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Samsung Galaxy Y S5360 Review
Samsung has been taking over the mobile market by storm after moving on to manufacturing smartphones based on Google’s Open Source Android operating system. The company recently took over Apple as the world’s top smartphone manufacturer. Keeping up the momentum Samsung announced a couple of new phones last August which included the budget friendly Galaxy Y.

Samsung has a lot to live up to, after releasing the highly successful Galaxy S II customers have started to expect nothing but excellence from the electronics giant. The Galaxy Y aims to offer the latest smartphone capabilities at an affordable price making the phone perfect for students, but is it? How does it compare against other phones at same price point and does it live up to the Galaxy name? Find out in our review below.

The Box:

The factory unlocked Galaxy Y which we received comes in a small white box pictured above, yours may vary. As you open the box you’re greeted by the phone, as you go deeper you find the instruction manual, warranty card and rest of the accessories including the charger, USB cable, earphones and an included 2GB micro-SD card.

The battery included is a 1200mAh unit, which does make the phone last quite a while which we will discuss in fine detail later. The charger included has a fixed microUSB connector unlike the Galaxy S II which had a removable cable, luckily Samsung has included a separate USB cable which is quite redeeming.

Specifications:

The Galaxy Y features the following specifications:
* Quad-Band GSM and dual-band 3G support
* 7.2 Mbps HSDPA
* 3” 256K-color QVGA TFT touchscreen
* ARMv6 830MHz processor, 290MB RAM
* Android OS v2.3 (Gingerbread) with TouchWiz UI
* 160MB of internal storage, hot-swappable MicroSD slot, 2GB card included
* 2MP (1600×1200) fixed focus camera with in-built geotagging which records QVGA@15FPS
* GPS receiver with A-GPS
* Stereo FM radio with RDS
* 3.5mm audio jack
* Document viewer
* Accelerometer and proximity sensor
* Swype keyboard comes with the phone
* MicroUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth 2.1
* Social network integration

Hardware:

The Galaxy Y has a 3-inch display, lets get one thing straight this ain’t no Super AMOLED. The TFT LCD screen on the Galaxy Y has a super low resolution of 240*320 pixels which in this day and age should be extinct. The low resolution in-turn results in a lower quality display and poor colors. The screen proved to be pretty responsive though which kind of makes up for the poor display, it’s a budget phone after all. A proximity sensor is present right above the screen but unfortunately there is no light sensor so you will have to adjust the brightness manually.

The Galaxy Y has a design similar to the original Galaxy but smaller, the front features one main home button and two capacitive back and menu buttons. The front is a typical black face with silver accents. The back is something we don’t see everyday, a bright silver back cover with a very good texture that makes the phone very comfortable to hold.

Moving to the sides now, the left side of the phone sport’s the volume up and down button which are silver just like the back. Unfortunately there is no dedicated camera button like the Galaxy S II which is a shame. The right side of the phone has the the power button like many other Samsung phones. The top of the phone has the 3.5mm headphones jack and microUSB port placed inside a rubber enclosure.

The phone has a 2 megapixel camera which is way below the minimum in this day and age, but as we’ve come to know megapixels aren’t everything. The sensor on the Y is a mediocre at best; the colors a dull, pictures have very little details and the exposure is very erratic as sometimes you will get a very bright or very dark picture. The software bundled in the camera app is very good though, the UI is great and many of the picture options like Panorama mode and smile shot are great to use. Video quality on the phone is pretty much the same, great UI but very poor QVGA video capture at just 15fps shouldn’t be used for anything other than MMS’ing. The Galaxy Y isn’t meant to be a camera phone, not by a long shot so we can’t really blame the phone here.

The Galaxy Y comes with a 830MHz ARMv6 processor which performs pretty good, the phone performed very smoothly during my time with it. The one time I experienced sluggishness when I had more than 5 programs including the web browser and Skype open at the same time. RAM is on the limited side though at just around 290MB which doesn’t give huge room for overclocking but it’s substantial for the casual crowd.
Storage is pretty limited on the Galaxy Y with just 160MB of internal storage, while is almost nothing for apps. I would defiantly recommend getting APPS2SD or a similar app to increase storage for your apps. A 2GB microSD card comes packed with the phone which is pretty substantial.

Speakers on are very poor, you can’t even hear your ring tone if you’re in a crowded place like a park or a shopping mall. Quality is a bit better if there’s less background noise but it isn’t the best experience ever. If you want to listen to music or watch a movie on the phone a headset or earphones are definitely recommended.

Software:

The phone comes with the latest Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread with Samsung’s own excellent TouchWiz UI which is my personal favorite Android skin. Navigating through the Menus is very snappy with almost no lag at all due to the light skin. TouchWiz features full Social Network integration so you’re always connected, perfect for them youngsters. Gingerbread’s most annoying feature, at least for me has always been the battery life. The Galaxy Y surprisingly holds itself pretty well with the phone lasting around 11 hours of heavy WiFi, Skype calls, Internet browsing and watching videos. On a normal days it would last a bit more than a day which is excellent.

Samsung has started packing three keyboards with all it’s phones, one is the stock Samsung keyboard, the Gingerbread keyboard and the ultimately awesome Skype keyboard. An FM radio app is included as well, the phone doesn’t have a radio chip though so you have to use your earphones.

The TouchWiz themed music player is pretty good for a phone this size, it’s perfectly optimized for the Galaxy Y’s smaller screen. The app includes both an equalizer and 5.1 channel surround sound option which makes the audio pretty good on headphones but on proper HiFi systems it’s nothing to write home about.

Pre-installed apps on the Galaxy Y include YouTube, Quick Office, Android Market, Google Maps, Gmail, Google Latitude, Google Talk, Places, Navigation, Samsung Hubs and other Samsung Apps.

Conclusion:

Overall the Samsung Galaxy Y is a very nice package for the price, expect the phone to be very popular with the young ones out there. The specs might not blow you away but if you’re trying to get started in the world of smartphones and don’t want to take a huge risk then the Galaxy Y is for you.

TechDeville gives the Samsung Galaxy Y S5360 3.5/5 stars.

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January 31, 2013
DmC: Devil May Cry Gamescom Trailer, Dante Redesigned Again – Trailer And Screenshots Inside

Ninja Theory’s reboot of the much loved Devil May Cry franchise has been given a very dark response, it was taunted for making Dante an Emo-ish character while in reality he’s on of the most charismatic characters in gaming. After the first “new” Dante didn’t go well with the audience Ninja Theory re-designed him.

This newer Dante looks a bit buffed and less Emo than the last one. There’s also some concept art at the end of this post. So has Dante moved on from Team Edward to Team Jacob? I have one major complaint among the many smaller ones though, why can’t Ninja Theory improve the frame rate? If a visually impressive game like Bayonetta can run on 60FPS then why not DmC. Trail and images (click to enlarge) below:

Stay tuned to TechDeville for everything Tech! Follow us on Twitter (@TechDeville) and like us at Facebook.

January 31, 2013
Review: Dexpel And Laptopskins Skins, Who’s The Best Skin Maker In Pakistan?

Most of us love to personalize our gadgets, to make them such that they can be distinguished from others. Sometimes a bare laptop lid just doesn’t cut it.Â That’s what the laptop skin industry thrives on, our need to customize our portable computers such that they are more aesthetically pleasing. The laptop skin concept isn’t a new one in Pakistan. It was first introduced by Lahoreonline.org (now known as Laptopskins.com.pk ) about 3 years back. Sadly, it wasn’t well received at that time. Overtime two other companies joined in to give competition, Dexpel and TechnoChameleon. Â Further on, a few other companies also started to offer laptop skins, but these three were the largest. Since then, the quality and value of laptop skins has increased drastically. Each company holds special offers and discounts and grows larger in fanbase.Â We decided it was time we did a review of these skins, and then decide which one of these is the best laptop skin manufacturer in Pakistan.

Before starting this review, I would like to thank all the 3 companies for taking the time to participate and send in the review units. Unfortunately, TechnoChameleon’s skin was redirected to a different city due to an address issue and couldn’t be recovered by the shipping company. So we would just be covering the skins by both Dexpel and Laptopskins.com.pk and then decide which one is the better.

A little information about the skin manufacturers:

Laptopskins.com.pk was previously known as Lahoreonline.org and was the first manufacturer to introduce laptop skins in Pakistan.Â As with any other product, the first batch of skins wasn’t well received. Since then, Laptopskins.com.pk has improved on the overall quality of the skins drastically and are now a force to be reckoned with. The company is based in Lahore and operate on a delivery only basis.

Dexpel is undoubtedly the skin manufacturer which has the largest fanbase and is the most well advertised one. It was started around 3 years back and has been growing ever since. Dexpel offers innovative offers such as snap’n’share discounts and Eid offers. The company is also based in Lahore and operates on a delivery only basis.

Our testing criteria includes the quality and overall feel of the skin, cost, shipping time and handling of the skin, scratch resistance, water resistance, ease of application of the skin on the laptop and whether the skin leaves any residue on the laptop. We would be giving a score out of ten based on how the skin holds up in the criteria.

Cost:

The laptop skins from laptopskins.pk are priced at 350 PKR with 120 PKR on shipping, for a total price of 420 PKR. Payment options include “Telenor easy paisa” money transfer, Online bank transfer and cash on delivery for lahore residents.

Dexpel skins are priced at 400 PKR a piece. But there are no shipping charges on the skin whatsoever, so the total price of the skin is 400 PKR. Payment options here include cash on delivery all over Pakistan, Western Union money transfer for international customers, Telenor Easy Paisa money transfer and online bank transfer.

Considering that laptop skins in UK retail for about 44 pounds, both the skins are priced quite reasonably considering the high quality material that is used in the manufacture. Dexpel does lead here but only by a small margin due to the cash on delivery option for anywhere in Pakistan.

Dexpel: 9/10Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Laptopskins.pk: 8.5/10

Shipping time and handling:

We received the skins from Laptopskins.com.pk 8 days after they had agreed to send in their skins.Â But there was one huge problem with the package. The courier company had handled the skin very carelessly and had kept it folded. There were rifts along the skin which spoilt the design and the overall measurement of the skin which was unacceptable.

The skins from Dexpel were received 5 days after Dexpel had agreed to send in the units. We were very pleased that Dexpel had tagged a “Do not fold, handle with care” tag, thus ensuring that the skins would not be subject to folding and mishandling. The skin, when received, had no visible rifts on it whatsoever and maintained its original form. Dexpel leads in the shipping and handling department by a huge lead, both in the shipping time and handling of the package by the courier company.

Dexpel:Â 9/10Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Laptopskins.pk:Â 5/10

Ease of application:

Laptopskins.pk wins this criteria. The skin by Laptopskins.pk required a lesser effort to apply. All that was needed was to remove the back sheet of the skin and then apply it on the laptop. Due to the skins firm nature, It didn’t bend or form air bubbles at all. Infact, we applied the skin properly on our second try. It was that simple

Dexpel skins are fairly more difficult to apply and the given set of instructions are needed to be followed. It is quite hard to apply the skin along the exact edges of the lid and 4-5 tries are needed to avoid air bubbles and rifts along the skin.

Dexpel: 7/10Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Laptopskins.pk: 9/10

Quality:

This was a very difficult criteria to judge. The skins from Laptopskins.pk were undoubtedly sturdier then the dexpel skin. It had a rugged feel to it, almost suggesting that the skin was impact resistant too, though that isn’t the case. But the Dexpel skin had a more premium feel to it, due to its glossy nature. But then I took note of something. The skins from Laptopskins.pk didn’t fully stick onto the laptop and left some gaps between the skin and the lid. The skin couldn’t fully stick onto the laptop on all sides. There were also rafts in the skin and we suspect it was due to the mishandling by the courier company. In comparison, the Dexpel skin did not have any gaps between the surface and the skin, suggesting a better quality of material used for the skin and sticking agent.

Dexpel: 9/10Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Laptopskins.pk: 8/10

Overall look and feel:

The skin by Laptopskins.pk was very vibrant in colors. The design which they had sent us gave us an idea of the excellent contrast of the skin. It made the laptop look aggressive due to the awesome design and apparent sturdiness of the skin. The skin was matte so the design was easily visible at all angles, along with giving a better impression of the colors on the skin. The same can’t be said about the feel of the skin though. The skin was somewhat rough, which made our hands sweaty when placed on the skin. The sweaty hands somewhat reduced our grip while handling the laptop, though it wasn’t so much as to make it a serious issue. The overall look and feel of the skin was very nice to say the least.

The skin by Dexpel was easily the best looking skin we had seen by far. The glossy skin gave the HP G62 a MacBook like premium feel. The skin just looked amazing from all angles. The colors were very vibrant and the image was very detailed. It perfectly fit the G62 and wasn’t cut off or in excess from any side. The black plastic of the G62 gave a perfect contrast with the reflective green laptop skin.Â We also felt that this laptop skin was much smoother then the one by laptopskins.pk, and our hands remained sweat free while placing them on the skin.

This criteria depends entirely on preference. Both the skins have excellent vibrancy and definition of colors. The skin by Laptopskins.pk definitely looks more aggressive, which I feel would appeal more to the younger crowd. But the skins by Dexpel gave the laptop a premium feel, with its excellent design and fitting. It was according to me, the best looking skin I had yet seen on a laptop. Also, the overall feel of the Dexpel skin is much better.

Dexpel: 9.5/10Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Laptopskins.pk: 8.5/10

Scratch and water resistance:

For the scratch resistance test, we used a pin to make slight pressure scratches on the skin. This was because in daily use, these skins would be subject to slight wear over time. True to its claim, both Dexpel and Laptopskins.pk skins were scratch proof. There were no visible scratches on the surface of the laptop. But during the scratch tests, we did notice that the skin by laptopskins.pk tore to a certain extent due to its rough texture, while the Dexpel skin had still kept its original integrity due to its much smoother surface, though now with a few scratches.

For the water resistance test, we placed both the skins on 2 separate cardboard sheets. What we did then was spray both the skins with water and let it remain there for some time. Then, we removed the skins to check for any visible water marks. As expected, both the skins didnâ€™t let any water seep through them and there were no visible watermarks on the cardboard sheet. However, once again, we did notice that the skin by Laptopskins.pk had spoiled due to the colors of the skin mixing with the water. In comparison, the Dexpel skin kept its original integrity and the colors remained intact.

Dexpel: 10/10Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Laptopskins.pk: 8/10

Residue:

We left the skins applied for 6 hours each. There was no residue left on the laptop whatsoever. The laptop suffered no visual damage when both the skins were removed.

Dexpel:10/10Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Laptopskins.pk:10/10

Final Score:

Dexpel:Â Â Â 63.5/70Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Laptopskins.pk:Â Â 57/70

Verdict:

The verdict isnâ€™t an easy one. It was really hard to decide the better skin amongst both the skins, because frankly, this is a more subjective verdict and depends entirely on the taste of the consumer. We personally believe both the skins would appeal to different types of people, the Laptopskins.pk skin attracting the younger crowd due to the sturdiness, ease of application and aggressive nature of the skin while the Dexpel skin appealing to the more mature crowd due to their glossy finish, clean cut corners and premium feel. Dexpel wins the laptop skins review comparison, and therefore, is the best laptop skin manufacturer in Pakistan according to us. But that in no way means that Laptopskins.pk is an inferior company. As you can see above, most of the scoring cut from the Laptopskins.pk skin was due to the careless shipping, which is majorly a fault of the shipping company. A simple â€œDo not fold, handle with careâ€ tag on the package would ensure a safe delivery to the recipient without causing damage to the skin. But till then, Dexpel leads the laptop skins market in Pakistan, with its quick and responsible delivery, flexible payment options and one of the best looking skins we have seen yet.

January 31, 2013
New TV Ad For The iPad 2 Shows How Far We Have Come

Apple’s Ads are a really fun treat, this new TV spot for the iPad 2 shows off how far we have come in so little time. If you didn’t know you can now watch a newspaper, listen to a magazine, curl up to a movie, see a phone call, take your class room anywhere, hold an entire book store in your palms and finally touch the stars. Magical isn’t it? Check the Ad after the break.

January 31, 2013
Watson Wins At Jeopardy, Humans Cry In Defeat

So IBM’s multi-million dollar supercomputer called “Watson” won Jeopardy last night. His final score was $77,147 while his competition Ken Jennings got $24,000 and Brad Rutter did $21,600. IBM announced that Watson will donate his $1 million to charity. So does this mean that the Terminator scenario is soon to happen? IBM’s Watson really is an excellent piece of hardware, All those years of research and millions of dollars invested have led to this day where Watson can proudly say that it has beaten the human race and that too by a great margin. So far were pretty impressed but can Watson prove to be Eco-friendly?

January 31, 2013
Latest Borderlands 2 SHiFT Code Will Stay Active Throughout The Weekend, Use It Quick
GearBox Software, the guys behind Borderlands 2 release a brand new SHiFT on their Facebook page, yeah I know the post is a bit late, I just found out today. Anyway, the code will stay active till the 27th i.e today so you guys better use it quick!

The codes are below:
- PC / Mac SHiFT Code for a Golden Key in Borderlands 2: 53KJ3-CK9W5-Z5XB3-T3BJT-969KW
- Xbox 360 SHiFT Code for a Golden Key in Borderlands 2: 5BCTT-XX6SC-ZSXJX-KFJBJ-66R5W
- PlayStation 3 SHiFT Code for a Golden Key in Borderlands 2: CTWJJ-95F53-CKCW3-9JWJT-T5ZBB
The Borderlands 2 SHiFT code will award you a Golden Key needed to unlock the Golden Chest in Santuary, the Chest contains super rare items which you absolutely should have.

Now all we need is for Gearbox to increase the level cap.
January 30, 2013
Monolith Soft Reveals X, Could Be Xenoblade Chronicles Sequel
Monolith Soft and Nintendo revealed a brand new game codenamed X during Nintendo Direct. The game looks and plays very similarly to Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii) but we’re still not sure if its a sequel as Nintendo is simply labeling it as “a new game from Monolith Soft,”. Check out the debut trailer below:

The development is led by Director and Studio Head Tetsuya Takahashi, his previous works include Xenoblade Chronicles and previous Xeno games. The Character Design is being done by Kunihiko Tanaka responsible for Xenogears (PS1) and Xenosaga Episode 1 (PS2). The Soundtrack is being done by Japanese film, TV and anime composer veteran Hiroyuki Sawano.

Below are some screens from the trailer:

I personally think the game looks brilliant. The soundtrack, characters and world look very interesting, and don’t forget about the mechs! The game will also have multiplayer which is rare in JRPGs so it could turn out to be very promising.

Also check out:
- Xenoblade Developers Monolith Soft Challenging US Developers With Next Gen Wii U Title
- Pandora’s Tower Is Coming To North America Courtesy XSeed
What do you think about the game? Let us know in the comments below.
January 30, 2013
New Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMIX Details Revealed In Jump
Along with revealing Lumina as a brand new character in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, the latest Jump also revealed some new information on the Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMIX.

In the Kingdom Hearts 358/2 days section of Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMIX, the theater scenes will show off brand new CG models for the main three characters of the game namely Roxas, Axel and Xion.

Square Enix have also added a character encyclopedia where you can view bios and other details of your favorite characters.

You may also be interested in:
- Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMIX Gets Japanese Release Date And New Screens
- SE Europe On Final Fantasy X HD: “The world will get answers soon”
Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMIX contains HD versions of the original Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts RE: Chain of Memories along with cutscenes explaining the story from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 days. Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMIX will be hitting stores in Japan exclusively for the PS3 on the 14th of March. An international release has not be announced yet, but it is very likely to happen.
January 30, 2013
Increase Your WordPress Performance By A Mile

WordPress is without a doubt the definitive blogging CMS out there. Being the best has a price, a hefty one. WordPress themes and customizations are good until they bring your blog’s performance down and make it nothing more than a memory hog on your server.

In this tutorial I’m going to go all out on WordPress Performance issues and how to make them better. I’m going to be talking about some of the most important steps needed to make any self-hosted WordPress blog faster, more secure and more reliable. Make your WordPress site less of a memory hog and give your server some breathing room. If you’ve noticed a gradual downfall in Google ranking or a decline in traffic altogether, you’d need to spruce up your blog a bit and do some housekeeping, this article will help you how, read and follow the steps below to stop with the frustrating speeds and move on to better blogging.

Step One: Realize The Current Condition Of Your Blog

The first and most important step you need to take is to figure out, off the bat, the score of your blog on PageSpeed and YSlow. The former is Google’s official speed analytic app and the latter is Yahoo!’s. Now once you see the result, you’ll know whether to move on to the next steps or not. If your blog ranked somewhere in the “B” grade on PageSpeed, that is from 80 to 89 percent score, you’re good to go. 83% is the average speed of websites so you have nothing to worry about. YSlow is going to give you dramatically low scores as compared to PageSpeed, that’s because Yahoo! has different algorithms than Google, they determine the ranking of websites through different means and methods. I tried making them both happy but it’s not gonna happen. If you could just get up to a “C” on YSlow, you’re awesome!

Now the next steps are IF YOU DON’T GET A “B” IN PAGESPEED.

Step Two: Your Blog Sucks At PageSpeed, Now What?

No need to panic as yet. Every blog has a number of plugins and theme extensions that people keep installing and become plugin hoarders in time. First of all, REMOVE UNNECESSARY PLUGINS. See if the plugins currently active on your blog are actually needed or not. Disable as many plugins as possible. For most blogs, using ten plugins should be enough, just make sure you’re using the most important plugins, I will write up an article on the most viral plugins for WordPress soon be sure to follow up on that.

Google PageSpeed: Click Here

YSlow: Click Here

Step Three: WHAT? YOU DON’T HAVE A CACHE PLUGIN INSTALLED?!

I’ve blogged about this enough in the past and emphasized on this one point more than once, having a cache plugin is VITAL for every blog. You can make your selection from three of the good ones, Super Cache, W3 Total Cache or Hyper Cache. I’ve written a long enough article on the cache plugins here, give it a read and come back. Now that you have a proper cache plugin of your choice installed, go grab a cup of coffee, the next step is kinda lengthy.

Step Four: Pick Out Your CSS Files And Clean Them One By One

Now that we’re done with all of the above, we need to get into the nitty gritty details of it all. We need to take the CSS files you have, also known as Cascading Style Sheets, and smush them into smaller and lighter files WITHOUT damaging the theme’s exterior. If you’re using Thesis framework or Whiteboard Framework, make sure to make a full backup of your /themes/ folder before you go on with this change. Now run the PageSpeed test from Google, see which CSS files are required to be shortened and find the codes that are not being used in them and just lying around gathering dust.

There’s a much easier way of doing this, by using Unused-CSS.

The Easy Way To Step Four: UNUSED-CSS

Unused CSS is one of the best and free services I’ve seen. Most of the CSS cleaning tools cost a fortune to work, this one gives you one totally free cleaning with no strings attached. Sign up for a free account and have your site’s CSS cleaned up. It takes five minutes and they email you the cleaned files to place over your older ones. The work is admirable and the change is surely noticeable. The premium account gives bigger sites the ability to scan deeper levels of their sites. The premium account costs around 24 dollars PER YEAR! Go check them out.

Check out Unused-CSS: Click Here

Step Five: Yahoo! Smush.It

Yahoo! Smush.it is one of the most famous plugins for WordPress. It takes your images and makes them as optimized as possible. The new version of the plugin even has the option of Bulk Smushing, it might take some time on bigger websites but it’s definitely worth the wait. Smush.it for WordPress is called WP Smush.it. Your new uploads will automatically be “smushed” from the time you activate this plugin.

Yahoo! Smush.it Online Tool: Click Here

WP Smush.it Plugin: Click Here

Step Six: Never Look Back

Do not change your theme to another one right after doing this cleaning. You need to get your ranking up, make Google happy by showing them your site isn’t a resource hog and it’s not all just for show. Keep checking your PageSpeed and YSlow results every week, if the ranking goes down, see what’s causing it and fix it. If you decide to change your blog’s look again, make sure it’s designed by a well-known developer, most of the big theme developers out there are very careful about their code and treat them like works of art. I recommended some awesome WordPress Theme Developers in my article here. TechDeville.com, after optimizing the blog, scored 89% on PageSpeed, which is pretty awesome.

Some Downloads

Download the latest version of WordPress: Here

Download All-In-One SEO Plugin to keep things clean: Here

For Further Assistance

If your site is still showing bad scores after this entire process, comment below with your site’s URL and I’ll have a look at it. Thank you for reading, God-Speed. If you want to read our other helpful tips on WordPress, go here.

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Disclaimer: All of the images used in the article, except for the logos, belong to TechDeville.com and should not be redistributed without proper permission. All of the above used logos are properties of their respected owners.

January 30, 2013
Partial iPad Mini jailbreak achieved

iPad mini is a great tablet according to review, and Apple has also sold a sizeable amount of it already. However no matter how great it might be, there are a lot of potential customers who’d rather have it jailbroken before they purchase it. An image posted on Twitter recently by jailbreaking Dream Team, MuscleNerd, the iPad Mini jailbreak has been achieved. However it comes with certain amount of strings attached.

The method to achieve such jailbreak is commonly known as ‘failbreak’. This means in order to jailbreak an iPad Mini you will need a developer account. This makes it kind of useless for the general public. But only for now. This is similar to the jailbreak we saw on the new iPad 4 which too required a similar developer account to work. Unfortunately such is the case with all A5 and A6 powered iDevices. Unless security methods on them are bypassed the iPad Mini jailbreak will be limited to a developer account only.

The fact that a year old A5 chip has yet to be jailbroken isn’t comforting. But all hope is not lost. Even a failbreak is an achievement itself. Let’s hope work developers continue to do the work they’re doing and we get a full untethered iPad Mini jailbreak.

January 28, 2013