Do you have that stubborn friend who insists on voting for the worst of the two evils? Now you can actually make a difference for your country without actually taking much time or effort to do so! If you want to send a wake-up call to someone who can’t take precious time out of their day to vote, then check out this site. Simply enter their name and e-mail address. They receive a link to a short video of a news report that explains the importance that their vote makes. The Flash video cleverly and seamlessly imports their name into the news report. I was a bit disappointed that the newscaster didn’t actually speak my name however. I’ve already seen Flash sites that use speech synthesis to convert electronic text to audio.

This is just like the talking computer WOPR from the classic movie War Games, just not as cheesy. Microsoft has several products centered on this. The Microsoft Speech SDK is actually pretty easy to use, if you want to write your own Text To Speech application. This is already built into Vista, simply select the “Ease of Access Center” icon and your computer will start talking. The Narrator program will speak the text you have displayed on your active application. It is highly customizable to support other languages and voices.

News At Seven has done this. They randomly select news stories, and then have a gaming engine render the newscaster. Text to speech makes the newscaster “speak.” You can download a video clip from their site here.

I’m not an ad wizard, but I could see this kind of thing being used as effective advertising. With your own Facebook account, they already know your name and interests. If you are going to display an ad on your site, why not do a Flash advertisement where the actor in the commercial speaks your name? For example: “Ed Hassinger, Gears of War 2 is out now! It is on your Amazon wish list and they have free shipping!”

Now hear this: GO VOTE!

Have you heard the term “Rick Roll” and not known what it meant? It’s popular enough that someone is dressing as “Rick Roll” for Halloween. Geek Sugar has the story and a little history of Rick Rolling for you to reference.

I was a little surprised by a study this week that found that videoconferences distort decisions. Since this is a common part of business for many, the article might help you avoid the pitfalls.

Meghan at Non Society found software to consolidate multiple IM applications. If you are keeping up with more than one, try Meebo.

How do you follow up on a headline-grabbing design introduced by Karolina Kurkova? Go bigger, brighter, bolder — and add a subwoofer.

Dell today kicked off a season of great products, great designs and great deals with the launch of the XPS One 24. Available in the U.S. starting at $1,699, the updated design boasts a 24-inch, edge-to-edge 1080p HD display and premium JBL dual stereo speakers for immersive entertainment experiences.

The XPS One 24 integrates an array of features, including HDTV, DVR, optional Blu-ray Disc player and recorder, component stereo system, video phone, and media library.

In addition to the larger display and premium sound capabilities, the XPS One 24 features NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT video graphics for eye-popping visuals and Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 quad core processor to easily handle complex multimedia activities.

You can check out some first impressions at DesktopReview.com.

And this season, white is the new (RED). Dell offers two Pure White XPS One 24 (PRODUCT) RED configurations, a version with Windows Vista Home Premium starting $1,699 and one starting at $2,299 featuring Windows Vista Ultimate (PRODUCT) RED and other upgrades. Each purchase of an XPS One 24 (PRODUCT) RED system contributes $50-$80 (depending on the configuration) to the Global Fund. To place that in perspective, a $50 contribution can provide nearly four months of life-saving treatment for an individual living with HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Dell’s also launched the new www.dell.com/everyday Web site, a one-stop holiday shopping destination for daily deals and personalization ideas. Be the first to know about the deal of the day via tweets at http://twitter.com/DellEveryday , or check out the Everyday Deals Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dell-Everyday-Deals/56260914096. You can also sign up to receive alerts via SMS, e-mail or RSS.

Previously, I mentioned how life with losing a cable TV channel could be rough. I’ve also mentioned how you can use Microsoft Media Center to record television shows on your PC. The key question is how do you stream media on your PC to your living room PC? This is a problem that many companies have had a hand in trying to resolve. Namely Amazon, Intel, Microsoft, Apple, Google, etc. Well settle in for the answer, because there are a lot of options.

Generally, there are two approaches to stream music/video/television from your PC to your TV.

1. A dedicated non- PC hardware device i.e. Roko with the popular Netflix service, Tivo with Amazon Video On Demand (formerly Amazon Unbox) and the Apple TV. Typically, they work on a subscription-based model, you buy the shows/plan you want, hook the device to your TV and away you go. It may cost more, but you have convenience. Note: The popular Slingbox device isn’t quite in this category. It relies on a TV source you supply, and allows you to view it anywhere with an Internet connection.

2. PC Software – There is ample software to do this task i.e. TVeristy, Zune, Windows Media Player, XBMC, Orb, Google Media Server, Connect360, and those are just the primary Windows programs. Many exist for the Mac and Linux. After the install, you could simply hook a PC to your TV. However, the heat, noise and size of the PC might not work with your decor. You could build a PC better suited, or looks for a sleek compact model i.e. the Dell Hybrid. You really don’t need a high-end PC for such a task.

Fortunately, many non-PC devices can hook to your TV and stream those video files on your PC using the software above. One standard is the Digital Living Room Network Alliance, which is trying to make this ecosystem all work together. In this situation, the PC handles downloading the show, then transcodes it to a proper video format for your device attached to your PC. The most popular devices to do this are the XBOX 360 and PS3. They are a great buy considering their primary purpose is to play video games. Having both, I prefer the XBOX 360 because it supports direct downloads of TV shows from XBOX Live as well (no PC required). Soon, you’ll be able to stream TV shows and movies directly to your XBOX from Netflix library directly, without a third-party PC install. This includes movies in HD as well.

Of the software I mentioned, I’ve tried most. Each has pluses and minuses. Not a day goes by that I don’t use Media Center for streaming TV I’ve recorded on my computer from cable. For TV shows I can’t record, I recently tried PlayOn by MediaMall. Play On allows you to stream browser based TV to various devices.

It is in beta, and the first few iterations didn’t install on my PC. The PC requirements are minimal, and you simply need Windows Media Player 11 as a prerequisite. Both my PS3 and 360 connected effortlessly. TV shows did stream well, and the picture quality was great considering we are talking about Flash video. However, the real deal breaker is that Hulu didn’t stream for more than a few seconds. A $30 price tag is a bit steep, but if it worked well it might be worth the price.

Thoughts? What works best for you? Has anyone actually cut the cord and dropped TV service to stream their shows exclusively over the Internet or over-the-air?

We are getting ready to park the Dell Taxi for good and announce the winner of the Dell Red Carpet Reporter search for the MTV Europe Music Awards in Liverpool, UK, on November 6^th. It’s been a great ride with over 25,000 entries to the competitions to date – with only one stop left!

Quite a Ride

The Dell Taxi has been touring the UK, visiting universities, music venues, and shopping centres in nine cities, looking for that one personality that shines through the rest. Dell decked-out the taxi to serve as a mobile film studio fitted with the latest HD recording equipment, and hopefuls have been submitting tapes, right on the spot.

Hoards of people from London, Bristol, Cardiff, Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds, Newcastle, Manchester, and today in Liverpool, have already submitted their entries. Response has been tremendous – even local radio DJs came down to have a go.

Last Call

On its final stop, the Dell Taxi is in Liverpool today at the Feeder concert at Mountford Hall. If you’re in town, check out details on how you can spot us on Facebook. Or, enter by uploading your video onto www.dell.co.uk/mtv. Contest is open to residents of the UK and Ireland until midnight tonight, GMT.

Check out more on the road show at www.dell.co.uk/mtv.

I and many others in the Austin area have a problem. For the past three weeks, Time Warner Cable has dropped NBC from their TV lineup. Now, I’m probably the only person that isn’t a Heroes fan. However, I do like 30 Rock and for some strange reason I still watch ER after 15 years. This public dispute has gotten pretty ugly, with both sides taking it to the air waves.

There are generally three approaches to watching a TV show in this situation:

1. BitTorrent – Is a very popular option. However, the legality of it is questionable. Personally I don’t think it is that easy to find, download and transcode the video files as people would lead you to believe.

2. Over The Air – This is getting to be a more common way to watch TV, just as you probably did as a kid (well for people of a certain age). Old fashioned TV antennas have become popular again, and you can plug the antenna directly into your Tivo, DVR, PC, etc. etc. Most primetime shows now air in high definition at this point too. “Elizabeth” at Time Warner Cable sent me an image on how I could set this up to watch my NBC shows. It looks like something they had their high school intern or my preschool son draw up.

3. Browser Based – Many TV networks allow you to watch their shows with limited commercials on their Web site. Hulu is a great site for a variety of different networks and shows.

Since the latest stock market crash, I’ve stopped lighting cigars with $10 bills. So, in theory, you could get most of your TV programming by only paying for an Internet connection. The problem with almost every approach above, is that the TV show or video obtained off the Internet can basically only be watched on the PC. There are a mind-boggling number of ways to stream video on your PC to your TV. In my next post, I’ll tell you how.

There are advantages to waiting to the last minute to get a Halloween costume. Kids can change their minds or have a growth spurt that can make shopping in advance troublesome. On the other hand, it might be hard to get exactly what you need with only a few days left.

Here are a few resources to help you make this year’s costume.

Parents.com has a list of 21 DIY costumes. I absolutely love the Pac-Man costume – how creative!

Family Fun has a list of last-minute costumes. Not only are there over 100 to choose from, many do not take much time. My favorite is this bug costume that takes less than an hour to make. And as you would expect, there is a Web site just for homemade costumes. It has pictures, instructions and ideas submitted from people online.

If you are more interested in dressing up your online profile or gadgets, we have some tips for you, too! Try a creepy monster ringtone or a jack-o-lantern widget to share your hauntingly fun spirit. You might also try one of these fun wallpaper designs for your screen.

Last, take this online quiz to help you prepare for the right choices with that Halloween candy!

If you work out regularly, you’ll notice that two of a chic geek’s most prized possessions, a heart monitor and a pedometer, are less than fashionable. With the usual choices of everything in drone gray or generic black, it’s hard to show any fashion sense through these monitoring must-haves. To change the up market and offer more choices, Tanita Japan, a manufacturer most known for its scales and other health equipment, will soon be selling its jeweled and flashy FB-720-ZT line of pedometers.

Not only are they fun, they’re also practical and loaded with some great features, including a three-dimensional sensor and seven-day memory to properly log every step. To be honest, those are about the only two features I use on my current pedometer. I once spent a lot of money to buy a top-of-the-line pedometer and heart monitor in efforts to take my health more seriously, only to use less than half of the features that came with them. Ugh! We’ve all made those kinds of technology buying mistakes, haven’t we?

With the right features and a little bit of style, it’s finally a tech-cessory for the exercising chic geek that doesn’t bring down the wardrobe. The choice of styles and designs will allow for almost every kind of workout chic geek to find their style and display it proudly.

Looking forward to your thoughts and comments.

When I was in high school, the windows of our house would routinely shake from the deep sounds of bass from passing cars. My parents hated it, but to me it was unique signature of sound from either one of my friends or another kid in the neighborhood. You see, each car and sound system could be associated with an individual person, and the frequency of bass and shaking of windows told me long in advance just who was driving up the street.

For my generation it was cars and trucks. For this generation, it might be bikes.

Made In Queens is a documentary about “Stereo Bikes.” Produced by MTV2 Films and directed by Nicolas Randall and Joe Stevens, the film follows a group of young Trinidad and Tobago immigrants living in the Bronx as they tinker and build custom mobile sound systems … on bikes!

Frankenbike

BassZilla

No joking. These kids are serious. Check out the system specifications for BassZilla, pictured above.

Four 16-volt car batteries powering four 15” bass speakers in back, two 6.5” mids over two 6×9” mids up front. Two 3,000-watt bass amps and one 2,000-watt mids amp. DVD touch screen with navigation and music equalizer. A 22-tooth chainring. Heavy duty chain, rims, tires and custom-welded support brackets.

Regardless of how ridiculous this may look to you, these kids are doing positive and constructive things. Check out the trailer for the movie, and catch it in theaters if you get a chance.

So what do you think? Mobile dance party, or public nuisance? Personally, I can dig it. =)

“Oooooo, pretty!”

That’s usually the first reaction I get whenever I show Dell’ new Inspiron Mini 12 to someone. My favorite reaction was watching my husband and daughter go back and forth between the Mini 9 and the Mini 12 trying to decide which was their “favorite” when I brought them both home for one night recently.

Today or tomorrow (depending are where you are) we expand our “Mini” family with the Inspiron Mini 12. It is debuting exclusively in Japan, and a limited number will appear this week on the shelves of several retail stores there – including Bic Camera, Kojima and Sofmap. We expect the Mini 12 to be available worldwide on dell.com by the end of November with a starting price under $600.

When looking at the Mini 9 and the Mini 12, each of course, has their strong points. Each is small, thin, light (less than 3 lbs.) and easy on the shoulder in terms of schlepability. And both were purpose-designed for on-the-go connectivity. The Mini 12 obviously has a bigger “footprint” than the Mini 9 – but the extra space is put to good use, with a bigger keyboard and bigger screen (12-inch vs. 9-inch), and bigger hard drives (40,60, 80GB).

Like the Mini 9, the Mini 12 was designed with burst activities in mind. The device is powered by another of Intel’s Atom processors – the one known as Silverthorne – so it gets great battery life (our lab is benchmarking approximately 3.5 hours 3 hours with the 3-cell battery, more than 7 hours and about 6 hours with the optional 6-cell battery). It’s great to carry for the day, jumping online, checking email, uploading pictures, and surfing the net, or connecting to your primary PC via Dell Remote Access.

Update: My original battery times were based on early testing information. See the strikethrough details in the previous paragraph for updated details. My apologies for the oversight.

When I recently showed off the Minis to my co-workers , I compared them to Mini Coopers (I may be setting myself up for some schooling by the auto enthusiast crowd here). They are cute, they are great for buzzing around town in, but they are not designed to tow a trailer. The Mini 9 and 12 are similar – use them all day long to get around and stay in touch, but use your primary desktop or laptop to do the heavy lifting like multitasking (e.g. having multiple applications open at the same time), picture and video editing, file conversions, database manipulation, or, of course, high end gaming.

When the Mini 12 does become available on dell.com, it will likely be with Windows Vista first, with the Dell customized interface version of Ubuntu following by the end of the year. It comes with a built-in Webcam (with Dell Video Chat), Blutooth, and Wi-Fi standard. And let’s set the record straight now regarding WWAN – like the Mini 9, the Mini 12 is not “mobile broadband” ready today. Stay tuned, however, as we a working as quickly as possible to make that happen (it’s like herding cats as I understand it/ It involves extensive testing and qualification by several different folks including the FCC, the wireless carriers, and our own wireless and engineering teams). For those who want a Mini and mobile broadband today – I recommend you look at any of the USB solutions from wireless carriers.

Since the Mini 12 isn’t available here yet, we haven’t sent any out for review, but we expect to in the next week or so. In the meantime, Lionel’s Direct2Dell post has gathered links to a few online stories about the Mini 12.