by ·Comments Off on E-reader Wars!

Both Amazon and Barnes & Noble dropped the prices of their e-readers yesterday (the Kindle and the Nook).  I didn’t see a drop for the Kindle DX, but no matter.  It’s still the “paperback-size” that’s really the competitor.  The DX is more for “enthusiasts”, I suppose.

I still maintain that if you’re going to be a reader, go for e-Ink as opposed to LCD (such as the iPad and the upcoming clones).  There are actually some studies out there that suggest that reading an LCD screen before bed can actually screw with your sleep.  Not to mention that e-Ink is a ton easier to read in the sunlight than LCD.

I digress.  I came across an article posted a few months back by CNet that reviews the Kindle and Nook side by side.  Pretty fair review – http://reviews.cnet.com/2722-3508_7-537.html

It’s worth noting that Kindle recently released a firmware update that moves us in a step towards addressing the major gripe of Kindle owners since day 1 – folders.  They’re called “Collections”, and while not 100% like the folders on the Sony, still pretty darn cool.  You can also pan and zoom on PDF’s, plus some other social features.

by ·Comments Off on A Week with the HTPC

So, after a week of struggling, fighting, and generally cursing computers in general, I’ve gotten my setup to work.

The original intent was to run Wireless (Draft-N) standard to stream my movies from my server in the office (which is less than 10 ft away).  That didn’t go so hot.  For whatever reason, despite the strong signal strength and high data transfer rates, my media files didn’t play worth a damn.  Well, the 1080 ones at least.  The 720 seemed to do ok.  I’m at a loss, because I’ve seen that people have been able to wirelessly stream HD content without the buffering every 10 seconds.  I’d be tempted to believe it was a failing of the Samba protocol, but it works fine over wired ethernet.  I’m stumped.  I gave up and did the “elegant” solution of running CAT-5 out to the living room.Continue reading

by ·Comments Off on Home Theater PC (HTPC)

When I bought my new Blu-Ray player in March, it kept me from building out an htpc. Or so I thought. My Sony works with my home network, and was supposed to be able (after a firmware update due this summer) to play content from any of my PC’s. That was the plan.

Little did I know along the way that they’d start killing off my media codecs one by one. The biggest blow was the loss of the XVid codec. I like it because it’s high quality, high compression (i.e. small file sizes). I can’t play them any more. And it’s restricted to Windows Media Player extensions (WMV). No AVI, no QuickTime (mov). I spent all this money on a platform that’s turned into a fairly basic blu-ray theater now. (In it’s defense, the internet connectivity is still pretty cool).

Following a post from lifehacker.com (Check this link out) a few weeks back, I started to seriously look at building an HTPC again.  I opted to purchase it’s big brother (The Acer REVO R3610) so I could get the wireless card, faster processor, and more memory.  Continue reading

by ·Comments Off on I don’t remember this circus the last time…

Having graduated from Virginia Tech, then moving to Greensboro, I remember the ruckus that was caused last time a conference decided to expand. Admittedly, I haven’t followed the latest round of rumors. So when I caught a recent blog by a VT satirist – Jim Alderson (www.the-a-line.com), I got a good laugh.

To say that this round is a fiasco of epic proportions would be an understatement. Seems like everything hinges on Notre Dame this time around. But the fact that conferences are considering expanding to a 16-team league seems beyond laughable, if not downright ludicrous.

Who knows what this will all bring… we have to wait and see. But in the meantime, it provides for a good laugh because there’s no real news – all of it’s generated by message board loons and fanatical bloggers.

by ·Comments Off on Good Friday Ride w/Jill

So, with Friday off, my friend Jill & I went out for a ride.  She’s training for a triathalon in May, and needed to get in 35-40 miles.  I didn’t think I was up for more than 30.

HRM Data from 4/2 Ride. The drop mid-way was a drink stop.

HRM Data from 4/2 Ride. The drop mid-way was a drink stop.