skripsi-komputer.blogspot.com

Java Diagnostics Tools and Options

2010-08-08T03:37:00.000-07:00

Introduction
This chapter introduces the various diagnostic and monitoring tools which can be used with J2SE 5.0.
The tools described here include command line utilities, command line options, and log files.
In almost all cases the command line utilities described in this chapter are either included in the Java
2 Platform Standard Edition Development Kit (JDK 5.0), or are operating system tools and utilities.
Although the JDK 5.0 command line utilities are included in the JDK download, it is important to note
that they can be used to diagnose issues and monitor applications that are deployed with the Java 2
Platform Standard Edition Runtime Environment 5.0 (JRE 5.0).
In general, the diagnostic tools and options described in this chapter use various mechanisms to
obtain the information they report. In many cases the mechanisms are specific to the virtual machine
implementation (5.0 in the case of this document), operating system, and version of each.
Consequently, there is some overlap of the information reported by some of the tools. This should be
viewed in the context of the various problems and issues for which these tools are intended. In many
cases only a subset of the tools will be applicable to an issue at a particular point in time.

Caveats and Other Notes

Some of the command line utilities described in this chapter are experimental. The jstack, jinfo,
and jmap utilities are examples of utilities that are experimental. These utilities are subject to change
in future JDK releases, and may not be included in future releases.
The format of log files and other output from command line utilities or options is version specific. For
example, if you develop a script that relies on the format of the fatal error log
(hs_err_pid.log file) then this script may cease to work as expected if the format of the log
file changes in the future.
Command line options that are prefixed with -XX are Java HotSpotTM Virtual Machine specific
options. In general, most -XX options are unsupported, undocumented, and were originally included
for the purposes of testing components of the HotSpot Virtual Machine during its development.
However many -XX options are important for performance tuning and diagnostic purposes, and are
therefore described in this chapter.
In some cases, the command tool utilities described here are not included in the JDK release on all
operating systems. For example, the jstack, jinfo, and jmap command line utilities are included in
the JDK release for Solaris and Linux only. In addition to operating system specific utilities we also
describe a number of diagnostic features and tools that are specific to the Solaris 10 Operating
Environment. Solaris 10 has many advanced diagnostic features that are usable in production
environments, and many of the native tools are capable of providing information that is specific to the
Java Runtime Environment.

Post-Mortem Diagnostics

A number of the options and tools described in this chapter are designed for post-mortem diagnostics.
That is, if the application crashes because of an application or JRE bug, these are the options and tools
that can be used to obtain additional information (either at the time of the crash or later using
information from the crash dump).

Description and Usage	Tool or Option
Fatal Error Log	The fatal error log (hs_err_.log) contains a lot of information obtained at the time of the fatal error (crash). In many cases it will be the first thing to examine when a crash happens.
-XX:OnError	Used to specify a sequence of user-supplied scripts or commands to be executed when a fatal error (crash) occurs. For example, on Windows, it can be used to execute a command to force a crash dump – very useful on systems that do not have post-mortem debugger configured.
-XX:+ShowMessageBoxOnError	Used to suspend the process when a fatal error (crash) occurs. Depending on the user response it can launch the native debugger (dbx, gdb, msdev) to attach to the VM. The option is very useful in the development environment to attach the native debugger when a crash happens.
jinfo (Solaris and Linux only)	The jinfo utility can obtain configuration information from a core file obtained from a crash (or a core obtained using the gcore utility).
jmap (Solaris and Linux only)	The jmap utility can obtain memory map information, including a heap histogram, from a core file obtained from a crash (or a core obtained using the gcore utility)
jstack (Solaris and Linux only)	The jstack utility can obtain java and native stack information from a core file obtained from a crash (or a core obtained using the gcore utility).


jdb (Solaris and Linux only)	The debugger support in the JDK includes an AttachingConnector which allows jdb, and other Java Language debuggers to attach to a core file. This can be very useful when trying to understand what the application was doing at the time of the crash.
Native tools	Each operating system has native tools and utilities that can be used for post-mortem diagnosis. A list of native tools is provided later in this chapter.

Create dynamic sites with PHP & MySQL

2010-07-27T18:46:00.000-07:00

This tutorial shows you how to use two open source, cross-platform tools for creating a
dynamic Web site: PHP and MySQL. When we are finished, you will know how dynamic sites
work and how they serve the content, and you will be ready to serve your own dynamic content
from your site.

The Web is no longer static; it's dynamic. As the information content of the Web grows,
so does the need to make Web sites more dynamic. Think of an e-shop that has 1,000
products. The owner has to create 1,000 Web pages (one for each product), and
whenever anything changes, the owner has to change all those pages. Ouch!!!
Wouldn't it be easier to have only one page that created and served the content on the
fly from the information about the products stored in a database, depending on the
client request?
Nowadays sites have to change constantly and provide up-to-date news, information,
stock prices, and customized pages. PHP and SQL are two ways to make your site
dynamic.
PHP PHP is a robust, server-side, open source scripting language that is extremely
flexible and actually fun to learn. PHP is also cross platform, which means your PHP
scripts will run on Unix, Linux, or an NT server.
MySQL SQL is the standard query language for interacting with databases. MySQL is
an open source, SQL database server that is more or less free and extremely fast.
MySQL is also cross platform.

download here free

Krisdayanti

2010-07-27T10:41:00.001-07:00

Krisdayanti (born March 24, 1975 in Malang, East Java) is the first Asia Bagus Grand Champion from Indonesia.She then been dubbed asAsia's Nightingale.The first recording that she did was when she was just a 9-year-old girl. For that, she received Rp 15,000 for dubbing theMegaloman soundtrack. Her next album was Burung-Burung Malam. She recorded it at the age of 12. However, her album did not do well.
During her high-school days, she participated in many singing competitions and modeling pageants. In 1991, she became a finalist in Gadis Sampul, a cover girl contest. It was also during that period she met James Sundah and recorded two songs for him. With that, she began to receive many invitations to sing and model.

It was Youngki Suwarno who brought Krisdayanti to an Asia Bagus audition. There, she felt inferior because of her appearance. The other contestants were decked in glittering show dresses whereas she was simply dressed in jeans and T-shirt.

After her winning, she became a star instantly. With eight albums to her credit and a few singles, she has reached superstardom. She is not only known in her country but around the Southeast Asian region as well

She married Anang Hermansyah, Indonesian famous song writer, singer and producer, in 1996. They had two kids together, a daughter, Titania Aurelia Hermansyah, and a son, Azriel Hermansyah. The couple filed for divorced in 2009.

Updating OS on bold using VMWARE Fusion

2010-07-27T10:40:00.000-07:00

I have a problem and I am hoping that someone here may be able to help with a solution. I have a rogers bold, and I am trying to upgrade the OS to 5.x.x.x on it, and I have gotten an error 507 a few times. Now I know this is not unusual, but my problem is that if I try to update to .464 (bell mobility) or the latest Wind Hellas version (.507?? I think), it will stop and fail right after the it reboots, but when I try to use the rogers OS, it loads no problem. I have deleted the vendor.xml, wiped the blackberry, and tried everything I have read (battery pull, suspending the virtual machine until I get the 507 error) many, many times, to no avail. Has anyone else had an issue with upgrading a certain version, or maybe problems using fusion? Like I said before, I have used fusion many times to upgrade the OS on it, and nothing has changed recently. I can still load the 4.6.x.x version rogers has, but no other ones. Any suggestions?

RIM Introduces the New BlackBerry Bold 9650 Smartphone

2010-07-27T10:37:00.002-07:00

Another official device announcement by RIM brings the 9650 Bold, CDMA users have been long awaiting a Bold on one of their networks and the specs make it look like it was worth the wait. Here are details from the official RIM press release:

CDMA customers get a bold new choice with powerhouse 3G smartphone that offers premium features and performance together with popular keyboard and trackpad, as well as support for Wi-Fi and high-speed 3G networks around the world
Waterloo, ON - Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today introduced the BlackBerry® Bold™ 9650 smartphone – the latest addition to the BlackBerry Bold portfolio of premium smartphones. Sophisticated, powerful and feature-rich, the BlackBerry Bold 9650 is a global smartphone for CDMA customers who want to stay connected, productive and entertained.
“The new BlackBerry Bold 9650 is an extraordinary smartphone that we think customers will love,” said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO at Research In Motion. “Whether at work or at play, the new BlackBerry Bold 9650 offers a truly impressive communications, multimedia and connectivity experience.”
The BlackBerry Bold 9650 smartphone supports 3G (EVDO) networks in North America and (HSPA/UMTS) abroad and has a full-QWERTY keyboard, optical trackpad and built-in Wi-Fi® (802.11 b/g), which makes it possible to talk on the phone while browsing the web or sending and receiving email. The BlackBerry Bold 9650 also includes 512 MB Flash memory and an expandable memory card slot that supports up to 32 GB microSDHC cards, with a 2 GB card included.
The BlackBerry Bold 9650 fuses form and function in a striking design and, in addition to providing premium phone and multimedia features, it of course delivers the industry’s leading mobile solution for email, messaging (IM, SMS, MMS) and social networking.
Other key features of the BlackBerry Bold 9650 smartphone include:

Stylish design (4.4” x 2.4” x .56” and 4.8 oz.) with glossy black finish and chrome highlights
Large (2.44”) high-resolution display (480 x 360 resolution at 245 ppi), able to display pictures, videos and web pages with impressive contrast and detail
3.2 MP camera with flash, variable zoom, image stabilization, autofocus and video recording
Advanced media player for videos, pictures and music, a 3.5 mm stereo headset jack and support for the Bluetooth® Stereo Audio Profile (A2DP/AVCRP)
BlackBerry® Media Sync for easily syncing photos as well as iTunes® and Windows Media® Player music with the smartphone*
Easy mobile access to Facebook®, MySpace and Flickr®, as well as popular instant messaging services including BlackBerry® Messenger
Support for BlackBerry App World™, featuring a broad and growing catalog of third-party mobile applications developed specifically for BlackBerry smartphones
Full HTML web browser, streaming audio and video via RTSP
Built-in GPS with support for geotagging, BlackBerry® Maps and other mapping applications
Premium phone features including voice activated dialing, speakerphone, and Bluetooth (2.1).
Support for high-speed EV-DO Rev. A networks in North America, as well as UMTS/HSPA (2100Mhz) and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM networks abroad
Removable and rechargeable 1400 mAhr battery for 5 hours of CDMA talk time

The BlackBerry Bold 9650 smartphone is expected to be available from carriers in the United States beginning in May. For more information visitwww.blackberry.com/bold.

10 Tips for extending BlackBerry Battery life.

2010-07-27T10:37:00.000-07:00

Again, as with our iPhone post a lot of the battery life issues we experience are due to usage habits. Always checking and messaging via FaceBook, twitter and other social networking apps, increased vibrations from third party apps or settings and WiFi/3G data all contribute to reducing battery performance.

Here are 10 tips I'd like to share to help extend your BB's Battery life:

Options > Screen/Keyboard > Backlight Brightness -> (set to no higher than 50) --My setting: 10-- (effect = high)
Options > Screen/Keyboard > Auto Dim Backlight -> this setting also brightens the backlight automatically beyond the above setting. Therefore, set above to as low as possible and enable this setting which will auto brighten when needed.
Options > Screen/Keyboard > Backlight timeout -> Set to 30 seconds or lower --My setting 20sec-- (effect = medium)
Options > Screen/Keyboard > LED coverage indicator -> set to off. (effect = low)
Options > Screen/Keyboard > Key tone -> set to off (effect = low)
Options > Screen/Keyboard > Audible roll -> set to off (effect = low)
Profiles > Advanced > (Active) > If vibrate feature is used for phone, sms, IM's BBM's etc. Set Number of Vibrations to no more than 2 and for best battery life 1. (effect = high)
Repeat step 6 for Number of Beeps (e.g set to 1 and set volume tohigh or set as 2 and set volume to medium...) (effect = medium)
Profiles > Advanced > (Active) -> Set all Out of Holsterprofiles are set to Tone only. As much as possible avoid using vibrate or vibrate+tone for Out of holster. Here is were you'll need to enable repeat notification/LED flashing. (effect = high)
Profiles > Advanced > (Active) > Repeat Notification -> For those who use a hip-mounted holster set LED flashing to None under the In holster profile. (effect = medium)

BB 9700 Bold - GPS chipset stalls

2010-07-27T10:33:00.001-07:00

Got a weird issue. I have a fleet of 9700 Bolds that are running Actsoft Comet Tracker. The software pings my devices for location every 60 seconds. Now these devices are in the hnads of service techs who are in and out of buildings and their cars all day long, so it's common to have no replies to pings for priods of time. Now here is the issue...sometimes the GPS never re-initializes and continues the no-reply to pings even in open sky. The only way to get it back is to pull the battery,m or in extreme circumstances, delete and re-install Comet Tracker.

Anybody have any ideas on the fix? Thanks in advance.

BB 9000 Error - 907 Invalid JAR Descriptor missing required attribute:

2010-07-27T10:32:00.001-07:00

Hello

I have application that run fine in simulater but it gives following error in device.

907 Invalid JAR Descriptor missing required attribute: MIDLet-1

Please let me konw any solution

Thanks

Forum for BlackBerry

2010-07-27T10:31:00.001-07:00

EMKO's Forum is an application EXCLUSIVE for Blackberry devices where you can discuss the latest News & Events, Politics, Gossip, Music, Sports, Religion, Fashion, Love & Relationships, etc. with other Blackberry owners WORLDWIDE.

Want more? You may also exchange images, ringtones and other files with others, all on the go! Simply post and exchange. That's right, no more need to be tied down to a PC in order to meet, discuss and share with other like-minded individuals...

Got something on your mind? What are you waiting for? Come join the conversation. ITS FREE

Download StarCraft II

2010-07-27T10:10:00.001-07:00

StarCraft II Sudah Bisa Diunduh Online
Email ke teman Cetak
StarCraft II merupakan salah satu game strategi yang cukup legendaris. Meski versi awalnya telah dirilis hampir 12 tahun silam, namun sistem permainan yang ditawarkannya masih cukup dikagumi oleh para gamer.

Setelah merampungkan versi beta, kini Blizzard tengah mempersiapkan kehadiran StarCraft II untuk seluruh masyarakat. Tak terkecuali untuk gamer Indonesia. Bahkan demi mengantisipasi lonjakan peminat, versi digital game tersebut sudah dapat diunduh oleh para penggemarnya.

Melalui situs resminya Blizzard sudah menyiapkan versi penuh dari StarCraft II yang dapat diunduh secara gratis. Namun untuk memainkannya, gamer harus melakukan aktivasi terlebih dahulu yang mulai digelar pada tanggal 27 Juli 2010 nanti.

Jadi yang sudah tidak kadung sabar ingin memainkan StarCraft II, bisa mengunduh game tersebut terlebih dahulu pada situs yang telah disediakan. (detik)

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

2010-07-27T10:07:00.001-07:00

Starcraft II features the return of the three races from the original game: Protoss, Terran, and Zerg; Blizzard states these are the only playable races in the game.^[1]^[11]^[12]^[13] StarCraft II is also designed to focus more heavily on the multiplayeraspect, when compared to the original StarCraft. The changes include overall improvement inBattle.net, a new competitive "ladder" system for ranked games and new matchmaking mechanics—designed to "match-up" players of equal skill levels.^[1] In addition, the replay function, which allows players to record and review past games, is being improved. Blizzard has also stated they have made some changes to the game that were suggested by fans.^[14]^[15]

StarCraft II continues its predecessor's use of pre-rendered cinematic cut scenes to advance the plot while also improving the quality of in-game cut scenes within the levels themselves, which are rendered on-the-fly using the same game engine as the graphics in the game proper. Blizzard states that with the new graphics engine that StarCraft II uses to render the gameplay, they "can actually create in-game cut-scenes of near-cinematic quality".^[16] Most Protoss and Terran units, and some Zerg units, have been shown on the StarCraft II official website, and in several video demonstrations held by Blizzard.^[17]^[18] Improvements include advanced scenery allocation and more detailed space terrain, such as floating space platforms with planets and asteroids in the background. Small cliffs, extensions, and even advertising signs were also shown to have been improved and refined.^[17]

The new Terran briefing system allows the player to explore the inside of thebattlecruiser Hyperion.

The single-player aspect of StarCraft II has also been altered substantially from the original game. The Terran campaign shown at BlizzCon 2007 replaced the original StarCraft briefing room with an interactive version of the battlecruiser Hyperion, with Jim Raynor, now a bitter and hard-drinking mercenary captain, as the central character. In a departure from previous Blizzard games, the campaign is non-linear, with Raynor taking jobs for money and using that money to buy additional units and upgrades. Although each playthrough will vary, the end result will remain consistent keeping the storyline linear. Vice president Rob Pardo has stressed that each campaign will function very differently.^[19] The Terran campaign, Wings of Liberty, will place players in a mercenary style campaign, as Terran rebel Jim Raynor performs missions for cash. The second release, the Zerg campaign Heart of the Swarm, will have RPGelements. The player will level up the Queen of Blades, Kerrigan, throughout the missions. In the last expansion, the Protoss campaign Legacy of the Void, the dark templar Zeratul will have to employ diplomacy between Protoss tribes to acquire units and technologies for each mission. Each campaign is expected to span 26-30 missions.^[20]^[21]

Lead Designer Dustin Browder has discussed with Shacknews some of the unique missions that may be included in the Wings of Liberty campaign. In one level, lava floods the battlefield every five minutes, forcing the player to move their units to high ground or watch them get destroyed. In another mission, enemy units will only attack the player at night. The last mission Browder discussed was one where the player tries to influence the tide of an AI controlled battle with only a single unit, a Ghost. The single player missions will be highly customizable and are featured in the StarCraft II Community Zone. Between missions, players can choose units, buildings and upgrades that are not available in the multiplayer missions.^[22]

[edit]Units

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty features approximately the same number of units as the original game.^[23] Some units from the original game are returning, some featuring new upgrades and abilities. For example, the Protoss Zealot, a melee unit from the original game, now has the explorable ability to dash forward and quickly reach nearby enemies as a refinement of their speed upgrade from the original. Other units have been replaced or removed entirely.^[24]^[25] Other changes to unit design have been inspired by story events in StarCraft and its expansion,Brood War, replacing old units with new or renamed versions which sport different attributes and abilities.^[24]

Units in StarCraft II have new abilities, compared to the original, that encourage more complex interaction with the game environment. Among these are the inclusion of units that can traverse varying levels of terrain,^[17] or have the ability to teleport short distances.^[24] Some Protoss units can be warped in to pylon-powered areas using the Warp Gate, a slight modification of the existing building called the Gateway.^[24]^[26]StarCraft II's campaign will also have exclusive units which would only be playable in the campaign and not in the regular multiplayer mode (though they are available for map makers to use in custom maps). These mostly consist of units which have been scrapped from development such as the Terran Cobra as well as various returning units from the original StarCraft such as the Terran Wraith and Vulture.^[27]

[edit]StarCraft II Marketplace

A major new addition to the map-making community is going to be the StarCraft II Marketplace where high quality maps will be sold for a small fee as "premium maps" over Battle.net. The mode of payment has not yet been announced. Dustin Browder has mentioned that even maps like player-created DotA (Defense of the Ancients) in Warcraft III would not meet the quality requirements to be branded as a premium map.^[28]^{[unreliable source?]}

[edit]Galaxy Editor

Galaxy Editor is StarCraft II's campaign, map and mod editor which is included with all versions of the client. It is more sophisticated thanStarCraft's StarEdit and WarCraft III's World Editor for creating custom maps or campaigns and is the first editor by Blizzard to feature inbuiltmods creation and usage support. Updated art and data from the original StarCraft that were not used in the actual skirmish play along with models and data that were scrapped during the development process (including those made as April Fools jokes) will be available in the editor.^[29] Unlike previous editors made by Blizzard, it is the first to have internet connectivity features such as map publishing, retrieval and online activation of the editor client.

Chris Sigaty, Lead Producer, has also stated that the editor will give players the ability to create RPG, Hero-type units and structures resembling those from WarCraft III.^[30] At Blizzcon 2009, Blizzard demonstrated a build of the Galaxy Editor showcasing its capabilities, such as the ability to customize the user interface to include features such as the Item system from Warcraft III. Blizzard also commented that it would like to include a third-person style perspective for missions though it may not be in the final build.^[31]

The Galaxy Editor was available for the first time during the phase 1 beta testing of StarCraft II when it came with a patch. With the start of phase 2, the editor was updated.

[edit]Synopsis

[edit]Characters and setting

The campaign storyline of StarCraft II takes place four years after StarCraft: Brood War,^[32] and features the return of a number of characters from the original series; including Zeratul, Arcturus Mengsk, Artanis, Sarah Kerrigan, and Jim Raynor. Players will also revisit the original series' worlds, like Char, Mar Sara, and Braxis; as well as new worlds, such as the jungle planet Bel'Shir. It has been confirmed that theXel'Naga, the ancient space-faring race responsible for creating the Protoss and the Zerg, will play a major role in the story.^[19]

[edit]Backstory

A Zerg colony gathering resources and expanding its military.

At the conclusion of Brood War, Kerrigan and her Zerg forces became the dominant faction in the Koprulu Sector, having annihilated the United Earth Directorate's Expeditionary Force, defeated theTerran Dominion, and invaded the Protoss homeworld of Aiur. However, after the conclusion ofBrood War, Kerrigan retreats to Char, despite having more than enough power to crush all remaining resistance in the Koprulu Sector. In the four years leading up to the events of StarCraft II, she has not been seen or heard from by any of the other characters; although her ultimate attack may come at any moment.^[33]

Arcturus Mengsk has been left to rebuild the Dominion, and is consolidating his power while fending off harassment from rival Terran groups. Valerian Mengsk, a character introduced in the novel Firstborn, will play an important role in Dominion politics, due to his position as heir apparent to the throne. Meanwhile, Jim Raynor, whose role in the events of StarCraft and Brood War has been marginalized by the media under the Dominion's control, has been reduced to mercenary status, and has been shown to be doing business with the "Moebius Foundation", a new faction which is interested in ancient Xel'Naga artifacts. Chris Metzen, Vice President of Creative Development at Blizzard, has emphasized that by the events of StarCraft II, Raynor has become jaded and embittered by the way he was used and betrayed by Arcturus Mengsk. Other new characters to the series include Tychus Findlay, first introduced in the StarCraft II teaser cinematic, a marine who will be a member of Raynor's crew, and Matt Horner, Raynor's second in command, a character originally featured in the novel Queen of Blades.^[33]

Following the fall of Aiur and the death of their matriarch Raszagal, the Protoss have retreated to the dark templar homeworld of Shakuras. There, Artanis, a former student of Tassadar, is trying to unify the Khalai Protoss and the dark templar, who have nearly separated into a tribal mindset as a result of centuries of distrust. Zeratul, tormented over the murder of his matriarch, has disappeared to search for clues to the meaning of Samir Duran's cryptic statements regarding the Protoss/Zerg hybrids in Brood War's secret mission "Dark Origin".^[33]

[edit]Cast

The English language version of StarCraft II has several new and returning voice actors. The voice director of the game is Andrea Romano.^[34]Over 58 voice actors were hired with some voicing multiple characters.^[35]

Robert Clotworthy (English) as Jim Raynor^[34]^[36]
Neil Kaplan as Tychus Findlay^[34]^[36]
Ali Hillis as Dr. Ariel Hanson^[36]
Brian Bloom as Matt Horner^[36]
Dave Fennoy as Gabriel Tosh^[36]
James Harper as Arcturus Mengsk^[36]
Tricia Helfer as Sarah Kerrigan^[34]
Fred Tatasciore as Zeratul / Swann^[34]

[edit]Development

The development of StarCraft II was announced on May 19, 2007, at the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational in Seoul, South Korea.^[37]^[38]Development on the game, initially delayed for a year by the temporary reassignment of Blizzard's resources to World of Warcraft,^[39] began in 2003, shortly after Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne was released.^[40] According to Rob Pardo and Chris Sigaty, development for StarCraft II was put on hold for a year in 2005 due to the assistance needed for World of Warcraft.^[41] StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty supports the DirectX 9 (Pixel shader 2.0) software and will be fully compatible with DirectX 10 as well, although the development team has not yet decided whether to add exclusive DirectX 10 graphic effects.^[1] The Mac version uses OpenGL. The game will also feature the Havok physics engine,^[1]^[42]which allows for more realistic environmental elements such as "debris rolling down a ramp".^[37] Additionally, there are plans to implementVoIP into the game.^[43]

Since the announcement, fans have also been able to participate in the development of StarCraft II through feedback and questions on fansites and forums. Periodically, Blizzard Entertainment provides Q&A batches, web pages about the units, buildings, and lore, podcasts (titled "BlizzCast"), and posts from Blizzard employees on forums.^[44] The StarCraft II community was made aware of internal development processes by an official representative that went by the name of Karune (Kevin Yu) on the Battle.net Discussion Forums. Karune regularly posted Q&A on the Battle.net forums to answer various fansite questions about the game. Furthermore, occasionally Battle reports of the latest alpha build of StarCraft II were put up on the official website which were commentated by Lead Designer Dustin Browder and Blizzard eSports Team Member Robert Simpson.

At the June 2008 Blizzard Worldwide Invitational, Blizzard Executive Vice President Rob Pardo was quoted as saying that development of the campaign was one-third complete.^[45] He also said that StarCraft II is to be released as a trilogy of games, starting with Wings of Liberty, focused on the Terrans, followed by Heart of the Swarm, revolving around the Zerg, and finally Legacy of the Void, devoted to the Protoss.^[46]On February 25, 2009, Blizzard announced the Blizzard Theme Park Contest where prizes would include two beta keys for StarCraft II.^[47] In the updated news and updates page of battle.net for Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne it states the top 20 players from each realm will be given a SC2 Beta Key.^[48] In February 2010, Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime announced that a closed beta would open that month.^[49]

In an interview held in June 2009, Rob Pardo indicated that LAN support would not be included in StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty.^[50]^[51]^[52]Removing LAN requires players to connect through Blizzard's servers before being able to play multi-player games.^[53] It has been reported that Blizzard is considering implementing a system whereby a LAN connection is possible after first authenticating with Battle.net.^[54] Further controversy was sparked when Blizzard confirmed that the game would not support cross-server play out of the box, restricting gamers to only play against local opponents - for instance, US gamers against those in the US and Europeans against Europeans. The company originally explained that Australia and New Zealand servers would be located in Southeast Asia, pitting them against combatants from Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand,^[55] however closer to release it was revealed that the Southeast Asia / Australia / New Zealand version of the game would not be strictly region-locked, with gamers able to play on either the SEA/ANZ servers or the North American ones.^[56]

Mike Morhaime, president of Blizzard, announced during the opening ceremony of Blizzcon 2009 that StarCraft II and the new Battle.net platform would both be released in 2010, with a month or so of interval.^[57]^{[unreliable source?]} As of March 2010, it has been stated that the new platform is currently being tested outside the beta and is planned for release in early July 2010,^[58] for both StarCraft II and World of WarCraft: Cataclysm, with a later upgrade for Diablo 3. On May 5th, 2010, it was revealed that StarCraft II and Battle.net 2.0 would be integrated with social networking site Facebook, "linking the world's premier online gaming platform with the world's most popular social platform"^[59] - a move that will see gamers able to search their Facebook friends lists for StarCraft II opponents. StarCraft II has been criticized for its lengthy development time. Wired Magazine in its annual Vaporware Award, ranked StarCraft II first among the delayed technology products of 2009.^[60] StarCraft II is now set for a July 27, 2010 release date according to Blizzard.^[61]

[edit]Beta

Blizzard posted a release date for the game's first beta of Summer 2009, but failed to release a beta during that time. ^[62] Since May 6, 2009, it was possible to sign up for the beta phase of the game.^[63]^[64]^[65] In November 2009, the game's producer Chris Sigaty confirmed there would be no public beta for the game taking place in 2009 but assured fans of the title that it would happen next year.^[66] On February 17, 2010, StarCraft II began closed beta testing.^[67] The beta was expected to last for 3-5 months. Beta keys for the initial release were sold oneBay for prices as high as $400.^[68] Blizzard has also released a map editor for the beta as part of Patch 9.^[69] According to the company, they are planning to release a major content patch towards the end of beta testing.^[70]

As of 23 July 2010, eighteen patches have been released for the beta (only seventeen on European servers),^[71] including a patch which provided access to the Galaxy map editor. On May 12, 2010 Blizzard released the Beta client for Mac for the users who had signed-up. On May 17, 2010 Blizzard announced that first phase of the beta test would be coming to an end in all regions on May 31st. The first phase was then extended to June 7.^[72] The second phase began on July 7, 2010 and ended on July 19, 2010.^[73]

[edit]Release

Customers and reviewers who received the installation DVD before the July 27, 2010 release were greeted with an error screen, telling them to wait until the release date.^[74] There is no known workaround and some reviewers have praised the action for limiting journalists to playing and reviewing the game with actual players.^[75]^[76]

[edit]Marketing

Blizzard entered into a co-marketing agreement with Korean Air that will last for six months, in which two of the airline's airplanes on both domestic and international routes prominently display StarCraft II advertising featuring Jim Raynor on the fuselage.^[77]

[edit]Versions

On April 8, 2010 Blizzard officially announced that the game will be available in a standard and collector's edition. The game will also be available for digital download from Blizzard on the release date; pre-loading began on July 15.^[78] The collector's edition will come with an artbook, 2GB flash drive modeled after Jim Raynor's dog tag with the original StarCraft and Brood War expansion preloaded, behind-the-scenes DVD, soundtrack, comic book, and redeemable codes for downloadable content including a unique model for the in-game Thor unit and a World of Warcraft pet.^[79] On June 24, 2010, at a press-only Korean event, Blizzard announced that Korean players would be able to play StarCraft II for free as long as their World of Warcraft subscriptions are active. When in PC bangs, or other cybercafes alike, players will be able as usual to play the game by paying roughly the equivalent of US$1 per hour. Other options include a 30 days subscription to the service for a 9900 won fee (roughly equivalent to US$8 or £5.5), a 24 hours play-time ticket for 2000 won (roughly US$1.50 or £1) or unlimited access for 69,000 won ($56 or £37.5).^[80]

[edit]References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "FAQ for StarCraft II". Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved 2007-05-19.
^ "StarCraft II unveiled". IGN Games. 2007-05-19. Retrieved 2009-01-06.
^ "STARCRAFT® II: WINGS OF LIBERTY™ IN STORES STARTING JULY 27, 2010". Blizzard Entertainment. 2010-05-03. Retrieved 2010-05-16.
^ "Starcraft II launches July 27". GameSpot. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
^ "On Kotaku". Kotaku.com. 2010-05-03. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
^ "포모스". Fomos.kr. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
^ ^a ^b "StarCraft II System Requirements". Blizzard. Retrieved 2010-07-24.
^ "StarCraft II Saga begins July 27th". GamePron. 2010-05-03. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
^ "It's Official, StarCraft II Hits Stores July 27". PC World. 2010-05-03. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
^ "Starcraft 2 release date confirmed". Island Crisis. 2010-05-03. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
^ Kalning, Kristin (2007-05-31). "Can Blizzard top itself with 'StarCraft II?'". MSNBC. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
^ Park, Andrew (2007-05-19). "Q&A session details Starcraft II". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-05-19.
^ Rausch, Allen (2007-05-19). "StarCraft II Q&A Sessions". GameSpy. Retrieved 2007-05-19.
^ "StarCraft II Q&A Batch 7". Blizzard. 2007-07-12. Archived from the original on 2007-12-31. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
^ "Ministory StarCraft II". MGSPOT. Retrieved 2010-04-10.
^ Blizzard Entertainment. "Insider Interview: "The Making of the StarCraft II Cinematic Teaser"". Retrieved 2007-06-07.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Videos: StarCraft II". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2007-05-19.
^ "Terran Blizzcon Demonstration". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
^ ^a ^b Pardo, Rob. (3 August 2007). StarCraft II Under Construction. [Development commentary]. Blizzcon: GameSpot.
^ Watts, Steve (2008-10-20). "StarCraft 2 Trilogy: Everything You Need to Know". 1UP News. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
^ Nguyen, Thierry (2008-12-30). "StarCraft 2 Wings of Liberty for the PC from 1UP.com". 1UP News. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
^ Breckon, Nick (2009-07-01). "StarCraft 2 Interview: Reaction and Reflection". Shacknews. p. 3. Retrieved 2009-07-10.
^ Park, Andrew (2007-05-20). "StarCraft II Preview - What We Know So Far". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-05-24.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "StarCraft II: The Protoss". Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved 2007-05-19.
^ Mielke, James (2007-07-06). "Preview - Will work for Vespene Gas". Games for Windows. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
^ "StarCraft II preview in PC Gamer Magazine". PC Gamer. August 2007.
^ Added by Brad Shoemaker on Oct. 17, 2008 (2008-10-18). "Q&A: The Starcraft II Brain Trust". Giantbomb.com. Retrieved 2010-04-23.
^ Dustin Browder, Rob Pardo. "Blizzcon Panels".
^ Shoemaker, Brad (2007-08-03). "BlizzCon 07: Pardo demos StarCraft II campaign". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
^ "StarCraft II Terrans: Wings of Liberty PC Games Interview".
^ "BlizzCon 2009: Battle.net 2.0 and the Galaxy Editor’s Hour". Sc2blog.com. 2009-08-24. Retrieved 2010-04-23.
^ Park, Andrew (2007-05-20). "Blizzard outlines StarCraft II gameplay". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-08-20.
^ ^a ^b ^c Metzen, Chris and Chambers, Andy (2007-07-08). "Starcraft Panel Discussion: Lore". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Magrino, Tom (2009-08-23). "Tricia Helfer starring in Starcraft II". GameSpot. Retrieved 2009-08-24.
^ "StarCraft II Q&A Batch 53". Starcraft Legacy. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "StarCraft II (2009)(VG)- Full Cast and Crew". IMDb. IMDb. Retrieved 2009-08-24.
^ ^a ^b Onyett, Charles (2007-05-18). "Blizzard's Worldwide Invitational -- The StarCraft 2 Announcement". IGN. Retrieved 2007-05-19.
^ Park, Andrew (2007-05-18). "Starcraft II warps into Seoul". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-05-19.
^ Fahey, Rob (2009-06-29). "WOW held up StarCraft II for a year". EuroGamer. Retrieved 2009-06-29.
^ Onyett, Charles (2007-05-19). "StarCraft 2 Panel Discussions". IGN. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
^ Horton, Samuel (2009-06-30). "WoW delayed StarCraft2 for a year". SK Gaming. Retrieved 2009-06-29.
^ "Blizzard Entertainment Licenses Havok Physics Technology". Havok. 2006-09-14. Archived from the original on 2007-05-01. Retrieved 2007-05-24.
^ Gwinner, Stefanie (2007-09-14). "StarCraft 2 Q&A Batch 13". Blizzard Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2007-12-13. Retrieved 2007-11-30.
^ Yu, Kevin (2008-04-30). "Karune Q&A Briefings". Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-04-30.^{[dead link]}
^ "StarCraft II - Not happening in 2008". Games On Net. 2008-06-29. Retrieved 2008-08-25.
^ "StarCraft II split into trilogy". GameSpot. 2008-10-10. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
^ Blizzard (2009-02-25). "Blizzard Theme Park Contest". Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-02-25.^{[dead link]}
^ "StarCraft II Beta Keys to best 20 in realm". Blizzard Entertainment. 2009-03-17.
^ Starcraft II closed beta begins this month. Gamespot.
^ "StarCraft II Developers Talk". Retrieved 2009-06-29.
^ "No LAN for StarCraft II". Retrieved 2009-06-29.
^ "New details gameplay elements of StarCraft 2 revealed". Retrieved 2009-06-29.
^ Magrino, Tom (2009-06-30). "Starcraft 2 No LAN will be featured". Gamespot. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
^ Parrish, Kevin (2009-08-24). "StarCraft II, Diablo III Getting Pseudo-LAN". TGDaily. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
^ "StarCraft II: Asia hosted servers for Australia". GamePron.com. 2010-04-27. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
^ "StarCraft II is not region-locked in Australia/NZ". GamePron.com. 2010-07-23. Retrieved 2010-07-23.
^ "Starcraft 2 release date and World of Warcraft: Cataclysm". Retrieved 2009-10-10.
^ "Detailed Battle.net Preview Unveils New Features". Retrieved 2010-03-02.^{[dead link]}
^ "Battle.net set to integrate with Facebook". GamePron. 2010-05-05. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
^ "Vaporware 2009". Retrieved 2009-10-10.
^ "Blizzard press release". Retrieved 2010-05-04.
^ StarCraft Community Manager Karune (2009-05-28). "Blizzard's Battle.net Forum". Retrieved 2009-12-03.
^ Justin Mann. "StarCraft 2 beta signup opens today". Techspot.com.
^ Blizzard. "Starcraft II FAQ". Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
^ Sinclair, Brendan (2009-05-31). "Starcraft II by end of 2009, Call of Duty expanding to new genres". Gamespot. Retrieved 2008-05-03.
^ "No StarCraft II beta In 2009". Dailygamesnews.com. 2009-11-09. Retrieved 2010-04-23.
^ "Closed Beta Begins". Retrieved 2010-02-18.
^ Smith, Mike (2010-02-22). "Starcraft II beta accounts fetching astronomical prices - Plugged In - Yahoo! Games". Videogames.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2010-04-23.
^ "Patch Notes - Beta Patch 9". Retrieved 2010-04-24.
^ "BlizzCast Episode 13". Blizzard Entertainment. February 25, 2010. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
^ Blizzard. "Starcraft II Latest News (Forum)". Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
^ Blizzard. "StarCraft II Beta Test Schedule Update". Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
^ Blizzard. "StarCraft II Beta Phase Two Begins". Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
^ "No StarCraft II Reviews Before Launch". N4G. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
^ Kuchera, Ben. "No early StarCraft 2 reviews; we'll be playing with you". Arstechnica.com. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
^ "Don’t Bother Looking for Early StarCraft II Reviews". Gamercrave.com. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
^ "Blizzard Announces Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty Co-Marketing Campaign with Korean Air". IGN. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
^ Leahy, Brian. "Shacknews.com". Shacknews.com. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
^ "StarCraft®II: Wings of Liberty™ Collector's Edition Announced".
^ "Korean Event Aftermaths, Beta Phase 2 and LAN play".

[edit]External links

Official StarCraft II website at Blizzard Entertainment

How to Set Up a USB Printer

2010-07-26T11:18:00.000-07:00

If you have purchased a printer in the last several years, chances are that it has a USB connection interface. USB is the current standard for connecting all types of devices to modern desktop computers and laptops, including printers.

Setting up a USB printer is not difficult at all and is something that most people can do in just a few minutes. However, it does help to know the steps to installing the printer before you get started

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

USB printer
USB printer cable
Installation CD

Step 1
Plug the AC adapter cable into the printer and an available electrical outlet. Load the tray with paper and turn the power on to the printer. Do not connect the USB printer cable to the printer or computer yet.
Step 2
Install the printer ink or toner cartridges according to the directions in the installation or quick start guide. Allow the printer to cycle the cartridges and prepare them for use.
Step 3
Insert the installation CD into the CD/DVD drive on your computer or laptop. Wait for the setup program to launch and then click the "Install Printer" or "Install Printer Driver" option on the display screen.
Step 4
Wait for the program to prompt you to connect the printer. Then, plug the hexagonal end of the USB cable into the printer and the flat end of the cable into an empty USB port on your computer.
Step 5
Continue to follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation of the computer. If prompted to do so, reboot the computer. The printer is now available to print documents from within applications on your computer.
Step 6
Open the printer information window in Windows XP by clicking on the "Start" button and then on the "Printers and Faxes" tab. In Windows Vista or Windows 7, click on the "Start" globe and then the "Devices and Printers" tab.
Step 7
Right-click on the new USB printer under the "Printer and Faxes" section of the window and then left-click on the "Properties" option. Under the "General" tab on the printer properties window, click the "Print Test Page" option.

reference :ehow.com

How to Connect to a Shared Printer on a Home Network with Windows Vista

2010-07-26T11:14:00.000-07:00

One of the more useful aspects of having a home network is being able to share a printer between computers. This article will show you how to connect to a shared printer on a home network with Windows Vista.

Things You'll Need:

Windows Vista
Home Network
Another computer with a printer installed

Step 1
Make sure that all computers on your network are in the same workgroup. If you don't know how to do this, see my article "How to Change Your Computer's Name and Workgroup in Microsoft Windows" that's linked in the Resources section below.
Step 2
Make sure that all of the computers on your network have file and printer sharing enabled.
Step 3
If you haven't done so already, share the printer on your network from the computer that has the printer attached to it.
Step 4

Run dialog box

Bring up the "Run" dialog box by by holding down the Window key and pressing R.
Step 5

Opening the Printers page

In the edit box next to "Open:" type "control printers" without the quotes and then hit enter. This will bring up the Printers page in your Control Panel.
Step 6

Double-click on "Add Printer".
Step 7

Add printer dialog

The Add Printer dialog will appear. Click on "Add a network, wireless, or Bluetooth printer".
Step 8

The Add Printer dialog box will read "Searching for Available Printers...". When the printer you want to connect to appears in the list, select it and click "Next". If the printer you want doesn't appear in the list, then you can click on "The printer that I want isn't listed" and enter the information manually.
Step 9

A dialog box will appear that reads "Connecting to...". Wait for the connection to complete.
Step 10

After the connection is complete, the Add Printer dialog box will read "This printer has been installed...". If you want this printer to be your default printer, then check the "Set as the default printer" checkbox. Click "Next".
Step 11

The Add Printer dialog box will say "You've successfully added...". If desired, you can print a test page. Otherwise, click "Finish". Congratulations, you should now be able to print to the shared network printer!

reference :ehow.com

iPhone 4 review

2010-07-26T11:10:00.000-07:00

The iPhone 4 is no small thing to review. As most readers of Engadget are well aware, in the gadget world a new piece of Apple hardware is a major event, preceded by rumors, speculation, an over-the-top announcement, and finally days, weeks, or months of anticipation from an ever-widening fan base. The iPhone 4 is certainly no exception -- in fact, it may be Apple's most successful launch yet, despite some bumps on the road. We've already seen Apple and AT&T's servers overloaded on the first day of pre-orders, the ship date for the next set of phones pushed back due to high demand, and die-hard fans in lineoutside of Apple locations a week before the phone is actually available. It's a lot to live up to, and the iPhone 4 is doing its best -- with features like a super-fast A4 CPU, a new front-facing camera and five megapixel shooter on the back, a completely new industrial design, and that outrageous Retina Display, no one would argue that Apple has been asleep at the wheel. So the question turns to whether or not the iPhone 4 can live up to the intense hype. Can it deliver on the promises Steve Jobs made at WWDC, and can it cement Apple's position in the marketplace in the face of mounting competition from the likes of Google and Microsoft? We have the answers to those questions -- and many more -- in our full review, so read on to find out!

iPhone 4 review hands-on

Hardware

Perhaps the most notable change with the new iPhone is the drastic industrial design overhaul -- Apple seems to have completely rethought its strategy on how the phone should look and feel, and the results are nothing if not striking.

Industrial design

In his WWDC keynote, Steve Jobs likened the design of the iPhone 4 to that of a "beautiful, old Leica camera," and as we've said before, he wasn't off the mark. Instead of hewing to the curved, plasticky, silver-bezeled look of the iPhone 3G and 3GS, the company has turned the casing and face of the device into something decidedly more detailed and sophisticated. From the design aesthetic through to the actual build process, Jony Ive and his team have reset what we expect in an iPhone, coming up with something that clearly harkens back to the retro-future Braun designs of Dieter Rams. The iPhone 4 is made up of three basic parts: two pieces of smooth, strengthened glass, and a stainless steel band which wraps around the sides, top, and bottom of the phone. The effect is clean but not simple, and Apple has added little details, like altered volume buttons (what used to be a rocker is now separated into circular clickers labeled + and -), and notches in that metal band which serve to improve radio connections (more on that in a minute). The phone is noticeably thinner than the 3GS at .37 inches compared to .48 inches, but it weighs the same 4.8 ounces, making the whole package seem tighter and denser. It feels great in your hand, with good heft, although it might take a little time to get used to the lack of a rounded back if you're coming from the 3G or 3GS.

We can't overstate how high-end the design of the iPhone 4 is. The 3GS now feels cheap and chubby by comparison, and even a phone like the HTC Droid Incredible -- which just came out -- seems last-generation.

As we said, there are three main pieces of the phone, which together create an effect not wildly dissimilar to that of an ice cream sandwich. You know, but far pricier... and not edible. The face of the device is made up of extremely strong glass which Jony Ive says is "comparable in strength to sapphire crystal, but about 30 times harder than plastic." A small slit for the earpiece and the front-facing camera are embedded in the glass above the display, with the familiar home button towards the bottom -- a button we should note feels much clickier than on our 3GS. On the left side of the phone you've got the new volume buttons, a redesigned mute switch, and a small notch towards the base of the unit. On the right side is the Micro SIM slot and another notch in the band at the bottom, and up top there's the power / sleep button, headphone jack, another notch, and new noise-canceling microphone. Along the bottom is a speaker, microphone, and the 30-pin dock connector port. The backside of the phone is made from the same kind of ultra-strong glass as the front, interrupted only by the new five megapixel camera, its LED flash companion and, of course, the Apple logo.

Overall, the iPhone 4 outclasses pretty much every smartphone on the market in terms of industrial design. It just comes off like a far more expensive device, like a Mobiado or Vertu -- but better designed. And it's not just the way the phone looks; the materials feel good -- premium -- in your hands. The first few days we had our test unit, we were definitely freaked out about dropping or losing the phone, and some of that had to do with the fact that it's just a really beautiful device to use and hold.

Internals

It's not just the face of the phone that's undergone a transformation -- the iPhone 4 is all new inside as well. For starters, Apple has moved on from the Samsung-built ARM Cortex-A8-based CPU used in the 3GS to its custom A4 chip used in the iPad, which funnily enough... is an ARM Cortex-A8-based CPU. While the company hasn't yet said what the clock speed of the processor is, we're guessing it's something below the 1GHz touted for its tablet cousin. The phone is definitely snappier than the 3GS, so we're not about to volley complaints just yet -- in particular, graphics seemed to render faster, and overall responsiveness was slightly higher, though admittedly, it wasn't blowing the doors off the joint. It's certainly faster, but the 3GS wasn't hurting on speed to our eyes, so it's not as wildly noticeable a leap as the 3G to the 3GS.

As usual, Apple isn't fessing up about the RAM situation, though we have on very good authority that the iPhone 4 has 512MB onboard, a big step up from the 256MB in the previous model and the iPad. We would have liked to see it futureproofed with something like 1GB, but then again, Apple's got to sell a new phone in a year. As far as internal storage goes, you can buy the new iPhone in either 16GB ($199 on contract) or 32GB ($299 on contract) capacity -- fine for now, but since the company has just introduced 30FPS 720p video recording, you could find yourself outgrowing that number pretty quickly. It's a little odd, in fact, that the company didn't double down here and bump the capacity to 64GB, as it's recently done with the iPod touch. In terms of wireless, the iPhone 4 is packed with an 802.11n WiFi radio, as well as a quad-band HSUPA chip and Bluetooth 2.1.

The redesigned housing allows for a much larger lithium-ion battery on the inside, providing improved numbers for Apple's life ratings (more on that in a moment), though it's still not easily replaceable. Additionally, the new phone has those two new cameras (VGA up front, five megapixels with LED flash around back), a new second microphone used to combat background noise while on calls (similar to the Nexus One), a gyroscope in addition to the standard accelerometer, a light sensor, and a proximity sensor. As with the 3GS, an AGPS chip and compass are bundled somewhere in that tiny frame as well.

Of course, the big internal story is what has become external: namely, the UMTS, GPS, WiFi, and Bluetooth antennas. Apple has made the stainless band around the phone essentially a couple of big antennae, and they seem to be doing a pretty good job at hanging onto radio signals. The big question is obviously whether or not this fixes or helps with the constant dropped calls iPhone users on AT&T's network have gotten used to. Well in our testing, we had far, far fewer dropped calls than we experienced on our 3GS. Let's just say that again: yes, the iPhone 4 does seem to alleviate the dropped call issue. It wasn't perfect, and we had some connection issues in downtown New York City in particular, though it's tough to say if it was the fault of our phone, the cluster of buildings we were near, or the person we were speaking to, who was on a 3GS in the same location.

Display

By now you should know that iPhone 4 has an all-new display, as well. Apple is calling the LED backlit, 960 x 640 IPS screen the "Retina Display" due to its high resolution and pixel density. At the same 3.5-inches as the older screens, the new display manages an insane 326ppi pixel density along with an 800:1 contrast ratio. Steve made a huge point about the science behind this technology during his keynote, claiming that the resolution of the screen essentially tops what is perceivable by the human eye. There have been some debates as to whether or not this argument holds water, but we can tell you this: to our eyes, there has never been a more detailed, clear, or viewable screen on any mobile device.

iPhone 3GS on the left, iPhone 4 on the right

Not only are the colors and blacks deep and rich, but you simply cannot see pixels on the screen. Okay, if you take some macro camera shots or get right up in there you can make them out, but in general use, the screen is free of jaggies of any type, unless you're looking at a last-gen app that hasn't had its artwork updated. Text rendering is incredibly clear and clean -- webpages that would be line after line of pixelated content when zoomed out on a 3GS (say, Engadget or the New York Times) are completely readable on the iPhone 4, though the text is beyond microscopic. It's impressive, and doubly impressive when you look at higher-res graphics or watch 720p video on the phone -- the detail in moving images is particularly striking. What's nice is that most apps with text in them will benefit from this tech whether or not they've been updated, as long as they're using Apple's font rendering. Text in the Engadget app, for instance, looks cleaner, clearer, and much easier to read on the new iPhone.

Nexus One up top, iPhone 4 below

Because Apple is using IPS and LED technology for its screen, the iPhone 4 is mercifully visible in full sunlight, and performance in low light and at extreme viewing angles are favorable. Overall, you simply won't find a better display on a phone, and that's not just lip service.

Cameras

The cameras on the new iPhone are going to be a topic of much debate, since this has been an area where Apple has been slow to innovate. The 3GS sported a measly three megapixel shooter with few bells and whistles (and no flash), and while it was fine for quick snaps, it wasn't an artist's tool by any means. The company finally seems to be listening to a public that's interested in leaving the point-and-shoot at home in favor of a phone with a capable camera, by adding a five megapixel shooter to the backside of the iPhone 4 and a VGA camera up front.

Let's first take a look at the higher-res main camera. At his WWDC keynote, Jobs said that getting great looking images wasn't just about upping the camera's megapixels, but had more to do with grabbing more photons. Increase the photon count, let more light in, and your images will look better, the thought goes. So Apple's using a newer backside-illuminated sensor that's more sensitive to light in addition to upping those megapixels -- and we must say, pictures on the iPhone 4 look stunning. Our shots looked good right out of the gate, with few problems when it came to focusing or low light. With the flash on, we managed decent if somewhat blown out results (fairly common with smaller LED flashes) though impressively, the iPhone 4 was usually able to take completely useable and even handsome photos in fairly low light without the flash. It seems like that photon situation is definitely in play, because even shots taken in fairly dark lighting came out looking good. Autofocus worked well in most situations, and we were actually able to get some impressive looking macro shots (see the flowers and Penny below). In general, we'd have no trouble using the iPhone 4's camera as a stand-in for a dedicated camera. Not only did it take beautiful shots, but the A4 and iOS 4 combo have considerably sped up the time it takes to snap pictures -- it's now almost instantaneous. Otherwise, you have options for a 5x digital zoom (which produces results that look like a digital zoom) and basic on / off / auto settings for the flash. It's pretty bare bones, and we wouldn't have minded a few basic options like white balance settings -- but c'mon, this is Apple we're talking about. Luckily, the App Store is chock full of applications that improve upon the stock camera app -- we expect to see a handful of new ones that take advantage of the new sensor soon.

iPhone 4 camera shots

As far as video goes, we were definitely impressed by the 720p capture, though there are stability issues with the lens and the all-too-familiar "jellyvision" CMOS issues that tend to rear their head if you're not holding the phone very steady. Still, we can't see carrying around a Flip HD instead of just keeping this in our pocket (though as we said, we'd like to see a higher storage capacity). Everything we shot looked crisp and mostly artifact-free, and we didn't see any hiccups in the 30 FPS rate Apple claims, even in lower light. Adding iMovie to the mix for on-the-fly editing is a nice touch too (more on that in the software section). The video below was shot and edited completely in-phone, so enjoy -- and here's the raw output to download.

Around front, the VGA camera is... well, a VGA camera. It actually does a fine job of capturing your face during video calls, and worked surprisingly well in low light, but it's not going to win any prizes for being the most advanced shooter on a handset. It does provide for some interesting angle options when it comes to video shooting, and we expect a lot of people will be taking advantage of the weirdly video game-like perspective. All in all, it looks good, but it's pretty utilitarian.

Speaker / earpiece

We've never had a particular problem with the speaker or earpiece on previous iPhones (well, the speakerphone has never been loud enough for our taste), but it's obvious that Apple has done some work on getting both call quality and speakerphone quality up. Beyond making the phone considerably and consistently louder in both places, the clarity of the iPhone 4 is noticeably improved from the previous generation. If you read our review, then you know that we thought Motorola's original Droid had some of the best sounding components we've heard on a phone, and the new iPhone definitely gives them a run for the money. The first time we took a call on the device we were walking down New York's extremely noisy Fifth Avenue, and right away it was obvious that the secondary, noise-canceling mic was doing some heavy lifting, at least on the other end of the line. Even though sirens were wailing behind us and we were surrounded by chatty shoppers, it was easy to hear our party on the other end, and they could hear us perfectly (unless we were lied to). There's clearly a difference between the sound in the earpiece on the new phone versus the 3GS, and it ranks highly against newer competition like the EVO. As far as the speakerphone goes, it gets loud without distorting or producing cutting midrange, a problem we've noticed on quite a few recent phones. We'd liken the iPhone 4 in quality to something along the lines of the BlackBerry Bold -- a bearable tone even when it gets hot.

Software

As with the other revisions to Apple's phone line, the hardware is only half of the story. Along with the iPhone 4 comes iOS 4, the re-branded iPhone OS which boasts loads of new features, most notably a very Apple-ized version of smartphone multitasking, a video calling feature dubbed FaceTime, folders so you can organize your apps, enhanced Mail, and lots of other nips and tucks -- both big and small -- that refine the company's growing operating system. Additionally, Apple has ported the iPad's iBooks to the smaller screen, and has created a new version of its popular iMovie just for the iPhone 4. Overall, the OS is still very much the same as it's always been, but there are some big changes here that bear investigation.

Multitasking

This is a big one, and more than just a little controversial. Since the dawn of apps for the iPhone (remember, way back in 2008?), people have been up in arms about the lack of third-party backgrounding for applications. Sure, you could keep Mail, Safari, iPod, and a few other Apple programs cranking while you used your phone, but those privileges were strictly off limits for third-party devs working on the device. It's arguable that one of the driving forces behind the jailbreaking movement was a desire for this feature -- something a phone as powerful as the iPhone was clearly capable of. Apple's argument has always been that multitasking causes an undue amount of battery drain from phones, and had to be approached with caution, lest we all end up with juiceless phones at high noon. Recently, however, that tune has changed. Apple has -- in true Apple fashion -- "figured out" how to "do multitasking right" -- namely, the company isn't allowing full backgrounding as much as it's allowing a handful of APIs that mimic backgrounding. Things like holding onto a GPS signal, letting music play in the background, staying connected to VoIP calls (or receiving them), and fast switching (basically a way for you to return quickly to exactly where you left off in an app).

So, does Apple pull it off? Can this scarce handful of APIs makeup for true backgrounding? In a word: yep.

Here's the thing -- this may not be "true" multitasking for a lot of us, but it amounts to multitasking formost of us. That is, it looks, feels, and acts like multitasking, so it's pretty tough to complain about it. In fact: we're not going to complain about it, especially given the fact that some of our favorite apps -- the IRC client Colloquy being one of them -- do just about exactly what we need them to do, all according to Apple's rules and regulations. Previous to the new OS, we'd been jailbreaking our phone just to keep an IRC session running in the background. Now, utilizing some of those new APIs, the Colloquy developers have created an elegant and useful solution that pleases both users and the Cupertino Cops. The point is: it works, it does so bug free, and without a major drain on battery life (quite the contrary... more on that in a moment). We're not saying we liked waiting for this kind of thing to come around, and yes, we'd prefer something more open and flexible -- but this works, and works well.

So how is Apple making this magic happen? Here's a breakdown of just exactly what multitasking really means (and feels like) on the new iPhone (and the 3GS):

Fast app switching: You know how you can leave off in Mail halfway through writing a response and go back to exactly where you were? Well that happens everywhere now. When you leave the app, you go back in exactly the same place. And it happens quickly. Fast app switching is essentially like toggling between "paused" applications. This combined with Apple's new app switcher (double tap the home button to bring up your most recently used apps) destroys that annoying iPhone feeling of going in and out and in and out. It just doesn't exist anymore, provided all your apps are up to date, which is going to take some time. It's amazing how much this single feature counts -- it's definitely one of the prime movers here, and it's so simple it's stupid. We would have liked to see options for "favorite" apps or some way to prioritize what you're switching to, but once you get used to this system -- which just puts whatever you've used most recently to the far left -- it makes some sense.
Task completion: Basically, task completion lets an app do its thing even if you leave it. So if you're uploading or downloading a picture in Evernote or Dropbox, or saving an article in theNew York Times app, even if you navigate away, the job is done when you get back to the app. This accounts for a lot of what we think of as multitasking. Most of your apps are just idling -- it's only when you interact with them that it counts. We don't know the boundaries for this API, though it seems to leave a lot of room for creative use. We know it's not just big jobs, it's little ones too -- Colloquy uses this feature to keep you connected to your IRC host. To be honest, that kind of behavior is one thing we thought we wouldn't see in iOS 4, and here it is. Hopefully Twitter app devs and other instant messaging clients will utilize the API in a similar manner.
Background audio and VoIP: These two are straightforward. The first allows for music playing apps to keep their stream running in the background (and even gives them little widget controls in the app switcher), and the second allows VoIP connections to stay active. That means you can stay on a Skype call and go check your mail, but it also means that the VoIP connection will be aware of incoming calls when you're not actively using an app. Additionally, this API can be used to allow for recording even if you exit an app, as demonstrated effectively in the new version of Evernote.
Background GPS: Basically, GPS apps can keep running in the background... for obvious reasons. This one will drain your battery if you're not docked -- but who's using a GPS app and not plugging that thing in? Okay, we might be a little guilty of that. Regardless, this will keep your navigation software afloat if you have to take a call, and apparently will let GPS-centric apps like FourSquare check in even if you're not running it in the foreground.

Apple combines these heavy hitters with more familiar tricks, like push notifications, to excellent effect. We know that the hardcore users will cry foul because a lot of this doesn't amount to "true" multitasking, but we also know that often solutions to problems come in different colors. Apple found a way in iOS 4 to solve a pretty good amount of its major problems in this department, and so far what we've seen is very promising. If it's only going to get better from here, we don't mind coming along for the ride. But it betteronly get better, Apple.

FaceTime

If you didn't know anything about video calling, Apple would definitely have you convinced that they just up and invented the concept based on never-aired Jetsons footage judged too futuristic for TV. Of course, the truth is that in lots of other places (and even in the US to an extent), smartphone video calling isn't exactly a new thing. In fact, in much of Europe and Asia, this technology is old hat. But Apple isn't going to let a little thing like facts get in the way of a good marketing play, and in their (slight) defense, no one's effectively brought video calling to the masses just yet. (One of our European editors says that he's gone ten years without seeing anyone make a video call in his neck of the woods.) While this may be an unscientific perspective, it suggests that it's not enough to just have the tech -- the feature needs to be sold to people.

So has Apple done it? Maybe, and maybe not. We're certainly impressed by the concept and Apple's willingness to open up their "FaceTime standard" to anyone who wants to get in on the party. That means that developers on any platform -- provided they can meet all the necessary requirements -- can create applications that talk via the protocol (or set of protocols, really). We're also impressed with the tech itself, which feels polished and slick out of the gate. But right now, there's only one way to do FaceTime calls, and that's via the iPhone 4... and only over WiFi, which means that the opportunity to make these calls is pretty limited for now. Additionally, in our testing, we found that you really need to have a good, strong, nearby WiFi signal to hang onto a connection. More than once we had video freeze on us, and we had one fully dropped call because someone went out of the WiFi range, but hey... you need to be in range for even the most basic tasks, so we can't fault Apple too much for that. It does seem clear that the iPhone video chats are moving quite a few bits around, however. What's nice about FaceTime is that unlike Qik or other third-party options for something like the EVO, there's no setup here and it's completely integrated into the dialer of the phone -- meaning the only hangup is whether or not you have decent WiFi.

But what is it like? Well in truth, it's actually a teensy bit amazing. Yes, we're a little numb to the PR speak about how game changing it is, but there's still something deeply sci-fi about dialing up a friend and being able to hold this thing in your hand and have a video chat. We did a call with Apple's Greg Joswiak while he was in Paris (see the image above), and when he walked outside and flipped the camera to show us the Eiffel Tower, it was a legitimately weird experience -- a "you are there" moment. As you can see in the call below with USA Today's Ed Baig (his take on the iPhone 4 is right here), it's a pretty new way to talk to someone, at least for us. Having a random face-to-face conversation with a kid about what he's having for lunch is just the tip of the iceberg -- we can definitely see this feature coming into play in all sorts of ways in our lives.

Technically speaking, actually making calls is straightforward; you can switch to a FaceTime chat while you're already connected, or you're given to option to launch right into a FaceTime connection. We were a little surprised by the fact that you can only mute the audio on your calls; if you want the video off, you need to cover the lens in the old fashioned way -- with your hands.

All said, it's a fascinating inclusion, and we've got a sneaking suspicion that Apple intends to do more than just basic calls with this. Obviously the addition of conference FaceTime sessions would be huge, and we're also looking forward to using the function on a 3G network -- it's nice to have a chat from your house, but what would really be great is taking these kinds of conversations out into the wide world. We think that coupled with active development for clients on lots of platforms (not just the iPhone) will make FaceTime much more interesting -- it's a curiosity right now, but it could be something else entirely with a little time and elbow grease.

Folders

What can you really say about folders? Basically: it's about time. We're happy that Apple has seen the light and included something like this in iOS 4, and the implementation is elegant enough, but it would have been nice to store more than 12 items at a time. As it stands, if you have a lot of one kind of app, you're going to end up with a group of folders in the same category. We have a second "Games" folder, but some of you out there will have more like six or seven of those. That helps the problem, but doesn't solve it completely. We get why Apple made this decision -- likely a desire to keep it simple -- but it would be nice to be able to make the room if you wanted it.

Mail improvements

For a lot of us, the new tweaks to the iPhone's Mail app have seriously been a long time coming. Among the major improvements in iOS 4 are a unified inbox and threaded messaging (finally!) -- both of which have made dealing with email on the iPhone a considerably more enjoyable experience. We still think that the mail client is lacking in comparison to Gmail, but that has more to do with our addiction to Gmail than anything else, we suspect. Overall, Mail feels much more complete now, and Apple has solved the same problem in Mail that it had with app switching -- that feeling of constantly jumping into and out of your inboxes.

iBooks / iMovie

This isn't a barnstormer, but it's a nice inclusion. If you've used iBooks for the iPad, the experience is about the same... just smaller. There's not a ton to say about it, except that in addition to lots of other great book apps on the iPhone, Apple has now given you its own. We still don't think it stacks up to Amazon or Barnes & Noble in terms of selection, though the presentation is better in many ways, and it will sync your notes and bookmarks across platforms.

iMovie, on the other hand, is something new entirely. We can't say we didn't see this one coming since Apple just added video recording and editing to its arsenal with the introduction of iPhone OS 3 and the 3GS -- but this takes things one step further. The $4.99 app gives you access to more advanced features, like a (very) limited selection of transitions between clips, the option to add audio to your videos, plus a handful of themes and titling effects. We found it to be extremely capable for fast edits, though everything is pretty sandboxed here, so while you do have the most basic editing tools, things like splitting a clip can be a little bit of a hassle. Since you can only edit the beginning and end of a snippet, if you want to split something into multiple parts you have to drag the clip into your edit repeatedly and then scale the start and finish points for each one. It can be a pain if you're doing lots of jump cuts -- though we don't expect everyone to be making the next Casino on this thing... though, someone probably will, right? For a few bucks, it's definitely worth having, and we expect that after a few people start using the thing, Apple might be prompted to add a few more options.

What's not in the new OS

It's not all wine and roses as far as we're concerned. While Apple has made huge strides in many areas here, this wouldn't be an Engadget review if we didn't have our nitpicks. In particular, we still cannot understand or accept the company's approach to notifications. We're at version 4 of this OS, and we're still plagued by these intrusive, productivity-freezing alerts. If you're as busy as we are, then you know what it's like to get invite after invite for your calendar, text messages, and push notifications that just stall the phone out. While every other modern OS-maker has figured out an elegant way to deal with notifications (including the forthcoming Windows Phone 7), Apple clings to this broken system. Why? We can't really say. We find it hard to believe that there aren't folks in Cupertino who feel the way we do -- in fact, we're sure of it. Maybe that explains the hiring of Palm's "notification guru" Rich Dellinger. We sure hope!

The other thing that's driving us crazy is the lack of widgets. Apple almost gets there with its new extensible music player controls, but there are still no good solutions for glanceable information on the iPhone. We'll admit that it's better now that fast app switching is in play, but we'd still like that weather icon to actually show us the temperature where we live. Is that too much to ask? The competition seems to have this one licked -- we'd really like to see Apple take a stab at it.

Accessories

It wouldn't be a new iPhone without some accessories, but Apple has kept it tidy. The company is offering a new dock, of course, for twenty-nine of your US dollars (that's $29), and a selection of colorful "bumpers" that protect the phone for the same price. We've got a few bumpers in-house, and while we're not really big fans of the way they look or feel, they do seem to protect the phone pretty well. On that note, we've actually seen the iPhone 4 tossed with and without a bumper across a room (one hit a wall) with no issue, and we dropped ours pretty hard from about two feet up onto tile with nary a scratch.

Battery life

This is a big one for many people, and we have some fairly surprising news to report. The battery life on the iPhone 4 has been outstanding thus far, exceeding our expectations for longevity during testing. We've only had a short time to use the phone, but in the week or so we've been carrying the device as our main phone, we've had pretty amazing results under normal to heavy use. In fact, we managed to squeeze more than 38 hours -- yes, 38 hours -- of life out of a single charge using the phone as we normally would. We're talking calls, some gaming, lots of push email and calendar invites, playing music over Bluetooth in the car, and just general testing (like downloading new apps, rearranging icons, tweaking settings). We went from 10:30AM on a Saturday morning till 1:00AM on Monday without needing to charge the phone. Of course, it switched itself off just after the clock struck 1, but it was thrilling -- like that episode of Seinfeld where Kramer and the car salesman see how far they can get in a car with the tank on E. Sitcom references aside, the battery life seems markedly improved in the iPhone 4, and why not? It's got a much larger battery coupled with that iPad-powering A4, which has already shown that it can sip rather than gulp power.

Once the rest of the team has their iPhones in hand, we'll do some hardcore battery life testing and see what we come up with, but we think under pretty active use, the iPhone 4 blows Apple's previous generation phone out of the water, and makes a lot of the competition look downright needy.

Wrap-up

We're not going to beat around the bush -- in our approximation, the iPhone 4 is the best smartphone on the market right now. The combination of gorgeous new hardware, that amazing display, upgraded cameras, and major improvements to the operating system make this an extremely formidable package. Yes, there are still pain points that we want to see Apple fix, and yes, there are some amazing alternatives to the iPhone 4 out there. But when it comes to the total package -- fit and finish in both software and hardware, performance, app selection, and all of the little details that make a device like this what it is -- we think it's the cream of the current crop. We won't argue that a lot of this is a matter of taste -- some people will just prefer the way Android or Symbian works to the iPhone, and others will be on the lookout for a hardware keyboard or a particular asset that the iPhone 4 lacks -- but in terms of the total picture, it's tough to deny that Apple has moved one step past the competition with this phone. Of course, in the hyper-accelerated smartphone market where the Next Big Thing seems to always be just around the corner, it's anyone's guess how long they keep that edge

reference : http://www.engadget.com