LINKEDIN CREASH ( BIG NEWS)

Hello,

World famous web portal linkedin.com crashed today at GMT time 3.30 PM. See its photo











This is a big news for every one.

Toshiba Libretto W100 Is a Dual-Screen Challenge to the iPad

As a part of the 25th anniversary of Toshiba’s laptop business, the company unveiled a dual-screen laptop concept named the Libretto W100.

Although Toshiba calls it a concept PC, it looks very finished and ready for market release. Toshiba claims it will be later this summer, albeit in a limited capacity (the price is reported to be $1,099). As far as specifications go, one thing definitely stands out: dual 7.0-inch multi-touch displays with 1024×600 pixel resolution, together with a virtual keyboard with haptic response.

It’s powered by an Intel Pentium U5400 CPU operating at 1.2 GHz, 2 GB of DDR3 memory and a 64 GB SSD, which makes it a fairly powerful machine. Other specs include a 1-megapixel webcam, BluetoothBluetooth, MicroSD card, Wi-Fi, one USB port, an 8-cell battery and a WindowsWindows 7 operating system.

It’s also a very portable device, measuring merely 4.84 inches by 7.95 inches when closed, and weighing 1.8 lbs.

Check out some more images and Scobleizer’s “first look” video of the Libretto W100 below.

Firefox 3.6.4 Released: Flash No Longer Crashes Your Browser

After some delays, Mozilla has released Firefox 3.6.4, the newest version of the popular web browser. It comes with one big addition: protection against crashing due to third-party plugins, most notably Adobe Flash.

The updated browser, which you can download here, comes with dozens of bug fixes and stability upgrades. What the average user will care about most though is Firefox () crash protection, something that is a prominent feature of Google Chrome ().

Crash protection utilizes out-of-process plugins technology to run third-party plugins (specifically Flash, Quicktime, and Silverlight) in a separate process. In the past, a plugin crash would take down your entire Firefox browser. With crash protection however, “the browser will stay running while the portions of websites controlled by the plugin will be disabled.” It only takes a refresh to restart the plugin.

There is a catch, though: only Windows () and Linux () users have access to crash protection. According to Mozilla, making crash protection available to Mac OS X users would require major changes to Firefox’s infrastructure. However, the non-profit promises that it will become available for Mac users in Firefox 4, which should ship by the end of the year.

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Apple iOS 4 Wonderful OS.

Apple has just released the iOS 4 update for iPhone and iPod touch owners. The iPhone 4 might not be in stores until Thursday, but existing owners can take advantage of the new software features coming to the new device starting now.

iOS 4 is a free update and is compatible with iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS models, as well as second- and third-generation iPod touches. Multitasking will only work with the iPhone 3GS and third-generation iPod touch, however.

On the backend, iOS 4 has more than 1,500 changes or additions to the API, which will enable developers to build even better apps on these devices. We’ll be posting a more complete video overview of what is new in iOS 4 later this afternoon, but check out some of the highlights first:

• Multitasking — A combination of persistent-state applications and backgrounding functions for certain services. The end result means better battery performance when doing things like listening to Pandora () while browsing the web.
• Folders — Organizing your iPhone Home Screen is easier now that you can use folders to store groups of apps in one icon. This is a huge time-saver and makes finding and keeping more apps on your device much easier.
• iBooks — First appearing on the iPad, iBooks is now available for iPhone users. Just like the Kindle app, your purchases and page marks are synchronized across devices.
• Tap to Focus Video — iPhone 3GS owners can now tap to focus their videos just like you can when taking still shots. The new software also includes a 5x digital zoom for the built-in camera.
• Bluetooth Keyboard Support – You can now pair your iPhone with a Bluetooth () keyboard, which will make typing long documents much easier.
• Better Spell Check – The spell check utility now works across Mail, Notes, Safari () and other apps.

There are tons of other new features in iOS 4 and we’ll be showing them off over the next few days, as well as highlighting some apps that take advantage of the new features.

When will you upgrade to iOS 4? What feature are you most excited about?

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Google Capitulates To Demands for Street View Data

Under fire, Google has agreed to release the private data collected by its Street View vehicles that it had previously withheld. CEO Eric Schmidt said a rogue engineer is under investigation. Google admitted the private network data was collected in violation of its policies. Google will also arrange an audit of its data-collection operation.

With class-action lawsuits and government investigations gaining steam, Google agreed Thursday to hand over private information Relevant Products/Services collected by its Street View vehicles to European investigators. Google had historicallyin the past resisted such demands, saying it was in conversation with government authorities about destroying the information.
In addition, company CEO Eric Schmidt told the Financial Times this week that an engineer who inserted program in to the Street View vehicles' programs -- code that captured the unauthorized information -- is now the subject of an internal company inquiry.
Two Class-Action Suits
At least two class-action lawsuits have been filed or are being planned in the U.S. in which the plaintiffs contend Google violated federal wiretapping laws. There's also criminal and other government investigations in France, Ireland, France, Germany, Germany and others, and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has been asked by members of Congress to see if laws were broken.
The Street View controversy stems from the collection of private wireless Relevant Products/Services information from Google vehicles, which have ridden down streets worldwide to collect pics for use in the company's Street View application within Google Maps. Google said about 600GB of information was mistakenly collected in 30 countries.
According to Senior Vice President of Engineering and Research Alan Eustace, the company has acknowledged it collected SSID information from wireless routers. That information contains Wi-Fi network Relevant Products/Services names and MAC addresses, which are the matchless numbers given to Wi-Fi routers. At first, Google said it didn't collect "payload information," or the private information sent over networks.
But Eustace later noted that "we have been mistakenly collecting samples of payload information from open (i.e. non-password-protected) Wi-Fi networks." The payload information includes fragments of sites, e-mails and possibly personal banking information. Eustace added that the information has never been used in Google products, and only fragments were collected because the vehicles were moving and the in-car Wi-Fi equipment automatically changes channels about four times each second. No information was collected from password-protected networks, he said.
'Promiscuous with Data'
The reason payload information was collected at all, he said, is that code to do so was left in the program used to collect the SSID and MAC addresses, although the project leaders didn't require or need the information. This is the program that Schmidt said was inserted "in clear violation" of Google's policies. The company has said it will employ an independent third party to conduct an audit of its data-collection operation.
Peter Firstbrook, an analyst with Gartner, said these kinds of privacy issues, including Google's earlier privacy controversy from its Buzz application, are part of a "structural" development that could go on for 20 years or more. In this back-and-forth seesaw, he said, companies push their expertise and product advances that occasionally conflict with users' sense of their privacy rights, and the users push back.
He said that, while "governments are acting appropriately," the solution will must come from consumer and business users who reply negatively to privacy violations. One possibility, Firstbrook said, would be a usually accepted standard that users must take steps to specifically opt in for anything that could violate their privacy.
Firstbrook also noted a growing sense among enterprise users that the search giant is, at heart, "a information mining company," and that it basically "can't help" its aggressiveness that leads to these kinds of privacy issues. As a result, he said, this is directly impacting Google's bottom line, since some enterprise users are hesitant about using the company's cloud Relevant Products/Services-based apps and Gmail at least in part because of Google's tendency to be "promiscuous with information."

Will iPhone 4G Match Rivals' Bigger Touchscreens?

With Apple likely to launch its new iPhone 4G at next week's Worldwide Developer's Conference, as the company has done for the past three summers, speculation is rampant about what new features might emerge that haven't been seen in three leaked prototypes.
One query is whether CEO Steve Jobs may wow iPhone fans with a bigger screen size, said IDC wireless Relevant Products/Services analyst Ramon Llamas. "With 4.0, a lot is predicated on the touchscreen, & so the next query is how sizable is that screen?" Llamas asked.

Rivals' Screens Growing

The iPhone 4G prototype that turned up on a know-how site after being sold for $5,000 had better screen resolution, 960 by 640 pixels, up from the iPhone 3GS's 480 by 320. But the screen was described as slightly smaller than the 3.5-inch screen on the iPhone 3GS.
With competing devices mimicking the iPhone's touchscreen with bigger screens, Llamas wonders if Apple will raise, call or pass.
"The HTC HD2 has a 4.3-inch screen," he said of the smartphone currently selling in Europe & Asia & expected on the U.S. market in November. "Other players in the market are testing larger screen size. The query is, does Apple require to go there?"
One reason why Apple may not, he said, is that developers may then must produce versions of their apps that work on the larger & smaller screens, an issue faced by some Android developers whose products work on multiple devices.
The HTC EVO 4G launched by Dash on Friday also has a 4.3-inch screen. Dell Relevant Products/Services's Streak tablet/smartphone hybrid, also released Friday in the United Kingdom, has a five-inch screen.

Hope for CDMA?

Among the other questions to be answered if Jobs, as expected, releases the iPhone 4G at Apple's WWDC Monday in San Francisco is, if it is different from the prototypes seen by the world, will it have a wired than touchscreen keyboard -- a feature that text-happy iPhone users have pined for? Jobs could also make some sizable news by announcing a CDMA-compatible version of the iPhone -- unlikely since Apple has been openly loyal to AT&T as its exclusive U.S. carrier, despite reported network Relevant Products/Services issues.
Analyst Ken Dulaney of Gartner Research believes the next iPhone will probably be more or less identical to the $5,000 prototype.
"I suspect it is the one in the leaks, but there is always the likelihood there will be other models," he said. "They require over one."

Improvements to look for?

"I suspect they will have video Relevant Products/Services chat, but most of the other features were talked about at the [iPhone OS] 4.0 announcement [in March], such as an integrated e-mail client," Dulaney said. "We could also see some move toward Net TV, & they will see the iPad processor likely in the gizmo."
A reverse-engineered iPhone 4G prototype that appeared on a Vietnamese tech site used an Apple-branded one-gigahertz A4 processor, which powers the iPad.
"Beyond that," said Dulaney, expect "some enterprise improvements."

HOW TO FIND THE BEST DIGITAL CAMERA

It seems that every month, if not every week, different manufacturers are coming up with the latest digital cameras to entice potential clients. & it is not working for us!
After spending sizeable amount of time at the mall figuring out which is the best digital camera for us, they finally have money to buy for that eye-popping, 7 mega pixel, 10x digital zoom, potable, sweet colored, up to 512MB expandable memory of tremendous hi-speed SD memory card & not to mention transportable, (that will be the envy of everyone they know). They march to the mall armed with our life savings & lotsa pride in ourselves, when they pass by a new display - an three mega pixel, up to 1G expandable memory, with built it mic & stereo surround, video playback capable, with 22 scenic modes kind-of-camera. & they sigh because the producer of this wonderful gadget claims that this is the best digital camera yet out in the market. & so as they always require to have the best, armed with our life savings & a few credit cards, they buy the "best digital camera." But then again, that doesn't last long, after three months or so, there is another "best digital camera."
& so it confuses us. What makes a digital camera, the best digital camera?
Well, there's sure factors to think about when looking for the "best digital camera" for us.

MEGAPIXELS.
One of the most important features of digital camera to make it in to the best digital camera section is its mega pixel property. The higher the mega pixels the better the actual photograph will come out. A mega pixel is equivalent to a million pixels. The resolution of your picture is based on the mega pixel property of your camera. This means that as you enlarge the picture, you would get more detail & less blurry colors.

LCD SIZE.
The best digital camera will always have a large LCD to help you frame your subject without having to squint to the viewfinder. This is also helpful when reviewing your images, some cameras enable touch up & editing features with its LCD. A 1.5-inch display is average, a 2-inch LCD display is lovely, but the best LCD size would be 2.5 inches or higher.

ZOOM.
Most digital cameras have both digital & optical zoom. A higher optical zoom is always better than a higher digital zoom. Digital cameras are usually furnished with optical of between 3x to 10x. The better the optical zoom, the higher it climbs up to the best digital camera section.

MEMORY CARD.
Always make sure that your memory card is the right one for your digital camera. There's different types of memory card like the xD, SD, Flash card & the likes. & these types of memory cards go with sure types of digital cameras. of coursework memory storage is also up there in choosing the best digital cameras. Select the size of memory that you require, if you are a picture junkie, you might require over 32MB. Memory cards can go up to 1G.

The key point to find the best digital camera is to find one that will best fit you & your lifestyle. Don't buy the latest or the one that claims they are the best digital cameras out in the market. You would not require to buy a DSLR & use it along with your home activities or relatives outing & must lug it around?! Or you don't require to buy the latest point & shoot camera when you are serious about being a professional photographer. (Of coursework, you can use this for starters, but if you are not a novice photographer anymore, you would not require to get this type of camera.)

Actually, the best digital camera is the one that you will enjoy & use. Not the type that you'll leave rotting in its box or after a few weeks of usage or so, up there in the attic.