SEPTEMBER 2010
techbytex 2010
Woman Sues Google Maps after Car Accident Windows Phone 7
FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK For the first time in quite a while, I’m sitting down in front of the computer to write yet another editor’s note for TechByteX. For those who still do not know, TechByteX is run by Media club’s IT Department. Now for some numbers. techbytex.weebly.com, our primary site, has progressed to reach almost 300 views for the whole of August, and that’s that. In this issue, we’ll tell you all about the upcoming Windows Phone 7, and we bring you the report of the woman who sued Google Maps after she was hit by a car. Read on. Oh yea, and there’re wouldn’t be a Term 4 Issue of TechByteX, but we’ll wish you good luck for the EOYs here. Signing off, TechByteX Chief Editor Information Technology Department Media Club
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editor’s note
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TECHBYTEX FEATURE
7
From
To
Windows Phone 7
“A different kind of phone… designed to keep your life in motion.”
Year 2000
Year 2010
While Apple has been pretty much dominating an industry that Microsoft have been dominating for the past 10 years, it isn’t surprising that Microsoft comes up with a countermeasure - Windows Phone 7. However, is it up to a standard where it can topple Apple? Let’s take a look.
Looks and Feel
Microsoft uses the Metro interface which is meant to be streamlined, simple and modern. The software is fast and responsive unlike the old Windows Mobile, so there is no lag between pages. The capacitive touch screen is responsive, unlike the resistive touch screen of the old PocketPC. The interface is fully finger-friendly.
The navigation is simple and similar to the Zune HD. Going with Microsoft’s statement of “Content, not Chrome”, the interface is chromeless. Giving a long press allows a variety of functions, each different on each page, like allowing you to organize the hubs in the homepage. There is also a slight compression when you scroll to the edge of a page, a nice touch by Microsoft.
Browsing the net
Windows Phone 7 is capable of completing tasks quickly, compared to some other phones. The People hub allows you to download all the contacts from your Facebook. Unfortunately, all the photos you have are displayed on your picture applications as your apps take pictures from both your relatives and those friends of friends of friends. Short of removing your Facebook account from your phone, there is nothing else you can do about it.
Internet Explorer The browser used is Internet Explorer which is unusual as most people now use Google chrome and Mozilla Firefox. There isn’t a YouTube application so you have to manually open internet explorer to load YouTube. Flash will not be available at launch., but will be available a few months later. The search engine is Bing but many prefer Google or Yahoo. Browsing on the net is an easy and the websites loads quite fast, though there could be improvements to the speeds. Unfortunately, Internet Explorer is unable to read Chinese. The Maps application uses Google Maps.
Microsoft Office The windows phone 7 has Office Mobile 2010, comprising of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, OneNote and SharePoint. Word can do simple document editing but can view complex articles. Excel supports complicated functions, and PowerPoint can do simple text editing in presentations.
Zune Tapping on the Marketplace icon reveals the Marketplace hub. Choosing Music brings you to the Zune hub. The Marketplace hub shows you the newest, featured apps and music around. However, Zune lacks a search option. One can have an almost unlimited access to all types of music if you pay for the subscription.
X-BOX LIVE X-box finally goes mobile, allowing you to play your favourite X-Box games with your friends! The touch screen interface allows you to play some cool games on the go.
Security There is a password protection but it’s a little different from the normal ones you see on computer. It allows you to see the letters that you type for a moment, then it turns into dots. It helps you to check if you have made any mistakes in your password.
A student’s guide to
Digital Cameras In this article, we’ll set our optical viewfinders on the best digital cameras for students.
Budget Digital Cameras for Everyone Samsung TL210 The best camera for all those “Zi Lian” people, this 12 megapixel with 5x optical zoom dual screen shooter will also impress your classmates. Two screens are better than one. The price varies, but starts from USD$140 online.
Sony Alpha-DSLR A230 The cheapest DSLR on the market today (at $649 usual price) this 10 megapixel Digital SLR Camera is perfect to beginners with a budget.
Mid-range Digital Cameras for both beginners and professionals Cannon Powershot S90 The Cannon Powershot S90 is perfect for both beginners and serious photographers with it’s easy to use controls and a manual mode with RAW shooting. It is available at $516 online from authorised retailers.
Top camera for professional shooters or when money is simply no object. Nikon D5000 The second Nikon DSLR with Video, this DSLR is perfect for every occasion. It’s only downside is, with every video DSLR, it has no autofocus. Price from $945 online.
Cannon Eos 7D Ultra high 18 MP. Insane image processing speeds. Ridiculous 8 fps shooting. Buy this if you have too much money. Price from $2360 online.
4 Beach Photography Tips
Adapted from Darren Rowse
We know that the holidays are here , its time to hit the beach ! :D Therefore while you are there , why not take a few pictures , we give you some tips for indulging in beach photography .
For people who normally take pictures at the beach , the pictures look quite the same . You may try other angles to make your pictures more interesting and add colours to your album !
The start and end of days can present the best opportunities for shooting at the beach. For starters there will be less people there at that time of day but also you’ll find that with the sun shining on an angle that you often get more interesting effects of shadows and colors – particularly in the evening when the light becomes quite warm and golden.
One of the challenges of shooting in the middle of summer on a beach is that it can be incredibly bright and your camera could want to under expose your shots if you’re shooting in Auto mode. If your camera has a manual mode it can be well worth playing with it at the beach and experimenting with different levels of exposure. I find that I get the best results when I look at what the camera wants to expose the shot at and then over expose it by a stop or two. Brightly lit landscapes are generally very tricky – especially if you have shady areas as well as bright ones. Sometimes it’s a matter of working out which area you want to be well exposed and focusing on that area.
If you’re photographing people at the beach as a portrait and it’s bright you’ll find that they will almost always have shadows on their face (often cast by hats, glasses, noses etc). Switch on your flash and force it to fire when shooting in these situations and you’ll find the shadows eliminated and your actual subject is well exposed. This is particularly important when shooting into the sun when without a flash you could end up with your subject being at some stage of becoming a silhouette). If your camera gives you some level of control over how strong a flash to fire you might want to experiment with this also as firing a full strength can leave your subjects looking washed out and artificial. If your subjects do look overexposed and you cant decrease the flash strength try moving back a little from your subject and using your zoom to get a tighter framing as this will decrease the impact of the flash. As usual – experimenting is the key.
First 13 MAJOR Tarot Card Meanings 0 - The Fool I - The Magician II - The Priestess III - Empress IV - Emperor V - The Hierophant VI - Lovers VII - The Chariot VIII - Strength IX - The Hermit X - Wheel Of Fortune XI - Justice XII - Hanged XIII - Death
VI The Lovers : Upright - Harmony and union, choices to be made using intuition and not intellect. Difficult decisions to be made not necessarily about love. Some form of test and consideration about commitments. Abstract thought, internal harmony and union, second sight. Possibly a struggle between two paths
VII – The Chariot : Upright - Triumph over adversity, overcoming life's obstacles, decisiveness and ambition in achieving one's goals, well deserved victory. A period of struggle ending in worldly success. Self control, effort, perseverance. Working within the boundaries of one's life to build up a successful existence.
VIII – Strength : Upright - Courage. Self control. The virtue of Fortitude. The power of love. Control of passion against one's baser instincts. Determination. Generosity. Strength and power under control. Energy. Optimism. Generosity, resolve and reconciliation.
IX – The Hermit : Upright - Caution. Discretion. Need for prudence. Counsel sought and taken. Inner calm. A need to reach into one's inner resources. Assimilation. Planning. A wise guide or spiritual mentor. A time to stand back and reflect upon circumstances
X – Wheel Of Fortune : Upright Effortless success. Good fortune that is unexpected. Coincidences. Luck. The beginning of a new cycle. Advancement. Positive upheaval. Change. A card of good fortune, the appearance of destiny and Karmic change.
XI – Justice : Upright - Amicable and favorable resolution of conflicts. Triumph over bigotry and prejudice. Legal action. Litigation. Contracts. Settlement. Divorce. Sometim es marriage depending upon the other cards and normally only when marriage contracts, legal or financial documents are a necessary part of the intended union. Clarity. Fairness. Arbitration. A straightforward choice. Judgment.
XII – Hanged : Upright - Devotion to a worthwhile cause. Temporary suspension of progress. Flexibility of mind and a willingness to adapt to changes. Sacrifice in the present to reap benefit in the future. A waiting period. Rebirth. Sacrificing one thing to obtain another. Transformation. Circumstance s literally turned on their head.
XIII – Death : Upright - The beginning of a new life. As a result of underlying circumstances transformation and change. Major changes. The end of a phase in life which has served its purpose. Abrupt and complete change of circumstances, way of life and patterns of behavior due to past events and actions. Alterations.
Tips for Candid photography Sometimes , when we review the pictures taken at a particular event , we find that most shots were taken formally , they lack real feelings . In order to help you get pictures with more real feelings , the team has researched on ways to help you get better candid pictures . Disclaimer: Candid photography is not about being sneaky or gearing you for paparazzi material .
Take your Camera Everywhere It helps when you have your camera at hand “on the ready” to take any picture .
Shoot lots
Use a Long Zoom & no flash When you are further away from your subject , he/she/they are less likely to notice that you are taking their picture . This helps your photo to portray the real expression and feelings of the person .
Another way to get photos are probably to shoot lots of them and in doing so you’ll increase your chances of that perfect shot.
Photograph People Doing things or people with people. Something very interesting happens when you photograph more than one person in an image at a time – it introduces relationship into the shot.
Mix up your Perspective You may want to shoot things at different angles to improve you “abstract” aspect in the picture .
No flash photography
Evan Guide- Lvl 80 Breath of the dragon is charged for a certain amount of time , and maximum of 6 monsters are attacked at one time. The damage increases proportionately to the time the breath is charged. At a set rate, the mobs will be stunned.
This skill attacks the enemies with a wing-shaped energy wave, which is the compress strength of the Darkness. The attack is focused on the attacked enemy for a set time.
The character will build a resistance to all elements of magic attacks from the enemies.
Using a lot of MP, all magic attacks of the character is amplified in strength.
Evan Guide- Lvl 100 Earthquake
The dragon fly high into the sky and lands hard on the ground, dealing damage to multiple enemies. (up to 15 mobs).
Phantom Imprint A magic circle is created to curse the enemy with darkness and to deal damage. The cursed enemy will receive more damage.
Recover Aurora An aurora is created around the character for 30 seconds. The MP of the party members within that aurora is continually increased. Time taken for skill to cooldown:1min
Dragon Fury When MP is maintained within a certain range, the concentration of the dragon becomes stronger and magic attack increases. If the MP Goes outside of the interval, the effect is cancelled.
Evan Guide- lvl 120 Flame Wheel
A fireball in shape of a wheel is casted to give fire-element damage to maximum of 6 enemies.
Illusion
The dragon splits into multiple dragons to attack one enemy multiple times.
Maple Warrior
For a set amount of time, all stats of the party members are raised at a certain percentage.
Hero's Will
This makes the character escape from certain abnormal states. The cooldown time is shortened with the rise of levels.
Magic Mastery
The mastery and magic attack is increased.
Blaze
Creates multiple explosions to attack enemies within radius. It attacks one enemy with the fire elemental attack. If there are enemies around the attacked enemy, then they will get additional damage.
Dark Fog
Creates a weather change, attracts all darkness particles in the surrounding, creates a freezing and dark fog that attacks up to 15 enemies in the map.
Soul Stone
Soul Stone buff is applied to one party member at random. If the party member dies during the buff time, he is resurrected right away on the same spot. The character will be revived with a certain amount of HP restored.
Blessing of the Onyx
For a set amount of time, a buff is casted to increase weapon defense, magic defense and magic attack.
Fire Circle Fire-based attack that hits multiple enemies Soulstone A resurrection skill cast randomly on one or two party members
Magic Missile The starting skill of Evans
Dark Fog Darkness-based attack that hits up to 15 enemies
Lightning Bolt Strikes only one enemy surrounding them
Guide to Archery Class (1st job) Minimum Requirements: Level 10, 25 dex Head to Bowman Instructional School in Henesys to find Athena Pierce. Talk to her, and she will advance you as a Bowman if you've the requirement stats. • • • • •
Pros High ranged damage Highest knock back Ability to attack rapidly Relatively cheap equipments
• • • • •
Cons Horrible melee attack around Level 25 Unstable damage Consume arrows fairly quickly at first Bowmen attack slowly drops when reaching Lev 20+ (attack lower than all jobs)
Focus Temporarily increases accuracy and avoidability Arrow Blow Applies more damage than usual Double Shot Fires two arrows at once
The Blessing of Amazon Increases accuracy. The Eye of Amazon Increases the range of attack for both bows and crossbows. Critical Shot Allows you to perform a critical attack with a certain success rate.
Shanghai World Expo 2010 Takes place on: 1st May 2010 Theme: “Better City – Better life”, signifying Shanghai's new status in the 21st century as a major economic and cultural center. Benefits •Gives opportunities for people to interact so that they can have a greater knowledge about people around the world •Stimulates economic development and further encourage technology development •Lets people be aware that China is now a centre of trade Negative effects •Liberization of investment and trade will impact environmental protection Opinions
“A perfect platform for companies to showcase their achievements and products.” “China has been remarkable in organizing the Beijing Olympics, and I believe the World Expo will be just as successful.”
Woman Hit By Car – Sues Google Maps For Faulty Directions!
Trusting machines instead of her own eyes , her own brains and her own sense of survival. A question come , a tragic tale of a woman that uses a Blackberry to find the place known as Park City, Utah. Trusting the BlackBerry , she goes to the location taking the route shown by the BlackBerry . Now , she gets struck by a car driven by Patrick Harwood. Rosenberg fingered her trusted BlackBerry and asked it to tell her just how she might walk between 96 Daly Street and 1710 Prospector Avenue. Her BlackBerry turned to the world's great walking resource, Google Maps. Google Maps suggested that she should, as part of her journey, amble along Deer Valley Drive. Now , She sues Harwood. And she is also suing Google.
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