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KING SIZE ENTERTAINMENT

While having a big screen display TV is good, it cannot even remotely reach picture sizes as those used by a projector With one of these, you can have the mov ‘experience’ in your own house

Features

The ZEN master uses the LCD technology to project the image on a screen. It consists of 3 different for each of the red, green and blue components. As light passes through the LCD panels, ndividual pixels can be opened to allow light to pass or closed to block the light. This is how an actual image is projected on to the screen. The ZEN master is an entry level home entertainment projector that supports a resolution of 800×480 pixels. This resolution is enough to play NTSC DVD’s at their native resolutions but not PAL. This resolution is enough for watching digital television broadcasts The projector supports a contrast ratio of 500:1 which is rather low compared to other projectors that are available in the market. The brightness is rated at 1200 umens which is again only average at best. What makes this projector a truly home entertainment system is that it has built-in stereo speakers and a TV tuner

for viewing television directly through this device. The projector can project a picture that is at 200 cm diagonal length. This is approximately equal to about 78.7 inches size of screen which is larger then most LCD or pasma TV avaiabe n the market.

Layout and Design

You can adjust the focus by rotating the front lens in the required direction. On the sides are the different connectivity options ike tv tuner, S video, VGA, component video, etc. Using these options, you can connect devices like your PC, game consoles, television cable, your DVD player, etc to the projector. A 80 mm fan exhausts the heat from the projector. The top also has built-in stereo speakers. The height of the projector can be adjusted through the screws provided on the bottom while keystone correction is in the

form of a rotating knob provided on the side of the projector.

Performance

The performance of this projector can be rated as average at best. It was almost mpossible to differentiate about 5 blocks in the colour shade test. The resolution test distinctly showed moire patterns Although, we must say that its response times were very good. We observed no streaking and ghosting effects while watching high speed action in movies Some of the details, though, in the bright and the dark areas were lost in our movie watching test

Verdict

At a price of Rs 42,000, this home entertainment projector offers all the basic features required to watch TV and movies If you don’t mind the average performance and you want a projector that will not burn a hole in your pocket, the ZEN master PTV-01 B is the projector of your choice that’s cheaper then many LCD TV’s that are smaller in size

FOR: In-built TV tuner, low on price, can play NTSC DVD’s, in-built stereo speakers

AGAINST: Low brightness, Low contrast ratio, average colour reproduction

The defendant Jeffrey B. Goodin faces up to 101 years of imprisonment. By sending mass mails, especially phishing mails, this 45 year-old took the Californian Bank for a ride by stealing sensitive credit card data. Since then, the US Justice has implemented a rigid set of anti-spam rules (CAN-SPAM Act), makin life harder for potential spammers. Even Viagra advertisements can earn spammers a long prison sentence or a hefty fine-good news as the majority of spam originates from America

However, till now the American war against spam terror has been ineffective-spam statistics have in fact increased. On an average the amount of undesired advertisement mails doing the rounds of the Internet is between 90 and 95 percent of all the mails, according to Rene Wienholtz, chairperson of the computing center of the Webhosters Strato The reason for the increase: spammers have resorted to smarter techniques. Instead of simple text messages, spammers now pack their advertisements with pictures. Many of

the popular text-based content filters that succeeded in protecting mail clients are oblivious to picture-based spam, letting them in unquestioned. OCR filters (Optical Character Recognition) is not really suitable as it it requires too much computing power and would make your mail delivery take ages. Just think-severa SPs filter anywhere between 65 to 90 million mails each month

If your inbox is spammed, it not only costs time, it is also extremely annoying. Spam is also dangerous, considering the number of viruses that make their way through e-mail. So the only way out is to declare all-out war against spam! We show you how, using a defensive and offensive methodology.

Tired of the slick city lights? Wanna try you hand at a Mac Truck in a desert? Go aheat shove this High Def off-roading piece of art in your new PS3. Forget the rules, forget the ethics, just floor the gas pedal and whack the senses out of your opponent. Wanna get some serious air? Just hit the X button to trigger the nitrous boost and point your mud slugger towards a ramp. But beware! If you overdo it your engine can overheat and blow you up into a cloud of shards and it will rain shrapnel.

The mud slinging genre had been getting stale for the past few years, but then came Motostorm. The game is set in Monument Valle’ in the state of Arizona and features vehicles as varied as dirt bikes, ATV’s and big rigs. Believe me; squishing your opponent’s skull under a truck’s monstrous rollers is a lot of sadistic fun. Crashes feature spectacular damage and particle effects and practically make the sand grit between your molars. Realistic high dynamic range lighting and motion blur does its part well in immersing you into the rugged and aggressive world of dirt racing. Turn on motion sensitivity and tilt the six axis controller for steering, you can even yaw the controller up and down to do wheelies and stoppies. The lack of sensitivity control makes the feature feel like a gimmick after a while and seems like the easiest way to downright suicide. The vehicles handle pretty well and riders fall off when turning at unrealistic angles, the debris budges and makes bikes crasl but after a while the arcade element does get to you as the physics on the console are not really there yet.

Most of the digital images requires sharpening to get high quality. When an image is used for printing purpose precise sharpening is needed. In Adobe Photoshop, it can be done very easily. Photoshop filters can be used to make the images more distinct.

In the photoshop Filter Gallery, There are some filters: Sharpen, Sharpen More, Smart Sharpen, Sharpen Edges etc.Smart sharpen is a better way.

But these filters increase the Blur details also. Here is a smart way to sharpen image precisely using High Pass filter.

Step-1:  Open the image

Step-2: Duplicate the background layer. Change its blending mode to overlay.

Then Apply high pass filter. Choose Filter > Other > High Pass. Change the Pixel radius to get precise sharpening. Pixel radius between 1 to 2.0 is enough.

Fine tuning can be done by duplicating the second layer (In which high pass filter is used) and adjusting its opacity.

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),

You had seen many Glossy buttons in many websites. Here is a simple way to make a round glossy button.

Step 1. Open a new photoshop document with size: 200*200 pixels and background transparent.

Step 2. Select the elliptical marquee. Draw a circle with required size.

Step 3. Fill the circle using required color. Here Blue is used.

Step 3. Create a new layer. Using the elliptical marqee tool, make an ellipse as shown.

Step 4. Take the gradient tool. Apply gradient from bottom to top with white color having transition from opacity 0% to 100%. Do this as shown.

Step 5. Deselect.

Step 6. Select the first layer. Add some layer styles: Drop shadow and inner shadow as shown.

Step 7. Your button is ready. Save as GIF or PNG for using it in your website.

You can add pictures or your logo inside the button.

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