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Herbs Blurbs has moved!

Herb's Blurbs has now officially been moved to our new location at Wordpress. This could be a temporary or permanent move; I hope to continue to bring you news and my takes on certain gizmos and software.

Visit us at:
http://herbsblurbs.wordpress.com/

YodM3D: take 1

Have you been looking for a 3D desktop manager? Err...for the 90% of readers out there who have no clue what a desktop manager is, I'll pose another question: do you have just too many of those darn windows? Well, you're trying to listen to music through your media player. Then there is your instant messaging buddy asking you something. On top of that, you're trying to beat the next level of Tetris online. Shhh, you're trying to Photoshop something. Then, to top the whole thing off, "you've got mail!".

Your taskbar (start bar) is filling up with programs; then grouping, then turning so small you can barely select them. "Well, I'll just get a new, huge monitor. Or add a second one onto my current one."

Hold on there, tyke. Why don't you save your $300 and spend it somewhere else? I'm going to introduce to you: YodM3D, a 3D desktop manager for Windows XP/Vista. I'm not one of those people that enjoy multitasking, but I still happen to have a lot of windows on my taskbar, especially during peak chat-hours.

Enough with the small talk though, here's how it looks. I recommend you don't try this on your 10-year old beige IBM machine (seriously, I've tried it, and the two really don't mix well). YodM3D virtually adds 3 more desktops to your current desktop, making a nice grand total of 4 desktops. 4 times the space.

So, you could have your media player open on one for quick switching, be blogging on the second, have Paint or Photoshop open on the third, and Windows Live Messenger on the fourth. Of course, this might take its toll on your computer; try not to go crazy.

The switching process. It's very easy to activate; just press ctrl+shift. Unfortunately, this is also the hotkey for "save as" on many applications, but there's a simple solution. Just change the hotkey selections in the options.

Speaking of options, here is the options screen. There are a myriad of options that I've just started playing around with, actually, such as the transparency settings and the background images and whatnot. It's fun, but a lot of the taxing options require a restart of YodM3D (not a hard job, actually, but is quite annoying).

A normal desktop on YodM3D. Nothing too special about this (notice the change of wallpaper). If you're a skeptic, just check the time!

And, lastly, the biggest surprise of all: the controlling of the switching process with your mouse. You can hit the two keyboard hotkeys (ctrl+shift default), and then use your mouse to drag to another desktop. In the options palette, you can change the background image of the switching process (currently the space background). I suggest something more High-Res, as it looks quite pixellated otherwise.

Now no recommendation would be complete without a link! So, here's a link to download YodM3D:

http://chsalmon.club.fr/index.php?en/Download

If the site is down, as it was at the moment, I suggest either using Google to find an alternative site, or to use a Torrent program (I'm sure most of you should be very familiar with those).

YodM3D seems to be quite the convenient program! I enjoy using it quite immensely, but it has a few minor bugs to fix (see the options screenshot again, and now look at the options text). Still, I like it enough to recommend it to you faithful readers. I hope it works as decently for you as it did for me. Until next time I post (ranging from within one hour to one week), ciao. Have a good one!

Creative Zen Stone: take 1

Recently, a friend of mine brought this digital audio player (aka mp3 player) to my attention. I had heard of the Zen Stone prior to this incident, but hadn't really paid it too much mind. And, after giving it some thought, I realized it deserved more. I believe that Creative could possibly be the most under-recognized and underrated companies in the world. It's sad how Apple's success with the iPod always outshines them, because their products are of really good quality. A couple of years ago, I was fortunate enough to receive a Zen Microphoto as a gift from my parents. It had many features that an iPod Nano did not; a customizeable wallpaper feature, a custom eq, a slew of different themes, a microphone, fm radio, and wma support (which was important to me as I used a lot of wma files; how I regret that, as I now received an iPod video from a family friend).

But, the Microphoto is another subject. Maybe I'll touch on it another day; today, I'm talking about Creative's Zen Stone. It's in direct competition with the iPod Shuffle; the question is, will the iPod Shuffle outshine it?

Although I don't actually have this product, I will seriously consider getting one for the future. It comes in two formats, actually; the screenless Zen Stone which has 1gb of storage and is available for $49.99CDN and the Zen Stone Plus, which has double the storage of the Zen Stone and a screen and can be yours for $69.99USD (CDN price approx: $74.60).

I'd go for the Zen Stone as a decent backup digital audio player during times when I don't really need to bring my iPod (short driving trips, jogs, and lawn mowing come to mind). Alas, I would get a Zen Stone Plus, but I don't really think I would cough up $74.60 for a backup player.

Source:http://images.creative.com/iss/images/products/headers/prod16424_hdr_1_6_1.jpg

The Zen Stone could very possibly compete aesthetically with the 2nd gen iPod Shuffle. The Zen stone might not be as small or slim; in fact, it's a bit chunkier, smoother, and rounder (hence the name Zen Stone). But, it still looks quite decent for a digital audio player.

What extra features could it possibly have? Well, it does feature wma support. And USB drag and drop features. But for $49.99, what more can you expect?

It's rated battery life is up to 10 hours, which really isn't too much once you think about it (sadly). It's also missing a clip, as you might see. Another downer, no?

So, this is a barebones digital audio player, much like an iPod Shuffle. But the iPod Shuffle, if I remember correctly, was and is still very successful. All I can hope for is the same success towards the Zen Stone.

Sony Ericsson k850: take 1

Revolutionary? Excepting the camera, you can't bet on it.

OK, so it has a 5-megapixel camera. And...

Pretty much nothing that sets it apart from the other numerous Sony Ericsson phones. Now, I don't want to make it sound like I've been drinking some haterade, because I actually like Sony Ericsson. After purchasing a w600i, they've made me a fan. So, what have I got against this hyped-up k850?

It follows too closely to the looks of the other phones.

source: http://www.newlaunches.com/entry_images/0607/15/Sonyericsson_K850_7.jpg

Doesn't it remind anyone else of the w810? Now, I realize that the w810 is possibly the most popular Sony Ericsson phone out there; and I don't mean to insult any of you, but it's not exactly easy on the eyes when compared to something like the k800. Except for the green line, and the keypad sticking out, this could actually be a black w810.

Now there's been a lot of arguments ignited by blunt comments stated on the looks of the k850. Some have said that it "looks fugly", whereas others have defended it saying it looks pretty. I'll let you be the judge.

source: http://www.newlaunches.com/entry_images/0607/15/Sonyericsson_K850_1.jpg

source: http://www.newlaunches.com/entry_images/0607/15/Sonyericsson_K850_5.jpg

It has 40mb of built-in memory and a Micro SD card slot. Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't other Sony Ericssons use memory cards too? Oh, wait, they use sony's proprietary Memory Stick Pro Duo. Now, this could be a nice move for the consumer; according to Future Shop prices, micro SD cards cost $20 less than a memory stick duo card (I compared 1gb versions of both). And you can thank Sandisk, because they just pumped out a 4gb micro SD card (which Future Shop doesn't happen to be selling). Nothing revolutionary, yet.

Its keypad has transformed into one similar to the next generation Sony Ericssons (eurgh, I swear I've seen this before! maybe I haven't..).

Then we move on to the menu; the main navigator you will mainly see and possibly get sick of. Now, I've really gotten sick of the standard Sony Ericsson menu, and I'm really looking into getting a phone with a flash menu. "Does the k850 have a flash menu?" I remember asking myself. And then I saw this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnBTD-Dxm1M

All I can bring myself to say is....niiiiiiice.

And, then we bring ourselves to the last and best feature of the phone: the 5 megapixel camera. Now, speaking for North Americans, the most standard camera phone has around 2 megapixels nowadays. The k790/k800 recently took the cake with its 3.2 megapixel camera. But now, the k850 definitely smashes them both with a 5 megapixel camera! It has a video resolution of 320*240, whereas the k800 has a 177*144 video resolution. What a leap.

So, I can't really call the k850 a revolution, especially when things like the Wii and iPhone exist and have recently debuted. Sure, it has a hell of a camera and a nice flash menu, but what else is there that another Sony Ericsson can't match?

Yet, it's still in its initial stages. Perhaps, I might change my mind about it one day. Perhaps.

By the way, if I've made any mistakes, please feel free to correct me. I don't want to be a misinformed source of information.

Joost: take 1

Want TV on your computer? Of course, but then you'd have to get a TV tuner card. Or, if you're on a laptop, you're going to have to get a TV tuner external USB adaptor. Then again, there's always Slingbox. But don't all of these require something that I'm not willing to give? Hmm....

Our solution: Joost (pronounced "juiced")

Although it's still in beta, I must say it's quite impressive. It "streams" videos through its software right into your home. I can't really explain it, but I think Wikipedia could help you.

Yes, Beyonce Live@Much. I've always considered taping some Live@Much shows, but I really haven't gotten around to it. Some of them are actually pretty interesting, but none are actually things I've considered having to watch more than once. Now, I can, I guess.

It has a decent GUI. I like the semi-transparent vibe, it goes along with Vista quite nicely. It might be a bit choppy at first, but I think thats only because I was running a lot of programs (they were on another window in my cube; I'll show you a software that does that later).

It doesn't have much material yet, though.

Yes, they do have the 2007 NHL playoff games. Interesting :) you can also watch fullscreen, which brings me to my next complaint.

First off, I'm watching on a 1280x800 display; it has a 16:9 aspect ratio. Or, 16:10? I really have to get this figured out. Anyway, that explains why the two bars are there, because it was meant for a 4:3 aspect ratio monitor. That said, I think that many consumers nowadays have widescreen monitors; perhaps they would consider it an option in the future?

Secondly, you might not see it in the compressed screenshot, but it has grainy quality. I don't think its resolution is too high; that might be due to my internet's download speed, but I think this might be a problem Joost has already on its own.

Lastly, where are all the prime time shows? Live@Much isn't exactly prime time, and NHL hockey isn't something I'd prefer to watch over and over again. I'd really like it if they got more popular shows, but I realize that this is a negotiating problem, so I can't really blame them.

Actually, its hard to blame them for anything. No matter how many cons it has, I think that free TV for your computer is decent. And I'd like to thank the developers of Joost and the concept designers for bringing such a wonderful creation to us. :)

iPhone: take 1

My first take on the iPhone: promising, but could the price be its Achilles heel?

It's in a situation that was exactly like the PS3, actually, except it's a lot more innovative. A lot of people want it, but will they be willing to cough up $499 for a mere 4 gb of storage?

Firstly, I do believe that four gigabytes is enough to store its multimedia; except, you might have to constantly delete songs, and whatnot. An eight gigabyte version is available too, which I would consider to be a much wiser investment (just think: twice the storage!).

It's motion-sensing abilities look quite incredible. It features coverflow, which is what sold me to iTunes (er, when I got a computer that could decently run iTunes). I do believe that those two will be its main selling points; anything that has to do with motion nowadays is quite popular(Wii much?); but the features are also decently implemented. Not to mention it has a touchscreen, which is much more preferable and universally-featured (I hate to say it, but my stubby fingers have had some trouble with small keypads) than say, a keypad. The Nintendo DS, for example, has a touchscreen as well, and look how far it's gone (well, from the touching is fun commercial?)!

Since the iPod was so popular, I think the iPhone would be able to capitalize on that as well. Prior owners of iPods (mostly minis and 1st, 2nd, or 3rd generations) will be looking into purchasing an iPhone depending on their experience with their iPod (presumably, good).

Also, connecting to the internet with the iPhone will be quite the experience; its screen is much larger than any of its preceding handheld devices (with a few exceptions), and it has wifi access. I like the sound of that :)

This might all sound very nice, but it will cost a whopping $499 US and $599 US for a 2 year contraact for the 4gb and 8gb versions respectively. Don't be too down on yourselves, http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/01/iphone_price.html reports that consumers can expect Apple to easily cut its price if demand isn't too high. But, Apple's definitely going to bet they don't have to.

It might have been brief, but I can't really say much until I've had a run with the iPhone myself. Only when I experience it myself will I be able to write a 2nd take, and tell you whether or not its really worth $499 (that's more than a Wii!).