Why can't they give us our tv EVERYWHERE, easily?

I fired up my XBOX 360, since there is STILL no support on XBOX ONE for the following:
- HBO GO
- Showtime Anytime
- Dozens of others

I was able to run & authenticate HBO GO easily, but Showtime Anytime wasn't so easy.

First, since I tried authenticating on the iPad, the site assumed (incorrectly) that I would much prefer the "Showtime Anytime" App.  I would not.  My TV screen is considerably larger than that of my iPad.

So I switched over to the MacBook Air. Safari kept saying "The Primary Account holder for this account must register for Showtime Anytime first."  So I switched to Firefox.  Same thing.  Turned to the Windows desktop.  Same thing.

I've been a Showtime subscriber for nearly two decades.  Why can't "they" just give good service?

What just happened?

I upgraded my internet connection to 20Mbps down/2Mbps up some time ago. And since then, every time I ran a speed test, it was pretty much right on the money. I ran a speed test this morning, and this is what I got:

 

I ran several more tests and the results were pretty much identical.  I sure hope it stays like this... ;)

Fun with X-Rays, Part 2

I had to do some more troubleshooting at the veterinary clinic today, and that meant I needed another x-ray image…

Yep, that’s my iPhone. ;)

Fantastic GPS mount

Since getting the "new" car, I've been using a "bean bag" type mount for the GPS. I didn't like it, but like the suction-cup-on-the-windshield mount even less. Also, the bean bag mount put the GPS in such a position that it would reflect off the windshield at night, which made for a constant annoyance if I needed to use it after dark.

I found an alternative that worked wonderfully. In this new position, the GPS screen doesn't reflect off the windshield, but it's at a perfect viewing position, and easily within my reach. I bought a custom-made mounting bracket (basically a small, bent and drilled piece of sheet metal with a ball on the end) from the geniuses at Pro.Fit International. They even sell a simple plastic tool to allow me to pop the console off without scratching it. It required minor drilling (but the two small holes are hidden under the console if the mount is removed) but the results are outstanding. Witness the new mount below:Now I just have to find a way to secure/conceal the cord a little better...

Windows 7

I just put Windows 7 Ultimate RTM on a pretty modest test machine (P4HT, 512MB RAM, Intel Graphics).

Despite the fact that it's a low-end machine, I'm very impressed.

Many of the things that were quirky about the UI (user interface) on Vista are much better. Overall, the interface seems smarter, and more user-friendly. A frequent complaint about Vista is the UAC (User Account Control) pop-ups. With Vista, even when a user is simply changing their desktop background, they're asked to authenticate/approve the change. Many UAC pop-ups require two separate approval clicks. Windows 7 gets a big plus in the user-friendliness department - UAC pop-ups are very infrequent. In fact, I haven't seen any since installing it.

One thing I hate about Vista is the Sidebar. Without exception, I turn it off immediately when setting up a client machine. When clients have it already enabled, I often simply ask them if they care about the "clock, calendar, and sample photos" that the default "sidebar" includes. 98 times out of 100 they don't, and I kill the whole thing. One less thing running can't hurt performance. I like the idea of Gadgets, but hate the fact that Vista sticks them in a window that interferes with other things. In Windows 7, the gadgets are independent - little "windows" on their own, without actual windows of course.

There are some things I'm "on the fence" about, however. A feature of Vista that I think is great is the Windows Photo Gallery. I think it gave Windows users a near equivalent to the Mac iPhoto application. Unfortunately, it's gone by default in Windows 7, but Microsoft offers "Windows Live Photo Gallery" as a replacement. It requires you to have a Windows Live (or MSN/Hotmail) account, and also requires that you login to the service to use it. I don't see the customer benefit of this change, since the program seems to work very similarly to the Vista program. If Microsoft wants to integrate Windows Live features into it, I wish they had made it an optional setting so that the user could simply use it on their local machine.

Despite my minor misgivings, seeing how well it's running on this old-ish POS, I'm likely going to put the retail Windows 7 upgrade package on at least one of my own machines.