My Past Life Diagnosis

This was my past life diagnosis from The Big View.com. No wonder. It fits my personality now.

Your past life diagnosis:

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I don't know how you feel about it, but you were female in your last earthly incarnation.You were born somewhere in the territory of modern North Europe around the year 1200. Your profession was that of a trainer or holder of fine animals, such as birds..

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Your brief psychological profile in your past life:

Revolutionary type. You inspired changes in any sphere - politics, business, religion, housekeeping. You could have been a leader.

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The lesson that your last past life brought to your present incarnation:

You are bound to solve problems of pollution of environment, recycling, misuse of raw materials, elimination of radioactivity by all means including psychological methods.

The Different Kinds of People That There Aren by Lindy West

Here is one funny description of Different Kind of People written by Lindy West. Honestly she is a genius and remarkably funny.

The Different Kinds of People that There Are
A Complete List

People Who Care About "Tweet" Being the Verb Form of "Twitter" and Have Opinions About its Usage
This includes people who think you should say "tweet" when you talk about the activity associated with Twitter and people who think you should just use the word "Twitter." Both opinions are equally unnecessary. If you must use the Twitter, or not use the Twitter, just do (or don't) do it. Let's not bring grammar and logic and giving a shit into this.

People Who Choose to Correct You About the Definition of "Hobo"
Am I making this up? I feel like every time someone uses the word "hobo" to mean "homeless person," somebody else has to climb waaay up on their high horse and don their semantics cap and start getting highfalutin all over town about how "a hobo is someone who rides the rails in the Great Depression, and is it 1934 right now? I don't think so! And I can't believe you don't even know what words mean. How embarrassing. Have you heard of Wikipedia? Hhhhhhhhhhhhh." Maybe I'm making all of this up, but if I'm not, I'd just like to say that I'm aware of what year it is, these people are annoying, and I am going to continue using the word "hobo" however I please (within bum proximity, of course), thank you very much, and the way in which I please to use it is, "No thank you, hobo, I do not wish to go on a date with you." Also I will accept "transient."

People Who Are Mean to Hobos
Lay off, man. Being homeless is terrible. Give the dude a dollar. (I'm still not going on a date with you, hobo.)

People Who Still Have Jobs
As bad as things are right now, this is still most people. Like, 93 percent of people. People with jobs are great, except for the few who talk shit to people without jobs (things like, "Hey, get a job!" or "Where's your job?"). In such instances, these people need to be reminded that they, too, possess jobs vulnerable to layoffs and should probably shut the fuck up.

People Who Are Quietly Less Than $100 Away from Complete Destitution
You have to hope it's going to be okay. This recession can't go on forever.

People Who Secretly Have Vast Family Fortunes/Trust Funds to Keep Them from Ever Knowing Complete Destitution, or Even Mild Hardship
Just do something interesting with it. You already won. Don't be a douche.

People Who Claim to Be Afraid of Clowns
These people (and they are numerous) are attempting to cultivate a quirk, but they are really just aping a quirk cultivated by thousands of quirk-cultivators before them in a giant, gross, boring feedback loop. Yes, clowns can be mildly creepy. (More important, they are unfunny.) But c'mon. Among the many things that are scarier than clowns: fire, earthquakes, a guy with a knife, riding the bus, colon cancer, falling down the stairs (it could happen at any time!), rapists, people who just kind of look a little rapey and are standing too close to you in line at 7-Eleven, Marlo from The Wire, influenza, and scissors.

People Who Don't Watch TV
Symbolically not doing something for the sake of not doing it is almost never evidence of sophistication. It is evidence of not knowing what you're fucking talking about. Are we really still having this conversation? Television is a part of the cultural landscape at this point—a lot of it is good. A lot of it is bad, some of which is also good. You know, LIKE ALL THINGS MADE BY HUMANS? Obviously it is also a good idea to go outside once in a while. But the presence of a television in your home does not make that decision for you. You make it. Feel free to still go outside at any time.

People Who Tell Me Things "Just FYI"
Thanks, thanks very much. Just FMI.

People Who Are White Who Call Black People "Brothas" When Talking to Other White People, as in, "A Lot of My Friends Are Brothas"
Jesus Christ.

People Who Are Old
Notable old people include: Methuselah, George Burns, Andy Rooney, an elephant, Dick Van Dyke, Slade Gorton the senator, Father Time, Slade Gorton the Gorton's fisherman, Chinese people (they kick white people's asses at not dying), Wilford Brimley, the old lady who dropped it into the ocean at the end, Harrison Ford.

People Who Are Old and Think Pigeons Are Their Best Friends
Listen, old people. Pigeons do not love you. Much like robots and the British, pigeons do not have the capacity to feel love. They only have the capacity to desire croutons. And when you spread infinity croutons across the grass outside MY house, for the purpose of making pigeons love you (WHICH WILL NEVER HAPPEN), the only result is infinite feces. I now have to walk upon feces-encrusted streets through a feces-encrusted world. Because of you and your delusions of pigeon love. Stop it.

Babies
The opposite of old people. They are like you and me, except smaller, more illiterate, and with less money.

People Who Are Secret Hookers
They're your friends, but they're hookers! Ssssh!

Recession Hookers
Oh. This hooker joke isn't that funny anymore. When the recession is over, and your friends and coworkers and parents come to you to tearfully admit that they had to do a little recession hooking at the end of the month to make rent, let's institute a nationwide policy of hooker amnesty. No judging. Sometimes these things happen. There but for the grace of writing a bunch of bullshit in the newspaper go I.

People Who Are Hot Waiters
Once, my sister and I were in a restaurant in Greece, having a fight, and the hot waiter (all waiters in Greece are hot) took one look at our bleak, tear-puffed faces and said, "Ouzo power." He brought us two little glasses of cold, cloudy ouzo, and the ouzo cured our fight.

People Who Are Pretty and Smart and Funny and Nice
You probably want to hate these people, but why bother? They are absolutely wonderful, and all we can do is deal with it and hope to be charming enough that they will some day mate with us so that our children can absorb some of their impossible magic.

Wizards
Assholes with beards who do magic. In modern times, wizards look just like normal people, because they've learned to wear tracksuits and tuxedos over their robes. This means that wizards could be anywhere. Can you trust the people you work with not to be wizards?

Russians
Citizens of Russia. The sworn enemies of wizards.

People Who Don't Know How to Navigate a Four-Way Stop or an Uncontrolled Intersection
Can a lady get a wave, please? Just a courtesy wave. That's all I ask. These people are under the impression that rules do not apply to them. They do not have to wait their turn because they are special. They are probably the worst people on this entire list, and that includes wizards.

Russian Wizards
Don't be ridiculous.

People Who Believe in Sasquatch
What's that? You couldn't afford your bunion surgery because you spent all your money on Sasquatch detectors? And now your bunion hurts? Bummer. A few years ago, a friend of mine told me that he'd discovered the secret to finding Sasquatch (he's a believer because once, in an Idaho forest, he "heard things" that he "couldn't explain") and called some cryptozoological society to announce his epiphany: "Just find out what it eats, and then go to where that is." He and I, we are not friends anymore.

People Who Are Just a Down-to-Earth Guy, Who Enjoys the Little Things in Life Like Going for Walks, Lifting Weights, or Just Doing Whatever (LOL), Whose Friends Would Probably Describe Him as Honest, Truthful, Loyal, Affectionate, Compassionate, and Romanceful, and Is Looking for a Woman Who Is That Rare Combination of Stunning on the Outside and Beautiful on the Inside, and Most Importantly Down to Earth, Enjoys the Little Things in Life, Loves Children, Animals, Has a Passion, Laughter. I Especially Like Asians.
Can we just skip to the part where you gun down everyone in the post office?

People Who Smile at You on the Street
It's always nice when any non-creepy stranger smiles at you. There is not enough interstranger smiling going on these days. I also appreciate it when people working in customer service behave in a genuinely nice manner. Thank you. I always leave a tip, but I feel extra happy about it when you are nice to me.

People Who Don't Know How to Drink
Sometimes a person forgets to eat dinner, or sometimes they just didn't have time or money, and then they ended up at the bar and the only snacks available were Rainier tallboys. And yes, sure, sometimes they grab your beard and tell you, "You are drinking the most successful sausage," even though that's barely even English, and then they lose their keys and have to sleep on your floor, where they wake up utterly bewildered and have to walk all the way home and drink a Big Gulp of Sprite for breakfast on a Thursday. Be kind to these people. They mean well.

People Who Are Only Interesting When They're Drunk
This one is a bummer, but it's so much less depressing than its half brother, which is People Who Are Just Boring All the Time.

People Who Will Just Have a Bite of Whatever You're Having
Please, please, please just order your own lasagna.

People Who Don't Believe in Evolution but Love Antibiotics
Seriously? Either you believe in science or you don't. If you want to say sentences to me like, "God made the earth 29 years ago out of Billy Graham's stool" or "Every time you take the morning-after pill, Satan has two orgasms," then go ahead and stay away from Dr. Syringey O'Medicine, M.D., from here on out. Because you know that pill that made your strep throat go away? Science invented that. For you. Hey, why don't you just pray for God to take care of that root canal? I'll tell you why: Because God didn't go to dental school, because dental school doesn't admit people who DON'T EXIST.

People Who Let Their Cat Walk Across Their Kitchen Cutting Board, Even Though Those Are the Same Fucking Paws that Have Been Tramping Around that Shit-Filled Cat Box and
I Don't See a Kitty Foot-Washing Station Around Here, Do You? ANSWER THE QUESTION.

People Who Are into Whimsy
You can't really be mad at people who send away for porcelain figurines of poodles wearing poodle skirts that they saw in the back of Parade, or who enjoy movies in which impish children attempt to call grandma in heaven on the CB radio. That'd be like punching Helen Keller in the face. These people just want to be left alone with their extremely lifelike baby replicas—small false humans filled with pretend love, that can be asphyxiated with attention and never poop, cry, or grow up to make fun of anyone's stretch pants and doily collection. Forever-babies. (Note: Sometimes people who are into whimsy vote against things like gay marriage. In which case, fuck 'em.)

People Who Studied Abroad in a Third-World Country
Congratulations.

Animals that Are Really People Who Got Transformed by a Witch
These are people who got on the wrong side of a witch. Now they are turkeys and iguanas or some shit, and all they can do is cry (except not really, because emotional tears are a physiological phenomenon unique to humans and possibly camels). Don't loan these people money, because they obviously have bad judgment.

People Who Try to Pretend Like They Already Knew the Story About Jimmy Stewart Smuggling a Yeti Hand out of Nepal in His Wife's Underpants
I do not believe you, unless your name is Jimmy Stewart's Wife's Vagina. And I'm pretty sure Jimmy Stewart's Wife's Vagina doesn't know how to read. So....

People Who Sit at Their Day Jobs All Day Anonymously Posting the Meanest Things They Can Think of in the Comments Sections on Blogs
These people are just mad because they all have herpes of the eyeball. And diarrhea of the heart. But just to save them some time: I am fat; I am a hipster; I am an idiot; this is the most boring, self-indulgent article ever written; I hate everything because I work for this newspaper, and if I ever say anything nice about anything I will be fired immediately because this is the policy; I should be fired right now; why don't I just go write in my LiveJournal; Dear LiveJournal, I am sooo idiotic and fat; I am a "hiptard" who thinks that everything not within spitting distance of Holocene is like that space desert in Beetlejuice with the giant sand worms, and I don't want to go there because I can't ride my fixie on the space dunes (and also I don't want to be devoured); anyway, I probably haven't even seen Beetlejuice because I'm too busy FIRING MYSELF FOR BEING FAT.

People Who Are Bill Paxton

I really enjoyed your work in Twister.

People Who Miss the Point
(See also: People Who Claim to Be Afraid of Clowns, People Who Choose to Correct You About the Definition of "Hobo," People Who Don't Watch TV, People Who Are Old and Think Pigeons Are Their Best Friends, People Who Are Bill Paxton, and Babies.)

People Who Don't Miss the Point
Thanks.

The Wireless and its Modern Role

Everyday, a new advancement of technology, in remorse to the old technology that we have in the past decades, have been made and reviesed by a lot of people over and over again. Wireless technologies, high end gadgets and mobile phones, touch screen tv's and even computers are well done with this year. What could we expect more on this coming year. 2009 has been a great advancement with technology. But one thing that amazed me off is the advancement of wireless technology.

This wireless technology that we have now a days has changed the lives of many people. Not just national or international but globally. Literally, it changed a lot, actually everything the way we live our lives. Usually it comes in form of communication that we barely know that its wireless. Some comes too obvious, sometimes it doesnt thats because were to inclined to it that we dont even bother what it is.

I looked around and researched to this idea, and found some fascinating ideas that I thought of sharing. Here shows the time line discovery of innovation in wireless technology. Thanks to wikipedia for this one.

• David E. Hughes, eight years before Hertz's experiments, transmitted radio signals over a few hundred yards by means of a clockwork keyed transmitter. As this was before Maxwell work was understood, Hughes' contemporaries dismissed his achievement as mere "Induction". In 1885, T. A. Edison used a vibrator magnet for induction transmission. In 1888, Edison deploys a system of signaling on the Lehigh Valley Railroad. In 1891, Edison obtained the wireless patent for this method using inductance (U.S. Patent 465,971).
  
• In the history of wireless technology, the demonstration of the theory of electromagnetic waves by Heinrich Hertz in 1888 was important. Theory of electromagnetic waves were predicted from the research of James Clerk Maxwell and Michael Faraday. Hertz demonstrated that electromagnetic waves could be transmitted and caused to travel through space at straight lines and that they were able to be received by an experimental apparatus. The experiments were not followed up by Hertz. Jagadish Chandra Bose around this time developed an early wireless detection device and help increase the knowledge of millimeter length electromagnetic waves. Practical applications of wireless radio communication and radio remote control technology were implemented by later inventors, such as Nikola Tesla.

And you might be thinking what are the changes that wireless technology had made to everybodies lives. Well try to check on this and maybe you have one of them and you are not just aware of.

• Security systems - wireless technology may supplement or replace hard wired implementations in security systems for homes or office buildings.
  

• Television remote control - modern televisions use wireless (generally infrared) remote control units. Now radio waves are also used.
  

• Telephony (phones and modems) - perhaps the best known example of wireless technology is the cellular telephone and modems. These instruments use radio waves to enable the operator to make phone calls from many locations worldwide. They can be used anywhere that there is a cellular telephone site to house the equipment that is required to transmit and receive the signal that is used to transfer both voice and data to and from these instruments.
  

• WiFi (for wireless fidelity) - is a wireless LAN technology that enables laptop PCs, PDAs, and other devices to connect easily to the internet. Technically known as IEEE 802.11 a,b,g,n, Wi-Fi is less expensive and nearing the speeds of standard Ethernet and other common wire-based LAN technologies. Several Wi-Fi hot spots have been popular over the past few years. Some businesses charge customers a monthly fee for service, while others have begun offering it for free in an effort to increase the sales of their goods.
  

• Wireless energy transfer - wireless energy transfer is a process whereby electrical energy is transmitted from a power source to an electrical load that does not have a built-in power source, without the use of interconnecting wires.
  

• Computer Interface Devices - answering the call of customers frustrated with cord clutter, many manufactures of computer peripherals turned to wireless technology to satisfy their consumer base. Originally these units used bulky, highly limited transceivers to mediate between a computer and a keyboard and mouse, however more recent generations have used small, high quality devices, some even incorporating Bluetooth. These systems have become so ubiquitous that some users have begun complaining about a lack of wired peripherals. devices tend to have a slightly slower response time than their wired counterparts, however the gap is decreasing. Initial concerns about the security of wireless keyboards have also been addressed with the maturation of the technology.
  

On the contrary, scientist have been complaining with wireless technology since this interfer with their expirements. This interference forces them to use lesser optimal peripherals because the optimum wired ones are simply not available in wired version. This has become especially prevalent among scientists who use trackballs as the number of models in production steadily decreases.

How to Catch a Liar

Inspired with the post below, I looked for an article how to catch a Liar. This is helpful and pretty obvious, if your observant with the people around you and or had talked to that had lied. Got this one from AOL Health written by Robynne Boyd.

Liar, Liar?

Pinocchio wasn't very good at it. And neither are most of us. There are dozens of verbal and non-verbal cues that suggest a person is fibbing, says Bella DePaulo, PhD, a psychologist specializing in relationships. So if you can handle the truth, here are the signs that are as obvious as Pinocchio's nose.

1.) Cause for Alarm

Ever heard your guy start a sentence by saying, "The truth is," or "Let me be honest with you"? If so, an alarm should go off in your brain. Anyone who has to preempt a sentence by saying they're not going to lie to you, has already littered the conversation with lies, or is about to begin.

2.) Eyes Wide Open

If your wife says she can't remember how she spent that $200, search her eyes for the truth. It's not as noticeable as a twitch or a blink, but when someone is hemming-and-hawing, their pupils can dilate dramatically. "This suggests that liars are more tense than truth-tellers, that they are thinking harder, or both," explains DePaulo.

3.) The Sound of Silence

Your best friend tells you how great her date was last night, but you heard she was stood up. When you meet, she mumbles a few words about her date and falls silent. The total amount of time a fibber speaks falls short of someone who's speaking honestly. The reason? Liars tend to supply fewer details, so their stories seem incomplete or don't add up.

4.) Fever Pitch

"Sorry, honey, I have to work late again tonight." In truth, he's off to share a brew with the boys. But there's nothing like the nagging fear of being caught to rattle his good time. You can actually hear it in his voice. If he's lying, he'll talk in a higher pitch than usual. The change-up is caused by the tension in his vocal chords.

5.) Lip-locked

You've watched their eyes and heard their voice. When searching for untruths, don't forget the mouth. Lips can reveal a lot about a person. According to DePaulo, liars are more likely to press their lips together due to stress and tension in the face. Fibbers also tend to raise their chins as they speak, making them seem cocky.

6.) Add It Up

There's truth to the notion that if a story doesn't add up, it's made up. For example, your friend at work tells you he has to move to save money. But his new place is even more expensive. What? Only later do you find out his wife is pregnant. When the facts in a story just aren't as compatible, it's time to start doubting.

7.) Broken Record

"Sorry I'm late, but I had a flat tire. Really, you wouldn't believe it. My tire was so flat." Repeating parts of a fabricated story over and over doesn't make them any more factual. Liars are more likely to repeat words and phrases, says linguist Cati Brown of the University of Georgia. "Repeating the same phrase is usually a sign that a person has rehearsed their conversation," says Brown.

8.) Hemming and Hawing

"There's a difference between fluid speech and language punctuated with modifiers such as ums, ahs and eers," says Brown. This kind of hedging is compatible with being deceptive. Still, an 'um' here or an 'ah' there are also perfectly normal space fillers. They are best used as deception detectors when they come at you fast and furiously.

9.) Devil's in the Details

Fibbers aren't even enticed by their own yarns. Ever had your man tell you that he can't make this weekend with your parents because he "has plans." When you ask for details, he's just not that convincing. In fact, liars generally use fewer illustrators, such as hand gestures, that emphasize their words. How it that important? It demonstrates a lack of conviction and yearning to convey their point.

Hope this would be helpful for everybody.

Sony Ericson Equinox

I just received a news letter about new stuffs with Sony Ericsson and my eyes just drooled with the latest phone they had just released partnered with T-Mobile. The features are not so new but I like the metallic sleek design and all that stuffs about the phone. I am thinking how much would this cost here in the Philippines as a prepaid phone and I would really save up to be one of the first people to have this phone. Well to cut this introduction short, make wave for Sony Ericsson Equinox. *clap, clap, clap*

PHONE BASICS

Size
2.0 x 3.8 x 0.6 in. /93.0 x 50.0 x 14.1 mm

Weight
3.3 oz. / 95.0 gr

Screen
262.144 color TFT / 240x320 pixel

External Screen
128x36 pixels

Included battery
920 mAh

Talk time and Standby time
up to 10 hours / up to 16 days

Band (frequency)
850 MHz;900 MHz;1800 MHz;1900 MHz

Available colors
Carbon Black

Memory
Memory Stick Micro™ (M2™) support (up to 16GB)

Phone memory
100MB*

Included Accessories
Battery, Charger, Hands-Free Headset

TOP PHONE FEATURES

Messaging
Text messaging

Fun
3.2 Megapixel camera with Video Capture
FM radio
Video capture/playback
Music player

Communication
Stereo Bluetooth® wireless technology
Picture messaging
3G Capable
Speaker phone

Information
GPS built-in
Micro SD memory slot

FEATURES AND DESCRIPTION

3.2 Megapixel camera with Video Capture

• Capture special moments as photos or video clips. View them later on your phone, print them out or share them with family and friends by sending them to any e-mail address, T-Mobile camera phone.
  

Stereo Bluetooth® wireless technology

• Connect your phone to your computer or stereo headset without any wires.

Picture messaging

• Send pictures from your phone to others.
  

3G Capable

• Quickly connect to the Internet via the 3G network anywhere within the T-Mobile USA 3G network. (too sad its just for US)

FM radio

• Listen to your favorite stations from anywhere.
  

GPS built-in*

• Get your real-time location on maps, driving directions, and more*
  

Video capture/playback

• Capture and play back short video clips.
  

Music player

• Play your favorite music wherever you are.
  

Micro SD memory slot

• Add more memory for multimedia files, data, and more.
  

Text messaging*

• The quick, quiet way to stay connected.
  

Speaker phone

• Put down the phone and keep talking with a convenient speakerphone.

*Additional fees may apply

.. and the saddest part, this phone is not yet released in other countries except America. =(

Some Bath Robe to Think On

Things are changing and moving forward for me lately, and they abruptly come in a good position. So I decided to leave, move forward and do things outside of my shell which is of course kinda risky but adventurous as well. Then I'm off preparing things to buy and stuffs to bring in the new place where I am gonna be living with and gotta hold of the new bath stuffs that could be use there, in a different and sexy way *gees, talking about sexy stuffs*.

Well I tried some stuffs and I fell in love with the this terry bathrobe which I think fits perfectly especially after going out from the bathroom. I'm not going to live alone in one house so I think going out with just a towel wrap is pretty too intimidating especially if there's guys around. Or to be more conservative, a waffle bath robe would also be more appropriate. To think I can still go out and dry my hair while roaming around the house instead of a bath wrap on, which I think fits only in my home where I live. Well so much for that, I should be thinking what to do their instead of thinking what to or not to wear after taking a bath. It just sounds like I'm just going there to take a bath. Ha ha.

Microsoft Windows Se7en Overview

Windows 7 has been talked and rumored about, especially for people who hates Windows Vista, because of the not so user-friendly features that it offers. Credits to Wikipedia, Microsoft Windows 7 site, and especially to Howtogeek.com for the detailed information and screenshots.

Windows 7 (formerly codenamed Blackcomb and Vienna) is the latest version of Microsoft Windows, a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs and media center PCs. Windows 7 was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, with general retail availability set for October 22, 2009, less than three years after the release of its predecessor, Windows Vista. Windows 7's server counterpart, Windows Server 2008 R2, is slated for release at about the same time.

Unlike its predecessor, which introduced a large number of new features, Windows 7 is intended to be a more focused, incremental upgrade to the Windows line, with the goal of being fully compatible with applications and hardware with which Windows Vista is already compatible. Presentations given by the company in 2008 focused on multi-touch support, a redesigned Windows Shell with a new taskbar, a home networking system called HomeGroup, and performance improvements. Some applications that have been included with prior releases of Microsoft Windows, including Windows Calendar, Windows Mail, Windows Movie Maker, and Windows Photo Gallery, will not be included in Windows 7; some will instead be offered separately as part of the free Windows Live Essentials suite.

Bill Gates, in an interview with Newsweek, suggested that the next version of Windows would "be more user-centric". Gates later said that Windows 7 will also focus on performance improvements. Steven Sinofsky later expanded on this point, explaining in the Engineering Windows 7 blog that the company was using a variety of new tracing tools to measure the performance of many areas of the operating system on an ongoing basis, to help locate inefficient code paths and to help prevent performance regressions.

Senior Vice President Bill Veghte stated that Windows Vista users migrating to Windows 7 would not find the kind of device compatibility issues they encountered migrating from Windows XP. Speaking about Windows 7 on October 16, 2008, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer confirmed compatibility between Vista and Windows 7, indicating that Windows 7 will be a refined version of Windows Vista.

Features and Changes

• The default desktop for Windows 7 is clean and simple, and like almost everything in this release, is really quite impressive.

PREVIEW

• The first thing that you can’t miss is the new taskbar, which uses large icons instead of taskbar buttons and integrates Quick Launch functionality at the same time. You’ll notice in this screenshot that the Windows Media Player icon isn’t “active”, because I don’t have an instance open… but it’s been Pinned to the taskbar.

PREVIEW

• The popup preview thumbnails have been enhanced to show multiple windows side by side, which is much more useful than the Vista way, especially since Windows 7 combines windows by default: even if you have only two windows open, they will be combined into a single taskbar button.

• When hovering over one of the previews, Windows 7 will automatically flip to that window so you can see in a larger view which window it is. Very useful for Word documents, I think.

PREVIEW

• The new taskbar buttons also have a new right-click menu, which gives you access to special folders or recent documents. There’s a new API that allows applications to add items to this list, so expect in the future for this to become a big deal.

PREVIEW

• If you don’t like the taskbar functionality, you can revert back to the Windows Vista method by opening up Taskbar and Start Menu Properties (right click \ Properties). The “Taskbar buttons” setting will let you turn off the single icon mode, and you can choose “Use small icons” to turn off the big icons.

PREVIEW

• The next thing you might notice is that there is no longer a “Sidebar” for the Gadgets… you’ll have to right-click on the desktop and choose Gadgets to add more, which can be dragged to the desktop anywhere you’d like. You’ll also notice you can get quick access to your resolution from here.

PREVIEW

• If you want to dock the gadgets to the side like you used to, you still can: If you drag the desktops to the side of the screen, they will dock there:

PREVIEW

• The Start Menu is roughly the same as before, although you’ll notice the Shut Down button is much simpler, and can be configured to a different action right in the Taskbar and Start menu properties screen.

PREVIEW

• You’ll notice the arrow next to Getting Started… whenever you see an arrow on a pinned item, you can hover over it to see a list of tasks on the right-hand side, with a rather fun “slide out” effect that I can’t really show in a screenshot.

In fact, it’s tough to show off the real “slickness” of the UI in these screenshots… you have to try it for yourself to understand: things are just smooth.

PREVIEW

• When you search, the taskbar “morphs” into a full-size search screen – a huge improvement from Vista, and the search results are pretty good, although still not perfect.

PREVIEW

• Another really slick new feature lets you maximize or tile windows by dragging them to one of the sides of the screen… for instance, you drag the current window to the left side of the screen and you’ll see a glass window effect…

PREVIEW

• And once you let go of the mouse, the window will take up exactly half of the screen. Very useful for tiling windows.

PREVIEW

• This also works for maximizing by dragging to the top of the screen… letting go of the mouse at this point would maximize the current window:

PREVIEW

• This also works if you drag a window corner to one of the edges of the screen, Windows 7 will let you make the window fill the whole space from top to bottom.

PREVIEW

• You might have noticed a little unused area on the taskbar right next to the clock… this is the new “Show Desktop” icon, with an added twist: if you hover your mouse over it, it will turn all of the open windows to glass, letting you see what is beneath. This would maybe be useful if you have desktop gadgets on the screen, or just want to see your wallpaper.

PREVIEW

• The system tray is also changed, with all extra icons being hidden behind a little arrow. You’ll also note that the current date is shown on the screen now, since the taskbar is taller.

PREVIEW

• One of the default items is important: the Action Center icon now consolidates all of the Windows Security error or notification messages into a single icon…

PREVIEW

• And even better, you get to choose which errors you want to hear about, and which ones you don’t. HUGE improvement over Vista.

PREVIEW

• By clicking on the wrench icon you can choose which notifications appear on the taskbar:

PREVIEW

• You can also change which security messages show up:

PREVIEW

• The Action Center is your new “hub” to review all of the messages and notifications… more on that in a future article, but one of the biggest changes in Windows 7 is hidden behind it… click on the User Account Control settings:

PREVIEW

• And you’ll see a new “Slider”, which lets you change the amount of UAC notifications, and by default UAC is nearly disabled for users with administrative rights. The only time you will see UAC messages is during a new application install.

PREVIEW

• Continuing through the Control Panel, there is a completely new panel for customizing your desktop using themes, with easy access to all the relevant settings from a single window.

PREVIEW

• Many of the windows that used to be separate dialogs are now integrated directly into the regular Control Panel, like this one for changing your display appearance:

PREVIEW

• A smaller thing to note… the Windows Experience score maximum has been increased to 7.9 instead of 5.9 in Vista.

PREVIEW

• One important thing to note is that when you go to your user folder, you will see a bunch of “Libraries”, which are essentially search folders banded together so you can find all your pictures, documents, or music in a single place. This feature is quite useful, but is going to take some time to get used to.

PREVIEW

• You’ll notice in the screenshot above there’s a new “Homegroup” item in the list, and yes, they’ve completely revamped network sharing in Windows 7 with a much simpler interface that we’ll cover in future articles.

Other Features

There’s a whole bunch of other features in Windows 7 that we don’t really have time to cover today…

• New Calculator.
• Internet Explorer 8 is integrated by default.
• XPS Viewer integrated.
• New versions of Paint and Wordpad with the “Ribbon” interface.
• Revamped Windows Backup.
• New “Home Groups” for sharing files and folders.
• New, easier Wireless connections tray icon.
• Media Center is Updated with new features.
• Faster bootup and installation times.
• Other stuff.

The other thing to note is that Windows Mail, Calendar, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker and Contacts have been removed from Windows 7 and are now part of the downloadable Windows Live Essentials.

Installing Windows 7

• Startup installation screen is pretty familiar looking…

PREVIEW

Should I Install Windows 7?

• If you don’t mind the fact that it will stop working on August 1st, Windows 7 beta 1 is very stable and usable.

Do I Need a License?

• Windows 7 works just like Windows Vista did… you can install it and run it in “Trial mode” for 30 days. Yes, this does mean that you can borrow the disc from a friend, or download it “illegally” and use it, at least for a trial period. (I’m not advocating piracy here).

It’s Only a Download?

• That’s right, you will need to download the ISO image file and then burn it to a DVD in order to do an installation… I recommend ImgBurn.

What About Drivers?

• Windows 7 uses the exact same drivers as Windows Vista, and by this point the majority of devices have drivers. You most likely won’t even need to install drivers, since Windows 7 has a lot more drivers included by default.

Important Installation Notes

• When you get to the screen which recommends upgrading vs custom installation, I would recommend installing a new installation into a completely blank partition. If you want to test it on the same machine as Vista, you should dual-boot. I would recommend against using the upgrade feature unless you are very brave (also note that it only supports upgrading from Vista SP1)
  

• If you don’t have a second hard drive or partition already, you can use the Shrink Volume feature in Vista to resize your current partition. If that doesn’t work, you can work around Vista’s shrink volume problems as well. If none of that works, you can use GParted to resize the partition.

PREVIEW

• Once it installs (which doesn’t take that long), you’ll be prompted for a computer name and user name:

PREVIEW

• You’ll be prompted for what your default homegroup settings are (personally I’d probably turn most of them off, but I’m security-conscious). Make sure to write down this homegroup password and save it somewhere!

PREVIEW

• From this point you will be able to get to your desktop, and start actually using Windows 7.

Windows 7 Bug

There is a known bug in Windows 7 that will potentially damage some mp3 files if you load them into Windows Media Player. You’ll want to make sure to install this patch, or turn on automatic updates once you have Windows 7 installed… it should update automatically. Arstechnica features the fix of the said bug.

and not to forget the minimum requirements needed for this Operating System.

Microsoft has published their minimum specifications for a system running Windows 7. Requirements for the 32-bit version are much the same as recommendations for premium editions of Vista, but the 64-bit version's are considerably higher. Microsoft has released a beta version of an upgrade advisor that scans a computer to see if it is compatible with Windows 7.

Minimum hardware requirements for Windows 7^[71]

Architecture	32-bit	64-bit
Processor speed	1 GHz processor
Memory (RAM)	1 GB of RAM	2 GB of RAM
Graphics card	Support for DirectX 9 graphics device with 128MB of graphics memory (for Windows Aero)
HDD free space	16 GB of available disk space	20 GB of available disk space
Optical drive	DVD drive (only to install from DVD/CD Media)

Additional requirements to use certain features:

• BitLocker requires Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2 and requires a USB flash drive to use BitLocker To Go.
• Windows XP Mode requires an additional 1 GB of RAM, an additional 15 GB of available hard disk space, and a processor capable of hardware virtualization with Intel VT or AMD-V enabled.

To download and check more of Windows 7, you can always go to Microsoft Website.

Top 10 Worst Things in Nature

nature by fact is the most treasured thing in the world. we meant to keep it, take care of it and do a lot of things but dont you know that there are a lot of things that could be worse than natural. it might sound silly but in natural way, somethings are meant not to be taken for granted. good thing i was able to read this blog showing the Top 10 Worst Things in Nature. Stephen Kings never had been wrong when he said that "Nature also contains some of the most awful things you can imagine – worse than anything conjured up". thanks to Amazing Facts who made this article and had been continuing to create amazing facts that are very amazing and educational.

Top 10 Worst Things in Nature

Honey Badger (most vicious animal)

The honey badger is usually found in Africa and Western and Southern Asia. For a number of years the Guinness Book of Records has named it the “most fearless creature”. This animal (which looks deceptively cute) will attack virtually anything and it is smart enough to know its opponents weak spots. For example, when confronted by a human male, it will attack the testicles. This is also one of the few animals that uses tools – for example making use of logs as ladders. The honey badger loves honey and will dive right into a beehive with no regard to its own safety – which unfortunately often leads to its death. Honey Badgers can kill crocodiles, and are very efficient snake killers. It takes only 15 minutes for the animal to eat a 5 foot snake. The ferocity of these creatures is well known in nature and not even a leopard or lion will attempt to kill one.

Mosquito (worst insect)

There is no doubt that the mosquito has to be the worst insect in the world. Just as summer starts, the mosquitos come out in force ready to feast upon the pasty white legs of humans that have been locked inside for winter. At night as you lie in bed you can hear them buzzing but you can’t see them – and then next morning a huge welt appears on the tip of your nose because the mosquito chowed down on it. Oh – and it also happens to be the most deadly insect in the world because it spreads malaria – in fact, it is believed that half the human population that has died through history, died because of the female mosquito bite. God must have been pre-occupied the day he was creating the animals, because he didn’t notice Satan making the mosquito.

Fatal Familial Insomnia (worst disease symptoms)

Fatal Familial Insomnia is a terrible disease found in only 28 families around the world. The disease prevents you from sleeping and no medication available can help you. When the disease begins, you generally have from 7 to 36 months of sleepless nights until you finally die. Wikipedia describes the stages of the disease thus:

1. The patient suffers increasing insomnia, resulting in panic attacks, paranoia, and phobias. This stage lasts for about four months.
2. Hallucinations and panic attacks become noticeable, continuing for about five months.
3. Complete inability to sleep is followed by rapid loss of weight. This lasts for about three months.
4. Dementia, where the patient becomes unresponsive or mute over the course of six months. This is the final progression of the disease, and the patient will subsequently die.
   

Bullet Ant (most painful bite)

The bullet ant is ranked as having the most painful sting in the world – often likened to the pain of being shot, described thus: “waves of burning, throbbing, all-consuming pain that continues unabated for up to 24 hours”. The ant is found in Nicaragua south to Paraguay and, like other ants, they live in large colonies which are usually situated at the base of trees. The ants are used in an initiation rite for boys in the Satere-Mawe tribe of Brazil. The boys are made to wear a glove with hundreds of these ants attached – they must suffer the stings for 10 minutes and they must perform this ritual multiple times. The boys arm is usually paralyzed temporarily from the poison and their bodies can shake for days. You can watch the rite of passage on youtube – I don’t recommend it for the weak of heart.

Salvinia Molesta (most intrusive weed)

Also known as kariba weed, the salvinia molesta plant is an aquatic fern from Brazil. It floats on top of water and doubles in size every few days. This usually results in lakes that become completely covered by a mat of the plant up to 24 inches high. The intrusive weed prevents sunlight from entering the water which, in turn, prevents animal and plant life from surviving. To make matters worse, you can’t kill the plant. If you break it into small pieces, each piece will spawn a new plant. In the US attempts have been made to remove it using cranes, but all it takes is one tiny piece to restart the whole growing process. It is now found around the world and causes havoc everywhere it goes. In the image above, what appears to be a nice lawn is actually an entire lake covered with salvinia molesta.

Corpse Flower(smelliest plant)

The corpse flower thrives in the grasslands bordering rain forests in Sumatra (though it is now found around the world in display gardens). It grows a single enormous flower which produces a smell that is remarkably similar to a rotting corpse (hence its name). The flower grows to over 10 feet wide and its coloring is designed to mimic the look of rotting meat – to help entice the carrion eating insects that pollinate it. The tip of the corpse flower is nearly the same temperature as the human body which probably helps to spread the stink and adds to the illusion that it is really rotten flesh. Here is an excellent youtube clip with David Attenborough presenting the corpse flower.

Brazilian Wandering Spider (worst spider)

It is huge. It has one of the most painful bites in the spider world. It is the most deadly spider; forget the funnel web spider – this thing is dangerous. It has the highest human kill rate in the world. To make things even worse, a bite from this spider causes an erection that lasts for hours. No – this is not a subtle ad for viagra; it really is a side-effect of a wandering spider bite. Emergency room staff are able to immediately recognize a person suffering from a bite. Needless to say, the venom is being studied for possible medical uses for people suffering erectile disfunction.

Candiru (nastiest fish)

The Candiru is a small parasitic catfish which is found mostly in the Amazon river where it is the most feared fish – even more so than piranhas. The fish can grow to a maximum length of around six inches. Candiru feed on the blood of their host creatures by swimming into the gills and using razor sharp spines on its head to attach itself. It then chews its way through the host until it reaches a major artery and drinks blood until it is satiated. The fish finds its prey by sniffing the water and this is where it starts to get nasty: the smell of human urine appeals to candirus and they can find their way to a human penis or vagina under the water and enter it. When this happens, the fish attaches itself (causing great pain to the poor human) and it can generally only be removed through surgery. This is a very unpleasant situation to be in – so be warned: don’t pee in the Amazon river. You can watch a youtube clip about the candiru here. And if you are able to cope with disgusting images, check out the photo of a doctor removing a candiru from a man’s nether-regions.

Botulinum Toxin (deadliest thing ever)

Botulinum toxin is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum and it is, beyond a doubt, the deadliest known protein. If the clostridium botulinum spores find their way to food or wounds, they will begin to release the toxin which leads to poisoning if eaten. It is so deadly that a mere two pounds (roughly 1kg) of the stuff is enough to kill the entire human population. It is so deadly that it is potentially useful as a biological weapon. This is the kind of thing we obviously want to keep right away from right? Well, no. Millions of people have this deadly protein injected into their face every year; it is present in minute quantities in Botox which is used to “treat” wrinkle

Dead Fantasy 5 (DOA vs Final Fantasy)

Video Games | Monty Oum | Dead Fantasy V HD

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Now the saddest and screwed part, shows Yuna inflicted with wounds (cried on this scene) and Hayabusa finishing everything. Cant wait to see the next of this anime.

Dead Fantasy 4 (DOA vs Final Fantasy)

Video Games | Monty Oum | Dead Fantasy IV HD

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

The chick flix episode where Cloud appears to save Yuna from Kasumi.

Dead Fantasy 3 (DOA vs Final Fantasy)

Video Games | Monty Oum | Dead Fantasy III HD

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Now Helena and Kasumi X having showing rage on the battle.

Dead Fantasy 2 (DOA vs Final Fantasy)

Video Games | Dead Fantasy | Dead Fantasy II HD

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

This scene adds up Rachel and Rinoa.

Dead Fantasy 1 (DOA vs Final Fantasy)

Video Games | Monty Oum | Dead Fantasy I HD

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Here's the first episode of the Dead Fantasy 1 which stars the battle of Tifa, Yuna, Kasumi, Ayane, Raiku and Hitomi. Thanks to Game Trailers for the videos

10 Reason to hate the iPhone 3G

i ain't an anti iPhone person. but this is quite informative knowing that most people wanted to buy such phone. got this one from this Link.

10 Reason to hate the iPhone 3G

Is the iPhone 3G really deserving of the nickname Jesusphone?

Sure, the iPhone 3G is a groundbreaking phone. There's a lot to love about it… the amazingly easy-to-use touchscreen interface, amazing video playback, a big, bright, high contrast, high-resolution display that's the best of any smartphone on the market, and a web browser that's as good as any you'd use on a desktop computer. Not to mention Apple's new MobileMe service which will provide over the air syncing of your email, contacts, calendar, tasks and photos with your home or office computer — no plugging in required.

But there are a lot of big disappointments with the iPhone 3G too. Some of them are stubborn commercial decisions Apple has made; others look like oversights, and others are fundamental flaws in the design of the phone itself.

Think I don't know jack? Before you post an angry comment, read through the 10 points and then tell me what you think.


#1 No upgrade to the camera

The camera in the first-gen iPhone was only two megapixels with no flash. "Fair enough," I thought… "it's a first-gen product. They have to leave themselves room to move for the upgrade they'll surely put into the next-generation iPhone." No such luck. The camera in the iPhone 3G is exactly the same as the first-gen one. Still stuck at two megapixels. Still unable to cope in low-light and still no flash. Oh, and there's no video recording capability either, even though this has been found on phones for the last five years or so.

Scorecard:
iPhone 3G: 2 megapixel camera, no flash, no video, no optical zoom
Other phones: up to 5 megapixel cameras, optical zoom, lens-based autofocus, flash.
Verdict: Smackdown by other phones.



#2 No Adobe Flash support

Undeniably, the iPhone has the best web browser of any phone on the market. But when you hit a web page with Adobe Flash in it, you'll just get an empty space with a 'missing plugin' icon. Apple says Flash would run too slowly on the iPhone, but in reality, it's probably more to do with Apple wanting to promote its competing web app development technology, Sproutcore.

Apple realises the 'mobile web' is at a tipping point… if it can get enough momentum behind developers coding sites specifically for the iPhone, it will help sales of the iPhone along in the long term. (That said, unlike Flash, Sproutcore is an open standard that theoretically works in any web browser that supports Javascript, so it could be widely supported by all handset makers if their phone web browsers got better.)

For a laugh, check out Steve Jobs demonstrating the web browser on the iPhone. When he views The New York Times, up pops the 'missing flash' icon.


Scorecard:
iPhone: no Adobe Flash support
Other smartphones: Flash Lite support, or full Flash support on Windows Mobile.(Admittedly Flash support on other phones isn't great either, but then, they're not running a full computer operating system like the iPhone is, where it would be trivially easy to port Flash across to run on it.)
Verdict: Other phones win by a narrow margin.



#3 No instant messaging

Despite the fact that the iPhone comes with unlimited data plans (in the US at least; Australian plans haven't yet been revealed) Apple has hobbled the iPhone's ability to do instant messaging.

Rather than sending instant messages over the internet to friends, the iPhone sends them by SMS. Since Apple has great instant messaging software for Mac called iChat, this is undoubtedly a concession to phone companies. SMS is widely considered to be the most expensive data service in the world, with each message only 165 characters long but charged by phone companies at around 20c per message. Multiplied out, that equates to 1.3 million dollars per gigabyte of SMSes. (By comparison, Aussie mobile network Three offers 1GB of high speed internet usage for $15.)

Oh yeah, and forget about chatting to someone who's sitting at a computer using the iPhone. Heaven forbid you might want to chat to someone using MSN/Windows Live Chat, Google Talk, AIM, ICQ, Facebook or any of the other popular chat protocols.

Hopefully, this ludicrous situation will be plugged by third-party application developers who will develop internet-based chat clients for iPhone. However, Apple has said that it will not allow applications to run in the background on the iPhone; instead, the developers must run an internet-based service, send a message to Apple servers, which will then send a message to the iPhone to alert the user to open the app. Yes, it may save battery life on the iPhone, but no, it's not exactly convenient.

On a Blackberry, the Blackberry Messenger just sits quietly in the background. If your phone is on, so is Blackberry Messenger. It's 100% reliable. It doesn't send messages using a stupid method like SMS. It uses the Blackberry's unlimited internet access. And yes, Blackberries do have good battery life.


Scorecard:
iPhone 3G: SMS is the only way to instant message people.
Other smartphones: A large variety of instant messaging software that can send messages using the internet capability of the phone.
Verdict: iPhone is shamed by other phones.



#4 Totally impractical for international travel

The iPhone downloads full emails, attachments and all, when you view them on the iPhone. If someone sends you an email with several megabytes of photos attached, that's how much data has to be downloaded by the iPhone. That's fine if you're in your home country and have an unlimited data plan. But go to another country and see how much it costs you — you can expect to pay up to $20 per megabyte. Your roaming charges will soon be running into hundreds of dollars.

Not to harp on about the Blackberry, but when you roam with one of them, it's quite cheap, because the Blackberry servers downscale images to perfectly fit the size of the Blackberry screen before sending them — a huge saving in data transfer charges, and messages are heavily compressed before transmission, etc. In fact, even heavy Blackberry users may be surprised to learn that they use less than 5MB of data per month.

Scorecard:
iPhone 3G: It's the data equivalent of the gas guzzling SUVs that GM suspended production of this week.
Other smartphones: Well, there are certainly other data guzzling phones. But Blackberry is a perfect example of a smartphone that's made for roaming.
Verdict: Blackberry wins



#5 Not compatible with Bluetooth car kits or headphones

Apple has Bluetooth wireless in the iPhone, but it only works with a handful of wireless headsets. Forget talking handsfree on Bluetooth car kits or using the iPhone with stereo Bluetooth headphones. You could expect those sorts of features from the world's leading music player, but not the iP… oh, wait.

Considering Apple wants the world to take the iPhone seriously for its phone capabilities, it's truly incredible that it has hobbled the Bluetooth audio capability so much. Could it be because it wants to make money from car equipment manufacturers who build an iPod dock connector into their car stereos?

Caveat: this comment is based on what we know about pre-release versions of the iPhone 2.0 software. It's possible Apple will have fixed this in the release version of the iPhone 3G.

Scorecard:
iPhone 3G: only works with Apple's mono Bluetooth headset and a handful of other companies' similar units. No support for Bluetooth stereo or in-car Bluetooth handsfree.
Other smartphones: many support stereo Bluetooth for streaming to headphones or a stereo, and most models work with Bluetooth car handsfree units (though there are still compatibility glitches between brands, admittedly.)
Verdict: Other phones win



#6 No cut and paste

This one is truly hard to understand. Apple brings out one of the world's most advanced smartphones in terms of user interface, and somehow forgets to put in cut and paste... probably the only smartphone on the market that doesn't have it. The mind boggles. (Also something that Apple could conceivably fix by the time the iPhone 3G is released… here's hoping.)

Scorecard:
iPhone 3G: No cut and paste.
Other smartphones: Well, yeah, duh. They have cut and paste.
Verdict: Decisive victory for other phones.



#7 Non user-replaceable battery

It's a sad fact about rechargeable batteries: the first time you recharge them, their maximum capacity degrades. After a few hundred recharges, their capacity is down to something like half their original capacity. Normally, this is annoying, but manageable — you just swap the battery out for a new one, or get a second battery and swap between the two of them until the first battery is toast.

Not so with the iPhone. Its battery is sealed up tightly inside the nearly-impossible-to-pry-open casing (believe me, I've taken the back off an iPhone and that sucker is not meant to come apart… Apple must be replacing the casing of iPhones it services). Apple will then install the battery for you (in the US it costs $US85.95) and post it back to you. Oh, and you can pay them extra $US30 for the privilege of renting another phone from them to use in the meantime.

Not only is this massively inconvenient, it's a cunning attempt by Apple to get people to simply buy a new iPhone when the battery finally dies. People will be asking themselves… "do I pay $105.95 to get my old iPhone battery fixed, or do I pay $199.00 to buy the latest and greatest model of iPhone?" I know which one I'd pick, and I bet that's central to Apple's business plan.


Scorecard:
iPhone 3G: Battery sealed inside the case. Costs a hundred bucks and considerable inconvenience to get it replaced.
Other smartphones: Well, yeah, duh. You just unplug the battery and put a new one in.
Verdict: Crushing loss to Apple.



#8 No MMS

So you've snapped a nice photo on your iPhone and you want to send it to a friend? You'd better hope they have email on their phone, because that's the only way you're going to be able to send it to them with the iPhone. For some reason, despite its ridiculous decision to force all instant messaging through SMS, Apple has totally left out MMS (picture/video SMSes) from the iPhone.

Scorecard:
iPhone 3G: No MMS support. You will send your photos using the Apple-authorized method, by email.
Other smartphones: Well, yeah, duh. They have MMS.
Verdict: Own-goal by Apple.


#9 No turn-by-turn navigation

Despite building a GPS satellite navigation receiver into the iPhone, Apple has stopped short of offering voiced, turn-by-turn navigation into the device. Yes, you can plot directions from your current position to somewhere else, and you can watch yourself as a little dot on the map, but have you ever tried doing that in a car? I have … on my Blackberry. I nearly crashed.

If you're thinking I'm being a bit overly critical (isn't it a "nice to have" feature than a necessity?) compare Apple to Nokia, which has been offering voiced, 3D, turn-by-turn navigation on its phones for a couple of years now. Having a Nokia N78 saved my bacon recently when I realised I was totally lost and didn't have a street directory with me. I also had a Blackberry with me that has 2D map routing similar to what's on the Blackberry, and it sucked, because it was like reading a map constantly while driving.


Scorecard:
iPhone 3G: No voiced, 3D turn-by-turn navigation.
Other smartphones: OK, so it's not a standard feature on all phones. But Nokia, which has over 50% market share in Australia, has been shipping it with its phones for the last couple of years.
Verdict: Nokia wins.


#10 Stunning hypocrisy

At Apple's last presentation on the iPhone (March 6th 2008), Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller ridiculed market leader Blackberry for the complexity of its push email service, pointing out that your messages have to pass through a RIM messaging server and a network operations centre before they're sent out to your phone. Plus you have to pay extra for the service.

With the iPhone 3G, Apple introduces MobileMe, a service that … passes your email through an Apple messaging server before it is sent through to your phone. And it costs $AUD119 per year extra. Spot any similarity with the Blackberry business model?

It seems stunningly hypocritical for Apple's to criticise the technology of the market leader in the US smartphone space, then adopt the same technologies in its own product. On the other hand, I'm glad it has… but I'm flabbergasted at Apple's audacity in working on a service while at the very same moment criticising others for doing it.


Scorecard:
iPhone 3G: made by a company dominated by self-serving hypocrites.
Other smartphones: let's be honest... made by companies dominated by self-serving hypocrites.
Verdict: Apple is on even footing with other handset makers. Welcome to the industry!


.... with those features, would still like to have this?