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Google Docs Now Native On Android

Google's cloud document service has a new Android app and some new features along with it.

Google Docs has gone native for Android, giving users a bunch of features that aren't available through the Web browser. The app, available for free through the Android Market, provides a slick interface for accessing documents and spreadsheets. The editor itself however is still handled through the browser.

What advantages does a native app have over just polishing up the Google Docs Web app? The Android app comes with a bunch of extra features, such as:

Widget: The Google Docs home screen widget lets users jump to starred documents, create new documents or snap a photo to upload.

Photo-to-text scanning: The Google Docs app can use optical character recognition to turn new or existing photos into documents. Sounds neat, but it won't recognize handwriting or some fonts.

Share with contacts: The native app can tap into an Android phone's contact list to share documents.

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be offline support at the moment. A user in Google's forums did notice that the app includes a cache of up to 20 MB, and there's a "Sync Docs" option under the "Accounts & Sync" setting, but the only thing that appears offline is a list of documents. Maybe offline support will be added in the future, but since the editor is still handled through the browser, I don't see this happening anytime soon.

Google Docs is available now for Android versions 2.1 and higher.

Follow Jared on Facebook and Twitter for even more tech news and commentary.

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Intel 320 Series SSD Boosts Capacity, Drops Cost

The newly announced Intel SSD 320 Series represent a significant upgrade to the company's existing lineup of solid-state drives. This series boosts capacity to a maximum of 600GB and improves performance, at a better price than the generation of SSDs it replaces, Intel's popular X25-M series. We ran the drive through our tests in the PCWorld Labs, and found that it did indeed hum in its performance -- putting it right up there among a tight and fast field.

The 320 Series fulfills the promise of Intel's 25-nanometer (nm) multilevel cell (MLC) flash manufacturing process. This process, which ramped up production through 2010, increased SSD capacity points and reduced production costs by packing 8GB of storage on a single 167mm flash die -- which is twice the capacity the previous 34nm process could produce.

With the 320 Series, Intel has gone beyond simply revving the flash inside. Everything about the SSD is redesigned. It uses an all-new Intel controller and supports 128-bit AES encryption (joining the parade of self-encrypted drives that are fast becoming standard fare). The 320 Series also enhances data reliability through extra data arrays that amplify the error correction already in the flash, and adds a failsafe to enable the drive to complete writing a file even if it's been interrupted by a loss in power.

Given these new features, the drive should have no difficulty appealing to its target audience of consumers and business users alike. Intel even expects the 320 Series to find a home in data center and server applications, as a replacement for 15,000rpm hard drives.

In the Labs: Performance

Against the field of 14 SSDs evaluated in the PCWorld Labs, the 300GB Intel SSD 320 Series drive we tested proved a solid, well-rounded performer. It bested all comers at our write files and folders test, and tied for top honors on our write a large 2GB file and Open Office uninstall tests.

It beat its X25-M predecessor on four of our nine tests, and tied that drive on the rest. And it even edged the 160GB SSD 510 Series, which is a 6Gbps SATA drive aimed more at enterprises, on our write files and folders test, though just barely (the 310 Series lagged on two other tests, and tied the 510 Series on the remainder).

The 320 Series showed its most notable result in its write speeds. Here, Intel claims significant boosts (well upwards of 100 percent for random and sequential writes) in its own synthetic benchmark testing. In our real-world tests of the drive, we saw an 11 percent improvement, whereby it took 34 seconds to write 2GB of files and folders, whereas the X25-M required 38 seconds to perform the same task. It also shaved seconds off our Open Office Installation test, two of our WorldBench 6 tests (using Photoshop and Nero 7).

Reliability Stats

While much remains debated about SSD reliability, Intel makes a point of noting that since the company manufactures the flash, it can hand-pick top grade that's optimized for use in computing environments. By comparison, some SSD manufacturers may integrate flash die that were manufactured with other uses in mind.

In a briefing, Intel also revealed its internal field data on the reliability of its X25-M SSD, as deployed across Intel's own workforce. The numbers show a total annual failure rate of about 0.4 percent, across more than 1 million drives.

Pricing

Intel declined to supply expected retail pricing, but the company expects the drives to sell in quantity for $89 (40GB), $159 (80GB), $209 (120GB), $289 (160GB), $529 (300GB), and $1069 (600GB). By comparison, the 256GB Crucial RealSSD 300 currently sells at retail for $475, and the 160GB Intel X25-M sells for about $410.

Intel has said it expects the 160GB SSD 320 Series to sell for "about $100" less than the X25-M. Still, considering that a year ago a 256GB SSD cost around $750, if Intel's expected volume prices can translate into retail prices, Intel's new lineup could help speed SSD adoption.

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Top 10 Inkjet Multifunction Printers

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1.HP OfficeJet Pro 8500A Plus

Touch-sensitive controls, cheap inks, and a legal-size scanner raise this MFP above the competition.

Last Rated: November 19, 2010
$289.00 - $475.00 Check Prices

2.Canon Pixma MG8120

A generous feature set and great performance make this MFP a good fit for a home or small office.

Last Rated: September 29, 2010
$198.98 - $299.84 Check Prices

3.Canon Pixma MG6120

A touch-sensitive control panel lifts the well-equipped, reasonably fast MG6120 over its midpriced competition.

Last Rated: April 13, 2011
$130.54 - $194.69 Check Prices

4.Epson Artisan 725 Arctic Edition

Home users with light printing needs will like everything about this MFP except its lackluster quality on plain paper.

Last Rated: November 19, 2010
$99.99 Check Prices

5.Epson WorkForce 635

Last Rated: March 28, 2011

6.Epson Artisan 835

A wealth of features make this unit nearly as well suited for family or home office users as it is for photo enthusiasts.

Last Rated: October 11, 2010
$179.95 - $302.38 Check Prices

7.Canon Pixma MX882

You needn't sacrifice performance for style: This MFP gives you full print/copy/scan/fax capabilities in a glossy package.

Last Rated: April 11, 2011
$149.99 - $199.00 Check Prices

8.HP Photosmart Premium e-All-in-One C310a

Last Rated: January 04, 2011
$109.99 - $209.30 Check Prices

9.Kodak ESP 9250

Speed and print quality vary on this inkjet multifunction, but its low ink costs could be a reasonable trade-off for some users.

Last Rated: November 09, 2010
$198.95 - $230.99 Check Prices

10.Lexmark Pinnacle Pro901

You pay more for the machine but less for its ink, which is a reasonable trade-off--especially considering the plentiful features that accompany this MFP.

Last Rated: June 15, 2010
$168.99 - $299.99 Check Prices
READ MORE - Top 10 Inkjet Multifunction Printers

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Intel Eyes Post-Thunderbolt Interconnect for 2015

A new interconnect technology being developed by Intel could be ready for use by 2015 and will be able to shuttle data between computers at up to five times the speed of its recently launched Thunderbolt technology, an Intel researcher said on Wednesday.

The new technology uses silicon photonics, which combines silicon components with optical networking, to carry data at up to 50 gigabits per second over distances of up to 100 meters, said Jeff Demain, strategy director of circuits and system research at Intel Labs, at a company event in New York.

Intel expects the technology to be ready for use in PCs, tablets, smartphones, televisions and other products by 2015, Demain said. As well as being faster than today's interconnect technologies, it's expected to lower costs because the components will be built using existing silicon manufacturing techniques.

The technology could be used in TVs and set-top boxes to carry video streams at much higher definition than those available today. Image resolution is likely to quadruple by the middle of the decade, when successors to 1080p have arrived, and that will mean more data has to be pushed to the TV.

It should also enable faster data transfers between smartphones, tablets, PCs and peripherals such as external storage drives.

The technology still has a way to go, but Intel showed its progress at the event in New York Wednesday. It showed what it said were working prototypes of the silicon chips used to transmit and receive the laser signals.

It also showed mock-ups of the cables that will carry the data. They were not working samples, and Intel did not show the interconnect technology in action, but it showed how the cables will be thinner than those used for Thunderbolt and USB 3.0.

Thunderbolt, introduced in February, can transfer data between devices at up to 10 gigabits per second. Intel developed the technology with Apple, which offers Thunderbolt ports in its new MacBook Pro laptops. The initial version uses copper wires, but Intel hopes to start using optical cables next year.

Thunderbolt already helps reduce the number of chips and connector ports in devices by supporting both the PCI-Express and DisplayPort protocols. The new photonics technology should support those protocols as well as others, Demain said.

Thunderbolt will likely coexist alongside the new technology in some devices, he said. "We see them as complementary. It's the evolution of these connectors and protocols as they move forward," Demain said. "Thunderbolt is more than a cable. It's a router chip that aggregates DisplayPort and PCI-Express."

Intel has been researching silicon photonics for some time, as have IBM, Hewlett-Packard and other vendors. IBM has been exploring its use for connecting transistors on chips, rather than just between larger devices.

Before the technology comes to market, Intel plans to combine the transmitter and receiver components into a single chip, and also to shrink the chips to a size where they will fit inside smartphones and tablets.

The silicon lasers can be made using existing manufacturing techniques, which will help keep costs down and is partly why chip makers like Intel and IBM are interested in it.

"We have to use the silicon manufacturing technologies we know," Demain said. "That's what the promise of the technology is. It is based on a silicon foundation."

READ MORE - Intel Eyes Post-Thunderbolt Interconnect for 2015

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Angry Birds

Reaches 140 Million Downloads

The download numbers represent a major surge from the 100 million downloads reported by Rovio in March, and puts Angry Birds further into the ranks of the top selling games of all time.

The game has been a large success after it was first launched as an Apple iPhone app in December 2009, said Rovio's Peter Vesterbacka, who goes by the title "Mighty Eagle," at the Global Mobile Internet Conference in Beijing on Wednesday.

Angry Birds is now available on a wide range of platforms including Android, Windows, and video game systems like the Playstation 3. The game sells for $0.99 on Apple's App Store, but also comes in a free version.

The success of the game, however, didn't come easy, and Rovio built 51 other games over a seven-year period before Angry Birds really started taking off, Vesterbacka said. Marketing has played a big role in the game's popularity, he added. Rovio has invested in producing Angry Birds merchandise to promote the game and created an ad that ran during the Super Bowl.

Rovio has big ambitions for China. The company aims to reach 100 million downloads of Angry Birds this year, Vesterbacka said. He did not disclose the number of downloads of the game in the country so far.

The company also believes it can make Angry Birds one of the most recognized brands in China. "We are now in the top three for the most copied brand in China," he said. "We are up there with Disney and Hello Kitty."

China is potentially a large market for Rovio. The country has 889 million mobile phone users, according to the country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

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PlayStation Network Security Breach: A Survival Guide

Sony has quite the security nightmare on its hands with its giant PlayStation Network disaster.

Sony finally admitted Tuesday that account details, logins and online IDs for registered Sony PlayStation Network users, as many as 77 million people, have been compromised. The information was stolen sometime between April 17 and 19, according to a Sony blog post, as early as nine days before Sony notified its users of the breach. Even worse, the company says it can't be sure whether credit card information was stolen.

[Read our Game On blogger's take: Sony's PlayStation Network Disaster: What Happens Next?]

The admission came nearly a week after Sony pulled the plug on PSN and its Qriocity music service, blaming the outage on an "external intrusion" into Sony's network. Sony says that it is rebuilding the PSN and Qriocity server system with improved security. Both services are expected to be operational within the next week.

The fact that it took the company almost 10 days to figure out and then admit that user data had been stolen is troubling to say the least.

[Read: PlayStation Hack Timeline]

If you're a registered PSN user, the implications for you and your online information is quite serious. Here's what you need to know:

What The Bad Guys Know About You

Sony said the following user information was compromised: your name, address (city, state, zip), country, e-mail address, birth date, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login, and handle/PSN online ID.

It's also possible, according to Sony, that hackers obtained your PSN purchase history, billing address (city, state, zip), and password security answers.

If that wasn't bad enough, it's also possible your credit card information was stolen, including your card number and expiration date. "While there is no evidence at this time that credit card data was taken," Sony said, "we cannot rule out the possibility." Your credit card's security code (typically a three-digit number on the back of your card) was not compromised, according to Sony.

Your Kids' Account Is Compromised, Too

Sony also warns that if you have a sub-account for a minor attached to your PSN credentials, that account is probably toast as well.

What to Do

There are several measures you should take to ensure the integrity of your data. First, considering how long it took Sony to warn its users, it's probably best to assume that all of your information needs to be changed as soon as possible. This isn't meant as a scare tactic, but the fact that hackers may have obtained your PSN data nearly 10 days ago means they have a huge head start on using that data for malicious purposes.

Sony is also warning users to be wary of people calling or e-mailing you for extra information such as your Social Security number or other personal information. Sony says it will never call you asking you to verify your information. You should also be wary of people claiming to be from other companies or services looking to verify your personal data.

Watch Those Credit Cards

Next, you'll want to decide what measures you want to take to secure your credit card information. You can either monitor your card for suspicious activity, or, if you can manage without your card for a few days, you may want to consider canceling it and getting a new one.

Sony also advises that you may want to place a fraud alert on your credit record with the three major U.S. credit bureaus. This will make it harder for someone to open a new credit card in your name (remember they may have your name, billing address and birth date). To find out how to contact the credit bureaus see Sony's blog post.

Also, check out the Federal Trade Commission's website for advice on what to do if you've been hit by identity theft.

by. ian paul pc_world

READ MORE - PlayStation Network Security Breach: A Survival Guide

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Verizon's New 4G Mobile Hotspots: Which One Works Best?


Mobile hotspots like Novatel’s popular MiFi 2200 have been greeted warmly by tech users and have sold well. They simplify things by providing our various devices with Internet connectivity under one data service bill. And they’re small and superportable.

But mobile hotspots have often connected devices to the Internet at relatively slow speeds, until now. A pair of new mobile hotspots that run on Verizon’s fast new 4G LTE network--Samsung’s 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot and Novatel’s MiFi 4510L--have become available, and they truly do live up to being ten times faster than their 3G predecessors.

The two devices and their accompanying data plans are priced the same. The hotspots each sell for $100 with a two-year contract at the Verizon Wireless site. For data service, you can buy a 5GB plan for $50 per month or a 10GB plan for $80 per month. Both plans charge $10 for every gigabyte of data you use over your monthly limit.

So which device is the better buy? I break them down feature by feature and pick a winner at the end (feel free to skip down). In a nutshell, I found a number of small differences--and one big one--that might make all the difference when choosing between the two.

READ MORE - Verizon's New 4G Mobile Hotspots: Which One Works Best?

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ASUS Releases HD 6670, HD 6570 and HD 6450 Graphics Cards


ASUS has released the ASUS HD 6670, HD 6570 and HD 6450 graphics cards that offer users superb performance for vivid graphics. All three contain the latest DirectX®11 technology to support ultra- realistic game characters, enhanced speed, and true-to-life special effects. AMD supported App Acceleration accelerates everyday work applications while the HD 6670 and HD 6570 deliver a smooth, high quality 3D video playback experience.



HD 6670 and HD 6570 - Loaded for HD performance

The HD 6670 and HD 6570 are clocked at 810MHz and 650MHz respectively, and both are built with the latest in ASUS advancements for a refined visual experience. ASUS exclusive Super Alloy Power applies special-formulated components to provide an efficient power supply for a 15% performance boost, 35°C cooler operation and 2.5 times longer lifespan. A unique dust-proof fan design dissipates heat efficiently and extends the graphic card’s lifespan by 25%* (10,000 hours) through increased dust and particle resistance. Native HDMI, Dual-link DVI and Display Port connections on the EAH6670/DIS/1GD5 allow users to experience AMD Eyefinity, which can extend the visual horizon across three displays for engaging HD entertainment.

HD 6450 Silent- Hushed but visually vibrant

An efficiently designed heatsink passively cools the low profile HD 6450 Silent Series so absolutely no sound is produced while operating. This ensures a quiet environment, perfect for hushed gaming and multimedia enjoyment via home theater PCs and multimedia centers. With a clock speed of 625MHz and up to 1GB of DDR3 memory on board, the HD 6450 Silent Series displays the latest in multimedia entertainment with ease. Native HDMI, Dual-link DVI and D-sub connections are housed in a low profile bracket for added convenience.

READ MORE - ASUS Releases HD 6670, HD 6570 and HD 6450 Graphics Cards

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Apple denies tracking iPhone users, but promises changes

Computerworld - Apple today denied that it tracks iPhone and iPad users, saying that "users are confused" about the issue.

In a statement posted on its Web site, Apple defended the practice, but admitted that there were bugs in its software that would be fixed "in the next few weeks" with an update to iOS, the mobile operating system that powers the iPhone and iPad.

A privacy expert applauded Apple's acknowledgement of the problem and its promise to make changes, but questioned the company's flat denial that it never tracked users.

"I'm glad that they are fixing what they call bugs," said Justin Brookman, the director of consumer privacy at the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), a Washington D.C.-based advocacy organization. "But I take exception with their strong denial that they track users."

Wednesday's statement was the first official response from the company since British researchers reported last week that iOS concealed an unencrypted file containing thousands of location data entries going back almost a year. The unsecured file was also backed up on users' PCs and Macs during synchronization.

Since then, members of Congress have asked Apple to explain the practice, and at least one lawsuit has been filed in federal court demanding that the company cease the location tracking.

Today, Apple said it does not track users.

"Apple is not tracking the location of your iPhone," the company said in its statement. "Apple has never done so and has no plans to ever do so."

The unencrypted file is not a history of the iPhone or iPad user's movements, said Apple, but is instead a subset of a database it maintains of cell tower and Wi-Fi network locations. Apple described the database as "crowd-sourced," meaning that it is compiled from numerous users.

"[This is] a database of Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers around your current location ... to help your iPhone rapidly and accurately calculate its location when requested," said Apple. "Calculating a phone's location using just GPS satellite data can take up to several minutes. iPhone can reduce this time to just a few seconds by using Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower data to quickly find GPS satellites, and even triangulate its location using just Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower data when GPS is not available."

The database consists of data submitted to Apple by "tens of millions of iPhones," Apple said.

Apple loads a small portion of that database -- it's too large to store on a smartphone or tablet in its entirety -- on each iPhone and 3G-equipped iPad. "The location data that researchers are seeing on the iPhone is not the past or present location of the iPhone, but rather the locations of Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers surrounding the iPhone's location," said Apple.

Although the company did not admit it tracked users, it did own up to what it called "bugs" in its current software.

READ MORE - Apple denies tracking iPhone users, but promises changes