Playing DVIX in 7MC

No, this is not a “how to” note or anything like that. Windows Media Center for me is something completely new. I have been using UMPCs and Tablet PCs for the last 3 years and on them this program does not work to well so I never tried. And probably that’s the best thing that happened to me because my first encounter with MC has been with 7MC or Windows 7 Media Center. A version of MC totally renovated by Microsoft. Sponsored by Ruvo, I will be shooting short videos of 7MC showing how easy is to use this program and different options that you can enjoy on it.   The first video of this series shows how easy is to navigate using a Microsoft MC Remote Control and play a DIVX file stored in the HDD.

YouTube - Using 7MC to play DVIX Movies in a Ruvo mini Cap 7

Mac OS X is not much better than W7

I’m not the one saying it, he is Walt Mossberg, the man behind the Personal Technology Column of The Wall Street Journal.  And here is exactly what he said:

In recent years, I, like many other reviewers, have argued that Apple’s Mac OS X operating system is much better than Windows. That’s no longer true. I still give the Mac OS a slight edge because it has a much easier and cheaper upgrade path; more built-in software programs; and far less vulnerability to viruses and other malicious software, which are overwhelmingly built to run on Windows.

Now, however, it’s much more of a toss-up between the two rivals. Windows 7 beats the Mac OS in some areas, such as better previews and navigation right from the taskbar, easier organization of open windows on the desktop and touch-screen capabilities. So Apple will have to scramble now that the gift of a flawed Vista has been replaced with a reliable, elegant version of Windows.

Since the first beta I have been saying that this version 7 is the best thing Microsoft has released in a long time so it does not surprise me to read such comment coming from Walt Mossberg. Now prepare yourself for the Mac fanboys reactions we will have a lot of fun in the next few days.

Dynamism is in Europe!

I just received an email from Douglas Krone, CEO, letting me know that they just have opened 3 stores in Europe.

France

Germany

Italy

They will start selling the Viliv S5 in these 3 languages and they are offering to all users buying one of these devices today THREE free accessories with the purchase:
+ car kit
+ leather case
+ spare standard battery.

Via is fighting back

According to this post from Shanzhai page,  there are plans to release a nettop using the Via C7 processor with the new chipset VX855 which should have a performance equivalent to what we have seen in the nVidia ION, recently tested by me in a netbook kindly provided to me by Ruvo.

Our contacts on the backstreets of Shenzhen, China have alerted us to the impending release of a shanzai-made mini-desktop PC that eschews Nvidia's ION in favor of VIA's CPU platform.

What has been my experiences with Via. Their processor is not bad compared with the Atom. Their graphic chipset are not bad too… but… there are only few video players in the market optimized to recognize their chipset and use them.

Keep your Android optimized

AndroidGuys has put together a list of tips to keep your Android phone optimized. 

This is simply a general list of things that I notice on new users’ phones that really brings them to a stand-still. (Especially when you are guilty of all of them at once!)  I understand that everyone’s experience of their Android phone and what they use it for is different; however, the more you give your droid to think about at once, the less efficiently it thinks.  If you remember this very general rule, you are most likely going to be able to trouble shoot or tweak things on your own to be back in tip-top shape in no time.

He is absolutely right. I have seen this a few times already, phones overloaded with applications that I call vampires because they suck all the resources available in the phone.

FTC's New Rules for Bloggers

This is something that most of us do, but now it is an official rule and if you don’t do it you could receive a fine of up to $11,000 according to PCWorld, page that have analyzed the regulations and summarized them in this article. 

As of December 1, the Federal Trade Commission is going to require bloggers, and prominent tweeters and Facebook types to disclose any paid endorsements to their followers, online friends and readers.

Every time that I receive anything from any company I say it clearly in my reviews. And that’s something learned from my other fellows bloggers. We do it because we think that is unethical to hide this fact. Others just do it because they feel more important saying that X company sent him/her X product to review. Come on! A little bit of fame does not hurt anybody.

Another fact that I do not hide and my fellows MVPs do not hide too is that we are MVPs. That means that we are supposed to show the world all the new and good things that Microsoft releases. It does not mean that we should not criticize Microsoft but it says clearly that we believe in Microsoft and we like Microsoft products.

Anyway, it’s good to know these new regulations to avoid the fine. And be clear… This applies too to anything that any of you write in any forum. If you are bashing a product from the competition you should mention clearly what company you are working for.

85% of mac users own a PC

The statistics come from the research firm NPD Group and they were published recently at The Inquirer page. 

This means that 85 per cent of Mac users have a pragmatic approach to their machines and use the best tool for the job at hand, whatever they want when they want it.

The study also revealed what I always suspected, the average household income of those with Macs was around $100,000 and having a Mac was a status symbol. That probably explain why 85% of them also have a PC, Symbols sometime are not enough to live in current modern world controlled by PCs.

PhotoSketch simply unbelievable

GottaBeMobile found about this project of a Chinese University that I consider something out this world. If this software is released it will become the salvation of people like me that does not know a thing about Photoshop.

PhotoSketch: Internet Image Montage from tao chen on Vimeo.

Does the nVidia ION really help?

We have seen lately some hardware makers switch from the Intel video chips or the SIS graphic chips to the nVidia ION and some of you have asked if that helps. I’m currently testing the Ruvo Mini Cap 7 but using the nVidia ION Graphic Chip instead of the SIS 672 and the next two pictures show how the W7 graphic scores changed depending on what chip the device was using.

Using the nVidia ION

And the next one is using the SIS 672

A noticeable difference.

Benq S6 naked

We all like to see what's inside of our devices, lets face it. But here is the thing, dissamsabling them is easy, what's hard is putting them back to how they were before.

The above picture of the Benq S6 MID was shot by a young lady that loves to strip down her devices. And let me tell you, this picture is the most decent one. Check the rest here.