From My Skills To My Passion: Google Talk

From My Skills To My Passion: Google Talk

TecH Thrust: How To Use Twitter Like A Pro

TecH Thrust: How To Use Twitter Like A Pro

CyanogenMod’s HP TouchPad Android Video Shows WiFi And Android Market Working

Team CyanogenMod has been working hard on getting CyanogenMod7 to work on the HP TouchPad and has made some great progress since just booting up CM7 on it a few weeks ago (video). After getting CM7 to be almost a daily driver (video), they’ve now gotten more stuff working. This new updating includes support for WiFi, limited market support, working accelerometer, and has both cores working with audio. While this is only Gingerbread and not Honeycomb, the CM teams says they will be waiting for Google to release the source code for Ice Cream Sandwich before moving forward. CM won’t be releasing this port for the TouchPad to the public until its more stable, but HP has discontinued production anyway. For those of you that have one you should still be able to look forward to this port in the future. Stay tuned and check out the new video after the break.

Tutorial: Root and ClockworkMod Recovery for the Samsung Epic 4G Touch [Videos]

A couple of days ago Samsung released the source code for the Samsung Epic 4G Touch, and now root has been achieved.  We have two methods which are essentially the same, but the first build is more complete:
From XDA member Zedomax:
Download files here

1. Put your Epic 4G into download mode by holding down Power button and Volume down buttton, when you see an option screen, let go of both buttons then hit Volume up button.
2. You should now be in download mode, connect your USB cable from Epic 4G Touch to a Windows computer. (Sorry ODIN uses Windows only…)
3. Make sure you have Samsung Kies installed, it will install the proper drivers.
4. Open up odin3 v1.85.exe, click on “PDA”, then select “SPH-D710_Zedomax_Kernel.tar” and hit Start.

Logitech releases iPad keyboard and case accessories in India
Logitech has introduced two new iPad accessories in India – the Logitech Keyboard Case and the Logitech Tablet Keyboard – priced at Rs. 4,495, and Rs. 3,645, respectively. The Bluetooth wireless keyboards part of the accessories can pair with other iOS devices as well


 Speaking on the launch of the two products, Subrotoh Biswas, Logitech Country Manager for India and South West Asia, said:


    “People love their tablets — the category is growing quickly and is here to stay. We’ve created a great lineup of products for tablet users, and it’s just the beginning. Over the coming months, you can expect to see additional products for tablets that are designed to help people create, consume and communicate.”

Logitech Keyboard Case
The Logitech Keyboard Case is based on ZAGG's award-winning protective case design, built out of aircraft-grade aluminium, and comes with a Bluetooth wireless keyboard, as well as high-density padding to avoid scratches, and other damages if accidentally dropped. The wireless keyboard can be charged via USB.

LOGITECH KEYBOARD CASE

Researcher slam studies claiming video games make us smarter

Studies showing that players of action video games are smarter than non-gamers in certain key ways are mostly flawed, according to a paper by psychology researchers published this week.

 

The paper, written by Walter Boot and Daniel Blakely of Florida State University and Daniel Simons of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology and published in Frontiers in Cognition, disputes the methodology of various studies that have found that frequent action video game players outperform non-gamers in areas of perception and cognition.

 

The authors write that "[t]he possibility that video game training transfers broadly to other aspects of cognition is exciting because training on one task rarely improves performance on others." But they say that such findings are dubious because of improperly conducted research "common to most (if not all) of the published studies documenting gaming effects."

 

The researchers first broadly question conclusions that action video gaming improves people's performance in measures of perception and cognition.

"Even if gamers do outperform non-gamers, the difference might not be caused by gaming," they write. "[P]eople may become action gamers because they have the types of abilities required to excel at these games, or a third factor might influence both cognitive abilities and gaming."

The paper then turns its attention to comparative studies that actively recruit expert gamers to pit them against non-gamers in tests of perception and cognition. The authors say that a person's knowledge that they've been recruited as an expert gamer could increase their desire to perform well in testing, while non-gamers with no knowledge of why they're in such a study might not be so motivated, affecting results for both groups.

    

"Almost all studies comparing expert and novice gamers either neglect to report how subjects were recruited or make no effort to hide the nature of the study from participants," according to the authors.
  
    "Many studies recruit experts through advertisements explicitly seeking people with game experience, thereby violating a core principle of experimental design and introducing the potential for differential demand characteristics."

    A better approach, the authors write, would be to use covert recruitment techniques for more clinical studies that seek to measure the cognitive and perceptual abilities of unskilled gamers after being trained on action video games as compared with similarly unskilled study participants who don't receive training or, better yet, are trained to play a non-action video game.

  But even game-training studies that do that can be flawed in their methodology, according to the researchers, who question whether many such studies have suitable control groups to offset a "placebo effect" that could affect outcomes.

   "No game-training studies have taken the necessary precautions to avoid differential placebo effects across training conditions and outcome measures," the authors write. "In fact, no published studies have tested whether participants expect to improve as a result of training. Without an adequate control for placebo effects, any conclusion that game training caused cognitive improvements is premature —the benefit could be due to the expectation that a benefit should accrue.

eBay India launches an iOS app, for information on the go
eBay India has launched the iOS version of its mobile app, allowing users browse over 2 million items, log in to their eBay accounts, and compare prices. Pretty much what you could do on the regular eBay India website, and their mobile website, except with a specially designed mobile interface for isO devices.


eBay India’s aim here seems to be to deliver information on the go, so they can make better informed decisions. Elaborating, Mr. Muralikrishnan B., Country Manager, eBay India, said:




"We are delighted to announce this exclusive iPhone app where shoppers can access eBay India on the move, anytime, anywhere even in the midst of a shopping mall. We believe that this would empower the Indian consumer by enabling them to reach for their mobile phone before reaching for their wallet so that they can get the best deal. The eBay app is extremely easy to use and offers an intuitive shopping experience. We hope through this app we can create a shopping revolution with consumers in charge."


       The iOS app shows only offers a certain number of categories – collectibles, electronics, lifestyle and media. While users can’t really purchase, but can ‘commit to buy’, and pay later on the ebay.in website and its PaisaPay gateway. The eBay iOS app is on the App Store. Other mobile apps, for different platforms, should follow soon.