Posts Tagged Windows

Help me build my new HTPC… Advice really appreciated!

Posted by Cameron in Just for Fun, Technology, Windows on December 31st, 2009

07 Jan 2010 UPDATE – Couple of changes to the list below… The equipment is on the way to me (hopefully will arrive before the weekend)

A couple of days ago I thought I would be a ‘little bit fancy‘ and update the software on my original XBox’s XBox Media Center.  And……. I killed it :-(

So, great opportunity to build a snazzy home theater pc (HTPC) I reckon!  Something that looks like this!

Antec Fusion Remote HTPC Case SilverPrerequisites

  1. It must connect to my home network and stream video from my iMac or another machine on the network that is sharing
  2. It must have a dual tuner HD TV tuner card
  3. It must play Blu-Ray discs
  4. It must be normal audio component size

So, this is what I have come up with but I would really, REALLY love any input or advice you can give me.  I am pretty handy around a PC so I can build it myself easy peasy.

I have put in links to the pages on UMart’s site (my usual supplier of non Mac stuff)

So…  Anything look wrong with this?  Can you think of something better?  I’d really love the input from a few geeky htpc experts out there!  Feel free to post in the comments section or send me a tweet to @cammo

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What the hell is RSS? Here’s an easy explanation…

Posted by Cameron in Apple, Internet, Just for Fun, Technology, Windows on May 29th, 2009

I stumbled over this GREAT and simple explanation to the mystery of RSS.  Ok, I know about RSS (Really Simple Syndication) but there are plenty out there who hear about it and see RSS links on websites all the time but have NO IDEA what it is about.

Easy peasy – watch the short video below and learn what RSS is in 3:43!

Ok, now that is finished I’ll point you to a couple of links for what I consider to be the best free newsreaders.

Mac OS | NetNewsWire – http://www.newsgator.com/individuals/netnewswire/default.aspx

iPhone | NetNewsWire – http://www.newsgator.com/individuals/netnewswireiphone/default.aspx

Windows | FeedDemon – http://www.newsgator.com/Individuals/FeedDemon/Default.aspx

Web Based | Google Reader – http://www.google.com.au/reader/view/

I must point out that a great advantage of a web based news reader like Google Reader is that no matter what computer you are on or what platform you are using (Windows, Mac, Linux etc) you will always have instant access to your news feed by just logging into your account.  No software to install as it is all web based!

If you are a Mac/iPhone guy like me I would highly recommend NetNewsWire on both your Mac and iPhone, they both sync with a central server so your feed is constantly up to date whether you are on your iPhone or Mac.

The other final alternative is using the RSS feature built into many email clients.  While they mostly work quite well I would recommend either a stand alone application or a web alternative like the ones I have listed above.

Now that you have a basic grasp of RSS why not dazzle me with your new found internet mastery and subscribe to my RSS feed by clicking here or…. if you think it is all a bit too geeky for you then there is still an email subscription option here.

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Windows 7 running beautifully on my Mac

Posted by Cameron in Apple, Just for Fun, Technology, Windows on May 21st, 2009

Just installed the release candidate of Windows 7 on my iMac (running OS X 10.5.7) using VMware Fusion.  It’s amazing – it runs faultlessly on my Mac but try getting it to run properly on my daughters’ Dell Dimension 1100.  Can’t find display drivers for the Intel 865 onboard video so at the moment it is stuck on 640×480 res on a 19″ monitor.  Blurgh :-(

Interested in trying out Windows 7?  Head to this link to download the free and good until June 1, 2010 iso file

Click to see my desktop fullsize

Click to see my desktop fullsize

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