I’m not a big fan of the DVD format anymore. I used to love how they could fit an entire movie onto a tiny disc, and marvel at the image quality. But then they put FBI warnings, trailers, animated menus and all other side of crap onto them, and more and more of my discs got scratched. Time to rip all of them and store the movies on a media server. I’ve been experimenting with different software solutions to do this, and today I tried WinX DVD Ripper Platinum. “WinX” is commercial software, priced at $29.95, but you may be able to get a hold of ot for free if you read on.
More WinX DVD Ripper Platinum quick review and giveaway

I’ve been following the development of Google’s Chrome OS for a while now, and have played around with some of the early builds that have been floating around online. It’s well on its way to becoming a stable and usable operating system, but I’ve been getting the feeling recently that it may have been been surpassed by that other Google OS, Android. Especially since Android comes with a very good browser.
More Does Chrome OS still make sense?

Google’s Adroid mobile operating system is in a bit of a tough spot here in The Netherlands. The first phones running it were released exclusively on T-Mobile, who at the same time were offering the iPhone. Besides the fact that the G1 (HTC Dream) and G2 (HTC Magic) weren’t very appealing by comparison, T-Mobile seemed to not market them much. And then there’s the fact that Nokia had a firm grip on the smartphone market in Europe. I too have been using an E71. But not anymore. My HTC Desire arrived last friday, and I’ve spent some time with Android. What I was wondering most was how it would compare to the iPhone OS.
More Comparing apples and robots

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Nexx Inc. All opinions are 100% mine.

If you’re looking to move your blog from wordpress.com to a self-hosted install, this may be a good deal. Nexx.com has recently been rebranded, and is now offering a new Unlimited Web Hosting. To celebrate their new plan they’re offering it at $10 for the first year, including a free .com domain name. I know plenty of hosts where the domain alone would cost that. And to make things even better, they offer a 1-click WordPress install. You should be able to have your blog up and running in mere minutes.
More Nexx.com: 1 year of WordPress hosting for $10

The great thing about WordPress is that there’s a huge, active and helpful community of users and developers. There have been WordCamps organized all of the world, as well as many smaller meetups. Last week, Kaj Rietberg and I put together just such a meetup in the Dutch city of Amersfoort.

The event was sponsored by open source development company 4WORX and hosted at the neighboring Dara restaurant (recommended!). Kaj and I were happy to welcome around 25 WordPress enthusiasts, a couple of whom had been tricked beforehand into preparing presentations. Kaj has written a more detailed account over at the WordCampNL website (in Dutch) which includes the slides from two speakers.
More WordPress meetup Amersfoort