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Nokia 3600 – Rs 9300
The 3600 runs on Symbian OS with S40 UI. It may not necessarily be a great-looking slider handset, but the kind of color blending that Nokia has incorporated is something else. The glossy finish imparts an expensive and fashionable look. This dark-to-light gradient is unique and gives the otherwise simple design an edgy look.

With a 3.2 megapixel auto focus camera, media players for audio and video, an integrated stereo FM radio with RDS, and a TV-out option, the 3600 is decently equipped for its price. MicroSD cards can be used for expanding memory. The handset also bundles Nokia Maps, although it doesn’t have internal GPS.

Spice X-1 – Rs 7500
The Spice X-1, not to be confused with the Xperia X1, is a simple and neat-looking candybar handset. Its large screen makes it ideal for the primary purpose Spice designed it for – and that’s not simply to be a mobile handset, but a sort of portable, GameBoy-styled device. The X-1 comes with a gamepad that allows users to step into a nostalgic world of old Nintendo games. Hello Mario!

Spice’s X-1 gaming mobile may not be as ‘uniquely’ designed as Nokia’s N-Gage handset and the other handsets that support the application for gaming, but its gamepad accompaniment is enough to thrill game fans. The handset supports microSD cards, has a 2MP camera, Stereo Bluetooth support, and is EDGE/GPRS enabled. Media features include an audio and a video player, as well as FM radio.

LG KP320 – Rs 7300
LG’s KP320 candybar-styled handset looks very simple but has a certain edge. It comes equipped with a 3 inch display with a 240 x 320 pixel resolution supporting 256K colors. It's designed to be a full-function media device with a decent price tag, and it looks as if it may just deliver.

Equipped with a 3 megapixel auto-focus camera with a flash, an FM radio, TV-out capability, and an audio player, this phone covers all your media requirements. It also has a video player. Connectivity options include EDGE/GPRS and Stereo Bluetooth, and external memory is supported via microSD cards.

Technology aside, Diwali is a time for family, friends, sweets, and a helluva lotta noise. If none of these handsets manage to please your wallet, fret not – the purchase can go on hold for a while. Stick with sweets and fireworks and you’ll be fine. Have an awesome Diwali, mobile maniacs!

In the previous segment I had compiled a list of handsets that were more like all-in-one devices, with a lot to offer consumers in the higher income bracket. Now, while we're aware that Diwali is the time for splurging, let’s not forget that we're in a global recession of sorts. So if you feel a need to live within your budget, here are some options that won’t hurt your wallet too much.

Sony Ericsson W580 – Rs 9700
The W580 is a slider from Sony Ericsson’s Walkman brand of music handsets. It has a chic design with a funky feel and light setting, and buttons that grab your attention. It employs all of Sony Ericsson’s style with a slim look, a smooth slider, and simple yet relevant features. The 2-inch display sports a 240 x 320 pixel resolution and 256K colors.

This sporty handset is equipped with a 2 megapixel camera, Sony Ericsson’s TrackID music recognition feature and an FM radio, aside form the Walkman player. If you’re a health freak, the W980’s calorie counter and pedometer will be quite handy. The phone supports various kinds of connectivity: EDGE/GPRS, USB (proprietary), and Bluetooth with A2DP. It also supports external memory with via Memory Stick Micro (M2) cards.

Samsung F270 Beat – Rs 9700
There’s little doubt in my mind that if you watch any kind of TV you’ve seen the ad with Aamir Khan trying real hard to exercise his vocal cords with the aid of Samsung’s F270 Beat handset. What makes this handset really ‘POP’ is the fact that it comes with a memory card (microSD) that’s loaded with music in a karaoke format. Being a dual slider (no, don’t think N95), the F270 has a set of stereo speakers that appear when the slider is activated.

The Karaoke feature is the probably its biggest selling point, but the F270 offers plenty of other features as well. For connectivity it supports EDGE/GPRS, A2DP, and USB 2.0. Other media functions include a normal audio player for music files, an FM radio with recording, and a 2 megapixel camera. It’s neat-looking too.

HTC Touch Diamond – Rs 26,000
The Touch Diamond is one of those totally touchscreen mobiles that don't necessarily require you to use a stylus – though it comes with one. It’s a simple, yet stylish handset with a rear panel that embodies a diamond’s cut, hence the name. The glossy black finish and the large 2.8 inch TFT touchscreen display make it look quite attractive.

Utilizing HTC’s TouchFLO Technology in 3D makes the OS come alive with finger-touch accessibility, enhancing the mobile experience. Running on Windows Mobile Professional, the HTC touch packs 4GB of internal memory with connectivity features that include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth with A2DP, and USB. It also has internal GPS and comes equipped with a 3.2MP camera, media player and an integrated FM radio with RDS.

LG Secret KF750 – Rs 18,990
This handset may have a rather odd name (I’m not sure why you’d want to keep this phone a secret, and if it holds one we’re yet to figure it out) but it's still a very stylish slider. It has a touch-sensitive navigation system that LG's becoming famous for, and its silver-and-carbon fiber rear panel is sure to attract a lot of attention. Aha, hence the need to keep it a secret. We get it.

The KF750 comes with a 5MP camera that features face detection technology. It also incorporates Bluetooth with an A2DP profile, TV-out, and support for DivX and MEPG4 file playback. Other features include a document viewer and an FM radio with RDS. You can boost the memory via microSD cards since the internal memory is just about 100MB.

Sony Ericsson W980 – Rs 22,800
This clamshell handset with its black glossy finish, touch-sensitive Walkman-on-Top keys, and external display is quite an eye-catcher. It may seem a little large, but it feels real good when you hold it. The external lights display only enhances the stylish design. The W980 has a 2.2-inch TFT display on the inside, and a nice large keypad.

As for features, aside from its Walkman branding the W980 comes with a 3.2MP camera, 8GB of internal memory, Bluetooth with A2DP profile, stereo speakers and an FM radio. The handset (which was launched globally) originally came with an FM transmitter but this feature has been omitted in the Indian version. It also features SE’s Shake Control for switching audio tracks and TrackID for music recognition.

These handsets may seem a bit expensive, and considering the current situation of the global economy, any Diwali offers are likely to be negligible. So you may just want to consider the cost before purchase. On the other hand, if you have the money, why not splurge? In you're on a budget, stay tuned for more affordable Diwali specials that will soon come your way as a follow-up to this article. Have a bright Diwali, guys, and try to keep the volume down.

It’s that time of the year when the country erupts in a fountain of light and sound. It’s a time when spending insane amounts of money is considered... well, let’s be honest, it isn’t even a consideration for festive folk, and that comprises pretty much a rather chunk of the populace. So, if you’re looking to buy a new mobile phone, here are some colorful choices for this season.

Samsung INNOV8 i8510 – Rs 46,000 (with 16GB card)
Here’s a phone that has other handset makers cowering as it’s India’s first 8 megapixel camera phone! Of course, it’s only a matter of time before the LGs and Sony Ericssons get there, but for now this one reigns supreme. Nokia users who are thinking of switching because of the camera have nothing to worry about; the INNOV8 runs on a typical Symbian OS with a Series60 UI. So the transition will be smooth.

This smooth slider handset has plenty to offer, with a media player that reads DivX and WMV files, internal GPS, Stereo Bluetooth, a 3.5mm earphone/TV out socket, Wi-Fi, and a whopping 8GB/16GB of internal memory with microSD card support as well. It’s the camera of course that will really make an impression. It features image stabilization technology with face detection and smile detection. Better still, it has a FireWorks scene mode.

BlackBerry Bold 9000 – Rs 35,000
If you think you're not really interested in buying a business phone for Diwali, think again. The Bold aims to satisfy all your mobile needs, from business to entertainment. It’s an elegant handset with style and a user-friendly interface. With a superb display sporting a 480 x 320 pixel resolution with 65K colors, videos and images look vibrant.

With a 2MP camera, 1GB of internal user memory with microSD support, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth with A2DP, the Bold fares quite well in the connectivity department. The new BlackBerry OS 4.6 also adds to the already attractive look and feel of the handset. The Bold also has DivX, XviD and WMV file support for videos, and a built-in GPS module. The full QWERTY keypad and TrackBall navigation are a bonus. It seems RIM’s days as a strictly-for-business handset manufacturer are over.

Nokia E71 – Rs 20,000
Another versatile handset for business users is Nokia’s E71. It’s an extremely slim and sleek handset with a sturdy feel – after all, it weighs 127g! The steel finish for the body only enhances its style quotient and overall appeal.

This well-equipped handset offers features that range form Stereo Bluetooth to Wi-Fi, internal GPS, and 100MB of internal user memory with microSD card support. The full QWERTTY keyboard makes typing quick and painless. There's a 3.2MP auto-focus camera (not its best feature), and complete office functionality for reviewing and editing MS documents, PDF files, and ZIP files. The E71 also features a media player for audio/video and an FM radio.

Philips has announced a new addition to their popular GoGear range of media devices – the SA2940. The SA2940 with its 1.5 inch color display (128 x 128 pixel resolution) is actually an upgrade to their previous SA2825 model, which was equipped with a monochrome display.

The new color display will be able to show off the album art as well as photos. It will feature Philips' Full Sound technology and will also come with a set of preset EQs as well as a customizable option. This 4GB capacity device is in all other aspects quite the same as the previous model and is still of course quite light weight at 30g. It still retains its glossy square shape with navigation controls on four sides of the display.

Philips has not yet announced a price for the SA2940 or the availability yet, so stay tuned.

Reports have it that Samsung has launched another QWERTY keypad equipped Windows Mobile handset (running on the 6.1 professional) Tri Band handset called the C6620. This new slim smart phone is 11.9mm thick with a QVGA display (not a touch screen), Bluetooth, a 2MP camera and 20MB of internal memory with external support as well. From the reports, it seems like the handset is more of an entry level type smart phone with average capabilities and lacking in features like WLAN and GPS although it’s 3G enabled (with HASDPA).

For the moment the handset has been launched in Italy but it’s possible that the C6620 may just make it to other areas as well. It’s currently priced at Rs. 12, 700 (199 EURO). This handset will be available in 3 colors - Wine Red, Apple Green and Navy Blue, which will help add a touch of funk to the handset’s otherwise quite regular form factor.

HP has expanded the HP Mini family with three models of a new HP Mini 1000 line, following the success of its education-focused mini PC released in April.

"Staying connected to your world - however you define it - is increasingly important to people on the go," said Ted Clark, senior vice president and general manager, Notebook Global Business Unit, Personal Systems Group, HP. "That’s why HP is excited to address this new high-growth market with a portfolio of head-turning mini companion PCs that are fun and easy to use."

These laptops are less than an inch thick, weigh a little more than 2 pounds and have a keyboard that is 92 percent the size of a standard notebook PC keyboard. The laptops also feature a BrightView widescreen Infinity display (1,024 x 600 resolution) with flush glass and LED backlight, built-in webcam and microphone.

Powered by Intel Atom N270 1.6-gigahertz (GHz) processors, HP Minis will be made available worldwide in an array of configure-to-order options.

The three models announced are the HP Mini 1000, the HP Mini 1000 Vivienne Tam Edition and the HP Mini 1000 with MIE (Mobile Internet Experience)

The HP Mini 1000 features a piano-black finish with HP Imprint swirl design. It is pre-installed with Windows XP Home, has an Ethernet jack, two USB ports and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless capabilities. Versions with 3G capabilities are expected to be available in December. Configuration choices include screen size - 8.9-inch or 10.2-inch diagonal BrightView display - and solid-state or mechanical hard-drive options.

The HP Mini 1000 is available at www.hpdirect.com at a starting price of $399.

The HP Mini 1000 Vivienne Tam Edition comes in vibrant red with a peony-flower inspired design. It features a 10.2-inch diagonal BrightView display, runs Windows XP Home, includes an Ethernet jack, two USB ports, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless capabilities. The laptop is expected to be available in mid-December via www.hpdirect.com. It is expected to be priced at $699.

The HP Mini 1000 with MIE (Mobile Internet Experience) has an HP-developed interface making it easy to enjoy digital content - videos, photos, music and email - on demand and on the go. MIE comes loaded with instant messaging, email and Skype for online video chat. Applications enabling browsing, email and online video are pre-loaded and run from the MIE dashboard, minimizing startup time. Favorite websites that are added to the dashboard stay live, and the taskbar makes it easy to switch between programs.

The HP Mini 1000 with MIE runs the Linux operating system, includes an Ethernet jack, two USB ports, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless capabilities. It is expected to be available in January via www.hpdirect.com at a starting price of $379.

The dual-slider boasts of a 2.6" OLED screen and comes pre-loaded with 15 try-and-buy made-for-mobile N-Gage games and a voucher for one full game license. Dedicated gaming keys of the device light up when it is in gaming mode.

"The Nokia N85 was created to be more than the sum of its parts, offering a complete mobile entertainment package," said Devinder Kishore, Director- Marketing, Nokia India. "Combined with landscape gaming and dedicated gaming keys for additional comfort, the Nokia N85 breaks the boundaries of mobile gameplay".

In addition to games, the Nokia N85 comes with multimedia features like in-built FM transmitter, 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and location tagging capabilities, a three month integrated license for turn-by-turn voice navigation. Gaming, photos, navigation and music blend together with the newest Ovi and third party services via 3.5G HSDPA and Wi-Fi connectivity to make discovering and sharing experiences quick and seamless.

The Nokia N85 comes with an 8GB microSD card, which allows storing upto 6000 songs. It powers up to 30 hours of music playback time and the built-in FM Transmitter allows users to play music wirelessly through a car or home stereo.

The Nokia N85 has started shipping and will be retailed at an MRP of Rs. 27,299.

SatNav Technologies has announced that they are now providing state of the art GPS turn-by-turn navigation software for all Symbian OS Mobile devices across the country. Users who purchase the software can install the navigation software on any of the Symbian OS phones. SatGuide on all Symbian handsets is set to satisfy the increased demand for user-friendly location based services, with an array of new functions.

Customers who wish to equip their Symbian mobile phones with navigation capabilities can easily install the SatGuide software on to their current mobile devices and instantly start navigating using the device to find correct routes, ATMs, Hospitals, Medicine shops, cinema halls and other locations across the country. Those who do not have a GPS-enabled phone, have the option of purchasing the GPS receiver separately. SatGuide is developed by using the Destinator GPS/navigation software provided by Intrinsyc Software International, Inc.

Users can navigate in over 25 cities of various states and position themselves with various points of interest provided throughout each city. The software is a one-time install unlike any of the 3-month trial packages offered. On installing the software, the users are to only pay for the map up-gradation, which is provided once every quarter. The maps are optimized on the appearance front as Day/Night modes, enhancing the viewing capabilities of the users irrespective of the time in the day. An additional feature of 2D and 3D mode is also available.

The software is priced at Rs. 1, 999 for all Symbian OS devices across the country.

Gone are the days when one needed to nurse an aching wrist after hours of shooting. I have been through that with my ancient Sony Handycam, which also requires me to convert videos before I can mail them to my friends. In a refreshing change, Sanyo follows a very different form factor altogether. The company has been instrumental in introducing camcorders that seem to fit your palm just right.

A first glance of the E1 left me impressed. It looks like a gun, and feels like one too. My bad comparison apart, I like that it can fit in almost any nook or cranny of my bulging duffel bag when I go on vacation. It comes with a sturdy carry bag, so you don’t need to worry about scratches when the only place left to port it is next to the iPod.

It shines a deep lime green, with polished white on one side and brushed grey in the middle. The camcorder’s petty handy, and although it does feel heavier than you would expect from something that looks so small, it’s not something you'll mind after you give it a shot.

Why do I like this form factor? Well, there’s less strain on the wrist for one. If you buy any Sanyo camcorder, you will be relieved to find the usual buttons in their usual place. The playback and the start/shut button are hidden behind the 2.5-inch LCD screen, which swivels 285 degrees. I would have liked to see a semi-diagonal swivel that some of the more advanced handycams offer.

The E1 is truly amphibian. It offers great clarity both in water as well as on dry land. The manual specifies an allowable depth of 1.5m (5 feet). I dragged it well below that and it didn’t show any strain from the extra pressure, but I'd advise you not to try anything so foolhardy.

The camcorder mainly relies on the SD card to store videos. To enable it to shoot and record more in less space, the E1 uses AVC/H.264 video compression. Usually MPEG4 camcorders will take up more space. How did they manage this? Well, Sanyo has manufactured a dedicated Qpixel brand H.264 video compression IC for this very purpose.

The interface can support up to 8GB. Don’t be content with 1GB though, for you get less than an hour of video, and it wouldn’t really be worth it. I tried it with our 4GB card, and faced no problems at all.

Nokia has launched the N79 in India with a special offer of preloaded 'Anthems 1998-2008', a compilation of 19 all-time favorite classic club songs and 17 new age music videos, presented by the Ministry of Sound.

The Nokia N79 comes with a 4GB microSD card, features an FM transmitter and offers music playback time of up to 30-hours. It is also equipped with AGPS with voice navigation, 10 pre-loaded N-Gage games and a 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and dual LED Flash.


"The Nokia N79 packs cutting-edge technology into a super-sleek, compact design – a characteristic typical of the iconic Nseries," said Devinder Kishore, Director Marketing, Nokia India. "It has been designed for those who want a device that is as appealing as it is powerful. This balance of performance, style and entertainment means that it is a defining step forward from the popular and very successful Nokia N72 and Nokia N73," he further added.


Each Nokia N79 pack comes with two additional interchangeable Xpress-On covers in different colors that have an inbuilt microchip that ensures that when the back cover is changed, the display theme changes automatically to match the color of the cover. These covers are available in five colors - Light Sea Blue, Espresso Brown, Olive Green, White and Coral Red.

The Nokia N79 is priced at Rs. 22,939.

As in today's world new technologies are coming at veryfast rate.This may be due to market competition in which each conpany wants to be ahead of other or due to desire of mankind to make things simple.Since technologies are arriving daily it is difficult forpeople to update with it, so friends this blog will helpyou by updating with latest technology, internet development and try to satisfy your urge to know about new things.

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EyePoint:Look and Click:

Introduction:

The keyboard and mouse have long been the dominant forms of inputon computer system.However, with the incresing accuracy and decreasing costof eye gaze tracking system, it will soon be common with people.Human beingslook with their eyes. when they want ot point either on the computer or in real life, they look before they point.Therefore using eye gaze as a wayof interacting with computer seems to be extension of our natural ability.

WHAT IT DOES:

To our eye point user simply looks at desire location and presses hotkey on keyboard for double click,single click etc.The system displays a magnified view of the region the user was looking at. The userlook at the target and releases the hot key. The region around the user's initialgaze point is presented in the magnified view with a grid of orange dots overlaid.These orange dots are called focus points and may aid in focusing the user's gaze at a point within he target. focusing at a point reduces the jitter and improves the accuracy of the system.Single click ans double click and right click actions are performed as soon as the user releases the key. click and drag is a two step process. The user first selects the starting point for the click and drag with one hot key and then the destination with another hot key.

HOW IT WORKS:

The eye tracker constantly tracks the yser's eye movements using complex algorithms tohelp filter the gaze data. It determines the user's gaze using low cost cameras to track the location of the center of the pupil.

GOOGLE KNOL:

Like wikipedia google is also going to launch a public platform and this ocean of knowledge will be named as KNOL. Thing which diffrentiate it from wiki is thatin knol photo of writter will also be displayed.

HAFNIUM CHIP-HEART OF NEW GENERATION PC:

Scientists in Italy has developed a chip which will replace silicon chip whichare used now a days. This chip is made up of Hafnium material and loaded with 'Penrin'processors size of chip is only 45nm. Benefit of using Hafnium over silicon is that dielectric constant is high and can store more charge than silicon oxide.

TRIPLE DVD:

This disc is ptented this year and has more storage capacity than that of availableDVD, Blue ray and HD-DVD. This disc can be played in DVD player, BLue ray playerand HD-DVD player.

Intellicon has launched Maia XC, Aethra's new- generation
videophone that combines videoconferencing features with
IP telephony, internet browser, e-mail, instant messaging,
photo viewer and high resolution video with typical
functionalities of a PC. Working from home or away from
office is now easier. Thanks to a wireless connection,
you can access the internet and read e-mails from just
about anywhere. Its coloured 7-inch LCD screen ensures
good image quality.

COST Rs 77,500

Asus recently launched their new GPS-enabled PDA phone,
the P527, which is equipped with a 2.6 inch LCD touch
screen displaying 65K colours at 240x30 pixels.
Powered by a 200MHz processor and 64MB RAM, it
runs windows Mobile 6.0 on its 128MB of internal memory,
which can be expanded using microSD card. The gadget,
which has a 2-megapixel camera and a pop-port USB,
also supports FM radio, MP3, MPEG-4, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
v2.0 and ifrared.With 4-5 hours of talktime and 150-200
hours of standby time, the phone comes ready with a vast
application suite.

COST: Rs17,900

Those looking for portable data storage might want
to consider Kinston Technology's newest DataTraveler
400(DT400). The flash drive is preloaded with data
synchronisation software that allows users to work
multiple PCs by synchronising files, email and browser
settings on to the drive. In addition the device's inbuilt
secure Traveler 2 software allows the creation of a password
protected area on to the drive to keep data safe.

COST: Rs 2,225(2GB),Rs 3,665(4GB)
FOr more information and details
CLICK HERE

Mitashi recently unveiled its new MP4 player, the KNM;complete
with feather-touch keypad. The device boasts of a 2.4 inch LCD
screen(reolution 320x240 pixels), 2GB of flash storage and a
provision to add extra storage via a mini SD card slot. The
KNM supports MP3 and WMA music formats, as well as AVI for video.
Users can also view JPEG images, listen to FM, and even record audio
on-the-fly.

FOR more information:CLICK HERE

COST:Rs 4990

Fitting a 1TB into a box measuring 5.31 x 3.22 x 1.57 inches isn't all that easy (most NAS boxes we've seen would crush a squirrel easily) but Buffalo seems to have not only accomplished this but shoved in a whole bunch of other features as well. The Mini's got a Gigabit Ethernet port, support for RAID 0 and 1, Active Directory Support, UPS support (to shut down in case of power failure), and best of all, runs an on-board DLNA server.

Three new models of desktop PC series have been launched into the market by HP. The three models of the Pavilion Slimline series are s3000, a6000 and m8000. The first one comes with 1GB of RAM, and you can pick either a AMD CPU or an Intel CPU, but for the later you have to pay an extra 50$. If not you can buy it for 500$. The PC can be set with a low graphic card, maybe a TV tuner and a Pocket Media Drive.
You can buy the a6000 at a lower price then the s3000. It’s just 330$ but you would be throwing off some memory because it has only 512 MB of RAM. But the bright side is that it comes with an Intel CPU, a Pocket Media Drive and a graphics card. But the “jewel of the crown” is the m8000. And the price says so to. At 950$ it has a DVD drive and again you can pick between a dual core AMD or Intel processor. All three models have Windows Vista preinstalled.

Now’s the perfect time to get a Mac desktop. Apple has updated its iMac line of desktop computers today, giving it more power than ever. The US$1,199 20-inch model now sports: 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Penryn processor 128MB ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT graphics 1GB of memory 250GB 7200RPM hard drive The US$1,499 20-inch model sports: 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo [...]
Now’s the perfect time to get a Mac desktop. Apple has updated its iMac line of desktop computers today, giving it more power than ever.

The US$1,199 20-inch model now sports:

2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Penryn processor
128MB ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT graphics
1GB of memory
250GB 7200RPM hard drive
The US$1,499 20-inch model sports:

2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Penryn processor
256MB ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO graphics
2GB of memory
320GB 7200RPM hard drive
The US$1,799 24-inch model sports:

2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Penryn processor
256MB ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO graphics
2GB of memory
320GB 7200RPM hard drive
Finally, the top-of-the-range US$2,199 24-inch model sports:

3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Penryn processor
512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS graphics
2GB of memory
500GB 7200RPM hard drive

All of us who have been on a plane know about how long you have to wait before you can board because of the annoyingly thorough check-ups you have to pass before you can go on your trip. But from now on you can leave all those controls behind thanks to the new Flyclear card. And it only costs $99.95 a year and the fee for TSA of $28.

To get one, you have to go to a Clear center and present two official identification cards. Then you have to take a photo and give them your biometric information. They suggest that you should have a US passport, but foreign people are welcomed to.

So now you can eliminate the stress from your plane trips, not worry about those hidden pierces and miss a lot less planes. The Flyclear has already been put into function but for very few airports like Orlando, San Jose and JFK and the service is not available all day long. But there are plans to expand this technology.

This isn't the final official version of the Sprint Mogul Windows Mobile 6.1 firmware update—which probably means that it shouldn't be called "official"—but it has been leaked on WinMo dev sites. New features are Sprint TV, a larger Start Menu, speedier response and of course, Windows Mobile 6.1. If you're really dying for new features on your phone you can download and install it now, otherwise we'd wait until the final version is available within the next month or so.

Initially released in the Asian market, the Glofiish X500+ Pocket PC handset has again shown off its charisma with a bit of improved features to brag about. E-TEN has released the enhanced Glofiish X500+ phone that boasts to double as a computer with its Windows Mobile 6 and VGA display.

Claiming to be its first device to show off high-resolution VGA capabilities, the pocket PC phone is proud to display up to four times the resolution than the prior E-TEN models. Its bigger 2.8-inch 65,536 colors, TFT-LCD screen offers more pixels (640 x 480), ensuring crisp and sharp images and movie-viewing experience. The mobile phone also debuts with 3.5G connectivity, Windows Mobile 6 Professional platform and VGA display, making it an ideal product for business professionals to enjoy portability and high-end communication features while globe trotting.

Available in an ultra-thin form factor, the Glofiish X500+ also enables consumers to capture videos or photos through an integrated 2-megapixel camera with auto-focus function and 4x digital zoom. It also allows them to conduct research via browsing over the World Wide Web and even get in touch with thousands of people overseas with the help of the Windows Live for Windows Mobile suite.

Moreover, the company’s exclusive software suite such a Namecard Manager is incorporated into the pocket PC phone to organize contacts and assists owners to photograph a business card. This later takes advantage of OCP technology to recognize and dig out contact information.

During leisure time, users can get pleasure from the multimedia function and if they are more engrossed in their work, the upgraded Mobile Office application helps them to continue working while on the run. They can create and edit documents, photos, spreadsheets or presentations.

The additional features of the latest Glofiish device are 128MB Flash ROM, 64MB SDRAM with support of microSD card, an in-built quad-band GSM module, Bluetooth v2.0 +, Wi-Fi and GPRS/EGPRS.

Measuring 113.5 x 60.5 x 15.5 mm, the E-TEN X500+ ultra-thin VGA Pocket PC Phone is accessible in silver and black color choices. However, the price detail is kept as a surprise.

Those clever little Japanese just can't stop themselves shrinking things. If there was an MBE for spotting brilliant functional design, then our colleague Mr Hashimoto would have a lapel full of the blighters. Because there's nothing more clever than the gadget he found on a recent trip to his Asian mother country. Like him, it's small, perfectly formed, is dashed useful in a tight corner, and can pretty much go anywhere.

This is mouse unlike most other mice. A king among mice, you might say. It's an ergonomically beautiful mouse, easy on the hand and good on the eye, with one superior modification. It has an in-built SD and MMC card reader, meaning you can save vital USB port space by combining two gadgets in one.

Upload and download to your heart's content. Images, music and more. For this is a mighty mouse when it comes to data transfer, and an accurate mouse when it comes to navigation. Boasting the very latest in infra-red spatial technology, it has dispensed with the hated roller-ball to glide smoothly over most flat surfaces to move your pointer or cursor to its intended destination with pinpoint accuracy. Best of all, it is a fleximouse that is eager to please - and can connect easily through either USB or standard mouse ports.

Features
High precision 800dpi optical resolution
Built-in SD/MMC card reader
USB mini connector
CPU-mouse cable adapter
Retractable 75cm cable
Specification
Dimensions: Height: 3.0cm Width: 5.0cm Depth: 9.0cm
Weight: 0.0Kg

When Camcorder joins our daily life, capture all our precious moments, even company us traveling around the world however because of the size of the oldies camcorder which was big, we got trouble in taking care of it. However now, Panasonic launched SDR-S10 “The World Smallest Camcorder” measures 1.2 x 2.5 x 4.5 inches, 10x optical zoom, 2.5-inch LCD. With the ability to record on SD/SDHC format, Panasonic reveal that a 4GB SDHC memory card will allows 100 minutes recording time whereas the 2GB SDHC memory card will allows 50 minutes recording time. SDR-S10 designed in a stylish look, easy shooting that allows you to shoot your precious moment comfortably in the palm of your hand. Watch the stunning pic of the smalles camcorder after the break.

Sometimes we come across gadgets that really get us excited! However after we read the specs of said gadgets more closely our little gadget balloons get deflated. Case in point, the Pet's Eye View Digital Camera. This compact digital camera attaches to your your pet's collar and is made of ultra durable water-resistant ABS plastic. Photos are shot at 640x480 resolution at intervals of either 1, 5, or 15 minutes. Sounds great, so what's the catch? According to the product description there's only enough internal memory to hold roughly 35 photos, which means at best you're only going to capture a little over eight hours in the life of your pet before you'll run out of space. (No mention of a memory card slot to add extra memory either, bummer.)

Now a days technology are so advanced that you can keep an eye on anyone you like whether they are you’re loved ones or your enemies. This is now possible only through the Keruve GPS Watch. You can keep an eye on your kids, your girlfriends, your wife, your enemies, and your relatives. If you want to track their mails and Internet use, or to simply know that where they are in every waking minute, you can do so by just clicking a mouse in just a few seconds these days. The latest spy gadget introduce in the market to enhance your attentive eyes need is the latest Keruve GPS Watch. With this device, you can track or follow someone’s every move, accurately.
The Keruve GPS Watch requires a unique mechanism. This watch will not be able to submerge as it is a waterproof and you don’t have to worry about its features they are very reliable. This watch works like a home detector and also it won’t allow loosing the watchful eyes of yours. It looks like the regular old watches, but it will be requiring an exclusive device for removal. This watch comes with its handset, which will guide when you are beyond your boundary limits. You can gift this smart Keruve GPS Watch.

Today many laptops are available in market but ASUS has launched one after one and they introduce some latest designs and technologies in their laptop. Now they announced about its 10-inch high-end EeePC.

The ASUS high-end EeePC has included some interesting features such as 120GB HDD or 32GB SSD expandable memory and Intel’s dual-core Atom processor. They are launching it in Korea market and it comes in September end in market.

The GROM USB Car Interface from GROM Audio is an accessory that aims to simplify the playback of media files on an original car stereo.

GROM USB Car Adapter enables you to bring your favorite media collection in a car, easily access it, shuffle songs, skip between tracks, and adjust volume — all of this only with OEM car stereo head unit or multifunction steering wheel controls. An exclusive technology and best-in-class audio decoder brings up a new level of listening experience - clear sound not poisoned by long wires and media player line out drivers. Extended control capabilities allow managing thousands of songs limited only by USB device capacity. Just connect your USB memory stick to your car stereo system through GROM USB Car Interface and enjoy the ride!

Unfortunately at this point in time, the GROM USB MP3 Car Interface only supports Audi, BMW, and Volkswagen car stereos so those with other makes will just have to wait. There are plans to increase its compatibility to work with Acura, Chrysler, Honda, Mazda, Mercedes, Škoda, and Toyota as from September 2008.

If you are looking to lug around huge amount of data, you might want to check out sony's latest and newest range of USB drives. The gadgets- known simply as micro vault 'Click'-have no caps to lose, and employ a 'clicking action to extend its connector. In addition , the device is also equipped with an LED indicator that illuminates when it is connected to a computer.

For more details on the gadget that is avilable in 1GB(Rs 400), 2GB(Rs 1060) and 8GB(Rs 2000)

Visit:http://www.sony.co.in

Those looking for a widescreen hi-def LCD monitor might want to check out BENQ's new offering, the EHD. The 21.5 inch screen displays 16.7 million colours at a native resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. The device boasts of a response time of 5 milliseconds, and a contrast ratio of 1000:1. Other features include input HDMI and DVI, dual speakers, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

Price:Rs 13,500

With millions of iPhones already sold all over the world, Apple has recently updated their software for their iPhone and iPod touch. According to Apple’s official website, the update is available for only $9.95. My only question is simply this; why isn’t it free? This really is an all in one gadget combining SatNav, 3g Internet, an iPod as well as an endless list of applications for you to add

Apple's iron-fisted control of the iPhone is starting to draw protests from some software developers who wonder if the company’s policy will end up squelching competition.

In at least one recent case, Apple appears to have denied approving a software program, Podcaster, for the iPhone, that could be considered competitive with the company’s own offerings or plans.

Apple not only makes the iPhone, but also controls its operating system and has absolute authority over what programs can be added to the device.

As a freelance writer, I live by my laptop. Sometimes, I work a little too hard and I just want to get a little bit of sleep. When I do, I usually just push my laptop aside and uncomfortably turn my folded arms into pillows.

Perhaps this is why Ivonne Dippmann designed the iSleep pillow. The purpose of the iSleep is to make that uncomfortable piece of plastic and metal and turn it into a place to rest my head.

In all honesty, I never tried to use my laptop for a pillow because it is just plain hard. I am also worried about messing up the insides of my laptop by putting the weight of my head on it. The iSleep solves this weight problem by attaching to the laptop’s exhaust vent, and the warm air inflates for some nice padding on the iSleep.

Not only is the pillow warm, but it has an integrated speaker that will play music. I can only assume that your laptop programs what tunes you will hear as you drift away to dreamland. There is even an alarm tone to wake you up when needed, and I’m not certain if that is part of the iSleep or you have to program the laptop for that.

So far, this iSleep is only a concept, but it is something that I could certainly use.

By now you've heard the news that Apple has released their new iPod nanos for 2008 and they've added some fairly impressive and fun features. The new nanos now have a "shake" feature (first seen in the Sandisk Sansa Shaker) which randomly chooses a new song each time you shake your nano. The displays are improved sporting a 2 inch widescreen with 320x240 resolution at 204 pixels, and there are two models to choose from: 8GB or 16GB. Spoken menus allow you to hear the name of the menu, song title, and artists without viewing the screen which means you can operate your nano without ever having to look at the screen. In ear headphones with microphone (sold seperately) will enable voice recording, and the new nano has a rounded case which (we assume) will make it easier to hold in the hand. Overall we're kinda impressed by these new nanos, however with Samsung's P2 and Y10 players sporting built-in Bluetooth connectivity and the Zune's wireless feature we're a little confused why Apple isn't untethering ALL their players and allowing for better unwired connectivity and accessory options.

With Wal-mart dropping the Zune 80GB from their inventory and rumors of a 120GB Zune being just around the corner, some opportunistic sellers on Amazon have decided to jack up their prices for their remaining 80GB Zune players. Maybe we're wrong but if memory serves don't the prices for older hardware drop as the newer versions become available? Apparently not, as we've watched the current going price for the Zune 80GB rise from $250 to a whopping $499 as of this posting. We hope everyone out there knows that paying more than the listed retail of $250 for a hard drive Zune player right now is sheer lunacy. We suggest you consider pre-ordering the 120GB Zune for $250 instead. Amazon lists the new Zune's street date as September 12th!

Zune 80GB on Amazon for $499

Motorola recently released its YUVAZN200, fitted with a 2-megapixel camera and 8x Zoom. Sporting a 1.9 inch TFT screen with a resolution of 176x220 pixels, the slider handset boasts of 30MB of internal memory that can be expanded up to 2BB via microSD. Other features include bluetooth 2 with A2DP, JaVA, MP3, FM radio-all this with a battery that claims to last for eight and half hours of talk-time, or 340 hours of standby time.
For details on the gadget, which will set you back by Rs 6719, visit

An image of Homer holding a doughnut was painted next to the Cerne Abbas giant in Dorset, England.

Homer Simpson is one of the most popular and influential television characters in a variety of standards. USA Today cited the character as being one of the "top 25 most influential people of the past 25 years" in 2007, adding that Homer "epitomized the irony and irreverence at the core of American humor."[97] Robert Thompson, director of Syracuse University's Center for the Study of Popular Television believes that "three centuries from now, English professors are going to be regarding Homer Simpson as one of the greatest creations in human storytelling."[98] Animation historian Jerry Beck described Homer as one of the best animated characters, saying, "you know someone like it, or you identify with (it). That's really the key to a classic character."[75] Homer has been described by The Sunday Times as "the greatest comic creation of [modern] time". The article remarked, "every age needs its great, consoling failure, its lovable, pretension-free mediocrity. And we have ours in Homer Simpson."[55]

Homer has been cited as a bad influence on children; for example, in 2005 a survey conducted in the United Kingdom found that 59% of parents felt that Homer promoted an unhealthy lifestyle.[99] A five-year study of more than 2,000 middle-aged people in France found a possible link between weight and brain function, the findings of which were dubbed the "Homer Simpson syndrome".[100] Results from a word memory test showed that people with a Body mass index (BMI) of 20 (considered to be a healthy level) remembered an average of nine out of 16 words. Meanwhile, people with a BMI of 30 (inside the obese range) remembered an average of just seven out of 16 words.[100]

Despite Homer's embodiment of American culture, his influence has spread to other parts of the world. In 2003, Matt Groening revealed that his father, after whom Homer was named, was Canadian, and said that this made Homer himself a Canadian.[101] The character was later made an honorary citizen of Winnipeg, Canada, in real life because Homer Groening was believed to be from the Manitoba capital, although sources say the senior Groening was actually born in Saskatchewan.[102] In 2007, an image of Homer was painted next to the Cerne Abbas giant in Dorset, England as part of a promotion for The Simpsons Movie. This caused outrage among local neopagans who performed "rain magic" to try to get it washed away.[103] In 2008, a fake Spanish euro coin was found in Avilés, Spain, with the face of Homer replacing the figure of King Juan Carlos I.[104]

Homer has appeared, voiced by Castellaneta, in several other television shows, including the sixth season of American Idol where he opened the show;[105] The Tonight Show with Jay Leno where he performed a special animated opening monologue for the July 24, 2007 edition;[106] and the 2008 fundraising television special Stand Up to Cancer where he was shown having a colonoscopy.[107]

Homer Simpson is an "everyman" and embodies several American stereotypes of working class blue-collar men: he is crude, overweight, incompetent, clumsy and a borderline alcoholic.[1] Matt Groening describes him as "completely ruled by his impulses".[88] Dan Castellaneta calls him "a dog trapped in a man's body", adding, "He's incredibly loyal – not entirely clean – but you gotta love him."[34] In his book Planet Simpson, author Chris Turner describes Homer as "the most American of the Simpsons" and believes that while the other Simpson family members could be changed to other nationalities, Homer is "pure American".[89] In the book God in the Details: American Religion in Popular Culture, the authors comment that "Homer's progress (or lack thereof) reveals a character who can do the right thing, if accidentally or begrudgingly."[90] The book The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer includes a chapter analyzing Homer's character from the perspective of Aristotelian virtue ethics. Raja Halwani writes that Homer's "love of life" is an admirable character trait, "for many people are tempted to see in Homer nothing but buffoonery and immorality. [...] He is not politically correct, he is more than happy to judge others, and he certainly does not seem to be obsessed with his health. These qualities might not make Homer an admirable person, but they do make him admirable in some ways, and, more importantly, makes us crave him and the Homer Simpsons of this world."[91] In 2008, Entertainment Weekly justified designating The Simpsons as a television classic by stating, "we all hail Simpson patriarch Homer because his joy is as palpable as his stupidity is stunning".[92]

In the season eight episode "Homer's Enemy" the writers decided to examine "what it would be like to actually work alongside Homer Simpson".[93] The episode explores the possibilities of a realistic character with a strong work ethic named Frank Grimes placed alongside Homer in a work environment. In the episode, Homer is portrayed as an everyman and the embodiment of the American spirit; however, in some scenes his negative characteristics and silliness are prominently highlighted.[94][95] By the end of the episode, Grimes, a hard working and persevering "real American hero", is relegated to the role of antagonist; the viewer is intended to be pleased that Homer has emerged victorious.[94]

In Gilligan Unbound, author Paul Arthur Cantor states that he believes Homer's devotion to his family has added to the popularity of the character. He writes, "Homer is the distillation of pure fatherhood. [...] This is why, for all his stupidity, bigotry and self-centered quality, we cannot hate Homer. He continually fails at being a good father, but he never gives up trying, and in some basic and important sense that makes him a good father."[96] The Sunday Times remarked "Homer is good because, above all, he is capable of great love. When the chips are down, he always does the right thing by his children — he is never unfaithful in spite of several opportunities."[55]

Homer's influence on comedy and culture has been significant. He was placed second on TV Guide's 2002 Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters, behind Bugs Bunny;[75] fifth on Bravo's 100 Greatest TV Characters, one of only four cartoon characters on that list;[76] and first in a Channel 4 poll of the greatest television characters of all time.[77] In 2007, Entertainment Weekly placed Homer ninth on their list of the "50 Greatest TV icons".[78] Homer was also the runaway winner in British polls that determined who viewers thought was the "greatest American"[79] and which fictional character people would like to see become the President of the United States.[80]

Dan Castellaneta has won several awards for voicing Homer, including three Primetime Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Voice-Over Performance" in 1992 for "Lisa's Pony", 1993 for "Mr. Plow",[81] and 2004 for "Today I Am a Clown", although in the latter case it was for voicing "various characters" and not solely for Homer.[82] In 1993, Castellaneta was given a special Annie Award, "Outstanding Individual Achievement in the Field of Animation", for his work as Homer on The Simpsons.[83][84] In 2004, Castellaneta and Julie Kavner (the voice of Marge) won a Young Artist Award for "Most Popular Mom & Dad in a TV Series".[85] In 2005, Homer and Marge were nominated for a Teen Choice Award for "Choice TV Parental Units".[86] Various episodes in which Homer is strongly featured have won Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program, including "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment" in 1991, "Lisa's Wedding" in 1995, "Homer's Phobia" in 1997, "Trash of the Titans" in 1998, "HOMR" in 2001, "Three Gays of the Condo" in 2003 and "Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind" in 2008.[81] In 2000, Homer and the rest of the Simpson family were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard.[87]

Homer's personality and comic efficacy lies in his frequent bouts of stupidity, laziness and explosive anger. He has a low intelligence level, described by director David Silverman as "creatively brilliant in his stupidity".[59] Homer also shows immense apathy towards work, is overweight, and "is devoted to his stomach".[59] His short attention span is evidenced by his impulsive decisions to engage in various hobbies and enterprises, only to "change ... his mind when things go badly".[59] Homer often spends his evenings drinking Duff Beer at Moe's Tavern and, as shown in the episode "Duffless" (season four, 1993), is a borderline alcoholic.[60] He is very envious of his neighbors, the Flanders family, and is easily enraged by Bart: Homer will often strangle Bart on impulse in a cartoonish manner. The first instance of Homer strangling Bart was in the short "Family Portrait". Matt Groening's rule was that Homer could only strangle Bart impulsively, never with pre-meditation, and that it would always be over quickly.[61] Another of the original ideas entertained by Groening was that Homer would "always get his comeuppance or Bart had to strangle him back", but this was dropped.[62] He shows no compunction about expressing his rage, and does not attempt to hide his actions from people outside the family.[59] While Homer has repeatedly upset people and caused all sorts of mayhem in Springfield, these events are usually the result of either his intense temper or a lack of foresight rather than any malice. Except for expressing annoyance at Ned Flanders, Homer's destructive actions are usually unintentional.

Homer has complex relationships with all three of his children. He often berates Bart, but the two commonly share adventures and are sometimes allies. Homer and Lisa have opposite personalities and he usually overlooks Lisa's talents, but when made aware of his neglect does everything he can to help her. He sometimes forgets that Maggie even exists, although Homer has often tried to bond with her; "daddy" was her first word. While Homer's thoughtless antics often upset his family, he has also revealed himself to be a surprisingly caring father and husband: in "Lisa the Beauty Queen", (season four, 1992) he sold his cherished ride on the Duff blimp and used the money to enter Lisa in a beauty pageant so she could feel better about herself;[6] in "Rosebud", (season five, 1993) he gave up his chance at wealth to allow Maggie to keep a cherished teddy bear;[63] in "Radio Bart", (season three, 1992) he spearheaded an attempt to dig Bart out after he had fallen down a well;[64] and in "A Milhouse Divided", (season eight, 1996) he arranged a surprise second wedding with Marge to make up for their unsatisfactory first ceremony.[65] Homer however has a poor relationship with his father Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, whom he placed in a nursing home as soon as he could.[66] The Simpson family will often do their best to avoid unnecessary contact with Grampa, but Homer has shown feelings of love for his father from time to time.[67]

Homer is "a (happy) slave to his various appetites",[68] and would gladly sell his soul to the devil in exchange for a single doughnut.[69] He has a vacuous mind but is still able to retain a great amount of knowledge about very specific subjects. Homer’s brief periods of intelligence are overshadowed however by much longer and consistent periods of ignorance, forgetfulness, and stupidity. Homer has a low IQ of 55 which has variously been attributed to the hereditary "Simpson Gene",[70] his alcohol problem, exposure to radioactive waste, repetitive cranial trauma,[71] and a crayon lodged in the frontal lobe of his brain.[72] In the episode "HOMR" (season 12, 2001) Homer had surgery to remove the crayon from his brain, boosting his IQ to 105, but although he bonded very well with Lisa, his newfound capacity for understanding and reason made him less happy and he had Moe reinsert the crayon, causing his intelligence to return to its previous level.[72] Homer often debates with his own mind, which is expressed in voiceover. His brain has a record of giving him dubious advice, sometimes helping him make the right decisions, but often failing spectacularly. It has even become completely frustrated and, through sound effects, walked out on him.[73] Homer's conversations with his brain were used several times during the fourth season, but were later phased out after the producers "used every possible permutation".[74] These exchanges were often introduced because they filled time and were easy for the animators to work on.[74]

Executive producer Al Jean notes that in The Simpsons' writing room, "everyone loves writing for Homer", and many of his adventures are based on experiences of the writers.[47] Homer's behavior has changed a number of times through the run of the series. He was originally "very angry" and oppressive toward Bart, but these characteristics were toned down somewhat as his persona was further explored.[48] In early seasons, Homer appeared concerned that his family was going to make him look bad; however, in later episodes he was less anxious about how he was perceived by others.[49] In the first several years, Homer was often portrayed as sweet and sincere, but during Mike Scully's tenure as executive producer (seasons nine, 1997 to twelve, 2001), he became more of "a boorish, self-aggrandizing oaf".[50] Chris Suellentrop of Slate wrote, "under Scully's tenure, The Simpsons became, well, a cartoon. [...] Episodes that once would have ended with Homer and Marge bicycling into the sunset [...] now end with Homer blowing a tranquilizer dart into Marge's neck."[51] Fans have dubbed this incarnation of the character "Jerkass Homer".[52][53][54] At voice recording sessions, Dan Castellaneta has rejected material written in the script that portrayed Homer as being too mean. He believes that Homer is "boorish and unthinking, but he’d never be mean on purpose."[55] When editing The Simpsons Movie, several scenes were changed or otherwise toned down to make Homer more sympathetic.[56]

The writers have made Homer's intelligence appear to decline over the years; they explain this was not done intentionally, but it was necessary in order to top previous jokes.[57] For example, in "When You Dish Upon a Star", (season 10, 1998) the writers included a scene where Homer admits that he can not read. The writers debated including this plot twist because it would contradict previous scenes in which Homer does read, but eventually they decided to keep the joke because they found it humorous. The writers often debate how far to go in portraying Homer's stupidity; one suggested rule is that "he can never forget his own name".[58]

I was trying to find something I was more comfortable with that had more power to it, so I had to drop the voice down. [...] People will say to me, 'Boy, I'm glad they replaced the guy that was there that first season.' That was me!
—Dan Castellaneta[33]

Homer's voice is performed by Dan Castellaneta, who voices numerous other characters, including Abraham Simpson, Krusty the Clown, Barney Gumble, Groundskeeper Willie, Mayor Quimby and Hans Moleman. Castellaneta had been part of the regular cast of The Tracey Ullman Show and had previously done some voice-over work in Chicago alongside his wife Deb Lacusta. Voices were needed for the Simpsons shorts, so the producers decided to ask Castellaneta and fellow cast member Julie Kavner to voice Homer and Marge rather than hire more actors.[34][33] Homer's voice sounds different in the shorts and first few seasons of the half-hour show than it does in the majority of the series. The voice began as a loose impression of Walter Matthau, but Castellaneta could not "get enough power behind that voice",[34] and could not sustain his Matthau impression for the nine to ten hour long recording sessions so had to find something easier.[10] Castellaneta "dropped the voice down",[33] and developed it into a more versatile and humorous voice during the second and third season of the half-hour show, allowing Homer to cover a fuller range of emotions.[35]

Castellaneta's normal speaking voice has no similarity to Homer's.[36] To perform Homer's voice, Castellaneta lowers his chin to his chest,[34] and is said to "let his IQ go".[37] While in this state, he has ad-libbed several of Homer's least intelligent comments,[37] such as the line "I am so smart, s-m-r-t" from the episode "Homer Goes to College" (season five, 1993) which was a genuine mistake made by Castellaneta during recording.[38] Castellaneta likes to stay in character during recording sessions,[39] and tries to visualize a scene in his mind so that he can give the proper voice to it.[40] Despite Homer's fame, Castellaneta claims he is rarely recognized in public, "except, maybe, by a die-hard fan".[39]

"Homer's Barbershop Quartet" (season five, 1993) is the only episode where Homer's voice was provided by someone other than Castellaneta. The episode features Homer forming a barbershop quartet called The Be Sharps and at some points, his singing voice is provided by a member of The Dapper Dans.[41] The Dapper Dans had recorded the singing parts for all four members of The Be Sharps. Their singing was intermixed with the normal voice actor's voices, often with a regular voice actor singing the melody and the Dapper Dans providing backup.[42]

Until 1998, Castellaneta was paid $30,000 per episode. During a pay dispute in 1998, Fox threatened to replace the six main voice actors with new actors, going as far as preparing for casting of new voices.[43] However, the dispute was soon resolved and he received $125,000 per episode until 2004 when the voice actors demanded that they be paid $360,000 an episode.[43] The issue was resolved a month later,[44] and Castellaneta earned $250,000 per episode.[45] After salary re-negotiations in 2008, the voice actors receive approximately $400,000 per episode.[46]

The entire Simpson family was designed so that they would be recognizable in silhouette.[25] The family was crudely drawn, because Groening had submitted basic sketches to the animators, assuming they would clean them up; instead, they just traced over his drawings.[14] Homer's physical features are generally not used in other characters; for example, in the later seasons, no characters other than Homer and Lenny have a similar beard line.[26] When Groening originally designed Homer, he put his initials into the character's hairline and ear: the hairline resembled an 'M', and the right ear resembled a 'G'. Groening decided that this would be too distracting though, and redesigned the ear to look normal. He still draws the ear as a 'G' when he draws pictures of Homer for fans.[27] The basic shape of Homer's head is described by director Mark Kirkland as a tube-shaped coffee can with a salad bowl on top. Bart's head is also coffee can shaped, while spheres are used for Marge, Lisa and Maggie.[28] During the shorts, the animators experimented with Homer's mouth movements when talking and at one point his mouth would stretch out back "beyond his beardline", but this was stopped when it got "out of control."[29] In some early episodes, Homer's hair was rounded rather than sharply pointed because animation director Wes Archer felt it should look disheveled. Homer's hair later evolved to appear consistently pointed.[30] During the first three seasons, Homer's design for some close-up shots included small lines which were meant to be eyebrows. Matt Groening strongly disliked them and they were eventually dropped.[30]

In the season seven (1995) episode "Treehouse of Horror VI", Homer was computer animated into a three dimensional character for the first time for the "Homer3" segment of the episode. The computer animation directors at Pacific Data Images worked hard not to "reinvent the character".[31] In the final minute of the segment, the 3D Homer ends up in a real world, live-action Los Angeles. The scene was directed by David Mirkin and was the first time a Simpsons character had been in the real world in the series.[31] The episode "Lisa's Wedding" (season six, 1995) is a flashforward, set fifteen years in the future and Homer's design was altered to make him older. He was redesigned to be heavier, one the hairs on top of his head was removed and an extra line was placed under the eye. A similar design was used in subsequent flashforward episodes.[32]

Creation
Matt Groening created Homer while waiting in James L. Brooks' office

Matt Groening first conceived Homer and the rest of the Simpson family in 1986 in the lobby of producer James L. Brooks' office. Groening had been called in to pitch a series of animated shorts for The Tracey Ullman Show, and had intended to present an adaptation of his Life in Hell comic strip. When he realized that animating Life in Hell would require him to rescind publication rights, Groening decided to go in another direction,[14] and hurriedly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family, naming the characters after members of his own family. Homer was named after Groening's father.[15][14] Very little else of Homer's character was based on him, and to prove that the meaning behind Homer's name was not significant, Groening later named his own son Homer.[16][17] Although Groening has stated in several interviews that Homer is the namesake of his father, he also claimed in several 1990 interviews that a character in the 1939 Nathanael West novel The Day of the Locust was the inspiration for naming Homer.[1][18][19] Homer's middle initial "J", which stands for "Jay",[20] is a "tribute" to animated characters such as Bullwinkle J. Moose and Rocket J. Squirrel from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show who got their middle initial from Jay Ward.[21][22]

Homer made his debut with the rest of the Simpson family on April 19, 1987 in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night".[23] In 1989, the shorts were adapted into The Simpsons, a half-hour series airing on the Fox Broadcasting Company. Homer and the Simpson family remained the main characters on this new show.[24]

Role in The Simpsons

The Simpsons uses a floating timeline in which the characters do not physically age, and as such the show is generally assumed to be set in the current year. In several episodes, events have been linked to specific time periods, although this timeline has been contradicted in subsequent episodes.[1] Homer Simpson is the bumbling husband of Marge and father of Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson.[1] He was raised by his parents, Mona and Abraham Simpson; in the episode "Mother Simpson", (season seven, 1995) it is revealed that Mona went into hiding in the mid-1960s following a run-in with the law.[2] Homer attended Springfield High School, and in his final year fell in love with Marge Bouvier.[3] Marge later discovered she was pregnant with Bart, and the two were married in a small wedding chapel across the state line. Subsequently, Homer was hired to work at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant.[4] Lisa was born soon after, and the couple bought their first house. The episode "That 90's Show" (season 19, 2007) contradicted much of the established backstory; for example, it was revealed that Homer and Marge were childless in the early 1990s although past episodes had suggested Bart and Lisa were born in the 1980s.[5]

Homer's age has increased as the series developed; he was 36 in the early episodes,[6] 38 in season eight,[7] and 40 in the eighteenth season,[8] although even in those seasons his age is inconsistent.[1] During Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein's period as showrunners, they found that as they aged, Homer seemed to become older too, so they increased his age to 38.[9]

Homer has held many different jobs, over 188 in the first 400 episodes.[10] In most episodes, he works as the Nuclear Safety Inspector at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, a position he has held since "Homer's Odyssey", the third episode of the series.[11] At the plant, Homer is often ignored and completely forgotten by his boss Mr. Burns, and constantly falls asleep and neglects his duties. Matt Groening has stated that he decided to have Homer work at the power plant because of the potential for Homer to create havoc.[12] The rest of his jobs have lasted only one episode. In the first half of the series, the writers developed an explanation of how he got fired from the plant and then rehired in every episode; in later episodes he often began a new job on impulse, without any mention of his regular employment.[13]

Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and father of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Homer was created and designed by cartoonist Matt Groening while he was waiting in the lobby of James L. Brooks' office. Groening had been called to pitch a series of shorts based on Life in Hell but instead decided to create a new set of characters. He named the character after his father Homer Groening. After appearing on The Tracey Ullman Show for three years, the Simpson family got their own series on Fox, which debuted December 17, 1989.

Homer is the boorish father of the Simpson family. With his wife, Marge, he has three children: Bart, Lisa and Maggie. As the family's provider, he works at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. Homer embodies several American working class stereotypes: he is crude, overweight, incompetent, clumsy, and lazy; however, he is also fiercely devoted to his family. Despite the suburban blue-collar routine of his life, he has had a number of remarkable experiences.

In the shorts and earlier episodes, Castellaneta voiced Homer with a loose impression of Walter Matthau; however, during the second and third seasons of the half-hour show, Homer's voice evolved to become more robust, to allow the expression of a fuller range of emotions. He has appeared in other media relating to The Simpsons – including video games, The Simpsons Movie, The Simpsons Ride, commercials and comic books – and inspired an entire line of merchandise. His catchphrase, the annoyed grunt "d'oh!", has been included in The New Oxford Dictionary of English since 1998 and the Oxford English Dictionary since 2001.

Homer is one of the most influential fictional characters on television, having been described by the British newspaper The Sunday Times as "the greatest comic creation of [modern] time". He was ranked the second greatest cartoon character by TV Guide and was voted the greatest television character of all-time by Channel 4 viewers. Castellaneta has earned three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance and a special achievement Annie Award for voicing Homer. In 2000, Homer, along with the rest of his family, was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

After the takeover of ATI, AMD restructured some of the product lineups from both companies. Some products were being rebranded under the AMD brand, including the Imageon for mobile phones and handheld devices, the Xilleon for consumer electronics (digital TV sets), ATI Xpress chipsets (to AMD chipsets) for AMD processors platform and GPGPU computing line-up FireStream, previously known as AMD Stream Processor. Some others retained the use of ATI branding, including the Radeon line of graphics, and chipsets for Intel processors

AMD produces their own processors in wholly owned semiconductor Fabrication Plants, called "FABs". AMD uses a "FAB x" naming convention for their production facilities, where "x" is the number of years that have passed between the founding of AMD and the date the FAB opened.
At their Fabrication facilities, AMD utilizes a system called Automated Precision Manufacturing (APM). APM is a collection of manufacturing technologies AMD has developed over their history (many of which AMD holds patents for), which are designed to enhance the microprocessor production process, primarily in terms of yield. Much of APM is related to removing the "human equation" from the manufacturing process by isolating in-process wafers in containers that are only exposed to clean room facilities. AMD claims that the technologies that combine to make APM are unique to the industry and make it the foremost semiconductor manufacturer in the world - a fact which is lent some credence by their current agreement with Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing based in Singapore. India's first Fab City, a silicon chip manufacturing facility at Hyderabad, being setup with an investment of $3 billion by the AMD-SemIndia consortium.
AMD currently has a production agreement with foundry Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing which allows Chartered access to AMD Automated Precision Manufacturing (APM) process technology, in exchange for which Chartered will act as extra production capacity for AMD.
Through the acquisition of ATI, AMD also has manufacturing agreements with TSMC to produce ATI's lines of graphics and chipset processors. It is currently unclear how much of ATI's manufacturing needs will be moved to AMD's own fabs and how much will remain outsourced to other foundry companies, but AMD has announced plans for future processors to be outsourced to TSMC, while coincidently TSMC had announced it had received orders to fabricate x86 processors.

AMD Saxony in Dresden, Germany is the major wafer production site.
AMD's main microprocessor manufacturing and design facilities are located in Dresden, Germany. Additionally, highly integrated microprocessors are manufactured in Taiwan made by third-party manufacturers under strict license from AMD. Between 2003 and 2005, they constructed a second manufacturing plant (300 mm 90 nm process SOI) in the same complex in order to increase the number of chips they can produce, thus becoming more competitive with Intel. The new plant has been named "Fab 36", in recognition of AMD's 36 years of operation, and is expected to reach full production in mid-2007. AMD recently announced that they have just completed the conversion of Fab 36 from 90 nm to 65 nm and have now shifted their focus to the 45 nm conversion.[24]
AMD has planned expansions in their production capacity. In addition to the completion of Fab 36 in Dresden, AMD is planning to upgrade Fab 30 (adjacent to Fab 36) in Dresden from 200 mm 90 nm process SOI to a 300 mm 65 nm process SOI facility and rename it Fab 38. Originally, Fab 30 was supposed to begin 65 nm production in late 2007 but AMD recently announced they would slow down the upgrade to reduce capital expenditures.[25]
Packaging and testing facilities for its microprocessor products are located in Singapore, Malaysia and China.
Furthermore, AMD announced plans to open a new $3.2 billion facility at the Luther Forest Technology Campus across the towns of Malta and Stillwater in Saratoga County, New York. This new Fab 4x will likely produce 300 mm 32 nm process SOI production, with construction taking place from 2009 to 2010. Some speculation exists as to whether this facility will use high-K/metal gate technology that AMD obtained from IBM.[26]
AMD has also invested $3billion to build a chip fabrication plant in India. Currently, AMD is manufacturing chips in India as a result of their partnership with SemIndia, a group of investors aiming at building a wafer fab, as well as assembly and test operation centers. "AMD ponders over new chip plant in India"
In June 2006, Chartered Semiconductor began shipments of manufactured AMD microprocessors, many of which are shipped from Singapore to Taiwanese and Chinese OEM/ODM manufacturing companies that build computers for companies like Lenovo and Dell.[27]
AMD maintains major design facilities in Fort Collins, CO, Sunnyvale, CA, Austin, TX, Boxborough, MA, Bangalore, India, and Hyderabad, India. With the acquisition of ATI Technologies, the company gained ownership over major design facilities in Markham, ON and Santa Clara, CA

Partnerships
AMD utilizes strategic industry partnerships to further its business interests as well as to tackle Intel's dominance and resources. Notably Nvidia's nForce2 chipset generated substantial revenues for Nvidia as a popular enthusiast part.
A partnership between AMD and Alpha Processor Inc. developed HyperTransport, a point-to-point interconnect standard which was turned over to an industry standards body for finalization. It is now used in modern AMD processor compatible motherboards.
AMD also formed a strategic partnership with IBM, under which AMD gained silicon on insulator (SOI) manufacturing technology, and detailed advice on 90 nm implementation, the partnership was announced by AMD to be extended to 2011 for 32 nm and 22 nm fabrication related technologies.[28] Further, AMD is loosely partnered with end-user companies such as HP, Compaq, ASUS, Alienware, Acer, Evesham Technology, Dell and several others to facilitate processor distribution and sales.
On May 18, 2006, Dell announced that it would roll out new servers based on AMD's Opteron chips by years end, thus ending an exclusive relationship with Intel. Dell also began offering AMD Athlon X2 chips in their desktop line-up in September 2006.
AMD is also a sponsor of the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro F1 Team since 2002 and the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team since 2004.

[edit] Litigation with Intel
See also: AMD v. Intel
AMD has a long history of litigation with former partner and x86 creator Intel.[29][30][31]
In 1986 Intel broke an agreement it had with AMD to allow them to produce Intel's micro-chips for IBM; AMD filed for arbitration in 1987 and the arbitrator decided in AMD's favor in 1992. Intel disputed this, and the case ended up in the Supreme Court of California. In 1994, that court upheld the arbitrator's decision and awarded damages for breach of contract.
In 1990, Intel brought a copyright infringement action alleging illegal use of its 287 microcode. The case ended in 1994 with a jury finding for AMD and its right to use Intel's microcode in its microprocessors through the 486 generation.
In 1997, Intel filed suit against AMD and Cyrix Corp. for misuse of the term MMX. AMD and Intel settled, with AMD acknowledging MMX as a trademark owned by Intel, and with Intel granting AMD rights to market the AMD K6 MMX processor.
In 2005, following an investigation, the Japan Federal Trade Commission found Intel guilty on a number of violations. On June 27, 2005, AMD won an antitrust suit against Intel in Japan, and on the same day, AMD filed a broad antitrust complaint against Intel in the U.S. Federal District Court in Delaware. The complaint alleges systematic use of secret rebates, special discounts, threats, and other means used by Intel to lock AMD processors out of the global market. Since the start of this action, The Court has issued subpoenas to major computer manufacturers including Acer, Dell, Lenovo, HP and Toshiba.

[edit] Events and publications
Although AMD has frequently stated the inability of providing information about upcoming products and plans, AMD holds Technology Analyst Days (which often shorten as simply "Analyst Day") annually or semi-annually to reveal and explain key future technologies, as well as official technology roadmaps. While the event held in mid-year is named as "Technology Analyst Day" with main focus on upcoming technologies and trends[32] and the end-of-year event is named "Financial Analyst Day" and focused on the financial performance of the company during the previous quarters of the year[33]
AMD also publishes printed media. Publications include the AMD Accelerate and the discontinued AMDEdge. The AMD Accelerate magazine, published through Ziff Davis Media, puts focus on SME and business applications while AMD Edge focused on overall technologies from AMD. After Ziff Davis Media filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the AMD Accelerate magazine is published through IDG. AMD also has electronic newsletters to promote server Opteron processors and related business solutions