Well after fotor I took my PC to Hawally and the first 3 or 4 shops didn’t want to even touch my PC saying that they don’t have similar parts and so the wont even open the case. After they directed me to go to a certain shop. He told me to leave the PC and the installation CD’s with him and he’ll get back to me. I didn’t have the cd’s with me so I decided to take the PC back the next day with the discs. And also after removing any personal files I had on the PC.

After cleaning up one of the HDD’s I thought why wouldn’t I just try doing a clean installation on that drive to see if it works to just really make sure its a hardware and not a software issue. After installation everything worked just fine. The problem turned out to be with windows’s page file copying it self in 2 different locations.

Anyway everything is running smoothly now Thank god.

This is a great idea, would have to do some calculations before I can dismiss the alarm.

• Download the update from here.

The rest of the steps I posted before here. But just incase you are lazy, here you go:

• Rename the file to update.zip.
• Copy the update.zip file onto your microSD card.
• With your Nexus One off, hold down the trackball and press the power button.You’ll be booted into a white screen with three Android robots on skateboards.
• Select “Bootloader.”
• On the next screen, select “Recovery.”
• Your phone will reboot, giving you a picture of the Android robot and an exclamation point inside a triangle.
• Now press the power button and volume up button at the same time. It could take a couple of tries.
• Now (using the trackball this time) choose “Apply sdcard:update.zip”

After the installation is complete, you will still have to download and install Flash 10.1 to get things going, just click on any “get latest flash” link in the browser and you are set. or just search for it in the market place.

Enjoy

AirVideo

$2.99

This is by far the best app you can get for your iPad, being able to stream all your video files via the internet to your iPad no matter what format it is is just great for anybody with any kind of a video collection. It does live conversion on the fly and  its pretty quick. and its just amazing on a local network.

Zinio

Free

Do you read magazines? I’ve been using Zinio on my PC for more than 2 years now, and I was disappointed with their iPhone release a few months back but man is the new iPad version is just awesome. It has a very good variety of magazines and the annual subscription prices are just too compelling.

Offline Pages

Free

This app lets you store a full webpage wth its formatting for offline viewing it later. This is great especially that this version of the iPad is wifi only, and this will really helpful when you are an a flight. its better than RSS reader in my opinion but needs a little bit more work.

LogMeIn

$29.99

I’ve talked about logmein before, its a remote desktop controlling app. the free desktop version is just so compelling. I know $30 seems much but its the best remote desktop app there is I think. and it was an easy decision because I already purchased the iPhone version.

Evernote

Free

This is the might not the best note taking app on the iPad but the ability to sync your notes to multiple platforms make this the most efficient one. I’ve got this setup on my Desktop PC, desktop Mac, Macbook pro, My windows laptop, my 2 Android phones , my iPhone and now my iPad. When I take a note on any platform it will be synced to my other devices automatically. Just great.

SoundHound

$4.99

This is a very good app, its an upgrade to Shazam, in addition to the ability to recognize songs via the iPad built-in microphone, it can  be integrated to your iPad music library and search for music lyrics, videos, artist bio and discography.

GoodReader

$0.99

This is a very nifty little piece of software, it gives you the ability to transfer file wirelessly to from your PC to your iPad and it has a built-in browser that you can download files in which is also great.

Notable Mentions:

NewsRack, Delivery Status, Kindle, IMDB, PenUltimate, Camera For iPad, Weather HD and Notes.

For more app considerations, check out Marzouq’s post.

Parallels 5 ($80)
Hydra ($80)
Timeline 3D ($65)
SpellCatcher X ($40)
Back-In-Time ($30)
MacScan ($30)
ForeverSave ($15)
WebSnapper ($15)
HyperSpaces ($13)
MacDVDRipper Pro ($10)

So I encourage all Mac users to check it out. And I recommend it especially if you haven’t got Parallels already.

Link

TVU is a good way to watch a number of TV channels via internet either using your PC,Mac or iPhone. On all platforms you will need to install an application that will act as your player.

In the desktop version its much easier to search for a channel as there are categories you can go through. But once you get to know the good channels, it shouldn’t be hard to hunt them down on the iPhone too. And I also recommend once you find a channel you like, add it to you favorites.

I’ve tried TVU on my iPhone a few months back. it was pretty stable and did what is said it did. And today, I gave the desktop version a try.

Both desktop and iPhone apps are free.

Link

I  just formatted my PC and did a clean install of Windows 7 Ultimate, after formatting there are a ton of important programs and applications that need to downloaded and are all over the internet. Thanks to Ninite you don’t have to go hunting them down.

Ninite homepage gives you a list of the most important application that the mainstream user might need with a verity of selections. After ticking your selections the website gives you a single file to run that will automatically download all the apps with no fuss.

Ninite is a great program that will make my upcoming formatting sessions much easier

Ninite installs software fast with default settings and
says "no" to browser toolbars and other junk.

Ninite checks your PC’s language and 64-bit support
to install the latest, best version of each program.

Ninite runs on Windows XP/Vista/7 and works in the
background unattended and 100% hands-free.

All Ninite does is automatically download and install
the apps you select. Not even Ninite is installed.

Ninite

Nokia just announced today that most of Nokia owner can download the new map/nav application for free on their devices.

So that puts it on par with android devices. Except we don’t have good Google maps coverage here in the middle east. Hope Nokia’s offering is much better.

Link

link

But now they are back with a real and working app that also costs $1000.  BarMax CA is a legitimate application which helps law students prepare for the BAR exam. Its price is allegedly justified because companies with the same styled programs sell it for between $3000-$4000. If you find yourself obliged to buy the app you can find it here.

link

Buy it from here.

If you want to feel the ultimate carbon fiber wrapped around your body all day at the office, you have the Authentic Ferrari F360 Challenge Carbon FIber Office Chair.

If you have $8,000 dollars you dont know what to spend on, buy it from here.

Want to use your iPhone/iPod touch to control your TV, stereo, cable box, DVD, etc..?

Download the free app from the iTunes App Store and buy this hardware from here.

Want Android 2.1? Even weirder Carbon Fiber stuff? More than an iPhone case? Want to drive real fast but safe? Then read below.

Curious about Android 2.1? Free turn by turn Navigation on google maps? Are the Motorolla Droid and HTC Hero that great? Check the leak of Android 2.1 (unreleased) in the video below.

Here is the link.

Dont like carbon fiber, but love your iPhone? How about this case with phone screen protection, place for 6 credit cards and opening for charging point.

If you want this, you can buy it from here.

You want some more carbon fiber? You want to sit on but cant afford the office chair above?

Then this toilet seat is suited for you. Buy it from here.

Wanna drive your fast car real fast around a Grand Prix track but don’t want to be reckless on the streets?

Then join the Gulf Run. Check them out here.

Links :

www.malcolmfontier.com , www.carbonfibergear.com , www.geeky-gadgets.com , www.thinkflood.com , www.htcheroblog.com , www.thegulfrun.com

I saw this at a blog i have been reading for a while, Eleventh-St, and i think it is the car enthusiasts answer to microsoft’s flight simulator. Its worth £120,000 and will use either three 42 inch screens or stereo projectors. Among other things, it will recreate the g-forces felt in a real f1 car as accurately as possible. It is being marketed as not being a video game, i beg to differ. Maybe our friends at Gulfrun can make it part of their event for the future. Thanks Eleventh-St.

Link

]]> http://uptill1.com/2009/10/07/photoshopping-just-got-easier/feed/ 1 http://uptill1.com/2009/09/08/the-rejects/ http://uptill1.com/2009/09/08/the-rejects/#comments Tue, 08 Sep 2009 05:00:19 +0000 Triple-A http://uptill1.com/?p=2155 have you always wondered which iPhones app never made it to the app store, or made it and then got booted out? What were the reasons for Apple not accepting them? From third party copy right infringment, to being defamatory to a public figure, to even “causing confusion to another app”. Most of the apps rejected would not be of interest to most of us either way. Baby shaking, George W. Bush and Google… this list has got them all.

You can find in the link below the top 20 most notorious apps which got rejected from the iTunes Apps store.

http://tech.msn.com/products/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=21124345&GT1=40000

Random Information of the day : “Spotify have released both their iPhone and Android mobile apps, a little over a week after Apple approved it in late August. Premium subscribers to the streaming music service will now be able to access Spotify’s catalog on their iPhone, iPod touch, or any of the Android devices currently available. It looks to have just gone live in Europe where you can now have access to over 6 million songs on your iPhone for roughly $20 a month.” Taken from here and here.

The application is called Wikitude World Browser.

So what is augmented reality exactly?  According to Wikipedia…

Augmented reality (AR) is a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are merged with-, or augmented by virtual computer-generated imagery – creating a mixed reality.

Basically it uses real images to overlay computer generated images onto the physical environment. It may sound very confusing, but it is a very simple concept with a great experience for the user. To try and grasp the concept some more you may want to take a look at the video below.

There is a second part of the video you can find here.

So basically in Kuwait i have used it to see such things as al-Fayha, al-shamiya, al-rawdha, Moghul Mahal, Olympia tower, etc. just to name a few. You will get alot of areas in Iraq the more you extend the range of scope. Of course this is the kind of application that will be more useful when you are abroad as it has more points of interest like most GPS/points of interest/augmented reality apps.

It can basically become a travel guide with you when you are out of town trying to find different areas to explore. From regular buildings to museums to restaraunts, you will find it all in this application. Of course you have the option to refine your search and select content overlays. Then you will select which display you want from three : CAM, MAP, LIST. All this on the home screen where it lists your current position according to your network provider if your GPS is turned off.  And then all you do is point, and move around like your using a video camera until you find something you like; then you can select it and see information about it among other things.

Wikitude is currently available for free in the Android Market and should be available any day now for all you iPhone 3GS users through the iTunes App Store.  A great app that is alot of fun to use and at the same time very helpful.

Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ 

*Random information for the day : Disney will buy Marvel for $4 billion dollars, pending share-holder approval. Thats alot of zero’s. link

www.take120.com is a Kuwait-based website with a torrent style/file-sharing set up. The main difference is you buy tokens or tickets for each movie, show, song, piece of hardware, etc.. And you cannot upload your own files to the site. You ask why should i pay if i can download a torrent for free? Fair enough. But also why order from 6alabat.com or taw9eel.com if you can get the same things without a charge? To start, these are all verified files at take120, and also you will be guaranteed to download at the full speed of your internet connection. So like those other sites (6alabat & taw9eel), this is more of a convenience issue. More answers to all your frequently asked questions are available at the site, with a full library of its files. Check it out here.

For the 2 Apps of the moment continue reading…

With the influx of roadside camera’s, cops, roadside car camera’s, moving car camera’s and radar’s, this just might be the ultimate way to find those speed traps if you dont want to manual input them into your cars GPS. Behold the TRAPSTER!

So how does it work? Basically its a community social network, in which regular people select places where there are speed traps. Whether it be a place a police car parks, or a camera or whatever. Most people will think there is probably many “hoax” points where there are actually no dangers evident. But Trapster have thought of that and your entry has to be verified by a certain amount of people before it gets accepted. In Kuwait every point was either spot on with a camera, and if not, it was a place where a cop car usually parks or a roadside car camera parks. Amazingly simple, its just a brilliant application whatever your platform is. This is also available for Nokia in the Ovi store. Trapster can be found here. 

Rating: ★★★★★★★★★½ 

Our next App is for our music lovers. Tunewiki is a social media player. Whether you pay for your songs through iTunes as an iPhone/iPod Touch user, or get them for free as an Android user through Music Online, this app will be very helpful.

While playing your favorite songs, you will get a strip with the lyrics of those songs as it is playing, if it is out of sync, its simple, you just resync them. There are translations in other languages as well for all you intellectual linguists out there. Everything in the program is based on community contribution. Also, there is a tab which when clicked enables you to  view currently playing songs by other Tunewiki users nearby, or anywhere else in the world. Apart from audio, you also have a direct link to YouTube for your favorite music videos. There is also integrated Last.fm radio as well as SHOUTcast Radio within the program. Obviously, at the same time you have the basics of a media player where you can forward songs, skip, shuffle and make your own playlists. For users of the Android platform, there is also a great TuneWiki widget for one of your homescreens.  Great music player for whatever platform you use.  You can find it here. This is also available for Nokia in the Ovi store.

Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ 

I got the ASRock Ion 330 as the my Media center. The reason I went with this is the Dual core Atom processor and the built-in Ion chipset for crunching HD video. It has 2GB RAM, a 160GB HDD, DVD writer, VGA, HDMI and a bunch of USB ports on the back. And because of its size.

The system does not come with any OS installed, so of course I went with Windows 7 as my OS because of the beautiful Media Center interface, And I could integrate Hulu and Netflix into it.

I bought a Windows Home Server a while back and setting it up was easy. It’s highly recommended, and a must to anyone with more than a couple of terabytes of data. It beats the hell out of having your PC run all day and all night, and quieter too, unless you’re using a laptop for your setup.

I spent a little time organizing my TV shows, and setting up the folder icon for each show. But downloading the XML data for each movie is a pain. I know there are programs that automatically do that like XBMC or Boxee, but I wanted the Windows Media Center interface, I didn’t even search if there were ones that do that for the WMC.

I’m using the logitech diNovo mini bluetooth keyboard to control the MC (after having to buy a set of usb keyboard and mouse for the installation).

I had a hacked AppleTV connected to my TV, it was using Boxee to run my divx files, but it was laggy and it was frustrating having to switch to and from the OS’s (AppleTV os and boxee) to run my purchased stuff. With the WMC PC build, I can run Hulu (was blocked in boxee a few months back) and Netflix (wasn’t possible on the AppleTV).

After finally giving up my iPhone 3G (which i was enjoying apart from some trivial stuff), i got my hands on the HTC Hero.  This will not be an indepth review of both, but a basic and quick comparison as N. will post his full review of the HTC Hero soon. I will forego all the basic specs such as Wi-Fi, Quadband, bluetooth, etc. cuz every smart phone should have that.

This will not be a no holds barred duel between the 2 smart phones, i will just note some of the things that i have noticed while using both.

First of all, the looks. The iPhone looks good, but the HTC Hero looks unique. With the curve at the bottom enabling you to place it on its screen without worrying about it getting scratched. it is slightly thicker and with a slightly narrower screen than the iPhone.

The coating is made of teflon, apart from being a tough substance, it ensures your phone stays smudge and print free which is one of the annoying things on the iPhone. On the back of the HTC Hero you have a 5.0 Megapixel camera with autofocus which also serves as the video camera. 

If you are more into music, the iPhone wins hands down because of its built in iPod, but if you dont need your full music library than you wont feel the disadvantage of the Hero in that sense. There are 6 buttons on front of the phone as well as a pushable trackball. its a fully resistive touch screen, not as sensitive as the iPhone so you wont be pressing on buttons and apps by mistake.

Customization. On the Hero, there are 5 fully customizable screens besides the homescreen, which you can add apps and any kind of widget you find necessary. you can save different  ”scenes” with your setups to satisfy your needs. also, on the screen itself is the left arrow which is a showing of all the apps, and a phone button and the + button in which you can add shortcuts, htc widgets, android widgets or your own.  this customization gives it the edge over the iPhone hands down. Everything gets synced with your google account, so on your calendar widget for example on your homescreen,  you will get any update from your google calendar.

Browsing is at times very annoying in the iPhone. you try to browse with the page not fully loaded and it gets choppy or sends you back to the top after scrolling down before fully loading. the browsing in the Hero is alot easier and faster. also the Hero is flash based, so you can access flash on the websites you surf, Apple has still not implemented it as this will allow 3rd party apps to bypass the iTunes App store and release them without any cha-ching going into Stevie Jobs pocket. 

Running background apps is only possible by jailbreaking the iPhone, if you need to jailbreak a phone for a simple feature then its not worth it. HTC hero can handle alot of apps working in the background, of course it will not work at optimum speed, but coming from an iPhone i appreciate it and always close the apps i dont use to make the experience on the Hero swifter. EIther way you can  Root the device on the HTC hero which enables you to access the protected system files, its not jailbreaking but a way around some operating system protections.

The apps stores. Apple has the awesome iTunes App store, and Android have their Android Market. One is open to any developer and the other is limited in every way imaginable. This does not mean the Android Market is better. You will find many apps and widgets not available for the iPhone, but the opposite as well. Many apps are found in both such as Shazam, Backgrounds and alot of the basic apps/games. The games in the iTunes store are of a higher standard hands down. but having the freedom to select any app and install it, is also a good thing for Android. So far, i only miss some of the games from the iPhone. But you even have the dumb gun apps on Android so my son will remain happy at least. 

Social Networks. The Hero comes with direct integration to Facebook, all email accounts, exchange support, Twitter, Flickr and many of these kinds of sites where you automatically get updated with notifications whenever you have one. the instant messaging programs arent as hardcore as Beejive on the iPhone, but then again i have only explored the free apps as i have no need for any paid one just yet. so basically any kind of app in the iTunes store for 2 $ and below is free, in the Android Market.

Price. The HTC Hero costs at least 100KD less than the iPhone 3Gs 16GB. Obvious winner here is the Hero.

Battery life. Battery life in the iPhone is crap if you actually use it,  but the Hero isnt that much of a winner either, but i do push it all day with 3G on, Wi-Fi, background apps and connecting to many programs. basically i never stop messing around with the phone. but there is a catch, 3rd party developers always develop batteries which are the same dimensions yet more powerful. as HTC probably wanted the cheapest battery to keep sale prices down. so in the upcoming weeks i will be looking to upgrade my stock battery. charging is used with mini-usb, so you can go to any electronic store and buy either a socket charger or computer charger for it.

Basically, these phones are very well rivalled, if it wasnt for N. i would have probably never bought the HTC Hero,  Apple have marketed their products as well, also boasting an incredible app store and music library. these phones are very similair in specs and usage but with different UI (user interface), of course it has been only a week with this phone but so far i am very impressed and enjoying it.

i leave you below with a look at the screenshots of the different UI experiences.

iPhone 3G/3Gs

Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 

HTC Hero

Rating: ★★★★★★★★½☆ 

UPDATE : An update to the ROM of the HTC Hero can be found at www.htc.com. This update will eliminate the lag, fix the autofocus on the camera, and more. You can click here and see the Htc Hero with the ROM update in action. Make sure to back up your files before installing it. MyBackUp is recommended from the andorid market.

Truveo is an App available at  theiTunes store for free (mr carwash will enjoy that) for the iPhone and iPod touch. It’s basically a video search engine.

Its has more than145 million videos, from south park to top gear to family guy to name a few. Some videos can only be viewed in the US which is a little annoying, but most of them can be viewed here.

The latest features added to Truveo’s iPhone application include:

• Intelligent Query Completion, which assists users by suggesting key words or even television shows.  For example, if a user enters “stock” into their Truveo application on their iPhone, the query completion engine will not only suggest Truveo’s “stock footage” category, but will also suggest shows related to investing.
• The ability to easily discover related video content.
• Improved sharing.
• Advanced sorting.
• The ability to search for videos by length.

It uses many different platforms such as youtube, google video, wixi, veoh and much more. Also available are Featured, Categories, Channels and What’s Hot video searches as you can see in the picture above. This App works best with Wifi but can be configured to be used over your cellular data network.

Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 

When my long trip to San Diego came up, I looked for a way to manage my home PC remotely and for free. But also needed an efficient way to do it. And so I came across Logmein.

Log Me In is a free web-based service that lets you control and manage multiple Mac/PC’s computer with a browser and internet access.

My main reason for using such a service was too keep track of my downloads and make use of my internet connection while I’m gone. And Logmein helped me with that.

There is also a Logmein iPhone app that lets you control your computer from via your iphone (it costs $30) and the iphone has trouble handling the screen resolution even if you bring it down,I was using an iPhone 3G but it might be better with the iPhone 3G S.

You can’t transfer files between computers in the free version. But you can use other apps such as Dropbox which works flawlessly.

Logmein is not lightning fast, though lowering the screen resolution helps a lot, but it certainly gets the job done, and its free.

Logmein

Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 

I wrote a while a go how to get iphone os 3.0′s features by a combination of jailbreaking and official applications via the app store.

After installing 3.0 on my iphone here is a quick rundown of the apps that are rendered obsolete with 3.0:

Clippy:

iphone has built-in copy and paste functionality now and its much better than clippy.

SwirlyMMS:

iphone has built-in MMS functionality now.

SMS(irealsms)/Email Landscape :

Better for writing, much better.

QuickGold:

iphone os 3 has spotlight search now, you can search through apps, bookmarks, contacts, notes, calendar and emails. QuickGold could search through sms’s as well.

Voxie:

Well there is a free voice memos app now.

Backgrounder:

I was using backgrounder for my IM programs, like beejive, but with push notification capability of the 3.0 I won’t be needing it. But there was the occasional streaming from last.fm though :/

PDANet:

I paid for my internet data plan and I want to use it anyway I want to. Finally you can tether you iphone data connection with 3.0

xGPS:

TomTom is coming, no need for this anymore. Unless your area isn’t supported.

Arabtaller:

That was the main drawback for me, when someone sends me an arabic SMS it’s really frustrating to read backwards. Now the iphone support multiple languages.

iRealSMS:

SMS forwarding, you would think that this is a no-brainer for a smart phone. But no, Apple’s solution comes 2 years after the original iphone’s release, by using copy and paste.

Can’t wait for the 3.0 to hit the net on the 18th? well you can download it now via torrent.

The file is for the iphone 3G only

download here

after download just click restore while holding the option key for mac (and shift key for windows). and the rest is automatic.

A new macbook pro line, the 13 and 15″ will have the same battery as the 17″ the will last 5 hours in normal use.

SD card slot, replacing the express-card slot in the 13 and 15″ model only, the 17″ will still have the express card slot.

the starting price will be $1200 for 13″, $1700 for the 15″ and $2500 fro the 17″.

Snow leopard will be released this September for $29!!!!! Has a lot of new features and better performance

iPhone OS 3.0

Native arabic support -woohoo, and a cool new feature that lets you find your iphone if you have misplaced it via your mobileme account.

Available June 17th.

iPhone 3GS

Better processor, 3mp auto-focus/touch focus camera, video recording, voice control, digital compass, data encryption and better battery.

16 GB model will be $200, the 32Gb $300 and they will keep the current 8Gb iphone for $100. nice.

Availability: in the US in 10 days, rest of the world by August. I think the unlocked version’s price will be ridiculous.

Full keynote here

Images from engadget/buzberry

Skyfire just came out from beta and available for download. I gave it a try when it in beta on my TYTN II (couldn’t test it on my HTC HD because the resolution wasn’t supported) and it was pretty good. It’s much better than you built-in browser.

Skyfire is supported by all windows-mobile and Nokia S60 3rd Edition phones.

Skyfire

It was one of the most anticipated applications for the iPhone. I was really looking forward to it.

I’ve been using Slingbox for almost 2 years now, and the Slingplayer software is available for almost every other phone.

The iPhone App was released 5 days ago, and man was it a disappointment. It was very laggy, video keeps buffering every 10-15 seconds and the most
frustrating shortcoming is, NO 3G SUPPORT.

But have no fear, the hacker community is here. if you have a jailbroken iPhone that is. Just download “Tricker Three 3G” from Cydia and thats it. It tricks Slingplayer, Skype and Fring and make them work on your edge/3g data connection.

As you can see from the picture above I’m connected via edge and still can stream video.

Now, if they only fix the other stuff.

Click image for lager view.

You can get it from here

Here is a short video demoing the new features.

The steps are:

• Press Upload, choose mp3, wma or ogg audio file and press Open.
• Place the markers to set range and clip duration.
• Press Selected to listen to your clip.
• Change the default sound quality if you want.
• Choose and set the filters if you want.
• Press Make a Ringtone to convert mp3 to a ringtone.

Link

So after the Top 10 Firefox Add-ons, here is a list of very useful shortcuts that I think that you can’t live without:

1.) Ctrl+T (New tab)

2.) Ctrl+W (delete Tab)

3.) / (FAYT find as you type)

4.) Ctrl + (tab number)

5.) Alt+Tab (switch between tabs)

6.) Space Bar (Page Down)

7.) Ctrl+K (Cursor to search box)

8.) Ctrl+L (Cursor to address bar)

9.) SHIFT+CTRL+R (hard refresh from the server)

10.) Ctrl+Shift+T (Undo last closed tab)