Is it just me or do there really seem to be very good films these days? This past weekend we were watching one of the Narnia movies and half way through we decided to kick the DVD out. Thankfully that was just a DVD rental but would have been quite a waste had one actualyl paid to go to the cinema.

Knowledge is power as they say and it looks like TheFilmReview.com will the site you need to visit for film reviews. It’s UK focused which is handy for finding release dates and cinemas where films are showing. Along with the reviews you’ll find movie news and gossip if that strikes your fancy (not something I’d be interested in). But TheFilmReview.com do have an online forum which if it kicks off could be quite great. Nice to get your ‘average’ persons review of a movie, might be a bit easier to relate to than the film buffs.

In time TheFilmReview.com should grow into a nice site and prove very useful once the community aspect kicks in. Now if only they had a mobile version too along with ticket ordering… hmmm…

New gadgets are always fun and you’ve no doubt built up quite a collection of addons for your computer. You’re also doing your job by running through Windows Updates to keep your computer safe; but did you know that’s not enough? Every new device you add to your computer requires a driver and those don’t just update themselves. So what’s one meant to do?

You could either lookup the details on the manufacturers website, see if there is a newer version available, and install in. Somewhat of a waste of time and deadly boring. Or you could check out driversoftware.com which makes it easy to find the HP drivers you need. Select the manufacturer and go from there. Alternatively you might prefer their software which will scan your system and update Dell drivers as needed. Either way things should be a lot smoother afterwards.

Believe it or not but things are no longer 9 to 5 (although some businesses out there really don’t get that just yet – that’s a story for another time). If you’re online then you’re accessible 24×7 and problems can’t really wait for the next business day. While it’s not possible for you to keep an eye on your servers all the time there are server monitoring solutions out there that let you get a good nights rest.

Hyperic make one such system allowing you to monitor and report on all aspects of your data system. Whilst checks can be made to ensure services are live and available for users systems management can look into applications, profile them and see if things are running as quickly as they should be. After all just because Apache is responding on port 80 does not mean everything is fine.

Hyperic offer two versions of their services, Hyperic HQ which is a free open-source version and then Hyperic HQ E for enterprises with enhanced features and support. If you’re just getting your toes wet with server monitoring then the free open source would be great just to see how things go.

There is some awesome content out there available in HD, just take Lost for instance, and once you’ve experience quality like that it’s hard to back. But what’s the best way to access this content? You’ve really got two choices – cable ot satellite. If you decide to go the satellite route then DirecTV have some good packages.

So what do Direct TV have to offer? Well aside from great HD content there’s great customer service (which by itself is worth a lot), 99.9% signal reliability (so you don’t have to call said customer service) and great package deals.

Of course it’s not all about TV and you’ll find some good broadband packages too. Quite nice having a few services with one provider as not only do you usually get quite a good discount but it’s just one company to turn to for support. So why now have a browse around Directtv.com to see if there is a package to fit your needs.

File extensions must the be one of the worst things about computers and there is no escaping. Those 3 letters after the period determine what application will handle your file. If you’re in any doubt as to what file format that extension relates to then this will be an extremely handy resource to have nearby.

Not only do they list what extensions belong to what applications but they have a handy tool that will clean up your registry and fix missing file associations. All to often you’ll install a new application which takes over a file association only to uninstall it later and find you’re no longer able to open your files.

Whilst the application on offer might only be really useful when things really break down their database is invaluable as a file extension lookup.

Privacy is one touchy subject that can get people ranting from both sides, and whilst you might not initially care about some aspects of it just think of how you might feel if say for example, GPS tracking was being used to monitor your movements? Ah that got your attention, and for most people it’s not a nice thought. Whilst some might argue that only those who have something to hide should fear it, I don’t think that’s a fair statement.

GPS tracking can be done in many ways with expensive equipment being fitted to company cars right through to your mobile phone transmitting your location back to your spouse. Mobile phones and blackberries have meant that we’re now more in touch than ever so why should it go this step further, and take away from the human desire to be free. Nope there’s nothing to hide but not everything about our lives has to be online or “on the grid” in 24 speak.

Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely times when GPS tracking is useful and even results in extra security or protection being offered to the individuals. But with one has to draw the line somewhere and ensure that you’re not infringing upon the persons rights or going about it covertly.

If things are not going right with your computer its most likely a driver issue resulting in an unstable system. But don’t turn to the CDs and DVDs that came with your computer as the drivers on there will be extremely out of date. Now comes the fun task of trying to locate updates for these. Sadly Windows can’t really help you out here too much but before you head on over to Google to search away there is another way.

http://www.driverssoftware.com/ boasts a huge database listing of almost all drivers around. Whether you’re looking for HP drivers or more complicated bits like Intel drivers you’ll find everything within a few clicks. Of course don’t forget to make a full system backup before installing these as the last thing you want is your system not booting back up. But thanks to the listings on the site you should have no problem updating.

Privacy is one touchy subject that can get people ranting from both sides, and whilst you might not initially care about some aspects of it just think of how you might feel if say for example, GPS tracking was being used to monitor your movements? Ah that got your attention, and for most people it’s not a nice thought. Whilst some might argue that only those who have something to hide should fear it, I don’t think that’s a fair statement.

GPS tracking can be done in many ways with expensive equipment being fitted to company cars right through to your mobile phone transmitting your location back to your spouse. Mobile phones and blackberries have meant that we’re now more in touch than ever so why should it go this step further, and take away from the human desire to be free. Nope there’s nothing to hide but not everything about our lives has to be online or “on the grid” in 24 speak.

Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely times when GPS tracking is useful and even results in extra security or protection being offered to the individuals. But with one has to draw the line somewhere and ensure that you’re not infringing upon the persons rights or going about it covertly.

Network Attached Storage was a corporate buzz-word not so long ago but more often home and small business users are finding they’re drowning in data. We’re all saving a lot more data with music and high-definition video eating up the bulk of it. So what’s one to do?

Addonics has released a NAS system that allows you to add USB hard drives to your LAN and from there you’re able to share it with others either locally via SMB (64 concurrent users) or remotely via FTP (limited to 8 simultaneous connections). And of course there is access control as well so you’re able to control who can read or write to what folder.

If that’s not enough it can also double up as a DHCP server and share printers via it’s USB port or keep your torrents going with it’s inbuilt BitTorrent client that saves directly to the attached USB drive. Total storage is limit to 2TB while maximum files are 127GB if transferred via LAN or 4GB when copied directly via USB.

More information is available in the manual (PDF) or to purchase here.

File extensions must the be one of the worst things about computers and there is no escaping. Those 3 letters after the period determine what application will handle your file. If you’re in any doubt as to what file format that extension relates to then this will be an extremely handy resource to have nearby.

Not only do they list what extensions belong to what applications but they have a handy tool that will clean up your registry and fix missing file associations. All to often you’ll install a new application which takes over a file association only to uninstall it later and find you’re no longer able to open your files.

Whilst the application on offer might only be really useful when things really break down their database is invaluable as a file extension lookup.