TechNama

Its the season of new Operating Systems (OS). We all recently saw the release of Windows 7 and Snow Leopard and now we have this latest addition to the list of new OS i.e Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala. The new OS Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala is the 11th build of the popular Linux-based distribution and promises a new stable environment to it’s users. The famous features of Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala are well explained in a blog post by Mashable in the following words:

Named Karmic Koala, the new Ubuntu (Ubuntu) – as always – promises to be faster and easier to use, bringing version 2.6.31 of the Linux (linux) kernel, latest version of GNOME, and Firefox (Firefox) 3.5. The biggest news, however, is Ubuntu One, a web sync service that gives you 2 GB of online disk space and lets you synchronize notes and contacts, as well as share files between several computers.

Boot time has been significantly reduced, claims Canonical (the company behind Ubuntu); accessibility has been improved (Ubuntu is now translated into 23 languages), and the OS comes packed with open source software, with more available through Software Center. Finally, netbook owners can download and install a version specifically created for them, called the Ubuntu Netbook Remix.

Another famous Pakistani tech blog site has also very well described the Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala. According to Saad:

The most noticeable two new additions to the Ubuntu platform have been the Ubuntu One and the Ubuntu Software Center. The former is an umbrella name for an exciting suite of online services which provides an enhanced desktop experience, simplifies backup, synchronisation while the later is a repo that provides better information to users about all the software.

For developers, Ubuntu now have a simplified toolset called ‘Quickly’ which makes it fun and easy by automating many of the mundane tasks involved in programming. Pidgin has been replaced by Empathy as the default IM client on all flavors of Ubuntu Karmic Koala.

To find more details about the features of Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala, click here for the official site of Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala

Download Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala

Barnes & Noble, the global giant bookseller is planning to expand its business outside United States.  Although B&N has not said anything about it themselves or in their press releases, the author and founder of TechCrunch has guessed it after getting to know about their plans to hire Head of B&N International Business. Michael Arrington has revealed the details in his blog post in the following words:

Recruiting firm Russell Reynolds Associates is representing Barnes & Noble in a search for the “head of their international business,” according to a source who was contacted about the position. The job entails building the international business for BN.com from scratch, hiring the team and “building the infrastructure outside the U.S.” They prefer the executive live in New York, but Europe is ok, too. Global ecommerce experience is preferred.

We have yet to see the Barnes & Noble much hyped e-Book which is expected to give tough time to Amazon Kindle.

I have always wished to own a hovercraft but its so expensive and with its big size, i find it very difficult to operate in the normal situation. However, there are no small size personal hovercrafts available in the market. I recently came across this Rich Mans Hovercraft labeled Air Board. The reason i call it rich man’s hovercraft is because it is priced at $14,000, a whooping amount of money for a start up blogger like me. So i can only wish to get hold of one when am competing with LifeHacker or TechCrunch. Till then, i will prefer to blog about it only.

How AirBoard Works:

To manoeuvre it, all you need to do is stand on the flying saucer, put the circuit breaker strap on your wrist (like on a jetski), turn the wind turbine on, and in a blink of an eye, you will find yourself lifted a few centimetres above ground, floating on air, moving purely by the propulsion of the turbine. To control the Airboard, lean to the right to go right, lean to the left to go left, etc…

Then, push the hand accelerator to pick up speed and you will be surfing on air and able to make nifty moves: you can use the breaks now and then to take a turn, accelerate to pick up speed before letting yourself glide on air again… and so on until you discover all the possibilities associated with the pleasures of surfing, because this Airboard is a secure and fun way to surf and it is accessible to everyone.
So, ready to “Go to the Future”?

With a little bit of practice you will discover the whole range of manoeuvres available.
This new leisure will soon come with fun activities such as laser games on flying saucers, ball games and other activities for the joy of all!

What surface to ride it on?
The Airboard can be ridden on all hard grounds: concrete, ice, compact snow, mown grass, each surface giving different sensations!
You need to be 13 or 14 (according to your size and weight) to ride the Airboard. Soon, there will be an Airboard adapted to younger children.

Where to ride it?
In all leisure centres, some ice skating rings, with seasonal workers on the French and European coasts or at the foot of the skiing slopes.

Pictures of AirBoard

Video of AirBoard

[via Airboard]

Mobile Phone backups created with Nokia PC Suite is not in a plain format and hence you cannot read it. Now if you have created a mobile phone backup with Nokia PC Suite and one reason or another, you want to extract data from the mobile phone backup file created by Nokia PC Suite on your hard disk or computer, you can not do it unless you have NokNokWhosThere utility application, which comes handy in such situations. You can use it to extract contacts and messages from the backup file created by Nokia PC Suite. You can keep that file on your hard disk or add to your outlook contacts or even to another phone in case of loss or theft of your phone.

The NokNokWhosThere makes the life of Nokia PC Suite users much easy with ready access to backup file on the harddisk.

Click here to Download NokNokWhosThere

We often face the problems of loads of empty folders and sub folders in our hard drives or on our web servers. Now if you try to find it manually, it will become a hectic job when you have thousands of folders and subfolders and so on. However, there is one easy way to solve this problem of deleting all such unnecessary and empty folders. The solution is brought to us by Folder Vanity Remover. With just few clicks, it will identify the empty folders and sub folders and delete them from the system or the server to make life look simple.

Click here to Download Folder Vanity Remover

I  never thought that Fashion can sometime takes its toll on the person thinking as well. However, i have been proved wrong when i saw the post by site Soomipark on LED Eyelashes and instantly decided to add it to our gadgets section. Since Asian girls are obsessed with big eyes and they adopt a lot of methods to get the job done, i think these LED lights will save them from the expensive Plastic surgery at least.  These insane looking LED Lashes by Soomipark features an inclination sensor with mercury to turn on and/or off. The sensor can perceive the movements of the pupil in the eyes and eyelids. If someone wears it and moves her head, LED Eyelash will flicker following the movement.

[via SoomiPark]

We have rated AVG as one of the best free anti virus software in our last review here. Now after the big success of AVG 8.5 version and its extensions, AVG has finally released its latest Free Antivirus system labelled AVG 9 Free Anti Virus Edition.  It has always been the philosophy of AVG to provide the basic security to the users free of cost  (80 million customers) and therefore, they actively maintain a free product line beside their premium versions of Anti virus software’s.

The AVG 9 provides all the basic features like protection while surfing the internet and browsing different websites, e mail scanner, protection from phishing attacks, protections against viruses, trojans and spy wares and basic rootkit protection beside the update manager.  Not only this, they also have an active forum to provide online support to their free version users. Check the AVG Free antivirus support forum here for details. The best thing about the AVG 9 version is that it is compatible with approximately all version of Windows including Windows 7 beside Linux and FreeBSD.  It supports Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer with multilingual support.

Click here to Download AVG 9 Free AntiVirus Software (70 Mb)

Apple has finally done away with their 2005 vintage Mighty Mouse and unveiled their latest Wireless Multi Touch Magic Mouse. The main feature of this new mouse is its multi touch surface on its entire top side replacing the old wheel system.  According to PC Magazine:

The new mouse, which ships standard with the new iMac models announced today, does more than let you right- and left-click. You can use a single finger to scroll around-not just up and down or side to side, either. Within supported apps, such as Preview, you can scroll in any direction.

The Magic Mouse also supports swipe gestures, though not the same ones you’ll find in Apple’s multi-touch trackpads. Swiping left with two fingers in Safari will move you back a page, and in a stack of images in iPhoto, swiping left or right with two fingers will take you to the previous or next photo, respectively.

If you’d prefer to eschew the Bluetooth Magic Mouse, you can still pick up a wired version of the Mighty Mouse-now re branded the Apple Mouse, after the company lost its rights to use the “Mighty Mouse” trademark earlier this month.

The Multi-touch Apple Magic Mouse is powered by two AA batteries, and Apple claims that they’ll power the mouse for approximately four months. The Magic Mouse is available on its own for $69 beside a standard issue with iMac. It requires Mac OS X v10.5.8 or later with Wireless Mouse Software Update 1.0.

Adobe has released the Photoshop.com Mobile for iPhone and it can be downloaded for free by clicking here. The beauty of the product is that it offers almost all the important features for the users while being on the go.  According to PC Mag, “Photoshop.com Mobile does let you edit photos stored on your iPhone, adjusting qualities such as exposure, saturation, and tint as well as cropping, rotating, and flipping. In addition you can apply effects, such as pop art, vignette, sepia, and black & white. There are even multiple levels of undo/redo if you make a mistake. When you’re done tweaking your photo to its desired state, you can upload your new picture to your Photoshop.com account. You can also view other pictures you’ve saved from your iPhone or computer.”

Photoshop.com Mobile for iPhone is a free download and requires iPhone OS 2.0 or later. Photoshop.com offers free accounts with 2GB for free, but an account isn’t required to use the iPhone app.

Download PhotoShop.com Mobile here

Digital Peep Hole viewer is here to replace your traditional and old peep hole viewer. The Brinno Digital PeepHole just cost $138 and can make your home very entrance beautiful. The Peephole viewer has two viewing mode i.e Regular and  Zoomed. There is a push button at the front of the gadget, which should be pushed to switch it on and view the person standing outside and another click on the button will zoom the image on the LCD. The peep hole LCD only display for 10 seconds and will automatically switch off to conserve the power. The device is powered by simple AA batteries and one set of batteries can last upto 1700 peeps.  The gadget functioning is very simple and hence can easily replace your traditional peep hole.

[via Bold Tech]

Electronic Arts has unveiled its Fifa 2010 for its fans that use an iPhone. The game is surely going to give a great joy to all its fans who can not spare a minute to get it finished. Priced at $9.99, it offers a lot of features and game play camera views. According to a blog site:

If Real Soccer 2010 just isn’t cutting the mustard for you, FIFA 10 for iPhone might be your answer. In the latest edition of the soccer game from EA, you can play as one of 570 teams in 30 leagues from around the world. 12,620 players have also been licensed for inclusion in the game, and you can try your best to take down one of 20 tournaments and cup competitions.

Game controls are actually quite easy and intuitive. You can even control the ‘tempo’ of the game with the accelerometer. Game play is viewed from 6 different camera views, each in full 3D.

Of course, there’s a cool WiFi Multiplayer Mode built-in as well that allows for head-to-head matches for you and your friends. There’s also a ‘Be a Pro’ Mode that lets you create your own star, and track play through multiple seasons. Earn skills, score goals, and advance your career!

I wonder if $9.99 is going to stop the fans from buying one for their iPhones? What do you think? Fifa 10 is available in App Store here