Smartphones On The Scene

The IT world is always buzzing with rumors of new features and gadgets, especially around the holidays. The TNS Group blog is here to set the record straight on the latest tech toys that will be in stores for the most wonderful time of the year.

- Samsung Nexus S Smartphone for Android 2.3: Google has announced the release of its latest operating system for its Android phone, featuring 16GB of internal memory, a front and rear facing camera, improved copy & paste functions, and a 4 inch contour display. This Smartphone will be available in stores on December 16, right in time for holiday shopping.

- BlackBerry Bold 9780 for T Mobile: This latest installment for BlackBerry features double the memory of its predecessor, 5 megapixel camera (improved from 3.2 megapixel), and is preloaded with the BlackBerry 6.0 Operating System. The Bold 9780 is in stores now.

- Samsung Focus for Windows Phone 7: This device has been dubbed the "first great device" for the Windows platform, features an easy-to-use layout, great display screen, and compatibility with Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint -- excellent news for businesses that utilize these programs. The best part? The rumors are true.. AT&T is offering a Buy One, Get One Free campaign for the holiday season.

- Now we get to the "core" of the rumors with Apple: There has been a lot of talk lately about the possible release of the iPad 2. While this is normally enough to get Apple fans' heads spinning, there is a catch. Rumor has it that Steve Jobs & Co are pushing for a February 2011 release date. Of course, this will really upset customers who bought iPads for the holidays. It seems that Apple wants to move the current iPads out of stores this holiday season to make room for the new ones to follow. Our advice? Although you may be dying for an iPad from Santa, try to hold out to see if there's any truth to the iPad 2. You don't want to be "outdated" in February.

There you have it, these are the holiday gadgets to look out for this season. Happy shopping from TNS!

Ubuntu Dual Boot...

So I'm trying to wrap my head around OSes that aren't Windows...

In order to crack WPA security (in order to show network vulnerability) and other cool little apps, they need to be Linux based (M$ hasn't figured that one out yet.) I've gone through the process of creating a dual botting laptop with both Vista on it (it came with the laptop) and Ubuntu. I tried the KDE flavor of Ubuntu (Kubuntu) but I wasn't happy with the flakiness of video that I got and a few crashes of the software. I know that's not usually enough to switch gears for most but I'm just playing around with it.

There are so many things that you can do once you're finally in the OS. The command line is way more powerful than the GUI, but I need some time to adjust.

I also just realized there's a 64 bit version so I'll be downloading that and flattening the install just one more time to get it right.

It's never too late to teach an aging dog new tricks!

~Matt S.