The Blu-ray Way To Play Films

When I was at my aunt’s house for a family gathering a couple weeks ago, my cousins brought over a DVD for their kids to watch. The only problem is that my aunt had only a VHS tape player and no DVD player. It’s a good thing my cousins toted along a portable DVD player. My aunt commented that even the portable DVD player would be too behind the times for me. Yes, I guess that will be true once I’m able to acquire Blu-Ray very soon.

No, Blu-ray isn’t some new high-tech laser weapon or something. It’s a new format that will probably replace DVDs someday. Discriminating high-definition (HD) fans will definitely notice the difference. If you’ve ever seen HD video on an HDTV, then you know what I’m talking about. The picture is incredibly sharp, and the colors are vivid. HD offers five times the amount of detail compared to the quality of standard-definition (SD), which is what our DVDs today use. Blu-ray discs offer up to 50GB of storage capacity (compared to a typical 4.7 GB DVD) and enables playback, recording and rewriting of HD in all of the HD resolutions up to the highest 1080 pixels, in addition to supporting HD audio formats.

You will be able to watch Blu-ray discs on Sony’s BDP-S1 Disk Player. It is designed to deliver 1920 x 1080 pixel output, supports various high quality video codecs and will still be able to play your DVDs (including MP3 audio files and JPEG images stored on DVDs). The VAIO RC300 desktop is the first Blu-ray disc enabled desktop computer. It will be capable of playing and writing Blu-ray content. The BD read and write rate on its optical drive is 2x. For these recordable discs, Sony plans to charge $20 for the 25GB BD-R (write once) or $25 for the BD-RE (rewriteable). The 50GB versions will be $48 (BD-R) and $60 (BD-RE).

The Blu-ray format has received backing from seven of the eight the major movie studios as a successor to today’s DVD format. Warner, Paramount, Fox, Disney, Sony, MGM and Lionsgate announced over 100 titles for the initial line-up of Blu-ray discs. The initial release will consist of recent and classic titles including Batman Begins, Desperado, Fantastic Four, Fifth Element, Hero, Ice Age, Kill Bill, Lethal Weapon, Mission Impossible, Ocean’s Twelve, Pirates of the Caribbean, Reservoir Dogs, Robocop and The Matrix. Blu-ray disks and DVD will likely co-exist for quite some time until HDTVs become more widespread.

The BDP-S1 player will run you about $1,000 and the VAIO RC desktop about $2,300. Both will be available in the summer and can be pre-ordered at www.sonystyle.com. For more information on Blu-ray disc products, go to www.sony.com/bd.

Surfing The Web Anonymously

Just as I’m annoyed at pesky telemarketing calls, I get even more perturbed with the tons of junk e-mail I receive on a daily basis. I usually end up to deleting 200-300 junk e-mails out of my inbox every day! Why am I receiving all these seemingly tempting e-mails that say I’ll receive a free cell phone or $250 worth of Starbucks if I fill out a survey? They’re all from online companies out to get me . . . my personal information that is.

Obtaining personal information and knowing your habits is a big online business. If you’re registered online somewhere, chances are the website you registered with has already sold your information. That’s money in their pocket, but not to fret, there’s ways around it. You can choose not to register with any sites on the web, but unfortunately that means not receiving the content you were requesting. Regardless of if you registered or not, did you know websites can still track you and collect your information through cookies? They might not necessarily be able gather specific information, but if this bothers you, you can surf anonymously.

There are several solutions out there, but the most effective one I found is Anonymizer’s Anonymous Surfing. The software will definitely slow your Internet br
owsing down, but will keep your IP address and identity hidden by redirecting your web traffic through Anonymizer’s secure servers. It will also protect you from inadvertently visiting websites that are known to phish, pharm or have spyware. In case you’re not familiar with the terms, phishing lures an unsuspecting e-mail recipient into clicking a link that appears to be from their bank to update account information. Pharming is similar to phishing, but more dangerous because it will direct you to a fraudulent website even if you type the correct website into your browser. When you have Anonymous Surfing active, your host file server is never accessed, so if the site is corrupted, you will still access your intended website safely.

Anonymous Surfing also protects you on the wireless side. If you’re out and about searching for a free hotspot somewhere, you can be tricked into connecting to a tainted hotspot posing as a legitimate wi-fi provider. Once you connect to the tainted hotspot, the culprit can watch all of your online activities and steal your information. If you’re using the Anonymous Surfing software, you will be routed through the secure servers and bypass the fraudulent hotspot.

You can use a free version of Anonymous Surfing by going to www.anonymizer.com and entering in your selected website in the top right corner. Or, download a free seven-day trial, or you’ll benefit the most with a full version at $29.99 for a one-year subscription (or $49.99 for a two-year subscription).

Unfortunately Anonymous Surfing is only available for Windows, but for you Mac users, instead try Proxify, a free downloadable widget from Apple’s website (www.apple.com). Click on the Mac OSX tab, then the Widgets tab, it’s hard to miss.

A Swing-Away Video Golf Game

With all the heavy rains we’ve had recently, that put a stop to most outdoor activities, especially golf. I know that some of you golf fanatics will hit the course, rain or shine, but I don’t think you want to be out there when lightning is striking. If you’re that hardcore golf addict stuck indoors when it’s storming outside or just someone who wants to learn, a new virtual golf game just hit the shelves that you should try.

Real World Golf is the first golf game on the Play Station 2 or Xbox that allows you to swing a “real” golf club to hit a golf ball. It brings the realism of golf to life in the comfort of your own living room. The game uses Gametrak, the first controller of its kind, which operates using two form-fitting fingerless gloves attached to the device and captures hand, wrist and arm movements in detail. With its extremely accuracy, it can track your swing speeds up to 2,000 mph, movements as small as small as 1mm, the angle of your club face and the height of your swing. This all translates into precision that tells the game where your ball will land as if you hit a real golf ball on a genuine golf course.

The Gametrak controller is so realistic that you can draw, hook, slice or put a backspin on the ball. With six in-depth video tutorials you can work on improving your grip, stance and swing without possible embarrassment on the real golf course. The game also includes ten 18-hole golf courses, a driving range and pitching and putting areas.

The skill levels vary from novice to pro, it’s up to how much you want to challenge yourself. You have the option to choose your golf clubs. Newbies can use the amateur clubs and the more experienced players can select a semi-pro or professional-level clubs, which require a more precise and smooth swing, but can drive the ball farther. Gameplay options include career mode, championship play, tournament and a training mode that includes an in-game golf pro. You can link up to four Gametrak consoles to your Xbox or two to your PlayStation 2. The game also includes multiple fun mini-games such smashing a ball through the clubhouse, hitting a golf ball at a giant dartboard and target practice on a driving range.

The Real World Golf game is bundled together with the controller and is available for $69.99. Swing by your closest CompUSA or GameStop to par one.

Going Wireless With RangeMax

If you don’t already have a wireless network setup in your home or office, chances are you’re probably searching for a good solution. Throughout the years I’ve used countless wireless routers both at home and work, but my favorite, and the latest to go through Click Chick’s careful scrutiny is the NetGear RangeMax Wireless Router (Model WPN824).

As soon as I plugged everything in and configured the router and computer, I immediately noticed how powerful the signal strength was no matter where I took my laptop.

What sets the RangeMax apart from all the rest is that it has seven smart internal Multi-In, Multi-Out (MIMO) antennas that adapt on the fly to interference. These antennas give you more than 100 different antenna configurations to increase path diversity and select signal paths based on real time analysis of network performance and your radio frequency environment. An optimal signal path is identified and applied for each one of your computers (or devices) connected to the RangeMax. So even if you have other wireless networks in the area and you’re talking on your cellular or cordless phone at the same time, the RangeMax signal will not be compromised.

If you already have an existing wireless network, chances are that you have some dead spots where you can barely see a signal, and your Internet connection fades in and out or completely drops off. I found you will not experience this with the RangeMax. Since your computer’s data packets are always being monitored by the RangeMax, it is constantly re-optimizing your network connection without you noticing. NetGear claims the RangeMax offers up to 10 times the wireless coverage of a typical 802.11g connection with its capability to deliver up to 500,000 square feet of coverage.

With RangeMax’s consistent stream of data, pesky connection drops are eliminated. You also do not have to worry about spending extra money for a range extender or repeater, however if you already happen to have these devices, they are 100 percent compatible with the RangeMax. Additionally, the computers in your RangeMax network can work and play safely with its double firewall protection. The WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) and WPA-PSK (Wi-Fi Protected Access, Pre-Shared Key) Security offer safeguards against unauthorized use from people searching for a vulnerable wireless network.

If you feel less than confident in setting up one of these, don’t fret. NetGear’s SmartWizard program makes the setup process painless. It will automatically detect your Internet service provider’s network settings then walk you through each step of the installation process. Just don’t forget to password protect your network.

By the way, you’ll also enjoy the pleasant spinning blue light at the top of the router. Find a NetGear RangeMax Wireless Router (WPN824) of your own at CompUSA or Best Buy for $129.99.

Get Ready For Boot Camp

I never thought I’d see the day that I would see Windows running on a Mac. I’ve been regularly running Virtual

PC, a PC emulator, on my Mac for years, but it’s just an emulator and it significantly slows down my computer. Last week Apple made it possible to run Windows XP natively on its new line of computers running with the Intel processor.

Apple released Boot Camp last week and we immediately jumped on the opportunity to install it on my husband’s MacBook Pro. Forty-five minutes later, to our delight, it worked absolutely seamlessly. Boot Camp works as a dual boot after it installs a Microsoft partition on your hard drive. When you start the computer, it gives you the option to boot it in OS X or Windows XP.

Before you begin the install on your Intel Mac, make sure you have the latest version of OS X Tiger (version 10.4.6), the latest firmware update and 10 GB of free hard disk space, a blank recordable CD and a Windows XP installation disk with Service Pack 2. Boot Camp burns a CD with the drivers Windows needs to recognize Mac-specific hardware. The software helps you set aside hard drive space for the Windows installation without moving your Mac files around.

“Apple has no desire or plan to sell or support Windows, but many customers have expressed their interest to run Windows on Apple’s superior hardware now that we use Intel processors, “ said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide product marketing.

“We think Boot Camp makes the Mac even more appealing to Windows users considering making the switch,” he adds. Adding the Windows capability to Mac hardware may ease the transition for you Windows users to make a switch.

The public beta of Boot Camp is available as a free download at www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp. The final full version of Boot Camp will be available as a feature of the soon to come Mac OS X version 10.5 “Leopard.”

A Mouse For The Other Hand

Living in a right-handed world, left-handers routinely encounter difficulties in their daily lives. Most of the challenges are trivial, but annoying and frustrating. No, I’m not a leftie, but I do sympathize with them since I do have a few friends that are left-handed. Since lefties account for approximately 10% of the world’s population, it also means the average computer mouse is made for the right hand . . . yet another thing that leaves the lefties feeling, well, left out.

When I was still doing technical support for the newspapers, I remember going to some computers and seeing the mouse on the complete other side of the keyboard. I would ask the user why it was like that. The answer would always be “because I’m left-handed, and it’s easier to use it on the left side of the keyboard.” I would feel sorry for them and think to myself that someone should invent a left-handed mouse someday. Well that day has arrived with Logitech’s latest creation, the MX610 Left-Hand Laser Cordless Mouse. I realize that some lefties will still prefer to stick with the right-hand mouse usage, but to each his own.

The MX610 Left-Hand mouse is a mirror image of Logitech’s award-winning MX610 Smart Mouse that you may remember me writing about a few months back, only this one is specifically sculpted to fit your left hand instead of the right. It features 10 buttons, including e-mail and instant messaging buttons that illuminate when new messages are received (with Microsoft Outlook, Windows Messenger and Yahoo! Instant Messenger). Its laser tracking allows you to work on just about any surface, even a wood table or a magazine. As with the other MX610, it features side-to-side scrolling and zoom with the tilt wheel, 2.4 GHz wireless (5x stronger than a standard cordless mouse) – use it about 30 feet away, and it comes with a five-year warranty with full product support.

The MX610 Left-Hand Laser has an approximate battery life of up to three months with regular usage (two AA batteries). It watches the power status of your computer so when your computer has gone to sleep or is shut down, the mouse also powers down accordingly. When the battery power is low (less than 10% of full charge), an indicator light illuminates and you’ll know to change the batteries.

Logitech’s MX610 Left-Hand Laser Cordless Mouse will be available sometime this month $59.99. Check out www.logitech.com for more information or notification registration of the MX610’s availability.

Shuttle’s Tiny PC

With my house becoming increasingly cluttered these days, space conservation is a big concern with me. This goes for everything, including my beloved computers and gadgets that unfortunately take up a lot of room. Each one of my computers has its own purpose, the Mac for work, the PC for gaming, and the others, well, various things. On the gaming side, it’s mandatory for me to use a PC. Since I’m trying to have a space-efficient desk, for the past several years I’ve been using Shuttle PCs. Shuttles are known for being a fairly compact sized cube. But soon Shuttle is launching a PC that will be no doubt one of the smallest PCs around.

Measuring in at eight inches long, 11 inches long and two inches tall, the Shuttle XPC X100 Ultra-Small Media PC is so tiny that it looks like a typical external FireWire drive. In this case, looks are deceiving. Inside the X100 is a full-scale computer powered by a 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo mobile processor. It has an ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 128MB graphics chip, a 250GB hard drive, 512MB of DDR2 (Double Data Rate 2) memory, a 16x-speed DVD ReWriter, multi-format card reader, and it’s home theater-ready with DVI or S-Video outputs. Additionally, its connections include Gigabit Ethernet, triple-band WiFi, FireWire, four USB 2.0 ports and it will be able to read most of your memory cards for easy photo/video synchronizing.

Since it’s only a couple inches longer than and has the same processor as Apple’s Mac mini, it will give Apple a good run for the money. What I always enjoy about Shuttle machines is the fact that you can either purchase the units fully ready-to-go or a barebones chassis. As you might guess, I prefer to buy them the barebones way. I have so much fun getting all the components together and putting together my own machine piece by piece. Because of its size, I’m not sure I can do that with the X100, but when it finally hits the market, I’ll be all over it. The X100 could very well be my next PC.

For you hardcore folks, Shuttle will also offer the X100 with up to 2GB of DDR2 memory and a 400 GB hard drive. Also ATI will announce a faster graphics chip, the X1800, that will be included in future Shuttle XPC X100 series machines. As far as I know, there are silver-gray and dark-gray case colors available. The X100 series is expected to sell for around $1,000 and while there is no official word on when you can purchase it, it’s expected be on the market around June. Keep your eyes on Shuttle’s website for updates and more information: www.shuttle.com.