My Zune HD (plus headphones) resides in it’s own case, keeping the device protected and the headphones untangled.

Another case keeps my spare USB cord, Nexus One charger, and Jabra headset, no more searching through my bag to find them. The cases also come in handy for protecting cellphones, SD cards, flash drives, the list goes on and on. If you don’t wear glasses, you can pick up some cases for cheap at a secondhand store.

Download (rapidshare)

They are all formatted for the Google Nexus One’s dimensions. Enjoy
960×800px, jpg

Preview below

ps sorry for the rapidshare link though

Prior to my Nexus One, i had not had any direct experience/using of Android.  One of my pals had a T-Mobile G1 but sadly the cpu was underpowered to really show what Android can do.  Again, my main reason to purchase the Nexus One was that it had the cpu power to anything android wanted and not blink.  So, does it? Is Android mature enough to stand up to the standard that the iPhone has left us with? Lets find out!

Android 2.1 (Eclair) is Google’s latest build of Android. Lately people have been getting a little worried about the Android ecosystem being to fragmented and the possibility for even more versions of Android running could hurt overall compatibilty. However, Android 2.1 is being released along with the Nexus One. Main features that it brings are 5 panel homescreen (prior builds 2.0, 1.6, 1.5 have only 3), live wallpapers, google goggles, multitouch (w/latest OTA update!) and even more behind the scene APIs.

Here are a few shots of Android 2.1 (homescreen, widgets, settings, application list)

Navigating the Nexus One is like any smartphone.  Android uses 5 homescreen panels to add Widgets (ie weather/news one seen in my homescreen), icons, shortcuts, folders.

At the bottom you have a full application list (the squares at the bottom, in my homescreen) that will give you a panel you scroll through of all of your apps.

The setting screens are basic and to the point.  You have notification default settings you can setup for ringers, notifications, alarms.  You can also add a gesture password (still cool after a month) to be used when your phone locks.  You can add and sync your google, youtube, facebook accounts and have them fully integrate into your address book/calendar if you like or you can have them just add info for current contacts on your phone (my pref).

Overall, as a previous iPhone users, i felt pretty at home to start with. However, getting used to the soft keys on the Nexus One has been more of a hit and miss adventure.  The nexus one has 4 touch buttons below the screen for:
Back - Menu - Home - Search

I’ve noticed that i have to hit higher than i think i would to get them to register.  A minor gripe however i have haptic feedback turned on for those buttons so it will vibrate when i do hit one.

Screen Accuracy / Keyboard / Typing :

The biggest thing that the iPhone did that almost no one has been able to still do is nail typing on a touchscreen.  The iPhone (imo) still has the best keyboard and software for it.

The Nexus One keyboard def is not up to par with the iPhones.  I notice that some presses are not registered because they are too light and others are way off the mark at times.  It took me a few days to get a feel for the nuances in typing, however the Auto Suggest is great and the voice to text works pretty well considering it sends the recorded speech up to google and back down as text.  Overall it is much faster w/the newest OTA update and does a good job w/clearly spoken items.

So the iPhone still owns the typing realm vs the Nexus One.  But that is just one piece of the pie.

Camera / Multimedia / Music:

The camera on the Nexus One is a 5mp, autofocus w/LED flash.  It takes very good shots for a mobile phone that doesn’t claim to be a camera more than a phone.  I prefer it over my iPhone with just the flash alone.  Video is still the 640×480 quality but it looks pretty good for a phone.

Another lacking area for music junkies out there is the Android’s media player.  It really needs to get a revamp soon to add native video playback, more sorting options, built-in equalizers (def possible, live wallpapers can do it; would be nice to have in the app itself).  Not having a direct syncing application to use out of the box is a downfall too.

I’ve resorted to just doing an old school search for my 4-5 star rated songs in iTunes and then copying to my 16GB  microsdhc in my nexus one.

Watching movies on the Nexus One is a pleasure.  Its screen shows it beauty, again the video player app is really basic and needs a total revamp (which hopefully is 2.2).

iPhone again takes the cake due to iTunes (yes, i did say it) and app store.  More on this later though.

Email / Address Book / Calendar:

The Android phones can really excel at the PIM area… if your a full google user which  I am (voice, gmail, calendar, docs, etc), the Nexus One is built to connect and live in the cloud.

Once you setup your google account, you can have it sync your Calendar, Contacts, and Email.  It will do two way syncing so any changes on phone go up to the cloud and vice versa (reason why i held off on using google calendar, no two way sync in Outlook).  This is very handy for when you need a number at a pals house and you don’t have your phone.

You can also integrate facebook and contacts/friends from there will sync if you choose.  Picasa can be attached to your Gallery items and in turn let you sync photos to and from it.  It makes it easy to publish instantly to your picasa web album and be shareable in seconds.

So cloud syncing; by far Android.

App Stores:

The obvious next argument for/against either the iPhone or Android.  Not enough apps in the market place.  this has this many, while that has that much… blah blah blah…

Not to be cliche but quantity doesn’t always matter.  I really was not a total app nut on my iPhone; i bought bejeweled and a few grocery list apps and a tethering app but beyond that i was looking at free apps.  With Android, Google alone fills most of my needs w/the fun google goggles and google skymap apps.  Skymap on the Nexus One alone is amazing (no lag, amazing use of AR).

There are a ton of AR apps like Layar and NYC Wayfinder (find subways using camera and pointing in nyc, i used it a few times while there recently).

The quantity of paid apps and free apps will pale in comparison to the Apple App Store.  I have found most all of the apps that i need and will later be posting a blog post of my fave android apps.

Imo, i would say its a Tie.  Apple App store has a ton of everything but the Android store has almost all i need w/o too many dupes or soundboards.  Plus, dev in Android is definitely gaining more interest and apps and public exposure.

Conclusions after 1 month of use:

I love my Nexus One!

I am in total love w/screen and raw power and having a semi decent backup camera too.  I have yet to really feel any lag while using it.  The keyboard can be a pain at times but the voice recognition/transcription makes up for it.  The lack of media playback features and lack of a syncing app/partnership would make it hard for an avid iTouch/iPhone to justify.

Plus, my phone shouldn’t be obsolete for at least 3 months

Coming soon.. my top android apps for the nexus one….

1. Open Firefox.

2. Right-click the Bookmarks Bar and select New Bookmark.

3. In the Name textbox, input Google Buzz.

4. In the Location textbox, input the following:

https://m.google.com/app/buzz?source=mog&gl=us&force=1#~buzz:view=following

5. Check the Load this bookmark in the sidebar checkbox.

6. Click the Add button.

The first time that you go, you will be greeted with this page:

click the Continue on an unsupported device link.

So, what does this previous iPhone 2G and 3G user think of Android and the Nexus One?   Hit the jump to get my part 1 of 2 on my experience.

Introduction/Background:

First things first, this is Google’s first real attempt at launching its own phone.  In late 2008, T-Mobile was the first to launch an Android smartphone.  Android is Google’s smartphone/smartbook OS.  The main idea behind the Android OS is that it is free and open source; so anyone can use it or create apps for it.  There is no premium attached to running it on a phone for a manufacturer.  The inital launch of the G1 was mixed with love and hate.  The hardware itself was not the best at the time and at times showed its age by being a bit slow.  The Android OS itself was VERY young and immature; however even though it was Google’s first release it still was pretty good (almost as good and perhaps better than Windows Mobile in terms of stability and ease of use).

Between the G1’s launch and Google’s announcement of the Nexus One (days before CES, similar to how Apple’s iPhone announcement was setup), the Android platform had matured quite a bit and very nicely.  HTC released several great device such as the Hero and Motorola really brought its A-game with the Droid.  The Droid was one of the first Android devices to really catch the consumers eye (besides the geeks and early adopters of previous android phones) with an updated Android OS.

Prior to the Nexus One announcement, rumors and eventually blurry spyshots and videos slowly leaked from google employees.  Google had distributed devices to all of its employees for testing and in what seemed like a nicely coordinated viral marketing campaign; more and more details  started leaking out including the first blurry pics and then the bootup screen and finally as CES approached more and more detailed videos and info started leaking.  Finally, Google made it official at an event prior to CES.

The biggest thing about the Nexus One was that Google would be selling the device from its own webpage (http://google.com/phone ) and would sell it unlocked or subsidized w/a contract with T-Mobile (USA) and later in the year Verizon.  The cost for the Nexus One unlocked was $529 (meaning you can use it on any GSM based network) or for $179 subsized by T-Mobile (in turn requiring a 2 year contract and also requiring a $39 unlimited data plan).

Most people were not very impressed by this.  To most, $500+ for a phone is a lot of money but the problem is that most people don’t see the full picture.  I’ve been a T-Mobile customer now for about 4 years and in turn have been grandfathered into the T-Zones Unlimited Web data plan ($5.99/mo) and did not want to loose that plan since its a bit more challenging to get it back ( see my tech-recipe on how you can try to get this data plan).  So I had to decide on whether I wanted to save a few bucks instantly but pay for it in the long run or if i wanted to pay the full $529 but in the long run save money.  To me, this was a no brainer; buy the phone unlocked since 1 years worth of data would in turn make the cost of ownership of the Nexus One more than the money saved on the subsidized price.  So about around 3pm on launch day I pulled the trigger and snatched it up.  Gotta love the free overnight shipping!

Hardware/Initial Impressions:

The boxing of the Nexus One is comparable to the iPhone’s.  A nice sturdy, white box w/a microUSB cable, power cable, the phone.  The feel of the Nexus One is a bit different but good; it has a velvet rubber backing feel and the screen feels and looks better than my previous iPhone 2G and 3G.  The boot up screen loads rather fast and walked you through activating (if you are a new customer), however since I already have a tmobile sim, i just popped it out of my iPhone and into the Nexus One and was instantly up and going.

The phone itself feels very solid and high quality. The near velvet feel of the backing is nice and grippy vs the iphone’s smooth/glossy surface.  It has 3 hardware buttons and a scoll ball/led indicator.   My fave feature of the Nexus One is the LED notification.  Its sad to think i’ve gone almost 2 years with having to turn on my phone to know if i had an unread message/missed call/voicemail.  A feature the iPhone to this day lacks, what, LEDs too expensive?? /sarcasm

The first thing you’ll notice when you power on the phone is how fast it does boot up and also the screen.   It really is gorgeous.  Anothering i’ve noticed is that the screen seems to almost be a ’self-cleaning’ screen in that when i put in back in my pocket and then take it out, it seems to clean the finger prints off of it by rubbing on the fabric in my pocket.

The battery is removable but the memory card (microSD/SDHC) and sim cards can only be accessed with the battery out which can be annoying at times.

The camera is on the back like all touchscreen phones but the nice thing is that since the camera is above the battery area, if your camera lense gets very scratched, you can just buy a new battery cover and fix that.

The connnector is a microUSB  flavor (the new current standard for phones).  The Nexus One also internally has Bluetooth, 802.11n wifi, HSPDA/EDGE data radios, GPS, Compass (for augmented reality apps, navigation).  It has almost every connectivity flavor that currently exists in phones and of course easily powers it with its amazing 1ghz Snapdragon processor.  Like others have said, this phone is really the best of all current phone technology packaged into one phone.

Overall, the Nexus One feels like a very high quality phone; it doesn’t feel slippery or plasticky cheap. So hardware-wise, i’m very impressed with the phone. Google just released the Dock for the Nexus One however I have not had time to use yet but once i return back home i will add a new post on it.

So yes, the Nexus One is an amazing piece of phone hardware. For a phone geek, you couldn’t ask for more.  It has the actual processing power to drive AR apps without any lags and a screen that is gorgeous compared to most other touchscreen phones.  The camera is a very nice 5mp and does a good job of shooting.

Next post, i’ll take a look at the software side of things and how the transition from iPhone OS to Android went for this geek.

First, you should to go to the Marketplace and get the Dolphin Browser.  You could do this with the web browser that comes with the device, however it will not allow you to change the name of the video when you are downloading it. 

You will need to add the free online video converter service, BenderConverter as a bookmark on your browser.  You will need this to perform the conversion and downloading of the video to your device.

Now you are ready to capture any YouTube video that catches your attention. 

1. While in the YouTube application and viewing the desired video, tap the Menu key on the device. 
2. Select Details.

   

3. Select the small, circular arrow button that is located beneath the thumbnail of the video.

   

4. Select the Copy URL button.

   

5. Open the Dolphin Browser application (or the Android Browser).
6. Go to your Bookmarks and select the BenderConverter bookmark.
7. When the webpage finishes loading, select the iPod / PSP / iPhone Movie (.mp4) radio button.
8. Long press the Video page link textbox and select Paste to input the URL of the YouTube video.
9. Check the I agree with the Terms of Use checkbox.
10. Select the Convert button.

    

11. When the service has finished with the conversion, select the DOWNLOAD button.  If you are using the Dolphin Browser, it will allow you to change the filename of the video.  Do so and select OK.  If you are using the devices regular browser, the video will start downloading, with a generic filename.

    

12. Once finished you have completed the task.  You can open Gallery to find your downloaded video.

    

First off, this is a great lens. I wish it would go down to f2.8, but, you can’t have everything for $200. Unfortunately, or perhaps by design, Nikon equipped this lens with plastic mounting lugs. Plastic can, well, shear off at the worst times.

I’ll post some pictures later, but for now, here is the fix.

Essentially, this repair consists of ordering the right part - the box is labeled B37, code JAA79851-B37. I called the Nikon parts department and just asked for the “mounting ring” for this lens.

Part in hand, you’ll need a tiny screwdriver.

Look at the base of the lens - you’ll see three parts. On the outside is the mounting ring we’re going to replace, there is a curved bit with contacts for the camera, and another part surrounding the glass.

Looking further, you’ll see three screws holding the surround part, two on the contact plate, and three on the mounting ring.

Remove the three screws for the surround part, then gently lift it off. Put the screws somewhere safe.

Now, remove the two screws for the contact plate. It’ll fall towards the middle of the lens, that’s fine. There is a thin conductor cable coming from it, just be easy and don’t force anything.

Take a deep breath, we’re about to do the hardest part.

Remove the three screws around the perimeter to free the broken mount. Gently lift up a bit and look underneath. Try not to disturb the shims under there, but I’m sure you will. Don’t sweat it too much.

Unlike the images in the linked article, my replacement part has an aperture loop (the long thing that sticks into the lens) instead of a plate. This loop is connected to the lens, and there didn’t seem to be an easy way to detach it. This loop is connected to the mounting plate with two very small screws, removed them, and I was able to lift the mount enough to look at the next challenge.

As noted in the linked article, there is a small wire leading to a contact on the edge of the mount. This contact consists of a screw, a bracket, a pin, and a spring. After that spring went flying off the table, I surmised it has a decent amount of compression. So, unlike me, carefully remove the screw and other parts from the damaged mount.

Half way done! Now, we just need to reverse the process.

I removed that contact pin from the new mount, and attached it to the wire coming from the lens. Carefully, put the mount back on the lens.

To attach the aperture loop, I used a toothpick to prop it up enough, then the magnetic screwdriver could take over. Two tiny screws later, we’re ready to reassemble.

First, we’ve got to deal with those shims. I used the toothpick to line the holes up, and indexed on the mount-screw hole just to the right of an indentation (where that contact pin bracket will wind up). Carefully, ease the connector plate back into position while putting the mount into position - harder to explain than it is to do, really.

Take another deep breath, the worst is over.

Replace the two screws in the connector plate.

Using that toothpick, I made sure the mount holes, shims, and screw holes were aligned, and replaced these 3 screws.

Drop the surround ring back into place, and replace it’s 3 screws.

Cross fingers, mount the lens on the camera. Mine worked the first time!

Keep reading for the embedded video or click here to go to youtube page.

[youtube 1wZeSZsZk-Y]

1. Go to Facebook and then access the My Town applicaton.

2. When the My Town app has finished loading, go to the top and right-click the Free Gifts tab.

3. Select Open Link in New Tab. Repeat this step a few more times so that you have 6 or 7 tabs open to the Free Gifts page.

4. Go to each tab and select the GIFT that you want to send (they can be different or all the same). Do not press the Send Gift button yet!

5. After you have selected a gift on each tab, go back to the first tab and click the Send Gift button. Repeat this for each tab.

6. Go to each tab and select the My Town Friend(s) to send the gift(s). Do not click the Send MyTown Gift Request button yet.

7. After you have selected the intended recipients for each tab, go back to the first tab and click the Send MyTown Gift Request button. Repeat this step for each tab.

8. Go back to the first tab, you will see the MyTown Gift request that you have created. Click the Send button. Repeat this step for each tab.

You can now close your browser. The gift request will all be sent and your friends will be quite happy!

and it did! :)  my previous plan worked just fine on my jailbroken iPhone 3G but I only got EDGE on it since the 3G was AT&T’s bands, not T-Mobiles.  However, to my delight, once I popped my SIM in I got a nice 3G icon and some up and down arrow action. SCORE!!! My savings from not having to switch data plans would let me save the amount I spent on the phone.

here’s some comparison geek pr0n with an iPhone 3G and PSP Go.

Here’s a quick video of it in action.  Hit the jump for the embedded video or click on over here for the youtube vid.

[youtube 2t2b2U0ViIQ]

this is a longer vid so you’ve been warned but i demo a NES, SNES, Genesis, and N64 emulator running via the HBC and an SDHC card.

hit the jump for the embedded video, or click here for the direct youtube vid.

[youtube KB-Ffx4HsPI]

(HD version may still be processing)

1. Torrentzap

2. ShareReactor

3. yourBittorrent

4. LeakZ.NET

5. isoHunt

enjoy

After 4 1/2 years, I thought I’d recap on my experience with the PSP (being that I have also owned a Nintendo DS) and my thoughts and reflections.  Keep reading for the full scoop.Sony launched the PSP in March 2005 in the USA.  The initial sales were very good and ended up being in the 500,000 unit sold range.  The homebrew/modding scene really took to the PSP due to the amazing hardware it was running.  The first few hacks ranged from using a dns spoofer and wipeout browser to browse the web prior to the browser being added, to the first helloworld app, to the swapploit and kxploit hacks that spawned the current Custom Firmware (cfw) scene.

Being an early adopter, I was lucky that I had not upgraded my firmware from the original launch 1.50 and in turn was able to run homebrew/emulators the moment the hacks were released.  Up to this point, the PSP really did not have much a software backing from the major publishers.  Most games were really just dumbed down, ps2 ports.  And we all know that a ps2 port on a psp doesn’t always translate so well due to the fact that you didn’t have the 2nd analog stick on the psp (and thus the cries of angst when the pspgo did not have the 2nd analog).

By about June/July of 2005, one could run ISO games from a memory stick or SNES, NES, Genesis emulators given you had the older firmware running.  Eventually, a few groups of amazing psp hackers/modders got serious and created the infamous Pandora battery that allowed one to restore a psp w/a custom made battery.  At the same time, the underground scene was busy at work on creating custom firmwares.  Basically they would take an official Sony PSP firmware update and allow it to run unsigned code/homebrew but still allowing the user to retain the new features of the firmware.  This never-ending cycle of homebrew/hackers and sony twarthing them continues to this day and probably will until the PSP is replaced.

I really did not use my PSP as much as I expected myself to.  I bought about 10 games for it and did enjoy them but really did not find any of them a defining PSP game.  They all felt like ported ps2 games.  I used my PSP mainly to run emulators; nothing is greater than having the ability to fire up Super Mario World on a SNES emulator on the bus and have it run lag free!

However I did eventually buy a PS3 and also in the meantime acquired a LocationFree TV setup too.  These two items were always a challenge to get working on a CFW PSP.  Locationfree client on the PSP firmware was usually removed when you installed the 1.50 add-on and remoteplay would not work via PSN since it checked the actual firmware versions (adhoc connection to the ps3 did work though).So today I looked at my psp collecting dust and asked myself, “Is it time to real firmware?”  I haven’t touched my PSP in two months and realized that the main uses of it when I do are related more to actual PSN/PSOne games, Remote Play via my PS3 and Locationfree viewing.  All of which is much easier to do on official sony firmware vs cfw.  I use my PSP more for media/music/tv viewing than playing games and the only games I’ve been playing lately have been PSOne classics i get from the PSN store.

And yes, it is time.  My PSP is going legit with official Sony firmware today.  Did I sell out? Nope, Sony finally convincing me its time to go legit with the features I gain by doing so (comic book reader, locationfree client over the internt, remoteplay to ps3). Plus, I have money enough to buy games and prefer supporting publishers with said money.  I am in no way condoning homebrew but have realized that the benefits of the official firmware outweigh the benefits of cfw for my uses.

….Update downloading….

wow, just wow. that’s all i can say really these days whenever i read another article on the industries who seem to have held onto their old and dying business models biting the hand that feeds them.

as you can probably already tell, today’s post is a soap-box rant which does not reflect the opinions of tech-rx or its owners.

keep on reading for a full fledged yo-momma rant on the music, video and newspaper industries.

First things first, do you know what the ACTA is?

if not, YOU SHOULD!The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA ) is a ‘proposed plurilateral trade agreement which is claimed by its proponents to be in response “to the increase in global trade of counterfeit goods and pirated copyright protected works. The scope of ACTA is broad, including counterfeit physical goods, as well as “internet distribution and information technology“‘(via wikipedia )from my understanding, the negotiations of the industry heads w/governments across the world lobbying for the agreement have been very secretive and copies of the draft have been watermarked and delivered via physical paper copies.more information can be found over at:gizmodo.com - secret copyright treaty…crunchgear - ACTA…

yea, bad. very bad in my opinion.  basically it would make isps the copyright cops since they provide the pipes. WTF???

also, just today, rumor has it that the studios want to make Netflix delay new movie releases? Why? I do not understand why the industries want to inhibit the growth of the volume of information/media that’s available and for the most part being purchased.next up, the RIAA.

really? still suing people?? why??? and for over $100K  for 200 songs? i wish the artists that are represented would say something once in awhile. i really can’t justify purchasing music from any artists that are a part of the RIAA. i vote with my pocketbook.Newspapers/News agencies (web or paper)well, the reason for your existence is to deliver content to an audience in a (for the most part) timely matter.  so one would think that news agencies and companies would move into the now and leverage the power of the internet and masses.  but no, they are struggling to find a suitable/profitable business model and are even considering paywalls for news.

the first big problem, news is news. its worthless imo.  it has no value; most of my news i read via my RSS feeds or get word of mouth/tweets/facebooks.  nationwide/world news is very easy to obtain.  however the part that most of us really care about is our local news.  why aren’t newspapers thinking forward? build a nice data center. start scanning/ocring all back issues and then offering them for viewing online and use adbased revenue schemes. start trying crowd-sourcing news clips. HIRE ACTUAL COMMENT MODS (so sick of racial rants/slurs/crude comments that never get modded, hell you can even get a kid from college as an intern and have him do it w/o paying him!).

so that’s all for now. hopefully i have not offended anyone since that was not my purpose of this post.  no, my purpose was to make those not aware that YES, the industries and times are changing and we have to be ready.

We also have to protect our rights as citizens and not let a media industry dictate laws regarding freedom of speech and inhibiting of a growing and evolving world of information.the interwebz set information free and thus killed a ton of industries based on the hoarding of such information and also gave us (users/citizens) the tools start making our own media/distributing.and to that. good day!

</rant>

1. Go to Facebook and then access the FishVille applicaton.

2. When the FishVille app has finished loading, go to the top and right-click the Free Gifts tab.

3. Select Open Link in New Tab. Repeat this step a few more times so that you have 6 or 7 tabs open to the Free Gifts page.

4. Go to each tab and select the GIFT that you want to send (they can be different or all the same). Do not press the Proceed to Send button yet!

5. After you have selected a gift on each tab, go back to the first tab and click the Proceed to Send. Repeat this for each tab.

6. Go to each tab and select the FishVille Friend(s) to send the gift(s). Do not click the Send FishVille Gift Request button yet.

7. After you have selected the intended recipients for each tab, go back to the first tab and click the Send FishVille Gift Request button. Repeat this step for each tab.

8. Go back to the first tab, you will see the FishVille Gift request that you have created. Click the Send button. Repeat this step for each tab.

You can now close your browser. The gift request will all be sent and your friends will be quite happy!

This last weekend I finally clean installed Windows 7 Ultimate Edition Retail on my Wind and HP (prior to this I was running beta/rc versions of Windows 7).  I also received my Windows 7 license for my desktop and did another clean install (wiping vista right off) of Windows 7 on it.  Previous OS upgrades have taught me one thing; upgrading can/will bite you in the end.  I recommend backing up data and doing a clean install to avoid any possible issues that may crop up later down the road (ie driver incompatibilities, software that doesn’t work on Win7, crashing).  So my advice, if possible clean install.  Yes, its more work to start with but may save you some and frustration down the road.

After my installs were completed, the first thing i did was setup networking on the machines and in Windows 7 case, join a Homegroup. Keep reading for more info on my homegroups and media sharing experience.One of the coolest features of Windows 7 is the way you setup networks.  You no longer have to use Workgroups to setup a local network, but instead setup a Homegroup on the first computer and then connect to that Homegroup using a static password.

Once you connect/setup the Homegroup, it will let you choose what you want to share initially; Documents, Pictures, Videos, Music, and Printers. You can then easily share other folders by just right-clicking on the folder and then going to the Share With > and then choose Homegroup.  Once you do that, your other computers on the homegroup will instantly see the folder and files.Homegroup sharing also comes into play if you use a Windows 7 computer on the homegroup to record tv.

This is probably one of the coolest features, imo, for those who use Media Center for their DVR.  Once I have all of my computers on the homegroup, i can then go into Media Center and then to the TV > Recorded TV.  Be sure to go to the Shared tab so that way the host pc will stream the shows vs playing the file from the shared folder.  You can also make a copy of the show from the shared area; this is nice if its a larger HD show and you want to take a copy with you or would rather play it locally.

Using Homegroups/Networking with non-Windows 7 computers works like it did with XP/Vista.  Just need to have the computers in the same workgroup (actually, you can probably just have them on the same connection, i use workgroups out of habit).  You won’t have the cool abilities with Media Center on a Vista machine but that is expected. Windows 7 definitely lives up to the hype and brings Media Center back into the releavent digital media world.

For DIY HTPC people, this OS defintely helps to make up for Vista Media Centers failure to live up to hype and features (no real QAM support, better cablecard support, sharing media libraries). However there are still a few things that do need to be addressed in Windows 7 such as native Bluray movie playback, but thats what SP1 is for right?

Here are some of my videos showing Windows 7 in action:

Windows 7 Clear QAM Demo

[youtube srdpJwh8ly8]

Windows 7 and TV Sharing Demo

[youtube kLGPM_eqTuU]

Windows 7 and Streaming to PS3

[youtube n6Fi5OrO8ec]

Windows 7 and Dell XT Surface/Touchpack Demo

[youtube p4NKdKHjyLA]

Microsoft tries to redeem itself for Vista by accelerating development of Windows 7 and to everyone’s delight, it appeases most with its updated UI and performance.

Netbooks became a household name and have started to grow out of its own genre.  Nvidia Ion chips are now starting to appear in the latest netbooks ( Asus and HP were the first to offer) and seem to do a great job in playing back HD content.  Touchscreen are starting to appear more and more in both netbooks and normal laptops.

Add on top of that the prospects of Microsoft and Apple’s ‘new’ tablet offerings. Nintendo in spring of 2009, released its updated DS model the DSi (a touchscreen based portable console) to its category dominating DS Lite. Android devices started to finally hit market with HTC offering some very tasty hardware (HTC Hero, upcoming Leo) and Motorola making a comeback after its somewhat fall from fame (razr made and then broke them, moto q was a disaster) with the new Android based Cliq and Motoblur (both touchscreen/slider based phones).

Windows 7 teases us with the Surface Addon Pack that turns select multitouch touchscreen pcs/laptops/tablets into a mini Microsoft Surface.  Google announces its making its own OS for netbooks/devices. Apple updates its iPod lineup and releases the much anticipated Snow Leopard.

2009 sure seems to be the year of touch and user interfaces.

I have been using Windows 7 for quite some time now.  It really is a very nice upgrade from Vista and mind blowing for XP upgraders.  The visual upgrades in the UI are very nice and really it bring up to speed in comparison to OS X Snow Leopard.  The new taskbar and window tricks are very handy. Again, a very nice upgrade from XP and worth it. Performance is on par with Vista (vista really wasn’t that bad after SP1). Media Center is given a very nice modern upgrade to the digital/hd world and adds support for Clear QAM tuners and future Netflix streaming addin.  64bit versions can now support up to 192GB (for Prof and Ultimate Eds).  If only Microsoft can do the same with their Mobile OS.

Windows Mobile 7 is slated for mid 2010.  Currently 6.5 was released to more mehs than yays.  Most updates seem more of last minute tweaks to make a stylus based UI more finger friendly.  However HTC appears to have more a grasp on UI design than Microsoft themselve with its Sense UI.  Early peaks at Windows Mobile 7 are very promising; hopefully Microsoft can keep its OS hit streak on. I personally can not recommend any current Windows Mobile 6.5 or 6.1 phones to pals/relatives.  With Windows Mobile 7 just a half a year or so away, I feel it would be a waste of money (however these are just my thoughts).

I still have been using my iPhone 3G Jailbroken/Unlocked on T-Mobile.  Sure, I don’t get 3G speed but for what I pay in data and voice ($5.99 T-zone Web unlimited plan) is well worth the slower EDGE speeds.  Motorola may finally have risen from its ashes.  Previous epic failures included the Moto Q and Rockr may be things of the past for them.  Their latest and upcoming Android offeres are looking very nice, actually impressive in design and build.  I am tempted to dip into the Android kool-aid.

Lastly, the Apple Tablet has been a burning rumor this whole year.  Will we finally see a leaked shot? Rumors still point it to an early 2010 release but no real spy shots have been seen.  Will it be an e-book reader too?  No matter what it is, it will be the buzz of the tech blogs.  Its also very nice to see the competition in the e-book reader heat up.  The Barnes and Nobles Nook looks very impressive and may give the Kindle a real run for its money and perhaps break the e-book reader scene into the mainstream.  Price is definetly a key factor.  Sony’s offerings look good, but the price and glare factor may put them behind the competition.

Hopefully I haven’t bored you to much. Keep it geeky!

1. Go to Facebook and then access the Cafe World applicaton.

2. Go to the bottom of the screen and select the Customize icon (the chair).

3. Click on the door to your cafe.

4. Drag it into the decor inventory at the bottom of the screen so that it disappears, leaving no way to enter the cafe.

5. Click the green checkmark on the right side.

Your cafe is now closed. When you are ready to open back up, go back to Customize, select the DOOR icon and grab a free door to put back where you want it.