How to Use Windows

Sharp’s announcement that its next generation of Aquos televisions would come with a fourth colour of sub-pixel raised some slightly bemused smiles. But the company has told TechRadar that the addition of yellow to the traditional red green and blue will have a key benefit. Televisions currently use the primary colours – red, green and blue – to generate all the colours that the televisions shows, but Sharp’s latest Quattron technology adds a yellow sub-pixel.

The full story can be found on Tech Radar

Since we came out of the caves, every new technology has been greeted with alarm and disdain. When we invented fire, people moaned that we’d forget the art of making salads. When we invented the wheel, people moaned that we’d forget how to walk. And when we invented the internet, people moaned that we’d forget how to think

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Let it not be said that I don’t pay attention to the demands of the readers.  No sooner did I wrap up another comparative analysis of three slammin’ freeware applications for altering your desktop in new and unique ways then, well, you all talked.  And talked.  And talked. That’s not a bad thing, however.  A number of you voiced support for your favorite applications and utilities that you use to radically transform the look of your traditional Windows desktop in some pretty awesome ways.  It would be a shame to let these suggestions languish in the comments thread of an old article, however.  So, this week, Freeware Files is all about you.  I’ll be featuring your suggestions for applications and showing people why they should consider your alternatives for giving their desktops a refreshed look. Got it?  Let’s begin! 3DNA What.  The.  Hell.  Sorry to be so blunt, and I apologize for offending anyone’s sensitive ears.  Let’s not kid ourselves, however.  That’s the first think you’ll be thinking when you go to load up 3DNA, a desktop transformation that takes the concept of a 3D environment one step further… off the deep end.  I kid, but it’s just that much of a radical transformation.  Unlike the previously featured Bumptop, which allows you to manipulate your desktop as if it was a 3D cube of-sorts, 3DNA turns your desktop into the equivalent of Second Life.

For the full story, go to Maximum PC

Apple might be announcing the iSlate tonight, but that doesn’t mean there’s not more to come from Jobs’ big announcement – an updated version of the iPhone firmware to OS 4.0 is on the cards as well. The questions have already started around this release – what will it be? What functionality will it bring? Why would Apple release this now, rather than the traditional April/May slot

The full story can be found on Tech Radar

Plenty of us are familiar with the notion of getting breaking news via Twitter these days. Ever since a plane pitched into the Hudson River last January, we’ve recognised the micro-blogging network’s ability to help citizen journalists beat the big news agencies to a hot story. And so it’s no surprise that people look to services like Twitter to get the scoops on natural disasters, technology news and celebrity tittle-tattle. But there’s a real danger that members of the public forwarding on news might not be as diligent in checking their sources as the traditional media. Take for instance what happened this weekend on Twitter.

The full story can be found on Tech Radar

Nvidia’s CEO Jen-Hsun Huang offered some interesting thoughts on the PC industry in a recent BBC interview. He said that people are no longer wowed by their computers . Huang chalked this up to a maturity in PC hardware. He explained that people have been doing things the same way for so long, that the platform has lost some of its luster. So is there hope

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Gyration Air Mouse GO Plus uses a similar motion sensing technology to the Nintendo Wii’s game controllers. You can move the on-screen pointer by waving the device in the air. It doesn’t even have to be aimed at the screen. There’s a laser in there too, so you can also use it flat on your desk in the traditional way.

The full story can be found on Tech Radar

Google’s next mobile handset will be designed for businesses according to Andy Rubin. With the Nexus One arriving in the UK soon, Google’s attempt to move into hardware with an HTC-made handset has caught plenty of headlines. But the follow-up looks set to be aimed at BlackBerrys and Windows Mobile phones rather than at iPhones, with Reuters reporting that Rubin told a Wall Street Journal event that it was looking to business next. Rubin is the man behind Android, and an increasingly public figure with the Nexus One’s arrival. Online store A big factor for Google around the Nexus One was to create an online store for Android handsets, and this would give it a platform for any future phones.

The full story can be found on Tech Radar

The Japanese mobile phone market – frequently cited as among the world’s most sophisticated – has finally fallen victim to the march of Apple after a study revealed the iPhone dominating there. Research by Japanese publisher Impress shows the iPhone claiming close to half the entire market there for smartphones in 2009 to date. Windows on the slide The 3G and 3GS models combined to take 46.1 per cent of handset sales at the high end of the market. That has had the effect of knocking previously popular Windows Mobile models down the list. However, the fact that the list of trailing devices includes just a handful of Windows handsets, one Android phone and one BlackBerry emphasises that the smartphone market in Japan is not a deep one.

The full story can be found on Tech Radar

Here’s a bit of an odd one. We’re all for player vs. player-centric MMOs like Warhammer Online, but what about an MMO that jettisons one faction’s PvE right out the airlock? Because according to developer Cryptic, Star Trek Online’s Klingons won’t be collecting space-rabbit pelts or playing the parts of glorified intergalactic mailmen.

For the full story, go to Maximum PC