Murtaza's Technoblog

Introduction

Recently, Sony released a movies store on their Playstation 3 where you can buy or rent the latest and not so latest movies. I was able to test this service out just recently and here is my review of it.

Pros

• Easy, inexpensive delivery service
• Integrated into the PSN store without an additional download
• Has both HD and SD movies for people with not enough download limit
• Movie rental service is convenient
• Decent video and sound quality

Cons

• 5.1 channel surround sound is not activated by default
• HD movies are not 1080p

Review

I rented three movies, Surrogates, Invictus and 2012. I found the delivery method was easy but on my 2Mbps connection, the movie took about 8 hours to download which is a bit of a pain. This means you have to plan ahead of time. Conveniently, Sony does give you an option to play the movie while it is downloading but the download is so slow that it will keep pausing the movie. Read more…

Sorry about not updating the blog in ages. I have been extremely busy. So, I thought what better time to make a new post than on the introduction of a new Apple product. Quite frankly, I thought the iPad was a bit of a disappointment to me personally and I have to say that i was expecting big things of the iPhone 4. However, I believe this new product is just trying to play catchup with its Android counterparts for this generation. Yes, Apple has added over 100 new features to iOS 4 but none of them are truly revolutionary.

Take this quote for example of Apple’s website:

“People have been dreaming about video calling for decades”

My first reaction to seeing this on Apple’s website was to burst out laughing. You have to have been living under a rock for the last 6 years to not have noticed that most new phones have video calling capabilities. As well as this, FaceTime can only be used on WiFi between two iPhone 4s. The chances of the person you want to call being on a WiFi network with an iPhone 4 is astronomically low. Why wouldn’t you just use Skype? Read more…

Introduction

Kaspersky has recently released its 2010 internet security suite. Yes, it is a bit early but none the less it is an excellent product it has a new interface and few new features and one of the best things is that anyone who already has a subscription to the internet suite gets the upgrade for FREE! Bad news is if you don’t already have it, it will cost you about $50 per year

Pros

• Slick new interface
• Small footprint
• Lots of customisability options
• Virtual keyboard

Cons

• Causes a few network issues
• Sometimes stops working
• Deep scan option takes a lot of CPU power and slows the computer down significantly

Overview

Kaspersky’s products have typically been some of the best anti virus products on the market. This new suite is no exception. It is easy to use, and will detect almost every virus on your computer if you have one. It will detect viruses with other suites won’t pick up and has heaps of features.
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Introduction:
Denon has recently released an iPod dock for all of their products including radios and receivers. This iPod dock not only allows you to listen to music from your iPod but also allows you to view videos and photos. Your iPod can even be controlled with the remote control included with your receiver.

Pros:
-Easy to set up
-Lots of features
-Can watch videos and photos from your iPod
-Can control iPod with Denon remote
-Available in black and white to suit your iPod
-Works with iPhone

Cons:
-Menu system can be difficult to navigate
-Can only listen to music with iPhone
-Expensive

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Pros

• Great Sound
• Upscales video to 1080p
• Lots of inputs

Cons

• Flimsy, hard to use remote
• Difficult set up
• Auto calibration microphone didn’t work
• Generates lots of heat

Overview

The Denon AVR-1909 or 786 as it also known is an excellent receiver. Once you get it running it performs really well.
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Overview:

The Sony Bravia XBR45 range is one of the best TVs on the market. Despite its high price tag, it offers black levels better than any other LCD TV on the market and even better than some plasmas’.

Pros:

• Excellent black levels
• Brilliant feature set
• Attractive design
• Lots of inputs
• LED backlighting
• Made in Japan
• Powerful speakers

Cons:

• High price
• Remote is too long to use comfortably
• Sony logo backlight can be distracting (can be turned off)

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The new, slimmer and lighter PSP

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Sony Corp unveiled on Tuesday a smaller, lighter PlayStation handled game device called the PSP Go, in a race to catch rival Nintendo in an intensely competitive mobile games arena.

Hours before, Nintendo said it sold more than 15 million units of its blockbuster “Wii Fit” fitness game, and plans an update — the Wii Fit Plus — later this year.

Sales of the Wii have dwarfed those of more technically souped-up and pricier rival consoles from Microsoft Corp and Sony Corp, by broadening its audience beyond hard-core video gamers.

On the second day of E3, the largest U.S. video games conference, Sony and Nintendo vied for the spotlight, a day after rival console-maker Microsoft charmed audiences with its “Natal”: groundbreaking technology utilizing full-body motion-capture for gamers.

It was the first full day of the show, which is expected to draw some 40,000 game enthusiasts.

Many cheered and whooped at the press event at mere glimpses of new versions of popular games like “God of War” and “Super Mario Bros.,” or at the mention of secretive ones like “Agent,” which is being developed for the PS3 by the creators of “Grand Theft Auto.”

Sony’s PSP Go goes on sale October 1 in North America and Europe for about $249, before hitting stores in Japan November 1. It will be half the size of Sony’s current PSP 3000 and 40 percent lighter, executives said.

Source:Reuters