Spot a fake: how to tell if your SDHC card is genuine

we've all seen the auctions/'deals' on SDHC cards.  16GB class 6 no-name, generic for $30, etc.  however more and more often we are seeing name brand memory being knocked off on ebay.

most memory formats have a standard and in turn a standard way of identifying the card is what it says it is (with either logos or specs). 

today, i'll just explain how to spot a fake SDHC card, perhaps not a fake but a non-certified SDHC card (and most likely one that will prob not work as claimed either; speed / capapcity-wise).

 the SD Card Assocation (yes, there is an association for sd cards.. hehe) states that in order for  a card to be certified by them as a true SDHC card, it must have both an SDHC card logo and also the class speed logo ( http://www.sdcard.org/home ).

so there ya go, hope that helps ya spot that knockoff sdhc card or even fake namebrand one.

PS3 firmware v2.20 update out in the wild!

downloading as i type.. hehe..

supposed changes/additions to the 2.20 update (from sony's site):

Copying "Playlist" in (Music) and (Photo) to the PSP® portable entertainment system is available
 

Provides support for BD Profile 2.0 (BD-Live) for Blu-ray Disc^TM
 

Resume play* can now be used on a Blu-ray Disc or DVD even if the PLAYSTATION 3 has been turned off or the disc has been ejected.  However, there are some discs on which resume play cannot be used.

* A feature for starting playback from the scene where the video was stopped previously.
 

DivX content that exceeds 2GB can now be played.  Also, subtitles can now be displayed for DivX content.

My eeExperience (video)

as promised in my previous post, here is a somewhat longer video of me and my eee...  my eeExperience....

i have  an Asus 4G Eee PC with 2GB DDR2, 16GB SDHC class 6 running my customized XP Prof lite version (fat32 fs, temp hacks to sdhc card, apps running off of sdhc).

hit the jump to see the embedded youtube vid.

portable geek goodness: me and my Eee

well, i am just gonna come out and say it: i love my eee! 

why you ask? well, let see....

i can be up and going in less than 30secs; no, not at my login screen but up and ie open and reading my rss feeds.. :)

i can watch my tv/dvds anywhere using either available wifi or my phones edge data connection and bt dongle (laggy but still works) and my sony locationfree setup (eee can handle video streaming pretty well)...

i can fire up IE and head over to netflix.com and stream a movie...

i can run most programs off a 16GB SDHC card w/little lag..

i can run windows xp lite w/o a page file and boot faster than most $2k desktop systems from off to desktop... or blow their doors off running the custom Linux OS.

i can podcast from anywhere w/the builtin webcam and windows movie maker...

i can do anything the other computers can do but faster and cheaper...

can you?  :)

catching my breath...

wow! who would have guessed that begining a rollout of new hardware at my 'real' job would be so busy? hehehe.  i apologize for the lack of updates last week; i had a ton of great posts brewing in my head but didn't get the time to actually materialize them.  

this week i hope to follow up to my previous PS3 vs HTPC post with the HTPC look.  I finally got my Vista Ultimate up and going on that machine and now think that will make for a more fair comparison.

also, expect to see an Eee pc related posts on how I am using mine and a few useful windows xp tweaks for the Eee.

and finally, i hope to have a few 'breaking' pieces where i hope to dismantle my PS3 (which is now out of warranty and still having  a few freezing problems; want to see if problems are due to blocked airflow in case or dust/smoke) and also plan to take apart my new work Dell Latitude XT tablet.  Now if only work would slow down to let me get these babies going!

geek porn: my Asus Eee PC 4G quick look (video)

well, i blogged about this fun little baby a while back and finally broke down and got one.  actually, i sold my TC1100 and in turn was able to turn around and get me a Galaxy Black 4G Eee PC along w/2GB of DDR2 and a 16GB SDHC Class 6 card and a mini-bluetooth 2.0 usb dongle.   Hit the jump to read more and take a look at my Eee PC 4G unboxing.  :)

Tech-Recipes Playstation 3 Tutorial Round-up!

well, i figured i'd rap up my current Playstation3 blog rapid-fire action with a roundup of current PS3 related guides/recipes over at techrx

• PS3 - How to convert movie DVDs to MP4 for playback on Playstation3


• PS3 : How to backup PS3 game save files to memory stick / sd / cf


• PS3 : Zoom In/Out, Go Forward/Backward in Photo Album Slideshow and Tips


• PS3 - Upgrade Harddrive Notes and Tips


• PS3 - How to use Bluetooth Remote as Controller in Games


• PS3 - How to do a factory / hard reset


• PS3 - Change visual player screens when playing audio files


• PS3 - Music / Photo / Video Tips and Tricks (prepping, copying, playing)


• PS3 - Create video thumbnail of downloaded movie/trailer/video

enjoy!

Livingroom Standoff: My Playstation3 vs My HTPC, Part 1 (PS3 video)

This entry is one that i've been waiting to do for quite some time now.  Today i'll will be pitting my PS3 up against my Home Theater PC(well, mine is a Frankenstein'd laptop w/o lcd, hehe).  

Sony has boasted about the PS3's multimedia and computer-ish functionality since its launch in 2006, however can it really stand-up to a similarly priced HTPC?  Does the PS3 live up to its multimedia hype? 

Lets find out, read on for more and see the embedded video.

taking it to the next level: upgrading my ps3 hdd to a 250gb in less than 10 mins (video)

as many who frequent my blog will attest to, i love my ps3 not only for the gaming but also the video and music abilities.  recently i have been experimenting with the idea of my ps3 being my main hub and possibly replacve my htpc too (later post coming on this!) and realized the first thing i had to do was to get an even bigger hard drive.  previously i had upgraded from the factory 60gb to a seagate 160gb.  after getting about 20  movies on my ps3, i was getting pretty low on space; under 40gb since i also had music on there too and i also wanted to put on the 15gbs of other video i have too.

after reading on the playstation blog about the hard drive upgrades (wanted to verify the max size the ps3 can take internally, that sounded a bit dirty.. hehe), decided to go with a 250gb one.  i originally had a good deal on one over at tigerdirect but they messed up my shipping and in turn had it resent back to their warehouse and i in turn didn't get the drive for a measly $100 and yet still charged me the 2day shipping?? (they'll be hearing from me this week). 

so i figured i'd just go to best buy and get one since the prices were in line with what was available online when shipping was factored in. 

prior to upgrading the drive, i did a complete system backup via a usb ext harddrive (be sure that it is formatted in FAT32 file system and NOT NTFS; the ps3 will not read an NTFS drive).  the upgrade itself is cake and takes less than 10 mins to do however my system backup took about 1 1/2 hrs to complete (mainly my music).  keep reading for the embedded video of the upgrade itself!

Handbrake.. how i love thee...

yup, what was i thinking not taking a look at this app earlier when davak mentioned it in his blog....   handbrake is an all in one video converter program.  its for both apples and pcs and does basically all the major file types/device types from iphone to psp to ps3 to apple tv to x360 to quicktime..

anywho, handbrake is able to convert a dvd to a ps3 mp4 file in about 2 hours on my setup (2gb memory, athlon 64 dual core) the quality is very good and the consistency and stability is topnotch vs ps3 video 9.  i have not had the av sync problems i had w/PS3 video 9 (very annoying when the audio would get behind the video by a minute towards the end of some movies)

now if only i could put an even bigger hdd in my ps3! :) oh handbrake.. how i love thee.. :P

the parting of ways: selling of my HP TC1100 tablet and getting my eee on...

well... its official...  i sold my TC1100 tablet pc today on eBay.  my work did decide to go the route of the Dell Latitude XT tablets (heck yea!) and in turn i'll be getting one from work so i figured i'd sell my ole sturdy, fun baby; my tc1100.  she's been a great companion but lately has been sitting on my desk just gathering dust since i have a vaio in the living room and an XT at my desk at work (along w/3 other laptops or parts of them and 2 desktops; gotta love hardware rollouts and testing!)

i still wish other tablet makers would try the TC1100s combination slate/convertible design.  ahh, the  memories i've had with my TC1100.. installing of vista and ubuntu; rekindling my love of ubuntu, the failed attempts of OSX, perfection of usb booting and ghosting.. 

(pours some beer on the floor) for my tablet..  :P

so, now what do i get w/that money from selling my tablet?  i was thinking of getting my camera since that would be coming out here in the next couple weeks (Sony Cybershot DSC-T300) but realized that i will be doing a TON of traveling for work in the next couple of months and also will be going to the WES 2008 conference too.  so i decided that i needed a good mobile, surfing and basic word processing/writing/blogging computer.