Wow (Part Deux)

Okay.. sooo.. I said I would be updating this more after my "exile" in Japan.

I did not update this at all and now I stand 2 months away from returning to live in Japan.

So, with the little time I have here stateside, I have a few things I do want to review.  I am currently listening to my new Bowers & Wilkins P7 Wireless.  I also have the Oppo PM-3 on order.

Expect a review coming soon.

I have picked up the Sony NW-ZX100 (in use with the P7's) for which I traded in my Sony NW-A16. Did I make a good choice?

That should be posted soon.

And, like a madman yelling in the woods, I know (deep inside) no one is reading these words, but, I will post in hopes that I can help someone find exactly the stuff I am always looking for!

See you soon?

Wow..

It has been over 2 years since my last post....and sadly, this is just for me.

A Linux hack to stop video tearing on the intel cards: (always have trouble finding it)

---

Set the CLUTTER_PAINT environment variable in /etc/environment:

CLUTTER_PAINT=disable-clipped-redraws:disable-culling

---

For anyone who cares... I am coming back from my exile in Japan.  Will be posting much more frequently! (maybe)

Kindle - The Lost Generation

This is a cross post of what I put on Amazon's dicussion boards.  I figured on one should read it here, like on Amazon!

As I eye the new Kindle Touch, and even the Fire, I look at my poor gen 1 Kindle that has served me so well these last 4 years and I get reminiscent...and at the end even a little angry. This "ugly duckling" produced a revolution in publishing, on par with the iPod and music.   Yet, us early adopters, and this device, have been forgotten for 3 years....

I am a early adopter. I bought my gen 1 kindle on Nov 23, 2007. (It did not arrive until just before Christmas due to it selling out in 5 hours!)
I loved my Kindle. It was the the e-book reader I always wanted. I had tried the Palm, laptops with PDFs, and even my PSP(!), but nothing was useful for more than a few minutes of reading.
Then the Kindle came.
Sure it looked like a piece of 80's retro tech, but, I could read for hours with no eye-strain on a surface area larger than a postage stamp! I could download books no matter where I was, even on a beach in Hawaii. It even had a free web browser (though hardly hardy) I could use anywhere! (remember, the iPhone had only been out a few months...the smartphone revolution had not happened yet.) It had easy access to wikipedia (anyone remember @wiki!) and it even had a quirky NowNow service where you could ask a question and get a response from a real person! (it was removed in the last firmware).

Then...it seemed, in a flash, my $399 book reader was replaced by a far superior device that cost $50 less. Well, that is technology. I understood the cost of being and early adopter. As my one Kindle screensaver always thanked me for being an early adopter! Around the same time, update 1.2 came out for the Kindle. Things were still bright....

Little did I know...1.2 would be the last update ever for the Kindle. As one who created many of his own mobi files for the kindle there were many formatting issues to clear up. But to naught. Upon the launch of the Kindle 2, it was as though the Kindle never existed.

So, for almost 3 years we have had a totally neglected device. I totally understand, things get cheaper and better as time marches on, but to *totally* abandon a device only 15 months after launch...well, to say the least I felt "Lost."

That said, my trusty Kindle is by my side now and I am about to finish "The Monks of Tibhirine: Faith, Love, and Terror in Algeria," and await my new Kindle Touch...I will always have a very dear place in my heart for the Kindle.

So where are all my Kindle adopters at? Please post you comments about this trailblazing device that has totally changed the the world, yet no one remembers.

Hot Hardware has an article about 3D:

3D: Does It Make Your Head Happy ... or Ache? - HotHardware

I for one have not jumped on the 3D bandwagon, at least for home theater (have not played with the 3DS yet) for the following resons:

• Expensive Glasses

  I have four kids at home, plus 2 adults. At about 180 bucks a pop, I am looking at $1080 for glasses! Then factor in the fact my kids, if the past is any indication, should break a pair a week, I am looking at another $600 a month! :)
  

• Totally NOT 3D

  I feel like the sane person at the asylum, Am I the only one who gets that is is not really 3D? At best it is a high tech Daguerre Diorama, with each field of depth statically defined. Not at all like looking out the window, unless you live in a Terry Gilliam movie.

  
• Loss of Brightness

  This is being dealt with on modern sets. But the reality of physics are, if you are only looking at half the pixels at any given time, you are going to have a less bright image.
  

I just cannot get over the fact that 3D seems like a gimmick. Now, this is where I lose all my credibility. I have never seen a movie in the theater in 3D (I am not counting Jaws 3D), nor have I watched a full film in a properly set up home theater. Yet, since Lord Lucas is releasing all the Star Wars movies in 3D, this is only reaffirming the gimmicky status for 3D. There is a reason why real directors are running away from 3D even with enormous studio pressure.

Sound off, am I just a hater? Or is 3D pretty weak?

Go Amazon!!

Amazon has launched a cloud based storage service that works in tandem with their MP3 Store. From now on, albums purchased from Amazon MP3 can be stored on the cloud. These albums WILL NOT count against your free 5GB limit (but albums previously bought off Amazon and uploaded to the cloud will). As of right now, they are also offering you an upgrade to 20GB of storage if you buy an album.

This may be an iTunes killer (we can only hope!). DRM free music, stored on a cloud for free (wow, download your music whenever you want, to as many places as you want, wherever you are. It's like you almost *own* the music!</sarcasm>). They currently have a Web and Android-based cloud player. Now, your music will be available anywhere you have an Internet connection.

No word yet if they will offer a desktop client similar to Dropbox.(A service I currently use for my files).

Here is a list of what you can store on the cloud:

Store More than Music
Cloud Drive allows customers to upload and store all kinds of digital files; music, photos, videos and documents can be stored securely and are available via web browser on any computer. In addition to the 5 GB of free storage, customers can purchase storage plans starting at $20 a year for 20 GB.

		Cloud Drive		Cloud Player for Web		Cloud Player for Android
Cost		-5 GB: Free -20 GB: Free for one year with purchase of MP3 album -Additional storage plans starting at $20 a year		-Free		-Free
Storage		-Digital Music -Videos -Photos -Documents		-N/A		-N/A
Format		-Music: Any type of file -Video: Any type of file -Pictures: Any type of file -Documents: Any type of file		-Music: MP3, AAC		-Music: MP3, AAC
Compatible Devices		-Macs -PCs		-Android Phones -Android Tablets -Macs -PCs		-Android Phones -Android Tablets
Audio Quality		-N/A		-Original bit rate of your music file		-Original bit rate of your music file
Basic Features		-Upload, download, move, copy, delete, rename.		-Upload, download, playback, playlist management		-Upload, download, playback, playlist management

Expect a review from me in the next few days on the player for both the Web and Android. I am currently rocking to a little Fat Boy Slim via the web player.

As one who is somewhat (okay vehemently) anti the "Proprietary, controlling, homogenous" world that is Apple, this is good news.

How to download Quicktime Trailers

Okay, I was in the mood to watch some Quicktime trailers off Apple's website to see what films are coming out.  Plus, I am at work with its weekid-fast (say with Boston accent) internet connection.

Ah, bliss, I forgot that Apple has made it almost impossible to enjoy their quicktimey vids without using quicktime.  I remembered there was a work around and after a quick search I found this: Save Apple movie trailers without quicktime.

Had all the info I needed, but hardly an elegant way to go about it.  Silly windows users and all their extra steps!

Well, in way less time than it took to write this blog entry, I wrote a bash script.  Basically find the trailer you want, under the "Watch Now" drop down, right click on the version you want (1080p, 720p, etc) and select, "Copy Link Location".

Then in your shell run the script with the copied URL as your first option.
Hit enter and you are done. :)

opps...noticed a .1 in the file above. That is from wget. Wget saw that the title already existed, so appended a .1. Nicely done, wget!

Good-Golly bash scripting rocks!!

Here is the script (as you can see you also have the option to rename the file you download.)



#/bin/bash

## Quick script to dl apple trailers
## Written by the AVChimp avchimp.blogspot.com
## May be freely distributed with this header kept
## Enjoy!

# usage: appleDL [original url] {save name}

REALURL=`echo $1 | sed s/tlr.*_/\&h/`

echo -e "\nGetting $REALURL from Apple Trailers\n\n"

if [ -z $2]
then
wget -U "QuickTime/7.6.2" $REALURL
else
wget -U "QuickTime/7.6.2" $REALURL -O $2
fi



Bash: so simple, so powerful!

I am not dead!

I swear it.  I know I am most likely the only one who reads this blog..but, just in case anyone else does,
rest assured, I am not dead!

I have been grinding aways to get my thesis done, but that does not mean I have not had time
for tech distractions.  Upcoming in the next few weeks, expect to see reviews on:
The Logitech Revue
The Logitech DiNovo Mini
My attempts to restore vintage audio gear
Which is really better: XBMC, Boxee, or, MythTV
My $19 HDMI capible video card for my HTPC
DTS-MA and DOLBY TrueHD work over HDMI with Linux!!

If anyone on the Internet has actually seen this blog, write me!
Let me know which article interests you the most.