Of course there are many websites out there offering you “free” Windows 7 theme downloads, the problem with most is that you’ll almost always be directed to another site where they want you to complete a survey, take an IQ test or something else that will end up wasting much of your time. For this reason I’ve decided to direct you to one site where you can get all of the themes and wallpapers I’m about to show you and that is: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/downloads/personalize ; as the URL would imply, this is the official Microsoft page where you can download free Windows 7 themes for your licensed copy of Windows 7.

Most Windows 7 themes you download will automatically change your background in line with the current theme. For example the Porsche theme shown below switches between a large variety of different Porsche models, keeping your desktop looking fresh, new and interesting at all times.

I’ll start off with something you can’t get directly from the above site, it’s my desktop with a customised background and theme, so if customisation is your thing you can get creative and work on something a bit more you.

yes yes, I'm a Final Fantasy fan

The Coca-Cola “open up happiness” theme

The Porsche theme

The Ferrari theme

Some Ducati for the bike lovers

Interestingly enough, there was a theme named “South Africa” too, the backgrounds it switches to are quite breathtaking

As usual the latest Final Fantasy has its own unique story totally independent from previous Final Fantasy storylines with the exception of a few familiar names and of course Chocobos! The main character is a woman who goes by the name Lightning; Lightning will be the first female who is the main protagonist in a Final Fantasy game (with exception to Luna in FFX-2, but we’re not counting that).  Square Enix have always created totally unique Worlds set in complete fantasy and the land known as “Cocoon” looks as if though it will be no exception.

Square Enix have also created a completely new fighting system which looks quite interesting indeed (check it out: http://www.finalfantasy13game.com/#/uk/news/15 ). From what can be seen in the game play videos Final Fantasy XIII’s combat is quite a bit faster than its predecessors and incorporates a new form of summoning which looks incredible visually. Also check out the launch trailer:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU-mCRvtX8g .

Final Fantasy 13 is set for release during this month of March 2010 for the PS3 and Xbox360. Sony will be releasing a special limited edition Final Fantasy 13 PS 3 slim console bundle (pictured below); this was already released in the East as it has been out there for some time now.

I can carry on yapping for hours on why you should buy this game when it comes out, suffice it to say that Final Fantasy 13 will push your consoles graphic capabilities to the boundary of its known limits and this is definitely going to be a totally awesome and inspiring game. Check out the official website (link posted above) and witness the beauty that is Final Fantasy 13.

The special is only valid for the 3rd of March 2010 online at www.incredible.co.za.

If you want to be kept up to date on specials such as these, make sure you have signed up to the Incredible Connection newsletter that we send out on a monthly basis. That way, you won’t miss out!

The Bada operating system seems to be quite intensely focused on multimedia and specifically mobile gaming. When viewing the planned specs and stats for the smart phone you’ll realise that this phone will be quite a heavyweight amongst the smart phone line up for this year.

I managed to score some pics on how the phone will look from the dailymobile.se website. The smart phone will have the following features:

• 3.3 inch AMOLED touch screen display
• Bada OS with TouchWiz 3.0
• HSDPA & Wi-Fi
• DivX playback
• 5MP autofocus camera with flash
• 720p High definition video recording
• 1GHz CPU with 2GB of internal memory
• MicroSD card slot

No speculation yet as to the price tag and release date of the S8500 as yet but we’ll keep you posted.

The standalone Ideapad as a tablet like device

Now here’s where the hybrid and impressive part comes into play. The IdeaPad can slot into a its notebook shell and be used as a fully functional notebook too, once you’ve “docked” the tablet into its notebook bay the operating system switches to Windows 7!

The IdeaPad U1 looks like any other notebook when closed

The slate (or tablet like device) when removed from the docking bay has 16gb of storage space which should sufficient for all the multimedia you’d want on the run. The standalone tablet will also have around 8 hours of battery life.

Have a look at some of the demo videos on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSen-_2scIA , this will link you up to some more to get a better idea regarding this handy and innovative piece of hardware.

The U1 Hybrid is set to be available towards the second half of this year and was one of the most impressive showcases at the 2010 CES.

EnviroConnection

That’s where EnviroConnection from Incredible Connection comes in. You can now dispose of all your e-waste at any Incredible Connection store country-wide. Incredible Connection, in partnership with eWASA (eWaste Association of South Africa) are making sure that all your e-waste is either refurbished to be donated to needy schools and charities, or disposed of in an environmentally safe way.

During the month of February, Incredible Connection run Trade-in specials. Here you can bring in all your old electronic items and get discounts on new computers, laptops and gaming consoles. Read more about February’s Trade-in Specials here.

Another handy tip is to bring in your empty printer cartridges into Incredible Connection and you’ll receive discount when you purchase new cartridges!

Read more about how eWASA disposes of electronic waste and start bringing in your old and broken electronic items into Incredible Connection stores!

The monitor has a wide array of features and measures in at 567mm x 407mm x 151mm; with, as mentioned before a glossed black look and a resolution of 1920 pixels x 1080 with a 2ms response time. The monitor also boasts a whopping 10,000,000 : 1 contrast ratio and weighs in at 3.8kg.

The specs for this piece of hardware are as follows:

• 23 inch wide screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio
• Full HD display
• LED backlit LCD Monitor
• 2ms response time
• HDMI, DVI (includes a HDMI to DVI dongle) VGA
• “Splendid” Video enhancement technology

The MS238H has been out in The States for a few weeks already, no definite date has been given for the rest of The World as yet, watch this space for updates.

As many of you will know by now, the latest idea brewing in the gaming world is that of 3D gaming; think of it like the time you watched Avatar in 3D. Well that’s basically the concept, except you would be playing games in 3D. It must be noted that bringing 3D gaming to a PC or notebook is not as simple as putting on a pair of 3D glasses and enjoying the awesome experience of being surrounded and encapsulated by your favourite game in a stunning 3D experience. As it stands NVidia’s “3D vision” technology has a list of pre-requisites including a 120hz HD monitor, an approved GPU with a dual-link DVI connection as well as a pair of battery powered 3D glasses with a USB IR emitter. Asus have successfully incorporated all of this in one impressive package, allowing you; the end user to enjoy 3D gaming in all its glory.

complete and ready for 3D gaming

The G51J’s specs are as follows:

1.6 ghz  Intel Core i7 processor

4 gb of DDR 3 memory

320gb hard drive

Nvidia GeForce GTX 260m graphics card

If you want to read up some more about this very impressive notebook, visit: http://promos.asus.com/US/PR_2009/G51J_Worlds_First_Notebook/Index.html for the more intricate details.

Nobody knows for sure whether 3D gaming will indeed be the next level for gamers, what we do know is that the Asus G51J is one of the most comprehensive package deals out there if you can’t wait to experience what true 3D gaming is all about.

Bioshock 2 takes place 10 years after the first game and has you, the player, playing the role of a prototype Big Daddy. The world of rapture is now also populated with not only splicers, big daddys and little sisters but also big sisters who are not as nice as the name would lead you to believe.

A big sister... not what you pictured I'd bet?

As you now play the role of a big daddy in the game you will experience something that wasn’t present in Bioshock 1 and that is the freedom to step outside the confines of Rapture, using your suit you can step outside into the ocean which will no doubt add an interesting game play dynamic to Bioshock 2. Bioshock will indeed feature a multi player mode where players will take on the role of a Rapture citizen who is a guinea pig of sorts as you test out various plasmids (plasmids give you an array of superhuman powers such as the ability to shock or fry ones enemies to death); the multi player interestingly enough is set a year before the first Bioshock.

Little sisters are used to hunt out and harvest the ever precious Adam chemical found in the world of Rapture

From what can be seen in the game play videos, the designers are going for a mix of survival horror and fast paced action. Bioshock 2 maintains the authentic “retro” feel its predecessor managed to capture and will no doubt be an experience like no other title out there.

The prototype big daddy suit

Bioshock 2 will be a great addition to any gamer’s library and will available in the next few days for the Playstation 3, XBox 360 and PC.

The interface is setup so that each side of the cube serves a different function and by “throwing” or moving data around you are allowed access to each different function. Think of it as a touch screen mini PC with your e-mail on one side of the cube and mp3 playlist on another and so forth.

The gesture cube will allow many of the functions we’d expect in a modern “tablet” device such as this, including the ability to sync with mobile devices. The way the Gesture Cube works on a practical level is it detects movement and distance in three dimensional space, thus allowing the user to interact with it and use it without any physical touching of the device (get ready to scream at your little nephews/brothers/sisters to please not TOUCH the screen!).

Here’s a video giving you more details on this gadget, it will also give you a better idea on just how practical and useful this device can end up being, it’s really a very cool concept.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieolCZBvKPQ&feature=player_embedded