Slashdot Mirror


User: cblguy2

cblguy2's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
19
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 19

  1. Re:more like on Google Breaks ChromeCast's Ability To Play Local Content · · Score: 1

    I bought a Roku to see what it was all about. Returned it after I found out that I would have to set up another fscking server on my network running Plex to host files that are already on a MythTV box. WTF? Roku wouldn't play with MythTV at all. Fortunately the Panasonic Blu-Ray player I bought (for $4 more than the Roku) had a Netflix button on the remote, and it plays my MythTV files just fine. Bye bye Roku. Some people just don't want to mess around with yet another box/system to overcome a limitation of a device.

  2. Re:Ting on Crunching the Numbers On Shared Cellphone Contracts · · Score: 1

    I signed up for Ting last month. Brought my Galaxy S2 from Sprint (Epic 4G Touch). I was moved within 8 hours of signing up. Happy so far. My bill should drop from $87/mo to around $40. Same exact (crappy) coverage as Sprint, same exact performance as I've had the last 2 years with my phone, but half the price, no contract, same nice phone.

  3. Re:Ting on Sprint May Have Unlimited Data Plans, But Not Unlimited Customers · · Score: 1

    I'd forgotten about this... I have been on Sprint for 12 or so years. The coverage sucks. The price sucks. My buddy with a Verizon phone will sit there at 16 megabits download, while I have no data at all. But, I don't want to switch to an expensive phone plan, nor do I want to ditch my Sprint Galaxy S2... So I just switched to Ting. I used your code, but I'm not sure it went through properly. Hopefully you'll see the credit. I started the process this morning.... 8 hours ago I was on Sprint. Now I'm officially on Ting. My bill should drop from $87/mo to under $50.

  4. Re:Better plots? on Hollywood's Love of Analytics Couldn't Prevent Six Massive Blockbuster Flops · · Score: 1

    There was no Star Trek 5. It never got made. Capiche? Never mention it again. Ever.

  5. Re:Better than Boxee Box? on Roku Finally Gets a 2D Menu System · · Score: 1

    Plex doesn't work in all situations (like with my DVR - my Panasonic BR player will stream recordings from the DVR via DLNA, but the Roku couldn't). I didn't want to build yet another server to house videos.

  6. Re:Better than Boxee Box? on Roku Finally Gets a 2D Menu System · · Score: 1

    It was the Roku HD or XS or 2. something-or-other... not the $50 one, but the $90 one. Standard price for that unit. It wasn't the lower-end Roku.

  7. Re:Better than Boxee Box? on Roku Finally Gets a 2D Menu System · · Score: 1

    I bought a Roku 2 of some sort (cost about $90 from Amazon). I guess I gave it too much credit, it didn't work nearly as well as I'd hoped, nor interface with media streaming devices on my network as well as I'd hoped either. Neflix was OK I guess, but I decided to return it because $90 for a Netflix device is no good. My Panasonic Blu-Ray player DOES interface with my network devices, and it plays Netflix, and was only $2 more. Oh yeah, it plays Blu-Rays & DVDs too.

  8. Re:SteamOS on Valve Officially Launches Steam For Linux · · Score: 2

    My son plays a lot on Steam (TF2 mostly). If there were a Steam-centric distro available right now to run on a live disc, I'd download it *tonight* and run it. I don't feel like futzing with an Ubuntu live disc right now, or stomping all over his Windows install right now. Drop in a disc and run, though, with the Steam client already installed? Sign us up.

  9. Re:The TL;DR on Super Bowl Blackout Caused By Defective Protective Relay · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Circuit breaker was not "miscalibrated". The protective relay (which is separate from a breaker) possibly had a setting in it that was too low. Protective relay settings are based on time curves (which are plotted on logarithmic paper). For, say, 300 amps, it trips after 10s or 100s of seconds of continuous operation past the setting. For 10,000 amps, it may after .03 seconds (or you may have an instantaneous setting, or a definite time delay based on cycles). That kind of curve. If the load was drawing so much current, for so long of time, then yes, it will send a command for the circuit breaker to trip. Anyhow, it's easy to screw up a protective relay setting - and yes, I've done it. That's why relay settings are always checked by a second engineer as well, just to make sure you didn't miss something. IAAPE (I am a protection engineer, and a P.E.), though we don't use S&C relays (Schweitzer here).

  10. Re:Agree 10000% on UC's For-Pay Online Course Draws 4 Non-UC Students · · Score: 1

    I'm in online grad school right now, registered with in-state tuition (at a state school, of course). After the technology fees (online fee of $50 per credit hour), it's about $1000-$1100 per 3 hour class total. For out of state, I'd expect it's probably $1500-ish per course. So while their price isn't totally out of line, once you reach for-pay education, your competition heats up significantly.

  11. Re:And nothing of value was lost on Why Do You Want To Kill My Pet? Zynga Shuts Down PetVille, 10 Others · · Score: 1

    I have children... and no computers in the bedrooms! Big mistake there. You've got to keep watch (and a listen, if they use chat/Skype) on your kids' online habits.

  12. Re:Is Larry's foot sore yet? on Oracle Claims Intel Is Looking To Sink the Itanic · · Score: 1

    Yup. We purchased a number of VMS boxen within the last year. The Itaniums run solid with VMS, albeit HP stuck enough fans in there to make the box uncomfortably loud (data center only, nobody wants one of these things anywhere near their office, even as a test platform).

  13. Blame Natural Gas also on Pickens Wind-Power Plan Comes To a Whimpering End · · Score: 1

    Back in 2008, natural gas prices had spiked, and it "appeared" (at least temporarily) that they might stay rather expensive. Texas is very dependent upon natural gas for electricity, so "wind power" was almost economical.

    Now, in 2010, with more sources of natural gas seeming to 'pop up' due to the additional drilling in Texas over the last couple years, NG is cheap again. Wind generated electricity costs twice as much as natural gas generated electricity right now. So unless a business is just wanting to "appear green", there's no economic incentive to buy wind power right now. Would you pay twice the price for electricity just to "say" you're buying wind power?

    Pickens is above all else a business man. If it won't make money, there's no point in doing it.

  14. Re:limiting? on Mr. Pike, Tear Down This ASCII Wall! · · Score: 1

    But sometimes you do need a key to make a Capital letter. ;)

  15. I tried to like it. I really did. on BSG Prequel Series Caprica Canceled · · Score: 4, Insightful

    But like the summary says, it turned in to a boring show where they tried character development, but it just fell on its face. It was just about at the level of a plain drama with a little peppering of sci-fi.

    Now SyFy shows wrestling on Friday nights. I won't say that's better than Caprica, but it must be paying the bills...

    Instead of relaxing like I've done for the last 10+ years - watching SciFi channel on Friday nights (where did GvsE, Lexx, Brimstone, Dresden Files, Farscape, etc go?), I'm now doing other things with my Fridays... I'm not going to watch wrestling. Talk about fiction!

  16. Re:Boooo on Lucas Promises Star Wars on Blu-Ray in 2011 · · Score: 1

    I have the original 3 on laserdisc (and, indeed, I do have a working laserdisc player). Never thought of how to rip them though. I also have them on VHS, and the DVD box set. Uggh. I feel dirty.

  17. Re:Bulk power costs on World's First Molten-Salt Solar Plant Opens · · Score: 1

    Bulk power doesn't sell for residential rates. Residential includes transmission charges, distribution charges, meter fees, etc. It's a bundled service. Bulk power is on the order of 3-4 cents per KWH, if that.

  18. Freediag on Any Open Source Solutions For DIY Auto Diagnostics? · · Score: 1
    I've never used it, but here it is:

    http://freediag.sourceforge.net/

    You can always get a cheap OBDII interface from somewhere like Multiplex-Engineering and write your own. Or Scantool.net... or any other number of sub-$100 sources. Even Alex's tools at OBD-2.com are good enough. No need to reinvent the wheel though.

    Once you start talking about hacking in to your PCM and changing things though, that's a whole other can of worms. People hold the keys to the kingdom on those VERY tightly.

  19. Scientific-Atlanta did this 15 years ago. Hello! on Arizona Trialing System That Lets Utility System Control Home A/Cs · · Score: 1

    They had a product called the SuperStat. It was a Honeywell programmable thermostat with an RF receiver module inside it. When the utility called for load control, they'd send out a paging signal and the thermostat would kick the A/C off for the amount of time contained in the message.

    S-A also had gray boxes that went outside the house for A/C control, and they also worked with water heater and pool pump control. This is nothing new.

    Call it "generating negawatts". Instead of positive megawatt generation, we're generating negative megawatts to shave peak. Yes, I worked with these things, and yes, I work for a utility.