Comments for Alston Grove http://www.alstongrove.com Welcome to the throes of my thoughts Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:18:58 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 Comment on Going Gold by elong http://www.alstongrove.com/posts/119#comment-254 elong Tue, 12 Aug 2008 02:33:12 +0000 http://www.alstongrove.com/?p=119#comment-254 I bought a 50-pack of 8x Verbatim UltraLife DVD-R at Amazon for $1.40 per disc: http://www.amazon.com/Verbatim-UltraLife%C2%BF-Archival-Grade-DVD-R/dp/B000H3B6EO/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1218507611&sr=8-1 A lot of people think that Taiyo Yuden (premium line silver thermal lacquer) is the best blank DVD media, which only cost about $0.30 - $0.60 per disc: http://www.supermediastore.com/taiyo-yuden-dvd-r-media.html They are supposed to last 100 years, but I can’t find any testing they’ve done to back that up. Also, they do not have the scratch-resistant coating like Verbatim UltraLife. I also looked at another gold disc called Delkin Devices Archival Gold DVD-R, but I’ve read a few people have had some compatibility problems with them. The Verbatim UltraLife also uses a silver layer to enhance the reflectively and make it more compatible. I bought a 50-pack of 8x Verbatim UltraLife DVD-R at Amazon for $1.40 per disc:

http://www.amazon.com/Verbatim-UltraLife%C2%BF-Archival-Grade-DVD-R/dp/B000H3B6EO/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1218507611&sr=8-1

A lot of people think that Taiyo Yuden (premium line silver thermal lacquer) is the best blank DVD media, which only cost about $0.30 - $0.60 per disc:

http://www.supermediastore.com/taiyo-yuden-dvd-r-media.html

They are supposed to last 100 years, but I can’t find any testing they’ve done to back that up. Also, they do not have the scratch-resistant coating like Verbatim UltraLife.

I also looked at another gold disc called Delkin Devices Archival Gold DVD-R, but I’ve read a few people have had some compatibility problems with them. The Verbatim UltraLife also uses a silver layer to enhance the reflectively and make it more compatible.

]]> Comment on MAME Cabinet by Rob Stevenson http://www.alstongrove.com/posts/115#comment-252 Rob Stevenson Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:12:00 +0000 http://www.alstongrove.com/posts/115#comment-252 I'm still waiting for the "MAME Fest" announcement! Grilling, beer and old-tyme gaming ... doesn't get any better than that! I’m still waiting for the “MAME Fest” announcement! Grilling, beer and old-tyme gaming … doesn’t get any better than that!

]]> Comment on Going Gold by Rob Stevenson http://www.alstongrove.com/posts/119#comment-251 Rob Stevenson Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:08:52 +0000 http://www.alstongrove.com/?p=119#comment-251 Hey Eric! What the price difference between a spindle of gold disks compared to a "good quality" spindle of regular disks? Hey Eric! What the price difference between a spindle of gold disks compared to a “good quality” spindle of regular disks?

]]> Comment on SymmetricDS 1.0 Released by WiegmanOnCampus http://www.alstongrove.com/posts/110#comment-250 WiegmanOnCampus Tue, 27 Nov 2007 18:25:49 +0000 http://www.alstongrove.com/posts/110#comment-250 You got anything in there for file polling? Some folks aren't as cutting edge with their POS deployments as you guys... :-) You got anything in there for file polling? Some folks aren’t as cutting edge with their POS deployments as you guys… :-)

]]> Comment on Rockboxing the Sansa by WiegmanOnCampus http://www.alstongrove.com/posts/109#comment-249 WiegmanOnCampus Tue, 27 Nov 2007 18:23:58 +0000 http://www.alstongrove.com/posts/109#comment-249 I've been using Rockbox for a couple of years now, on two different iPod models. While it's software isn't as intuitive as the default iPod software, it is much more feature-rich (and supports the open format, FLAC, that I need it to support). Unfortunately, Rockbox takes a lethargically long time to adopt their software to new iPod releases. The current iPod versions that are in stores are not supported yet. I’ve been using Rockbox for a couple of years now, on two different iPod models. While it’s software isn’t as intuitive as the default iPod software, it is much more feature-rich (and supports the open format, FLAC, that I need it to support). Unfortunately, Rockbox takes a lethargically long time to adopt their software to new iPod releases. The current iPod versions that are in stores are not supported yet.

]]> Comment on The Future of Desktop by JediRory http://www.alstongrove.com/posts/101#comment-105 JediRory Sat, 30 Sep 2006 19:25:53 +0000 http://www.alstongrove.com/?p=101#comment-105 Um....wow. That's really nice. I might have to look in to that. Amazing.... Um….wow. That’s really nice. I might have to look in to that. Amazing….

]]> Comment on Privacy Paranoia by JediRory http://www.alstongrove.com/posts/86#comment-104 JediRory Sat, 30 Sep 2006 19:20:13 +0000 http://eblog.dhs.org/?p=86#comment-104 Always good to see Eric-San back to his old tricks. Its amazing how much personal information has propagated out in to the world, isn't it? Makes you think twice every time someone asks you for any bit of your info.... Always good to see Eric-San back to his old tricks. Its amazing how much personal information has propagated out in to the world, isn’t it? Makes you think twice every time someone asks you for any bit of your info….

]]> Comment on VoIP by WiegmanOnCampus http://www.alstongrove.com/posts/95#comment-103 WiegmanOnCampus Wed, 01 Feb 2006 14:27:47 +0000 http://www.alstongrove.com/?p=95#comment-103 E, How much did Vonage pay you for this "ad"? :-) Seriously, that's really cool. I also notice now that you can place phone calls for free on chat apps like Yahoo Messenger. Has anyone tried that? Does it include long distance? If so, that might save us another $15/month! Just use your mobile phone for incoming calls or something... I dunno. And, to ruin the surprise, telecom companies consistently cheat their customers for as much as they can. Prices for land-line phone service have cut in half over the past few years because of VoIP. Here's an example: https://swot.sbc.com/swot/telcoProductDetail.do?productOfferId=29 Weird how that works, huh? E,

How much did Vonage pay you for this “ad”? :-)

Seriously, that’s really cool. I also notice now that you can place phone calls for free on chat apps like Yahoo Messenger. Has anyone tried that? Does it include long distance? If so, that might save us another $15/month! Just use your mobile phone for incoming calls or something… I dunno.

And, to ruin the surprise, telecom companies consistently cheat their customers for as much as they can. Prices for land-line phone service have cut in half over the past few years because of VoIP. Here’s an example:

https://swot.sbc.com/swot/telcoProductDetail.do?productOfferId=29

Weird how that works, huh?

]]> Comment on Windows Frustration by JediRory http://www.alstongrove.com/posts/94#comment-102 JediRory Sat, 03 Dec 2005 20:42:02 +0000 http://www.alstongrove.com/?p=94#comment-102 Similar to Dean, I always end up having two rows...only it's one for the quick launch and one for the windows bars. And besides, Eric, you of all people should know that the terms "natural" and "windows" don't go together. ;) Similar to Dean, I always end up having two rows…only it’s one for the quick launch and one for the windows bars.

And besides, Eric, you of all people should know that the terms “natural” and “windows” don’t go together. ;)

]]> Comment on Windows Frustration by Dean http://www.alstongrove.com/posts/94#comment-101 Dean Tue, 29 Nov 2005 16:29:19 +0000 http://www.alstongrove.com/?p=94#comment-101 I can sympathize -- I have a similar problem with Yahoo Web Mail's "next and "previous" message links. I have the messages sorted so that the newest one is at the top, so it's hard to get used to "previous" meaning "newer" and "next" meaning "older". As far as the Windows taskbar goes, I am in the habit of expanding it to allow 2 rows of icons, which usually lets me get at least 30 entries in there before the scrollbar shows up. I can sympathize — I have a similar problem with Yahoo Web Mail’s “next and “previous” message links. I have the messages sorted so that the newest one is at the top, so it’s hard to get used to “previous” meaning “newer” and “next” meaning “older”.

As far as the Windows taskbar goes, I am in the habit of expanding it to allow 2 rows of icons, which usually lets me get at least 30 entries in there before the scrollbar shows up.

]]>