Short list, but BIG implications. Now that people can configure the main menu, I’m not scared to add new features and clutter the simplicity.

Release Notes:

Meekell 0.4.6

Features:

• Configurable Main Menu Items (“Advanced->Configure Menu”)

UI Changes:

• Main Menu Animates (turn off in “Advanced->STV Enhancements”, won’t be activated if “MVP Enhance” is Enabled)

Bug Fixes:

• 5-Item Menu bug squashed
• Channel Icons and Status Icons in media player display correctly
• Intelligent Indicator appears properly in Recordings Menu

You can find the SageTV forum thread by clicking here. You can download the files from the SageTV section of this site by clicking the “SageTV” link on the title bar of this page, or by clicking here.

Okay, so it turned out to be a slightly bigger release than I had planned, but here we go.

Release Notes:

Meekell 0.4.5

Features:

• Added Nielm’s Info Popup

UI Changes:

• Added setup for Data Import (Adcanced->External->Choose Collection.xml file)
• Removed “Smart Folders” legend button to remove confusion. (it never did anything…)
• Added icons to recording menu, option in “settings->advanced->enhancements->icons” – requested by multiple users (Thanks for the icons Iain!)
• Manual/Favorite/Don’t Like indication in media player
• All menus should show current menu title in title bar
• System asks if you want to import metadata for newly imported files automatically (uses DVD Profiler data import)

Bug Fixes:

• Programs to Record – keyboard now has highlights for focus
• Library Import – deleting directory now readable
• Now warns before changing channel while watching live tv
• Now catches channel change requests before canceling favorites recordings
• Setup menu now shows if options exist out of view
• Favorite Options now are fully functional and readable
• Data Import now asks for .xml file if none set
• A couple of other things I forgot about…

You can find the SageTV forum thread by clicking here. The new SageTV section of this site can be reached by clicking the “SageTV” link on the title bar of this page, or by clicking here.

Crashless Aspirations Episode #1 (MP3 – 4.9MB – 10:27)

Download it here! Subscribe via RSS

The inaugural Crashless Aspirations Podcast! More of an experiment than anything. After writing my latest article about my experiences trying to get rid of paper in my life, I realized there is so much more to talk about. Instead of writing a novel on the subject, I thought it would be fun to talk about it.

In this first show, I talk about the concepts surrounding digital notetaking; the current implementations, limitations, and considerations. If you’re after more of a ‘how-to’ or a review, check out the companion article here.

00:00 – Welcome

00:27 – Thanks to Great Glass Elevator for their song.

01:42 – Problems with paper.

03:28 – Issues with replacing ole’ faithful.

04:15 – Things OneNote does well.

05:50 – What Microsoft needs to do to get it mainstream.

07:27 – Who should take a look at Tablet PCs, and my conclusions.

09:11 – “Drugstore Cowboy” – by Great Glass Elevator.

For more specific details, read the accompanying article.

TRT: 10:27

Please let me know what you think of this first attempt. I’m looking forward to hearing what you all think of the format. If you have ideas for a future podcast and article, or questions, comments or whatever, please either post them, or email them and I’ll try and incorporate them into the next show.

One of the main reasons I originally was intrigued by the idea of a Tablet PC was that I take notes into a legal pad on a regular basis. A lot of my job entails listening to someone’s ideas about what should be changed in a show, then executing those ideas. My system up until last month included a legal pad or small spiral notebook, a pen and a couple of colors of highlighters. Here’s a picture of my last paper notebook:

I take the notes with the pen in this format while I talked with a client about the show. Then after they left, I would implement the changes and highlight them as I completed each point. When my page was neon I knew that I had completed everything, I could refer back to the notes in our next meeting and remind the client about each change that was made, and I could talk about how it was addressed. This system not only makes sure I don’t forget anything, but also helps the client feel like everything was covered in the follow up meeting. Sometimes it’s difficult for my clients to remember each and every mundane change they requested, so being able to read them their list back is extremely comforting to them – they know every detail has been attended to.

Read More…

I have been completely inundated with comment spam over the last few weeks, which I suppose is a good thing because it means I’m getting enough exposure to become a target. It’s a bad thing because it means WordPress has sent me roughly 200 emails telling me I might have been spammed.

So I’ve had enough. In an effort to keep things as invisible as possible, I’ve installed Bad Behavior and Spam Karma 2. Please, please, PLEASE tell me if you have ANY issues posting to my blog as a result of these measures. Hopefully most of you won’t even notice them, but I wanted to let everyone know, just in case.

I’m not a fan of captchas, but some of you might get presented with one if you trigger the filters. I would really appriciate feedback on how many people are having to fill those in. If you get one, please let me know in your comment, or email me.

Thanks so much for understanding, and for helping me implement these new plugins. I hope they don’t get in the way of good conversation.

As I posted a week or so ago, an errant uninstaller corrupted my new tablet’s registry. While this was extremely unfortunate for me, because I was forced to work the rest of the day with a pen and paper, I did have a fairly good experience with both IBM’s support, and the IBM Rescue and Recovery (RnR) Software.

First, the bad news: RnR was not able to recover my registry. This is not entirely the fault of the system however, as I had not yet created backup discs or created an image of the system to directly restore to – that was my fault. I ended up having to restore to the factory state of the system.

Read More…

Well, after reading about Eric Mack’s issues about not having a true Windows XP Tablet PC Edition disc to recover his system, it seems I’m going through my own saga on the subject.

I’ve found some intersting things about the IBM X41 Tablet’s Rescue and Recovery system though that have been fairly promising, and I’ll write up my experiences in full once I’m back up and running.

This is the part where I was going to tell you to go sign the petition on this subject, but it seems to have been pulled down. I might have to ressurrect it.

While I received my X41 Tablet (model 18666SU) a couple of weeks ago now, I’ve only had a couple of days to play with it. I’m currently filling the system with my primary programs, and things have been mostly enjoyable. I thought that now would be a good time to share my out of box experience with you all, along with some kinks that I’ve run into.

I’m also going to try out a new way to write my posts – the ‘Geek Note’, which will simply be a link in brackets like this: [GN1]. This will be an attempt to keep my articles more readable, while still providing my more technically inclined readers with the information they desire. So let me know what you all think about this, I hope it works.

Read More…

I’m back baby!

If anyone’s looking for heaven on earth, I’ve found it. It’s called Bora Bora and it’s in the South Pacific.

I’m easing back into things slowly, and I’ve written up a ‘First Impressions’ post on my X41 Tablet, so that will be up tomorrow hopefully.

Well it’s about frickin’ time! Lenovo has finally gotten around to shipping my tablet – nearly 2 months after I ordered it and 3 weeks later than the ‘latest’ ship date I was originally given.

Here’s the fun part – I’m not going to be here to recieve it. HA!

I’m getting married this Saturday, and we are immediately jetting off to Tahiti for two weeks. So needless to say I won’t be posting for a little while.

I’m not going to miss my tablet – but it better miss me. Serves it right for taking so long to get here.