One very important question that I missed though: There basically IS no good HTPC option on the market IMO.

The best bet for a good HTPC is direct them to their local REAL computer store and tell those guys what they want to do with the thing.

Otherwise, I usually keep a HTPC design including needed software saved to an emailed cart on newegg.

It was a couple of years ago for x360 owners, Youtube is a relatively new thing for 360.

If its not youtube though, its random web site or service X that they also use. People are so connected through their phones to pretty much everything they're jumping on other things that can do the same.

Whoops, 2nd post as I didn't address the other issues.

#1 CronoCloud is just flat out wrong, he's dealing with a selection bias for his local area, as am I, however I can fairly safely say this is going to be an expanding trend as I live in one of the most anti-tech areas I've ever seen. In fact more non-nerdy people that I know(most of my social group is non-nerdy) have HTPCs connected to their TVs now than the nerds do, even by percentage. A lot of them had the various nerds set them up, but maintenance is basically a non-issue most of the time.

For a lot of them the barrier breaker was "Well shit, all I use my XBox/Wii for nowadays is a DVD player or netflix box. What about this HTPC thing I've heard about?"

Once its explained to them, and they've seen it somewhere, most of them go for it if they're not just the type who's afraid of any sort of change.

The thing is, no one wanted a PC connected to their TV awhile ago because they'd be branded as a nerd etc, which there is definitely still a large stigma associated with. Now though, everyone has an xbox or Wii and most of them just explain it as "Well, this is basically the same except I can get youtube and a bunch of other stuff too!" The technology is just becoming too ubiquitous and too everywhere for it to retain the stigma it once had.

This isn't going to differentiate the hole in the wall aspect, the guy I'm talking about, this is the problem for him. If he's got to do it for a new xbox he may as well do it for an HTPC instead is his point.

Actually a good buddy of mine is one of the more derpy folks you could run into, plays nothing but assasins creed 3, madden, fifa, nhl games etc.

He won't be getting one of these new consoles because of the internet connection.

Shit, he doesn't have a landline or cable TV and the only reason he has an internet connection at all is basically netflix and downloading movies. If the XBox was a bit more open so you could use it as a general purpose entertainment center and print the odd PDF or something, connect, say, USB external drives to it etc, he'd probably never own anything else. Unfortunately its severely crippled when it could be a lot more.

This is in fact his new thing, when he needs something new. is that he's having me build him an HTPC that can run games etc and be upgraded as necessary. I'll hook an xbox controller up to it and he can play all the sports games he wants just as good as if it was an xbox anyways.

I think the major problem with consoles right now is that the companies making them are dealing with increasingly tech-savvy customers, even the derpy ones can handle an HTPC, and EVERYONE has that one techie friend they can just ask a few quick questions to now and then. The companies are stuck in the late 80s/early 90s mode of development though, where they're constantly trying to break things down into smaller chunks, make them simpler(which is still a good thing, within reason), and maybe then tack on restricted/broken added functionality.

When someone is looking at their phone and going "Well shit, I'm already paying the bill for this, it plays games which keep me entertained enough, and it does email/netflix/online banking/etc/etc" what the fuck are they going to buy your restricted-to-the-point-of-being-broken console for?

I think MS really missed the boat with Windows 8, they shouldn't have been targeting the tablet/phone market with it, they should have targeted the living room.

Oh, of course. The thing is, both of those require as much or sometimes more physical labour than the navvy, plus training, and often some level of intelligence. Its not everyone that can DO the job of a carpenter, welder, metalworker etc. So when anyone who shows some modicum of intelligence is being pushed towards white collar jobs both by laziness and society, the dollar commanded by the tradesmen is just going to keep climbing.

The physical labour aspect also keeps most anyone that wants a quick buck from just jumping straight in.

Corn is actually so hard for humans to process and so bad for you after you do that you're actually better off letting the cows eat it.

There are other things the land could be used for sure, but I see corn mentioned a lot and thought I'd play devils advocate for a minute :)

Besides which, its no where near billions, and those that try to live a vegan lifestyle, particularly those of european desecent, usually have to stop before they literally kill themselves.

Pesco-Vegetarianism is the closest thing that most anyone of european descent can actually move to without drastic detrimental health-related side effects.

Believe it or not, the folks living in Southeast Asia have had a shortage of meat for so long that they've evolved a digestive system that makes much better use of plant material. Even as such, they are NOT vegetarians by and large, they simply consume a relatively large quantity of plants as a percentage of their diet in comparison to a normal european diet.

Perl is quick, dirty, and extremely useful in real world situations. Only a mostly out-of-touch-with-reality neckbeard would say that learning ASSEMBLY would have any benefit whatsoever to most normal jobs. Perl, VB .Net and SQL are probably the 3 handiest items to have at your disposal.

This is happening all over the place, big time. No one wants to do physical labor anymore, they're all growing up fucking soft.

I am actually a trained programmer(and actually a pretty good one, top of class, etc). I currently build houses. More money in it.

You're missing the point a bit. You don't need to be a programmer for every job, but having a basic knowledge of coding and maybe being able to churn out a perl script can be extremely useful in almost every job. It's also shit thats really easy to pick up.

The same as Word Processing and Spreadsheet skills are pretty well ubiquitous requirements for any job that can use them, I think some small amount of coding will start seeping in as well.

Construction Labourers are about the only ones who wouldn't need it at all.

I wouldn't say unemployable without conding skills, but I can see any sort of upwards momentum being severely limited by a lack of coding skills.

It always amazes me how many people have no idea either A) The game exists or if they have heard of it then B) That its basically Battlefield, star wars style.

That game was so much fun. WTB Battlefront 3, with AT-ATs.

Actually some modern automatic transmissions are better than all but the top 5% of drivers who drive manual transmissions for fuel economy.

Now now, let the people who actually understand how modern transmissions, modern engines, and modern cars + wind resistance actually work discuss this.

You go play in your government sanctioned toy box with your government issued books and continue to ignore that things outside your direct daily knowledge and interaction could possibly be done much better than what the government currently states.

FYI German drivers get better MPG numbers because of the autobahn and the fact that most of the cars have a gear for the average speed on the autobahn of 140-150 KM/hr.

You obviously have no understanding of how all of these things interact and deign to call me an idiot. Good job.