Sony has released the details of it's latest update for its gaming console, the playstation 3. Most notable is an instant messaging application known as the Xross media bar that will enable users to send messages to friends while gaming. The firmware update 2.40 will be available to gamers by wednesday. In another development Meanwhile this evening, Apple released its Mac OS X 10.5.4 update. The I phone maker hopes the update will fix a lot of bugs in earlier editions of mac ox. Hours before this, Microsoft announced that it will stop the sale of all versions of windows Xp despite protests from various quarters. Microsoft XP still enjoys more popularity over windows vista according to consumer surveys but the software maker remains determined to shift buyers to to the XP sucessor.

Except you live on another planet you probably have a profile on a social networking site. The number of people who use these Internet utilities is tremendous and keeps growing day by day. Everyone knows that social networking sites are a great way to connect with new friends and keep up with old ones but what about what you do not know. Lately there has been a lot of noise about the dangers of using social networking sites, they have become an avenue for stalkers and rapists to perpetuate crimes. The center for missing and exploited children reported that 2600 crime incidents last year were committed through social networking sites or other Internet media. Today however, we are not concerned about the dangers of social networking sites, we are more concerned with how other people are utilizing social networking sites. Take a minute to imagine this scenario.
You recently applied for a job in a top company. You have a great degree, hands on experience and what have you. You are confident you will get the job and then when the letter comes you don't believe it. You didn't get the job because recruiters looked at your myspace or facebook profile. I know it sounds weird but employers are now using social networking sites to assess candidates for job positions in their company. A lot of us have stuff on internet profiles we would not want our boss to know about. How does your face book profile look on your resume? Most social networking sites provide options that ensure the privacy of your profile page. This ensures that only friends you know can view your profile page but you make newer friends on social networking sites than you would have otherwise so that option is not really foolproof. Don't be the one to be denied a job position because of your facebook profile. It happens.

After making a failed bid in excess of forty billion dollars for yahoo, Microsoft has now set its sights on another search engine. Microsoft seems very serious about challenging Google's perceived dominance of the search engine market and its latest target is a search engine company called power set which is based in silicon Valley. The deal is rumored to be in the range of a hundred million dollars plus. Microsoft last bid for yahoo was considered by many as being hostile. Maybe people would consider this as being unduly generous. Personally I cannot figure out why Microsoft would want to acquire a company that was largely unknown until now but we can be certain that our beloved software giant has an hidden agenda in the works.

It took some time for other cell phone makers to catch on and now that they have the next generation of cell phones are trickling into the market. One year after its inception the i phone is no longer one of a kind, In fact Its days of monopolising are numbered. Suddenly it has become the ideal phone for cell phone manufacturers to emulate and given that the average American will change his phone every five years, we may be kissing goodbye to our good old keypad cell phones faster than we can say Jack Robinson. Perhaps the most appealing features of these next generation phones include their unrivalled interactive interfaces and advanced multimedia but are all these enough for us to make the switch. Think about the fact that we will no longer be pushing buttons but fiddling with a screen.One thing is sure, our keypad phones are not going to be around much longer and like one of my favourite quotes says "you either move with the times or you get buried by it" It's really up to you, you know

It's very rarely that one sees mind blowing phones that are available on and exclusive to the Sprint network and so when i came across the Samsung instinct I was very surprised. Now that's not the only reason I was surprised. The truth is that I had not expected the 3G i phone to have much competition when it is finally launched but as it is now we best be prepared for a nasty, long and drawn out battle. The Samsung Instinct closely resembles the I phone in terms of physical and touchscreen design but that's just as far as the similarity goes. One commendable feature is the dual battery system which means you can alternate between two battery packs at will but this does not mean the Instinct has 2 times the normal battery lifespan since actual battery life is annoyingly short. It's touch screen is quite user friendly and beats that of the I phone hands down. You also have the choice of customizing your welcome screen. The music player is top class and the phone holds 8GB of expandable memory (Micro SD) as well as an adapter for non compatible memory cards. A built in feature called Mobile Sync allows you to backup important information on the sprint network plus a web browser that operates at almost frightening speed thanks to Sprint EVDO broadband network. Thumbs up for the guys at Samsung and happy rivalry.

If you had asked me what the best phone in the world was a year ago I would have told you it was between the N95 AND THE I PHONE but ask me a month later and I will tell you that it's the 3G I phone. If the first I phone took your breadth away then this one will probably make you swoon. Actually the new i phone has not changed much except for the fact that it can now support 3G and if you did not buy the first one here's the best part: it's a lot less cheaper and faster. It also includes GPS mapping, Microsoft exchange and a new application store. None of these features are new to most major mobile phones but they make the 3G iPhone more unique than before. Current I phone users can get most of these features through the new apple update so don't panic yet. The 3g iPhone will hit stores on July 11 and just like its predecessor, it's going to be exclusive to only one network At&t. We are probably going to be seeing more editions of the I phone and just as probably each one will be better than the last. It's another first from Apple and another 100 million bucks.