Start your own GeekSquad

Put GeekSquad out of business. Here are some helpful tips on how you can set up a remote support website to make extra money fixing people's computer problems using One Click VNC servers.

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Bloglines has new features, courtesy of the new Google RSS?

Looks like Bloglines has adapted some of Google RSS's features. Keys for navigation and a new feed vs saved feed count, who says competition isn't good :)

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Hollywood Video class action for late fees

Fill out the web form and see if you qualify for the class action suite against Hollywood Video

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Save Time in Firefox

Turn on address autocomplete in Firefox - Today's Browser Tip:

Here's yet another Firefox feature that's buried in about:config but which you won't be able to live without once you enable it: Address autocomplete. While by default Firefox will show you previously-visited sites that start with whatever you've entered in the address bar, when you enable this setting it will fill it right in where you're typing, so when the address you're looking for floats to the top you can just press enter.

In order to enable autocomplete in the address bar, first enter about:config in the address bar. Then right-click anywhere on the list and select New > Boolean and create a preference called browser.urlbar.autoFill. Finally, double-click on the item you've just created to set it to true. That's it!

Must have programs for a USB drive

Lists and loads of links for all sorts of programs that you can fit on a portable USB drive.

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Fantastic Four stops Hollywood's box office slump

The Fantastic Four" muscled "War of the Worlds" out of first place at the North America box office after a one-week reign, and managed to snap Hollywood's longest box office slump in more than two decades, according to preliminary figures released here Sunday.

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IE7 and a little longhorn!

A video with Ie7 and Longhorn (NOT THAT MUCH) very intresting, more than just screenshots (video)!

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Apple just gets it...

I downloded iTunes 4.9 this morning and was very pleased with the download. Support for Podcasting, bug fixes, yada yada. I subscribed to a couple of show and left for work. iTunes made a podcast playlist, synced and I was good, although all my podcasts were thrown into one playlist.

What I didn't know that Apple released iPod update 1.2. This is where things get good! My podcatching client was Doppler, which is a nice free client. I was lukewarm to iTunes 4.9, I was excited about iTunes validating podcasting so to speak.

Now for iPod update 4.2. This is what makes podcasts on the iPod rock. With the update the podcast playlist categorizes the podcasts under the podcast playlist. Another MAJOR improvement is bookmarkable podcasts! This is an amazing feature, I can never remember where I've left off. The last improvement is that the iPod shows the show notes, again, Apple just gets it.

These updates will make listening to podcasts infinitely more enjoyable for me.

Flash

I just saw an interview with a dude on G4TV about flash animation. I've always wanted to make cartoons, I wonder how hard would it be for me to author some cartoons for personal use

Microsoft employee busted using Linux and OpenOffice during presentation

A presentation about Shared Source (SSI) by the head of Microsoft Ukraine was almost ruined when the Windows machine (a Tablet PC) linked to the projector developed problems. The solution was to adopt OpenOffice.org 1.1.2 and ALT Linux Compact 2.3 (A Russian distribution), which was already running on the presenter's laptop (an IBM Thinkpad).

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Best torrent search engine by far

This site can check many, many, many torrent sites for whatever your heart desires. Movies, music, tv eps, e books, you name it, it'll find it. A worthy stop on the journey of any bitorrent newbie or vet.

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What I look for in movie games...

I've been playing the new Star Wars III game and having a blast with it... The reviews have been a bit harsh on it and I agree. So why am I having so much fun with it? Because I like Star Wars, and anything that lets me be a part of that universe is great.

It has gotten me thinking about the whole game / movie tie in thing. Yes there have been terrible games based on movie franchises and there always will be. I remember when I first played the Matrix game that was released with the third movie, it was horrible. Horrible when compared with Max Payne and others I was playing at the time on my PC. Fast forward to 2005 and me purchasing it again for $7 for the PS2. Great game!

I had recently sat down for a weekend of Matrix-cide :) Follow that up with some good mindless wall running and bullet time on the console and you have nirvana. Same with Revenge of the Sith console game, regardless of how unrevolutionary the gameplay is, I am still playing as Anakin on the cusp of becoming Darth Vader! There's a story there and I'm pumped for the movie.

Reviewers should highlight gameplay elements of a game, after all they are reviewing a game first and foremost. But I would like to see them get a little into the experience. Does the game introduce new a new plot or experience to the movie franchise? After my experience with Sith for PS2 I would say the game is excellent on a whole, same with the Lord of the Rings Return of the King and Matrix game.

I really enjoyed feeling a part of and interacting with these movie games. Defending Helms Deep was awesome, was the gameplay new or revolutionary? No... Seeing why Anakin becomes Darth Vader is very cool. From now on I will look at these games as interactive movies, instead of games. Categorizing them as games is a disservice, its an experience.

Leave it alone

Ok, I need to leave my SUSE 9.2 install alone. Being the geek I am I can't leave my install alone. Instead of doing homework yesterday I was messing with SUSE trying to get apt packages to work along with Synaptic, here's how if you're interested. Back to my majorly unproductive since installing linux, I don't remember being like this with my first Win95 computer back in 1996, maybe because I really didn't have anything important to do other than playin Mechwarrior II.

There are still a couple of niggles keeping me from going full linux. I still have to many instances where things don't always work the same way twice. This morning my DSL connection decided not to initialize, sometime it's my wireless intellimouse 2.0 not being found when I boot. These things really don't bother me much but I can imagine it being a pain for some users.

Package management, or installing programs for us Windows users, is very slick. It consists of finding repositories of software, which you add to a lookup table of sorts, etc/apt/sources.lst I believe, enter the URL of the repository update it with an apt-get update and your set. Say I want to install GAIM, a freeware trillian like app that combines all IM clients into one. I simply open a command line as root and enter apt-get install gaim, it doesn't get any easier than that? I still have problems with the graphical interface for apt-get called Synaptic sometimes it hangs and is unresponsive when I launch it, so I'm still using the command line. The slick thing about Synaptic is that you can browse applications by category and such, with apt-get, as far as I know, you have pretty much know what you want.

So thats why I'm unproductive with linux, it's just cool to install stuff with apt-get! It takes care of all the dependencies, other programs and libraries it needs, automagically. Unlike .rpm packages which require you to hunt for the dependencies.

I'm still having issues with the following:

Monitor Resolution
Wireless mouse (probably going to return it)
iPod syncing with Amarok
Syncing my Dell Axim Pocket PC
Belkin Bluetooth adapter

Linux thoughts...

After getting the laptop squared away with Xandros, I decided to start experimenting with my desktop.  Remember earlier in the month I was considering jumping to the MacOS, because I was tired of doing the Windows song and dance.  Linux has a couple of things going for it:

 

-          It's free

-          Excellent support

-          Free software

-          Easy to install (depending on distro)

 

I spent most Saturday and most of Sunday finding and installing various distributions of Linux.  I tired Vida, Unbuntu, Xandros and finally settled on SUSE 9.2.  If there's any advantage to Windows, it's compatibility with a majority of the hardware out there.  Linux's compatibility is nothing to sneeze at, but it's nowhere near Windows.

 

I couldn't get sound working on VidaLinux, Unbuntu would hang every other reboot at the hot-plug module.  Xandros would hang loading modules, which is weird since it was so effortless on my laptop.  I had just setup SUSE 9.1 Saturday night when I got the urge to upgrade or rather wipe it out and install SUSE 9.2.  The upgrade failed, for some reason my keyboard got screwed up during the install.

 

I'm now happily dual booting WinXP Pro SP2 with SUSE 9.2 and couldn't be happier.  I'm going to give it a trial run this week by doing all of my homework assignments on it with Open Office 1.1 to see if I can get any real work done on Linux.  It shouldn't be any problem since I have full access to Windows partitions under SUSE.

 

The Switch (pt 2)

After getting the laptop squared away I decided to take the plunge on my desktop computer. But first I'll tell what I finally decided on for the laptop (Celeron 433, 128mb, 12gb HD).

I ended loading Xandros on it, and that was simply because it was the only distro that handled my Microsoft
MN-520 and surprisingly my Linksys WUSB11, which is notorious for being a bear to setup in most distros. I was close to getting SUSE 9.1 on it but I couldn't get the display past 800x600. I'm more forgiving of linux being finicky on this circa 2000 laptop. All the distros I tried on it worked but failed to work with the WiFi card, they all recognized the 3com PCMCIA no problem... But being wired on a laptop kinda defeats the purpose, doesn't it?

Xandros 3.0 OCE (Open Circulation Edition) is a very solid and stable OS. It mirrors WinXP Pro very closely and is easy to navigate. Out of all the distros, Xandros has the best file manager of them all. It also comes out the box ready for work. It recognized my USB stick and I was able to stream MP3's easily. I wasn't able to play MP3's on some distros for whatever reason, the player would show the song was playing but no sound.

I would say I have the equivalent of a PIII 500 WinXP Pro laptop under Xandros 3 OCE. It's not the zippiest of all but I'm sure it's fairing alot better than it would if WinXP Pro was on it. The laptop is definitely useable now, it's perfect for surfing and wordprocessing.

Made the Switch!

Well I finally made the switch to a different OS, guess what it wasn't? MacOS! I'm going to let you guys in on a poorly kept secret. Linux is a very mature and solid OS, it is definitely ready for primetime. I recently came into possession of an old Dell laptop, its a Celeron 433/128mb RAM with a wimpy 12gb HD, bleech, right?

The plan was to get my kids off of my main machine and onto the laptop. I was going to install WinME on it and let them have at it. To make a long story short, I couldn't get WinME going on the laptop with any degree of success.

I work in the IT industry and of course we're all geeks, which I proudly consider myself to be. There's always a group of guys bandying about linux this and that. Don't get me wrong I've heard about linux before, I just never had a need to move away from Windows. When my computers performance would get slow enough to notice I would upgrade.

So now I'm in possession of this woefully underpowered notebook that I would like to get some use out of, os where do I turn? Linux! I hoped online and started checking out what they call "Live CDs", these are bootable distributions of Linux that you can try out without taking the plunge so to speak. I tried the following:

Live Distros
DSL (Damn Small Linux)
Slax (Based on Slackware I believe)
Knoppix (Gnome)

Full Distros
Vidalinux (Gentoo)
Susie (?)
Xandros (Debian)

That's it for now, I'll finish up tomorrow.

Got new earbuds for my iPod

I've been on the hunt for a while now for some new earbuds for my iPod. I like to fancy myself as having a discerning ear when it comes to music, while I'm no audophile I thought the earbuds included with the iPod held their own when compared to other's I've used.

Last year I purchased a pair of Philips HE592 earbuds, those lasted about 4 months before I went running back to my original iPod buds. Stay clear of those things, they are painful, seriously they could be used as torture devices, if paired with the Ashley Simpson Orangebowl performance.

Today I purchased my latest set, the Sony MDR-EX71SL, compared to the HE592's these are nirvana! They're actually scary, I can't hear a darn thing with them on. I'm going to have to weigh the benefits of exercising with these in. I may only workout with them not run, they block out sound that well. Of course they sound awesome, I can hear notes in my music that I never noticed before.

At $49 they are a bit on the steep side, but the sound and noise cancelling capabilities are excellent. It was between these and the official Apple in-ear which I could only locate at CompUSA. Has anyone used those?

Aaarghhh, DRM!

Here's a thought... Digital Rights Management, SUCKS!

My latest frustration with this tool used to protect intellectual property is with Microsoft Reader for Pocket PC.  As we all know, everything Windows becomes fudged up after sometime.  I totally wipe my WinXP Pro system twice a year along with my Pocket PC, it's just a fact of life if your platform is Windows.

Imagine my surprise after getting my Axim X30 up and running, that I found out I was out of activations for MS Reader!  I had to send an email to Big Brother for consideration of bestowing me with an activation so that I could use the books I purchased!  How gracious of them.

Yes I did get the activation, but why should I have to ask for permission to use my software?  It's an old argument, but like most things, it was irrelevant until it happened to me.  You know, that stuff only happens to other people.

Guys I tell you what, I am firmly in the camp of those who will crack any DRM'd software I now own.  I'm talking everything, Out of the Park Baseball 3, Front Office Football 2K, everything.  I have had to ask for permission to use those also after inadvertently rebuilding my system without unlicensing them.  Yes my fault, but I will no longer be held hostage to software I pay for.

What happens if Napster goes out of business and you're $180 dollars into them for music?  What happens if Digital River goes under and I need to license my games?  How about those users of Xcopy DVD?  How do they get serial numbers now?

DRM & Copy protection hurts the consumer and ultimately leads to more piracy.  Guess what happened when I was researching methods to remove the DRM from my .lit books?  I found thousands of copyrighted books ripe for downloading!  The whole Wheel of Time series there for the taking in multiple formats!

Making the Switch, or not...

I've been a computer user for quite sometime,  notice I said computer, not PC, Mac, Commodore, Texas Instruments or Amiga... All of which I owned at some point or another in my computing lifetime.  I've really never been married to one platform or another, I used the one that allowed me to do the things I needed to do.

I listen to a very good podcast called the MacCast, located at http://maccast.blogspot.com/ be sure and check it out.  One of the recent shows was about why users have switched from Windows based PC's to the Max OS, the title of the show is Switcher Special #1.  The show really got me thinking about my chosen platform and why I use it.

I've always wanted a Mac based computer, but two factors have always held me back, price and lack of software.  I will give it to the Mac, it is rock-solid, the thing is a pleasure to use and the experience is wonderful, but all that coolness comes at a price.  I waltzed into CompUSA today and browsed the Mac section to get a feel for what I would be getting into to "Switch".  I figure a comparable setup to what I have now:

Athlon XP 1700, 512mb

200gb HD GeForce 4 Ti4200 64mb

16x DVD +RW

FireWire Card

A comparable Mac would be the iMac G5, which weighs in at about $1900.  Now that is a beautiful computer, and my iPod would definitely love to dock with it.  But once I get past the ooohh, ahhhh factor what am I left with?

Besides my iPod, I also us a Dell Axim X30, yes there's software that I can buy to sync with the Mac, but it's free on WinXP.  I play PC games thank you very much, and I ain't switching until I can get Chronicles of Riddick, Warhammer 40k Dawn of War or Half Life 2 on it.

For me a computer is a tool, not a lifestyle.  I use the tool that's right for the job. Sure I can use a Black & Decker or Craftsman wrench to do a job, but wouldn't a generic wrench do the job just as well?  Until the games and utilities exist for MacOS I won't be switching anytime soon, I'll be content to admire Macs from afar.

Income Tax

Well my refund was posted yesterday, woohoo! Time to go out and buy stuff I don't need, wrong. I never got into the habit of viewing my refund as some windfall, it really is my money that the gov't has been using interest free.

I've been thinking of splurging this one time and upgrading the my PC inards and building a box for the family to use, I really don't like having my main PC as a community computer. I've been eyeing an Athlon XP 3200 and MoBo. 64bit really sound cool, but is it worth the price premium? Looks like I'm headed to the usually stops, Anandtech, Tom's and HardOCP to do some research. I'm running an Athlon XP 1700 right now and it's serviceable, I just finally have enough parts laying around the house to build a decent PC for the kids.

Good end of an SMS 2003 setup

I'm at tail end of an SMS 2003 setup I've been at for the last couple of weeks. And yes I am a Sys Admin. I was all excited to be upgrading to the latest greatest version of SMS, thinking it would make my life much easier, in some ways it did, other's it did not.

I'll spend some time talking about it later... I'm still trying to figure out where to go with the blog.

Intro

I'm new to the blogging seen and will just be throwing random thoughts out there about my career and various interests I have.

I'm all about video games, computer and PS2. I have way too many and not enough time to complete them. I'm currently in the middle of HL2 and Chronicles of Riddick. By the way if you don't own this game you shouldn't call yourself a gamer. COR was THE game of the year! Please check it out if you get a chance.