Roxxxy can carry on simple conversations and is sensitive to touch. It can even show some appreciation when you hold its hand. Reports say that the sex robot doll demonstrates more sophistication than a typical talking toy. And the doll won’t leave you bored as it’s pre-programmed with different personalities that’ll get you in the mood: Wild Wendy, Frigid Farrah, Mature Martha, adventurous S&M Susan, and naive Young. The doll may be generally for sex but it’s got more “brains” than you think as there is a laptop connected to the cables coming out of it’s back, thus, the touch sensors and ability to talk. The robot can even synthesize phrases out of recorded sounds and words.

True Companion founder Douglas Hines says the aim of producing such a doll is to give the owner someone he can talk or relate to. I guess that would be before, during, and especially after sex. The doll has realistic body parts. And after its first public demonstration at the Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas, many are confident that Roxxxy will be able to fulfil some needs that others cannot or aren’t willing to satisfy.

The robot is still not available in the market but you can pre-order it straight from the manufacturer (True Companion).  It will likely cost from $7,000-$9,000, laptop included. Roxxxy is made of flesh-like synthetic skin. She moves like a human, but she can’t walk. Nevertheless, the founder said, “she has a full C cup and is ready for action.”

WATCH ROXXXY

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The Blackberry Curve 3G is perfect for workaholics who stick to their phones every damn second of the day, and thankfully it’s got 19 days battery standby, 5.5 talk hours, and 29 hours of music playback. Talk about not getting caught without juice. Other than that, the Blackberry Curve 3G allows workaholics to delegate tasks with its task-mastering apps and thousands of games, eBooks, travel and entertainment apps to keep them even more busy yet amused.

But if there’s one mobile phone that’s out to get this minor bump in mobile technology, it’s the Nokia E5. It crams in HSDPA, a 5 megapixel camera, (beats the 2 megapixel cam of Blackberry Curve 3G) and Wi-Fi. Though the Blackberry Curve 3G allows better browsing, e-mailing, and text messaging, the Nokia E5′s e-mails and text skills scream with ease and class. It’s got customizable home screen, full QWERTY keyboard, and IM apps. It’s also got long battery life and like the Blackberry Curve 3G, full easy access to what people can’t seem to live without: social networking.

So who beats what? Judging from screen resolution and network connections, seems like the Nokia E5 wins the bet. But both mobile phones display of great sophistication and functionality. Are you for the SmartPhone, or the most user friendly mobile unit on earth?

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The Ipad is like everything anyone could wish for. For at least $500 dollars you have the whole world on a light, sleek tablet that’s even more powerful and highly technological that whatever was released for the past decade. How about that; a combination of your lap top and your ipod, thus something that beats even MacBook Air. So be it, until the Ipad has met its competitor: The Toshiba Folio 100 Tablet, launched during the 2010 IFA conference in Berlin. It’s got measures in 10.1-inches and will sport a USB 2.0 port, integrated Wi-Fi, SD card slot, HDMI port and multitouch capacitive touch screen. Although it weighs 1.7 pounds (.2 lbs. heavier than the ipad),
it’s got a bigger screen display perfect for viewing videos.

The Android Tablet runs on version 2.2 of Google’s Android operating system and has an edge over the Ipad because it will be able to run Adobe Flash. A Nvidia Tegra 2 processor powers the graphics and the Folio has 16 GB of on-board storage. What about all the apps that the Ipad spoils us with, what has the Toshiba Folio 100 Tablet got to offer? It’s got pretty much all the pre-loaded applications that everyone needs and expects including PDF and e-book reader, and an app called Fring which works with Folio’s built-in webcam to provide video calling.

And what a great time to launch such has gadget as Toshiba has also launched during the IFA a new music and download service known as Toshiba Places. Does that sound like an I-tunes store to you? With a resolution of 1,024 x 600 pixels and multitouch support, plus a fancy optional docking station for viewing videos and reading the latest e-books, it’s no surprise why this baby is referred to as the SmartPad. The Toshiba Folio 100 Tablet will debut in stores in October with the introductory price of 329 sterling pounds; not bad for a competition huh? But the only way to find out how better or worse it is than its competition is to try it out.

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Computers are used to store almost all our information, and we use the internet everyday to collect and receive information. Computers and electronic data has become a part of our everyday lives, and we even trust our most valuable information and our safety in the hands of technology.

Understanding the risks involved…

A computer security risk is any action that could cause lost of information, software, data, processing incompatibilities, or cause damage to computer’s hardware; a lot of these are planned actions to do the most damage.

What are hackers and crackers?

The term hacker was actually known as a good word but now it has a very negative view.

A hacker is defined as someone who accesses a computer or computer network unlawfully. They often claim that they do this to find leaks in the security of a network.

The term cracker has never been associated with something positive this refers to someone how intentionally access a computer or computer network for evil reasons. It’s basically an evil hacker.

Securing your PC and you data

There is no known method for completely protecting a computer or computer network from computer viruses or cyber attacks, but a few simple steps could lower the risk and improve your computers overall security.

You don’t have to be an expert to keep your computer protected, all you need is a few basic applications that will protect your computer automatically, below is a small list of tools with specific features to help protect your computer and information.

• Firewalls

A firewall is basically a part of a computer system that is designed to stop and block unauthorized access to a computer or network. A good firewall can help to block viruses or any harmful or unauthorized programs to run.

Recommended Firewall Application

http://personalfirewall.comodo.com/free-download.html

• Anti-Virus

Also forms part of your computer system, a good anti-virus will protect your PC from viruses like, worms, Trojan horses and other common viruses. The anti-virus application has to be updated frequently to be able to identify and new viruses, so a quality registered anti-virus with an auto update feature would be best.

Recommended Anti-Virus Applications

http://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download

• Anti-Spyware

Similar to an anti-virus application, it helps to eliminate and block spyware usually found on the internet. Spyware is a program that secretly detects data transfers between your PC and the internet, or capturing you information while browsing. Spyware can be a huge risk when valuable information gets leaked or stolen, like your credit card details.

Recommended Free Spyware and Registry Cleaners

http://www.iobit.com/download.html#freesoftware

• Passwords

Using secure and strong passwords is a must for everyone uses computers and password protected content. Using capital letters along with numbers and special characters will ensure a stronger password that’s not easily hacked by humans or programs. Never save your passwords on your computer unless you are using a secure password saver or application.

The number of internet users has greatly increased over the past few years and so have the number viruses, spyware and online fraud cases. For your own security and peace of mind, make yourself aware of the risks and take the steps to secure your information and computer from harm.

Recommended Password Keeper

http://keepass.info/download.html

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Apple’s new MacBook Pro range is here with faster processors and a massive boost in graphic performance and visuals. With exterior similar to the previous MacBook editions except for the backlit 13 inch glossy monitor, makes the new MacBook Pro a sturdy and attractive MacBook packed with high performance.

A bit on the pricey side but thanks to the durable aluminum frame, huge multi touch-pad and weighing just over 4 pounds- the new MacBook proves worthy of the title “Pro” and perhaps makes up for the costly price.

With raving reviews and a bunch of excited Apple fanatics, there is no doubt that the new powerful MacBook is jam-packed with performance without compensating the style and the quality of its predecessors. Hitting the shelves the about the same time as Apples new over sized I-phone look-a-like, the I-pad- Apple continues to live up to its standards and still manufactures the cute and now more powerful MacBooks that we learned to love.

This is mainly a review for the 13inch MacBook Pro, but you should definitely have a look at the 15inch and 17inch since they come standard with the new Core i5 processors where the 13inch only with an Intel Core 2 Duo.

Depending on your needs or intentions the 13inch with the Intel Core 2 Duo might be more than enough for you, if you are a gamer or you use applications that require a bit more power than the average Mac go for the 15” or 17”, see below for the 13’ specs.

The Pro’s

• Still the classy Mac Style

• 8 hour battery life

• Sturdy and Strong Aluminum Frame

• Major graphics improvement

• Software suite included

• Large and easy to use multi touch-pad

• Better than your friends Mac

The Con’s

• The price is slightly high

• Lacks the Power of the Core I5 processor featured in the 15-17 inch

• Only 2 USB ports

If you are looking for a classy, trustworthy laptop with high performance then the MacBook Pro is definitely worth a look.

My only concern as mentioned before; is that the 13inch only comes with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor and not a Core i5 like the 15” and 17” MacBook Pro has, and with the 13” still over the $1000 mark, you better of getting the 15” that includes the Core i5 if you prepared to pay $600 more.

13inch MacBook Pro (2010) Specs

CPU: 2.4-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8600

Operating System: Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard)

RAM/Upgradable to: 4GB/8GB

Hard Drive Size/Speed: 250GB/5,400 rpm

Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 320M- 256MB DDR3 SDRAM

Display Size/Resolution: 13.3 inches/1280 x 800

Optical Drive: 8X DVD-RW

Price when Reviewed:

13 inch Price: $1199

15inch Price: $1799

17inch Price: $2299

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(CNN) — Three-dimensional images are expected jump out of movie theaters and into living rooms by next year. Sony and Panasonic say they will release home 3-D television systems in 2010; Mitsubishi and JVC are reported to be working on similar products.

“TV finally becomes real” in three dimensions, said Robert Perry, an executive vice president at Panasonic. “You’re in it. It’s the next frontier.”

Perry compared the 3-D transition to the switch from black-and-white to color television and the shift from standard- to high-definition images.

ESPN is test-recording some sporting events in 3-D, using cameras with two sets of lenses, which would make football players appear to jump out of home television screens during live 3-D broadcasts.

And, although television makers haven’t released specifics, the price of 3-D TV — which requires a new television, broadcasting content and 3-D glasses — is not expected to be substantially higher than some high-definition televisions on the market now.

Still, there are skeptics who say that 3-D is not ready for prime-time home viewing.

There are concerns that 3-D broadcasts, which require twice the data, will gobble up an unworkable amount of television bandwidth. And some worry that 3-D glasses and graphics won’t make a smooth transition to American living rooms.

Shane Sturgeon, publisher of HDTV Magazine, said some of the glasses give him a headache and will block some people from buying the new technology.

“From what I’ve seen from most of the manufacturers, it’s just not there yet,” he said of 3-D TV technology. “I think right now, the technology — whether you’re talking about the refresh rate or the strobing or the glasses — there are too many things right now that get in the way of enjoyment of the film for it to kick off.”

All 3-D technology relies on the idea that if separate images are presented to the left and right eyes, the human brain will combine them and create the illusion of a third dimension.

TV makers go about this in different ways, though.

Panasonic and Sony, which demonstrated their products for CNN at a recent tech expo in Atlanta, Georgia, use “active glasses” and TVs with high refresh rates to achieve the effect.

Two images, one for the right eye and one for the left eye, alternate quickly on the TV. Shutters on the 3-D glasses swap the viewer’s vision from right eye to left eye at the same rate: 120 hertz, or 240 hertz for the images together. The TV connects with the glasses through a sensor that’s placed between the lenses on the glasses.

“It’s like a little Venetian blind: open, close, open, close, open, close,” John Wyckoff, a Sony content manager, said of the glasses.

The effect moves so quickly that it tricks the brain into merging the images and creates the perspective needed to see images in 3-D, he said.

Glance away from the TV, though, and you can see the lenses opening and closing, which irritates some people.

Those who saw the technology at the recent Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association Expo seemed wowed by Panasonic’s 3-D footage of Olympic events and skiers who appeared to send snow flying into the laps of the audience.

David Lesch fidgeted with his 3-D glasses during Panasonic’s demo but said the 3-D picture on the company’s 103-inch plasma screen was excellent.

However, it may not be effective for all TV programming, he said.

“I cannot imagine that I will watch CNN in 3-D,” said Lesch, sales director at AV Media, which sells electronics. “But for sports, yes. To watch soccer and ice hockey — anything — that would be great.”

These next-generation televisions would be able to play shows in 2-D or 3-D. They also would be able to show video games in 3-D, which Sony demonstrated at the expo in Atlanta.

Sturgeon, of HDTV Magazine, said JVC is working on a type of 3-D technology that’s different form the strobing glasses used by Panasonic and Sony.

JVC’s version uses polarized glasses to separate the right-eye image from the left-eye image and is more pleasing to the eye, he said.

Aside from the kooky glasses, people who want to watch television that jumps off the screen will need something to watch. The process of making live television work in 3-D probably would involve a major conversion of broadcast equipment.

Also, Blu-ray is said to be working on a product that would play three-dimensional movies at home.

Panasonic and Sony said they’re still working out some kinks in their 3-D entertainment systems. The TV makers hope to ride the wave of popularity of improved stereoscopic 3-D movies, such as recent hit “Up,” that are being shown in theaters.

Perry, of Panasonic, said he expects 3-D TV to be common in homes within five to 10 years. Technology that will make 3-D TV possible without glasses should be ready in 10 to 15 years, he said.

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In the world of energy, the Holy Grail is a power source that’s inexpensive and clean, with no emissions. Well over 100 start-ups in Silicon Valley are working on it, and one of them, Bloom Energy, is about to make public its invention: a little power plant-in-a-box they want to put literally in your backyard.

You’ll generate your own electricity with the box and it’ll be wireless. The idea is to one day replace the big power plants and transmission line grid, the way the laptop moved in on the desktop and cell phones supplanted landlines.

Two boxes can power the average high-consumption home and one box can power the average low-consumption home, at least that’s the claim being made by K.R. Sridhar, founder of Bloom Energy, on the 60 Minutes show on CBS. The original technology comes from an oxygen generator meant for a scrapped NASA Mars program that has been converted, with the help of an estimated $400 million in private funding, into a fuel cell.

Bloom’s design feeds oxygen into one side of a cell while fuel (natural gas, bio gas from landfill waste, solar, etc) is supplied to the other side to provide the chemical reaction required for power. The cells themselves are inexpensive ceramic disks painted with a secret green “ink” on one side and a black “ink” on the other. The disks are separated by a cheap metal alloy, instead of more precious metals like platinum, and stacked into a cube of varying capabilities – a stack of 64 can power a small business like Starbucks.

Now get this, skeptics: there are already several corporate customers using refrigerator-sized Bloom Boxes. The corporate-sized cells cost $700,000 to $800,000 and are installed at 20 customers you’ve already heard of including FedEx and Wal-mart – Google was first to join this green energy party, using its Bloom Boxes to power a data center for the last 18 months. Ebay has installed its boxes on the front lawn of its San Jose location. It estimates to receive almost 15% of its energy needs from Bloom, saving about $100,000 since installing its five boxes 9 months ago – an estimate we assume doesn’t factor in the millions Ebay paid for the boxes themselves. Bloom makes about one box a day at the moment and believes that within 5 to 10 years it can drive down the cost to about $3,000 to make it suitable for home use, which sounds awfully expensive. Nevertheless, Bloom Energy will go public with details on the 24th of February.

Via: Engadget

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Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs didn’t ascend the stage sporting a robe and full beard to announce the most anticipated tablet since Moses’. But the crowd at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco received the introduction of the iPad with a roar of thunderous applause.

Perhaps the worst-kept secret since, well, the iPhone, the iPad is a 9.7-inch touch-screen computer, starting at $499 and available in March. It resembles an oversize iPod Touch.

“We want to kick off 2010 by introducing a truly magical and revolutionary new product,” Jobs said early on to ease the throngs of technology journalists and analysts who knew what was coming.

After a brief onstage run-through of the features, Jobs plopped down on a black leather couch to demonstrate how you might use the device at home. Grab the iPad off the kitchen table and browse the Web or buy movie tickets.

The iPad stands as the middle ground between a full-blown laptop computer and an iPhone.

“It’s so much more intimate than a laptop and so much more capable than a smart phone,” Jobs said.

The iPad contains Apple’s App Store, so the 140,000 or so applications already available for the iPhone and iPod Touch will run on the tablet — scaled up to fit the bigger screen.

The iPad has a 10-hour battery life, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and comes in versions that hold 16 gigabytes, 32 gigabytes and 64 gigabytes. They cost $499, $599 and $699, respectively.

“We want to put this in the hands of lots of people,” Jobs said. “We have met our cost goals.”

Separate versions that support AT&T 3G wireless Internet cost $629, $729 and $829 for 16 gigabytes, 32 gigabytes and 64 gigabytes, respectively. Customers can sign up for AT&T’s 3G without a contract. A 250-megabyte-per-month plan (that’s not very much data) costs $14.99, and unlimited Internet access costs $29.99. Subscribers also get access to AT&T’s Wi-Fi hot spots, including Starbucks.

A software development kit will be available to software makers today to design apps specifically for the iPad. Some developers have already begun revising their software for the larger screen and more powerful processor.

Apple has revised its own software that ships with the device. The iPad version of iTunes resembles a hybrid between the desktop version and the one on the iPhone. The calendar has big text and buttons. YouTube supports high-definition video.

Apple also showed off a version of its iWork software — a competitor to Microsoft Office — built for a touch screen. It includes Keynote, Pages and Numbers — the Apple equivalents of PowerPoint, Word and Excel, respectively. Each costs $9.99 and can be downloaded from the App Store.

“Watching one is nothing like getting one in your hands,” Jobs said after a demo.

The device is half an inch deep and 1.5 pounds — “that’s thinner and lighter than any netbook.” Earlier, Jobs lambasted netbooks, those tiny, inexpensive laptops that have become so popular recently.

“Is there room for a third device?” Jobs said before introducing the gadget. “Now, some people have thought, that’s a netbook. The problem is, netbooks aren’t better at anything. … They’re slow. They have low-quality displays.”

Like an iPhone, users input data by touching an on-screen keyboard. A keyboard accessory with a dock turns the iPad into a sort of laptop. And a case that acts as a stand — to watch video without holding the device — will also be available.

Jobs says the iPad is better than laptops and phones (and yeah, netbooks) for consuming video, music, Web browsing and reading e-books (no e-paper, though, so it’s not as easy on the eyes as a Kindle).

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World of Warcraft, also known as WoW, has become the most popular MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) ever created. The game was originally launched in North America on November, 23, 2004. Since then, WoW took home the title for bestselling PC game of 2005 and 2006. Which game managed to de-crown WoW in 2007? None other than The Burning Crusade, the first expansion pack to World of Warcraft. The Burning Crusade also holds the record for fastest-selling PC game of all time, with 2.4 million copies sold in the first 24 hours after being released. Expect that record to be broken this year, when the second expansion pack, Wrath of the Lich is released. Hell, South Park even dedicated a whole episode to the World.

(wait for it)

of Warcraft.

So what do 10 million players addicts do in WoW? You start off by creating a character; choose your look, race, and class. Become a troll shaman and frost shock yourself to victory, roll a human mage and blast wave entire armies, or level up a dwarf warrior, and impress the ladies, when they find out you’re the main tank in a guild named the Sparkle Bunnies of Doom *Sarcasm off*. Leave WoW out of your sex life. K? Thnx.

While exploring the virtual world, your main focus will probably be to find l33t gear, and level up your character. With a total of 70 levels (so far), that may take you awhile. It may take you months if you’re playing at a healthy rate. Good luck restricting yourself to playing only an hour or two every day. Many WoW players brag about leveling from 1-70 in a matter of days. Somewhere along the line, you’ll meet people. You begin to build friendships in the video game. Many people enjoy spending time with their real life friends, inside the virtual world. To many, this is where fun becomes addicting. A virtual world filled with real people, where you can interact, compete, and advance. Far different from playing the original Nintendo and hitting boxes with Mario’s head, so you can chase a runaway mushroom and watch him grow like a Chia Pet.

At level 70, you might assume that the game is over and you won. Most WoW fans would agree, level 70 is where the game begins….or to some, where one grind ends, and another one begins. It’s all part of Blizzard’s plan to keep you coming back for more…and why not? 10 million gamers paying $15 a month is a pretty good reason to keep players addicted. Wouldn’t you agree? At the maximum level, your main goal is to gear up your character, buy your flying mount, increase your level of expertise in your professions, and complete raid/dungeon content. Not interested in killing dragons in 25 or even 40 man raids? Try your hand at PvP (player vs player) and see if you’ve got what it takes to earn some of the best gear in the game.

Have you tried World of Warcraft yet? Are you, or someone you know addicted? I have to admit, I played for a year and then forced myself to quit.

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I’m a huge music fan, but who isn’t? With so many different artists and genres to choose from, there is something out there for everyone. At one time music was only sold on some form of media whether it was a tape, CD, or even a record but times have certainly changed with music being easily available online. Songs and albums can now be downloaded all over the Internet with some being free (illegal) and others costing a few dollars (legal).

Like many of you, I have ripped all of my CD’s onto my computer and added them to the vast collection of music that I downloaded off of the web. This collection now consists of hundreds of albums and thousands of songs. I can stream all of this music through out my house or take it with me on my Ipod or BlackBerry. While the convenience is great the execution is not so good.

All of the songs that were ripped from CD’s are correctly labeled and placed in folders by album, but the folders all look the same with the lack of album cover art. The downloaded songs are all in one folder and are a complete mess with different naming conventions being used and artists and albums all mixed up.  With enough time and patience I could go through and make all of the necessary corrections so that my music collection is the way it should be, but who has the time or patience for that?

Well, now you don’t need to do it manually.  TuneUp is a program from TuneUp Media that works to completely fix all of these issues with your music collection ‘automagically’.  TuneUp has four main features.  First it will add cover art to all of your album folders.  Next it will clean up folders of mixed up music and rename the files and add them to the correct album folder.  It features a concerts section that will go through your music collection to find artists that you enjoy and alert you to concerts in which those artists are playing in your local area.  Finally, TuneUp places YouTube video links, artist news, concert information, and ebay links pertaining to the artist that you are listening to at the time.

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