April 6, 2012
Electronics can be evil. A short time ago I wrote an article about using the Xbox 360 as a media center. I concluded that it wasn’t the best choice. Sensing my betrayal, the 360 promptly kicked the bucket, leaving me without the Netflix I craved. Rather than replace the 360, I decided buy to a competing media center, the Roku. My verdict?
March 30, 2012
Over the years XBMC’s skins have evolved from being functional to beautiful and the latest release, codenamed “Eden”, adds even more polish. Downloading and installing these skins is all taken care of from within XBMC itself, so the hardest part of this process is deciding which skin is right for you. Here are my personal favorites for this latest release.
March 2, 2012
As of 2012, there are a ton of media players available on the market, and many of them are free. With such a large selection, sometimes it can be hard to pick which software will suit you best. For media players, I have tried a bunch of them but ultimately settled on Media Player Classic – Home Cinema.
February 17, 2012
About two years ago I decided to “cut the cord” on my television service. Or to be more precise, I decided to switch cords – moving my entertainment needs from my cable to my Internet service. I already had accounts with online movie and television services like Netflix and Hulu, but I also needed a way to access these services on my television. My Xbox 360 has ended up becoming a major part of my media center.
February 9, 2012
Get access to your favorite podcasts, video or audio, using XBMC. You don’t need any plugin to listen to podcasts, but the method of doing so isn’t entirely obvious and the official documentation isn’t exactly helpful. I spent two weeks playing around with plugins that didn’t really help before stumbling upon this method, so I feel like I should share it.
February 9, 2012
The Internet is becoming an increasingly important source for content of all media. There are legal and not-so-legal ways of listening to music, watching television and movies, playing games, and obtaining software. All via a simple broadband connection. You don’t even need a computer these days thanks to the range of devices which you can hook up to the Web in order to transform them from dumb to smart.
January 28, 2012
Watch TV shows and movies from Hulu without leaving the comfort of your couch. If you’ve got an XBMC media center you’d be silly to not install this plugin (assuming you live in the US: Hulu is still blocked in all other countries). A couple weeks ago I discovered that Boxee on the desktop is dead. I was disappointed, but was thrilled to discover that XBMC is not only a capable replacement but better than Boxee.
January 19, 2012
Make XBMC even better by adding these amazing add-ons. Whether you’re into TV, sports or gaming, these plugins will help you get the most out of your television. Last time, I lamented the end of Boxee on the desktop, but I got over it quickly when I started using XBMC. It’s the software Boxee is based on, and it’s fun to use.
January 17, 2012
It seems to me like a lot of the commonly discussed programs are major resource hogs. Web browsers, media players, you name it, the most popular programs from these categories keep your CPU working really hard. Want to give your computer a break? You can stop using it or turn it off altogether, but that’s probably not realistic when we’re at the age where we rely on our machines and devices so much.
January 5, 2012
Make listening to NPR online more like listening to the radio. Open one website then start listening to public radio news stories. Skip stories you don’t like or give them a thumbs up or down rating. Over time, the stories you hear better match your interests. Basically, NPR’s new Infinite Player is Pandora for news.
