Alex Albrecht

I know I know I'm back!!!

Hey everyone, ok I know it's been forever... well things here in LA have gotten pretty busy, and yes Pizzaman I've been play a little SWG... but now I'm back!  I will try to post something every few days or so to keep you wolves at bay.  So now I want your opinion.  Two new sites have come to my attention one just today the other I've been hearing about for weeks.  They are...

Lifehacker
and
digg

Now Lifehacker seems to be a not too cleaverly hidden Sony placement site, however it's been posted around the web alot.  So either Sony is posing as people like us or there is something good about the site.  Does anyone have any info about it?

Next is digg.com.  This is a site that I've been hearing lots of great things about.  It's a site a lot like Slashdot but we can all be our own little commander taco.  Digging good information to the top as we the users see fit.  I have to say this has become one of my first hits in the morning and I want to know what you all think?

As I said I'm back from my little brain trip so stay tuned...

- Alex

Broken a Brewing???

Hey everyone,

I just talked to Kevin and he was saying that he's trying to get some more web content going.  The problem is of course funding... Head over to his website and donate what you can.  Lord knows I was a fan of the broken before I was his friend.  Please help bring back good tech content to the web...

- Alex

Click here

G4 is G4 again...

Hey everyone,

Well on the 11th G4 announced what we all knew was coming... G4 is back to G4 and video games only...  I don't know if you all have read this press release but if you haven't here's a link and an excerpt...

...."LOS ANGELES, CA, January 11, 2005 - G4, the only 24/7 television network dedicated to video games, screeches into 2005 with announcements of a new name, look and feel as well as two new series, "Formula D" and "Girls Gone Wired." Charles Hirschhorn, Founder and CEO of the network, announced the channel's official name as G4 - video game television - earlier today at the Television Critics Association (TCA) press tour. The name change and new network look and feel will take effect on February 15, 2005.

"We're heading into 2005 with a well-defined and focused brand," commented Hirschhorn. "Video games offer us a distinctive voice that resonates with our target audience and G4 delivers the highest concentration of males 12-34 of any other television network." Hirschhorn also announced plans for a multi-million dollar marketing and advertising campaign to launch the G4 brand.".......

Full Press Release here

Everyone at G4TechTV saw this coming I was personally hoping that G4 wouldn't retain it's single minded view that video games should be their only focus... good luck to all my friend who still work there...

- Alex

This is too good...

Hey this was too good a rumor not to pass on... a friend just sent me this e-mail talking about a new "iHome" product from Apple.  I don't know if this has already been rumored but he sent some pictures so... here's what he said...

"...Okay, my friends brother inlaw works for apple.. I've been getting
some info on Mac Expo..

He said this product will be priced at $499 to $799. he said it
will record video from your TV.
Also has bulit in DVD. Can you surf and email with it??? YOU BET!

He did confirm this is shipping to all APPLE STORES for Tuesday
after the keynote!
The Applesite will be also selling these at 12 noon on tuesday!"...

I guess we'll know Tuesday if this is true or not...

- Alex

Belkin, Belkin, Belkin...

::UPDATE:: 

Well the one thing they do good is returns... I just called told them I was returning this BOS KVM and they credited my Moms card right then... It's in the mail!!!      
::End UPDATE::

Well all I just wanted to share a little story about Christmas... it has all the intrigue and suspense of a Hollywood thriller, well not really but I hope it can save you all a few hundred dollars...

So as most of you know from my Moblog I got a new Samsung SyncMaster 213t for Christmas.  In a word it rocks.  Now I made sure I got a digital LCD so it has a DVI connection.  There I was Christmas morning looking at my Flat panel and thinking "Hey I have two computers with DVI... my cheap Belkin KVM I've been using won't do the trick."  Then my Mom steps in, bless her heart, and say "Oh yeah and I know you wanted a new KVM thingie so why don't you order yourself one."  Wow the love... I hoped on to the Belkin website and ordered a two port DVI/USB KVM ($244).  That's not cheap...  I waited with baited breath for the day it arrived, this morning!  Yay!!!  Well I've been using my G5's USB keyboard with my old Belkin KVM as it is the only USB keyboard I have and it worked great.  I plugged everything in and they new KVM wouldn't stop beeping...  I unplugged and replugged everything, beeping...  And then I noticed that the Keyboard wasn't working.  Real quickly the new Soho DVI KVM's have a specific USB port for the Keyboard and the mouse.  I noticed that my G5 keyboard worked fine in the "Other Device" port just not the Keyboard port, still beeping.  So I check the manual and the on-line FAQs then I called.  The "technical support person" said "Oh yeah that KVM doesn't support the G5 keyboards... you just need to buy any other USB keyboard and keep it in the "Keyboard" port so it will stop beeping then use your G5 keyboard anyway... This to me is not how to solve a problem!!!  So I decided I would forgo the G5 keyboard and buy a random USB keyboard... we that one didn't work either!!!  For what I've gathered any USB keyboard that also has a built in USB hub won't work... now call me crazy Belkin but don't Most USB keyboards come with USB hubs in them??  Isn't that something that people look for in a USB keyboard now a days???

Two words... "Boo Belkin!"  for that money this thing should do what it's supposed to do...  I will keep it... I'll just have to grin and bare the flashing warning light telling me my keyboard is not connected... Damn...

- Alex

Xbox II...

Hey all,

So in my travels this weekend I came across a Microsoft employee and talked him up about Xbox II... here are the facts I found out.

1) Hard Drive... Yes!  There was some speculation that MS was going to take the HD out to make it more difficult to Mod.

2) Flash based HD... Yes!!!  It was told to me that the HD was going to be flash based... small size fast access... BAM!

3) No Stupid Dongle DVD playback... Yes!!!  The reason that the first Xbox didn't have built in DVD playback is a simple one, Sony owns the Intellectual Property rights for DVD playback.  Nuf said...

4) Xbox II at E3... Hell Yes!!!  There will be an Xbox II maybe more at E3 this year...

5) Xbox II release date announced at E3... another Hell Yes!!!  MS will be announcing a release date for Xbox II...

Now this is not like the "rumors" about IBM before these are hard cold facts from the horses mouth...

- Alex