Archive for September, 2008

Top Ten Windows Downloads

Are you a windows user? If you are, do you sometimes swear at your computer and wish it had more useful things or get free apps that are as good as the ones that cost? If so I have brought you a treat alright. Here are the top ten must have free windows downloads:

#10:
7-Zip- A file archive manager that replaces winRAR and winzip. It accepts all common zip formats and is an easy to use manager that is also open source. Download here: http://7-zip.org/

#9:
Foxit-Reader- If you wait and wait for Adobe Reader to load up your PDF’s while taking up system resources, this is perfect for you. It’s light and speedier than most PDF readers. Download here: http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php

#8:
SyncBack- Regardless of what platform or size, this utility backs up anything you want. Keep your data safe with the thought of it never going away. It’s light and speedy. Download here: http://www.2brightsparks.com/downloads.html

#7:
Picasa- This lightweight photo manager developed by google is by far one of the best photo managers out there, regardless of it being priced or free. Organize, tweak and publish your photos with amazing features and a slick UI. Download here: http://picasa.google.com/

#6:
Notepad++- Don’t ever subject yourself to Notepad’s anemia again. Notepad++ is a free, open source, tabbed editor that handles much more than just plain text. Download here: http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm

#5:
foobar200- If you have been searching for the most lightweight, skinnable amd pluggable free music player, you WANT foobar200. In reviews from famous gadget blogs, they say they would pick this over WMP or iTunes. Download here: http://www.foobar2000.org/

#4:
Trillian- if you have multiple chat accounts and don’t like logging in completely different websites, you should take a look at Trillian. You can log into AIM, MSN, Yahoo! and IQC IM accounts on this one application. You can also skin it to make it look the way you want it to from the available skins on their site. Download here: http://www.ceruleanstudios.com/

#3:
Paint.NET- If Windows default Paint application was a paper airplane, Paint.NET would be a fighter jet. Get powerful image editing features associated with expensive photo editors like Photoshop for free with Paint.NET. The required free .NET framework installation is worth it for multi-image support, layers, and advanced effects. Good Photoshop substitute. Download here: http://www.getpaint.net/download.html

#2:
Quake III- This amazing yet old shooter game is now available as a free download. Walk through levels melting people with your plasma gun or blowing them up with your rocket launcher. Either way, you’ll have fun! Download here: http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,4100-page,1-c,action/description.html

#1:
Mozilla Firefox- This one is a must have. The most secure and speediest and coolest browser on the world should be downloaded if you don’t have it. It has great resources and blows IE7 out of the water. Download here: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/

Honorable mentions:Open office- word processor, Opera-open source browser, Windows Blinds-windows skinning program, GIMP-photo editor. I’m not giving you download links for the honorable metions. I’m tired. Just google them.

2008
09/30
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Xbox 360 Slim: REAL.

Yes, all the Microsoft fanboys REJOICE! Microsoft’s rip-off of the slim PS2 has been somewhat confirmed! At a press event, Microsoft India said that the rumored Xbox 360 Slim is REAL and we should expect to get the announcement of it sometime in December, just in time for the holidays! I’m just waiting for Microsoft to deny it, then announce it in December.

2008
09/28
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Wired NextFest Coverage This Weekend! EDIT: NOT THIS WEEKEND.EDIT: Maybe this weekend

Yes, this weekend, Anay and I will be going to Wired NextFest with a video camera and gonna take videos and do floor reports! Hang on to your butts, this is gonna rock!

Edit: Due to conflicts with other already planed… well… plans… we will still cover NextFest, just not this weekend. We will cover it sometime in October. Sorry for the broken promise.

Me, Anay can go on Sun., meaning I’ll get some coverage. Note, some. Try too look for the post about the NextFest around Mon.-Tue.

2008
09/25
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Review: Fracture Demo

First of all, sorry for no new updates lately. Anay and I have had a lot of things to do. Now, on to teh review!

Fracture is the new third-person shooter from LucasArts. Yes, the same LucasArts who made the ever so disappointing Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. The demo came out the 18th of September and I finally got it and beat it.

The big hook of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was that The Force was a powerhouse of… well… power. The big hook in Fracture is what they call Terra Deforming. Let me clear it up for you:

Terra Deforming is the opposite of Terrforming. Terraforming is the act of creating terrain, hence the terra. Terra DEforming is the act of destroying terrain. Here’s an example.

The Terra Deforming in Fracture is actually real cool. It’s easy and quick to use (coughunlikeforceunleashed’sforcepowerscough) and you can use it in a variety of different ways. You can use the Left Bumper (I played it on my Xbox 360) to lower (if I am correct) the ground and the Right Bumper to raise it. That easy. Of course, there are the weapons that Terra Deform in a more fancy way, but to just do a simple raise or lower, that easy. The shooting is very good. It’s just what you would expect from a shooter game. Now, when you mix those two, it makes for the need of a strong mind. You can raise the ground to act as a wall to fire from or you can lower the ground and hide in the hole. You can raise the ground around an enemy to trap him or lower the ground he’s on to make him fall. You can use it to your advantage in many different ways.

Now, with all this said, it’s not all good. The demo suffers from the same fate as The Force Unleashed, IT’S. TOO. SHORT. You can finish it in about 5 – 15 going straight through. Now I took about 20 -30 minutes because I explored a bit, messed around with the weapons, and even found a few secret areas. It was also a bit too easy, but I was only playing on normal.

So, from what I have played, I would say this would be a rent for me when it comes out. It’s fun, but not so fun that I am like “I NEEDZ IT!” It still needs some tweaks and if they tweak it right, it will be a good game. Fracture comes out October 7, 2008 on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

2008
09/21
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Coolest. Professor. EVER.

So, UC Irvine professer Bonnie Nardi is awesome. She managed to get $100,000 to research (get ready) World of Warcraft. Yes, she was funded to study a video game. One question, why the heck am I not going to this school?

Source

2008
09/18
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Download of the week: GIMP Photo editing software

Most of you have probably heard of photoshop before. If you have, you probably also heard how expensive it is. Well GIMP is here to save the day! GIMP is probably the best Photoshop alternative out there. It’s also a very light-weight program, meaning your computer wont run slow when yourun it, unlike Photoshop. Remove red-eye, balance shades, change light and texture, it’s all here. If you want it, download it here.

2008
09/15
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The Best Bands You Never Heard Of: Pitchshifter

So, you MAY have heard of Pitchshifter in the 90s when they broke out with hits such as “Genius” and “W.Y.S.I.W.Y.G,” but they have been long since forgotten, so I thought I would tell all of you about them, because they are freaking amazing.

At first, this band was actually one of the only UK Heavy and almost Death Metal bands. They had the screaming lead singer, Mark Clayden, and the crazy drums and all that stuff. It is now referred to as “Death Industrial” because of the Death Metal like vocals but electronic drums and samples.

A bit later, J.S. Clayden stepped up to the mic from being only backing vocals. He had about the type of singing/screaming as Mark, but changed to their trademark sound for their breakthrough album, www.pitchshifter.com. You may have heard songs from that album in Twisted Metal 3 and Test Drive 5 as “Genius” was the theme to Test Drive 5, “W.Y.S.I.W.Y.G.” was in a level of Test Drive 5, and “W.Y.S.I.W.Y.G.” and “Innit” was featured in the Hanger 18 and Tokyo level of Twisted Metal 3. (I own these games, I know.)

Sadly, in 2003, they had their last show of their “Farewell for Now” club tour, but do come together every now and then for random festivals.

Fun Facts (Thanks Wikipedia!):

1: Pitch Shifter played the Phoenix Festival in Long Marston, UK in 1995. The band’s manager, armed with a tractor, arranged for an enormous crop circle replica of the band’s famous “eye” symbol to appear in the adjoining field to the festival site during the night prior to Pitch Shifter’s performance there. The crowd’s enthusiasm for Pitch Shifter when they performed (in support of their Desensitized album) was so high that they rushed the stage, making Pitch Shifter’s performance the first in the history of the festival to be stopped early.

2: Pitchshifter’s music has been used in video games such as: Test Drive 5, Rallisport Challenge 2, MX Superfly,Twisted Metal 4 and Twisted Metal III, as well as movies, trailers and soundtracks such as: Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, The Crow, Salvation, Brainscan, Catwoman, Paycheck, and lastly in commercials such as the Volkswagen ‘Vortex’ bug.

3: The band has released eight studio albums and numerous singles & EPs.

Well, hope you enjoyed this and hope you check out this band!

www.pitchshifter.com

2008
09/13
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WTF 2: Death Magnetic Torrent Viruses?

Okay, so as you have heard, Metallica’s new album, Death Magnetic, has been released. Everyone is freaking out saying “It’s old, good Metallica!” But I don’t know, I’m not that much into Metallica. BUT, I am now pissed at them. They released torrents of their new album on the internet. Now, with them being 100% against downloading, the 6th track has a virus, but not just any virus, this virus won’t mess up your computer, it will mess up your life. What it does is when the 6th track in imported into a music library, the virus scans all the other songs in that library and sends all the information to Sony BMG, allowing them to have evidence and be able to charge you with stealing. So, by all means, DO NOT DOWNLOAD IT. Oh, and Metallica… WTF?

2008
09/13
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Let’s Remember: 9/11

Well, today is the seventh anniversary of September 11th, 2001. I’m sorry to darken the mood, but I just thought I should bring it up. Just take a second out of your almost already over day to remember the fallen.

“Be there for one another, help each other out, care for each other. Don’t wait for another Sept. 11 to show you love someone.” – Jake Verterano

Feel free to discuss your 9/11 story in the comment section.

2008
09/12
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Apple “Let’s Rock” event info

[pic courtesy of engadget.com]

New iPods

If you missed the news of Apple’s big announcement on Tuesday, here you go. Apple released a new revision of the ipod nano and touch line. The new Nano, as seen above, is the thinnest ipod Apple has made so far. The new iPod Touch probably comes in as second or 3rd thinnest. The Nano has a built in chip that detects movement like shaking. Because of this chip, if you shake the Nano, it automatically shuffles through your songs, and when you turn it sideways, it goes into Coverflow. The new Nano goes for $149 for the starting 8GB model. The new Touch has new differences at all compared the the old Touch except for the fact that it has a new curved back like the iPhone 3G, and it has a built in speaker. The Touch also has the nifty built in Nike+ feature that used to ipod nano exclusive. The Touch goes for $229 at starting price. The iPod Classic also now only comes in 120GB for $249. New ipod shuffle colors weren’t announced at the event, they are also official.

New version of iTunes

Apple also came out with iTunes 8. This new version has a very smart feature that conveniently can make Apple money. The new feature is called the Genius. Genius, when activated, goes through your library, and goes into itunes selecting songs that would go with the songs in the library. NBC shows are also coming back to iTunes after a lot of arguments between NBC and Apple over the year and a half.

iphone/ ipod Touch Software updates.

The iPhone and iPod Touch also got software updates from 2.0 to 2.1. 2.1 improves all the bugs and crashes the Touch and iPhone had. The 2.1 update is 10 dollars for iPod Touch owners who didn’t update to 2.0 before.

2008
09/11
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