I just read on Gizmodo of the upcoming release of the Ziova CS615 (press release). This sounds like something I have been looking for for sometime now. For a couple of years I have been looking at all the options for pulling the content off of the PC network and into the living room.
Recently I have been using a Y-cable plugged into the Yamaha RX-V661 A/V receiver (the other end plugged into either the laptop or the Zune) to access our music collection on the external hard drive in the office.
Our TV (Vizio 37″ LCD) has a PC monitor (VGA) input, but I have yet to hook the laptop to that to try video and pictures yet.
I had been planning to pick up a used PC on the cheap and add RAM, a large hard drive, TV tuner card, etc and run XP MCE, but perhaps Ziova will change my mind on that option.
I am hoping to get a test box to review and we will see from there if things live up to the hype.
Here’s a quick tip for those DirecTV TiVo users out there.
If you’d like to enable the 30 second skip that TiVo took away (probably at the behest of the big media companies) after version 1.0, and, if you are running a DirecTV TiVo then here is a simple hack.
If you lose power or reboot your system you will need to go through this process again.
If you want to disable the skip feature you can repeat the same process.
Recently I stumbled across Firefox Safe Mode. This is a great way of starting Firefox when you are having problems such as an extension that failed, etc.
From the website “Mozillazine“:
“Safe Mode is a debugging startup mode where all added extensions are disabled and the default theme and toolbar settings are used. Note, however, that all available plugins are used and any changes made to options and preferences remain in effect. In Firefox, Safe Mode includes troubleshooting options such as the ability to reset toolbars, bookmarks and preferences.”
Personally, I found it handy when I was watching Leo Laporte’s “Tech Guy” show on Twit.tv/live which shows a live video feed, via UStream, of Leo doing his radio show.
The video seemed to be causing a memory leak in Firefox as “ctrl-alt-delete” showed increasing memory usage for Firefox.
Finally I closed out and tried to restart twice with no luck. Then I clicked the Start menu, chose Programs and then Mozilla Firefox, which gives the options of starting Firefox or Firefox (Safe Mode).
This allowed me to restart and go back to UStream.
I just perused the new C|Net list of the best and worst of tech in 2007.
Thankfully I found none of my purchases in the “Worst” section, but I also found none in the “Best” section either.
It got me thinking, though, of putting together a list of my tech purchases in 2007 and a brief review of each.
I think I will work on just such a thing….
For over a month my children (ages eleven and eight) have obsessed about getting an MP3 player of their own. They have eyed the new Zune I bought. They begged for the old Gateway MP3-Photo Jukebox I passed to my wife (a casual user of these devices).
On Black Friday, I passed on the crowds and craziness of the brick and mortar stores and went to CircuitCity.com and purchased 2 Sansa Sandisk 1GB players.
This has been highly rated and, last time I checked, was the number one seller on Amazon.
Now I am looking forward to their presents on Christmas morning so that I can see what all the rage about these little devices is all about.
Stay tuned for a review.
A few days ago I was running a batch of updates for Linux Ubuntu 7.1 on my laptop. I had it sitting on the floor of my office while I was working on the desktop PC. Without warning the battery died in the middle of the update installation.
I plugged the laptop in and rebooted it, hoping to restart the update process without any issues.
When I clicked the “Install Updates” button I received a message telling me there was a problem and that I needed to run (I forget the file name now) manually first.
It took only a few seconds to figure out that this could be run in the “Terminal” (”Applications”, “Accessories”, “Terminal”). However, when I pasted in the command given to me by the error message, I received the baffling message that in order to execute this command I need to be a “Superuser”.
Some quick Google searching found that this ominous term simply amounts to typing the word “sudo” in front of the command you want to run. “Sudo (space) ‘command’”, enter password, and you are on your way!
This was very simple, but also a very important tip for those of us who are new to the world of Linux.
I have been using the new Zune 4 GB Digital Media Player Black (2nd Generation) player now for about 3 weeks and I think it’s fair to give my review.
The Interface
I can’t say enough about the new user interface on the Zune. It’s clean and the menu is large and easy to read.
A big addition is the support for podcasts, which is the main source of my daily listening. In addition, it does pictures, video and, of course, music. The settings menu allows you to use one of your pictures as the wallpaper as well.
The “Squircle” (Microsoft’s word not mine) is actually quite easy to use and scrolls very nicely through long menus.
Video
The video produces a surprisingly clear picture for the screen size. I would have no trouble watching a show on it while on the road.
The nice part about this is that videos play in wide screen format and when you turn the Zune sideways for viewing the “Squircle” turns with it so you can still control volume, forward and rewind in the logical way.
Wireless Syncing
There is a misconception I have heard several times now, even from Leo Laport. It goes like this: “The wireless syncing can only be done when the device is plugged into its dock.”
This is absolutely NOT true. While wireless syncing happens automatically when you plug the Zune into its dock, it is not the only way. You can go into the Settings menu, choose Wireless and then choose Sync Now and it will sync wirelessly.
A word of caution though - wireless syncing is SLOW. I used it a couple of times just to see how it worked, but now I just plug into the PC.
The other wireless feature - sending a song or podcast to another Zune within WiFi range - is something I have not tested.
Zune Software
Nothing major to report here. The software is clean and easy to use. The podcast category is growing quickly. The only issue I have is that non-podcast video content (music videos, etc.) is hard to find.
Output to Another Device
I used a standard Y-cable to connect the Zune to our A/V receiver and played music through the stereo with no noticeable loss of sound quality, even at high volume.
The 4 and 8GB versions do not do video output so I will reserve comments on this for now. But maybe an 80GB player with video-out is in my future…
One Issue I Have
I have encountered one very strange issue. When I plug the Zune into my PC, my scanner (Canon Canoscan LiDE90) immediately calibrates. This is followed by a message from the system tray that an unrecognized USB device has been encountered and could not be installed. For lack of any other solution I now unplug the scanner first.
Wrap-Up
As you have probably gathered by now, I am very happy with this player. I have no problem recommending one to others. The only problem you may have is if you have invested money in music from other services. The DRM for Microsoft’s Play-For-Sure and Apple’s ITunes is not compatible.
Just a quick tip here for your DVD movie viewing convenience.
Apparently this is nothing new, but I just heard about it and then verified that it works on my Zenith 5 disc changer. It should work with most DVD players.
If you’re tired of the annoying previews and ads that prevent you from fast forwarding then next time you put in a movie hit Stop-Stop-Play in quick succession and the disc will skip to the start of the feature presentation. Just that simple!
I am sure the MPAA will soon force the manufacturers to eliminate this hack in future hardware, but for now score one for the consumer!
NOTE: This is a work in progress…I’ll add more info whenever possible.
Since I started this blog about networking a home for all of us normal families I thought it would be appropriate to post what I am using in my own home - I live in a 19th century 3 story Victorian with my wife, son and daughter. I will try to keep this up to date.
This list is not yet complete, and I plan to elaborate on how I use each item.
(Note: I have linked the products that I could)
Desktop PC’s
Gateway
HP
Laptop PC’s
Dell Inspiron 5100 - Formerly running Windows XP Pro, now running Linux Ubuntu 7.1
Digital Cameras
Canon S3
Canon Powershot A70 - This one now belongs to the kids.
MP3 Players
Scanners
Canon Canoscan LiDE 90
Canon Canoscan N670u - I use this one with the laptop when I travel.
Printers
Epson Stylus C86
UPS
Ultra 1000VA - 3 of these - 2 in the office and 1 for the TV and stereo equipment.
Miscellaneous Computer stuff
KVM Switch - Zonet KVM3002
USB Hub -
External hard drive - Iomega HDD 80GB - I use this to store our media (digital photos, movies and music - I need to get a bigger one!). This is attached via USB 2 to the main desktop PC and shared on the network as “Media Drive”.
Home Entertainment
TV - Vizio
Yamaha
Yamaha
Samsung
Zenith
Panasonic
Yamaha
