Sony makes decent (dumb)consumer electronics, but it falls flat on its fucking face in any sort of computing device. Id rather have a cheapo chinese tablet then a Sony.
Make the gaming PC as consolized as possible. Setup multiple partitions if you need to or provide a secure VM on the house server that he can use to peruse questionable sites without exposing the gaming machine and its expensive and time consuming software stack. Dont let the gaming OS browse the web, except when absolutely necessary (like steam, Blizz account pages etc) Image the hell out of the machine regularly after rolling in new changes. Treat it like a static machine, not a general purpose PC. Do not allow Flash, Acrobat or java on the machine other when absolutely necessary for gaming. Setup adequate backup protocols, instruct him on how to visit sites using secure methods like accessing it through the VM and then destroying the session.
I agree that the nexus 7 is laggy compared to ipad 2 or above. Take that with the huge grain of salt that is their respective price points. If i was poor, the Nexus 7 would be my choice as it is a beast at $199.
Yeah, it really is interesting to watch google flail about in making physical goods. Love my Nexus 7, but lets not kid ourselves, its a Google branded Asus product which was 95% ready to ship when google put its finger in the pie.
And im supposed to believe that the software is going to honor those flags in a way most humans would deem reasonable, right? There is no action you can take on your iphone that Apple cannot override. I own one, and at first i was really enjoyed the tech of it. Airplay, facetime etc all in a nice package. But as i dive deeper into iOS the entire thing is about control from end to end. It is impossible to gain absolute positive control over the device, even with jailbreaking. The entirety of the device is a big ass life sensor.
The point still stands that NFC does not require a data connection to complete a transaction. Im sure if you put your phone on airplane mode, the NFC would work just fine.
DOES NOT require a data connection during transaction. I have successfully purchased stuff in a store using Google wallet on my Nexus 7 with no data connection of any kind (other then the NFC link)
The Nexus Q was canceled, and anyone who pre-ordered got theirs for free and the entire project was scrapped. There is nothing in the Nexus Q business plan that supports your argument. Its was a shoddily designed product that in NO WAY represents what consumers want in set-top devices. You used a terrible example.
Agree, Boxee is shit. I never understood the hype for it. XBMC is the way to go. Im currently running it on an RPi and it works reasonable well. I have pretty simple needs, i jsut navigate the folders on an SMB share. Your remote issue is jsut that, an issue with how the remote was built. Most 'green button' Win MCE equipped remotes will work flawlessly with XBMC.
All this means that instead of rolling out a truck to put a filter on your line, they can control it from the base. When i cancelled basic cable, they tried to charge me $30 fee to disconnect. The reason is they had to roll a truck to install a filter so it would scramble the QAM/analog chans. Anytime they have to roll a truck for a customer, they try to get a charge off on it. They are usually happy to remove it if you complain, but they always bill first.
First off, ive spent the last ten years building HTPCs. I have learned through long experience to treat my recording device like a SERVER, because thats what it is and thats the crux of my point. What you dont want is for your users to treat it like a workstation, doing any random PC task they like, possibly consuming all the machine's resources or needing a restart.
Has nothing to do with recording disk speed or CPU, which is very low, and everything to do with 'o i jsut installed this game, but it needs a restart, ooops im recording a 2 hour movie, guess ill wait until its done before i can play.' I simply do not allow users on my recording device outside of very specific and known actions. Im not saying dont have a full fledged HTPC, jsut dont record on it. Hardware is so cheap, its not worth the hassle
WE should get the IP streaming without being forced to agree they can DMCA lock signals that are being broadcast over the air for free. WE own the right of way these companies operate under, we should be demanding more from infrastructure, not less.
I have this http://www.antennasdirect.com/store/ClearStream-C2-VHF-Combo.html in my second story attic at 47 miles out from the transmitters, roughly 50 feet above sea level. Mounted it to an attic cross beam, aimed it with my iphone compass and was good to go. Works like a champ.
You REALLY dont want to have users doing random computer actions on your recording device. Play blu-rays, netflix, etc is fine as long as its a specified action, but once you throw gaming into the mix, recording reliability falls right off the chart. Treating your recording device as a general purpose computer is just bad planning.
47 miles out from the transmitter and i get every major network on an attic mounted $60 antenna. CBS signal looks a bit weak on the meter, but ive never had a drop out yet, and im recording their entire weekday primetime lineup(stress test, dont judge me). Im recording using a Windows 7 VM on ESXi. About once a week I run the batch of Recorded TV through a Quick Sync conversion and throw it on my web accessible NAS.
Sony makes decent (dumb)consumer electronics, but it falls flat on its fucking face in any sort of computing device. Id rather have a cheapo chinese tablet then a Sony.
Slotting an ipad between them immediatly exposes the GROSS overcharging for the 5th gen ipod touch.
+insightful
I shouldnt have to put up a firewall with stateful packet inspection just to get on the internet either, but we do.
Make the gaming PC as consolized as possible. Setup multiple partitions if you need to or provide a secure VM on the house server that he can use to peruse questionable sites without exposing the gaming machine and its expensive and time consuming software stack. Dont let the gaming OS browse the web, except when absolutely necessary (like steam, Blizz account pages etc) Image the hell out of the machine regularly after rolling in new changes. Treat it like a static machine, not a general purpose PC. Do not allow Flash, Acrobat or java on the machine other when absolutely necessary for gaming. Setup adequate backup protocols, instruct him on how to visit sites using secure methods like accessing it through the VM and then destroying the session.
I agree that the nexus 7 is laggy compared to ipad 2 or above. Take that with the huge grain of salt that is their respective price points. If i was poor, the Nexus 7 would be my choice as it is a beast at $199.
Always the response of those who think our current way of existing is the only way.
Yeah, it really is interesting to watch google flail about in making physical goods. Love my Nexus 7, but lets not kid ourselves, its a Google branded Asus product which was 95% ready to ship when google put its finger in the pie.
No one cares about sustainability. Loyalty, integrity, perseverance are liabilities in the modern economy.
And im supposed to believe that the software is going to honor those flags in a way most humans would deem reasonable, right? There is no action you can take on your iphone that Apple cannot override. I own one, and at first i was really enjoyed the tech of it. Airplay, facetime etc all in a nice package. But as i dive deeper into iOS the entire thing is about control from end to end. It is impossible to gain absolute positive control over the device, even with jailbreaking. The entirety of the device is a big ass life sensor.
The point still stands that NFC does not require a data connection to complete a transaction. Im sure if you put your phone on airplane mode, the NFC would work just fine.
DOES NOT require a data connection during transaction. I have successfully purchased stuff in a store using Google wallet on my Nexus 7 with no data connection of any kind (other then the NFC link)
The Nexus Q was canceled, and anyone who pre-ordered got theirs for free and the entire project was scrapped. There is nothing in the Nexus Q business plan that supports your argument. Its was a shoddily designed product that in NO WAY represents what consumers want in set-top devices. You used a terrible example.
Agree, Boxee is shit. I never understood the hype for it. XBMC is the way to go. Im currently running it on an RPi and it works reasonable well. I have pretty simple needs, i jsut navigate the folders on an SMB share. Your remote issue is jsut that, an issue with how the remote was built. Most 'green button' Win MCE equipped remotes will work flawlessly with XBMC.
All this means that instead of rolling out a truck to put a filter on your line, they can control it from the base. When i cancelled basic cable, they tried to charge me $30 fee to disconnect. The reason is they had to roll a truck to install a filter so it would scramble the QAM/analog chans. Anytime they have to roll a truck for a customer, they try to get a charge off on it. They are usually happy to remove it if you complain, but they always bill first.
Pretty sure he was referring the CableCARD labs themselves. They have yet to make a viable and forward facing solution. Everything so far is a hack.
I use a Windows 7 based PC with HDHomerun prime. Gets all the cable channels, no problem.
DO you not understand the fundamental difference between those two things?
First off, ive spent the last ten years building HTPCs. I have learned through long experience to treat my recording device like a SERVER, because thats what it is and thats the crux of my point. What you dont want is for your users to treat it like a workstation, doing any random PC task they like, possibly consuming all the machine's resources or needing a restart.
Has nothing to do with recording disk speed or CPU, which is very low, and everything to do with 'o i jsut installed this game, but it needs a restart, ooops im recording a 2 hour movie, guess ill wait until its done before i can play.' I simply do not allow users on my recording device outside of very specific and known actions. Im not saying dont have a full fledged HTPC, jsut dont record on it. Hardware is so cheap, its not worth the hassle
WE should get the IP streaming without being forced to agree they can DMCA lock signals that are being broadcast over the air for free. WE own the right of way these companies operate under, we should be demanding more from infrastructure, not less.
I have this http://www.antennasdirect.com/store/ClearStream-C2-VHF-Combo.html in my second story attic at 47 miles out from the transmitters, roughly 50 feet above sea level. Mounted it to an attic cross beam, aimed it with my iphone compass and was good to go. Works like a champ.
Go here http://www.antennaweb.org/Address.aspx to evaluate how your location in relation to your local transmitters.
Antennas Direct also sells them directly at http://www.antennasdirect.com/ Great customer service, too.
You REALLY dont want to have users doing random computer actions on your recording device. Play blu-rays, netflix, etc is fine as long as its a specified action, but once you throw gaming into the mix, recording reliability falls right off the chart. Treating your recording device as a general purpose computer is just bad planning.
47 miles out from the transmitter and i get every major network on an attic mounted $60 antenna. CBS signal looks a bit weak on the meter, but ive never had a drop out yet, and im recording their entire weekday primetime lineup(stress test, dont judge me). Im recording using a Windows 7 VM on ESXi. About once a week I run the batch of Recorded TV through a Quick Sync conversion and throw it on my web accessible NAS.