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This is a very unique game that takes advantage of all the features of the Nintendo DS. It heavily utilizes the touch screen and it has wireless compatibility between another DS or the internet.If you are familiar with the StarFox series, then this game does not disappoint. The first run through of the game is extremely easy, but keep in mind this is a StarFox game and has multiple endings. I've only beaten the game once, so I got the crappy ending.Gameplay: 8/10 - This game is not limited to just a flying game. There is some strategy involved prior to entering into the dogfight stages. You need to move the characters around on a map like turn-based strategy game. In game you are not limited to only playing as StarFox. During the course of the game, you will eventually play as all the characters. You use the touch screen to move the players around on the map to search out and find the "bad guys". This can get annoying because you are limited on the number of turns, fuel, and vision. If you don't defeat all the enemies in the given number of turns, the game is over. If the time runs out during a dogfight, you'll lose the dogfight. In the later levels, there is a fog that covers the map, so you don't know exactly where all the enemies/bases are on the map. The controls take a little while getting used to. The stylus controls EVERYTHING. There is no other option to use the directional pad. Any button you press will fire lasers, but the touch pad does the flying and steering. While playing the game, please refrain from sneezing. This will send your player in crazy directions if you keep your stylus on the touchpad while doing so.Story: 2/10 - This is a StarFox game, so the story is stupid and pointless. No one buys a StarFox game for the story, just the fighting.Extras: 9/10 - This game fully utilizes the extra features of the Nintendo DS. You can battle wirelessly with friends close to you or over the internet. The dogfights you can get in are fun if you both know how to fly. Otherwise it is just a bunch of rounds of each of you flying past each other. The online capabilities are great because you can show off how good you are at the game with anyone online.Overrall: 8/10 - Maybe an option to use the directional pad to fly would have been better. The stylus can be iffy at some times. However it makes the game very unique. I recommend this game if you are a Nintendo DS owner.

Microsoft is trying real hard lure gamers away from the PS3 this year. They revealed an XBOX 360 that has an HD-DVD player accessory at the Tokoyo Game Show. The XBOX has never been popular overseas. Their main market share comes from North America. Obvisously to compete with a company like Sony which is the dominate console everywhere else in the world, they need to step up the competition. This console will retail in North America for around $350. Here's a link to the article http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

Has anyone heard anything lately about the new release of Slackware? Up on http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/ they are selling pre-orders for the install disk which makes be believe it is coming out soon. However the its been up for more than a couple months.I personally can't wait to see what the boys working on Slackware came up with. It is the main linux distro I use. I have two setups with Slackware 10.2. On my laptop I run Slack with a GUI and on a slower, older computer I run it straight console.For everyone saying that it is too hard to use, forget that. Obviously any new Linux distro will have some sort of learning curve, but definitely learning up on Slackware will help. Some people are afraid of installing or upgrading software with some kind of built-in package manager. There is a terrific package manager that I use for Slackware called "slapt-get", it is basically apt-get, but just for Slack. Also if you find yourself with *.*tgz files using the command pkgtool will help you install the software.People are afraid to use a distro that looks too confusing or won't work right after the install (i.e. distros like Red Hat, Ubuntu, or FC). Half the fun of getting Linux to work properly on your machine is the battle to find all the compatibile drivers, heh.That's my rant on Slackware. I just can't wait for the new release. I'll be right on board to upgrade my computers.

MySQL is definitely the best choice for use injuction with PHP. There are already so many website mangagement tools developed for MySQL/PHP. The resources are out there if you want to learn how to code for this database on your own. MySQL is the largest open-source database solution out there. It has a very large community of users that constantly look for security holes and flaws, and they will actively release updates when needed. I really haven't heard much about interbase, but I assume they are also open-source. However the community cannot be as large as MySQL's. So if you are looking for a database that has a huge user base with plenty of resources and already developed software tools to manage a website, then definitely go with MySQL.

Wireless routers are definitely the way to go for home networking solutions if the home isn't already wired for CAT-5. I bought my first wireless router a few years ago when 802.11b was the fastest it could potentially go. Nowadays there is Wireless-B, Wireless-A, Wireless-G, Wireless-A/B, Wireless-G with MIMO, etc, etc. Obviously the speeds have increased as technology gets better. But the one thing I haven't noticed increasing is the level of security. Aren't most default WEP/WAP keys encrypted at 128-bits? I'm going off the top of my head, but I don't know of any routers that are using 258-bit encyrption. If someone does get a wireless router, there are a few things you absolutely NEED to do first before you assume everything is setup correctly. 1. Disable SSID broadcasting. This is basically a the signal your router emits to let other wireless devices know that it is there. You do NOT want other people to know that there is an available wireless router. This needlessly increases the number of pings to the router and exposes it to potential hacker intrusion. 2. ALWAYS use encryption to protect your wireless router. If it only be simply 64-bit encryption, then so be it. However keep in mind that the higher the bits the "tougher" the protection. This will keep low level war drivers out of your network and using up your bandwidth. Be aware that even if you have encryption enabled, it will not keep out sophisticated hackers out of your network. There are tools available that are called packet sniffers. This means that this tool will collect packets of data out of the air which are transmitted. The packets of data are each encrypted with the WEP or WAP key. After enough packets are collected, then the tool should be able to decrypt the packets and finally be able to give you the key to access the router. So don't always believe that your wireless router is hacker proof. 3. Change the default login and password. Even if you hide the router from other wireless devices, the listings of factory default passwords are available online. So if I know the brand and model number of your wireless router, I can look for the default login and password to access it. That's all I know about wireless routers, so take my advice and protect your network.

This is a salad for real men, not any of that "womeny" stuff.Ingredients:Deep Fried Lettuce3 or 4 whole sausage linksTobasco Sauce Dressing or Jack DanielsJalepeno PeppersThe bowl is a hollowed out pig roast.The fork is your hand, real men don't need forks.

The battery does get hot, but we've already check the version number of the batteries that are affected.We both have the same laptop so when we heard about the battery recall we checked. Unfortunately we bought our laptops about 6 months before the affected batch of batteries were made.

One of my friends has a Dell 600m which he bought around the same time as me. We pretty much have the exact same specs, but my processor and video memory is a little better. He has been having problems since the time he got the laptop with it overheating to the point of it locking down. I'll agree that the Dell 600m's from the Summer of 2003 will get way too hot for normal laptop use.My laptop has only locked up once or twice for me because of it overheating, but his computer will lock up every time he doesn't have it on a cooling pad. And even then there is a good chance that it will if it is left on for too long.I do like the 600m as a model, but his case is a rarity.Does anyone have any clues on what could be making his laptop heat up so much to the point where it locks down on him? Keep in mind that we have the same model computer bought around the same time and only he has this problem on a daily basis.We've looked into the possibilities of a faulty motherboard, bad memory, bad exhaust for the laptop, or bad heatsink. We've even had Dell Techs come out to our house to "try" to diagnose the problem, but they are as stumped as we are. I don't know if this makes his problem more unique or it just means that Dell's Tech Guys are as good as BestBuy's Geek Squad.His laptop isn't covered under warranty anymore, so any extra parts would probably come out of pocket.

There are so many different places where you can register a domain name. I was just curious who everyone uses and how much per year do you pay for it? Also if you feel like it, leave a rating for everyone else on the forums to take into account.I personally use FortuneCity.com and they're rates are $8.95/year.I think they are an average domain registrar. They have good technical support and I haven't had any billing problems with them. I've been with them for the past couple years. They'll send out reminders when your domain is about to expire, but maybe that is standard among companies like this.They user interface for their account access is pretty user friendly. It is easy to get around the site and find what you are looking for. Their rates aren't that great. I know that GoDaddy.com has great prices for domain registration, but every now and then they'll have specials and all.I give FortuneCity a 7/10.

The memory on the phone is limited to about 128mb I think. However don't forget about the microSD expansion slot. That can take 256mb to 2gigs. You have to purchase these cards separately, but keep in mind the cards can be used in other devices. The 256mb card is about $20 and the 2gig card is $99.99. So the real limitations of the phone depends on how big the memory card you get for it is. I recommend the 2gig card because that is plenty of space for your favorite MP3s.

Ever since I picked up my Palm TX last Winter, I've noticed the ever decreasing size of memory cards especially with SD (Secure Digital).My Palm TX has a port of SD cards which is great. It can handle anything from 256mb to 2gigs. If you have ever since the size of an SD card, then you know that it is pretty small. It can pack a whole lot of data in a small amount of space.Now after SD comes miniSD. I don't have anything that uses them, but I know they are pretty small. Some of the older model mobile phones use miniSD cards for expansion memory.Finally after I got my latest cell phone, I came to know the wonders of microSD. It is literally a fraction of the size of an SD card. It is unbelievable. You see this TINY little card and you see that it fits 2 gigs. In fact, microSD cards come with a dockable SD card where it can fit in. This card is so small and I feel like I'm going to break it every time I handle it. Its great that it is compact but is capable of holding 2 gigs of data, but WOW these memory cards are getting tiny.I've only noticed the trend with SD. Compact Flash and Memory Pro DUO don't seem to be getting smaller.Your thoughts or comments.

Well while I'm on the Internet, I like to... Read the totse.com Forums Read up on NFL news Check my NFL Fantasy Team Check Gamefaqs.com Working my personal websites Every now and then talk on AIM Play flash games...http://www.addictinggames.com/ Legally get music Yea, that's pretty much all. I don't have a MySpace of Facebook account, so I never check those.

The end of my contract with Verizon Wireless was approaching and I decided to grab me a new phone and keep my contract going. After seeing those commericals with the phone coming out of the chocolate bar wrapping, I couldn't help but wonder more about it. Then when I got into the Verizon Wireless Retail Store, I finally saw what all the fuss was about. The LG Chocolate phone is a hybride between a sleek looking cell phone and an IPOD. It literally looks just like an IPOD, but when you slide the bottom, you are fully aware that it is a cell phone.Overrall, I give this phone a 9/10. It only looses 1 point because the controls are a little quirky. The only buttons are on the side and number pad. The dials that look like an IPOD are not buttons, but a touchpad. You may not feel like you are pushing anything, but you are. Again this is the only reason it lost a point because not everyone would be use to this.Look - 10/10: It is very sexy and sleek looking. It is jet black and compact. When the number pad is pushed in, it looks just like an IPOD. The dial pad lights up red when it is active and there is no antena to make it look bad. This phone is by far the most decent looking phone. LG won't let you down when it comes to looks.Phone use - 9/10: Probably as good as a regular cell phone can get. It has advanced voice activation to use the phone while it is still compact (i.e. while the number pad is not pulled out). It looses a point because it does not have speakerphone capabilities. However the volume is loud enough to not really need a speakerphone.MP3 use - 10/10: This main reason I bought this phone and it definitiely did not let me down. I have a Palm TX and the MP3 player is not that great however on this phone it works great! You can download songs off VCAST or transfer your songs via microSD card.Camera - 10/10: Great camera, higher resolution and a lot clearer than my old camera phone. It can take good quality pictures and short video clips. Of course it won't compare to a 8.0 Mega Pixel camera, but it does the job pretty well.Bluetooth - 10/10: This phone comes with Bluetooth and is meant to use Bluetooth. The Bluetooth accessories that can be used with this phone would make any Tech Junkie foam at the mouth. It can use Bluetooth Stereo Headset, Bluetooth Boombox, and of course a regular Bluetooth Headset. I really want to buy the stereo headset because the regular wired 2.5mm headset makes the phone look not so sexy. There is headset adapter that fits into the power port where you plug in the headset. It just throws off the whole look of the phone.Expansion - 10/10: This phone takes advantage of microSD technology. It has a microSD/Transflash port on the side which can fit any card from 256mb to 2gig. This is perfect for storing your favorite songs. You can set the options on the phone to save pictures and video to the expansion card.I highly recommend that if you are at the time period where you can get a discount on your next phone, then get this one. You will not regret it. I certainly do not. It retails for $349.99, but I got it CHEAP because I renewed my plan.

Alright, a few of my friends and I have come together to think of a way that we can make money off the internet. Through ads and various other ways, webmasters can make a decent chunk of change, and we want to be a part of that.We thought of a website that will be like an online dating site. Here is what we have thought of so far.1. Catchy domain name (its a sercret)2. To build a base client list, we'll make our own profiles that we'll maintain in order to attract more users. Once we reach a certain number of users to keep the website going, we'll take down our "fake" accounts.3. Ad placement of course4. Free membership5. Premium membership, we don't know how to charge yet nor the price per month.6. We want to start local and depending on how it grows, we'll adjust7. We want to have a decent content manager so different people can be working on different parts of the website at the same time. (any recommendations?)8. We wanted to have some sort of e-mail verification and address verification for the profiles to limit spammed accounts that aren't our own. Address verification obviously for the billing purposes.9. Possibly even merchendise like hats, t-shirts from CafePress.comWhat do you all think so far?

I almost wish that I bought my Dell 600m 6 months later than I did. Then I would have been able to replace the battery. The battery on my laptop sucks and lasts only like 45 minutes without a charge. I also mistakenly bought an additional primary battery thinking that it was a modular bay one....pwnt.Good news is that my laptop didn't make my house burst into flames.

Well ever since Mac decided to jump on the Intel bandwagon, the new mac books will be able to have Windows installed on them. And if you are going to install Windows, why not go ahead and install your favorite version of Linux.Would you be interested in having a laptop that could boot into OS X, Windows, and Linux? You would have the best of the 3 worlds inside that $2500 laptop.Your thoughts/comments?

Not to burst your bubble, but cars with any type of system in them (sound, pc, video) are exponentially more likely to get broken into. That is pretty cool with what you did to the truck, it's just one of those things that I would like to point out.Maybe you don't live in a high crime area, but I do. I live in the city, cars get broken into everyday. People look for IPods, GPS Systems, video screens, cd decks, and if you add a whole PC system, I'm sure people will start taking those.Again, that's a great idea, but I would also invest in a security system.

Linux is not better for gaming for Windows. Of course with the help of WINE or whatever you want to use, you will be able to run gamings specifically built for Windows. It really isn't fair to try to compare the ability to game under Linux and the ability to game under Windows. Here are the reasons why...1) Such a small marketshare actually uses Linux. Why would game companies worry about attracting the 5% of the population that uses Linux while the other majority uses Windows?2) It is rare to find a graphics card company that releases native Linux drivers for their hardware. Again it is that small market share that would probably COST the company more than it would help it. Granted, ATI does have Linux drivers, but they are a pain to install.3) Gaming companies now like to use Software libraries provided by Microsoft such as DirectX. Linux will never be able to handle DirectX as well as Windows.Linux is my main OS, in particular I use Slackware, and I can safely tell you that if you want to game then stick to Windows. You will not run into hardware issues, more games will be released to your OS, and you will not run in the frustration of trying to get Windows games to run under WINE for Linux.Maybe once the marketshare of the Linux Community reaches a certain percentage then we will see hardware vendors and game developers tailor the installs of the game to Linux. But even when that happens, not all the distributions of Linux keep the same filesystem. Slackware is different than Red Hat, its different then SUSE, and its different then Ubuntu. Also not every fresh Linux install will have all the packages required to run said game. Do you package the install in a RPM, tgz, tar, do you let Linux users compile from source? Would you want Linux users to see the source, which could potentially lead to exploits in the game?All in all, Linux was NOT meant to game. Of course its cool if you can get games to run under Linux, but that is not the point of this operating system. The point was to create an open source alternative to the Microsoft Giant. The point was to create a rich learning environment for anyone interested in the workings beyond the GUI.That's my rant, hope you enjoyed it.

Well that is a load of wireless equipment in your room, I mean seriously, that is a lot. The first thing you need to check is what frequency all those things operate on. 1) The wireless router most likely operates on 2.4gHz or 5.8gHz and thats fine, as long as nothing else operates on that frequency. 2) If you're wireless phone landline works on 2.4gHz or 5.8gHz, then that would explain the problems. It would be my recommendation to get a 900mHz wireless phone to make sure the router and the phone won't interfere with each other. 3) The BlueTooth enabled printer should not be affected by anything else since it operates on a different frequency. 4) Your TV, DVD, Stero remotes work on RF frequency which shouldn't be affected by anything else. But to scale down the number of remotes, you may want to consider one of those all in one remotes, they are cheap, but if you want something cool, like an LCD touchscreen (I highly recommend) you can find those for maybe $150. 5) I forget what frequency cell phones work on, but I think it maybe 2.4gHz. So if your wireless router, wireless landline, and your cell phone all operate on 2.4gHz then that would explain the problems. If you just switch the landline to 900mHz you should be fine using the router and cell phone all at the same time.

With all the different flavors of Windows, what in your opinion is the best version? Win95, Win98, Win98SE, WinNT, Win2000, WinXP, Vista, and even remember Windows 3.1?I hear that hardcore Windows users are in love with Win98SE for some reason? Is there any justification behind this? I mean this is a version of Windows that is definitely not supported anymore, but is the security and stability of this version that much better where it doesn't need support?Personally, I really like Win2000 over any other version. It seems more secure and stable, and I'm pretty sure its still supported.I really don't like Vista at all. My one friend tried the beta version that is currently available, and he had it on his computer for all of 3 days before going back to WinXP. Vista is such a memory hog and everything seems "too" overdone.If I forgot any other versions please feel free to add them in.

For those of you in already well into your career, what is the main programming language that you use?In the places that I've worked, Visual Basic and Java were the main languages used. It just seems like to me that older companies that have been around for a while tend to use C or C++ while newer upstart ones use Java. This might be just a unfounded conclusion of mine, but I would just like to know anyway.

Well if you go with a Dell Axim it will fulfill all 3 of those requirements and it will be under your budget of $800. Axim's use Windows Mobile and are wifi/bluetooth enabled. They do not have 1st party external cameras however there are 3rd party products that can make cameras that fit into the compact flash slot on the Axim. Check out http://www.dell.com/en-us/ to pick out your Axim, and also http://imptestrm.com/rg-erdr.php?_dnm=www.veo.com&_cfrg=1&_drid=as-drid-2609617363483542 to see this companies external camera for the Axim. I know that Palm devices do not have Windows Mobile, they run a proprietary operating system. I'm pretty sure some models have built-in cameras and wifi/bluetooth. I'm not sure about HPs IPAQ at all though. Out of those 3 big PDA companies, Dell would fit all your requirements.

I purchased FIFA 06 for the Nintendo DS, mostly because I wanted a new FIFA game and it was only $19.99I would give this game a 9/10. It has been repeatedly called the best sports game on the DS, and I completely agree. The DS wasn't really meant for sports games, but this is by far the best one out there.The graphics aren't that great, with the exception of a couple players, all the guys look alike, but it really doesn't make a difference. I wish it had more teams on it, like all the International teams and more Club Teams. It also doesn't support Wifi multiplayer like MarioKart does. Those are the only downsides.The good parts of the game are the actual gameplay. If you get into this game, you'll quickly find that its easy to pickup and become very good at. I'm used the FIFA franchise, and as soon as I got the same, I set the difficulty to the second hardest level just because I'm used to it from other FIFA games. There is really no lag time playing the game, the controls are real easy to learn, and shooting isn't hard at all as long as you aren't blasting shots from 10 yards out. I really like the challenges part of the game, where you need to win under certain conditions such as coming back from a 2-0 deificit and win by 1, or blowing out your opponent by 3 goals. It has great tournament play with all the Club Teams' respective championships. It was an International Cup (World Cup) under the Tournament mode, and you can start a season or a career.The multiplayer is great if you have a buddy with a Nintendo DS. My friend never played a soccer game at all, and he fell in love with this one just because its fun and easy to pick up. He ended up buying this game after playing a couple single-card multiplayer matches with me. When you only have one card, you are limited to International teams in the multiplayer mode, but if both players have the game, you can pick between all the teams in the game.I was thinking about getting Fifa06 on the PS2, XBOX, or XBOX360 or even World Cup 06 on either of those systems, but in the end Fifa06 on the DS seems to be better than all of them despite the graphics (obviously) and the online multiplayer. FIFA06 on the console seemed so loaded with stuff it didn't need, and I played all versions and the shooting was way to difficult. This is coming from someone who played the FIFA franchise, and I really didn't like the console versions. Handheld is the way to go if you have a Nintendo DS.

My friend installed the Beta version of Windows Vista onto his computer. He said that it is such a memory hog even though he has a top of the line computer with 2 gigs of RAM. The only thing he liked about it was the "new" alt-tab, where the screen kinda becomes 3 dimensional and you see a slightly angled view of all the windows you have open.He also liked the "next-gen" version of Solitare and Minesweeper. Windows Vista has a native resourse monitor much like you would see on Linux systems with SuperKaramba, but this monitor hogs up so much memory, you are better off keeping it closed.He had problems shutting down the system because Vista would only let him hibernate. This may have to deal with his hardware though since its a computer he built himself.After a week of Windows Vista, he formatted his hard drive and went back to Windows XP.For me, I'm glad I rarely use Windows anymore and probably won't get a new computer until Service Pack 1 comes out of Vista, then I'll re-partition that piece and install Linux.

CircuitCity.com will let you compare the prices of different PDAs. Just to let you know before you begin, when you are picking PDAs, you get what you pay for, kind of like picking laptops. I personally have a Palm TX which costs around $299, and I can tell you that it works great for everything that I need. It has Wifi, BlueTooth, and all the general PDA functionality. The best thing I like about this PDA is the size of the viewable screen. Aside from the Palm TX, Dell makes pretty decent Axims. They will probably run you a little cheaper than a low grade laptop. But it will have all the functionality of one too. It will run a version of Windows built for PDAs. Which ever way you decide to go, maybe not Palm or Dell, nowadays you want a PDA that can handle Wifi, BlueTooth, Windows Documents (such as Word, Excel, Powerpoint), has a good battery life. If you have a cell phone, you many also want to look into Palm's Treo line. They are a cell phone and a PDA in one device. So if you carry both of those around with you, you may one to consider putting them both into one handheld. Be prepared to spend between $300 and $400 for a top of the line PDA. Believe me, you won't regret it one bit because of the capabilities it will have and now long it will keep from being obsolete. Here are links for you to look at. http://mynewpalm.com/ http://search.dell.com/results.aspx?s=gen&cat=prod&k=axim http://www.tigerdirect.com/?site=cc Hope that helps.