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I had a lot to think while writing the post as at first I decided that this post should be about the best gadgets in 2008. But after much thinking and searching I decided to write on the best gadget released in 2008 as per me. I think the Netbook is the best solution for cheap laptops and also much greener option.

It has the best of both the worlds Technology and Eco-Friendly. You will rarely find these two features going hand in hand. The same cant be said about the iPhones 3G’s and the rest of the gadgets released in 2008.

So lets start with what each Manufacturer has to offer in the Netbook Section:

Acer Aspire One

This Netbook comes with various Options:

• 8.9-inch LED-backlit display (1,024×600)
• 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270
• 512MB of memory
• 8GB SSD
• LinuX OS
• Price Tag: $329

However with just additional $20 i.e for $349 you get:

• 1GB of memory
• a 120GB hard drive
• Windows XP Home Edition (not to sure if this is a good option as I would skip this one)

And If you pay $400 you get a 160GB hard drive and a six-cell battery good for up to 5.5 hours.

Lenovo Ipad S10

The Lenovo started late in the race but has the following Features:

• 10.2-inch display (1,024×600)
• 1.6GHz Atom N270
• 512MB of memory
• 80GB hard drive
• Windows XP Home Edition
• Price Tag: $400

But I think there should be an option for Linux OS and a SSD  as well. But you have the option to upgrade the memory and the Storage Space at additional price.

HP Mini 100

Good Design and the following features:

• 8.9-inch LED-backlit display (1,024×600)
• 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270
• Free upgrade to 1GB memory
• 8GB SSD
• Windows XP Home Edition
• Price Tag: $400

However soon you will have the option of Linux OS. Also you have the option to get 10.2-inch display and the 60GB hard drive for an additional $100.

Dell Inspiron Mini 9

I wont suggest any one to go for this particular Notebook, however it comes with the following configuration:

• 8.9-inch display with resolution of 1,024×600 pixels
• 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270
• 512MB of memory
• 4GB SSD
• Ubuntu OS
• $350

But you also have the Option to have a 16 Gb SSD with Windows XP Home Edition for $439. The reason I Dont recommend Dell is that my experience with them has been bad.  Also you can have the 12 Inch Display with Dell Inspiron Mini 12.

Asus Eee PC 901

Asus being the First to venture in the Netbook Market, has many netbooks to Offer but the best one to mention right now is Eee PC 901. And features are as follows:

• 8.9-inch display (1,024×600)
• 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270
• 12GB SSD and Windows XP Home OR 20GB SSD and a Linux-based operating system
• 1GB of memory
• $400 approx.

But the Best feature is the six-cell battery that is good for up to 8 hours under Windows XP.

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Most of you must have had at least one opportunity to see and use the much hailed OS X. I know its very user friendly and has many features which makes it easier for people to migrate form Windows to OS X.

But there are a very few people out there who actually have no idea that the OS X is based on Linux and infact there are much better Linux based OS out there for you to use and that to free of cost.

With this post I want get the word out there, that Linux is much better than OS X and I don’t even feel like comparing Windows in the same league as Linux as that would be degrading for Linux. ( In short I hate Windows )

There are many reasons for Linux been the better Operating System, however with the help from Jack Wallen I would like to mention and bring forward the most important factors.

1) Open Source

The worst part that Apple did was to license the OS X. So its the same as Windows and is not Free to distribute. Apple took a BSD kernel and developed its own Darwin Kernel. There were attempts from Apple to develop a Open Source OS based on the Darwin Kernel, however it has not seen so much success as its OS X. So in no way can the OS X compete with the likes of Linux in terms of been Open Source.

2) Hardware Requirements

If anyone has a old Mac with a configuration as follows, 800 Mhz with a 512 MB of RAM. The OS X runs very slowly on this configuration. However if you replace the OS X with a Linux OS, it will run much faster than the OS X. Also take a New Mac and compare that with a Intel based System running Ubuntu 8.10. The results will blow you away and you will find that the Ubuntu System runs n times faster than the Mac with OS X. Thats the reason I say Thumbs up for Ubuntu 8.10.

If you compare the minimum system requirements for OS X and Ubuntu 8.10 you will be able to understand it easily:

Ubuntu 8.10: 700 MHz x86 processor , 384 MB of RAM, and 8 GB of disk space.

OS X: 876 MHz or faster CPU, 512 MB of RAM, 9 GB of disk space.

I say the test which claim that OS X is faster than Ubuntu are nothing but bullshit only worth making Bio-gas.

3) Using the Command Line

Now I know most people who use OS X would say that they don’t find any need for the command line. However if you are a power user you will find the need of a command line. With Linux you can can do everything with the command prompt. You can install via Command line, It has  command-line security, and also the option to start and stop services using the Command Line. Even though OS X is Linux based it has does not have the Linux coreutils. Apple missed that part while developing the OS X and I wonder how can they miss such a big feature. Now even if Apple is planning to incorporate that in OS X it will have to start from the Scratch.

If you want to know how important the command line is, use Ubuntu 8.10 for few days and you will understand the importance for the Command line in OS X.

4) Security

It easy to crack int0 OS X and Windows than it is to crack into a Linux OS. People would again defend this however what I would say that the only reason that I find Linux more safe is because with the help of Kernel Level Tools such as iptables, fwbuilder, and SELinux you can lock down Linux as various levels. Though I wont say that OS X is completely unsafe, it is still much safer than Windows. But when it comes to comparison between Linux and OS X in terms of Security, Linux scores much higher.

5) Cost

Now this is one of the most important advantages of using Linux. And believe me no one can even come close to defending OS X and Windows when it comes to a cost comparison. Linux cost $ 0.00 or Free. To add more to it if you go to Ubuntu Website and register they will even send you a free Installation CD to your door step and that too without any charges. Compare that to OS X which cost $129.00 and if you add the cost of the hardware it will cost you atleast $999.00 which is the cheapest Mac book available. Now if you want to know the cost of a Laptop with Linux it will be only $399.00. You save a whooping $600.00. Now beat that Apple and Windows.

6) Flexibility

Window and OS X have one major drawback they are not flexible enough. You only get what you see if you want something more you have to live with what you have. The most you can do to change the look is install themes or move, shrink or auto hide the Dock. You cannot do away with the taskbar in OS X. Taskbar to OS X is like the Blue Screen of Death to Windows 95. But in Linux you can do whatever you feel like. Hell if you don’t like the complete Desktop look install a new Desktop or a Window Manager and you are good to go.

7) Portability

One of the other important feature in Linux is that you can migrate the installation form one PC to another as long as the architecture on the systems is the same (e.g x86 to x86 and not x86 to x86_64). But if it is only migrating few folders such as /home folder even that would work fine. On the other hand if you want to do the same thing with OS X and Windows not possible because they are landlocked to the machines they were installed in. Migration is a breeze with Linux.

8) Keyboard

Now most non OS X user dont know this but it is a well know fact that the delete key does not work the way it normally should in OS X. You have to use the hit fn + Delete key to get the normal result as a normal delete in Windows. And its just not the delete key, but the End Key also has the same issues. Also the Mouse buttons have issues when it comes to OS X. It only has use of one mouse button. Hell with Linux you get the option for three Mouse buttons which is an added advantage. You have the option to just select a particular text and you can paste the same with the use of the Third button or the Scroll on your regular mouse. No more do you have to right click select, copy and paste. Also the Keyboard is much more efficient in Linux than in OS X.

9) Software Availability

Most people have the wrong notion that with LInux you dont get the option of having many Softwares atyour disposal. The best and the Easiet way to prove this is go to Google and Search for Linux Software and you get 47,900,000 results. Now again serach for OS X software and you get 160,000,00 results. Also you get various software options to do one perform one task in Linux. As all of them are free of cost you can try al of them and use the best one. But sadly that not the same in case of OS X and Windows, most softwares are paid and licensed and you have to shell out bags of money to try one and all.

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Posted under Apple, Computers, SEO

Good news for people in UK as Virgin has launched the fastest Broadband connection in UK and believe me it is really fast.

The connection provides 50 Mbps service for home users, yes you read it right it says 50 Mbps. I just cant wait to see if I can get my hands on this service. I am sure just like me there are many who would like to enjoy this speed.

Though its not as cheap as the normal broadband connection but I am sure in few months that will come down too.

The charges are £51 a month but if you have Virgin Phone line for an additional £11 a month you get the 50 Mbps service for £35.

This will definitely make Virgin the best ISP in UK and I am sure that most ISP will follow and launch something same to capture this new Next Gen Broadband Market.

The only ISP who can come close to Virgin is Be Broadband with 24Mbps service for £17.50 per month.

However the only downside is that the Service wont be available everywhere for now, witin the next six months it will be rolled country-wide.

The next to launch similar Service will be BT however that would still be a trial which will have 1000 lucky people in Muswell Hill, in London, and Whitchurch, in Cardiff. The trials begin in the summer of 2009.

I think very soon a 2Mbps connection would be like a Dial-up Connection and most of would find it very difficult to stay alive with the same.

As if now Domestic Broadband Providers and Users have a new benchmark for them Virgin’s 50 Mbps Connection.

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Posted under Broadband Help, Latest News

I have been a big fan of Wordpress for a long time now and after the latest release Wordpress 2.7 I dont believe that I was ever wrong about it. It is fast, has a cool interface and loaded with new features. It time to turn over a new leaf.

The first thing that you notice is the dashboard which has a completely new interface. It has no similarities to anything that you have used before. It has a fresh look which takes some time to get used to but believe me it is worth it.

There are things that you can do faster than any of the previous versions. Also what will catch your attention is the Quickpress option on the dashboard which enables you to post from the dashboard itself.

You can also monitor and approve spams from the dashboard which makes things easier and faster for you.

You also have the option to install the plugins directly from the dashboard now thats saves a lot of time and gives us a option to try a plugin quickly and remove it if we dont like it.

You can also change your theme from the dashboard and improve the looks of your blog quickly and easily.

What i also liked about the new version is the drop down menu that enables you to choose options faster and more easily.

You also have the option to drag and drop and customize every screen so that you can remove options that you dont need on a particular screen.

You also get tools such as “Turbo” to speed up Wordpress and “Press This” to help you edit your post easily.

And the last feature that you get with is the option to Upgrade Wordpress Automatically which makes the it more desirable. This is the last time you have to upgrade the Wordpress Automatically.

I could on and on about the new version but it better for you to try on your own learn about the new features that come with it.

Also share you views with me and hope everyone likes it.

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Posted under Latest News, hosting

Now you can convert your iPod Touch to a phone or to be more precise a Virtual Mobile Phone with the help of a Freeware Applications.

You need to read this if you want to make cheap calls from your iPod. Yes you read it right its not a iPhone but a iPod that helps you make cheap calls.

Truphone a Freeware Application uses the wi-fi technology that comes with the iPod Touch to allow users to make calls to google talk users and other iPod touch users. In future the developers will also make it possible for you to make and receive calls from landlines.

The list of new features for iPod Touch users to come in near future are, Make calls to landlines, Skype users and also the option to send instant messages.

The application is similar to the Truphone application which is used for iPhones and other smart Phones.

The Truphone application can work on any smartphone however it is the easiest to install with devices that have a wi-fi enabled and come with an application store.

The only downside for the application is that it will not work if you are not in range of an wi-fi network.

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Posted under Apple, Latest News

All thanks to a Person in Vietnam and you can have your iPhone 3G unlocked to be used with any Service Provider possible. In your Face Corporate World.

I am really sorry but cant give you the complete details how that can be done, not that I don’t want to share it with you all but because I don’t have the complete details.

The reason that I am writing this post is to salute the perseverance and determination of one chap from Hanoi, Vietnam.

Though what he does would be considered illegal by many, but I think its completely legal on the grounds of making the iPhone 3G usable for everyone and not just the few people.

I respect the iPhone 3G completely for its technological advancements and all the features that it provides  user. The only thing that I don’t appreciate is that it can be used with only a selected few Service Providers. Apple owes it to people who have propelled it to the top to make its future devices usable for everyone.

Enough of this now lets see how the iPhone 3G is unlocked.

The phone is unlocked at the hardware level which is quite hard to do, believe me at the end of this topic you will believe so too.

• First the Phone is opened and striped to its motherboard, this is the easier part to do.

• Then the something called as the Baseband chip (red X marks the  baseband chip in the picture below ) is extracted from the Motherboard. This Baseband chip controls the connection between the phone and mobile network. This is the hard part as the chip is glued strongly to the motherboard and one slip can make the phone unusable forever. The only use that you would have for it is a Fancy Paperweight.

• Then the Baseband chip is used with a chip reader to read the information into a file. Then a Hex reader is used to edit the file and remove the locking data from the file. Then the chip automatically gets programed as per the new file and wallah the iPhone is ready to use with any service provider.

• Then the phone is reassembled back again, which is another pains taking process.

Now finally I would like to thank the CNET editor Dong Ngo who reported this article first and also the main guy who made this possible a 29 year old business man from Hanoi, Tuan Anh.

This method also unlocks the iPhone with the latest 2.2 software update which was believed to be virtually impossible to unlock.

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Posted under Apple, Latest News

Online Store Best Buy is offering Discounts on Macs to get people to spend some money online. Due to the Gloomy Economy people are coming up with ways to make people shop.But its very rare to find Macs on sale.

You can find refurbished once but these are Brand new Macs.

I think it would be a smart move to get a Mac now if you have been planning to get one.

The discounts range from $100 to $150 for couple of models. The Discount is available on Macbooks, iMacs and even the Mac Mini but sadly no discounts for iPods and the iPhone.

Also Apple retail shops have started to match the Price of its competitors. The Managers at Apple Retail Stores are now Authorized to do so.

Also apple has put up a page for an one day sale but details for the same are not available for now.

So companies will provide some respite for buyers this Christmas.

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