If by 'able to auto-configure to any cable or satellite setup,' you mean the ability to control the channels on a DirecTV or Dish box, you're right. This is a major drawback at the moment. If I were to set up a PC-PVR system now, I'd have to independently program the DirecTV box to tune to the program, and set the PVR system to do the same. Fine for one show, but multiple programs on different channels would be a huge pain.
I suppose there's some kind of IR kludge that could have the PC send remote-control signals to the DirecTV box, but that's no where near as seemless as the DirecTV-Tivo box itself. Is there some kind of hardwired control system that anyone knows of?
The other option is a DirecTV pci card or something to pull the signal into the PC directly, but then you'd be paying an subscription extra fee on top of that. And, I don't see how that would be much cheaper than just the DirecTV-Tivo box, or why they'd bother to make it for such a small audience to begin with.
It's a bit low tech, but how about an old fashioned radio-cassette recorder and a light timer. Assuming you only listen to shows on one station, leave it tuned to the station, leave the record/play button down, and set the timer.
I expect this will only work on some machines. Loss of power when the timer cycles off could likely trip the record/play button. You might be able to secure it down, though.
I think this is more common than one might suspect -- there are even areas in Europe where property spans national borders -- one example was someone's house being in both Belgium & the Netherlands. At any rate, I believe tax rates are generally pro-rated based on the square footage within the respective borders, so you're not really double-taxed.
The real issue here is actually where your legal residence is, not just where all of your property is. This affects all the important stuff -- services, schools, voting, etc.. Consider the examples from the article -- one woman lives a mile from her 'old' town center -- the new town and its services (police, ambulance, etc..) are now much further away.
One of the fancier furniture places (Pottery Barn?) once sold large 'floor pillows.' They resembled large square couch cushions, but were firmer and heavier duty (intended for being kicked around the floor). They were nice -- velvet, well made, and fit well in a living room, so a step up from the bean bag category. Obviously no back support, but a good compromise.
You might try finding cushions from a discarded couch -- wash them, and maybe beef up or swap the padding with something firmer. (A good fabric store will have a variety of foam padding for this.)
Note the pottery barn site does have some 'floor pillows' but they're definitely not the ones I remember. These seem frillier and smaller.
I was just going to say that -- the front end looks just like those old post-war Messerschmitt 3-wheel bubble cars, though the profile doesn't really continue the illusion, unfortunately.
(Those of you who have no idea what this was, check out the link above, or think back to the 'personal transport' from the movie Brazil, sans rocket engine.)
Employees of Microsoft voting that they'll use.net (assuming those that voted were actual developers and not just office drones cajoled into voting) does not in and of itself constitute poll fixing, however, submitting multiple votes, sounds like poll fixing to me, which is noted in the article, if you had read it. It sounds like they didn't get very far with the multiple submissions, but they still tried.
Highly doubtful. The novel and the movie have almost nothing to do with each other, aside from vague themes and character names. Don't get me wrong, they're both great, but if one didn't already know the movie was based on the book, you'd have no idea they were related.
This is somewhat off-topic, but in response to your comment about captioning for movies, there is a new but not particularly wide-spread technology for movie theaters called Rear-Window. I believe it utilizes smaller screens mounted on theater seat-backs.
Take advantage of what little representation you might have. Here in DC, we have only a single 'non-voting delegate.' No reps and no senators -- and guess who controls our budget? We're basically Congress' bitch.
Anyway, back to the matter at hand -- if I had someone to write to, I would.
A guy I work with is in a similar dilemma -- lives in a massive RV, so any 'permanent' landline connection is out. However, I believe he checked into the Dish/DirectTV/etc.. options and evidently their setup is such that they only really permit permanent installation.
I don't know if there's any real technical reason behind this besides the hassle of constantly realigning the dish.
I think this applies to a lot more places than people might think. I was in a similar situation once. (just a tangent, but like many new non-profits, it started eating its young, so I bailed when the chance came to work for a more stable non-profit, so never got around to switching the server from an overworked Mac running ASIP to a linux box)
Apache, Linux, etc.. all sound like great options to cash-strapped non-profits, but the knowledge & skills required are often insurmountable odds. There really needs to be better support out there for just this sort of thing. Linuxnewbie.org is a nice start, but when you're the only IT person, you just don't have the time to read every man page out there (and all the subsequent docs those require just to make any sense of them) on top of everything else you're doing.
I have the same thing -- actually mine's the 7004BR . The basic specs seem the same -- I don't know the diff. between the 2...
Anyway, I like it.
Other features not mentioned above:
Parallel Port -- acts as network print server. No need for a more expensive network printer, or to leave a dedicated machine turned on.
Serial Port -- For backup modem connection (firmware includes ppp dial up protocol).
4 port 10/100 hub
PPPoe compatible -- no need to install PPPoe crap on your worktation.
Web Interface is pretty clunky, but it works, and it's fairly cheap.
And yes, a linux box could do all this and probably more, but I don't have the time/energy/know how to futz around with it, and my wife doesn't kvetch about the huge footprint a linux box would have taken up (huge plus).
I agree -- the preponderance of specialized, non-generic pieces is somewhat disappointing. One of the coolest things about legos was having to engineer solutions, come up with work arounds, etc.. to make the best use of generic pieces. Customized, one-use pieces really detract from that.
What was cooler -- designing your own X-Wing from scratch, or just slapping together one that's basically a step up from a snap-tite model?
Some TelCos have seen this the other way around, and have even attempted offering cable service themselves. SNET (Connecticut) tried this a couple years back, though I think the project was ditched when they were bought out by SBC -- which I suppose just confirms your point -- the bigger baby bells are clueless about innovation.
Did you even read Katz's write up? Simply because he's reviewing this book doesn't equate to him agreeing with it, which he clearly doesn't, if you bothered to read the last paragraph.
Ok -- so it's pretty cool from the geek perspective, but here in DC, it might as well have a big neon sign reading: "Hey, my vest is full of expensive electronic gadgets--please mug me! I'm obviously a huge geek, so I won't put up a fight." -- or maybe the deluxe model comes with a built-in taser?
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If by 'able to auto-configure to any cable or satellite setup,' you mean the ability to control the channels on a DirecTV or Dish box, you're right. This is a major drawback at the moment. If I were to set up a PC-PVR system now, I'd have to independently program the DirecTV box to tune to the program, and set the PVR system to do the same. Fine for one show, but multiple programs on different channels would be a huge pain.
I suppose there's some kind of IR kludge that could have the PC send remote-control signals to the DirecTV box, but that's no where near as seemless as the DirecTV-Tivo box itself. Is there some kind of hardwired control system that anyone knows of?
The other option is a DirecTV pci card or something to pull the signal into the PC directly, but then you'd be paying an subscription extra fee on top of that. And, I don't see how that would be much cheaper than just the DirecTV-Tivo box, or why they'd bother to make it for such a small audience to begin with.
It's a bit low tech, but how about an old fashioned radio-cassette recorder and a light timer. Assuming you only listen to shows on one station, leave it tuned to the station, leave the record/play button down, and set the timer.
I expect this will only work on some machines. Loss of power when the timer cycles off could likely trip the record/play button. You might be able to secure it down, though.
I think this is more common than one might suspect -- there are even areas in Europe where property spans national borders -- one example was someone's house being in both Belgium & the Netherlands. At any rate, I believe tax rates are generally pro-rated based on the square footage within the respective borders, so you're not really double-taxed.
The real issue here is actually where your legal residence is, not just where all of your property is. This affects all the important stuff -- services, schools, voting, etc.. Consider the examples from the article -- one woman lives a mile from her 'old' town center -- the new town and its services (police, ambulance, etc..) are now much further away.
One of the fancier furniture places (Pottery Barn?) once sold large 'floor pillows.' They resembled large square couch cushions, but were firmer and heavier duty (intended for being kicked around the floor). They were nice -- velvet, well made, and fit well in a living room, so a step up from the bean bag category. Obviously no back support, but a good compromise.
You might try finding cushions from a discarded couch -- wash them, and maybe beef up or swap the padding with something firmer. (A good fabric store will have a variety of foam padding for this.)
Note the pottery barn site does have some 'floor pillows' but they're definitely not the ones I remember. These seem frillier and smaller.
I was just going to say that -- the front end looks just like those old post-war Messerschmitt 3-wheel bubble cars, though the profile doesn't really continue the illusion, unfortunately.
(Those of you who have no idea what this was, check out the link above, or think back to the 'personal transport' from the movie Brazil, sans rocket engine.)
Yes, it is.
.net (assuming those that voted were actual developers and not just office drones cajoled into voting) does not in and of itself constitute poll fixing, however, submitting multiple votes, sounds like poll fixing to me, which is noted in the article, if you had read it. It sounds like they didn't get very far with the multiple submissions, but they still tried.
Employees of Microsoft voting that they'll use
Highly doubtful. The novel and the movie have almost nothing to do with each other, aside from vague themes and character names. Don't get me wrong, they're both great, but if one didn't already know the movie was based on the book, you'd have no idea they were related.
So I guess this explains why links to the Bureau of Reclamation were duds on a site I was linkbotting yesterday....
I've seen other gov't sites go up and down all the time, so I had just chalked it up to typical fed. server instability at the time.
This is somewhat off-topic, but in response to your comment about captioning for movies, there is a new but not particularly wide-spread technology for movie theaters called Rear-Window. I believe it utilizes smaller screens mounted on theater seat-backs.
More info at WGBH's NCAM (nat'l center for accessible media): http://ncam.wgbh.org/mopix/
Paranoia! I love it. Thanks for the flashback, Roy G. Biv-5.
Right... well, if you're actually motivated in that direction, check out this book -- A Mouthful of Rocks -- first:
www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0747505799/
It puts a number of those romantic notions to rest.
I agree -- crystal radios have to be about the coolest 'something-for-nothing' gadgets out there...
... now that I've finished wiring my house -- convincing myself all the while that all my effort was worth the extra bandwidth...
Well, at least now I have a whole new relationship with my attic and with the spiders in the cellar that wireless would have never permitted.
Take advantage of what little representation you might have. Here in DC, we have only a single 'non-voting delegate.' No reps and no senators -- and guess who controls our budget? We're basically Congress' bitch.
Anyway, back to the matter at hand -- if I had someone to write to, I would.
I hate Helms as much as the next knee-jerk liberal, but he's actually from NC, not SC...
A guy I work with is in a similar dilemma -- lives in a massive RV, so any 'permanent' landline connection is out. However, I believe he checked into the Dish/DirectTV/etc.. options and evidently their setup is such that they only really permit permanent installation.
I don't know if there's any real technical reason behind this besides the hassle of constantly realigning the dish.
Why hasn't anyone else responded to this??
I think this applies to a lot more places than people might think. I was in a similar situation once. (just a tangent, but like many new non-profits, it started eating its young, so I bailed when the chance came to work for a more stable non-profit, so never got around to switching the server from an overworked Mac running ASIP to a linux box)
Apache, Linux, etc.. all sound like great options to cash-strapped non-profits, but the knowledge & skills required are often insurmountable odds. There really needs to be better support out there for just this sort of thing. Linuxnewbie.org is a nice start, but when you're the only IT person, you just don't have the time to read every man page out there (and all the subsequent docs those require just to make any sense of them) on top of everything else you're doing.
Aside from the occasional fund raiser, NPR and college stations are already commercial free.
Plus, they tend to be inane-DJ-chatter-free as well. I don't know what's worse, actually.
Of course, since my radio was 'removed' upon moving to DC, I haven't had to suffer through commercials or moronic DJs.
Regardless, both this and the Rio Empeg cost more than my car is worth, so fat chance I'd buy either one...
I have the same thing -- actually mine's the 7004BR . The basic specs seem the same -- I don't know the diff. between the 2...
Anyway, I like it.
Other features not mentioned above:
Parallel Port -- acts as network print server. No need for a more expensive network printer, or to leave a dedicated machine turned on.
Serial Port -- For backup modem connection (firmware includes ppp dial up protocol).
4 port 10/100 hub
PPPoe compatible -- no need to install PPPoe crap on your worktation.
Web Interface is pretty clunky, but it works, and it's fairly cheap.
And yes, a linux box could do all this and probably more, but I don't have the time/energy/know how to futz around with it, and my wife doesn't kvetch about the huge footprint a linux box would have taken up (huge plus).
I agree -- the preponderance of specialized, non-generic pieces is somewhat disappointing. One of the coolest things about legos was having to engineer solutions, come up with work arounds, etc.. to make the best use of generic pieces. Customized, one-use pieces really detract from that.
What was cooler -- designing your own X-Wing from scratch, or just slapping together one that's basically a step up from a snap-tite model?
Some TelCos have seen this the other way around, and have even attempted offering cable service themselves. SNET (Connecticut) tried this a couple years back, though I think the project was ditched when they were bought out by SBC -- which I suppose just confirms your point -- the bigger baby bells are clueless about innovation.
Did you even read Katz's write up? Simply because he's reviewing this book doesn't equate to him agreeing with it, which he clearly doesn't, if you bothered to read the last paragraph.
Ok -- so it's pretty cool from the geek perspective, but here in DC, it might as well have a big neon sign reading: "Hey, my vest is full of expensive electronic gadgets--please mug me! I'm obviously a huge geek, so I won't put up a fight." -- or maybe the deluxe model comes with a built-in taser?
This only answers half your question, but BBEdit (Mac only..) should be able to open them.