Rats!

The 1.6TB storage device (over 80% used) I was using (which was a Stardom Sohotank U7-4-B2) to archive my recorded shows is not working anymore. I’ve not had a chance to verify it’s only the hardware device and not the drives themselves which is not working. (I don’t even want to think that it may be the drives.)

_{Good news, it looks like all the data on the drives is ok.}

Anyway, so I’ve now ordered a 4TB storage device which supports RAID5, which means in theory, I should have 3TB of usable storage while still having complete recovery capabilities in case of a bad hard drive (just not two at the same time).

_{OK, it’s not much for looks, but anyway…}

However, RAID5 also means if something happens to the hardware, I would have no way of recovering the data except buying another storage device which supports a 4-drive RAID5 set up…

I decided not on the Drobo as someone had a bad experience losing all data using one… so although it may have been a fluke, it’s kind of sad when the device which is supposed to automatically provide redundant storage capability fails on you. I am hopeful that with future versions of Drobo, they’ll work out this flaw.

See more progress on: set up my home theater PC

Now that Blogger supports labels

I can consolidate all my blogs into one blog. That means I'll need to move everything here, but I think that will help me to have everything in one place.

Dreams for Home Entertainment System

For many of my goals, I’ll probably take the “Disney” approach, which is to:

1. Dream it
2. Plan it
3. Criticize it (ie, become more realistic about it)

So first, I have to dream it.

• Family room
  • HD-TV, ability to view from back porch
  • Closed caption, support realtime translation to other languages (in particular Japanese)
  • HD-DVR, ability to archive to PC
  • Archive (at least 1.6 TB)
  • Backup of archive (another 1.6 TB)
  • Central library for video, photo, music
  • Region-free DVD player/recorder
  • Internet radio
  • Security camera
  • Home automation
  • Video/photo/audio streaming to any room / outdoors, separate control panel in each room
  • Place-shifting (both inside of house and outside of house)
  • Internet surfing, weather
  • Remote control with display, also can be used for surfing
• Media room
  • HD Projector, 16×9 native mode
  • Closed caption
  • Approximately 120” screen
  • Surround-sound
  • Golf simulator :)
  • Remote control with display, also can be used for surfing
• Game room
  • ???
• Bedroom and other rooms
  • Access to central library for video, photo, music
  • Comfortable position for viewing from bed
  • Home automation / security camera
  • Internet surfing
• Outdoors
  • Projector for projecting “drive-in” movie on garage door
  • Closed caption
  • Appropriate screen for projector (sheet?)
  • Outdoor sound system (speakers which look like old-time drive-in speakers)

Plans for Home Entertainment System

Family Room

Item	Target year	Comments
HD-TV	Long term	Currently have 42" plasma but not true HDTV
Closed caption	3+	Currently have CC device but it frequently causes TV picture to become distorted
HD-DVR	?	Currently using ReplayTV, no HD recording. DNNA introducing TV card with ReplayTV software
Archive	<1	Currently over 1 TB of storage but need device with fan. Stardom Sohotank is good candidate, available from PC Pitstop ($129). Update: Bought it and it failed after 1 year + 4 months. I have now replaced it with a Buffalo TeraStation Pro II.
Backup of archive	3+	No backup. Need at least interim backup in short term--Media room PC?
Central library	?	Will this end up being the same as the Archive? Currently using media room PC
Region-free DVD player / recorder	?	Currently would prefer not to support BluRay and HD-DVD
Internet radio	?	Should be part of whole house streaming strategy
Security camera	?	Should be visible as part of HTPC set up, should be expandable to support additional cameras
Home automation	?	Should be integrated as part of HTPC
Streaming	?	Should be integrated as part of HTPC. Should each room have a PC? If each room has PC, this can replace ReplayTV unit
Place-shifting	?	For outside of house, is Slingbox the answer. For inside the house, a video streaming router...?
Internet surfing	?	Should be supported by HTPC
Remote	1	Should be able to support ReplayTV, also use to navigate PC. Gyroscopic mouse would be most intuitive for navigating

Took me a while to find the next "must have" item...

But here it is... Supposedly, it will help you find a golf ball in a 600 square foot area, potentially by being able to recognize the shape a dimple, I am guessing...

Now 600 square foot area is not THAT big of an area, but it would be useful especially if you are looking into the sun...

Of course, this gadget costs $260 which would actually pay for probably 3 years worth of golf balls, but hey, that's not the point!! (I forgot what is, though...)

Another "must have" item... This one for the car...

With so many "must have" items, I may have to cut back on some frivolous purchases, like food...

Anyway, a wheel which can show images with LED lights...

Click on above image for video. Worth checking out!

Collaborative calendars

Not only are there calendars available online to manage your schedule, but in these days of collaboration, calendars are also designed to not only manage your calendar, but in conjunction with others.

Calendar	Pros	Cons	URL
Airset	Can sync with phones Drag and drop Click on date for adding new event Very intuitive way of collaboration Maximum flexibility in sharing events Search capability	Little bit slow Cannot customize look Color-coding fixed by calendar	www.airset.com www.airset.com/User/Cal.jsp?gi=YdJCMGlxLgcP&all=0
30boxes	Click on date for adding new event Tag and search capability Ability to highlight selected tags Ability to "publish" calendar Supports "badges"	Only 3 themes for customizing look No drag and drop Events can only be marked private or not private Does not show time of event directly on calendar URL for published calendar contains my full name (privacy concern) Code for "badge" contains my full name	www.30boxes.com http://30boxes.com/
Planzo	Direct typing in calendar for new events Drag and drop Search capability	Some customization available but limited to approximately 8 color selections Color-coded events seem fixed per type of event Privacy limited to private, none (share with all), or with "favorites".	www.planzo.com jimrin.planzo.com
CalendarHub	Drag and drop Supports "badges" Tag and search capability Ability to "publish" calendar	Cannot click date or directly type for new entry Privacy limited to private, none (share with all) or with "favorites". Columns in calendar representing the days of week are not equally spaced. Aesthetically, it looks odd. No color-coding of events	www.calendarhub.com www.calendarhub.com/calendar/55776/month www.calendarhub.com/pub/jimrin
Trumba	Ability to "publish" calendar Click on date for adding new event	For free version, no customization for look and feel (except for primary color) Sharing limited to all (for those authorized) or none No color-coding of events No drag or drop No search capability	www.trumba.com www.trumba.com/t.aspx?e=CgAzdYV*VrG1eOBPBtwQYIzsehUA13kn5-S*H7VK2*CVig!!X www.trumba.com/calendars/jimrins_calendar
Goowy		Problems when adding full-day events (says end time cannot be before start time) Selection of date is not used as default when adding new calendar event
Mosuki	Can define specific groups for viewing events Search capability	No customization for look and feel No color-coding of events No drag and drop Limited view of event description in calendar
Kiko	Drag and drop Color-coding of events (16 colors)	Sharing limited to all, contacts, or none No customization for look and feel No search	www.kiko.com www.kiko.com/appt/application?user_id=2580

Another "must have" item...

Keeping in mind that "must" is a relative term...

The "intelligent" table... Actually, not exactly what I am looking for... I would prefer simply a computer monitor with the computer built into the table. Considering they are now making Windows MCE-enabled TVs, I am sure tables are not too far behind. I appreciate the concept that the data would be presented appropriately to the viewer, depending on where the viewer is sitting. Perhaps this can be done by determining where the mouse/keyboard are.



The "intelligent" wall is also a must have item.


I wonder if Santa Claus will think I've been good this year. I wonder if I can get a discount from our partnership with Panasonic?

More storage...

It would also be useful to have a USB flash memory storage device to carry around from computer to computer. It would be especially nice if plugging in the device would allow personalized settings to be on the USB flash drive too, so that just plugging it in will basically turn that computer into your own personalized computer. (On a side note, it would be good to have one which can be used to boot up Linux. And finally, it would be nice to have a USB flash drive for storing music which can be played on our FM modulator/transmitter.)

The best candidate at the moment is the Sandisk Titanium model for its durability. It comes in a 2GB model for a reasonable price. However, it would also be great if I could get one with 4GB, 8GB or even more...

• Notes storage is currently 7GB.
• My Documents storage (including Notes) is currently 20GB.
• Documents and Settings for my Windows login is 23GB.

L170 supports 1280 x 1024 or not...

I've moved the desktop which was in the study to upstairs, so that Kyoko can use her ThinkPad in the study with her new desk. I kept the old monitor in the study, and when I moved the computer upstairs, I hooked it up with a different monitor, the ThinkVision L170.

It's supposed to support 1280 x 1024 and from what I can tell when booting up Windows, Windows seems to recognize 1280 x 1024. However, the Intel graphics card seems to think that monitor can only support 1024 x 768. Therefore, when trying to configure 1280 x 1024, it then requires me to scroll the screen in order to see 1280 x 1024.

Baffling..! Aggravating!

Need more!

Already having more than 1TB to store recorded movies does not seem enough. Besides, with individual hard drive enclosures, I would prefer something which (1) allows power down when idling and (2) has a cooling fan built in.

I may have found a good candidate in the Sohotank U7-4-B2. The 4 stands for 4 bays and the B2 is for USB2.

NetMeeting, where art thou?

I find using NetMeeting makes it easy to access my other computers in the house without having to go to each PC physically. However, at times, it tells me that the certificate I have may no longer be valid. I have found that re-installing NetMeeting resolves this problem:

I found out how to remove and then re-install NetMeeting from Kelly's Korner.

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_abc.htm

Remove: Start/Run/RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection C:\WINDOWS\inf\msnetmtg.inf,NetMtg.Remove

Reinstall: To reinstall, open the Windows\Inf folder (this is a hidden folder, so you may need to adjust your Folder Options to show hidden files and folders. Or you can click Start, Run and enter %systemroot%\Inf). Locate the msnetmtg.inf file in the Inf folder. Right click and select Install. Have your XP CD handy.

One interesting fact I found out about NetMeeting is that when it is open, then Windows Media Player seems to have a problem with the codecs to show recorded programs from ReplayTV.

Improving ergonomics while working on notebook computer

One problem with notebook computers is that the screen is attached to the keyboard. If the keyboard is in a comfortable position, then you may have to slouch to look down at the screen.

One option is to use a separate monitor but the notebook computer's monitor may be in the way. Then, if you use an external keyboard, then you can place the keyboard and monitor anywhere you want.

Another option is the ThinkPad Adjustable Notebook Stand. Worst case is that this can raise the screen to eye-level position and allow a separate keyboard to be used.

Update: I also found that Kensington provides a notebook stand docking station.

And if I were to consider speakers to be hooked up to a notebook computer, I might consider the Logitech Notebook Speakers which gets the audio feed and power from the USB connection.

Fun with pictures

If you're looking for something to do with your pictures, you can try out Flash Gear at http://www.flash-gear.com/index.php?watV

There are different things you can do with pictures including making a puzzle out of it. I don't know how long they last though. Anyway, here is one created from today:Unfortunately it looks like this website only works with Internet Explorer, not Mozilla Firefox.

Update: I seem to have found how long the pictures stay on their website... Approximately 25 days.

If you like being controlled...

If I were to keep my political cap off and discuss issues not related to a certain political party, then I would say that the group which annoys me the most are MPAA and RIAA in their attempts to control content. They even want us not to be able to record TV shows and be able to watch it at any point in time. Their preference is that if we record something, we have to watch it within a certain amount of time or else it expires. Even if you buy a CD, they want to prevent you from creating mp3 files for the songs on the CD. Very frightening if they get their way.

Into the new HD DVD format, manufacturers are building in the type of controls which the MPAA/RIAA want.

Mike Evangelist - former product marketing manager for DVD Studio Pro at Apple Computer - has called for an outright boycott of both HD-DVD and Blu-ray drives.

If you care about having control over the content you purchase, then you would consider a boycott, too.

43 Things to do in my life

There is an interesting website which is called 43 Things at http://www.43things.com. The concept behind this website is for people to document what are some things they want to do. It's a bit ambiguous whether these things are to represent more short term goals or long term goals. Some people have put down more long term goals, like "Be happy" while others have realized it is better to put more realistic, achievable goals. Not to say that "Be happy" is not an achievable goal, but in order to accomplish a long term goal, it would be good to document the short term goals which need to be done to achieve the long term goal.

Anyway, you don't have to document 43 things if you can't think of 43 things. I am up to 23 right now. The interesting part comes in that you can see how many other people have the same goal. You can then document comments about each goal and read other people's comments about them trying to achieve their goals. The website also provides common other goals for people who have the same goal. For example, it is not surprising that a common goal among people who want to learn Japanese is to go to Japan.

There's also a sister website called 43 Places, where you can list places you want to go... You can then see other people who the same desire to go to the same place as well as see comments from people who have already gone there.

An interesting website... How useful it is is another question, but it's still interesting.

Search is over...?

I think I have found my next digital camera...

The good points about this camera:

• Video 640x320, 30fps
• SD memory card, no limit to video except by memory
  
• Thin (making it easier to carry)
  
• Non-protruding zoom lens (coolness factor)
• Wi-fi (a plus)

Steve's Digicam already has a review on the Nikon Coolpix S6.

Some more Mozilla extensions

I added a couple more mozilla extensions...

Auto copy is useful because it will automatically copy what you've highlighted onto your clipboard. I mean, what else would you be highlighting text for anyway? Auto Copy is available at https://addons.mozilla.org/extensions/moreinfo.php?id=383&application=firefox.

I added the Google toolbar... Some useful parts of the Google toolbar is knowing how many sites are referenced for a particular search term. For example, there are over 16 million hits on "learn japanese". No wonder it would be difficult to get Japanese Tutor better search results.

There is also a tool called Conquery to allow querying of highlighted text by using the context menu (right-click). It's sort of useful to be able to highlight the name of a movie, perhaps found on a program guide, then right click to look up the movie in IMDB. Conquery is available at http://conquery.mozdev.org/installation.html.

And finally, I did add an extension which makes it possible to right-click in Gmail to preview your mail... The guy intentionally did not do it while hovering over mail because he said it was not very well performing, but actually, I don't find right-clicking so convenient either. I mean, if I am going to have to click to see the mail, then I might as well left-click. Gmail preview bubbles are available at http://persistent.info/archives/2005/08/20/gmail-preview-bubbles.



Oh, and this image is simply that there are products, such as Window Blinds, which allow you to use skins to customize your Windows appearence... This one in particular has some transparency in the windows to allow you to see what's underneath. A review of Window Blinds is available at Extreme Tech. I don't have Window Blinds myself... Sometimes I have to think about whether I really need something before I buy it... Hey, wait a minute. What's "need" have to do with spending money?

Next "must have" item

This is too cool. I got to have it.*

A shower which can tell you how hot the water is by the colored lights.

* Of course, by "I go to have it" means unless I find something actual useful to do with my money.

So I think I'll get the shower head right after getting the cleaning robot:



And by the way, this is pretty cool, too. I gotta have this. (The below loads the entire video before playing. Instead, you can also go here to see the streaming video version.)

I wiki, do you?

One of the newest trends these days are wikis. The most famous is wikipedia available at http://www.wikipedia.org. This is an online encyclopedia where anyone on the Internet can contribute to enhance the information in wikipedia.

In general, wikis are collaboration tools which allow multiple people to edit a document to share information. These documents are presented as web pages. However, knowledge of HTML is not required. Wikis have their own simplified formatting markup language. For example, to make something bold, you simply enter *bold*. To make an ordered list, you simply use the # sound, like:

# bananas
# apples
# oranges

And they will automatically appear as:

1. bananas
   
2. apples
   
3. oranges
   

For those of you who are not familiar with markup languages would wonder why you wouldn't simply number your own lists. Markup languages make for easy modification. For example, if I had a list of 25 numbered items, and then I needed to add a new #1 item, I would have to renumber all the other 25 items... But with a markup language, I simply add a new "# pears" and it will automatically take care of numbering all of the items.

At work, we have already discovered the advantages of wikis and are trying to use them within our project. However, the tools we use are only available within our own company. For personal wikis, there are websites available on the Internet which provide wikis, many of them are free.

One of the available places for free wikis is PBwiki. I haven't yet defined the uses for my own personal wiki, but I am sure I will be taking advantage of this soon. Some of the functional benefits are:

• Easy to use markup language
• Sharing of information
• Automatic versioning of changed information
  

Free acounts are available at PBwiki. Premium accounts are also available for more storage.