What a great idea, I just bought a usb tv tuner for my wife's computer and it works great. If you are thinking about buying one, check out one my new websites, the links is above. Have a great day!!!
Mindre
Mer
ChatRoulette, the webcam program that randomly connects you with people all over the world, has gotten a lot of press in the last few days. NY Magazine's Sam Anderson gave it a try:
The site activates your webcam automatically; when you click “start” you’re suddenly staring at another human on your screen and they’re staring back at you, at which point you can either choose to chat (via text or voice) or just click “next,” instantly calling up someone else. The result is surreal on many levels. Early ChatRoulette users traded anecdotes on comment boards with the eerie intensity of shipwreck survivors, both excited and freaked out by what they’d seen. There was a man who wore a deer head and opened every conversation with “What up DOE!?” A guy from Sweden was reportedly speed-drawing strangers’ portraits. Someone with a guitar was improvising songs for anyone who’d give him a topic. One man popped up on people’s screens in the act of fornicating with a head of lettuce. Others dressed like ninjas, tried to persuade women to expose themselves, and played spontaneous transcontinental games of Connect Four. Occasionally, people even made nonvirtual connections: One punk-music blogger met a group of people from Michigan who ended up driving eleven hours to crash at his house for a concert in New York. And then, of course, fairly often, there was this kind of thing: “I saw some hot chicks then all of a sudden there was a man with a glass in his butthole.” I sing the body electronic.
I tried it for five minutes last night. Emo girl, emo girl, ten faceless dudes playing with themselves, and one guy holding a “Show Tits For Haiti” sign. It's not unlike the 90s fad ICUII, only you don't get to pick who connects with you. And I found it a little funny how instantaneously people click away when you don't fit their needs, whatever they may be. But Sam Anderson calls the service “a social anxiety nightmare.”
It turns out that ChatRoulette, in practice, is brutal. The first eighteen people who saw me disconnected immediately. They appeared, one by one, in a box at the top of my screen—a young Asian man, a high-school-age girl, a guy lying on his side in bed—and, every time, I’d feel a little flare of excitement. Every time, they’d leave without saying a word. Sometimes I could even watch them reach down, in horrifying real-time, and click “next.” It was devastating.
ChatRoulette was created by a 17 year-old Russian kid and some are saying that he'll be the next internet billionaire, a la Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg.
Apple took a direct shot at Amazon with the iBooks. The application looks like a bookshelf, showing the digital books owned by the user. And of course, a store (naturally, the iBookstore) along the lines of the iTunes Store, where book publishers (like, hey, McGraw-Hill!) can sell their virtual wares.
"We're going to open up the floodgates for the rest of the publishing world starting this afternoon," Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said on-stage.
Prices shown in the demo appear comparable to Amazon's Kindle store. Amazon already has an app for its bookstore made for the iPhone, so the company can't be happy that Apple is stepping into its home court.
But the iPad is not just about digitizing the paper. Electronic Arts showed off Need for Speed: Shift, a racing game built for the device. Brushes, a canvas for drawing art (finger-painting?), was also demoed. And the MLB, which has been quick to jump on new application platforms, showed off its live video app.
[Updated, 12:13 p.m.: Fixed the name of the iBookstore, which was originally listed as the iBook Store.]
– Mark Milian
Follow the Apple event live!
Photo credit: Tony Avelar / Bloomberg
As I've been learning more about coffee making, I found out that even the temperature can affect the flavor. I've been grinding my own beans for years but could never quite get the kind of flavor from them, even though they were Starbucks beans, that I'd get if I bought the same coffee at Starbucks.
I even tried a french press, before reading recently that for some reason, french press coffee raises the bad cholesterol, while drip coffee doesn't.
It must be all that sediment gunk that comes out into the coffee with the french press.
We've had a solid carbon block Multipure water filter for years, so I knew it wasn't from using bad water or anything. But always use filtered ( not distilled though ) water to make your coffee, for the best flavor.
So I've been using this $35 Kontakt ( from Starbucks ) drip coffee maker for a number of years and not getting much satisfaction from it. But recently I did some research and found out why.
That temperature thing. It seems that the best coffee is made with water that's 195-200 degrees. Some experts say 203.5 to be precise, but water boils at around 203 degrees here in Denver, so that's out. :-) They also say not to make it with boiled water because it removes the micro-bubbles of air that normally exist in the water, and changes the flavor.
The higher temperature, it's said, brings out all the flavor of the coffee that you don't get with lower temperature brewing.
So having worked as an Electronics R&D Technician in the past, I did some experiments. I ran some water through the Kontakt coffee maker and measured the temperature of the water when it poured into the pot. 153 degrees. Ahah!
The reason for this, is that the cheaper machines use only the plate heater below the pot, to heat the water that bubbles up to make the coffee, and it just doesn't make the water hot enough that way. It seems that the better machines use an additional heater, but those machines are few and far between and of course they cost more.
So I asked around to find out what was the best coffee maker for home brewing, period. The experts kept saying it was the Technivorm Clubline KB-741. So I went and read up on it.
The coffee maker sells for around $185 plus shipping. That was a bit stiff for our budget, so I sold a vintage Heathkit FM Tuner that I built about 25 years ago ( and it still works ), for exactly enough money to pay for it.
The KB-741 gets incredible reviews from the experts, usually in the range of 8-10 on a scale of 1-10. Why?
Well first of all, the Technivorm ( which is made in Holland ) has a dual stage heater that heats the brewing water to 200 degrees. It's one of only a few that is certified by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) to brew at the correct 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
But it also has a basket that has a flow rate switch. It allows you to let the water flow through slowly, more quickly, or completely shut the flow off. Some people use that later setting to allow the hot water to soak the ground coffee for a few minutes, before opening the flow back up, and they love the results that way.
I only brew two, eight ounce cups a day and this is a “10 cup” brewer, so I had reservations about whether it would even make my two cups that well. Some machines don't do so well at making less cups than they're rated for. But realize that the “10 cups” it's rated for, are actually about five U.S. ounces each, not eight ounces like we think of “cups” as being. So my two cups goes up to a little over the three cup line on this brewer.
They recommend that for a smaller number of cups, you close the control valve half way, so I did.
So I unpacked the machine today and set it all up. It's fairly intuitive, despite the minimal directions, and poor grammar from the dutch manufacturers.
First I rinsed it well and ran some plain water through it the first time, to test it and wash everything out, then tossed that water out.
Then I ground up my usual amount of Starbucks Sulawesi, my bold favorite coffee. I ground it the same way I usually do for the Kontakt drip maker, 20 seconds in the Starbucks blade grinder.
One tip for people who aren't used to making this kind of coffee: Always use whole beans and grind your own at home. Coffee starts losing its flavor within hours after being ground, so I grind it right before brewing, and I never buy more than I can use in about a month. I go through about one pound of this Starbucks Sulawesi whole bean every 4-5 weeks.
So I put two cups of filtered water into the reservoir on top and switched it on, watching the water rise up the clear center column quickly. ( fun to watch if you're like me, and like “cat toy” kinds of things ) Another feature of this machine is that it makes the coffee in what the experts consider the perfect amount of brewing time too, which is around three and a half minutes for the entire brew cycle.
Well let me tell you that this is the very best coffee I've ever had in my life, that was brewed at home. I'm enjoying a tall mug of it iced, with some 2% milk, as I write this. Culinary orgasm, people. On a scale of 1-10, I'd rate this coffee maker a 10. The flavor is just incredible, full and rich. It tastes like what you might expect to drink at a restaurant where the dinners cost $100 and the place is packed. A “10″ in coffee flavor.
And like other reviewers have said before, you wonder how it can make such good tasting coffee with such a simple machine. Like so many other things, it doesn't take complicated machinery, just doing the right things with simple machinery, and this machine does them so well.
If you want the best coffee you've ever tasted at home, I highly recommend this machine. Like others have said before me, it's worth every penny and I'd buy it again if I had the choice. It's also said to be a very reliable well built machine and I believe it from the looks of this one, as it came out of the box.
I bought the chrome model with the glass carafe from Boyd's ( http://www.boydscoffeestore.com/brewing/kb741.php ) for $184 plus shipping, ( around $192 total ) and it's extremely nice looking on the counter top too.
http://www.boydscoffeestore.com/brewing/product-details/kb741-DETAIL.jpg
If you simply want the best, I don't think you could get any better than this, even if you paid a lot more money for it.
Melissa Rhiannon
Melissa Rhiannon is a free lance writer, teaches self defense ( martial arts ) for women in Lakewood, Colorado, at http://www.AerobicSelfDefenseClubsOfAmerica.com/ , is the author of the Planetary Bill of Rights Project at http://www.PlanetaryBillOfRights.org/ and with Colorado Process Servers at http://lakewoodcolorado.net/process-server.htm
Copyright 2006 Melissa Rhiannon - All Rights Reserved
It wasn't very long ago when the only way to watch TV was with your television set. The content that you got to view was homogenized programming that followed a recipe designed to appeal to the “average viewer.” If this describes your situation, then it is time for you to discover some of the pleasant perks of 21st-century technology. Read on about the four different methods of watching television on your computer.
1) Did you know that there is a huge amount of old TV shows, movie classics and documentaries free for your viewing in the public domain? The public domain has content with expired copyrights and can be viewed or even sold by anyone. Try looking for this material on a search engine using phrases containing “public domain” plus “film” or “video”, etc. If you give the search a fair amount of effort, it shouldn't take too long to find lots of these “golden oldies”.
2) If you wish to watch the TV programming of your television set on your PC, it can be done with very little fuss with a USB TV tuner. This device is external to your laptop or PC and can be readily connected to your computer and TV set. This external arrangement is very different from that of the TV tuner card which must be installed inside your PC. Signals from your TV's output ports are transferred to the USB TV tuner input ports. The modified signals are then transmitted to your laptop or PC via its USB port. A feature common to most USB TV tuners are that TV shows can be paused, fast forwarded, rewound, and saved to your PC hard drive. Many USB TV tuners can also burn TV shows to DVD. Prices: $50 to $200.
3) Want to know a guaranteed way of getting a DVD quality image when viewing a movie on your computer? Answer: insert a DVD into your CD-ROM drive! To do this, you must download the appropriate media player with this capability. You can get one for free at Realplayer.com. Look for and click the “Get it free” button. Follow the directions after this. When you have finished with the download and installation, insert a DVD. Then start the player, open the “play” menu and click “Play CD or DVD”.
4) A popular approach to watching TV on the computer is using BitTorrent networking to download a video or movie onto your computer for free. BitTorrent networking is a sort of peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing system and is a common way to download movies and music. A movie that is downloaded is first broken up into several parts and distributed to the people in the network who want the movie. Everyone then supplies each other with the parts of the movie that the other doesn't have. The process has to start with a complete file to begin with. The person who supplied that complete file is said to have 'seeded' the download.
In order to download movies in this way, you need to install something called bitTorrent client software. Although there are a lot of client software available, my preference is BitComet which has been around for a few years and is free. The next step is to search for a movie using a torrent search engine such as torrentz.com. Enter a search phrase that is related to your movie such as its title. You will arrive at a page of search results. Click on the most relevant link. You should then see the movie title as well as a 'Download Torrent' link or button. Click on the link or button to start the movie download.
When finished, you should allow others to share your file by becoming the 'seed' that initiates yet another download session for other people. This is done by allowing your client software to continue running for a couple of hours.
Please note that this description is rather minimal since a thorough description is beyond the scope of this article. Also bear in mind that downloading copyrighted movies is illegal. People using peer-to-peer networks for illegal downloads have been prosecuted.
Hopefully this article has given you some idea of what is possible with a computer and a fast Internet connection. The amount of content out there is enormous. I'm speculating here, but I would imagine that it would take years of continuous viewing to consume all that is freely available. Be warned that it can get very addictive and can have a devastating effect on your personal productivity.
What a great idea, I just bought a usb tv tuner for my wife's computer and it works great. If you are thinking about buying one, check out one my new websites, the links is above. Have a great day!!!
Boy, 10, drowns after falling off Dog River Park boat slip
By
Mark R. Kent
February 08, 2010, 6:04AM
MOBILE, Ala. — A 10-year-old boy drowned about 4 p.m. Sunday when he fell off a boat slip dock at Dog River Park while fishing with his brother, Mobile police said.
The boy's identity was not released Sunday. He was taken to University of South Alabama Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
A neighbor and a police officer at the scene, who did not want to be identified, said the boys were fishing at one of four boat slips on the south end of Dog River Park, which for years was known as Luscher Park.
After the incident was reported, the Mobile Fire-Rescue Department pulled the boy from the chilly water about half an hour later. He was placed into a fire-rescue truck and immediately taken to USAMC.
The police officer said that the water at the far edge of the boat slip docks is about 8 feet deep at high tide.
According to the National Weather Service, high tide occurred Sunday at 6:44 p.m. in downtown Mobile.
Further details of the incident were not available Sunday night.
Well, that didn't take long.
We just told you about a $100,000 check, from an anonymous donor, delivered last week by Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty to the Alabama GOP. Who was that mystery funder, we asked.
Within minutes, readers were pointing to Bob Perry, the Houston home builder who has bankrolled numerous conservative and Republican causes, including the Swift-Boat Veterans For Truth.
And sure enough, Pawlenty has now confirmed that it was indeed Perry. “The donor's name was Bob Perry and he was somebody I was visiting in Texas on behalf of the Republican Governors Association and he noted that I was going to Alabama and asked if I would bring them a check so I said I would,” Pawlenty said today, reports the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
It's perhaps not surprising that Pawlenty, a top 2012 GOP presidential hopeful, would have been hitting Perry up for cash. Perry helped ensure Pawlenty's re-election as governor in 2006 by funding Stronger America, a conservative 527 group that ran a blizzard of ads attacking Democrat Mike Hatch, Pawlenty's opponent, the paper adds.
But that's only the tip of the iceberg in terms of Perry's financial support for conservative causes. In 2004, Perry was the largest single donor to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which helped sink John Kerry's presidential hopes. Perry gave the Swift Boaters $4.45 million, and gave a total of $8.1 million to 527 groups that election cycle.
For an encore, in 2006 Perry was the largest political donor in Texas. He put $5 million into the Economic Freedom Fund, TPMmuckraker reported at the time. That group put out a stream of push-poll robo-calls against Democratic candidates, which were described by an independent polling group as “egregious.”
Perry has also been a key backer of Tom DeLay's political action committee, and of the Hammer's legal defense fund.
Captain Mike @
Boat Props
Working from home today? Yeah, so are we.
Today's “Son of Snowpocalypse” has forced The Hotline to make the (very) rare decision to work from home. Which got us wondering: how are other DC media orgs responding to the latest downpour?
Here's a quick rundown - in no particular order. (If your media org is missing, let us know what you're up to):
CNN: “All non-air critical and non-newsgathering personnel are not required to appear at work today. For all others, which is the vast majority of the DC personnel, work continues. In conditions of extreme weather, arrangements for travel and accommodations will be provided.”
NBC News: “Had snow drivers pick up the important people, but let everyone else work from home.”
NYT: DC bureau chief Dean Baquet “sent out a memo telling staffers to work from home; but he went in.”
WaPo: “Most of our editing staff, and I am guessing most of our reporting staff, will be working from home or otherwise taking care of storm-related matters. For those who have made it into the office, Marcia Davis will be the editor on duty running the day for us. Most of our other editors … are available today online.”
CBS News: “Business as usual.”
PBS' NewsHour: “Since we're in south Arlington, with many staffers living miles away - in DC or MD - we had 20 or so “essential staff” spend last night at a nearby hotel. For the rest of the staff, it's liberal leave policy. We told folks if they felt it was unsafe or really dicey to travel, they should stay home. Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff stayed at the hotel last night, and will be anchoring today.”
NewsHour Update: “This has been changed to an official snow day for us. Anyone who works today, gets a comp day, etc.”
Roll Call: “Yes, office is closed so people didn't have to make a dangerous commute. However, thanks to the miracle of the Internet and telephones our reporters are still covering the news and our Web site will be updated throughout the day.”
The Hill: “Our office is open but all the staff are allowed to work from home today, and most of them are doing so.”
ABC News: “No official policy. We have put a lot of people up at the Mayflower hotel, and we have plenty of people to cover the story. Beyond that, we are being flexible and accommodating because of the concern for people's safety and their individual family situations.”
Bloomberg: “Every person for selves; Seriously, if they can get in fine, if not work from home. A bunch of people are here, including Mike Tackett, White House reporters Julianna Goldman and Hans Nichols, Al Hunt and TV people.”
Politico: “Most folks are working from home. A small crew who lives near the office or can get there by below-ground Metro will be present in the newsroom.”
Politico update: They plan to publish tomorrow, per a staff memo this a.m. from eds John Harris and Jim VandeHei: “The logic to proceed is rooted in newspaper tradition. If newspapers are on schedule to publish, I believe they should do it, no matter the obstacles. We made an exception to that for Wednesday's paper but we were quite reluctant to do so again. The business side of POLITICO has commitments to advertisers. The news side of POLITICO has commitments to readers.”
C-SPAN: “On days like today our offices are closed but essential personnel are here to operate the networks. The essential personnel include most of our producers, production assistants, hosts and technical staff. Those employees who request it are put up in nearby hotels. Some have been there since last week. We also provide food for those who are working.”
More C-SPAN: “We are Code Yellow. Which means only essential personnel. Essentially CSPAN is closed. Every event we were going to cover has been cancelled. For the 2nd time in three days we are closed. (We were closed mon as well).”
Al-Jazeera: “We're operating on essential staff only. Admin and support staff are mainly staying home. Essential staff were put up in hotels and/or offered car service with 4-wheel drive.”
Gadget and Gear Deals of the Day
Today is a special deal-grabbing kind of day, a Woot! Off is in progress and we've got a pile of bargains to share with you like discounted laptops, cameras, and free music and iPhone apps.
Woot! Off in Progress!
Computer Gear!
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Home Entertainment Gear!
- 47″ LG 47LH30 1080p LCD HDTV for $696 + Free Shipping (Regular Price: $788)
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Portable Gear!
- Apple iPod Shuffle 2GB (newest 4th Generation) for $49 + Free Shipping (Regular Price: $55)
- Creative Zen MX 8 GB Video MP3 Player for $59.99 + Free Shipping (Regular Price: $84)
- Canon PowerShot SD960IS 12MP Digital Camera for $229.99 + Free Shipping (Regular Price: $240)
- Samsung WEP 870 Bluetooth Stereo Headset for $18 + Free Shipping (Regular Price: $48)
- Sennheiser MX85 Sport Series II Twist to Fit Stereo For Sports for $32.55 + Free Shipping (Regular Price: $53.40).
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Free Stuff!
- Burkina Electric “Sankar Yaare” Mp3 Dance Single for $0 (use this form)
- Beach House “Norway” Mp3 Alt/Rock Single for $0 (use this form)
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- Faces by The Happy Hollows (MP3) for $0 (download here).
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- Sevens (iPhone) for $0 (Regular Price: $.99).
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- Kashi Cereal or Fruit & Grain Bar sample for $0 (use this form).
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- Walmart Soundcheck track by Corinne Bailey Rae for $0. (use this form).
- 1 Year Trial to Weather Underground for $0. (use this form and coupon code:FMUYZ).
Thanks Dealzon, TechDealDigger, Slickdeals, Fatwallet, TechBargains, CheapStingyBargains, CheapCollegeGamers, and GamerHotline!
Send an email to Jason Fitzpatrick, the author of this post, at jason@lifehacker.com.
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Who is trying to face down Apple’s anticipated tablet this spring?
Here’s a partial list covering tablets from larger hardware companies like Dell and HP, along with lesser-known devices and a few e-readers. The pricing details and public launch dates aren’t available on all of these yet, so we’ve provided what we know and linked to deeper reviews.
HP’s Slate computer
This video demo shows the HP tablet that runs on Windows 7. HP is also reportedly building another based on Google’s Android OS. When Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer demoed it on-stage at CES, he was spare with details and used it to read a book using Kindle software. Using the touchscreen, he swiped through the pages, then went onto Amazon, where he purchased and downloaded another e-book.
OpenPeak Tablet powered by Intel Atom chip
Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini showed off a tablet using an upcoming Atom chip dubbed “Moorestown” during his CES keynote speech. It’s a prototype with no firm dates for launch.
HP’s tablet-laptop hybrid, the TouchSmart tm2:
This kinda qualifies. It’s a fourth-generation touchscreen laptop with a swivel 12.1-inch screen that can be turned into a tablet. You can enter things with your finger, full-size keyboard, or a digital pen. It has a capacitive multitouch display that recognizes multi-finger gestures such as pinching or swiping and an aluminum case with a Riptide engraved illustration. (See Dean Takahashi’s full take on HP’s lineup here.) This laptop starts at $949.
Dell
It has a five-inch display and is supposed to complement (not be a substitute) for a conventional PC. The small size may hurt the product in the long-run, since it duplicates the feel of a smartphone instead of an actual tablet computer. The more promising features seem to revolve around connecting multiple tablet users at once — users will be able to swipe and send pictures to other tablets, or connect tablets to play games together.
ICD’s Vega
The Android-based Vega specializes in home scheduling and other basic functions and will come to the U.K market later this year with T-mobile. We covered the first appearance of the Vega back in November. Developed by Seattle-based Innovative Converged Devices (ICD), a mobile computing engineering firm, the Vega includes features that make it a solid in-home device, suited for the average family kitchen, including a 15-inch touchscreen, NVIDIA Tegra 250 mobile web processor, full HD 1080p video playback, 3G, Wi-Fi and a T-Mobile SIM card. The carrier hasn’t released pricing. (We did a longer take on the device here.)
Marvell-based Alex Reader
This dual-screen reader from Spring Design runs on a Marvell processor and has not one, but two different kinds of displays. The smaller screen is an Android tablet while the other is an electronic paper display with an LCD. It comes out next month retailing at $399.
Skiff
This is an e-reader, not a tablet. It’s an 11.5-inch device comes from a company backed by newspaper and magazine publisher Hearst Corp. It’s got a 1,600-by-1,200 pixel resolution, which is enough to view an entire page of The New York Times up-front, according to Engadget.
Asus
Another netbook-tablet hybrid here. It’s two pounds and one-inch thick. It comes with a TV-tuner, GPS and should be out in March.
Cydle M7
This Korean electronics company entered the Tablet fray this month with a $199 Android-powered device. It has a seven-inch resistive touchscreen and should come out in the spring. (See Engadget’s slightly longer take here.)
MSI
MSI has built a 10-inch Android tablet that’s based on one of the new chips Nvidia showed off this week and has a capacitive display, which is very responsive. (Engadget has more here.)
Notion Ink
Here’s another Android-based tablet from Notion Ink. It’s on a 10.1 inch Pixel Qi display (which is what Apple’s version will reportedly run on). It comes with GPS, a digital compass, an accelerometer and even water sensors. There’s a three-megapixel camera that comes with autofocus and can record video. There will be a 16-gigabyte and 32-gigabyte version. (Slashgear has a longer take on it and Engadget tests it hands-on here.)
Compal
This is a seven-inch tablet that runs on Android 2.0. Engadget gave it a pretty horrible review, complaining about the lack of GPS and Bluetooth. It also has a resistive, rather than a capacitive touchscreen, which makes it less responsive to touch.
Next Story: At last: Real photos of the Apple tablet Previous Story: The irony of Scott McNealy’s goodbye note
The Hauppauge WinTV HVR-2250 is a dual TV tuner and encoder to get fantastic television reception using two tuners so you can watch television on one tuner and record on the other.
Ease of Use, Performance: 24/25
Look & Feel: 24/25
Features 23/25
How much I enjoy 24/25
Total: 95/100
The Hauppauge WinTV HVR-2250 is a dual tuner and encoder using the PCI Express connection for great television reception that includes an IR remote and receiver. The WinTV 2250 uses two tuners and two hardware MPEG-2 encoders so you can watch and record on two separate channels and watch one of the channels.
The Hauppauge WinTV HVR-2250 comes with the tuner card which is a low profile PCI-Express connection card with the IR dual receiver transmitter and an IR transmitter with a remote control. There is also an A/V Adapter panel to use for a separate rear panel connection with an A/V Adapter Cable and a CD with drivers and the WinTV program.
The Hauppauge HVR-2250 uses two TV tuners and two hardware encoders that can record on two separate channels as well as watch one channel while recording another. The tuners use digital ATSC or Clear QAM cable as its input from regular coax inputs on the rear of the card or from the auxiliary adapter to receive up to 1080i digital television.
The card is easy to install and use along with the WinTV program but there are other TV tuner programs you can use that work great such as SnapStream's Beyond TV or Sage TV. The Hauppauge HVR-2250 also works well with Windows Media Center as its main control program but I really do not recommend using the Windows Media Center program.
Installing the card is simple and I used both the TV tuner card and the adapter card for my computer setup with the adapter a couple of slots away. Using the two card slots makes sense when you use the card on a low profile or small form factor case for a home theatre personal computer system.
The PCI-Express connection allows for use in the most modern motherboards and is simple to install just like any other PCI-E card and even comes with both long and short metal plates to attach to the card and adapter. Once installed the CD contains the drivers for the card and the WinTV program but you should check the Hauppauge website for current up to date drivers.
Setting up the WinTV program is also easy and I found the WinTV program does get all the channels that the other programs do but not the Windows Media Center. I used the Windows Media Center and only got the four main channels in my area but on WinTV I get all the main channels and the secondary ones on the digital broadcasts.
The WinTV program has plenty of configuration options and can receive clear QAM or clear cable TV channels broadcast over cable television. Using the Hauppauge HVR-2250 you can receive both digital ATSC channels from over the air broadcast antennas and clear QAM channels through cable television without having to use a cable television box to watch cable TV on your computer.
You can also use the AV inputs to input and record or edit movies and video from a DVD player, video camcorder or other source. You would need an editor to edit these recordings but Windows Movie maker is a free program and there are others that are not expensive if you want to use the TV Tuner as an input for video and audio.
The AV input works fine with my Panasonic camcorder and records just fine straight from the play function of my camcorder as well as straight form the AV output of a DVD player. You can use the HVR-2250 TV Tuner card to record and edit camcorder video as well as a replacement for a cable TV box for regular clear channel that are not scrambled.
I do not have cable TV so could not comment on how clear or well the channels come in for that but the digital channels all come in very well using WinTV and the Hauppauge tuner. I found that the WinTV program does get all the channels when you scan but it did have a few problems getting all of them a couple of times I did the scan.
I also had problems with the WinTV program freezing or locking up while watching TV so I am not sure this is the best program to use as the television viewer. I did try both Sage TV and the Beyond TV programs using trial versions and they both worked very well with the TV tuner without any problems at all.
Also using the Windows Media Center on my Windows Vista Premium I had no problems except for the one of not getting any secondary digital channels. The Hauppauge WinTV HVR-2250 TV Tuner works very well and television on my PC comes in very clear and sounds great in high definition 1080i.
You can easily record using the simple onscreen buttons or the remote, set up a schedule to record or use the easy to see loading bar to go forward or back in the show and pause a current show. The use of the automatic recording and being able to pause, fast forward and rewind live TV is a great part of a DVR that is part of the Hauppauge WinTV package.
The Hauppauge HVR-2250 is a fantastic TV Tuner and the WinTV program works well but you may want to spring a little extra money for a separate TV tuner program. I had no problems using the tuner and with the additional A/V adapter and low profile this tuner makes a great HTPC tuner card.
I highly recommend the Hauppauge HVR-2250 as a great dual tuner for receiving television from antenna or cable box on your computer.
PC and component maker Manli has apparently introduced a new model called the Manli M7 Series in Italy which packs a 12.1 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display and a 1.3GHz Intel Pentium SU4100 dual core CULV processor. I say apparently, because that’s what Notebook Italia is reporting, but according to the Manli web site, the M7 is a 10.1 inch netbook with a 1024 x 600 pixel display and an Atom N270 processor.
I’m not sure if this just a naming mixup, but I certainly hope that the notebook featured on Notebook Italia is real, because it looks like a nice little system. It measures just under an inch (25mm) thick and has a 6 cell, 6 hour battery. It will reportedly be available in February with a choice of Linux, Windows XP, or Windows 7.
The laptop has 2GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, and optional Bluetooth 2.1, 3G, and a digital TV tuner.
via Netbooked
Who is trying to face down Apple’s anticipated tablet this spring?
Here’s a partial list covering tablets from larger hardware companies like Dell and HP, along with lesser-known devices and a few e-readers. The pricing details and public launch dates aren’t available on all of these yet, so we’ve provided what we know and linked to deeper reviews.
HP’s Slate computer
This video demo shows the HP tablet that runs on Windows 7. HP is also reportedly building another based on Google’s Android OS. When Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer demoed it on-stage at CES, he was spare with details and used it to read a book using Kindle software. Using the touchscreen, he swiped through the pages, then went onto Amazon, where he purchased and downloaded another e-book.
OpenPeak Tablet powered by Intel Atom chip
Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini showed off a tablet using an upcoming Atom chip dubbed “Moorestown” during his CES keynote speech. It’s a prototype with no firm dates for launch.
HP’s tablet-laptop hybrid, the TouchSmart tm2:
This kinda qualifies. It’s a fourth-generation touchscreen laptop with a swivel 12.1-inch screen that can be turned into a tablet. You can enter things with your finger, full-size keyboard, or a digital pen. It has a capacitive multitouch display that recognizes multi-finger gestures such as pinching or swiping and an aluminum case with a Riptide engraved illustration. (See Dean Takahashi’s full take on HP’s lineup here.) This laptop starts at $949.
Dell
It has a five-inch display and is supposed to complement (not be a substitute) for a conventional PC. The small size may hurt the product in the long-run, since it duplicates the feel of a smartphone instead of an actual tablet computer. The more promising features seem to revolve around connecting multiple tablet users at once — users will be able to swipe and send pictures to other tablets, or connect tablets to play games together.
ICD’s Vega
The Android-based Vega specializes in home scheduling and other basic functions and will come to the U.K market later this year with T-mobile. We covered the first appearance of the Vega back in November. Developed by Seattle-based Innovative Converged Devices (ICD), a mobile computing engineering firm, the Vega includes features that make it a solid in-home device, suited for the average family kitchen, including a 15-inch touchscreen, NVIDIA Tegra 250 mobile web processor, full HD 1080p video playback, 3G, Wi-Fi and a T-Mobile SIM card. The carrier hasn’t released pricing. (We did a longer take on the device here.)
Marvell-based Alex Reader
This dual-screen reader from Spring Design runs on a Marvell processor and has not one, but two different kinds of displays. The smaller screen is an Android tablet while the other is an electronic paper display with an LCD. It comes out next month retailing at $399.
Skiff
This is an e-reader, not a tablet. It’s an 11.5-inch device comes from a company backed by newspaper and magazine publisher Hearst Corp. It’s got a 1,600-by-1,200 pixel resolution, which is enough to view an entire page of The New York Times up-front, according to Engadget.
Asus
Another netbook-tablet hybrid here. It’s two pounds and one-inch thick. It comes with a TV-tuner, GPS and should be out in March.
Cydle M7
This Korean electronics company entered the Tablet fray this month with a $199 Android-powered device. It has a seven-inch resistive touchscreen and should come out in the spring. (See Engadget’s slightly longer take here.)
MSI
MSI has built a 10-inch Android tablet that’s based on one of the new chips Nvidia showed off this week and has a capacitive display, which is very responsive. (Engadget has more here.)
Notion Ink
Here’s another Android-based tablet from Notion Ink. It’s on a 10.1 inch Pixel Qi display (which is what Apple’s version will reportedly run on). It comes with GPS, a digital compass, an accelerometer and even water sensors. There’s a three-megapixel camera that comes with autofocus and can record video. There will be a 16-gigabyte and 32-gigabyte version. (Slashgear has a longer take on it and Engadget tests it hands-on here.)
Compal
This is a seven-inch tablet that runs on Android 2.0. Engadget gave it a pretty horrible review, complaining about the lack of GPS and Bluetooth. It also has a resistive, rather than a capacitive touchscreen, which makes it less responsive to touch.
Next Story: At last: Real photos of the Apple tablet Previous Story: The irony of Scott McNealy’s goodbye note
It wasn't very long ago when the only way to watch TV was with your television set. The content that you got to view was homogenized programming that followed a recipe designed to appeal to the “average viewer.” If this describes your situation, then it is time for you to discover some of the pleasant perks of 21st-century technology. Read on about the four different methods of watching television on your computer.
1) Did you know that there is a huge amount of old TV shows, movie classics and documentaries free for your viewing in the public domain? The public domain has content with expired copyrights and can be viewed or even sold by anyone. Try looking for this material on a search engine using phrases containing “public domain” plus “film” or “video”, etc. If you give the search a fair amount of effort, it shouldn't take too long to find lots of these “golden oldies”.
2) If you wish to watch the TV programming of your television set on your PC, it can be done with very little fuss with a USB TV tuner. This device is external to your laptop or PC and can be readily connected to your computer and TV set. This external arrangement is very different from that of the TV tuner card which must be installed inside your PC. Signals from your TV's output ports are transferred to the USB TV tuner input ports. The modified signals are then transmitted to your laptop or PC via its USB port. A feature common to most USB TV tuners are that TV shows can be paused, fast forwarded, rewound, and saved to your PC hard drive. Many USB TV tuners can also burn TV shows to DVD. Prices: $50 to $200.
3) Want to know a guaranteed way of getting a DVD quality image when viewing a movie on your computer? Answer: insert a DVD into your CD-ROM drive! To do this, you must download the appropriate media player with this capability. You can get one for free at Realplayer.com. Look for and click the “Get it free” button. Follow the directions after this. When you have finished with the download and installation, insert a DVD. Then start the player, open the “play” menu and click “Play CD or DVD”.
4) A popular approach to watching TV on the computer is using BitTorrent networking to download a video or movie onto your computer for free. BitTorrent networking is a sort of peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing system and is a common way to download movies and music. A movie that is downloaded is first broken up into several parts and distributed to the people in the network who want the movie. Everyone then supplies each other with the parts of the movie that the other doesn't have. The process has to start with a complete file to begin with. The person who supplied that complete file is said to have 'seeded' the download.
In order to download movies in this way, you need to install something called bitTorrent client software. Although there are a lot of client software available, my preference is BitComet which has been around for a few years and is free. The next step is to search for a movie using a torrent search engine such as torrentz.com. Enter a search phrase that is related to your movie such as its title. You will arrive at a page of search results. Click on the most relevant link. You should then see the movie title as well as a 'Download Torrent' link or button. Click on the link or button to start the movie download.
When finished, you should allow others to share your file by becoming the 'seed' that initiates yet another download session for other people. This is done by allowing your client software to continue running for a couple of hours.
Please note that this description is rather minimal since a thorough description is beyond the scope of this article. Also bear in mind that downloading copyrighted movies is illegal. People using peer-to-peer networks for illegal downloads have been prosecuted.
Hopefully this article has given you some idea of what is possible with a computer and a fast Internet connection. The amount of content out there is enormous. I'm speculating here, but I would imagine that it would take years of continuous viewing to consume all that is freely available. Be warned that it can get very addictive and can have a devastating effect on your personal productivity.
