Saturday, March 31, 2007

Google Pack Gets Adds More Free Features

Google has added some new features to its Google Pack service.The free collection of software applications now includes antivirus, antimalware, and antispyware tools.
The Google Pack version of Symantec's Norton Security Scan is designed to remove all existing viruses, Trojans, and worms found on a user's PC and provide tips on how to improve PC security. Meanwhile, the free Google Pack edition of PC Tools' Spyware Doctor offers on-demand spyware detection and removal as well as real-time protection.
Google has also included Photos Screensaver that can turn your screen into a digital picture frame that displays the latest photos from friends, family, and favorite photographers.

Google Pack downloads and installs these applications and the Google Updater, included in the Google Pack, keeps them up to date.

Google Pack Beta is available in 12 languages, runs on Window XP and Vista, and supports Internet Explorer 6.0 and Firefox 1.0 and higher.

Download Google Pack here.

Technorati Tags: Google, , Symantec

Samsung Debuts the Metallic D840 in India

Category : Mobiles


Samsung Telecommunications India has announced the launch of its Metallic Series phones in India. It is targeted at the Indian youth market.

Features of Samsung D840:
  • It comes in a Super Slim form and a metallic silver exterior.
  • It is measured 11.9 mm in thickness and a weight of just 100 gm.
  • The D840 features 2 Megapixel (4x digital zoom) Camera.
  • It has MP3 player with integrated dual speaker, multi-format music player for listening music on wireless Bluetooth stereo headsets, fast forward / rewind option and Direct TV Out function for sharing entertainment while on move.
  • The phone also offers 80 MB of internal memory and external MicroSD memory for data storage.
  • The handset also has features such as 262k TFT QVGA Color Screen, Triband, Bluetooth wireless support, Email and mobile printing for business users.
  • The handset is also secured through Samsung’s mobile tracker, emergency SMS alert and privacy lock.
Supporting all popular office formats like MS Word, PowerPoint, Excel, PDF, HTML, and Standard Image formats, the D840 displays downloads exactly as they appear on the desktop PC to view, manipulate and send. Through the Direct TV Out function, the phone enables business users to make presentations via the handset. In addition, the phone allows users to read rework documents through Offline mode on flight. The phone’s Auto Time Update feature will automatically reset the time zone and show users the correct local time, when out of the country.

H.C. Ryu, Managing Director, Samsung Telecommunications India said,

Indian youth are very fashion and style conscious. The launch of D840 reinforces our commitment to deliver cutting-edge technologies, superiorly designed mobile to the modern youth. It is designed for consumers who wish to stand out from the crowd, showcasing unrivaled performance, advanced functionality and world-class design.

Price : Rs. 13499

Source : Tech2
Technorati Tags: Samsung Electronics, D480, Mobile Phones

Friday, March 16, 2007

Streakr - A meta Search engine of all social networking sites

While on net we recently discovered a new social network and social networking meta search engine, Streakr. The main URL still says the site is coming soon. The new engine lets you search the profiles on the major networks (MySpace, Hi5, Bebo, and Facebook) as well at it’s own social network. It appears to be a hook to draw people into their main service, like Wink did when they launched their own profile search and Rapleaf had with UpScoop. Profile management tool ProfileLinker also has a search engine.
Streakr’s social network is like Delicious for cool kids and is a less flashy take on Trig. It includes a profiles, a toolbar, and a stumble upon feature that lets you flip through links in a given category. Here’s the one for video.
The profiles look a lot like MySpace, consisting of the usual details, about me, photos, and seizure inducing layouts. Xenia is Streakrs’ Tom. However, where MySpace puts a blog and comments, Streakr puts in favorite links and your “thumbs up” rating for each. You can input the links into your profile manually, or use the Streakr toolbar to add links to your profile and vote on them. The toolbar also provides an interface to all the other functionality on the main site, and is currently only for IE, requires the .NET framework, and takes forever and a day to download and install.
There are a couple other sites with social networking meta search. Here’s the lowdown on a few:
WinkWink is fast and simple. It searches Friendster, MySpace, Bebo, LinkedIn, and Live Spaces. It also has advanced search features, like location, sex, status, age, and interests. It also lets you narrow your search by those fields after your first search.

ProfileLinkerProfileLinker is the most comprehensive search engine, with 84 social networking sites including general, blog, cultural, dating, professional, student, and special interest networks. Unfortunately you have to log in to use it.

UpScoopUpScoop comes ahead in ease of use. Unlike the others, UpScoop searches by email based on all the contacts in your address book. It searches Bebo, Classmates, Ecademy, Flickr, Friendster, Hi5, Livejournal, Multiply, MySpace, Ringo, Tickle, Tribe, Yelp, Mog, and LinkedIn. While it finds the vast majority of your friends off the bat, some drawbacks are that it can take UpScoop up to a couple hours to search for the last few and the need to hand over your email credentials.
Via - techcrunch.com

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Top 3 Ultimate Dual-Core Ultra-Portables Lappies

Category : Technology
I had just reviewed Laptops which are ultra-Portable and i mainly prefer on battery backup
life, I had not just selected ultra-portability but also with Dual-core processors and internet connectivity .. Demerits there lapies does not have good keyboard.. One of my friend Afaque Quadri is having a maccho machine .. Model name is Lg dx-5200 series but it does not come into portable so i had not posted it..

We have however taken a conscious decision not to include laptops with 11.1-inch screens. These tiny laptops compromise on processing power and screen resolutions and do not offer a very comfortable computing experience. Hence we have chosen to leave them out of this feature.Asus U5F
Asus really needs no introduction. They have steadily released some impressive products that are appreciated for the quality of their products and the performance they offer. One such product is the Asus U5F which was introduced in 2006. The Asus U5F was a 12.1 inch ultra-portable laptop that ran on the Core Duo platform and had been featured in quite a few of our previous roundups. It has now been "refreshed" with new specifications and hence makes a return to this list.

The Asus U5F weighing a mere 1.5 Kg is built on the Core2Duo platform and features the full range of processors to choose, from the T7400 which is clocked at 2.33 GHz to the T5500 processors which are clocked at 1.66 GHz. The LCD panel on the U5F, has also been upgraded and is now a 12.1 ColorShine LCD with a native resolution of 1024x768. It is now powered by Asus’s excellent splendid screen technology which promises excellent color output with great contrast and sharpness. We have seen this technology being used before and it delivers promising results.

For system memory, Asus has equipped the U5F with 512 MB of DDR2 memory (upgradable to 1.5 GB) and an 80 GB HDD rounds up storage space. In terms of peripheral connectivity, this laptop is fully equipped with 3 USB 2.0 slots, 1 Express card slot, a Firewire Slot and an 8-in-1 media card reader. The U5F is an interesting choice when it comes to battery life. It allows a customer to select batteries that are a tradeoff in terms of the increased weight vs. battery life available. The base battery is able to easily offer around 4 hours and the higher capacities can easily scale 6 ½ hours with moderate levels of use.

The U5F, with its powerful dual-core processor, excellent 12.1 inch display panel and great battery life makes it an ideal ultra-portable for road warriors. Unfortunately ASUS, in keeping with its Indian pricing policy seems to have missed a trick here.
Cost : Rs 80000/- Upwards

Dell XPS M1210

Dell like ASUS offers great products. Quite a few of their products have been part of our roundups and lists and have often won in their respective categories.

The XPS M1210, is an entertainment oriented ultra-portable, that offers some excellent specifications. It is built on the Core2Duo platform and like ASUS, offers the full range of C2D mobile processors. The LCD panel on the XPS M1210 is a 12.1 Inch LCD panel with a native resolution of 1280x800, which makes it HD Ready (720p). Dell unlike a lot of other manufacturers offers a healthy amount of RAM with all its laptops. This is well reflected in the fact that, Dell ships the base model of the XPS M1210 with 1 GB RAM. Most manufacturers offer 512 Mb of ram in comparison for base models. Dell unlike others also offers a lot of storage space. The XPS M1210 is currently being sold with an 80 GB model for the base version and offers a free upgrade to 120 GB.

Dell has equipped the XPS M1210 with a dedicated graphical solution. The XPS M1210 utilizes a dedicated Nvidia GeForce Go 7400 video card with 256MB of memory which allows Windows Vista to be run in all its glory. This amount of graphic memory and particular Nvidia chipset is normally utilized on more expensive laptops-- to find it on an ultra-portable is a virtually unheard of move. For peripheral connectivity, Dell has certainly not left anything. The XPS M1210 offers four USB 2.0 ports, FireWire, VGA, and S-Video-out ports and two headphone jacks. There is also an Express Card slot present and a five -in-one media card reader that recognizes Secure Digital, Multimedia Card and Memory Stick Pro formats.

Dell like ASUS has adopted a multi-battery approach for the XPS M1210. The M1210 offers a variety of batteries which offer extended battery life but compromise on the weight of the laptop. At a base level, the Dell is easily able to cross 3 ½ hrs and with its extended battery it is possible to reach nearly 7 hrs.
All in all with its powerful processor, huge amount of system memory dedicated graphical solution and extensive peripheral connectivity the Dell XPS M1210 offers a VFM that is second to none.
Cost : Rs 59000/-
Acer Travelmate 3012WTMi

Acer is a manufacturer, that does not often get its due when it comes to laptops. They make some very good laptops which offer excellent features and great battery life. The Travel mate 3012 WTMi is one such laptop, although being a year old still offers great VFM.

Though Acer has not yet shifted its to the Core2Duo platform, it has not crippled the 3012 either. The 3012 ships with a core-duo T2300 processor which offers plenty of power for multi-tasking and multimedia purposes. The rest of the system specifications are not too shabby as there is 1 GB of system memory and storage space of 80 GB. Similar to the other products in this roundup, the screen on this laptop is a 12.1 inch LCD panel which offers an HD ready resolution of 1280x720. For its peripheral connectivity Acer has equipped the Travelmate with three USB ports; a FireWire port, a Type II PC Card slot; a memory slot for SD and Sony Memory Stick Flash cards; and both D-Sub and DVI monitor outputs.

With concerns to battery life, this notebook is neatly in a league of its own. The 3012WTMi is able to reach over 5 ½ hours available on a single charge on the standard 6 cell battery. Acer also has another unique feature for its batteries. A standard recharge on most laptops takes around 2 ½ hrs. In comparison, Acer has implemented a quick recharge function, which is able to return the laptop to full power in under 80 mins.
Cost : Rs 77500/-




Monday, March 12, 2007

Indians Tops in Asia for most number of Billionaires

NEW DELHI: India became home to the most billionaires in Asia, pushing Japan back to the No. 2 spot, according to Forbes magazine's 2007 rankings of the world's richest people.


Lakshmi N. Mittal, the London-based steel magnate who spearheaded the takeover of European steel maker Arcelor SA, was the richest Asian — and the world's fifth-wealthiest — with a net worth estimated at US$32 billion, the magazine said.

India added 14 new billionaires since last year to bring its total on the list to 36 with a combined wealth of US$191 billion, Forbes said, contrasting sharply with the 400 million Indians who still live on less than a dollar a day.

Japan's 24 billionaires had an estimated combined net worth US$64 billion, according to the list, while Hong Kong came in the third spot with 21 billionaires, and China was fourth with 20.

Globally, the number of billionaires reached a record 946, Forbes said.

The rankings underscored how China's and India's rapid economic growth are altering the balance among the world's wealthiest men and women.

The United States may still have 44 percent of the world's total billionaires, but many of them are dropping through the ranks and are being overtaken by business tycoons from Asia and other emerging economies, including Russia and Mexico, the Forbes' list showed.

Only five Americans were in the top 20 that included three Indians.

Hong Kong-based business tycoon Li Ka-shing was Asia's second-wealthiest individual and ninth overall with net worth of US$23 billion., the list showed.

The rich in China and India, the world's two most populous, cashed in on nearly every opportunity created last year by their increasingly globalized economies, from a boom in stock markets to soaring commodity and real estate prices, the magazine said.

Their wealth accumulations have also manifested in a growing demand for luxury goods — from Louis Vuitton bags to Porsche cars — in this once impoverished part of the world.

Rolls-Royce, for example, is expanding its workforce by about 25 percent to meet demand from China. Merrill Lynch said this week that it plans to open more private banking centers in India to tap its growing cash-rich population.

Ranked third and fourth richest in Asia were two Indian brothers, Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani, who split their father's business after months of feuding in 2005.

Mukesh Ambani, whose Reliance Industries is largely focused on petroleum and petrochemicals, was No. 14 with wealth totaling US$20.1 billion. His brother Anil, whose diversified business interests include telecommunications, power generation and finance, ranked 18 with an estimated net worth of US$18.2 billion.

In 2005, Mukesh Ambani ranked 56 and Anil stood at 104.

The Ambanis' rise was mostly driven by a surge in share prices. Stocks of Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries have risen 84 percent in the past year, while shares of Reliance Communications and Reliance Capital — companies controlled by the younger brother — increased 49 percent and 26 percent respectively.

Notable among India's rich were five software engineers, who featured in the billionaires' list, riding on the country's success in becoming the world's outsourcing hub. Three of them came from Infosys Technologies Ltd., India's second-largest software exporter.

The list had some other surprises.

Japan's resort and railroad kingpin Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, who ranked as the world's richest in 1987, dropped off the latest list altogether.

Crashing land prices in early 1990s toppled him from the top rank, but he remained a billionaire with tremendous influence in Japan's political, sports and corporate circles until charges of insider trading and falsifying records in 2005 sparked a dramatic drop in his fortune.

The methodology of the rankings remains similar to the practice Forbes followed in previous years.

The worth of an individual's holdings in public companies was based on the Feb. 9 closing stock price, and the value of private companies was estimated by evaluating comparable public firms in the industry and by consulting with experts in the field.


World Cup Campaign Launched by Google India

Google India has unveiled its Cricket World Cup Campaign today, offering cricket fans an interactive experience through the Internet.

The campaign will help users write, share, debate about and enjoy the Cricket World Cup through an integrated platform of Google products like Google Desktop, personalized homepage, Blogger and Orkut through a special landing page, www.google.co.in/cricket. The platform aims to be a one-stop shop for all information related to the World Cup, allowing visitors to access regular updates, post individual comments and analysis of the game.

Sundaraman K, Head of Sales, Google India said, "Google aims to constantly improve its users experience by designing products that make things easier and deliver better results than what was available before. Cricket is one of the key passions of users in India and this campaign is designed to bring people across communities together, offering them a unique cricket experience across different Google platforms."

Moreover, cricketer and commentator, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, will host an expert blog 'Cricket Zone' with Krish Srikkanth' at www.worldcupwithkrish.blogspot.com. This blog will allow users to interact with cricket experts as well as other bloggers on the performance of the various teams and engage in match analysis among other interactive sessions. Krish will also bring expert content to an interactive social networking experience through Orkut, on Krishcricket community.

As a part of this initiative, Google is also hosting a blogging cricket contest, entries for which can be submitted at www.google.co.in/cricket/contest. This will include posts on anything from on-the-ground reporting from West Indies to viewers' opinions on the progress of the various teams at the World Cup. Both existing and new users will get an opportunity to participate in the contest.

Google will also have a fully equipped Blogger vehicle that will visit Bhopal, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad, educating people on the use of Internet and blogging for self-expression. This educational road show will begin on March 19, 2007 from Chandigarh.

Asus Lamborghini VX2 - A Super Notebook!

Category : Technology
ferrari-vx2-13.jpg
ASUS has bared the latest line-up of ASUS-Lamborghini notebook series with the introduction of the VX2 models. The new super-notebooks not only feature the looks of the Italian iconic exotic cars, they also tend to be at par as far as performance is concerned. Based on the latest Intel Centrino Duo Mobile Technology and being specially designed for Microsoft Windows Vista operation system, the next generation device offers brand new capabilities in security, performance, reliability, and manageability for an extreme mobile computing and “tactile” experience. Designed with the signature colors of Lamborghini yellow and black, this latest edition also has the special mirror painting surface of the LCD cover. A leather bound palm rest area completed with yellow stitching just like that of a car interior captures the Lamborghini luxury in a new tactile way.

ferrari-vx2-12.jpg

ferrari-vx2-02.jpg

Speakers placed on the sides of the keyboard deliver a distraction-free audio performance. The fan lid of the notebook located on the back adopts the wheel rim concept, giving the practical feature a touch of ingenious creativity. People at Engadget think that it should be packing a 15.4-inch WSXGA+ display, Centrino Pro or Core 2 Extreme, 512mb NVIDIA 8700, have VGA as well as 1394, S/PDIF, 1.3 megapixel camera. Unfortunately, there's no word on when the VX2 will actually ship or its estimated price as of yet.

ferrari-vx2-06.jpg

Source

Spend $230,000 for Gaming PC

13 Intel Quad Core CPUs & Flight Simulator X makes one pretty mean rig.

Man-made has always has little things it can be proud of when it comes to gadgets. Whether it’s Mr. Crapper’s convenient flushable toilet, or the flexible toothbrush, we’re always raving about the latest released gadgets to our friends, both geeks & non-geeks.

I myself am getting my new PC this coming Monday, valued at $3,500. It’s a pretty impressive rig, but not half as mean as the one I’m about to show you! Matthew Sheil, an amateur pilot living in Sydney, Australia, somehow persuaded his bank to give him a $230,000 ‘moving house’ loan, which he then proceeded to spend on this ultimate Voodoo-PC rig.

The outside of the ultimate hydraulic rig, with Matt standing casually on the right.

“The whole setup is controlled by 13 quad-core Voodoo PCs. For the video the designer has used 42-inch Philips Ambilight LCD screens and for those aircraft controls Matt has got Saitek’s X52 joystick and toggle. The experience inside the simulator is even better than that inside the original cockpit. The simulator pilot will feel the finest detail of piloting a 747 inside the cockpit that even includes the G-Forces, thanks to the high-end hydraulic systems installed in the setup.” says BornRich.org

Pagani Zonda R - Every Man's Dream Car

Category : Transport

Italian automaker Pagani has revealed plans for a track-specific version of its Zonda supercar. Called the Zonda R, the new coupe was designed with one goal in mind: "the ultimate performance at the racetrack without any implications of rules, except for safety," the company said. It is expected to compete against the Ferrari FXX.

The Zonda R was designed from scratch, with only 10 percent of Zonda F components being
carried over. It features a 750 horsepower from Mercedes' AMG division, derived from the CLK GTR race car.

The wheelbase has grown by 47mm, the overall length by 394 mm and the track is increased
by 50mm. The bodywork and aerodynamics have been modified to offer maximum downforce.

The project began at the request of an Italo-American customer, enthusiast and proud owner
of three Zondas. It's not known how many Rs Pagani will build, but each car is expected to cost over $1.5 million.











The Estari DC15 notebook with dual touch screens

Category : Technology

Estars-15DC-Dual-Touch-Scre_jpg.jpg

The Estari DC15 is driven by an Intel Dual Core Processor 1.83GHz. It comes with a 2 GB RAM and a 60-100 GB Hard Drive for storage. The marvelous 15” widescreen stares back magnificently at you with all the glory of a masterpiece. With support for USB and Wi-Fi, the Estari also provides with 2.5 hours of battery life. The most interesting feature of the DC15 is its dual touch screen which can be used either horizontally or vertically. The company has installed virtual keyboard software and users can even use wireless keyboards (or USB ones) if they feel uncomfortable with the concept. One drawback of this model is that it weighs a whole 5.9kg.

The price of the Estari DC15 is $4350 as stated by Mr. George Crist, President of Estari. Overpriced you feel? I’m with you.

Estars-15DC-Dual-Touch-Scre_jpg_2.jpg

Source



Cool Desktop Wallpaper Collection.

Category: Wallpapers..


Cricket : World cup 2007 - Multiple ways to get the latest score/feeds/news/videos

Guys.. from tommorow we will be in front of the idiot box watching late night.. There are 8 teams fighting for the world cup,

Records:

1. If Austraila wins it will have it for 3rd years which means Hatrick..

2. If West Indies wins it will have the record of wining a cup in its own host.

Here are a few sources of info to keep you updated with the matches:

  • The official site: Run by Indya.com, this is the official site and hosts interesting facts/trivia/videos of the world cup.
  • Google Gadgets: Download the G-gadgets and track the WC news here, and scores here
  • Yahoo pipes: There are a few cool pipes made by cricket enthusiasts. View mine here, All you have gotta do is grab the RSS feed in your feed reader and you have the latest news delivered to your desktop [get a comparison of feed readers here].

If you wanna throw Sehwag out or trade cricket stocks/ play fantasy games, bat here: Cricketeology, Cricstock, Cricketnext [they bought the right to webcast the matches], ZeeCrics, cricinfo.

To watch the matches online, try TVUPlayer, or other internet TV.

Both Y! and Google have launched multiple initiatives:
Google: Orkut community by Kris Srikkanth [his blog on blogspot], Google desktop gadgets, site, and of course, the Google cricket doodle!
Yahoo: has launched Y! India site, a blog, podcast by Sunny Gavaskar, and of course the Cricket qn. [again by Sunny] featured in Y! Answers.

Funny that the Sunny and Kris, India's best opening jodi are not opening together this time [podcasting for competitors, you see!].

Source: { Plugged.in }

Entertainment : Spider Man 3 Extended Trailer

Build your Vista Premium PC Under Rs 40,000


The launch of Windows Vista is just around the corner, 30th January to be precise. And all those peeps planning to get a new PC just need to hang on a little more (unless you are not planning to pay for your copy). In the ensuing article we will be building a Vista Premium PC. Unlike Windows XP, Microsoft this time around, specifies two different minimum hardware requirements for running Vista. They are:

A Windows Vista Capable PC includes at least:
A modern processor (at least 800MHz).
512 MB of system memory.
A graphics processor that is DirectX 9 capable.

Windows Vista Premium Ready PC includes at least:
1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor.
1 GB of system memory.
Support for DirectX 9 graphics with a WDDM driver, 128 MB of graphics memory (minimum), Pixel Shader 2.0 and 32 bits per pixel.
40 GB of hard drive capacity with 15 GB free space.
DVD-ROM Drive.
Audio output capability.
Internet access capability.

So what can the Premium version do that a 'Vista Capable' can’t ?
In a single world 'Aero'. The new aero user interface is very visual, complete with features such as glass-like interface elements, translucent Start Menu and taskbar, Windows Flip 3D, and Live Taskbar Thumbnails.

Specification Table

ComponentsModelPrice (Rupees)
ProcessorIntel Core2 Duo E63008,700
MotherboardAsus P5LD2-VM 4,500
RAM Transcend 1GB (512x2) DDR2 667 MHz
5,000
Sound Onboard, 7.1 channel Realtek ALC882M
NA
LANOnboard, Intel Gigabit Ethernet Controller 10/100/1000
NA
GraphicsMSI NX7300LE-TD128E2,400
Optical DriveAsus DRW-1608P3S 16X DVD Writer 2,100
Hard Disk Western Digital SATA II HDD 160 GB 3,000
MonitorViewsonic VA1703wb 17” wide-screen LCD 10,750
Keyboard/MouseMicrosoft Keyboard & Optical Mouse 800
CaseVIP 755 with 300 watts PSU 1,450
SpeakersCreative SBS 370 (2.1 Channel)1,250
TotalRs. 39,950


Entertainment : 300 Review

300 is a visual miracle of modern movie making, and a stunning looking film that makes up for every ounce of its lack of plot by painting a brilliantly beautiful image over every single frame of the film. How’s that for a run on sentence?

In short…This flick Rocks.

The primary draw of this film is the visual beauty of it…and beauty is a strange word to use here because some of the images in the film are truly horrific and disturbing…but beautiful none the less.

Director Zack Snider took the work of Frank Miller and smeared it all over the big screen with just as much tenacity and love of the source material as Robert Rodriguez did with Sin City. If you’re a fan of Frank Miller’s work (which I am, although I have never read 300), his style and look are all over this film. I don’t say that to suggest that the creators simply copied Miller’s work, because they most certainly did not. They took Frank Miller’s concept and general style and created and entirely new work of art that is truly unlike any film that has come before it in many respects.

Like the greatest action films of the past, 300 doesn’t let too much plot get in the way of the gory and violent action filled scenes that are the meat and potatoes of this flick. If you’re going to this movie looking for a film that will make you think, make you weep, and make you question the world around you…go to an art house theatre, and leave this movie alone. 300 knows what it is, and very clearly shows you what to expect when you watch the trailer. You’re not getting much more than the trailer promises, but it certainly lives up to hype those fantastic previews promised.

I saw this film with two old friends, and each of us enjoyed the movie for what it was…we didn’t go in expecting Shakespeare, and we came out having watched a bloody, savage, completely engrossing fist fight of a movie.

If you like action, you’re going to love this movie. If you marvel at stunning visuals on film, you’re going to love this movie. If you have ever wanted to just get up and whoop some ass you will love this movie. You will find yourself living vicariously through these characters, and ready to fight an army of uncountable proportions when you walk out of the theater.

I enjoyed the heck out of this movie today, and I’m going to see it again next week…this time in an Imax. I can’t wait…

Want another look at 300 from a writer who is much better at reviewing films than me? Check out the Filmsy review of 300 at our sister blog.

Apple generated $400 million in free publicity with the iPhone

In a recent article, regarding Apple’s marketing, a Harvard business teacher, David Yoffie, claims that Apple’s announcement of the iPhone generated $400 million in free advertisement. And let’s be honest, did anyone manage to pickup a magazine or a newspaper in that same week and not know of the iPhone’s existence?

“No other company has ever received that kind of attention for a product launch,” Yoffie says. “It’s unprecedented.”

The rest of the article gives some of the reasons as to why Apple’s marketing strategies are always so successful. Apple owes a great part of their success due to the innovation of their products, and their ability to keep them simple.

Some Microsoft/Smartphone enthusiasts claim that the iPhone doesn’t do anything that a current-gen PDA can’t. If the battle was really about functionality, then the iPod would have been long dead by now, as there are hundreds of other DAPs that offer more features than it.

Being able “to do things” isn’t good enough anymore. I’m glad that the market agrees with that, and that companies are finally starting to open their eyes to that reality.