Miguel Carrasco's Real World

Dove Evolution

So many people out there, men and women, are trying so hard to look like these super models they see on TV.  It's unfortunate really, as this is basically impossible to achieve this.  Watch this video and be enlightened. 

The "Evolution" advertisement shows the amount of work that goes into preparing a model for a magazine shoot and features scores of make-up artists and an insight into post-production digital enhancement techniques.

Top 10 Funniest Videos on the Internet

In the Real World, you don't have time to search through the Internet to find some of the funny videos your friends have been telling you about for years.  YouTube has millions of videos online now that are absolutely hilarious.  Let me take you on a guided tour of some of the funniest videos you will ever see!  And please submit your comments at the end of the video as I'd like to post the viewers choice top 10 in the next few days!

1. Star Wars Kid
   The star wars kid burst onto the scene in 2002.  This kid picked up a golf ball retriever and decided he would make a video pretending to be Darth Maul. Ghyslain Raza was an instant hit when some of his "friends" decided to take his video and place it on the Internet.
   
   
2. The Evolution of Dance
   Inspirational Comedian Judson Laipply is a riot.  This video is amazing! Here is a complete list of all the songs used:
   hounddog(elvis),the twist(chubby checker),stayin' alive(beegees),ymca(village people),kung foo fighting(busstop),keep on(brady bunch),grease lightning(john travolta),you shook me all night long(ac/dc),billie jean(michael jackson),thriller(michael jackson),oompa loompa song(willie wonka soundtrack),mr roboto(styx)
   
   
3. The Lion Sleeps Tonight
   This is a great Karaoke song!  Don't ask, but do laugh your pants off.
   
4. I want it that way
   This video was a smash hit on the internet a few months ago.  Make sure you wait for the guy in the background to turn around.
   
5. Chuck Norris' Top 10
   Chuck Norris watched The Ring tape.  Seven days later, he received a call.
   "Seeeeeeeven dayysssss!"
   "Chuck Norris speaking"
   "Whoops, my bad. Wrong Number."
   
6. Volkswagen: Un-pimp Your Ride 2
   After the smashing success of Pimp Your Ride, Volkswagen came out with "Un-pimp Your Ride" and was an instant smash hit all over the internet and on T.V.
   
   
7. Britney Spears acting very strange or stoned
   Ummm... something is very wrong with Britney Spears.
   
   
8. The Monkey Sniff
   This poor monkey decided to go where no monkey had gone before... and realized why.
   
   
9. Sweet Tired Cat
   Do you ever dose off?  Get a little sleepy and have your head wobble and jerk back when you realize your falling asleep.
   
   
10. Unbelievable Impressions
    And finally I leave you with the funniest Impressions you will find on the Internet.  "One Man...".
    

Don't forget to submit your favorites in our comments as I will be bringing you the peoples choice of videos in the next few days!

Internet Explorer 7 Final Released

Microsoft has released the final version of Internet Explorer 7 today to customers.  Microsoft will release the final build to automatic update on November 1st, 2006.  There are so many new features that I absolutely love!  Some nice new features include:

• New Look
• Tabs
• Printing
• RSS Feeds
• New Search Feature
• Tightened Security

Download Links:

Windows XP Service Pack 2 Edition

Windows Server 2003 32-bit Edition

Windows XP & Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition

Windows Server 2003 ia64 Edition

Internet Explorer 7 - Yahoo Edition

Apple Crash Top 10 Images

Some people were asking if I would do a piece on Apple crashes finish up the Top 10 Crashes lists.  Yes Apple products (Macintosh, iPod, OS X) crash just like Microsoft Windows, and Linux. Apple has made some fabulous products throughout the years, however, with each piece of software and hardware, always comes crashes, even the apple store with all the positive apple goodness ora can't escape! Just so everyone is clear, I have been completely fair and done an article on Microsoft BSoD first, then Linux, and now finally Apple!

Check out these images:

1. The screen reads "The computer has rebooted after Mac OS X quit unexpectedly".
    
   
2. iPod in trouble!  But never fear!  They have a web site!
   
   
3. Poor Macintosh dies hard after a corrupted memory stack.
   
   
4. The famous Macintosh System 7 "Bomb" or "Bombed".  System 7.5.5 was quiet possibly the worst Apple OS ever.
   
   
5. Now that Macintosh machines can run Windows, they get the benefit of the BSoD!
   
   
6. Steve hasn't had the best luck doing presentations for a while, although it never seems to get as much press as when Bill Gates has problems. Watch the video here.
    
   
7. The classic "Sad Mac".  This is actually quiet possibly the worst error between the Linux Kernel dump, and the Windows BSoD.  Getting this screen means you're having major hardware or software issues that is preventing the machine from turning on.  Time to call a Mac guru.
   
   
8. iBook has crashed hard here.  Probably a hardware issue.
   
   
9. Macintosh destruction on a G4.  If you have one of these, be careful with the hinges, they break all the time like pencils.  They also had heat issues and memory issues.  Ahh well.
   
   
10. Installing Windows makes a mac crash using Parallels.. awesome lol.
     

Bonus Videos

1.   A classic video "Crash Different" absolutely hilarious! You have to watch this!
   

Online Casino Gambling - Texas Holdem

 I have recently started playing Texas Holdem online, mostly to learn how to play Texas Holdem with my friends, and getting some practice at blackjack.  There are some great sites out there to play, however I've always wondered if there wasn't a way to cheat.  I used to play a lot of chess back in the day and I remember playing in some online tournaments where I was confident the person on the other end was running software like ChessMaster.  Can this not be applied to Texas Holdem online?

So how do you beat the odds at online casino gambling? In Real World fashion, here is the simple steps!

1. Create an account at your favorite Online Casino Poker Site!
   For example, creating an account on PokerRoom.com is fairly easy to do, and I find to have the nicest layout and graphical design.
2. Download WinHoldEm
   WinHoldEm is a poker bot that cant teach you to play the perfect hand every time on any online casino gambling site on the Internet.  You can download it Here.
3. Run in stealth mode
   Some of the more popular online casino gambling sites check to see if you have installed WinHoldEm.  The only way to ensure you will not be banned is to run two computers and set one computer up as the Gambling computer, and the other as the WinHoldEm computer. Simply install WinPP on each machine and your ready to go.
4. Install WinHoldEm
   You can download it Here.
5. Load the Online Casino Gambling site of your choice and Launch Texas Holdem.
6. Run WinHoldEm!

 There are definitely other programs that you can use if you prefer to not use WinHoldEm.  One of them is Holdem Bot.  This is a free program, but not as good as WinHoldEm.

When you play no limit Texas Holdem, make sure that you always follow this advice:

1. Table Selection
   only play in games where you have an edge. You want at least a couple of weak players at the table when you sit down.
2. Not vulnerable to go on tilt
3. Playing too many starting hands
   in a standard $2-$4 NL game you should have a 20-30% view of the flop percentage. This means folding AJ in first position, KT in middle position and QT in late position
4. Playing the Players
   make sure to quickly assess the opposition: who plays inferior hands, who folds at aggression, who bets with draws, who calls big bets with weak hands and draws, who can be bluffed, who bluffs, etc.
5. Pump it or dump it
   fold or bet/raise (if the odds are with you). You should avoid calling unless you have a good reason (like trapping an opponent).
6. Respect most big bets and raises
   this is particularly true on the turn and river as most players do not bluff.
7. Patience and Discipline
   Just wait for the good hand, choose the hands you play wisely
8. Reading opponents
9. Courage
   You need to have courage to bet/raise/call down (aggressive with draws or perceived best hands)

Some common mistakes that you might make, and make sure you avoid! And make absolute sure you do not do any of these things when your playing online casino gambling sites.

1. Calling with weak holdings when facing a bet.
2. Playing too many starting hands.
3. Not releasing a decent hand when beat, thus losing the whole stack on one hand.
4. Not raising pre-flop with premium hands (putting pressure on limpers holding drawing hands) and then going too far with them after the flop.
5. Over/under betting the pot (risking a lot to win small/not protecting hand).

Why am I sharing this?  Well, when I started playing at PokerRoom.com I found that I was being beat perfectly by some of the other players.  Granted I did win a few hands, Texas Holdem is a game that rewards the correct, skilful play, and punishes crazy mistakes or risks.  I definitely am not advocating the use of this method, however, I think everyone should be informed of what exactly you are facing out there should you choose to try online casino gambling.

So how do you avoid these cheating bots?  There are a few methods.  Since they are usually left running over night or for hours at a time, the best way is to try and strike up a conversation.  If you don't get any reply's, chances are, you are talking to a bot.

Anyway, hope the tips and advice are helpful.  Following these straightforward tips you should be able to have a lot of success playing Texas Holdem!

 

Technorati Tags: gambling, online casino, make money

Linux Crash Top 10 Images

I got a plenty of e-mails from microsofties pleading that I was to harsh on Windows, and should think about doing a top 10 Linux Crash post.  The reality is yes Linux can crash, although it tends to be harder to do as you tend to know exactly what you're doing when you install Linux.  Which is why this list is hilarious.  Some of the top 10 includes planes, and trains.  It was funny to see that most of the pictures are of airplanes. 

So next time your flying on your favorite airline, don't worry when you see Linux crash and reboot before your eyes.  It seems to be a common occurrence.  I have to say however, Linux has a million and one ways to "crash", and a lot of times it will just reboot, stop responding, stop working, and force you to reboot.  Therefore I am counting reboots that have to be done because the system is unusable as a crash.  At least Microsoft standardized most crashed requiring a reboot on the ugliest blue and white screen ever and called it the BSoD. lol.

 

1. A typical users computer that runs Linux.  Linux has definitely crashed here.
   
   
   
2. Linux crashes in an airliner.   This is great.  Windows I'm used to seeing crash, but Linux... Not a good sign. This was taken on an Air Algerie Airbus A330
   
   
   
3. More detailed close up of a Linux crash.
   
   
   
4. Turns out that a LOT of airplanes you fly these days use Linux! 
   
   
   
5. Linux Crash on a train running Centro's TV software
   
   
   
6. Another Linux crash on an airplane.  I love the retro carpet on seats lol.
     
   
7. A smart phone goes down hard with a Linux Kernel Panic.
   
   
   
8. Linux crash on a subway!
   
   
   
9. Nintendo DS Runs Linux!  This person must have been fooling around with a third party tool like EZ-Client.
     
   
   
10. Tim Horton's uses Linux!  I bet they were told it would never crash like Windows!  I'll have a large double double please! Thanks Colin for taking the picture! Check out his flickr image here.
    

 

Bonus Images

1. This guys is awesome.  If anyone knows where I can buy this shirt let me know!
   
    
2. A Linux Kernel Panic during a presentation at a Linux Rally Event!
   

 

Updated:  I wont delete the comments from the Linux posters (by the way I have 4 machines running SUSE Linux myself) as I find it hilarious how some people ruin it for everyone.  This is called "satire humor" people. Of course none of these are BSoD as there is not such thing in Linux.  However, if you get some bad hardware plugged into Linux, or put the average Joe that uses Windows in front of a Linux machine, the amount of hanging, crashes, kernel panics you will get will BLOW YOUR MIND.  All of these screens below do shoe rebooting in situations where a reboot should not have happened, aka, in a plane with hundreds of passengers seeing "engine" in the boot sequence.  End users don't know the difference. 

The entire purpose of this blog is "Real World" and in the "Real World" all of things above are crashes to people.  I can explain each one, but I won't as that is not the point.  The Linux users our there should just laugh and admit that the two operating systems are different, and applicable in different scenarios.  Some people are better at Basketball, some people are better at computers.  Some people are Olympic Gold Medallists in Hockey, but that same person might not even be able to swim.  Does that make one person better than the other? no.  Just different.  Will both people fail, and hopefully get back up after a failure?  Of course!  Nobody is invincible!  And no piece of software is "perfect".  There is room for both people in the world, as there is room for two different operating systems.   However I do feel that this "elitist" attitude is definitely hurting the adoption of Linux, instead of helping.  It's to bad really.

Blue Screen of Death Top 10

 

 

The now infamous Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) has been around since Windows 3.1.  However, by chance, this screen made an appearance back in Windows 1.0!  Have we finally discovered the original origins of this beast!  It's always great to reflect on how hard it was to get to devices like the Windows Phone or the iPhone. There are many causes for this error: Bad DLL's, incorrect device drivers, bad memory, damaged registry, etc.  This error has become less predominant in later years. Receiving such an error now, is much more serious than it used to be in the Windows 3.1/95/98 days.  Below are some of the Top 10 Blue Screen of Death images!  Some of these might be fake images, unless I was to take them myself how could I be sure obviously.  Enjoy! 

1. Blue screen of death on a subway car.
   
2. Blue Screen of Death in New York City
   
3. With the introduction of the x86 processor to Mac, Blue Screen of Death has finally come to Macintosh!
4. Blue screen of Death at an airport.
    
5. Fidelity gets a visit from the Blue Screen of Death.
   
6. I hate seeing the Blue Screen of Death in airports.
   
7. World Famous Windows 98 Blue Screen of Death. This one occurred back at COMDEX, April 20th, 1998.  "So I'm just going to go ahead and plug in the new device.  You'll notice that this scanner... Wow!.. Moving right along..."  "That must be why we're not shipping Windows 98 yet."
   
8. Not only are Macintosh laptops getting this great Blue Screen of Death upgrade!
   
9. Even your public phone and Internet portal systems receive visits from the Blue Screen of Death.
   
10. Finally.. The Original Blue Screen of Death in Windows 1.0! Although this is not the true "Blue Screen of Death", it is funny to see this happened even back in the day!  The origins of the blue screen....
    
    
    

 

Bonus Blue Screen of Death Images

1. New York City, Corner of 42nd street and 8th avenue
   

Bonus Tips and Tricks

1. Did you know typing into Internet Explorer Version 4 through 7 "about:mozilla" in the address bar would cause a BSoD (well, humor me here, its just a blue screen, but still funny). 
2. If the above doesn't work, you are running Windows XP SP2, so type: "res://mshtml.dll/about.moz" and you will get it!

I've started a new blog, www.miguelcarrasco.com focused on social media, digital marketing, and technology. I think you'd love it and I'd love for you to check it out!

Watch TV for Free - Part 3

Update:  Watch TV for Free - Part 4 is now available here

Free TV Web sites have always fascinated me.  How they manage to stay up and running is beyond me.  I do believe this is the wave of the future however, as I absolutely hate watching TV in the living room simply because it means I have to endure hours of commercials.

I much prefer to watch great online content, that is commercial free!  Below are some great web sites that are going forgotten since the whole "YouTube" frenzy caught on!  Although I do agree YouTube is by far the best of the sites, the sites below should not go un-noticed as some content here you will not find on YouTube!

 

Zango is actually a very interesting site in that it attempts to resolve copyright issues.  It allows people to post advertisements along  with their published content.  Zango calls this "content economy".  Zango also employs time-of-day technology to ensure that it is displaying the right type of advertisements, at the right time of day.  See, I don't mind advertisements personally if they make sense to what I'm looking for at the time.
http://www.zango.com

 

Some of the best episodes of Frontline are available for free online right now!  A great video I just finished watching is "Kim's Nuclear Gamble" created back in 2003.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/view/

 

So for all of the sites I have covered, it involves the web sites being up and running, and using their sometimes flaky web pages.  Multiple clicks and page loads do tend to annoy me. Instead, download and watch all the best Internet TV shows in one powerful application: any video RSS feed, video podcast, video blog, or BitTorrent file. Fullscreen, high resolution, 100% free and open source. New channels arrive daily in the built-in Channel Guide.
http://www.getdemocracy.com/

 

 Provides categorized free tv watching through categories like movies, news, music, entertainment, business, sports, etc.  being a little bit of an organizational nut myself, I love having everything easy to find and access, which is not the case with some other free tv web sites.
http://www.streamick.com

 

 This site differs from other free tv sites by offering cartoons and Anime.  It also has categories such as Asian Television, Independent TV, Comedy, and the World Cup of Soccer.  They currently boast over 10,000 videos online.  They do however simply organize the content for you, as most of their videos are hosted on YouTube.
http://tv.peekvid.com

 

 No list would be complete without mentioning the company that started not even a year ago in December 2005, and just recently sold to Google for for an estimated 1.65 billion dollars.  This site has absolutely everything you would ever want online.  Some of my favorite searches are: Russell Peters, The Evolution of Dance, and Super Mario Brothers. This site would literally keep you busy for the rest of your life!  Next time you miss a piece of a tv show, or miss an interview, check it out on YouTube, it will be there!
http://www.youtube.com

 

Channelchooser is a free tv portal that is very nicely designed from a user interface perspective.  It loads extremely quick, and has a very clean easy to use navigation system.  Another plus is the channels:  HBO, MTV, Comedy Central, ESPN, etc.
http://www.channelchooser.com

Of course one of the best ways you can watch TV on the Internet, like HBO, ESPN, and CNN is to download software that allows you to do this.    You can get Satellite TV for PC, Elite Edition here.  It’s by far the best software I have found, and will save you a lot of headaches.

Well there you have it!  Some of the best, top quality sites for you to watch free TVon the Internet!  This is part three in a series of articles I have published.  If you would like to view the complete list, here it is:

• Watch TV for Free - Part 4
• Watch TV for Free - Part 3
• Watch TV for Free - Part 2
• Watch TV for Free - Part 1

Having issues with choppy video playback?
Instead of going into details here on how to resolve these issues, please read Speeding up video playback.

Speeding up video playback

There are so many reasons why your video playback could be choppy or slow.  I wont speak to the independent variables that you can not control, instead I will tell you how to speed up video playback right now! Let's get down to business!

TCP IP Optimizer
One of the main reasons your video could be running slow is your computers inability to handle all the traffic its receiving. Windows by default sets this extremely low and tweaked for dial up connections believe it or not.  Don't worry about all the details, just follow the steps bellow to get it up and running quickly:

1. Set your connection speed

2. Select your network adapter

3. Select "Optimal settings" and choose "Apply Changes"

4. Your done!

Download this tool here:
http://www.speedguide.net/files/TCPOptimizer.exe

Windows Media Player Tips

If you are still having issues at this point, you can start tweaking some settings yourself.  Although Windows Media Player does a pretty good job on its own, sometimes it definitely gets it wrong.  Just load up media player, go into tools, options.  In there you will see a "Performance" tab.

Within this section, select "Choose connection speed" and select your correct connection speed manually.  Next move down to the buffering section and set this yourself to 60 seconds or more.  This will cause a longer buffering time up front, but will remove constant choppiness!

Lastly for this tab, make sure the Video Acceleration is set to full  and you are ready to go!

Next make sure to select the Network tab and ensure all check boxes are selected.  Specifically, ensure UDP is selected.

Latest Drivers and Software

Make sure you are using the latest version of your software! This could actually be the largest contributor to your issues, and the easiest to fix.  Below are links to update to the latest most popular web streaming video playback software:

• Windows Media Player 10 / 11
• QuickTime
• Real Player

You will also want to make sure you have the latest drivers for your video cards and sound cards, as well your motherboard!

Finally...

Now that your tweaked out, make sure to check out the best free TV sites on the Internet!  There are a series of articles on this web site below:

• Watch TV for Free - Part 2
• Watch TV for Free - Part 3

That's it for the tips on optimizing your video playback.  Internet connection speed plays a great deal to do with your streaming media quality, as well as how many hops you are from your destination server.  If you are still having issues, please feel free to post comments below and I will gladly answer your questions or another user will certainly help you out! 

Google acquires YouTube

The Google and YouTube acquisition has been rumored for a few days.  Within the last week the story has developed, which will probably culminate tomorrow as tonight, the acquisition of YouTube by Google will be announced. YouTube’s 65 employees will remain with the company at YouTube’s San Bruno headquarters.

Meanwhile this morning YouTube has announced deals with CBS, Universal Music Group, and Sony BMG.

YouTube launched back in December of 2005.  It's site lets users upload and share any video content they choose, ranging from home movies, funny clips, and some controversial material to spoofs.  Some of the videos that are uploaded are copyrighted material from television shows and movies.  This has caused wide spread concern that YouTube could face a wide range of lawsuits.

Google already has Google Video, but it has failed to bring a lot of visitor attraction.  The Google YouTube deal has instantly catapulted Google as the leader in online video, which is quickly becoming an area of much interest for advertisers. 

The current form of watching movies via a non interactive television set is becoming extremely outdated in comparison to Internet technology.  A single web page can receive millions of viewers a day, and have specific advertisements tailored to the web site.  The same is true with online video.  A YouTube viewer associates tags and descriptions with each of their videos.  Advertisers will be able to buy space on videos that are playing specific videos to their product or service they are promoting.  It's a win win for everyone.  The deal from this perspective makes perfect sense as YouTube, although valued as high as 3.5 Billions Dollars by some estimates, has failed to make any significant profits.  Google on the other hand, has a grand slam in its AdSense technology.  Merging these two technologies together will be a huge grand slam for Google, and YouTube.

The cost of the deal?  About 1.6 Billion Dollars.  Yahoo was in the running until the very end, however fell short at the end.  Will GoogleTube become the online video mogul of the future?  only time will tell.  The deal has been approved by all corporate approval, and will be finalized fourth quarter.

"This is the next step in the evelution of the internet!" - Chad Hurley

Google is hosting a web confrence, which can be viewed live, or replayed later: http://investor.google.com/webcast.html.  If you miss it live, a replay of the call will be available until midnight Monday, October 16 at 888-203-1112 domestically and 719-457-0820 internationally. Confirmation code for the replay is 2260624.