http://www.hardwaregeeks.com Tech News and Reviews Blogs and More en Michael@hardwaregeeks.com Copyright 2008 2008-05-15T03:35:00-05:00 http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/win_an_hp_pavilion_hdx_notebook_pc/ http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/win_an_hp_pavilion_hdx_notebook_pc/#When:03:50:00Z HP and HardwareGeeks.com along with 30 other sites, and with the assistance of BuzzCorps want to give you an HP Pavilion HDX Notebook PC. The HDX Notebook PC is a desktop replacement perfect for those of you who have little to no desk space, live in a small apartment or want to add a system to your kitchen. One HDX system will be given out every day for 31 days starting May 9th, 2008. HardwareGeeks.com will announce this site’s winner on June 3rd. For information on how to participate and who the other 30 participating sites are, please continue reading.  HDXGIVEAWAY 2008-04-28T03:50:00-05:00 http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/review_vox_v1_750gb_external_hdd/ http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/review_vox_v1_750gb_external_hdd/#When:03:35:00Z I have been collecting more and more pictures, videos and music during these past couple of months.  Due to my insatiable zeal to obtain more digital files, my storage space seems to have fallen into cold water and has shrunken drastically. There was an obvious need for more storage - an easy, affordable solution.  In this day and age, hard drive bays fill up left and right.  The only feasible option left was an external solution – that looks nice of course!  This is where the VOX V1 comes into play. When I received the V1 for review, I expected to install tons of software similar to other external storage products but there was no need.  I plugged in the drive to a USB Port (eSata available) and my Windows Vista machine detected it right away and TA-DA! I instantly had 750 GB of new storage. News 2008-05-15T03:35:00-05:00 http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/new_iphone_to_be_powered_by_intel_atom/ http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/new_iphone_to_be_powered_by_intel_atom/#When:22:07:00Z An Intel executive in Germany seems to have confirmed to C|net that the new iPhones will be powered by Intels Atom processor. So is it true or has something been lost in the translation of the original article? Intel isn’t saying and has even cast doubt on what the quoted executive would or would not know.  Apple 2008-05-14T22:07:00-05:00 http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/10_million_xbox_360_units_sold_in_us/ http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/10_million_xbox_360_units_sold_in_us/#When:20:32:00Z Today Microsoft has announced that it has some over 10 million Xbox 360 Consoles in the US alone, and over 19 million worldwide, Microsoft also said it has over 12 million Xbox Live users and gloated that they have a total of 16 games that have sold over a million copies for the Xbox 360. which is double the Wii. The Playstation 3 just has two. Microsoft said that the number 1 gaming console for each generation that reached 10 million sales in the US was typically the best system in that generation, but Microsoft should watch what they say, Nintendo has already sold 8.8 Million Wiis in the US, and they reached that number faster than what Microsoft did. Sony has just sold 4.1 Million Playstation 3 consoles. xbox 2008-05-14T20:32:00-05:00 http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/overstockcom_afraid_of_new_york/ http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/overstockcom_afraid_of_new_york/#When:16:09:01Z Well it would seem that Geoff Atkinson the VP for Overstock.com is a big scardy cat, he is so scared of NY and the new internet tax law, that he has ordered that all New York Based Affiliates be terminated. Instead of waiting to see how far the Amazon.com suit against the state of NY goes or even filing one of their own, this guy puts his tail between his legs and tells NY’ers to F*#@ off, well you know what Mr. Atkinson F*#@ you! While I am all for no tax on web sales, and while I am against what the state of NY is doing, what Overstock.com has done is an even bigger injustice. Hundreds maybe even thousands of New Yorkers run affiliate marketing businesses and Overstock.com just basically fired them all. So I will boycott and ask everyone to boycott Overstock.com. Internet 2008-05-14T16:09:01-05:00 http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/hbo_comes_to_itunes/ http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/hbo_comes_to_itunes/#When:17:25:00Z Apple and HBO today announced that the Apple iTunes service will sell episodes of popular HBO series such as, Deadwood, Rome and The Wire. “We’re very excited to make these legendary HBO programs available on the iTunes Store,” said Henry McGee, president of HBO Video. “Whether catching up on ‘Sex and the City’ in anticipation of its upcoming movie release or reliving a favorite ‘Sopranos’ episode, we think viewers will love being able to watch these shows on their iPod or iPhone.” Apple 2008-05-13T17:25:00-05:00 http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/worldwide_telescope_public_beta/ http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/worldwide_telescope_public_beta/#When:04:26:00Z Today Microsoft announced a Public Beta for their new WorldWide Telescope Software. You can download it by clicking here. “The WorldWide Telescope is a powerful tool for science and education that makes it possible for everyone to explore the universe,” said Bill Gates, Chairman, Microsoft Corporation. “By combining terabytes of incredible imagery and data with easy-to-use software for viewing and moving through all that information, the WorldWide Telescope opens the door to new ways to see and experience the wonders of space. Our hope is that it will inspire young people to explore astronomy and science, and help researchers in their quest to better understand the universe.” Microsoft 2008-05-13T04:26:00-05:00 http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/rim_and_att_go_bold_with_new_blackberry/ http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/rim_and_att_go_bold_with_new_blackberry/#When:17:51:00Z Today RIM announced the new Blackberry Bold, also known as the Blackberry 9000. The phone will be available exclusively from at&t wireless later this year. Blackberry nor at&t have announced pricing for the phone yet. The Bold which is a quad-band phone and can be used anywhere in the world features a half-vga color screen which is said to be bold and beautiful, it also features a fast 624MHz intel processor and a gig of onboard memory. The phone will have wi-fi and bluetooth connectivity. In other RIM related news, Microsoft announced that they have reached an agreement with RIM to bring their live services to Blackberry devices. AT&T 2008-05-12T17:51:00-05:00 http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/save_400_on_hp_notebooks/ http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/save_400_on_hp_notebooks/#When:17:23:00Z HP is having another huge sale, and this time you can save $400 dollars on any notebook priced at $1399 or higher. That basically means you can get a 1400 dollar notebook for $1000, can’t really beat that. The coupon is good for any configuration on any system, be it the tx2000 or dv2700. The coupon is limited to the first 1000 people to use it, so if it doesn’t work for you, sorry.    HP Hewlett Packard 2008-05-12T17:23:00-05:00 http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/stolen_mac_recovered/ http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/stolen_mac_recovered/#When:04:24:00Z A New York Woman was robbed of her Mac, and the two idiots that robbed her well weren’t that bright. The woman’s friend saw her online, notified the women and the women used a second computer and the “Back to My Mac” program to establish a remote connection with her Mac, snap a picture of the thief using the built in camera, and sent it a long to the police. The police used the photo to arrest 23 year old Edmon Shahikian and 20-year-old Ian Frias. They also recovered $5,000 in stolen electronics.  Apple 2008-05-10T04:24:00-05:00 http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/youll_be_alone_in_the_dark_june_24th/ http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/youll_be_alone_in_the_dark_june_24th/#When:16:57:00Z Atari’s Alone in the Dark will hit Stores on June 24th, but is already available for pre-order over at GameStop. (You’ll get a free T-Shirt if you Pre-Order). The game will be available for the PS2, Xbox 360, and NIntendo Wii. There will be a Playstation 3 version but the release date for that console hasn’t been announced yet. From some trailers I have seen the game looks to be pretty intense, and hopefully as fun as GTA. The game kind of reminds me of Resident Evil, it has that scary feel to it. I can’t wait to get my copy! ATARI 2008-05-09T16:57:00-05:00 http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/quicksilver_features/ http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/quicksilver_features/#When:00:34:00Z I’m sure I’m in the majority when I say that I want as few applications on my system as possible, and periodically delete those which I believe have similar functionality to other applications on my computer. I recently came across a blog post, where someone argued their case about why Quicksilver (QS) is not a useful app. He wrote of Quicksilver (I will refer to this as QS from now on) as purely an application launcher, and considered it redundant since Tiger’s introduction of Spotlight. Here I will ignore this basic launcher feature, and write about other uses of QS, which you may or may not have known about. News 2008-05-08T00:34:00-05:00 http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/torneyspy_ordered_to_pay_110_million/ http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/torneyspy_ordered_to_pay_110_million/#When:22:56:00Z A Los Angeles US District Judge has ordered TorentSpy to pay $100 Million for infringing copyrights of thousands of films and TV Shows, and also issued a permanent injunction against the site which shut down back in March. MPAA CEO Dan Glickman told News.com “The demise of TorrentSpy is a clear victory for the studios and demonstrates that such pirate sites will not be allowed to continue to operate without facing relentless litigation by copyright holders.” The judge ordered TorrentSpy to pay $30,000 per copyright infringement--for 3,699 films and shows. That works out to be worth $110,970,000. Movies 2008-05-07T22:56:00-05:00 http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/mcafee_trojans_and_adware_hiding_in_mp3s/ http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/mcafee_trojans_and_adware_hiding_in_mp3s/#When:16:01:00Z If you like to download MP3 from various sharing services watch out, McAfee claims that over 360,000 of it’s users that report back to them have downloaded mp3 files in the past 48 hours that contain some form of malware. In a Blog Posting Yesterday, McAfees Craig Schmugar said, “Detection of a trojan named Downloader-UA.h was added to the McAfee DAT files several days ago.  Since that time more than 360,000 McAfee VirusScan Online users have reported detections, a whopping 32% of those reporting in the past 24 hours alone.” Internet 2008-05-07T16:01:00-05:00 http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/mmorpgs_the_other_side_of_the_coin/ http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/mmorpgs_the_other_side_of_the_coin/#When:03:08:00Z For Western gamers, when somebody says “MMORPG,” some of the titles that are most likely to spring to mind include Blizzard’s World of Warcraft, NCSoft’s City of Heroes or Square-Enix’s Final Fantasy XI.  What about on the other side of the world, though?  A vast number of Eastern MMORPGs have been pulling in a steady paycheck from a variety of customers, particularly throughout China and Korea.  These games can sport a radically different underlying philosophy from their Western counterparts, and thanks to an article on Danwei, we are allowed a glimpse of what an MMORPG can become when it sanctions and even engages in the very practices that Western MMORPGs are trying very hard to stamp out. It’s a bit of a long read and the English isn’t tip-top, but it’s very interesting and easy to skim, so I recommend you take a few minutes to peruse it.  (Note: RMB refers to the national Chinese currency, not to be confused with RMT, which stands for Real-Money Trading in MMORPGs) Gaming 2008-05-06T03:08:00-05:00 http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/new_nine_inch_nails_album_100_free_online/ http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/new_nine_inch_nails_album_100_free_online/#When:19:06:00Z Nine Inch Nails has released a new album online absolutely free. as a thank you to our fans for your continued support, we are giving away the new nine inch nails album one hundred percent free, exclusively The album titled “The Slip” is available in various formats all DRM free! You can get your copy of the album here: http://dl.nin.com/theslip/signup Music 2008-05-05T19:06:00-05:00 http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/blu_ray_enabled_xbox_360_a_rumor_that_wont_die/ http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/blu_ray_enabled_xbox_360_a_rumor_that_wont_die/#When:17:32:00Z It seems that Microsoft has requested Pegatron Technology to manufacture Blu-ray players for the Xbox 360. This, despite the fact that Microsoft on numerous occasions has downplayed such a possibility. This report comes from Economic Daily News, a Taiwanese newspaper. It goes onto say that Blu-ray enabled console will ship before years end. Of course this isn’t the first time we have heard such a rumor so take it with a grain of salt. Personally I would still consider this a rumor. Wasn’t it Microsoft that said the 360 is about giving the consumer a choice? Why would they suddenly decide to further split their user base by providing yet another SKU. Regardless, it will be interesting to see what happens in the coming months. Economic Daily News via Kotaku Gaming 2008-05-02T17:32:00-05:00 http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/unboxing_the_hp_pavilion_hdx_notebook_pc/ http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/unboxing_the_hp_pavilion_hdx_notebook_pc/#When:18:51:00Z As you should already know, we are giving away the HP Pavilion HDX (Dragon) Entertainment Notebook PC, and the system we are giving away is the same one we are reviewing. So we decided to make an unboxing video of this monster to share with you! HP Hewlett Packard 2008-04-29T18:51:00-05:00 http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/gta_iv_first_impressions/ http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/gta_iv_first_impressions/#When:13:57:00Z Yup, I was one of the unwashed masses that stood in line last night at midnight to pick up their copy of GTA IV and I had a chance to play a little bit before I figured I should get some sleep before having to get up in four hours for work.  Here’s just a few thoughts on what I’ve played so far… Gaming 2008-04-29T13:57:00-05:00 http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/review_hp_photosmart_c8180_all_in_one_printer/ http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/index.php/site/review_hp_photosmart_c8180_all_in_one_printer/#When:04:12:00Z I recently became a fan of Lexmark’s new line of Wi-Fi Printers, and I would of told you a few weeks ago that I was the proud owner of the Lexmark X4550 Wi-Fi Printer, but then I had a paper jam.  It literally broke—a piece of plastic in the printer literally broke due to 4 sheets of paper that somehow managed to get crumpled, I was left without a printer. But as my luck would have it, the day before my X4550 broke HP asked if I would be interested in taking a look at one of their Wi-Fi printers and I agreed. But my expectations were low.  I didn’t expect much; in fact I did not even know HP had any Wi-Fi printers. HP Hewlett Packard 2008-04-29T04:12:00-05:00