Nokia have been very open about their need for a successful line of smartphones. Microsoft are also in need of a partner who will really push the new Windows Phone platform – have you looked for a Windows phone in a retail store recently? So the launch of the Lumia 800 and its cheaper [...]]]>  

Nokia have been very open about their need for a successful line of smartphones. Microsoft are also in need of a partner who will really push the new Windows Phone platform – have you looked for a Windows phone in a retail store recently? So the launch of the Lumia 800 and its cheaper brother, the Lumia 710, is a major step for both companies.

The Nokia Lumia 800

Both phones have 480 x 800 pixel 3.7″ displays and 1.4 GHz processors but the stylish Lumia 800 is the one to have. Not only does it look great but it is better specced. The display on the 800 is AMOLED comared to plain old TFT on the 710. The 800 boasts an 8 Megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, compared to the 5 Megappixel camera of the 710. Finally the 800 has twice the user memory – 16 GB compared to 8 GB in the 710.

The Nokia Lumia 710

Both phones include GPS. Nokia don’t seem to be able to make up their minds about Nokia Maps though. These give the full satnav experience and, according to the specs, they only come with the 800. Elsewhere though, Nokia Maps are listed as a feature of the 710 too.

Incredibly Japan is split by a 50 Hz/60 Hz incompatibility. The West based its power generation on 60 Hz American standards while the East uses ‘European’ 50 Hz. [...]]]> Despite the West of Japan having a power surplus it can’t help the East, which is short if power thanks to the post-tsunami nuclear power problems.

Incredibly Japan is split by a 50 Hz/60 Hz incompatibility. The West based its power generation on 60 Hz American standards while the East uses ‘European’ 50 Hz. There are few interconnects and they can handle little power.

Neither choice explain Japan’s unique decision to standardize on 100 volt power rather than US 110 or EU 240 volts.

Apparently the problem was [...]]]> PS3  owners can breathe a sigh of relief. Sony have identified todays problem with the PlayStation Network which was causing mayhem for console owners. Players reported that consoles had also lost track of trophy collections. Fortunately the trophy data is not lost – get a new trophy and the list will reappear.

Apparently the problem was caused because 2010 is not a leap year. Somehow Sony thought it was when they wrote the code. Odd that they made the error as it was well documented way back in 1999 – when it was known as the Millennium Bug. Sony say that the problem only occured in older models – newer slim consoles were unaffected.

If the time displayed on the XMB is still incorrect, users can update the clock (either manually or via the internet), and all will be well.

It is possible to restore the program to its rightful place but [...]]]> Due to a foul-up by securty firm Symantec, users of Norton anti-virus products found that Spotify had mysteriously stopped working today. The reason was that the security product had falsely identified the program – Spotify.exe – as a Trojan Horse and quarantined it.

It is possible to restore the program to its rightful place but it is a bit of a pain. Note that there is some risk in doing so as the law of averages means that some people with compromised PCs may have copies of the program that are infected by a Trojan, and this could include you. Anti-virus programs would normally attempt to clean the original program by removing the Trojan from it, warning if this is impossible. In our case Spotify.exe had itself been mis-identified as a Trojan, so it was safe to restore.

Norton’s official advice is to reinstall Spotify but ‘free’ users who don’t have the install files or their registration details may find it is no longer possible to register for the free version of Spotify. (Premium users can invite up to 10 friends to register for the free service.)

To restore the spotify.exe, simply follow these steps. Note that you need to wait until Norton have fixed the problem and your antivirus has been updated or it will simply quarantine the file again:

1. Double-click on the Norton icon in your System Tray (the bar on the bottom right hand corner of your screen, next to the clock)
2. Click on Quarantine. You should now see a list of Security History events that resulted in a file being quarantined
3. Near or at the top will be a message that a Trojan Horse has been removed, click on this so it is highlighted
4. Now click on the More Details button at bottom right
5. You should now be looking at a Security History Alert Summary saying “Trojan horse detected by Auto-Protect”
6. Clicking on the underlined words Risk Details will open a new window. Clicking on the Details tab should show that the supposed Trojan is spotify.exe. (If it doesn’t, go back to the Security history and lok for another Trojan removal event.) You can now close this window
7. Back in the Security history window, the final step is to click on the Restore button on the right

You should now see a screen a bit like this:

And you should now find that normal Spotify service is fully restored.

Here is the [...]]]> So, Steve Jobs of Apple announced their new tablet product today. The fact that it features on the US Apple website but not on the UK site is probably not good news for the UK’s early adopters. Rumours are June/July but I wouldn’t hold your breath. The product itself is…hmmm… interesting.

Here is the spec of the $499 basic model – essentially an iPod Touch on steroids: