Tech Articles: Do you think you can write?

[TriniXaeno]

We are looking for some good tech articles as part of an initiative. Do you think you can write? If so, pick a topic (or provide your own) and submit it here. Once QC-ed, they will be hosted on the parent site, www.carigamers.com and shopped around to the press, etc...

If there is a good uptake, there maybe some $$ involved for your efforts.

Wireless Networking
Go into details on setting up a wireless home network using off the shelf products and the advantages of it. sharing internet etc... Talk a bit about the different standards, pro and cons and then recommended setup.

Connecting your Computer to your TV
First, find a better title for this topic, lol. Then go into the advantages of using the S-Video output to hook up a PC or laptop to the home TV. Either for viewing pictures, anime, movies or playing games. Delve into the slick XP Media Center edition and the remote control setup. Remote only costs US$39.00. Possibly touch on Myth TV and other TIVO type setups...

Local Budget Gaming PC
A price performance monster on a trini budget of say TT$7000.00. Using components available locally.
Maybe contrast to a foreign based one using prices from newegg/amazon. Not sure if that will add value to the article but just putting it out there.

Linux and Opensource software
Discourse on the freebie OS and software available. FLOSS. TTCS will be a great aid for this one.

PC gaming vs console gaming

"Windows Vista"
The benefits and drawbacks of Microsoft's latest OS. Delve into the various versions available.

"Dual Core Processors / Quad Core Processors"
Pros and Cons. Who will really benefit. What sort of practical use. Etc..

Windows Media Center
Talk about connecting a PC to your TV and adding a remote for some digital entertainment goodness

BlackBerry vs Iphone vs Windows based Smartphones
Pros and Cons of the three prominent techie handset platforms on the market.

[Spazosaurus]

I call connecting PC to tv, dual vs quad and budget gaming pc. May be a bit more than I can chew right now, but what the hey.

[Crixx_Creww]

if yu need help with your prose OC, then hit me up on msn.

[EmpireKing]

BlackBerry vs Iphone vs Windows based Smartphones
Pros and Cons of the three prominent techie handset platforms on the market.

looks like fun....sadly school startin bak on tuesday

[justinkoo]

i did literature for cape so i should be fairly capable of writing something but i'm buried up to my head in work as i'm heading out to england for uni so at a later date i'll contribute

[Spazosaurus]

BlackBerry vs Iphone vs Windows based Smartphones
Pros and Cons of the three prominent techie handset platforms on the market.

looks like fun....sadly school startin bak on tuesday

Add Symbian OS to that list. You can't talk smartphone without talking Symbian.

[EmpireKing]

.....are these the only topics? Or are they are just samples/examples?

[TriniXaeno]

samples/examples, you can bring your own topic to the fray.

[EmpireKing]

Recommended length?

[TriniXaeno]

Around 500 words but no hard limit. Put something together and we will see how best it fits.

[TriniXaeno]

First submission by The Apprentice.

I think it's an excellent opener and very on topic (this being a gaming site, lol):

Guide to Setting up and Using the Playstation Network

Also found here: http://gamerspire.com/2008/09/02/trinidadiantobagonian-guide-to-setting-up-and-using-the-playstation-network/

So you live in Trinidad or any other country not on the Country List when you go to register for an account.
What to do? What to do?

So how important is this online service?
I can honestly admit to you that the online experience on PS3 is 50% or more the overall PS3 experience.

1.) Broadband Internet
So to get online, yes you need a broadband connection.
For the best experience you’ll want to get a Blink Internet package of 2mbps. which is $350 per month.
If thats a bit costly, the 1Mbps connection for $250 will do the job.
If Flow is in your area, I’d highly recommend their 6mbps connection for $350… Its what I use and online games do not lag.

You see what is most important here is “ping”. that is response time in games. The ping on both Flow and Blink are generally really good so it doesn’t matter which carrier you go to. But for downloading files from the Playstation Network. a faster connection would be really nice.
From experience I download a 1.5GB file from the Playstation Network in about 30mins with my Flow connection.
Thats an hour, 30mins on a 2mbps connection.
So do you need more speed? or can you wait the extra time…

You’re also gonna need a wireless router to get your PS3 online.
Using this router your connection could be wireless or wired.
With the internet connection plugging into the router and you running a cable to the ps3 or setting up the wireless on the ps3.
I won’t go into all the networking in this post, unless someone requests that.


2.) Registration
Now Sony has not been too kind on allowing countries not on their “market” list to use the Playstation Network.
You will have to sign up for an account using another Country address.
The most frequently chosen is the US.
If you have family in the US, better yet as you can use their address… Otherwise you can use a false address for registration.
So you sign up for an account, chose your online ID etc… And thats pretty much it.
Sign in to the network and you’ll have access to your friends list.

Note: You can register for a Playstation Network Account using your PC.
>>> http://store.playstation.com
Select the US, and register for an account.
This method uses the exact same on the PS3 interface.

3.) Purchasing from the Playstation Store/Network

Now the Wallet System on PS3 is simple.
Just like prepaid, purchase funds, and its in your wallet.
You can add up to $150USD into the wallet.

So if you have relatives in the US, or know someone with a US credit card with a US billing address.
You can use that method and reimburse the relative.

Now for me I have a Canadian PSN account and I first used a relative’s card from Canada when they visited in June.

I have just last week tested the Entropay system.
www.EntroPay.com

How Entropay works is you create an account with them, you’ll need an ID card, Passport #, or Driver’s License for authentication purposes.
You then use you local credit card and add funds to the entropay wallet.
This works with a fee system…
I don’t know exact rates.
But from adding $12CDN to my Entropay Wallet/Virtual Credit Card, I was charged 59c. ($3.**TT, not bad)

So Entropay is really a online credit card.
Got to your ps3, set the Card Holder Name as “ENTROPAY USER”.
Enter the Credit Card #, Security Code given to you by Entropay.
And add the funds you’ve added to the Entropay card.
Be it $150USD, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5….

If you’re using a US account then you can add exactly $150USD to the entropay card. (+the fee)
And then add the exact $150 to your ps3 wallet.
For me I had to add a little more to the entropay card due to exchange rates with Canada/USA.

So once you have funds in your wallet, you can use the Playstation Store to purchase full games, and simpler mini games etc…
Tonnes of fun stuff..
Also Downloadable Content for games.

So thats it really…
If anyone has additional questions, please add to the comments.

Helpful Links:
www.BlinkBroadband.tt
www.FlowTrinidad.com
www.Entropay.com
www.us.playstation.com/PS3/Network

[TriniXaeno]

lol, put something together, we can flush out the english. Tech editors iymc

[PikachuManZzZ]

Does it have to be exclusive to here? I'm currently doing a review of Flow Digital's offerings (Watch, Talk, Click) complete with pictures and stuff for another forum, so I guess that's ineligible for entry?

[EmpireKing]

^^^I doubt

[TriniXaeno]

We are going to shop these articles around all over the place, so it won't be used exclusively here.

[PikachuManZzZ]

Three issues:

How much circulation are we talking here? Only online, or are you looking towards traditional print media?

What sort of recognition or rights protection will the content producers (us) get? Will we be informed of any re-publications in other websites, newspapers, etc?

Lastly, do I just post my articles right here in this very thread?

[TriniXaeno]

online and print media

Recognition will be maintained (as was the case with apprentice's article) As for rights protection, depends on the terms of the uptake site/company.

Got a few leads but once we've got about six solid articles, we'll see what sort of opportunity there is for regular submissions.

Will be a group effort as it may be difficult to expect one person to routinely hammer out quality articles on the diverse tech topics available to us.

You can post here and that way others can chime in and fine tune. Grammar check, etc...

[Arcmanov]

May I then humbly submit my mini-AsusP5QE-with-4870s-in Crossfire writeup then?

[PikachuManZzZ]

Uh, well here's a draft I've been working on. As I said, I started writing this for another forum, so not all the formatting is carried over. This is basically a review of Flow's Digital Cable TV service, designed to be entirely readable by the non-techie audience. I'm not near finished (I've got some notes on quality of signal, HD and PPV availability to be added), but if anyone wants to comment in the meantime, go ahead. =\


Flow Watch.

--
Table of contents:

- Primer on the [h]ardware
- Introducing The Guide
 - Quality comparison and other notes
---

[size=150]Section 1: Primer on the [H]ardware.

Flow's hardware comes in two flavors: Standard and Premium boxes. The standard box does as it sounds, with basic functionality and video outputs. Standard boxes are included free for the first one, and $25 for each additional box. Currently, Flow distributes the Motorola DCT700 for this purpose.

Premium boxes have more features, such as Personal Video recording (PVR) and High-Definition decoding, with better quality video connects as well. Premium boxes aren't cheap, as you might have guessed; $120 monthly and $500 deposit for a standard-definition PVR box, or $170 monthly with $1000 deposit for the High-definition version.

Mini-review on the DCT700 (Flow's standard cable box)

So what does this little baby look like? Right here:



Physical dimensions: (W 5.5" x L 6.7" x H 1.8"). User guide available here.

I'm sure you current analog cable users might have picked up on this already: The new digital cable box does not have an illuminated clock, like the older analog boxes did. You'll have to buy your own clock now, unfortunately. On the plus side though, the new digital box is very very small. You can tuck it into almost any room and match with the rest of the decor. The new box also doesn't get as hot as the older one, for what its worth.

From a technical perspective, the box isn't bad. You've got the usual coax connection (screw-in type), so it'll work with almost any TV ever made (no matter how old). In addition, there are also composite video and stereo audio connections (highlighted in red below), giving you greater versatility in your setup.


Using these outputs, you can hook up your cable box to your home stereo system or a 5.1 home theater system. Those will probably give you a much more full, richer sound than using your TV's speakers.

It's always fun to bang out Synergy TV or Tempo loud enough to wake your neighbours. 
Not possible before with the old analog boxes.

Moving on, the new digital box also comes with a really, really neat remote (picture to be added soon). This is a true universal remote, meaning you can use this remote to control your TV as well.

Let me say that again, for emphasis. You don't need to keep fiddling with two remotes anymore. You can now use the Flow remote to turn on and adjust volume on your TV set, as well as change channels and all that with the cable box.   

The four arrow buttons you see there, as well as the Pg up/Pg Down buttons are used for a new feature called the "Guide". Full details in section 2: Introducing the Guide.

--[size=150]
Introducing The Guide>>
[/size]
The most impactful change to Flow's cable system comes with the new Guide function included.  So what's the big deal about? Simply put, this is a new way to find out what movies are currently on, and further to quickly switch between channels without remembering exact channel names. Think of it as an evolved, streamlined and much more slick version of old "channel surfing" that we used to do.

Simply pressing the "guide" button on your new Flow remote control will being you to a screen similar to that pictured below (using the regular, non-premium cable box).



Quick tour:

The top right-hand corner stays on what you are currently viewing. No need to interrupt your show just to check what else is on!
At the bottom of the screen, there's a listing of all the programs currently on. Think TV guide, without the paper.
Using the page up/page down and arrow buttons on the remote, you can quickly navigate through the listings for the entire 200+ channel line up, without so much as breaking a sweat.
There's a small description in the top-left hand corner, should you need more information.
The new channel can be selected directly from the guide, with just a press of a button. Smooth. 8-)[/li][/list]

You will learn to love this function, just as I have. It's a quick, easy and painless way of channel surfing, and you'll soon wonder how you lived without it. Trust me, it is well worth the 5 minutes or so it takes to figure it all out.

Quick notes- Not all the channels have program line-up and description listed (CNMG, NCC, IBN and some others are all left blank without filling in program information). That may change as these companies before more used to the technology. You might also notice much of the program description is shortened to fit on the screen.. this should be less of an issue if you have an HD (premium) box, since you can use a high-resolution version of the guide.

[Crixx_Creww]

oh he watchin showtime at the apollo

lieesss yuh know is lizzie mcguire yuh was headin tooo
sickos