Recent Posts

1151

Living Room / I'm sooo exhausted with the overhyping of everything.

« Last post by superboyac on July 12, 2013, 09:57 PM »

I consciously try to avoid to popular media to great degrees, and I'm STILL exhausted by hearing about all the nonsense, overhyped things going on in recent years.  Maybe it's always been this way, I don't know.
Lebron
the 41 megapixels of the lumia
zimmerman
pac rim
anything smartphone related
the economy
the president

tgi-flippin-F

1152

Living Room / Re: Microsoft ending TechNet subscription activations effective august 2013

« Last post by superboyac on July 12, 2013, 03:31 PM »

^^ Nice, thanks 40.  I'm keeping an eye on the developments with Linux and Windows, and slowly prepping myself for the day when I decide to make the transition.  I predict the motivation will max around when MS says Windows 7 is not going to be supported any more.  So probably around 5-10 years.

1153

Living Room / Re: (Online) Activities to do with a (long distance) friend or partner

« Last post by superboyac on July 11, 2013, 06:06 PM »

It's not realtime, but I've been testing out with music collaboration.  i record something on my pc, send it to my friend, he records over it with those nifty zoom recorders, sends it back, etc.

But as the genius chess champion (and racist ) Bobby Fischer says:

Nothing is so healing as the human touch.

So for partners, I don't really enjoy any type of online activity.  It quickly becomes frustrating for me.

1154

Living Room / Re: What else does Mouser do?

« Last post by superboyac on July 11, 2013, 12:21 PM »

Ah!  He's in cahoots with Warren Buffet.  That explains so much.

1155

Living Room / Re: Help me choose my next smartphone

« Last post by superboyac on July 11, 2013, 11:21 AM »

^^you guys are suggesting android apps.  This is a windows phone.

1156

Living Room / Re: I'm ready to join the HTPC (home theater pc) revolution - what to get?

« Last post by superboyac on July 11, 2013, 10:56 AM »

1080p still requires fairly beefy or optimized equipment.  I don't know all the technical details, but I have played around with different devices and experimented with different kinds of 1080p formats, and many of the devices that claim to do it have issues.  Sometimes it is stuttering, sometimes it is weird slow-motion effects, some have issues seeking.  Most full size pc graphics cards don't have an issue with it.  raspberry pi i'm pretty sure won't be able to play many of the files I'm talking about.  I bought a little android htpc stick (see the gadget thread) which claimed to be able to do it, but it couldn't (stuttered a lot).

I will give a huge   to this little chinese device that seems to have no problem playing back 1080p.  All you need is to attach a usb drive to it and it will do the rest.  It's only $60 and I take it with me everywhere.  It's from a company called Diyomate.

Now, your tv probably has multiple inputs.  Put the diyomate on one input, this will be where you watch all your movies.  For your internet requirement, get the android stick i was talking about, called the mk808b:

Now, to control the internet from that android interface, you need some kind of airmouse.  I've heard the gyration and mx air will work with it, but I haven't confirmed it.  But sticking to this chinese theme, you can buy a cheap airmouse that does work well, called the rc11:

The remote has a keyboard on it to boot.  The more expensive and better quality option is the gyration mouse/keyboard combo.

But using this route, you get everything you want, and it costs total under $200.

1157

Living Room / Re: Possibly the ultimate $21,000 computer desk/chair combo?

« Last post by superboyac on July 10, 2013, 11:08 PM »

You're already late to the party. They've been developing teledildonics technology for several years now.

-40hz (July 10, 2013, 01:03 PM)

Cmon man!  You're killing me!!!

1158

Living Room / Re: digitising slides

« Last post by superboyac on July 09, 2013, 09:44 PM »

I've been using an epson perfection scanner and vuescan (thanks brahman, epic review!) for a year now.  Very smooth, very nice.  Haven't done any slides yet though.  it comes with plastic holders for slides.

1159

Living Room / Re: Why you should record video of the everyday people in your life

« Last post by superboyac on July 09, 2013, 09:42 PM »

IainB...you're a really interesting person.  I just had to say that.

1160

Living Room / Re: I'm ready to join the HTPC (home theater pc) revolution - what to get?

« Last post by superboyac on July 09, 2013, 09:39 PM »

yes!  Mouser is on board!

I have tons of notes on this, but not very organized.  xbmc is the way to go if you need an interface built for this sort of thing.  I haven't really found any other decent alternatives.  if you don't need an interface, all you need is a file manager that is readable on a big screen (should be most if it's 1080p) and your favorite media player (mine is Light Alloy).  This is my current htpc setup, been doing it for years.  I'm trying to move to a xbmc setup, but first wanted to build my box of hard drives.

Another important piece is your remote.  How are you going to move the mouse and navigate?  I suggest one of the gyro remotes like gyration (I use a logitech mx air, really nice also).  

My question for you is this: what more do you want other than just plugging in an old computer to your tv and going with that?  It seems to fit all your requirements except for the form factor.  So it's just a matter of buying a case that satisfies you and moving your parts into there (or getting new parts I guess).  The only real difference to me between a regular pc and an htpc is font sizes due to sitting further away (so having a gui like xbmc suited for such things is beneficial) and the airmouse aspect.  everything else is indistinguishable from a regular pc as far as i can tell.

i would suggest using makemkv to copy your dvd's losslessly to your hard drive so you wouldn't need to swap discs.

Light Alloy has a file browsing feature with big fonts specifically geared for htpc's, so that's another plus for it.

Lian Li (though expensive) has some nice cases that look just like normal dvd players, but I'm sure there are similar ones for cheaper.

1161

Living Room / Re: Why you should record video of the everyday people in your life

« Last post by superboyac on July 09, 2013, 07:42 PM »

cool thread. 

1162

Living Room / Re: Adblock Plus Letting Ads By

« Last post by superboyac on July 08, 2013, 07:05 PM »

I know this is a stupid thing to say, but I'd like to see the day when lame things like ads don't generate so much revenue.

1163

Living Room / Re: What is safer for data -- a hard disk or a blue ray disc?

« Last post by superboyac on July 07, 2013, 11:31 PM »

I would also be terribly interested in this.

I don't know how much blu ray discs are anymore, but if they are cheap, that's not a bad option, what is it 50GB per disc?

I'm a hard drive guy though.  I use file synchronization and back up the files in 2-3 separate drives.  I'm also trying to build a bigger tower or rack to hold up to 20 drives and really automate the process even more.  I think hard drives are the way to go for massive amounts of data, like terabytes you mentioned.  One 4TB drive or 80 blu ray discs?  In the early 2000s, I was backing stuff up regularly on cdr's, and i just don't have that kind of energy or desire anymore.

What is disturbing to me and complicates matters is that hard drives are becoming less in demand it seems since everyone has moved to mobile devices.  So they are not as cheap as we are used to seeing anymore, nor are they increasing in size as quickly as they used to.  Seems like 4TB is the limit currently and has been for a while.  So I'm not sure what the future of hard drives are.  I'd still prefer a hard drive over a SSD, but I'll wait until they catch up in capacity (probably a long time).

The other related thing to keep an eye out are the transfer protocols (esata, usb 3.0, thunderbolt).  None of them really caught on to any degree.  I went on a massive search to find a pcie card or something to add multiple usb 3.0 ports to my computer, and there are hardly any that offer more than one or two connections.  There's nothing for theunderbolt.  There's not much for esata either.  Some of those weird chinese sites like alibaba have some interesting stuff, but they aren't terribly reliable.

I'm curious if there are any side effects for hard drives that are sitting on a shelf for a long time (years).  Should you plug them in once in a while to keep them happy or anything like that?

I sometimes have disturbing formatting issues that come up with these large drives that i plug in and out of computers.  Let's say i put a bunch of data on a huge 4tb drive.  Then i take it out.  Later, I use it with an enclosure and a usb 3.0 connection.  Then I do the same with an esata.  Then i stick it into another computer.  Sometimes, while doing this, Windows will say the drive is unreadable or something, or that it has to be formatted, or that it is corrupted.  And I have a feeling that it is due to all the different cables/protocols the drive is being accessed with, but I can't really confirm it for sure.  But when the message comes up and the drive is a critical step in your backing up process, it's pretty scary.  I hate that feeling.  I'm always keeping a close eye on developments with hard drives, esata/sata, usb 3.0, thunderbolt/lightpeak, enclosures, etc.

1164

LaunchBar Commander / Re: Dock should not 'land grab'

« Last post by superboyac on July 07, 2013, 01:42 AM »

Your Dock should not alter other applications normal displays.
By that I mean it should not 'land grab' forcing other displays (that are expecting to be full screen) to occupy say 90% of the screen.

I was an Analyst in IT for 20 years and have been programming(VB6) for the subsequent 15 years.
What you are doing is 'unclean'
Even if you held a gun to my head, I would not do that in my programs.

Rob
 

-RobC (July 07, 2013, 01:31 AM)

Oh Great Programmer Bob!  Please bless us more with your wisdom!

1165

Living Room / Re: Gadget WEEKENDS

« Last post by superboyac on July 07, 2013, 01:26 AM »

^^^ just btw,
the green lasers have been getting very popular in Egypt.

-tomos (July 06, 2013, 04:19 PM)

Oh wow!  That is really kind of cool!

1166

Living Room / Re: Gadget WEEKENDS

« Last post by superboyac on July 06, 2013, 04:11 PM »

^^ nice.  my cousin made me one of these, with a blue laser.  He included a backup battery and a special battery charger.  the power is about 2W i think (that's a lot), and the thing is so bright you can see the beam in full daylight.  it's actually pretty dangerous.  for sure it can point at the stars, with a thick ass beam too, about half the width of your pinkie.  it's crazy.  i love that thing, and my cuz!

edit, for star identification, in case you are not aware of it, get the software stellarium.
http://www.stellarium.org/

put it on a laptop, take it with you wherever you go star gazing with the laser.  with that and the laser, there's nothing you can't do!

1167

Living Room / Re: Gadget WEEKENDS

« Last post by superboyac on July 06, 2013, 11:57 AM »

[/url])[/i] Being a coffee fanatic connoisseur,

-40hz (July 05, 2013, 03:07 PM)

you too?  I've been trying out the different brew methods for the past 7 years.  I went from drip, to aeropress, to french press.  And now the one I've settled on is the v60 method where you control the water temperature, weight the amount of water and beans, and time the whole thing.  The baristas at the local foo foo shop taught me how to do it, and I do it on the weekends.  Awesome!

-superboyac (July 05, 2013, 04:04 PM)

I learn something new every day. The V60 method? Hmm...  

Reminds me of a drastically more precise version of the old Chemex pot method which I've used in the past.

Agree on the water temp and prewashing the filter. It does make a difference. As does pre-wetting the grounds ("puffing" them to use the old Chemex term for it). And the timing - which should never exceed 6 minutes for a brew cycle no matter how large the full pot.

But the precision and the recommended tare weights...now those V60 numbers are definitely something worth experimenting with. In cooking, the top chefs will always tell you "weigh - don't measure ingredients" to get consistently superior results...

Gonna have to look into that V60 thing more closely.  

-40hz (July 06, 2013, 06:40 AM)

oh yeah, i tried the chemex also. it's actually very similar to the chemex, but i found it easier because the "v60" part (the ceramic piece that holds the filter) can be removed from the server, which offers more flexibility (chemex, the whole thing is on unit).  so after prewashing the filter, you can remove the server and throw out the used water.  it's just a tad easier i guess.

but it's a bit of a science project for each cup.  the other way that i use at work is called a "clever cup", which is like a filtered french press.  i like that as a quicker 2nd best choice.  some people still prefer the french press because you get more of the oils , whereas these methods filter some of it out, but these taste better in my opinion without the oils all in there.  here's clever cup video:

1168

Living Room / Re: Gadget WEEKENDS

« Last post by superboyac on July 05, 2013, 04:04 PM »

[/url])[/i] Being a coffee fanatic connoisseur,

-40hz (July 05, 2013, 03:07 PM)

you too?  I've been trying out the different brew methods for the past 7 years.  I went from drip, to aeropress, to french press.  And now the one I've settled on is the v60 method where you control the water temperature, weight the amount of water and beans, and time the whole thing.  The baristas at the local foo foo shop taught me how to do it, and I do it on the weekends.  Awesome!

1169

Living Room / Re: 10 signs you may have OCD

« Last post by superboyac on July 03, 2013, 05:35 PM »

15 years ago I hated computers and thought they were evil. Now (thanks to a pivotal event) I'm the admin for one of the largest IT companies in the area. That's not OCD ... That's setting a goal and going for it.

-Stoic Joker (July 03, 2013, 06:41 AM)

Wow, talk about an about-face!  You've got to explain this one...was it the typical "computers are taking our jobs" thing, or something different?

-superboyac (July 03, 2013, 04:57 PM)

Simple really, I made a deal with the devil...and stuck to it.

A long time friend of over 30 years had a bike shop that I was helping him at. He was getting into computers at the time but just for user level play toy stuff. I adamantly hated them ... But he decided to give me one for Christmas. I was totally bummed when I opened the box because I thought he'd gotten me the custom rims I wanted for the custom Harley I was building at the time (Hay bike shop...Ya know..?).

To be polite -- as he is a father figure level friend -- I let him set it up and show me all the "really cool" stuff it could do ... Which at the time I didn't give a shit less about.

However I did bitch about it a bit at work where I was managing an optical lab at the time. One of the staff (young college guy of the time) was trying to explain to me what value the idiotic contraptions had. "They can answer virtually any question" he said ... Which got me thinking. I can be extremely dangerous when thinking at that level. I said "Okay ... Tell it to find my mother"...because I was adopted, and while I can't really say that it bothered me...I was excruciatingly curious.

He got me online, and gave me the basics of how to do web stuff, and I started digging. I was looking for two things at the same time. The first was a straight up web search for mom. The second was anything I could find about how these things were put together, and something called "Hacking" (the movie helped...) that appeared as an excellent plan 'B' if the search didn't pan out.

Six months later I got an Email from one of the sites I'd found for that sort of thing ... Two hours later I was on the phone with Mom.

Ultimate question, was answered ... Deal had been made ... The rest is history..

-Stoic Joker (July 03, 2013, 05:17 PM)

omg, I was not expecting that.  beautiful story, dude.  Thanks for sharing.

1170

Living Room / Re: 10 signs you may have OCD

« Last post by superboyac on July 03, 2013, 04:57 PM »

15 years ago I hated computers and thought they were evil. Now (thanks to a pivotal event) I'm the admin for one of the largest IT companies in the area. That's not OCD ... That's setting a goal and going for it.

-Stoic Joker (July 03, 2013, 06:41 AM)

Wow, talk about an about-face!  You've got to explain this one...was it the typical "computers are taking our jobs" thing, or something different?

1171

General Software Discussion / Re: Wave? Good-bye!

« Last post by superboyac on July 03, 2013, 03:31 PM »

Ha...IainB.  I remember that, i still have all those business process documents you sent me.  In fact, I actually did complete that project, but "they" felt all that hardcore stuff was too much.  They have just last month started training the employees on that stuff.

-superboyac (July 03, 2013, 09:03 AM)

I think I backed-up that Wave and it is now buried somewhere in my archives.
I'm curious to know exactly what you mean by "started training the employees on that stuff". Are you at liberty to disclose it?

-IainB (July 03, 2013, 09:27 AM)

I can be vague.  My goal for the project was to create flowcharts that accurately represent the steps in a bureaucratic engineering project.  All the approvals, budget steps, branches that represent projects of differing dollar amounts, document/design deliveries.  Stuff like that.  The difficulty was that most of the people involved were less interested in an accurate depiction, and more interested in getting it off their plate.  So most of the flowcharts turned into probably over-simplified one-page drawings.  For example, a particular box right now in my mind may represent a whole page of procedures by itself.  But that would take quite a long time to do, and a lot of collaboration/cooperation.
So now they are training based on the simplified version.  Most likely, someone will get promoted as a result.

1172

General Software Discussion / Re: Wave? Good-bye!

« Last post by superboyac on July 03, 2013, 09:03 AM »

Ha...IainB.  I remember that, i still have all those business process documents you sent me.  In fact, I actually did complete that project, but "they" felt all that hardcore stuff was too much.  They have just last month started training the employees on that stuff.

1173

Living Room / Re: The real difference between a desktop pc and every other gadget you have.

« Last post by superboyac on July 03, 2013, 08:56 AM »

oh...sweet.  That's great.

1174

Living Room / Re: The real difference between a desktop pc and every other gadget you have.

« Last post by superboyac on July 02, 2013, 11:58 PM »

Say What?!?!?  Build your own smartphone?!  Could we have been wrong about the Illuminati?
http://mindofthegeek...a-customize-android/

It’s the “Designed by you,” line and the rest of the ad that has the entire mobile press lighting up the Internet more than what we’ll see over the New York Harbor this Thursday night. It’s now reported that Motorola may take a bold step forward with the Moto X, allowing customers to build their own smartphone to order, spec for spec. What’s exactly on the table nobody knows. Screen size and resolution, CPU, GPU, internal storage, battery size, even color could be offered in different configurations. Want a powerhouse phone with the latest CPU, GPU, and a huge battery to power it through the day, but not concerned about a lot of internal storage since you have 50GB of Dropbox storage? The Motorola Moto X, if reports are true, would allow you to build and order your phone to spec for your needs.

Pretty vague....but fingers crossed!  Why do I feel like I'm never going to grow up?

1175

Living Room / Re: 10 signs you may have OCD

« Last post by superboyac on July 02, 2013, 11:52 PM »

Can I nominate SB for a best rant of the week award?

-Stoic Joker (July 02, 2013, 10:18 PM)

I'd be truly honored!

Sidenote, I first started being aware of this stuff when I noticed on my friend's bookshelf of The Greatest Books of Western Civilization or something like that, and included there was Faraday's journals.  And at the time I was writing my electrical engineering practice manuals.  So I started reading it and it just hit me how consumed this guy was with his experiments.  From my own experiences, I had always felt a degree of shame for getting "too into" things, and would either hide behind some humor or just hide it altogether.  So that helped me realize that getting super OCD about things is really the only way to figure things out well.  So now I'm just open about it, and I let people make their jokes, and I've learned not to be so defensive about it.  But now I get defensive about these psychological accusations because there are so many people in my life who have been, IMO (not theirs) pretty affected by it.  And I obviously have my moments too, that stuff is contagious for some reason.
my secret ocd...i absolutely love organizing files on the computer.