General Gaming Article |
- How To Share Big Files Over the Internet the Fast, Easy and Free Way
- iPhone 4S Components Priced Out: $188
- Google Music Store "Twist" Could Be Sharing
- Microsoft Firing on All Cylinders, Posts Record Quarter
- Gmail About To Get A Redesign
- MSI X79A-GD65 8D Motherboard Exposes Itself in Public
- Browser Extension of the Week: BuzzGrowl for Twitter and Facebook
- 20 Essential Tips and Tricks for Windows Phone 7.5 Mango
- Netflix (Finally) Supports Honeycomb Tablets
- Please Hammer, Don't Hurt Google!
| How To Share Big Files Over the Internet the Fast, Easy and Free Way Posted: 20 Oct 2011 03:08 PM PDT There are fast ways to share digital files with your friends that don't involve letting them borrow your thumb driveThe Internet has been around for decades now, and even though we all use it every day, the simple act of sending an electronic file to a friend isn't always so simple. We've grown accustomed to e-mail and instant messengers, which work well for sending small handfuls of small files to small groups of people. As soon as you start trying to send anything en masse there are a lot of roadblocks. So what exactly is the best way to send a large file, or a lot of files, or—dare we say—a lot of large files?
Image courtesy xkcd.com The Squeeze Play - Compress Your FilesThe number one most convenient thing you can do, in just about any case, is to compress your files. This has the huge benefit of leaving you with just a single file to worry about sending, no matter how many files you start with. Plus, by compressing your files, they will (typically) be smaller, meaning less time uploading as well as downloading. It isn't foolproof, though. Both compressing and decompressing a file takes time, and depending on the level of compression and size of the file, it can easily take longer to compress a file than it would to upload it at its full size. It's important to find a balance between compression and speed, and some files lend themselves to compression better than others. When you have files that are already in a highly compressed format, such as most photos and videos, you typically won't save much space by compressing them further. Other files, such as data files, BMPs, and text files can compress very well. Some compression software will actually detect the best compression levels automatically on a per file basis, but be careful. This type of compression isn't always lossless, meaning audio and image files may have their quality permanently lowered in order to save space. Always check in your compression software settings to ensure this doesn't happen without your OK. The ZIP format is natively supported in both Windows and Mac, but its performance is relatively poor, often dwarfed in both speed and compression quality by more comprehensive compression programs. This brings us to the next big question: which compression programs are the best? Well, here's a quick look at three of our favorites. WinRAR Balance is key, and that's what WinRAR does extremely well. Its RAR format may only take second place for its level of compression – not too shabby, though – but it is consistently the fastest when it comes to both packing and unpacking files. While RAR files are not native to Windows or Mac, many other compression programs are still capable of unpacking it, so the odds are in your favor that the recipient will be able to open the file you send him. Even if he can't, WinRAR is available on Windows, OSX, and Linux, despite the name. The biggest downside to WinRAR is the fact that it isn't free. A single user license will set you back nearly $30; however, the 40-day free trial doesn't care too terribly much if you go over the 40 days. It simply greets you with a message window each time you open a RAR archive and asks you to buy the full version. WinZip
Where WinZip shines is its user interface. It's extremely straightforward (especially for those used to Windows), and its Wizard Mode makes even advanced compression tasks simple. This makes it perfect for working with standard ZIP files. 7zip
You'd think all of this would make 7zip an easy choice; however, it's not exactly the most user friendly application. Its user interface is definitely geared toward advanced users (though advanced users would likely cherish this fact). Sharing Through the CloudCloud storage has become increasingly popular over the past few years, and it's the best way to share most digital files. Photo sharing is something we're all accustomed to, using tools like Picasa or Photobucket work well for doling out our freeze-frame memories – heck, even Facebook makes for a decent enough photo sharing experience. But what about video files or your newly compressed ZIP files filled with all sorts of random junk? Well, there's room on the cloud for those, too. Dropbox
The only problem you'll run into is when you want to share more than 2GB of data. Dropbox sells 50GB and 100GB accounts for $10 and $20 per month, respectively. These prices aren't bad, but there's a more affordable way to go about it, especially if you don't expect to fill up that full 50GB of space. Google Docs
It's pretty difficult to beat Google's pricing anywhere else, but you do miss out on some of the useful tools services like Dropbox provide. Sharing a file is still pretty simple; all you have to do is upload it and invite people to share it with (which will require them to log in to their Google account) or create a public link anyone can use (not sign-in required). And while you can't currently upload arbitrary file types in Google Docs' mobile apps, you can still manage and share files. DIY Cloud Storage If you're reasonably tech savvy and trust that your internet connection is reliable enough, you can host your own cloud server rather cheaply and effectively. All you need is a storage-ready router (the Netgear WNDR3700 is one of our favorites), an external hard drive, and just a bit of networking knowhow. This hard drive/router pairing not only gives you a cheap NAS solution, but also a very simple FTP or even HTTP file server.
Because this method is dependent on your own upload speed, it's best suited for sharing a file with a single person (and ideally NOT while you're trying to pwn in any online games). What About Uber-Large Files?So you want to share a 10GB+ sized file with someone? Honestly, unless your internet is considerably faster than average in terms of upload speed, you're probably better off mailing it on a collection of DVD-Rs or a USB drive. With the average American's internet connection, a 10GB file will take upwards of 13 hours to upload, and that's assuming the connection is stable enough to get through the task successfully on the first try. Of course for those with fast connections and those willing to wait it out, the DIY cloud storage solution above is able to tackle a file uploads of megalithic proportions, especially when it's configured as an FTP server with file resuming enabled. There are also a few other options. FTP and Web Servers There are a handful of hosting solutions available these days, and even some of the cheapest of them offer unlimited storage space and unlimited bandwidth. Of these, iPage, FatCow, and JustHost are the cheapest (as low as $42 per year) and best rated. These all offer both an FTP interface (for use with programs like FileZilla) and a web interface. When dealing with extremely large files, the FTP option is far superior, simply because it allows you to resume failed transfers. On top of the storage space, you can even create your own website. They don't exactly smile on people using their servers for file storage, but as long as you're not hosting terabytes of data, they generally don't mind. And, of course, they'll cut you off immediately if you're sharing copyright protected files—but you wouldn't be sharing those anyway…would you? Torrents
Once created, all you have to do is distribute the tiny torrent file to your friends so that they can initiate the download using their own torrent clients. Similar to the DIY cloud server, torrents are dependent on your own internet speed, but unlike most router-based cloud setups, you can limit the upload speed so that it won't cripple your internet while the file is downloaded. Plus, when sharing with multiple parties, everyone will be able to share everyone else's bandwidth. Just be sure to keep your torrent client running until at least one of your friends has downloaded the entire file, and keep in mind that the files you share through torrents aren't necessarily private. TL;DRIf you want to share files but are too lazy to read this entire article, here's the gist of it: Grab yourself 7zip (or WinRar or any other compression software you prefer) and zip your files when necessary in order to save space and turn many files into one file. The ZIP file format is preferred. It's not the best for compression (for that you'll want the 7z format), but it's the most universal. Email works for smaller files, as most mail servers will limit attachments to 10MB. For anything larger than 10MB, Dropbox is your best bet, so long as you don't have more than 2GB to share. When it comes to sharing more than 2gigs, your only free options are torrents or a makeshift cloud drive, built from a USB storage-ready router, but both of these options are best reserved for those with killer fast internet connections. If you're willing to spend a bit of money, Google Docs gives you the best value. With a 10GB file size limit and up to 400GB of space for less than $10, it'll work for just about anyone's file sharing needs. If your files are bigger than 10GB, it might be time to invest in an FTP server. Unlimited web hosting services are available for under $50 per year, but they don't play nice if you abuse the "unlimited" portion of that deal. Tiered web space solutions aren't nearly as cheap. |
| iPhone 4S Components Priced Out: $188 Posted: 20 Oct 2011 02:57 PM PDT
The most expensive part is, unsurprisingly, the touchscreen at $37. iSupplyi estimates that manufacturing costs are just $8 per device, so Apple pays less than $200 for the device, and it sells for $200 on contract. The 32GB and 64GB models were priced out at $207 and $254 respectively. By sticking with a similar design, Apple has reduced the cost of building the device, and will likely enjoy more profit per phone. Considering the number of units moved, it's going to be a good quarter for Apple. |
| Google Music Store "Twist" Could Be Sharing Posted: 20 Oct 2011 02:40 PM PDT
Google isn't the first company to go down this route. Microsoft's original Zune had a similar feature called Squirting. Although, the suspicion is that the Google version will only allow streaming of the borrowed tracks. Google also has an advantage in music sales that Microsoft didn't have in that Android is huge right now. If mp3 buying showed up in the Android Market, it would be huge. Google is expected to pay the big music labels huge up-front fees for this kind of sharing and streaming license. Indie labels are reportedly peeved about getting left out of these deals. The tipster also indicated the service was due out by the end of 2011. |
| Microsoft Firing on All Cylinders, Posts Record Quarter Posted: 20 Oct 2011 02:38 PM PDT
"We saw customer demand across the breadth of our products, resulting in record first-quarter revenue and another quarter of solid EPS growth," said Peter Klein, chief financial officer at Microsoft. "Our product portfolio is performing well, and we've got an impressive pipeline of products and services that positions us well for future growth." The Microsoft Business Division reported $5.62 billion in first quarter revenue, up 8 percent from one year ago when Microsoft launched Office 2010. Microsoft's Server & Tools segment grew 10 percent year-over-year to $4.25 billion, which marks the sixth consecutive quarter of double digit growth, and the company's Windows and Windows Live Division revenue increased 2 percent to $4.87 billion, a figure Microsoft says is "in line with the PC market." "We had another strong quarter for Office, SharePoint, Exchange, and Lync, and saw growing demand for our public and private cloud services including Office 365, Dynamics CRM Online, and Windows Azure," said Kevin Turner, chief operating officer at Microsoft. "With a great set of consumer products like Windows 7 PCs, Windows Phone 7.5, Xbox and Kinect, we are excited about the holiday buying season." The next time Microsoft reports quarterly revenue, the numbers will include the results of Skype, the company said. |
| Posted: 20 Oct 2011 02:28 PM PDT
The new Gmail will automatically reflow the UI to adapt to any size window, and users can change the size of sidebar content like Chat and Labels. The options up top have been replaced with an Action bar consisting of just icons. Conversations also got a makeover with sharper corners and profile pictures. The Themes have gotten an update with higher resolution images to work with the new design. user can also tweak the density of the UI, just like in the new Docs. No news on when Google is rolling this out, but it can't be long now. |
| MSI X79A-GD65 8D Motherboard Exposes Itself in Public Posted: 20 Oct 2011 02:19 PM PDT
The quad-channel DIMM slots are arranged on both sides of the CPU socket, which is a design you're going to see on all LGA 2011 boards, at least for the time being. From what we gather, this arrangement allows for tighter latencies by keeping the memory close to the socket rather than stretching it out in either direction. Courtesy of ChipHell via TCMagazine (ChipHell's link seems to be down) you can also spy five PCI Express x6 slots (two are PCi Express 3.0 x16 and four 3.0 x8), a PCi Express 2.0 x1 slot, four SATA 6Gpbs ports, four SATA 3Gbps ports, eight USB 2.0 ports, a pair of USB 3.0 ports, GbE LAN, Firewire, audio connectors, and a PS/2 port. Image Credit: ChipHell via TCMagazine |
| Browser Extension of the Week: BuzzGrowl for Twitter and Facebook Posted: 20 Oct 2011 12:17 PM PDT
BuzzGrowl for Twitter and Facebook is an ingenious extension that allows you to see what people have been saying about the website you're visiting. Once installed, the extension can easily be turned on or off with a simple click of its icon. When turned on, BuzzGrowl for Twitter and Facebook will relay tweets and Facebook postings relevant to the site your viewing in a small pop-up pane located in the bottom right corner of your browser. BuzzGrowl postings can be browsed by date, making it easy to find relevant opinions or tidbits of data about the site you're currently visiting.
Additionally BuzzGrowl for Twitter and Facebook also simplifies your sharing workflow. See a site you like? Click the Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr link in the BuzzGrowl window and you're good to go. Be sure to check back every Thursday for another edition of Maximum PC's Browser Extension of the Week.
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| 20 Essential Tips and Tricks for Windows Phone 7.5 Mango Posted: 20 Oct 2011 11:38 AM PDT Windows Phone 7 is one of our favorite mobile platforms, and the Mango update brings some core functionality that was missing in the original release. With all of the new features and tools, there is a minor learning curve, but this list of tips will get you using Mango like a pro in no time. We'll go through many of the individual apps and utilities that you are familiar with in Windows Phone 7, and show you the new enhancements that can make your life easier. Bing
Local Scout Bing really comes into its own as a key part of the Windows Phone platform in Mango, and Local Scout takes center stage. Local Scout makes it easy to discover restaurants, events, and attractions based on your phone's location data. Using Bing's resources, Local Scout can provide you with contact information, reviews, directions, or a link to associated websites. Music Most of us have experienced the situation where you hear something on the radio and want to know more about the song or artist. Windows Phone Mango now offers Music search within the Bing app. Simply press the Music button, and your phone starts listening to the song, and attempts to find a match. When a match is found, Bing provides album art, song title, and a link to the Zune Marketplace. Vision You know those scanning phone apps that capture a barcode or QR codes and give you link results? Barcodes only scratch the surface of what Bing Vision provides. Vision allows you to capture an image using the phone's camera, attempts to recognize any text in the image, and then gives you the ability to search or translate the text. Vision will also search based on the image itself. For example, capturing the cover of a book launches a search for that book and a price comparison between sellers. App Links Bing not only gives you more ways to search using your phone, but also more ways to use those search results. When using any of its search methods, Bing gives you a normal result set, but it also hips you to available apps that can give you even more details, whether those apps are installed on your device or not. As a good example, a classic Bing search for a movie will give you ratings and show times. But with the new App Links, you also get a list of apps such as IMDB, Fandango, and Flixster. The App Link will allow you to navigate directly to the details for your search result within the app itself. Navigation Windows Phone already provided turn-by-turn navigation on Windows Phone 7, but it was less than optimal. With Mango, navigation receives a huge upgrade, including directions with voice prompts. Bing provides you with both a Map and step-by-step directions with large fonts and arrows indicating which direction to turn. If you want an update on how far you are from your next turn, just tap the map, and Bing will give you a spoken update. People
Groups Many smart phone owners have scores of contacts or, as Windows Phone refers to them, People. Managing your People can sometimes be a hassle, and trying to send an email or text to a specific group of people can outright suck. People Groups in Windows Phone Mango let you combine multiple contacts into a smaller set. Once you have a Group created, you can easily pin it to your start screen, providing quick access to send an email or SMS message to the entire Group. Contact History Have you ever started a conversation using SMS and then continued it using Email? The History section of a contact will let you see your communication history with each person. SMS and email messages are listed, as well as a phone call history. You can quickly jump to the details of each message with a single tap. What's New Account Filter In addition to Facebook integration, Mango adds the ability to connect to Twitter and LinkedIn. With the sheer number of contacts we deal with in our social networks, the What's New area of the People Hub can be a never-ending blur of status updates and wall posts. People Groups can help you narrow your updates to specific lists of people, but What's New will also allow you to only view updates from specific social networks. Tapping the What's New text at the top of the screen lets you choose which networks will show updates.
Messaging
Microsoft has taken Facebook integration to a new level in Mango, starting with integrated support for Facebook Chat. You enable Facebook Chat under Messaging Settings and will have to link your Facebook account with your Windows Live ID. Once configured, you can set your status and view online friends using the Messaging app. Chat also supports Windows Live Messenger accounts. Speech Voice support in Windows Phone takes a big step forward with Mango. When in a message thread you have the option to dictate a message using the Speak button instead of typing it. Windows Phone will also read incoming text messages aloud, which is particularly useful while driving. You can change how and when text messages are read aloud in the Speech Settings.
ProductivitySkyDrive Integration with Office Hub SkyDrive performs so many roles in Mango, but none more useful than the integration with the Office Hub. Previously in Windows Phone you could synchronize your OneNote documents to your SkyDrive account, while other document types (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) could only be saved to a SharePoint Server. Mango provides the ability to save any document type to your SkyDrive account, where you can view, edit, download, or share your document. Our money says any additional integration with Microsoft's existing cloud features is a step in the right direction. Linked Inboxes "Unified Inbox" is an antiquated notion. Instead of forcing you to choose between using a single Inbox for all your email or leaving them all separate, Windows Phone Mango allows you to pick and choose which mail boxes should be grouped together. Simply choose "Link Inboxes" from the menu within a mail box, and Mango will ask you to select which boxes to link together. Changed your mind? Mango also allows you to gracefully remove the link. AudioCustom Ringtones Finally, you can use custom ringtones with your Windows Phone. Question: How do you load them? Answer: the same way you load any other music using the Zune client software. Caveats: Your song must be an MP3 or WMA file, less than 40 seconds in length, less than 1MB, and must have the genre set to "ringtone". Simple. Smart DJ Zune has had Smart DJ for a long time, but it's new to Windows Phone with Mango. Smart DJ will take your selected song, album, or artist and create a playlist based on similar music. The concept is similar to Pandora radio, only with songs in your local storage. It's a great option for creating a different selection of music to listen to in an instant. General
Multitasking Multitasking is one of the biggest new features in Mango, and it makes a big difference. In truth, it's actually really fast app switching, as apps are limited in what they can do in the background, but in most cases you won't know or care. To use the feature you hold down the Back button on the front of your device, which will bring up a row of screens that you can swipe through. Do be aware that this feature must also be supported on the individual app level, but developers are doing a good job of getting their apps updated. Voice Commands Windows Phone has had Voice Commands since day one, but it's greatly expanded in Mango. Pressing and holding the Windows button on your phone will initiate Voice Command, as will tapping the call button on your Bluetooth headset. Voice Command in Mango lets you compose a text message, place a phone call, perform a search using Bing, and various other functions. For more details, activate Voice Command and ask "What can I say?" for some more examples. Additional options can be found under the Speech option in Settings. Battery Saver It sounds pretty nebulous, and power-saving features can often impact performance, but Microsoft did some pretty amazing things with Battery Saver in Mango. The feature is found in Settings > Battery Saver. There are only two checkboxes, one to always use the feature when the battery is low, and the other to activate it only until your next battery charge. Battery saver disables Push Email and Multitasking, both of which are clearly indicated on the Settings page. WindowsPhone.com
Marketplace It's not a new feature in Mango, but Microsoft did announce its web-based Marketplace at WindowsPhone.com the same day as the Mango release. It's really convenient to be able to just open up a web browser and find some killer apps for your phone. The Zune desktop client is great, but a web page is much more accessible. Just like with Android, the Windows Phone Marketplace allows you to find new apps and install them to your phone without ever connecting a cable. App Purchase History Another big feature of WindowsPhone.com is the ability to view a history of all your app purchases or downloads. The history also allows you to reinstall your apps remotely, which can be pretty handy if you're trying to track down that app you accidentally uninstalled. Find My Phone Every smartphone user has panicked over a misplaced or stolen phone. With the money invested in the device itself and the amount of information we rely on the phone to organize, losing a smartphone can be disastrous. Find My Phone gives you a map view displaying the last known location of your phone, and will also let you remotely lock or ring your phone (even if silenced), making the process of tracking down your device a breeze. Such is Mango!Mango for Windows Phone brings a lot of new functionality to the platform, so much so that we're barely scratching the surface with these tips. If you're a Windows Phone user let us know the features you find yourself using the most, and if there are any tips we missed feel free to share those as well. |
| Netflix (Finally) Supports Honeycomb Tablets Posted: 20 Oct 2011 11:29 AM PDT
"We are excited to now offer the Netflix service on tablets running Android 3.x and are thrilled to offer our members in Canada and Latin America another way to enjoy TV episodes and movies streaming from Netflix," Greg Peters, Netflix's VP of product development, said in the company's press release. "With the added support for Android-powered devices, Netflix members have greater flexibility than ever in watching TV episodes and movies wherever and whenever they want." The Honeycomb supporting version of the app is already up on Android Market. You'll still need an $8 streaming Netflix subscription to take advantage of all the on-demand movie goodness, of course. |
| Please Hammer, Don't Hurt Google! Posted: 20 Oct 2011 11:07 AM PDT
Settle down, tiger; not those kinds of relationships. The New York Times reports that Hammer's search engine is all about product relationships. In the example cited, if you search for "car," WireDoo shows you tangential information for car insurance, car prices and car safety ratings. Hammer says WireDoo isn't a comprehensive search engine like Bing or Google; instead, it's a "deeper type of search" for people looking for information related to the topic they search for. Could be kinda useful, we guess. U can't touch this anytime soon, so our intrigue/cynicism will have to remain in check for a while longer. (That's right, we went there!) WireDoo is still in development and a launch date hasn't been set for the service. |
As the most popular archiving software, WinZip does a surprisingly poor job at compression. Its proprietary ZIPX format is not only among the slowest to process files, but it won't shrink things down much more than your standard ZIP can. Using the ZIPX format can also be problematic because the recipient will need WinZip (or one of only a handful of other uncommon zip tools that supports it) to unpack it. Even if your recipient has WinZip, it may not be the proper version to open the file.
Compared to WinRAR and WinZip, 7zip is unique in the simple fact that it's actually free. It is only officially available on Windows, but because it is entirely open source, unofficial OSX and Linux versions are readily available. When file size is critical, 7zip is the way to go. The 7z format regularly offers the best file compression and is only slightly slower than WinRAR. Also, just like WinRAR, most major archiving tools support the 7z file type for unpacking.
When it comes to free, Dropbox is the way to go. Free accounts are allowed a full 2GB of cloud storage space. Sweetening the deal is the fact that there's no file size limit to speak of. If it fits in your allotted storage, you can upload it – well, from the desktop app, anyway. This essentially makes Dropbox a completely free tool to share files up to 2GB in size. In addition to the web storage space, Dropbox also has a handful of useful tools that make it simple to use, and convenient. Both iOS and Android devices have apps available to share and manage files directly from your phone or tablet.
Google Docs isn't just for documents anymore. Google laughs in the face of 2GB files. In fact, Google's file limit is a whopping 10GB. Unfortunately, your free Google Docs account is limited to 1GB of total storage. Bummer, right? Not to worry though, just $5 per year nets you an additional 20GB across your entire Google account, making it one of the cheapest ways to share pretty freaking big files.
P2P file sharing at its finest and the MPAA/RIAA's biggest headache, torrents are an excellent way to share files with large masses of people simultaneously or when time is not a limiting factor. If you're familiar with torrents, odds are you already have the tools necessary to create your own torrent files. Both µTorrent and Vuze are popular torrent clients that include a torrent creation wizard. Creating your own torrent is simple, but be sure to add at least one working tracker, such as those available at 
As is customary, Apple's newest mobile device has been torn asunder by curious gawkers in search of a cheap thrill. Also, they want to see what's inside so they can 
Google's Android lead, Andy Rubin said at AsiaD recently that Google was very close to rolling out music purchases, but he added there would be a "twist." What could that be? Well, Business Insider claims to have the skinny, and it's actually rather useful. According to a source, Google's music service will let user 
It's been somewhat of a banner year so far for Microsoft, at least in terms of revenue. Driven by solid business and consumer demand, Microsoft announced record first quarter revenue of $17.37 billion for its first fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2011, representing a 7 percent increase from one year prior. It's also higher than what Wall Street was expecting.
Google seems to be on the verge of rolling out a 
If the sight of Gigabyte's 
For most of us, the internet is a social experience. No matter what time of day it is, or where you are, the web ensures that there's something to talk about and people willing to listen. With services like Twitter and Facebook, we're glut with ways to get our messages and opinions out into the world. That said, with so many others taking the time to give their two bits on a given topic through the same channels, it's getting harder and harder to filter those opinions in a way that makes them timely or meaningful. Fortunately, our Browser Extension of the Week is here to sort the situation out. 
Chat
As we mentioned in our 
Minister, sales charts-topping rapper, stylish innovator, funky headhunter: all those words can be used to describe the oddball career of MC Hammer. But there are a few more that you may not know about, like, say, "tech start-up investor." Hammer unveiled his newest scheme at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco yesterday; the interestingly named WireDoo is a Hammer-powered search engine, and it's all about relationships.| You are subscribed to email updates from Maximum PC - All Articles To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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