VLC 0.9.2 Adds a Slew of New Features, Improvements

It's not too often that a new version of VLC gets released, so when one does break through the grasps of the developers, people celebrate. The previous version of this ultra-popular media player was 0.8.6, which to date has had over one-hundred million downloads (staggering), but now the clock has been reset with the launch of 0.9.2.

One major new feature is a new interface module for Linux, Unix and Windows. The Linux player might look a bit different depending on your distro and installed packages, but you can see how mine looked below (the blue window decoration is from KDE, not VLC). Overall, it looks better, cleaner and more intuitive, but that might be a matter of opinion.

This new version also brings in support for more codecs, both for video and audio, and also video filters. To help become a more robust media player, support has been added for popular video services like YouTube (inputting the URL to the video will automatically load it in VLC), in addition to Last.fm submission support and automatic album art downloading. There's way too much new to mention here though, so definitely check out the "what's new?" page and then give the latest version a download.

The 0.9 version of VLC media player adds a new interface module for Linux, Unix and Windows, a media library and an improved playlist, many new inputs and codecs support and many new audio and video filters. For video playback, new protocols, new codecs, new demuxers and many bug-fixes have been added to support more formats. For audio playback, cover art and metadata support (and editing) have been vastly enhanced. It can play audio when the playback speed is changed.

Source: VideoLan VLC

Ten Cool Xbox 360 Tricks

Did you know that there are many cool tricks you can do with your Xbox 360 that Microsoft doesn't boast about? Sure, I knew of a few, but Tech Radar lists ten different things that can be done, and some of them are quite interesting. Everything from connecting two screens at once to playing music with your original Xbox games is mentioned.

The tip that I really wish I knew before is the one to reset your video settings. Recently, I swapped the display that my Xbox was using, and because the new display only supported 720p and the setting on the Xbox was still 1080p - you can guess what happened. Absolutely nothing. I had to hook the console back up to the other screen again, just so I could see something in order to change the video back down to 720p.

It turns out that by holding down a few buttons during the console boot, it will tell it to reset all video settings... very handy. I've done the exact same thing with the PS3 as well though, so I'd imagine a shortcut like that exists there as well. This is one top ten list that should be looked at though. It might just give you some cool ideas of your own.

Remember this one if you're in the habit of carrying your console to chum's houses and hooking it up to different displays. It can end up trying to output the wrong signal, so you can't see anything or get a flickering screen. Fortunately, there's a fairly simple fix if this happens. Remove any discs from the tray and turn the thing off. Then turn it on using a gamepad. As it boots, hold down the Y button, then hit and hold the right trigger. The video settings will reset to default, and you'll stop your sobbing.

Source: Tech Radar

Apple Becomes Sixth Largest Worldwide PC Vendor

In case you haven't noticed, Apple has been enjoying some incredible growth over the past few years. Whether it's due to OS X's simplicity or Windows Vista's major issues, I'm unsure, but Apple has become more than just a serious contender in the PC market, and it's good to see. It took them quite a while to really cause a major shift in the computer industry, but now it's rare to see a developer of some sort without a MacBook.

Their success has landed them as the sixth largest PC manufacturer worldwide, though Ars Technica doesn't share direct numbers to give some insight. As it stands, it's impossible to even guess a number. Sixth in the world is a big deal, but other manufacturers, like HP, Dell and Acer would each share a huge portion of that 100%, which wouldn't leave much for the fourth place and higher.

But that's not what's important... even 1% of the world market would be incredible, and surely Apple has that now. The growth shows no sign of slowdown, either, but given the recent advent of netbooks and mini-notebooks, their increase might begin to slow down. That is, of course, unless the Cupertino company decides to release one of their own...

"While this is good news for Apple and its shareholders, Gartner echoes other assessments that Apple may have a tough road ahead considering that PC manufacturers have brought the budget battle to ultra-portable, ultra-cheap notebooks. Asus' Eee PC and its many competitors are ushering in a new era of $400 notebooks and cheap desktops which, as we noted back April, are very appealing to areas like Asia and South America where markets aren't as saturated.

Source: Ars Technica

Microsoft Fires Xbox 360 RRoD Whistleblower

Last week, I linked to a story that discussed how the Xbox 360 could have been launched to avoid the flurry of Red Ring of Death issues, but wasn't. Problems detected early on were not taken care of, despite employee's who brought the issues up to the management. Microsoft took their chances, and even after losing $1B to fixing the problems, they don't seem to regret their decision.

Well, apparently they did mind about the employee who brought the issue to light, because after the story was posted, he was fired immediately. Robert Delaware was a game test contractor who claims to not regret his decision to bring the issue up, and it's good, because as a consumer, we should know about these things. Not to mention it would be worse if you actually invested into the company... you should definitely know above anyone about these idiotic decisions.

Sadly, the fact is that now nothing will happen, really. The issue was brought to light, but there's little doubt that Microsoft would take the exact same chance in the future. The worst victim might be Robert himself. It's going to be some difficult to find a job in this industry after everyone knows your a whistleblower. Good luck to him regardless and thanks for being the one to speak up.

Delaware is expecting to face civil charges from his former employer VMC (which tests games for Microsoft) and Microsoft as well. Delaware is planning to fight any future lawsuits. “I don’t regret it,” he said in a phone call on Thursday. “I’ll fight it. If they want to come after me, bring it on.” An HR representative for Excell Data was the one who told him that he would likely face legal trouble.

Source: DailyTech

Spore's DRM Protection Not Exactly Paying Off

Back in May, I had a minor rant about piracy, and the fact that the worst victims of it are the real consumers. It's us who pay for the game that have to put up with ridiculous protections, not the pirates. The pirates instead download a game, apply a crack, and be done with it. Sure seems convenient, aye?

The post then talked about Spore's insane copy protection that requires the game to validate with EA's servers with each play. Like Microsoft Windows, if you install too many times, you will have to call EA to explain why, and then they can unlock your account if they so choose. I don't think it takes a brain surgeon to figure out exactly why this is so foolish, and only hurts the paying customer.

Well, EA's move to include such poor DRM isn't paying off. Like most games, this one was already cracked and available on torrent sites before the official release, and as it turns out, many people who were planning to purchase the game are instead turning to the pirate version, and seriously, who could blame them? If the option was there to choose between a version that constantly phoned home or one that gave no hassles whatsoever, it's pretty easy to make a choice.

At the time of this Forbes article, the game was downloaded over 171,000 times through BitTorrent networks, and while I'm sure the vast majority wouldn't pay for the game anyway, tens of thousands would, and that's nothing but lost revenue for EA. It's just too bad they won't learn, or change. If they did, I'd be surprised.

"By downloading this torrent, you are doing the right thing," wrote one user going by the name of "deathkitten" on the popular file-sharing site The Pirate Bay. "You are letting [Electronic Arts] know that people won't stand for their ridiculously draconian 'DRM' viruses."

Source: Forbes

Tech Roundup - September 15, 2008

• Biostar TP43D2-A7 & TP45D2-A7 - InsideHW
• Intel X48 Motherboard Round-up: ASUS, ECS, Intel - HotHardware

• Gigabyte GeForce 9800GT 512MB - APH Networks
• Gigabyte GeForce 9800GT 512MB - Bjorn3D
• Samsung SyncMaster 305T 30-inch LCD - Phoronix
• Zotac 9800GT AMP! Edition - t-break

• Evo-G MP1 Mousepad - DragonSteelMods
• Samsung ML-1640 Mono Laser Printer - InsideHW
• SilverStone Raven SST-RVM01B Gaming Mouse - Benchmark Reviews
• Tritton AX Micro Bluetooth Headset - Legit Reviews
• Vuzix iWear AV920 - TestFreaks

• Cooler Master GeminII S CPU Cooler - Think Computers
• Swiftech Apogee GTZ Water-Block - Pure Overclock
• Titan "Cool Idol" TTC-NK75TZ Cooler - HardwareOC

• BFG Tech LS Series 680W Power Supply - Think Computers
• E-Power Thunder 550 Watt Power Supply - Hardware Logic
• GlacialPower GP-AL 650A 650 Watt Power Supply - TweakPC

• $200 Xbox 360 Arcade: A Perfect Media Extender? - Digital Trends
• Dell XPS M1730 Notebook - PC Perspective
• Home Theater Essentials - Digital Trends