Steven Hood

Sony Playstation 3

Steven — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 13:32:00 +0000

The new Sony Playstation 3 has just been released yesterday, on Friday 23rd. This is a major release as the console has exclusive games, a blu-ray player, free online play and downloadable games, also available on the Xbox 360. Although, there are some cons as well; the price – in the UK – £425; US – $600. The controller design is also not very appealing towards buyers. The sixaxis controller may have tilt sensors but there is no longer rumble. Sony are looking to make a controller which does have the rumble feature, but you will have to buy another controller.

There is also problems with playing Playstation 2 games – with the changes in hardware the European system won’t be able to play as many PS2 games as the Japanese or US.

The PS3 is a great piece of technology but it’s missing a lot of features other new consoles have. It’s recommended you think if you need one right now or not.

New and Upcoming Dreamscene Content

Steven — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 19:27:00 +0000

A video has been released by Alex Kipman containing a preview of upcoming DreamScene content. The wallpaper, soon to be released is a back-lit Windows Vista orb, which looks pretty cool.

The now available DreamScene content, including the “Bees and Thistles”, “Puddle, “Moss” and “Orange Plasma” desktops can be downloaded via Windows Update.

Old hard drives full of sensitive data

Steven — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 18:56:00 +0000

If you are donating your computer or giving away your old hard drive, just formatting the drive won’t just erase everything. You could be giving away tons of personal data such as credit card numbers and emails. You must cleanse your hard drive thoroughly, which may cost more than the hard drive is worth, before selling it or giving it away. There are data dump programs available which can erase your drive. Some are free but others you may have you pay for. I hope this information is clear and helpful.

Resources:
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-980824.html
http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Hardware_Software/2005/harddrive_format.asp

Blogger and Picasa web albums

Steven — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 18:57:00 +0000

Currently on Picasa web albums, all your uploaded blog pictures are just as accessible in Picasa.
This is a great advantage for Picasa and Blogger users.

iPhone vs. Smartphone

Steven — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 17:45:00 +0000

The iPhone is a great piece of technology, but not one of the best considering all the other smartphones. Sure, the iPhone can play music, work on GSM networks, handle calls, email and voicemail; but Smartphones can run GPS mapping, work on GSM and CDMA and UMTS networks. They can even handle spreadsheet data.
On istartedsomething.com there is a comic strip created by Long Zheng about the iPhone and Smartphone: http://www.istartedsomething.com/20070226/iphone-smartphone-ad/

Apple Macworld iPhone introduction

Steven — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 19:55:00 +0000

Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced for the first time the iPhone, which is supposed to revolutionise the phone. The video shows all the features of the iPhone, and all the partners of Apple, including the CEO of Yahoo!, Cingular and Google. The video is a very interesting introduction of this new product which will begin shipping to the US in June this year.

Watch the video here.

Microsoft: Please Don’t Disable UAC

Steven — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 15:19:00 +0000

The new UAC in Vista is a new security feature designed to protect your computer against malicious and harmful software by asking you for your verification every time you want to install software or change computer settings. Microsoft have urged people not to disable this feature as it is a vital security tool.

Great widescreen wallpapers

Steven — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 19:06:00 +0000

I did some searches* in my spare time and found many sites with great widescreen wallpapers (Resolution: 1440 by 900) for my 19″ screen:

http://www.graffitiwallpaper.com/”>Graffiti Wallpaper – Beautiful, artistic high quality, high resolution desktop wallpaper. Up to 1600×1200 and widescreen – all free! Mostly nature subjects – trees, plants, flowers, animals.

http://wallpaperstock.net/wallpapers_1440x900r.html

*For my searches I use Windows Live search as it is quite a powerful tool. Go to http://www.live.com/

Should I upgrade to Windows Vista?

Steven — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 18:58:00 +0000

When I first looked at Windows Vista my first thoughts were that Vista was going to be a user friendly and safe experience for a new operating system, but as always it isn’t always perfect. I recommend not upgrading to Windows Vista until at least Service Pack 1 gets released. Then you won’t have to worry about any of the errors. At present, Windows Vista is still in beta. Most advanced users will upgrade to Vista because it will be a breeze for them to upgrade. For home users it will not be very easy, especially for those who are not sure about what you need to do.

I have ordered a Windows Vista Basic express upgrade kit from HP, for less than half the price as my computer model appeared to be entitled to this upgrade program. I won’t be upgrading my computer until most people are running Windows Vista.

Windows Vista Ultimate edition has many features that Home Basic and Premium don’t have, such as the Ultimate extras which are extra programs exclusive to Windows Vista Ultimate users, and the Flip 3D interface; which is also in Home Premium and Business (pictured right). Any more extras that become available can be downloaded from the Microsoft website for Ultimate users.
The Ultimate team have released a Windows Vista Ultimate kiosk video. The video explains all the features of the operating system including, at the end, the Windows Vista Ultimate extras. Enjoy.

Essential Vista Wallpapers Released

Steven — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 17:36:00 +0000

Wallpapers which were not chosen to be in Vista are now available at: http://www.hamaddarwish.com/
These will look stunning on your desktop.