You'll spend more in man-hours and probably more on equipment getting any of the linux pvr solutions running than just purchasing TiVo.
The advantages to using a linux solution are in scalability (yes, even taking into account TiVo hacking.) For the average user, it's probably not worth the effort, but if your library is huge, you want to be able to watch from multiple computers/tvs and perhaps record multiple programs at the same time, it might be worth it.
If you're seriously considering MythTV, keep in mind that some kind folks maintain pre-packaged binaries for different popular distros. you can find links to them on the mythtv.org documentation section I believe.
Sod's Law is another name for Finagle's Law of Dynamic Negatives (which most people inaccurately believe is Murphy's law.)
Finagle's Law of Dynamic Negatives states: if something can go wrong, it will. or "anything that can go wrong, will."
Murphy's Law was much more eloquently worded: "If there are two or more ways to do something, and one of those ways can result in a catastrophe, then someone will do it. "
You say "Their voice is smaller, by being one in several million", but doesn't that serve to ensure that by voting, we guarantee that a decision is arrived at by 'consensus', that is a general agreement. That agreement might not be one that we all arrive at, but that a majority of us will approve of.
You also said that "The most effective system for community/society building is one based on consensus..." However, that's much too broadly stated to be applicable. How do you arrive at the consensus? How do you determine when something qualifies as consensus? Do you hold a vote to determine if most people approve of an idea?
I disagree with your statements only because they haven't been substantiated, and they don't explain how consensus is anything other than the results of a vote.
I think we HAVE achieved a kind of great thing by being hundreds of smaller societies co-existing within the same nation state.
What one has to take into account is that our 'online communities' are evolving and that
they will incorporate more of what we consider staples of human interaction. Humans are social creatures that crave sensory stimulation.
If someone offered you the option of using a 'chat' application that allowed you textual input and output, or video/sound i/o, which would you choose? personal prejudices aside, most people
would opt for the latter. You'll note that our existing medium has allowances that mimic human gestures to express moods - emoticons. We're working within the framework forced on us by bandwidth and resource limitations to express ourselves as we would in a face to face conversation.
What people are undergoing in 'online communities' is a global awakening. Not in a literal sense, although that is an opportunity made available to us, but more along the lines of being able to pick and choose who we interact with out of the whole. Not your physical neighbors, but the fellow two towns over who shares your love of model trains, or the woman on the other side of the globe who also lost a child and is seeking solace in a group atmosphere.
Don't doubt that these online communities will continue to evolve in a way which mirrors human interaction on the physical level.
Having said this, there is no substitute for a human touch. Too often we fail to realize what we really crave is a validation of our existance through an outside agent: a girlfriend, a mother, a father. I can't stay away from the virtual pulpit...people need to work on being better to each other.
Try out 'Day of the Triffids'by John Wyndham.
Synopsis: everyone gets blind (mostly) and
some genetically altered plants beat us up.
The story is, however, told from the perspective
of a sighted person. Wyndham digs on these 'cataclysmic events.' I have yet to read one of his books that doesn't have me depressed up until the end.
Slashdot Mirror
You'll spend more in man-hours and probably more on equipment getting any of the linux pvr solutions running than just purchasing TiVo.
The advantages to using a linux solution are in scalability (yes, even taking into account TiVo hacking.)
For the average user, it's probably not worth the effort, but if your library is huge, you want to be able to watch from multiple computers/tvs and perhaps record multiple programs at the same time, it might be worth it.
If you're seriously considering MythTV, keep in mind that some kind folks maintain pre-packaged binaries for different popular distros. you can find links to them on the mythtv.org documentation section I believe.
Sod's Law is another name for Finagle's Law of Dynamic Negatives (which most people inaccurately believe is Murphy's law.)
Finagle's Law of Dynamic Negatives states: if something can go wrong, it will. or "anything that can go wrong, will."
Murphy's Law was much more eloquently worded: "If there are two or more ways to do something, and one of those ways can result in a catastrophe, then someone will do it. "
Latency
My biggest problem with the movie is not whether a character is CG or not, or even whether the story seems unecessarily convoluted or obfuscated.
My beef is with the dialogue and Christensen's inability to portray a conflicted young Vader as anything other than a spoiled youth.
Wooden dialogue and a decided lack of chemistry between Anakin and Amidala plagued this film.
I certainly hope the 3rd installment is able to tie together all the loose ends without seeming as disjointed and awkward as this film did.
You say "Their voice is smaller, by being one in several million", but doesn't that serve to ensure that by voting, we guarantee that a decision is arrived at by 'consensus', that is a general agreement. That agreement might not be one that we all arrive at, but that a majority of us will approve of. You also said that "The most effective system for community/society building is one based on consensus..." However, that's much too broadly stated to be applicable. How do you arrive at the consensus? How do you determine when something qualifies as consensus? Do you hold a vote to determine if most people approve of an idea? I disagree with your statements only because they haven't been substantiated, and they don't explain how consensus is anything other than the results of a vote. I think we HAVE achieved a kind of great thing by being hundreds of smaller societies co-existing within the same nation state.
What one has to take into account is that our 'online communities' are evolving and that they will incorporate more of what we consider staples of human interaction. Humans are social creatures that crave sensory stimulation. If someone offered you the option of using a 'chat' application that allowed you textual input and output, or video/sound i/o, which would you choose? personal prejudices aside, most people would opt for the latter. You'll note that our existing medium has allowances that mimic human gestures to express moods - emoticons. We're working within the framework forced on us by bandwidth and resource limitations to express ourselves as we would in a face to face conversation. What people are undergoing in 'online communities' is a global awakening. Not in a literal sense, although that is an opportunity made available to us, but more along the lines of being able to pick and choose who we interact with out of the whole. Not your physical neighbors, but the fellow two towns over who shares your love of model trains, or the woman on the other side of the globe who also lost a child and is seeking solace in a group atmosphere. Don't doubt that these online communities will continue to evolve in a way which mirrors human interaction on the physical level. Having said this, there is no substitute for a human touch. Too often we fail to realize what we really crave is a validation of our existance through an outside agent: a girlfriend, a mother, a father. I can't stay away from the virtual pulpit...people need to work on being better to each other.
Try out 'Day of the Triffids'by John Wyndham. Synopsis: everyone gets blind (mostly) and some genetically altered plants beat us up. The story is, however, told from the perspective of a sighted person. Wyndham digs on these 'cataclysmic events.' I have yet to read one of his books that doesn't have me depressed up until the end.