Asus, who has been doing so much stuff right lately, has begun dipping its toes into the sound card game. I comprehend the onboard audio on their motherboards is supposed to be the best, but as with onboard video, that’s not saying much. So Asus has separated their sound unit and beefed it up, making […]

Asus, who has been doing so much stuff right lately, has begun dipping its toes into the sound card game. I understand the onboard audio on their motherboards is supposed to be the best, but as with onboard video, that’s not saying much. So Asus has separated their sound unit and beefed it up, making it a PCI-e interface card. It’s a full-featured, high-quality card now, supporting EAX 5.0 and DirectSound as well as various Dolby features. It also has a front panel audio header, something which my Audigy 2 doesn’t appear to have, at least I couldn’t find it. Man, that would be handy.

The important thing is that this is a legitimate and well-priced substitute to Creative’s extensive line of cards which constitute a de facto monopoly on the sound card business. I’m going to try to get hold of one of these things, and I’ll let you know how it stacks up compared with the title-holder.

Asus Xonar [via HotHardware]

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Click to see full-sized image. Not sure what purpose it serves, but Firefox 3 on OS X changes the names of jpg files to jfif, which is the umbrella filetype for JPEG encoded files. As a blogger and collector of pornography involving goats and fish, I find this very problematic. You can, however, create an Automator […]

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Not sure what purpose it serves, but Firefox 3 on OS X changes the names of jpg files to jfif, which is the umbrella filetype for JPEG encoded files. As a blogger and collector of pornography involving goats and fish, I find this very problematic. You can, however, create an Automator task to repair your JFIF files on the fly. I’ve attached it to a downloads folder and it seems to work fairly well.

1. Open Automator and choose Custom.

2. Type “rename” into the search box.

3. Drag “Rename Finder Items” into the grey area to the right. Select “Don’t Add” to the prompt that appears.

4. Change the first drop down box to “Replace Text”.

5. In the Find box type in “.jfif” and in the Replace box type in “.jpg”. Make sure the Ignore Case box is checked.

6. Click on the File menu and choose Save as Plug-in… Type in “JFIF to JPEG” and make sure the Finder option is chosen in the drop down box.

Now whenever you need to change a bunch of images to .jpeg, just select them in the Finder, right click, select “More”, select “Automator”, and click on “JFIF to JPEG.”

I have it set as a folder action, but you can also add it to your right click menu. Either way works.

How to Fix the JFIF Bug in Firefox 3 Beta [Wired]

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Sony, in their infinite wisdom, is offering a way to remove all of the crapware and “extras” they stuff onto their PCs and notebooks. It’s called Fresh Start and, like a douche, it costs money (namely $50) and basically blows bubbles up your jacksy. I found the option on the VGN-TZ2000 Configure-to-Order Vaio TZ and it […]

Sony, in their infinite wisdom, is offering a way to remove all of the crapware and “extras” they stuff onto their Computers and notebooks. It’s called Fresh Start and, like a douche, it costs money (namely $50) and basically blows bubbles up your jacksy.

I found the option on the VGN-TZ2000 Configure-to-Order Vaio TZ and it also requires Windows Vista Business, sort of a “proof of serious work” insurance that Sony requires because they’re assholes. When I was testing laptops full time we used to have to remove all the Sony crapware before we could even run most of the benchmarks. This proves proves that out of the box Sony’s products are a mess and, to add insult to injury and for the low, low additional price of $50 you, too, can get a working Sony laptop.

SonyStyle

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Kids looking to “make it” as a graphic designer (good luck!) might want to consider heading down to Orlando next month for the Photoshop World Conference. It’s a gathering of Photoshop’s best and brightest, as well as those who employ them. So, you go down there, futz around for a bit, exchange e-mail addresses and […]

Children looking to “make it” as a graphic designer (good luck!) may want to consider heading down to Orlando next month for the Photoshop World Conference. It’s a gathering of Photoshop’s best and brightest, as well as those who employ them. So, you go down there, futz around for a bit, exchange e-mail addresses and hope that one day one of those folks offer you a job. Sounds like CES and SXSW.

Students should pay particular attention to a couple of deals currently on tap for the show. Show a proper student ID (here’s mine! feel free to pirate it in order to get in) and you can get into the three-day conference for $150; regular price is $700, so you’re totally saving a couple of dollars.

You can also download, for free, a pass to the Tech Expo part of the show, which is a little more general in its goals. Companies like Canon and Microsoft will be there telling you all about the next generation of things… coming soon!

Photoshop world runs from April 2-4 and the Tech Expo goes from April 3-4.

Photoshop World

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The CDMA version (runs on Sprints EV-DO network) of the Shift has finally landed stateside and Amazon has it on sale for $1,500. Check out Laptop’s video review above or get all the gritty details here. If you just want the final verdict then we have that for you, too. The Shift X9000 is a valiant […]

The CDMA version (runs on Sprints EV-DO network) of the Shift has finally landed stateside and Amazon has it on sale for $1,500. Check out Laptop’s video review above or get all the gritty details here. If you just want the final verdict then we have that for you, too.

The Shift X9000 is a valiant first effort from HTC. It provides the ideal surfing experience of any UMPC, and we like the design of this device to both the OQO model 02 (whose smaller 5-inch display requires a fair amount of zooming) and the Samsung Q1 Ultra (which has an inconveniently split keyboard). SnapVue technology also gives the Shift X9000 an edge over the competition.

The keyboard still isn’t as good as what you’ll find on 7-inch notebooks that cost $1,100 less, and the somewhat sluggish CPU sometimes has a hard time keeping up with Vista, especially with multiple applications open. And you’ll definitely want to spring for a second battery (once that becomes available) if you’ll be using the Shift X9000 away from the office frequently.

For a couple hundred dollars more than the Shift X9000, you can get an ultraportable notebook like the MacBook Air, with a full-size keyboard and much faster CPU, provided you prefer a more massive 13-inch display and don’t mind toting an extra pound. Or for $50 less than the Shift X9000 you could get the Asus W7S-B1B, which is even faster but weighs an even heftier 4.3 pounds.

Ultimately, the Shift X9000 is a tweener. It doesn’t have the speed or ergonomic comfort to be your primary Personal computer, and $1,500 is a lot to spend on a secondary machine. Most mainstream consumers will be happy with a Linux-powered laptop like the Eee Personal computer that costs less than $400, or they might want to wait for Windows-powered models hitting the market later this spring from Asus and other brands that’ll cost less than $600. Nevertheless, well-heeled executives who are sick of squinting at their smart phones may be won over by the Shift X9000’s instant-on push e-mail, speedy mobile broadband, and responsive touchscreen.

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