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Magix, a media software company, will release Movies on CD & DVD 4. For those of you unfamiliar with the previous versions of the software, this is a video authoring tool. Here are the newest features included in the latest version:
- Copyright-conforming backup copies and 1:1 DVD & (S)VCD duplicates
- MovieShow Maker with rhythmic editing and 12 styles
- Fully automatic TV ad killer
- Enhanced MPEG2 handling
- Easy On editing
- Practical Task Assistant
- Compatible autoplay CDs
- Perfect 1-click optimization
- Dynamic “picture-in-picture” effects
- Great effects combinations
- Improved DVD player menus
- Easy CD/DVD multi-copying
- Supports digital TV streams (DV)
- Burn extended CD-ROMs
- “Overburn” CD-R(W) blank disc
- Easy-to-follow disc capacity display
- Full screen program interface
- Enhanced MJPEG import options
This is a cool all-in-one type of software. You can make backups of your DVD’s - legally, according to them- bypassing those pesky copyrights usually blocking you from making copies of your DVD’s. However, it also converts your DV movies. An additional feature which I find extremely useful is the overburning CD-R’s If you like to make SVCD’s and VCD’s this is perfect for getting 900MB out of your burnable CD’s - pending on your burning hardware and CD-R manufacturer. The software comes out September 15th and will retail for $39.99. So go ahead and start
making backups of your DVD’s. Check out the press release after the jump.
Click to continue reading Magix Movies on CD and DVD 4
A study provided by Intel states the following:
Nearly one in five people admitted to being unreliable about timekeeping because they had the “safety net” of a mobile. Three quarters said mobiles had made them more “flexible” when meeting friends - allowing them to arrange or cancel social gatherings at the last minute.
In retrospect from my own experience, I realized that even I allow extra time to be late if I know that my friend has a a cell phone that I can call and say that I’m running five minutes late. The studies continues to add:
Seventy-five per cent of people said they were more “spontaneous” with their social lives thanks to mobiles and a similar number said they knew far more about what was going on in their friends’ lives because of e-mails and text messages.
Isn’t it interesting that the things that are supposed to make are lives easier and more comfortable can give us a false sense of security making us lose track of time? That being said, apologies to my buddies for always being late.
Read More 
| Telegraph via PhysOrg
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Gear Live Podcast: Tom Bihn, Automatic Doors, OSx86, Treo 670, Xbox 360 Accesories
Posted by Edwin Soto Categories: Handhelds, Internet, Podcasts, Video Games,
We are back on the podcast tip this week, expanding on some of the more popular topics we’ve have talked about over the past several days. In this edition:
- Tom Bihn Brain Bag Review
- Tom Bihn Monolith Review
- Japanese Prototype Automatic Door Takes Complicated Leap Forward
- Hacked OSx86 Will Run On PC Hardware
- Palm Chooses HTC to Manufacture Treo 670
- Microsot Limits 3rd Party Xbox 360 Accessories
- South Korean Man Dies After 50-Hour Gaming Marathon
Click here to download the MP3, or you can just subscribe to the Gear Live Podcast feed. You can also subscribe to us directly through iTunes as well.
Voices: Edwin Soto, Sparky, Jesse Easley
Length: 30:06, 20.7 MB
Don’t forget to vote for us on Podcast Alley! Also, be sure to check out the Gear Live Odeo Channel, and subscribe there are well.
LISTEN | Gear Live Podcast
Latest Gear Live Videos
At first glance at the title I said to myself, “This must be as useful as a solar powered flashlight.” Then I noticed that it’s actually a very cool little device that runs on a solar powered rechargeable lithium battery. Small enough to fit in your pocket and moderately priced at $25 dollars, this may be a perfect gift for the tech lover in your family.
Read More | Skylight via Treehugger
Tux Stands Offer iPod Elegance
Posted by Alex Grahmann Categories: Accessories, Portable Audio / Video,
The Plasticsmith, a company specializing in Apple accessories, has begun selling its new tux line of iPod and iPod mini stands. The stands, made of clear acrylic, give your iPod a firm place to sit, with an added touch of here-to-fore unheard-of class. The stands leave both top and bottom connection ports available and are stabilized by rubber feet underneath. The stands, which sell for around $35 each, look like they would make a great gift for the professional in the family who tries to maintain the high-brow look of their office, but still wants to jam out to their tunes at work.
Read More | The Plasticsmith
After ten years of development, Denmark’s Vestergaard Frandsen Group has unveiled the LifeStraw, a small tube capable of purifying drinking water powered by the suction of the user. The straw costs only $2 USD to manufacture and can provide safe drinking water for one person for up to a year. Because of the product’s avoidance of any need for electricity, the promise of mass-production for third-world or otherwise safe-water-deprived nations is enormous. In the hands of capable relief organizations and compassionate donors, the LifeStraw could make huge strides in reducing the number of people around the world who die of water-born diseases, which now stands at 6,000 a day.
Read More | Gizmag
EA Researching the Use of Video Games in Schools
Posted by Alex Grahmann Categories: Corporate News, Video Games,
Four schools in the UK will play host to a £300,000 joint research venture between gaming company EA and an IT research firm NESTA Futurelab. The study will investigate the viability of video games as an educational tool. While the project is still in the phase of choosing which games will be used, the team has already made it clear that it hopes to see students improve in skills such as “problem-solving, resilience, persistence and collaboration.” They should add to that list “turtle-bouncing, princess-rescuing, and leveling-up.”
Read More | Computing
This is a nifty little application for smartphone users. Photo Contacts PRO allows you to manage your pictures on your phone, and integrate them to your contacts. You can have a full screen photo pop up when you receive a call, or click on a photo to initiate a call. You can download a demo version on the site or purchase it for $26.95. Upgrade customers get a discount for a total of 14.95.
Read More | Photo Contacts PRO via msmobiles
Recently Gear Live commented on the lack of good camera phones in the US - a situation that might be on the mend soon enough. The brand new Sharp 903SH 3.2MP Camera phone with 2x optical zoom and high quality glass is about to hit stores in the UK. Pocket Lint gave it very favorable reviews and liked the multimedia capabilities that the 903SH made possible using the included MiniSD card. Hopefully this is the start of a good trend that will eventually spell the end of the the stand along consumer camera.
Read More | Pocket Lint via Gizmodo
The recent rave of Windows virus infections from Zotob paints a chilling picture about the virus life-cycle. Mere days after the security weakness in the popular Microsoft operating system was discovered and a patch was made available, the Zotob worm was unleashed infecting computers at record speed. In the past the cycle between an exploit being published and viruses being written to take advantage of them had been years or even months - does this new shortened life-span (also seen in recent viruses like Slammer and Sobig) indicate that eventually exploits will be widely abused even before operating system developers have a chance to react? It sounds like it might be a good time to start looking at alternatives to the Microsoft operating system such as Apples OS X or various Linux distributions. Although even they too may some day be plagued with viruses at least for now they secure by todays standards.
Read More | Physorg
