Wired @ Home

Computer work gets tediuos and hard so here are a couple of downloads to ease the workload on you and your computer.

Snap Back To Reality

When you go and search up a term in Google or any other search let alone have a multitude of websites at your fingertips, you have no clue what to expect from each of them. So, what do you do? You start clicking them one by one, elimating each link as you go along. Wouldn't it be easier if you could click ALL the links at once, or a selective few. Pedro Fonseca thought the same way and he beat me to the development of an actual add-on. He titled it Snap Links and when installed, will enable you to right click and drag, across all the links you'd like to view. When coupled with , you will be offered a multitude of options including: open in new tab, open in new window, save to bookmarks, and copy to clipboard.

Tip Top Computer

Time eats many things up, metaphorically, including humans, animals, and products such as computers. This download though will work against time to bring back your hard drive to what it once was. CCleaner works unlike any other cleaning program as it not only tells you what to clean up within the browser, temp files, and recycling bin, but it goes further and looks at leftover files from programs like Adobe, Nero, HP, Microsoft, etc. It also comes with an uninstaller for other programs (as well as itself) and a registry scanner. Another notable is the included tag editor which enables you to check folders other than the defaults for scanning.

PC PitStop

This website is a personal recommendation of mine and is a must look when browsing for tips to fix your sick computer. It many free utilities that can be used directly from there website without the need for downloading. This includes an optimizer, performance scanner, and disk health. There are literally many more scans and tests you can run at this site and it's proven great for me.

Lest We Forget

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

Cairo is a new type of Windows Shell alternative that will be released as a free standing application. There is no word yet on when it will be released but we can all hope it will be sooner than later. Many, including me at first, don't have a clue what a Windows Shell Alternative is; but let me dumb it down for you. When you install a WSA, it replaces explorer.exe. Explorer.exe displays the icons, folders, start menu, and taskbar but Windows has made it possible to change it in numerous ways only if you are good at computers or if you've downloaded something like Cairo.


I was told about this revolutionary piece of "software" by a friend and I decided to do some of my own research. So far though, Cairo's official website is the only place with reliable information.
Even with an official website it isn't sufficient enough to write a full article so this is just an article in development. There are 9 features on Cairo that are either new or improvements on Windows' version. Some of them are:

• A start bar with easy access to all your files and applications.
• Slick and Stable, you never hear those words together
• Multi-Desktop lets you easily organize your workload by desktop
• Dynamic Desktop enables you to browse files and folders right there
• Make virtual file stacks to easily locate files with File & Application Grouping
• Launch applications that are more frequently used and hide the ones you don't with LaunchCairo
• Preview files and folders such as documents, music, and images with File Explorer
• Configure Cairo just the way you like it by adding and removing features with Cairo's unique plugin system

LCD Monitors have become more popular just this year and now the 22-inch segment is the best buy. They are much less priced than 24-inch screens and usually, less than a $100 upgrade from a 19 or 20 inch screen. HP, ViewSonic, and Samsung all offer great looking packages in this size category.

The ViewSonic entry is surprisingly good looking except for the speakers which dull it down a bit. It has more of a bang for your buck coming in at a reasonable $319US. It is not offered in a physical store but you can buy it from a number of online retailers. The graphics, text, and DVD quality are all very good and it comes with analog and digital inputs. It has multiple adjustments and 5ms of repsonse time and 700:1 contrast ratio.

HP offers a brilliant package with good looks and good features for a small premium over the ViewSonic at $330US. The surprising thing is there is a huge difference between the Canadian price and the American price. HP Canada offers the very same monitor for $450 but luckily I stumbled upon an even cheaper price offered by Office Depot at $400. The difference between the HP and Viewsonic is the text quality which goes to the ViewSonic but it makes up in contrast ratio (1000:1) and features. It looks like an HP product which is not surprsing because they are known for there aesthetics. The w2207 combines styleand practicalization with USB ports, pivoting panel, and EasyClip. Easy Clip is a feature on this monitor that will allow you to add different accessories alongside your monitor including a webcam, picture frame, and a flower vase.

Finally, Samsung has come out with the SyncMaster 2232GW. It's a name you'd think you'd hear from an infomercial. It brings it's 'A' game though with great graphics, text and DVD quality. It surpasses all the other monitors in terms of processing power with 3000:1 contrast ratio and 2ms response time but lacks in ergonomics with only tilt adjustment. It's priced a bit higher versus the ViewSonic and HP with a pricetag of $360 US from Circuit City and it is not sold in Canada unless you want to ship it from Samsung.

In conclusion, the ViewSonic is good value for the money whereas Samsung offers a great monitor for gamers and people who need the graphics and suc. The HP monitor is targeted to the mainstream consumer who wants to personalize there technology but desires above-average technology. So find out who you are and purchase accordingly.

My first taste of online TV was Joost which is now in public beta, but it wasn't the best and so I deleted it. Now that it's in public beta, it is much better with clearer video, more TV and a more organized menu. The reason for the major update is there is much more competition now from major players like NBC and Fox who have released offerings from there own network and on other new sites. This whole chain reaction all started when NBC threw away its contract with Apple and it's one-price model. Now NBC has a deal with Amazon's UnBox to show programs from all of its networks on one cool location. UnBox now has 2600 current and past shows in its arsenal. UnBox is a creative way to offer cost-effective TV shows and movies in a fun, interactive website. It costs around 99 cents for a show like The Office and currently they are running a promotion for movies at the same price, 99 cents.

But that's not all NBC did, they also recently launchd NBC on NBC.com which just completed beta testing. At first, the TV shows they will offer on NBC Direct, will be downloaded to your hard drive, be ad-supported, and expire 7 days after the original airing. All the downloads will have DRM on it, but it's a small price to pay for quality programs that you missed or wanted to see again. The quality of UnBox and NBC Direct will be approxiametely the same with DVD-like resolution and 2.5 megabits/s. Future plans for NBC Direct include HD videos, free on demand, subscription, and download-to-own.

NBC still hasn't stopped there and has partnered with Fox to offer a website called Hulu (which is in private beta). Hulu is a great attempt to increase people's attention to free online viewing of TV shows. It has great navigation, a large selection of programs that last for a full 5 weeks, and simple design that makes it easy to use. It does however lack in video quality but definitly watchable. My only warning is it is currently not available for people outside the US and the shows are only streamed.

GPS systems have slowly been making there way into cars and I have participated in that trend while I was in England and France. We had the opportunity to rent a GPS for the duration of our rental or get my mom secondary insurance. Guess what my dad chose.

We had the pleasure of using a TomTom and today, I have the pleasure of reviewing the newest addition to there lineup, the TomTom GO 720, a high end GPS that will rival any commerical GPS out there. Portable GPS systems have two major advantages over the in-car navigation system. In-car systems may have wicked multimedia centers but they are more expensive (up to 10x if you go for a cheap portable GPS) and they aren't portable. Since this is a high-end model offered by TomTom, it comes with a hefty price tag of $500US, but again, nothing compared to a base $2000 in-car system. It offers much of the basic features you'd find on a regular portable GPS that include text-to-speech and clear 3-D images. But it also comes with a large screen and it can play audio files through your car's speakers. The GO 720 gave accurate directions on screen despite being late with voice directions. When planning a route, they give you the fastest, but they also suggest other routes that are scenic, don't include tolls, avoid highways, etc. Another neat feature that wasn't on my model is a warning that lets you know you are going over the speed limit. This works in conjunction with another warning you can turn on, to notify you that your speed is above a preset level. This definitly comes in handy when you are going to new place as it makes the job much easier and puts your mind at ease. It saves you time and I can vouch for that many times as we didn't have to look at the map, print out directions, or scan through a portable map in the car. Go to TomTom to get the detailed specs or purchase it from Best Buy Canada for an extra $100 (ripoff!).

Personally, storage is not an issue in my world, but over the last few years, there has been an onslaught of websites dedicated to sending larger files and storing files online. There are two major services that are currently offering online storage and now Microsoft has introduced SkyDrive which is in beta and only available to users with Microsoft accounts (Live, Hotmail, Msn). It supports 500mb of storage but there is a limit of 5mb per file. Once the beta stage finishes it will be open to everybody where it then will truly be up there with the big boys, XDrive and MediaMax. Currently, XDrive and MediaMax are the frontrunners as they both offer key advantages over SkyDrive. XDrive though allows you to stream audio files and Streamload offers automated backup and synchronization between two computers. A plus though from SkyDrive is it allows you to upload files to a private, public, or shared folder on the network. Therefore it's perfect for sending Word files, images over to someone halfway across the world, where they can always access it. Anybody can view your public folders but only your invites can access your shared folders. Go to SkyDrive to sign up yourself.

This product has been a long time coming. I personally heard about Microsoft Surface a year 6 months ago and boy have I been excited. I wouldn't buy it though until I had a family and had some sort of purpose for it. Currently there isn't a point to owning a product such as this when you can't use it to its fill potential. The Microsoft Surface has been getting the most attention thus far but it's not the only company working on a surface computer. Mitsubishi is developing a similar tabletop computer called the DiamondTouch. Both operate differently. The Microsoft Surface is capable of delivering images via a rear-projection delivered to the surface of the table from inside while at the same time, tracking your finger movements with a series of infrared cameras. DiamondTouch projects the image from atop and uses a similar technology that is used on laptop touchpads, to track your finger movements. The drawback to the DiamondTouch's design is that it creates shadows when you touch the screen. Don't expect these PC's in your living room by the next holiday season though, but look out for the Surface in cellular stores, hotel, casino, or any other retail store that would benefit from them, all by this year. By 2010, Microsoft expects them to be in conference rooms around the globe, and by 2012 you can expect them as a stocking gift. Mitsubihi's version though is still a research product and I do believe it will be scrapped or greatly modified due to its late unveiling and outdated technology.