In an announcement on their blog, looks like the GoogleDocs team will soon be adding a feature to allow for non-GoogleDoc type files to be stored (up to 1 gig free) and shared. This may be somewhat unimpressive news given some of the other free online storage options out there (I loooove Dropbox!), but I’m sure the G-team is just testing the waters and this will lead to bigger and better things.
Jan
07
HTC HD2 headed to Tmobile and I want it =\
from Tmonews and other sources:
Looks like the ginormous HTC HD2 will be officially headed to Tmobile! This, along with Google’s Nexus One give them a very strong lineup, especially to the technically-inclined! Man, who can I sell this Touch Pro2 to…. ?
Jan
07
CES – Dell unveils Alienware M11x “gaming netbook” ?
Yep, that’s right – a gaming-capable netbook? Claims are up to 2 hrs of battery life while gaming and ~50 fps on Crysis at high settings? Very interesting… would be nice to know the resolution of the LCD, but at $1000 it’s definitely aimed at a niche market (ultramobile hardcore gamers?). Also, BACKLIT KEYS! O_O
On a similar note, why can’t I find a good gaming laptop between 15-17″ without an optical drive? I can use an external to load games or copy .isos and then do without the weight/bulk! I’ve currently got a Gateway 17″ 1920×1200 w/1gig 9800GTS but it’s a beast! I haven’t even used the optical drive in… months since all the .isos are on the hard drive…
UPDATE – Gizmodo got some hands-on time and looks like it’s all good! Turns out the LCD is a 1366×768 panel and product-quality feels good as well. If this inched a bit lower in price I’m pretty sure I’d find a way to justify this is my “travel PC”…
Dec
29
Google’s Nexus One – “officially” supported via Tmobile
Tmonews brings us the breaking news via a slightly vague page that details an HTC device that will be sold directly through Google and supported on the Tmobile network.
Sounds like it will be out for order (again, through Google directly) on January 5th, but could be subsidized at a later date via Tmobile
Will the Nexus One be the iPhone killer? Does it even have to be? I’d say “no” on both counts. I do think it will be a strong contender in the touchscreen/featurephone market. Google’s hype/koolaid will certainly help move some units as well. Since I still love a physical keyboard for speed and efficiency, I won’t be adopting one of these until I need/want a second phone for fun or apps.
Dec
22
Must-have free utilities for Windows users – from Maximum PC and me!
I love checking Maximum PC every so often for the little roundups they do. This is another good one, with them outlining 33 good, free apps for your brand-spanking new Windows 7 installations. Definitely want to second some of their recommendations like Dropbox, ImgBurn, uTorrent <_<, and TrueCrypt. I’d also like to add the following:
Evernote – the free version works great for the majority of users and allows you to stay synced on your Blackberry, Windows Mobile device, or iPhone.
WinSCP - I prefer this over FileZilla since it’s lighter-weight, but FZ ain’t so shabby…
Defraggler – They included another free defragmenter in their roundup, but I’ve used Defraggler for awhile and what’s there to say? It works!
CDburnerXP – for when you need more than just an image-burner…
TeraCopy – helps speed up and manage copies and file moves. Grab the newest beta for fixing a hang that occurs when copying large amounts (> 10,000) files at a time!
Dec
19
LinuxMint 8 review – mmm polished Ubuntu…..
yep – I’ve been dabbling with Linux for years and since Ubuntu has brought Linux to the masses (in a sense, at least!), I always look forward to the soon-to-follow LinuxMint remix. I’ve played with versions 5 and up in KDE, XFCE, and Fluxbox “Community Edition” variants and been impressed with how easy they’ve been to use out-of-the-box. Although the Fluxbox version had been shelved, looks like it’s back!
Anyway, there’s something about the color schemes and the way they really put the polish on the distro really just has appeal for me. I’m no Linux guru by any means, but I always like to read up on and check out a new distro here and there. I really think LinuxMint distros are friendly enough for the non-Linux crowd to adopt.
Please check out Desktop Linux Review’s review of version 8 since they do a much better job than I could on this!
Dec
19
Nook delayed til Feb 1?!?!?
Nook
I think i’m leaning towards the Nook as the eReader/eBook of the moment, but with non-preorders being pushed out til 2/1, guess I’ll have to wait to see for sure!
Besides being a pretty sweetly spec’d eReader overall, it’s been rooted and i’m pretty sure we’ll see more and more app running on it like Pandora, etc.
Dec
13
Gamespot’s Aion review
It may seem late to some – but Gamespot seems to have taken their time and leveled/explored quite a bit before wanting to release a review for the much-heralded Aion. Surprisingly (to me at least, who hasn’t played it… yet…?), it scored just over average which is definitely not something I expected. I’ve followed the game since it was a Korean beta and have a few friends I check in that are playing it. Nothing I’ve heard has not been positive so I thought this review was interesting and worth checking out. Looks like i’ll have to check in w/my buds again and see what their take is after a few months have passed!
my thoughts after the break…
Dec
12
Holiday Gift Guide – Netbooks!
Seemed like 2008 was the year of the netbook, but that was all first-gen stuff that was spec’d almost _exactly_ the same… (the original Atom 1.6/160gig hd/1-2gig RAM/8-10″ screen/intel GMA graphics). One year later, we see quite a bit more variety and some actual usable (for everyday tasks and some light gaming) models for day-to-day use. The inclusion of the NVIDIA ION chipset is a BIG deal that makes these netbooks (and some tiny desktops) capable of some light gaming (WoW works decently) and HD video playback. With Adobe Flash 10.1 allowing for GPU-accelerated flash, sites like YouTube and Hulu will be more viable options at high-res instead of being a slideshow.
| I believe the first one that made it out to mass-market was the HP Mini 311 – customizable at the HP site, and available in different pre-configured models at your friendly neighborhood retailers (and Amazon.com, etc.). It sports a nice 11.6″ screen (glossy) and has an HDMI out for connecting directly to an HDTV. Reviews have been kind as the 311 has decent battery life, power to playback HD video (yes, even 1080p), and actually play 3d games that were made after 2003. |  |
 Lenovo S12 |
Next up for NVIDIA ION netbooks is the Lenovo S12 – it was out earlier with only Intel Integrated graphics, but now there’s an ION version. Prices start at $599, though – more than the HP Mini 311. The screen is slightly larger at 12″ and comes in a more “standard” 1280×800 (as opposed to the HP’s 1366×768). |
| Lastly, we have the impressively styled (copied?) MSI X320. Many have referred to it (and its big brother the X340 which sports a CULV processor) as a poor-man’s MacBook Air, but build quality is nowhere near as solid. That being said, the MSI X320 is a nice netbook if you need just a bit more screen (13″). Granted, it’s not more pixel real estate since we’re still talking about 1366×768, but it could provide for some better reading. It sports the newer Atom (Z530), but it’s still not a dual-core. Unfortunately, Intel GMA graphics make sure you shouldn’t do more than light-duty tasks with this thing, but it’s a decent looking, slim netbook. |  |
Dec
12
Holiday Gift Guide – part 3 – PC Games!
It’s still a great time to be a PC gamer – all talk of consoles taking over is certainly unfounded and may never happen. There is simply too much horsepower and versatility in terms of control schemes to ever make the PC nothing but the best overall gaming platform.
This was a good year for PC gamers as they got a taste of good new stuff in every genre!
for the MMO’er:
The juggernaut that is World of Warcraft is still going strong – up to 11 million subscribers and counting! For those who haven’t had a chance to play yet (and really, who hasn’t?) there are deals to be had on the Battle Chests that Blizzard released which will include the base World of Warcraft as well as the expansions.
New to the MMO scene this year is Aion – a critically acclaimed success in Korea and, from the looks of it, will be successful here as well. Stunning graphics (on high-end systems), unique flight mechanics, and an epic storyline have resulted in strong sales and a solid player base.
Champions Online brings some much-needed oomph to the superhero MMO scene that pretty much consisted of only City of Heroes for a long time. Tons of customization options allow you to create a superhero almost any way you want. There’s a Nemesis concept that will create an evil counterpart to your character.
for the RPG’er:
Gotta start off talking about Dragon Age: Origins. This is the next major work from Bioware who brought us Oblivion. I haven’t had a chance to play this yet, but reviews are all good! It’s got a great story and the PC version even allows for customization. Might not be the best for younger gamers as there are some risque bits in there!
From a team of ex-Diablo creators comes Torchlight – a quick and easy-to-play action-RPG that should be a great holdover until Diablo III comes out. At just 20 bucks, it’s hard to NOT want to pick this up!
Fallout 3 came out early in 2009 and has some additional content that’s been added since then. If your gamer hasn’t checked it out yet, it’s definitely worth a look as Bethesda has really done it again by making a living, breathing, post-apocalyptic world with the same quirky humor from the original Fallout series. The should be some deals to be had around 20 bucks for the original base game.
for the FPS’er:
Left 4 Dead 2 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 are both strong choices for gamers that love the FPS genre. L4D2 is more of a frantic, squad-based, survival shooter as you and your co-op partners attempt to take down zombies. CoD:MW2 is a more tactical shooter with lots of military details and a surprisingly good campaign for when the multiplayer gets frustrating!