Media MVP

Since this is day 1, I probably don't have any readers yet, but there is no way to get them except post and have Google index that post... So I am writing to you about the Media MVP box. This is a linux box that I plan on buying. A friend of mine has one and is using it in what he calls a JewVo (a Tivo designed by a Jew). It is a linux box that comes with no software but free software is available from the manufacturer, you just have to download it. And other people have written software for it. You load the software, plug it in line with your TV, give it a network cable and and networked Windows share that it can save to and load from, and you have a hard drive recorder. For under $100 at Amazon, this is a great deal just for that much.

But wait, there's more. As he read more about this box, he came accross software that lets it pull up RSS feeds, web audio streams and more, as well as a program guide. He downloaded a skin that makes the whole thing look very professional and now if you didn't know what he had you would swear that he has the next version of Tivo that hasn't been released yet. This all does require a computer with software running, rather than just a hard drive, which is a down side, but the result is impressive. My idea is to hook it to a networked hard drive. If that drive reads as a Windows share, then it should work without a computer. But of course you would loose all the extra features...

Well, I am planning on getting one of these in about two months (either for the holidays or with holiday gift money) and once I do I will be posting about it. However, the box has been out for a while and Randon says he has heard about newer versions on the way, so I might hold off and get a better box, if I can resist...

My Blog

Since I am starting a new blog, I thought I would take a post to explain why I am starting over. My last blog is entirely about my family and my life, which is great for my family to keep up with my daughter's life and for them to know how I am doing, but it didn't leave room for me to talk to the world. I didn't want that blog to be public, so I put a password on it and gave that password to my family. This meant that I was blogging only to a very small group of people. Now I don't often need to talk to the whole world, but I intend to start talking more because if I am working on a project and I can help someone else out by leaving information about that project and ideas for other projects, then I want to do so. Hence this new blog. I plan on running this blog for the sold purpose of talking about projects.

I am an amateur radio operator, a former telecom and radio engineer for a major fire department, and an engineering consultant to a radio station (formerly their station engineer). Those are my hobbies, mind you. My job is a project manager for an interior construction company. All of this gives me a lot of ideas and a mind that keeps thinking all the time. I don't have the money or time to invest in all the projects that I come up with, so I will post about three types of things here (primarily): First, I will post about my projects and how they are going. I hope that people will comment and give me ideas to work on. Second, I will post about project ideas that I have had which I don't have enough time or money to carry out. In these cases, I hope that people who like the ideas comment back and tell me what they did and how they did it. Third, I will occassionally comment on new technology that has been released and which I have either heard of or purchased. I hope to get feedback about ways to use technology better and ways to improve on the next version.

If you are interested in these things, subscribe to my blog. There wont be a lot of posts, but they will all be interesting and entertaining. If you are not interested in these things, then you probably don't have the same mind set as me and wouldn't like my writing anyway.