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Latest Gear Live Videos
Beta Player: Better Than Mobile Windows Media Player
Posted by Jared Hislop Categories: Handhelds, Microsoft, Product Reviews, Software,
With Windows Mobile 5.0 released, and with Windows Mobile 2003 still around, many people have discovered that Windows Media Player for Windows Mobile has some flaws. With Windows Media Player (WMP) unable to play .divx files or .ogg files, many users are left needing software capable of features that WMP does not offer. Enter Beta Player, free software for your Windows Mobile device that can do all the things WMP can not and then some.
Supported file containers:
- AVI (*.avi)
- Matroska (*.mkv, *.mka)
- MP4 (*.mp4, *.m4a)
- Ogg Media (*.ogg, *.ogm)
- ASF (*.asf)
Supported audio codecs:
- Mpeg 1 Layer III
- Ogg Vorbis
- Musepack
- Windows Media Audio (on Windows Mobile devices)
- AC-3
- AMR
- Adpcm, uLaw
Supported video codecs:
- DivX
- XviD
- MPEG4-SP (plus B-frame support)
- MPEG1
- M-JPEG
- Windows Media Video (on Windows Mobile devices)
Beta Player is considered open source software, and has a very active community. It’s also available for a variety of different devices, so even if you don’t have a Windows Mobile device, you can still usethe product. I personally use Beta Player on my Windows Mobile device, the software was easy to install, and I have experienced no issues with it.
Read More 
| Beta Player
Gallery: Beta Player: Better Than Mobile Windows Media Player
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Freevo: TiVo Without The Cost
Posted by Jared Hislop Categories: HDTV, Home Entertainment, PC / Laptop, Software,
With TiVo ending their lifetime subscription, and many users frowning at the increased cost of the monthly subscription, open source solutions are beginning to look even better. Freevo is an open source alternative to TiVo - all you need is an aging PC running a Linux distribution and a cheap TV tuner card or two. Freevo has all of the features that a TiVo box has, and a few that TiVo does not offer. The Freevo project is well documented, and has a very active community. Most people with a little knowledge of Linux should have no trouble getting it up and running. With Freevo, you are not locked into proprietary hardware either; you are free to customize your Freevo PC however you like. With the decreasing costs of PC hardware and no subscription fee, open source projects like Freevo are looking better and better.
Read More | Freevo
Gallery: Freevo: TiVo Without The Cost
The Easy Way To Play DivX On Your Xbox 360
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Home Entertainment, Mods / Hacks, Software, Video Games,
We have hated that face that there is a severe lack of DivX support on the Xbox 360 on Microsoft’s part. While a hack was created back at the beginning of the year, it wasn’t something that people wanted to go out of their way to set up. Finally, thanks to our friend Jake Ludington, you can watch your DivX content on your Xbox 360 with minimal fuss using a free product called MCE Video Encoder. Check out MediaBlab for all the information, including screenshots and instructions.
Read More | Jake Ludinton’s MediaBlab
Gallery: The Easy Way To Play DivX On Your Xbox 360
60% Of Windows Vista To Be Rewritten?
Posted by John Goulden Categories: Corporate News, Microsoft, Rumors, Software,
It came as no surprise to anyone when Microsoft announced that the consumer versions of Windows Vista would be delayed until January 2007. Following swiftly was news that Microsoft is reshaping its Platforms & Services Division (Windows and Windows Live) by bringing Senior Vice President Steven Sinofsky over from the successful Office Division, where he has worked since 1994. Steven was picked to bring the misguided division back on track and on schedule.
Today we have more news that Office 2007 will be purposely delayed to coincide with the 2007 launch of Vista, and a disturbing rumor that 60% of the Windows Vista code will need to be rewritten prior to its release. Luckily, Robert Scoble posted earlier that this rumor was completely false, killing the notion that employees were being pulled from the Xbox division (among others) to help with the rewriting of code.
Read More | Smarthouse (60% code rewrite)
Read More | Microsoft (restructuring details)
Gallery: 60% Of Windows Vista To Be Rewritten?
Microsoft Delays Office 2007
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Microsoft, Software,
On the heels of their announcement of the delay of Windows Vista, Microsoft issued a statement today which states that Office 2007 will be delayed as well. Originally expected to hit the market by the end of the year, Microsoft is choosing to delay the launch of the new Office suite until January 2007 to coincide with Windows Vista’s retail debut. Microsoft Office 2007 will still be finished in October 2006, and will be available to business customer who purchase bulk licenses at that time. Malina Johnson, a spokeswoman with Microsoft’s public relations firm Waggener Edstrom, said in an e-mail that the decision to delay the release of the retail version is “simply an indication of our desire to provide an easy retail experience by coordinating delivery with Windows Vista.” Looks like Office 2007 will end up living up (or down) to it’s name.
(Thanks Veronica!)
Gallery: Microsoft Delays Office 2007
Security Hole In IE Vulnerable To Attack
Posted by Kristin Wenzel Categories: Internet, Microsoft, Software,
Code with which to exploit a hole in Microsoft Internet Explorer has been published on the Internet, leaving a lot of PC users uneasy about security issues. Internet Explorer is infamously prone to security problems, even with the so-called “fully patched” Internet Explorer 6 running on XP with Service Pack 2. There have been no reported attacks thus far, but all a user would need to do is unwittingly visit a website with the code embedded in it. Yet another reason to switch to Mozilla Firefox, or start using a Mac.
Code that takes advantage of a security hole in Internet Explorer has been published on the Web and could be used by someone to unleash an e-mail virus that could put people’s computers and data at risk, Microsoft and security experts said Thursday.
Read More | CNET
Gallery: Security Hole In IE Vulnerable To Attack
Browser Plugin Converts Prices From Cash to Oil
Posted by Kristin Wenzel Categories: Internet, Software,
Oil Standard is a browser plugin that converts prices from US Dollars to the equivilent value in barrels of crude oil. When you load a web page, the script seamlessly inserts converted prices into the page. As the cost of oil fluctuates on the commodities exchange, prices rise and fall in real-time. We’re not quite sure what the point of this plugin is, other than the interesting perspective it provides on money, but it’s sort of neat. Oil Standard is built for FireFox, and instructions for installing it, if you so desire, are on the site.
Read More | OilStandard
Gallery: Browser Plugin Converts Prices From Cash to Oil
Ever wonder how it is exactly that iTunes works? Well, we have your hookup — no need to wonder any longer. HowStuffWorks has published a complete, exhaustive, in-depth article explaining in detail how iTunes actually works.
The iTunes Music Store is composed of XML-based pages, lots of them encrypted using 128-bit AES in CBC mode. AES-CBC is a type of symmetric-key encryption. AES (“advanced encryption standard”) basically takes a 128-bit block of code and reorganizes it into a 128-bit block of “ciphertext” using a particular key (an encryption algorithm). CBC mode (“cipher block chaining”) is a method of disguising any encryption patterns that might reveal the key.
It’s really quite an interesting read, covering all the aspects of what iTunes does, how it works, and why. Great for the inquisitive mind, the Apple geek, or anybody with an inquisitive nature.
Read More | HowStuffWorks
Gallery: How iTunes Works
Windows Vista Delayed - Again
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Microsoft, Software,
Just when it looked like Microsoft was on track with Windows Vista, the OS sees another delay. In a fantastically positive press release, Microsoft said that the consumer version of Windows Vista would not ship until January 2007 - a full two months after they originally hoped to get it on the market. Business customers will still be able to purchase and run Vista in November 2006, but Microsoft wants to make sure security issues are ironed out before releasing the product to the masses.
Read More | Vista Press Release
Gallery: Windows Vista Delayed - Again
On March 14th, Google boldly went where no search engine has gone before: to Mars. With the launch of Google Mars, they extend their Google Maps service to interplanetary lengths, allowing you to search and discover Mars all on your own. Want to play astronaut? You can zoom, pan, and switch between elevation, infrared and photographic views of the Martian landscape. Cool!
Read More | Google Mars
