Life would be quite different for me if I were capable of napping.
Apparently Red Eye is on Hulu, so there goes the last of our concerns about dropping cable. We’re putting together a little computer
Are there any programs I can join where I can help over-privileged youths?
Know what’s cute? Puppies. Know what’s not cute? Puppies worshipping Satan. I’m just kidding; that’s still cute.
Ahhh, napping. There’s nothing like a 8 to 10 hour mid-day siesta to get you energized for a nice tuna dinner followed by an evening snooze.
You know what’s REALLLY cute? Napping puppies dreaming about worshiping Satan.
What software do you need to turn that Acer into your multimedia machine? Any additional hardware?
“I want to kill everyone. Satan is good. Satan is our pal. “
The older I get the better my napping capabilities seem to become.
Nick:
I chose a Dell Zino for my Internet TV setup, but any most any computer running Windows 7 would work. The hard part is finding a remote that a) works well b) you like c) can control other devices (Roku, Apple TV, sound system, etc).
Windows 7 includes a great version of Windows Media Center — much better than the Vista version — and you can configure it to run on startup.
Windows Media Center does just about everything you need. You can add a Hulu app that will make it easier to launch Hulu Desktop (which lets you see Hulu standard content on your TV, in addition to Hulu Plus content).
For hardware, you need a TV tuner if you want to record over the air. I got two, allowing me to mimic my old TiVo functionality. A USB TV tuner runs from $60-$150, depending on brand and extras. Cheaper worked for me.
And, depending on how far you are from the TV stations’ towers, you may need an outdoor antenna.
“Is there any program I can join where I can help over-privileged youths?” — TeenAge Republicans 😉
Thanks for the info Basil.
Here’s the thing about napping. You need to be well rounded, and as a well rounded person, you should have a hobby. My hobby is napping. It’s kinda like stamp collecting without the boredom. Mebbe you should try to start off small.
You should buy that Acer because it features an “illuminated blue power button.” This is, as is listed first in the description, the most important thing I look for in a PC. My gut feeling is that you may want to add a dedicated graphics card if you want to use it primarily for media. You’ll likely be able to figgur this out after you’ve watched some high motion/HiDef video.
As for over-privileged youths, I don’t know of a program, but I do know of a movie that will help. It’s on Netflix watch it now, and you can watch it on your new PC (a reason to buy it). The main character is a high school senior who is driven to a life of crime because his parents spoil him.
That’s the thing, Frank J. The peeing and pooping everywhere are evidence of their tendency toward satanic behavior, but their overpowering cuteness prevents us from giving them the same treatment as witches. (Puppies do float, by the way.)
There. I’ve covered all four of the Random Thoughts. In the immortal words of some baseball guy, “Touch ’em all!”
puppies worshiping Satan? Sorry Frank but I’m going to have to recommend a public witch trial. (He’s a witch! Burn Him) I would pray for you but some nutty judge down the road has banned public prayer. As far as I can tell no judge has outlawed witch burning yet, just can’t pray while we’re doing it.
For you Acer users, first you need to turn your machine into a computer! BWAAAAAAAAAA! Or you could go buy a MAC and MAC TV and you’d be set!
USSJC: Yes, you could pay twice as much for the same capability, and now that you mention it, the blue power button is an extremely important option. I once had to test software on a MAC desktop, and because “Mac’s never crash, it had neither an off switch nor a reset switch. Every time it crashed, which was often, I had to crawl under my desk and unplug it.
I typically use Linux, but it’s right out because its major downfall is multimedia.
ussjimmycarter, Burmashave:
I’m a Mac user. Love my Mac. It rocks. But, I have yet to find any software for Mac that works better (or as well) as Windows Media Center for Internet TV.
My original intent was to use a Mac Mini. But when I couldn’t find a Mac solution that was better than Windows Media Center, I opted for a Dell Zino instead. It’s small and is plenty powerful for the task. Frank’s Acer will lilely serve his setup well.
Had there been a better Mac solution, I’d’ve gone that route. Right now, a Windows 7 solution for Internet TV is the way to go.
If you have a good Mac software solution, I’d love to hear it. ‘Cause I have another TV.
“Are there any programs I can join where I can help over-privileged youths?”
Yes, you can teach Liberal Arts at any left-wing university.
Inasmuch as I am loath to take this into further geekdom, I would like to point to VLC (Video LAN) for playing video files. It won’t do the TV (DRM) thing, but it will play all kinds of video and is miles better — in terms of formats, flexibility and lack of crap — than Win Media Player. It is available for Win/Mac/Lin.
Burma wins! I Accuse My Parents is a marvelous MST3k episode. In a similar vein, I highly recommend the episodes High School Big Shot, The Violent Years, and Girls Town. That last one includes guest star Mr. Paul Anka! Sadly, it does not include a cuss-filled rant by Mr. Paul Anka.
Burmashave:
Agreed that VLC is a very useful app. I use it.
But, when it comes to setting up a useful, easy-to-use Internet TV system — one where you can sit in the recliner and point a remote and just watch TV via the Internet, and where others in the household can do the same — the Windows Media Center (Windows 7 version) is hard to beat. Microsoft actually got it right. Or righter than anyone else has so far.
Oh, and geeks rule; nerds drool.
Geeks don’t know how things work, Basil. They just know how to use them to the max.
Geeky v. Nerdy
I’ll take Nerdy – especially Nerdy Umen!!
You guys are still paying out the nose for internet access. I don’t see a way around that now that the neighbors have passprotected their router rendering my Cantenna obsolete.
hwuu:
I’m paying less for Internet service than I was for cable TV and Internet service!
Seriously, though, Internet is cheaper than cable — around here anyway — even with AT&T’s stupid 150GB/month cap they’ve started enforcing.
Hey Frank… is this one of yours?
Micron RealSSD P320h PCIe drive
3 GBytes/sec read? I wants me one.
3 Gigabytes per second read? Think of all the wieners that you Twitter “Dudes” and “Dudettes” and current “Dudes” are about to become “Dudettes” can view with that kind of speed!!! Wiener heaven!
@Jimmy: My Thinkpad has an SSD, although not that one, of course. It’s unbelievably fast, completely silent and is not so much bothered by shock. I don’t think I’ll ever again have an HDD in a PC.
OOOH OOOH!
I aCTUaLLY HAVE A RELEVANT LINK!
showing Puppies worshiping Satan….
http://satanbuddies.ytmnd.com/
http://satanbuddies.ytmnd.com/
I forgot to mention that the Satan worshipping puppies(they’re cute) on that site, also sound like Hippies.
We need a government bail-out of the computer/internet emergency! Everyone in the USA gets a free free free super fast computer with 4G Wi/Fi built in and 1 Terabyte of up and down stream speed! How will we pay for it. Who cares? Print some money or something! I’ll bet it costs a pittance compared to the two bailouts!