A few months back, Valve announced some initial details of Steam’s debut in the version of Portal 2. The long-awaited Portal 2, which pits players in a physics-based game against the “GLaDOS” artificial intelligence was released on April 19th for PC. There have been many reviews out there for portal 2 and I have decided to link some here. Personally I love the Portal series and it is definately worth the buy.

Portal 2 Review | PC Gamer

A talk by two gamers as they discuss the single and co-op versions of the game. So far this is the best review out there. Bit too long though, worth checking out.

Quote

We’ll definitely remember all of Portal 2 fondly, though, and as one of the best-written and finely polished gaming experiences in recent memory.

Review Link

Portal 2 Review | The Escapist

A video review for those who do not like to read through articles. There is a written review as well

Quote

The gameplay does carry its weight. The levels may not seem as devious or as interesting (perhaps owing to familiarity with the underlying portal mechanic), but the puzzles and environments are sufficiently varied and interesting enough to make the trip back down into Aperture’s version of hell seem fun. And with a host of new environmental hazards and helps, Portal 2 definitely delivers on “new and interesting.”

Review Link

Portal 2 Review | Gaurdian.co.uk

I am including this review only because I am a guardian fan and is probably the most critical review. Although at the end it sums it up well with this quote.

Quote

Valve has created a masterpiece in Portal 2. The depth of content, the mind-bending mechanics and fantastic experience are almost certain to satisfy ardent fans of the first game; and to all newcomers to the series, it’s as simple as this: prepare to have your mind blown. Over and over again.

Review Link

Check them out and if you like it, go for it. Highly recommended Get it from Amazon now

Wouldn’t be easier if you could control your PC from your bed. You do not need Infrared Receivers/USB Gadgets and remotes for this purpose. Instead all you need is your iPhone or iPod Touch and a wifi connection to your PC.

What You Need:

• PC (The Software is available for Windows, Mac and Linux. This tutorial covers Windows)
• PC HippoVNC server software. (Linux users can use the included VNC server software)
• HippoRemote Lite app. (Available from the Apple App Store)
• A WiFi router.

Installing the HippoVNC Server

Download the free HippoVNC Server file. (Link Included at the bottom). Choose a folder to extract the file.

And run the WinVNC.exe file.

You may get a Security Warning. Click Allow Access.

Important Step: In the Settings Page, enter a password for the VNC.

Now you will need to obtain the IP address of your host machine. This is only needed if you do not have iTunes installed on your PC. Easiest way to find your IP address is by hovering your mouse over the HippoRemote Lite icon int he System Tray.



Note: If you have iTunes installed, HippoRemote can automatically detect the IP address.

Running HippoVNC as a Service

If you want  HippoVNC to run every time your PC boots, you can run it as a service.  To run HippoVNC as a service, right click on the System Tray icon and select Install Service.

Now connect your iPhone/iPod Touch to your WiFi network. Then open the HippoRemote Lite App and select Add Connection.

Type in the IP Address for host and the password you entered earlier on the HippoVNC Settings window. Tap Done when finished.

You should now see your computer’s IP address appear under Saved Connections. Select it to connect to your PC.

HippoRemote Settings screen will pop up where you can make certain adjustments such as tracking and scrolling speed. Tap the Trackpad button at the top left to switch to the trackpad.

Note: Some options, such as setting macros, are only available in the full (commercial) version of HippoRemote.

Now you’re ready. To move the cursor on the computer screen, flick or drag your finger across the trackpad.

The buttons at the top act as right and left mouse buttons. Simply tap them for right and left mouse clicks.

Selecting the Keyboard button will bring up the onscreen keyboard mode to enter text.

The Split Screen button will give you both the keyboard and trackpad at the same time.

Conclusion

HippoRemote application is a cool way to Control your PC. Just make sure your computer screen is big enough for you to see while you far away sitting on your bed. Works like a charm for me (24″ Wide screen here) when i am watching TV shows/Movies and need to put on next one from my bed itself.

Leave your comments below.

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HippoRemote Lite

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You’ve loaded the Ubuntu Live CD to recover files from a failed system but where do you store the recovered files? We’ll show you how to store them on external hard drives, on the same PC, a Windows home network, and other places.

There are many ways to transfer files you can access from a Ubuntu Live CD to a location that a stable machine Windows can not access them.

We’ll go through several methods, from each section from the Ubuntu desktop.

Use a healthy hard disk

If your computer has more than one hard disk or your hard drive is healthy and you’re in Ubuntu for reasons of non-payment, then access your hard drive is easy as pie, even if the hard disk is formatted for Windows.

To access a disk drive, it must first be mounted. To mount a floppy drive healthy, you simply select it in the Places menu in the top left of the screen. You must identify your hard disk size.

Clicking on the appropriate hard drive mounts it, and opens it in a file browser.

You can now move files to the hard drive by drag and drop or copy and paste, which are both done the same way they are done in Windows.

Once a hard drive or other external storage device is mounted, it will be displayed in the directory / media. To see the list of storage devices currently installed, navigate to / media by clicking on the file system in a Windows file browser, then double-clicking the folder media..

Right now, our media folder contains links to the hard drive, which Ubuntu has assigned a terribly uninformative label, and the PLoP Boot Manager CD that is currently in the CD-ROM drive.

Connect a USB Hard Drive or Flash Drive

A USB external hard drive gives you the advantage of portability, and is still large enough to store a deposit of entire hard disk, if necessary. Flash drives are also very easy to connect, if they are limited in how far they can store.

When you plug a USB hard disk or flash drive in, Ubuntu should automatically detect and mount it. It can even open a file browser automatically. Since it was installed, you will also see the show on the desktop and the folder / media.

Once it’s been mounted, you can access it and store files on it like you would any other folder in Ubuntu.

If, for whatever reason, it doesn’t mount automatically, click on Places in the top-left of your screen and select your USB device. If it does not show up in the Places list, then you may need to format your USB drive.

To properly remove the USB drive when you’re done moving files, right click on the desktop icon or the folder in /media and select Safely Remove Drive. If you’re not given that option, then Eject or Unmount will effectively do the same thing.

Connect to a Windows PC on your Local Network

If you have another PC or a laptop connected through the same router (wired or wireless) then you can transfer files over the network relatively quickly.

To do this, we will share one or more folders from the machine booted up with the Ubuntu Live CD over the network, letting our Windows PC grab the files contained in that folder. As an example, we’re going to share a folder on the desktop called ToShare.

Right-click on the folder you want to share, and click Sharing Options. A Folder Sharing window will pop up.

Check the box labeled Share this folder. A window will pop up about the sharing service. Click the Install service button.

Some files will be downloaded, and then installed. When they’re done installing, you’ll be appropriately notified.

You will be prompted to restart your session. Don’t worry, this won’t actually log you out, so go ahead and press the Restart session button.

The Folder Sharing window returns, with Share this folder now checked. Edit the Share name if you’d like, and add checkmarks in the two checkboxes below the text fields. Click Create Share.

Nautilus will ask your permission to add some permissions to the folder you want to share. Allow it to Add the permissions automatically.

The folder is now shared, as evidenced by the new arrows above the folder’s icon.

At this point, you are done with the Ubuntu machine. Head to your Windows PC, and open up Windows Explorer. Click on Network in the list on the left, and you should see a machine called UBUNTU in the right pane.

Note: This example is shown in Windows 7; the same steps should work for Windows XP and Vista, but we have not tested them.

Double-click on UBUNTU, and you will see the folder you shared earlier! As well as any other folders you’ve shared from Ubuntu.

Double click on the folder you want to access, and from there, you can move the files from the machine booted with Ubuntu to your Windows PC.

Upload to an Online Service

There are many services online that will allow you to upload files, either temporarily or permanently. As long as you aren’t transferring an entire hard drive, these services should allow you to transfer your important files from the Ubuntu environment to any other machine with Internet access.

We recommend compressing the files that you want to move, both to save a little bit of bandwidth, and to save time clicking on files, as uploading a single file will be much less work than a ton of little files.

To compress one or more files or folders, select them, and then right-click on one of the members of the group. Click Compress….

Give the compressed file a suitable name, and then select a compression format. We’re using .zip because we can open it anywhere, and the compression rate is acceptable.

Click Create and the compressed file will show up in the location selected in the Compress window.

Dropbox

If you have a Dropbox account, then you can easily upload files from the Ubuntu environment to Dropbox. There is no explicit limit on the size of file that can be uploaded to Dropbox, though a free account begins with a total limit of 2 GB of files in total.

Access your account through Firefox, which can be opened by clicking on the Firefox logo to the right of the System menu at the top of the screen.

Once into your account, press the Upload button on top of the main file list.

Because Flash is not installed in the Live CD environment, you will have to switch to the basic uploader. Click Browse…find your compressed file, and then click Upload file.

Depending on the size of the file, this could take some time. However, once the file has been uploaded, it should show up on any computer connected through Dropbox in a matter of minutes.

Google Docs

Google Docs allows the upload of any type of file – making it an ideal place to upload files that we want to access from another computer. While your total allocation of space varies (mine is around 7.5 GB), there is a per-file maximum of 1 GB.

Log into Google Docs, and click on the Upload button at the top left of the page.

Click Select files to upload and select your compressed file. For safety’s sake, uncheck the checkbox concerning converting files to Google Docs format, and then click Start upload.

Go Online – Through FTP

If you have access to an FTP server – perhaps through your web hosting company, or you’ve set up an FTP server on a different machine – you can easily access the FTP server in Ubuntu and transfer files. Just make sure you don’t go over your quota if you have one.

You will need to know the address of the FTP server, as well as the login information.

Click on Places > Connect to Server…

Choose the FTP (with login) Service type, and fill in your information. Adding a bookmark is optional, but recommended.

You will be asked for your password. You can choose to remember it until you logout, or indefinitely.

You can now browse your FTP server just like any other folder. Drop files into the FTP server and you can retrieve them from any computer with an Internet connection and an FTP client.

Conclusion

While at first the Ubuntu Live CD environment may seem claustrophobic, it has a wealth of options for connecting to peripheral devices, local computers, and machines on the Internet – and this article has only scratched the surface. Whatever the storage medium, Ubuntu’s got an interface for it!

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Disk2vhd (pictured above)
Need an easy way to convert a physical machine to a virtual one? Fire up Disk2vhd and create a snapshot of any system running Windows XP or later — including server OSes and x64 builds. Partition structure is retained, and you can even save your VHD to the same drive you’re backing up.

Boot VHD
Windows 7 can also boot those VHD files you create with Disk2vhd, but adding them manually to the BCD is kind of a pain in the butt. Boot VHD takes care of the heavy lifting: browse for your VHD and click create boot from VHD. A command prompt window will appear and the necessary additions will be made for you. Close that window, check the boot drop-down, and verify that your new entry has been created.

Remember, only Vista SP1 and later can be booted this way.

VHDAttach
While Windows 7 can manage VHDs like physical disks, mounting and dismounting them is a bit overcomplicated. You’ve got to open the disk management snap-in, click attach, then browse for your VHD. VHDAttach makes the process as simple as it can get: open the folder where your VHD is located, right-click it, and choose attach (or detach) from the context menu.

XP-More
Creating new VMs and managing their settings is already dead-simple in Windows 7, but duplicating a machine isn’t as straightforward as simple as doing a copy and paste in your Virtual Machines folder. XP-More streamlines things by creating both the .vmcx and .vhd files. The settings and create buttons launch Windows 7′s built-in tools.

If you don’t have the XP Mode or Virtual PC installers, you can download them over at Softpedia without having to go through Microsoft’s validation process.

Got another handy tool for working with Windows 7′s built-in virtualization features? Share it with us!

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Getting a virus is bad. Getting a virus that causes your computer to crash when you reboot is even worse. We’ll show you how to clean viruses from your computer even if you can’t boot into Windows by using a virus scanner in a Ubuntu Live CD.

There are a number of virus scanners available for Ubuntu, but we’ve found that avast! is the best choice, with great detection rates and usability.

Unfortunately, avast! does not have a proper 64-bit version, and forcing the install does not work properly. If you want to use avast! to scan for viruses, then ensure that you have a 32-bit Ubuntu Live CD.

If you currently have a 64-bit Ubuntu Live CD on a bootable flash drive, it does not take long to wipe your flash drive and go through our guide again and select normal (32-bit) Ubuntu 9.10 instead of the x64 edition. For the purposes of fixing your Windows installation, the 64-bit Live CD will not provide any benefits.

Once Ubuntu 9.10 boots up, open up Firefox by clicking on its icon in the top panel.

Navigate to http://www.avast.com/linux-home-edition.

Click on the Download tab, and then click on the link to download the DEB package.

Save it to the default location.

While avast! is downloading, click on the link to the registration form on the download page. Fill in the registration form if you do not already have a trial license for avast!.

By the time you’ve filled out the registration form, avast! will hopefully be finished downloading.

Open a terminal window by clicking on Applications in the top-left corner of the screen, then expanding the Accessories menu and clicking on Terminal.

In the terminal window, type in the following commands, pressing enter after each line.

cd Downloads
sudo dpkg –i avast*

This will install avast! on the live Ubuntu environment.

To ensure that you can use the latest virus database, while still in the terminal window, type in the following command:

sudo sysctl –w kernel.shmmax=128000000

Now we’re ready to open avast!. Click on Applications on the top-left corner of the screen, expand the Accessories folder, and click on the new avast! Antivirus item.

You will first be greeted with a window that asks for your license key. Hopefully you’ve received it in your email by now; open the email that avast! sends you, copy the license key, and paste it in the Registration window.

avast! Antivirus will open. You’ll notice that the virus database is outdated.

Click on the Update database button and avast! will start downloading the latest virus database.

To scan your Windows hard drive, you will need to “mount” it. While the virus database is downloading, click on Places on the top-left of your screen, and click on your Windows hard drive, if you can tell which one it is by its size.

If you can’t tell which is the correct hard drive, then click on Computer and check out each hard drive until you find the right one. When you find it, make a note of the drive’s label, which appears in the menu bar of the file browser.

Also note that your hard drive will now appear on your desktop.

By now, your virus database should be updated. At the time this article was written, the most recent version was 100404-0.

In the main avast! window, click on the radio button next to Selected folders and then click on the “+” button to the right of the list box. It will open up a dialog box to browse to a location.

To find your Windows hard drive, click on the “>” next to the computer icon. In the expanded list, find the folder labelled “media” and click on the “>” next to it to expand it. In this list, you should be able to find the label that corresponds to your Windows hard drive.

If you want to scan a certain folder, then you can go further into this hierarchy and select that folder. However, we will scan the entire hard drive, so we’ll just press OK.

Click on Start scan and avast! will start scanning your hard drive.

If a virus is found, you’ll be prompted to select an action. If you know that the file is a virus, then you can Delete it, but there is the possibility of false positives, so you can also choose Move to chest to quarantine it.

When avast! is done scanning, it will summarize what it found on your hard drive. You can take different actions on those files at this time by right-clicking on them and selecting the appropriate action. When you’re done, click Close.

Your Windows PC is now free of viruses, in the eyes of avast!. Reboot your computer and with any luck it will now boot up!

Alternatives to avast!

If avast! and a liberal amount of Googling doesn’t fix your problem, it’s possible that a different virus scanner will fix your obscure issue.

Here are a list of other virus scanners available for Ubuntu that are either free or offer free trials. See their support forums for help on installing these virus scanners.

• Avira AntiVir Personal for Linux / Solaris
• Panda Antivirus for Linux
  • Installation and usage guide from Ubuntu
• F-PROT Antivirus for Linux
• ClamAV installation and usage guide from Ubuntu
• NOD32 Antivirus for Linux
• Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2010
• Bitdefender Antivirus for Unices

Conclusion

Running avast! from a Ubuntu Live CD can clean the vast majority of viruses from your Windows PC. This is another reason to always have a Ubuntu Live CD ready just in case something happens to your Windows installation!

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Windows Phone 7 offers a unique and exciting UI that displays lots of information efficiently on the screen.  And with a simple Rainmeter theme, you can have the same UI and content directly on your Windows 7 desktop.

Turn your Desktop into a Windows Phone 7 lookalike

To give your Windows 7 desktop a Windows Phone 7 makeover, first you need to have the free Rainmeter application installed.  If you do not have it installed, download it from the link below and run the setup.  Accept the license agreement, and install it with the default settings.

By default Rainmeter will automatically run when you start your computer.  If you do not want this, you can uncheck the box during the setup.

Now, download the Omnimo UI theme for Rainmeter (link below).  You will need to unzip the folder first.

This theme uses the Segoe UI and the Segoe UI Light font, so Windows Vista users need to install the segoeuil.ttf font first, and XP users need to install both the segoeui.ttf and the segoeuil.ttf font first.  Copy the appropriate fonts to C:\Windows\Fonts, or in Vista double-click on the font and select Install.

Now, run the Rainmeter theme setup.  Double-click on the Rainstaller.exe in the Omnimo folder.

Click Express install to add the theme and skin to Rainmeter.

Click Finish, and by default Rainmeter will open with your new theme.

When the new theme opens the first time, you will be asked to read the readme, or simply go to the gallery.

When you open the gallery, you can choose from a wide variety of tiles and gadgets to place on your desktop.  You can also choose a different color scheme for your tiles.

Once you’re done, click the X in the top right hand corner to close the Gallery.  Welcome to your Windows Phone 7 desktop!  Many of the gadgets are dynamic, and you can change the settings for most of them.  The only thing missing is the transition animations that Windows Phone 7 shows when you launch an application.

To make it look even more like Windows Phone 7, you can change your background to black.  This makes the desktop theme really dramatic.

And, if you want to add gadgets or change the color scheme, simply click on the + logo on the top.

Windows Phone 7 Desktop Wallpapers

If you’d prefer to simply change your background, My Microsoft Life has several very nice Windows Phone 7 wallpapers available for free.  Click the link below to download these and other Microsoft-centric wallpapers.

If you can’t wait to get the new Windows phone 7, this is a great way to start experiencing the beauty of the phone UI on your desktop.

Links

Download Rainmeter

Download the Omnimo UI Rainmeter theme

Download Windows Phone 7 inspired wallpapers

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