Apr 01

Razer Chimaera wireless Xbox 360 headset review

Posted in: audio, headphones, headset, Microsoft, peripheral, razer, review, Today's Chili, xbox 360, Xbox360

When a product takes well over a full year to go from introduction to release, it’s natural for consumer expectations to amp themselves up a notch or two. Such is the case with Razer’s Chimaera, an Xbox 360-centric wireless gaming headset that was initially teased at CES 2010, and just started shipping to end users early this year. The company’s been in the gaming headset business for some time now — if you’ll recall, we thoroughly enjoyed our time with the (wired) Carcharias headset right around two years back. This 2.1 system promises to give Xbox Live yappers exactly what they’ve been waiting for, but is it really worth the $129.99 entry fee? Head on past the break for our take.

Gallery: Razer Chimaera wireless Xbox 360 headset hands-on

Continue reading Razer Chimaera wireless Xbox 360 headset review

Razer Chimaera wireless Xbox 360 headset review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 12:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 01

Results from the Windows Early Feedback Program

Posted in: Email, Microsoft, Software, Today's Chili, Windows, Windows Vista

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

Windows KeyMicrosoft sent out an email the other day that outlined some of the most requested Windows features according to real users. These responses were taken from the "Windows Early Feedback Program" that started back in November 2006 as a way for Microsoft to find out where their shortcomings are.

The email, which I have posted below, has just under 70 suggestions from the 1700+ submissions. You had to be invited to take the survey, and unfortunately I was never given that opportunity. Even though I wasn’t selected to give my feedback, I was still able to get my hands on the email that was sent out by someone who did take the survey. I don’t believe that the results were supposed to be posted like this, but that’s what they get for not including me in the program and making me agree to some sort confidentiality clause. Isn’t the Internet wonderful? :)

In the email below you will find a decently long list of features that the Windows Beta team has "recommended" to be incorporated or fixed in future versions of Windows. The bold text was done by me to indicate the features that I would personally like to see, and some are a little unrealistic (come on, like Microsoft would be able to incorporate antivirus protection without security-related companies raking them over the coals).

Without further ado I present the email…

Since November of 2006 we have received 782 New Feature Suggestions, 562 Change Feature Suggestions, and 384 Defect Reports from members of the Windows Early Feedback Program. During periodic reviews we look at those issues that have acquired the highest number of your votes. Although the total number of votes is the most important it isn’t the sole determinant of whether or not an issue is recommended for consideration. We also contemplate other factors such as business, technology inputs, and our ability to reproduce reported issues.

So far the Windows Beta team has recommended that the below issues be incorporated, or a fix made, into future versions of Windows operating systems.

This is not a complete list and it will be updated periodically as we receive more votes and suggestions. As always our recommendations do not assure that the listed issues will be addressed in the future versions of Windows. You can, however, rest assured that the Windows Beta team is doing its best to make sure your voices are being heard and acted upon. There is an excellent chance that you will see some of your suggestions addressed in the Beta1 of the next version of Windows!

Your feedback is extremely important to us so we encourage you to keep up the great work! We would also like to encourage you to review existing feedback generated by your fellow participants in the Windows Early Feedback program and vote on issues that are important to you. Lastly it has been wonderful to see so much activity in the microsoft.beta.windows.earlyfeedback.customer_discussion newsgroup. We look forward in continuing to share your vision, thoughts, and passion for the Windows operating system. See you there!

The Windows Beta Team

[FEATURES]
246472 Basic download manager for Internet Explorer
246644 Image (ISO, BIN) support in Windows
248426 Family license
246465 Multi-session Remote Desktop
246493 IE7 should include a session restore feature
247399 Allow other Windows PCs to act as Media Center Extenders
246638 Allow Reordering Taskbar (Application) Buttons
246650 Extended Windows Update to cover 3rd party application updates and 3rd party driver updates
246656 Virtual Desktop Feature
246703 No dialog should take keyboard focus away from what you are doing
249765 Freely Open-Up UXTheme.dll allowing users to apply their own Visual Styles to Windows
247679 Windows should allow deactivation on non OEM machines
244352 Record live tv when you rewind
247237 Built-in Codec Manager
246702 Multiple taskbars for mult-monitor
276001 Include Pinball into next version of Windows
247201 Need Tweak-UI power tool for next version of Windows
246494 Implement Vector GUI in the next version of Windows
247209 Patch operating system without having to reboot
246508 Add Folder Size to data displayed in Windows Explorer
247021 Live CD or DVD to boot from to recover from a crash or virus that would allow to transfer files
244119 Allow users to customize indexing more effectively
246502 Disallow removable (usb/firewire) drives to default to next available drive letter when the letter is already used by other network drives
246777 Windows Mail should be minimizable to the system tray
247215 User needs simple way to indentify and obtain driver for UNKNOWN devices displayed in device manager
263788 Windows Internet Explorer: Add "Undo close tab" option (as in Firefox)
246515 Windows Backup should have more file choice options and should allow user to back-up specific files he selects
247584 Command Prompt should be improved
246674 Integrated Anti-Virus
246575 Built-in spell checker for Internet Explorer
246534 More desktop themes should be offered in the default installation of the next version of Windows
246591 IE direct file download – do not download to temp folder
246706 Allow different background pictures per monitor
247380 Apply the Aero UX guidelines consistently throughout Windows
267872 Allow windows user to submit feedback on installations from Windows Update
270404 Internet Explorer MUST have inline find
247161 Add a feature to parental control letting you choose how much time children can connect, not only when.
270643 Updated, powerful Partition Manager built into Windows
246790 Low Disk Space Warning should have individual settings for each partition
247130 Create a new user type for Child with a protected desktop controlled by parent.
246752 Windows Media Extenders should be able to play DivX and Xvid files
246496 Add a message to the "Computer Locked" screen
244127 UAC Badge on all icons that will require UAC prompt
246844 Support Boot from EFI ( Extended Firmware Interface ) or UEFI
246920 Screen resolution saved in profile
247239 Replace error ID number with plain language explanation
248520 Add An Icon To Programs Running With Elevated Rights

[BUGS]
252302 Calculating time remaining takes forever before files are actually copied
247025 OS needs enforced Tabbed Browsing Settings in IE7 Vista
246570 Explorer unable to remember views for folders
251427 Calendar Crash on Startup and crash each time have to remember an appointment
246556 USB devices are not active when returning from S3 or S4 sleep
253896 DVD/CD drive tray should not open automatically
246959 Vista: Regedit: Open Folder and Close Folder have the same icon
277724 Address bar or search box becomes unfocussed during loading a page
246564 Windows Activation does not always work through proxy servers
246580 no way to stop windows defender form showing msconfig as an unwanted startup item
271026 Disk Cleanup can not delete shadow copies and restore points in x64 because of an incorrect shortcut in the Start Menu
245720 Setup changes Time when changeing TimeZone when eg living in The Netherlands
252381 Sidebar gadget creep on desktop
251119 Disk manager displays drive letters as "available" when already assigned to drives
252163 UAC requirement not shown on network connection context menu
246992 Change menu color doesn’t work; it only append a line of the choosed color to the end of the menu
246964 Wizards should not have fixed size backgrounds
276363 Update KB931768 breaks IE 32 and 64 on Vista 64
272357 high cpu useage with animated dreamscenes
245946 twice asked for kind of network environment to be used
246705 MCE: Rapid REW and FWD causes TV playback to loose frames
277089 USB drive with corrupted filesystem and ReadyBoost gives stop error 0×00000023 after inserting

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Apr 01

April Fools’ Day 2011–who’s gonna get you, sucka?

Posted in: Today's Chili

The annual prank fest is once again upon us. Behold the foolhardy brainstorms from the likes of Google (again and again and again), Hulu, Toshiba, and a spacey Richard Branson.

Originally posted at The Digital Home

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Apr 01

Google News Falls for Ballmer/Gates April Fool’s Joke

Posted in: Google, Microsoft, Miscellaneous Tech, Today's Chili

ballmer out.jpg

Oh April Fool’s Day–it’s a 24-hour-long stream of annoyance, frustration, and anger, all in the name of organized hilarity. The advent of the Internet has, for better or worse, allowed respectable news organizations to get into the mix (See: PCMag’s own Post-PCMag site). 
Some pranks make their presence known right off the bat. Others a bit more difficult to parse at first glance. And then, sometimes, a well-timed joke will really hit the zeitgeist. Both InfoWorld and RedmondMag “reported” today that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer had stepped down, so his predecessor Bill Gates could take the helm of the company he cofounded.
The stories hit just right for two reasons–first, there was yesterday’s surprise announcement that Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci stepped down, following disagreements with his company’s board of advisors. And then there were the excerpts from Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s upcoming book, which do a little good, old-fashioned Gates bashing (according to Allen, Gates had schemed to take control of company shares while Allen was battling cancer). 
Google picked up the two stories in a news cluster and punctuated them with an image from the former–an old black and white photo of Gates and Allen in friendlier times. The question is, how long will it take for that news cluster to grow?
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Apr 01

IEEE approves next generation WiMAX standard, invites you to meet 802.16m

Posted in: 4G, mobile broadband, MobileBroadband, Today's Chili, WiMAX, wwan

It’s a term (and a technology) that has been bandied about for around four years now, but after waiting far too long for the next next best thing, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers has just given its oh-so-coveted stamp of approval to 802.16m. For those unfamiliar with such a term, that’s the standard for next generation WiMAX, which may end up being capable of handling downstream rates of over 300Mbps. ‘Course, those that were around during CEATEC last year know that Samsung already hit that in testing, but we’re starting to feel as if that 1Gbps theoretical maximum that we were teased with in 2007 (and again last year) won’t ever breach reality. It’s tough to say what this approval means on the consumer front — over the past four years, a tremendous amount of carriers have switched their allegiance to LTE, and even if WiMAX 2.0 finds itself ready for public consumption in the near future, it’ll take a serious operator commitment before you’ll ever enjoy the spoils. So Sprint, you feeling froggy?

Continue reading IEEE approves next generation WiMAX standard, invites you to meet 802.16m

IEEE approves next generation WiMAX standard, invites you to meet 802.16m originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 11:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 01

MOG: Mini Adds More Cloud-Based Audio Streaming

Posted in: Mini, MP3 Digital Audio, streaming, Today's Chili

Mini_MOG_P90074062_highRes.gif

Mini will be adding the MOG on-demand music streaming service via its Mini Connected application. For $10 a month, the motorist can choose the music that plays through his or her iPhone and then through the Mini’s head unit. It’s broadly similar to the Pandora streaming music service except Pandora provides cheaper music (free to $5 a month) without the ability to pick and choose exactly what plays. The required Mini Connected app is free at the iTunes store, but the hardware requirements add $1,250 to the price of a new Mini.

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Apr 01

Get ‘Planet Earth’ on Blu-ray for $24.99

Posted in: Today's Chili

It’s not only a breathtaking, eye-opening view of heretofore unseen parts of our world, but also a wonderful, relaxing escape from the often-horrific parts we do see.

Originally posted at The Cheapskate

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Apr 01

Netflix adds more Fox content to streaming including Glee S1, Ally McBeal

Posted in: netflix, streaming, Television, Today's Chili, watch instantly, WatchInstantly

In a nice rebound from last week, Netflix is expanding its non-exclusive agreement with Fox for content, bringing older shows Ally McBeal and The Wonder Years to Watch Instantly for the first time. Also arriving are the first season of Glee and the first two seasons of Sons of Anarchy from FX with additional seasons to be added annually, as well as “a number of library movies” after their premium pay-tv windows subside. It’s not exactly the cable TV competing type of deal that it just locked up with Paramount in Canada, but fans of those shows have a few more reasons to hang on to the service. Beyond the announcement a slew of new content popped up on the service today including the just-aired premiere episode of Body of Proof, BBC stuff like Top Gear and Luther, a few James Bond flicks and anime like Inuyasha and Bleach, so even if you’re not a gleek (and disappointed because if Netflix and Fox are talking, the only topics of discussion should be commissioning new seasons of Firefly and Terriers) there’s plenty of reasons to update that queue today.

Continue reading Netflix adds more Fox content to streaming including Glee S1, Ally McBeal

Netflix adds more Fox content to streaming including Glee S1, Ally McBeal originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 11:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 01

Skype in the Classroom tears down geographic walls, connects pupils the world over

Posted in: skype, Today's Chili, video

Cisco’s doing it in the boardroom, and soon, your children may be taking notes from kiddos situated in a different continent. Skype in the Classroom is a new online platform that aims to make it easier for teachers to find other teachers who are utilizing Skype within their classes, and already there are 3,900+ taking advantage. The goal here is to enable professors to easily reach out and find like-minded individuals who are covering complementary topics, and with a quick email, the two could be cooking up joint lesson plans a dozen time zones apart. As of now, 99 countries have teachers that are signed on, and we’re guessing it’s only a matter of time before a couple more join and push that into triple digits. Next step? Logging into first period from home. Or Fiji.

Continue reading Skype in the Classroom tears down geographic walls, connects pupils the world over

Skype in the Classroom tears down geographic walls, connects pupils the world over originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 11:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 01

Studios Charging $30 For Gently Used Movies

Posted in: Movies, Today's Chili
You’ll pay $12 to see a movie in theaters and $5 to rent a new movie at your local Blockbuster (well, fewer and fewer on the latter front, I suppose). How much would you pay to rent a movie fresh out of theaters, not quite ready for the DVD release? A number of major Hollywood studios are betting that the number is pretty high. Time Warner, Sony, Comcast and News Corp-owned studios are experimenting with new rental pricing–$30 a pop.
The studios have christened the new pricing plan “premium VOD.” The main justification for the pricey entrance fee is the absurd amount of money is costs to actually watch a film in theaters. Now, granted, the aforementioned $12 is New York prices–the national average is apparently closer to $8. But let’s say you invite some friends over and make popcorn in your microwave. You may actually be getting off cheap at $30.
At the very least, this is a sign that Hollywood is open and reasonably flexible when it comes to monetizing films in the future–and heck, it sure beats the MPAA’s standard policy of suing Internet users.
The films will be available 60 days after their theatrical run ends. The studios don’t expect premium VOD to eat into box office, as the lion’s share of money comes from the first few weeks of a film’s release. 
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