Indian iPad Price gets Dropped!!!

The iPad 2 launched last week and Apple followed it up with a price cut for the original iPad. We assumed that since India wasn’t in the list of countries the iPad 2 was announced as releasing in (oh, I’m so surprised), and since the original iPad had only just released here, the Indian prices wouldn’t be affected.

That doesn’t seem to be the case though, because one look at the Apple India website will tell you that the iPad rates have been slashed, barely a month after release. Check out the new prices below (initial prices are in brackets):

Wi-Fi + 3G:

    * 16GB – Rs. 31,900 (Rs. 34,900)
    * 32GB – Rs. 36.900 (Rs. 39,900)
    * 64GB – Rs. 41,900 (Rs. 44,900)

Wi-Fi:

    * 16GB – Rs. 24,500 (Rs. 27,900)
    * 32GB – Rs. 29,500 (Rs. 32,900)
    * 64GB – Rs. 34,500 (Rs. 37,900)

Now I don’t know if that’s a foreshadowing of the iPad 2’s release here, as opposed to a Women's Day special offer, but I’m sure a few of you out there are hoping so. Either way, props to Apple India for following up on a worldwide price cut, even if they didn’t have to. Now where’s that iPhone 4 and iPad 2?

Warner Bros. starts renting movies via Facebook

If you were looking for something more worthwhile to spend Facebook credits on than virtual trinkets for some game, Warner has an idea: all those movies you said you "liked." Starting today it is testing out a plan to rent movies right on their respective pages for 30 Facebook credits / $3 each. The first one on deck is The Dark Knight (again?) which should be live later today, with more available to rent or purchase in the future. there's no word on resolution or other features, but at the price we're assuming SD only. Full details are in the press release after the break, but the rentals have the standard 48-hour VOD window and can be paused/resumed simply by logging back into Facebook. In its current state, we doubt Netflix, Amazon and the rest have anything to worry about as far as competition, but maybe Warner thinks it can snag a few bucks from simply making sure there's a buy button of some kind awaiting our various identities in as many places as possible.

How To configure a Wi-Fi Router Correctly

Last week, we looked at ways to look for a good Wi-Fi router. Its one thing to choose a Wi-Fi router, but it's equally important to spend the same time to install and configure it correctly. If you’ve bought a router from your ISP, then someone from the ISP might have come over to your place and installed the router for you.

 Routers have more to them than you expect

Sometimes, the ISP personnel might not have any knowledge of wireless security and have no idea about your network setup at your home. If you’ve bought your own Wi-Fi router, then you will have to configure your router yourself. Let’s look at some of the most important features that need to be configured on your router.

Logging into your router
At this point, we are going to assume that you’ve setup the cables between the ISP and the router correctly. Routers and modems do not have any controls or LCD displays that let you configure the settings for them externally. The firmware on the router can only be accessed through a web browser. The web interface can typically be accessed on http://192.168.1.1 or http://192.168.0.1. The user name and password are both admin most of the time as well. If that doesn’t work, refer to the router manual for the correct URL or look at the back of the router. The user name and password will also be mentioned there.

Entering authentication details for internet account

Some of them require you to authenticate using a web login while most of them use PPPoE (PPP over Ethernet). When you first buy your router, you might have to enter these details into the router manually for once. The interface and location of the menus differs from one brand of routers to another, but the features are common everywhere. If your ISP doesn’t use PPPoE, you can use DHCP as your setup type and if your ISP assigns you specific IP addresses, you can choose the Static IP option and enter the details manually.

Enabling MAC Address Cloning
Every single network device has a MAC address which is unique to that device. ISPs lock internet access to MAC addresses on their clients’ PCs. So when you buy a new router, the ISP detects a different MAC address and disables internet access to that connection.

MAC cloning allows new routers to be recognized by ISPs

Fortunately, routers have a MAC address cloning feature that allow you to manually add the MAC address of your PC. Most of the routers have a MAC address auto-detection feature built into them. Enable it if you find your internet connection not working the moment you install your brand new router.

Securing your Wi-Fi network
Wi-Fi security is absolutely important if you don’t want your network PCs to be exposed and if you don’t want random users using your internet connections. Most routers come with no passwords set for the wireless network, which makes it easy for you to get online but at the same time, also easy for those unauthorized users. There are a few steps that can reduce the chances of that happening.

Setting a complicated password is a must

When you first install the router, make sure that you have Security mode on your router setup to WPA2-Personal and enter a long and somewhat complicated password. Most ISPs today distribute routers amongst their users with the passwords set as admin, password, the user’s phone number or name.

MAC filtering only allows specific devices to connect to the wireless network

The next step is to block all MAC addresses other than your PC and other devices that you might be using. Remember, we talked about ISPs blocking PCs with unrecognized MAC address? Routers have a similar feature that blocks devices whose MAC addresses aren’t present in the white list. Linksys calls the feature the Wireless MAC filter.

Disabling SSID Broadcast hides your network to outsiders

Disabling SSID Broadcast is one of the last steps to securing your router. With the broadcasting disabled, users aren’t able to see any wireless networks and accessing it isn’t possible unless you know the exact SSID of the network. Ideally, disable this once you’ve connected your devices to the Wi-Fi router at least once so that the SSID, password and settings are saved.

Setting up port forwarding
A lot of P2P applications and games might require open ports, which basically means that the router should be able to accept ports and forward them to your devices. Since all the connections being made to your network pass through the single router, the router needs to redirect those requests to specific PCs. In this case, incoming connections coming to various ports need to forwarded to the correct PCs. P2P applications for example need an accessible incoming port. Once you know which port your P2P application knows (which is something you can find out from the connection settings for the application), you can specify the port you would like the router to forward and to which PC or device.

Port forwarding is necessary for certain applications to operate flawlessly

Some manufacturer use the term NAT, port forwarding or in the case of recent Linksys routers, the feature is available through a menu called Applications & Gaming. In this case, users can choose from one of the preset applications and ports or can choose to manually enter the values. For example, if you were hosting a game of Quake III Arena (a game that uses the port 27960) for your friends, you would need to specify the external port to be 27960, the internal port to be 27960 as well and mention the destination PC’s IP address. Don’t forget to specify TCP/UDP traffic. You can set it to be both if you’re unsure.

Enabling bandwidth priority
Streaming Youtube uses a lot of bandwidth. If you happen to be playing a multiplayer game online while someone else is watching a Youtube video on the same connection, you’re likely to face lag or disconnections. This is obviously very annoying.

Load balancing between PCs is possible using QoS features

Routers have a feature which allows users to set higher or lower priority for bandwidth provided to specific PCs or applications. The QoS feature should allow you to select MAC addresses, IPs address and ports, so that bandwidth priorities can be assigned to them.

Tiny Wings, the Game that's Currently Pwning Angry Birds

The world seems to love its feathered mobile games and we at Tech2 aren't pretending to not be a shrine to Angry Birds. So when another birdy app, Tiny Wings came along and knocked Angry Birds off of its sustained top spot in the App Store, we obviously had to see what the fuss was all about.

 THIS took number one from Angry Birds

First of all, Angry Birds has been knocked off its top spot. If you've managed to get yourself together, get this, it's been knocked off by a game called Tiny Wings. Tiny Wings is a 99 cent (approx Rs. 45) game, developed by Andreas Illiger and is somewhat a runner game where you have a little bird who basically is running away from the night. The bird flutters its wings to gain height over mountains and you touch the screen to make it stop fluttering its wings when it goes downhill. The longer the bird goes downhill, the more momentum it gains when its flying and therefore it covers more distance. You're supposed to make the bird hop from island to island and sometimes solve challenges for its nest but the gameplay has been such nonsense that we haven't even gotten past the second island. 

Seriously, why is this game of all games the one to defeat Angry Birds? It's clearly designed to appeal mostly to women (unlike Angry Birds which is pretty neutral) and the objective of the game is, pardon my rudeness, kinda dumb. It seems like it's another Cut the Rope phenomenon where the game gets brief popularity because it seems cute and fun but then people get sick of it so it stays on the top 25 charts but lower down. Here's to hoping both Angry Birds Rio and the St. Patrick's Day Seasons Update knocks Tiny Wings back below the top ten where it belongs.

iPad 2 official

Apple has just made its second-generation iPad official! It features a dual-core A5 chip and, finally, cameras, both front and rear! The new CPU is said to be up to twice as fast, with graphics performance up to nine times better than on the original iPad, while power requirements have been kept the same. Battery life is, consequently, unaltered, with Apple promising 10 hours. Pricing, too, has been left unchanged, starting at $499. The new tablet will come with an HDMI output capable of 1080p -- which will set you back $39 for the requisite dongle -- but we've yet to hear any rumblings of Thunderbolt connectivity. There's an enlarged speaker grille on the back, as expected, though resolution has not budged from the original iPad's 1024 x 768.

720p video recording at 30fps will be on tap from the rear-facing camera, which can also do a 5x digital zoom if you're into that kind of thing, whereas the front-facing imager will record at a more modest VGA resolution, also at 30fps.

There's a new cover for the device, which is best defined by Steve Jobs himself: "We designed the case right along side the product. It's not a case -- it's a cover." Basically, it's a magnetic flap that protects the front and automatically wakes and puts the device to sleep according to whether it's open or closed. Guess we know what that proximity sensor was about now. These Smart Covers will cost $39 in plastic or $69 if you opt for leather.

The iPad 2 is 33 percent thinner than its predecessor, at a mind-melting 8.8mm, and a little lighter at just over 600g, while chromatic options have been expanded: you'll get a choice between white and black. It'll be available on both AT&T and Verizon, and all variants start shipping on March 11th. Apple Retail Stores will start sales at the unusual hour of 5PM, which will probably make online pre-orders the fastest way to get yours.

In terms of new software, Apple's launching iOS 4.3 alongside the new iPad and bringing with it much improved Safari performance as well as FaceTime, Photo Booth, iMovie and GarageBand apps specifically for the newly camera-enriched iPad. Personal Hotspot capabilities are also arriving in the latest version of the OS, but they'll be exclusive to the iPhone 4, so you won't be able to share your 3G iPad's connection.

courtesy: engadget

Facebook "Un-Shares" For a Few Features, Leaving You With "Like"

Facebook's self-professed goal is to create a system where people can share information. Few days ago, however, they removed the "share" link from a few features. For instance, if you see a friend's status update that's cool, you can "like" it but you can't share it anymore. Previously, if you clicked on share, it would show up in your status update as "Your name via Friend's Name Whose Status You Shared". Now, if you allow it to in your settings, once you like something, it will only show up on your wall as something you like.

Like it or not

Links, photos and videos still have the share button but here too, the share button is going to be replaced with the like button. When you like a link, a whole box will show up on your profile with a thumbnail from the link and will also show up on your friends' homepage, instead of just a line saying you liked a link. You and your friends will be able to comment on your action. This might make you more unlikely to like links now because it does seem a little intrusive but it's designed to increase pageviews for the sites whose links you post. Facebook continues to develop the Like button and has stopped all development on the Share button.
This seems logical because the prevalence of both the Like and the Share button makes Facebook activity a little redundant. However, we're hoping that you can control what type of content will show up as a post on your page when you hit like and what doesn't, without insulting your friends too much of course.

Test Drive Unlimited 2

Let me start by clarifying one very basic and often misunderstood fact about the first Test Drive Unlimited game, and this, its follow-up. This is not a racing game. Yes, there are times when you will participate in car races, but you do that even in Grand Theft Auto. Test Drive Unlimited is a driving game that encompasses and aims to bring to your living room the complete car experience, right from walking into a swanky showroom and inspecting the car you want to buy in minute detail, to taking it out for a leisurely drive along the coast. Like Gran Turismo, Test Drive Unlimited is about a love for cars, but it doesn’t haunt you with realistic car handling nor does it take itself too seriously. Get in and drive; it’s really that simple, and its beauty lies in that simplicity and freedom.

Rad Company

While the basic formula has made it over to TDU2 intact, developers Eden Games have done a whole lot more to build upon it. TDU2 is an open world game, and while in the first game Oahu, Hawaii was your playground, this time there’s a new, beautiful location – Ibiza, while Oahu returns with a significant visual upgrade. Both islands are massive and it will take you well over 20 hours to even explore both islands, let alone completing the missions on them. While the first game had you restricted to the tarmac, the islands are now open to you in their entirety, paving the way for off-road vehicles and SUVs and events revolving around them. You now also have day and night transitions as well as dynamic weather, and the game looks absolutely stunning at night and when it’s raining.

So without even getting into the gameplay, you can just tell from the setting that TDU2 is a far more expansive game, and it attempts to make the best use of that expanse by breaking up player progression into four sections. Events and activities level you up across four parameters – competition, discovery, social, and collection. Competition, as you would expect, involves races, time trials, tournaments, and earning licenses. Discovery requires you to explore the island, find hidden vehicles or photograph landmarks. Social involves making friends online, entering online events and building clubs. Lastly, collection entails buying cars and real estate in investing in them with upgrades. As you can see, the game extends beyond driving and is almost a lifestyle game, but it stops well short of turning into The Sims, and you’re never forced to perform any event you don’t want to. You have complete freedom to play the way you want.

Hang Solo

The carefree approach to the game extends to the vehicle handling as well. There are three driving difficulties to choose from and even the hardest of them is fairly easy. In fact, the lowest difficulty, at which it is set by default, is the worst. Cars almost feel like they’re on rails, so the first thing you should do when you start the game is change this setting. There aren’t hundreds of cars in the game, but there is a great selection, and the way they’re presented gives them a sense of exclusivity. You’ll find cars either in manufacturer or region-specific showrooms, where you can inspect cars closely, sit inside and have a look at the interiors, and even take them out for test drives. Plus, there are used car dealerships for when you’re short on funds.

The highlights of TDU2, as in the first game, are the long solo driving missions that are just you and the road. Each has a few conditions to be met, such as not damaging the car or keeping your passenger calm by not driving too dangerously. The long cross-island drives are equally memorable, and even more so thanks to the beautiful environs. As I mentioned before, TDU2 is visually stunning, but some of the luster is taken away by the uneven framerates. On a GTX465-powered rig, the framerates still always remained above 30, but never static, which can get annoying. Also, bear in mind that the PC version has an intrusive DRM that requires you to be online each time you launch the game, which sucks because on a few occasions, Atari’s own servers have been offline, locking me out of the game.

All said and done, fans of the first game will have no reason to complain about Test Drive Unlimited 2; if anything, it’s a whole lot more of what we loved. For those new to the series, just remember what I said at the start. Go in expecting a driving game, not a racing game, and you will be pleasantly surprised.

Pros:
Beautiful game world
Massive open world
Accessible controls
Tons of missions and activities

Cons:
Uneven framerates on PC
Intrusive DRM
Unstable game servers
Some strange lifestyle activities