Okinopolytrans's Profile

Display Name:	Okinopolytrans
Member Since:	10/29/07

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Never used a mac mini as an entertainment centerpiece, though I know they're popular. My old roommate built a Windows PC to use as an HD DVR a couple of years ago. Had two tuner cards, hooked up through a stereo to a big HDTV, with cable and an HD antenna coming in. He also hooked up a PS2, Xbox, and eventually a Wii.

The biggest problem I noticed with such a setup was with remotes. He used a Harmony 880 (I think that's the model) to control everything, which could issue batch controls (Turn on TV, set to component-in, start the stereo, set to TV, start Windows Media Center, go to Movies: all mapped to a single button). Sometimes one component or another wouldn't pick up a command (i.e. everything else would happen, but the stereo would miss the "set to TV" command), and everything was b0rked. I started to miss the simplicity of having a button on a remote that would fulfill a single task, instantly.

Of course, if he had not had that, our lives would have been controlled by remotes. It's a nasty trade-off.

I don't know about the mac interface, but even with the added functionality of torrents and music, I prefer Tivo to Windows Media Center.

Apartment Therapy - Survey: What Home Tech is on Your Mind?

10/29/07 10:26 AM

I'm putting far too much thought into my alarm clock. My old standby automagically sets itself, but was made before Congress changed the dates for Daylight Savings. It fell back an hour Sunday, and won't be correct for another few weeks.

So I've been thinking about a replacement. I use two alarms, buzzer and music. I like my NPR in the morning, so reception's key. Should be easy for the girlfriend to turn off if I forget when I'm out of town.

But maybe I want more. Maybe I want to transform my bedside table into some sort of xvid-playing, iTunes-streaming, gmail-checking, xbox-live-friends-monitoring bed station.

I've been looking at www.chumby.com, and investigating whether it can do anything I might be able to use.

Apartment Therapy - Survey: What Home Tech is on Your Mind?

10/29/07 10:15 AM