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Entries in hard drive (9)

Sunday
Apr112010

Reviewing the Seagate 500 Gb FreeAgent Go Ultra-Portable HD (ST905003FGA2E1-RK): Special Star Trek Edition




I recently got to test out a new Seagate FreeAgent Go Ultra-Portable Hard Drive with movies pre-loaded onto it.    I wanted to talk about it and let everyone who might be interested to find out more about it.

Product Features

  • 5,400 RPM Spin Speed, 8 MB Cache Buffer

  • USB 2.0: up to 480 Mb/s

  • Sync and back up quickly at your desktop without having to search for cables.

  • Guard the privacy of important files and folders.

  • Get your storage solution up and running quickly.


System Requirements:

To create and activate a Paramount account for your FreeAgent Theater+ media player you will need a
system with:

  • Microsoft Internet Explorer

  • Microsoft Windows XP operating system (any version, including MCE) with Service Pack 2

  • installed, Windows Vista or Windows 7

  • 1.5 GHz CPU or faster (minimum of 600 MHz)

  • 512MB or more memory (minimum of 10GB)

  • At least 20GB or more, free hard disk space on your computer and drive

  • Windows Media Player 10+


For the best viewing experience of the films on your computer we recommend you have a screen
resolution of 1024 x 768 (minimum of 800 x 600) and speakers or other audio output. Internet access is
also required.

A choice of up to 20 popular Paramount titles can be unlocked for a fee including:

  • Star Trek (2009) (Free when you buy the Special Edition Hard Drive)

  • The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

  • GI Joe

  • Shooter

  • The Hunt for Red October

  • The Italian Job (2003)

  • Ghost

  • Patriot Games

  • Beowulf

  • Enemy at the Gates

  • The Spiderwick Chronicles

  • The Love Guru

  • Coach Carter

  • The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

  • Nacho Libre

  • Jackass 2.5

  • A Plumm Summer

  • Carriers

  • Dance Flick

  • Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius

  • Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow


I had a chance to test out this hard drive and I wanted to tell you about my experiences with the software and with the Star Trek (2009) movie.   I must say after playing the movie, I was impressed with the High Definition.   My computer can support High Definition and I was quite shocked that it wasn’t Standard Definition.   While playing the movie, you will notice the Hard Drive will get warm but it isn’t a problem.

In order to view these movies on your laptop or computer your will need to acquire the license from the Paramount store to make the movie you choice available to be watched from your computer or if you have the Seagate FreeAgent Theater+1080P HD Media Player STCEA201-RK. This is good for those who might want to view this on your High Definition Television sets. It is just as cheap as the Roku. After your get the rights to watch the movie on that computer, you no longer need to have Internet Access to watch it. Great for when you are traveling and can’t get internet access. You only can give three systems the rights to view that particular movie that you bought through the Paramount store, but the prices are comparable to those you get fromAmazon Video on demand. The only drawback is that you will need to use Internet Explorer 8 or Higher to buy or acquire a license from the store. You have to make Internet Explorer your default browser when you want to buy a new license for a movie off the hard drive.

I never heard a sound out of the hard drive while it was running. I could tell they made sure to keep it quite when they made the hard drive. The other nice thing about the FreeAgent Hard drive is that you only need to have one USB port to use this, and no power cords are required either. I must say that is also nice to have when you are on the go, no need to find an extra power outlet.


































Seagate FreeAgent Ultra Portable
Amazon: $99.99 (Silver / Black)
Mwave: Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 500GB 2.5 Ultra-Portable Hard Drive STAA500100 USB Black
Mwave: STAA500102 USB Blue
Freeagent Go Special Edition(movie)
Seagate: FreeAgent Go Pre-loaded with Star Trek on it(No longer Available).
Amazon: No links available
NewEgg: No links available
Seagate Docking Station
Amazon: $16.99


If your backing up a lot of GB’s of data, the drive does get warm but that is also normal. It was never hot enough to burn me or hurt anything. I find the small size to be quite nice to have when traveling and going places with it. Not bulky or overweight, only about 1/2 pound of weight when you pick it up. The only drawback that I can see is the way they use the lights to show you when the hard drive is being used, a few small holes will dim and light up and unless you are really watching those lights you won’t know!

The Programs that come with this are quite powerful. Great Backup tools and Syncing tools for keeping your important data backed up. There is even a Carbonite trial on the Hard drive to encourage your to keep your data backed up off site. I do recommend people trying Carbonite because you never know what will happen to your home or your computer.

Would I recommend this to My Science Fiction Friends?

I most certainly would recommend this to any one who might need to have a way to backup their files and also have a way to have portable movies on the go. I can say that this idea of having media on a portable device like this is a great way to watch movies offline.

I’ve also asked them some questions that I am waiting for a response but when I do find out, I will update this post for those who might have the same questions. I will also update the links so you can buy these hard drives online!

Tuesday
Feb032009

Offline Update 5.0, Clone of Autopatcher to Some!!

Offline updater 5.0 has been released a couple months ago and I just realized it now.  This is an excellent tool for IT professionals who want to keep all your Systems up-to-date with the last patches from Microsoft.  The systems it supports are Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 x64, And Windows Vista / Server 2008.(32 bit and 64 Bit updates).

ct-offline-update50


[ad#ad2-right]I find this a very useful program for people who have a multitude of problems, from not being able to get on the net to computer virus infections.  This is really good for big businesses that want to update a lot of systems in easy way without having to wait for downloads of updates to install.   You can take a DVD and update on the fly within Mins.   DVD being Cheap or buying them in bulk helps saves time and money for the company.   Less time spent downloading the updates and more time actually getting work done.  As with the Conflicker, Downadup, and to some the Conflickr Trojan, if you got infected with that little worm.  This would help install the updates that it prevented you from doing in the first place.  I also found that once you download do the update the files are kept on the hard drive so you no longer have to redownload them again.  You just update the updates every second Tuesday of the month and it downloads the newest patches and creates a whole new ISO for you to burn.
Q: How can I create the offline update CD images automate, for example via a "scheduled job"?
A: Create a new batch file in the "cmd", eg "DownloadUpdatesAndCreateISOImage.cmd". Add the desired calls of

"DownloadUpdates.cmd" and "CreateISOImage.cmd" with the necessary parameters in this new file. The file might for

example have the following contents:

@ echo off
call WXP download updates eng
call CreateISOImage WXP eng

Then set a "time-controlled contract" for the new script "DownloadUpdatesAndCreateISOImage.cmd" to your desired

time. For example, after each Microsoft Patchday create new images, select every second Wednesday of the month.

[Via The FAQ's Documentation (Translated Via Google)]

As you can see you can have it do a script and be ready for you in the morning.  You then just take it out of the drive and install where you need to install the day after the updates are issued. On another Note if you have clients who use Windows office Xp, 2000, 2003, 2007 then this will also help:

ct-offline-update50-1


This is nice if you have clients who use the Microsoft Office Suites also.  Some Malware will often try to infect people's systems through a office script or some other vector.   So this will also prevent infections or hackers from getting onto the system by updating this also.  You can have this added to each and every DVD ISO you make to include these as you update the patches also.

Download:
Monday
Dec222008

Pctv HD Mini Stick and My thoughts!

Pctv HD Mini Stick



  • Includes mini-remote control and high-gain telescopic antenna

  • Compact size HDTV tuner for easy travel and storage

  • Instantly turn your PC into a personal digital video recorder

  • Record your favorite shows to your hard drive or direct-to-DVD

  • TV Standards - ATSC (HDTV up to 1080i, SDTV) and ClearQAM (HDTV up to 1080i, SDTV) Inputs


Price: Click Link to See the Price



Just saw this and couldn't resist talking about it.  This would be great on the road.  If you use this on a laptop, then you would have some really good channels as you travel on the road.  No more having to watch movies on your laptop.   You can now see the current events as you travel around the US.  With the Digital change over Coming Feburary 17, 2009.  You'll want to have a way to watch TV, this would be one way.  Right now Amazon is offering it for 112.22 but that could change so check the link out to find out how much it is.
Thursday
Dec182008

Disaster preparation 101 -- Data backup

In this one I will talk about Disaster, it happens to all of us from time to time. A fire, a earthquake, a stolen laptop or any number of ways. So what happens to your data, is it stored on the laptop? Is it important very sensitive data? Could you get fired if you lost that data?

[ad#ad2-right]These are all questions you must ask yourself when you have laptop. How do you backup your data or even do you have a backup? Having seen this with my own clients, I must wonder if there are people out there who just don't care. I had a client the other day who gotten a virus and this was a really mean virus. Deleted some very important files when you tried to clean the virus out. She called me in a panic because she couldn't load up windows? I asked if she had any backups, she said "what's a backup" . So I sat there discussing this with the client for over 20 minutes. Finally she started to understand, she said she had the OEM Backup DVD but nothing else. She also said she needed help with getting data off the computer. I told her that I would be able to come the next day and I was lucky the virus didn't do anything else to her data. We were able to retrieve the data from her system. That is where I start my rant , Why would anyone not have backup of there most important data?

So How do you backup your data? This is controversial and somewhat depends on how much people want to spend to keep there data safe and not loose pictures or music. There are several ways to do it, each way has it's pitfalls or short comings and requires a little more effort:

Kinds of Backup


Hard Medium - DVD, CD, External Hard drive

Although,  The hard medium is usually used that doesn't mean you can have a backup other than hard.   Here are some ways to back up on the internet.

Internet Medium:

  • Jungle Disk -- Provides online storage through the Amazon s3 service.   Only pay for what you use.   It works well with most Operating system.  I've used it on Vista so it is really nice.

  • Carbonite Online backup --Another good Online storage.

  • Some Other Online backup -- Here a list from Amazon to better help you find the type of software that you might need.


These are just a few options, if you want to look for other you can.  The important thing to do is BACKUP because if you need some data that gets wiped or destroyed.  You will be kicking yourself for not backing up.
Sunday
Dec142008

Signs of a Computer Infection!

So I was thinking this morning what I missed and I totally missed on how you might be able to tell if you have a computer virus. It does me no good to talk about a virus if you don't know you're infected. I was thinking of the times I had a client who had trouble but wasn't what I thought.

So How do you know?


Some people would say it depends on factors but here are what I call clues that make me suspect a virus:[ad#ad2-right]

  1. Slow or Sluggish computers --  Here is what I know if the computer is really slowing down and have a dual core or quad core.  If you are running a system and sees a lot of hard drive activity even when the computer is idle then it might be a virus or it could be a program doing what it is supposed to be doing.  So this is somewhat of an indication but not always.

  2. Slow internet connection on the computer or on the network -- Due to the fact that most people have a router that is connected to all the computers and if you internet connection on all your systems are slower than normal then you could have a virus.  I use Speed Test website to help determine this.

  3. Corrupt files or Missing files --  Sometimes you have a text documents or files that are missing and you have to pay to get them back.   It's an old scheme and usually once your files have been encrypted you can't get them unencrypted.  So this is why I added this one also because it varies from virus to virus.

  4. Programs don't work like they used to --  This is also a very common association with a virus because virus makers don't have time to test it out on a variety.   Most of the time if you get a call that a program is no longer working tat would be the first thing I'd look at, if not check to see what other programs have been installed lately.

  5. In some cases more files are the Hard drive --  This can be a indication of a virus because the virus might be using the system to host files or other such illegal activity.   Although this is happening less and less it can still be a possibility and should be checked out.   I like to use a graphical tree size program to determine if that is the truth.

  6. Pop ups or Browser redirects -- this is a common thing along the way.  It's always the same and saying something like "you have a virus" or "You unprotected and you might have a virus".  The theme here is to scare the user into buying there product that does not do anything.   It sometimes even looks like a real anti-virus program or spyware program but in truth it is just a scam.  In some cases it will send you to a site because it keeps wanting you to buy the product.

  7. DNS Changes on you -- Some hackers like to have you go through there server so they can watch everything you do online.  They are wanting to get the sensitive information of bank account, and other important accounts.  This is really the ones that need to get off your system asap.


[ad#ad2-left]These are the signs I've seen in the past that would indicate a virus but as with any problem.  You will need to check for all the possibilities.   It is always going to be an issue with people because most people don't know about the signs, now you do and you can now be a better computer user.  It is you who can only fight viruses by knowing all the possible system and only you can defeat a virus.  In the next article I will talk about the tools to help you find and defeat a virus.   This will be a big blog post because I have so much to teach and explain.   If you like these post by all means leave a comment and help spread the word.
Wednesday
Dec032008

Is this Hardcore PC Falcon Northwest Mach V Extreme or not?



[ad#ad2-right]Just saw this on PcWorld Reviews and thought I'd talk about the specs. I would love to get one of these for my self. It comes with:


All these are links are for those who would like to make this computer yourself.   The links are where you could go to buy the parts. The price after you buy the parts are estimated at $7395 price and I think you could get that down to 5000$ if you look for rebates and other incentives.   I wouldn't mind having this computer for gaming myself.   It sure would be nice to give for someone on the holidays.  This would be good for people wh o are looking to computer game developers or people who are into 3D rendering.  Just though I share this little  review with you.   They really did a fantastic review of this product on there site.
Monday
Nov032008

Alien Ware Extreme Gaming Notebook M17 17 Inch

Looks like they are out of stock on this Laptop but they do have Alienware M17x-2857DSB 17-Inch Laptop (Black) which looks to be an upgraded version of this one!!!



  • Windows Vista® Home Premium (32- and 64-bit)(default)

  • Windows Vista® Ultimate (32- and 64-bit)

  • Intel® Core™2 Duo Or Quad and Extreme Processors (12MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
    Intel® PM45 + ICH9M-E Chipset up to 4 GB
    ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3870 (Also Comes with CrossfireX Enabled)

  • Dual Harddrive In Raid 0 Config or you can have a single hard drive

    1. 5400 RPM – Up to 1TB (2 x 500GB)



    1. 7200 RPM – Up to 640GB (2 x 320GB)





So I saw this and had to tell people this is a sweet laptop for people who like to go and play games in a large group. You would be able to play for hours on end, all you would need is an power cord. I would love one of these to try out.  If you want to go check it out or buy it. Here's the Alienware M17x-2857DSB 17-Inch Laptop (Black).


Find Other Alienware Products
Sunday
Nov022008

Windows update is getting a revision!

[ad#ad2-right]According to Computer World, dated Oct 31, 2008 and I'll quote:
"Over the next couple of months, we'll be rolling out another infrastructure update to the Windows Update agent (client code)," said an unidentified Microsoft employee on the Windows Update team's official blog. "This update makes it possible for users to install more than 80 updates at the same time."

[via Computer World]

Now if your like me and have several computers who need to be updated at a given schedule, you sometimes worry about these updates that come along that might just break your system. I have been using a program call Offline Updater, which does what Autopatcher does really nicely. So why is Microsoft sending out this patch? Two reasons, one they want you to be able to update your operating System without hurting your system integrity.

Now lets talk about the integrity of having to reboot your system. You see, every time you reboot the system, it causes the system hardware some strain.  It is something like having starting up a car, sooner or later you will have the starter go out, because of to much start up.

[ad#ad2-left]Second reason for this is, basically the update software needs to be update yet again for any security flaws or features that might be exploitable.  I am sure there are some and Microsoft probably knows about that we do not.   So that is the second reason, which it is the most obvious reason yet to push out another revision of the Windows update.

What about stopping the update from effecting your system.  The only way that I know of is to prevent Windows from checking for updates.  Which is simple:

Windows XP Version:

[Category View and Classic View]


<Start> / Control Panel / Security / Click Windows Updates

For Windows Vista:

<Orb> / Control Panel/ Security Center/ Windows Update / click "change Settings"

With both ways, you will be able to control four ways to handle Windows updating and they are:

  • Automatic - Will download all necessary updates and install them without your permission or knowledge.  Note some of the updates will automatically reboot your system.  Most commonly they are set to do this every day in the 12am to 4 am period of time.   So when you wake up you would see an log in screen.

  • [ad#ad2-right]
  • Download updates but let me choice which ones to install and when -  This is most commonly used by people who don't want to bother having to check manually.  It will check and download, then it will let you know.



  • Check for updates but don't Download them -  This is like the previous one but this will only tell you.  The rest of the decision is in your hands not the computer.  This is good for people who have limited system resources, like Hard drive space.  It still reminds you like the previous one but won't download any updates.



  • Never check for updates -  This is used for people who don't want to be bothered with updates and have a way to update manually.  This is commonly used by businesses who have several systems on and don't want to risk an update causing trouble or weigh down the companies internet by downloading updates un-necessarily.   This option is not to be messed with because it leaves your system with quite a lot of vulnerabilities.  You do this one if you have a set schedule to update each and everyone system. (Extremely Dangerous to do)


With what I talked about, I am hoping you find this useful and to share your discoveries with other people who might want to be able to change how Windows updates are handled on other systems.  If you have comments or questions, please post them in the comment section and someone will be more than glad to help you out.
Tuesday
Oct072008

Backup your Mozzila Thunderbird profiles

So you have all this mail you want to back up in case something terrible happens to your hard drive.  So here is ways to backup your email and other programs in Vista.  I think Vista has a new way of keeping program profiles in an hierarchical setup.  So what is the HIDDEN directory it is:

[ad]

C:\Users\[USER]\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles

Now as you can see your Thunderbird profile is in a hidden directory in the AppData Directory.  You can easily get to the hidden directory by typing %appdata% {enter} in the search bar of Vista.  Now How do you backup and restore.   The program I use to backup is GoodSync I send the data to the cloud and when I need it I can restore it back to the directory. Now what about restoring, if you have to do a complete re-install of Thunderbird you can always copy over the back up to the Thunderbird Profiles directory and install Mozilla Thunder bird and it should see it.   If by chance you load up Thunderbird and you have to re add everything you would have to delete everything in that directory and then restore from the back up.

It is also a good idea to backup all the roaming directory from time to time.  This way you have every important program needed in case of a problem with your drive.    These are just a few tips and tricks to keep your data safe from having problems in the long run.

[ad]