As a meter reader who actually reads some of these AMR meters, I'd say using the information for burglaries is a stretch. Even if you get the info it only includes meter number and reading. Since the address is not listed I can only see it being useful in rural areas where houses are far enough apart to be able to tell which house it is without physically checking the meter. For reference, I can pick up AMR meters in rural areas from about 1/2 to 3/4 a mile away while driving 50 mph.
I see the greater nefarious use would be to send out a slightly stronger signal to send a different reading and hence lower your utility bill. Since this process would be wireless and most likely involve doing nothing to the physical meter itself it would be near impossible to catch it as tampering. Also since in my area AMR meters are almost never physically checked, even a physical modification would likely go unnoticed for years.
I can't think of much you can do with a 486 at least for running any modern program. I also own a 486 but mine is a desktop. I keep it purely for sentimental reasons and for playing a few older games on their native OS and equipment. Granted my currebnt 486 is much better than my original 486 and the specs could even be considered waste. 486 DX2 66, 128 MB EDO RAM, 1 GB HDD, built in 10 Mb Ethernet, 64 MB 3DFX Voodoo 5 PCI for Graphics, and a Soundblaster 16 ISA for Sound. The unit has a 3.5 and 5.25" Floppies and a CD-ROM. It is loaded with Windows 95. Even with these specs the best it can do is run Master of Orion, Heretic, DOOM, Road Rash, and the Original Warcraft. Older versions of Winamp run but wheter local or pulled over network the best the unit can muster for mp3 playback is 1/2 quality mono even while optimized for 486 processors. Again the only reason I keep this machine is to play some of my first games and because my first PC I ever owned was a 486 DX2 66Mhz Machine. Oh it does browse the internet but firefox doesn't like running and the newest version of ie that can run is 5.5 Windows 98 is too much for the unit.
I also use vonage and had similiar issues. To fix them we delved into the vonage box and gave it a static IP that wasn't assigned by our router. Next turn on DMZ Host for that specific static IP address. Then we also turned on QOS to highest level for the port it was plugged into or you can do it by IP depending upon your router. QOS, DMZ host, and a static IP like that fixed all of our problems with quality. Now we get excellent call quality even while downloading at 1.5 Mb/s and uploading at 95Mb/s (nearly max for my house's connection).
Alienware isn't selling Cablecards for a few simple reasons.
1. Installation requires your local Cable company to come out and install the card as they have to do specialized setup similiar to when you first get digital cable turned on in your place for the first time.
2. Cable card is supported in very few select large cities/metropolis.
3. Even in cities where Cable Card is supported it often cannot be installed properly and does not sync up to channels properly from the cable company. (I remember this from an older slashdot article that was reviewing HTPCs, if I can find the article I will link it)
For the Record a Cable Card is a Card designed to fit in either a TV or a PC with a Cable Card slot. It acts as a Digital tuner and is designed to replace set top digital cable boxes.
Actually there is a slight difference between HDMI and DVI. While both cables can support a signal up to 1080p (1080 lines of Video(1080) all refreshed at the same time (p = progressive); the major difference is that HDMI also includes the audio so you only need 2 or 3 total wires for your xbox 360. Theses wires of course are power, HDMI (Video and Sound), and possible an ethernet cord. The real advantage of HDMI is involved if you have an HD DVD drive add-on. To enjoy the video at full quality you need an output that supports HDCP(High Definition Content Protection), and a television with an input that is at least HDCP compliant. Also if you run the HDMI Cable into a Surround reciever that reciever must also have the input/ouputs that support HDCP. If you really read up on most high Definition televisions the only port that supports HDCP is usually an HDMI Port. You can get around this by buying a DVI to HDMI cable but you lose audio signal and will need to run a second wire. Also HDMI supports slightly newer forms of surround such as Dolby TrueHD 7.1 , but the game or movie that you are viewing and all of your associated equipment will all need to support that format in order to see any real benefit.
Also the difference between 1080p and 1080i is that at 1080i you still have 1080 lines of video but half are refreshed each cycle(i = interlaced). So every time the TV displays a picture at 1080i only 540 lines are changed.
As far as benefit of an HDMI Port on an xbox 360, i only see it as better compatibilty for the most high end equipment (HD DVD) and you will probably see no real benefit from games as most will not be programed in 1080p or use Dolby True HD.
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As a meter reader who actually reads some of these AMR meters, I'd say using the information for burglaries is a stretch. Even if you get the info it only includes meter number and reading. Since the address is not listed I can only see it being useful in rural areas where houses are far enough apart to be able to tell which house it is without physically checking the meter. For reference, I can pick up AMR meters in rural areas from about 1/2 to 3/4 a mile away while driving 50 mph. I see the greater nefarious use would be to send out a slightly stronger signal to send a different reading and hence lower your utility bill. Since this process would be wireless and most likely involve doing nothing to the physical meter itself it would be near impossible to catch it as tampering. Also since in my area AMR meters are almost never physically checked, even a physical modification would likely go unnoticed for years.
I can't think of much you can do with a 486 at least for running any modern program. I also own a 486 but mine is a desktop. I keep it purely for sentimental reasons and for playing a few older games on their native OS and equipment. Granted my currebnt 486 is much better than my original 486 and the specs could even be considered waste. 486 DX2 66, 128 MB EDO RAM, 1 GB HDD, built in 10 Mb Ethernet, 64 MB 3DFX Voodoo 5 PCI for Graphics, and a Soundblaster 16 ISA for Sound. The unit has a 3.5 and 5.25" Floppies and a CD-ROM. It is loaded with Windows 95. Even with these specs the best it can do is run Master of Orion, Heretic, DOOM, Road Rash, and the Original Warcraft. Older versions of Winamp run but wheter local or pulled over network the best the unit can muster for mp3 playback is 1/2 quality mono even while optimized for 486 processors. Again the only reason I keep this machine is to play some of my first games and because my first PC I ever owned was a 486 DX2 66Mhz Machine. Oh it does browse the internet but firefox doesn't like running and the newest version of ie that can run is 5.5 Windows 98 is too much for the unit.
I also use vonage and had similiar issues. To fix them we delved into the vonage box and gave it a static IP that wasn't assigned by our router. Next turn on DMZ Host for that specific static IP address. Then we also turned on QOS to highest level for the port it was plugged into or you can do it by IP depending upon your router. QOS, DMZ host, and a static IP like that fixed all of our problems with quality. Now we get excellent call quality even while downloading at 1.5 Mb/s and uploading at 95Mb/s (nearly max for my house's connection).
Alienware isn't selling Cablecards for a few simple reasons. 1. Installation requires your local Cable company to come out and install the card as they have to do specialized setup similiar to when you first get digital cable turned on in your place for the first time. 2. Cable card is supported in very few select large cities/metropolis. 3. Even in cities where Cable Card is supported it often cannot be installed properly and does not sync up to channels properly from the cable company. (I remember this from an older slashdot article that was reviewing HTPCs, if I can find the article I will link it) For the Record a Cable Card is a Card designed to fit in either a TV or a PC with a Cable Card slot. It acts as a Digital tuner and is designed to replace set top digital cable boxes.
Actually there is a slight difference between HDMI and DVI. While both cables can support a signal up to 1080p (1080 lines of Video(1080) all refreshed at the same time (p = progressive); the major difference is that HDMI also includes the audio so you only need 2 or 3 total wires for your xbox 360. Theses wires of course are power, HDMI (Video and Sound), and possible an ethernet cord. The real advantage of HDMI is involved if you have an HD DVD drive add-on. To enjoy the video at full quality you need an output that supports HDCP(High Definition Content Protection), and a television with an input that is at least HDCP compliant. Also if you run the HDMI Cable into a Surround reciever that reciever must also have the input/ouputs that support HDCP. If you really read up on most high Definition televisions the only port that supports HDCP is usually an HDMI Port. You can get around this by buying a DVI to HDMI cable but you lose audio signal and will need to run a second wire. Also HDMI supports slightly newer forms of surround such as Dolby TrueHD 7.1 , but the game or movie that you are viewing and all of your associated equipment will all need to support that format in order to see any real benefit. Also the difference between 1080p and 1080i is that at 1080i you still have 1080 lines of video but half are refreshed each cycle(i = interlaced). So every time the TV displays a picture at 1080i only 540 lines are changed. As far as benefit of an HDMI Port on an xbox 360, i only see it as better compatibilty for the most high end equipment (HD DVD) and you will probably see no real benefit from games as most will not be programed in 1080p or use Dolby True HD.