Posted by Robyn on Jan 31, 2009 in
General I am in the process of re-evaluating my DVD collection. Since we are getting a Blu-Ray player, I will be buying and ripping Blu-Ray movies onto my home server. These movies are huge, and I only rip full ISO copies of movies. (Without the menus and extras, what’s the point of buying the disc? I am not flexible on this issue, so telling me I should just rip the main title is a waste of your time.)
We also have subscriptions to both Blockbuster and Netflix. Yeah, I know. Why do we need both? Well, we had the Blockbuster membership forever, so we are getting unlimited in-store exchanges plus three movies at a time for $17/mo. But Netflix added streaming to the Xbox 360, so I got a subscription to that, too. STFU, we spend less on those two subscriptions combined than one movie costs in the theater these days. 
So here’s my question. Since we can get virtually any movie or TV show we want from Blockbuster and Netflix, which ones should we purchase and rip to the server? A wide variety of movies and TV shows, or just the ones we watch frequently?
Posted by Robyn on Jan 16, 2009 in
Technology So as it turns out, in my haste to snag Windows 7 bits at the earliest possible moment, I ended up with a checked/debug build of the beta from my MSDN account. Now something called “debug” might sound good, but it’s not a fully compiled version of the operating system. In other words, my WIndows 7 install was probably unstable because it was designed to be. The debug builds help Microsoft pin down potential errors and eliminate them.
I am currently downloading the actual beta from MSDN, and plan to try again with it on my Aspire One netbook and MacBook Pro this weekend! I have heard good things about compatibility on both. If all goes well, I might even try it on my desktop again. 
Posted by Robyn on Jan 14, 2009 in
Technology See you soon, I hope!
After playing with Windows 7 for a few days, I must leave it behind. I was hoping to make this the primary OS on my desktop, but it’s just not quite there yet. I really do love all the new features it has, but I am having hardware issues that I can’t seem to get resolved.
I’ll miss you, Windows 7! *sniff* See you next Beta? 
Posted by Robyn on Jan 12, 2009 in
Technology I installed Windows 7 on my desktop today. So far, I think the OS has a lot of promise, and I am looking forward to the final release. Naturally, it is Beta software, so it doesn’t have all the kinks worked out yet. But I like it so far.
The new taskbar layout is really appealing, not to mention long overdue. You can pin programs to the taskbar, and it just works a lot more like a Dock. Once again, Microsoft is playing catch-up to Apple in some ways, but this still has a very “Windows” feel to it, and really fits very well into the OS. I also like the way it organizes your system tray. GONE are the endless icons that like to take up space there. You can still access them if you like, but they are ALL hidden by default. Two thumbs up.
They seem to be taking networking and file sharing in the right direction as well, though I am anxious to see where this new “homegroup” feature goes. So far, it appears to be compatible only with other Windows 7 computers, so that could be a real issue in most households. UAC has also been vastly improved, as there are now levels of security to it that you can set, rather than only having the option to turn it completely on or off. Good progress there.
The new Libraries feature is also pretty sweet. I love being able to keep my files organized the way I like, then TELL Windows where they are. I can still use things like “Documents” and “Photos”, but also keep them organized in my Dropbox. It’s about time!
Overall, I’m pleased with it so far. If I can get some of the hardware glitches ironed out, I’m ready to make this the primary OS on my desktop. Yes, even though it’s beta. It’s that good. 