Need to Know Blog

Get HDMI Cable for $2 bucks! [deal]

Are you overpaying for your HDMI cables? Most overpriced are anywhere from $80 - $120 USD! Don’t get fooled, this is digital signal and even the $2 bucks cable from Amazon will do it’s job fine. I got mine from eBay for $15

Use this link: Amazon.com

Thanks Giz.

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Posted in Cables, Deals, HDMI | 1 Comment »

Choosing a hosting company; 10 things you should look for!

If you are looking to put a website on line, one of the hardest things will be finding a good, reliable web host.

Choosing a web host is not a trivial thing. There are many aspects to consider besides the price, which most of times matter more than the price you pay for hosting. Here are some tips on what to look for:

(more…)

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Posted in Advice, How-to, Web Hosting | No Comments »

Vista’s SP1 packs a punch (551 bug fixes)

Yesterday we were all excited to finally get our hands on the Leopard’s 10.5.2 update. No one really knew, until now, all the goodies Microsoft is (finally) bringing to the table with Vista’s SP1 (Service Pack 1).

Ed Bott, from ZDNet, finally shines some light on what’s in the long awaited SP1, and from the looks of it, it’s a lot. Microsoft’s release notes for SP1 are not human readable (at least not in real time), so Ed took his time and compiled a smaller, nicer, list of updates by categories we can all understand. Here’s what’s fixed (left column: number of fixes, right column:category):

Fixes  Category
75  Internet Explorer
41  Sleep/Hibernation & Power Management
38  Storage [finally]
35  Hardware and Drivers
35  Networking
28  Desktop and Shell
25  Printing & Scanning Technologies
25  .NET Framework, Data Components, Development Tools
24  Setup, Deployment, Backup, and Activation
24  Windows Media Center
23  International/Localization
20  Computer Management, Administration, and Tools
19  Application Compatibility
19  Multimedia
16  Performance and Reliability
16  Startup/Shutdown
13  Time Zone/Daylight Saving Time
13  Windows Media Player and Related Technologies
12  Security
12  Remote Access, VPN
  8   IIS and WebDAV issues
  7   Wireless Networking
  7   Offline Files
  6   Windows Mail and Web-based Software
  5   Windows Sidebar and SideShow
  5   Windows Portable Devices

However, it seems that Vista is still vulnerable to the Activation hack

Thanks Ed! Now if they would just release it to the general public ASAP, that’d be fun. Hunting around BitTorrent is not really for everyone

Via: ZDNet

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Posted in SP1, Update, Vista, Windows | No Comments »

New Section coming up soon: Product Reviews

Hey!

I’d just like to thank all of you for coming, and returning, to the site. The number of subscribers (via email and RSS) is growing daily, which makes me quite pleased. It means we’re doing at least something right

There’s nothing like having a site which people find useful; the main reason behind Need to Know Blog. As I always like to say, you’d be amazed at the number of people who do not know much about the Internet. While there’s been a lot of news reporting lately, expect to see more how-to’s as early as tomorrow.

You may have noticed the site is being prettified lately. We’ve added new categories, new design, new features. Next on the list of improvements is a special column: Product reviews.

We’re expecting the first review candidates to arrive via mail shortly, and look forward to provide you with unbiased first-hand reviews of all kinds of products. I’m really glad that many manufacturers, even smaller ones, decided to send us all kinds of things for review and we thank them for their support

Until then, thanks once again for visiting and reading the blog. Feel free to contact us for anything, we’re here to help (as many of you already know fist hand). Don’t be afraid - your email will actually get answered

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Mac Users, fire up the update: 10.5.2 is here

Apple just dropped the long expected 10.5.2 update for the Leopard. It tops at about 380 MB - which means it should add a lot of code revision and improvements (at least internally).

Also - TUAW reports that games are running faster with the new update

Thank you Apple!

(Wish Microsoft was like this at times. Where’s that SP1 again?)

Update: Gizmodo reports on what the update packs:

• Airport connection reliability and stability (we’ve noticed some problems personally, and so have you)

• Back to my Mac for third-party routers
• Dashboard widget performance improvement
• Stacks fix! List view, Folder view, and updated background for Grid Vid View
• Menubar transparency disabling
• Less translucent menus
• Several iCal recurring meetings supports, bug fixes overall
• iChat Bugfixes
• iSync support added for Samsung D600E and D900i phones
• Finder bugfixes
• Mail bugfixes
• AFP network volume hanging fixed
• RAW support improved
• Preview bugfixes
• Time Machine bugfixes (some external drives not being recognized)

More info here [Apple]

There’s also a Leopard Graphics Update 1.0 that comes after you install the 10.5.2 update, which according to Ars, it’s just a set up updated graphics card drivers.

Thanks Giz!

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Posted in Apple, Leopard, Update | 1 Comment »

Microsoft buys Danger (your SideKick creator)!

Microsoft was really on a role to spend money this past week. With the offering of $40-something billion for Yahoo! (which Yahoo refused), they were really in a hurry to drop some cash.

The latest news are that they bought Danger, the guys who make Sidekick, but I do not know how good the news is. I do not like Windows Mobile devices, and SideKick had it’s own charm just the way it is. Thank God it’s not Blackberry though, but with so much money to spend and such a sudden urge - I would not be amazed if they get them too.

This all feels like dad left for a retirement vacation, and his kids are spending the money behind his back [referring to Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer of course]

Via: Microsoft

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Posted in Microsoft, News | 1 Comment »

Starbucks switching from T-mobile to AT&T. YES!

Hey, hey, look at this. It seems that Starbucks is breaking up with T-Mobile as it’s WiFi provider and going for the ever-growing AT&T in over 7,000 of it’s locations in the US. However, this is going to be more of a menage-tua since it seems that there’s some other deal going on between AT&T and T-mobile stating that people “will be able to continue to access WiFi services at no additional cost through an agreement between [the two]“.

Sincerely - I think T-Mobile was overpriced and AT&T, besides offering lower cost WiFi, will offer Starbucks card holders two hours of free WiFi per day (fair enough, finally some reward for buying the overpriced coffee), and free access to all qualifying AT&T and U-verse Internet customers (which is awesome)!

This switch though does not come as a surprise. Apple announced last year that they will be teaming up with Starbucks and offering music downloads and some other special integration features between iPhone and WiFi at Starbucks (like downloading currently playing songs, etc.). AT&T and Apple are good buddies, Apple and Starbucks are good buddies - why not be buddies together

I am quite happy with the transition. T-mobile was really bothering me lately

Via: Engadget

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