Topic: The what I got this week thread (Read 26195 times)

Sirgod · « **on:** June 03, 2012, 08:17:58 pm »

I figured we needed one of these threads, And it can be anything, from new tires, to a new PC, to a pet. You get the idea.

I found out today, the wife and kids, got together and bought me a new Video card, to replace my old ATI HD 4350.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004XLPJOY/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00 IT's a Sapphire Radeon HD 6570 1 GB DDR3 HDMI/DVI-D/VGA PCI-Express Graphics Card 100323L

Sure there are better cards out there, But this one will work great for what I do. In fact, I am looking forward to going back and playing some old games I had to play on low settings. I'm just as happy that they thought of something like this for Fathers Day. <hugs to the family>

anyways, You guys get something new you want to show the class? See, now I sound like a teacher, on show and tell day.

Stephen

manitoba1073 · « **Reply #1 on:** June 03, 2012, 11:44:00 pm »

Grats its not a bad card. I still prefer my Nvidias. Heres the card I have currently.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130739 its basically a gts 570 at the price of a 560 lol. And it screams.

Unfortuantely I am still unemployed so cant really get anything new, though my online classes Im kicking ass in so thats a plus ( only 12 weeks left till finished). I did get a used craftman rider lawn mower, it is only costing 32 bucks a week.

Sirgod · « **Reply #2 on:** June 04, 2012, 12:04:50 am »

Hey that's something at least Mani. Glad to hear those Classes are almost over for ya also. Shoot, Pick up one extra lawn a week, and that mower will have paid for itself.

Stephen

Lono · « **Reply #3 on:** June 07, 2012, 11:32:43 am »

Quote from: Sirgod on June 03, 2012, 08:17:58 pm

I found out today, the wife and kids, got together and bought me a new Video card, to replace my old ATI HD 4350.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004XLPJOY/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00 IT's a Sapphire Radeon HD 6570 1 GB DDR3 HDMI/DVI-D/VGA PCI-Express Graphics Card 100323L

Nice!!! - Miso Jealous!!

Man I would totally kill to upgrade my PC and finally get some Day Z on!

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/05/10/thank-you-for-the-dayz-part-zero/

I bought myself a couple of humble indie bundles for F-day - since I'm gonna be driving to see the inlaws on the actual day.

( oh - and the new expansion for Frozen Synapse - but don't tell the wife

)

Nemesis · « **Reply #4 on:** June 07, 2012, 06:40:52 pm »

Stephen Hawkings book "The Grand Design".

Dracho · « **Reply #5 on:** June 08, 2012, 09:01:12 am »

A new elliptical machine

Nemesis · « **Reply #6 on:** July 14, 2012, 04:56:17 pm »

It was actually last week but a new Netbook. The old one had a flakey screen.

Specs:

Acer Aspire One AO722-0818, Netbook (Espresso Black) - AMD Dual-Core Processor C-50 (1.0GHz), 11.6" HD (1366x768), 2GB RAM, 320GB HDD, AMD Radeon HD 6250 Graphics, 802.11b/g/n, Webcam, Card Reader, 6-cell Battery, Windows 7 Home Premium

Also to give me room for the storage I will require for my DVD to HD (using DVDShrink) storage I bought an external bay.

Specs:

Mediasonic (HFD1-SU3S2) ProBox 4 Bay Dock USB 3.0 & eSata for 2.5" / 3.5" SATA HDD

I already have such a bay (and a 1 disk bay and 2 disk bay as well) but I had 5 drives in use already and no end in sight. (3 x 2TB, 1 x 1TB and 1 x 750GB). Now I have room eventually to have 11 x 2TB drives

.

Sirgod · « **Reply #7 on:** July 14, 2012, 05:57:24 pm »

Dang Nice Nem. wow, 22 TB of data. You running a history of books club off those drives?

Nem is trying to beat the library of Congress.

Stephen

Nemesis · « **Reply #8 on:** July 14, 2012, 06:31:03 pm »

Quote from: Sirgod on July 14, 2012, 05:57:24 pm

Dang Nice Nem. wow, 22 TB of data. You running a history of books club off those drives?

Nem is trying to beat the library of Congress.

Stephen

22 TB is for the future. Right now it is only 7TB. I buy the 2TB drives on sale when I see a coming need for more space. Eventually I expect to double up the drives with a master and a backup for each one. Since my router is fried the 750GB drive is shuttling movies ripped on the Windows machine to the 7 TBs on the Linux machine (that doesn't count the internal 500GB drive on the Linux machine in those totals).

My DVD movie collection is too unwieldy so I'm putting them on HD and boxing up the DVDs for storage. Also my TV is pre hiDef 27" (no wide screen of course) and my computer monitor (Xmas present) is 27" widescreen so they look better on the computer than on the TV. Especially so with SciFi like SG-1 (50 disks and another 25 for SG-A). As I recall you converted your DVDs to HD some time back did you not? So I'm just following in your foot prints.

Mostly I watch them on the Linux box because A/ the Windows machine is older and can't handle the maximum screen resolution and B/ the Linux box isn't locking up running VideoLan like the Windows machine (They share the same monitor/keyboard and trackball). DVDShrink due to the faster processor (Core2Duo at 2.4ghz compared to P4 at 2.8ghz) rips the DVDs far faster but crashes between each movie.

Eventually I'll get a HD TV and make a computer just to play the movies on it. Meanwhile the 2 computers are started converting movies when I leave in the morning and again at night. I've brought so many boxes home from work to store the DVDs in that a rumour started that I was moving

.

The DVD I'm watching next is the Batman serial from the 1940s that I just found out existed last weekend and bought (and converted). The Batmobile is a standard convertible of the time and is the same car that he drives as Bruce Wayne (and Robin drives it too).

So did that answer your question (and then some

) ?

Sirgod · « **Reply #9 on:** July 14, 2012, 09:15:58 pm »

Yes I did convert them. The next big thing I'll be doing, is to get a device to go from my old VCR, to PC. Stormbringer (from this site) gave me about 500 VCR movies, when he switched to DVD. THis was , man, almost 8 years ago, I reckon.

What I do on mine, is I have the ability to swap out HD's on the fly, Both IDE and SATAII. Now eventually, I would love to really get into using an SSD, but I think that will be next build, probably around 2015-2016.

I love those old serials btw, I have everything that Buster Crabbe ever played in, and I do remember that old Batman one. That old hard top rocked. IIRC, he even used a pistol back then.

Another example I have, is a lot of the old Godzilla films. I'm a sucker for them, and have the DVD's that I could find, stored on the HD. I'll have to remember, and make a list for legal downloads of films, that are open to the public. I've got a whole folder devoted to them.

Heh, I could talk old movies all day long brother. I'm glad to see you doing the same.

Stephen

Nemesis · « **Reply #10 on:** July 15, 2012, 10:35:49 am »

I've got a bunch of VHS tapes that I'd like to convert too. I don't know how though.

I'd like to see how SSD affects performance myself. Some time down the road I might put one in the netbook I just bought and check how it affects performance and power usage. With the docks I have I "unmount" them in linux, turn the power off to that drive then I can swap it power it up again and wait a few seconds for Linux to go "Hey a new drive" then I'm off again . With the excess bay space I have I don't have much need for that except when transferring files from the Windows machine to the Linux one.

I did get another gadget but it is really for my mother though I'll likely have to keep it at my house and use it for her, it is for converting slides and negatives (of which my parents have a great many) to jpegs. Sometime soon I'll be going crazy on it. Then of course everyone in the family will want the images and I'll have to teach my mother how to sort and name them.

knightstorm · « **Reply #11 on:** July 15, 2012, 11:43:06 am »

Quote from: Nemesis on July 15, 2012, 10:35:49 am

I've got a bunch of VHS tapes that I'd like to convert too. I don't know how though.

Couldn't you use a TV tuner, and connect the VCR to it?

Sirgod · « **Reply #12 on:** July 15, 2012, 04:15:33 pm »

You probably could. I know as far back as the early 90's they had things that would allow you to record your Home movies. The only thing that you would have to check on, is if the TV tuner card, allowed you to record to the HD also, or if it just allowed for play back.

Amazon has some stuff... http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=vcr+to+pc&tag=googhydr-20&index=electronics&hvadid=6352075225&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15513925111037993756&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&ref=pd_sl_25x2d02vps_e

as does Newegg... http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380047%201685342852&name=Capture%20%26%20Editing&cm_sp=tvtunersubcatstore-_-flashstorefront-_-videocapture&editing

Stephen

knightstorm · « **Reply #13 on:** July 15, 2012, 05:29:14 pm »

I was under the impression that recording in hd was standard issue, but that cable companies keep you from ripping them off by requiring you to subscribe to their dvr service in order to get anything other than local channels in hd.

Sirgod · « **Reply #14 on:** July 15, 2012, 06:39:25 pm »

You could be right on that, I'm not sure. It would explain why one can't swap out HD's to their TICO or other DVR.

My whole goal, is simply to be able to play a VCR movie, and have it record to the PC, which is where the software plays a part. I mean, a trip to radio shack, and 20 bucks, and you could make your own USB cable. But without the software, sure it may play in say media center, but it won't record.

Stephen

knightstorm · « **Reply #15 on:** July 15, 2012, 07:22:26 pm »

I think you can use the wintv software that comes bundled with Happauge tv tuners.
http://hauppauge.lightpath.net/manuals/wintv_v7.pdf

762_XC · « **Reply #16 on:** July 15, 2012, 08:55:20 pm »

This.

Sirgod · « **Reply #17 on:** July 16, 2012, 03:50:11 pm »

Outstanding 762! or is that now 00762?

Stephen

762_XC · « **Reply #18 on:** July 16, 2012, 05:05:24 pm »

Nemesis · « **Reply #19 on:** July 16, 2012, 07:14:18 pm »

Quote from: 762_XC on July 15, 2012, 08:55:20 pm

This.

That shoots down my purchases.

Nemesis · « **Reply #20 on:** July 29, 2012, 01:00:47 pm »

My old E-Bike (with about 20,000 KM on it 12,500 Mi) isn't performing reliably so picked up a newer better unit on Friday ($700 off the regular price). It was their last one so I had the choice of taking it or waiting 3 weeks and paying more for an upgraded model so I took the one on hand - Red is not my favourite colour for such things. It is a much better model than my old one, they are evolving quickly. I am going to have to take it back and have them fix the horn and rear wheel lock though.

Lieutenant_Q · « **Reply #21 on:** July 29, 2012, 07:46:38 pm »

Got a brand new car on Wednesday. First new car I've ever purchased, the rest had all been used. 2012 Chevrolet Malibu. Drove it off the lot with 7 Miles on it. MSRP on the car was $30k, but the dealer has an arrangement with a radio personality who calls himself the Car Pro, (Jerry Reynolds) they took off almost $10k through that referral. Didn't really want to pick up a new car payment, but I did want a car that would last longer than my last one, and when you pick up a used car with 68k miles on it, you've basically missed out on 2-3 years of the car's life.

Brush Wolf · « **Reply #22 on:** July 29, 2012, 07:58:29 pm »

Nice except for the lack of a V6 or better a V8 option which is a huge stumbling block for me on so many new cars. That though is something that it seem I will have to deal with at some future date. It isn't that the 4's don't have good power it is how you have to drive them to get that power. I do hope you like the car and get many years out of it.

Lieutenant_Q · « **Reply #23 on:** July 29, 2012, 08:25:25 pm »

Thanks Brush,

I was talking to a mechanic about that just prior to purchasing it, (I too was concerned about dropping from a 6 cylinder to a 4 cylinder, although they do have 6 cylinder engines for that model, they were a bit more expensive) the way the 4 cylinders are built today, they almost have as much power as the 6 cylinders had back in the early 2000s. He had said that it wasn't quite the old V6 but certainly more powerful than the old 4 cylinder, or even the straight sixes from the 90s. I only got it up to freeway-speed once (and that was on the drive home from the dealer) so I'm not sure how much truth there is to the statement. I'll find out soon enough.

Brush Wolf · « **Reply #24 on:** July 30, 2012, 03:22:33 pm »

Quote from: Lieutenant_Q on July 29, 2012, 08:25:25 pm

Thanks Brush,

I was talking to a mechanic about that just prior to purchasing it, (I too was concerned about dropping from a 6 cylinder to a 4 cylinder, although they do have 6 cylinder engines for that model, they were a bit more expensive) the way the 4 cylinders are built today, they almost have as much power as the 6 cylinders had back in the early 2000s. He had said that it wasn't quite the old V6 but certainly more powerful than the old 4 cylinder, or even the straight sixes from the 90s. I only got it up to freeway-speed once (and that was on the drive home from the dealer) so I'm not sure how much truth there is to the statement. I'll find out soon enough.

The statement is true. Last summer when I visited my cousin down in Mississippi we took her Mercury Milan with the 4 cylinder down to New Orleans and I will admit it has a bunch of power. The issue for me was that to get that power you had to drive it like you stole it, plant you foot on the floor but with the rev limiters all cars have now I wasn't worried about breaking it. I am just an old foggey that likes low revving engines, you'll do just fine with it.

Nemesis · « **Reply #25 on:** August 04, 2012, 02:58:06 pm »

Quote from: Nemesis on July 29, 2012, 01:00:47 pm

My old E-Bike (with about 20,000 KM on it 12,500 Mi) isn't performing reliably so picked up a newer better unit on Friday ($700 off the regular price). It was their last one so I had the choice of taking it or waiting 3 weeks and paying more for an upgraded model so I took the one on hand - Red is not my favourite colour for such things. It is a much better model than my old one, they are evolving quickly. I am going to have to take it back and have them fix the horn and rear wheel lock though.

Thought I'd upload a picture.

The bike is 60V, 500W. Has cruise control.

Sirgod · « **Reply #26 on:** August 04, 2012, 05:59:59 pm »

Hmm. I'm thinking 500 watts, electrolysis, and a water jug. I wonder if it would be enough to burn hydrogen, to get back more energy to power such a thing.

Prob. not, but I may be checking the old tables.

Either way, man, that looks nice Nem.

Stephen

Nemesis · « **Reply #27 on:** August 08, 2012, 11:53:45 am »

I still don't know how much range I get. It is rated at 100 km (62.5 mi.) if you and your cargo weigh 175#s. My cargo and I push closer to 230 and yesterday (mostly in low power mode admittedly) I got 85 km (53 mi.) and still had power. I am losing weight so hopefully the range (whatever it is) will go up further. The most I ever go on the old bike was about 70 km and that was when I was 10#s lighter and minimizing cargo. I even made the round trip to work (30 km each way) without charging at work while mostly using standard power mode and didn't run low.

Nemesis · « **Reply #28 on:** September 24, 2012, 11:12:57 am »

Quote from: Nemesis on July 14, 2012, 06:31:03 pm

22 TB is for the future. Right now it is only 7TB.

Two of those 2TB drives are nearly full so I added 2 more. So I'm up to 11 TB (or will be once the 2nd one completes formatting).

Sirgod · « **Reply #29 on:** September 25, 2012, 12:04:57 am »

Wow, nice work Nem on the back ups.

Stephen

Nemesis · « **Reply #30 on:** September 25, 2012, 06:54:07 pm »

Once all the movies are on the disks THEN I have to buy more disks for the backups so I don't have to do it all over again in case a drive fails. I've been working on this for most of the last year.

Nemesis · « **Reply #31 on:** September 30, 2012, 03:14:24 pm »

Acer A200-10G08w 10.1" 8Gb 1.0Ghz Dc Android 4.0 Tablet $225.99 Cdn (including taxes).

Nemesis · « **Reply #32 on:** November 18, 2012, 01:24:46 pm »

Book

History`s Worst Predictions
and the people who made them

By Eric Chaline

Nemesis · « **Reply #33 on:** December 29, 2012, 10:45:57 am »

Quote from: Nemesis on September 25, 2012, 06:54:07 pm

Once all the movies are on the disks THEN I have to buy more disks for the backups so I don't have to do it all over again in case a drive fails. I've been working on this for most of the last year.

Done. 4x2 TB for my DVDs and another 4x2 TB for back ups of those. I did give away the 1 drive external bay so now all 10 external bays are full. 18.25 TB of HD space on that Linux machine

(8x2 TB, 1x1 TB 1x750 GB and the internal 500GB drive).

Quote from: Nemesis on July 14, 2012, 04:56:17 pm

It was actually last week but a new Netbook. The old one had a flakey screen.

Specs:

Acer Aspire One AO722-0818, Netbook (Espresso Black) - AMD Dual-Core Processor C-50 (1.0GHz), 11.6" HD (1366x768), 2GB RAM, 320GB HDD, AMD Radeon HD 6250 Graphics, 802.11b/g/n, Webcam, Card Reader, 6-cell Battery, Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit

Replaced the 5400 rpm drive with a 500 gb 7200 rpm hybrid. Also upped the ram to 4 gb. Boot ups do seem faster.

Edit:

I normally hibernate the netbook and it has varied between 3 an 8!! minutes to wake up. Now it seems to be right around 45 seconds every time. Much nicer. How fast would it wake if I had gone SSD?

Nemesis · « **Reply #34 on:** February 05, 2013, 07:26:35 pm »

After a month of heavy use I went to defrag the hybrid drive in the netbook and the C: drive which usually fragments fairly quickly was at only 1% and defragged in under a minute. It looks like the hybrid system actually helps to avoid fragmenting the HD. An unexpected bonus

Leermeister · « **Reply #35 on:** February 05, 2013, 11:14:39 pm »

cool i just bought the same card cept its msi and 2gb http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1440044&sku=M452-6572

Sirgod · « **Reply #36 on:** February 10, 2013, 07:10:49 pm »

Nice buy there Leermeister. I'm running a Sapphire 6770 card myself. My wife loves watching movies now across three screens. at first when I tried to explain to her, the whole eyefinity thing she just didn't get it.

I guess the last thing I bought , was that game The Secret World. Love it so far, great for group or solo.

Stephen

Leermeister · « **Reply #37 on:** February 10, 2013, 09:02:04 pm »

yeah, love it ,can finally enjoy my games on full graphics. It works with my other card and my amd a6 processor for duel graphics cards- amd said 6570 is what is recommended for the card built on my motherboard to work together.

Nemesis · « **Reply #38 on:** March 18, 2013, 03:52:14 pm »

Quote from: Nemesis on February 05, 2013, 07:26:35 pm

After a month of heavy use I went to defrag the hybrid drive in the netbook and the C: drive which usually fragments fairly quickly was at only 1% and defragged in under a minute. It looks like the hybrid system actually helps to avoid fragmenting the HD. An unexpected bonus

I've been watching this closely and over the last 6 weeks the C drive has twice hit 2% and then backed down to 1% without defraging. My data drive did just suddenly jump to 4% but it is a "high traffic" drive with things downloaded to it then removed fairly frequently so I won't be surprised if it backs down from the 4%. So it appears that the hybrid drives do avoid fragmenting.

Just before Christmas my old XP desktop (P4 2.8 ghz, 2GB RAM and I think 240 GB HD) which I was given when my old employer shut down rather than their scrapping it "died". I just got around to finding out what was wrong a couple of weeks ago (shows how little I use my Windows desktop

) and found it is the video card fan. Rather than messing around with it I picked up a surplus machine that was being liquidated Core2Duo 2.8 ghz, 4GB RAM and 400GB SATA HD and a DVD burner. Windows 7 Premium 64 bit. Still installing software on it ($226 including tax no key board, mouse or monitor). It handles the 27" monitor (shared on a KVM switch) much better than the old dead card even though just using integrated video. I'll get the old machine going again sometime soon just to find out if it has any data on it that is not on the Linux desktop which I use mostly at home. Even though the machine is legit since it has no internet connection it was giving the illicit OS warning till I downloaded and applied the crack for it. Legal software but still had to crack it

.

Javora · « **Reply #39 on:** April 07, 2013, 10:14:06 pm »

Not really a flashy purchase but I recently bought a Motorola DOCSIS 3.0 compatible cable modem. I bought it because the old one from the cable company was acting weird. This also saves me $5 a month on my cable bill by no longer renting a modem. I spent some time doing some speed tests with the new modem and the old one before I returned it and got some interesting results. The new modem pinned the Internet speed at maximum that the cable company allows while the speed on the old one fluctuated between maximum and 3~4 Mbs under max. I tested around 3am each morning when most people are asleep used the same speed test website. Given that I can see why some people mistakenly think that they are getting faster Internet speeds from the cable company just by upgrading their modem.

So if you are having issues with your cable Internet and still using an old DOCSIS 2.0 modem it might be worth while to upgrade. Keep in mind three things though; first if the modem you buy dies you either have to replace it or ask the cable company to rent another one. Second if you have any service issues the cable company will always point the finger at your cable modem first. Third DOCSIS 3.1 should be ratified soon so if you can hold out until 3.1 is released you might want to wait.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16825390001

Nemesis · « **Reply #40 on:** November 30, 2013, 09:44:31 am »

Quote from: Nemesis on December 29, 2012, 10:45:57 am

Quote from: Nemesis on September 25, 2012, 06:54:07 pm
Once all the movies are on the disks THEN I have to buy more disks for the backups so I don't have to do it all over again in case a drive fails. I've been working on this for most of the last year.

Done. 4x2 TB for my DVDs and another 4x2 TB for back ups of those. I did give away the 1 drive external bay so now all 10 external bays are full. 18.25 TB of HD space on that Linux machine (8x2 TB, 1x1 TB 1x750 GB and the internal 500GB drive).

Quote from: Nemesis on July 14, 2012, 04:56:17 pm
It was actually last week but a new Netbook. The old one had a flakey screen.

Specs:

Acer Aspire One AO722-0818, Netbook (Espresso Black) - AMD Dual-Core Processor C-50 (1.0GHz), 11.6" HD (1366x768), 2GB RAM, 320GB HDD, AMD Radeon HD 6250 Graphics, 802.11b/g/n, Webcam, Card Reader, 6-cell Battery, Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit

Replaced the 5400 rpm drive with a 500 gb 7200 rpm hybrid. Also upped the ram to 4 gb. Boot ups do seem faster.

Nothing new bought but my SF movies/SF TV show disk is almost full (~60gb left) so I need more space. I'm looking at an external bay that can hold 4x 4TB drives, the current bays are limited to 2TB per drive. So Stephen I *may* be upping my potential storage another 16 TB soon.

Sirgod · « **Reply #41 on:** December 01, 2013, 03:21:07 am »

That would be awesome! 16TB more. Now you are getting up there. I use swappable disk myself, but an external bay like that would be a great idea.

My next big step for myself, will be either a projector, or a good large TV so the wife can be able to see and hear the talking picture show. Her eyes are getting worse all the time, and the old 36" CRT is even starting to give her a hard time.

Stephen

Nemesis · « **Reply #42 on:** December 01, 2013, 09:55:42 am »

I'm not sure when I'll do it. Right now with Christmas and having to buy a new battery pack for the E-Bike (going lithium which costs a lot but has equal advantages) money is tight and I don't *quite* need the room yet.

Sirgod · « **Reply #43 on:** December 05, 2013, 10:45:39 am »

I hear that man, I'm still interested in those Ebikes myself.

as an aside, I bought my Gmaw a TV this year from wally world, and on a lark, I hooked it up to my PC. My god, was it nice. If I can ever afford it, I'll grab one for the wife and I.

This is what it is brother...

http://www.walmart.com/ip/SCEPTRE-X325BV-FMDR-32-LED-Class-1080P-HDTV-with-ultra-slim-metal-brush-bezel-MHL/25059349

I tell ya, If I ever get rich, I may just buy 3 of them, for the PC alone. Such a great picture , even on games.

Stephen

Sirgod · « **Reply #44 on:** December 05, 2013, 10:52:28 am »

BTW Nem. Dracho had posted this at another place, and after reading it, I thought you might enjoy the article, given your Ebike and all.

MIT-designed snap-in wheel turns any bicycle into a hybrid

Published December 03, 2013/
FoxNews.com

MIT supergroup Superpedestrian wants to sell you a superbike.

The Copenhagen Wheel by the MIT spin-off is a self-contained module that turns an ordinary bicycle into a hybrid. The Wheel works like a Toyota Prius or Chevy Volt, generating juice during braking and turning on to boost a bike rider up steep hills.

“What it lets you do is not waste energy,” Assaf Biderman, founder of Superpedestrian, told FoxNews.com. “Usually when you brake, you waste it into heat. This gives it back to you so you can get a push.”

A slick-looking, 12-pound red disk that sits within the spokes of the bike’s back wheel, the Copenhagen Wheel was invented at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s SENSEable City Lab. It was featured for an entire season on the TV show “Weeds,” but it hasn’t been released as a product until now.

“You ride it just like any other bike,” Biderman said. The Copenhagen Wheel works with single-speed “fixies” and multi-gear bikes. It can zoom up to 20 miles per hour -- reasonably fast for a bicycle -- and has a range of 30 miles, although the rider may need to remove the lithium-ion battery to charge it fully for that sort of travel.

And it improves as it goes: The $699 Wheel learns the rider’s abilities and studies the hills and valleys he travels to determine when it should kick in and help out.

How exactly it does that is part of what makes the product so special, Biderman said.

“This is the secret sauce we’ve been working on,” he said. Around a dozen sensors tucked away inside the module learn how the rider pedals as well as the topography he or she is riding on, Biderman explained. When the Wheel needs to kick in, it does so seamlessly, to integrate with the rider’s pedaling. There are no additional throttles, wires or buttons.

The Wheel can be customized by connecting to the rider’s smartphone, as well. The Superpedestrian mobile app lets riders maintain a personal profile by tracking usage statistics such as distance traveled, calories burned and elevation gain. These stats can even be compared and shared with friends, the company says -- social cycling, in a sense.

“Effectively, the Copenhagen Wheel puts your bike online – at the center of your personal Internet of Things,” said Carlo Ratti, co-inventor of the Copenhagen Wheel and director of the MIT Senseable City Lab.

The Copenhagen Wheel is available for purchase now at superpedestrian.com, but the modules -- which are individually handmade in Cambridge, Mass. -- won’t begin shipping until early next year.

Looks like you’ll be pedal powered until then.

Stephen

Nemesis · « **Reply #45 on:** December 05, 2013, 06:43:26 pm »

I read about that on Slashdot a week or so back. Thanks for the heads up anyhow. (I also do monitor the "Other Place" and read it there too

).

I keep looking at the big screen TVs (I still have a 27" old style that never gets turned on) but other things always take priority.

Nemesis · « **Reply #46 on:** December 05, 2014, 04:53:35 pm »

Quote from: Nemesis on November 30, 2013, 09:44:31 am

Nothing new bought but my SF movies/SF TV show disk is almost full (~60gb left) so I need more space. I'm looking at an external bay that can hold 4x 4TB drives, the current bays are limited to 2TB per drive. So Stephen I *may* be upping my potential storage another 16 TB soon.

Just for Stephen

I have since bought 2 of the 4x4tb drive bays. One has 2 4TB drives (master copies) the other only has 1 (damn ATM was down and the sale is over so I couldn't get the extra one at the time) for backups. The additional 4TB drive will be added as soon as they go on sale again.

Present totals 16 TB for master copies and 12 TB for backups total 28 TB. The remaining 2 drive bay I'm not ever bothering to count.

Sirgod · « **Reply #47 on:** December 06, 2014, 05:11:27 pm »

Holy crap Nem, move over NSA, I have a Nemesis as a friend!

heh, side thought, makes me wonder if the NSA will monitor this thread now LOL.

Seriously, I am so glad you are enjoying this. who knows, in a 100 years , those HD's may be all that we have left, showing our culture and films of our time. I mean look at how many episodes of old Dr Who we lost.

Stephen

Nemesis · « **Reply #48 on:** December 07, 2014, 12:29:44 pm »

A lot of stuff has been lost more will be due to the effectively infinite copyright laws.

First season of the Avengers is almost all lost. The old Jack Benny show had a group arrange to digitize it but the studio backed out because the fan group would own the new copyrights generated by that act not CBS. The show itself is in the public domain but CBS has the only copies. A dog in the manger situation.

Nemesis · « **Reply #49 on:** December 13, 2014, 01:51:41 pm »

Didn't get anything new but did find something to upgrade to some day.

Link

Quote

Seagate Bulks Up With $260 8TB 'Archive' HDD

That could easily reduce the number of drives and bays I need.

Nemesis · « **Reply #50 on:** September 29, 2020, 09:54:07 am »

My movie HD backup system had to be rebuilt over the last few years.

Primary system a external Mediasonic 4 drive bay with 2x6 TB drives and 2x8 TB drives total 28 TB. Plenty of free space.

Backups kept at work in individual external cases are matching drives so my back up is also 28 TB. Still updating the backups since I added the last 2x8 TB drives last Saturday.

Should hold me for a while.

News:

Topic: The what I got this week thread (Read 26195 times) var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true};

Topic: The what I got this week thread (Read 26195 times)