Windows 7 in upcoming future- Bill Gates

Expect the next version of Windows (Windows 7) sometime in the next year or so -- as hinted by none other than Microsoft Boss Bill Gates. "That'll be sometime in the next year or so that we'll have a new version," Gates is reported to have said during a Q&A session at a meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) in Miami. The audience had gathered to hear him talk about corporate philanthropy. Gates added, "I'm super-enthused about what it (the new version) will do in lots of ways." However, he didn't give details as to what changes or features the new version would have.

Samsungs new the 2 ON Phone

Samsung Telecommunications India (STI) today announced the launch of Samsung 2ON, described as the first Dual Standby CDMA cum GSM handset. What's different about the phone, Samsung claims, is its 2 SIM slots -- one for GSM and the other for CDMA. The 2ON is capable of operating on almost all telecom services (GSM and CDMA) in the country. Samsung also claims it is the first CDMA phone to support both Tata Indicom and Reliance Communications (RCom) value-added services (VAS) on the same handset.

Housed in a stylish metallic design, the 2ON comes with a 2.3-inches TFT touch-screen, a 2 mega pixels camera, micro SD card slot up to 1GB, and MP3/AAC+ player. The handset packs a slew of software including Handwriting Recognition, File Viewer, Sketch Memo, Advanced Organiser Capability with Functional Screen, plus India-specific Hinglish, Mobile Prayer, and Panchang. The phone comes with a 1200mAh battery for extra power for switching between two networks. It doubles as modem to access Internet at speeds of 153kbps on CDMA network.

Google Docs

If there's one thing users want to change about Google Docs, it's the application's inability to work offline. But all that's about to change now. Google says it has started working towards an offline feature of Google Docs that will allow users to edit documents offline (sans any Internet connection). This is indeed good news for those who are always on the fly, and want to be able to access Google Docs at the most unlikely moment and at the most unlikely place. Initially, only the Word processor will get this ability with users being able to view and edit documents offline. Subsequently though, users will be able to view their Spreadsheet documents offline as well. However, they won't be able to edit these documents. Meanwhile, Google says it's early days still and that they are working towards adding more capabilities including being able to edit spreadsheets and presentations and so on.
How does the feature work? Changes made when in offline mode are temporarily stored on the user's PC, and automatically get synchronized with Google Docs servers when the PC goes online (is connected to the Internet). Google says it is also planning to add this feature to other hosted services in the Google Apps suite including Gmail, Calendar, GTalk. etc.

Photoshop Express Launched Today

Today, Adobe Systems is opening "Photoshop Express", its eagerly-awaited Web-based image editor meant for all those wanting to be able to touch up, share, and store photographs. What's more, the service that is today going live in beta test mode, is available for free along with 2GB of storage at www.photoshop.com/express.
"Photoshop Express" requires Flash Player 9 to run. As a photo-sharing site, it will allow users upload photos onto albums, organize them, make them public for sharing else share them through email links, and generate and email Flash slide-shows. For editing purposes, "Photoshop Express" will not only provide tools for adjusting exposure, color, and sharpness but also special effects that help transform poor pictures into something a tad more interesting. And unlike Adobe's desktop software, "Photoshop Express" will offer a snapshot history of all edits. "Photoshop Express" will also allow users work with third-party Web sites. For instance, Facebook photos can be opened and edited directly in "Photoshop Express". When done, they can be sent back to Facebook as well.