Difference between NFC and Bluetooth

We have been getting many question regarding communication system to know what NFC is and how it’s different than Bluetooth. Keeping that in mind we will try to explain the differences between NFC and Bluetooth starting with a brief history then moving onto their current status and future. We will also mention their Advantage and Disadvantage and try to make it as understandable as possible.

NFC (Near Field Communication):

Radio frequency identification (RFID) was the base upon which Near Field Communication (NFC) started back in the 80’s. This technology permitted the user to direct radio information to a receiver where it was recognized. The initial form of this technology was used for tracking and security purposes at retail locations. As time progressed so did this technology, and the two strong companies NXP semiconductors and Sony came to invent NFC or “Near Field Communication” in 2002. In 2010 this technology evolved and got incorporated in Android smartphones.

Basically NFC is a data transfer technology that works at a short distance or another way to put it is that it’s a sort of extremely short range wireless-communication. By a process called inductive coupling two compatible devices can transfer the data in the form of beam. For NFC to work both devices should be at distance of no more than 4 centimeters for data transfer to effectively take place.

In fact in one of Samsung’s ads for their Galaxy S 4 smartphone they showed this as a very neat and nifty function where pictures and video were transferred by simply touching two Galaxy S 4’s together.

Upgrade to Windows 8.1 from Windows 8

Windows 8 users who have been waiting for a better user experience do not have to wait any longer. Microsoft’s Windows 8.1 is available as a free upgrade for any system running with Windows 8. With just a few simple steps, you can get important new features, including the ability to see multiple windows in Modern User-Interface, a Start Button and a search function that returns results both from the web and your hard drive.

* First make sure your system has all recent Windows updates. If you have been using Windows 8 steadily you are probably up to date, but if it has been a few days since you last logged in to your PC.

Here’s are the following steps to upgrade your Windows 8 system to Windows 8.1:

• Click settings on the charms menu.

• click on Change PC settings.

Microsoft Office for the iPad is coming soon, Ballmer

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has let slip that Microsoft Office for the iPad is on its way, although it's unlikely to arrive any time soon. Ballmer revealed that Microsoft is developing a version of Microsoft Office for the iPad.

He said, "Word, PowerPoint and Excel are all authoring tools. They are optimized for use with keyboards and mice. The last time I checked, the iPad didn't have a paradigm for keyboard or mice.

"The iPad will be picked up when we do what I would call not just a touch-enabled, but a touch-first user interface for Office. That is in progress for both Windows 8 and other platforms."

While there's already an iPhone version of Microsoft Office available, this is the first time the company has mentioned developing it for Apple's iPad, despite it having long been called for by users of the tablet.

However, as Ballmer's comments suggest, it seems Microsoft is plotting to bring touchscreen friendly Office apps to its own Windows 8 operating system first, likely to make its Surface tablets more appealing to buyers.

Ballmer didn't reveal any more details about the upcoming Microsoft Office applications, nor did he drop hints about a release date. However, if speculation is to believed, Microsoft Office for the iPad is likely to arrive in early 2014.

According to analysts, the firm should release the applications sooner rather than later though, with Morgan Stanley researcher Adam Holt claiming earlier this year that the firm has missed out on "billions of dollars" by not releasing Microsoft Office for the iPad.

USB 3.0 chip controller boost PC performance up to 50%

Silicon Motion Technology last week announced it has begun shipping USB drive manufacturers samples of a new USB 3.0 controller chip for flash drives that could boost their performance by up to 50 percent.

The company said the new SM3267 integrated controller is expected to deliver up to 160 megabyte-per-second read times and 60 megabyte-per-second write speeds through a single channel; that would be a 30 percent to 50 percent performance improvement over today's USB 3.0 flash drive technology.

Even though the USB 3.0 specification has the capability to support 4.8Gbps throughput speeds, the speed of a USB 3.0-enabled flash drive is dictated by the speed of the accessing flash devices in the drive. Today, most consumer-USB 3.0 flash drives support about 100MB/s read speeds.

"We are pleased to announce that SM3267 has received design-ins from most of our current USB controller customers, including many top-tier OEMs, and we expect SM3267-based USB 3.0 flash drives will be commercially available starting in the fourth quarter of 2013," Wallace Kou, CEO of Silicon Motion, said in a statement.

The new integrated chip will also be able to run at lower voltages, from 5 volts to 1.2 volts, enabling a 25 percent to 30 percent lower USB flash drive device temperature compared with other USB 3.0 flash controller products in the market, Silicon Motion said.

How to Root Samsung Galaxy Note 3

By rooting your Samsung Galaxy Note 3, you can not only  uninstall bloatware, install a custom ROM and run rooted apps, but also allow additional apps to appear in Samsung’s floating “pen window.” Fortunately, if you have the T-Mobile or Sprint version of the Galaxy Note 3, you can root your phone in just a few simple steps.

 You must use a Windows computer to complete this steps:

1) Download the root package you need from the XDA Developer’s forum and save it to your Desktop. At present, there are packages for international versions or T-Mobile and Sprint in the U.S.

2) Extract the .zip file:

3)  Open Odin by right-clicking and selecting Run as Administrator from inside the extracted folder:

4) Click on PDA and select the .tar.md5 file inside the extracted folder: