Xbox 360 finally supporting Divx and Xvid

I’m still puzzled as to why it took so long to add Divx and Xvid support to the Xbox 360 and wondered if Microsoft did not ask the users before they produced the Xbox 360 about the features that the users wanted to see. My old Xbox is playing all of those files without a problem and the main reason why I did not make the switch to the new Xbox 360 was, among other things, the non existent support for Xvid and Divx movies.

What I like is that the Xbox 360 plays those movies from CD or DVD instead of streaming them over the network. I’m not that up to date when it comes to modchips for the Xbox 360 and possibilities to add a bigger hard drive to store files on it, but I’m sure some of you know the answer.

I would replace my old Xbox with the new Xbox 360 if I could use it as a media center again. I’d also like to know if the noise of the Xbox 360 has been finally reduced or if it is still that loud which would be another drawback.

Divx is supported back to version 5.0 which means that most movies should play just fine on the Xbox 360.

{By Martin via Ghacks}

Color-Coded Mouse Cursors Offer Higher Visibility

Windows only: Wish your mouse pointer was easier to see? Try installing the smart and colorful XsX alpha blended package of mouse cursors. These cursors change color depending on the possible action (like clicking a link or resizing a window), and blogger Aaron Tiensivu's put together a convenient installer for both Windows XP and Vista. Especially good for laptop screens, be sure to follow Tiensivu's installation instructions to get these going (it's not a regular installation wizard.) Having become a bit of an interface design snob (yes, the Mac's ruined me), I like the idea of these cursors; just wish they were better-looking. The XsX cursor installation package is a free download for Windows only.

Custom alpha blended (semi-transparent) mouse cursors by XsX for Windows XP and Vista - auto-install package v1.0 [Aaron Tiensivu's Blog via Hackszine->LifeHacker]

Firefox 3 Beta Answers Some Questions, Raises Others

CRN Test Center downloaded Firefox 3 Beta 1 from Mozilla for a peek to get an idea of what users can expect when Firefox 3 is officially launched. Since this is a beta, the browser is intended for testing purposes only. While no one expects the browser to be production-ready now, if history is any guide, the likelihood of users going ahead and upgrading increases the longer the product stays in beta.

The beta was downloaded onto a Compaq desktop with AMD (NYSE:AMD) Athlon processor, a five-year old Dell (NSDQ:Dell) Inspiron notebook, and a three-year-old IBM (NYSE:IBM) Thinkpad T42 laptop. All three machines run Windows XP. Installation was painless and took less than five minutes on all machines. Bookmarks and profiles from both Firefox and from Internet Explorer migrated seamlessly. However, the browser didn't work well on all hardware configurations.

The Dell Inspiron originally had Firefox 1 installed instead of Firefox 2 because the memory leaks were so severe that the newer browser was practically unusable. Firefox 3 Beta 1 didn't seem to have any of the memory problems. It ran a little slowly, but that was a reflection on the hardware's age and not on the beta. Firefox 2 works just fine on the Thinkpad, but the beta was very sluggish and had moments of unresponsiveness. This could be an issue in the beta or in interoperability with other third-party applications. Hopefully, the uneven experience across different hardware will be resolved by the time the software comes out of beta.

Overall, Firefox 3 looks identical to Firefox 2. The visual differences between the two are fairly minor " most of the changes seem to be under the hood. Some menu options have been removed entirely, or renamed. For example, Text Size in Firefox 2 under View is now called Zoom under Firefox 3. Firefox 3 comes with a DOM inspector, which is very helpful for developers looking at scripts.

READ MORE...

[via crn]

iDesktop.tv the new YouTube?

So what is iDesktop.tv?

iDesktop.tv is an incredibly cool dynamic web 2.0 application, with a terrific modern design, for searching, watching and downloading videos from the richest online video archive, YouTube.
This is basically adding functionality and experience to what "should be" there. The possibilities of the site reach far beyond that. It gives you the chance to create your own environment for watching video clips, saving them and sharing them with friends.

What makes iDesktop.tv unique?

Designing iDesktop.tv we followed one primary idea - to bring normal desktop application experience to the browser - windows that can be dragged, resized, minimized in a tray, drag'n'drop of videos between players and results, standard menus - all with one goal - to make the richest web application for viewing and managing video content! You will be amazed by the flexibility and fabulous design of the website. It is user friendly and easy to navigate but also has great functionality.