Root Access

The unfortunate thing about backups is that most people don't do them (even when they've been told that they should, and they understand the risks [of full data loss] of not having any backups at all).

Simon Sheehan

2:23 AM

Im horrible for updating and backing up :/

Journeyman Geek

i backup everything ;p

my external drive died tho

and i tend to have stuff like movies and audio on external or backup drives anyway, so its only the system

Randolf Richardson

I like to make snapshot image backups of my hard drives. I use this tool, which is great for this: drivesnapshot.de

Simon Sheehan

I have a seagate external drive - i cringe every time i plug it in, living in fear of it dying and losing a LOT of video and files.

Journeyman Geek

@SimonSheehan: everyone is, until crap happens

@SimonSheehan: i have two copies of my music, for starters ;p

Randolf Richardson

Simon: Does that hard drive contain your only copies of certain data?

Simon Sheehan

2:25 AM

@JourneymanGeek Yes but i NEED to keep these things - redownloading is NOT an option. I have 3 copies of my music - desktop, laptop, external. I have a 60GB download cap each month so i CANNOT lose things

Journeyman Geek

@SimonSheehan: but imaging those things with the system drive is wasteful

so, i image the system drive, and keep a simple backup up those files in multiple locations

Simon Sheehan

@JourneymanGeek Well i access them on both PC's, so i need multiple copies. The backup is from me transferring betwen PCs.

ah.

I see what you mean

Journeyman Geek

for example, the 'master' copy of my music is on the drive i use to backup my laptop

the backup is on the drive i use to backup the desktop

Simon Sheehan

I see. Serious backup

Journeyman Geek

eh, redownloading is a pain. Reripping is a pain and half

Randolf Richardson

2:27 AM

(I find this chat confusing because names seem to keep changing; sometimes it reads "Simon" and other times it's Simon Sheehan;" also, there's "Journeyma" vs. "Journeyman Geek.")

Journeyman Geek

well, there's also the non flac copy of my music ;p

@RandolfRichardson: i use the autocomplete ;p

also, the proper way to refer to me is 'geek'. journeyman is a description, not a name XD

Simon Sheehan

@JourneymanGeek I've gone over my limit every month for 2 years - upgrading to a 125GB limit soon shall be nice :D

Journeyman Geek

we don't have limits here

thank god for civilised internet ;p

how much is your limit?

Simon Sheehan

Lucky you. Theres nothing unmetered in my area, sadly, so were all forced into this :P

60GB per month

Journeyman Geek

there's nothing metered in my area ;p

Simon Sheehan

2:29 AM

the company that offers unlimited is in the next town...but not mine D:

Journeyman Geek

or country (other than PAYG)

Randolf Richardson

@SimonSheehan I hosted a web site temporarily at my home once, and it got slash-dotted during that time. I bought a second cable modem account to keep my ISP happy. Everything's at co-location centres normally.

Journeyman Geek

but i think 'redownloading' lost data is.. inefficient ;p

XDXD

Simon Sheehan

Heh. In canada the current government wants to start usage-based-billing, which means we pay for what we download. Theres a HUGE protest on it

Journeyman Geek

i've once downloaded 4gb of data off someone in aust tho

@SimonSheehan: its cause your ISPs don't want to invest in infrasctructure. they'd rather just charge more

Simon Sheehan

2:30 AM

@JourneymanGeek Welcome to Canada.

Journeyman Geek

here we have what.. three independant sets of infrasctructure owned by 3 different companies ;p

Randolf Richardson

@SimonSheehan Yeah, I know. To me it's not a big deal at all because in dealing with co-location centres this has already been happening for ages. For home use, on the other hand, I'm only okay with it if they're charging for usage that goes above the existing limits (and the customer has explicitly concented to this prior to any such billing occurring).

I live in Canada.

I am Canadian.

Journeyman Geek

singtel has an ADSL network, Starhub has cable, and the fiber optics... is owned by someone else

Simon Sheehan

@RandolfRichardson Where do you live?

Randolf Richardson

Beautiful British Columbia.

Where are you?

Simon Sheehan

2:31 AM

@RandolfRichardson Ah, im in Ontario. The federal conservatives are supporting Usage based billing though :/

Randolf Richardson

The general feeling here in the West is that the federal politicians rarely have any clue about what people need and want.

I suppose that's not much different from most countries.

Journeyman Geek

@RandolfRichardson: eh, the colo we were looking at didn't

Simon Sheehan

Its unfortunate. I feel like the government in Canada is really falling apart though. The provincial conservatives of ontario are led by tim hudak, and his plan is to scrap all green energy projects and bring back "dollar beer days"

Journeyman Geek

pity that project didn't work out ;p

Randolf Richardson

@SimonSheehan Woah! He wants to scrap environmentally-friendly programs? That's definitely a "do or die move" for his career.

Simon Sheehan

2:34 AM

@RandolfRichardson The biggest concern for me is that hes currently winning in public opinion polls. Thats scary.

@RandolfRichardson have you heard about the scam with Bev Oda?

Randolf Richardson

@SimonSheehan The public opinion polls are sometimes way WAY off though. To me, it's the actual plebiscite to complete the election that matters.

Simon Sheehan

(I can't even vote and ive got such a big opinion)

Randolf Richardson

@SimonSheehan No. What happened this time?

(Dinner's ready. I have to go very VERY soon.)

Simon Sheehan

@RandolfRichardson she was found to have lied in parliament and sent us into an election. And then she got reelected and the conservatives got a majority. shes the rep for my riding.

ill be back momentarily also

Journeyman Geek

@SimonSheehan: we haven't had an election in my area in 20 years ;p

Randolf Richardson

2:38 AM

@SimonSheehan She lied? Ha. Don't they all? I can only remember Joe Clark not lying (and the liars all ran him out of office because they didn't want him to clean house).

@JourneymanGeek Well, don't get apathetic. Keep on voting for the ones who have never been elected because there's still hope for them not lying. =)

Journeyman Geek

i'd vote if i coulf!

Randolf Richardson

@JourneymanGeek Restricted by age?

Journeyman Geek

i hope to get to vote for the president of singapore, assuming they don't disqualify everyone but the government supported candidate

Randolf Richardson

@JourneymanGeek I wish our government would bring in caning, and start with using it on the Stanley Cup rioters.

Journeyman Geek

@RandolfRichardson: walkover for the last 20 years. this year, opposition candidates were disallowed for being 30 seconds late for nomination - which happens over 2 hours

Randolf Richardson

2:40 AM

@JourneymanGeek Well, if those are the official rules, then those politicians need to make sure they're early. Otherwise if there really is an abuse of power going on, then that's a shame.

(I have to go for dinner. I'll try to come back later. Bye folks, it was nice chatting with you!)

Simon Sheehan

Cya later @Randolf!

@Journeyman ouch. Doesn't sound very good to me

They are considering changing the voting age to 16 here though

Simon Sheehan

2:59 AM

Night time and it's still feeling like 41 degrees. Thank goodness for AC

Linux kernel 3.0 was pushed 5 minutes ago

Journeyman Geek

ooh

i should put off recompiling my gentoo kernel till its supported there then ;p

Simon Sheehan

@Journeyman hehe. Linus posted before his sites even updates ><

Journeyman Geek

;p

google plus? ;p

Simon Sheehan

Yep. Such a handy site!

Simon Sheehan

4:00 AM

Finally going to sleep early - night everyone

Clippy

5:10 AM

Super User Blog: A Super User’s Complete Guide to Building an HTPC: Planning and Purchasing

Posted by KronoS on July 22nd, 2011

With more and more media turning digital, Home Theater PC’s (HTPC’s) are making a larger presence within the homes of PC enthusiasts. Whether your starting from scratch, or upgrading an older pc, this multi-part guide is meant to help you in building your new HTPC.

HTPC’s can take care of ALL you media needs which can even ultimately either replace or add to your current media experiences:

Dvd/Blu-Ray Player

Central Audio Stations Whether a PC, iPod, audio receiver, etc, you can replace all of these with a central HTPC (including streaming to those other devices) …

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