplest and most common way is through the use of a device called an ATA (analog telephone adaptor). The ATA allows you to connect a standard phone to your computer or your Internet connection for use with VoIP. The ATA is an analog-to-digital converter. It takes the analog signal from your traditional phone and converts it into digital data for transmission over the Internet. Providers like Vonage and AT&T CallVantage are bundling ATAs free with their service. You simply crack the ATA out of the box, plug the cable from your phone that would normally go in the wall socket into the ATA, and you're ready to make VoIP calls. Some ATAs may ship with additional software that is loaded onto the host computer to configure it; but in any case, it's a very straightforward setup.

• IP Phones -- These specialized phones look just like normal phones with a handset, cradle and buttons. But instead of having the standard RJ-11 phone connectors, IP phones have an RJ-45 Ethernet connector. IP phones connect directly to your router and have all the hardware and software necessary right onboard to handle the IP call. Wi-Fi phones allow subscribing callers to make VoIP calls from any Wi-Fi hot spot.

• Computer-to-computer -- This is certainly the easiest way to use VoIP. You don't even have to pay for long-distance calls. There are several companies offering free or very low-cost software that you can use for this type of VoIP. All you need is the software, a microphone, speakers, a sound card and an Internet connection, preferably a fast one like you would get through a cable or DSL modem. Except for your normal monthly ISP fee, there is usually no charge for computer-to-computer calls, no matter the distance.

If you're interested in trying VoIP, then you should check out some of the free VoIP software available on the Internet. You should be able to download and set it up in about three to five minutes. Get a friend to download the software, too, and you can start tinkering with VoIP to get a feel for how it works.

Acer Launches the Aspire 5315

Acer has now announced the launch of its latest entry-level consumer notebook (NB) -- Acer Aspire 5315 in the country.

The new Aspire 5315 runs on the Linux operating system (OS) and is powered by the latest Intel Celeron M550, supporting Intel Wireless WiFi Link network solution. It comes equipped with 120GB HDD, 1GB of RAM, DVD super multi 8x double layer, and inbuilt CrystalEye Web cam for video conferencing.
The notebook has a 15.4-inches WXGA Acer CrystalBrite TFT LCD display, and comes equipped with a battery life of up to 2 hours, while ePowerManagement allows users to choose power management settings to extend the battery time.

Acer SignalUp and GridVista technologies have been incorporated into this notebook for reliable wireless connectivity as well as optimized feature driven display management, the company said.

The Aspire 5315 also features Acer's CrystalBrite technology and 3D Sonic Sound System promising a home theatre style, visual and audio experience. It also offers latest technology like 10/100 LAN and easy-to-use system utilities like easy-launch buttons for WLAN, email, Internet, and user-programming.

The Aspire 5315 notebook will be available in major cities across India for a price of Rs 22,219.

Dell Launches its First Rugged Laptop

Dell has unveiled its first fully ruggedized laptop, the Latitude XFR D630.

The rugged laptop, intended for government and commercial customers, is available in the U.S. and starts at $3,899.

The Latitude XFR D630 meets MIL-STD 810F standards from the Department of Defense for products that operate in extreme temperatures, moisture and altitude. The system shares common images and components with Dell's current line of Latitude laptops to greatly simplify deployment and maintenance.

"The Latitude XFR D630 represents a tectonic shift towards simplicity in the ruggedized laptop space," said Brett McAnally, director, Dell Product Group. "We are taking a multi-dimensional approach that focuses on simplified deployment, service and durability without sacrificing performance. Major competitors focus their efforts on 'rugged' only."

The Latitude XFR D630 also features outdoor readable screen at 500 nits, integrated resistive touch technology to easily interface with the system, shock isolated mounting to help protect hard drive, LCD and core electronic elements, dual locking butterfly mechanisms for easy access to components and a sealed keyboard designed to withstand driving rain and dust.

Logitech Announces Speakers for Gamers

Logitech today expanded the G-series of PC gaming peripherals, with the Logitech G51, a 5.1 speaker system featuring 360-degree surround sound with dual Matrix modes for a more immersive gaming experience.

Using Logitech's proprietary Matrix surround sound technology, the G51 speakers split the audio signal into six channels of sound, without degrading the audio quality. That means, even if their game doesn't provide six-channel audio, people can enjoy it anyway. As a result, gamers can gain the competitive advantages of surround sound - first-person-shooter gamers; for example, can now hear enemies creep up behind them. If they're being shot at, they'll know what direction the bullets are coming from.

With 155 watts of total RMS (root mean square) power, the G51 speakers feature Frequency Directed Dual Driver (FDD2) technology, which produces a uniform sound field by housing two drivers in each satellite. FDD2 overcomes high-frequency overlap that leads to uneven sound - a major barrier to dual driver speakers in the past. The result is uniform, intense sound from any place in the room. And with laser-tuned audio drivers, the speakers provide clear audio with less distortion.

G51 Surround Sound Speaker System is available at a suggested retail price of Rs. 12,995 with a warranty of 2 years.

Paramount Movie Clips on Facebook

Paramount Pictures has decided to make video clips of its movies available for use over the Internet through Facebook.

An application called "VooZoo" developed by FanRocket, now allows Facebook users to access footage of thousands of Paramount movies including "The Ten Commandments" and "Forrest Gump" to send to others on the popular social networking site.
The clips last from a few seconds to several minutes, and cover the gamut of expressions right from Eddie Murphy's guffaws in "Beverly Hills Cop" to Audrey Hepburn's pleas over her 'no-name slob cat' in "Breakfast at Tiffany's".

This also makes Paramount Pictures the first major studio to make video clips of its movies available for use on the Internet. In addition, the company is using this as a marketing platform for promoting and selling DVDs of its upcoming movies.

However, users will have to wait for some more time, as the company will need over a year to make their choice from thousands of video clips in their archives, and tag them with search terms.

In a separate announcement, Facebook has announced the launch of a French language version of the site to join the Spanish and German language versions.

Similar to the Spanish and German versions, the French version is also made by the French-speaking members of the site.

Microsoft Confirms Going with Bluray

Just two days back, we reported that Sony is busy wooing Microsoft to add Blu-ray support to its Xbox 360 gaming console.

The effort's paid off (or so it seems) -- with Microsoft now confirming that it's trying to figure out the best way to connect with Blu-ray. The company also seems to be working on ways to include device driver support for Blu-ray drives in its Windows operating system.
Incidentally at the Mix '08 conference in Las Vegas, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said, "We have already been working on, for example, in Windows, device driver support for Blu-ray drives and the like, and I think the world moves on."

"Toshiba has moved on. We have moved on, and we will support Blu-ray in ways that make sense," Ballmer had said rather pointedly.

Before Toshiba went public with withdrawing its HD DVD format, Microsoft had HD DVD players as add-on along with their Xbox 360 gaming consoles.

But with HD DVD all but dead and Blu-ray the winner, Microsoft had no option but to stop manufacturing HD DVD drives for its Xbox 360 console.

What wasn't clear though was whether Microsoft would finally go with the Blu-ray format. The latest admission from the company clears that confusion.

WD Intros My Passport Essential HDDs

Western Digital (WD) have today introduced their "My Passport Essential" portable USB drives.

These new drives are designed to complement WD's 'My Book' family of external drives. They introduce a sleek new form that WD claims feels good in your hand, as well as fits neatly into your pocket or purse. "My Passport Essential" portable drives sport a glossy black finish, and put nearly a third of a terabyte of digital storage into the palm of your hand.

At less than five ounces of weight, the drives are truly light and portable; they also don't need an external power adapter as they're bus-powered. They come equipped with Windows only-compatible sync and encryption software. Despite their dimunitive size, they are capable of securely carrying thousands of songs, videos, and photos, WD claims.

With WD sync software, consumers can carry desktop content along with them by way of simplified synchronization of essential personal files and Microsoft Outlook data on PCs. In the event drives are misplaced, data remains protected with 128-bit encryption. The drives have Google software allowing users to quickly locate files with Google Desktop Search, manage photos with Picasa photo organizer software, and simplify Web searches with Google Toolbar search bar.

Speaking at the launch, Sharad Srivastava, director sales (India and South Asia) of Western Digital, said, "The newly designed 'My Passport Essential' drives are the perfect travel-friendly storage device to hold the rich media content generated by higher resolution photos and HD videos and music."

The drives are available at select WD distributors across India, retail stores, and online retailers. They retail for Rs 9,500 (320GB); Rs 6,800 (250GB); Rs 4,700 (160GB); and Rs 4,200 (120GB).

They are bit costly but what if one is getting an unmatched quality at a slight upper cost. In my choice its the best deal.

Samsung Unveils 5 New Phones

Yesterday, Samsung Telecommunications appointed actor Aamir Khan as Brand Ambassador for their mobile phones in the country.

Making the announcement, H B Lee, president and chief executive officer (South West Asia) of Samsung, said, "The Samsung brand stands for qualities of innovation, change, discovery, self-expression, and excellence in performance. And these very same qualities are epitomized by Aamir Khan, whose quality and depth of work as well as versatility as an actor, have made him a much-loved and respected actor in India today. We are indeed very proud and privileged to have him as our Brand Ambassador."

Also announced was the all new brand positioning for Samsung mobiles reflected in the spunky new tagline, "Next is what?" As part of this initiative, the company launched five spanking new phones spanning across multimedia, business lifestyle, and popular categories.

Samsung's new music phone, the SGH-i450, is a dual-slider which claims to offer a mobile theater experience. It offers 3D surround sound powered by ICE power amplifiers by Bang and Olufsen. The phone introduces a revolutionary music wheel.


The SHG-i450 is priced at Rs 15,000.

Next up is the SGH-G800, touted as the world's first five mega pixels camera phone with 3x optical zoom. The G800 is an addition to Samsung's Metal series, and has advanced camera features such as face detection, Xenon flash, and Wide Dynamic Range (WDR).

The SGH-G800 is available for Rs 21,799.


Meanwhile, the i550 is a 3 mega pixels camera phone powered by the Symbian S60 operating system. The phone has an in-built GPS receiver; five hot keys for music, camera, navigation, Internet, and main menu; trackball for 360-degrees movement on the screen; and support for Bluetooth audio streaming -- among other features.

The i550 comes for Rs 25,000.

The fourth new launch, the D880, is a dual GSM Sim phone with 3.2 mega pixels camera, 2.3-inches wide-screen LCD, Bluetooth, and stereo FM radio. This phone is shipping for Rs 13,799.

The last of the five new phones, the J210, is a stylish and compact 2 mega pixels camera phone with FM recording and Bluetooth music streaming. The J210 is priced at an affordable Rs 6,649.

Microsoft Intros Wireless Laser Desktop 7000

Microsoft has launched a new keyboard-and-mouse desktop combo, the Wireless Laser Desktop 7000, and an independent keyboard, the Digital Media Keyboard 3000. Both are designed to complement Vista-based PCs, in the sense that they give quick access to Flip 3D.

The Wireless Laser Desktop 7000 features an ultra-thin Comfort Curve keyboard; Comfort Curve is a design that's been much appreciated over the past few years -- it has a slight (six-degree curve) that makes typing more comfortable. The keyboard features a Vista Aero-inspired translucent design and three "Floating" My Favorites keys, meaning the user can push and hold a key to assign it to the current destination (such as a local folder or a Web site).
The rechargeable mouse of the Wireless Laser Desktop 7000 set has a horizontal charging station that provides a sturdy base; there's a battery status indicator that lets users know when it's time to charge the device. The 2.4 GHz wireless communication frequency means users can expect virtually no interference. In addition, the set is capable of frequency-hopping in the case of interference being encountered. The range for the mouse is as much as 30 feet.

The Digital Media Keyboard 3000 gives users one-touch access to photos and to Windows Media Player. It also has keys for zooming in.

The Wireless Laser Desktop 7000 will retail in the US in April for around $130 (Rs 5,000 approx) while the Digital Media Keyboard 3000 will retail in June for about $30 (Rs 1,200).

YouTube All Set to Expand Reach

YouTube seems to have had enough of its share of daily traffic, so much so that it has actually decided to share it with other sites: the Google-owned site has released a suite of tools and features that will allow developers to fully integrate YouTube into their own sites and applications.

Earlier, developers were only able to embed and stream the videos onto their sites. They will now be able to customize the player, meaning they'll be able to control what the videos look like. Owners of sites were unable to play videos they had created, or to send comments to YouTube about what they'd watched -- that too, has now changed.
With this development, YouTube has become an open, general-purpose video services platform, available for use by just about any third-party Web site, desktop application, or consumer device. For users, this means they will now be able to stream videos, search the YouTube gallery, and upload, share, comment upon, and rate videos -- all without leaving the Web site they're at. This means an expanded YouTube; this means it's now easier to share your videos.

They've made it possible to access YouTube from anywhere, but Google still says it's about user experience and not about monetization.
Developers taking advantage of this opportunity will get a bonus in the form of access to YouTube's extremely large user base spread across the globe. Some companies already working along these lines include Electronic Arts (EA), Casio, and Logitech.

EA has enabled gamers to capture videos of user-generated creatures from their upcoming game, 'Spore', and publish them directly onto YouTube. TiVo will also allow users to access and upload YouTube videos from their TV sets. Casio and Logitech are creating cameras that will allow uploads directly to the site.

Lenovo Engineers 'Idea' NBs, Desktops

While Lenovo's 'Think' is essentially an enterprise-oriented brand, the company has today truly forayed into the consumer segment with its 'Idea' brand of laptops and desktops. 'Idea' was first showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) at Las Vegas in January this year.

According to Lenovo, its 'IdeaPad' notebooks and 'IdeaCentre' desktops complement its ThinkPad notebooks and ThinkCentre desktops. The new laptops and desktops supposedly make a bold design statement with frameless screens, touch-sensitive control surfaces, and unique textures. They marry cutting-edge technologies and Lenovo staples like face recognition and Dolby Home Theater surrround sound with dedicated gaming controls.
Speaking at the launch, Liu Jun, senior vice president and president (Consumer Business Group) of Lenovo, said, "We're bringing Lenovo's expertise in design and engineering to consumers with our Idea-branded PCs. Lenovo designed its Idea-branded PCs for the way people live, work, and play with cutting-edge features."

As of now, Lenovo has launched its IdeaPad Y510 notebook and IdeaCentre K200 desktop in the country.

With the 'IdeaPad Y510', Lenovo has attempted to break from tradition in giving the notebook a progressively-styled light-weave texture for a classy textured black look.

The 'IdeaPad Y510' is a 15.4-inches wide-screen notebook featuring: Dolby 4.1 Home Theater speaker system, touch-sensitive pad to control multimedia features, in-built TV tuner card for instant television connectivity, Veriface face-recognition software for a secure way to log on to the PC, one-key recovery to restore factory settings, keyboard inspired by the ThinkPad design, and extended battery management. The 'Y510' comes with Intel Centrino processor technology, integrated graphics, WLAN connectivity, five speakers including a sub-woofer, integrated camera, battery life indicator, and DVD-RW optical drive.

The other India launch, the 'IdeaCentre K200' desktop features Lenovo Bright Vision for eyesight protection, anti-bacterial keyboard, card reader support, and Lenovo Vantage technology with one-key recovery, one-key anti-virus, and file management -- among others.

More 'Think' models will be launched next month.

These include: the 'IdeaPad Y710' notebook for gaming enthusiasts that features a 17-inches wide-screen, Game Zone with enlarged directional buttons and four user-customizable buttons for enhanced game play, Halo Lighting wherein the notebook can be set to emit a different color light from the side bezel and the logo in front, secondary display showing system information such as CPU speed, performance control switch with Turbo mode for maximum power and quiet mode for energy savings, and hot-swap with two hard drives for easy storage and transfer of data. The notebook has a smooth metallic Blue finish, and is equipped with Intel Centrino processor technology, ATI graphics, WLAN connectivity, and five speakers including a sub-woofer.

Also launching next month is the 'IdeaPad U110' ultra-portable notebook that features an 11.1-inches back-lit LED display, extensive computing time with additional battery, and Active Protection System which is an air-bag like device that parks the hard drive to help protect data during a fall. The 'U110' has a textured design embedded in a red aluminium alloy top cover.

Yet another April launch will be the 'IdeaCentre Q200' desktop, positioned as a living room digital performance PC with a 'new form'. The 'Q200' will sport a slim design based on a harmony of straight lines and pure colors underlying the visible world, drawing inspiration from artist Piet Mondrian. The desktop will incorporate Lenovo vantage technology with one-key recovery, one-key anti-virus, file management, and Lenovo Bright vision for eyesight protection.

While the 'IdeaPad Y510' NB and 'IdeaCentre K200' desktop are currently available at all Lenovo authorized storefronts; the 'IdeaPad Y710', 'IdeaPad U110', and 'IdeaCentre Q200' will be available next month onwards. Pricing for the IdeaPad range starts at Rs 42,000 while that for the IdeaCentre range starts at Rs 23,050.

MotorStorm 2 : Will soon Hit The Market

Buckle up, because you'll soon be on a bumpy, off-road, ride-of-frenzy -- courtesy Evolution Studios.

It's come from the horse's mouth this time around: a sequel to the immensely popular PS3-exclusive racing game "MotorStorm" is arriving this fall (meaning towards the end of September or a little later), says Sony's PlayStation blog.
The blog has also revealed some of the features of "MotorStorm 2". There are going to be no major rules for this one -- simply choose your mode of transport from a humongous range of dirt bikes, ATVs, sand rails, rally cars, monster trucks, and what not, and make it to the finish line as fast as you can -- somehow.

Instead of racing in a mountainous desert as in the earlier version, "MotorStorm 2" will take you to the terrains of a lush Pacific island replete with thick swamps, dense jungle, towering peaks, and steaming volcanoes. To add to that, there will be 16 new multi-route tracks, so 16 players can race head-to-head online. A four-player split-screen mode is also said to have been included.

There will be more updates from developers regarding the features as the release date nears. Till then, practice some real driving!

Microsoft Ships IE8 Beta for Developers

At the ongoing MIX08, Microsoft's Web designer and developer conference, the software giant has shown the first IE 8 beta and announced its availability for download by developers.
IE 8 beta 1 is a developer preview for Web designers and developers to help prepare their Web sites for the new version. Some of the features designed for developers include a developer toolbar and improved interoperability and compatibility.

The integrated developer tools will help quickly debug HTML, CSS, and scripts in a visual environment. Two days ago, Microsoft also announced that IE 8 will be set to render content using methods that give top priority to Web standards interoperability -- and this will be the default. The new version includes two new features, Activities and WebSlices. "Activities" are contextual services that will provide quick access to external services from any Web page.

The feature will look up information related to data on the current page and send content from the current page to another application. "WebSlices", as the name suggests, will enable Web sites to expose portions of their page that users can subscribe to, and bring that content with them on their links bar wherever they are on the Web. Users will be able to receive update notifications when the content changes.

Developers interested in trying out their hands on IE 8 Beta 1 can visit this Microsoft page.

AOL Launches Open AIM 2.0

AOL has announced the launch of Open AIM 2.0, offering developers access to the AIM instant messaging (IM) network, and the ability to integrate it into their Web sites and applications in their own ways. Open AIM 2.0 offers free SDKs and APIs that support third-party chat services, as well as instant messaging applications designed for mobile, enterprise, and international use.

Put simply, Open AIM program that was first launched in 2006, enables developers to create one unified instant messaging application that supports multiple chat services so that users can organize all their buddies in one place. Popular chat services like meebo and eBuddy have signed on to build the AIM APIs into their Web-based applications. David Liu, senior vice president (Social Media, Messaging, and Homepages) of AOL, said, "Our mission for AIM is to facilitate the world's online, real-time conversations.

We are giving developers the tools and the flexibility they desire to build innovative and meaningful applications around instant messaging for Web users around the globe. In addition, third-party developers can also build custom software designed for enterprise- as well as regular- users, who access the AIM messaging network from cell phones. Until now, multi-platform IM desktop clients like Pidgin or Adium have generally relied on hacking and reverse engineering access to chat networks run by AOL, Yahoo!, Microsoft, and others.

Not only is this bad for developers since it means more work, it also means that such clients often can't use all the features of a particular network. So with Open AIM 2.0, AOL has opened the gates to third-party developers allowing them access to all of the network's features.

AMD Opteron Ready for Launch

AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) has announced that its quad-core Opteron chip (previously codenamed "Barcelona") for servers is ready for launch. The company will start shipping the B3 version of the chip to channel and distribution partners this week.

Earlier, a 2007 release was announced for the quad-core chip but due to a bug discovered in the chip before its launch, the B2 version was distributed only to a select high-performance computing market. The company declared a 2008 release last December. And now that the bug problem is said to have been solved, AMD will start pushing out its product to a wider audience.

It is learnt that system vendors like Dell and Hewlett-Packard (HP) will be adopting AMD's quad-core chip. The chip will be integrated in their upcoming servers to be made available in the second quarter of this year. HP s upcoming ProLiant DL585 will be using the processor.
The Opteron is AMD's first quad-core chip for servers; Intel being the first to introduce its quad-core chip for servers in 2006. Intel implemented the method of putting two dual-core chips together to create its quad-core chip. AMD, on the other hand, has integrated all four cores onto a single chip.

AMD Opteron Ready for Launch

AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) has announced that its quad-core Opteron chip (previously codenamed "Barcelona") for servers is ready for launch. The company will start shipping the B3 version of the chip to channel and distribution partners this week.

Earlier, a 2007 release was announced for the quad-core chip but due to a bug discovered in the chip before its launch, the B2 version was distributed only to a select high-performance computing market. The company declared a 2008 release last December. And now that the bug problem is said to have been solved, AMD will start pushing out its product to a wider audience.

It is learnt that system vendors like Dell and Hewlett-Packard (HP) will be adopting AMD's quad-core chip. The chip will be integrated in their upcoming servers to be made available in the second quarter of this year. HP s upcoming ProLiant DL585 will be using the processor.
The Opteron is AMD's first quad-core chip for servers; Intel being the first to introduce its quad-core chip for servers in 2006. Intel implemented the method of putting two dual-core chips together to create its quad-core chip. AMD, on the other hand, has integrated all four cores onto a single chip.

Microsoft Brings Down Vista Prices

In an effort to push up sales of the ill-fated Vista, Microsoft has announced a slash in the prices of stand-alone Windows Vista packs. This announcement will be effective along with the shipment of its first update to Vista, Service Pack 1, in March.

The strategy will be different in developed and emerging markets. Price-drops in the US and other developed markets will be for the upgrade versions, and many people might not even see a difference, if one factors in already-existing discount offers. In emerging markets, like India, Microsoft will eliminate the distinction between the full and upgrade versions of Vista Home Basic and Home Premium.
The strategy for poorer countries seems to make sense because many people in these markets have never bought a genuine copy of Windows; if Microsoft wants to see some of that happening, a price-cut is in order, and so is the elimination of the distinction between the upgrade and the full versions. In developed markets, the reduction in price will range from 20 to 48 percent, but like we've mentioned, it will not make a difference to a majority of would-be buyers because of existing promotions.
Still, Vista Ultimate will now cost $219, down from $299; Home Premium goes down to $129 from $159. But remember that as of now, only 10 percent of stand-alone Vista packs are sold through online and offline retailers. There will be no price cuts for PC manufacturers who install Vista on their machines.

Analysts have been surprised by the move: "I can't remember a big price cut like this," said analyst Chris Swenson, who tracks retail software sales for NPD Group. "It's very unheard of." Microsoft's new Windows Consumer Marketing Vice President, Brad Brooks, has pointed to the increase in sales when the company made a price cut (to manufacturers) for Windows XP Media Center Edition.

It was initially pitched as a high-end version, something above XP Professional, but when Microsoft lowered the price to not much higher than Windows XP Home, it became the dominant consumer version: "It went from a run rate of about 1 million (copies) a year to a run rate of several tens of millions a year," Brooks said. We can't possibly expect anything like this for Vista, of course, for reasons starting from driver compatibility and going all the way to the question of why upgrade "when XP's fine". In fact, the price-cut seems to be yet another giveaway of Microsoft recently admitted, though not officially: that they knew Vista wasn't ready.

i dont know why vista is such a big flop in india agreed that its 10% slower than xp and eats up your pcs resourses but still...most people i know who got original vista it with their laptops are formatting it and installing xp(no so original) on it.

Google Gears Goes Mobile

For those of you who aren’t exactly sure what Google Gears is capable of or what it is – it's an open source browser extension that lets developers create web applications that can run offline.

Gears provides three key features:
- A local server, to cache and serve application resources (HTML, JavaScript, images, etc.) without needing to contact a server
- A database, to store and access data from within the browser
- A worker thread pool, to make web applications more responsive by performing expensive operations in the background What this essentially means is that in case you’re one of those people who like to take their work with them wherever they go and that would include places that have no access to the net, Gears will allow you workaholics to get things down without being connected.
At the moment since it's still in a developmental stage, Gears is being designed for only Windows mobile devices that run on a Windows Mobile 5 and 6 OS. This mobile version supports Internet Explorer on Windows Mobile handsets and is restricted to just such devices. The devices would also have to have applications that are compatible with Gears in order for it to function correctly. Considering this is just an early phase, I’m sure it wont be too long (hopefully) before they’re able to adapt Google Gears for other Operating Systems and handsets.

This means that other smartphone users, such as those using Apple's iPhone, or people using other popular mobile browsers, such as Opera, won't be able to use Google Gears. But Google has said that it plans to expand support to other browsers and cell phone platforms, including its own Android software.

Nike, Apple Send iPod to Gym

Nike and Apple are making the iPod compatible with gym equipment.The companies announced Tuesday that they are working with gym equipment manufacturers and health clubs to allow members to plug their iPod Nano into cardio equipment to track workouts, set goals and upload the information to a Nike Web site.

The new technology is expected to hit gyms this summer.It's another major partnership for Nike Inc. and Apple Inc., which created Nike+ technology more than a year ago. The wireless system allows some Nike shoes embedded with a sensor to communicate with Apple's iPod Nano.

Pakistan's government has banned access to the video-sharing Web site YouTube because of anti-Islamic movies that users have posted on the site, an of

Olympus has just launched their new portable DSLR, the E-420. Weighing 380 grams, the E-420 is 20 to 40 percent lighter than competing DSLRs. It also includes Live View, which enables users to hold the camera away from their faces and interact with their subjects.
This lightweight 10-megapixel DSLR offers a bigger 2.7-inch LCD and fast On-Screen Autofocus, Face Detection, Shadow Adjustment Technology and Perfect Shot Preview to get the most out of the Live View experience. "The Olympus E-420 delivers the professional-grade image quality of a digital SLR with the simple operation of a point-and-shoot camera," said John Knaur, senior marketing manager - DSLR, Olympus Imaging America Inc. "Thanks to the camera’s small size and lightweight body, users can take the E-420 everywhere, and they will never miss another shot because the of the camera’s straightforward controls. Additionally, our innovative technologies help consumers get more from Live View.

"The world’s smallest DSLR deserves a similarly compact lens, and Olympus has it - the ultra compact Zuiko 25mm f2.8 digital specific lens. This 0.9 inch-thick lens offers a fixed 50mm equivalent angle of view. The E-420’s Face Detection feature distinguishes between people’s faces and the background. It tracks up to eight faces within the image area and automatically focuses and optimizes exposure for sharp portrait pictures. Even if your subjects are moving, the camera continuously tracks their faces.
Shooting scenes with shadows can be tricky because of the extreme contrast between dark and bright areas.

The E-420 addresses this challenge with Shadow Adjustment Technology that compensates for extreme contrast when shadow areas are underexposed and lack visible detail. Users can preview and capture images with the same fine contrast they see with their own eyes.Olympus' TruePic III Image Processor produces clear photos using all the pixel information for each image to provide the best digital images possible for every photo with accurate color, true-to-life flesh tones, brilliant blue skies and precise tonal representation in between.

TruePic III also lowers image noise by one step to reduce graininess in images shot at higher ISO settings, enabling great results in low-light situations.Accepting both CompactFlash Type I & II, Microdrives, and xD-Picture Cards, the E-420 provides a choice of data storage options for enhanced flexibility, and it is possible to transfer image files from one card to the other right inside the camera.The Olympus E-420 Digital SLR will be available in the US by May 2008. It includes: E-420 Body, USB Cable, Video Cable, Li-Ion Battery Pack (BLS-1), Li-Ion Battery Charger (BCS-1), Shoulder Strap, Olympus Master Software CD-ROM, Manuals and Warranty Card.

U.S. Pricing/Product Configurations
E-420 body Estimated Street Price: $499.99
E-420 with ED 14-42mm f3.5/5.6 Zuiko Digital Zoom Lens Estimated Street Price: $599.99
E-420 with ED 25mm f2.8 Zuiko Digital Lens Estimated Street Price: $699.99

Pakistan Blocks YouTube

Pakistan's government has banned access to the video-sharing Web site YouTube because of anti-Islamic movies that users have posted on the site, an official said Sunday.The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority told the country's 70 Internet service providers Friday that the popular Web site would be blocked until further notice.
The authority did not specify what the offensive material was, but a PTA official said the ban concerned a movie trailer for an upcoming film by Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders, who has said he plans to release an anti-Quran movie portraying the religion as fascist and prone to inciting violence against women and homosexuals.

The PTA official, who asked not to be identified because he was not an official spokesman, said the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority also blocks Web sites that show controversial drawings of the Prophet Muhammad. The drawings were originally printed in European newspapers in 2006 and were reprinted by some papers last week.

The PTA urged Web users to write to YouTube and request the removal of the objectionable movies, saying authorities would stop blocking the site once that happened.Pakistan is not the only country to have blocked access to YouTube.In January, a court in Turkey blocked the site because some video clips allegedly insulted the country's founding father, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. It is illegal to insult Ataturk in Turkey.

Last spring the Thai government banned the site for about four months because of clips seen as offensive to Thailand's revered monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej.Moroccans last year were unable to access YouTube after users posted videos critical of Morocco's treatment of the people of Western Sahara, a territory Morocco took control of in 1975.

Explaining the YouTube blockage for an hour the world over after this ban, the BBC News website's technology editor, Darren Waters, says that in its attempts to block Pakistan's citizens from accessing YouTube it is believed Pakistan Telecom "hijacked" the web server address of the video site.
God help them .....

Backlinks To Your Sites Are All Important To Your Google PR And How To Place Them Effectively

Backlinks are probably one of the most critical factors when getting a high PR rating by Google. Gone are the days of meta tags and in came the introduction of keywords, but spammers obviously soon started to exploit this. A backlink is simply your link at the bottom of another websites page.

But how does this work?
HOT TIP: Type your keyword into Google and then click on the number one ranked site. Email the site and ask them if they would be willing to exchange links with your site. This means that you will have a link to their site and they will display a link to yours.
The Googlebots interpret this as page A voting for page B. Fads are born and fads die out, they do on Google too. If page A who is number 1 votes for page B, then page B must be popular and so your site is moved higher in the search results. Page B's vote for page A will help page A stay at the top of the search results, so both websites will benefit from exchanging links.
Google rank link popularity above most other factors these days so a site with a high PR score (page rank) will send you flying up the search results. Do this with as many sites as you can. Most sites at number 1 will have a PR5-6 score, any site with a PR2 score will get spidered every day by the Googlebots.
The worst any webmaster will say is no, so email every site you find; Play the law of averages!
What if I can't find a site that will exchange links with me?
Well don't worry, there is an alternative.
Blogging
This method of advertising is hugely overlooked by a lot of webmasters. This is again critical to your sites success. www.Blogger.com is owned by Google. Google have a PR10 (highest) score so the PR score of Blogger.com is god damn high, and will send you soaring up the search results. Start a blog again using the most popular keywords as the title/domain of your blog. Update your blog on a regular basis.
IMPORTANT- I really don't want to keep saying the same things but I really can't stress how important it is for your ranking to have unique quality content in your blogs. Google have very intelligent computers systems and formulas to spider your content, if it is unique they will rank you highly and 'page A' (your blog) will be casting a vote for 'page B' (your site).
Do this for as many keywords as you can and make sure to include links in your content that flow with conversation.
Placing links on sites with relevant content will get you placed higher in the searches, but searching for places you can place your backlink can be very time consuming as I found out (again the hard way).

How To Develop Effective Link Building Using Commenting?

There are many ways of link building techniques which provide good traffic and SERP results. Among them one of the most important techniques is through commenting in blogs. Commenting in blogs is an effective way to get most targeted traffic. Along with a link back from that blog, you will be getting traffic through that comment. Recently after Google considering the "nofollow" tag to reduce spamming, there has been a decrease in the commenting in blogs.
But actually there is an unknown fact that even though Google does not index links with "nofollow" tags, but the remaining search engines will consider links even with those tags. So it is really worth commenting in blogs even if they are with nofollow tags. But right now there are many blogs which are removing nofollow tag from their blogs. One main advantages of removing nofollow tag for web masters is, increase in the traffic stats and advantage with commentators is, they will be getting a back link which will be followed by search engines (including Google). So commenting is really a good way to develop long term traffic and page rank.

Here are some useful tips on how to get good results using commenting:-

1) Try to write comments regularly in blogs so that the blog owner will visit your link often.
2) Right now many blogs are using top commentators list which will provides top 5 commentators. Hence if you comment on same blogs often then you will come in top commentators list. Once you are in that list then you will be getting extra traffic.
3) Try to write useful comments which are 2 lines are more as some blogs use spam filter. So once you pass the spam filter then your comment will start giving traffic.
4) The more relevant the comment and useful the more traffic you will be getting to your link.
5) Try to find new blogs and mostly "DOFOLLOW" blogs as you will be getting some value for the link. If you are not sure where to find these blogs then there are some search engines which will provide these blogs.
6) There are many blogs with which are not popular but use top commentators. Hence if you find those blogs, then try to write just 5 to 10 comments each month and you can get a link in a home page.
7) Its is better if you write comments on the blogs that are related to your niche then you will be getting most targeted traffic which really convert most of the visits to sales (if you are an affiliate marketer).
There are some useful tips which are most important which actually help in website or blog development using comments. If you want to know more about these effective site development techniques then visit here.

Hope this will help you...

8 Powerful Ways Of Getting Ton's Of Back Links For Your Website

Guys i found this article stating the potential ways of getting a nice traffic to your blog or website... and i strongly bilieve in them..

Once your website is up and running pertaining to your online business, now you needs visitors to your site to start making profit from your online business. The best place of getting your website noticed and start getting plenty of visitors to your site is the search engines. So you must be thinking how you will get your website listed in search engines? The solution to this question is getting plenty of high quality back links to your site. Since most of the search engines gave value to the sites which is having more and more quality back links pointing to their site.
One question arises in the mind of new people when they arrive in the world of internet is: "How they will get other sites to link to their sites?" In this article I am going to tell you few techniques which I have tried and tested. Some of the techniques are free and for others you may have to pay some amount of money.

1.Website Submission:The first and foremost steps you should attempt in getting a link back to your site is to submit your website to web directories. There are thousands of web directories available online which will allow you to submit your site. Two most powerful web directories are DMOZ.org and Yahoo.

2.Article Marketing: The best and most commonly used solution for getting one way link to your website is by writing useful and quality Articles and submitting it to highly ranked article directories. Most article directories allowed you to leave a link to your site in the resource box.

3.Forum marketing: Join forums in your niche and start discussing the hot topic on the forum. Many forums will allow you to use your website link in your signature. Always try to be as simple and straight while doing discussion, don't spam the forum.

4.Classified Ads: Advertise your website with the classified sites. There are thousands of classified sites available but choose the highly traffic classified site to get benefited like freeadvertisingblog.com, USFreeads.com, Craig's List or Precharge.net and freeadvertisingforum.com.

5.Use social Bookmarking sites and submit your site by yourself to these sites to get one-way link to your site. Del.icio.us, Digg.com, Furl.net, faves.com, backflip.com, linkroll.com, wink.com, spurl.net, bibsonomy.org these are few which you can use.

6.Use Yahoo Answer: This site is one of the great methods for getting some amount of traffic to your site. Join the site, find questions related to the topic of your site and answer them but don't forget to include link back to your site in source box.

7.Use social networking sites like Facebook, MySpaces, Squidoo & Bebo to place your website link from your profile pages to your website.

8.Find blog related to your niche and comment on these blogwith link back to your site. Don't spams be real and nice otherwise your comment will not be approved by blog owner.

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These are solid eight tips which he said if you apply properly then you certainly on a way to getting quality one way link for your website.