Google Nexus 7 bringing NFC features to tablet arena

The Google tablet is no longer a rumor. Now we'll have the Google Nexus 7 by mid-July, or you can pre-order right now on Google's website for $199.

According to Google, pre-ordered tablets will ship in two-three weeks and for a limited time, you'll get $25 to spend in Google's Play store on apps, games, books and movies. Google is also throwing in a free copy of Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

The Nexus 7 will have a 7-inch display and weigh about 0.75 pounds, which is right in line with other tablets of this size. It'll use Android's latest operating system, which is Jelly Bean, or Android 4.1, if you keep track of the version numbers.

Google on their website has the battery rated for 10 hours of web browsing or 10 hours of e-reading, as well as over 8 hours of HD video playback.

The Nexus 7 was built to work with Google Play, or Google's app store, where they're pitching over 600,000 apps and games and over four million books. Online storage also is available at Google Play for 20,000 songs.

The big challenge for the Nexus 7 later this year will be if it can compete in the marketplace against all the other 7-inch tablets already on the shelves. It's a late arrival, while the Amazon Kindle Fire, the Nooks from Barnes & Noble, the Samsung Galaxy Tabs and the BlackBerry Playbook have a big head start.

The Kindles arrived in 2007, followed by the Nook in 2009 and the first iPad was announced in January of 2010. All the others quickly followed the iPad and have been trying to compete in a challenging tablet arena over the past couple if years.

The Nexus 7 just might have an advantage over the competitors with its Near Field Communication feature, or NFC. It'll have the "Android Beam" feature, which will allow the tablet to share information with other NFC enabled devices with just a tap. I imagine, the NFC capability will also allow the Nexus 7 to carry out mobile payments, purchase tickets and other wireless transactions.

Google announced at the Google I/O conference this week in San Francisco that more than one million Android NFC devices are shipping each week. So the Nexus 7 is on the cutting edge of this technology and that might the advantage that paints a bright future for Google's new tablet.

If you're itching for a Nexus 7, you can visit their website now. The 8 gigabyte model is $199 and the 16 GB model will cost $249. Both models have 1 GB of memory and are Wi-Fi only. You'll find a USB cable, wall charger and a quick-start guide in the box. A cover is available for around $20.

We should know around the holiday shopping season if the Nexus 7 is going to be a game-changer in the tablet arena.

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Why now?

    After last week's announcements from Microsoft the only thing that obsesses me is Why now? While both Surface and Windows Phone 8 products look great both announcements   seemed a little bit rushed.
    Lets start with the Surface presentation. The product is UBER COOL, but there are still a lot of things that are not cleared: how much will it cost, when exactly will be available to the public. My feeling was, and I might be right, that Google will announce its own low cost tablet and, at least this time Microsoft didn't want to be the last one to announce the new tablet. If the prices for the Google tablet are really 249USD and 199USD both Microsoft and Apple will be their salea affected by the low cost tablet from Google.
     What really impressed me was the Windows Phone Summit announce of Windows Phone 8. Again Windows Phone 8 will be a really cool product but, from what was shown, it is far from rtm. What I don't understand is the strategy that Microsoft adopted? They presented a cool new product still far from the release, the developers didn't get the new SDK, they've showed only the new start screen and what the main features that the new product will have and the MOST important said that there is no upgrade path to Windows Phone 8 for any of the current devices. Without giving a new toy to developers (that is the new SDK) the announcement did a lot of damage to the actual Windows Phone platform. On short term (till Windows Phone 8 devices will be out in the wild) the sells of Windows Phone will once again slow (nobody wants an old phone), with the sells of the phone the sales in the marketplace will slow so if you are a developer this is how you will be affected.  But the really BIG DAMAGE was done to Nokia. Here are some stock exchange considerations from today :


DJ MARKET TALK: Nomura Cuts Nokia Target Price
25/06/2012 12:36 MF-DJ
1036 GMT [Dow Jones] Nomura cuts its target price for Nokia (NOK1V.MI) (NOKA.AS) (NOK1V.HE) (NOA3.FRA) to EUR2 from EUR3.20, pointing to Microsoft's (MSFT.O) (MSF.FRA) new Windows Phone 8 product, to which none of Nokia's current phones will be able to be upgraded. "Now that Microsoft has confirmed that Windows Phone 7 devices cannot be upgraded to Windows Phone 8, we expect retailers and Nokia to run down inventory levels of the current Lumia range," says Nomura. It expects this to result in a sequential decline in the sales volumes Nokia reports for 3Q. Nomura rates the stock at neutral. Shares down 7% at EUR1.80.(michele.maatouk@dowjones.com)

DJ MARKET TALK: Nokia Shrs Lower After Slew Of Bad News -SocGen
25/06/2012 15:25 MF-DJ
1325 GMT [Dow Jones] Nokia (NOK1V.MI) (NOKA.AS) (NOK1V.HE) (NOA3.FRA) stock is 7.9% lower at EUR1.78, amid the slew of bad news last week, says Societe Generale analyst Andy Perkins. The latest Microsoft (MSFT.O) (MSF.FRA) Windows smartphone operating system won't work on Nokia's current Lumia devices, he notes. "In addition, Microsoft last week unveiled its own Surface tablet device, and it also seems as if Microsoft is considering [whether] to manufacture its own smartphones," Perkins says. "If Microsoft is starting to manufacture its own hardware, it is less likely to end up buying Nokia." Perkins' recommendation on Nokia stock is sell with a EUR1.60 target. (sven.grundberg@dowjones.com)

Today Nokia's stock values is doing again -8% with a one year "performance" of -54%. Why did Microsoft sneaked peaked Windows Phone 8 now when it is far form the release? Do they want to buy Nokia so they have to get the lowest price possible? If not they just want to kill Nokia after they have invested everything in the Windows Phone platform? If Microsoft don't want to buy Nokia then why all the Windows Phone 8 devices have Nokia maps and navigation software? In this moment Microsoft can't let anyone buy Nokia as it could affect their plans for Windows Phone 8. So again WHY NOW? No SDK, no timing for the new devices, no new details for the UI enhancements. A lot of damage with no immediate benefit (developers, Nokia, Microsoft). I can only hope there is a good strategy behind this announcement that I cannot see.

It cannot be the multi-core architecture:

This is from Wikipedia under Windows CE 7: 

7.0

Released in March 2011. Multi-core CPU support (SMP) Wi-Fi Positioning System Bluetooth 3.0 + HS DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) DRM technology Media Transfer Protocol Windows Phone 7 IE with Flash 10.1 support NDIS 6.1 support UX C++ XAML API using technologies like Windows Presentation Foundation and Silverlight for attractive and functional user interfaces Advanced touch and gesture input Kernel support for 3 GB physical RAM and supports ARMv7 assembly[25]

It cannot be also that the Windows 8 ARM kernel is more stable as it is the first ARM Windows Kernel that Microsoft creates so it still has to show its stability. On the other hand the CE Kernel, even if it is not one of the best, is very stable. The actual windows phone device are pretty good with a lot of applications missing because of some missing features in the SDK and unimpressive market shares.

On long term Microsoft can only benefit from maintaining a single kernel but on short term: Ooooops you did it again! Not the same as the last one (6.5 to 7.x) as there will be 100,000 aps in the marketplace but still some damage is done. Why do the DAMAGE if the backup is not ready yet? They should have waited to have the SDK ready, devices almost ready to sell, the enhanced UI ready and AMAZE everyone. As a developer and geek I am super excited about the new features and cannot wait to develop for WP8. As a small company owner that is investing everything in Windows Phone I don't agree with what Microsoft did and I have more doubts than ever before that Windows Phone will do a fast come back in the smartphone market (I hope that I am wrong and that both Nokia and Microsoft have some killer features ready).

So Why didn't they wait a little bit more at least for the Windows Phone?

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Microsoft Surface arrives to challenge iPad, Android tablets

Microsoft choose Hollywood as the location to unveil Surface, a windows tablet computer designed and engineered completely by the guys at One Microsoft Way in Redmond, WA.

While the Surface is unique in appearance, with an integrated kickstand to help prop it up and a Touch Cover with a built-in keyboard, the big question quickly comes to mind. Is this tablet the iPad killer?

Various tablet manufacturers have been trying to build a serious iPad competitor since the Motorola Xoom arrived on the scene in early 2011. The Xoom wasn't it and neither were the Samsung Galaxy Tabs. The Acer tablets, Asus, the Amazon Kindle and a few others have gained traction, but the iPad remains on top.

Microsoft has probably thrown every punch they've learned in their 30-year history of building hardware and developing software to make the Surface attractive to savvy consumers. It even has a few strong point and features not found in the current crop of tablets and can one-up the iPad in a few areas.

Although Microsoft did not list physical dimensions, they did point out the Surface's 10.6-inch display with a 16:9 ratio. I'm afraid the iPad stops at 9.7 inches in the display size, while other tablets, such as the Xoom 2, Acer Iconia Tab and Asus Transformer Prime stop at 10.1 inches. So the Surface holds the top spot for display size.

The Surface is about the same thickness as the iPad and the weight is around 1.5 pounds, but that's iffy, depending on configuration and what Microsoft calls the "manufacturing process."

Perhaps the most "talked about" feature of the Surface will be the Touch Cover, which will be available in five colors. It will attach to the Surface with a magnetic latch, which reminds me of the iPad's magnetic cover. But the Surface has a keyboard on the inside of the cover, which could be a stroke of genius for Microsoft if consumers give it a nod.

I can't wait to get my hands on the VaporMg casing, which Microsoft is saying will feel like the finish of a luxury watch.

It seems that devices of late are all going with high-end materials on the outside. Apple likes aluminum and some of the Ultrabooks are even using glass, such as the HP Envy. A technique using Liquid Metal is being tossed around for the iPhone 5. So maybe the VaporMg technology, which has a dose of magnesium, will ensure Microsoft's Surface is in the game of hi-tech casings.

It's no surprise that the Surface will be powered by a couple of versions of the Windows 8 operating system, which has been on the market in preview form for desktop computers. You'll be able to choose between Windows RT for ARM processors or Windows 8 Pro for Intel processors.

I've been testing Windows 8 Consumer Preview on a desktop and it'll be interesting to see how this OS performs on a tablet.

As for ports, the Surface will have HDMI and a full-sized USB 2.0, along with a micro SD slot. That's not a bad start for a tablet, which will also be available in configurations of 32, 64 and 128 gigabytes. The latter is only for the Windows 8 Pro version.

If you're itching to try Microsoft's latest creation, you'll just have to wait awhile. They still have to figure out how much it'll cost. I imagine it'll be ready for the shelves sometime this fall, or surely in time for holiday shopping.

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Editable authors field will auto-populate with current user's name

While working on a Notes client based application, I came across an interesting scenario. Let's say you have an editable Authors field on your form. If you open that form in Lotus Notes client then the current user name automatically appears in the field. But if you put in the field's name itself in the Default value formula then the field appears blank. My tests concluded that, this behavior is shown only by Authors field and not Readers field. Plus, I couldn't find this behavior documented in the help documentation.

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New MacBook Pro certainly something to drool over

As of Monday, my MacBook Pro is no longer considered state of the art. I have only had it several months and I've been enjoying the all-aluminum body and snappy processor, along with the Snow Leopard operating system.

Now Apple Inc. has announced the very latest 15-inch MacBook Pro, which is a lot like my laptop in appearance, but it also has a Retina display and faster Intel Core i7 quad-core processors, along with flash storage. I can't compete with all that.

The new guy is sleeker, thinner, more powerful and certainly a looker. But is it better than what I have? Let's compare a few things.

It is powered by OS X Lion and can be upgraded for free to Mountain Lion when it's ready. I'll be sticking with the Leopard for a while.

Apple is also making a big deal about the two Thunderbolt ports, while I only have one. I'm left in the dust again.

The Thunderbolt port technology was developed by Apple and Intel to support "high-resolution displays" and "high-performance data devices." According to Apple, it's 20 times faster than with USB 2.0 and up to 12 times faster than with FireWire 800. This is a serious I/O port for serious business. We're talking about plugging in big LED monitors, RAID storage devices in a daisy chain and high-performance video equipment.

My problem with the one Thunderbolt port on my old MacBook Pro is that I have nothing that needs it right now. No high performance peripherals or components. Apple is hoping this technology gains traction in the future, but in the meantime, FireWire and USB ports are serving me just fine.

While we're on ports, I am kind of puzzled by the lack of a CD/DVD or Blu-ray drive on the new MacBook Pro. I also didn't see any ethernet or FireWire ports. I'm thinking a built-in optical drive is still needed for software installation, especially if purchased at retail outlets. My last purchase of a major application suite was still on CDs.

After some digging around Apple's website, I found where there are Thunderbolt port adapters for ethernet and FireWire peripherals. If you need a CD drive, it's available as an optional external drive for one of the two USB ports that "are" on the new MacBook Pro.

The Retina display on the new MacBook Pro is all about pixels and there are a lot of them - over 5 million to be exact, which is 3 million more than a high-definition flat screen television. The display is supposed to be stunning and I'll let you know just how stunning when I get a chance to see it. In the meantime, the LED-backlit display on my old MacBook is just fine.

While it takes my old MacBook Pro a minute to boot up, the new MacBook Pro is pitched as having instant-on response due to the flash hard drive. But I have to wonder if a 250 gigabyte flash drive on the new MacBook Pro is better than my 750 GB hard drive. In this case, I don't mind waiting a little longer for the desktop to appear on the latter.

My old MacBook and the new MacBook have the same glass Multi-Touch trackpad, so I'm still in the game with trackpad technology.

The one advantage my old MacBook Pro has is in the price. When I made my purchase several months ago, I was at around $400 less than the $2,199 starting price for the new MacBook Pro. If you want to get fancy with more memory and flash storage, get ready to shell out around $3,000. That's an "ouch" factor for a laptop.

I think I'm fine for at least another year with my current setup, but the new MacBook Pro is powerful and has the resolution for an impressive display. It's also pricey and seems to be targeted for high-end computing.

But I'll still go out to the Apple Store soon and drool over it.

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Improving battery life of HTC One X

HTC One X is an amazing phone and has got pretty good reviews from The Verge, Engadget and Gizmodo with Sharif Sakr from Engadget even going on to say that "No matter how hard it[Samsung Galaxy SIII] tries, it just isn't greater than the sum of the HTC One X's parts". I bought it myself and have been using for around 3 months now. But one really troubling aspect with this phone is its battery life which is further exacerbated by the fact that you cannot remove the battery of this phone. While HTC claims significant performance improvement in its battery, the phone seems to discharge very quickly and charge very slowly. So here are some tips to improve and conserve your battery life.

Updated 22 Jun 2012: Avoid using live wallpapers
Updated 5 Oct 2012: Limiting background processes and Setting network mode

1. Fully charge your phone before turning it on for the first time

This is is very important and there are people who have suffered because of this. If you didn't there is a good chance that your battery life would be poor. But all is not lost, follow these simple instructions to recalibrate your battery.

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Personal avatars emerging with winks and smiles

There is exciting technology being developed in Germany and because of an impromptu meeting at the recent CTIA Wireless Conference in New Orleans, I'm one of the lucky ones to have my own personal 3D Face Avatar. All it took was a photo of my face and some computer wizardry.

It was engineered by DOCOMO Communications Laboratories Europe GmbH, or DOCOMO Euro-Labs, which is the Munich, Germany-based research arm of NTT DOCOMO, a Japanese mobile communications operator based in Tokyo. They also have offices in Silicon Valley and Beijing.

According to their website, they are one of the world's largest mobile communications operators, with more than more than 59 million customers in Japan.

My avatar is in the form of a movie, and when explained by DOCOMO representatives, it demonstrates the ways this technology can “be creative” with the avatar’s face." But ideally, it would be a still image that suddenly comes to life with human-like expressions like smiling, winking, talking or even reading a text message.

I see personal avatars invading social networks, emails and other means of communication in the future, as well as films and gaming.

In addition to developing avatars, we can probably expect more cutting-edge technology from this European research company. Their website hints at research being done in future cellular networks and optical technologies.

There are other options available for 3D Face Avatars, such as the 3D PhotoFace technology that can take an uploaded image and modify facial features. Another approach uses Microsoft's Kinect sensor techniques to scan the face and apply animation.

As 3D face animation technology continues to emerge, we can expect more development and fine tuning as companies like DOCOMO explore the potential of personal avatars.

Contact us: ehart@earnestharttech.com | Follow on Twitter @ehart

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U.S. carriers ready for the Samsung Galaxy S III

If the announcement that the Samsung Galaxy S III is coming to five U.S. carriers this month is any indication of the future demand, maybe we all should check out cell phone contracts on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless and U.S. Cellular.

An upgrade might be in order if Samsung's latest mobile phone meets the anticipation of savvy consumers. Samsung has been known for hitting home runs in the mobile market and carries the title of the No. 1 mobile phone provider in the U.S and worldwide, according to Strategy Analytics.

The new Galaxy S III has been kicking around in Europe after making its debut in London on May 3. According to one of Samsung's head honchos, this device will be "the next big thing" for U.S. customers on this side of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Galaxy S III, which is optimized for 4G and AT&T's HSPA+ networks, is running Android 4.0, also known as Ice Cream Sandwich. It also sports a 8-megapixel rear camera, along with a 1.9 megapixel front-facing camera. The power comes from a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor and 2 gigabytes of RAM.

The pressure is now on for the iPhone 5, or whatever it will be called, since the Galaxy S III's 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display trumps the current iPhones' 3.5-inch display.

There are other unique features onboard the new Galaxy, such as S-Beam for sharing files with a simple touch and taking 20 continuous photos using the 'burst shot" feature. While some smartphones have been able to support up to five devices using the mobile hotspot capability, Verizon Wireless is pitching that the Galaxy S III now supports up to 10 devices.

Here is a biggie - the Sprint camp is saying they are the only national U.S. wireless carrier to offer the Galaxy S III preloaded with Google Wallet, which will use the NFC, or Near Field Communication technology, to act as a personal wallet at more than 100,000 retailers.

The Galaxy S III will be available in a variety of colors, ranging from Pebble Blue and Marble White on Sprint and U.S. Cellular, along with an exclusive red color from AT&T.

The 16 GB version will cost around $200 on most carriers, with the 32 GB coming in at around $250. If you need more memory, AT&T has their micro-SD card for around $40.

If you're ready to go shopping, the Galaxy S III will available for preorder today from Sprint and June 6 on AT&T and Verizon. U.S. Cellular will open their cash registers on June 12 and T-Mobile will be ready for your wallet on June 21.

Based on past Samsung devices and the popularity of the Galaxy S II, which has been around since October, the Galaxy S III could be worth an upgrade. It has a faster processor, more memory, a larger display and several unique features over its predecessor.

This could be another home run for Samsung.

More on the Samsung Galaxy S III: AT&T | T-Mobile | Sprint | Verizon | U.S. Cellular

Contact us: ehart@earnestharttech.com | Follow on Twitter @ehart​

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Displaying common names of user with Name Picker

I have been trying out Extension Library and I must say I am really impressed with it. One of my favorite control there is Name Picker. The only problem with that is the input control whose value is set by name picker needs to be in edit mode and it shows the selected names in abbreviated format. In one of our application we wanted to show common names and the input control to be non-editable so that user could not play around with values.

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More retailers banking on PayPal for mobile commerce​

As the mobile payments technology continues to emerge, several of the key players are banking on NFC, or Near Field Communication, to entice consumers to pay for merchandise and services with their smartphones. Google has their Google Wallet, Mastercard has their PayPass Wallet and Visa is pushing their V.me digital wallet service.

But PayPal, who has been around over 10 years in the online payments arena, is now turning their attention to offline retailers and small business. According to PayPal executives, this market is 17 times larger than the online sector.

They launched "PayPal Here" in March as a mobile payment solution that allows small business to accept almost any form of payment by using a free app and a small credit card reader for the iPhone and Android devices.

PayPal, who now list 110 million users, recently announced on their blog that they have joined forces with VeriFone and Equinox, the number one and number three point-of-sale terminal manufacturers in the world to include PayPal access. They also announced partnerships with 15 major retailers, including Toys "R" Us, J.C. Penney, Barnes & Noble and Home Depot, a $17 billion dollar retailer who has adopted PayPal in about 2,000 of their stores.

While the NFC technology is likely to continue to grow and gain acceptance, several major retailers are already banking on the PayPal solution for mobile commerce.

Contact us: ehart@earnestharttech.com | Follow on Twitter @ehart​

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Review: Yahoo! Axis search and browser tool worth a look

After using the new Yahoo! Axis search tool and browser for a while, I think it's worth exploring. But I'm not sure if it'll be a game changer for Internet searching and browsing.

I installed the desktop version for the iMac and immediately noticed the search box in the lower left corner of my Safari browser window, along with icons for favorites and a home button.

What's important here is that the search box is always there and waiting. You can say Google has the upper right corner of your browser window for searching and Yahoo! has the lower left corner for their search box.

When you start a search, the difference between - let's say Google or Bing - and Yahoo! is that Axis give you miniature Web pages of your search results instead of links. A nice horizontal-scrolling pane of results appear across the bottom portion of your browser window.

The Axis approach to search results is much more visually appealing than the other search-engine guys. You can also save a favorite Web page as a "My Favorites" or "Read Later" bookmarks. It'll also help to log in into your Yahoo! account, as these options will be found after clicking the home page icon in the lower left corner of the browser window.

Another nice Axis feature is if you're not searching for anything in particular, you can get a list of Trending Searches of what people are searching for the most at any given time. It's ironic that "yahoo axis" was at the top of the list when I took a peek.

As one reviewer has already mentioned, it seem that Yahoo! results are rather prominent in what's offered after a search. But I guess that's to be expected. After all, it is their technology.

When I searched for articles on "Facebook stock," I got results from several choices, such as zdnet.com, azcentral.com, The Wall Street Journal and CNN Money, as well as Yahoo! News. It's just a simple matter of choosing which small representation of the full Web page from the search results grabs your attention.

I'll try out the Axis apps for the iPhone and iPad on my next venture into the latest Internet search and browsing technology.

This technology has certainly put Yahoo! in the spotlight. We'll need to wait and see if Axis gets a thumbs up from Internet users. Stay tuned.

Contact us: ehart@earnestharttech.com | Follow on Twitter @ehart

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Facebook arrives on Wall Street looking for a 'Like'

Now that we know Facebook has a market value of $104 billion, the next sixty-four thousand question for some of us will be should I buy stock.

If you can answer that question successful, in several years you could be very rich. Or you could be the Facebook fan who lost their shirt.

If you're thinking about it, maybe a closer look at this fairy-tale company will help sway your mind. There is a lot behind the simple "Like" button and your updates.

Facebook has been around since 2004, when it was founded by current CEO Mark Zuckerberg, along with a few other Harvard University technology wizards.

Who would have known that Zuckerberg, now a newlywed as of Saturday, would grow Facebook into one of the world's top social networking websites, which has around 11 offices in the United States, with main digs being in Menlo Park Calif., and 18 or more offices scattered around the globe.

You'll probably be surprised to find out, that according to Facebook's website, 80% of monthly users are outside of the U.S. and Canada. So maybe that's why they need almost twice as many international offices as they have U.S. offices and felt compelled to make Facebook available in more than 70 languages.

So if Zuckerberg wanted to brag, he could go on for hours about how he started in a dormitory room and now runs a company worth a lot of billions. But according to Zuckerberg, he just simply wants to "make the world more open and connected."

But there is another sixty-four thousand question looming that has to do with whether Facebook can be montetized going forward to satisfy the investors appetite for profits. Now Facebook will have face the heat when monthly, quarterly and annual financial reports come around.

I imagine, like all other Internet-based companies, Facebook will rely on advertising and maybe – are your ready – user fees at some point. The latter is my thinking only, but with the emerging trend of paying for digital content, I wouldn't put it out of the question.

If Facebook ask us to reach for our wallets at some point, I imagine some of the 901 million fans would scatter to other social networks or suddenly decide that updating your status for all to see is not as crucial as it once was.

I don't update my own timeline enough, but I like what others are doing with their updates, the 300 million photos that are uploaded daily and other social aspects of their lives. It's very entertaining.

Facebook is likely to continue to grow by snapping up innovative companies like Instagram, a photo-sharing service and most recently, Karma, which is built around notification of important events and instant gifts.

At this point, I'm bullish on Facebook, with is easy for me to say, since I'm not an investor or shareholder and passed on any of the 180,000,000 shares of stock that Facebook was offering. But they had a decent opening day on Friday and finished slightly up at $38.23 rather than down from their initial offering price of $38.

Everyone will be watching what happens today, the rest of this week, and the months and years ahead.

The pressure is on for Facebook.

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Taking screen capture in HTC One X

A simple trick to capture your screen in HTC One X which I got from here - press and hold power button and then press . The screen is saved in the Camera shots album in Gallery. And you don't need to install anything  from Google Play!

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Franklin Wireless mobile hotspot provides reliable Wi-Fi

The first thing you'll usually look for is a Wi-Fi signal when you're out and about with all your digital devices. In most cases a data plan will take care of your Internet connection for your smartphone and maybe your tablet, but a strong Wi-Fi is generally preferred because it's faster and cheaper.

I've found a good "on-the-go" Wi-Fi signal with the Franklin Wireless mobile hotspot that is available from C Spire Wireless. The first thing you'll notice about the Franklin mobile hotspot is the small size. I was expecting something about the size of the box, but was surprised to see a device less than one-fourth the size of the package it arrived in. It'll remind you of a small mobile phone and it's a handy size for carrying around. The light weight at 2.46 ounces is also a plus when transporting it in the carrying case that's included in the box. Overall, the Franklin mobile hotspot device is small, but it has quality feel to it.

The Franklin mobile hotspot is unique in that it has a RJ45 Ethernet port, just in case you have to connect the mobile hotspot to your desktop or laptop computer with an Ethernet cable. I tried it on my desktop computer and it worked flawlessly, as I could tell no difference between the Franklin hotspot wired connection and being connected to my Internet router via a wired connection.

To help with heat, the device has built-in cooling vents on each side above the red what I'll call "racing stripes." In other words, it's a rather snazzy-looking device, as well as a solid performer.

I put the Franklin mobile hotspot though the wringer around the house, without so much as hiccup. At one point, I had an iPhone, iPad, MacBook, iMac and a Nook Color e-reader all connected to the Franklin's Wi-Fi signal. The specifications say "up to five devices on the go" and I can vouch for that.

You can keep track of what the Franklin mobile hotspot is doing by observing the four LED status lights that indicate power, the Wi-Fi signal, an Ethernet cable connection and a CDMA network.

Another unique feature about the device is the removable 1350 mAh battery, which is about the size of some mobile phone batteries and is rated at three hours of use with only one device connected to the Wi-Fi. Charging is handled via a mini-USB port.

If the device needs a reboot, a handy reset button is underneath the battery cover, but you don't have to remove the battery. That's a good thing.

During an "on-the-road" test at the International CTIA Wireless show in New Orleans, I was hoping the Franklin mobile hotspot would enhance my W-Fi problems. But there was just something about all the brick and concrete in the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center that was wrecking havoc on Wi-Fi signals. Even the Wi-Fi signals provided by the convention facility was spotty. So I can't ding the Franklin device alone on this, as it was tough environment for wireless connections.

My only complaint about the mobile hotspot is that the RJ45 Ethernet port cover is not hinged to the device. It's a small plastic cover that you're sure to lose.

If you're thinking this device might fit your needs, you would normally need around $130, but keep it in your pocket and pick up the Franklin Wireless mobile hotspot at cspire.com for free with a two-year contract for a data plan.

​It's small, reliable and a good source of Wi-Fi for multiple devices. I enjoyed having it around.

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CTIA Wireless show technology a glimpse into the future

As the International CTIA Wireless show was winding down, I left New Orleans with a feeling that I experienced the future of technology. It was happening all over the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and let me tell you, that is one big place.

I didn't take long to run into bumper-to-bumper traffic as I tried to make my way home and I had plenty of time to think about all the cool gadgets and software applications as I snaked along the interstate past the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

This was an international show and the guys from Japan, China, Germany, South America and other locations certainly had good technology to show off. I think their 20-hour-plus flights were worth the time and effort to share their innovative ideas with us.

I didn't know much about them before, but I am now a fan of international tech companies like NTT Docomo and Huawei.

I have an avatar coming via email, which was created by a couple of sharp guys with Docomo, whose 3D modeling application took a photo of my face and added the ability to make my image smile or wink. It was awesome and a glimpse of what's to come in the 3D modeling space.

The representatives from China also caught my attention with a built-in retractable headset for smartphones. The headset is incorporated into a phone case that also has a 1500 mAh battery. This technology is their solution to limit radiation from mobile phones when talking with the device held up to your ear. You also can't loose it or leave it at home or in the car. If you have your phone, you'll have your headset. I need one of these.

Several CEOs from Visa Inc., Mozilla Corporation, Electronic Arts and Spotify left the audience pumped with their visions for the future of their industries. Their keynotes certainly had the "wow factor" and I now want to play more games, after listening to Electronic Arts' John Riccitiello and watching his demonstration video.

A few other things stood out from their presentations to a quiet and attentive audience of tech gurus and buffs from all over the world.

HTML 5 is the future of the mobile web, so embrace it.

In the "you probably didn't know this" department, people spend more time playing games on their mobile devices than talking and this industry will grow even larger in the years ahead.

Mobile payments are going strong in developing countries as a money transfer solution, such as in Uganda and Nigeria and it's just around corner for us in the states. Visa and Mastercard, along with partnering banks, have big plans for our smartphones to be used as wallets.

I learned that Spotify, a mobile music technology with European roots, is gaining traction in the U.S. after being on the scene for about a year. CEO Daniel Ek says they are here to stay and offer a vast library of songs and playlists.

The Sony engineers have been hard at work developing their contactless IC cards technology, which can be used for e-tickets, mobile wallet transactions and tracking your healthcare through an online healthcare management system. By using NFC technology, devices such as Pedometers, blood glucose monitors and thermometers can transfer information to your NFC enabled mobile phone or a PC with just a tap.

But my favorite at the Sony booth was the One2Touch wireless keyboard that works with your smartphone. During a demonstration, a Sony representative just simply placed the phone on​ the slim keyboard and started typing, with no charging or pairing. Sony says the keyboard can be folded to pocket size. This technology falls in the "I've got to have that" category.

There will no shortage of smartphone choices, as more handset manufacturers enter the market. Two heavyweights that you'll hear more about are Unnecto and Plum, who both have offices in the U.S. They offer low-cost dual SIM devices in variety of styles, including touchscreens and QWERTY keypads, that'll work on GSM networks.

At the LG booth, I was attracted to the LG Optimus Vu smartphone, which is only available in Korea at the moment. It'll have a 5-inch display, a unique 4:3 ratio and note-taking features with a stylus. This device will attempt to combine tablet and mobile phone features in a size that'll slip into your inside jacket pocket. This one will likely compete with 5.3-inch Samsung Galaxy Note and will be worth checking out when it hits these shores.

The automobile industry was in the house with a slick, black Porsche, sporting the QNX Software Systems integration, which is a subsidiary of Research In Motion, or RIM. We'll also find QNX technology and features in the upcoming release of BlackBerry 10 devices this fall. Around the corner, Ford Motor Company showed off an electric Ford Focus with their Sync technology.

There was much more technology and almost too much to see throughout the gigantic convention center that made your feet hurt after all the walking back and forth.

I think that Gary Kovacs, the CEO of Mozilla Corp. and the maker of the popular Firefox browser summed it all up by saying "the future is always sooner."

That was certainly the case at the International CTIA Wireless 2012 show in New Orleans.

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Pass server side javascript code to custom control

Some time back I was trying to pass server side javascript to a custom control and then get the code executed from click of a button inside the custom control. With help from Sven Hasselbach I was able to do it. But the problem in that approach was that your entire code has to written in a string literal which denies you the flexibility of the javascript editor. Experimenting a bit more I stumbled on another solution which I think is better.

For custom control property select Type as "Simple Actions > Execute Script".

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Samsung Galaxy S III takes the stage

The long-awaited Galaxy S III smartphone arrived on stage in London on Thursday.

Samsung Electronics Co. is calling their newest device "a new concept" for smartphones that'll recognize your voice and understand your intentions to make everyday life easier.

The Galaxy S III is running Android 4.0, also known as Ice Cream Sandwich, and sports a 8-megapixel rear camera, along with a 1.9 megapixel front-facing camera.

The iPhone, which has a 3.5-inch display, will have to take a back seat to the 4.8-inch display on the Galaxy S III. The earlier Galaxy S II only had a 4.3-inch display.

It also has some other features that are aimed at the iPhone, such as "S Voice" voice commands, which appears similar to Siri on iPhone, but goes a step further by detecting the user's motions to make phone calls. According to Samsung, just lift the Galaxy S III to your face if you decide to call instead of messaging them.

The Galaxy S III will be on the market in Europe for a while, before coming to the United States. At this point, there is no word on cost or carrier support, but I imagine AT&T, Verizon and Sprint will be waiting for the latest potential iPhone killer.

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Showing additional controls in your Domino Designer

By default the Domino Designer only shows limited controls in Controls view. Some controls have to be accessed from "Other..." like the Hidden input and Output script.

To show this controls in the Controls view go to "File > Preferences" in your Domino Designer.

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Lumia 900 could bring more attention to Windows Phone 7

The Nokia Lumia 900 has been available from AT&T since April 8 for around $100 under contract. ​

It joins the Lumia 710 from T-Mobile, which arrived in early January, as the first crop of smartphones in the Unites States running Windows Phone 7, which is a partnership between Microsoft and Nokia. The Finland-based Nokia , who in 1987 introduced its first handheld mobile phone, used to be the darling of the mobile phone market. But it has been challenged in recent years by Apple's iPhones and Google's Android devices. Nokia is now moving away from its Symbian operating system in favor of the Windows Phone OS.

It's too early to tell whether Nokia will be successful with the new smartphones, but quarterly results that were released on April 19 indicate a challenging road ahead.

They reported quarterly losses in sales of $4 billion and an operating loss of $1.7 billion. The handset sales were down 29 percent.

The Lumia 900 has only been in the market for a couple of weeks and time will tell if the Windows Phone platform, which uses live tiles instead of application icons, will gain traction with consumers.

During a recent review of the Lumia 710, I found the unique Windows Phone OS to be easy to use, with good synergy for managing social networks, email, appointments and contacts.

The Lumia 900, which is a larger device with a 4.3-inch display and twice the memory of the 710's 8 gigabyte, is poised to attract more attention across the summer. The 900 also has a 16 megapixel camera, with might address some of the quality issues I experienced with the 700's 8MP camera.

These Windows Phone devices might help Nokia to remain the world's top handset manufacturer and regain prominence in the smartphone arena.

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Grappling with "Ignoring portion of document that uses a feature from another version of Notes"

In one our databases, whenever we were trying to open a document it used to give us an error of "Ignoring portion of document that uses a feature from another version of Notes". We were able to see all the fields in document properties, even able to extract all the attachments in it using LotusScript code. But document was simply refusing to open in the UI.

A little search and we found this technote which details out the reason and possible solutions to get the document opened. One of them included deleting the problematic rich text field. YIKES!

But what eventually what helped us was this intelligent suggestion by Cathy Fitzherbert. Just open the document in a browser in edit mode and save it. Then you can successfully open it in your Lotus Notes client. On the downside, you lose all the formatting in your rich text field and all the attachments will start to appear at the bottom of the document.

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Use replica ID in @DbLookup with caution

Few days back I was faced with an issue where a user reported the following error message while opening a form in Lotus Notes client:

Field '<FIELD NAME>': Connection denied. The server you connected to has a different name from the one requested.

While this thing was working at almost all other machines (including mine), it was just one user where it was not working. The formula on the field was a single line database lookup as:

@DbLookup("":"Nocache"; <REPLICA ID>; <VIEW NAME>; <KEY>; <FIELD NAME>);

After unsuccessfully going over technotes, forums and blogs I went back to help documentation for @DbLookup and something caught my attention.

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Installing and running XPages Extension Library in your local machine

I had been hearing a lot about XPages Extension Library and finally got to try it out in XPages code-a-thon held at Mumbai. So I decided to try it on my local machine along with little help from experts on StackOverflow. Its a simple two-step procedure - install extension library and run extension library.

Install XPages Extension Library

First of all get the latest release of extension library from OpenNTF. Unzip the file and find "updateSiteOpenNTF-designer.zip". Unzip it and you will get two folders of "features" & "plugins" and a file "site.xml". In Lotus Notes sidebar, go to My Widgets and select "Options > Configure a Widget from... > Features and Plugin on an Update Site". If you are unable to see My Widgets in your sidebar then click here.

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Enable "File > Application > Install..." in Lotus Notes

Mary Beth Raven in her blog here shows how to enable "File > Application > Install..." in Lotus Notes. Just you go to "<Lotus Notes folder>\framework\rcp", find a file "plugin_customization.ini" and add a line com.ibm.notes.branding/enable.update.ui=true in the file.

But based the screenshot provided on her blog I guess she didn't ran into a specific problem, which I did, because she was using Windows XP. Basically if you edit the file plugin_customization.ini and try to save it you will get an error saying "Cannot create the C:\Program Files\IBM\Lotus\Notes\framework\rcp\plugin_customization.ini. Make sure that the path name are correct."

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Displaying My Widgets in your sidebar in Lotus Notes

To display My Widgets in your sidebar panel, go to "File > Preferences...". In the Widgets tab enable the option of "Show Widget Toolbar and the My Widget panel".

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Export Lotus Notes documents to Microsoft Word

For a requirement I was looking for exporting Lotus Notes documents to Microsoft Word. I found some help here and here. The former one uses Word.Application while the latter does something with user32.dll. But I was looking for something which was not dependent on external software. Then I came across @Command([FileExport]). A little help from the discussion here, I was able to devise a simple solution to it.

Lets say, you have a form fUserProfile that you want to export to a Word file. First create a copy of that form and name it, say, fUserProfile_Export. In PostOpen event of the fUserProfile_Export form enter the following formula.

@Command([FileExport]; "Microsoft RTF"; @GetProfileField("fProfileExportPath"; "FilePath"; @Name([Canonicalize]; @UserName)))

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Get the text back on Gmail buttons

Ever since Gmail launched its new look there have been some positive, some negative and some extremely negative reactions. But what I really hated was the fact that now there were only icons present instead of labels on the buttons. Worse, there was no way to get it back!

But now Google has finally added a setting so that you can get the text back on buttons. On the top-right you will find gear icon (Settings), click on it and from the popup menu click on Settings.

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Samsung Galaxy Note sets new milestone in display size

The Samsung Galaxy Note from AT&T, which is being called the world's first smartphone with a 5.3-inch display.

It sets a new milestone as it leaves behind other smartphone with screen sizes of around 4-inches to 4.3 inches.

After you come to terms with the size, you can start to enjoy some of the device's cool features, such as the S Pen, the slimness, light weight, five columns of application icons and six rows of apps instead of five.

The Galaxy Note has a gorgeous display with a 1.5 gigahertz dual-core processor inside running an Android 2.3.5 operating system, also known as Gingerbread.

The next version of the Android OS 4.0, also known as Ice Cream Sandwich, will likely be out soon as an upgrade for the Galaxy Note.

Because of the size and the innovative features, the Galaxy Note will cost around $300 under contract.

If you're looking for an e-reader or small tablet, as well as a phone, the Galaxy is worth a closer look.

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24Online client crashes with Avast antivirus

Recently when I moved from AVG antivirus to Avast antivirus, I couldn't use my 24Online Client as it used to crash every time I started it. The only way to start it was to disable Avast, start the 24Online Client and then enable Avast again. A real pain! After a bit of trial-and-error I found the solution.

Go to the main screen of Avast. From there go to "REAL-TIME SHIELDS > Web Shield". Click on the "Expert Settings button".

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If Rajinikanth was a software engineer... :)

I know that there is no shortage of Rajinikanth jokes, but I couldn't stop myself after reading this post. So here it goes.

If Rajinikanth was a software engineer...

1. Compilers don’t warn Rajinikanth. Rajinikanth warns compilers.
2. Rajinikanth writes directly in binary. He then writes the source code as a documentation for other developers.
3. Rajinikanth can derive private key by just looking at the public key.
4. All pointers point to Rajinikanth.

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Image URL in XPages using Notes client and browser

In Java Charts, one of the users reported that charts were not visible in Notes client. The charts (images) are basically being generated using the XAgent technique, and you will face the same problem if your image is being generated using XPage.

To understand what exactly is happening lets take help of an example. Say you have XPage with following code snippet which displays an image using javascript formula. (actn005.gif is present in the current database as image resource.)

<xp:image id="image1"><xp:this.url><![CDATA[#{javascript:"actn005.gif"}]]></xp:this.url></xp:image>

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