Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know...

[vansmack]

I'm a big fan of a slick UI, but I'm more concerned with top notch audio and video quality, even if it costs more and requires more than one device. 

the best chance to make the HTPC go mainstream.

Clearly, you missed that part of my post.  Techies like you and me will deal with all of the difficulties and have numerous devices and get the best we can out of every device we have (well, until you get married at least...).

I'm talking about the mainstream here - bringing digital to the masses.  If I have to teach one of my clients (let alone their less techie spouse) to use 7 different devices to get the best possible audio/video/streaming out of their system, then I will lose business.  A techie doesn't have to hire me, but if I want to take digital media to the masses then this is the best and easiest solution I have found.  HDTV, 7.1 surround sound and a slick user interface for movies and music that a monkey can use.  And nobody has come close, in my opinion, to what I've propsed here, save for maybe XBMC, but as a consultant, it's impossible to keep up with the updates for your client.

It can remain a niche, as you have propsed here, but I have higher hopes for home solutions for personal Digital Media.  I'm one for the people...

[vansmack]

One day after I posted about my quest for an HD nettop, Engadget posed the following question:

Ask Engadget: What's the best nettop out there now?

"All of these new nettops have me intrigued. I'm looking for a small, quiet and cheap PC to replace my aging tower in my home office, and all it really needs to do is load Microsoft Office, check email and surf the web. Is there a particular nettop that's better (or a better value) than another? I know it's a rather new segment, but hopefully someone has taken a chance on one already. Thanks!"


Since I'm sure all of you don't have Engadget hooked up to an IV like I do, I'll share my answer here too:

July 10th 2009 5:31PM

If you don't intend to do HD video, then any of the Atom single core machines paired with the Intel graphics chip will be fine, however you'll find better performance from the Dual-Core Atom (N330) then you will from the single-core Atom (N270). Some of these models include the MSI Wind, ASUS EEEBox and the Fit2-PC. To answer the original question posted by Engadget, those have been the best performers I've seen for casual use. These can be found at most online retailers common in many countries.

For those that want to do HD video or Media Center nettops, you really need to look hard at the pairing of the Atom Chip with the Nvidia ION chipset, and you really shouldn't consider anything less than the dual-core Atom chip. Buying a single core with the high performance graphics chip is like driving a race car with the e-brake on. These models include the Acer Aspire REVO and the ASRock ION 330, which can be found in Asia, Europe and Canada at retailers and online (online only in the US at this moment). If you want to build your own, check out the Zotac motherboards...

But if you do go down the ION route, do yourself a favor and wait a few months, if you can, for more competition and you'll probably save yourself $100. Sure, $100 might not be much, but it's 25% of the purcahse price of a $400 machine.

[HoyaSaxa03]

OK, apologies to smackie for thread-jacking, but I need some advice from gadget nerds and I figured this was the place to post it

I'm shopping for a GPS and I'm down to two models:

TomTom GO 930

Garmin nüvi 275T

My main requirement is that it comes with European maps preloaded (so that I don't have to pay $100+ for a map of Italy).  Everything else is pretty much gravy.

Any hands-on experience with either of these devices or their brands?

It looks like the TomTom might have some issues linking via bluetooth to my Blackberry 8830, while the Garmin should do this fine.  The Garmin has free (ad supported) traffic, while I'd have to tether my 8830 to the TomTom (if it even linked) in order to get the same service (and pay Verizon $15/month to do so).

That said, I like the idea of the "hive mind" TomTom map correction service and some other cool features in the 930 (lane selection, etc).  The TomTom also has a built-in FM transmitter (unlike the Garmin), although I'd probably use my tape adapter anyway.

Leaning towards the Garmin, but open to either.

Thanks.

[vansmack]

Sorry I can't help with nav devices.  I have an in dash unit that came with my car and use the Nav App in my phone when I'm not driving.  Is your phone Euro approved (i.e., do you have at&t or T-Mobile as your carrier?)?  You may not need a new device...

[godsshoeshine]

i have a garmin (forget which model) and its ok. i dont use all of the stuff you talked about, and i find that i disagree with its choice of route often

[HoyaSaxa03]

Sorry I can't help with nav devices.  I have an in dash unit that came with my car and use the Nav App in my phone when I'm not driving.  Is your phone Euro approved (i.e., do you have at&t or T-Mobile as your carrier?)?  You may not need a new device...

nope, I have verizon wireless.  even if i did have a GPS-enabled smartphone over there, i think i'd prefer having something that i could mount on my dash.  renting a GPS unit through the rental car company is almost as much as buying one, so that's out of the question.

[vansmack]

i cant believe they traded for lastings milladge

I should have listened to your dad....

Bucs dealt La Roche to the Red Sox for a minor league short stop and the dreaded player to be named later (rumored to be SP Hunter Strickland).

[godsshoeshine]

a couple of my friends call him "madame laroche"

[vansmack]

It's abnormal for a aggregation to accompany aback anyone so anon afterwards battlefront him, but new aggregation admiral Frank Coonelly and accepted administrator Neal Huntington acquainted an burning affiliation with the quiet but acute Russell.

Smackie thinks you all need to know that criminal defense attorney's that use spiders looking for key words to post spam adverts on message boards are the scum of the earth.

Now get the hell out of my thread, douchebag OC attorney!

[godsshoeshine]

a spamming oc lawyer? maybe this guy is like your evil doppleganger. i bet he supports liverpool and likes macs

[vansmack]

a couple of my friends call him "madame laroche"

Gammons sticks in the knife and twists it.  A lot....

"The Red Sox felt they had to move Wednesday because the Pirates had a deal to send LaRoche to another team in exchange for a better package than Argenis Diaz and Hunter Strickland, but Boston was willing to take on LaRoche's entire salary."

Nice.  The Bucs took a worse deal to save at most $2.95M.

[vansmack]

Ask Engadget: What's the best nettop out there now?

This is the one I'll eventually get.  I'm waiting until they hit the $250 mark or the Gateway outlet store (I'm guessing mid-October, late November) and I'm taking off that stupid stand.  If you want an HTPC capable of HD output and don't care about recording TV, this is the way to go:




Engadget

[thirsty moore]

Not to hijack a thread or anything but Double Layer DVD's are really useful and relevant to my interests.

[vansmack]

Not to hijack a thread or anything but Double Layer DVD's are really useful and relevant to my interests.

Well, tangible media is dead in my book, but Dual-Layer DVDs are useful if 4.7 GBs of storage isn't enough.  DL DVD's simply store more data (8.5 GBs).  So if you look on your shelf and see a ton of DVDs that you burnt stuff to, you can reduce that load by half if you had used DL DVDs.

If you record TV to DVDs, you can also record longer shows (or multiple shows) and reduce your load there.

Otherwise, for the majority of the public, no, DL DVDs have little to no purpose.

Most people back up to external drives and move files around via flash drives.

[thirsty moore]

I still use my DVD player regularly. However, I could be convinced otherwise. What are the alternatives to AppleTV? I'm using a Mac.

I'll occasionally hook my Mac up to my TV but that's annoying and unsightly.