Truth A: People make mistakes

Technology is designed and built by people.  Many of those people spend many hours in depressing cubicles, wishing they were elsewhere.  Some are overworked, some of them helped build technology at 2am while on a tight deadline, half asleep, sitting in a depressing cubicle, wishing they were elsewhere.

You get the idea!

Truth B: Technology breaks down

Most computers still hard drives with lots of moving parts.  Hard drives can last years, but they can also break down within months.

When your hard drive goes, you will probably lose all the data stored on it (operating system, games, documents, photos, everything!).  Since there is this huge variability in the lifetime of a hard drive, you need to protect yourself against this somehow.

Just think… what would you do if your hard drive fails?

Truth C: Software has bugs

All software has bugs.  Bugs can be minor little problems (like a feature is not working properly), or major architectural flaws (this software can’t do that because it’s not in the design).  Software you buy in a nice box has bugs, software you ask someone to write for you has bugs, that’s just the way it is.

Companies can spend lots of money on testing and quality assurance, but that just reduces the likelyhood of bugs.  Web software is usually a better bet than installable applications simply because its easier to fix things, and the costs are usually lower.

Has someone told you the software you’re getting is bug free?

Truth D: Websites go down

Between your computer and the website you are trying to see, there are lots of complicated pieces of technology (see point B), with lots of software packages installed (see point C), designed by people (see point A).

You can see where this one is going.

BONUS: You get what you pay for

Sure, your friend’s son can build you a website for $100…

Sure, that hosting plan is super cheap…

Sure, that taco is way cheaper than tacos should be…

… but do you really want to pay that little for those things?

Geeks will talk about servers a lot, servers are what makes the Internet do the things we need. Servers run things like web sites, email boxes, instant messenger services… all sorts of things. For each kind of service, there is a… (wait for it)… Server! The page you’re reading right now is sitting on a web server, probably somewhere in California (where the server is doesn’t really matter, as long as it gets power and is nice and cool).

Websites have “Domain Names”, which you may have noticed at the top of your browser (my domain name is “jeremysisson.com”). Your computer looks up the domain name through a “Domain Name Server”, which tells it where to look for the web server, which then sends your computer the web page. Ta da!

The domain name is also important because we can send and receive email with it. Email uses the same system for finding the email server that your browser does. This is why we usually say “yourname AT domainname.com”.

This may be more info than you need, but it can be good to know. These details are part of the foundation of your web presence.

Here are a few options:

Watch Canadian content online, for free

CTV, Global, Showcase, HGTV provide latest episodes of some of their shows:

CTV (including Comedy Network, Discovery, etc)
HGTV
Global TV
Showcase

Watch US content online through Hotspot Shield

Hotspot Shield connects you to their service in the US, and provides some level of security when you’re connected to public WiFi networks. It also fools Hulu.com into thinking you’re in the US!

Hotspot Shield
http://www.hulu.com/

Yar! (Watch TV the Pirate way!)

Finally, there are less scrupulous ways of acquiring the episodes you want. Services like Bit Torrent and Usenet provide access to content that will even get your parrot excited!*

*Please note I am not condoning any actual piracy, including looting, pillaging, keel-hauling, and of course, downloading illegal content. I’m sure you can find other ways to excite your parrot.

So if you need to stay caught up on your favorite shows, the Internet may have what you need! You might also find you have some extra free time, now that you have escaped the influence of the boob tube.

• Mac Mini (PPC)
• Wiimote
• Bluetooth keyboard
• Remote Buddy

Essentially I was hoping to be able to wirelessly use the Mac well enough to watch movies and stuff on the TV. We don’t get cable anymore, so it is nice to stream video off the server in VLC or whatever.

The bluetooth keyboard is nice, but for some reason it won’t wake the Mac when it’s asleep.

Using the Wiimote+Remote Buddy is a great idea, too… bluetooth, point and click, easy, right? The Wiimote needs the sensor bar (attached to the Wii) to work, but if the Wii is turned on, the Wiimote connects to it rather than the Mac. If the Wii is off, no sensor bar. I’d need a sensor bar separate from the Wii. People have hacked the right equipment into their TVs, but that’s a bit beyond me.

Solution seems to be USB extension + keyboard + mouse.  Works great!  Watched Holmes on Homes through hgtv.ca all weekend!