A Feel of James Bond!

Have you ever watched James Bond and thought, "imagine I had that gadget, that'd be soo cool!"

Well now thanks to Liquid Image techsters, were coming closer to feeling like James Bond! 

Introducing the all new....UNDERWATER VIDEO CAMERA!! 

This liquid image goggle can be used to film while swimming, snorkelling or scuba diving. 

To operate the Liquid Image goggles users turn on the camera, choose the mode then press the shutter button. LED lights inside the goggle indicate the mode to the user.  Once recorded, users can then upload the video to their computer using the USB cable provided.

There are three types of goggles in the Underwater Range.  The Explorer Series 302 is for snorkeling, swimming and playing in the pool.  It can go to a depth of 5 metres and shoots video at 20 frames per second at VGA quality.  It can shoot stills up to 5 megapixels and comes in a bright yellow colour making you visible in the water.

Then there is the VideoMask 310, which shoots DVD quality footage at 30 frames per second. It can be used at a depth of 20 metres and also records sound.  It’s designed for snorkeling, and shallow and recreational dives.  It comes in black and red.

For SCUBA diving, spear fishing, and deep diving, there is the Scuba Series HD320. It is said to shoot HD quality at 30 frames per second up to 40 metres.  This mask also records sound and has a ‘straight to TV’ playback option.  This is the blue mask in the range.

Both the VideoMask 310 and the Scuba Series HD 320 have attachments for optional lights and all three masks can record onto a Micro SD card. These underwater goggles run on AAA batteries and can record over two hours of video before the batteries will need to be changed. 

Need more be said techsters? These gadgets will sell themselves regardless of whether or not I continue to talk about it! 

For more information techsters check out the video! 

Remember; surfing the web does NOT count as a type of aquatic activity :) 

Happy Surfing Techers! 

Norton- The New Big Brother

Techsters embrace yourself for this....

"Symantec has announced the availability of the public beta of Norton 360 version 5.0, an AWARD WINNING- ALL IN ONE security suite"! 

To break it down for you here are the things you NEED TO KNOW about Norton 5.0! 

1. It incorporates the security protection found in Norton Internet Security 2011 (which was mind-blowing!) 
2. It checks specific attributes of downloaded files to identify and stop new malicious programs, despite the browser, instant messaging or file sharing program you may be using. 
3. It identifies programs that cause slowdowns [and notifies users]. 
4. Delivers protection including Download Insight 2.0 which basically chekcs every download file for malware before it is allowed to run using the latest generation reputation system known as SONAR (3). 
5. Sonar 3 provides protection against new and emerging threats designed to evade other security features. 
6. Identifies safe websites. 
7. Offers the option to store and backup important files online and restore or access them from anywhere on the Web. 
8. Designed to improve performance 
9. Norton 5.0 is designed to use minimal space requirements and will run silently in the background as opposed to Norton 4 which was deemed "heavy" and required CPUs to have a minimum of 1GB RAM. 
10. The new Norton Protection Map provides up to the minute information about the newest threats Norton has identified and is protecting its users from such viruses.

The new Norton 5.0 has been given 4 out of 5 stars by users and reviewers. 

Techers, this is one software you DONT want to miss out on!!

For more information click on the link below;

Norton 360 Download

Or visit the public forum and read what other users and reviwers have to say about the new Norton version 5.0!! :D

Norton Public Forum


Have a great day!! :)

5 Cool Apps For Our Techsters! :D

Techsters remember, having the latest mobile device is one thing- but having the best apps on that device is another. There is a train of thought out in geek-land that the device is not so important anymore - it’s all about apps. We here at Tech. Up Your Life, couldn't agree more! Which is why we have decided to showcase some of those funky apps that you might have missed, apps we believe will cater to you [the techsters of the 21st Century] - and what’s more, they’re free, free...FREE!!!

[in no particular order, here are our five favourite apps]

1. Dropbox 

Dropbox lets you share your files with any user and computer that is online. Accessing your files is no longer a hassle and you don’t even have to worry about running out of precious storage space. Its a great app and definitely worth the download.

2. Webex

Want to host an online meeting? Then you need Webex, and you don't need to have a Webex account to attend a meeting. The Webex app from Cisco allows you to view documents, applications, or remote desktops and also includes simultaneous two-way audio so you can join in the conversation. It’s like Skype for the business/techy person.

3. Gist

So you and your techsters have a heap of online professional contact sites as well as a number social networking one’s. But how do you keep track of all this information? By using Gist of course. Gist coagulates a full view of the contacts in your network by creating rich profiles that include the most news, status updates and all other work details of the list.

4. Pandora

Pumping up the jam or just listening to your favourite radio station is as easy as pie with Pandora. I love how you can use it from any device you own and it’s consistently the same. Pandora allows you to pick any musical artist and then it will play songs from that artist along with others songs that are similar.  Pandora allows you to discover new music as well as enjoying the music you already know and love.

5. Air Video

If you want the best solution for streaming media from desktop to your iPad, then you’d be hard-pressed to beat Air Video. You install the Air Video Server, then enter the IP address of the desktop into the app, and finally follow the prompts – you now have a mobile media server, its that simple! 

For more information on these apps, or any other apps click on the link provided below and simple search for your favourites :) 

Apps For Ipad 

Hoping this helped, techers! 

Good Night! :)

"The Social Network"- Film Of The Year!

TECHSTERS YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS!!! :)

Being a software engineering in the making, I'm a HUGE fan of movies that relate to my field, some of which include Die Hard 4.0, Hackers, Anti-Trust, Sneakers and so forth. 

Over the last few years I've grown more and more interested in Mark Zuckerberg. Apparently, Mark (CEO and founder of Facebook) is worth 6.6 Billion dollars (due to his 25% share holdings in the facebook company). He is said to be the "Youngest Billionaire Ever". Thus you can see my interest in him :) 

A movie was recently released (thanks to wikipedias updates) titled "The Social Network" which gives the audience an insight into Mark Zuckerberg's life and the way he created Facebook. However it must be noted that like all movies, the screenwriters have added their own bits and pieces, thus it cannot be defined as a documentary or a biography of Zuckerbergs life. There are certain elements in this movie which are misleading and false- however, nonetheless the movie is simply brilliant! 

Reviewers (such as abc.net, yourmovie.com and moviereviews.com) have given this film an average rating 4.5 out of 5 stars. 

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone, gave the film his first ever four out of five stars whilst adding "The Social Network is definitely the Movie of the Year". 

The Harvard Crimson Review gave this film five stars claiming it to be "flawless". 

Overall Tech-ers, it is our belief, here at Tech. Up Your Life, that "YOU SHOULDN'T MISS IT!!!" 

Check out the trailer below and follow the movie on twitter, facebook or on their website; 

"www.thesocialnetwork-movie.com"

The Social Network releases in Australia on the 28th of October 2010- "I pity the fool who misses such a remarkable film, I pity the fool!!" :) 

Happy Coding Techsters!! :D 

[Alternatively]

Check out the trailer on You Tube, by clicking on the link below. 

The Social Network Trailer

The kmplayer - the most popular media player in asia

Hey Techsters
 

Yesterday I was discussing the media player software with my friend. 

He was unhappy about the windows media player only plays a small number of formats, for example, WMV. 

He asked me is there a software that can play all the formats.

And I suggested him to use the kmplayer. 

The kmplayer is the most popular media player software for Microsoft Windows in asia. It was created in Korea by YoungHuee Kang, who is a well known computer guru in Korea.

Nowadays, about 60% of the windows users are using the kmplayer as their media player.

The reasons why the kmplayer is so successful are as follow. 

The good

It supports a large number of formats. (AVI, MKV, 3GP, WMV, FLV.etc)

It handles a wide range of subtitles.

It is very user friendly.

The player can set multifarious audio and video effects.

The bad

It will crush with realplayer when playing MOV format. However it can be solved by downloading the Quicktime Codec.

There is too many Codec/ Filters.

So, does it look good? Try it if you are not satisfied with your media player!

For more details

please visit the kmplayer's forums

Samsung N150, is it worthy?

Techsters, Techsters, Techsters!!!! 


So I recently got my hands on the new Samsung N150 laptop and I must say, it truly is an amazing piece of work. For some odd reason samsung seems not to have a very reputable name when it comes to netbooks, however after this review I'm hoping you'll reconsider. There are a number of improvements samsung has been to its netbook, some of which include

(Note: Reviewed over a 7 day trail period. Commenced on Tuesday the 5th of October and concluded today, the 11th October 2010) 

The Good

1. 8 Hour Battery Life 
2. 10.1 Inch (high resolution [1024 x 600]) screen
3. Only 1.25 kilograms (based on the websites information- I don't have a laptop scale lying around :)
4. 1.66 GHz Processor (amazing for a 10" laptop)!! 
5. 250 GB HARDRIVE !!! 
6. 3 x USB Ports 
7. Slick and groovy style/design (my opinion) :)

So really, do I need to say more about this portable marvel? 

Although this laptop seems to be flawless, we here at Tech. Up Your Life are all about the pros and cons. We NEVER give a bias review. Thus there were definitely a number a flaws I found in this laptop as well. 

The Bad 

1. Small keyboard (I'm a man with big fingers, and therefore I require space when typing) 
2. Lack of colour options 
3. Small screen can hurt your eyes for an extended period of time. (i.e- after 7 hours of working for this reviewer) :)

However tech-ers overall I highly recommend this laptop for anyone that wants a fast, reliable and portable device on the go!!! 

Definitely a 4 out of 5!!! :) 

Killzone 3 [Beta] Soon To Be Available!

Sony Computer Entertainment today announced a beta trail for the upcoming Killzone 3 game (on PS3). Sony is believed to be putting this first person shooter game to the test, thus allowing the public to trial, test and later comment the game. In their opinion the best critics are the fans themselves, and we here at Tech. Up Your Life couldn't agree more! 

On 25 October, fans of the franchise will have their chance to sample the multiplayer mode for Killzone 3, including the all-new ‘Operations’ game type, party system, and jetpack and exoskeleton vehicles.

Participants will be able to shape the final experience themselves – the trial will call for fans to provide honest gameplay feedback, report any bugs and cheats they find, and help test the network code in large-scale, real-world scenarios

Access will only be granted to the first 10,000 PlayStation Plus subscribers in PAL territories (including Australia). 

Fellow Techsters/Gamers, in order to secure yourself a place, follow these simply steps I've narrated below (and join me, hopefully, in testing the beta version of Killzone 3) :)

• Become a PlayStation Plus subscriber
• Download the Killzone 3 XMB Themefrom PlayStation Plus section of the PlayStation Store on October 14
• Check your email. If you’re among the first 10,000 to download the Killzone 3 XMB Theme, you will receive an email on October 25th containing the Public Beta Trial promotion code and further instructions through the address you registered as your PSN Sign-In ID
• I hope you all get the opportunity to be apart of this beta version. 

Once again, Happy Gaming!!! :) 

For more information on this click on the link provided below! 

Killzone 3 (Beta)

Student’s Discovery Advances Nanotech Research

TECHSTERS!!!!!!! 

A UT Graduate student in Dallas, Texas attained results which could ultimately lead to high-performance nanoelectronics applications such as electron emitters, thermal-infrared night-vision sensors and solar absorbers for harvesting sunlight. :O

What does this mean, I hear you scream? (as you sip your diet coke and eat your chips)

Well fellow tech-ers this could mean that thanks to Muge Acik's work with graphene,we may one be able to  replace silicon in applications like ultrafast transistor with.... wait for it.....

" A Single Sheet of Carbon" (with electronic and mechanical properties obviously). 


How does it work? 
Well making real-world devices from graphene is greate, however it, depends upon controlling the edges of graphene sheets, which often dictate the material's electronic properties. Simply adding oxygen atoms at the edges may turn graphene INTO AN... INSULATOR!! :)


Acik discovered a new infrared absorption mechanism when GO (graphene oxide, for the scientifically challenged readers) is annealed to about 850°C to remove most oxygen. The result was a VERY special arrangement of oxygen atoms at the edges. This stable conifg. fosters the electronic conduction/emission necessary for device operations and for electron emitters.

"This new phenomenon opens the door to tailoring giant infrared absorption at different spectral positions by modifying the nature of the edge termination," she said.

We here at Tech. Up Your Life are simply astounded with Muge's hardwork and discovery. We will indeed be keeping a close eye on her in the future, and will update our fellow techsters immediately, on any new breakthroughs :)

HTC vs iPhone 4 [again!]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Its time we [Tech Up Your Life], do what every other blog/website has been doing.....

Compare HTC with the iPhone 4!!! 

Although Steven Jobs beleives "you cannot compare the two", we thought we'd go ahead and take a stab at the two most talked about phones for the year!!

For your ease Techsters, we've undertaken these tests on October 8th 2010 at 1:15am. We hope this comparison will provide you with soem great insight into these gadgets:)

Enjoy!!!

	iPhone 4	HTC Desire
Operating system	iOS 4	Android 2.1
HSUPA (High-Speed Uplink Packet Access)	5.6Mbps	2Mbps
Wi-Fi	802.11b/g/n	802.11b/g
GPS	Yes	Yes
Accelerometer	Yes	Yes
Gyroscope (aka 3D Gaming)	Yes	No
Screen size	3.5-inch	3.7-inch
Screen resolution	960x640	800x480
Processor	1GHz*	1GHz
RAM	256MB*	576MB
Internal storage	32GB	512MB
Expandable memory	No	Yes (with 512 MB you'd hope so)

Comparing even further 
Its very difficult to compare both the HTC and the iPhone 4 nowadays because both phones have grown and have become the best they can be, after various trial and errors tests. However the major difference is the way both systems display content. Both systems use multi-panel home screens that users can customise with app shortcuts, folders, direct dialling shortcuts and web browser bookmarks, but Android takes the home screen one step further with widgets! Widgets allow users to have important information on their homscreen whereas the iPhone 4 requires users to go into that application.

Multitasking 
Whats funny is that iPhone 4 users have been crying out for multitasking ever since the release of the iPhone 3G. However Android mobile phones have allowed multitasking since day one. Nontheless this gives users the opportunity to scroll in between tasks and open applications from where they left it last. However whats ironic is that these applications don't offer true multitasking, but instead save an application's state in the background.

App Stores 
The fact that the Apple App Store has nearly five times as many apps as Android, explains why it is the better store. For starters, gamers have a simple choice, and until Android developers catch up with excellent 3D games, the iPhone is the only real choice for entertainment. The only thing we love about the Apple App Store is the ability to browse the store on our PCs and side-load apps to the phone.

However nontheless, we personally feel that we cannot come to a common consensus as to which "phone is better". Both phones function on two different levels and thus we leave the conclusion and verdict to you, the Techsters!! :)


Feel free to comment and give us your input on the matter! :)


HTC vs iPhone 4, whats your take?

The New Razor Gaming Mouse [A Must See!!]

Hiya Techsters,

Some of you may not be into gaming as much as I am, however the new Razor Gaming Mouse might change that (for some). Introducing the ALL NEW.... 

RAZOR NAGA SPECIAL EDITION GAMING MOUSE!!!!

The newly released Razer Nanga generated overwhelmingly positive reviews/feedback from gamers, as well as large businesses and reviewers such as Amazon.com, EBGames.com.au and NewEgg.com. With reviews such as “Finally, the mouse I've been waiting for! 5/5” and “If you play WoW, get this mouse. 5/5”, Razor can be rest assured they've done a brillant job!! 

Some of the breathtaking features of this new mouse include; 

• Funky colours and design 
• Amazing grip and precision 
• Designed primarly for MMO games (Massive Multiplayer Online Games)
• Features 17 MMO-optimised buttons with macro functionality. 
• Shifts the balance between keyboard and mouse  (keyboard on left side of the mouse) 

This  amazing little creature is said to be the "best gaming mouse" with a reasonable price tag attached. Ranging from $149-160, you can be rest assured Razor will not dissapoint!

For more infomration on this product feel free to roam the EB Games website! :)

Razor Gaming Mouse at EB Games

Happy Gaming, fellow Techsters.

Alienware M Series take the "Notebook of The Year Awar" [CNET]

 

AND THE WINNER IS..... :) 

Hey there Techsters,

Alienware M17X Notebook has be awarded a Gold Medal by readers of CNET as the "Best Performance Notbook" for the year of 2009-2010.

The Good 

• Amazingly fast and powerful (as opposed to the previous models)  
• Highly configurable; which means you now have the ability of maximising the graphics card, SD slots, hard drive and much more!
•  Most powerful processor amd graphics combination on any gaming laptop.
• Vivid HD widescreen display with HDMI output port 
• Optional intel core i5 and i7 (processors enable increased performance while maintaining long battery life)
• Mean design (ideal for extreme gamers)
• More Ram(meaning more performance without increased power consumption)
• Capable of replacing a desktop PC 

The Bad 

• The price. M17X laptops range from  $3,000- 4,000 
• Can be quite heavy- 5.5kg 
• Can heat up around the palm rest area if extensively used 
• Keep board is a bit too spaced out
• Trackpad isn't very finger friendly (size wise and heat level wise as well)

Overall Tech-ers, this laptop has been given an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars by most users and reviewers!! :)

Click on the link below for more details on this laptop! :)

Alienware M17X Laptop- For The Win! 

Call of Duty- 3D Style

Hi there Tech-ers,

The new edition to the Call of Duty franchise titled "Black Ops", will  now be available in 3D gaming mode! (as of Mpve,ner 9th)

Activision today announced that " the game will be compatible with 3D-ready HDTVs and 3D PCs utilising state-of-the-art active shutter 3D glasses, delivering depth of field and a level of immersion that is suited for the Call of Duty action experience".

Need more be said Tech-ers? 

This brillant piece of news was met with great enthusiasm from various gamers [including myself] on a number of different console forums.

“Development of stereoscopic 3D began as an R&D project, but once we saw what the technology brought to the Call of Duty experience, what a great fit and how immersive it was, we knew that we had to develop it for Black Ops. Aiming down the sights of your weapons, flying in helicopters, rappelling down mountains, and moving through highly detailed environments are just some of the awesome experiences you will have in 3D with Black Ops,” says Mark Lamia, Studio Head of Treyarch.

Its with immense happiness that we can also announce that Call of Duty: Black Ops will be playable in both 3D and non-3D on the Xbox 360 consoles and entertainment system from Microsoft,  PlayStation 3 and Windows  PC.

For more information on this topic, feel free to click on link provided below.

Black Ops in 3D


Happy Gaming, Tech-ers!!  :)

Apple iPad Get a Taste of Photoshop!

Hi There Tech-ers,

You will be pleased to know that Adobe recently released Adobe Photoshop Express for Apple iPphones and iPads. After playing with this application for approximately two hours I was very impressed!

Photoshop Express for iPad delivers all of the popular photo-editing features iPhone users have enjoyed, such as Crop, Rotate and Flip, as well as fun and eye-catching effects like Vibrant, Pop, Border, and Vignette (which are not availabe on iPhones).

Photoshop Express for iPad also allows users to;

• Change the orientation of a photos from landscape to portrait and vice versa. 
• Edit multiple images in a sequence, and then simultaneously upload each photo to Facebook or Twitter. 
• The new mutli-tasking feature for iPads will allow users to close the app and reopen it from the position we left it last! (ahhh multi-tasking, where would we be without you!!!)  
• I also found that the new organiser tool also simplifies album sharing as well. 

Overall, this application is simply amazing on the high retina display of an iPad!

Bravo Adobe!! :)

For more information on this, click on the link listed below.

Photoshop on iPad