Microsoft က ၄င္း၏ software မ်ားကို အင္တာနက္မွ စတင္ေရာင္းခ်။

Microsoft, which has made billions of dollars selling packaged software, has opened its first online store in the United States offering its ubiquitous programmes for downloading.

In a possible death knell for the practice of selling software on computer discs which buyers install on their machines, the Redmond, Washington-based software giant has opened a Microsoft Store on the Internet.

The online store, which also offers hardware such as Xbox 360 consoles and Zune MP3 music players, launched on Thursday with no more fanfare than an announcement in a blog posting by a senior programme manager, Trevin Chow.

Noting that Microsoft already operates online stores in Britain, Germany and South Korea, Chow said: "With this launch, our customers in the US are able to buy first-party software and hardware directly from Microsoft offered in a comprehensive online catalog.

"In addition to shipping fully packaged products to your doorstep, we offer the additional advantage by making available many Microsoft products to buy and download," Chow said.

"You pay for an (EDS, Electronic Software Distribution) product just like you would for one that would be physically shipped to you," he added.

"The big difference is that after your payment is confirmed, you can immediately download the product to your computer and install it right away."

Microsoft Store offers the full gamut of Microsoft products, from Windows Vista to Microsoft Office. It also offers Xbox 360 games but for shipping on DVD, not for download at the moment.

Microsoft's fortune has been built on creating and selling packaged software such as its Windows operating systems that people install on their machines or come pre-installed on computers.

But the company has been coming under increasing pressure from firms such as arch-rival Google which have rolled out free Web-based applications that compete with text, spreadsheet, calendar and other software from Microsoft.

Microsoft also announced recently that it will release on online version of Office, essentially taking the software into the "computing cloud" as a service available on the Internet.

Web-based versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote programmes will be available online at Office Live by subscription or licensing deals, according to Microsoft.

Last month, Microsoft chief software architect Ray Ozzie unveiled a platform known as Azure for offering programmes as hosted services on the Internet.

Faster Internet networks and more powerful computing devices have given birth to cloud computing, a trend in which programmes are hosted online as services with software maintained on machines operated by technology companies.

Microsoft originally responded to the trend with a "software plus services" strategy that combined its original tactic of selling packaged programmes while providing cloud-based features and support.

The Azure platform lets developers build online services and websites to operate on machines updated, maintained and protected by Microsoft.

"Windows Azure is not software you run on your own servers, but rather it is a service running on a vast number of machines housed in Microsoft's own data centers, first in the US and then worldwide," Ozzie said.

Laptop တစ္လံုး၀ယ္မယ္ဆိုရင္..။

တကယ္လို႕ ခရီးခဏခဏ သြားျပီး အလုပ္ကိစၥအတြက္ Laptop ေလးတစ္လံုးေလာက္၀ယ္မယ္ဆိုၾကပါ စို႕။
မ၀ယ္ခင္မွာ ဒါေလးေတြကို ထည့္စဥ္းစားၾကည့္ႏိုင္ပါတယ္။

Portability
ခရီးသြားရင္ ကီလိုေတြ အမ်ားၾကီးျဖစ္ေနမွာစိုးတဲ့အတြက္ 2KG ေအာက္ရိွ laptop ဆို သင့္ေတာ္ပါတယ္။
အဲ့ဒီလိုေရြးမယ္ဆိုလွ်င္. အရင္ဆံုး DVD/CD Drive စတဲ့ Optical Drive ေတြကို ျဖဳတ္ျပီးအိမ္ မွာထားခဲ့လို႕ရရင္ေကာင္းပါတယ္။
ေနာက္ျပီး Power Adapter ရဲ႕ Size ဘယ္ေလာက္ၾကီးလဲဆိုတာ စဥ္းစားဖို႕လိုပါတယ္။

Performance
Multi-tasking ရတဲ့ဟာကေတာ့ အေကာင္းဆံုးေပါ့ဗ်ာ။
အလုပ္အရ အီးေမးလ္ အျပင္ Internet Browser, MS Office နဲ႕ Windows Media Player ေလးေတြ တျပိဳင္နက္ဖြင့္လို႕ရတာေပါ့။
အဲ့ဒါမ်ိဳးဆိုရင္ Core2 Duo 2.53GHz ဆိုမဆိုးပါဘူ။

Battery life
ေလဆိပ္မွာ ပိတ္မိေနတံုးမွာ အခ်ိန္ေလးကုန္သြားေအာင္ email ေလးစစ္မလား၊ slides ေလးေတြကိုပဲ Polish လုပ္မလား။ ဒီလိုမိ်ဳးဆိုရင္ ေစာေစာက ေျပာခဲ့တဲ့ Core2 Duo ေလးက မဆိုးပါဘူး။ အခု Intel က Engineers ေတြဟာ Battery Life ကိုၾကာၾကာသံုးႏိုင္တဲ့ နည္းေတြ ေတြ႕ထားပါျပီ။

Durability
ေလဆိပ္မွာ လံုျခံဳေရးေတြ စစ္တတ္ပါတယ္။ အဲ့ဒါမ်ိဳးအခါမွာ ျပဳတ္က်၊ ထိခိုက္တက္ပါတယ္။ ဒါမ်ိဳးေတြကို ကာကြယ္ရေအာင္ အနည္းဆံုး Harddisk ေတြကို Protection ေပးႏိုင္မယ္ဟာ မ်ိဳး ေလး ပါဖို႕လိုပါတယ္။

Ref: ST

DELL mini-9

Net Companion
Dell Inspiron Mini 9, S$599, available from Courts, Parisilk and computer shops in Funan and Sim Lim Square.

DELL laptops just got a mini-me in the Dell Inspiron Mini 9. Use the 8.9" netbook for simple tasks such as surfing the net, sending email and online chats.

A Windows XP Home edition, a sealed keyboard, built-in webcam, Bluetooth connectivity and solid state drive of up to 16GB seal the deal.

Depending on the configuration, the netbook can be as ligh as 1.04Kgs.

Some common tech myths busted

Have you heard the rumour about using your mobile phone as a digital key to unlock your car?

With myths like this one propagating at the speed of spam, it can be hard to tell fact from fiction.

We examine some common tech myths and tell you whether they’re downright silly, or if they hold more than a grain of truth.

‘You must completely discharge your laptop battery before recharging it’

Thankfully, this myth is only valid for nickel-cadmium (NiCd), or nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries.

Such batteries have a “memory” quirk that reduces their capacity if they are recharged before they run out of juice. So, they need to be discharged completely beforehand, or else you’ll see its capacity decrease at a much faster rate.

Computer maker Dell says that most of the laptops today use lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries, which do not suffer from the “memory effect” that affects their nickel-based brethren.

In fact, you should keep lithium-based batteries charged to avoid shortening their life span. We did a random check on several laptops from different manufacturers and found that all employ Li-ion batteries. Phew.

Just to be sure, check your batteries for the symbols Li-ion, NiCd or NiMH to see which advice applies.

‘Men shouldn’t use laptopsbecause it makes them infertile’

Unfortunately, for those too keen to whip out laptops on the long train commute, there’s some truth to this one.

A recent scientific study revealed that using a laptop on your lap can increase the temperature to up to 2.8°C in your, er, nether regions — not exactly the optimum temperature for the testes to produce sperm properly.

“The increased temperature comes about partly because of the positioning of the scrotum within the closed thighs and also from the radiation of heat from the laptop computer,” explained Dr Ng Kok Kit from Changi General Hospital. He added that not only is sperm production reduced, the shape of sperm and its movements are also affected.

He said: “All of these factors contribute to infertility. Men who are concerned with fertility should not work with laptops on their laps. At the very least, they should limit the amount of time their laptops are used in that manner.”

Gulp. Men, best to stick to a desk, or use a breakfast tray.

‘Metal detectors or airport X-ray scanners can erase data on your Digicams and memory cards’

Do you hesitate when asked to place your laptops or digital cameras through the X-ray scanners at the airport, fearing your precious data might be wiped clean by the machines?

I haven’t had any mishaps of losing data in such a way, even as I zip in and out of the country for work or holidays — I think you’d be more likely to delete your own data by accident.

Tests carried out by manufacturer SanDisk, the International Imaging Industry Association and the United States Transportation Security Administration found that X-ray scanners and walk-through or hand-held metal detectors do not affect the data on memory cards. In fact, old media formats like analogue film are more likely to be damaged from X-ray machines.

‘When your mobile phone runs out of juice, press *3370# to tap into its reserve battery power’

Each handset manufacturer has its own set of codes to enable hidden settings or functions. But, you can punch the above-mentioned numbers and symbols on some Nokia phones to enhance voice quality — which actually drains battery power at a faster rate.

Instead, typing in *4720# decreases voice quality and uses less battery power, so as to prolong slightly your phone’s standby time — but there’s no secret reservoir of battery power that you can tap into when you’re low on juice.

The voice quality trick only works on particular Nokia models — we found that it doesn’t work on some of its new phones that run on the S60 operating system and doesn’t apply to handsets from other manufacturers.

‘You should shut down the operating system before switching off the power to your computers to avoid data loss’

It has become standard practice for us to switch off our computers by shutting down the operating system first because we’ve been led to believe that any abrupt shutdown might cause data loss. But, some say that cutting power to your computer is harmless and won’t damage your hard drive as long as you’ve saved your work.

Well, according to Microsoft Singapore, all users should follow the proper shutdown procedure, regardless of the operating system in use.

“Users should avoid switching off power to the PC without having first saved the data and shut down properly, as this does affect the lifespan of the hard drives,” a Microsoft spokesperson told Today. “Microsoft’s advice to users is to ensure all documents are saved before shutting down their computers via the operating system. It is also important that users wait for a computer to shut down fully before switching off the power supply.”

The company added that it is not true that shutting down one’s PC every few hours will have a detrimental impact. In general, Microsoft advises that your computer should be shut down and allowed to “rest” whenever it is not in use.
Source: Today

ASUS Eee PC 901 vs. MSI Wind NB U100

Let's face it, the popular ASUS Eee PC that spawned from the idea of the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) project has for several months been the only product that has prominently formed this netbook category of products. However today, many competitors have jumped on to the netbook bandwagon, some of which have started retailing recently and some others that are still in production pipeline. With this sudden interest spike in getting a small and handy predominantly Internet-based companion, many netbook followers have no doubt been waiting for this moment to find out just how the Eee PC formula (the sole option in the market previously) now fares against new competition.

Intel's Atom processors are the new market drivers in this netbook segment and luckily for you, we got our hands on the MSI Wind NB U100 and the ASUS Eee PC 901 - the first netbooks to sport this new processor and we'll be pitting them against each other in this shootout! You're probably wondering why we're pitting the Eee PC 901 instead of the more appropriate and recently launched Eee PC 1000 against the Wind NB U100, but unfortunately review units weren't quite ready, but nevertheless we went ahead to compare these two popular netbook options to give you a good understanding of their capabilities and help you decide what's best. Of course, both machines have their own strengths/weaknesses and we've weighed them carefully in our considerations. So first off, we'll be looking at each individual netbook separately before finally bringing them both together for a much anticipated duel.


The MSI Wind NB U100 versus the familiar looking ASUS Eee PC 901. Stormtrooper white versus Darth Vader black!


We grabbed a HP 2133 Mini-Note PC for a quick comparison before we started our shootout proper. The Wind NB U100 was of the same size as the HP 2133 Mini-Note



All three units were pretty much the same thickness, so those looking for a super slim netbook will be out of luck for now.

Netbooks versus Notebooks: The New Age Mindshare Battle

While the lines between notebooks and netbooks have been drawn, it's still hard for most people to appreciate the differences between both machines. Most people still consider the burgeoning netbook market as part of the notebook market, while few see it for what it really is, another segregation of the already saturated portable market with yet another device gunning for your consumer dollars.

John was facing a dilemma. Stuck with a limited budget, he had only a limited amount of cash to spend and was torn between getting a low cost laptop or getting one of the newer netbooks. While the laptop he was looking at was slightly out of his budget, the netbook was definitely within range. What he was unsure of was the specifications of the newer netbooks compared against the notebooks he was familiar with. John was no geek god, but he knew enough to get by, which made him all the more curious about netbooks: were they any good compared to a full fledged notebook?

Netbooks and notebooks aren't any different when you get down to the basics; both devices share pretty similar features, which is why most people like John tend to lump them both together in the same category. Designed with portability in mind, netbooks and notebooks are computers for users on the go with programs for both work and entertainment. Factor in a keyboard, a LCD screen, hard drive, speakers and internet capability, the line between both machines becomes smudged despite our earlier statements to the contrary. The key difference the netbook offers is its smaller form factor and leaner hardware for longer useage periods, but is limited in its processing capabilities and is more optimal for simple Internet-based usage.

Jane on the other hand had a much better time with decisions. She didn't know much about netbooks or notebooks, but she had a budget set and had already made up her mind with regards to her purchase. For her, it was a matter not of specifications, but more a choice of portability, especially with her small frame. With all the new netbook models available since the launch of Intel's Atom processor, she was spoilt for choice when it came to picking a netbook that would suit her. The expensive ultra-portable notebooks that she had briefly flirted with in her mind before was now an option she could happily skip. That leaves her with one burning question: which netbook model to get, and why.

With the success of the ASUS Eee PC 701, vendors started jumping into the netbook bandwagon. Originally designed to be an alternative to the OLPC project for retail, the Eee PC quickly found its way to success through its cheap price and diminutive size, both of which were touted as its strengths. While demand quickly outstripped supply, consumers soon got tired of the new models that only offered a minor upgrade. It was time for a change, and the market gladly obliged with newer, faster and slightly larger models.

ASUS Launches New Eee PC & Eee Box in Singapore

Amid overwhelming response to the previous model of the Eee PC, ASUS is once again making waves with the announcement of the new generation of Eee PCs - the Eee PC 901 and 1000 series; which will provide users with brand new user experiences. In addition, ASUS also releases the new Eee Box. Replacing today’s bulky and boring PCs, users can refresh their working environment with a compact, elegant solution. With a range of exciting novelties, the Eee Box offers amazing journeys where users learn, work and play – all in line with the Eee PC’s main tenet of easy use.

Official launch of the new Eee PC & Eee Box in Singapore will happen on 12th July 2008 at Suntec City, Entertainment Atrium (Outside Carrefour). For hands-on experience on the all new Eee PC and Eee Box, consumers can visit Asus roadshow at the same venue (Entertainment Atrium, Suntec City) from 10th July – 13th July 2008. In addition, ASUS will be offering great deals for ASUS full range of Eee PC, Eee Box & notebooks!

Reliable Shock-Proof for All Day Computing

Equipped with the built-in SSD (Solid State Drive) technology*, the all new Eee PC 901 and 1000H are your ideal mobile travel computing companions. The latest generation of Eee PC 901/1000H consumes less power, allows the device to boot quickly, produces less heat and is less susceptible to shock damage.

Together with the ASUS exclusive Super Hybrid Engine, users can now enjoy a longer battery lifespan of up to 7.8** hours, allowing them to stay in touch and be connected for a longer period of time while on-the-go. Super Hybrid Engine also offers a choice of performance and power consumption modes for easy adjustments according to their varied needs.

Any considerations about memory and storage demands are eased with the introduction of Internet storage. The Eee PC now offers a 20GB Internet storage facility that allows a massive 5GB worth of downloads per day, file encryption and accessibility from both Windows and Linux platforms. So whether users want to share images with their friends and family, or store big business presentations, they can now access their data with ease and not worry about space constraints.

Excellent Connectivity for Mobile Computing

Within the Eee PC, a full range of applications is perfectly designed to enhance the user’s communication and computing experience. The Eee PC 901 and 1000H enables users to easily function in any connected environment. From the wild outdoors to the shopping centre, users will be able to enjoy fast and complete connectivity (WiFi 802.11n); while built-in Bluetooth will provide ease of data transfers.

Additionally, the Eee Connect application offers a straightforward and easy way to connect two or more users remotely through a remote desktop feature for easy troubleshooting. What’s more, the choice of either Windows or GNU Linux operating systems makes computing life more convenient for an easy, excellent and exciting user experience.

Extraordinary Outlooks to Suit Individual Personalities

Now users can choose their preferred Eee PC personality. The new Eee PCs now come in six custom styles created with the cutting-edge Infusion casing technology. Inlaid within the chassis itself, the motifs are an integral part of the entire cover and will not fade with time. The Infusion surface also provides a new level of resilience – providing scratch resistance and a beautiful style while out and about. Users can choose from Sakura, Sweet Pea, Urban Metropolis, White Peony, Pearl White and Fine Ebony.

Lastly, the new Eee PC 901 and 1000H also marks the World Premiere of the Intel Atom processor – Intel’s smallest processor built with the world’s smallest transistors. Working hand in hand with the Atom processor, the Eee PCs, through ASUS’ Green Design, ASUS provides Green products to consumers to help realize ASUS’ social commitments.

*SSD available on selected model types.
**Operation lifetime subject to product model, normal usage conditions and configurations.
FYI:
901 selling at $798
100H selling at $888
Eee Box (without LCD monitor) selling at $439
Eee Box with 19 inch LCD monitor seling at $699

Microsoft's Surface computers hit Las Vegas party scene

Microsoft's touch-screen Surface computers debuted in a Las Vegas casino bar on Wednesday, giving Sin City patrons high-tech tools for flirting and concocting cocktails.

Harrah's Entertainment Inc. became the second business, behind telecom giant AT&T, to deploy Microsoft's computer technology which essentially turns table tops into touch-controlled computer displays.

Harrah's said it put six customized Surface computers in a bar at its Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.

Harrah's crafted its own software for the machines and equipped them with cameras so people can send pick-lines, drinks or both to bar-goers they are interested in, connecting with them in real life.

"People continue to be excited about the endless possibilities of Surface technology and how it can transform everyday scenarios, including the social and entertainment space," said Microsoft Surface general manager Pete Thompson.

"We're now bringing some of those possibilities to life."

A "Flirt" feature in the Surface computers lets people exchange original messages or choose from suggested come-on lines.

Patrons can create drink recipes and then have the cocktails delivered to themselves or others.

People can use the computers to play games, watch online videos, or take a virtual stroll along the renowned Las Vegas strip without leaving their seat at the "iBar", according to Harrah's.

This is the first time Surface computers, which Microsoft sells for approximately 10,000 dollars each, have been put to use in an entertainment venue. AT&T uses Surface in some of its retail stores.

Harrah's vice president of innovation, gaming and technology Tim Stanley said investment in the technology is aimed at giving "a new genre of guests" chances to discover "uninhibited excitement."

Lenovo lightens up

The X300 represents a milestone in the ThinkPad series. A departure from its staid-looking brethren, Lenovo's latest ThinkPad crams all the regular features of a full- featured laptop into a form factor so thin it could fit into a Manila envelope.

Yes, that's a feature much touted by Apple's MacBook Air, too.

Although both notebooks flaunt ultraportability as a wow factor, each resides on the opposite side of the spectrum when it comes to features and style.

For starters, the X300 doesn't sacrifice function in the name of thinness. It has a webcam, full-sized keyboard, built-in DVD burner, Gigabit Ethernet port, graphics and audio ports and three USB ports. Connectivity options include Bluetooth, WiFi, and the new wireless USB standard.

Unfortunately, Lenovo has chosen to exclude 3G, GPS and WiMax in the X300 configuration sold here.

There's an extra set of mouse buttons to cater to those who prefer to use the TrackPoint instead of the touchpad and a fingerprint reader.

This machine sports an Intel Core 2 Duo processor running at a steady 1.20GHz. It won't break any speed records but it provides ample performance for run-of-the mill office, Internet and multimedia applications.

One of the key features of the X300 is the use of a solid-state disk for storage. Compared to a conventional hard disk, a flash disk is more rugged because there are no moving parts. It also supposedly consumes less power and increases performance.

As a demonstration of this, the ThinkPad takes a zippy 35 seconds to boot up on average. It manages 3.6 hours under regular use with a three-cell battery. You can choose to fit it with an extended battery and replace the DVD drive with another battery to extend battery life to a maximum of seven-and-a-half hours.

The ThinkPad's screen performance suffers when used outdoors. Although it employs the same LED-based technology as the MacBook Air, its matte screen seems dimmer than the Air's glossy screen, even when brightness settings are at maximum.

The X300's stereo speakers deserve a mention. For a laptop so thin, it churns out loud audio from movie DVDs or music.

In terms of style, the MacBook Air wins. For example, the X300 illuminates its keyboard with a manual switch that turns on a light from the top of the screen — very much like your standard desk lamp.

The MacBook Air senses ambient lighting in your surroundings and its backlit keyboard glows automatically when it's dark.

Now, which one would you prefer?


VERDICT

My main bugbear with the X300 is the premium ($4,799) you have to pay for the flash-based drive because Lenovo doesn’t offer an alternative configuration with a conventional drive. Its processor could use a bit more muscle, too.

The MacBook Air’s lack of features might put a blip on your radar but its desirability, which goes beyond its svelte and clean aesthetics, is undeniable. Both are worthy contenders, but corporate drones might prefer the full-featured X300.

Yahoo adds voice search to mobile Internet service

ahoo on Wednesday unveiled enhanced oneSearch software that lets people surf the Internet by speaking into their mobile telephones.

Along with letting people make online queries by saying what they are looking for, the application features an "assistant" for written searches that deduces what people want from the first few letters typed.

"With Yahoo oneSearch 2.0, we are fundamentally changing the way consumers use the Internet on their mobile phones," said Yahoo's Connected Life division vice president Marco Boerries.

Yahoo has partnered with 29 mobile telephone service carriers, representing 600 million customers, since the first version of oneSearch launched in early 2007, according to Boerries.

The second-generation oneSearch software is free for download and installation to mobile telephones linked to the Internet.

Yahoo rivals Google and Microsoft, along with US telecom giants AT&T and Verizon, offer toll-free numbers that US mobile telephone users can call to get business contact information gleaned from the Internet.

Google's ad-supported service at 1.800.GOOG.411 offers to connect callers free to businesses and even email them directions.

Source: AFP