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	Samsung Galaxy S5	Sony Xperia Z2	LG G Pro 2	HTC One
Starting price	N/A	N/A	N/A	Free (on-contract)
Known Dimensions	5.59 x 2.85 x 0.32 inches (142 x 72.5 x 8.1mm)	5.78 x 2.89 x 0.32 inches (146.8 x 73.3 x 8.2mm)	6.22 x 3.22 x 0.33 inches (157.9 x 81.9 x 8.3mm)	5.41 x 2.69 x 0.37 inches (137.4 x 68.2 x 9.3mm)
Weight	5.11 oz (145 g)	5.57 oz. (158g)	6.07 oz. (172g)	5.04 oz. (143g)
Screen size	5.1 inches	5.2 inches	5.9 inches	4.7 inches
Screen resolution	1,920 x 1,080 (432ppi)	1,920 x 1,080 pixels (424ppi)	1,920 x 1,080 pixels (377ppi)	1,920 x 1,080 pixels (468ppi)
Screen type	Super AMOLED Full HD	Triluminos Full HD (IPS)	Full HD IPS	S-LCD3
Battery	2,800mAh (user removable)	3,200mAh	3,200mAh (user removable)	2,300mAh (non-removable)
Internal storage	16 / 32GB	16GB	16 / 32GB	32 / 64GB
External storage	microSD (up to 128GB)	microSD (up to 64GB)	microSD	None
Rear camera	16MP, LED flash, OIS,	20.7MP, LED flash, OIS	13MP, LED flash, OIS+	4MP, LED flash, UltraPixel, OIS
Front-facing cam	2.0MP	2.2MP	2.1MP	2.1MP
Video capture	4K	4K	4K	1080p
NFC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Bluetooth	v4.0	v4.0	v4.0	v4.0
SoC	2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800	2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801	2.26 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800	1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600
GPU	Adreno 330	Adreno 330	Unspecified	Adreno 320
RAM	2GB	3GB	3GB	2GB
WiFi	802.11a/ac/b/g/n, dual-band	802.11a/ac/b/g/n, dual-band	802.11a/ac/b/g/n, dual-band	802.11a/ac/b/g/n, dual-band
Operating system	Android 4.4	Android 4.4	Android 4.4	Android 4.4
Standout features	Fingerprint scanner, heart rate sensor, Ultra Power Saving Mode, IP67 certified, 4K video	IP58 certified, BRAVIA screen tech, Exmor RS camera, 4K video	KnockCode, Backside buttons, Mini view, Multi Window	UltraPixel camera, Zoe, BoomSound, BlinkFeed

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You need to activate the shortcut keys in your gmail first. Access you Gmail, click on the Setting icon on the top-right corner, then choose "Genera" tab and turn "Keyboard Shortcuts" on.  Finally, click "Save Changes"

1. "c"

Press "c" to compose a new email.

2. "g" then "a"

To view emails including draft ones, press "g" then "a" ("g"=go, "a"=all mail).

3. "e"

Press "e" if you don't take any actions (e.g. reply) on an email after reading it. The email will be sent back to "All Mail".

4. "r" or "a"

"r": reply, "a": reply all.

5. SHIFT + "u" or SHIFT + "i"

Shift + "u": mark an email as unread VS Shift + "i": mark an email as read.

6. "TAB" then "ENTER"

To send an email after composing.

7. "g" then "c"

To go to your contact list. "g" = go, "c" = contacts.

8. "g" then "i"

Go to inbox ("i": inbox).

9. "k" or "j"

"k": go to newer dialog in inbox, "j": go back to previous dialog in inbox.

10. "n" or "p"

"n" (new): go to newer email in inbox, "p": go back to previous email in inbox.

11. "o"

Open the newest email or selected email.

12. "z"

To undo.

Some shortcuts are already available and you dont need to turn "Keyboard Shortcuts" on to use. For example, Control (or Command on Mac) + Enter to send mail; Control (or Command on Mac) + Shift + c to add CC; Control (Command on Mac) + Shift + b to add Bcc.

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MacUpdate now gives away 9 Mac software:

1. Backblaze: backup data online. Free 3 months ($15)

2. Grappler ($20): download music and movie on Internet

3. Color Strokes ($3): photo editor with wonderful color mixing

4. LightFrame ($30): add frames to your photos

5. Photo Batch ($15): batch photo processing (auto contrast, rename, rotate, ...)

6. Video Rotate ($3): edit and rotate videos

7. Data Guardian ($20): 448-bit data encryption/decryption

8. MacCleanse ($20): clean your Mac

9. SnapNDrag ($6): screen capture utility with 1 key press

It takes less than 1min to register. First, go to https://deals.macupdate.com/freebundle/affil/8055, click "Create Account" and provide your basic information. Then, go back to previous page and choose "Add to Cart" to buy the free package. Finally, download software and serials.

Source: 9to5mac, MacUpdate

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Adobe introduces a special promotion event that you now can download the whole Creative Suite 2 for free without any requirements.

Creative Suite includes all necessary software for editing photo, video, web, ... CS2, which was released in April, 2005, contains Photoshop CSP (9.0), Audition 3.0, Acrobat 3D 1.0, Acrobat Pro 8.0, Illustrator CS, InCopy CS2, InDesign CS and Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0.

The free CS2 is compatible with Windows (XP or later) and Mac OS X (only v.10.2.8-v.10.3.8, PowerPC® G4 or G5 processor). Therefore, Mac users must run Snow Leopard or earlier and install Rosetta to run CS2.

Download Adobe CS2 (free)

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Voice, face, or movement recognition is not new but it allows to develop awesome devices.

Movement detection in Kinect

Kinect was introduced in 2010 and became popular in 2011. It is one of the best selling game devices. It has changed the way we play games (playing games without using controllers). The users now are “controllers”!. Maybe in the near future, with this technology, we won’t need remove controllers to control our TV.

Siri on iPhone 4S

The idea of using voice for interacting with devices is not new but Siri is the best voice interaction tool we have ever had on a real mobile device. After Siri, many other voice based apps have been announced.

Cloud services

This idea is also not new. The basic idea is to put all your data on cloud automatically so that you don’t need to worry about the failures of data storages and you can access and edit your data anytime and anywhere. However, in this year, with Cloud Derive and Cloud Player of Amazon, and iCloud of Apple, the cloud becomes popular.

Face recognition

In the beginning of this year, Facebook integrated the face recognition into their automatic photo tagging function. FB can automatically find and tag people in a image based on the face database generated from previous images. The face recognition is also used in Android 4.0 for unlocking Android devices.

Google auto driving cars

Google introduced their fist auto driving cars based on Google Maps and obstacle detection technology this year. Although they have encountered some accidents and problems with these cars, this technology provides promising results for future.

Glassless 3D

Several devices having glassless 3D screens were introduced, such as Nintendo 3DS and HTC EVO 3D. Although glassless 3D is now not very good and can make your eyes tired, it may be an important trend for 3D technology.

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Don’t miss a chance to download and use Xara Photo & Graphic Designer v5 for free now. This promotional program is available until Nov 24, 2011. Xara Photo & Graphic Designer is a professional software for designing and editing photos. It costs $89.99.

Producer: Magix
Price: Free (until Nov 24)
Size: 364.81Mb/Windows XP/Vista/7

To own a free version of this software, go to http://www.magix.com/?id=9192&L=52 and choose “Download now for free!”. After downloading and installing, you need to activate it within 7 days.

To activate Xara Photo & Graphic Designer, you need an internet connection. In the program’s interface, choose “Register Program (with internet)”

Then choose “I do not have a login and would like to register.”

Then input your information into the form

You will receive an email containing an activation code. Copy and paste this code (25 characters) into the program to complete.

Enjoy!

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Google and Samsung just introduced their new Google smartphone, Galaxy Nexus. This phone has very high specifications: 4.65” Super AMOLED (720 x 1280) screen, dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 1GB RAM, 5.0 MP camera, and 16GB/32GB built-in storage. This is the first smartphone powered by Android 4.0 OS (Ice Cream Sandwich).  This new Android OS version contains many awesome features compared to previous versions.

Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) is designed for running on both smartphones and tablets. The basics functions of Android have been changed in this new version. It has simple yet beautiful interface with pop up folder. The address book now includes all related information about contacts. Some remarkable features:

Face Unlock

This smartphone can unlock using face recognition.

Android Beam (NFC)

Now we can share data, images, websites, maps, games, apps… easily between Android devices by placing them near to each other and touching on the screens. This feature is called Android Beam.

Voice Typing

Converting voice into text. Now we can send email and sms faster with this feature.

Taking Panorama pictures

Now we can take panorama pics by pressing a button and moving the camera.

4.65” screen with very high resolution

The screen is big and the resolution is very high (720 x 1280). The screen has similar design compared to that of Nexus S.

Video introduces Galaxy Nexus:

Ice Cream Sandwich interface

This new version has completely new interface:

The interface is optimized so that users feel convenient when using it. The system fonts have been changed and are more beautiful. There are three main buttons Back, Home, and Recent Apps on the main screen. You can access running apps easily with the Recent Apps button. The notification bar displays all current notifications.

Home screen folder and Favorites tray bar

You can group apps having similar functions and create folders for them (similar to folders in iOS). The Favorites tray stores all apps that you use frequently. The size of widgets on screens now can be changed easily.

More images:

Taking and editing photos

The full introduction video about Galaxy Nexus and Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) from Google and Samsung in Hong Kong

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The main interface for Yahoo Blog

Yahoo 360 blog service was closed in 13 July 2009 and the Yahoo! 360 plus has been thrown away by other services, such as Facebook and Zing Me. Yahoo just quietly introduced its new blog service at http://blog.yahoo.com/ for 3 countries: Hong Kong, Korea and Vietnam.

There are 4 main features of this blog service: Skin, Widgets, Cover Story, and Photo.

Blog interface

Choosing skin

Installing widgets

Choosing blog url.

Because this service is new, a lot of beautiful usernames are available for you. However, I bet that it’s very hard to pull users back from other services, such as Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, and Wordpress. Let’s wait and see what will happen.

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Apple provides 5GB free storage with iCloud service but Box.net now gives 50GB free storage for iOS users. In next 50 days, you can register new accounts or log in with your existing account with Box.net app on iOS5 devices to receive this gift. Whereas other services limit the time of using, Box.net will allow you to use 50GB for free forever and you can access your data from any devices. In the near future, other cloud services may also announce their promotional programs to compete with Apple iCloud service.

 

Read more >>  A comparison of the 5 biggest cloud services: iCloud, Google, CloudDrive, Windows Live, and Dropbox

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The famous ROM, CyanogenMod, was just updated to the latest version v7.1.0. This ROM now supports more devices including all Sony Ericsson XPERIA series (Arc, Pro, mini, mini pro, Ray, Play, Neo and X8), Samsung (Galaxy S II (2), Galaxy S, Vibrant), and Motorola (Droid, Defy, Backflip, Cliq…). The total number of compatible devices is 68.

CyanogenMod 7.1.0 is the ROM developed based on Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread version with some new features, such as supporting Bluetooth mouse, focus by touching when taking pictures. The full list of devices and the installation guide can be found at  http://www.cyanogenmod.com/blog/cyanogenmod-7-1-released and http://www.redmondpie.com/download-and-install-cyanogenmod-7.1-cm-7.1-android-2.3.7-on-any-android-phone-tutorial/

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We now can download Skype version 2.5 that supports more Android devices including Motorola Xoom and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. Skype 2.5 allows us to video chat on mobile devices.

41 Android devices now can chat video with Skype 2.5. 14 new devices were just added to the list: Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, HTC Nexus One, HTC EVO 3D, Sony Ericsson Xperia Live with Walkman, Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V, LG Optimus Black, LG Optimus 3D, LG Optimus 2x, Motorola Photon, Motorola Droid 3, Motorola Bionic, Motorola Xoom, Motorola Atrix and Acer Iconia. This list includes some old smartphone models, such as Google Nexus One.

Skype 2.5 supports many new features. Users now can switch between front and back cameras as in FaceTime and zoom during the video call. This version also supports Bluetooth earphone, improves the performance, and fixes some minor bugs of previous versions. Skype of iOS was also updated. This new version will have ads. To remove ads, you need to have a Skype Credit or update to Skype Premium account.

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Today (Sept 30), Samsung announced their new 7” tablet, Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, with several improvements compared to the previous 7” version. The design of this tablet is similar to that of Tab 10.1 and Tab 8.9. This tablet is slim (9.99cm) and light (345g). It is powered by Android 3.2 Honeycomb, BXL dual-core processor 1.2GHz, 1GB RAM, 2 cameras (3 MP and 2 MP). There are 2 versions: 16GB and 32GB. The TouchWiz interface also appears in this tablet. Indonesia and Australia are the first two countries will have this tablet in the end of this October.

Specifications:

- HSPA+ (HSDPA 21Mbps/HSUPA5.76Mbps) 900/1900/2100 - EDGE/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900.

- BXL dual-core 1.2GHz.

- Screen:  7 inches (1204 x 600) PLS.

- OS: Android 3.2 (Honeycomb).

- Camera: back (3MP AF and LED Flash Sub), front (2MP).

- Samsun TouchWiz: Live Panel, Mini Apps Social Hub – Integrated Messaging (Email, SMS, SNS, MMS), Contacts/Calendar Sync-POP3/IMAP Email & Exchange Active Sync.

- Connection: Bluetooth® v 3.0, wifi 802.11 a/b/g/n, USB 2.0, Gyro, Digital compass, Ambient Light, Proximity.

- RAM: 1GB.

- Storage: 16/32 GB.

- Size: 193.65 x 122.37 x 9.96 mm, 345g.

- Battery: Li-on 4,000 mAh.

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In one short minute, many things happen on Internet. The following numbers may surprise you. In one minute on Internet:

- 168 million emails including spams and ads are sent.

- More than 60 new blogs are created from blog services. More than 1500 blog entries are published on over the world!

- In one minute, more than 70 new domains are registered.

- Youtube: more than 600 video are uploaded. The total length of these video is more than 25 hours.

- The number of search queries on Google is more than 695000. Google must use super power servers to support such huge number of queries.

- There are more than 1700 downloads of all versions of Firefox browser.

- Facebook: More than 510000 comments and about 80000 messages are posted and more than 695000 statuses are updated. 

- More than 6600 images are uploaded and shared on Flickr.

- In one minute, 1 news entry is posted in Yahoo!, the biggest news website.

- Twitter: 320000 new accounts are created and 98000 messages are shared.

- More than 370000 calls are made on Skype in one minute.

- LinkedIn: more than 100 accounts are created.

- More than 12000 ads are uploaded on Craigslist.

- On average, more than 13000 iPhone apps are downloaded.

- More than 20000 blog entries are published on Tumblr.

- More than 100 questions are posted on Answers.com. The number of answers is about 40.

- In one minute, there are more than 50 downloads of WordPress and 125 downloads of its plugins.

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The policemen in Vietnam are looking for a man who drove a motorbike using only his back as shown in the following clip.

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I am a fan of Steve Jobs  and Apple. Earlier today, he resigned as CEO of Apple and registered his new position as Chairman of the Board. I hope this is the end of an era, but not the end of Apple. The mail sent from Steve Jobs to the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community:

I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.

Steve

On this occasion, let’s see 10 unforgettable moments of Steve Jobs via following clips:

His commencement speech to the graduates of Stanford Univ.  in 2005 about his life, death and goals.

 

Young Steve Jobs in his first TV interview

 

Steve introduced the iPad, one of the most successful products of Apple.

 

In Apple Keynote in 1984 about Macintosh.

 

Jobs and Bill Gates together at the D Conference in 2007

 

Also from the D conference

 

Steve at Macworld Boston, just after returning to the company in 1997.

 

In the keynote from Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in 1997.

 

A demo fail from Jobs from the iPhone4’s announcement, a rare failure.

 

His talk about the Crazy Ones.

 

An a bonus clips about Steve Jobs and John Lasseter interview.