TechSpott

How to add a Recent Comments Widget to Blogger?

amitash — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 13:34:00 +0000

Hello Guys,

Today I am going to post a small tutorial on how to add a “Recent Comments” Widgets to your Blogger Blog. All you have to do is follow these steps.

Log into your Blogger Dashboard.
Click on “Layout” Tab.
Then Click on “Add a Gadget” anywhere you like (sidebar, above posts, below posts, etc,.)
Then Select “Feed”.
Then type the following into the Feed URL Box.

http://yourblog.blogspot.com/feeds/comments/default

(OR)

http://yourblog.blogspot.com/feeds/comments/Summary

See the picture below for details

Make sure you change the text in red (yourblog) in the above code to your Blog Domain.

After that, Give the title “Recent Comments” or anything you like.

If you liked this post, Please subscribe to my feed via Google Reader.

Please comment if you need help.

Firefox Mobile browser hits Alpha 2, still for Nokia N810 only

amitash — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 13:33:00 +0000

Mozilla has released Alpha 2 of its mobile web browser called Fennec that is available for the OS2008 (”Maemo”) software platforms that runs on the Nokia N810 Internet Tablets. (Yes, you can also take it for a test spin on Windows, OS X , and Linux computers, according to Mozilla, “to give people who don’t have a Nokia Internet Tablet the ability to localize, experiment and build add-ons”).

According to their release notes, the main objectives of development was to add touch screen support and other features for mobile phones and other handheld devices.

Alpha 2 offers faster panning; faster zooming; improved responsiveness of pages loading; new content manipulation hooks for extension authors; look and feel improvements to improve usability

The new version also offers an easy navigation to Web content such as bookmarks (including tags), smart URL bar, tabbed browsing with thumbnail images, tntegrated Web search and easy access to multiple search engines.

Nokia 7510 Supernova coming to T-Mobile USA in January?

amitash — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 13:32:00 +0000

It seems T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) USA will strengthen its fashion phone portfolio with the addition of Nokia (NYSE: NOK) 7510 Supernova during the month of January next year. According to TmoNews, a possible release date for the 7510 is January 21, even though there’s nothing official about that at present.

Announced back in June, the Nokia 7510 Supernova has a clamshell-form factor and among other things packs a quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE radio, 2.2-inch QVGA screen, stereo Bluetooth support (A2DP), 2 megapixel camera, Nokia’s familiar Series 40 UI, and a microSD memory card slot.

We don’t have any details about the pricing at the moment, but I would expect it to retail for about $100 on a contract…

[Via: Unwired View]

LG Dare gets multiple awards, Do We Still Like It???

amitash — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 13:31:00 +0000

LG is all proud to announce that its LG Dare feature phone has received multiple awards. Here are the accolades the Korean giant received for its all-touchscreen handset:

    * PC Magazine: Editor’s Choice Award and Best of 2008
    * CNET: Best Cell Phones of 2008
    * 3G CDMA: Industry Achievement Award
    * CES: 2009 Innovation Award – we’ve already covered this in the post about LG’s CES awards

Kudos to LG for scoring this respectable awards, but we still miss the brains in the Dare. Don’t get me wrong – I like how it looks, the problem is in the fact that the LG Dare doesn’t run any of the smartphone operating systems. This translates into limitations on what you can do with it. Basically, you can use it only in ways LG and Verizon (NYSE: VZ) envisioned it and that’s not something I personally like.

Finally, let’s repeat its specs. There’s a tactile feedback-enabled 3-inch touchscreen, 3G (EV-DO), 3.2 megapixel camera/camcorder with a Schneider-Kreuznach lens and LED flash, accelerometer (for auto-rotation), media playback software, and a microSD slot on board. Verizon is selling the LG Dare for $129.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and with a two-year contract.

LG KC780 8MP super-snapper cellphone video demo

amitash — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 13:30:00 +0000

Say what you like about the pedestrian styling of the LG KC780, when it comes to optics this cellphone packs the business. Snapped in Taiwan this week, the 8-megapixel handset brings with it Schneider Kreuznach optics, ISO1600 and DivX support, together with a 2.4-inch QVGA display.

Despite being just 13.7mm thick, the KC780 still manages to include face detection, smile detection (to automatically trigger the shutter when the subject smiles) and image stabilization. There’s also Beauty Mode, allowing for minor airbrushing on the handset itself, together with SmartLight that automatically adjusts brightness.

Since carrying around all that optical prowess makes you want to use it as much as possible, LG have added “Smart Bluetooth” which lets the KC780 function as a wireless webcam with your laptop. It should be on sale in Asia now.

Santa must be real, he’s on Google Earth

amitash — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 13:30:00 +0000

As it has for the past four years, Google will be mapping Santa Claus’ trek from the icy North Pole to rooftops around the globe on Christmas Eve. But this year, good girls and boys can track their gifts via mobile phones and Twitter, too.

Starting at 3 a.m. PST on Wednesday, a Google Map with Santa’s current location will be displayed on the NORAD Santa Web site, operated by Google and the North American Aerospace Defense Command.

Santa fans can also track his movements in 3D in Google Earth by downloading a special NORAD Tracks Santa KML. iGoogle users can add a NORAD Tracks Santa gadget to their iGoogle page.

Google will be displaying high-resolution “Santa Cam” video of the gift-laden airborne sleigh. For locations without video, photos from Panoramio will be displayed in Google Maps.

And for the first time, people can track Santa’s journey on mobile phones with Google Maps for Mobile and follow him on Twitter by adding “@noradsanta.”

You can read the history of Google’s Santa tracking efforts on the Official Google Blog.

Google became NORAD’s official Santa Tracking technology partner last year. NORAD has been tracking Santa for about 50 years.

ASUS F6V scented notebook gets reviewed: smells pretty good

amitash — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 13:29:00 +0000

There’s no denying that it can be hard to differentiate your laptop from the masses of rival brands on the market, but we’re still not sure ASUS’ introduction of scented notebooks is the answer. The F6V series was announced back in September, and the concept is pretty straightforward: the computer smells. Notebook Review took a look to see if it stinks, too.

Four different scents are available to choose from; reviewer James Wong picked the unpleasantly titled “dark musk”, which he describes as “polished metal with a bit of aftershave”. The scent itself seemingly comes from the heatsink fan inside the F6V, and gets stronger the hotter the laptop runs. It’s also started to fade over time, which suggests that after a couple of months you might have to douse your keyboard with Chanel No.5 if you want to maintain that “just stepped away from the perfume counter” impression.

Aside from the smell, the F6V is pretty much a standard notebook. In fact the only other really unusual thing about it is the inclusion of an S-Video to composite adapter, when the laptop doesn’t have either of those ports. Performance from the 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo P8400 processor (with 3GB of RAM and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470 256MB graphics) is strong, and the 13.3-inch WXGA display has bright colors and broad horizontal viewing angles, only let down by the overly glossy coating. The smell is just a gimmick; thankfully the notebook itself is not.

Digital Gear: Power and Money Saving Technologies

amitash — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 13:28:00 +0000

A number of cool and weird items will be on display at the International Consumer Electronics Show next month, including a money-saving surge protector and a pair of goggles that double as a mobile TV. Also on display: Silicon Mountain’s Allio high-definition LCD TV, which doubles up as an all-in-one PC, and Meade’s ETX-LS, a smart telescope that takes novice star-gazers on an audio-visual tour of the night sky. Here’s a snapshot of some of the cool gadgets and electronics that you’ll be able to check out on the CES show floor.

Save money on power

Finding a way to save on energy bills? Monster Cable is showing the GreenPower MDP 900 surge protector, which automatically cuts off energy supply to electronics like PCs and peripherals when they’re not in use. Users can keep devices plugged into the power, but not worry about wasting kilowatts whenever they go into sleep mode.

The surge protector is particularly effective for PCs. If a PC is shut off or goes to sleep, the surge protectors cuts power supply to connected PC peripherals like printers and monitors. When a PC is switched on, the power supply to peripherals is activated. The power strip isn’t visually pretty, but it can pay for itself if you use a lot of consumer electronics.

Depending on the connected equipment, using the GreenPower MDP 900 can return as much as $100 to $130 annually, a Monster Cable spokesperson said. That’s pretty close to its $129.95 pricetag.

Mobile TV goggles

If your cell phone doesn’t play TV, why not try a pair of goggles? Siano Mobile Silicon and Hongshi have fancied a pair of goggles that can receive live TV signals, enabling users to watch TV on the go. The goggles can display TV images on a screen, and TV broadcasts are processed by a tiny box that connects to the goggles through wires. Headphones are attached to the side of the goggles. Users simply have to slip on the goggles and choose the TV channel they want to watch. No cellular networks or cables are required, the company said.

The goggles, made by Hongshi, uses Siano chips to receive and process television signals. They currently support only the CMMB (China Multimedia Mobile Broadcasting) broadcast standard used in China, but may work with other broadcasting technologies in the future, a Siano spokeswoman said.

The smart telescope

If you can’t get the Hubble telescope, try gazing at stars with Meade’s ETX-LS smart telescope, which will be shown at CES. The telescope simplifies deep space exploration and takes novice users on an audio-visual tour of the night sky by automatically mapping out objects. This eliminates the complexities of traditional telescopes, which can’t identify stars or break down constellations.

The telescope has a built-in audio and video encyclopedia, which provides the data for the tour. The device has a built-in speaker and video-out jack for the tour, and a built-in camera can take pictures of the sky. The ETX-LS creates a map by measuring light output of objects like stars.

The company was not available for comment, but Oceanside Photo and Telescope lists the device for $1,299.

TV and PC unite

One device I look forward to seeing at CES is Silicon Mountain’s Allio high-definition LCD TV which is also an all-in-one PC. The device is unique because it brings all forms of entertainment — music, video and images — from multiple sources into one box. That could be powerful for users looking to use the TV and Internet at the same time.

For example, split-screen capabilities on the TV could allow me to watch a baseball game in one screen, while chatting with Internet friends about the game in the other screen. Or I could watch a History Channel program in one screen and reference information related to the program from the Internet in the other. The device also allows Internet video to be played on the TV.

It is possible to watch TV and use a computer at the same time, but this hybrid device reduces the number of boxes and enables quicker access to information. Allio includes a digital video recorder and a Blu-ray player.

The TV comes in sizes of 32-inches to 42-inches with different PC configurations. It is priced between $1,599 and $2,799. For $1,599, a TV comes with a 32-inch screen, an Intel Pentium dual-core processor running at 2.5GHz, 250GB of storage, 2GB of RAM and Vista Home Premium OS.

Energizer keeps on going

Energizer plans to go beyond batteries at CES, showing technologies to charge devices wirelessly and through solar power. The company has lamps that can be wirelessly charged via a console, removing the troubles of wires around a home. It is also showing off the Energizer Rechargeable Solar Charger, a portable solar-powered recharger that powers batteries via sunlight.

Fuji’s super green battery

Here’s a new spin on batteries: green and “landfill safe” batteries. Fuji is showing off Enviromax, green batteries that the company claims are environmentally safe. Made at an environmentally friendly plant, the batteries do not include hazardous chemicals like lead, cadmium and mercury, and they offer a good shelf life, according to the company. So if you are environmentally conscious, this battery is for you.

The batteries come in AA and AAA sizes, and will become available in some portions of the U.S. Pricing information was not immediately available.

Playstation 2 causes two brothers to choke and stab one another

amitash — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 13:27:00 +0000

Two brothers living in Waukesha reportedly choked, cut and stabbed each other when they fought over a Playstation 2 video game controller. Waukesha Police are recommending that charges be brought against both brothers who violently acted out of anger.

Video games can sometimes bring friends and family together, this on the other hand also killed these family members. This all took place on Sunday at a home on Whiterock Avenue where the two brothers got into a huge argument over whose turn it was to play the video game. The fighting went from simple yelling to one of the brothers choking the other.

In defense the brother who was being choked, pulled out a knife and cut the hands of the instigator, after which the who was doing all the choking took the knife and stabbed his brother and then fled the scene. The brother who fled then walked to the hospital and suffered from severely frostbitten fingers. It looks like this violent guy wont be playing video games for quite a while. Police report that none of the injuries sustained were life threatening.

Organize Your Life with Cute Organizer

amitash — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 13:27:00 +0000

Cute Organizer is a fairly basic PIM that provides a lot of useful features for casual users, with a slightly confusing interface the only real issue. It covers all the basics–you can input contacts and information about them, schedule appointments, make notes, and so on. In terms of bells and whistles, it is a bit sparse compared to other programs, but this can be seen as removing a lot of annoying distractions few people actually use, in favor of focusing on the key features which most people need.

The interface for the $36 Cute Organizer is fairly simple–there are three basic views, for addresses, tasks, and notes, and each can contain multiple user-defined folders for ease of organization. The default view for each is fairly barren, but it is easy to add columns to each view. (Note that your changes are not saved in the trial version.) The fields are very freeform–for example, there are “Internet” fields which might hold a web address, an email address, an FTP site, or, really, any text.

Cute Organizer has a text editor for notes (limited to 4K in the trial version) which includes the most basic formatting capabilities–font, bold and underline, and alignment. There is no obvious way to make the note link to or reference a contact, which is a disappointing oversight.

Overall, Cute Organizer does its basic job reasonably well and is a worthwhile tool for those who have basic needs. It has a clean interface (though a few features are hidden, such as creating a new database being part of the “User” menu instead of “File”), and it runs on some pretty old hardware and operating systems, always a plus.