Four phones that rival the iPhone

Remember all the hype over the iPhone last year at this time? Get ready for it again as Apple releases iPhone 2.0, a whole new model that works even faster on July 11 and, next Tuesday, a bunch of new programs for the current model. But this year Apple has some serious new contenders.

When you;re talking touch screen, check out the Samsung Instinct. It works on the Sprint network and offers all the iPhone has and then some, at a cheaper price, just $129. Voice-to-speech commands, GPS navigation, streaming TV and video, music and full e-mail and messaging capabilities.

Verizon has three cool phones to look at. The Samsung Glyde has an iPhone like touch screen, but a full QWERTY keyboard. It’s a bit tricky for one hand operation but the real keyboard will be appreciated by many. Cost? $299.

Next, consider the LG Decoy. Again, nice screen. Plays music and multimedia. But what’s really cool is a built in Bluetooth headset that docks right in the phone. $179.

But the top of the Verizon lineup is the all new LG Dare. It has big three-inch touch screen, offers a sort of visual speed dial and plays all media. But what really sets it apart is a 3.2-megapixel camera and high-quality video recording capabilities. It costs $199.

The phone’s camera has a Schneider-Kreuznach certified lens for outstanding image quality, and the camera offers advanced features, such as face detection and an LED flash so customers can take enhanced-quality photos from their mobile phones. Additionally, customers can use the photo editing tool to personalize their digital photos with features that include borders and landscapes, and they can draw on their pictures directly on the screen using their fingertips.

The touch-screen also supports handwriting recognition and tactile feedback so that customers can more easily select their options on the phone.

iPhone: You’ve got some competition.

Game teaches Chinese culture

As the Olympics approach and China becomes even more dominant in the news, there’s now an online video game that teaches Chinese culture and language.

Called Zon , this multiplayer Web-based role-playing game was created by an influential researcher in Chinese education and a professor in education and technology at Michigan State University and it’s aim is to bring the players a vicarious, virtual experience of modern day China.

The goal for the player is to fare well and advance socially and economically, with players moving from “tourists” to “residents” and finally to “citizens” of today’s China. At the different stages, players encounter quests, have access to learning materials - including live Chinese tutors- and are able to organize and participate in social activities.

It is free in its present release and offers a great background of the nation that will son be hosting the Olympic games.

Social networking for babies

Connecting and networking online are huge buzz trends these days, especially for teens, the college set and young professionals. Well, there’s social networking for babies, with a bunch of Web sites that do the same thing as MySpace and Facebook, but for the toddler set.

Babyspot www.babyspot.com
Bundlo www.bundlo.com
MyBabyOurBaby www.mybabyourbaby.com
TotSpot www.totspot.com

Think traditional baby book in the Internet Age, with baby photos, videos, milestones, growth charts and journal entries posted in one centralized site. You can see where this is heading.

Playgroups and playdates will be arranged online, baby-sitters sought, shared and booked, and first words, first steps and first potty successes will be chronicled and digitally preserved to forever haunt children as they grow into the easily embarrassed years.

Time to Clean your PC

It’s summertime and time to do the proverbial summer cleaning. But don’t stop with the house and yard. Your computer can also use a good going over. A lot of junk can accumulate on the inside and on the hard drive of your PC.

Computers get real gunky. At least every year, it needs a good dusting.

Start with the fan. Compressed air from a can works, as does a vacuum.

And don’t forget the keyboard. Blow out the food crumbs that have piled up from those snacks you at while surfing the Net. Aerosol cleaning products applied to a clean rag and then rubbed on the grit removes the grime from the keys.

But the real PC spring cleaning challenge is inside.

First, get rid of the Adware and Spyware. Over a year all sorts of needless software can pile up, installed by websites to snoop on your privacy, deliver you unwanted ads and generally clog and clutter your computer. There are lots of programs that remove this. One I’ve had good results with is called No Adware. Two other programs I’ve used that also do the job well are Ad-Aware from Lavasoft and Spybot Search and Destroy. If you are like most users on the Internet, chances are you are probably infected with junkware. Most of the adware removal tools let you do a free scan to see what’s there, then, if you want help in removing it, they charge.

One more thing needs to be cleaned on Windows machines. It’s the Windows registry. The Windows Registry is a big database with the complete inventory of every program that sits on your PC.The more software and hardware you install and uninstall, the more your Registry fills up.

A lot of software doesn’t clean up after itself, and leaves behind old and obsolete Registry entries. This can slow down your machine. The more your Registry fills with this junk, the slower your PC gets and the more often you’ll have system crashes. Error Nuker is one of many special utility programs that will scan the Windows Registry on your machine to identify errors and ways to optimize the performance. A free registry cleaning utility program called Eusing has a lot of fans, too.

There are many, many tools you can get online that do these important tasks besides the ones I mentioned. Do a search for registry cleaners or adware removal to find more. Most offer free trial versions. And before you run any tool that removes anything, make a backup of any file that you are going to change. That way, if something goes wrong, you can easily restore your files and start over.

Get cleaning, everyone.