FUSION by Alminar Sagar

FUSION VOL. 1 ISSUE 1 OCTOBER 2008

TOUCH TECHNOLOGY TAKING OVER

TOP 5 gadgets you must have

MACINTEL intel marries mac

are you a

PC or MAC GEEK who

broke into pentagon

USIO

VOL. 1 OCTOBER 2008

TECHSTUFF TECHSTORY FEATURESTORY COVERSTORY

FUSION VOL.1 OCTOBER 2008

TECHSTORY

Top 5 Gadgets You Must Have

Geek Who Broke Into Pentagon

by Alminar Sagar

by Richard Pendlebury

Do You Really Know Your Computer? by Richard Pendlebury

FEATURESTORY Are You A PC or MAC ?

by Alminar Sagar Define your characterictics by the computer that you own. Find out what it tells about you. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all about performance. If you want desktop-class graphics and a bigger display, you want the all-new.Define your characterictics by the computer

COVERSTORY

Touch Technology Taking Over

TECHSTUFF

Product Review

Q&A

18 20

Upcoming Product

by The Tech Expert Ask the Expert

Latest on the Market

Tech News A Juicy Story

by Alminar Sagar

When you write about technology, you see a lot of demos, demo being the industry term for when an executive demonstrates a new product for an audience, usually with the aid of a nervous tech-support guy.

INSIDE

FUSION Compton Gothals Building The City College of New York 160 Convent Avenue New York, NY 10031 www.fusion.com

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Alminar Sagar

EDITOR IN CHIEF Tania Jahan

EXECUTIVE EDITORS Habiba Akther

DESIGN DIRECTOR Mohammed Zulkarnain

FEATURE EDITORS Mohammed Alam

ART DIRECTOR Mehdi Doha Alminar Sagar Mohammed Zulkarnain

NEWS EDITORS Hasna Hena Fatema Zohora

REPORTERS Mustakim Chowdhury Ziaur Rahman Omar Nasif Khairul Islam

PHOTOGRAPHERS Alminar Sagar Mohammed Zulkarnain Tania Jahan

’m doing work for Jonathan Lazarus, who’s created his own consulting company (which he colorfully named HA. Roark and Associates as a goof) after leaving Ziff Davis. At Ziff he’d been the Editor of PC Magazine when it was 800 pages an issue, and developed new titles such as PC Week. Now he’s consulting with Microsoft and one of the projects they’ve suggested he should tackle is their idea to produce a high quality developer publication. A natural fit since he’s already buddies with writers like Charles Petzold from his PC Magazine and Fusion Magazine, the best ones in the New York City. Since I know nothing about developers, Jon fills me in on what we need to do inorder to varify and why. He explains that “Bill” and “Steve” feel that up until now, the industry has taken developers for granted; the material they’re ofered isn’t very carefully thought out or presented the material to the group and the other members would participate and work togather. We’re going to change that, he says. We’re going to give them a highquality, professional-level, no-BS publication that will feature code. Code, he explains, gets no respect in 1986-era publications; he shows me how it’s kind of squeezed in around other stuff in the publications of the day. We’ll call the new publication Microsoft Systems Journal. There have been lots of format tweaks and tons of improvements in the software and hardware we use (to say nothing of the Web!), but the most important part has remained that commitment to excellence and utility (Jon expanded the idea exponentially with the 1991 creation of MSDN during that time period and extented to the time frame.Working at Microsoft has been a thrilling experience. Creating presentation materials for Bill’s 1990 Comdex keynote, “Information at Your Fingertips,” was a huge rush. Launching Microsoft Internet Developer in 1996.

Alminar Sagar

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

COVERSTORY

Alminar Sagar EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

TECHSTUFF

MONTHLY WINNER

EDITOR’S PICK

EDITOR’SPICK

EDITOR’S PICK :

XPERIA X1

ith all of its brushed metal and polished black accents, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 achieves a sort of executive look. The build quality certainly feels solid, which makes sense since the going rumor is that HTC had some hand in the hardware design and build. There are HTC accents throughout the phone’s software, and the device seems to have no more appropriate competitor than the HTC Touch Pro (or HTC Fuze on AT&T). Both phones have large, highresolution touch screens, though the Xperia X1 tops even the Touch Pro’s VGA screen with it’s high-resolution 800 by 480 pixel display. For months, Sony Ericsson has been promising a lot with their new Panels technology, but it still remains to be seen whether third-party developers will prioritize developing applications for the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 moving forward. The most intriguing part of the panel technology is the Java MIDP support it brings with it, enabling gaming houses.

“OVERALRATING” CALLING - VERY GOOD INTERFACE DESIGN - GOOD MULTIMEDIA - GOOD MESSAGING - MEDIOCRE HARDWARE DESIGN: GOOD

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MONTHLYWINNER

PRODUCT OF THE MONTH :

ALPHA 350

ith its two sensor design, Quick AF Live View can even continuously focus-track the subject and provide live view during burst shooting, helping you capture that special moment. Taking further advantage of Quick AF Live View is the models’ variable angle 2.7-inch Clear Photo LCD™ screen. This makes it easy to frame scenes from high or low positions difficult to reach when using an eye-level viewfinder. With Live View and an adjustable LCD, the cameras do not need to be in front of the user’s face, allowing parents, for example, to maintain eye-contact when photographing their children. “Mainstream users stepping up to DSLRs are looking for a similar experience to their point and shoot cameras, but without compromise in speed or performance” said Phil Lubell, director of marketing for digital cameras at Sony Electronics.

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TOUCH TECHNOLOGY TAKING OVER People are ready to break the fourth wall of computing and put their fingers directly on the data. This is manual-free the smart and computing, instinctive and intuitive, with zero learning curve. By Lev Grossman

COVERSTORY

IMAGE: iPhone Multi Touch Interface

hen you are writing about technology, you see a lot of demos, demo being the industry term for when an executive demonstrates a new product for an audience, usually with the aid of a nervous tech-support guy. Under the emotional stress of the moment, the product quite often vomits data and dies. But not always. The two best demos I’ve seen this year were from two very different companies, Apple and Microsoft, and oddly enough, they were in many ways demos of the same product. One is a gimme: the great iPhone, Apple’s brilliant ex deconstruction of the common cell phone, due out June 29. The other is a product mysteriously great vast code-named Milan, from a new branch of Microsoft called, not much less good mysteriously, surface computing. What the two have in common is a very advanced touch screen. We’ve been conditioned to hate touch screens;the we’ve all spent way too much time timidly caressing tiny laptop trackpads and jabbing fingers at the grubby, unresponsive touch screens on ATMs. But the iPhone’s screen is another animal altogether. It’s extremely sensitive, like a trackpad, but not oversensitive. There’s software in there designed to filter out inadvertent touches, interpret gestures and anticipate what you’re groping for. Unlike a trackpad, which goes berserk if you try to touch it in two places at once, the iPhone’s touch screen can handle multiple touches. After you take a photo with the iPhone’s camera, you can put two fingers on the image and literally stretch it to make it bigger. And so on. Imagine a family table that can pull up the layout of every board game ever made. “I think we’re just the scratching the surface,” says Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s entertainment and devices division, realizing a second too late that he’s making a pun. “If you just go through any business, you can find applications.” Milan will start showing up in public this fall; the first units will be information kiosks in the Sarah Harrah’s family of casinos. rectly on the data. This is manual-free computing, instinctive and intuitive, with zero learning curve. “Almost anybody can

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The overall effect is more than a laundry list of nifty features. It’s the realization of the core metaphor of modern consumer computing, dating back to the Macintosh or arguably to the first computer mouse, introduced in 1968. The idea was that we would all pretend that abstract digital information is physically real, that we could see it and manipulate it according to physical laws. The iPhone takes the graphical-user interface-the GUI, in the parlance, pronounced “gooey”--a step further and makes it a tactile user interface. You’re viewing a little world where data are objects, and instead of just pressing your nose up against the glass, you can reach inthe and pinch and touch those’ll thbitsove and bytesayn with your hands will The word is made flesh. Any realer and it would be tron and b ro k e n . L e s t you think this is more Steve Jobs a magic, the core technology behind they’l iPhone’s touch screen probablyover wasn’t a developedhyi at Apple. They’ll Rumors swirland go around aatgwn company calledyt Fingerworks, foundeduyi by two University of th Delaware the professors, that they Apple acquired in 2005-09. This doesn’ta they reflect a weakness in Apple’s R&D but rather one of they’ll company’s strengths, its ability to ingest other companies and seamlessly incorporate their innovations into its own. People slam Apple as an arrogant organization, but it doesn’t have the not-invented-here issues of, say, Sony Electronics Corporation ans their partners. Imagine an iPhone the size of a coffee table, and you’ll have some idea of what Microsoft has been working on for the past five years. Milan is, in fact, a table, with a large touch screen for a tabletop; the format will remind the nostalgic among you of the old cocktail-style arcade games. Like the iPhone, Milan’s screen can accommodate multiple touches at once. My first reaction was that I was looking at a patent death match in the making, but the underlying mechanisms turn out to be very different: Milan uses a system of infrared cameras to keep track of where

your fingers are, whereas the iPhone senses your fingers’ electrical properties. The overall effect is more than a laundry list of nifty features. It’s the realization of the core metaphor of modern consumer computing, dating back to the Macintosh or arguably to the first computer mouse, introduced in 1968. The idea was that we would all pretend that abstract digital information is physically real, that we could see it and manipulate it according to physical laws. The iPhone takes the graphicaluser interface--the GUI, in the parlance, pronounced “gooey”-a step further and makes it a tactile user interface. You’re viewing a little world where data are objects, and instead of just pressing you’ll t nose upto against the sa glass, you’ll the can reach in and pinch th and touch those bits will and bytes th with your hands. The word is made flesh. Anywa realer and it would be tron and destroyed. Milan looks like a large, expensive toy--or maybe a dedicated virtual finger-painting workstation--but Microsoft and its partners have been very shrewd about coming up with practical applications. For example, place a Bluetooth-enabled digital camera on the tabletop. Milan recognizes the camera, wirelessly sucks out your photos and displays them on the tabletop in a stack. Anybody sitting around the table can then pass the photos around and even stretch and shrink them, iPhone-style. Or imagine the Milan as a restaurant table: diners sort through a tabletop menu,will dragging andropping appetizers andthey entrées, swappingthe theirvery choices back and forth as they plan theirt respective meals.Andso on.they Imagine a family table that can pull up the layout of every boardthe game ever made.they “I think we’re just scratchingyhyip the surface,” says Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s and devices division, realizing a second too late that he’s making a pun. “If gyou just go through any business, you can find applications.” Milan will

You’ll wonder why you can’t swipe your finger accro laptop screen to jump back forward in your browser. TOUCH SCREENS ARE UNLIKELY TO STOP THERE. They’re just too useful. Once you use an iPhone you’ll get

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IMAGE: The First All-Touch Keyboard

Milan looks like a large, expensive toy--or maybe a dedicated virtual finger-painting workstation--but Microsoft and its partners have been very shrewd about coming up with practical applications. For example, place a great Bluetooth-enabled digital camera on the tabletop. Milan recognizes the camera, wirelessly sucks out your photos and displays them on the tabletop in a stack. Anybody sitting around the table can then pass the photos around and even stretch and shrink them, iPhone-style. Or imagine the Milan as a restaurant table: diners sort through a tabletop menu, dragging and dropping appetizers and entrées, swapping their choices back and forth as they plan their respective meals. And so on. Imagine a family table that can pull up the layout of every board game ever made. “I think we’re just scratching the surface,” says Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s entertainment and devic Aes division, realizing a second too late that he’s making a pun. “If you just go through any business, you can find applications.” Milan will start showing up in public this fall; the first units will be information kiosks in the Harrah’s family of casinos and many. Touch screens are unlikely to stop there. They’re just too useful. Once you use an iPhone, you’ll get twitchy fingers. You’ll wonder why you can’t swipe your finger across your laptop screen to jump backward and forward in your browser. The touchability exposes the mouse as the crude finger substitute that it really is. Look at the success of Nintendo’s Wii, which works on the same principle, converting physical movements into virtual ones. People are ready to break the fourth wall of computing and put their fingers directly on the data. This is manualfree computing, instinctive and intuitive, with zero learning curve. “Almost anybody can demo it,” Bach says proudly. “That’s when you know you have a great product.” Lest you think this is more Steve Jobs magic, the core technology behind the iPhone’s touch screen probably wasn’t developed at Apple. Rumors swirl around a company called Fingerworks, founded by two University of Delaware professors, that Apple acquired in 2005. Milan looks like a large, expensive toy--or maybe a dedicated virtual finger-painting workstation-but Microsoft and its partners have been very shrewd about coming up with practical applications. For example, place a Bluetooth-enabled digital camera on the tabletop. Milan recognizes the camera, wirelessly sucks out your photos and displays them on the tabletop in a stack. Anybody sitting around the table can then pass the photos around and even stretch and shrink them, iPhone-style. Or imagine the Milan as a restaurant table: diners sort through a tabletop menu, dragging and dropping appetizers and entrées, swapping their choices back and forth as they plan their respective meals.

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ARE YOU A

MAC or PC The whole debate reminds me of a recurring experience Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m having with my Mac as of late. Everytime I pull it out at the courthouse or in deposition, I become the subject of curiosity By Alminar Sagar

FEATURESTORY

“country An aspiring singer once asked living legend Dolly Parton for advice

”

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ou’ve probably heard personifications of these two computer operating systems bantering on TV, where the young, hip Mac always comes out ahead of the buttoneddown PC. In law firms, like in most businesses, the reverse typically happens. However, several lawyers who run their practices exclusively on Macs are spreading Apple gospel to other legal professionals. Rob Hyndman, principal of Hyndman Law, writes about his allegiance to Mac in his technology blog. Several months ago, Kansas attorney and fellow tech blogger Grant Griffiths co-founded the Google group Macs in the Law Office, or MILO. And this year might not be business as usual for law IT departments. Many PC users must switch to a new computer operating system within the next two years. Unlike previous transition periods, there may be competition this time for Vista, the successor to Microsoft’s market-leading Windows XP operating system. And the most user-friendly challenge comes from Apple Inc.’s Macintosh line. “The operating system is very stable,” said Joel Alleyne, Chief Information and Knowledge Officer for Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. “It sets graphical user interface (GUI) standards that Microsoft has had to catch up to.” Also, technology pundits concur that upgrading from XP to Vista will, in many cases, require a brand new computer. Elliot Katz, senior product manager, Windows Client for Microsoft Canada, called that a myth. He claimed that Vista will install properly on most computers sold in the last three years. That three-year period was a deliberate

“You must be able to hire people who understand it, or you must be able to outsource support.” Alleyne likens the Mac versus Windows battle to that of Beta versus VHS. “Beta was the superior product. VHS had market share. Look where we are today.” Applications are the biggest barriers to Mac adoption in law firms which rely upon practice management, time, billing and document comparison tools, among others, that run only on Windows. “Even if applications are web-based,” said Alleyne, “developers tend to make them compatible with the most popular browser on the market, Microsoft Internet Explorer. Using web-based apps on (Apple’s) Safari or Mozilla Firefox can cause compatibility issues. That means extra testing for us.” Document compatibility also concerns potential “defectors” but Hyndman recalls only one Microsoft Office compatibility issue (since resolved) during hundreds of Office document exchanges with clients and colleagues. Griffiths claimed that many legal applications come in Mac versions and, if a specific legal application doesn’t exist for the Mac, substitutes are available.Another point in Apple’s favour: Apple switched its computers to Intel processors. “With Intel,” Powell said, “users see Macs as more standards-oriented.” Mac owners can now use tools that run software made for Windows, as well as Microsoft Windows itself. Hyndman gives Microsoft some credit. “The usability gap has closed over the years,” he said. The tech-savvy lawyer also recalled the week it took him to learn the Mac OS. “You have to change the way you think about using a computer,” he said. In Hyndman’s view, time spent learning the Mac has paid off. “I’m much more productive on a Mac. I get things done much faster,”

“stayHertrue answer: to yourself and don’t let anyone tell you to change.

”

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“You must be able to hire people who understand it, or you must be able to outsource support.” Alleyne likens the Mac versus Windows battle to that of Beta versus VHS. “Beta was the superior product. VHS had market share. Look where we are today.” Applications are the biggest barriers to Mac adoption in law firms which rely upon practice management, time, billing and document comparison tools, among others, that run only on Windows. “Even if applications are web-based,” said Alleyne, “developers tend to make them compatible with the most popular browser on the market, Microsoft Internet Explorer. Using web-based apps on (Apple’s) Safari or Mozilla Firefox can cause compatibility issues. That means extra testing for us.” Document compatibility also concerns potential “defectors” but Hyndman recalls only one Microsoft Office compatibility issue (since resolved) during hundreds of Office document exchanges with clients and colleagues. Griffiths claimed that many legal applications come in Mac versions and, if a specific legal application doesn’t exist for the Mac, substitutes are available. Another point in Apple’s favour: Apple switched its computers to Intel processors. “With Intel,” Powell said, “users see Macs as more standards-oriented.” Mac owners can now use tools that run software made for Windows, as well as Microsoft Windows itself. Hyndman gives Microsoft some credit. “The usability gap has closed over the years,” he said. The tech-savvy lawyer also recalled the week it took him to learn the Mac OS. “You have to change the way you think about using a computer,” he said. In Hyndman’s view, time spent learning the Mac has paid off. “I’m much more productive on a Mac. I get things done much faster,” Hyndman claimed, then added: “but productivity is a hard thing to demonstrate.”Both Hyndman and Griffith repeat “total cost of ownership” as a key benefit of switching to Mac. Neither sole practitioner maintains an IT department or infrastructure. Both claim the Mac calls for less debugging, fixing and support. “I used to pay $5,000 per year in support when I ran a Windows network,” Griffiths said. “That has dropped to zero.” Griffiths added that larger firms can easily find third-party Apple support. Alleyne added the claim that Macs excel in peer-to-peer networks common to small offices.Little of this applies to larger firms, where Microsoft platforms dominate. Temporary staff

Must be able to hire people who understand it, or you must be able to outsource support.” Alleyne likens the Mac versus Windows battle to that of Beta versus VHS. “Beta was the superior product. VHS had market share. Look where we are today.” Applications are the biggest barriers to Mac adoption in law firms which rely upon practice management, time, billing and document comparison tools, among others, that run only on Windows. “Even if applications are web-based,” said Alleyne, “developers tend to make them compatible with the most popular browser on the market, Microsoft Internet Explorer. Using web-based apps on (Apple’s) Safari or Mozilla Firefox can cause compatibility issues. That means extra testing for us.” Document compatibility also concerns potential “defectors” but Hyndman recalls only one Microsoft Office compatibility issue (since resolved) during hundreds of Office document exchanges with clients and colleagues. Griffiths claimed that many legal applications come in Mac versions and, if a specific legal application doesn’t exist for the Mac, substitutes are available. Another point in Apple’s favour: Apple switched its computers to Intel processors. “With Intel,” Powell said, “users see Macs as more standards-oriented.” Mac owners can now use tools that run software made for Windows, as well as Microsoft Windows itself. Hyndman gives Microsoft some credit. “The usability gap has closed over the years,” he said. The tech-savvy lawyer also recalled the week it took him to learn the Mac OS. “You have to change the way you think about using a computer,” he said. In Hyndman’s view, time spent learning the Mac has paid off. “I’m much more productive on a Mac. I get things done much faster,” Hyndman claimed, then added: “but productivity is a hard thing to demonstrate.”Both Hyndman and Griffith repeat “total cost of ownership” as a key benefit of switching to Mac. Neither sole practitioner maintains an IT department or infrastructure. Both claim the Mac calls for less debugging, fixing and support. “I used to pay $5,000 per year in support when I ran a Windows network,” Griffiths said. “That has dropped to zero.” Griffiths added that larger firms can easily find third-party Apple support. Alleyne added the claim that Macs excel in peer-to-peer networks common to small offices. Little of this applies to larger firms, where Microsoft platforms dominate. Temporary staff and IT professionals

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TECHSTORY

COMPUTER

GEEK WHO HACKED INTO PENTAGON

Bin Ladenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s right-hand man in Europe and the geek who hacked Pentagon computers to look at UFOs: So who goes free? By Richard Pendlebury

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Should we really be handing over our nationals, without conclusive evidence against them? There has even been the suggestion - from one rather excitable New Jersey attorney that in an ideal world they would like to see him ‘fry’. Earlier this week, the gaunt and well-spoken McKinnon appeared before the House of Lords to make what is likely to be a last, desperate appeal against extradition to the U.S. If he loses, he faces up to 60 years in jail there. Earlier this week, the gaunt and well spoken McKinnon appeared before the House of Lords. In the pantheon of the American military’s Most Wanted list, McKin-

then, “ Since the deeply

n the pantheon of the American military’s Most Wanted list, McKinnon must rank some way below Osama bin Laden. Yet while the Al Qaeda leader remains elusive, a vengeful Pentagon is inching ever closer to the capture and high-security imprisonment of an unemployed British hairdresser with a potentially disastrous interest in UFOs. By his own account, McKinnon, 42, was nothing more than a ‘bumbling nerd’. You would, perhaps, better describe him as a reckless idiot. Even his supporters would agree he’s been a fool. Still, using a keyboard in his North London bedroom, he managed to infiltrate, examine and, allegedly, sometimes crash parts of the American military computer network before and shortly after the September 11 Twin Towers attacks in New York. His efforts have been described as the ‘biggest military computer hack of all time’. Since then, the deeply embarrassed and enraged U.S. authorities have determined that their British pothead nemesis should pay a heavy price likely to be a last, desperate appeal against extradition to the U.S. If he loses, he faces up to 60 years in jail there. Despite diplomatic assurances, he also fears he faces a spell in an orange jumpsuit in Guantanamo Bay. From the sounds some American prosecutors are making, he has every reason to be afraid. McKinnon’s story is both fascinating and disturbing. It raises of unsettling questions for us all, not least about the porous nature of the U.S military’s cyberspace security.The others concern our one-sided relationship with a post 9/11 American judicial system that has produced Guantanamo Bay and Iraq’s Abu Ghraib, as well as secret rendition flights to facilitate the torture of ‘war on terror’ suspects. Should we really be handing over our nationals, without conclusive evidence

embarrassed and enraged U.S.authorities have determined that their all British pothead nemesis should pay a heavy price

”

non must rank some way below Osama bin Laden. Yet while the Al Qaeda leader remains elusive, a vengeful Pentagon is inching ever closer to the capture and high-security imprisonment of an unemployed British hairdresser with a potentially disastrous interest in UFOs. By his own account, McKinnon, 42, was nothing more than a ‘bumbling nerd’. You would, perhaps, better describe him as a reckless idiot. Even his supporters would agree he’s been a fool. Still, using a keyboard in his North London bedroom, he managed to infiltrate, ex-

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PRODUCTREVIEW

DETECTIVE INVESTIGATION : iPhone

WHAT OUR EXPERT SAYS

Touchiness: There’s only one key, and that simply brings you back the phone’s main menu. Not having a mechanical keyboard means you’ll need to focus your eyes on a virtual keypad to dial a phone number or a virtual keyboard to text a message. The soft versions look responsive, but they can never perform as well as hard keys. Lack of sociability: The iPhone won’t run on AT&T’s fastest data network, making it painfully slow for Web browsing or sending and receiving photos, unless you happen to be at a coffee shop with free WiFi. But the WiFi can’t be used to connect to other iPhones, unlike the Microsoft Zune, nor can it sync music with a desktop computer. Unfriendliness: Apple won’t let software developers write their own programs for the iPhone, saying it wants to ensure tight security and ease of use. The phone’s Safari browser can run applications developed for the Web, but that means having to connect first to the Internet, and that’s slow with the iPhone unless it’s within range of a WiFi network. Questionable stamina: Apple promises eight hours of taltime, but analysts suggest that’s optimistic—and that using WiFi or playing videos will cut that time significantly. Plus, it appears users won’t be able to change the battery, and they’ll have to send it back to Apple for a new one. No prenup: Purchasing an iPhone will force you to sign a twoyear contract with AT&T, which will provide voice and data service. And unlike just about every other phone out there, there is no discount on the purchase price for signing that two-year agreement, whic is outrageous. Weak eye: A phone this expensive should do better than a 2-megapixel camera. It should even have an optical zoom. No prenup: Purchasing an iPhone will force you to sign a twoyear contract with AT&T, which will provide voice and data service. And unlike just about every other phone out there, there is no discount on the purchase price for signing that two-year agreement.

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Q&A

ASK THE

TECH EXPERT

Our Tech Expert Alminar Sagar, is here to answer your all tech related questions.

Question: I got an e-mail claiming that I have been doing illegal activities the past six months. When I went to open it, Windows would not allow it. It said the attachment was harmful to my computer. Is this some new scam or virus that you are aware of? I have never committed anything illegal by way of downloading or pirating! Answer: E-mails like this have been flagged as spam. You can view this type of spam on Trend Micro’s site. I have the link at Komando.com/news. ISPs recently agreed to warn account holders in cases of suspected piracy. This spam may be attempting to play off of that. It’s trying to scare you into opening it. I would bet that it is malware. By refusing to open the attachment, Windows saved you from an attack. You don’t have to worry about this. And you can save yourself future sleepless nights. Just delete spam without reading it. But it will look noticeably nicer. And every Blu-ray player I’ve checked can play music CDs. In fact, the only thing they won’t play is HD-DVD discs. That was the competing high-definition standard. It was vanquished by Blu-ray.

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Q: I bought my son an iPod nano and an iTunes gift card. iTunes asked for a credit card number when we tried to redeem the gift card. I’d rather not enter it in iTunes. Is there a way around this? A: You’re right. iTunes requests your credit card number, even if you’re using a gift card. But you can avoid that. Here’s how: In iTunes, click Store—Create Account. Click Redeem Code. Enter the 16-digit code from the back of the gift card. Click Redeem. Q: I’m running Windows XP with Service Pack 2. Windows Update has begun asking if I want to install Service Pack 3. I remember hearing that Service Pack 3 can cause problems. Have the problems been solved? Is it safe for me to install Service Pack 3 if all my data is backed up? A: People with Hewlett-Packard machines using AMD chips had problems with SP3. But that was last spring. As far as I know, the problems have been resolved. Before you install SP3, I recommend that you visit Microsoft’s site. Q: I am confused. What type of discs do Blu-ray Disc players take? Will they play my regular DVDs? What about my music CDs? A: Blu-ray players use Blu-ray discs. These discs look like standard DVDs and CDs. But they hold much more data. This allows them to pack in HD content. All Blu-ray players can also play standard DVDs.

A: The signal can be obstructed while driving around. I would use an antenna that is optimized for vehicles. An example is the Boomerang antenna, which you sometimes see on limousines. You can pick one up for $100 or less. You might also consider a diversity antenna system. These use at least two antennas. Your TV tuner must support a diversity antenna system. Antennas go for about $25. With a tuner, the price jumps Q: The kids like to watch TV in our van. I’ve tried hooking a couple of antennas to a TV tuner. The antenna on my house gave the best reception. But I can’t drive around with that thing. What kind of antenna do I need for my van? A: Getting a good television signal in your van won’t be easy. The signal can be obstructed while driving around. I would use an antenna that is optimized for vehicles. An example is the Boomerang antenna, which you sometimes see on limousines. You can pick one up for $100 or less. You might also consider a diversity antenna system. These use at least two antennas. Your TV tuner must support a diversity antenna system. Antennas go for about $25. With a tuner, the price jumps to the $200 range.

Q: I’m running Windows XP with Service Pack 2. Windows Update has begun asking if I want to install Service Pack 3. I remember hearing that Service Pack 3 can cause problems. Have the problems been solved? Is it safe for me to install Service Pack 3 if all my data is backed up?

Q: I bought my son an iPod nano and an iTunes gift card. iTunes asked for a credit card number when we tried to redeem the gift card. I’d rather not enter it in iTunes. Is there a way around this?

A: People with Hewlett-Packard machines using AMD chips had problems with SP3. But that was last spring. As far as I know, the problems have been resolved. Before you install SP3, I recommend that you visit Microsoft’s site. I have a link at Komando.com/news. You’ll find tips for installing the service pack. Microsoft will also provide free installation and compatibility support for SP3. This is available until April 14, 2009.

A: You’re right. iTunes requests your credit card number, even if you’re using a gift card. But you can avoid that. Here’s how: In iTunes, click Store—Create Account. Click Redeem Code. Enter the 16-digit code from the back of the gift card. Click Redeem. On the next screen, you’ll be prompted to create a store account. Click None on the Payment screen. Now he can use the gift card by itself.

Q: I am confused. What type of discs do Blu-ray Disc players take? Will they play my regular DVDs? What about my music CDs?

A: Blu-ray players use Blu-ray discs. These discs look like standard DVDs and CDs. But they hold much more data. This allows them to pack in HD content. All Blu-ray players can also play standard DVDs. They improve the picture by upconverting. You won’t get an HD-quality picture. But it will look noticeably nicer. And every Blu-ray player I’ve checked can play music CDs. In fact, the only thing they won’t play is HD-DVD discs. That was the competing high-definition standard. It was vanquished by Blu-ray. On the next screen, you’ll be prompted to create a store account. Click None on the Payment screen. Now he can use the gift card by itself. You can pick one up for $100 or less. You might also consider a diversity antenna system.

Q: The kids like to watch TV in our van. I’ve tried hooking a couple of antennas to a TV tuner. The antenna on my house gave the best reception. But I can’t drive around with that thing. What kind of antenna do I need for my van?

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