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Install Windows 7 from USB Drive

Jes Darmanin — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:01:45 +0000

I’ve recently acquired a cool new Acer One Netbook. These netbooks usually come pre-installed with some Linux version, that unfortunately it’s not ideal to use for most of us. When I went around to install Windows 7 on my new machine, I absolutely couldn’t find my external DVD drive (I loaned this to a friend of mine ages ago, and never made it back!) The only way I could think of on how to get Windows on my new system is through a USB Drive.

Luckily, I found this amazing guide that made the entire process so simple – everyone can follow this through to create your own Windows 7 Installer Flash disk!

http://www.intowindows.com/how-to-install-windows-7vista-from-usb-drive-detailed-100-working-guide/

15 Great Windows 7 Shortcuts

Jes Darmanin — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 18:31:11 +0000

Windows keyboard shortcuts are a great way to save time and do things more efficiently. In this article we’ll show you 15 really cool keyboards shortcuts that are specific to Windows 7. Check them out, some of them will surprise you for sure. Let us know if you know any great new shortcuts!

Ctrl+Shift+N to Create a New Folder
Ctrl+Shift+Click to Open a Program As Administrator
Shift+Right-Click Enhances Send to Menu
Shift+Right-Click on a Folder to Open Command Prompt
Win+Space to Quickly Show Desktop
Win+Up/Down/Left/Right for Moving the Active Window
For Dual Monitors: Win+Shift+Left Arrow Key to Move Active Window to Left Monitor
For Dual Monitors: Win+Shift+Right Arrow Key to Move Active Window to Right Monitor
Win+T to Get to Taskbar Items
Shift+Click on a Taskbar App to Open a New Instance of the App
Win+B to Move Focus to the System Tray
Win+P for Quickly Connecting Your Laptop to a Projector
Win+1, Win+2..so on for Opening Taskbar Programs
Win+Pause helps you check System Properties
Ctrl+Shift+Esc Can Quickly Windows Task Manager

I hope you find them useful. If I’ve missed a cool shortcut, do share that in the comments!

Kindle gets it’s first Apps!

Jes Darmanin — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 18:16:23 +0000

The first two apps for the Amazon Kindle e-reader have been released for download, consisting of the word games “Every Word,” and “Shuffled Row.”

In the first weeks of 2010, retailer Amazon released the Kindle Development Kit to partners to begin work on interactive applications for the popular e-reader. Formerly, the Kindle platform supported only a very limited amount of interactivity, which included note-taking, highlighting, and later, the ability to send clips and quotations to social networks Twitter and Facebook. Early attempts at games for the platform had to be corralled into the device’s experimental browser, which made for a poor overall experience.

With the KDK, developers were given deeper access to the Kindle’s capabilities, which let them use the device for more than its standard e-reading functions. The first two games, released by Amazon Digital Services, showcase just a bit of what is possible with the e-reader.

Both titles are based on common word games popular on Web game portals and mobile platforms such as iOS. Shuffled Row presents the player with an ever-growing list of letter tiles that can be used to spell out words. The longer the word, the more points it is worth. Every Word has the same premise as a number of games, like Text Twist, Chicktionary, or Letterblox. The user is presented with a group of tiles which can be arranged into a finite number of words, and the user tries to figure out as many of them as he can.

Both games are currently free, but are only available to U.S. Kindle owners so far. When downloaded, they show up in the user’s library with an “active” tag in the margin, similar to the way PDF files are labeled. Furthermore, these titles appear to only be available on actual Kindle E-readers and not on the software platform for iOS, Android, Windows, or OS X.

New iPad and iPhone early 2011?

Jes Darmanin — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 18:09:38 +0000

According to rumors running around online bout some new gadgets coming from Apple. This includes a rumour about a new iPhone, and a new iPad coming in 2011. Nothing overly ambitious on iPhone rumors, but the main point is definitely an Antenna fix.

Some other rumors also mention that new iPods are also coming as “early as this month or as late as September”. This will include a new iPod touch, a new nano, and a 1.7-inch touchscreen version of the iPod shuffle. The iPod touch, they say, will have half an inch less screen than the current one. Why would Apple use a smaller display when they can enjoy the iPhone 3.5-inch Retina display? More sources say that a smaller iPad will be released, this one including a 7-inch display instead of the 9.7-inch one.

If these rumors are foun to be actually true, it seems that Apple will be trying very hard to dominate the mobile market.

Amazon announces new Kindles

Jes Darmanin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:00:32 +0000

Amazon has announced that two new Kindles. Sales of the current Kindle 2 have been halted and orders for the new Kindles will be accepted beginning today.

Here’s what is known so far about these new kindles :

There will be two versions, a $189 3G version and a $139 WiFi only version
They will have the improved screen now available on the Kindle DXG and be offered in white or graphite
The new Kindles will be 21% smaller but with the same 6-inch screens, with increased memory (4GB) and battery life (up to a month)

These new Kindles will begin shipping on August 27th.

Very creative packaging – well done to Panasonic

Jes Darmanin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:51:55 +0000

Panasonic has just released a brand new set of in-ear headphones dubbed as – Panasonic RP-HJE 130. The highlight of this new headphones set is probably not the set of features, but the ultra creative packaging as you can see below. Well done Panasonic!

Samsung Ad with a sense of humour

Jes Darmanin — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 07:10:58 +0000

Who would have thought that Samsung had such a sense of humour! This advert for the Samsung’s new Galaxy S advert cheekily references the iPhone 4 antenna problems that have been giving Apple a headache since launch.

The Internet in 2020

Jes Darmanin — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:32:39 +0000

I just found this great image that gives us some current facts and future predictions of what the internet will be in 2010. Click the image for the larger version

Magnetic Thinking Putty

Jes Darmanin — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 05:48:25 +0000

Yeah, we know that you are secretly intrigued by these interesting fun gadgets and toys. We have recently discovered this new kind of silly putty, that could keep you entertained for at least… well, 10 minutes perhaps.

This new and improved version of Silly Putty, Dubbed as the “Magnetic Thinking Putty”, has a lot of very tiny magnetic particles included in the mixture that makes it react to opposing or attracting magnets.

Just like any other glob of Silly Putty, the “Magnetic Thinking Putty” can be shaped, broken, molded, bounced, and whatnot. The plus here is that it comes with a little cube magnet (neodymium iron boron) that you can use to manipulate the putty. Since the magnet is super strong, you can “control” the Magnetic Thinking Putty into forming pretty cool shapes without even touching it!

Watch the video below to fully understand it’s awesomeness!

Gardyn – Electronica Masterpiece

Jes Darmanin — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 11:10:28 +0000

From Pogo, the internet-famous creator of Expialidocious, here’s “Gardyn”, an original song created using only samples of his mother’s voice and sounds from her garden. As is usual with Pogo’s music, the final result is absolutely fantastic. Check it out below!