Talk about raining on my parade. I have been waiting to build a MCE PC until they supported multiple HD tuners and CableCARD. Given that I was going to rebuild a current box to support this functionality I am a little irked that CableLabs is being so anal about this stupid certification process they are imposing. That Series 3 HD TiVo is looking nicer and nicer and the MCE interaction with the Xbox360 is looking less and less advantageous.
Source: ArsTechnica
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
AT&T CEO Ed Whitacre is a moron
Ars Technica is carrying an article today (AT&T chief says that people are only paying for half the Internet) that has yet another moronic quote from the telecom giant that just merged with SBC.
Whatever. I pay for my access to the internet and that is me paying my half. The sites I go to are paying to be hosted or paying for a T1 or larger. That is their part. Acting like someone is getting something for free here just shows a gross ignorance of the way the internet works. Hey Ed, maybe you should stop talking before your board and fellow Execs realize what a babbling idiot you are.
I think the content providers should be paying for the use of the network—obviously not the piece from the customer to the network, which has already been paid for by the customer in Internet access fees—but for accessing the so-called Internet cloud.
Whatever. I pay for my access to the internet and that is me paying my half. The sites I go to are paying to be hosted or paying for a T1 or larger. That is their part. Acting like someone is getting something for free here just shows a gross ignorance of the way the internet works. Hey Ed, maybe you should stop talking before your board and fellow Execs realize what a babbling idiot you are.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Windows on a Mac
The race is on to see who can be the first one to boot Windows on the new Intel based iMac. A decent cash prize ($3338 as of 9:18am CST) has been collected for the would be winner of the race. More details are available on the official site.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
WinDirStat
Someone brought this tool to my attention today and I wanted to share it with everyone since I thought it was neat looking.
It is called WinDirStat and it is basically a disk usage statistics viewer and cleanup tool for Microsoft Windows. Very nice.
It is called WinDirStat and it is basically a disk usage statistics viewer and cleanup tool for Microsoft Windows. Very nice.
Friday, January 13, 2006
Gallup Strengths
Prior to coming to work here at Rackspace I had to take a StrengthsFinder test online. I didn't really understand it so I kind of wrote it off. Having completed my 2nd week at Rackspace I can now say it has already started to change my life.
The test identifies natural talents that we all have so you can focus and improve on them. We have also had lots of training that has kind of reversed my thinking on personal self improvement. Of course we all have weaknesses that may cause failure, but spending all your time trying to correc those weaknesses is the wrong approach. If you spend an equal or greater amount of time working on things that you have a natural talent at them you can become world class in those areas. As those talented areas excel you can use them to work around the areas you are weak in.
Having it explained that way makes you kind of say, well duh. The problem is that everyone is so focused on correcting weakness and not strengthening talents and there is such a huge difference.
I am sure I will ramble more about these, but I will leave you with my list:
Learner
Achiever
Relator
Analytical
Responsibility
The test identifies natural talents that we all have so you can focus and improve on them. We have also had lots of training that has kind of reversed my thinking on personal self improvement. Of course we all have weaknesses that may cause failure, but spending all your time trying to correc those weaknesses is the wrong approach. If you spend an equal or greater amount of time working on things that you have a natural talent at them you can become world class in those areas. As those talented areas excel you can use them to work around the areas you are weak in.
Having it explained that way makes you kind of say, well duh. The problem is that everyone is so focused on correcting weakness and not strengthening talents and there is such a huge difference.
I am sure I will ramble more about these, but I will leave you with my list:
Spurs vs Pistons
For the 2nd time this year we got whipped by the Pistons by a 15 point margin. There is no doubt in my mind that the Spurs will take the West with ease. I am however not so sure that we can take the Pistons again in the Finals. There is something about them this year that I can't put my finger on. Maybe they are still pissed about not getting to win back to back, who knows. All I know is that I'd like to see the Spurs win a back to back somewhere in here. This year's playoffs should prove to be very exciting.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
New cases for HD-DVD and Blu-Ray?
That's right. To make then stand out on store shelves each of the sides in the next gen HD format war have come up with special cases to "stand out".
HD-DVD is going with an interesting red case that has some enthusiasts worried about being able to stack them due to a partial lip at the top of the case. You can see a pic of the HD-DVD offering here.
Blu-Ray went with a simliar design only opting to go with a light blue case. You can see it here.
I personally think they both look silly. The need for distinction is there to keep it clear for the consumers, but I just get the feeling some consumers will end up with these new formats under the impression they will play on standard DVD players.
HD-DVD is going with an interesting red case that has some enthusiasts worried about being able to stack them due to a partial lip at the top of the case. You can see a pic of the HD-DVD offering here.
Blu-Ray went with a simliar design only opting to go with a light blue case. You can see it here.
I personally think they both look silly. The need for distinction is there to keep it clear for the consumers, but I just get the feeling some consumers will end up with these new formats under the impression they will play on standard DVD players.
Optimus Keyboard
The Optimus Keyboard was one of the hot items late last year among geeks. The keyboard is set to feature OLED keys to allow you to fully customize the keyboard for any user or application. At that time the device was still a prototype and not on the market.
At this point there is much speculation that the device will be released on Feb. 1st. Sounds great right? The only caveat besides the non-ergo design is the estimated $300 price tag. Great idea, but for $300 I'll pass. I much prefer the ergo design of my Microsoft 4000 ergo keyboard.
At this point there is much speculation that the device will be released on Feb. 1st. Sounds great right? The only caveat besides the non-ergo design is the estimated $300 price tag. Great idea, but for $300 I'll pass. I much prefer the ergo design of my Microsoft 4000 ergo keyboard.
Friday, January 06, 2006
TiVo Series 3 HD-DVR
While a lot of cable companies offer DVR solutions for their customers, there is not currently a good solution out there to cover both SD and HD content. Ars posted a story today that TiVo announced a series 3 HD-DVR coming out later this year that is LOADED with new features. It has 6 total tuners. 2 tuners of each type allow it to record up to 2 streams from any of the various sources be it SD, HD, or HD OTA content. It also supports CableCard 2.0 which will allow it to replace your cable provided set top box.
The built in Ethernet makes it easy to archive your shows and the eSATA plug makes it a modless upgrade to add additional storage to your DVR.
I can't believe it took TiVo this long to roll out a device this stacked, but I am eagerly awaiting it's arrival.
The built in Ethernet makes it easy to archive your shows and the eSATA plug makes it a modless upgrade to add additional storage to your DVR.
I can't believe it took TiVo this long to roll out a device this stacked, but I am eagerly awaiting it's arrival.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
I'm a Racker
Tuesday was officially my first day here at Rackspace. I am officially a Windows Sys Admin in the Enterprise Department. I have learned quite a bit in the last 2 days and I am getting ready for a wild ride.
Things are very laid back here and I am loving it. Working with proactive people that love their jobs is a fantastic change of pace for me.
Things are very laid back here and I am loving it. Working with proactive people that love their jobs is a fantastic change of pace for me.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
D-Day
Today is my first day over at Rackspace and I'm feeling a tad nervous about it. I have to be there at 9. I really have no reason to be nervous, but I guess I can't help it.
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