Damn you got a nice skin over there. Imma tinker with the Foobar player for a bit.
The 2nd one featuring Kid Cudi.
I’m not sure actually, but I was given an option to redeem the video from the iTunes store itself. So I wasn’t actually thinking the format would be an issue.
Hmmm wierd. Maybe its a firmware problem, have you tried updating it to the most recent version?
I got a question for those using MPC. Just a couple of days ago I noticed that when I play videos they make a folder in that location named “Media Player Classic” with a playlist file on it I think. Has anyone had this happen to them? How do you disable it?
So whats wrong with Vista? Granted I’ve only been using it for a week and I plan on dumping it as soon as windows 7 comes out, but it seems alright and the gadgets are cool.
Vista’s aight. I used to get bluescreens sometimes about some bullshit, but that only happened when I shutdown my computer and restarted it up later. So I just leave the shit running now. Good for seeding I figure.
If it works and you notice nothing wrong with it, then all is well I suppose.
LOL your computer won’t let you shut it down. 
That bluescreen is random as fuck. Luckily I only got it once so far with my new laptop. But I don’t know why it happened.
Still, imma cop that Windows 7. I wish I have pre ordered back when it was 50% off.
Me too. 
I was mad for a couple of weeks for not buying 7 then until last week when I realized I could get it free once my laptop showed up, now i’m glad because I would have been pissed if i had bought it.
I think it was you who told about the AIMP player. You don’t use that one anymore?
maybe i should check out jetaudio too. I like to try out new programs once in a while.
Almost been a year with it on my newest comp and haven’t had any complaints thus far. It’s too bad windows 7 is right around the corner as I’m finally getting comfy with it, but just like with vista, I wont dive in head first. Gonna make sure peeps aren’t cracking heads on trying to get their shit to work under a brand new OS.
Question
I have two computer needs for late 2009/early 2010.
My media center Dell laptop is five years old now. She’s still running well but Big Momma (17 inch screen 10lb weight) won’t be going on forever. So here’s me issue.
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For the past year I’ve had Big Momma hooked up to my tv and I only move it to dust. I used to be all about mobile computing but this has been working out fine so I want to get a new tower pc but I’m not sure what’s hot now and what’s a waste of time. I guess the question is if I want to play games and yes I do. I have Steam and I do use it from time to time. I’m not looking to have the best though since I have an Xbox 360.
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Even though I have an iPhone I still want a more powerful more user friendly mobile computing experience. I’d like to have a netbook that can at least play Source engine stuff. I’ve seen videos of this one netbook doing that but I forgot the name of it.
So if you guys can give me a heads up on what’s coming down the pipe (like Windows 7 or Mac’s tablet pc), what looks good, what looks economically feasible, etc. that would be great. Like I said I’m not buying anything right now. Just got done buying books and paying for school and I am in no position to pay for any new computer.
BONUS) Around the same time I get two new computers I want to get into networking my external storage. I’m thinking by then I can get a 1tb external hard drive with networking capability built right in for less than $150. I really want to be able to securely access my files from anywhere in the world. So to describe what I’m doing I want to be able to turn on my netbook, go to my networked external drive, log on, and upload or download what I need to.
Thanks for any help I get in advance!
OK I think I can help you with some of this…
- Not sure what the question is exactly, but yeah, there is no reason to have a 17-inch laptop unless you have serious space constraints or for some reason need to move your computer from point A to point B every now and then. A desktop offers better power at a lower price. You can probably get a decent gaming PC for around 500 (more if you need a monitor), however, the performance and quality won’t be great. The more you can spend the better you can get it.
If you are pretty tech savvy, you can build your own PC, get what you need and save a few bills. Otherwise, custom PC builders can do it for you (although I had a horrible experience with Cyberpower, who sent me a DoA computer then took 10% of my money when I returned it, but maybe others are better). Retail gaming PCs are also decent and typically without hassle, but they are usually more expensive than a comparable performing PC.
Windows 7 is probably the next big thing from M$. It should actually be a half-way decent operating system at launch unlike Vista.
Question 2) I own a Eee PC 1000H. My “lil’ Eee” is pretty neat, but you have to realize what you are getting. The screen is fucking tiny. Very difficult to multitask with, and not really good for gaming. I game on it from time to time - it works but not very well. Some things refuse to run on an Eee PC (I’ve been trying like crazy to get Fallout 2 on it).
The best thing a netbook is for is (of course) internet and cloud computing. Any more than that, and you should probably be looking at a standard laptop or ultraportable. It’s really more for work than play in some respects (unless you define “play” as “dicking around on the internet”).
BONUS!
I wish I knew more about HD enclosures with Network attached-storage (NAS) but I don’t. All I know is that you probably aren’t gonna find one for $150 cause those things are expensive. The best you are gonna get for $150 is an external enclosure and a 1TB HD, but it’s not gonna be NAS-enabled.
If you want some free portable storage, check into www.getdropbox.com - Offers 2GB free storage and a pretty neat client that let’s you drop files into a special folder that automatically syncs with their server. Good for storing documents and that kinda of thing. I use it with Zotero and it works pretty well.
I switch programs like I switch clothes.
AIMP2 is solid, thoroughly… but I got into a customization phase and didn’t like any of the skins.
Once Foobar stopped being confusing, I learned to love it.
These are my currently used progs:
Browser: I have both Opera 10 beta 3 and Google Chrome installed.
I’ve fallen in love with Chrome deeply. It’s become apparent that certain sites have added functionality in Chrome (Google Reader, Myspace). That aside, I can’t bring myself to ditch Opera. I have it on both my PC and phone.
Image Viewer: XnView
Best viewer out IMO. It’s extremely fast. Irfanview’s design is somewhat outdated. Every other viewer has the ability to scroll down when viewing a large animated gif except Irfanview, and when mentioned to the dev, all he says is “it’s a unnecessary feature.” Imagine and Futurix are also solid viewers. Picasa is also pretty damn good, but it doesn’t animate gifs.
IM: Trillian Astra
Kills EVERYTHING now. Only multi-protocol IM program that supports Skype. Full featured and the memory footprint is waaaay down. It actually almost compares to Miranda now as far as memory usage.
Video: Media Player Classic
While having a player with built-in codecs is a good idea, what I’ve noticed is a lot of players barely update those codecs (VLC, KMplayer). K-Lite codecs pack has vastly improved and much more organized over the years and is far less ‘damaging’ to your system. That along with MPC has produced the smoothest playback of videos for me. MPC is also a very lightweight player with every feature I need (thumbnail maker, especially).
Music: Foobar2000
There’s just something about its setup. Its something of a library based player, but its lightweight in comparison to iTunes. I’m not that fond of having to install a bunch of plugins for basic/extra functions (which is why I fell out with Miranda IM) but once you have certain themes/skins/plugins, this thing becomes a godsend.
Launcher: Executor
Similar to Launchy, but much more customizable. I had both running at the same time with the same directories indexed, and Executor beat Launchy easily.
Other: CCleaner, uTorrent, VirtualDub (small video editing), Color Pad (color picker), Free Video Zilla (rip music/video files off of sites), Nexus Font (font manager), TreeSizeFree (allows you to find the biggest folders on your computer, to help clean them out and save space)
Thanks for the heads up on XnView… I’ve been trying to find a decent image viewer.
Does this sync with iPods at all? Would like a better music app than iTunes but I mostly use just for syncing.