Hasta La Gadget!

Let’s face it — quite a lot is resting on the outcome of this case. For months now, RealNetworks has been unable to legally sell its RealDVD movie ripping software after a court issued a temporary restraining order that remains valid until it’s decided if the application violates the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act). Now, the software is finally having its day in court, and the outcome could shape the future of the DVD player (for better or worse). You see, Real has already assembled a prototype Facet device that hums along on Linux; essentially, this DVD playing machine would sell for around $300 and could store up to 70 movies internally. On the surface, this sounds entirely like a poor man’s Kaleidescape, but only time will tell if The Man agrees. Cross your fingers folks, we get the feeling fair use advocates are going to need the luck.

Filed under: Home Entertainment

RealDVD ripping software heads to court, fair use advocates on pins and needles originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 05:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This article was written on March 13, 2007 by CyberNet.

Time Saving Tuesday

Being a Windows user for all my life I have come to realize that my Start Menu quickly becomes filled with applications that I frequently install. Windows Vista makes this much better by incorporating an easy-to-access search bar right in the Start Menu. One thing that surprised me with the release of Vista was that it still sported the same old Quick Launch bar that seems to be an ineffective solution to accessing the programs you use the most.

First I’ll mention two programs that we have already written about on CyberNet before, but then I’ll throw in two programs that you probably haven’t heard about. This way you’ll have four different programs that all behave differently to help you launch programs and open files quicker than you ever have before.

—Launchy (Homepage / Download Mirror [version 1.03])—

Launchy is an amazing little program that we have covered here several times before. It was just 6 weeks ago that they rolled out version 1 and people all over the world have been grateful with the features Launchy brings to the table.

Once you have Launchy installed, you will be freed from your Start Menu, desktop, and much more! With it you can pull up it’s sleek little window (pictured below) and start typing anything. Launchy will then search the Start Menu for programs with that name as well as files in your My Documents folder. I wish I had a similar program to find things around the house.

—RocketDock (Homepage / Download Mirror [version 1.3])—

Apple does a great job with some things in the Mac OS, and one of its claim to fame features is the Dock, typically located at the bottom of the window. That is where all of the shortcuts for programs as well as running programs are kept.

RocketDock does an amazing job of emulating the Mac OS Dock and the newest version provides even more benefits for Vista users. Anyone running Vista will be able to take advantage of a new feature for when windows are minimized to RocketDock. This new feature will actually let you preview minimized windows, which is especially awesome if you minimize a program that is playing something like a video. Then you’ll actually see a small thumbnail with that video playing! Check it out in this video:

—ManganeseMenu (Homepage / Download Mirror [version 1.1])—

This option is one of the more unique ones that I have seen. It essentially creates an expandable menu that pops out when you hover over it. Take a look at this screenshot that I put together that demonstrates the normal state on top and the hover state on the bottom:

The shortcuts available in the hover menu are highly customizable and you can put almost anything you want in it. Here are the different configuration screens that let you turn ManganeseMenu into your own personalized shortcut tool:

Note: I couldn’t get this application to work on Vista so I had to use it on Windows XP.

—Guillotine (Homepage / Download Mirror [version 1.5.1.0])—

This program reminds me quite a bit of Google Desktop because of the way it efficiently searches your computer for files and programs to run. After I had the program installed and running all I had to do was hit Ctrl+Space to pull up the search box and start searching for things:

Then there are also a large amount of configuration options:

In the settings you’ll be able to change a lot of things around. One of the cool things is that you can create custom keyword searches much like you can for Firefox and Opera. If you’re a searching addict then you will indeed find this to be useful! For more information on what (and how) Guillotine can do head on over to their documentation which also has many alternative screenshots available.

—Overview—

There are so many different ways to manage all of your shortcuts that I’m sure you can find a way that meets all of your needs. I use RocketDock to get quick access to all of my shortcuts. Previously I used Launchy as well, but Vista covers its turf well enough that I didn’t feel a need to use it anymore. You’ll never know what you will like until you play around with the different options.

Recommended software from the comments below:

• QLiner Hotkeys by Nosh
• RunIt! by FMsaziri

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Related Posts:

• CyberNotes: Your Week in Review with Sunday’s Summary
• Using Google’s Keyboard Shortcuts
• CyberNotes: Quickly Assign Hotkeys to Folders, Programs, URL’s, and More
• CyberNotes: Create Shortcuts To Shutdown Or Restart Your Computer
• Get Drive Shortcuts on Your Windows Desktop

Have a look at that sweet piece up above and just imagine your mail being carted around inside. Go ahead, we’ll wait. If Chrysler has its druthers (and stays afloat long enough to make good on its good intentions), it’ll soon be producing a fleet of all-electric Town and Country minivans for the United States Postal Service. The automaker has voiced its plans to apply for a federal grant in order to get things moving, though it will be looking to utility companies Duke Energy and ConEd to make it all come together. If all goes well, the vans produced will have a range of around 40 miles, though it’s expected that they will have a gasoline-powered motor on board in case that last overnight package requires just a few more miles. ‘Course, there’s no guarantee that the application will result in a grant, but for all those who appreciate comedy, we can only hope it flies though in record time.

Filed under: Transportation

Chrysler aims to produce all-electric USPS pimpmobiles… er, minivans originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 02:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Cool Hunter: Take the IPEVO TR-10i for example, your new desktop pal. It’s the ultimate accomplice for anyone who uses Skype and iChat as much as we have been lately.

So what exactly does it do? It works as a desktop mic, a speakerphone and also as a handset for when you want to take a private call. With dedicated Skype buttons, you may never have to pay for a call again. Want to record a call to listen back to at a later date or to add to your podcast? This gadget has got you covered. It also weighs next to nothing so is pretty handy to take with you on business trips and of course it helps that it is a bit of a good looker.

IPEVO – Enhancing Experiences Over The Internet [The Cool Hunter]

Truthfully, we’re having a hard time coming to grips with this. For as long as we wished that these two would stop bickering, it’s actually tough to swallow the fact that we’ll never again be able to write about “yet another lawsuit” between Qualcomm and Broadcom (in theory, anyway). After nearly three full years of fighting with pencils, papers and soulless words, the courtroom throwdowns are finally ceasing. In a shocking development, the two rivals have entered into a settlement and multi-year patent agreement that will “result in the dismissal with prejudice of all litigation between the companies, including all patent infringement claims in the International Trade Commission and US District Court in Santa Ana, as well as the withdrawal by Broadcom of its complaints to the European Commission and the Korea Fair Trade Commission.” The exact terms of the deal are posted after the break, though you should know that Qualcomm will have to shell out $891 million in cash (ouch!) over the next four years. The lawyers may be out of work, but you can rest assured that there’s no shortage of abhorrence between these frenemies.

Continue reading Broadcom and Qualcomm agree to stop suing one another, but not to stop hating

Filed under: Cellphones

Broadcom and Qualcomm agree to stop suing one another, but not to stop hating originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Apr 2009 22:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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