Purchase and Rent High Definition Movies From iTunes Store

Movies enthusiasts are given a new channel to watch their favorite movies or series by Apple. Apple users now can purchase and rent box office favorites from the Apple iTunes store after the electronic giant officially announced the availability of this facility today. For $19.99, movie fans can purchase a high-definition box office blockbuster to download from the iTunes Store. Besides, they can also rent a high-definition movie from $3.99 to $4.99 inclusive of newly released movies (available within 30 days after release) from iTunes. Apple users can download these movies to their Mac, iPhone, Ipod, etc for their viewing pleasure.

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Box Office Favorites such as “Quantum of Solace” & “Twilight” are available in iTunes Store

Apple has promised that more and more good movies will be added to the store. For instance, users can start purchasing movies such as “Transporter 3,” “Punisher: War Zone” and other selected titles in HD today while the action/comedy “The Spirit” will be available on April 14. Of course some would say paying $20 for a movie to download can be pricey and it is more practical to get the Blu-ray instead. But with this facility, things are made easy and convenient particularly for Apple users. Users can conveniently find their favorites movies with their tiny device and legally download it to enjoy anywhere anytime.

Read the full release from Apple:

cupertino, California—March 19, 2009—Apple® today announced that iTunes® customers can purchase and rent box office favorites including “Quantum of Solace” and “Twilight” in stunning HD on the iTunes Store (www.itunes.com). Starting today, movie fans can purchase box office blockbusters for download in HD for $19.99 from iTunes, and films will be available as iTunes Movie Rentals in HD for $4.99 within 30 days after release. Customers can enjoy these films in HD on their Mac® or PC and on their widescreen TV with Apple TV®, as well as in standard definition on their iPhone™ or iPod® with video. The iTunes Store is the world’s most popular online TV and movie store, with over 250 million TV episodes purchased and over 33 million movies purchased and rented.

“Movie fans are going to love being able to buy and rent films including ‘Quantum of Solace’ and ‘Twilight’ in stunning HD from the iTunes Store,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of Internet Services. “Customers have made HD content on iTunes a hit, with over 50 percent of TV programming being purchased in HD when available.”

Starting today, iTunes customers can pre-order “Quantum of Solace” which will be downloaded to their कंप्यूटर on March 24, and the smash hit thriller “Twilight” will be available on March 21. iTunes customers can purchase “Transporter 3,” “Punisher: War Zone” and other select titles in HD today, and the action/comedy “The Spirit” will be available on April 14. The iTunes Movie Store will be adding more HD movies soon and customers can view the latest offerings at www.itunes.com/movies/hd.

The iTunes Store is the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store with a catalog of over 10 million songs, over 40,000 TV episodes, and over 5,000 movies including over 1,200 in stunning high definition video for rent. With Apple’s legendary ease of use, pioneering features such as iTunes Movie Rentals, integrated podcasting support, the ability to turn previously purchased tracks into complete albums at a reduced price, and seamless integration with iPod and iPhone, the iTunes Store is the best way for Mac and PC users to legally discover, purchase and download music and video online.

Pricing & Availability

iTunes 8.1 for Mac and Windows includes the iTunes Store and is available as a free download from (www.itunes.com). Purchase and download of songs and videos from the iTunes Store requires a valid credit card from a financial institution in the country of purchase. Video availability varies by country. iTunes Movie Rentals are $2.99 (US) for library titles and $3.99 (US) for new releases, and high definition versions are priced just one dollar more with library titles at $3.99 (US) and new releases at $4.99 (US).

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

Facebook Live Poker Comes To iPhone

“Call” or “fold?” iPhone users can now enjoy the most popular poker game on Facebook and MySpace with their Apple iPhone. The famous social gaming developer on the web, Zynga, brings a new version of “Live Poker” with support for Facebook Connect on Apple’s App Store. Poker card gamers can via their iPhone logging in to their Facebook account and play poker game with their Facebook friends.

This online mini poker casino features a user-friendly interface. Gamers also can see their rank at the game amongst other players. To make it more exciting for poker enthusiasts, this new version of Live Poker also promises some “New Gifts!” and “Fewer Crashes!” iPhone users who love poker can download the free game from Apple’s App Store.

New Dell Studio Hybrid Ultra-Small PC

The famous PC maker, Dell has launched its smallest, most personalized and most environmentally responsible consumer PC - Studio Hybrid, which the company claims is about 80% smaller than the typical desktop minitower and uses up to 70% less power, aiming to enhance personal expression and creative living.

“The design and craftsmanship of the Studio Hybrid alone are enough to cause you to do a double take,” said Michael Tatelman, vice president, global consumer sales and marketing. “Combine that with the performance of this little beauty and its environmentally smart DNA, and you’ve got something truly unique – something that you can make your own.”

Optional Technologies And Peripherals Of Dell Studio Hybrid:
Optional Wi-Fi networking allowing people to place the PC anywhere that’s convenient for them
Optional wireless keyboard and mouse help ensure a clean desktop, counter top or coffee table
Optional Blu-Ray Disc drive for watching high-definition DVDs
Optional TV tuner that enables users to watch, pause and record live TV

“Our goal was to design a desktop that fits in the office or in the living room, or anywhere space is at a premium,” said Michael Scheschuk, desktop product marketing. “We’ve created a desktop PC category that combines style, performance and a high degree of energy efficiency.”

According to the release, “Dell also unveiled two new Inspiron PCs, including the Inspiron 13, a sleek and stylish sub‑$800 13-inch laptop perfect for students heading back to school, available starting next week at Wal-Mart. The Inspiron 518 desktop, available immediately at www.dell.com, is designed for everyday family multi-media activities, be it catching up on favorite TV shows via the Internet, playing online games, and storing and accessing music playlists and digital images.”

Unique Packaging Of Studio Hybrid Was Designed To Be Environmentally Responsible:
Reduced packing materials 30 percent by weight
Packing materials are also 95 percent recyclable
Reduced printed documentation 75 percent by weight
System recycling kit is included

The new Dell Studio Hybrid is available now on its official site and expected to be featured in select retailers later this fall, along with a starting price of $499 (without monitor). Check more details of Dell Studio Hybrid on its official site.

Dell Studio One 19 All-In-One Computer

Dell has announced its new beautiful all-in-one computer, named as Dell Studio One 19, which made of beautiful aluminum, glass and fabric, featuring 18.5-inch multi-touch LCD display with 16:9 aspect ratio and 1366 x 768 pixels resolution.

“The new Studio One 19 is as nice to look at as it is functional,” said Alex Gruzen, senior vice president of Dell’s Consumer products. “More and more people are making the kitchen the center of their entertainment and computing experience and the Studio One 19 is the ideal system for that need. The Studio One 19 is about lifestyle and design and is very affordable for the family.”

Specifications Of Dell Studio One 19:
Intel Celeron, Dual Core Celeron, Pentium Dual Core, Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad Core Processor options
Choice of nVidia GeForce 9200 or GeForce 9400 integrated graphics
Up to 4GB dual channel memory
Up to 750GB HDD
Slot load Optical drive
7-in-1 media card reader and 6 USB ports
Optional built-in wireless, web camera, Blu-ray Disc
Optional multi-touch capability
Optional facial recognition security (with webcam)

The new Dell Studio One 19 that available in Solid Pure White, Tuscan Red, Navy Blue, Powder Pink or Charcoal color will hit Japanese market later this month, and slated to be available in other countries later this spring with a starting price of $699.

Svchost.exe Using 100% CPU Resources in Vista - Identify Causing Services

Svchost.exe which stands for Service Host is a generic host process name for services that run from dynamic-link libraries (DLLs) on NT based Windows operating system such as Windows NT, 2000, 2003, 2008, XP and Vista. Each svchost.exe process session started can contains a group of services (that provides certain functions and features of Windows system, such as RPC Remote Procedure Call, Logical Disk Management) and DHCP and etc.) in oder to provide better control and easier debugging. The svchost.exe has always been the mystery for most users because many of such processes are ran at the same time, each using different amount CPU resource and memory usage.

Svchost.exe is known to be one of the main culprit the always led to various issues such as high or even 100% CPU usage, memory hogging, excessive laptop fan speed and wasting power usage. Svchost.exe itself won’t cause much damage or slow down computer responsde, as it’s just a ‘holder’ process for actual running services, and also malware, spywayre, adware trojan or viruses which commonly hide behind the mask of svchost.exe, which consuming all the system resources. So when encountering a svchost.exe takes up 90% or even 100% CPU power continuously or using large amount of RAM memory, it’s useful to identify and find out what’s services that running behind a svchost.exe.

Note: Cannot see any svchost.exe in Windows Vista? If your system is consistently hitting 100% usage but yet the total CPU usage added up from what you seen in Task Manager is much lesser (probably less than 50%), click on Show processes from all users button, and click “Continue” on User Account Control dialog. You will definitely see a lot of svchost.exe running, with probably one of them hogging high CPU resource.

When opening up Task Manager, there are plenty of svchost.exe instances and also data on running by who (System, Local Service, Network Service, etc.), however, that so much information you get about the svchost.exe session. Previously in Windows earlier than Vista, users can use tasklist (for Windows XP/2003) or tlist (for Windows 2000) in command prompt to list out what is actually the services that are in charged by a particular svchost.exe based on the PID. Windows Vista enhances this feature and makes lookup a little easier. Here’s how to identify the services behind a svchost.exe process.
Right click on a blank space on TaskBar and click on Task Manager to open up the Task Manager.
Click on Processes tab.
Click on Show processes from all users button. 

Click Continue button when prompted with User Account Control dialog.
There will be a long list of svchost.exe shown in elevated Task Manager.
Locate the svchost.exe that you want to find out what’s the services running behind it, such as those with high CPU usage or high memory usage, right click on it, and choose Go to Service(s). 

The focus tab will be switched and transferred over to the Services tab, with a few services been selected and highlighted. These are the services that are associated with the particular svchost.exe 

Once identify the services that are possibly causing the svchost.exe to hogging system resources, carefully work out the services that you suspect may cause the issue. Once determined a suspected service, right click on it, and select Stop Service. Before you stopping any service, make sure that no other services rely on that particular services. You can click on Service… button to launch Services applet in Control Panel, and the see the properties of the service to view its dependencies. Also be warned that disabling any wrong service may destabilize Vista system.

The method to locate associated services for scvhost.exe in Vista a above is already much more easier than non-Vista Windows OS. However, if you still find the steps too troublesome, there is an even easier way. Download Process Explorer from Sysinternals (now belongs to part of Microsoft). No installation required. Just unpack and run procexp.exe, and then move and place mouse over on top of a svchost.exe process. A tooltip balloon message will pop up with information of all services running behind that svchost.exe.

How to Identify If Pictures Are Original Or Been Edited Before

Have you ever wonder how to identify if a photo is original without any modification? If you like to find out this quickly, now there is a software utility, named as JPEGsnoop that can help you to analyze the images if they have been edited before.

Every digital photo contains a plenty of hidden information and JPEGsnoop is designed to decode the inner details of JPEG and Motion AVI files. To determine whether a photo has been edited, JPEGsnoop uses the signature stored in its internal database for the camera model used to capture the image against a large number of compression signatures. If the compression signature matches Photoshop, then most likely the photo has been edited. Below are examples of the report analysis for original versus edited photo.

There are quite a lot of useful information that you can get from the analysis report such as settings that were used in the digital camera, quality and nature of the JPEG image compression used by the camera in saving file and many more. If you are camera enthusiast, this information is pretty important for you to know which camera models produce better JPEG images so that you can choose a right camera to suit to your preference.

JPEGsnoop version 1.3 is absolutely free for download. It is able to decode any file that contains an embedded JPEG image, such as .JPG, .THM, .AVI, .DNG, .CRW, .CR2, .NEF, .ORF, .PEF, .MOV, .PDF. If you feel this software is useful to you, go and download it at here for immediate use.

Check Your Disk! Provides Statistical Information of Hard Disk Usage

If your hard disk space is almost full and you would like to perform clean up in order to free up some space, you probably need to spend some times to browse through and identify which folders or files that are actually occupying most of the hard disk space and can be backup or deleted. This can be frustrating especially when you have hundred of folders that need to scan through. Instead of identifying each of folders or files manually, there is a utility, named as Check Your Disk! that is able to help you cleaning up your disk by providing statistical information about the usage of each of the folders or files.

Check Your Disk! will scan your hard disk space and provide a useful information for the folder and its subfolders usage through a simple pie chart. You can recognize which subfolder or file that has consumed most of the space by looking at the chart at first glance. Clicking on any slice of the chart will breakdown the folder or file information with secondary information such as the largest file resides in this folder or even its subfolder. If you are interested to find out the subfolder’s statistical information, just double click on the folder. To display the statistical information for one level up, go to Options -> Level Up or pressing backspace.

Check Your Disk! version 0.8 is released for both Windows and Linux OS. It is absolutely free for download and doesn’t require any installation. For the Windows version, just unzip the downloaded file and run the executable file directly, whereas for Linux version, you must execute the jar file with Java Runtime.

Eltan Unveiled Boot From SD Card Technology for Intel Atom Platform in Embedded Market

It is not usual to get a BIOS boot from SD or MMC card externally as it normally requires some customization in BIOS space. Good news to all embedded designers now, Eltan, a Holland based developer company has just announced the availability of BIOS extension that can enable the ‘Boot from SD card’ technology directly on Intel Z-series Atom processor.

Eltan will able to leverage the advantages with Intel SCH US15W, a Northbridge and Southbridge combo companion chipset that being paired with Intel Atom Z-series processor with its built in SDIO interface without the need of additional USB converter or discrete component that adds both cost and space into the overall system design. However, the solution doesn’t work on Intel N270 Atom processor since the chipset pairing solution are different with a 3-chip solution using 82945GSE and ICH7M targeted for nettop market. 

The Boot from SD card solution is available now for system integrator either in a complete BIOS ROM or source code that can be merged into Phoenix and Award BIOS which are widely used in embedded system. This will definitely able to drive for more rugged and smaller form factor system if a complete OS solution can be stored in SD card in replacement of conventional magnetic spinning hard disk drive.

Wake Up Naturally with Bio-Alarm Clock

Human sleep is a cycle which consists of waking stage, Non-REM Sleep and REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep. In the waking stage, your body will prepare you to sleep. Your body will start to slow down, your muscles start to relax and your eye movements will slow down. After the waking stage, you will come to Non-REM Sleep which comprises of 4 stages and lasts from 90 – 120 minutes. In stage 1, the sleep is called drowsiness. The eyes are closed once you are in this stage. But if you are aroused from it, you might feel as if you have not slept. Stage 2 is the light sleep period. In this stage, the polysomnographic readings will show intermittent peaks and valleys, or positive and negative waves. These waves indicate spontaneous periods of muscle tone mixed with periods of muscle relaxation.

Muscle tone of this kind can be seen in other stages of sleep as a reaction to auditory stimuli. The heart rate slows, and body temperature decreases. At this point, the body prepares to enter to Stage 3 & stage 4, the deep sleep stages. Both stage 3 and stage 4 are deep sleep stage. However, Stage 4 is more intense than Stage 3. These stages are known as slow-wave, or delta, sleep. During slow-wave sleep, especially during Stage 4, the electromyogram records slow waves of high amplitude, indicating a pattern of deep sleep and rhythmic continuity. After Stage 4, you will come to REM sleep. The wave pattern in REM is quite similar to Stage 1 sleep. In this stage, you will experience intense dreaming. 

After you fall asleep, the 5 stages Non-REM and REM stage will repeat cyclically throughout the night. The first cycle usually lasts for 90 - 110 minutes and each subsequent cycle will last longer. Getting to know the sleep stages of human beings has led to an invention called the bio-alarm clock which is designed to detect human being’s sleep stages and to wake sleepers at the perfect time. These bio-alarm clocks will detect brainwaves or body movements via some sensitive electrodes placed under the pillow case. The electrodes will trace what stage of sleep you are in and will wake you up during light sleep stage. Since a sleep cycle normally lasts from 90 -110 minutes, the bio-alarm clock will only have approximately a 30-minute margin of error. 

There are a few types of bio-alarm clocks available such as Sleeptracker, SleepSmart and aXbo Sleep Phase Alarm Clock. Sleeptracker can be worn on your wrist like a watch. It will monitor signals from your body that indicate whether you are asleep or awake. SleepSmart is a headband with circuits that detect brainwaves during sleep, and the aXbo Sleep Phase Alarm Clock is a wristband that reads body movements. 

Bio-alarm clocks are becoming very popular nowadays. Businessmen, travelers, students, etc. find it very useful and helpful. Having said that, there are also scientists who disagree with the use of these scientific products. Dr. Gregory Belenky, a sleep expert at Washington State University Spokane, has commented that light stage sleep isn’t the best time to be woken by an alarm. Dr. Gregory is of the opinion that light sleep stage is the hardest time to wake a person up unnaturally and he also has doubts on the functionality of this device. Waking up has become more sophisticated and complicated than when our mums used to holler from downstairs or when our sister/brother used to come and jump on our beds.

iPod Alarm Clock Wake You Up!

Having trouble waking up in time for work? Scare you boss might fire you after numerous warning and you still late for work? Don’t worry! If you have this problem, then you can seek Edifier’s iF200 to help you! 

The iF200 is an iPod accessory in the shape of alarm clock designed to work with your iPod to help get you off your bed and on your feet in no time. It is produced by Edifier, a well-known multimedia speaker brand and also one of the international finest acoustical product manufacturers.

iF200 is available in beige or black. It got a retro-styled look with dual-bells on each side of the clock. The dock features a 360° built-in “reflection” speaker that deliver rich, dynamic sounds from your iPod’s playlist. The dock has a universal docking plate that allows all iPods (except the iPod shuffle) to be docked into it.

iPod is rechargeable. The setting up also very easy. There is a special memory function automatically configures your iPod to alarm clock mode each time you dock it. 

So the next time you wake up in the morning, just remember to hit the Snooze button gently and try not to knock it off the fable. Get an iPod Alarm clock from Edifier today.

Breakfast-In-Bed Alarm Clock

Ever tire of waking up to the incessant sound of the alarm and the unpleasant thought of another long day ahead? Instead of banging down hard on the alarm clock, some practical souls have come up with the idea of combining the alarm clock with a coffee-maker, juicer and toaster amongst others to make the thought of waking up more palatable.

Wake Up is a French product that surely puts the stomach in its rightful place – at number one - even in slumber. Set the alarm the night before. Make sure the juice and coffee/chocolate machine as well as the toaster is loaded. Click the right buttons to select your breakfast choice. Wake up to a ready-made breakfast. Nothing beats waking up to the thought (and smell) of a delicious breakfast to fill that growling stomach after a long night. 

Tokyoflash Kisai Sensai - More Than a Wrist Watch

Sensai watch is more about style than telling the time. New Kisai Sensai LED aluminum watch officially putting time in the backseat and strapping a visually-intriguing array of LEDs on your wrist. Sensai is made of lightweight, high grade aluminum to ensure a comfortable feel on your wrist. With a combination of brushed and sandblasted areas, the alumite finish provides a pristine, futuristic appearance.

Sensai features an animation mode so that once every minute for 12 minutes after the time is displayed, the LEDs rotate on and off in a circular formation.

To view the time, you have to press a button which a series of red, yellow and green LEDs is displayed. Twelve red LEDs represent hours, eleven green LEDs represent groups of five minutes and four yellow LEDs represent single minutes. The time reading is preceeded and succeeded by a rotating LED light show. Clearly this watch is all about style.

Kisai watches is a time piece that combines stunning design with precision engineering. The watch is made in limited production numbers and engraved with a unique serial number. The new Kisai Sensai aluminum LED watch from Tokyoflash is yours for $260.

Features
Displays the time
Made from high grade aluminum
LED animation mode
Energy saving mode to ensure battery longevity
Clasp: simple fold over clasp with push button
Minimum wrist size: 140 mm
Maximum wrist size: 220 mm
Case dimensions: 36 mm x 36 mm x 0.9 mm
Weight: 72 grams
Water resistance: 3ATM
Instructions: Japanese and English instructions included
Battery: CR2032 standard watch battery
Three year warranty

Watch Movies on Your Wrist

You can watch movies with your smartphone, your laptop or handheld computer. It is a wonderful experience. You can enjoy your favourite films while you are waiting for something. Having said that, image if you can view them on your wrist watch, a small device worn on the wrist, would it be more wonderful?

Brought to you by Gadget Universe, the new Home Theatre Watch is designed to give you the experience of a home theater with the functionality of a watch. This small gadget can accompany you and give you full excitement while you are stuck on a long train, resting in the garden or waiting for your clients, and it is bound to impress strangers.

With features such as 2GB built-in memory, this watch can also allow users to listen to MP3 and WMA songs as well as view JPEG images. It comes with a 1.5in OLED (Organic LED) colour screen and a 3.5mm stereo headphone. Users can transfer their favourite movies from PC to the watch via USB. It is equipped with software which can convert ASF, AVI, MPEG, WMV, DAT/VCD, and ASX files to a format that’s compatible with the watch. The watch is priced at US$149.95.

The Decision Lies on Your Wrist

Remember the time when you had to pick the petals off a daisy when deciding on whether or not to go out with somebody. Those were the days! Now you have an electronic gadget for the moments when you can’t make up your mind. It’s simple and comes in the form of a watch. Dubbed the New Decider Watch from Mr Jones, it not only tells time and performs all the normal functions of a wristwatch, it also displays a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ on its face.

This will help the capricious watch-bearer to decide in moments of indecision – just answer according to the face of destiny in front of you. Beats throwing a coin and betting on the conventional heads or tails. The watch is available online for $149.

Everything Searches for Everything In the System

The built-in search feature available in the Windows OS platform is quite helpful when you are searching for files or folders. However, sometimes users could be frustrated when the searching process takes too long and the search yields no result at the end. Some users will probably opt for other search tools such as Windows Search 4.0 or Google Desktop Search. These search apps provide quite an easy and comprehensive solution to users to find the right files. Having said that, these utility tools technically consume quite a bit of your system resources, e.g. memory, disk space, etc and slightly slow down the performance especially if your computer is not that sophisticated or the latest model. If you need to find the right files regularly and are looking for a simple but powerful tool to assist, Everything is probably something you could give a try. 

Everything is a light and tiny but powerful searching utility to perform an excellent file searching job. Unlike other search utilities, this application consumes very little resources but perform at superb speed. Once users have installed this free search utility, they can actually start using it. Everything does a fantastic indexing job. This app can index files on the system at 20,000 files per second or 1, 000,000 files per minute for NTFS drives. This program offers Boolean (“AND,” “OR”) operation, a simple and neat interface, is easy to use and most importantly consume very little memory. Generally, this app uses around 5MB RAM and 1MB disk space. For users who want to do searches on another networked PC, they can install Everything on both PCs, then start one of the PCs as an ETP server and connect the other PC to that server. Via this method, users can utilize Everything to make searches on another Networked PC.

Everything works well with Windows NT/2000, XP, 2003, Vista and even Windows 7. Users who want to try this alternative solution to speed up the file searching process can download the latest version which has been recently released via the link here.