Tech: Check out Ubuntu

I was recently toying with a great number of Linux distributions for a very specific task. The task was to turn my old 350mhz computer into a Samba server without really learning Linux (that'll come later). While installing and uninstalling a variety of distros I stumbled upon Ubuntu. It was love at first sight. This distribution is highly evolved (it can be updated as easily as Windows XP). It looks absolutely gorgeous and through it's very helpful website I managed to get it to do exactly what I wanted with a minimum of command-line interventions. If you're looking to get into Linux, I highly recommend Ubuntu.

Tech : You're not at Best Buy anymore.

This'll look like an ad, but it's not. Addison Electronique doesn't know I'm writing this, and so they sure didn't give me a dime for it. Addison Electronique is an electronics surplus store in north-eastern montreal. I'm sure there's an Addison-like store in your town, and if you're even remotely into electronics you should do your best to find such a store, it'll save you from bankrupcy.

First let's get the “bad” stuff out of the way. Huge chains such as Best Buy (Futureshop), or Walmart have ludicrous return policies. These policies are responsible for a lot of price hikes as bratty little customers exploit them. You don't get that at Addison. All sales are final. If something you buy doesn't work, take it back. If you get home and realize you're a moron who can't tell the difference between S-Video and RCA, then you're probably screwed.

Because of that it has prices that can't even begin to compare with major chains. I did a test-case with 5 items I bought last time I went to Addison. I went to both Futureshop.ca (the Canadian Best Buy) and RadioShack.ca to find comparable equipment. Note that all prices are in Canadian dollars.

First off is a standard 25 feet coaxial cable. I needed two of those and found very pro-like pre-built cables at Addison for 3.59$ each. I should add that you can buy cables and plugs at even lower costs if you're willing to build the cables yourself. For similar cables Futureshop charges 9.99$ (each) and Radioshack 11.99$ (each). That's about 2-3 times more for the same cables.

I then needed two coaxial splitters. I was told to go for 5-2300 mhz splitters as they're better for satellite/digital cable and Internet. Regular splitters stop at 900-1000 mhz. Addison charged me 3.99$ for each of the splitters. Futureshop.ca didn't even have splitters that went beyond 1000 mhz, and for their 900 mhz tops splitters they charge 19.99$ each. That's about five times the price at Addison for a lower-grade splitter. Radioshack did have splitters that went to 2300 mhz, in fact they went as high as 2400 mhz. However they also charge 19.99$ for each.

Next up is the S-video 4-way splitter switch. Addison had a neat-looking Recoton switch going for 17.99$. That switch had a cool frontal push-button design, not a positional switch like the cheaper models. It also had a headphone jack, which is a very nice addition. Futureshop had the exact same brand, same model, going for 59.99$, three times the price you'd pay at Addison. Radioshack doesn't have the same model, the closest match I found costs 49.99$. It doesn't boast a headphone jack but it does convert S-video signal to RCA and back, so in my book it's a bit better than the Recoton one, but definitely not 32$ better. I should also note that I found a cheaper 3-way positional switch at Addison that went for 7.99$, Radioshack has the exact same model for 29.99$.

I then needed a triple 6' RCA cable (Stereo audio + video). This one is tricky because cable quality vary alot. I paid 19.99$ at Addison for very thick gold-plated cables, I found similar cables at Radioshack for the same price, and Futureshop had cheaper-looking cables also for 19.99. The Addison cables I got look like they're the best quality. The cables themselves are very thick, thicker than both Radioshack's and Futureshop's.

Lastly I needed a coaxial flat cable for cornering. Addison sold me one for 1.29$. Futureshop had a slightly longer (2”-3”) one for 4.99$. I couldn't find any at Radioshack.

In the end, my Addison shopping spree cost me 54.43$ + tax. A similar trip to Futureshop would've cost 144.93$ + tax, while Radioshack would've charged me 133.94$ + tax without the coaxial cornering cable. So if you even remotely know what you're doing when it comes to electronics and you don't need the big chains' ridiculous return policies, visit Addison today and save a bundle.

Tech: Hauppauge PVC-250

Yesterday I received my Hauppauge Win-PVR-250. Here are my first impressions. Plugging and installing the card was a breeze, and surprisingly it worked on the first try (installing these cards has always proved to be a nightmare). I managed to capture a few minutes of TV within half an hour of unpacking the thing, so I'm quite happy with that. The remote works well, but looks very cheaply made. Let's hope I can get my universal remote to work with it. The recording quality was excellent. I wanted to stress-test the thing so I turned on the scheduler and set it up to tape 4 straight hours of TV during the night. I made sure I had enough hard drive space to record such a lengthy movie. When I woke up to check the results, the program had crashed.

I believe I can blame some of the problems I’ve had on the machine it is installed in. You see the goal of buying this card was to turn my old 350 mhz AMD into a dedicated PVR. The problem is that this computer has also been used as a file server for my other computers, as well as an e-mule machine and home security center (alert system, movement detection and security camera system). The system was already showing signs of struggle with its tasks so far, adding PVR functionality on top of that has proven unwise. Capture quality substantially declined when all the other functions (security/server/file sharing) were enabled. I suspect it to be a combination of low memory, CPU overuse and hard drive access saturation. I believe the overnight crash can also be attributed to this overload.

That probably means I’ll have to buy another computer, either a cheap second hand 450-700 mhz to use as a dedicated PVR, or simply buy a new state-of-the-art machine and move my 1.2 ghz to a role of dedicated PVR, keeping my 350 as the security center/emule/file server it has always been. Or vice-versa. I’ll have to think about it.

I’ll have a more thorough review of the card once I find the time to test it out more.

Entertainment : Bubba Nosferatu?

I just finished watching one of the greatest movie I've seen this year and in fact one of the great movies of all times if you ask me. The movie is Bubba Ho-Tep and it stars Bruce Campbell as an aging Elvis, who must fight a butt-sucking mummy to save his soul from complete elimination.

As the credits end I saw the following phrase pop up on the screen : "Elvis returns in Bubba Nosferatu: Curse of the She-Vampires.". I had heard rumors of a Bubba Ho-Tep sequel but I didn't believe it. I mean the story is excellent but very self-contained. But as seeing is believing, I now have to believe a sequel is, if not "officially in the works", at least in the planning stages.

What makes me mad about this, is what makes me mad about pretty much every franchise in existence. It seems that, especially in the US, it's impossible to just let something great be. Bubba Ho-Tep was a great movie, it was great because it came out of nowhere and it stood on it's own, with an original story, great actors, and a clear beginning and end that left absolutely no door opened for a sequel. But the geniuses at Capitalism Inc. smelled an opportunity, an opportunity to do what they do so often : cash-in on the destruction of a great universe. If there's a way to pull some cash out of the audience, who cares if we're ruining the original concept, idea or dream that made the first one such a classic?

The parade of franchise-ruining movies is long and nausea-inducing. From Highlander 2 to Matrix Revolutions to The Phantom Menace. And this concept applies to television shows as well, Babylon 5 : Crusade? Please spare me. There just doesn't seem to be a way to just have something good and original, look at it in awe, remember it with fondness, and not be flooded by derived products and endless sequels that simply squeeze the juice out of the original idea until there's nothing left, good or bad, to squeeze.

Bubba Ho-Tep truly was a great movie. The people, be it Don Coscarelli, Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis and Joe R. Lansdale who wrote the original story, all gave it their best because they believed the story was great, funny and entertaining. I'm sure these people will roll in some dough from the sales of the DVD, and that's great. But instead of pouring this money into a sequel that will only dilute if not obliterate the original concept, why not bring in something new to the screen, as you did so well with Bubba Ho-Tep? It may not be the most financially sound advice you'll get, but is money all there is?