A couple of my good buddies have been diligently producing a tech-focused podcast every weekday for a couple months now. Being on vacation, I had the opportunity to sit in on the last two episodes to demonstrate my complete ignorance. Check them out at rottedbrain.com. In the latest episode we discussed a painstakingly crafted "top ten websites of 2006" list.
I snagged probably the last HP Debranded P4 3.0GHz 200GB Digital Entertainment Center TS-255z from the ComputerGeeks the other day. Just take a look at the specs and then marvel at the $435.50 price. My buddy knew I was in the market for some sort of computer-plugged-into-my-TV thing. It took a while for the awesomeness of this to sink in after he shared the link.
The Mac mini was pretty high on my list once Boot Camp entered the picture. (My lady can't handle the OS X for some reason; she fears change.) But the mini's lack of video capture sort of bothered me. I'm not much for recording, but rewinding makes me feel like God.
The 255z is the HP z552 without the OS, instruction booklet, and support from HP. It's the same exact hardware. I figured I'd just install the XP Home that came with my laptop and be done with it. Yes, laugh at my naivete. I haven't put a system together since I've been on laptops. A hardcore gamer I am not. So I plugged in the serial number to activate Windows-- no dice. I called the 800 number and got an education on the Windows world today. Apparently the Windows installed on my laptop (included in the price of my laptop) is only good for that laptop. "If the laptop dies, the Windows dies with it." Yes, he said that. According to the MS customer service rep, OEM versions are tied to the hardware they're installed on. He mentioned that if I had purchased a standalone version, they could've given me another license. I didn't want to mess around with some workaround, so I started shopping for an OS I already had. I thought about Linux for second, and then moved on. The going rate around town for the full version of XP Home seemed to be around $200. I settled on an OEM version of Windows XP Media Center Edition for $109. The Home OEM was cheaper, but I figured I could exploit the hardware more with the OS it was designed around. The little platter is in transit now. I'll document the post-MCE experience in part 2.
In the meantime, I still had an OS that would work for 30 days, so I started tinkering. The remote keyboard worked immediately. The remote control didn't. The network card driver didn't install automatically, so I was a little stuck. My friend, who lives and breathes the internet, found the Marvell network card driver and sent me the link. I performed a thumb drive transfer and began rocking cyberspace in no time. I found the obvious video and sound drivers from ATI and Realtek. Using a digital coax connection to my surround system, I was able to get stereo sound to work but not 5.1. :(. I'm pretty sure the two video capture devices are from Hauppauge, but exactly which driver to use I wasn't sure about. I'm hoping the XP MCE install will solve these issues. If it has all the plug-and-play drivers, I should be golden.
Am I happy? Considering I was plugging my laptop into my HDTV via a VGA cable to watch HD files surrounded by black bars, and I was listening to music through an Apple AirPort, I'm more than stoked. I have a powerful computer that is always hooked up to my TV, sound system, and the interweb for a little over $500. I can take advantage of the TV's full resolution. Once I get the DVR cards working, I can rewind again (the Moxi box from Adelphia and all that came with it was getting ridiculously expensive, so we cancelled). I even installed Call of Cthulhu to see how a game would work on the new system. This game used to freeze on my weak laptop at the lowest settings. I used to see floating eyeballs where heads should be. Now on my bigass TV, this game can be enjoyed in all its macabre glory. It was nightmare-inducing.
Hydrogen Power System Unveiled in Maine - New York Times
Hooray! These guys read my blog (see Energy Freedom). Okay, maybe not. But they think like me.
Welcome to Yacht Rock!
Break out the sandpaper. We're grinding down all the rough edges with Yacht Rock.
SCIFI.COM | The Amazing Screw-On Head
let them know how much you dig it, so they'll make more.
Wearable Robot Suit Complete With Side Mounted Gun For Sale! - Gizmodo
Let's all get $315k together and buy this thing. It's a little clunky, but it's a step in the right direction.
Parking your car in LA is a hellish task. A buddy of mine just moved his art studio to Hollywood where a monthly parking permit can cost around $75. After being ticketed four times, he stumbled upon a novel solution. He got a gym membership at the Bally's by his studio for $35 a month. Parking is included in the membership fee. That's $40 a month in savings, and he can work out if he wants.
pink
I've always been a fan of Charlie White. His photo productions are unsettling. And I like to be unsettled. This little video does not fail to unsettle. Just to get an idea of what goes into a Charlie White production-- the credits take up half the duration. I found this at boingboing.
Drawing Restraint 9 - Trailer
Hell yes! I am hyping a movie I haven't seen, but based on past works from Matthew Barney, I believe I am justified.
Chris Bliss: Must-See Finale
The end of Abbey Road always makes me smile and cry tears of happiness.
My buddy told me the other day he was really getting into Invader Zim. My buddy is the same age as me-- we're old. Not being a kid, I had no idea what he was talking about. So I set the old DVR to record every episode. For a Y7-rated show, it's surprisingly badass. It's actually quite disturbing. Yeah, it has the boldly-defined lines, which are mandatory for cartoons these days it seems. But it also incorporates some playful Giger-esque/Wachowski-ish future gothic stylings. The action sequences are creative and entertaining. GIR, Zim's sidekick robot is insane to the degree of lovability. Even the diminutive Zim, hell-bent on taking over earth for the Irken empire, endears himself with his genius ineptness and his emphatic references to himself in the third person. From what I've seen so far, the half-hour program is split into two segments to cover both sides of Zim's world-- the alien and the alien disguised as human boy. The human boy, Dib, is on to Zim and works to thwart Zim at every step of the way. Dib's little sister, Gaz, realizes Zim has no chance of success. Gaz, the artsy kid who will grow up to make cartoons like Invader Zim, truly is Zim's guardian angel-- preventing her brother from destroying the poor little alien. 
So check it out if you have the time. With The Daily Show and ,The Colbert Report, I don't know how many more half-hour dailies I can take. I'm taking in way too much Viacom. And the podcasts... I'm going to have to cut myself off. Damn you, Television! Damn you, DVR! Damn you, RSS Feed! Damn you, Compelling Novel! Damn you, Addictive Video Game! Damn you, Sudoku!
The box is officially open. Here is my main station-- Danny's Favs. I've cast a pretty wide net, so there's a little garbage that slips through occasionally. (I'm still debating whether or not to remove the Beatles-- they pretty much influenced everyone including a lot of shite.) My friends are slightly more reliable in picking out music I might like. Songs get the thumbs down when they suck. I've also avoided giving anything the thumbs up no matter how much I like it; I don't want the station to become too focused. Does anyone out there know if adding songs to your favorites affects the station? I've been favoriting stuff I like to guide my future musical explorations.
Honda FCX Fuel Cell Vehicle to Go Into Production - Gizmodo
Kinda what I was thinking of but with natural gas instead of water. Reforming natural gas is the least expensive way to obtain hydrogen currently.
See censorship in action using Google's image search for 'Tiananmen' from Guardian Unlimited: Technology
It's funny I'm posting this on Google-owned Blogger.com. This really isn't just a Google problem. (I admit I almost believed the "don't be evil" bullshit for a little bit.) An increasing amount of American companies do gazillions in trade with China. It ain't just hookers and drug dealers compromising/revising their values to make a buck.
Film Article | Reuters.com
My friends and I have been anticipating the domestic bow of Drawing Restraint 9 ever since we knew of its existence. If your life has been touched by Matthew Barney in any way, most likely through his Cremaster Cycle, you probably understand our enthusiasm.
Our first exposure to Barney's work came through an art mag one of my college buddies had. It contained still images from Barney's Cremaster 4. That group of images left a huge impression on us. A few years later when we heard Cremaster 2 was playing at the Nuart, we were compelled to check it out. Our perspectives of reality were forever changed, and we became ardent Matthew Barney admirers/critics.
With his wife Bjork at his side for this latest release, Barney should easily achieve total world domination. (Dancer in the Dark rocked to the earth's core by the way.)
Here's an exciting tidbit of info about the soundtrack: Will Oldham is on it. Hell yes! Oldham's timeless voice helped shape Cremaster 3 into one of the most triumphant cinematic experiences of all time.
Barney, Bjork, and Oldham come together to bring you your new favorite movie. Rejoice!
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