Hmm, does something like this fit into the "format" of 0xDECAFBAD? Sure, but I'll probably want to consider setting up some categories. Like general tech rant/commentary, 0xDECAFBAD project updates, site updates, etc.

From The Register: How to ?TiVO-ize your PC

TiVO-like time shifting capabilities have come to the PC. At the Intel Developer Forum, Rakesh Agrawal, CEO of thirteen-man ?SnapStream, took his PVS software through its paces for The Register's pleasure.

Is it just me, or are these people are slow? Maybe it's just because of the new release of the SnapStream software (which I tried a few months ago, and hated, might be worth a try again), but people all over the blog world have been mentioning this as if it's something new. "TiVO killer on your PC! Check this out!"

The only reason for it I could see is if the SnapStream software has improved incredibly since the last time I played with it, and it's become so dead simple that my Mom can use it by making vague flappy gesticulations at the screen. The only semi-exciting thing I see in the SnapStream buzz is that they're planning on doing something with .NET web services, but no one's really talking about that facet of it.

Maybe they've all missed the availability of these products, but I've been using my ALL-IN-WONDER? RADEON for the past year and a half, before which I used a Voodoo 3 3500TV (which sucked ass), and before that I used a plain old ATI All-In-Wonder card. That's been since I got my first real PC in 1997.

I've been using these cards to record the few shows I care about, in limited fashion, until I got the Radeon card and things took off. With the AIW Radeon, I record straight to VCD format. I burn the VCD movies onto CDRW and watch them in my DVD player, just like I used to use my VCR. If I happen to like the show, I burn it to a real CD and file it away. It's not the greatest quality, but is pretty comparable to VHS, which is fine. If I want better quality, there's Super VCD which uses MPEG-2 to fit 30 minutes of DVD-quality video on a CD. Or... gasp I could get a DVD burner.

And then, there's the D-Link DSB-R100 PC FM USB Radio I've been using to record and archive FM radio shows, most notably Big Sonic Heaven. Oh yeah, and the Voodoo 3500TV was good for that, too. (But mostly, it sucked.)

My digital lifestyle's been kicking it for some time now. Hell, not even Apple's caught up to me yet, since I can't find Mac-OS-X-supported replacements for my cable and FM radio archival rig. If I had the money, I'd switch to 100% Apple in an eyeblink if they could seamlessly replace all the above.

Anyway. I'm done now.

shortname=ooooch