NeutralAxis

I’d been having a problem for months with my Audiogalaxy installation not indexing all my music.  Some artists where there, and other’s simply wouldn’t ever show up in the index.  Posts to AG’s help forum mainly came back that my music was probably mis-tagged, but that wasn’t it.  I was stumped.  Finally, today, I discovered what the problem was, and it was my fault after all. (continue reading…)

I’ve used ReplayTV DVRs for over a decade after getting into their beta testing program and having them send me free hardware with lifetime activation. Not a bad gig. I still love them, even though they don’t record HD, because of their local network streaming ability. Of course, ReplayTV has basically been out of business for several years now, yet they kept the server operational so users could still get program guide data. Unfortunately, as of July 31, the ReplayTV server is shutting down, which means no more program guide and the units become essentially useless. Enter WiRNS.
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Just a quickie review by iPhone while on the road. Lots of reviews I saw of the iTrip DualConnect mentioned that it didn’t work well with the iPhone 4. My experience is that it works as advertised with a bonus. (continue reading…)

For several years I’ve used two Logitech Harmony 880 remote controls at my home.  For some unknown reason, that even customer service couldn’t understand, one of them became “blocked” such that I couldn’t log into its account, and therefore couldn’t make any changes to it’s setup.  I had been having trouble with some of the buttons on it for awhile, so decided I’d risk the cash and try a Harmony One as a replacement.  It took a bit of effort to get it setup the way I wanted it, but so far I like it. (continue reading…)

Exterior work is finishing up at my renovated house and to keep an eye on progress with the exterior deck work, I set up a webcam, using WebcamXP software. (continue reading…)

Maybe you’ve tried wireless keyboard/mouse devices before.  They’re usually good for 3 or 4 feet but then start to get unreliable.  The Adesso 2.4Ghz Wireless SlimTouch Mini keyboard with integrated touchpad (WKB-4000US) is advertised to reach 100ft.  I’m hopeful it will be useful with my Acer AspireRevo running XBMC. (continue reading…)

After Christmas, I picked up a Samsung BD-P1600 Blu-Ray player for $129.  In addition to the standard blu-ray and DVD playback are internet services for Blockbuster Video, Netflix, Pandora Internet Radio, and Youtube.  I tried Netflix back in 2000 but quit because the turnaround time to send in a movie and get the next one back was more than week.  I know they’ve fixed that by opening more distribution centers, but nonetheless, I haven’t gone back.  I’m also not into Youtube except for instructional type videos.  It was the Pandora service I was anticipating most. (continue reading…)

After a rough start, I’ve been successfully running XBMC Live on my Revo.  The instructions on Lifehacker.com either aren’t complete, or they glossed over problems they surely must have had since the software and hardware they used is identical to mine.  First the good news … DVD ISOs and VOBs play great, and that was my main goal.  The bad news is that MP3′s played too fast, and video files like avi, flv, wmv are playing way too fast.

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I picked up the new Acer AspireRevo AR1600-U910H with the intention of installing XBMC on it as a HTPC.  A writeup about this model and XBMC on Lifehacker.com made it look easy as pie.  So far, I’ve run into a roadblock at every turn.  [Updates with some solutions]

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XBMC, the media center program originally designed to run on the original Xbox video game system, has been running on an old Xbox of mine for the last year or so.  I find myself not using it as much as I’d like though because the machine’s a bit noisy and big to hide around the TV.  Other drawbacks are that it doesn’t allow for HD video, and downloading updates for it practically require a meeting in a dark alley and knowing the secret handshake.

A new article at Lifehacker.com has detailed how to install XBMC on a tiny, silent, Acer AspireRevo with HDMI output.  And given that its for a computer rather than a proprietary video game system, updates are readily available.  I gave it a try on my existing desktop computer with XBMC Live.

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