Computing Unplugged Magazine

New article: Make Mafia Wars an offer it can't refuse

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT

By David Gewirtz

Forgive me. I am about to commit a sin against mankind. It's a tough choice we make in journalism sometimes. Do we do what we know is right? Or do we crank out yet another piece of content on deadline and to heck with whom it hurts?

Do we stand up for our own values? Or do we sell our value system down the river, merely because we have a few paragraphs due by midnight?

"There are 25 million doomed souls playing this horrid little piece of trash."

I am going over to the dark side. Now, to be fair, it's to help a particularly misguided reader. But it's still wrong. I will lose sleep over this decision. And I will feel shame.

I'm about to tell Carleen Corleone (not her real last name, but surprisingly close) how to turn Mafia Wars back on.

Tap here to join in the shame.

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New article: Yet another toaster oven not to buy: Cuisinart TOB-50

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

By David Gewirtz

What happens with public relations people are either too afraid or too important to speak to the press? Well, you're reading it.

For any of you unfamiliar with the epic saga that is our toaster oven adventure, let me refresh you. A few years back, we bought a GE oven. It was poorly designed and I burned my hand (slightly) and got annoyed at it (a lot). I wrote an article about it. And then I got letter after letter from readers. I still get about a letter a month, even two years later.

Eventually, we bought a new oven. This one was a Cuisinart TOB-50. After about six months, the door stopped shutting all the way. The little latch that was meant to let the oven cool off wouldn't let the door close, and we had to go through all sorts of weird efforts to get the door to close. Eventually, we just gave up.

Another $99 toaster was, well, crap.

Tap here for the rest of the story.

New article: Heather in Kuwait: what gadgets to bring on a long trip

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

By Heather Wardell

I am writing this article from Kuwait, on a two-week visit to a friend who's been working here for four years. As a technology-obsessed traveler, I spent ages trying to decide which devices to bring on the trip. So many wanted to travel with me: Palm Treo, laptop, GPS watch since my friend and I will be running a race in Dubai, camera, iPod shuffle... the list was extensive.

Too extensive, as I'll mention later, but for now just know that I didn't want to be absent any of the electronic comforts of home.

"There's more to traveling with electronics than figuring out how to stuff them all into your luggage."

But there's no point in taking electronics on a trip unless you'll be able to charge them as needed, and as I soon found out, there's more to traveling with electronics than figuring out how to stuff them all into your luggage.

Tap here to read the full article

New article: Invade my privacy, please.

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

By Jorge Sosa

About this editorial
Hmmm. Well. OK, then. This is a guest editorial and provides much food for thought. It does not, however, represent the opinions, policies, thoughts, sick little fantasies, or plans of ZATZ Publishing, Component Enterprises, Inc., Computing Unplugged Magazine, the editors, investors, management, employees, families, or anyone we know, have ever met, or ever will meet. We're letting one of our favorite authors, Jorge Sosa, hang out there with this baby all on his own. You go, Jorge! --The Editors

Internet advertising is under the gun because -- for some people -- it actually works too well.

Well-intentioned groups such as the Center for Digital Democracy get all freaked out when marketers boast of the ability to use technology to track -- or at least make solid predictions about -- just about every facet of a consumer's life.

We live in the glorious 21st century now, which is a world where corporations can potentially divine everything from one's musical tastes to one's bedroom kinks.

As many of us increasingly use our mobile devices and Web browsers to manage our existence, we create a tantalizing breadcrumb trail for marketers to follow. Couple that with the phenomenon of mass-scale exhibitionism we like to call Facebook and Twitter, and a company with enough resources can get to know us pretty well.

Tap here and keep reading.

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New article: The iPad: Apple's latest heartbreaker

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

By Jorge Sosa

Apple fans are a curious bunch. Our attachment to the brand goes far beyond what other electronics makers can muster. Ever heard of someone getting a Lenovo tattoo on their booty? Didn't think so.

Whenever the word gets out that the Cupertino mothership is about to drop a new product, no one gets more excited than us Apple freaks. Yes, the volume of hype surrounding an Apple product launch can be enough to get everyone talking in the days immediately before and after. But us Apple lovers spend a fair amount of time in the months and years between launches, obssessing over the latest product and speculating about what the next one will be.

"Those of us who love Apple will continue to debate the iPad debacle."

That's why those of us who love Apple will continue to debate the iPad debacle, long after news of its underwhelming unveiling has slipped from the mainstream's radar.

Is "debacle" too strong a word to describe the sense of disappointment at the sight of Steve Jobs proudly presenting to the world... a $500 Etch-a-Sketch? Maybe. If there were a word for "the sound of a muted trumpet comically playing a descending series of notes," or for those who prefer onomatopoeia, the "mwah-wah-wah-waaaah," I'd choose that one instead.

Jorge continues to insult the iPad. At least he didn't mention feminine hygiene. Tap here for the rest.

New article: Recruiting the Army of Two on PSP

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

By James Booth

The last few months have been a busy time for video game sequels. On the larger consoles, like the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 was probably the biggest sequel to be released. Assassin's Creed and Uncharted are other franchises to see new additions.

"The AI of your partner ranks below that of a yeast culture."

Despite a rather lackluster response the first time around, Army of Two has joined the alumni of titles to see a sequel. Teaming up for further mayhem and destruction, Rios and Salem return in Army of Two: The 40th Day, shown in Figure A.

FIGURE A

The sequel, Army of Two: The 40th Day. Click picture for a larger image.

New article: Trine, an almost-perfect modern side-scroller

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

By David Gewirtz

I used to love side-scrollers. After all, some of the best games of the 1980s and 1990s were side-scrollers. We didn't have graphics that could handle full 3D, so good game design was absolutely essential. The early Mario games, the early Sonic games, and so many more were side scrollers.

But then we fell in love with 3D games and, in particular, first-person shooters. Why scroll left or right when you could play Halo? Like adventure games, side-scrollers and action platformers began to slip into the past.

Recently, though, we've seen a small resurgence of modern side-scrollers which meld the gameplay of old with the 3D rendering capability of the PS3 and XBox 360. And, when done right, the result is nothing short of wonderful, as shown in Figure A.

FIGURE A

Here, the thief is shooting arrows at skeletons. They're nasty. Click picture for a larger image.

One such game is Trine. Bad name. Fabulous game. Trine was created by Frozenbyte, located in Helsinki, Finland. The main characters in the game are a wizard (he can draw boxes, but can't seem to master the fireball), a thief (she can shoot grappling hooks, but only to wood), and a knight (who's kinda dumb, but hits hard).

Tap here to read the rest of this review.

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New article: Indiana Jones 2 on the PSP is no treasure

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

By James Booth

I love the LEGO games; Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Batman, and other franchises soon to join the family. They put you in some of the most famous universes in film and comic history, yet keep the mood light and fun. Players get to become some of their favorite heroes or villains, living out the storyline of various films.

When I learned LucasArts and Traveller's Tales were releasing a second LEGO Indiana Jones title, to include the latest movie, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I was quite elated. I have been enthusiastically awaiting its release since the announcement, and eagerly dove into LEGO Indiana Jones 2 The Adventure Continues in Figure A with some amount of zeal.

FIGURE A

Indy returns to the PSP in LEGO Indiana Jones 2 The Adventure Continues. Click picture for a larger image.

To learn more about the further adventures of Indy on the PSP, crack your whip here.

New article: Playing your PSP on the PC

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

By James Booth

Sony's PSP (Playstation Portable) is a great way to take your gaming on the go isn't it? But that screen can be a bit small sometimes can't it? If you have the AV cable your PSP can be plugged into a television for a larger display, but the composite version can be a bit hard to find if your TV doesn't have the component hookups. What to do?

How about Remote Joy Lite? It allows you to port the display of the Custom Firmware PSP in Figure A to the monitor of your computer with nothing more than a USB cable.

FIGURE A

Sony's Playstation Portable gaming platform. Click picture for a larger image.

The joy
With Remote Joy Lite, the display of the PSP is sent to a PC monitor via the USB cord, where it can be displayed in a window or full-screen. A larger display can make it easier to see details that may otherwise be overlooked on the smaller screen of the PSP.

If you'd like to learn more about putting your PSP display on your PC, then click here.

New article: Say goodbye to the Uh-Ohs. Long live the Tens.

Mon, 28 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT

By David Gewirtz

So this is it. The end of the first decade of the new millenium -- which isn't really new anymore, is it? What do we even call this last decade? We called the 80s the 80s, and the 90s the 90s. But is this the 0s? The 00s? Given what the last ten years have been like, what with the economy, terrorist attacks, and the mortgage crisis, I tend to think of the last ten years as the Uh-Ohs.

We're done. Ten years have gone by since we all worried about Y2K and we're still not driving flying cars.

What has ten years of tech bought us? Are there colonies on the moon? Can we "beam" from New York to San Francisco in seconds? Have we cured cancer?

Nope. Instead we got Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Seriously, that's what we got out of ten years. We've learned we can be inane 140 characters at a time. Special.

Craigslist and Google have teamed up to kill newspapers. Bloggers are bashing magazines. And e-books are causing print publishers to both lose revenue and hair.

So, yeah, we got the iPhone. We've learned that Apple can be petty, capricious, and completely non-responsive in all new ways. Yay?

Computers are cheaper, which is nice. You can buy a low-end desktop or netbook for under $300. But Windows and Mac users are still bitching at each other, Linux is still not the top dog, and while Firefox and Google's Chrome are nice browsers, they just don't seem like they contain a full decade's worth of innovation.

Ten years also brought us a huge increase in computer and network threats. Viruses have morphed into rootkits, DDoS attacks, and 'bot nets. Every time you turn on your computer, you put your financial identity at risk. We thought spam was a problem at the turn of the century, but now it's become a complete and total hassle, with many messages carrying nasty payloads.

Well, bummer, right? Not entirely.

If anything, the Uh-Oh's have been a decade of incremental improvement. The Internet has solidified its hold on society, which is both a good and bad thing. But there still aren't flying cars and we still aren't wearing silver suits (which is probably a blessing).

While the last ten years haven't resulted in any super sci-fi wonders, we have managed to link more members of our society together online. We have managed to get Internet speeds up to a point where it's possible for family members across the world to see and talk to each other.

We've managed to tap the power of crowds in amazing ways, creating wonders like Wikipedia. Then there's Twitter, which almost single-handedly saved Iran -- and probably would have, had Michael Jackson not died right in the middle of the mess.

What about the next ten years? What will we see in 2020? Personally, I'm still hoping for flying cars.

If it's going to be good, it's up to us. We have all these amazing toys. We have the technology. We can be better, stronger, faster. Let's make the next ten years the best darn ten years, ever! Happy New Year!

David Gewirtz is the author of How To Save Jobs and Where Have All The Emails Gone? For more than 20 years, he has analyzed current, historical, and emerging issues relating to technology, competitiveness, and policy. David is the Editor-in-Chief of the ZATZ magazines, is the Cyberterrorism Advisor for the International Association for Counterterrorism and Security Professionals, and is a member of the instructional faculty at the University of California, Berkeley extension. He can be reached at david@zatz.com and you can follow him at http://www.twitter.com/DavidGewirtz.

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New article: Who you gonna call on the PSP... Ghostbusters

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT

By James Booth

Ghostbusters The Video Game was one of the most eagerly anticipated games of Summer 2009. It was released on every major gaming platform except the PSP (Playstation Portable). Originally, the PSP was to be included as well, but for some reason developers backed out. Well guess what? Sony said, "No way, cough it up."

So it was, that with absolutely no fanfare whatsoever, Ghostbusters The Video game for PSP was released on November 3, 2009. Sadly, the community response to Ghostbusters on the PSP, shown in Figure A, has been less than enthusiastic.

FIGURE A

Who you gonna call? Click picture for a larger image.

It would seem all the hooray got played out back in June, but what about the PSP version? Is worth the effort, or is too little too late?

New article: Logitech's electronic skins for Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT

By James Booth

When Harmonix released the updated instruments with Rock Band 2, they made vast improvements to their design and performance. But the Rock Band or Guitar Hero experience can get even better with the addition of third-party hardware, namely Logitech's Wireless Drum Controller for the PS3.

"I loved them from the very beginning, and found them a pleasure to play."

Also available for the Xbox 360 and the Wii, at twice the cost of the entire Rock Band 2 Bundle, Logitech's Wireless Drum Controller is not for the faint-of-heart or casual gamer; it's designed with the more serious e-musician in mind. Shown in Figure A, Logitech's drum controller is more like a real electronic drum set than that furnished in the Harmonix bundle.

FIGURE A

Logitech's Wireless Drum Controller for the PS3. Click picture for a larger image.

Features
Logitech's Wireless Drum Controller is packed with loads of features that make it a premium improvement over the standard drum kit. First and foremost, the drum pads are constructed with a silencing feature to reduce noise. The drum pads and cymbals are fully adjustable, ensuring a more comfortable drumming experience. The tension of the kick pedal is adjustable, making it more responsive. The entire kit can be broken down flat and leaned against a wall or slid under a bed so as to take up less space, like some of those SoloFlex exercise machines.

To learn more about Logitech's Wireless Drum Kit for the PS3, crash your high-hat here.

New article: Assassin's Creed comes to (and dies on) the PSP

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT

By James Booth

Assassin's Creed was one of the more successful console titles of 2007, and has remained so until this year's release of Assassin's Creed II. Coinciding with that release is Assassin's Creed Bloodlines, the franchise's debut on the PSP (Playstation Portable).

How well does this title translate to the small platform of the PSP? Is it a success? Should you "heed the Assassin's Creed?" Or is it best to let Assassin's Creed Bloodlines, shown in Figure A, fall to the wayside?

FIGURE A

Assassin's Creed Bloodlines for the PSP (Playstation Portable). Click picture for a larger image.

The history
For those unfamiliar with Assassin's Creed, players take on the role of Altair (All-tie-ear), a member of the Assassin Brotherhood during the Third Crusade to the Holy Land. As an assassin, Altair is pitted against the Brotherhood's nemesis, the Knights Templar, whom are rousted from the Holy Land by the end of the first game.

Should you heed the Assassin's Creed on PSP? Click here to learn more.

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New article: Lava Launch Coaster offers a great father/son project opportunity

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

By David Gewirtz

I've mentioned before just how patient my wife is. She has the patience of a saint. Married to me, she needs it. Over the years, Denise has grown relatively used to the strange things I bring home for work, the strange phone calls we get some weekend mornings from secretive agencies with 3-letter names, and even my ongoing (unsuccessful) attempts to grill the world's largest backyard hamburger.

But this time, when the boxes came in from K'NEX and I started building, I think she was a little concerned.

"Um, honey?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Uh, how...long... do you think that will be... I mean, I don't want to rush you, but, well, it's not moving in here forever, is it?"

It was the K'NEX Lava Launch Coaster. When constructed, it's 4 feet high and contains more than 20 feet of track.

Tap here to learn all about this fun father/son project opportunity.

New article: Macrofire for the PSP

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

By James Booth

As I've stated in other articles, the PSP's analog stick isn't exactly the most reliable design. They're prone to breakage and drifting. With the Macrofire utility, not only can you correct that drift, but you can also program button-macros for your favorite games on Sony's Playstation Portable shown in Figure A.

FIGURE A

The Sony PSP (Playstation Portable). Click picture for a larger image.

In order to use Macrofire your PSP will need to have custom firmware installed. A previous article in Computing Unplugged provided instructions on how to install a custom firmware, but you're on your own in locating the necessary files, as well as in locating Macrofire. A quick search on Google or Yahoo! will head you in the right direction.

To learn more about Macrofire, read on by clicking here.

New article: Taking screenshots on the PSP

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

By James Booth

Wouldn't you love to be able to take a screenshot or capture video on your PSP? What better way to prove that high score to your friends and family? Or wouldn't you want to illustrate that awesome combat move? Perhaps you'd like to take screenshots for demonstration purposes, such as in this article. That's precisely what SVCapture for the PSP was designed to do.

The trouble with Sony's PSP, shown in Figure A, is that Sony has severely crippled its usefulness and capability beyond basic gameplay.

FIGURE A

Sony's Playstation Portable Click picture for a larger image.

In order to use SVCapture you'll have to have a custom firmware installed on your PSP. A previous article in Computing Unplugged provides instructions on how to install custom firmware, but because of the dubious legality involved in hacking your PSP, you're on your own in locating the necessary files as well as in locating SVCapture. A quick search on Google or Yahoo! Will head you in the right direction.

Due to the underground nature of custom firmware and the applications that go with it, be sure to use caution when searching for the files. There are some nefarious characters out there who will disguise viruses and malware as useful utilities. And yes, we're providing this material for informational purposes only. We would never advocate that you actually go and hack your PSP.

Learn more about using SVCapture on the PSP by clicking here.

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New article: The insane rants of Premiere Pro

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

By David Gewirtz

OK, background: I've been putting together a video (think podcast) for some Lotus Notes-related stuff. I read that the new CS4 Premiere Pro could scan a video and transcribe it, placing the words in time with the video for ease of editing.

Now, before I go further, I need to say that Premiere Pro and After Effects are truly amazing products and produce absolutely outstanding videos. So when I show you what happens when Premiere Pro goes off its meds, you'll know it's not because I don't respect the products.

"So when I show you what happens when Premiere Pro goes off its meds..."

The video I'm working on has three speakers, all talking about the benefits of Exchange, Notes, migration, and messaging. All are lucid, speaking understandable English, pretty much what you'd expect from a short piece of corporate video.

Premiere Pro claims this new audio transcription feature will make video editing easier, so I thought I'd try it out. I fed my very run-of-the-mill video into Premiere Pro. When the transcription came back from Premiere Pro CS4, I was just completely baffled. And I must share. All your base are belong to us.

Tap here. The weirdness of this read is worth it.

New article: Replacing your broken PSP analog stick

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:00:00 GMT

By James Booth

With the exception of the LCD screen, the analog stick is probably the most fragile component of the PSP. And while some seem to take abuse for years without failing, others give up the ghost rather quickly. Provided your PSP is already out of warranty, why not make the repair yourself and save some time and money in the process?

Certainly, you can return your PSP to Sony for repair, but they'll charge you quite a fair sum. And you won't get your original device back; what you'll get in return is a refurbished model, possibly not as cosmetically pristine as the original in Figure A.

FIGURE A

Sony's Playstation Portable gaming platform. Click picture for a larger image.

The analog stick
Sony's choice of design in the analog stick of the PSP was a somewhat poorly thought out concept. It's made of inferior plastic, lightweight, easily-breakable components, and has a tendency to stick and drift. Sony really could have done a better job. The up-side is that it's relatively easy to replace the analog stick, and they're pretty inexpensive to come by.

If you need to replace your PSP's analog stick, then click here to learn more.

New article: The hows and whys of hacking the PSP

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 05:00:00 GMT

By James Booth

As neat a device as the PSP is, why would you want to hack it? There are a multitude of reasons, but the most basic is that the PSP is capable of so much more than Sony has allowed. In this introductory article, I will show you the hows and whys of hacking the Sony PSP in Figure A.

FIGURE A

Sony's mobile gaming platform the Playstation Portable, or PSP. Click picture for a larger image.

What is hacking?
As many of you are aware, hacking can have many meanings, from illegally gaining access to a program, network, or IT infrastructure, to a crude attempt at chopping with a bladed object. In this particular instance, hacking refers to the modification of a program or device in order to give the user access to features that were otherwise unavailable.

Learn more about hacking the PSP by clicking here.

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New article: Are you a hero of the Republic?

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 05:00:00 GMT

By James Booth

I don't think it's any secret that I'm a big Star Wars fan, and like most fans I eagerly anticipate each new video game addition to the franchise; unfortunately, there's a long history of bad Star Wars video games. Released to coincide with the second season of the animated series, Star Wars The Clone Wars Republic Heroes puts you in the shoes of the cartoon heroes of the Republic.

Set during the Clone Wars of the Star Wars saga, Star Wars The Clone Wars Republic Heroes is crafted in the style of the currently-running Star Wars The Clone Wars animated series on The Cartoon Network. The covershot in Figure A shows the style of animation used in the both the TV series and Republic Heroes.

FIGURE A

A somewhat-anime style of animation is used in both game and television show. Click picture for a larger image.

Is Republic Heroes a heroic success or a heroic failure? Click here to find out.

New article: The dangers of wireless computing for the unsuspecting

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 05:00:00 GMT

By Jessica McCurdy Crooks

It's not exactly news, but there is no doubt that wireless networking is pretty much the de facto way of communicating in today's electronic age. Gone are the days, or almost gone, when everyone connects to the Internet or a network using wires and cables.

With the growth in home-based businesses and telecommuting, the need to access the Internet while on the go has also helped to fuel the growth of wireless computing.

While wireless technology has many benefits there are many dangers as well.

Tap here and be afraid. Be very afraid...

New article: Visit Gold's Gym on your Wii without ever leaving your living room

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 05:00:00 GMT

By Heather Wardell

My favorite Wii Fit exercise is the Rhythm Boxing workout. However, it started to seem a bit repetitive, and so I wanted something different that would still give me a solid workout. Ubisoft's Gold's Gym Cardio Workout looked like it might be just the thing.

Since the game is billed as "a more intense cardio workout than most Wii fitness games", you might expect it to be tough, and it is. However, it is almost entirely a boxing workout. There are additional exercises, like running and sit ups, but these are done exactly like the standard Wii Fit versions and I never use them. As I wanted a purely boxing workout, I am happy with the game, but some reviewers were disappointed by the focus on boxing. As I'll show you, though, it is definitely a full-body workout.

The basics
When you begin, you're asked to create a character to use. I find it odd that the game doesn't use the Mii characters that have already been created on the Wii, but I think it's because the graphics are slightly more to the anime side than the usual Wii graphics. They suit the game, though. Figure A shows a Gold's Gym character hard at work on a set of squats. (picture courtesy of Ubisoft's web site)

FIGURE A

The Gold's Gym graphics are well done and make the game interesting. Click picture for a larger image.

While the game does use the Wii Balance Board, it's only for a few of the exercises. It doesn't allow you to weigh yourself; you instead need to enter your own weight. Since the game doesn't require the Balance Board, I suppose this makes sense, but I think it would be better for the system to decide whether to weigh you or ask for your weight based on whether the Balance Board is present.

Does this game have a glass jaw? Tap here and find out the real story.

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New article: Kill those annoying Mafia Wars posts on Facebook

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 05:00:00 GMT

By David Gewirtz

I don't know if these things annoy you as much as they do me, but I find many of the little Facebook games annoying as all heck. Perhaps the most annoying is the Mafia Wars game, but all of the others (iHeart, anyone?) come in at a close second.

Fortunately, you can permanently remove these annoyances from your news feed. All it takes is a few simple steps. The secret is a small, hidden menu.

Move your mouse to the upper, right side of any Mafia Wars (or similar) posting, as you can see in Figure A. Move it right about where the red arrow is pointing.

FIGURE A

Move your mouse to where the red arrow points.

Suddenly, you'll see a previously hidden drop-down menu appear, as shown in Figure B.

FIGURE B

Kill Mafia Wars dead.

Just select Hide Mafia Wars and it's gone, gone, gone. Almost like you gave it a pair of cement boots.

Do the same for all the other annoying applications in your news feed, and suddenly Facebook won't seem nearly as annoying.

David Gewirtz is the author of How To Save Jobs and Where Have All The Emails Gone? For more than 20 years, he has analyzed current, historical, and emerging issues relating to technology, competitiveness, and policy. David is the Editor-in-Chief of the ZATZ magazines, is the Cyberterrorism Advisor for the International Association for Counterterrorism and Security Professionals, and is a member of the instructional faculty at the University of California, Berkeley extension. He can be reached at david@zatz.com and you can follow him at http://www.twitter.com/DavidGewirtz.

New article: A trick for saving some work when your system freezes (Vista edition)

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 05:00:00 GMT

By David Gewirtz

And I was so just starting to like Vista.

My main work computer was getting long in the tooth, and especially with the book I'm writing, I needed a faster box. So I upgraded, new motherboard, 8 gigs of RAM, super-fast 10,000 RPM drive, and more. I wanted that RAM and I wanted it bad, so I thought, "Hey, let's try Vista 64". Yes, I know Windows 7 is coming out, but it's not out yet and for my primary work machine, I typically don't run anything that hasn't had at least one service pack released.

And for the last month or so, it's been sweet. Oh, sure, sometimes Vista would decide to lose all my network settings, but that only seemed to happen at the beginning and it hasn't been a problem for weeks.

And then, today, my work machine hung.

Tap here to read the rest of the article.

New article: Oh, sweet SATAsfaction

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 05:00:00 GMT

By Joe Dolittle

We've gotten a number of interesting drive enclosures in recently, and this week, we're taking a look at two of them: the NetDisk from IOCell Networks and the InfoSafe eSATA removable enclosure from StarTech.

IOCell Networks NetDisk 351UNE
It's a little hard to pigeonhole the IOCell Networks NetDisk 351UNE, shown in Figure A, into a single category.

FIGURE A

It's network device, it's a USB device, it's a SATA device. It slices and it dices! Click picture for a larger image.

At its most basic, it's an add-on USB drive enclosure for your computer. Simple and basic. The enclosure also has an eSATA connection, so you can plug the case directly into your computer and it'll run just as fast as an internal SATA drive. We liked that a lot.

What's more interesting is the NDAS (Network Direct Attached Storage) capability of the 351UNE. NDAS is a protocol that lets you use an Ethernet cable to connect the drive to your network, but it's not like a typical NAS (Network Attached Storage) drive, nor is it like an iSCSI drive, both of which allow you to connect the drive to the network.

Tap here for the full review.

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New article: What to do if you're overwhelmed by too much Yahoo Groups email

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 05:00:00 GMT

By Denise Amrich

A number of our readers have written in, telling us that they love their Yahoo group, but when they looked at their email inboxes they were like...whoa! Too much email!

There is an easy way to fix that.

You can change your preferences to receive either only one Daily Digest, or no emails at all.

You can do this by locating the "Edit Membership" link -- it's in a white bar underneath the banner ads at the top of your group page. Once you click that, locate the Step 2: Message Delivery Area in the center of the page.

There, you can choose "Daily Digest" (if you only want one email per day with up to 25 messages compiled in it) or "Web Only" (if you want to only read messages and look at files when you log in).

And that's it. You'll go from a "whoa!" flood of email messages down to one or none.

Happy grouping!

Denise Amrich is co-founder and managing editor for ZATZ Publishing. She can be reached via email at denise@zatz.com.

New article: VMWare Fusion makes your Mac one machine to rule them all

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 05:00:00 GMT

One area where the use of virtual machines has taken off is giving Macintosh users the ability to run Windows software on their machines without dual-booting -- and that's what we're going to discuss in this article.

New article: Backup server file changes with Rsync

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 05:00:00 GMT

What if you want to set up Rsync under Windows, you're not a Linux command-line wiz, and you don't want to rebuild everything on your server? That's what this article's all about.

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New article: Moving from Palm Desktop to Outlook and the Google Apps

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 05:00:00 GMT

In this article, Editor-in-Chief David Gewirtz explores your options if you want to migrate off of the now-obsolete Palm Desktop to Outlook, the iPhone, the Pre, or some cloud service like Google.

New article: UltraEdit is an ultra-useful editor

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 05:00:00 GMT

There are a certain few Windows products that are unsung classics. These are often special-purpose products that do one thing, and do that one thing better than anything else in the world. They're products that have been around for years and years, often more than a decade, and have been lovingly refined, year after year, release after release, adding a selective feature here, meeting a user request there, until they're perfect examples of what a software tool can be.

New article: Hooked on Atlantica: a free-to-play MMORPG

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Atlantica Online is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game that Heather Wardell says has "utterly hooked" her. To find out why, you'll need to read her review.

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New article: Use the i-Sound Pro recorder to beef up your radio chops

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Editor-in-Chief David Gewirtz has done a lot of radio in my years as Computing Unplugged's editor-in-chief, but we think the recent rash of appearances has been something of a personal record. The thing is, while doing radio is fun, it also requires some degree of skill. And that skill requires practice. The more radio you do, the better you'll be at it. And the better you are at it, the more often you'll be asked back by hosts and the more radio you'll do.

New article: DTV will destroy your mind (and other wild theories)

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Did you know that the digital TV switchover is one of the signs of the Apocalypse? Oh yeah, it's right there in the Book of Revelation between all that business with the locusts and the star called Wormwood. If there's one thing we love at Computing Unplugged, it's a good mock.

New article: Eight steps to successful and reliable home backups

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 05:00:00 GMT

We all know we should do it, but most people never do. Then comes that horrible moment when your hard drive fails, or your laptop is stolen, or the "I won't need that again" file that you deleted becomes vital, and everyone says the same thing: "I should have been backing up my files."

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New article: Exploring the dark side of social networks

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 05:00:00 GMT

When it comes to social networking, it's not what you know, or even who you know, it's who knows you. And that's pretty much where the trouble starts.

New article: Modding Fallout 3 for fun and firepower

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 05:00:00 GMT

By Joe Dolittle

Fallout 3 came out on October 28, 2008 and many people have been playing it and its numerous downloadable content expansion packs ever since. For those of you who don't know, Fallout 3 is a post-apocalyptic action role-playing game that's among the most popular of the last year.

Although much has been made of the Fallout's DLC for PS3, Xbox 360 and the PC, what you may not know is that those of you on the PC can mod Fallout all on your own, and at no expense. We've been tinkering with Fallout 3 on the PC here in the ZATZ Labs (yes, while we should have been doing real work), and we thought it'd be helpful to show you the list of mods we installed for Fallout 3.

Tap here to see the full list.

New article: Add To Any, the wicked widget with a dull name

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 05:00:00 GMT

By Jorge Sosa

If you like powerful widgets (and who doesn't?) you may want to check out Add To Any. It's a simple-to-use tool that can help steer users to your online content -- and keep them coming back for more. Best of all, as its creators boast, "Add To Any is free, and always will be."

Add To Any lets you incorporate a button on any of your Web pages so your visitors can easily share that page with anyone else. Add To Any's Share button lets a site visitor link to interesting content on your site via just about any social network/bookmark service you can imagine: Facebook, Digg, Twitter, StumbleUpon, MySpace, Delicious, Bebo, Reddit, FriendFeed and quite a few others I've never even heard of.

Tap here to learn how to use Add To Any to add to any.

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New article: How I turned my novel into an ebook

Thu, 28 May 2009 05:00:00 GMT

By Heather Wardell

Late last year, I decided to make my first novel, "Life, Love, and a Polar Bear Tattoo", available for free download from my Web site. I expected to spend an hour or so getting it ready to go, but instead it took weeks and brought up questions I hadn't considered. Use my experience as a guide if you want to make an ebook of your own.

Which format?
There are a lot of options for ebook formats, but I wanted one that offered free document conversion and reasonably wide-spread use. I didn't see much point in converting the book into a format that hardly anyone would be able to read.

HTML format would seem to fit my requirements, but I didn't consider it. While some people do sit in front of their computer and read, they are in the minority, and I also didn't like how easy it would be for people to change and redistribute the book. Ditto with Microsoft Word.

Since I do the majority of my reading on my Palm, I wanted a format that I could read myself. The eReader eBook Studio converter costs $29.99, and while that's not a bad price, I didn't want to pay to make my book available for free.

In the end, I went with PDF, because pretty much every computer and a lot of ebook readers can handle it, and Mobipocket, because the Amazon Kindle can read Mobipocket files. So far, nobody has asked for an additional format.

Tap here and learn how Heather did it.

New article: TealOS: great Palm software you are prohibited from buying

Thu, 21 May 2009 05:00:00 GMT

TealOS is a "skin" for existing Palm devices that gives them the look-and-feel of the upcoming Palm Pre device. Fired up by David's letter and curious about this software she hadn't heard of, Heather Wardell went looking for TealOS. She expected to take a quick look, think, "Not bad," and move on. Instead, she bought it five minutes after downloading the trial.

New article: Swaptree, the cyber swap meet

Thu, 07 May 2009 05:00:00 GMT

What do you do with all of those books, CDs, DVDs, and video games you have sitting around collecting dust? You could sell them at a garage sale, on eBay, or trade them in; but you get nowhere near their value. Instead, why not take them Swaptree, where the swap meet meets cyberspace?

A SHOCKING INVESTIGATION BY OUR OWN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
"This book reads like a scary thriller. Crossing political and technical lines with confidence and abandon, David Gewirtz weaves a story that will raise the eyebrows, and the neck hairs, of everyone who reads it."
-- Dan Shafer, author of more than 50 books

This is a heck of a story. Prepare to be freaked out...