Apple finally released the long anticipated iCloud last week, which will allegedly grant music lovers complete access to nearly every song they could hope to get their hands on. Apple has already signed some large contracts with major record labels, and intends to charge users a nominal annual fee to make the sharing of music essentially “legitimate”. However, as music snobs everywhere got ready to plug their iPods into the most epic playlist ever, they ran into one problem: they needed either Mac OS X Lion or iOS 5.
Whatever Los Angeles or New Jersey data center that had been prepped to take the onslaught of information that was predicted to be put into Apple’s cloud got a break. Although Apple released iCloud early, Mac OS X Lion and iOS 5, either of which is needed to use iCloud, were yet to be released. Users were able to see the iCloud site, but couldn’t sign up for the service because they didn’t have access to the necessary operating systems.
That is, until now.
As of today iOS 5 has finally been released, and music lovers can finally rejoice as they download the new operating system and log in to the long awaited iCloud. Let the music indulgence overload begin.
However, the release of iOS 5 isn’t solely beneficial to those interested in iCloud. iOS 5 is set to provide Apple enthusiasts with a variety of updates to the operating systems which run their phones, iPods, and tablets. A few of these updates include:
Notification Center
The new Notification Center will no longer interrupt other apps and will automatically perform updates. With the new update, users can expect to be notified should they have any missed calls, calendar alerts, new IMs, and any app alerts.
Camera
One of the most inconvenient features of the last iOS was the camera. If your phone was locked, you weren’t able to quickly take photos without having to unlock your phone and then click on the camera button. Users can now take a photo even while the camera is locked by simply hitting the volume button.
iMessage
Apple now has its own instant messaging service that works with 3G and Wi-Fi. In addition to offering SMS and MMS outside of a users service provider, the service also supports video and photo messages.
Even if you are the ultimate music lover, the new updates brought about by iOS 5 have plenty to offer you outside of iTunes. The new operating system will streamline the functioning of most Apple devices, and make them more enjoyable to use. So if you’ve got an Apple iPod, iPhone, or iPad, be sure to

r 16, 2011

The long rumoured Amazon tablet, also called the iPad 3 killer is finally here. The new Amazon Kindle Fire was launched during the Amazon Press Conference a few days ago. It has not just brought big surprises, but also has got some great features along with it.
Although the Kindle Fire is packed with great features, Amazon has certainly got its competitors nibbling by announcing the device for a market-friendly $199 price tag, which poses serious threat to Apple’s iPad.
Since the launch of the first Kindle, Amazon managed to sell a whopping 3 million tablets in 2010, and as speculations broke out indicating that it is planning to launch its next Kindle in 2011, the tablet became one of the most anticipated devices of the year.
The tablet comes with great features, which include streaming movies and TV shows and access to Amazon’s app store. The tablet boasts a 7-inch Gorilla Glass color display and is powered by Google’s Android OS with Wi-Fi connectivity – however, it does not feature a camera, microphone, or a 3G connection.

Amazon Kindle Fire Specifications

Here are the full technical specifications of the newly launched Amazon Kindle Fire:

Display	7-inch multi-touch display with IPS (in-plane switching) technology and anti-reflective treatment, 1024 x 600 pixel resolution at 169 ppi, 16 million colors.
Size (in inches)	7.5″ x 4.7″ x 0.45″ (190 mm x 120 mm x 11.4 mm).
Weight	14.6 ounces (413 grams).
On-device Storage	8GB internal. That’s enough for 80 apps, plus either 10 movies or 800 songs or 6,000 books.
Cloud Storage	Free cloud storage for all Amazon content
Battery Life	Up to 8 hours of continuous reading or 7.5 hours of video playback, with wireless off. Battery life will vary based on wireless usage, such as web browsing and downloading content.
Wi-Fi Connectivity	Supports public and private Wi-Fi networks or hotspots that use the 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, or 802.1X standard with support for WEP, WPA and WPA2 security using password authentication; does not support connecting to ad-hoc (or peer-to-peer) Wi-Fi networks.
USB Port	USB 2.0 (micro-B connector)
Audio	3.5 mm stereo audio jack, top-mounted stereo speakers.
Content Formats Supported	Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively, Audible (Audible Enhanced (AA, AAX)), DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, non-DRM AAC, MP3, MIDI, OGG, WAV, MP4, VP8.

This article was produced by pool table and arcade machine merchants, Home Leisure Direct – the hub for everything in home entertainment and gaming.
What happened to the beloved arcade? Incredibly popular from the 70s to 90s, the arcade was once the place to hang out, challenge someone to a game, or simply challenge yourself to beat your highest score.
Now, technical advancement, particularly in home computers and games consoles, has caused a dynamic shift as arcades are left empty while people simply stay indoors with their download. Have we lost the social dimension to games playing now that the arcades look set to close their doors as coin op production ceases?
The first coin operated arcade game was The Galaxy Game in 1971, which drew huge crowds when it was installed on the campus of Stanford University. However, from these prestigious beginnings, arcades opened their doors wide to everyone, which was part of their allure. It was a giant gaming extravaganza and everybody was invited.


It was Atari’s Pong that really changed things in 1972. Incredibly basic, it nevertheless raised interest levels to new heights and enticed more people from all walks of life into the arcades. However, the Golden Age of Arcade Games was heralded by the release of Taito’s stellar hit Space Invaders in 1978, Atari’s immensely successful Asteroids in 1979 and finally Pac-Man in 1980. These arcade classics were, at first, only available in the arcades, hence their immense popularity and the burgeoning success of the arcade as a social phenomenon in the Golden Age spanning 1978-1986. Nintendo entered the arena with hugely popular titles like Donkey Kong in 1981, while the innovative cell-animated Dragon’s Lair and 3D polygonal I, Robot, both released in 1983, showed what new graphics technology could do.
The success of their arcade hits led Atari to release the VCS home games console in 1977 and Nintendo to release their Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1983. Ironically, this move toward domesticating the arcade experience was the first step toward the demise of the arcade. Gamers were reticent to visit an arcade to pump coins into a machine when they could own the game at home for a one off purchase price.

Arcade machine developers soon realised they had a real battle on their hands with the home games console rivals they had themselves created! They quickly realised advanced technology and how it could be utilised to enhance the arcade experience was the answer. Ever more elaborate arcade cabinets such as Sega’s smash hits Sega Rally in 1994 and Manx TT Superbike in 1995 closely mimicked the experience of driving a rally car or riding a bike with their innovative control systems.
These arcade games were quite costly per game and took up a huge amount of space. More importantly, the sixth generation of games consoles like the PS2 and Xbox incorporated online competition into their gaming repertoire.
Now players could have a genuine multiplayer experience in the comfort of their home and the later consoles greatly improved the services. Now gaming was fully integrated into home entertainment, with games, films and music being downloaded. The arcades looked decidedly old hat.
It’s a shame the arcades have hit such hard times. Tighter quality control might have helped their cause, but it’s doubtful even that could have helped arcades stand up against the seismic shift caused by online gaming and social media platforms. People don’t want to leave their home for gaming, entertainment and even socialising opportunities. They now demand it to be in their living space and readily accessible at their fingertips.
42% of all adults own a games console in the US. New technologies like improved 3D may give arcades a sense of novelty, but it’s perhaps impossible for them to turn things around completely. The same is happening with cinemas, which are experiencing dwindling ticket sales. Perhaps the arcade and cinema will eventually merge into a fully interactive film experience, but that’s still a long way off.
The end of the arcade would signal the loss of a truly interactive social phenomenon. Those who remember the excitement of heading to the flashing lights and razzle dazzle of the arcades will look upon sitting wired in and playing against unknown people over the internet as something lacking in comparison to the Golden Age of Arcade Games. Whether arcades still have a future is a question waiting to be answered.

5 iPad gadgets for geeks

 

Think MacBook screen, possibly a bit smaller, in glass with iPhone-like, but fuller-featured Multi-Touch. Gesture library. Full Mac OS X. This is why they bought P.A. Semi. Possibly with Immersion's haptic tech. Slot-loading SuperDrive. Accelerometer. GPS. Pretty expensive to produce initially, but sold at "low" price that will reduce margins. Apple wants to move these babies. And move they will. This is some sick shit. App Store-compatible, able to run Mac apps, too. By October at the latest.

,558-piece Lego Mac Pro

The box took 14 hours to build. It includes a Mac Mini with a 250GB hard drive hack, with the system drive being an ESATA drive. The Hackintosh running Mac OS X, the second computer inside the box, uses:

• 2.4GHz Intel Q6600 Quad Core
• Gigabyte ep35-ds3l motherboard
• BFG NVIDIA 8800gt with 512 M bytes
• 2GB of 800MHz RAM
• 750 and 400GB hard drives

Features and Specifications of Nokia X5:

• Uniquely Designed Square Sized Phone
• Slider Mobile Phone
• WERTY Keypad
• Excellent Sound Quality
• Easy Social Media accessibility
• Supports all Major Instant Messengers and Webmails
• Easy Access to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and other social networking sites
• 5 Mega Pixel Camera
• 4X Digital Zoom
• LED Flash
• 200 MB Internal Memory
• 2GB Card Included and expandable upto 32 GB
• 16 Days Stand By time
• 24 Hours Music Play
• Budding DJs can spin the phone to switch to a new random track
• Shaking the Phones tells the number of unread message

2GB USB flash drive is not use only for data storage, but it use for a voice recorder. You can records any sound whenever you need and save it in WAV format. It has Built-in a rechargeable batter, You can use it 5 hours continuous recording. You can keep it in pocket and go with your data and information.



Features:

• Built-in voice recording On/Off switch
• File Format: WAV - 1GB ~ 70hours recording
• Built-in rechargeable battery
• Battery powered (around 5 hours per full charge)
• LED indicator
• USB 2.0
• Portable and easy operation
• Plug and Play
• Support Window 7 / Vista / XP, Linux 2.4, Mac OS X or latest version
• Dimension: 64 x 21 x 9mm (approx.)
• Weight: 13g

Convertible tablet PCs – that is, tablet PCs that can turn into a regular laptop form factor – have traditionally had swivel screens on hinges that work the same way as the swivel screens on Sony’s Alpha DSLRs, for example. There was also one with an awkward sliding mechanism that nobody remembers, but we won’t go into that here. At the Intel Developer Forum being held right now in San Francisco, Dell introduced an upcoming addition to their dell Inspiron line with a 10-inch notebook that transforms into a new tablet PC using a whole new approach. Once you open the lid of the laptop, the screen flips around on an axis halfway down the sides of the display, turning into a clamshell laptop!

The notebook itself has a dual-core Atom processor and runs Windows 7Premium.

For those whose idea of entertainment is gaming, then look no further than the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play.  Launched in spring 2011 and running on the Android Platform, this highly functional smartphone, the Xperia Play is the first mobile smartphone developed under the PlayStation brand making a true hybrid between smartphone and handheld gaming device.



The superior processing power of the Gingerbread Android Platform enables the phone to play games of PSP quality and Sony Ericsson have developed the PS Suite to deliver high quality gaming from the likes of notable developers Namco and Electronic Arts. The phone comes complete with a joy pad which looks almost identical to that of the PSP, which whilst making the phone a little bulkier does make it

As the Motorola Xoom release date rapidly approaches, the world is anxiously waiting for news on Android 3.0 Honeycomb smartphones. Look no further than the Motorola Bee concept, the world’s first Honeycomb smartphone.

ENSCHEDE - Scientists at the University of Twente are bringing an advanced rehabilition tool to the market. The robotic device called LOPES (Lower-extremity Powered Exoskeleton) is used to help stroke survivors walk again by providing gait training and assessment of motor function.