Watch the final part of the video series : Windows 7 security checklist.

Watch the second part of the three part video series where the essential parts of the Windows 7 Security checklist are explained. These features include Windows Defender, Action Centre, User Account Control (UAC), Windows Update, Windows Firewall, Backup & Restore

Watch the three part video series where the essential parts of the Windows 7 Security checklist are explained. These features include Windows Defender, Action Centre, User Account Control (UAC), Windows Update, Windows Firewall, Backup & Restore.

Customizing Windows is something that most of us love to do. There are tons of software out there that offer different solutions or features, but bottom line is that they all offer very limited functionality. UWC ( Ultimate Windows Customizer) is a ALL-IN-ONE integrated solution for customizing Windows that includes everything from customization option for explorer , libraries, taskbar to Windows Media player. UWC works both on 32bit & 64 bit Windows.

Some of the features include:

1. Lets you customize almost all aspects of Windows including, Start Button, Logon Screen,  Windows Explorer, Libraries, Context Menu, Taskbar, Windows Media Player and more
2. Very simple and easy to use. No manual Hacks. No need to manually edit the Windows Registry and Windows System files
3. Tested over and over for compatibility between various customizations.
4. 70+ major features with literally tons of sub-features
5. Built in Update Feature to be easily notified of new updates.
6. Backs up all System Files and Registry Settings that UWC deals with and does not modify these.
7. Error Log for easy display
8. Creates System Restore Point before any customizations are done

Continue Reading & download

Windows 7 being a huge success & a milestone in the operating system history of Microsoft, has brought a new level of development scenarios to the OS development architecture. Windows has always been a frontline product of Microsoft. After Windows 7’s success and a major architecture change, it was time for Microsoft to think something new, to invent something that might change the way people interact with computers.

Microsoft put together www.buildwindows.com that showcases what is being done with the next version of windows and is a ultimate heaven for developers. After months of work the Windows codenamed “Windows 8” was previewed to the Developer community on September 13, 2011. This NextGen, and next version of Windows has been built upon the rock solid platform of Windows 7. Windows 8 at this Milestone has unique User Interface & User Experience styling, which on combination is known as Metro. This Metro UI is the same UI that was used in the Windows Phone 7 devices launched the previous year.

Metro UI, being a NUI ( Natural User Interface ), provides its user with fluent flick & clicks and a very soothing and natural interface that is inspired with the way human interact with things in their daily life. This just not only supports multi-touch in Windows 8, but it serves as a touch-first interface. This UI on ground level is made for touch screen devices but works equally good with normal keyboard and mouse.

What makes a computing experience wonderful ? It is the capabilities and the reliability we get while working. Windows 8 has its own Marketplace or App Store that connect your computer with thousands of apps to choose from, according to your needs and at your desktop. This also gives the application developer a great chance to build and sell their apps anywhere in the world where Windows is sold.

Windows 8 apps are showcased as tiles that fill your screen in order to provide you with enhanced view of the application making is simpler to run and use. The apps on Windows 8 communicate to give you an easier user experience, this means that you can now copy anything like a picture from anywhere say Flickr and post it to Facebook. These Metro styled apps make your life and work easier with all at one place, that is your desktop. You can now sync to cloud services or upload files to SkyDrive right from your app.

When it comes to consumption of system resources, Windows 8 goes one more step ahead of Windows 7 in reducing the memory footprint that is used by the system, making Windows run more efficiently even on low end hardware. Windows 8 also has a system spell checker that truly helps a lot while writing at places where Spell check is not enabled.

Windows 8 also comes with a new Taskbar that is taking a lot of attention. This Taskbar is kind of a Power Bar, that shows you the information in two different ways. If you are normal user who just wants to see what application is running in the system, the taskbar just shows the list of active applications, plain & simple. But for enhanced users, as soon as you click for more information, the Task Manager gets a powerful tool that displays almost all the information one needs for effective computing. This information includes CPU, Memory, Disk usage. The current application usage, services running in the system & much much more.

At this milestone, Windows 8 developer preview showcases some application that adds Social network integration to your desktop. Some of these apps socialite ( Facebook ) & twitter@rama ( for twitter) has been introduced.

Windows 8 runs on everything that includes 10inch tablets to HD screens. It also adds support for ARM based chipset, x86 as well as x32 and x64 devices.Windows 8 support old low-end hardware as well, it also supports the next generation hardware.

Windows 8 Developer preview definitely gives out a sense of future and showcases beautifully the future of operating system that is to come from Microsoft.

As I have just got my hands on Windows 8 Developer preview, my experience will soon follow.

If you are interested, Please download the Developer Preview from : www.buildwindows.com

While Symbian still has a good share of devices running on it, i wont be discussing Symbian, MeeGo,  maemo etc.

We will be talking about:

iOS

While iOS is one of best Phone operating systems out there*, it lacks a certain grounds that revoke it from the common end user pocket scenario. iOS has almost everything that you would want in a mobile smartphone or a tablet based device. iPhone & iPAD both have a common GNOME & they are like beautiful toys of wealth. Its glassy, shiny with some mesmerizing features. IPAD can work up with any expectations you might have with it. It can be reader morning newspapers or surfing the internet, to playing games, painting & almost do anything. iPhone has evolved over the years & has made some remarkable improvements & enrolled a lot of new & useful features as well. Marketplace is well developed with thousands of apps to choose from. The device manufacturing is solely done by Apple.

Bottom Line : Taking into account the market price that I enquired at some local market, the cheapest iPhone ( 3gs ) right now can be bought for around INR 19000/- , while a iPhone 4g is between 30000-35000/-. On the other hand iPAD is available between INR. 30000/- onwards.

Windows Phone

Windows Phones is very new into the OS world right now, if we don’t take into account the years of experience Windows mobile has for Microsoft. Microsoft has tried & very much achieved a great deal of reliability, performance & Today’s Gen Mobile OS that is not just for Business users, but for Entertainment as well. The Devices are from different manufacturers with some standard set of specifications, that are required as minimum for the OS to be used by the manufacturer. Windows Phone as a new OS is making its way to the top is currently undergoing changes day by day. Microsoft has put in the new OS update system that helps run your device smoothly & securely. In the Entertainment section Zune & Xbox Live integration provides great options for Music listening & Gaming. Windows Phone though being in the premium zone of the Mobile market has cheap options too & with Nokia coming out with a WP7 based mobile handset this is going to get better. * Speculations are that Nokia might be coming out with a Asia Market specific Windows Phone devices that will be cheaper as compared to the normal phones.

Bottom Line: Windows Phone is evolving at a strong pace & the Marketplace is also growing rapidly with thousand of apps already available, The hardware/Devices are being made by different companies mainly HTC, SAMSUNG, DELL, LG & Nokia in the near future. The Price range currently is starting at approx. INR 14000/- and goes up to INR30000/-. Cheaper phones might come out in the near future & WP is definitely going to get to the top.

Next Coming Android/RIM

Today, about one third of Asia-Pacific alone is under threat from malwares & other threats and are desperately in need of a effective solution to get rid of these problems are provide a better & safe working browsing environment. Taking action against threats like these Microsoft created the latest Internet Explorer 9 browser, which proves itself a solid line of defence against online threats. Internet Explorer 9 not only is safe, but it provides a beautiful & speedy browsing environment .

To prove this fact NSS labs released two reports which indicate that SmartScreen feature in IE continues to offer industry leading protection against Malware. The report states “ Internet Explorer 9 blocks exceptional 99% malware. 96% of the live threats were caught with SmartScreen URL reputation in IE9, and an additional 3.2% with Application Reputation.”

When Comparing since report published by NSS labs in October 2010, the average time taken to block a threat by SmartScreen filter has gotten 28% faster. Comparison of Application reputation resulted in 85% faster response time. Refer the graph below that highlights that Internet Explorer blocks 5X ( 5 times ) more malware than competitive browsers.

The other reports looked at socially engineered malware targeted towards people living in Asia Pacific region and in Europe. As you can see below, in each region the results remained consistent – Internet Explorer 9 maintains a lead in protecting users from live threats.

Internet Explorer 9 has proved itself in every aspect of browsing & has received positive feedback from consumers globally. Microsoft has build this browser keeping every aspect in mind that a consumer needs. Very useful new features like ActiveX filtering, Tracking protection, Tracking protection lists & so on. As a result IE9 currently has a 18% usage share worldwide on Windows 7.

You can check out the full report here

Download Internet Explorer 9

Its time when we took our environment  seriously & do whatever we can to save & contribute towards saving our planet. These days almost every giant company is trying to reduce their carbon footprint. Green initiatives are coming into action here & there, but what can an individual do to help towards saving the environment.

Almost everyone these days use computers. While building/ ordering a new computer, whether it is a custom made PC or a branded one, you can make it a green pc. Going green isn’t very difficult. Many Companies out there are making green pcs these days. Check out the  brand website for the green PC options or if you are making a custom pc , you can make a list of Green components you might want to use.

An example is the western digital Green Caviar Green series of hard disk drives.

not only hard disk drives , but others components like Motherboards are also coming with green labels on them, check them out. While selecting a processor, just don’t go for the top of the line product. Calculate your usage and the amount of computing power you need & select a processor accordingly. While selecting a CPU remember to check out how much watts a processor takes and its power saving features.

Just remember every single commitment taken toward saving our environment counts. Just use the resources you really need.

Shantanu Kaushik

Call them Mini, Netbook or ultra-portables. These tiny computers have come a long way in mobile computing. These days you can use your smartphone to do almost everything, but there are certain things that you would like a computer to do. What makes Mini computers or Netbooks special & should you buy one is going to be discussed here.

What is a Netbook ?

A netbook is a hot piece of computer that can work for long hours while generating minimal heat, but with that it gives you slower performance when compared to a standard desktop/Laptop PC. You can do almost everything on a netbook, but should refrain from using high resource hungry application on it.

Options with Processors

Both Intel & AMD are giving options in mobile processors which fill the Netbooks today. While Intel Atom is a more cheap solution then AMD ( this being quite opposite when seen in Laptop/Desktop) . The Cheapest Netbook in Indian market starts nearly at 12,500/- ( which might vary in your state or region).

Should I buy a Netbook ?

Netbook is a great portable computer for word processing, Internet surfing, blogging etc. ! But the limitations come in terms of processing power. Playing Games and intensive coding or High Definition videos can be a problem, but you can watch normal DVD/CD quality videos very easily.
Buying a netbook is a perfect option if you already have a Home Desktop/Laptop computer that suffices your resource hungry application needs. Netbook is more affordable, light & portable.

These updates are divided into :

Now, the hardware for all windows phone 7 devices is nearly common with 1Ghz processor, Internal Storage or 8gb,16gb, 512Mb ROM and 576 MB RAM** , The Dedicated camera button is a necessity with Windows Phone design and it also comes equipped with just three buttons ( touch or local ) on the front.

HTC HD7 Front slide

Samsung Omnia 7 front slide

Currently, there are a few Windows Phone 7 devices that are available in India, but the choice is pretty good in other parts of the world, mainly USA & UK.

Talking about the updates, The update system as shown above consists of three types of updates you can call them Core OS update, Security update & performance and hardware updates. Within these only the Hardware based updates that are released for solving performance issues with a specific device or to increase overall user experience on a specific device. One such update was released today. This update is for Samsung Focus ( v1.4). This types of updates are phone specific & are used for improving overall quality of user experience.

So, if you have a Samsung focus, connect it to Zune to get your update. This update is currently delivered to AT&T users and will soon be live for other carriers too.