sGFX

ennheiser, the German giant of professional audio has launched itself in India so now you can expect to have the most supreme professional microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems closer at home. The better part of this development is that you won’t have to wait for a produc once it is released abroad because they are going to have all their new range of products released simultaneously worldwide. Sennheiser broke into the Indian Territory recently with their own distribution arm and may soon have more retail stores across the nation. Sennheiser inaugurated themselves in India with a road show and a live audio mixing workshop hosted by Grammy award winning audio engineer Gregor Zielinsky which was a huge success with all the attendees especially with audio engineering students and practicing professionals. Audiophiles have something to grin about now and Sennheiser is here to stay!

We didn’t know how to express our joy on hearing this development by Samuel Newton who is a direct descendent from Isaac Newton’s family. Teleporting has finally become a reality And unlike most other inventories, this device called the Exit Machine has not required to go through hundreds of drafts as the third draft itself has been finalized with no detected flaws The first test of Exit Machine’s final version had the team of scientists head by Samuel Newton transport a moose   . to Jupiter and it has been an absolute success with the pictures we received of the moose happily wandering on the surface of Jupiter with its supply of food and a camera at its head. The moose was put in the ‘In’ box of the Exit Machine in a shed near Area 51 and it was switched on and inside seconds it appeared on the fifth planet from the sun. The ‘Outbox’ on Jupiter was desptached three months prior to this development with DHL’s latest

cargo plan that has made it possible to send items to three planets. Since this ncident, Mr. Newton has gone absconding and has reportedly left for the woods to find his spiritual side because he believes he has achieved everything he could as a human. He has also said in his last press conference post the success of the Exit Machine that it should be thoroughly destroyed and ensured that it is not misused in the future . A team of scientists were sent to carry out this task * and though they destroyed it convincingly it was hard to console them after the event. “We have lost the 8th wonder of the world”, said Franklin Tommy, a close friend of Samuel and owner of the transported moose. We are the first to officially report this as it has been a covert operation and we have had our hands in making this possible. This operation was undertaken on April 1 but I’m sure you will agree as much that it is true

As most of you probably know, one needs a universal Google account that can be used across all Google services. This means that in case you use Gmail then you already possess the prerequisites. To start off with the Google Docs suite, start of by visiting the URL http://docs.google.com, and enter your user ID and password.
To get a feel of how the online office suites function, start off with the word processor, also known as Documents. Just below the logo on the top left of the screen that says Google Docs Beta, you can see a drop down menu which says New. Once you click on New, you are given either of four options; namely, a new Document (Word),

A digital camera is a camera that captures still photographs digitally by recording images on a light-sensitive sensor.

Digital cameras include features that are not found in film cameras, such as displaying an image on the camera’s screen immediately after it is recorded, the capacity to take thousands of images on a single small memory device, the ability to record video with sound, the ability to edit images, and deletion of images allowing re-use of the storage device. Digital cameras are incorporated into many devices ranging from PDAs and mobile phones (called camera  hones) to vehicles. The term digital still camera (DSC) usually refers to a live-preview digital camera, with an  lectronic display, usually a rearmounted LCD as the principal means of framing and previewing, before taking the  hotograph and for viewing stored photographs. All use either charge-coupled device (CCD) or a CMOS image sensor to sense the light intensities across the focal plane. Images may be transferred to a computer, printer or other  device in a number of ways-the USB mass storage device class makes the camera appear to the computer as if it were a disk drive, the Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP) and its derivatives may be used,FireWire is sometimes supported, and the storage device may simply be removed from the camera and inserted into another device. The resolution of a digital camera is often limited by the camera sensor (typically a CCD or CMOS sensor chip) that turns light into discrete signals, replacing the film in traditional photography.The sensor is made up of millions of “buckets” that essentially count the number of photons that strike the sensor. This means that the brighter the image at that point, the larger the value that is read for that pixel. Depending on the physical structure of the

sensor a colour filter array may be used, which requires a demosaicing/interpolation algorithm. The number of resulting pixels in the image determines its “pixel count”. For example, a 640×480 image would have 307,200 pixels or approximately 307 kilopixels while a 3872 x 2592 image would have 10,036,224 pixels,or approximately 10 megapixels. The pixel count alone is commonly presumed to indicate the resolution of a camera, but this is a misconception. There are several other factors that impact a sensor’s resolution. Some of these factors include sensor size, lens quality, and the organisation of the pixels. Many digital cameras have preset modes for different applications. Within the constraints of correct exposure, various parameters can be changed, including exposure, aperture, focussing, light metering, white balance, and equivalent sensitivity. For example a portrait might use a wider aperture to render the background out of focus and would seek out and focus on a human face rather

than other image contents.Common formats for digital camera images are the JointPhotography Experts Group standard (JPEG) and Tagged Image FileFormat (TIFF).

MIGHTY MOUSE

Microsoft’s new Wireless Notebook Presenter Mouse 8000 exudes style along with great innovation Featuring navigation controls for slideshows and media players and a laser pointer, this mouse is the first-of-its-kind. While you can use it at home to contro your media player remotely, executives and professors can use it to control slideshows wirelessly.

Features

The Presenter Mouse 8000 uses 2.4 GHz Bluetooth 2.0 wireless platform that provides a range of 30 feet. The package includes a USB Bluetooth transceiver (dongle). To begin using the mouse, you have to plug in the transceiver into the USB port and switch it on. Having a switch is a good feature since you can switch off the device when not in use, to conserve battery life. Power is drawn from two AAA batteries

The mouse features laser tracking system having a resolution of 1000 dpi making it highly responsive to movements Apart from the left and right click buttons and the scroll wheel which acts as a center button, two more buttons are provided at the side. These side buttons can be programmed from the control pane

to perform a specific function; zoom-in/ out, magnify, close, double-click are a few from a list of over thirty functions

Laser pointer and navigation pad are unique features of the Presenter Mouse 8000. To use the navigation pad, you have to switch to “presenter/media mode” by pressing the mode button located below the scroll wheel. The navigation pad located under the mouse features buttons for navigating back and forth during slide shows and volume control. The button below the laser pointer button can be used to blank out the screen when you don’t want it to be displayed. It’s useful when you wish to draw the audience’s attention

towards you during the presentation. The navigation pad can also be used to contro play list in Windows Media Player and Winamp wirelessly. The laser pointer is located below the right-click button

Ergonomics

The mouse features an ambidextrous design so that it can even be used by left-handed people. Rubber pads are provided on the sides so that you get a firm grip Your fingers won’t slip even when they become sweaty after a long session. The mouse feels comfortable to hold with fingers relaxed and easily stretching over the left and right-click buttons. The button clicks are silent and require a soft touch The scroll wheel is not the usual type as seen in most mice. The one present in this mouse can even be used for horizontal scrolling

Verdict

Buying this mouse will burn a hole in your pocket as it comes for a heavy premium Go for it only if you seriously require the wireless controls FOR: Ambidextrous design, good ergonomics, innovative features, excellent wireless range

AGAINST: Expensive

Aimed at enthusiasts craving for extreme performance, the 975x Platinum is based on the Intel’s most powerful chipset, the 975X Express featuring the ICH7DH South Bridge. The chipset supports all Intel processors starting from Pentium 4 to the latest Core 2 Duo. For those planning to build a workstation, the maximum memory supported is 8 GB. The ICH7DH South Bridge featuring Intel VIIV technology offers four SATA 2 ports, eight USB ports (four via headers) and 8-channel high-definition audio support controlled by Realtek ALC882M audio codec. The rear panel features 3.5 mm jacks and coaxial S/PDIF output. However, it was quite surprising to find optical the S/PDIF output missing. In addition to the four SATA 2 ports, an extra port is provided by the JMicron RAID controller which also supports RAID 5 in addition to RAID 0/ 1/ 0+1. Although both PCIE lanes are 16x, they work at 8x speed in CrossFire mode.

2K Sports spews a new contender for realism based Basketball. They have been working up the sports sim ladder quite well for the past couple years and have already surpassed the EA franchise in the gameplay aspect. This season’s lineup includes Street Ballin’, The Association, Season Mode, Tournament, and Situation based play.

The game starts with the quick game menu, so that you can jump right into action on the court. The menu system has been revamped to enable the use of the right stick, which can be employed to get to the main menu by moving the stick in any direction.

You get to do the real deals in The Association where you have to manage your team and play the games with them. There is a superb new story mode called 24/7 Next, in which you get to go out on the streets of Miami and pit your skills against the best, in a grueling, aggressive free for all battle. You get a buddy who helps you chart your career as a street player, and gets you details of the best games in the scene. Your coach starts you out with a free throw match against Shaquile ‘0′ Neal himself, after which you get to setup a detailed visualization of your player’s appearance.

Colour modes are used in image editors to specify the basic set of
colour combinations that an image would have. Photoshop supports
the following colour modes:
. RGB
Photoshop’s RGB Colour mode uses the RGB model, assigning an
intensity value to each pixel ranging from 0 (black) to 255 (white)
for each of the RGB (red, green, blue) components in a colour
image. For example, a bright red colour might have an R value of
246, a G value of 20, and a B value of 50. When the values of all
three components are equal, the result is a shade of neutral grey.
When the values of all components are 255, the result is pure
white; when the values are 0, the result is pure black.RGB images use
three colours, or  channels, to reproduce colours on the screen.

The three channels translate to 24 (8 bits x 3 channels) bits of colour information
per pixel.With 24-bit images, up to 16.7 million colours can be reproduced. With 48-bit images (16 bits
per channel), even more colours can be reproduced. In addition
to being the default mode for new Photoshop images, the RGB
model is used by computer monitors to display colours. This
means that when working in colour modes other than RGB, such
as CMYK, Photoshop interpolates the CMYK image to RGB for display
on-screen.
Although RGB is a standard colour model, the exact range of
colours represented can vary, depending on the application or display
device. Photoshop’s RGB Colour mode varies according to the
working space setting that you have specified in the Colour
Settings dialog box.

CMYK Colour Mode
In Photoshop’s CMYK mode, each pixel is assigned a percentage
value for each of the process inks. The lightest (highlight) colours
are assigned small percentages of process ink colours, the darker
(shadow) colours higher percentages. For example, a bright red
might contain 2% cyan, 93% magenta, 90% yellow, and 0% black. In
CMYK images, pure white is generated when all four components
have values of 0%.

A portable multimedia player (PMP) is a consumer electronics device that is capable of storing and playing digital media. In PMPs, the data is typically stored on a hard drive, microdrive or flash memory. PMPs are capable of storing  images, and even playing digital audio and video. Usually, a colour LCD or OLED screen is used as a display. Various players include the ability to record video, usually with the aid of optional accessories or cables, and audio, with an inbuilt microphone or from a line-out cable or FM tuner. Some players include readers for memory cards, which are advertised to equip players with extra storage or transferring media. Image files are usually viewed on the JPEG format and some players, like the iPod series provide compatibility to additional file formats like GIF, PNG and TIFF.More and more devices are now equipped with a touch screen as the primary or alternate input. This can be for convenience and/or aesthetic purposes.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 is one of the most popular voice to text applications-it creates your documentes as you speak, so you can give your fingers a rest! You can even surf the Internet using voice commands. With the ability of this application to transcribe a voice file to text, it is a boon for journalists, doctors, lawyers, almost anyone out there
This application can also can read out text from documents. You can dictate into most of the Windows application from web browsers to word processors to even e-mail clients. The document creation applications supported by Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 are Corel WordPerfect, Microsoft Word and Excel
In this version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking, you can straight away start using the application without actually training it to adjust to your voice, but this is not recommended as it could lead you to pulling your hair in despair as the recognition accuracy would not be as high as if yo uspend time training it first