Microsoft Updates Zune Pass, Now Even More Awesome
November 21st, 2008Recently Microsoft updated the terms of the Zune Pass music subscription. In the past the $15 per month service offered unlimited access to most of the Zune Marketplace’s music collection on a subscription basis. This meant that if the user stopped paying, the music stopped playing. Being an avid music listener, always trying out new artists and styles, the subscription scheme appealed to me. I didn’t like the idea of not owning the music, but I figured if people paid for satellite radio, what’s so strange about paying for subscription music?
With a lot of people with whom I talked, it all came back to the lack of ownership. Microsoft addressed that issue earlier this week. Under the new agreement the Zune Pass is still $15 per month and still offers unlimited access to most of the Zune Marketplace’s music collection, but now every month Zune pass users get to keep 10 songs… as in own. Best of all, currently 90% of the Zune Marketplace’s music collection is DRM free, available as 320Kbps MP3 files. This was exciting news for me, and I just now tested it out. I am very impressed with the results.
First I decided to buy the song that I was listening to. 
Pritchard resident makes boomy noises, Virginia Tech falls into panic
November 13th, 2008I just got an email from the VT Alert system with the following message:
Policeare investigating reported sounds of gunshots in Pritchard Hall. Building is secured. No access in or out. Police searching room by room.
Virginia Tech PD and BlacsburgPD are investigating reported sounds of gunshots in Pritchard Hall. Building is secured. No access in or out. Police searching room by room. Two people reported hearing sounds like gunfire at about 1 pm.
The message is clearly segmented into two parts. The first, scary part being the short version which I have discovered was displayed on the Tech website as well as on the leaderboard clocks that are in all of the classrooms. I assume that text block is what was sent via text message to students’ cell phones. (I have yet to receive it.)
I voted, and so should you!
November 4th, 2008Best of all, my tablet now got a new sticker out of the deal.
Websites I Frequent (and content for all!)
November 4th, 2008I thought I’d make a little post of the content that I consume online. Here it is!
Windows 7 Screenshots from PDC
October 28th, 2008I was browsing on10.net, and I came across this post with a list of new features included in Windows 7, Microsoft’s up-and-coming operating system to replace Windows Vista, along with screenshots. The screenshots look promising, though I’d like to try out that task bar before I pass judgment on it. From what I can tell there will be even more rich features for developers to plug into. I really like Windows Vista, but Windows 7 is shaping up to be as Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft said, “Vista, but better”.
For more information, I highly recommend reading this article: http://on10.net/blogs/sarahintampa/New-Features-In-Windows-7/
FRI Version 1.8.0.0
October 19th, 2008FRI version 1.8.0.0 is here! This version of FRI brings Community Ratings, a way to find great ROMs in your collection that you haven’t played before. This version also contains underlying updates to how FRI scans for ROMs, resulting in a better user experience. This release’s code is closer than ever to being able to be ported to Media Center for a Windows Media Center counterpart to FRI.
Download FRI version 1.8.0.0 here
Thanks to FlotsamX for providing feedback as a beta tester, and Vimm for providing me access to his website’s user ratings.
Laptop Sticker (DecalGirl)
October 17th, 2008When I got my tablet pc for college I wanted to get a sticker for the back of the lid. After browsing a few websites I finally settled on a blue flame print from decalgirl.com. The whole thing was $30 including shipping, for a custom size to fit my notebook perfectly.
The sticker came in a flat envelope with a piece of cardboard in it to prevent the sticker from being damaged. 
What do three Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB drives look like?
October 16th, 2008This! 
…Storage is fun.
Sans Digital TowerRAID TR4M 4 Bay Enclosure
October 16th, 2008I began to run out of slots inside my computer for hard drives, so I decided to get an external enclosure. I had a few requirements: The enclosure would have to store at least 4 drives, make each drive individually visible to the operating system, and be eSATA compatible. The TowerRAID TR4M meets all of those requirements… it even comes with 2-port eSATA card.
Here’s what the box looks like: 
MOAR STORAGE!
October 13th, 2008I just got a 1.5TB hard drive in the mail today, along with a 4-drive eSATA enclusure and eSATA card. More on that later, but just look at Computer viewed through Explorer.
Quiet Vista: How to disable the Windows startup sound
October 13th, 2008If you want to be polite in a quiet place while using a computer, you will mute the sound, but what if you need to restart your notebook there? For mobile computers that have a hardware sound controller, preventing the startup sound from breaking the silence is easy, but what about the rest of us? For this problem, Windows has an easy option to disable the startup sound. How nice!
First open the control panel.
Hokies, here is how to get on VT-Wireless
October 8th, 2008If you’re not a student at Virginia Tech, this blog post is useless to you.
First, navigate to http://netcert.cns.vt.edu/. You will need to log in.
Hamburgermania! Yes, even the cake.
October 2nd, 2008Today was Hamburgermania day at D2, the main all-you-can-eat diner on the Virginia Tech campus. Yes, there were Rueben burgers, Athens burgers, classic burgers, and more. So impressive is the Hokie determination and spirit, that even the cake was themed.
MARVEL!
Suck it, UVA. 
Ultimate Ears: Pretty Ultimate (Super.Fi 3 Studio)
September 29th, 2008Some months ago I got myself a pair of Ultimate Ears brand Super.Fi 3 Studio headphones. I took pictures meaning to do a blog post about them, and here it finally is.
Packaging shot: 
FRI: Community Ratings!
September 28th, 2008Thanks to Vimm of vimm.net, I am adding the ability to view “community ratings” to FRI. This means that if you simply want to play a new game that is good, just sort by community rating and select one from the top of the list. Inversely you could also easily select the worst game…
