There is without a doubt that Google wants to have its share in all the cool things around the net. So when they announced there new product called Google TV, I was not surprised.

The Buzz: The buzz around the net is online TV. With sites like Hulu and major networks offering shows online, it is no surprise that Apple and Google have jumped on the bandwagon to offer their products. I predict that cable companies will be out of business within 5 years if they don’t make some changes.

What is Google TV you ask? I am about to tell you… This is your definitive guide to Google TV.

What is it? Google TV is merging the internet with TV. For instance, you will be able to search for your favorite shows via the interface and watch them on your TV. Google TV will have a full internet browser so you can search youtube, check email and read the news.

How do I get it? Google TV will come preloaded on TV’s, similar to how Netflix is being loaded on to TV’s. The Logitech Revue is a device that will run Google TV as well. My guess is that cable boxes will begin to integrate Google TV in the near future… and they are crazy if they don’t.

How do I control it? Hopefully a keyboard and mouse will not be needed. A remote with a keypad on it would be ideal. Better yet being able to use your Iphone or Android phone would be a cool way to control it.

What about streaming media? It would be foolish if Google TV does not allow streaming from various other mediums. Being able to stream content from my computer via my xbox 360 is something I use everyday.

What about the competition? It seems like Google is trying to compete with Apple. Apple just released the newly designed Apple TV and not far behind Google announces the fall launch of Google TV. The Boxee Box is another product, which is slated for release in November of this year. I am assuming the price range for the Google TV will be around $99 since that is the price of Apple TV.

It will be interesting to see how this TV war plays out this Holiday season!

Are you planning on ditching cable and using one of these devices? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section.

Buzz Topic #1: Netflix App for the Iphone

I love the Iphone and Netlflix, so when the Netflix App came out I was super excited. The app allows you to watch any streaming title to your Iphone. The app is free but it does require you to have a unlimited Netflix account.

If you begin to watch a movie at home on your big screen TV and get interrupted you can pick it up later at the same spot on your Iphone.

I am really happy with this app. The playback quality is great. You will not be able to watch a movie if you do not have a 3g signal. When I was on the edge network the video was choppy and would not play… which is to be expected.

Buzz Topic #2 Gmail – Priority Inbox

How does it work?

• Priority Inbox will group all your important messages together in one spot titled important and unread. It will sort your other mail into groups called starred and everything else.

That is a basic explanation but to dig deeper head on over to this help page.

That is all for now… I must go now and enjoy my vacation!

Also check out the Wired how to article How to Fix Facebook Places Privacy Settings.

Iphone/Facebook Update from Andrew Hughes on Vimeo.

Hak5 is a great place to start if you are interested in learning about hacking and computers. Want to dive deeper check out this excellent collection of free courses about computers –> free courses.

Remember hackers are people too… and they just might save the world or your computer from a bad virus/spyware infection!

Being on a Mac sites like this do not affect me… but on a windows computer it would have been a different story. As you can tell from the picture above it resembles a windows machine and wants you to download a scanner to scan your “so-called” infected pc. This is not the case… if you continue to do this it will load spyware on your pc instead of removing it. I would close firefox  (yes I know all of you use firefox, if not grab it here.<– click here) to prevent infection, I would even close it from task manager and sometimes might be forced to close it this way.

If your computer does get infected by one of these nasty boogers, it will most likely need professional help. I posted a spyware removal guide for basic cleanups that could help you on your way to restoring your pc back to a healthy system.

Spyware Cleanups, ver. 1 <– Click Here

Spyware Cleanups, ver. 1.2 <– Click Here

Microsoft  released its new free anti-virus program which has received good reviews. In most cases instead of using AVG anti-virus this will become my program of choice.

Microsoft Anti-Virus <– Click Here

And for those of you who need some help understanding how to troubleshoot computers and what a tech does refer to this picture below.

I printed off a paper that I just turned in and wrote the grade “F” on it and showed it to her and told her the reason why I got an “F” was on the back of the paper.

She was mad…but at first at the professor because she thought he was playing an April Fools Joke on me by giving me an “F”!

My mom did attempt to get me, she told me as I was on my way out the door for school that something was wrong with the tire on my car. I think she used the same joke last year.

UPDATE ON CONFICKER – The Conficker worm has not made its attack today. Does that mean we are safe from it? Not entirely. There could be future attacks, and it defenitley won’t hurt to keep current with the latest tools on defending this virus.

5 Things you Should do to Protect Your Computer:

• Make sure to use Windows Update weekly, Tuesday is usually the day they release fixes. Make sure update MSO8-67 has been applied on your system.
• Update your anti-virus software regularly and run full scans.
• Make to sure to use strong passwords (Lifehacker’s guide to making strong passwords).
• Disable the autoplay feature on your cd/dvd-rom drive.
• Be sure to backup all your data (Lifehacker’s guide to windows backup tools).
• Use OpenDns. It is easy to setup and there are good instructions.

To read more about Conficker check out this article.

My macbook pro in its fresh new box waiting to be opened… by me!

Its so beautiful!

First time out of the box… we were both a bit nervous.

First boot up…

Macbook’s new home… I soon will be hooking up to the 2nd monitor!

All this excitment has left me tired… so I decided to take a nap.

I am most excited for the ability to stream 12,000 movies from the netflix library at no extra charge to your xbox 360. You do have to have a gold account on xbox live and a netflix subscription.

Here is what you can expect to happen:

—> sign in to xbox live to automatically start downloading the update

—> it may take awhile, there is a lot of new content, so be patient cause you won’t be able to use your console during the update.

—> once the update is complete you console will restart and welcome you with the new xbox experience.

so with that info take my poll below on how you feel about the update.

[polldaddy poll=1096306]