It doesn’t run through the full setup of the individual components (so I can’t call it a tutorial), but if you’re pretty tech-wise, you can probably figure it out on your own.

It’s a great start if you’ve got a serious itching for iTV.

[tags]Mac, Media Center, Apple, download, guide[/tags]

Check out their page at http://alej745.tripod.com/grassknucklers/Blank.html

[tags]free, software, Mac, Apple, download[/tags]

“FairGame will convert the songs you bought on the iTunes Store to an unprotected forumat (using the iTunes default encoder) and keep all the original metadata, lyrics and artwork.”

The site says it takes about 2 minutes and 42 seconds to convert a four minute song to AAC on a 2.16GHz MacBook Pro.

Seems like a cool utility to me, and the fact that it uses Apple’s own iMovie to do it is even cooler. Bye, bye evil DRM!

[tags]iTunes, DRM, download, Apple, music, hack[/tags]

• Redesigned, smarter contact cards give you more data about and easier access to your friends
• Your display name, status and personalization roam with you to any computer
• Try PC-to-phone calling with two free calls to virtually any phone in the world*
• Better server performance
• Automatic updates
• Improved sign-in performance

You can download it today off the Windows Live Ideas website.

[tags]IM, Messenger, Microsoft, download, free[/tags]

Apple, apparently not too happy with the hack (and the release of a DVD iso, not released by semthex), yanked the 10.4.8 Darwin source from it’s site.

Check out semthex’s blog for details about this interesting hack.

[tags]OS X, hack, hacker, mac, Apple[/tags]

And not only do they provide a list of problems, but they provide the solutions as well. Check it out!

[tags]security, how-to[/tags]

You can check out the full skinny at Xbox.com.

The coolest thing I see thus far is the media sharing capabilities: “The new Media Sharing feature of Windows Media Player 11 lets you enjoy the contents of your Windows Media Player library from anywhere in your home. If you have a home network (wired or wireless), you can use Windows Media Player 11 to stream the contents of your library to networked devices.”

You can download it right from the official Windows Media site or simply update your current WMP through Windows Update.

It’s unknown how bad the DRM is, but I suspect we’ll find out within the week. Personally, I’ll stick with iTunes.

[tags]Media Player, music, video, software, download[/tags]

Zoltar stands 6 1/2′ tall, accepts quarters, “nods his head up and down as his crystal ball illuminates and he sweeps his hand back and forth. Zoltar provides 16 different spoken fortunes and dispenses one of 23 different printed fortunes.” Zoltar ships with 2000 paper fortune cards (nothing about buying replacement refills though). And it’s the ultimate in uber-cool geek toys! Man, if I had that kind of cash, you know darned well it’s the first thing you’d see when you walked in my front door at home (great thing I’m not married). On second thought, I guess I’d better avoid their site for the holiday season.

In the mean time, if you don’t have that kind of cash (like me) laying around the old bachelor pad, try out this free GeForce3 Zoltar demo instead! It’s a whopping 186MB download, but then again, I just saved you $9k! Feel free to shoot any of that spare cash my way… :)

[tags]Zoltar, Hammacher Schlemmer, fortune, game[/tags]

Now I will admit that when my TiVo failed to record this week’s episode of Lost, I actually knew that I could go over to ABC.com’s new streaming media section and catch it at my leisure. But nothing quite beats watching TV in HD format on a large screen without all those annoying pixellations, stuttering audio, and annoying commercials that you can’t fast forward through.

But I will admit I dream of a day when TV will be dead. It is coming, and sooner than you think if providers don’t get too greedy. Dream on, Steve… I think you’re ahead of us all.

[tags]Gillmor, TV, Blog[/tags]

Q: Deathshade|EU: So… Diablo 3?
A: Knaak: I am not writing for a dead world… but a world with dead. Nuff said.”

Hmm. Kinda makes you think “trilogy” to me and many other gamers.
[tags]Diablo, Blizzard, gaming, game, Knaak[/tags]

Previously operating on Outpost.com (which now redirects you to Frys.com), Fry’s finally bought its URL earlier this year and has now opened up its doors to the world with a Grand Opening sale. The prices seem pretty good too, as you’d expect from Fry’s. But then again, nothing beats the experience of digging through the shelves for some product you never knew you needed until you saw it!

You can check out the new store at, what else… Frys.com.

[tags]Frys, Fry’s, superstore, electronics[/tags]

$129 for 12GB of portable pocket storage goodness seems like a steal to me. :) You can check out US Modular’s existing Monstor Drive line at their website.

[tags]USB, storage, thumbdrive, Monstor, US Modular[/tags]

Now that’s an oops!

[tags]Xbox, Game Console, Nyko, Gaming, Console, 360, Intercooler, GWN[/tags]

[tags]iPod, Shuffle, Apple[/tags]

While the Wii may be out on time, I seriously doubt the PS3 will be out in the same numbers, according to the latest industry buzz I’ve been hearing from the retailers. I guess only time will tell, but it’s sounding like the XBox 360 fiasco is tame compared to what Sony will deliver. ;)

[tags]Toys R Us, Wii, PS3, Preorder[/tags]

[tags]EA, Gaming, Fight Night, Def Jam, PS3, Xbox 360[/tags]

Personally, I hate to see it go as I imported my first black Nintendo Gameboy SP from Lik-Sang months before they were ever available in the US. And I think it’s pretty funny that Lik-Sang’s list of PSP customers from Sony Europe looks “like the Who’s Who of the videogaming industry.” Apparently they liked getting their gaming gear first too.

But like everything in the orient, one business goes under, another sprouts up to take its place. And I thought it’d go under because of the game cartridge backup units…

Oh, well. Goodbye, Lik-Sang… We knew thee well.

[tags]Lik-Sang, Sony, PSP, Gaming, Import, Kotaku[/tags]

Maybe it’s just me, and perhaps I spend way too much time on Google Earth, but stuff like this always fascinates me, just like the face on Mars. Science may prove that such things may be natural, while others were man-made. But it’s still interesting, like the old Rorschach tests, that people can seemingly see things where others do not. I, for one, like seeing the indian. :)

Have any strange sites of your own to share? Comment away!

[tags]google earth, face on mars, face on canada, google maps, indian face, native american face, rorschach[/tags]

“ReactOS is a project to develop a free software/Open Source operating system that is binary-compatible with Microsoft Windows NT/XP and Windows Server 2003 applications and device drivers.”

ReactOS started out in 1996 as a clone of Windows ‘95, but evolved to Windows NT and later XP as well. The funny thing is apparently it works quite well, but good old Microsoft isn’t scared… Yet. Probably because you can never seem to get into the siteto download the LIVE image! ;)

I’ll have to play around with it and see if it works like the screenshots say it does. Even in alpha, it seems like a cool idea and I hope it works as promised.

[tags]ReactOS, Windows XP, Windows NT, OS, Operating System[/tags]