You install Firefox on your freshly minted computer. Everything is great for a while. Firefox loads up in seconds, web pages open in a snap, and everything works. But then, over time, Firefox starts acting up. It gets slower and slower. Things that used to work stops working. Sudden freeze-ups and crashes begin appearing. I am sure this is something many of you have personally experienced. As our Firefox profile begins accumulating clutter, the performance and stability of Firefox takes a hit. This might be due to a toolbar you unknowingly installed, or some extension that has a memory leak bug. The thing is that finding out the root cause is both time consuming and frustrating.

In order to make things simpler, Mozilla is adding a magical reset button to Firefox. The new option will be available under about:support (accessible via Help –> Troubleshooting Information). Clicking on this button will create a new profile with default settings, which will hopefully solve your performance issues. Firefox will also copy over your browsing history, cookies, saved form history, saved passwords, and bookmarks. This means that you will essentially have a fresh install of Firefox, but with all of your personal data intact.

The biggest drawback of the reset feature is its location. It’s buried deep within Firefox, and is practically impossible to discover. To counter this problem, Mozilla is currently thinking about prompting the user to reset Firefox after it crashes for the third time. It is also exploring the possibility of giving Windows users this option when they are reinstalling Firefox.

LG will be launching its Cinema 3D range (3D LED, 3D Ultra Slim LED, 3D Home Theater systems, 3D Blu-ray players and the futuristic 3D OLED TV) in India over the coming months. We have already explored the major new features of the 2012 range of Cinema 3D products. Check out our earlier coverage for a hands-on first impression, if you haven’t already. Listed below are the Cinema 3D LED TV models that LG will be launching along with their launch date, price, and major features.

LG Cinema 3D 72LM9500
Features: LED Plus, Cinema 3D, MCI 1000 (Motion Clarity Index), Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Magic Remote, Dual Play, Smart Share Plus, 2nd Display, Skype.
Launch Month: June
Price: Rs. 700,000

LG Cinema 3D 55LM8600
Features: LED Plus, Cinema 3D, Cinema Screen, MCI 800, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Magic Remote, Dual Play, 2nd Display, Skype.
Launch Month: June
Price: Rs. 265,000

LG Cinema 3D 55LM7600
Features: LED Plus, Cinema 3D, Cinema Screen, MCI 800, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Magic Remote, Dual Play, Skype.
Launch Month: June
Price: Rs. 201,000

LG Cinema 3D 47LM7600
Features: LED Plus, Cinema 3D, Cinema Screen, MCI 800, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Magic Remote, Dual Play, Skype.
Launch Month: May
Price: Rs. 144,000

LG Cinema 3D 42LM7600
Features: LED Plus, Cinema 3D, Cinema Screen, MCI 800, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Magic Remote, Dual Play, Skype.
Launch Month: May
Price: Rs. 110,000

LG Cinema 3D 55LM6700
Features: LED Plus, Cinema 3D, Cinema Screen, MCI 400, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Magic Remote, Dual Play Ready, Skype.
Launch Month: June
Price: Rs. 174,000

LG Cinema 3D 47LM6700
Features: LED Plus, Cinema 3D, Cinema Screen, MCI 400, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Magic Remote, Dual Play Ready, Skype.
Launch Month: May
Price: Rs. 124,000

LG Cinema 3D 42LM6700
Features: LED Plus, Cinema 3D, Cinema Screen, MCI 400, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Magic Remote, Dual Play Ready, Skype.
Launch Month: May
Price: Rs. 102,000

LG Cinema 3D 47LM6690
Features: LED Plus, Cinema 3D, Cinema Screen, MCI 400, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Magic Remote, Dual Play Ready, Skype.
Launch Month: May
Price: Rs. 124,000

LG Cinema 3D 42LM6690
Features: LED Plus, Cinema 3D, Cinema Screen, MCI 400, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Magic Remote, Dual Play Ready, Skype.
Launch Month: May
Price: Rs. 102,000

LG Cinema 3D 47LM6400
Features: LED Plus, Cinema 3D, Cinema Screen, MCI 400, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Magic Remote, Dual Play Ready, Skype.
Launch Month: June
Price: Rs. 114,000

LG Cinema 3D 42LM6400
Features: LED Plus, Cinema 3D, Cinema Screen, MCI 400, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Magic Remote, Dual Play Ready, Skype.
Launch Month: June
Price: Rs. 95,000

LG Cinema 3D 32LM6400
Features: LED Plus, Cinema 3D, Cinema Screen, MCI 400, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Magic Remote, Dual Play Ready, Skype.
Launch Month: June
Price: Rs. 59,000

LG Cinema 3D 65LM6200
Features: LED, Cinema 3D, MCI 400, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Dual Play Ready, Skype.
Launch Month: June
Price: Rs. 400,000

LG Cinema 3D 55LM6200
Features: LED, Cinema 3D, MCI 400, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Dual Play Ready, Skype.
Launch Month: May
Price: Rs. 165,000

LG Cinema 3D 47LM6200
Features: LED, Cinema 3D, MCI 400, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Dual Play Ready, Skype.
Launch Month: May
Price: Rs. 104,000

LG Cinema 3D 42LM6200
Features: LED, Cinema 3D, MCI 400, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Dual Play Ready, Skype.
Launch Month: June
Price: Rs. 87,000

LG Cinema 3D 32LM6200
Features: LED, Cinema 3D, MCI 400, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Dual Play Ready, Skype.
Launch Month: May
Price: Rs. 55,000

LG Cinema 3D 42LM3410
Features: LED, Cinema 3D, MCI 100, 2D to 3D, Dual Play Ready.
Launch Month: June
Price: Rs. 70,000

LG Cinema 3D 32LM3410
Features: LED, Cinema 3D, MCI 100, 2D to 3D, Dual Play Ready
Launch Month: June
Price: Rs. 46,000

LG Electronics India Limited (LGEIL), which is the current 3D TV leader in India with about half the market share, is gearing up to launch its new 2012 series of Cinema 3D Smart TVs. Mr. Soon Kwon, MD of LEGIL, heralded the 2012 lineup as “a significant step forward, thanks to a series of new and upgraded 3D features”.

LG Cinema 3D 72LM9500

There are three principle techniques employed by 3D TVs to provide a perception of depth. They are – Shutter, Color Anaglyph, and Polarized. While the latter two are called as passive 3D, the former is dubbed as active. 3D TVs from the likes of Samsung and Sony fall into the first category. These TVs essentially use glasses that are synced with the TV and have a shutter that alternately opens and closes to deliver different frames to different eyes. The problem with this technique is that the glasses require batteries as well as an infra-red sensor to be able communicate with the TV set. This makes them both heavy and expensive. This technique also reduces the effective refresh rate of the TV. Anaglyph 3D content has two differently filtered colored images, one for each eye. The glasses are specially tinted to allow only one image and block the other. Thus, each eye receives a different image. Anaglyph glasses don’t have any complicated circuitry, and hence are lighter and cheaper. The disadvantage of Anaglyph is that due to the tinting, the viewer often gets a dimmer image with poor contrast and color reproduction. Moreover, since both the images are delivered at the same time, there is a possibility of artifacts being present. Polarized 3D TVs work in a similar fashion; however, instead of altering the color, it alters the frequency of the image. Polarized glasses are expected to alleviate contrast and color reproduction issues; however, it still can suffer from the presence of artifacts.

LG’s Cinema 3D display uses polarization technique (they prefer to call it Film Type Patterned Retarder 3D or FPR). As a result, LG Cinema 3D is able to deliver full 240 Hz refresh rate, which on paper means that you shouldn’t observe any flickering. The glasses are also super light (15 grams) and extremely comfortable. For folks with spectacles, there is a clip-on lens that’s even thinner and lighter.

LG Cinema 3D FPR Glasses

LG Cinema 3D FPR Clip-On Glasses

Now that we understand how LG’s Cinema 3D works, let’s have a look at some of the new features it will be introducing in its 2012 line-up.

Cinema Screen: In its LED 3D TVs, LG has managed to trim the bezel down to a phenomenal 1 mm. Thus, the actual display almost extends from edge to edge. LG is calling this Cinema Screen, since it believes that the new design will facilitate a seamless and immersive viewing experience à la the big screen.

LG Cinema 3D LM8600 with Cinema Screen

2D to 3D Conversion: 3D content is still pretty rare in the market. In order to tackle this problem, LG developed an algorithm to convert 2D content into 3D on the fly. The new models will feature an improved 6-step algorithm that should offer better 3D viewing experience.

Dual Play: Last year, we saw Sony allowing gamers to play PS3 games against each other on the same television screen by using special glasses. Now, LG is following suit with Dual Play for Xbox. As discussed earlier, 3D TV essentially works by displaying two different images to two different eyes. Somewhat similarly, dual play works by displaying two different images to two different players.

Magic Remote: LG has enhanced its remote by adding gesture support and a scroll wheel to it. The latter is particularly handy while surfing the web, while the former makes issuing complex command simple.

Smart Share Plus: While most current generation TVs come with DLNA for displaying multimedia content from mobile phones, tablets, and PCs on the big screen, LG has added support for a host of new technologies to differentiate itself. MHL (Mobile HD Link) allows compatible smartphones to be connected to the TV through micro HDMI to play HD content on the big screen. WiDi (Intel’s Wireless Display) enables fast and easy connection between TVs and Laptops without any wires or internet network. Wi-Fi Screen Share enables the content on the TV screen to be shared with multiple devices including smart phones and tablets. And finally, 2nd Display enables you to watch TV programs or Blu-ray content on your smartphone or your tablet PC, even if that content is not being displayed on your TV. So, you can watch a cricket match on your tablet, while your mom is watching her favorite soap on the television. This feature will not be present out of the box, but will be made available by mid-2012 through an automatic software update.

LG Cinema 3D in Action

So, the LG Cinema 3D displays are packed to the brim with fun and useful features. However, how does it perform in real life? Earlier this week, I got a brief opportunity to check out the new displays in action, and the good news is that when it comes to picture quality, LG’s offerings perform mostly as advertised. Brightness, contrast and color reproduction, which have been some of the major caveats of 3D TVs, are excellent. Flickering also didn’t rear its ugly head. However, I can’t vouch if LG has managed to address the headache issue, without using the 3D displays for prolonged periods. The 2D to 3D conversion is quite neat and adds a perceivable amount of depth to existing content. However, I didn’t get a chance to check out the 3D conversion algorithm in action on a live stream. LG only had a music video for demonstration purposes. I am told that the effectiveness of the conversion process is heavily dependent on the quality of the source material. LG allows the user to control the intensiveness of the 3D effect. As you move the slider towards the right, depth of the picture increases; however, so does the amount of observable interlacing. Presets are available to help you tune the conversion settings according to the content that you are watching.

Last week Samsung unveiled the Galaxy SIII. The new flagship from the Korean giant, which is now the world’s leading mobile manufacturer, couples mighty hardware with smart software. The new Galaxy is still a few weeks from launch, but debates on its supremacy have already reached a fever pitch. If you are looking to buy the best smartphone that money can buy, you essentially have three choices – the Samsung Galaxy SIII, the HTC One X, and the Apple iPhone 4S. Lumia 900 is a spectacular device, but the weakness of the Windows Phone ecosystem hurts its chances. While specs aren’t everything, here is a comparison chart of the Galaxy S3, One X, and iPhone 4S.

(Specifications via GSMArena)

As you must have heard by now, Mozilla is furious. The non-profit organization behind Firefox is angry because Microsoft is practically making it impossible to develop third party browsers for Windows 8 for ARM through artificially imposed restrictions. A short while back, even Google backed Mozilla and expressed its concern about Windows 8 restricting “user choice and innovation”. My colleague Paul Paliath has already weighed in on the debate. While he believes Mozilla’s complaint is baseless, I am not quite so sure.

Before proceeding any further, let’s delve a little deeper into the technicalities involved. With Windows 8, Microsoft is introducing an entirely new class of applications. These applications will run in Metro mode, and will be built using the WinRT API. The Windows applications that we are accustomed with are all built using the Win32 API. Now, Microsoft isn’t exactly killing the Win32 API. Windows 8 for x86 (desktops) will continue to offer a classic mode, which will be capable of running all Win32 applications. However, if an app wants to run in Metro mode it has to use the new WinRT API. The trouble is that in an attempt to make WinRT power efficient, fast, and secure Microsoft ended up making it way too restrictive. Due to this, several classes of modern applications can’t be developed by leveraging WinRT alone. In order to skirt around this significant roadblock, Microsoft created a third category of applications. This category of applications have a frontend developed using WinRT, but they can also leverage the power of the Win32 API. In other words, they look like Metro apps, but offer the power and flexibility of a traditional Windows app. Unfortunately, on ARM devices, the only apps which will be allowed to leverage both WinRT and Win32 APIs are apps from Microsoft. Paul is right in saying that Microsoft isn’t specifically targeting browsers. In one fell swoop Microsoft has put all third party apps at a significant disadvantage. Whether it be office suites, media players, or browsers – all apps will have a hard time matching products from the Redmond giant as they will practically be running on two different operating systems. To make matters worse, Windows 8 for ARM won’t allow third party apps to run as pure classic apps either. Asa Dotzler explained the trouble faced by browser developers quite succinctly.

Microsoft has made it clear that the third category won’t exist on Windows for ARM (unless you’re Microsoft) and that neither will the first category (unless you’re Microsoft.) That means that IE on ARM has access to win32 APIs — even when it’s running in Metro mode, but no other Metro browser has that same access. Without that access, no other browser has a prayer of being competitive with IE.

You might be wondering exactly what kind of restrictions does WinRT impose that makes it impossible to develop a competent browser. Here’s an example – WinRT doesn’t allow translation of code at runtime. This is something absolutely critical for a technique called JIT (Just-in-time compilation). You might have heard of JIT before, as over the past few years, all browsers have been using JIT to deliver astounding improvements in JavaScript rendering speed. Lack of JIT will instantly push a browser back by several years. Keep in mind that this is just one example. Modern browsers are pushing the limits of what is possible within a browser. With the restrictive sandbox offered by WinRT, many of the bleeding edge features offered by modern browsers can’t be implemented in WinRT.

Mozilla has already issued thinly veiled threats of legal action, and considering that Windows 8 is pretty much done, the threat of another anti-trust ruling is the only thing that can realistically make Microsoft change its mind. However, is Microsoft really abusing its monopolistic position to crush competition? The answer is trickier than you might think.

Windows 8 is still several months away from being released; however, major software firms are already hard at work to ensure that their applications support the latest and greatest from Microsoft’s stables right out of the gate.

Earlier this month, Symantec kicked off the public beta testing phase of Norton 2013 series of products (Norton 360 2013, Norton Internet Security 2013, and Norton AntiVirus 2013). The biggest draw of Norton 2013 seems to be complete Windows 8 compatibility. In fact, Symantec has even tweaked Norton’s interface to make it better suited to Windows 8′s design aesthetics.

Official changelog for Norton 2013 is yet to be published. The only new feature that is readily apparent is bandwidth monitoring, which can restrict the download of non-critical updates over expensive networks. However, there are quite a few other minor tweaks that Download Crew has managed to spot. Norton Insight is now integrated with the Firewall, and the Insight File Reputation database is updated more quickly. SONAR (Symantec Online Network for Advanced Response), which is Norton’s heuristics engine, now works even in safe mode. And finally, Norton now automatically downloads and installs Norton Power Eraser tool if any infection is detected.

Head over to the official public beta forum to download Norton 2013. However, keep in mind that using non-release build of security products is not recommended.

PayPal might not be the most loved online payment processor, but it’s still the biggest. And that means that if you buy a lot of stuff online, it’s kind of hard to avoid.

One of the many pain points of PayPal is its transaction log. PayPal’s transaction reporting system is better than my bank’s, but that’s not saying much. Its sluggishness coupled with the lack of meaningful filters makes it a major annoyance for frequent PayPal users. This is where a new web service called SlowPal comes in.

SlowPal pitches itself as a tool to free your PayPal account from reporting hell. It indexes your PayPal transaction logs and presents them in a clean and smart interface. It supports filtering based on transaction types (Authorization, Currency Conversion, Donation, Payment, Refund etc.), transaction status, and currency, in addition to date. Perhaps most crucially, SlowPal makes your transaction log completely searchable.

SlowPal might not be useful to all customers, since anyone but heavy PayPal users are unlikely to feel the need to analyze their PayPal spending in detail. However, it’s going to be a boon for merchants who typically process hundreds and thousands of transactions every day and have a pressing need to keep an eye on their transaction logs.

Right now SlowPal’s biggest shortcoming is that it doesn’t feature any graphical analysis. Since, its focus is on reporting, graphs and trend reports are two features that should be no brainers. Nevertheless, SlowPal is still a large improvement over PayPal’s transaction log. PayPal users will no longer have to take the trouble of manually exporting logs into Excel to perform the simplest of analysis.

[ Visit SlowPal ]

Earlier today, we showcased a couple of futuristic projects from MIT Media Labs that are trying to re-imagine how we interact with devices. Now, it is the turn of Microsoft Research, which is known to come up with pretty neat stuff (like Harry Potter clock) from time to time.

This time around, a four member project team has developed a simple Windows application to enable gesture recognition without the use of any sophisticated gesture recognition hardware. Forget about complex (and often expensive) peripherals like Kinect, you don’t even need a basic camera. All that is required is a speaker and a microphone.

Microsoft’s gesture recognition technology, which is being called SoundWave, depends on Doppler Effect. Doppler Effect describes how the frequency of sound perceived by an observer changes with variation in the relative velocity of the observer with respect to the source. SoundWave emits a high frequency sound (18-22 KHz) that is inaudible to human beings. It then uses the microphone to pick up the frequency shifted signal to recognize the gesture. The use of high frequency sound makes SoundWave incredibly accurate even in a noisy environment.

SoundWave is still a research project, and there is no word if and when it might become ready for the general public. Unlike Kinect, SoundWave will probably not be able to recognize complicated gestures. In all likelihood, distance of the user from the speaker and microphone will also be a limiting factor. However, even with these constraints, it’s a fascinating piece of technology that might one day transform how we interact with computers.

MIT Media Lab is a breeding ground for all sorts of futuristic technologies. In the past we have seen them come up with uber cool stuff like Sixth Sense and folding cars. Now, their Fluid interface group has developed a new app that can enable effortless sharing of files between any touchscreen enable device (phones, tablets etc.).

Swÿp allows you to transfer any file from any app to any app on any device, simply with a swipe of a finger. The file transfer happens in two phases. As soon as your finger leaves the boundary of the first device (swipe out), it registers as a service on available networks. When your finger enters the second device (swipe in), that device begins looking for registered services. An ad-hoc connection is then established between the two devices to transfer the dragged file. Have a look at the video below to see Swÿp in action.

Besides touchscreen devices, Swÿp is also compatible with another exciting MIT Lab project called LuminAR. LuminAR is a desk lamp with augmented reality features. This lamp comes with a Pico-projector, camera, and wireless computer in a compact form factor. The lamp is capable of projecting information onto the environment (for example your desktop), and recognizing your interactions with the projected information. In other words, it can turn any desktop into a touchscreen.

[ Swÿp Home ]

Google’s legal woes just keep getting worse. After drawing the ire of American and European regulatory bodies, Google is now in hot water in India. According to WSJ, Competition Commission of India has initiated an antitrust probe into Google’s online advertising practices. Competition Commission is an Indian regulatory body responsible for enforcing The Competition Act (2002). It had earlier sued Apple for following a restrictive distribution model.

The initial target of the probe will be AdWords – Google’s automated service for selling ads that are served by its AdSense network. The instigating factor for the investigation is most probably a complaint by Consim Info Pvt. Ltd., which runs several matrimonial services including Bharatmatrimony, TamilMatrimony, and BengaliMatrimony. Consim believes that Google had engaged in discriminatory and retaliatory practices. It is currently suing Google in Chennai High Court. Earlier, Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) had urged Competition Commission to investigate potential anticompetitive conduct of Google in the Indian internet, e-commerce market, online advertising and related markets.

Google is already in some trouble in India. It is currently facing criminal charges for failing to “adequately” censor itself. Back in February, Google also received a foreign exchange violation notice from the ED (Enforcement Directorate) for alleged irregularities in transfer of funds to its foreign entities. So far, Google has declined to officially respond, claiming that it is yet to be officially notified about the investigation.