How to stream Netflix(and more) to the Wii(Update!)
Almost everyone has an XBox. They are great game players and media players. Microsoft has been trying to make the XBox your primary TV experience, and is doing a good job about it. The Wii on the other hand, well, at least it has a web browser with flash 7. But, without plugins such as making it a Media Center Extender, or getting Netflix on it, my family would probably never use the Wii so much. But, we do have these plugins. And I will show you how to get Netflix and more on your Wii, for a cheap price(Sadly, it is not free). Here is what you need:
What you need:
A Wii with the Web Browser(Free $5.00)
A Windows PC with 512MB of RAM, 100MB of free HDD space, and good processor(I got it working on a netbook)
DSL or higher
PlayOn Media Server(14-day free trial, $40 to buy)
A Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, or Amazon account.
This is a disclaimer: I just want you to know, before you go any farther, this is NOT FREE. I am still trying to find a free solution/alternative, but a lot of people have been asking for this on both Facebook and Twitter. If you know of a free alternative(besides pirating), please let us know in the comments, or DM us on Twitter @NysicsMedia.
Now let’s jump right in!
First, go to the PlayOn website, then click either “Try PlayOn Free!” or “Purchase PlayOn”. If you click purchase, there will be a link to the free trial. They just want to make sure it runs on your computer before you buy it.
Next, assuming you clicked “Try PlayOn Free”, on the next page, scroll down and click “Start Your 14 Day Free Trial Now”.
On the next screen, scroll down, enter your name and email address, then click “Download Free Trial”.
Click “Save” on the next screen(or window that pops up), and wait for the file to download.
After it’s done, click “Run” or “Open”. You may have to click “Allow” or “Yes” if you’re running Windows Vista or Windows 7.
In the installation window, just keep clicking “Next”, accept the Terms and Conditions, and let it install.
When the installation is done, check the “Launch PlayOn” box, and then click “Finish”.
When the window is done loading up, click the “User Accounts” tab, then enter your Netflix(and Hulu, Amazon, or YouTube info if you want…), then click “Test”.
In the window that pops up, click “OK”, then click “OK”. You’re done with the computer part! Now to move onto the Wii…
On the Wii
First, buy the Internet Channel from the Wii Shop Channel if you haven’t already. If you have bought it, open it up, then click “Start”.
When it is done loading, click “Web Address”, then enter playon.tv and push ok.
When the web page loads up, it should show a list of the computers with PlayOn on it. If there is only one computer, it will find it and automatically select it(If it doesn’t for some strange reason, click your computer’s name).
After it’s done connecting to your computer, you will see a list of icons. Click “Netflix”.
You are done! You know have Netflix all set up and working on your Wii!
Hope this helps make the Wii a better media tool. Enjoy!
(If you want to know the technology behind it, click here.)
Add network videos and pictures to Windows Live Movie Maker
If you have a small hard drive, you probably don’t store all of your pictures and videos on it, but instead put it on a network drive. The only problem is, well, Windows Live Movie Maker doesn’t allow that. And I’m sure you don’t want to copy it over to your computer. So, thanks to the WithinWindows blog, I will show you how to add networked video to Windows Live Movie Maker. 
Error you get for adding networked videos or pictures to Movie Maker
Let’s get started. First, make sure the folder that holds your videos is shared. If it’s not shared, or if your not sure it’s shared, right-click the folder, then click “Properties” 
Next, click the “Sharing” tab, then click “Share…” 
Next, click the drop down arrow, click “Everyone,” then click “Add” 
Next, click the “Read” drop down button, click “Read/Write,” then click “Share.” 
Hopefully you will get this screen. Click “Done.” 
Now it’s time for the fun part: Getting those videos into Movie Maker. What your about to do is going to be really hard, but I’ll try to make it as easy as possible.
First, make sure Movie Maker is closed. Then click the “Start” button, search for “regedit.exe”, then push the “Enter” button on your keyboard. If User Account Control(UAC) pops up, click “OK.” 
Next, browse to “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows Live\Movie Maker” by clicking the arrows on the side of the window. 
Next, click “Movie Maker” on the side of the window if you haven’t already, then right-click any blank spot, and choose “New” > “DWORD Value (your computer type) Value”. If you don’t know what “bit” your computer is, just choose “32”. “64 bit” if you have more than 4GB of RAM.
Type in “AllowNetworkFiles” then push “Enter” on the keyboard. 
Next, double click the entry you just made, then replace “0” with “1”. Click “OK.” 
Close the registry editor, then open up Windows Live Movie Maker and try to add a network file. It should work now. 
Have fun making movies!
Source: Within Windows
Sync Windows Live Calendar with Windows Mobile, iPhone, etc…
Lot’s of people have been asking Microsoft to add a calendar syncing feature for Windows Live Calendar. Since Microsoft has not yet added this feature, I’m going to post a work around that will allow you to sync Windows Live Calendar with Windows Mobile, iPhone, or anything that supports Microsoft ActiveSync/Exchange, through Google Calendar and Microsoft Office Outlook. Lets get started.
Note: Updated with troubleshooting info.
Things you need:
Microsoft Office Outlook
Outlook Connector
Windows Live Calendar account
Google Calendar account
Calgoo Connect software and a Calgoo account
Outlook
Let’s start on the Outlook side. First, if you don’t have Office Outlook, I’m sorry. You need it for this post. Second, your going to have to set up Outlook before you continue with this post. If it’s not already set up(as in first screen wizard), just continue without eMail support.
Now that your all ready, download the Outlook Connector here. Install, and set it up. You may need to restart Outlook. When Outlook starts up again, it will ask for you Windows Live Calendar(or ID) account details. Enter your account details, then click “OK.”
Now, if you use Outlook as your primary email program, skip this step. Your all done. If not, continue.
Look for the Outlook statusbar icon, right-click on it, then click “Hide when Minimized.”
Calgoo
Now, you need to sign up and download Calgoo connect from http://www.calgoo.com/connect/index.do . After downloading, install it. When your done installing it, open the program(if it doesn’t start up automatically), then click the
button to set up calendar sharing.
In the window that pops up, select “Sync an Outlook Calendar with a Google Calendar,” then click “Next.”
Name the connector, then click “Next.”
Select your Windows Live Calendar email address, then select the calendar you want to sync with. For this post, I’ll use Sample Calendar. Click “Next.”
(If CalGoo can’t read your Outlook calendars, go here to try to fix the problem)
On the next screen, enter your Google Calendar user details, then click “Next.”
Now, if you don’t want to sync with your current Google calendar, click “Create a new calendar.” If you want to sync with a current calendar, click “Browse my Google calendars.” Select a calendar, and make sure it’s your default calendar, or it wont sync with your mobile phone’s calendar.
Make sure your info is correct, then click “Next.”
Select “Synchronize Now!” then click “Finish.”
The calendars should start syncing. Now, to fine-tune everything, click the
icon, then click the “Synchronize” button. Click the “Synchronization frequency” dropdown. If you add stuff to your calendar all the time, select “On demand.” If you don’t add stuff to your calendar all the time, select “1 Hour.”
This next step is optional. Click the “Application” button.
Next, click check/tick the “Start Calgoo Connect automatically when Windows starts” and “Start Calgoo minimized,” then click “Ok.”
Mobile Phone
Go to the Google Sync website to find out how to set up your device.
That’s it! Enjoy!
Troubleshooting
If you get an error when trying to select your outlook calendars, before loosing hope, try restarting your computer. Restarting clears up and junk left in the system memory, and may fix your problem.
If restarting didn’t work, then try this: Close Microsoft Office Outlook and then run the synchronization setup. It should work now.
If that doesn’t work, go here to get some help: http://www.calgoo.com/connect/howto_vista_users.do (Thanks @BYlvis)
Add Quick Launch back into Windows 7
Sure, Windows 7 combines the Quick Launch bar and Taskbar, but some people might miss the old Quick Launch bar. This post shows you how to get Quick Launch back into Windows 7.
First, right-click the taskbar, select “Toolbars”, then click “New toolbar” 
Next, type(or copy and paste) “%SystemDrive%\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch” into the “Folder” box, then click “Select Folder” 
Yay! You now have the Quick Launch bar! 
Next, if you want to set the Quick Launch where it’s supposed to be, just unlock the taskbar(right-click the taskbar, then uncheck “Lock the taskbar”), then drag the Quick Launch bar over to the left of the taskbar(or wherever you want it). You can also get rid of the toolbar and button titles by right-clicking the “Quick Launch” text and un-checking the “Text” and “title” check boxes. 
Remove shadows from Windows 7 borders
If you don’t like the shadows under every Windows 7 window, or have to take screenshots for a book or a blog post and get confused about the shadows, I have the fix for you (other people do too, actually.).
Click the “Start Orb” then right-click “Computer” and click “Properties”. 
Next, click “Advanced system settings” in the window that pops up. 
Click “Settings” under “Performance” 
Then look for the “Show shadows under windows” entry and un-check the box. Click “OK”, then “OK”. 
Now there are no more shadows under any window! 
Enjoy!
Change where Messenger appears
Now that the new Windows 7 RC is out, I think I should write some blog posts on it. One of the more annoying features of Windows Live Messenger + Windows 7 is that Messenger no longer docks in the system tray where it’s supposed to be. 
No Messenger!
Instead, it puts itself where all of the other icons are, making the taskbar look more cluttered. Here’s how to fix that. 
Doesn’t that look a little cluttered and confusing?
First, before you do anything, close down Messenger by mouse-ing over the Messenger icon and pushing the red
button. 
Then, open the start menu and type in “Windows Live Messenger”, then right-click on “Windows Live Messenger”, and click “Properties”. 
In the window that pops up, click “Compatibility”, check “Run the program in compatibility mode for:”, click the drop-down box, then click “Windows Vista”. Now you can click “OK”. 
Now start Windows Live Messenger by clicking the “Start Orb” then type in “Windows Live Messenger”. Click “Windows Live Messenger”. 
Now you can say good-bye to the taskbar icon! The icon is back in the system tray where it should be. 
Enjoy!
P.S. This technique can also
be used for Windows Live Mail and other applications that used to have their icons appear in the system tray.
Automatically backup to Skydrive
Finally, a way to backup to Windows Live Skydrive! Here’s what you need:
_ A Windows Live Skydrive Account
_ Gladinet (Read my post on how to install and configure it)
_ Comodo BackUp
_ At least 10GB’s of free temporary storage(I’m barely surviving 8GB’s of free storage)
_ DSL or higher(I’m using DSL, and it stinks. Dialup users: forget it.)
Now that Skydrive has 25GB’s of storage, you start to wonder why that there isn’t a free backup solution. Well, now there is. After hours of searching and testing, I can now say I have found an almost perfect solution(and yes, I do have a life). Put on your seatbelts. Let’s jump in.
Skydrive
First, if you haven’t already, sign up for a Windows Live Skydrive account(a Windows Live ID). After you’ve signed up/in, create a folder by clicking “Create Folder” in the toolbar on Skydrive’s main screen, and name it “My Backup”. Change the permission settings to “Just Me”, unless if you want other people to get your backed up files. 
If Skydrive wants you to upload stuff, click “Cancel”. That’s it for the Skydrive end.
Gladinet
Now it’s time to install Gladinet. Go here to get all of the instructions on how to download, install, and setup Gladinet to work with Skydrive. After you’ve finished reading the instructions and all, let’s move on to Comodo Backup.
Comodo
I’ve search long and hard to find a backup program that would work with Gladinet. I’ve finally found it. Let’s start downloading it.
First, click here to download the file. After the file has been downloaded, run it and follow the setup’s instructions. When the installation is done, restart the computer.
After your computer has restarted, open Comodo(It’s probably on the desktop), and click the 
button. 
In the window that pops up, make a name for your backup, then click “Add Item” then click “Add Folder”. 
In the window that pops up, click the 
icon, then browse to the folder you want to back up, and then click on it. In this post, I’m going to use the “Pictures” folder. After you’ve clicked the folder you want backed up, click “OK”, then “OK”. 
Repeat the last two steps to add more folders. When you’re done adding all of the folders you want, click the “Destination” tab, then click the 
icon. Next, navigate(by clicking all of the arrows on the side) to “Computer”, “Resources [ip address]”, “Windows Live Skydrive”, and then “My Backup”. (Note that I couldn’t show “My Backup” in the picture below because there wasn’t enough room.) Click “OK”. 
After you’re done with that, click the “Schedule” tab, then set the time to when you want it to back up your files. I’m going to set my backup to “Selected Day Only”, I checked every other day, and set my time to 4:30PM. Click “OK”, unless if you want to play around with the advanced features. 
That’s it! You now have an automatic backup to Skydrive! Note that the first time you backup may take a couple of days, but the backups after that should be faster. Congrats! Enjoy! 
Note: To get even MORE storage, either get two Skydrive accounts, or sign up for ADrive with 50GB’s free.
Updating Messenger and Facebook from Twitter
If my last post about Twitter and Messenger helped you, this post should be even better. Let’s go over the list of stuff you need. (* = Optional)
_ Windows Live Messenger
_ Messenger Plus!
_ Twit2MSN
_ A Facebook Account*
_ A Public Twitter Account
Let’s start at the Windows Live Messenger end. First, if you haven’t already, go download Messenger Plus! from http://www.msgpluslive.net/ and install it. Then, download and run Twit2MSN(it should install automatically).
After it’s done installing, open messenger, click the 
icon, then click ”Scripts Preferences…”
Click “Twit2MSN” the click “Edit”
On line 17, replace either “WARlrus” or “twitter” with your Twitter username, then click “Save All”. Then, click “OK”.
Now for the (optional) Facebook side. First, make sure your Twitter account is public. After you’ve made that change, click this link to install the Facebook Twitter app.
Then, click the “Install Twitter in Facebook” button
Then click “Allow”
Sign in…
Then click the big “Allow Twitter to update your Facebook status” button
Make sure your name is selected, then click “Allow Status Updates”
Aaannnndddd… Your done! You can now update your Windows Live Messenger and Facebook status from anywhere in the world!
Hopefully in a couple of weeks I’ll write another [fun] way to do this when I can actually do it myself. Enjoy!
Lets skip to Windows 8
In Windows 7, Microsoft is trying yet again to copy Apple. I think the new Windows 7 taskbar is pretty cool, but a little confusing. Anyway, looking at the way Microsoft is going with their UI design, here is what Windows 8 may look like:
The really simple desktop
The Start Menu
Internet Explorer 8
And yes, this is just a joke 
