Filed under: Fun, Utilities

Back in January I wrote about Glassbooth, the web service that helps you choose a Presidential candidate by answering questions about your views on common issues. Any voters who are still undecided may want to use the site as an aid in their decision-making process, especially because there have been some significant updates to Glassbooth since my last post:

• Additional issue categories (like Science and Internet)
• "Pulse" section serves as a mini-blog full of updates on the candidates' positions
• Glassbooth Portable serves as a widgetized version of the quiz that you can put on your blog
• New Zealand election quiz
• Some Wisconsin state representative election quizzes

Glassbooth is a novel concept that I wish I could apply to all of my local elections. I find it extremely difficult (if not impossible) to research state representatives, school board members, judges, etc. It would be nice if all voters made their election decisions based on the candidates' views instead of how many signs they have posted or how many promises they may make.

Remember to vote on Tuesday!

Glassbooth: it's not too late to choose a candidate originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 01 Nov 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Video, Microsoft

The rumors are true: Netflix is beta-testing a new a streaming movie player based on Microsoft Silverlight. As you may have read on Download Squad earlier this week, the new Silverlight-based player is compatible with Microsoft's DRM scheme, which means that, yes, you can finally watch Netflix instantly on your Mac. For Windows users, the player may be an upgrade, but for Mac users, it's a whole new feature.

To try the new player, you'll have to opt in. The first time you try to watch a movie, you'll be prompted to install Silverlight if you don't already have it. From there, you're good to go. Netflix warns that once you opt in, you can only use the Silverlight player, even on other machines. They also mention that the selection of movies for the new player is limited, but I didn't have trouble finding or playing any of the movies I tested.

How to (finally) stream Netflix movies on a Mac originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: OS Updates, Features, Windows, Microsoft, Beta

With the Microsoft PDC recently wrapping up, excitement has been building for Windows 7. I wonder, will it be able to live up to the hype? There's only one way to find out: install it and see for myself. This is by no means a complete analysis of the OS, rather my observations from the first few days of experimenting with it.

The Aero interface has been refined, and it's leaner and meaner than before. Visual effects look superb and are silky smooth, even on less powerful hardware like a Celeron M520 laptop with Intel integrated graphics. Even with all the Aero Glass effects enabled, battery life didn't take a substantial hit (I noticed anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes less on a 5.5 hour battery).

Need to move a full screen window? Just click the title bar and start dragging - no need to click restore first, it will automatically resize. The reverse works as well: drag a window to the top edge of your screen, and Windows will maximize it.

Keeping with the visual theme, display settings have returned to the desktop right-click context menu. The personalize option remains, but I was relieved to see that I once again had a quick access to the resolution adjustment.

Continue reading Windows 7 hands on - Impressive at every turn

Windows 7 hands on - Impressive at every turn originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 01 Nov 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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