My C: Drive

I think my experience with Wampserver may clear some bottleneck which may drive web development newbie to crazy. I thought of trying out the wampserver 2.0 in vista. However i have already tried, but it didn't work properly as it should. After installing the Wampserver, I tried to request the http://localhost. But was thrown back with an error.

The important issue which ran to me was that “Why not the IIS may block the port on 80?” This question brought me hope to solve the technical mystery. I disabled the IIS services from the windows component, later restarted the apache server. I was able to get what I wanted.

Hope this solves to people who faced the same error like me.

It is on the top hit list on the developer’s arena. The Mozilla tab candy. My friend Voytek showed me the video about the tab candy project. I was awestruck and couldn’t even think how that was possible for the developers to think in tat perspective. All I can say is that they got a hell lot of brain. Okay enough dancing; let’s come to the details about the functionality of the “TAB CANDY”.

Actually it’s in the alpha stages right now. Hopefully it will be completely released in the Mozilla 4. Earlier browsers made it easy for the user to open multiple tabs in the same browsers, so that we may not have to navigate between windows. Though it was promising in the very beginning, the browser got cluttered with many tabs which introduced a little chaos in managing every tab. This issue was seriously taken up by the community which gave birth to tab candy effect. It allows to group more than one tab into a single tab. For example, suppose you are in a hectic quest on finding in buying a new laptop, you might have opened Dell, Sony, Acer, Hp, Lenovo etc. Simultaneously you wanted to open your mail box read the current news and some other pages. Now think of the situation how many tabs you might have opened. Now the tab candy comes handy, where you can group the entire Laptop search in the single tab called as LAPTOP and you can leave the rest as it is, so that you can clearly handle all the tabs easily. When you click on the master tab LAPTOP you might see the all the sister tabs which was grouped in that.


Another amazing factor introduced is the sharing a group of tabs with Mozilla sync. When some of your friends are working on a research project then you can share all your research done in the web with your friends by sharing the tab on which you are working on and similarly you can access your friends. Everyone is looking forward to the tab candy in live action.

 

Who would have thought an harmless beer will be the cause of  the biggest tech leak in recent history .well that’s what happened to Gray Powell an engineer at apple, he had accidently dropped or left the next generation iphone in a bar after a binge session with his friends .

The iphone which was left behind accidently landed up in the hands of gizmodo a gadget blog under the umbrella of gawker media.firstly the iphone looked like a 3GS but later it was found out to be a incognito iphone 4g after further investigation, the specs and feature that were found in the iphone were a lot different then the ones that are found in the current generation 3GS.

Whether this incident is a PR stunt or really an accident is quite murky ,but on the other hand apple has a well established market so they have no reason to create a hype over their new iphone.

This incident also reminds me of  the next harry potter movie script which was left behind forgetfully in a bar in London.Apple is the kind of company which has a knack  of keeping its unreleased product on a tight leash so this leak would have been a honest mistake by Gray Powell.

Gizmodo has also posted a letter from apple’s legal department which asks them to return the iphone back to apple so this may have really been an  accident.

INTRODUCTION
While issues like Net Neutrality remain a hotly debated issue among us NetNerds™, there are the majority of "netizens" who aren't as tech savvy and couldn't give a damn about things like standards compliance, JavaScript load times and fancy page element Inspectors in their everyday browsers.

Which is why if one were to make a decision on which browser to use based solely on things like full blown detailed browser benchmarking, then one might as well buy a car based on the size of it's fuel tank.

So for the purpose of simplicity and ease of understanding, this browser comparison (for the Windows platform), is going to be on the basis of installation, ease-of-use, and other general parameters.

DISCLAIMER
At the time of writing the latest versions of the 5 most popular Windows browsers are as follows:

• Internet Explorer 8.0.6
• Mozilla Firefox 3.6.3
• Apple Safari 4.0.5
• Google Chrome 4.1.249
• Opera 10.51

NOTE: I'm not exactly biased toward any one browser, though as I say that, I'm writing this on Mozilla Firefox and I have been accused in the past of being an unabashed Apple fanboy. So if you find any bias in this review, well then, tough.


1: INSTALLATION


The Installation round easily goes to Google's Chrome. Unless you've had Internet Explorer 8 installed by sodding Automatic Updates (which I highly recommend you turn on, by the way), Chrome's super easy installation will delight the average user who couldn't care less about where the install directory could be or where he should save the installer file. That's because the Google Chrome Installer is actually a 500 something KB file downloaded to the user's machine which then phones home the Google servers and then downloads the actual Chrome browser. While this may infuriate advanced users who like having the entire setup file and have a severe hatred of anything that doesn't allow them to set the Install Path (Eg: C:\Program Files\), the average user I'm sure will appreciate the ease with which with a couple of clicks gets the browser installed and ready to go.

Second, is Mozilla's Firefox. A few clicks on Mozilla's home page will get you the nearly 8 MB Firefox Installer which then asks a few routine questions before quickly setting up your browser. If you're a novice user, you can simply check the Automatic Installation option and avoid being asked unnecessary questions like installation directories and such.

Third is Opera Software's browser. Third because it needs a couple more clicks on the Opera site to bypass accidentally downloading Opera Mini for your phone and also because the Installer is a little larger at 9.3 MB, but really I'm nitpicking here, because to setup it's almost as easy, if not easier than Firefox and requires even less supervision than Mozilla's offering.

The absolute travesty of an installer here, is Apple's Safari. Not only is the browser's installation file a whopping 31 MB, but if you want the ridiculously useless QuickTime for Windows with it, then the Installer bloats to a truly colossal (for a browser) 50 MB! Added to that, during installation, the browser automatically enables the option to install Bonjour (an unnecessary network file sharing discovery utility) and whether you like it or not, installs Apple Application Support and Apple Software Update as separate utilities.

Google Chrome: http://www.google.com/chrome
Mozilla Firefox: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/personal.html
Opera: http://www.opera.com/download/
Apple Safari: http://www.apple.com/safari/download/
Windows Internet Explorer: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/


2: USER INTERFACE

Unless you've been living in a hole or a third world country without Internet (which is pretty much the same thing) for the last ten years, then I don't have to explain in detail to you the basics of a browser's interface: There's the Back/Forward/Home/Refresh button set at the top left, then a large white text box called the address bar ("Awesome Bar" in Firefox) and depending on your browser, a little search box on the upper right hand side. No browser featured in this comparison appears to want to mess with this standard template; with the exception of Google Chrome's Address Bar/Search Bar rolled up into a single text box.

For the sake of simplicity, let's dissuade further comparison of each browser's aesthetics and leave it to individual choice to decide which one looks best. With the screenshots though are a few points to note about each browser's interface.

GOOGLE CHROME

• Simple, clean, bare-bones interface.
• Thin window borders maximize web page area.
• Intelligent "tabs-on-top design" removes need for a space wasting title bar.
• When maximized, tabs move to top of the screen to give largest screen space for the web page.
• Menu bar integrated into the two icons next to Address Bar.
• Windows Vista, 7 get full transparent window borders.

MOZILLA FIREFOX

• Another clean interface style that has Windows Native integration
• Tab Bar and Title Bar display same information and feel superfluous.
• Navigation section takes up more space and leaves less space for web pages (NOTE: Menu Bar minimized in Screenshot)
• Interface can be greatly customized with add-ons to be better than the other browsers.
  

OPERA

• Chrome-esque design is actually an evolution of Opera's own UI design.
• Menu bar options are neatly packed into red Opera logo at the top left of Title Bar (as in Office 2007 and Windows 7)
• Windows Vista, 7 get full transparent window borders that look great unlike the Windows XP version featured here.
• Speed Dial feature is native to Opera and a great innovation (Not pictured here)
• As in Chrome, when maximized tabs move to top of the screen to give large screen space for the web page.

APPLE SAFARI

• Interface, unusually for an Apple product, is lackluster and feels like a mash of Internet Explorer and Google Chrome.
• Cover Flow view, as in iTunes, feels completely unnecessary and overly superfluous to browse History and Bookmarks.
• Thin Navigation bar is a boon and gives center stage to the web page.
• The unnecessarily effects heavy features of Top Sites (Similar to Speed Dial) demand very high graphics capability.
• Inconsistent interface feels labored and slow to user response.
  

WINDOWS INTERNET EXPLORER

• Standard template of browser design used in latest Internet Explorer.
• Interface feels surprisingly nippy and is pleasing to look at.
• At the same time, there's nothing revolutionary about the UI.

3: FEATURES AND FUNCTIONALITY

I'm sorry, but Firefox wins this one without the race even starting. There's just no way for the other browsers to compete. The master stroke that Mozilla's baby pulls off here is that it's Open Source, which means anyone is free to add, modify the browser's code to extend or alter it's functionality. This means there are tons of, quite frankly, brilliant "Add-ons" for the browser which add features that can only be explained/experienced by heading over to: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/

Finishing second in this round is Google's Chrome. Chrome only recently acquired the "Extensions" feature which can change the browser's functionality according to the user's whim, but it's extension count doesn't even compare to Firefox. Yet. https://chrome.google.com/extensions

Opera is next up, and while it may not have any extensions to speak of, out of the box, it already possesses some really neat features like Mouse Gestures, Opera Turbo (which speeds up load time by compressing images and graphics) and a rather large amount of Appearance customizability.

Finally, in joint last place in this round, are Apple's Safari and Windows Internet Explorer. Both the browsers have absolutely no saving grace in feature list extensions. This despite Apple's bold claim that there are "over" 150 improvements in this version of Safari. The key I think to these browsers' failure is that they both come pre-installed with OSes (Safari with Apple's Macintosh OS X and Internet Explorer with Microsoft's Windows line). Consequently, these browsers haven't had to actually work for market share. As a result, they've become the fat lazy bloated pieces of software they are; Always in the protected patronage of their parent companies who hug on to their source code like little girls who're afraid of the dark and hug on to their teddy bears.


4: CONCLUSION

Personally, I think it's highly unfair and presumptuous if I were to pick a "best" browser out of the 5 contenders. More likely, I would pick the one "I" find best. So to simplify your decision, I'm going to categorize the browsers into the user group it's most likely to please.

If you're:

The discerning web user/developer who tears web pages apart by examining their each element and customizing it, dresses your browser up like a drag queen, opens 5 billion tabs at once and uses every toolbar known to man; you want Mozilla Firefox/Opera.

The novice who just goes on the Internet to check their e-mail, occasionally watch some YouTube videos and maybe glance at some photos online once in a while; you want Google Chrome.

The egotistic maniac who wants web pages to look good and yourself to look good while browsing them or if you have a penchant for ostentatious things or if you own a super car and have a supermodel girlfriend; you want Apple Safari.

The kind of user who doesn't know what broadband means, can't bother with things like installing and have doubts as to what you're doing on this page; you want (and probably have) Windows Internet Explorer.

So there you have it, My C: Drive's comprehensive guide to web browsers. Coming soon, a look at Mac and Windows applications on each others platforms.

 

 

HP the infamous company whose printer ink costs more than the  human blood has done something that would allow us to have a electronic brain in the near future.yeah it is called memristors(memory + resistor Duh…) such a thing was first  theorized by a professor called Leon Chua  in 1971,now HP has announced that they will be mass producing  memristors by 2013.HP had done significant research and announced that memristors can be created and used in various areas of application back in 2008.

So what is a memristor? well it is a special type of resistor which can remember the current that has passed through it ,so the electronic state is  retained  even if there is no power supplied .this phenomenon has incredible application in the field of micro storages and it doesn't stop there memristrors are expected to  potentially replace conventional transistors that are used in  today’s computer systems because they take up much smaller space and provide almost twice the performance .a memristor system can even be used to create a electronic brain if its potential is fully exploited!.

As the number transistors that can be placed on a chip is increasing exponentially we may soon  face a limit due to the  size of the component.memristors will allow chip making company’s to push past that barrier and create advanced chips which are capable of providing unimaginable computing power.what we saw in many sci-fi books,movies,TV shows is going to materialize right before our eyes pretty soon.

  Makes you shit bricks doesn't it !!!

Network Neutrality. familiar with the term ? you aren't!,then you sire have no right to call yourself a netizen ,shame on you!.seems a bit  harsh eh? well the reality is much harsher and here is why

For those who are oblivious to net neutrality it is kind of a principal which says that all the devices and users connected to the inter net should share its resources and what it has to offer with out any restrictions. suppose you pay 1000rs for a monthly inter net connection you have the right to experience the internet fully and this is where net neutrality comes into play.

As you know the amount of information that is being shared on the internet is humongous and the ISP who provides us with internet connection are saying that they couldn't handle the traffic and the sheer amount of data shared is putting a tremendous pressure on today's internet.that is why invisible data caps also called FUP(Fair usage policy) is set in place by the ISP’s in order to restrict the amount of data procured from the internet.this is already against the principals of net neutrality.

Do you remember when Comcast was restricting the bit torrent traffic back in 2008 but FCC(Federal Communications commissions ) stepped in and stopped them from doing so.well Comcast  took the case to the court and a ruling was made which gave net neutrality a severe blow,the court ruling was that  FCC cant restrict  com cast and they can do whatever they want.

So after all these years why should i be concerned ? you may ask .right now the scenario is going to change corporate ISP’s are planning to limit the amount of content that can be shared and viewed on the internet that is they are thinking about  laying out some plans which is like a DTH scheme that is watching specified amount of channels on TV for specified amount likewise visiting specified number of websites for specified amount.

So in the future you will be asked to pay extra amount of money if you are going to game online or do file sharing or worse get banned from doing both.so what can you do? well for starters you can visit  websites which allows you to contribute to the cause a simple Google search will yield you a lot of results on that .

Right now we are in the golden age of the internet. the scenario will definitely change in the coming years and we should be prepared for it .if one ISP start to cook up nonsense like this it wont be too long for other  ISP’s to follow the same suite.we should be aware of this matter and we should be prepared when shit hits the fan.

 

 

Yes valve has subliminally conveyed information about its next big sequel or prequel through a small update for portal .players have to round to up  26  newly energized radio that is found while completing the chambers in the game and these radio’s emit some kind of Morse code through broad casts found in specific places in the game .now some geeks at the steam forums have managed to extract the gcf file containing the audio and have hosted it on media fire,there are two files one is utterly shit cause you cant here anything but the second file has some kind of audio but i couldn't make anything out of it but the dude who extracted the audio says its barney and alex talking .

and the mystery doesn't stop there people have found access to valve’s BBS and found some really weird ASCII  images.to simply round up what has happened with the whole update  here is a brief  summary from steam forums as posted  by relaxeder

-Portal gets surprise update yesterday afternoon
-People see new mystery achievement
-People play and see the radio in the beginning room now has a green light
-Carry it around and notice it makes strange broadcast interference noises in certain places
-Locate and place all 26 of these mystery radios for achievement
-Smart people yank wav files out of game content folders and run them through steganography programs
-Produces 26 weird cryptic image files in a numbered sequence
-Some dude runs the number string through an md5 hash translator and gets a landline number
-Internet traces it to Kirkland, WA (near Valve HQ)
-People find out its not a phone/fax line but a data line hosting a BBS and telnet it
-Use a clue from one of the files to figure out the BBS user/password login info
-End up with a bunch of weird ASCII artwork
 
Also couple of beautiful minds in the forum has managed to convert these audio files into images which also doesn't make any sense but all of this is definitely hinting to the next big thing from valve i hope it’s another orange box with portal 2 and hl2 EP3.if that ever happens it would be fucking epic.kudos to valve as they have shown a glimmer of hope about a possible announcement  that might just be around the corner.

 

here are the files

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=JOA9BT4A
http://www.mediafire.com/?knjnimmny3b

the video

The Extracted Images

dinosaur2 - http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/2862/dino2.png
dinosaur3 - http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/5395/dino3.png
dinosaur4 - http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/8126/dino4.png
dinosaur6 - http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/474/dino6t.png
dinosaur7 - http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/804/dino7.png
dinosaur8 - http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/4015/dino8.png
dinosaur9 - http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/1900/dino9z.png
dinosaur10 - http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/6002/dino10.png
dinosaur11 - http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/5893/dino11.png
dinosaur13 - http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/2015/dino13.png
dinosaur14 - http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/6633/dino14.png
dinosaur15 - http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/2716/dino15.png
dinosaur16 - http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/3671/dino16.png
dinosaur18 - http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/5874/dino18.png
dinosaur19 - http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/8443/dino19.png
dinosaur20 - http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/8295/dino20.png
dinosaur21 - http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/6334/dino21.png
dinosaur22 - http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/6657/dino22.png
dinosaur23 - http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/4641/dino23.png
dinosaur24 - http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/1385/dino24.png
dinosaur25 - http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/4139/dino25.png
dinosaur26 - http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/3913/dino26.png

The BBS stream

 

 

The FPS which is touted to be the definite answer to IW’s yester year debacle got leaked through torrents well before 3 days from the original released date,just like any other highly anticipated PC game.and it is NOT a good thing and you know why!!.after COD6 a lot is expected from the BF:BC2 and just because of this  it will be pirated to hell by users all around the world and thus giving EA and other publishers all the more reason to not release their games on the PC.those who are reading this post please don't pirate this game i mean DICE has been nice to us so its our turn to be nice to them so buy this game and have a great fun online but please for god sake don't give the publishers a reason to shun us.

 

 

I had been waiting for the release of AC2  on pc for quite a while now and i came across a preview of the game on pc by the  pcgamer magazine  and when i read it all my hopes for the game had  been shattered into itsy bitsy pieces apparently uplay ubisoft’s version of games for windows live and steam is going to get released along with AC2 and it will keep the game protected and safely tucked away from the pirates.

How you ask? well for starters the game needs 100% all the time rock steady 24/7 internet connection so if your modem resets or disconnects while your playing AC2 you are screwed because you will be kicked out of the game so fast that it will make your head spin and of course the best part is yet to come as  you will be thrown into shock and awe when you find out that all the progress that you had made till that point in the  game would have been long gone after you had restarted AC2.sometimes even ubi’s master servers would be down and when that happens no matter how fast a internet connection you have you will still be booted out of the game.

i was thinking about getting the legit version of AC2 but now you know what i am going to do,implementing this drm will give pirates all the more reason to crack the protection instead of deterring them. no game is worth buying if its going to shit on its  legitimate users.

 

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=235290&site=pcg

The radio staggers against the backspace!

In my earlier post i had said that geohotz was only able to get through one of the many layers of ps3’s security  but in his latest blog post,he has claimed that the console has been hacked 100% and home brews can be run on the  ps3. this maybe a good sign but still we don't have a working proof to substantiate  his claims, but rest assured that day is nearing much faster than i thought .so now xbox360 is comprised and the  ps3 is almost compromised and homebrews for the platform isn't that far away but will this change the perspective of the publishers that PC=Piracy remains to be seen.

from his blog

On the Isolated SPUs

Today I verified my theories about running the isolated SPUs as crypto engines. I believe that defeats the last technical argument against the PS3 being hacked.
In OtherOS, all 7 SPUs are idle. You can command an SPU(which I'll leave as an exercise to the reader) to load metldr, from that load the loader of your choice, and from that decrypt what you choose, everything from pkgs to selfs. Including those from future versions.
The PPU is higher on the control chain then the SPUs. Even if checks were to be added to, for example, verify the hypervisor before decrypting the kernel, with clever memory mappings you can hide your modified hypervisor.
Ah, but you still didn't get the Cell root key. And I/we never will. But it doesn't matter. For example, we don't have either the iPhone or PSP "root key". But I don't think anyone doubts the hackedness of those systems.
I wonder if any systems out there are actually secure?

 

http://geohotps3.blogspot.com/

Its true,the studio that gave us Max Payne isn't going to give Alan wake, what a bummer!!.well i had  anticipated this  as no news or advertisement  for the pc version of the game showed up.

the developers said that “Some games are more suited for the intimacy of the PC, and others are best played from the couch in front of a larger TV screen. We ultimately realized that the most compelling way to experience "Alan Wake" was on the Xbox 360 platform, so we focused on making it an Xbox 360 exclusive. Both Microsoft and Remedy have long histories in PC game development. This decision was about matching this specific game to the right platform”

With the cancellation of dead space sequel hanging and EA openly declaring that they will not be concentrating on pc games anymore the future seems a little bleak for the platform,i don't know weather they should be blamed for this because  its only common sense to place a bet where the money is but then again, is it alright to abandon a platform which was responsible for their fame and fortune when they first started?, as my compadre  said in the below post time only knows.

 

 

Sandy bridge code name for the next generation of  processor’s from Intel is going to get released during the 1st quarter of 2011,i know its a bit late but hey we have the new delicious AMD processor’s to sink our teeth into till then.unlike its competitor the sandy bridge wont be having six core’s  so its the usual dual,quad .the only thing that  will make  people take the sandy bridge is the fact that its going to be a fusion processor,that is it will contain both CPU and GPU core on a single 32nm die and thus Intel’s edge over AMD.

Sandy Bridge is going to be the  first ever processor to boast Intel’s new 32nm architecture,and will have a GPU and a CPU core on a single die Intel claims that the processor can run call of duty World at war at 1024X764 resolution at playable frame rates and the performance of the graphics core is going to be two times faster than that of Intel's current graphics solutions.

The chip was supposed to start shipping this year but shock and awe its only going to be manufactured somewhere around the 2nd or 3rd quarter and will get a grand release in 2011.one may wonder what kind of a chance  AMD has over this behemoth well the newly announced hexacore processors are supposed to be backward compatible with the older am2 and am3 socket mother board whilst to get a sandy bridge processor you have to buy an Intel series 6 motherboard which at launch will cost you a lot of money but if you get an AMD  Phenom II x6 processor and provided that you already own an am2 system than rest assured that your wallet will be saved from further infection of upgraditi’s.

But this may not be good enough reason for people to switch over to AMD because the new 6 series motherboard from Intel is  said to have  SATA 6gbps and if usb3.0 is going to be included then it will be a upgrade worth the dough.even though AMD’s six cores seems delicious it will be placed on a  45nm die which will be considered passé when the processor gets released but no doubt this will be one hell of a performance beast from AMD.

Intel is known for making its customers to upgrade their motherboard time and again just so that they will be able to use their new processor’s this is exactly where AMD will have the advantage .there will be a savage war between the two giants and casualties are going to be none other than our poor wallets.

Hotspot shield is a free proxy software that allows you to set up a Virtual Private Network between you and a proxy server thus encrypting your internet connection.this software mainly allows users to have a safe,secure and private browsing session by providing access to internet through a encrypted channel and also you can protect yourself from malicious attacks by hackers,dialers and tracking cookies.the best part about using this software is, you can actually view  TV shows on hulu.com,but sometimes they do detect the proxy and block your access but this can be overcome  if you have dynamic IP ,just  switch off and switch on your modem and you will be able to have access to the website once again.

i have been using hotspot for quite a while now ,the browsing speed is much more faster,and it feels good to know that my browsing session cant be viewed or monitored by anyone.the only thing i hate about the software is the nagging ask.com search frame which comes on top of ever webpage but it  can be closed.hotspot has made an provision which allows user to turn the proxy on and off  whenever they want so if a website doesn't function properly with hotspot you can simply turn it off using the hotspot toolbar.

Installation of HOTSPOT Shield is a cake walk unlike other proxy software's you don't need to make any complicated configurations to your network adapter you can start using the software straight away after installing it.with hotspot the need  to use any advertisement riddled proxy websites to access blocked content will disappear,so if you are the kind of person who values privacy i suggest you to get the software immediately.click here to get it.

Features of  HOTSPOT SHIELD

• Access all of your favorite content privately
• Secure your web session with HTTPS encryption
• Hide your IP address for your privacy online
• Protect yourself from snoopers at Wi-Fi hotspots, hotels, airports, corporate offices and ISP hubs.
• Secure your data & personal information online

 

 

After many trails and tribulations geo hot has finally released the exploit which allows user to have full control over the ps3,but lo behold this doesn't mean pirated ps3 games can be played on the ps3 any sooner,geohot has just managed to get through a layer of security found in the system whereas  Sony has placed many layers of security protocols so that the system can never be hacked so what geo hot claims to have done here is indeed an hack but this will only get you past the hypervisor.

For people who don't know about the hyper visor it is just a low level code found in the ps3 and xbox 360 which is used to  constantly monitor several access to the hardware and also keeps a tight check on the operating system.it is a crucial component ,when hypervisor encounters a code that shouldn't be there in the memory  it calls a function to zap the code out so that  it could never be run,if you can control the hypervisor you can stop it from calling any other functions that will total your code and hence you can make it run in the memory.

People who are waiting for the ps3 game  rips to be released on torrents will have to wait for quite a long time since the ps3 hasn't been totally hacked it has only been done so partially.what happened now is just a ripple effect if some one much more technically inclined and interested in hacking the ps3 will now have a beacon which will guide them to crack the entire system.

to get an in-depth understanding behind the exploit click here

the files can be obtained from here

 

AMD who is lately on a roll has Launched Five New Desktop CPU’s for the mainstream market,with really sweet  price  to performance ratio.mainstream users who are raving about the new Core i series Processors from intel should give these babies a glance first.AMD Phenom II X2 555  touted as the fastest dual core processor in the market comes at an acceptable price of 99$,for people finding  it costly can opt for the  Athlon II X2 255  which at the cost of  TDP and performance provides a better alternative at a price tag of 75$.the Phenom II X4 910e which comes at a TDP of 65W  offers less power consumption but sadly at the cost of speed and prize.with a really good fourth quarter in 2009 we can safely say that AMD has scored an homerun in the ever competitive CPU and the GPU market smashing the monopoly to smithereens.

 

 

 

EA has announced the release of FIFA online 2 a free online game in the leagues of  Tiger Woods PGA tournament Online which went open beta just now.the game is going to be made available to the public for free and it will be based on micro transaction’s .fifa online 2 is going to have a closed beta later this month and will comprise of 20,000 players.registration for the participation in the beta has started so if you want to beta test the game click here.the beta will go on till June after which the game will be released to a  world wide audience .only the English version of the game will see a world wide launch and after a while other language versions will also be rolled out gradually .EA has partnered with Korean distributor Neowiz  to create this game

The Game will have 30 licensed leagues, 500 clubs, and more than 15,000 players.it will also have several different modes like the FIFA 10 world cup mode,and some tournament modes. players can upgrade their teams kits ,skills,apparels with the money earned from winning matches.you can also purchase the money with real world money. i ’am glad this is not another browser based game like battlefield heroes I got really bored of the game  after a while ,EA  has also announced an NFS game which is also going to be online exclusive and free but no news on that yet.i wonder when will ea release a FIFA game for PC which has graphics in the leagues of the Xbox 360 and Ps3versions.

Many people said that it was going to be a timed exclusive and now the famed GTAIV expansion  Episodes from Liberty City which consists of  The Ballad of  Gay Tony  ,The Lost and Damned  is coming to PC and the PS3 . this news may not be surprise at least for the pc gamers because lost and demand achievements showed up in the GFW live client soon after an update last year so it was expected  but the real surprise is for the PS3 because Microsoft is said to have paid 50 million Dollars to Rock star for the expansions to  remain exclusive to  Xbox360.i have been waiting for this news for quite a while now,as me being primarily a pc gamer and a avid GTA fan ,and with assassins ceed2 and other console games coming to pc platform its going to be one hell of a year for us.Both the  expansions have garnered great reviews from critics around the web so this is a great news for both PC and Ps3  gamers.

The Episodes will be released on disc for the ps3 with a price tag of  39$  and  individual episodes come at a price of 19$ each on the PSN

For the PC version there will be a 32 player multi player matches  and an improvement on the old video editor found in GTA 4 there will also be updated OST for the radio stations in liberty city.no pricing or release date announced yet

The Expansions will be available for download on Play Station Network ,Games for Windows live  and will require an original  copy of GTAIV to play.   

 

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Apparently there is a bug in the driver which prevents user to  over clock using software's like Riva Tuner V2.24C, EVGA Precision V1.9.0 ,so nvidia  has released 196.34 beta drivers . these are the drivers which have been corrected and allows user to over clock normally.the bug from the 196.21 drivers restricted the users from manipulating  shader ,core and memory clocks now with the releases of 196.34 drivers that  problem has been solved .apart from adding multi GPU and SLI support to some games the driver has nothing new to offer.

here are the links to download the drivers

 

http://www.nvidia.com/object/win7_winvista_32bit_196.34_beta.html – windows 7 32bit

http://www.nvidia.com/object/win7_winvista_64bit_196.34_beta.html – windows 7 64bit

http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_196.34_beta.html - windows xp 32bit

http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp64_196.34_beta.html -windows xp 64bit

The much awaited sequel for the 2007 game of the year is finally going to land on pc on march 16th and it has a few surprises up its sleeves for the PC gamers and none of them are sweet .for starters the PC version is going to be prized at 60$, i believe it is the second PC game after modern warfare 2 to charge the same price as its console brethren,but at that price assassins creed 2 will contain two yet to be released DLC’s like Battle of Forli and Bonfire of the Vanities.

I think the developers are trying to establish a common  ground between pc and the consoles well here is a reality check for them “there isn't one “.in the pc gaming the concept of paid DLC’s is almost blasphemous because the  platform is so flexible such that users can create custom content for their favorite games and release it on the internet for free,so charging money for that is simply unreasonable.frustrations aside , there will also be a black edition for the game which will be exclusive for digital outlets and to add more oil to the fire ,for a extra five dollars you will be able to get additional content with it.

Assassins Creed 2 will have Uplay, the new service from Ubisoft which is among the lines of GFW live and Steam.this is the first game to have this service incorporated in it for the pc ,and it requires you to be online all the time for you to play the game .apparently the aforementioned DLC’s were supposed to be included in the original game but due to time constraints it was skipped.

The only silver lining is that the system requirements aren't that steep:P.

Minimum Configuration:
SUPPORTED OS: Windows XP (32-64 bits) /Windows Vista (32-64 bits)/Windows 7 (32-64 bits)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8 GHZ or AMD Athlon X2 64 2.4GHZ
RAM: 1.5 GB Windows XP / 2 GB Windows Vista - Windows 7
Video Card: 256 MB DirectX 9.0-compliant card with Shader Model 3.0 or higher (see supported list)
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0-compliant sound card
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0
DVD-ROM: DVD-ROM dual-layer drive
Hard Drive Space: 8 GB
Peripherals Supported: Keyboard, mouse, optional controller
* This product does not support Windows 98/ME/2000/NT

Recommended Configuration:
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 2.6 GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ or better
Video Card: GeForce 8800 GT or ATI Radeon HD 4700 or better
Sound: 5.1 sound card
Peripherals: Keyboard, mouse, joystick optional (Xbox 360 Controller for Windows recommended)

Supported Video Cards at Time of Release:
ATI RADEON X1950, HD 2000/3000/4000/5000 series
NVIDIA GeForce 7/8/9/100/200 series

 

This  is from the Norton site itself ,just download the antivirus by clicking here and you have to set up an Norton account for activating the product.i have been using this antivirus for a well over a month and it is simply awesome ,it is light on the system and performs scan when the system resources are idle, the only problem that i have faced so far is the number of  false positives. especially while browsing ,the Norton tool bar which automatically installs itself  on the browser shows the most trusted sites like for example deviant art as harmful site. apart from that this is one swell antivirus that allows you to browse the net without any nagging doubts about your computer getting infected.

Features of Norton Internet Security 2010:

• Norton Ongoing Protection
• Norton Identity Safe On-The-Go
• Norton Insight Network
• Norton System Insight provides features and easy-to-understand system information to help keep your PC performing at top speed
• Advanced phishing protection
• Stores and encrypts your passwords and other confidential data
• Identifies unsafe web sites right in your search results
• Delivers clear threat and performance explanations
• Parental Control
• Spam Blocking
• Norton Bootable Recovery Tool
• Real-time SONAR (Symantec Online Network for Advanced Response) helps prevent bots from taking control of your PC
• Power Saver Settings help extend battery life

 

 

The PS3 which remained Un hack able for 3 years has now been hacked by geo hot ,so far he hasn't released any details about this but  claims that it has indeed been hacked,he doesn't show any kind of proof so you just have to take his word for now .he also  claims that it took him only 5weeks to crack the console  and says that  he will release the details about the hack later, the only think that can substantiate his claim is that he had found more efficient ways to  jailbreak an I phone and has a fair deal of knowledge about the hardware behind ps3 , so who knows the day we play homebrew games on the console  may not be that far.this looks promising cause just take a look at his profile page on blogger :P.

to follow him on twitter  http://twitter.com/geohot

and his blog is at  http://geohotps3.blogspot.com/2010/01/hello-hypervisor-im-geohot.html

hey guys another scrumptious promotion to bite into ,except this is on the Chinese msn all you have to do is click this link go to the website and press the huge orange button you need to enter your live id and password and viola you will have your key mailed to your account and you can enjoy six months of kaspersky for free .you can download the virus suite here some features of kaspersky are

• Fully Automated Real-Time Protection
• Real-time scanning of files, web pages and e-messages
• Identity theft protection
• Color-coding of links to unsafe websites
• Disabling of links to malicious websites
• Blocking of suspicious programs based on their behavior
• Protection from hijacking of your PC
• Self-protection from Malware
• Regular and emergency updates for always-on protection
• Kaspersky Toolbar for Internet browsers to warn you about infected or unsafe websites
• Basic identity theft protection, including improved secure Virtual Keyboard
• Urgent Detection System to stop fast emerging threats
• Next generation proactive protection from zero-day attacks and unknown threats
• Pecial Game Mode to suspend alerts, updates and scans while you play games
• Enter logins and passwords using secure Virtual Keyboard
• Turn on Game Mode to suspend alerts, updates and scans
• Scan system and installed applications for vulnerabilities
• Tune up your OS and Internet browser settings for better security
• Restore correct system settings after Malware removal
• Burn a Rescue CD to restore your system in case of infection
• Remove activity traces in your Internet browser (history, cookies, etc.)
• Viruses, Trojans, worms and other malware, spyware and adware
• Rootkits, bootkits and other complex threats
• Identity theft by key loggers and screen capture malware
• Botnets and various illegal methods of taking control of your PC
• Zero-day attacks and unknown threats
• Drive-by download infections

UPDATE: Tried the key with the English version of KIS it didn't work tried it with the chinese version and it worked to download the Chinese version click here

source

Get your O&O Disk Defrag Professional edition for free from here,to get the original license key just enter your prefix, last name, first name, email address and country and your done other fields can be skipped ,you will soon get a key which will be sent to the email that you have specified and using which you can activate the software.O&O is one of the most effective Disk Defrag utility available so dont miss this opportunity, grab it while you still can ,it may be a bit old but it is still gold .you can download the software here .