I’m a firm believer in quality sound from your computer, and usually its a combination of the right sound card with the speakers. In this case I have an excellent Logitech 2.1 Speakers and never found any reason to replace them, and they are still doing their job. Recently hearing the Bowers & Wilkins MM1 Speakers, I was blown away, they are makers of some exquisite speakers, and now they have made the MM1s. The crisp sound quality is fantastic, you can hear the highs and the lows, from music to TV shows and video games. The remote is simple to operate and has all the controls you need. Whats surprising is the amount of base these little guys pack into the small speakers, I have a large subwoofer sitting under my desk and it booms, but these little guys do pack a punch they you wouldn’t need a big subwoofer under your desk. I pretty much watch most of my TV shows and anime at my desk, legs up and sound blasting, I’m happy with the speakers I have but if they weren’t as good as they are, I would go for the MM1s in a heart beat. They are bit pricey at $500 but Bowers & Wilkins make quality products, and they usually last a long time.

Link: Bowers & Wilkins

This is a story of how a gmail email of friend got stolen and how it was recovered by another friend. Some very detailed information of the steps she went through to recover for the email for the non-techie person.

So late last night was the last time Patient X was able to use his Gmail account and this afternoon when he tried to login to his account it kept telling him that the password was wrong and therefore panic started to form. Reason for panic is lots of private emails that if they fall in the wrong hands can cause chaos. So attempting to reset the password by using the forgot password form did not help as the reset password email address was one not known and therefore hacker dude probably messed that up too. So enter Dr Y trying to solve the issue, first steps were to retry the reset password, when that failed, Dr. Y attempted to go to the below mentioned link:

Link: Can’t Access Account

Once Dr. Y answered (No) The form was generated in which Dr. Y had to enter the below details about Patient X’s account. Luckily enough Dr. Y is a neat freak in organizing all emails sent and received, not deleting much and basically stalking anyone and everyone. Of the questions Dr. Y answered are the ones mentioned below.

An email address we can use to contact you* (entered Dr. Y’s email address)
Describe the problem you’re experiencing* (The answer was: I believe someone has taken over my account)

Then Dr. Y filled out some of the below mentioned details regarding the Product Information

• Do you use Gmail with this account? (Yes)
• Gmail username; (enter username)
• Most recent recovery email address: (if applicable – in this case it was not remembered)
• Do you have a verification code? (a code usually sent by mobile if your mobile number was registered (*Recommendation please re-visit your Password recovery options and update it*)
• Email addresses of up to five frequently emailed contacts: (enter as many as you could – which was done here)
• Names of up to four labels: (had it been Dr. Y’s account there could be up to 27 labels to choose from but here it was unknown as user was not organizing freak)
• Did you receive an invitation to create your account? (Yes) [ This is where magic happened for Dr. Y and they were able to access all information collected on Patient X]
• Do you use orkut with this Google Account? (No)
• Do you use Blogger with this Google Account? (No)
• Google Products you used with this account and the date you started using each one? (Entered 2 of the available 4 areas)
• And finally the “Other account Information”
• Account Creation Date: (Entered date)
• Last Successful login date: (Entered todays date)
• Last password you remember: (Entered last password)

Click on Submit and wait for the magic to occur. In this case it took almost 20 minutes for Google to reject the information provided as it wasn’t sufficient enough (me thinks: that someone did not have their morning coffee) As a suggestion they suggested to fill out the form again and I entered same information provided and submitted it to get an answer almost 2 hours and 30 minutes later a successful answer seen below:

Hello,

Thank you for your report. We’ve completed our investigation and we’re
re-enabling your access to this account. We’ve changed the recovery email
address to (blahblah@blah.com)

Proceeded to reset the password and had a password sent to the contact email mentioned above in the recovery process and viola everything was back to normal

All the emails were intact and no random emails were sent off!

The little machine that has been overlooked for so long gets a much needed hardware upgrade. I always thought they were planning on cutting it off since it didn’t seem to be having the impact that they were expecting, but it seems that they still have some use for the MacMini today. The hardware upgrade has warranted it’s use as normal Mac or a Server based on the extra features which is interesting coming from Apple, meaning they are confident of its capabilities.

Full Specs:

• 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB of shared L2 cache
• 2GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable up to 8GB
• A slot-load 8X SuperDrive® (DVD+/-R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW) optical drive
• 320GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm
• NVIDIA GeForce 320M integrated graphics
• AirPort Extreme® 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
• Gigabit Ethernet
• Four USB 2.0 ports
• SD card slot
• One FireWire® 800 port
• One HDMI port and one Mini DisplayPort
• HDMI to DVI video adapter
• Combined optical digital audio input/audio line in (minijack)
• Combined optical digital audio output/headphone out (minijack)

Link: WeGotServed

Alienware has fallen a bit off the radar after my last experience with them but I have to say that the new M11x does seem a bit enticing, and they have upgraded the hardware recently. And all this packed into an 11inch screen, pretty impressive overall and the starting price for the Core i7 is around $999.

Specs:

• Core i7
• 8 GB
• 256 SSD
• Windows 7 Ultimate – 64 Bit
• HDMI & Lots of USB

Adding Up to $2400, with all the ridiculous options available

VPNs or Virtual Private Networks are the best solution to any firewall, they can technically get through any blocking solution out there but there have been a few that manage to make it a little bit more difficult. People use VPNs for different reasons, I for one use it to access the torrents, get to all the sites I want to, and accessing sensitive sites such as banks or other institutions from wireless networks or public areas.

The Toughest Internet Internet Filters I have Faced:

• Oman
• UAE
• Saudi Arabia
• Sudan

First Choice: Strong VPN

• I’m using PPTP service with but they have a large variety of VPN options to choose from
• Several cities to choose from as core cities
• Integrates with any operating system, iPad or phone
• High speed, usually with VPNs they slow down your browsing but with Strong VPN their speeds are consistently high
• Has gotten through every firewall I have tried
• Their support is solid and I have never had issues with their service
• Their prices are very reasonable with all the different options, and if you don’t know what to choose then just ask them

Link: StrongVPN

Second Choice: HMA VPN

• They have a software based VPN
• They are currently beta testing PPTP service which I have tried and its pretty good
• Relatively fast connectivity
• Sometimes has issues connecting but overall very good
• With the software based VPN it has had issues with one or two firewalls but with the PPTP service it was pretty good
• Software based only works with Windows but the PPTP works with Mac, Windows, Linux and other communicaiton devices

Link: HideMyAssVPN

If your looking for a solid service and you know what you want then go with StrongVPN, another option would be HideMyAss Pro VPN. But both will do the job to get you where you want securely.

Update:

Just to address the questions, they both work with Hulu and relatively fast, also they work with the Netflix and ABC App on the iPad so your able to watch US shows on your iPad. So both connections facilitate streaming from the US perfectly.

“The project aims to build the world’s largest archive of graffiti motion, and bring together two seemingly disparate communities that share an interest hacking systems, whether found in code or in the city,” Roth states.

I have always been a fan of graffiti, some of it is pretty cool and some of it is crude but I always admired the skills some of these people had. Now some people have taken up this project of archiving different kinds of graffiti, they even developed a programming language called GML, Graffiti Markup Language, which takes a lot of dedication to put together to accommodate the graffiti the way they want. I love the way they have the graffiti free standing as if its in its own space with no gravity.

Link: CoolHunting

The iPad mania is still going on in Kuwait and all over the world, and I have to say that Apple has a breakthrough product. There are a few drawbacks that would make this the best product period, but right now it doesn’t have any competition. I use my iPad daily, it has gotten me hooked with several applications. The only biggest flaw is that you can’t move data inside applications to and from your main PC, so your iPad gets filled up with data from inside applications, you can’t back-up or move, you can just delete. The battery lasts a decent time but it takes so damn long to charge, if you kill the battery completely it takes over 4 hours to charge fully which is insane. But I can’t stop using it, its so easy to take around and I can carry so much content with it.

Best Applications:

• AirVideo – Streaming Videos
• Marvel Comics – A selection of Marvel Comics
• NewsRack – RSSFeed
• Sorted – To Do list
• Dropbox – Extention of the online application
• GoodReader – Enables you to read all types of documents & spreadsheets
• AngryBirds HD – Addictive online game
• Scrabble – The old school board game
• Shazam – Gives you the name of any song by listening to a clip

iPad Usage:

• Reading Comics – 40%
• Surfing The Net – 22%
• Playing Games – 12%
• Watching Shows/Anime – 18%
• Other Applications – 8%

Now this is an amazing product, there have a been alot of different companies providing alternate battery power sources for different products but none as thorough as the HyperMac for Apple Laptops & iPads. Giving you from 19-34 Hours for the MacBook Pros, and 30 to 92 Hours for the iPad. Thats a lot of hours, and pretty damn good in my opinion. Thats just a ridiculous amount of power that you can use while traveling or in the car, on a train, or stuck in a airport for a really long time. Prices range from $200 up to $500, which isn’t cheap but its a very solid product for a specific purpose.

Link: Gizmodo

Marvel has turned out to be one of my favorite applications on the iPad, I have always had a love for comics but as I grew up I lost track of all the different Universes, plots and lists of new comics that kept coming up. With the emergence of the iPad they have provided the perfect platform for Comics, I find myself reading for hours and hours these days and I’m enjoying every moment of it, I feel like the Geek in me couldn’t be happier. I read the comics and keep going to the next issue of the series, everything is very organized and you can keep buying the next one. I passed by the Kinokonaya Book Store in Dubai and saw a few Marvel Comics and I really wish they would be released soon on the iPad, and I kept flipping through a few of the comics that were on the table. The best part is that you can go through the categories and view each series on its own making it easier to select the comics you want, and of course the sample is perfect so you get a slight feel of the comic before purchasing.

My Favorite Comics:

• Hulk
• Mighty Avengers
• New Avengers
• New X-Men
• World War Hulk
• X-23: Target X
• X-Men: Age of Apocalypse

What Its Lacking:

• More Comics, I seriously want all the comics that Marvel has to offer
• I want the comics in higher resolution so when it goes screen to screen its crystal clear
• The Comics are a bit over priced and add up very quickly, I think they should be charged between 50c to 99c, not the $2.00 for each comic, people would buy more at higher volume
• A way to manage your comics off the iPad so when your done with it you can get rid of it instead of just deleting it. I just bought it, why would I delete it even if I need the space, feels like I’m throwing the comic in the trash, I would rather store it some where like I used to

Even with all these points I think that its a fantastic Application and a huge stepping stone to bring comics back to what it was. The iPad has revolutionized the way people interact with online activity and reading comics is being brought back in a way that takes advantage of all the features of the iPad making it easier and more fun to read.

Rating:

When transfering files from one folder to another you have to wait before starting another or else it will slow down, Windows has matured but they are content with their file moving capabilities of the OS. If your not happy then Teracopy is the best solution period, TeraCopy is a compact program designed to copy and move files at the maximum possible speed. It integrates with XP, Vista and Windows 7 and completely replaces Explorer’s transfer function, so after installing you move files over it automatically comes on and moves files over, and for once you really know how long its going to take. When I do multiple transfers to USB, a storage device on the network and from hard drive to hard drive they are all transferring at maximum possible speed without affecting each other. If I’m doing multiple transfers to one location it divides up the maximum possible bandwidth and sends everything over at the same time if you want to, or else it will organize all the files into one transfer window, and you can see the files are that have been transfered, that are being transfered, and the ones in the queue. The best part is the way it handles the problems you can skip a problematic file and keep on going with the rest of them. An amazing program, very light on the OS and you can have multiple instances working nonstop.

Link: CodeSector: TeraCopy