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Monday, 31 January 2011

Best Free Android Games 2010

1. Solitaire
Developer: Ken Magic
Category: Cards & Casino
solitaire-game-play solitaire-menu
Simple Solitaire Collection
Regular, Spider, Freecell, Forty Thieves
New in Version 1.12
- Bug fixes, stats tracking fix
- Forty Thieves Game Added (Thanks to sirpengi)
1.12.1
- Solitaire fix: Only Kings on open spaces
Notes:
- Menu button for saving, options, etc
- Click trackball to deal
- Undo using the back button
Latest version: 1.12.1 (for all Android versions)
2. Sudoku Free
Developer: genina.com
Category: Brain & Puzzle
sudoku_free
With four difficulty levels, intuitive interface, and all the functions right at your fingertips, this Sudoku app is sure to be your favorite.
Use trackball, touch screen, keyboard.
Latest version: 8.1.5 (for all Android versions)
3. Labyrinth Lite
Developer: Illusion Labs
Category: Arcade & Action
labyrinth-lite
Labyrinth is the classic game where you control a steel ball by tilting a wooden labyrinth. This is the lite version with 10 fully playable levels and you can easily create 10 more of your very own.
THE FULL VERSION WITH OVER 1000 LEVELS IS OUT NOW!
Whats new
- Updated graphics
- Multiple resolutions
- Performance tweaks
Latest version: 1.4 (for all Android versions)
4. Jewels
Developer: MHGames
Category: Brain & Puzzle
jewels
Jewels is a simple, yet quite polished and fun match-3 puzzle game. Now with global leaderboards!
v1.60:
-Bug fixes, updated SDKs
-Installing to SD-card now possible with Android 2.2
Earlier:
-GLOBAL HIGHSCORES (Scoreloop)!
-Improved input handling
-Increased gameplay speed
-Submitted scores saved locally too
Latest version: 1.60 (for all Android versions)
5. Bonsai Blast
Developer: Glu Mobile
Category: Brain & Puzzle
bonsai_blast
Experience the Zen of pure gaming bliss! In Bonsai Blast, shoot to match colored balls in groups of 3 or more. The action gets increasingly more intense as you play. This is one game you won’t be able to put down!
Latest version: 1.5 (for all Android versions)
6. Paper Toss
Developer: Backflip Studios Inc.
Category: Casual
paper_toss
The hit mobile casual game is now available for Android! Toss a ball of paper into a trash can in six office themed levels of varying difficulty.
Game includes:
- 6 Gorgeous Levels
- Global Online Leaderboards
- Hi-Res graphics for newer devices
Latest version: 1.0.5 (for all Android versions)
7. Abduction!
Developer: Psym Mobile
Category: Casual
abduction
Your friends have been abducted by aliens! Luckily the alien tractor beam pulled up enough debris to allow you to follow them up into space to rescue your herd.
Use tilt controls to follow the ufo up into space, picking up bonuses and power-ups as you go, but watch you don’t fall…
With a whole set of adventure levels, dozens of challenges and 6 difficulties in quick game mode, this game will keep you coming back for more.
Latest version: 1.47 (for all Android versions)
8. Robo Defense FREE
Developer: Lupis Labs Software
Category: Arcade & Action
robo_defense
Robo Defense is the ultimate portable tower defense experience. Featuring open maps, upgradeable towers, stat upgrades, achievements, and nice graphics. The free version features 1 map with 11 difficulty levels.
Update: v1.3: New “Dropper” unit that appears on difficulty level 10 and higher. Bug Fixes.
Latest version: 1.3.0 (for all Android versions)

Brink

"What the hell is it?" That's been the question around team-based shooter Brink for a while now. It's multiplayer but it's single-player. It's like its predecessors Quake Wars and Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory but it's totally new. It's a way into online shooting for newcomers but it's hardcore. It's... nope, no idea. Until now.

Now we know, and we know well enough to be enormously excited about where UK studio Splash Damage are going now their young lips have been prised away from the id Software teat. "What we're trying to do with Brink really is create something that newbies can get into," says Splash Damage's mile-a-minute bossman Paul Wedgewood, "and that starts with co-op. We really believe that if we can get more people in through the co-operative mode they'll want to keep playing online."



The idea, essentially, is that going from single-player to multiplayer is no longer a leap - instead, it's a gentle staircase with a sturdy handrail. "The next thing you solve is the problem of people being outflanked if they've only ever played corridor shooters. What we do is slowly introduce ideas in the map that prepare you for multiplayer".

Documenting the near-future conflict between the anarchic, lo-fi Resistance and the slick peace-through-tyranny Security in a failing socio-environmental utopia known as the Ark, this is no series of random deathmatch arenas. You'll play through a story - two, in fact, as both factions are playable - interspersed with high-quality cut-scenes which reveal the Ark's secret past and desperate future. There are personal moments too. We're shown a sad'n'angry Resistance member revealing that his brother has joined up with Security, and worrying what would happen should he encounter him in battle.


And battle there will indeed be - you'll spending your time in Brink shooting a lot of dudes in large, objective-packed levels. Sounds an awful lot like a single-player game, doesn't it? Yet it's also a collection of tightly-designed maps in which you pick a class, join a team and vie with the opposing faction for points and kills. Sounds an awful lot like a multiplayer game, doesn't it?

It's both. Brink's aim is to tear down the church and state separation of single and multiplayer, so you're using the same disciplines, chasing the same goals and enjoying the same rewards however you play. This is, of course, the theory: other games are sniffing around the same idea, with Left 4 Dead arguably at the head of this young pack. With Brink though, there's a real sense of no compromise. This is not two separate modes which happen to be linked by persistent unlocks and experience points: it's one sprawling action game which you choose to play in your preferred fashion.
Want to play alone? Play alone. Want to play with a mate? Invite him into the match you're already playing. Want to play against potty-mouthed strangers? Take your offline match/campaign online and the NPC allies and enemies will be replaced with murderous humans as and when they arrive. The total headcount is sixteen, which some will feel is too low, but the two sprawling Portal-meets-Mirror's Edge-meets-Fallout maps we saw always seemed filled to ferocious capacity.

What's going to be key to ensuring multiplayer looks and feels like single-player is how well the game encourages teamplay. We've seen the likes of MAG suffer horribly because human beings are inherently selfish creatures - everyone heads off to chase their own glory rather than follow orders or help out their chums. "We reward you most for doing things that help other people have fun", says Wedgewood. "In essence we bribe people to help other people." The bribe being unlockables, an area in which Brink promises to go way beyond its contemporaries.



There's none of this 'would you like to wear green trousers or slightly darker green trousers?" tokenism. Instead, you'll create a avatar of your own, gloriously bought to life in Brink's wonderfully strange droopy-faced, gangly-limbed art style. With a few flicks of his gamepad, Wedgewood transforms the hulking weirdo he has on screen into someone unrecognisably different.

From the sweary t-shirt to the flame-flecked hockey mask, it's his character, not Brink Soldier #4. As you kill, assist and snag objectives, you'll earn experience points - which in turn open up new customisation options. "You do become a bigger and bigger badass as you play through the game," says Wedgewood. Your appearance doesn't affect your abilities, but your very flesh will scream how experienced a player you are.


Even weapons visibly transform into violent new absurdities as he applies modifications to them - scopes, stocks, tommy-gun ammo clips, six-vent muzzles... The guns might not be as openly insane in function as Borderlands' physics-defying arsenal of randomness, but they sure look the part. "You can create these really mad weapons," enthuses Wedgewood as he equips his Resistance goon with something apparently made from Meccano.

Special abilities come into play too, and these are improved by your level. As many of the better ones buff your team-mates rather than simply over-power their possessor, however, they shouldn't tip the odds in higher-level players' favour too much. The Operative class (read: Spy, who can also temporarily disguise himself as an enemy player), for instance, could treat himself to a spot of Comms, which lets him scan the body of a downed enemy, hack into his HUD and be very briefly informed as to where all his allies are. The Medic, meanwhile, could choose to buff allies' health, or to be granted a one-shot self-resurrection. The mentality behind the impressively large range of bonus abilities is variety, not advantage. Everyone's going to have a few cool toys which suit their own play style.
All these things - the classes, that clothing, those abilities - can be swapped out between matches and/or respawns. You're not locked into being something. Well, mostly. There is one immutable choice. That's your weight. If you're a fattie, you're staying a fatty. If you have the build of Old Man Steptoe, you're not going to be bench-pressing anything heavier than a kitten.

There are three body types in Brink: Medium, Agile and Heavy. The latter two are unlocked as you level up, and you can then choose to upgrade to one of them. While you can 'buy' an undo if you're not happy, realistically you're going to create several characters, one for each body type. These have dramatic effects on the game: Agiles move fast and can reach areas the others cannot, but Heavies can carry bigger guns and soak up more bullets. Medium's the best and worst of both worlds, which is why you'll doubtless gravitate to one of the extremes.



For raw damage and defensive grunt, you'll want to play Heavy. However, the appeal of the gangly Agiles is sky-high because of Brink's movement system. SMART is a one-button control that enables you to navigate over whatever you aim at. So, if there's a neat little sniper ledge way up yonder, you don't need to engage in a series of complicated bunnyhops and embarrassing pratfalls to reach it, but instead aim, hold run: your chap will gracefully make his own way there. The same is true if you're trying to reach lower ground, as you duck, dive and leap across multifarious obstacles.

"Any geometry that looks like I should be able to climb it is fair game," says Paul Wedgewood as he careers about a crate'n'wall'n'roof'n'fence-filled map with a casual ease only otherwise possible if you've been playing FPS games competitively for years. "Our level designers love it because they can have tons of debris and stuff they'd have to clear out previously."


Skinnies can cover the most ground, able to squeeze their scrawny, stretchy frames into places fatties fear to tread. "I'm really not forced to use these corridors and traditional routes." Just as well, as many of Brink's match objectives are optional. There are core goals to achieve if you're to win the map, but completing side-missions, such as snatching control of a command post or hacking a safe, will bless your chaps with bonuses. Going off-piste uncovers new routes too, with the in-game objective compass cannily recalculating new directions if it thinks you're trying, for instance, to sneak into an enemy stronghold from the rear.

Brink's cramming an awful lot of ideas into what, at first glance, is a simple Beat The Other Team setup. This superficial simplicity is artfully deceptive - even the interface is a stripped-back, slickly minimal affair which couldn't be a further cry from the infamous over-complication of Quake Wars' HUD. All of its ideas, and all its gorgeous photoreal-cartoon appearance, pale into insignificance in the face of that one key promise, however: single-player gamers will find themselves becoming multiplayer gamers almost without realising it. Brink might document a bitter conflict between a divided humankind, but if it works, it'll bring gamingkind together like never before.                      

For Google's AdWords, relevance takes time

Google's AdWords system often isn't fast enough in ranking relevant ads during a sudden surge in search query volume.
Google's AdWords system often isn't fast enough in ranking relevant ads during a sudden
surge in search query volume.
(Credit: Screenshot by Tom Krazit/CNET)
Dodge's Challenger is a modern muscle car. The Challenger explosion 25 years ago was a tragic moment. Other than the name they don't have much in common, but for several hours Friday morning, Google's AdWords system considered them linked.
That's just one example of a weak spot in Google's famous AdWords system, which turned an interesting Stanford science project into the world's most powerful Internet company. Simply put, it takes some time for the AdWords system to determine whether an ad triggered by a search query is truly relevant to that query, meaning that in times of breaking news or a sudden spike for certain queries Google often serves completely irrelevant ads, such as the one promoting the Challenger's Hemi engine above news stories about the 25th anniversary of the Challenger space shuttle disaster.
A week of study of Google's "hot searches" as measured by Google Trends--a compilation of search terms whose query volume is disproportionately rising at a given hour compared to their usual frequency--provided numerous examples of how AdWords can require at least several hours to obtain enough feedback to properly rank ads.
Breaking news stories about the death of fitness guru Jack LaLanne triggered an ad for The Cord Bug, an accessory for car owners in cold climates that need to keep their engines warm overnight, in the most prominent slot. After a five-foot long monitor lizard was discovered wandering around a Southern California condo complex and showcased on morning news shows Wednesday, Google News served computer-monitor ads for several hours alongside search results.
This is probably not an issue on incoming CEO Larry Page's immediate to-do list, as Google continues to make quite a bit of money from relevant ads on the majority of searches. But it does speak to the thorny problem of determining relevancy in real time: it's not just a search problem, it's an ad problem too.
Your Quality Score is important to us
Ad rankings on Google for search keywords are determined by two main factors: the maximum cost an advertiser is willing to pay per click, and an ad's "quality score," which is a measure of how relevant the ad's copy is to the desired keyword, among other things. Even if an advertiser is willing to spend a lot of money per click, if their ad scores poorly on quality, it will likely appear below ads from advertisers that weren't willing to pay as much but scored higher on quality.
However, it takes time for Google to determine the quality score for a new ad. It needs to measure how often users are clicking on the ad as compared to other ads, as well as whether users are staying on the landing page behind the ad as opposed to returning immediately to Google.
How long does this take? Google won't say, but it's at least several hours in many cases.
Morning news reports on the discovery of a monitor lizard in Southern California sent people to Google looking for more information, and the ads they were served during the early spike in those queries weren't particularly relevant. Why serve an ad at all?
Morning news reports on the discovery of a monitor lizard in Southern California sent
people to Google looking for more information, and the ads they were served during the
early spike in those queries weren't particularly relevant. Why serve an ad at all?
(Credit: Screenshot by Tom Krazit/CNET)
Google would only offer a statement on the issue. "Google's advertising system determines the quality of an ad based on how users are responding to that ad. This process can take a brief amount of time, especially if it's a fast-rising query that is newly popular," it said. Your definition of "brief," of course, may vary.
The gap is important for a few reasons. First of all, Google's top priority is to serve relevant content to its users, and it has long considered ads to be useful content so long as they are relevant to one's query.
Also, the gap allows advertisers to piggyback on search queries in Google Trends much the same way news organizations latch onto those reports in hopes of directing some of that search spike their way. An advertiser could get a decent amount of traffic relatively cheaply if they are quick to jump on a trending keyword that not many other people have purchased, taking what they can get before the quality score calculations take place and kick them off the page.
One prominent advertiser on trending topics in Google throughout the whole week was Ask.com, which confirmed that as part of its ongoing traffic-acquisition strategy it frequently purchases Google ads linked to trending search terms that direct clicks back to Ask.com's pages on that topic. (Yahoo and Microsoft's Bing employ similar strategies.) Those ads actually fare well in the quality score calculation since it's clear what type of content Ask.com is advertising, but it's not hard for others with less-relevant content to employ the same fast-mover strategy and settle for the second, third, or fourth spot on the search-results page until the calculations take effect.
AdWords showing its age?
But perhaps more troubling for Google is the notion that the system that generates an amazing amount of cash is a bit too creaky for a Web that publishes content at a speed which Google never could have anticipated 10 years ago when the system was first designed.
Expectations of how content should be delivered on the Internet are changing as news publishers and consumers focus on speed: just look at the demand for information following reports that Michael Jackson had died in the summer of 2009. There is an opportunity to serve relevant ads alongside that content in Google News or Realtime search that the company is simply missing because of the delay in determining relevancy.
That doesn't bode well for its chances of using the current incarnation of AdWords to monetize real-time content on Google. Irrelevant ads aren't good for anyone in Google's system: users don't want to see ads perceived as spam, advertisers want to target likely buyers, and Google won't make money from ads that receive few or no clicks. That's not to mention any institutional embarrassment from missing the mark when it comes to relevancy.
As Web usage shifts more and more toward the real-time consumption of content, Google will need to develop a strong system for ranking both the relevancy of the content as well as the ads. Somewhere, someone is working on this extremely difficult computer science problem. If they're not inside of Google already, the company might want to find them.

Sanctum


The 3D action-thriller Sanctum, from executive producer James Cameron, follows a team of underwater cave divers on a treacherous expedition to the largest, most beautiful and least accessible cave system on Earth. When a tropical storm forces them deep into the caverns, they must fight raging water, deadly terrain and creeping panic as they search for an unknown escape route to the sea.

Master diver Frank McGuire (Richard Roxburgh) has explored the South Pacific's Esa-ala Caves for months. But when his exit is cut off in a flash flood, Frank's team--including 17-year-old son Josh (Rhys Wakefield) and financier Carl Hurley (Ioan Gruffudd)--are forced to radically alter plans. With dwindling supplies, the crew must navigate an underwater labyrinth to make it out. Soon, they are confronted with the unavoidable question: Can they survive, or will they be trapped forever?

Shot on location off the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, Sanctum employs 3D photography techniques Cameron developed to lens Avatar. Designed to operate in extreme environments, the technology used to shoot the action-thriller will bring audiences on a breathless journey across plunging cliffs and into the furthest reaches of our subterranean world.
                     

Free apps for Galaxy-S

Samsung Galaxy-S Apps.Samsung Galaxy S is a big hit in smartphone market. Below are the 15 useful and fascinating free Android applications which can be incorporated in your Samsung Galaxy-S (Vibrant) Smartphone.


Dropbox Anywhere – The app integrates your files in Smartphone and laptop so that you can access documents when at home or travelling in a train. Normal functions like viewing, editing, saving, retrieving of files can be carried out wherever you are.

LauncherPro – This is a beautiful app for customizing your screen to suit your specific requirements. You can organize your battery, social network, email/contacts/messages, etc., in different screens, widgets for shortcut for phone, e-mail etc., and maneuver the screen with soft touch and flip of the fingers.

Easynote – This handy app is similar to a scribbling pad to jot down any type of data/action plan like
  • Things to take when on holidays
  • Monthly groceries list
Make it your home screen so that the lists serve as reminders.

Meebo - For the chatter box in you, Meebo connects you to friends for a relaxed chat. You can also access saved chats and history details from your laptop or desktop.

Twitter – With the help of this free app you can carry out normal operations like login, view tweets from pals, send tweets to your contacts, verify profile of contacts, messages, updates your profile, etc.

IMDB Movies & TV - The best amusement app for the movie bugs with a huge collection of movie database. The app enables the following.
  • Watch super quality movie trailers
  • Access TV listing
  • Flip thousands of photographs
  • Find show times of movies in different theaters
Amazon Kindle – Versatile app for e-book browsing and reading. With Kindle app you can sync between your last pages read on your Kindle and the Smartphone. This feature comes in handy for books running into hundreds of pages. You can access Amazon Kindle’s complete eBook library.

Advanced Task Killer – When several programs are running on your mobile screen, you may like to close some of them. Advanced Task Killer does the job of closing the screens quickly. Program running in the background can also be closed. Screen looks clean.

Google Goggles – This is an interesting app for visual search. Goggle will identify a set of objects from the snapshot taken through your mobile camera. Eight type of objects such as wine, logos, artwork, books, etc., are recognized by this app. It provides a nice pastime.

Doodle Jump – In this game you have to help a creature doodled on a square pad to reach as high as possible on the pad by jumping on platform without falling. You have to control the movement of the doodle by suitably tilting the handset against several obstacles. This fun game is exciting and addictive.

Barcode Scanner – This app enables
  • Scanning of barcodes on books, CDs.
  • Find prices and reviews.
  • Scan QR codes containing URLs, calendar events, contact details.
  • Find words and their place of occurrence in books.
Astro File Manager – With this free app you can able to investigate your SD card and carry out the following operations.
  • Deletion
  • Rename
  • Backup files
  • Move
Adobe Reader - This free app is a PDF reader for your handset. The app enables these features.
  • Pinch and zoom.
  • Double tap zoom.
  • Flick-scrolling and panning.
The new “Reflow” mode provides comfortable handling of bulky files on the small screen of the phone.

AppBrain – When you want to search, find and install several apps to your smartphone, you may resort to AppBrain for doing this task quickly. With AppBrain downloaded on your phone, opens AppBrain website. The app interacts with the site and does the rest of the job.

Pandora – This app provides different styles of music – classical, hip-hop, jazz, folk, rock, pop, etc., all streaming from radio through 7 screens with widgets on your mobile. Enjoy music of your heart’s delight in the cool comforts of your home or on the go.

To download any of the above app, just search for the app in Android Market on your mobile.

Sunday, 30 January 2011

Most Anticipated Games Coming in 2011

diablo3p 20 Most Anticipated Games Coming in 2011
Gamers, prepare. There are some very cool game titles coming. Here is a list of coolest and most anticipated games which will be releasing in year 2011.

1. Brink

An upcoming first-person shooter video game postponed two times and now expected to release in the first quarter of 2011. It offers team-based multiplayer missions with authored narratives, persistent player characters and an approachable nature. Brink story plot description is the battle of two sides Resistance and Security, in the utopian city called The Ark, a floating city surrounded by the waters of a flooded Earth. The Ark was designed as a prototype of environment friendly city, with renewable assets and no contamination, sizable to support 5,000 residents. However, due to many refugees entering the city from other parts of the world, its population has grown ten times greater, due to not enough resources resulting in the city being on the verge of a civil war.
brink25270161 20 Most Anticipated Games Coming in 2011
Custom characters can be produced with equipment bought with experience points earned by completing missions successfully. Special visual feature of Splash Damage’s SMART abbreviation of Smooth Movement Across Random Terrain also included which is helpful for a player to tackle and handle the complex environmental situation by analyzing their location. Four types of characters are placed in the team, in order to complete task successfully. First one is soldier always fight on front line. The Soldier can resupply ammo and carries high explosives to destroy main targets. The second one is of Engineer which is equipped for fixing things. Engineers can buff their teammates’ weapons and can also place steeples at strategic locations. The third one, Medic, primarily heals downed teammates, though they also buff their allies’ health. The final one, the Operative, deals mostly behind enemy lines, hacking objectives and performing acts of sabotage. Operatives can interview downed opponents to provide information about enemy positions or cover up themselves and operate as one of the opponent.

2. Metal Gear Solid: Rising

Metal Gear Solid: Rising is an upcoming action video game in the Metal Gear series. Rising is an interrelated set of the events between Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. However producer notes that development is focused less on stealth and more on sword fighting action, giving players the opportunity to engage enemies in direct battle if they wish. Players will still have a degree of freedom to play the game as a stealth title, though the stealth elements will highlight considerable speed and alertness of Raiden.
metalgearsolidrising526 20 Most Anticipated Games Coming in 2011
Main feature for the game is titled zan-datsu which involves cutting through enemies and “taking” parts from the bodies of dismembered cyborgs and robots. Things which can be taken include life, energy, parts, ammunition, items, and occasionally information.”Cutting” involves complicated sword tactics that lets players engage in third person warfare combat, as well as precisely slash enemies and objects “at will” along a geometrical plane using a “free slicing” mode. Virtually any object in the game can be cut, including vehicles and enemies, though elements of the environment were intentionally limited to structures such as pillars and walls to better facilitate game play. The free slicing mode is similar to other aiming modes in previous versions, but produces a special targeting reticule in the form of a transparent blue plane which can be rotated and moved, tracing orange lines across the surfaces of objects to indicate exactly where they will be cut.

3. Bulletstorm

Bulletstorm is the first person Shooter video game. The game is currently expected to release on 2nd February 2011. Bulletstorm’s theme plot is in futuristic place where an alliance is being sheltered by an elite band of private army called Dead Echo.
bulletstorm5222818 20 Most Anticipated Games Coming in 2011
When Dead Echo members Grayson Hunt and Ishi Sato discover that they had been working on the wrong side, they deceive their force commander and end up being expelled to the edges of the galaxy. Players take the role of Grayson Hunt a few years after he has been departed, who has since become a drunken space pirate. After getting involved in an interstellar crash landing, he is reunited with his old pal Sato. The two of them come about to know that they are surrounded by hordes of mutants and meat devouring gangs in a deserted paradise. Lot of armory and weapon store full of diversity is there for Players comprises of amazing combat moves. Bulletstorm also consists of a variety of unique skill shots which create high levels of hysterical game play. The skill shot game play system rewards the player for creating and stirring mayhem in the most creative way possible. The more exclusive the skill shot, the more points players will get to make advancement in their character.

4. Crysis 2

Crysis 2 is an upcoming first person shooter video game going to release in March 2011. It is the continuation to the video game Crysis and its corresponding game, Crysis Warhead.
crysis5027967 20 Most Anticipated Games Coming in 2011
Crysis 2 story begins after the three years of its last version game Crysis, 2023 in to the New York City, which has since been evacuated due to alien invasion. Similar to its predecessor, Crysis 2 will provide freedom to customize weaponry and abilities. Crytek wanted to avoid making another game set in a jungle environment, as were Far Cry and Crysis. New York City has been dubbed an urban jungle. The urban atmosphere offers more options in how to progress and plan attacks. Players will be able to follow the map between floors and buildings. Delta Force operator mode Alcatraz is also introduced the new successor of Nomad, from the first game. The central character steals the Nanosuit 2 from the Crynet Systems. As a consequence, Crynet Systems start a manhunt for the player. The Nanosuit 2 gives players more freedom in their options of how to tackle situations on the battlefield. The aliens have also undergone major redesigning, transforming the floating warriors from the first game into the even more lethal, armored bipedal weaponry that follow the devastation of New York. Crytek have stated their intention to beat the original game graphically and have noted that combat in the game will be “terribly” awesome.

5. Batman: Arkham City

Arkham City, like its previous version, is an action video game going to release in the third quarter of 2011. All of the tactics and characteristics provided in the last version of the game will be present a t the start of Arkham City, with introducing improved or new features.
batmanarkhamasyluml 20 Most Anticipated Games Coming in 2011
At least two new features have been revealed: smoke bombs which Batman can use to sneak away in confusion, and a broadcast tracer device to locate signals and track them to their sources. The game also includes some new elements; the use of Batman’s “Detective Mode”, which highlights elements such as enemy skeletons and clues on screen that is used to perform analysis at crime scenes, such as detecting the sniper round origin. The player also has access to a criminal record that tracks the major villains across the city that is used within Detective Mode and the forensic puzzles. In addition to the primary mission, the game will also have secondary missions which will feature a number of key characters and their stories within the city. At other times, Batman may be forced to fight through inmates using an improved version of the combat system from predecessor, allowing for multiple simultaneous counters, reactions to thrown objects. Movement about the city is made difficult due to the formation of gangs and territory between rival villains, such as Two Face and the Joker that causes in fighting that Batman needs to avoid.

6. Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Deus Ex: Human Revolution will be the third action RPG game in the Deus Ex series for Windows PC and expected to release in February 2010. Story begins 25 years before Deus Ex during the year 2027. Expansions of nanotechnology have yet to be developed and biomechanical expansions are the current state of the art.
deusexrev104962946 20 Most Anticipated Games Coming in 2011
Key character named Adam Jensen is a security officer with Sarif Industries a main company that involves in these expansions extraordinarily. After he witnesses a chilling attack on his company which leaves him horribly injured and forced to undergo augmentation to survive, the conspiracy begins. The visuals are a combination of cyberpunk and Renaissance aesthetics, resulting in a futuristic-looking exaggerated world. While playing game player have to go through 5 metropolises, including Detroit, Shanghai and Montreal. Moreover, the hero will have his own apartment where he may store his secrets and gathered some information. Human Revolution is the key element in the game which is categorized into four types: Combat, Stealth, Technology and Social. Using social skills, social augmentations, and stealth a player is able to play through the whole game killing only the bosses. Every enemy gang will have a specialized squad boss who will direct the team’s actions. If the boss is killed, the squad falls into panic. Weapons will fire separate ammunition types instead of depleting a unified pool. Weapon upgrading is also available according to the scenario and situation.

7. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

witcher4901860 20 Most Anticipated Games Coming in 2011
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is an upcoming adventure action video game sequel to The Witcher, scheduled to be release in the first quarter of 2011.The first gameplay video was shown to the audience; footage showed the different ways were used to complete the same level. Various levels and features were also unveiled in the footage. It has also been rumored that the game has sixteen different endings. The Witcher 2 story theme begins after the events which were took place in the first part; king’s daughter has been fell prey to evil curse of magic. Geralt agree to serve the King Foltest of Temeria to examine her. But in The Witcher 2, Geralt the story theme is different. Two scoundrels are introduced and Geralt has to fight with them with swords. First one is a strange man named as the Kingslayer and the second one is, a horrible elf secret agent called Iorveth.

8. Star Wars: The Old Republic

starwarstheoldrepublic 20 Most Anticipated Games Coming in 2011
SWTOR is an upcoming Star Wars universe based PC game specially targeting the multi player gaming field. The game is currently scheduled for a first or second quarter of 2011 to release. The SWTOR story begins with shortly after the establishment of a fragile peace between the re-emergent Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic, 300 years after the events of the SWTOR games and more than 3,500 years before the events in the Star Wars films. The Jedi are held responsible for the success of the Sith during the devastating 28 Year long Great Galactic war which lead to the Treaty of Coruscant prior to the Cold war and thus choose to relocate from Coruscant to Tython, where the Jedi order had been initially founded, to seek guidance from the Force. The Sith control Korriban, where they’ve re-established a Sith Academy. The game begins as new conflicts arise. There will be a range of playable races for the player to choose from. So far confirmed are Chiss, Human, Miraluka, Mirialan, Rattataki, Sith Pureblood, Twi’lek and Zabrak. Although Humans can pick any class available, other races have been restricted to only few classes.

9. Duke Nukem Forever

dukenukem4800358 20 Most Anticipated Games Coming in 2011
Duke Nukem Forever is an forthcoming first-person shooter video game for the Windows PC, and a sequel to the game Duke Nukem 3D, initially Duke Nukem Forever team encountered lot of troubles as they have to encountered, repetitively announcing and deferring release dates. On September 2010, after a long time, Duke Nukem Forever was officially reported by 2K Games to be in development at Gearbox Software, with an expected release date of 2011. Story is about the Responding to instructions of Duke Chief to Hoover dam in an EDF Drop Ship to examine a wormhole in the sky which is considered to be a gateway from the Alien planet. The Dam top is overrun with Alien forces so Duke is dropped off nearby and must drive his monster truck with a mounted missile launcher to make his way to the to the Dam. Enemies attacking power contains Attack ships, Alien drop ships, Pig-cops, Assault troopers and commanders, Recon bikes and many more.

10. Dragon Age II

Dragon Age II is the upcoming video game sequel to the Dragon Age and expected to be release in March 2011. Key character will remain same in the game unlike its previous version while the gender and class can be amended.
dragonage2v 20 Most Anticipated Games Coming in 2011
Key character named Hawke, is a migrant who rises to power. Dragon Age II is set in the same locations and situations as Dragon Age: Origins. Dragon Age II centers around the main character named Hawke, known to be a survivor from the affliction and the Champion of Kirkwall, who rises to power throughout the story. The story covers a decade throughout the game. Other characters are Bethany: Hawke’s sister and a mage, Carver: Hawke’s brother and a warrior, Cassandra: A Chantry Seeker who is interested in Hawke, Varric: A dwarf who acts as a narrator, Flemeth: The notorious Witch of the Wilds that can be found in Dragon Age: Origins. She is the mother of Morrigan, Wesley: An injured Templar that Hawke encounters while fleeing Lothering, Aveline: Wesley’s wife. A gigantic creatures having massive structure, huge four legs known as Strider. They are harmful to other living beings because of their deadly venomous ability.

11. Test Drive Unlimited 2

Test Drive Unlimited 2 is going to release in first quarter of 2011 as per schedule. Upcoming racing video game and will be the sequel to Test Drive Unlimited. Test Drive Unlimited 2 includes some amazing characteristics like dynamic weather effects, day and night cycles, and vehicle damage.
tdu24734964 20 Most Anticipated Games Coming in 2011
One player takes the control of vehicle while the other player reads the map through SUVs and a co-op game mode. Player has to go through up to all 60 levels by gaining points in order to finish it. Points can be scored by 4 ways Competition (racing, completing challenges), Social (making friends in the game, race against other people, joining clubs), Discovery (discover all roads, take photographs of specific locations, find all car wrecks), Collection (buy cars, houses, furniture, clothing). Also by performing stunts, drifting while turns and dodging player can earn some extra money. Player can also change their physical appearance dress and hair colors etc. The game location consists of two islands Ibiza and Oahu and both islands models are close to the real structure by using satellite data. New vehicle classes are included, such as SUVs for off-roading. Not all vehicles are obtainable however; clubs can get exclusive club cars when reaching high ranks. These exclusive vehicles, such as the McLaren MP4-12C, Gumpert Apollo, Aston Martin One-77 and James Bond’s very own Aston Martin DBS can be driven by any member of the car club and not by players from other clubs. The original game sported motorcycles that were quite hard to control.

12. Diablo III

diablo34691964 20 Most Anticipated Games Coming in 2011
Diablo III is a horror action based game going to release in 2011, including the hack and slash and “dungeon roaming” genres, presently in creation as the third installment of Blizzard’s Diablo franchise. Story begins when this world was saved twenty years prior by a handful of unnamed heroes in Diablo II. Warriors that survived the assault of the armies of the Burning Hells have gone mad from their ordeals and it is up to a new generation of heroes to face the forces of evil threatening the world of Sanctuary. Diablo’s world map is composed primarily of two main continents with several small islands in the Northwest region. Diablo III theme is same as that of its last version Diablo II. The proprietary engine will incorporate Havoc physics and feature destructible environments with an in-game damage effect. Enemies will utilize the 3D environment as well, in ways such as crawling up the side of a wall from the depths into the combat area. Every creature model will have around 35 unique death animations. Blizzard’s Battle.net service is available for multiplayer game mode. Diablo III also involves some new features which were originally designed for StarCraft II.

13. GTA 5

gta54392008 20 Most Anticipated Games Coming in 2011
GTA series which is famous for its action, adventure, driving, and occasional role-playing, stealth and racing elements is planning to come up with its new installment in the series – Grand Theft Auto 5. GTA 5 is expected to be released by the end of 2010 or the beginning of 2011. The game is expected to stay on top of the charts throughout 2011.

14. Hitman 5

hitman54431839 20 Most Anticipated Games Coming in 2011
Hitman 5 is to be released by the end of 2010 or the beginning of 2011, taking agent 47 in whole new direction. Also news came via page 17 of an Edios report claiming that the new Hitman 5 is in development. Hitman 5 is the fifth installment in the Hitman game series. It has been confirmed by the IO Community Manager that the game will not follow a story based on the movie.

15. Mass Effect 3

According to the project director Casey Hudson Mass Effect 3 is in its early stages of development. However, it has been confirmed that game is to be announced by late 2011. Casey Hudson latest interview with MTV revealed certain details about the upcoming Mass effect 3. The game is supposed to have an epic conclusion, which is overwhelming. Hudson also told MTV that there are about 1000 variables that are already lined up for variations in the new chapter. After quantifying the variables in the story line, Hudson has exaggerated the pre release hype for the game. Putting a huge divergence in the final chapter of trilogy would be a remarkable thing to do, from which we can sense more twist in the upcoming game.
masseffect34465929 20 Most Anticipated Games Coming in 2011
So far revealed, the game is expected to have Richer RPG features, more combat options and more complex enemies. The developers seriously need to work at RPG features and combats as they weren’t very appealing in the ME2. We can expect that ME3 to be an excellent role playing experience, something that was quite missing in the Mass Effect 2.

16. Max Payne 3

Rock star games, which are famous for the max Payne, midnight club and grand theft auto are going to release Max Payne 3 in 2011. The game is sequel to Max Payne a shooter video game which was released in the year 2001. A reason of fame for this game is the bullet time mode where the bullet time is slowed down to such an extent that it could be seen with naked eye.
maxpayne34583590 20 Most Anticipated Games Coming in 2011
Max Payne 3 begins with a new chapter of Max Payne, a New York City police officer who is now 12 years older and he has left NYPD, the guy is shown in new attire where he is bald and he has grown beard. The game will be plotted in Brazil where Max is working for a private security company.

17. Rage

rage560x2985782911 20 Most Anticipated Games Coming in 2011
This game looks like a horror movie. If you like horror movies, then I bet you can’t wait for this game. Til then, pump your adrenalin with some Unreal Tournament (and the latest Puppet Master: Axes of Evil).
The story goes like this: an asteroid hits the planet (or, in other words, the apocalypse already happened). Now you’re playing in a post-apocalyptic world. And yeah, you’re one of those important guys who was created to re-build and bring peace to the entire planet.

18. Portal 2

portalvideogame5857825 20 Most Anticipated Games Coming in 2011
You’ll have to use your brain in this one (which isn’t very bad after all!). This game was supposed to come out in 2010 but Valve decided to delay it for 2011. Unfortunately, we still don’t know the exact release date. As you can see from the pictures, you’ll be that guy with the portal gun who will try to solve various mysteries and puzzles through the game. As you go, you’ll face the strange laws of gravity in the world (and maybe learn some new things about physics) and learn how to use your gun in creative ways.

19. Mortal Kombat 9

Mortal Kombat is without a doubt one of the best fighting games. This game is 2.5D (2D game play BUT 3D graphics). The creators will try to resemble the time of the first 3 series of Mortal Kombat. What’s new, however, is the locations and some of the characters.
mortalkombat560x3136242 20 Most Anticipated Games Coming in 2011
The story is to take place during the time of first three games: Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II and Mortal Kombat 3. However, the events of the games are said to take place in a different scenario because of Raiden’s knowledge of the future. Mortal Kombat is the first M-rated Mortal Kombat game to be developed for the seventh generation of consoles.

20. Driver: San Francisco

Time for something exciting, something that will pump your adrenalin…cops…yes…and a car…let’s just hope it’s DirectX 11 and has a killer graphic.
driversanfrancisco 20 Most Anticipated Games Coming in 2011
The game takes place a few months after the events of Driv3r. It is revealed that both John Tanner and Charles Jericho survived the shootout in Istanbul. However, in the game’s trailer, it is revealed that Jericho is escaping the San Francisco police in a hijacked police truck, causing havoc on the Golden Gate Bridge. After being hit head-on by Jericho, Tanner is taken to a hospital and left into a coma. The game will take place in Tanner’s coma dream. Some other strange additions are the inability to get out of the car and the low number of frames-per-second.

Life In A Day


YouTube joins world famous filmmakers Ridley Scott and Kevin Macdonald in asking people around to world to help them create the first user-generated feature-length documentary film shot on a single day - July 24, 2010. Life in a Day is a historic global film experiment that enlists the global community to capture a moment of their lives on Saturday, July 24 and to upload that footage to www.youtube.com/lifeinaday.

Academy Award-winning director Kevin Macdonald (State of Play, Last King of Scotland, Touching the Void) will direct, bringing together the most compelling footage into a feature-length documentary film. The project will be executive produced by Ridley Scott (Robin Hood, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down) and produced by his company Scott Free Productions. Individuals whose footage makes it into the finished film will be credited as co-directors and 20 of these contributors will be flown to the 2011 Sundance Film Festival for the film’s world premiere.

Life in a Day is one of several efforts by YouTube to push the boundaries of music, art, and now film. YouTube Symphony Orchestra and the recently announced YouTube Play partnership with the Guggenheim are examples of the convergence of online video with traditional arts and Life in a Day takes this effort into the cinematic realm. LG Electronics is supporting Life in a Day as a key part of its long-standing Life’s Good campaign and to support the creation of quality online content that can be shared and enjoyed by all.
                   

S60 Themes

Fleurs Theme for Nokia 5800 by Jendell

It’s a Jendell theme created for Nokia 5800.. Based on Flowers
Download Flowers by Jendell

Aston Martin Theme for Nokia 5800

A great theme dedicated to Aston Martin.. I really recommend it!
Download Aston Martin Theme

Nokia 5800 Theme - 1

A perfect viewed theme for Nokia 5800..
Download Theme
To install this theme, send glow_wave_bluray.sis to your phone and install it

Black and Blue by Pizero

Pizero is back with a new GREAT theme. It’s black and blue colored

Night Theme by Taieb

Thanks to Taieb for this GREAT theme

Black Chrome

Download Theme

Louis Armstrong - What a Wonderful World Lyrics

Saturday, 29 January 2011

How to Choose a Processor / CPU

Choices
In the current market you have twelve main categories of microprocessors to choose for your desktop computers: Core i7, Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad, Pentium Dual Core, Celeron, Xeon, Phenom, Phenom II, AthlonII X2, Athlon X2, Athlon 64, Sempron, and Opteron.

  • Intel Core i7 1366
    Core i7 is the latest in quad core technology. Core i7 uses Intel Nehalem micro architecture and is the successor to the Intel Core 2 series. However, Core i7 no longer has a Front Side Bust or FSB it now uses Quick Path Interlink also known as QPI. QPI is measured in gigabytes transferred per second (GB/s). Core i7 also implements an entirely new socket called LGA1366 which is incompatible with all earlier processors. Core i7 is a quad core which implements Intel’s Hyper-Threading technology which allows for 8 processing streams. To support the speed and transfer rate of these processors all motherboards use only DDR3 memory.



  • Intel Core i7, i5 1156
    the Core i7 and i5 for socket 1156 are the same as a Core i7 1366 processor except that the socket uses a few less pins and the processors lack a little performance next to the 1366 processors. However the 1156 processors are more price effective for the average consumer to use. Alot of the 1156 processors do not have the Hyper-Threading technology of the 1366 processors.



  • Intel Core 2 Quad
    Core 2 Quad is based on the Kentsfield and Yorksfield micro architecture and is the most popular quad core on the market do to the price versus the performance of the CPU. Unlike Core i7 the Core 2 series still implements a Front Side Bust which ranges from 1066 MHz to 1600 MHz for the quad cores. The Core 2 Quad also has up to 12 mb of L2 Cache. Core 2 Quad uses socket LGA775 also known as socket T. Socket T is the first processor socket to implement the pins for the CPU on the motherboard to help reduce the chance to bend pins. Core 2 unlike Core i7 does not use Hyper-Threading technology so you are limited to 4 stream processes. Core 2 was the first series to introduce the 45 nm processor cores.



  • Intel Core 2 Duo
    The microprocessors for Core 2 Duo include the Conroe, Allendale, and Wolfdale cores. The Conroe and Allendale cores were the first Core 2 Duo cores and have a 65 nm architecture. The Wolfdale is the latest micro architecture which uses 45 nm cores. Like the Core 2 Quad the Core 2 Duo does not have Hyper-Threading technology and since it is a dual core you are limited to 2 stream processes. The Core 2 Duo also like Core 2 Quad use a Front Side Bus which ranges from 800 MHz to 1333MHz and has a max of 6 mb of L2 Cache. Also like the Core 2 Quad the Core 2 Duo uses the LGA775 socket.



  • Intel Pentium Dual Core
    The Pentium Dual Core is a budget dual core with a very similar architecture to the Core 2 processors. The Pentium Dual Core like the Core 2 uses the Allendale and Wolfdale micro architectures. However, the Pentium series only has 1 mb of Cache and only has a Front Side Bus of a maximum of 1066 MHz and goes as low as 533 MHz. The Pentium Dual Core like the Core 2 series does not have Hyper-Threading and have only 2 stream processes. The Pentium series shares the same socket as the core 2 series which is LGA775 also known as Socket T.



  • Intel Celeron
    The Celeron is the lowest cpu that Intel produces. It ranges in both single and dual cores and has a Front Side Bus ranging from 266 MHz to 800 MHz. The Celeron offers a max of 512 kb of L2 Cache. The Celeron series is based off of the Conroe-L, Prescott, Cedar Mill, and Allendale micro architectures. However just like Pentium and Core 2 series it uses the LGA775 socket and does not have Hyper-Threading technology. The stream process change between 1 and 2 depending on if your buying a dual core or a single core Celeron.



  • Intel Xeon
    The Xeon processors are a non-consumer processor that is used in single or multi cpu servers, workstations and embedded systems. The Xeon comes as either a dual or quad core and is based on the Conroe, Allendale, Wolfdale, Kentsfield, Yorkfield, Wolfdale dp, Bloomfield, Clovertown, Tigerton, Dunnington, Harpertown, and Nehalem-EP micro architectures. The Xeon processors are based off of both the Core 2 and i7 design. The Core 2 based models have a Front Side Bus ranging from 800 MHz to 1600 MHz. The Core i7 based models have Quick Path Interlink of 4.8 GT/s to 6.4 GT/s. The Core 2 based Xeons do not have Hyper-Threading technology however, the Core i7 Xeons do have Hyper-Threading technology. Xeon processors range between 2 to 8 stream processes. Xeon processors have 3 different sockets Socket 771, Socket 775, and Socket 1366. Xeons based on the Core 2 architectures use Socket 771 and socket 775 while Xeons based on the Core i7 architectures use Socket 1366.



  • AMD Phenom II
    Phenom II is the latest cpu that AMD has released to the consumer market. Phenom II is made up of dual, triple and quad core processors these include X2, X3 and X4. The Phenom II processors all contain 512 kb L2 cache per core and contain between 4 MB and 6 MB of L3 cache. AMD’s processors use neither Front Side bus nor Quick Path interlink instead they use HyperTransport technology which rates the processors in MT/s or megabytes transferred per second. All Phenom II processors have an HT speed of 4000MT/sThe Phenom II processors are based on the Callisto, Heka and deneb micro architecture and uses the Socket AM3 and Socket AM2+.



  • AMD Phenom
    The Phenom has two different categories X3 and X4. Phenom X3 is a triple core processor while Phenom X4 is a quad core processor. The Phenom X3 processors have an HT speed of 3600MT/s while the Phenom X4 has 4000MT/s. Both X3 and X4 processors have 512 kb L2 cache per core as well as 2 mb L3 cache that is divided among the cores weather it is 3 or 4 cores. The Phenom X3 cores are based on the Toliman micro processor and the Phenom X4 is based on the Agena micro processor and uses the Socket AM2 and Socket AM2+.



  • AMD Athlon II X2
    Athlon II X2 is a class of process that contain only dual core processors. Based off the Regor micro architecture the Athlon II X2 has an HT speed of 4000MHz and like the Phenom II uses the Socket AM3as well as Socket AM2+. The Athlon II X2 has 2 x 1 MB of L2 cache. Unlike the Phenom series the cache is not shared on this processor each core gets 1 MB. The Athlon II X2 cores range in speeds from 2.8GHz to 3.0GHz. This processor is geared for consumers who have a budget but wish to have some performance as well.



  • AMD Athlon X2
    The Athlon X2 series contains the Athlon X2 and the Athlon 64 X2. Both processors are dual core cpu and have an HT speed of 2000MHz. The Athlon X2 series like the Athlon II X2 has 1 MB of L2 cache per core. The Athlon 64 X2 is based on the Windsor and Brisbane micro architecture while the Athlon X2 is based off the later Kuma micro architecture. The Athlon 64 X2 and the Athlon X2 both use the Socket AM2. However if your looking for something to upgrade in the future you want to look at a Socket AM3 processor. Socket AM2 is slowly becoming obsolete as manufactures move in the direction of DDR3.



  • AMD Athlon 64
    The Athlon 64 is a Socket AM2 single core processor meant for consumer use. These sets of processors have an HT speed of 2000MHz. The Athlon 64 processor 512Kb of L2 cache and 64KB L1 data cache as well as 64KB L1 instruction cache. The Athlon 64 processors are based on the Orleans and Lima micro architectures.



  • AMD Sempron
    The Sempron series like the Athlon 64 series is a single core Socket AM2 processor but is more geared for budget consumer use. The Sempron has an HT speed of 2000MHz and an L2 cache of 256KB. The Sempron is based on the Manila, Sparta, and Sargas micro architectures.



  • AMD Opteron
    The Opteron series is a server series processor which comes in both four and six core designs. The Opteron series has processors for several sockets which are Socket F, Socket F+, Socket AM3, Socket AM2+ and Socket AM2.The Opteron cores are based on the Santa Rosa, Barcelona, Shanghai, Istanbul, Santa Ana, Budapest and Suzuka micro architectures. The quad core Opteron has an HT speed of 1000 MHz and a shared 8MB of L3 cache and 512KB of L2 cache per core. The six core Opteron has an HT speed of 2.0 GT/s up to 4.8GT/s and like the quad core has 8MB of L3 cache to share and 512KB of L2 cache per core.



  • Power Consumption
    All processors AMD or Intel now have low wattage options. Most processors now operate between 45 and 130 watts. The higher the processor the higher the power consumption and the more watts the power supply needs to supply. So when choosing a cpu remember to choose an adequate power supply. Also make sure to account for your video cards and drives.



  • Reliability:
    Among all computer components, microprocessors are among those with the least return rates and thus the highest reliability, which is true for all brands of microprocessors. This is probably due to the fact that the microprocessors are mass-produced by machines with little if any, human interaction. In addition, the quality control process can be automated.



  • Price vs. Performance:
    There is typically no good correlation between these two factors, especially at the top speeds. Average users should not purchase the top-speed on the market. The price difference is not worthy of the performance difference. So when trying to decide what is right for you figure out your budget then figure out your configuration wether it is AMD or Intel then decide which processor best fits your price range.



  • AMD vs. Intel
    The battle between AMD and Intel has been ongoing since the first processors. Over time they have changed back and forth over which to buy. However, as of now if price is not important then Intel is the way to go. While intel processors are more expensive you will receive more performance from Intel cpu's. The exception to this is when you look at the Celeron processors. AMD sempron out performs the Celeron and is cheaper in price. Now if your looking to buy a cpu on a small budget then AMD is the way to go. AMD processors are all cheaper than Intel and provide adequate performance for their price. So in conclusion while Intel's processors out perform AMD's processors in the high end if price is an object then AMD is for you, if price is no object and you want all out performance go with Intel.



  • Upgrade Considerations:
    When choosing mother board and cpu if you are not going for top of the line try to get a motherboard that supports higher than the processor and memory you are going to choose. This way in the future when you decide you need a faster processor or you just need more memory to run more programs you will be able to add to the same motherboard instead of rebuilding the entire computer. Also in some small changes you might not even have to reinstall your operating system since your motherboard chipset didnt change.



  • Over Clocking:
    Overclocking should not be attempted by novice computer users inputting the wrong data may cause cpu failure which is not covered under any warranty.



  • Best Freeware for S60 5th Edition

    Continuing a fine and longstanding tradition, we bring you what will be a regularly updated top pick of the very best freeware for S60 5th Edition. Where necessary, there are notes about compatibility with different devices or manufacturers. Updated October 20th 2009
    This round-up replaces the previous Top 20 Freeware for the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and is also now a Top 25 Freeware for the Nokia N97.
    5800 running AccuWeather
    With Nokia's Ovi Store being rather cluttered and with other application stores being somewhat scattered, I thought an update to All About Symbian's definitive 'Top 20 Freeware' has never been more overdue. In fact, it's now a 'Top 25'!!
    Note that in order to be considered for our Top 25 Freeware, an application must:
    1. be either free or at least 100% fully working in demo form, with no time restrictions and not more than one nag screen
    2. be (more or less) fully optimised for S60 5th Edition, a touch-screen and a nHD (or similar) screen size
    1. Google Maps
    The first really huge third party S60 application to get a full touch makeover, this works superbly on S60 5th Edition, on all phones, in both landscape and portrait modes, and with touch-panning of maps and of the StreetView displays (in countries where this is supported). Version 3.2.1 is the latest and has built-in Latitude (friend-finding), Traffic and Wikipedia (layers) support. It's also terrific as a general purpose location-centric search tool (e.g. find the nearest plumber or pizza or hairdresser).
    5800 screenshot
    Get it at m.google.com

    2. YouTube
    Yes, there's now a mobile version of the YouTube main web site, but exactly what it serves up is dependent on the device you use to browse it - and there are the delays caused by having to bring up different pages and by waiting for RealPlayer or Flash Lite to do its thing. Better is to use the dedicated YouTube client for S60 5th Edition. It's fast to search and browse from clip to clip, works over Wi-Fi or 3G and the only trick is in getting hold of it in the first place.
    Picture quality is QVGA, scaled up, but it's quite good enough for casual viewing.
    YouTube 2.2.17 screenshot
    Try m.google.com, but if you're not offered the client for your phone, grab v2.2.17  instead.


    3. GMail
    The third big Google application, GMail is Java-based, which means that you need to take a trip into Settings | App Mgr | Installed apps and turn off the S60-supplied navigation and function 'keys'. That done though, you've got a fully touch-enabled, full-screen view into your GMail, complete with all features, such as 'Stars', 'Drafts' and your full list of emailed contacts. Try it - it'll work better than you expect.
    Screenshot GMail
    Get it at m.google.com in Web on your phone.


    4. BBC iPlayer
    For UK residents only, of course, and almost certainly only really practical while in Wi-Fi range, this presents the best of the BBC's TV output in very high quality, in streaming or DRM-protected download form. There are hundreds of programmes on offer, mostly from the last few weeks, plus a number of radio programmes as well, better for listening on the move since the bandwidth requirements are somewhat lower.
    It's the download option, available for many programmes, which really impresses, since you can grab things for watching later while travelling, with no worries over needing expensive connectivity. The DRM isn't a problem as long as you watch your downloads fairly promptly (within a week, usually).
    screenshot
    Although BBC iPlayer is now in the Ovi Store, you can also go directly to www.bbc.co.uk/mobile/iplayer/ to see what the BBC's site offers you automatically. If your S60 5th Edition phone hasn't been added yet to the BBC's compatibility database (they're not very quick at updating this), it's worth trying www.bbc.co.uk/mobile/iplayer/iplayer.wgz directly. There's a great chance that the widget will work.


    5. Opera Mini
    Why on earth would you want another web browser? You have S60 Web, after all? Moreover, why would you want a mouldy, ol' Java app? Because it's faster, slicker and more frugal than Web, that's why. Once you get past the initial Java hand-holding 'Do you want to go online?' question, Opera Mini, quite simply, rocks. Backed up by special proxy servers, even huge web pages like BoingBoing can be opened in just a few seconds and browsed around with full touch-panning. If you find S60 Web too slow for tradition text-based pages then Opera Mini is a definite candidate, especially if you're not on a flat rate data plan. The new version 5 beta introduces multi-tab browsing and an integrated touchscreen keyboard to save you messing with the standard Java text box forms, but the production v4.2 is also well worth installing.
    5800 screenshot
    Get either version from mini.opera.com

    6. Quickoffice v6 (upgrade)
    It may seem a little odd to see Quickoffice in a list of freeware and, it's true, I'm cheating slightly. But by default, Quickoffice's document viewers aren't in the 5800 XpressMusic's ROM. Instead, they're a free addition, giving you Word, Excel and Powerpoint viewing with full touchscreen support. And on other S60 5th Edition phones, the viewers included are often 'old' v4 or v5 editions. So, make the most of the downloads and upgrades offered in your phone's Download! or 'Sw update' system. In particular, note that all Nokia phone owners are entitled to a free upgrade to the latest v6 viewers, giving extra document compatibility - look in the 'Updates and upgrades' section of Quickoffice if you're not already on v6.
    5800 screenshot
    And I can't resist a plug for upgrading to the latest editing version. The Quickoffice folks always seem to have one offer or another on, so check out their web site for details.

    7. Snaptu
    As with Opera Mini, don't write this off because it's Java-hosted. Snaptu offers to bring whole swathes of your online life together in one, streamlined and optimised application. Social networks, news, TV listings, the works. And it's extensible, with new modules being added weekly.
    Snaptu
    Get it from the Nokia Ovi Store or by going to m.snaptu.com in Web on your phone.

    8. AccuWeather
    One of S60's best kept secrets, AccuWeather was always a useful little widget to have installed. With the advent of S60 5th Edition and touch control, it has been dramatically improved, now with hourly and daily forecasts, weather charts, maps, and even GPS integration, to query the exact forecast for your current location - and all for free, quite amazingly. Admittedly, it takes a good ten seconds or so to retrieve the necessary weather data over the Internet, but in this case it's well worth the wait (and anyway, with your multitasking smartphone you can just switch away to something else and come back shortly, can't you?)
    5800 screenshot
    AccuWeather is best found in the Ovi Store for Nokia phones (especially if you're after the version with the N97 homescreen widget) and it's also archived and up for download on many sites right across the web, e.g.

    9. Files on Ovi
    A terrific way to keep your important desktop folders automatically backed up (you get up to 10GB free, amazingly, in Nokia's 'Anytime files' system) and to have remote access to your master documents - on either Windows PC or Apple Mac - through the phone, Files on Ovi is fully compatible with Nokia's S60 5th Edition phones - it's just that Nokia doesn't make it easy...
    5800 screenshot
    Although you can simply access your 'Files on Ovi' through the mobile web site, it's tedious having to keep signing in, which makes the Files on Ovi widget so important, since it handles this for you. In order to get the widget, either sign in to the mobile site (and yes there really are half a dozen 'secure' warning dialogs to step through) and then look at the bottom of the home page - OR - type in files.ovi.com/wrt/fl/downloadw into Web and grab the widget directly.
    You'll also need to install the Windows or Mac OS X 'connector' utility, which handles the remote file access and the uploading to 'Anytime files'.
    PS. I believe this solution also works with the Samsung S60 5th Edition phone(s), but don't tell Nokia... 8-)



    10. Wireless keyboard
    Although this hasn't been fully updated officially yet for S60 5th Edition and thus shouldn't qualify for this list as not being optimised, I couldn't resist adding the necessary install for driving a Bluetooth wireless keyboard. With this onboard, you can treat your S60 full-screen touch phone (a 5800 is shown below) as a mini-laptop and the solution works rather well.
    5800 screenshot
    Use this install file, the version for S60 3rd Edition FP1 phones, until such time as Nokia get round to doing a formal S60 5th Edition release.

    11. France 24 Mobile
    Full credit to France 24, the TV/media company, for putting out their content for free on all mobile platforms. And no, don't worry, you don't have to speak French. There's general news, business, culture and weather content here, in pre-edited (but regularly updated) 10 minute segments, all in either French, English or Arabic, plus a genuinely live stream onto the appropriate language France TV channel.
    Video quality's not the best by default, but you can change the stream to 'Highest quality' in Settings, after which picture quality is easily up with that of the BBC's iPlayer.
    5800 screenshot
    You can get France 24 for your S60 5th Edition phone from the Nokia Ovi Store or by going to m.france24.mobiclip.com in Web.

    12. PhoneTorch
    Fabulous. With the dual LED flash system able to be used during video recording, why on earth didn't Nokia let us use the LEDs as a torch when needed? Why indeed, which is why PhoneTorch is such a little God-send. On devices with the LEDs covered in normal use (e.g. the Nokia N97), you'll need to prepare the way by opening the camera slider and then closing the Camera application.
    PhoneTorch

    13. "JoikuSpot Light FREE Hotspot"
    Perhaps a pinnacle of modern software engineering, JoikuSpot turns your S60 phone and its data connection into a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot for other devices (of yours) to hook into. The premium version has loads more functions and security, but for cheap, cheerful and ad-hoc use, the free 'Light' version does very well, letting you surf away on your laptop, for example, using (in this case) the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic  as the hotspot. Yes, PC Suite also allows through-Internet connections, but isn't is just so cool to be making your own Wi-Fi hotspot?
    Get it from the Nokia Ovi Store .

    14. Fring and 15. Nimbuzz
    As ever, I can't split these two, offering very similar feature sets. Both are Nokia 5th-Edition-optimised VoIP and chat clients, and both include Skype integration. So I'm going to let you try both and make your own mind up!
    screenshot
    Grab both utilities from the Nokia Ovi Store or directly from the developer mobile sites: Get Fring by going to m.fring.com in Web, grab Nimbuzz by going to m.nimbuzz.com in Web.


    16. Qik
    This well known live video capture utility. The quality of its output usually disappoints (relative to capturing video with the native Camera app), but hey, if you need to stream live then you need to stream live...!

    screenshot
    Get it from the Nokia Ovi Store or (e.g. for Samsung i8910 HD) 

    17. Mobbler
    This is a Last.fm radio player and 'scrobbler' for S60 smartphones. It allows you to listen to your Last.fm radio stations and to scrobble (share) tracks played using the S60 Music Player.


    18. Palringo
    Aside from Skype, its one omission, this is perhaps the ultimate instant messaging client for S60, building in every other chat system, including (unusually) Facebook Chat. There's GPS support too, so that your contacts can see where you are in the world.
    Get it from the Nokia Ovi Store or from www.palringo.com in Web on your S60 5th Edition phone.
    screenshot screenshot
    19. Psiloc World Traveler
    Similar to Worldmate (but here compatible with all S60 phones and not just Nokia ones), this offers free travel related functions, including daylight globe, currency conversion and 5 day weather forecast. It's all rather slick and, like Worldmate, Psiloc probably plan to make their money on the premium flight information, coming soon. The rest of the application is free, however, which is why it's included here.
    In theory, World Traveler is in the Ovi Store, but it's currently giving an error. So get it from here. Note that the install is incredibly slow - I'm guessing the SIS file is very complicated and has all sorts of language options which need to be worked through by the OS!


    20. Paint Pad
    A rewritten version (allegedly) of a Forum Nokia source example, Paint Pad does a good job of standing on its own two feet, with proper load/save/background/send options, plus many more painting tools. It's the paint utility that Nokia forgot to add!
    5800 screenshot
    Get it from Nokia's site or (if you don't like all the Flash) here.

    21. Tweets60
    Yup, it's a full blown Twitter client and a whole heap more friendly than using the Twitter mobile web site each day. Not in the same league as Gravity but then this is free, after all. The functionality's mainly there, with the usual columns/lists for tweets, replies and direct messages. Sadly, there's no web-like 'kinetic' scrolling, so you have to use the fiddly scroll bar.
    Get it from the Nokia Ovi Store or from here.
    screenshot screenshot
    22. X-plore
    (shown above-right) With a decidedly non-standard interface, X-plore is still mightily functional and is the current file manager of choice on S60 5th Edition. Although shareware, it only has the one 3-second nag screen and there's no time limit to your trial.
    Get it here.


    23. TFL Tube Map
    A little specialist, to be sure, it's only appropriate to someone visiting London, but it's a slick conversion from paper to pixels (as the company name suggests). Browse around the London tube network without having to remember to bring your paper tube map.
    Get it from here.
    screenshot screenshot
    24 S60 Internet Radio
    (shown above right) Nope, not Nokia's nice, friendly version, which has yet to be ported to S60 5th Edition, unbelievably apparently. This is the original Shoutcast player from a few years ago. It's been minimally updated since, but does work. It only comes with a handful of Shoutcast stations, but it's reasonably easy to create .pls (playlist) files yourself on the desktop and then copy these across to a /shoutcast folder on the device.
    Get it here.

    25. The Musician's Swiss Knife and Chords
    Two sister apps from the same developer, both shown/grouped here. The perennial BPM counter, metronome and note generator, implemented here in full-screen Java. Impressively, there's a range of different instrument tones that can be generated. And... a guitarists chord database deluxe - just pick the root chord and the variation and the fingering is shown - and can be played by tapping on the plectrum. There's even a choice of four guitar tones, but I was disappointed not to be able to scroll up the neck to see the various inversions as well. Still, for a freebie....
    screenshot screenshot