Computer Software

Force Skype HQ Video Mode with any webcam

December 1, 2008

Posted in Computer Hardware, Computer Software, Digital Cameras, Gadgets, Skype, TMCnet, Video Hardware & Software, VoIP, p2p

Killing off Vampire Power for Good!

November 28, 2008

It's been called both "vampire power" and "phantom load" -- likened to the power-hungry HAL 9000 computer (at left) in Stanley Kubrick's classic film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

It's the little unblinking red light on the television set that is silently drawing energy from the grid; studies have shown it can add 10% or more to a household energy bill.

Now Spanish entrepreneurs claim to have invented a way to end the problem that has bedeviled energy regulators, environmentalists and appliance manufacturers. They have patented an algorithm that can detect when an appliance is in standby mode and automatically switch it off completely.

The standby-mode killer has yet to be proven commercially and must contend with other new products designed to tackle the same problem. But, despite some doubters, the Spanish inventors say theirs is the only product able to completely do away with a large, and growing, world-wide problem.

Now how about that!

Get more at the Wall Street Journal.

Posted in Computer Hardware, Computer Software, Gadgets

PC Magazine Stops the Presses - Online Only

November 19, 2008

I grew up reading PC Magazine and I looked forward each couple weeks to picking up my copy of PC Magazine at the local grocery store. But today, Ziff Davis has announced that the legendary PC Magazine print publication is shutting down its print publication and focusing exclusively on online content. This is truly a sad day... Hold on while I grab some tissues...

PC Magazine started the whole in-depth comparative reviews of PCs and Microsoft software.

Posted in Computer Hardware, Computer Software, Gadgets, Home Entertainment, Microsoft, Mobile Phones, News, TMCnet, Video Games & Gaming, Video Hardware & Software

Let's See How Crazy Black Friday Gets This Year!

November 12, 2008

Crazy Eddie take note!

The Friday immediately following Thanksgiving has long been known as "Black Friday" because it represents the unofficial beginning of the holiday shopping season, or the day when retailers hold massive sales in hopes of steering their (red) losses into (black) profits.

And from what I've been reading about holiday shopping this year, gadgets may be one of the few bright spots ...

Among the most heavily discounted electronics items poised to dominate this year's sales are low cost notebooks, according to sources, who note that Dell plans to offer $299 linux model via its website, while Wal-Mart markets a $299 Compaq and Best Buy a $299 eMachines portable.

And do yo think Apple will be sitting quietly ...

... Didn't think so; so check out AppleInsider .

And thanks to blogs.phillynews.com for the image.

Hopefully, these prices are insane!!!!!

Posted in Apple, Computer Hardware, Computer Software, MP3 Players & Digital Audio, Mobile Phones

Notice Less Spam Today?

November 12, 2008

Posted in Computer Software

Wow! A Quick Boot PC -- About Time!

October 27, 2008

It is the black hole of the digital age -- the three minutes it can take for your computer to boot up, when there is nothing to do but wait, and wait, and wait some more before you can log on and begin doing anything at all.

Now the computer industry says it wants to give back some of those precious seconds. In coming months, the world's major PC makers plan to introduce a new generation of quick-start computers, spotting a marketing opportunity in society's short attention span.

Hewlett-Packard, Dell and Lenovo are rolling out machines that give people access to basic functions like e-mail and a Web browser in 30 seconds or less.

Now, can you remember back when you'd boot up the PC and then head to make a pot of coffee ...

Asus, a Taiwanese company that is the world's largest maker of the circuit boards at the center of every PC, has begun building faster-booting software into its entire product line.

Even Microsoft, whose bloated Windows software is often blamed for sluggish start times, has pledged to do its part in the next version of the operating system, saying on a company blog that "a very good system is one that boots in under 15 seconds."

Today only 35% of machines running Windows Vista, boot in 30 seconds or less, the blog notes.

Posted in Apple, Computer Hardware, Computer Software

Run Mac OS X on a PC

October 20, 2008

Want to run Mac OS X on a PC? Well, Steve Jobs notorious for forcing his loyal fans to run only Apple-approved hardware let the cat outta the bag once he announced Intel support (previous utilized PowerPC processors.). It was only a matter of time before some hacker found a way to run Mac OS X on PCs with Intel processors.

Of course, the version of Leopard sold by Apple only includes drivers for Apple provided hardware and it requires an Apple Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI), which replaces the traditional PC BIOS. So how do you get around these limitations?

Posted in Apple, Computer Hardware, Computer Software, TMCnet

Is Your City One of the Most Connected?

October 1, 2008

Among the top designated marketing areas (DMAs), San Francisco, Miami and Los Angeles are the most connected cities based on home networking adoption.

What does connected mean: A wired or wireless home network allows consumers to connect multiple PCs and printers, and to share Internet access among computers.

MultiMedia Intelligence's research identifies significant variations among major metropolitan areas. San Francisco has the highest household home networking adoption rate of 28% among the top DMAs. In contrast, the San Antonio, Chicago and Cleveland DMAs have among the lowest home networking adoption. This reflects, in part, the varying regional demographics.

Home networking adoption correlates directly with household income.

Posted in Computer Hardware, Computer Software, Wireless

How About OS X on EEE?

September 17, 2008

Feel like stepping beyond the limits of Apple hardware?

Want a Mac netbook for under $650?

How about an EeePC running Mac OS X?

If you answered "Yes!" to any of these questions, then read on!

At least part of the appeal of the dimunitive EeePC netbook is its hackability -- from Linux to Vista, intrepid hackers have figured out how to run just about everything on the EeePC.

While many would question why you'd want to go to the trouble of installing OS X when there are many Windows and Linux distributions available out of the box?

Maybe you're looking for a challenge. Installing OS X on non-Apple hardware provides plenty of chances to flex those (very metaphorical) geek muscles.

More at Wired.

Posted in Apple, Computer Hardware, Computer Software

PIKA WARP Appliance for Asterisk Review

September 12, 2008

There is no doubt that open source Asterisk has taken IP telephony by storm resulting in many vendors offering solutions based on Asterisk. Because the "free" Asterisk software is open source, it has helped drive down the cost of installing an IP-PBX. Only one major cost factor remains - the hardware. If you install Asterisk on a traditional PC, you have several hardware components - the motherboard, the CPU, the memory, the hard drive, the power supply, CD/DVD drive, etc.

Posted in Asterisk, Computer Hardware, Computer Software, Polycom, SIP, TMCnet, Unified Communications, VoIP

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