Samsung Series 5 Chromebook

Back in 2009 Google announced their own operating system, Chrome OS. Chrome OS is heavily web based and is built around the very popular Google Chrome web browser. Google's OS is designed for Netbooks & Nettops with the purpose of lite computing in mind. Lite computing comprises of tasks including web surfing, email and document creation etc. Google Chrome OS is now ready to be brought to market.

Samsung are the first consumer manufacturers to produce their line of Chromebooks known as Series 5. The Samsung Series 5 Chromebooks feature dual core Intel Atom N570 CPUs clocked at 1.66GHz, 2GB of DDR3 RAM, a 12.1" 1280x800 LED display (Non-Gloss, 16:10 Aspect Ratio, 300 Nits Brightness), an NM10 Integrated Graphics Chipset (Shared Memory), Integrated Stereo Speakers, ALC272 Integrated Audio Controller, a 1MP HD Webcam, Internal Microphone, 16GB mSATA SSD (Solid State Drive), 2 USB Ports, VGA Output via Dongle, Headphone/Microphone Combo Port, 4-in-1 Memory Card Reader (SD/SDHC/SDXC/MMC Compatible). The Series 5 Chromebooks are available in 2 variants, a WiFi model & a WiFi + 3G model priced respectively at $429.99 & $499.99.

4G LTE trial to begin soon in UK

British Telecoms (BT) have teamed up with Everything Everywhere (two mobile providers, T-Mobile & Orange) to create the UK's first ever 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) service. 200 people made up of 100 mobile users and another 100 fixed line customers in the Cornwall area have been selected to trial the new speedy standard on a day to day basis starting in September of this year. At last the UK is starting out on the long path to new and greater technologies that America and other countries have been taking advantage of for some time now.

To learn more about the 4G LTE trial in the UK, please visit http://go.alistairstechblog.co.cc/lteuk

Test post using the Blogger Android app

This is just a quick test post using the blogger app for Android :-)

Playstation 3 Firmware 3.61 released - phased restoration of PSN begins

At last there's some good news for PS3 & PSN users. Sony has released the 3.61 firmware update for all PS3 consoles that improves on security & also requires you to change your password before PSN resumes where you are.

PSN is coming back, slowly but surely, Sony is restoring the online service! There is hope PSN users!

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WebConnect 4 has arrived!

WebConnect 4 is here! The first public beta of the browser is now available. Lots of new & exciting features have been added to improve the experience of the browser. To get your hands on the exclusive WebConnect 4 beta 1 please visit: http://go.alistairstechblog.co.cc/webconnect & download the WebConnect .exe file. No setup is required, all you need is a PC (Sorry Mac users) & an installed copy of the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 available from: http://go.alistairstechblog.co.cc/netframework

Sony breaks their promise, still no PSN

Last week Sony held a press conference in Japan to discuss the malicious attacks on the PSN & Qriocity services. They said that they would have the online PlayStation service restored by the end of the week but this didn't happened. Users are still left in the dark as to what is delaying the restorations of these services although security is a probable cause. Almost 4 weeks after the services were attacked nobody knows when to expect them back again. Sony says that users will be able to make free purchases from the PSN Store as a gift when the service is up and running. In the meantime, happy single playing!

Update: PSN will not be back online this week. Sources say that the service will be back up on 31st May.

PaperPhone : A fully functional mobile phone that is paper thin & uses gestures

Mobile phones have come a long way since the first commercially available handset, the Motorola DynaTAC 8000x. The phones of today aren't just phones, they can take amazing, high quality pictures, record vividly detailed videos, surf the web and much, much more. These devices are great, an essential to modern life, but have you ever wished that your mobile could be as thin as a sheet of paper? This wish could soon become a reality with PaperPhone, the world's first paper thin smartphone. PaperPhone works by using bend gestures to operate, as shown in the product demo below. It also uses a flexible version of the E-ink display that Amazon uses in their Kindle E-book reader.

Apple refreshes iMac line up - Sandy Bridge CPUs & improved AMD graphics on board

On Tuesday 3rd May, keeping with their yearly product refreshes, Apple unveiled the new line of improved iMac All-in-One desktop computers. As per usual the iMac comes in two screen size models, 21.5" of a 1920x1080 resolution & the larger 27" with a resolution of 2560x1440. System configuration varies depending on the screen size although both can be fully customized to feature a quad core Intel Core i5 or i7 processor, up to 16GB of DDR3 1333MHz RAM, up to a 2TB 7200 RPM hard drive or a 256GB SSD and the GPU can be bumped up all the way to an AMD Radeon HD 6970M with 2GB of GDDR5 memory.

Other new features include a 720p FaceTime HD camera and either one (21.5" model) or two (27" model) Thunderbolt port(s) that were first featured on the new 2011 line up of Macbook Pros.

UK pricing starts at £999 for the standard 21.5" model & £1399 for the standard 27" version. The new line of iMacs are available to purchase from Apple online or retail stores.

Google Chrome 11 - same great browser, not so great logo

Good news for all Google Chrome fans & users out there, version 11 is out now! The great web experience from previous releases has been carried over but new Chrome & Chromium logos are now present. Personally I prefer the old Chrome logo as the new one is all flat & feels like a step backwards for the browser. The 3D logos made Chrome feel very modern but now at a glance it looks quite dated. Take a look for yourself below:

New Chromium logo left, new Chrome logo right

Now compare those two to the old logos:

Previously used Chromium & Chrome logos

Do you like the new design? Do you prefer the old ones? Does it even bother you at all?