7 Best Windows (Alternative) Shell Replacement Programs

Looking for some good desktop/shell replacement programs for Windows? For those of you who feel the need, the need to customize, an alternative shell to the Windows shell is the best solution. So what exactly is a shell replacement? It’s basically a program that will integrate with Windows and replace the default shell. The shell is GUI interface that you use to run programs or view files, etc.

By replacing the shell, you can completely change the look and feel of the GUI. Usually when replacing the Windows shell, users are looking for more control and customization options than what is provided in Windows. Also, a lot of shells end up using less resources than the default shell. There are a lot of different shell replacement programs out there. Some have rich graphical user interfaces and some are very minimal. In this article, I will list out some of the best replacement shells for Windows.

All of the shells are easy to uninstall if you don’t like them, which is good. They won’t go replacing system files and messing up your computer if you end up not wanting to

Emerge Desktop

Emerge Desktop is probably one of the most popular Windows replacement shells out there. It replaces Windows Explorer, the task bar, the start button and pretty much everything else. You can also use desktop customization tools like RainMeter to really create some crazy unique desktops like the one shown above. It’s completely open source and they have a lot of tutorials and a very active forum, so you can quickly learn the software and how to start customizing. Works great with dual monitors too.

Sharpenviro

Another good shell alternative is Sharpenviro. It works on Windows XP, Vista and 7. You can create multiple toolbars that are similar to the Windows task bar, but you can customize them and they can also include real-time info like monitoring CPU, taking notes, getting weather reports, etc. You can also customize pretty much everything, which is the hallmark of  a good shell replacement program. Sharpenviro also supports multiple monitors, which is essential nowadays since a lot of people have more than one monitor. You can also create virtual desktops to manage your desktop windows.

LiteStep

LiteStep is another awesome replacement desktop for your Windows PC. Just install it and then start installing themes, scripts or modules. You can customize your desktop in a multitude of ways and it’s all open source and free. Using LiteStep with some of the modules requires a little more technical experience than some of the other programs, but it can do just about anything you want if you get into it. LiteStep has been around for a very long time and the latest release was in 2009, so a few years back. However, the themes and modules are still being updated/created by users.

Talisman Desktop

Talisman Dekstop is a commercial shell replacement that has a good number of themes you can download to fully customize your desktop environment. You can create multilevel desktops, desktop panels, and lots more. With a little bit of self-learning, you can customize the task bar, system tray, clock, start menu, explorer interface, etc.

AstonShell

AstonShell is definitely not my favorite shell replacement program, but it might be great for some! If you really liked specific themes like Christmas or Disney, etc, then you can use AstonShell to download all kinds of crazy themes and convert your desktop into whatever you like. It’s definitely not for those who want a minimalistic look or a modern look. Also, AstonShell is not free, so you’ll have to cough up $30 if you really want to convert your desktop into something crazy.

bbLean

For those of you who like the minimalistic look for your desktop, bbLean is a good choice. It hasn’t been updated since 2009, but a lot of people still love using it because of the simple GUI interface. But just like with most shell replacement programs, new themes are always being created.

CarioShell

CarioShell is a decent Windows shell alternative that allows you to access your files and programs faster from the desktop. It’s not as robust as the other shell programs and hasn’t been updated in a while. However, it still is a good program and works overall. You don’t have nearly as many customization options like you do with Emerge Desktop and others.

Overall, there aren’t a lot of shell replacements out there and only a a handful of really good ones. If you are using a Windows shell replacement program that I haven’t mentioned here, feel free to let us know about it in the comments. Enjoy!

Unreal Engine powered Wild Blood Android Game Released by Gameloft

The games addicts can now test a new Android app as Gameloft has just released a new interesting (at least on paper) action role-playing game (RPG) with high end features and with an exciting story line. I am talking about Wild Blood, which is the first Unreal Engine powered game developed by Gameloft and offered for the Android platform. As mentioned, the RPG can be anytime downloaded from Google Play, as Wild Blood has just been released; its price and features along with a short preview of the game play can be checked during the following lines.

As the Wild Blood is being powered by Unreal Engine we were expecting to see the best graphics of any Gameloft game released so far, but as usual things could be better. Anyway, the game is looking really good and you will have to own a real high end smartphone or tablet (SGS3 for example) in order to run it to its high quality graphics and not to enjoy only the defaulted to lower quality. Anyway, according to the users who had already tried the Wild Blood Android RPG, it seems that the graphics are not that spectacular after all; but I’m guessing that for making a proper opinion about the same, you will have to test the game by yourselves.

If we are to talk about the Wild Blood gameplay, then here is what you need to know. The hero of the game is knight Sir Lancelot who will fight against numerous demons and creatures commanded by Morgana Le Fey, the action taking place on King’s Arthur kingdom. As the name states, you will get the desired action, as the player will be able to kill many enemies, use special powers and discover more than 10 locations until the journey ends. Also, a few puzzles must be completed on your way, so the game is quite interesting, maintaining the interest and the curiosity all the time. Of course a multiplayer mode is available as you can play against 8 friends, Capture the Flag and Team Deathmatch modes being featured by Wild Blood.

Now, if you want to get the Wild Blood Android RPG, you should go on Google Play and search for the same, or you can use the link from here. The app has an initial size of 698 MB, but an extra 200 MB will be added once you start the game (so you need almost 900MB of space in order to enjoy the tool). The Wild Blood price is $6.99, which is not much as we are talking about a quite interesting game with high end features and with a great story line, so you must try it. Do share your impressions and opinions with us and with other users by using the comments area from below.

Get UNLIMITED REAL LIKES on Your Fan Page for FREE

This method will give you Unlimited REAL Likes on your Fan Page for Free. It's not the usual ewhoring style technique on Facebook, but with a very clever twist on it.

First, create a hot chick profile on Facebook. Make it look legit, don't put a photo of Megan Fox on your profile. But make sure that the profile picture is good looking and skimpily dressed. Choose Twilight, Mills and Boons, Justin Bieber and all those tacky stuff as interests. Make it as feminine as it can be.

Search "add me" in the Facebook Search and choose the active pages. There is one particular page (profile pic - Swiss plus sign in blue) which has more than 70K likes and it allows you to post picture. The page is unmoderated and very active. Post extremely provocative pictures and say add me. You will get loads of friend requests. Post frequently. And in the meantime continue adding people who have posted in those pages. But be careful, don't add too many people at once or your account will get blocked.

Very soon your profile will have hundred or even thousands of friends. Now comes the twist. Convert your Facebook profile to a Facebook Fan Page. This way all your friends will be automatically converted to fans. Search "Convert facebook profile to page" on Google. Click on the first result which is from facebook and follow the directions from there. While converting MAKE SURE that you categorize your page as a BUSINESS page. This trick works only on product or business pages.

You must be wondering "But wait, this won't give me unlimited likes...". No, it will. Continue reading. Once your page is ready, transfer the page to another account, which you have created for managing pages. Make that account the sole admin of the page.

Now create another hot chick profile on Facebook and follow the earlier steps. Once you are satisfied with the number of friends, convert this profile to a fan page as well. Now comes another clever twist. MAKE SURE that the PAGE NAME is EXACTLY THE SAME as the one you have earlier created, and both must be BUSINESS PAGES. Now transfer this page again to the same account, where you transferred the previous page. Just to clarify, when I say the page name, I literally mean the Page Name, NOT the custom url.

So, now that account, where you transferred both the pages will have 2 pages will have the exact same page name. Now MERGE both the pages. Please note you can only merge the Page with fewer likes into the one with more likes. To do so:


First make sure all the duplicate pages are having the same name.
Go to the Page with the most likes. This will be the one you'll keep.
Go to Admin Panel -> Manage -> Edit Page -> Resources -> Develop your page.


Only if you have duplicate pages under same name, you will be able to see the option Merge duplicate pages.
Click on Merge duplicate pages.


It will give you a pop up. (Your fans will be carried over but you will lose all the content.)
Check in the pages you need to merge and click Merge Pages.


Again it will give you a Popup.
There you can see a warning stating that only your likes and check-ins will be merged not the content. Content in the duplicate pages will be permanently deleted, so be careful and make sure there are no important content.
If you have any content that need to be merged, you have to upload them manually to primary fan page.
Once you click Merge Pages it will show you a confirmation.
Now your pages have been successfully merged.


An Important Point

When you convert your profile to a fan page, the page name has to be very similar to your profile. Since you probably won't want such a name, here's a nifty little trick to get almost any page you want. After you have created the profile - go to settings - name - and click edit. Add an alternative name but check the box for not displaying it on the profile. Put your desired page name as your alternative name, which can be drastically different from the actual profile name. Facebook still won't accept all alternatives names. But get creative here as well. For example if you put Blackhatworld Lounge as your alternative name, Facebook will deny it since Lounge is a common dictionary word. But if you put Blackhatworld L as your alternative name, it will accept it. While converting, if you put Blackhatworld Lounge as your page name, Facebook will accept it, since it's very similar to one of your name!

Just rinse and repeat the above steps and get unlimited fans for your page.

Unique Gadgets You Probably Have Never Seen

In this list of unique gadgets, we are not showing you concept designs which never make their way out of the labs and used in real life. Neither are we going to list gadgets used by Super 007 kind of Agents you see in movies. Instead, these unique gadgets are very much real and are ready to be used in day to day life. Some of them might not make any sense, but it proves that technology has gone so far that we can now think beyond almost anything which was impossible just a decade ago.

In this list of unique gadgets, we are not showing you concept designs which never make their way out of the labs and used in real life. Neither are we going to list gadgets used by Super 007 kind of Agents you see in movies. Instead, these unique gadgets are very much real and are ready to be used in day to day life. Some of them might not make any sense, but it proves that technology has gone so far that we can now think beyond almost anything which was impossible just a decade ago.

Google Glass

A project initiated by Google. The idea it to fir a computer inside Glass that you can wear and get information at your fingertips or just in the eye. I has a camera which lets you take photos videos and broadcast it over the web, it also used the glass as a screen to give you some piece of information about the thing you are looking at or want to know.

LUMUS

Lumus is a see through glass which uses the glass to display pictures, videos directly to your eyes and as big as an 87 inch screen. This can be connected with your smartphone to view that content on a bigger screen so close to your eyes.

JawboneUP Wristband

It’s not just any other wristband but helps you track your activities. How many steps you take, how much distance you cover, calories burned, heartbeat rate, intensity and how well you sleep during the night. Something that every fitness freak would love to own.

T-shirt OS

T-Shirt OS is quite cool T-shirt that is made up of tiny LEDs and you can use it to display personal messages, photos, even your tweets by connected it to your phone with an App. It is great to show you’re a message to someone on your chest instead to simply speaking to them.

Pebble Watch

You can wear the same watch every day and yet customize its look, the way it shows you time, not only that, this watch gets connected to your iPhone or Android via Bluetooth and view your mobile content on the watch. How cool is that.

Google Working On 32 GB Nexus 7 Model

Google Nexus 7 is one of the most popular Android tablets on the market, mostly because it is capable of providing a flawless Android 4.1 Jelly Bean experience for a excellent price.
So far there are two internal storage versions for the Google tablet: 8 GB and 16 GB. It seems that the 16 GB Nexus 7 was more popular than its 8 GB brother as the some retailers reported that the 7-inch tablet run out of stock.
As you probably know, the Nexus 7 8GB is available for only $199 and you can buy it straight from Google’s Nexus official page. Rumor has it that the search engine giant is also readying a 32 GB model, a response to all the customers that wanted the quad-core tablet with more storage available. You probably know that certain apps and games available in PlayStore can have a size up to 1.5 GB, therefore the 8 or 16 GB are not enough for some.
Many of the established tech publications are speculating that a Nexus 7 with 32 GB of internal storage will be released soon, but there’s no info about the price. I guess that Google might sell it around $300 – 350. On the other hand, there were some rumors indicating that Google and ASUS are also working on a 3G model, but there’s no sign of it yet.


Google Nexus 7 was introduced at this year’s Google I/O event and is co-developed by Google and ASUS. The device comes with a 7-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1,280 x 800 pixels and a quad-core Tegra 3 CPU clocked at 1.3 GHz. The Android 4.1 Jelly Bean-powered tablet comes with 1 GB of RAM and a powerful ULP GeForce GPU with 12 cores.
Nexus 7 comes with WiFi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth, NFC, microUSB and a 3.5 mm jack, plus a 1.2 megapixel camera with HD video recording support. The affordable tablet is powered by a 4,325 mAh battery, weighs in 340 grams and is only 10.5 mm thick.

How to Sync Your Laptop with your Desktop Computer

There are various ways to access files from Multiple Computers. One such is by, creating a Network, and sharing files between the connected computers. It is quite helpful in working on a file. However, the negative point about it is, the computer needs to be switched on from where you are accessing the file.

One solution is to just copy the file on your computer and then start working on it. But it is going to create multiple copies of the same file resulting in a confusion of finding the most recent work. Few people prefer to keep their documents on a Flash drive so that they can work on in from any Computer. This also create a problem of keeping the flash drive with you always.

Use Dropbox

You can use clouds storage services to tackle this problem. Just sign up for Dropbox and install it on all your Laptop and Desktop. Dropbox create a folder (for example: C: \Users\YourUserName\Dropbox. in Windows) . You just need to put all your files you want to sync. Whenever you work on a document from one Computer, it automatically gets uploaded to the cloud server and is available on the other Computer next time you connect it to the internet.

Dropbox offers 2GB of Clouse Storage for Free accounts, you can upgrade your according to your need. You can also check the other best storage services.

4 Tools to Keep Your Files Synced on Multiple Computers

Imagine a world where you are not bounded to a particular place or thing to work. I have been working from where where but I have to take my Laptop with me  I go. Even though most of my work in online and with a great products and services available for cloud computing let me work from any PC, there are still few limitations when productivity is a concern.

Now, I’ve got multiple computer to work on, the problem is about syncing my work on all the machines so that I can continue working without thinking on which machine I worked last.

4sync

4Synch creates a folder in your Computer where you can put your photos, videos, docs etc. it synchronizes between all your computers. It also works as a backup option as the files are always in the cloud, you get 15Gb of Free cloud storage4Synch creates a folder in your Computer where you can put your photos, videos, docs etc. it synchronizes between all your computers. It also works as a backup option as the files are always in the cloud, you get 15Gb of Free cloud storage

Dropbox

Dropbox also creates a folder in your Computer and helps you keep it synced on all the computers. It also offers you a the option to share files with other by offering a public link, which mean you don’t need to attach the file in email every time you update it. Just email the link and keep updating the original file. But the free account only gets 2GB of cloud storage.



Box

Not just any other box, but a box which stores your files in the cloud. Box is another great cloud storage service which also offers tools for collaboration which means multiple users can work on the document that is stored in the cloud, right from their browsers.

Nomadesk

If you run a small business then you definitely need bigger space, so that you never get short of space. Nomadesk takes care of that thing by providing you unlimited cloud storage for a price which is quite affordable for this kind of service. I not only syncs your data but also keeps it secured.

Easily Hide Photos on your iPhone without using any Apps

Do you have any photographs on your iPhone (or iPad) that you wish to hide from family members while they are casually flipping through the photo albums on your iOS device?

How to Hide Photos on your iPhone /iPad

The Apps Store is flooded with apps that can password protect your iOS photos or your even use Dropbox. First transfer the sensitive pictures from the camera roll to your Dropbox folder and then add a 4-digit Passcode to the Dropbox app. Thus, your photos stay on the device but completely hidden.

1. Open the photo library on your iPhone (or iPad) and tap the photo that you wish to keep a secret.
2. Tap “Edit” and then tap the “Crop” tool at the bottom.
3. Drag the corners of the cropping box inside such that a very small portion of the image is visible inside that box.
4. Save the cropped version and it will replace the original image in your camera roll.

When you edit a photo inside iOS, the original copy gets saved along with the edited version and hence we can easily get back to the original unedited version. 

Update Samsung Galaxy Note 2 N7100 to Official XXALJ1 Jelly Bean Firmware

Galaxy Note 2 has been released only a couple of days ago and it has already received a brand new firmware update that has the XXALJ1 codename. Use this guide to update your phone’s firmware to the latest Android 4.1.1 iteration which will bring the Multi View feature for your Note 2 N7100.
This new OTA update was launched in South Korea only, but, now you can use this guide and manually apply it for your device. This version of the XXALJ1 firmware is internationally supported. You can easily install it by using the instructions that I have listed in this article. This version was pushed in France also and in case you’re installing it from another country, then you should now that you will be forced to wipe all data. More about this can be found in the preparation guide below as you will learn how to properly configure your computer and your device for the updating process.
Here’s what you need to know before manually flashing XXALJ1 Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean on your Galaxy Note 2:

• Make sure that your phone is the model number N7100. Verify this info by opening the Settings app and then checking the info listed under ‘About device’ menu. If your phone’s model number is different from N7100, then you should skip this article. it will not work with the US versions.
• If your device is rooted, then this update will revoke all root access.
• Install the Samsung USB drivers via KIES or by using the following download links for Windows 64 bit (x64) or for Windows 32 bit (x86) OS. Note that the Samsung KIES software shouldn’t be running when you’re installing the new firmware.
• Move all your important data files to your computer. The installation of XXALJ1 firmware might wipe all data from your phone.
• Sync your Phone Contacts with your Gmail account.
• Enable the USB Debugging option from your device’s Android Development menu.
• Remember to charge your device’s battery so that it won’t power off while you’re flashing the new firmware.
• Note that we cannot be blamed in case you damage your device in the process. Try to read the entire tutorial before starting to apply any steps.
• Begin the update only when you’re sure that you understand all the actions. In case you cannot complete the update and you hit any roadblocks, then you should ask for our help by posting in the comments section.
• I think that these are all the guidelines you needed to read. Move to the next part of this post and learn how to update your Note 2 firmware.

Remember that you will have to use ODIN application and all antivirus programs should be disabled while you’re using it. Also, remember to disable KIES before connecting your device to your PC.

How to update Galaxy Note 2 N7100 to Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean Official XXALJ1 Firmware:

1. Download the XXALJ1 Firmware zip from HERE. Save the file on your PC and after the download is complete you should extract its contents. You will get a ‘N7100XXALJ1_N7100OXXALJ1_N7100XXALIH_HOME.tar.md5‘ file or only a ‘.tar’ file. Move to the next step.
2. Download the ODIN 3.04 file from HERE. Extract its files into a single folder and save the file on your PC.
3. Power off the Galaxy Note 2 device that you’re about to update.
4. Boot the Galaxy Note 2 into Download Mode by pressing at the same time ‘volume down’, ‘home’ and ‘power’ buttons. When the Warning!! menu appears, release the buttons and then press only ‘Volume up’ to select the boot of Download Mode.
5. Launch the ODIN executable file and after that connect your device to your PC using the USB cable. ODIN window should display a message that says ‘added!!’, which means that the phone has been recognized by the computer and you can move to the next step. If it doesn’t say ‘added!!’ then you should change the USB ports or you should re-try to install the USB drivers.
6. If the phablet device was recognized, then you can click the ‘PDA’ button in ODIN and browse for the ‘N7100XXALJ1_N7100OXXALJ1_N7100XXALIH_HOME.tar.md5‘ file. Load  the file and then make sure that you don’t change any other default options of ODIN. Also, make sure that the ‘Re-Partition’ option is NOT ENABLED.
7. Press START to begin the updating process of your device. Don’t touch any buttons and wait for ODIN to display the ‘PASS’ message.
8. The Galaxy Note 2 will restart and when the Samsung boot logo appears, you can unplug the device from your PC.
9. Wait for the boot process to complete as this might take several minutes. After that you should see the new welcome screen and you will take control over your phone, once again.

That’s it, you’ve successfully updated your device to this latest Android 4.1.1 XXALJ1 firmware.

NOTE: In case ODIN doesn’t update the phone, it freezes or you are shown the ‘FAIL’ message, then the update wasn’t installed and you should unplug the phone from PC, close the program, remove the phone’s battery for 5 seconds, re-insert it back in its place and then boot again into Download Mode. Repeat the entire tutorial starting with step 4.

NOTE 2: If ODIN does show the ‘PASS’ message and the Note 2 device restarts but, instead of booting into normal Jelly Bean home screen, it displays only the boot logo for over 10 minutes than you will need to apply the steps below. You will need to wipe data and factory reset the device but, this action will wipe all data, installed apps, sms and all other files from your device.

Here’s how to boot into custom recovery mode and wipe data/ factory reset the Note 2:

• Power off the phone completely.
• Boot into custom Recovery mode by pressing ‘volume up’ + ‘home’ + ‘power’ buttons. Release the buttons only when the screen powers ON.
• After that you need to select the ‘wipe data/ factory reset’ option from recovery menu and confirm that you wish to apply it.
• Return to the main recovery screen and select ‘reboot system now’.
• Your phone should now boot normally and you will be able to use your phone and test the XXALJ1 Jelly Bean 4.1.1 update along with the Multi View feature.

These were all the instructions that I had for you and now you should begin to test this new firmware update and after that remember to tell us in comments if you like it.
For any extra questions, leave a detailed comment at the end of this post and we will happily answer to all of them.

LG Optimus G To Underpin The Next Nexus, Release Date Is In 30 Days

LG recently launched Optimus G, an LTE-friendly smartphone packing a quad-core processor and running on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. There are a lot of tech publications that claim that the LG Optimus G device could become the next Google Nexus.

Google announced the Nexus 7 tablet, earlier this year, a device created after the search engine giant has teamed up with ASUS. It seems though that the 7-inch Android 4.1 Jelly Bean tablet will not be the only Nexus terminal Google will launch in 2012.
TalkAndroid was writing in May that Google will launch 5 Nexus devices on November 5th, to celebrate Android’s fifth birthday. The tech publication was quoting a reliable source. Even though a move like this would delight the Android enthusiasts, their joy might not be reflected in sales, with devices like iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S3 roaming around.
So far, LG and HTC have expressed their interest in developing the next Google smartphone. Because Google is launching a new Nexus smartphone each year, it couldn’t be long until we get to see a new one in flesh.


HTC was the company to build the first Google Nexus device. Samsung took up the stack and developed the Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus. It seems that LG will be the ones to make this year’s Nexus, a device based on the company’s Optimus G flagship.
LG Optimus G is a quad-core smartphone with LTE support that comes pre-loaded with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. LG Optimus G sports a 4.7-inch True HD IPS display, with 1,280 x 768 pixels resolution. LG Optimus G’s display uses the in cell touch technology.
The smartphone’s Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset is based on four Krait cores clocked at 1.5 GHz and manufactured on 28 nm architecture, plus a quad-core Andreno 320 GPU. Optimus G also comes with 32 GB of internal storage and 2 GB of RAM. Depending on the market, LG Optimus G will have a 13 or 8 megapixel camera with full HD video capture and a front-facing 1.3 megapixel camera.
The LG Optimus G smartphone doesn’t have a microSD card support and features a 2,150 mAh batter that provides up to 15 hours of talk time, almost twice as Apple’s iPhone 5.
The Android 4.0 ICS-powered terminal is only 7.45 mm thick, weighs in 145 grams and sports Bluetooth 4.0, DLNA, MHL, NFC and WiFi in all standards.
LG Optimus G comes with an innovative feature, called QSlide, which allows the users to simultaneously perform to tasks on the screen.

LG Optimus G Nexus To Arrive In November With Android 4.2 On Board

New sources seem to confirm the news we’ve brought you a couple of days ago: LG will manufacture the next Google Nexus based on the company’s flagship smartphone, Optimus G.

The guys at Android and Me are saying, quoting sources inside the Android ecosystem, that the next-generation Google Nexus dev phone will be developed on LG Optimus G’s paltform. It seems that Google is preparing to launch Android 4.2 in November, during a conference co-hosted by LG, where the new LG Optimus G Nexus smartphone will be officially announced. We don’t know yet whether the Android 4.2 will be nicknamed Key Lime Pie or if Google will keep the Jelly Bean name.
Apparently any smartphone manufacturer can be part of the Nexus program, but it will have to fulfill some strict requirements set by Google. In order to qualify for producing a Nexus smartphone, the phone maker must use stock Android, known as “Vanilla” and 64 MB of secure memory for media streaming. Still the user interface personalization will be allowed via the new “Customization Center.” Of course, there are also hardware requirements, meant to make the Nexus devices compatible with the Android version they introduce.
It would be somehow odd to see LG Optimus G becoming the new Nexus, since the South Korea-based company already unveiled all its technical specifications. But this doesn’t mean it’s a less attractive model, since it comes with high-end specs, including a quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor (reputed to be the most powerful on the market yet), 2 GB of RAM and 13 megapixel camera.


As about the name of the new Android version, the rumors are quite contradictory. Some say that Android 4.2 will keep the Jelly Bean name, as it would be just a minor update. Others say that Key Lime Pie is the nickname of Android 4.2. My opinion is that Google will keep the Key Lime Pie indicative for Android 5.0.
It seems that with the introduction of Android 4.2, Google aims to lay the foundation for the major update brought by Android 5.0. Android 4.2 Jelly Bean will reportedly bring better resource management and increased battery, a new Google Play Store version and some new features integrated in the Nexus program. The user interface will definitely be the one we’ve seen at the previous version, except that the Home menus will be displayed as tabs, which is a bizarre decision, if you’d ask me.
It will be a very interesting fall, especially if the rumors about the existence of iPad Mini are confirmed.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2

Perfect viewing experience on-the-go: GALAXY Note IIs 5.5HD Super AMOLED screen offers better clarity and a 16:9 screen ratio perfecting all viewing experiences. The innovative design of the GALAXY Note II includes a bigger screen while maintaining a slim body to fit just right in your hand.

Air View: Conveniently and quickly browse your pictures without having to open any folders. Air View saves you time, energy, and makes it easier to manage your lifes contents

Popup Note: Take directions, phone numbers, and other information conveniently while on a call with a double-click of the S Pen.

Quick Command: Sending an email, calling or sending a text message to your friend, sharing the meeting location and so many other things have never been easier. Just write your command on the pad.

Easy Clip: Click. Trace. Clip. Send. Thats all it takes to include what you want in email, messenger, S Note, and Scrapbook
.
Enhanced Handwriting: Send handwritten notes via email. With the S Planner, you can hand write notes or memos to yourself. Youll never miss your paper planner.

Photo Note: Add personalized handwritten notes on the back of your photos to help capture the moment.
Enhanced S Pen / S Note: More writing tools and note pad templates to always match your creative style.
Powerful performance at its best: Built with a 1.6GHz quad-core processor and 3,100mAH battery empowers to keep your mind at ease as you unleash your creativity.




General

2G Network                           GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHZ
3G Network                           HSPA+
Length                                    80.5 mm
Breadth                                  151.1 mm
Thickness                               9.4 mm
Loudspeaker                          Yes
Operating System                   Android
Operating System Version      Android 4.1
CPU Speed                           1.6 GHz
CPU Model                           quad
RAM                                     2 GB
Sensors                                  Accelerometer,Geo-magnetic,Gyro-sensor,Light Sensor,Proximity                                                        

Display

Display Type                          sAMOLED
Touch Display                        Yes
Display Resolution                  1280 * 720
Display Size                            5.5 inches

Connectivity

GPRS                                    Yes
EDGE                                    Yes
WiFi                                       Yes, WiFi a/b/g/n
Bluetooth                                Yes, v 4.0 LE
USB                                       Yes, v2.0
Audio Jack                              3.5 mm
GPS                                        Yes, A-GPS, Glonass
NFC                                       Yes

Camera

Camera                                   8.00 megapixels
Auto Focus                             Yes
Flash                                       Yes, LED
Video Recording                     Yes
Zoom 0
Secondary Camera                  Yes, 1.9

Music & Multimedia

Video Formats 3GP (MP4), WMV (ASF), AVI, FLV, MKV, WebM
Music Formats MP3, OGG, WMA, AAC, ACC+, eAAC+, AMR(NB,WB), MIDI, WAV, AC-3, Flac

Battery

Type Li-ion 3
Capacity 100 mAH

Speed Up Your iPhone

Is your iPhone a little more sluggish than you'd like? Maybe it's taking a second longer to pick up that phone call then you would like. Well, there are a few things you can do to try to streamline your iPhone that it starts working for you again. Let's see what we can do...

Turn E-Mail Off

There aren't too many applications that are allowed to run in the background; That is, when the application is quit (when you press the home button). The E-Mail application is one of them.
If you have multiple e-mail accounts, consider turning one or more of them off, which will free up some of the iPhone's processing and save the battery it takes to vibrate the phone or transmit that "you've got mail" notification tone.
Your e-mail settings are at Home screen > Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars


Turn Push Notifications Off

With push notifications, your iPhone gets updated every time something happens relating to one of your applications. Depending on how many applications you have, these push notifications can add up. Pretty soon you'll be interrupted at the most inopportune time. Not only can it be distracting, push notifications are a kind of application themselves. Every time you get one, you might notice the iPhone gets a tad sluggish. Turn them off and it ceases to be a problem. If you don't feel like turning them off carte blanche, try turning push notifications off for your least important applications.
Push notification settings are found at Home screen > Settings > Notifications


Optimize the Browser

Safari on the iPhone works just like Safari on Mac OS X. If you want to speed performance, you'll want to keep the number of open windows to a minimum to clear up RAM. Ever once in a while, you will want to hop into Home Screen > Settings > Safari > Clear Cache.
You'll also notice some other features, like JavaScript and plug-ins, you can turn off on your mobile browser in order to save some time (and battery). Sure you trade off features, but your iPhone is a phone first and a browser second, right?



Use the 3G Network
If you have a 3G phone, you're probably already using the 3G network. We just thought we'd add this just in case you turned it off in order to save precious battery time the 3G network sucks up.

In the future
The next generation of iPhone is coming up, and everyone is curious to what it looks like. If it's anything like the latest iteration (the iPhone 3GS), it means a speed increase. You may not have to make consolations in order to ensure your phone works at its maximum speed. The phone might just be zippy enough without it.

Install OS X Lion

The optical disk is dead. Or at least it is for Apple fans. The company had been dropping DVD drives from its latest hardware and its new operating system, OS X 10.7 Lion, is now available in digital form only, via the Mac App Store.
On one hand that's great — upgrading is just a matter of clicking a button and you're done, everything is handled seamlessly behind the scenes.
However, the App Store method means you'll have to be running Snow Leopard (which is the only other OS that supports the App Store), and you'll have to download a nearly 4GB file, which can take quite a while if you haven't got a fast internet connection.
The other problem is that the App Store install doesn't offer the opportunity to do a "clean" install — that is, wipe away your old system and install a fresh copy of Lion. To do a clean install Apple would have you wait until August, when the company will be begin shipping Lion on USB sticks for a whopping $70, more the double the $30 App Store price.
However, despite what Apple says, there are in fact other ways to install Lion. Here's our guide to the various ways of installing Apple's newest OS on your Mac without waiting until August or paying double for the USB stick.

Downloading Lion

The simplest way to install Lion is to download it from the Mac App Store and then run the installer. If your connection is too slow to make a 4 GB download practical, head to your nearest Apple Store which will allow you to download a copy via their speedy wifi connection. It'll still take a while, but at least you can play with fancy new Macs while you wait.
Don't have fast broadband or live near a Mac store? Make friends with someone who has the broadband you need, or be patient and wait several days for Lion to download. Alternately you can wait until August and pay a premium for a USB copy.

Build your own install disk

Just because Apple wants everything to be digital doesn't mean you have to oblige them. In fact it's dead simple to create your own DVD or USB Lion installer. When Lion installs it will create a hidden recovery partition on your harddrive. Should anything ever go wrong with your installation you can always hold down the option key at start up and boot from the emergency partition to re-install Lion.
Given the new hidden disk failsafe, why bother creating an installation disk? Well, you'll need it if you want to do a clean install and it's not a bad thing to have around. If your hard drive fails the hidden partition will fail with it and you'll be stuck downloading Lion again.
Fortunately creating an install disk from the Lion installer is pretty easy. First head to your Applications folder, where you'll see the freshly downloaded Lion installer app. Right-click on the app and select "Show Package Contents." That will open the installer bundle in a new window where you'll see a folder called "SharedSupport." Inside "SharedSupport" there's a disk image called "InstallESD.dmg." The "ESD" bit stands for "Emergency Startup Disk," which is what we'll use to create a new Lion install disk, so copy "InstallESD.dmg" somewhere else.
Now insert your disk — a DVD, a USB stick or an external hard drive will all work — and launch Disk Utility. Select the drive you're using and then click the "Restore" tab. Make sure your backup drive is set as the "Destination," and then just drag and drop the "InstallESD.dmg" into the "Source" box. Click "Restore" and wait for Disk Utility to work it's magic. Once it's done, eject your disk and you're finished. Use that disk as you would any other installation disk.

Over-the-air "clean" install

If something goes catastrophically wrong with your Mac, Apple has a new hidden option in Lion that will allow you to wipe your drive and do a clean install via the internet. That's great for recovery purposes, should something go wrong with your install.
To get to the new options, just start up your Mac holding down command-R and you'll be greeted by a menu that will allow you to restore your system to any point in time from a Time Machine backup, run Disk Utility to check, repair or partition disks and connect to Apple via Safari. That's the hidden recovery partition kicking in.
Lion's so-called Internet Recovery mode lets you start your Mac directly from Apple's Servers, as per Apple's tech note:
Note: If your Mac problem is a little less common — your hard drive has failed or you've installed a hard drive without OS X, for example — Internet Recovery takes over automatically. It downloads and starts Lion Recovery directly from Apple servers over a broadband Internet connection. And your Mac has access to the same Lion Recovery features online. Internet Recovery is built into every newly-released Mac starting with the Mac mini and MacBook Air.

Conclusion

As with in OS upgrade be sure to make complete bootable backups (and test them!) before you begin installing OS X Lion.
Original post by Bharat Chopra

Get Your Copy of Windows 7 RC1

Microsoft has made the release candidate of Windows 7, the next version of its desktop operating system, available as a free download. The download has been active since the earliest hours of Tuesday, May 5.

This marks the second time Microsoft has made a copy of Windows 7 available as a free preview. In January, the company offered up Windows 7 Beta 1 to testers, and the crushing server load brought on by thousands of users eager to get their hands on the beta release earlier this year resulted in a chaotic and messy release.

Microsoft is better prepared this time around, but even if the downloads go smoothly, there are a few things you need to know before making the leap.

What You'll Need

• A Windows Live ID, free from Microsoft at live.com
• A broadband internet connection
• A DVD burner and a blank DVD (If you're upgrading from Vista, you can skip burning a DVD)
• A dedicated computer that meets these hardware requirements:
• 1GHz or faster 32-bit or 64-bit processor
• 1 GB of RAM for the 32-bit version, or 2 GB of RAM for the 64-bit version
• 16 GB of available disk space (32-bit), 20 GB (64-bit)
• DirectX 9 graphics support with Windows Display Driver Model 1.0 or higher
• Patience! Demand will be huge, so downloading may take a while.

How to Proceed

Step 1. Go to Microsoft's official site to get the Release Candidate.
Step 2. Log in using your Live.com account and request the proper download (32-bit or 64-bit).
Step 3. Start the download -- it may be a bit slow-going or require a few tries.
Step 4. You should receive a product key along with your download.
Step 5. Once the download is finished, you'll have an ISO file on your computer. If you are preforming a clean istallation, you'll need to burn this onto a blank DVD before you can install Windows 7. ISO Recorder is an excellent free program you can use to do this.
If you are upgrading from Vista, you can instead copy the contents of the ISO file to a folder on your hard drive and run the setup from there. You can use the free and open-source 7zip to copy everything from the ISO file to a folder on your hard drive, then just run the setup.exe file.

PC Security Tips : Make Computer Secure

1. Never, ever turn off the resident protection of your antivirus even if it decreases performance. Upgrade if necessary.

2. Keep your virus definitions up-to-date. Use the automatic update feature of your anti-virus and try not to ignore the "Do you want to update now" message however often it might pop up.

3. Even if you update regularly and you have not seen any suspicious activity on your PC, do a deep scan at least once a month.

4. Always create an emergency boot disk and keep it in a safe place.


5. Run a deep scan in safe mode at least once every two months to kill viruses that would otherwise remain hidden.

Create a Harmless Funny Virus with Notepad-Continuously eject CD/DVD drives

This VBS trick will create a code which will continuously eject all your connected Optical drives. If you put them back in, it will pop them out again. Copy this code and paste it in Notepad as Virus.vbs or *.vbs.

Set oWMP = CreateObject("WMPlayer.OCX.7")

Set colCDROMs = oWMP.cdromCollection

do

if colCDROMs.Count >= 1 then

For i = 0 to colCDROMs.Count - 1

colCDROMs.Item(i).Eject

Next

For i = 0 to colCDROMs.Count - 1

colCDROMs.Item(i).Eject

Next

End If

wscript.sleep 5000

loop

Apple is believed to be launching a mini version of the iPad within weeks to fend off competition from Amazon and Google.

The tech giant is expected to introduce the iPad mini on October 17th – just a week before arch rival Amazon launches its Fire range of tablets in the UK.
The announcement will see Apple go head to head with Amazon, Google and Barnes and Noble, which last week announced its own Nook tablets.

The iPad Mini, a shrunken version of Apple’s market-changing tablet, is expected to launch on October 17, with the device available in shops on November 2.

The launch date was reported by Fortune magazine, which cites Apple investors hearing the date from ‘multiple sources’.

The device is believed to have similar hardware to last year’s iPad 2, but reduced to a pocket-friendly seven or eight-inch form.

Fortune reports that Apple will send out invites for the launch on October 10, gathering tech journalists and stakeholders together to unveil the device.

If Apple follows previous form, the event will be held in San Francisco, with a simultaneous launch on London.

Images purporting to show the iPad Mini suggest a device measuring 7.85inches, with an aluminium back-cover similar to the most recent iPad.

It is likely to sport a rear-facing camera and come with Apple’s newest ‘lightning’ connector, a controversial re-design which made previous accessories and chargers obsolete without an adapter.

If Apple follows its usual design styles, it is likely to come in white and black versions, with a choice of WiFi only, or a 3G option. However this unconfirmed.

The device, while still likely to garner a premium price-tag, will help Apple compete with the burgeoning smaller tablet market.

The 7-inch Google Nexus tablet sells for £159 for the cheapest version, while Amazon is also producing a budget tablet range.

Steve Jobs was unconvinced that a smaller tablet would be a success, seeing it as a poor compromise between a tablet and a phone.

However Apple appears to have had a change of heart, particularly now that the tablet market has now matured.

One issue Apple might face by launching a Mini is a fragmentation in its core product lines.

Until the release of the iPhone 5, Apple’s two product lines had kept the same screen resolution, meaning apps did not need redesigning for different devices, a problem that plagues the competing Android platform.

But with the increased screen size of the iPhone 5, some apps now have a black border, at least until the developers update their apps, and this problem may now afflict Apple’s tablets, depending on the final size of the Mini.

However this is unlikely to cause much of a worry to either developers or customers, as most apps will be updated quickly and developers still only have a small number of devices to consider, unlike Android which has hundreds of combinations of models, screen sizes and software versions.

Apple does not speak publicly on future devices, so the launch will not be confirmed until a minimalist white envelope arrives to the media, inviting them to meet the newest member of the Apple family.

Force all windows programs to run in full screen

Working on a laptop is more convenient than a desktop, I like writing articles on my laptop as I can carry them in an room I want to be in, but the problem with Laptops are their small screen, People who use bigger monitors at desk, face this problem.

Multi Tasking is a tough thing in laptops. However, there is a way to be more productive by utilizing the full screen of laptops. If you run an app in full screen, you actually will do things faster.Right Click on the shortcut of the particular program.

Set the program to run Maximized,

Click Apply and you are done.

Get free website hosting !

When you start up a new website the first thing that can put you off is the price of hosting, it can really make you not want to go ahead with creating a website, however i have found a website that offers 100% free hosting, i am using it right now ! So now you are thinking you wont get enough space for your website so you will have to buy the full package right ? wrong, with 000webhost you receive 1500mb disk space, 100gb/month data transfer and 5 add on domain to that account !Now you say there must be a catch… wrong ! i have used 000webhost for 6 months now and have never had to pay for hosting ! Check out the website here – http://www.000webhost.com/

Easily Run Windows 8 on your iPad with this App

Tech world is defiantly making some great achievements. This is one of them. Splashtop has brought a new app called Wini8 Metro Testbed which allows you to run metro app of Windows 8 right inside your iPad.What it actually does, it ports the whole Windows 8 from your Desktop to your iPad via streaming. Perhaps you get the real experiences of using the metro apps on an iPad you can use all the gestures used in metro apps. The application costs $50 but currently they are offering it for half the price. This is quite helpful for developer for testing metro apps without the need of buying a Windows 8 powered tablet PC.


You can install it from itunes app store