Matt’s Desk: Editor’s Blog

Walk through a big-box electronics store alongside a talkative sales rep, and you’d likely be amazed by how little profit these stores actually make on many of the products they sell. We’re not talking about 2% grocery staple profit, but they’re lower than you might expect.

But when it comes to HDMI cables, the USB-like cords that connect HD video sources (Blu-ray players, game consoles, etc.) to HDTVs, the markup might make your jaw drop – literally.

You don’t have to waste your hard-earned money, though.  The are two HDMI secrets every HD lover should know: A) they’re almost always really, really cheap to produce, and B) they’re all more or less the same, with a caveat or two.

Armed with these simple truths, you can save yourself a lot of money, particularly if you have multiple devices – say, a laptop, Blu-ray player and satellite or cable box – each with HDMI output(s).

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Other than quick, casual gaming on the iPhone or iPad – and the occasional Age of Empires III action on PC – I’m not really much of a gamer.  My PS3 was purchased for its Blu-ray, Internet and video file playback capabilities, with gaming considered a welcome, but minor, bonus. 

Shortly after getting the console, a good friend gave me Star Wars: The Force Unleashed as a sort of PlayStation-warming gift. Good friends are hard to find, so I figured I’d give it a try, at least so I could respond with more than vague eagerness when he asked how I liked it.

Long story short: not only is The Force Unleashed the only PS3 game I own to this day, it’s one of the best games I’ve ever played, irrespective of platform.  I’ve played it through three times.  Though a Star Wars fan, not fanatic, I think anyone who enjoys action games would really like it (and if you know the Star Wars story from the six films, all the better).  This can’t be too far off from reality, either, because the game has sold more than 7 million copies worldwide.

I’ve long hoped for a sequel, and even searched a bit from time to time to see what Lucas Arts was working on, but never came up with anything. 

Guess it’s been a while, ‘cause this morning I was talking a buddy of mine who’s into gaming in a serious way.  We were chatting about an upcoming release (I can’t remember the title), when he casually mentions that The Force Unleashed 2 is coming out in November. 

Whua?

Back home, I found that the actual release date is October 26 (close enough, Billy), and it’s already up for pre-order on Amazon for the PS3, XBox 360, Wii, PC and Nintendo DS!

I couldn’t order it fast enough.  Now begins the countdown (provided by MakeUseOf.com).

Can’t wait.

Facing competition from the Nook, the Apple iPad and other eBook readers, Amazon has dropped the price of the 6” Kindle 2 to $189.  That’s a $70 slash of the previous price of $259.

This is a great move for Amazon, at least if they hope to sell large numbers of Kindle readers in the future.  And the price cut is fantastic news for book-loving consumers.

The price cut comes just under a month after Bloomberg reported that the Internet retailer plans to unveil a 3rd generation Kindle in August.  No word on what the Kindle 3 might cost, but Amazon would be wise to keep the price in the $130-$170 range if it hopes to compete with multi-function devices like the Apple iPad and other dedicated eBook readers.

I’ve been lamenting the lack of acceptable blogging software for the Mac OS since replacing my Dell M1330 with a MacBook last year.  Windows Live Writer is an amazing solution for Windows on my office desktop, but a Mac version of this application isn’t available (for obvious reasons).

The Mac OS has a vibrant ecosystem, and since becoming a daily Mac user one year ago, I’ve found a Mac-alterative solution for everything I do in Windows: web design, CSS, word processing, web browsing, email, FTP, video encoding, photo editing, etc., but try as I might I just can’t stomach the Mac blogging software.  So, I’ve been dual-booting Windows 7 via Boot Camp on my MacBook almost exclusively for Live Writer (I also play an occasional game that’s not Mac-friendly) since late last year.  This is a functional, but time consuming, approach to my problem, so I’ve been on the lookout for something better.

Earlier this week I decided to try something I hoped was just that. 

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Now through June 8, NewEgg.com is offering the Samsung EcoGreen F2 HD154UI 1.5TB 3.5” SATA desktop hard drive for $79, including shipping. Other features of the drive include a 32MB cache, 3.0Gb/s transfer speed, 8.9 second seek time, and a three year warranty.

To get the $79 NewEgg price, enter promo code EMCYTYV22 at checkout before 11:59PM PDT on June 8, 2010.

Amazon has this drive for $89.

A few years ago, my uncle called asking about a topic I knew little about: color laser printers.  He’s an attorney and wanted to produce cleaner, crisper color prints for his practice.  At the time, the options were few, and those color laser printers that were available were pricey.  If memory serves, the model he settled on – which was on the low end of the price spectrum – was $700. 

I hadn’t thought much about color laser printers since then, but last week a friend called asking about them.  My initial response was that they’re nice, but expensive; a little online research quickly proved me wrong, however, at least about that latter part.  Like everything else tech, the prices have come down… way down.

The printer I recommended to my friend was the Samsung CLP-315W, the most affordable color laser printer I could find.  The printer’s MSRP is $455, but Amazon.com is offering the printer for $149 (via the third-party retailer C4DEALZ).  NewEgg has it for $219.

Here’s the skinny on the Samsung CLP-315W:

I saw Avatar the day after Christmas.  I don’t recall many specifics about the day, but I do remember three things quite clearly. First, that the film’s CGI blew me away – no shock there. Second, that the little girl behind me wouldn’t stop kicking the back of my chair as she got up and down, up and down during the second half of the movie.  Third – and I’m a little embarrassed about this – I spent the entire three hours of Avatar wishing it weren’t in 3D. 

Yeah, truth-told I really have no love for the new 3D push.  Every movie trailer I’ve seen in the last month, it seems was for a movie to be released in 3D.  And the question you have to ask yourself is why?  Because 3D makes the movie watching experience better?  Or because it’s a fad that’s sped past its own justification?

To answer my own question, I submit the following: Step Up 3-D. 

Case closed.

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My stepmother called yesterday in a near panic; somehow, the photos on her Kodak camera’s SD card had been deleted.  She wanted to know if there was a way to recover the lost photos which had been accumulating over the better part of a year.

There are, as a matter of fact, many ways of restoring deleted photos from an SD or CompactFlash card. Most of the more effective utilities designed for the task are either shareware or must be purchased up front.  But One of the best solutions, luckily, is totally free: PC INSPECTOR File Recovery.

The software is from a German developer, but comes with multiple language packs including English.  Just install the software, connect your memory card to your computer, and allow File Recovery to scan your drives.  Select the drive letter that represents your memory card and let File Recovery do the rest.

Panic averted.

-M

One of the web hosting accounts I have is expressly for offsite file storage.  There are other solutions available if you want to store files in the cloud, of course, but this is an option I and other users choose to have a simple storage solution available at all times from any computer.

If you have access to an FTP server you probably use an FTP client (like FileZilla) to access and manage files, but you may now know that Windows 7 natively supports linking to an FTP site or directory via the Map Network Drive function in Explorer.  This allows you to create a drag-and-drop-ready folder on your PC that’s linked to the FTP server.

Getting started is easy.  Open Explorer (Computer on the desktop or in the Start Menu) and click the Map network drive button near the top of the window:

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