Change Your Mac OS X Dock Color/Boot Image

Ever wanted to customize the look of your Mac's boot up image or dock color?  Then take a look at these applications called "Docker" and "BootXChanger".  Both of these are free to download.



Docker  
This application allows you to customize your dock without having to be

Simplify Media And Orb

                                 

Both are great pieces of software that work on Mac os x and Windows, they allow you to access files from one computer to another.  Simplify Media's applications allow you to share your music collection and photo collection to another computer and Orb allows you to share the same, plus any other file or document on your computer.  I like Orb especially because of the ability to share music, photos, and videos to a PS3 or Xbox 360,  but the application doesn't seem as secure as Simplify Music or Simplify Photo do.  Also both of them are available in the Apple App Store, but they are not free. I have had experience with Orb and I will most likely never pay for the software.  I like the idea of sharing any file you want over the internet, but the application and Orb's server just isn't stable.  I would recommend that you keep an eye on it though.  I mean problems can be fixed and who knows, maybe soon they will get better and downloaded onto everyones computers.  But right now I would stick with Simplify Media.  I can't fully back it up because I have not bought the iPhone app, but from the many reviews I've read it seems better off than Orb.  The interface looks more stable, but from personal reviews it has a problem with large libraries.  Why would you pay for something that wont work for everybody.  I know I wont be getting it anytime soon because I have many gigabytes of music I'd love to stream.  Also Simplify has three iPhone apps (but only 2 different types).  Two are Simplify Music (Original) and Simplify Music 2.  What really gets me mad is that users have to pay eight dollars for the updated version, when they could have given it as an update to the original.  So six dollars (Simplify Music Original) plus the updated version (eight dollars), and that doesn't even include the third app that cost four dollars to stream your photos.  So all that for some application that may not work well with large libraries.  I would definitely be mad at the company if I had paid for the original and then pay even more for the update.
          But just because things are bad now doesn't mean that won't get better.  I think that these apps are worth checking into, and I am surely going to keep my eye on them.  I would love if Simplify Media had a free or lite version of their app so it could be tested, like Orb does.  I tried Orb on my friends iPhone and it was slow loading media and skipped a few songs, giving me different errors.  Now what is interesting is that Orb is suppose to work via your Orb server (www.mycast.orb.com) with any computer, phone or internet device for free.  But they are making you pay to use it on the iPhone, one to access files (music, photos, documents) from your computer and the other Orb Live allows you to stream video feeds to your iPhone.  If you do go to the website (without using the app), you get a horrible interface that is very slow to load.  It doesn't separate multiple songs, so if you chose an album to play it would put all of the songs together.  Making one 32 minute or however long song.  If they just simply updated their mobile interface, it would be more enticing to users.
          Offering a nice clean interface for free would get them more attention then making people pay for it.  But again I would continue to see how they grow and watch out for other competing apps (maybe even free) that will try to get noticed.  Thanks for reading and here are links to the websites and iPhone apps.

Orb: Computer Application 
iPhone app: Orb Live, Orb Live Free, Orb Media

Simplify Media: Computer Application
iPhone App: Simplify Music, Simplify Music 2, Simplify Photo

Access To All The Games You Want In An Instant!

I'm not just talking about poorly made games that know one has heard of, I'm saying REAL GAMES such as Burnout Paradise, MLB 2k9, Crysis: Warhead, Bioshock and MORE! Picture yourself jumping across rooftops on Mirror's Edge and then your friend sends you a message about playing MLB 2k9, but you don't own the game. Pshh no need to get out of your chair, just purchase the game RIGHT THEN AND THERE! The game streams from their server to your OnLive console, so to experience high definition gaming, you need a good internet connection (the biggest pet peeve for me). I don't want to have to buy some expensive router just for OnLive, but I don't think anyone will have to or else the service wont sell.
Now a little more information about it is that the service works through Windows XP/Vista, Mac (Intel) computers and the OnLive console (of course). For playing on the computer you just need to download a (I'm hoping free) browser plug-in and that's it. The console seems to be very small from photos i've seen (even smaller than the controller itself) and has two USB ports for controllers, keyboard, or even a mouse. It also supports up to four wireless controllers and four bluetooth headsets, which makes for simple gaming. The controller reminds me of the xbox 360's, but without the middle xbox guide button. The four buttons on the top right spell out LIVE, which is kind of nice because it is a word you can remember in your head to help you get used to the buttons.
So, even though I wont be waiting in line to get this exceptional creation, I will be trying it out whenever I get the chance at a local best buy, or my friends house. Anyone interested in trading in their trusted Sony PS3 or Microsoft Xbox 360 for this new idea? Leave comments below. Also if you want to check out the website here's the link: OnLive and if you REALLY like this product then sign-up for the beta program, and try it out on your computer (I don't think you can test the console itself yet), but for those who love their keyboards and mouses (or mice) then sign right up. They start selecting testers in the summer, so hurry up. There's no telling how many people they will accept.

$1.29 For A Song?

Now when I think about Itunes, I think .99 cents per song. No matter how favored or foolish the song is, but that may soon change. To provide cheaper music, Itunes is thinking about charging $1.29 for the most popular songs. HUH?? Why in the world would they do that? I mean it's bad enough that many people steal music, but this is a better reason to start.  Seriously, I would rather pay .79 cents for A POPULAR song at amazon.com.  The only good thing about the price hike is that the unpopular songs will be priced at .69 cents. They say that most of the songs will stay at 99. cents, but it doesn't seem like a smart pricing system to me. Maybe there is something I'm missing, but they should have made unpopular songs .79 cents and everything else .99 cents. Maybe it's just me but, I hope they figure out something better than this.

Windows Applications Including Ipod Wizard FOR MAC!

For those of you that don't know what Ipod Wizard is, it is software used to edit the Ipods background, fonts and overall look.  As of now, I've only known that Ipod Wizard could be used on Windows computers, but TODAY IS A NEW DAY!  Now this method is FREE and very easy to use.  One problem (at least for me) is that you need an intel mac with Tiger or Leopard and X11.  

What's X11?  Well I'm not exactly sure myself, but it is used to run Windows applications.  Now, if you have Leopard, it should already be installed on your computer, but with Tiger it may not  (You can type X11 in spotlight to see if it shows up).  For those Tiger users that don't have it installed, you can download it from the Tiger installation CD, just put it in and go to optional installs and find X11.  If you lost or just never had a CD don't fret.  Luckily I found this website to download X11 for free (legally too).  On the site are instructions on how to install X11.

Download X11

Next, you will need this FREE program called Darwine and download the link that says (Universal).  After Downloading unzip the file and drag the Darwine folder into your applications folder AND YOU'RE DONE!  Now you can use most if not all windows .exe files (as far as I know).  Next time you download a windows .exe file the Darwine icon should be next to it showing that it will work.  As for Ipod Wizard, just download the file and open it like usual.  I think that this is a Significant alternative to buying VMware or Parallels if you just want to use a few windows applications.  Any questions? Comments? BRING THEM OUT and I'll try to answer them.

Cool Image Search

Whenever I use this, it makes me feel like I'm surfing through my own little world of pictures. It's called Cooliris and it's available for Macintosh and Windows XP/Vista users. Compatible with Safari (Mac only) , Internet Explorer, and Firefox (Mac and Windows). It's great when you want to look through MANY pictures quickly. There's no waiting for each page of pictures to load, as long as you scroll through you find pictures. Doesn't work with every site you are on, but it does work on the popular ones like Myspace, Flickr, Google Images, including Blogger and more. It's free so you might as well give it a try. Cooliris

Save Your Mac!

Ever spilt a liquid on your keyboard?, scratch your computer?, or has a key came off? Then this article is for you! Survive 17 Mac Disasters
It's nice to know, because sooner or later something like this will happen to you and you wont have to worry.

Also at the end of the article it tells you how to avoid these accidents:
Stay Dry- Keep beverages away from the computer (common sense)
Stay Up To Date- Make sure to get all of the latest security updates.
Stay Secure- Be careful of spyware!!
Stay Clean- Both on the computer physically and on the hard drive.
Last BUT VERY IMPORTANT, Back Up Your Data!

Record Tv Shows From Comcast DVR to Your Computer!

I am sure that many people know that you can record shows with a Tivo box and save them for your own use, but not many people know (at least no one I know) realizes you can do the same with a regular Comcast DVR. I've been using it for sometime and it is fairly easy to use. First let me tell you that this program only works on a mac (There may be another thing like this for windows) and you will need to download the Firewire SDK.

CLICK HERE FOR TIGER

CLICK HERE FOR LEOPARD

(For the leopard link you'll need to create a free apple account)


After downloading, the website below has very detailed instructions:
http://jpicune.wordpress.com/2006/10/13/record-shows-from-your-comcast-hd-dvr-onto-your-mac/

It is great because you can even record shows that you recorded already on your DVR!
One problem though is that the original playback file is mpeg-2 and to convert it to a format I can watch on my Ipod, I use Senuti. Now Senuti's latest versions are not free to download, but versions before are and here is a link to the Free Senuti
If you want to be up to date with the newest versions of senuti, you can download the free trial and then if you like it buy it, only $18, Latest Senuti. After that it's very easy from there. Although the files do take up a lot of space, you can delete those big files after you convert them with senuti.

Also if you have any questions feel free to ask. Hope you find it as cool as I did.
Note: You are able to record from most channels off the DVR, but not any of the movie channels (A.K.A HBO, Showtime, Encore...)

My Review Of Free Legal Music sites

Well let me start by saying that even though it may seem impossible to get music for free LEGALLY, there are a couple of sites i've found. One is www.Qtrax.com, which offers a wide selection of music. The only catch is that it is only compatible with windows computers and it does not work with Apple's Ipod or Microsoft's Zune! This is because while you download your song, it is encoded with a DRM, so that way you can't illegally share it with others. I say that it is nice to have a place to legally get free music, but it isn't really compatible with the very popular brands of mp3 players. There have been stories of Qtrax creating an ipod compatible song base, along with it being available to macintosh users, but that has sadly yet to come.

Along with Qtrax, www.Spiralfrog.com is another windows only compatible site. The reason is because the songs are encoded with protected-WMA, which is not compatible with Ipod's or Zune's. Both of these sites use advertisements to pay for the music. I think that Qtrax makes you listen to a few ads before you listen to a song, and Spiral Frog just has ads all around their site. So if you have a windows device, and don't mind advertisements, then these sites are just right for you. (Personally I use a mac and an Ipod 5th gen, so I'm not able to use these sites, instead I use Itunes) If you have any questions or comments PLEASE feel free to ask or say them.

Update:I have just found out that Spiral Frog has been shut down. For good? I'm not sure, but ad supported sites are not easy to keep up.