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How to Customize Your Screen Saver in Windows 7
In Windows 7, like many previous Windows operating systems, the screen saver can be customize to display selected pictures as a slide show. To customize your screen saver settings:
Go to the Control Panel. 1. Click the Start button 2. Next, select Control Panel then Appearance and Personalization
3. Under Personalization, click Change Screen Saver
4. Under Screen Saver, select Photo and click OK.
To change one or more of the screen saver settings, click Settings, and then do one or more of the following: To specify the photos to use for your screen saver, click Browse, choose the folder that contains the pictures you want to use, and then click OK. To change the speed which the photos change in the slide show, click the list next to Slide show speed, and then choose a speed. To have the pictures appear in a random order, select the Shuffle pictures check box. Click Save to save the setting changes you made. Click OK in the Screen Saver Settings dialog box. PlayStation Home Open Beta Launches Globally
 According to a press release from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. today announced the launch of PlayStation Home Beta (Open Beta) service will launch globally to all PS3 users on December 11,2008.
The good news, for current closed beta testers such as myself, is that we get to keep all of our items, our avatar saves, and apartment. The only thing we will be losing is our Clubhouse which will be available as a fee in the Open Beta.
In addition to the Uncharted and Fry Cry space that existed in the closed beta, Red Bull Air Race will be included sometime next week. Also more publishers, and businesses are slated to join the Home hemisphere thereafter. Red Bull Air Space
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Source: http://www.scee.presscentre.com/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=4734&NewsAreaID=2 http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/12/10/playstation-home-open-beta-launches-tomorrow/ PlayStation Home Open Beta by Christmas
PlayStation Home has been in closed beta since May 2007. Sony has delayed the launch of Home several times to make sure Home is ready for prime time. Over 18 months of testing and refining the service, PlayStation Home looks promising. Sony even launch a PlayStation Home website with a Home Tour video. In it, we get a tour of the Central Plaza, the Bowling Alley, Shopping Center, the Theater, and virtual apartments.
What the website doesn’t say is PlayStation Home will soon be in Open Beta by Christmas. This is according to TedtheDog, the SCEE Home Manager. http://community.eu.playstation.com/playstationeu/board/message?board.id=b_EN_PS3_Home&thread.id=32928 Check out some pictures from the Home Event taken on Friday on the Home EU server.
iPhone Tip: How to Save Images to your iPhone
I just discovered this feature (Save Image) on my iPhone. This feature is only available on iPhone 2.0 firmware and above.
1. Browse to any website or email containing an image.
2. Tap and hold your finger on any image within an email or website. Then, choose Save Image.
3. Go to your Photos application and you'll find the image in your Camera Roll. How to Make Your Own iPhone Ringtones for FREE
You got check out Audiko.net if you're interested in making your own ringtones for your iPhone or any mobile device.
The process is fairly simple. Just upload a song from your hard drive to Audiko, choose the fragment of the song, then download the ringtone and sync your computer to your device.
You can also browse the site for ringtones created by others.
Here's the ringtone I created.
Enjoy! Battery Life Sucks on Your New iPhone 3G?
If you were one of the lucky ones to get a iPhone 3G over the weekend, then you must check out these tips from Apple on how to improve your battery life on your iPhone. I myself learned first hand just a day after getting the iPhone 3G. Battery life will last just a couple of hours if you have every single services turned on including push email, locations services and more. In a nutshell, to increase battery life you must turn off services you're not using. For example, if you're not currently using your Bluetooth headset, turn off Bluetooth. And, the same can be said of WIFI, if you're using 3G instead (I know why would you use 3G over WIFI you ask. Maybe there are no open WIFI hotspots so 3G is you're only option.) Also, turn off push email and set to check email manually or less frequently. Lastly, lower your brightness on your iPhone.
Read the full iPhone battery tips from Apple for more information. How To: Screen Capture on Your iPhone
Little did everyone know that you can take screen shots on your iPhone using that latest software update, iPhone 2.0. To take a screen capture, hold down your Home button and press the Lock button and your screen will flash and an image will be placed in your Camera Roll's images. Above is a screen shot of the MySpace app on the iPhone.
Most Interesting iPhone / iPod touch Apps
The App store went live this morning. There's a lot more apps available then I originally thought. I plan to use my iPhone for business and pleasure so I quickly search for those types of apps. Based on my initial search, these are the apps I plan to install on my iPhone on day one.
iReady? or iScam?
I just called AT&T to find out how I (a new subscriber) can become iReady before July 11. Turns out besides having a pre-qualifying credit check done an AT&T rep has informed me of another method which I am a bit leery about.
According to a AT&T customer rep, I should come in today and get activated for a FREE phone then come in Friday morning and exchange the FREE phone for the iPhone 3G. This way I would not have to worry about the long activation process and the transfer of my numbers over to AT&T would be seamless since I’ve already taken care of that prior to July 11. HMM! Interesting but what happens when I try to get the iPhone on Friday and I don’t qualify for the upgrade because I just signed the contract, I asked. The rep of course stated I would be eligible for the upgrade
Then, it dawned on me after calling several other AT&T stores to verify if this method was valid. It costs X ($36 for the iphone) amount of dollars for an activation fee and $18 for a upgrade fee, if I happen to be still eligible after signing a two year contract to receive the first (FREE) phone. Is this being iReady or just a iScam? I’m sure the Rep is trying to earn top commission from the iPhone hype yet I’m concerned a lot of people who get duped into going this route will be screwed when they try to get the iPhone on Friday. Either they will have to fork over a upgrade fee after just paying an activation fee or worse pay the full retail price for the iPhone - $399 for the 8GB and $499 for the 16GB. iPhone 3G unboxing
The Boy Genius Report has gotten hold of the iPhone 3G and has unboxed the unit. Check out there site for pics - Source: Boy Genius Report Browse the Web in 3D Using PicLens
PicLens is a browser plug-in that transforms your 2D Internet browsing experience into a full screen 3D Wall. For example, you can browse photo and video sites like PhotoBucket, YouTube and Amazon.com in 3D. PicLens works on Mac and PC and supports Firefox 2/3, IE 7, and Safari 3. Give it a try, especially if you have a large wide screen monitor. Get iReady for the iPhone 3GAT&T just released pricing plans for the up and coming iPhone 3G. And they're launching a new program called iReady. iReady helps you get ready to buy a iPhone 3G if you new or existing customer. Check out the iReady videos below for detail information prior July 11.
Count Down to the iPhone 3G
12 days left to launch of the 3G iPhone. As "D" day draws near I've been researching every blog, video review, and spec on the iPhone. Thus far, I have not seen anything to change my mind. Yes, it's true the iphone doesn't have copy and paste, nor does it have video recording, stereo Bluetooth, and physical QWERTY keyboard. Come to think of it I rarely used these features on my Windows Mobile devices.
Copy and paste is great and would be nice to have on the iphone but over the past 8 years, I can count on one hand the number of times I've used copy and paste.
Video recording on my Windows Mobile devices were nothing to write home about so I never used this feature beyond playing around with while stuck in traffic. Even if this was on the iphone I bet I would not use it there either unless the quality was fantastic.
Stereo Bluetooth - When my T-Mobile MDA got an update from T-Mobile I was excited to hear that it include support for stereo bluetooth. So I went out and got a bluetooth stereo headphones. In my two weeks of usage, I found the sound quality to be sub par with the sound cutting in and out every minute. The plus to the bluetooth stereo headphone was no wires but the interference was running the experience in some areas (for some reason they worked out great while working out in the yard). I hope Apple some day include support for Bluetooth stereo but for the time being I can live without this feature too.
Physical QWERTY keyboard- My current device, the T-mobile MDA which I've had for 3 years now has a slide out QWERTY keyboard. I must admit I used it daily to send/receive email messages, or write up a quick note in OneNote Mobile. It was this one feature which held me back from getting the iphone last year. It was like I been there done that stuff already with my first Pocket PC Phone device. The T-Mobile Pocket PC. It had a virtual on screen keyboard and the stylus was tool to tap on it. Sometimes I used the corner of my fingernail for a quick writeup. Typing anything was brutal where using my finger or stylus. So what changed my mind about the iPhone virtual keyboard. Basically, what convinced me was the iPod Touch. I receive the iPod Touch as a Xmas present and found I loved carrying the device with me to browse the Internet check mail. The keyboard all be it is not perfect but was a huge improvement then what's included with Windows Mobile devices.
Well, 12 days to go and I'm missing my iPod touch and anxiously awaiting to stand in line to get my iPhone. Goodbye iPod Touch! Hello iPhone 3G (Maybe)
I placed my iPod touch for sale on Amazon last week and it sold a few days after listing it.
The reason I sold my iPod touch was not because I was dissatisfied with my iPod but rather a dissatisfaction with T-mobile supply of smartphones and Windows Mobile (Pocket PC phones) devices for which I've been a faithful customer for over 7 years. One of the reasons I bought into the idea of a Pocket PC phone was because I used to carry around my Pocket PC (Ipaq) and cell phone with me everywhere I go. And for the past six months, I've been carrying two devices around, my Windows Mobile device and iPod touch. Here's why!
1. The Windows Mobile device could not compare to the iphone/ipod touch browsing experience.
2. The battery life (at least on my T-mobile MDA) was subpar compared to the ipod touch.
3. The user interface is so much more intuitive on my ipod touch.
4. The new games coming out on the iphone like Super Monkey Ball look graphically much better than my Windows Mobile device.
Now, there's pros and cons to both platforms but I must admit the two cons on the iphone/ipod touch is the portable Internet browsing experience and easy of use. Also, I can't forget the ability to have a fast Internet connection, massive storage space (16GB), and the ability to customize or install apps on your smartphone (yes, I know I can do this my on WM phone too). The new iphone 3G coming out next month meets those essential factors. Overall, I hope I'll be happy with the ipod/phone integration (iphone) especially if there's tons of apps available in the Apps Store.
So, on July 11 (if I'm lucky to get one), I'm hanging up my Windows Mobile boots and trading them in for the iphone 3G.
Anyone else plan to ditch their Windows Mobile device for the new iPhone. Comments or thoughts!
Norris Control Your Windows Mobile Phone from Your Desktop
Everything you do with your Windows Mobile smartphone you can now do from your PC - on your big screen, big keyboard and complete integration with your desktop. With mDesktop on your PC and Windows Mobile smartphone connected to it you can: make outgoing calls from the smartphones address book, manage incoming ones with ease from your desktop, have threaded SMS conversations, manage images, manage calendar and contacts straight on your phone, no synchronization required.
You can pick up a copy of MDesktop for as little as $19.99.
Source: PocketPC Thoughts Finally after 6 years, I bought a New Tablet PC
Back in 2001, when Window XP Tablet PC editions were first release, I purchased a Compaq TC1000 for $2400. The specs weren't the greatest even back then but the ability to write on the screen and convert my handwriting to text was phenomenon. The specs included a 1 ghz processor, 512 mb RAM and a 40 gig hard drive. It's hard to imagine I waited so long for an upgrade.
My new tablet PC is the new HP Pavilion tx2120us. The specs are in sharp contrast to my old tablet. It sports a 2.20 ghz AMD Turion 64 X2, 4 gb of RAM and a 250 gb hard drive running Windows Vista.
WOW!! What a big difference 6 years make. One of the reasons I waited so long was I wanted to have a Tablet PC that was also a powerful laptop. My old Compaq TC1000 was good for taking notes and drafting papers by hand but it was terrible when it came to watching movies or playing games.
I'll post a full review in a couple of weeks on Gadget Chain.com, detailing the pros and cons of my new Tablet PC (HP Pavilion tx2120us). For now, I highly recommend this laptop for students and mobile professional. Google Calendar Sync application updated
The Google Calendar Sync application, the one that synchronizes your Outlook calendar with the Google Calendar has been updated.
Check out Google's blog for more information- Official Gmail Blog: Calendar Sync updated PC World - Sony Delays PlayStation Home AgainIt guess this is no surprise to me. I've been beta testing Home since last year (April 2007). I always thought the Spring 2008 release date was a bit unrealistic. This is not a game but a 3D virtual social networking environment for gamers. It has great potential and I'm glad Sony is taking their time to get it right.
More Home news concerning the enhanced closed beta test to follow this Fall. Check out pshomespace.com for the breaking news
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