This is gonna be a half-rant / half-tutorial post.
Look behind your modern tv and you will see a plethora of connections, some familiar and others that will make you say "wtf???!!!111oneoneone!!". I'm going to try simplify this for you, by ranking them in order of display quality, lobbing a picture for reference and an explanation of when they would be commonly used.
So, bingo, let's start
Worst to best ranking, with some ties.
1) RF - you should be familiar with this one already, RF=Radio Frequency,, and it is what you plug your aerial into. In the states this would be an f-connector with a screw thread, most of the rest of the world uses a push fit connector , with the socket having a female receptacle. As it says, this is for radio frequency, and will not give the best picture quality, at all. Ever. Stay Away From This if you have others options.
It looks like this
2) Composite - (NOTE: DONT CONFUSE WITH COMPONENT) composte is normally coloured yellow, the jack and the socket is yellow, it is a two wire system, one being signal and the other is a ground/shield wire. This is so common on most equipment that if you havent seen one yet you probably own a guide dog. It is better than RF, but not by much. All info has to get modulated into a single wire, and this causes loss of clarity and colour. As above, avoid if you have better options. Here is the guilty party
3) Svideo - (I am gonna say this once only, if you EVER, DARE, IN MY PRESENCE, to call this super-vhs and super-video I will use this on you. Repeatedly. Sure, some vhs machines did have svideo connectors, and they were super-vhs machines, BUT THE CONNECTOR IS CALLED SVIDEO. kappish? Svideo is a 4 wire system, 2 ground, a luminance and a chrominance wire. This is better than composite, at least everything isnt squashed into one wire anymore, and for the most part people can get along with svideo on normal sd crt tv's quite fine. The connector is keyed and can only be inserted one way correctly, but this hasnt stopped people from squashing it in wrong and mashing the pins. This wont help your picture quality, by the way.
A stunning example is here, dressed in black
4) RGB (red, green, blue...like magic) - Ok, we are onto the better stuff now. RGB has seperate wires for the three colours, and then normally a h-sync wire (horizontal sync) and a v-sync (vertical sync) (or sometimes only a c-sync, composite sync). Guess what, this is what your average old computer monitor uses in the vga connections. On a tv, the frequency is much lower, so they cant be swopped willy-nilly, and rgb shouldnt be interchanged with vga, but the concept can be likened to brothers. Most of the time rgb is implemented on a scart connector. Yes, I said scart connector. It is a connector, not a signal type. SCART can carry composite, or rgb, or svideo +audio and syncing/switcing/voltages, or combinations thereof. Picture here
5) Component (sometimes called YPrPb) - this is some good stuff here. Can carry hi-def signals, 3 seperate rca style jacks, colour coded so you cant really mess things up. One red, one green, one blue. No, they dont carry red green and blue data. Use these if you got 'em and nothing better spare..
6) vga - an analog connector - like your computer monitor uses, this is a 15 pin d-sub port, carrying rgb and sync signals. plug your computer into this jack if it is your lowest common connector
7) dvi/hdmi - very similar jacks...all digital and used for modern equipment, hi-def cable/satellite boxes, computers, xbox 360/ps3 etcetera. the hdmi port differs from dvi in that it carries the same data as a dvi port and in addition can carry audio. You can buy dvi-->hdmi cables pretty cheaply. Dont bother about super duper high quality cables, the picture will look the same...the only diff is the more expense cables may have better connectors, better strain relief and perhaps more robust shielding.
Ok, hope that helps clarify the waters a bit, and heed the super-vhs warning. I rarely kid aroudn when I got fresh batteries :-)
Thursday, 31 May 2007
Tuesday, 29 May 2007
Dealing with the csup.txt whql mda requirement
Microsoft slipped a very quiet reference to a file, csup.txt, into the mda2007 requirements. In fact, I only found reference to this file in ONE powerpoint slide.
Either way, the actual requirements are simple enough, the file should contain the "born on" date for the machine, so microsoft can use this for reference to check which windows critical updates should be installed. And if you jump through the hoop nicely, you may receive you mda money.
The file needs to contain the current date. Something like echo %date% > c:\windows\csup.txt should be ok, isnt it? Nope, date must be in american format.
So, if you DONT live in the states, and your machines regional settings arent in U.S. format, you will have to conjure up some magic. I searche donline and found some routines for batch files, and modified them a bit, and this works for me
----begin batch-----
rem get the day, date and month in a format we can work with
@For /F "tokens=1,2,3 delims=/ " %%A in ('Date /t') do @(
Set Day=%%A
Set Month=%%B
Set Year=%%C
)
@echo DAY = %Day%
@echo Month = %Month%
@echo Year = %Year%
rem this line reformats it to american date format, as required by ms
rem and then creates c:\windows\csup.txt using this information for whql
echo %month%-%day%-%year% > c:\windows\csup.txt
-----end batch------
first sections uses the date command to put the date into variables, %day%, %month% and %year%, we can then echo these variables in any format into csup.txt, as shown by the last line. This works great for me for grabbing UK date and reformatting as U.S, please experiment for your area to get the variables correct.
Either way, the actual requirements are simple enough, the file should contain the "born on" date for the machine, so microsoft can use this for reference to check which windows critical updates should be installed. And if you jump through the hoop nicely, you may receive you mda money.
The file needs to contain the current date. Something like echo %date% > c:\windows\csup.txt should be ok, isnt it? Nope, date must be in american format.
So, if you DONT live in the states, and your machines regional settings arent in U.S. format, you will have to conjure up some magic. I searche donline and found some routines for batch files, and modified them a bit, and this works for me
----begin batch-----
rem get the day, date and month in a format we can work with
@For /F "tokens=1,2,3 delims=/ " %%A in ('Date /t') do @(
Set Day=%%A
Set Month=%%B
Set Year=%%C
)
@echo DAY = %Day%
@echo Month = %Month%
@echo Year = %Year%
rem this line reformats it to american date format, as required by ms
rem and then creates c:\windows\csup.txt using this information for whql
echo %month%-%day%-%year% > c:\windows\csup.txt
-----end batch------
first sections uses the date command to put the date into variables, %day%, %month% and %year%, we can then echo these variables in any format into csup.txt, as shown by the last line. This works great for me for grabbing UK date and reformatting as U.S, please experiment for your area to get the variables correct.
The Confusing Popularity of MySpace
OK, lets get it out of the way. MySpace is huge, MySpace is popular, and MySpace is a word in common usage (hereafter referred to as myspace because typing those two capital letters is winding me up)
I bumped into someone recently, and I guess she knew how much I loved mobile phones, because she didnt ask for my phone number, she wanted my "myspace". Much as I wouldve loved to oblige, she obviously was not aware of how much I dont "get" myspace.
Long-winded explanation follows.
Many Many moons ago, yea, Al Gore he made the net, and it was good, the pipes were flowing, and then they made geocities.com. And it was good. And the people they flocked and opened up pages using the geocities page wizard, and suddenly everybody had a presence. I would wager that this almost kick-started the "homepage" phenomenon.
Goecities was where everybody (initially) planted their first internet seed, you didnt NEED to know html as they had a site-designer. you could have geocities.com/mynutsandI for no fee whatsoever. If fate hadnt conspired otherwise, the lady in question shouldve asked me for my geocities address.
So, I have now drawn a parallel between myspace and geocities, and I belive they are (were?) very much the same thing.
But some difference in implementation exist.
#1) myspace is made out to be cool, glamorous and beautiful people go there to write about themselves (actually, they pay others to write for them, and probably wouldnt recognise their own page layout if they had to pick from 10 samples)
#2) with myspace you can message each other (status: horribly broken I have been told)
So, where did geocities go wrong? My opinion is probably it was too early. The critical mass of users who would find this service handy hadnt bought computers yet, and once they had myspace was there to give them something they needed.
And the html (or whatever myspace uses) which they provide to users is so ugly that it is almost a comptetition to see who can get a page that doesnt flash black and white @ 10hz with links that shoot left by 10pixels when you hover over them.
They have taken geocities, and made it into web2.0. Launched an almost broken product and harnessed the users to make it work, deftly side-stepping the "large corporate" attitude many sites have, branding myspace as "cutesy and cuddly" at the same time, and sticking good looking woman there. And if you want to see their profiles, you have to sign up too.
All in all, a job well done. Take something that exists already (geocities) and relaunch it. Yeah, you can tell how impressed I am.
Needless to say, I'm not on myspace. And you are not getting my geocities address:-)
I bumped into someone recently, and I guess she knew how much I loved mobile phones, because she didnt ask for my phone number, she wanted my "myspace". Much as I wouldve loved to oblige, she obviously was not aware of how much I dont "get" myspace.
Long-winded explanation follows.
Many Many moons ago, yea, Al Gore he made the net, and it was good, the pipes were flowing, and then they made geocities.com. And it was good. And the people they flocked and opened up pages using the geocities page wizard, and suddenly everybody had a presence. I would wager that this almost kick-started the "homepage" phenomenon.
Goecities was where everybody (initially) planted their first internet seed, you didnt NEED to know html as they had a site-designer. you could have geocities.com/mynutsandI for no fee whatsoever. If fate hadnt conspired otherwise, the lady in question shouldve asked me for my geocities address.
So, I have now drawn a parallel between myspace and geocities, and I belive they are (were?) very much the same thing.
But some difference in implementation exist.
#1) myspace is made out to be cool, glamorous and beautiful people go there to write about themselves (actually, they pay others to write for them, and probably wouldnt recognise their own page layout if they had to pick from 10 samples)
#2) with myspace you can message each other (status: horribly broken I have been told)
So, where did geocities go wrong? My opinion is probably it was too early. The critical mass of users who would find this service handy hadnt bought computers yet, and once they had myspace was there to give them something they needed.
And the html (or whatever myspace uses) which they provide to users is so ugly that it is almost a comptetition to see who can get a page that doesnt flash black and white @ 10hz with links that shoot left by 10pixels when you hover over them.
They have taken geocities, and made it into web2.0. Launched an almost broken product and harnessed the users to make it work, deftly side-stepping the "large corporate" attitude many sites have, branding myspace as "cutesy and cuddly" at the same time, and sticking good looking woman there. And if you want to see their profiles, you have to sign up too.
All in all, a job well done. Take something that exists already (geocities) and relaunch it. Yeah, you can tell how impressed I am.
Needless to say, I'm not on myspace. And you are not getting my geocities address:-)
Saturday, 26 May 2007
Dealing with the hoodie phenomenon, effectively
A long time ago in a far away place there once lived a man called Jack The Ripper. Mr Jack wasn't such a nice bloke, he had these urges to kill and maim prostitutes. And he was never found. I'm not sure if he was the first, but he was definitely one of the first modern day serial killers.
For a few months olde London was thrown into panic as night time came about. People would be petrified that they would be Jack's next victim, and the most petrified of them all were the prostitutes. Nobody wanted to be near the prostitutes, and the prostitutes themselves kinda had a going out of business sale on.
So, last night I was at the pub and saw many hoodies running around, proving to themselves that Darwin's theory isnt working correctly. And it struck me...we dont need regulation, or Brussels, or Tony Blair to sort this out, heck, we dont even need any police.
Let's get Jack back.
But tweak him for the modern society, reprogram him to hoodie mode. Let him loose on modern London, with some modern weapons, and have him target hoodies for a couple of months.
I would be willing to wager sales of hoodies would plummet like Tony Blair's popularity. I would also wager that the next time I see a hoodie in my life it would be worn by the Grim Reaper, and not some Romford snot-nose.
They would all be cowering in fear, hiding in mommy's basement lest others point to them and cry "HIM!! He used to wear a HOODIE!!! RUN"
Now, who's going to vote for me? :-)
For a few months olde London was thrown into panic as night time came about. People would be petrified that they would be Jack's next victim, and the most petrified of them all were the prostitutes. Nobody wanted to be near the prostitutes, and the prostitutes themselves kinda had a going out of business sale on.
So, last night I was at the pub and saw many hoodies running around, proving to themselves that Darwin's theory isnt working correctly. And it struck me...we dont need regulation, or Brussels, or Tony Blair to sort this out, heck, we dont even need any police.
Let's get Jack back.
But tweak him for the modern society, reprogram him to hoodie mode. Let him loose on modern London, with some modern weapons, and have him target hoodies for a couple of months.
I would be willing to wager sales of hoodies would plummet like Tony Blair's popularity. I would also wager that the next time I see a hoodie in my life it would be worn by the Grim Reaper, and not some Romford snot-nose.
They would all be cowering in fear, hiding in mommy's basement lest others point to them and cry "HIM!! He used to wear a HOODIE!!! RUN"
Now, who's going to vote for me? :-)
Friday, 25 May 2007
Everything is broken
Pondering the universe today, as per my usual lunch break, when I realised there would be a use on this planet for a website similar to digg, but for logging failures on modern electronic equipement, for the purpose of collecting enough info to launch a class action.
The reasoning behind this is pretty simple, so wont take much explaining. Everything is broken. Always. If you see something that you think isnt broken, it is because you havent looked hard enough. As the world turns and software creeps its way into everyday devices, like fridges, toasters, your pvr under the tv, your tv itself etc, the prevalence of bugs increases.
And there will always be a bug. But perhaps you dont realise it, or arent using the itme in a specific configuration so the bug doesnt raise its head. BUt it does exist.
What is needed is for everyone who believes they have a problem to be able to log it effectively somehow, and for others to chime in their 2c worth if they can replicate it. Once a critical mass of similar faults are recorded a class action can be launched.
Heck, the site would be a breeding ground for lawyers.
Just a thought...it is bound to get worse before it gets better...
The reasoning behind this is pretty simple, so wont take much explaining. Everything is broken. Always. If you see something that you think isnt broken, it is because you havent looked hard enough. As the world turns and software creeps its way into everyday devices, like fridges, toasters, your pvr under the tv, your tv itself etc, the prevalence of bugs increases.
And there will always be a bug. But perhaps you dont realise it, or arent using the itme in a specific configuration so the bug doesnt raise its head. BUt it does exist.
What is needed is for everyone who believes they have a problem to be able to log it effectively somehow, and for others to chime in their 2c worth if they can replicate it. Once a critical mass of similar faults are recorded a class action can be launched.
Heck, the site would be a breeding ground for lawyers.
Just a thought...it is bound to get worse before it gets better...
Thursday, 24 May 2007
Hand Washing Rituals of the Modern Man
Before I let you in on my secret I have to say that I am a clean, well-washed young man who loves having his bath in the morning. And a cup of coffee, and a smoke.
And off to work we go. Open car door, close car door, get to work, open office door, walk around building, close doors etc. Lots of opening and closing.
And touching. Touching lots of foreign things. Foreign, dirty things, which werent washed that morning, probably full of germs farms.
And so it comes to that ritual I do after coffee, the morning piss at work. Have a nice long leak and a shake, then go wash my hands.
This is all expected human behaviour. But now, I am having a bit of a wonder here. My very dirty hands were used in the bathroom to support my male organ. Yes, the clean male organ that had a good wash that same morning, then got cottoned up in clean underwear and whisked off to work with me. But I washed my hands????? This defies logic.
There seems to be only two solutions that actually make sense, as the current one is giving me grey hairs trying to decipher.
We should
1) Wash hands before going to the toilet (and if you have bad aim, after toilet too)
2) Forget the hands, but invent some male organ washing machine that can clean your dangly bits AFTER you have touched it with your filthy hands.
But once again I ask, why do we wash our HANDS after toilet?
And off to work we go. Open car door, close car door, get to work, open office door, walk around building, close doors etc. Lots of opening and closing.
And touching. Touching lots of foreign things. Foreign, dirty things, which werent washed that morning, probably full of germs farms.
And so it comes to that ritual I do after coffee, the morning piss at work. Have a nice long leak and a shake, then go wash my hands.
This is all expected human behaviour. But now, I am having a bit of a wonder here. My very dirty hands were used in the bathroom to support my male organ. Yes, the clean male organ that had a good wash that same morning, then got cottoned up in clean underwear and whisked off to work with me. But I washed my hands????? This defies logic.
There seems to be only two solutions that actually make sense, as the current one is giving me grey hairs trying to decipher.
We should
1) Wash hands before going to the toilet (and if you have bad aim, after toilet too)
2) Forget the hands, but invent some male organ washing machine that can clean your dangly bits AFTER you have touched it with your filthy hands.
But once again I ask, why do we wash our HANDS after toilet?
Wednesday, 23 May 2007
My girlfriend used to be this dirty
Sometimes, you just have to wonder how the hell some people managed to escape Darwin. The evolution of our species should mean that the rubbish cant procreate and eventually, they die, unable to pass their tarnished genes on to the next generation.
Occasionally, it must be said, one escapes the net. I blame alcohol. Alcohol has the ability to make stupid unattractive guys appealing to the fairer sex.
Which means, of course, the following photos cannot have come from Iran or a similar country. No sir, this excuse for a human hails from the land of the big great cloud. And what follows is a short photo story of the inside of his pc.
He came to me complaining that windows would occasionally not boot up completely, random reboots etc. My first instinct was heat. I wasnt wrong. I just didnt know how right I was.
This humble lump of plastic and metal left china about a year ago, nice 'n shiny. Now, it is just being abused.
If you can stomach it, read on.
Here is a lovely view with the front panel removed. You can see the dust has actually started to grow. I would hate to see what this person's house looks like.
It gets worse...viewed from the side the fur is about 2 inches long
one more pic, so you know this is for real
un-fucking-believable...
This pc was one year old, not some 10 year old gunk dug out of a cupboard. The techies refused to work on it, and we sent it back to the customer to clean (sterilise?) before we touched it further. The thing smelled bad too.
Occasionally, it must be said, one escapes the net. I blame alcohol. Alcohol has the ability to make stupid unattractive guys appealing to the fairer sex.
Which means, of course, the following photos cannot have come from Iran or a similar country. No sir, this excuse for a human hails from the land of the big great cloud. And what follows is a short photo story of the inside of his pc.
He came to me complaining that windows would occasionally not boot up completely, random reboots etc. My first instinct was heat. I wasnt wrong. I just didnt know how right I was.
This humble lump of plastic and metal left china about a year ago, nice 'n shiny. Now, it is just being abused.
If you can stomach it, read on.
Here is a lovely view with the front panel removed. You can see the dust has actually started to grow. I would hate to see what this person's house looks like.
It gets worse...viewed from the side the fur is about 2 inches long
one more pic, so you know this is for real
un-fucking-believable...
This pc was one year old, not some 10 year old gunk dug out of a cupboard. The techies refused to work on it, and we sent it back to the customer to clean (sterilise?) before we touched it further. The thing smelled bad too.
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