I consider tablets to be used  in medicine, architecture, engineering and not so much in the day to day life, maybe because I’m just a bit old school and I like PCs, but nonetheless, regardless of my opinion, the iPad remains the number 1 tablet PC in the world, and it seems the future will see even more tablets. This is just the start of an era that will be around for some time. Being so loved by the masses, this accessory has gained lots of accessories itself. From skins, cases, RC cars or drones to thousands of apps. All to make your experience with the iPad more entertaining and immersing.

Top 50 iPad Wallpapers

Now, apps and gadgets were covered and re-covered, but this time it’s all about the look of your iPad, and as specially the background image of it. On the iPad’s 9.7 inch screen, with the resolution of 1024 x 768 you can fit many types of images, and trust me, some full HD images look amazing! I’ll try to make a list of the coolest iPad wallpapers I could find. I’ll try to group them in categories, but keep in mind this: images are more about each one’s own preferences, so I made this list based on others opinions, but also, on my own. I tend to like more abstract and dark-light pictures, so don’t be surprised if you will see quite a lot of these here. I apologize beforehand to the authors that have made or took these pictures for not including the credit link. It was very hard, in many cases, to find the source. Don’t forget to click for the full size!

1. Apple Tribute iPad Wallpapers

Colored Apple Layers

Think Different

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish

Scrat with Apple Logo

Blue Metallic Apple Logo

Wooden Apple Logo

Apple Marbles

Apple White Spots

Apple Logo Grind

Apple Green Logo

2. Art iPad Wallpapers

Jack Sparrow

Glass Art

Hydro

Tiny World

Everyday Life

Motorcycle of The Future

Sword

Dream

Atoms

Dragon

Chronoscape

Violin

Leafy

Made for Dancing

3. Animals iPad Wallpapers

Woolf and Kitty

White Kitty

Family of Cats

Frightened Baby Rabit

Maou Cat

Birds in Water

Sleeping Cat

Lonely Rabbit

Blue Eyed Cat

Gorgeous Cat

3. Nature iPad Wallpapers

The Rock

Winter

Hay Bales

Droplets in Grass

Nature vs City

Water on Leaf

Sunflowers

Spring Daisy

Water on Leaf 2

Blue Flower

Yellow Flower

Shells

Bamboo

Yellow Flowers

Grass

Haystack

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“Cyberwarfare is the fifth domain of warfare”
- The Economist

“actions by a nation-state to penetrate another nation’s computers or networks for the purposes of causing damage or disruption”

This is how Richard A. Clarke, in his book Cyber War, defines cyber-warfare.

Basic Understanding of Cyber War

This may not be a term you are used to by now, but if you ended up here, you have heard of it. And the meaning of this term is in fact the migration of warfare from the 4 mediums of the past (ground, air, water and space) to a new medium: cyberspace. The concept is not new by any means, this is just a reaction of the evolution of information. Intelligence and counter-intelligence used to collect data written on paper, nowadays, this information is stored on servers or private networks. And so, they have evolved into cyber intelligence.

Cyberwarfare is the method of choice in warfare in the new era, but let’s be honest: do we really believe it could be without victims? Without loss of life? It’s true, maybe soldiers will not be in the line of fire, but the ramifications of cyberwar are much more widespread and they affect much more people. In a sense, we, as a society do not fully understand all the ramifications of cyberwarfare. This new breed of soldiers are armed with laptops rather than AK’s. They now have more power than any army has ever had in the past. The threat of sabotage or espionage via computers and networks has increased dramatically in the last few years.

Cyber Attacks to Replace Military Battles?

We have seen numerous examples of cyber attacks or leaked information and that is just the start of it. As you all know, our society has become more and more dependent on the Internet. In the future, cyber attacks will not just mean a stolen bank account number or a few private photos. Valuable information that is stored on servers across the world are no longer safe, and countries have entire systems linked over the internet, such as transportation, electricity or industry. All of these are vulnerable, and an attack of any of these systems would result in a partial or even total collapse of society.

If this would come to pass, then the risk for society is grater than old fashioned war because of the widespread panic this would cause. The US army calls this type of war iWar (funny, eh?!). After all the attacks on military institutions and private ones, everyone is starting to take notice of the threat and prepare for an all-out cyberwar. The leaders of the pack until now are the Chinese and French, but other countries are quickly rising. Soon, Russia will have a cyber-army ready to strike.

We caught a glimpse of cyberwarfare in 1991, when, in some opinions, cyberwarfare started. In the first Gulf War, Dutch hackers obtained information about US troops and tried to sell them to Iraqis, but they did not believe them. The outcome would have been very different is they would have gotten the information. The US then saw what cyberwarfare could mean, and what a useful tool it could be. Now it has evolved beyond a weapon.

The Real Threat of Modern World: Hackers vs Governments

Another example of this type of cyberwarfare was seen in 2010, when in China, Google, Facebook, Twitter and Skype were blocked for a period, or in Egypt where Twitter was blocked because of the riots and because of the threat that the activists would plan their next attacks on the social network. But all hope is not lost, there are the so-called white-hat hackers. These are the guys fighting in the front lines, those who oppose one country’s control over the Internet and who fight to keep the Internet free and anonymous. In this category, two names stand out over the others: Anonymous, a world wide association of hackers, all anonymous and all working together under the same flag, and LulzSec, the french group that hacked the servers of Sony in 2011.

These two groups are the so called “hactivists” and they operate under the assumption that governments are hacking computers and networks to gain personal information from citizens, and in a way, they are just returning the favor. And is the reply given by governments to these groups? “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”. The Chinese already have the “blue army”, a dedicated task force to keep an watchful eye on the Internet, for any of these Internet pirates.

Online Banking: Making your Money Vulnerable

An inevitable effect of globalization and technological breakthrough is that goods are being faster produced, services are more and more widespread; bottom line, time is the universal currency. In order to save time, we’re using such tools as home banking or mobile banking to avoid the hassle of dealing with bank clerks. While this is great and proves to be useful to our time management, no matter how much security the bank can offer, we should ask ourselves: can we really be safe? There are many ethical hackers out there that fight for freedom and rights but it’s completely foolish to think there aren’t cyber criminals, ready to steal your money and destroy your life.

Either way we look at it, it’s clear that World War 3 will be fought on virtual battleground, but nonetheless, the result will be more devastating that we could ever conceive. Bottom line: Is a cyberwar inevitable? It could be, but looking back on history, I would have to say no.

Related Read: Technological Singularity – The Blind Point

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Cloud backup services are designed to protect companies from data loss due to unforeseen events such as natural disasters, server or hardware failures, as well as human errors. Cloud based backups can be accessed from any location with an Internet connection and a web browser. Files may be stored online and shared securely with encryption technology. Cloud backup services are often more affordable and convenient for companies that have limited budgets, and may want to divert some of their internal IT costs associated with keeping tape based backups on-site to more prominent aspects of their operations.

Below is a rundown of some of this year’s most prominent and effective cloud backed backup options available to small and large sized business to help with their backup needs.

Box.net

Box.net is an online storage company that easily integrates with Gmail, picnick, Scribd and Zoho. Box.net is designed to work as a virtual office in addition to a document storage protocol. The files and folders may also be shared with collaborators online. This practice is easier and more secure than simply emailing documents.

Box.net offers free accounts to businesses and individuals to store and share documents or spreadsheets. A paid account provides consumers with 5 GB of storage. If the account malfunctions, 24 hour phone support is available.

DropBox

This online storage service, known as DropBox, integrates with the desktop to offer users quality service. This is one of the few programs that required a physical download onto the user’s machine. DropBox synchronizes the programs on the computer with the files in DropBox. Each revision of a file is stored for easy retrieval and sharing with colleagues.

DropBox can accommodate files up to 350 MB in size. Up to 2 GB of storage is provided for free through Amazon’s S3 service. Additional storage space of 50 GB may be purchased for $9.99 per month or for $99.99 annually. The service may be used in conjunction with Windows XP, Linux and Mac OSX.

Suggested Read: Dropbox alternatives

Live Mesh

Live Mesh is Microsoft’s contribution to the cloud based storage community. This online storage offers 5 GB of online storage that can be accessed through an online desktop. The files cannot be edited through an online desktop. Consumers enjoy the automatic synchronization of Live Mesh and the ability to collaborate with colleagues and friends. The cloud based storage solution is compatible with Windows PCs and Macs.

JungleDisk

JungleDisk is not offered to customers for free but can be obtained for $20. The service is used with Amazon’s S3 service for storage and transfer of files. An additional fee is required for this service. This service is not like the other online storage services but does have some benefits that business owners require. Users may interchange files between the online storage and the local desktop. JungleDisk is compatible with Windows, Linux and Mac OSX.

Cloud Backup Solutions at Precision IT

Solutions offered by Precision IT include scheduled daily automatic backups and monthly tests of the performance of remote backup system. The backups and tests occur in minutes. Monitoring of the system is offered 24 hours per day and seven days per week by skilled engineers.

All data stored on the system offsite is encrypted with AES 256 and is also protected during transmission. The system is compliant with the latest regulations such as HIPAA, SOX and Basel II. With the web-based system, no servers or file sharing is required. Users can restore data without an IT professional up to 30 days.

Conclusion

The market for online storage is competitive. Most of the best services fully integrate with the users’ desktop and are very easy to use, enable accessibility to files from any location, and the services are stable and dependable.

This was a guest post by Leo Alvin Alexander who is an online writer currently dabbling in online marketing and search engine optimization. He is an expert in information technology and computing, including cloud backup, backup and recovery solutions, etc.

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With the advancements in technology, innovative devices are hitting the market. This will change the way we are experiencing audio and visual environments. The highly successful Smartphone trend has inspired tech companies to launch new products by incorporating smart applications, voice recognition, display systems and even printing. The products which are limited in nature for research and development are being tried for commercial applications. The result is an altogether new way of experiencing the technology. We are going to experience many changes in the coming three years.

Smartphones are going to replace desktops. Majority of tasks that you accomplish on desktops like surfing, watching movies and listening to music can be performed on your Smartphone. It is even possible to perform banking transactions through mobiles. As per the latest survey conducted by Neilsen, more than 43% of the mobile users are using smartphones. The speed at which Smartphone applications are being developed is not happening with the battery technologies. Lithium Ion batteries is a major breakthrough which happened about fifteen years ago. On the other hand, there is increasing demand for battery back-up and Smartphone applications consume the battery in various ways. Either applications should be smart enough to consume little power or batteries’ discharge cycle should be more.

Microsoft is playing around with a new technology called ‘Augmented Reality’. The technology will introduce non-conventional screens such as glasses you wear and windows glasses of a car, house, etc. For example, you will get a reminder with a visual check list when you are approaching your work space. When you are walking nearby a retail showroom, you will be alerted with the discounts available in the store. This kind of smart information will be abstracted from the web and presented in unique ways which will be more convenient for users to receive them in real-time and act on it.

Consumer electronic industry giant, Samsung is going to launch new kind of mobile phone screens which can be wrapped and stretched out whenever you need. These foldable OLED based screens are limited to research and development labs. But now they are going to hit consumer market in a big way. Innovative speech recognition software may take new turn in the year 2012. Many more applications in the lines of Apple’s Siri will hit the market in the coming years. The ability to command, control and monitor various activities through mobiles and cloud based service are on the anvil.

Living rooms and conference halls will experience new setups with screens of more than life size. You may wonder that in future, theater size screens will be deployed in residential sites which will consume less power. They can deliver crystal clear video along with three dimensional effects. A new wave of printing, 3D printing will change the way we check building plans and living rooms. These highly sophisticated 3 dimensional prints will give the best replica of original items by printing on specially designed plastic material with attractive colors.

Health care sector is going to reap major benefits from the launch of innovative applications. It is no more required to maintain medical files from your birth to the current date. Because all these details can be fed into the applications and you will be suggested with the food items that are to be consumed and you will also get reminders for physical exercises. The entire system may go to the next level with the sensors attached to your body.

As smarter applications are launched, they will automatically make you less dependent on desktops and more dependent on smartphones to be informed, entertained and engaged.

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Shielding us from thousands of viruses on the web are our trusted antivirus software. But now, the question rises: What is the best Antivirus software? I’ll try to answer this question, based on reviews, on statistics and on my own personal opinions about these software. Before we move on, keep in mind that any antivirus is good as long as you update it regularly and help it do its job, just like a car that you refurbish and clean regularly.

Top 10 Premium Antivirus Software in 2012

1. BitDefender Antivirus

BitDefender started life as an unimpressive antivirus, but over time has become one of best antivirus software available. Its simple interface and good protection make it a smash hit with internet users. It offers all you could ever wanted in an antivirus: protection, ease of use and it doesn’t need a NASA computer to run. Some of the new 2012 features are: email and net scan (it permanently scans your computer and alerts you if anything is wrong), it scans instant messenger programs, so you won’t be affected by boots and viruses sent my IM. If you are undecided, this antivirus is a great idea.

2. Norton Antivirus

We’ve all heard about Norton Antivirus, this antivirus is an excellent internet security suite that everyone can enjoy. The only downside of Norton is the resources it eats up, so you have to have a pretty good computer for Norton to work properly. On the other hand, if you do install it, you benefit from protection from almost all known viruses and malware. Norton also scans all your downloads.

3. ESET Nod32 Antivirus 5

Another antivirus software that caught a lot of ground in the past couple of years. The new version of ESET Nod32 is one of the best antivirus software I’ve tested so far. It doesn’t require lots of resources and it lives up to the best expectations. It works excellent and the user interface is great! If you are looking for an antivirus that works quietly in your background, ESET Nod32 Antivirus 5 is the best for you.

4. Kaspersky Antivirus

Kaspersky is one of the “old-school” antiviruses that had a face-lift and can still do its job really good. It features real time scanning of web pages and the self protection feature assures a constant protection from internet hijackers. This software is good for your laptop all the way to business and enterprises and lots of internet safety experts recommend Kaspersky Antivirus.

5. ZoneAlarm Antivirus

I have to admit it, ZoneAlarm is probably my favorite antivirus software, I’ve used for a very long period and I don’t have anything bad to say about it. The firewall is one of the best I’ve ever seen and the protection features assure you a virus free computer, but all this protection comes at a price, ZoneAlarm is hungry for computer resources, so you have to have a pretty decent computer to run and enjoy the protection it offers.

6. McAfee Antivirus Plus 2012

If you have been interested in internet safety in the past, you most certainly heard about McAfee Antivirus. It’s one of the oldest antiviruses on the market. Putting their knowledge to work, the guys over at McAfee have come up with a pretty good antivirus for their 2012 release. Offering a pretty good protection for its users, McAfee Antivirus 2012 is a good choice.

7. Panda Antivirus Pro

Yet another great comeback from one of the best known antiviruses, and this version of the old antivirus is really great. It seems this is a perfect example of the perfect balance between functionality, protection and resources. I must admit, I didn’t think much of this antivirus, but after testing it, I must recommend it to anyone who wants a good antivirus that gets the job done quick and good.

8. AVG Anti-Virus

You might know this antivirus very well from its free version, and if you do, you know it’s a really good antivirus that takes care of most of viruses and malware. It provides excellent protection, lots of features and the Shield prevents you from opening infected files. After trying this version, it seems this old timer still has plenty to say.

9. Avast! Pro Antivirus

Another premium version of a free antivirus, and might I say, Avast! Pro is a really good antivirus, sure, it doesn’t provide the same level of security than other, bigger antiviruses, but then again, it costs next to nothing when it comes to resources. The first question I asked was: Why upgrade to premium on a free antivirus? But, after seeing what the premium version has to offer and the amount of infected files it can discover I was really impressed.

10. CA Antivirus 2012

Computer Associates Antivirus 2012, to call it on its full name, is a new name in the internet security business but still, they have created a powerful antivirus that would satisfy any normal user. CA Antivirus keeps you computer clean and with its simple interface you won’t have any hustle using it.

Suggested Read: 15 Best Mobile Anti-Viruses [Android and iPhone Included]

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• air coolers
• fan-less coolers (also known as heatsinks) 
• water coolers

So, I tried to make a list of the best known air coolers in the market. Based upon performance mostly, but also upon noise and other aspects. So here they are:

1. Noctua NH-D14/SE2011

In my opinion, the Noctua NH-D14 and the SE 2011 (for the new LGA 2011 from Intel) are the best air coolers right now. It combines exquisite craftsmanship with the very best materials, copper heatsink and 6 heatpipes with aluminum cooling fins and 2 Noctua fans with 1300 RPM. It provides excellent heat dissipation and can handle any CPU and overclock you can throw at it. I’ve included the 2 models of this cooler available, NH-D14, available for all Intel (except LGA 2011) and AMD sockets, and the SE2011 with the special adapter for the new LGA 2011. A cool feature of this cooler is the fact that it mounts on the motherboard with screws, instead of push pins. The excellent results and the almost 300 awards attest to this cooler’s performance.

2. Spire Thermax Eclipse II

An impressive cooler with great looks and the performance to back them up. The Spire Thermax Eclipse II is one of the best coolers you will ever get your hands on. It features a dual fan configuration with quality materials like:

• dark nickel plated aluminum fins
• copper heatpipes
• aluminum base with exposed heatpipes

All of this wrapped in a gorgeous look that provides your CPU with the best cooling ever. The coolest feature is the fact that the heatpipes actually touch the processor, thus, conducting the heat better and faster. The only bad thing i have to say about this cooler is the mounting system for the fans (rubber screws), I would love to see something like the Noctua mounting bracket, apart from this, a really good cooler.

3. Noctua NH-C14

Another entry from Noctua, this time with the low profile NH-C14. This cooler has 2 horizontal mounted Noctua fans, and, as the NH-D14, 6 copper heatpipes with aluminum cooling fins. It provides excellent cooling capabilities, handling almost any workload, with the best materials available and the awesome industrial look that all Noctua coolers have. You can get this cooler for any socket, including LGA 2011 with the special adapter (must request when buying). This cooler is perfect for cases that have side exhaust fans, and if you have a plexiglass panel, it will look awesome.

4. Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme

Tuniq has accustomed us with gorgeous looking products in the past, but with this CPU cooler they have really amazed us. the Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme is, in my opinion, one of the best looking tower coolers in the world (or, definitely in top 5). It has dark nickel plated aluminum fins with something like a wave design with a 120mm blue LED fan hidden in the heart of the beast. The looks are amazing, but what about the performance? Well,the performance has ranked it number 4 on my list because it can outperform many CPU coolers to date. It features 5 heatpipes (3x 8mm diameter and 2x 6mm diameter) with exposed aluminum fins on the CPU heatsink. The copper heatpipes also come in direct contact with the CPU and they transfer huge amounts of heat towards its many fins.

5. Prolimatech Megahalems

This CPU cooler is all about innovation. Traditionally, the heatpipes of a CPU cooler run in a “U” shape, but in the Prolimatech Megahalems, they run in 2 “I” shapes, each with its own cooling fins, so, in some ways, this cooler is actually 2 smaller coolers put together. The heat transfer of this cooler is really good, and with the possibility to run it in dual fan configuration makes it one of the best CPU coolers out there. The thing I like most about this cooler is the mounting mechanism, it features 3 metal struts that hold it into place really good, making a firm contact between the heatsink and CPU.

6. Cooler Master V10

The Cooler Master V10 is a real monster of a cooler. When they designed this beast they went for the biggest number of cooling fins they could put in it and still make it fit into a PC case. And, by doing that, they made a huge cooler with a huge heat transfer power. The cooler also cools the RAM memory, but be careful if you plan on buying it, some high DDR radiators might not fit. At first I thought that was a problem, then I saw that you don’t need heavy duty radiators for your RAM, the V10 cools everything around it. As like the V8, it has a nice cover, and with the extra cooling fins, it actually looks like an engine. This is for sure on of the best air coolers around, but a word of advice, due to its massive size, it won’t fit in any case, so do take the time and do some measurements before buying it.

7. Zalman CNPS12X

This is a really nice cooler developed by Zalman. It features 3 120mm fans that do an excellent job in cooling your CPU. Although it has that flimsy look that most Zalman coolers have, it is a great cooler and it can handle almost any workload on any processor (including LGA 2011). It has all the features that an enthusiast CPU cooler should have: nickel plated copper heatpipes, aluminum fins, and lots of airflow over them. All of these, make the Zalman CNPS12X one of the best coolers to have and in my opinion, better than most Extreme labeled Zalman coolers.

8. Evercool HPJ-12025 Transformer 4 

The Transformer 4 is a really good CPU cooler, it has many features that make it one of the best CPU coolers around:

• direct heatpipe to CPU contact
• good materials
• push-pull configuration with 2 120mm fans
• low noise 

Above all this, it has good looks too. If you are in the market for a good CPU cooler, don’t forget to take into consideration the Evercool HPJ-12025 Transformer 4. In my opinion, a really good cooler that can handle a pretty high overclock.

9. Zalman CNPS9900 MAX

I must admit, I was never a fan of Zalman coolers, I do not know why, but I just didn’t like them, and I still don’t, but the purpose of this top is to give everyone a list of the best coolers they can have, and this Zalman is one of them. As far as coolers go, this one is a really great cooler. It provides users with excellent heat transfer, and also low noise (it has only one fan). This enthusiast class cooler is a really good idea if you want to get the upper edge when overclocking your PC. The downsides of this cooler are the fact that you cannot add another fan for extra heat transfer and that if it breaks, you cannot install another one, because it has a special, Zalman designed fan.

10. Alpenfohn Matterhorn 

Alpenfohn Matterhorn is the rookie in our top and in the world of performance cooling. This cooler has surprised me in every way possible. First, the design of the cooler, at first look, it’s not that remarkable, but when you look closer, you can see all the things it make it really awesome (cable sleeving, rubberized fan mount and screw holes, mirror finish etc) and the features do not end here, this cooler features a copper base, push-pull configuration with 2 120mm fans running at up to 1500 rpm and it produces next to no noise. It has all the things that make a cooler into a great cooler.

Keep in mind that these coolers are all the very best, it was hard to assign each of them a position, so if you are in the market for a CPU cooler and can’t afford some of them , do not worry, they are all great and the performances are close.

© Raju PP for Technically Personal!, 2011. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact us, so we can take legal action immediately. If you are on Twitter you can follow me @rajupp! | Permalink |

2011 was a fantastic year for tech startups with Initial Public Offering’s (IPOs) happening left, right and center, social networks bringing down dictatorships across Africa and the general web experience for users getting better than ever before. On the down side we lost some of the greatest businessmen and innovators of modern times and Google put many legitimate websites out of business due to their Panda updates. We have rounded up the biggest and best tech/web stories from 2011 but don’t forget to share your own thoughts in the comments below.

Apple

With all the build up to the hotly anticipated iPhone 5, everything was overshadowed by Steve Jobs’ death and no one really cared after that when there was no iPhone 5. Steve’s death sent shock waves around the world and we lost one of the finest marketers, businessmen and visionaries of the modern era. The addition of Siri virtual helper though has meant Apple stayed in the news for reasons other than Jobs.

Groupon

Love them or hate them, the one thing you can’t do is stop them. Groupon continued its meteoric rise this year posting ever greater turnovers and became the fastest company to reach $1bn in revenue. It also hired some of the best people in the Internet industry from companies like Google and Amazon to build a strong, sustainable brand. Their IPO may have been long, drawn out and full of juicy controversy but when it finally went live it didn’t nose dive like many had thought.

Google

Google sent the tech world buzzing for two reasons this year. The first was for the notorious Panda updates which worked like a kill switch for many websites who saw their traffic dip to dangerously low levels and the launch of Google+, their 3rd attempt at doing a social network. So far Google+ is limping along like an also ran but we think that given some more time Google has finally got it right and once they start integrating G+ in to all their other services it will really take off.

Facebook

Privacy and IPO rumors dominated the scene for Facebook. On the privacy front people were concerned about what data Facebook gave to advertisers and app publishers and what data became public without their consent. The privacy controls have been continuously changed by Facebook as they battle to make it as easy to use as possible but that didn’t stop the FTC getting involved. This story isn’t finished though and expect to see privacy raise its head more in 2012. Also in 2012, expect to see Facebook finally go IPO.

Amazon

If there is one company that can compete with Apple and Google it has to be Amazon and with the launch of their new tablet, Kindle Fire, they have made their intentions quite clear. While it’s far from being any kind of iPad killer, the Kindle Fire is a media consumption device that creates an entire eco-system for Amazon much like the iPod did for Apple. Customers can pay a yearly subscription to access almost unlimited amounts of movies, TV shows and music. Amazon is no longer just the biggest book seller in the world, it’s turning in to a major tech and media company in its own right and expect to see them push Apple and Google hard in 2012.

Android

2011 was the year that Android went mainstream and grabbed as much as 50% market share but also got adopted by electronics manufacturers to create low cost tablets to compete with the iPad such as with the spectacular Galaxy Tab and Motorola Xoom. To keep up with the rapid changes in the smartphone and tablet PC markets, Android released Honeycomb in Feb 2011 and Ice Cream Sandwich (see why does Google name its Android releases after desserts) in November 2011. With the Android Marketplace recording 10 billion downloads and with the number of Android devices which are  being activated each day put at 700,000 (that’s 21 million per month) it looks like 2012 will be a two horse race between Apple and Google with Windows Mobile 8 and RIM losing out.

Twitter

If there is one thing ego maniacal despotic dictators in the first half of 2011 detested more than rain on parade day it was Twitter. Igniting the Arab Spring and providing the fuel to over throw not one, not two but three brutal dictatorships, Twitter proved to be an invaluable tool for protesters to communicate, organize and gain popular support. Twitter was also indicted in the riots that swept across England in the summer and also had a hand in the community cleanups that followed. Finally, after a number of previous wins by being the first to break the news, Twitter firmly established itself to be the number one place to get the latest news when it broke the news of Osama Bin Laden’s death.

Zynga

Who’d have thought a virtual farm would be the gateway to riches. But their $1bn IPO in December proved that social gaming is still not convincing everyone and a 5% slide in share prices since the opening day shows that investors are not at all convinced about the company. Zynga had some hits and misses in 2011 with the Mafia Wars 2 proving to be a hard sell while Words With Friends snared celebrity users like Alec Baldwin who got kicked off the plane for playing the game.

Airbnb

If you had not heard of Airbnb before the summer then you could have been forgiven but then one event changed all that when one of their users had their entire apartment ransacked and Airbnb’s response was described as lacklustre at best. But they say that there is no such thing as bad news and the exposure that they got ensured that every major media outlet started talking about them and they even secured more funding valuing the business at $1.3bn which is staggering when you think about it since they have no real assets and rely completely on the members of the public to provide the space for the travelers.

LinkedIn

Who uses LinkedIn anyway? Apparently 135 million people do. They slipped in with an IPO earlier this year that raised $350m and valued the company at $3bn (which subsequently rose to $9bn as the share price more than doubled). The success of LinkedIn’s IPO encouraged Groupon and Zynga to push ahead with their own public flotations and sparked a debate about another coming tech bubble.

Have we missed anything? Let us know in the comments below if you agree with our top tech stories or tell us what we missed.

This was a guest post by Peter Claridge who is a web and tech enthusiast addicted to the latest news stories about startups, gadgets, marketing and more. He is the Online Marketing Manager for Agriya, a web development company which specialize in clone scripts like airbnb clone.

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The world is slowly going mobile these days; the emerging tablets market is the most significant proof to that. That’s why we thought that singing with your computer may not be enough and it surely isn’t. These days, you can go out in the park and have fun on the grass, scaring little kids with your beautiful voice. Presenting 14 Android and iOS karaoke apps for loud weekends:

Android Karaoke Apps

1. Red Karaoke

Red Karaoke is a really intuitive Android app that gives players a massive collection of songs at their fingertips (over 45, 000 and still growing). A cool feature of this app is that it allows users to record and upload their karaoke sessions and share them with friends. No, it’s not a communist karaoke application.

2. My Karaoke

This Android app lets you take your tunes everywhere and start jamming with your friends. A great way to enjoy your Android smartphone and to check out an impressive song collection. This is an application that seems to be very portable and the right one to use in an open environment, like a park.

3. Android Karaoke

Maybe the best karaoke app out there for your Android phone and the name couldn’t have said it better. Make your pick from its internet collection of karaoke songs and enjoy features like: search karaoke songs on Internet, save karaoke songs to SD card, play karaoke songs offline.

4. Karaoke Anywhere

Take your Android for a spin, with Karaoke Anywhere! This software comes with 50 free karaoke songs pre-installed and, if you have a subscription, you can benefit from thousands of songs and join the Karaoke Anywhere community, where you can battle it out with your friends and earn awards.

5. Karaoke-A-GoGo

Karaoke-A-GoGo lets users play their own mp3 collection in this karaoke player. The app plays high quality songs and its configured to work on tablets, so you can stream it to your TV and keep the party going. Judging by that cute anime girl, I wonder if the app is made in Japan.

6. SingSong Karaoke

This app comes with 10 karaoke songs pre-installed and it also has the possibility to scan your device and play an additional 300 songs. The app also gives you a score as you sing, so it’s a great way to get competitive with your friends. This software is also available on Windows and Mac, so you can enjoy it from home as well as on your phone.

7. Karaoke Memories

Karaoke Memories is a karaoke player that allows you to customize your songs with your own pictures. A perfect way to make a gift or to dedicate a song to your loved ones. It has lots of customizing features so you can make each song unique. What background image will you pick for a song like “Highway to hell“?

iOS Karaoke Apps

1. iKaraoke

iKaraoke is another app, available to iPhone users that allows them to transform their iPhone into a portable karaoke machine. This app allows you to load your own songs and feel like a star everywhere you want. Don’t start singing in the middle of the crowd, though you might be in the Christmas spirit right now.

2. The KARAOKE Channel Mobile

This app gives users 50 free songs, which are refreshed every month and with a monthly subscription, you can have access to over 8000 songs and videos, in high quality. You have the possibility to share your favorite songs with other friends in your Karaoke community, all of this makes for some cool jamming sessions.

3. Karaoke Now! 2.0

Karaoke Now! 2 is an awesome app that allows you to import or download songs and then play them in karaoke format. It’s lots of fun and the possibility to run it on the iPad and stream it on your TV give it an advantage over the other apps in this category. It’s mobile + TV, let’s hope that on a hands-free TV, maybe from Apple, the karaoke experience will be awesome!

4. Glee Karaoke

This app is rather new on the karaoke market, but it looks like it will reach many people, already being the number 1 most downloaded karaoke app for iOS in many countries. The key features of this app are pitch correction, optional harmonies and a little reverb, so you’ll always sound great.

5. Christmas Carols Karaoke

Keeping with the spirit of Christmas, this karaoke app for iPhone lets you sing the best carols this season. It offers 15 carols for you to enjoy, and it promises to bring more in the future. So prepare you iPhone for Christmas Eve, because you have a lot of carolling to do.

Related read: Top 11 Christmas Gadgets for Geeks

6. Sunfly Karaoke On Demand

One of the best karaoke apps for iPhone out there! This little software has an impressive collection of karaoke songs for its users to enjoy, it’s real easy to use and it works wonderful. Although it requires a permanent internet connection, you should definitely give it a try.

7. StarMaker Karaoke

This free app has over 500 songs ready for you and it records your voice in real time. You can buy songs, sing, record and share them with your friends via Facebook and Twitter. A great app which gives lots of laughs and lots of fun!

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Do you have some stuff just lying around from some old laptops? If so, here’s a weekend project that will definitely give you a sense of satisfaction: Build your own laptop! All you have to do is salvage all the working pars from the old stuff (screen, motherboard, processor, hard drive, memory, etc) solder it all together, find a container for all the stuff and put it all together. Someone did just that and made himself a DIY laptop in a pizza box. The idea is really cool and the customization options give a real satisfaction for the builder.

2. Throwable Panoramic Ball Camera

Jonas Pfeil, Kristian Hildebrand, Carsten Gremzow, Bernd Bickel and Marc Alexa, at the Computer Graphics Group in Berlin took DIY to another level when thinking up a camera that could shoot images all around it. The Panoramic Ball Camera is the first truly 360 degrees camera, able to shoot images even under it, make a full 360 degree and fully navigable image. The camera is made from a type of foam that eliminates the ghosting effect, it has 36 2Mpx telephone cameras and when you throw it, it takes 36 pictures on the highest point it reaches, which you will be able to download via USB cable to your computer and using the special software provided, generate a full 360 image.

3. DIY Segway

This DIY gadget is something I bet anyone would want. Giving the real Segway’s price, this one costs only $2500 and it’s every bit as much fun. Though you need to have some electrical skills to do this, the DIY Segway gives you a really good feeling of accomplishment, when you now you are riding your own creation.

4. DIY Wrist-mounted Crossbow

One of the coolest DIY gadgets I’ve ever seen is this hand-mounted crossbow. It is quite complicated to do, but the fun you can have with it is unlimited. It shoots metal darts accurately at 3 meters and it has a laser pointer for extra accuracy. The design needs more work and in the future we might see a fully automatic crossbow.

5. µWave

This DIY gadget was created by a group of students competing for PennApps Data Hackathon. The idea is great: instead of watching your meal go round and round, your microwave can search a video on YouTube, the same length as you set your timer on the microwave. The microwave has a touch screen that consists of 7 LED segments and is powered by an Arduino circuit. I wouldn’t mind to have one myself, it definitely beats staring at your food while it’s heating.

6. DIY Fog Machine

If any of you ever dreamed of becoming a rock star (or a vampire), you could bot have gotten far without your own fog machine. Well, you are one step closer with this DIY fog machine. It’s simple to make and it creates a cool effect: add some food glycerin, mix it up with some distilled water and put it under a flame, the effect is awesome, and all for $5!

7. Vertipod One-Man Hoverflyer

The Vertipod Hoverflyer is certainly the Segway of the sky! This DIY gadget was envisioned and built by many, so due to the multitude of people trying to make a flying one-maned machine (jet pack or hovercrafter) it’s quite popular. The hoverflyer is based on a motor which has a propeller that blows air downward and creating lift. A kit will set you back about $10000 but if you are truly a DIY fan, whit some spare parts you have at home, you can build one significantly less. The hoverflyer built by Air Buoyant President and CEO Pete Bitar can go 40Mph at a height of 15 feet.

8. DIY Neovictorian Cellphone

This DIY tech looks like it came right out of Fallout 3 or Bioshock, but acually, it used to be a Sagem Phone, “tuned” to look like that. It may not be as shiny and full of tech as todays smartphones, but it does have style.

9. USB Bell for Email Notification

This is a cool DIY gadget meant for people who are not always alerted by the PC alert for emails. This USB bell is connected to your computer via USB cable and will ring when you get an email. It looks good, it does the job wonderfully and you only need the basic soldering and electronics skills. The cool part of this build is that you can make not just a bell, but come up with your own ideas, such as a mail light or have a voice call up for you.

10. DIY Facebook Like Button

I’ve met some hardcore Facebook fans in the past, but someone who would create an Arduino powered real life Like Button…that’s way out there. The device features a LCD screen displaying all your likes and it measures 29x47x4 cm. This could be a huge hit with Facebook fans if someone would give it a digital camera, Wi-Fi capability and some brains and it would actually interact with real stuff. We’ll mark this one a “cool DIY gadget in the making”.

11. DIY International Space Station Lamp

The ISS or International Space Station is a marvel of human ingenuity and it should be treated as so. The ISS Lamp is more like a tribute to all the engineers who worked so hard to make the dream of human space exploration go one step closer to being fulfilled. The lamp is basically a Plexiglas that lights up whenever the ISS passes overhead.

The build is simple, just solder some LED’s to a Plexiglas (or whatever you want to light up), put it on a old lamp PCB and hook it up via USB to your computer, where you have to find an app which tells the lamp when the ISS passes overhead. It sounds hard to do, but the effort that is going into making one is insignificant to the effort that was put in the real ISS and maybe this our way to salute those people that worked so hard in building it.

13. DIY iPad 3

I know the iPad is a popular gadget, but tired of waiting for the launch of the iPad 3, a man from Chine has built his own iPad 3 (or how he imagines it). The device has keyboard compatibility, it runs on Windows and it can be docked like the Transformer Prime from ASUS. Not for anyone, buy a cool DIY gadget nonetheless.

14. DIY Assassins Creed Hidden Blade

Some real fans of Assassins Creed had it enough of being just a simple men and wanted to slip in the skim of Altair or Ezio Auditore and so, they made a hidden blade just like (or better) the famous assassin’s. The blade emerges and retracts really quick by pulling on a wire stuck to a ring. It’s really ingenious and they all look bada$$.

15. DIY Wall-E Robot

This one is more the Wall-E aficionados who know a little about robotics. The Wall-E robot really interacts: it features 4 servos for the tracks, hands and neck, it has facial and object recognition and tracking, it can answer to simple questions with the original Wall-E voice and some cool tricks like dance or fallow commands. It’s great fun and could make for some really cool DIY weekends. All you need to make it are some robot parts, available over the web (EZ-builder software with U-Command robotics or Arduino kits).

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But, what can Google do with its Music service is to find what consumers’ needs are and strive towards fulfilling them. As with Google+, which nobody at Google said was meant to destroy or dethrone Facebook, they just launched the product with features that were derived from the needs that appeared after privacy and oversharing issues have been “unleashed” upon social media netizens.

Google Music, The First Big Threat for iTunes

It was only a matter of time before someone were to challenge iTunes’ reign over the music industry, and with Google’s announcement of opening a Music Store, a much better version of the Beta they launched in May in the USA, it seems that the time is now. I think it was the logical way to go for Google, after launching itself in the mobile market with Android OS who now has a market share of 52%, according to some recent reports, and its acquisition of Motorola Mobility which gives us a glimpse of what’s to come in the near future: Google branded smartphones, wide distribution for the Android App Market, Music Store ready to be used by hundreds of millions and synchronized for the mobile market, perfectly integrated with lots of web services to give users the complete “Google experience”.

The Google Music Store will have some cool features for its users, hoping to get more and more to use it, thus reducing the gap lying between itself and iTunes. The policy is different from that of iTunes, where subscribers must pay a $25 fee for uploading their playlists in the iCloud, but on Google’s Music Store, your music will be saved in the cloud for free (up to 20,000 songs), as Google said in a press release:

“Other cloud music services think you have to pay to listen to music you already own. We don’t”

Google’s Music Service: Cheaper, Simpler than iTunes?

Google has already signed contracts with some of the most important record companies in the world (Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, EMI, Merlin as well as over 1000 prominent independent labels including Merge Records, Warp Records, Matador Records, XL Recordings and Naxos)

“We’ve also partnered with the world’s largest digital distributors of independent music including IODA, INgrooves, The Orchard and Believe Digital,…”

Music Store will be available on any device running Android 2.2 or later via its browser or app and on Apple’s Safari player, so that iPhone and iPad users can benefit from its 13 million songs, some are free, and others at the same price of Apple’s iTunes: 69 cents, 99 cents and $1.29. In a post on one of Google’s blogs, they said that users can listen to their music even when offline, via an app that allows the download of the mp3’s users buy, thus giving users the possibility to use devices other than Android phones, unlike Apple who “forces” users to have an iPod or an iPhone to listen to their downloaded tracks.

In the press release, Google declared that all of it’s users playlists (bought or uploaded) will automatically sync, so where ever you are, you can have your favorite playlist with you-

“We’ll keep your playlists in tact, too, so your ‘Chill’ playlist is always your ‘Chill’ playlist, whether you’re on your laptop, tablet or phone. You can even select the specific artists, albums and playlists you want to listen to when you’re offline.”

Google Music Seems to be More Versatile than iTunes

Google will let users upload their music and sell it via the Music Store, with only a one-time fee of $25, but they only get 70% of their earnings, not much but its a step forward in supporting artists. Another feature of Google’s Music Store that is beyond iTunes is the possibility of listening to the songs one time before you have to download, a feature that will certainly appeal to users who have a hard time deciding weather to download a song or not.

There are those who think Google just has too much money to spend and that is why it’s going for the music market, who already has Apple and Amazon as the main players, but, in fact, I see it as a natural way to go, providing Android users with their own music store and with some benefits over iTunes and Amazon MP3 Market. If iTunes was an important factor when deciding what phone to buy, the introduction of Music Store will definitely steal that advantage away from Apple.

We’ll see what the future brings for Google, if the Music Store will be a mach for iTunes or if it will just be a passing trend, but from Google’s past successes, I think Apple has to start worrying. As for now, Music Store is still in Beta testing for users in the US, but I can hardly wait for the worldwide debut. This is one step towards an unification of all of the user’s services across the web, under one roof, like it or not, with the Google name stamped on it.

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