The Consumer Electronics Show 2009 is set to begin, and some of Stardock’s staff will be on hand to bring you the latest updates from the show.  CES ‘09 will feature a keynote by Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer, which presumably he will give us more details on Windows 7, and maybe a peek at yet unannounced products. 

CES was scaled back in the past, but this year they are coming back with a bang.  The event is being held in Las Vegas, and many major electronics, gaming, etc. companies will be there to show off what’s coming up throughout the year.  The Impulse team will be bringing updates right from the show floor, and we have created a category dedicated to CES 2009 coverage.

Keep updated here.

http://www.impulsedriven.com/ces2009

or

http://www.impulsedriven.net/category/522/CES_2009

It’s that time of the year again where people will start giving their predictions for what will hold for the  tech industry in the new year.  With the economy being in the state that it is, mostly everything I have read so far is pretty pessimistic, but putting politics aside, I think 2009 has potential to be a big rebound as far as tech goes.

With that being said, I will start with the most obvious one.

1. Windows 7 arrives.  Microsoft hasn’t been too forthcoming about when the next version of Windows will arrive, and we have heard dates going all the way to 2011.  I think Windows 7 will arrive sometime this summer with a hype that we didn’t see with Vista.  I haven’t gotten my hands on Windows 7 yet, but I am hearing some really great things about it so far.  We are already getting a glimpse of how Windows 7 will operate, but what we haven’t heard much about is the gritty details such as pricing and versioning.  I have written about before the need for Win7 to have a more family-friendly licensing, and to drop the numerous SKU’s for just one or two.
    
   
2. Steve Jobs leave Apple.  Apple shocked the tech community recently when they announced this years Macworld will be its last, and that Steve Jobs will not give the final keynote.  Speculation and rumors are running abound about the reasons behind it, but that simple fact is that Jobs is on his way out.  How this will affect Apple going forward is yet to be seen, but Apple’s stocks will certainly take a hit once this is announced.  This certainly won’t mean the end for Apple, but will they continue on their current track with new leadership?  I say yes.
   
   
3. Online services takeover.  Well “takeover” is a bit of a stretch, but 2009 will be the year when more and more services like “the cloud” launch.  In 2008 we saw services like Google Documents become more usable, and saw others like Microsoft step their feet into the online office waters.  Apple dove right in with MobileMe, which despite its rough launch, it has shown what “cloud” services can do for the average consumer.  Just today I was reading more speculation that iWork will move towards online integration, but no confirmation as of yet.  And of course we can’t forget Microsoft’s announcement of their Azure platform which has some tremendous potential.
   
   
4. Next-gen consoles revealed.  The next-gen consoles like the Xbox 360 are not so “next-gen” anymore, and this year we will get a peek at the next, “next-gen” consoles.  We still won’t see the actual units ship until at least late 2010, but the hype machine won’t wait that long.  Aside from the usual graphic improvements, blu-ray will once again be a big feature, along with more integration with home entertainment features. 
   
   
5. Social networks “slow down”.  This year we seen social networks like Facebook, Friendfeed, and Twitter really take off.  The popularity of these services spawned a ton of startup services, but towards the end of the year we have also seen many of them fade into oblivion.  2009 will bring a new wave of updates such as a “pro” version of Twitter, and these services will remain extremely popular, but the overall excitement and expansion of these networks will start to slow down.

Well those are my 2009 predictions, and I think most are pretty solid.  Do you agree with these?  Leave your comments and let me know.

The holiday season is here again, and it’s time for the 2008 Holiday Gift Guide.  One of the great things about Impulse is the ability to purchase gifts for other people, and they will be able to download them without having to wait for a package to arrive through the mail.

Day 3 we are going to go right into desktop enhancements, most of which will be applications to help you customize and organize your desktop.

WindowBlinds 6

There is no better way to change the complete look and feel of Windows, than with WindowBlinds.  WindowBlinds 6 brings a ton of new features and performance enhancements that makes this perfect for anyone who wants to get away from Windows default look.  Whether it’s wild or mild, there are skins to fit just about every personality.

 

Link: WindowBlinds 6 ($19.95)

IconPackager 4

If you want to change the entire set of Windows icons, or each individually, IconPackager 4 will make any geek happy.  There are hundreds of icon packages available on sites like WinCustomize.com that are available to download and use with IconPackager.  Many icon packs are made to match a particular WindowBlinds skin, and many are just completely new designs that look great with any theme.

Link: IconPackager 4 ($19.95)

Object Desktop/Object Desktop Ultimate

Object Desktop is a suite of desktop enhancements, which include both WindowBlinds and IconPackager.  Both Object Desktop and Object Desktop Ultimate contain the same core applications, the Ultimate upgrade adds additional applications such as SoundPackager, TweakVista, IconDeveloper, and more.  Object Desktop 2009 was recently released, so now is a perfect time to get started.

Link: Object Desktop ($49.95)

Link: Object Desktop Ultimate ($69.95)

ObjectDock Plus

ObjectDock is the best when it comes to an application which can help you organize your desktop with an animated and fully functional dock.  ObjectDock Plus adds the ability to have multiple docks, tabbed docks,  system tray support, and more.  View a demo video here.

Link: ObjectDock Plus ($19.95)

A couple weeks ago I asked people to nominate Frogboy for the third annual Edge Game Industry Heroes Award (EGIHA). It is given to 25 people in the industry worldwide that engender respect for the profession and demonstrated superior ability in achieving lasting tangible positive results throughout the year. They are seen as a catalyst of success and inspire confidence and admiration within their peer group and others.

I like to think of the EGIHA as an a combined Olympic & Oscar award for the gaming industry. There is no particular order of rank however. The named recipients are simply considered the best and the brightest the industry had to offer for the given year by the Edge editorial board. I think this is a very nice well deserved honor for Brad and his maverick activities for nearly two decades in establishing and building SD and crafting its alliances within the industry.

Moreover it is also a great testament to team SD as well as team IC for all their hard work this past year. After all a leader is nothing without a solid team of people around him/her and it appears SD & IC have it in spades. This is especially so given the company surrounding Brad on the list. Consequently I say it makes the SD family the biggest little guys out there.

If you ever worry about losing your data from a corrupted document, or from a power outage, KeepSafe is the ideal solution for real-time data backup.  KeepSafe has an easy to use interface and setup wizard, which will get your data protected in no time.  You can select which types of documents to backup, and there are a wide variety of options for maintaining those backups.

To see a more detailed review, check out one of my walkthroughs.

• Keep Your Data Safe with KeepSafe 2.0

KeepSafe is normally $30, but Stardock has a special holiday promotion going on where you can get KeepSafe for just $8.95. 

Use coupon code KEEPSAFE-2008 at checkout.

Link: KeepSafe

Several months have gone by already in the 2008 GUI Championships, and today we get the honor of announcing the final winners in this competition.  This years contest featured three categories….WindowBlinds (Visual Styles), Icon Packs, and .Dreams (Animated Wallpapers).  There were so many outstanding entries this year, but it’s time we focus on the final winners.

These participants will receive prizes from our valued prize sponsors such as AMD, TechSmith, Corel, Stardock, DeviantART, WinCustomize, and Wacom!

Link: GUI Champs ‘08 Final Winners

The holiday season is here again, and it’s time for the 2008 Holiday Gift Guide.  One of the great things about Impulse is the ability to purchase gifts for other people, and they will be able to download them without having to wait for a package to arrive through the mail.

In Day 2 we will look at some of the useful tools and utilities you can find on Impulse.  Whether it’s tools to keep your PC maintained, or to make it more productive, there are  plenty of applications available to help.

Tool and Utilities

Multiplicity Pro

If you have two or more computers on your desk, then you need Multiplicity.  Multiplicity allows you to control multiple computers with one keyboard and mouse. 

It’s the ultimate in productivity, and it’s one of the tools I just can’t work without.

• Link: Multiplicity Pro

KeepSafe

KeepSafe offers users the ability to seamlessly offer a real-time backup of your files.  Anybody who works with important files would really appreciate this.

• Link: KeepSafe

System Mechanic

Over time temp files and other things will start to clutter up your PC, and you need a good and safe way to keep  it running like new.  System Mechanic has a wide variety of tools to do just that, and even defragment your drives, manage memory, remove malware, and much more.

• Link: System Mechanic

AVG Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware

AVG is one of the best names out there when it comes to anti-virus, and this package also include anti-spyware  and anti-spam features also.  A firewall along with other tools gives you all the protection you should need.

• Link: AVG Anti-Virus

Genie Backup Manager Home 8

If you need a complete backup and recovery system, then look no further.  Genie Backup Manager Home 8 can  backup your data to a variety of media such as DVD’s, External Drives, online, and much more. 

• Link: Genie Backup Manager Home 8

The holiday season is here again, and it’s time for the 2008 Holiday Gift Guide.  One of the great things about Impulse is the ability to purchase gifts for other people, and they will be able to download them without having to wait for a package to arrive through the mail.

With Day 1, we are going to start off with MyColors themes.  MyColors allows you to change the complete look of your desktop with a new visual style, icons, wallpaper, and desktop gadgets with one easy to use interface.  There are tons of themes available including licensed themes from the NBA, NHL, Ford, Chevy, and more!  MyColors is a great gift as no other software is required to change your desktop, MyColors takes care of it all.

Sports fans

Know someone who loves basketball, hockey, or collegiate sports teams?  What could be a cooler gift then giving them the ability to put their favorite team right there on the desktop? 

• NBA Themes
• NHL Themes
• Collegiate Themes

You can browse all the team themes at the links above, but here are a few highlights.

Miami Heat	Detroit Red Wings	Texas A&M

Fun Themes

One of my personal favorite theme types is in the ‘fun’ category.  Here we have a variety of MyColors themes that are based on season, video games, and anything that is cool and fun.

These are a few examples, and more can be found here.

• MyColors Aquarium Desktop
• Pirate Desktop
• Princess Desktop
• Sins of a Solar Empire
• Sunny Day Desktop

Pirates	Sins of a Solar Empire

Rides

Another very popular themes category for MyColors is ‘Rides’.  MyColors has officially licensed themes for Camero, Corvette, Mustang, and Harley-Davidson.

Harley-Davidson	Corvette	Mustang

All of these MyColors themes are under $20, and make a perfect gift for anyone who spends time behind a computer screen.  Don’t forget, if you are a current Object Desktop subscriber, you get a discount off of MyColors themes!

Link: MyColors

While Electronic Arts dominated the top selling list with Spore and the Sims expansions, Stardock found itself with the 6^th best selling PC game title of the year despite the fact that the game has no copy protection whatsoever.  Stardock has been a long-time proponent of focusing on increasing sales by rewarding customers with free after release updates instead of using invasive DRM to fight piracy. 

Stardock’s Galactic Civilizations series began this trend with Ironclad’s Sins of a Solar Empire continuing it.  Sins of a Solar Empire recently saw a massive free update in the form of v1.1 this past November – 9 months after release and its first expansion pack, Entrenchment, just went into public beta.

Stardock’s next PC game, Demigod, developed by Gas Powered Games, has a March target  release date and will also include no on disk copy protection.

Source: http://pc.ign.com/articles/936/936933p2.html

Last week, AMD released an update to their Catalyst drivers, including enhancements that were added specifically for the benefit of DeskScapes users who are still running Windows XP. You should expect to see a dramatic drop in CPU usage especially for dynamic dreams.

We are encouraging all AMD card owners who are using DeskScapes to update their drivers. If you are still using Windows XP, this is a requirement.

The drivers are available for download from http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_catalyst.aspx or can be accessed directly via the Community tab from Impulse.