Re: [H] Satellite PC Card needed

[Tharin Olsen]

Well playback, ripping, and recording of dvds can be done easily on a PC as 
long as you have a DVD-ReWritable drive and the necessary software. Now days 
these drives start at $30.

Music can be handled by software like Itunes, Windows Media Player, Media 
Monkey, Winamp, etc. If you are going to use a nice receiver for audio you 
might look for a motherboard or soundcard with an optical or coaxial SPDIF 
output.

You didn't mention which satellite dish system you are using??

Technically a feed from something like DirectTV and Dish Network can't be 
decoded by anything other than their own receivers because the streams use a 
proprietary encryption. Since you must use their receiver to decode the signal, 
you could get by using any method that would allow input from an analog video 
(s-video, composite, or coaxial) + audio source into the PC. This could be a 
PCI, USB, or Firewire capture/tuner card from the likes of Hauppauge, ATI, 
Avermedia, etc.
Check this link on newegg.com for some ideas
http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=47

In order to decode the signal straight from a satellite dish you would need a 
DVB-S card. These DVB-S cards are mostly intended for use with FTA 
(Free-to-Air) broadcasts. TwinHan is probably the most popular manufacturer of 
this type of product at the moment. 
(http://www.twinhan.com/product_satellite.asp) - - I know some people have had 
some success in getting DVB-S cards to decode streams from DTV and Bev/Dish but 
I dont think you'll get any help with this on the list. Not publicly at least 
:) 

Since I'm not doing any recording from my Dish Network sat receiver in my home, 
I just use a Slingbox so I can watch and control my sat receiver from any PC in 
the house.  The three problems with a Slingbox is that only one computer at a 
time is allowed to log in,  the picture quality is not stellar since it is 
being transcoded and streamed, and the slingbox software doesn't let you 
capture the stream. I think the latter problem can solved with 3rd party 
software though.

If I had not already built my own HTPC or felt I needed something that was wife 
proof, I would be much more likely to go with something like an AppleTV (<$200 
on fleebay), modded Xbox, or one of the other UPNP media devices available from 
D-link, Linksys, Netgear, etc. With something like this you can stream media 
(music, video, online radio) stored on your pc to a set-top box that is made to 
just play media files and nothing else. On the other hand these devices are 
meant for playback on a TV which may not fit what you are looking for... 

uh hrmm... ever consider replacing your existing monitor with a LCD TV and a 
Tivo??? :)

-Tharin O.

K Humrich <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Hello everyone!

I am working on changing my room with all new speakers, tuner/DVD, and a PC
Card for Satellite TV..  Well everything needed to allow me to run the line
in from the Satellite dish, and be able to play TV/Music/DvD on my PC OR on
my TV, and use a PC card so I can store everything on my PC's harddrive,
write things I like to DvD's and so on..

[H] F-ckin Xmas lights

[Joe User]

Every year we throw sets of lights away. Now with power use issues
(like killing our planet) I want to use LED sets, they are pricey in
the beginning but I would guess they would last longer and not use as
much electricity. Anyone can conform and/or deny? Any experience?

Any good sources for these things besides retail stores?

-- 
Regards,
 joeuser - Still looking for the 'any' key...

Re: [H] F-ckin Xmas lights

[Thane Sherrington]

At 06:22 PM 23/11/2007, Joe User wrote:

Hello FORC5,

Friday, November 23, 2007, 3:24:00 PM, you wrote:

> worried about power outage, do like I do. I do not put up lights.
baa humbug. >>:-}


Yeah, like the idea... tried it. Wife = Veto


LOL!

T 

Re: [H] possible m/b death

[Al]

DHSinclair <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> My XP machine has suddenly (today) decided to not boot up.
> The post indications are:
> a) post ends w/ "Keyboard error or no kbd present."

Can you set the BIOS to ignore KB errors?

Best,
al

Re: [H] possible m/b death

[DHSinclair]

Done (but do not understand) ?

CMOS batt reads 3.029v.
Think that is a bit on the low side(?)
Best,
Duncan

At 20:44 11/23/2007 -0700, you wrote:


DHSinclair <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> No. Post will not respond to the DEL key.

Try leaving it without power overnight. (power cord removed from power
supply; battery removed) I've seen several motherboard saved this way.
Sometimes takes a couple of days.

Good luck and let us know...

Best al

Re: [H] possible m/b death

[Al]

DHSinclair <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> No. Post will not respond to the DEL key.

Try leaving it without power overnight. (power cord removed from power
supply; battery removed) I've seen several motherboard saved this way.
Sometimes takes a couple of days.

Good luck and let us know...

Best al

Re: [H] F-ckin Xmas lights

[Bobby Heid]

I just saw some of these at Sam's Club.  The box had something like $75 for
the costs of running regular lights for some amount of time and about $1.75
(or something like that) for the cost of running the LED's for the same
amount of time.  I don't know about their calim though.

I do know that LED's are almost always more efficient than incandescent
lights and they last much longer.  As for the way they are wired up for
Christmas lights, who knows?

I say if you like the colors, then go for it and let us know after Christmas
how it went.

Bobby

-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Joe User
Sent: Friday, November 23, 2007 3:27 PM
To: The Hardware List
Subject: [H] F-ckin Xmas lights

Every year we throw sets of lights away. Now with power use issues
(like killing our planet) I want to use LED sets, they are pricey in
the beginning but I would guess they would last longer and not use as
much electricity. Anyone can conform and/or deny? Any experience?

Any good sources for these things besides retail stores?

-- 
Regards,
 joeuser - Still looking for the 'any' key...

Re: [H] F-ckin Xmas lights

[Joe User]

Hello FORC5,

Friday, November 23, 2007, 3:24:00 PM, you wrote:

> worried about power outage, do like I do. I do not put up lights. 
baa humbug. >>:-}


Yeah, like the idea... tried it. Wife = Veto


-- 
Regards,
 joeuser - Still looking for the 'any' key...

Re: [H] F-ckin Xmas lights

[FORC5]

worried about power outage, do like I do. I do not put up lights. 
baa humbug. >:-}
fp

At 01:26 PM 11/23/2007, Joe User Poked the stick with:
>Every year we throw sets of lights away. Now with power use issues
>(like killing our planet) I want to use LED sets, they are pricey in
>the beginning but I would guess they would last longer and not use as
>much electricity. Anyone can conform and/or deny? Any experience?
>
>Any good sources for these things besides retail stores?
>
>-- 
>Regards,
> joeuser - Still looking for the 'any' key...

-- 
Tallyho ! ]:8)
Taglines below !
--
Meaningless tagline attached to pointless message.

Re: [H] Webroot AV ?

[DHSinclair]

As I said, YMMV.  Just sharing that the eset/reseller support folk
have nothing good to say about webroot for the last several months.
Best,
Duncan

At 11:42 11/23/2007 -0600, you wrote:

Hello DHSinclair,

Friday, November 23, 2007, 11:34:25 AM, you wrote:

> Articles on the Wilders security site indicate the the latest webroots
> stuff now includes some extra piece of code that is either a
> dialer/toolbar/other that nod32 reacts badly too. current recc is to avoid.
> YMMV.


Must be the firewall part. Use both without issue.


--
Regards,
 joeuser - Still looking for the 'any' key...

Re: [H] HD Virus ?

[DHSinclair]

Well, Maxtor is now p/o Seagate.  Seagate bought them last year or year before.
Best,
Duncan
At 14:40 11/22/2007 -0700, you wrote:

figures the media would get it wrong, they showed Seagate.

fp
At 12:32 PM 11/22/2007, Greg Sevart Poked the stick with:
>The drives weren't internal drives. They were external USB Maxtor-branded
>drives, specifically the Basics Personal Storage 3200 model. Since external
>drives come pre-formatted, Windows will attempt to autorun when attached
>(unless, of course, that functionality is disabled)
>
>Greg
>
>
>> -Original Message-
>> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:hardware-
>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of FORC5
>> Sent: Thursday, November 22, 2007 10:58 AM
>> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> Subject: [H] HD Virus ?
>>
>> On the news yesterday about a virus in NEW hard drives shipping from
>> China. BS or fact ?
>>
>> How is this possible on a un formatted drive ? or would it be embedded
>> in the firmware ?
>>
>> Looks like Seagate
>> Fp
>> thanks
>>
>>
>> --
>> Tallyho ! ]:8)
>> Taglines below !
>> --
>> If you can't win fair, win foul.
>>

--
Tallyho ! ]:8)
Taglines below !
--
What hair color do they put on the driver's license of a bald man?

Re: [H] Webroot AV ?

[DHSinclair]

Articles on the Wilders security site indicate the the latest webroots 
stuff now includes some extra piece of code that is either a 
dialer/toolbar/other that nod32 reacts badly too. current recc is to avoid. 
YMMV.

Best,
Duncan
At 09:52 11/22/2007 -0700, you wrote:

HAPPY TURKEY DAY TO ALL 

Has anyone used Webroots AV SW with their anti spy ware stuff ? they now 
offer firewall with it. Package deal is not to bad.


Fp

snip

Re: [H] possible m/b death

[DHSinclair]

Al,
New visual: the KBD leds never light up or flash during post.
System off as suggested for the night.
BTW, your email date/time stamp suggests MST (-7:00). Thought you were
in EST (-5:00).?
Best,
Duncan
At 21:51 11/23/2007 -0500, you wrote:

Done (but do not understand) ?

CMOS batt reads 3.029v.
Think that is a bit on the low side(?)
Best,
Duncan

At 20:44 11/23/2007 -0700, you wrote:


DHSinclair <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> No. Post will not respond to the DEL key.

Try leaving it without power overnight. (power cord removed from power
supply; battery removed) I've seen several motherboard saved this way.
Sometimes takes a couple of days.

Good luck and let us know...

Best al

Re: [H] F-ckin Xmas lights

[FORC5]

Love IT !!
fp

At 03:22 PM 11/23/2007, Joe User Poked the stick with:
>Hello FORC5,
>
>Friday, November 23, 2007, 3:24:00 PM, you wrote:
>
>> worried about power outage, do like I do. I do not put up lights. 
>baa humbug. >>:-}
>
>
>Yeah, like the idea... tried it. Wife = Veto
>
>
>-- 
>Regards,
> joeuser - Still looking for the 'any' key...

-- 
Tallyho ! ]:8)
Taglines below !
--
Prejudice is the reason of fools.

Re: [H] HD Virus ?

[DHSinclair]

Confirmed. Saw this in the Register last week. Seems the drives got 
polluted via some sub-sub-contractor in China.  Think the story said ~300K 
drives affected and the mfg knows where most of them are.

Best,
Duncan
At 09:58 11/22/2007 -0700, you wrote:
On the news yesterday about a virus in NEW hard drives shipping from 
China. BS or fact ?


How is this possible on a un formatted drive ? or would it be embedded in 
the firmware ?


Looks like Seagate
Fp
thanks


--
Tallyho ! ]:8)
Taglines below !
--
If you can't win fair, win foul.

Re: [H] Video Card Question

[Thane Sherrington]

At 01:58 PM 22/11/2007, James Maki wrote:

>From what I could find, that was my diagnosis as well. Hence the reason I
was looking for suggestions for a new card :)


Oh.  Duh.  I'd look at the X1650 or HD2600 Pro.  They are fairly 
inexpensive and will give you a speed boost.  On the NVidia side, I'd 
look at the 8600 line.


T 

Re: [H] Webroot AV ?

[Joe User]

Hello DHSinclair,

Friday, November 23, 2007, 11:34:25 AM, you wrote:

> Articles on the Wilders security site indicate the the latest webroots
> stuff now includes some extra piece of code that is either a 
> dialer/toolbar/other that nod32 reacts badly too. current recc is to avoid.
> YMMV.


Must be the firewall part. Use both without issue.


-- 
Regards,
 joeuser - Still looking for the 'any' key...

[H] Free Software

[Thane Sherrington]

TechCraft's Camtasia and Snagit.
http://www.updatexp.com/free-camtasia-studio-3.html
http://www.updatexp.com/free-snagit-download.html

T

Re: [H] Video Card Question

[DHSinclair]

Jim,
If you have the rest of the support for it, I'd go with this:


XFX nVidia card- (~$97 with rebate and shipping)

I have not had completely good use of an ATI card yet.  I do have a server 
with

an on-board ATI RAGE chip.  It does still work. Nothing to write home about,
however. Very old.
Have done nVidia since along time ago. I'll admit that my "fastest" nVidia 
card
is a FX5600, and, I still use PCI and AGP slots. So, YMMV. But, I still 
believe

nVidia has the edge for general use. Others, may differ.
Best,
Duncan

Re: [H] Webroot AV ?

[Joe User]

Hello DHSinclair,

Friday, November 23, 2007, 12:15:17 PM, you wrote:

> As I said, YMMV.  Just sharing that the eset/reseller support folk
> have nothing good to say about webroot for the last several months.
> Best,
> Duncan

> At 11:42 11/23/2007 -0600, you wrote:
>>Hello DHSinclair,
>>
>>Friday, November 23, 2007, 11:34:25 AM, you wrote:
>>
>> > Articles on the Wilders security site indicate the the latest webroots
>> > stuff now includes some extra piece of code that is either a
>> > dialer/toolbar/other that nod32 reacts badly too. current recc is to avoid.
>> > YMMV.


Sure, I even left that part in my quote of you message - this would be
twice. YMMV - Got it. I have no issues, I use and sell Eset. I don't
use Webroot firewall - use anti-spyware and av package.


-- 
Regards,
 joeuser - Still looking for the 'any' key...

Re: [H] Free Software

[Bobby Heid]

Thanks Thane!  I downloaded the Camtasia studio.  I had gotten Snagit
earlier.

AS an FYI, I just ordered a Corel Paintshop Pro XI/Ulead Video Studio 11
plus/DVD Copy 5 Platinum bundle for $79.98 with a $30 and a $50 MIR (no
upgrade rebates here!) for a total cost of -$0.02.  The bundle is supposedly
valued at around $279.  I ordered this for the PSP.  I also ordered Nero 8
Ultra for $69.98 with a $50 MIR and a $20 upgrade MIR.  

So I got all of this software for $7.44 shipping (after rebates).  The
earliest rebates end on 11/29/07.  I do not know how long the PSP bundle
will be this price.

Here's the links:

PSP bundle:
http://shop4.outpost.com/product/5347948?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
MIR $30:
http://image.ak.outpost.com/art/rebates_pdf/5347948_1.pdf
Mir 2:
http://image.ak.outpost.com/art/rebates_pdf/5347948_2.pdf

Nero 8:
http://shop1.outpost.com/product/5359518?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
$50 MIR:
http://image.ak.outpost.com/art/rebates_pdf/5359518_2.pdf
$20 upgrade MIR:
http://image.ak.outpost.com/art/rebates_pdf/5359518_1.pdf


Dang, while getting the links for you all, I just realized this is not the
newest version of PSP (X2 is).  I already have this version.  I guess maybe
this will be someone's Christmas present now.  LOL.

Bobby


-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Thane Sherrington
Sent: Friday, November 23, 2007 1:01 PM
To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
Subject: [H] Free Software

TechCraft's Camtasia and Snagit.
http://www.updatexp.com/free-camtasia-studio-3.html
http://www.updatexp.com/free-snagit-download.html

T

Re: [H] Video Card Question

[James Maki]

> -Original Message-
> From: Thane Sherrington
 
> > At 01:58 PM 22/11/2007, James Maki wrote:
> > From what I could find, that was my diagnosis as well. 
> > Hence the reason I
> > was looking for suggestions for a new card :)
> 
> Oh.  Duh.  I'd look at the X1650 or HD2600 Pro.  They are fairly 
> inexpensive and will give you a speed boost.  On the NVidia side, I'd 
> look at the 8600 line.
> 
> T 
> 

Any comments on these two cards? Price seems about right. 
Not personally familiar with these brands. 

Sapphire ATI card- (~$85 with shipping)


XFX nVidia card- (~$97 with rebate and shipping)


Thanks for the input.

Jim Maki
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

[H] possible m/b death

[DHSinclair]

My XP machine has suddenly (today) decided to not boot up.
The post indications are:
a) post ends w/ "Keyboard error or no kbd present."
b) hd is up to speed and running.

Is this old Asus CUBX now toast?

Have tried 3 different kbds via two different kvms. Have even tried 
different kbds

direct!
Best,
Duncan

Re: [H] possible m/b death

[DHSinclair]

No. Post will not respond to the DEL key.
Can not get into BIOS, but tried.. :)
Best,
Duncan
At 20:01 11/23/2007 -0700, you wrote:


DHSinclair <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> My XP machine has suddenly (today) decided to not boot up.
> The post indications are:
> a) post ends w/ "Keyboard error or no kbd present."

Can you set the BIOS to ignore KB errors?

Best,
al