This new video does put my doubts regarding LG Panther made out of liquid plastic to rest thanks to a much more stable frame rate. From the YouTube video description translated via Google:

According to numerous requests from colleagues – improved quality and a small restructuring of my previous webcast, filmed not on the webcam and the camera HD.

Right from the start you’d notice that the UI is much more polished and responsive since we are getting close to a final build. Switching in and out of apps and pages is smooth as well and now since Microsoft have disabled application backgrounding in the latest build, phones shouldn’t get bogged down after prolonged usage. The video also shows Calendar and Message applications in action along with notifications, and I also noticed three new apps (Stocks, Translator and Unit Converter) in the Programs list but they just might be 3rd party apps to test on the device.

I still couldn’t help noticing the slight lag in the People’s Hub when data had to be pulled from the network but that can most probably be an issue with the poor reception in the area.

While I don’t think the LG Panther would be one of the hottest Windows Phone 7 devices in development right now – it still is a satisfying experience seeing it running a basic walk-through of a newer build of the upcoming Windows Phone OS.

Since the video is in Ukrainian (or Russian), I can’t really figure out what they are saying but I’m sure its along the lines of “this is still a pre-beta build hence the minor issues”. On the same note, this isn’t exactly the same build as the one released with the Windows Phone Developer Tools Beta earlier this week, though I can’t say if its exactly newer or older.

I did notice a couple of new UI effects while flicking through long lists like in the People’s hub which make the overall UI more appealing. It looks like there were some network issues where they were testing, but hopefully its not a hardware/software issue like the iPhone 4 Death Grip. I’ve embedded the near 9 minute video below so do share anything you find different in this build of Windows Phone 7 or what they are saying if you understand the language via the comments below.

By the way, I couldn’t help wondering whether the video was shot in a very lame frame rate or the LG Panther is actually made of some sort of Liquid Metal?

Update

Sadly, that was just a lame frame rate, since a new demo video shot in HD clears that up.

G:RSS is the first RSS reader App I’ve seen for Windows Phone 7. While I’m not saying that the App blew me away, its a clear indication of how good the platform is going to be. Some of the main features of G:RSS include:

• Full access to labels, feeds, and all starred or unread items
• Pre-buffering of articles as you read, just like the web version of Google Reader, to keep things moving without delay
• Marking items, feeds, or labels read and unread
• Starring your favorite items
• Instant synchronization with your Google Reader account

According to the developer, the App is fully functional – though it still doesn’t represent the final version. Users can still weigh in on with their suggestions since there is still time to polish the App until the official launch of Windows Phone 7 later this year. As for my own two cents, I do like how the G:RSS renders the full HTML feeds along with the simple navigation buttons at the bottom.

The only thing I would like to change about it would be a slightly more detailed and richer UI because the current version seems pretty dry – very usable but dry. I’d be keeping a close eye on this one and keep you guys updated.

The seven minute long video – which is in HD by the way –  demonstrates all the features in detail including real multitasking and just App Switching which we have been seeing before. Pandora was used to demonstrate the background audio since the app was pre-loaded on the device. We didn’t get a glimpse of background VoIP functionality because Skype wasn’t installed on the iPhone 4.

Bing was present and was looking good (better than Google Search actually) as well as iMovie – which we didn’t get to see in detail but it was enough to blow all other video editor implementations out of the water.

Noticeably missing from the demo was the new integrated 3-axis gyroscope – but that’s probably because no Apps support it just yet though I wont be surprised if we start to see some great looking apps, specially games starting to roll out by next month.

The fourth generation iPhone 4 is set to be released on June 24 though you can start pre-odering yours from June 15. The iPhone 4 16GB would cost $199 and the iPhone 4 32GB would cost $299 on contract while the price for the iPhone 3GS 8GB has been slashed to $99. The iPhone 4 would be launched in five countries simultaneously (which includes US, UK, France, Germany and Japan) with further roll out  in the coming months.

Hit up the source link below to watch another video by iLounge comparing the original iPhone, iPhone 3GS and the iPhone 4.

DirectX 11 based hardware has just started rolling out on the streets thanks to ATI and boy I don’t need to emphasize how hot things are getting now that Windows 7 is also officially out. Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do with your new Graphic Cards until some real world applications (read: DirectX 11 games) come out – which seems like will make it by the end of the holiday season.

In the meanwhile, you can take your GPU for a spin on the world’s first publicly released DirectX 11 Benchmark – Heaven by Unigine Corp. The benchmark demo is available as a free download right now and is based on the company’s Unigine engine.

In case you’re wondering, this is the first time I heard about them too, but hey who are we to complain. At least we got some Dx11 action right? Anyways, you can download the benchmark from Unigine’s website. Here are a couple of videos demoing the benchmark.

You can see how much difference can Hardware Tessellation make on your visual experience. Here’s another video to prove my point.

You might be wondering why I’m posting so much Microsoft stuff lately. It primarily because they’re coming up with so much innovation this year that its really hard to pass up on anything. And if they’re able to market even half of these research projects, we’d be well on our way into the digital interactive world we saw in futuristic movies like Minority Report.

Long Zheng originally shared this video on his blog but I had some issues streaming it so I downloaded and uploaded it to YouTube. The Video shows off a prototype of a futuristic wall we can have in our homes and offices. It uses technologies like interactive wall displays, Microsoft Surface and Project Natal.

You can interact with objects on screen via the Surface table or with your voice and gestures. The system also has a digital assistant which features voice recognition and advanced A.I., something which was also demoed in the Milo demo for Natal. I guess Microsoft were really serious when they said Natal would also be available for the PC. You can also hold up objects to the system and have them automatically scanned.

Another useful feature is interactive collaboration with coworkers around the world, plus Bing Maps 3D and Virtual Earth integration. You can actually view 3D models of places which change perspective as you move in front of them. Technologies like Microsoft Photosynth can be of use here as well.

The video clearly shows that the possibilities are endless and we already have the technology to make this happen, which includes OLEDs, Natal and Surface. Here is an older video which shows off Microsoft’s perspective of 2019. See how much of this tech can you relate to in there.

Before I actually debate on how Symantec is misleading the public, lets just see the video, and all the concerns raised by Symantec on the effectiveness of Security Essentials.

I won’t actually comment on the non technical arguments here like the wedding or kids being expensive although that’s not true either. Instead we’ll focus on the features which Microsoft Security Essentials apparently lacks.

To start things off, I’m sure most of you would know that Security Essentials is a free antivirus solution by Microsoft aimed at home users who are running Microsoft Windows. It is still under limited beta, though the final version is coming in a few weeks.

According to Symantec, Security Essentials isn’t good because it doesn’t scan websites, or phishing scams etc. But I’m kinda surprised here because the only thing I understand from all this is that the folks over at Symantec use obsolete web browsers which have no phishing or spam filters otherwise they’d know that all modern browsers can detect and block such websites.

As for the claims of not having a Firewall to block of hackers and intrusions etc, Windows has been packing a pretty good Firewall for about 9 years now. I guess Symantec still runs something like Windows 98, otherwise they would have known that. And almost all the home users use webmail services like Gmail, Yahoo! or Hotmail – which already have server side scanners for attachments. And all the IM’s scan the shared files before opening them.

The final two “deficiencies” were lack of recovery software and no support. Symantec again landed flat on their head because Windows has had Recovery features for 10 years now (System Restore, Windows Backup) and they were just reemphasized with Windows 7. And Security Essentials also offers support. Just click the Help icon and go to the support website. On a side note, Norton’s support isn’t free either even if you pay for their products, you’d have to pay extra for support. I’ve tried it.

I’ve conclude by saying that Security Essentials is a light but powerful antivirus meant to be used in conjunction with other features built into Windows – a winning combination, which is evident from the usage statistics, even when the product hasn’t been released to the public yet.

Just ran into this new Bing Cashback Ad via TechCrunch (yeah they actually posted something pro-Microsoft). Anyways the ad is cool and happens to be the first ever to only focus on Cashback. Cashback was shown in a couple of more ads like the original Bing launch ad (embedded below).

For those who don’t know Bing Cashback is a special service by Microsoft that gets you a discounted price on your shopping spree if you search for the product using Bing. You can save anything from a couple of bucks to hundreds of dollars depending on the product and the merchant.

Definitely a positive service by Microsoft and something that should be showcased more. And finally here is the original Bing intro by Microsoft.

Firefox may not have been quick enough to adapt the Jumplists feature in Windows 7 like Google Chrome, but there’s one piece of functionality the development team is really interested in – Windows 7 Multitouch.

I stumbled upon a video (embedded below) of how Firefox handles Multitouch in various scenarios you may encounter in a web app. A couple of demos are shown with some common testing samples which highlight the features of the new Multitouch API for DOM being built into Gecko. These includes simple games, cropping an image and the regular pinch and zoom to resize.

One thing you could notice in this Minefield build compiled on August 17 is that it still doesn’t show any traces of the mockups we had seen, which left me in doubt whether the new UI would ever show up before Firefox 4.

Anyways here is the video and yeah do share your comments on how you think Multitouch would help you in a desktop browser.

Nokia has just announced that its working on its very own Netbook (video after the break) all suited with an HD display, HDMI, integrated 3G with hot swappable SIM card, A-GPS with Nokia Maps and a massive 12 hour battery life. All that power packed into a stylish design running Windows 7. Looks like Microsoft – Nokia deal wasn’t only limited to Office on Symbian eh?

For the official answer to why Nokia decided to enter the Netbook market, Nokia’s Executive Vice President for Devices, Kai Oistamo said:

“A growing number of people want the computing power of a PC with the full benefits of mobility. We are in the business of connecting people and the Nokia Booklet 3G is a natural evolution for us. Nokia has a long and rich heritage in mobility and with the outstanding battery life, premium design and all day, always on connectivity, we will create something quite compelling. In doing so we will make the personal computer more social, more helpful and more personal.”

According to the official Nokia blog, we can expect more details at Nokia World 09 which is all set to rock on September 2. I can’t really wait to get more details on this because this Netbook already has me drooling. Here is the official video to help all of you join in.