I do a lot of consulting work and it's very hard to get a new PC for someone that doesn't come with Vista. They don't want Vista but they have no choice. This may be getting redundant, but I find it hard to find a "business" or "enterprise" PC that doesn't offer Windows XP as an option. I just don't understand how you can find it "very hard" to get an XP PC in your "consulting work."
Every PC (desktop, noteobook, and workstation) in Dell's Small Business site offers XP as a configuration option. Same with every PC in HP's Small and Medium Business site (except RISC and Alpha workstations, of course). Same with every Lenovo. That covers the Big Three.
Are you buying "home" PCs for your clients? Are you limited to crappy vendors that only sell Vista PCs (even to business customers)?
I hope you've seen Disclosure (1994), a "techno-thriller" written by Michael Crichton and starring Michael Douglas and Demi Moore. This one featured a virtual reality interface (with goggles and glove) to access secret files stored in virtual file cabinets.
A great summary (with screenshots) here. This movie also had another good example of HOS (Hollywood OS) featuring really big fonts.
Remember, EMI and Yahoo Music have been testing the waters with DRM-free MP3s and WMAs since at least July with music by Jessica Simpson, Jesse McCartney, Norah Jones, and Relient K. Steve's bold open letter was posted one month ago.
Because CD-quality songs will overtax today's technology. If you replace the AAC on a typical iPod with a lossless codec you will end up with 1/4 of the song selection and 1/4 of the battery life and if it is a hard disk iPod the hard disk will run all the time and wear out much sooner. Doesn't iTunes have a simple transcoding option for iPod playback? Buy the song (using your PC) in lossless format, then have iTunes transcode the songs to AAC before transferring to iPod.
I thought that was a big advantage of lossless formats. On the PC, keep the songs in lossless format and take advantage of the PC's large storage and high-quality playback options. For other devices, not just the iPod, the PC can transcode directly from the lossless songs.
I don't need 500 versions of gems or tetris. What I need is 1 of each of the following: photo editing , photo organization, video editing, CD/DVD burning, Mail. You get all of those with the OS right off the bat... Aperture is replacing iPhoto. I have seen no need for anything more than iMovieHD
Just a nitpick: When you say you "get all of those with the OS right off the bat", I'm assuming you're referring to iPhoto, iMovie HD, iDVD, and Mail.app. Of those, only Mail.app comes with OS X. The other apps are part of the $79 iLife suite, which comes bundled with new Macs (not the OS). After the initial Mac purchase, upgrading the OS will not get you newer versions of those apps. You must upgrade iLife seperately for $79.
For off-the-shelf desktop use, it's hard to beat the Mac Mini. Core duo, notebook hard drive, notebook optical drive, draws like 50 watts at idle. Since the anonymous reader wants to "build" the PC, I think a Mac mini recommendation (a good pre-built choice) should be accompanied by the AOpen miniPC barebones series. The specs and form factor are nearly the same, but AOpen allows a wider selection of components. Systems can be assembled-to-order at MyAOpen.com. Barebones miniPCs can be bought at many places like Buy.com and TheNerds.net.
If this form factor is restrictive, then the Mac mini's energy efficient notebook chipset (Intel 945GM) can be had in a microATX motherboard w/PCI Express x16 slot (Asus N4L-VM DH, $82 at Newegg), a FlexATX motherboard (Tyan Tomcat i945GM), or Mini-ITX barebones (MSI Axis 945GM).
$80 more for an extra 100GB and HDMI? The Elite also replaces the wired headset ($20 seperately) with a wireless headset ($60). A 120GB 2.5" notebook hard drive (which the Xbox 360 uses) costs $80 at Newegg, while 20GB costs $30. HDMI output requires at least one more non-cheap chip and additional licensing costs (probably cheap). All that seems reasonably close to $80 in added costs to manufacture the Xbox 360 Elite.
However, I am somewhat surprised MS isn't pricing the Elite at $400 (current price for Premium bundle) and reducing the price of the Premium bundle. The Xbox 360 has been out for about 16 months, right? The costs of other components have come down significantly since then. I also assumed that more video downloads ($6 for new HD movies) from their popular TV/movie download service would offset some of these added costs.
I guess MS doesn't want to keep losing money on each console sold.
You have Vista Home, Vista Home Premium, Vista Business, Vista Enterprise and Vista Ultimate.
IMO, Vista Enterprise shouldn't exist with the bitlocker and other "enterprise" features being either made available in Vista Business or as some kind of add-on.
Vista Enterprise is only available to volume licensing customers, so it really doesn't "exist" to the vast majority of buyers, especially those that are considering the "home" versions.
That would basically leave 4 editions of vista, Home Basic, Home Premium, Business and Ultimate
I agree that's more editions than necessary. IMO, Vista Ultimate should not be offered in retail boxed versions because 95% of retail buyers shouldn't even consider it. Those uber-users that need Ultimate can get it in an OEM version, bundled with their high-end computer, or via Anytime Upgrade. The retail boxed version of Ultimate just makes the buying decision unnecessarily confusing to computer novices. The decision should be simpler to these buyers: "home" versions for home users and the "business" version for business users.
I think MS also blew it with the "Home Basic" edition of Vista, which leaves out the Aero UI as an option and also leaves off the "scheduled backup" feature. Aero should be disabled on the cheapest entry-level computers with 512MB of RAM, but this "defining feature" should be an option on all versions of Vista. Leaving out the "scheduled backup" feature just doesn't make sense to me.
"Now, if it could play video off of YouTube or Google Video, or if it could shoot WMV or DIVX files to my TV.. I would be all over it in a heartbeat."
I'm assuming you've heard of the Netgear Digital Entertainer HD, because you just described it. For $350, it makes Apple TV look pretty weak. Apple TV's only advantage that I can see is its ability to play DRM-protected iTunes Store content.
"One thing to keep in mind: I think I read an article somewhere that said that HDDVD/Blu Ray have a certain copy-protection scheme that would not allow you to output HD content via an analog source(Component Cables). In other words, there is a possibility that the movie studios will demand this new copy protection and the people who bought the HD-DVD attachment for the old 360 would be unable to play new HD-DVD's"
Correct. It's called the Image Constraint Token (ICT) and it will reduce the resolution of Blu-Ray/HD DVD video to 960x540 when it is implemented. Most studios have supposedly "agreed" not to implement ICT unti 2012, so HD DVD will look great over analog cables for now. However, I'd sure be pissed if ICT was implemented and my HD DVD player only output 960x540.
So I think the single biggest reason for HDMI is for the optional HD DVD drive and the possibility of ICT in the future. It really makes no sense for a HD DVD player not to have a video output w/HDCP.
"a bigger hard drive is not going to cost them a lot more per unit"
Note that the Xbox 360 uses 2.5" notebook hard drives, which cost more per GB than 3.5" desktop hard drives. A quick Newegg search returned $30 for 20GB (current Xbox 360 size) and $80 for 120GB (future size).
I mostly agree with your comment, though. I'll be surprised if MS prices it above $400 (price for current Premium bundle). It's been about 16 months since the 360 was launched, so I think a price drop (or improved versions) seems like a reasonable expectation. They're also gloating about the Xbox 360's TV/movie download service, which includes high-def. The additional costs of the 120GB hard drive could be offset by video download revenues.
Is BIOS setup for SATA and not "IDE mode?"
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eSATA Connectors
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· Score: 2, Informative
I have an eSATA external drive. My current mobo doesn't have eSATA built in, but I use it via a SATA to eSATA adapter card in my PC...
Only catch is if I hook up a drive while in Windows with that converter, it'll lockup. Has to be turned on before I boot the computer. This is a limitation of the adapter; from what I've read, you should be able to hot swap with a "real" eSATA port.
Another possible reason for your inability to hot-swap is that the SATA ports might be set to "IDE mode" in the motherboard's BIOS. This is a common setup on "home-built" computers since "IDE mode" allows pre-Vista Windows installation without the "F6 (floppy) installation method." To enable hot-swap, the SATA ports must be set to "SATA/AHCI mode" in the BIOS.
Here's some instructions from Intel's site on changing SATA modes on their motherboards:
"redrum" would appear to be Daniel Eran, the owner of roughlydrafted.com. DECS's Slashdot User page (scroll to bottom) shows that DECS (Daniel Eran) submitted this story. DECS has also sucessfully submitted (got accepted) six other stories that pimped his own site, roughlydrafted.com. It appears that Daniel Eran entered "redrum" in the "Your Name" field of the Slashdot Submission page, but DECS's user page reveals the true submitter of this story.
The people over on digg.com have accused him of spamming Digg with his articles and then using sockpuppet accounts to 'digg' his stories (and only his stories) to get them on the frontpage (or however it works on Digg). When this was found out, he was banned from Digg and he took this personally. Daniel Eran's shenanigans have actually been covered on Digg:
Photographic evidence of AlexaW and RoughlyDrafted gaming Digg just to get moron Daniel Eran's articles to the front page. (Where they promptly get buried for being inaccurate.) Several users who ONLY digg AlexaW's submissions, all of whom signed up in the last 3 weeks. Coincidence? Not a chance. This needs to be stopped immediately. More on Daniel Eran:
"As fast as possible without making it annoyingly loud. At the very least, dual core. It would be possible to go up to 2 x quad core CPUs, but that's probably too wasteful and loud."
In case you missed it, Intel released two 50W quad-core CPUs (L5320 and L5310) last week for dual-processor servers and workstations. They're 1.86GHz and 1.60GHz with 1066MHz FSB.
"There's no point in burning to DVD for "archival" since DVD is too unreliable. Anecdotally, DVDs seem to last only a few months to a year or two."
As we all know, the quality of blank DVD media varies by brand, manufacuring plant, etc. Note that some brands (e.g. Maxell) sell DVDs from different manufacturers (e.g. Mitsubishi Chemical, Taiyo Yuden). Therefore, some Maxell DVD models are very good (manufacured by a good factory) while other Maxells are very poor (cheaply manufactured).
The current "standard" for long-term storage seems to be DVDs manufactured by Taiyo Yuden, which is sold under various brands (including "Taiyo Yuden" brand). A hundred Taiyo Yuden DVD-R single-layer blanks cost about $33 (plus shipping) at Newegg.
Also, any archives should use parity data to recover from data that has gone bad. Hopefully, the "backup to DVD" software should include parity data creation. If not, use something like PAR2 files to ensure you can recover from minor data loss.
The CD Freaks Blank Media forum is a good place to read about how to identify and buy good quality blank DVDs. If you don't understand the concept of parity files, Slyck.com has a good explanation of PAR/PAR2.
"Unfortunately for those in an office setting, many will be forced to go to Vista when OEM dealers stop offering XP as an option. I know my office will be looking at Vista within a year because we are too lazy to buy XP licenses and reinstall Windows XP after wiping the HDD of Vista."
I'm pretty sure "those in an office setting" will have no problem finding OEM dealers offering XP until January 29, 2009, XP's end date on Microsoft's "System Builder License Availability" roadmap.
Sure, home models (e.g. Dell Dimension, HP Pavilion) are already phasing out XP as an option. However, the real business models (Dell Optiplex, HP Compaq 5000 Series) make a point out of maintaining long product lifecycles, which I assume includes Windows XP support (mainstream support ends 4/4/09, extended support ends 4/8/14).
"Either you brought Dimensions or some other consumer line, rather than the Optiplex line, in which case you only have yourself to blame or you are talking rubbish. I buy Dell's all the time at work and if you buy from the Optiplex line what you get is the same months later, let alone from the same batch."
I was incredulous when I read the GP's highly-moderated comment. I assumed any business buyer would know that Dell's "real" business desktops (Optiplex) feature "standard, stable technologies and long product life cycles". Although the GP wasn't specific, it appears that he/she either bought Dimensions (likely), is talking rubbish (less likely, but possible), or bought Optiplexes (unlikely).
It does bother me a bit that Dell sells Dimensions in their Small Business section, but I guess some businesses want the option of buying cheap consumer models. However, the brief descriptions of the Dimension and Optiplex lines on the Small Business Desktops page should make it obvious that Optiplex is the right model for long product life cycles.
"My pc laptop (Dell D600, Win 2k) blows chunks - getting it to go to sleep can take a 30 seconds, wakeup takes about the same, and startup takes more than a minute. Bleah!"
Sounds to me like your Dell is set to "hibernate" (which actually powers off your computer after saving its "state") and not "standby" (Windows 2000's term for "sleep").
Hibernate saves the computer's state (including open programs) and memory contents to the hard drive, then powers off the computer. Coming out of hibernation powers on the computer, loads back the saved memory contents from the hard drive, and returns the computer to its previous state. The notebook's battery is not being drained at all while in hibernation because the notebook is actually turned off, not "sleeping."
"Stand by" in Windows 2000 is like "sleep" in Mac OS. It should take a few seconds, at most, to go into and out of "stand by." I have a Toshiba notebook (Pentium 3) that's much older than your Dell D600 (Centrino era), and it "sleeps" (goes into stand by) and "wakes up" in seconds. Since your Dell uses an Intel Centrino chipset and Pentium M, it should have no problem going into and out of stand by.
I read about this from Mac users all the time in Slashdot, but I'm certain that almost all of them are confusing "hibernate" and "sleep".
Re:if wasn't this format, it would have been anoth
on
How MP3 Was Born
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· Score: 1
"MP3 did well because it was small and one of the first on the seen that almost everything seemed to support. Its the interoperability, size and quality that are important."
Interoperability is a problem for FLAC (most hardware players don't support it), but it shouldn't be because FLAC is free and open. I wish DVD players/changers would play FLAC files the same way current CD players play mp3 files. Using FLAC, I can probabably fit every Led Zeppelin studio album on one single-layer DVD±R. I wouldn't need no stinkin' mega CD changer.
The importance of size is changing, which I think is the GP's point ("the advent of broadband and cheap 10^2-gigabyte storage"). FLAC is around 700-800 kbps and this is small enough for archiving and transferring today. Small-storage portable players can still benefit from smaller files, but with today's fast CPU's, FLAC files can be quickly transcoded (without "ripping") to MP3/AAC/Vorbis when needed.
As you know by now, the audio quality of FLAC is the same as the source (lossless). Transcoding from FLAC to MP3 will give you the same quality as ripping from CD to MP3, but much faster. Transcoding an iTunes Store AAC to MP3 will give you crappy audio quality.
I bought a 37" Westinghouse 1080P monitor and hooked it up as a second monitor (via DVI). I can play every type of video on the second monitor....except HD-DVD and Blu-ray.
Why? As I understand it, its because the Westinghouse is not HDCP compliant and all of the players (WinDVD, PowerDVD) require HDCP compliant monitors in order to play Blu-ray/HDDVD. So, an ordinary DVI link, like everyone and their brother has, won't work.
All the commercial players require HDCP encryption to display the 'native' resolutions. Is it so bad to play HD DVD and Blu-ray content through an analog connection in full 1080p resolution (until ICT is implemented by the studios)? Unless I'm mistaken, you should still be able to play in full 1080p using the VGA connection (or DVI-I to VGA converter) on the video card and display. VGA quality has gotten pretty good on current LCDs, although I haven't seen it on 30+ inch displays.
At least one compact tuner is the Elgato EyeTV hybrid. Use that with a Mac mini, and you have a great DVR that does OTA HD as well as standard def TV - and all of the video recorded is DRM free, transcode away or burd to DVD or do whatever. That's quite a recommendation (at least $750) for someone who simply requested "a standalone ATSC HDTV tuner to go with my projector." Someone already recommended a $180 Samsung tuner that might meet the submitter's requirements better than your Mac mini ($600 without DVD burner) plus Elgato tuner ($150) suggestion.
The Samsung tuner has an HDMI output with HDCP. HDCP will be needed to watch broadcast flagged content in non-degraded HD.
Includes a QAM tuner for unscrambled digital content from cable (even basic cable).
More outputs/inputs dedicated for television. Converting hardware and software not needed. No complicated setup process for outputs.
Sure, it doesn't do as much as a Maci mini, but the submitter only asked for an ATSC HDTV tuner. A device dedicated to this function will probably meet his/her needs better than a general-purpose computer with a DVI output that's primarily meant for computer monitors.
That's not a bad HTPC solution, though, except for the low-capacity notebook hard drive and non-upgradable graphics (for h.264 acceleration and HDCP output). The upcoming Intel Santa Rosa notebook platform (which has been pushed up to May) might solve these limitations (except for the hard drive).
It does receive HDTV OTA. I don't know why Elgato doesn't emphasize this more clearly in their main product info page. Non-HD digital tuners do exist. See Elgato's product comparison between EyeTV 250 and EyeTV Hybrid, section "Hardware Features -> HDTV (antenna only).
This looks like a nice tuner for a Mac mini, since it's so tiny.
we are 3 days from the March 1, 2007 date when every device with an analog tuner, must have a digital one... That means not only all TVs (even 13" and below), but also VCRs, DVD recorders, etc. But where are they? There appears to be a loophole: devices can meet this requirement by not including an analog OTA tuner (see "March 1: The beginning of the end for analog TV"). For years we've seen digital televisions with no tuners but lots of inputs for external tuners, and these meet the requirements. According to the article, VCRs, DVD recorders, DVRs, et. al. can skirt the digital tuner requirement by tweaking the analog tuner to only accept a cable TV tuner (but not an analog OTA antenna). The TiVo Series2 DT is a current example that meets the requirements.
I'm not sure how cheap device manufacturers will react to the digital tuner requirement, but I think (for now) they'll probably just change that coaxial "barrel" input to one that accepts analog cable only (and not an OTA antenna). Inputs (component, composite, etc) will handle the rest.
2. Quality. TV/iTunes just doesn't cut it. I want full widescreen 720/1080 HDTV with full quality surround and top notch bitrate choices (I'll pay the double for 2x the bitrate). Wouldn't 720p or 1080i be much more than 2x the bitrate of iTunes Store 640x480 video?
Why don't the networks just set up their own bittorrent trackers and supply TV shows with ads in them?...the crippled version on the network web site is the last place I go because I don't want to watch it on my computer... And I would watch the commercials, because I know that I'm getting something in exchange. Not everyone would watch them, but people get up to go to the bathroom or the kitchen during commercials as well. Do you really expect the networks to offer their shows (in their current form) with skippable ads? They're already throwing a hissy-fit over the ad-skipping feature on DVRs. I'm sure that's why they only offer the "crippled version" on their web site: the web site's embedded video player does not allow ad-skipping. I don't expect the networks to offer free downloadable shows (with ads) until they can find an acceptable video-playing system that can restrict ad-skipping.
Also, the few shows that I've watched on ABC's web site had a "full screen" mode. Is this unacceptable when watching it on your television (assuming you connect your computer to your television)?
Slashdot Mirror
Every PC (desktop, noteobook, and workstation) in Dell's Small Business site offers XP as a configuration option. Same with every PC in HP's Small and Medium Business site (except RISC and Alpha workstations, of course). Same with every Lenovo. That covers the Big Three.
Are you buying "home" PCs for your clients? Are you limited to crappy vendors that only sell Vista PCs (even to business customers)?
A great summary (with screenshots) here. This movie also had another good example of HOS (Hollywood OS) featuring really big fonts.
Remember, EMI and Yahoo Music have been testing the waters with DRM-free MP3s and WMAs since at least July with music by Jessica Simpson, Jesse McCartney, Norah Jones, and Relient K. Steve's bold open letter was posted one month ago.
I thought that was a big advantage of lossless formats. On the PC, keep the songs in lossless format and take advantage of the PC's large storage and high-quality playback options. For other devices, not just the iPod, the PC can transcode directly from the lossless songs.
If this form factor is restrictive, then the Mac mini's energy efficient notebook chipset (Intel 945GM) can be had in a microATX motherboard w/PCI Express x16 slot (Asus N4L-VM DH, $82 at Newegg), a FlexATX motherboard (Tyan Tomcat i945GM), or Mini-ITX barebones (MSI Axis 945GM).
However, I am somewhat surprised MS isn't pricing the Elite at $400 (current price for Premium bundle) and reducing the price of the Premium bundle. The Xbox 360 has been out for about 16 months, right? The costs of other components have come down significantly since then. I also assumed that more video downloads ($6 for new HD movies) from their popular TV/movie download service would offset some of these added costs.
I guess MS doesn't want to keep losing money on each console sold.
IMO, Vista Enterprise shouldn't exist with the bitlocker and other "enterprise" features being either made available in Vista Business or as some kind of add-on.
Vista Enterprise is only available to volume licensing customers, so it really doesn't "exist" to the vast majority of buyers, especially those that are considering the "home" versions.
That would basically leave 4 editions of vista, Home Basic, Home Premium, Business and UltimateI agree that's more editions than necessary. IMO, Vista Ultimate should not be offered in retail boxed versions because 95% of retail buyers shouldn't even consider it. Those uber-users that need Ultimate can get it in an OEM version, bundled with their high-end computer, or via Anytime Upgrade. The retail boxed version of Ultimate just makes the buying decision unnecessarily confusing to computer novices. The decision should be simpler to these buyers: "home" versions for home users and the "business" version for business users.
I think MS also blew it with the "Home Basic" edition of Vista, which leaves out the Aero UI as an option and also leaves off the "scheduled backup" feature. Aero should be disabled on the cheapest entry-level computers with 512MB of RAM, but this "defining feature" should be an option on all versions of Vista. Leaving out the "scheduled backup" feature just doesn't make sense to me.
I'm assuming you've heard of the Netgear Digital Entertainer HD, because you just described it. For $350, it makes Apple TV look pretty weak. Apple TV's only advantage that I can see is its ability to play DRM-protected iTunes Store content.
Correct. It's called the Image Constraint Token (ICT) and it will reduce the resolution of Blu-Ray/HD DVD video to 960x540 when it is implemented. Most studios have supposedly "agreed" not to implement ICT unti 2012, so HD DVD will look great over analog cables for now. However, I'd sure be pissed if ICT was implemented and my HD DVD player only output 960x540.
So I think the single biggest reason for HDMI is for the optional HD DVD drive and the possibility of ICT in the future. It really makes no sense for a HD DVD player not to have a video output w/HDCP.
Note that the Xbox 360 uses 2.5" notebook hard drives, which cost more per GB than 3.5" desktop hard drives. A quick Newegg search returned $30 for 20GB (current Xbox 360 size) and $80 for 120GB (future size).
I mostly agree with your comment, though. I'll be surprised if MS prices it above $400 (price for current Premium bundle). It's been about 16 months since the 360 was launched, so I think a price drop (or improved versions) seems like a reasonable expectation. They're also gloating about the Xbox 360's TV/movie download service, which includes high-def. The additional costs of the 120GB hard drive could be offset by video download revenues.
Only catch is if I hook up a drive while in Windows with that converter, it'll lockup. Has to be turned on before I boot the computer. This is a limitation of the adapter; from what I've read, you should be able to hot swap with a "real" eSATA port.
Another possible reason for your inability to hot-swap is that the SATA ports might be set to "IDE mode" in the motherboard's BIOS. This is a common setup on "home-built" computers since "IDE mode" allows pre-Vista Windows installation without the "F6 (floppy) installation method." To enable hot-swap, the SATA ports must be set to "SATA/AHCI mode" in the BIOS.
Here's some instructions from Intel's site on changing SATA modes on their motherboards:
- IDE mode - no AHCI, no RAID
- SATA mode (sometimes called AHCI mode) - AHCI enabled, no RAID
- RAID mode - AHCI enabled, RAID enabled
AHCI mode also allows for Hot Swapping drives.- PROOF that Roughly Drafted is SPAMMING/Gaming Digg with multiple accounts (97 diggs)
Photographic evidence of AlexaW and RoughlyDrafted gaming Digg just to get moron Daniel Eran's articles to the front page. (Where they promptly get buried for being inaccurate.) Several users who ONLY digg AlexaW's submissions, all of whom signed up in the last 3 weeks. Coincidence? Not a chance. This needs to be stopped immediately. More on Daniel Eran:In case you missed it, Intel released two 50W quad-core CPUs (L5320 and L5310) last week for dual-processor servers and workstations. They're 1.86GHz and 1.60GHz with 1066MHz FSB.
specs
As we all know, the quality of blank DVD media varies by brand, manufacuring plant, etc. Note that some brands (e.g. Maxell) sell DVDs from different manufacturers (e.g. Mitsubishi Chemical, Taiyo Yuden). Therefore, some Maxell DVD models are very good (manufacured by a good factory) while other Maxells are very poor (cheaply manufactured).
The current "standard" for long-term storage seems to be DVDs manufactured by Taiyo Yuden, which is sold under various brands (including "Taiyo Yuden" brand). A hundred Taiyo Yuden DVD-R single-layer blanks cost about $33 (plus shipping) at Newegg.
Also, any archives should use parity data to recover from data that has gone bad. Hopefully, the "backup to DVD" software should include parity data creation. If not, use something like PAR2 files to ensure you can recover from minor data loss.
The CD Freaks Blank Media forum is a good place to read about how to identify and buy good quality blank DVDs. If you don't understand the concept of parity files, Slyck.com has a good explanation of PAR/PAR2.
I'm pretty sure "those in an office setting" will have no problem finding OEM dealers offering XP until January 29, 2009, XP's end date on Microsoft's "System Builder License Availability" roadmap.
Sure, home models (e.g. Dell Dimension, HP Pavilion) are already phasing out XP as an option. However, the real business models (Dell Optiplex, HP Compaq 5000 Series) make a point out of maintaining long product lifecycles, which I assume includes Windows XP support (mainstream support ends 4/4/09, extended support ends 4/8/14).
I was incredulous when I read the GP's highly-moderated comment. I assumed any business buyer would know that Dell's "real" business desktops (Optiplex) feature "standard, stable technologies and long product life cycles". Although the GP wasn't specific, it appears that he/she either bought Dimensions (likely), is talking rubbish (less likely, but possible), or bought Optiplexes (unlikely).
It does bother me a bit that Dell sells Dimensions in their Small Business section, but I guess some businesses want the option of buying cheap consumer models. However, the brief descriptions of the Dimension and Optiplex lines on the Small Business Desktops page should make it obvious that Optiplex is the right model for long product life cycles.
Sounds to me like your Dell is set to "hibernate" (which actually powers off your computer after saving its "state") and not "standby" (Windows 2000's term for "sleep").
Hibernate saves the computer's state (including open programs) and memory contents to the hard drive, then powers off the computer. Coming out of hibernation powers on the computer, loads back the saved memory contents from the hard drive, and returns the computer to its previous state. The notebook's battery is not being drained at all while in hibernation because the notebook is actually turned off, not "sleeping."
"Stand by" in Windows 2000 is like "sleep" in Mac OS. It should take a few seconds, at most, to go into and out of "stand by." I have a Toshiba notebook (Pentium 3) that's much older than your Dell D600 (Centrino era), and it "sleeps" (goes into stand by) and "wakes up" in seconds. Since your Dell uses an Intel Centrino chipset and Pentium M, it should have no problem going into and out of stand by.
I read about this from Mac users all the time in Slashdot, but I'm certain that almost all of them are confusing "hibernate" and "sleep".
Interoperability is a problem for FLAC (most hardware players don't support it), but it shouldn't be because FLAC is free and open. I wish DVD players/changers would play FLAC files the same way current CD players play mp3 files. Using FLAC, I can probabably fit every Led Zeppelin studio album on one single-layer DVD±R. I wouldn't need no stinkin' mega CD changer.
The importance of size is changing, which I think is the GP's point ("the advent of broadband and cheap 10^2-gigabyte storage"). FLAC is around 700-800 kbps and this is small enough for archiving and transferring today. Small-storage portable players can still benefit from smaller files, but with today's fast CPU's, FLAC files can be quickly transcoded (without "ripping") to MP3/AAC/Vorbis when needed.
As you know by now, the audio quality of FLAC is the same as the source (lossless). Transcoding from FLAC to MP3 will give you the same quality as ripping from CD to MP3, but much faster. Transcoding an iTunes Store AAC to MP3 will give you crappy audio quality.
Why? As I understand it, its because the Westinghouse is not HDCP compliant and all of the players (WinDVD, PowerDVD) require HDCP compliant monitors in order to play Blu-ray/HDDVD. So, an ordinary DVI link, like everyone and their brother has, won't work.
All the commercial players require HDCP encryption to display the 'native' resolutions. Is it so bad to play HD DVD and Blu-ray content through an analog connection in full 1080p resolution (until ICT is implemented by the studios)? Unless I'm mistaken, you should still be able to play in full 1080p using the VGA connection (or DVI-I to VGA converter) on the video card and display. VGA quality has gotten pretty good on current LCDs, although I haven't seen it on 30+ inch displays.- The Samsung tuner has an HDMI output with HDCP. HDCP will be needed to watch broadcast flagged content in non-degraded HD.
- Includes a QAM tuner for unscrambled digital content from cable (even basic cable).
- More outputs/inputs dedicated for television. Converting hardware and software not needed. No complicated setup process for outputs.
- Lower startup time. Simpler startup process. Simpler EPG.
Sure, it doesn't do as much as a Maci mini, but the submitter only asked for an ATSC HDTV tuner. A device dedicated to this function will probably meet his/her needs better than a general-purpose computer with a DVI output that's primarily meant for computer monitors.That's not a bad HTPC solution, though, except for the low-capacity notebook hard drive and non-upgradable graphics (for h.264 acceleration and HDCP output). The upcoming Intel Santa Rosa notebook platform (which has been pushed up to May) might solve these limitations (except for the hard drive).
This looks like a nice tuner for a Mac mini, since it's so tiny.
I'm not sure how cheap device manufacturers will react to the digital tuner requirement, but I think (for now) they'll probably just change that coaxial "barrel" input to one that accepts analog cable only (and not an OTA antenna). Inputs (component, composite, etc) will handle the rest.
640 * 480 = 307,200 pixels
1280 * 720 = 921,600 pixels
And that's not counting the full quality surround sound.
BTW, Xbox Live Video Marketplace offers 720p HD television downloads for $3 (240 points), but you need an Xbox to use this service.
Also, the few shows that I've watched on ABC's web site had a "full screen" mode. Is this unacceptable when watching it on your television (assuming you connect your computer to your television)?