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Items of Note:
I am trying a new leveling technique for the show. This was done on episode 4 of our Geek Out. Please let us know if this episode sounds better and more even as far as volume goes!
Show us your Facebook love. Did you know there is a fan page for The Geekcast on Facebook? We have a group set up but it doesn’t integrate well with Facebook’s new design. Updates don’t show up and unless you go to the group explicitly, you’ll never get any updates. So to improve everything, we’re moving to a fan page! Check it out at http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Geekcast/59648951847. We’re going to close the group in a week or two but the fan page will be great. You’ll be able to get updates about the show, hear new episodes and interact with us directly via the Facebook news feed. We’d love to hear feedback on this!
We have begun our live-streaming of the show! You can now watch Aaron and Gozer record the show and also participate in a chat room with us! This will allow you to view the show live and see how the magic happens. Even better, it will let you interact with us as we record which may be a lot of fun. We’ve never done this before, so there are bound to be hiccups and glitches, but if you bear with us, this could be really cool. We currently record on Wednesday evenings and start between 7:30 and 8:00 pm Eastern and we go for about 60-90 minutes.
Listener Feedback:
We have a call from Matt in Chicago talking about Windows ME vs Windows Vista.
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Geek This Week:
Aaron:
Raptr.com. This website takes your video gaming and updates Facebook, Twitter and other services based on what you’re doing. If you pop a game into your Xbox, it’ll update your statuses letting everyone know. In addition, you can have it post when you reach new levels, unlock achievements and other goodies. The site is nicely designed and really made to be social. It hooks up with Xbox, PS3, Wii, WoW and others. The site seems nice and I’m working on getting it configured to get all my statuses updated.
Gozer:
Old School Genesis – Downloaded Altered Beast. Impulse buy @ 400 points. This is not the version i remembered from the Sega Genesis. This must have been the arcade version. They also have Sonic 3, Gunstar Heros and Comix Zone each for 400 points.
Gears 2 Dark Corners Map Pack. Only played a few maps of the new map pack. Did some horde mode on the Nowhere map with aaron and his buddies. Great map for horde. Thought we could get on top of the roof of this diner until they started spawning on the roof behind us. We then took sought refuge inside the diner and seemed to hold down the fort better that way.
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Tech and Gaming News:
Microsoft and Yahoo: Search partners
After a year and a half of dealing, the tech giants reach a deal to take on Google, which holds a 65% market share in online search. Microsoft and Yahoo reached a long-awaited partnership Wednesday in a bid to challenge Google’s dominance in online search. Under the 10-year deal, searches on Yahoo.com will be powered by Microsoft’s new Bing search engine. Yahoo, in turn, will be responsible for attracting premium advertisers. Microsoft will pay Yahoo 88% of the revenue it gains from searches on Yahoo’s sites. Microsoft will also have the rights to integrate Yahoo search technology into its own existing Web search platforms.
Yahoo said the revenue sharing agreement will increase its operating income by about $500 million annually. According to Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, the deal will allow Microsoft to “create more innovation in search, better value for advertisers and real consumer choice in a market currently dominated by a single company.”
And in a dig against search market leader Google (GOOG, Fortune 500), the companies said in a joint statement that “advertisers no longer have to rely on one company that dominates more than 70% of all search.”
An 18-month odyssey. It was a partnership that was a long time in the making. Microsoft’s (MSFT, Fortune 500) search market share has been slipping for more than two years, and the company has struggled to make its online advertising unit profitable. Meanwhile, Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500), once the search market leader, dropped to a distant second place behind leader Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) by 2007.
The dealings between the two companies began Feb. 1, 2008, when Microsoft made an unsolicited $44.6 billion cash and stock bid for Yahoo. A week later, Yahoo rejected the bid, saying the $31 per share offer “massively undervalues” the company, despite the fact that the bid represented a 62% premium over Yahoo’s $19.18 closing stock price a day before the announcement.
In an attempt to fend off Microsoft, Yahoo launched a two-week trial partnership with rival Google on April 10, 2008. That involved outsourcing advertising space to Google as part of a short-term agreement that could eventually lead to a bigger partnership.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/07/29/technology/microsoft_yahoo/index.htm?postversion=2009072908
DJ Hero Renegade Edition Announced
This special DJ Hero bundle includes exclusive equipment and a CD two-pack by Jay-Z and Eminem.
Activision revealed a special Renegade Edition bundle for DJ Hero today. Named after the Jay-Z and Eminem song of the same title, DJ Hero Renegade Edition will include an exclusive CD two-pack with unreleased tracks from both artists, as well as a premium turntable controller with a convertible case/stand — sorry, no night vision gogglesfor low-light scratch sessions.
How much will this beast cost you when it debuts this fall? There’s no official word as of yet, but the standard DJ Hero bundle alone is already priced at an arguably steep $119.99. What would you shell out for extras like these?
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3175355
Apple blocks Google Voice app for iPhone
The long-awaited Google Voice application for the iPhone has been officially shot down by Apple.
There were a scattering of reports on Monday, and then a Google spokesperson confirmed it: “Apple did not approve the Google Voice application we submitted six weeks ago to the Apple App Store. We will continue to work to bring our services to iPhone users–for example, by taking advantage of advances in mobile browsers.”
In addition, all third-party applications that use Google Voice have been pulled by Apple, according to a report in TechCrunch. The developer of one of those apps, GV Mobile, says he was told the decision came from Apple because his app “duplicates features that come with the iPhone.”
It’s unclear why Apple is refusing the app to be sold in its store, though there are hints that it may have come at the behest of AT&T, the exclusive carrier for the iPhone in the U.S. Google Voice is a free application that lets users assign a single number to ring their home, work, and cell phones, and also get voice mail as text transcriptions. Google Voice has been described by some as an “end run” around wireless carriers because it allows for free texts, but users do still use minutes on their AT&T phone plan.
John Gruber of DaringFireball.net reports that it was in fact AT&T’s request that Apple block the application, but points out that Apple too has good reason to reject it: “Google Voice is a mobile phone service provided by the maker of one of the biggest competitors to the iPhone OS (Android). What if Google Voice were instead Microsoft Voice?”
It’s also by now well established that the application approval process for Apple’s App Store can be confusing and frustrating for individual developers, and now even for giants of the technology industry. Just last week, another dust-up occurred with Google and the iPhone, when Apple refused to approve Google’s Latitude for the iPhone unless it was designed as Web-based app.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10297618-37.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0
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Test a Geek: This segment will return on a future episode of The Geekcast
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How To: This segment will return on a future episode of The Geekcast
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Ask A Geek: This segment will return on a future episode of The Geekcast
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Hack: Upgrade your TiVo HD with a Mac
TiVo is a fantastic device and the TiVo HD is a great way to enjoy HD content for an entry-level price. The main downfall is the capacity: TiVo HD only records 20-hours of HD content. This is a relitavely small amount of space for most people and if you watch sports, that space can fill up quickly. For the past year, I’ve worked dilligently to manage my recordings to ensure nothing was deleted due to space issues but I always knew my TiVo would need an upgrade. With summer upon us and my TiVo being practically empty, this was the perfect time to upgrade the device. I upgraded with a 1TB Western Digital drive (model WD10EVVS). This drive is ultra-quiet and designed for DVR’s. It also provides 146-hours of HD recording time.
There are three ways to upgrade a TiVo: add an external drive, add a secondary internal drive, replace the existing internal drive.
TiVo limits the external drive expansion to only the Western Digital My DVR Expander line of drives. This external SATA drive adds either 500gb or 1TB of storage for $149 and $199 respectively. This is a quick and easy option to expand your recording space but it adds another box to your entertainment center and another plug in the outlet.
I have not explored adding a second internal drive to a TiVo but this method seems to be the least-popular option due to single-drive capacity being so large.
The method I chose was to replace the internal drive. This method preserves all your settings, thumbs, season passes and anything else you have set up. ** PLEASE BE AWARE THAT YOU WILL LOSE YOUR RECORDINGS.**
Here are the main tools you will need to do this:
-Phillips & flat-head screwdrivers.
-T10 and T15 torx screwdrivers.
-A new compatible harddrive (a full and constantly updated list of recommended drives can be found at http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5616160#post5616160 in section IV, question 28).
-An Intel-based Mac.
-1 SATA to USB drive enclosure.
-Parallels or VM Fusion.
-Windows XP (SP2 or higher).
-A copy of WinMFS.
****PLEASE BE AWARE THAT OPENING YOUR TIVO AND/OR MAKING ANY MODIFICATIONS TO IT WILL **VOID** YOUR WARRENTY. YOU ARE WORKING WITH ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT THAT CAN BE EASILY BROKEN IF NOT HANDLED PROPERLY. PLEASE ONLY TAKE ON THIS PROJECT WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT YOU MAY DAMAGE YOUR TIVO BEYOND REPAIR AND YOUR WARRENTY WILL BE VOID. ****
Steps to upgrade your TiVo:
Prepare your Mac:
1. Install Parallels or VM Fusion (hhttp://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/ or http://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/). Both have trial versions, so if you only need Windows for this upgrade, you shouldn’t need to purchase the software.
2. Install Windows XP onto your virtual machine. Download and install Windows XP Service Pack 2 if your install doesn’t have it already.
3. Download and unzip the latest beta of WinMFS from http://www.mfslive.org/. Be sure you are downloading WinMFS. The other version is for Linux.
Prepare your TiVo:
4. Check your TiVo’s status to ensure it is not downloading guide data, recording any programs or indexing any guide data. It is also good to make sure to check your to do list so you do not miss any programs while the upgrade is in progress. Finally, ensure anything on your TiVo is watched or you don’t care if it’s lost. This process will not transfer your recordings.
5. Shut off your TiVo, unplug all wires and move it to a workbench or static-reistent surface.
6. Using the torx screwdrivers, remove the screws from the back of the TiVo that hold the cover in place. Tip: use a paper cup to hold your screws so none are lost. Once all screws are out, slide the cover back and up. Once off, place it aside.
7. Carefully remove the SATA cable from the existing harddrive.
8. Using a phillips-head screwdriver, remove the 4 screws holding the drive mount to the TiVo. Remove SATA cable from plastic-loop holder and lift drive out of the TiVo.
9. Flip drive upside down and remove the 4 mounting screws. The drive will now be completely free. Place mount aside.
Backup the drive:
10. With the virtual machine OFF, hook up the removed TiVo drive to the enclosure and turn it on. If prompted by OSX on what to do, click ‘Ignore’.
11. Start your virtual machine and once at the Windows desktop, open WinMFS.
12. When WinMFS opens, select your TiVo’s drive if prompted. It should recognize your drive. DO NOT FORMAT OR ATTEMPT TO OPEN THE DRIVE VIA EXPLORER OR DEVICE MANAGER.
13. Select File, Backup (Truncated). Create a filename and select a place to save the backup. This will begin a backup of your drive. This process can take anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour.
14. Once complete, close all Windows programs and shut down your VM. Again click ‘ignore’ if prompted by OSX.
15. Shut down drive enclosure and remove the drive. It can now be put away for safe keeping.
Upgrading to a new drive:
16. Hook up the new harddrive to the enclosure and turn it on. Again, click ‘Ignore’ if prompted by OSX.
17. Launch your virtual machine and WinMFS.
18. Select File, Restore. When prompted, select the backup file you created in step 13. WinMFS will now restore your backup onto the new drive.
19. When the restore is complete, WinMFS will ask if you want to add space to the drive. SAY YES!! If you say no, you will not have expanded capacity on your drive. If you hit No by accident, just select MFSAdd from the Tools menu.
20. Once the restore and expansion are complete, shut down Windows and the virtual machine. Click ‘ignore’ in OSX again. Turn off the drive enclosure.
21. Remove the new drive from the enclosure. Install it into the TiVo by reversing the removal instructions.
22. Slide cover back onto the TiVo and screw in all remaining torx screws. Hook up all wires and set your TiVo back into it’s spot in your entertainment center.
Once your TiVo fully boots back up and is ready to go, select Messages and Settings, System and Device Information, System Information. It is here where you will see your recording capacity. If everything went well, you should see a far larger recording capacity than the standard 20-hours the TiVo HD comes with. If you do not see this, you may need to restore the image onto the drive again or make sure you execute a MFSAdd on the drive.
You can also now confirm your Season Passes and all other settings are still on your TiVo. Finally, if you have any programs on your Now Playing list, please delete them. While the list may have items in it, the actual recordings are not there. If you try to play one, you will just recieve an error.
At this point your upgrade is done! It is a good idea to store the original drive in a safe place in case the new drive dies. In addition, you should save your TiVo backup file to a CD or other place in case you need it again. This will save time if you need to install another drive on your TiVo.
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The Geek’s View:
Knowing on Blu – Ray
Stars Nick Cage as an MIT profesor who deciphers a code that has been discovered in a time capsule that is fifty years old. There is the cliche back story of Nick Cage’s dead wife. The idea of the apocolyspe itself was pretty cool. The whole idea was that a solar flare from the sun would reach the earth and destroy everything was pretty terrifying. I also liked Nick Cage’s theories and ideas about why we exist. Do we have purpose or are we an accident? I enjoyed these parts and the special effects parts. I didn’t care about the characters at all. Morbid Summary: Good popcorn movie with some touches of how insignificant we really are.
The movie looked great. 1080p all the way with amazing dts master audio sound. There are these voices that invade these kids thoughts in the movie and the sound of these thousand little whispers with 5.1 speakers is friggin’ amazing. The special effects are noticeably cgi but they look really good.
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