How practical is streaming Netflix movies and TV shows to your iPhone?  Who cares.  I just downloaded the Netflix app on my iPhone 4, and Arrested Development is playing on 3G pretty well.  On Wi-Fi I had no issues.  On 3G, it only stopped to buffer a few times during the show, which is pretty good.  It’s very usable in 3G which makes the app worth it.

I used to be a Blockbuster guy until I switched to Netflix a few months ago.  Before Blockbuster shutdown a ridiculous amount of stores, I was having the time of my life.  I could rent 2 movies from Blockbuster online, they’d get to me in a few days, I’d watch them, return them to a local Blockbuster, they would ship them back and let me rent 2 free movies in the store for free while I was waiting for the next movies in queue to be delivered.  I’ll be honest, sometimes I’d get lazy and not send back movies for a few months (and my credit card would get dinged $14.95 each month), but in my prime I could get 2-4 movies per week, which was a good deal.  The 2 free in-store rentals is what kept me a Blockbuster fan.  Now I don’t even know where a Blockbuster is so…

I finally came around to Netflix because I wanted to stream movies through my Xbox 360.  I rarely rent online movies.  Again, I think I’ve had The Blind Side on Blu-ray for over a month, but I stream movies and TV shows a few times a week, which makes the $9/mo subscription worth it.

The best part is that the Netflix iPhone app is free, and they easily could have charged at least a few bucks for it.  Giving away this “added value” was smart on their part.

So, if you have an iPhone/iPod Touch and Netflix, what are you waiting for?

Here are some screenshots of Netflix on my iPhone:

1) Netflix home screen, 2) After loggin in, 3) Browse by Category, 4) Takes less than 5 seconds to load your instant queue, 5) Instant Queue, 6) Show description screen, 7) Loading movie or TV show, Watching Arrested Development

By the way, I didn’t get a screenshot of it, but after the Arrested Development Season 1 page fully loaded, it recognized that I had watched about 50% of episode 5 on my Xbox/TV and asked if I wanted to resume.  A simple, yet elegant and appreciated feature.

I have to say, I’m impressed.  I didn’t think we would be able to incorporate 3D technology into our home movies so soon.  I mean, I’m sure it’s not Avatar quality, but still, it’s pretty cool.  Roxio Creator 2011 allows you to add 3D to your movies and photos, and the best part… 3D glasses are included.

Creator 2011 should work with most 3D-enabled cameras and HDTV’s, and you can even transform some of your 2D images and movies into 3D.

Why update to this year’s Creator product besides 3D? They’ve added a lot of new audio features.  For instance, you can create custom soundtracks for your home movies and photo slideshows.  Roxio helps you find musical styles that match the mood of your movies.  And you can remove annoying hisses, rumbles, and other background noises from digital files.

Plus there are additional tools that allow you to backup your whole computer, stabalize shaky videos, and upload videos directly to Facebook.

As I’m writing this, Roxio is selling Creator 2012 on their website for $79.99 after $20.00 mail in rebate.  If you have a previous version of Roxio, you can probably upgrade for less.

We’ve heard that you might be a little dissappointed that colors look washed out after transforming your movies into 3D, but it’s still fun to use and quite nice for Roxio’s first attempt and initial release of 3D technology.

An explanation of how 3D works from Roxio:

A great piece of free software called Ninite allows you install multiple apps at once without having to tediously click next or install annoying toolbars.

Ninite is a great alternative for those who have just purchased a computer and want to install a bunch of programs at once, or if you are just looking for a couple programs.

Once you have downloaded the Ninite Installer, you will see a bunch of different programs that are available for you to download from Web Browsers such as Chrome and Firefox to Media Players such as VLC and Audacity. There are more than 75 applications for you to choose from. After you have selected which you want to install, let Ninite run as it “quietly” installs all the programs you have selected while you are free to do other things.

If you ever find an application that Ninite does not already have on their install list, there is also a place to suggest new ones as well.

If the CPU or Microprocessor is the brain of your computer system, the motherboard is equally important as it acts as the central nervous system. If you open up your computer, you will be able to identify your motherboard as the biggest circuit board in your computer and every device on your computer is connected to your motherboard in one way or another.

If you look closely at this picture, you will see there are many slots for devices such as video cards, RAM, and sound cards. The CPU hooks up to the motherboard and essentially works as a facilitator between the CPU and the rest of the components throughout your computer. MAKE SURE that you pick a reliable motherboard that will be able efficiently communicate the data around your computer. The last thing you want is a motherboard that has overheated or stopped working. A good thing to look at when buying or evaluating motherboards is the chipset. A chipset is the ‘basic instructions’ and determines many of the boards basic features. Another thing to be aware of is to make sure that your motherboard has enough slots for your RAM and potential USB drives.

Also be aware that sometimes motherboards come with onboard components for video or audio, but beware because most of these onboard components (built into the motherboard) are not up to par with what they should be.

Motherboard costs are usually based on the chipset it has, but in general, the costs are about the same across the board. Look for one that has a built in cooling component for the chipset if you are purchasing a higher chipset, as these tend to run hotter than their less speedy counterparts. Keep an eye out for slots, cooling, and a good chipset, and you will have a good motherboard to add to your computer system!

If you are looking to learn more about computer repair, it is essential that you are informed about the parts of a computer. And one of the most important parts of a functioning computer is the Central Processing Unit, otherwise known as the CPU. The CPU is as important as any part in the computer as it is literally the brains of the whole operation. Also called Microprocessors, CPUs are very small chips that fit into the motherboard and are covered by the heatsink and then a fan to keep the CPU as cool as possible. The heatsink and fan form a seal with a silver paste used in building computers called thermal compound which allows for even disbursion of heat out of the computer. Because the CPU is so delicate, it can be ruined or broken by simply becoming overheated, and is for sure the most delicate part of the computer.

Central Processing Units are necessary for all computers, laptops as well as desktops. As technology has advanced, there is no longer a need for multiple CPUs in one computer to process all the data in the computer. In today’s computer, you will usually find just one CPU and can process all the data needed to run the applications performed on your computer.

When you purchase a Central Processing Unit or Microprocessor, there are plenty of terms you will need to have some knowledge about so you know which one to buy. They have several different aspects and numbers that describe the different speeds and similar that the CPU will run at. These numbers and aspects allow you to compare CPUs against one another, as well, to tell which is better, and include transistors, microns, Data Width, MIPS, and clock speed.

Transistors Number: tells you how many transistors there are on the chip. As newer and newer central processing units are designed and produced, the number of transistors you will find on them has gone up.

Microns: unit of measurement that describes how wide the smallest wire on the chip is. The lower the micron number, the higher the transistor number, usually – small wires mean there is more room on the chip.

Data Width: describes the width of the ALU on the chop. The higher the Data Width, the more information can be processed by the CPU at one time.

Clock Speed: maximum speed the central processing unit can run at, and MIPS stands for “millions of instructions per second.” The millions of instructions per second measurement is a rough estimate of the performance of the central processing unit, as in, how much information your CPU can process in a second