20 Tricks to Make Facebook Better

Facebook is by far the largest social network on the web. While Mark Zuckerberg has made plenty of great calls in its design, the site — and the way people use it — isn't as streamlined as it could be.

These 20 tips, tricks and tools will give help take your Facebook experience to the next level. From simple settings options you may have overlooked, to browser plug-ins dedicated to making the social network even better, you're sure to find something on this list that will make your Facebook time even more addicting than it already is.

Tweak Your Facebook Settings

1. Appear Offline to Certain Friends

By opening your Facebook chat window, clicking the settings icon in the upper right corner and then navigating to "Advanced Settings," you can customize your chat experience by appearing offline to certain people on your friends list. This tweak will be especially helpful for those of you with chatty acquaintances who like to talk your ear off when you're online.

2. Reposition Your Timeline Photos

When uploading a new photo, it might not always appear on your feed the way you intended. Particularly long or wide photos have a tendency to be cropped awkwardly, but you can fix this rather easily. By clicking "Edit Photo" from your Timeline page, you gain access to a "Reposition Photo" option. Using this tool, you can move your photo around the preview window so that it appears as you intended.

3. Add Photos to Your Worldly Travels

If you're a fan of Facebook's "Places" feature, you can very easily decorate it with pictures to show off your various activities all over the world. On the main Places page, simply click "Add Photos to Map" and start tagging away! If you frequently upload photos directly to your Facebook profile using a mobile app for iPhone or Android, you might find that your map is already pretty well populated.

4. Easily Hide App Notifications

By going into your account settings, navigating to the "Notifications" tab on the left side of the page, you can browse the applications that have permission to populate your news feed. If find that a friend has spammed your feed with an excessive number of app notifications, simply deactivate the offending app. It's easier than breaking off the friendship.

5. Upload Photos in High Resolution

Sometimes you'll find that a gorgeous photo you wanted to share with your friends appears tiny and blurry after adding it to your social network profile. Remedy this by going into your Facebook albums and, before uploading a photo, click the "High Quality" box.

6. Use the "View As" Option to Tweak Your Appearance to Specific Friends

Knowing what your friends can see on your Facebook Timeline is an invaluable tool to ensuring your virtual reputation stays intact. From your Timeline page, click the settings icon next to "Activity Log" and then click "View As." From here you'll be able to see what specific friends see when they visit your page.

7. Download Your Entire Facebook History

Ever wanted to browse your entire Facebook profile at once — including every status update you've ever submitted? Facebook makes it easy. Under your Account Settings page, a small link will appear at the very bottom of the options list. Click "Download a copy of your Facebook data" to begin the process of securing your entire archive.

8. Forward Your Facebook Conversations

Having to repeat yourself is annoying in day-to-day life, and it's even more of a bother when online. Rather than copying and pasting directions or instructions to multiple people, click the "Actions" tab at the top of any Facebook message thread to access the option to forward it to others. Ta-da! No more double-talk!

9. Turn Chat Sign-in Off by Default

Can't stand endless chat when you're simply browsing your status updates? No problem. Click the settings icon in the main Facebook chat window, and click "Turn off chat" to have all future messages sent to your inbox, rather than pop-up in realtime on your screen.

10. Use Facebook to Design Your Business Card

If you've put a lot of work into making your Timeline page reflect exactly who you are, consider using it as a pre-designed business card. Clicking the "About" link — located under your name on your Timeline — lets you browse your social network details. In the Contact Info window is a small business card icon that will direct you to Moo.com, where you can customize a Facebook-flavored business card and place an order.

Web Tools That Optimize Facebook

11. Analyze Your Facebook History With Wolfram Alpha

For the most comprehensive breakdown of your entire Facebook history, Wolfram Alpha can't be beat. Simply type "Facebook Report" into the main search bar, approve the app's use of your Facebook data and wait for the system to break down your history. Once it's finished, you'll be treated to a seemingly endless number of graphs and data points showing your update history, most-liked photos and much more.

12. Schedule Facebook Updates With Sendible

Believe it or not, thieves are big fans of Facebook. By finding out when you'll be away from your home, security experts believe would-be robbers target those who go on a Facebook hiatus.Sendible — an application that allows you to schedule updates even when you're not near your computer — can keep your online persona active, even when you can't.

13. Use Twitter to Update Facebook

Sometimes you just don't have enough time to keep all your social networks up to date, but thankfully Facebook and Twitter play nice together with a little tweaking. Head to theTwitter app page on Facebook to begin the process of syncing your virtual social lives. After authorizing the Facebook app via Twitter, all your tweets will appear on Facebook as status updates.

14. Export Your Facebook Calendar to Your PC

Make sure you don't miss any important events by exporting your Facebook calendar to either Microsoft Outlook or Apple iCal. Head to your Facebook calendar (located under the "Events" tab on the Facebook navigation bar) and click the settings icon. Click "Export," and then choose either your Facebook birthday list or upcoming events. Your desktop's calendar app should launch immediately, making the process even more streamlined.

Chrome Extensions for Facebook

15. Facebook Photo Zoom

Using this extension, you no longer have to click on the photos in your news feed in order to view them in full size. Simply move your mouse cursor over the image thumbnail and the larger version will pop up right in front of you. You can even adjust the zoom by moving the mouse back and forth over the photo itself. It's like magic.

16. Revert Facebook Photo Viewer

If you're not into real-time photo zooming, this extension turns back the clock on your Facebook's photo feature. Rather than displaying pictures in the new "Theater" layout, photos will appear on their own pages, complete with the full comments section and "Like" options.

17. Facebook Chat Notifications

Have you ever left a Facebook tab open on your web browser and missed an urget message from a friend? This handy plugin produces a pop-up window on your desktop to notify you when someone needs to chat, ensuring you never miss an important bit of info.

Firefox Add-Ons for Facebook

18. Like the Page

If you're a Firefox user, you can use this add-on to instantly share any web page they come across, even when the site doesn't have a built-in Facebook share button. A small "Like" icon will pop up at the bottom of every browser window, and all it takes it a click to share your find with the world.

19. FB Purity

This plug-in returns your Facebook to an earlier day, back when spammers and useless clutter wasn't a hinderance to your browsing habits. You can hide any type of notification you wish, including birthdays, relationship updates, tagged photos, links and much more. You can make your social experience as simple as you wish.

20. Facebook Auto-Logout

Do you hate it when you accidentally leave yourself signed in to the social network, only to come back to missed chat messages and anxiety over whether someone else was browsing your digital life? This handy add-on will automatically sign you out of your Facebook windows if you've been inactive for too long, ensuring that nobody can snoop your info.

Credit:mashable.com

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Control Inactive System Tray Icons

You don't have to hide or show all the icons in your system tray—you can control their disappearing acts. Right-click on the taskbar and select Properties. Click on the checkbox next to "Hide inactive icons" (if it's not checked by default), then click on the Customize button. For each item on this list, you can choose "Hide when inactive," "Always hide," or "Always show" options to decide what you'll see and when.

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What is hardware? Computer Hardware Definition.....

What is Hardware?

Your PC (Personal Computer) is a system, consisting of many components. Some of those components, like Windows XP, and all your other programs, are software. The stuff you can actually see and touch, and would likely break if you threw it out a fifth-story window, is hardware.

Not everybody has exactly the same hardware. But those of you who have a desktop system, like the example shown in Figure 1, probably have most of the components shown in that same figure. Those of you with notebook computers probably have most of the same components. Only in your case the components are all integrated into a single book-sized portable unit.

Figure 1

The system unit is the actual computer; everything else is called a peripheral device. Your computer's system unit probably has at least one floppy disk drive, and one CD or DVD drive, into which you can insert floppy disks and CDs. There's another disk drive, called the hard disk inside the system unit, as shown in Figure 2. You can't remove that disk, or even see it. But it's there. And everything that's currently "in your computer" is actually stored on that hard disk. (We know this because there is no place else inside the computer where you can store information!).

Figure 2

The floppy drive and CD drive are often referred to as drives with removable media or removable drives for short, because you can remove whatever disk is currently in the drive, and replace it with another. Your computer's hard disk can store as much information as tens of thousands of floppy disks, so don't worry about running out of space on your hard disk any time soon. As a rule, you want to store everything you create or download on your hard disk. Use the floppy disks and CDs to send copies of files through the mail, or to make backup copies of important items.

Random Access Memory (RAM)

There's too much "stuff" on your computer's hard disk to use it all at the same time. During the average session sitting at the computer, you'll probably use only a small amount of all that's available. The stuff you're working with at any given moment is stored in random access memory (often abbreviated RAM, and often called simply "memory"). The advantage using RAM to store whatever you're working on at the moment is that RAM is very fast. Much faster than any disk. For you, "fast" translates to less time waiting and more time being productive.

So if RAM is so fast, why not put everything in it? Why have a hard disk at all? The answer to that lies in the fact that RAM is volatile. As soon as the computer is shut off, whether intentionally or by an accidental power outage, every thing in RAM disappears, just as quickly as a light bulb goes out when the plug is pulled. So you don't want to rely on RAM to hold everything. A disk, on the other hand, holds its information whether the power is on or off.

The Hard Disk

All of the information that's "in your computer", so to speak, is stored on your computer's hard disk. You never see that actual hard disk because it's sealed inside a special housing and needs to stay that way. Unlike RAM, which is volatile, the hard disk can hold information forever -- with or without electricity. Most modern hard disks have tens of billions of bytes of storage space on them. Which, in English, means that you can create, save, and download files for months or years without using up all the storage space it provides.

In the unlikely event that you do manage to fill up your hard disk, Windows will start showing a little message on the screen that reads "You are running low on disk space" well in advance of any problems.  In fact, if that message appears, it won't until you're down to about 800 MB of free space. And 800 MB of empty space is equal to about 600 blank floppy disks. That's still plenty of room!

The Mouse

Obviously you know how to use your mouse, since you must have used it to get here. But let's take a look at the facts and buzzwords anyway. Your mouse probably has at least two buttons on it. The button on the left is called the primary mouse button, the button on the right is called the secondary mouse button or just the right mouse button. I'll just refer to them as the left and right mouse buttons. Many mice have a small wheel between the two mouse buttons, as illustrated in Figure 3.

Figure 3
 

The idea is to rest your hand comfortably on the mouse, with your index finger touching (but not pressing on) the left mouse button. Then, as you move the mouse, the mouse pointer (the little arrow on the screen) moves in the same direction. When moving the mouse, try to keep the buttons aimed toward the monitor -- don't "twist" the mouse as that just makes it all the harder to control the position of the mouse pointer.

If you find yourself reaching too far to get the mouse pointer where you want it to be on the screen, just pick up the mouse, move it to where it's comfortable to hold it, and place it back down on the mousepad or desk. The buzzwords that describe how you use the mouse are as follows:

• Point: To point to an item means to move the mouse pointer so that it's touching the item.
• Click: Point to the item, then tap (press and release) the left mouse button.
• Double-click: Point to the item, and tap the left mouse button twice in rapid succession - click-click as fast as you can.
• Right-click: Point to the item, then tap the mouse button on the right.
• Drag: Point to an item, then hold down the left mouse button as you move the mouse. To drop the item, release the left mouse button.
• Right-drag: Point to an item, then hold down the right mouse button as you move the mouse. To drop the item, release the right mouse button.

The Keyboard

Like the mouse, the keyboard is a means of interacting with your computer. You really only need to use the keyboard when you're typing text. Most of the keys on the keyboard are laid out like the keys on a typewriter. But there are some special keys like Esc (Escape), Ctrl (Control), and Alt (Alternate). There are also some keys across the top of the keyboard labeled F1, F2, F3, and so forth. Those are called the function keys, and the exact role they play depends on which program you happen to be using at the moment.

Most keyboards also have a numeric keypad with the keys laid out like the keys on a typical adding machine. If you're accustomed to using an adding machine, you might want to use the numeric keypad, rather than the numbers across the top of the keyboard, to type numbers. It doesn't really matter which keys you use. The numeric keypad is just there as a convenience to people who are accustomed to adding machines.

Figure 4

Most keyboards also contain a set of navigation keys. You can use the navigation keys to move around around through text on the screen. The navigation keys won't move the mouse pointer. Only the mouse moves the mouse pointer.

On smaller keyboards where space is limited, such as on a notebook computer, the navigation keys and numeric keypad might be one in the same. There will be a Num Lock key on the keypad. When the Num Lock key is "on", the numeric keypad keys type numbers. When the Num Lock key is "off", the navigation keys come into play. The Num Lock key acts as a toggle. Which is to say, when you tap it, it switches to the opposite state. For example, if Num Lock is on, tapping that key turns it off. If Num Lock is off, tapping that key turns Num Lock on.

Combination Keystrokes (Shortcut keys)

Those mysterious Ctrl and Alt keys are often used in combination with other keys to perform some task. We often refer to these combination keystrokes as shortcut keys, because they provide an alternative to using the mouse to select menu options in programs. Shortcut keys are always expressed as:

key1+key2

where the idea is to hold down key1, tap key2, then release key1. For example, to press Ctrl+Esc hold down the Ctrl key (usually with your pinkie), tap the Esc key, then release the Ctrl key. To press Alt+F you hold down the Alt key, tap the letter F, then release the Alt key.

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What is a computer virus?

Computer viruses are small software programs that are designed to spread from one computer to another and to interfere with computer operation.

What do computer viruses do?

Through the course of using the Internet and your computer, you may have come in to contact with computer viruses. Many computer viruses are stopped before they can start, but there is still an ever growing concern as to what do computer viruses do and the list of common computer virus symptoms. A computer virus might corrupt or delete data on your computer, use your email program to spread itself to other computers, or even erase everything on your hard disk.

Computer viruses are often spread by attachments in email messages or instant messaging messages. That is why it is essential that you never open email attachments unless you know who it's from and you are expecting it.

Viruses can be disguised as attachments of funny images, greeting cards, or audio and video files.

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Security Tips

How to Protect Your Computer From Viruses

With millions of computer users browsing the web at any given time, there are plenty of targets for malicious coders. While computer experts don’t always know why coders choose to build harmful computer programs, the fact is that it happens all the time. Computer viruses can steal personal information, interfere with normal operations, attract spam and even shut down your computer’s hard drive. Protecting your computer is critical for browsing success.

Start With the Basics

Most computer systems come with security features already in place. For example, the Windows operating system is packaged with Microsoft Windows Security Center. When you first open, boot up and register a new computer, you should make sure that this program is functioning. It will give basic protection against spyware, viruses and malware. In addition, a basic firewall is built into this program, providing additional protection and stops for potentially harmful programs. Upon activation, don’t be surprised if your security system needs immediate updating. Software that protects your computer needs regular and consistent updating to stay useful. Viruses are constantly being generated and the several-month lag between when your computer was made and when you first started using it can mean that the database the security system is loaded with is severely out-of-date.

Upgrade to Meet Your Needs

Many people operate computers for a long time with only basic protection in place. However, heavy computer users or those who have risky browsing habits can sometimes benefit from upgrading their virus, spyware and malware protection, as well as using a fuller-featured firewall; this is especially important if you use a networked computer system. Basic or free virus protection will still scan and update for viruses. Paid programs, however, offer more features, including ease-of-use and convenience features. The most important thing is to verify the publisher and make sure you are getting what is promised. Most well-known virus protection programs, such as AVG and Norton Security, have reviews available to help you make your choice.

Learn About Spyware Risks

Spyware creates risks that many computer users are not aware of. If you are only protecting against viruses, you could be leaving your computer open to damage. Most people are familiar with spyware that initiates and attracts annoying ad programs. Spyware, however, can be much more malicious as well. Your shopping habits can be tracked by spyware. While not exactly harmful, some people consider this a breach of privacy. The worst spyware programs interfere with normal operations and can even track what you type, sending personal information to people who want to steal your identity. Some spyware redirects your browser to different web addresses, increasing your risks of virus infection and fraud.

How Viruses Work

The main difference between spyware and viruses is how they are spread. A virus reproduces itself and attaches to any document that the computer sends, while spyware can be stored as a cookie or tracking code. A virus is most often found traveling with a piece of computer software, such as a document, picture or piece of music. When dealing with email, it is necessary to open an attachment to become infected, indicating that, in most cases, the computer user must somehow invite the malicious software to replicate on their system. Of course, most people have no idea it is there or what is happening. Some of the sneakiest and most harmful viruses actually masquerade as virus protection software, making them extremely hard to detect. Because of this, it’s crucial to be familiar with your particular virus protection program and know what it looks like and what the normal scripts and prompts are during operation. Viruses do some of the same things that spyware does; they just accomplish it differently. An active virus can steal personal information, generate ads or shut down your system, including the very virus protection programs that can fix the issue.

Take Steps For Protection

Like anything, the best way to protect against viruses is to be educated. Become familiar with what malicious software may look like. If you get an email or are asked to download a file that you don’t recognize or looks suspicious, do your homework. Research virus protection, spyware, malware and firewall programs and use them to their fullest capacity. Set the software to update and scan automatically to make sure that the system is constantly monitored. In addition, regularly check on the databases published by various virus protection services; many will provide lists of symptoms and risks, as well as the standard way the file gains access for no cost to the public.

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10 Photoshop Tips and Tricks for Beginners

Photoshop is a heck of an amazing software that can really help your creativity express itself through a variety of useful tools. It’s also excellent if all you want to do is retouch a photo a bit before you post it on your site or anywhere else. If you are a Photoshop beginner, only recently exposed to the wonders of this advanced design machine, read on. We have gathered a few tips and tricks that could really make a difference as you move forward with your next few images.

Note: The shortcuts are phrased for PC users. Mac people – you know what to do with them.

Transform

When you want to change the size of an image, rotate, flip or distort it, you can always do so by clickingEdit, then click Transform and select the action you desire. To make life easier, there’s a shortcut you can use. Simply press Ctrl + T on your keyboard and a bounding box will then appear around the image, indicating transformation. This means you can now resize your image. The best way to do so is by placing the cursor on one of the rectangle corners and then dragging the corner while holding theShift key. When you’re finished just press Enter and you’re done.

To flip your image vertically or horizontally press Ctrl + T and then right click your mouses. A popup window will appear with a few options for rotating and flipping the image. Select the action you want and when you are done press Enter.

Similarly, to distort or skew the image press Ctrl + T and then place the cursor on one of the corners you want to distort. Press Ctrl while holding your mouse down on the corner and dragging it down to wherever you want, then press Enter to activate.

Change the Unit of Measurement

A short and quick way to switch between units of measurements is to place the cursor on one of the rulers (press Ctrl + R to show or hide the rulers), and right click, then choose a new unit from the context menu. You have a wide variety of units there, from centimeters to pixels, millimeters, points and even percents.

Magnetic Lasso Tool

This is an easy selection tool that helps you trace and outline a part of an image, and to separate it from the rest of the image in order to perform certain actions. For example, you can select and separate a product from its background.

The magnetic lasso tool detects the edges of an object, so it works best when you have a bold contrast between an object and its background with well defined edges. You can find this tool in the tools panel.

To access the Magnetic Lasso, click and hold your mouse button down on the Lasso Tool until a fly-out menu appears . The magnetic lasso is the last one with a small magnet on it’s icon. Select it and then go to your image and place your mouse on the edge of the part you want to select. Click your mouse once, release and just go over the edges of the object you want to select (just like you do with scissors when you cut something out).

Magic Wand Tool

The Magic Wand is another selection tool, ideal for when you are working with a background that is very monotone and consistent. If you have a clearly defined color that you want to choose in an image, this is the tool for you. For example, the Magic Wand is great when you want to select a white background or a clear blue sky.

Choose the magic wand tool from the tools panel and click on the part of the image you want to select. Make sure that you toggled the “add to selection” option on the top bar (icon of two squares) so you can keep on adding colors and tones to your selection.

Using the Magic Wand tool we selected and deleted Manhattans blue skyline

Custom Shape Tool

The Tool Panel offers all the basic shapes you need like square, line, circle, ellipse etc. However, if you’d like to have extended options check out the custom shape tool. Represented by icon that kind of resembles a roadkill (but it’s far from it!) the custom shape tool is easy to find on the Options Bar. After you select it, a world of shape options will reveal itself to you.

A shape preview thumbnail will appear to the right of the Custom Shape Tool icon. The selection is great and you can access even more shapes by clicking again on the small arrow on the right side of the panel. If you are looking for banners, speech bubbles or arrows of all kinds, this is just the tool for you.

Adjustment Layers

As you use Photoshop for whatever purpose, like change colors of an image, make it sharper or improve the contrast, remember to always use the adjustment layers. The big advantage of the adjustment layer is that you don’t make the changes on the image itself but on a separate layer, so you can always change the settings to see which adjustment works best for you. You will find adjustment layers in the bottom of the the Layers Panel (a black and white circle icon).

Sharpen and improve your photo using Adjustment Layers

Layer Styles

This is a simple & easy way to add some pizazz to your image. Layer styles are special effects that can be quickly applied to individual layers. All you have to do is double click on a layer and then choose the effect you like.

You can select from a whole variety of features, add a stroke or a glow, drop a shadow, and much more with just a click of the mouse. Be careful you don’t overdo it. These effects have a tendency to look cheap and sleazy when there’s too much of them.

Easily add a stroke or drop a shadow on any object or text.

Spot Healing Brush

Yes – it’s exactly like it sounds, this tool will make everything look prettier! If you have a spot, blemish, or a mole this tool will remove it instantly. It can also be used as a pimple remover. Just place the brush over the area you want to “fix”, make sure the brush is a bit bigger than the blemish and click. Photoshop automatically samples from around the retouched area so you really don’t need to do anything else.

One simple click and the spot is gone

Dodge Tool

The Dodge Tool lightens pixels where you use it. This is a great solution for red “tired eyes”. Set the Dodge Tool to a soft brush, go to Range setting in the menu-bar’s pull-down and choose highlights, set Exposure on around 20%. Then carefully brush over the eye area. Remember not to overdo it, or your model will start to look like an alien. A few simple strokes should do the job.

Blur Tool

A simple and delicate way to remove small wrinkles is to blur them a bit. Use the Blur tool to smooth-out small imperfections like the wrinkles around the eye or mouth area and simply blur them into the background. Again, be gentle and remember not to overdo it or instead of improving your image you’ll end up spoiling it. The Blur tool can be used for repair as well as more artistic purposes so it’s important to become friendly with it.

What a difference the Dodge and Blur tools can make! With a little help of Adjustment layers

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How do I set up video calling (facebook)

Before you can call friends from Facebook, you need to complete a quick, one-time setup. You'll be asked to complete the setup the first time you try to call a friend, or the first time a friend tries to call you.

To call a friend:

1. Go to their timeline and click Call at the top.
2. Click Set Up and follow the instructions for your browser.
3. Once you’ve successfully completed the setup, the call you’ve started with your friend should connect automatically. If it doesn’t, you can call again

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Delete Windows update files to regain hard-drive space

Windows has always been bad at cleaning up after itself. Take matters into your own hands with one of the preinstalled tools, and regain hard-drive space so you can store more-important files.

Hard-drive space can become a precious commodity, especially if you're using an expensive solid-state drive. However, Windows updates have zero respect for your space, and love to leave update packages hanging around after you're done installing them. That doesn't sound very nice, does it?

Fortunately, there's an easy way to clear out the clutter with tools that are provided in Windows itself (imagine that). While needing to do some extra work to save hard-drive space isn't ideal, at least the option is there. Here's how to clean out old update files, and regain more space for cute kitten GIFs.

Before you get started, make sure you've installed all recent Windows updates.

Step 1: Open the Start menu, type cleanmgr in the search box, then hit Enter. Disk Cleanup will ask you where Windows is installed.

Once it has completed this process, you may have to press the button that says "Clean up system files." If you don't see a button, the required options should already be in your list (more on this later).

Step 2: Make sure to check the box next to Windows Update Cleanup and any other files you would like to clean (honestly, all of them) and click OK. Now Disk Cleanup is deleting all of the files for each selection that was made.

(Optional) Step 3: Another option you might want to take advantage of is cleaning out old System Restore files and Shadow Copies. You can do this by clicking on the More Options tab at the top and selecting "Clean up" under System Restore and Shadow Copies. This deletes all but the most recent of each.

Credit:http://howto.cnet.com

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Google engineers reveal secrets to faster Web sites

Better JavaScript memory management and HTML prefetching tags could make Web sites more responsive

In the fiercely competitive world of Internet services, Google constantly seeks ways to speed up the delivery of content to its hundreds of millions of users.

At the O'Reilly Velocity conference this week in New York, two Google engineers presented some of their favorite tips and research for expediting delivery of Web pages and applications. Such knowledge could be handy for other Web developers looking to make their products more responsive.

Google developer advocate and performance expert Colt McAnlis tackled one of the thorniest problems for mobile Web developers today: JavaScript performance.

Web based JavaScript applications can suffer from performance issues, especially on mobile clients, because JavaScript parsing engines use GC (garbage collection) to manage memory. "You shouldn't rely on garbage collectors," McAnlis told the audience of Web developers.

GC helps programmers by automatically returning to the operating system the memory a program no longer needs. Writing code to manage memory in low level languages such as C and C++ is a laborious process, though, and such languages aren't natively supported by browsers anyway.

The problem with many JavaScript Web applications is that JavaScript engines will launch their garbage collection routines at seemingly random times, which will cause applications to momentarily slow down. The frame rate of a video application, for instance, may decrease. Or the time it takes an application to execute an operation may jump to a noticeable 20 milliseconds, up from a typical 3 to 5 milliseconds.

Overall, for GC to work without being noticed by the user, the system memory must be six times as large as the amount of memory being used, said McAnlis, referring to a well known study. This can be a demanding requirement given the limited memory of mobile devices and the number of memory-hungry applications they run.

Add to this issue the increasing use of closures, a programmer-friendly technique of widening the availability of locally defined variables. jQuery, for instance, is a widely used JavaScript library that relies on closures and as a result, creates a lot of splurges in memory allocation.

"Closures scare me," McAnlis said, referring to how unpredictable they can be in terms of the amount of memory they can consume.

To improve performance, and better manage memory, developers should use an approach similar to the one used by the middleware library Emscripten, which is being used to build high performance HTML5 Web games

Credit::http://www.infoworld.com

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Best mobile phone to buy in 2013

What are the best mobile phones to buy in 2013 so far?

2013 is shaping up to be quite a year for smartphones. We’ve already seen plenty of new devices launched in and around CES 2013 and Mobile World Congress 2013. And there’s still a lot more to come – in September alone we'll see the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, HTC One Max, Sony Xperia Honami, Nokia Bandit and, of course, Apple's iPhone 5S. 

So far we’ve seen launches from some of the industry’s most significant players: Samsung, Sony, Nokia, BlackBerry, HTC, LG, Huawei, and ZTE. All of which represent a significant leap forwards in terms of processing power, display technology, and features.

Most of 2013’s new high-rolling handsets feature full HD displays and high-end processors, CPUs that make last year’s Snapdragon S4 look practically remedial. And some handsets, notably the Xperia Z, Samsung Galaxy S4 Active and Huawei Ascend D2, are also water and dust resistant – that means you can use them in the bath.

Here’s our pick of the best handsets of 2013 so far:

Samsung Galaxy S4 Active

It’s basically the Samsung Galaxy S4 just ruggedised, meaning you can submerge it in water and drop it on the floor without having to call your insurance people. And, best of all, Samsung hasn’t scrimped on the spec here either – the Galaxy S4 Active packs just as much as a punch as its flagship brother.

Launched alongside the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom and Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini, as well as Samsung’s new Galaxy Camera, the Active is, essentially, a direct rebuttal to Sony’s big-selling Xperia Z handset. And, importantly, it’s one that hits all the right buttons.

Know Your Mobile scribe Damien McFerran put the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active to the test over the course of a couple of weeks. Below are his concluding comments on the handset:  

‘Although it has a weaker camera and lacks the striking Super AMOLED screen of the standard S4, the Galaxy S4 Active is actually the better phone of the two, purely because it offers the same degree of power but comes with water and dust resistance. 

The increased resilience to the elements might seem like a gimmick, but not having to worry about getting your phone wet when you’re waiting for the bus on a raining evening is actually more of a blessing than you might think. It’s also hard not to prefer the rugged appearance of the S4 Active - the revised casing and physical buttons below the screen are sure to strike a chord with many who considered the standard S4 to be too similar to the S3.’

Samsung Galaxy S4 Active Specifications

Length	139.7 mm
Width	71.3 mm
Thickness	9.1 mm
Weight	153g
Screen Size	1080 x 1920 pixels TFT, 5 inches
Camera Resolution	8-megapixels (rear), 2-megapixels (front)
Operating System	Android 4.2.2
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 with 2GB of RAM
Built-in Memory	16GB (of which you get 11GB)
Additional Memory	up to 64GB via microSD
High-speed Data	3G and 4G

LG G2

LG's flagship G2 may have only just launched, but it's certainly looking like a strong contender in the smartphone popularity race.

On the front, there's a 5.2-inch HD display, while the back features a rather oddly-placed volume/power button on the back alongside the camera.

The camera is a 13-megapixel snapper with advanced optical image stabilisation allowing for super-crisp snaps.

Packed inside, there's 2GB RAM and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor running at 2.2GHz.

The LG G2 ships with Android 4.2.2, although we're hopeful this will be updated to Android 4.3 in the near future.

HTC One Mini

To call the HTC One Mini a cheaper HTC One – which it is – just doesn’t do this handset justice. HTC has crammed in so much of what made the HTC One by far and away one of the best handsets of the past 12 months that it’s difficult, save for the size difference, to tell the two devices apart.

You get Beats Audio, the same MegaPixel camera that’s found in the HTC One, a very competent Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 CPU, Sense 5.0, and integrated support for things like HTC Zoe, Watch and even 7digital. There’s no NFC or IR Blaster, however, but given the slew of stuff that did make it across we’re more than happy to let that slide. 

HTC One Mini Specs

• Android 4.2.2 with HTC Sense 5 and BlinkFeed
• Display: 4.3-inch at 720p, for 341 pixels per inch
• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 400, dual-core, 1.4GHz 
• Total storage: 16GB, available capacity varies
• RAM: 1GB DDR2
• Battery: 1800 mAh
• Size: 132 x 63.2 x 9.25mm
• Weight: 122g

After spending some time with the HTC One Mini, we concluded:

'HTC told us that it took a ‘no compromise’ approach to developing the HTC One Mini. Looking at the device, holding it in your hand, and flicking around the UX illustrates this point profoundly. Everything that set the One apart from the crowd is here – imaging technology, quality build materials, UX design and functionality.'

Nokia Lumia 1020

Nothing divides opinion like Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS, but what Nokia has come to the table with here cannot be disputed. The Nokia Lumia 1020’s imaging capabilities, with its 41-megapixel PureView camera, are unprecedented within the mobile space. And the specs aren’t bad either, as you can see below:  

Nokia Lumia 1020 Specs

• 41-megapixel camera, 1080p video and a Xenon flash
• 3X zoom and six-lens camera, and secondary camera with wide-angle lens
• 4.5-inch AMOLED HD+ display with resolution of 1280x768
• Screen made of Gorilla Glass 3
• 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor
• 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal memory.
• Talk-time of 13.3 hours on 3G, extending to 16 days standby time
• Available in three different colours – black, white and yellow
• Optional camera grip and tripod attachment, and dedicated shutter button

Credit:http://www.knowyourmobile.com

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