I will admit that I was excited at the prospect of OnLive when I first heard about it. Once I learned more about the system and realized that you had to pay monthly to access the OnLive network and still buy the video games, I wasn't nearly as interested in the service. I have tried OnLive and in my instance, it had some lag and the graphics weren't as good as some stand-alone games I have on my gaming PC, but it was certainly playable.

If you are a fan of OnLive, you can now pre-order the OnLive Game system that lets you hook OnLive to your TV in the living room and play some of the coolest games you can get on PCs and consoles from the comfort of your couch. The downside for gamers used to a PC is that you have to play using a gamepad that looks like the standard PS3 arrangement.

The OnLive Game System hardware is selling for $99 and includes a free game. The device will start shipping December 2. Another potential issue those thinking about guying need to consider is that the MicroConcole adapter has to be connected to a wired broadband connection. It doesn't support WiFi and for me a wired connection is nowhere near my TV where I would want the console. How speedy your web connection is will greatly affect your experience playing.

The most popular tablet on the market right now is the iPad. The popularity of the tablet had something to do with the fact that the machine was the only tablet around for a while. There are more and more tablets coming to the market each day and many of them will be running Android as an operating system just like the Samsung Galaxy Tab. The Galaxy Tab launched not too long ago and is one of the first major Android tablet offerings to land.

With more and more Android tablets coming to the market, analysts are expecting truly big things from Android in the tablet market. Research firm IMS Research as predicted that by 2011 Android tablets will have 15% of the overall tablet market globally. That percentage of the global tablet market will boom and by 2015, the research firm predicts Android tablets will hold 28% of the tablet market.

The iPad will continue to do very well though and the firm predicts at this time next year the iPad will have as much as 75% of the tablet market. Samsung has big hopes for the Galaxy Tab and expects to move several million units the first few months it is available. IMS predicts that Samsung will move about 4.19 million Galaxy Tabs in Q4 2010.

Over the last year or so Netflix has gone from something I would have never considered joining after experienced years ago with never getting the DVDs I wanted to see to something that I am very interested in trying. The change for me is completely due to the streaming offerings that Netflix has today. Netflix has done so well with its streaming offerings that Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has stated previously that the company is a streaming firm that also ships DVDs.

Hastings was on hand at the Web 2.0 Summit and offered some insights into the values of mobile apps for Netflix and what affect those mobile apps have had on the bottom line at the company. Hastings said in a nutshell, that mobile apps for the iPhone and iPad have had a minimal effect on the bottom line for Netflix. Hastings went so far as to say people aren't interested in streaming long-form video to mobile devices.

He did point out that when Netflix launched on the PS3 and Xbox 360 it made a huge improvement in the number of users that Netflix boasted. I would think that some of the hesitation in steaming content on the iPhone and iPad comes from the fact that data plans have horrible limits and streaming one flick on a tiered plan could mean you are out of data from the month. Mobile companies and their data limits have killed the streaming market for mobile devices in my opinion.

ASRock has pulled the wraps off its new line of LGA1155 mainboards. The new line of boards runs the gamut from value up to enthusiast class boards. Enthusiast boards are based on the P67 chipset from Intel with value and mainstream boards using the H67 chipset. At the top of the new range is the P67 Extreme6 mainboard with six SATA 6Gb/s ports, and four external USB 3.0 ports with two more USB 3.0 ports inside. The board also has three PCIe x 16 slots and an 18-phase CPU VRM.

Under that board is the P67 Extreme4 with four SATA 6GB/s ports, four USB 3.0 ports, and the same triple PCIe graphics slots. Under those offerings are the P67 Pro and the P67 Pro 3 sporting two 6Gb/s ports, dual rear USB 3.0 ports and a single PCIe x16 slot and packing a 10-phase CPU VRM. That last feature is very good for the class of board.

Other new boards include the Intel H67 packing H67M GE-HT mainboard for high-end HTPC builds packing a 6-phase VRM, four DDR3 slots, and a FDI interface. The board also has four USB 3.0 ports and a lot more. A more stripped down H67M GE mainboard is also offered for the same crowd, but lacks the VRM heat sinks, internal USB 3.0 ports and a few other goodies. All of these boards should land alongside the new Intel Core processor line using the socket next year.

Microsoft brings controller-free entertainment to Australia today, with Kinect for Xbox 360 launching at retailers in time for Christmas.

Predicted to be one of the most significant consumer electronic product launches in history, Kinect's world first technology features a revolutionary sensor which allows full body play for the first time.

Instead of using a traditional controller and pressing buttons, the player's full body is captured by the Kinect sensor, enabling their movements and gestures to control the action.

Ready for a mobile revolution?? Lately we've been posting about the upcoming Cortex-A9 based Tegra 2 chips, but Qualcomm has been patiently waiting in the shadows to launch out and attack with a revolutionary new chip.

The MSM8260 and 8660 SoC's chips, they're based on current Qualcomm tech - integrating two Scorpion cores and an Adreno 205 GPU on a single 45nm die. The 8260 has HSPA+ support while the 8660 features HSPA+, CDMA2000 and 1xEV-DO Rev. B - both chips will run at 1.2GHz.

That's not all, the gem in this news is about the upcoming tech from Qualcomm - next-gen Snapdragon SoC's built on a 28nm process. The first one will be the Qualcomm MSM8960 SoC.

Twitter has become pretty big business 140 characters at a time, and they are now looking to be close to releasing an Analytics product that would allow users to see a ton of information about their account that has previously been kept officially behind the scenes except by use of some third party apps. The photo below gives a little bit of what could be expected from the new release:

There are already a few third-party companies like Twittalyzer and Tweetstats that offer up trend info like how many retweets you get, success of tweets, and tweets that cause people to "unfollow" you, but Twitter releasing a solution in house would most likely take a pretty good chunk out of their userbase. According to Mashable, Twitter execs have started to invite a small group of users to test drive their new Analytics product and it could hit the mainstream by the end of the year.

Been waiting for the 10.11 Catalyst release? Wait no longer!

Highlights of the AMD Catalyst™ 10.11 Windows release include:

Performance Highlights of the AMD Catalyst™ 10.11 release include:

I really like to play Rock Band with my kids and friends every now and again. The thing I hate about Rock Band though is that the controllers that go with the game to take up lots of space. I have two-guitar controller, the drums, mic, drumsticks and other stuff that I have to find a place to stash after we are done playing. That can be a challenge and typically I end up with the drums upstairs, the drum sticks under the bed, and guitar controllers other places.

If you have the same issue storing and finding all your Rock Band gear, LevelUp has a great new storage device specifically made for Rock Band hardware. The storage ottoman is called the Rock Band Storage ottoman and has enough space inside for you to store your unassembled drum kit, games, standard controllers, and a lot more. The lid has Velcro loops for holding two guitar controllers.

The drums store in the bottom of the ottoman and removable trays hold video games and game pads for the console there are even a couple pockets to hold the drumsticks. Those drumsticks are the things I can never seem to find. There are also other pockets for the mic and other items. The ottoman is made from hardwood and has faux leather cover. You can get the basic black version called Back in Black for $89.99 and the Skulls and Snakes version is $179.

When it comes to the flat panel TV market in the US one of the leading companies is Vizio. The company has been selling HDTVs for a much shorter time than other makers have, but it is one of the most popular brands in the country. This is due to the low prices and nice features the TVs offer consumers. One of the most popular lines of TV that Vizio offers is the XVT brand. Vizio has announced that it has added three new 3D TV models to the XVT series.

The three new models will offer 42", 47", and 55" screen sizes. The will also support Vizio Internet Apps and 1080p resolution. The sets all have multiple HDMI inputs, SRS TruSurround HD audio, and a 480Hz SPS refresh rate. The sets all also feature 802.11n WiFi for web connectivity and have LED backlighting.

The two larger screen models use TruLED tech with SmartDimming and the smaller screen has Razor LED technology. All of the 3D sets use Vizio active shutter glasses, which are sold separately. That is the big issue I have with 3D TVs today. Most come with no glasses and the glasses are $200 per pair typically making a family of four need to invest another $800 in glasses alone.