It seems like every day a new online media portal pops up; the flavor of the week was Vevo, and undoubtedly over the past year Hulu has made the biggest splash in the online content arena. But where is the fun in watching your favorite content on a cramped computer screen in a stiff office chair? This article will hopefully give you some solid ideas on how to move all of this high quality free content onto your TV screen where it belongs.

There are numerous ways to bridge the gap between the internet and your TV; Vizio, Samsung, and others are even beginning to integrate online connectivity directly into their sets. Countless set-top boxes, Blu-Ray players, and dedicated streaming devices are available. But the downside to all of these options is high cost and a limited set of options; proprietary solutions nearly always limit you to a certain subset of online content.

(continue reading…)

October 22, 2009 marks the official release of Windows 7. There are hundreds of reviews of this anticipated product floating around on the Internet, but we want this review to be a valuable addition to your understanding of what Microsoft’s latest operating system has to offer. Read on to learn more how well Windows 7 succeeds in achieving its goals and how it can help you get more out of your computer, your media, and your life. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to leave a comment or send us an email; we’ve been using Windows 7 in Beta, RC, and RTM form for over eight months, and are glad to answer any questions you might have.

(continue reading…)

In an expected product refresh today, Apple released a slick range of revised iMacs, MacBooks, and Mac Minis.  However, the products look largely indistinguishable from their predecessors, and many might be surprised that Blu-Ray remains absent from the Apple lineup despite its prevalence in the consumer electronics market.

More interesting, however, is how Apple appears to have directly copied Microsoft in two keys areas: Multi Touch input devices, and the home server concept.

According to Apple, the Magic Mouse is “unlike anything ever before,” and is “the world’s first multi-touch mouse.” However, there is no doubt that these claims are completely fabricated.

As you will see in the video, Microsoft has been developing a variety of multi-touch mice and input devices in the past several months, not to mention the fact that Windows 7 includes support for Multi-Touch displays. In the past several weeks, nearly a dozen PCs and displays have launched sporting multi touch technology.

See more Microsoft multitouch mice in action on Engadget.

The fact that Microsoft has clearly had Multi Touch mice in development for some period of time, combined with the fact that Apple recently lost the rights to the “Mighty Mouse” moniker, spell trouble in the area of input devices for a company that prides itself on being the first to demonstrate new technologies.

(continue reading…)

Few people will forget the major Mars Orbiter failure at NASA in 1999. Similarly few people will forget the massive server failure and data loss that has plagued T-Mobile and device maker/content provider Danger over the past several days.  Update: Microsoft has informed customers that most, if not all, data has been recovered.

Reports surfaced over the weekend that T-Mobile Sidekick users were unable to access data. The Sidekick is a media-centric, youth oriented phone developed by Danger, a company recently acquired by Microsoft. Danger was one of the first proponents of cloud based storage for contacts, text messages, and other files; as a result, this content is stored on Danger servers, and not directly on the device. Under normal circumstances, this solution works quite well: A failure on the phone or an interruption in network activity won’t cause data to be lost. However, this recent failure demonstrated a major flaw that other cloud based devices don’t have: the data was stored solely in the cloud, and not on the device! Having one copy of any data is never smart, and as both the cloud server’s data and backups were destroyed, it ended up being disastrous.

(continue reading…)

One of the most recent additions to Windows 7 is the heavily hyped “Windows XP Mode.”  Through the use of a brand new version of Microsoft’s VirtualPC technology, it allows users to seamlessly run legacy Windows XP compatible programs alongside newer products.  It’s especially targeted towards businesses that don’t want to upgrade older software.  Does it deliver?  Absolutely.  But there are a few factors to consider before banking on XP Mode to solve all of your problems.

Installation of XP Mode was a breeze.  Simply go to Microsoft’s website, download the Virtual PC update, and then install Virtual Windows XP.  This 445MB download finished quickly and installed in a surprisingly short period of time on our test PC.  Both steps required a reboot, but after that was out of the way, it was time to test it out.

(continue reading…)