Microsoft Project Natal coming Holiday 2010!

A new toy seems to be coming out soon called Project Natal by Microsoft for the XBOX 360. It's almost like a Wii without the controller. From the looks of it, the Natal is an addon for the XBOX 360 that allows more casual gamers to use their body as the controller. There is a lot of valuable information online, so while I could ramble all day on how cool this thing would be, I'll instead present you with some links;

- Wikipedia page on Natal  - Contains a lot of technical information on Natal
- YouTube of the Project Natal Announcement - Pretty neat showing of what you can do.
- QJ has some good coverage of Natal on their site.

Want one? Well, obviously the Natal isn't available quite yet but slated for Holiday 2010. Amazon will no undoubtedly carry one which means, you guessed it, you'll be able to use Points2Shop points to purchase one when they are available!

So if you don't have an account, create one by going HERE. If you do have an account, start saving up those points! I want to see videos of people having fun with the Natal when it comes out. You bet I'll be getting one of my own too!

Banned XBOX 360? There may be help!

With the recent 360 banning occurring right before the holiday season, its not hard to imagine why Microsoft timed it like they did. Couple the hardware ban with neutered hardware, you now have issues even playing offline. So its time to go out and buy a new 360 right? Well, maybe not. Hope is around the corner it seems through a few communities of helpful hackers.

According to 360mods.net, a hacker by the name of c4eva has announced that he is working on new firmware for all drives known as iXtreme LT. This firmware will be a very clean and as close to original firmware as possible. While this will loose some of the patching checks done by current firmware, it ensures that very little of the original firmware is changed making it harder to detect.

So, keep your eyes open and hope for the best. Or, you could always purchase a new 360 (to have handy) thanks to Points2Shop. Be sure to check it out!

Hackers find way to work around XBOX 360 console bans on XBOX Live.

The recent mass banning of modified XBOX 360 consoles netted a LOT of people. Many hardcore modders have been trying to find ways out of the ban and have found a temporary work-around. I imagine this won't hold long and is likely to get both XBOX consoles banned (original and the modified one) but its yet another step to getting those fixed.

Here is the forum post explaining the exploit: http://consoletech.net/forum/front-page-news/651-hackers-find-way-un-ban-xbox-360-consoles-let-games-begin.html#post1154

Personally though, I don't have to worry about this since my 360 is unmodified. I don't have to worry about downloading games when I have Points2Shop to get me games for my 360. :)

Key things you'll want...

Here are a few things you might want to install on your dedicated virtual machine for doing offers. This applies mostly to Points2Shop/Cashle but can be used on just about any other GPT or PTC site.

1. Fresh install of Windows XP - This is a must, when doing any VM or dedicated computer setup for doing offers, Windows XP is the most accepted for downloaded offers for toolbars, etc. I've found many apps so far that do not support Vista/Win7 and as far as speed goes, XP is a win in a virtual environment.
2. Fully updated XP (including latest IE) along with FireFox, Safari and Google Chrome - Most of the time I use FireFox for offers, but sometimes it seems to effect approval rating. When I seem to be in a points-slump (5 or more offers not approving in a 2hr period) I tend to move to Google Chrome or in some cases Safari. While the evidence is anecdotal at best, it does appear to work.
3. Disable/Remove firewall and DO NOT install Antivirus - This is a big must, first, its a virtual machine. Make sure you do NOT login to your banking website, your main email, etc. on it. Its for doing offers and general (non-personal) surfing. Your risk of getting infected is high but it will nto get to your main machine through the VM. Disabling firewall and not using AV has a positive effect on your approval rating, as scary as that is. 
4. Install CCLEANER - CCLEANER is a cookie and temporary files cleaner that works excellent for Windows XP/Vista/Win7. It'll not only clear your standard browser cookie and cache, but you can set whitelists to allow things like your P2S login, gmail login and what not so it doesn't clear them out. Additionally, it also clears out your Adobe FLASH tracking data, some offers use this to track you. 
5. Install other tools you might use - For example; I use twhirl for twitter, pwsafe for all my passwords and a few other tools. It all depends on your need.
   

Using Google Apps for your Domain (GAFYD) w/Offers

Even prior to doing offers, I used Google Apps for your Domain for various domains of mine including this one. It allows you to get your own gmail interface for your @mydomain.com. How does this help you for doing offers, well you can create new accounts for emails, but wait, its easier than that!

I have an account that all my points2shop emails go, say its account1@mydomain.com. Well a neat setting for Google Apps email is that you can have any email that doesn't have a user account go to a specific account. So, for example, I set all email addresses that don't have an account to go to account1@mydomain.com. I then use account2@mydomain.com and account3@mydomain.com as email addresses on offers, they all will forward to account1@mydomain.com. Infact, it doesn't matter what the email address is, if it doesn't have an account at my domain it'll always goto account1@mydomain.com. Even lsjflafhdhsfdsa@mydomain.com. :)

1. If you have Google Apps, login to your main domain account and click on the "Manage this Domain" on the upper right of the screen. 
2. Once in your domain dashboard, click on "Email." This will take you to your email settings.
3. In Email settings, scroll down until you see the "Catch-all address." I believe by default this is set to 'discard email.' Change this to 'forward to...' and enter one of the accounts you use.
4. Profit! :)

There you go, now any email you signup with in offers that doesn't have an existing account on your domain will forward to the account you set the catch-all to. Bingo! Now you don't have to create new addresses and can still signup on offers with additional email addresses.

Enjoy!

Common Questions about Points2Shop/Cashle.

I've seen a lot of questions come across on Points2Shop in my short time. Here is a quick post to answer those questions to help you with your decision to weather or not join Points2Shop or Cashle.

• Is this Legit? Yes, yes it is. I can attest (as I've already received at least my first, small, item). There are MANY users that have received tones of cool stuff. If your on the site, click on users in the shoutbox that are SILVER status or higher, or people in green or black. You'll see they purchased MANY different items through the site. Don't be afraid to ask either, that's what the shoutbox is there for!
• All these people in the shoutbox, are they Bots? Nope, they are real people just like you and me. A lot of the more experienced users hang out in the shoutbox to help new users navigate around the site and complete offers.
• How does this work? The concept is simple, advertisers pay the site for sales leads. A lead is a person with VALID and verifiable information. That information can simply be a name and email address all the way to your home address and phone number. Once you spend your time and give your information on an offer, the advertiser pays the site. A certain amount of this payment is stored away in your account as POINTS (or, in the case of Cashle, cash you can withdraw) to spend on Amazon.com.

I'll  update this post as more questions come up. Enjoy!

Be safe with Virtual Machines

I prefer to be safe, especially when downloading applications from offers like Toolbars, games, etc. While I've yet to get infected by a virus or piece of malware, I still don't want my main PC to run into issues. To make my life easier, instead of using sandboxie (which isn't supported in Vista/Windows 7) I use Microsoft Virtual PC.

Now, a few things to help make sure you still obtain approvals before I begin:

• When using a Virtual PC, you don't have to install antivirus software. Your main machine will NOT be infected AS LONG as you use the virtual machine for basically anything you want to test or offers. This is not to say you will get infected by offers. I have not had ANY issues with viruses or malware doing offers, period. I only use VM to keep on toolbars and apps I downloaded without them cluttering up my main PC.
• When you download something like Neilson Stat tracker and other offers that keep tabs on your surfing habits for points, DO ALL YOUR "NORMAL" (non bank/deeply personal) SURFING through your virtual machine. This will ensure you don't get you points removed and keeps you within the rules. You have to be fair to the advertisers since they are being fair to you. This would be the same as downloading the apps, getting the points then quickly uninstalling them. 

Benefits of using Virtual Machine technology:

• You don't have to worry about what you download from offers!
• When you clear cookies, you don't loose all YOUR logins and such on your main computer. 
• Since your not using Antivirus or Adblock your approval rate will go up.
• It keeps things separated which to me is a very good thing.

Cons to using Virtual Machine technology:

• It can effect your main PC performance if you do not shut down the virtual machine without using it.
• If you have a slower computer, the virtual machine may run slow, being more frustrating.
• You need AT LEAST 2GB of ram on your main PC or your virtual machine will CRAWL.
• Virtual Machines take 8GB and more space on you PC.
• They can be difficult to work with for people not familiar with PCs or advanced software.
• You need an additional, valid license of Microsoft Windows. 

To install Microsoft Virtual PC, go to http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/ and download the latest version.  Until I can get my own tutorial up on youtube, here are some resources showing you HOW to create and install your own Virtual PC with Windows XP.

Lifehacker - Run Windows XP inside Vista with Virtual PC (step by step on creating and installing a Windows XP Virtual Machine in Windows Vista)

eHow - How to install Windows XP in Microsoft Virtual PC (another quick how-to guide on eHow)

If you need help with this setup, just find me on Points2Shop and send me a 'Private Message' or comment on this post! If you haven't signed up already, do so here! Enjoy!