1. Up to 2x faster browsing, although they do not mention RAM or processor specifications.

2. Can now shoot video without using any unapproved apps like the previous iphone.

3. A 3.0 megapixel auto-focus camera which people have stated is a major improvement over the old 2.0 megapixel one.

4. Voice control

5. Cut, copy and paste, a landscape keyboard and MMS

For all those who currently own a 3g iphone, will these new features be tempting enough to make you upgrade?

Also, this blog will have more of a stand alone element, in that I will not be linking to posts at computerforum.com for discussion, but instead will be leaving all new posts open for comments.

If a new iphone is released, the main items rumoured are a better camera, maybe 3.2 megapixel with auto-focus that can handle video, an additional front facing camera, a faster processor and more RAM. I am considering getting one myself for my next phone, if the specs are good enough, this will be a very interesting announcement.

Sound quality form the Logitech-X540 are fantastic, I upgraded from its little brother the X-140 and ohh what a difference, I could hear things in my music, games and movies which on my older speakers didn’t appear. I do however have a Creative X-fi card so this may add to the brilliant sound quality.
Setting up the speakers really couldn’t have been easier, all the cables have colour coded ends so you really can’t make any mistakes, there is a Manual included but it’s not really needed as setup is that easy.
All the speakers have a swivel base that twists 180 degrees and also allows them to be mounted on a wall.
To give you an idea how loud these speakers are, I had the volume just under half way up and i could go downstairs in the kitchen with the door closed and still hear them.
I give this Set a solid 9/10, they are of fantastic quality both build /sound quality.
Its only letdown is those few short cables.

Pros:
Matrix 2 Technology
Colour coded Audio cables
2 Years Manufacturers guarantee

Cons
Front Left & Right Speaker cables are too short.
Wired Remote control cable too short.

Contents:
Speakers.
-4 Satellites
-1 Central channel satellite
-1 Subwoofer
.Control centre
Game console Adapter

This thread can be discussed further here.

The test was conducted under these conditions.

Computer: Asus P5N-E 650i / Intel Q9300 @ 2737 MHz / G-Skill 2×2GB @ 800 MHz / eVGA GTX 260 Core 216 Superclock edition / Antec Neo Power 650w / 2 Western Digital Cavair 160 GB / Samsung 22″ with 1680×1050 screen resolution

Software: My operating system is Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit.  During the test, I disabled everything except for Vista Sidebar, AVG anti virus and PC ProbeII.   I used Asus PC ProbeII version 1.04.19b for the CPU monitoring graphs.

The game line up included:  Brothers in Arms, Hell’s Highway / Call of Duty, World at War / Far Cry 2.  The games were ran with all graphics settings maxed in the options menu and in single player mode.

CPUZ

Call of Duty, World at War

Far Cry 2

Brothers in Arms, Hell’s Highway

As you will see in the test that I conducted, contrary to popular belief, these games will take advantage of all 4 processing cores. I actually was surprised because I have seen so many people say that games can’t use all 4 processing cores. If you are making a decision on a new processor, I hope my un-scientific home test will assist you. The future is here…Quad Core processors are going to be a necessity for games released in 2009.

I captured the pictures by pausing the game and hitting the Windows key. This would minimize the game. I used the “print screen” button on my keyboard and then pasted the captured picture in Microsoft paint. Then the pictures were cropped to increase size.
This thread can be discussed here.

This guide is done on an Acer Aspire 5100 laptop.  I’ve replaced a few LCD’s and they all may be slightly different in the disassembly which may make it easier or harder, though the process is still the same for the most part.

 
First off, you’ll want to tear it down so that you can get the model # off the back of the display.  Then you can order the correct LCD you need for replacement. 

1. You’ll start off by making sure the battery and the power are both unplugged.

2. Remove the rubber pieces covering the screws on the inside around the screen, this will reveal the screws holding the casing in place. Remove those screws.

3.Gently go around the edge of the casing snapping off the bezel around the screen.  It may be more difficult around the hinges, be careful to keep bending the plastic to a minimum.

4.Now that you have the bezel around the LCD off, it should look like this.  You’ll see the braces on the left and right that are holding the LCD in place. You’ll need to remove all of the screws down the left and right side.  There should be around 6-8 in total.  Look for any other screws around the screen that may be attached as well.

5. Gently lay the LCD on the keyboard so that you can unplug the video cable.  You’ll also see a smaller cable about the size of a 3 pin fan connector toward the bottom.  Unplug this cable from the inverter PCB (this is for the LCD’s backlight).  

6. You should now have the LCD completely free from the casing.  On the back you’ll find the model #.  You can get a brand new LCD for usually around $80-90 shipped on ebay.  I ordered my screen from the ebay user “lcdworld08″.

7. Got the new LCD

7. You’ll basically repeat the process backwards, take the new screen and connect the cables.

8. Get the LCD mounted in the brackets

9. Before getting it together completely, make sure the LCD is not DOA and that everything is working ok.

10. After you have everything fastened in place, take the plastic bezel and get it back in place.  Then begin going all the way around making sure all the snaps are in place.

11. After everything is snapped together, start getting the screws in followed by the rubber “covers”

And heres the finished product!

* I’m not responsible for any damages you inflict on your laptop by attempting this yourself, this is for reference only.
This post can be discussed here.

• AMD – 1,100
• Google – 100
• Motorola – 4,000
• Seagate – 800
• Dell – 1,900
• Lenovo – 2,500
• Logitech – 500
• Electronic Arts – 400
• Western Digital – 2,500

These are just a fraction of all the companies. To see an up-to-date list, visit TechCrunch.

When I first watched that video, I laughed. It was a fairly funny comedy act poking fun at Microsofts quirkiness. I showed it to a friend and then out of curiosity, followed the link at the end of the video because it looked legit. http://research.microsoft.com/songsmith

It was a well done website so at that point, I was thinking to myself, Microsoft is playing a prank and I am going to feel like a fool for falling for it (though I wasnt sure why they would be pranking people). There is no way they’d spend time and effort developing a program to help individuals write corny theme songs for commercials. But then I saw there was a download. Out of curiousity, I downloaded and installed. Low and behold, it was a legit program.

This is definitely something worth checking out. There is a demo on the website. Microsoft Songsmith does exactly what it claims. You sing a song and then it analyzes what you sang and adds background music to fit your tune. It works surprisingly well. It was fun to write a short verse and email it to friends, despite my lack of singing skills.

As strange and unbelieveable as it sounds, Microsoft Songsmith is worth a download, even if you aren’t musical. While it may not be your end-all music creation solution, its a fun toy to turn your thoughts into song.

Video, information, and download here

Discussion thread here

Windows 7 can be discussed here.