Microsoft releases Zune HD

I haven't seen one in person yet but I have the old 30g and I love it. I think one of the coolest things about the Zune is that you can sync your library through your wireless network.





You can download the latest Zune software here.

Tech related anime

OK, so when people ask me "what is that on your wallpaper" and I say "It's Re-L Mayer from Ergo Proxy" or "Motoko Kusanagi" from Ghost in the Shell" I usually get the look that says "uh ok...". When most people think of anime they think of Pokemon or some other cartoon that kids watch on Saturday morning or whenever. The thing is there is a lot of anime out there aimed at older audiences and no I'm not talking about the stuff you have to be 18 to buy. What I don't understand is why people discard it just because it's animated. If your a Sci Fi person and you have never watched the three films below, then I encourage you to give them a try. Don't dismiss them just because their animated. The stories are very deep and philosophical so you will have to think a bit but if you enjoy technology related movies then I think you will like these. Yes they are all available in English dub.

Ghost in the Shell

Ghost in the Shell (Movie)



Ghost in the Shell (Innocence)



Ghost in the Shell (Stand Alone Complex Season 1)




Ghost in the Shell (SAC 2nd GIG)



Ghost in the Shell (Solid State Society movie)

Ghost in the Shell Solid State Society
by Neiji

Appleseed

Appleseed



Appleseed Ex Machina 



Ergo Proxy

Ergo Proxy

PlayStation3 system is now $299

The new PS3 Slim is now available and Sony has dropped the price to a more affordable $299. I've owned a PS3 for almost two years now and can say that it has been worth every penny of the $399 I had to pay for it. However, I use it more for its Blu-ray and media server capabilities than I do for games. If you're not interested in all of the media features and the games you want to play are available on other systems, then I would recommend buying a Wii or Xbox and save yourself some money. Also, the backward compatibly feature is still not available. Only the first generation PS3's with the media card reader support this.    

Here is a list of some of the big changes made to the Slim:

• The "Install other OS" feature has been removed. So you can't install Linux. 
• The power and eject switches on the front are now physical buttons that you press.
• The hard drive has been relocated to the front and can be removed easily so you can upgrade your drive without voiding the warranty.
• There is no power switch in the back.
• Upgraded 128GB hard drive
  

cnet review



Full article



PlayStation3 system is now $299

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Transformers movie

I finally got around to watching this movie today and man it kicks ASS! I know it's almost three years old now but I'm slow sometimes. I had been putting it off because I thought it was just a kids movie but I so wrong. If you're a child of the 80's and you were in to the whole transformers thing like me, you won't be disappointed. If you have a Blu-Ray player then just buy the movie because you will want to see this one in high def for sure. It makes me want one of those 240hz LED TV's! Anyway check it out it really is a good movie.

 - Oh yeah, that new Chevy Camaro is Freakin BA too!


Here's the trailer for the second one "Revenge of the Fallen":


  Oh, I almost forgot Megan Fox in this movie.. JC she's hot!

Ditch cable for internet TV?

If you're like me and pay for cable television but rarely watch it, it may have crossed your mind to cancel your service completely. I enjoy television as much as the next person but personally the number and length of commercials has just sent me over the edge. Because of this, I have been pondering on whether or not to cancel my service for a long time. Though, not having TV at all just seems weird. Through my journeys through cyberspace I've noticed that there is a lot of content available online. I've also noticed that many popular shows are available on both Hulu  and the major network websites. If you own a LCD or plasma TV and you have a spare laptop or desktop, you can hook that baby up to your TV, cancel cable and boom! Remember too that if your TV has a built in HD turner you can buy an antenna and receive local HD channels over the air for free. You can buy antenna's at just about any retail store that has an electronics department. When buying an antenna remember that even though some are advertised as "HDTV antenna's", there is no difference between digital HD and any other antenna. It's just a marketing thing. There is however a difference in quality between antennas. I recommend one that is designed to set outside.

If you're a hardcore channel flipper or someone that follows a certain show religiously and has to see it the night it premiers then this is probably not an option for you but for the rest of us I think it might work and save some money too. You can also subscribe to Netflix and then you will have movies as well. Netflix offers a wide selection of streaming movies too. Though many of them are not new releases and sometimes the selection seems to suck, their library of "Watch it now" is improving.

If your wondering about connecting your PC to your television you will need a VGA, DVI, DVI to HDMI, or HDMI cable. All of these can be purchased at your local Wal-Mart. Once connected just go to your Display properties in Windows  and select the second monitor (for laptops) and set the resolution. If you have a desktop you can simply connect it to the TV and use it as your monitor. 720p and 1080p LCD's make great computer monitors!

Connections back of TV:

:

Cables:

VGA

HDMI (Left) to DVI (Right)

 

Also, HDMI is the only cable that carries an audio signal along with video. If you use VGA or DVI you will need to connect your PC to external speakers or an audio receiver via your PC's sound card or headphone jack.

Once you have your TV connected it works just like your monitor so you can use your PC for everything else too. I recommend a wireless keyboard and mouse. Newegg has wireless keyboards with integrated Touchpads so you don't have to worry with the mouse.

LCD Resolution

If you have been looking at laptops, LCD monitors, or thinking about buying a new LCD TV, then you have probably noticed the different resolutions types (WXGA, WXGA+, etc.). These letters represent the LCD's native resolution.

These values will vary in some cases depending on the display. I'm only listing the more common resolutions.

WXGA  (HD 720p)         =  1200 x 720
                                              1366 x 768

WSXGA \ WXGA+          =  1440 x 900

WSXGA+                        =  1680 x 1050

WUXGA (HD 1080p)   =  1920 x 1200
                                            1920 x 1080

So what does this all mean? Higher resolutions have a more detailed image but another important thing to remember is when you're working with a PC or laptop you have much more screen real estate with higher resolutions. The images below show the difference between 1366 x 768 and 1920 x 1080.

Compare
1366 x 768
1920 x 1080





As you can see from the 1920 x 1080 image, much more of the screen is visible. This is good especially for internet browsing and photo editing because there is less scrolling. However, when you see a laptop in the $400 range it most likely has a WXGA (1366 x 768) display. The same goes for LCD monitors and TV's. You will have to pay a lot more for a higher resolution display.

iGoogle

iGoogle is like a customizable homepage that includes themes and widgets ranging from weather to your Facebook wall. You can also delete, add, and move gadgets around the screen. You will have to sign up for a free Google account if don't have one already. You can check it out here.

Long live TechTV

Revision3

If you were a fan of TechTV back in the day and G4TV isn't doing it for you, then you may want to check out Revision3. Revision3 is much like an online version of TechTV. Click Watch Now! to watching or browse around their site for previous episodes of a variety of shows. You'll also notice a few familiar faces as well.

Android OS

Android is a new OS for mobile devices. However, it is slowly making its way to laptops as well. You can read more about it on the official website. If you want to try it out you can download the ISO (this is the single ISO file that actually works. No need to combine files.) here.

If you want to run it in a virtual machine click here to to download a pre-built VM. Extract the folder and load the "Android.vmx" file using VMware Workstation or the free player. Android is a live CD so you will need to download the ISO first. If you don't have a copy of VMware you can download the free player from VMware's website.

After starting VMware mount the ISO using the
CD-ROM settings. Click "Connect to Disk Image (iso)..." and browse to the ISO file.
When the virtual machine boots you may need to press F2 to enter setup and set the CD-ROM as the first boot device. This can be tricky because the VM boots very quickly. As soon as the machine is powered on you will need to click in the VM window and press F2 immediately. Once this is set the OS should load.

Admin Tools for Vista/Windows 7? "RSAT"

Microsoft is calling it "RSAT" (Remote Server Administration Tools) these days. You can download both the 32 and 64-bit versions here.

Google Chrome

I'm a hardcore Firfox fan but I have to admit that Google Chrome is freakin fast! It's a very simple web browser and so far no customization options that I can find. However, if you're not big on Add-on's and you want a browser that just gets you there fast then Google Chrome is for you. Get it here.

The "Long Shot"

I recently purchased a Canon Rebel XSI. This camera is perfect for those who want an affordable digital SLR camera and professional looking shots. Unlike most point and shoots, SLR cameras allow you to adjust the shutter speed. This shot was taken outside of my sun roof, at night, at 50 mph with a 30 sec. shutter speed. These are fun shots because you never know what you will get but they are always interesting. I adjusted the midtones, contrast, brightness, and color saturation in Microsoft Office Picture Manager. If you don't have office there are many other programs out there that will allow you to do this and a lot more.

Welcome to the Blog!

Its purpose is to provide answers and tutorials to common questions about computers, the internet, and anything else tech related. I will also be posting codes and layouts, useful progams/utilities, and anything else I find that looks useful. The page is still in early development but every Blog has to start somewhere. The site is designed for beginners but more advanced topics will be added in the near future. Topic suggestions are welcome. Just add a comment to this post. The forum is up so feel free to post any questions you have and myself or anyone who has the answers can reply. I need your help to get the community started!

Upcoming tutorials:

Home Networking

Viruses, Spyware, and other junk

What are viruses?

What antivirus software should I use?

How to remove a virus

What is spyware

How do i know if i have spyware?

How to remove spyware

It's bad, how do i reinstall windows?

Spam

Cables and hooking it all up

Types of cables

TV or Monitor what is the difference these days?

Can I use my LCD TV as a monitor?

Can I use my plasma tv as a monitor?

How do I use my computer monitor as TV?

I’m going to throw my computer out the window!

Why is my computer so slow?

How can I speed up my computer?

How can I upgrade my computer?

How do i free up space on my hard drive?

How to use Task Manager

The web, internet, or whatever you want to call it.

I highly recommend FireFox

How to use myspace

How to use Facebook

How to use eBay

How to email a video?

How to email pictures?

How to email other files

What is twitter?

What are RSS FEEDS?

How do I block a website?

How do I build my own computer?

What do I need and putting it all together

Media center PC’s

Personas for Firefox | Guitar Player 1

Personas for Firefox | Guitar Player 1



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Help Topics

How to buy a computer?

How to setup a Home Network?

Viruses, SpyWare, and other junk

Cables and hooking it all up

TV or monitor, what's the difference these days?

I'm going to throw my computer out the window!

The web, internet, or whatever you want to call it

• How do I use MySpace?
• How do I use eBay?
• How do I use FaceBook?
• How do I email a video?
• How do I email pictures?

How do I build my own computer?

• What do I need?
• What do all of these numbers mean?

Home Media

• How to build a media server

Digital Photography