Xfire Review

I have been gaming for a long time now, since Call of Duty 1 came out and when I was playing the game, I found a great way of communication to friends while playing the game.

The programme is called Xfire. It is a great tool to talk to your friends with or without a mic. I like Xfire because it is so easy to use. All I have to do is download the programme from here, then create and account, then you add all your friends. It automatically finds all the games saved to your PC and it tracks when you play them . Your profile is automatically changed to let people know what your up to.

You can take screenshots of memorable moments or video times of glory with a simple touch of a button. The controls are easy to use and it recognises nearly every game on the market. You can even send files like an IM.

It is easily customisable with downloadable content and it even downloads patches when they come out.

A new feature recently added to Xfire was the feature to talk to people using AOL IM which is fantastic and also soon there will be an update to support a wide range of IMs in the future.

Apple Also Cheating with Bundling Internet Browser

Recently a row has come out about Microsoft bundling Internet Explorer with all of there operating systems. I don't really mind Microsoft doing this as I decide what Browser I use and I tend to download others. The thing is that, the big Companies which supply internet browsers are now having a go at Microsfoft for bundling this with their own software and would like the choice to either have the software bundled as well or completely get rid of it.

A few problems with I found, the first one being if you completely get rid of Internet Explorer how do you download other Browsers without having IE8. If you don't have it in the first place how do you go on the internet. Get IE8 here.

My next problem is that Apple also do this. They also bundle Safari with Mac OS X, so why aren't they getting told off by the companies. You can download FireFox like you can with Windows, so why do they have to be different. I dont understand why Mircosoft gets all the attention with this because they are not the other culprits. I would like to see Apple see some abuse from the companies because they shouldn't be out of the mess.

Apple is bassically getting out of a lot of stuff at the moment but I strongly hope that something happens about this. If you would like to download Safari to your Windows system, click here.

The Best Internet Browser for Me.

I think it is time to tell you what I think of Internet Browsers and which I think are the best ones. Obviously everybody is different and your needs are different to mine but I will try my best. I am going to talk about Google Chrome, Mozilla FireFox and Internet Explorer

As you can see to the left, its start with Google Chrome. At the moment I use this browser the most is it is the most fastest and easier to use. It has a great sleek design which means I can see more on the screen while having the best features of a built in Google Toolbar. I like were the tabs are and I love how it easily integrates with Flash and Java. Another feature which you get with Chrome is that if you tab starts to become unresponsive, it has its own Task Manager so you can easily stop and recover the tab which is great feature which you don't get it any of the other browsers. The built in Google Toolbar is fantastic because there is no need to download anything

else and I can easily start browsing. Download Chrome here.

The next Internet browser is Mozilla FireFox. FireFox is the browser I used the most before I found Chrome. I absolutely loved FireFox as it is easy to use, agile and can do anything you want it to do. It is basic which means it is simple to start and can make wonders when browsers. I would say the FireFox is a hardcore browser as it bulky but hard working.

One of the downsides to FireFox is that it uses up a lot of system recourse's and takes forever to start up unlike Chrome which has the fastest start up time. It does take a lot of RAM when you have a lot of tabs running, like I do but its something I would sacrifice for a great browser. Download FireFox Here.

The next contender is Internet Explorer, don't write these off because the new IE8 is very good and integrate very well with Windows 7. When I first started up IE8 it was the 2nd fastest to start up and I liked the new refined design and I enjoyed the easy to use tabs. Although the tabs take quite a while to load up it does have its advantages over the other browsers. The good thing wih IE8 is that, when you have multiple tabs you can view the tabs using the Windows 7 aero feature. Internet Explorer also has "Private Pages" which I like because I do like privacy when on the web. It has a good feature were you can have quick links to Windows Live and Wikipedia which is good but I don't see myself using the feature. I think that Internet Explorer has a big advantage as it is bundled with the Operating System. If you want to download Internet Explorer you can do so by Windows Update or by clicking here.

Even though Google Chrome is my favoured Internet browser I would consider using Internet Explorer because the features which come with it and the Windows 7 integratey. I still think Chrome is the better one though.

BitComet.. A Good Download Manager

Since I've tried to stop downloading torrents off the Internet, I still use Bitcomet.

One of the reasons why is, is that you can pause downloads which is very useful as my Internet connection is very unreliable, unlike Chrome which, if you loose connection you have to start the download again which is a pain if it is a big file.

Another reason why I still use it simply because I don't need to worry about it as it is just there waiting to downloading something.

My third reason is that I can easily switch between Chrome and Bitcomet by right clicking the link. I don't have to change lots of settings just to get Bitcomet to download a file. I also like the feature were you get to see how long it takes to download as Chrome does not give this feature. It is an easy design and is very handy.

On the other hand, it can be a pain because when downloading files it can take up a lot of CPU and physical memory, which does drain a lot of my power. Also one of its features were it automatically finds updates for software and downloads them for you is annoying as if I want an update I will do it myself. The ads are Little bit annoying but you do get used to them though.

It is still a great torrent downloader as that's my I got Bitcomet in the first place.

If you would like to use Bitcomet, Download here.

iTunes App Management Concept

I was looking through YouTube today and I came across a video which really hit me. I loved it really.

If you have an iPod touch and have 100's of apps, you may get very frustrated when you want to get all your apps in the right place. I know I do because just last week I spent an hour moving all my apps as I have 8 pages.

I found a video which somebody made which looks great. It shows how somebody photoshopped iTunes and made it look like you was managing applications. It does look very good and a great idea. I have already sent and E-mail to Apple about this discovery but we need your help to publicise the video.

Thanks for reading and please tell everyone about this.. I do have the emphasise that I didn't make the video featured on YouTube, and here's the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wfv0OJ1oMQ

Windows 7 RC. Now it's annoying.

I have now had Windows 7 Beta and RC for about 5 months now and I think its great, a lot better than all previous windows except Windows 98 of course! As I've said recently it is bundled with many great features including jump lists which I use a lot. The thing is, I have had the RC for, I think, 3 weeks now and it's failed me.

When upgrading from BETA to RC I did the right thing and did a clean install which didn't go so well as it kept some information on the PC. So I had to install it again. Second time round it worked. Now, I have got most of the applications I need to keep it secure and keep my happy it is getting on my nerves. For instance, yesterday I was on Trackmania Forever which is basically a free racing game. (Link provided at the bottom). It gave me a blue screen twice while creating my own track within an hour.

The thing is, why? After making a post about how good Windows 7 handles blue screens and problems, I am embarrassed. I'm going to send the reports to Microsoft tonight and found out why it has done it.

When I was in the BETA it was fine. I had no problems with any of my programmes and it was a breeze. I seem to have problem after problem with the RC unlike the BETA. My downstairs PC runs the BETA build 7077 and it is fine, not a single problem. My RC computer has crashed 5 times in the last 3 days.

What it happening.

http://www.trackmania.com/tm/index.php

Free Music.. Here it is.

Everybody wants free music with any legal issues well I have found one of the best free website which let you download good quality music for free. With Beemp3 you don't even have to sign up so you wont get any annoying spam e-mails.

All you have to do is search there music database and find your song. You can listen to it before you download and then you right click on the link, then download to your PC.

It is a great way to get music on the ball especially with fast speeds.

http://beemp3.com/

How to Make an iPod Touch become and iPhone

After a lot of research, I finally found away to make your iPod an iPhone for a cheaper price. Although, you will not be able to do this until after June when the new software update comes out, you can still do a lot of the things I mention.

1. Download Skype for your iPod. Skype is a great way to communicate to people very cheaply. Although you need a WiFi connection I have something you tell you about that later. You will need a Skype profile and you may need to purchase S

Skype Credit to call phones, it still works out cheaper.

2. Buy a microphone which will obviously be useful when calling people. I have found the best mic for this job. It is called the Switch easy. It is as small as a pin, literally and it does the job perfect. It fits into the headphone jack which is a bit of a downside but I wouldn't mind. I provided a link to the website.

http://www.switcheasy.com/products/ThumbTacks/ThumbTacks.php

Alternatively you could buy earphones with a built in mic which is just as good and you still have access to your earphones.

3. Subside to the BT WiFi service. The reason why you do this is because you aren't always at your house where you can get Internet access but with BT WiFi is pretty much everywhere. With prices ranging from £5 to £28 a month it is quick, cheap and easy to get wifi. Also with this, you don't have to use it for Skype, you can use it to browse the web and use your other applications.

4. Texting is also a big part about a phone. I have sorted the problem out for you. I have found a website which gives you free text messaging services to providers around the UK. It is free although there is a paid version. Here is a link http://www.doipod.com/webapps/ipod_touch_sms_text_messaging_uk/

5. The last one is a camera which does seem quite a hard challenge but once again I found away. With the new iPhone OS 3.0 coming out in June, I found a really good feature. This feature is the ability to create applications for custom accessories. This may take a while to develop but the simple concept is to create an app which is pretty much like the iPhone camera App but instead for an accessory. You will also need the camera. The problem with this is that you have to wait after June for this.

The Price

iPod Touch 16GB £214

Switch easy Thumbtack Mic £15

BT Wifi Middle PP £12.50 AM

Texting FREE

Camera App Est £5

Camera Accessory £20

=£254 +12.50AM

iPhone Contract

iPhone £155

Contract £35 a month (AM)

Camera App est £5

Camera Accessory £20

=£180 +£35 AM

iPhone PAYG

iPhone 16GB £400

Camera App est £5

Camera Accessory £20

=£425

In the Long run the iPod is cheaper as you would pay £630 for an 18 month contract

unlike the iPod touch which it will only be £225 for 18 months

iPod with Cameras. Maybe Not

I recently found a rumour spreading around the Internet that the new iPods which include the iPod Touch and the Nano may have an camera. Now this may be a cool idea, I think it is going to ruin what the main purpose of the iPod.

When I think of iPods, I think of music and maybe video on the go. Why would Apple put a camera into an iPod. It's very unlikely that it will go into an iPod Touch as it would defeat one of the main purposes of the iPhone which is that it has a camera. I know that the the iPhone will have a 3.2 MP camera which may make the Touch have a camera but what about the Nano.

What will happen to iPods if Apple just stick anything to it. I personally think that it's a great idea but very unlikely it will happen. I am also sorry for the rubbish picture as I couldn't find one today but I saw a really good 1 yesterday.

iPod Shuffle. Apple is Cheating.

Apple recently announced the release the their third generation iPod Shuffle, claiming it to be the smallest MP3 Player In the world. And it is but I do have a bone to pick with Apple.

When it first came out I loved it. It looks so cool and elegant. I would definitely buy one. I love how simple it is and the colours which may sound dull but it's a good choice.

The size is great as well but this is were my bone is. There is a reason why the iPod shuffle is so small. One of the reasons why is that all the controls are on the earphones. Great idea but what if you loose the earphone. Not great. Also inside it there isn't any moving parts. Basically there isn't anything in the thing.

Apple have basically made a case to put a memory card and a battery in it. No wonder its so small. What is the point of this, just to have "The Smallest MP3 Player in The World" claim with it.

Don't get me wrong, I love the iPod shuffle but Apple has cheated with this by whacking all this things off the actually iPod. Soon they will have the whole iPod inside the earphone and then claim it to be the smallest in the world. Who knows but I think they should concentrate on making it better not smaller even though that's the point of the Shuffle.

iPod Touch. Application Reviews

That is right. I have an iPod Touch and I go on it nearly more time than my PC so I thought I would share some of my apps because I want you to have the best apps like me. I ahve to admit that a lot of these are going to be games but I hope you like them.

Tap Tap Revenge 2

My first review is on TTR2 as the abreviation. I think it is the best free game, if not the best game in the App Store. All you do is tap notes as they get to the target zone. The more precise you hit the note, the more points you get. The Graphics is amazing and the replay is overhelming. With the new tracks coming every week and up coming artists to download for free it is a great game for the iPod touch and iPhone. I also think that Online play is great, espcially that I am ranked 600 in the world. I am not a geek by the way. Also there is a careers mode which shows your achievements and how many games you played and similar things. There is a two player if you have any friends and with 5 difficulties rangind from Kids to Extreme there is bundles of fun.

Cube Runner

This is a fantastic, firsly because it's free and also because you want to play over and over again. The Aim of the game is to navigate through as many cubes as possible. You are bassically a ship trying to miss all the cubes. The Further you get the higher the points. Annoyingly there isn't an online leader board but you can always tell everyone your score. The music is cool because it gets you in the mood for playing the game. It's a simple concept and a great idea.

That's it for the moment, I will have more apps soon.

Windows 7. My Thoughts

I have been on the Windows 7 Beta Test for 5 Months now and I am impressed. Very Impressed. Not just with the way Microsoft has handled this but how good the piece of software is.

When I found out about the Beta Test. I couldn't wait. I was a bit late but I got there in the end. When I downloaded it I burn it to a disc using PowerISO then I did an upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7 Build 7000. My first impressions were quite optimistic as I thought the new task bar looked cool and the new features looked impressive. I had no problems installing old software and quickly began using Windows as normal.

I love the new task bar because of the jump lists which really do make things go faster as that's the only thing I use to get to stuff these days.

Although this is a new feature in Windows I do believe that this is in Mac OS X for quite a long time. It's great as well because it works for a variety of programmes.

Another feature which I enjoy is new task bar because I am a busy person and I tend to have a lot of windows on at once. In XP this was a pain but in Windows 7 it was easy. I would have about 15 windows on at once at it was so easy to navigate between windows.

Another easy way to navigate through Windows is Aero Peak. I know that some of the features were installed in Windows Vista but I think it looks better because of the revamped task bar. ALT-Tabbing has never been easier easier because of Aero. Overall a very good feature in W7.

Four months after Build 7000 and then installed Windows 7 RC. I was very excited about this. I did the stupid thing and upgraded which is not recommended. After 3 weeks of upgrading I decided to do a clean install. The clean install is great because it runs a lot faster than upgrading. Although the RC is overall better than Beta, it has been a pain to me with a lot of minor problems. Don't let this put you off but it has been annoying.

I have found a scam that Microsoft has given us. That is that we were told that we would get the RC for 13 months but Microsoft didn't tell us that the Time bomb would actually start in 10 months causing the PC to shut down every 2 hours and displaying a "Windows is not Genuine" message every so often. I am not happy about that. Although, I think that there will be a few cracks for this problem soon as the date gets closer

Windows 7 has gone through a lot of development and it wouldn't be like this with our help. I certainly think I will be buying Windows 7 but I would like to have a look at the price tag first.

Blue Screens and The Know How of Them

After getting bored, I again started looking up some stuff. I found something very interesting.

I know that Blue Screens are an absolute pain but I found something that may help you. All the writing you see may look like rubbish but if you take the time to write all the codes then send them back to Microsoft they can tell you what has happened. Alternatively you could work it out yourself and maybe go into Safe Mode.

Now you may notice that Blue Screens only happen in Windows XP because it isn't as stable as the new Operating Systems but that's not completely true. If you are unlucky enough to have Windows Vista, you may notice that you don't get a lot of The Dreaded Blue Screen problem. That's because Microsoft actually thought about this. While in Windows XP, when lets say your Graphics Card shuts down XP would automatically go into a Blue Screen but in Vista it would try to recover it and keep your PC running. This is a great tool as it doesn't annoy you. If Vista successfully recover it it will tell you in the task bar.

If Vista can't recover the problem, it will tell you and then go into Blue Screen. After you restart, you will get a message saying that Windows recovered and you have the chance to send the information to Microsoft.

Windows 7 users should be even more impressed as the same function is integrated into the Operating System so you keep doing whatever your doing without any interruptions.

So, that's the annoyance of Blue Screens.

iTunes... Do You Actually Need It??

If you are lucky enough to own an iPod like me you will have to install iTunes. It's a powerful tool and is great for my iPod but we don't actually need it, as well as iTunes only copy and pastes music onto a memory card. Even you can do that.

Firstly, after doing a lot of research I found some cool things. My Computer went mad so I had o format my PC without any backed up information including all my iTunes stuff. I had to find some way to get the information from my iPod to my PC. I did. I found out that you r iPod stores all you information into Hidden Folders which you have to enable in your folder settings. Finding this out, I copied all of the Music back onto my PC and job done. If you want to find out how I did this, I provided a link to the software I used. http://www.digidna.net/diskaid/

Also, there is a programme which can do what iTunes does and better. It sorts all your music out and puts them onto your iPod. It's great. Although I don't use it I think its a very powrful tool. I definaley reccomend it. The downside to this is that you have to pay. If you would like to have a look at it, here you go. http://www.copytrans.net/ilibs.php

Thanks for reading and there will be more on the way.