Matt's Market Reviews

Got a Domain!

mg100796 — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 19:57:13 +0000

I’m so exited! I just got a domain name and hosting service! I am currently installing wordpress on it, and will be post there from now on. It is located at mattsmarket.com Thanks for viewing!

How to Open CharMap

mg100796 — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 14:38:09 +0000

Ok, heres a short little post for you guys. Most people have never heard of the “CharMap”. It’s a small program build into Windows that allows you to see all the ASCII characters that aren’t on your keyboard. It’s comes in handy sometimes if you need a special character. It’s also good for showing off too. If you would like to use it, just goto run and type “CharMap”, and it should open up. Here are some screen shots:

Make a Mac

mg100796 — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 01:12:06 +0000

We all know you can’t run OS X on a pc…or can you? If your a real techie then you’ve probably have heard of Intel’s EFI. It let’s you customize the integration between your software and hardware. The thing is, is that ever since Apple switched to Intel chips there has always been he possibility of getting it on a pc, but most “patches” or “hacks” only work for a specific version, doesn’t have Internet, or other problems. Now, to most people writing thousand of lines of code for EFI emulator is out of the question. So, why doesn’t someone make a simple chip to do this? They did. It’s called EFI-X, and sold at http://www.expresshd.com/. It’s an internal USB chip that allows you install OS X on your pc! There is a catch though. Not all hardware is compatible. Basically you have to have a Gigabyte motherboard, and the rest is changing all the time (To see the compatibility list, click here). Another catch is it costs around $200, but check this out. If you goto Apple.com and buy a brand-new Mac Pro, your gonna’ spend around $2,400. On the other hand, if you buy a similar PC, the price is only around $1,400, INCLUDING the EFI-X! That’s a savings of over $1,200! Now, here are the specifics:

Motherboard: Gigabyte EX58-UD3R $160
Processor: i7 920 2.66ghz $260
Case: Aspire x-discovery $90
HD: Wester Digital Velovi Raptor 300GB 10,000 RPM $230
Ram: 6gb 1600mhz $120
Multi boot-loader: EFI-X $200
Video Card: Geforce 9800 GT $80

That’s all from a quick run through “Fry’s Electronics” AKA “The Mother-ship”. This way beats “Hackintoshes”, because you can update it naturally, instead of reinstalling every time the OS got updated. Oh, and one more thing! You can’t install Operating System on HD partitions because EFI-X can’t read partitions yet. I learned that the hard way… Happy Building!

Windows 7

mg100796 — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 19:07:00 +0000

I have just finished installing Windows 7 as a dual boot on my laptop. So far, the one thing that stands out the most is the amazing new UI (User Interface). The new taskbar is slightly bigger, but can be reduced in size from the control panel. Another thing is, is that is boot and shutdown times are incredible with an average boot time at 14 seconds and shutdown time at 15 seconds! Plus, it has updated versions of all the accessories we know and love ( ie: paint, command prompt, Ect.) ,as well as new ones. Windows 7 also boast a bunch of new “shortcuts” for Windows Aero, such as Win+Up Key to maximize the current window or Win+Down Key to restore down and then minimize. Currently I have the RC (Release Candidate) build 7100. As you see below I have a few applications installed. So far I haven’t had any problems compatibility wise, but if you do I suggest right click on the application then hit properties and there should be a tab labeled “Compatibility”. Inside that just check run “Compatibility Mode” and select which mode you would like it to run in from the drop down. I’d love to hear everyones opinions on Windows 7, so please comment!
Windows 7 Desktop

Windows 7 Paint

Blitware Driver Robot

mg100796 — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 15:31:13 +0000

We all know how annoying drivers are. When your just about to finish your big long business proposal and suddenly your computers crashes, because you didn’t have the right drivers installed, and then if you have multiple drivers outdated then you have to goto each website and MANUALLY download and install each one individually. Well, Blitware has designed a new program that will eliminate those problems. It’s called “Driver Robot”, and it automates the updating of drivers. Never again will your computer crash, because you have the wrong drivers or spend hours installing the wrong driver. Driver Robot ensures the latest drivers and perfect hardware scan every time! It’s massive data base of over 100,000 different pieces of hardware, and it’s manufacture mirror allow you to download drivers even when the manufacture’s website is down, is enough to go get it right now! But there’s even more! If you own an office space or somewhere where a computer is not connect to the internet, you can use offline driver analysis tool and export the hardware analysis to an online computer! This is probably one of my all-time favorite Windows Utilities. If you what to check out the product page click here or download it directly here.

Here are a few screen shots:

*Pictures © Blitware Technology Inc.

Toshiba 40″ 1080p LCD TV

mg100796 — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 14:31:47 +0000

I just wanted to give you a quick review on the Toshiba 40RV525R 40-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV. I was just surfing around amazon and found this great deal. When you buy it now, you can get up to 20% off! Now, for the review. This obviously one of those tv’s where you think your going to get worthless pile of wasted tv, but it actauly has great picture quality and also works great as a Media PC monitor. Here’s some of my pros and cons:

Pros:
Great picture quality
20% off
1080p
40″
FREE Shipping
Great for play Playstation 3 games

Cons:
The sound spectacular, just more average
D-Sub’s highest resolution is 1360×768

If you would like to take advantage of 20% off this great TV goto: Toshiba 40RV525R 40-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV

MixPod.com

mg100796 — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 13:17:55 +0000

Well, this is definitely a “must-have” for all home webmasters. The other day I came accross this site when I was looking for a good flash-based music player. It’s says it’s for MySpace, but after finding a skin and add a bunch of free songs to my playlist it turned out to just be simple HTML code! I decieded to parse through it and see if I could get it to work here, and this is what I came up with:

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

Jaadu VNC

mg100796 — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 03:57:02 +0000

Have you ever had this picture you were going to show your friend, but you forgot sync it? Well the answer is here! It’s Jaadu VNC. It does cost quite a pretty penny though at $25 for this app. You may be thinking that’s way to much to pay for an app, but it is worth every cent! It allows you to add several computers to your list (See Below), and “VNC” into them. It is definitely one of my favorite apps. When I’m sitting at restaurant waiting for my food I’ll be on it just use my desktop applications. Other thing about it, is it’s good for pranks to! Like you hook it up to your office computer and turn your speakers on max, and then you goto the bathroom and press play on you iTunes and out comes Alice Cooper screaming! The quality is pretty amazing too. Even over 3G I get a decent connection and not too terribly much lag. Below are some screen shots. You purchase it here.

Happy Tethering!

iPhone 3G/3GS Tethering

mg100796 — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 03:05:57 +0000

Well, this is an easy one. You know how is seems like you are always stranded at some airport with a delayed flight, and you have to squint at your iPhones screen to see you bosses expectation on tomorrows memo. Well now you don’t have to worry about squinting anymore thanks to some smart people over at http://help/benm.at. They have create a simple solution to crowded airports, aswell as other place who don’t have free Wi-Fi. It’s called “Tethering”. You simply goto enter in your carrier information and you get this:

Now, just tap “Install”. Now, just tap on over to Settings->General->Network->Internet Tethering, and flip the switch! You can now tether in using bluetooth or USB. If you choose bluetooth I suggest you read on because it’s not as “Black and White” as the USB method. Ok, to tether via bluetooth in Vista, click on the start menu and then “Connect To”. You should get a window like this:

Click on “Set up a connection or network”. Scroll all the way to the bottom and select Bluetooth PAN (Personal Area Network). Add your iPhone and then connect and you should get this wonderful screen right here:

Happy Tethering!

Welcome!

mg100796 — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 01:27:55 +0000

This is my first “official” post. For now tell you a few things that you will be able to find, one of those being product reviews. I will be big on giving you good product reviews as well as giving you tips about iPhones, programming, ect. Also I will try my best to answer question I’m asked, so if you have a question just comment. Thanks for visiting! I hope I will give you a lot of good, useful information!