Hardware: 5/5 stars
Blue Microphones includes all the essentials to get started with podcasting or recording audio. The box includes the baseball-shaped microphone, a tripod stand, and a USB cable. The tripod extends upwards, rotates a complete 360 degrees, and even allows tilting the head back and fort. Rubber tips on the legs of the tripod are a neat addition as they offer a strong grip and reduce vibrations. The unit also has a standard threaded connector, so it can attached onto any standard microphone stand. There’s a red LED indicator on the front and the USB port resides right below the mode setting switch on the back. The unit stands sturdy and has a unique retro look that catches glances.

Compatibility: 5/5 stars
Starting with Windows 7, the Snowball was detected and automatically configured in seconds. Windows Vista was also able to recognize and setup the device instantly. Windows XP with Service Pack 3 took a bit longer, it required contact Windows Update before it worked. Mac OS X Snow Leopard also detected the device right out of the box. To use the external microphone, I had to either set it as the default device in the control panel or manually choose the device from within an application such as Audacity.

Sound Quality: 3/5 stars
There’s no question that the Snowball is a huge jump up from just about any integrated laptop microphone or cheap auxiliary jack one. It will definitely make podcast recordings, audio chat, and voice overs sound a lot better. In fact a co-worker and I used Snowball microphone to create a screen cast to show off Six Apart’s Movable Type last year. The microphone works great, but it’s still not on par with decent condenser microphones. There are three modes on the Snowball: Cardioid, Cardioid with -10dB to filter loud sounds, and Omni Capsule. There’s a switch on the back to choose between the three modes. If you aren’t too tech-savvy, the manual even has suggestions for which mode to use in which environment. The device does a great job of filtering out unwanted static, wind, and background sounds. Regrettably during the process, I also noticed that vocal sound also seems to be a bit lower. I found myself having to speak close up to the unit and even adjusting levels afterward in my audio recording program. But despite that, for the price it goes for, it’s satisfying.

Conclusion:
The Snowball is a great semi-professional microphone for anyone interested in podcasting or producing better quality audio. It’s also a great tool for video and audio conferencing in for casual and business users. As demonstrated in our video and emphasized by Blue Microphones, it has also been designed to record instruments such as Drums, Guitars, Saxophones, or the Piano in our case. Plus, one of these is available for as low as $70 if you shop around. And it’s an all-in-one solution as well, no other components other than a computer’s required. A decent condenser microphone and mixer will easily cost at least 2-3 times as much. If you are interested in doing any of the mentioned audio related activities, the Snowball USB microphone is a great place to start.

Buy: Blue Snowball for $70
Links: BlueMic.com Snowball

In the past I highly recommended AVG Free to just about anyone who was looking for an alternative to the $40-50 per year you would need to pay for either a McAfee or Symantec product. AVG is still a great product, however Microsoft Security Essentials is just a lot more convenient. The installer file size varies between a 5-10MB download based on which version of Windows you are running. The installation process is simple and quick. The user interface makes sense without any confusing technical terms. The program receives updated virus definitions automatically through the built in Windows Update tool to simplify things even further. Windows XP, Vista, and 7 all have a built-in Firewall, the addition of this component completes the entire security package. If you don’t have any anti-virus or anti-spyware protection software running on your computer, there’s no excuse to not try Microsoft’s free solution.

Download: Microsoft Security Essentials

Acer Aspire One Specification:

• Processor: Intel Atom N270 1.60 GHz
• Memory: 1GB DDR2 (533MHz)
• Chipset: Intel Mobile 82801 GBM
• Video: Intel GMA 950
• Storage: 2.5 inch 120GB HDD
• Card Readers: SD Card (1) & Multi-Card (2)
• OS: Windows XP Home Edition
• Display: LED 8.9 inch 1024×600 (WSVGA)
• Webcam: 0.3 megapixel camera
• Wireless: Acer 802.11b/g
• Ports: 3 USB, LAN 10/100 Mbps, VGA, & Audio in/out
• Battery: 24W 2200mAh 3-cell Li-Ion (3 hours)
• Input: 84-key Keyboard & Touchpad
• Weight: 2.19 lbs with 3-cell & 2.78 lbs with 6-cell
• Size: 9.8″ (W) x 6.7″ (D) x 1.14″ (H) inches

The Body: 3.5/5 stars
With the lid closed, the Acer Aspire One has a stylish glossy finish over its blue body. The bottom of the notebook is made of one piece of plastic except for perforations for air flow and a small cutout for access to the RAM. The external build is elegant, robust, and has a tiny footprint. The inside looks fairly good with a black keyboard and a blue surrounding, however there’s a large gap that appears between the lower and upper portion of the notebook which just looks unusual. There are two shinny orange pieces on the hinges, which stand out too much and takes away from the look in my opinion. The screen is surrounded by a highly glossy black frame which provides a nice contrast in some situations, however can become irritation when light reflects back at you. Most of the components are in the right places and are easy to access. Overall, the durability, feel, and looks of this notebook won’t be an issue.

The Screen: 4/5 stars
Like most sub-notebooks, the Acer Aspire One has an 8.9 inch display with a screen resolution of 1024×600. This resolution is just large enough to be able to view and use most standard-sized websites. I ran into occasional issues with some windows for certain applications being too large so the bottom or top wasn’t visible, but it wasn’t too bad. The LED backlit display is quite bright, sharp, and the colors produced are pretty vibrant. The viewing angles were fairly good. The colors faded much faster with slight change in either vertical direction; however horizontal angles remained intact for longer. The screen looks great for watching movies or viewing photos.

Operating System: 5/5 stars
The Aspire One is running Windows XP Home edition which is probably the most widely used operating system today. So there shouldn’t be any complains there. The machine boots up and is ready to go in about 55 seconds. Launching applications such as Mozilla Firefox takes just a second or two. With 1GB of RAM you can have plenty of applications running at once without any issues. Just about all the applications I use on a regular basis are available for download, but if you have any programs that come on a CD or DVD, you’ll need to find an external USB drive to install them. I was also excited to see that Acer had already upgraded XP to Service Pack 3, which will save everyone the time and hassle of having to install too many updates. Having run XP on a machine with a 900 MHz processor and 256 MB of RAM, I can testify that XP is a very flexible OS and will run without any issues on this laptop.

Keyboard and Mouse: 3.5/5 stars
The keyboard is large enough to use comfortably. With a bit of getting used to, you can begin to type pretty fast without any issue. I was also glad to see that the keyboard didn’t have any weirdly sized or misplaced keys as I have seen on many other sub-notebooks. The main issue I had with the usability of the notebook was the awkwardly placed left/right click buttons. The left/right click buttons have been moved to the left and right sides of the touchpad, instead of placing them below. It was quite awkward to use and I often found myself clicking in the wrong spot only to realize that there weren’t any buttons there. Most people will begin to tap the touchpad to initiate a left-click, but will have no choice but to reach over to input a right-click. If Acer had moved the keyboard up just enough to allow room for normally positioned left/right click buttons, the Aspire One would have been much easier to use.

Speakers & Headphones: 4/5 stars
The speaker is located on the bottom-side of the Aspire One. It can get loud enough and remain fairly clear, but are nothing to brag about. The main issue would have to be that everything sounds quite muffled. Everything sounds different based of whether it is being held in your hands, on your lap, or on a flat desk. As for use with a headphone jack, the audio quality is excellent and will offer exactly what you would expect out of a laptop with a built in sound card.

Microphone & Web Cam: 3/5 stars
The Aspire One has a built in microphone and webcam making it a great little VoIP device. I made a few test calls using Skype over a WiFi network and the results were good. The microphone didn’t pick up to much background noise and the web cam was just clear enough to make out faces. The webcam performs quite poorly under poor lighting conditions. Both components are low quality pieces of hardware, but will do the job for communicating when away from something better.

Ports and Expansion: 4/5 stars
The Aspire one has a fairly good selection of ports. It unusually has two memory card readers, one just for SD and the other is a 5-in-1 reader. The reason for two was originally intended for the model with the 8GB SSD model since it allowed expanding the storage onto the SD card using the Linux OS. However they carried it on over the HDD version running XP, which happens to be quite unnecessary. On the front of the notebook you’ll find a switch to toggle WiFi on or off. The right side has the audio input/output, two USB ports, and the multi-card reader. The left side has the power port, VGA port, fan exhaust, ethernet port, another USB port, and a SD card reader.

Performance: 5/5 stars
The Aspire One is a fairly fast notebook. It actually has better specifications in just about every category than the 14 inch Sony Vaio I had been using up until just about two years ago. The HD Tune benchmark tool displayed an average of 49 MB/s data transfer rate, which is excellent. The wPrime 32 CPU test took about 124 seconds to complete which is better than most other sub-notebooks with other processors. The Aspire One is fast enough to do just about all the basic things you would need to do on your laptop on a daily basis. It obviously shouldn’t be used for video editing or gaming, but is great for multimedia playback, internet apps, email, chatting, note taking, and much more.

Battery Life: 4/5 stars
The Aspire One I reviewed only had a 3 cell battery; however 6 cells are also available. Unfortunately a 6-cell will protrude from the notebook. Benchmarks always vary, so I put it to the test in a real-life situation. With WiFi enabled and the screen at half-brightness, I was able to get about 2 hours and 40 minutes of juice out of it on average. I was mainly writing articles, browsing the web, or streaming media the majority of the time. The hours I got might not be entirely similar to what others may receive based of whether they are using hardware intensive applications or not. The battery life was around what other notebooks such as the Lenovo S10 receive, however I do wish it could fit a 6-cell without sticking out like the Asus EEE 900 does. Despite that, it’s fairly good amount considering that it’s got a standard HDD.

Conclusion
After having a chance to play with a couple of other main stream sub-notebooks such as the EEE 900, the Acer Aspire One is currently my favorite. Especially impressive since due to the fairly powerful hardware specs while it’s MSRP is now just $350 for the model in this review. And as I mentioned before the notebook doesn’t lack on looks either. However, my opinion might soon change as Dell and other companies are beginning to roll out more sub-notebooks with competitive specifications and pricing. Just about everything from the operating system, the hard drive space, and speed was satisfactory. The main downsides are probably the awkward positioning of the mouse buttons and the battery life. Overall, most of you folks who are looking for a cheap portable laptop will get exactly what you are looking for and won’t be disappointed with Acer’s Aspire One.

Buy Now: Best Buy $350 | Amazon $400 | Circuit City $330 (SSD Model)
Links: Acer Aspire One | Wiki Page

Earlier this month, Lenovo rolled out the IdeaPad S10, an entry-level ultra-portable laptop. The IdeaPad S10 sub-notebook is primarily intended for those getting into computing for the first time and for those seeking a secondary portable laptop. The laptop will allow performing simple tasks such as browsing the web, accessing emails, listening to music, and running basic applications. For college students, this S10 is a great tool to take notes in class and have WiFi internet access when away from their desk especially since it is just an inch thick and weighs approximately 2 pounds.

The IdeaPad’s keyboard is about 85% the size of a standard keyboard, so typing won’t be too difficult. The 10 inch display has a 1024×600 pixel resolution making it large enough to view most web pages and since it’s LED backlit, battery life will also be conserved. The laptop has the standard WiFi b/g networks built in, however it also supports use of Mobile Broadband through the Express Card slot. The laptop also features the standard tools such as a microphone, a webcam, a speaker, audio in/out, two USB ports, a 4-in-1 card reader, and a VGA display output.

The S10 comes with Windows XP, which is still the most popular OS, so there shouldn’t be any complains. The performance won’t be too slow for basic apps, considering that it is running a 1.6Ghz Intel Atom processor with 512MB of RAM. (Upgradeable to 1GB+) The notebook doesn’t sport a Solid State Drive (SSD), but rather a standard 80GB 5400RPM HDD. Laptop Mag has a video of it booting up in about 35 seconds. The only downside might be battery life. A 3 cell battery apparently provides only 2.5 hours worth of juice. The unit comes in White, Black, and Red with more choices down the road.

The laptop has current MSRP of $400 for the current configuration option. Customization will become available later on. Units are expected to reach customers by early to mid-September. As implied in the title, Lenovo is now taking in pre-orders on their website for this notebook. We’ll be trying to get a hold of a unit for review soon, so keep checking back! Dell’s mini-Insprion (aka Inspirion 910) launch seems to be imminent and rumors indicate a $300 starting price point!

Links: Lenovo.com

The Logitech VX Nano is a tiny portable wireless mouse which features many of the controls a standard desktop mice usually have. The VX Nano has an impressive build quality, is durable, looks stylish, and has true functionality. This product is most notable for it’s unusually small transmitter.

The Buttons – 4/5 stars
The VX Nano houses the standard left and right click buttons which have a good tactile feedback. The scroll wheel can be “frictionless” meaning it can be flicked up or down to quickly drop through pages or can have “notches” so that you can feel each bump while it’s rotating. All you have to do is push in the button to toggle between the two modes. The entire wheel can also be leaned left or right for horizontal scrolling. The search key directly below the wheel functions as a middle-click button. The mouse also features back and forward keys, however they are awkwardly placed on top of the mouse which takes some getting used too. The mouse could have allowed more productivity if those to buttons were moved to the sides.

Transmitter – 5/5 stars
The RF transmitter which plugs into the USB port on you computer is probably one of the most impressive aspects of this product due to its size. Since the receiver is so small, it can be left in the USB port while laptops are placed into a bag without having to worry about it snapping off. In addition the receiver also pops into the battery compartment under the mouse for storage. In addition I’ve been told that if you do happen to loose the transmitter, Logitech sells replacements for an reasonable price. The mouse has a fairly good range and worked when I was over 15 feet away from my computer.

Included Items – 5/5 stars
Logitech provides a neat little pouch for storing the mouse when traveling which is a neat little addition. A little USB extender with a base is also included so you won’t have to reach behind your computer if you are using a desktop. I also found it useful since I could just use it to plug in flash drives easily. In addition to those and the mouse itself, you’ll find two AAA batteries, a CD with drivers, and a user manual.

Other Information
The VX Nano also has a very impressive battery life. According to Logitech it should last for about six months of use. The mouse also uses a 848nm laser which is fairly accurate. It is plentiful for performing most tasks, however if you plan on editing tiny details in Photoshop or playing hardcore video games, you probably should get a different mouse. The VX Nano started working immediately without drivers on both Windows Vista/XP and Apple OS X Leopard. Further button customizations are available if the software is installed. Logitech also offers a 3-year limited warranty to support the product.

Overall the Logitech VX Nano is a pretty impressive mouse on many aspects. It probably shouldn’t be a replacement for a desktop mouse since it is quite small, unless you have small hands of course. Other than that it seems quite durable and will probably last quite a long time before it wears out. This is probably a prefect mouse for traveling. The mouse was originally quite expensive when it was released ($70 MSRP), however it is now available for $55 on Amazon. (I’ve seen it for even lower on sale!)

Buy: Logitech VX Nano – $55 – Amazon (ships free + no tax)
Links: Logitech.com VX Nano Cordless Mouse

Earlier today, Microsoft announced that Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista has been finalized and was released to manufacturers today. Unfortunately customers won’t have access to the upgrade which brings “enhanced reliability, security, compatibility and performance” until March. Consumer using the auto-update feature won’t receive the upgrade until April unless they manually download and install the patch. Microsoft claims performance improvements by as much as 50% for tasks such as moving large files around your machine or network. Today’s launch of SP1 to manufacturers indicates that new computers produced by companies such as Dell, HP, and Sony soon be available with the upgraded Vista pre-installed. In addition, new shipments of licensed retail boxes of Vista will come with SP1.

Hopefully the changes will help fix many of the major problems which a fairly large portion of customers are experiencing. SP1 for Vista will probably still not help it gain a lead over the performance XP will be offering with the upcoming Service Pack 3. Despite this, Vista users should be glad that at least some improvements have been made and will be available within a foreseeable date.

Links: Windows Vista Blog Post | Microsoft Vista

Just about every new laptop purchased today is bundled with a built-in web cam. It’s a great accessory for video conferencing, but there are also plenty of other useful things to do with them. This tutorial will demonstrate how to turn just about any web camera into a security camera which will capture any movement it sees using motion technology. No extra components or tools required!

What’s Needed:

• Windows XP or Vista Computer
• A USB or built-in Camera
• Java Runtime Environment 6 +
• Windows Media Player 9 +

Quick Install Process:
1) Download yawcam.zip and unzip it
2) Click on yawcam.exe and install it
3) Start Menu -> Start up Yawcam

Note: If you have a USB camera, plug it in before starting up yawcam. If yawcam says “No Device Selected”, go to Settings -> Device -> Change to -> [select your camera]. If you are able to view your camera in the Yawcam Preview window, proceed to the next step.

Setup Motion Detection:
1) Go to Window -> Motion Detection (a new window should appear)
2) Blue lines should appear when you move your hand past the camera.
3) Click on the Actions tab and un-check Play Sound.
4) Select Settings… for Save file and Activate Image array.
5) Finally hit the enable button to begin monitoring!

Note: If you see a lot of static or in the motion detection window, go to the Motion Detection window -> Settings Tab -> Detection Level -> Select Auto detect. Step away from the camera and make sure nothing in it’s line of view is moving while it is adjusting.

At this point any movement past the camera should be captured and will be displayed under the Motion Events list. A date & time stamp along with the percentage of movement detected will be provided with each captured frame. If you would like to save higher quality images into a folder, enable the Save file option found under the Action tab in the Motion Detection window. Optionally, you can ask Yawcam to automatically upload each captured image to an FTP server or email it to yourself.

Yawcam unfortunately can not capture video clips at this time. There are however some paid applications which support that feature. This isn’t exactly the BEST security camera technology, but it is definitely a good start. It is also neat to actually make use of your web cam if your laptop has one built in. The best part of all of this may just the fact that Yawcam is completely free and that it only takes a few minutes to setup. Yawcam does support plenty of advance features, however we will not go through setting those up. Just for example, you can quite easily broadcast and stream your camera to any computer with an internet connection or even play scary sounds when your machine detects motion. Anyways if you know of any better apps or have questions, please reply in the comments or visit our forums.

Download: yawcam.zip
Links: YawCam.com

Open Source applications are a great cost-free alternative to commercial applications. In many instances they are even better than paid versions of the same application. Today we bring you a list of a great applications from browsers to video players for both Windows XP/Vista and Macintosh OS X. All items on the list of course are completely FREE and have NO adware or spyware.

Web Browsing:

• Mozilla Firefox – tabbed browsing, customizable, and large plugin library – (Win+Mac)
• Camino – mozilla-like mac-styled browser with rss, spell check, tabs & more – (Mac)

Email:

• Mozilla Thunderbird – secure emails, fight spam, tags, rss, and more – (Win+Mac)

RSS Reader:

• FeedReader – handle large amount of feeds, simple, auto updates, and fast – (Win)
• Vienna – rss + atom, tabbed viewer, customize layouts, and global search – (Mac)
• RSSOwl – opml, bookmarks, export function, search, and alerts – (Win+Mac)

Instant Messaging:

• Pidgin – all in one chat client supporting over 15 major chatting services – (Win)
• Adium – also an all in one client, which supports 13 chatting protocols – (Mac)

BitTorrent:

• Azureus – very powerful, customizable, plugins, and tracker support – (Win+Mac)

Media Player:

• Miro – plays any video file, hd content, free tv, youtube downloads, and torrents – (Win+Mac)
• VLC – plays tons of media formats, powerful converter, and streams anything – (Win+Mac)

Office Suites:

• OpenOffice – word processor, spreadsheets, presentations, and illustrator – (Win+Mac)
• AbiWord – a powerful word processor which supports many formats – (Win+Mac)
• Bean – a simple and free word processor more feature packed than text edit – (Mac)

Virus Scan:

• ClamWin – great virus protection tool for windows based machiens – (Win)
• ClamAV – anti-virus scanning tool for Unix-based machines – (Mac)

DVD Rippers / Encode:

• Handbrake – rips and converts to any format. supports psp, ipod, and iphone – (Win+Mac)
• Media Coder – rip, encode anything to anything, simple encoding for portable devices – (Win)

CD / DVD Burners:

• Burn – burn data, video, audio, and images. also can copy discs – (Mac)
• InfraRecorder – burn any type of data or media, dual layer support, and create ISOs – (Win)

Sound Editor + Recorder:

• Audacity – a powerful sound recorder and editing tool – (Win+Mac)

FTP Client:

• Filzezilla – supports ftp, ftps, sftp, and supports large file transfers. can resume files – (Win+Mac)
• Cyberduck – supports standard ftp protocols and integrated with OS X features – (Mac)

Photo Editors:

• Gimp – great for creating and editing images. good photoshop alternative – (Win+Mac)
• Paint.net – a powerful windows photo editing / manipulation tool – (Win)
• Seashore – a mac os x photo editor with tons of features – (Mac)

Publishing Tools:

• Scribus - neat professional publishing and page layout tool – (Win+Mac)

File Tools:

• 7-zip – unzip or zip up just about any type of package you can imagine – (Win)
• Unarchiver – can unzip anything and works better than OS X’s default tool – (Mac)
• Eraser – securely delete any file from your HDD beyond point of recovery – (Win)
• Permanent Eraser – completely wipe any data using DoD specifications – (Mac)

PDF Tools:

• PDFCreator – create pdf files from any just about program that can print – (Win)

These are just a few of the tons of programs out there. We specifically choose these since we felt that these will be useful for most people. If you know of any neat open source applications or ones better than the ones mentioned in our article, please feel free to let us know by replying in the comments!

One of my favorite FTP Clients, Filezilla, recently got updated to version 3. The application, which began development in 2001, has now reached a new level. The client is now cross platform, supporting Linux and Mac OS X machines in addition to Windows. And to top that, Filezilla is still open source.

The application has received a makeover and now has a bunch of new features. It remains easy enough for novices to use, but is packed with advance features. In addition to FTP, it also allows using FTP over SSL/TLS and SSH FTP. The client includes a Site Manager for saving addresses and passwords, supports pausing/resuming files even larger than 4GB, and features a neatly organized transfer queue. In addition Filezilla supports “dragging and dropping” of files in and out of the program, configuring upload and download speeds, and plenty more. As this application is open source, it remains entirely FREE. In my opinion it is much better than many paid FTP clients such as cuteFTP and others.

Download: Filezilla | Links: Official Site

At first glance, Sony’s UX Micro PC is noticeably bulky. The first thing most people notice other than the touch screen include the fingerprint reader and the Motion Eye Camera on top. The buttons on the side of the screen function as the left-click, right-click, and mouse thumb pad. Due to the nature of the small touch screen, the other buttons allow access to the zoom function and the on-screen keyboard. Also included are hard-keys for disabling WiFi to save battery life as well as a power button. The bottom of the UX has a standard line in and line out (headphone and microphone), a power supply jack, and an expansion slot. The only other port on the machine is a USB 2.0 slot on left, however access to more USB and a Ethernet ports can be made available using the mini port replicator, which plugs into the bottom. In addition a button for snapping photos and a Memory Stick Duo slot are found above the unit.

Functionality
The HDD-based model we tested was quite fast for its size. It took roughly 50 seconds to reach the login screen after booting up, which is quite slower than a standard laptop. (runs Win XP) However the all new flash-based models will probably be much faster, in addition to being power efficient. The unit can have a max of 1 GB of RAM and a CPU of up to 1.33GHz (Intel Core Solo). Switching back and forth between the stylus and the keyboard can get quite annoying after a while. The battery life on this HDD-based unit is quite horrible, I could only get around 2hrs out of it with the WiFi enabled. (at least +4hrs needed) The device also has Cingular Wireless Internet (paid service) to compliment the Bluetooth and WiFi. The included features are quite powerful, but lacks true functionality.

Keyboard
The UX has a full QWERTY keyboard which slides out below the screen. The keyboard takes a little getting used since the keys are flat around the edges. The enter and backspace keys are quite hard to use since they are curved at the edges to go along with the style of the unit. Another drawback which makes it harder to get comfortable typing, is the unusual key placement. (they had to crunch them together) However a big bonus is the fully backlit keyboard (blue LEDs), which makes typing a whole lot easier in poorly lighted places. Typing for long periods of time gets quite uncomfortable and the extremely tiny spacebar only makes it worse.

Final Thoughts
With a small 30GB HDD and a very limited battery life, the device is lacking on many fronts. However newer batteries and the flash-based technology may have improved this device. A raised keyboard to offer touch feedback and possible predictive text entry can improve the device. Also for a device meant to be portable, 2 pounds is pretty heavy. If plan to use it for just web browsing, email, and other small functions, and are willing to spend around $2,000, this might be for you. However personally I would wait for an improved device with more HDD and Battery!

Buy: UX390N (NEW MODEL) | UX280P (this review) | Links: SonyStyle.com

[brought to you by m1nor.com, Our new affiliate!]

For those WordPress users that already do not know, Microsoft’s new Word 2007 now supports publishing posts to blogs powered by services such as WordPress, TypePad, Blogger, and Live Spaces. It doesn’t exactly support every feature most blogging admin panels include, but is still a decent editor. I recommend using it to write out the text, spell check, and save the post as a draft. Then, once complete, login to your admin panel to format everything and finally publish.

If own Word 2007 and don’t plan to use it to blog, I recommend trying it since it’s extremely easy to setup. Just follow this tutorial and you should be able to start publishing articles within 2-3 minutes.

(Note: Tutorial is specific to WordPress. Click on thumbnails for larger pics)

MS Word 2007 Setup Procedure:
1) Open a Microsoft Word Document

2) Hit the new Office Button Then select Publish -> Blog
3) If prompted to register, select “Register Now”

4) Choose WordPress from the dropdown and hit “Next”

5) Enter your exact WP blog URL followed by “/xmlrpc.php”
6) Then enter your WP username and password and press OK

Once complete, you should receive a “Account registration successful.” in a few seconds. You may now enter a Post Title, Insert Categories you have previously created and write your article. When ready you may either directly publish it or save it as a draft for later from the dropdown. Word 07 also allows editing recent documents you have published by using the “Open Existing” button. If you need any help or having problems, you are welcome to ask questions in the comments.

Links: WordPress | Microsoft Word

Are you a sick of the current Windows XP theme? Well you are in luck. Microsoft has released a second theme package for WinXP called the “Zune Theme”, which was created to help promote their iPod-like mp3 player, the Zune. Other than for the background, which can obviously be changed, there is no hidden Zune advertising embedded anywhere. The theme is simply a modification of the Royale Theme, which we mentioned earlier this year, except that it is a glossy black theme instead of blue.

Installation is quite simple. Just run the “.msi” installation file and once complete right-click on your anywhere desktop and select properties. Choose the “Appearance” tab and under “Windows and Buttons” select the new style. Hit apply and wait a few seconds for the theme to load.

(P.S. Click image at the top to get a larger view of the new Zune Theme in action)

Download: ZuneDesktopTheme.msi
Related: Royale Theme For Windows XP

Although most expected another delay, last week Microsoft announced that Windows Vista would be available this month (Nov. 30th, 2006) for corporations and businesses. However the new operating system will be not be available for consumers (in retail stores) until Jan. 30th, 2007. Although Windows Vista requires more RAM (Dell recommends 2GB), a faster CPU, and powerful Video Card, (see hardware requirements) it will be an essential update since Microsoft hasn’t made any core changes to their operating system since Windows XP, which was launched in 2001.

Microsoft will be releasing a full install and an upgrade edition for each of four editions of Vista: Ultimate, Business, Home Premium, and Home Basic. (not six-editions as originally reported) As of now pricing will go as follows:

Windows Vista Pricing: (version – full / upgrade)

• Vista Ultimate: $399 / $259
• Vista Business: $299 / $199
• Vista Home Premium: $239 / $159
• Vista Home Basic – $199 / $99

Microsoft also plans release Office 2007 for consumers when Vista is launched. Other made-for-Vista apps, such as Windows Media Player 11, Internet Explorer 7, Windows Desktop Search 3, and more will either be released before or on launch if not already available.

Links: Microsoft Vista | Vista Features

Ever forget you password? Well luckily, we have a quick and easy solution for iPod owners. After completing the following, your iPod will become a password recovery disk, which will allow recovering your system password in case you get locked out. Note: This tutorial is only works for WinXP.

Required Items:

• Windows XP Home/Pro
• iPod Nano or iPod Video
• USB-iPod Connection Cable

Set Up Procedure:
1) Connect your iPod to your machine and verify that it appears as a standard drive in “My Computer”. (ex: “Joe’s iPod (G:)”)
Note: If it doesn’t appear and you have iTunes Installed, make sure “disk use” is enabled.
2) Go To Control Panel -> User Accounts -> Select Your Account -> Related Tasks – > “Prevent a forgotten password”. A Wizard should appear.
3) Select Your iPod’s Drive Name -> Enter Current Password -> Finish

Once complete your iPod should be setup as a password recovery disk. Do not delete the “userkey” file, which you may see when browsing your iPod’s contents. To test your recovery disk do a quick Log Off and try logging in with an incorrect password. Select “use password reset disk”. Then proceed and select your iPod’s drive name. If all goes well it should you will be allowed to create a new password.

Note: Non-iPod users can use the same procedure to save the “userkey” file to a Thumbdrives, CDs, floppy, Memory Sticks, etc.

Links: Microsoft Support – Password Reset Disk
Related: Apple iPod | Windows XP Royale Theme

A few months ago we published an article entitled How To: “Stream Your iTunes Library To PSP“. The article, which demonstrated how to share music from your windows machine to your PlayStation Portable (PSP), became an extreme hit. Today we are here to demonstrate a new alternative, which is in fact more powerful and functions smoothly on both Windows and Macintosh machines. After reading through this tutorial, you will be able to easily stream as much DRM-Free music as you want from any networked computer to your Playstation Portable (PSP) via WiFi.

The software we are using today, MyTunesRSS, has been developed by our friends at Codewave Software. This new MyTunesRSS software is completely free and offers even more features than the software used in our previous tutorial. To use this application you will need the items mentioned below. (MyTunesRSS is currently on v2.1)

To get started you’ll need the following:

• PSP with Firmware 2.60/2.70 or Above
• Networked XP Pro/Home or Mac OS X
• Java Runtime 1.5 or Above Installed
• WiFi (802.11b-compatible) Network Router
• Apple iTunes v6.0.4 or Above Installed
• DRM-Free Songs In The iTunes Library

The 3-Setup Procedure:

Windows:
1) Download MyTunesRSSwin.zip to your desktop. Unzip (extract) all contents into a new folder. Open it folder, but do not modify its contents.
2) Press on the on the MyTunesRSS Icon and wait until it starts up.
3) Under General -> iTunes browse to the location of your “iTunes Music Library.xml”. (Usually located in My Documents -> My Music -> iTunes.)

Macintosh:
1) Download MyTunesRSSmac.zip. Extract all contents into a new folder.
2) Open the folder, press on MyTunesRSS, and wait for it to start up.
3) Under General -> iTunes browse to the location of your “iTunes Music Library.xml”. (This is normally located in Music -> iTunes)

Final Setup Steps (mac and win):
1) Choose a port number such as “1234″ and enter any password.
2) Under Options -> Automation, check Auto Update Database (10 mins).
3) Open any standard browser (IE/Safari/Firefox) and enter either http://localhost:[port number] (ex: http://localhost:1234) or the URL displayed on the General Tab. A MyTunesRSS page should appear shortly.

Note: If you successfully accomplished the above (without any errors), you may proceed to the next step. If you do run into errors make sure you meet the requirements and are using the correct software for your OS. If the MyTunesRSS page didn’t appear, open the port you choose previously and give MyTunesRSS permission to access the web in your firewall settings.

PSP Setup Procedure:
1) PSP should already be setup on your LAN and should be able to access the web, if so start up your PSP and go to Network -> Internet Browser.
2) Enter “http://[IP Address]:[Port Number]” into your PSP Browser. “IP Address” represents the IP of the machine running the MyTunesRSS server and the “Port Number” is the number you selected during setup. URL can also be found under “General” in MyTunesRSS. (ex: http://192.168.1.101:1234)
3) Once the MyTunesRSS page appears, enter your password and login.
4) Browse around and select the RSS icon on any playlist/album/artist and say “Yes” to “Add This Channel” to your PSP’s RSS Channel.
5) Close your PSP browser and go to Network -> RSS Channel. Select an item you had added to your library and enjoy the music!

Note: If the previous procedure didn’t work, make sure you followed all the instructions properly and that your firewall settings are properly configured. Also note that this will not work for music purchased on the iTunes Music Store and will only work on any DRM-free music. This tutorial only demonstrated how to access your music on your LAN, if you wish to access it from “hotspots” or elsewhere you will need to do a little port forwarding in your router.

Downloads: MyTunesRSS (by CodeWave) | Support Forum
Links: Stream iTunes Library To PSP, Pt. 1 | Digg This Article

As Windows Vista is getting closer to launch, Microsoft has published a comprehensive guide to outline the minimum hardware requirements necessary to run their new operating system. Their new “Get Ready” program will help consumers, who are planning to purchase new machines, determine whether their new computer will be able to run Vista. According to Microsoft, to be able to run Windows Vista on the bare minimum specifications, your hardware must meet the following:

• Processor: 800 MHz / 32-bit or 64-bit
• System Memory: at least 512MB
• Hard Drive: 20GB (15GB free)
• Optical Drive: CD-ROM drive

However, to be able “To better experience Windows Vista,” (use the new “aero theme“) you must have the following hardware specifications:

• Processor: 1 GHz / 32-bit or 64-bit
• System Memory: 1GB recommended
• Graphics Processor: DirectX 9 capable
• Graphics Memory: 128MB or above
• Hard Drive: 40GB (15GB free space)
• Optical Drive: DVD-ROM or CD-ROM
• Others: Audio Out and Internet Access

Most new computer manufacturers such as Acer, Dell, Fujitsu, Gateway, HP, Sony, and more will begin to brand their machines with “Windows Vista Capable” logos. If you want to know whether your machine can run Windows Vista, visit Microsoft’s “Get Ready” website. Microsoft has also released a “Vista Upgrade Advisor” tool which will determine if the hardware on your machine is “Vista Capable”.

Links: “Get Ready” Information | Windows Vista | Microsoft
Other Links: Offical Press Release | Vista Upgrade Advisor
Related: Windows Vista Editions | Wikipedia: Windows Vista

Today, 04.24.06, Apple unveiled a new 17″ MacBook Pro, which is about 5x faster than the original 15″ model. The new MacBook Pro has a 2.16GHz Intel Core Duo processor, a whopping 1680×1050 display, 1GB RAM, 8x Dual-Layer SuperDrive, ATI Mobility Radeon 256MB, and a 120GB Hard Drive. This new laptop will run you about $2,799, but the specs speak for themselves. Although many were hoping for a smaller and cheaper MacBook Pro, a larger and more expensive one was released. However, this may be popular for those that wish to have a powerful portable machine that can now run both Mac OS X and Windows XP. Overall this new addition is an exact replica of the previous 15″ models, which still exist, except this model has a bigger/brighter display and better hardware specs. The 17″ MacBook Pro still has all standard MacBook Pro features such as the iSight Cam, MagSafe Power, Front Row Remote, Bluetooth, WiFi, etc. If you do wish to purchase it, Apple will begin shipping them next week.

Links: Apple MacBook Pro | Apple Store
Coverage: Gizmodo | Engadget | TUAW | Slashdot
Related: Boot Camp | MacBook Problems

On Wednesday, (04/05/06), Apple released a new program, Boot Camp, which allows running Microsoft Windows on any of their Intel-based machines. Although the software is still in BETA, Apple has already included most of the standard drivers necessary to run Windows on their hardware. Boot Camp works by allowing the user to choose from either Mac OS X or Windows XP during startup. The performance of Windows XP on the Intel-based Macs should be equivalent to any standard Windows Computer since it is not emulation, but runs natively. People who want to dual boot on these new Intel-based machines will need to purchase a new copy of either Windows XP Home/Pro (Full Edition).

“Apple has no desire or plan to sell or support Windows, but many customers have expressed their interest to run Windows on Apple’s superior hardware,” Philip Schiller – Apple VP Marketing

A few weeks ago a hackers figured out how to do this using his own boot loader, but there was a risk of damaging machine data since it wasn’t created by Apple. Since this is an official update, which is supported by Apple, any Intel-Mac owner can safely create a dual boot. Apple has included every tool necessary, even including an easy to use partioner, making it simple for even novice computer users to use. If you do own a Intel Mac and want to run XP, I do recommend downloading Boot Camp (83MB) since it is very easy to setup and is completely free.

Links: Apple Boot Camp BETA
Related: Uneasy Slience Installation Video Tutorial

Tried of the boring old Windows XP theme? Want something new? You can now make any Windows XP Home or Pro machine look like the Windows Media Center Edition’s glossy theme. (called “Royale”) Microsoft has created a small shell file extension. The download and installation files are only about 2mb. The theme may take up slightly more memory than the standard XP theme, but is probably un-noticeable.

To install, download the .exe provided below and when it asks you where to install the files make sure “C:\WINDOWS” is selected. If you choose “C:\WINDOWS” the files will automatically be placed in the “Resources” Folder in you computer. To activate the theme just right-click on you desktop -> Properties -> Appearance -> Windows and Buttons -> select [Media Center Style]. Hit apply and wait a momment it to fully load.

Download: RoyaleThemeForXP.exe
Related: Microsoft PowerToys

Update: Black Royale Theme Now Available