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|  | | Unboxing the Zonbu
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Well, producing this video was a hassle and a half. The Zonbu unit arrived on Monday. We filmed on Monday. The footage sound was out on one PC, the editing software kept crashing on another and an another, the audio would play and not the video. My conclusion: something was wrong with the footage itself. We finally gave in and re-filmed again this afternoon. Filming, editing - it all went off without a hitch. So here it is - the unboxing of the Zonbu. I have just realized that I have admitted to something. This is a fake unboxing. It was already unboxed. I re-sealed the packaging so we could film again. Shhh, don't tell anyone! So what is a Zonbu you ask? It's a tiny, silent, energy efficient, carbon neutral, open source running PC. Watch to find out more. |   |
| Reporting from South Africa
Thursday, July 12, 2007
"On Monday VIA and Mecer, one of South Africa’s leading PC manufacturers, announced the availability of a new PC for the Southern African region targeted at the education sector as part of the VIA pc-1 Initiative. The PC, codenamed ‘Mecer Education PC’, is powered by the energy efficient VIA C7-D desktop processor which is rightly suitable for the heavily burdened power structure of many of the regions in Africa. It was only about a month ago that Sub-Saharan Africa urgently had to impose power rationing on companies and populations to limit the effects of a worsening energy crisis..." continue reading at the VIAPC-1.com website. | |
| "Packard Bell’s EasyNote XS UPMC Seems Almost Perfect"
Thursday, July 12, 2007
"The EasyNote XS UPMC from Packard Bell lives up to its name thanks to a full-size keyboard that comes with it. Unlike most compact devices whose prices are inversely proportional to their reduction in size, the EasyNote XS seems very reasonable. The 7” display screen is just fabulous and is highlighted with the presence of a web camera perched near it." Read more at Gizmodude.com. | |
| Engraving 101
Thursday, July 12, 2007
So, you've put a blow hole in your case, you've inserted a side window, and you've spray painted a new design. What next? Engraving is one way to take case modding to that next level. "Engraving is a fairly simple and yet effective way to make your rig a bit more personal - and if it's done right, it can really lift that ordinary case out of the shadows. I'm going to try and cover all the basic things you need to know as a beginner in this article. Whenever someone starts engraving, there are several common questions, like: What machine do I need? What bits should I buy? Should I engrave aluminum, steel or plexi? And, most importantly, How do I go about getting the result I want?" Find out everything you need to know in this guide on Bit-tech.net. | |
| | How To: Speed up Searches in Vista
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
"Vista's search capabilities have changed a little from previous Windows versions, and is supposed to index files Instant Search is one of the best aspects of Vista because it allows users to hunt for files from virtually any location in the operating system; search boxes are integrated into the Start menu and into every Windows folder. It's a welcome addition, as it's faster and less intrusive than the standalone offerings from Google, MSN, or Yahoo, which were needed to scour your desktop in XP. If you start to notice that your index becomes sluggish in performance or even stops working, you can rebuild the index and regain the performance you seek." Read on at OCModshop.com. | |
| | Mondays...
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
I don't mind Mondays usually. Even if I initially go to bed on Sunday night feeling sad that the weekend is over, I usually get up on a Monday rearing to get into things, setting goals, reviewing targets and then straight into action. Yesterday could have started better. There hasn't been a new video on VIA Arena for two weeks someone pointed out to me. The end of financial year here was taking it's toll, along with a long list of things that had to be done with deadlines. But then the postman arrived. There were three packages: 1) a pc3500 VIA pc-1 motherboard with integrated CPU, designed for low powered environmentally friendly computer systems 2) a Zonbu PC - more about that later 3) a package labeled "UMPC". Brilliant!Last week I noticed a blog preview of the new Amtek T770 UMPC. Apparently VIA had one at a trade show in China and it would be shipped to me as soon as it got back. Wow! That was fast I thought! We set up the camera, lights, made a few notes on the specs and started to shoot an unboxing video. It went really well. I got my lines out without stumbling. We did three takes of the introduction and they were all great! Next shot we focused on the box only. As I cut it open I spoke about the features of the T770 ... opened the top flaps ... it's default resolution is 800x600 which is great for games ... removed the Styrofoam balls ... it's in a Samsung box, that's odd ... open the box ... it's a Samsung Q1b!!! We had forgotten that we were being sent one!!! No point doing an unboxing of the Samsung Q1b. The unit's been out for a while already and we already did a video about it's features back in March. So we chose to laugh at our mistake. There are some games we'll check out on it that wouldn't run on the OQO model 02 because of the resolution. But the video caper didn't stop there. Next up was an unboxing video of the Zonbu. I won't tell you much about the unit - you'll have to watch the video once it's complete. Filming went well. Once again, nothing ambitious. Editing was pretty straight forward but I noticed the sound was out in the preview on Pinnacle Studio. Presuming that was just a preview glitch I finished the edit. But alas, the audio was out not matter what I did. If I play the original file in Movie Maker or Media Player the sound is fine. But on the PC we use for video editing, Windows Movie Maker keeps freezing up. So at 6:30pm last night I gave in. Hope Tuesday turns out better. | |
| VIA and Mecer Join Forces on New Education PC for South Africa
Monday, July 09, 2007
VIA "and Mecer, one of South Africa’s leading PC manufacturers, today announced the new Mecer Education PC powered by the 1.5GHz VIA C7-D desktop processor. Leveraging the energy efficiency of the VIA C7-D processor, ideally suited for Africa’s straining electricity infrastructure, the Mecer Education PC raises the bar of PC standards for academic use and highlights the diverse energy requirements of educational PCs for the African continent. “Through the Mecer Education PC, we are further extending our VIA pc-1 mission to extend access to computing and communications to new users,” said Werner du Plessis, Business Development Manager for Africa, VIA Technologies, Inc. “By leveraging the advanced capabilities of the VIA C7-D processor, Mecer is able to offer its customers a leading edge desktop solution that delivers on the unique demands of the region with exceptional levels of energy efficiency and performance.” Read the full Press Release here. | |
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