TechAgility

One thing I do enjoy when travelling in the US is getting up to date on some of the Magazines that I don’t always get a chance to get hold of, or get a chance to read, as there’s usually a lot of time sitting in Aircraft or Airports?

I caught this article in the PC Mag and found it quite useful, but I’ve cut their list down to the 11 that I thought were keepers. I could make that 10 really as I hadn’t come across Kayak before, but there you go?

Top 100 Classic Web Sites from PC Magazine

Digital Photography Review
www.dpreview.com

Celebrating its tenth birthday this November, Digital Photography Review is hands down one of the most influential—and popular—camera sites on the Internet. You’ll find in-depth reviews of all kinds of camera gear, product announcements, and tips from photography pros in the discussion forums.

SmugMug
www.smugmug.com

SmugMug lets users share their photos with the world, order photo-centric gifts, and even make a little extra cash on the side. 
Read our review of SmugMug.

Dynamism
www.dynamism.com

It’s a truism that the U.S. lags behind Japan when it comes to cool tech like cell phones, laptops, and similar gadgets. If you don’t feel like waiting years for a cool piece of tech to make it to the U.S. and can’t figure out how to order from a Japanese Web site, chances are good that you can find it on Dynamism.

LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com

The social network for professionals has been slow to add new features and capabilities, and that’s just the way its users like it. No music playing in the background, no blinking Flash modules, no SuperPokes, just simple, intuitive online networking. 
Read our review of LinkedIn.

AVS Forum
www.avsforum.com

Like all the geekiest forum sites, AVS Forum isn’t much to look at. But the frequently updated home-theater site has loads of expert tips and how-tos for audio- or videophiles with a DIY streak.

DistroWatch.com
www.distrowatch.com

The definitive Web site for Linux fans, DistroWatch.com keeps track of the ever-expanding universe of Linux distros with news, reviews, and downloads. Like many Linux-related projects, the site is indispensable to the Linux community and incomprehensible to most everyone else.

The Register
www.theregister.co.uk

El Reg skewers the tech and IT industry with its perfect mix of in-depth news reporting and snark. And if you’re having a bad day on the IT desk, perusing the brilliantly biting headlines on The Register’s homepage will serve as the perfect pick-me-up.

Engadget
www.engadget.com

After several years and thousands of upstart competitors, Engadget’s no-holds-barred gadget coverage is still the gold standard for tech blogging.

Wired
www.wired.com

The Web site is just as multifaceted as the magazine, covering technology, gadgets, science, environmentalism, gaming, music, movies, politics—all with a cool look and a geeky slant.

Google Maps
maps.google.com

Google Maps just keeps adding great features, yet it still doesn’t feel bloated in the least. The service offers driving directions, satellite views, street views, business and restaurant locators, user-created maps, public transit routes—the list goes on.

Kayak
www.kayak.com

Looking for the cheapest price on plane tickets? Kayak makes comparison shopping easy by showing you the prices of all the available flights. The service can find you a good price on a hotel room, too.

written by dcaddick

So anyway, I figured that with the stories getting around regarding the recent PDC that there would be Virtual Machines of Windows 7 being handed out on the portable Hard drives that it wouldn’t take long for them to appear on Torrent sites etc… And so it would appear Download 64-bit Windows 7 6801 Pre-Beta ISO (Microsoft.Windows.7.64Bit.Build.6801.DVD-WinBeta Torrent)

So I started looking around to see how easy this might be to crank up under the old trusty VMware Workstation 6 (I really have been slack, haven’t I, must update that shortly?) and this again didn’t take long at all to find an authoritive article that shows the only real thing that needs to be set is the HDD to IDE as opposed to SCSI? Windows 7 + VMWare 6/VMWare Fusion 2

So this only left the possibility of the O/S complaining about needing to be activated, blah, blah, so I was wondering if this might be able to be bypassed as I was only curious about checking it out - not necessarily running the O/S on hardware anytime soon, and I turned this article out that solves that quite neatly at 15 Windows 7 Pre-Release Preview MAK Unlimited Activation Product Keys

All in all, this might take you about a hour or two after you have finished downloading to install and start testing Windows 7 - happy trails?

written by dcaddick

So it’s been quite some while since I last did a post of any kind as I was away from Aust. sailing and sampling the hospitality in the British Virgin Islands thanks to my brother (thanks Martin), and then on to New York City, and finally London and Guilford (thanks to Lou and David) before making it back home.

Incidentally just before leaving for this trip the Volvo Ocean Race set off - and if you’d like to navigate your own 70 footer around the world and compete then get on to http://www.volvooceanracegame.org/play.php and sign up?

Look out for “WhyKnot”, and Martin my brother is “EverRest”

See you on Leg 3?

written by dcaddick