Month: June 2010

Sony Recalls 535,000 Vaio Notebooks Over Risk Of Overheating

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Sony VAIO F-Series laptop

Sony is set to recall 535,000 Vaio notebooks due to the overheating issues. According to a notification issued by the Sony today, these affected notebook models may get so hot that even the cases may get overheated and get distorted due to a BIOS bug.

As many as 535,000 (259,000 in US, 103,000 in Europe, 120,000 in Asia, 52,000 in Japan) Vaio F and C series laptops that have been sold since January 2010. Sony has also said that an additional 111,000 units are also susceptible to other issues.

How To Fix ?

Sony has issued an BIOS update which can be downloaded from the links given below. Customers who own these affected model (see the list below) can either download this update and fix the issue themselves or they can also handover the notebooks to the Sony to take care of it. We have also learnt that Sony is arranging special pickup for the affected units.

Fix it Yourself:

Checkout if your notebook is a victim of the issue. You may also check your notebook is also a part of the affected series at Vaio Serial Number check page.

Sony VAIO Serial Number

If you find your notebook model under the affected series, then download the BIOS update from the links given below and install them.

VPCF11 series (EP0000225488.exe)

VPCCW2 series (EP0000225484.exe)

List of affected models:

Japanese models Non-Japanese models
VPCF119FJ/BI
VPCF118FJ/W
VPCF117FJ/W
VPCCW29FJ/W
VPCCW28FJ/P
VPCCW28FJ/R
VPCCW28FJ/W
VPCF11AFJ
VPCF11AGJ
VPCF11AHJ
VPCF11ZHJ
VPCCW2AFJ
VPCCW2AHJ		 VPCCW25FG/B
VPCCW25FG/P
VPCCW25FG/W

Counter Strike: Source For Mac Released, On Sale For $6.80

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Counter Strike Source mac

Like we have posted earlier about the Counter-Strike: Source for Mac release, it’s now official. Counter Strike: Source for Mac is now on made available for sale today at a price of $6.80 (it’s two- thirds of the usual price) for the next two days. This is now available with an additional “major update” (both for Windows and Mac).

The new updates brings features like new game summary, start screens, and 140 additional achievements. The update also adds an end-round MVP and a death cam as well as updated Stream and standard game feature enhancements.

If you just buy a one copy of Counter Strike: Source, you will automatically given access to that particular Valve and Steam title (here Counter-Strike: Source) on both the operating systems Windows and Mac, and Mac users can play with Windows users and vice-versa (cross-platform play).

Download / Buy Counter-Strike: Source for Mac online

Watch Out: YouTube Adds A “Vuvuzela” Button

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YouTube Vuvuzela button

Some things always keep changing, like how YouTube has been doing for some time now. YouTube has recently (some months back actually) redesigned it’s interface and we are getting used to it.

YouTube is good at playing some pranks too ! After April 1 fools day prank (Textp), it seem we have another one here, this time it is 2010 FFIA World cup special, the “Vuvuzela” effect to the audio.

Have you noticed the small football icon soccer worldcupwhile watching some of the YouTube videos off-late? Just go ahead and click on it,  surprise !! who’s blowing the “Vuvuzela” there ?

The annoying Vuvuzela sound toggles on and off if you click this football icon. Although this button can’t been found on all videos, it’s indeed showing up on some non-soccer videos on the YouTube.

Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Client Profile For Windows 7

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Microsoft .Net logo

Microsoft’s latest .NET Framework 4 Client Profile is available on Windows Update (WU) as “recommended update”  KB982670. It provides a subset of features from the .NET Framework 4.0.

The client Profile is released as an recommended update for Windows 7 and Windows Vista and as an “optional update” for Windows XP (you need to run the WU manually and select the .NET Framework 4 Client Profile to install it).

Issues:

Many Windows users have reported that they are getting Windows update error 80200053 while installing this particular update (also KB982526) on their machines. If you are getting the same error, just restart the computer and try installing afterwards, or boot in Safe Mode with Networking and install the update. You may also try to install the standalone version of the .NET Framework 4 Client Profile from the link given below:

Download Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Client Profile (Web Installer)

Samsung Vibrant Details Leaked : Coming To T-Mobile Soon

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Samsung Vibrant for T-Mobile is going to be like what the Samsung Captivate for AT&T. Both are slightly modified versions of Samsung Galaxy S. The details of this upcoming mega Smartphone are leaked on the internet.

Samsung Vibrant aka T959 runs on Android 2.1 and boasts of features like 4-inch Super AMOLED display, 1 GHz processor, 5-megapixel camera capable of recording HD quality video, new Samsung Smart Life UI, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS & digital compass, Wi-Fi, 16GB of internal memory, up to 32GB microSD card support, the device is also coming preloaded with the Sims 3, “Avatar” movie, Amazon Kindle app, native GoGo in-flight internet support etc.

Samsung Vibrant Pictures:

samsung vibrant

Courtesy: CellPhine signal

Samsung Vibrant Full Specifications*:

Display – 4” super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
– 480 x 800 pixels
– Multi-touch input
– Swype text input
Camera – 5 megapixels
– 2592 x 1944 pixels
– Autofocus, touch focus, face and smile detection
– Video rec: 720p HD @ 30fps
– Sec. camera: VGA
Memory – Internal: 16GB, 512 MB RAM
– External: Up to 32GB microSD
Processor 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor
Operating System Android OS v2.1 Eclair
Network – 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 (2G)
– 850 / 1900 / 2100 (3G HSDPA)
Connectivity – 3G (HSDOA 7.2 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps)
– Bluetooth v3.0
– Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
– microUSB 2.0
– A-GPS
– 3.5 mm audio jack
Audio/Video formats – MP4/DivX/WMV/H.264/H.263 (Video)
– MP3/WAV/eAAC+/AC3/FLAC (Audio)
Extras – TouchWiz 3.0 UI
– Accelerometer sensor
– Proximity sensor
– Stereo FM with RDS
– Social networking apps
– Digital compass
– Doc editor
– Preloaded Google products
– Flash Lite v3.1
Battery —
Talk time —
Stand-by time —
Colors Black, Grey
Availability Expected release in July 2010

[*] Unconfirmed preliminary specifications, subject to change

Price And Availability:

The price of the Samsung Vibrant hasn’t been officially disclosed yet, we are hearing reports that it may be priced just above $500 (€410 or Rs. 25,000 INR). Stay tuned to this blog for the update on the price and other official details.

Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 Update June 2010 For Windows 7 & Vista

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Microsoft .Net logo

Microsoft has released two important updates KB982526 (.NET Framework 3.5 SP1 update) and KB982670 (.NET Framework 4 Client Profile) for the Microsoft .NET Framework.

[Tip: You may first want to find out which version of .NET is installed on your Windows]

KB982526 update rollup addresses issues with Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 on Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 (also available as updates KB956250 and KB982525 for Windows Vista

Some users have reported errors while installing these updates (error code 80200053), if you are not able to install these updates, do a restart and try installing.

KB982526 Download:

Windows 7 x86 x64
Windows Vista x86 – KB956250 x64 – KB982525
Windows Server 2008 R2 x86 x64

Samsung C5010 Squash Full Specifications

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Samsung C5010 Squash small

Samsung has recently announced a new entry level affordable 3G phone Samsung C5010 aka Samsung Squash. The candybar phone features 3G (UMTS), 2-inch display, music player, FM radio, Bluetooth v2.1, 1.3 MP camera, microSD support (up to 8GB) etc.

Samsung C5010 Squash Pictures:

Samsung C5010 Squash Samsung C5010 Squash

Samsung C5010 Squash Full Specifications:

Dimensions 115 x 46 x 12.8 mm
Weight 81 g
Display – 2” TFT 65K colors
– 128 x 160 pixels
Camera – 1.3 megapixels
– 1280 x 1024 pixels
– Video rec: QVGA @15fps
Memory – Internal: 42 MB
– External: Up to 8GB microSD
Network – 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 (2G)
– 900 / 2100 (3G UMTS)
Connectivity – 3G up to 384 Kbps
– Bluetooth v2.1
– USB 2.0
Audio/Video Formats – MP3/AAC (Audio)
– MP4/H.264/H.263 (Video)
Extras – Stereo FM radio & FM recording
– Google Maps, Google Whether
–
Battery Standard Li-Ion 800 mAh battery
Talk time – Up to 6 hrs (2G)
– Up to 3 hrs (3G)
Stand-by time – Up to 550 hrs (2G)
– Up to 400 hrs (3G)
Colors Black
Availability Expected release in Q3, 2010

Price And Availability:

Samsung C5010 Squash is expected to be priced around $125 (€ 102) or Rs. 5800 INR in India. Samsung Squash is expected to be released in the markets during Q3, 2010.

Cumulative Update For Windows Media Center For Windows 7 And Windows Vista

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Windows Update

Microsoft has released two important updates for Windows Media Center(WMC) running on Windows 7(KB981078) and Windows Vista (KB982480) operating systems on June 21, 2010.

Cumulative Update for Media Center for Windows 7 KB981078 addresses the following issues:

1. A “Copy Prohibited” or a black screen is displayed when the Windows Media Center is used to play protected content with a revoked version of the PlayReady PC Runtime is installed don your computer.

2. Mcupdate.exe crashes when the guide database in WMC is corrupted.

3. Schedule data getting disappeared in regions that use in-band guide data.

4. WMC crashes if you use an invalid path for a recorded TV.

June 2010 Cumulative Update for Media Center for Windows Vista KB982480 fixes the following issue #2 (in addition to various “Hotfixes”) of the issues listed above.

Download:

Windows 7 (KB981078) 32-bit (4.8 MB) 64-bit (6 MB)
Windows Vista (KB982480) 32-bit (10 MB) 64-bit (10.7 MB)

Motorola ES400 (Motorola EDA) Full Specifications

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motorola es400

Motorola ES400 is the first device running Windows Embedded Handheld announced together with the platform release by the Microsoft. This is also called EDA in short (stands for Enterprise Digital Assistant). This is designed such a way that it will survive the most difficult conditions like rain, high and low temperatures, and even withstanding the drops on a vinyl covered concrete ES400 works on both GSM and CDMA making it a global phone that would work any where in the globe.

Motorola EDA (ES400) comes with Windows Mobile 6.5.3 Professional OS, a 3-inch VGA resistive touchscreen, 600 MHz Qualcomm processor, 256MB RAM, 1GB of flash memory, 3G HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, A-GPS, 3 MP camera with LED flash (can read barcodes), a standard 1540mAh Li-Ion battery and also an extended 3080mAh battery too (hence it is thicker).

Warranty: Motorola ES400 is coming with a 3-year warranty, so definitely a better ROI.

Motorola ES400 Pictures:

motorola es400 frontmotorola es400 side

Motorola ES400 Full Specifications:

Dimensions 129 x 60.4 x 16.4 mm
Weight 156 g
Display – 3” TFT touchscreen, 65K colors
– 640 x 480 pixels
– Full QWERTY keypad
Camera – 3.15 megapixels
– 2048×1536 pixels
– LED flash
– Auto focus
Memory – Internal: 1GB ROM, 256 MB RAM
– External: up to 32GB microSD
Processor 600 MHz Qualcomm MSM 7627 processor
Operating System MS Windows Mobile 6.5.3 Professional
Network – 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 (2G)
– 850 / 1900 / 2100 (3G HSDPA)
– 850/1900 (CDMA/EVDO Rev A)
Connectivity – 3G HSDPA
– Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
– Bluetooth v2.0
– A-GPS
– microUSB 2.0
Audio/Video formats – MP3/AAC+/WAV/WMA (Audio)
– MP4/3gp/MWV/H.264 (Video)
Extras – Accelerometer sensor
– Motorola Enterprise UI
– IP42 certified – water proof
– MIL-STD 810G compliant
– Drop-to-concrete resistance from up to 0.91m
– Biometric fingerprint scanner
– Bar code scanner
Battery – Standard Li-Ion 1540 mAh battery
– Extended battery: Li-Ion 3080 mAh
Talk time – Up to 6 hrs
– Up to 12 hrs (extended battery)
Stand-by time – Up to 250 hrs
– Up to 500 hrs (extended battery)
Colors Black
Availability Expected in Q3 2010

Price And Availability:

The Motorola EDA or Motorola ES400 is expected to be released in the markets during Q3 2010. However the price of Motorola ES400 hasn’t been announced officially yet.

[How To] Configure Parental Controls In Windows 7

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computer lock

[Photo credit: Flickr]

Are you worried about your kids misusing your PC ? Want to impose some restrictions on how they use the computer, when they use it and what programs they use ?

Windows 7 has some excellent in-built parental controls under the control panel settings. Here is a tutorial on how to configure and use the parental controls in Windows 7 to the perfection to control your child’s activity on the computer. You must first set up another account (Type: Standard user) .

Steps:

1. Go to start menu and type “Parent’ in the search bar. Click on the first result under the “Control Panel” section.

Parental controls in start menu search result

2. Click on the account for which you want to setup parental controls. Please note that you can’t apply parental controls to an administrator account, so that’s why you need to create a new account of “standard user” type to perform this step.

Parental controls home screen

3. Select the first radio button (“On, enforce current settings”). Now you have enabled the parental accounts for the user account.

Enforce parental controls
Now you can configure the parental controls for various categories:

Setting Access Time Limits:

You can set the time of the day during which the user (your kid) can access the computer from “Tome limits” section. You can check or uncheck the time blocks (as hours) in the time grid under this section to allow or block the access during particular time of the day. Usually you may restrict the access to the PC during school hours and night times as shown in the screenshot below:

Time restrictions in parental controls windows 7

Game Controls:

You can either restrict the user account from playing all the games or you may also specify which games can be played using that account. Click on “Games” to set these controls. You can block games based on their rating (Early childhood, every one, everyone 10+, teen, mature etc.)

Game controls under parental controls windows 7

game restrictions in parental controls

Block Specific Programs:

Click on “Allow and block specific programs” to set which programs can be run by the user. You can select from the list of applications installed on the computer.

application restrictions under windows 7 parental controls

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