The State of Technology

I wiped and re-installed my system drive this past week. It's nice to have a fresh install. I've already had issues.

Actually, it was a minor thing. LogMeIn. When I installed this software, and rebooted, I could see the Windows logo as it started, then my monitor stopped getting a feed. I could hear my startup music, so I knew it was just a driver issue. Reinstalling the drivers (after rebooting into VGA mode, YUCK!) seemed to fix it. But now I'm back up and running.

And Patched!
As you can see from this post from Coding Horror, (one of my new favorite blogs!) it's very easy to kill an unpatched system.

What is my goal!?!
Ubiquitous media!

I want music, videos (recorded via DVR/PVR), and pictures that I can access from anywhere. That means, I want my PDA to plug into my system at home, and pull a random selection of music from my music server to take with me when I go. I don't want to have to think about selecting this one, or that one, but not that one, cause I'm tired of it...

Why? Cause the radio in my car doesn't pick up any channels, that's why.

I'd also like all of this to be streamed to my entertainment system along with online streams of music, and perhaps something like MovieLink, where you can buy and download movies to view for a period of time.

Did I mention this should be free? Or at least cheap. Believe it or not, most of my entertainment system was given to me, or purchased used. I am a cheapskate!

We're not far from this though. Using GBPVR, and my MVP I've got most of it already. Music, Pictures, DVR, and some streaming music even. And all I paid for was the hardware. I was able to pull out my 60 disc CD changer from my entertainment center, because all (or soon to be all) of our music is on our server, and fed through the system, complete with album art.

As for movies, GBPVR has a plug-in that allows you to view the listings for the local theaters, COMPLETE WITH TRAILERS!!! Just a click of the remote away, I have weather, music, pictures, theater listings and TV. And I only pay $10/month for cable. How's that for cheap!

That's not to say I wouldn't mind paying 2 bucks to download a rented movie. I'd be saving 2 bucks compared to the $4 to rent a DVD at the local place, not to mention the $3 for the gallon of gas. (Okay, it doesn't take a whole gallon to go get a movie, but still...)

In the mean time, we have people working for cheaper access to space. But of course there is debate about that. If you have a few minutes, look at this discussion on the Space Elevator.

So, why can't we just go the extra mile, get me my media, and let me be.


But all that aside, governments still can't feed all the people. The cold war is over, and yet you still here them saying 'I'm gonna point my guns at you if you don't play my way.' All-in-all, I haven't spent much time on my persuit of music, because there are FAR MORE IMPORTANT THINGS to worry about.

So, here's a reminder to myself and others. Let's stay focused people!