Al Bsharah Business Minded, Technically Inclined

CategoryMusic, Video, Games

Cutting the Cord, Pulling the Plug – I Cancelled my Cable!

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Cable TV Static Flicker

January 25, 2012. That was the day (so I’ve had 3 months under my belt). After years of building home-brew DVR’s, and spending countless monthly dollars on a service I rarely used anymore…I made the move.  Shut it down, turned it off, sent the equipment back!  Now I just have an internet connection. How do I feel?  Well, like I’ve got a few more dollars in my pocket for...

Build Your Own DIY Sonos System on the Cheap

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Sonos Airfoil Logo Mashup

If you’re unfamiliar with Sonos’ fantastic products, go ahead and have a gander at their website.  Synchronized music, in multiple rooms in your home, wirelessly, and controllable via your iPhone.  Epic, right?  Unfortunately, at a price that’s out of range for many every-day music enthusiasts.  This article will show you a way to get similar functionality with existing equipment and some...

Doing it Right: USOpen.org Video Stream

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USOpen Live Broadcast Features

For the 2009 series, the USOpen has launched an on-line video stream for all of their broadcasts that is magnitudes better than any other I’ve seen to date.  I’m sure there are some good ones I may have missed, but this one has fantastic features that can’t be overlooked. This is a game-changing way to watch tennis.  First, I’m not the type of person who will go out of my way to watch the game...

Video Game Controllers, or Lack Thereof

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A while back, I posted about some Amazing Human-Computer Interfaces.  Today, I’m adding a couple of big-name entries into this space. Microsoft and Sony both announced some new controller technologies at E3 a couple weeks back, and I’ve included promotional videos from both.  The PS3 motion controller solution appears to be a little closer to prime time and uses a hand-held device...

32 Free Applications for PCs, Make You and Your PC Happy!

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Happy PC

It’s rare that I run across an article that makes me want to link it in my blog directly.  Normally, I’ll Digg it, or Tweet it, or put it in my Shared News, or something similar so it shows up in my LifeStream (the side-bar to the left).  However, this one deserves special mention. It’s a list of 32 applications that you, geek or not, might very well find useful in some form or...

Nothing to See Here… #4

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Nothing To See Here

For the second time in a row, a “Nothing to See Here” episode is being written during what many in San Diego would consider a tropical storm.  Really, it’s just a good rain and some wind.  We silly San Diegans… A very cool mockup-tool has been released that allows you to quickly create drawings of websites or applications without using pen and paper.  Have a look at...

Multi-Touch Interface for Music Creation

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A few weeks back, I wrote an article about Amazing Human-Computer Interfaces, which included a plethora of videos showing off some of these cool technologies. Today, I ran across a guy (Randy Jones) who did a DIY version of a multi-touch interface.  He uses it to play music, and shows off how it works in the below video.  It’s got a much higher sample rate than most, and is pretty...

SageTV Releases HD Theater Device (STP-HD200)

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SageTV HD Theater

It appears that SageTV somewhat quietly released a new version of their HD extenders called the HD Theater.  The specifications and features are a little bit vague at this point, despite the ability to purchase this product on-line…right now. The old SageTV HD Extenders (HD100) required a SageTV server on the back-end, or they would not function.  My guess is that this device is their...

Automatic Playlists, Intelligent Music Selection, Categorization, Mobility, and Sharing

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Music Tools

How do you organize your music?  Are you an iTunes or Windows Media user?  Do you not bother owning your own music, and use services like Pandora or Last.FM?  Do you create playlists?  If so, are they manual or “smart”?  Can your playlists evolve as your tastes in music do, or do they require you to make changes on your own? Music happens to be something I spend a lot of my days...

Amazing Human-Computer Interfaces – Prepare to Finally Ditch That Mouse and Keyboard!

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Minority Report

Whether or not you’re a fan of the movie Minority Report (or Tom Cruise, for that matter), you’re going to love what you see here.  This article was sparked by some new technology from a company called Oblong Industries.  Apparently, many of the founders of this organization were involved in the making of the movie and have decided to make the incredibly cool user interface from the...

Al Bsharah Business Minded, Technically Inclined