Posts filed under 'audio-visual'
I hate Sony. For too long has their proprietary shit machines have bummed me out. Everything, that is, except their consoles.
When the Wii and PS3 launched, I bought a Wii - because that was the sensible thing to do. I don’t need a $600 video game console with $50 games. Especially not when I just built a $1200 smoking fast desktop PC.
And yet, hooker killing in a game that might make me feel bad about it beckons mightily…
And if rt would just tell how the media streaming is, I could finally make a choice to abstain, or to plunge headlong into a fiery chasm of vicarious violence that offers an appalling look at myself in a world with slightly fewer consequences.
Update
Okay, so the PS3 doesn’t actually function as a network media streamer. Very disappointing.
If you want to stream media to the PS3, it looks like you have to run some app on *another* computer on your network to stream media that’s been selected in the app to the PS3.
Weak sauce, Sony - royal weak sauce.
Looks like a Mac mini is in my future.
(Well, either a mac mini or another soft-modded original xbox, which functions pretty damn well as a media streamer, with the exception of easy non-xbox remote setup…)
May 2nd, 2008
First off, I’m a sucker for anything peppermint. That being said, I hadn’t tried
Penguin Mints before this weekend. They’re simply
caffeinated peppermints. Quite nice - I’ll be buying more. Also, much fun was had in Seattle - and I’m going to have to buy a copy of
Swingerz Golf for the Gamecube.
In other news, after some hacking around and a few trips to the hardware store for parts, Ryan and I cobbled together a highly functional and very affordable solution to a hardware and installation problem for $OUR_PRODUCT that my company doesn’t currently provide - but should. I shall be taking my findings to the accessory team and making some suggestions.
Thanks for the fun weekend rt and simmy!
November 13th, 2006
I still can’t wait for the iPhone ort whatever it’s going to be called. Sorry RAZR, your days are teh numb3r3d! (You too Mr. Nano!)
October 31st, 2006
Bullshit bank fees and shrinking “perks” suck. But they come from somewhere, right? Part of the problem is bullshit spending. I have no idea how RSA Security’s new voiceprint technology is supposed to help with telephone banking security.
The inconveniences and social engineering end-run hacks are immediately apparent to even a casual thinker.
Click “Read On” for just a bit of my casual thinking.
Continue Reading October 25th, 2006
But I can’t freaking wait for the iPhone.
After all, it’s been nearly two years since I overpaid 500+% for a cellphone. My RAZR is still going stong, but has very crappy reception at my house, a tiny amount of memory for text messges and pictures, and it is *not* an ipod. The battery life is pretty weak these days, but I don’t fault the phone - the battery is limited in size and I’ve used the hell out of it.
October 19th, 2006
Live from the Steve Jobs Keynote — “It’s Showtime” - Engadget
Oh man, I want an iTV. Apple has done it with this one. if they get the HDCP right (a pity that it’s necessary at all), and can stream HD over a wireless link, I can see this being more profitable than than Macbooks.
At $299, it’s easily cheap enough for anyone with a high def display and a decent AV receiver. And the movie sales that Apple has announced are cheap enough to be an often purchased item. In addition, once you get one well designed and highly branded item into a home, you have a much better chance of sneaking more of your products in.
Hmmm, it seems like all Apple needs is good display for the living room. I wonder where they could get that…
September 12th, 2006
Another genuine “Why didn’t I think of that?” moment. As I’m currently reading a number of books online (some serialized, some not), this trick of flipping a pdf (or other text document) and the notebook sideways is quite a good idea. I find it surprisingly odd that I haven’t tied this yet, as I’m constantly swiveling around my lovely Samsung LCD (at work) to better accommodate the task of the moment.
via Gizmodo
August 14th, 2006
Go wave power! Go!!
According to the above post at
Treehugger,
Reedsport Oregon is slated to to be the location for a power plant driven by waves and tides!
Way to go Oregon!! Suck our smug voltage, Washington!!!
July 31st, 2006
Architectures of Control in Design ยป Boing Boing: House introduces mandatory radio-crippling law
Okay, so now Mike Ferguson (Rep. NJ) has introduced legislation that would permit only “customary use” of digital radios. Wow! Great, I can totally see how this could benefit citizens of the US. I mean, it’s a radio right? Who could ever think that someone could improve upon the model of “turn on, listen, turn off”? I absolutely think that we should make it a law. There couldn’t possibly be any side-interests of Mike Ferguson’s involved.
DRM strikes again, this time it’s not copy protection as we know it per se. This particular brand of DRM doesn’t leave the consumer a choice. I can’t choose to buy only non-DRM’ed content, and I can’t choose to use my content only on official devices. I can’t choose at all. If I want digital radio, I must comply. If I want to produce and/or sell digital radios or associated services in the US, I have to comply.
See also: boingboing’s coverage
March 3rd, 2006
Technology News: Commentary : Reform Video Franchising Now
It’s a rare time ladies and gentlemen - the usually cowardly and irresponsibly republican Senator Gordon Smith (from Oregon) has it right on the issue of “video franchising”. In real people speak, video franchising means that a cable company pays off a local or state office for the right to use the local CATV networks explicitly. This means that other content providers are locked out. Which in turn means that the incumbent company has little incentive to offer price competition and new services. Of course, as the cable comanies love to point out - this isn’t entirely true. They do have to compete with satellite companies, and in a few rare palces, telephone companies. This argument is nearly false however, when you consider that satellite companies also have to compete with cable companies and with other satellite companies (and occasionally, telcos). This being reality, for the cable companies to argue that they compete on the same level with satellite companies and telcos, they would need to allow competitors onto the CATV medium.
However, in defense of Comcast (the cable company that services my home) I do have to say that I’m almost entirely happy with their cable television and Internet services. They’ve offered a higher tier of bandwidth and speed for those who want to pay for it, and they’ve developed and offered a nice video on-demand service, and they have good HDTV equipment and services along with a nicely designed and easy to use DVR. The only things I don’t like are the pricing and the TOS for their broadband service (forbidding me from operating my own web/emails servers). Additionally, I could do with a few more HDTV channels (but they have been adding more HD channels, albeit slowly).
Nonetheless, to get the services I want - my cable bill is approximately $170 a month. This is for a digital cable package (with movie channels), two HD cable boxes, one HD dvr cable box, and the “upgraded” tier of broadband Internet service (I have my own cable modem). $170!! Sure, I’m an umarried guy, living in an inexpensive house with a roommate and my income is okay, but should these services really cost this much? They don’t cost this much to provide, and they certainly shouldn’t. I know that companies are in business to make a profit, and I’m not anti-capitalist; but let’s introduce some real competition and let the people win one. It’s time for our politicians to serve our entertainment and information wants and needs instead of the financial desires of large media corporations.
February 17th, 2006
Aaron Dunlap’s USB Charger
Well, I don’t have it yet - but I’m going to order one right away - talk about simple design! I love kits like this. Should be a fun project to spend an hour on over my holiday vacation, not to mention useful as hell.
Now, if only my camera accepted a charge via USB.
As far as I’m concerned, every battery powered device with a USB or firewire connector should be able to cahrge *and* transfer data over a single cable. This goes double for devices that die quickly when connected via USB, like digital cameras.
December 2nd, 2005
Griffin Smartdeck - Actually Useful - Gizmodo
Genius design! 10-15 years too late though. Of course, unlike the pretty no-wire offerings from Griffin and Belkin - this probably sounds better than a shitty AM station, though it’s not as universal.
However, as a commenter @ Gizmodo pointed out, it won’t work with ipods that lack remote control ability.
And you know, why doesn’t everything use a universal control protocol? My life would be greatly enhanced if RS-232 commands via serial, usb and tcp-ip actually caught on with components other than mid-high end A/V gear. Of course, I’d run the risk of becoming a walking macro, but batching tasks is cool!
October 1st, 2005
