Bring it back!
Mandatory disclaimer: Warning! This video may offend… people who don’t realise this is satire.
EDIT: Fixed broken video
Archive Page 3 of 30
Burning Toppy shows to DVD just got a WHOLE lot easier. And faster.
What I used to do:
- Copy .rec file from Toppy
- Demultiplex .rec with MPEG Streamclip into separate video and audio streams (.m2v and .m1a)
- Rename .m1a to .mpa so the next step would work
- Remultiplex these 2 files to DVD (VIDEO_TS) format using ffmpegX
- Burn with Roxio Toast
In what is simply a revelation, I just figured out that Roxio Toast can burn demultiplexed video files. O. M. G.
What I do now:
- Copy .rec file from Toppy
- Demultiplex with MPEG Streamclip
- Burn with Roxio Toast
Before it was an utter chore to the point where I just didn’t bother. Now, I can simply drag the .m2v file into Roxio and if there’s a .m1a or .mpa file sitting there with the same name it just figures it out and remuxes both streams as part of the burn process! It also automatically adds chapter marks every 5 mins and this was something lacking in my previous burns. It’s also a lot easier to add multiple titles to a disc. And I could potentially add menus, something I’ve steered clear of until now because of the complexity involved.
I’m so impressed that I’m actually slightly embarrassed to admit that I used to do this in such an inefficient way.
And no, I don’t think a DVD recorder would be a better solution. Lets face it, I’m a bloody pedant when it comes to video trimming and ad-removal. The software solution allows frame precision. So it might take a little extra time but the end product is worth it. Plus I would miss my Toppy!
If you have an iPhone with Optus and are trying to sign up to their Usage Alerts thingy through the website, you will get this error:
The service you have selected is on a mobile plan or fixed line service that does not support Usage Alerts.
I just spoke to a guy at Optus who was actually useful and actually knew what was going on and actually spoke English! What are the chances? He said the website is still being updated to include Usage Alerts functionality for the iPhone because it’s a new handset this hasn’t been done yet. Apparently the update is not so straightforward as the iPhone (allegedly) uses different technology for its data usage than regular phones. They don’t have an ETA of when Usage Alerts will be available to iPhone users. This could all be bullshit but it makes me feel better believing I will be able to get it one day.
If you’re on a Post-Paid mobile Cap Plan or have a fixed line account, it’s easy to control your spending. Just set up a Usage Alert and we’ll send you an SMS when you reach your chosen limit.
DO WANT.
I bought something off eBay and it was all good and arrived fine and dandy. Today I went to leave feedback and saw this:
“eBay Note: This user is no longer registered on eBay.”
I had never seen that before and it seemed weird to me that someone with 7413 feedback and 99% positive at that would just disappear overnight… Probably not that interesting but I wonder what happened.
The Xbox 360 is a pretty neato games machine. Hovever, lately I’ve discovered that it simply excels as a media center. Why? It plays MPEG-4 videos of course! It required a minor software update which was straightforward once I got Xbox Live up and running. It plays videos from a burnt CD or DVD which is handy, but the real treat is its ability to play videos on mass storage devices connected via the USB port. Brilliant! It also connects to a Windows PC which is nice but a feature I’ll probably never use as my MPEG-4 stuff is on USB HDD or DVD. I have to hand it to Microsoft though, they’ve nailed it here. The Xbox 360 has already replaced my Macbook Pro as the primary device for watching MPEG-4. The icing on the cake is my Logitech Harmony 525 universal remote, whose software simply downloaded all the codes for the Xbox 360! Truly awesome.
I read an article in The Age about employees committing suicide then their family saying GPS trackers in work vehicles were a contributing factor.
Employers are fitting out their fleets of company cars with invasive GPS tracking systems despite claims the technology unnecessarily invades staff privacy and contributed to the suicide of a Telstra linesman last year.
What the?
I know there are companies putting trackers in their fleet vehicles. Some even do it without telling their employees, and that I have a problem with. But when the employees know a tracker is there, what’s the problem?
Personally, I wouldn’t have a problem with it. I have been wanting trackers in our work cars for ages. For one, it would mean an end to filling out that stupid log book. And to people forgetting to fill it out, and filling it out incorrectly, etc. And secondly, I know there are people that do abuse the resource, and this would put a stop to that.
The fuss seems to be about invasion of privacy and lack of employer’s trust for employees. But there need to be allowances for this resource to be used with flexibility. How flexible is the employer willing to be with their vehicles, and how they allow their employees to use them? The problems arise when you get draconian employers using minute details in the data in unfair ways.
An employer that respected their employees would develop some simple software to examine the data collected and find obvious patterns of abuse, then take appropriate action against the abusers. They would also clearly state their policies on vehicle use, and any thresholds that would constitute abuse. These policies would be developed in consultation with employee representatives, aiming towards a fair balance between flexibility and efficient use of company resources. For example, employees could be allowed to stop and pick up milk on the way home, etc.
Our company’s policy states that stops of less than 30 minutes during a journey do not need to be recorded in the log book. So an employer’s policies would need to reflect those they had before trackers were introduced. When employers learn to respect their employees and reflect this in their policies, devices like GPS trackers would not cause as much upset and may even be welcomed.
Update 16/8: Added quote from article.
When I got my power bill this time last year I was alarmed at the power usage during winter. I was using my split system to heat the house during waking hours. But used a small electric heater on thermostat during the nights to take the chill off the air. Such heaters are far from efficient which I have proven as my power saving experiment has come to fruition.
This winter I threw out all my portable electric heaters and used only my split system for heating. Maximum 21 degrees. Mostly it was on 18-20. At nights I left it on with low fan speed and temp set on 16 or 17. I also fitted anti-draught rollers to my two outside doors and installed foam seals around their edges. I should also mention that I took advantage of the Murray Energy scheme which includes free replacement of all globes with compact fluoros. I’m sure the globes would have helped to reduce power consumption, but they were by no means the major contributor.
These changes reduced my energy usage by 619 kWh for the May-August cycle, compared with last year. This equates to a saving of just over $100 for a quarter, which is quite significant.
The graphs don’t lie (pulled straight from the Country Energy website). Compare the three August readings. The first one was before my split system went in and I was using the house’s ancient electric heater. The last two reflect the results of my experiment.
I was truly relieved to see this graph, as using the split system at night was a bit of a gamble. But it has paid off, literally.
While we’re on the topic, I measured the temperature of my hot water out of the tap at 70 degrees C a few weeks ago. What’s yours? Leave it in the comments.
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