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Free Web Hosting L4rge

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Free Web Hosting Review of:
L4rge


Visit: L4rge
http://www.l4rge.com/
(Click above to go to this free web site hosting service.)
Interests: Personal, Business.
Free Web Space: 15,000 MB.
Forced Ads: No ads (bannerless).
Your Ads: Allowed.
Upload: FTP, Browser.
Editor: Advanced, Basic.
Scripting: CGI, PHP, SSI, FrontPage Extensions, Perl.
Pre-Scripts: Script collection.
Your URL: Top-level domain name, or Subdomain.
Other Features:
  • cPanel, Fantastico.
  • Unlimited Bandwidth.
  • MySQL databases, PHP5.
  • POP3, Forwarding, Web-based Email, SpamAssassin, BoxTrapper.
  • Addon domains.
  • Custom error pages.
  • Analog Statistics.
  • Cronjobs.
  • Instant activation.
  • Hosted on QuadCore servers.
  • .htaccess file.
  • Password-protected files.
  • Video tutorials.
  • Getting Started Wizard.
  • You must ad a short code/tag to each free web page to remove ads (has banner by default).
Date Added: August 11, 2008.
Last Modified: August 15, 2009.



Profitting from free webhosting

The majority of the hosting companies use free hosting to introduce their services, and as an entry point to their more expensive offerings. Generally they recoup their costs in one of a few ways:

Advertising - Selling online advertising on the customer sites is generally considered a fair trade - the reasoning is that high traffic sites are more expensive to host, but the additional traffic allows for additional ad impressions therefore covering the cost. For the web master, it can be a good trade if the advertising is of good quality and non-competitive. This is one of the main reasons that businesses do not use free hosting for their website. The majority of free hosting companies use this method.

Referrals - Using a simple form of viral marketing, these providers rely on the users to spread the offer. The ratio of free to paid accounts is known, and by having each free user refer a number of friends, the hosting provider is able to get enough paid accounts to cover the cost.

Resell Hosting - This is where someone starts up a hosting company, attracts lots of visitors, then sells the hosting company to someone else once it can no longer support itself. Once sold, this individual uses the money to start up multiple hosting ventures and sells each in turn.

Some hosting companies are using hybrid approaches that mix these tactics.

Methods of giving out web hosting

A few methods of giving out Free Webhosting to people by Webhosts

Instant Activation

Due to the risks of illegal, inappropriate, and abusive website, hosts with instant activation usually give very little storage space and monthly bandwidth. Other restrictions will likely also be in effect. The webhosts usually either require the users' web pages to display their banner ads, textlink ads, or popups; or else the users' files to be uploaded through a web-based file manager that display ads to the user uploading files.

Hosts with instant activation are often abused, such as link spamming.

Post for Hosting

Some free hosts require posting in a forum. Forum-based free hosting requires users to either reach a certain amount of posts before getting a free hosting account, or be an active contributor in the forum. Forum-based free hosting often work on a system of points where posts give points to a user and can be used as credits toward getting a hosting account or more resources. Typically, the forum where users have to post contains advertising as the hosts way of making a profit.

Forum applications

This method is popular, as the hosts can decide which applications to deny and allow. This is common when a popular forum has free hosting as an add-on service, rather than the other way around.

File hosting on webhosts

Most free web hosts discourage using their services for file or image hosting only, with no web page, since advertising is displayed on the web page. Because of this, hotlinking is usually disallowed on free hosts. Some free webhosts will also disallow files over a certain size (for example, 5 MB). However, there are free file hosting services which allow large files

Co-branding and resellers

Some services offer co-branding services. These let you brand fixed plans with your own company. Other services, offer WHM or panel reselling. This allows the client to develop his or her own free web hostingplans and business.


Read more...

Free Web Hosting Host-Helpers

Free Web Hosting Review of:
Host-Helpers

( "HostHelpers" )


Visit: Host-Helpers
http://www.hosthelpers.com/
(Click above to go to this free web site hosting service.)
Interests: Personal, Business.
Free Web Space: 1,000 MB - 5,000 MB (5 GB).
Forced Ads: No ads (bannerless).
Your Ads: Allowed.
Upload: FTP, Browser.
Editor: Advanced, Basic.
Scripting: CGI, PHP, ASP, SSI, FrontPage Extensions, Perl, Python.
Pre-Scripts: Script collection.
Your URL: Top-level domain name, or Subdomain.
Other Features:
  • Bandwidth limit 10,000 - 50,000 MB/month.
  • cPanel control panel, Fantastico, Script Barn.
  • POP3 Email, SMTP Sendmail, Forwarders, Web-mail.
  • MySQL, PostgreSQL databases, PHP5.
  • Add-on domains.
  • Awstats Website Statistics.
  • Cronjobs allowed.
  • Custom error pages.
  • Parked domain names.
  • Freehosting on PowerEdge Xeon dedicated servers at ThePlanet datacenter.
  • Additional upgrade features require forum posting.
  • Same freehost as freecp.net.
Date Added: June 23, 2009.
Last Modified: August 13, 2009.

Above is a list of free domain name hosting service sites (links to the reviews page for each) where you can host domain names free, and in some cases a single free hosting company will provide multiple domain hosting free (host multiple domain names from a single freehosting account, or allow multiple free web hosting accounts per person). In most cases you will need to already own and have the top-level domain name registered (or buy domain registration from them), but there are a few websites where you can get free domain names if you don't already have one." The alternatives to using a free domain host would be to use free subdomain hosting (using a subdirectory or a subdomain of the free web host), or buy cheap domain hosting (aka "budget domain name hosting"). While a free domain web hosting server may not be considered reliable enough to host a high-traffic website, having free domain name web hosting service (and especially having multiple domain web hosting free) is quite useful for beginning webmasters or SEO on a budget (it is recommended to have each of your web sites hosted on a separate IP address, which usually means using a different web hosting company for each domainname hosted free).

Read more...

Free Web Hosting HelioHost

Free Web Hosting Review of:
HelioHost


Visit: HelioHost
http://www.heliohost.org/home/
(Click above to go to this free web site hosting service.)
Interests: Personal, Business.
Free Web Space: 250 MB.
Forced Ads: No ads (bannerless).
Your Ads: Allowed.
Upload: FTP, Browser.
Editor: Basic.
Scripting: CGI, PHP, ASP.NET, SSI, FrontPage Extensions, Perl, Python, Ruby.
Pre-Scripts: Script collection.
Your URL: Top-level domain name, or Subdomain.
Other Features:
  • Bandwidth limit 2500 MB/month.
  • Cpanel, Fantastico.
  • Unlimited addon domains.
  • POP3 Email, Spam Assassin.
  • Statistics, raw logs.
  • Cronjobs allowed.
  • Unlimited MySQL and PostgreSQL databases.
  • Custom error pages.
  • SSL secure server.
  • Same as helionet.org.
  • Ruby on Rails.
  • Django (a Python Web framework).
  • ASP.NET 2.0 with VB.NET support.
Date Added: March 1, 2007.
Last Modified: June 22, 2009.


Profitting from free webhosting

The majority of the hosting companies use free hosting to introduce their services, and as an entry point to their more expensive offerings. Generally they recoup their costs in one of a few ways:
Advertising - Selling online advertising on the customer sites is generally considered a fair trade - the reasoning is that high traffic sites are more expensive to host, but the additional traffic allows for additional ad impressions therefore covering the cost. For the web master, it can be a good trade if the advertising is of good quality and non-competitive. This is one of the main reasons that businesses do not use free hosting for their website. The majority of free hosting companies use this method.
Referrals - Using a simple form of viral marketing, these providers rely on the users to spread the offer. The ratio of free to paid accounts is known, and by having each free user refer a number of friends, the hosting provider is able to get enough paid accounts to cover the cost.
Resell Hosting - This is where someone starts up a hosting company, attracts lots of visitors, then sells the hosting company to someone else once it can no longer support itself. Once sold, this individual uses the money to start up multiple hosting ventures and sells each in turn.

Some hosting companies are using hybrid approaches that mix these tactics.

Methods of giving out web hosting

A few methods of giving out Free Webhosting to people by Webhosts

Instant Activation

Due to the risks of illegal, inappropriate, and abusive website, hosts with instant activation usually give very little storage space and monthly bandwidth. Other restrictions will likely also be in effect. The webhosts usually either require the users' web pages to display their banner ads, textlink ads, or popups; or else the users' files to be uploaded through a web-based file manager that display ads to the user uploading files.

Hosts with instant activation are often abused, such as link spamming.

Post for Hosting

Some free hosts require posting in a forum. Forum-based free hosting requires users to either reach a certain amount of posts before getting a free hosting account, or be an active contributor in the forum. Forum-based free hosting often work on a system of points where posts give points to a user and can be used as credits toward getting a hosting account or more resources. Typically, the forum where users have to post contains advertising as the hosts way of making a profit.

Forum applications

This method is popular, as the hosts can decide which applications to deny and allow. This is common when a popular forum has free hosting as an add-on service, rather than the other way around.

File hosting on webhosts

Most free web hosts discourage using their services for file or image hosting only, with no web page, since advertising is displayed on the web page. Because of this, hotlinking is usually disallowed on free hosts. Some free webhosts will also disallow files over a certain size (for example, 5 MB). However, there are free file hosting services which allow large files
Co-branding and resellers

Some services offer co-branding services. These let you brand fixed plans with your own company. Other services, offer WHM or panel reselling. This allows the client to develop his or her own web hosting plans and business.

Read more...

Free Web Hosting X10Hosting

Visit: X10Hosting
http://www.x10hosting.com/
(Click above to go to this free web site hosting service.)
Interests: Personal, Business.
Free Web Space: 500 MB.
Forced Ads: No ads (bannerless).
Your Ads: Allowed.
Upload: FTP, Browser, SiteCopy.
Editor: Advanced, Basic, WYSIWYG.
Scripting: CGI, PHP, ASP.NET, SSI, FrontPage Extensions, Perl, Python.
Pre-Scripts: Script collection.
Your URL: Top-level domain name, or Subdomain.
Other Features:
  • Bandwidth limit 10,000 MB/month.
  • Cpanel, Fantastico.
  • MySQL databases.
  • AwStats Statistics.
  • POP3, SMTP, Forwarding, Web-based Email, PHP mail, Sendmail.
  • SpamAssassin.
  • Addon domains.
  • Cron jobs.
  • Shared SSL.
  • Free websites must be in English, Spanish, or French.
  • 14-days Inactivity limit (you must log in to the forums every 2 weeks).
Date Added: September 5, 2005.
Last Modified: July 17, 2009.
Features Rating: 124 (out of possible 0 to 125 points)
See How Free Webhosting Features Are Rated



Profitting from free webhosting

The majority of the hosting companies use free hosting to introduce their services, and as an entry point to their more expensive offerings. Generally they recoup their costs in one of a few ways:
Advertising - Selling online advertising on the customer sites is generally considered a fair trade - the reasoning is that high traffic sites are more expensive to host, but the additional traffic allows for additional ad impressions therefore covering the cost. For the web master, it can be a good trade if the advertising is of good quality and non-competitive. This is one of the main reasons that businesses do not use free hosting for their website. The majority of free hosting companies use this method.
Referrals - Using a simple form of viral marketing, these providers rely on the users to spread the offer. The ratio of free to paid accounts is known, and by having each free user refer a number of friends, the hosting provider is able to get enough paid accounts to cover the cost.
Resell Hosting - This is where someone starts up a hosting company, attracts lots of visitors, then sells the hosting company to someone else once it can no longer support itself. Once sold, this individual uses the money to start up multiple hosting ventures and sells each in turn.

Some hosting companies are using hybrid approaches that mix these tactics.

Methods of giving out web hosting

A few methods of giving out Free Webhosting to people by Webhosts

Instant Activation

Due to the risks of illegal, inappropriate, and abusive website, hosts with instant activation usually give very little storage space and monthly bandwidth. Other restrictions will likely also be in effect. The webhosts usually either require the users' web pages to display their banner ads, textlink ads, or popups; or else the users' files to be uploaded through a web-based file manager that display ads to the user uploading files.

Hosts with instant activation are often abused, such as link spamming.

Post for Hosting

Some free hosts require posting in a forum. Forum-based free hosting requires users to either reach a certain amount of posts before getting a free hosting account, or be an active contributor in the forum. Forum-based free hosting often work on a system of points where posts give points to a user and can be used as credits toward getting a hosting account or more resources. Typically, the forum where users have to post contains advertising as the hosts way of making a profit.

Forum applications

This method is popular, as the hosts can decide which applications to deny and allow. This is common when a popular forum has free hosting as an add-on service, rather than the other way around.

File hosting on webhosts

Most free web hosts discourage using their services for file or image hosting only, with no web page, since advertising is displayed on the web page. Because of this, hotlinking is usually disallowed on free hosts. Some free webhosts will also disallow files over a certain size (for example, 5 MB). However, there are free file hosting services which allow large files
Co-branding and resellers

Some services offer co-branding services. These let you brand fixed plans with your own company. Other services, offer WHM or panel reselling. This allows the client to develop his or her own web hosting plans and business.

Read more...

Google Wave It's innovative but is it truly useful?

Monday, November 2, 2009

Computerworld - Google Wave is a groundbreaking real-time collaborative tool that has the potential to be an ideal way for members of a group to work with one another. But it's not clear how useful it will be in the real world. It's the kind of tool that you want to use, but one that you may not be able to figure out how to fit into your work life.

In fact, Google Wave is one of those services that's nearly impossible to describe to those who haven't used it. One way to think of it is as a mashup of threaded e-mail conversations and instant messaging -- on steroids. Rich content, including Google maps, interactive polling, videos and more, can be embedded in conversations (called waves). And the rich content is live and interactive. If you embed a Google map, for example, all participants in the conversation can use it as if they were on the Google Maps site.

All this makes for a kind of in-depth collaboration that's not possible with more traditional means of Internet communication. Theoretically, Google Wave can help groups share information, make decisions and take actions more quickly.

That's in theory, though. In practice, it's not clear what will happen, because traditional e-mail still rules most people's lives. At this point, Google Wave is still in a relatively tightly controlled, invitation-only beta. Given that it's free, however, once it becomes public -- or if you're lucky enough to score an invite -- it's worth your while to test it out, if only for the "coolness" factor.
Diving into Google Wave

Google Wave's overall interface resembles a traditional e-mail client. Its window is divided into three panes: contacts and navigation on the left, a browsable list of all of your "waves" in the middle, and the actual wave you're involved in on the right.

To create a wave, you click the New Wave button at the top of the middle pane. You invite others to participate in the wave either by typing their names at the top of the right-hand pane or by dragging names there from your Contacts list. Then just begin typing.

Those whom you've invited to the wave don't have to be using Google Wave at the time you're typing the message -- they will see the new wave the next time they log in. If they are already logged in when you create the wave, they will get a notice that a new wave has been created, and they will be able to see your message as you type it. Unlike with instant messages, participants see the message being composed live, as it is typed, rather than after the message has been finished and sent.

I'm not convinced this is a good thing. Most of us don't get a sentence completely right the first time -- we commit typos, then go back and edit them, or we start with one idea, think better of it, erase it and start over again. With Google Wave, the recipients see that entire process.

Read more...

make Windows XP last for the next seven years

Computerworld - Windows Vista may be shiny and brand new, but as plenty of PC users will tell you, sometimes newer isn't better. Many PCs simply don't have the horsepower to run the new operating system, and even those that have the juice may get bogged down by processor-and RAM-hungry Vista.


If you've got Windows XP, worry not -- you can keep it running on your hardware for years to come. As with an old car, though, if you plan to keep XP around for a while, you're going to have to spend some time maintaining it. Think of us as your virtual mechanics. We'll give you tips, tweaks and tricks so that you'll be able to keep XP running smoothly, at top performance, for smooth operation and long life.
Don't miss our related story,
Windows XP: Going, going ... gone?

But what if you suffer from Vista envy, and you're interested in more than just maintaining XP as it is? No problem -- we'll also show you how to get many of Vista's goodies, such as greatly improved security, transparent windows, Windows Flip 3D and the Network Map, all without having to spend the money to upgrade or get new hardware.

So, if you've got better things to do with your time and money than upgrade to Vista, read on. There's still plenty of life in your old operating system.

Editor's note: Many of the tips in this story involve installing software or altering system settings. We're assuming that any such changes you make will be to your own computer. Always check with your IT department before altering a company-owned machine.


How to make XP last for the next 7 years
How long will Microsoft support XP?
Get Vista's security improvements in XP
Get Vista's eye candy in XP
Get other Vista goodies
Tweak XP settings for faster performance
Perform weekly maintenance for smooth operation






How long will Microsoft support XP?

Windows XP has been extremely successful; market research firm IDC estimates that Windows XP (Home and Pro) had a worldwide installed base of 538 million copies at the end of 2006. As long as those XP computers are functional and perform well, users find it difficult to justify the purchase of Vista or a new Vista-based PC.

Microsoft Corp.'s support policies reflect this reality. The company's standard life-cycle policy provides bug fixes and security patches (known as mainstream support) for five years after initial release, and security-patch-only support (known as extended support) for an additional five years. Although Microsoft often doesn't provide extended support for its consumer products, the company says that XP Home and XP Pro will get identical support periods.

Microsoft's support road map currently says that extended support for Windows XP ends in April 2014. You need to be on the latest service pack within one year of its release for continued support, which at this point means you must be running XP Service Pack 2.

So the earliest date that XP SP2 support will end is 2014, but history has shown that Microsoft often gives customers a reprieve as these dates draw near. For example, support for Windows 98 was to be dropped in January 2004, but Microsoft extended it by two and a half years to July 2006.

XP's life would also be extended if Microsoft were to issue an XP service pack on or after 2013. Microsoft has a tentative date for XP Service Pack 3 in the first half of 2008. If SP3 is released anywhere near on schedule and turns out to be the last service pack for XP, it won't affect XP's 2014 end-of-support date.



Get Vista's security improvements in XP

With Windows Vista, Microsoft finally got serious about security, baking many important security measures right into the operating system. But that doesn't mean you should simply shrug and accept XP's inferior security; some free and low-cost tools for XP provide much of the same security that Vista offers.



Antispyware
Windows Vista is protected from spyware by Microsoft's Windows Defender -- and the same program is available as a free download for Windows XP users as well. Windows Defender is exactly the same on Vista as it is on XP, so you're not losing anything by not moving to Vista.

It's a good idea to have more than one piece of antispyware on your PC, whether you use Vista or XP. So double up for safety and add Lavasoft AB's Ad-Aware or Spybot Search & Destroy -- or even both -- to your arsenal.

Hardware-based encryption
Vista features hardware-based encryption for laptops, called BitLocker encryption. It uses a hardware-based key and password protection so that if your laptop is stolen, no one will be able to view any of the data. You can get much the same functionality from Kensington Computer Products Group's PC Key ($70). You use a special USB key and password combo to encrypt the hard drive; if someone gets your laptop, they won't be able to read anything.

Firewall
As for a firewall, XP's built-in firewall has one major limitation compared with Vista's -- it doesn't include outbound protection. There's a great deal of debate about whether Vista's firewall includes true outbound protection, but if you want a firewall with true, configurable outbound protection for XP, get the free Comodo Firewall Pro.


As Computerworld online editorial director Scot Finnie points out in Slim is in for Windows desktop firewalls, Comodo Group earns the top firewall rating for security from the independent testing site Matousec and offers a good balance between security and convenience.

Parental controls
Windows Vista includes built-in parental controls that let you filter Web sites and otherwise limit how your children use the computer. You can get similar technology for XP, although you'll have to pay for it. There are quite a few programs and services out there, but two good bets are SafeBrowse.com's Safe Eyes, which costs $50 for use on three computers, and Webroot Software Inc.'s Child Safe, $40 for use on three computers.

Vista security features you can't get in XP
Note that there are some Vista security features you won't be able to replicate on Windows XP, such as Internet Explorer's Protected Mode, which protects your system from malware that enters via the browser. (GreenBorder Technologies used to offer a protected-mode add-on for both IE and Firefox, but the software is no longer available for download. The company has been purchased by Google Inc., so it's possible this technology will reappear in a Google product in the future.)

Another Vista feature that you can't replicate in XP but that you probably won't miss at all is User Account Control, a universally reviled security measure that seeks users' permission before taking many actions, such as running a program or opening a dialog box. Many Vista users turn it off because of its intrusiveness.



Get Vista's eye candy in XP

Besides security, one of Vista's main attractions is its new Aero interface featuring transparent windows, eye-popping animations and cool new ways to navigate. But you don't have to upgrade to Vista to get many of these features. Using freeware or low-cost shareware, you can transform your XP computer into a Vista lookalike.

Keep in mind, though, that adding all this eye candy can slow down your machine, depending on your system configuration. So be prepared to scale back on some of it if you find your PC becomes sluggish.



Sidebar and Gadgets
One of Windows Vista's niftiest features is the Sidebar and its Gadgets -- little applets capable of gathering, displaying and using live information from the Internet or from your PC. But there are plenty of ways to get the same things for free on Windows XP.

Desktop Sidebar gives XP a full-blown sidebar like Vista's, with numerous built-in gadgets, including a clock, weather gadget, performance monitor, mail checker, media player, stock tracker and more.

Two other good choices from well-known search companies are Google Desktop Gadgets and Yahoo Widgets. To use Yahoo Widgets, you'll first have to download the software. It comes with a variety of widgets, such as a weather checker, CPU monitor, stock checker and so on. But you're not stuck with just those -- there are more than 4,000 widgets available. In fact, you'll have a greater choice of Yahoo Widgets than you'd have it you were using Gadgets for the Vista Sidebar. Yahoo Widgets run in a Sidebar-like application, but can also be placed anywhere on your Windows desktop.


How to make XP last for the next 7 years
How long will Microsoft support XP?
Get Vista's security improvements in XP
Get Vista's eye candy in XP
Get other Vista goodies
Tweak XP settings for faster performance
Perform weekly maintenance for smooth operation



Google's Desktop Gadgets require that you download and use Google Desktop, which may be problematic for some people because Google Desktop is a big piece of software, primarily used for searching your PC. It includes a live indexer that runs all the time, which could possibly slow down your PC. But if you're already a Google Desktop user or want a good searching tool, the Gadgets are a nice bonus. They live in a sidebar that looks and works a lot like Windows Vista's Sidebar. You'll find plenty of Gadgets, including Real Simple Syndication readers, a stock checker, to-do list creator, weather watcher and more -- although not as many as Yahoo Widgets.

Read more...

Mozilla unveils first Firefox 3.6 beta version

Most add-ons don't yet work with preview, Mozilla warns
Computerworld - Mozilla late on Friday released the first beta of Firefox 3.6, a minor upgrade slated to wrap up later this year.

Delayed by over two weeks as developers closed out last-minute bugs, including one that pushed the release back by several days last week, Firefox 3.6 Beta contains relatively few visible changes from June 2009's Firefox 3.5. Instead, most of the enhancements have been made to under-the-hood components, including the TraceMonkey JavaScript rendering engine.

Among the new features visible to users is integrated support for the scaled-down browser skins dubbed "Personas" by Mozilla, and new warnings to users when they reach a site that calls on outdated plug-ins, such as Adobe's Flash Player or Apple's QuickTime.

The warning is only the last of several moves Mozilla's made in the last two months to reduce the number of users who are vulnerable to attack because they haven't updated third-party plug-ins. In early September, Mozilla debuted plug-in checking with updates to Firefox 3.5.3 and Firefox 3.0.14, which automatically detect outdated versions of Adobe's Flash Player and prompt users to upgrade to the newest -- and theoretically the most secure -- edition.

Since then, Mozilla has added a page on its site where users could manually check other plug-ins for obsolete editions. Firefox 3.6 Beta, however, displays a warning when the browser is asked to call up an outdated plug-in. "Some plug-ins used by this page are out of date," the message reads.

Also debuting in the beta of Firefox 3.6, said Mike Beltzner, director of Firefox, are support for new CSS, DOM and HTML 5 technologies; support for full-screen video embedded with the video HTML tag; and support for the Web Open Font Format (WOFF). JavaScript performance has also been boosted, said Beltzner in a post to the Mozilla developer center blog, and start-up times have been reduced.

Some features once destined for Firefox 3.6, however, have been dropped, including one that was to take advantage of Microsoft's new Windows 7. Integration with Windows 7's Jump Lists -- a feature that would list recently-visited sites when Firefox's icon is right-clicked in the taskbar -- has been postponed and wasn't included with the beta.

Support for Windows 7's Aero Peek and taskbar thumbnail previews did make it into Firefox 3.6 Beta, even though Mozilla had some last-minute work nailing down the former.

All versions of the browser now offer thumbnail previews when users cycle through the open tabs with the Ctrl-Tab key combination. The feature is disabled by default in the beta, however. To switch it on, users must edit Firefox's configuration file by entering "about:config" in the address bar, locating the "browser.ctrlTab.previews" item and double-clicking it to change its setting to "true." Firefox must be restarted for the change to take effect.

Mozilla also warned testers that many add-ons, the small extensions that many Firefox users find its most compelling feature, are not yet compatible with the beta. To force an add-on to work with the beta, and at the same time report the incompatibility to Mozilla, Beltzner urged users to download and install the Add-on Compatibility Reporter. In Computerworld's tests, the reporter successfully allowed scores of incompatible add-ons to run in the beta of Firefox 3.6.

Mozilla has also posted an extensive description of the changes to Firefox of interest to Web site and application developers.

The company is still hammering out how it will offer users Firefox 3.6 when it ships in final form. Some, including Beltzner, lean toward a security update-like mechanism, while others have argued for something more explicit, akin to the "major upgrade" invitations that Mozilla presents users of older editions from time to time.

Although Firefox 3.6's interface chances are minor, Mozilla plans to revamp the user interface in Firefox 3.7, set to launch in the first half of 2010, and finish the redesign in Firefox 4.0, currently scheduled for late next year.

Users already running one of the earlier builds of the beta will be upgraded automatically to the version released Friday. Others can download Firefox 3.6 Beta for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux in 46 different language editions from Mozilla's site.

Read more...

Users should delay Windows 7 upgrade-support firm warns -

Wait for Service Pack 1 to show up, or back up data and buy a new PC

Computerworld - Users should wait for Microsoft to work out the bugs in Windows 7 before jumping on the new operating system, a Syracuse, N.Y.-based computer support company said today.

"From the calls we're getting, as well as our own experience in the past with all Microsoft's operating systems, we're recommending that people stick with their time-tested OS and wait for the dust to settle," said Josh Kaplan, president of Rescuecom.

Citing a litany of reasons, ranging from the risk of losing data during an upgrade to tough economic times, Kaplan urged Windows users to put off upgrading to Windows 7 or buying a new PC with the operating system pre-installed. "There are some compelling reasons for both businesses and home users to move to Windows 7," Kaplan said, "so we're saying 'just wait for a bit.'"

Upgrading an existing machine -- whether it's running the eight-year-old Windows XP or the much newer Vista -- is particularly risky, he added, especially if users haven't taken time to make a full backup before they migrate their machines.

"Transferring all their data, their digital life essentially, is one of the most common, and most troubling, issues that users have," said Kaplan, noting that the chore is among the top problems Rescuecom's support technicians field. "Even if you're doing an in-place [upgrade], if you don't have a proper backup, you're still at risk. Without the proper preparation, moving to a new OS is risky for anybody."

Some users have found that out first hand. Among the top subjects on Microsoft's support forum is one that has put some PCs into an endless reboot loop when their owners tried to upgrade from Vista to Windows 7. Microsoft has not yet come up with a solution that works for all the users who have reported the problem, sparking frustration.

"I have had enough. I have now given up and have gone back to XP, which still works fine but is getting a little old," said "daeld" on the support thread dedicated to the endless reboot problem.

"Wait until your current hardware dies, buy a new PC with Windows 7 then transfer your data from backup to the new one," said Kaplan. "If you wait, there will be even more computers designed for Windows 7, and the driver situation will be better. While Windows 7 is made to be compatible with the same hardware and software as Vista, there are always exceptions. It's safer to wait for the patches and new drivers to be released."

Another consideration, noted Kaplan, is the price of Windows 7. The least-expensive single-license upgrade to the new OS costs $119.99, while the three-license Family Pack runs $149.99. "Given the economy, is that really a necessary expense right now?" he wondered.

Last May, Rescuecom posted five steps users can take to extend the life of their aging PC. "Making sure it's protected from malware, viruses, all the evil things on the Internet, that goes a long way," Kaplan said today. "Cleaning up your hard drive, the normal day-to-day computer maintenance, that's another."

Computerworld's How to make Windows XP last for the next seven years, although more than two year's old, also includes tips that still apply.

"Any upgrade is a challenge," Kaplan concluded. "At the least, wait for the first service pack," he said, referring to the major updates and bug fix collections that Microsoft rolls out at infrequent intervals.

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Embedded Microprocessor

Saturday, October 31, 2009

EEMBC, the Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium, is a non-profit organization formed in 1997 with the aim of developing meaningful performance benchmarks for the hardware and software used in embedded systems. The goal of its members is to make EEMBC benchmarks an industry standard for evaluating the capabilities of embedded microprocessors, compilers, and the associated embedded system implementations according to objective, clearly defined, application-based criteria.

EEMBC benchmarks aim to reflect real-world applications and the demands that embedded systems encounter in these environments. The consortium licenses "algorithms" and "applications" organized into benchmark suites targeting telecommunications, networking, digital entertainment, Java, automotive/industrial, consumer, and office equipment products, and an additional suite that allows users to observe the energy consumed by the processor when performing these algorithms and applications. EEMBC also has a series of multicore-specific benchmarks that span multiple application areas.

Only EEMBC members are entitled to publish their benchmark test results, and they must submit these to the EEMBC Technology Center (ETC) for official certification before making the scores public. The ETC also offers full benchmark testing and analysis services.

The president of EEMBC is Markus Levy, who is also president of the Multicore Association. The director of software engineering is Shay Gal-On.
Benchmarks

Automotive

* AutoBench 1.1, performance of microprocessors and microcontrollers in automotive, industrial, and general-purpose applications

Consumer

* ConsumerBench 1.1, performance of processors in digital still cameras, printers, and other embedded systems that handle digital imaging tasks

Digital Entertainment

* DENBench 1.0, performance of processor subsystems in multimedia tasks such as image, video, and audio file compression and decompression

Java

* GrinderBench 1.0, performance of Java ME applications in products such as mobile phones and PDAs

Multicore

* MultiBench 1.0 extends the EEMBC scope to analyze multicore architectures, memory bottlenecks, OS scheduling support, synchronization efficiency, and other related system functions. It measures the impact of parallelization and scalability across both data processing and computationally-intensive tasks.

Networking

* NetworkingBench 1.1, performance of processors in low-end routers
* NetworkingBench 2.0, performance of processors tasked with moving packets in networking applications

Office Automation

* OABench 1.1, performance of processors in printers, plotters, and other office automation systems that handle text and image processing tasks

Telecom

* TeleBench 1.1, performance of processors in modem, xDSL, and related fixed-telecom applications

Power/Energy

* EnergyBench, ties performance with energy consumption for specific benchmarks, specified for silicon devices which can be certified under current procedures

CoreMark

CoreMark is a free benchmark that targets the CPU core. It was developed by Shay Gal-On and released as an industry standard by EEMBC in 2009. CoreMark’s primary goals are simplicity and providing a method for testing only a processor’s core features. Each iteration of CoreMark performs the following algorithms: list processing (find and sort), matrix manipulation (common matrix operations), state machine (determine if an input stream contains valid numbers), and CRC.
References

Shay Gal-On, Markus Levy, "Measuring Multicore Performance," Computer, vol. 41, no. 11, pp. 99-102, Nov. 2008, doi:10.1109/MC.2008.464

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Ram

Implementation
Personal computers

The first PC motherboards with support for RDRAM debuted in 1999. They supported PC-800 RDRAM, which operated at 400 MHz and delivered 1600 MB/s of bandwidth over a 16-bit bus using a 184-pin RIMM form factor. Data is transferred on both the rising and falling edges of the clock signal, a technique known as double data rate. For marketing reasons the physical clock rate was multiplied by two (because of the DDR operation); therefore, the 400 MHz Rambus standard was named PC-800. This was significantly faster than the previous standard, PC-133 SDRAM, which operated at 133 MHz and delivered 1066 MB/s of bandwidth over a 64-bit bus using a 168-pin DIMM form factor.
RDRAM memory with integrated heatsink.

Moreover, if a mainboard has a dual- or quad-channel memory subsystem, all of the memory channels must be upgraded simultaneously. Sixteen-bit modules provide one channel of memory, while 32-bit modules provide two channels. Therefore, a dual channel mainboard accepting 16-bit modules must have RIMMs added or removed in pairs. A dual channel mainboard accepting 32-bit modules can have single RIMMs added or removed as well.
Stick/module specification

* PC600: 16-bit, single channel RIMM, specified to operate at 300 MHz clock rate, 1200 MB/s bandwidth
* PC700: 16-bit, single channel RIMM, specified to operate at 355 MHz clock rate, 1420 MB/s bandwidth
* PC800: 16-bit, single channel RIMM, specified to operate at 400 MHz clock rate, 1600 MB/s bandwidth
* PC1066 (RIMM 2100): 16-bit, single channel RIMM specified to operate at 533 MHz clock rate, 2133 MB/s bandwidth
* PC1200 (RIMM 2400): 16-bit, single channel RIMM specified to operate at 600 MHz clock rate, 2400 MB/s bandwidth
* RIMM 3200: 32-bit, dual channel RIMM specified to operate at 400 MHz clock rate, 3200 MB/s bandwidth
* RIMM 4200: 32-bit, dual channel RIMM specified to operate at 533 MHz clock rate, 4200 MB/s bandwidth
* RIMM 4800: 32-bit, dual channel RIMM specified to operate at 600 MHz clock rate, 4800 MB/s bandwidth
* RIMM 6400: 32-bit, dual channel RIMM specified to operate at 800 MHz clock rate, 6400 MB/s bandwidth

Video game consoles

Rambus's RDRAM saw use in three video game consoles, beginning in 1996 with the Nintendo 64. The Nintendo console utilized 4 MB RDRAM running with a 500 MHz clock on a 9-bit bus, providing 500 MB/s bandwidth. RDRAM allowed N64 to be equipped with a large amount of memory bandwidth while maintaining a lower cost due to design simplicity. RDRAM's narrow bus allows circuit board designers to use simpler design techniques to minimize cost. The memory, however, was disliked for its high random access latencies. In the N64, the RDRAM modules are cooled by a passive heatspreader assembly.[1]

Sony uses RDRAM in the PlayStation 2. The PS2 was equipped with 32 MB of the memory, and implemented a dual-channel configuration resulting in 3200 MB/s available bandwidth. The PlayStation 3 utilizes 256 MB of Rambus's XDR DRAM, which could be considered a successor to RDRAM, on a 64-bit bus at 400 MHz with an octal data rate[1] (cf. double data rate) providing a clock rate of 3.2 GHz, allowing a large 204.8 Gbit/s (25.6 GB/s) bandwidth.[2]
Video cards

Cirrus Logic implemented RDRAM support in their Laguna graphics chip, with two members of the family; the 2D-only 5462 and the 5464, a 2D chip with 3D acceleration. RDRAM offered a cost-advantage while being potentially faster than competing DRAM technologies with its high bandwidth. The chips were used on the Creative Graphics Blaster MA3xx series, among others.
Performance

Compared to other contemporary standards, Rambus shows a slight increase in latency, heat output, manufacturing complexity, and cost. Some criticized RDRAM's larger die size, which is required to house the added interface and results in a 10-20 percent price premium at 16-megabit densities and adds about a 5 percent penalty at 64M.[2]

PC-800 RDRAM operated with a latency of 45 ns, which was more latency than other comparable DRAM technologies of the time. RDRAM memory chips also put out significantly more heat than SDRAM chips, necessitating heatspreaders on all RIMM devices. RDRAM includes a memory controller on each memory chip, significantly increasing manufacturing complexity compared to SDRAM, which used a single memory controller located on the northbridge chipset. RDRAM was also two to three times the price of PC-133 SDRAM due to a combination of high manufacturing costs and high license fees.[citation needed] PC-2100 DDR SDRAM, introduced in 2000, operated with a clock rate of 133 MHz and delivered 2100 MB/s over a 64-bit bus using a 184-pin DIMM form factor.

When installing multiple RIMMs on a memory channel, performance impact is greater than SDRAM design because the data in the further memory module has to travel across all memory chips installed physically closer to the memory controller, instead of just 1 or 2 chips in production SDRAM motherboards.

The design of many common Rambus memory controllers dictated that memory sticks be installed in sets of two. Any remaining open memory slots must be filled with CRIMMs. These sticks provide no extra memory, and only served to propagate the signal to termination resistors on the motherboard instead of providing a dead end where signals would reflect. The picture on the lower right depicts a CRIMM stick.
A RAMBUS Continuity-RIMM (CRIMM), also known as terminator or dummy.

With the introduction of the i840 (Pentium III), Intel 850 (Pentium 4), Intel 860 (Pentium 4 Xeon) chipsets, Intel added support for dual-channel PC-800 RDRAM, doubling bandwidth to 3200 MB/s by increasing the bus width to 32-bit. This was followed in 2002 by the i850E chipset, which introduced PC-1066 RDRAM, increasing total dual-channel bandwidth to 4200 MB/s. Then in 2002, Intel released the E7205 Granitebay chipset, which introduced dual-channel DDR support for a total bandwidth of 4200 MB/s, at a slightly lower latency than competing RDRAM.

To achieve RDRAM's 800 MHz clock rate, the memory module only runs on 16-bit bus, instead of 64-bit bus in contemporary SDRAM DIMM. Furthermore, not all production RDRAM module at the time of Intel 820 launch can run at 800 MHz, but rather at slower clock rate.
Benchmarks

Benchmark tests conducted in 1998 showed most everyday applications to run minimally slower with RDRAM. In 1999, benchmarks comparing the Intel i840 and Intel i820 RDRAM chipsets with the Intel i440BX SDRAM chipset lead to the conclusion that the performance gain of RDRAM did not justify its premium price over SDRAM except for use in workstations. In 2002, benchmarks pointed out that single-channel DDR400 SDRAM modules could closely match dual-channel 1066 MHz RDRAM in everyday applications.[citation needed]
History of RDRAM marketing in PC market

In November, 1996, Rambus entered into a development and license contract with Intel.Intel announced to the Wintel development community that it would only support the Rambus memory interface for its microprocessors,Intel was granted rights to purchase 1M shares of Rambus' stock at $10 per share.

In 1998, Intel planned to make a $500 million equity investment in Micron Technology, to accelerate the adoption of Direct RDRAM. Other investment included paying $100 million to Samsung Electronics in 1999.

As a transition strategy, Intel planned to support PC-100 SDRAM DIMM on future Intel 82x chipset using Memory Translation Hub (MTH).In 2000, Intel recalled the Intel 820 motherboard with memory translator hub (MTH) because the MTH can, while doing simultaneous switching, produce noise that may cause the computer to hang mysteriously or to spontaneously reboot. Since then, no production Intel 820 motherboards contain MTH.

In 2000, Intel subsidized RDRAM by bundling retail boxes of Pentium 4 CPU with 2 RIMMs.[10] Intel began to phase out Rambus subsidies in 2001.

In 2003, Intel introduced Intel 865 and Intel 875 chipsets, which were marketed as high end replacement of Intel 850. Furthermore, the future memory roadmap did not include Rambus.

Few DRAM manufacturers have ever obtained the license to produce RDRAM, and those who did license the technology failed to make enough RIMMs to satisfy PC market demand, causing RIMM to be priced higher than SDRAM DIMMs, even when memory prices skyrocketed during 2002.During RDRAM's decline, DDR continued to advance in performance while, at the same time, it was still cheaper than RDRAM. Meanwhile, a massive price war in the DDR SDRAM allowed DDR SDRAM to be sold at or below production cost. DDR SDRAM makers were losing massive amounts of money, while RDRAM suppliers were making a good profit for every module sold. While it is still produced today, few motherboards support RDRAM. Between 2002-2005, market share of RDRAM had never extended beyond 5%.

In 2004, it was revealed that SDRAM manufacturers Infineon, Hynix, Samsung, Micron, and Elpida had entered into a price-fixing scheme . Infineon, Hynix, Samsung and Elpida all entered plea agreements with the US DOJ, pleading guilty to price fixing over 1999-2002. They paid fines totalling over $700 million and numerous executives were sentenced to jail time.

Rambus has alleged that, as part of the conspiracy, the DRAM manufacturers acted to depress the price of DDR memory in an effort to prevent RDRAM from succeeding in the market. Those allegations are the subject of lawsuits by Rambus against the various companies.

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Nokia N96

Monday, October 26, 2009


Nokia N96

Key Specs

Network: EDGE; GPRS; HSDPA
Screen Size: 2.8 inches
Operating System: Symbian OS 9.3
Carrier Specific?: No
Digital Camera: Yes (5 megapixels)
Audio Playback: Yes
Internal Memory: 16GB
Memory-Card Support: Yes (MicroSD)
Mfr. Rated Battery Life: 2.5 to 3.8 hours (talk time); 8 to 9.5 days (standby time)
Dimensions (HWD): 4.05x1.97x0.63 inches
Weight: 4.5 ounces

Nokia N96 Review

Reviewed by: Louis Ramirez
Review Date: March 2009

Nokia's N96 comes with every feature you'd want in a smartphone. This update to the N95 includes HSDPA (3G), Wi-Fi, 16GB of built-in memory, and a 5-megapixel camera. Unfortunately, when compared with a svelte and more advanced device like the Apple iPhone, the portly N96 fails to impress us. With its unsubsidized $705 price tag, it's also out of touch with reality.

When it first debuted, Nokia's N95 put its competition to shame with an abundance of media-oriented features. The N96 picks up where the N95 left off, but ditches the N95's matte finish for a stylish high-gloss exterior. Although the glossy finish is more in line with today's trends, there's no escaping the N96's cheap, toy-like feel. In fact, a few times the phone's rear casing came loose or squeaked, since it's only held in place by one latch. Otherwise, the N96 isn't a radical departure from its predecessor, though Nokia managed to trim a bit of depth from its waistline.

Like the N95, the N96 is a dual-sliding phone. Slide the screen upward to reveal the phone's numeric keypad; slide it down to access a column of four media-playback controls, which light up when the phone is on.

Besides being an unlocked phone (you can use it with service from AT&T or T-Mobile), one reason for the high price tag is that the N96 is loaded with features. The problem is that if you live in the United States, you can’t use a lot them. The N96 has the ability to stream live television, but the service is not offered by AT&T or T-Mobile. It supports video calling and music downloads from Nokia Music, but both are not available stateside. But even if these capabilities become available, the price is still high when you compare it to smartphones like the iPhone, T-Mobile’s G1, and even some of the newer BlackBerry models.

The front of the phone is dominated by a 2.8-inch QVGA (240x320-pixel) display, which (surprisingly in this iPhone age) is not a touch screen. Although the LCD is perfectly adequate for photos and video, the display falls short on resolution, trailing behind the iPhone’s 480x320-resolution display and other large-screen phones like it.

Navigating through the phone's interface is easy, thanks to the N96's four-way directional pad and Symbian OS. Although the lack of a QWERTY keypad makes the phone feel dated, the directional pad proved to be more efficient than most touch screens we've used. On the rear sits the phone's 5-megapixel sensor with Carl Zeiss optics and dual LED flashes. Images looked superior to those of most camera phones and can stand up to those from your average compact point-and-shoot.

Conveniently, the N96 has a GPS receiver built in. The phone uses the Nokia Maps application to display maps, and users can add optional navigation services such as voice-guided driving instructions. In terms of connectivity, the N96 packs HSDPA, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi. However, Web addicts will find Nokia's Web browser very dated, especially after seeing the HTML-rich pages of the iPhone's Safari browser. Although Flash is supported, Web pages on the N96 were slow to load and oftentimes loaded incorrectly or with errors.

In addition to the N96's 16GB of onboard memory, the phone also supports MicroSD cards. This is particularly useful if you want to use your N96 as your personal media player, since it already includes a 3.5mm headphone jack and sports an FM tuner, along with support for most popular audio formats (such as MP3, WMA, and AAC). To watch videos, upload an MPEG-4, WMV, or Real file.

Call quality on the phone was loud and strong. Likewise, its built-in stereo speakers were among the strongest we've seen on a smartphone. The N96's battery lasted for two business days with a combination of moderate wireless use, voice calls, and standby time.

Although the N96 is filled to the brim with lust-worthy features, it doesn't come close to rivaling the user experience provided by devices like the iPhone or Blackberry Bold. And for a phone that costs nearly eight bills, that's a huge setback. If you crave a Nokia N-series phone but can't stomach $705, check out the well-built, cheaper (but still pricey) N85.

Price (at time of review): $639 (direct price)

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HTC Tilt2 (AT&T) phone




specifications


  • Manufacturer: HTC
  • Part Number:4030272

Telecom

  • Data services SMS , E-Mail , Voice mail
  • Cellular enhancement protocol GPRS support

General

  • Built-in devices Camera , Digital player

Operating System / Software

  • OS provided Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional
  • Software included Microsoft Office Mobile

Memory

  • Installed RAM 288 MB
  • Installed ROM 512 MB

Input Device

  • Input device type Touch screen , Stylus

Cellular

  • Service Provider AT&T

Display

  • Display type 3.6 in TFT active matrix
  • Max resolution 400 x 800

Power

  • Battery installed (max) Lithium ion
  • Max supported batteries 1
  • Talk time Up to 510 min (GSM) , Up to 390 min (WCDMA)

Expansion / Connectivity

  • Expansion slot(s) total (free) 1





Product summary

The good: The HTC Tilt2 ships with Windows Mobile 6.5 out of the box and offers excellent call quality. The smartphone features a spacious QWERTY keyboard and bright touch screen.

The bad: The Tilt2 is bulky and expensive. It lacks a standard 3.5mm headphone jack.

The bottom line: Delivering an improved design and updated operating system, the HTC Tilt2 is a worthy upgrade and offers AT&T's business customers a powerful smartphone.

Specifications: OS provided: Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional ; Talk time: Up to 510 min (GSM) , Up to 390 min (WCDMA) ; RAM installed size: 288 MB See full specs

Price range: $299.99 check prices

CNET editors' review

  • Reviewed on: 10/20/2009
  • Released on: 10/19/2009

Editors' note: Portions of the Features section were taken from our review of the HTC Pure since the two smartphones share a number of same features.

After waiting in the wings, AT&T's business customers are finally getting their turn with the HTC Touch Pro2. Dubbed the HTC Tilt2 (and obviously the successor to the AT&T Tilt), the smartphone has a leg up on T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon's version of the smartphone by shipping with Windows Mobile 6.5 out of the box.

While not a major overhaul of the Microsoft's mobile operating system, it brings a more user-friendly interface and several added features, such as the My Phone backup service and Windows Marketplace. The hardware is also vastly improved over the Tilt with a sharper touch screen and top-notch QWERTY keyboard, and the combination of the two certainly gives it an edge over AT&T's other smartphones, such as the HTC Pure, BlackBerry Bold, and iPhone. The browsing experience is a little frustrating and multimedia isn't its forte, but it delivers as a business device. The Tilt2 is available now for $299.99 with a two-year contract.

Design
Despite the different name, the HTC Tilt2 is instantly recognizable as a variant of the Touch Pro2. It most closely resembles the unlocked version of the smartphone, as it features the same speaker and camera layout on the back and the sexy chrome edges and smoky, mirrored face. Unfortunately, the Tilt2 carries over one thing we didn't like about the unlocked model, and that's the lack of a standard 3.5mm jack. Instead, you'll have to use the included audio adapter to plug in your favorite headphones or earbuds. The adapter plugs into the mini USB port on the bottom of the device and sticks out quite a bit, so it's a bit of a cumbersome setup.


Unfortunately, the HTC Tilt2 isn't equipped with a standard 3.5mm headphone jack.

Another variation of the Tilt2 is the full QWERTY keyboard. Instead of a dedicated number row like the T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon versions, AT&T requested that the top row be set aside for symbols, while numbers double up with some letter keys on the right half of the keyboard. While some might begrudge this change, we didn't find it hampered our typing experience. The numbers are clearly highlighted in blue, and you still get the same large buttons and ample spacing.


The HTC Tilt2 has a slightly varied keyboard from the other versions of the Touch Pro2.

The HTC Tilt2 measures 4.54 inches tall by 2.33 inches wide by 0.65 inch thick and weighs 6.3 ounces, and while bulky, the larger size makes room for the smartphone's 3.6-inch WVGA resistive touch screen. It's sharp and vibrant and features a built-in accelerometer and proximity sensor. Since the HTC Tilt2 ships with Windows Mobile 6.5, however, you get some user interface enhancements not found on the other Touch Pro2 models. For example, you get the new Lock screen, which shows notifications to missed calls, new messages, appointments, and so forth and allows you to go directly to the relevant apps. The Start menu also features a more touch-friendly honeycomb layout, and you also get the option to switch to the new Today screen, though we prefer HTC's TouchFlo 3D interface since it shows more information at a glance.

Other features of the Tilt2's design include a volume rocker and a push-to-talk key on the left side, a touch-sensitive zoom bar below the display, and a microSD expansion slot behind the battery door. For more about the smartphone's design, please read our review of the HTC Touch Pro2.

Aside from the audio adapter, AT&T packages the HTC Tilt2 with an AC adapter, a USB cable, an extra stylus, a software CD, and reference material. For more add-ons, please check our cell phone accessories, ringtones, and help page.

Features
The obvious advantage of the HTC Tilt2 over the other carrier versions of the HTC Touch Pro2 is that it ships with Windows Mobile 6.5 out of the box. This means you have instant access to Windows Marketplace for Mobile, Microsoft's My Phone backup service, and the improved Internet Explorer Mobile browser. The latter has always been a blemish on the Windows Mobile operating system, but with 6.5, you do get a number of improvements, such as Flash Lite support and better tools for page navigation. It is noticeably better than previous versions, but we'd still like to see more capabilities like tabbed browsing, an onscreen refresh button, in-page search, and so forth--all of which are features of the Opera Mobile browser, which, coincidentally, is included on Tilt2, so you get to pick and choose.

The productivity side of Windows Mobile doesn't change too much with the arrival of 6.5. The HTC Pure comes preloaded with the Microsoft Office Mobile Suite for editing native Word and Excel documents and viewing PowerPoint presentations. In addition, it offers Microsoft's Direct Push Technology for real-time e-mail delivery and automatic synchronization with your Outlook calendar, tasks, and contacts via Exchange Server and support for POP3 and IMAP accounts. Once Exchange 2010 arrives, Windows Mobile 6.5 will also support conversation view for e-mails, unified messaging, free/busy calendar lookup, and more.

As a phone, the HTC Tilt2 offers quad-band world roaming, speed dial, smart dialing, voice commands, three-way calling, push-to-talk calls (note this costs an additional $5.00 a month) and text and multimedia messaging, conference calling, and a speakerphone. The latter two functions are enhanced by HTC's Straight Talk Technology, which was designed to improve the sound of the speakerphone and better integrate conference calling into the phone's contact management system.

The address book is only limited by the available memory, and each entry can store multiple numbers, home and work addresses, e-mail, IM screen name, birthday, spouse's name, and more. For caller ID purposes, you can pair a contact with a photo, a caller group, or a custom ringtone. In addition, you can now view your contacts' status updates, any messages or e-mails you've exchanged with the person, and call history from a contact page. Search, in general, is easier since there's a Search Phone widget that will search your phone and its various apps, including e-mail, calendar, contacts, messages, tasks, and Word documents, to find results.

Bluetooth 2.0 is also onboard for use with mono and stereo Bluetooth headsets, hands-free kits, object push, file transfer, personal area networking, dial-up networking, and more. The Tilt2 is 3G-capable, though if you happen to be out of a coverage zone, the smartphone has built-in Wi-Fi to back you up and provides access to AT&T's Wi-Fi hot spots around the country.

Other AT&T services supported by the HTC Tilt2 include AT&T Navigator, which you can use with the smartphone's built-in GPS to receive voice-guided navigation, AT&T Music, and AT&T Video. The carrier also throws in a number of extra apps, which you access from the dedicated AT&T Tab through HTC's TouchFlo interface. Such programs include MobiTV, The Weather Channel, and WikiMobile. The smartphone ships with plenty of standard personal information management tools as well, such as a Adobe Reader LE, a task list, a note pad, a voice recorder, and a calculator.


Picture quality was a bit dull; colors looked washed out.

Last but not least, the Tilt2 gets a slight upgrade over its predecessor in the camera department, going from a 3-megapixel camera to a 3.2-megapixel one. As before, you get a wide range of camera settings and tools, including white balance and brightness controls, ISO settings, flicker adjustment, and various resolution and image-quality options as well as a camcorder mode. Unfortunately, picture quality wasn't that much better. Though images were slightly sharper and not as orange, there's still plenty of room for improvement in the color department. There's also a bit of shutter lag, so be sure not to pull away too soon after taking a picture. Saved images can be used for caller ID, background images, or can be viewed in a slide show. You can also share them via multimedia message or e-mail. The Tilt2 has up to 32GB of expandable memory while offering 512MB ROM/288MB RAM.

Performance
We tested the quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) HTC Tilt2 in San Francisco using AT&T service, and call quality was excellent. On our side of the conversation, the audio was exceptionally clear on both regular voice calls and speakerphone calls, with very little to no background noise. Volume was also plenty loud. Friends also reported good results, though one did say there was some occasional background noise when we were on speakerphone. We had no problems pairing the smartphone with the Logitech Mobile Traveller Bluetooth headset or the Motorola S9 Bluetooth Active Headphones.

The Tilt2 is equipped with a 528MHz Qualcomm MSM7201A processor, and overall, the smartphone was able to keep up with our demands. There was some occasional sluggishness as far as general performance, but nothing as bad as trying to connect to the mobile Web. CNET's San Francisco office seems to be a dead zone for AT&T's 3G network, so we had an incredibly hard time getting online and accessing Windows Marketplace. Thankfully, we had Wi-Fi to fall back on, but it was still frustrating nonetheless. We were able to able to connect to AT&T's network in other parts of town, though speeds varied. Using the Opera browser, at its fastest, CNET's full site loaded in 53 seconds and at its slowest 1 minute and 44 seconds, while CNN's mobile site varied from 10 seconds to 40 seconds.

Fortunately, the Tilt2's GPS capabilities were much more reliable and steady. The smartphone was always able to home in on location in a minute or less and accurately tracked our position as we drove through the city. We used AT&T Navigator to get directions from the Golden Gate Bridge to CNET's downtown offices, and the service was able to provide an accurate route within a matter of seconds. Voice prompts were loud and clear, but route recalculations were just a touch on the slower side.

The HTC Tilt2 features a 1,500mAh lithium ion battery with a rated talk time of 8.5 hours and up to 20 days of standby time. We are still conducting our battery drain tests but will update this section as soon as we have final results. According to FCC radiation tests, the Tilt2 has a digital SAR rating of 1.16 watts per kilogram and has a Hearing Aid Compatibility rating of M3.



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