Channel 10

UltraExplorer, An Awesome Alternative to Windows Explorer

Sarah Perez — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 09:51:00 GMT

This weekend, I decided to look for an alternative to Windows Explorer. Although Windows Explorer gets the job done, there’s just a lot that it doesn’t do that I wish it would, and frankly, I miss XP’s version. Well, now, I have it back and then some! That’s one of the great things about Windows actually – you don’t have to be stuck with the way things come out of the box. If you don’t like something, you have the power to change it. Tweak, customize, download new software, whatever – you can really make Windows your own.

I decided to go on the hunt for a new version of Explorer. I heard a rumor someone out there is creating an XP version of Windows Explorer for Vista users, but I couldn’t find it. (If you know, please leave a comment! The closest I found was Explorer XP, which is similar, but not the same.)

Instead, I found something nearly as good, if not better: UltraExplorer. This alternative Windows Explorer program has it all: a completely customizable interface, tons of configurable toolbars, lots of different views, favorites, a temporary holding area for moving files around called “Drop Stack,” and, of course, the long-lost “up” button. (Don’t tell me about Alt+Up, I know - I want a button!).

Overall, I’m pretty satisfied with the program except that I would like to customize the defaults for the views depending on the folder I’m accessing, and it seems that you can only set defaults for the whole program. However, the app does remember your most recent settings, so this hasn’t been a huge problem.

If you want to try this alternate version of Window Explorer, you can visit the app’s homepage here or download it from Download.com here.

3 Ways To Stream Netflix Movies From Your PC to TV

Sarah Perez — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 09:47:00 GMT

Last year, Neflix started offering the ability to stream movies over the internet to your PC. Of course, for Windows Media Player enthusiasts, the next logical step was to port Netflix into Media Center by way of a plugin. Luckily, there's a pretty active developer community for WMC, so we ended up with not one, but three, Windows Media Player plugins from which to choose: vmcNetflix, MyNetflix, and NetflixMC.

But which one is right for you? Let's compare:

MyNeflix

System Requirements: Vista MCE, .NET 2.0, Netflix WatchNow player
View Netflix queue
Manage Netflix queue
View history
View recommendations
Browse movies by title, genre, or top 100
Browse "Watch Now" movies
Play movies in full screen
Nice interface, very responsive
Does Not Work With Extenders
Download MyNetflix

vmcNetFlix

System Requirements: Vista MCE and Netflix WatchNow player
View Netflix queue
Manage Netflix queue
View history
View recommendations
Browse movies by genres; sort by title or year
Browse "Watch Now" movies
Keyword Search
Play movies in full screen
Support for x64 and x86
Support for Netflix Instant Queue
Support for Episode Listings
Prevents standby/sleep mode while downloading
Clean interface, easy to browse, runs smoothly
Works With Extenders
Download vmcNetflix

NetflixMC

System Requirements: Vista or MCE 2005 and .NET 2.0 or 3.5
Browse movies by genre
Browse "Watch Now" movies
Fast, Real-time "Watch Now" search
Bookmark "Watch Now" movies
TV Series episode selection
Image caching stream speed settings
Menu Personalization
A bit slow, still a “beta” app
Runs on extenders but WILL NOT play WatchNow videos
Download NetflixMC

So which one should you choose? The quick answer here is that if you have Windows XP, you only have one choice: NetflixMC. For Vista users, both MyNetflix and vmcNetflix are nice, but the extender support that vmcNetflix has makes it the clear winner. You can download vmcNetflix here.

Come join the fun at Imagine Cup 2008

Larry Larsen — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 09:19:00 GMT

We wanted to let you know that most of the Channel 10 team is here in Paris helping Channel 8 cover Imagine Cup 2008. Nic is here with Max and I, Benjamin Gauthey is here as a photography judge, and our own Laura Foy is the captain of the short film category. Even Channel 9's own Charles Torre is here as a software judge. And poor Tina? Well, someone had to stay back and answer the phones. (cue violins)

We've got plenty in the queue for Channel 10 while we're gone, but once you're done here, jump on over to Channel 8 and check out the World's Premiere Technology Competition. (photo by Ambika Singh)

Baby Smash!

Laura Foy — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 05:02:00 GMT

Who says computers are for grown ups? Scott Hanselman is about to show you that not only can babies learn from and enjoy a laptop...but developing for them is just as rewarding. Check out THIS

Media Center University Part 3

Brian Johnson — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:15:00 GMT

They've posted part 3 of the Media Center University series at the CE Installer Blog. If you're at all into home entertainment systems, you need to check this out.

Media Center University: Optimizing for Entertainment & Networking – Part 3

In the final segment of Optimizing Media Center for Entertainment & Networking, Mike Seamons walks through Extender set up, network tuning, Windows Home Server and some different deployment topologies. WMC can be installed as a HTPC, centrally in the rack or as a headless Extender server and Mike speaks the benefits and considerations of each configuration including advanced topics like integration into a whole home audio system.

Control PowerPoint With Your Phone

Sarah Perez — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:34:00 GMT

Got a Vista laptop and a Windows Mobile Smartphone? If so, then you already have a way to control PowerPoint with your phone – all you need is some SideShow software. To get started, you must first pair your phone with your laptop via Bluetooth (if you haven’t already done so), then download SideShow for Mobile. SideShow for Mobile is an application for Windows Mobile smartphones (versions 5 and 6) and PocketPCs that let you use your phone as a Bluetooth SideShow device. The final step is to download the Office PowerPoint Remote gadget. With this gadget installed, you can control PowerPoint with your phone - no remote required! You can move forward and back, jump to a specific slide in the presentation, preview the next slide, and view the slide speaker notes on your device. It will even work right from the Today screen so you can just use the hardware buttons on the phone to control the presentation. Nice!

(Image thanks to Chris Craft’s Blog)

Obama Deep Zoom

Larry Larsen — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Donavon West, a regular on Channel 9 and also the man behind HomeServerHacks.com, has created a gigapixel Deep Zoom from Obama supporter thumbnails - 12,000 to be exact, spread across a 10,000 x 10,000 pixel photo of Barack Obama. Some of the images are higher res than others (higher res images seem to stand out a little more than the others even at a distance), check out the high res photo on his left eye.

See more at DeepZoomObama.com

Zine: A new facebook application

Tina Wood — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:43:00 GMT

Zine is your own online magaZINE of articles and videos that you personalize to include the topics you care about. Zine makes it easy to dig deeper into stories that interest you, and to share stories with your Facebook friends. Keep up to date with Zine!

• Zine, powered by MSN, covers a variety of fun topics such as Entertainment, Relationships, Sports, as well as US News and more.

• You can also create specific topics that you want the latest news stories for. Add a topic for your favorite celebrity, your favorite sports team, events, or anything that interest you. Examples are Mariah Carey, Seattle Mariners, Olympics, and US Stock Market.

• If you want to explore a story further, click the search button next to the headline. You’ll get articles, web sites, videos, and images related to your story.

• Easily share any story with your friends or post it to your profile using the Share+ button.

Ask Maps Are Now Virtual Earth

Sarah Perez — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:21:00 GMT

Big news! Chris Pendleton is reporting that Ask.com has decided to forgo their mapping service in favor of the Virtual Earth platform. If you go to maps.ask.com now, you’ll see a Virtual Earth map. Chris notes that this choice is common among portal sites who realize that the upkeep involved in running a mapping service requires a lot of infrastructure, frequent imagery and photography acquisitions, data updates, etc. So, instead they’ll often turn to another service like Virtual Earth, for example.

But now, with Ask’s maps gone, Jordan from Marketing Pilgrim mentions that he’s going to miss the walking directions feature which the maps provided. Well, as it turns out, Chris had already shared some sample code for walking directions in VE – it looks like it’s just a matter of someone building an app to support this. (img via Chris Pendleton)

Dashwire 2.0 Launches: Backup Your Phone and Sync Content To Social Web

Sarah Perez — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:19:00 GMT

On Tuesday, mobile phone app Dashwire released Dashwire 2.0, a much improved version of their mobile phone backup and sync service. With Dashwire 2.0, you can backup your phone’s content – like photos, videos, text messages, ringtones, bookmarks, speed dials, contacts, and call logs – to Dashwire’s site on the web. This syncing is done automatically, so if you make a change to your phone, that change is reflected on the web, and vice versa. In addition, the app lets you share your content across several social networking sites. You can easily and automatically send photos and video to flickr, Facebook, bebo, and Twitter and you can also update your Twitter and Facebook status from the app. The Dashwire website also offers you a public page where you can share your mobile uploads with others who can then leave comments on the items. Dashwire 2.0 is free for Windows Mobile users - just go to m.dashwire.com from your phone’s browser to sign up.

Windows Mobile Website Gets Revamped

Sarah Perez — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:09:00 GMT

Last week, the Windows Mobile homepage got a makeover courtesy of Silverlight. The new site looks pretty slick, I have to say, and it also makes it easier to find just the sort of Windows Mobile phone you want by letting you search carriers worldwide by feature. The site highlights Microsoft’s Windows Mobile software like Office Mobile, Outlook Mobile, Internet Explorer Mobile, Live Search, and more, as well as third-party software which is found in the site’s “Total Access” section (formerly called “Windows Mobile Owners Circle”). With a wide array of good-looking phones that include everything from touch screen devices to those with full keyboards, there are 100s of devices to choose from like these, for example:

(LiveSide has a nice review of the site, too!)

A look back at my life with Bill Gates

Tina Wood — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:32:00 GMT

So my boss, Bill Gates is officially gone. Not like, gone, gone. But he won't be in the office everyday anymore. He has taken on another ambitious and important project and has chosen to spend more time on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Bill and I always got along great. I think he really enjoyed working with me.

Rock Band 2 coming this September

Tina Wood — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:28:00 GMT

Harmonix, the world’s premier music video game company in the world, and MTV Games, a part of Viacom’s MTV Networks along with marketing and distribution partner Electronic Arts are taking the groundbreaking music platform that forever changed the face of music video games to the next level this September with the release of Rock Band 2. With the original providing millions of players a new way to interact with the music and artists they love, Rock Band 2 is the next evolution of the franchise that redefined the standard for music games.

Rock Band is the groundbreaking platform that allows music fans and gamers to interact with music like never before - challenging players to put together a band and tour for fame and fortune while learning to master lead/bass guitar, drums and vocals.

Rock Band 2 builds upon its foundation as the first music game to introduce co-operative band gameplay, multiple instruments, a robust online multiplayer experience, an unrivaled offering of downloadable content and raises the bar by delivering an entirely new level of depth, connectivity, authenticity and features including:

Backwards compatibility with Rock Band downloadable music content. All previously purchased tracks will immediately load into your Rock Band 2 song list. No need to re-purchase or re-download.
The biggest and most diverse soundtrack ever featuring some of rock’s most prolific acts, comprised entirely of master recordings.
Major new and dynamic online modes that will connect the entire Rock Band community in more ways than ever before both locally and globally.
More variety of instrument choices than ever before with new and improved drum and guitar peripherals, enhanced functionality and innovative new designs - all fully compatible with the original Rock Band instruments.
And much more.

"As successful as the original Rock Band continues to be, we've now had the benefit of the last eight months to listen to our fans' requests and to build upon that foundation," said Alex Rigopulos, co-founder and CEO of Harmonix. "Rock Band 2 is a second-generation band game that will elevate the music game experience to the next level."

Rock Band 2 will make its debut on Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft this September and have an exclusive launch window in North America. Rock Band 2 will be available for additional platforms later this year.

“We expect Rock Band 2 to continue to drive an amazing social music experience on Xbox 360, said David Hufford, senior director, Xbox Product Management for the Interactive Entertainment Business, Microsoft. “We look forward to supporting Rock Band 2 on Xbox 360 as gamers continue to download hundreds of new music tracks from Xbox LIVE so they and their friends can perform the rock music they love most.

More details regarding features and music for Rock Band 2 will be revealed at the 2008 E3 Media & Business Summit. Rock Band, the first installment in the franchise, garnered more than 40 awards including Game Critics Award: Best of Show E3 2007.

In addition, Harmonix and MTV Games today announced that The Rock Band online music store recently surpassed 15 million paid downloads since the game’s launch in late November 2007. With more than 200 tracks available to date via download purchase (complete list of tracks at http://www.rockband.com/dlc), the massive Rock Band Music Store allows players to preview and purchase downloadable individual music tracks, packs and albums from the vast selection of offerings available as they build their own custom Rock Band library.

Rock Band 2 is rated “T” for Teen (lyrics, mild suggestive themes) by the ESRB.

For more information on Rock Band and Harmonix Music Systems please visit www.rockband.com and www.harmonixmusic.com.

5 Microsoft Office Ribbon Tweaks You May Not Have Known

Sarah Perez — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:19:00 GMT

Thanks to some internal emails that were going around recently, we’ve discovered some great Microsoft Office ribbon tweaks, tips, and customizations. I’ll confess, I hadn’t known about all of these, but they certainly are handy:

Hide the Ribbon: To hide the ribbon out of view leaving only the tab names showing, just double-click on any tab’s name.
Customize the Quick Access Toolbar: By default, the Quick Access Toolbar has the “Save,” “Undo,” and “Redo” buttons on it, but you can change that. To do so, go to any tab and right-click on the little pull-down menu symbol next to the window title on any Ribbon app. Here, you have the option to click on “Customize Quick Access Toolbar.” From the menu that displays, you can add and remove commands from the Quick Access Toolbar to suit your preferences. Add your most frequently used commands and you can hide the ribbon to get more screen real estate without losing access to the commands you use the most.
Find Hidden Commands: Because the Ribbon is meant to bring more simplicity to working with Office software, there are some infrequently used commands that are not available on the ribbon or are just harder to find. To bring these back into view, follow the steps above in #2 to customize the Quick Access Toolbar and you can get access to these commands once again. A couple examples of hidden commands include Excel’s pop-up calculator and PowerPoint’s Advanced Document Properties, which lets you see how big the file is.
Customize the Quick Access Toolbar on the Fly: No need to hunt down the little right-click menu, though, you can just right-click any command on the ribbon and choose “Add to Quick Access Toolbar.”
Scroll Through Tabs With a Mouse Wheel: If you have a mouse with a wheel, you can scroll through the tabs if the cursor is over the Ribbon – very useful for quick switching.

We would like to thank both Steven Levy and Alex Babanov for these great tips!

New Saints Row 2 Screenshot

Tina Wood — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 01:29:00 GMT

Okay, let's all admit when the original Saints Row game was released back in 06...it was Hello, GTA Rip-off. Then, most of us played it and we were pleasantly surprised. It was the first open-world sandbox game for the next gen consoles. Well, Saints Row 2 is slated to come to the Xbox 360 later this year and the story lines takes place a few years after the original and of course we're back in Stillwater and we still have some anger issues. And fellas, you can play as a lady in this one. Don't worry, it will be our little secret.

Zunes In Schools

Sarah Perez — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 23:03:00 GMT

Last winter 125 Zunes were handed out to students in two U.S. schools – 100 at a New Mexico High School and 25 at a Missouri Junior High. The Zunes were given out in exchange for research data provided by the schools on how helpful the Zunes were in the classroom. Teachers were encouraged to create podcasts for the devices for their students to listen to, and, those that identified 20 podcasts to support their lesson plans as well as create 5 of their own received a $400 bonus. The full results of the case study will be released after this summer’s National Education Computing Conference, but for now, the reaction is somewhat mixed.

Foreign language teachers reported it was really helpful to have their students using the devices to help with vocabulary and pronunciations, but another teacher cited concerns about the devices not being used for studying at all. The students responded that, of course they were enjoying listening to music and trading songs, but they also insisted that they were using the Zunes to study, too.

Personally, I don’t see why the Zunes can’t be used for both entertainment and education. Just because a Zune lets you watch TV, listen to music, and listen to podcasts, that doesn’t mean that the academic aspects have no value simply because the devices can be used for fun, too.

I don’t imagine the students were allowed to keep the earplugs in during class, anyway, so who cares if they’re using them in between classes or after school to listen to music? If there are educational benefits to the devices, why not encourage their use?

Today’s students have grown up with technology all around them, so whether teachers like it or not, a lot of their education is already coming from digital media - for example, instead of books, students often use the internet for research and instead of magazines, they surf the web for the latest news. So why not enhance a traditional class with after-hours podcasts? This could be especially helpful for students struggling in a particular area of their studies. By being provided with educational podcasts, they could then play back the course, lecture, or guides created by the teacher at home, on their own time. Maybe the Zunes don’t need to literally be in the classroom…or in the halls either…that’s up the school to decide. But please, keep the podcasts coming!

Composer, songwriter, sound designer, producer, musical director, and performer: PatrickPennefather

Tina Wood — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 11:45:00 GMT

Composer, songwriter, sound designer, producer, musical director, and performer in almost any genre of music imaginable, for over two hundred live and digital media productions in the past 20 years, Patrick Pennefather(BFA,MFA) is a faculty member and sound integration specialist @ the Masters of Digital Media University in Vancouver. Also, as composer in residence and adjunct professor of Sound Design in the Theatre, Film and Creative Writing Department at the University of British Columbia, his mission is to teach up and coming digital media producers the value of integrating music and sound in all stages of production.

A multi-award winning composer, his compositions, musicals, songs, sfx, underscores, and jingles have been heard in short and long form productions for clients such as: CBC Radio, Bravo Television, Palmer Jarvis/DDB, RMCC, Cathay Pacific, McDonald's Special Events, UBC, Florida and California State U, Amnesty International, Virtual Stage, Vancouver Playhouse, Touchstone Theatre, Electric Company Theatre, Vancouver Theatre Sports League, and the Vancouver International Comedy Festival.

Patrick and I sit down for a little chat about music and his career.

Zune ID Cards

Sarah Perez — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 07:06:00 GMT

Thanks to a Zunerama member, Trastan, there's now a simple ID card available that you can send to other Zune owners when you find yourself within wireless range of another Zune. To use the card, you download it to your device and then sent it out wirelessly using the Zune's built-in wireless send feature. This is a friendly way of saying "hello" to the other Zune users around you.

On the card says "Nice to meet you" and provides a brief intro that displays your Zune Tag and favorite genre. The cards aren't being generated by an app - there's pure manual labor involved. Trastan is creating cards for anyone who requests one on this forum post. There are also some blank backgrounds here if you want to design your own. (via/img via Zunerama)

Meet the Microsoft Surface Team

Nic Fillingham — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:00:00 GMT

Ever wondered what it would be like to work on the Microsoft Surface team?

Exciting? Innovative? Fun!? You bet,...!

Actually,... I wonder if they have any roles open,.... :)

More: www.surface.com

Email Overload: Band-Aids Are Not Solutions

Sarah Perez — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:57:00 GMT

A company called Seriosity has introduced a new tool for email productivity, Attent, which attacks what they say is the main source of information overload: SENDERS! Yes, it’s the people sending email that are the real problem that need to be addressed, according to Attent, so they’ve come up with a system for businesses to implement which is supposed to make people stop and consider if something is worth emailing.

With Attent, each employee is given a set amount of “Serios” per week, which are basically like virtual dollars. For each email you send, you can attach a certain number of Serios to it, depending on importance. More important emails are sent using more Serios. The system works as an Outlook plugin, and, since it only works with other people who also use Attent, the company would have to roll this out to everyone to make it an effective tool.

While this is an interesting idea, the reasoning behind this idea is that you can force people to email less by forcing them to calculate how much they can “afford” to email, and that seems to me a pretty much a knee-jerk reaction to dealing with info overload.

For one thing, Attent can’t stop people outside the company from emailing, so it only forces internal employees to turn to phone calls and face-to-face requests which may be even more disruptive than emails.

From personal experience, I found that a lot of people chose to email simply because email was the absolute fastest way to send out a request for help, a question, or to share a message with a large number of people. When this became a burden, such as it was at one of my I.T. jobs, the real cause that should have been addressed was why were people turning to email instead of using the tools to them at hand? Why were people sending emails instead of logging help desk tickets? Why were people sending emails instead of referring to online documentation? Why were people sending emails instead of doing the job themselves – which they had the ability and permissions to do, but not the know-how?

The problem that must be addressed in every company are the underlying causes that lead some people to use email far more than necessary – and use it first, without thinking things through. This tool, Attent, aims to do that, but without deeper understanding about what’s wrong in the particular company.

For example, in my situation, implementing a I.T. support email address that directly posted items to the helpdesk instead of arriving in my inbox would have been a big help. Training people where to find the answers they need and how to use the tools we had in house would also have cut down on the emails. (Unfortunately, I didn’t have the authority to implement changes, because believe me, I would have!)

At another job of mine, where I did have authority to make changes, I spent a good part of a day out of the new hires’ week of training teaching the new employees about our in-house web resources – one of which was a SharePoint site. Even for those who had never been exposed to SharePoint, the majority were able to understand pretty quickly how they could use it and it definitely helped cut down on requests in the future as people weren’t emailing in basic questions like where to find a certain file or bit of information. They already knew where it was online.

Often businesses tend to overlook the value of training, but then they end up working harder due to the lack of training of their new employees. The value of real, instructor-led training is something every business needs to understand because, once in the thick of things, employees will never find the time to study user manuals or do research – everything becomes “I need an answer now.” The best time to reach employees and set out what the expectations are for them is at the very beginning of employment before they become reliant on using their preferred tools and processes that result in increased efficiency for them, but that decrease the overall efficiency of the company as a whole since they put the burden on other people who have mastered the use of the company’s informational systems.

Of course, training isn’t a panacea for the entirety of the information overload problem, but it’s certainly a better use of a company’s money that setting up a virtual economy where emails have a price tag associated with them, in my opinion.

For dealing with the remainder of the email, tools that add efficiency to the process of sorting through your inbox - like my business email add-on of choice, ClearContext - are really the way to go. Heavy use of filters, rules, and informational auto-responders can also help cut down on the flood. However, real solutions to today’s information overload problem are going to much more in-depth and complex than an Outlook plugin. Maybe IORG will come up with some answers for us.

(Image courtesy of Seriosity)

Paglo and Spiceworks: Web Apps for I.T.

Sarah Perez — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:59:00 GMT

Paglo, now out of private beta, is a search engine for I.T. To use the app, an admin downloads it to a machine on the corporate network, and then it will begin collecting information on the I.T. infrastructure. Paglo uses common protocols like SNMP to pull information from computers, servers, switches, routers, and network printers. That information can then be made available to any authorized user as dashboards – which are customized displays showing information like CPU use, disk space, etc. In addition, Paglo lets you do inventory management, network management, software audits, as well as network searches. Because Paglo is open source, any organization can use it an extend it as they see fit. For more details on Paglo, the AppScout blog has a really thorough review you should read if you’re interested in this type of thing. I never had the opportunity to try Paglo when I was in I.T., but it looks like it does a great job.

Another web app for SMB I.T. admins that I did try was Spiceworks. Since the time I used it, it has gone through several upgrades and it keeps becoming more and more useful. The latest version, Spiceworks 3.0 now offers Active Directory integration, so your computer groups will copy over to the application, instead of you having to re-create them there. There’s also a new feature that lets you monitor the health of your Exchange Server. You can browse through your software, devices, and groups in cover-flow style, schedule automatic backups, keep tabs on windows events, and fully customize your help desk portal. And those are just some of the new features! In addition, the software also does inventory management, auditing, reporting, and provides a help desk.

Both software programs – OK, they have web interfaces, but they are installable software – are great ways for the overburdened I.T. departments to keep track of network inventory and management without the need for physical or manual reviews of the devices. Even better, they’re both free!

Olympics Are Coming To Media Center

Sarah Perez — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:16:00 GMT

The 2008 Beijing Olympics are nearly here and along with the Silverlight-powered NBCOlympics website, the Microsoft/NBC partnership will also bring us video from the Olympic Games right to our Media Center PCs. These videos will be made available as clips on Vista Media Center and organized into channels based on event (e.g. swimming, gymnastics, track & field, etc.) The service, called "Olympics On the Go," won't be offering live coverage, but will be providing "up-to-HD quality" automatic downloads with help from digital content provider, Wavexpress's TVTonic. Because the content is downloaded instead of streamed, the footage can be watched whether you're online or not. And since Media Center extenders like the Xbox 360 let you view content on other devices besides a PC, you can watch the Olympics events you want to see from any room in your home. Best of all, this service will be completely free!

Virtual Earth Team Launches "GoVE"

Sarah Perez — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:13:00 GMT

The Virtual Earth team has just launched a new program called GoVE which lets state and local governments, municipalities, and aerial photographers share their own imagery with Microsoft and get it published on Virtual Earth. After checking out maps.live.com to verify that the imagery they have it news and has a higher resolution of what's currently being offered online, the organizations can then contact the team by sending an email to TechWare Labs. Ok, yes- there are tons of different product review sites out there but these guys really approach their editorials with passion and humor. It's a fun site to click around on and they are a REALLY fun group of journalists. I sat down with the team to find out why I should listen to them, how they got such a sweet gig and, of course, do they get to keep the stuff???

Limited Galactic Edition announced for Spore

Tina Wood — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:43:00 GMT

We don't get our hands on Spore until September but Maxis and EA today announced the limited Galactic Edition of the highly anticipated game from the creators of The Sims™. This special box will contain the 'Making of Spore' DVD, “How to Build a Better Being” DVD from the National Geographic Channel, (NGC) ‘The Art of Spore’ hardback minibook, a foldout Spore poster, and a premium 100 page Galactic Handbook.

“The Spore Galactic Edition is the ultimate backstage pass for the Spore universe,” said Patrick Buechner, vice president of marketing, Maxis. “The Spore Galactic Edition is an incredible collection of art, video and behind the scenes access to the development team for fans, along with some of the coolest, most collectable packaging in years. ”Spore gives players their own personal universe in a box".

Create and evolve life, establish tribes, build civilizations, sculpt entire worlds and explore a universe filled with creations made by other gamers. Spore gives players a wealth of creative tools to customize nearly every aspect of their universe: creatures, vehicles, buildings, and even UFOs.

In North America, the MSRP for the Galactic Edition of Spore will be $79.99 while the regular edition is suggested at $49.99. Versions of Spore will ship for the PC, Mac, Nintendo DS™ and mobile phones on September 5, 2008 in Europe and September 7, 2008 in North America and Asia. “How to Build a Better Being” premieres Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 10 PM ET/PT on NGC and explores the science behind the theories of the game.

Fans can visit www.Spore.com to download a free version of the Spore Creature Creator, sign up for the Spore newsletter or check out allnew screenshots and video of the game.

If you get a chance check out Laura's interview with the man behind Spore Will Wright.

NBA Live Chooses 2009 Cover Athlete

Tina Wood — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:24:00 GMT

We know the curse of being the cover boy for Madden but gracing the cover of NBA Live hasn't proven to be such a BAD career move. The cover athlete and spokesman for NBA Live in the UK is Chicago Bulls forward - Luol Deng. Deng, raised in the UK from 1993, has played in the NBA for three years and is a vital part of the Great Britain national team. This is the first time the UK has worked with a local athlete and highlights the continued growth of the NBA in Europe.

Deng is joined by some of the NBA’s biggest international stars on packaging around the world, including Los Angeles Lakers Pau Gasol (Spain) and Toronto Raptors Andrea Bargnani (Italy).

For the TOP SPOT San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker will be the cover athlete and spokesman for NBA LIVE 09 globally. In his seven NBA seasons, the 26 year old is a two-time NBA All-Star, has three NBA championships and was named the 2007 NBA Finals MVP. Parker will be the first European born (France) global cover athlete of NBA LIVE. Off the court, Parker is an avid gamer and won an NBA LIVE 08 tournament against fellow NBA stars at the EA SPORTS All-Star Challenge last February in New Orleans.

NBA LIVE 09 is back with new features like Pick and Roll Control, Defensive Lockdown Control, Signature Playcalling and Quickstrike Ankle-Breakers that will make the NBA LIVE experience fun from beginning to end. For those in need of some extra coaching, NBA LIVE 09 takes you to training camp with the NBA Academy that gives you a chance to hone your skills.

Now featuring 24 authentic FIBA teams with realistic team play styles and rosters, NBA LIVE 09 features a FIBA World Championship Mode using FIBA tournament structure, rules and court dimensions. Take your game online with 5 vs.5 team play, where 10 people can play together on 10 different consoles around the world.

NBA Live 09 is coming to the Xbox 360 this October.

JD, Nic, and Brian Podcast - Episode 8

Brian Johnson — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:08:00 GMT

This week in the JD, Nic, and Brian Podcast, we talk about Shutter Speed, Nic's new photogaphy show on Channel 10, we discuss talking with bloggers about WorldWide Telescope, and finally JD hints at plans to build a car computer.

Links:
ShutterSpeed Episode 01
ShutterSpeed Episode 02
Blogger Back Channel Event: World Wide Telescope - AM Session
Blogger Back Channel Event: World Wide Telescope
Hands on with the Rio iBar Microsoft Surface units
Microsoft Surface at the Rio in Las Vegas; Your Virtual Wingman
WorldWide Telescope Home
Office Live Meeting

Media Center University – Part 2

Brian Johnson — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:44:00 GMT

Check out the CE Installer Blog, where Mike Seamons continues his presentation of Optimizing Media Center for Entertainment. In this installment, Mike discusses the steps he takes to optimize Windows Media Center. He discusses removing all unnecessary software, installing Windows Updates and other configuration. Additionally, he discusses how to integrate Zune with WMC.

Topics covered include:

Removing all Unnecessary Files

Network and Sharing Tips

Cleaning the Desktop

Setting the Resolution, sounds, and screen saver

Setting Up Windows Media Player

Syncing everything with Zune

Default Content Removal