The Right Stuff

Google finally launched its new web browser called Chrome on Thursday. Chrome is suppose to have many nice features which redefine the way internet browsers work, or so does Google claim!

One such feature that Google seems to be very proud of is the way Chrome manages memory. Each new tab is a separate process in the memory and hence if something goes wrong in 1 tab then others are not affected by the abrupt fatal error.

Although very useful but sadly nothing new. This feature has been available in Windows XP from day 1. All you need to do is go to

Windows Explorer –> Tools –> Folder Options –> View –> enable the option “Launch folder windows in a separate process” –> Apply

Now each new IE window you open, will show as a new process in the Task Manager.

Even better, the Tabs in the same window will be clubbed together as 1 process so you don’t land up with just too many processes.

This way if one window crashes then at least you can hope not to loose your work in other IE windows.

Another advantage of this feature is, suppose you have two yahoo/gmail/etc accounts, you can access both simultaneously in different windows. Since both windows will correspond to different processes thus having different memory space, the login sessions will be independent of each other thus allowing you to login with multiple ids at the same time. Just remember not to check "Keep me signed in".

Read - Google Chrome Features

Dell has finally launched its new offering to the netbook world, The Mini Inspiron 9 and that is finally 1 netbook to write about.

Available for £279 + £20 for delivey, this is definately one of the best options if you have been looking for an affordable netbook.

Most of the Netbooks are more of less the same as they popularly sport the Intel ® Atom™ Processor N270 which is 1.6GHz with 533Mhz bus and 512K cache.

However there are few things to note with the £279 price tag.

Most netbooks lack some basic and important features necessary for daily on the run user, or are a little too expensive for the netbook category, however Dell has managed to meet most of the necessary requirements. At least a 6-cell battery option would have been more desirable othewise a perfect netbook.

Read - Dell Inspiron Mini 9 is official
Read - Dell Inspiron Mini 9 data carrier subsidy "in the next few days"
Web - Dell Inspiron Mini 9 Detail

Over the years I have always been jealous of the blackberry kinds, not because of emails but because of the chat feature which I find very useful and lacking in all other devices. Although there are many add-on softwares, mainly java based that provide the same functionality however they fail to impress my geeky requirements.

When I got my first Windows Mobile powered device, O2 Xda Mini, I was excited to use Skype on it but my interest soon died mainly because of performance issues. With time I updated my phones and so did the applications in the market. Finally I think I have found the complete package.

Fring to the rescue !!! Uptil now no software has impressed me as much as Fring. Not only am I am able to chat with all my friends accross various platforms including Skype, MSN, Gtalk, AIM, Yahoo etc I am also able to get on to the VOIP bandwagon.

Fring allows you to call other Fring users, Skype users as well as make PSTN calls using Skype Out.

The best part about Fring is that it runs light on the system providing excilent performance. I am using Fring on an EDGE network, getting roughly around 60-100 kbps speed. Chat works flawlessly, I was even able to get decent audio quality over VOIP with acceptable echo levels. Unlike other applications in the market including Skype’s own version for Windows Mobile, Fring does not crash your system and does not require frequent reboots specially while disconnecting VOIP calls.

Fring easily get the top spot for the Most Important Application for your mobile.

Web - Fring

Besides people going crazy for iPhone 3G, the hottest thing on WWW seems to be PUSH E-Mail.

The ability to receive emails instantaneously on your mobile is no longer limited to the likes of Blackberry. Many popular services have mushroomed up all over the Internet that bring the wonders of Push E-mail to your conventional bar clad mobile phone. One such service is Emoze.

Why I am totally impressed with Emoze as a push mail alternative is because it just simply works.  Besides pushing your emails in real time, it also pushes your contacts to your mobile phone as soon as they are changed or created on the Web.

Emoze works out of the box with Gmail, Yahoo Mail and OWA (outlook 2003/2007 web access). It also works with POP3/ Exchange via MS Outlook desktop connector.

Ever since I have started using Emoze on my new N95 8GB I have not logged in online to my Gmail account. It’s just convenient to check and reply to my emails via my phone.

Emoze also integrates with the Pocket Outlook interface on Windows Mobile phones and is a breeze to use.

There are some other providers who have been fishing in the same water for sometime now, including Consilient and Emansio. One advantage Consilient has over Emoze is that it allows you to push more than 1 email account at one time to your cellphone but this comes at the cost of loading Consilient own email application on your cellphone, while Emoze works with the phone’s built in Email handler.

All PUSH mail services require a full data plan as they make use of some ports in the 9000 series. Although there is an option for HTTP Tunnel in Emoze, it did not work for me with either HTC Touch or N95 8GB with a port 80 only data plan. However, like me if you are in a Wifi circle then Emoze will work like a charm and you will never have to sit at your desktop waiting for that very important email.

In order of preference
Web - Emoze
Web - Consilient
Web - Emansio

So I disappeared for some time! Well blame it on the flue that has been bothering me all this time. And then where is Nitin?! Busy racing fords I presume.

Lot has happened in the past two weeks with Apple, so I am going to summarize the iPhone craze.

A] People have been crazy waiting in lines outside Apple & Vodafone stores in New Zealand. Finally got their hands on the black beauty!

B] Apple had a huge set back with the transition to MobileMe with constant ups and downs (more downs… and still downs)

C] iPhone 2.0 and iPod Touch 2.0 officially released.

D] iTune Application store is up, but is really ugly! (iTune 7.7 became available yesterday)

E] And finally the latest, Apple’s iPhone activation servers are now down and customers are being told to go back home with inactive iPhones.

Having read A-lot of reviews that have cropped up in less than 12 hours, I am not impressed, not a wee bit!

Both the original iPhone and the new iPhone 3G look exactly the same from the front, even the OS look and feel is obviously the same. Both now have the iPhone 2.0 firmware available. Personally speaking the original iPhone’s aluminum back looks much more classy.

With the iPhone  3G scheduled to launch in many countries with only limited 2G service, due to lack of 3G around the world, I am not sure what NEW am I expecting. Suddenly it feels that Apple could have done a lot better and given something new besides 3G support, for example what happened to the Video Calling?

More over with high rates of Mobile Data plans in most countries it seems hardly useful to sport an iPhone. Even in the UK, where AT&T is offering unlimited internet access on iPhone 3G plans, I am just wondering are the necessary ports open on the network to use services like MobileMe? An answer I am still searching for.

Well if you already have an iPhone then you should stick to it, if you are planning to get your first iPhone then you don’t have a choice… head for that line…

Read - iPhone 3G Review