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Building a Home Theatre PC

Thursday, June 21 2007 @ 10:10 PDT Contributed by: kingboyk Views:: 345 I've been forced into a new machine build, as the troublesome Jeedzilla finally packed in with a failed motherboard. As it happens, now isn't a bad time to build, with the by-all-accounts stupendous Core2Duo E6600 at the target sub £150 mark, 2GB of value RAM available for 50 quid (I went for a brand, though), and 500GB drives almost being given away. Since my hi-fi has also packed in (it won't play CDs, and I can't get a radio signal) I figured that now would be the time to build a Home Theatre PC and run it through an amp. I settled on the Zalman HD160XT, a stunning looking case that I should last me at least 5 years and hopefully 10! read more (737 words) 0 comments Post a comment

Building a new Avalon

Tuesday, June 19 2007 @ 10:11 PDT Contributed by: kingboyk Views:: 297 Because my old computer, Jeedzilla, failed recently and I decided to replace it with a new Home Theatre PC, I was able to build a new Linux box. As always, the machine is called Avalon, and this is at least Avalon #4. The machine is built around Jeedzilla's AMD Athlon64 3000+, with a new MSI motherboard and an Antec P182 case. It was a coin toss between this and a NZXT Lexa case; I decided to go for sensible and sturdy rather than flashy but of course regretted it as soon as I'd placed the order! read more (793 words) 0 comments Post a comment

RAID-5 extremely slow in Windows Vista
Friday, June 08 2007 @ 02:53 PDT Contributed by: kingboyk Views:: 1,186 I've been experiencing extremely slow disk writes in Windows Vista, using an Intel Matrix ICH8R RAID-5 array on an Asus Commando motherboard. read more (448 words) 0 comments Post a comment

Offline Files in Windows Vista
Friday, June 08 2007 @ 02:06 PDT Contributed by: kingboyk Views:: 375 A couple of years ago, I experimented with Offline Files in Windows XP and found it to be pretty much unusable. Is Windows Vista any better? read more (527 words) 0 comments Post a comment

Cybersquatting

Tuesday, December 26 2006 @ 01:47 PST Contributed by: kingboyk Views:: 320 Just before Christmas I accidentally allowed one of my domain names to enter the "redemption period", a time during which it can only be renewed by paying an extra fee (a rip-off, of course). So, I thought it would be safe to let it expire and immediately reregister it once expired. I checked availability a couple of times but then left it for a while as I was very tired from working nights. On the 22nd I visited GoDaddy again, only to find that on the day before the name had been snapped up! Googling for the name and company of the new registrant, I found that he's a somewhat notorious cybersquatter who gobbles up hundreds of names and then holds them hostage for 4 or 5 figure sums. He's also been the losing respondent in a number of domain name cases. I won't name him or the domain in question so as not to give him the satisfaction or push the price up, but let this be a warning! If you have a domain name which is of any value to you keep it's registration fully paid up! These cybersquatters are a scourge and although "something must be done" it's difficult to know what, without introducing intolerable bureaucracy or inflating domain name prices beyond the reach of the hobbyist. The only defence, then, for the mere mortal is to hold on to your names in the first place! At least I can say with some certainty my domain name battle doesn't come close to the fiercest domain name battle of them all. 0 comments Post a comment

Website Restored

Monday, November 13 2006 @ 04:22 PST Contributed by: kingboyk Views:: 443 I let my hosting account expire some time around Christmas or the New Year, but I've now restored an October 2005 backup to my new web host (Dreamhost). A few articles will have been lost, including the "winter wonderland" pictures of Keele in the snow. As I don't have any plans to actively blog or publish new content I'll stick with Geeklog for now, but I am tempted to install a personal wiki. I feel much more comfortable editing in Mediawiki code than HTML these days. There are a few issues still to resolve from the upgrade to the latest version of Geeklog: missing theme files which cause some pages to not display (I nail these as I find them); missing plugins such as chatterblock (for emoticons); and missing images. Also, my WinAmp playlist display doesn't seem to be working properly. I'll fix or disable it. read more (97 words) 0 comments Post a comment

Steve & Jessi's Trip Over The Border - Wales 2005

Friday, September 09 2005 @ 08:34 PDT Contributed by: kingboyk Views:: 433 On the August bank holiday weekend, my Taiwanese friend Jessi visited again and we headed off for a weekend away in Wales. I live in the border county of Gloucestershire, so it takes well under an hour to leave England. It's strange to travel such a short distance and to genuinely feel you're in a different country. The road signs are bilingual, the terrain becomes mountainous and bold, and the place names have lots of double Ls. Wales can be very bleak, but it's beautiful in the summer and, despite what you may think, we got a warm and friendly welcome from the people. On the Saturday morning we left Cheltenham and headed for South Wales via the Forest Of Dean. We stopped at a boaties gathering on the Monmouth & Brecon Canal and Jessi was able to see why canal boats need to be so narrow! In the afternoon we took a ride on the Brecon Mountains steam railway. Our engine was a little 1930s American puffer which had seen service in South Africa before running away driverless and being written off. Not for the first time, Jessi made friends with some local kids (she's a teaching director) and they waved at her as we puffed away from the station. In the evening we set up camp - Jessi bravely agreed to sleep under canvas in the Brecon Beacons - and went back into Tresebont (?) for a very nice but posh dinner. I slept quite well, with the fresh mountain air and the sound only of sheep, but we were both very cold. If I were to go again I'd take a blanket! On Sunday we toured the beautiful Pembrokeshire coast. We visited many different beaches (and quite a variety too) and had an afternoon cream tea in a remote fishing village. I listened to the conclusion of the cricket - England scraping a sensational lead in the Ashes - as I sat overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and a working lighthouse, before starting the long and wearisome drive home. Apologies to Jessi for being a bit miserable and snappy this weekend! 0 comments Post a comment

Jessi's Visit
Friday, August 05 2005 @ 11:06 PDT Contributed by: kingboyk Views:: 393 Last weekend, Jessica visited me. She's a girl from Taiwan I met on my one day tour of the Great Ocean Road. read more (369 words) 0 comments Post a comment

Birthday Cards

Thursday, August 04 2005 @ 08:44 PDT Contributed by: kingboyk Views:: 458 The postman brought me a birthday card from Baby Jeedy this morning. It was really lovely and contained a very sweet message. Thank you Jeedy! On the 1st I also got a beautiful card from Chisato, a Japanese friend. This was a surprise since I wasn't aware she knew it was my birthday. Domo arigato Chisato-san! (Or is it Chisato-chan since we are friends? Hmm...) 0 comments Post a comment

Diving The Outer Great Barrier Reef
Sunday, July 10 2005 @ 01:27 PDT Contributed by: kingboyk Views:: 444 Preamble/Arrival in Cairns Classroom & Pool Day 1 Classroom & Pool Day 2 Liveaboard Trip Liveaboard Trip - The Dives Between the 6th and 8th of June I dived the Great Barrier Reef on a liveaboard trip. This is my report. read more (780 words) 0 comments Post a comment