Windows Phone 7 goes gold master, begins rolling out to partners for final launch preparations

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If you've been holding yourself back during these early rounds of the smartphone wars in anticipation of Windows Phone 7, your wait just got a tiny bit shorter. Today Microsoft is announcing that its fancy new mobile operating system has been released to manufacturing, making the idea of you holding an actual WP7 device in your hands that much closer to reality. The finished product is now rolling out to partners around the world where it will be getting carrier and manufacturer tweaks and additions, and going through the kind of pre-launch testing you would expect for a release of this scale. If you had any doubt that the Windows Phone 7 onslaught was close at hand, feel free to abandon them now.

Furthermore, the folks on the 7 team have managed to cram a few last minute goodies into the OS, one of which we're particularly excited about. As you probably know from engadget's in-depth preview of an early version of the software, we had a lot of issues with overflowing Facebook contacts in our phone. Microsoft has now solved that problem by enabling a contact filter system which looks for pre-existing matches to your Facebook contacts. If it doesn't find a match, it doesn't pull that contact into your address book (kind of like how Android filters Facebook friends). It's a welcome addition and should make the Facebook / Windows Phone 7 combo a lot more palatable to a lot of people. Furthermore, Microsoft has added functionality into the People Hub which will allow you to "like" someone's posts, and you'll be able to comment directly onto someone's Wall right in the hub. The company has also made tweaks and fixes focusing on feature discoverability (another issue we pointed out in the early look), along with the expected set of polishing and finish you'd expect from a product that's gone gold master. 

 

To check the original post at Engadget: Click Here

Mind Maps

A mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea. Mind maps are used to generate, visualize, structure, and classify ideas, and as an aid to studying and organizing information, solving problems, making decisions, and writing.

Mind maps were invented by the popular psychology author Tony Buzan, According to Tony Buzan if mind maps are used properly they can increase creativity, productivity, visualization and imagination.

Mind mapping basically revolves around the principle of constructing a basic idea, thought or image and efficiently branching it out to different ideas and perspectives.

The Mind Map Book:

In his book: (The Mind Map Book: How to Use Radiant Thinking to Maximize Your Brain's Untapped Potential) Author Tony Buzan explains the natural architecture of the human brain, Radiant thinking, Brainstorming, How to convert brainstorming into mind mapping and How to use mind maps efficiently.

iMindMap:

iMindMap is a software that eases the process of mind mapping through the use of computers, It is a very easy software that you can master in a very small time, It has an interactive tutorial at the beginning that will guide you through the software so that you can easily make mind maps.
The software also allows you to use mind maps in project management and brainstorming.

In this video Buzan talks about the idea behind mind maps, How the brain responds to them and How to use them efficiently:

Resources:

In the RAR file you'll find:

-The Mind Map Book torrent.
-iMindMap Professional 4.1.2 torrent.
Both torrents are healthy, To download the file: Click Here.

By : Cipher

How to create an elegant web layout in Photoshop

In this tutorial I will show you how to create an elegant web layout in Photoshop using thin lines, subtle gradients and beautiful typography.

Final Result

Have a look at the layout that we’ll be creating in this tutorial.

Tutorial: How to create an elegant web layout in Photoshop

By : Cipher

Convert Your Old Laptop into a Digital Projector DIY Project

Some people have an extra $1,000 just lying around to buy a digital projector. Unfortunately, most of the people that I know, myself included, do not. Here's how you can build your own digital projector on the cheap.
Ed. note: The following guide comes from DIYer Randy Sarafan's 62 Projects to Make with a Dead Computer: (And Other Discarded Electronics). Read more about Randy's projects and his book below.
There is nothing worse than being broke and spending long nights on the couch eating cold leftover pizza and watching spaghetti westerns on a 15-inch tube TV. Okay, to be fair, you may like cold pizza, but a screen six feet larger surely couldn't hurt the situation, right? At the very least, you can give Clint Eastwood the justice he deserves, and you won't even need to rob a bank or hold up a stagecoach to make it happen. This DIY projector can be made for $150 or less (depending on how resourceful you are). Worst-case scenario, you may have to eat buttered noodles for an entire week to be able to afford it, but it's a doable short-term sacrifice for an extremely valuable long-term investment in large-scale entertainment.
A Brief Word on Safety
This project description is intended to provide you with ideas and techniques for repurposing electronic equipment that might otherwise be discarded. While the directions are intended to help you move in a step-by-step way toward the finished project, you should always use caution, sound judgment and common sense whenever handling electronic equipment. Be sure to always familiarize yourself with the safety warnings and instructions for any tools, equipment, and other materials you may use in any projects. And, if you are uncertain about your ability to safely perform any of the techniques described in this project selection, seek the advice of a professional.

Materials

• LCD monitor or laptop with a broken backlight
• Mini screwdriver set
• Cardboard box, the same height as the projector bed
• Overhead projector (available on eBay or Craigslist, or at Office Max)
• Small fan
• four 1/2" spacers
• DVDs!

Rest of The article : Life Hacker Convert Your Old Laptop into a Digital Projector

By : Cipher