Downloading: That Other Way to Get a Video Game
By Joe Hutsko
Game downloading services have been around for years and are only just beginning to make a dent in sales of packaged game software.
Archive for the 'Windows' Category
Smart phones that top the holiday list
These phones will let you send text messages, email and listen to tunes
By Joe Hutsko
On MSNBC: Hi “wow” factor: Apple’s Leopard upgrade is feature-rich
By Joe Hutsko
Also: Five coolest Leopard features
Early into Bioshock I was faced with a tough decision: Harvest my first Little Sister for more ADAM power, or Rescue her for half the ADAM reward - and Tennenbaum’s promise of another benefit at a later point?
I chose to Rescue, figuring I’ll go with harvesting on my next replay of BioShock (which is, to date, my favorite Xbox 360 game since the platform launched; full review to follow).
Sure enough, two (or maybe it was three) Rescues later, the following sequence occurred, giving up the plasmid “Hypnotize Big Daddy.”
“Hypnotize Big Daddy” plasmid reward:
Can the iPhone do double duty as a laptop?
Slick new phone proves it can go the distance as an all-in-one device
By Joe Hutsko
Also: iWish: iPhone updates we’d like to see
Love affair with iPhone cools when handset breaks
After four days with phone, trouble in paradise
By Joe Hutsko
Falling in lust with an expensive device like the iPhone sets owners up for a hard fall if it stops working. I know, because mine died after only four days into our relationship. Read the full story on MSNBC.com.
For some reason iTunes (on a Windows Vista PC, in this case) is having a problem syncing certain photos with my iPhone. I’ve created a separate iPhone folder for photos that I want to keep on the device, and filled it with 44 pictures for my test. But only 15 of the photos got transferred from the folder to the iPhone. What’s more, some of the photos that transferred are messed up, with weird errors, as shown with this one (bad resolution because I had to take it with a Nokia phone up close; I don’t have a digital camera).
Anyone else experiencing the same problem? Solutions? Comments welcome.
Four days old and my iPhone has crashed and won’t come back to life. It does not turn on when unplugged from USB cable or power adapter. When plugged into either of those, it starts up with the Apple logo for a few seconds, then goes black for a few seconds, then comes back to the Apple logo again, repeating the same thing all over and caught in an endless reboot/restart loop.
I tried restarting the iPhone by holding both the Home and Sleep/Wake buttons, as described in Apple’s iPhone help - but that’s simply meant to restart a stuck iPhone. Because the iPhone is caught in an endless loop iTunes does not recognize it, which means it cannot be restored.
I assumed there has to be some way to force the iPhone into recovery mode, so on a whim I held the Home and Sleep/Wake buttons through two of the restart cycles (about fifteen seconds) and got a yellow alert icon that instructed:
Please Connect to iTunes.iTunes found the iPhone and stated: iTunes has detected an iPhone in recovery mode. You must restore this iPhone before it can be used with iTunes.
iTunes then downloaded a software update. I clicked the Restore button and iTunes presented a warning message: Are you sure you want to restore the iPhone “iPhone” to its factory settings? All of your songs and other data will be erased, and the newest version of the iPhone software will be installed.
I clicked the Restore and Update button and iTunes popped up the message: Preparing iPhone for restore…
The iPhone then got caught in the endless restart loop again, trying over and over, until finally iTunes gave up after about two minutes and gave me the message: The iPhone “iPhone” could not be restored. An unknown error occurred (1603).
I’ll be going to the AT&T store where I purchased the iPhone with the hope that they’ll simply replace it with a new one, though whether they even have a replacement in stock remains to be seen.Stay tuned for updates.
Update (3:36 pm): I called the AT&T store where I bought the iPhone and the very helpful manager, Jason, said customers with bum iPhones must contact Apple for support. I contacted Apple by way of a public relations contact and was told someone would call me to take care of the unwell iPhone. While awaiting the call from Apple I decided to drive over to the Apple Store in Atlantic City to see if they could help more immediately.
Continue reading ‘iPhone crashed, keeps trying to reboot’
All the Films You Want to See, but When?
By Joe Hutsko
Downloading movies over a high-speed Internet connection offers the promise of convenience, but promise is the operative word for this new method.
Read the story on the New York Times.
Related: PODCAST
Tech Talk, June 20, 2007
Tom talks to writer Joe Hutsko about what it’s really like to download and watch movies from the various services vying to deliver video right to your PC or TV.
Five Safari for Windows tips
by Joe Hutsko
Apple this week jumped into the Windows Web browser world with Safari 3.0, available to download in beta form from apple.com/safari. Beloved by Mac users for its speed (but begrudged for incompatibilities with certain websites and features, including the inability to use those handy pop-up section navigations buttons on this site itself, for instance), Safari for Windows test-drivers will find some things old, some things new. Here are five tips to help you get started.
On MSNBC.com: Fellowship rules in ‘Lord of the Rings Online’
by Joe Hutsko
If ever there was a massively multiplayer role-playing game to take the uninitiated by the hand and lead the way, it’s “Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar.”
On MSNBC.com:
One game, three platforms: Which is best?
by Joe Hutsko
Does ‘The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion’ play better on an Xbox 360, PS3 or PC?
“Shivering Isles” lured the author back into playing “Elder Scrolls” on the Xbox 360. But which platform best showcases this epic adventure title — console or PC?
On MSNBC.com: Nike + iPod: Be all that iCan be? by Joe Hutsko
Also: Turn your iPod into a personal trainer & Five spring sports gadgets
In the story I mention how the lozenge-size sensor tucks into the Nike + running shoe, however you can also make clever use of Velcro to attach the sensor to your existing, non-Nike + runners. Better yet, I found a couple of inexpensive products that accomplish the same feet. Er, feat. See below.
Five tips to bolster security on your computer
by Joe Hutsko
You’ve heard the news – Microsoft’s new Windows Vista operating system is the safest Windows ever. The built-in firewall bests the one in Windows XP, and Defender does a decent job of protecting against sneaky spyware attackers bent on stealing your personal information. Even so, that doesn’t mean Vista is invulnerable – there’s always more you can do to protect your Vista desktop or notebook from picking up nasty stuff. From antivirus protection, to tweaking your browser’s protection settings, these tips will help boost your Vista PC’s immune system for all-around safer computing.
![Microsoft Windows Live OneCare 1.5 Online PC Care Subscription [12 Months]](http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000KN7DDE.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_V47007924_.jpg)
The Samsung BlackJack is beautiful to look at and the slightly rubberized finish feels nice in the hand. Using the main keyboard is pretty comfortable, however the center OK button and surrounding directional buttons often lead to mis-taps on either side.
The BlackJack’s screen is bright and ultra-sharp. Out of the box the phone syncs perfectly with Outlook. That means contacts, calendar and to-do items, emails - and thanks to an add-in extra, sticky notes, too. (For some reason Microsoft doesn’t offer Outlook sticky notes sync with Windows Mobile 5 as standard equipment, hence the helpful add-in that comes with the BlackJack.)
It’s worth mentioning that the BlackJack comes with two batteries, which suggests the battery life isn’t the greatest. Such was the case in my test of the phone, which meant I always had the extra one charging with the charger, and when at my desk I kept the phone plugged in to the USB cable to keep it charging at the same time. USB charging is always a nice touch, and one I appreciate on my Palm Treo 680 as well.
The BlackJack’s applications - Internet Explorer, Email, Media Player - run smoothly, but as with all Windows Mobile devices you may want to keep tabs on what’s running in memory, then manually cancel loaded but unused programs in order to maintain an overall snappier responsiveness when opening menus and operating programs. I’ve always found Windows Mobile devices a bit tricky to get used to, mostly because settings are scattered all over the place and require lots of hunting to get to exactly what you’re looking for, and the BlackJack was no exception.
Continue reading ‘Samsung BlackJack i607 review: Smart, sleek, but bound by data fees’
Stood in line last night with other journalists, for admittance to Microsoft’s Windows Vista (and Office 2007) launch event. It was cold out, and major kudos to the people managing the lines, checking bags (security was pretty tight; bomb-sniffing dogs included) and looking up our names and passing out badges with their bare hands. Mine own fingers were nearly frozen to the point of frostbite by the time I got inside. Not kidding. So to you folks, thank you, again.
Inside we milled about a bit then gathered in the auditorium to listen to some live music before Bill Gates took the stage, talked a bit about Windows past and then present, showed some slides and videos, was joined on stage by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, some partner executives, and eventually one of the families that’s been beta testing Vista for two years. Their major suggestion/contribution: A burn-to-disc button in Vista’s new bundled photo application (which I like a lot). Nothing new about that since other programs, including Apple’s iPhoto (which I don’t like at all), have had that ability for years, but no need to dwell.
The family’s beta-kids all pressed a touch-screen button to officially launch Vista around the world, and on several screens we watched some pretty cool videos of the event in other countries. It was sort of like watching New Years Eve in Times Square on TV, when you see 12 o’clock ringing in in Sydney, Paris, and other locales.
Afterward I checked out Toshiba’s sweet little Portage R400 notebook/tablet PC with wireless dock (going to request one for a future review, here) and went to the bar to order a Manhattan.
Continue reading ‘From Times Square, Windows Vista launches around the world’
Update: Video of Joe’s “Mac vs. Vista” appearance on MSNBC news on 2/3/07.
Update: Audio of JOEyGADGET on TechTalkRadio.com on 2/4/07.
A Mac user switches to Vista by Joe Hutsko
Reporter trades in his PowerBook for a notebook with Microsoft’s new OS
Reporter Joe Hutsko made the switch several weeks ago, from his 12” PowerBook to a 17” HP widescreen notebook in order to try out Microsoft’s new operating system Windows Vista.
Cash-poor but Vista-ready? by Joe Hutsko
Whether your existing PC is too low on power or your wallet short on enough bucks to spring for a new computer with Windows Vista already on it, these add-ons give Windows XP some very Vista-like personality.
![Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate FULL VERSION [DVD]](http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000HCTYTE.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_V49826378_.jpg){kind=small}
Get Vista Ultimate at Amazon.com - but be prepared to pay big bucks.
My gadgets, gear and game machine picks for TV Guide’s Holiday Gift Guide for 2006. Happy Holidays!
Recent Comments