AOL Helix comes too late. I say this because AOL (or AOHell as some call it) already has such a tarnished reputation with consumers that even if this were an honest attempt at a decent desktop manager (sure looks that way), I would not dare trust it with my newest computer. Heck, I’d actually think twice before installing it on my old beige IBM.

It integrates email, Web browsing, instant messaging, and other online activities into a single, easy-to-use application, letting you multitask in fewer clicks and fewer hassles. With a sleek, modern interface and convenient new features, it is designed to help make everything you do online faster and easier.

Source: http://beta.aol.com/projects.php?project=helix

Sounds pretty decent – but so did Bonzibuddy, before it killed my IBM. Poor ol’ Beigey never stood a chance against that evil purple monkey.

Source: http://beta.aol.com/projects/helix/img/helixmail_large.jpg

Doesn’t look too bad – in fact, it fits into the Windows XP environment quite decently. But is this a wise move? With a lot of users migrating to Windows Vista, and Vista SP1 debuting in January (guaranteeing many more Vista users), I certainly have my doubts. Nonetheless, it doesn’t look too bad.

AOL Helix is still in its beta stages – so perhaps it doesn’t have all the bloatware coming with it (yet). Of course, I can certainly say that this might be a decent program; still, I’m going to be waiting for firsthand experiences from a friend before I download it on my computer. Or maybe I’ll virtualize it, haha.

Alright – so you’ve had a song stuck in your head more than a couple of times. Perhaps you caught the tune on the radio, but you missed the title and artist of it. Don’t you just hate it when that happens?! So you hum it to all your friends and co-workers, and you get no positive results. But, don’t feel too down; introducing Midomi – the website that will be the cure to all your tune-humming problems!

Actually, I’m being a bit too optimistic. If you’re an excellent hummer – or if someone has contributed their rendition of the song on the database, then it will cure your tune-humming issues. Otherwise, you’re out of luck.

Granted, Midomi is still in its infant beta stages. Still, I’ve tried it – I’ve gotten a couple of my friends to try it – and we had no luck with it at all. The idea is to “hum” a song into a microphone plugged into your computer, and Midomi will bring up a list of results. Yeah, too bad it’s not that simple – Midomi isn’t as mainstream as one would think, so not too many people have heard of it or contributed to its databases. And there are way too many consumers like me who just enjoy using the end product. But, I can’t carry a tune if my life depended on it (my friends can attest to that).

I tried humming a tune to Usher’s “Yeah” – which in my opinion, has the catchiest tune ever (I mean, even my teachers got it stuck in their head after I started humming it at school). Unfortunately, the results were very, very disappointing. I’m not going to lie – they did sound awfully like my humming, so I guess I need improvement. But, computers need to realize that not everyone can sing like Usher. Or the instruments in the songs. Alright, I’ll admit it – I’m very bitter.

But breathe easy – you can do something about it! Midomi has studio features built-in, so you can contribute your own rendition of a song to their database. With a strategy like that, I think Midomi is destined for success (when it gets more popular, that is). And no one has to feel the pain you did when the computer didn’t recognize your tune, ever again (actually, that depends on how they hum).

I really have to say that Midomi is really cool. I think that the concept is great, and if it gets tweaked for improvements, I would definitely give it another shot – but for now I guess I’ll have to keep asking my friends for that tune.

So, you want to get a Playstation Portable, eh? Don’t we all?

Yes, the Playstation Portable could arguably be the ultimate portable device. So why not get it today? In the words of my tech-savvy cousin:

Technically speaking, you should get a device sooner, so the cost per day is cheaper.

And usually, he’d be right. But in this case, he’s dead wrong (yeah, it was most certainly taken out of context because he’d never say that in such circumstances). Alright, I’ll stop beating around the bush.

So we’ve established that you’ve heard of the PSP. And you know that there’s a 2nd-gen PSP. And it’s going to be released on the tenth of September. And did you also know that’s just four days after my birthday? OH, my, so you never knew?

Now seriously; the 2nd-gen PSP will be released on September 10th, 2007. It’s going to have 8gb of storage built-in, be 19% slimmer, and 33% lighter. Now isn’t that something? More importantly, you’re going to be able to play it on the big screen (your television, actually – not in the cinemas). True, graphics won’t be the sharpest or the nicest, but I’m banking that it’ll still be better than being stuck on the small, normal PSP screen.

One co-worker remarked: “It feels like the battery is missing.”

Source: http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9768738-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

Sounds good. It might even end up fitting in some of the baggier, roomier jean pockets (or back pockets, if you don’t mind being pick-pocketed or sitting on an expensive device).

(Credit: Will Greenwald, CNET Networks) Source: http://news.com.com

So, still want that PSP? Bet you want it even more now. Calm down, get comfortable, but don’t hold your breath – until September 10th (or if you crack, then you crack with my sympathies) you won’t be able to get your hands on it (unless you’re Will Greenwald).

Heard through the grapevine that the new Objectdock (version 1.9) was the bomb? Alright – sure, it’s a definite improvement over the completely abysmal previous version (which was sluggish, a resource hog, and so on). But, I do hope Objectdock 2, whenever it is debuting, improves its speed even more (shouldn’t be too hard).

Alright, so maybe I’m being a bit hard on Objectdock. After all, there are pretty few programs out there that emulate – well – an object dock. The more “underground” ones would be RocketDock (not bad at all – very fast) and Y’z Dock (after a lawsuit from Apple, it has been deemed illegal – but like all illegal things, you can find it easily on Google).

What the heck is Objectdock, and why would you need it? Objectdock’s basically a program that emulates the object dock that the Mac is popular for. When you hover your mouse over it, it’s icons zoom to your liking (customizable), and when you click it, then it performs its function (either displays information or opens a shortcut, usually). As for why you need it (or why I need it) – that’s a question I’m still trying to find an answer for. Asides from eye-candy, it’s pretty much useless (all the shortcuts you’ll ever need are in your start menu, in my humble opinion).

And Objectdock clearly doesn’t do the job as well as Mac OS X’s native object dock does. I found it slowing my system when I tried enabling the thumbnails of minimized windows. But, asides from that, it isn’t too bad (I haven’t found myself using it much though – I’m just not used to it being there).

The weather widget is possibly the only thing I found useful and interesting. A single click brings out a series of five boxes that display the weather forecasts ranging from today to a few days later. Useful? You betcha. But, I’m still going to have to double check with the Weather Network site.

I’ve seen quite a few users say that the locations of Objectdock are much more customizable this time around. And that is true – but I haven’t found myself needing to change the default settings too often.

SO, is this version of Objectdock an improvement over the last one? It most certainly is. But is it worth putting on your computer? I can’t say with too much confidence that it is. In fact, I think I’m going to be getting rid of it. Maybe Objectdock 2 will be the one that impresses me.