Windows 7 Discontinued by Microsoft

Featured

Yural Maskey

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November 6, 2014

Windows 7 Bye Bye

Windows 7 will no longer be able to be as a preinstalled OS in PCs. Microsoft has announced that it will no longer sell the operating system. After a look at Microsoft’s announcement in the Windows life cycle fact sheet it has been noticed that costumers will be forced to install windows 8.1.

The company also state the last day for selling Windows 7 Home Basic, Home Premium, Ultimate and Professional was 31st October, but Microsoft has not given an expiry date to PCs preinstalled with Windows 7 Professional.

Client operating systems	Latest update or service pack	End of mainstream support	End of extended support
Windows XP	Service Pack 3	April 14, 2009	April 8, 2014
Windows Vista	Service Pack 2	April 10, 2012	April 11, 2017
Windows 7 *	Service Pack 1	January 13, 2015	January 14, 2020
Windows 8	Windows 8.1	January 9, 2018	January 10, 2023

This table gives end of sales dates for specific Windows operating systems.

Client operating systems and updates	Date of general availability	Retail software end of sales *	End of sales for PCs with Windows preinstalled
Windows XP	December 31, 2001	June 30, 2008	October 22, 2010
Windows Vista	January 30, 2007	October 22, 2010	October 22, 2011
Windows 7 Home Basic, Home Premium, Ultimate	October 22, 2009	October 31, 2013	October 31, 2014
Windows 7 Professional	October 22, 2009	October 31, 2013	Not yet established
Windows 8	October 26, 2012	October 31, 2014	Not yet established
Windows 8.1	October 18, 2013	Not yet established	Not yet established

Table Source:Microsoft Webpage

But even if you have an unsupported version of Windows XP or Windows Vista without any service packs, Windows will continue to start and run.The company has also discontinued selling boxed retail copies of Windows 8 despite being released in 2012.

Windows 7

Huawei launches 5 smartphones, a tablet and a talk band in Nepal

Yural Maskey

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November 6, 2014

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Huawei launches 5 smartphones, a tablet and a talk band in Nepal

Call Mobility, the sole authorized distributor of Huawei Smartphones in Nepal, has launched 7 new products- 5 smartphone ,1 tablet and a talk Band. The products are listed below:

Huawei Ascend P7
Huawei Ascend G6
Huawei Ascend G630
Huawei Ascend G610
Huawei Ascend G525
Huawei MediaPad 7 Youth 2 (tablet)
Talk Band B1 (smartwatch)

Ascend P7 is the company’s newest flagship phone of 2014 which is priced at Rs. 53,997 here in Nepal. Looking to challenge the likes of Samsung, Sony, LG and HTC at the top end of the Android market, Huawei launched their flagship phone but sadly falls short thanks to mediocre performance and iffy software.

It features a 5 inch Full HD screen which is sharp and crisp, quad-core chipset from Chinese manufacturer HiSilicon, which isnt fast as Snapdragon processor, 2GB of RAM,Kitkat 4.4 with Emotion UI 3.0, 13 megapixel camera with a new Sony lens and 8 MP front camera. The Highlight of this smartphone is the Front facing camera which the company says is perfect for the SELFIES or GROUPIES, whatever you prefer to say it!

Huawei Ascend P7 is also an ultra-slim smartphone and measures only 6.5 mm thick and is made of premium glass and metal materials(not as good as the HTC one or the iPhone6 though).

Ascend G6 is a plastic version of Ascend P6 and features a a 4.5 inches (540 x 960 pixels, 245 ppi) display, Quad-core 1.2 GHz processor running Android OS v4.3 (Jelly Bean) and is powered by its 2000 mAh Li-Ion Battery. In terms of storage it has 8 GB ROM, 1 GB RAM and storage is expandable via microSD, up to 32 GB. It also has a 8 MP, 3264 x 2448 pixels primary camera with LED flash and a secondary 5 MP camera for video-calls. It is priced at Rs.24,194

Ascend G630 has a 5 inch 720P screen, Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 Quad Core Processor running at 1.2Ghz, Adreno 302 graphics, 1 GB of RAM, 4 GB internal storage with microSD card support, 8 MP rear camera with LED flash, 1MP front camera and a 2000 mAh non-removable camera. It is priced at Rs.20,600

Ascend G610 sports a 5.0 inch qHD screen, Mediatek Quadcore MT6589 processor running at 1.2Ghz, 1 GB of RAM, 4 GB internal storage with microSD card support, 5MP rear camera with LED flash, 0.3 MP front camera and a 2150 mAh non-removable camera. It has 2 SIM slot out of which one SIM support 3G network. It is priced at Rs.20,097

Ascend G525 sports a 4.5″ IPS display with qHD resolution, Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro Play MSM8225Q quad-core processor with an Adreno 203 graphics chipset, 1 GB of RAM and 4 GB of onboard storage, plus a microSD slot for up to 32 s. The 5-Megapixel camera can shoots 720p video, but there’s no flash. There is a VGA camera for video calling. It has 2 SIM slot out of which one SIM support 3G network.It is priced at Rs.16,000

Huawei Ascend G525

MediaPad 7 Youth 2, an iterative refresh to last year’s MediaPad 7 Youth, features a 7-inch display with a resolution of 1024×600 pixels. It is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 MSM8x12 (Cortex-A7) processor, coupled with 1GB of RAM. For storage ,there is 4GB internal storage with MicroSD card slot that is expandable upto 32GB. It has a 3-megapixel fixed focus rear camera, and a 0.3-megapixel fixed focus front-facing camera for video chatting.It supports 3G SIM, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Micro-USB, a 3.5mm jack, and A-GPS connectivity. The battery is of 4100 mAh capacity which should give enough battery life since it has a relatively low resolution and not so powerful processor. It is priced at Rs.19,999

Talk Band B1 is a wearable device which works as a fitness tracker watch. It has a 1.4 inch Flexible OLED display and is Dust and Water proof. It is priced at Rs.16,000

Samsung Galaxy Grand 3 Specs leaks out

Samsung

Yural Maskey

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November 5, 2014

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Samsung Galaxy Grand 3, which would be a successor of Grand 2, leaks out in a GFX Benchmark site. According to the leaked specs, Galaxy Grand 3 will sport a larger 5.5-inch screen, with a resolution of 720 x 1280. Grand 2 had a 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 400 CPU, but Grand 3 performance will be slightly improved with a quad-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon 410 64 bit CPU, with 1.5GB of RAM on board. The Adreno 306 GPU will provide the graphics.

One of the biggest improvements with the Grand 3 as it seems will be the cameras.The Galaxy Grand 2 only offered an 8MP snapper on the back, and a 1.9MP camera up front. But now, Grand 3 will sport a 13MP camera on back and 4.7MP front camera. Android 4.4.4 should be pre-installed on the handset.Gutted that it won’t have Android 5.0 Lollipop during its launch

Samsung’s Grand lineups have always been a mid-range phone so we expect it to be priced sensibly once again. Last year’s Grand 2 was priced at Rs.36,900 during its launch but was soon priced at RS.32,000. So, we expect to see the Samsung Galaxy Grand 3 to be priced in a similar manner. We also expect it to be launched in Nepal, anytime before the end of this year.

Huawei Ascend P7 Arrives in Nepal

Huawei

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November 4, 2014

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Huawei Device Nepal has launched Ascend P7 in Nepal for Rs.53,997($540).This is the company’s newest flagship phone of 2014. Looking to challenge the likes of Samsung, Sony, LG and HTC at the top end of the Android market, Huawei launched their flagship phone but sadly falls short thanks to mediocre performance and iffy software.

Specification of Huawei Ascend P7

It features a 5 inch Full HD screen which is sharp and crisp, a Quad-core chipset from Chinese manufacturer HiSilicon, which isn’t fast as Snapdragon processor, 2GB of RAM, Kitkat 4.4 with Emotion UI 3.0, 13-megapixel camera with a new Sony lens and 8 MP front camera. The Highlight of this smartphone is the Front facing camera which the company says is perfect for the SELFIES or GROUPIES, whatever you prefer to say it!

Huawei Ascend P7 is also an ultra-slim smartphone and measures only 6.5 mm thick and is made of premium glass and metal materials(not as good as the HTC one or the iPhone6 though). You can check out our hands-on video review here on this link below:

General Features

OS: Android 4.4.2 (KitKat), Emotion UI 2.3
Processor: 1.8GHz octa-core Processor (Hisilicon Kirin 910T)
Memory: 2GB RAM
Dimension: 139.8 x 68.8 x 6.5 mm
Weight: 124 g
SIM Type: Micro-SIM

Display

Display: 5.0-inch IPS Display, 1080 x 1920 pixels (441ppi)
Display Protection: Corning Gorilla Glass 3

Camera

Rear Camera: 13 MP Camera, LED Flash, 1080p HD Video
Rear Camera Features: Autofocus, HDR, Geo-tagging, Face Detection, Panorama
Front Camera: 8MP Camera, Panorama

Storage

Built-in Storage: 16GB Storage
Memory Card Support: Up to 64GB (single SIM models only)

Internet & Connectivity

GPRS: Yes, up to 48kbps
EDGE: Yes
3G/WCDMA/HSPA: Yes, up to 21.1mbps
HSPA+: No
CDMA EVDO: No
4G LTE: Yes
WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA
Wi-Fi Hotspot: Yes
Bluetooth: Yes, Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP
NFC: Yes
Infrared Blaster: No
USB Port: Yes, microUSB 2.0, USB on the Go

Sensors & Control

Digital Compass: Yes
Accelerometer: Yes
Proximity Sensor: Yes
Light Sensor: Yes
Barometer: No
Pedometer: No
Gyroscope: No
Temperature Sensor: No

Battery

Battery: 2500 mAh Li-Po Battery
Standby Time: 422 hours
Talk time: 14 hours

Pirate Bay co-founder jailed in Denmark

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Yural Maskey

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November 4, 2014

0

Gottfrid Svartholm aka Anakata, the co-founder of popular Swedish file sharing website, Pirate Bay, has been found guilty of hacking and convicted to three and half years or 42 months in jail. The prosecutor for the case against Gottfrid Svartholm has been described as ‘Denmark’s biggest hacking case’.

Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, 30, was sentenced at a Copenhagen district court a day after he was found guilty of “hacking and aggravated vandalism”.

The Pirate Bay Cofounder — Pirate Bay co-founder jailed in Denmark

The court claimed they hacked into the Danish systems of IT giant CSC (Computer Science Corporation) and illegally downloaded police files and social security information between February and August 2012. Warg denied all charges saying that his computer had been used remotely to carry out the attacks. After considering evidence, the judge and jury in the case said it was “unlikely” that other people were responsible.

Warg doesn’t have had much luck in courts losing three cases in the last five years. He was deported from Cambodia in September 2013 to Sweden and was sentenced for two year prison which was eventually reduced to one year by appeal. Gottfrid was deported to Denmark and on 31 October 2014 was subsequently sentenced to three and a half years in prison for breaking into computers owned by CSC.

Price of Samsung Galaxy Note 4 in Nepal

Yural Maskey

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October 17, 2014

0

Samsung Galaxy Note 4

International Marketing Service, the official distributor of Samsung Smartphones Nepal launched the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 here in Nepal for Rs.85,900 which is one of the best prices globally. The price of Note 4 in the US is $930( approx NPR93,000) and in India is INR 58,500 (approx. NPR 93,500).

This years Samsung Galaxy Note 4 features premium design and build quality as they finally decided to have a Metallic frame around the corners. This phone features a 5.7 inch Quad-HD Super AMOLED screen, even faster processor with Samsung’s latest Exynos 5433 chipset with 2 Quad Core processor- Quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A53 & Quad-core 1.9 GHz (Keep in mind that its not Snapdragon 805 processor), 3 GB of RAM, 32 GB internal storage with expansion slot up to 128GB, huge 3220 mAh battery, 16 MP OIS camera that shoots excellent photos and 3.7 MP front camera.

Specifications

Processors: 2 Quad Core processor- Quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A53 & Quad-core 1.9 GHz
Display: 5.7-inch quad HD Super AMOLED screen with 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution (518 pixels-per-inch)
RAM: 3GB
Storage capacity: 32 GB internal with microSD card slot
Cameras: 16-megapixel rear with optical image stabilization (OIS), and 3.7 megapixel front facing
Radios: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2×2 MIMO)Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1 LE, near-field communications (NFC), ANT+, infrared, GPS
Battery capacity: 3,220 mAh with ability to fast charge to 50 percent in 30 minutes
Dimensions: 153.5 x 78.6 x 8.5mm, and 176 grams (6.21 ounces)

Samsung Galaxy Note 4

Sony Xperia C3 now available in Nepal

Yural Maskey

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October 14, 2014

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Sony Xperia C3 in Nepal Now

If you are looking for the best front facing camera phone(at this moment), the Sony Xperia C3 is your phone as it features a 5 MP front camera with LED flash. This phone is available in various stores in Nepal. You can buy at Rs.35,000 from one of the top resellers of Nepal- M.K.Trade Line.

Beside possessing a 5 MP selfie camera, this phone packs a 5.5 inch IPS screen with a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels. This display is by no means the best we have seen. However, the display isn’t that bad. With a pixel density of 267 ppi, you wont notice any pixelation. It’s clear and bright.

It sports a Quad Core QualComm Snapdragon Processor that is clocked at 1.2 GHz. This processor is a Cortex A7 Build in Architecture so don’t expect it to be as powerful as seen on some flagship smartphones. We have 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of Internal storage with MicroSD slot expandable upto 32GB. On the rear side, we have 8 MP camera with LED flash which can record video upto 1080p. The battery is non-removable and is of 2500 mAh capacity.

Sony Xperia C3 in Nepal Now

Lava Iris X5 with 5MP Selfie camera launched in Nepal

Yural Maskey

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October 13, 2014

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Lava Iris X5 with 5MP Selfie camera launched in Nepal

Lava Smartphones Nepal to announce their another midrange phone-Lava Iris X5 in coming days. Lava Iris X5 is Selfie Android Smartphone that features a 5 MP camera with Flash. Lava is targeting youths of Nepal who gregariously take selfies and post on the Social Networking sites like Facebook,twitter and Instagram.

Apart from a 5MP shooter, this phone sports a 5 inch IPS display with 720P resolution. Under the hood is a Quad Core CPU running at 1.2 GHZ, 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB internal storage with MicroSD support up to 32 GB, 8 MP rear camera with LED flash that can record videos in Full HD and a 2100 mAh battery. For connectivity, you get a Dual SIM Dual Standby features with 3G+ capability for high speed data internet, WI-Fi and Wi-FI hotspot and Bluetooth 4.0. This phone will be priced somewhere in between NPR 15,000 to NPR 17,000 price bracket.

Gionee M2 with 4200 mAh battery launched in Nepal

Yural Maskey

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October 10, 2014

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Gionee M2 with 4200 mAh battery launched in Nepal

Gionee arrived here in Nepal couple of months ago with an objective of providing good products at a reasonable price & that’s exactly what they are doing. They have launched the phone named M2 which is priced at Rs. 17,573 (You can get it for around Rs. 16,500) which features a large 5-inch display with a resolution of 480 x 854 pixels, 1.3 Ghz Quad Core CPU, 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of internal storage with a MicroSD slot expandable up to 32 GB.

There is a 8 MP rear camera with LED flash which can record upto 720P. There is a 2 MP front camera as well. These specs seems normal in a midrange phone but what Gionee’s done here is added a whooping 4200 mAh battery which Gionee claims will deliver standby time up to 555 hours. This phone is highly recommended for users who travel more often and for people who don’t have an inverter at home because you know about Loadshedding in Nepal. Right!

Pros:

Great Battery Life
Decent Specs

Cons:

Screen Resolution is not HD
Phone is bulky because of it’s huge battery

Wrapping up Apple Event: iPhone 6, 6 Plus & Apple Watch

Apple

Yural Maskey

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September 10, 2014

0

Wrapping up Apple Event: iPhone 6, 6 Plus & Apple Watch

Yes folks, the day was yesterday! Many of you saw it live, many of you read it later, many of you might still be unknown about it but Apple Event on September 9^th was in many ways a beginning of a new era for Apple phones and devices. How? Well, we’ve wrapped it up and made it easy for you to decide it for yourself.

Apple event yesterday saw the launch of two new smartphones, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple watch. While on many ways new iterations of iPhone was a normal announcement, the announcement of smartwatch truly made the headline. Even Tim Cook seemed overly excited about it and so were the people at that event. Let’s sum up the devices in a brief look below:

iPhone 6

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FglqN1jd1tM

iPhone 6 was unarguably the most required change in Apple smartphone era. With an increased screen size of 4.7 inches, iPhone 6 now proudly stands tall along its competitors.

Also the design element is changed with iPhone receiving smoothened edges and continuous design.

Here are the key features of iPhone 6:

NFC
4.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit widescreen Multi‑Touch display with IPS technology
1334-by-750-pixel resolution at 326 ppi
New 8-megapixel iSight camera with 1.5µ pixels, ƒ/2.2 aperture which contains Five-element lens with Backside illumination sensor
1080p HD video recording (30 fps or 60 fps)
Slo-mo video (120 fps or 240 fps) & Time-lapse video
1.2-megapixel photos (1280 by 960), ƒ/2.2 aperture, 720p HD video recording with Backside illumination sensor
iOS 8
14 hours of talktime (3G) on battery

iPhone 6 Plus

iPhone 6 Plus is another marvel which is similar to its smaller brother except some features and a larger screen size! Yes, you heard it right, it has a 5.5 inch display with Full-HD resolution of 1920×1080 at 401 ppi. It follows similar design element though. The features are nearly same except it has Optical Image Stabilization built in which is a really good move. Plus the battery is larger which gives 24 hours of talktime (3G) on battery as per Apple. iPhone 6 Plus seems to take full advantage of the larger display with enhanced Landscape modes in iOS 8. Also one handed operation is made easier in iPhone 6 Plus which brings the whole screen to half the screen size and can be accessed by simply double tapping the Touch ID.

Apple Watch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktujsc4ZUTo

YAAY! Might be the first word for Apple fans when apple announced its smartwatch! It is a really good step forward for Apple since it is a product of its own category. It’s an awesome device, with awesome capabilities and very useful features. But on the design area, I was a bit let down. I would any day prefer the watchface of Moto 360 over Apple’s Watch. Apple has got real talented people in the design department for the likes of Jony Ive and a better overhaul can be expected when smartwatches really start rolling in the consumer market. For now, Apple Watch is a piece-to-admire!

Furthermore, The watch has a new “bubbly” interface specially designed for the watch usage. It is packed with sensors which help in tracking your fitness and help make you healthy. All in all, the Apple watch is a real smartwatch which does everything a smartwatch should do and nothing more. It will be up for grabs from early 2015 at $349. Apple Watch will come in three editions namely: Apple Watch, Apple Watch: Sport & Apple Watch: Edition.

Wrapping things up, One more thing (as Steve Jobs says) that apple announced yesterday was Apple Pay. It is a not so new way of payment through NFC and Touch ID. Apple says, the data will be stored in a separate chip called Secure Element and will feature a dynamic code method which ensures security. The implementation and viability of this technology is yet to be seen. Although Google Wallet has been doing similar things already this step from Apple looks as if it is here to stay! Also, U2 fans can avail U2’s latest Album: Songs of Innocence for FREE! (Yes, you heard it right!) from the iTunes Store for a limited period of time!

The iPhone 6 will be available for buying from 19th September with the unlocked version starting from $649 whereas iPhone Plus can be bought from $749!

We expect these phones to come Nepal during Dashain with prices at whooping 95,000/- to over Lakh rupees for the bigger iPhone 6 Plus. After Tihar though, the prices should fall down to the respectable levels and be buyable! That’s how things work here, can do nothing about it! (sigh!)

Lastly, I’m really excited about the larger iPhones; iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus which were the much needed overhauls for Apple Smartphones. Apple watch (though I loved the “iWatch” name) seems to be the first step of the smartwatch culture which we’ll obviously encounter in the near future!

Did you watch the event?

Liked what Apple released? Or didn’t? Have your say in the comments below!

Cheers!