Home Theater PC (sorta)

Ok, so I just built my first computer dedicated to media use. Now, before I go on, you should know that this machine was built out of extremely old spare parts I had lying around. Thus, it's not a cutting edge technology. That being said, it does some cool stuff. Here's the specs:

Pentium 4 1.6ghz

512mb SDRAM PC133 

7200rpm 40gb Maxtor HDD (At least 8 years old)

500gb Seagate external HDD

64mb ATI Radeon 9000 AGP video card

Windows XP sp3 

The point of this build was to be able to play music and movies on my Television. More than that, though, I wanted to be able to stream online content (i.e. Netflix or Hulu) to my television without the need for major geek intervention. This is not a true HTPC (Home Theater PC), for it lacks the capability to record/playback live TV and the ability to reproduce digital surround audio tracks. 

For streaming online content, I've found the beta software Zinc (made by ZeeVee) to be very useful. It's basically a stripped down version of Mozilla Firefox designed for content streaming. It has plug-ins that work for a host of channels, including ABC, Fox, CNN, Netflix, Hulu, etc. It is also capable of receiving streams from media websites that host RSS feeds, such as ABCfamily.com

For local media (i.e. videos stored on the hard drive) I find it much easier to run Boxee. Boxee is based on the popular media center software XBMC (Xbox Media Center) but has completely rebuilt the interface. It too has the capability of streaming web content, though it is much more limited, and it has music support for Pandora and LastFM. When playing music from internet sources, it will show track and artist information inside of a full screen visualization software. Boxee is still in Alpha testing stage, and I'm looking forward to testing its upcoming releases.

Freezer? lol

Meg: I found it.

Me: Where?

Meg: Freezer.

Me: Freezer?

Meg: I really don't know.

TECH TIME

... Not to be confused with Tool Time, because I don't do tools, and well, let's face it, nobody man-grunts like Tim Allen...

I've run across several pieces of new (free) software this week, so I thought I'd share.

Digsby- www.digsby.com - Digsby is an instant messaging client that works with literally anything. MSN, Y!, AIM, GTALK, FACEBOOK, MYSPACE, IRC, ICQ, XMPP, you name it. Also has the ability to show Facebook feeds and send SMS messages.

Evernote- www.evernote.com- Evernote is a note taking application that syncs itself to all of your computers, an account on their website, and even your cell phone. Photos, articles, or just writing down your ideas, Evernote will help you remember and organize all of your thoughts. One of my favorite features of Evernote is the web clipper application. It automatically snaps, crops, and saves screenshots of your computer into Evernote. Very handy tool for bloggers.

Dropbox- www.dropbox.com- Kind of along the same lines as Evernote, Dropbox is a syncronized folder application. Basically, here's how it works: You have a folder on your desktop call My Dropbox. You put a file in that folder, Dropbox automatically uploads the file to its internet server, then downloads the file to all of your computers that have Dropbox installed. There is a 2 gig limit, but for documents and pictures, that's really all you need.

Opera 10- www.opera.com- O.k., so this isn't a new discovery, but definitely deserves an honorable mention. Opera is a web browser that I used several years ago (version 7, I think?). I gave it up when Firefox 3 was released. Recently, Firefox has been having serious memory leak issues, so I decided to see what the makers of Opera were up to. Lo and behold, version 10. The number 1 sleekest, fastest, and resource friendliest browser I have ever used. Tabbed browsing, speed dial start page, turbo engine for slow networks, high compatibility, and the ability to identify itself as another type of browser (i.e. Firefox) for those site that have stupid web developers writing code to block other browsers. Definitely 10 steps up from Internet Explorer 8, which is still have compatibility issues with sites that are written for it (Microsoft.com doesn't even fully render in IE8), and trumps Firefox in resource usage. A must have for any internet junkie.

The time has come for colds and overcoats...

     It's a fact: I love cold weather. Autumn came so abruptly this year, I almost didn't even realize it was happening. Yet, here we are, with mild days and chilly nights, multi-colored trees and mugs of hot drinks. It's strange, but I feel that, in the face of leaving all of this behind, I'm experiencing the fall weather of Chattanooga for the first time in my life. I had to winterize my bedroom last night, flannel sheets and a space heater and the whole sh-bang. It's caused me to once again take a step back and realize that I live the good life, everyday.

     It's a strange sensation, the possibility of giving up the comfort of my southern home to pursue my life's dream out west. The South is all I've ever known. The trees and mountains and decidedly indecisive weather have been consistent throughout my existence. It's not that I'm second guessing myself for leaving, its just that I'm not looking forward to the prospect of adjusting. On the other hand, perhaps such adjustment is exactly what's needed for me to break free of this gripping complacency I'm constantly fighting. Perhaps I need a change.

    

Every line is about who I don't wanna write about anymore

So I guess it's safe to say that my adventures in blog-space have been on hiatus for a while. I guess I just don't know what to write about. People say you just put your thoughts into words and let people read them. Well, maybe that's what I'll do.