Almost every family has a home network and a prerequisite is if it could be wireless, the less cables needed the better. One of the advantages of wireless networks is the lack of cables. But with that there are a lot of disadvantages, not having cables makes it easier for hackers to get into your home network and also since the signal is wireless it has to go through walls etc.

1. Placement: First of all try and find a place in the middle of your home where you can place the wireless gateway. Also make sure that the device is not near a corner because that limits the coverage. Don’t get discouraged if you can’t find a suitable place just make sure the device is away from any electrical equipment like microwaves, mobile phones and sometimes power plugs, all these can affect reception. There are other ways you can improve your home wireless network coverage which I won’t be mentioning in this article.
   
   • Different Wireless Standards – Up till now there are 5 types 802.11a, 802.11b speed up to 12Mbps, 802.11g speed up to 54Mbps, 802.11n speed up to 300Mbps and 802.11e speed up to 300Mbps. The only difference between 802.11n and 802.11e is the coverage and the channel frequency 2.4GHz and 5GHz. According to a lot of sources the 5GHz or 802.11e is recommended for use in the city because the 2.4GHz is shared with a lot of other home appliances.
   • MIMO (Multiple input, Multiple output) – this wireless technology is implemented only on the new N series adapters. MIMO eliminates dead spots and improves coverage range. But in order to use it you have to make sure that all gadgets on your home wireless network support it.
2. Router/Gateway Set Up:
   • Defaults: Never ever use the router defaults. Hackers are familiar with these default identifiers and passwords, so when they spot a network using them they know it is likely to be vulnerable. First thing you need to do when you login to the administrative settings is to change the password. Second is to change the SSID (Service Set IDentifier, or your home wireless network name).
   • Firewalls: usually all new routers come with an inbuilt firewall and also they are turned off by default, make sure you switch it on. (Warning: I’ve noticed that on some browsers the combination of firewall and WPA2/WPA encryption lead to frequent disconnects from the home wireless network)
   • SSID broadcast: Some routers give you the option to turn off the SSID broadcast and if you ask me I’d recommend it as well. What this means is that is people search for available wireless networks in their area they want see yours on their list because it is hidden and the only way to connect to your home wireless network is to know the SSID.
   • Use MAC address filterd: Every network card, whether it’s wireless or wired, has a unique Media Access Control address (MAC address). What this option does is it restricts access to only certain MAC addresses. It is a bit complicated but does not require experts to do it.
   • Encryption: There are 3 types of encryption that most home wireless network routers/gateways support WEP/WAP/WAP2. The two most recommended and hardest to hack are WAP/WAP2. WPA2 is not supported on Windows XP but there are updates that can be downloaded to activate it. (Advice: From my experience using WPA/WPA2 affects the router’s reliability and speed. If I use WPA2 my speed drops, I keep getting disconnected from the network and also I’ve noticed every time I start downloading big files or try and start video/voice conference on Skype or MSN my connection drops after the first few minutes and then I have to restart my PC to fix the problem. This security measure gets a bit annoying with time.)
   • Wireless Network Channels: Try and use channels that are not used in your neighbour hood. The less interference the better.
   • My Advice: Change the router/gateway defaults as soon as you connect to, switch on the firewall if any, deactivate SSID broadcast, set up the MAC filtering and for encryption use WEP or none. Also all router support DHCP what this means is that when a new device connects to your home wireless network it gets issued an IP address by your router/gateway. I’d recommend switching off that option and using static IPs. This is yet another security measure because even if people manage to connect to your home network they won’t be able to communicate with any computers because they would not have a valid IP address.
3. Wireless Adapter Set Up: If you followed my advice on how to set up your router/gateway you will have to manually setup each and every client computer/console/mobile phone/fridge/tv and what not . There is a special setting that I found doing extensive research that helps home wireless network performance in large populated areas. Go to your wireless adapter configuration (on a PC ControlPanel->System->Device Manager) find your wireless devise and double click on it. Then go to the advanced tab and look for Preamble Select property. When you find it click on it and in the value drop down choose Short Preamble. Then click OK.

This is it now you should have reliable and secure home wireless network where you could plug in your PCs, Macs, Consoles (PS3, PSP, Wii, Nintendo DS, Xbox), Mobile PDAs, printers etc. and no wiress going around the house, very nifty

Technorati Tags: home appliances, home wireless network, n series, network coverage, wireless gateway, wireless networks, wireless technology

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Recently I read an article about Panasonic HD poroducts. What was interesting about it is that Panasonic has launched a program called Living in HD. What the guys at Panasonic are trying to achieve with this program is to build a community that uses a lot o HD products and then get some data on how have those products changed peoples’ lives, which HD product they are most familiar with and use every day, what difficulties people found with certain products and others. Panasonic simply wants to know what does it mean to “live in High Definition”.

Come to think about it this is a very clever method to test their new development and at the same time get a valuable feedback about old/current products. So how are they planning to do that well, they s2tarted it in America where families submit their applications. After been approved Panasonic sends the following HD products:

1. 50″ VIERA Plasma Internet-enabled HDTV
2. HD Camcorder – HDC-SD100K
3. LUMIX Digital Camera – DMC-L10K
4. Network Camera
5. Blu-ray Disc Player -DMP-BD30K
6. Home Entertainment System
7. Toughbook Laptop
8. Photo printer
9. Nintendo Wii

So pretty impressive collection. Well if I personally get all this just to participate I will be a very happy guy. Another bonus to joining this program is that you become aware of the full potential of these HD products. This goes back to my original thought for starting this site. There are so many technological products out there that we don’t know of and some of them could be a real help in our day to day schedule, but there is no one out there to lend us a helping hand and guide us in the right direction. Now to think about what Panasonic is doing with this HD products program well every way you look at it it’s a strategic move to HD consumer development.

The good thing about this program is that on top of getting those Panasonic HD products one of the families could also win a price, they have given a trip to the Beijing Olympics to one of the families for being very creative with their HD products.

The good news is that Panasonic is expanding this program this fall and they are also planning on launching a social network where the participating families can share thoughts and experience.

Well I think this is a really magnificent idea. Come to think of it since I bought my first HDTV I can’t watch on a normal one any more, it is just not as fun and exiting. And also I’ve seen PS3 on a old tube TV and the picture is horrendous. As they say once you go HD you never go back .

I just wish there were more informative programs like the above mentioned so that we know what is out there on offer and also what to look for. I think that if more manufacturers adopt this method of introducing new HD products we will all benefit, consumers because they will have a better understanding and knowledge and I think same goes for manufacturers, if they produce products people need then those products will definitely sell.

Technorati Tags: Blu, Blu-ray, Definition, full, HD, hd products, High, Home, lumix digital camera, new, Panasonic, product, PS3, ray, viera plasma

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I’ve been doing my research on Full HDTVs and how good of a PC monitor the can be. So I’ve decided to share my findings and experience.

I was mainly looking at the 32″ range, I found that Panasonic, Smasung and Sony only have a Full HD models (Sony is expected to release them in mid July and Panasonic is releasing same time). If you are in America or can buy from there you can have a look at Sharp as well, the haven’t anounced that they will be releasin any of those models in Australia.

First I’ll start with Sony Bravia:

• Listed modules: KDL32V4000
• Specs:
  Picture
  • Integrated High Definition Digital Tuner: Yes
  • Native Display Resolution: 1920 x 1080
  • BRAVIA Engine: BRAVIA ENGINE 2
  • Panel Bit: 8 bit
  • Viewing Angle: 178
  • Screen Format: WideZoom/Normal/Full/Zoom
  • Picture Mode: Vivid/ Standard/Cinema
  • Multi Picture: Yes (Picture And Picture)
  • Noise Reduction: 3D Digital Comb Filter
  • Brightness: 450 cd/m2
  • Contrast: 3000:1 (On-Screen) – Very Low contrast rate, visibly it looks better because of the glossy screen
  • Response Time: 8ms – Very slow no improvement whatsoever

  Sound

  • Audio Output: Yes
  • Sound Mode: Dynamic/Standard/Custom
  • Surround Mode: S-FORCE/Simulated Stereo/Off

  Terminals

  • HDMI Input: x3
  • Component In: x2
  • S-Video in: x2
  • Composite in: x3
  • Headphone Out: x1
  • HD15 / PC Audio Input: x1
  • Digital Media Port: x1

  Other Features

  • Power Saving Mode: Yes
  • Clock: Yes
  • On / Sleep Timer: Yes
  • Teletext: Yes (English) 250P
  • Light Sensor: Yes
  • Cinema Drive: Yes
  • OSD Language: English
  • Swivel: Swivel: Yes Tilt: No

  General

  • Power Requirement: 220-240V 50/60Hz
  • Power Consumption: 156w – great power consumption
  • Dimensions with stand (WxHxD): 794 x 577 x 242mm
  • Dimensions without stand (WxHxD): 794 x 540 x 99mm
  • Weight with stand (Kg): 16kg
  • Weight without Stand (Kg): 13kg
  • Standby Power Consumption: Less than 0.3W
  • Not 100Hz
• I also found out that Sony uses Smasung displays.

Second on the list is Samsung:

• Listed Modules: 5 series LA32A550, 6 series LA32A650 only big difference is design, 6 series has 4 HDMI inputs, 5 series Response Time: 5ms
• Specs:
  Picture
  • Screen Size: 32″
  • Resolution: 1920 x 1080
  • Dynamic Contrast Ratio: 15,000:1- very good ratio
  • Viewing Angle: 178
  • Response Time: 6ms – fastest you can get for a TV
  • DNIeâ„¢: DNIe Pro
  • HD Ready: Built-in HD Tuner
  • Brightness: 500 Nit
  • Backlight: CCFL
  • LCD 100Hz: No

  Sound

  • Sound Output(RMS): 10W x 2
  • Stereo Type: A2/NiCAM
  • Sound Effect System: SRS TruSurround XT

  Terminals

  • HDMI: x4
  • Composite (AV): x2
  • S-Video: x1
  • Headphone: x1
  • WISELINK (USB): WiseLink (USB2.0)
  • WISELINK (Multi Memory Slot): No
  • WISELINK (etc.): No
  • RF Input: x1
  • Component(Y/Pb/Pr): x2
  • PC input (D-sub): x1
  • Video Monitor out, L/R: x1
  • Optical sound out: x1
  • RS232C (for Service only): x1

  Other Features

  • Picture-in-Picture: 1 Tuner PIP
  • Sleep timer: Yes
  • Clock & on/off timer: Yes
  • Still picture: No
  • Auto Channel Search: Yes
  • Auto Power Off: Yes
  • Auto Volume Leveller: Yes
  • Anynet+ (HDMI-CEC): Yes
  • Movie Plus: Yes
  • Game Mode: Entertainment Mode
  • TTXT: TTXT Level 2.5

  General

  • Bluetooth: No
  • Colour: Rose Black
  • Swivel (left/right): Yes
  • Front cabinet: Crystal Design
  • Back cabinet: Crystal Design
  • Set size(WxHxD) with stand: 806.0 x 584.4 x 251.9mm
  • Set size(WxHxD) without stand: 806.0 x 528.2 x 81.0mm
  • Package(WxHxD): 912.0 x 746.0 x 188.0mm
  • Set weight with stand: 13.8Kg
  • Set weight without stand: 11.6Kg
  • Package weight: 18.4Kg
  • Wall Mount: Auto-Wallmount Support
  • Remote Controller: TM98A
  • Batteries, AAA type: Yes
  • Operation power consumption: 200W/180W
  • Stand-By power consumption: Under 1W

Third is Panasonic:

• Listed modules: TX-32LZD800A
• Specs:
  Picture
  • Screen Size: 32″
  • Screen Type: LCD
  • Panel Type: IPS-alpha Progressive Full-HD LCD Panel
  • Panel Aspect Ratio: 16:9 (Widescreen)
  • Aspect Ratio Control Modes (TV/AV modes): 4:3, 14:9, 16:9, Just, Zoom1, Zoom2, Zoom3, DTV: 16:9 & 4:3 Full
  • Aspect Ratio Control Modes (PC mode): 16:9, 4:3
  • Comb Filter: 3D Digital
  • 100Hz Technology: Yes – recommended if going to be used as PC monitor
  • Progressive Scan: Yes
  • TV Tuner Receiving System: DVB (Digital), PAL-B/G (Analogue)
  • Tuner Type: Integrated SD/HD DVB-T 7MHz Australia, PAL B/G
  • Electronic Program Guide (EPG) Support: Yes – 7 Day
  • Picture In Picture (PIP): No
  • Multi-Window: PAT
  • Resolution: 1920 x 1080
  • Contrast Ratio: 1:10000 – good ratio
  • Picture Adjustment Modes / Film Modes: 24p Film Playback, 3D Colour Management, Sub Pixel Control, C.A.T.S. (Contrast Automatic Tracking System), Video Noise Reduction, Intelligent Scene Controller
  • Viewing Angle: 178

  Sound

  • Stereo: PAL 2CS Stereo
  • Audio Output Power – Total (Watts RMS): 20
  • Speakers: x2
  • Audio Features: Virtual Surround Sound, Bass/Treble, Balance, Headphone Volume

  Terminals

  • SD Card Slot: Yes, SDHC Compatible
  • Component Video Input: x2
  • HDMI: x3
  • S-Video Input: x2
  • PC Input: x1 VGA (15 pin Mini D-sub)
  • A/V Input: x4
  • Digital Audio Out: x1
  • Headphone Jack: x1

  Other Features

  • Auto Timed On/Off Switch: Off Only
  • On Screen Display Languages: English
  • DTV Parental Guidance Info: Yes
  • Applicable Component Video Input Signals: 576i @ 50Hz (15.63KHz), 576p @ 50Hz (31.25KHz), 720p @ 50Hz (37.50KHz), 1,080i @ 50Hz (28.125KHz), 480i @ 60Hz (15.73KHz), 480p @ 60Hz (31.47KHz), 720p @ 60Hz (45KHz), 1,080i @ 60Hz (33.75KHz)
  • Applicable HDMI Video Input Signals: 576i @ 50Hz (15.63KHz), 576p @ 50Hz (31.25KHz), 720p @ 50Hz (37.50KHz), 1,080i @ 50Hz (28.125KHz), 1,080p @ 50Hz (56.25KHz), 480i @ 60Hz (15.73KHz), 480p @ 60Hz (31.47KHz), 720p @ 60Hz (45KHz), 1,080i @ 60Hz (33.75KHz), 1,080p @ 60Hz (67.5KHz), 1,080/24p @ 24Hz (27KHz)
  • Applicable PC Input Signals: 640×400@70Hz;, 640×480@60/66/75Hz;, 800×600@60/75/85Hz;, 832×624@75Hz;, 852×480@60Hz;, 1024×768@60/70/75/85Hz;, 1152×870@75Hz;, 1280×1024@60Hz;, 1366×768@60Hz

  General

  • Remote Control: Standard
  • Power Consumption: 152W
  • Power Consumption – Normal: 130W
  • Stand-by Power Consumption: 0.3W
  • Weight: 18.5Kg
  • Dimensions Without Stand(WxHxD): 821 x 539 x 98mm
  • Dimensions With Stand(WxHxD): 821 x 580 x 255mm

Well now to tell you my verdict. I actually bought the Panasonic TX-37LZD800A (37″, for $200 extra I get a 5 more inches).

At 1920 x 1080 the colour intensity is not that great and if you work quite close to the monitor things tend to look pixelated but i think that on a 32″ monitor it will be much better and also you can always go to some of the lowest resolutions I’ve tried on 1600 x 900 and looks better but then icons are way too big. If yiu okay with the picture settings on the TV you can get a pretty good setting. I lowered/increased everything to 50 (contrast, brightness, color, sharpness) and now am pretty happy with my Monitor/Full HDTV. People often worry that sitting infornt of a big monitor will give them headache and I can tell you that I’ve been using my monitor for 2 days already and have been sitting infornt of it for more than 6 hours and didin’t get a headache. From my research online and going to the shops I can tell you that Panasonic are the best in fast picture quality, they are also not so bad in slow picture quality and color contrast.

Summary on what to look for when buying a Full HDTV as a substitute PC monitor:

1. Contrast ration should be between 1:10000 and 1:15000 or more
2. Make sure it is 100Hz or more I heard that there are 120Hz but that’s for 42″ and above LCDs
3. You should have a good Video card, preferaly with HDMI output (mine is Nvidia GeForce 9800 GX2) if you don’t have HDMI output the max resolution you are going to get is 1366 x 768 which is normal HD
4. Look at the Power consumption as well you don’t want a big electricity bill
5. Responce time, the lower the better currently the lowest for Fill HDTVs is 5ms
6. PIP is a bonus this means you can split your screen and wath tv on one half and on the other do your PC work

Technorati Tags: AVING, Blu, Cinema, Definition, full, Full HD, HD, High, LCD, line, Panasonic, PC monitor, product

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Well all the fuss is over. On Monday 9th June Appleannounced the release of the second generation iPhone or the so called iPhone 3G. I’ve been waiting for this for a year. At the beginning I was very excited and could not wait to get my hands on the iPhone I even pre-ordered it. I went to Apple’s web site and read about all the features it has and let me tell you the 3G iPhone sounded impressive. I have an iTouch and have already experienced the User Interface and to tell you the truth it is very nice, nothing could compare to it, but then again that’s what Apple is known for, their software.

Well it’s all perfect now that I have secured an iPhone I can not wait till 11th July. It’s been about 3 days and I couldn’t help myself but wonder if I’m making the right choice. Yes I’ve been waiting for a year and been excited about all the hype everyone was building. But I decided to do some research on my own and now I’m not very sure I want an iPhone.

Now I’ll share what I found:

iPhone pros:

• Very cheap
• Better battery life: Talk time up to 10 hours; Standby time up to 300 hours; Internet use up to 6 hours; Video playback up to 7 hours; Audio playback up to 24 hours(this is amazing)
• Much thinner than it’s predecessor
• In build GPS system that can be used with Google maps
• Supports MS Exchange
• Can download custom applications, and now there is an open source to all developers that want to develop applications
• 3G support

iPhone cons:

• When you think about it the new generation has not changed much from the old one, just longer battery life and 3G support, oh and GPS
• Only 2 mega pixel camera – why?
• No support for MMS
• No video calls support
• No video recording
• No A2DP stereo Bluetooth
• No tethering (this means that it cannot be used as a wireless modem) – and I thought that the iPhone was in the smart phones category
• You cannot synchronise your iPhone iTunes with the PC over the Wi-Fi
• Also there is the issue that the iPhone is always connected to the mobile data hence producing a massive data usage and therefore big bill at the end of the month.
• Oh yes and is it really that cheap? Well as far as my research goes the iPhone will be available on long term contracts (24 months), if anyone wants to buy it on a pre-paid plan the unit will be locked to the provider and it could cost up to $800, not so cheap now.

These are the conclusions I came with:

1. It’s good to by the iPhone3G if you are going to use it as a normal mobile phone with a great MP3 player, the battery life is amazing. Also if you can do without sending MMSs and typing SMSs without the feel of pressing buttons, even though there were news that Apple has added some sort of vibrating function on each key in order to simulate pressing a button, or using a stylus to quicky write the message then this is the phone for you. It’s also great for Internet browsing with the 3G support and the best mobile browser out there, Safari.
2. If you are more of a smart phone/PDA person well the iPhone is far away from that, it has the Internet browsing, the Exchange connectivity, the Calendar but it lacks in all those small things that make smart phones what they are, tethering, Wi-Fi synchronisation, a stylus. There are way better PDAs out there with better cameras, MMS support, video call support and video recording things we are used to see in 3G phones.

The question now is why did Apple do this with the new iPhone, they had a year to do it properly. My guess is it is all about not enough battery life/huge battery consumption. When you think about it the iPhone’s screen is 3.5-inches compared to all other 3G phones that are 2.8-inches. As we know 3G shifted mobile phones from textual to more visual, that was all possible because of the faster speed it offers, but all those visual factors use more battery. Well we can only guess but for now i think the iPhone is not worth buying.

By the way after doing this research I’m thinking of getting the HTC Touch Diamond but this time I’ll research it a bit more before I make my decision.

Interesting info:

Pictures: How I Got My Apple iPhone 3G – Now that I have recovered from my jet lag, I have been catching up on news, the biggest story being the iPhone 3G launch that I missed …

Will it blend? Put an iPhone into a blender! (No, the phone isnÂ’t … – 11 August 2007 30 views 4 Comments Thanks for visiting, if you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. We update regularly on the latest gadget and software news, ideas and hacks. I got your ping and came to check your site out and now my link is gone.

iPhone – 3 Features That Will Impact Education – The hype building up to the June 29th release of the iPhone is just staggering. Steve Jobs predicted that the iPhone will revolutionize and/or reinvent the phone in his Mac World Expo keynote speech. With educators already using cell …

WinPwn 2.0.0.3 Guide to Unlock iPhone 3G – Here is a working guide for winPwn 2.0.0.3, u can create a custom firmware using these simple 10 steps .. U need some files before creating custom firmware, here’sa check list. iTunes 7.7; Winpwn 2.0.0.3 or newer. …

Latest Apple iPhone 3G, black or white, which should you get??? – If you haven’t yet bought the latest iPhone 3G or if you’re in the UK and stock has coincidently run out where you live because of O2’s limited supply then you might like to sit back abit and think about which one you’re going to buy. …

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Installing Ubuntu on PS3 is a very easy but time consuming task. The installation process takes much longer on PlayStation 3 than on a normal PC.
Before we start: Warning: You will have to partition the hard drive on your play station in order to accommodate two Operating Systems. What this means is that the hard drive will be formated. What I recommend is backing up before partitioning.

Step 0 Backup:

• Start your PS3
• Go to Settings > System Settings > Backup Utility
• Choose Back Up
• Finally, pick the device you want to save your backup to (memory stick, external hdd, etc).

Step 1 Downloading all needed files:

• otheros.bld – this will install KBoot on your PS3. KBoot lets you install a linux OS on your PS3.
• Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) PS3 ISO – Ubuntu version for PS3. This is a special version of the Ubuntu OS designed to work perfectly with PS3. What this means is that it well detect all the PS3 hardware, like the Blu-ray unit, the Gelic network card, USB and Bluetooth ports, and the sound system.

Step 2 Prepare your PlayStation 3 for Ubuntu:

• As I mentioned above you will have to partition the PS3 hard drive:
• Start the PlayStation 3
• Go to Settings > System Settings > Format Utility
• Choose Format Hard Disk (last option)
• System will ask you if you are sure you want to format the hard disk, choose Yes
• Next are the partition settings. Choose the Custom option.
• Allocate 10GB for the other OS (in our case for Ubuntu)
• Select quick format and wait till the format is finished.
• Restart the PS3

Step 3 KBoot Installation:

• Save otheros.bld on a USB Flash memory, external HDD
• Plug your device in to the PS3
• Go to Settings > System Settings > Install Other Os
• Go to where the otheros.bld file is stored and install

Step 4 Installing Ubuntu:

• You are now ready to install Ubuntu. Make sure you have attached a usb keyboard and mouse before you continue.
• Burn the Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) PS3 ISO to a CD and put it in your PlayStation unit.
• Go to Settings > System Settings > Default System
• Choose Other OS
• The system will ask you if you want to quit the PS3 system and start the Other OS, choose Yes
• The PS3 will restart. It will now load the new system you have just installed. Once finished loading you will see Ubuntu PS3 KBoot Loader. Type install
• Wait for the CD to load and then follow the Ubuntu installation steps
• After the installation is finished it will restart the PS3 yet again
• On Restart the Ubuntu PS3 KBoot Loader will be loaded, wait for a few seconds and you will see that Ubuntu starts loading.

That is basically all it takes.

How to go back to the PS3 system?

Very easy process, when the Ubuntu PS3 KBoot Loader loads just type boot-game-os and hit Enter. Another restart will follow and you will be back in the familiar PS3 system.

How to go back to Ubuntu?

Again very easy go to Settings > System Settings > Default System and choose Other OS

Technorati Tags: Blu, Blu-ray, HD, How to, new, PlayStation 3, PS3, ray, Ubuntu, Ubuntu on PS3

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I bought my PS3 a year ago and since then I was trying to use it as a media center. I bought the PS3 in a package with a 40″ Sony Bravia, the full hd model, and a sound system. I realised that I’d rather watch my movies on the TV than on my 20″ monitor. This is where the challenges came.

Fiirst I tried using Windows Media Player. All was well the PS3 found the server no problem BUT I couldn’t play most of the videos because PlayStation 3 doesn’t have codecs for them and you cannot install any.

Second option was to use my Mac Book and again no problem finding the Media Server but still couldn’t play most of the videos. Just to say I had no problems playing the music and viewing the photos.

Installing Linux was kind of the last thing i wanted to do and i didn’t know of any other software at that time so I went for it. It was a difficult and time consuming job. I managed to ruin two of my flash memory chips. After two sleepless nights I managed to install Linux the way I wanted and then it was time for the test. Well first of all i needed to connect a keyboard and a mouse to the PS3 which was something I didn’t like but then if this works it’s all good. And it did work but there was a problem. The disk I was sharing was ntfs format and capacity of 500GB. I couldn’t mount it on Linux. For anyone who is interested in the manual on How to install Ubuntu on PS3

I did some research and found a software that not only creates a Media Server but it also trans codes movies on the go. The savior was called TVersity. I’ve installed it, very easy installation + setup, told it where all my videos, music and photos were and started synchronisation. That can take up to a day, it is very slow. A day later I sat in front of my PlayStation 3 and went to the Media Server detection, surprise surprise it found it and this time I could play all my movies I was so happy. But yet again there were a few problems. First was that for the first 10 mins the movie was stopping to load every 30 seconds. It was a bit annoying but once it went over the 10 mins all was great, up until after about an hour or so when the PS3 lost connection to the Media Server. Then I had to go to my PC and finish watching the movie/video. Not a very liable option. I thought that the problem might be in my network and have done a lot of tweaking but still same problem. I had given up on using the PS3 as a Media Center.

Almost a year later I found another Media Server software called Orb. Again very easy to install and setup and it trans codes videos when needed, just perfect. Installed it, set it up and created my account, the difference here was that I had to create an online account because Orb has a web interface you can use. What that meant was I could actually view my media on any PC anywhere, that was all good but then I was worried that if I use it on my local network I’d be using it over the internet and we all know how fast the internet is and also my usage was limited. I did a little research and found out that Orb actually knows if you are on your local network or over the internet. It was a smart little piece of software. Now it was time to test it on my PS3, again no problems finding the Media Server and it did play all the movies/videos and guess what no loading delays in the first 10 mins and now disconnection after an hour.

Well that is my experience up till now. If i find any bugs or a better software I will tell you ASAP.

Here are some other interesting sites I found:

links for 2008-08-30 – PS3 Media Center X 0.92 – Softpedia. “PS3 Media Center X is a multimedia server that allows you to stream certain types of files to your Sony PlayStation 3″. (tags: osx ps3 mediacenter). Hobnox.com :: Your Music, Film & Urban Culture – …

PS3 Media Center V2 – PS3 Media Center version 2 theme by Dj4NRv. Download: PS3MediaCenterV2.p3t. (1 background)

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What are the pro's vs con's of both the PDA and iPhone? I really like the iPhone but hate the £35 a month contract.

iphone can only be servicedby AT&T and if you jail break it Apple will shut off all critical updates to your phone, new drivers virus protection ect the phone will continue to work but if you use it for email or the net youwil not have current virus protection, this is fact from Apple and AT &T

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I'd say its a smartphone.

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Learn how to set up a wireless home network.

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I have an HP Pavillion Media Center PC, and i've hooked up my ps3 through the Video 1 input ports and nothing has happened, i tried to configure through media center but with no success. Does anyone know how to configure media center or the computer im using to plug in my ps3 and be able to watch it on the monitor?

Well, by freind has an Xbox360, and all he did was buy a cable for 50$ that the monitor plugged into on one side and to the xbox on the other, im pretty sure you dont have to hook anything up to the computer, unless you dont want to switch cables around. Basically you need to get an adapter for your monitor cable to attack to the xbox output cables. I havnt researched it but i would google it if i were you. PS3 monitor adapter, or VGA adapter, once again im not sure

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