May 6, 2008 – Finally, Microsoft has released Service Pack 3 for Windows XP.  With all the pains of using Windows Vista, I don’t know if I’m the only one, but I feel more excited to install XP SP3 than installing SP1 in Vista.  Windows XP has proven a lot and works better than Vista (my opinion).  Vista still has a lot to prove or with the upcoming Windows 7 it just may die a sudden death.  So, right now I am very much happy using Windows XP for my test machine and Linux on my production machines.

From Microsoft:

This installation package is intended for IT professionals and developers downloading and installing on multiple computers on a network. If you’re updating just one computer, please visit Windows Update.

Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) includes all previously released updates for the operating system. This update also includes a small number of new functionalities, which do not significantly change customers’ experience with the operating system.

Download XP SP3  here

Adobe Systems Incorporated just recently released their free online Photoshop Express. Going with the trend of online productivity tools, Photoshop Express was designed as a web based basic image editing tool. Just enough to make minor touches and changes to your precious photos.

Some functionality includes:

Basics:

• Crop and Rotate
• Auto Correct
• Exposure
• Red Eye Removal
• Touchup
• Saturation

Tuning:

• White Balance
• Highlight
• Fill Light
• Sharpen
• Soft Focus

Effects:

• Pop Color
• Hue
• Black and White
• Tint
• Skecth
• Distort

… and more to come since the online tool is still in Beta..

Photoshop Express also allows you to store your images online (up to 2GB of space), create a gallery and slide shows or even browse other users’ images available to public.

Click here to try Photoshop Express now.

I discovered Miro (formerly know as Democracy TV) when I could not have complete control of our TV remote control (wife and son is in control) in our bedroom. Nothing left for entertainment, I grab my Ubuntu notebook and searched for internet TV for Linux, and there I found Miro. Miro is not only for Linux but also for Windows and Mac OSX. I searched the channel guide and found all the technology channels that I want, and discovered new channels that I now love.

Quite simply, Miro is a free application for channels of internet video (also known as ‘video podcasts and video rss). Miro is designed to be easy to use and to give you an elegant fullscreen viewing experience.

There are thousands of free internet video channels that you can watch. You’ll be able to download all the videos that each channel offers and when new ones are released, Miro will grab them automatically.

Unlike tiny videos on websites like YouTube, Miro videos are usually very high quality and look great when watched full screen. Since Miro downloads videos completely before you watch, your videos will never skip or stutter while they are playing.

To download Miro click here

Below is a demo video on how to use Miro: