The Magic Box Under The Stairs

Being a home entertainment enthusiast, I'm really keen on improving on my home network. I really want a digital entertainment network as well as boring old broadband. For the last few weeks I've had my desktop hidden away behind the TV in my living room with Windows Media Center running. Let me tell you, throw in a remote and it's a real joy to watch videos and listen to music but watching TV and more importantly recording TV is proving difficult.

At the moment that box holds all my media content which isn't ideal. What I really want is a server somewhere hidden away where the noise won't annoy my girlfriend and a sexy little box that has all the functionality that I want.

I keep seeing things which could work. Hard Disc recorders with freeview, sure sounds good, but I can't network it and stream/copy media either way. And what about if I want to upgrade to Sky or cable? What about BTs IPTV coming out in Autumn? That could be an interesting solution, but it's likely to be encoded so once again I cant stream/copy to my network.

The question is, is it best to get a HTPC and build it, or better to buy a mix match of hardware that together makes something cool. I'm unsure. Thrown in the question of next generation DRM issues and lets not forget, the price, and I'm in limbo.

Napoli Calling

So, our first stop in Italy is coming soon. I've sat down tonight to figure some stuff out, basically where we're going. We've booked all our hostels on hostelworld.com which is pretty good but a lot of the hostels listed don't have websites or post codes with their address. I've discovered tonight that this makes it a nightmare to find Google Maps.

So we're starting in Naples for 3 nights. I'm really looking forward to seeing Herculaneum and Pompeii as well as the madness that the city will surely bring. After that we're going to the Abruzzo National Park to stay on a farm. I really have no idea what that is going to be like lol.

We're then moving over to Rome for 4 nights, Florence for 2 nights, Genoa for 3 nights, a little place called Santa Margherita Ligure which isn't even in my Italy travel guide, but if the name is anything to go by we'll be alright. Then 3 nights in beautiful Como, I can't wait to see the lakes there. Finally we're going to Milan for 2 nights before flying home. I doubt we'll have any money by then, which is probably a good thing with Katie around ;)

Now... where's my passport?

Pandora's Box

You have to go check out Pandora.com, it's based on the Music Genome Project. You enter a band and or song, and it creates a free playlist based on that. What's great too is that you can if you like or dislike the current song and it will adjust the playlist according to your tastes. It's a cool way of being introduced to new bands and what's great is that it's all free!

Italy

Hello Peeps,

Katie and I are going to Italy next week, so check in soon to read our adventures.

Robbie