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Comment Re:Windows Media Center (Score 1) 374

It looks like it should work pretty well if you use the upcoming HDHomeRUN DVR software. You do need to use one of their tuners but you might already be using one. If not you can get an OTA or cablecard 3-tuner for $90-95.

Support is being added to NAS boxes, so you could switch out a power hungry PC for a low powered NAS drive, and then watch live or recorded TV on a Amazon FireTV, Roku, Smart Phone, Tablet, etc.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1275320038/hdhomerun-dvr-the-dvr-re-imagined

Comment Re:Seems to Be a Pattern of Behavior (Score 4, Interesting) 384

Have you heard of http://ninite.com/?

You can install Filezilla directly from them without the bundled malware and other shenanigans.

Their installer does take away choice so software will install to the default location. But it skips desktop shortcuts, bundled toolbars, and other crap I don't want.

They work especially well when you are setting up a new PC, you simply select what you want to install and it will automatically install the latest versions of everything without you needing to track down individual installers or prompting you during installation.

Comment Re:Define "Qualified" (Score 1) 407

You say you are self taught, but if you don't have a degree and certifications that's really going hurt you in the eyes of HR. College doesn't necessarily teach you the tech skills, but if can help you develop the skills to work with other which you will need in your professional career. I'm also self taught, but I went to school. I honestly learned more from my part time programming job I had while I got my bachelors than most of the actual courses, but the later courses taught me interesting things that have come in handy when trying to come up with creative solution to some complex issues.

My experience with people who haven't had formal education is mixed, some of them are brilliant, some are idiots who think they know everything, and the worse are the people who fall in the middle. These cowboys can come up with incredible solutions, but they rarely think things all the way though which can lead to critical systems breaking at the wrong moment which can cause days or weeks of downtime.

I'm probably around the same age though I might be a little more end of Gen-X. Even with a degree and experience, getting a job is extremely difficult. I've found it hard to pass through HR, but getting in front of the actual IT managers and developers would allow your knowledge to shine. The problem is getting there, you are right about needing industry contacts. The best way to get these is networking. Look for user groups in your area and start showing up. A lot of the people going to them work with the technology in their day to day jobs. Talk to them and impress them with your skills, they might be able to tell you about a position at their company, or one a headhunter has been stalking them about.

Try seeing if there are any small/medium consulting firms in your area. Working at these allowed me to get hands on experience with a large number of technologies, as well as developing a large number of contacts with both clients and fellow employees. With a small/medium business you'd have more luck getting in from of a decision maker and getting to show off your knowledge. I was able be at one company while bouncing around different projects as I was needed. This gave me exposure to an extremely diverse number of technologies and environments without looking like I was job hopping every few months.

Finally don't rely on job postings. I was only ever hired at a single place by replying on them. My other jobs were knowing people who could recommend me, or with my latest using a recruiting firm. Try directly contacting a recruiting firm and see if you can get a meeting with a recruiter. This will allow you to discuss your skills and put you at the top of their call list when something relevant opens up. It will also give you some interviewing experience. Just be blunt, let them know that you are having issues in your job search and any advise or critiques they can give you are welcome.

Comment Re:The new power supplies may be sensitve to EMP (Score 1) 192

It's related to the GSM network, if you had a CDMA phone (Verizon, Sprint) you didn't experience the issue.

The problem wasn't only over the radio, it also affected computer speakers and headphones. The expanded frequencies the networks use might help the problem, but I've been on CDMA for the past eight years, so I experienced it for a while.

Comment Re:The road to hell (Score 0) 545

So you're saying you'd rather keep working 80 hours a week, rather than moving and and get around the same pay but only put in 40 hours?

If you went somewhere that paid your normal rate for OT, you'd make double what you are now for those 80 hours. Or you could just work 40 and enjoy life outside of work.

Comment Re: Stupid, trucks cause the problem (Score 1) 554

Such a nice light dusting of snow.

While trying to find the average snowfall in Copenhagen that line "Snowfall occurs mainly from late December until early March, but snow cover seldom lasts long." came up.

So yes, biking there would work well in the winter. But many places in the US stay well below freezing for the entire winter and snow just keeps piling up.

Only some very special people try biking then, it's not exactly easy going through 2-3 feet of piled up snow.

Comment Re:Real tech fixes (Score 3, Informative) 99

The Blu Ray drive has nothing to do with the YLOD. Yes the laser can burn out, and I've had to do a single replacement.

YLOD is caused by micro fractures in solder eventually leading to connections failing. This is because the PS3 came out in 2006, which is the same time PC video cards were also combating the move away from lead based solder (thanks California, do you have that sign up that the state of California contains things known to cause cancer so anyone visiting or living there is aware?).

The YLOD and RROD caused both Sony and Microsoft to be very conservative with power and heat in the new console.

Comment Ubiquiti EdgeRouter and UniFi (Score 1) 427

For the same price has the higher-end consumer stuff you can get pro-level equipment.

Grab an EdgeRouter Lite: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CPRVF5K/ for $95

and pair it with an UniFi AP: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004XXMUCQ/ for $68

The EdgeRouter is not as user friendly as DD-WRT/Tomato, its OS is based of Vyatta. It has three gigabit ports you decide what you want to do with. Have one WAN and two LAN? Sure. Dual WAN fail over with LAN? Ok. WAN, LAN, and DMZ? Yup. Need more? Get the standard non-lite, or even go Pro. Software configure wise they work exactly the same.

Having an AP separate from router is also nice. Keep the router in the basement near the drop. Then just run CAT to a central area. The UniFi only has a single Ethernet connector and requires PoE which it includes an adapter for. It also supports seamless hand off, so if you have more than one, you can transition between them, and your network connection will stay open.

Comment Multiple PCs and multiple copies (Score 1) 210

Family sharing isn't a great solution. A library can only be accessed once, so you if are playing a game on your main PC someone else spouse/kid can't be on another playing a game out of the same library. The only real solution is for non-online games which is to go into Steam offline mode and the games can be accessed on two different machines.

Sony's system on the PS4 is slightly better. On machine is defined as the account's "home" system. Any content is then accessible from any other account logged into that console. You can then sign into another console with the account and access all of the content. Locking online multiplayer behind a pay service sucks, but the ability to play online is also shared with on the "home" system. So if you bought games digitally on one main account, you can easily play the same copy online with another person.

Comment Re:More or less (Score 1) 111

Will gamers see that much of an improvement? The PS4 and Xbone being x86 hardware is nice as the excuses on why a port to PCs can't happen, but both consoles are pretty sad when compared to current mid-range PCs let alone a high-end rig. The Xbone one is struggling to hit 1080p while the PS4 is hitting it, but at 30fps. This is matching or lower than the performance of a current mid-range PC and the performance gap will only widen.

It's good that AMD was able to get the contracts to get income as they have been struggling lately, but the Radeon 7000 series was a big of a disappointment, and were rumors of Nvidia branding the GTX660 as the GTX680 and the Titan was supposed to be the original GTX680. AMD new series is all rebranded cards save for the R9 290 and 290X. The cards a cheaper compared to Nvidia's offering, but they run hot and loud. Plus this article is discussing performance issues so maybe they aren't as good as the original look into them lead everyone to believe.

AMD really needs to buckle down and hit one out of the park. The Bulldozer was a dud, so the processor side of the business is also without a hit. I thought we might see the beginnings of an PC architecture redesign once you look at the new consoles, but I don't believe that anymore. I'm not hopefully that Kaveri is going to be the strike again Intel that AMD needs like the glory days of the Athlon 64 vs the Pentium 4, nor AMD releasing a GPU in the coming year that will force Nvidia to stop coasting along and release a highend card that is 80% of Titan SLI performance on a single card.

Comment Re:Yeah (Score 1) 111

Intel should can compete just fine in the low end market, and is starting to poke their nose into the mid-range. You can play Battlefield 4 with the integrated graphics of an i5/i7 desktop Haswell chip at 720p and low settings at 30fps.

Desktop processors running Iris Pro graphics may let Intel start stealing the spot light from AMD's APUs. I wouldn't count on Intel diving into the high-end market, so hopefully Nvidia won't be killed off. I also believe Nvidia has foreseen the end of themselves being anything but a high-end option and has innovated with PhysX, 3d Vision, and the new GSync.

Comment Re:Solution (Score 1) 470

I've had them overflowing with 12oz glass bottles I'm taking back to the store and the bags have survived multiple trips. I've had more issues with the handles on plastic bags ripping apart.

Recycling is a non-issue. And get this, it promotes the growth of more trees which will be used for paper.

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