This page looks plain and unstyled because you're using a non-standard compliant browser. To see it in its best form, please upgrade to a browser that supports web standards. It's free and painless.

Paul's Time Sink

«Previous 
| Main | Albums |
Next» 

Squeezebox

Paul Westbrook | 21 November, 2007 18:20

We have had a iPod in our kitchen for a while.  The iHome IH36 keeps the iPod off the counter, while providing amplified speakers.  Unfortunately, I haven't been completly happy with this solution.  The problem is with the iPod it self, and not the iHome.

The iPod only presents a static view of your music.  In order to refresh it, you need to connect it to your computer.  The staleness problem isn't the only issue that I have.  

I don't have time to create playlists for the iPod, so most often, I just play all of the content in shuffled order.  But this has the problem of playing music that I have no interest in (i.e. Holiday or Children's music).  But even if I avoided that content the mixes are random, so it is hard to get into the music.

I have been looking at the Sqeezebox for a while as a way to solve this problem.  In addition to playing our whole library of content, it can connect to the network for other sources of music.  For example, through their SqueezeNetwork, it can play (and create) Pandora radio streams.  Pandora stations are very good collections of music that relate to one of your songs or artists.
 (More)

Technorati tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Electronics :: Comment (0) :: Permalink :: Trackbacks (1)

PowerBridge

Paul Westbrook | 04 November, 2007 22:37

In this post, I mentioned the PowerBridge.  We ordered two of them for our TVs. The package includes pretty much everything that you need:

  1. 2 old work electical boxes
  2. 1 recessed electical outlet w/ cover
  3. 1 recessed power inlet
  4. extension cord

The only think that you need to supply yourself is romex wire.

The installation was very straight forward and easy.  The only problem that we had was the installation of the old work boxes.  Normally these boxes attach by compressing on both sizes of a sheet of drywall.  Unfortunately, in our house, there is a layer of plywood on the other size of the drywall, so the thickness is too much for the old work box.  Once I worked though that problem the installation worked well.

Technorati tags: , , , ,

Electronics :: Comment (0) :: Permalink :: Trackbacks (0)

Harmony 890

Paul Westbrook | 02 November, 2007 04:19

We just rearranged our living room, so now the TV is on a different wall than our AV equipment. Normally an IR remote , like the Harmony 880, would work find, as the IR signal would just bounce off the walls.  But we also moved the couches so, there is no direct line of sight to the AV equipment, unless you point the remote over the side of the couch.

The Harmony 890 solves this problem.  It has the same functionality as the 880, but it also a RF remote.  The box also includes a "remote extender" which converts the RF signal to IR.

The setup of the remote was as easy as the Harmony 880, but in the application, you can configure the remote extender, and specify the devices that should be controlled with it.

The one strange thing is the steps that are required to update the remote.  The update process requires you to connect the remote first, then the remote extender, and then the remote again. Those steps don't even to the pairing, and that is a separate process.  I don't know why it is even necessary to connect to the remote extender anyway,  Ideally you would still specify what devices are controlled by the extender, and which IR blaster port should be used, and the remote should just encode the IR signal in the RF signal.  This way you could send any IR signal through the extender without any special configuration.

Technorati tags: ,

Electronics :: Comment (0) :: Permalink :: Trackbacks (0)

TV Wall Mount accessories

Paul Westbrook | 12 October, 2007 00:02

Today, I saw these two posts (1, 2)that mention two helpful items when wall mounting a TV.

The PowerBridge is a kit that makes it easy to add a recessed outlet behind a wall mounted TV.  The kit includes all of the items needed, except for the romex wire.

APC offers a wall mounted power filter. This offers surge protection and noise filtering for tvs. The cool thing about is that it is hidden by the TV.

Technorati tags: , ,

Electronics , Hardware :: Comment (1) :: Permalink :: Trackbacks (1)

INSTEON SwitchLinc Relay Countdown Timer

Paul Westbrook | 18 September, 2007 22:22

We are trying to conserve electricity where ever we can.  We have switched all of our light bulbs, that aren't contolled by dimmer, to compact florescent bulbs.  We also turn off all unnecessary lights.

The lights that have been usually left on, are the one down to and in the garage.  Since we normally keep the garage door closed, I tend to not notice that the light is on, so the light gets left on.  The other problem is that when we are rushing out in the morning, the lights get left on

I wanted to find a solution that would automatically turn off these lights, but I also wanted the light switch to look like a regular light switch.  Unfortunatelly, the motion sensing light switch that we used in our previous house wouldn't work with florescent light bulbs.  Also, many of the timer light switches aren't as easy to use as regular switches.

 (More)

Technorati tags: , , , ,

General , Electronics , Hardware :: Comment (0) :: Permalink :: Trackbacks (0)

TomTom "real world" navigation

Paul Westbrook | 13 July, 2007 16:03

Crave has a post that mentions a patent that TomTom has filed for some some interesting technology.  This patent application describes a navigation unit that displays navigation directions overlaid over video of the surrounding area.

This would allow the arrows that indicate where to turn to be overlaid over the the roads themselves.

I do wonder how funny this will look when the navigation unit looses sync with the GPS satellite.  Will the arrows indicate driving into storefronts?

Technorati tags: , , , , , , ,

Cars , Electronics :: Comment (0) :: Permalink :: Trackbacks (0)

iPhone Walkthrough

Paul Westbrook | 22 June, 2007 15:34

Apple has posted an iPhone guided tour video on their web site.  I like it a lot, but I am still unsure of the usability with out any tactile feedback.  Also I am concerned about the screen getting scratched.  In addition to those two concerns, I don't want to switch to AT&T for cell service.

[via The Macalope]

Technorati tags: , , ,

Electronics , Gadgets , Phone :: Comment (0) :: Permalink :: Trackbacks (0)

Eclipse Area Shot GPS

Paul Westbrook | 17 June, 2007 22:42

Eclipse Cd5100As I have written before (1, 2, 3, 4) , I am would like to get a single-DIN GPS head unit that is able to control an iPod, satellite radio tuner and can be used for hands free phone calls.  Yesterday, I was just browsing around and I found The Eclipse CD5100.

This head unit has some pretty cool features:

  1. HD radio ready (with an external tuner)
  2. iPod control capable (with iPod adapter cable)
  3. Satellite radio ready (with an external tuner)
  4. USB port, to allow playback of WMA and MP3 files.

The one feature that I wasn't sure of is called Area Shot GPS.  After looking into it, I know that I wouldn't want this head unit.

 (More)

Technorati tags: , , , , , , ,

Cars , Electronics :: Comment (0) :: Permalink :: Trackbacks (0)

HP Photosmart C3180 Airport Express Update

Paul Westbrook | 25 May, 2007 01:50

In this post, I linked to a workaround to get the HP Photosmart C3180 to work with Airport Express. The reason that this workaround was need, was because the driver wasn't compatible with remote printing. 

Out of curiosity, I decided to download the lastest software for the HP Photosmart C3100 series, and tried to configure remote printing again.  Once the new version was installed, printing through the Airport Express worked perfectly.  In fact, even high quality photos look good printed this way.

Technorati tags: , ,

Computer , Electronics :: Comment (3) :: Permalink :: Trackbacks (0)

New Navigation Mode

Paul Westbrook | 24 May, 2007 23:36

Yesterday, it cost $50 to fill up our van with gas.  This got me thinking that I should be using our navigation system to help reduce our gas usage.  The navigation unit will give the most direct route to the destination, so this should reduce mileage.

The only problem with this solution is that the route doesn't take into account whether the route is the most efficient for our car.  For example, the most direct route may be on city streets, while our car may not get the best mileage on those roads.

 (More)

Technorati tags: , ,

Cars , Electronics :: Comment (0) :: Permalink :: Trackbacks (0)

XM Satellite reception

Paul Westbrook | 21 May, 2007 14:48

While driving around today, I noticed that reception on our XM radio was pretty spotty.  I just saw this post that mentions that one of XM's satellites is not working correctly, and their repeaters having problems.

Update: It looks like the problem has been solved. Here is an email I received from XM:

XM Radio Resumes Normal Levels of Service XM Satellite Radio has resumed normal levels of service for customers who experienced outages or significantly degraded service starting yesterday. The problem occurred during the loading of software to a critical component of the satellite broadcast system, which resulted in a temporary loss of signal from one of the company’s satellites. After you turn on your XM radio, please allow five to ten minutes to reacquire the XM signal. XM apologizes for any inconvenience this has caused.

 (More)

Technorati tags: , , ,

General , Electronics :: Comment (0) :: Permalink :: Trackbacks (0)

Copy Protection and Comcast Problems

Paul Westbrook | 20 May, 2007 00:01

I got this message on my TiVo Series3. 

Subject:    Information Regarding Your Premium Channels
From:       TiVo Customer Support
Date:       Thu 5/3

This is an important message that may impact your ability to
receive premium channels. Please read it carefully.

Comcast has recently announced plans to enable their Copy
Protection Management Systsm in the Bay Area.

As a result, in order for your CableCARD(tm) decoders to
continue decrypting premium channels, they will need to be
properly "paired" within the Comcast system.

Here's how to ensure each of your cards is properly paired:

-From TiVo Central, select Messages & Settings. Then select
Settings, Remote CableCARD & Devices, CableCARD Decorder,
Configuring CableCARD 1, CableCARD Menu, Condition
Access

You should not be on the Motorola Conditional Access
CableCARD screen. If your card is paired, you will find a line
that says "Host Validation: Valid." This means that your TiVo HD 
expierience WILL NOT be impacted by theic change, and there's
nothing further you need to do.

However, if it says "Host Validation: Unknow" your card is
not properly paired.  Pleace contact Comcast Customer
Service and share the information from the CableCARD data
screen with the agent assisting you.

Please make sure to repeat tthe above process with 
CableCARD 2.

Even though I was able to record premium channels on both tuners, I checked the status of my CableCARDs.  When I did I noticed that one of them was not paired correctly.  I called Comcast's customer service, and they were not able to get it paired over the phone, so I scheduled a technicians visit.

 (More)

Technorati tags: , , ,

Electronics :: Comment (0) :: Permalink :: Trackbacks (0)

Harmony Remote charging base

Paul Westbrook | 06 May, 2007 21:38

The Harmony 880 Remote is the best universal remote IMHO.  This remote has a charging base so you don't have to replace batteries.  I have noticed that our remote hasn't been charging.

I discovered the problem is that the remote is not making contact with the base when just being placed in.  If I place a small weight on the remote, charging works perfectly.

Technorati tags:

Electronics :: Comment (2) :: Permalink :: Trackbacks (0)

Folding@Home, PS3 and Energy Consumption

Paul Westbrook | 30 April, 2007 23:32

PS3 owners can run a Folding@Home client on the game console.  (As on March 23rd, PS3s were contributing 338 teraflops.)

According to the PS3 frequently asked questions page, the power consumption of the PS3 running the Folding@Home client, is 200 Watts. 

This is the main reason that I don't run these clients, even though I would love to participate.  We are trying to reduce our energy consumption, so I wouldn't want to leave a 200 watt device running all of the time.

I do wonder how efficient the PS3 (flops/watt) is compared to other types of hardware.

Technorati tags: , , ,

Computer , Electronics :: Comment (0) :: Permalink :: Trackbacks (0)

LinuxMCE

Paul Westbrook | 27 March, 2007 17:14

Linux Media Center Edition looks very cool. LinuxMCE is a add-on to Ubuntu distribution of linux, that gives a easy interface to access your media. Here is a comparision videos that compare Linux MCE with Windows MCE.

With the features that are described, I would love to build a Linux MCE box.  I would want to make sure that the PC would have CableCard slots.

 (More)

Technorati tags: , , , ,

Computer , Electronics :: Comment (0) :: Permalink :: Trackbacks (0)
Powered by LifeType
Design by Book of Styles