Video Card Fail

Well.. Time for the regular old PCI TV tuner, and not PCI-E x1

iPhone at Wal-Mart?

Wal-Mart is officially selling the iPhone 3G for $197… I think this is a bad thing. Wal-Mart must be one of the biggest companies In the world, if not the biggest. I think people can go to their local Apple or AT&T store and purchase an iPhone rather than drive more people to go to the already corrupted and business giant wal-mart.

This was just a quick little post, Leave comments and let me know what you all think :)

Headset Giveaway Winner

I'm proud to announce "kumparak" as the headset giveaway winnner! Congratulations to him! Be sure to watch for more giveaways in the future,

AntiVirus Programs

My AntiVirus program of choice has been NOD32 from Eset for a while now. But, I know some of you geeks out there like McAffe, so I’ve got deals for everyone!
You can currently get NOD32 25% off when you buy a 2 year subscription at http://affiliates.combs.tv
For you McAffe lovers, you can get McAffe 2009 FREE until December 31st by going here: http://bit.ly/mu8S
Merry Christmas Everyone!

Reasons to buy a MacBook Pro

Samson CO1U USB Condensor Mic

I have been recording videos and doing my “show” now for about seven months. In that time, I have used a variety of different microphones. I have used everything from those ten dollar wal-mart headsets, to the more expensive Logitech headsets, and my favorite up until now; the Gigaware 1.3MP webcam with built in microphone.
I had several people suggest the Samson CO1U when I decided to upgrade to a high quality condenser mic; so I went searching online for it. I was able to acquire the Samson CO1U podcasting kit for right around $140 USD. It included the microphone itself, 10ft USB cable, BL3 boom stand, shock mount, pop filter and optional software.
I have never been happier with any microphone I have used. This mic will allow me to improve the audio quality on the live video stream, audio quality on my videos, and my radio show on Geeks Radio. If you are looking for an affordable condenser mic, without having to worry about a mixer or interface, the Samson CO1U USB condenser mic is the way to go!

Nintendo Wii Unboxing

Get McAfee 2009 free.. and it's legit!

What AntiVirus program do you use? My "program" of choice has been NOD32 for the past year now. However, some people do like McAffe. Lucky for you, if you are one of those people; you can get McAffe VirusScan Plus 2009 FREE until December 31, 2009. That's right. It's free, it's legitimate and it's easy. Now, you will have to sign up for an account with "HotUKDeals" but that is quick and painless.

All you have to do is:

1) Go To http://us.mcafee.com/root/campaign.asp?cid=53347
2) Enter coupon code VSPPROMOCF
3) Hit Checkout.
4) Enjoy Your Free McAfee VirusScan Plus 2009


The Offer is valid utill December 31, 2008

I would also like to give a special thanks to "extrachoice" for passing this along to me


© Dylan Combs 2008

Embedding YT videos in HD

Did you know that you could embed your YouTube videos in Widescreen and HD? This is assuming of course, that your videos you upload are in 16:9 720p HD. All you have to do is add "&ap=%2526fmt%3D22" to the end of both URLs in your embed code. That's all :)

Top 10 eBay gadgets of 2008

I find myself frequently buying things on eBay. Whether it be electronics, computer components, or most recently the Samson CO1U podcast kit (more info coming soon), you can find great deals on items new, used or refurb on eBay.

When I saw the top 10 purchased gadgets on eBay of 2008 on Gizmodo UK, I thought it would be nice to pass along to all my readers at http://dylan.combs.tv

1. Nintendo Wii: 2,056,866 related items sold
2. Microsoft Xbox360: 1,297,903 related items sold
3. Sony PSP: 350,591 related items sold
4. iPod Touch: 281,361 related items sold
5. Nintendo Wii Fit: 266,584 related items sold
6. Apple iPhone 3G: 212,837 related items sold
7. BlackBerry Pearl: 207,688 related items sold
8. BlackBerry Curve: 193,788 related items sold
9. Sony Playstation 3: 103,333 related items sold
10. Guitar Hero III: 98,159 related items sold

List courtesy of Gizmodo UK

Geeks Radio and Zane Savage

Giveaway time!

Since I have started live streaming, there have been a lot of loyal viewers that have helped me along the way. So, to thank them, I like to do a giveaway from time to time. Watch the above video to find out how you can win a brand new headset, free!

Zane Savage

Before I started live streaming, I came across Zane Savage. I guess you could say it was a mix of Zane and Chris Pirillo that made me want to do a web show, like I do today. Well, here is my thanks to Zane with this little promo for his new show that launched Friday night!

Playlist from 12-16-08

This is the playlist from my Geeks Radio show 12-16-08

Saving Abel- Addicted
Seether- Fine Again
Serj Tankian- Empty Walls
Sara Bareilles- Everyday Stranger
3 Days Grace- Get Out Alive
Maroon 5- Wake Up call
Red Hot Chili Peppers- Dani California
Metro Station- Shake it
Puddle of Mudd- Physco
Nickelback- Gotta Be Somebody
Sara Bareilles- Love Song
Foo Fighters- The Pretender
Weird Al- All About The Pentiums
GnR- Welcome To The Jungle
Poison- Every Rose Has It's Thorn
Colbie Caillat- Realize
Deaf Pedestrians- Hail To The Geek
Hinder- Without you

Next show: Friday 12-19-08 4PM EST at GeeksRadio.fm

Geeks Radio

Join us at 6PM EST Tonight for the launch of Geeks Radio! http://www.geeksradio.fm

My Pirillo Wishlist

How do you create a wishlist? When I want to create my wishlist I go to www.wishlistr.com
Once there, I can create my own wishlist by adding items from all around the web with one simple click, I can email my wishlist to friends, or get my own page on wishlistr.com
I can even let people subscribe to my wishlist vis RSS. Wishlistr is the easiest and quickest way to create a wishlist I have seen so far.
You can view online tutorials, screenshots and sign up for free, or use your OpenID to log in at www.wishlistr.com

© Dylan Combs 2008

How do you wake up in the morning?

How do you wake up in the morning? Maybe you have an alarm clock, or cell phone alarm that wakes you up. I prefer www.onlineclock.net It’s a free service, all you do is set the background you want, and the alarm time, and it beeps very loudly at that time. No need to sign up, or register etc… Simply give it the wake up time, and go to sleep.
The nicest part is that it’s flash based, so if your internet connection dies sometime during the night, it will still wake you up!
© Dylan Combs 2008

How do you distribute your videos?

When I upload videos, I want people to watch them. Why would I upload them if I wanted them to be ignored? So, I upload my videos to several websites. Youtube is the main site where I get most of my views of course, but there are about 15 other sites that I upload to.

So , Rather than upload to each one individually, I found a service called TubeMogul. All you do is create a free account on TubeMogul.com and give it your credentials (login info) for all the video sites you are a member of. Then you upload your video one time to TubeMogul and it will distribute it to all of those sites you are a member of.

I tried it myself and it really is that easy… Here is just a few of the video sites TubeMogul can upload to. There are over 20 total video websites you can use with TubeMogul.
Myspace. Revver. Youtube, Dailymotion, Veoh, Blip, Viddler, Vimeo, Break and many many more. This service is extremely easy to use, and you only need to give it your login information for those websites once.
For more information or to try it yourself, Please visit www.tubemogul.com

Keyboards

What kind of keyboard do you use? I know many people who still use their standard keyboard that came with their PC. I have never been able to do that. I prefer a higher quality keyboard more suited towards me, rather than the generic device sent to millions of users.
I have had a lot of Logitech keyboard, as well as Microsoft keyboards. The only one I can say I really “like” is the Microsoft Comfort Curve keyboard. It has a nice slim design, the keys don’t click too loudly, the keys are think and easy to press, and I feel like I can type on it for hours rather than have to take breaks frequently due to discomfort.
But what keyboard do you use? If you’re looking for a ergonomic keyboard, I do recommend the Microsoft Digital Media Pro, but let me know what you use, want or prefer. Leave comments on this blog post, as well as the video. I want many opinions on this one… I’m even considering getting the Apple aluminum slim wired keyboard and using it with Windows because of the great things I have heard about it.

Bandwidth Caps

A member of the chat room at live.combs.tv mentioned a few days ago, that he has to deal with bandwidth caps. He lives in Canada, and in Canada the only reliable service in his area is Rogers for DSL. What is just sad about this is Rogers sells internet service in bandwidth packages.

For example, 30GB per month for 30 dollars, or 60GB for 60 dollars etc… I’m not sure if I’m the only person who thinks this, but that is just wrong. The internet is not meant to be limited in any capacity at all. You may ask, what happens if you go over your 30GB per month? The internet slows down to ungodly slow dial up like speeds and you pay per megabyte over your specified amount.

When I heard this, I didn’t even know how to react. I simply could not imagine dealing with that myself, I know I will use 30GB In a week between uploads and downloads, plus E-mail and regular browsing. I could not live on that; it’s just not right do limit internet access like that. If you don’t think Comcast or Cox or Time Warner will do that, they will. They already have in some areas.

Across the world we are starting to see this happening, we have got to do something about it. The question is: What can be done? Comment, rate, subscribe etc… and pass this along to your friends.
©Dylan Combs 2008

First Time Mobile Streaming

Yesterday, I was streaming live video from somewhere other than my house for the first time! My friend Jake and I were talking about gaming, answering questions from chat, and some other fun things as well. This may become a somewhat regular thing; we will have to see later. I simply had to record a video, because it was the first time in the history of "The Tech Guru Show" that I was streaming live video from anywhere but my home.

Internet Radio For Geeks

What internet radio station do you listen to? This is, assuming you do listen to internet radio. I know I do. I get tired of all the commercials and things of that nature of traditional FM Radio, so I turn to the interw3bz!

 

There are literally hundreds of thousands of internet radio stations out there, and you have to find one that is good for you. One of those might just be Geeks Radio. Founded by members of Geeks.Pirillo.com you can find Geeks Radio at www.geeksradio.fm

I will be a DJ there as well, and the station is set to launch on December 15^th. I will be promoting this, as will Chris Pirillo. My show times are as follows:

Monday 4-6PM

 

Friday 4-6PM

 

Saturday 2-4PM

 

All times are in EST

 

So what are you waiting for? Head on over to www.GeeksRadio.fm to find out more today!

Flip Mino HD Updates

I have to thank Flip Video for sending me the Flip Mino HD for review. I am very impressed with the product and the quality of it. The Mino HD will record up to 60 minutes of 720p HD 16:9 video. You can watch the corresponding video to this blog post to see the quality yourself.
Pros:

Extremely portable

Hi Def!!!

Long battery life

4GB on board memory

16:9 aspect ratio

Affordable


Cons:
1.5’’ display screen. I would like to see this a little larger in the next version.

Memory not expandable

Cannot take still pictures without using the software.

Overall, the pros outweigh the cons. If you are looking for a portable, HD, high quality and low cost video recorder, there is no better choice than the Flio Mino HD.
© Dylan Combs 2008

Things to consider when building a PC

So you want to build a computer... but where do you start? This article is my recommendations on how to choose parts for your new computer.

First: Choose a processor first. Most people you will see choose a motherboard first, but I believe the processor is the most important part of the PC, so everything should revolve around that. I also recommend a dual core if not a quad core processor with today’s Windows OS and applications software.

Second: Choose your motherboard. Your motherboard is the 2nd most important part of the PC. Do you want PCI-Express slots? How many? X16, x2? Regular PCI? SATA? You must choose a motherboard that meets your needs. My next computer will use the new Intel core i7 board. I recommend at least 1 PCI-E x16 slot as well as at least one PCI-E x1, and at least 2 PCI slots.

Third: Your case. Your case is more of a personal choice than essential choice. As long as your motherboard fits your case, you should have no major issues. As I said, this is more of a personal choice, such as color scheme and look, and manufacturer of your case. I like the cases that look similar to the Mac Pro.

Fourth: Memory. Hard drives, as well as RAM are absolutely essential. My recommendation is at least a 320 GB Hard Disk Drive and at least 3GB of DDR2 or 4GB of DDR3 RAM. RAM will determine how many programs you can run at once, as well as how much you can do at once, along with your processor of course. Hard disk size is also very important. I prefer a large hard drive, simply because I have over 1TB total of music and video content on my PC. Just remember, there is no such thing as a hard disk being “too big”.

Fifth: Cooling systems. Completely optional, most CPUs will have a heat sink and fan. If not, you will need to purchase one. Serious gamers will typically use liquid cooling. This is again for serious gamers who tend to over clock their CPU(s) and use their graphics card(s) to the fullest potential possible. I have never had any liquid cooled systems because I’m no hardcore gamer. My idea of gaming is a few hands of Poker on UltimateBet.net

Sixth: Graphics cards. This is an extremely important decision for gamers. ATI vs. nVidia etc... All play into a choice of a graphics card. There are so many out there, it just depends on your need. Gamers like their SLI dual graphics cards, where as for me I can live on a dual DVI 64mb card. Again, it just depends on what you will use it for

Seventh: Operating systems. Windows Xp? Home or Professional? If you’re going vista, which one? Basic, premium or ultimate… or even business? I tend to use Vista ultimate more than anything else. When vista first came out, it was a complete flop. Everything was a problem but since then it has improved drastically. There are still those that like good ol’ XP though, or even Linux and that is perfectly fine.

Eighth and last: Accessories. From internal PCI cards, such as TV tuners, to the choice of keyboards and speakers, there are a million and one accessories you could buy. I like to use TV tuners and expensive sound systems, but it’s really not necessary. Webcams, microphones, USB hubs, printers etc… are all choices you have to decide on what to buy. I much prefer building my own PC to buying one already made, and I hope I have helped you in your decision, or at least taught you something from this article. Feel free to direct any questions to my email: Dylan@Combs.tv
Thank you for reading, my fellow geeks.

Dylan Combs

Myspace Accuracy

Over the past month, I have received almost 10 questions about my Myspace page.

You can view it by Clicking Here

I have received several questions both online and in "real life" about the accuracy of the information on my myspace. This is the ONLY time it will be discussed. Any comments or questions will be left on THIS post. I can assure you, all information is exactly the way I wan it on myspace. I have written the profile myself and updated everything myself. As of now, nobody has access to it but me and it will stay that way. Please do not ask any further questions outside of the comment section of this blog.

 

Thank you.

Blog Posts of the night

Water Cooled Macs?

Control your x-mas lights

Digital TV

TruPhone iPhone app

Live TV on the iPhone

This is the first video recorded with the new Flip Mino HD. It's just a quick sample, much more to come with the review in a few days. For more information visit http://www.theflip.com/

The Hype Over iPhone apps..

The hype with iPhone apps..

It seems every major blog is now covering iPhone apps, extensively. I’m really not sure the hype over all this but it’s starting to make me want to go out and get an iPhone 3G..

Thoughts?

MakeUseOf top 5 sites of the day

Top 5 cool sites of the day by www.makeuseof.com

(1) Futurecovery - Pitches itself as a promise sending app which asks you to write down a promise you make to yourself and then send that email to yourself in future to check if you kept up with that promise. Read more: Futurecovery - Send Promises And Emails In Future.
(2) HowToSayThatName - Find out how to correctly pronounce difficult names. HowToSayThatName provides you with audio database where all names are spoken by native speakers. Read more: HowToSayThatName - Tells You How To Pronounce Difficult Names.
(3) FreePhotoCalendar - Simple photo calendar creator that lets you quickly create and print out monthly calendars. All you need to do is upload your image, select month, size, week start day and then click on “Generate Calendar!” button. See sample at FreePhotoCalendars - Print Photo Calendars.
(4) Splice - Online music maker tool that lets you mix user-uploaded audios and create music tracks of your own. You can make as many mixes as you like and share easily them with others by publishing your mixes on Splice. Read more: Splice - Online Music Maker.
(5) Txtb.in - Simple way to save and share short text notes online. Type or paste your text into provided field, save it, and get a link that you can use to access notes from other PCs and share them with others. Read more: Txtb.in - Save & Share Short Text Notes Online.

Tonights deals

Philips Plug and Play USB Webcam with Microphone - 2 Pack (New)

 

RCA Dual Wattage Foreign Voltage Adapter (New)

 

Save an Additional $30 On Garmin nvi 270

 

Insignia Sport NS-4V17R 4GB USB 2.0 MP4/MP3/FM/Bluetooth w/1.7" LCD (Dark Cherry Red) (Refurbished)

500GB External Hard Drives for under 200 dollars!

Buy.com is offering 500GB external hard drives by Verbatim for a short time only..

 

"Expand the storage capacity of your laptop or desktop PC, with a sleek Verbatim Portable USB Hard Drive. Whether you a re on the go or at home, rest assured that your favorite music, photos, video and critical data are safe. Each drive is constructed of a durable casing to provide protection during transport. The external hard drive includes CMS BounceBack Express Backup Software that allows you to automatically back up your personal content. BounceBack Express incorporates scheduling, backup sets, automatic launch options and CMS' QuickRestore feature."- Buy.com

Click Here to see more

Synergy Virtual KVM

Back when I first started my show, I had 4 computers here on my desk. Which meant 4 keyboards, and 4 mice. But how do you get rid of that and share 1 keyboard and 1 mouse?

There are 2 basic ways to do that. You could buy a KVM switch, which can be somewhat expensive, or you can use Synergy. Synergy is a cross-platform virtual KVM that allows you to share your keyboard and mouse between several computers connected to the same router.

They also claim it does not work on Vista.. but it does :)

“Synergy lets you easily share a single mouse and keyboard between multiple computers with different operating systems, each with its own display, without special hardware. It's intended for users with multiple computers on their desk since each system uses its own monitor(s)
.
Redirecting the mouse and keyboard is as simple as moving the mouse off the edge of your screen. Synergy also merges the clipboards of all the systems into one, allowing cut-and-paste between systems. Furthermore, it synchronizes screen savers so they all start and stop together and, if screen locking is enabled, only one screen requires a password to unlock them all. Learn more about how it works.”- http://synergy2.sourceforge.net