Netbooks sales – which have been on a hot streak for a while — are about to get super-heated this fall with the release of Windows 7. With the critics hailing Windows 7 as fast, stable, and easier to use, consumers will be quick to embrace it. This is the first time people can buy a netbook with a new operating system.
If you’ve been watching all this and waiting for Windows 7 before jumping in the water, we have some advice for you.
1) Not all netbooks are created equal.
Until recently, almost every netbook had an Atom CPU and lousy graphics. Atom was OK for Windows XP, but the poor graphics was a deal-breaker, because it meant people couldn’t run some of their favorite applications (or they ran so slowly that it wasn’t worth their time). It got so bad, some people called for the death of integrated graphics.
But with the introduction of Windows 7 and NVIDIA ION, the picture has changed dramatically. ION netbooks like the HP Mini 311 have virtually all of the capabilities of full-sized notebooks.
2) Windows 7 uses two processors.
Windows 7 will introduce a key change in how applications are processed. Instead of running your programs solely on the CPU, Windows 7 will offload some computing tasks to the graphics processor. Doing this can speed up applications 5-10 times over the CPU alone.
One immediate benefit is that Windows 7 netbooks will provide native video acceleration in Windows Media Player if the system detects a graphics processor. Video transcoding will also be accelerated natively under Windows 7. This video shows video transcoding running almost 10 times faster on a netbook with an ION processor.
3) Get the big picture with HDMI.
In a recent poll, Liliputing.com asked its readers if HD video is important to them. More than two-thirds of respondents said yes (about half of whom said yes if the netbook has a 720p or higher display). As more content today is being produced in HD, it just makes sense that your computer would have the ability to run it. The problem is most netbooks today are still hampered by Intel integrated graphics, which in most cases can’t handle SD video full-screen, let alone HD video (and apparently won’t support it anytime soon). Because so few netbooks can handle HD video, very few offer HDMI.
ION changes all that. The Lenovo S12 with ION, Samsung N510, and HP Mini 311 all have HDMI, so you can use them to output HD video on an external display like an HDTV. This broadens the repertoire of the once-lowly netbook, turning it into a potent, portable media center. These systems also have full 24-bit 8-channel, lossless codec support, so you can enjoy full 7.1 audio through your home entertainment system via HDMI.
4) Internet video
Today, more people watch internet video than breathe. Okay, that’s a slight exaggeration but it’s almost true. You, your mom, and probably your pet have watched internet video at some point.
Watching streaming video on a netbook today is painful. Again, the non ION based netbooks simply don’t have the processing power to handle it. The problem is that Flash-based video today is run on the CPU, which on a netbook isn’t the fastest. NVIDIA and Adobe are working on a new version of Flash that will use NVIDIA graphics processors to speed up streaming video. When the new Flash Player 10.1 is released early next year, netbooks with graphics processors (like ION) will be able to handle 720p HD video with ease.
See streaming HD video running smoothly on the HP Mini 311.
5) Games
We all know gaming has been a sore spot for netbooks, so it was good to see CNET declare that netbook gaming has finally arrived with ION-based systems like the HP Mini 311. Of course, no one should expect a netbook to compete with a more powerful gaming system, but ION netbooks do introduce the capability to play more recent games like SPORE, Battlefield Heroes, World of Warcraft, the Sims, and many others.
Conclusion
Over the past couple of years, netbooks developed a reputation for being small, weak, and incapable of running today’s more demanding applications. That’s why the moniker “netbook” was created in the first place. Thankfully, that is no longer the case, but you have to know what to look for. Today’s netbooks have larger screens, larger keyboards, and better capabilities than ever. Not only do they blur the line between netbook and notebook, they provide new capabilities that never existed like HD video, accelerated media conversion, faster overall performance under Windows 7, and gaming capabilities.
Today’s ION-powered netbooks feature long battery life (more than 5 hours), attractive pricing (the HP Mini starts at under $400), and will soon be able to handle HD video streaming live off the Internet. An ION netbook with Windows 7 will meet the needs of typical PC users, students, and business travelers who want a light, versatile PC to take on the road.
Do you want to see a person who is calling you more clearly and in details? Well, use Best Full Screen Caller and your wish will be fulfilled! Best Full Screen Caller can show you the big picture of a person when you are receiving a phone call if this person is stored in your contacts database!
During the call, Best Full Screen Caller shows big picture and detailed information associated with the contact.
To have Best Full Screen Caller showing a big picture during the call, you have to activate it – simply click Activate in the main view of the application.
Best Full Screen Caller allows associating a big picture with each contact, group or even unknown caller. To set the picture, click Picture in the main view of the application, select the contact or the group and set a picture for them using menu item Select picture.
Flexible layout options of Best Full Screen Caller allow customizing the appearance of the screen shown during the call. Settings
In this dialog you can configure the following settings:
* Show on – defines whether to show the screen during outgoing and incoming calls
* Backlight – normal or always on during a call
* Sort order – defines sorting order for pictures in Picture dialog and name order format
* Picture quality – defines quality of big photo
* Text font
* Show title – allows showing or hiding the title pane, when the title is hidden, caller’s picture can be a little bigger
* Picture size – defines the size of the photo; maximum photo size is calculated as screen size minus the size of buttons bar and minus the size of title pane (if it is shown)
To customize the options of default Layout, open Picture dialog and select Edit layout command from menu.
If the caller belongs to a group with a custom Layout, then the settings of Layout for this group will be used to display the picture. To set a custom layout for a group of contacts, select a group in Groups tab and choose Create layout command from menu.
Caller information screen can be adjusted with the following options:
* Display mode – full screen mode, detail mode, full screen detail
* Photo v-align – vertical align of photo
* Photo h-align – horizontal align of photo
* Caption v-align – vertical align of caption
* Details opacity / Details color – defines the transparency and color of details list-box
* Background – allows setting as background current theme, custom solid color or picture
* Background picture – this option is accessible when Background is set to Picture and is used to select a picture for background
* Text color – this option is accessible when Background is set to Picture or Color
* Selection text – this option is accessible when Background is set to Picture or Color
* Background color – this option is accessible when Background is set to Picture or Color
* Highlight opacity / Highlight color – defines transparency and color of caption and listbox highlighted item; this option is accessible when Background is set to Picture or Color
* 1st, 2nd, 3rd Caption fields – allow choosing which information exactly about the caller will be shown in the caption
* Detail fields – allows showing or hiding fields in detail mode
You can preview the outcome of your settings selection with help of Preview command.
Do you want to see a person who is calling you more clearly and in details? Well, use Best Full Screen Caller and your wish will be granted! Best Full Screen Caller can show you the big picture of a person when you are receiving a phone call if this person is stored in your contacts database!
How does it work:
During the call, Best Full Screen Caller shows big picture and detailed information associated with the contact.
To have Best Full Screen Caller showing a big picture during the call, you have to activate it – simply click Activate in the main view of the application.
Best Full Screen Caller allows associating a big picture with each contact, group or even unknown caller. To set the picture, click Pictures in the main view of the application, select the contact or the group and set a picture for them using menu item Select picture.
Flexible layout options of Best Full Screen Caller allow customizing the appearance of the screen shown during the call.
Settings
In this dialog you can configure the following settings:
Autostart – if this option is turned on, the application service will start up automatically when you turn on your phone
Show on – defines whether to show the screen during outgoing and incoming calls
Show messages on – defines wether the screen for incoming messages should be shown only in standby mode or in any application or not at all.
Backlight – normal or always on during a call
Picture quality – defines the quality of big photo
Text font
Show title – allows showing or hiding the title pane, when the title is hidden, caller’s picture can be a little bigger
Layout dialog
To customize the options of default Layout, open the Pictures dialog and select Edit layout command from menu.
If the caller belongs to a group with a custom Layout, then the settings of Layout for this group will be used to display the picture. To set a custom layout for a group of contacts, select a group in Groups tab and choose Create layout command from menu.
Caller information screen can be adjusted with the following options:
Display mode – full screen mode, detail mode, full screen detail
Photo stretch – fit screen and full screen modes
Photo v-align – vertical align of photo
Photo h-align – horizontal align of photo
Caption v-align – vertical align of caption
Details opacity / Details color – defines transparency and color of details list-box
Background – allows setting as background current theme, custom solid color or picture
Background picture – this option is accessible when Background is set to Picture and is used to select a picture for background
Text color – this option is accessible when Background is set to Picture or Color
Selection text – this option is accessible when Background is set to Picture or Color
Background color – this option is accessible when Background is set to Picture or Color
Highlight opacity / Highlight color – defines transparency and color of caption and listbox highlighted item; this option is accessible when Background is set to Picture or Color
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th Caption fields – allows choosing which information exactly about the caller will be shown in the caption
Detail fields – allows showing or hiding fields in detail mode
What’s new in Best Full Screen Caller for S60 3rd edition 3.00:
Layout and look and feel of full screen caller improoved;
Autostart option added;
Select picture via file dialog added as alternative method to select picture;
Screen size and rotation events handled properly now;
Last Name – First Name option removed. FSCaller autamaticaly detected proper mode now;
Compatible devices:
Nokia 3250, Nokia 5500 Sport,
Nokia 5700, Nokia 6110 Navigator, Nokia 6120,
Nokia 6121, Nokia 6290, Nokia E50,
Nokia E51, Nokia E60, Nokia E61,
Nokia E61i, Nokia E62, Nokia E65,
Nokia E70, Nokia E90, Nokia N71,
Nokia N73, Nokia N75, Nokia N76,
Nokia N77, Nokia N80, Nokia N81,
Nokia N81 8GB, Nokia N82, Nokia N91,
Nokia N92, Nokia N93, Nokia N93i,
Nokia N95, Nokia N95 8GB
