Also, a special thanks to everyone who has ever read, visited, or commented here, as well as the staff who keep things running smoothly.

- Matt Smith

Here’s some of the issues I discuss in a spur-of-the-moment video I recorded after watching the show:

1. Tony Almeida. When I first heard of Season 7 and its resurrection of Tony, I was thrilled and couldn’t wait for the season to start. However, now that it has, I can’t help but think of the powerful effect the show would have had if there was no mention of Tony before his picture was shown to Jack Bauer. Seeing the picture “enhance” with Tony Almeida’s face would have been…indescribable. But keep in mind that the producers did have to keep the audience’s attention during the 6-7 gap. The circumstances of Tony’s death have been eating at me for the past year, as his death seemed fairly straightforward in Season 5. It’s still unclear as to whether Christopher Henderson was in on the plan or not, but, as far as I can tell, it wasn’t planned by Tony. But an equal surprise as his life was his loyalties. One of the best scenes in the show was when Jack called the number he was told, and got - Buchanan! Wow. Almeida was a great twist, and has, to quote a friend, “…got me hooked for as long as the show is on.”
2. The President’s Son. This situation is the classic one where we know the truth, the character knows the truth, but no one else believes him. I don’t distinctly remember the President’s son being killed in Redemption; I need to go back and re-watch the prequel. No doubt, this will definitely be an interesting conundrum, especially considering the possibility that someone inside the Taylor administration was involved.

boxee has forever changed the way I interact with media. I discovered this software a couple months ago, and am now running it on Mac OS X with great success. I cannot impress enough the passion AND experience that I possess for boxee. Download it now at http://boxee.tv, and experience tomorrow today.

I can guarantee that I would be an invaluable asset to boxee at CES. In approximately sixty seconds, this video merely taps the forefront of my boxee knowledge, while also demonstrating the deep passion that I have for this software. I have attended trade shows in the past and would love to have the honor of being a member of the CES 2009 boxee team.

Thank you!

I have selected the following hierarchy for my bookmarks:

• School
• Matt Smith Tech
• Projects
• Media
• Restaurants
• Forums
• Social Networking
• Stores
• Tools
• Search
• Programming
• Games
• Blogs

And I’ve painstakingly selected the sites I use the most for the honor of placement in the bookmarks bar, which progresses in the same order as apps and links on my iPhone. The folders in the bookmarks menu will either be alphabetized, put in the same order as the bookmarks bar, or placed in order of usage and importance. I haven’t quite decided on how to handle that issue.

I know. I’m an OCD geek. Now it’s bothering me that the order of progression on my iPhone and bookmarks bar isn’t the same as my dock (OS X) and quick launch (Windows).

1. Useless and/or poorly written
2. Copies of other apps
3. Unique, useful, and well written

As the App Store has been open for quite a while, the abundance of unique apps is decreasing significantly. I have been in touch with a developer who is wrapping up the creation of an app that is unlike any I have seen before. While a couple math-based apps exist, none focus primarily on geometry.

TrigSolv is an all-around geometry solver that solves measurements for triangles, rectangles, parallelograms, trapezoids, circles, and ellipses. It will be available in the App Store for $0.99 in the near future (possibly this weekend). Having taken a course in geometry in the past, I can appreciate the value of TrigSolv for students, teachers, or professionals. The user experience and functionality is excellent - this app is a great learning aid, homework helper, or all-around tool for anyone who needs it.

Does this bring joy to your heart? Or tears to your eyes?

I am currently in the process of recovering from a recent reformat. While most people find reformatting a dull, painful, and slow process, I actually take enjoyment from wiping everything and starting over. When using a computer, debris tends to accumulate as time passes, especially for power users like myself. Reformatting gives me a chance to totally eliminate said debris, fine-tune settings even more, and finish off with a slim and trim operating system. For anyone who is thinking of taking the plunge in the near future, I’ve come up with some tips and tricks to help you get the most out of the experience.

1. Backup, backup, and backup. While it may seem obvious to some, nothing is worse than sitting  with a fresh install of an operating system saying, “Wait, where’s my data?” Before you even THINK about booting from the DVD, double-check that all of your documents, music, movies, apps, and anything else you might need is securely copied onto another hard drive. Nobody likes doing data recovery.
2. Have a game plan. Once you’re backed up, don’t go reformatting just yet. Take the time to sit down and plan out the flow of the process. Use a program like Visio to make a diagram of your hard drives - including partitions, disk sizes, file systems, etc. Then make sure all the programs you want to install are readily available, be it online, on another hard drive, or on the original installation media. Drivers are important to have on hand as well.
3. Reformat, but don’t install. Instead of installing the OS and reformatting at the same time, I prefer to do each task individually. Run a bootable CD with a partition manager (GParted Live, etc.), wipe all disks, and partition the drives according to the diagram made earlier. Allocate sizes, format them appropriately, then apply the changes. This way it’s not nessecary to deal with sub-par partition editors built into installers.
4. Install the operating system. Restart into the installation CD/DVD and follow the steps to install the operating system. Pretty straightforward stuff.
5. Install drivers and programs. Once everything’s back up and running again, a geek should know what do do. Install drivers first, reboot, then get to work on your programs. I prefer to take reinstallation of programs in two phases: installation and configuration. I’ll do a prelimenary base install of all nessecary programs, then go back over everything with a fine-tooth comb, read over every setting, and customize them exactly to my specifications.

I’ve been told more than once that I may be a little obsessive-complusive about reformatting. But if one ends up with a better OS then before, that’s a win in my book. Besides, what else is there for a geek to do on a Friday night?

Apple's miniaturized version of DisplayPort, dubbed "Mini DisplayPort". Mini DisplayPort will be featured in all new Apple computers.

When Steve Jobs introduced the new MacBooks and MacBook Pros in Apple’s most recent media event, a surprising new feature was added to the lineup. All new Apple computers from this point forward will include a Mini DisplayPort port for audio and video transmission. 

I have never been a huge fan of DisplayPort. HDMI is THE industry standard, and I’ve always believed that another proprietary connector doesn’t need to be thrown into the mix. However, Apple’s daring move to include this initiative in their product line might force reconsideration on my behalf. I did some research on the DisplayPort project, and was, to say the least, surprised at the inaccuracy of my knowledge. 

Unlike HDMI, DisplayPort is royalty free - which could be a major plus in keeping costs at a minimum. The connector that Apple is using, Mini DisplayPort, is much smaller than DVI or HDMI, which allows for more space and flexibility in a product. This standard also requires substantially less power than HDMI, yet it can still support resolutions up to 2560×1600. 

Apple is not the first company to embrace DisplayPort. Dell, HP, and Samsung are all lined up with supposed support. However, the fact still remains that HDMI dominates the majority of consumer electronics. A push to convert all TVs, computers, set-tops, and monitors to DisplayPort would be a long shot. 

What are your thoughts? Is DisplayPort the wave of the future?

“Can I help you with anything?”

“No, I’m actually just checking out the Surface here. Nice product, y’all must love having them.”

And then came the stupidest twelve words I’ve ever said in my life.

“Wow, this is really nice, I think I’m gonna take a picture.”

“You can’t take a picture.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

The salesperson wasn’t necessarily rude about it, but she definitely wasn’t nice. If I had half a brain, I would have claimed that I was just browsing, let her pass by, then inadvertently take out my phone and snap a shot. 

Is it just me, or can anyone else think of a reason that taking pictures of the Surface wouldn’t be allowed? I understand that Microsoft does have their share of company secrets and privacy, but what would be the benefit of doing that for a product that is already out in the field?

Before you begin, make sure that you have an anti-static wrist strap and that you are properly grounded. Touch a patch of non-painted metal on the case to ground yourself. Repeat this throughout the process of building your system.

1. Select your parts. I can’t stress enough the importance of quality components. Especially when you’re dealing with something like a motherboard or a power supply, a cheap one can potentially kill the rest of your parts. Here is a list of what you need to look for when you either shop online, or go to the store:

1. Case
2. Power Supply
3. Motherboard
4. CPU
5. RAM
6. Hard Drive
7. Video Card (Unless board has integrated graphics)
8. DVD Drives
9. Operating System

The main thing you want to keep in mind is the relationship between the motherboard, CPU, and RAM. If you select an Intel CPU, make sure you purchase an Intel board, and the same for AMD. Also, on the motherboard’s specifications, it will list what type of RAM it takes (e.g. DDR2 800, DDR2 1066, etc.) You’ll want to get whatever RAM corresponds to the board’s specs.

2. Prep the case. The case should come with a bag of screws and risers. Set these aside - you’ll need them when you screw in the motherboard. Find the wires coming from the front panel, and set those aside as well. Next, mount the I/O panel that came with the case - it should fit the ports on your motherboard. Finally, you’ll want to install the power supply. This is fairly self-explanatory - the unit sits in the bay in the corner of the case, and screws in from the back.

3. Mount the motherboard.  Take the bag of screws mentioned earlier, and find the risers, or spacers. Screw these into the holes in the case, then screw the motherboard into the risers. Do not screw the board directly to the case - you WILL short out everything and fry all of your components.

4.  Install the CPU and heatsink. Line up the arrows on the processor with the arrows on the socket, and gently seat the CPU. Don’t push hard or use force; if you have to do that, the pins are not lined up correctly. There should be a lever next to the socket - once the CPU is safely seated, fasten the lever down and secure the processor. On most Intel processors, themal grease is already pre-applied, however if it is not, smear a small dab on top of the CPU.  As for the heatsink, sit it on top of the processor, and fasten the levers to the side of the CPU socket. Other heatsinks may screw in instead.

5. Install the RAM.  This is the easiest part of the whole process. Seat the memory in the RAM socket, push down, and snap the levers on the side secure. The only thing you need to watch out for is that the pins line up with the slots in the socket - if they don’t, flip the stick and it should fit properly.

6.  Mount the drives. There should be two types of drive bays in the case: ones for CD/DVD drives and ones for hard drives. The ones for CD/DVD drives are larger and at the top of the case, and vice versa for the hard drive bays. To install a CD/DVD drive, you will usually have to pop out a piece of plastic on the front side of the case. Once this is done, slide the drive in until it is flush against the front panel. Next, you’ll need to screw the drive in from the top. You may have to do some adjusting with the positioning of the drive to get the screw holes to line up. For hard drives, the process is similar, except that the drive slides in from inside the case, as opposed to from the outside.

 7. Seat the video card. If you’re using integrated graphics on your motherboard, skip this step. If not, unscrew the PCI slot cover, take your video card (most likely PCI-Express), and seat it in the appropriate expansion slot.

8. Make connections.  Now that everything is installed, all your components have to connect to each other.

1. Motherboard: Connect the front panel wires to the corresponding pins on the board. Refer to your motherboard’s manual for the exact wiring scheme, as they differ from board to board. Also, connect the wire coming from the CPU fan to the port labeled “CPU Fan”.
2. PSU: Connect the 24-pin main connector to the appropriate slot, as well as the 4-pin auxilary power connector. Plug SATA power (the long, thin plugs) into the drives, and if you’re powering a graphics card, connect the 6-pin PCI-E connector to the back of the card.  If your case has a 120mm fan on the back (most do), give it a female molex (legacy) connector.
3. Drives: Connect a SATA cable from the drive (HDD or CD/DVD), and run it into the corresponding SATA port on the motherboard. If you’re using an IDE/PATA drive, do the same with an IDE ribbon cable.

9. Boot it up!  Plug the computer in, connect all your external devices, connect a monitor, and turn the machine on! If all went well, you should have video. Before you do anything else, enter BIOS and make sure that your CPU, RAM, and drives are all recognized correctly.

10. Install the operating system. Put the OS’s media in the DVD drive, boot from it, and follow the prompts to install your operating system of choice, be it Windows, Linux, or anything else. Once the install is complete, install any nessecary drivers that came with your hardware (chipset, graphics card, etc.)

While this is still a basic guide, the best way to learn is to get out there and do it yourself. Building a computer is a very rewarding experience, and nothing can beat the feeling of booting up a system that you put your own work into. If you have any questions, comments, or ideas, my email address is  mattstech at gmail.com, and I’m now live streaming via Ustream.