It’s been a long and difficult year, from the worsening economic crisis, Michael Jackson’s death, swine flu, and the Tiger Woods media blitz. Despite that, YouTube kept us entertained. If you’ve been on the ‘internets’, you’ve probably seen all the videos below. But we’ve rounded up the most popular videos and search terms on YouTube for the year according to the owners Google.

Most Watched Videos (Global):

1. Susan Boyle – Britain’s Got Talent (120+ million views)
2. David After Dentist (37+ million views)
3. JK Wedding Entrance Dance (33+ million views)
4. New Moon Movie Trailer (31+ million views)
5. Evian Roller Babies (27+ million views)

Most Watched Music Videos (Global):

1. Pitbull “I Know You Want Me” (82+ million views)
2. Miley Cyrus “The Climb” (64+ million views)
3. Miley Cyrus “Party in the U.S.A.” (54+ million views)
4. The Lonely Island “I’m On a Boat” (48+ million views)
5. Keri Hilson “Knock You Down” (35+ million views)

Fastest Rising Search Terms by Month (Global):

• January: inauguration
• February: Christian bale
• March: the climb
• April: susan boyle
• May: pacquiao vs hatton
• June: Michael Jackson thriller
• July: Michael Jackson
• August: usain bolt
• September: kanye west
• October: paranormal activity
• November: bad romance
• December: tiger woods

Links: YouTube.com | Google Blog Post

Things you’ll need:

• SSH Server Access
• SSH Client

If you need an SSH Client, on Windows machines I recommend PuTTY. It’s less than 1MB and doesn’t even need installation. If you are on Linux or Macintosh, you are fortunate enough to have a Terminal built right in. Now connect to your web server and login. Then browse to the folder of the domain you wish to install Movable Type. For the rest, just watch the video below!

The Code From Video:
wget http://skattertech.com/media/2009/09/mtinstall.sh
chmod 700 mtinstall.sh
./mtinstall.sh

That’s just about it. Movable Type should have been installed to the proper location. Just follow wizard Movable Type provides in the web interface to configure your database settings. Once complete, you should be setup and ready to blog with Movable Type!

Links: MovableType.org | Official Install Steps
Video: Watch on Vimeo

This will work great for those using Media Temple as their host, since they don’t have a 1-Click App for Movable Type.

“Sony was the first to introduce a travel-sized camcorder with 8 mm technology in the 1980’s, and it revolutionized the travel and electronics industries,” said Kelly Davis, director of camcorder marketing at Sony Electronics. “This new model is a great example of our expertise in miniaturization, as well as advanced imaging technologies with features like face detection.”

The compact HDR-TG1 HD camcorder will become available next month (May 2008). The current manufacturer’s suggested retail price is set at $900. When it becomes available it can be purchased on SonyStyle.com. in Sony Retail Stores, or through authorized dealers. Pre-orders begin on April 4th.

Links: SonyStyle.com

After about a week of unofficial hints and rumors, early this morning Hulu opened themselves up to the public. Anyone located within the United States can visit Hulu.com and watch high-quality TV shows, nightly highlights, full length movies, full games, and short clips. Hulu limited to a audience of private beta users since October 2007. In addition to previous studios partnerships, Hulu now features content from Warner Bros. Lionsgate, NBA, HHL, and 20 other new providers. All content is viewable right through your browser without any additional plugins or software other than Adobe Flash. And to clarify the content isn’t user uploaded content, but rather high quality shows such as Family Guy, The Office, 30 Rock, House, Heroes, 24, and Late Night with Conan O’Brien.

“Today, Hulu is crossing a milestone in its mission to help people find and enjoy the world’s premium content, when where and how they want it,” said Jason Kilar, CEO of Hulu. “With full-length episodes of current and archived television shows, feature films, sports and news, we believe the Hulu service is a step forward in giving consumers entertainment on their terms.

In return for access to the premium content which is freely available on Hulu, viewers will be required to watch short 15 and 30 second ads a few times throughout each show. From most of the content I’ve viewed, there were only around two to three ads for a half-hour show which is a whole lot better than TV commercials. Hulu seems to be a big winner at the moment. With services such as these, the amount of illegally distributed copies of these shows should drop drastically. Due to the fact that Hulu was a joint venture between News Corp and NBC Universal, they were able to gain support from a lot of production studios which other competitors such as Joost failed to do. Plus with the freedom to embed full episodes onto any web page or social networking sites, I expect Hulu to spread faster than ever!

Links: Hulu.com
Download: Hulu Programming Guide

Skatter Tech recently got access to Hulu, a new service launched by News Corporation and NBC Universal, which offers streaming access to high quality TV Shows and short videos. When we say TV Shows, we don’t mean random content, we mean real actual prime time shows that you would watch on TV such as The Office, Heroes, The Simpsons, House, Chuck, Prison Break, and 24. Even talk shows and comedy sketches including Saturday Night Live (SNL), Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno are available through Hulu. The premium content will be distributed by streaming the video directly to your browser using flash player, so no additional plugins or software is needed. The player is quite advance and allows pausing, forwarding/rewinding, controlling volume, and even watching in full screen. And even when I played an episode of Scrubs in full screen, although the frame rate was a bit low, it was still much better than any other service I have seen to date. Viewers will have the ability to email the show to friends or embed them onto their own blogs and web pages.

So how much does this all cost? Absolutely nothing! Unfortunately the service is in beta and access is limited to testers, but should be opened to the public soon. We’ve included a embedded a full video of the latest episode of Heroes for your entertainment. In general, new shows will become available on Hulu once it has been broadcasted on television throughout the United States. (So, after it airs in Hawaii.) TV shows are automatically purged after approximately five weeks or five new episodes of that series has been added to collection. The content will obviously not be available for an infinite amount of time since studios will obviously loose revenue from DVD sales. Despite this, you now have free, legal, and high quality access to all your favorite TV shows.

This is probably one of the smartest moves production studios have made in a while. Instead of wasting time suing those who distribute or download copyrighted content illegally through P2P Networks or BitTorrent, they have decided to offer the shows themselves. The studios finally realized that if people are always going to find a way to get their content without paying for it, why not at least give it to them in high quality for free. News Corp. and NBC has done by launching Hulu. With this new service, studios are hoping to deter people from downloading their content illegally. The studios will also retain profits since advertisements are embedded into their content. So yes, you’ll have to watch ads. Fortunately they weren’t too bad, there were usually three to four 15-second ads for an hour-long show. Either way, this is a “win win” situation for both consumers and studios, since we get to watch shows for free and that they keep their content locked up in a secure player with ads to retain revenue. As of now, TV Shows will come from 15 different studios including FOX, NBC, Bravo, E! Entertainment, FX, SiFi Network, and USA Networks. (See the PDF for a full list of shows and networks.) Hopefully more networks will join this venture soon.

Links: Hulu.com | About Hulu
Attached Files: Hulu Program Guide (.pdf)

P.S. I sadly don’t have any invites to give away, but go ahead and try signing up anyways. You might get lucky! And as promised, here’s the entire latest episode of Heroes – “Cautionary Tales” (S02E09):

It has been over a month since Apple launched the third generation iPod and it’s probably a bit late for a review, but we’re publishing ours anyways. Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs, first unveiled the original iPod Nano about two years ago by sliding it out of his famous pair of blue jeans. A year later (2006) Jobs announced the 2nd generation aluminum-encased iPod Mini looking version. And last month Apple announced the 3rd generation Nano which has an entire newly designed body and for the first time, can play videos. At first I wondered why anyone would want to bother watching videos on such a small screen. After a few weeks with the iPod Nano, the reason became clear. I actually found myself watching some video podcasts and unwatched TV shows when I was on the go. It was pretty nice to be able to carry around video content in such a small device. Also if you were like me and felt the device look pretty fat and ugly, that all changes once you actually hold a 3rd generation iPod Nano. It is thinner and smaller than you would have imagined. I would have to say this iPod was a very needed and an impressive upgrade, it can not be considered Apple’s best work. (They’ve done better before.)

Apple iPod Nano (3G) Specs:

• Type: Portable Flash-Based Video Player
• Capacities: 4GB and 8GB
• Screen: 2-inches 320×240 pixel LCD
• Music Formats: AAC, MP3, & WAV
• Video Formats: H.264 and MP4
• Special Functions: Video Output
• Colors: Silver, Blue, Red, Green & Black
• Connection: USB to Dock Connector
• Price Range: $149 to $199

The Body: – 4/5
To describe the iPod Nano right off the bat, it’s pretty much a tiny version of a iPod Classic. The unit looks elegant and impressive because of its size. The Nano stands just 2.75-inches tall, 2.06-inches wide, and only .26-inches thick. It is the same thickness as the 2nd generation Nano. The front is made of a anodized aluminum and the back, unlike its predecessor, has the classic shinny steel material, which is easy to scratch. Because of the dimensions and the material, the 3G Nano unfortunately seems to be a whole lot more delicate than the 2nd generation. The standard touch sensitive click wheel can be found right below the screen, but it is abnormally skinnier and smaller. The wheel was a bit more difficult to use compared to the older Nano, however wasn’t really a problem after a few minutes of use. Apple has managed to move the hold button, the headphone jack, and the dock connector to the bottom, leaving nothing behind at the top. The rest of the controls such as volume and brightness are all managed through the interface using the click-wheel.

The Screen: – 5/5
The 2-inch (diagonal) LED backlit LCD was bright, clear, and sharp enough to watch videos on. It once again is the brightest iPod Nano screen yet. The resolution is a standard 320×240 which plays at a max of 30 frames per second. One thing that makes the screen look different is the gap found between the body and display which creates a different effect. The Nano can playback both 4:3 and 16:9 clips by formating and resizing the video to best fit the display.

Battery Life: – 4/5
As always, Apple has managed to vastly improve the iPod’s playback time. According to Apple, the battery can offer 24 hours of audio playback or 5 hours of video playback. From our test, with the brightness slightly lowered and at a normal listening volume, we surprisingly found it to last much longer than advertised. Although this is better than any previous iPod, it still remains on below what’s offered by other flash-based portable multimedia players from Creative, Sony, and Microsoft.

Media Formats: – 5/5
In general, just about any major format of audio will work with the iPod Nano. The iPod can playback AAC, MP3, Apple Lossless, WAV, and music purchased from iTunes. The Nano also supports playback of DRM-Free files from Amazon’s new MP3 Store and obviously iTunes Plus. For video the 3rd generation Nano supports MOV, MP4, or M4V files encoded in MPEG-4 or H.264. Apple iTunes does a fairly good job of converting most content into a compatible format. And for photos, the feature I personally rarely use, it can read and display JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, and PNG images.

Interface: – 3/5
The new interface is one of those things you love, but hate. The Nano now has a new default split screen view which displays the standard menus on the left, while displaying moving album artwork thumbnails on the right. Although this looks beautiful, we felt is slowed down browsing through the library by a lot. The Nano now can do neat things such as displaying Artwork next to each album or adding an extra line of information below each song, which saves having to return to the previous menu to find out what it was a part of. Although I’m not a big fan of Cover Flow, Apple was impressively able to get it to run on the Nano fairly well. It remains a bit sluggish, but it’s pretty good for such a small device. (Even my laptop struggles to run it on iTunes) The reason we took away two points was because the interface was horribly buggy. We often found that the menu would display the wrong number of songs or albums. We also entered menu’s that didn’t or shouldn’t exist. For example we entered a weird menu by clicking on the play button over a podcast folder instead of hitting the center button. Overall it’s a major UI overhaul, which is great, but honestly such a major mainstream product shouldn’t have any problems. Hopefully Apple will roll out a firmware upgrade fixing these issues. Another which annoyed me was that all the settings were no longer in the same place. For example some settings for Video could only be modified from the Video menu, not form the Settings Menu. Hopefully they’ll keep everything in one place, it will be a headache to have to visit a different menus to each type of setting.

Syncing Media: 4.5/5
Our experience with syncing media was just as we expected it to be, excellent. The only thing I wish the iPod Nano could do is to allow dropping files right onto the device without the need of iTunes. If you were to do so with a current iPod, the file would just be stored on the device and would never appear anywhere in the interface. But if you are using the latest version iTunes, everything works great. Managing songs, videos, and photos is a cinch. You can manually manage content or ask iTunes to take care of it for you. The iPod Nano even doubles as a flash drive unlike the iPod Touch.

In The Box: – 4/5
When you open your neatly and fancily packaged box from Apple you’ll find a set of standard iPod earphones, a USB 2.0 cable, a Dock adapter, and a quick start guide. As always, we recommend upgrading your generic headphones to something along the lines of Shure’s SE110 which will offer a very different experience. Finally no software is included, therefore an internet connection is required to acquire the latest version if Apple iTunes.

So in conclusion, we weren’t too impressed with the iPod Nano, but it is a great upgrade on some levels compared to its predecessor. We would recommend upgrading if you want the ability to playback video, which worked very well. If you plan just to listen to music, there’s not too much else this device can offer. We in fact on some levels would recommend this over the iPod Touch for those on a strict budget. The 8GB Nano costs half that of the 8GB iPod Touch. As for the software bugs, it is only expected and natural for Apple to roll out some patches soon. The only other major problem we found was that it seems to be way more delicate than the 2G Nano. (Buy a case!) Anyways if you wish to purchase this, it’s now available in retail stores and online for $150 and $200 for 4GB and 8GB models, respectively. You should be able to find it for a bit cheaper from other retailers. We recommend this because it is one of the most affordable iPods yet and retains just about all the features that the iPod Classic has.

Buy Now: iPod Nano 4GB – $149 | iPod Nano 8GB – $199
Links: Apple iPod Nano | Apple Store

Last week Comedy Central announced the launch of a new website for “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” which features clips from every episode which has aired since 1999. (Is also when Jon Stewart signed on as host) Comedy Central also claims that they will soon add full high quality episodes of every show ever filmed. Viacom, the parent company, made a pretty intelligent move by pulling all their clips off YouTube then launching this site. With this launch, viewers will no longer have to visit YouTube for this content and Viacom will make some big bucks through advertising revenue from their new site. This is also a big win for viewers since the content remains free, is now available in high quality, and is fully organized.

“There continues to be a rabid appetite for Comedy Central programming online,” Erik Flannigan VP Digital Media, Comedy Central. “With thedailyshow.com, we have created an online destination that raises the bar by providing an exhaustive video library for everything ‘Daily Show’.”

In addition to allow users to watching videos, The Daily Show’s website offers sharing the clips on a variety of popular social networking and link-sharing sites such as facebook, digg, and del.icio.us. Bloggers and website owners will also have the ability to easily add the clips to their own page. The content has only been made available due to advertisements and sponsors as expected. As a result users will be required to view an advertisement before they can actually begin watching the requested clip. Despite this, Comedy Central has taken a huge step by launching this site. Although NBC, ABC, and FOX now offer the ability to watch new prime-time shows online, no one (to my knowledge) has made their entire history available for free online. Hopefully larger networks will follow Comedy Central’s lead.

Links: The Daily Show | Comedy Central

The LG Voyager:
The Voyager by LG also known as the VX10000 features a large external 400×240 pixel touch-screen and a full-functioning QWERTY keyboard (plus another regular screen) once flipped open. Instead of the standard BREW browser found on most Verizon Wireless phones, the Voyager will feature a true HTML browser. They haven’t specified what type of browser the phone has just yet, but hopefully it will be on level with the iPhone’s Safari browser. The VX10000 also supports VCAST Mobile TV, plays music (mp3/wma/aac), takes photos with a 2.0 megapixel camera, has high-speed broadband access, microSD expansion (8GB max!), bluetooth, stereo speakers, and plenty more. (check back for a full review)

The Venus by LG:
The Venus is a unique phone since it has two displays right on the front. The upper screen shows data, while the smaller square screen below is touch sensitive (has vibration feedback!) and is used for navigation. The phone itself remains a slider revealing a physical keypad below. (similar to the LG Chocolate) The LG Venus also supports microSD expansion, plays music, has Get It Now features, and even has a 2 megapixel camera. If you are wondering if this a replacement for the fairly new Chocolate, as far as we can tell, Verizon seems to be planning to sell both devices.

The Samsung Juke:
The Juke has been primarily created as a MP3 player phone and it would be fair to give it that title since it has 2GB of built-in flash storage. If I’m correct, this is Verizon’s first phone with built-in memory. As for the music files it will play mp3, wma, and unprotected aac files. (supports iTunes Plus and Amazon tracks) The phone itself looks unusually long, and “flicks” open like switchblade to reveal a keypad. In addition it sports a VGA camera with NightShot, supports the bluetooth stereo profile, works as a navigator, and is available in blue/red/teal. This will likely be the most sold of the four.

Blackberry Pearl 8130:
The new Pearl from RIM features full wireless EV-DO broadband, GPS-based Navigation, music playback, stereo bluetooth for wireless headsets, a 2 mega pixel camera, a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, and a new improved interface. Although too much information hasn’t been provided just yet, but it is expected to be a major improvement to the current Pearl.

As of now, no pricing or exact date has been set by Verizon, however they are guarantying that all four of these phones will be available by Thanksgiving (Nov. 22nd)! We’ve got a short little video below with a quick view of each of the four phones. We are trying to get a Voyager unit for review, so check back!

Links: VerizonWireless.com/next

Microsoft announced two new Zune players today in addition to new software, social features, and marketplace store. Both new Zunes will sport features such as a new touch-pad technology labeled “Zune Pad” and wireless music sync with network computers. The first model is available only in black, holds 80GB of media on a standard hard-drive, has a 3.2-inch screen, is 1/3 thinner than the original, and comes with “premium” headphones. The second announced Zune is flash-based, available in 4GB & 8GB capacities, has a 1.8-inch display and is offered in pink, green, black, and red. In addition to supporting playback of music, photos, and videos both Zunes have a built-in FM Tuner.

The most notable feature by far is the Wireless Sync, which allows owners with wireless networks to setup automated sync with their computer. With this feature, the Zune can keep up to date with the latest downloaded podcasts or any new media added to the computer. Songs can also be shared between Zunes wirelessly and can be kept without time restrictions. Since the new devices are also compatible with Windows Media Center, any recorded show can be transfered seamlessly to a Zune. The unit now supports MP4 and H.264 formats in addition to WMV.

The upcoming upgrade to the Marketplace will include a directory to thousands of podcasts, millions of DRM-Free songs, a new layout, social networking features, and plenty more. The new Zune Pass, costing $15/month, will offer access to unlimited amounts of music downloads. The best part of the new announcement may just be the fact that Microsoft will continue to completely support the original Zune by releasing a firmware upgrade which will include all the the features the new Zune has. As for the new models they will be in November costing $250 for the 80GB model, $200 for 8GB, and $150 for 4GB.

Links: Zune.net (Offical Site)
Pre-Order: View All Zunes

UPDATE: Microsoft has just confirmed that the Zune will be available on November 13th!

Skatter Tech recently got a hold of Sony’s NWZ-S610 Video Walkman to review and we have been messing around with it for a few days. We’ve got to say that Sony should be proud since they have finally taken a big step by launching Video Walkmans which are also “open format.” (Means support for most DRM-Free music formats.) If they keep up the pace, this could help them regain their market share in the portable media sector. Getting back to the review, since this was Sony’s first Walkman in the U.S. that can playback video and the first to be “open format,” we weren’t expecting too much. As we got more into the player’s features and capabilities, we were surprisingly impressed with what Sony has turned out. Just to heat things up, we’ll even go as far to say that we’d recommend this over Apple’s new iPod Nano!

Sony NWZ-S Walkman Specs:

• Type: Portable Flash Video Player
• Capacities: 2GB, 4GB, & 8GB
• Screen: 1.8-inch 320 x 240 LCD
• Music Format: AAC, MP3 & WMA
• Video Format: MP4 Only
• Special: FM Tuner w/ Presets
• Colors: Silver, Black, Pink & Red
• Connection Type: USB 2.0
• Price Range: $99-$179

The Body: – 3.5/5
The S610’s body is simple and elegant, but not eye-catching. The unit is quite durable and wouldn’t be easy to break. The Walkman is just 3.25 inches tall, 1.7 inches wide, and .45 inches thick, making way sleeker, but thicker and taller than the new iPod Nano. On the front you’ll find the display followed by the navigation controls right below. At first we assumed the four-way commands were touch sensitive, but it ended up that all the controls on the unit are actually hard keys. The ‘back’ and ‘option’ buttons, which are awkwardly placed at the top left and top right, are used to return to the previous menu and bring up an options menu. We felt both these buttons should have been placed elsewhere, but it wasn’t a problem after some getting used to. The ‘play’ button in the center acts as the enter key. I actually prefer hard keys since it is easier to navigate the player without having to be looking at it. The hold key can be found on the left side and the volume controls are on the right. Other than that the stereo headphone jack can be found on the top of the unit while the data port for syncing and a reset pinhole are on the bottom.

The Screen: – 5/5
The 1.8-inch display, just .2 inches smaller than the Nano, is surprisingly bright and sharp enough to watch videos on. The resolution is a standard 320 x 240 and plays at 30FPS. We didn’t notice any lag or audio/video sync issues and the screen didn’t go dark when viewed at from angles as it does on many portable players. Instead of making the S610 “fat” like the new Nano, to retain the form factor the screen has instead been placed on the unit vertically. This of course means to utilize the entire display, the unit must be held sideways when watching videos. To make the unit friendly to left and right handed owners, the video and photo orientation can be set in the options to rotate to the preferred side.

Battery Life: – 5/5
Sony’s always been on top of things when it comes to battery life. My 3-year-old thumbdrive sized Walkman often lasts up to 50 hours. In the case of the S610, it supposedly lasts up to 33 hours for music playback and an amazing 9.5 hours for video playback. This of course depends on many factors including volume level, screen brightness, file sizes, and plenty more. Either way that’s quite good considering that the new iPod Nano is limited to approximately 24 hours of audio and 5 hours of video.

Media Formats: – 5/5
As we mentioned in the intro, Sony has finally gone “open format” with this Walkman and two others. They have dumped Sonic Stage, the Connect music store, and even the ATRAC format. For music, the S610 now supports MP3, AAC, WMA, and WAV all of which have to be free of DRM. The player is also compatible with Napster’s Subscription Based service and iTunes Plus tracks. As for video, the S610 will playback MP4 formats encoded in H.264/AVC and AAC. This part was a bit disappointing since they don’t exactly offer much leniency onto other formats. It even got worse when we realized that they hadn’t included any conversion tools, specify where to download samples, or to know exactly what is supported. This wasn’t an issue for us since we’ve got tools to re-encode videos, however some one-click conversion tool like the one in iTunes should be included for general consumers. We also found that all the Movie Trailers we downloaded which were encoded for iPods on iTunes worked just perfectly. Finally for the part people almost never use, photos, the unit has been limited only to JPEG.

Interface: – 4/5
We were quite pleased with the interface as not only looked fancy, but was also clean and quick. The learning curve is short, only requiring a few minutes to master. The Walkman has even got some neat features such as holding the ‘back’ key will take you back to the main menu and the ‘option’ key will power down the Walkman. Music can be surfed through by Album, Artist, Genre, Year, or in a long list of All Songs. Photos will appear in a simple folder layout just as they are copied onto the unit. Videos on the other hand will appear in a straightforward single list with thumbnails. The Now Playing screen displays standard song data plus Album Art. In addition to the standard Shuffle, Sony has added an interesting “Time Machine” Shuffle now randomly selects a year and plays songs within it. A search feature, which only works for music, can be found in the main menu, however was quite disappointing since it only lets users search for the starting alphabet of an Album, Artist or Song. The settings menu were pretty clear-cut, offering equalizer, volume limiting, and playback mode settings for music, slideshow interval settings for photos, and orientation plus brightness options for videos.

FM Radio: – 4.5/5
The quality of the built in radio was strikingly good. It has been hard wired and coded into the unit and isn’t just an extra add-on. Browsing through channels was both smooth and quick. The Walkman utilizes the plugged in headphones as an antenna to gain better signal. Users can save their favorite stations into any of the 30 available presets by simply holding down the “play” key.

Syncing Media: – 5/5
Transferring data to the NWZ-S610 was a cinch. We didn’t have to deal with any drivers or compatibility issues, both my Vista and XP machines detected and self-configured the device automatically after connecting the USB cable. Since the unit is “Play For Sure” it works with Windows Media Player 11. We had no issue copying songs over and received no errors. Since the songs are DRM-Free the unit isn’t limited to just a few “licensed machines” as iPods are. Songs can be taken from one machine and a friend can easily copy, add or remove your files. We didn’t have a chance to test the unit on a Mac OS X computer and Sony doesn’t mention anything about it. We’re going to assume that if a Mac is able to recognize the unit as a mass storage device there shouldn’t be any problems since the Walkman automatically creates Music, Picture, and Video folders, which can be seen when the drive folder is opened. When compatible media is copied into the corresponding folders, the Walkman will automatically index them after being disconnected, and the items will appear in the interface.

In The Box: – 3.5/5
Other than the S610 Walkman, Sony bundles a pair of stereo headphones, a USB cable, a dock adapter, and a Quick Start guide. For such a great Walkman we were very disappointed to see how poor of quality the included headphones were. If you purchase this Walkman or even an iPod for that matter, we suggest upgrading to the Shure SE110 or SE210. Anyways, back to the box, a CD with Windows Media Player 11, Napster (trial), and a MP3 Conversion Tool (based off SonicStage) was also included.

Overall we give Sony’s Video Walkman a BIG THUMBS UP! Even though some work still needs to be done around the video part, I was satisfied to see that they have finally dumped DRM which was holding them back. I will bet that if they continue to keep their players open to a variety of content, they will be able to boost their sales. As we mentioned the video codecs are a bit limited, but most iPod formatted content should work. This should also be resolved possibly with a firmware update or when they launch a second generation Video Walkman. As for this one, it is available online and in stores as of this month and is very reasonably priced at $99, $129, and $179 for 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB. Exactly $20 cheaper than each of the new iPod Nanos of the corresponding size capacities. We recommend this Sony Walkman to anyone who is finally willing to give iPods a break, wants to be free from DRM, likes occasionally listen to the radio, and is looking for a cheaper unique product which everyone else doesn’t have.

Important Note: The unit which was provided by Sony and was used for review was the NZW-S616F which held 4GB and was silver.

Buy: Sony NWZ-S616 (4GB) | Link: SonyStyle.com

Earlier today, Google and X PRIZE announced the “Google Lunar X PRIZE,” a race to the Moon to win a $30 million prize. The same foundation, Ansari X PRIZE, offered $10 million for the first non-government manned spacecraft to enter space in 2004. That project was won in October of 2004 by Tier One using the SpaceShipOne craft. Shortly after they succeeded, they were approached by Virgin Galactic and later signed a deal to begin routine space travel as early as late-2008.

“The Google Lunar X PRIZE calls on entrepreneurs, engineers and visionaries from around the world to return us to the lunar surface and explore this environment for the benefit of all humanity,” X Prize CEO Peter Diamonds. “We’re confident that teams from around the world will help develop new robotic and virtual presence technology, which will [...] reduce the cost of space exploration.”

Today’s new prize requires that a private company land a robotic rover on the Moon, travel over 500 meters, and transmit video/images back to Earth. The first to pass the requirements by the end of 2012 will receive $20 million. An additional $5 million will be available for completing optional tasks such as traveling over 5,000 meters, imaging artifacts or discovering ice/water. The second team to succeed will win the remaining $5 million. As for the public, everyone will have access to view high quality footage of the moon, since all rovers will be equipped with high-definition video and still cameras.

Links: GoogleLunarXPRIZE.org

Earlier today (September 5th) at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA, Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs introduced a bunch of new products. Some of these include a new iPod Nano, iPod Classic (aka Video), and the iPod Touch. The new lineup (picture above): iPod shuffle, nano, classic, touch, & iPhone.

iPhone Updates & Price:
As we are heading backwards though the keynote, the last item Apple touched on was the iPhone. Since the 8GB iPhone was so popular, the price has now been dropped to just $399, which is a $200 price-cut (originally $599). As for the 4GB model, it will no longer be produced or found in stores. The 8GB iPhone will be available at it’s new price online and in Apple and At&t Stores. A new update will also be available soon, which will include support for the Mobile iTunes Store.

The iPod Touch:
The ‘touch’ looks quite similar to the iPhone, has just about all the features, and even features an almost duplicate multi-touch interface, but doesn’t have a the “phone” part. The unit uses a 802.11b/g WiFi signal instead of the 2G At&t network for all its communication needs. Just like the iPhone, the iPod Touch has a Safari browser with built in Google/Yahoo search. Plus while connected to a hotspot or home network, the ‘touch’ allows browsing and playing YouTube content and even purchasing and downloading new songs on the go with the new fully fledged iTunes WiFi music store. The iPod Touch sports a 3.5-inch widescreen display for music, photos, videos, album art, coverflow, web browsing, and features an accelerometer to detect the unit’s upright or landscape orientation. With an ambient light sensor, battery life is conserved by adjusting the brightness to the unit’s surroundings, in result offering 22 hours of music and 5 hours of video playback. The iPod Touch will be available later this month (no exact date set just yet) in capacities of 8GB and 16GB priced at $299 and $399 respectively.

The iPod Classic:
The iPod ‘Classic’ is the successor to the iPod Video. This 6th generation iPod is available in capacities of 80GB and 160GB!, but both models remain slimmer than the previous lineup. The iPod Classic is enclosed in a all new metal-case and has a new interface featuring CoverFlow. Users may now browse content on one half of the screen, while the other half continues to display media. The battery life is also a huge improvement, offering 40 hours of listing to music and 7 hours of watching videos on the 160GB model and 30 hours of music and 5 hours of video on the 80GB. According to Steve Jobs, new games are heading to iPod Classic soon (everyone gets 1 FREE game). Both the 80GB and 160GB models, which come in silver and black, are available as of now for $250 and $350, respectively.

The iPod Nano:
Apple also displayed the completely revamped the Nano during the keynote. The unit, which now looks more like an iPod video, can in fact now play videos, movies, TV shows, and music videos! Nano users can also utilize Coverflow to browse through their library or even play purchased games from iTunes on their bright 2-inch display. The battery life remains at about the same level as the previous Nano, offering 24 hours of music playback or 5 hours of video in this case. Just like the iPod Classic, the Nano too is enclosed in an all-metal stainless steel case. As seen in the image above, the Nano is available in 5 colors. The unit is available TODAY in capacities of 4GB and 8GB costing $149 and $199, respectively.

Same Old iPod Shuffles:
Apple’s smallest family member, the shuffle, remains the same. Instead of introducing a 2GB model as some had anticipated, Apple simply spray painted the same 1GB models with some new colors, one of which is Product (RED). Some rumors indicate a black shuffle with 2GB could still be around the corner.

iTunes WiFi Store and Ringtones:
During the keynote, Apple introduced the new iTunes WiFi store which allows iPhone and iPod Touch owners to download songs directly onto their device when connected to the internet. Songs which are purchased on the go can be synced back to a computer or be re-downloaded. The best part, the pricing on the mobile store is exactly the same as what is available on regular iTunes. This will give Apple a big advantage over other cell providers such as Verizon and Sprint who charge extra fees for mobile purchases. For an additional $.99 a custom 30 second clip from a song can be converted into a ringtone for the iPhone. As for iTunes, version 7.4 will be available soon with plenty of new features.

Links: Apple iPhone | iPod Touch | iPod Classic | iPod Nano | iPod Shuffle
Pre-Order: Amazon (no tax + free shipping)

Sony NWZ-A810 & NWZ-S610:
Both of the two new video Walkmans sport the new user interface to browse through music, photos, and videos. Both units feature a QVGA 320 x 240 pixel LCD display running at up to 30fps. And both units can playback music for up to 33 hours, however the S610 can play video for up to 9.5 hours while the A810 runs short at 8 hours. Also since the new Sony Walkmans are “open platform” they now support non-secure AAC and MP3, secure WMA, plus JPEG for pics, and MP4/H.264/AVC video codecs.

The A810 comes with a high-quality set of Sony ear-buds (MDR-EX082), while the S610 includes a built-in FM tuner with custom presets. Both models are available in three capacities: 8GB, 4GB, & 2GB.

Sony NWZ-B100:
For those who just want a music player, the B100 packs a 3-line color LCD display and a FM tuner. In addition the entire unit can be plugged right into a USB port to charge, transfer music, and even copy other documents. In addition, the B100 can even record FM radio in addition to capturing voice notes with its built-in microphone. Since this walkman is also “open platform” it can also play any non-DRM music file. This Walkman is available in 1GB and 2GB capacities and offers up to 12 hours of playback.

All three players is available online at SonyStyle.com/walkman for pre-order and will become available in retail stores starting in September. Pricing is as follows. A810 Series: 2GB $140, 4GB $180, and 8GB $230. S610 Series: 2GB $120, 4GB $160, and 8GB $210. B100 Series: 1GB $60 and 2GB $80.

Links: SonyStyle.com

Today, during the 79th annual Oscars, Apple aired their first iPhone “teaser” commercial. The AD features ~30 different movie clips of famous actors through many eras simply saying “hello” on phones. Also if you didn’t notice, which most people probably won’t, the “cingular” text on the phone from the original press release has now changed to At&t due to the change of the company name after the merger.

Apple originally announced the iPhone this year in January during MacWorld 2007, however the device will only be available to consumers in mid-June 07. The iPhone will only be available through one service provider, Cingular, after launch. Apple however has hinted that it may become available through other providers within a year after launch.

In other iPhone news, Apple recently settled their trademark lawsuit with Cisco last week. The two companies came to an agreement to share the name and both are free to use the name for any of their products. Cisco is currently using the name, iPhone, for their line of Linksys VoIP phones.

Links:.iPhone AD | Cisco & Apple Agreement
Related: Apple Announces the iPhone

If you’re like most computer users nowadays, you probably have multiple applications up and running at the same time. In an effort to “multi-task” it is often be hard and hectic to minimize and open simultaneously multiple windows. (chatting apps, word processor, web browsers, or email clients). Although buggy virtual desktop programs are available, one easy solution is using multiple monitors to create an extended desktop.

What is an extended desktop? As the picture above shows by connecting two monitors to your computer, you the user will now have ability to simply drag a window from one screen onto another. Now not only is it nicer to have to fully maximized applications, but it is also a lot more efficient because more room is available to get work done. Setting up multiple monitors isn’t too difficult either; getting the advantages of a second monitor is actually a lot easier than most people think.

What’s Required:

• Two Monitors – Although it looks more consistent having two same monitors, two duplicate ones are not required. In fact the monitors can be of different sizes (30″ and 15″), resolutions (1024×768 and 1280×800), and types (LCD and CRT), it will still function.
• For the purpose of this tutorial and because ~95% of computers are running it, we are using WinXP. However Multi Monitors can just as easily be setup on most operating systems including Mac OS X.
• Video Card – Almost all video cards sold by ATI and NVIDIA today have two output slots (aka heads). If you currently only have one output slot, either purchase a second compatible video card or a replacement which has two outputs. Note: For basic usage such as web surfing and email, a combo between a DVI and a VGA output won’t be an issue. However if you are a heavy duty gamer or video editor, I suggest getting a video card that has two DVI outputs.

Hooking It All Up:
Turn off your desktop and plug in the second monitor into an available head slot. Once plugged in, startup your machine and continue to proceed with the following steps. Note: The following procedure will work for most persons; however slight modifications to the procedure may be necessary for certain individuals.

1. Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Display
2. Select the ‘Settings’ Tab in the Display Properties Window
3. Select the Secondary Display from the dropdown menu
4. Once choosen, check ‘Extend My Windows Onto This Monitor’

After applying the settings your second monitor should now rather be an extra screen instead of a duplicate image of the contents on you main display. You should now be able to drag any window from your main screen right off the edge onto the second display. I also recommend dragging around the two monitor icons found in the Display Settings to match the actual physical positioning of your two monitors.

Multiple Monitors will also work for laptop users. Just plugin a monitor into your laptop’s video output. Place your laptop besides the secondary monitor. Then to set up just follow the same steps 1-4 given above.

P.S. If you have any questions please feel free to contact us through the comment below. This is also the first post by our new author Tim Severeijns. We hope you liked this tutorial.

In case you don’t already know, Microsoft’s stab at Apple’s iPod, the Zune, will be released on November 14, 2006 for a retail price of $249. The Microsoft Zune features 30GB of storage, WiFi for sharing music, photos, or videos, a FM Tuner, and a bright 3″ LCD display. The Zune supports playback of WMA, MP3, AAC, and music purchased from the “Zune Marketplace”. (also supports WMV, MP4, and H.264 video formats) As displayed in the image above, the Zune will initially be available in three colors: black, brown, or white. Unlike iPods the Zune will only be available in one storage capacity size, 30GB.

The Zune does in fact offer some better features than the iPod. These include WiFi for sharing media and a much larger and brighter screen for video playback. The Zune is reasonably priced at $250, which is the same as that of the 30GB iPod, making it a possible competitor to the Apple iPod. Even so, it is unlikely that Microsoft will win this market, since the Apple is already on their 5th generation iPod, while Microsoft is just pushing out a first generation device. (also need to explain what a “zune” is)

Links: Microsoft Zune $250 (white)
Related: Microsoft Zune PressRoom

Russell Peters, an Canadian-Indian comedian who’s segments have circulated around the web for over a year, has finally landed himself a standup comedy “movie” on Comedy Central. Skatter Tech has been hosting both his Canadian “Comedy Now” show and his New York performance for over a year. Anyways his new movie will air on Comedy Central on August 26, 2006 at 11:00pm (pacific) check your local listings for the channel and exact timings. Also note that “Russell Peters: Outsourced” will be available on DVD and Audio CD on August 29, 2006. You can either pre-order it from Amazon or wait until it reaches stores.

Update: See Video ‘Outsourced’ Here!
Buy It Now: Outsourced DVD ($11.99)

Links: RussellPeters.com | Yahoo TV (info)
Related: Comedy Now Segment | New York Segment

[Video Removed]

The newly aired “Russell Peters: Outsourced” video, which recently aired on Comedy Central has unfortunately been requested to be removed from Skatter Tech and YouTube by Warner Brothers and CMI Management Services. We don’t really want to get stuck with lawsuits, so we have had to remove the content. Comedy Central doesn’t seem to be airing “Outsourced” anytime soon, so if you want to catch his segment you’ll either have to purchase the DVD from Amazon.com or get a hold of it elsewhere. Sorry for the inconvenience!

The following is an offical list of games that will be released for the Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) and the Nintendo Dual Screen (DS) in North America for June 2006. Note: This was the accurate list of games as of 05.29.06, games may be removed and new ones may be added later. Check PlayStation and/or Nintendo for the most accurate information. You may also wish to search our archives for previous release lists and reviews.

Sony PlayStation Portable:

• Blade Dancer: Lineage of Light – NIS America
• Carol Vorderman’s Sudoku – Empire
• Def Jam®: Fight for NYâ„¢: The Takeover – Electronic Arts
• Miami Viceâ„¢ – Vivendi Games
• NCAA Football 07 – Electronic Arts
• Payout Poker and Casino – Namco
• Stackedâ„¢ with Daniel Negreanu – Myelin Media
• Tekken®: Dark Resurrection – Namco
• Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth – Square Enix

Nintendo DS:

• Contact – Atlus
• Freedom Wings – Natsume
• Micro Machines V4 – Codemasters
• Monster House – THQ

Links: Nintendo DS Game List | Sony PSP Game List

Ever wish you could get a high quality of version of a song when you purchased the video from iTunes? A new Apple promotion now offers iTunes users the option of purchasing a combo of a certain Music Video along with the original Song for $2.50. Songs and Videos can still be purchased separately for $.99 and $1.99 respectively. Although this isn’t an “amazing” deal, it will however save you a mere $.50 if you do plan to purchase both the song and video. (select link below to launch iTunes for the offer)

On another note, Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs, seems to be working on sorting out a deal with a few major motion picture studios, to begin to offer iTunes users the ability to purchase any movie for standard rate of $9.99. According to Apple, after this deal is complete, consumers will begin to see full high quality movies being offered in the iTunes Music Movie Store.

Links: iTunes Song + Video Special Offer
Related: Get iTunes | Apple iPod

On Wednesday (06/21/06), TiVo released TiVo Desktop v2.3 for Windows. TiVo Desktop now offers TiVo users the ability to convert and transfer shows from their machine to their Apple iPod (video) or Sony Playstation Portable (PSP). TiVo had originally announced their plans to offer this feature back in November 2005 and as expected, the “premium” edition, TiVo Desktop Plus, will not be free. TiVo Desktop Plus will run consumers $24.99, however a basic edition which supports all the standard features of music/photo sharing and show transfers will remain completely free.

The reason for the $24.99 “Plus” edition is because TiVo has to pay both Apple and Sony royalty feeds for the use of the Mp4 format. Luckily users who plan to use only the basic edition will only lack once premium feature, the ability to convert and transfer shows for portable devices. If you wish to utilize TiVo Desktop v2.3 (basic or premium) you will need to be running a TiVo Series 2 which is networked, has the latest software update, and has TiVo To Go enabled. The software unfortunately currently only works on Windows 2000/XP, however there is no word on a new version for Mac OS X users. (TiVo Desktop Plus can be purchased at TiVo.com)

Links: TiVo Desktop | TiVo Home
Related: TiVo To Go 4 iPod Video and PSP