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Archive for November, 2008|Monthly archive page

>The Veldt

In Happy Birthday Harrison | Ray Bradbury | Mrs. Gordon on November 25, 2008 at 8:37 pm

>
Wrapping up the cave. Normally the lights are out while the surround sound blares. Wii Sports is a ton-o-fun and Tennis is the family favorite. Ditto for The Force Unleashed.

Considering this is what kids are growing up with now, it’ll be fascinating to see what evolves as “immersive” home entertainment over the next 20 years or so.

I’m sticking to pinball.

The Veldt

In Happy Birthday Harrison | Ray Bradbury | Mrs. Gordon on November 25, 2008 at 8:37 pm


Wrapping up the cave. Normally the lights are out while the surround sound blares. Wii Sports is a ton-o-fun and Tennis is the family favorite. Ditto for The Force Unleashed.

Considering this is what kids are growing up with now, it’ll be fascinating to see what evolves as “immersive” home entertainment over the next 20 years or so.

I’m sticking to pinball.

>Tivo To Go

In Alex | Dan | Jeff | Steve on November 8, 2008 at 12:02 am

>

We’ve given up the Tivo. Totally worth it.

Here’s the setup:

Mac Mini: Storage, DVD Player/Writer, etc.
Controls: Wireless Keyboard, Mouse and Remote
Elgato EyeTV 250: Watching / Recording TV to the Mac
Bitorrent: Transmission and TVShows
Firefox: South Park Studios and Netflix “Watch Now”
iTunes: Podcasts, TV and Movie Downloads
Dropbox: Shared content with other computers around the house as well as when I’m on the road.
Future(?): May need an external terabyte or so of storage. Presently have about 100GB.

DVI>VGA out from the Mac into the TV. Update below.
Audio out from the Mac into Bose Subwofer and Speakers.

Dear Apple: Please make a wireless keyboard with integrated track pad! 🙂

Looks and sounds great.

While this is more expensive upfront cost than the Tivo box. But once you consider $150 a year for Tivo subscription it quickly balances out.

Way more options. Way more control. Way more content.

UPDATE 1: SVideo provides limited resolution compared to VGA video output. The Mac Mini will support analog resolutions up to 1920 by 1080 pixels. The VGA adapter is included in with the Mini – but you’ll still need a VGA cable to go from the Mini to the back of the HDTV.

UPDATE 2: Bought a terabyte external drive. Plenty-o-storage.

UPDATE 3: Never mind the wireless trackpad thingie. Check out Mobile Air Mouse. Seriously cool.

Tivo To Go

In Alex | Dan | Jeff | Steve on November 8, 2008 at 12:02 am

We’ve given up the Tivo. Totally worth it.

Here’s the setup:

Mac Mini: Storage, DVD Player/Writer, etc.
Controls: Wireless Keyboard, Mouse and Remote
Elgato EyeTV 250: Watching / Recording TV to the Mac
Bitorrent: Transmission and TVShows
Firefox: South Park Studios and Netflix “Watch Now”
iTunes: Podcasts, TV and Movie Downloads
Dropbox: Shared content with other computers around the house as well as when I’m on the road.
Future(?): May need an external terabyte or so of storage. Presently have about 100GB.

DVI>VGA out from the Mac into the TV. Update below.
Audio out from the Mac into Bose Subwofer and Speakers.

Dear Apple: Please make a wireless keyboard with integrated track pad! 🙂

Looks and sounds great.

While this is more expensive upfront cost than the Tivo box. But once you consider $150 a year for Tivo subscription it quickly balances out.

Way more options. Way more control. Way more content.

UPDATE 1: SVideo provides limited resolution compared to VGA video output. The Mac Mini will support analog resolutions up to 1920 by 1080 pixels. The VGA adapter is included in with the Mini – but you’ll still need a VGA cable to go from the Mini to the back of the HDTV.

UPDATE 2: Bought a terabyte external drive. Plenty-o-storage.

UPDATE 3: Never mind the wireless trackpad thingie. Check out Mobile Air Mouse. Seriously cool.

Tivo To Go

In Alex | Dan | Jeff | Steve on November 8, 2008 at 12:02 am

We’ve given up the Tivo. Totally worth it.

Here’s the setup:

Mac Mini: Storage, DVD Player/Writer, etc.
Controls: Wireless Keyboard, Mouse and Remote
Elgato EyeTV 250: Watching / Recording TV to the Mac
Bitorrent: Transmission and TVShows
Firefox: South Park Studios and Netflix “Watch Now”
iTunes: Podcasts, TV and Movie Downloads
Dropbox: Shared content with other computers around the house as well as when I’m on the road.
Future(?): May need an external terabyte or so of storage. Presently have about 100GB.

DVI>VGA out from the Mac into the TV. Update below.
Audio out from the Mac into Bose Subwofer and Speakers.

Dear Apple: Please make a wireless keyboard with integrated track pad! 🙂

Looks and sounds great.

While this is more expensive upfront cost than the Tivo box. But once you consider $150 a year for Tivo subscription it quickly balances out.

Way more options. Way more control. Way more content.

UPDATE: SVideo provides limited resolution compared to VGA video output. The Mac Mini will support analog resolutions up to 1920 by 1080 pixels. The VGA adapter is included in with the Mini – but you’ll still need a VGA cable to go from the Mini to the back of the HDTV.

>Total Perspective Vortex Machine

In ISBN 0-06-050591-5 on November 6, 2008 at 7:58 am

>http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:southparkstudios.com:209726:
From Education Knowledge
From Experience Wisdom
RIP Eric Hoffer

Total Perspective Vortex Machine

In ISBN 0-06-050591-5 on November 6, 2008 at 7:58 am

From Education Knowledge
From Experience Wisdom
RIP Eric Hoffer

>BIM There…Done That

In Blue Moon | Chimay | Fullers | Guiness | Etc. on November 4, 2008 at 9:59 pm

>

One man’s patio is another’s “Drinking Plinth”.

BIM There…Done That

In Blue Moon | Chimay | Fullers | Guiness | Etc. on November 4, 2008 at 9:59 pm



One man’s patio is another’s “Drinking Plinth”.

>Stock Watch

In Uncategorized on November 2, 2008 at 9:03 pm

>Netflix just opened up “Watch Now” for OSX. Not a bad selection either. Great timing as the Tivo decided to crap out just a few weeks ago by broadcasting only in b&w. In the meantime, I’ve been trying to decide between one of two options.

Corner 1: New Toshiba Tivo with integrated DVD player / writer
Corner 2: New MacMini, EyeTV and a Torrent client

I’m starting to nudge over to the Mini.

More info on Netflix for OS X here.