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Channel 10

[Channel 10]

How to Build (or win) a Tiny Windows Home ServerYesterday

Donavon from Home Server Hacks has put together instructions on how to build a tiny little Windows Home Server using an ARTiGO Pico-ITX kit. It's an interesting read and an especially good pick if your main concern is low power consumption - the Pico uses a staggering 13-watts of power at idle. While the board isn't the most plug and play compatible hardware out there for Home Server, this will show you how to make it work.

And if you're not so handy, Donavon is giving this one away to a lucky commentor. You have until Sunday January 11th to enter.

Channel 10’s CES 2009 Coverage & Live BlogJanuary 5

At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show 2009 (CES), Steve Ballmer will be giving a keynote speech on January 7th at 6:30 PM PST. If you can’t make the event, don’t worry – you can watch it virtually! The Microsoft PressPass site, of course, has a virtual pressroom setup. But right here on Channel 10, we’ll be covering the event live, via a live blog. And frankly, won’t that be more fun to follow?  Other content will be posted to Twitter by yours truly - just follow the Twitter user  @sarahintampa for my CES tweets all week. Oh, and if you’re a true social media addict, there’s also a FriendFeed room set up which I’ll also keep up-to-date with content during CES.

CES, here we come!

Two New Microsoft Surface Apps RevealedJanuary 4

Microsoft Surface developer Kevin Kennedy recently gave us a look at two new Microsoft Surface applications he has under development. Although neither app is 100% ready for real-world use just yet, both are great examples of Surface’s potential. The two new apps are called SplatBox and Bubble Wrap.

SplatBox is an app for video DJs that lets them create  and modify videos on the fly using touch:

 

Splatbox, the VJ app, on Microsoft Surface

The other app, Bubble Wrap, turns the screen of the Surface into a giant sheet of bubble wrap for your popping pleasure. That may not be the most useful app, but it does demonstrate how Surface can combine physical interaction with audio and visual recordings for a unique (and fun!) computing experience.

 

Xbox 360 CarJanuary 2

You’ve heard of Xbox 360 mods, but have you ever seen anything like this? A gamer modded his car with Xbox 360 components including game controllers and an Xbox console soldered into the dash. According to the photo’s description on flickr, the car actually has two 360’s, two projectors, and two flat screens inside. Hopefully, the gamer doesn’t play when driving! Yikes! Still, the end result is a pretty sweet looking ride.

Microsoft Increases Donation to Creative CommonsJanuary 2

Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization run mostly by volunteers devoted to expanding the range of creative works for others to legally share and build on top of. They offer content creators a series of copyright licenses, the Creative Commons licenses, which allow creators to easily determine and mark their materials for sharing in whatever manner that they sees fit. There’s even an easy-to-use license building tool to help people pick out the correct license they need.

Recently, Creative Commons CEO Joi Ito put out a call on their blog for donations, saying their organization had a tough year. “It has been particularly challenging for us as corporations and major donors have had to slash, if not completely cut, their philanthropic support,” he wrote. At the time, the organization was entering the last couple of days for the Creative Commons annual fundraising campaign and was still $12,000 short of their $500,000 goal. After the blog posting, Creative Commons got word that Microsoft upped their pledge by $15,000 to put them over the top for the year