All Posts by Paul

SUMMARY: Vista – a 50/50 proposition.

Paul

Many readers remember when Prescott came out – basically Intel hit the wall with Prescott, with cooling issues severe enough to render this CPU as a problem. Fast forward and now we see CPUs where raw speed is not the paramount issue and cooling is not as severe a challenge as with Preshott – a decided marketing shift from the horsepower race.

I think it’s fair to ask if Microsoft has in fact hit the wall with Vista – an operating system that has garnered decidedly mixed reviews with users. There are a number of factors cited:

* The need for LOTS of RAM
* UAC (User Account Control)
* Lack of driver support (improving over time)
* Problems with legacy devices
* Cost of hardware upgrades to make Vista run well
* Minimal performance difference between Vista and XP

I say we know how this turns out mostly people don’t like Vista and would like XP a whole lot better. I actually agree to Vista not being totally up to the challenge. I say XP has a lot on it’s side!!

Contest: Win a Xbox 360 + HD DVD Player From Gizmodo

Paul

The Xbox 360 is finishing up its second year on the market, which means this is the perfect time to get in on all the great titles coming out this holiday season courtesy of Gizmodo. From Mass Effect to Lost Odyssey to PGR4 to Halo, it’s hard to beat the amount of games on 360. Plus, when you throw in an HD DVD player addon, you can watch a crapload of high-def movies as well. Here’s how you can win the two.

Send an email to contests@gizmodo.com with the subject “Xbox 360 and HD DVD contest”. We’ll pick a winner at random on October 22. Standard Gawker contest rules apply.

Sponsored by Xbox 360 HD DVD: Your center for home entertainment.

Thought People should know you too could win a free Xbox 360!! Enter to win!!

Verizon Shares Your Call Data Unless You Opt-Out (Update!)

Paul

The folks from Skydeck just received a written notice from Verizon Wireless for an opt-out system for sharing your call records to third-party advertisers. Unless you call them and opt-out, Verizon will sell what numbers you called, how often you called, and your call length with “authorized companies,” which includes their “affiliates, agents, and parent companies.” Although it doesn’t include your own name, number or address, something like this should be opt-in, not opt-out. If you’re a Verizon customer, call 1-800-333-9956 and tell them you want to opt-out. Why should you let Verizon get even richer off your data for nothing in return? [Skydeck via Crunchgear]

I hope people realize just how bad this is for you!! Would you like them to know who you called? What if your number is Private, It isn’t no longer!!

Jammie Appeals, Citing “Excessive” Damages

Paul

Peerless writes “Capitol v. Thomas defendant Jammie Thomas has officially appealed the RIAA’s $222,000 copyright infringement award. She is seeking a retrial to determine the RIAA’s actual damages, arguing that the jury’s award was ‘unconstitutionally excessive’: ‘Thomas would like to see the record companies forced to prove their actual damages due to downloading, a figure that Sony-BMG litigation head Jennifer Pariser testified that her company “had not stopped to calculate.” In her motion, Thomas argues that the labels are contending that their actual damages are in the neighborhood of $20. Barring a new trial over the issue of damages, Thomas would like to see the reward knocked down three significant digits — from $222,000 to $151.20.'”

This should be interesting.

Manage Your Power Consumption with Lights Out

Paul

Mac OS X only: Shareware application Lights Out is your Mac’s default Energy Saver tool on steroids, allowing users to set very specific energy saving settings. From setting the time before your monitor dims to automatic logout or shutdown to hot corners for quick sleeping, this simple application takes control of nearly every energy-related aspect of your Mac. Lights Out is free to try, costs $8.99 for a license. We normally steer clear of shareware apps around here when we can, but in the spirit of living greener, Lights Out looks like a great software. If you know of a free alternative, let’s hear it in the comments.

Lights Out [via MacApper]

This is for the Mac people, I do not know how well this does work but I thought I’d share this little program. Mac OS only!!