If you haven’t heard about VideoLAN Client (VLC), it’s time to join the future of media players. Originally begun as an academic project in Paris in 1996, VLC is an open source portable media player that functions compatibly with various audio and video files including streaming protocols and is now becoming a household name. VLC Media Player was developed by various contributors on a worldwide basis and has since been downloaded by the millions, winning several awards including the Open Source Award of 2004.

The amazing thing is VLC is free! In fact, it has been rated as one of the top 10 free apps for both PC and Mac. It is considered light years ahead of the competition. The controls are easy to use, and this powerful system works with Microsoft Windows, Mac, Linux, GNU, BSD, and more, making it one of the friendliest systems available. And did we mention it’s FREE?! VLC is also compatible with iPad, Xbox, iPhone, iPod, Zune and other devices.

So what exactly can VLC do? Hold on to your seats as we explore the dazzling array of options.

Audio/Video Player.

The primary function of VLC is the ability to play videos and listen to music. Unlike other media players, just about any media format can be played on a VLC media player, both audio and video. The reason is nearly every codec has been built directly into the technology. VLC supports all popular formats of audio CDs and DVDs, web streams, along with these files types: MPEG, AVI, FLV, WAV, Ogg.

Other functions include the following:

• Live Recording for on the fly recording of different media types. Use the record button as part of the Advanced Controls.
• Snapshot: capture and save still shots of scenes within a video.
• Playlist Support.
• Subtitles for foreign films, etc.
• Variable playback speed. Increase or decrease the speed of playback. You can also watch frame by frame playbacks of your favorite scenes. This feature is part of the Advanced Controls from the View menu.
• Live Streaming of content to HDTV or a computer monitor.
• Create DVDs from home videos.
• Bookmarks for audio and video files so you can easily return to specific scenes or songs.
• Ability to play damaged, unfinished, or incomplete videos.
• Customizable interface. For those who don’t want the preconfigured profiles, VLC provides the ability to change the interface to fit your own preferences. Use the View menu and select Customize Interface.
• Airtunes: Streaming from Apple’s Airport Express (which allows for music to play from your home stereo speakers)
• Pause without delay. Instantaneous pausing allows users to pause a video on the exact frame as soon as the pause button is pressed.

So there you have it. VLC has an amazing array of functions and abilities! And this is only the beginning; new versions are under development. The coming years will, most assuredly, provide even more options for those who dare to explore and keep up with technology.

It seems to as if Google is circling Microsoft like a Shark would it’s prey. They are finding every weak point that Microsoft has and are breaking them down one small piece at a time. Microsoft fails at many things including Internet Explorer, Windows Mobile, and Vista. Microsoft is considered by the average uninformed computer user to be a good thing but even most ignorant people know there are somethings that just don’t seem right. Google is capitalizing on these weak points the general pubic has by creating competitors for them are free and superior.

Even if someone is not already a Firefox user chances are they have ran into a problem or two with Internet Explorer at some point in time. It is slow to start and often doesn’t load what the user wants right especially if they are still using IE6. Google blows Internet Explorer out of the water with lightweight and speedy Chrome Browser. The first limb from Microsoft is torn.

Google then zones in on its next target, the sluggish, ineffective windows mobile. Each new version is much bigger than the last and even the ever improving technology can’t keep up with the over wight baby vista. The licence ads a hefty Microsoft tax to you the final price of you already expensive smart phone. Google beats windows mobile to the ground with its free and open source mobile operating system that is perfect for any phone because the software is meant to be tailored to the needs of any device.

Netbooks are becoming increasingly popular because they are super cheap and super portable but Microsoft has had to take a step back in order to adapt to them because Vista just won’t run on the underpowered machines. Once again a $250 computer has to be sold for  $300 after Microsoft has gotten its fair share for its ancient Operating System that they no longer support. Linux has taken a shot at filling in this deficiency but their lack of support for most hardware has made it difficult. Google is working on a lightweight operating system called chrome OS for underpowered machines and netbooks. It will be based off the foundation Linux laid but if they can get the kinda driver support windows has they will be a big contender.  Rumor is a offline Google Documents may also be in the works further sweetening the deal and emptying Microsoft’s wallet.

With Google taking over all of the small things that  Microsoft just doesn’t do right I start to wonder just when will they finally go for the kill? Will Chrome OS eventually develop into a full fledged Operating System to Battle Windows? There are already a few netbooks that are choosing Android instead of Windows so there systems so there is definitely a willingness in the market for a Google OS. It will come eventually, its just a matter of time.

If you’re on top of the latest shoe and boot trends for fall 2010, you’ll know that short ankle boots are back in a big way. Whether you wear them with a short wool dress at the office or leggings and a sweater for a shopping excursion, you’ll be right on top of style. However, if your legs are shapely, avoid short-cropped leggings or pants. Matching your body type with a trend is important. If you’re planning to combine a long skirt with a pair of short boots, don’t plan to show any leg at all. The skirt must come to the edge of the boot, or wear leggings to cover the distance.

In contrast, the over-the-knee boot will vie for your attention and look best with a short skirt and cinched-waist jacket. The heel size doesn’t matter, so go for what looks good on you or adds the height you want. Leggings are popular and they look smart with thigh-high boots and a cinched-waist jacket.

Another great trend is a flat or low-heeled slip on for casual slacks or jeans. Flats are great when you spend a lot of time on your feet. The drawback is that flats make your legs look shorter, so petite ladies may want to avoid this shoe. Ballerina flats come with colorful bows and crystal embellishments for a dressy look. This shoe is great for shorts, short denim skirts and a Capri pant. Avoid pants that are too long and pleated pants that narrow at the bottom. Your mid-section will balloon and that’s not a good look for anyone.

You can always switch to the stilettos or platforms making a huge splash this season. Slipping into a high heel for drinks at the local corner bar and restaurant will give you the sophistication you’re want. Miss-matching colors is still the rage with red shoes and a tiger-striped skirt.

If you are trying to keep you debt under control, you may have received a ton of advice. Likely, reducing your dependence on credit cards is high on the to-do list. Credit cards, as anyone has used one knows, can ramp up your debt almost before you know it. They make it easy to feel like you have more money than you actually do. Besides, when the bill comes, it can be easy to pay just the minimum amount due, and interest rates can quickly get away from you. The cards might be hard to part with, though, when they’re so convenient.

Equally convenient but less sticky when it comes to managing your money are Prepaid Credit Cards. Because they are prepaid, you can’t spend more than you have, and there are no surprises at the end of the billing cycle. Like credit cards, however, they can be easier than running to the ATM. They are also convenient for online shopping, recurring bills, and for travel. They look and work just like credit cards. You can even use them in conjunction with cash or other forms of payment. Some allow you to send a text message to a number printed on the card, and receive a message back with the balance. This makes it easy to keep track of how much you have left to spend.

The best way to gain financial control, to put it simply, is not to spend money that you don’t have. This will mean looking carefully at the amount of money you have coming in, and adjusting your expenses accordingly. Naturally, unexpected expenses will come up at times. For these situations, it is a good idea to have some savings set aside. That way, you can draw on the savings, i.e. money you already have, rather than using credit cards, which will cost more in the long run.

Twitter is a serious threat to the NFL! Well, this is what the recent actions of the NFL banning twitter from games, team meetings and coaching sessions signify. The elite body that governs all NFL related rules and regulations has said that from here onwards, Twitter is a strict no-no for players and the staff attached to the teams in the NFL. In the past, the NFL has applied strictures on player-media interactions, and the enforcement of rules on that front had been strict until now. Nevertheless, now the governing bodies think that the flow of information from players and staff should be restricted on social networking sites, even such as Twitter where the information conveyed per tweet cannot be that threatening.

However, the NFL says this is done to ensure vital information such as match strategies, training details and player information are not divulged unknowingly. The laughing matter is that many players and members of the staff have admitted that they do not even know how to send text messages on their cell phones leave alone using Twitter to tweet. The NBA has followed suit and is seriously considering bringing in guidelines to ensure that players stay off the popular social networking site. Reasons cited: maintaining tradition and seriousness of the game. Cell phones, PDAs and laptops were banned anyway during games much before the Twitter ban came along, but what is interesting is that players now cannot bring their gadgets even for their training sessions and team meetings.
The whole thing looks like it’s all about maintain secrecy from the public and the prying media. Whatever the reasons; let’s hope that the ban does not extend to other spheres connected to the two sports such as advertising, sponsorship, television rights and gambling such as NFL betting and the likes.

Linux made an amicable step towards peace with Microsoft a few days ago when the Software giant signed up for Twitter. Linux sent a simple tweet which said “Welcome to Twitter, @Microsoft!,”. Reports are unconfirmed but it is belived that Bill stared stunned at the screen of him MacBook Pro for more that 24 hours before replying “@Linux Thanks, nice to be here”.

So this marks the end of the Operating System war and Microsoft has official agreed to end its own existence and become slaves to King Tux…. Not Really. The war won’t be over anytime soon but this is a big change from the rather nasty things that get printed on t-shirts and the anti-Microsoft posters of Linux users. Even though most of what they say is true.

Flash is on its way for any Android phones using an ARM platform. Mobile devices have been left out of the flash game that has taken over the internet in the past few years with the phenomenon’s of YouTube, Hulu, Flash games, and anything else that lowers a persons productivity. BSquare the people behind the software have already sent the OEMs to be added to the browsers of the devices that can support it.

The iPhone is one of the few mobile phone that fully supports Youtube in a somewhat usable way. Apple has been questioned on whether they were going to be supporting flash on their mobiles in the near future and responded by saying that Flash was not good enough for the iPhone. However, Android powered phones are the iPhones newest competitor for being the “cool” phone so they may change their tune in order to stay competitive.

After being sold to the Software company “Global Gaming Factory X” (GGF) for  $7.8m, one has to wonder what will happen with The Pirate Bay? And after doing some online research, I’ve come to the conclusion of two possible outcomes in this scenario:

-          TPB might become a fully legal service, meaning movies would become short 1-2 minute trailers, software and games would be only limited trial versions and music would probably not even exist on the website (except for a few ripped YouTube videos and unknown indie artists)…

In this case, new Torrent websites would quickly emerge in order to supply the demand of millions of “data hungry” users that would emerge in such a scenario.

-          Or, are the new owners (which, coincidentally, also acquired the file-sharing technology company “Peerialism” – Perhaps they are going to merge these two technologies together?) going to implement a new business model, in order to make P2P file sharing profitable for both companies and users alike?

While this seems hard to do in theory, a recent interview with Peter Sunde (one of the TPB’s co-founders) reassured the public that this decision has been made after weeks of negotiations and planning, in order to secure the site’s future – meaning this was the best possible solution (otherwise TPB could simply die off, due to the weight of the current court fines and lack of funding), and is the closest one to fulfilling the Pirate Ideal: “Keeping all digital data copyright free.”

At the end of his interview, Peter closed it by saying “I’d rather see The Pirate Bay die in a chance of becoming better, than just dying.”

I guess that only shows that neither of the two theories is more or less likely to happen and only time will tell of what is going to be with the future of The Pirate Bay.

Microsoft’s bottom line is certainly hurting from the Linux gains in most of the netbooks that have been manufactured recently. There is a recent drop in the windows revenue and popularity due to the fact that most of the leading netbook vendors like the Acer and Asus simply prefer to run their netbooks on the Linux OS. This has certainly increased the popularity of Linux by nearly 30 percent as compared to windows in the recent times.

In the last quarter’s it is expected that the Windows sales simply fell far behind short of forecasts, and Microsoft has certainly curtailed growth projections in most of its graphs for the current year to over more than nine percent to as little as three percent, simply citing lower revenue from most of their leading netbooks. Most of the Window products certainly do run in about 70 percent of the netbooks, that simply is a category that is never defined, but it certainly does reflect an %600 mini-notebook with all of its screens ranging from 7 to 11 inches.

Acer and Asys executives simply make a note that Linux runs on about third of their netbooks. This certainly can be very much significant as when we speak of the present market condition, it is pretty obvious that both these two companies simply control over 90 percent of the netbook market. We certainly know that acer is just credited with the touching of the netbook explosion with the launch of its new Eee-PC in the market( a system that certainly does run on the Linux OS). It was definitely shipped as a Linus run system for an estimated $400 . Most of the latest versions of the new Acer netbooks certainly are powered with the new ATOM processor and another fact is that a majority of the netbooks have the choice to run from the Linux or Windows XP OS.

If we speak of more accurate figures then we certainly can say that the figures are just meant to dwarfs Linux’s share in the higher end PC system market at around 0.71 percent from 0.47 percent in Aug. 07.

So, most of the IDC analysts also make a statement that the netbooks certainly are a threat to Microsoft as it certainly does give most of the users a chance so that they can certainly try out something new as an alternative. A number of people have been using Windows XP for a long time, so they may just decide to use the New improved version of Linux OS for their netbooks as most of these netbooks have an option for running on both types of Operating system.

One day most probably most of the people may just find themselves using the new improved Linux OS. People have been saying that for over a decade. The mere ideal of a free universal OS that is supported by the Open source applications so that it can in fact take care of all the business and entertainment needs of most of the users. Most of the people do complaint about the Windows and its producers, Linux is at least expected to hit the inroads amongst most of the PC users.

This new kid around the block is not just another handheld device! Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, kids and shenanigans… welcome to the world of Palm Pre! This multimedia smartphone is more than just a phone. Marketed and designed under the aegis of Palm, the world leader in handheld devices, the Palm Pre is all set to take the market by a swoosh. The multi-touch screen, coupled with a sliding keyboard, make this an easy-to-deal with customer.

If you are a tech geek, then here is some elementary info, just to get you going and interested! The Pre is based on WebOS, a Linux based OS which has been perfected by Palm and tailor made to suit the needs of the Palm Pre in particular. The Palm Pre is a full-blown Internet Client, with capabilities of web browsing, email, wi-fi and what not!

The Palm Pre has been at the top of critics’ hit list and even the critics had to bow down to this masterpiece, eventually. Winning People’s voice award 2009 and CNET’s Best in the Show award is no mean thing and the Pre has done it effortlessly, as if, it was born to lead these awards. Apart from these, there are a number of other awards that have been bagged by Palm Pre, but lets just keep them for some other time.

Launched in front of the public for the first time in the Consumer Electronics Show, 2009, the Palm Pre has also been hailed as the first handheld device to use the OMAP 3430 Processor, which has rolled out from the stables of chip-manufacturing big wig- Texas Instruments. In the US, the Pal Pre was launched in a legal agreement with “Sprint”, a company that operates CDMA networks here. The Pre will work with Sprint connections only, initially. Other versions of the device, enabling it to work on a 3G network and with other GSM networks around the world are under way and the hungry phone-lover can expect these to be out anytime soon in your local market.

According to the joint declaration by Sprint and Palm, the Palm Pre is all set to debut on 6^th June, 2009, with its availability across Wall mart, Radio Shack and some other select stores. The length of the duration for which Palm Pre will be available ONLY on Sprint network is not yet disclosed, but it is speculated that it can be anywhere between and year and five years. Nothing has come out officially on this matter, though.

On the very first look you take of the Palm Pre, you are sure to go in for a toss just by the mere dimension and magnanimity of its screen. The 3.1- Inch, HVGA touchscreen is all set to take the market by storm. The camera that comes along with the Palm Pre could have been better, but still, it is expected to work quite well as compared to other 3 MP cameras in the market today. The camera also features a technology called the “extended depth of field”, which supposedly gives more definition to the pictures you would click. Besides, the camera is accompanied by a powerful LED flash, to make shooting at night fun and easy!

Another feature that is wanting in the phone is an external memory card slot. The company explains that the 8 GB internal Flash memory slot on offer, is more than enough, considering the current market demand. The area where Palm Pre stands out is its innovative charging technology. It is all set to be the first smartphone to charge wirelessly. YES! You read that right- the Pre doesn’t require any wires to get charged, rather, it makes use of electromagnetic induction to get going! Still, if you are not comfortable with that idea, users have the option of charging the phone using a MicroUSB charger.

So, there you have it- like it or not, but the Palm Pre is all set to rule the roost and give its fans an experience like no other smartphone has ever done before!