BloggerSentinel

MovieFone

2009-03-28T02:25:00.002-05:00

It's the iPhone app, that's lets you find, trailer, call, review, movies, theaters, and purchase tickets.

Free from the app store, it's the iPhone MovieFone app.

Also includes integrated service of map quest for directions, using "my location".

iPhone 3G 16 GB

2009-03-27T18:15:00.001-05:00

So, recently my Dad and brother so graciously pitched together to get me into a nice, shiny new iPhone.

It's:

iPod
a browser
Mail
Photos
Calendar(s)
a Digital Camera
a personal Map
Weather reporter
Personal memory
Rolodex
Youtube
Remote control
Clock
Calculator
Movie player
Music store
Alarm clock
and of course a Phone.

And that's all important, but the best of it all is it's in your pocket.
Fully integrated, and expandable, it's also a portable game console
Applications can turn it into a level, and much more, see... it's all integrated right into iPhone!

Now with blazing fast 3G!

Gnome Do

2009-03-16T18:27:00.001-05:00

Gnome do is an application launcher for The Gnome Desktop Environment for the Linux Operating System that is similar to the Macintosh spotlight.

It's very useful as a launcher, desktop & web search and command line utility.

It's far more than search, it's Linux search, and it's free.

And it's no longer just for the GNOME desktop environment.

The Tao of Do

Don't search, Do!       If you know what you're looking for, Do will help you       find and act on it faster.

Awesome Plugins       Send emails & IMs, play music, search the web, and launch       applications too.

Beyond GNOME

Do is just as sleek, swift and smart on KDE and other common environments.

Other featured plug-ins are:

Microblogging

Post your status to Twitter or Identi.ca, and get notified when your friends post.

Google Contacts

Instantly search your Google contacts and their contact details.

Rhythmbox

Control playback, browse your music library, or search by artist or album.

And, it's available for download in both binary and source forms.

For more on GNOME Do visit the project's :Home Page

To visit their download page now: click here

Log me in Etc.

2009-01-25T23:00:00.002-06:00

Log me in is the topic of the day, not only do they have a free version with almost as many features as you can imagine, it's totally free, for an unlimited number of computers.

Fast and easy are the subjects people get caught up in when they're talking about remotely connecting to their computers and they're built right in to Logmein Free.

Of course, if you need remote sound and drag and drop file transfers there's always log me in pro. -eh, not free.

Logmein has also come around and introduced their Mac client as well as a client for PC's and in their labs they have a client for linux systems with beta clients available for download.

You may wonder why not just use some form of VNC client?

The answer is clear Virtual Networking Computing may be fine for terminal use where you only need a CLI or Command line interface, but for practical use of a GUI or Graphical User Interface the screen redraw is just too slow.

Aside from the security issues that you have to account for with VNC like how to access the network of the computer you want to connect to.

By either setting up a VPN tunnel or at the least knowing how to connect to an existing Virtual Private Network to gain access to that computer.

Look for more on VNC and VPN in other posts.

No, this post isn't about Back to My Mac, sorry, but it's a free alternative. That has most of the best features including, uh, actual screen sharing and control of remote computers / PC, Linux, Or Mac.

Ubuntu Linux is it really for human beings?

2009-01-25T23:00:00.001-06:00

So... you've Heard of this "NEW" Operating System and you're wondering whether or not it's worth all the hype.

First of all let me just say I'm writing this on Windows XP with the Firefox 3 browser.

I've been working with PC's since before I was ten, I've been building PC's Configuring Operating Systems, Testing the limits of lower end PC's and Playing with all sorts of OS's I've used all of Microsoft's Operating Systems at one time or another other than Millennium Edition (Thankfully!)

Currently My computer is setup to boot between Windows XP, Vista, and Ubuntu, and I have windows 2000 Domain controllers setup to manage the rest of the NT Computers on my network.

From Caldera Linux (Old and Crappy basically) – CentOS5 (Enterprise Grade) Including an amazing set of fairly easy to use features for a beginner - intermediate linux user.

Even Attempted to test Solaris, in a virtual machine, my machine needed more ram available to the VM so I used Virtual Box instead of Virtual PC however I may have downloaded the wrong distribution designed for a different architecture or something because I've still not gotten it working.

One thing that also may interest you is that I'm typing out this Blog on my personally assembled home built PC, but I'll skip over those details to what this article is entitled.

Ubuntu Linux.

Generally intuitive, built-in support for a large hardware base, comes preloaded with a browser an office suite, some graphics and audio applications, Internet messenger, games, email client, wall papers, screen savers, visual effects etc, the exact options that are loaded depend on the version, but for the sake of this review I'm using the details from version 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon (standard Gnome Desktop environment) as that is the distribution I'm most familiar with.

Although, I may mention some of the features of the newest release 8.10 as I'm becoming more familiar with it.

As for the above mentioned items the system is snappy, stable, and fairly intuitive.

It's the most popular Linux distribution with the largest community following.

Six month schedule for major releases.

(Designed to keep up with updates in the kernel and to produce full distributions with all the last six months worth of updates included in the installer.)

Fully featured Linux OS, it's likely the best distribution as far as support and usability goes especially as far as user based support and community following.

Great for beginner Linux users who want to jump right in with the free software theme.

All in one distribution, you have multiple desktop environments which means that it's easier to try the different desktop environments using the same back end, so it's not too difficult to go from one to the next and still know how to do basic tasks, with multiple default packages so you can choose which desktop environment is most suitable to your needs.

There is also an educational suite called edubuntu, which includes packages designed for educational institutions to aid in workstation management. Educational applications are included and it's got a bit more of an artistic side to the interface.

Ubuntu's server version, includes in the setup an easy way to install / configure Apache MySQL and PHP services to allow for web development/deployment.

Packaged with webmin - (seperate download and install) this server combo is quite robust.

The completely free open source version which excludes all proprietary software in the repositories called gobuntu.

Kdesktop environment distribution called kubuntu, includes some applications that are optimized to run on the Kdesktop. Personally I've found it's interface to be a bit more complicated for the average user (despite it's "more similar to windows" layout. It's not!)

Newsflash: it also isn't going to have the applications that you expect where you expect them to be. Sure, it's got a single menu for all the applications, but gnome can be configured to match that layout with a few clicks in the GUI.

Xubuntu, is the Xfce version with a lighter foot print on your computer and requires less system resources. Again I've found it a bit more complicated than the Gnome desktop envirionment, however each distribution is geared towards a specific use but all are configurable to accommodate your tastes.

So that's a little history on the system.

If you're looking to use a system for 3D mainstream games, specific software applications, music, ftp, basically anything beyond the browsing and word processor aspect of a system you run into an issue of how much technical background you have and how well you can learn and how open are you to learn a new product...

However, of the Linux Distributions that I've tried it has been the most intuitive for me.

Can't play encoded movies by default. Even with DVD ROM Drive installed. (Except on Dell computers with the Dell distribution because they have created a module to allow for DVD playback on their machines.)

Lacks installed FTP Client, Although there are several available through software repositories,

with the newest version to date 8.10, however, ftp is possible via the nautilis it is available from the places menu with the "connect to server" applet.

In the essence of time I'm posting this review while I finish reviewing the product I do intend to do a more fully qualified review later.

Google's Chrome?

2008-09-07T22:39:00.045-05:00

So... the beast who always seems to produce the most popular products in the beta world, has YET AGAIN come to market to fill a vacuum for a product that will be the best of it's class Google's Chrome has already gained 25% of the market since it's debut 2 September 2008 just 19 days ago.

True, products in beta have been reevaluated, by consumers since Google's Debut, in '95?
With their long standing beta's that ship ready and working, nicely packaged with all the features you can think of and more.

Many of you may already know I was one of the earliest to adopt their web based E-Mail application so cleverly named GMail, A name, likely, sooner than later to replace the term EMail.

So it may come as no surprise to you that I found out about the recent release of the Product Chrome many hours before it's scheduled release date.

Now with some time to have evaluated the Beta, I am writing a review of it as I am fully impressed with it's speed, stability, and ease of use.

In fact of all the browsers I've used it is the fastest that the web has ever seen, including beating record Firefox's "Blazing" speed.

On the downside for Chrome just a couple weeks before learning of the Chrome beta, I'd recently adopted the bookmark synchronization add-on to Firefox cleverly named Foxmarks, which synchronizes all of your bookmarks between as many computers as your heart desires. (That of course is only with the plug in installed.)

However, since having switched my default Internet browser on my computer(s) to Google Chrome, I've found myself missing, the all too often taken for granted tool, as neither Foxmarks, nor Google have added the necessary code base to their products to support synchronization with Chrome.

Other than a very few small features that the browser is missing, from the beloved Firefox, and now Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7, like the ability to undo the close of a tab, there are little if any issues I have with the browser.

On second thought, the default page when a new tab/window is created/open has a list of recently closed tabs / sites in the bottom right of the information segment on the page.

Overall I must say I've been greatly impressed with the product and will look forward to updates and changes by Google and others to include further support for plug-ins and new functionality.

You can download your copy of Google's chrome and begin using the fastest lightest browser I've ever seen. >Click Here< to download and begin using chrome.

Digg

2008-06-23T18:20:00.003-05:00

Digg is the new yellow!

Load your browser and navigate to your favorite site, for news, a hobby site, blog, etc. and you'll likely see a gradient yellow badge that has a number example "64" and "Diggs" this is the number of people that liked the article and have chosen to "Digg" it.

So, what does this mean to you?

Do, you have a favorite site and want to support them but don't have a lot of money?

Digg your favorite articles to help them get featured on the Digg home page.

How does it help them to be featured on the Digg home page?

Because, unlike business IRL (In Real Life) or in the "real world" no body is just passing by on the internet, your favorite site only gained popularity due, to word of mouth, or paid advertising. Digg is a way to help promote a site by means of voting, it's one way to spread the word "online".

Gmail

2008-06-06T19:12:00.030-05:00

I've been using Google's Webmail for three years and one month this past May.

So I just thought I'd take a minute to talk about the greatest web-mail service online!

Reasons why this is my number one web-mail account.

Built-in instant messenger with group chatting for Google talk & Aim allows you to chat with other GoogleTalk / Aim contacts right in the web page without having to download and install a client application.

Web 2.0 design provides a user friendly interface.

6 Gibibytes of Storage and counting allows you to store a lifetime supply of email.

Advanced search functionality provides ease of access to emails sent days, weeks, months, and years ago searching by date, time, keywords, email addresses etc.

Contact management allows storage of Multiple email addresses, phone numbers physical address(es) Contact pictures, web addresses.

Labels which function similar to folders.

Filters which have the ability to immediately transfer an email into a "label" upon receipt.

Easy setup for e-Mail clients e.g. Outlook Express, Thunderbird, Outlook, & Mail for offline editing and storage of email.

Seamless account integration with other Google systems for instance Photos, Documents, Blogger, Calendar, Reader, Groups etc.

Stored Chats automatically keeps a log of your chat conversation in your gmail account.

Advanced spam filter is easy to add addresses to for automatic spam filtering.

Auto forwarding, allows you to forward email from your webmail account to another email address of your choice.

Customized "From" address, allows you to associate other addresses with your account from which you can send email.

Conversation style messages keeps all replies available from the original message simply by expanding the subject of the email message.

20 Mega Byte attachments allow you to send files to others Google mail users and to users of other email services that also allow 20 MB attachments.

Reply by chat allows you to respond to an email message instantly if the person you're replying to is online.

Star important messages to put them into the star Label / Folder.

Mobile email page makes it easy to check your email from your mobile phone with a mobile browser. using this url: gmail.com/app

Free IMAP / POP forwarding is available for use with email clients.

Contact import/export allows you to import and export your entire contacts list to and from an address book and your email account.

Voice Calling through Google Talk to other Google Account holders with the ability to leave a voice message if the person you're calling is unavailable.

Users have the ability to associate pictures with their own account for others to view also each user can select custom pictures for each of their contacts.

Auto responder allows you to setup an automated reply in case you're out of range with your computer and won't be checking your email for awhile.

Contact groups allows grouping of friends, family, co-workers, etc.

Tracking number detection ads links to tracking pages for your orders.

Signature allows you to select a unique signature that will be added to all of your email messages before sending.

Virus Scanning adds protection against infected attachments.

Auto save allows for protected editing of email so that if you lose your connection to the web or the site in the middle of writing a long email you'll not lose your work.

Accessible through Google tool bar.

Add it to iGoogle as a gadget.

Notifier pops up a message when you receive an email even if you're not logged into your webmail through your Internet browser.

Embarrassment reducing new message notification, pops up to let you know if someone else has already responded to an email so you don't respond with the same answer to a question and take the title for office idiot from "the other guy".

View power point attachments as slide shows without having to download the attachment through Google document presentation tool.

All of these features, and more to come, completely FREE!!!

Is it worth it to "upgrade to Yahoo Messenger 9 beta?"

2008-05-17T16:53:00.008-05:00

So I was on the messenger's download page and saw the 9.0 beta and thought I'd give it a shot and this is what I found.

Fairly easy install, following the on screen instructions.

Great new version of the same PC based client with a little flashier look.

However when contacts with earlier versions tried to share their web cam(s) for a video chat I found that my computer was unable to view their camera.

Over all good product seems to be stable, I was pleased to have seen a less cluttered interface and I'm sure the final release will have the camera issue worked out.

If you love to keep up with the newest cutting edge products and don't need to use a camera you can download it at messenger.yahoo.com/

Happy Testing.

Welcome to BloggerSentinel

2008-05-17T04:06:00.016-05:00

Welcome to BloggerSentinel Looks like you've found my corner of the web.

Why don't you take a look around, I'm just getting started but I'm going to be reviewing products that are of interest to me and hopefully others as well.. if you have any suggestions feel free to post a comment.

Thanks for visiting my blog, please come back.

-Josh