I'm back! [Update!]

I haven't posted anything new on my blog, except the review of "Blackbirds". However, I'm coming back now, and I will start posting things on my blog, especially now when E3 is just a few weeks away.

The reason why I've been gone is that my computer, Sony VAIO, crashed. It's not my VAIO's fault, it's an operating system called "Windows Vista"! Every single file I had on my computer disappeared in front of my eyes, it felt like my heart stopped. I really panicked when I realized that I hadn't done any backup on my files, I had planned it for many weeks before, but I didn't think my computer would crash. The only thing I did was installing the drivers that came on a CD when I bought a "Bluetooth Dongle". I was trying to get my "DualShock 3" controller to work on my Sony VAIO.

I took out the hard drive from my computer and plugged it into my brother's computer. I installed a software called "GetDataBack for NTFS". It took six hours for the program to recover my data. When it was done and I had seen that it recovered almost every single file, I felt a huge relief. I copied all my files to an external hard drive, WD 1 TB.

When the recovery was done, I had to put the hard drive back and then install Windows. However, I didn't want to have "Vista" anymore, since it was "Windows Vista" who crashed my computer. So I upgraded to "Windows 7", and I must say that it's a lot better than "Vista" without a doubt, it's very fast and I also like the new look and features.

I'm now finally back and running again. I've installed every single software that I had before, and I've even upgraded a few of them. And I have made backups of all my most important files to another external hard drive, I've without a doubt learned from my mistake. I've even made a list of every file I've made backups for and transferred. I will do this every time I've done something that I want to keep, like a music project or a picture in PhotoShop, and of course write down which files I've backed up.

I will try to write a new post every week, so at least four posts per month. I'm planing to do more covers and remixes, my latest instrumental remix has gotten a great response, and that's what I like about posting things on the Internet, you can show people what you've created and get feedback from them, it really boosts my confidence.

Amazon.com product review #01

Apple Magic Mouse

With Magic Mouse, Apple has brought Multi-Touch technology to the desktop mouse, giving you a new and more intuitive way to interact with your computer. Just as with iPhone, iPod touch, and MacBook Pro, the Bluetooth Magic Mouse adds gestures and swipes to the usual clicks to bring more functionality and help you get more done with less effort.

Beautiful Design with Seamless Multi-Touch Surface

One look at Magic Mouse and you'll know it's something special that only Apple could dream up. With a low-profile design and seamless top shell, you'll marvel at this beautiful mouse and its smooth, buttonless appearance.

It's not all looks, though. Once you touch it, you'll appreciate how good it feels in your hand. And the magic really begins when you start using it. The Multi-Touch surface covers the entire top of the mouse, and the mouse itself is the button. Scroll in any direction with one finger, swipe through web pages and photos with two, and click and double-click anywhere. Inside Magic Mouse is a chip that tells it exactly what you want to do. Which means Magic Mouse won’t confuse a scroll with a swipe. It even knows when you’re just resting your hand on it.

Laser-Tracking Engine

Magic Mouse uses powerful laser tracking that’s far more sensitive and responsive on more surfaces than traditional optical tracking. That means it tracks with precision on nearly every surface - whether it’s a table at your favorite cafe or the desk in your home office - without the need for a mousepad.

Wireless Convenience with Easy Bluetooth Setup

Magic Mouse connects wirelessly to your Mac via Bluetooth, so there’s no wire or separate adapter to worry about. Pair Magic Mouse with your Bluetooth-enabled Mac and enjoy a reliable and secure connection up to 33 feet away. When you combine Magic Mouse with the Apple Wireless Keyboard, you create a workspace free of annoying cables.

And because Magic Mouse is wireless, it can venture beyond the confines of your desk. A quick flick of the on/off switch helps conserve battery power while Magic Mouse is tucked in your bag. Even when it’s on, Magic Mouse manages power efficiently, by detecting periods of inactivity automatically.

Make One Great Gesture After Another

Multi-Touch technology on the iPhone and iPod touch introduced a breakthrough way to interact with your content. Magic Mouse, with its Multi-Touch surface, does the same thing for your Mac. When you use gestures, it’s as if you’re touching what’s on your screen. For instance, swiping through web pages in Safari gives you the feeling of flicking through pages in a magazine. And scrolling with Magic Mouse isn’t your everyday scrolling. It supports momentum scrolling (similar to iPhone and iPod touch), where the scrolling speed is dictated by how fast or slowly you perform the gesture.

Give It Your Personal Touch

Maybe you want scrolling but don’t want swiping. Or two-button clicking instead of one. Whatever the case, Magic Mouse works the way you want it to work. All you do is go to the Magic Mouse preference pane in System Preferences to enable or disable features.

The ambidextrous design of Magic Mouse means it fits comfortably in your right hand if you’re a righty or in your left hand if you’re a lefty. And left-handers can easily swap left and right button functionality using System Preferences.

System Requirements

• Bluetooth-enabled Mac computer

• Mac OS X v10.5.8 or later with Wireless Mouse Software Update 1.0

• Existing keyboard and mouse for setup

Product Features and Technical Details

Product Features

• Laser technology delivers 20 times the performance of standard optical tracking

• Miniature sensors detect even the slightest movement

• Top-shell design matches other Apple products

• Bluetooth technology and Touch-sensitive technology

Technical Details

• Model Number: MB829LL/A

• System requirements: Bluetooth-enabled Mac computer; Mac OS X v10.5.8 or later with Wireless Mouse Software Update 1.0; existing keyboard and mouse for setup

• Connectivity: Bluetooth

• Wireless operating range: Up to 33 feet

• Movement detection: Laser

• Power supply: 2 x AA batteries (included)

• Warranty: 1-year limited warranty

• What's in the Box: Magic Mouse, two AA batteries, printed documentation

Overall: "Apple Magic Mouse" has beautiful design with an innovative touch sensitive surface. It has a satisfying clicking mechanism and seamless bluetooth connectivity. This is a really great mouse for Apple users.

Review: "Apple Magic Mouse" XXXX [4/5].

Call of Duty: Black Ops trailer

The next video game in the Call of Duty series is called Call of Duty: Black Ops. The game is developed by Treyarch and published by Activision for release on November 9, 2010.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is set during the Cold War. Players take the role of black ops operators involved in missions behind enemy lines, taking place in various locations such as the Ural Mountains and Vietnam. As SOG operators, playable characters will have much more significant roles on the battlefield than their previous counterparts who were often the common soldiers. In this way, the player's characters will have their own traits such as voices (during in-game sequences) and shadows. Black Ops is a sequel to World at War as one of its main characters Reznov is returning.

I get a good feeling about Black Ops, it reminds me in a way of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. It feels more like a modern video game, I mean the weapons look like they could have been in Modern Warfare 1 and 2. Some mission in Modern Warfare took place in the past, like the "Chernobyl" mission, which I like very much. I'm definitely going to buy this awesome game when it comes out in November. I'm looking forward to the single player campaign and the brilliant online multiplayer.

Below is a new trailer of Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Linkin Park: "Blackbirds" review

Linkin Park will release "Blackbirds" with their new iPod Touch/iPhone/iPad game "8-bit Rebellion". You will unlock the song when you've finished the game. The song has leaked out on the Internet, as you may already know, probably because the game was released in New Zealand yesterday.

When I first heard "Blackbirds" I was reminded how Linkin Park sounded before "Minutes to Midnight", it sounds more like a song that could have been on "Hybrid Theory" or "Meteora". I think the biggest reason is that we can hear Mike rapping again, I've missed that, and I think many LP fans have also.

The song is not a heavy rock song, it's little more a mellow hip-hop/pop song. It has great beats and an awesome guitar melody, I also like the intro that sounds like Mike rapping in a rehearsal room. The music is just like what you would expect from a Linkin Park song, and that's a good thing, I've always loved their way of creating touching melodies in their songs.

I think Chester does a really good job singing both the verse and the chorus, I like both very much. He's singing it with great feeling that gives me goosebumps. The lyrics are also great through out the entire song.

I think it's cool that you will get the brand new song inside the game as an unlockable item, it's a really unique way of releasing a brand new song. Make sure to download "Linkin Park: 8-bit Rebellion" later today, April 26th, on iTunes in the USA and hopefully everywhere else also.

Overall: "Blackbirds" is an old school Linkin Park song that brings back memories from the "Hybrid Theory" and "Meteora" time. An awesome song that has great lyrics and music that are typical for a Linkin Park song, and I love that! The fans will be pleased to hear this brand new song from the greatest band in the world Linkin Park.

Review: "Blackbirds" XXXX [4/5].

24Xero's iPod Touch apps Guide #01

In less than two years, 200 000 applications have been released for the iPhone and iPod Touch. I'm going to give you tips on the best right now. It's a bit hard to take in sometimes, how fast it actually has gone. Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone in January 2007 and people queued in New York on June 30th of that year to buy their first iPhone the day it was released. At the Moscone Center in June 2008 Steve Jobs talked about his plans for a software store for iPhone applications, which would start in July of that year, called "Appstore".

The Appstore opened July 11th, 2008 with 500 apps to choose from. A year later it was 55 000 and in November last year it past 100 000. Two weeks ago, they broke through the 200 000 barrier. Overall, more than four billion downloads of apps to the iPhone made in about 22 months.

It can be in many ways impressive that there are so many apps to choose from, it's difficult to find the right one in a jungle of similar applications. Many of the apps are free. Overall, this is more than 40 percent of the programs.

Those apps that costs usually lays in the price range of 1-10 dollars. There are many cool applications. One of the best looking right now is the American CNN's new iPhone app, which present the news in both text, picture and video. Below you will find the list of my favorite applications at this point. It is divided in applications for news, navigation, weather, games, photos and video, fun, useful, music, social networking, travel, sports, radio and television.

Listed below are the 65 best applications right now.

News Apps:

Aftonbladets Supernytt

The latest news around the clock from Aftonbladet.

BBC World News Live

News from around the world from the british BBC. You can also watch streaming video in the iPhone.

AP Mobile

The world's largest news agency has made a neat and efficient iPhone app that is updated around the clock.

Idg.se

It's the biggest IT news site in Sweden. Idg.se is a great site for those who want to stay informed about the latest developments in the IT world.

NY Times

Is one of America's largest newspapers with a circulation of around one million copies. It has a good iPhone app with news from the USA and the rest of the world.

Navigation Apps:

Beacon

Perfect for large parking spaces. Activate Beacon and the cellphone will find its way back to the car when it's time to go home.

Navigon

GPS in cellphones has a new meaning when both Navigon and TomTom have released special applications for the iPhone. It makes your cellphone into a navigator.

Tomtom

TomTom has seen them self overtaken by Navigon when it comes to navigation for the iPhone. However, the distance has shrunk.

Google Earth

See satellite images from virtually anywhere on earth. This makes the maps you have in school redundant.

Path Tracker

It's using the GPS in the cellphone and keeps track of exactly how long the forest walk was and where you went. It also helps you to find your way back home.

Weather Apps:

Klart.se

A new Swedish service that uses a Finnish Institute of weather forecasts. Perhaps the best service for the iPhone in Sweden.

Yr.no

The Norwegian counterpart to SMHI has been giving themselves into the mobile industry unlike SMHI. Yr.no is good but does not cover as many places as Klart.se.

AccuWeather

Weather Service which covers the whole world, including Sweden. Long-term forecasts, precipitation, and wind warnings, and more.

Väderradar.se

See the same information that the planes' pilots get direct to the iPhone. It shows prognosis two hours ahead and GPS showing where you are.

Aero Weather

Displays weather conditions at airports around the world.

Game Apps:

Catcha Mouse

Prevent the rat from diving into the rat hole. Easy in the beginning but the difficulty is increasing rapidly.

Cro-Mag Rally

A bit more expensive game where cavemen races with bows and cars with stone wheels a la Fred Flintstone.

Waterslide Extreme

A water slider that's using the sensitivity in the iPhone to control how you slide so you won't fall of the water slide.

Labyrinth Lite

This is a variation of BRIO's classic labyrinth game that most of us played in kindergarten. It's difficult at first by you will get the hang of it.

Chopper

The helicopter is out and rescue people in distress, although it faces obstacles in all shapes.

Photo and video Apps:

Photoshop

The world's leading software for image processing in a simplified version for the iPhone.

Bambuser

A free Swedish video service where you can upload your videos, for instance, to Facebook direct from your mobile.

Camera Bag

It adds cool filters on the images taken with the phone's camera. Everything from Fisheye to SEPIA.

Camera Zoom

For some reason, the iPhone camera lacks the ability to zoom. Almost no cell phone has an optical zoom but the iPhone does not even have digital zoom. You will, however, have it with this app.

Lego Photo

Fun effects. Take a picture of a friend and make the image to a large plate of Lego pieces.

Fun Apps:

Barbeque

Have a barbeque on the cellphone. You can do everything from fire up the grille to serve the barbeque as MMS, email or to Facebook.

Skygazer

Is that Mars or Venus? Calm down. You can see the stars in the sky with Skygazer based on where you are with the help of the iPhone's GPS.

Voice Changer Plus

Do you want to sound like a or as a ghost. With this app you can modify your voice and record it.

Decibel

Makes your iPhone into a decibel meter.

Flashlight for free

It's possible to use your iPhone as a flashlight, even without this free app. But with this the light becomes even stronger.

Useful Apps:

Google Mobile

Search for anything you want. It goes faster than searching through the browser and then to go to Google. It remembers previous searches.

Blocket

Buy and sell directly in your hand. The same service as Blocket on Internet but in an iPhone version.

Bredbandskollen

How fast is mobile broadband really. Bredbandskollen measures the speed and compares with the one you actually get paid for.

E-print

A good app that can print from the iPhone as long as there is a wireless network nearby.

Free Translator

Hard English words? How do you say that in English? It turns out quite well with this app even if the vocabulary is a bit limited.

Skype

Free calls to other Skype users via wireless LAN or call cheaper than your mobile phone - especially abroad - with Skype Out.

SF Bio

A bit boring perhaps that there is a near monopoly on the Swedish cinema market. However, with this app, it's still easy to get tickets to the evening and future movies.

Vägmärken

A good app even for those who have been driving for some time. A bunch of road signs including several new ones.

Evernote

With Evernote on your computer and cell phone you can sync all of your notes (including voice and video notes) and read them in your mobile phone or computer. It's Free.

Prisjakt

The best way to check that the extra price in the store you're in is really the best. It keeps track of prices on all sorts of stuff and services.

Music Apps:

Guitar Tuner

An application that's containing a tuner, chord wizard, metronome, and some other things for guitarists.

Gibson Learn and master guitar

The guitar builders at Gibson have made an app that contains useful tools for guitarists and free demo courses on video with new guitar tricks.

Voiceband

Make music and make your own songs with just your own voice as a tool. The app takes care of the rest.

Finger Piano Lite

The app that turns your iPhone into a little piano. And the fact is that if you connect the sound into decent speakers, it is difficult to distinguish from real electric pianos.

Ocarina

You may not always need to use your iPhone as a recorder. But with this app you can.

Social Networking Apps:

Fring

App that links several social networking services like Facebook and Skype to one location.

Facebook

Gives you access to Facebook and your account.

Linkedin

Linkedin is a bit of a Facebook for officials and business people. The app works in much the same way as the web service.

Ziibii

It's linking social networks and news from RSS feeds into a stream of communications that go along a river. Pretty cool.

Twitterific

Direct Link to your twitter account from the iPhone.

Travel Apps:

Hotels.com

Find a hotel at sensible prices worldwide. And book directly on your mobile.

Lonely Planet

Travel Guides from most corners of the earth.

Currency

Exchange rates are updated regularly. Good to have on the go.

Check My Trip

Connects directly to the Amadeus's travel database where you can find their travel and flight times, changes, and more.

Flygresor

Flygresor.se is a Swedish comparison site where you can find cheap flights to all over the world.

Sport Apps:

Golf Tracker

Keep track of your round on your mobile. In addition to using the iPhone as a scorecard you can also deal with old rounds and compare.

Sportbladet Fotboll

Follow your favorite team, facts in real-time, news, see Laul Calling and look at gamer facts and more.

Svenska Spel Målservice

Live updates from all major sports and leagues. You can also keep track of your own games.

NHL Ice Time 2010

Follows all NHL games, player facts, Live scores, statistics and more. Also available in the pay version with even more services.

South Africa 2010 Tracker

A free application which keeps track of all the teams in this year's World Cup in South Africa.

Radio and TV Apps:

SVT Play

Almost everything from SVT's own production, plus some foreign materials purchased as well. Directly into the mobile. An awesome application.

SR Podradio

Most of SR's shows is also available as podcasts. With this app you can listen directly without first downloading the podprogram to the mobile from your computer.

TV4 Play

TV4's play app is an alternative to the SVT's. But the content is much thinner.

Viasat Sport

The coolest sports clips from Viasat many channels from the latest weeks free on your iPhone.

Spotify

Streaming music directly on your mobile. The computer has a free version which includes commercial breaks. You can't get it on your mobile, unless you pay a monthly fee to listen.

Movies I Wanna Watch #02

There're many movies I'd like to see this year, and I'm going to write about some of them. I've already written about three movies in an earlier post back in January. I've seen all the three movies I wrote about, and they were really good. And here are three more movies I'd like to see.

Listed below are the three movies.

Predators

Predators is an upcoming 2010 science fiction, action and horror film directed by Nimród Antal, and starring Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Alice Braga, Laurence Fishburne, Danny Trejo and Derek Mears. The film is a sequel to Predator (1987) and Predator 2 (1990). Producer Robert Rodriguez stated that he named the film Predators in relation to how the second film in the Alien franchise was called Aliens. The title Predators is intended to have a double meaning, in that it refers to both the film's alien creatures, as well as the group of humans who are going against them.

The film follows a mercenary named Royce (Adrien Brody), who is abducted by alien creatures known as the Predators. He is released onto an alien planet—which acts as a game reserve—along with seven other humans who, except for a disgraced physician, are all cold-blooded killers, with the group consisting of mercenaries and convicts. Royce reluctantly leads the group of elite warriors as they come to realize they have been brought together on this planet as prey for a new breed of Predators. While battling to survive against these creatures, they come across an American soldier known as Noland, who was brought to the planet years ago as game, but has managed to survive by hiding from the Predators in a cave. Noland reveals that the Predators have been hunting humans by dropping them on this planet for many years.



Resident Evil: Afterlife

Resident Evil: Afterlife is an upcoming 3D science fiction action horror film written and directed by Paul W. S. Anderson, and starring Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Kim Coates, Spencer Locke, Wentworth Miller, Boris Kodjoe and Shawn Roberts. It is the fourth installment in a series of film adaptations based on Capcom's survival horror video game series Resident Evil. It is also the first film in the series to be released in 3D, using James Cameron's Fusion Camera System. The film is scheduled to be released in 3D and IMAX theaters on September 10, 2010.

The movie picks up where the third film ended. Since the events of Resident Evil: Extinction, Alice has been roaming the world searching for any remaining survivors. Alice also comes face to face with her arch-nemesis, Albert Wesker, for the first time in the series. As she enters the ruined Los Angeles, she stumbles onto a base of Umbrella, surrounded by zombies. She then teams up with a group of survivors who had been hiding in Los Angeles since the T-virus outbreak, and helps them to free another group held-up in a prison, among them Claire's brother, Chris Redfield.



The Expendables

The Expendables is an upcoming ensemble action/war film written by Dave Callaham and Sylvester Stallone, and directed by Stallone. Filming began on March 28, 2009, in Rio de Janeiro, New Orleans, and Los Angeles and is expected to be released on August 13, 2010. The film pays tribute to the blockbuster action films of the 1980s and early '90s, and stars an array of action veterans from those decades (such as Stallone himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, and Jet Li) as well as more recent action stars such as Jason Statham, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, and Stone Cold Steve Austin.

An assembly of hired guns are sent on a mission to a South American country, with the objective to overturn the cold-blooded despot in charge. As the mission begins, the mercenaries discover that the situation is not as it appears. The men find themselves trapped in a deadly game of deception with a traitor among their ranks.

30 Seconds To Mars - Hurricane (Instrumental 24Xero Remix)

I've uploaded a new video to YouTube. I've done an instrumental remix of 30 Seconds To Mars' "Hurricane". I think it's one of the best songs from their new album This Is War. I made the song in Magix Music Maker 16 Premium. That program has a lot of great tools and awesome beats that you can play around with. The different synthesizers have an awesome sound.

I changed some instruments and put new drums on also. I wanted heavy metallic sounding beats, and I think that the beat I finally chose fitted great into the song. When it came to the instruments, I wanted to keep the electronic sound. I changed the different instruments with new synthesizers and strings. I wanted the piano to be very present in the song so it would be heard. A reverb effect was put on the piano to make it even more haunting.

I wanted to include a heavy guitar with lots of distortions. However, I chose not to make it sound too much. I did the same thing with the bass. I thought the song was repetitive without the vocals, so I tried to make it sound less repetitive by adding some pauses in the beat. I'm very pleased with the result of the entire instrumental song!

I did the video in Sony Vegas Pro 8. I put some effects on and used the "24Xero Hurricane" cover I made in Adobe Photoshop CS5. I often use the TV effect on my videos. I think it looks cool when it scans the picture. I also use the pan and zoom feature on both the picture and the background. It gets an almost 3D effect.

Watch and listen to the video below!