This one goes in the box of “things I definitely need to do.” Lifehacker has an excellent wrapup of how you can build a fully and completely automated media center; that is, not only does it automatically snag the movies and TV shows that you want to watch, but it take care of archiving itself, naming its own files, and tying it all together into a simple interface and experience that makes it easier for you to sit down in front of your HDTV with your computer connected to it just knowing that the program you want to watch is waiting for you, without having to worry about whether you downloaded it yourself, or having to spend tons of time downloading the things you want to see on your own.

The more automated you can make the process, the more time you can spend actually watching your media and enjoying it rather than getting yourself to the point where you can enjoy it.

[ Lifehacker :: Set Up a Fully Automated Media Center ]

I absolutely love Google Voice. I was skeptical about it at first, but now that I have it, and I have the app on my phone, I don’t know what I’d do without the ability to review, listen to, and archive voicemail without actually having to place a call to anyone. And while I find Google’s ability to transcribe messages still a little inaccurate, it’s getting better all the time.

I haven’t taken the leap to telling everyone to use my actual Google Voice number instead of my mobile number, and I haven’t gotten as deep into setting the app up to send certain calls to certain places or to do different things for different contact groups just yet – I’m certain I haven’t scratched the surface of Google Voice’s abilities yet. That being said though, there are lots of really cool things you can do with Google Voice, considering you can score yourself an invite.

Over at MakeUseOf there are a few really great Google Voice features you may not be aware of that are definitely worth knowing about, including making outbound calls with Google Voice, listening in on your voicemail as it’s being recorded, and even using it to record calls that you make. Check out the whole list:

[ MakeUseOf :: 5 Cool Things You Can Do with Google Voice ]

Mashable.com posted a number of beautiful free Wordpress themes lately, a topic which is near and dear to my heart. Wordpress is the backend of all of my blogs, including this one, and while I love the themes I’ve chosen, they’re only getting better over time and I love watching new ones be developed, designed, and made available to the public.

This collection of 14 themes is particularly nice, and a number of them are designed for the modern user’s display: multiple columns of data, room for ads if the blog wants to post them, and an attractive and image-heavy layout that can work for more types of sites than traditional top-to-bottom blogs. If you’re a wordpress junkie like I am, head over and check them out.

[ Mashable :: 14 Fantastic Free Wordpress Themes ]

Now that you have an HDTV, you may be interested in a Blu-Ray player to make full use of it. Trust me, you may be watching HDTV from your cable/satellite company, or even picking up some HD channels over the air, but nothing beats the full 1080p resolution and bright colors from a solid Blu-Ray disc.

However, there are hundreds of Blu-Ray players on the market, how will you choose one? Here’s a handy guide that will help you pick the right player, make sure you’re getting all the bang for your buck and the extended features that will keep your player going strong for years into the future. It’s not like there’s only one or two players in the market that are worthwhile like there were a couple of years ago – there’s several to choose from!

Besides, if you get too confused and caught up, you can always just snag a Sony PS3 – it’s a game console and a Blu-Ray player, and it’s a pretty solid one, too!

[ PC Mag :: How to Buy a Blu-Ray Player ]

The shot above I took at CES 2010 in Las Vegas at the Panasonic booth – they were showing off their “world’s largest HDTV,” which took the shape of a 152-inch Viera Plasma made from what they call the “mother glass,” the same glass from which all of their other plasmas (including the one in my living room) is cut.

This puppy is a one-off and you can’t just head out to the store to buy it, but if you are in the market for a new HDTV or interested in replacing an older one you already have, you’ll definitely need to take some knowledge with you to Best Buy or when you’re shopping around online. The fine folks at PC Mag have updated their quintessential guide to buying an HDTV with some new tips, features you should keep an eye out for, and some of the buzz around 3D TV from CES this year.

Among the tips? Picking the right location for your panel, picking the right resolution for your viewing distance, ways to get the best image quality out of them (hint: calibration!), and more, including some Super Bowl-worthy HDTVs reviewed by the PC Mag staff.

[ PC Mag :: How to Buy an HDTV ]

Looking to build your own computer? If you know how to do it already, it’s probably a process you’ll repeat if for no other reason than the love of it, but if you’ve never built your own computer and you want to get a little more hands-on with how your computer works and to be better able and capable to support it if something happens to it, PC Mag has a great article for you on how you can assemble your own computer from parts in 30 minutes or less!

Admittedly, I’ve never tried to do this – whenever I build my computers, I take my time – go very slowly, and am very careful, but part of that is because I’m generally using expensive materials that I don’t want to damage under any cost, and I’m building what will eventually be my main computer. All in all though, the actual amount of work involved isn’t too much more than an hour or so, stopping for breaks and to dig out screws that I may have misplaced and to correct errors.

If you’re building a supplimental computer though, with parts that you can get just about anywhere or at your local electronics store like Fry’s or Micro Center, you can hit 30 minutes easy! PC Mag gets you started with a barebones kit, so you don’t even need to worry about mounting a motherboard, setting a CPU fan and heatsink, or making sure you have all of your spacers between the mobo and your case chassis. The rest is cake!

[ PCPC Mag :: How To Build a Computer in 30 Minutes or Less ]

Smartphones are all the rage, but they’re clearly not for everyone. The majority of the mobile phones in the United States are still feature phones or plain old cell phones that are used primarily for making telephone calls, not surfing the Web or keeping up with Twitter or Facebook. But how do you go about buying a cell phone when all everyone is talking about lately are smartphones like the Apple iPhone 3GS and the Motorola Droid?

Well, Sascha Segan and Jamie Lendino, writing for PC Mag, have an amazing primer that I wish I had forwarded off to my parents (before I gave them my old Razr and Razr 2) to help pick a great phone at a great price that meets your needs and is on a carrier that’s right for you. You’ve seen the commercials where the carriers are sniping at one another for the quality of their networks and their selections of devices, but just because one network is bigger or one carrier has the hot new phone doesn’t mean that’s the carrier or the phone you should choose.

First of all, you have to pick what matters to you, and this article will help guide you through the process – it’s pretty definitive. Check it out!

[ PC Mag :: How to Buy a Cell Phone ]

In the market for a laptop? The holidays usually bring some great prices on notebook computers in all shapes and sizes, whether you’re shopping for a netbook for yourself or you’re looking for a desktop replacement laptop to connect to an external monitor at home and even do some mild gaming on. The extremely knowledgeable Cisco Cheng (who I met when i visited the PCMag offices last week!) has put together an excellent primer on how you should go about buying a laptop that’s right for you – what you should look for, what you should avoid, and how to decide whether the features are right for you specifically in a market where so many laptops come with the same specs and the same hardware under very different hoods.

[ PC Mag :: How to Buy a Laptop, Period ]

The holidays are rapidly approaching, and if you haven’t started your holiday shopping, you might want to get busy – there are precious few shopping days left before Christmas, and even if you don’t celebrate it directly, the sales and stores are all acting like you do, so now’s the time to pick up some presents for the geek in your life, and to hopefully save a little money at the same time and get them something shiny that they’ll actually enjoy.

Now of course everyone is doing holiday gift guides, and a lot of them have a ton of expensive and superfluous junk on them that may end up on Craigslist or ebay by this time next year, so I put together a short list of five items that will thrill anyone when they see them in a pretty box tied up with a bow this holiday season, regardless of whether they’re a geek – but if they are a geek? Even better. Let’s dive in!

Continue reading Gears and Widgets 2009 Holiday Gift Guide!…

If you’re looking for some really slick apps for your mobile phone, look no further than PC Mag’s massive roundup of 100 awesome free apps for your mobile device, no matter what operating system it’s running. If you have an iPhone, you’ve got 40 great free apps in the list to choose from! Using a Motorola Droid (like me) or an Samsung Moment? There are 20 awesome apps in there for Android mobile phones to! Even if you’re all business and rocking a Blackberry Storm 2, you can find 20 apps in the list to help you pass the time on those long business flights. There are even some generic free games and 10 Windows Mobile apps for those of you with Windows Mobile devices!

Because the roundup is strictly free apps, you’ll miss out on some of the high-end apps that may require you to pay to download them, but the list is incredible comprehensive and has a ton of useful applications that can help you do everything from shop on the go to check your travel plans at the drop of a hat to compare prices on an item in the store to items online to stay in touch with your friends while you’re out and about town.

If you read the roundup and you’re itching for some more great apps for your mobile device, or if you’re a Symbian user and don’t see yourself represented here, head over to Popular Science and check out my roundup of Must Have Mobile Apps to help bolster your list!

[ PC Mag :: Top 100 Free Apps for Your Phone ]