World War II : Road to victory

Ever wanted to create history? If yes, here is your time. Matrix Games and IQ Software have announced the release of ther debut game, World War II : Road to victory. World War II : Road to victory is a strategy based game wherein the player can get the actual World War II experience. The battles are fought at places from France and Russia covering the Europe to the deserts of North Africa.

You can move your allies to your side to gain more power, concentrate on strengthening your combat units from airborne soldiers and armored divisions up to nuclear weapons, use resources to upgrade you arms and ammunition and a lot more. You have the choice of playing the game as a single nation or multiple nations to have the real experience. Historical leaders enhance the performance of your armies, strategically important events that seek your attention take place in the game from time to time. Your decisions in such issues decide the course of war. Amazing graphics and sound effects coupled with excellent gameplay make it a must play game for every strategy game enthusiast.

Cuil - Google's new rival

A new search engine 'Cuil'(pronounced cool) is all set to give sleepless nights to google employees. It is being said that Cuil is the biggest search engine and has an index span of around 120 billion web pages.

Cuil is the outcome of hard work by Anna Patterson, ex-google employee, her husband - Tom Costello, and two other ex-google engineers, Russel Power and Louis Monier. Cuil started operating from 28th July 08 and got enormous response from surfers.

Rather than placing the search results in a vertical manner, one below the other like most search engines, Cuil places them in a magazine like manner i.e. horizontally in columns, which looks pretty neat.

Google has been getting competition from various search engines in the past like Teoma, Vivisimo, Snap, Mahalo and Powerset but this is the first time that a search engine developed by ex-google engineers is in the contest. Google responded to Cuil on its blog by saying,"Having great competitors is a huge benefit to us and everyone in the search space, It makes us all work harder, and at the end of the day our users benefit from that."

Logitech ChillStream Controller

Logitech ChillStream gamepad has got Xbox 360ish looks. Actually it is for PC. With its patented Cooling System technology you can forget about those sweaty palms while playing games. It actually flows air onto your fingers and the palm of your hand to prevent them from getting sweaty. The gamepad has good ergonomic design to fit comfortably in your hands. The buttons are well placed, so that you can have hours of gameplay without any strain in your palms. It has nice rubber grips on the side which give better grip while holding the gamepad.

Specifications

System Requirements
Windows® XP, or Vista™
PC with Pentium® processor or compatible
Available USB port

Package Contents
Logitech® ChillStream™ Controller
User guide
Gaming software
1-year limited warranty

The Art of Murder : FBI Confidential

The Art of Murder : FBI Confidential is basically a point and click game developed by City Interactive which has also developed games like Project Freedom, WWII: Pacific Heroes, and Wings of Honour previously.

The plot of The Art of Murder: FBI Confidential revolves around a rookie FBI agent named Nicole Bonnet. New York is witnessing a series of gruesome murders. Players have to play the game as Nicole and unfold the mystery to find out who is behind all these killings. Naturally the game has a dark and dingy storyline suitable for mature players only.

The Art of Murder: FBI Confidential keeps the player involved throughout the game with its excellent graphics and amazing sound effects. One has to constantly deal with puzzles and twists to crack the codes and advance in the game. It has got 20 in-game 3D characters, 100 puzzles, 15 main locations (200 pre-rendered images in total), and 5,000 dialogue lines.

Here are some of its pics:

 
  

   

Nokia Supernova 7310

I think this is the most decent and good looking phone in all of the Supernova phones released by Nokia. It has no jingles and bells, just a purely sober phone. Some of its features include a 2 MP, to shoot pictures at 1600x1200 pixels, Xpress-on covers with 3D textured designs, TV out etc.

Dimensions : 106.5 x 45.4 x 12 mm, 58 cc
Weight : 83 g

Display Type : TFT, 16M colors

Size : 240 x 320 pixels, 2.0 inches

Vibration : Yes

Memory : Phonebook 2000 entries, Photocall

Call records : 20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls

Card slot : microSD (TransFlash), up to 4GB, buy memory, 32 MB internal memory

Data : GPRS Class 32, 88 kbps

HSCSD : No

EDGE : Class 32, 296 kbits

3G : No

WLAN : No

Bluetooth : Yes, v2.0 with A2DP

Infrared : port No

USB : Yes, v2.0 microUSB

Browser : WAP 2.0/xHTML

Colors : Steel Blue, Wasabi Green, Candy Pink, Mushroom Silver, Plum Jam, Electric Blue, Yellow Mellow

Camera : 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video (QCIF@15fps)

Other Features :
- Java MIDP 2.0
- Stereo FM radio with RDS
- MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+/WMA player
- MPEG-4 player
- Built-in handsfree
- Voice command/dial/memo
- Xpress-on covers with 3D textured designs
- Push to Talk
- Macromedia Flash Lite 2.1
- TV-out
- T9

Battery : Standard battery, Li-Ion 860 mAh (BL-4CT)

Stand-by : Up to 300 h

Talk time : Up to 4 h

Nokia Supernova 7610

Love it of hate it, this is Nokia 7610. Looking at its shiny face it feels that it has got a touch screen user interface. But wait, slide it to reveal the keypad. I wonder why is Nokia still not making cellphones with touch screen interface.

Nokia 7610 is scheduled to hit the markets by 3Q 2008.
This 99 gm phone boasts of a 16million color screen which is now a days Nokia's standard. It has 3.15 megapixel camera. It has 64 MB inbuilt memory and option of expanding memory using microSD card.

Specificaions

 

Size Dimensions : 98 x 48 x 15 mm, 63 cc

Weight : 99 g

Display Type : TFT, 16M colors

Size : 240 x 320 pixels, 2.0 inches

Vibration : Yes

Memory Phonebook : 2000 entries , Photocall

Call records : 20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls

Card slot : microSD (TransFlash), up to 2GB, 512MB or 2GB included, 64 MB internal memory

Data : GPRS Class 32, 88 kbps

HSCSD : Yes

EDGE : Class 32, 296 kbits

3G : No

WLAN : No

Bluetooth : Yes, v2.0

Infrared port : No

USB : Yes, v2.0 microUSB

Browser : WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML

Colors : Muted Gray, Steel Blue, Red, Bright Lilac, Pristine White

Camera : 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, autofocus, video(VGA@15fps), dual LED

Other features :
- Java MIDP 2.0
- Stereo FM radio with RDS
- MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+/WMA player
- MPEG-4 player
- T9
- Built-in handsfree
- Voice memo
- Xpress-on covers

Battery : Standard battery, Li-Ion 860 mAh (BL-4S)

Stand-by : Up to 300 h

Talk time : Up to 5 h 20 min

Apple iPod Touch

When we talk of portable video players, 'Apple' is the first name on everyone's lips. Though there are plenty of other options available in the market, but it is Apple who dominates the portable entertainment market. It has a complete inventory of eye candy products packed with power and performance. Whenever Apple launches something new, there one thing to be sure of, good looks. From earphones to desktops every product looks so damn cool!

If you want me to describe Ipod Touch in one word, probably I won't be able to do so. That's because this product has so much to flaunt that you get dumbfounded! Apple iPod Touch's design looks almost similar to the much popular iPhone, but you know what? They are pretty similar from the inside too!

Apple iPod Touch has an all metal body and a 3.5 inches LCD scratch proof screen. Such a type of screen is being used in a lot of products now a days. It fits perfectly in your hands thanks to its ergonomic design. Like iPhone, it has just one button on its face( to call back the main menu screen) because the interface is touch screen based. There's not even a volume control button because volume is adjusted by moving your finger on the screen slider, pretty impressive! It is 4.3 inches long, 2.4 inches wide and just 0.31 inches thick.. Display is crystal clear, it can play videos at 640x480 resolution at an impressive 30fps rate. Audio has always been a plus point for Apple products. This one passes the test too with flying colors. Just plug in those earphones and forget about the world! Apple iPod Touch has got everything to make your internet experience worthwhile. Yes, it is Wi-Fi enabled and packs quite a punch of services namely Wi-Fi enabled Safari Web browser, POP/IMAP e-mail support, YouTube video portal, access to iTunes music store. You just have to be at a Wi-Fi access point to use these services.

Some of things that differentiate iPod Touch from iPhone are :
You cannot make phone calls
No camera,
No Bluetooth

But all this comes with a hefty price tag. At least it is too much if compared with similar products of same category. My final take on the product? Apple iPod Touch is an incredible entertainment device that can provide you quality entertainment and is sure to keep you hooked for life. But all this comes with a hefty price tag, so if you have no problem spending you dad's hard earned money,go on, it's all yours!

Specifications

Display:
3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display
480-by-320-pixel resolution at 163 pixels per inch

Audio:
Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
Audio formats supported: AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV

Video:
H.264 video, up to 1.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Low-Complexity version of the H.264 Baseline Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; H.264 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Baseline Profile up to Level 3.0 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats

Headphones:
Earphones
Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz

Input and output:
Dock connector
3.5-mm stereo headphone jack

Power and battery:
Built-in rechargeable lithium ion battery

Playback time :
Music playback time: Up to 22 hours when fully charged
Video playback time: Up to 5 hours when fully charged
Charging via USB to computer system or power adapter (sold separately) :
Fast-charge time: about 1.5 hours (charges up to 80% of battery capacity)
Full-charge time: about 3 hours

Custom Boot Screens

The screen that shows that your operating system is being loaded while booting is called a boot screen. This picture shows the default boot screen for windows XP.

To change you boot screen, you can use an application called BootXP. On running the program for the first time, it will ask you to make a backup of your boot.ini file. Click save and run BootXP. This is necessary if you want to revert to the original Windows XP boot screen.. With BootXP, you can set your own images as boot screens. Just browse for the amage file, select and click,'Set as boot screen'. The next time you boot your machine, you can see your favourite photographs while loading Windows XP.

You can also download boot screens from www.themexp.org. In BootXP, browse the boot screen file in which it was downloaded, select 'ntoskrnl.exe' in 'Your boot screens' tab and click 'preview boot screen'. If you are satisfied with it click 'set as boot screen'. You can check it by restarting your machine.

Faster Printing in XP

Windows XP uses a service called 'Print Spooler' to print your documents, while you can simultaneously work on other application. What print spooler actually does is that it collects all the printing data and saves it to a temporary file before initiating the printing process. This may be time consuming when printing multiple documents or images. You can turn print spooler off and print directly from the printer rather than letting windows save your printing data in a temporary file and then start the printing.

To do this, head to Start > Printers and Faxes. Right click on the name of your printer, click on properties, click on Advanced tab, select ' directly from the printer' option to disable spooling. One thing to be kept in mind though, you may not be able to work on other applications until the whole printing is done.

Faster End Task

While working on your computer, if an application hangs, you press Ctrl+Alt+Del to open up the task manager dialog box. You select the application name from the application tab, and press end task to terminate the program. It is observed that the application takes some time to terminate after pressing the end task button.

To reduce this time, go to Start menu > Run. Type regedit and press OK. The registry editor will show up. Navigate through the options to locate 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ ControlPanel \ Desktop'. On the right side of the window pane, right click on ' HungAppTimeout' and click on Modify. You should see the 'Edit String' dialog box. The numerical value in the 'Value Data' field denotes the time in milliseconds to end the program. Change its value to somewhere around 500 and click OK. Finished!