TechStuff

Play Safe : Logitech RumblePad 2

2009-02-19T10:45:00.000-08:00

At first glance, you will immediately notice how similar in design it is to the Playstation 2 controller. It even feels near identical to the PS2 Controller, except for the addition of rubber hand grips on the each side of the Gamepad. No more awkward controller to hold on to.. this one fits your hands perfectly. The Gamepad comes with a total of 12 programmable buttons, even though the tech sheet states there are only 10. On top of the controller are the four shoulder buttons. On the front are the normal four main buttons (A,B,X,Y or Square, Triangle, Circle, X). There are two front buttons in the center of the controller that can be programmed to be Select and Start buttons, which I personally did. In addition, the two analog sticks push in, for another two programmable buttons. Depending on what you prefer, you can use the normal D-Pad for movement, or the Analog sticks. For most games, I personally prefer the D-pad, as I find I have better control. However, your opinion may vary, and it could really depend on the game you are playing.

Specifications

Dual vibration feedback motors
Feel all the hits, crashes, explosions, and many more effects.
Rubber grips : Specially textured rubber gives you a solid grip
Familiar button layout : 10 programmable action buttons
Mode and Vibration selectors and 8-way D-pad
Analog control : Two analog sticks give you a performance edge with smooth 360-degree control
Software included : Customize buttons, download game profiles, assign shift-button, and more
Quality construction : As if you'd expect anything else from Logitech

Conclusion : If you play a lot of games on your PC that are better played on a Gamepad, without a doubt, get this one. It will make your gaming 10 tomes more funn. Njoy!!!

My New Lappy : it doesnt get better than this :P

2008-09-12T05:36:00.000-07:00

The Dell Studio 17 is the most impressive 17-inch consumer notebook. Dell's Studio range merges the design ethos of the XPS range with the budget mindset of the Inspiron range. Featuring the same hinge and blade-type design as the XPS, it comes in a variety of colours including Midnight Blue, Ruby Red and Plump Purple all with Black U-Trim; and Graphite Grey with a choice of Black, Red, Blue or Pink U-Trims. Coming in two sizes, the 15-inch screen can be upgraded to a higher resolution of 1,440x900 with LED backlighting, and the 17-inch to 1,920x1,200 — although if you want LED backlighting on the larger screen, you're going to have to take a lower resolution of 1,440x900.

Both come standard with 3GB RAM, and if you enjoy typing in the dark, the keyboard can also be backlit for an extra Rs.800.

MY DELL STUDIO 17 CONFIG

* Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T5850
* 2.16 GHz, 2MB Cache, 667 MHz FSB
* 17.0 " Widescreen WXGA (1440x900) TFT Display
* 3GB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM
* 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650
* 250GB SATA Hard Drive
* Genuine Windows Vista(R) Home Premium
* Internal 8X DVD + /-RW Combination
* Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy ADVANCED HD Audio
* Midnight Blue Colour with Black U-Trim
* Integrated 2.0 Mega Pixel Web Cam

*Rs.56,790/-

Pros

Beautiful design
Solid selection of available configurations
Reasonable battery life
Nice keyboard, touchpad and media buttons
Great component layout
Dell Dock is a nice feature
Good value for the price

Cons

No lugs/screw posts for VGA cable and no docking station connector
All-in-one access cover on the bottom of the notebook is either great or frustrating

For more details visit : http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4471

Earphones/Headphones - Without them its not music.

2008-08-08T09:33:00.000-07:00

I do not consider myself a hardcore audiophile, but I am quite crazy when it comes to music (audio in general) - high quality music that is. To enjoy high quality music, you need many things including:

Good Audio Production – This is done in the studio, by the recording company
Good Audio Representation – This is the format in which we store music we have – digital mostly these days – it could be MP3, AAC, FLAC et al.
Good Audio Player – This is very important and it requires separate treatment
Good Audio Reproduction – This is where speakers and headphones kick in.

Using a speaker is not always a good option when you are living with family/roomies etc to thoroughly enjoy the music. Ambient noise may interfere in your listening which may ruin the show.

So, headphones or earphones are the best best in these cases. I am crazy about headphones I admit it. So, here is a small review about all the headphones and earphones that I have.

First up: It is many a peoples' favorite, highly recommended across the forum:

Creative EP 630
Everybody buys MP3 players by paying hefty sums of money – iPods, Zens and what not – but do not invest in a good pair of earphones. The bundled earphones that come with most of the players are crap and some are absolutely horrible. I see no point in this as this is like making the entire purchase of the player not worth it. This is true even in the case of the all famous iPod – actually Sony, Creative bundles better earphones with their players.

But, in any case I recommend ditching the bundled earphones and replacing them with decent ones. And, the best replacement considering both quality and value for money is you guessed it – the EP 630. It costs about 750 bucks – you can buy it online at several sites (primeabgb, itdepot) – avoid eBay if you ask me – lots of fakes. Creative has an official store in rediff shopping – pretty safe IMHO – I bought it from there – at a slightly higher price than other sites (Rs. 990 when last checked).

These are in-ear earphones which goes in your ear canal and stays there forming a vacuum. This provides great isolation from outside noise. The noise isolation is really good – even in a noisy train or a crowded bus stand. Three sizes of ear buds are bundled to fit different ear sizes.

The music performance is gorgeous – perfect for an MP3 player. The bass performance is impressive, the mids are pretty good and I personally feel they do a bit too much on the higher end of the spectrum – the treble – too sharp for my liking. The frequency response of these phones are from 6Hz to 23Khz which is a wider range than many other earphones – most of them doing 20Hz to 20Khz. The drivers do their job pretty well.

I have paired these earphones with my Sony Walkman MP3 player – a match made in heaven, my PSP and my laptop. It works well on all three. The cable is long enough (1.2m) for almost all uses.

If you have Sony Ericsson Walkman phones, you must be bragging about the headphones that come with it – HPM 70 – but believe me – once you hear the EP 630, you'll start hating the HPM 70. HPM 70 is all Bass and nothing else, while the EP 630 spans its performance across the spectrum.

When I initially bought these, I was just not able to play these for long. I have sensitive ears and these produced a lot of high frequency sounds that my ears picked up. And... to be frank they were giving me a headache. I almost gave up on these. But, after some 50+ hours of use, the phones started to get better and better with each listening. The high frequency sounds – must be because of the freshness – settled down and now I can use them without any problems.

Verdict:
Best cheap entry level in-ear noise isolation earphones – which work fine as replacements for bundled earphones.

Onto the next one. So, if the EP 630 performs well, then why do we need another earphone/headphone? Many many reasons – one of the major reasons is 'Room'. I don't know how exactly to define 'Room' – you just have to know it. When listening to music, room determines how well separated and distinct the different instruments are – you feel as if the sound is coming from a distance – I don't know how to define it perfectly.

I love my music with lots of room and the EP 630 does not have this. Don't blame the EP 630 – how much room can a closed in ear earphone provide?? It does what it is supposed to do.

Sennheiser PX-100
Senns are considered to be the best among headphone manufacturers – producing some of the best audiophile grade headphones out there. And.. believe me – it is no hype like some other phones (*cough*Bose*cough*).

The PX-100 is a open design supra-aural headphone (not earphone) which look quite simple and humble when you see it. But, inside lies a performance beast. This is my favorite among my headphone collection.

Once you hear the EP 630 – you think music is great and how can it get better? Hear the PX 100 and you'll start to know how better music can get. As these are open cans, they have much more room to play the music and they do a good job here. These are not audiophile grade headphones – not by a long shot – but could be termed as a stepping stone into the audiophile world.

The first thing you'll notice about these phones when you wear them is that they are very light. Fire them up in your player and then, the thing that will impress you is the Bass. They can handle a large amount of Bass smoothly and this is probably I love these phones. They have an awesome performance across the spectrum – though a little muddy on the highs for me – but most people wouldn't mind it.

It costs Rs. 2690 and is worth every single rupee you pay. The music quality is the best you can get at this price point. It does a good job at movies too. As the bass is good, action movies are really enjoyable. But, the cable length is not really good for movie viewing – but perfect for listening music on your MP3 player.

I have let my friends use these phones – and the first time that they hear it – it always manages to put a wide grin on their face. Most of them are just blown away. Somehow, these are not entirely comfortable for using for a long time – for my ears. Remember - this could be just for my ears – they start paining after long listening – maybe the headphones are putting a tad bit too much pressure on the ears. I am pretty sure that this is a problem with my ears though. Please remember – these are open headphones and so, they leak sound in and out.

You can buy them from a Sennheiser dealer. Go to http://www.sennheiser.com/india/icm_...e_dealersearch to fin the dealer in your city. You can also buy online at theitdepot.com

Rs. 2690 may seem too high for many people for headphones – but consider it as an investment – for enjoying music the way it is meant to be enjoyed.

These headphones are foldable and can be folded and put inside a case which comes bundled. It is really compact when it is bundled – looks like a sun glass case – perfect for traveling.

Verdict:
My Favorite – absolutely gorgeous sound across the spectrum – especially the bass – good room (not the best). Just Awesome!

Onto the next one:
I said the PX 100 performs very well in movies – but I really do not prefer them for watching movies because of several reasons:

Not comfortable enough for me.
Room is not good enough for movies – movies require a better, wider room to be thoroughly enjoyable.
Cable length is not really good to lay back on your bed with a cushion and watch the movie on your PC/TV.

This is where my next headphone comes in.

Philips SHP8900
This is my personal home theater – and I just love it! Well, these are open circum-aural headphones, that is, they cover your ears completely. On first look these look huge and bulky. But once you wear them, you'll know that these are really comfortable. The cushions are well placed and they do not press too much against your head or anything – the comfort is very pleasing. They are a bit heavy though and so, fatigue can kick in when used for very long viewing sessions.

Oh, did I say 'viewing' and not listening? Yes, that is because I use these extensively for watching movies on my PC. They are comfortable, have good room for movies and have a 4 meter cable length (all 3 points solved!). Perfect for watching TV or movies on your PC.

Having said that, it is not that these are bad for music – they perform well in that department too. The room factor kicks in when you play music on these and is an absolute treat.

The Bass again is probably the best factor in these headphones – and that makes it even better for movies. Action movies are a treat to watch with these on.

All headphones have this property – they just get better and better the more you listen. It takes somewhere around 50+ hours of listening before a headphone can perform at its best. And, the SHP 8900 is no different. They are so much better sounding now – than how they sounded when I first used them.

Many of the movies that I have are AC3, DTS surround sound encoded movies. With the proper 'Dolby Headphone' codec, the SHP 8900 does a marvelous job at surround sound also – the room factor comes into play here too.

These are priced at Rs. 3600 odd and is the most expensive of my headphone collection. They are widely available in Planet M and Music World showrooms. So, getting them won't be a tough job – I think theitdepot.com also has these.

Verdict:
Awesome for lying on your bed and watching TV or watching movies on PC. Really comfortable too. Well spent Rs. 3600 – probably the best spent among my headphones – because I am more of a movie buff than a music buff

Others:
Others include HPM 70, Philips Bass Vent earphones, Sennheiser HD 201 (closed), and some more.
Don't fall for the Sennheiser brand always – all Senns are not good. The HD 201 is closed, so that it does not leak sound in/out. But, that is almost it. Nothing much to brag about – sounds muddy once you have heard better headphones. Costs Rs. 1450 – good for giving away as a present though.

Source : http://www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=94359

Essential Firefox 2 Plugins

2008-06-13T07:53:00.000-07:00

The award-winning Web browser is now faster, more secure, and fully customizable to your online life. With Firefox 2, we’ve added powerful new features that make your online experience even better. (You can look for these plugins for Firefox 3 too, but the links are for 2 only)

If you still not using Firefox get it now.

Here are some 'Essential' Firefox plugins :P
(Based purely on my preferences)

1) Adblock Plus

The net is flooded by all those ads and banners on the internet that often take longer to download than everything else on the page? Adblock comes to the rescue.
Install Adblock Plus now and get rid of them.

Read more | Download

2) Foxmarks :Bookmark synchronizer

If you use Firefox on more than one computer, you'll want Foxmarks to sync your bookmarks or how many times have you reinstalled Firefox and wished you had all your bookmarks back... so here is the solution.
Just create a account on www.foxmarks.com download Foxmarks plugin
and you are good to go.

Read more | Download

3) Flashgot

Flashgot helps you integrate almost any download manager with Firefox. It is the best Firefox download manager integration.

Read more | Download

4) Download Statusbar

Anyone using Firefox will agree that the Firefox download window is really irritating. Download Statusbar provides an effective solution. You can view and manage downloads from a tidy statusbar - without the download window getting in the way of your web browsing.

Read more | Download

5) Password Exporter

Although not very popular but a useful plug in. This extension allows you to export your saved passwords and disabled login hosts using XML or CSV files that can be imported in another browser or computer. This will also be useful when you reinstall Firefox.
(IMP: Storing passwords may be a threat to your privacy if not done effectively)

Read more | Download

# Other Useful Plugins

6) Session Manager

Session Manager saves and restores the state of all windows - either when you want it or automatically at startup and after crashes. Additionally it offers you to reopen (accidentally) closed windows and tabs.

Read more | Download

7) Video DownloadHelper

The easy way to download Web videos from hundreds of YouTube-like sites. This works also for audio and picture galleries too.

Read more | Download

Cowon iAudio 7 - A music wonder

2008-06-12T00:40:00.000-07:00

Oh my god!!! I cant believe it... I, now am a proud owner of Cowon iAudio 7. In one word its "awesome"
It has all de featuers you wud ever want, even de small ones which u tend to ignore.

The iAudio 7 is a feature-packed player with heaps of customisation potential and awesome sound quality, and playback time almost double that of the iPod Nano. Only Creative's players beat it in terms of audio performance. Apple's iPod is arguably better only if you're a style-conscious consumer. The major downside is video, thanks to the tiny low-res screen. But if you're all about the music, you will not be disappointed.

Here are some features of what is claimed to be “the best sound quality” brand.

Features

Awesome Sound Quality
Long Battery Life (60 hrs claimed/ 30 hrs min. in realtime)
Picture Viewer
Video Playback
File Types: MP3, OGG, FLAC, WAV, XviD, JPEG, TXT
Voice Recording
Lyrics Support
Line-in Recording
FM / FM Recording
Text File Reader
Clock / Timer / Alarm

Sound Quality
Cowon’s sound quality is their strong suit, the i7 is no exception. Sound quality is excellent, once you've discarded the average bundled headphones for something better. The sound quality is crisp with an even across-the-spectrum response that has the power to drive larger headphones at a comfortable level. There are plenty of sound enhancements and EQ setting for the audiophile to fine tune to create a symbiotic relationship between the headphones and the i7. The iAudio 7 has a solid audio codec and feature set that will keep the casual and hardcore users happy.

Video
Video played on the i7 is XviD and runs at 12 framed per second. To some it may be a bit gimmicky, but to others it may kill your boredom on a car, bus, plane, or train ride. The video is definitely watchable; it is just a matter of how long your eyes can look at a 1.3” screen. I watched a few TV shows comfortably and although I wouldn’t use it frequently, it would come in handy from time to time.

Easy Media Transfer
Your audio files are browseable in file folder mode (as you dragged and dropped them onto the player) or by ID3 tag information. ID3 mode is much more robust showing: Artist, Album, Tracks, Favorites, New Music (showing the music loaded in the last day, week, or month), Genre, Year, Playlists, Recordings, and even Folders (operates just like the file folder mode).

Pros

Sound Quality
Powerful Amp
Very Customizable sound settings
Battery Life
BBE
Full of features
Lots of Audio file support

Cons

Unintuitive interface
Overly sensitive touch interface
Awkward Size - Too Thick
WMA recording only

The bottom line is that if you are looking solely for sound quality, the iAudio 7 will without a doubt please you.

5 tips every new Linux user should remember

2008-06-07T21:59:00.000-07:00

Linux is a powerful operating system, but chances are it's a very different operating system than any you've used before. The dizzying number of choices in distribution(flavors) alone is enough to make your head spin, but it also means there's something out there that really suits your computing style.

I will suggest the following for firsy time users
1) Ubuntu (or kubuntu for windows like interface)
2) Linux Mint
still you should try the live CD and then only decide.

There are some things in Linux you just have to work out for yourself -- distributions, applications, neato screen savers (hey, we like distractions as much as the next guy).

We're taking a departure from the norm this week and not discussing a specific piece of software. Instead, we've been thinking about what we most wished we'd been told on our first foray into Linux-land. These tips run the gamut from installation planning to how to best ask for help. We chose these tips because they are not distribution-specific, and the majority of new users will at least find a few tips apply to their situation at some point.

1. Experiment with LiveCDs
2. Install /home on a separate partition
3. When in doubt, use the vesa drivers!
4. Fear not the command line.
5. Ask for help before you get frustrated at www.linuxforum.com

Read full artilce [click here]

Orkut Hacks - All in One

2008-06-02T20:47:00.000-07:00

These are some oukut hacks that i compliled from various sources. I tried some of these and they work.

1. Changing Orkut Background If you use firefox you can change the orkut backgroung by using the greasemonkey firefox extension. First install greasemonkey from here and then install Bluekut hack from here

2. Orkut Cute Orkut cute is a program that let you send scraps to all your friends in orkut. It also alerts you when you receive new scraps send notifications when forums are updated. Orkut cute can be downloaded here.

3. Sorkut Firefox Extension This is a toolbar to search for the threads with specific words in the title. Just give the commumity id of the community you want to search, enter the search term and click Search. Sorkut can be downloaded from here.

4. Scraboy This is a freeware program that let you browse orkut and know when you or your friends receive new scraps. You can add emoticons, colour and formatting to your scraps with ease. Sending scraps from your desktop is also as easy as writing an instant message. Scrapboy can be downloaded from here.

5. Orkut Scrap Helper This is a cool firefox extension that let you scrap faster by providing messaging options in your own scrapbook page. It also reduces the number of steps to scrap someone who has scrapped you to just one!. Scrap helper can be downloaded from here.

6. Scrapbook Flooding An Indian dude named Rahul created this Firefox extension for Orkut scrapbook flooding. The extension is compatible with Firefox1.5+ and can be downloaded from here. For more information you can visit Rahul’s weblog here

7. Javascript Hacks There are some Javascript hacks for Orkut. Like, for flooding scrapbook, Increasing number of fans, testimonial flodding, Invisible names, blank scraps, etc. Some of them do work. A good compilation can be found here.

Try at your own risk.
Source: Post by freakitude on Thinkdigit Forum

Latest Orkut Hacks

1. I hv updated it so download link has been changed! Scrapbook flooder

2. Using Orkut From Mobile Devices! Mobile Orkut

3. Orkut: Finally a scrapbook flooder for new orkut codes!!! Scrapbook flooder

4. Orkut - Send a common scrap to all ur friends with one click!!! (working version) Scrap All

5. Orkut Scrapbook to RSS Feeds - Now check your scraps without logging into orkut! Orkut Scrap Feeds

6. Subscribe to RSS Feed of Your Favorite Orkut Communities Orkut Community Feeds

7. Orkut Scrap Deleter Script! (Anti-Flooding) Scrap Deleter (anti-flooding)

8. Orkut Pics Enlarger Script! Pic Enlarger

9. Finding Email Id of any Orkut user! Its working again Find email id

10. Hide your orkut profile name again! Hide Name

11. Firefox: Orkut Toolbar for Firefox 2.0 Toolbar

And The List Goes on... [Click here for more] More tricks about Firefox, Adsense, Blogging, Windows & Hacking!

Coutsey: http://www.devilsworkshop.org and rahul286