It's Just this Little Chromium Switch Here

Today, I learned a couple of lessons in user interface design. Unfortunately, they were learned the hard way. Or, in other words, I sure fucked up that web site.

When you register for the Holidailies portal you must select a username and a password. They become your credentials to post to the portal. We normally have a few cases of forgotten logins on opening day. This year, however, we had a significant number of people—nearly 5% of the registrants—reporting login problems.

If you believed the detective stories, you'd think your phone records are super-secret, and only the cleverest gumshoe could con (or charm) their way into getting that information.

The reality is that your phone records may be readily for sale. That information is called Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI), and the FCC allows your phone company to sell it.

The phone companies probably will say it's alright, because customers have the right to opt-out of CPNI disclosure. Fat chance. Until recently I never knew what CPNI was, let alone that I could opt-out.

The good news is that not all phone providers will disclose your CPNI. Sprint PCS, for instance, will not disclose CPNI outside the company and requires that contractors assure the security of CPNI. I commend them for not exploiting this information.

Want to know more? First thing is to review the privacy policy of your phone provider. For more information, visit the CPNI Page at EPIC. To take action, see this listing of opt-out resources.

It's hard to believe that it's been over a month since I built my Linux based home media PC. My entire CD collection (about 250 discs) has been digitized, and I'm ready to move the physical relics all into storage.

The system is working fine. There are, however, a number of remaining issues that keep me from completely endorsing the ASUS Pundit-R for home media applications. Garry Parker wrote about putting Myth TV on the Pundit-R, and he identified a number of weaknesses. He says:

After living with the Pundit for a while, the main problem with it is that it's too loud. It's quieter than most desktop PCs, but is still louder than I'd like for a living room. The alternative would be a passively cooled system such as an EPIA, but the extra power is probably worth it.

He also notes, "The SPDIF digital output is on the front panel. This is crap and a real design flaw." I agree. I encoded my CDs in a lossless format (FLAC) to preserve full fidelity. Yet, I'm playing them back through the computer's low-to-mid-fi analog system. I really want to play the bits digitally to preserve the fidelity, but if I do I need to leave the front panel open with a cable hanging out. That's crap.

The sound quality issue is a big deal. I ran an A-B test, to compare the sound of a full-fidelity FLAC file played on the computer (analog stereo connection) to the original CD played on a DVD player with S/PDIF (digital optical) audio connection to the amp. The difference is significant. The presence is completely sucked out of the version played on the computer.

My other complaint is that the system does not return from hibernation correctly. This may be a Ubuntu 5.10 issue, but regardless of the cause, it is an annoying one. The system would be a lot nicer to use if I could hibernate when not needed, and quickly resume when I want to play or access music. This means I either need to keep the computer running or go through a long boot-up when I want to use it.

Originally, I planned to do both audio and video media with this system. I haven't done any work on the video, and, frankly, I'm not working up much motivation to do so. We don't have cable and our TV reception sucks. About the only thing I watch is the Simpson's repeats on Fox. Counting time and materials, it would be cheaper to just buy the box set DVDs than it would be build video capability.

So, I'm mostly satisfied with the audio capability, and I don't anticipate working on video anytime soon. When I do, maybe I'll be ready to upgrade to a box that addresses some of the problems I found.

Thanksgiving is a day for traditions, some traditional and some not so. This was to be my first Thanksgiving at home with my fiancee. It would be interesting to see which traditions from my previous bachelor life would endure, and what new ones would emerge.

This would not be our first Thanksgiving together as a couple. Last year was our first, but we were not alone. We went to Massachusetts for a traditional Thanksgiving meal with my family. Or, at least, traditional for my family. Your family may not consider matzoh ball soup traditional fare. My girlfriend wants me to believe that traditional Thanksgiving dinner, at least in her family, means strange things like rice and gravy, and turkey stuffed with oysters and corn bread.

Those are our families' traditions. This year we got to begin setting our own.