Make and receive calls in Gmail

Google Voice lets you manage all your phone communications and seamlessly make and receive calls on any of your existing phones. But what if you don’t have your phone with you? Or what if you’re in a place with poor cell phone reception, or you’re travelling internationally and don’t want to incur expensive roaming charges? Wouldn’t it be great if you could use your computer to make or receive calls?

The Nokia N8

Take amazing photos and videos, connect to your favourite social networks and be entertained with the latest Web TV programs and Ovi Store apps.
The Nokia N8 introduces a 12 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and Xenon flash, HD-quality video recording, film editing software and Dolby surround sound. All in a beautiful, aluminium design.


More about Nokia N8. . . 
Nokia N8 Hands on review. . .

iPort rolls out in-wall Control Mount for iPad

iPort has rolled out its new CM-IW2000 in-wall Control Mount for the iPad. The CM-IW2000 stylishly mounts the iPad in the wall in either vertical or horizontal orientation, providing constant power, allowing full access to the Home button and screen, while replicating the power button on the edge of the frame. It also provides the user with control of audio, video, lighting and climate on the mounted iPad when the control application is connected via Wi-Fi to a compatible control system. iPort’s new CM-IW2000 in-wall Control Mount for the iPad is available now and sells for $499.

Hyundai under Korean Influence . . .

Hyundai and Kia are trying to hold on to their U.S. sales momentum by entering new segments, moving the brands upscale and bringing out vehicles with more eye-catching design.


The corporate cousins share vehicle platforms, a complicated Korean ownership structure and a story line: strong U.S. sales growth fueled by an onslaught of new vehicles with attractive new styling and loaded with technology.


Hyundai and Kia were part of an exclusive club last year: They were two of only three brands to achieve a sales gain in the United States. And each has improved its market share in 2010.


As the two Koreans launch new and redesigned products, they hope to carve out distinct identities and go after different customers.

Dave Zuchowski, Hyundai Motor America’s sales boss, says the brand is pursuing baby boomers who in the past have sought quality and reliability in Honda and Toyota showrooms.


On the other hand, Kia is targeting younger buyers with vehicles made to be stylish and fun to drive.


Both are squeezing into new niches. Hyundai plans its $60,000-plus Equus sedan and the small, sporty Veloster coupe. Kia may replace the Rondo compact minivan with a tall five-door model based on the same platform as the Hyundai i30 sold in Europe.


The brands also are moving upscale with the likes of the Equus, Hyundai’s redesigned Azera and Kia’s Cadenza successor for the Amanti.


Both brands continue to work at shaking off their images as makers of bland budget cars. Kia’s redesigned Optima sedan will have a sporty shape, and Hyundai is giving the swoopy Sonata-like look to the next Elantra.


Alternative-fuel vehicles also are in the pipeline. Kia plans a hybrid version of the Optima and is kicking around the idea of a dedicated hybrid. Hyundai plans a hybrid Sonata and will unveil a fuel cell vehicle in 2012.

Apple applies for patent to kill jailbroken devices

Apple is apparently ramping up its battle to prevent iPhone and iPod owners from jailbreaking their devices.
The company has applied for a patent, titled "Systems and Methods for Identifying Unauthorized Users of an Electronic Device," that covers a series of security measures to automatically protect devices from thieves and other "unauthorized users." Unauthorized users apparently applies to those who engage in jailbreaking, which allows devices to run apps not approved by the company producing the operating system--such as Apple, the main target of such bypasses.
The application, which was filed in February 2009 and published Thursday, describes measures to identify "particular activities that may indicate suspicious behavior," so that "safety measures" can be taken to restrict the device's functions. Those activities include the "hacking, jailbreaking, unlocking, or removal of a SIM card," according to the application. Apple also intends to send warnings to owners via e-mail or text message when such activity is detected.
The application also describes a variety of measures that could be used to help identify the unauthorized user, including the activation of a camera that could capture and geotag the device's surroundings, and perhaps current user, and transmit that information to a remote device:
 In some embodiments, an unauthorized user can be detected by comparing the identity of the current user to the identities of authorized users of the electronic device. For example, a photograph of the current user can be taken, a recording of the current user's voice can be recorded, the heartbeat of the current user can be recorded, or any combination of the above. The photograph, recording, or heartbeat can be compared, respectively, to a photograph, recording, or heartbeat of authorized users of the electronic device to determine whether they match. If they do not match, the current user can be detected as an unauthorized user.
When unauthorized use has been detected, "access to particular applications can be restricted, access to sensitive information can be restricted, sensitive information can be erased from the electronic device...," the application states, effectively wiping and bricking the device.
Apple representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In July, U.S. Copyright Office ruled that bypassing a manufacturer's protection mechanisms to allow "handsets to execute software applications" no longer violates federal copyright law. However, while the U.S. Copyright Office has declared the software legal, Apple has repeatedly discouraged users from loading such a bypass, reminding them that doing so will void their device's warranty.
"As we've said before, the vast majority of customers do not jailbreak their iPhones as this can violate the warranty and can cause the iPhone to become unstable and not work reliably," Apple said in a statement in response to the ruling.

Parallels starts selling Windows 7 upgrade tool

Parallels said it is ready to start selling a program that uses virtualization to help ease the migration to Windows 7  from older versions of the operating system.

The company's $50 software uses virtualization to help consumers migrate from an older version of Windows to Windows 7.
(Credit: Parallels)

The company, which is best known for software that lets Windows run on a Mac, has been working on a tool to ease the move to Windows 7 from earlier versions of the operating system--a move first reported by CNET.

The new software, dubbed Parallels Desktop Upgrade to Windows 7, will be available from Amazon and Parallels almost immediately and will hit store shelves on May 31, Parallels announced on Wednesday. It will sell for a suggested price of $49.99, including a high-speed USB transfer cable, or $39.99 without the cable.

Kim Johnston, Parallels' vice president of consumer and small business marketing, said that the software is an ideal tool to safely move to Windows 7.

"Ninety percent of customers haven't upgraded yet," Johnston said. "This is a perfect solution for them."

The product would appear to remove several key hassles. Moving to Windows 7 from XP or even some versions of Vista requires a complicated clean installation, ordinarily requiring users to back up and restore their data and then reinstall all of their programs. Also, some programs designed to run in Windows XP won't run in Windows 7, a problem that Parallels elegantly solves by running a virtualized copy of the older operating system. However, this latter technique may raise legal issues for those who use it.

The Parallels product is designed to move any version of Windows XP or Vista to any version of Windows 7 and run the older operating system inside a virtual machine that is largely invisible to the person using the software. However, in many cases the user is not properly licensed to be running both copies of Windows.

The license terms that accompany the typical upgrade version of Windows 7 don't allow a user to keep using their old copy of XP in a virtual machine. Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate do include a virtualized copy of XP, but only for use with Microsoft's own XP mode. Users who buy a full, rather than upgrade copy of the OS would appear to be properly licensed, though those copies can cost several hundred dollars.

For its part, Parallels said the burden is on the user to make sure they are properly licensed.

"We remind the customer to check the status of all of their third-party licenses," Johnston said. "We just have no way of knowing what their software and hardware licensing is."

So far, Microsoft hasn't commented on the licensing issues surrounding Parallels product, although Johnston points out that the software was formally announced at a Microsoft event in Paris, in which the company was specifically invited to speak.

"We collaborate with Microsoft a lot and they are a great strategic partner," she said.

Google I/O: Seeking results

Google will kick off two days of announcements, educational sessions, and geek mayhem on Wednesday with the first keynote at Google I/O 2010, and this is the place to be for live coverage.

The event is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. PDT Wednesday morning at the Moscone Center in downtown San Francisco. Google hasn't released a specific agenda, but I believe that Wednesday's event will focus heavily on Web development and Google applications, while Thursday will focus on mobile technologies. We'll cover both events, but stay tuned here for Day 1 coverage.

USB 3.0 Gets a Speed

USB 3.0 is fast, very fast, and that is exciting. It is exciting more for what can be accomplished using USB than the speeds that it achieves. At 4.8Gbit/s (maximum theoretical) or 600 MB/S (maximum achieved) it would seem plenty fast enough to handle just about any task that you can throw at it (including video?). At ten times the speed of USB 2.0, this is one step closer to universal cable utopia.

Toyota Fortuner

Toyota has launched the Fortuner SUV in India. The single variant vehicle will be retailed at Rs 18.45 lakh ex-showroom, Delhi. In competition with other city SUVs like the Honda CR-V, Mitsubishi Outlander, Ford Endeavour and Chevrolet Captiva, the Fortuner's pricing beats that of all these vehicles and comes as a proper surprise, given Toyota's brand standing in the country which could have had them price the vehicle a little higher too. With such competitive pricing however, it is clear that Toyota is here to weed the rest of the competition out.



With genuine 4x4 capabilities, the Fortuner is just not another city slicker and has fairly good off-road capabilities when it comes to getting out of sticky situations, making it a proper Sports Utility Vehicle as opposed to being just a large car. Its torquey engine is supported by a very smart all-time 4WD system, but what also makes the Fortuner a genuine city vehicle are its great interiors, space and ride comfort. With airbags for the driver and passengers and Toyota's acclaimed Global Outstanding Assessment design for crash impact, the Fortuner also comes across as a very safe vehicle.


It will be interesting to see how the market warms up to the Fortuner, and how the competition reacts to it. We will be here covering the developments as they happen, so stay logged in to ZigWheels.com.

Honda launches Civic Sport - Price: Rs 12.36 lakh

Honda Siel, the Indian division has launched the new model for the Civic to keep up with the demand of the ‘Young Indian’. The car is a spin off variant of the Honda Civic and is a limited edition sports car.
The Special edition was launched just as Honda reached the 3 lakh mark in auto car sales in India.
The Honda Civic Sport will come with a 1.8Litre i-Vtec engine and will come with manual transmission. Automatic transmission will not be provided from the company itself. The car was also the highlight of the Auto Expo in Delhi which took place early this year.
“This launch will help broaden our customer base and appeal to the young at heart target audience.” said Mr Masahiro Takedagawa, President & CEO of Honda Siel Cars India Ltd.

Hummer in India !!!

General motors has made it public that they are looking at negotiations seriously with Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. regarding launching the Hummer in India with full fledged availability.
GM had admitted to this in Thailand at the plant opening for production of new cars. There have also been talks of GM selling their Hummer division to the Indian company but that idea seems to be far fetched for the moment. Although there are several automakers in Russia and also China who could be interested in such a deal.
The company has been reporting its worse numbers in their corporate history and is looking to raise capital with the sale of its assets.

BenQ corp has launched the first 22 inch Full HD LCD monitor

BenQ corp has launched the first 22 inch or so to say 21.5 inch 1080p Full HD LCD monitor. The monitor is equipped with a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution with 300 cd/m2 brightness. It comes with VGA and HDMI inputs with a headphone jack.

The LCD has a 16:9 aspect ratio and has a 10,000:1 contrast ratio.

The E2200HD comes with integrated speakers and can render content from STBs, camcorders and DVD players. The LCD Monitor will be available for only Rs. 13,500 which is a pretty neat price for what you are getting.

The Nokia 6600i has just been launched in India

The Nokia 6600i has just been launched in India and it establishes itself as the smallest 5-megapixel phone in the market. The 6600i has a slider form factor with an extremely impressive design and style.

The camera being the phones USP promises to deliver crystal clear imaging with its 8x zoom and auto focus functionality. It also comes with a dual LED flash for enhancing image quality.

Other features include FM radio, playback for all kinds of media files/formats, stereo headsets and bluetooth v2.0. A microSD card slot capable of holding a 16GB card fits perfect for this phone.

GSLV-D3 mission fails as rocket deviates from path

C S Satish Anand Sriharikota (AP), Apr 15 (PTI) India''s GSLV-D3 powered by homegrown cryogenic engine for the first time failed in its mission as the rocket carrying a communication satellite deviated today from its path and went out of control shortly after its lift-off from the spaceport here today. "The mission objectives are not met fully.

There are indications that the cryogenic engine ignited but the vehicle was tumbling and controllability lost," ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan said. The 49-metre tall three-stage Geo Synchronous Launch Vehicle blasted off at 4.27 pm at the end of a 29-hour countdown but minutes later ISRO said it had stopped receiving data.

"We saw the vehicle tumbling uncontrollably and it developed deviation. Two vernier engines would not have ignited," Radhakrishnan, for whom it was the first mission after taking over as ISRO chief, told mission scientists as gloom descended on the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.

He said details of the flight data would be analysed to find out what went wrong. .

Safeguard yourself from credit card frauds

In recent times, there have been a spate of news items revealing a credit card fraud. In one such item, two youngsters were caught duping credit card holders by offering them new credit cards with higher credit limits by trading in their old credit cards. The youngsters then used the old cards to make their purchases, mostly electronics. This is how they laid the plot.

They would call up credit card holders representing themselves as employees of the credit card company. They would inform these clueless customers about a new scheme about new credit cards with greater purchase limits in exchange of old ones. Then they would also inform customers that the company's representative would soon visit them with the new card, which would be activated as soon as they filled in a form!

This news only reinstates the importance of being a vigilant customer and using credit cards with utmost prudence. Here are a few things one can do:

1. If you lose your credit card, it is necessary to inform your credit card company immediately. This will enable the card issuer to freeze the card with immediate effect and prevent any purchases on the card. The important thing for you is that your liability is limited once you inform the credit card issuer.

2. Destroy your old card completely before you begin using your new card. This is important even if your old card has expired or you are upgrading your card.

3. Keep your card in a safe place and do not allow other people to handle it.

4. Be prudent about signing up for new offers. Double-check the genuineness of the scheme. A simple way to verify genuineness of any scheme is to call up the credit card company and inquiring with them.

5. Change your PIN at regular intervals. Do not use obvious PIN like birth dates.

6. Inform your credit card company immediately if you do not receive your monthly credit statement. It could be a case of identity theft where the fraudster has changed your billing address.

7. Use chip based credit cards. These cards offer better security than credit cards with black magnetic stripes. This is because in a chip based card, all information is stored in the small chip in encrypted format and it also uses a PIN. This makes changing or copying this data extremely difficult.

8. So, the chance of data being misused while swiping the card is very remote. It is the highest level of security that credit card companies can offer at present. Citibank and Kotak Mahindra issue chip based cards to select high range customers. Axis bank's VISA Platinum card is also chip-based. HDFC Bank also has begun issuing these cards.

9. Be careful while shopping online. This is because you are required to give the CVV number for making purchases over the Internet. For this, be sure you shop only from secure websites. Ensure that the website is certified by VeriSign. Look for a yellow lock on the bottom right hand corner of the screen.

10. If you have a large credit limit on your card and use it frequently for several purchases including online and telephone purchases, it is a good idea to get your card insured. You cannot prevent credit card fraud but at least minimize its impact on your financial stability! You can protect yourself from fraudulent charges on your card up to 12 hours before reporting the loss to the credit card issuer.

By BankBazaar.com - an online marketplace for your personal loan and home loan needs.