Dec
15
My newest concoction of virus and spyware protection (and yes I use all three…)
Spybot Search and Destroy (with TeaTimer)
This is free (though you should donate to the cause!) and very effective at preventative measures with browsers and detecting spyware after it is downloaded.
Symantec Endpoint Protection 11 (or Norton AntiVirus 2010 for the home user)
Both products support real-time file system and email protection.
To not have it conflict with NOD32 do the following:
add the exception: “C:\ProgramData\ESET\ESET NOD32 Antivirus”
Change Settings >
Antivirus and Antispyware Protection “Configure Settings” >
on the “File System Auto-Protect” tab click “Centralized Exceptions”
Click “Add…”
choose Security Risk Exceptions > Folder
Then navigate to the “C:\ProgramData\ESET\ESET NOD32 Antivirus” and click Ok.
ESET NOD32 Antivirus 4
This product is new to me but has saved my butt from a keylogger so I like to include it in the mix. It is also very reasonably priced.
To not have it conflict with Symantec do the following:
On the Setup menu choose “Enter entire advanced setup tree…”
Then expand the “Antivirus and antispyware” tree
> choose “Exclusions”
Click “Add…”
Enter the path “C:\ProgramData\Symantec\SRTSP” (or the equivalent for Norton “C:\ProgramData\Norton\”)
Aug
13
You can read the details of this elsewhere but here is a quick and easy fix to memory sucking that Firefox is prone to do.
Startup Firefox
In the address bar type:
about:config
In the “Filter:” text box type:
browser.cache.memory
You should see
From here you can either double click on “browser.cache.memory.enable” or right click and use the toggle option to change the Value to false.
Restart your browser and you should be a much more reasonable memory load. Note that sometime the Firefox processes don’t end when you close down the browser so manually killing the process or a reboot will solve the problem.
Happy Surfing Folks
Apr
27
I am in love with this new Samsung LED TV. Not only does the performance make me drool but that it is eco-friendly. The claim is that the LED TV uses 40% lower power consumption and an ultra low power consuming standby mode. In addition no mercury, lead, or volatile organic compounds are used in the construction which means it is clean and safe to recycle.
Though, one of the coolest things about it is that you can connect it to your network with Medi@2.0. This allows the user to do a lot of interactive things without having to connect a computer to it.
Internet@TV – Content Service: Receive content from Yahoo!, Flickr, and more via on-screen TV widgets.
DLNA®: Sync your connectable home electronics and display remote content on your TV.
Pre-loaded Content Library™ (Flash): Enjoy hours of built-in entertainment features then personalize it by adding content that’s available online.
USB 2.0 Movie: Show digital home movies, photos, PC presentations and more on your TV, using the remote.
Here are some of the stats
All of it is 1080P (1920×1080) including the PC input.
40″ Model (UN40B7000)
TV without stand: 39.2” x 24.8” x 1.2”
TV without stand weight: 32.6 lbs.
46″ Model (UN46B7000)
TV without stand: 44.4” x 27.8” x 1.2”
TV without stand weight: 39.0 lbs.
55″ Model (UN55B7000)
TV without stand: 51.7” x 32.1” x 1.2”
TV without stand weight: 48.9 lbs.
Inputs/Outputs:
- 4 HDMI ports v 1.3
- Anynet™ Plus (HDMI-CEC): allows peripheral AV devices such as a DVD player to be controlled by a Samsung TV remote control.
- 2 USB 2.0 Movie
- 1 PC Input
- 1 Ethernet
- 1 Optical Sound output
- 1 Component Video inputs
Specs:
- Built-in digital tuner
- 3,000,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio
- Response time: 4ms response time (this is good)
- Auto Motion Plus 120Hz™: Reduces blur and enhances image detail when viewing fast motion video sequences.
- HD-Grade pixel resolution: High resolution pixel density is combined with a built-in image scaler to handle inputs from a variety of digital and analog audio/video sources.
Features
- Medi@2.0 (see above)
- Picture-in-Picture (PIP) (from any source to any source)
- Game Mode: with one touch of a button it enhances dark areas, sharpens the picture, speeds up the image processing response and enhances the sounds of your games.
Rock Band anyone?
Oh and if you want to buy one for me, I hear frys.com is having an amazing sale on them. 
Nov
11
Mobile Phone Tools can turn your 3G Motorola phone into a wireless modem for a one time cost of $34.99. I use AT&T Wireless with a MOTORAZR V3xx ($99) with “Nation 450 w/Rollover(r) Minutes” and “MEdia Net Unlimied (web)” ($39.99 + $15/month). One piece of sadness is that this only works on Windows as far as I know. Don’t be surprised if Vista hangs or crashes the program if you try to change the settings too often, XP worked like a charm though.
Here is how you achieve 3G tethering.
Do NOT connect the phone to your computer until the installation tells you to.
Download and install the drivers (32-bit / 64-bit drivers for XP & Vista):
http://direct.motorola.com/hellomoto/nss/usb_drivers_pc_charging_drivers.asp
Download and install the Motorola Phone Tools software:
http://direct.motorola.com/hellomoto/nss/productresource.asp?PhoneModel=mpt
Start the Motorola Phone Tools application.
Connect your phone when the application tells you to.
Once you’re phone is recognized by your computer and the Motorola Phone Tools, you can then connect to the internet using your unlimited web plan by putting in the following configuration:
Click “Connections”
Click “Internet”
Click “Manage Connections”
Select one of them.
Right click to get to the “Properties”.
Click on the “Identification” tab.
Fill in the following information:
Username from MEdia Net (ATT.com login): (normally your phone number)
Password: (your password from att.com)
APN: wap.cingular
Ok. You are now set.
Select the Connection you just setup on the “Connection” pull-down menu and click the big “Connect” button to the right.
You are good to go. If you have any questions or otherwise, I am happy to help.
Sep
30
I decided to buy a blu-ray player
about a year ago, just before HD-DVD had lost the game. I did it at the right time I think because it ended up being much cheaper and they gave me 10 blu-ray disks for free. Yeah competition! Then, I finally broke down and purchased a high def TV earlier this year to actually see movies in high def. I have to say, the visual experience is amazing. Nature shows like Planet Earth, Blue Planet, and Galapagos are stunning.
Anyway, to the point. I recently purchased “Heroes: Season 1” on blu-ray and it did not play. Most of them blu-ray disks come with a little insert that says you may need to upgrade your firmware for proper viewing. Low and behold, I did need to do just that. In my quick web search I found the following site:
http://www.blu-ray.com/firmware/
It contains step by step instructions on how to upgrade firmware/software for blu-ray players of all types. I followed the instructions and it worked like a charm. Happy viewing.
Also check out Amazon Prime. They are offering a free 30 trial that gives you free 2 day shipping. I love this program.
Sep
25
I know how unbelievably uncool I am for using a BlackBerry vs. an iPhone or maybe even a G1 but frankly, since I reloaded it, it works like the business tool that I need it to. And it still supports a huge amount of apps. I ran across one that I thought was exceptional. myBoxTone Insite is an application for BlackBerry phones that gives real time and tracks trending on Signal Strength, RAM, Flash, Battery, Call and Minutes used. I just started using it and It is a great little tool to get stats on the performance and function of your BlackBerry.
http://my.boxtone.com/
My other favorite apps:
gmail
Facebook
Google Search (includes news, local and mail through the mobile browser) m.google.com
Favorite mobile websites:
m.twitter.com
m.amazon.com
m.flickr.com
mobile.fandango.com
mobile.opentable.com
m.facebook.com
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