New TV – Sanyo 55 inch LCD

42″ Plasma TV

The Old TV

For about 10 years I’ve had a Fujitsu 42″ Plasma TV and it has been great. I understand that Fujitsu invented plasma technology and back when I bought this TV it was very expensive. The Best. $6000 plus $1400 for a three year extended warranty. The warranty was well spent since the TV died in about 6 months and again at 3 years when it was replaced by a refurbished unit.The plasma TV finally died. On the morning of 31 August the TV would no longer boot. It had worked fine the night before. When it last worked the plasma screen was still bright, showing none of the darkening that plasmas were rumored to show after 10 years. But oh how TVs have changed. Continue reading “New TV – Sanyo 55 inch LCD”

Wow Mists Public Test Realm – New Interest and Goals

Level 85 Dwarven Priest

I recently signed up for the Mists of Pandaria Public Test Realm. This is a test area for the new expansion that should be out in a couple of months. I had signed up for the Beta, but never got an invite. They filled their quota from folks who bought the annual pass apparently. The PTR is a test area for the update, but without MoP, so I couldn’t visit the new Mists area or make a Panda or Monk, but I could see many areas I’ve not seen before. I don’t yet have a level 85 character and the PTR has the ability to create template characters at level 85.

Continue reading “Wow Mists Public Test Realm – New Interest and Goals”

ZBox Audio with Linux Mint – Tutorial

ZBox ID80

As I mentioned in my previous post, I just got a ZBox ID80, installed Linux Mint 12 and had some trouble with the sound. Turns out the problems were user error, but setting up sound was a little confusing.

So here’s what you might like to know to make sure your audio is working, at least for this hardware and Linux Mint 12. Continue reading “ZBox Audio with Linux Mint – Tutorial”

Zotac ZBox ID80

Zbox ID80

After getting the Alienware machine, I found myself with an extra 20″ monitor and noticed that the Blue Diamond box was getting a little long in the tooth. It has been running Ubuntu 10 and while it works, it’s very slow. Time for an upgrade.

The Zotac Zbox ID80 plus was about $300 from newegg, and while they have versions that are with and without HDD and memory, the one I got had 2GB of ram and a 320GB HD. I didn’t really need the HD since I had one of that size, but the price really tossed that in for almost free. I did get 4GB of RAM for it for an additional $21. Continue reading “Zotac ZBox ID80”

Alienware Aurora R2

Alienware Aurora R2

I would never have bought a new Alienware computer again, although my Alienware Area-51 Desktop is still going strong. But a friend came across this 2010 Alienware Aurora R2 with a decent configuration for a song, as they say. So I couldn’t pass it up.

The case has not changed in the last couple of years. Still the same lighting, and the same door. Touch the Alienhead and the door gently slides down to access the media slots and DVD drive. this new computer is liquid cooled with a setup that looks like a alienware customized Corsair H80 single fan cooler. Instead of a lighted Corsair logo as the button to control the pump programming, the button is a lighted Alienhead. Continue reading “Alienware Aurora R2”

PS3 Died, New Vizio Blu-Ray Player

The PS3 died.

While playing a DVD, the machine suddenly stopped. I thought the problem was the BD player, and I disassembled the system, based on information on YouTube, to remove the DVD, which would not eject.

The system would run the BD motor each time it was started, but then stop and beep.

It is not certain that the problem is the BD drive. BD drives are going for about $60 on Ebay, so it seems to make no sense to repair the device. I’ll sell it on Ebay.

Update: The Vizio player was a bust. It had problems with my HDMI switch. The Sony BDP-S590 is a much better choice. I have had no problems with this model.

Continue reading “PS3 Died, New Vizio Blu-Ray Player”

Dekaron Evolution is fun and stable

Dekaron Evolution

In the past couple of weeks, I got bored with Wow and have gone back to Dekaron. Last April I was playing quite a lot on the private servers, and I have gone that way again.

Dekaron Evolution is the winner and I’ll be spending most of my time there.

Update: This server is gone as of Sep 2012. Apparently in-fighting among the owners and staff has led to it’s demise.

Continue reading “Dekaron Evolution is fun and stable”

Gerbil Has Died

The gerbil has died. Not sure what his ailment was, but he was clearly feeling bad yesterday. There was no obvious problem. One issue might have been his teeth, but careful examination showed that his teeth were fine. They were well trimmed so he had enough wooden clothes pins to chew on to keep them worn down. Not sure what happened.

Since Nov 2010, the gerbil has been a constant companion and friend. Watching my every move, he learned to come to the cage when he heard me in the kitchen or heard the bell from the toaster since it meant that I would be giving him a treat from something I was making for myself.

He learned to run around and through packing tubes next to his cage. He seemed to like to be chased through the tubes.

CutiePetutie [spelling vary] will be missed. But I will get another baby gerbil soon and see whether he learns as much about me as Cutie did.

– ww