The Sign In screen:

Get Social:

Welcome screen:

The MySpace login screen (haven’t tried Failbooks):

The new WLM full view, featuring news from your myspace or failbook contacts, photos, statuses etc:

And the compact version (very similar to the old one except I find it cleaner):

The conversation windows (note they are tabbed by default):

New emoticons (the old one were nicer IMO, maybe I’m just used to them):

New sharing in the conversation:

And that’s about it, I think it’s what’s changed. I didn’t see the OneCare options for antivirus checking of received files so maybe that’s been removed (I hope so).

I also can’t seem to find where to change my nick (as you can see it’s nasal Kovac which was my nick + my surname and I’m really not sure where to change this, no option in the options but a button that connects me to the profiles.live.com page… whooot).

So that’s about it, download it and try it out. There’s also the apatch patch ready for it, which I’m trying to install now.

Comments?

I’m just installing the Messenger and Mail beta, to see what’s been changed and play around a bit, as I like playing with beta toys

If you would like to try them, you can visit the Essentials page and download the installer from there.

Let’s play!

New Xbox 360 gets official at $299, shipping today, looks angular and ominous (video hands-on!)

At first we were doubtful that a edgy box appearing in a little Flash ad from Italy last night could be legit, but Microsoft just got real with the new Xbox 360. (That’s all it’s officially called — just “the new Xbox 360.”) It’ll launch today priced for $299, while the old Elite will stick around for $249 and the Arcade will drop to $149. The new box is crazy sexy in glossy black with touch-sensitive buttons, and Microsoft says it’s “whisper quiet,” with one large fan instead of two — the new 45nm chipset undoubtedly generates less heat to begin with. On the features front, it’s got integrated 2.4GHz 802.11n WiFi, five USB ports, and 250GB of storage on a removable hard drive, although it’s not a standard drive or same drive as the old console, and older Memory Units won’t work, either. Upgraders can use a USB-to-Xbox hard drive connector cable to migrate to the new box, however. There’s also a “custom Kinect port” on the back that looks like an HTC-style ExtUSB port, and it also seems like the power supply has moved inside the case, which is a welcome change. New Xbox 360 units are shipping to retailers now, with availability expected later this week, and MS conference attendees are actually getting theirs shipped today.

If you’re in Europe, don’t fret, as yours is coming soon. Microsoft’s official Xbox Twitter account has confirmed the console hits there on July 16.

Update: We just got the official fact sheet, check it after the break. Oh, and we’re calling it the “Stealthbox” to keep all the models straight. It just feels right, you know?

Update 2: According to a Microsoft representative, the Xbox 360 Original will still be sold while there’s stock, but they’re not making any more of them. Once they’re gone, they’re gone — and we’d assume a new $199 variant of the new design will eventually be released to fill the void.

Read the whole article at engadget.

function generate_qr($url, $size ='150', $imgsize = false, $EC_level='L', $margin='0') {
    $url = urlencode($url);
    return '<img src="http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?chs='.$size.'x'.$size.&cht=qr&chld='.$EC_level.'|'.$margin.'&chl='.$url.'" alt="QR code" width="'.($imgsize ? $imgsize : $size).'" height="'.($imgsize ? $imgsize : $size).'" />';
}

You call it like this:

<?php echo generate_qr('http://blog.zurka.us'); ?>

And get something like this:

Try pointing your favorite code reader at it!

PS: I just noticed that it doesn’t work well because of the dark background, try it here.

If you use the JW Player™ on a site that: Runs ads; promotes products or services; or is owned by a corporation, then you should purchase a license. Plus, a license will allow you to remove the JW Player™ watermark.

So please, support player development and order a license today, using discount code jun10dis60. 60% off until June 30th.

So here it is, the solution to almost of your problems with your banned xbox360! A very simple way to unblock the hard disk and use your xbox360 for whatever thing you’d like, EXCEPT for xbox live.

The solution came from microsoft itself and it’s actually a dashboard update, so you can be sure it works (I tested it myself and it works like a charm!). And one more thing, after updating you will be able to use your usb sticks as memory for your xbox. It will support up to 2 * 16gb usb sticks.

So, what to do? It’s easy:

1. download the update
2. extract the content into the root of your usb stick (or burn a dvd dl) – do not modify the directory tree, just copy the content into the root (it should be a map called something like $SystemUpdate)
3. restart your console
4. you should get a popup asking if you want to update, click yes
5. wait a couple of seconds and your console should reboot
6. that’s it!

This is it, six simple steps to using your console once more!

Remember: you still won’t have access to XBOX LIVE!

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Although its name suggests perhaps even grander capabilities, Windows enthusiasts are excited over the discovery of a hidden “GodMode” feature that lets users access all of the operating system’s control panels from within a single folder.
By creating a new folder in Windows 7 and renaming it with a certain text string at the end, users are able to have a single place to do everything from changing the look of the mouse pointer to making a new hard-drive partition.
The trick is also said to work in Windows Vista, although some are warning that although it works fine in 32-bit versions of Vista, it can cause 64-bit versions of that operating system to crash.

To enter “GodMode,” one need only create a new folder and then rename the folder to the following:

GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

Once that is done, the folder’s icon will change to resemble a control panel and will contain dozens of control options.

Read more

Congrats!

Check out this link and learn what is the best use for browser popups.. a nice game of Pong!

Play pong with your browser and remember to turn popups on