Sunday, October 4, 2009

15 worthy Blu-ray movies for less than $15

Critics of Blu-ray often talk about how expensive the discs are, but in recent weeks, a growing number of Blu-ray movies have become more affordable, with several dipping below the $15 price point and some even slipping in at $9.99 on Amazon.

Cheap is popular these days and, not surprisingly, a lot of these bargain-price titles end up on the bestsellers list on Amazon. But when it comes to owning discs, most people have become pretty discerning, and don't just buy anything because it's cheap. With that in mind, we've culled down the list of bargain titles and selected 15 we think are worth owning.

As always, it's important to mention that taste is subjective, and if you don't like our picks, call us out and make your own suggestions in the comments section. If you're persuasive enough, we'll edit the list and swap in new titles. And as new budget Blu-rays come out, we'll also update the list. (Note: The discs on the list all were priced at less than $15 on Amazon at the time of this writing. Naturally, those prices are subject to change.)

For reference, here are the discs we considered but ultimately didn't include this round: "Bullitt," "Unforgiven," "Beetlejuice," "V for Vendetta," "Swordfish," "A Clockwork Orange," "I am Legend," "Fugitive," "The Road Warrior," "The Dirty Dozen," "Enter the Dragon," "Risky Business," "Dirty Dancing," "The New World," "Top Gun," and "Being There."

Click on any image to view the movies we did pick.



Related coverage:

7500 Mouse Cursor

I hope you enjoyed the Windows 7 eBook and found it helpful to tweak your PC. I've got a lot to share with you this time, so get ready for some more tweaks. If you are not interested in cursors, skip the first part of the mail.
Windows 7 Lightsaber action:
I've found some cool mouse cursors for Windows 7, Vista, XP, etc. (actually they are all compatible, because MS did not change their file format).
If you download the cursor, you might also be interested in this:

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Microsoft’s Vision of 2019

Do you know how the future will look like? Microsoft released this video some time ago, but I thought it was worth posting again now that Windows 8 comes into focus.

If Microsoft continues to aim for a major Windows release every 2 years, we will be working with Windows 11.0 in 2019.

Windows 7 is definitely a step towards that future, but there’s a still a long way ahead of Microsoft if they want to realize their dream of 2019. Nonetheless, it’s a very exciting vision!

Windows 8 Release Date in 2011?

Although the Windows 8 Roadmap clearly states that Microsoft will release Windows 8 in 2012, some Microsoft Insider say that we can expect Windows 8 in 2011. If the release date will be really 2011, I suppose they might aim for a release in October.

Does 2-years sound realistic for a major release? I don’t think so. What do you think? Poll Inside!


That’s why I still believe that Microsoft will release Windows 8 later and not sooner. However, we have to keep in mind that the competition is not sleeping. Microsoft got to catch up, Vista was a financial disaster and MAC OS X is catching up. More and more users switch to alternatives. There are some user-friendly linux and UNIX distributions available by now and best of all – they are free!

Is Microsoft like Google in a position where no one can touch their market share? More and more people get used to MAC PC’s because of the great success of Apple notebooks (apple macbook). The popularity of the Apple iPhone probably plays a role too. The competition is hard at work.

Explorer gone in Windows 8?

Some unconfirmed rumors say that the Windows Explorer will not be included in Windows 8. Ok, this might sound like a joke at a first glance, but it’s not. We already know that they are working on a new interface, so it would only make sense to see some changes here and a completely new way to browse files.
I’m sure they will still make it look very familiar, simply because people got used to the Windows Explorer and too dramatic changes would certainly drive away too many people.


Will the Windows Explorer be included in Windows 8?

I’m looking forward to some changes, the Windows UI is definitely a bit outdated if you compare it with Mac OS X and other operating systems.

Windows Test Technologies will be remodeled!

WTT (Windows Test Technologies) are an internal program that is being used to automate setup and testing. It is used for all internal Windows test. It is the so called test automation framework that isng used by all work groups at Microsoft.

Experience in WTT is a highly sought-after skill. If you are working in the IT field, you should consider learning a bit more about this for your next job application.

“The WTT team is looking to make significant changes to it’s infrastructure for Windows 8. We want to address all the major problems our customers have faced over the last few years by developing a truly scalable and reliable testing infrastructure. This is a huge opportunity to drastically revamp WTT over the coming 18 months,” the Redmond company revealed in a resource published in October 2007″

Although they say that they will complete the work after 18 months, in April 2010, that doesn’t mean we will get our hands on any Windows 8 builds then. I am positive that we will get some real Windows 8 screenshots until then.

Secret OS revealed: Windows Singularity and Windows Midori

Surprise, surprise: Windows Midori is *not* Windows 8. Not many people know that Microsoft announced a system called Windows Singularity almost two year ago. By now, Microsoft has confirmed a connection between Windows Midori and Windows Singularity. (Source: Softpedia.com)

So, they have been working on a new Windows for a while now: Windows Midori and Windows Singularity. According to Softpedia they are basically the same system and are both written in managed code only. Managed code has the advantage that it is a lot more secure because the CPU is not directly executing the code.

Currently Windows Singularity is only a research project, but it has the potential to become something big. Especially since a lot more people are familiar with managed code like C++. Microsoft is going for the “open-source-way” and even released the source code of the Singularity RDK.

Can they compete with Linux & Co.?

What is so special about Windows Midori? All operating systems that we know today (Mac, Linux, Windows, etc.) all have one common source. They all have one origin: A system called Multics that is by now almost 50 years old. You can easily imagine that this code becomes “outdated” at some point in time and will not be as flexible as something entirely new.

Windows Midori is different because it has been developed from scratch. That means that they develop a completly new system without any of the old “flaws”. By now the operating system is 60MB big. You can download the RDK (Research Development Kit) over at codeplex.com:

Download Windows Singularity RDK

Windows Singularity will be lighter, faster and more secure. It could be a step forward toward a next generation Windows.Despite the fact that Windows Singularity is “only” a research project

“Singularity is a new operating system being developed as a basis for more dependable system and application software. Singularity exploits advances in programming languages and tools to create an environment in which software is more likely to be built correctly, program behavior is easier to verify, and run-time failures can be contained. A key aspect of Singularity is an extension model based on Software-Isolated Processes (SIPs), which encapsulate pieces of an application or a system and provide information hiding, failure isolation, and strong interfaces,” reads a fragment of the whitepaper presenting the Singularity project. Softpedia.com