Happy New Years!!

I just wanted to get a jump start on wishing everyone a Happy and Safe New Years!  See you all next ye...

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Last Tech News of The Year! Kinect & WoW, Bad Frogger, OGA, and Duke Nukem!!

This will be the last tech news for 2010.  It seems like we just rang in 2010.  Now it's time to bid it farewell.  And with it, we have a great list of topics for this weeks news. -Kinect Meet World of Warcraft... -Playing Real World Frogger can be hazardous to one's life expectancy. -Linux News on the Front Page of Google's Tech News today! -Bye-Bye Office Genuine Advantage...Says Microsoft. -Duke Nukem Fan-Film...And yes, it's awesome! -First up is what will sure to be a warm meeting...

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Merry Christmas!

On behalf of TechieSmarts, we'd like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! Take this time to enjoy your friends and family and remember the reason for the seas...

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Marvel's Thor: The Trailer

Okay, back in July I saw saw a few teaser shots Marvel had released from it's upcomming 'Thor' feature length film.  Admittedly, I was probably a little rough; if not judgmental about it's release.  The teaser shots did not give it justice (based on the scenes from the trailer).  However, I am still undecided about this movie.  I will end up seeing this film due to it being inline with the buildup to the 'Avengers' film.  I like how they are piecing the movies...

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Tron Guy!

With the flare of the release of the new 'Tron: Legacy', I stumbled onto this guy.  He has been around the net for a while.  Seriously, this guy is my hero.  With that being said, I'll do the world a favor and not show up in my own Tron suit.  So, with this being the case.  Sit back and enjoy... The Tron Guy!...

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Feed your Pod! Free Downloads for Your iPod/Media Player!

Well, happy Tuesday to all.  As we're counting down until Christmas, a lot of people are strapped for extra cash this month (due to wonderful Christmas shopping).  I can count myself into this group of people.  So what can you give yourself, that will not cost a penny out of your own pocket? Easy, a little lovin' for your iPod (or media player or choice).  Checkout these free podcasts for your listening pleasure.  These podcasts are Techie Approved! If you like audiobooks...

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Game Trailer!

This is one of the trailers from the VGA's from the other evening.  It was posted today on the offical Deus Ex Youtube Channel.  This game looks freakin' sweet!...

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Game Review: 'Donkey Kong Country Returns' (Wii)

This holiday season has already been a great one.  We celebrated Thanksgiving a few weeks ago and now we're coming up on Christmas.  I love this time of year, we get a lot of good food, and time with friends and family.  Also, we get some good games from developers trying to hit the Christmas shopping season.  And lucky us, this year is a good one. Up for a quick review today is 'Donkey Kong Country Returns' for the Wii.  I'm going to have to be completely honest, this...

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Restoring Data with DriveImageXML v.2.14

Okay, the last post taught us how to make a clone image of our hard drive using DriveImage XML.  Now, I figured I'd show you how to restore data from that image.  This is actually very easy to do. First up, run DriveImage XML.  And click on the 'Browse' button. Keep in mind, you can restore individual files from your backup image only if you left 'Raw Mode' unchecked when creating the image file. Once you have click the 'Browse' button, you should see a box pop up that says 'Select...

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Backing Up with DriveImage XML v2.14

Last week I decided it was time to wipe and reload my desktop operating system.  At this time, I also decided to move up to Windows 7 from XP (still not sure I'm too happy with that decision, but I will adapt with time).  During the planning stages of my plan, I didn't want to loose all of my data.  Especially not remembering what had infact been backed up to CD or DVD prior to reformatting.  I had an external hard drive handy and I decided to jump into making a clone image of...

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Heads up: Lubuntu 10.10 RMX

 Still on the Ubuntu note; if you are a fan of Ubuntu goodies.  You owe it to yourself to swing by OMG! Ubuntu and keep watch on their site for news based on the popular distro.  Yesterday they ran a quick mention about Lubuntu 10.10 RMX. Most Ubuntu user's are familiar with Ubuntu (GNOME based) and Kubuntu (KDE based).  But most of the time Lubuntu gets overlooked.  So, what is Lubuntu? Easy, Lubuntu is a derivative of the Ubuntu operating system (which in itself is...

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The Future Path of Ubuntu

Another Monday is fixing to wrap itself up for the the day, and after doing some reading up over the last few weeks; there is a topic that I can't seem to shake out of my mind.  The direction of the very popular Linux distribution (and my personal fav); Ubuntu.  Ubuntu is an excellent operating system for new converts to the world of Linux and open-source software.  Canonical is obviously very progressive in their ideas (something other distro's seem to be lacking).  And for...

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This Week In The News: E-Ink gets Color, 3G Ipod Touch Adapter, Ask.com Troubles and more!

We have several newsworthy topics this week. Finally, E-book Reader enthusiasts finally get color screens! E-Ink and LG Display showed off their color electronic paper screens today in Japan.  Until now, user's who preferred colored screens over traditional e-book readers with monochrome screens have had to go the route of the iPad .  Some retailers (namely Best Buy and Kmart) have been carrying color Android-based ebook readers as well.  However, after some hands on time with the...

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Guild Wars Halloween 2010 Festivities

Hi all!  Just a quick set of snapshots from the Halloween Festivities from Guild Wars this year.  Check them out: Location: Lion's Arch Me with a Bone Dragon Chillin' with a Necrid Horseman A sweet Ghost Ship in the Harbor Location: Kamadan It wasn't me!  LOL Good times! Location: Droknar's Forge Was that a ghost? Another Necrid Horseman A cool, spooky skull. Come out and join us.  The Mad HKing...

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This Week in The News: Jax Returns!, F2P MMO Halloween Fun, Tribes Returns to Us, Champions Online to go F2P, and more!

There has been a lot of news, rumors, and buzz flying around this week in the Tech/Game world. First up: -We have 2 returns to look forward to in the near future. The first is Jax. That's right, the guy with metal arms from the Mortal Kombat series. It has been confirmed that we will see him in the next incarnation of Mortal Kombat video game. So look forward to brute-martial arts-goodness. source The second is Tribes. Remember, that was the awesome FPS that gave us jetpacks to zip around...

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Movie Trailer: 'The Warrior's Way'

Ok, apparently today is 'anticipated-movie-trailer-awareness-Friday' on the TechieSmarts Blog. So in the spirit of watching trailers for movies that just look cool; here is the trailer for 'The Warrior's Way'. About halfway through the trailer is becomes very apparent that we will get to see a showdown between cowboys and ninjas! Who can resist that...

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Another Trailer for 'Skyline'

Personally, I am really excited to see this movie.  Simply for the special effects.  I am a sucker for movies with large monsters, robots, or aliens.  And this one has huge aliens and rather large spaceships (lots of them).  So, can't wait for this one.  Check out this trailer: Happy surfi...

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Sintel an Open Source Movie Awesomeness!

Hi everybody, if you have been following this blog at all; then you will know first hand that I am a huge fan/proponent/advocate for open source software.  I also like art, drawing, painting, and animation stuff in my other spare time. :)  So this recommendation is right up my alley. If you have never heard of Blender, you should get to know the name.  You may be seeing it more and to show off it's capabilities the Durian Open Movie Project created "Sintel".  It is an outstanding...

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Weekly Tech News: Microsoft wants to sell us Games, AT&T is learning, and more!

To be honest, I have been pretty slack this week in keeping up with the news.  So, in advance I apologize. -Microsoft wants to sell us Games...Online Well, looks like Microsoft still has plans to grow their online commerce presence by opening selling games via the Games for Windows Marketplace.  This site has in fact been around for a while, but in a state of choas.  Personally, I have yet to buy any software from Microsoft online.  I have purchased titles via Xbox Live for...

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This Week In Tech News: Videogame Stocks are Down, Teen Text Messaging, Free Angry Birds, and More!

This week in Tech News we have several interesting topics, so here we go. - Videogame Stocks Are Down.  But Halo is freakin' breaking the bank! During the month of September, console game sales dropped about 6% when compared to September 2009.  This was reported in the The Wall Street Journal.  Does this mean sales are going to be crap for the holiday season, which is no doubt the biggest time of the year for videogame manufactures?  Who knows, I doubt that the sales for Christmas...

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Mobile Game Review: Zombies Ate My Baby for iPod Touch/iPhone

Since Halloween is just a couple of weeks away, I thought it was only suiting that I review a few Halloween themed games.  This weeks review is for 'Zombies Ate My Baby' for the iPhone/iPod Touch.  I know, the title sounds kind of bad, but it isn't quite what you're thinking.  The premise is, a girl and her boyfriend were on a date, and her boyfriend gets killed by a zombie while trying to protect her.  So, she kills the zombie and to her surprise, she finds that killing zombies...

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Making the jump to 'Maverick Meerkat'

Like so many others, I too downloaded the newest Ubuntu release version:10.10. Which happened to release on October 10, 2010. I did a fresh install today (over my existing 10.04.1 partition). From first glance, I honestly could't tell that much of a difference from 0.04. LTS). Sure, the new wallpaper looked nice. But the overall experience was still pretty much the same. Nothing seemed to be lost or gained in the new version of the Live CD. Then, I launched the installer. And to my surprise,...

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Video Review of 'Brave Arms'

Hi everybody, this one is a little behind.  I've been crazy busy lately.  I created this quick video review a few weeks ago.  And the folks at 3G Studio's have been absolutely fantastic.  I wanted to throw this video review up for 'Brave Arms' which can be found on Facebook. 'Brave Arms' is technically the first, first-person-shooter to make an appearance on Facebook.  It plays a lot like the Quake Live site that rolled out sometime back.  Do yourself a favor, if...

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Relax Retro Gamers! GOG.com has returned to us!

Okay, shortly after I posted my video review of 'Duke Nukem: Project Manhattan' and pointed everybody to the Good Old Games website (http://www.gog.com). They yanked the site offline.  Many a blog post and twitter tweet went out that day speculating GOG was done and no more. But alas!  They have returned.  Apparently, they were rolling out the new version of their site.  Claiming that until this, their site was simply in Beta.  Now they are back and better than ever.  So...

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Video Review: 'Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project'

That's right, I now have the capability to do video reviews for games and software.  A few small bugs are being worked out (occasional crackling sound from Mic).  But otherwise, look for more coming soon!  In the meantime check out my quick review of 'Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project'.  I made this while in my retro kick.  So check it out. Just trying to feed the 'Duke' buzz that was stirring around with release of news about 'Duke Nukem Forever' getting picked up by Gearbox....

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Website Review: SuseStudio.com-Build Your Own Linux Distro!

Okay, for all of the Linux fans out there. You really need to checkout SuseStudio.com. This is an awesome site if you have any interest in creating your own flavor of Linux. This site is a build kit which you access completely through the web. All of the building is done on the server side, and basically allows anyone (even non-Linux people) the capability to pick what packages they want included, custom boot screens and logo's, and even setup predetermined user logins. When done, you can create...

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Farewell Acclaim...It's Been a Good Run.

Well, after snooping around a little bit.  I have found out that one of my better liked game developer/publisher has gone the way of the wind.  Out, it looks like.  Acclaim has been developer/publisher of many great titles, mostly from years gone past.  Titles include:  'Armorines: Project Swarm' for the N64  'Batman Forever' for the SNES, Sega, and Gameboy Crazy Taxi The Dave Mirra BMX games Burnout and Burnout 2 Forsaken Furr Fighters Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat...

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Linux Action Show! -Greatest Linux Podcast of All-Time!

Whenever I stumble onto a site or program I think other people might like or think may be worthwhile to mention, I will make a post about it.  Well, today that has happened once again.  I have just recently stumbled upon a great Linux Podcast.  I have tried out several podcasts in the past about Linux, but I have never found one that has been able to capture my attention as much as 'The Linux Action Show!' does.  I have been listening to episodes from the last couple of months...

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Ladies and Gentlemen, Please Welcome Back...Duke Nukem!

Ok, I couldn't even begin to fathom the possibilities that this was true.  Even after reading it on multiple, reputable gaming websites.  For years it has been the running joke within the gaming world: 'Duke Nukem Forever'.  In 1996, gamers got their taste of the greatness that was Duke Nukem.  Everything about Duke's journey to a first person shooter was awesome.  The graphics, the multiplayer, the story, and who can forget some of Duke's classic lines: 'Come get some!',...

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Unreal 3 Engine Makes Debut on Apple's iDevices!

Been pretty busy as of late, so I have some catching up to do.  Last week an app by the name of 'Epic Citadel' arrived on Apple's App Store.  No big surprise, new apps show up all the time.  But two things picked my interest: 1- the name of 'Epic' being included in the title and 2- it runs off of the Unreal 3 Engine. I downloaded it on the iPad right away.  And I must say, that I was immediately blown away.  For some time there has been rumor and speculation that the Unreal...

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The verdict is in...

Ok, after my much awaited first foray into the world of Borderlands went today...The verdict is now in...Ladies & Gentlemen...Borderlands is awesome! I am waiting to level up some more before pairing up with any other players via co-op. But so far so good. Do I believe that the SecuRom DRM may (if not already) have pushed would be players away? Yes, I firmly believe this is so. Game publishers please listen as we gamer's want to voice that we don't want or need software that is so difficult...

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SecuRom, Borderlands, and lost sleep...A story of woe.

Ok, just everybody knows, this will not become habit. However, I am going to use my little corner of the world-wide-inter webs to ventilate. That's right, hang on tight. It all started yesterday afternoon as I was browsing at our local Walmart. They were running a sale on 'Borderlands' for the PC. It was on sale for $20 bucks. I went home and browsed around the web and found that as of that time, that was the best price I could find on the game. So, I made the jump and went and bought it....

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New Features Coming Soon!

As a new feature to the TechieSmarts Blog, I will be putting together some quick free instructional videos covering some things which have personally caused me to do some research.  I can also now do video reviews of software like Linux distributions and installs, etc.  Look for this coming in the near future!  If you have any topics that you'd like to see covered, feel free to drop me a line in the comments below.  Happy Frid...

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Checkout My New ShopIt Store!

Checkout my new ShopIt Store, where we have listed the Live Linux CD's available: http://shopit.com/techiesma...

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iPhone Game Review: Street Fighter IV

  As a long time fan of fighting games on the consoles such as: Mortal Kombat, Tekken, and of course Street Fighter. I was somewhat hesitant to try out the iPhone/iPod Touch port of 'Street Fighter IV'. And to be fair, I have yet ton play this game on the console as well. Literally, the iPhone verism is my first hands-on experience with this title. And let me say up format, it does not disappoint. I have a hard time purchasing apps from the App Store that cost more than $3 or $4 dollars....

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