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  1. <?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:blogger='http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005" xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432933495904501116</id><updated>2024-02-08T04:04:58.239-08:00</updated><category term="technology"/><category term="review"/><category term="tech"/><category term="web"/><category term="microsoft"/><category term="windows"/><title type='text'>A sense of sharing....</title><subtitle type='html'></subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default?redirect=false'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><link rel='next' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default?start-index=26&amp;max-results=25&amp;redirect=false'/><author><name>vinayus</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13997497926112155532</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oZ8zOIjaa5c/TiSMYSXCc4I/AAAAAAAAADg/JGINqo026EA/s220/Death_Note%2B%25282%2529.jpg'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>383</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432933495904501116.post-623392763347835748</id><published>2013-02-07T20:28:00.002-08:00</published><updated>2013-02-27T23:29:53.571-08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="microsoft"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="technology"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="windows"/><title type='text'>Microsoft, Symantec shutter another botnet | Security &amp;amp; Privacy - CNET News</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class=&#39;posterous_autopost&#39;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_bookmarklet_entry&quot;&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;div&gt;  &lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset1.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/02/06/6403.Malware_610x703.jpg&quot; height=&quot;576&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; /&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Microsoft&#39;s interstitial warning page to help people whose computers have been infected by the Bamital botnet.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;  (Credit:  Microsoft)  &lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  Microsoft and security software maker Symantec have revealed that they collaborated on the take-down of a botnet that had infected hundreds of thousands of computers.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  By stopping the botnet, infected computers were reportedly unable to search the Internet. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/06/us-cybercrime-raid-idUSBRE91515K20130206&quot;&gt;According to the story as first reported by Reuters&lt;/a&gt;, this is the first time that the companies which stopped the botnet directly warned people who had infected computers and offered them clean-up tools.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  The botnet, called Bamital, is the sixth one that that Microsoft has received a court order to stop since 2010 and the second that it has worked with Symantec to halt. Last week, the companies asked for a court approval to shut it down, reported Reuters.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  Vikram Thakur, principal security response manager at Symantec, explained the scope of the infections in a joint phone call with Microsoft&#39;s assistant general counsel to its Digital Crimes Unit, Richard Boscovich. &quot;The data we have shows that the infections were extremely global, with the largest number of users in the United States,&quot; Thakur said.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://noticeofpleadings.com/&quot;&gt;Read the Microsoft legal filing against the 18 parties accused of running Bamital&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/blockquote&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  Bamital worked by redirecting sites you would click on in search results from Google, Bing, and Yahoo to Web sites controlled by the parties responsible for the botnet. Bamital would &quot;subvert legitimate results,&quot; said Jeff Williams, currently director of the Security Strategy unit for Dell SecureWorks. Last year Williams worked directly on the Bamital botnet case for Microsoft&#39;s Digital Crimes Unit. &quot;This is different from a toolbar [like Ask or Conduit] which isn&#39;t taking over specific search results,&quot; he told CNET.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  In the case of the Bamital botnet, which Reuters said earned at least $1 million per year, Symantec had approached Microsoft more than a year ago to collaborate on stopping it. Thakur said that although this botnet was only a medium-size one, with 300,000 to 600,000 infected computers, it was not easy to stop.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  &quot;When we started following the botnet a year ago, it went through several iterations over the year&#39;s time. For us to gather all the evidence, to understand how to put a plan together to spare users from negative effects after it went down, it took about a year,&quot; he said.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  Microsoft&#39;s Boscovich added that this kind of iteration is unusual for a botnet. &quot;The interesting thing about this is that the people behind the botnet were playing with the botnet over time, fine-tuning the botnet, so it took some time until it was stable enough for us to make our move,&quot; he said.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;div&gt;  &lt;h3&gt;Related stories:&lt;/h3&gt;  &lt;ul&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57568067-83/microsoft-symantec-shutter-another-botnet/?tag=nl.e757&amp;amp;s_cid=e757&amp;amp;ttag=e757#&quot;&gt;U.S. is home to greatest number of botnet servers, says McAfee&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57568067-83/microsoft-symantec-shutter-another-botnet/?tag=nl.e757&amp;amp;s_cid=e757&amp;amp;ttag=e757#&quot;&gt;Facebook helps FBI take down $850M botnet crime ring &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57568067-83/microsoft-symantec-shutter-another-botnet/?tag=nl.e757&amp;amp;s_cid=e757&amp;amp;ttag=e757#&quot;&gt;Zeus botnet steals $47M from European bank customers &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57568067-83/microsoft-symantec-shutter-another-botnet/?tag=nl.e757&amp;amp;s_cid=e757&amp;amp;ttag=e757#&quot;&gt;India is world leader in spam output&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57568067-83/microsoft-symantec-shutter-another-botnet/?tag=nl.e757&amp;amp;s_cid=e757&amp;amp;ttag=e757#&quot;&gt;Symantec: Russian criminals sell Web &#39;proxy&#39; with backdoors&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;/ul&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  Williams said that one aspect of the Bamital case is that the &quot;criminals&quot; will &quot;move the botnet servers from one location to another to another. The trade craft of criminals is constantly evolving, so as the techniques of law enforcement get better, the criminals will change their tactics over time.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  Boscovich and Thakur agreed that while you can expect more botnets going forward, improving laws and further collaboration between companies like Microsoft and Symantec will make it harder for the botnet to succeed.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  &quot;The more we do these operations, the more it becomes evident in the underground community that we&#39;re onto them,&quot; Boscovich said. The collaboration between Microsoft and Symantec, as well as the particular way that the Bamital botnet was structured, allowed the two companies to do more than just shutter the botnet and warn Internet service providers.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  Thakur said that this is the the first time in a botnet case that the groups responsible for stopping it were able to provide a warning site and tools to disinfect afflicted machines.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  &quot;We wanted to make sure that when the victim would search, they would see a page that looked like a legitimate Microsoft page, with Microsoft and Symantec&#39;s logos. It would explain in clear language why they were there and how to clean their computer,&quot; said Boscovich. &quot;It was also specific about saying that they could go to the AV [antivirus] provider of their choice. But we also made it clear that if they did, their computer wouldn&#39;t be cleaned.&quot;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  Williams noted that Netherlands&#39; National High Tech Crime Unit provided a warning page in the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.zdnet.com/dutch-police-take-down-bredolab-botnet-3040090649/&quot;&gt;2010 take-down of the Bredolab botnet&lt;/a&gt;, but did not offer malware removal tools.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  In addition to directly helping people whose computers were infected, Microsoft took the unusual step of including aliases, e-mail addresses, physical addresses, and telephone numbers of those accused of running the botnet.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  Although the botnet was run by 18 &quot;ringleaders&quot; scattered across the world, investigators at Microsoft&#39;s Digital Crimes Unit told Reuters that the botnet was most likely Russian in origin thanks to the inclusion of a Russian phrase in one of the botnet&#39;s cookies.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_quote_citation&quot;&gt;via &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57568067-83/microsoft-symantec-shutter-another-botnet/?tag=nl.e757&amp;amp;s_cid=e757&amp;amp;ttag=e757&quot;&gt;news.cnet.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/feeds/623392763347835748/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/02/microsoft-symantec-shutter-another_7.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/623392763347835748'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/623392763347835748'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/02/microsoft-symantec-shutter-another_7.html' title='Microsoft, Symantec shutter another botnet | Security &amp;amp; Privacy - CNET News'/><author><name>vinayus</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13997497926112155532</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oZ8zOIjaa5c/TiSMYSXCc4I/AAAAAAAAADg/JGINqo026EA/s220/Death_Note%2B%25282%2529.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432933495904501116.post-4045231546427306654</id><published>2013-02-07T20:26:00.005-08:00</published><updated>2013-02-27T23:29:53.592-08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="microsoft"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="review"/><title type='text'>Microsoft Office 2013 Review - Watch CNET&amp;#39;s Video Review</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class=&#39;posterous_autopost&#39;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_bookmarklet_entry&quot;&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;div&gt; &lt;p&gt;I really like the new Microsoft Office 2013, even knowing there are several free productivity suites available out there. I wouldn&#39;t blame you for asking why you would pay for it when you could get a comparable set of office tools from Google Docs and several other services for a lot less or even free. But after using Office 365 Home Premium on both a tablet and a desktop PC for the last few days, I can tell you that there are plenty of reasons to trade up. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;A note about nomenclature: there are an enormous number of versions of the Microsoft Office suite available across the home and business categories. You can purchase and download standalone versions with either Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 ($139) or Microsoft Office Home and Business 2013 ($219). There are additional versions with volume pricing for small and large businesses. But what Microsoft is banking on are the subscription services that have a few more perks, such as endless upgrades as they become available, and still offer most of the same downloadable software. These are Office 365 Home Premium ($99.99 per year) and Office 365 Small Business Premium ($150 per year). There&#39;s also a great deal for current students, Office 365 University at only about $40 per year (with a minimum two-year subscription). The pricing breakdown and naming conventions are highly confusing, but &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57564342-75/office-2013-pricing-what-to-expect/&quot;&gt;ZDNet&#39;s Mary Jo Foley tries to make sense of it all here&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;With all that said, what I&#39;m reviewing here is Office 365 Home Premium, and I definitely like what I see -- especially when I can put it on &lt;i&gt;five&lt;/i&gt; machines for $100 per year. For starters it&#39;s available wherever you are, on whatever device you&#39;re using at the time. With full touch-screen support, the entire suite has been reinvented to work with Windows 8-driven tablets and smartphones, making much of the work flow much easier than before regardless of the hardware you&#39;re using. Along with a redesigned interface, all of these things come together to make the best Office yet.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Office as a subscription&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  As I said above, the cloud-connected Office 365 suite comes in separate versions for home and business, with the home version available today and the business version available at the end of February. You can get one of the desktop standalone versions of the new Office, but I don&#39;t think it&#39;s the best way to experience Office. With today&#39;s release, it&#39;s clear Microsoft would prefer you sign up for the subscription because the standalone versions won&#39;t receive all the upgrades over time that you would get with Office 365 Home Premium. In fact, with a subscription plan, Microsoft says you&#39;ll never have to buy another new version of Office again. But whether you choose to pay one time for the new Office or sign up for a subscription to Office 365, you&#39;ll mostly get the exact same experience I&#39;m writing about here. It&#39;s only later, when Office gets upgraded again, that the standalone versions will become out-of-date.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;So why should you get the new Office? In a word: convenience. I&#39;m not just talking about the convenience of continuing to use what you&#39;ve used before -- I&#39;m talking about the suite itself. What Microsoft has done in this latest version is make Office usable on a tablet running &lt;a href=&quot;http://reviews.cnet.com/microsoft-office-2013/?tag=nl.e404&amp;amp;s_cid=e404#&quot;&gt;Windows 8&lt;/a&gt; and, in converting the myriad productivity tools to support touch screens, the company had to make most actions only one click (or tap) away. So while it has streamlined the suite out of necessity for Windows 8 and use on tablets, it&#39;s now easier to use than ever before regardless of the hardware you&#39;re using it on. It&#39;s important to note that the software works equally as well if you&#39;re running Windows 7, but does not work with earlier versions of Windows. Setting up a subscription for the Mac version will only let you install Office 2011 on five Macs, with updates to the Mac version coming in the next year. In other words, Mac users will see no improvement right now.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;On Windows, Microsoft lets you install Office 365 on five different computers with your single subscription, each with its own customizable experience that is tied to each Microsoft account. This means you could be creating a PowerPoint presentation in one room on your account, while your daughter writes an essay in another on hers, and each of you can give the Office apps personalized themes, and each will see the most recent documents tied to your personal account. All of your work is attached to your Microsoft account and backed up to Microsoft&#39;s SkyDrive, so you&#39;ll be able to access your work anywhere. You can already get 7GB of space on SkyDrive now for free, but with these Office 365 Home Premium subscription plans you get an additional 20GB.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The features that set Office 365 apart from most free offerings are the integration between the apps in the suite and an enormous collection of premade templates to fulfill almost any productivity need. The templates all have a polished and professional look so you&#39;ll waste almost no time creating documents from scratch. The suite of apps works seamlessly together -- and with Microsoft&#39;s services -- making collaboration, sharing, and communications much easier. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Installation&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  Installing Office is the same whether you bought a standalone copy or signed up for the subscription -- it begins with a quick trip to Office.com. Simply enter the product key you received from the retailer (Microsoft, Amazon, or any of several others) and follow the step-by-step process from there. You&#39;ll then download the digital copies of the software in the suite to use straight off your hard drive.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset1.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/07/15/WordRibbon.png&quot; height=&quot;281&quot; alt=&quot;Microsoft Word&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; /&gt;  &lt;p&gt;The Ribbon is still here and offers a wealth of tools across each tab as it detects the most common uses for the content you have selected. But if you don&#39;t like the Ribbon, you now have the option to hide it and bring it back only when you need it.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;(Credit:  Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;The interface&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  The interface across the entire suite of applications has been reinvented, mostly for the better. First off, the Ribbon, which disappointed many users when it first appeared in Office 2007, remains part of the new Office. But before you start grumbling, consider that Microsoft has made it optional this time around. So now you can show or hide the exhaustive collections of tools across every tab, and decide how much or how little you want to use them. In my &lt;a href=&quot;http://download.cnet.com/Microsoft-Office-2010/3000-18483_4-75185041.html&quot;&gt;review of Office 2010&lt;/a&gt; I liked the Ribbon, but I&#39;ve heard enough from users who disagree to know that Microsoft has made a wise change.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Aside from the Ribbon, the interface is similar but much simpler than it was in Office 2010 and earlier. Newly added start pages for Word, PowerPoint, and Excel help you get to recent documents attached to your account and new templates immediately upon launch. Flat buttons and plenty of white space make the interface look less crowded. Other interface tweaks are tablet-focused such as the radial menus in OneNote that show options (like sharing, search, and zoom tools) in a circle around the area you press. The general feel of the suite is more streamlined and more cloud-integrated, and the new start pages for the core apps will be especially useful for those looking at the same documents on several devices.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/07/15/PowerPointPresenterView.png&quot; height=&quot;281&quot; alt=&quot;PowerPoint&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; /&gt;  &lt;p&gt;The new Presenter View in PowerPoint shows you the next slide in the presentation on the right and offers tools (like a virtual laser pointer) and your notes on the left so you always know what&#39;s coming up next.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;(Credit:  Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_quote_citation&quot;&gt;via &lt;a href=&quot;http://reviews.cnet.com/microsoft-office-2013/?tag=nl.e404&amp;amp;s_cid=e404&quot;&gt;reviews.cnet.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/feeds/4045231546427306654/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/02/microsoft-office-2013-review-watch-cnet_7.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/4045231546427306654'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/4045231546427306654'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/02/microsoft-office-2013-review-watch-cnet_7.html' title='Microsoft Office 2013 Review - Watch CNET&amp;#39;s Video Review'/><author><name>vinayus</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13997497926112155532</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oZ8zOIjaa5c/TiSMYSXCc4I/AAAAAAAAADg/JGINqo026EA/s220/Death_Note%2B%25282%2529.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432933495904501116.post-1466884598570668199</id><published>2013-02-07T20:26:00.004-08:00</published><updated>2013-02-27T23:29:53.582-08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="review"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="technology"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="web"/><title type='text'>BlackBerry Z10 Review - Watch CNET&amp;#39;s Video Review</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class=&#39;posterous_autopost&#39;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_bookmarklet_entry&quot;&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;div&gt; &lt;p&gt;On January 30, 2013, RIM (Research in Motion) announced that the company will officially be known as BlackBerry.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Members of the BlackBerry Faithful, meet your new phone. The BlackBerry Z10 has everything you&#39;ve been waiting for: a sleek, modern, and professional touch-screen body with an up-to-date OS to match and 4G LTE support. You&#39;ll revel in the virtual keyboard&#39;s ease and in BlackBerry Messenger&#39;s seamless voice chats. You&#39;ll crow about the Z10&#39;s Micro-HDMI port, and enjoy the 8-megapixel camera with its built-in editing tools.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In the most important ways, everything comes together: a lovely HD screen, a fast processor, a camera (with tricks!) that&#39;s good enough to stand alongside the big boys.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Slip off the RIM-colored glasses, though, and you won&#39;t be able to ignore the minor hardware and OS irritations that nevertheless pile up as you use the Z10 over time -- like having to use an antiquated and unintuitive file system to create a new photo album, and a basic mapping app that can&#39;t possibly stand up to Google&#39;s best-in-show. For their part, BlackBerry detractors will plainly see a poor iPhone clone that offers little more than the usual features found in any present-day OS worth its salt. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;div&gt;  &lt;h4&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cnet.com/2300-6452_1-10015598.html&quot;&gt;BlackBerry Z10: A new hope (pictures)&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/h4&gt;  &lt;div&gt;&lt;span&gt;1-2&lt;/span&gt; of &lt;span&gt;12&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div&gt;  &lt;span style=&quot;&quot;&gt;Scroll Left&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;span style=&quot;&quot;&gt;Scroll Right&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div style=&quot;overflow: hidden;&quot;&gt;  &lt;ul style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cnet.com/2300-6452_1-10015598.html&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/html/clear.gif&quot; height=&quot;157&quot; style=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;220&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;img src=&quot;http://asset2.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/28/35583323-8760_220x157.jpg&quot; width=&#39;220&#39; height=&#39;157&#39;&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cnet.com/2300-6452_1-10015598-2.html&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/html/clear.gif&quot; height=&quot;157&quot; style=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;220&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;img src=&quot;http://asset2.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/28/35583323-8764_220x157.jpg&quot; width=&#39;220&#39; height=&#39;157&#39;&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cnet.com/2300-6452_1-10015598-3.html&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/html/clear.gif&quot; height=&quot;157&quot; style=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;220&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;img src=&quot;http://asset2.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/28/35583323-8812_220x157.jpg&quot; width=&#39;220&#39; height=&#39;157&#39;&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cnet.com/2300-6452_1-10015598-4.html&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/html/clear.gif&quot; height=&quot;157&quot; style=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;220&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;img src=&quot;http://asset2.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/28/35583323-8793_220x157.jpg&quot; width=&#39;220&#39; height=&#39;157&#39;&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cnet.com/2300-6452_1-10015598-5.html&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/html/clear.gif&quot; height=&quot;157&quot; style=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;220&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;img src=&quot;http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/28/35583323-8798_220x157.jpg&quot; width=&#39;220&#39; height=&#39;157&#39;&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cnet.com/2300-6452_1-10015598-6.html&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/html/clear.gif&quot; height=&quot;157&quot; style=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;220&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;img src=&quot;http://asset2.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/28/35583323-8786_220x157.jpg&quot; width=&#39;220&#39; height=&#39;157&#39;&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cnet.com/2300-6452_1-10015598-7.html&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/html/clear.gif&quot; height=&quot;157&quot; style=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;220&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;img src=&quot;http://asset1.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/28/35583323-8789_220x157.jpg&quot; width=&#39;220&#39; height=&#39;157&#39;&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cnet.com/2300-6452_1-10015598-8.html&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/html/clear.gif&quot; height=&quot;157&quot; style=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;220&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;img src=&quot;http://asset0.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/28/35583323-8818_220x157.jpg&quot; width=&#39;220&#39; height=&#39;157&#39;&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cnet.com/2300-6452_1-10015598-9.html&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/html/clear.gif&quot; height=&quot;157&quot; style=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;220&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;img src=&quot;http://asset0.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/28/35583323-8832_220x157.jpg&quot; width=&#39;220&#39; height=&#39;157&#39;&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cnet.com/2300-6452_1-10015598-10.html&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/html/clear.gif&quot; height=&quot;157&quot; style=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;220&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;img src=&quot;http://asset0.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/28/35583323-8780_220x157.jpg&quot; width=&#39;220&#39; height=&#39;157&#39;&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cnet.com/2300-6452_1-10015598-11.html&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/html/clear.gif&quot; height=&quot;157&quot; style=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;220&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;img src=&quot;http://asset2.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/28/35583323-8771_220x157.jpg&quot; width=&#39;220&#39; height=&#39;157&#39;&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cnet.com/2300-6452_1-10015598-12.html&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/html/clear.gif&quot; height=&quot;157&quot; style=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;220&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;img src=&quot;http://asset1.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/28/35583323-8804_220x157.jpg&quot; width=&#39;220&#39; height=&#39;157&#39;&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;/ul&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;If you&#39;re game to learn a few navigational gestures and your bigger-picture mentality lets you see beyond annoyances, you should feel justified buying the BlackBerry Z10. However, if you&#39;re happy with your current platform, there&#39;s no need to budge unless or until RIM patches up some OS holes.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The BlackBerry Z10 goes on sale January 31 in the U.K., February 5 in Canada ($149.99 on contract), and February 10 in the UAE. Expect U.S. carriers to sell the smartphone for about $199 on contract (about $599 unlocked) in March. Verizon was the first to officially announce that it will carry the white and black versions of the Z10 for $199 on contract. Verizon has the exclusive lock on the white version.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Editors&#39; note:&lt;/b&gt; This Blackberry Z10 smartphone review is based on early impressions after a full week of use a review unit that BlackBerry seeded to select press; rating is subject to change as we spend more time with the device and operating system. You may also be interested in our &lt;a href=&quot;http://reviews.cnet.com/blackberry-z10/?tag=nl.e404&amp;amp;s_cid=e404#&quot;&gt;full review of the BlackBerry 10 operating system&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Design and build&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt; At first glance, the handsome BlackBerry Z10 looks suspiciously like Apple&#39;s black &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cnet.com/iphone-5/&quot;&gt;iPhone 5&lt;/a&gt;: tall and narrow, with straight edges that meet at rounded corners, and a roughly 4-inch screen. Like the iPhone 5, the Z10 is adept at one-handed operation. That&#39;s where the similarities end. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;You see, the Z10 has no navigation buttons, either physical or capacitive. Instead, you&#39;ll operate the Z10 through gestures (more on those later). The phone stands 5.1 inches tall, 2.6 inches wide, and 0.35 inch thick -- only slightly deeper than the iPhone 5. Its 4.8-ounce weight feels right with the phone&#39;s proportions, and the device has a much more comfortable grip than the iPhone, thanks to the slightly rounded edges on the back and a lightly textured, soft-touch finish. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;a href=&quot;http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/28/35583323-8771.jpg&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset2.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/28/35583323-8771_610x435.jpg&quot; height=&quot;356&quot; alt=&quot;BlackBerry Z10, iPhone 5&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;  &lt;p&gt;The BlackBerry Z10 (left), resembles the iPhone 5, at least in shape.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;(Credit:  Josh Miller/CNET)&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;Of the two phones, the iPhone undeniably has the more solid, premium, and precise build quality. Its seams are as narrow as possible, and its details are finely machined. For those who care about such things, the iPhone 5&#39;s material quality trumps the Z10&#39;s treated plastics and loose back panel that too easily pops out when I slide a nail anywhere along its perimeter.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Larger than the iPhone 5 overall, the Z10&#39;s shape still fits neatly into pockets (I use my back pockets for trips around the office and the neighborhood). However, it feels uncomfortably flat when I wedge it between my shoulder and my ear. And yes, this is precisely why many people use a wireless headset.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset0.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/28/35583323-8818_610x435.jpg&quot; height=&quot;356&quot; alt=&quot;BlackBerry Z10&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; /&gt;  &lt;p&gt;In between the BlackBerry Z10&#39;s volume buttons is the voice control key.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;(Credit:  Josh Miller/CNET)&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;On its face, the Z10&#39;s 4.2-inch LCD display has a 1,280x768-pixel WXGA HD resolution (that&#39;s 355 pixels per inch; the iPhone 5 has a 326ppi density.) You&#39;ll see fine lettering, crisp edges, and deep colors. I did notice, though, that with both handsets set to maximum brightness, the iPhone 5 outshone the Z10, and an HD picture of a flower looked brighter, more detailed, and had more color variation on Apple&#39;s device. On the whole, the differences between the two are minimal. The bezel surrounding the screen is frankly wider than today&#39;s edge-to-edge fashion, but this doesn&#39;t personally bother me.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Above the display are the array of sensors, the notification LED, and the 2-megapixel front-facing camera. The right spine houses Up and Down volume controls, with a button in the center that serves as a voice command trigger you can also use to pause music. If you simultaneously press both volume buttons, you&#39;ll take a screenshot. If you&#39;re in camera mode, pressing either one snaps a picture.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;a href=&quot;http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/28/35583323-8789.jpg&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset1.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/28/35583323-8789_610x435.jpg&quot; height=&quot;356&quot; alt=&quot;BlackBerry Z10&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Few smartphones can claim an HDMI port, but the Z10 is one of them.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;(Credit:  Josh Miller/CNET)&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;On the Z10&#39;s left edge are the Micro-HDMI port and Micro-USB port. The placement of the latter pretty much guarantees that the charging cord gets in my way. Up top, you&#39;ll find the power/lock button and the 3.5 millimeter headset jack -- you&#39;ll hold down the start button for a 3-second countdown to turn off the phone. On the back are the camera lens with LED flash, and a BlackBerry icon that matches up with the NFC antenna on the opposite side of the back panel.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Also underneath that panel are the tall, narrow battery (I wonder if there was room for larger?) and a microSD card slot. The Z10 comes preloaded with a 8GB class 2 microSD card. That&#39;s good, right? It would be if the card supported the camera&#39;s option to capture 1080p HD video. As a result, you&#39;ll shoot video in 720p HD if you don&#39;t switch out the card to class 4 or higher.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;BlackBerry 10 OS&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Here&#39;s what you need to know about the new BlackBerry 10 OS: it looks cool, it&#39;s gesture-driven, and it&#39;ll take you at least a few minutes to pick up. In some ways it&#39;s quite advanced -- I&#39;m a fan of BlackBerry Balance and the virtual keyboard -- and in other ways, you wonder what RIM&#39;s been doing all these years.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;a href=&quot;http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/29/BB10_AppScreen.jpg&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset1.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/29/BB10_AppScreen_610x498.jpg&quot; height=&quot;408&quot; alt=&quot;BlackBerry 10 OS&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;  &lt;p&gt;RIM&#39;s new smartphone OS throws out buttons in favor of navigational gestures.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;(Credit:  Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;My &lt;a href=&quot;http://reviews.cnet.com/blackberry-z10/?tag=nl.e404&amp;amp;s_cid=e404#&quot;&gt;full review of the BlackBerry 10 OS&lt;/a&gt; goes deep: into the layout, gestures, the Hub, maps, music, the keyboard, the browser...and that&#39;s the beginning. For more on the OS, I highly recommend skipping on over to the BlackBerry 10 OS review. But don&#39;t worry, I&#39;ll still give you a flavor of what to expect right here on these pages.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div&gt;  &lt;h4&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://reviews.cnet.com/blackberry-z10/?tag=nl.e404&amp;amp;s_cid=e404#&quot;&gt;Take a tour of BlackBerry 10 OS (pictures)&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/h4&gt;  &lt;div&gt;&lt;span&gt;1-2&lt;/span&gt; of &lt;span&gt;17&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div&gt;  &lt;span style=&quot;&quot;&gt;Scroll Left&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;span style=&quot;&quot;&gt;Scroll Right&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div style=&quot;overflow: hidden;&quot;&gt;  &lt;ul style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://reviews.cnet.com/blackberry-z10/?tag=nl.e404&amp;amp;s_cid=e404#&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/html/clear.gif&quot; height=&quot;157&quot; style=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;220&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;img src=&quot;http://asset0.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/29/BB10_AppScreen_220x157.jpg&quot; width=&#39;220&#39; height=&#39;157&#39;&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; 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height=&quot;157&quot; style=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;220&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;img src=&quot;http://asset2.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/29/BB10_EmailManagement_220x157.jpg&quot; width=&#39;220&#39; height=&#39;157&#39;&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://reviews.cnet.com/blackberry-z10/?tag=nl.e404&amp;amp;s_cid=e404#&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/html/clear.gif&quot; height=&quot;157&quot; style=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;220&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;img src=&quot;http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/29/BB10_MusicApp_220x157.jpg&quot; width=&#39;220&#39; height=&#39;157&#39;&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://reviews.cnet.com/blackberry-z10/?tag=nl.e404&amp;amp;s_cid=e404#&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/html/clear.gif&quot; height=&quot;157&quot; style=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;220&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;img src=&quot;http://asset0.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/29/BB10_AppWorld_220x157.jpg&quot; 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height=&quot;157&quot; style=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;220&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;img src=&quot;http://asset1.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/29/BB10_VirtualKeyboard_220x157.jpg&quot; width=&#39;220&#39; height=&#39;157&#39;&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://reviews.cnet.com/blackberry-z10/?tag=nl.e404&amp;amp;s_cid=e404#&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/html/clear.gif&quot; height=&quot;157&quot; style=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;220&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;img src=&quot;http://asset2.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/29/BB10_VoiceControl_220x157.jpg&quot; width=&#39;220&#39; height=&#39;157&#39;&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://reviews.cnet.com/blackberry-z10/?tag=nl.e404&amp;amp;s_cid=e404#&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/html/clear.gif&quot; height=&quot;157&quot; style=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;220&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;img src=&quot;http://asset0.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/29/BB10_Lock_Alarm_220x157.jpg&quot; width=&#39;220&#39; height=&#39;157&#39;&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://reviews.cnet.com/blackberry-z10/?tag=nl.e404&amp;amp;s_cid=e404#&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/html/clear.gif&quot; height=&quot;157&quot; style=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;220&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;img src=&quot;http://asset2.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/29/BB10_PowerOffCountdown_220x157.jpg&quot; width=&#39;220&#39; height=&#39;157&#39;&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;/ul&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Features and apps&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt; When it comes to multiple accounts and a unified inbox, BlackBerry 10 delivers. You can sign into multiple e-mail accounts and social networks, and populate your address book and calendar from these cross-pollinated networks. I didn&#39;t see contact duplicates, and my buddies&#39; addresses also appeared neatly sorted in the maps app, basically the only really nice surprise there.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;You&#39;ll find Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n), Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, and all the good stuff when it comes to texting, chatting with other BlackBerry users, and sharing stuff to social networks. There&#39;s a good music app, a basic maps app, and the mostly-good Documents To Go, which opens the door to reading, creating, and editing Word and Excel documents, and viewing PowerPoint and Adobe PDF files.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;a href=&quot;http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/29/Facebook_Twitter.jpg&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset1.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/29/Facebook_Twitter_610x505.jpg&quot; height=&quot;413&quot; alt=&quot;Twitter and Facebook for BlackBerry 10 OS&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Twitter and Facebook for BlackBerry 10 OS.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;(Credit:  Screenshot by Jaymar Cabebe/CNET)&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;For your social networking apps, the BlackBerry serves up a healthy spoonful of Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and LinkedIn. And yes, these are real apps, not just links to mobile Web sites masquerading as apps. You know what is, though? YouTube. I&#39;m looking forward to a full-fledged app from them.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In addition to the social apps, you&#39;ll find a notes program, an alarm clock with special bedtime mode (it shuts off alerts, but don&#39;t hold your breath for lullabies). There&#39;s Flixster, Box, and Dropbox, the awesome Angry Birds Star Wars, Slacker Radio, and in my review unit, quite a lot of Canadian news, sports, and transportation apps. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;a href=&quot;http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/29/BB10_AppWorld.jpg&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset0.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/29/BB10_AppWorld_610x501.jpg&quot; height=&quot;410&quot; alt=&quot;BlackBerry 10 OS&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;  &lt;p&gt;You&#39;ll find downloadable programs, games, music, and shows in BlackBerry App World, and if you happen to listen to music while you browse, you can control it through a widget that pops up as a widget where you browse (left).&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;(Credit:  Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;More content is close at hand in BlackBerry World, where you can browse by apps, games, music, videos, and TV shows. Rovio powers the shows, while longtime partner 7 Digital handles the music. Strangely, you can search for top paid apps, but there aren&#39;t any filtering options specifically for free programs.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;BlackBerry Balance and business use&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Business and security-conscious users have long been RIM&#39;s bread and butter. The BlackBerry Z10 serves this demographic well with BlackBerry Balance, which helps separate sensitive business apps from your personal ones, with the help of your corporate IT manager. There are privacy settings and RIM&#39;s signature encrypted servers, plus parental controls -- not to mention remote wiping with BlackBerry Protect.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;With the Z10, RIM takes aim at both individual consumers looking for a smart new device and business professionals who could easily pass this phone to an IT administrator to get work-approved apps. The thing is, in today&#39;s climate of bring-your-own-phone, many businesses can get by with little extra security and have abandoned fleets of devices. Having been out of the game for so long, it could be a hard sell.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Cameras and video&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt; For a long time now, the BlackBerry camera has been a weak spot. No longer. The Z10 packs a respectable 8-megapixel shooter in the back and a 2-megapixel lens up front. Both record 720p HD video, and the larger of the two can also shoot 1080p HD video.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset1.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/29/Z10_flowers.jpg&quot; height=&quot;322&quot; alt=&quot;BlackBerry Z10 camera test&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; /&gt;  &lt;p&gt;The Z10&#39;s camera took some bright, zingy outdoor shots.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;(Credit:  Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; &lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset2.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/29/Z10_flower_fullres.jpg&quot; height=&quot;302&quot; alt=&quot;BlackBerry Z10 camera test&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; /&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Here&#39;s the flower in full resolution, cropped but otherwise untouched.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;(Credit:  Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;The main camera comes with autofocus, 5x digital zoom, and options for burst mode and stabilization. Pressing either volume button can snap a shot. TimeShift mode takes an array of photos, and lets you revisit them along a timeline to pick the one you like best. There are scene modes (like action and night) and you can choose to take pictures in a 3:4 or 9:16 ratio. (For more on TimeShift, see the full &lt;a href=&quot;http://reviews.cnet.com/blackberry-z10/?tag=nl.e404&amp;amp;s_cid=e404#&quot;&gt;BlackBerry 10 OS review&lt;/a&gt;.)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;a href=&quot;http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/29/Z10_JaymarPic.jpg&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset0.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/29/Z10_JaymarPic_610x458.jpg&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;BlackBerry Z10 camera test&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Whatever he&#39;s doing, CNET editor Jaymar Cabebe is most definitely not posing for the camera.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;(Credit:  Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;Although there&#39;s autofocus, focusing elsewhere isn&#39;t intuitive. Touching the screen anywhere triggers the shutter, so you&#39;ll just have to know to drag the focal bracket around the screen.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset1.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/29/Z10_JaymarPic_fullres.jpg&quot; height=&quot;378&quot; alt=&quot;BlackBerry Z10 camera test&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; /&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Jaymar at full resolution. You can easily see a ton of noise.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;(Credit:  Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;Budding photographers will also notice scant options and controls. There&#39;s no HDR, no ISO settings, no grid, no geotagging, no option to drop resolution, and -- one of its worst offenses in my opinion -- no way to silence the shutter&#39;s loud clacking.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;I&#39;ve heard phone makers argue that most casual users don&#39;t need features overkill, but I submit that it&#39;s nice to have, especially if you&#39;d like phone owners to leave the dSLR at home and use your phone as their camera instead.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;a href=&quot;http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/29/Z10_FirefoxPlushie.jpg&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset0.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/29/Z10_FirefoxPlushie_610x408.jpg&quot; height=&quot;334&quot; alt=&quot;BlackBerry Z10 camera test&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;  &lt;p&gt;You can make out the individual furs in this cute plushy, shot indoors.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;(Credit:  Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_quote_citation&quot;&gt;via &lt;a href=&quot;http://reviews.cnet.com/blackberry-z10/?tag=nl.e404&amp;amp;s_cid=e404&quot;&gt;reviews.cnet.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/feeds/1466884598570668199/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/02/blackberry-z10-review-watch-cnet-video_7.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/1466884598570668199'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/1466884598570668199'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/02/blackberry-z10-review-watch-cnet-video_7.html' title='BlackBerry Z10 Review - Watch CNET&amp;#39;s Video Review'/><author><name>vinayus</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13997497926112155532</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oZ8zOIjaa5c/TiSMYSXCc4I/AAAAAAAAADg/JGINqo026EA/s220/Death_Note%2B%25282%2529.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432933495904501116.post-3251197734121424728</id><published>2013-02-07T20:25:00.005-08:00</published><updated>2013-02-27T23:29:53.606-08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="review"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="tech"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="windows"/><title type='text'>Nokia to pack 41-mp camera into Windows Phone, report says | Mobile - CNET News</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class=&#39;posterous_autopost&#39;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_bookmarklet_entry&quot;&gt; &lt;div class=&#39;p_embed p_image_embed&#39;&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;http://getfile2.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/vinayus/cbocvxJpxytdhbgBwBldxctvkiFavwggouFxtdlwgcGtjtfEsvtvzAGjekta/media_httpasset0cbsis_BdjvI.jpg.scaled1000.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;Media_httpasset0cbsis_bdjvi&quot; height=&quot;435&quot; src=&quot;http://getfile2.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/vinayus/cbocvxJpxytdhbgBwBldxctvkiFavwggouFxtdlwgcGtjtfEsvtvzAGjekta/media_httpasset0cbsis_BdjvI.jpg.scaled1000.jpg&quot; width=&quot;610&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;div class=&quot;posterous_quote_citation&quot;&gt;via &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57565349-94/nokia-to-pack-41-mp-camera-into-windows-phone-report-says/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703&quot;&gt;news.cnet.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/feeds/3251197734121424728/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/02/nokia-to-pack-41-mp-camera-into-windows_7.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/3251197734121424728'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/3251197734121424728'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/02/nokia-to-pack-41-mp-camera-into-windows_7.html' title='Nokia to pack 41-mp camera into Windows Phone, report says | Mobile - CNET News'/><author><name>vinayus</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13997497926112155532</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oZ8zOIjaa5c/TiSMYSXCc4I/AAAAAAAAADg/JGINqo026EA/s220/Death_Note%2B%25282%2529.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432933495904501116.post-3339138880974683747</id><published>2013-02-07T20:25:00.004-08:00</published><updated>2013-02-27T23:29:53.599-08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="review"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="tech"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="web"/><title type='text'>Meet the man who would make BlackBerry apps cool | Mobile - CNET News</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class=&#39;posterous_autopost&#39;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_bookmarklet_entry&quot;&gt; &lt;div class=&#39;p_embed p_image_embed&#39;&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;http://getfile7.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/vinayus/jjHovGjEnyquJxAFtchsjEBFCuBzBpeijCtejHpxEIxwGoljFnkDydoprcEz/media_httpasset0cbsis_GoDfg.jpg.scaled1000.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;Media_httpasset0cbsis_godfg&quot; height=&quot;407&quot; src=&quot;http://getfile7.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/vinayus/jjHovGjEnyquJxAFtchsjEBFCuBzBpeijCtejHpxEIxwGoljFnkDydoprcEz/media_httpasset0cbsis_GoDfg.jpg.scaled1000.jpg&quot; width=&quot;610&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;div class=&quot;posterous_quote_citation&quot;&gt;via &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57565905-94/meet-the-man-who-would-make-blackberry-apps-cool/?tag=nl.e404&amp;amp;s_cid=e404&quot;&gt;news.cnet.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/feeds/3339138880974683747/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/02/meet-man-who-would-make-blackberry-apps_7.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/3339138880974683747'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/3339138880974683747'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/02/meet-man-who-would-make-blackberry-apps_7.html' title='Meet the man who would make BlackBerry apps cool | Mobile - CNET News'/><author><name>vinayus</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13997497926112155532</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oZ8zOIjaa5c/TiSMYSXCc4I/AAAAAAAAADg/JGINqo026EA/s220/Death_Note%2B%25282%2529.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432933495904501116.post-8703452571399962559</id><published>2013-02-07T20:23:00.002-08:00</published><updated>2013-02-27T23:29:53.612-08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="review"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="web"/><title type='text'>Bring us the features! An Ars staff wish list for iOS 7 | Ars Technica</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class=&#39;posterous_autopost&#39;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_bookmarklet_entry&quot;&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;div&gt;      &lt;img src=&quot;http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/ios7.jpg&quot; height=&quot;281&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; /&gt;         &lt;div&gt;   Aurich Lawson &lt;/div&gt;        &lt;p&gt;It&#39;s 2013, which most likely means another major iOS update will soon come down the tubes from Apple. iOS 7 has already begun &lt;a href=&quot;http://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/01/references-to-next-iphone-ios-7-popping-up-in-server-logs/&quot;&gt;popping up in some server logs&lt;/a&gt;—no huge surprise, since Apple is constantly working on its next big thing(s). But so far, we know virtually nothing about what to expect from iOS 7. After all, the general public is still only on iOS 6.0.2, with iOS 6.1 reportedly &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.technobuffalo.com/2013/01/16/ios-6-1-expected-in-the-near-future/&quot;&gt;just around the corner&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;While the 6.1 update will undoubtedly improve on what we already have, iOS 7 has the potential to make significant changes and improvements to how iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad users interact with their devices. So, what better opportunity for the Ars staff to dream and speculate about what we&#39;d &lt;em&gt;really&lt;/em&gt; like to see Apple do with its next major release? I asked a number of our iOS-using staff members to tell me the most important items on their wish lists and came up with a list of eight things we think would be great to see when iOS 7 is released to the public.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;h3&gt;1) Let us set and remove our own default apps&lt;/h3&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Could there be a more common complaint about iOS than this? Users are dying to have the ability to specify their own default apps for things like Web browsing, mapping, task management, notes, and more—but Apple won&#39;t let us. The time is now: Apple should add a panel in the iOS Settings that lets us do this so that when we click a link from another app, we don&#39;t have to use Safari, or when we tap on an address on a webpage, we don&#39;t have to use Maps.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;This has long been a common request from Ars staffers, and it topped the list when I asked this time around as well. &quot;Apple could even provide some kind of spec that a third-party app would have to conform to before it can be allowed as the new default e-mail client,&quot; John Siracusa said.&amp;nbsp;&quot;It doesn&#39;t have to be as wide open as it is on OS X, but I don&#39;t think it can stay as closed as it is now forever.&quot; On that same note, isn&#39;t it about time for us to be able to delete Apple&#39;s default apps? You know, the ones we all shuffle into their own folder on the last Springboard screen (mine is called &quot;Shit I never use&quot;), such as Stocks, Compass, Game Center, or whatever else doesn&#39;t strike your fancy. &quot;The ability to remove default iOS apps (like the thrice-damned Newsstand and Game Center) would be wonderful,&quot; said Reviews Editor Lee Hutchinson, but I doubt it will ever happen.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;h3&gt;2) Take Do Not Disturb to the next level&lt;/h3&gt;  &lt;p&gt;We like Do Not Disturb, which was &lt;a href=&quot;http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/09/how-to-make-the-best-of-ios-6s-do-not-disturb-feature/&quot;&gt;introduced with iOS 6 in late 2012&lt;/a&gt;, even though it has run into &lt;a href=&quot;http://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/01/apple-says-do-not-disturb-scheduling-is-broken-until-january-7/&quot;&gt;some high-profile bugs lately&lt;/a&gt;. The feature allows us to schedule times when our devices won&#39;t ring, buzz, or light up when receiving calls or notifications—great for trying to get some uninterrupted sleep, or during important times of the day. But the feature is still very basic—you can only schedule one time block at a time (say, 11pm to 7am every day), or manually turn it on/off as needed.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;As Chris Foresman pointed out, iOS users could really benefit from the ability to apply finer-grained scheduling to the Do Not Disturb feature. &quot;Being able to have different schedules for different days of the week,&quot; he said, would allow people to specify different times for weekdays versus weekends, or add special items like regular business meetings. Apple could also take this feature to the next level by stealing a feature from RIM and the BlackBerry: power management. Some of us would rather just have our iPhones (or other iOS devices) shut down altogether at certain times of day—call it a more forced version of Do Not Disturb. &quot;All Macs have power management options, including the ability to have a device shutdown at a specific time and wake up at a specific time,&quot; Ars Editor-in-Chief Ken Fisher said. &quot;The BlackBerry has had this functionality for years. Apple could land on the right side of green by including this support.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;h3&gt;3) Multiple users per device—or at least a kid mode&lt;/h3&gt;  &lt;p&gt;We&#39;re sure you&#39;ve heard this one before—how many times have you handed your iDevice&amp;nbsp;to a family member or friend, only to have them start digging into your e-mail or moving around your home screen icons? The ability to manage multiple users on a single device like we can on the Mac (and pretty much every other computing platform) would help mitigate this problem, though not everyone agrees such a feature would be helpful or easy-to-use on a tiny mobile device like the iPhone—perhaps it would be more useful on the iPad, a device that&#39;s much more likely to be shared among a family or roommates.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;But even if you don&#39;t like the idea of a multi-user iOS device, users with kids seem to agree hands-down that a &quot;kid mode&quot; would be a huge help. It could be an extension of Apple&#39;s current Parental Controls that allows parents to flip a switch and put the device into a mode that allows limited access to only certain apps, temporarily turn off the ability to answer (or make) phone calls, limit the Web from all available apps, completely turn off in-app purchasing power, and so on. Even those of us without kids (myself included) could make use of this feature when visiting friends or family with children; I know I&#39;ve had my iPhone co-opted by toddlers many times, only to find them making FaceTime calls to all my friends 10 minutes later. We don&#39;t mind handing over our iOS devices to children to distract themselves, but a way to keep them (and the devices) safe during that time would be a great feature to have.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;h3&gt;4) A better way to organize and manage apps&lt;/h3&gt;  &lt;p&gt;The tapping and holding until apps start to wiggle. The dragging between screens. The apps shifting around when you don&#39;t want them to while you&#39;re trying to move something else. That annoying phenomenon when you realize all your infrequently used apps are piling up on the ninth-Springboard-screen-back. App organization drives us all crazy from time to time, and the Ars staff would like some fresh ways to clean up.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;&quot;I want some new thinking, like being able to swipe down to reveal widgets, and swipe up to reveal a drawer for fast moving of icons,&quot; Creative Director Aurich Lawson said. &quot;It&#39;s time to acknowledge that the UI that was designed for a phone that didn&#39;t even have the concept of downloading apps hasn&#39;t kept up with the times.&quot; But if we&#39;re going to revamp how we organize apps on our devices, we should also revamp how we can manage them from the cloud, says Social Editor Cesar Torres. He pointed out that it&#39;s sometimes difficult to remember whether certain apps are still on the device or not (there might be some apps that you use very infrequently, but they&#39;re nice to have when you need them), and if they&#39;ve been deleted, going through the App Store to find them again can be a pain.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;&quot;Amazon has a Cloud/Device set of tabs&quot; that could be useful for this, Torres said. &quot;Or something sort of like Dropbox&#39;s system, where if you star something, it gets stored locally. I would like for all apps to have a standardized way of showing you this, so you&#39;re always clear on what&#39;s in the phone and what&#39;s in the cloud.&quot; Torres thinks this should apply beyond apps, though—he thinks it should also apply to data stored within each app, and that third-party developers should work with Apple to come up with a more standard way to show whether documents are local, on iCloud, or stored somewhere else. &lt;/p&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_quote_citation&quot;&gt;via &lt;a href=&quot;http://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/01/bring-us-the-features-an-ars-staff-wish-list-for-ios-7/?utm_source=Ars+Technica+Newsletter&amp;amp;utm_campaign=ad17cff6d7-September_02_2011_Newsletter&amp;amp;utm_medium=email&quot;&gt;arstechnica.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/feeds/8703452571399962559/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/02/bring-us-features-ars-staff-wish-list_7.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/8703452571399962559'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/8703452571399962559'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/02/bring-us-features-ars-staff-wish-list_7.html' title='Bring us the features! An Ars staff wish list for iOS 7 | Ars Technica'/><author><name>vinayus</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13997497926112155532</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oZ8zOIjaa5c/TiSMYSXCc4I/AAAAAAAAADg/JGINqo026EA/s220/Death_Note%2B%25282%2529.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432933495904501116.post-5682917895553040378</id><published>2013-02-07T20:21:00.002-08:00</published><updated>2013-02-27T23:29:53.621-08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="technology"/><title type='text'>Intel to wind down desktop circuit board business | Business Tech - CNET News</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class=&#39;posterous_autopost&#39;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_bookmarklet_entry&quot;&gt; &lt;div class=&#39;p_embed p_image_embed&#39;&gt; &lt;img alt=&quot;Media_httpasset1cbsis_owcog&quot; height=&quot;217&quot; 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&lt;div class=&#39;p_embed p_image_embed&#39;&gt; &lt;img alt=&quot;Media_httpasset1cbsis_gndym&quot; height=&quot;409&quot; src=&quot;http://getfile4.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/vinayus/ehfzbmiEGewecGIAjhspjsBrAyEwcofDeiAAjsJcwonipycHjHAvnpkfejvy/media_httpasset1cbsis_gnDym.jpg&quot; width=&quot;445&quot; /&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;div class=&quot;posterous_quote_citation&quot;&gt;via &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57565086-94/geeksphone-reveals-firefox-os-phones-for-developers/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703&quot;&gt;news.cnet.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/feeds/4480615835151225814/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/02/geeksphone-reveals-firefox-os-phones_7.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/4480615835151225814'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/4480615835151225814'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/02/geeksphone-reveals-firefox-os-phones_7.html' title='GeeksPhone reveals Firefox OS phones for developers | Mobile - CNET News'/><author><name>vinayus</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13997497926112155532</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oZ8zOIjaa5c/TiSMYSXCc4I/AAAAAAAAADg/JGINqo026EA/s220/Death_Note%2B%25282%2529.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432933495904501116.post-3268100255105866531</id><published>2013-02-07T20:17:00.004-08:00</published><updated>2013-02-27T23:29:53.629-08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="tech"/><title type='text'>Samsung Galaxy S4 reportedly set to launch in April | Mobile - CNET News</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class=&#39;posterous_autopost&#39;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_bookmarklet_entry&quot;&gt; &lt;div class=&#39;p_embed p_image_embed&#39;&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;http://getfile6.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/vinayus/lBkDvlbcBewepEyDAwADyjhybrpkHCJbJJGGpasncygFbBbrburdCCwEuksn/media_httpasset1cbsis_uoicB.jpg.scaled1000.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;Media_httpasset1cbsis_uoicb&quot; height=&quot;435&quot; src=&quot;http://getfile6.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/vinayus/lBkDvlbcBewepEyDAwADyjhybrpkHCJbJJGGpasncygFbBbrburdCCwEuksn/media_httpasset1cbsis_uoicB.jpg.scaled1000.jpg&quot; width=&quot;610&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;div class=&quot;posterous_quote_citation&quot;&gt;via &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57565335-94/samsung-galaxy-s4-reportedly-set-to-launch-in-april/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703&quot;&gt;news.cnet.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/feeds/3268100255105866531/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/02/samsung-galaxy-s4-reportedly-set-to_7.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/3268100255105866531'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/3268100255105866531'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/02/samsung-galaxy-s4-reportedly-set-to_7.html' title='Samsung Galaxy S4 reportedly set to launch in April | Mobile - CNET News'/><author><name>vinayus</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13997497926112155532</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oZ8zOIjaa5c/TiSMYSXCc4I/AAAAAAAAADg/JGINqo026EA/s220/Death_Note%2B%25282%2529.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432933495904501116.post-1386702160862478942</id><published>2013-01-22T00:53:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2013-02-27T23:29:53.643-08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="technology"/><title type='text'>2014 Corvette Stingray debuts with rev-matching 7-speed | Detroit auto show 2013 - CNET Reviews</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class=&#39;posterous_autopost&#39;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_bookmarklet_entry&quot;&gt; &lt;div class=&#39;p_embed p_image_embed&#39;&gt; &lt;img alt=&quot;Media_httpasset1cbsis_isweb&quot; height=&quot;157&quot; src=&quot;http://getfile8.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/vinayus/jegmErDheIDgyCujCkwIGpBCvzxcmupwqeJuBHcGIypqchjxdevfmArAvtEj/media_httpasset1cbsis_IsweB.jpg.scaled595.jpg&quot; width=&quot;220&quot; /&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;div class=&quot;posterous_quote_citation&quot;&gt;via &lt;a href=&quot;http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-31229_7-57563819-257/2014-corvette-stingray-debuts-with-rev-matching-7-speed/?tag=nl.e404&amp;amp;s_cid=e404&quot;&gt;reviews.cnet.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/feeds/1386702160862478942/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/01/2014-corvette-stingray-debuts-with-rev_22.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/1386702160862478942'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/1386702160862478942'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/01/2014-corvette-stingray-debuts-with-rev_22.html' title='2014 Corvette Stingray debuts with rev-matching 7-speed | Detroit auto show 2013 - CNET Reviews'/><author><name>vinayus</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13997497926112155532</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oZ8zOIjaa5c/TiSMYSXCc4I/AAAAAAAAADg/JGINqo026EA/s220/Death_Note%2B%25282%2529.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432933495904501116.post-2433363259240154544</id><published>2013-01-21T20:56:00.002-08:00</published><updated>2013-02-27T23:29:53.649-08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="tech"/><title type='text'>Build Your Own Adobe Creative Suite with Free and Cheap Software</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class=&#39;posterous_autopost&#39;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_bookmarklet_entry&quot;&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;div&gt;   &lt;div&gt;   &lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/17kt3ayw1ld95jpg/avt-small.jpg&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;14&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 0px;&quot; width=&quot;14&quot; /&gt;   &lt;strong&gt;   &lt;a&gt;Thorin Klosowski&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;   &lt;div&gt;   &lt;ul&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5976725/build-your-own-adobe-creative-suite-with-free-and-cheap-software?utm_source=Lifehacker+Newsletter&amp;amp;utm_campaign=13e9bf7922-UA-142218-1&amp;amp;utm_medium=email#&quot; rel=&quot;author&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/17kt3ayw1ld95jpg/avt-small.jpg&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;26&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 0px;&quot; width=&quot;14&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;View Profile&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5976725/build-your-own-adobe-creative-suite-with-free-and-cheap-software?utm_source=Lifehacker+Newsletter&amp;amp;utm_campaign=13e9bf7922-UA-142218-1&amp;amp;utm_medium=email#&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;Email&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.facebook.com/thorink&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;Facebook&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://twitter.com/kingthor&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;Twitter&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://plus.google.com/112130794860820234172?rel=author&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;Google Plus&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5976725/build-your-own-adobe-creative-suite-with-free-and-cheap-software?utm_source=Lifehacker+Newsletter&amp;amp;utm_campaign=13e9bf7922-UA-142218-1&amp;amp;utm_medium=email#&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;RSS&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;/ul&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;   &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bs4l3qg7s3qjpg/original.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;lytebox&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;Build Your Own Adobe Creative Suite with Free and Cheap Software&quot; src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bs4l3qg7s3qjpg/medium.jpg&quot; height=&quot;169&quot; alt=&quot;Build Your Own Adobe Creative Suite with Free and Cheap Software&quot; style=&quot;display: none; margin-right: 0px;&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Adobe&#39;s Creative Suite is one of the best software packs out there for professionals, but the suite is prohibitively expensive for most people. If you can&#39;t drop the cash, you can still get a similar experience with free or cheap software. Here&#39;s how to build your own Creative Suite. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Adobe Creative Suite is more than just Photoshop: it contains other software that helps you build web sites, design logos, edit video, layout books, and more. Recently, &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5973750/download-adobe-creative-suite-2-including-photoshop-and-illustrator-for-free&quot;&gt;Adobe accidentally gave free access to the 2005 version of Creative Suite for free&lt;/a&gt;, and it&#39;s clear demand for even outdated versions of the software is high. You can&#39;t get as great of an experience with free software as you can with Adobe&#39;s offerings, but you can at least get close. Whether you&#39;re a student looking to test the waters of design before diving into the Creative Suite, or you&#39;re just an amateur who doesn&#39;t need all the bells and whistles, these free replacements to Adobe&#39;s lineup offer enough for most of us.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Note: Mac users on OS X Mountain Lion may need to download &lt;a href=&quot;http://xquartz.macosforge.org/landing/&quot;&gt;X Quartz&lt;/a&gt; to get some of this software running since &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5976725/build-your-own-adobe-creative-suite-with-free-and-cheap-software?utm_source=Lifehacker+Newsletter&amp;amp;utm_campaign=13e9bf7922-UA-142218-1&amp;amp;utm_medium=email#&quot;&gt;Apple dropped X11 support in Mountain Lion&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h3&gt;Best Replacement for Photoshop: GIMP&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;height: 169px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bs4l3qidexwjpg/original.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;lytebox&quot;&gt;Full size&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bs4l3qidexwjpg/medium.jpg&quot; height=&quot;169&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;When it comes to replacing Photoshop, nothing is better than &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.gimp.org/&quot;&gt;GIMP&lt;/a&gt;. GIMP has always been a little rough around the edges, but the recent &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5908178/gimp-updates-with-a-new-interface-layer-groups-and-more&quot;&gt;update to version 2.8&lt;/a&gt; really cleans up the interface and makes it a lot more usable. Alongside a &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.gimp.org/release-notes/gimp-2.8.html&quot;&gt;huge list of updates&lt;/a&gt;, GIMP added a new single-window mode that mimics Photoshop&#39;s tabbed view, and makes it considerably easier to use. The fact of the matter is, GIMP has come a long way since it was first released, and it&#39;s now a serious replacement for the overpriced Photoshop. &lt;p&gt;If the slightly different interface in GIMP is throwing you off, it has &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.gimpshop.com/&quot;&gt;a Photoshop-based port&lt;/a&gt; that looks and operates exactly like Photoshop. Once you&#39;re up and running, take a &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5758404/learn-the-basics-of-photoshop-the-complete-guide&quot;&gt;look at our guide to getting started with Photoshop&lt;/a&gt; (which also applies to GIMP) to learn how to do all types of great things ranging from color correction to basic drawing.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Also try&lt;/b&gt;: &lt;a href=&quot;http://pixlr.com/editor/&quot;&gt;Pixlr Editor&lt;/a&gt; (Windows), &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.getpaint.net/index.html&quot;&gt;Paint.NET&lt;/a&gt; (Windows), &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.irfanview.com/&quot;&gt;Irfanview&lt;/a&gt; (Windows) or &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.pixelmator.com/&quot;&gt;Pixelmator&lt;/a&gt; (Mac, $14.99)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h3&gt;Best Replacement for InDesign: Scribus&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;height: 284px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bs4l3qdp1btjpg/original.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;lytebox&quot;&gt;Full size&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bs4l3qdp1btjpg/medium.jpg&quot; height=&quot;284&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Adobe&#39;s desktop publishing software InDesign has been a standard for magazine and newspaper layout for a long time, but the decrease in paper publishing has made it less of a necessary tool. That said, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.scribus.net/canvas/Scribus&quot;&gt;Scribus&lt;/a&gt; is free and open source software that can do just about everything InDesign can. Scribus isn&#39;t nearly as intuitive (or pretty) as InDesign, but it gets the job done. &lt;p&gt;Scribus does things a little differently than InDesign, so it&#39;s necessary to run through the &lt;a href=&quot;http://wiki.scribus.net/canvas/Help:Manual_Quickstart&quot;&gt;quick-start guide&lt;/a&gt; to get started if you&#39;re familiar with how InDesign (or Quark) work. As a program for laying out a few simple pages, a small pamphlet, or even a short book, Scribus works surprisingly well. That said, it doesn&#39;t do a great job at handling a lot of images, and it doesn&#39;t offer that many options for really tweaking the layout. Still, as a free alternative to Indesign, Scribus should work for most people who aren&#39;t pushing out a daily newspaper.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Of course, if you just want to lay out an ebook (which InDesign also does), you have a few other options, including &lt;a href=&quot;http://code.google.com/p/sigil/&quot;&gt;Sigil&lt;/a&gt;, and &lt;a href=&quot;http://calibre-ebook.com/&quot;&gt;Calibre&lt;/a&gt;. Neither is particularly feature-rich, but if you&#39;re just looking to lay out and publish a simple ebook (or PDF), both are free options that handle text and simple layout fine.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Also try&lt;/b&gt;: &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.serif.com/desktop-publishing-software/&quot; style=&quot;&quot;&gt;Serif PagePlus Starter Edition&lt;/a&gt; (Windows), &lt;a href=&quot;https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/istudio-publisher/id430820689?mt=12&quot; style=&quot;&quot;&gt;iStudio Publisher&lt;/a&gt; (Mac, $17.99), &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.belightsoft.com/products/swiftpublisher/overview.php&quot;&gt;Swiftpublisher&lt;/a&gt; (Mac, $19.99)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h3&gt;Best Replacement for Illustrator: Inkscape&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;height: 199px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bs4l5pgkm2xjpg/original.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;lytebox&quot;&gt;Full size&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bs4l5pgkm2xjpg/medium.jpg&quot; height=&quot;199&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Illustrator&#39;s main claim to fame is &lt;a href=&quot;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vector_graphics&quot;&gt;vector-based art&lt;/a&gt;—the clean, simple art often seen in clipart, web graphics, and a lot of print art. The main appeal with vector graphics is that it&#39;s based on mathematical equations instead of an actual image, so it can scale up (or down) to nearly size which makes it perfect for printing. It doesn&#39;t seem that complicated, but few programs have been able to really replicate what makes Illustrator great. The closest is &lt;a href=&quot;http://inkscape.org/&quot;&gt;Inkscape&lt;/a&gt;, an open-source program that does just about everything Illustrator can do without the extra bells and whistles (like &lt;a href=&quot;http://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/using/tracing-artwork-live-trace-or.html&quot; style=&quot;&quot;&gt;live trace&lt;/a&gt;). &lt;p&gt;Inkscape can do standard vector graphics really well, and a quick glance at the &lt;a href=&quot;http://inkscapetutorials.wordpress.com/&quot;&gt;Inkscape Tutorials Blog&lt;/a&gt; showcases a lot of the power people have pulled out of it. If your main goal is to make clipart style graphics, icons, logos, or even do basic single-page layout, Inkscape handles just about everything Illustrator does.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Also try&lt;/b&gt;: &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.openoffice.org/product/draw.html&quot;&gt;OpenOffice Draw&lt;/a&gt; (Windows, Mac, and Linux), &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.serif.com/free-graphic-design-software/&quot; style=&quot;&quot;&gt;DrawPlus&lt;/a&gt; (Windows), &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.xaraxtreme.org/&quot;&gt;XaraExtreme&lt;/a&gt; (Linux), or &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.torapp.info/en/s/guilloche.html&quot;&gt;Torapp&lt;/a&gt; (Chrome), &lt;a href=&quot;https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/idraw/id404705039?mt=12&quot; style=&quot;&quot;&gt;iDraw&lt;/a&gt; (Mac, $24.99), &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.bohemiancoding.com/sketch/&quot;&gt;Sketch&lt;/a&gt; (Mac, $49.99)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h3&gt;Best Replacement for Premiere: Lightworks or VideoLAN Movie Creator&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;height: 179px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bs4l5pimr60jpg/original.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;lytebox&quot;&gt;Full size&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bs4l5pimr60jpg/medium.jpg&quot; height=&quot;179&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Unfortunately, Adobe&#39;s video editing software, Premiere is one of the hardest programs to replace in the Creative Suite. That said, if you simply need to edit a few home videos, the cross-platform &lt;a href=&quot;http://trac.videolan.org/vlmc/&quot;&gt;VideoLAN Movie Creator&lt;/a&gt; is a very early alpha, but can handle a number of video formats, basic editing, a small collection of effects, and more. It doesn&#39;t come close to the powerhouse that is Premier, but if you just need to do some simple editing, or add a soundtrack to your home movie, VideoLAN Movie Creator does the trick. &lt;p&gt;Windows users can also check out the &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5785154/lightworks-is-a-speedy-professional+level-and-free-open+source-video-editor&quot;&gt;previously mentioned&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.lwks.com/&quot;&gt;Lightworks&lt;/a&gt;. The free version allows you to do a lot of basic editing, and if you decide to upgrade to the full version, it&#39;s only $60.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;However, if you&#39;re on Linux, you have a couple really solid options. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kdenlive.org/&quot;&gt;Kdenlive&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.pitivi.org/?&quot;&gt;PiTiVi&lt;/a&gt;, and &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.openshotvideo.com/&quot;&gt;OpenShot&lt;/a&gt; are about as close as you&#39;ll get to commercial editing software for free. They&#39;re both a little closer to &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.apple.com/ilife/imovie/&quot; style=&quot;&quot;&gt;iMovie&lt;/a&gt; than they are to Premier in terms of features, but they work really well.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The fact of the matter is that you&#39;re not going to find a perfect substitute for Premiere, but if you&#39;re just looking to make simple video edits, it&#39;s possible to do it without spending a dime. Once you get going, &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5785558/the-basics-of-video-editing-the-complete-guide&quot;&gt;our guide to video editing&lt;/a&gt; will teach you all the basics.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Also try&lt;/b&gt;: &lt;a href=&quot;http://avidemux.sourceforge.net/&quot;&gt;Avidemux&lt;/a&gt; (Windows, Mac, Linux), &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.magisto.com/&quot;&gt;Magistro&lt;/a&gt; (web), &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.apple.com/ilife/imovie/&quot; style=&quot;&quot;&gt;iMovie&lt;/a&gt; (Mac, $14.99), or &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.telestream.net/screenflow/overview.htm&quot;&gt;Screenflow&lt;/a&gt; (Mac, $100), &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.zs4.net/free-software-downloads&quot;&gt;ZS4 Video Editor&lt;/a&gt; (Windows, Mac, Linux)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h3&gt;Best Replacement for Dreamweaver: KompoZer or Learn to Code&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;height: 191px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bs4l5pi6quyjpg/original.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;lytebox&quot;&gt;Full size&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bs4l5pi6quyjpg/medium.jpg&quot; height=&quot;191&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) editors for making web sites are easy to come by, but few match the toolset included in Dreamweaver. Since Dreamweaver works both as a WYSIWYG editor and a site manager, you&#39;re not going to find a free alternative that does both. &lt;p&gt;However, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kompozer.net/&quot;&gt;KompoZer&lt;/a&gt; gets as close as possible while still being simple to use. As a web authoring tool that doesn&#39;t require you to learn HTML, it&#39;s easy to get used to, and you can design a basic web site in a few minutes. The addition of &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kompozer.net/addons.php&quot;&gt;add-ons&lt;/a&gt; can also extend its use a little bit. KompoZer is a bit outdated (the last update was way back in 2010), but it can still handle basic CSS and HTML.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;All that said, Dreamweaver, along with any WYSIWYG editor, are often criticized for outputting bad code and doing a poor job of teaching the basics of web site design. If your real goal is to get into web design, you&#39;re better off learning to make one from scratch. We&#39;ve got &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5790955/how-to-make-a-web-site-the-complete-guide&quot;&gt;a huge guide&lt;/a&gt; for doing just that. The best part? You can learn all the coding you need with free tools, and moving forward you&#39;ll know how to make a web site without relying on Adobe&#39;s expensive software.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Also try&lt;/b&gt;: &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.seamonkey-project.org/&quot;&gt;SeaMonkey&lt;/a&gt; (Mac), &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.aptana.com/&quot;&gt;Aptana Studio 3&lt;/a&gt; (Windows, Mac, Linux), &lt;a href=&quot;http://bluegriffon.org/&quot;&gt;BlueGriffon&lt;/a&gt; (Windows, Mac, Linux), or &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.w3.org/Amaya/User/BinDist.html&quot;&gt;Amaya&lt;/a&gt; (Windows, Mac, Linux), &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.theescapers.com/flux/&quot;&gt;Flux&lt;/a&gt; (Mac, $75), &lt;a href=&quot;http://macrabbit.com/espresso/&quot;&gt;Espresso&lt;/a&gt; (Mac, $75)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h3&gt;Best Replacement for After Effects: Blender or Wax&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bs4lbmhp0h8jpg/original.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;lytebox&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;Build Your Own Adobe Creative Suite with Free and Cheap Software&quot; src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bs4lbmhp0h8jpg/medium.jpg&quot; height=&quot;217&quot; alt=&quot;Build Your Own Adobe Creative Suite with Free and Cheap Software&quot; style=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;After Effects is a relatively niche piece of software for special effects, and post-production video editing. It&#39;s also one of the cheaper retail options out there (similar software goes for as much as $4000 and up). Subsequently, you have a pretty small selection of free software to choose from to replace it.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The closest analog is &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.debugmode.com/wax/&quot;&gt;Wax&lt;/a&gt; for Windows. It&#39;s a bit old, but it&#39;s one of the few free choices that can handle video compositing, special effects, and a wide selection of plugins.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Alternately, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.blender.org/&quot;&gt;Blender&lt;/a&gt; is a cross-platform tool meant for 3D design that can also handle a &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.blender.org/education-help/tutorials/compositing/&quot;&gt;suprising amount of composting options&lt;/a&gt;. It&#39;s not designed for the same special effects as After Effects, but if you just want to toss some light sabers into that home video you filmed at the Grand Canyon, Blender can do it. It&#39;s also worth checking out &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.blenderguru.com/&quot;&gt;BlenderGuru&lt;/a&gt; for a huge list of tutorials.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Also try&lt;/b&gt;: &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.jahshaka.com/about/&quot;&gt;Jahshaka&lt;/a&gt; (was out of date for a while, but has recently relaunched to push a new 3.0 build), &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/motion/&quot; style=&quot;&quot;&gt;Motion 5&lt;/a&gt; (Mac, $49.99),&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h3&gt;Best Replacement for Flash: Various Tools&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;height: 167px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bs4lbmmsehujpg/original.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;lytebox&quot;&gt;Full size&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bs4lbmmsehujpg/medium.jpg&quot; height=&quot;167&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Flash is one of the hardest Adobe tools to replace with free software because Adobe invented the entire system it&#39;s based on. However, depending on what you&#39;re looking to make with Flash, you have a few different options. &lt;p&gt;If you want to use Flash to create 2D animation, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.synfig.org/cms/&quot;&gt;Synfig Studio&lt;/a&gt; is your best option. Synfig Studio can do about as much as Flash can do with animation, and once you &lt;a href=&quot;http://wiki.synfig.org/wiki/Category:Tutorials&quot;&gt;run through the tutorials&lt;/a&gt; it&#39;s a snap to make to make 2D animations. Unfortunately, you can&#39;t export your animations to the Flash standard SWF format, but as a learning tool it works great.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;If ActionScript programming is what you&#39;re interested in, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flashdevelop.org/&quot;&gt;Flash Develop&lt;/a&gt; is a great coding program built specifically for ActionScript. &lt;a href=&quot;http://active.tutsplus.com/tutorials/beginners-guide-to-flashdevelop-intro-basix/&quot;&gt;It&#39;s a little tough to get started with&lt;/a&gt;, but once you get the hang of it, Flash Develop can handle all the code that Flash can.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Finally, if making Flash games is more in your interest, &lt;a href=&quot;http://stencyl.com/&quot;&gt;Stencyl&lt;/a&gt; is an absolutely fantastic free tool for budding game developers. Its &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.stencyl.com/help/&quot;&gt;tutorials&lt;/a&gt; walk you though every aspect you need to know, and the visual design mimics a lot of what you&#39;ll also find in Flash, but works considerably better. The best part? It&#39;s entirely visual, so you don&#39;t need to code, and when you&#39;re done making something, you can instantly export it as an iOS game (Android support is also on the way).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Also try&lt;/b&gt;: &lt;a href=&quot;http://tumult.com/hype/&quot;&gt;Hype&lt;/a&gt; (Mac-based HTML5 Editor, $49.99), &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.microsoft.com/silverlight/default.aspx&quot;&gt;Microsoft Silverlight&lt;/a&gt; (Windows, Mac), &lt;a href=&quot;http://vectorian.com/&quot;&gt;Vectorian&lt;/a&gt; (Windows), &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.awesomeanimator.com/about/&quot;&gt;Awesome Animator&lt;/a&gt; (Windows), &lt;a href=&quot;http://antimatter15.com/ajaxanimator/wave/&quot;&gt;Ajax Animator&lt;/a&gt; (browser)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h3&gt;Best Replacement to Acrobat: Preview or PDF-XChange Viewer&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;height: 216px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bs4lbmp7er0jpg/original.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;lytebox&quot;&gt;Full size&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bs4lbmp7er0jpg/medium.jpg&quot; height=&quot;216&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Replacing the gigantic, all-encompassing Adobe Acrobat is no easy task. On Windows, &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5842130/the-best-pdf-viewereditor-for-windows&quot;&gt;we like&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.tracker-software.com/product/pdf-xchange-viewer&quot;&gt;PDF-XChange Viewer&lt;/a&gt;. While its set of free options are limited to reading, annotation, and signatures, that&#39;s enough for most lightweight users. That said, the $40 Pro version does everything Acrobat does and more. So, if you do need to make the upgrade it&#39;s still considerably cheaper than the $300 Acrobat. &lt;p&gt;Mac users should be able to get by with the built-in functions of &lt;a href=&quot;http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2506&quot;&gt;Preview&lt;/a&gt; for most of their PDF editing and creation needs. Preview can handle annotation, highlighting, editing, signatures, and more. It&#39;s not nearly as robust as Acrobat, but for the bulk of people out there who need simple editing tools Preview works great.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Also try&lt;/b&gt;: &lt;a href=&quot;http://code.google.com/p/formulatepro/&quot;&gt;Formulate Pro&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.foxitsoftware.com/Secure_PDF_Reader/&quot;&gt;Foxit Reader&lt;/a&gt; (Windows, $29 for the Express version, $95 for the Standard), or &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.nitroreader.com/features&quot;&gt;Nitro Reader&lt;/a&gt; (Windows, $119.99 for Pro version)&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;As we mentioned, most of the above options won&#39;t replace Creative Suite for professionals, but they&#39;re usually enough for amateurs. They might take a little more work to learn how to use them because they&#39;re rarely as well-designed as Adobe&#39;s offerings, but they&#39;re often nearly as functional. If you do decide to make the upgrade to Creative Suite, remember that the new &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5904416/rent-vs-buy-is-adobes-creative-cloud-subscription-cheaper-than-buying-photoshop&quot;&gt;subscription model makes very little sense&lt;/a&gt; when you can &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5887336/where-can-i-get-discounts-on-expensive-software&quot;&gt;snag the student editions even when you&#39;re not a student&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;i style=&quot;font-size: 80%;&quot;&gt;Title image remixed from &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-107217827/stock-photo-wooden-art-palette-with-paint-and-brushes-isolated-on-white.html?src=csl_recent_image-3&quot; style=&quot;&quot;&gt;Africa Studio&lt;/a&gt; (Shutterstock).&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;       &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_quote_citation&quot;&gt;via &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5976725/build-your-own-adobe-creative-suite-with-free-and-cheap-software?utm_source=Lifehacker+Newsletter&amp;amp;utm_campaign=13e9bf7922-UA-142218-1&amp;amp;utm_medium=email&quot;&gt;lifehacker.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/feeds/2433363259240154544/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/01/build-your-own-adobe-creative-suite_21.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/2433363259240154544'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/2433363259240154544'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/01/build-your-own-adobe-creative-suite_21.html' title='Build Your Own Adobe Creative Suite with Free and Cheap Software'/><author><name>vinayus</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13997497926112155532</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oZ8zOIjaa5c/TiSMYSXCc4I/AAAAAAAAADg/JGINqo026EA/s220/Death_Note%2B%25282%2529.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432933495904501116.post-7929907704004016843</id><published>2013-01-21T20:54:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2013-02-27T23:29:53.746-08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="review"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="web"/><title type='text'>Browser Speed Tests: Chrome 24, Firefox 18, Internet Explorer 10, and Opera 12.12</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class=&#39;posterous_autopost&#39;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_bookmarklet_entry&quot;&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;div&gt;   &lt;div&gt;   &lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/17z00h8twlstpjpg/avt-small.jpg&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;14&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 0px;&quot; width=&quot;14&quot; /&gt;   &lt;strong&gt;   &lt;a&gt;Whitson Gordon&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;   &lt;div&gt;   &lt;ul&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5976082/browser-speed-tests-chrome-24-firefox-18-internet-explorer-10-and-opera-1212?utm_source=Lifehacker+Newsletter&amp;amp;utm_campaign=58f3ea9daa-UA-142218-1&amp;amp;utm_medium=email#&quot; rel=&quot;author&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/17z00h8twlstpjpg/avt-small.jpg&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;26&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 0px;&quot; width=&quot;14&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;View Profile&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5976082/browser-speed-tests-chrome-24-firefox-18-internet-explorer-10-and-opera-1212?utm_source=Lifehacker+Newsletter&amp;amp;utm_campaign=58f3ea9daa-UA-142218-1&amp;amp;utm_medium=email#&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;Email&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.facebook.com/whitsongordon&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;Facebook&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://twitter.com/WhitsonGordon&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;Twitter&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://plus.google.com/115788203615961124571?rel=author&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;Google Plus&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5976082/browser-speed-tests-chrome-24-firefox-18-internet-explorer-10-and-opera-1212?utm_source=Lifehacker+Newsletter&amp;amp;utm_campaign=58f3ea9daa-UA-142218-1&amp;amp;utm_medium=email#&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;RSS&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;/ul&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;   &lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;Browser Speed Tests: Chrome 24, Firefox 18, Internet Explorer 10, and Opera 12.12&quot; src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bl5trkqyrbmjpg/medium.jpg&quot; height=&quot;169&quot; alt=&quot;Browser Speed Tests: Chrome 24, Firefox 18, Internet Explorer 10, and Opera 12.12&quot; style=&quot;display: none; margin-right: 0px;&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;Windows 8 is out with a new version of Internet Explorer, Firefox has boosted its JavaScript power and memory usage, and Chrome&#39;s been slowly improving its speed. How do the new versions stack up against each other? We found out in our latest round of browser speed tests. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;We&#39;ve been testing browsers for awhile, and we&#39;ve &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5575535/how-we-test-web-browsers&quot;&gt;refined our method pretty well&lt;/a&gt;. It&#39;s a good mix of both manually timed user experience measures and hardcore JavaScript benchmarks, plus some new tests aimed at features like Chrome&#39;s prerendering or Firefox&#39;s on demand tab loading can really do. All tests take place on Windows (which is why we didn&#39;t test Safari—it isn&#39;t very popular on Windows, and testing the Mac version wouldn&#39;t give it equal footing).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;As always, remember that speed is not the only thing each browser has to offer. Each browser has a number of unique features and characteristics, all of which you should factor into making your choice of which to use. However, while most features can be listed on their home pages, you can&#39;t easily compare their speed just from each browser&#39;s changelog, and that&#39;s why we&#39;ve put this together. It&#39;s just one more way to compare the browsers as you make your decision. Also keep in mind that everyone&#39;s computer is different, and your numbers may differ from ours, but the comparison between the numbers should be the same.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h3&gt;Cold Boot-Up Winner: Chrome!&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;height: 186px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bl5tnmqbdk9jpg/original.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;lytebox&quot;&gt;Full size&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bl5tnmqbdk9jpg/medium.jpg&quot; height=&quot;186&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Chrome had a shockingly fast boot-up time this time around, popping up just over two seconds after we clicked its icon, ready to go. Explorer was pretty fast as well, with Firefox close behind and Opera slowing down quite a bit to take last place. &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Tab Loading Winner: TIE Between Chrome and Internet Explorer!&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;height: 186px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bl5tnmscog9jpg/original.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;lytebox&quot;&gt;Full size&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bl5tnmscog9jpg/medium.jpg&quot; height=&quot;186&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Our test of loading nine tabs, from Lifehacker to Facebook to Hulu and Amazon, showed some interesting results. Chrome and Internet Explorer both dropped some time in this area, tying each other for first place, while Firefox absolutely &lt;em&gt;crumbled&lt;/em&gt; under the weight of the tabs. Firefox&#39;s UI had so much trouble loading all nine tabs at once that its UI animations would completely stop while it caught up, finally loading them all after nearly 20 seconds. Whatever the Mozilla team has done, it makes the browser feel like its old, slow self again. &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;URL Loading Winner: Chrome!&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;height: 186px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bl5tnmtmgfejpg/original.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;lytebox&quot;&gt;Full size&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bl5tnmtmgfejpg/medium.jpg&quot; height=&quot;186&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;As usual, Chrome took home the prize for visiting sites from the address bar, thanks to its awesome prerendering feature. However, Firefox and IE have definitely sped up a tad, too, meaning most browsers should give you a pretty quick page load as long as you&#39;ve been to that page during this session—except Opera, who still took over a second to load the page. &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Cold Restore Winner: Chrome!&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;height: 161px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bl5tplrcmnljpg/original.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;lytebox&quot;&gt;Full size&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bl5tplrcmnljpg/medium.jpg&quot; height=&quot;161&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Even though this test was originally determined to test Firefox&#39;s new &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5915526/firefox-13-now-available-with-a-new-start-page-lots-of-speed-improvements&quot;&gt;on demand tab loading&lt;/a&gt;, it seems this feature no longer works during a cold boot—only during a warm boot. However, whether we tested cold or warm starts, Firefox still didn&#39;t seem to benefit from this feature at all. The Chrome team has really upped their game, making Chrome boot up super fast whether it has nine tabs in tow or not. While Chrome still had to load those tabs, it became usable nearly immediately after the window showed up, while Firefox took a little longer to boot and Opera kept us waiting quite a while. &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;JavaScript Winner: Chrome!&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;height: 186px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bl5tplpop66jpg/original.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;lytebox&quot;&gt;Full size&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bl5tplpop66jpg/medium.jpg&quot; height=&quot;186&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;We&#39;ve gone back and forth about whether to include JavaScript benchmarks in this test, because they&#39;re pretty artificial, despite most test&#39;s claim to measure &quot;real world performance&quot;. In the interest of completeness, we&#39;ve included it here, with the usual results (Chrome smoking the competition), but don&#39;t put too much stock in this over our other, more real-world tests. Due to issues with Mozilla&#39;s Dromaeo test suite, we used the popular &lt;a href=&quot;http://peacekeeper.futuremark.com/&quot;&gt;Peacekeeper&lt;/a&gt; test from Futuremark this time around. &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Memory Usage (with Nine Tabs Open) Winner: Firefox!&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;height: 186px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bl5tplsk4urjpg/original.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;lytebox&quot;&gt;Full size&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bl5tplsk4urjpg/medium.jpg&quot; height=&quot;186&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;As usual, Firefox&#39;s memory management has improved &lt;em&gt;greatly&lt;/em&gt; in the recent past, while Chrome&#39;s continues to shoot up to astronomical levels. &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Memory Usage (with Nine Tabs and Five Extensions) Winner: Firefox!&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;height: 158px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bl5trkwp9xkjpg/original.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;lytebox&quot;&gt;Full size&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bl5trkwp9xkjpg/medium.jpg&quot; height=&quot;158&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Everyone&#39;s memory usage went up when we piled on five extensions, though Firefox&#39;s increased significantly less than Chrome and Opera&#39;s. As usual, Firefox took first place once again. &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;The Winner?&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p&gt;This time around, there was actually a &lt;em&gt;very&lt;/em&gt; clear winner, but we&#39;ve decided to stop tallying up the results and raking browsers in these tests. Why? Because we think you should decide for yourself! Everyone has different priorities, so we&#39;ve decided to stop including a &quot;winner&quot; since the scores were impossible to weight fairly against one another. If you don&#39;t ever shut down your computer, for example, you can just ignore the cold boot scores. Don&#39;t like benchmarks? Throw out the JavaScript test. Have 12GB of RAM? Then memory management isn&#39;t really an issue. Check out the above results and see how the browsers stack up when it comes to your most important tests—and of course, weigh each browser&#39;s features—before you determine a winner.&lt;/p&gt;       &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_quote_citation&quot;&gt;via &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5976082/browser-speed-tests-chrome-24-firefox-18-internet-explorer-10-and-opera-1212?utm_source=Lifehacker+Newsletter&amp;amp;utm_campaign=58f3ea9daa-UA-142218-1&amp;amp;utm_medium=email&quot;&gt;lifehacker.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/feeds/7929907704004016843/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/01/browser-speed-tests-chrome-24-firefox_21.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/7929907704004016843'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/7929907704004016843'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/01/browser-speed-tests-chrome-24-firefox_21.html' title='Browser Speed Tests: Chrome 24, Firefox 18, Internet Explorer 10, and Opera 12.12'/><author><name>vinayus</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13997497926112155532</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oZ8zOIjaa5c/TiSMYSXCc4I/AAAAAAAAADg/JGINqo026EA/s220/Death_Note%2B%25282%2529.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432933495904501116.post-2628462697617474176</id><published>2013-01-21T20:53:00.006-08:00</published><updated>2013-02-27T23:29:53.842-08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="technology"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="web"/><title type='text'>Predicting the next big thing up Mark Zuckerberg&amp;#39;s sleeve | Internet &amp;amp; Media - CNET News</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class=&#39;posterous_autopost&#39;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_bookmarklet_entry&quot;&gt; &lt;div class=&#39;p_embed p_image_embed&#39;&gt; &lt;img alt=&quot;Media_httpasset3cbsis_psdna&quot; height=&quot;214&quot; src=&quot;http://getfile4.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/vinayus/annibaFzccDvscvlHzChBrGGfFfqGsoobmmnEpntdHgCjoHlkIywGyfivkhw/media_httpasset3cbsis_psDna.jpg&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;div class=&quot;posterous_quote_citation&quot;&gt;via &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57563961-93/predicting-the-next-big-thing-up-mark-zuckerbergs-sleeve/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#close=1&quot;&gt;news.cnet.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/feeds/2628462697617474176/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/01/predicting-next-big-thing-up-mark_21.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/2628462697617474176'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/2628462697617474176'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/01/predicting-next-big-thing-up-mark_21.html' title='Predicting the next big thing up Mark Zuckerberg&amp;#39;s sleeve | Internet &amp;amp; Media - CNET News'/><author><name>vinayus</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13997497926112155532</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oZ8zOIjaa5c/TiSMYSXCc4I/AAAAAAAAADg/JGINqo026EA/s220/Death_Note%2B%25282%2529.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432933495904501116.post-4865193068165490805</id><published>2013-01-14T20:52:00.005-08:00</published><updated>2013-02-27T23:29:54.033-08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="review"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="tech"/><title type='text'>No, we don&amp;#39;t really need another smartphone OS | Dialed In - CNET Blogs</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class=&#39;posterous_autopost&#39;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_bookmarklet_entry&quot;&gt; &lt;div class=&#39;p_embed p_image_embed&#39;&gt; &lt;img alt=&quot;Media_httpasset3cbsis_qsbbh&quot; height=&quot;324&quot; src=&quot;http://getfile1.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/vinayus/vyEJfqIlvbeHrcEvtakBAEzColdCutrIzelsFdgExImazjCFicyzDdqrvkAq/media_httpasset3cbsis_qsbbh.jpg.scaled1000.jpg&quot; width=&quot;554&quot; /&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;div class=&quot;posterous_quote_citation&quot;&gt;via &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cnet.com/8301-17918_1-57561675-85/no-we-dont-really-need-another-smartphone-os/?tag=nl.e404&amp;amp;s_cid=e404&quot;&gt;cnet.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/feeds/4865193068165490805/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/01/no-we-don-really-need-another_14.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/4865193068165490805'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/4865193068165490805'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/01/no-we-don-really-need-another_14.html' title='No, we don&amp;#39;t really need another smartphone OS | Dialed In - CNET Blogs'/><author><name>vinayus</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13997497926112155532</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oZ8zOIjaa5c/TiSMYSXCc4I/AAAAAAAAADg/JGINqo026EA/s220/Death_Note%2B%25282%2529.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432933495904501116.post-7724016164074136495</id><published>2013-01-14T20:52:00.004-08:00</published><updated>2013-02-27T23:29:53.937-08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="review"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="technology"/><title type='text'>Adobe almost does something amazing by accident | Ars Technica</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class=&#39;posterous_autopost&#39;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_bookmarklet_entry&quot;&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;div&gt;  &lt;p&gt;It seemed like an intriguing deal. An old version of Adobe Creative Suite—the 2005 vintage CS2, to be precise—became freely downloadable from Adobe, with nothing more than a free-to-create Adobe ID required from users. Although basically useless for Mac users, as CS2 is only available for PowerPC, for Windows users this is a powerful, if not quite cutting edge, suite of graphics apps.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;This looked like a clever move from Adobe. Photoshop is widely held to be one of the most routinely pirated applications there is. In making an old but still servicable version of the software it appeared that Adobe was offering a good alternative to piracy: instead of using a knock-off copy of CS6, just use CS2.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;A free CS2 would also go some way toward starving alternative applications of oxygen. Given the choice between a free copy of CS2 and downloading, say, the GIMP, one imagines that many users would plump for the commercial application. It&#39;s more of a known quantity, with a more polished user interface. And Photoshop is, frankly, the gold standard of bitmap image editing. Even an older version has a prestige that GIMP doesn&#39;t. This is not to say that CS2 is necessarily superior to the GIMP; it may or may not be. It doesn&#39;t really matter; Photoshop has a reputation and respect that the GIMP doesn&#39;t have, and even if some might argue that it was undeserved, it influences the decisions users make.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Giving away an old version in this way certainly appears unusual, and perhaps even a little brave for a commercial company such as Adobe. But Adobe is already being quite brave at the moment. The company is in many ways &lt;a href=&quot;http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/09/adobes-continuing-revolution-pushes-the-cutting-edge-of-html5-development/&quot;&gt;reinventing the way it both develops and licenses its products&lt;/a&gt;. It is creating a wide range of HTML5-oriented tools under the Edge brand that use a mix of open source and proprietary technology, and it is pushing hard its subscription software model with the Creative Cloud.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;In this context, giving away an old version of its software doesn&#39;t seem quite so outlandish. It might sacrifice some revenue (though one suspects not all that much), but it strengthens Photoshop&#39;s dominance—and also makes Adobe look pretty good, to boot. And although an unusual move, it&#39;s not entirely unprecedented. Just last month, Microsoft made its previously commercial Expression suite &lt;a href=&quot;http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/12/microsoft-killing-off-expression-suite-of-web-and-design-tools/&quot;&gt;freely downloadable&lt;/a&gt; after the company decided to cease further development. But this isn&#39;t quite the same; Creative Suite is still a going concern for Adobe. Expression isn&#39;t for Microsoft.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Unfortunately, it appears that Adobe wasn&#39;t really intending to give out CS2 for everyone. Shortly after news of the apparently free software spread across Twitter on Monday, the download page became unavailable, producing an error instead. Subsequent blog and forum posts indicate that this wasn&#39;t an inspired decision to liberate an obsolete but still useful application after all. It was something between a mistake, an error of judgement, and a misunderstanding.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;CS2 used a product activation scheme to control licensing. When you install the software, it interrogates an Internet server to ensure that the license key you entered is acceptable. In December, Adobe retired the activation servers used by CS2. This posed a problem for CS2&#39;s licensed users, because without the activation servers, they can no longer reinstall the software.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;To help these people out, Adobe offered versions of CS2 that didn&#39;t need activation. Mere entry of the serial numbers that Adobe put on the download page would suffice. The company &lt;a href=&quot;http://blogs.adobe.com/conversations/2013/01/update-on-cs2-and-acrobat-7-activation-servers.html&quot;&gt;says&lt;/a&gt; that although it looks like it was giving the software away for free, it in fact wasn&#39;t. It was just trying to assist its customers. Adobe says in order to legally use CS2, users still require a purchased license.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;There are ways that Adobe could have helped out these users that didn&#39;t result in putting the software up on a server that anyone could get at. For example, the company could have released a patch that removed the activation checks from the applications and the license key entry from the installer. This could work with original media, and hence not require distribution of CS2. For whatever reason, the company decided not to go this route.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;So it turns out that rather than doing something a little bit daring and unusual—something that might even inspire a new approach to licensing old, obsolete software—Adobe was doing something somewhat useful for existing, paid up, licensed users, in a rather peculiar way. This is a shame. The company could have earned a lot of goodwill by making CS2 free, and it would have been easy enough to offer a no-cost license for the software.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;There is one final surprise. Originally, acquiring CS2 required an Adobe ID. It seemed a fair enough trade; Adobe knows your e-mail address and name, and in return you get some no-cost software. Since the whole issue blew up on Twitter, forcing the company to issue its clarification, perhaps one would have expected it to restrict access to the downloads, or use some other technique to remove the activation check.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;It has not. Instead, Adobe has made CS2 &lt;em&gt;even easier to get&lt;/em&gt;, by removing the Adobe ID requirement. The company created a &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.adobe.com/downloads/cs2_downloads/index.html&quot;&gt;new CS2 download page&lt;/a&gt;, and this time around, it had no registration requirement at all.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;It&#39;s almost as if the company wanted people to download the software.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Update&lt;/strong&gt;: Or perhaps not. The new download page has now been pulled. Alas. While it&#39;s still working for some people, for others, it&#39;s redirecting to a CS6 page.&lt;/p&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_quote_citation&quot;&gt;via &lt;a href=&quot;http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/01/adobe-almost-does-something-amazing-by-accident/?utm_source=Ars+Technica+Newsletter&amp;amp;utm_campaign=638101bbc8-September_02_2011_Newsletter&amp;amp;utm_medium=email&quot;&gt;arstechnica.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/feeds/7724016164074136495/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/01/adobe-almost-does-something-amazing-by_14.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/7724016164074136495'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/7724016164074136495'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/01/adobe-almost-does-something-amazing-by_14.html' title='Adobe almost does something amazing by accident | Ars Technica'/><author><name>vinayus</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13997497926112155532</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oZ8zOIjaa5c/TiSMYSXCc4I/AAAAAAAAADg/JGINqo026EA/s220/Death_Note%2B%25282%2529.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432933495904501116.post-5641902584695520997</id><published>2013-01-14T20:50:00.002-08:00</published><updated>2013-02-27T23:29:54.128-08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="review"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="technology"/><title type='text'>This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class=&#39;posterous_autopost&#39;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_bookmarklet_entry&quot;&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;div&gt;   &lt;div&gt;   &lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/17z00h8twlstpjpg/avt-small.jpg&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;14&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 0px;&quot; width=&quot;14&quot; /&gt;   &lt;strong&gt;   &lt;a&gt;Whitson Gordon&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;   &lt;div&gt;   &lt;ul&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5972314/this-is-the-best-of-lifehacker-2012?utm_source=Lifehacker+Newsletter&amp;amp;utm_campaign=12d4afcdfa-UA-142218-1&amp;amp;utm_medium=email#&quot; rel=&quot;author&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/17z00h8twlstpjpg/avt-small.jpg&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;26&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 0px;&quot; width=&quot;14&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;View Profile&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5972314/this-is-the-best-of-lifehacker-2012?utm_source=Lifehacker+Newsletter&amp;amp;utm_campaign=12d4afcdfa-UA-142218-1&amp;amp;utm_medium=email#&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;Email&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.facebook.com/whitsongordon&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;Facebook&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://twitter.com/WhitsonGordon&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;Twitter&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://plus.google.com/115788203615961124571?rel=author&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;Google Plus&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5972314/this-is-the-best-of-lifehacker-2012?utm_source=Lifehacker+Newsletter&amp;amp;utm_campaign=12d4afcdfa-UA-142218-1&amp;amp;utm_medium=email#&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;RSS&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;/ul&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;   &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18a3j13aehcanjpg/original.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;lytebox&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18a3j13aehcanjpg/medium.jpg&quot; height=&quot;169&quot; alt=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; style=&quot;display: none; margin-right: 0px;&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;As we get ready to jump into 2013, we&#39;ve spent the last month looking back at our best posts of 2012. Here&#39;s one last look back at this year in Lifehacker in case you missed anything along the way.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5964782/most-popular-how+to-guides-of-2012&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/186y8t13u8ncrjpg/medium_169.jpg&quot; height=&quot;169&quot; alt=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; style=&quot;margin-top: 13px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h4&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5964782/most-popular-how+to-guides-of-2012&quot;&gt;Most Popular How-To Guides of 2012&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h4&gt; &lt;p&gt;Some of the best and most interesting topics we cover here at Lifehacker are our how-to guides: Those posts that take you through a project step by step and leave you at the end having completed something you&#39;ve always wanted to do. &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5964782/most-popular-how+to-guides-of-2012&quot;&gt;More »&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5965601/most-popular-top-10s-of-2012&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/187c8ugu55kcrjpg/medium_169.jpg&quot; height=&quot;169&quot; alt=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; style=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h4&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5965601/most-popular-top-10s-of-2012&quot;&gt;Most Popular Top 10s of 2012&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h4&gt; &lt;p&gt;Sometimes, there are just so many tips regarding a specific topic that they just beg to be compiled into a definitive list. Here&#39;s a look back at our favorite top 10 lists of 2012. &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5965601/most-popular-top-10s-of-2012&quot;&gt;More »&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5965981/most-popular-photography-tips-tricks-and-hacks-of-2012&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/187fu7vbikt53jpg/medium_169.jpg&quot; height=&quot;169&quot; alt=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; style=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h4&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5965981/most-popular-photography-tips-tricks-and-hacks-of-2012&quot;&gt;Most Popular Photography Tips, Tricks, and Hacks of 2012&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h4&gt; &lt;p&gt;2012 was a great year for all things photography, with posts to help you behind the camera, in front of it, when you&#39;re shooting, and when you&#39;re editing. &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5965981/most-popular-photography-tips-tricks-and-hacks-of-2012&quot;&gt;More »&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5966084/most-popular-diy-projects-of-2012&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/187gfawif9m3mjpg/medium_169.jpg&quot; height=&quot;169&quot; alt=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; style=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h4&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5966084/most-popular-diy-projects-of-2012&quot;&gt;Most Popular DIY Projects of 2012&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h4&gt; &lt;p&gt;2012 has been a great year for DIY. We&#39;ve seen &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/diy&quot;&gt;a ton of awesome DIY projects, hacks, and creations&lt;/a&gt; over the last twelve months, but here are the most popular ones, from creating your own kickass media center to building a secret closet door and more. &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5966084/most-popular-diy-projects-of-2012&quot;&gt;More »&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5966706/most-popular-windows-downloads-and-posts-of-2012&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/187ncvxg8kt3ijpg/medium_169.jpg&quot; height=&quot;169&quot; alt=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; style=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h4&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5966706/most-popular-windows-downloads-and-posts-of-2012&quot;&gt;Most Popular Windows Downloads and Posts of 2012&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h4&gt; &lt;p&gt;Windows had a big year in 2012: Windows 8 came out and caused quite a stir, new downloads came and rocked our world, and old programs once forgotten showed us they can still be great. &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5966706/most-popular-windows-downloads-and-posts-of-2012&quot;&gt;More »&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5966629/most-popular-mac-downloads-and-posts-of-2012&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/187y8h5hswhewjpg/medium_169.jpg&quot; height=&quot;169&quot; alt=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; style=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h4&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5966629/most-popular-mac-downloads-and-posts-of-2012&quot;&gt;Most Popular Mac Downloads and Posts of 2012&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h4&gt; &lt;p&gt;2012 brought us a new version of OS X with the launch of Mountain Lion, and we&#39;ve had plenty of great Mac-oriented content throughout the year. We&#39;ve had a ton of great new software, guides, and ways to fix annoyances. &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5966629/most-popular-mac-downloads-and-posts-of-2012&quot;&gt;More »&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5967556/most-popular-linux-downloads-and-posts-of-2012&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/1881pjm2l4xvyjpg/medium_169.jpg&quot; height=&quot;169&quot; alt=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; style=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h4&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5967556/most-popular-linux-downloads-and-posts-of-2012&quot;&gt;Most Popular Linux Downloads and Posts of 2012&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h4&gt; &lt;p&gt;We tacked some great Linux subjects this year, from building home servers to finding the perfect Linux distribution and even fixing some Ubuntu annoyances. &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5967556/most-popular-linux-downloads-and-posts-of-2012&quot;&gt;More »&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5967680/most-popular-hive-fives-of-2012&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/1885uhogaeyf1jpg/medium_169.jpg&quot; height=&quot;169&quot; alt=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; style=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h4&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5967680/most-popular-hive-fives-of-2012&quot;&gt;Most Popular Hive Fives of 2012&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h4&gt; &lt;p&gt;2012 was a huge year for the Hive Five, where we ask you every week to tell us which products, gadgets, services, or applications are the best in a category. &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5967680/most-popular-hive-fives-of-2012&quot;&gt;More »&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5967362/most-popular-repurposing-tricks-of-2012&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/187z3ayeele2sjpg/medium_169.jpg&quot; height=&quot;169&quot; alt=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; style=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h4&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5967362/most-popular-repurposing-tricks-of-2012&quot;&gt;Most Popular Repurposing Tricks of 2012&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h4&gt; &lt;p&gt;Getting a shiny new toy is great, but nothing beats the special thrill of realizing something you already have can do something incredible you never knew it could. &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5967362/most-popular-repurposing-tricks-of-2012&quot;&gt;More »&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5968347/the-most-popular-featured-desktops-and-home-screens-of-2012&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/188cfc0oi5tbzjpg/medium_169.jpg&quot; height=&quot;169&quot; alt=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; style=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h4&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5968347/the-most-popular-featured-desktops-and-home-screens-of-2012&quot;&gt;The Most Popular Featured Desktops and Home Screens of 2012&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h4&gt; &lt;p&gt;Every week, we feature customized desktops and home screens submitted by readers that show off great customization tools and UI tweaks. 2012 was a great year to customize your desktop or home screen, and we saw more great-looking and highly-functional setups than ever before. &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5968347/the-most-popular-featured-desktops-and-home-screens-of-2012&quot;&gt;More »&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5969597/the-most-popular-explainers-of-2012&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/188rrujawjpbejpg/medium_169.jpg&quot; height=&quot;169&quot; alt=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; style=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h4&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5969597/the-most-popular-explainers-of-2012&quot;&gt;The Most Popular Explainers of 2012&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h4&gt; &lt;p&gt;We&#39;re pretty well-known for &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5964782/most-popular-how+to-guides-of-2012&quot;&gt;our how-tos&lt;/a&gt; here at Lifehacker, but from time to time we also like to break down complicated subjects and just explain how things work-and maybe offer a little info on how to use that information. &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5969597/the-most-popular-explainers-of-2012&quot;&gt;More »&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5969203/the-best-wallpapers-of-2012/gallery/&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/188nwl7mrqhpjjpg/medium_169.jpg&quot; height=&quot;169&quot; alt=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; style=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h4&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5969203/the-best-wallpapers-of-2012/gallery/&quot;&gt;The Best Wallpapers of 2012&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h4&gt; &lt;p&gt;We&#39;ve featured over 500 amazing wallpapers this year and it&#39;s hard to choose our favorites, but we&#39;ve combed through the collection and made some tough decisions. &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5969203/the-best-wallpapers-of-2012/gallery/&quot;&gt;More »&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5967386/most-popular-lifehacker-videos-of-2012&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/187zgtta5i0rcjpg/medium_169.jpg&quot; height=&quot;169&quot; alt=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; style=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h4&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5967386/most-popular-lifehacker-videos-of-2012&quot;&gt;Most Popular Lifehacker Videos of 2012&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h4&gt; &lt;p&gt;Just a little over two years ago, Lifehacker only had six videos in its Youtube Channel. As we near the end of 2012, that number has grown to 720. Which ones were the most popular this year? &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5967386/most-popular-lifehacker-videos-of-2012&quot;&gt;More »&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5969428/most-popular-iphone-apps-and-posts&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/188z7bpuuq3g5jpg/medium_169.jpg&quot; height=&quot;169&quot; alt=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; style=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h4&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5969428/most-popular-iphone-apps-and-posts&quot;&gt;Most Popular iPhone Apps and Posts of 2012&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h4&gt; &lt;p&gt;2012 was an interesting year for Apple&#39;s iPhone and iPad. We got a new operating system with iOS 6, and that came with a fair share of problems. Still, lots of new features, apps, and fixes came along. &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5969428/most-popular-iphone-apps-and-posts&quot;&gt;More »&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5969763/most-popular-android-downloads-and-posts-of-2012&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/188uciks2bj4jjpg/medium_169.jpg&quot; height=&quot;169&quot; alt=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; style=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h4&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5969763/most-popular-android-downloads-and-posts-of-2012&quot;&gt;Most Popular Android Downloads and Posts of 2012&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h4&gt; &lt;p&gt;2012 was a huge year for Android. Jelly Bean hit the stage, Android tablets really came into their own, and we showed you how to install a new kernel, choose a great ROM, hack your Android tablets, more. &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5969763/most-popular-android-downloads-and-posts-of-2012&quot;&gt;More »&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5970532/most-popular-chrome-extensions-and-posts-of-2012&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/189c9hcpg18iyjpg/medium_169.jpg&quot; height=&quot;169&quot; alt=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; style=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h4&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5970532/most-popular-chrome-extensions-and-posts-of-2012&quot;&gt;Most Popular Chrome Extensions and Posts of 2012&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h4&gt; &lt;p&gt;2012 brought a lot of new people to Google Chrome as the browser has been toying with the top browser spot throughout the year. Alongside all the new Chrome devotees comes a slew of new Chrome extensions that enhance privacy, add functionality, and more. &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5970532/most-popular-chrome-extensions-and-posts-of-2012&quot;&gt;More »&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5970986/most-popular-firefox-extensions-and-posts-of-2012&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/189cegmnfiuk7jpg/medium_169.jpg&quot; height=&quot;169&quot; alt=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; style=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h4&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5970986/most-popular-firefox-extensions-and-posts-of-2012&quot;&gt;Most Popular Firefox Extensions and Posts of 2012&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h4&gt; &lt;p&gt;2012 saw a few updates to Firefox with improvements of all types, and alongside those we&#39;ve seen plenty of add-ons to customize your browsing experience. &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5970986/most-popular-firefox-extensions-and-posts-of-2012&quot;&gt;More »&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5967383/most-popular-episodes-of-the-lifehacker-podcast&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/187zfr4a6f9sajpg/medium_169.jpg&quot; height=&quot;169&quot; alt=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; style=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h4&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5967383/most-popular-episodes-of-the-lifehacker-podcast&quot;&gt;Most Popular Episodes of the Lifehacker Podcast&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h4&gt; &lt;p&gt;A lot happens on Lifehacker every week, and elsewhere in the world. We created the podcast to easily share our top stories, favorite tips and downloads, and answer your questions. &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5967383/most-popular-episodes-of-the-lifehacker-podcast&quot;&gt;More »&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5972215/most-popular-long-form-features-of-2012&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18a2e0amhxzpujpg/medium_169.jpg&quot; height=&quot;169&quot; alt=&quot;This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; style=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h4&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5972215/most-popular-long-form-features-of-2012&quot;&gt;Most Popular Long Form Features of 2012&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h4&gt; &lt;p&gt;We thrive on bringing you small tips, tricks, and downloads to enhance your daily life, but sometimes we like to dig our heels into a project and go a little deeper, too. &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5972215/most-popular-long-form-features-of-2012&quot;&gt;More »&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Thanks to everyone for a great year, and here&#39;s to an even better 2013!&lt;/p&gt;       &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_quote_citation&quot;&gt;via &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5972314/this-is-the-best-of-lifehacker-2012?utm_source=Lifehacker+Newsletter&amp;amp;utm_campaign=12d4afcdfa-UA-142218-1&amp;amp;utm_medium=email&quot;&gt;lifehacker.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/feeds/5641902584695520997/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/01/this-is-best-of-lifehacker-2012_14.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/5641902584695520997'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/5641902584695520997'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/01/this-is-best-of-lifehacker-2012_14.html' title='This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2012'/><author><name>vinayus</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13997497926112155532</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oZ8zOIjaa5c/TiSMYSXCc4I/AAAAAAAAADg/JGINqo026EA/s220/Death_Note%2B%25282%2529.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432933495904501116.post-1224118486211344957</id><published>2013-01-14T20:47:00.002-08:00</published><updated>2013-02-27T23:29:54.224-08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="review"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="technology"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="web"/><title type='text'>Web technology: 5 things to watch in 2013 | Internet &amp;amp; Media - CNET News</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class=&#39;posterous_autopost&#39;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_bookmarklet_entry&quot;&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;div&gt;  &lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/08/29/Chrome_for_iOS_logo.png&quot; height=&quot;192&quot; alt=&quot;Chrome on iOS icon&quot; width=&quot;189&quot; /&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Chrome on iOS has a chance to shake up the OS-browser alignment in the mobile market.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  The evolution of the Web is a messy process.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  We do so much with the Web today that it&#39;s easy to take it for granted. Banking, social networking, word processing, travel planning, education, shopping -- the Web is reaching to new domains and tightening its grip where it&#39;s already used. To match that expansion, the Web is evolving.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  But the Web is built by countless individuals -- browser engineers who enable new technology, Web developers who bring that technology online, and standards group members who iron out compatibility wrinkles. With so many constituents, it&#39;s no wonder there&#39;s so much craziness in charting the Web&#39;s future.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  The new year will bring new chaos on the Web, and things will be sorted out in only some areas. Here&#39;s a look at what&#39;ll settle down in 2013 -- and what won&#39;t.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  &lt;b&gt;Alternabrowsers&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  iOS comes with  &lt;a href=&quot;http://download.cnet.com/mac/browsers/2001-2137_4-0.html&quot;&gt; Safari&lt;/a&gt;. Windows Phone comes with Internet Explorer.  &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cnet.com/android-atlas/&quot;&gt; Android&lt;/a&gt; comes with its own browser and, for Android 4.x users, Chrome. It&#39;s a very different way of doing things compared to the browser free-for-all in the PC market.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  In 2013, though, there&#39;s a chance people will exercise choice where they can and reject a future where &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57560190-93/web-technology-5-things-to-watch-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot;&gt;browsers end up being effectively locked to the mobile OS&lt;/a&gt;.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  The forces for lock-in are strong, if for no other reason that it&#39;s just simpler to use a smartphone&#39;s built-in browser. But don&#39;t forget -- there was a day when IE ruled the desktop browser world. In 2012, programmers laid the groundwork for big-name alternabrowsers.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset0.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/12/03/browser-mobile-share_610x320.png&quot; height=&quot;262&quot; alt=&quot;Today, the companies that control the mobile operating systems -- Apple and Google -- lead the race for mobile browser usage.&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; /&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Today, the companies that control the mobile operating systems -- Apple and Google -- lead the race for mobile browser usage.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;  (Credit:  data from Net Applications; chart by Stephen Shankland/CNET)  &lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  We saw the &lt;a href=&quot;http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-57463395-12/chrome-goes-mobile-at-i-o-2012/&quot;&gt;arrival of Chrome on iOS&lt;/a&gt; and the &lt;a href=&quot;http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-57434514-12/native-android-firefox-finally-beta-ready/&quot;&gt;reboot of Firefox on Android&lt;/a&gt;. iOS and Windows Phone place restrictions on third-party browsers, but Android is open, and other browsers there include &lt;a href=&quot;https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=mobi.mgeek.TunnyBrowser&quot;&gt;Dolphin&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.opera.mini.android&quot;&gt;Opera Mini&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.opera.browser&quot;&gt;Opera Mobile, and &lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.UCMobile.intl&quot;&gt;UC Browser&lt;/a&gt;.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  The restriction on iOS is that third-party browsers must use an Apple-supplied version of the WebKit browser engine that&#39;s more secure but slower than the version Safari uses. Windows Phone and Windows RT have related restrictions.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  On personal computers, it&#39;s completely ordinary to switch to other browsers depending on security, performance, features. In the mobile world, that&#39;s not the case.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  But the alternative browsers -- especially when companies like Google put marketing muscle and brand equity behind them -- could convince people that maybe they should venture farther afield. With Android spreading into more hands than iOS, it&#39;s possible the openness of the PC industry could &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  Oh, one more thing -- don&#39;t be surprised to see a Mozilla browser on iOS, too.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  &lt;b&gt;Firefox OS makes a peep&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  Mozilla announced some early progress with  &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cnet.com/firefox-3/&quot;&gt; Firefox&lt;/a&gt; OS in 2012 -- though it failed to deliver it during the year as it had planned. Expect the browser-based operating system, which runs Web apps and is geared for budget smartphones, in early 2013.  &lt;/p&gt; &lt;div&gt;  &lt;h3&gt;Related stories&lt;/h3&gt;  &lt;ul&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57560190-93/web-technology-5-things-to-watch-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot;&gt;New Firefox Aurora can record your cam, mic&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57560190-93/web-technology-5-things-to-watch-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot;&gt;IonMonkey delivers a faster Firefox&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57560190-93/web-technology-5-things-to-watch-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot;&gt;Firefox OS finds a new way to app&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cnet.com/2300-34448_1-10015287.html&quot;&gt;Mozilla shows off Firefox OS updates at CES (pictures)&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57560190-93/web-technology-5-things-to-watch-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot;&gt;Browsers: Top 5 events from 2012&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;/ul&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;  Firefox is barred from iOS and Windows RT, and it is a rarity on Android. Without a presence in the mobile market, Mozilla can&#39;t use its browser as leverage to pursue its goal of an open Internet. Firefox OS, geared for smartphones and running browser-based apps, is Mozilla&#39;s answer. With it, Mozilla hopes to &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57560190-93/web-technology-5-things-to-watch-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot;&gt;break the ecosystem lock&lt;/a&gt; that is settling people into the phone-OS-app store-cloud service silos from Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  The &lt;a href=&quot;http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13970_7-57385412-78/telefonica-signs-up-for-mozillas-mobile-web-os/&quot;&gt;first big Firefox OS partner is Telefonica&lt;/a&gt;, which plans to offer phones in Latin America with the operating system as a &lt;a href=&quot;http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13970_7-57385616-78/telefonica-mozillaphone-is-ten-times-cheaper-than-an-iphone/&quot;&gt;cheaper smartphones alternative&lt;/a&gt;.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  &quot;Mozilla&#39;s prediction is that in 2013, the Web will emerge as a viable mobile platform and a third, alternative option to closed, proprietary walled gardens,&quot; said Jay Sullivan, Mozilla&#39;s vice president of products. Firefox and Firefox OS obviously are key parts of Mozilla&#39;s effort to make that happen  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  Firefox OS won&#39;t be an easy sell since inexpensive Android phones are common and iPhones continue to spread. But carriers can&#39;t be happy ceding power to Google and Apple. And Mozilla doesn&#39;t need to have 40 percent market share to claim victory: as long as its foothold is big enough to keep Web programmers from coding mobile sites only for the big boys.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Web standards divisiveness persists&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  Those hoping the end of a rift in Web standards governance most likely will have to keep on waiting.  &lt;/p&gt; &lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset1.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2010/10/13/4603715307_c878c8a77b_b_270x196.jpg&quot; height=&quot;196&quot; alt=&quot;The new frontier of emerging Web standards is populated by a hodge-podge of acronyms.&quot; width=&quot;270&quot; /&gt;  &lt;p&gt;The new frontier of emerging Web standards is populated by a hodge-podge of acronyms.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;  (Credit:  Bruce Lawson)  &lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;  The World Wide Web Consortium long has played a central role in revising the standards out of which the Web is built, but a decade ago it chose to push a standard called XHTML that wasn&#39;t compatible with HTML. The browser makers, it turned out, had veto power, and largely ignored XHTML in favor of advancing HTML on their own through a group called WHATWG. This split persists -- and it&#39;s not going away.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  The W3C is enthusiastic about HTML and related Web standards such as CSS for formatting. But even as it&#39;s ramped up its efforts, with &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57560190-93/web-technology-5-things-to-watch-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot;&gt;plans to finish HTML5 standardization in 2014&lt;/a&gt;, the WHATWG has moved to a &quot;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.whatwg.org/specs/web-apps/current-work/multipage/&quot;&gt;living document&lt;/a&gt;&quot; model that constantly updates HTML. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57560190-93/web-technology-5-things-to-watch-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot;&gt;W3C CEO Jeff Jaffe has been trying to speed up Web standardization&lt;/a&gt;, with some success, and the W3C has remained relevant when it comes to CSS and some other work. But it has yet to fully regain its status with HTML itself, despite new members, new editors, and new energy. In fact, the cultural gulf in some ways appears to be widening. Even as the W3C&#39;s formal committee machinations expand with new members, the WHATWG&#39;s HTML editor, Ian Hickson, is moving the other direction. He said in a &lt;a href=&quot;https://plus.google.com/107429617152575897589/posts/4MrPNJzE8vV&quot;&gt;Google+ post&lt;/a&gt;:  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;  Consensus (also known as &quot;design by committee&quot;) is a terrible way to design a language or platform. Committee design dilutes responsibility and blame (everyone just starts saying things like &quot;yeah, I didn&#39;t like it, but we had to do that to get consensus&quot;) while letting everyone take credit for everything (since their ok is necessary to get consensus), which makes it an attractive proposition for people who want to further their careers without really doing any work...  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  You end up with a technology that doesn&#39;t know what it is and doesn&#39;t do anything well.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;  Web standards continue to evolve, but at least regarding HTML itself, it doesn&#39;t look like either side will agree the other has the superior process.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;High-res images on the Web&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  Apple&#39;s Retina displays -- the high-resolution screens used in iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks -- enable a new level of crispness and clarity in images and text. Software makers have been gradually updating their programs with new icons, graphic elements, and abilities to take advantage of the displays. It&#39;s been work, but not exactly a major re-engineering effort.  &lt;/p&gt; &lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset2.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2011/01/18/HTML5-wow_270x155.png&quot; height=&quot;155&quot; alt=&quot;The W3C&amp;amp;#39;s new HTML5 logo stands for more than just the HTML5 standard.&quot; width=&quot;270&quot; /&gt;  &lt;p&gt;The W3C&#39;s new HTML5 logo stands for more than just the HTML5 standard.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;  (Credit:  W3C)  &lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;  But Retina on the Web is a very different matter. First of all, nobody likes slow-loading pages, and Retina imagery has four times the pixels as conventional imagery. Worse, more of the Web is moving toward mobile devices that have an even harder time managing big images and whose data usage is pricey, and you especially don&#39;t want mobile users downloading multiple versions of the same image when they don&#39;t need to.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  At the same time, mobile devices are often held closer to the eye than PCs but using physically smaller screens with higher pixel densities. That means old assumptions no longer are valid about how many pixels wide a graphic should be. The technology to fix this has the label &quot;responsive images.&quot;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  Standards to the rescue! But uh-oh: Two camps each favor their own approach -- one called &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.w3.org/html/wg/drafts/srcset/w3c-srcset/Overview.html&quot;&gt;the srcset attribute&lt;/a&gt;, the other known as &lt;a href=&quot;http://picture.responsiveimages.org/&quot;&gt;the picture element&lt;/a&gt;.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  Resolution probably will come in 2013, though.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  There have been emotional differences of opinion, but Robin Berjon, one of the five new HTML editors at the W3C, sees discussions as fruitful now. He said in a &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.w3.org/QA/2012/12/html5_smile_its_a_snapshot.html&quot;&gt;blog post&lt;/a&gt;:  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;blockquote class=&quot;posterous_medium_quote&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;  We have two proposals for responsive images, the srcset attribute and the picture element. Both have now reached the level of maturity at which they can be most usefully compared, and this discussion is about to go through a new chapter.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;  Browser makers and Web developers are actively moving to high-resolution graphics and videos on Retina-capable devices, so regardless of what happens in standards groups, the responsive images issue will be fixed. After all, high-resolution displays are increasingly common, mobile devices are increasingly important, and nobody likes looking at pixelated, mushy images when they don&#39;t have to.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Web bloat&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  The good news is the Web is getting steadily more sophisticated, powerful, and useful. The bad news is there&#39;s a price to pay for those advantages. Unfortunately for those who have capped data plans or who live in rural areas with subpar broadband, that increase in Web sophistication means Web pages get bigger and take longer to fetch.  &lt;/p&gt; &lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/12/20/web-bloat-2012-12-20_610x200.png&quot; height=&quot;163&quot; alt=&quot;The HTTP Archive&amp;amp;#39;s records show a steady increase in the size of Web pages over the last two years.&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; /&gt;  &lt;p&gt;The HTTP Archive&#39;s records show a steady increase in the size of Web pages over the last two years.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;  (Credit:  HTTP Archive)  &lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;  There&#39;s an old adage in the computing industry that the new horsepower that chips deliver is immediately squandered by new software features, so computers don&#39;t actually appear to get faster. There&#39;s a corollary in the Web world: As broadband spreads and speeds up, as faster LTE supplants 3G, so Web pages sponge up the extra network capacity.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  The &lt;a href=&quot;http://httparchive.org/&quot;&gt;HTTP archive&lt;/a&gt; keeps tabs on the state of the Web, and it shows just how things are ballooning in its sample of tens of thousands of Web pages.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  From December 16, 2010 to December 15, 2012, the average Web page increased in size from 726KB to 1,286KB. The amount of JavaScript increased from 115KB to 211KB. And the images ballooned from 430KB to 793KB.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  An optimist can find good news here, too. Google has an entire team devoted to making the Web faster, introducing new technology such as SPDY to speed up servers and browsers. Browser makers obsessively test new versions to try to catch any regressions that would slow things down. New standards make it easier for Web developers to time exactly how fast their pages actually load.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  And don&#39;t forget the bloat is there for a reason. Do you really want to dial the Web back to 1997?  &lt;/p&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_quote_citation&quot;&gt;via &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57560190-93/web-technology-5-things-to-watch-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703&quot;&gt;news.cnet.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/feeds/1224118486211344957/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/01/web-technology-5-things-to-watch-in_14.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/1224118486211344957'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/1224118486211344957'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/01/web-technology-5-things-to-watch-in_14.html' title='Web technology: 5 things to watch in 2013 | Internet &amp;amp; Media - CNET News'/><author><name>vinayus</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13997497926112155532</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oZ8zOIjaa5c/TiSMYSXCc4I/AAAAAAAAADg/JGINqo026EA/s220/Death_Note%2B%25282%2529.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432933495904501116.post-1632717246636400572</id><published>2013-01-14T20:46:00.002-08:00</published><updated>2013-02-27T23:29:54.320-08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="tech"/><title type='text'>How I Learned to Rely on My Own Memory (and Stop Depending on Technology)</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class=&#39;posterous_autopost&#39;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_bookmarklet_entry&quot;&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;div&gt;   &lt;div&gt;   &lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/17kt3ayw1ld95jpg/avt-small.jpg&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;14&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 0px;&quot; width=&quot;14&quot; /&gt;   &lt;strong&gt;   &lt;a&gt;Thorin Klosowski&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;   &lt;div&gt;   &lt;ul&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5971452/how-i-learned-to-rely-on-my-own-memory-and-stop-depending-on-technology?utm_source=Lifehacker+Newsletter&amp;amp;utm_campaign=f08ef08067-UA-142218-1&amp;amp;utm_medium=email#&quot; rel=&quot;author&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/17kt3ayw1ld95jpg/avt-small.jpg&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;26&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 0px;&quot; width=&quot;14&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;View Profile&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5971452/how-i-learned-to-rely-on-my-own-memory-and-stop-depending-on-technology?utm_source=Lifehacker+Newsletter&amp;amp;utm_campaign=f08ef08067-UA-142218-1&amp;amp;utm_medium=email#&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;Email&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.facebook.com/thorink&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;Facebook&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://twitter.com/kingthor&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;Twitter&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://plus.google.com/112130794860820234172?rel=author&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;Google Plus&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5971452/how-i-learned-to-rely-on-my-own-memory-and-stop-depending-on-technology?utm_source=Lifehacker+Newsletter&amp;amp;utm_campaign=f08ef08067-UA-142218-1&amp;amp;utm_medium=email#&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;RSS&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;/ul&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;   &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/189nakvcpwsn0jpg/original.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;lytebox&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;How I Learned to Rely on My Own Memory (and Stop Depending on Technology)&quot; src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/189nakvcpwsn0jpg/medium.jpg&quot; height=&quot;169&quot; alt=&quot;How I Learned to Rely on My Own Memory (and Stop Depending on Technology)&quot; style=&quot;display: none; margin-right: 0px;&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The majority of us rely on &quot;external memory&quot; of some kind. Whether it&#39;s calendars, to-do lists, notes, or even Google Maps, we frequently outsource our memories to paper. I wanted to see how much I could remember if I ditched all these. Here&#39;s how it went. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;We talk a lot about &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5954123/back-to-basics-how-to-simplify-your-to+do-list-and-make-it-useful-again&quot;&gt;to-do lists&lt;/a&gt;, and &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5584924/the-holy-grail-of-ubiquitous-plain+text-capture&quot;&gt;notes&lt;/a&gt;, but relying on moving your memory elsewhere means you spend a lot of time managing your notes instead of actually getting things done. They can be fantastic tools to help you remember things, but they can also be a burden.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;For me, the big motivator was that I found myself pushing ideas onto paper, then immediately forgetting about them. They weren&#39;t stewing and working to become better, they were stagnant and sitting in an unkempt state on my hard drive. So, I decided to &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2012/10/todont.html&quot;&gt;take Jeff Atwood&#39;s challenge&lt;/a&gt;:&lt;/p&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;Here&#39;s my challenge. &lt;strong&gt;If you can&#39;t wake up every day and, using your 100% original equipment God-given organic brain, come up with the three most important things you need to do that day&lt;/strong&gt;—then you should seriously work on fixing that. . . You have to figure out what&#39;s important to you and what motivates you; ask yourself why that stuff isn&#39;t gnawing at you enough to make you get it done. Fix that.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;I decided to take Atwood&#39;s challenge a step further. So, for the last month I haven&#39;t written down anything to remember it. I haven&#39;t looked on Google Maps to get the exact address of a restaurant, I haven&#39;t jotted down a quick note to remember an idea. I didn&#39;t use shopping lists, to-do lists, or schedules. I even stopped looking up trivia facts on my phone. I wanted to see how much I could force myself to remember. In the end, I was able to remember a lot more than I thought possible. I remembered locations, lists, names, and even a complicated holiday schedule. Here&#39;s how to make sure you remember everything without those tools.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h3&gt;Practice Makes Perfect&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;height: 266px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/189ndvuwu2qinjpg/original.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;lytebox&quot;&gt;Full size&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/189ndvuwu2qinjpg/medium.jpg&quot; height=&quot;266&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;The first few days of this experiment were tough. I rely on my phone as an external memory device for far more than I thought I did. I often search for stupid trivia facts when I&#39;m in conversation, or I&#39;ll frantically whip out my phone when I&#39;m walking the dog to write down an idea. Now, I have to dig through my memory to find those facts, and I have to actually remember an idea if I wanted to pursue it further. It&#39;s not as easy as it sounds. &lt;p&gt;I deleted every app from my computer and phone I might use. I got rid of to-do lists, notes apps, my calendar, Google Maps, and anything else I might be tempted to write in. For everything that couldn&#39;t be deleted, I just told myself I couldn&#39;t write things down or look up information while I was out and about (obviously I still had to research and double-check things for work).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h4&gt;&lt;b&gt;How I Embedded Lists In My Memory&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h4&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;height: 169px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/17hz7ahi00zg7jpg/original.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;lytebox&quot;&gt;Full size&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/17hz7ahi00zg7jpg/medium.jpg&quot; height=&quot;169&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Things like to-do lists, shopping lists, and schedules are probably the most common things we write down. It makes it easy to recall the information without expending any real brain effort. A while back I started &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5897418/how-turning-my-to+dos-into-a-story-boosted-my-memory-and-solved-my-procrastination-problem&quot;&gt;turning my to-dos into a story&lt;/a&gt; to help me remember them, and I employed that same technique here. &lt;p&gt;Instead of merely writing out a list of what I have to do throughout the day, I turn it into a story. For example, here&#39;s what a (shortened) to-do list for an average day might look like: four posts for Lifehacker, email grandma, get new tires, and cook lunch for tomorrow. Instead of putting all that into an app, I just mentally walk through the day: I wake up and bust out my four posts for Lifehacker. When I finish up, I email grandma a quick thank you note before heading out and dropping off my truck to get new tires. When I get home, I cook up dinner and then store everything for lunch tomorrow.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;I did the same for everything else in a list format that needed my attention for the day. For shopping lists I mentally walked through the store in my brain and picked up what I needed. Scheduling things, I did the same thing. It took a few days to really get into the habit of this, and it was taxing to try and remember the non-recurring items (grab zip-loc bags at the store, pick up the dog&#39;s medications). Eventually, it all settled into place and a quick runthrough of my day each morning was enough that I didn&#39;t need to resort to apps or paper.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The reason this works is pretty simple. It essentially uses &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5946606/improve-your-memory-with-the-chunking-technique&quot;&gt;pattern recognition and &quot;chunking&quot;&lt;/a&gt; to create a web of information that&#39;s tied together instead of a series of random things. When we link items together, we have a better chance of remembering them, and making a micro-story does just that.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Another trick is the &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5763365/drastically-improve-your-memory-by-building-a-memory-palace&quot;&gt;memory palace&lt;/a&gt;, a technique that our own Melanie Pinola &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5897708/how-to-train-your-brain-and-boost-your-memory-like-a-usa-memory-champion&quot;&gt;found useful for remembering random bits of information&lt;/a&gt;. The basic premise is simple: for each bit of information you need to remember, peg that information to a location in an imaginary home with an additional piece of weird information. For example, if you need to remember a grocery list, you can peg that information like: yellow bananas in a monkey&#39;s hand on the porch, kiwi on a keychain in the foyer, an overweight Chewbacca eating sausage on the sofa, and so on.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;With just a little effort I was able to train myself to remember my lists. Typically these weren&#39;t longer than 20 or 30 items at the most, but it gave me the assurance that I could live without lists if I wanted.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h4&gt;&lt;b&gt;How I Memorized Dates, Facts, and Other Random Information&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h4&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;height: 200px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/189nc3offta03jpg/original.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;lytebox&quot;&gt;Full size&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/189nc3offta03jpg/medium.jpg&quot; height=&quot;200&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Of course, our lives aren&#39;t just lists. We need to remember all types of different things. We store everything from dates of events to short facts you want to remember. For me, this mostly included a splurge of holiday plans, tidbits of facts I wanted to remember for articles, and other minor things like where I saw a pair of shoes I wanted. &lt;p&gt;For all of these more random bits of information, I &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5914840/improve-your-memory-by-combining-information-with-gestures-bizarre-images-and-speaking-it-out-loud&quot;&gt;combined bizarre visual images with the information&lt;/a&gt;. In my case, this usually meant lurid images combined with mundane details. For (a tame) example: Bryan and Jen&#39;s wedding is on August 24, the day Augustus spent 24 hours eating and puking cake non-stop. I will not forget that image, and every piece of information I need is right there, August, cake, and 24.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;I did the same thing for other random details, including names (Betsy Sheff, like Betsy Ross the Chef who cooked the flag), and facts (William Taft on his sweet sixteen &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.omg-facts.com/view/Facts/18119&quot;&gt;in a bathtub&lt;/a&gt; cursing corporations for the 16th Amendment).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Addresses were a lot easier. Instead of combining random bits of information I took the time to stop and look at the signs at the cross streets. The visual memory of the sign itself (not the physical address) was enough to help me remember. When I got an address wrong by a few blocks, I learned the right one pretty quickly as I navigated the city again. It turns out that getting lost is a &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5858349/wean-yourself-of-your-gps-dependency-and-actually-find-your-way-around&quot;&gt;pretty good way to remember where you want to go&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;These techniques didn&#39;t always work, of course. I&#39;d occasionally have to ask again (&quot;You said August 24, right?&quot;), or on some occasions the memory was just lost completely. Once, I had to ask several friends to get the name of a person I was talking to because I had no idea what her name was or why she knew me.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;But over time, I got better at remembering to remember. For me, that&#39;s the crux of this experiment. When I actually pay attention and try to remember, I&#39;m considerably more likely to remember something. I&#39;ve had to rewire my brain away from the, &quot;Oh, I can just look that up later,&quot; or &quot;I&#39;ll put it in my calendar&quot; mentality, and actually pay attention to what&#39;s going on. &lt;i style=&quot;font-size: 80%;&quot;&gt;Photo by &lt;a&gt;Marcin Wichary&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/i&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h4&gt;&lt;b&gt;Replacing My Notes with Fully Fleshed Out Ideas&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h4&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;height: 277px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/189ncww359c3kjpg/original.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;lytebox&quot;&gt;Full size&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/189ncww359c3kjpg/medium.jpg&quot; height=&quot;277&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Remembering notes, story ideas, and project ideas was the hardest part of this experiment. I &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5938073/how-to-use-drafts-to-speed-up-your-mobile-text-editing&quot;&gt;love note-taking apps&lt;/a&gt;, and I &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5955721/three-ways-ive-simplified-my-life-using-pen-and-paper-instead-of-technology&quot;&gt;write down every single idea I have&lt;/a&gt;. This was a hard habit to break. &lt;p&gt;I came up with two solutions. The first was to take single line ideas and combine them with bizarre visual images or mnemonics, just like remembering facts or names (&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5969350/get-in-and-out-of-parking-lots-instantly-with-a-few-simple-tricks&quot;&gt;Make Parking Better&lt;/a&gt; by Barking Letters). This worked great for when I was out in a car where I couldn&#39;t take a note anyway, or if I just needed to quickly remember an idea while working on something else.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;But when I had time to work through an idea, things changed considerably. My second approach was pretty simple: &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5892576/getting-started-is-everything&quot;&gt;just start working&lt;/a&gt;. Instead of jotting down an idea for a post on Lifehacker, or whatever other project started in my head, I started work on it. For example, I had an idea for a writing and editing iOS app one day while watching a movie. Instead of jotting down the note, I started working out the interface and user experience. I didn&#39;t stop until it was done, and then I emailed the idea off to a friend who actually knows how to program.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;This was big for me. More often than not I come up with a problem I want to solve, and then leave it sitting there on a notepad. This forced me to start dealing with it right away. I had to pay attention to the idea and immediately start working through it actively. If I was out walking the dog and had a idea for a Lifehacker post, I started organizing and writing it in my head. If I was home playing video games I&#39;d pause it and start typing. This cemented ideas in my head because they weren&#39;t just single lines, they were actual half-baked plans.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h3&gt;How I&#39;m Taking This Into the Real World&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;height: 225px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/189nd2jba6nr1jpg/original.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;lytebox&quot;&gt;Full size&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/189nd2jba6nr1jpg/medium.jpg&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Obviously this is an extreme example that most people aren&#39;t going to bother with. But it&#39;s still easy enough to take bits and pieces and apply to your own external memory. &lt;p&gt;Ditching all the apps that help you remember doesn&#39;t exactly improve your memory—I still forget things like my bike lock when I walk out the door, or that I&#39;m out of olive oil—it&#39;s more about teaching yourself how to remember. I feel like I&#39;ve spent a lot less time dealing with to-do lists because, as Atwood points out, if it&#39;s not important, I&#39;m not going to remember it. And I&#39;m okay with that.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;As for other lists, I&#39;ll stick to my paperless method whenever I can. Shopping and daily to-dos seem easy enough, but remembering far off dates or details will still get relegated to a calendar or tasks app. The same goes for Google Maps. I&#39;ll continue to use to find a new place, but I won&#39;t rely on it for directions or addresses to places I&#39;ve been before.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Note taking, however, is something I&#39;ll certainly return to, but with a few new rules. I like just jotting down an idea and leaving it to stew for a while—especially if it&#39;s something that simply isn&#39;t usable right now (like a Valentine&#39;s Day post, or an idea for next Black Friday). However, if I have the time to instantly start working on something, I&#39;m going to embrace that. It&#39;s far too easy to plop a potentially brilliant idea away in a note where it gets forgotten. Forcing yourself to immediately start work on it captures that eureka moment and extends it for a little longer. &lt;i style=&quot;font-size: 80%;&quot;&gt;Photo by &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/dvortygirl/2445114424/&quot;&gt;Dvortygirl&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/i&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;       &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_quote_citation&quot;&gt;via &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5971452/how-i-learned-to-rely-on-my-own-memory-and-stop-depending-on-technology?utm_source=Lifehacker+Newsletter&amp;amp;utm_campaign=f08ef08067-UA-142218-1&amp;amp;utm_medium=email&quot;&gt;lifehacker.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/feeds/1632717246636400572/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/01/how-i-learned-to-rely-on-my-own-memory_14.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/1632717246636400572'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/1632717246636400572'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/01/how-i-learned-to-rely-on-my-own-memory_14.html' title='How I Learned to Rely on My Own Memory (and Stop Depending on Technology)'/><author><name>vinayus</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13997497926112155532</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oZ8zOIjaa5c/TiSMYSXCc4I/AAAAAAAAADg/JGINqo026EA/s220/Death_Note%2B%25282%2529.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432933495904501116.post-5344161554783158915</id><published>2013-01-14T20:44:00.002-08:00</published><updated>2013-02-27T23:29:54.416-08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="technology"/><title type='text'>7 myths about quad-core phones (Smartphones Unlocked) | Mobile - CNET News</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class=&#39;posterous_autopost&#39;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_bookmarklet_entry&quot;&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;div&gt;  &lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset0.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/12/11/quad-core_smartphone01_610x436.jpg&quot; height=&quot;357&quot; alt=&quot;A pile o&amp;amp;#39; quad-core smartphones.&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; /&gt;  &lt;p&gt;A pile o&#39; quad-core smartphones.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;  (Credit:  Sarah Tew/CNET)  &lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;b&gt;Editors&#39; note&lt;/b&gt;: &lt;i&gt;This article originally posted on April 8, 2012, and was updated on December 19, 2012.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Open up your wallet today and there are no fewer than five smartphones you can buy &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cnet.com/8301-17918_1-57558350-85/quad-core-smartphone-shootout/&quot;&gt;running on quad-core processors&lt;/a&gt;. Seven months ago, there was one, the &lt;a href=&quot;http://reviews.cnet.com/reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/htc-one-x-black/4505-6452_7-35147482.html&quot;&gt;HTC One X&lt;/a&gt;, and only if you bought the international version, which lacked the 4G LTE speeds coveted by U.S. phone-buyers.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;After  &lt;a href=&quot;http://ces.cnet.com/&quot;&gt; CES&lt;/a&gt; next month, expect the number of announced &lt;a href=&quot;http://ces.cnet.com/8301-34447_1-57556880/smartphones-at-ces-2013-gotta-have-more-quad-core/&quot;&gt;quad-core devices to double&lt;/a&gt; as the core war continues to heat up.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;By summer, you may turn up your nose at perfectly fast devices running on dual-core chipsets, wondering if you should saddle yourself with something so &quot;slow.&quot; After all, the more processing power, the better the phone, right? &lt;/p&gt;      &lt;a name=&quot;chart&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;  &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;table&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;th width=&quot;33%&quot; abbr=&quot;Who&#39;s who in quad-core (Dec 2012)&quot;&gt;Who&#39;s who in quad-core (Dec 2012)&lt;/th&gt;  &lt;th width=&quot;33%&quot; abbr=&quot;Major quad-core phones&quot;&gt;Major quad-core phones&lt;/th&gt;  &lt;th width=&quot;33%&quot; abbr=&quot;Major quad-core tablets&quot;&gt;Major quad-core  &lt;a href=&quot;http://reviews.cnet.com/tablets/&quot;&gt; tablets&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/th&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;Qualcomm (Snapdragon S4 Pro)&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;HTC  &lt;a href=&quot;http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/htc-droid-dna-verizon/4505-6452_7-35536642.html&quot;&gt; Droid DNA&lt;/a&gt;, LG Nexus 4, LG Optimus G, Aquos Phone Zeta, Xiaomi MI2&lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt;None&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt;Nvidia (Tegra 3)&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;HTC One X, HTC One X+, LG Optimus 4X HD, LG Optimus Vu, ZTE U950, Fujitsu Arrows Z ISW13F&lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt;Google Nexus 7, Microsoft Surface RT, Asus Transformer Pad Series, Acer Iconia Tab series, Toshiba Excite series, Sony Xperia Tablet S, Fuhu Nabi 2 and Nabi XD, Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Samsung (Exynos 4 Quad)&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;Samsung Galaxy Note 2, Lenovo LePhone K860&lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt;Galaxy Note 10.1, Google Nexus 10&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td colspan=&quot;3&quot;&gt;*This chart represents more major product launches, but is not globally exhaustive.  &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;/tr&gt; &lt;/table&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Maybe not. A tremendous amount of detailed architecture and circuitry go into processor chips, which can make understanding their exact effects on performance a serious undertaking for most. (Note: If you could teach a class on processors, this article isn&#39;t for you.)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In the end, your smartphone&#39;s internal performance boils down to more than the number of cores. Instead, it depends on a delicate balance involving everything from your base chip and batteries to your operating system, and even on the people who code your favorite apps.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Quad-core is great in theory&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset0.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/01/11/Fujitsu_Tegra_3_Prototype_610x343.JPG&quot; height=&quot;281&quot; alt=&quot;Fujitsu, quad-core, Tegra 3&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; /&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Fujitsu showed off a quad-core gaming phone at CES 2012.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;  (Credit:  Brian Bennett/CNET)  &lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;p&gt;The theory of multicore processors is this: if you can divvy up a task among more than one processor, you can finish up faster.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Roughly imagine it as an assembly line production: instead of having one person do everything on their own (single core), you can have each member of a team do their part and finish faster as a whole (multicore).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Beyond promising dramatically faster performance, quad-core chip-makers may also claim better battery life. Since each core works less hard to accomplish a task, it draws less power than if fewer cores strained with heavier workloads apiece. The higher the battery draw per core, the faster you drain your battery.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In the real world, that means your phone should get swifter thanks to the assembly line analogy, while depleting the battery slower. In addition, screen resolution should look sharper, photos and apps will load faster, you can stream HD videos smoother, and you&#39;ll be able to play games like a demon.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;b&gt;Read: &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cnet.com/8301-17918_1-57503812-85/smartphone-battery-life-2-problems-4-fixes-smartphones-unlocked/&quot;&gt;Smartphone batteries: 2 problems, 4 fixes&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Sounds good, right? Right. But the performance you get out of a chip isn&#39;t as simple as just piling on the cores.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Myth No. 1: A chip is a chip is a chip&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  At the heart of every mobile application processor is the even more elemental ARM processor that forms the building block for the final product we know as the quad-core chip (really, an entire system on a chip, often called an SoC.)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;ARM is the company that masterminds the layout design of the chips inside Android phones, Windows phones, and even Apple&#39;s iPhone 4S. Chipmakers license the set of instructions (and even the right to tweak these blueprint instructions), to integrate into their own final chip design.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset1.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/04/06/ARM_ApplicationProcessor.jpg&quot; height=&quot;399&quot; alt=&quot;ARM&amp;amp;#39;s application processors&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; /&gt;  &lt;p&gt;ARM&#39;s application processors&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;  (Credit:  ARM)  &lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;p&gt;  Differentiation comes two ways. ARM designs different chip models with different architectures -- like the A8, A9, and A15 chips -- each more capable than its predecessor.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;As a starting point, says Samsung&#39;s Nick DiCarlo, vice president of product planning, you have to compare the architecture of each chip when comparing SoCs. A single-core A9 chip (also called Cortex-A9) will dominate a single-core A8 chip, and so on.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Modifications are a second way that chipmakers differentiate and fine-tune their product&#39;s performance. Nvidia&#39;s claim to fame is a lower-powered fifth core on its Tegra 3 quad-core processor, which handles low-power tasks like background app updates and has the ability to control how many cores run at a time. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;b&gt;Read: &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cnet.com/8301-17918_1-57558350-85/quad-core-smartphone-shootout/&quot;&gt;Quad-core smartphone shootout&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The path to even better performance, says Qualcomm&#39;s Raj Talluri, vice president of product management, is getting a license to custom-build a CPU core based on ARM&#39;s raw instruction set and managing everything from design of the entire ARM-based system to the final production.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&quot;We&#39;re able to get more performance with two processors than our competition can get with four,&quot; he bragged of Qualcomm.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Although Talluri didn&#39;t say it outright, at the time, he could have been defending HTC&#39;s decision to use Qualcomm&#39;s Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor on the &lt;a href=&quot;http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/htc-one-x-gray/4505-6452_7-35150644.html&quot;&gt;HTC One X&lt;/a&gt; in the U.S. and Nvidia&#39;s quad-core Tegra 3 processor elsewhere.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;For its part, Nvidia bought licensing rights for ARM&#39;s faster A15 chip in 2011 and &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57410518-94/7-myths-about-quad-core-phones-smartphones-unlocked/?tag=nl.e404&amp;amp;s_cid=e404#&quot;&gt;Tegra 4 rumors&lt;/a&gt; are already coming to light. (More rumors &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57410518-94/7-myths-about-quad-core-phones-smartphones-unlocked/?tag=nl.e404&amp;amp;s_cid=e404#&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;.)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div&gt;The reality is that the quad-core could be better, it could be equal, or it could be appreciably worse. -- Nick DiCarlo, Samsung&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;The two paths to differentiating ARM-based chips make predicting performance slippery for the average phone buyer. According to the logic of chip math, a smartphone with a dual-core A15 processor should perform in line with a quad-core chip using an ARM A9 processor. &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Specifically, the global version of HTC&#39;s One X uses Nvidia&#39;s quad-core &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.nvidia.com/object/tegra-3-processor.html&quot;&gt;Tegra 3 chip&lt;/a&gt;, which is based on ARM&#39;s Cortex-A9 processor. In the U.S., Qualcomm&#39;s dual-core &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.qualcomm.com/snapdragon/processors/s4&quot;&gt;Snapdragon S4 processor&lt;/a&gt; stems from an ARM, version 7 chip that&#39;s been built to perform similarly to the ARM Cortex-A15 chip. Performance could be similar across both devices.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; This fall, &lt;a href=&quot;http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/htc-one-x-at/4505-6452_7-35477659.html&quot;&gt;HTC&#39;s One X+&lt;/a&gt; handset entered the U.S., featuring both a quad-core chipset and LTE. CNET mobile editor Brian Bennett compared the two HTC One Xes side-by-side, and his results were more or less a draw:&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;blockquote class=&quot;posterous_medium_quote&quot;&gt;Linpack tests (multithread) verified that the HTC One X+ is fast, but not faster than its older dual-core rival. In fact, it notched a fast 168.7 MFLOPS in just 1 second. On the same test, the One X actually scored a higher 205.7 MFLOPs (in 0.82 second).&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Further muddying the waters, on the more graphically intense Quadrant benchmark, the One X+ notched a much higher 7,355 compared with the One X&#39;s 4,324.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Linpack tests (Single Thread) confirmed the HTC One X&#39;s processing prowess: it notched a fast 103.5MFLOPS spit out in just 0.81 minute. On the same test, the One S, running an identical CPU, scored a virtually identical 102.4MFLOPS.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset0.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/01/24/NvidiaTegra3chip_610x426.jpg&quot; height=&quot;349&quot; alt=&quot;Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; /&gt;  &lt;p&gt;If only chip math were as easy as 2x2=4.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;  (Credit:  Nvidia)  &lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Myth No. 2: Doubling the chip doubles the performance&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt; You double the number of chips when you evolve from single-core to dual-core and from dual-core to quad-core, but what you&#39;re not doubling are the rest of the resources. All cores still must share a single battery and pool of memory.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;If the entire system is efficient (more on that later), Qualcomm&#39;s Talluri told me, you &lt;i&gt;will&lt;/i&gt; see increased performance. Just don&#39;t expect said performance to actually double when you migrate from a comparable dual-core chipset to its quad-core fellow.&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset0.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/10/16/35427825-1_610x435.jpg&quot; height=&quot;356&quot; alt=&quot;LG Optimus G&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; /&gt;  &lt;p&gt;LG&#39;s Optimus G became Qualcomm&#39;s first quad-core smartphone.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;  (Credit:  Josh Miller/CNET)  &lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Myth No. 3: All cores, all the time&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt; The assembly line analogy to explain how four cores speed up processes on your smartphone is handy, but incomplete. That&#39;s because no matter how many cores you have, there&#39;s only so much they can share tasks without the help of software.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;First, the operating system itself has to support &quot;multithreading&quot;; that is, assigning each processing core a chunk of a task. The device manufacturer also gets into the game, adding some software layers to help the hardware and operating system communicate. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;I spoke to five experts in the course of preparing this article, and they all emphasized the need for the developers who actually program the apps and games to code with multithreaded execution in mind.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div&gt;Multicore won&#39;t help you in a world where the apps aren&#39;t threaded. -- Greg Sullivan, senior product manager for Microsoft&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The problem, says Greg Sullivan, senior product manager for Microsoft, is that writing code to take advantage of multiple processor cores makes writing apps much harder. Likewise, there&#39;s a lot more complexity in debugging apps when something goes wrong, a challenge that many app developers are reluctant to face.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Gaming and video are two examples of many apps that can take advantage of multiple threads. Let&#39;s say you want to stream a video clip from YouTube or ESPN. Video streams aren&#39;t easily broken down. According to Sullivan, video spools in a serial process, it doesn&#39;t easily divide up for multiple cores to work on and then reconvene. As a result, some tasks, like watching a video, will max out one of the cores while the other core or cores update apps in the background, pull in e-mail, and so on.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;b&gt;Read: &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57410518-94/7-myths-about-quad-core-phones-smartphones-unlocked/?tag=nl.e404&amp;amp;s_cid=e404#&quot;&gt;Nvidia Tegra 4 leaks&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Sullivan&#39;s take on video is up for debate. Chipmaker Nvidia claims that its Tegra 3 processor can efficiently make use of its multiple cores even if the apps themselves aren&#39;t threaded, and codecs do exist to &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.acnnewswire.com/press-release/english/8488/ace-thought-introduces-multi-threaded-software-video-decoder-suite-for-arm-cortex-a9-mpcore-and-cortex-a15-mpcore-multi-core-processors&quot;&gt;thread video streams&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Either way, all signs point to even better core performance with apps that are specifically designed for multicore use.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset1.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/03/08/Motorlabatterylifeslide_270x189.jpg&quot; height=&quot;189&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;270&quot; /&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Myth No. 4: More cores save battery life&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Many CNET readers have shared with me their skepticism that more cores will save battery life, believing instead that quad-core phones will drain a battery faster.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Although it isn&#39;t always the case, they have a reason to doubt.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The car engine analogy was a favorite with the experts I spoke with for a very simplified way to explain what happens with power. GHz (as in a 1.5GHz processor) are like RPMs, and more processor cores are like more cylinders. More cylinders give you more engine power, but at the cost of guzzling gas.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The smartphone&#39;s display, CPU (that&#39;s the application processor we&#39;ve been talking about), and the cellular radio suck up the lion&#39;s share of the battery. There&#39;s a Catch-22 when it comes to performance. Faster CPUs let us accomplish more tasks in a shorter period of time -- rendering images smoother, connecting to the Internet faster -- but they also demand more juice.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Nvidia, however, points out that their chip&#39;s fifth smaller core fits into the analogy differently.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&quot;When the car is in city traffic and does not require the high performance engine, the high performance engine is turned off and only the electric engine is used,&quot; said a company representative. &quot;When the car is on a freeway, then one to four cores are used depending on the desired speed.&quot;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div&gt;It&#39;s just like punching the accelerator on the sports car. The faster you do that, the faster you burn through gas. -- Francis Sideco, IHS iSuppli&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The increased demand on the battery during times of high-level performance (like streaming Internet video, for instance) is exactly why system-level optimization is so important, said Frances Sideco, senior principal analyst of consumer and communications at the analyst firm IHS iSuppli.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Engineers on the manufacturing side can be smart about creating software that can help efficiently assign processor tasks, which in the end mitigates battery strain and could help make the battery-saving theory of quad-core a reality (where more chips each doing part of the work drain the battery more slowly.)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Nvidia&#39;s Tegra 3, for instance, boasts system-level optimizations that can turn cores on and off depending on which tasks need to be done.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;On top of that, some chips will be inherently more efficient than others (see myth No. 1.) Battery life is an ever-present issue, and the chip makers that can produce the most battery-balanced systems will see slower battery drain for the same task.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset0.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/04/06/HTCOneS_camera_CloseUp_270x198.jpg&quot; height=&quot;198&quot; alt=&quot;HTC One S&quot; width=&quot;270&quot; /&gt;  &lt;p&gt;The HTC One S takes photos in the blink of an eye.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;  (Credit:  Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)  &lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Myth No. 5: The CPU stands alone&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  HTC blew me away with photo rendering in the One X, One S, and One V that was &lt;a href=&quot;http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13970_7-57387628-78/htc-one-x-s-v-shutter-speed-really-is-eye-blink-quick/&quot;&gt;as quick as it claimed&lt;/a&gt;. I mean, it was really, really fast. HTC points to its own image processing chip.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div&gt;One of the ways that the ARM-based ecosystem is able to optimize the power efficiency is with peripheral side cores -- Francis Sideco, IHS iSuppli&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The more you can free up the application cores from having to perform certain resource-heavy tasks, the more they can focus on quickly updating your Facebook status and downloading a podcast.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;That&#39;s why today&#39;s system-on-a-chip includes peripheral cores built around the ARM processor, like the graphics processing unit (GPU), any image processors like HTC&#39;s, video and audio units for encoding and decoding, and Flash processors. And guess what? The performance of these separate modules all add up to affect the entire system as a whole.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Myth No. 6: Don&#39;t forget the operating system&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Right now, quad-core mania is centered on the Android OS, though the iPhone 5 and Windows Phone OS are currently capable of supporting two or more cores.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Not too long ago, the single-core/quad-core divide was a pain point for Microsoft, which had them leaning hard on its &quot;&lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57410518-94/7-myths-about-quad-core-phones-smartphones-unlocked/?tag=nl.e404&amp;amp;s_cid=e404#&quot;&gt;Smoked by Windows Phone&lt;/a&gt;&quot; campaign, which pits a Microsoft employee on a Windows Phone against Android and iPhone users to see whose phone performs simple tasks faster.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Now that &lt;a href=&quot;http://reviews.cnet.com/windows/windows-phone-8/4505-3672_7-35516448.html&quot;&gt;Windows Phone 8 OS&lt;/a&gt; enabled dual-core processing for phones like the &lt;a href=&quot;http://reviews.cnet.com/nokia-lumia-920/&quot;&gt;Nokia Lumia 920&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/htc-windows-phone-8x/4505-6452_7-35454632.html&quot;&gt;HTC Windows Phone 8X&lt;/a&gt;, the point is no less important: we should evaluate performance based on real-life tasks, and not on theoretical benchmarks.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/04/06/SmokedByWindowsPhone.jpg&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; alt=&quot;From a Smoked by Windows Phone video&quot; width=&quot;406&quot; /&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Microsoft&#39;s 2012 Smoked by Windows Phone campaign pushed the point that specs matter less than actual performance.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;  (Credit:  Microsoft)  &lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;In the real world, said Microsoft&#39;s Sullivan, performance rests on how efficiently the operating system can manage tasks, period. One advantage that Sullivan points to is Windows Phone&#39;s behavior to &lt;i&gt;suspend&lt;/i&gt; apps when you switch focus, rather than run them in the background and take up cycles and power to do so. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Of course, Microsoft may sing a different tune now that it&#39;s shipping its own multicore phones, though I suspect that Android phones will long be ahead in the game of processor one-upsmanship. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; However, Microsoft&#39;s Sullivan isn&#39;t alone in his approach. Qualcomm&#39;s and Samsung&#39;s VPs, and the IHS iSuppli analyst I spoke with all echoed Sullivan&#39;s main sentiment, that the way the operating system manages threads of code and processes in general affects the phone&#39;s overall performance, no matter the number of cores.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Myth No. 7: Benchmarks don&#39;t lie&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Samsung&#39;s Nick DiCarlo has a strong opinion about chip performance benchmarks. He explained that most processor performance tests measure dozens of elements of the chip, including subcategories of optimization.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Yet, 30 separate and highly specific measurements aren&#39;t often useful, especially when manufacturers have a range of chips to report on and compare.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div&gt;Chip guys...will absolutely show you benchmarks where their chip will dominate everybody else&#39;s. -- Nick DiCarlo, Samsung&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Aggregating the results with benchmark tools offers a shortcut. Diagnostic apps that calculate benchmark performance for the GPU, CPU, and browser can be useful indicators, but like all statistics, they&#39;re also ripe for manipulation.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&quot;Can they be exploited?&quot; DiCarlo offered, &quot;Definitely.&quot;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;What&#39;s to come&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt; The rise of quad-core smartphones began in 2012 and will grow in 2013 for flagship phones. They&#39;ll even start becoming mainstream, as chip makers like Nvidia, Qualcomm, Samsung, and others continue to aggressively push the release cycle and help market the processor as a larger part of the purchasing decision. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;While I&#39;m just as excited to see ever-faster chips lead to ever more powerful smartphones, it&#39;s worth remembering this: quad-core isn&#39;t automatically faster in every case, and more cores aren&#39;t always better.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset1.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/06/03/SmartphonesUnlocked_promo_270x193.png&quot; height=&quot;193&quot; alt=&quot;Smartphones Unlocked promo image&quot; width=&quot;270&quot; /&gt;  &lt;span&gt;  (Credit:  Josh Long/CNET)  &lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b style=&quot;color: rgb(153, 0, 0);&quot;&gt;Smartphones Unlocked&lt;/b&gt; &lt;i&gt;is a monthly column that dives deep into the inner workings of your trusty smartphone.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_quote_citation&quot;&gt;via &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57410518-94/7-myths-about-quad-core-phones-smartphones-unlocked/?tag=nl.e404&amp;amp;s_cid=e404&quot;&gt;news.cnet.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/feeds/5344161554783158915/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/01/7-myths-about-quad-core-phones_14.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/5344161554783158915'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/5344161554783158915'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2013/01/7-myths-about-quad-core-phones_14.html' title='7 myths about quad-core phones (Smartphones Unlocked) | Mobile - CNET News'/><author><name>vinayus</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13997497926112155532</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oZ8zOIjaa5c/TiSMYSXCc4I/AAAAAAAAADg/JGINqo026EA/s220/Death_Note%2B%25282%2529.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432933495904501116.post-5668040042516769721</id><published>2012-12-28T01:36:00.005-08:00</published><updated>2013-02-27T23:29:54.608-08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="microsoft"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="technology"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="windows"/><title type='text'>Back to the Basics: Learn to Use Keyboard Shortcuts Like a Ninja</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class=&#39;posterous_autopost&#39;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_bookmarklet_entry&quot;&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;div&gt;   &lt;div&gt;   &lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/17kt3ayw1ld95jpg/avt-small.jpg&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;14&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 0px;&quot; width=&quot;14&quot; /&gt;   &lt;strong&gt;   &lt;a&gt;Thorin Klosowski&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;   &lt;div&gt;   &lt;ul&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5970089/back-to-the-basics-learn-to-use-keyboard-shortcuts-like-a-ninja?utm_source=Lifehacker+Newsletter&amp;amp;utm_campaign=663b25f869-UA-142218-1&amp;amp;utm_medium=email#&quot; rel=&quot;author&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/17kt3ayw1ld95jpg/avt-small.jpg&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;26&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 0px;&quot; width=&quot;14&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;View Profile&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5970089/back-to-the-basics-learn-to-use-keyboard-shortcuts-like-a-ninja?utm_source=Lifehacker+Newsletter&amp;amp;utm_campaign=663b25f869-UA-142218-1&amp;amp;utm_medium=email#&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;Email&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.facebook.com/thorink&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;Facebook&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://twitter.com/kingthor&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;Twitter&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://plus.google.com/112130794860820234172?rel=author&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;Google Plus&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5970089/back-to-the-basics-learn-to-use-keyboard-shortcuts-like-a-ninja?utm_source=Lifehacker+Newsletter&amp;amp;utm_campaign=663b25f869-UA-142218-1&amp;amp;utm_medium=email#&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;RSS&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;/ul&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;   &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/188xrz3tagl2bjpg/original.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;lytebox&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;Back to the Basics: Learn to Use Keyboard Shortcuts Like a Ninja&quot; src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/188xrz3tagl2bjpg/medium.jpg&quot; height=&quot;169&quot; alt=&quot;Back to the Basics: Learn to Use Keyboard Shortcuts Like a Ninja&quot; style=&quot;display: none; margin-right: 0px;&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Keyboard shortcuts are the easiest way to do things faster, but with the wide variety of software we all use it&#39;s hard to remember all the different shortcuts. In turn, even though we all know shortcuts are useful, few of us bother using them. Here&#39;s how to learn to make use of shortcuts, ranging from the beginner to expert. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;h3&gt;Why Keyboard Shortcuts Make You Faster at Everything&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;height: 185px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/188xt4lfovverjpg/original.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;lytebox&quot;&gt;Full size&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/188xt4lfovverjpg/medium.jpg&quot; height=&quot;185&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;You&#39;ve probably heard about keyboard shortcuts, and you&#39;ve heard keyboard nuts talking about how they&#39;re so much faster than using a mouse. They&#39;ve probably even called you crazy for not using them. The truth is, keyboard shortcuts are great and fast. But that&#39;s not the whole story. Coding Horror&#39;s Jeff Atwood &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2008/03/revisiting-keyboard-vs-the-mouse-pt-1.html&quot;&gt;lays out the truth&lt;/a&gt;: &lt;blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;I&#39;ve long been an advocate of two-fisted computing—using both your keyboard and your mouse to the fullest. That&#39;s what keyboard shortcuts are to me. I&#39;m not sure why this always has to be spun as a cage match between the keyboard and the mouse. Keyboard shortcuts don&#39;t replace my mousing; they complement it.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;Keyboard shortcuts get a bad rap because they&#39;re hard to remember, and learning one keyboard shortcut doesn&#39;t seem like it saves you a lot of time. But once you learn the lot of them, you&#39;ll definitely notice a boost to productivity because you&#39;re not unnecessarily reaching for a mouse. That is, you&#39;ll never reach for that mouse or trackpad &lt;em&gt;unless it actually makes sense to do so&lt;/em&gt;. This makes you a lot more efficient particularly on larger displays, and feels a lot better than moving your hands around a trackpad. &lt;i style=&quot;font-size: 80%;&quot;&gt;Photo by &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/tamasrepus/3556966155/&quot;&gt;Samat Jain&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/i&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h3&gt;How to Force Yourself to Learn New Shortcuts&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;height: 195px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/188xt9d3coi87jpg/original.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;lytebox&quot;&gt;Full size&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/188xt9d3coi87jpg/medium.jpg&quot; height=&quot;195&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;The reason most of us don&#39;t bother with keyboard shortcuts is because they feel like they require too much mental effort to learn. The most obvious way to force yourself to learn shortcuts is to disconnect your mouse (or in my case, grumpily refuse to go buy batteries for few days), but most people don&#39;t want to go to that extreme. Thankfully, you can grab a few programs that&#39;ll train you to use more shortcuts. &lt;p&gt;You have a few different ways you can approach this. The easiest is to grab an application that shows you the keyboard shortcut every time you perform an action with the mouse. For example, if you use your mouse to click Edit &amp;gt; Copy, these programs will pop up the shortcut (Ctrl+C for Windows or Cmd+C for Mac). For Windows, we like &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.veodin.com/keyrocket/&quot;&gt;Keyrocket&lt;/a&gt; and on Mac we like &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.hotkey-eve.com/&quot;&gt;Eve&lt;/a&gt;. Similarly, &lt;a href=&quot;https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/keyrocket-for-gmail/dmocchgkijnbjdjkmlglaemjhhdiobbp?hl=en-US&quot;&gt;KeyRocket for Gmail&lt;/a&gt; is a Chrome extension that does the exact same thing in Gmail.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Alternately, you can run yourself through some drills to teach yourself the muscle-memory required to remember these shortcuts with &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.shortcutfoo.com/&quot;&gt;Shortcutfoo&lt;/a&gt;. With Shortcutfoo, you run through a training program that teaches you shortcuts for programs like Excel, Photoshop, Gmail, and more by having you repeatedly enter them.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Finally, if you want a quick reference guide to a ton of different keyboard shortcuts in different apps, &lt;a href=&quot;http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/ultimate-windows-8-shortcuts/a7066327-f99a-47b0-b331-5a8b7afb9cb1&quot;&gt;Ultimate Windows 8 Shortcuts&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;https://itunes.apple.com/app/id529456740?mt=12&quot; style=&quot;&quot;&gt;CheatSheet for Mac&lt;/a&gt; pull up all the keyboard shortcuts for an app on the spot so you can reference them quickly. The cheat sheets are very helpful when you&#39;re learning the ropes and you might be surprised at how much you can do with a keyboard.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h3&gt;Advanced Keyboard Uses&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/186lx9rjsghnijpg/original.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;lytebox&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;Back to the Basics: Learn to Use Keyboard Shortcuts Like a Ninja&quot; src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/186lx9rjsghnijpg/medium.jpg&quot; height=&quot;169&quot; alt=&quot;Back to the Basics: Learn to Use Keyboard Shortcuts Like a Ninja&quot; style=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The idea of ditching your mouse isn&#39;t just about keyboard shortcuts. It&#39;s also about making everything else you do on your computer simpler. You have a few different ways to do this, and with a little effort you can make it so you&#39;re almost never reaching for your mouse.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5963597/why-you-should-be-using-an-app-launcher-and-how-to-make-it-do-anything-you-want&quot;&gt;Use app launchers to do just about everything with a keystroke&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/b&gt;: With software like &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.launchy.net/&quot;&gt;Launchy&lt;/a&gt; for Windows or &lt;a href=&quot;http://qsapp.com/&quot;&gt;Quicksilver&lt;/a&gt; for Mac you can make your keyboard perform almost any action you want so you never have to reach for the mouse. YOu can also launch apps and perform actions with Windows and OS X&#39;s built-in search tools, but app launchers will give you even more options.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5912291/put-your-keyboards-unused-keys-to-use-by-turning-them-into-awesome-shortcuts&quot;&gt;Make your own shortcuts&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/b&gt;: Chances are you have a lot of unused keys on your keyboard. Maybe it&#39;s that totally useless Scroll Lock key, or the End key you never have a use for. On Windows we like to use &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.autohotkey.com/&quot;&gt;AutoHotKey&lt;/a&gt; to customize these keys to your liking (as well as &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/316589/turn-any-action-into-a-keyboard-shortcut&quot;&gt;countless other great custom shortcuts&lt;/a&gt;). On a Mac &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/343328/create-a-keyboard-shortcut-for-any-menu-action-in-any-program&quot;&gt;you create custom shortcuts with built-in software&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5969129/hack-your-life-in-one-day-a-beginners-guide-to-enhanced-productivity&quot;&gt;Use text expanders to save you hours of typing&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/b&gt;: Finally, if you really want to speed up your day with keyboard tricks, &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5611210/how-to-use-text-expansion-to-save-yourself-hours-of-typing-every-day&quot;&gt;few things work as well as text expansion&lt;/a&gt;. On Windows &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5844126/the-best-text-expansion-app-for-windows&quot;&gt;we like PhaseExpress&lt;/a&gt; and on &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5843903/the-best-text-expansion-app-for-mac&quot;&gt;Mac we like TypeIt4Me&lt;/a&gt; for text expansion. In this case, think of text expansion like a word-based keyboard shortcut. Type out a couple letters, and the text expander replaces it with a whole word. It saves you a lot of time, especially if you&#39;re always copying and pasting the same text.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h3&gt;Learn Your Favorite Program&#39;s Shortcuts&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p&gt;Of course, you really don&#39;t need to go about learning every single keyboard shortcut for every application you use. It&#39;s more useful to learn all the shortcuts in the software you use the most, and don&#39;t worry about the rest. Here are a few different guides for doing just that.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5955162/how-to-not-get-lost-in-windows-8-the-best-shortcuts-and-tricks&quot;&gt;The Best Windows 8 Shortcuts&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5957801/print-out-this-os-x-keyboard-shortcut-cheat-sheets-for-your-less-tech+savvy-friends-and-family&quot;&gt;OS X Keyboard Shortcuts&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5796925/learn-all-of-ubuntus-keyboard-shortcuts-with-this-handy-wallpaper&quot;&gt;Learn all of Ubuntu&#39;s Keyboard Shortcuts with a Wallpaper&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5861810/master-the-new-gmail-with-these-tips-shortcuts-and-add+ons#keyboardshortcuts&quot;&gt;Master Gmail&#39;s Shortcuts&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5321432/how-to-highlight-text-like-a-keyboard-ninja&quot;&gt;Highlight Text Like a Keyboard Ninja&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5867446/the-always-up+to+date-power-users-guide-to-chrome#shortcuts&quot;&gt;The Power Users Guide to Chrome&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5867444/the-always-up+to+date-power-users-guide-to-firefox#shortcuts&quot;&gt;The Power Users Guide to Firefox&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5962529/the-facebook-cheat-sheet-shows-all-the-keyboard-shortcuts-to-use-facebook-faster&quot;&gt;The Facebook Keyboard Shortcut Cheat Sheet&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5833446/learn-all-the-microsoft-word-keyboard-shortcuts-with-this-printable-cheatsheet&quot;&gt;Learn All the Microsoft Word Shortcuts with this Printable Cheatsheet&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5825558/quick-reference-cards-show-all-the-excel-2010-keyboard-shortcuts&quot;&gt;Quick Reference Cards Show All the Excel Keyboard Shortcuts&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5743814/become-a-command-line-ninja-with-these-time+saving-shortcuts&quot;&gt;Become a Command Line Ninja with These Time Saving Shortcuts&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;h3&gt;The 20 Most Common Shortcuts Everyone Needs to Know&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p&gt;Even if you don&#39;t want to dig into the deeper recesses of keyboard shortcuts, and few of the most common shortcuts can still save you a ton of time. If you need to really learn these set the below image up as a desktop background, or print it and place it on your wall (click to expand or right-click to save):&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/188xrz3tao7fyjpg/original.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;lytebox&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;Back to the Basics: Learn to Use Keyboard Shortcuts Like a Ninja&quot; src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/188xrz3tao7fyjpg/xlarge.jpg&quot; height=&quot;281&quot; alt=&quot;Back to the Basics: Learn to Use Keyboard Shortcuts Like a Ninja&quot; style=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;The trick with keyboard shortcuts is that you have to train your muscle memory to just automatically go for them instead of a mouse. It takes time, and it&#39;s not exactly a fun thing to do, but it&#39;s worth it in the end. Once you get the hang of it you feel like a cyborg ninja who can instantly jump to anywhere in a text document, launch a web browser and research a term, and then jump into a spreadsheet to quickly create a table without ever touching a mouse. You&#39;ll likely never ditch the mouse completely, but that&#39;s not the point. It&#39;s about making yourself faster with both.&lt;/p&gt;       &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_quote_citation&quot;&gt;via &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5970089/back-to-the-basics-learn-to-use-keyboard-shortcuts-like-a-ninja?utm_source=Lifehacker+Newsletter&amp;amp;utm_campaign=663b25f869-UA-142218-1&amp;amp;utm_medium=email&quot;&gt;lifehacker.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/feeds/5668040042516769721/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2012/12/back-to-basics-learn-to-use-keyboard_28.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/5668040042516769721'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/5668040042516769721'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2012/12/back-to-basics-learn-to-use-keyboard_28.html' title='Back to the Basics: Learn to Use Keyboard Shortcuts Like a Ninja'/><author><name>vinayus</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13997497926112155532</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oZ8zOIjaa5c/TiSMYSXCc4I/AAAAAAAAADg/JGINqo026EA/s220/Death_Note%2B%25282%2529.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432933495904501116.post-6840821975866287136</id><published>2012-12-28T01:36:00.004-08:00</published><updated>2013-02-27T23:29:54.513-08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="web"/><title type='text'>How Hackable Is Your Bank Account? Call Customer Service to Find Out</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class=&#39;posterous_autopost&#39;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_bookmarklet_entry&quot;&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;div&gt;   &lt;div&gt;   &lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/1835tmb38zquojpg/avt-small.jpg&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;14&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 0px;&quot; width=&quot;14&quot; /&gt;   &lt;strong&gt;   &lt;a&gt;Melanie Pinola&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;   &lt;div&gt;   &lt;ul&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5970357/how-hackable-is-your-bank-account-call-customer-service-to-find-out?utm_source=Lifehacker+Newsletter&amp;amp;utm_campaign=891b8c7df3-UA-142218-1&amp;amp;utm_medium=email#&quot; rel=&quot;author&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/1835tmb38zquojpg/avt-small.jpg&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;26&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 0px;&quot; width=&quot;14&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;View Profile&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5970357/how-hackable-is-your-bank-account-call-customer-service-to-find-out?utm_source=Lifehacker+Newsletter&amp;amp;utm_campaign=891b8c7df3-UA-142218-1&amp;amp;utm_medium=email#&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;Email&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://twitter.com/melaniepinola&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;Twitter&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5970357/how-hackable-is-your-bank-account-call-customer-service-to-find-out?utm_source=Lifehacker+Newsletter&amp;amp;utm_campaign=891b8c7df3-UA-142218-1&amp;amp;utm_medium=email#&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;RSS&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;   &lt;/ul&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;   &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/1891jip5z114yjpg/original.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;lytebox&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;How Hackable Is Your Bank Account? Call Customer Service to Find Out&quot; src=&quot;http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/1891jip5z114yjpg/medium.jpg&quot; height=&quot;169&quot; alt=&quot;How Hackable Is Your Bank Account? Call Customer Service to Find Out&quot; style=&quot;display: none; margin-right: 0px;&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I was recently stupefied to find out it&#39;s extremely easy to get into my (former) bank accounts. All you needed to do was call up customer service and verify very basic information. One bank even reset my security questions when I said I didn&#39;t remember them. This is unacceptable; here&#39;s how to make sure it doesn&#39;t happen to you. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Most banks have pretty good &lt;em&gt;online&lt;/em&gt; security measures, such as &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5938565/heres-everywhere-you-should-enable-two+factor-authentication-right-now&quot;&gt;two-factor authentication&lt;/a&gt;, which requires you to log in only from approved computers or devices. But as my phone calls proved, the human element is often the weakest link of any security system (remember &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5932501/strong-passwords-arent-enough-how-to-to-ensure-the-apple-and-amazon-exploit-never-happens-to-you&quot;&gt;the Apple and Amazon exploit that wiped tech writer Mat Honan&#39;s accounts&lt;/a&gt;?). The easiest way to hack an account is often by manipulating the front line of defense—the people stewarding that data.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;One bank I called asked for my social security number and name before resetting the password to &quot;password.&quot; The other asked for my username and email before resetting the password to the last four digits of my social security number. Social Security numbers are not difficult to guess or steal, as &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2009/07/06-01.html&quot;&gt;Science Magazine points out&lt;/a&gt;, and because most people use the same username everywhere, that&#39;s not a great means of authentication. (It&#39;s why you might want to use a unique username and &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5962026/use-a-unique-secure-email-address-solely-for-password-recovery&quot;&gt;separate, dedicated email address&lt;/a&gt; just for password recovery.)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;I definitely sounded earnest and trustworthy over the phone—even when I said I didn&#39;t remember the security question answers (at that point I was testing them)—but so, too, could any persuasive hacker.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Call your bank now to see how they handle password resets.&lt;/strong&gt; Don&#39;t ask them how they do it or try to reset on the website (those seem to be more secure), but try to get your account login reset over the phone, as if you&#39;re socially engineering your own account, to find out the criteria and see how easy or hard it is to get your bank login handed over.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;After finding these weaknesses, I switched my accounts to banks that not only have stronger online protections, but those that have improved measures over the phone or at least extra guarantees in case of unauthorized access. &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.schwab.com/&quot;&gt;Charles Schwab&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.suntrust.com/&quot;&gt;SunTrust&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.firsttennessee.com/&quot;&gt;First Tennessee Bank&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.us.hsbc.com/1/2/home/personal-banking&quot;&gt;HSBC&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://ally.com&quot;&gt;Ally Bank&lt;/a&gt;, and others (you&#39;ll have to check for those near you) guarantee your accounts in case of unauthorized access. For comparison&#39;s sake, the standard guarantee for most banks, from the FDIC, doesn&#39;t cover that.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Also, these and other banks (such as &lt;a href=&quot;http://ingdirect.com&quot;&gt;ING Direct&lt;/a&gt;) might ask you to verify basic information (such as date of birth and address), but they also may have several other additional authentication steps over the phone, including PIN #s or Security Keys that the customer service agent can&#39;t/doesn&#39;t know; if you forget one of those, you can only get it reset in a few days via snail mail. That may sound like a hassle, but it&#39;s well worth it for the extra security.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In this age where &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5932501/strong-passwords-arent-enough-how-to-to-ensure-the-apple-and-amazon-exploit-never-happens-to-you&quot;&gt;strong passwords aren&#39;t enough&lt;/a&gt;, make sure your most important accounts are as secure as the system currently allows. If you do end up looking for a new bank, ask prospective banks about the measures above. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2011/01/21/best-online-bank-for-service-and-security/&quot;&gt;Get Rich Slowly&lt;/a&gt; asked readers last year which bank was best for both service and security, and the comments on that article are worth a read. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.mybanktracker.com/&quot;&gt;My Bank Tracker&lt;/a&gt; also features user reviews of banks. But most of all, for your new bank, test out the account reset system yourself over the phone. If you have a bank you particularly trust, please share them with us in the comments and let us know why.&lt;/p&gt;       &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_quote_citation&quot;&gt;via &lt;a href=&quot;http://lifehacker.com/5970357/how-hackable-is-your-bank-account-call-customer-service-to-find-out?utm_source=Lifehacker+Newsletter&amp;amp;utm_campaign=891b8c7df3-UA-142218-1&amp;amp;utm_medium=email&quot;&gt;lifehacker.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/feeds/6840821975866287136/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2012/12/how-hackable-is-your-bank-account-call_28.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/6840821975866287136'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/6840821975866287136'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2012/12/how-hackable-is-your-bank-account-call_28.html' title='How Hackable Is Your Bank Account? Call Customer Service to Find Out'/><author><name>vinayus</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13997497926112155532</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oZ8zOIjaa5c/TiSMYSXCc4I/AAAAAAAAADg/JGINqo026EA/s220/Death_Note%2B%25282%2529.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432933495904501116.post-7756493345232591863</id><published>2012-12-28T01:35:00.002-08:00</published><updated>2013-02-27T23:29:54.704-08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="review"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="technology"/><title type='text'>HP Envy Spectre XT - CNET Reviews</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class=&#39;posterous_autopost&#39;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_bookmarklet_entry&quot;&gt; &lt;div class=&#39;p_embed p_image_embed&#39;&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;http://getfile5.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/vinayus/jevxCCmgEgIgxDhdlinovDnghcrIHuCmcxaIedyawethCbDehmcprabfhDAv/media_httpiicomcomcnw_AnItq.jpg.scaled1000.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;Media_httpiicomcomcnw_anitq&quot; height=&quot;443&quot; src=&quot;http://getfile5.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/vinayus/jevxCCmgEgIgxDhdlinovDnghcrIHuCmcxaIedyawethCbDehmcprabfhDAv/media_httpiicomcomcnw_AnItq.jpg.scaled1000.jpg&quot; width=&quot;620&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;div class=&quot;posterous_quote_citation&quot;&gt;via &lt;a href=&quot;http://reviews.cnet.com/holiday-gift-guide/laptops-desktops/slim-ultraportable-laptops/?tag=nl.e404&amp;amp;s_cid=e404&quot;&gt;reviews.cnet.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/feeds/7756493345232591863/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2012/12/hp-envy-spectre-xt-cnet-reviews_28.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/7756493345232591863'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/7756493345232591863'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2012/12/hp-envy-spectre-xt-cnet-reviews_28.html' title='HP Envy Spectre XT - CNET Reviews'/><author><name>vinayus</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13997497926112155532</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oZ8zOIjaa5c/TiSMYSXCc4I/AAAAAAAAADg/JGINqo026EA/s220/Death_Note%2B%25282%2529.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432933495904501116.post-8546321774221381654</id><published>2012-12-28T01:34:00.002-08:00</published><updated>2013-02-27T23:29:54.799-08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="review"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="tech"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="technology"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="web"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="windows"/><title type='text'>Five big tech stories to watch for in 2013 | Tech Culture - CNET News</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class=&#39;posterous_autopost&#39;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_bookmarklet_entry&quot;&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;div&gt;  &lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset0.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/12/19/crystal-ball-000002821825XS_610x458.jpg&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; /&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;p&gt;We were dazzled by an array of smartphones. We were fascinated and then disappointed by Facebook&#39;s initial public offering. And we held our breaths as we awaited the verdict in the Apple v. Samsung trial.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;But all that&#39;s so 2012. Let&#39;s talk 2013. Will we still be paying attention to patents, smartphones, and IPOs? The answer is &quot;yes, yes, and yes,&quot; but not in the way you might imagine. The great thing about writing about the high-tech industry is its constant march forward. New companies get built on the bones of old companies, and new faces emerge while others fade. It&#39;s what keeps us going and sitting on those hard, wooden courtroom benches.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;So what can we expect next year? We&#39;ve been talking and writing about it a lot here at CNET, and we&#39;re running reporters&#39; predictions on their beats through the rest of the year. But here are some predictions on the big tech trends we&#39;ll be writing about next year:&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;b&gt;1. The competition reels in Apple&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset0.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/10/29/tim-cook-apple-3392_270x338.jpg&quot; height=&quot;338&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;270&quot; /&gt;  &lt;span&gt;  (Credit:  James Martin/CNET)  &lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; It was inevitable, and in a way it&#39;s amazing Apple dominated for as long as it did in high-growth markets. But &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-10797_3-57560095-235/five-big-tech-stories-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot;&gt;Samsung finally overtook Apple &lt;/a&gt;for the lead in smartphone sales. While that could reverse with a full quarter of  &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cnet.com/iphone-5/&quot;&gt;iPhone 5&lt;/a&gt; sales, it&#39;s indicative of where the market is heading next year. Apple is one company, and it can&#39;t beat back forever an array of just-as-resourced competitors building off the  &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cnet.com/android-atlas/&quot;&gt;Android&lt;/a&gt; mobile platform.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;This isn&#39;t meant as a dig toward Apple. And I find myself grudgingly writing this on a MacBook, while listening to music on  &lt;a href=&quot;http://reviews.cnet.com/itunes/&quot;&gt;iTunes&lt;/a&gt; as an iPhone sits on my desk. Rather, it&#39;s an acknowledgement that the competition finally has its act together. We&#39;ve seen challenges to the iPhone&#39;s dominance come and go. HTC looked strong for a while. But collectively, the Android collection (and maybe the companies building on Windows Phone 8) will be an overwhelming if profit-challenged mass. And, yes, by the end of 2013, we could be saying about the iPad what we&#39;re now saying about the iPhone.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&quot;This is a huge platform change; this is of the scale of 20 years ago -- Microsoft versus Apple,&quot; &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-12/google-chairman-says-android-winning-mobile-war-with-apple-tech.html&quot;&gt;Google Chairman Eric Schmidt said&lt;/a&gt; in a recent interview with Bloomberg. &quot;We&#39;re winning that war pretty clearly now.&quot; Schmidt added: &quot;The core strategy is to make a bigger pie,&quot; he said. &quot;We will end up with a not perfectly controlled and not perfectly managed bigger pie by virtue of open systems.&quot;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In other words, &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-10797_3-57560095-235/five-big-tech-stories-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot;&gt;as we wrote yesterday&lt;/a&gt;, Google is gleefully doing to Apple what Microsoft did two decades ago: Bit by bit, closing the quality gap and flooding the market with cheaper competitors. Courtroom dramas or not, that&#39;s only going to accelerate next year.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;2. The IPO market heats up again, but not for consumer tech&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Facebook&#39;s less-than-dazzling entree into the public markets likely cooled Wall Street&#39;s enthusiasm for social media and consumer tech. It didn&#39;t help, of course, that overhyped companies like Zynga and Groupon (unlike underhyped companies such as LinkedIn and Yelp) looked so wobbly.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset1.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/11/28/Screen_Shot_2012-11-28_at_9.10.38_AM_270x191.png&quot; height=&quot;191&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;270&quot; /&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Groupon CEO Andrew Mason&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;  (Credit:  Dan Farber/CNET)  &lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;Does that mean Wall Street isn&#39;t hot for tech? Not at all. The big tech stars of the last decade have created big problems and opportunities for the next generation of tech startups. We&#39;re talking less gee-whiz apps and more behind-the-scenes types working on big data, cloud apps, and open source.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;As they say, follow the money. And in tech, you follow the venture money. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.acquia.com/&quot;&gt;Acquia&lt;/a&gt;, a Massachusetts company that&#39;s building quick-to-deploy content management systems built on the Drupal open-source project, is one of those companies. It closed a $30 million investment round at the end of November, bringing its venture funding total to $68.5 million. It grew about 100 percent last year and should grow another 80 percent next year, topping out at 400 employees. Executives hope to go public within the next 12 to 24 months.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&quot;In 2010 and 2009, it was almost impossible to get venture investors interested in enterprise software. Some of them said it was dead,&quot; said Acquia CEO Tom Erickson. &quot;Now you&#39;ve seen a reversal of that trend.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Acquia isn&#39;t alone. In Bellevue, Wash., &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.smartsheet.com/&quot;&gt;SmartSheet&lt;/a&gt;, a company that&#39;s taking spreadsheets and other types of business collaboration into the era of cloud computing, landed a $26 million funding round last month. And just two weeks ago in Silicon Valley, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cloudera.com/content/cloudera/en/home.html&quot;&gt;Cloudera&lt;/a&gt;, which has built big-data analytics technology based on the Hadoop Apache open-source project, raised $65 million.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;They may not be sexy, and the people who start them are probably the last who will ever have a &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-10797_3-57560095-235/five-big-tech-stories-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot;&gt;Bravo reality television show&lt;/a&gt; about them, but they&#39;re indicative of the future. The tech industry&#39;s fashion swings between consumer and business tech. Next year, expect it to swing a little further back toward the back office.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;3. Things get even more interesting at Microsoft&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/10/29/Windows_Phone_8_event_03_270x180.jpg&quot; height=&quot;180&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;270&quot; /&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;  (Credit:  James Martin/CNET)  &lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; 2012 should have been the year we were talking about the big Microsoft comeback in consumer markets. Windows 8 was all lined up. So was Windows Phone 8. There was a nifty new tablet in the works. The gaming business was still going strong, and so was that vast enterprise-software business to which few pay much attention.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;So what the heck happened? It&#39;s too early to grade sales of Windows 8. But early returns seem to indicate so-so. The same could be said for the Surface tablet, which has received mediocre reviews. Even more noticeable: Steven Sinofsky, the guy responsible for both, will be &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-10797_3-57560095-235/five-big-tech-stories-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot;&gt;teaching at Harvard Business School &lt;/a&gt;next year instead of running the Windows division.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Yes, Microsoft finds itself in an unaccustomed role: It&#39;s the undisputed leader of a &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-10797_3-57560095-235/five-big-tech-stories-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot;&gt;market that&#39;s not expected to grow&lt;/a&gt;, PCs. Yet it&#39;s the upstart in two fast-growing markets, smartphones and tablets.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;And since Sinofsky left, Microsoft is climbing up this hill without a clear leader of Windows development. Don&#39;t be surprised if Microsoft&#39;s center of gravity shifts further toward Xbox and Skype, which seems underutilized by Ballmer &amp;amp; Co. since it was acquired in 2011. Could that be more deeply integrated into other Microsoft products without scaring away longtime Microsoft users?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Most of all, you can expect pressure to mount on Ballmer to prove his company is more than a middle-aged titan looking more and more like a slightly smaller version of IBM. And you can expect investors to start asking if, with Sinofsky gone (and it&#39;s doubtful he was ever a realistic alternative), there&#39;s any sort of management succession plan.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;4. Facebook will continue to tick us off and we will continue to love it&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset2.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/10/24/mark-zuckerberg-0388_270x270.jpg&quot; height=&quot;270&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;270&quot; /&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; Perhaps this is what a difficult love affair looks like: A company upsets its users, they lash out and swear they&#39;ll never use the company&#39;s product again. The company apologizes (sometimes it says it was just misunderstood), and everyone forgets about it a few days later.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Welcome to Facebook&#39;s sometimes dysfunctional relationship with its users. I say &quot;users&quot; rather than &quot;customers&quot; because, as &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-10797_3-57560095-235/five-big-tech-stories-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot;&gt;CNET&#39;s Nathan Bransford wrote&lt;/a&gt; two days ago, Facebook&#39;s users are its product. It&#39;s real customers are the advertisers. The latest dustup was over what exactly Facebook&#39;s Instagram unit could or would do with users&#39; (not customers&#39;) photos. Facebook &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-10797_3-57560095-235/five-big-tech-stories-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot;&gt;ended its community voting system&lt;/a&gt; because of anemic turnout. In a case of cyberlife imitating real life, it seems we like to complain but we don&#39;t like to do much about it.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Here&#39;s a bet: There will be at least three more of these confrontations in the coming year. Facebook is a publicly traded company now. Wall Street expects growth, and once you&#39;ve topped 1 billion users, the law of numbers is bound to catch up with you. So Facebook will continue to tweak and sometimes tick off as it searches for more profits. And why shouldn&#39;t it? We&#39;ll keep coming back.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;5. Patents will still plague us, but solutions will emerge&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset0.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/09/10/kodak_logo_270x136_270x136.png&quot; height=&quot;136&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;270&quot; /&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; Tuesday afternoon, I finished a year-in-review piece that said patents were the big story of 2012. Wednesday morning, I helped write a story about how a consortium of companies ranging from Intellectual Ventures and RPX to Apple, Google, and Microsoft was spending $525 million to acquire &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-10797_3-57560095-235/five-big-tech-stories-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot;&gt;Kodak&#39;s imaging patent portfolio&lt;/a&gt;. Do you see a trend here?&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;There&#39;s little reason to expect anything different next year. Apple and Samsung have another trial scheduled for 2014. Lawsuits involving called nonpracticing entities (that&#39;s a nice way to describe a patent troll) will continue to increase, and big tech outfits will continue to spend billions to acquire patent portfolios. There is nothing on the radar that indicates this will change. Heck, the outgoing head of the U.S. Patent Office even thinks all these lawsuits indicate the system is working just fine.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;It would be easy to complain about the patent system and how it needs reform. But here&#39;s the reality: It &lt;i&gt;was&lt;/i&gt; reformed last year, and by the time years of negotiations became law, the solution was a watered-down compromise that didn&#39;t make much of a difference. The conundrum facing patent reformists is pretty simple: There are &quot;twin sisters&quot; of tech. One is high tech and the other is biotech/pharmaceuticals. On the high-tech side, allowing a patent owner to sit on a patent without doing anything with it doesn&#39;t make much sense.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div&gt;  &lt;h3&gt;Related stories:&lt;/h3&gt;  &lt;ul&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-10797_3-57560095-235/five-big-tech-stories-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot;&gt; 2012: A year of patents, mobile fights, and one big IPO&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cnet.com/iphone-5/&quot;&gt;Finally, the iPhone we&#39;ve always wanted&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://reviews.cnet.com/samsung-galaxy-s3-review/&quot;&gt;Samsung Galaxy S III&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;/ul&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;But on the biotech side, it makes perfect sense. High-tech folks often forget, in their rush to keep up with product cycles that rarely last more than three years, that biotech product cycles can be measured in decades. Moving an invention through regulatory approval and testing is a long, expensive process, and patents are often the way to offer hope of a return on that big investment.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Should software and Internet concepts be unpatentable? Interesting idea, but unlikely to happen, and do you then disallow the many software and Internet patents that have already been granted? Regardless, any regulatory change will take years.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;There is, however, a market solution any techie libertarian would love. You may have noticed in the Kodak sale announcement that a company called RPX was mentioned. RPX, in San Francisco, is trying to act as a clearinghouse for patents. Yes, like Intellectual Ventures, it acquires patents. But unlike Intellectual Ventures, it promises not to sue. Companies subscribe to RPX and pay a rate based on their size and income. Big companies pay more than little ones. Seems fair, right?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;By the end of next year, we can hope that RPX and companies like it start bringing some sanity to the state of tech patents. It&#39;s a classic tech opportunity: A problem in need of a solution. And no one should expect the government to solve it.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_quote_citation&quot;&gt;via &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-10797_3-57560095-235/five-big-tech-stories-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703&quot;&gt;news.cnet.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/feeds/8546321774221381654/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2012/12/five-big-tech-stories-to-watch-for-in_28.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/8546321774221381654'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/8546321774221381654'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2012/12/five-big-tech-stories-to-watch-for-in_28.html' title='Five big tech stories to watch for in 2013 | Tech Culture - CNET News'/><author><name>vinayus</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13997497926112155532</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oZ8zOIjaa5c/TiSMYSXCc4I/AAAAAAAAADg/JGINqo026EA/s220/Death_Note%2B%25282%2529.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432933495904501116.post-1163338636104893133</id><published>2012-12-28T01:33:00.002-08:00</published><updated>2013-02-27T23:29:54.899-08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="technology"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="web"/><title type='text'>Facebook: Five things to watch for in 2013 | Internet &amp;amp; Media - CNET News</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class=&#39;posterous_autopost&#39;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_bookmarklet_entry&quot;&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;div&gt;  &lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset2.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/10/24/mark-zuckerberg-0388_610x610.jpg&quot; height=&quot;500&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; /&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Facebook&#39;s Mark Zuckerberg&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;  (Credit:  Paul Sloan)  &lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; Mark Zuckerberg has built the world&#39;s largest startup. His is a giant company, for sure -- $5 billion-plus in revenue, a stock market value around $60 billion -- but it&#39;s as nimble as they come. Its engineers push out products and features at a near-constant pace, emboldened by posters around Facebook&#39;s campus that read, &quot;Move fast and break things.&quot;  &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  Zuckerberg, too, moves fast when he wants. He&#39;s even structured the company so that he can make huge decisions without his board&#39;s approval, and he hasn&#39;t hesitated to do just that. His &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57559687-93/facebook-five-things-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot; title=&quot;Zuckerberg did $1 billion Instagram deal on his own -- Tuesday, Apr 17, 2012&quot;&gt;surprise purchase of Instagram&lt;/a&gt; in April is exhibit A.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  While 2013 might see another big acquisition -- a run at Yelp or Pinterest, say, or some hot startup that suddenly has too much traction for Zuckerberg to ignore -- that&#39;s not the path the company is on. Instead, it&#39;ll keep scooping up smaller companies. And &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57559687-93/facebook-five-things-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot; title=&quot;Suddenly, Facebook seems all about the money -- Monday, Oct 22, 2012&quot;&gt;given all the changes that occurred&lt;/a&gt; in 2012 -- a range of new ad products, the rollout of Facebook Gifts, closing the Instagram deal, and, oh, that big IPO that helped set the we-need-to-make money mindset -- much of what happens next year seems somewhat predictable. Here are five things to look for:  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  &lt;b&gt;1. Cashing in on your location&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  Facebook, as Zuckerberg and his team like to remind the world, is all about mobile now. While Facebook&#39;s mobile revenue, which mostly comes from so-called Sponsored Stories, is growing, there clearly are opportunities beyond ads as Facebook strives to better make sense (and cents) of all your data.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  First up: Sending you offers to restaurants or stores based on your location. Last spring, Facebook bought a &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57559687-93/facebook-five-things-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot; title=&quot;Facebook&#39;s acquisition spree continues with TagTile -- Friday, Apr 13, 2012&quot;&gt;startup called Tagtile&lt;/a&gt;, a mobile-based customer loyalty business that offers local merchants a device for customers to tap on with their phone when they check out. Facebook already let&#39;s merchants offers deals via Facebook Offers. Putting this all together is the next logical next step so Facebook could, for instance, notify you of a deal at nearby store it knows you &quot;Like.&quot;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;http://asset0.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/12/17/Facebook_Nearby_270x560.png&quot; height=&quot;560&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;270&quot; /&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Facebook&#39;s Nearby feature&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;  (Credit:  Facebook)  &lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  In mid-December, in fact, Facebook took a big step in this direction. It rolled out a major revamp of its &quot;&lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57559687-93/facebook-five-things-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot; title=&quot;Facebook updates &#39;Nearby&#39; service for iOS, Android apps -- Monday, Dec 17, 2012&quot;&gt;Nearby&lt;/a&gt;&quot; feature for iOS and  &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cnet.com/android-atlas/&quot;&gt;Android&lt;/a&gt; devices so that the apps show you local hotspots based on &#39;Likes&#39;, check-ins, and recommendations of your friends. In a &lt;a href=&quot;http://newsroom.fb.com/News/555/Discover-New-Places-with-Nearby&quot;&gt;blog post about Nearby&lt;/a&gt;, Facebook says it has a long way to go, and making this all useful is harder than it seems, particularly if Facebook starts to work in coupons or promotions.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  Facebook might, for example, offer you a deal for a restaurant you &quot;like,&quot; but it would be a lot better if it also knew if you were hungry. Or if you had time to eat. As Sam Lessin, Facebook&#39;s product director, put it in an interview with CNET: &quot;You don&#39;t want to hear from all the companies that want to reach you.&quot; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  &lt;b&gt;2. A Yelp-like rating system &lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  Facebook should buy Yelp. Facebook&#39;s market value is about 50 times that of Yelp&#39;s, so money wouldn&#39;t be the issue. But takeover talk aside, the reasoning is this: Facebook needs a rating service, similar to that of Yelp or TripAdisor, to help it parse what might interest a user, as I mentioned in the item above. And the roll-out of Nearby is a direct shot at Yelp and Foursquare.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  Facebook&#39;s &quot;Likes&quot; give Facebook helpful data, as do check-ins and shares. But it needs more useful data. And full-on Yelp-like rating system would give Facebook additional &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=structured+data&amp;amp;i=52162,00.asp&quot;&gt;structured data&lt;/a&gt; upon which to build. Plus, adding this sort of system -- and it seems it&#39;s building it, not buying it -- would boost &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57559687-93/facebook-five-things-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot; title=&quot;Friend mining: Facebook preps for social search future -- Monday, Sep 24, 2012&quot;&gt;Facebook&#39;s search ambitions&lt;/a&gt;. We learned about those in September when &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57559687-93/facebook-five-things-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot; title=&quot;Zuckerberg: Facebook to move into search -- Tuesday, Sep 11, 2012&quot;&gt;Zuckerberg told the world he has a team working on search&lt;/a&gt;. Facebook&#39;s version of social search will begin to emerge in 2013.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  &lt;b&gt;3. The Instagram bonanza &lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  The folks at Facebook/Instagram ended 2012 with quite the firestorm, after rewriting their terms of service to allow &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57559687-93/facebook-five-things-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot; title=&quot;Instagram says it now has the right to sell your photos -- Monday, Dec 17, 2012&quot;&gt;Instagram to sell your photos&lt;/a&gt;. A rapid backlash forced Instagram to quickly &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57559687-93/facebook-five-things-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot; title=&quot;Instagram apologizes to users: We won&#39;t sell your photos -- Tuesday, Dec 18, 2012&quot;&gt;pledge to rework the whole policy&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  Even so, Facebook will get through this mess. And even if a few million users bolt -- &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57559687-93/facebook-five-things-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot; title=&quot;Instagram rivals try to lure users away after photo rights flap -- Tuesday, Dec 18, 2012&quot;&gt;Flickr and others are trying hard to lure them away&lt;/a&gt; -- Instagram, which now boasts more than 100 million members, will probably weather it handily. Its growth has been so strong that people are no longer talking about Instagram&#39;s steep price tag, which got &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57559687-93/facebook-five-things-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot; title=&quot;Facebook&#39;s final Instagram tab: $715 million in cash, stock -- Wednesday, Oct 24, 2012&quot;&gt;cut by a cool $285 million&lt;/a&gt; or so due to Facebook&#39;s sagging stock price. The deal made strategic sense for Facebook to jump start its mobile efforts.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  Instagram will become a big revenue driver for Facebook, even without selling your vacation photos to advertisers. Now that Facebook is pooling data it collects via Instagram with what collects from Facebook itself -- something that happened based on a &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57559687-93/facebook-five-things-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot; title=&quot;Facebook privacy settings get reworked once again -- Wednesday, Dec 12, 2012&quot;&gt;policy change in December&lt;/a&gt; -- expect Facebook to amp up all sorts of cash-making tactics.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  The most obvious way is ads. Facebook needs to tread carefully so as not to annoy users, but some analysts expect Instagram to generate as much as &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57559687-93/facebook-five-things-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot; title=&quot;Analyst: Instagram will be big moneymaker for Facebook -- Thursday, Dec 13, 2012&quot;&gt;$700 million in ads&lt;/a&gt; over the next three years, an effort we will see beginning in 2013. What kind of ads? That&#39;s unclear, but Facebook isn&#39;t going to start taking over your the screen on your phone. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  Another possible opportunity would be to sell Shutterfly type products and services. The company could also start tapping into your activity on Instagram to target offers or ads to you on Facebook itself. So if you&#39;re taking photos from ski mountains, Facebook could start sending you offers for discounts at ski resorts. A basic example, for sure, but it illustrates how the data from Instagram should help as Facebook tries to make its platform more personal, lucrative and -- it hopes -- free from controversy.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  &lt;b&gt;4. Facebook&#39;s ads go... everywhere &lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  File this under boring but big. Facebook will launch -- possibly in stages, and possibly all at once -- an ad network that lets the company &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57559687-93/facebook-five-things-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot; title=&quot;Bigger ads, bigger bucks? Facebook feels Wall Street heat -- Wednesday, Aug 22, 2012&quot;&gt;sell ads outside of Facebook&lt;/a&gt;. This has been talked about for a while, but the financial pressure is on and 2013 will be the year this goes big. Facebook is already plugged into tons of Web sites through Facebook Connect, and each time people share or like items on a site, Facebook&#39;s data trove gets a little bigger. Facebook can connect that data with the data from within Facebook -- the social graph -- to create a social ad network that competes with Google&#39;s AdSense.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;div&gt;  &lt;h3&gt;Related stories&lt;/h3&gt;  &lt;ul&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57559687-93/facebook-five-things-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot;&gt;Social media: Five predictions for 2013&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57559687-93/facebook-five-things-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot;&gt;Wikipedia&#39;s most-viewed articles in 2012 were... &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50137855n&quot;&gt;Woman accused of fake Newtown charity&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57559687-93/facebook-five-things-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot;&gt;Prevent Facebook from automatically importing photos&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50137844n&quot;&gt;Zuckerberg private family pic goes public&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;  &lt;/ul&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  It&#39;s already taking steps toward this. While Facebook just put its fledgling &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57559687-93/facebook-five-things-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot; title=&quot;Suddenly, Facebook seems all about the money -- Monday, Oct 22, 2012&quot;&gt;mobile ad network&lt;/a&gt;, which sells ads that appear on apps or mobile sites you visit outside of Facebook, &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57559687-93/facebook-five-things-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot; title=&quot;Facebook puts mobile ad network on the back burner -- Wednesday, Dec 19, 2012&quot;&gt;on hold&lt;/a&gt;, it will surely start it up again soon. And remember, Facebook is reportedly in talks to &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57559687-93/facebook-five-things-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot; title=&quot;Facebook reportedly looking to buy Microsoft&#39;s Atlas ad platform -- Thursday, Dec 6, 2012&quot;&gt;buy Microsoft&#39;s Atlas ad platform&lt;/a&gt;, which helps advertisers buy and manage ads across the Web. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  Facebook executives have been quiet on this topic, but it&#39;s a logical way for the company to expand its business without cluttering up Facebook itself. And a third-party ad network could become a multibillion-dollar business. &quot;This is a big opportunity and definitely on the list of to-dos,&quot; said Colin Sebastian, an analyst with Robert W. Baird &amp;amp; Co. &quot;It&#39;s a matter of when they think the platform is ready and they&#39;re comfortable with privacy issues. The minute people go to other sites and see ads that look like they&#39;re coming from Facebook, alarm bells go off. They have to go into this slowly.&quot;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  So, yes, there&#39;s a good chance Facebook will again stumble when it comes to privacy concerns.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  &lt;b&gt;5. Facebook, the shopping network &lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Well, not quite. But &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57559687-93/facebook-five-things-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703#&quot; title=&quot;Newly flush with wine, Facebook Gifts rolls out to all U.S. users -- Tuesday, Dec 11, 2012&quot;&gt;Facebook Gifts&lt;/a&gt;, launched in the fall, is a big step that will mark the beginning of Facebook&#39;s steady march into commerce. Facebook isn&#39;t about to take on Amazon.com&#39;s core business, and the big companies, such as Walmart, don&#39;t need Facebook to drive traffic and certainly won&#39;t want to pay the Facebook toll. But small and mid-sized companies will find this a terrific way to their wares, and even if a small percentage of a billion users send gifts, that will add up to a lot.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  This was one of Facebook&#39;s smartest moves in 2012, and 2013 will bear that out, especially when Facebook rolls Gifts out internationally. By the end of 2013, the vast majority of gift-giving will occur through Facebook&#39;s mobile apps. The best part: Gifts are not ads. Despite the claims to the contrary by Facebook execs, I suspect users are getting fed up of seeing clutter their phone screens.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_quote_citation&quot;&gt;via &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57559687-93/facebook-five-things-to-watch-for-in-2013/?tag=nl.e703&amp;amp;s_cid=e703&quot;&gt;news.cnet.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/feeds/1163338636104893133/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2012/12/facebook-five-things-to-watch-for-in_28.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/1163338636104893133'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/1163338636104893133'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2012/12/facebook-five-things-to-watch-for-in_28.html' title='Facebook: Five things to watch for in 2013 | Internet &amp;amp; Media - CNET News'/><author><name>vinayus</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13997497926112155532</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oZ8zOIjaa5c/TiSMYSXCc4I/AAAAAAAAADg/JGINqo026EA/s220/Death_Note%2B%25282%2529.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432933495904501116.post-2307745114904233442</id><published>2012-12-19T19:31:00.002-08:00</published><updated>2013-02-27T23:29:54.997-08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="web"/><title type='text'>Google in 2013: Five things to watch for | Internet &amp;amp; Media - CNET News</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class=&#39;posterous_autopost&#39;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;posterous_bookmarklet_entry&quot;&gt; &lt;div class=&#39;p_embed p_image_embed&#39;&gt; &lt;img alt=&quot;Media_httpasset2cbsis_ybgpw&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;http://getfile8.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/vinayus/bJmAcekmgropgdDavryiIvypgCrEFcmamGGkGqrijnDrnfyHvndHhhJIAnku/media_httpasset2cbsis_ybgpw.jpg&quot; width=&quot;270&quot; /&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;div class=&quot;posterous_quote_citation&quot;&gt;via &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57559688-93/google-in-2013-five-things-to-watch-for/?tag=nl.e404&amp;amp;s_cid=e404&quot;&gt;news.cnet.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/feeds/2307745114904233442/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2012/12/google-in-2013-five-things-to-watch-for_19.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/2307745114904233442'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7432933495904501116/posts/default/2307745114904233442'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vinayus.blogspot.com/2012/12/google-in-2013-five-things-to-watch-for_19.html' title='Google in 2013: Five things to watch for | Internet &amp;amp; Media - CNET News'/><author><name>vinayus</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13997497926112155532</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oZ8zOIjaa5c/TiSMYSXCc4I/AAAAAAAAADg/JGINqo026EA/s220/Death_Note%2B%25282%2529.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry></feed>

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