Is President Obama already watching the next episode of True Detective? Does he already know how Homeland ends? What about Sons of Anarchy? An interesting but entirely speculative article published in the L.A. Times suggests that, yes, the leader of the free world has early access to episodes of popular TV shows that mere voting mortals like you and I cannot yet see.
     |
This article was written on July 22, 2007 by CyberNet.
A few days ago I had the pleasure of getting my hands on a specialized Media Center remote by Gyration. If it sounds familiar, that’s because this is the same remote control that Alienware includes with their Hangar18 Media Center PC. So what makes this remote control so much better than any other?
It is designed with a computer in mind because of some special capabilities it includes which makes it act as a mouse as well. The built-in gyroscopic motion sensing capabilities allow you to wave the remote in the air to move the cursor on the screen. In some sense it is very similar to a Wii controller.
Note: There is a video at the end of this post where I demonstrate some of the capabilities of the remote.
–Unboxing–
The box was about the same size as what computer software normally comes in. Here are some photos I took of the box (click on any of them for the fullsize version):
This is a remote control so it doesn’t really have much that it needs to come with. Here are the things that you will get with it:
And here is a close-up of the remote/receiver as well as a profile view of the remote (click on them for the fullsize version):
–Setup–
Honestly, this is probably one of the easiest things that I’ve ever setup on a computer. I plugged the USB 2.4GHz receiver into the computer, inserted the AA batteries that were included for the remote, and then hit the connect buttons on both the device and the remote. After that everything just worked! No CD’s are needed, there are no drivers to install, just plug it in and go.
–Programming–
Like most universal remotes, you can program this one for up to four separate devices (PC, TV, Aux, and Cable/Satellite). Most of the instruction manual is used for device codes for things like your television, so that you enter in a code and it all just automagically works. I, however, had a speaker system that I wanted to control using it and so I needed to teach the remote the commands one-by-one.
I don’t think I’m alone when I say that I don’t like reading the instruction manuals. Well, that was where my problem was when I tried to teach the remote some new commands. I’ve programmed a lot of universal remotes in my day, and so I didn’t think this one would be any different. I picked up the manual, flipped to the page that told me how to get into the “learning” mode, and started to teach it some commands.
That didn’t work so well as I tried to point the remotes toward each other. Had I read the page previous to that one, this would have been a piece-of-cake. As it turns out, the infrared receiver on the Gyration remote is on the bottom instead of on the top where I naturally thought it would be. All I had to do was flip the Gyration remote around 180 degrees and I was back in business!
I guess manuals are there for a reason. 🙂
–Using it as a Mouse–
This is undoubtedly the shining point of the remote. Having a smooth motion mouse that you can wave around in the air is a superb feature. To activate the mouse you just have to press and hold the “Motion Gyration” button located near the center of the remote. You can also right-click or left-click using the respective buttons on each side of it.
If you plan on doing a lot of work with the mouse you can press the “Motion Gyration” button twice to have it keep the mouse capabilities on longer. This is useful for dragging-and-dropping files around the desktop, resizing windows, are playing those addictive arcade games online. When you get done using the mouse just press the “Motion Gyration” button again and it will turn that feature off.
What would have really made this feature rock even more was if they included some sort of pre-configured mouse gesture software. That way you could perform mouse gestures to do things like bring up the television guide or skip forward in a movie.
–Using it as a Remote–
As a remote it functions just as you would expect it to. One of the biggest benefits, however, is that it sends all commands to the PC using the 2.4GHz radio frequency. With that you could be a few dozen feet away from the receiver (even with some walls in the way) and you would still be able to do things like play or pause music. Now I have to “reprogram” myself (no pun intended) that I don’t need to be pointing the remote at the receiver in order for it to work. 🙂
–Demonstration–
Alright, I put together a quick demonstration that shows how the mouse on the remote works. If you’ve used a Wii before I’m sure this won’t be very earth shattering. 🙂
–Overview–
I’ve had more experience with the default Media Center remotes that I would care to admit, and they’ve always come up a little short from what I would like to have. The Gyration Media Center Remote is priced at $150, (you can find it cheaper if you shop around on eBay or other stores) and is well worth the investment in my opinion. And if you’re thinking about getting this or the Media Center keyboard…this is way more useful in my opinion. If you really need the keyboard they also offer a version of the mouse that comes with a more compact keyboard for $50 more.
To conclude the article I’ll go ahead and list some of the strengths and weaknesses:
Homepage for the Media Center Remote by Gyration
Disclosure: This remote was provided to us for review purposes.
Copyright © 2014 CyberNetNews.com
This week the first look we’ve had up close and personal with the creators and the artwork behind Star Wars Rebels is close at hand. What we’re seeing here is … Continue reading
The origin of the television set was heavily shrouded in both spiritualism and the occult, writes author Stefan Andriopoulos in his new book Ghostly Apparitions. In fact, as its very name implies, the television was first conceived as a technical device for seeing at a distance: like the telephone (speaking at a distance) and telescope (viewing at a distance), the television was intended as an almost magical box through which we could watch distant events unfold, a kind of technological crystal ball.
| |
This week a set of anonymous tipsters have suggested that Apple will be bringing on their newest set-top box to the market as early as April. While we’ve expected a … Continue reading
HBO has released the trailer for its upcoming serial jab at the tech world: Silicon Valley. The series is a half-hour show currently pegged for an eight-episode season, coming from … Continue reading
Little did Sir Arthur Conan Doyle realize when he first introduced "Sherlock Holmes" to the world in 1887, that
some 125+ years later, the world would still not be able to get enough
of this irascible literary character. Not only has there been over 100+
actors who have stepped into this famous detective’s shoes on stage, screen,
radio and TV since the early 1900s —Â in just this past few years —Â 21st
Century actors, the likes of Robert Downey Jr, Jonny Lee Miller and
Benedict Cumberbatch. . .
Apple is said to be working on a content delivery network (CDN) all its own, according to new information reported last night by the Wall Street Journal. Cupertino wants to build a large network capable of driving more data to its customers, for the purposes of providing improved streaming offerings for its television products.
Apple is making its way down a path that has already been walked by other major Internet content players including Google, Facebook and Netflix, each of which has invested heavily in network infrastructure in order to support the vast amount of media being streamed via their online portals and products.
The WSJ report also notes that building its own CDN will help Apple manage its growing iCloud service usage, as well as hosting and delivering content from the iTunes and App Stores, both streamed and downloaded. Apple has managed to accumulate enough bandwidth from web providers to allow it to move “hundreds of gigabits per second,” however, according to Bill Norton, CSO for the International Internet Exchange, speaking to the WSJ, and that likely means they’re laying the groundwork for much bigger plans beyond existing needs.
The biggest advantage for Apple in building its own CDN might come from improved quality and reliability of services. Apps, movies and music would all potentially download faster if Apple controlled the entire chain, for instance, since it has to spend less time dealing with third-party players outside of its corporate domain, which invariably add delays, miscommunications and possible points of failure into the mix.
WSJ also notes that Apple has been on a bit of a hiring spree when it comes to adding talent specializing in both TV content and CDN tech: Lauren Provo, a Comcast exec came on board in September; Jean-François Mulé, a former VP at a TV research and dev company is another recent hire; the company is also building a roster of CDN specialists, the report suggests.
Netflix’s decision to do the same, which was detailed by GigaOM back in June 2012, was cited as a key factor in the company’s evolution as its streaming volumes increased. It gave Netflix a more direct relationship to the Internet service providers who were the ones tasked with getting their shows to their audience, and Netflix cited YouTube as the archetypical example of how at a certain point of volume, the economic case for doing it yourself becomes overwhelming.
Apple continues to add new content channels to the Apple TV with fair frequency, which adds to its streaming media load, and recent reports suggest that there’s even more coming on the horizon, with a potential SDK for new Apple TV hardware. This WSJ report suggests that’s a very real, very immediate possibility, and offers one more hint that TV may soon be something more akin to a core product line at Apple.
Many of us will probably be watching today’s game the way it was meant to be enjoyed: On an old-fashioned television with a bucket of hot wings in our laps. But this is the third Super Bowl that doesn’t require cord cutters to bum a seat on our friend’s nasty ass couch.
| |
Aereo, which recently announced upcoming service to the Cincinnati metro region, has sold out in New York, the company confirmed on Twitter today. Word first surfaced when one individual decided … Continue reading
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
