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Creative has introduced the Creative Xdock Wireless, which docks an iPod and plays music in Xtreme Fidelity — via Creative X-Fi Wireless Receivers.

The Creative Xdock Wireless also connects directly to a powered speaker system or home theater system to play video, photos and music in DTS surround-sound. It is designed to work seamlessly with the iPod and has been certified by Apple under the Made for iPod program.

“We’re thrilled that Creative is joining the iPod ecosystem with the launch of the Creative Xdock Wireless,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Just place your iPod in the Xdock and easily play music wirelessly in any room with the great sound quality of Xtreme Fidelity.”

“We designed the Creative Xdock Wireless so an iPod can easily become the audio platform for your entire home,” said Sim Wong Hoo, chairman and CEO of Creative. “Your iPod goes in the Creative Xdock Wireless to play music through Creative X-Fi Wireless Receivers in as many rooms as you want - all upconverted to Xtreme Fidelity.”

Creative’s X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity is produced with X-Fi Crystalizer and X-Fi CMSS-3D technology. The X-Fi Crystalizer makes MP3s sound better by analyzing and identifying which parts of the audio stream have been truncated or damaged during compression. It then intelligently and selectively restores the highs and lows from instruments and vocals that are damaged during the compression of MP3s. X-Fi CMSS-3D creates virtual surround sound through speakers or headphones. It expands audio for superior headphone listening so music completely surrounds the listener.

The Creative Xdock Wireless plays music through multiple Creative X-Fi Wireless Receivers, which are sold separately, in different rooms of the home connected to powered speakers or a home theater system. It also features a line-out for connection to powered speakers, which also functions as an optical-out to your home theater for DTS surround-sound and S-video and composite video-out connections, so digital photos and videos stored on an iPod can be displayed on a TV screen. A wireless remote to navigate the iPod menu, adjust volume levels, and activate X-Fi Crystalizer and X-Fi CMSS-3D is included in the package and it docks and charges an iPod and includes line-in for connection of other audio devices.

The Creative Xdock Wireless plays music up to 100 feet away without requiring a wireless network, via Creative X-Fi Wireless Receivers. There are 2 different modes for music playback: broadcast and individual zones. The broadcast and zone modes allow the user to have complete control of whether music is played through every Creative X-Fi Wireless Receiver in the home, or specific Creative X-Fi Wireless Receivers. In broadcast mode, multiple Creative X-Fi Wireless Receivers can receive music in different rooms of the home. In zone mode, a user can turn on or off up to 4 different Creative X-Fi Wireless Receivers independently, to listen to music only in desired rooms. Each Creative X-Fi Wireless Receiver can be controlled with its own remote, to activate X-Fi Crystalizer and X-Fi CMSS-3D, adjust volume, and control music playback.

The Creative Xdock Wireless, designed specifically for use with the iPod with video, iPod photo, iPod mini and iPod Nano, will be available for S$299.00 while the X-Fi Wireless Receiver will be available for S$149.00. Both products will be available in March 2007.

Wanna watch Youtube videos on your iPod? Check out iTube!iTube downloads your favorite Youtube videos, converts it to the iPod format and imports it into iTunes with just one click! All you have to do is paste the URL of the Youtube video into iTube and it takes care of everything else… pretty cool, huh? Now you can watch those dumb ass videos wherever you go!

iTube, brainchild of Benjamin Strah, is a neat software and does everything for you in the background. Can be used for downloading videos from Youtube, Myspace, Metacafe or even Blip.tv and transferring them to the iPod.

While Google Video is also supported by iTube, that may not be very useful as Google Video lets you directly download video clips for the iPod or PSP.

Intel Corp has announced its collaboration with media and entertainment company, Eros, to launch on- demand Bollywood service on Intel Viiv technology-based PCs. Eros and Intel demonstrated the new service at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which delivers access to online selections of Bollywood entertainment content, such as high definition movies, music videos, day and date premieres andclassics, from the Web to Intel Viiv technology-based PCs on large screen TVs. The Eros service will offer rental, subscription, download to own at launch and even download to burn models in the future.

Kishore Lulla, Chairman and CEO of Eros, “Our effort with Intel will give us the opportunity to serve an even broader audience worldwide, enter new markets and gain new revenue streams, while exploring and embracing a variety of exciting new digital distribution technologies, such as Intel Viiv technology. We are a content company that believes in empowering consumers so they can watch what they want, when they want, how they want.”
Intel Viiv technology-based PCs powered by Intel Core 2 Duo processors helps connect the PC and TV, and enables consumers to access, manage, share and enjoy a growing assortment of digital entertainment, including Hollywood movies, TV shows, music videos, sports, games among others.

Kevin Corbett, Vice President, Intel’s Digital Home Group and general manager of the Content Services Group said, “Intel’s goal is to accelerate the availability of broadband-delivered entertainment into every home. And, with Intel Viiv technology, we’re helping to change the economics of distribution and allow more people around the world to enjoy exciting content, irrespective of their physical location.”

Building on the availability of the ‘Bollywood’ service, Eros will debut the broadband premiere of ‘I See You’ on Intel Viiv technology-based PCs within a few weeks of its global theatrical release on Dec. 29 and ahead of its release on DVD.

Google has moved another step in creating a 3D virtual model of the Earth with

its latest version of Google Earth that is Google Earth 4.

The application will now feature a mixture of textured 3D renderings of famous architectural sites and terrain but obviously you will have to turn on the proper layers.

The company has started developing some parts of the earth with some rich 3D renderings of some famous landmarks. But still the mission of a complete model of the earth is a far fetched dream.

To make the dream possible in time Google will also users to create rich 3D renderings of buildings as KML or KMZ files and share them as overlays on Google Earth.

Users can also search for these structures without downloading Google Earth 4. They will also be allowed to rate and comment on the structures.

So far there are many important landmarks that have to be added into the imagery for completing the 3D model.

Source: Cnet

Google Talk does not support themes by default but here is a person who has created some cool looking GTalk color schemes.

There are 6 color schemes as of now. So change the look of GTalk now and surprise your friends.

Here are some nifty hacks/tips that allow you to get the most out of your GMail account.

1. GMail based blog - Fix for it
   • This is an awesome idea to allow you to blog via GMail. Who needs an SQL database when you can save your posts to GMail?
2. Encrypt all GMail traffic
   • This is just a simple tip allowing you to encrypt your whole session. When you go to GMail.com only the login is encrypted. When you go to GMail.com. At gmail.google.com the whole session is encrypted.
3. Make a GMail partition
   • This is a simple yet brilliant idea to make use of that 2.7 gigs and counting of space GMail allows. This will create a new partition in explorer. You can then save files/folders to your GMail account via the explorer interface. Create one simple filter so none of the files clutter up your inbox and you’re set. I believe this is against the GMail terms of service, but I’ve been using it for a while with no problems.
4. Linux on GMail
   • This awesome hack allows you to have a Linux file system installed on your GMail account. It will give you basic *nix commands such as cp mv rm and ls. This is by far the neatest of all these.
5. Use GMail as notepad
   • It’s such a simple yet effective idea. Using GMail’s ability to save drafts you can edit and save text just like notepad. There are actually more advantages to using GMail as a simple notepad such as spell check and the fact that you can access the documents from anywhere.
6. GMail skins
   • Tired of the same old default GMail theme? Not anymore. Use this simple firefox plugin to change the color and basic layout of your GMail account.
7. GMail manager
   • This firefox plugin allows you to manage multiple GMail accounts from firefox. It will give you basic stats about all your GMail accounts, and can check for new mail at a user defined interval.
8. GNotify
   • This one is actually by Google. It’s a simple yet totally needed plugin. It tells you when you have mail with a very unobtrusive notify box in the lower right hand corner of your screen. It also opens a new tab in your browser with the email and subject already filled out when you click a mailto: link. This is a must have for people who depend on their email.
9. gDisk for Macintosh
   • gDisk is a software that turns your GMail account into a portable hard drive so you can always have your important files accessible accross the Internet.
10. GTDGmail
    • GTDGmail is a Firefox extension that integrates the highly effective methodology of “Getting Things Done” into the popular email service Gmail.
11. Mp3 Player
    • GMail actually comes built in with an mp3 player.
12. Gmail cryptography plugin
    • FreeEnigma brings cryptography to webmail, with an ingenious set of free and open browser plug-ins that work with Yahoo, Gmail, and others. The plugins implement a version of GPG and scramble and de-scramble the text in your webmail before you send it and after you receive it.

Source : Cyber-Knowledge

Ever wanted to start your own small business, personal site or just make your mark on the World Wide Web? What would be a good way to start off than getting a TLD. Ofcourse, pricing is something that would keep many from buying a domain name, but what if you could get a free domain name?

We would all like free domains wouldn’t we? Its with this in mind that I am re-publishing a post by knight17, that has a huge list of whos-who providing free domains.

* Free Domain(s) Offered - .com .net .org
Website - www.officelive.com
Nameserver Control - No
Forced Ads - Yes, text ads on top
Requirements - Site must be English, and you must be a resident of the USA.
Time Registered - Unlimited
Free Domain Limit - Limited to 1 domain
Scam? - No
Other Info - Still in beta, and you have to submit an application to be approved. Also, to verify that you aren’t getting multiple domains from them, a valid credit card is required.
The Catch - Since you can’t change nameservers, you’re going to be stuck with Microsoft hosting forever.

* Free Domain(s) Offered - .com .net .org .name .us .biz .info
Website - www.ezyrewards.com
Nameserver Control - Yes
Forced Ads - No
Requirements - None
Time Registered - 1 year (or more)
Free Domain Limit - Unlimited
Scam? - No
Other Info - You need to get 1000 points (10 for each referal, 7-130 for online offers).
The Catch - Referals may take a while to get. Also, online offers and surveys can be a pain to complete.

* Free Domain(s) Offered - .info
Website - 1and1.com
Nameserver Control - Yes
Forced Ads - No
Requirements - None
Time Registered - Only 1 year
Free Domain Limit - Limited to 5 domains
Scam? - No
Other Info - To verify that you aren’t getting more than 5 domains from them, a valid credit card is required.
The Catch - Domain is only registered for 1 year. You will have to pay next year if you want to keep your domain.

* Free Domain(s) Offered - .com .net .org .name .us .biz .info .ws
Website - www.onesite.com
Nameserver Control - No
Forced Ads - Yes, toolbar on top.
Requirements - Student in US/CA with .edu email address OR anyone with a promotion code. Also, you must be atleast 13 years old.
Time Registered - 1 year (or more)
Free Domain Limit - Unlimited (although you need a different promo code or .edu email address for each new domain)
Scam? - No
Other Info - There appears to be a set template. Host offers 50MB storage, 3GB bandwidth, email, blog, statistics, sitebuilder.You get $20 for each paid web hosting referral.
The Catch - As stated in the TOS, “All Free Domain(s) will be registered by ONESITE and any rights in and to Free Domains shall be retained by ONESITE”. Basically, they could potentially “take” your site from you.

* Free Domain(s) Offered - .com .net .org .info
Website - www.freedomainsname.com
Nameserver Control - Yes
Forced Ads - No
Requirements - None
Time Registered - Only 1 year
Free Domain Limit - Unlimited
Scam? - No
Other Info - You need to get 200 points from online offers or referals (up to 210 point per online offer, 10 points per referral).
The Catch - Online offers and getting referals can be a pain. Credit card may be required for some offers.

* Free Domain(s) Offered - .tk (Tokelau)
Website - www.dot.tk
Nameserver Control - No
Forced Ads - Yes, advertisement + popup is shown before you can view the page, forced www.dot.tk favicon.
Requirements - Must be atleast 18 years old. Also, you need an existing web address (anything, including geocities, myspace, etc)
Time Registered - 1 year (or more)
Free Domain Limit - Limited to 3 domains
Scam? - No
Other Info - You must have 25 visitors or more on your domain name once every 90 days, or else they will delete it.
The Catch - It only provides URL cloaking (using frames).

* Free Domain(s) Offered - .com .net .org .name .us .biz .info .in .co.in
Website - www.freednr.com
Nameserver Control - Yes
Forced Ads - No
Requirements - You must post to get a domain.
Time Registered - Unlimited
Free Domain Limit - Unlimited
Scam? - No
Other Info - Must get 950 points before requesting a domain.
The Catch - Posting may take a long time, and this offer may not last very long.

* Free Domain(s) Offered - .com .net .org
Website - www.cybikohost.com
Nameserver Control - Yes
Forced Ads - No
Requirements - You must post to get a domain.
Time Registered - 1 year (or more)
Free Domain Limit - Unlimited
Scam? - Unknown (maybe)
Other Info - You need to get 19000 points (5 for each post, 20 for each referal).
The Catch - You’ve got to be willing to spend a lot of time here in order to get a free domain.

* Free Domain(s) Offered - .com .net .org .info .de
Website - www.domain-4free.com
Nameserver Control - No
Forced Ads - Yes
Requirements - You must apply for a domain.
Time Registered - Unlimited
Free Domain Limit - Unknown
Scam? - Unknown (maybe)
Other Info - You have the choice to pay to become the legal owner of the domain.
The Catch - Forced advertising may be kind of annoying.

* Free Domain(s) Offered - .com .net .org .info .biz
Website - www.free-domaine.net
Nameserver Control - No
Forced Ads - Yes, pop-up or pop-under.
Requirements - Must already have a site with an average of more than 3000 visitors a month (about 100 visitors a day).
Time Registered - 1 year (or more)
Free Domain Limit - Unlimited (the number of sites you have with 3000+ visitors a month)
Scam? - Unknown (maybe)
Other Info - You are given the option of paying for the domain to gain ownership. Uses URL cloaking.
The Catch - Pop-up or pop-under ads are annoying.

* Free Domain(s) Offered - .com .net .org .info
Website - www.dnlister.com
Nameserver Control - Yes
Forced Ads - Yes
Requirements - You must post to get a domain.
Time Registered - 1 year (or more)
Free Domain Limit - Unknown
Scam? - Unknown (maybe)
Other Info - 4 points per thread, 2 points per post, and points for playing in the arcade. You need 420 points for a free domain.
The Catch - Posting may take a long time, and this offer may not last very long.

* Free Domain(s) Offered - Depends…
Website - www.opendomain.org
Nameserver Control - Yes
Forced Ads - No
Requirements - You must apply for a domain.
Time Registered - Unlimited
Free Domain Limit - Unknown
Scam? - Unknown (maybe)
Other Info - There is a list of domain names to choose from. However, chances that you’ll be approved for one are low.
The Catch - Even though you have nameserver control, they still own the domain(s).

* Free Domain(s) Offered - .cg
Website - www.nic.cg (Republic of Congo)
Nameserver Control - Yes
Forced Ads - None
Requirements - Must be a citizen, company, or organization in the Republic of Congo.
Time Registered - 1 year (or more)
Free Domain Limit - Limited to 1 domain
Scam? - No
Other Info - They “generally require that the applicant faxes us the proof of his citizenship/right of residence”.
The Catch - Must be a citizen, company, or organization in the Republic of Congo.

Here is a list of services that are no longer available:
S5Network - free .com .net .org .info .biz offer
Registerfly, Nucleus - free .be offer
Goodluckdomain- free .org offer
DomainSite - free .info offer
Inuration - free .com .net .org .info .biz offer

Source : TechnoBeta

Do Ads annoy you ? Does the sight of Google Ads make you red?
If you’d like to remove them, you can use Opera to go about it.

What you need to do:

• Open up the folder where you have installed Opera (usually C:\Program Files\Opera\ ).
• Navigate to the Profile folder ( C:\Program Files\Opera\profile )
• Make sure you have closed Opera before continuing
• Open the urlfilter.ini file and paste the entire contents beginning from [exclude] to the end.
• Save and Close the file.

NOTE:

• Always keep a backup of the file before editing it.
• The list given above only helps to blockout public ads (that is those provided by a network such as Google). To block ads hosted on a site, use the Block Content option (right click any empty area in the site and block out images/flash etc.)

Please note that this is a tutorial for Opera. There are other tutorials for Firefox and/or plugins which we are not concerned about here in this post. Please don’t start a Firefox vs. Opera war here.

Source : Technobeta

It combines the multi-touch touchscreen interface we’ve all heard whispers of for over a year now, with a fully fledged widescreen video iPod. 

The device comes with either 4GB or 8GB of flash-based storage and will sell for an introductory price of $499 and $599, respectively. Expect it in June 2007 within the US, and a tentative ‘end of 2007′ for us Europeans - a long wait for those of us who are already drooling.

The phone has been confirmed as a Cingular Wireless exclusive in the US and it will be interesting to see who picks it up in the UK.

The phone features a rich HTML email client and in-built Safari web browser - which Apple purports as being the most advanced browser on portable device. We imagine Opera may have something to say about that.

This is all running on the ‘OSX’ operating system, presumably a very cut-down, thin client version, built for the device’s proprietary hardware.

The iPhone OS allows for the use of widgets which are the same applications found on OSX’s Dashboard.

Steve Jobs was recorded using the Google maps widget which looks like an exact copy of Google maps on the web.

Expect up to five hours phone talk time and around 16 hours of audio playback - but knowing manufacturers battery life specs, you should take this with a pinch of salt.

A range of accessories have also been announced including stereo headphones, headphones with a microphone, and a Bluetooth headset.

Here’s a quick rundown of the currently known specs:

Specification overview

Source : Theinquirer

DAMMIT LIVED up to it’s name today with a bunch of media related launches, some interesting, some so DRM infected as to be useless. Of the four, there are some high points though.

First lets got to mobile where they expand the Live! brand to notebooks with the stunningly named AMD Live! notebook PC. It does what it says, it is a sticker on a box that probably carries a marketing incentive. See Viiv for more details there.(1)

Next up is the Home Media Server, basically a NAS box running Windows home media server. This one is really neat tech, it is an appliance that lets you store your files, stream them around the house, and theoretically do all those things you want to do with your media. The problem is that it is so DRM infected as to be worthless.

No, it is worse than worthless, the problem is that when you pull your media into things like this, it is next to impossible to do anything with them any more. If you have the DRM’d media center extenders, hey great, it may work, but that is your problem. The example they held up was an HP home media server, what a negative value that box brings.

The next bit is the AMD home cinema, basically a media center PC prototype that is an all in one media center system. Rather than getting all the parts in different boxes and hoping that it works, the home cinema rolls a lot of it into a single box and theoretically simplifies installation.

Since it is media center saddled, it has the full compliment of DRM technologies waiting to remove your rights. Luckily, I don’t think AMD adds to this happy mix, so you can’t fault them too much. It is a reference box PC with an OCER card, other than the DRM, nothing you can’t do on your own.

Last up is an ATI announcement, but they don’t technically exist, so it is an AMD product now. It is the ATI TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner, available January 30. This one is so bad as to hurt humanity as a whole, but not out of line with other things in it’s class.

Basically it is a tuner that the cable companies approved of. It only works with Vista, hence the 1/30 launch date, because you can’t use it without having DRM baked into your infrastructure. You will lose many rights if you are dumb enough to buy this one folks.

It allows you to put your PC into the evil that is the cablecard infrastructure, basically you spend money to screw yourself. What a great combo, buy two, the kids of the Warner execs need a new Porsche after sitting through a stern talking to over downloading music, fund them now.

The announcements from today sadden me. Like Intel, AMD does not have the guts to stand up to this mess, and we all pay the price. Intel was spineless, AMD is spineless and late to the game. Four products, one a label, three are negative values and dangerous. Great.

Source: THEINQUIRER