f13.net

This is probably old news to most of you but i'm giddy! Since i recently got a Xbox 360 and i have a bunch of other stuff hooked up to my HDTV  (digital setop box, HTPC, receiver) i decided it was time to figure out a way out of the remote control hell i have been living in. Up till now i've had 1 remote for the TV box, 1 for the TV, 1 for the DVD player (now Xbox), 1 for the receiver and a mouse and keyboard for when the pc is displayed on the TV.

I realized there was a problem when my mum was sitting my son for a couple days and it took me longer to write out instructions for the home theater than for caring for a 3 year old and dog.

I've always liked the concept of a universal remote but my last attempt years ago was rife with hair pulliing discrete codes and maddening interfaces. However, on an impulse buy today i picked up this:

(http://www.logitech.com/lang/images/0/9705.jpg)
Logitech Harmony remote for 360

My god remotes have changed! I hooked this sucker up to my PC, told it what devices i want to control and i was done. Not only does it control everything painlessly but it automatically created "Activities" such as Play 360 or Watch TV. These are 1 button settings that switch all the devices over to the right settings and inputs for each task.

Better yet the remote supports Windows Media Center - which i won't use, but it allows me to control my basic HTPC functions.

I've had this for a day and i can't imagine not having it now - my old setup seems archaic. Guess i've been living in a cave, but im really impressed with this.

I always liked the Sony Remote Commander series. I should really get around to setting mine up.

I'm doomed to the remote hustle forever. There are so many things on the list in that price range that come before a remote.

Besides, I've got my girl trained on them now, I used to chuckle when I was in the kitchen and she'd try to get the tv working. I've got 7 remotes if you count my keyboard (for the htpc media keys).

What sort of damage did that remote do to you?   It's pretty nifty.

Cost me $149.00 CDN. I think it's about $120 USD. Not cheap but not absurdly overpriced either. And i  :heart: it more every day.

My favorite new gadget is the car adapter for my iPod shuffle. Fuck commercial radio in its ear.

My favorite new gadget is probably my Samsung A900 cell phone.

My new favorite gadget is the RF adapter I bought for my Xbox so that I could play it at work.

Yes, really.

My new favorite gadget is my coffeemaker that actually grinds the beans inside and dumps them into the filter before the brewing cycle.

I'm pretty sure I win.

You obviously haven't seen the sleek black metal that is the Samsung A900.

Wait till I find myself a 25' DVI-HDMI cable.

(http://www.blackmetal.com/evilshop/bmstore/scans0902/venombp.jpg)

Touche. Ya bastid.

I have one of those, too!  I love it.  It makes great coffee and frees up my grinder for more important grinding tasks.

You use yours for those nubbly bits on human bone also? Who knew we were so alike!

I'm a touchebag.

It looks damn nice, but my new but more ordinary looking Sony Eruícsson W800i beats it hands down featurewise.

My best new gadget this year would be my Roomba.
My Solio solar charger would also be on the list, if they got round to making an adapter for my new phone as well as the PSP... right now it's just uselessly sucking at the sun.

So does your Roomba actually work? On carpet or just hard floors? Do you have cats/dogs/other animals? Do they eat it?

I always thought it was just a gimmick, but since we have to sweep up dog and cat hair every day it might be nice. I wonder if Costco sells them...

I have that album from when it was released. Venom were diabolical in more ways than one. Their performance was dire.

Oh yeah, it works!
We have no pets, but messy kids, but I know pethair is an alltogether different story.
One of our sister publications tested the Roomba against two other much more expensive makes. The conclusion was that the Electrolux Trilobite was the best vacuum, but no matter which of the three you picked, you'd still need a proper vacuum occassionally. Which prices three times that of the Roomba, picking the Electrolux didn't make any sense.
I just tested the Roomba and liked it. My wifes reaction was clear: "There's no way, you're sending that back," (her ususal reaction is, oh great, more crap, when do you send that back and where are you putting the box?) so we bought it.
Nowadays we just cycle the Roomba through the rooms of the house during daytime during the week (it's noisy, all over the place and doesn't go for more than 3 hours on a recharge) and max once a month do we break out the traditional vacuum for a particular troublesome spot or corner.

Our house is now cleaner. The Roomba isn't better than the traditional vacuum, but using it means we vacuum much more often and 10 vacuumings at 80% effictivity still beats one at 99%. We like it so much, that we don't buy new furniture if it doesn't have the needed Roomba-clearance underneath.

Record store import bins ftw. I had that on release, too, but I was always more of a Mercyful Fate/Slayer/Metallica guy.

I recently got a Venom compilation disc, I forgot how bad they were.

My Roomba is a new addition.  It works well enough, but it has a few places it likes to get jammed.  The important thing to note is that any vacuuming the robot does is vacuuming that I don't have to do.  It would be awesome if it could roll underneath all of my furniture, but I'll take what I can get.  Also, it is not quite as smart as the robot that Yosemite Sam was using to blow up Bugs Bunny, but it did manage to clean for to hours without choking on something and find its charger last time I ran it.

My son is terrified of the robot.

Program it to chase him around the house saying "Ack, ack. Ack. Ack-ack. Don't run we are your friends!" (http://www.timburtoncollective.com/sound/mars7.wav) and sit back and have a beer.

I was going to suggest teaching him to love it by having your pets stage elaborate reenactments (http://www.achewood.com/index.php?date=08162004) with it, but your idea is probably better.

I know who to call next time I need a sitter.

See - what I would do is hire both and see who showed up with liquor on their breath.

Yeah, it scares the shit out of my kids too.

On the other hand the oldest one is so used to the DVR, that she's completely baffled when she's in a house where you can't pause tv, when you need to go peepee....

Gadgets are cool.

I guess my "latest" gadget would be my Motorola DVR for my TV. This is my third fucking DVR from my cable company in 2 months. These things fucking SUCK SUCK SUCK. When it works its totally love, but 2 hard drive crashes in 2 months is not a good track record. My first one crashed the first day it was installed, my other one crashed a week ago. What sucks is that every time this happens, I lose all my saved shows. Not to mention that it has a HDMI port on the back, that if you use it, has about a 30% chance of frying the cable box, every time the TV is turned on. Great fucking design Motorola. Now my new one is already making wierd noises, and I doubt it will last two weeks. Gah.

They're prone to software crashes and hangs too. It doesnt help that there are about 300 versions of the software with the same version number all of which have been dicked around with by the cable company as well as Motorola. When they replace one that's crashing too often, there's a chance that you'll get less features due to earlier software with the same version number. It's pathetic really. Also their remote receiver is too picky about direction. We're also on the third HD DVR from Comcast, and while its not perfect, I'm scared of how bad the replacement would be, since this is the best of the bunch.

Are you trying to make gravel again?

Ever-lasting-gobstopper.

I agree with the cable DVR blues. I hope my current box lives, it's got a lot of features enabled and DVI, not HDMI (a scientific atlanta box). My girlfriend is pretty accustomed to having to point the remote at the kitchen to change channels.

That sucks, I guess I won't be switching to Comcast anytime soon. My DirecTV branded TiVo works awesome. I see that DirecTV is now offering their own brand of DVR, so maybe they now have the same problems that Comcast's DVRs have.

Doesn't Comcast have "On demand" shows? What do you need a DVR for?

My son got angry at grandma yesterday because she couldn't replay a scene from Sesame Street over and over.  Grandma will probably buy a TiVo soon, can't have her grandson lacking.

I was waiting, because I just didn't know, for the combination DirecTV HD receiver/DVR.  This arrived last June and so far has been great, even without what I assume are features found in other units.  Such as an ethernet port.  Maybe there is one and I just missed it.

I think I might have casually mentioned to my son that he should pick up his balls so the robot wouldn't run over them.  That might explain the frantic grabbing and clutching of his tiny rubber balls and the accompanying screaming.  Hey, he's only just turned two.

I know how funny that sounds.  I could have said "toys" instead, but I was truthful.

Everything that's not "On Demand". That service has a few dozen films, some TV series, a bunch of shorter stuff, some music videos and such. You won't find "Rebus" or the football on it for example.

On demand is more accurately entitled pay per view.  So anything that is not pay per view requires a DVR, ie., any network show or live sporting event. 

Actually, I guess depending on where you live and what channel the sporting event airs on, you can see it "On Demand." For instance, I could watch Flyers' games for a day or two after they air. This may have something to do with my cable being Comcast, and the Flyers are owned by Comcast, and most of their games air on Comcast Sportsnet.

Good point. Who needs a DVR and sports channels when I could watch old Flyers games?

If you go to a bar at noon, you can watch old boxing matches on ESPN 5 Classic 2.

Don't be a moron.

To bring back an old thread .. 

:dead_horse:

We bought a Roomba Discovery this weekend. So far, I like it. Even if it didn't do a good cleaning job on our hardwood floors (it does) it's pretty fun to watch. I think my cat likes it even more than I do. He follows it around everywhere.

HomeDepot is selling them for $197 or something like that. The Discovery kit comes with a remote and docking station and a couple other things. The only accessory I'd want is the new scheduler remote but I think I can live without it.

Since we have 2 dogs and 2 cats, Roomba has been great at keeping the floor pet hair free!

The new series is good.  I wondered at the time who the hell cast John Hannah as Rebus, but bringing in Ken Stott was genius and fits far far better.

Threadjack:
Read every book.  Rebus is supposed to be ex-military, big, a little shuffling, covered in bits of crisps and IronBrew stains...  John Hanna is a little elfin for the role.  I shall begin the torrent search...

And young.  And not-gritty.  And far far far too damn pretty for Rebus.

Ken just works.  Check his mug here :

http://www.kenstott.info/index.html

Oh and the girl who plays Siobhan now is perfect.  Alas, I didn't catch the previous casting for that role so I can't compare.

I've seen them both and, although I like Hannah, I prefer Stott.  Evidently, he's quite a hit with women in Britain which goes to show... you can be a sexy ugly fuck.  John Hannah is much better cast as an arrogant, smart ass.  It suits him much better.  I haven't read the books but I believe they're still being written and I plan to start.  There is a lot more to the books than they show in the series and they're allegedly very well written.  Evidently, Ranklin is a huge music fan and passes that down to his characters.  There are interesting references to music by artists such as the Cocteau Twins and Joy Division... as well as many more traditional rock music.  Things like that in books and films are fun and really amuse me.

This is what he's been doing recently:


I didn't know in time for the first one, but I'll try and remember to listen to the last two.  I love BBC radio.  Luckily you can get it online.  (which I didn't realise until Righ just did it a few minutes ago!   :-) )

I started reading the Rebus novels around Black and Blue I think, then I read everthing afterwards and liked them all.  A few months ago I decided to read the rest of them and started at his first Rebus book Knots & Crosses.  I have to say that was a terrible book, I'm glad he kept at it and eventually got better but his early stuff was awful.  I mean his brother is a stage performing hypnotist who formulaicly puts him into a trance and gets him to remember past events?  Come on.  Rebus is supposed to be gritty but reads Shakespeare and Chaucer and listens to eclectic jazz music.  Not to mention all of those painful references to Jekyll and Hyde in the first books.

In the last few novels I'm worried that he is slowly starting to pass the reins over to Siobhan and will make her the main character, either retiring or killing off Rebus.

I can't believe Siobhan was in the spell checker's dictionary.

Good Line in the latest episode :

"So, Siobhan, what we are saying is that this weapon was once the Sword of Dan McLeese"

Classic.

It is too pretty a name to not have in it.

More derails needed. I noticed that Ken Stott had played Hitler in a TV drama (Uncle Adolph). This is becoming something of a tradition for Scottish actors. Robert Carlyle played Hitler fairly recently. Michael Sheard seems to make a living playing Hitler. Stott and Carlyle are both in The Mighty Celt with Gillian Anderson, which is apparently showing on Sundance channel this month.

Here's a list of music references in the Rebus novels. (http://www.homespun.co.nz/exile/)