so yes, i was one of those geeks. up until the day of launch, i was not really too sold on the new Google Nexus One phone.   Android didn’t seem to be as mature as the iPhone OS but still seemed to have a one-up on Windows Mobile/Web OS though.  However, after doing more research on the technology being used in the new Nexus One I was sold.  The Snapdragon CPU alone was worth it imo (cpu speed has historically been the weakest part of most devices, and of course balancing it w/decent battery life) and the fact that there were visual notification options (external led and trackball notifier).

So, what does this previous iPhone 2G and 3G user think of Android and the Nexus One?   Hit the jump to get my part 1 of 2 on my experience.

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android, nexus one, htc, life, geek, launch, google | 1 Comment »

here’s an updated harddrive upgrade video for the PS3 Slim.  Fast and easy, can be done in less than 5 minutes.

Keep reading for the embedded video or click here to go to youtube page.

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ps3, fanboy, geek, console, gaming, modding, hardware | 2 Comments »

yesterday was a big day for me. it was the first time in almost 2 years that i bought a new phone. the features and cpu in the Google Nexus One were too tempting! However, i decided to buy the more expensive unlocked version since I have a great plan at the moment and suspected that my $5.99 plan would get me full 3G…..

and it did! :)  my previous plan worked just fine on my jailbroken iPhone 3G but I only got EDGE on it since the 3G was AT&T’s bands, not T-Mobiles.  However, to my delight, once I popped my SIM in I got a nice 3G icon and some up and down arrow action. SCORE!!! My savings from not having to switch data plans would let me save the amount I spent on the phone.

here’s some comparison geek pr0n with an iPhone 3G and PSP Go.

iphone, pspgo, nexus one, life, launch, mobile, handheld, geek, google | No Comments »

Most people I know haven’t really messed around w/the PS3s remoteplay features since well, it requires a PSP and PS3. One feature that was recently added is the ability to output audio via the PS3 and in turn your stereo/tv.

Here’s a quick video of it in action.  Hit the jump for the embedded video or click on over here for the youtube vid.

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ps3, pspgo, console, music, psp, gaming | 1 Comment »

i thought i’d just post a longer demo of a few of the emulators on a softmodded Wii (v4.2).

this is a longer vid so you’ve been warned but i demo a NES, SNES, Genesis, and N64 emulator running via the HBC and an SDHC card.

hit the jump for the embedded video, or click here for the direct youtube vid.

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wii, life, culture, geek, modding, console, gaming | 7 Comments »

i know. i’m that guy. after debating about it, i decided to go out and upgrade to a PSPGo. here are some quick shots of it next to its older and phatter PSP 1001 brother.

enjoy

life, fanboy, PlaystationStore, news, pspgo, ps3, geek, gaming, psp, console, handheld, hardware | 2 Comments »

Well, I just realized today that I’ve owned my Sony PSP for almost 4 1/2 years! I originally purchased my PSP on launch day way back in March 24th, 2005.  The PSP’s superior screen and hardware (running nearly a full ps2 processor) impressed me from the start but would that alone make the PSP a competitor to the already successful Nintendo DS?  Would Sony get a foothold in the portable gaming sect?

After 4 1/2 years, I thought I’d recap on my experience with the PSP (being that I have also owned a Nintendo DS) and my thoughts and reflections.  Keep reading for the full scoop. Read the rest of this entry »

launch, life, tv, PlaystationStore, ps3, culture, opinion, console, handheld, psp | 3 Comments »

<rant>

wow, just wow. that’s all i can say really these days whenever i read another article on the industries who seem to have held onto their old and dying business models biting the hand that feeds them.

as you can probably already tell, today’s post is a soap-box rant which does not reflect the opinions of tech-rx or its owners.

keep on reading for a full fledged yo-momma rant on the music, video and newspaper industries. Read the rest of this entry »

life, geek, opinion | 5 Comments »

Microsoft released the much anticipated Windows 7 OS to retail on Friday Oct 22, 2009.  The general consensus among the majority is that it is indeed a great OS and worth the upgrade (especially if you avoided Vista and are still on XP). Upgrades from XP and Vista to Windows 7 have been pretty smooth for the most part (minus the fiasco w/the Student Windows 7 upgrade problems).

This last weekend I finally clean installed Windows 7 Ultimate Edition Retail on my Wind and HP (prior to this I was running beta/rc versions of Windows 7).  I also received my Windows 7 license for my desktop and did another clean install (wiping vista right off) of Windows 7 on it.  Previous OS upgrades have taught me one thing; upgrading can/will bite you in the end.  I recommend backing up data and doing a clean install to avoid any possible issues that may crop up later down the road (ie driver incompatibilities, software that doesn’t work on Win7, crashing).  So my advice, if possible clean install.  Yes, its more work to start with but may save you some and frustration down the road.

After my installs were completed, the first thing i did was setup networking on the machines and in Windows 7 case, join a Homegroup. Keep reading for more info on my homegroups and media sharing experience. Read the rest of this entry »

life, htpc, tv, msi wind, windows7, netbook, launch, hd, windows, hardware, vista, opinion, geek, dvr, general gadgets | No Comments »

Well, I’ve decided to blog on a more regular basis (at least once a week) and thought I’d start with a nice old op-ed piece on this years tech/geek news and trends and possible future ones.

Microsoft tries to redeem itself for Vista by accelerating development of Windows 7 and to everyone’s delight, it appeases most with its updated UI and performance.

Netbooks became a household name and have started to grow out of its own genre.  Nvidia Ion chips are now starting to appear in the latest netbooks ( Asus and HP were the first to offer) and seem to do a great job in playing back HD content.  Touchscreen are starting to appear more and more in both netbooks and normal laptops.

Add on top of that the prospects of Microsoft and Apple’s ‘new’ tablet offerings. Nintendo in spring of 2009, released its updated DS model the DSi (a touchscreen based portable console) to its category dominating DS Lite. Android devices started to finally hit market with HTC offering some very tasty hardware (HTC Hero, upcoming Leo) and Motorola making a comeback after its somewhat fall from fame (razr made and then broke them, moto q was a disaster) with the new Android based Cliq and Motoblur (both touchscreen/slider based phones).

Windows 7 teases us with the Surface Addon Pack that turns select multitouch touchscreen pcs/laptops/tablets into a mini Microsoft Surface.  Google announces its making its own OS for netbooks/devices. Apple updates its iPod lineup and releases the much anticipated Snow Leopard.

2009 sure seems to be the year of touch and user interfaces.

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iphone, life, wm6, htc, windows7, hd, culture, windows, opinion, mobile, geek, hardware | 5 Comments »

again, its been far too long since i’ve last posted. today i thought i’d just outline the basics on how to use your Windows 7, with proper hardware, to record live tv and also share with other Windows 7 computers on your network.  This will allow you to have a centralized tv recording computer/server that can also transcode and stream the tv to other clients in your Homegroup.

i plan to briefly go over what you need for hardware and how to setup Windows 7 to do this.

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laptop, guides, msi wind, netbook, windows7, tv, life, dvr, hd, ps3, htpc, hardware | 2 Comments »

Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 7 (Win7) retail release on Oct 22, 2009 is a highly anticipated release compared to the disaster that was the Vista launch only 3 years prior.  Performance and GUI/UI changes have really helped Win7 grab the eye of most geek and computer user out there.  Most blogs and sites tout the performance boosts and the pretty os tweaks.  Me, i like Win7 for the improvements with Media Center.

keep reading for some quick notes and video of my wind and ps3 streaming tv from my main hp.

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hp, x360, msi wind, netbook, windows7, laptop, xbox, hd, geek, ps3, launch, htpc, hardware | 12 Comments »

well, its been a while since i’ve posted and i apologize for that. silly work, life and summer stuff.  anywho, i thought i’d get back to posting on more regular basis (in case i actually have followers/readers, j/k i love you all!).

today post is an op-ed blog on what i am predicting or think (hope?) a few of the next big things will be in the upcoming few years.  we just saw twitter hit mainsteam this last march, facebook a while back, iphones are common place, wiis can be found on the shelves.

so, whats next? keep reading for this geeks predictions and geek ramblings.

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xbox, tv, life, htpc, PlaystationStore, iphone, windows7, x360, laptop, Zune, ps3, windows, mac, apple, vista, opinion, culture, geek, applications, pc | 11 Comments »

well, today i was finally cleaning up my laptop and decided i’d try to setup the media sharing components again.  i currently have my ps3 connected via a gigabit wired connection and my laptop using 802.11N so speed connection speeds should not be an issue with HD content streaming.  it seemed that when i had my ps3 connected via wifi i had some media server disconnect issues (however that may have been related to my older router too, currently using an apple airport extreme base w/nas).

my laptop is currently running windows 7 rc build as its main os due to the fact that win 7 lets you use and record clearQAM channels (that alone convinced me to stay with win7). however, i did not remember having any luck playing my tv shows from my ps3 via the media center sharing.  mp4 files worked fine but tv shows always gave me the usual cannot play back file error.

i have no idea what update added this feature but kudos to microsoft on that feature!!  this not only lets me use my PS3 as a media center extender but also any other pc can playback files via DLNA client. (i am assuming this since i have not tested).  keep reading for more details and the video demo.

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life, htpc, news, laptop, windows7, hp, ps3, hd, gaming, windows, opinion, console, culture, pc | 4 Comments »

PROs:

• awesome battery life, the best so far (about 4-5hours in real world; rated at 6hrs)
• nice 10″ display,
• solid build feel
• normal hdd, memory card slots, normal lan and vga ports
• pinch zooming touchpad (can do pinch gesture in IE and zoom in and out)

CONs:

• small touchpad
• perhaps a little heavier than dell/hp netbooks (but also makes it feel sturdier built)

Overall: definitely a good netbook and i give it a 9/10.

i liked how long the battery lasted on it and how the keyboard had pitched keys (angled at edges and more space between keys than the dell and hp flush keys). 

vga and lan ports also handy and gives it an edge over the other netbooks that opted to use proprietary adapters. however the smaller touchpad is a bit annoying and the only main negative

for full specs, check out Samsung’s official page over here:

review, laptop, netbook, culture, geek, windows, opinion, handheld, general gadgets | 5 Comments »