Windows 8 M1 Build 6.1.7850 Leaked Download available

Windows 8 was in the news for a long time now and today, Milestone 1 is leaked on web though currently on private FTP servers as published on Betaarchive. It is expected to soon find its way on Torrents and other file sharing sites.

Win7China and other sources has already quoted that Windows 8 Milestone 3 is ready whereas the leaked build is quite old. Windows 8 Milestone 1 build 7850 has build string6.1.7850.0.winmain_win8m1.100922-1508. Number 10/09/22 in the string says that internal build which is leaked was compiled on 22nd September 2010.

As I already said, the build is pretty old but if you are curious to try out new Windows 8 features likeOne click Reset, Aero Auto colorization, User Picture in Taskbar, etc. then you can keep eye when this leak finds public way on your favorite torrent site. Filename is6.1.7850.0.winmain_win8m1.100922-1508_x86fre_client-enterprise_en-us.iso with file size of 2.45 GB (2,637,101,056 bytes) and MD5 EA2DCFADA6BBA517A0A0649D15E1EB3D

It’s not confirmed whether all the above features are integrated in Milestone 1 because most of them came into light after the build was compiled but curious guys can always try it on Virtual Machine. 

Crysis 2: What I liked and didn’t Like about it | Action Packed Game Aspects

Crytek with EA comes with a new release of Crysis. The last release was action packed game with stunning visual experience and a good storyline. Not only that, the game became the benchmark for all high-end rigs. Crysis 2 has lived up to the expectations with its stunning graphics and much better storyline.

Crysis II Story Line

The game is set in 2023 portraying new york city under the attack. Like many games it has something to do with virus being spread throughout the city causing mayhem making the city go under martial law followed by an alien invasion which makes things even worse. We play as Alcatraz a marine who gets the suit from the infected Prophet.

The suit makes you a futuristic warrior giving you the ability to jump to greater heights,a cloak that makes you invisible and a massive armor bonus that saves you from major damages. Each of these abilities drains your suit energy level to a certain extent but it’s not much of a problem as the suit gets recharged pretty soon. The suit also provides tactical options in combat to help you eliminate your enemies efficiently.

The Good:

• Great campaign
• Multiplayer support
• Stunning graphics
• Tactical option in combat.

The Bad:

• No support for DirectX 11
• Boring starting missions
• Poor AI
• Some online troubles.

Crysis 2 PC Minimum System Requirements

• Windows XP, Vista with the latest Service Pack
• Intel Core 2 Duo at 2Ghz, or AMD Athlon 64 x2 2Ghz, or better
• 2Gb
• 9Gb Disk space
• Nvidia 8800GT with 512Mb RAM, ATI 3850HD with 512Mb RAM, or better
• DirectX Compatible Sound Card
• DirectX® 9.0c
• Controller support Microsoft Xbox360 Controller for Windows
• Multiplayer requirements Internet Connection Required

Recommended System Requirements

• Windows 7
• Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.66GHz / A64 X2 CPU
• 3GB RAM
• Nvidia GTX280 / ATI HD4870, 1GB Video Memory
• DirectX® 9.0c
• Shader Model 3.0/4.0
• 30fps @ 1650 x 1080

Crysis 2 Highly Recommended System Requirements

• Windows 7
• Intel Core i7 at 3GHz 4GB RAM
• Nvidia GTX560Ti / ATI HD4870 X2 with 1.8GB Video Memory
• DirectX 10
• Shader Model 3.0/4.0
• 30fps @ 1920 x 1200

Unlike the previous releases of the year the game does not have DirectX 11 support and rather runs on DirectX 9.0c and DirectX 10. The games stresses your hardware to its maximum and you might consider proper cooling options if you want to ensure the well being of your system. Those are pretty heavy requirements for anyone who wants to run Crysis 2 smoothly. You can find out more details on Crysis 2 official website.

 

Download Norton Internet Security 2012 and Antivirus 2012 Beta

Symantec has released a public Beta of their upcoming security products name Norton Antivirus 2012 and Norton Internet Security 2012. Norton 2012 products introduces several new technologies to combat emerging threats.

What’s New in Norton Internet Security 2012

1. SONAR 4.0 which protection against Non process Threats and able to much more aggressively remove threats on pre-infected machines.
2. Norton Power Eraser
3. Better Integration and support with Google Chrome Browser.
4. Reduction in footprint, resulting in smaller download and install sizes for better performance.
5. Identity Safe 2.0 in cloud to save confidential data.
6. Insight 2.0 introduces concept of Application Stability Ratings based on user experience on Community.
7. Bandwidth Monitoring allows to set policies on how much bandwidth Norton product will use to suit your data usage plans.

Norton Power Eraser and SONAR 4.0 strive to prevent you from Fake Antivirus which claims your system to be clean and doesn’t allow any additional software to install.

Norton 2012 Beta Download and Activation

Norton 2012 Beta products can be downloaded and tested on your system which comes with 14 day Trial Key. This Key can be extended as long as you want to test till the final version is launched.

Note that these products are still in Beta and you may face stability issues.

Download Norton 2012 Beta Products

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood: Experience The Gameplay

Assassin’s Creed II exceeded the expectations the of its fans,giving you the same level of leisure and enjoyment that the previous release offered.A new feature that Assassin creed brotherhood includes a call for help where your recruited assassins are available at just a press of a key.

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood Storyline

The game continues from where it left in the previous version, the story based in Rome at the time of renaissance revolving around Ezio.The game is again about the ongoing fight between the Templar and the assassins. We play as Desmond who experience the memories of his ancestors Ezio Auditoreusing the animus. The game starts with the full scale attack of the Cesare Borgia – Rodrigo Borgia’s son on the villa in Monteriggioni and Ezio loses all the things he fought for in the previous release.

Ezio travels to rome inorder to have his revenge against Cesare. The city is divided into 12 districts all of which are overseen by Borgia tower. We have to assassinate the Borgia’s captain and burn down the Borgia tower to take control of that area. Ezio is then able to renovate the shops and buy his apparels. As we open more and more shops we gain access to more items.

Like the previous release we get to see Leonardo da Vinci helping us with his devices. He’s been captured by the Cesare and force to build war machines for him. We eventually end up stealing and destroying these machines.

The new  feature which is added to this sequel is multiplayer support . There are several modes in which you hunt a target alone or in a team while you try to avoid players who are being assigned to assassinate you.

The Good:

• Beautiful details of the city.
• Good storyline.
• Multiplayer support.

The Bad:

• Side missions.
• Glitches

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood PC System Requirements

Minimum Configuration:
SUPPORTED OS: Windows XP (32-64 bits) /Windows Vista(32-64 bits)/Windows 7 (32-64 bits)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8 GHZ or AMD Athlon X2 64 2.4 GHZ
RAM: 1.5 GB Windows XP / 2 GB Windows Vista – Windows 7
Video Card: 256 MB DirectX 9.0-compliant card with Shader Model 3.0 or higher (see supported list)
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0-compliant sound card
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0
DVD-ROM: DVD-ROM dual-layer drive
Hard Drive Space: 8 GB
Peripherals Supported: Keyboard, mouse, optional controller

Recommended Configuration:
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 2.6 GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ or better
Video Card: GeForce 8800 GT or ATI Radeon HD 4700 or better
Sound: 5.1 sound card
Peripherals: Keyboard, mouse, joystick optional (Xbox 360 Controller for Windows recommended)

You can check out the official website for more details. Have a glimpse of the trailer below.

 

Norton 360 v5 Review- All Round Protection without Slowing Down System

Norton 360 version 5 is the latest of 360 series offering all round protection and I think the best suitable for Home user. Not just protection from viruses but also does Backups and TuneUp tasks to optimize computer.

Installation

As promised on screen, the installation took less than a minute without asking any question or settings to be configured. And after 52 seconds of process, my system was completely protected.

Interface

Interface is categorized in 4 sections: PC Security, Identity Protection, Backup and PC Tuneup. The lower part now incorporates an Activity Map that on clicking shows the highest number of threats in different regions.

Features and Components

PC Security is the core feature to scan for viruses and includes Quick Scan Mode. Another addition isFacebook Wall scan where it can check for malicious links in wall post feed and statuses.

Next is Identity protection which enables you to save Credit card details, Address, etc in your profile. And protects you from phishing sites trying to steal your information.

Also, you can take upto 2GB of online secured backup of important data which is stored in clouds. This data can be retrieved even from smartphones (Android and iPhone) using an app called Norton Connect.

TuneUp features includes Disk optimization, Startup Manager and Temporary Files deleter.

Another beautiful feature included is Norton Insight which lets you decide trustworthiness of any program installed on computer. This uses data collected from other users of Norton 360.

Overall, I was impressed with the product right from its installation which was quite quick and the level of protection and featured offered completely into one suite.

An independent test conducted by Dennis Technology Labs, Norton 360 v5 received a 100 percent protection score from online threat detection and a 100 percent compliance rating from the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization (AMTSO).

Norton 360 with 2GB storage retails for Rs. 1,435 for a single PC license or Rs. 3,085 for 3-PC. For users seeking extra storage, Norton is also offering the suite with 25GB storage that sells for Rs. 3,840.

You can always try Norton 360 v5 Product key valid for 90 days before buying.

And another good news, after conducting Norton 360 v5 giveaway of 1 Year License, Blogsolute is planning again giveaway 2 License keys valid for 1 year so be ready! 

AMD Fusion APU: Accelerated Processor Units integrating CPU and GPU

AMD officially launched the new Fusion APU (Accelerated Processor Units) series. As we know everything evolves with time, this is what we were taught in our school. AMD proved this point by their new fusion APU series which integrates a CPU and a GPU on a single die.

The new AMD E-Series “Zacate” and C-Series “Ontario” APUs each use the Bobcat CPU core. AMDsays that their APU series are capable of DirectX 11 graphics, 2D to 3D conversion, UVD3 video acceleration, 1080p HD playback and up to 10hrs of battery life. These chips are designed to be used on notebooks, netbooks, tablets and all-in-one desktops with short form factors.

AMD-Ontario-APU

Initially four chips have been released, with single and dual core products of E- and C-Series chips. E-series consists of 1.5GHz single-core E-240 and the 1.6GHz dual-core E-350, both with an 18W TDP. The C-series consists of 1.2GHz single-core C-30 and 1.0GHz dual-core C-50, both with a 9W TDP.

Later in the end of 2011 AMD will be releasing their AMD Fusion mainstream platform for notebooks and mainstream desktops with A-Series “Llano” APU, which includes up to four x86 cores and a DirectX 11-capable discrete-level GPU on a 32nm die. PC and notebooks manufactures like Acer, Asus, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Lenovo, MSI, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba have already launched their notebooks powered by AMD APUs.

Check out this video for work in action and know the real difference

You can also check out the official website for more details. 

Get Windows 8 Aero Auto Colorization to match Wallpaper in Windows 7

Earlier we covered Taskbar User Tile a portable utility which allows windows 7 users to have windows 8 feature i.e User Picture Tile on Taskbar.  Apart from the User Picture Tile windows 8 also includes Aero auto colorization feature.

Aura is a portable freeware to enable the Aero auto colorization feature in windows 7. Using this application is simple. Download it and extract all the files inside the .zip file. Then click on the executable file.

It has a single window easy to use interface. Only thing that you have to do is select the technique of color change. It can be either the desktop background or the active windows icon.

Aura automatically changes the tint of aero color to match the applied wallpaper or icon. So to have the changing effect prominent you can increase the intensity of color.This can be done through the application or by going to the personalization area.

Create a Book from Blog Content instantly with BookFabrik Web App

Blog can be used as a personal diary or some write about specific niche like Travel or Cooking Recipe or Random stories. This digital format publishing on Web can be converted into real book with desired cover design and graphics.

BookFabrik is cool online service which accesses blog content (whether it is Blogger / WordPress / Tumblr or Typepad based) and converts it into a book in no time.

Book so created is previewed and can be edited and modified as per need and can be downloaded in form of eBook that is in PDF format for free. Yes, Real Book can be ordered from the site for a price of 7.95 Euros.

How to transform Blog into Book

Select your Blogging platform and BookFabrik will ask for permission to access content. Your password is verified directly on your blogging site and they don’t see or store this information so no worries.

After logging, content is fetched and Proof Book is shown. Layout and Cover design can be edited as per your taste at this stage.

Personally, I liked this idea of transforming Blog into book. If you are not converting it into real book of paper pages. It is good idea to make ebook which can be read on any mobile device without data connectivity.

Visit BookFabrik

Organize Taskbar Icons by Grouping Pinned Applications on Windows 7

Pinning Application icons to Windows 7 taskbar is a cool thing as it allows fast access to most used Programs. Bins is a program to group Pinned items on Windows 7 taskbar. Simply, Merge multiple icons into one and create a group.

I am big fan of Fences which lets you organize Desktop icons in better manner and Bins comes from the same creator. As you can see in the screenshot, you can arrange similar type of application icons into one group. For example: Microsoft Office applications i.e. Word, Excel, PowerPoint can be grouped into one.

Bins can show upto four icons into one group. You can accumulate more than four icons into one but number of icons displayed will be four. The settings offered by the program, accessible under the settings icon located in the system tray, allowing you to enable or disable various additional features related to Peek and other extra items.

To Create a group, Drag an icon over other. To remove an item from Group, drag back those icons to taskbar. After installation, it will ask you for system restart but you can restart just Explorer process to start Bins.

In my case, 4 icons didn’t show up may be because of small height of taskbar and Third Party Theme.

Although, The program is in private beta and requires invitation to download but who likes to wait? I share the direct link to download from my dropbox.

Visit Official Bins site 

Banshee 2.0 Media Player support for Amazon MP3 and available for Windows

Banshee, default media player of Ubuntu was made available for windows recently is now in it’s version 2. Banshee 2.0 brings support for Amazon MP3 which lets you buy Music within application from online store.

Another innovation is a feature called “Play After”, which allows us to create a temporary playlist to add a track after Curremt artist or album.

The interface has been updated and is simplified with the main functions more accessible and the rest available on menus that have tried to keep it simple. And they have built new extensions, as is the case of Ubuntu and SoundMenu One Music Store.

The version released today includes support for Windows and in the case of Mac OS X is expected to arrive soon.

Download Banshee 2.0 

YouTube goes LIVE | Not Just Recorded Videos, Watch Live Streaming now

If you are searching for old videos or events, YouTube is the place to look at. With the rising popularity of YouTube (read dominance), the people at YouTube have decided to take it to the next level. Now, YouTube will allow selected partners to stream live video (sporting events, concerts, interviews and the like).

You can check out these live streaming videos at YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/live/. YouTube Live has just been rolled out today. In true YouTube fashion, they are also allowing you to subscribe to the live streaming channels. So the day is not far away when you might catch a live cricket match on YouTube itself !

Source : The Official YouTube blog 

All in one Disk Management Software with Advanced Features : DiskBoss

For performing different Folder and File management operations, we use separate applications. DiskBoss is really an awesome application for windows file and disk management. Thanks to this gem, you can perform search, classification, removing duplicates, and cleaning of files.

The main interface of application highlights all features on top bar which includes- Search, Sync, Clean up, Duplicates and Classify. You also have the ability to create scripts, or perform advanced commands that enable you to perform automated actions in one click.

Among these features, Classify is an interesting feature which shows classification of files on Disk. You know how many files such as video, audio, programs or documents you have stored in your PC.

Another nice feature is Organize which lets you initiate command to mass files and folders like create a command to copy / delete / move / compress (and more) all files of a certain size / extension.

Commands: From this window you can use and manage a set of predetermined commands about the features most requested by users so that they can start quickly with a click.

Download DiskBoss 

Get Windows 8 alike User Picture Tile in Windows 7 Taskbar

With each and every release of latest versions of windows usability has become lot easier. There are many added shortcuts or redesigned interfaces that allows users to perform tasks quickly.

Upcoming Windows 8 provides many new features like one click reset. One of these is the presence of User Picture Tile in the taskbar notification  area. If you are using Windows 7 then it is possible to test this feature with Taskbar User Tile.

Taskbar UserTile is a portable freeware for windows 7. It is easy to use and requires no additional settings. Just download the file and extract it on your local drive.

To use the application just click on the executable file. The user picture tile automatically appears in the notification area beside windows time. Now the question might be, how is this thing useful? Well, with this feature you can directly access User Account and Control Panel. In windows 7 this has to be done from the start menu.

Apart from accessing these locations you can also switch user, log off and lock your computer. It is a useful feature and helps to access these important locations and actions directly with a single click. Taskbar UserTile is still under development, so you may experience some bugs while using it.

Watch IPL 4 Live Streaming Online on Indiatimes

Recently concluded World Cup was exceptional for Indian Cricket Team. The team achieved the glory of lifting the World Cup after 28 long years.  Now, another big cricketing event awaits us. Yes, it’s the 4^th version of IPL, which will get started from 8^th April 2011 and will conclude on 28^th May 2011, featuring 74 matches.

The fourth edition of IPL will certainly be more entertaining than the previous versions.  It will be interesting to see how the various members of Indian team plays against each other after the kind of unity shown by them in World Cup. Moreover, the addition of two new teams Pune Warriors andKochi Tuskers Kerala and the IPL Auction brought about a change in composition of most of the teams, which again makes the contest more exciting.

The first match of the DLF IPL4 T20 will be held on 8^th April 2011 at 8PM in Chennai after a grand opening ceremony which will take place on the same day at 3:30 PM. The match will be played between IPL 3 Winner Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders.

Watch Online IPL 4 2011 Live on Internet

In case, you are not in front of the television sets, you can watch the matches online including the opening ceremony on Indiatimes- http://ipl.indiatimes.com/.

For more details regarding the IPL 4 schedule, visit here.  If you are looking to watch the match live, then you can book tickets by visiting here. 

Analyze Multiple Graphics Cards Installed on your System

Earlier we covered GPU-Z, a freeware application that can analyze graphics card’s specification in Windows. If you are not happy with one tool at your hand, GPU Shark is also a good option to give a try.

GPU Shark is a portable graphics card analysis tool for windows. It is easy to use, has simple but powerful interface that accommodates all information at a single place. It can be used by both beginners and advanced users.

GPU Shark provides two modes to view information. With one you can view only the present state of your graphics card. Information include present state of graphics card’s performance with respect of GPU, memory, shader clock frequencies and temperature.

The advanced view or detailed view can be brought from the view option. It includes measures for all level of performances.

GPU Shark does not provide much information on graphics card architecture as provided in GPU-Z. But it is a simple tool to keep performance check on all graphics cards on your system. It can analyze inactive card’s too apart from the one that is currently being used.