FIFA 09

The game is a massive 6GB installation on the PC, after which I had to please the EA DRM gods, first by entering the license key and then in the form of online activation. After successfully installing and activating the game, getting it to start was anything but easy, and it took several tries before the game authenticated and validated the installation online. All this happened without any messages or visual cues on the screen; the only way to get the game running was to repeatedly hit the FIFA 09 icon till the game actually ran – not the best way to start.

Having played FIFA 09 on the PS3 and well as the Xbox360, I was expecting something similar on the PC, if not better. However, as soon as I fired up the PC version, I was bitterly surprised to see that the game interface and controls are like the PS2 port of this year. This means no custom formation or team tactics at the team management screen. In my experience, the only way to use custom formations was to first create one at the main screen and then use it at the team management screen. The similarities with the PS2 port further extended to the actual matches, as I discovered the controls are also significantly different, which all but nullified my past experience and familiarity with the game on the current generation of consoles.

Speed up the Start Menu

The default speed of the Start Menu is pretty slow, but you can fix that by editing a Registry Key. Fire up the Registry Editor and navigate to the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop \ MenuShowDelay

By default, the value is 400. Change this to a smaller value, such as 0, to speed it up.

Speed up the Start Menu (Part two)

If your confounded by the slow speed of the Start Menu, even after using the tip above, then you might try the following: Navigate to Display Properties then Appearance then Advanced and turn off the option titled Show menu shadow . You will get much better overall performance.

Add album art to any music folder

One of the coolest new features in Windows XP is its album thumbnail generator, which automatically places the appropriate album cover art on the folder to which you are copying music (generally in WMA format). But what about those people that have already copied their CDs to the hard drive using MP3 format? You can download album cover art from sites such as cdnow.com or amguide.com, and then use the new Windows XP folder customize feature to display the proper image for each folder. But this takes time--you have to manually edit the folder properties for every single folder--and you will lose customizations if you have to reinstall the OS. There's an excellent fix, however.

When you download the album cover art from the Web, just save the images as folder.jpg each time and place them in the appropriate folder. Then, Windows XP will automatically use that image as the thumbnail for that folder and, best of all, will use that image in Windows Media Player for Windows XP (MPXP) if you choose to display album cover art instead of a visualization. And the folder customization is automatic, so it survives an OS reinstallation as well. Your music folders never looked so good!


Album cover art makes music folder thumbnails look better than ever!

Samsung's 8MP Camera Phone Now Official

Samsung’s newest 8MP camera phone that we spoke of just a few days ago has now been officially launched as the Pixon.

According to the reports and a press release the handset is the world’s slimmest full-touch 8-megapixel camera phone.

The Pixon has a 3.2-inch WQVGA touch screen display and features that include x16 digital zoom, auto-focus, fast-shutter, face detection and geo-tagging since it comes with internal GPS. Other features include a media player that supports Samsung's DNSe for audio, an FM radio, Bluetooth with A2DP and microSD card support for external memory.

The handset also has a dedicated website called - The Photographic Adventures of Nick Turpin.

"Now everyone will be able to ‘get their pics on’ so much more quickly and easily. For the first time you will have a camera on your phone capable of delivering the quality of image of a regular camera. The big benefit is not just the ease with which people will now be able to capture and share camera-phone shots, but the quality of those shots when taken," said Geesung Choi, President of the Samsung Telecommunications Business.

The Samsung Pixon will be available first in France in mid-October and soon in most European and Asian countries.

Why iPhone is costlier in India than US?

Apple iPhone costs just $199 in the US but if you want an iphone in India you'll have to pay at least Rs 31,000 so the big question is why is there a price disparity in this Apple device.

According to Sanjay Kapoor, President Mobility, Airtel, this is due to the fact the device in the US comes bundled with a 3-year lock in period, which is not the case in India.

This essentially means a consumer in the US buys the iPhone for $199 which is just the cost of hardware. He then pays $150 to activate the handset and then subsequently a part of the tariff plan he chooses goes to Apple.

Whereas in India the cost is upfront Rs 31,000 which represents not just the cost of owning but also using it. It is interesting that telecom giants Airtel and Vodafone are making no margins on this high end device.

When Steve Jobs launched the new 3G iPhone from Apple's stable in June, the trendier new version created buzz because of the price almost half of the earlier version. But when the same iPhone came to India the price was a party pooper.

The much-awaited multimedia rich mobile phone will finally be available in India on Friday. Airtel and Vodafone will give a network locked 8GB iPhone for Rs 31,000 and a 16 GB version for Rs 36,000.

But another big question is that what advantage does iPhone provides to Indian telecos. It is believed that the service will keep them ahead of competition who do not have the iPhone advantage at least not as yet.

But equally important is will the 200,000 iPhone aspirants who have pre registered with Airtel for the iPhone really turn into a purchase or will the big cost fizzle out the iPhone mania, stay connected to find out anymore.

Vodafone may launch instalment scheme for iPhone 3G

Vodafone, one of the two license holders for the latest Apple iPhone that went on sale on Thursday in India, is looking at easy finance schemes to help sell the product in the country, a person familiar with the development said.

"Vodafone is talking to Barclays and ICICI Bank for introducing two monthly schemes for six and 12 months," the person requesting anonymity told IANS Friday.

Bharti Airtel, the other license holder in India, declined to make any comment, but it is believed it too is talking to several banks.

The Apple iPhone 3G (third generation) was launched in Singapore and the Philippines apart from India Thursday. While it costs around Rs 8,000 in the US where Apple is headquartered, it costs around Rs 9,840 in Singapore.

In India, the iPhone is priced at Rs 31,000 for 8GB and Rs 36,100 for 16GB of memory space.

Now, to push sales, Vodafone is trying to increase iPhone sales by arranging for financing schemes for its products.

"We expect to sell anywhere between 50 to 100 phones a day," the source said. "However it is too early to predict how the sales will shape up."

Airtel gave a similar response.

Said Sanjay Gupta, Airtel's chief marketing officer: "We will only be able to figure out the trend only after a week or so. The response has been overwhelming but it's still not clear how many of the pre-bookings will actually convert to sales."

Airtel received over 200,000 pre-bookings for the phone, the process was started about two months ago.

They grey market, which has been raking in the moolah on iphones for more than a year were despondent. Dealers at Delhi's Gaffar Market - centre for electronics goods sale - were of the opinion that with the phone being sold by authorized dealers their share in the pie would be reduced to nil.

"We were selling the 3G version till a few days ago for anything between Rs 40,000 to Rs 55,000. There will always be people who will spend anything. The [older] 2G version sold for around Rs 24,000-25,000. Now, we will have to undercut," said a dealer in Gaffar Market.

The iPhone is being sold in Hyderabad and Bangalore besides the four metropolitan cities and will be later introduced in 65 cities.

The phone comes locked to the service provider, which means a user cannot switch his or her operator while using an iPhone.

However, the availability of a number of software in the market for hacking the iPhone has not gone unnoticed by telecom operatoRs

"We are aware of the hacking software that are available and are used to unlock the iPhone, but customers who will stay with Airtel will be able to enjoy iPhone's full benefits including the data plans," Sanjay Kapoor, Airtel's president (mobility) said.

The phone, which won Time magazine's coveted 'Invention of the Year 2007' honour, and marked the Cupertino-based computer giant's foray into the mobile phone arena, debuted in June last year.

"More than 30,000 iPhone's (2G) are running on the Airtel network alone," Sanjay Kapoor said.