Reviews

Zune Interface Walk Through

Engadget has done a great video walk through of the Zune MP3 Player from Microsoft. He goes through all the features and you can watch his screen, it’s almost like being there! Well, not quite, but it’s a great video. We’ve added 12 or so other Zune videos as well, check out the Zune play list. Even better, check em out in wide screen.

More Reviews and How To’s Posted

We have been posting some great videos to the new video section here are some links to the play lists that have been created, Sandisk Reviews, Apple iPhone Videos, Zune MP3 Player Videos, Prevent Scratches with the Invisible Shield, iPod Accessory Reviews, Video Game Reviews, Google Earth Videos, Excel Training Videos, Windows XP Videos, Engadget Videos and Windows Vista Videos. You can search the videos by tag here, technology tags, search the old fashioned way from our search box here, video search, by play list here, video play lists, or you can add your own videos here, upload videos, or link to great videos you’ve seen on YouTube, Google Video, Yahoo Video, Revver, Blip.tv, create your own play lists, comment and review the listed videos and more.

Please let us know if you see a video that shouldn’t be listed here, or one that is no longer working, etc at webmaster at tipsdr.com.

Microsoft Zune Video Reviews and More

This is a text excerpt, this post is about some Zune videos we just posted.

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End of Year Top Lists Debuting Already

They happen every year, the best of and the worst of lists, and about anything you can think of in-between. Here is one of the first that I have seen, I will add more as I find them.

Vaporware ’06: Return of the King from Wired.com lists the top technology products promised, hyped and scheduled, but not delivered, such as an “iPod killer” to Duke Nukem Forever.

The 20 Most Innovative Products of the Year Always intriguing, often useful, and sometimes surprising, these 20 products showcase some of the best in tech this year. Includes Office 2007, Intel Core 2 Duo, Google Sketchup, the RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8100 and more great gadgets.

Think “End OF The Year” Lists Are Just for Bloggers? Top songs and albums of the year buy some musicians I’ve never heard of.

The Lycos 50 Blog: News from the Pop Culture Fast Lane Lycos top 50 search terms for the year 2006.

The best apps of 2006 Best new software and web applications in 2006 from Lifehacker.com.

The Web’s Most Useful Sites The web’s most useful sites according to PCWorld, password managers, bookmark managers and more topping the list.

Next Year in Review: 2007 Predictions I’m not much for my prognostication myself–which is to say that I’m terribly bad at it–but it seems like everyone else in the tech industry can’t get enough of it.

What will they think of next? Napster in 1999. MySpace in 2004. YouTube in 2006. Experts from the tech community look ahead to the innovations that will change how we work, play and communicate in 2007.

Mashable’s 2007 Predictions It?s now only a few days until 2007, and a good time for the yearly prediction posts to start rolling out – including one from Mashable. To add a more interesting spin, we’ll throw in a mini-game of blog tag – a few people “tagged” at the end of this post can blog their own 2007 predictions in their niches, if they wish. They can tag other blogs and so on.

Noah’s 2007 Somewhat Likely Predictions Mashable called me out so now I have to write something smart about what is going to happen next year.

Predictions for 2007 It’s that time of the year – so without further ado, here are my predictions for 2007.

Wild Predictions for a Wired 2007 Here are some predictions for 2007: Google Stock Hits $1,000 per Share.

Know any good lists? Send em to us at webmaster at tipsdr.com.

Free Windows Vista Laptop from Microsoft?

A minor uproar is going on, apparently some bloggers have received some free laptops with Windows Vista, the original post, for me at least, was on Laughing Squid, Microsoft Sent A Free Laptop With Windows Vista, he received an Acer Ferrari 1000 12.1? notebook, with an 1.80GHz AMD Turion 64?2 with 1GB of DDR2 RAM and a SATA 160GB hard drive, loaded with Windows Vista Ultimate. As usual, some people think it’s payoffs for positive blogging, etc.

Ok, so yeah, I’ve been blogging about Microsoft quite a bit lately. I guess their marketing people are doing their job well, since the launch of Windows Vista is next month. Speaking of which, on December 20th I received an email from Edelman, the PR firm who is handling the launch of Windows Vista, letting me know that Microsoft is sending me a present in the form of a laptop with Windows Vista installed on it, no strings attached. Source: Laughing Squid

On Robert Scoble’s blog he calls it his idea of PayPerPost. In a comment, Robert McLaws of http://www.windows-now.com/ says,

AFAIK, AMD is the one that provided the laptops to websites that are members of the Windows Featured Communities program, as well as several other Microsoft influential’s. I think it was more of an AMD ploy to get dual core x64s into the hands of influential’s then it was trying to get people to buy into Vista. Most of these people were relatively Microsoft-friendly to begin with.

BTW, AMD said that the computers could be kept or given away. Most were kept. Source: Robert Scoble

Mitch Denny has posted on the subject, apparently it is part of a viral marketing campaign called the Vanishing Point, and along with he laptop, he received a puzzle piece containing a USB drive with three files on it, Cipher Key 4.jpg, from_Loki.txt, and Loki.wmv.

Back story: About mid-December I was contacted by Aaron Coldiron from the Windows Product Management Group and asked if I would like to try out an Acer Ferrari 1000 courtesy of the Windows Vista team and AMD (the Acer Ferrari has a Turion64 dual core processor and ATI graphics). I was interested in trying out the device mostly because I hadn?t used Vista on a 64-bit machine before and I hadn?t used an AMD processor in I don?t know how many years.

After reading the letter there was a knock at the door (spooky) and our neighbor delivered a box, presumably the courier must have thought it was for them (we live on a split block). Inside the cardboard box was a wooden trick box which took me a few moments to open up. Inside was another copy of the letter and a USB memory stick and on the stick were three files:

Cipher Key 4.jpg
from_Loki.txt
Loki.wmv
I have uploaded the video to Soapbox on MSN Video under the tag of “vanishing point”. I am uploading from an ISDN connection so progress is slow. Anyway – I am off to find fellow decoders and crack some of the puzzles!

Update: Folks have requested that I post up the cipher key image. As you can see the key is not a new one as I?ve seen it posted on the Internet is a few other locations – thanks to those who referred me to http://vanishingpointwiki.com. Source: notgartner

The wiki has many links to keys that have been uploaded, sites that are working on the game and more. A couple forums that are actively working on it are Neowin and unfiction. Mitch Denny was contacted by the Windows Vista team, Scott Beale was contacted by the Edelman PR firm and Robert Mclaws says it’s AMD. My question is, why didn’t I get one, this looks like fun. Oh, and to all of those people complaining about the “gifts” saying they will never come back to this blog if they don’t return it, etc., come on, get over it. Most of the posts that I saw don’t appear to be swayed by it, I know I wouldn’t be, it’s just a perk of putting your stuff out there, nothing more, keep it or don’t, I don’t care. Just Send me one! hehe.

Added: Marshall Kirkpatrick writes that Microsoft has informed them they need to give it away or send it back when they are down with the reviews. Indian givers.

Marshall,

No good deed goes unpunished, right? You may have seen that other bloggers got review machines as well. Some of that coverage was not factual. As you write your review I just wanted to emphasize that this is a review pc. I strongly recommend you disclose that we sent you this machine for review, and I hope you give your honest opinions. Just to make sure there is no misunderstanding of our intentions I’m going to ask that you either give the pc away or send it back when you no longer need it for product reviews.

Thanks for your understanding, and happy reviewing,

Aaron *** Source: Marshall Kirkpatrick

Load of crap if you ask me, there will always be someone unhappy with something no matter what it is, so why let a small minority make you back pedal and do something other than originally planned?

New Video Support and Review Section – video.tipsdr.com

All right, everyone else is launching their own video component, why not Tips Dr.com? We have added a video section here titled Windows Support Videos, but it is much more than that. Reviews from computer games to console video games, to cell phones, to digital cameras, all kinds of Windows XP help and a bunch of Windows Vista videos, how to setup a wireless router, how to install protection for your iPod, and all kinds of great iPod accessory reviews, software tutorials and much more. If you have any videos that are technology related, please submit them, if you make your own, all the better, as long as they are accurate we will list them, so submit your videos today!

Windows Vista Business Edition Quick Guide

Cnet has posted a Quick Guide for Windows Vista Business Edition, which is the edition Microsoft thinks small businesses need and want, it will contain extra programs such as Windows Meeting Space, Windows Sharing Wizard, and Windows Fax and Scan.

Like previous versions of Windows, Windows Vista will be sold in various editions: Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate, along with a special Starter Edition for sale outside the United States. Only Windows Vista Ultimate Edition will include every feature possible within Vista; all other editions will include only those features that Microsoft has determined different user profiles will actually need. Some features are included across all the different SKUs, while specific features combine with only one or two other SKUs. For example, Windows Vista Business Edition will include Areo graphics, a feature common among all editions, but tablet PC support will be available only with the Windows Home Premium and Ultimate Editions. Features specific to the Business Edition of Windows Vista, as opposed to those found in the Home Premium Edition, are Windows Meeting Space, Windows Sharing Wizard, Windows Fax and Scan, offline access to files and folders, Roaming User Profiles, USB and smart-card authentication, wireless network provisioning, control of device drivers and group policy. Source: Cnet

Their guide contains info on Windows Meeting Space, collaboration software intended for use with Office products, the new file sharing system, remote access that can be pre-configured to allow employees access to remote applications and data, Windows Fax and Scan and the business extras, meant mainly for the IT department.

Another Bad Review for Zune

Just read this post at iTWire called Why consumers are angry with Microsoft over Zune where he describes his experience with the Zune MP3 player from Microsoft, the Zune marketplace software installation he had trouble with because he was using Firefox and goes on to describe why he thinks consumers are angry with Microsoft over the Zune. I say he thinks because he just references himself, so I don’t think he is talking for a group of people.

The first time I tried to download the Zune software, it wouldn’t let me even though my system met the Zune software standards – Win XP SP2, a processor that runs at least at 1.5GHz, memory of at least….hang on what is this nonsense anyway!? I got none of this minimum hardware requirements rubbish when I installed iTunes 7, which installed without hitch in exactly five minutes.

Of course he is comparing 1st generation to 7th generation software, if you go by the version alone, I didn’t do any searching to confirm it, but I remember problem reports with iTunes when it first came out. But you would think Microsoft would try to convert everything they find using the PlaysForSure DRM that windows media player uses, its common courtesy. So, this is not a good comparison, even though Microsoft should’ve had it more polished to start with, being that this has already been done well somewhere else.

The point of all this is that Microsoft seems to have taken the one major thing that consumers don’t like about iPod and iTunes – the DRM restricted closed system – and ignored all the good things. Instead of presenting Joe and Jane consumer with a viable alternative to iPod, Microsoft Zune has given consumers a poorer imitation of the same. That’s why consumers are angry and Zune players, despite massive publicity are still sitting on store shelves.

This is definitely closer to the truth. But I wouldn’t pay for a first generation anything, if I wasn’t getting a Zune from somewhere for free, I would not end up with one for probably a couple years anyway. Heck, I think I bought my first iPod a little over a year ago, so, I really haven’t been any early adopter of much, although that is changing.

Zune Review from Cnet

Cnet.co.uk has a review up for the 30Gb Zune, here, and it seems similar to most other reviews I have read. They like it, wish you could do more wireless stuff with it, like the FM radio, wish you could use it as a usb drive, and they think it’s a good start.

We like:
Very good playback performance of audio, video and photos; intuitive and colorful interface; good FM radio with RDS; works well with Zune Marketplace software; integrated wireless allows sharing of songs (although limited) and photos; many accessories available at launch

We don’t like:
Not backwards-compatible with WMA-DRM9; weak native video support (it cannot play protected content) and no video offerings from Zune Marketplace; cannot be used as a hard drive (and no UMS support); proprietary USB; cannot use Wi-Fi to sync, stream or purchase content; minimal bundled accessories; no podcast directory; maximum capacity is 30GB

CNET.co.uk judgement:
The Microsoft Zune, with its intuitive interface and solid playback performance, will please most users. But lukewarm format support and the cool but limited Wi-Fi capability will have advanced users seeking more. The Zune is a very good start, though. Source: Cnet.co.uk

Full review is here.

Another Wii Review

The other day I quoted a Wii review from Foxnews where I said I didn’t think I would like the Wiimote and having to interact that way constantly in the games. I love gaming, but I’ve become so used to the controller and smacking the buttons to simulate movement, etc, I don’t think I could get used to actually having to do the movement and have any fun. Well, Eirk Sofge from slate.com kinda agrees, but not for the same reasons, he says the Wiimote is to generic, meaning they had to set it up so everyone could use it and play, but in doing so, may have “dumbed” it down too much.

I’ll admit it?I was in love with the Nintendo Wii long before we’d ever met. And then, a few seconds after I touched those strange, new motion-sensing controllers, months of giddy anticipation vanished. I’ve played and won 14-hour-long Halo tournaments. I was a bird-slaughtering Duck Hunt master back when Times Square still had arcades. But the Wii, which is being marketed as the ideal system for newbie?s, made me feel like an incompetent novice. I don’t blame myself. The ugly truth is that the Wii’s already-legendary motion-detection system doesn’t work very well.

The new Nintendo’s flaws make me question who the Wii’s audience will be. Kids don’t want embarrassingly easy games. Casual gamers of any age will bail out the first time their crosshairs go AWOL. And hardcore gamers like me aren’t going to bother with a magic wand that makes us less efficient at killing aliens. For a console that wants to start a revolution, making users doubt their reflexes is a serious design flaw. By playing fast and loose with motion detection, the Wii swings wildly between deal-breaking frustration and hollow victories. Ultimately, it never achieves the level of difficulty that every console should aspire to: a good, fair challenge. Source: slate.com

But that’s just his opinion, and mine you can’t count on yet, because I haven’t even seen one, let alone tried it, I’m just assuming what I will think about it. I guess I’ll have to wonder through the mall and check one out, maybe get a quick idea, I don’t want people to think I’m slamming it yet, but I just don’t think I will like it. But, I’ve been wrong before.