Tech – Oddball Update

Splice & Dice: Wiring the House for Ethernet

June 1, 2014June 1, 2014 Chief Oddball 3 Comments

As we were talking about our plans for the house this year, we decided to mount a new big-screen LED TV on the wall back in the bedroom. Of course, with the wireless Internet connectivity being as choked and spotty as it is back there, adding a whole media center with Smart TV apps and game consoles seemed like a pretty dumb idea. So I decided to run a new Ethernet drop back there.

My Next-Gen Game Plan (Or: How GameStop Bought Me an Xbox One)

September 15, 2013September 15, 2013 Chief Oddball

Since video games are my #1 hobby, I naturally spend the better part of my spare hours dedicated to making sure I get more of them. That statement carries more weight now than it has in some time, because 2013 is the year both the Xbox and PlayStation platforms introduce their next-generation console hardware.

The Xbox One and the Future of Video Games

June 6, 2013June 7, 2013 Chief Oddball

As recent statements from game publishers and hardware makers appears to show, what the games industry is aiming for now is a locked-down system of bite-sized drib-drab entertainment that you don’t own, can’t modify and should feel good about paying full price for even long after it’s been released.

Xbox None

May 24, 2013May 24, 2013 Chief Oddball

Ooooh guess what guess what? This week Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One, hardware successor to the Xbox 360 game console. It’s been a long seven and a half years since the 360 landed in stores, and it’s probably been the game console that I’ve gotten the most enjoyment out of (my SNES comes in at a close second).

Just When I Thought I Was Out, PC Gaming Pulls Me Back In

December 16, 2012December 17, 2012 Chief Oddball

It all started with Diablo III, and from there things began to spiral out of control. From Faster Than Light to System Shock 2 and even a brand new Radeon video card [!!], this is the tale of my rediscovery of PC gaming.

Tablet Wishes Fulfilled: The Samsung ATIV

December 1, 2012December 1, 2012 Chief Oddball 2 Comments

I've found the Samsung ATIV to be a perfect fit for me: part geek-engineer type with its x86 support and work-friendly environment, and part artist with its professional-grade Wacom digitizer. Although this is a strange dichotomy, I've made it work for me, and when I demanded the same of a tablet, the Samsung ATIV answered the call.

DOCSIS 3.0 Channel Bonding and You

November 16, 2012May 13, 2014 Chief Oddball 18 Comments

I've been a subscriber to Time Warner's high-speed Internet service since we moved to Texas, but lately that connection has slowed to a crawww-w-w-wl. In today's Oddball episode we'll learn an important lesson about DOCSIS 3.0 channel bonding and how it can be a huge benefit, even on slower broadband subscription tiers (such as our 10 Mbps line). Canapés may also be served.

Solving Windows 8 Sleep Issues

November 3, 2012November 3, 2012 Chief Oddball 4 Comments

I first installed Windows 8 when the RTM became available to MSDN subscribers in August, and on my home computer I had one serious problem that kept bugging the hell out of me and which I was never able to solve: Windows 8's sleep, hibernation and much-vaunted "Fast Startup" options just plain wouldn't work right.

Junior Programmer

October 18, 2012October 18, 2012 Chief Oddball 2 Comments

It’s a rare event when I actually go to bed at 8:30 in the evening, but tonight it’s happening because I’m whipped. A few months ago a coworker and I went through a crash course in .NET development using the custom GIS controls our company makes, and since then I’ve served as “Junior Programmer” (my words) for made-to-order projects when all of our mainline developers are otherwise tasked out.

The One True Wish, And Other Goodies

September 23, 2012September 23, 2012 Chief Oddball 1 Comment

After the hell that was Friday, today was a near-complete turnaround. Not only did I score the very iPhone 5 that I’d wanted, my “one true wish” from yesterday also came true: our son Connor woke up with no fever, smiling and happy and mostly back to his old self again.

Category: Tech