Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

Google at Google I/O 2012 spilled the bean literally at the Google HQ on a lawn where other statues of Android as the Cupcake, Donut, Éclair, Froyo,Gingerbread, Honeycomb and Ice Cream Sandwich were displayed.

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean has been unveiled on Wednesday morning, where the latest and useful features have been shown for Android enthusiasts. The Jelly Bean is equipped with Samsung Galaxy Nexus, here are some pictures to show the enchantment and taste of what Jelly Bean would have.

Swipe Widgets Away

The user interface stays the same as the Ice Cream Sandwich but the widget resizes automatically when dropped into a crowded home page. By moving the blue pints, it can be made smaller or the shape can be changed.

A Long press on the icon can help in moving the icon or widget from the home page to the X.

Voice Search

A voice search feature has been added to trigger the shot against Apple Siri. The icon will be selected in the main menu and would be launched directly into the app’s uncluttered interface. From there the microphone icon is tapped to start off.

The microphone will turn red, when the phone is in “listening” phase and series of circles would radiate out from the icon.

Once a question is asked, a series of squares in the middle of screen appear.

What’s the weather in New York?

For questions, for example relating to weather when asked, the phone would speak the answer. It would tell you the temperature and it would also inform about the forecast for the coming days. So far the Google voice feature works faster than Siri.

What is the capital of Australia?

For some questions as the prime minister of Australia, the voice would answer that it was Julia Gillard. The answer for question of its capital gave results of some Web Search. Thus, the parameters need to be checked for voice search feature.

Filmstrip View

The photo can be pinched to make it smaller, when in the media gallery. This would make a filmstrip-style view to run for all the photos in a row. You can swipe left or right and can scan them all.

Swipe a Photo

A photo can be deleted by swiping it to top of the screen.

Predictive Text

Google has claimed that Jelly Bean has tweaked the international dictionary and provides a better word completion when a sentence is typed. As per Google, it’s a better and efficient improvement over Ice Cream Sandwich.

Voice Typing

The Google Jelly Bean offers a new feature of voice-typing; this feature helps you dictating the whole paragraph to the Jelly Bean Phone. Google claims that the feature would also capture the punctuation marks when spoken, e.g. “period”.

Notifications

The notification center offers the feature where tapping a notification can return the call or a message can be typed directly. This feature saves the time for opening up a message or call.

Next Xbox could have glasses, new Kinect

A leaked PDF document hints at what Microsoft could have in store for the next version of Xbox.If the 56-page document is true, the Xbox 720 has a planned release for 2013 and will play Blu-ray movies, 3D videos and it would work with special glasses for augmented reality gaming. The document also suggests the next version of the Kinect will track four people at once, have improved voice recognition and it could be split into two units on both sides of the television. The document seems to have been authored in 2010, so clearly much of it could be out of date by now. But hey -- some of the concepts in the document have been proven true, like SmartGlass.

A report from Variety says CBS has bought a pilot of a TV show based on the mobile app Draw Something. The Pictionary-like game would have teams of celebrities and everyday folks put their quick drawing skills to the test. And viewers could play along on the app at home, making it a more interactive take on past game shows like Win, Lose or Draw.

Mozilla, the organization behind FireFox, is working on a web browser for the iPad. It's called Junior, and it'll be a bit different from a typical browser design. For example, the toolbar is gone and there are are large buttons on the left and right of the screen to navigate through pages. No word on when it'll be available.

Verizon is offering a new top-tier high speed internet for FiOS service, at 300Mbps, for $210 dollars a month. It's likely you don't need that level of speed, but FiOS customers might want to check out the other new speed bundles and pricing tiers available.

Microsoft is announcing its new product Monday night, and it has everyone talking tablets. So today's I help sort out all the speculation. I think I made a pretty fair guess at what the new product will look like, don't ya think?

Ultrabook

Sony Vaio T13 Ultrabook Price in India specipications

·         Processor: Intel Core i3-2367M

·         RAM memory: 4GB,

·         Harddrive: 32GB SSD, Display: 13.3inch

·         Optical Drive:

·         Operating System:

·         Resolution: 1366x768, Screen Type: LED-backlit LCD

·         Weight: 1.6kg , Dimension: 323 x 216 x 18mm

·         Graphic Processor: Intel HD Graphics 3000

·         Camera: 1.3 Megapixel

·         Wireless LAN: 802.11b/g/n,

·         USB Port: 2 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 2.0, Mic In: Yes,RJ45 LAN: Yes, HDMI Port: Yes, VGA Port: Yes

 HP Pavilion DV6 7010TX Price in India Specifications

Best Available Price: 
Rs. 59360/-

·         Processor: 3rd Generation Core i7

·         Chipset: Intel HM77 Express

·         RAM memory: 6 GB DDR3, Expandable Memory: Up to 16 GB

·         Harddrive: 640 GB, Display: 15.6 Inch

·         Optical Drive: SuperMulti DVDR/RW with Double Layer Support

·         Operating System: Window 7 Home Premium

·         Resolution: 1366 x 768 Pixel, Screen Type:Widescreen BrightView LED-backlit Display

·         Graphic memory: 2 GB, Graphic Processor:NVIDIA GeForce 630M

·         Camera: 1.3 Megapixel

·         Wireless LAN: IEEE 802.11 b/g/n,

·         Audio and Speakers: Beats (Quad Speakers with Internal Subwoofer),

·         USB Port: 3 x USB 3.0,

iOS 6 to dump support for original iPad, 3rd-generation iPod Touch?

Both devices missing from a purported full list of developer releases for Apple's next-generation mobile OS.

It's not unusual for Apple to drop iOS support for hardware a couple of generations old, and that is the rumored fate of the original iPad or third-generation iPod Touch.

When Apple unveils its iOS 6 beta, which is expected to happen tomorrow at the World Wide Developers Conference in San Francisco, the two devices will not be among those supported by the newest version of Apple's mobile operating system, according to a WeiPhone forum post that purports to have the full list of developer releases for both iOS 6 and OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion.Those making the cut appear to be the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, and iPhone 3GS, as well as the fourth-generation iPod and both versions of Apple TV.

However, it's possible that the forum list is incomplete or that Apple hasn't generated links for the devices. Clicking on the existing links provided yields only a message that the session has expired.

The new version of the software that powers iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and Apple TV is expected to include an overhauled mapping application with 3D features similar to the ones Google demoed just days ago. Another rumor has it that Apple will add Siri, its popular voice assistant software that so far has been an iPhone 4S exclusive, for owners of Apple's latest tablet.

HP and Oracle, now headed for a split, could have split up Sun

The companies once considered buying Sun together, with HP taking the hardware and Oracle the software

One of the more surprising episodes in Hewlett-Packard and Oracle's ill-fated enterprise IT partnership was touched upon for only a few minutes during testimony in their breach-of-contract trial earlier this week. But that event -- fruitless talks aimed at a joint acquisition and breakup of Sun Microsystems -- may have been one of the sources of their current rancor.

Ann Livermore, an HP board member and the former head of the company's enterprise business, briefly discussed the companies' unrealized idea during cross-examination by Oracle's attorney in Santa Clara County Superior Court, in San Jose, California, on Tuesday. Before Oracle made its successful $7.4 billion bid for Sun in April 2009, it talked with HP about buying the troubled server and software company together. Under that plan, Sun's hardware assets would have become part of HP and its software would have gone to Oracle.

[ Dell, HP, IBM blade servers battle for the virtual data center; find out which comes out on top in InfoWorld Test Center's review. | Keep up on the day's tech news headlines with InfoWorld'sToday's Headlines: Wrap Up newsletter. ]

HP also considered acquiring Sun on its own, an idea it ultimately dropped, partly because it had seen Sun's server sales decline, according to Livermore. But the surprising scheme to buy Sun in a three-way deal with Oracle might have made sense at the time, industry analysts say. And it wouldn't have been so surprising prior to 2009, because the companies were close then. The deal might have prevented the game-changing acquisition that turned the cozy partners into major competitors: Oracle's takeover of all of Sun, including its enterprise server business.

Now HP is suing Oracle, saying it breached a contract by ending software development for future versions of HP's Itanium chips. Oracle has countersued, accusing HP of lying and defamation.

How the deal might have helped

A joint acquisition would have allowed both companies to strengthen their core businesses of the time, which were complementary, industry analysts said.

"Dividing it up would have made sense, especially since HP at that point didn't really have a great interest in or great assets around software," said analyst Charles King of Pund-IT. For large enterprises, HPs greatest interest was in supplying high-availability Integrity servers from its BCS (Business Critical Systems) division to run customers' software, much of which came from Oracle. Taking over Sun's server business would have helped it do so.

Cute Pantech Swift messaging phone joins AT&T

AT&T is trotting out a new QWERTY messaging phone, the Pantech Swift, going on sale today.

With its lavender accents, there's little question of Pantech's young audience, and the compact phone is appropriately priced at $69.99 with two-year contract and after a $50 mail-in rebate.

The QWERTY keyboard, by the way, supplements the otherwise too-small 2.8-inch QVGA touch screen. Pantech has also added some curvature -- a slightly curved screen that also angles up when you slide it open. Button-pushers will also get a single hardware select button beneath the phone's face.

The Swift comes with a 2-megapixel camera with video capture, a Web browser, and an onboard e-mail client. There are also social networking clients onboard like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace, plus AT&T's usual roundup of family-tracking and navigation apps. Yellow Pages Mobile and several game demos come preloaded as well.

The good: The Pantech Swift QWERTY slider is cute as a button, has an angled screen, and uses finger-friendly icons and a home button for easy navigation.

The bad: The Swift is scuffable despite its weight, its processor is extremely slow, and the touch screen is unresponsive.

The bottom line: Though the Pantech Swift is the most appealing Pantech handset on AT&T with a keyboard, but sufficient flaws keep us hesitant to recommend it widely.

The Swift accepts up to 32GB in expandable memory, but has a slower processor (600MHz) and a smaller battery (1,000mAh) than we'd like.

Fellow CNET mobile editor Lynn La and I got our hands on the phone ahead of launch -- catch out full Pantech Swift review here.

Google becomes the default search engine in Russian Firefox

When Firefox v.14 touches down in Russia, Google will take the place of Russia's own Yandex as the default search engine, says a report.

When the next version of Firefox hits the streets in Russia, Google -- and not Russia's own Yandex -- will be the default search engine.

That's according to The Next Web, which speculates that though Yandex enjoys a 60 percent share of Russia's search market compared with Google's approximately 26.5 percent, Google may be leveraging its support of Firefox maker Mozilla to convince the company to give it top billing in Firefox version 14.

Google and Firefox struck a three-year deal in December that set Google as the default Firefox search engine outside Russia. Financial details weren't disclosed, but some said at the time that the deal is worth at least $900,000 to Mozilla.

A Yandex rep told TNW that the effect of the change on its revenue and profitability would be negligible. The rep also said that at least until the end of this year Yandex will continue to develop and distribute a Yandex-branded version of Firefox with Yandex as the default search tool, under its current agreement with Firefox. Yandex will also remain among the search engine options in the standard release of Firefox, which allows users to change the default search provider whenever they wish.

We've contacted Google and Mozilla for comment and will update this story when we hear back.

Men in Black 3

Men in Black III - Releasing on 25th May, 2012

Directed by: Barry Sonnenfeld

Starring: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Jemaine Clement, Emma Thompson

Genres: Action Comedy Sequel Fantasy Sci-Fi 3D Shot-In-3D

Writers:

Etan Cohen, Lowell Cunningham 

IMDB Rating : 7.2

Men in Black 3 (stylized as MIB3 and Men in Black III) is a 2012 American 3D science fiction comedy film starring Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, and Josh Brolin. The film was released on May 25, 2012, ten years after its predecessor Men in Black II and fifteen years after the release of the original Men in Black. It also stars Jemaine Clement and Emma Thompson with Barry Sonnenfeld returning as director, and Steven Spielberg returning as executive producer. The film is the third installment in the Men in Black film series which is based on the The Men in Black comic book series from Malibu / Marvel Comics by Lowell Cunningham. Principal photography began in New York City on November 16, 2010.

Plot

The intergalactic criminal Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement) is aided in escape by his girlfriend, Lily Poison (Nicole Scherzinger), from the LunarMax prison on Earth's moon. He is intent on going back in time and killing Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones), who on July 16, 1969, shot off his arm and captured him. After investigating a spaceship crash in New York City, and following a skirmish in a Chinese restaurant, Boris appears, and K and J give chase. Boris reveals to K, "you are already dead, you just don't know it yet," and then disappears in an explosion. K deduces that Boris has escaped, and K regrets not having killed him. K returns to his apartment, and suddenly all traces of him disappear. Agent J (Will Smith), however, still remembers K, though no one else at Men in Black headquarters does.

ion of Earth by his race, the Boglodites, due to the absence of the protective ArcNet shield around Earth, which was installed by K in 1969. Aided by electronic-shop owner Jeffrey Price (Michael Chernus), son of Boris' fellow prisoner Obadiah Price (Lanny Flaherty), who created the time-travel device, J time-jumps off the Chrysler Building to reach time-travel velocity (Jeffrey also cryptically, though excitedly, informing J that the reason he remembers K where nobody else can is because he was 'there'). With only 24 hours to stop Boris, J arrives a day before Boris kills K.

Production

The film's premise was first proposed to director Barry Sonnenfeld by Will Smith during the filming of Men in Black II in 2002, with Smith suggesting that his character, Agent J, travel back in time to save his partner, Agent K, while at the same time exploring Agent K's backstory. Sonnenfeld said the idea "turned out to be a very long process of development, mainly because of the knotting [sic] issues of time travel...", The film was first announced on April 1, 2009, by Sony Pictures Entertainment president Rory Bruer during a Sony ShoWest presentation. By October 2009, Etan Cohen had been hired to write the screenplay. As of March 2010, Will Smith remained undecided whether to join this film or another, The City That Sailed. Sonnenfeld in May 2010 confirmed the return of the protagonists played by Tommy Lee Jones and Smith. Both had expressed interest in 2008 in reprising their roles. Other staff includes Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald as producers, with Steven Spielberg as executive producer; all were producers of the two previous films.

In June, writer David Koepp was hired to rewrite the Cohen script. On June 11, 2010, the fan site SonyInsider.com posted what it described as a "clip that debuted at an exclusive Sony 3D TV launch event at Sony Pictures Studios", showing Smith dressed as Agent J wearing 3-D glasses and stating, "I know what you're thinking — 'M.I.B.', 3-D, we're going to be blowing stuff up and all that. But that's not really what we're doing right now. We're here for one purpose, and for one purpose only: Just to let you know that I'm about to make 3-D look good."A teaser poster for the film was also released on September 21, 2010.A third writer, Jeff Nathanson, was hired in November 2010 to rewrite the time-travel segment of the script in which the story takes place in 1969. Nathanson and Koepp, along with producer Spielberg, had previously worked together on the 2008 film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Dirt:Showdown

Dirt: Showdown
Box art
Developer(s)	Code masters Southam
Publisher(s)	Code masters
Distributor(s)	·         Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Series	Colin McRae Rally
Engine	EGO 2.0
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows PlayStation 3 Xbox 360
Release date(s)	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 ·         25 May 2012 ·         12 June 2012 Microsoft Windows ·          31 May 2012 ·         23 May 2012
Genre(s)	Racing
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multiplayer
Rating(s)	·         ESRB: E10+ ·         PEGI: 7
Media/distribution	Optical disc
System requirements Recommended specifications §  Windows Vista or Windows 7 §  AMD Bulldozer or Intel Core i7 §  3GB of RAM §  Graphics Card: AMD HD6000 Series or NVidia GTX500 Series §  DirectX 11 §  15GB of Hard Drive §  DirectX Compatible Sound Card Minimum specifications §  Windows: Vista, Windows 7 §  AMD Athlon 64 X2 or Intel Pentium D 3.4GHz §  2GB of RAM §  Graphics Card: ATI Radeon HD2000 Series or NVidia 8000 Series §  DirectX 9 §  15GB of Hard Drive §  DirectX Compatible Sound Card

Dirt: Showdown (stylised as DiRT: Showdown) is a video game published and developed by Codemasters for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It was released on 25 May 2012 in Europe, and it will be released on 12 June in North America. It is part of the Colin McRae Rally game series.

            

The announcement trailer was released on YouTube on 11 December 2011. The soundtrack in the trailer was "Earthquake" by Labrinth.

The official gameplay trailer was released on 26 January 2012 which featured the song "Mother of Girl" by Eighteen Nightmares at the Lux. This song is also the lead track in the game.

Gameplay

The player is entered in a series of "Tour" events, which offer a range of races and tournaments to compete in. Winning these events gives the player prize money — which can be spent buying new cars or upgrading existing ones — and unlocks further races. Upon the successful completion of the series final, the next difficulty setting is unlocked, featuring faster opponents and longer races.

Dirt: Showdown removes several of the gameplay modes featured Dirt 3, and introduces new ones. Gameplay modes can be classified as Racing, Demolition, Hoonigan or Party.

Racing

Race-Off — A straight-forward race with eight cars on the circuit. Obstacles, including jumps, barricades and piles of debris litter the circuit.

Domination — A points-based mode of play where the circuit is divided up into four sectors and players are awarded points for setting the fastest sector times. The winner is the driver who finishes with the most points, rather than the first player across the line.

Elimination - A race which features a timer. Each time the timer reaches zero, the driver in last place is eliminated.

Demolition

Rampage — Eight cars take part in a demolition contest set in an arena. Points are awarded for crashing into other cars, with bonus points on offer for destroying a rival's car. Destroyed cars re-spawn in the arena.

Knock Out — A variation on Rampage where the arena features an elevated table-like structure. Points are awarded for crashing into other cars, with bonus points on offer for pushing a rival off the table. Destroyed cars re-spawn at the bottom of a ramp leading back up to the table.

Hard Target — The player starts in the centre of the arena and must fend off attacks from other cars, with more cars being regularly added. The winner is the driver who survives the longest.

8-Ball — Racing takes place on circuits that feature multiple cross-overs. These cross-overs are open intersections that allow player and AI cars to collide with one another.

Hoonigan

Trick Rush — Similar to the Gymkhana mode in Dirt 3. Players are given a limited time to complete as many tricks as possible, which are then scored.

Head 2 Head — Two drivers must complete an obstacle course as quickly as possible, successfully completeing tricks along the course. At the end of the first round, the drivers switch lanes for a second attempt. The winner is the driver with the fastest aggregate time after two runs.

Smash Hunter — The player smashes through coloured foam bricks in the order that they are called as quickly as possible. Smashing the wrong colour forces the player to back-track and find the right bricks to smash.

Party

Party modes are only available in multiplayer.

Smash & Grab - A race where one team grabs the loot and the other team needs to get a hold on it by "hitting" the opponents. the team that holds the loot for the longest period in the game wins.

Transporter - A race where you will be forced to grab the flag and bring it to the base, the player that brings the flag to the base the most times wins.

Speed Skirmish - A time-based mode in which drivers need to race through 6 checkpoints in any order before finishing.

Unlike Dirt 3, most of Dirt: Showdown's cars are fictional. Real-life models are only available for use in the Hoonigan and Party modes.