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YouTubeGet on offer for free at giveawayoftheday.com

By
Seb Mysko (Wolfstar)
on May 14, 2008 5:05 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I've just had a brilliant link Skype'd my way. Give away of the day is a relatively new initiative in the software world that offers up a new piece of kit to internet users everyday, but it's only ever available for download for 24 hours (sometimes longer, but it's obviously at the discretion of the developers). Pretty cool really... the 'word of mouth' race against the clock..

Anywhooo, with only 15 hours left, I highly recommend getting imageyour paws on YouTubeGet. It's developers say: "YouTubeGet is an all-in-one software designed to make quick and easy work to download YouTube videos and convert them. Offering a multitude of methods to acquire the video, this application has all the power you need while still remaining small and easy to use." I'm sure something in there doesn't make sense, but I've just downloaded it a few minutes ago and this is a great help! Another plus - it's going for $29.95, so if you miss the deadline it's not like it's going to break the bank.

You literally just drag the YouTube url into the add box, and choose what file you'd like to convert it into... then 'Voila' you have your video. I've just taken my current top five video's and transferred them into realplayer format - now they're sat on my ipod ready to be watched whenever I next need to kill ten minutes.

How to look good surfing the internet

By
Beth Kay (Wolfstar)
on May 7, 2008 3:04 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Surfing the internet has never looked so good... again. Following on from my post on the most chic and funky laptops around, the time has come to see what accessories are out there to jazz up your computer for internet surfing fun, with a little help from the girls at Shiny Shiny.

LIFE006800_01_L 1. Happy Alien mini speakers – If you are ever having a bad day, these speakers will cheer you right up. They’re perfect for watching your favourite YouTube videos or listening to the latest music downloads.

2. Rolling Laptop Bag – Is walking to work and back with your laptop on your arm becoming a real pain in the shoulder? Well fear no more, Clark and Mayfield have come up with this stylish laptop bag with wheels for your convenience which can cart around a 17-inch laptop with accessories.

3. Now this one is not strictly for your broadband needs but it makes your fingers  look oh so cool when typing on your keypad and searching on the internet. This solid silver keyboard key ring from Manuel Bozzi is the perfect accessory for you tech-loving girls out there.

4 Bendy Keyboard in neon pink – Desks at work can be so boring! So why not swap your regular keyboard for this neon pink flexible key board? It’s also waterproof for those who eat and drink at their desks and are partial to the occasional spillage.

p2045ex1 5. The MSN i-buddy is great for MSN messenger users who spend a lot of time on the internet. The little USB MSN fairy will react in its own unique little way each time there is some kind of activity for example when a contact comes online or you receive an instant message and its under £15.00!

 

 

 

Nintendo combines gaming and fitness with its latest craze the Wii Fit

By
Chris Norton (Wolfstar)
on April 25, 2008 2:56 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

wiifit_sslg1I know we recently posted on the huge comeback of Mario Kart and as we all expected it has flown to the top of the gaming charts as people everywhere take each other on in duals across the Internet. However, Nintendo has launched a new game which it's hoping to become the latest gaming and fitness craze.

It's called Wii Fit and as the name implies it combines gaming with a certain degree of fitness. I know what you're thinking, is this really a game? More importantly is it really fitness? Intrigued? Yes well I was too!

Nintendo's active style gaming started with the Wii and it's now spreading to the whole body due to its new pressure-sensitive Wii Balance Board, which comes included in the package. The white board (see left) is used for a variety of different "fun and dynamic" activities which include: aerobics, yoga, muscle stretches and games.

The theory Nintendo uses, is that you are actually working your "core" during these type of workouts. For more details check out this amusing video review which has been provided by Susi from Tech Digest - I have also attached the official Nintendo's demo video for more info. I would watch Susi's though as she takes you through the different games available from Ski-jumping to hula-hooping and she seems to genuinely enjoy it.

To be honest, I don't think this one is for me. I will stick to my shoot-em ups, football and driving games and just make that long horrible journey to the gym instead. Don't get me wrong, I do think it's a good idea to do fitness at home and building on the recent dance mat craze is very clever. However, whether I believe this is actually a good substitute for normal exercise remains to be seen.

It's out on Monday priced at £70 and I am sure by the end of next month we will all know if this really is going to be the next big thing...

Limewire 'extracts the juice' by launching new internet music store

By
Chris Norton (Wolfstar)
on March 19, 2008 10:04 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Limewire the popular peer-to-peer music sharing platform, which is used by millions of people across the planet, has launched a new online music store.

The store will feature tracks available from just 50p each with a range of independent (random) artists. Limewire is well-known as the platform which allows its users to share free music, maybe this is its first move towards becoming a proper legal entity.limewire squeezes its profits

According to the guys from Tech Digest;  "Around half-a-million MP3 files, encoded at a reasonably decent 256Kbps, are available, and users of the LimeWire application will soon see links to buy tracks as well as download free music as they usually do."

You will be able to pay on a per-track basis or for the more devoted music lover (up to 75 tracks a month) there will be three levels of monthly subscription allowing a set number of tracks to be downloaded, at a reduced track cost.

The LimeWire store is being kept separate from the LimeWire sharing application for now anyway

I think quite a few people in the music industry will be watching this one closely to see if its dedicated users will actually start paying for tracks rather than getting them for free.

Of course the real question is how is it going to stop its tracks from its paying site becoming free on its non-paying platform?

Film clips to hit social networks and Olympus digital cameras become pieces of art

By
Chris Norton (Wolfstar)
on March 12, 2008 11:13 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

paramountIt seems Paramount  has put its head above the parapet by being the first film company to offer clips from its movies on Facebook. This is all because Facebook has a new VooZoo application which helps makes it happen - we are all getting used to film clips being shared on the internet but this will be the first time a company of this nature has given the formal go-ahead. If you are scratching your head wondering what films they have made I have enclosed a list of Paramount films, which you can check out at your own leisure.

Unfortunately, no full length movies are in the pipeline just yet but you will be able to watch short clips up to around two minutes. Coolest Gadgets reports that the main intention is: "always to share the short clips on the world wide web, and more specifically the social network site."

If you want a couple of examples of Paramount's work - start reminiscing of Eddie Murphy in 48 hours or more recently Cloverfield - which I wrote a review on on my own blog recently.

Something else which has interested me this week was the news from Gizmodo, announcing that Olympus has launched a Limited-Edition Mju 1020. OK, granted that doesn't sound like most exciting news ever. However, these digital cameras are rather loud and I don't mean in volume. Olympus has used the ChassisRomanian artist and graphic designer Matei camera3Apostolescu to design three different skins to go with the limited edition camera. Just take a look at the one on the right. It looks quite cool and it would certainly be useful as camouflage if you happen to work as a Zebra trainer.

All jokes aside I actually quite like them and let's face it you wouldn't lose this one quite as easily as a normal standard silver point and click. So it looks good and it has a fairly strong spec boasting 10-Megapixels and a whopping 7x optical zoom. If you are interested in digital cameras - I have listed the camera's spec below:

• 7x optical zoom
• 10.1 Megapixels
• 6.9cm/2.7" HyperCrystal II LCD with extra bright display
• 23 scene modes
• Slim, metallic body
• Underwater shooting up to 40m possible in combination with optional underwater case PT-042
• Dual Image Stabilisation
• Face Detection Technology
• Correct exposure of other image areas
• BrightCapture Technology
• New in-camera Panorama function
• Movie recording with sound (up to VGA resolution at 30fps)
• TruePic III image processor for faster image handling and higher image quality

Apparently, Olympus is only going to make 5,000 of these beauties but unfortunately there is no price available as yet but be on the lookout as I reckon these are going to sell like slightly warm cakes. camera2

     

Microsoft Vista to come down in price

By
Chris Norton (Wolfstar)
on March 7, 2008 5:25 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Whilst searching the news wires today I noticed an article regarding Microsoft Vista - apparently they (Microsoft) have decided to reduce the cost of it.

vista_screenshotMicrosoft is hoping more computer users will switch to Vista due to the price cuts which are to be introduced across 70 countries soon.

The report states: "In the US, the cost of the most expensive version, Vista Ultimate, will be reduced to $319 (£161) from the current retail price of $399. Analysts said Microsoft was aiming to boost the number of customers upgrading to Vista, which was introduced in 2007."

Microsoft has done really well with Vista and managed to sell more than 100 million copies of the new system.

Now, I don't have anything against Microsoft as I have been using the Windows platform for years. In fact, although I love the aesthetics of an Apple Mac I haven't really got to grips with one fully as I have always happily used Windows. That said, I don't really like Vista, I have found it to be very pretty (like the shot I have included) with its clever new creations but also slightly irritating as I think its trying to be too clever sometimes.

I seem to spend much more time on my brand new laptop staring at the little blue circle than I ever did looking at the good old egg timer. I am now actually craving the egg timer back - rather than banging my desk in frustration. I think Vista still has some issues but I am sure Microsoft will sort them out. My tip would be, stick with XP for a little longer and enjoy watching the egg timer for another year at least.

BBC iPlayer starting to take the Internet by storm

By
Chris Norton (Wolfstar)
on February 28, 2008 11:14 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hi my name is Chris Norton and I work for Wolfstar and I will be writing regularly for Enlightening Broadband. I will be covering many things related to the internet which interest me and which I hope will also interest you too.

Mark Sweney from The Guardian this week wrote an interesting article reporting that internet traffic for ITV's broadband TV service had slowed over the last couple of months. This could be due to its rival the BBC's iPlayer's huge growth after the BBC invested in a hefty marketing campaign to encourage us (Web users) to get using it.

bbc-iplayer-1-home-page.jpgITV's internet video traffic apparently peaked back in November which was mainly due to its most popular shows such as X-Factor being published on it. However, since then web traffic has dropped off a cliff.

On the flip side the BBC's iPlayer service recorded a whopping 11m programmes which were  streamed/downloaded in January 2008.

I have just checked it out and currently the three most popular shows are: Ashes to Ashes (Episode 3), Torchwood (Dead Man Walking) and Dawn (Gets Naked).

With the BBC iPlayer and your broadband connection you can:

  1. Find programmes you want to catch up on or watch again from the past seven days and watch them on the website through a method known as streaming.
  2. Download and store them on your computer for up to 30 days if you have a Windows PC.
  3. Play back high quality programmes on your computer as often as you like during the time that the programme is available

I think that one of the reasons that the iPlayer has been such a phenomenon is down to the fact that every BBC radio station has been plugging it massively over the last few months and bbc.co.uk is already used by a huge number of dedicated internet users - including me. It is also a great service which seems to provide good quality content. I don't think I will be using it that regularly though as I currently use a Sharp TUR160HA Digital TV recorder to watch my television programmes - its changed the way I watch telly to be honest. I commented on it recently on my own blog.

However, if you are going to give it a whirl you can find out how you can use the iPlayer with your broadband connection by reading here.

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