8 Best Buys for Essential Gear
PC World :: Sunday, October 19, 2008
Here’s what to buy among the gear everybody needs, from laptops and desktops to HDTVs.
Palm Treo Pro Smart Phone
PC World :: Sunday, October 19, 2008
Palm’s latest Treo is a sleek and well-connected Windows Mobile Treo, but it’s pricey because it lacks carrier support.
Ubuntu 8.10 Coming Soon
PC Mechanic :: Sunday, October 19, 2008
In a few days Ubuntu 8.10 will be released. For those following Ubuntu news, you already knew about this. But for those that weren’t, now you know. Some are wondering what some of the new/improved/updated features in 8.10 will be compared to 8.04. Here’s a short list (not a full list – just some of the newer features I noticed personally): New network manager and 3G network support Yes you can do this from the existing Ubuntu release but 8.10 promises to make it a whole lot easier to get connected without typing as much (like the APN password) to authenticate. The 8.10 release says there will be less typing, more connecting. Guest account Users of Windows know the Guest account and how it can be really handy to have. Ubuntu 8.10 will have this also. Tabs in Nautilus This is something that Nautilus really, really needed. And 8.10 has finally delivered the goods here. If you have no idea what this means, it means that when you open file browser windows you finally get tabs. Still don’t know what it means? Trust me, you’ll know it when you see it – and it’s good. Makes for far better navigation just getting from folder to folder. Auto-install drivers now include printers I think this one is easy enough to understand as to why it would be a notable improvement. Better Flash support The existing 8.04 has some pretty darn good Flash support but 8.10 is supposed to be better. Hopefully what this means is more fluidity in Flash video specifically. What hasn’t changed For those that were expecting some totally new, totally different Ubuntu, that’s not going to happen. And to be honest, that’s good. The way in which Ubuntu does releases is some of the smartest I’ve ever seen mainly due to the fact they don’t try to reinvent the wheel each time. Instead they take what they have (which is good) and improve upon it. This is part of the reason Ubuntu has such a large following. They don’t “shock” users into something new just to score “Ooh Aah” points. Rather all they’re trying to do is make the best possible operating system everyone can use. Ubuntu may not be perfect (no OS is), but the ideology is spot-on correct. Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.
Beta Watch
PC World :: Sunday, October 19, 2008
This month’s sites: Personal financial forecasting, music mixing and sharing, and people finding.
HP iPaq 910c Business Messenger Smart Phone
PC World :: Sunday, October 19, 2008
Adaptable, feature-rich smart phone is a good match for business travelers despite limited expansion-card space.
Windows 7 Is Windows 7, Even If Not 7
PC Mechanic :: Sunday, October 19, 2008
As you may or may not have heard, the next Windows will be literally called Windows 7. This has confused some people because the total number of Microsoft Windows releases has been way more than 7 – but I digress. Windows XP is version 5.1.2600. How do I know this? …that’s how. Windows XP was the NT kernel release after Windows 2000 (version 5.0.2195), so if you want to get really technical about it, XP is Windows 5.1. Windows Vista is NT kernel version 6.0.6001 or just 6.0 for short. Windows 7 has been reported that it will be using the same kernel as Vista, but will be version 6.1 and not 7.0. So… Windows 7 has a very distinct chance of having an NT kernel that isn’t representative of the OS retail title. Maybe Microsoft just likes odd numbers or something. Windows NT 3.1 did have kernel 3.1. WinNT 3.5 had kernel 3.5, WinNT 3.51 had kernel 3.51 and WinNT 4.0 had kernel 4.0. All those titles followed what was "under the hood", so to speak. Windows 7 at present doesn’t. Um, yeah. A bit odd to say the least. Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.
Nuance Communications Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Professional
PC World :: Sunday, October 19, 2008
Hands off the keyboard (mostly): Dragon lets you send e-mail, dictate reports, and move around the Web and your desktop–all by voice.
Nokia E71 3G Smart Phone
PC World :: Sunday, October 19, 2008
The E71’s sleek design and multitude of useful features make it suitable for both business and personal use.
Photosynth.net [A Microsoft Site]
PC World :: Sunday, October 19, 2008
Photosynth provides 20GB of free photo storage and makes it easy to create and share amazing 3D walkthroughs of your favorite places.
Retro: How To Make A Cool ASCII Signature
PC Mechanic :: Sunday, October 19, 2008
One of the very few e-mail signatures that I don’t consider a complete waste of space is ASCII art. This is because getting a signature where letters form a picture or cartoon-like figure is not easy and difficult to get right. If old-school ASCII is your thing, there is a Java application (runs on any OS that supports Java such as Windows/OS X/Linux) called JavE that is a full GUI-based ASCII “image” editor. In the video below I show you how to get it, use “fonts” within it and how to convert images you have into ASCII text for use as an e-mail signature. Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.
First Look: iRiver Spinn Multimedia Player
PC World :: Sunday, October 19, 2008
Though pricey and sometimes confusing to navigate, the Spinn has a gorgeous design and provides excellent playback quality.
Casual Friday: Indie Gaming Goes Mainstream
PC World :: Sunday, October 19, 2008
This week, a survey of some interesting new games that are hitting store shelves–and a look at their free indie counterparts.
GMX Mail Is Awesome Web-Based Mail
PC Mechanic :: Sunday, October 19, 2008
GMX is "Global Mail Exchange", found at www.gmx.com. This is a free e-mail service chock full of features and goodies that, said honestly, surprised me at how good it is. A few of the features: Ability to choose an address ending in gmx.com, gmx.us or gmx.co.uk. Can import mail over from several popular e-mail services including Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, AOL Mail and a ton of others. You can add up to 10 additional GMX mail accounts right from within your primary account, all with separate e-mail signatures. Has autoresponder and forwarder capability. Has the ability to delete mail on a schedule. You can create a custom folder and instruct GMX to "Delete mails after [this] many days". Very, very trick. Full right-clickability inside the interface. 5GB storage When I say I was surprised at how good this mail is, I meant it. Absolutely none of the other webmail providers have everything GMX has. Check this out: Above: When I right-click an e-mail, look at how many commands are assigned to literal keyboard shortcuts (that work). In addition, look at all the options I have. I can blacklist/whitelist/filter/spam/move all from just this menu. You’re probably saying to yourself "Wow, looks just like an e-mail client". You’re right, it does – and GMX does it right.   Above: In the options panel you get way more control compared to the other guys… GMX is really fast and has tons of good names still available, but what surprises me more than anything else is how GMX was literally able to produce a truly kick-ass webmail that obliterates everyone else in the functionality department. This is the first webmail I’ve seen besides Yahoo! Mail that truly feels like a local e-mail client – with the speed of one. In addition to that, it’s stupidly easy to use. You seriously need to check out GMX. Even if you don’t want another e-mail account, get one anyway and try it. I signed up two of them. Thanks for the tip, Drew! Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.
