Earlier this Summer in this blog, I called this a "Summer of Disappointment." I am going to to have to say once again things have improved greatly towards the end of this Summer, and that term "Summer of Disappointment" doesn't really apply anymore. The latest example of that is the Archos Gen8 Tablets. Archos recently released a new firmware earlier this month which allows you to use your Archos Gen8 tablets such as the Archos 32 Internet Tablet to do not just audio calling through Skype but now VIDEO calling for free as well!
Just think how cool that is. You could be thousands of miles away with only your Archos Tablet and as long as you have WiFi access you could call back home and have a video call with someone without dragging along your desktop or laptop computer while on your trip.
Since this is a new feature to the Archos Gen8 Tablets, there are obviously going to be bugs and slow connections for now. But this could possibly be improved in future versions of Archos' firmware for the Gen8 Tablets.
In my video entitled "Tech Confusion: Running Skype on an Archos 32 Gen8 Internet Tablet with Video Calling Enabled", I explain the steps needed to enable the free video calling feature on Skype for an Archos 32 Tablet, but enabling Skype on many of the other Archos Gen8 Tablets should be very similar so watching my video could be helpful to owners of those models such as the A43, A70, and A101 as well.
To see this video on my NATHANROADINWA YouTube Channel Page, --> CLICK HERE <--
As always feel free to leave comments, questions, or mention any corrections if I made mistakes in the video. And for those of you with Archos 32 Model Tablets, I will probably be doing another video on the Archos 32 in the very near future.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
No surprises during the "So You Think You Can Dance" Final Performance Show of the Season
Well tonight is the 2 hour Season Finale for Season 8 of "So You Think You Can Dance." I was hoping that the very obvious frontrunner Melanie would finally face some real competition from the other 3 dancers and be challenged in the finale by some difficult dance routines.
Well neither happened.
Tadd just struggled on one routine with Sasha and didn't look like he had the right type of clothing on for that routine.
Marko looked a bit too goofy when he danced with Sasha.
Then the guys had to do an unfamiliar stepping routine together at the end of the show. Nigel then tells them after they are done dancing their last routine that he still thinks a woman was going to win this year.
On the women's side, Sasha was better than Marko and Tadd in the numbers she danced with them. However, she didn't look very believable dancing with either of the 2 remaining guys.
And that leaves us with obvious frontrunner Melanie. You knew it was probably going to be her night when after doing a Disco routine with Marko that she got no critique but just compliments from guest judges Kenny Ortega and Katie Homes despite that her Disco number was far from flawless. This Disco routine just proved my point that Melanie may not be as good in the many styles she was never chosen to perform in this season, and we will never know that for sure since the show is ending this week.
Melanie's routines after the Disco routine were just the typical Melanie-type routines we have seen in weeks past. Why couldn't we have seen Melanie do a hard hitting hip hop routine with Joshua or Sasha's routine with Mark which would have been out of her comfort zone instead of her contemporary style wearing the usual fancy dress?
I have no idea who I really would have liked to see win this season. I might have rather seen one of the Top 20 dancers who went home early on win instead. While Melanie is a great dancer, I can't really root for her because she hasn't been challenged like former winners of the show have been. And Marko was only in the finals because of his partnership with Melanie most likely. Tadd is good, but all star Joshua was much better than he was last night. So out of the 4 remaining, I think I would have to root for Sasha, but that is only because I believe she has been challenged the most of the 4 remaining dancers.
So tonight Melanie will most likely win Season 8 of "So You Think You Can Dance" unless Sasha pulls a really big upset which is unlikely since she wasn't allowed to shine like Melanie was all season long.
I am sure hoping for an upset tonight!
Well neither happened.
Tadd just struggled on one routine with Sasha and didn't look like he had the right type of clothing on for that routine.
Marko looked a bit too goofy when he danced with Sasha.
Then the guys had to do an unfamiliar stepping routine together at the end of the show. Nigel then tells them after they are done dancing their last routine that he still thinks a woman was going to win this year.
On the women's side, Sasha was better than Marko and Tadd in the numbers she danced with them. However, she didn't look very believable dancing with either of the 2 remaining guys.
And that leaves us with obvious frontrunner Melanie. You knew it was probably going to be her night when after doing a Disco routine with Marko that she got no critique but just compliments from guest judges Kenny Ortega and Katie Homes despite that her Disco number was far from flawless. This Disco routine just proved my point that Melanie may not be as good in the many styles she was never chosen to perform in this season, and we will never know that for sure since the show is ending this week.
Melanie's routines after the Disco routine were just the typical Melanie-type routines we have seen in weeks past. Why couldn't we have seen Melanie do a hard hitting hip hop routine with Joshua or Sasha's routine with Mark which would have been out of her comfort zone instead of her contemporary style wearing the usual fancy dress?
I have no idea who I really would have liked to see win this season. I might have rather seen one of the Top 20 dancers who went home early on win instead. While Melanie is a great dancer, I can't really root for her because she hasn't been challenged like former winners of the show have been. And Marko was only in the finals because of his partnership with Melanie most likely. Tadd is good, but all star Joshua was much better than he was last night. So out of the 4 remaining, I think I would have to root for Sasha, but that is only because I believe she has been challenged the most of the 4 remaining dancers.
So tonight Melanie will most likely win Season 8 of "So You Think You Can Dance" unless Sasha pulls a really big upset which is unlikely since she wasn't allowed to shine like Melanie was all season long.
I am sure hoping for an upset tonight!
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
My review of the GNW Brand Men's Leather Belt is now on my NATHANROADINWA YouTube Channel
I have recently uploaded another edition of my Honest Video Review series on my NATHANROADINWA YouTube Channel. It is a video review for a Men's leather belt made for Fred Meyer's GNW brand. I bought this belt to replace my Dockers leather belt which I previously did a video review of last year and was rather disappointed with.
I also want to mention that I am premiering my "improved" version of my Video Review Opening Theme song with this video review. The improved version is the one I created using the Magix Music Maker 17 software which I recently reviewed for this same series of video reviews on my NATHANROADINWA Channel on YouTube.
As always, let me know what you think about my video reviews by both commenting on them and rating them, and look for the other videos I have done on my NATHANROADINWA YouTube channel too such as the video reviews of the above mentioned Dockers leather belt and the Music Maker 17 software.
To see these videos, ---> CLICK HERE!!! <--- and look under the uploads section of my Channel page located at the top right corner and scroll down to the "Load more" button at the bottom of the uploads section and click the "Load more" button if you can't find the video you are looking for.
I also want to mention that I am premiering my "improved" version of my Video Review Opening Theme song with this video review. The improved version is the one I created using the Magix Music Maker 17 software which I recently reviewed for this same series of video reviews on my NATHANROADINWA Channel on YouTube.
As always, let me know what you think about my video reviews by both commenting on them and rating them, and look for the other videos I have done on my NATHANROADINWA YouTube channel too such as the video reviews of the above mentioned Dockers leather belt and the Music Maker 17 software.
To see these videos, ---> CLICK HERE!!! <--- and look under the uploads section of my Channel page located at the top right corner and scroll down to the "Load more" button at the bottom of the uploads section and click the "Load more" button if you can't find the video you are looking for.
Friday, August 5, 2011
My Honest Video Review of MAGIX Music Maker 17 Windows PC software is now on YouTube
I have uploaded another edition of my Honest Video Review Series to my NATHANROADINWA YouTube Channel. It is a review of Magix's Music Maker 17 Software for Windows PCs. I purchased this program so I could come up with some better sounding compositions for my videos as I have gotten a lot of negative comments on my YouTube comment pages about my music.
In the video I play a little of a demo song included with the software, and I also play my "improved" version of my video review theme song. I would really appreciate if people watching this video would comment and let me know if it sounds better than the version I am using now. If I get a lot of positive responses for the new version on my YouTube video comment page, I will likely change the song sooner. This is a good way for you to motivate me to change it if you really don't like my opening music that well.
To see my video review for Magix Music Maker 17 (or any other videos of mine located on my YouTube Channel page), please --> CLICK HERE!!! <--
In the video I play a little of a demo song included with the software, and I also play my "improved" version of my video review theme song. I would really appreciate if people watching this video would comment and let me know if it sounds better than the version I am using now. If I get a lot of positive responses for the new version on my YouTube video comment page, I will likely change the song sooner. This is a good way for you to motivate me to change it if you really don't like my opening music that well.
To see my video review for Magix Music Maker 17 (or any other videos of mine located on my YouTube Channel page), please --> CLICK HERE!!! <--
Thursday, August 4, 2011
My thoughts on Season 8 of So You Think You Can Dance
I watched this Wednesday's 2 hour So You Think You Can Dance and was surprised to hear Executive Producer and Judge Nigel Lythgoe comment that people were claiming that Melanie, one of this year's Top 10 girls, was getting better dance numbers. I felt Nigel kind of dismissed those claims during the show. However, I began noticing a few weeks ago what Nigel was talking about last night about Melanie getting better dance numbers.
Is this a valid argument? Sadly it is.
Melanie has been getting a lot of breaks, along with her partner Marko. First of all, Melanie who is a contemporary dancer was paired for 5 weeks with Marko who is a jazz dancer which are more compatible than many other dance styles. Meanwhile you had other much less compatible pairings the first 5 weeks of the live shows such as a ballroom dancer paired with a tap dancer and a jazz dancer paired with a break dancer.
In those first 5 weeks of live competition shows with partner Marko, Melanie was able to early on become a favorite this season since she was dancing in her very own style in week one, Marko's style in week two, lyrical hip hop in week 3 (which is the kind of Hip Hop that Melanie would be most comfortable and believable doing), and then Marko's Style again in week 4, and her own style along with a tango number in week 5.
So by the time half of the Top 20 were sent home, the hardest dance Melanie had to do in the competition was lyrical hip hop which is considered "hip hop with emotion." This isn't the really fast hard hitting hip hop that would be much more out of her comfort zone.
From the Top 10 round up until now, Melanie continued to get lucky with dance numbers getting jazz and contemporary styles for a third time each. She did also get a Viennese Waltz number. And this week she had like a Broadway number and a hip hop number. However, even this week's hip hop number was like perfectly suited for her since she was playing the role of Little Red Riding Hood. And if you have seen Melanie standing next to host Cat Deeley, you can tell Melanie is like a full head shorter than Cat Deeley which means her height makes her a great person to play that kind of role.
Also helping Melanie out this season, and I am sure former Programming Insider Podcast co-host Michael Burgi would agree with me on this, is that she is often doing dance styles that are familiar to older people and she is being compared to actresses and dancers of the 40s and 50s era films by the judges. Meanwhile other contestants are doing these less familiar styles and are going home. For example, Sasha and Ricky got a new dance style on the show this week called Waacking. But if people are not familiar with these newer styles, they are less likely going to call up or log on and vote. Sorry Sasha and Ricky, but I think you two are in danger this week since hardly anyone can appreciate that style at this point in time. It takes time to appreciate newer styles of dance.
Nigel has made no secret that he thinks Melanie is one of the best dancers of So You Think You Can Dance's entire 6 year history. While that may be true, I honestly can't agree with him since Melanie was never really put to the same challenge of learning new dance styles as winners of past seasons were. So in my mind, we will never know if she is one of the best ever with only one week left for her to do all the many styles she never had to do this season such as Bollywood, Hard Hitting Hip Hop, Quickstep, Waacking, Disco, and so on.
Is this a valid argument? Sadly it is.
Melanie has been getting a lot of breaks, along with her partner Marko. First of all, Melanie who is a contemporary dancer was paired for 5 weeks with Marko who is a jazz dancer which are more compatible than many other dance styles. Meanwhile you had other much less compatible pairings the first 5 weeks of the live shows such as a ballroom dancer paired with a tap dancer and a jazz dancer paired with a break dancer.
In those first 5 weeks of live competition shows with partner Marko, Melanie was able to early on become a favorite this season since she was dancing in her very own style in week one, Marko's style in week two, lyrical hip hop in week 3 (which is the kind of Hip Hop that Melanie would be most comfortable and believable doing), and then Marko's Style again in week 4, and her own style along with a tango number in week 5.
So by the time half of the Top 20 were sent home, the hardest dance Melanie had to do in the competition was lyrical hip hop which is considered "hip hop with emotion." This isn't the really fast hard hitting hip hop that would be much more out of her comfort zone.
From the Top 10 round up until now, Melanie continued to get lucky with dance numbers getting jazz and contemporary styles for a third time each. She did also get a Viennese Waltz number. And this week she had like a Broadway number and a hip hop number. However, even this week's hip hop number was like perfectly suited for her since she was playing the role of Little Red Riding Hood. And if you have seen Melanie standing next to host Cat Deeley, you can tell Melanie is like a full head shorter than Cat Deeley which means her height makes her a great person to play that kind of role.
Also helping Melanie out this season, and I am sure former Programming Insider Podcast co-host Michael Burgi would agree with me on this, is that she is often doing dance styles that are familiar to older people and she is being compared to actresses and dancers of the 40s and 50s era films by the judges. Meanwhile other contestants are doing these less familiar styles and are going home. For example, Sasha and Ricky got a new dance style on the show this week called Waacking. But if people are not familiar with these newer styles, they are less likely going to call up or log on and vote. Sorry Sasha and Ricky, but I think you two are in danger this week since hardly anyone can appreciate that style at this point in time. It takes time to appreciate newer styles of dance.
Nigel has made no secret that he thinks Melanie is one of the best dancers of So You Think You Can Dance's entire 6 year history. While that may be true, I honestly can't agree with him since Melanie was never really put to the same challenge of learning new dance styles as winners of past seasons were. So in my mind, we will never know if she is one of the best ever with only one week left for her to do all the many styles she never had to do this season such as Bollywood, Hard Hitting Hip Hop, Quickstep, Waacking, Disco, and so on.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Finally: A positive announcement about the WDTV Live Plus and Hub
It is strange how just hours or days after I post how disappointing things were this Summer, everyone seems to be getting things turned around.
The latest example is that Western Digital has finally given us a firmware this Summer. Even better is that we got Hulu Plus in this latest firmware which was announced as coming to the Hub and Plus machines many months ago.
Now if only they could add some more free online services soon. And I want to say to the U.S. Postal Service that if all of these other people and groups can turn things around for the better, you should be able to also!
The latest example is that Western Digital has finally given us a firmware this Summer. Even better is that we got Hulu Plus in this latest firmware which was announced as coming to the Hub and Plus machines many months ago.
Now if only they could add some more free online services soon. And I want to say to the U.S. Postal Service that if all of these other people and groups can turn things around for the better, you should be able to also!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Update on the "Summer 2011: Summer of Disappointment"
I thought I would mention that things appear to be already getting much better in Washington, D.C. with the debt crisis since my last blog entry. And the hometown Mariners baseball team snapped their 17 game losing streak. In fact, the Seattle Mariners can't get a streak even started now. They win a game, then they lose a game, and win one game again, and lose one game again, and so on. Playing as a .500 team with no streak is better than a losing streak playing with a .000 win average. It's too bad the postseason chances are gone though for the Mariners after losing 17 straight games even with being in one of the divisions of baseball where you have the best overall odds to make the playoffs.
I would like to mention that my YouTube viewcount seems to be working about at 100% now. The missing views seem to have all been added back in. And I just passed the 25,000 total views mark for my combined video view total.
I also would like to thank the readers of this blog for helping me set a new record for July 2011. That month marked the highest number of page views since Blogger started keeping track of my page views about one year earlier.
So this "Summer of Disappointment" is now becoming an inaccurate term. This was a disappointing Summer, but it looks like it is starting to make a recovery towards the end of it. Hopefully this trend will continue.
I would like to mention that my YouTube viewcount seems to be working about at 100% now. The missing views seem to have all been added back in. And I just passed the 25,000 total views mark for my combined video view total.
I also would like to thank the readers of this blog for helping me set a new record for July 2011. That month marked the highest number of page views since Blogger started keeping track of my page views about one year earlier.
So this "Summer of Disappointment" is now becoming an inaccurate term. This was a disappointing Summer, but it looks like it is starting to make a recovery towards the end of it. Hopefully this trend will continue.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
