The thrill is gone

Just an "assimilation" update for you Arden!- I am running this great Mac OSX program "Indigo" for controlling all my X10 devices and using it and AppleScript and QuicKeys to do all kinds of things. In addtion, I took advice from this forum and bought an FM transmitter.

So, for example. Indigo runs a timed event at 6:00 am every day that calls an AppleScript that calls a QuickKeys shortuct to start up Windows MediaPlayer and load up WNYC on the radio. The FM transmitter sends this on an FM channel through my house and can be picked up by every radio in house including the radio in the bathroom (I could use Indigo to turn on the transmitter, but I just leave it on for now). So, now when I hop into the shower, I have my radio station ready to go! (I live between huge hills and have awful radio reception). I can also send an email to my house and based on the subject text have indigo start up/show down all kinds of things.

Even if you aren't interested in home automation, try out Indigo for free for 30 days. The developer is an ex MacroMedia developer/manager and he did a great job at creating a powerful and easy to use piece of software: http://www.perceptiveautomation.com/indigo/

Here is my FM transmitter: http://www.ccrane.com/fm_transmitter.asp

I have all kinds of other things being managed by Indigo - motion detectors and lights throughout the house including different settings for night vs. day. Next step: distributing more audio and video!

Also, I spoke to the local high end audio store guy and he says that the home automation thing is really picking up (for example 801.b/g equipped appliances like Air conditioners), but the one thing holding it all back is standards and security (do you want your neighbor to be able to hack in to your house and blast your AC!). For security, there is a simple answer for a first step - dump Windows and use a Mac! :)
 
Originally posted by arden
Of course, the machine is useless without the software to run on it. Believe me; a new computer is a boring computer until you actually install something.

You can always try to dissect a program, if you have sufficient programming knowledge, though this isn't necessarily in the same way as a computer's hardware. But you never know what you'll discover.
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Well, I just pointing out that new software rarely is a source of excitement. 'That's cool' is the best anyone has gotten out of me. To me, it is a tool, not a source of excitement or enlightenment.

I have done some program dissection, although that was in relation to video card drivers on OS X. I had most of it worked out until I tripped over a hidden layer of OpenGL that sat right on top of the OpenGL bundle. No headers, no docs, nothing. Really sucked... I hadn't even gotten to DVD yet.
 
Sure, many programs are tools to be used in a certain way, but others (especially games) are for recreational purposes and are not intended to provide you with your daily bread but to make you have fun. It may not be exciting to you, but a computer with no software is really pretty useless (and therefore boring) unless it has Internet access.
 
Well, I understand your point, although my entertainment is mostly outside computers. I am just a tech geek, and my entertainment doesn't need to come from technology. :)
 
I wouldn't say I am entertained by computers, but I am excited by innovation and that is the thrill that is gone here. Computers are like girlfriends - With some, you become infatuated only to realize you are deluded and have made a horrible mistake. Some slowly entice you with seemingly unique or useful features, while others are eventually passed off to a friend who ends up calling for advice and/or understanding. A few you will never forget...

I think it can go a little bit beyond software. Perhaps you guys are too young to remember the Mac Quadra 660AV and 880AV - those were truly new and exciting computers for their day (1992) - a dedicated DSP chip, speech in and out, S-Video connections, integration with the phone (speaker phone, answering machine, fax). Sure, some of that was due to software, but it was far more than just another grey box. Of course Apple went on to produce green, red, blue, purple, silver and other color boxes until they finally gave us OS X.
 
And sometimes they don't recognize their memory and tell you something you know isn't true... :)

Sure, it's exciting to get a new computer, but only because of what it can do. If I dropped a new G5 on your desk, but it was incapable of installing anything, so you couldn't use any software with it, and it had been stripped of the software that came with it, what would you think of it it then? Wow, a grey box with holes!

Computers themselves aren't entertaining, but sites like this are involving and games are entertaining.
 
Originally posted by arden
Sure, it's exciting to get a new computer, but only because of what it can do. If I dropped a new G5 on your desk, but it was incapable of installing anything, so you couldn't use any software with it, and it had been stripped of the software that came with it, what would you think of it it then? Wow, a grey box with holes!
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Yep, exactly, a big grey box with holes, G5 processor(s) and plenty of hardware to keep me busy for quite awhile. I have actually spent plenty of time attempting to ressurrect(sic) machines I knew were 100% dead, just to try.

Of course, I am going into the hardware engineering field, so I see it slightly differently than the end user.
 
Well, then, giving you an empty computer (of software) is like giving a coroner a dead body. The normal person would rather interface with the software on the computer (the living person's personality), but you prefer to dig beneath the surface and fiddle. I figure as long as it works, it's all good.
 
What's going to give me that thrill all over again is Gran Turismo 4 on the Playstation 2 when it's released in December...

Now THAT is something to get excited for!

Cheers.

Originally posted by hulkaros
Just one simple question people:
-How is the other part of your lives, you know the everyday one where no computers are involved... Do you at least get some excitement there?

Please, if you want and feel like it, let us know :D
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