There are many ways to display media content stored on your computer onto your tv. Most laptops/desktops come standard with an S-Video out port. This small circular port is usually located at the rear of your computer and transmits video signal from your computer to your tv. Check the back of your computer and your TV for a port that looks like this. If S-Video ports exist on both your tv and laptop all you need is an S-Video cord. These can be purchased at any electronics specialty shop or big box store (Futureshop, Wal-Mart, Radio Shack). Plug the S-Video cord from your computer to your tv. There are two ways of activating the tv display. Most laptops have a keyboard shortcut built-in to enable S-Video output, this is usually the Function key + F7 or F8. The appropriate F key will probably have an illustration of two screens. If this shortcut doesn't work for you or you are using a desktop simply right click on the Windows desktop and choose Properties. Under settings look for a second display marked with a number 2. Click on this display and check the box "Extend my Windows desktop onto this display". This will turn the TV into a second display that you can drag open windows onto. (You may need to adjust the resolution according to your TV).
Newer HDTV's have the option of VGA-Input. This will be seen on your computer/tv as a small blue port. (photo here) For this you will need a VGA cable, these can be a little more expensive than an S-Video cord but are much higher quality. Once both ends are connected to the TV and computer repeat the steps provided for S-Video.
Now that video is taken care of, we need to get the audio to your TV/Sound System. The easiest way of accomplishing this is a 3.5mm male to RCA male cord (photo here). Plug one end into your headphone/audio out jack of your computer and the other into the audio jacks of your TV. If you are using S-Video this will usually be Video 1 on your TV, for VGA the jack will be labeled.
Once everything is hooked up simply open a video, the internet, powerpoint, etc. and drag it over to your TV. For video playback you may need to disable your screensaver and monitor power saving features.
5.2.09
Windows 7 Beta
Microsoft has recently unveiled its latest version of its OS entitled Windows 7 (the seventh windows release). To the untrained eye 7 looks like a copy of Vista dressed up for the prom but Windows 7 does bring some actual improvements to the table. Enhanced OS navigation, stronger security and a whole slew of gadgets, add-ons and tweaks. Installing the Beta is fairly straight forward - burn the ISO to a DVD, boot your computer to the DVD and install. If you are only running a single partition or hard drive be warned that new windows installations will wipe your hard drive, be cautious when installing a new OS. To check out more information about whats new in Windows 7 and to try out the Beta for yourself (Beta is avaiable through August 09) visit the direct download page from Microsoft here.
NoScript: Firefox Add-On
NoScript is a great piece of open source software that allows you to block incoming Flash/Java scripts. This is great for blocking annoying ads/pop-ups that you encounter as you surf the web. NoScript runs as a tiny icon in the status bar of Firefox and gives you a list of java/flash scripts currently on the page with the ability to set permissions as to which to block and which to let run. To read more about NoScript or check out an instructional video on installion and use visit the NoScript website here. Or check out the direct installation page here.
3.2.09
Safari 3.2 - Mac and Windows
Apple has just released the newest version of its popular browser "Safari", but whats so special? Well how about the fact that this newest version is Windows compatible. That's right, Apple's flagship browser is now ready to use on your windows machine. Apple has quoted the newest version of Safari as being almost 3 times as fast as Internet Explorer and 1 1/2 times faster than Firefox 2.0 (no word on comparisons to Firefox 3) . So if your a Mac user, Mac wannabe or just want to see what all the huff is about download the latest version of the Safari browser here. With iTunes, Quicktime and now Safari soon that infernal talking paperclip will be the only remnants of Windows.
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