Mediacenter now running Windows 7

Windows 7 is released publicly today. I grabbed a copy of Windows 7 Home Premium intending to install it on my mediacenter this weekend, but since there was no good show to record tonight, I went ahead and installed it right away. Windows 7 x64 installation was pretty sweet and smooth, but once again the VFD/IRTrans drivers cost me a few additional hours (refer to my Vista experience).

Unlike with Vista, Windows 7 already installed the latest VFD driver, so my first attempt was to manually install the previous downloaded IRTrans software (v06.09.01). It didn’t work – my MCE keyboard and remote clicks would not register. Adjusting IRTrans settings didn’t help.

After a bit of online research, I noticed that a much newer version (v09.10.09) of IRTrans software was available. This version contained a x64 binary, which I realized might be the difference as my Vista was x86. Unfortunately IRTrans setup.exe failed as it complained its inability to install Visual C++ Runtime 8 SP1 x64. My workaround? Download it manually before running IRTrans setup.

I chose to install IRTrans as a service, but that didn’t work. In the end I disabled the service and added IRTrans USB shortcut to Startup folder.

And now my mediacenter is once again fully operational. Windows 7 MediaCenter is much, much better over Vista’s.

[Update] Well, I thought the mediacenter and its remote controls were fully functional, but it wasn’t until later that I realized I couldn’t turn on/off the PC with the remote. This used to require some setup in XP but just worked in Vista (see my previous Vista post). With Windows 7, the same instructions didn’t work – the Learn Command window simply wouldn’t pick up the power button press. What ultimately worked for me was this:

1. Skip the “Learn Command” altogether.
2. Open IRTrans GUI Client, select Mode->Device Status.
3. In the “PowerON Remote/Command”, use the predefined “mediacenter”/”power” pair instead of “skpower”/”powerbutton”.
4. Click on “Set Mode”.

Now my mediacenter is fully operational.  *fingers crossed*

[Update @ 2009-10-24T13:55-8:00] Turned out the skip forward and back buttons didn’t work out of ‘box’. I had to follow instructions at IRTrans forum to enable them:

Edit C:\Program Files\IRTrans\remotes\apps.cfg
At the end of [COMMANDS] section, add the following

NEXT [KEY]\CTRLF

NEXT [KEY]\CTRLB

NEXT [KEY]\CTRLF

PREV [KEY]\CTRLB

Reload IR database to use the new config.

Partitioned Wind

Our MSI Wind netbook arrived on Thursday. It worked as advertised. One notable thing I’d like to mention is that the MSI Wind came with pre-partitioned hard disk, C:\ for OS and D:\ for data. Nice.

Sweet and sour netbook

I have been looking for a netbook for my wife, who has been “borrowing” my laptop since we sold her MacBook a few months ago. So when I found a $50 rebate valid for MSI Wind purchases only in October at 11pm, October 31, I was enpowered with the executive responsibility to make a swift but monumental decision.

I wanted my laptop back, so I ordered a unit. I paid $448 out of pocket, and assuming I get the $50 rebate, that’s about $400 in the end. Not a bad deal considering MSI Wind was going for more before. Sweet.

(Less than two days later…)

Tonight at 10pm I found out BestBuy is selling the MSI Wind for $350, no rebate required. It’s the exact same configuration except for exterior color. If I purchase it online, the total would be $350 + $30 tax + $20 shipping = $400. All of a sudden my previous deal didn’t feel too sweet.

I don’t know why I did it, but I clicked to see if any local BestBuy stores have this MSI Wind in stock. If yes, the final price at BestBuy would be $380 after local pickup.

All nearby BestBuy stores didn’t have it in stock…

Except for the store nearest to me.

玩我啊？！

New DVD drive for mediacenter

Two weeks ago the DVD drive in my HTPC/mediacenter bit the dusk and called it quits after almost 2 years of faithful service. It was made by NEC, and it was a noisy bugger.

So I was in the market for a DVD drive. I had two choices, buy another DVD drive or perhaps invest in a Blu-Ray one. For a while I actually considered a Blu-Ray drive, which would set me back around $100 for a playback-only unit. But then I read about all the fuss over playing Blu-Ray movies on a computer, compound that with the potential requirement for a new video card, and I aborted my short-lived pursuit for a high-def player.

I ordered a replacement DVD burner from newegg.com. The cheapest I could find was from Lite-On. Three day shipping was free, so I paid about $25 including tax. It arrived promptly via UPS on Wednesday. I swapped it in that evening and ran a quick movie test – I thought it was actually quieter than the NEC.

So there we have it, no Blu-Ray in the foreseeable future.

Bye bye MacBook

A few weeks ago the battery of my wife’s MacBook died. I could buy a new battery and continue my Mac journey, but I decided to put it up for sale on Craigslist. That was this morning at 1am.

The MacBook is now gone, and I don’t foresee another Mac in my home for a long while, unless I get another for free.

MacDongle

Yet another Apple-hostile blog post: Why Doesn’t Anyone Give a Crap About Freedom Zero?. Can’t say I disagree.

I like this one’s comparison of Macs to hardware dongles. I like the article even more (and Apple less) when I think of the tight controls Apple is going to place over iPhone applications.

Second HDTV tuner

Got myself a second HDTV tuner for my mediacenter. $79.99 – $30 + tax + free shipping, I’d say a pretty good deal. There is also a $10 rebate that I need to mail out soon.

The package arrived today. I installed and configured the PCI card without incident. I can now record or view two HD channels at the same time. Kewl!

[Update @ 2007-01-14T21:02-8:00] Visual inspections show that the picture quality of this AVerMedia tuner is not as good as that of VBOX Cat’s Eye DTA-150 ATSC Over-the-air HDTV Tuner.

[Update @ 2007-01-14T22:03-8:00] Strike that previous comment about poor picture quality. The disparity turned out to be the source, verified using my TV’s built-in tuner.

Mac vs PC ads

I have a MacBook as well as an iPhone, but that doesn’t mean I can stand the BS advertising campaign from Apple championing how superior the Mac is.

I have three Vista machines at home, and while they are not perfect, I am actually happier with them than with the MacBook running OS X. The Mac is not bad at all, but the Apple ads with their half-truth really turn me off towards Apple products.

And contrary to belief, Safari on my iPhone crashes periodically. True, overall iPhone is more stable than my previous Windows Mobile devices, but then iPhone is not a true smartphone, not until the SDK is released next year.

I am glad to reading about others who feel the same about Apple’s smugness:

• The brand promise of Apple
• Macs Crash Too

And here is a funny article about an iPhone ad:

• Ask the pilot

Desktop PC 2007

A few weeks ago a friend of mine got a good deal on a Gateway PC. He bought it to edit his photos, which coincidentally will also come from a Nikon D80. While my laptop offers ubiquitous surfing opportunities, it comes up short in the area of photo editing. My interests in the current state of PC hardware piqued once again.

I first thought about buying pre-built. Computers from Cyberpowerpc.com looked cheap enough but the customer reviews worried me. Dell computers weren’t that cheap once I loaded them up with my ideal configurations. And there was no way I were to spend thousands of dollars to buy from boutique dealers just to play games…oh wait, I do NOT play games. So I was to build one myself after all.

After some Googling and soul searching, I placed an order this past Monday on Newegg.com for the following parts to build my Desktop PC 2007.

DVD Burner	SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S203B – OEM
CPU	Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80562Q6600 – Retail
CPU Paste	Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound – OEM
Case	Sunbeam Freezing-Storm IC-FS-BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case – Retail
Motherboard	ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard – Retail
Power Supply	Rosewill Stallion Series RD500-2DB ATX V2.2 500W Power Supply – Retail
Hard Disk	Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive – OEM
Memory	Patriot Extreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model PDC22G6400LLK – Retail
CPU Cooler	MASSCOOL 8WA741 92mm Ball CPU Cooler – Retail
Video Card	MSI NX8600GT-T2D256E OC GeForce 8600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card – Retail
Card Reader	SUPER TALENT INT-AIN1-C All-in-one USB 2.0 Card Reader – Retail

Parts arrived on Thursday and Friday. The CPU thermal paste went AWOL however, so I canceled that item online and bought it locally.

This build went more smoothly than my HTPC from a year ago (posts one, two, and three), partly because this time around I was a tad more experienced and partly because the 2007 components were easier to work with.  The chassis of my choice, Sunbeam tool-less mini tower case, was far roomier than the Zalman HD160, the size of which was constrained by AV component standards. In addition, Zalman case required more hardware fidgeting that could have come pre-installed. I was also more pleased with Asus’ motherboard than last year’s Gigabyte board – Asus included little touches such as the Q-Connector that made wire connections less cumbersome.

By Friday evening I was done with the build. I am now going through the tedious process of installing and customizing software to my liking.

MacBook is overrated

Nowadays when people comment that they rather get a MacBook than a Windows-based laptop, my response generally is “MacBook is overrated”. Here is why:

• MacBook’s glossy screen makes an unpleasant reading experience.
• Its lack of dedicated PgUp and PgDn keys means lots of two-handed combos – the Fn key is on the left while the arrows keys are on the right.
• In MacOS, I have yet to find a way to focus on a minimized windows just by using the keyboard.

There are some other reasons why I prefer my IBM T43 over the MacBook, but those may be because I am more used to Windows.

The MacBook is not a bad computer, it’s just that I find it overrated, especially when people believe that simply switching to it and its MacOS will automagically improve their computing experience. Personally I prefer my Vista-running IBM T43 more, and this is from a guy who had used Macs for years before moving to Windows.