Ubuntu 13.04 Available For Download [Screenshot Tour, Video]

<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Ubuntu 13.04 has been <a href="http://www.ubuntu.com/download">released</a> today with many enhancements and fixes to Unity as well as some important performance improvements. Read on to find out more!</b></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzag5OLbUyCKQTwe_pYUB87z6tgCS0KPGBwkGzHjSGtd-8p8ZObjli6CyWVwrVFtioU-SiDwXiyUs-U_2Qx-iPBT-LFfwZTihHl5gNbpwIForGU-yYEQlxXwBpVNgRb3NK5AJF5TAyqiu3/s1600/ubuntu13.04-raring-ringtail.png" imageanchor="1" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzag5OLbUyCKQTwe_pYUB87z6tgCS0KPGBwkGzHjSGtd-8p8ZObjli6CyWVwrVFtioU-SiDwXiyUs-U_2Qx-iPBT-LFfwZTihHl5gNbpwIForGU-yYEQlxXwBpVNgRb3NK5AJF5TAyqiu3/s450/ubuntu13.04-raring-ringtail.png" /></a></div><br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><h2>Ubuntu 13.04 (Raring Ringtail) video</h2><br />Check out the video below to see what's new in Ubuntu 13.04:<br /><br /><center><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1Sr3XjqXAqc" width="560"></iframe><br />(<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Sr3XjqXAqc">direct video link</a>; for more videos, subscribe to our <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/nilarimogard">YouTube channel</a>)</center><br /><br /><br /><h2>Unity changes in Ubuntu 13.04</h2><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Unity has been improved a lot in Ubuntu 13.04 and it's now a LOT faster than in Ubuntu 12.10. A lot of the work on Unity has happened under the hood but there are some user interesting interface changes and new features, such as:</div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><b>new window switching feature</b> that allows you to switch between open windows of the same application by using the Unity Launcher quicklists;</li><li><b>switch</b> between an application's <b>open windows by scrolling on the application icon in the Unity Launcher;</b></li><li><b>new Unity-style shutdown dialogs;</b></li><li>the Launcher <b>minimum icon size limit has been decreased to 8px from 32px;</b></li><li><b>Dash is a lot faster (both to open and search)</b>, comes with<b> improved preview animations, overlay scrollbars </b>and the search has been improved with the addition of a new library which provides <b>error tolerant matching</b> so for instance, typing "gdit" will find Gedit, which wouldn't happen in Ubuntu 12.10;</li><li><b>Unity Online Accounts has received per application toggles</b> so you can choose which application / feature is allowed to use your online accounts;</li><li>the <b>Unity systray whitelist has been removed</b>, so you can no longer whitelist applications to use the notification area, however, Java and Wine apps will continue to work since they have been whitelisted by default (hard-coded);</li><li><b>Sync Menu indicator is now available by default</b> - this is an appindicator that allows you to control Ubuntu One;</li><li><b>a new, proper Bluetooth indicator has replaced the old Bluetooth indicator </b>which was basically a patch over the Bluetooth notification area icon available in GNOME Fallback;</li><li><b>the old Gwibber lens has been replaced with a new "Friends" lens</b> which basically does the same thing: allows you to view, preview (it supports Unity Dash Previews - from which you can perform various actions like: retweet, like a post on Facebook, etc.) and search your social networks streams (Twitter, Facebook, etc.);</li><li><b>the Workspace Switcher and removable media Launcher icons can now be moved anywhere</b> on the Unity Launcher or they can be completely removed. The <b>workspace switcher is actually not available by default</b> (to turn the Workspace Swicher on: <i>System Settings > Appearence > Behavior</i>);</li><li><b>new icons </b>for Nautilus, Ubuntu Software Center, Software Updater, Workspace Switcher (which now displays the active workspace) and BFB (the button used to open Dash);</li><li><b>new window snap animation</b> that shows a window preview</li><li><b>many other</b> subtle changes, improvements and fixes.</li></ul><br />Here are some screenshots with the above mentioned changes as well as some other changes:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-quicklist-window-switching.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail screenshots" src="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-quicklist-window-switching.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quicklist window switching feature<u><br /></u></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-shutdown-dialogs_1.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail screenshots" src="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-shutdown-dialogs_1_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unity-style shutdown / logout etc. dialogs</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-shutdown-dialogs_2.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail screenshots" src="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-shutdown-dialogs_2_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unity-style shutdown / logout etc. dialogs</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-launcher-icon-size.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail screenshots" src="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-launcher-icon-size_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Minimum Launcher icon size limit decreased to 8px</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-dash-previews_2.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail screenshots" src="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-dash-previews_2_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dash Previews (music)</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-dash-overlay-icons.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail screenshots" src="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-dash-overlay-icons_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Overlay scrollbars for Dash</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-online-accounts.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail screenshots" src="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-online-accounts_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unity Online Accounts - per application toggles</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-sync-menu.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail screenshots" src="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-sync-menu.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sync Menu</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-bluetooth-indicator.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail screenshots" src="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-bluetooth-indicator.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bluetooth Indicator</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-friends-lens_1.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail screenshots" src="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-friends-lens_1_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Friends Lens has replaced the old Gwibber Lens</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-friends-lens_2.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail screenshots" src="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-friends-lens_2_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Friends Lens: Dash Previews</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-friends-lens_3.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail screenshots" src="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-friends-lens_3_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Friends Lens</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-settings-workspace.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail screenshots" src="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-settings-workspace_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enable / disable workspaces (and the Workspace Switcher)</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-new-icons-assets.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail screenshots" src="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-new-icons-assets_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New icons for BFB (Dash), Nautilus, Software Center, Software Updater and Workspace Switcher</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-new-icons-assets_2.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail screenshots" src="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-new-icons-assets_2_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Larger screenshot with the new Software Center, Software Updater and Nautilus icons</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu13.04-raring-ringtail-screenshot-anim.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail screenshots" src="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu13.04-raring-ringtail-screenshot-anim_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New window snap animation</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><br /><br /><h2>Other changes changes / performance</h2><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The work to "make Ubuntu fit on mobile" had advantages for the desktop too and <b>with Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail, the memory usage has been be greatly reduced</b>. For instance, some processes were changed to exit-on-idle and be restarted-on-demand rather than running all the time, there have been many optimizations and fixed memory leaks and so on.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For me, Ubuntu 13.04 has been <b>very stable</b> and I've been using it since ~ January: both its development and the final release. Also, I didn't run any benchmarks or anything like that but compared to previous Ubuntu releases that have used Unity by default, <b>Unity in Ubuntu 13.04 feels the most stable and most responsive / fastest of all releases</b>. And I'm not the only one who thinks this - for instance, Chris from the Linux Action Show has <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBl1fwEpsLQ&feature=youtu.be&t=47m00s">mentioned</a> that for him, Ubuntu 13.04 is the best Ubuntu release so far.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">However, I'm using Ubuntu 13.04 with an Intel graphics card (well, Optimus actually but the desktop runs on the Intel graphics card) so I can't comment on how things work with Nvidia / AMD and their proprietary / open source drivers.</div><br />There are some minor issues which will probably be fixed in an update, like the top panel shadow showing up on top of full-screen videos in Totem (doesn't occur with GNOME Mplayer for instance).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Other changes include:</b></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><b>MTP support by default</b> so you shouldn't have any issues <b>accessing Android 4.0 devices that don't support USB Mass Storage</b> via Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail (thanks to Gvfs which now comes with a MTP backend);</li><li><b>Intel SNA</b> (2D acceleration for the Intel Linux graphics driver that improves the X.Org performance) has been turned on by default in Ubuntu 13.04. This should provide improved X.Org driver performance and thus, a <b>faster, more responsive desktop</b>;</li><li><b>LibreOffice has Ubuntu AppMenu and HUD support by default</b>, without using any extensions (this feature is a bit buggy though and if HUD doesn't work properly for you, firstly open the menu, then try to use the HUD and it should work). LibreOffice 4.0 comes with many other enhancements, see <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/02/libreoffice-40-available-for-download.html">THIS</a> article for more info;</li><li>with Ubuntu 13.04, the process of switching from Python 2 to Python 3 continues, although not everything has been converted to Python 3 for the final Ubuntu 13.04 release;</li><li>simplified Software Updater;</li><li>a "tech preview" of Upstart User Sessions has been included by default in Ubuntu 13.04, which allows Upstart to supervise a user's desktop session. This feature is disabled by default for Ubuntu 13.04, but can be manually enabled for testing;</li><li>many others which you'll discover for yourself. </li></ul><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-mtp-support.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail screenshots" src="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-mtp-support_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Android 4.0+ device is accessible through Nautilus</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-libreoffice-appmenu.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail screenshots" src="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-libreoffice-appmenu_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">LibreOffice 4.0 AppMenu</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-libreoffice-hud.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail screenshots" src="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-libreoffice-hud_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">LibreOffice 4.0 HUD support</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>With Ubuntu 13.04, Wubi, the Ubuntu downloader / installer for Windows, has been discontinued</b>. The reason behind this decision is the fact that Wubi hasn't been updated to work with Windows 8 because the Ubuntu developers now focus on the mobile client so Wubi wasn't in a releasable state for 13.04.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also, with Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail, <b>the maintenance period has been reduced from 18 months to 9 months</b> - this change won't affect just Ubuntu 13.04 but <b>all future non-LTS releases</b>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><br /><h2>Default applications</h2><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Gwibber, the social / microblogging client that used to be available by default in Ubuntu has been removed</b> by default and from the repositories (but, like I was saying above, the Gwibber Lens functionality is still available by default thanks to the new Friends lens). <b>The application has been rewritten in QML and it can be <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/04/install-friends-app-gwibber-rewritten.html">installed</a> via Ubuntu Software Center</b> (and it's now called "Friends").</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Ubuntu 13.04 continues to use GNOME 3.6 for the most part</b> (even though GNOME 3.8 has been released recently - more on why they choose to stay with 3.6, <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/11/ubuntu-1304-only-some-gnome-components.html">HERE</a>), like Ubuntu 12.10, however,<b> some GNOME applications that weren't upgraded to version 3.6 in Ubuntu 12.10 are now available by default: Nautilus 3.6 and Totem 3.6</b>.</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-nautilus-3.6.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail screenshots" src="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-nautilus-3.6_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nautilus 3.6</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-totem-3.6.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail screenshots" src="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-totem-3.6_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Totem 3.6</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Both Nautilus 3.6 and Totem 3.6 have been patched to work properly with Unity</b>, for instance, there used to be an issue with Totem 3.6 which caused the menu not to be accessible but that's been fixed for the final Ubuntu 13.04 release, or Nautilus 3.6, which for instance, allows easily creating new documents via right click, functionality that was removed upstream.<br /><br />The same goes for GNOME Control Center (System Settings) which has finally been updated to version 3.6.x after version 3.4.x has been used in Ubuntu 12.10:</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-gnome-control-center.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail screenshots" src="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-gnome-control-center_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">GNOME Control Center 3.6</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-software-center.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail screenshots" src="http://img.netupd8.com/ubuntu-13.04-software-center_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ubuntu Software Center</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Ubuntu 13.04 (Raring Ringtail) comes with the following packages by default: </b>Firefox 20.0, Thunderbird 17.0.5, Nautilus 3.6.3, LibreOfice 4.0.2, Empathy 3.6.4, Totem (Videos) 3.6.3, Gedit 3.6.2, Deja Dup Backup Tool 26.0, Rhythmbox 2.98, GNOME Contacts 3.6.2, Brasero 3.6.1, Transmission 2.77, Remmina 1.0.0, Ubuntu Software Center 5.6.0 and GNOME Control Center 3.6.3, on top of Compiz 0.9.9~daily13.04.18.1, Unity 7.0.0daily13.04.18 and GTK 3.6.4.</div><br />For the Kernel, Ubuntu 13.04 includes the 3.8.0-19-29 Ubuntu Linux kernel, based on the upstream 3.8.8 Linux kernel.<br /><br /><br /><br /><h2>Download / upgrade to Ubuntu 13.04</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>If you've installed Ubuntu 13.04 beta or a daily image and used the Software Updater to upgrade the packages, you already have the final Ubuntu 13.04 version</b> so there's no need to do anything else.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/upgrade-to-ubuntu-13.04.png"><img alt="Upgrade to Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail" src="http://img.netupd8.com/upgrade-to-ubuntu-13.04_thumb.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>To upgrade from Ubuntu 12.10 to the latest Ubuntu 13.04</b>, open <i>Software Sources</i> and on the "Updates" tab, set "Notify me of a new Ubuntu version" to "For any new version", then press ALT + F2 and type: "update-manager -d" (without the quotes). The Software Updater should then show up, notifying you that you a new release - "13.04" - is available. Now all you have to do is click the "Upgrade" button and follow the instructions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Users who run older Ubuntu versions will firstly have to upgrade to Ubuntu 12.10 and then upgrade to 13.04 (same instructions above).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.ubuntu.com/download">Download Ubuntu 13.04</a> | Official <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/RaringRingtail/ReleaseNotes">release notes</a></b></div><br /><b>For other Ubuntu flavors, you'll find download links below:</b><br /><ul><li><a href="http://xubuntu.org/getxubuntu/">Xubuntu</a></li><li><a href="http://www.kubuntu.org/getkubuntu">Kubuntu</a></li><li><a href="http://ubuntugnome.org/download/">Ubuntu GNOME</a></li><li><a href="http://www.edubuntu.org/download">Edubuntu</a></li><li><a href="https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Lubuntu/GetLubuntu">Lubuntu</a></li></ul>

Ubuntu 13.04 Available For Download [Screenshot Tour, Video]

Ubuntu 13.04 has been released today with many enhancements and fixes to Unity as well as some important performance improvements. Read on ...

+ Read more »

7 Things To Do After Installing Ubuntu 13.04 (Raring Ringtail)

<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Ubuntu 13.04 will be available for download in a few hours and since many of you will be installing it as soon as it's released, here are 7 useful things you can do right after the installation.</b></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk3jdzWI6xQbuN8VRHjSwN0duPlqo963ES-aYClKtNi3qu7pDnMgUOrI4ZfJzIfFISfZnBPjfywmvjEJSCNUNlbTVp4-xMImwsWZCLMScEYOiKhpw56nGjOIe-iLsg11rlAe9BDtZ4cfBL/s1600/ubuntu13.04.png" imageanchor="1" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Ubuntu 13.04 screenshot" border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk3jdzWI6xQbuN8VRHjSwN0duPlqo963ES-aYClKtNi3qu7pDnMgUOrI4ZfJzIfFISfZnBPjfywmvjEJSCNUNlbTVp4-xMImwsWZCLMScEYOiKhpw56nGjOIe-iLsg11rlAe9BDtZ4cfBL/s320/ubuntu13.04.png" title="Ubuntu 13.04 screenshot" width="320" /></a></div><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br /><h2>1. Tweak Unity.</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/03/unity-tweak-tool-available-in-ubuntu.html">Unity Tweak Tool</a></b> is a pretty new application that's available in the Ubuntu 13.04 repositories, which you can use to tweak Unity: change various aspects of the Unity interface such as auto-hide behavior, change the Unity Launcher icons size, color, and more, set up hotcorners, tweak the Dash search, change the GTK, icon theme or fonts and much more.</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/unity-tweak-tool.png" rel="image_group"><img alt="Unity Tweak Tool" src="http://img.netupd8.com/unity-tweak-tool_thumb.png" /></a></div><br />Click the button below to install Unity Tweak Tool:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="apt://unity-tweak-tool"><img alt="Download for Ubuntu" src="https://apps.ubuntu.com/assets/images/scbutton-free-200px.png" /></a></div><br />Or use the following command in a terminal to install it:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install unity-tweak-tool</code></pre><br />If you use GNOME Shell, install GNOME Tweak Tool instead. <br /><br /><br /><br /><h2>2. Privacy settings.</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">By default, Dash may display private files but there's an easy way to prevent this: open <b><i>System Settings > Privacy</i></b> and here, you can:</div><ul><li>delete recent history</li><li>blacklist applications or folders / partitions from showing up in Dash</li></ul><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Here, you can also set Dash not to include online search results. This will disable the controversial Shopping Lens along with the other online searches performed by the Friends lens or the Photo lens. </div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/privacy_1.png" rel="image_group"><img alt="Ubuntu 13.04 privacy" src="http://img.netupd8.com/privacy_1_thumb.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/privacy_2.png" rel="image_group"><img alt="Ubuntu 13.04 privacy" src="http://img.netupd8.com/privacy_2_thumb.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>If you don't want the Shopping Lens but want to be able to use the other online scopes / lenses</b>, you can simply uninstall the Shopping Lens:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get remove unity-lens-shopping</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">And finally, if you constantly change the privacy settings (e.g.: often disable Zeitgeist logging; Zeitgeist is used to log the files that show up in Dash), you can use <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/02/unity-privacy-indicator-quickly-enable.html">Privacy Indicator</a> which lets you clear the Zeitgeist (and thus, Dash) logs, clear the recent files list (which shows up in the Nautilus "Recent" sidebar item for example), and quickly enable/disable Zeitgeist logging or the online search results. </div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/privacy-indicator.png" rel="image_group"><img alt="Privacy indicator" src="http://img.netupd8.com/privacy-indicator.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To install Privacy Indicator in Ubuntu 13.04, use the following commands:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo add-apt-repository ppa:diesch/testing<br />sudo apt-get update<br />sudo apt-get install indicator-privacy</code></pre><br /><br /><h2>3. Solution for popular missing features: weather and calendar indicators.</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Two features that Ubuntu lacks in my opinion are weather and calendar indicators</b>. Hopefully, the Ubuntu developers will have some time to fulfill these popular feature requests soon, but until then we can use some third-party indicators that work great.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There's a weather indicator available in the official Ubuntu 13.04 repositories / Ubuntu Software Center, but it doesn't work properly so we'll use <b>My Weather Indicator</b> instead. To install it in Ubuntu 13.04, use the following commands:</div><br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo add-apt-repository ppa:atareao/atareao<br />sudo apt-get update<br />sudo apt-get install my-weather-indicator</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/my-weather-indicator.png" rel="image_group"><img alt="My Weather Indicator" src="http://img.netupd8.com/my-weather-indicator_thumb.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">My Weather indicator supports OpenWeatherMap and Yahoo weather services out of the box and you can also use Wunderground or World Weather Online if you sign up to get your own API (see how to do that, <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/02/how-to-use-your-own-weather-services.html">HERE</a>). Besides a cool indicator that gives you quick access to the current weather, weather forecast and a forecast map, the application also comes with (optional) <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/12/get-htc-like-weather-clock-widget-in.html">desktop widgets</a>:</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/my-weather-indicator-widget.png" rel="image_group"><img alt="My Weather Indicator desktop widget" src="http://img.netupd8.com/my-weather-indicator-widget_thumb.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another feature that, at least in my opinion, Ubuntu lacks, is a proper calendar. I use Google Calendar and if you use it too, you'll love <b><a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/11/google-calendar-indicator-adds-options.html">Google Calendar Indicator</a></b>, an application that can be used to easily add new Google Calendar events, display your current events with notifications, browse your calendars and so on.</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/calendar-indicator-rr.png" rel="image_group"><img alt="Google Calendar Indicator" src="http://img.netupd8.com/calendar-indicator-rr_thumb.png" /></a></div><br />Install Google Calendar Indicator using the following commands:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo add-apt-repository ppa:atareao/atareao<br />sudo apt-get update<br />sudo apt-get install calendar-indicator</code></pre><br />For more indicators, check out our <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/search/label/appindicator?max-results=10">AppIndicator</a> tag.<br /><br /><br /><br /><h2>4. Improve battery life, other important tweaks</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Jupiter used to be one of the first things to install after a fresh Ubuntu installation, but unfortunately the application has been discontinued and the old version doesn't work properly in Ubuntu 13.04. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But, if battery life is what you're interested in, you can use <b>TLP,</b> a tool that you install and then forget about it because it automatically tweaks your system for better power usage / battery life.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To install TLP in Ubuntu 13.04, use the following commands:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo add-apt-repository ppa:linrunner/tlp<br />sudo apt-get update<br />sudo apt-get install tlp tlp-rdw<br />sudo tlp start</code></pre><br />More about <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/04/improve-power-usage-battery-life-in.html" title="Improve Power Usage / Battery Life In Linux With TLP">TLP</a>.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><b>If you're using an Nvidia Optimus laptop, also install <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/02/bumblebee-31-released-with-primus.html">Bumblebee</a></b> or else both graphics cards will be powered on all the time, even though the Nvidia graphics card isn't used:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo add-apt-repository ppa:bumblebee/stable<br />sudo apt-get update<br />sudo apt-get install bumblebee bumblebee-nvidia</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><s><b>Currently, there's a bug with Bumblebee 3.1 and Ubuntu 13.04 </b>(and version 3.2 which fixes this has been released a couple of days ago, but then removed from the PPA because it has a nasty bug and doesn't work at all in Raring, no fix has been found yet)</s>. This bug has been fixed in <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/04/bumblebee-321-released-with-ubuntu-1304.html">Bumblebee 3.2.1</a>.</div><br /><a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/02/bumblebee-31-released-with-primus.html">More about Bumblebee, using the Primus backend, etc</a>.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">This doesn't have anything to do with battery life is an important tweak nevertheless: <b>if you're using a SSD, it's pretty important to enable TRIM</b> so its performance doesn't decrease over time. There are quite a few steps to achieve this so I won't add instructions for how to do this in this post - you'll find them <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/01/enable-trim-on-ssd-solid-state-drives.html">HERE</a> instead.</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><h2>5. Fix Google Chrome, Skype.</h2><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/skype-google-chrome.png" rel="image_group"><img alt="Fix Google Chrome Skype" src="http://img.netupd8.com/skype-google-chrome_thumb.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Google Chrome has a <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/04/fix-google-chrome-cant-be-installed-in.html" title="Fix: Google Chrome Can`t Be Installed In Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail">bug</a> and can't be installed on fresh Ubuntu 13.04 installations.</b> The bug currently affects Google Chrome Stable and Beta (has already been fixed in Google Chrome Dev) and until Google fixes it (it's not an Ubuntu bug), <b>you can easily get Google Chrome to install by downloading and installing the deb below:</b></div><ul><li><a href="https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/udev/175-0ubuntu19/+build/4325790/+files/libudev0_175-0ubuntu19_i386.deb">libudev0 for 32bit</a></li><li><a href="https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/udev/175-0ubuntu19/+build/4325788/+files/libudev0_175-0ubuntu19_amd64.deb">libudev0 for 64bit</a></li></ul><br />Then, Google Chrome Stable or Beta should install in Ubuntu 13.04.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Skype currently crashes on start for Ubuntu 13.04 users that have installed the proprietary Nvidia drivers</b>. The bug also affects some AMD / ATI proprietary graphics drivers users and some of them have reported that the fix below works for them too.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>To <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/04/fix-skype-not-working-in-ubuntu-1304.html" title="Fix Skype Not Working In Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail">fix</a> this issue</b> with proprietary Nvidia drivers (and possibly AMD) and Skype, use the following command:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo sed -i 's/^Exec=skype.*/Exec=bash -c "export LD_PRELOAD=\/usr\/lib\/i386-linux-gnu\/mesa\/libGL\.so\.1 \&\& skype %U"/' /usr/share/applications/skype.desktop</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">In case you want to revert the change made by the command above, use the following command:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo sed -i 's/^Exec=bash.*/Exec=skype %U/' /usr/share/applications/skype.desktop</code></pre><br /><br /><br /><h2>6. Migrate / upgrade PPAs (advanced users)</h2><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/y-ppa-manager.png" rel="image_group"><img alt="Y PPA Manager" src="http://img.netupd8.com/y-ppa-manager_thumb.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">If you've upgraded from Ubuntu 12.10 to Ubuntu 13.04, all your PPAs were disabled in the process. Ubuntu 13.04 already has the latest version for most packages, but there are some that aren't the latest version or you may want to install some applications that aren't available in the official repositories / Ubuntu Software Center. <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/10/y-ppa-manager-0092-released-with-new.html">Y PPA Manager</a> can help you with this: it can automatically re-enable the PPAs that work with Ubuntu 13.04, leaving the others disabled. For this, open Y PPA Manager (installation instructions below) and under "Advanced", select "Re-enable working PPAs after Ubuntu upgrade" and wait until Y PPA Manager scans all your PPAs, checks if they work with Ubuntu 13.04 and if they do, it enables them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We have a tip for fresh installs too regarding this: if you've backed up the PPAs you had on an older Ubuntu version (e.g. using Y PPA Manager), you can restore the backup in Ubuntu 13.04 and use Y PPA Manager to update the PPAs to Ubuntu 13.04, but only for the PPAs that actually work on Ubuntu 13.04, leaving the others as they are so you don't get any 404 errors. To do this, in Y PPA Manager > Advanced, select "Update release name in working PPAs", under "Current Ubuntu version" enter: "raring" (without the quotes) and under "Previous Ubuntu version" enter the Ubuntu version from which you've copied the PPAs from (e.g.: quantal), then click OK and wait for the application to scan all your PPAs and upgrade to Raring those that support it.</div><br />To install Y PPA Manager, use the following commands:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/y-ppa-manager<br />sudo apt-get update<br />sudo apt-get install y-ppa-manager</code></pre><br /><br /><br /><h2>7. Install codecs, Java.</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">To be able to play most audio and video formats, install Ubuntu Restricted Extras by clicking the button below:</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="apt://ubuntu-restricted-extras"><img alt="Download for Ubuntu" src="https://apps.ubuntu.com/assets/images/scbutton-free-200px.png" /></a></div><br />Or install it using the following command:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I suggest to also install the unrestricted versions of libavformat and libavcodec so you don't encounter issues with missing codecs when trying to use some video editors or transcoders - install them by clicking the button below:</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="apt://libavformat-extra-53,libavcodec-extra-53"><img alt="Download for Ubuntu" src="https://apps.ubuntu.com/assets/images/scbutton-free-200px.png" /></a></div><br />Or by using the following command:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install libavformat-extra-53 libavcodec-extra-53</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">You may also need Java, but you must figure out what you need. Most users will only need OpenJRE and the Java browser plugin which you can install by clicking the button below:</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="apt://icedtea-7-plugin,openjdk-7-jre"><img alt="Download for Ubuntu" src="https://apps.ubuntu.com/assets/images/scbutton-free-200px.png" /></a></div><br />Or by using the following command:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install icedtea-7-plugin openjdk-7-jre</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">For development, you'll also want OpenJDK which you can install by using the button below:</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="apt://openjdk-7-jdk"><img alt="Download for Ubuntu" src="https://apps.ubuntu.com/assets/images/scbutton-free-200px.png" /></a></div><br />Or by using the following command:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install openjdk-7-jdk</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">If for various reasons, you need Oracle Java (the package includes JDK, JRE and the browser plugin), you can install <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/01/install-oracle-java-jdk-7-in-ubuntu-via.html">Oracle Java 7</a> by using the following commands:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/java<br />sudo apt-get update<br />sudo apt-get install oracle-java7-installer</code></pre><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Now it's your turn. What are the first things you install or tweak after installing Ubuntu?</b></div>

7 Things To Do After Installing Ubuntu 13.04 (Raring Ringtail)

Ubuntu 13.04 will be available for download in a few hours and since many of you will be installing it as soon as it's released, here ar...

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How To Install Unity Smart Scopes In Ubuntu 13.04 [PPA]

<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Ubuntu 13.04 was supposed to get a new Unity <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/SmartScopes1304Spec">Smart Scopes</a> feature, which eventually <a href="http://www.jonobacon.org/2013/03/29/smart-scopes-not-landing-in-13-04-will-land-in-13-10/">didn't make it</a>, but if you don't want to wait for Ubuntu 13.10 to try it, you can install it right now in Ubuntu 13.04, by using a PPA.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Smart Scopes tries to provide a better and smarter Dash search experience by adding various scopes that return relevant data depending on the search terms.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a rel="image_group" href="http://img.netupd8.com/unity-smart-scopes_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Smart Scopes Ubuntu Unity" border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIXSRgiCXgRX-NQvbSjPyTXLfF5B5MoGgEAwLauaQn_AOSOoW-V91ZVX8nw5rAKvgJpuGVn9jHr_5nArekRanfUZxoauDWysR9FV0YWLkw3tgL_izH6uPWKrsk7jPMUYmXOy8VDwyvsaJo/s320/unity-smart-scopes_1.png" title="Smart Scopes Ubuntu Unity" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a name='more'></a><b> </b> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Installing the Smart Scopes, you'll get some new categories and sources on the home lens. When you search for something, Dash tries to automatically select the right categories and sources for your search term so for instance if you search for "Pink Floyd", Dash will automatically select the "Music", "Reference" (which in turn selects the Wikipedia source, among others), "Files & Folders" and so on. Or if you search for "Barcelona", it should display the weather, etc. You can also manually select / deseelect categories or sources.<br /><br /><br />Below you can see a search for "pink floyd" without manually selecting any source in the sidebar filter:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a rel="image_group" href="http://img.netupd8.com/unity-smart-scopes_3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6JDLjhqgihRVgup-zhbF_KPlICtS5l4jdNx8-oXRZRlon873Pp_dAaw2ATNWrdHDI-DSH5ToiQTkTCb7gOTcqTuvKUwkQxPM2cegbPSeLX9PX-VfZ2_0_3UoujzGTFNnMCF1bg69aDl7N/s320/unity-smart-scopes_3.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />Smart Scopes did figure out this is music-related and displayed my Pink Floyd albums and some online info about Pink Floyd (among others), but it also displayed some applications.<br /><br />And here's the same search again, with some custom sources selected in the filter: </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a rel="image_group" href="http://img.netupd8.com/unity-smart-scopes_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Smart Scopes Ubuntu Unity" border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjREn4pyKRgdBvSXOA5If-ymhqL4lgNQo1niHRUMAgPARZiwL0RmH9IAgfiPP-X-TJC4CCn10_ZyH7jfXX9EHfAonCYuKxQF80WWCHfv3zkJtKsk3gCkcibOMWbYT8cvld5ZC_lC3NSwfFL/s320/unity-smart-scopes_2.png" title="Smart Scopes Ubuntu Unity" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">That looks a lot better and that's pretty much how the default search results should have looked like. The default search results are ok considering the Smart Scopes feature hasn't been officially released and it's still work in progress, but hopefully the scopes will be smart enough in the future so we won't need to manually select any categories.</div><br /><br /><br /><h2>Smart Scopes video</h2><br />To understand exactly how this works, watch the video below:<br /><br /><center><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PB3oJga1kLQ" width="560"></iframe><br />(<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB3oJga1kLQ">direct video link</a>; for more videos, subscribe to your <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/nilarimogard">YouTube channel</a>)</center><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Remember, this feature is under development so it may change by the time it's added by default in Ubuntu.</i></b></div><br /><br /><h2>Supported scopes / sources</h2><br />Currently, the PPA provides the following scopes / sources:<br /><ul><li>Audacious</li><li>Banshee </li><li>Calculator</li><li>Chromium Bookmarks</li><li>Clementine</li><li>Colour Lovers</li><li>Dev Help</li><li>DeviantArt</li><li>Facebook </li><li>Files & Folders</li><li>Flickr</li><li>Evolution</li><li>Firefox Bookmarks</li><li>Gallica</li><li>Google Drive</li><li>GitHub</li><li>Gmusicbrowser</li><li>Google News</li><li>Guayadeque</li><li>IMDB</li><li>Launchpad</li><li>Manpages</li><li>Music Store </li><li>Musique</li><li>OpenClipArt</li><li>OpenWeatherMap</li><li>Picasa</li><li>Remote Videos </li><li>Rhythmbox </li><li>SoundCloud</li><li>Shotwell </li><li>SshSearch</li><li>Texdoc</li><li>Videos </li><li>VirtualBox</li><li>Yahoo Stock</li><li>Yelp</li><li>Zotero </li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;">These are all the sources used by the Smart Scopes feature for now but more will be available in the future.</div><br /><br /><br /><h2>How to install Unity Smart Scopes in Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><b>The Smart Scopes feature wasn't added by default in Ubuntu 13.04 because it's not completely ready</b></span> so if you decide to use the Smart Scopes PPA, you must be aware that this feature is currently under development and some things can break, some scopes might not work and also, Unity and Compiz will use more system resources. Also, in my test, after installing the Smart Scopes, the Unity Friends Lens has stopped working!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you're ok with the above warning, let's proceed with the installation:</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>1. To add the Unity Smart Scopes PPA and install the new Smart Scopes feature in Ubuntu 13.04, use the following commands:</b></div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-unity/experimental-certified<br />sudo apt-get update<br />sudo apt-get dist-upgrade</code></pre><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Important:</b> for the last command above, make sure no packages are removed except for the <i>unity-lens-shopping</i>. If the command tries to remove more packages, it means something is broken on your system and you need to fix it so do not proceed with the installation!</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>2.</b> To make sure the packages we've installed from the PPA are not overwritten if newer lenses / scopes land in Ubuntu 13.04 (the PPA will be updated eventually if that happens, but it's better to use this so things don't break), install the following package:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install ubuntu-unity-experimental-certified</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>3.</b> And now run "sudo apt-get upgrade" which will actually downgrade the packages to the version from the PPA, if they are older than the ones available in the official Ubuntu repositories (if any; at the time I'm writing this, the packages that will be downgraded are the Unity Files Lens and Gdocs / Gdrive Scope):</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get upgrade</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>4.</b> Once all the packages are installed / upgraded successfully, restart your system (a simple Unity restart or logout doesn't seem to be enough).</div><br /><b>Report any bugs you may find, <a href="https://bugs.launchpad.net/unity/+filebug?field.tags=100scopes">HERE</a>.</b><br /><br /><br /><br /><h2>Revert the changes</h2><br /><b>If you want to remove the Smart Scopes and go back to the lenses / scopes used by default in Ubuntu 13.04, use the following commands:</b><br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install ppa-purge<br />sudo ppa-purge ppa:ubuntu-unity/experimental-certified</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">For me, ppa-purge <a href="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ppa-purge/+bug/1142289">doesn't work</a> in Ubuntu 13.04 if the purged PPA has a package that's not available in another source (like in the official Ubuntu repositories): it segfaults instead of purging the PPA. If that's the case for you too, you can revert the changes manually, using the following commands:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo sed -i 's/^deb/#deb/g' /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ubuntu-unity-experimental-certified-raring.list<br />sudo apt-get update<br />sudo apt-get remove ubuntu-unity-experimental-certified<br />sudo apt-get install gir1.2-dee-1.0/raring gir1.2-unity-5.0/raring libdee-1.0-4/raring libdee-dev/raring libunity-common/raring libunity-core-6.0-5/raring libunity-dev/raring libunity-protocol-private0/raring libunity9/raring unity/raring unity-common/raring unity-lens-applications/raring unity-lens-files/raring unity-lens-music/raring unity-lens-photos/raring unity-lens-video/raring unity-lens-friends/raring unity-scope-musicstores/raring unity-scope-video-remote/raring unity-services/raring unity-scope-gdocs/raring unity-scope-gdrive/raring</code></pre><br />The first command above disables the PPA. Then, we update the software sources and remove "ubuntu-unity-experimental-certified" which we've installed to pin the packages from the PPA (under step 3). And finally, the last command above downgrades the packages that were upgraded from the Smart Scopes PPA and automatically removes all the scopes that were installed from the same Smart Scopes PPA.<br /><br />And finally, restart the system.

How To Install Unity Smart Scopes In Ubuntu 13.04 [PPA]

Ubuntu 13.04 was supposed to get a new Unity Smart Scopes feature, which eventually didn't make it , but if you don't want to wait ...

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Hardware to make your old PC Windows 8 ready

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: x-large;">Want to try out Windows 8?<br />Get some of these goodies to<br />make the most of Microsoft's<br />latest OS. </span></h2><div><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><div>With the launch of Windows </div><div>8, a lot of people were curious </div><div>about its offerings and its </div><div>new interface so many people are talking </div><div>about. The world's most-used operating </div><div>system undergoing a serious UI overhaul </div><div>is quite an intriguing topic and it's pretty </div><div>natural you'd want to try it out too. </div><div>But what about the hardware, you </div><div>ask? Well, you might have to upgrade your </div><div>hardware depending on what you already </div><div>have to run it. Pretty much every PC built in the last </div><div>four to five years should have enough power</div><div>to run Windows 8. Ram might </div><div>be the only thing that you might need to </div><div>upgrade. </div><div>One of the biggest things that Windows </div><div>8 brings along is its new Modern UI, which is </div><div>best experienced using touchscreens devices. But </div><div>if you’re using a laptop or a desktop </div><div>PC, then you’ll find the need for a touch-enabled screen. Unfortunately, there have </div><div>been very few touchscreen monitor </div><div>launched . But we’ll have to wait </div><div>a while before we can see some of these </div><div>products entering the market. If </div><div>you’re hell-bent on trying out touch on a </div><div>screen, you can try out DIY-projects that </div><div>let you attach a panel to your existing </div><div>screen and get a somewhat satisfactory </div><div>touchscreen experience. </div><div>But since there are no touchscreen </div><div>monitors available, you'll have to make </div><div>do with peripherals that let you use the </div><div>OS properly. Here are some of my tips for </div><div>a better Windows 8 experience:</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><h2><span style="color: #660000;">Buy a touch mouse</span></h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRqppOhkFFLAL0ewsFl3hTGdpNHA-nI8jf15O6sdvhEwcCgY0IG7QYf9WEVu2U1E6WWiuHKmVSa-1HiEVbAmX4sBVpUEInZVmIP-BLgslY1l1YGTGKrOaB757F_ERr0wmhXHtSpMb0Ate8/s1600/Ashampoo_Snap_2013.04.24_20h05m41s_001_.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRqppOhkFFLAL0ewsFl3hTGdpNHA-nI8jf15O6sdvhEwcCgY0IG7QYf9WEVu2U1E6WWiuHKmVSa-1HiEVbAmX4sBVpUEInZVmIP-BLgslY1l1YGTGKrOaB757F_ERr0wmhXHtSpMb0Ate8/s320/Ashampoo_Snap_2013.04.24_20h05m41s_001_.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><span style="color: #660000;"><br /></span></div><div>While not every user can upgrade their </div><div>monitor to a touchscreen panel, we've </div><div>thought of a more affordable option. </div><div>It’s touch mice, quite a few of which </div><div>are showing up in the market. Microsoft </div><div>itself has a few products available, and </div><div>one of the most popular is the elegant </div><div>Touch Mouse that sells at an MRP of $80(Rs </div><div>3,999). It was launched for and made to </div><div>work on Windows 7, and it behaves like </div><div>most other mice, except it has a touch </div><div>sensitive surface – something that can be </div><div>useful for navigating the tiled interface of </div><div>Windows 8. The Microsoft Touch Mouse </div><div>is a wireless device. But Microsoft isn’t the </div><div>only one making touch mice for Windows </div><div>8. Logitech, the popular peripherals </div></div><div><div>manufacturer, also has a few products up </div><div>its sleeve. Its wireless Touch Mouse M600 </div><div>is not just designed to be extremely sleek </div><div>and elegant, it’s also functional and works </div><div>well with Windows 8. You have the usual </div><div>left and right mouse buttons, but there’s </div><div>a touch sensor instead of the scroll wheel </div><div>for vertical and horizontal scrolling. You </div><div>can even use gestures to swipe between </div><div>windows quickly. The Logitech Touch </div><div>Mouse M600 has the same price as that </div><div>of the Microsoft Touch Mouse. </div><div>For those looking for something a </div><div>little cheaper, there are mice such as the </div><div>Logitech Touch Mouse T400, which is a </div><div>tad cheaper at $50 (Rs 2,895). For that sum, </div><div>you get a traditional wireless mouse </div><div>with two standard buttons and a touch </div><div>sensitive scroll area that lets you swipe </div><div>and perform gestures.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">Get yourself some touchpads</span></h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTPgwjiaRqnyj3JDPLHtijSm-yZE6I_0CdN2JCQkN4tblmZ15qlMFXX1hIPpCdcyhradgP42R96JYw0NOjdP3Eiy1tzsk2XE8vrI4-xX_S_yG0lj8oxu0N0nvsjwqbatxoQs9yZ0ggIoGJ/s1600/Ashampoo_Snap_2013.04.24_20h11m19s_002_.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTPgwjiaRqnyj3JDPLHtijSm-yZE6I_0CdN2JCQkN4tblmZ15qlMFXX1hIPpCdcyhradgP42R96JYw0NOjdP3Eiy1tzsk2XE8vrI4-xX_S_yG0lj8oxu0N0nvsjwqbatxoQs9yZ0ggIoGJ/s320/Ashampoo_Snap_2013.04.24_20h11m19s_002_.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><span style="color: #660000;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn7YlNipOUTg1dr8Uk2MPgAhgVvrVPuMWj7Y24vmUaFeQiX1rDmEAV-PlId8UlcVupZK0cQpvFvyrfSVdIEPNA9hCdxYvrbRFXdMz1E6KpFDPg_KRXgUpDKQ50qZu7BdjxuUzsJckjv4j4/s1600/Ashampoo_Snap_2013.04.24_20h11m19s_002_.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn7YlNipOUTg1dr8Uk2MPgAhgVvrVPuMWj7Y24vmUaFeQiX1rDmEAV-PlId8UlcVupZK0cQpvFvyrfSVdIEPNA9hCdxYvrbRFXdMz1E6KpFDPg_KRXgUpDKQ50qZu7BdjxuUzsJckjv4j4/s320/Ashampoo_Snap_2013.04.24_20h11m19s_002_.png" width="320" /></a></div><div>Laptops are often better equipped to </div><div>make complete use of Windows 8’s </div><div>touch gesture support, owing primarily </div><div>to their touchpads. But if you’re using an </div><div>old desktop, you can choose to go for </div><div>one of the touchpads made specifically </div><div>for PCs. Logitech has one called Wireless </div><div>Rechargeable Touchpad T650. The great </div><div>thing about it - like its name states - is the </div><div>ability to place the touchpad anywhere you </div><div>want without long messy cables tripping </div><div>you up. The trackpad has a rechargeable </div><div>battery and can be charged using a USB </div><div>cable. Logitech claims that you can go a </div><div>month on a single charge. When you see </div><div>the battery indicator dip, you can simply </div><div>plug in the USB cable and continue using </div><div>it. There are 13 diff erent gestures that you </div><div>can use with this touchpad. Another great </div><div>thing is that you could pair it up with a </div><div>Windows 8 or Windows RT tablet for more </div><div>flexibility.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">Install more memory</span></h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLyH6y8jMZWpJP-imA2mMrGAh3V71Bwi3zEGHb6QTtfJWo2IR2FHifCiP8xYI21dFkFU4K-GP7ZGTOO880PEaGT5DifXp1ZKL81p00EN1oHmWr4_8QHWJzrL_Dg1wCWc8NWu6mpILHSFa6/s1600/Ashampoo_Snap_2013.04.24_20h16m02s_005_.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLyH6y8jMZWpJP-imA2mMrGAh3V71Bwi3zEGHb6QTtfJWo2IR2FHifCiP8xYI21dFkFU4K-GP7ZGTOO880PEaGT5DifXp1ZKL81p00EN1oHmWr4_8QHWJzrL_Dg1wCWc8NWu6mpILHSFa6/s320/Ashampoo_Snap_2013.04.24_20h16m02s_005_.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><span style="color: #660000;"><br /></span></div><div>Installing RAM is really simple and it can </div><div>really get your PC Windows 8-ready, as the </div><div>processor requirements as such are really </div><div>basic. RAM modules come quite cheap </div><div>too, with 2 GB of DDR3 RAM costing barely </div><div>$10-20(Rs 700). So get some modules from the </div><div>local computer store or get a technician </div><div>to install a couple of RAM sticks in your </div><div>computer. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">Plug in an SSD, boot faster</span></h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8mzvT2LCcdH_ue0rxOUCWp_cFORmQnAo3QXrZZlMbCnVObKpLNIGK2mJcPXLamKcK2pi6NXeOxAY2b77O9K-g4BdK9LCbgz8yI8O84cJtsLRcsaJ0XCmuC25vBrW4rrF4mEc6n0apABp3/s1600/Ashampoo_Snap_2013.04.24_20h18m49s_006_.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8mzvT2LCcdH_ue0rxOUCWp_cFORmQnAo3QXrZZlMbCnVObKpLNIGK2mJcPXLamKcK2pi6NXeOxAY2b77O9K-g4BdK9LCbgz8yI8O84cJtsLRcsaJ0XCmuC25vBrW4rrF4mEc6n0apABp3/s1600/Ashampoo_Snap_2013.04.24_20h18m49s_006_.png" /></a></div><div><span style="color: #660000;"><br /></span></div><div>While SSDs seem out of place compared </div><div>to some of the peripherals we’ve </div><div>mentioned, it’s something that helps really </div><div>speed things up with Windows 8. Although </div><div>Windows 8 itself boots up really quickly, an </div><div>SSD can help your system go into standby </div><div>and wake up within a second or two. </div><div>The OS itself hardly takes a few seconds </div><div>to do a cold boot. A small little SSD to </div><div>house your Windows installation can really </div><div>do wonders, and it’s an upgrade worth </div><div>considering.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">Upgrading to Windows 8</span></h2><div>Once you have your hardware in place, it’s </div><div>time to get Windows 8 running. If you’re </div><div>already a Windows 7 user, then it’s really </div><div>simple to upgrade, not very expensive </div><div>either. Simply head over to Microsoft </div><div> website and you will find the option </div><div>to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro. Simply download </div><div>the upgrading utility, which will then run </div><div>the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant. This </div><div>program checks if your system is capable </div><div>of upgrading to Windows 8. You should </div><div>then be prompted to back up documents </div><div>from your existing installation of Windows.</div><div>The next step is actually purchasing </div><div>the product – in this case, Windows </div><div>8 Pro. Once you click on checkout, </div><div>Windows takes a little less than a minute </div><div>to take you to the billing form. Just key </div><div>in your essential details and proceed. </div><div>Confirm your order and recheck all </div><div>details. Microsoft will send you an email </div><div>receipt, provide the product key and </div><div>your computer will begin downloading </div><div>Windows 8 Pro. Note down the product </div><div>key for further reference.</div><div>You’re now a proud owner of a </div><div>Windows 8 system that has most of what </div><div>a brand new PC might have to offer. Oh, </div><div>and now you have bragging rights too. The Cost of Upgrade differs</div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFmg3Ricvbz6uj0Xez77vLkvM1ryy0wNNjoCZ7HtcVu6jGjHeRGjlt7yWmdgT39BouEAvhPV1VRhp31_BChgL3DeupjmBUB-e7j5chDLIV3X2rG24uvCTmJ7AajCkUg2p5o566PCwoGFSc/s1600/Ashampoo_Snap_2013.04.24_20h21m43s_007_.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFmg3Ricvbz6uj0Xez77vLkvM1ryy0wNNjoCZ7HtcVu6jGjHeRGjlt7yWmdgT39BouEAvhPV1VRhp31_BChgL3DeupjmBUB-e7j5chDLIV3X2rG24uvCTmJ7AajCkUg2p5o566PCwoGFSc/s1600/Ashampoo_Snap_2013.04.24_20h21m43s_007_.png" /></a></div><div><br /></div></span></div></div>

Hardware to make your old PC Windows 8 ready

Want to try out Windows 8? Get some of these goodies to make the most of Microsoft's latest OS.  With the launch of Windows  8, a lot of...

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Review Of Samsung Galaxy Note 2

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqHzirsEdx2LVvMt5uaCerCRx0Q7LPVv1D_qMbEgdISJHpvqxdS5Wip9vMX9OP8kqirCJCtPeu6ZVV6sirejd0U_p553anhLOFCwwObb6XXW_UpY37E_CJZ_Mf7x5v0o5bbvS2WE1dMRQw/s1600/Ashampoo_Snap_2013.04.24_19h25m24s_001_.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqHzirsEdx2LVvMt5uaCerCRx0Q7LPVv1D_qMbEgdISJHpvqxdS5Wip9vMX9OP8kqirCJCtPeu6ZVV6sirejd0U_p553anhLOFCwwObb6XXW_UpY37E_CJZ_Mf7x5v0o5bbvS2WE1dMRQw/s1600/Ashampoo_Snap_2013.04.24_19h25m24s_001_.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Note 2 by Samsung is till now one </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">of the best phablets ever and has looks similar to S3</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">, its feel and finish is miles ahead.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Despite its chassis is made from plastic</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">and has a fake chrome trim, it </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">does feels like a premium device and can be easily </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">said that it is one  of the best-built phones available. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The brushed  finish which looks like metal is coated </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">with some sort of lacquer, so despite its </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">glossy finish, it doesn't attract smudges. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The front is dominated by a huge 5.5-inch HD </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Super AMOLED display and it is  protected </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">by Gorilla Glass 2. The sides of the phablet feature the </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">power on/off button and the volume buttons, </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">while there is and micro-usb port at the bottom</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">and the commonly used 3.5 mm headphone jack on the </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">top. The S Pen stylus is present at the </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">back of the device beside the speaker grill. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Samsung's Nature UX from the S3</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">and Jelly Bean make a perfect couple as </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">the experience is just as good as stock </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Jelly Bean. The gallery has been upgraded </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">and you can now view your photos in </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">  many different ways, the coolest of them</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">is the 3D spiralling view. The S Pen works </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">based on Wacom’s inductive technology </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">and it has  also became  a lot more sensitive to </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">finer inputs now. Another reason why the </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">phone doesn't lag is its powerul mighty</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">quadcore Exynos SoC on </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">board. Though it is the same variant present on the S3, </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">just the difference is that it runs at 1.6 GHz instead of </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1.4 GHz in the S3. This gives it the extra oomph </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">needed for the split-screen functionality </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">without even skipping a beat. The </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Wolfson audio chip present on board ensures best</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> audio quality through the speakers </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">as well as the bundled headphones. The </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">video player also have codec support and </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> supports MP4, MKV and </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">everything in between. 1080p videos just </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">works and the new Pop up play feature </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">works as we saw it on advertisement</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Note II is a quad-band GSM </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">handset with quad-band 3G support and </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">4G support also. You also get dual-band Wi-Fi with </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">hotspot capabilities and Wi-Fi Direct, GPS </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">with A-GPS support and GLONASS, USB </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">OTG, DLNA, external storage up to 64 GB via micro-sd slot, </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> the new Bluetooth 4.0, and TV out via MHL and </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Near Field Communication shortly spelled as NFC</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">, whichcovers all your connectivity </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">options. The Note II is  equipped with </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">an 8 megapixel powerful camera and an LED flash, </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">just like the camera  it was in the S III.The fact of this phone</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> is it is a bit diffucult to handle for everyday use, </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">the Note II stands out as the best </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Android money can buy right now after the HTC ONE X and Sony Xperia Z.</div><br /></div>

Review Of Samsung Galaxy Note 2

The Note 2 by Samsung is till now one  of the best phablets ever and has looks similar to S3 , its feel and finish is miles ahead.  Despite ...

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REVIEW OF THE GAME HALO 4

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwjM6irTh_CuPcDZnMy3Eho0kbEu4VDlLALaiP2NOn-YCyy5HBgZbKHNzWQ1Ua-q1AzxGJq8HQ0eKD8rztS_VGUn0ZegXw_-RQUB03897BwjVittblCWhvdGQMvPm1A8L9QZZm9XEGTZyW/s1600/halo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwjM6irTh_CuPcDZnMy3Eho0kbEu4VDlLALaiP2NOn-YCyy5HBgZbKHNzWQ1Ua-q1AzxGJq8HQ0eKD8rztS_VGUn0ZegXw_-RQUB03897BwjVittblCWhvdGQMvPm1A8L9QZZm9XEGTZyW/s400/halo.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">REVIEW OF HALO 4 BY THEGEEKWIZ</span></h2><div><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><div>Halo is to Microsoft what Mario is to Nintendo. The </div><div>original Halo was, in the simplest of terms, a game </div><div>worthy of selling an entire console platform on its own </div><div>merit. It may not have shown the ingenuity of the French or </div><div>Japanese games, nor was it revolutionary in any aspect. But </div><div>it was a veritable distillation of FPS mechanics to the casual </div><div>confines of the couch. It had a no-nonsense plot that drew from </div><div>Heinlein's power armour-equipped space marine trope from </div><div>Starship Troopers, and buffed it with excellent gameplay tweaks </div><div>that overcame its gamepad limitations.</div><div>Its fast, frenetic action, excellent weapon and enemy design, </div><div>and a stellar multiplayer mode made it a benchmark in the </div><div>console FPS genre. Much of its success can be attributed to </div><div>the irreverent geniuses at Bungie. However, since its split with </div><div>Microsoft, the Halo mantle was eventually taken over by 343 </div><div>Industries after Halo: Reach. The developer had already shown </div><div>competence with the 10th Anniversary remake of the original </div><div>game. Halo 4, however, marks the first instalment of the series </div><div>continuation that's been dubbed the Reclaimer Trilogy.</div><div>The game takes place right after the events of the last proper </div><div>series outing; Halo 3. The Flood menace has been routed from </div><div>the planet and the Covenant armada has fled. However, Master </div><div>Chief and his AI sidekick Cortana have been taken for dead </div><div>and have been adrift in space for the past four years. Cortana </div><div>awakens him after the ship is caught in the gravity well of a </div><div>Forerunner planet called Requiem, and is under siege from </div><div>Covenant warships.</div><div>The Covenants and Master Chief aren’t the only ones on the planet. This conveniently sets the pace for yet another threat to humanity in the form of the energy-themed Promethean </div></span><div><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">race, which are replete with unique fighting tactics and cool </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tron-esque weapons. Interestingly, the series gets its first </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">recognisable villain with Halo 4. You will find more conventional </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hollywood themes in the form of a decidedly more sexed up </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Cortana, and a healthy dose of pathos.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJwl72afgOe2p_EnoGS3Dw67C0TXL8p3Dz1dSM8JyMPXpjk9RHvLXQbcR4k5v7vuEC56UCGcBNazVcGxCXkbQXbM6MvA2KrBpRsS8s83PV6gya3USDd_-_DVKZrTpLbQIb_QZEAI_05tZU/s1600/2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJwl72afgOe2p_EnoGS3Dw67C0TXL8p3Dz1dSM8JyMPXpjk9RHvLXQbcR4k5v7vuEC56UCGcBNazVcGxCXkbQXbM6MvA2KrBpRsS8s83PV6gya3USDd_-_DVKZrTpLbQIb_QZEAI_05tZU/s400/2.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The shapely AI sidekick is nearing the end of her life span, </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">which brings upon a behavioural phenomenon called rampancy. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In simple terms, that’s the AI equivalent of post-menopausal </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">mood swings. This also means Cortana will perish unless she’s </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">taken back to Earth. While John (AKA Master Chief) may play </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">the stereotypical faceless marine hidden behind a flak helmet, </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Cortana and the rest of the cast are painstakingly animated. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Don’t expect a Heavy Rain or an LA Noire, but the tragic </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">chemistry between the main leads is done well, without being </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">too cringe-inducing and mawkish (that’s you, Gears of War 3).</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At any rate, one doesn’t exactly prefer Halo games for </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">their narrative. What really draws in gamers is its fine tuned </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">gameplay. The franchise’s gamepad-friendliness may prevent </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">enemies from being agile and quick on the draw, but the solid AI </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">proves challenging. Enemies charge, retreat, and duck in and out </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">of cover to keep you on your toes. Different classes of enemies </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">team up and work to balance each other’s strengths and </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">weaknesses. The new Promethean enemies, for example, come </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">in cannon fodder (Crawlers), support (Watchers), and heavy </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(Knights) flavours. The weaker Crawlers draw your fire while the </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">fearsome Knights teleport in and out of cover to harass you with </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">heavy ordnance. The watchers, who clearly seem to be inspired </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">from Quake 2’s Daedalus/Icarus, maintain tension by shielding </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">or reviving fallen foes. These enemy tactics keep the action from </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">deteriorating into a mindless run-and-gun affair.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTPrx1XhdCEnHDFTu3LtqDaWHfq5og3Z9vO9fJV39b5qJRNtm_ox9KSc5mt96BwQtpNvqw5A_riHddY47BkM8AoMX8Qm6wGhx1P7zQIwXLZiB4EIV3afSRJuBEY9Qx3GN8BVygAwbd55gv/s1600/Ashampoo_Snap_2013.04.24_15h23m41s_003_.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTPrx1XhdCEnHDFTu3LtqDaWHfq5og3Z9vO9fJV39b5qJRNtm_ox9KSc5mt96BwQtpNvqw5A_riHddY47BkM8AoMX8Qm6wGhx1P7zQIwXLZiB4EIV3afSRJuBEY9Qx3GN8BVygAwbd55gv/s320/Ashampoo_Snap_2013.04.24_15h23m41s_003_.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Countering this manner of guerrilla warfare isn’t exactly a </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">daunting task thanks to a multi-faceted offensive capability that </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">lets players choose between an assortment of guns, grenades, </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">melee, and armour abilities. You have the standard human </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">array of short and long-range, fast/weak and slow/strong, and </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">explosive weapons that deliver splash damage. The Covenant </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">and Promethean arms are essentially the same weapon classes, </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">but with cooler Tron-esque animations and shiny energy </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">projectiles. Armour abilities range from the Hard Light Shield to </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">ones packing cloaking capabilities and sentry bots.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Although there are a wide variety of weapons at your disposal, </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">this diversity tends to cause balance issues. Certain rapid-fire </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">submachine gun class weapons prove too weak, while some of </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">the Promethean sniper rifles are rendered useless due to the </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">opposing camp's better alternatives. The fact that quite a few </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">weapons make no case for themselves points towards either </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">poor balancing or the developers shoving in extra firepower just </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">for the heck of it</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg6nrZNGQYooMkgNQ7oqGK_FvgnrjV_Ma5cSJHPum8Sd0SF6Gu6MBisWyyGhELegrROuZNFp1B8TQ5dEuqj9-QeRX1ZoWcOkuPByRTMDXrKNIJ9hG02zr0T64ohZIVeEcLE6IwpzbLuLlw/s1600/Ashampoo_Snap_2013.04.24_15h33m11s_004_.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg6nrZNGQYooMkgNQ7oqGK_FvgnrjV_Ma5cSJHPum8Sd0SF6Gu6MBisWyyGhELegrROuZNFp1B8TQ5dEuqj9-QeRX1ZoWcOkuPByRTMDXrKNIJ9hG02zr0T64ohZIVeEcLE6IwpzbLuLlw/s640/Ashampoo_Snap_2013.04.24_15h33m11s_004_.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The multiplayer component compares favourably to the </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">competition, but fans of the original Halo may have a few </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">complaints. The overall pace of the multiplayer gameplay </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">is faster, which does remind one of Call of Duty’s brand of </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">multiplayer. Hardcore Halo players have been complaining </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">of excessive bloom (inaccuracy due to automatic fire) on </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">certain weapons, and other weapons, such as the DMR, being </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">preponderant upon favourites such as the Battle Rifle.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The new aspect of Loadouts can be perceived as </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">modernisation of the multiplayer component or a nod to Call </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">of Duty’s Perk system. This Loadout business grants players </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">with a pre-set number of slots to equip </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">primary/secondary weapons, grenades, </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">and armour abilities, in addition to a pair </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">of extra skill-buffing bonuses. Just like </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">perks, players who do well level up and </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">get more of these slots. Old schoolers </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">have already started making noises </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">about how this COD-esque system </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">doesn’t encourage a level playing field.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If you can embrace the changes with </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">a more open mind, you’ll realise that </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">they aren’t as bad for weekend gamers </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">as the hardcore ones make it out to be. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Yes, the new multiplayer component </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">drops a few popular modes, but it does </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">replace them with interesting new ones. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Firefight mode from the previous </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">games is replaced with Spartan Ops, </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">which are episodic missions padded with</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">painstakingly crafted FMV sequences. Like the main campaign, </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">this mode can be played in either split-screen or online co-op </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">with up to three other friends. However, unlike the campaign </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">mode, the first episodic content that I tried out wasn’t nearly as </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">satisfying and felt disjointed.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Invasion mode too has been replaced by Dominion, which </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">is a team-based push to control bases. Successful teams are </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">rewarded with cool vehicles and weapon drops. Flood is the new </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">moniker for the Infected mode of the previous games, where you </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">face off with superfast Flood-infected humans eager to impale </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">you with their mutated arms. The competitive multiplayer </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">mode dubbed as Wargames is a lot faster and a bit like COD as </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">mentioned earlier, thanks to Loadouts and abilities dynamically </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">changing the course of battle.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">To sum it up, Halo 4 sports a modernised multiplayer </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">component that’s faster and incorporates some cues from </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">contemporary games. It may not please hardcore competitive </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">gamers, but on the other hand, that just might get it more </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">mainstream fans. The single player campaign is beautiful to </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">behold, but it’s too short and can get a bit scripted and repetitive </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">at times. The segment with the huge Mammoth truck is a prime </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">example of unimaginative fetch quests </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">and wasted potential.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">As a consolation, the vehicle segments </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">incorporating the Scorpion tank, a really </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">cool Mech, and the iconic Warthog, </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Scarab, and Banshee assault vehicles </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">keep things interesting; especially in </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">the co-op mode where friends can </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">pitch in and handle turrets. The game’s </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">inherent weapons balance flaws too are </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">tempered by great enemy AI and combat </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">tactics. Make no mistake, Halo 4 is a </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">very good game by itself. However, its </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">lack of innovation, linear gameplay, short </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">campaign, a standard multiplayer mode, </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">and its propensity to force the unwieldy </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Waypoint system to get the complete </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Halo experience prevents it from </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">replicating the greatness of Halo 3. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGNrG7BaOMsdVfy4anfYVU3YVyEXA8z6hMdDWvMhlT0PCRpu43JNya_lkN0pNDn4jUbmBD5X79Nz8KE1HxRVLo_3SdL86ZiU0BGlHiFap-937DiTfxUBq-z_yAL4gS-w1tD_P9DRps4_Rc/s1600/Ashampoo_Snap_2013.04.24_15h57m55s_005_.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGNrG7BaOMsdVfy4anfYVU3YVyEXA8z6hMdDWvMhlT0PCRpu43JNya_lkN0pNDn4jUbmBD5X79Nz8KE1HxRVLo_3SdL86ZiU0BGlHiFap-937DiTfxUBq-z_yAL4gS-w1tD_P9DRps4_Rc/s320/Ashampoo_Snap_2013.04.24_15h57m55s_005_.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><br /></div>

REVIEW OF THE GAME HALO 4

REVIEW OF HALO 4 BY THEGEEKWIZ Halo is to Microsoft what Mario is to Nintendo. The  original Halo was, in the simplest of terms, a game  wor...

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Review of the Apple Iphone 5

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj25x6LAkNdhHNI4bDVf-4c5xSY7HXc2MtHcw4nASH9l6-RNI3EQHToPhODa3bUl9f95MU7WnO0zgYRp1Tc9oC7t5ptdb74HhyphenhyphenhyjdCBsiEFX7lB9s6W5Y5i9Lg9KwSu5U1HBvdjY71FYNE/s1600/app.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj25x6LAkNdhHNI4bDVf-4c5xSY7HXc2MtHcw4nASH9l6-RNI3EQHToPhODa3bUl9f95MU7WnO0zgYRp1Tc9oC7t5ptdb74HhyphenhyphenhyjdCBsiEFX7lB9s6W5Y5i9Lg9KwSu5U1HBvdjY71FYNE/s320/app.png" width="202" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">QUICK SPECS</span></h2><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Dimensions (WxHxD):1 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm </span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">Weight:112 g</div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">CPU:Dual-core 1.2 GHz A6</div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">RAM:1 GB;Display:</div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">4.8-inch LED Backlit Retina Display, 640x1136 pixels;</div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">Camera:8 MP with autofocus and LED flash</div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">Storage:16, 32, 64 GB</div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">Video:1080p @30 fps</div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">OS:iOS6</div></span></h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">It’s not like Apple has reinvented the </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">wheel with the new iPhone. The </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">sophistication and elegance that </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">embodies the device is every bit as </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">evident as in the previous editions, but </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">the overall finesse has been taken up a </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">notch or two with the slightly new design.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">While the iPhone 5 is certainly slimmer </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">(7.6mm) than its previous phone namely </span><br /><span style="color: #660000;">the iphone 4S and longer with a </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;"> larger screen  at 4" inches</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">While the display remains</span><br /><span style="color: #660000;"> Retina intact with a blazing 640x1136 pixel </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">resolution at 326 ppi and 800:1 contrast </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">ratio, the overall looks of the</span><br /><span style="color: #660000;"> phone remain bit  similar </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">to the 4 or 4S.  </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">However the Shape of this </span><br /><span style="color: #660000;">phone  make it  better </span><span style="color: #660000;">for</span><span style="color: #660000;"> handling and </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">there is  reduction in weight to 112g which</span><span style="color: #660000;"> makes it </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">certainly more portable. There is a micro-sim slot available .</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">The iPhone 5 is shipped with iOS 6, which </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">brings some much-needed features to the </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">iPhone/iPad/iPod line-up and there will</span><br /><span style="color: #660000;"> be updates available for sure. Inside </span><br /><span style="color: #660000;">the phone is a  new A6 </span><span style="color: #660000;">(1.2GHz dual core)</span><br /><span style="color: #660000;"> chip which ensures smoother </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">functionality and better graphics (3-core graphics). </span><br /><span style="color: #660000;">It also circulates the usage </span><span style="color: #660000;">better than most others.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">The iPhone 5 is not so good in media manners</span><span style="color: #660000;"> . Although </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">the new layout of the Music Player app </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">is very impressive, the audio quality, even </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">with EQ tweaks, was not so good. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">There are a lot of video players out there</span><br /><span style="color: #660000;"> but you have to download it(no big thing)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;"> The </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">iPhone 5 can support 4G speeds if and </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">where you can find a network. It has a common Wi-Fi </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">with the ability to create a hotspot ,</span><br /><span style="color: #660000;">as is Bluetooth 4.0. You know the disadvantage </span><br /><span style="color: #660000;">of Apple in Bluetooth,that continues here.</span><br /><span style="color: #660000;">You can't send file to other devices not made by Apple</span><span style="color: #660000;">.</span><br /><span style="color: #660000;"> Apple has also chosen not to include Near field communication</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">in this phone . GPS with GLONASS and </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">A-GPS could also have been a real asset </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">had Apple’s Maps been more functional. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">Built-in features like FaceTime are now with </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">HD support , an  voice recorder that will do your job, Find </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">my iPhone which is very helpful, News Stand and the all new </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">Passbook app are thrown in. Siri is still as </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">talkative, and with her recent update via </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">iOS6, she’s able to provide much more </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">information than a simple to-the-point </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">answer. The best part  of the </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">iPhone 5 is its 8 megapixel iSight camera, </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">which features a grid view, touch-focus, </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">HDR and a fantastic awesome Panorama option. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">Images captured in low light with flash</span><br /><span style="color: #660000;"> appear not so great but decent, but </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">were no better than most other high-end </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">handsets. Images in daylight or well-lit </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">conditions, on the other hand, looked </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">really good.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjU3KzGA92gXEusw9h8ckOMbcNsqk2at63DUP8rxcCkxMKbWX3nmEmQ6P9LNyllHxUC191qbDMBKzYqcQaz0WfFo1s1WYS6Wdn1bUcP5YMDSwPTtYrRWLakGctFHveRSHmbG5lStYv-2AX/s1600/Ashampoo_Snap_2013.04.24_12h50m32s_004_.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjU3KzGA92gXEusw9h8ckOMbcNsqk2at63DUP8rxcCkxMKbWX3nmEmQ6P9LNyllHxUC191qbDMBKzYqcQaz0WfFo1s1WYS6Wdn1bUcP5YMDSwPTtYrRWLakGctFHveRSHmbG5lStYv-2AX/s1600/Ashampoo_Snap_2013.04.24_12h50m32s_004_.png" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="color: blue;">Full HD videos came out well </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: blue;">irrespective of the lighting conditions.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: blue;">The battery is better and can provide </span><br /><span style="color: blue;">10 hours when connected to 2g</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: blue;">The iPhone 5 is available in three </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: blue;">versions - 64GB for $1200( Rs 59,500), 32GB for </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: blue;"> $1000 (Rs 52,500) and 16GB for $800 (Rs 45,500) (prices </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: blue;">will vary depending on dealers, locations </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: blue;">and special offers). No one can say it’s </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: blue;">not a damn good handset, but is it worth </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: blue;">it. That’s an answer only a fan </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: blue;">can give. From where we stand, there are </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: blue;">plenty of great smartphones out there </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: blue;">that would do just as well for little</span><span style="color: blue;"> cut from  the iPhone </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: blue;">5’s price tag.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: magenta; font-size: x-large;">FOR:Slim and lightweight; great camera; good battery.<br />AGAINST:Too expensive; new connector could be an issue initially.<br />VERDICT:THE iPHONE 5 IS A GREAT HANDSET<br />BUT TOO EXPENSIVE.</span></h2><span style="color: blue;"></span></div>

Review of the Apple Iphone 5

QUICK SPECS Dimensions (WxHxD):1 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm  Weight:112 g CPU:Dual-core 1.2 GHz A6 RAM:1 GB;Display: 4.8-inch LED Backlit Retina ...

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