ryansfindings.com

Last Post w/Blogger

2007-06-30T02:27:00.000-07:00

This is the last post I'm making with Blogger for this site - sorry if it messes up anyone's .rss feeds. A new feed will be posted shortly.

Safari 3 does Windows

2007-06-14T03:36:00.000-07:00

I was a bit surprised that Apple released its latest version of Safari for Windows. Safari 3 is now available for public beta for both the Mac and the PC. I used it for a little while on my XP machine and thought I'd share a few experiences I had with it.

Pros

Almost all websites seem to work without problems - even sights using Ajax & Flash seemed to work just fine for me.
Shortcuts for a new window (Ctrl+n) and new tab (Ctrl+t) work just as they do in IE 7 or Firefox.
Auto-filling of domains seems to work pretty well for many popular sights.
Dragging a tab to a new window is really cool - I really wish other browsers did this.

Cons

Java seemed slow to load and didn't work right for the java based FTP client I tried it on.
The font seems blurry even when smoothing is changed to "Light."
You can only resize a window using the lower right corner.
Forward and back buttons on the mouse don't work (at least by default).
You can't press "Ctrl+{Enter}" to have it fill in the "http://" and the ".com" - in fact, this seems to screw up the address line and you have to click it with your mouse to get it back.
If you maximize Safari on a secondary display it disappears.

Overall I think the browser seems pretty good, and Safari seems to work on most sights just fine (as it has done on the Mac side for a while now). I think the biggest problem with Safari is the interface of the program itself, just see my list of Cons above. I think the program has the potential to be very good, and I'm glad to see another browser enter the market as competion will help them all advance faster; however, Safari 3 on Windows still feels like a beta, and has some issues to work out before it is ready for everyday use.

For more checkout: http://www.apple.com/safari

Media Center Guides - Wiki

2007-06-13T03:13:00.000-07:00

I had been working on a Wiki for almost a month using DokuWiki. I thought it worked pretty well, and was very easy to use, but I just didn't like the overall feel of it all that much. DokuWiki is really meant for quick documents, and it works great for that, but as a website it just isn't that exciting, and I really didn't feel like editing the templates at all, so I changed it. I am now using MediaWiki to power the Wiki. This is the same back-end that Wikipedia is based on, so I think many users will already be familiar with the look and feel.

I also decided to go with a dedicated domain for the new system. I have just started to transfer the documents over, so it might take a little while to get it all up (there wasn't that much on the old system, but I'm slow). Feel free to check it out: http://www.mediacenterguides.com.

MCE Virtual Remote v0.16 Released

2007-05-26T17:38:00.000-07:00

A new version of MCE Virtual Remote is out - the new version is v0.16. You can now save up to 8 different servers in the settings and quickly switch between them. I also added the ability to hide and show the "Mute" and "Stop" buttons.

Get the latest version here: http://ryansfindings.com/2007/04/mce-virtual-remote.html

Near Silent HTPC on the Cheap.

2007-05-20T02:47:00.000-07:00

I wanted a project this weekend, so I decided to try and silence my fairly noisy HTPC without buying any specialty hardware for it. I also wanted to be able to complete it this weekend - that meant no waiting for ordered parts, and only getting things from local sources. Overall the project went very well, check it out here: http://ryansfindings.com/wiki/doku.php?id=silent_htpc.

MCE Virtual Remote - Updated

2007-05-05T20:26:00.000-07:00

I have updated the MCE Virtual Remote program. You now have access to the number pad and several of the media buttons, but the remote still has it's same simple look. Here are some shots of the new interface:

Standard Mode - There are now small buttons in the corners to go to the other modes.

Media Mode - There are now buttons for Music, Videos, Pictures, and Guide. There is also a button to return the the Standard Mode.

Number Mode - The remote now has a 10 key number pad and channel up/down buttons on it. It also has a button to return to the Standard Mode.

Read more here.

MCE Virtual Remote

2007-04-22T19:02:00.000-07:00

This is a frontend that I created for the MCE Controller program. I made it for the purpose of controlling my Media Center computer from my Origami. I tried to make the buttons big enough to work on a touch screen. Feel free to try this out and tell me what you think (you'll have to find me on thegreenbutton.com for now).

To install this do the following:

Install MCE Controller on the server machine
Run MCE Controller (make sure that it is allowed through the firewall)
Create a folder for "MCE Virtual Remote.exe" on your client machine
****MAKE A FOLDER!! this is a dumb installer it will spit files all over the directory where "MCE Virtual Remote.exe" is placed.
Run "MCE Virtual Remote.exe"
Make a shortcut file to the .exe if you would like

Download Here. (Current version is: v0.16 updated on 5-24-07).

If you have questions, or would like to take part in the discussion about this app. then check out the forum at: http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/thread/183091.aspx

Media Center so your family can't screw it up

2007-04-16T18:19:00.000-07:00

Vista Ultimate only. Use this if you want to use a computer strictly as a Media Center computer. This will make it much more appliance like. Don't apply this if you want to use the computer as a standard computer. Otherwise do the following: password protect your admin account. Make a standard user account named "Media Center". Use this Group Policy file that I have put together for that account. Use "control userpasswords2" (type it into the search box on the start menu) and set up the computer to auto-logon with the "Media Center" user. If you need to make any system changes/install software just log off and do it from the admin account. This file is still a work in progress, so if you see changes that should be made, let me know (you can find me on thegreenbutton.com).

Summary of what this group policy does:

Replaces the standard shell ("explorer.exe") with "ehshell.exe"
Disables all windows shortcuts (Windows Key + Btn)
Disables access to control panel
Disables taskbar notifications
Disables autorun installations
Disables screensaver during playback
Disables active desktop
Disables desktop icons
Disables task manager
Doesn't save settings on reboot
Sets screen saver to 2 hours (you can change this if needed)
Disables changing wallpaper
Limits Recycle Bin to 2% of HD
Other various security/stability enhancements (I don't remember them all)

Check out the guide Here.

Media Center Remote

2007-04-12T17:47:00.000-07:00

Tips for getting the most out of your remote:

You can use the "OK" button (big button in the center for those of you who are a bit slow) to go to the previous channel while watching live TV.

Press "Skip" during live or recorded TV to skip ahead 30 seconds. Not sure why Microsoft didn't make this like 26 seconds - when you skip past all of the commercials (usually 30/60 seconds each) you always end up just a few seconds into your show and have to hit "replay" to get to the right spot.

"Replay" will go back 7 seconds.

"Enter" is a completely worthless button as it does the same thing as "OK"

You can reprogram the Volume and TV power buttons by doing this:

Aim MCE remote at your AV remote (2/3" apart)

Press & hold "DVD Menu" + "OK" on MCE remote until lights go off

press Vol- on the MCE remote (lights should blink once)

Press and hold Vol- on the AV remote until lights on MCE lights blink twice (if it blinks 4 times there was a problem)

Do the same procedure for Vol+

nvidia sucks

2007-04-09T17:46:00.000-07:00

I love nvidia. I have been a fan ever since my TNT2 (suck it 3dfx). However it seems that nvidia doesn't care about keeping its loyal fans. They just released the new 8600 series cards, but they still don't have decent drivers for Vista yet. If you have an nvidia card and Vista, then you had better forget about gaming, disable sleep and hybernate modes, and use the driver from Windows Update - you will be much happier if you do. I'm sure that this will get fixed, but until then...

Google apps for your Domain

2007-04-05T17:45:00.000-07:00

Google apps for your domain are neat. They have a free level that lets you do email for your domain (same look/feel/features as gmail) - which I love. Beyond that don't expect much right now, but hey, it's free - what can you expect. You don't get FTP access - which makes it hard do do a real blog/advanced features ~~(that's why this page looks as crappy as it does - just a limited google template)~~. Also the "Page Creator" that they have is a piece of garbage. Anyone remember FrontPage? kinda the same thing, but as an online app. with less features.

*Update - Google apps are neat, but their hosting sucks. I had them as a host for less than 2 weeks and they were down for 2 days. It forced me to go and actually pay for hosting - I'm still bitter.