After my recent post about avoiding technology extinctions, I decided to check out my lineup to see how well I’m doing. By and large, I’m pretty happy. I have four main machines, each running a separate OS – Linux Ubuntu, iOS, Android and Windows 7. I have peripheral devices that plug into and work across device types/software.
My main tech lineup
Dell Vostro Laptop. Originally bought in 2007 shortly before I joined PNC. Windows collapsed on me a couple years ago so I took the plunge and switched to Linux Ubuntu. I think I extended the life of this machine by switching to Ubuntu. It’s a great, simple OS. The productivity suite, LibreOffice, is free. There’s a central repository for downloading apps such as Firefox. Updates to applications are pushed to me. All I need is a new battery and it would be portable again.
Apple iPad. First generation. I can’t upgrade iOS on this machine because Apple stopped supporting the first generation device after iOS 6. By and large, it still works well though apps crash more frequently nowadays. I’m considering jailbreaking it to upgrade iOS or totally scrapping iOS and going with Linux’s tablet OS or perhaps Windows 8. But I like that I have at least one Apple/iOS device.
Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Originally $250, two years ago. Sprint phone running Android KitKat. I like this phone but it’s almost 2 years old and the battery life stinks. I even bought an extended life battery, which beefed up the previous slim profile and I still don’t get more than 8 hours of (relatively) use before it dies. My contract with Sprint is up soon so I’m going to go with a third-party reseller and possibly get a Galaxy S3 or S4 or Note.
Advanced Nerdistry
- Custom-built HTPC. It cost ~$600 to build, mostly using NewEgg and a little bit of BestBuy. It was my first build so I could probably do cheaper now. Runs Windows 7 Ultimate with XBMC, Plex and WMC installed for media collection and playing purposes. I have a 1 TB hard-drive on it and recently bought an additional 3 TB hard-drive.
SiliconDust HDHomeRun Prime. A three-tuner device that’s compatible with Comcast’s CableCard. I can now pause and rewind live TV. I can schedule upto 3 recordings (or upto 2 recording while watching another live channel). All without paying Comcast’s monthly set-top box rental fee, which would be even more if I wanted DVR capabilities.I generally prefer using WMC to watch live TV because its interface is a little smoother than XBMC’s and the recording features are better. I have MCEBuddy setup to process recorded WMC TV episodes in order to remove commercials and shrink the file size while I’m at work. The episode is then placed within my media collection and is picked up by XBMC. I’m still working out the kinks in this one but it shows a lot of promise.
Google Chromecast. A very handy little device. I got one for my parents so that they can ‘cast’ Netflix movies from my mom’s iPad to their TV. It works better than their supposedly Smart DVD player which has Netflix built in. When I visit the parents or take my Chromecast to friends’ places, I can access my HTPC’s movie and TV episode collection on my phone, then cast it to their TV using the Plex App. There are other alternatives such as the Roku or Apple TV
, which are great home-based setups but neither beat the portability of a Chromecast.
Comments
comments
Posted by 
