SAMSUNG LAUNCHES BD-P1000 BLU-RAY PLAYER ON JUNE 25

The Samsung BD-P1000 blu-ray player will be launched in the US on the 25th of June 2006. this will be the first commercially available blu-ray player. The product will be launched in Europe and the rest of the world soon. The BD-P1000 blu-ray player is already on sale at at amazon for $1000. The blu-ray will be backward compatible with CDs/DVDs and hence will be able to playback CDs and DVDs.

WHAT IS BLU-RAY?

Blu-ray (BR) is the next generation optical disc format that will eventually take over from the Digital Video Disc (DVD). The standard was jointly developed by the Blu-ray disc associated (BDA). The BDA is made up of over 170 world’s leading consumer electronics, personal computer (PC) and media manufacturers and is seen by many as the natural successor to the DVD format.

The BDA boasts of companies like Samsung, Sony, Pioneer, Apple, Panasonic and Thomson in its alliance.

The Blu-ray is named after the type of laser used to read or write data on the disc. While the DVD uses a red laser to read or write data the blu-ray disc (BD) uses a blue-violet laser (blue-ray) instead. The blue-violet laser has a shorter wavelength than the red laser. This reduces the footprint of the laser beam, hence making it possible for more data to be packed within a given area.

This is the reason why BDs even though they are of the same size as DVDs, hold more data than DVDs.

The major advantage (if not the only advantage) of the BD over the DVD is its higher storage capacity. The BD offers about 5 times more storage space than traditional DVD and can hold up to 25 GB on a single layer disc and 50 GB on a double layer disc. Blu-ray will be backward compatible with CDs and DVDs through the use of BD/DVD/CD compatible pick-up unit.
This technology will definitely increase storage space for your media. It will also be useful in the storage of High-Definition (HD) contents for mass distribution. It can also compete with hard drives in the storage space for PCs.

BD is set to take over from the DVD with major movies studios announcing titles on BD. New feature films are now available in both BD and DVD.

BLU-RAY SET TO SUCCEED THE DVD

Seven major movies studios have announced titles on Blu-ray. These are Warner, paramount, fox, Disney, Sony, MGM and lion gate. Many other studios have also announced titles on blu-ray. More than a hundred titles will be released, these include Robocop, mission impossible, Desperado, Batman begins, matrix and more. Release of new feature films on blu-ray has also been announced. Samsung has announced the launch in the US of the Samsung BD-P1000 blu-ray player for the 25th of June 2006,see amazon.

Sony and pioneer have also announced the launch of their respective blu-ray products for July 2006. The availability of such blu-ray products will bring the blu-ray technology closer to the consumers. The massive support of the blu-ray format by industry giants (over 170 companies) will ensure that blu-ray becomes mainstream in the near future.

SONY AND PIONEER SET TO LAUNCH BLU-RAY PLAYERS

Sony will be launching the long awaited BDP-S1 blu-ray player in July. However pre-shipment order of the player is already available at
amazon for $1000.
The Sony BDP-S1 will also be able to playback in addition to the blu-ray discs (BDs),DVDs and CDs.



The high end model of the pioneer BDP-HD1 blu-ray player will be launched later in September. Pre-shipment order is also available at amazon
at $1500.

BLU-RAY PLAYERS LAUNCH TIMETABLE FOR THE US

Samsung BD-P1000 blu-ray player will be launched on June 25th 2006 available at amazon
for $1000



Sony BDP-S1 blu-ray player will be launched in August 2006. pre-shipment order available at amazon for $1000.



Pioneer BDP-HD1 blu-ray player will be launched in September 2006. Pre-shipment order available at amazon
for $1500.

COMPUTER SECURITY TIPS

Any computer system is prone to attack. This is even more so in this internet age. It is now easy for a computer hacker in Brazil to embark on a virus attack that will affect computers in all 6 continents. Below are some tips to help you protect your computer against most attacks:

Update all softwares and ensure that you have the latest version, this is even more important for your browser software



New releases of software often come with bugs make sure you download the appropriate software patches, from the developers website, most especially for your browser. This should be done at least once every month. However, it is my hope that in the future computers will be intelligent enough to look for patches of software in your system and download them or at least seek permission for a download.

Make sure that you have the latest version of your anti-virus software installed. Do this every week. It is my hope that this process will be automated in the future.



Scan all e-mail attachments before downloading them. This will be helpful only if you have the latest version of your ant-virus software.

Scan your entire system for virus everytime you download new anti virus definition files (updated version of your anti-virus program) or every week, whichever is shorter. This also depends on how often you use your computer.

Ensure that your anti-virus software is automatically set to scan all system and media activity and e-mail. Do not assume that the program will scan automatically, set it yourself. This is necessary because the default setting of most anti-virus programs is manual scan.

Do not open any executable (.exe) file without first scanning it.

Avoid exchange of floppies.

Use an unpopular operating system. This is because most computer hackers often want to cause maximum damage and will write virus for dominant operating systems. However, this line of action is often not practical.

Install a good firewall.

Back up all files that are important to you.