Mac users revel in the retro goodness that is 8 bit imaging. Gizmodo has introduced us to the latest in retro geek tech. It is a browser that displays the internet in whole new 8-bit awesomeness.

You can download it from here.

Ever been doing some work at the command line when you realized… it would be much easier if I could just use the mouse to the task? A command later, you’ll have a window open at the place where you are.

This trick works well in more than one operating system, so we’ll detail how to do it in every way we know how.

Open a file browser in Windows

We actually covered this before when we told you how to open an explorer window command prompt in the current directory, but we will briefly review: Simply type the following command in your command prompt:

explorer .

Note: You can actually just type “Start”. Place.

And you will see a file browser window put in the same directory as your previous to. And yes, this screenshot is from Vista, but it works the same in every version of Windows.

If it was not good enough, you should really read how you can navigate through dialogs Open File Save / with just the keyboard, this is a Stupid Geek Trick!

Open a file browser for Linux

For this exercise we’ll assume that you are using Gnome under Linux flavor like Ubuntu, because it is the most common. From your terminal window, just type the following command:

Nautilus.

And the next thing you know, you’ll have a file browser window open at the current location. You’ll see some type of error message at the prompt, but you can pretty much ignore that.

You can also use “gnome-open .” if you want.

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If you are a Windows Media Center user, you’ll really want to check out Media Browser. The Media Browser plug-in for Windows Media Center takes your digital media files and displays them in a visually appealing, user friendly interface, complete with images and metadata.

Requirements

• Windows 7 or Vista
• Microsoft .Net 3.5 Framework

Preparing your Media Files

For Media Browser to be able to automatically download images and metadata for your media libraries, your files will have to be correctly named. For example, if you have an mp4 file of the movie Batman Begins, it needs to be named Batman Begins.mp4. It cannot be Batmanbegins.mp4 or Batman-begins.mp4. Otherwise, it’s unlikely that Media Browser will display images and metadata. If you find some of your files aren’t pulling cover art or metadata, double-check the official title of the media on a site like IMBD.com.

TV Show files

TV show files are handled a bit differently. Every TV series in your collection must have a main folder with the show’s name and individual subfolders for each season.

Here is an example of folder structure and supported naming conventions.

• TV Shows\South Park\Season 1\s01e01 – episode 1.mp4
• TV Shows\South Park\Season 1\South Park 1×01 – episode 1.mp4
• TV Shows\South Park\Season 1\101 – episode 1.mp4

Note: You need to always have a Season 1 folder even if the show only has only one season. If you have several seasons of a particular show, but don’t happen to have Season 1, simply create a blank season 1 folder. Without a season 1 folder, other seasons will not display properly.

Installation and Configuration

Download and run the latest Media Browser .msi file by taking the defaults. (Download link below) When you reach the final window, leave the “Configure initial settings” box checked, and click “Finish.”

You may get a pop up window informing you that folder permissions are not set correctly for Media Browser. Click “Yes.”

Adding Your Media

The Browser Configuration Tool should have opened automatically. If not, you can open it by going to Start > All Programs > Media Browser > Media Browser Configuration Wizard.

To begin adding media files, click “Add.”

Browse for a folder that contains media files and click “OK.” Here we are adding a folder with a group of movie files.

You can add multiple folders to each media library. For example, if you have movie files stored in 4 or 5 different folders, you can add them all under a single library in Media Browser.  To add additional folders, click the “Add” button on the right side under your currently added folder.

The “Add” button to the left will add an additional Media Library, such as one for TV Shows. When you are finished, close out of the Media Browser Configuration Tool.

Open Windows Media Center. You will see Media Browser tile on the main interface. Click to open it.

When you initially open Media Browser, you will be prompted to run the initial configuration. Click “OK.”

You will see a few general configuration options. The important option is the Metadata. Leave this option checked (it is by default) if you wish to pull images & other metadata for your media.

When finished, click “Continue,” and then “OK” to restart Media Browser.

When you re-enter Media Browser you’ll see your Media Categories listed below, and recently added files in the main display. Click on a Media Library to view the files.

Click “View” at the top to check out some of the different display options to choose from. Below you see can “Detail.” This presents your videos in a list to the left. When you hover over a title, the synopsis and cover art is displayed to the right.

“Cover Flow” displays your titles in a right to left format with mirror cover art.

“Thumb Strip” displays your titles in a strip along the bottom with a synopsis, image, and movie data above.

Configurations

Settings and options can be changed through the Media Browser Configuration Tool, or directly in Media Browser by clicking on the “Wrench” at the bottom right of the main Media Browser page. Certain settings may only be available in one location or the other. Some will be available in both places.

Plug-ins and Themes

Media Browser features a variety of Plug-ins and Themes that can add optional customization and slick visual appeal. To install plug-ins or themes, open the Media Browser Configuration Tool. Click on the “plug-ins” tab, and then the “More Plug-ins…” button.

Note: Clicking on “Advanced” at the top will reveal several additional configuration tabs.

Browse the list of plug-ins on the left. When you find want you like, select it and then click “Install.”

When the install is complete, you’ll see them listed under “Installed Plug-ins.”

To activate any installed theme, click on the “Display” tab. Select it from the Visual Theme drop down list. Close out of the Media Browser Configuration Tool when finished.

Some themes, such as the “Diamond” theme shown below, include optional views and settings which can be accessed through a configuration button at the top of the screen.

Clicking on the movie gives you additional images and information such as a synopsis, runtime, IMDB rating…

… and even actors and character names.

All that’s left is to hit “Play” when you’re ready to watch.

Conclusion

Media Browser is a fantastic plug-in that brings an entirely different level of media management and aesthetics to Windows Media Center. There are numerous additional customizations and configurations we have not covered here such as adding film trailers, music support, and integrating Recorded TV. Media Browser will run on both Windows 7 and Vista. Extenders are also supported but may require additional configuration.

Download Media Browser

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The end of Browser war is here. The news is out that Microsoft will now push out a update on 1st of march, (I am guessing to the EU people) that will allow them to choose from a set of 12 pre chosen browsers that they would like to install. The option will only be available to people who are currently using Internet Explorer I presume since this update won’t affect those who are already using a different browser. The update is for Windows XP, Vista and 7. The full story can be found here on BBC. Europeans offered browser choices.

A Browser War in first place, seriously?

Back in the days.
Till now I don’t get it why was there a war in the first place. I understand a need for such stuff back in the days when the operating system was still very basic and different companies were involved in making different applications for that operating system at a certain cost. There weren’t many applications that time anyway and the only kinds of applications out there were limited to business use. And since these applications were so exclusive and hard to make, they cost a lot and thus established these application specific companies.

Now?
Well now it’s all different. So many people use so many different kinds of applications. Many of them free to use and distribute. If one has to also buy an application, the person has so many options. Making an application is so cheap now and any programmer; with a bit of collaboration with another script writer can make one.
It applies to browser as well since it is merely an application now. The most used and important application I would say.

It’s not Microsoft’s Fault. Why not Apple?
And Microsoft is not going to be just an Operating system company either. Every company has to expand some way or another. By making different new products. Since the operating system is by Microsoft itself, it has a right to bundle anything it wants to with it. I mean if it’s your product you are trying to sell somebody, why wouldn’t give away your free/another product with less price alongside to increase its popularity.
I am sorry these companies such as Netscape and Opera started of their careers as a web browser company. Admit it, it’s not because of Microsoft that they are now going bust, it’s because of their failed idea. They would not have thought that such stuff would become so widely used as it this day and so many programmers would spring up that could create applications in a matter of minutes.

They should not have won this war in my opinion. The only reason why I think they won is the bad Microsoft image that has been around for a while. Why it has been bad is another story. I am not going to refer to that however because the only thing I am talking about here is the browser war. And talking about Microsoft, why isn’t Apple in the courts. Just because Microsoft is so wide spread, doesn’t mean you pick on it all the time. I actually feel sorry for them at times. True I got my woes against them in certain issues, but in this case, I feel sorry for the giant.

Post in comments if you think this was fair.

Regards,
Kaiser2011