1000+0 records in
1000+0 records out
1024000 bytes (1.0 MB) copied, 0.0294247 s, 34.8 MB/s
This is transferring random data from the virtual device urandom to the output file. We use /dev/urandom instead of /dev/random because the /dev/random source generates random data very slowly. urandom is much faster at this but remains very random, if not quite a random as /dev/random. This should work with any system with dd and /dev/urandom.
EDID stands for Extended display identification data and is what many computer monitors and televisions with a VGA/HDMI use to tell the PC what resolution they support. Which, in theory at least, is great.
However what I recently found out is that many LCD and Plasma televisions do not broadcast the correct 16:9 resolution via EDID, and therefore the computer doesn’t know what resolution to display and you have a stretched image. Read More »
Gone is my 500+ channel television subscription along with the required boxes necessary to decode all of that content. The DVR, which has been a mainstay of my family’s television viewing habits, has been ousted. In it’s place is a kick-ass system that keeps the DVR functionality for many of the TV shows that we usually watch, brings in much new content, and also saves me a few bucks each month.
Let’s face it, you don’t want all of the content that your cable provider offers. Cable providers have fought a-la-carte programming tooth and nail for this very reason. Much of it is specialty programming, and though I admit it is nice to know it was there, my family and I rarely watched any of it. My new setup brings many new sources as well as a CHOICE to what you want to view. I am very happy with the results so far. Read More »
The beginning of a decade is always a time for prognostication, and this year is no exception. This is an interesting collaborative look on mobile device trends for 2020. A lot of these trends are already well on the way to widespread adoption, and I would argue that many will be seen by 2015. From Mobile Trends:
Here are my own predictions for the 2010s:
Continued Convergence – Phone/Camera/Internet – Look for the decline of the “Point and Shoot” pocket camera as mobile phone cameras increase in quality to being on-par with smaller pocket cameras. Many pocket cameras already have miniscule sensor sizes that could fit into a cell phone device. A manufacturer will include this into a cell phone with an a new UI which will match P&S cameras for usability and customization. Internet will continue to grow in presence and utility on mobile devices.
Location Tracking Everywhere – Your device will automatically report to your friends where you are and what you are doing. Privacy controls will be built in to allow as much or as little sharing as possible, with many folks opting to disable the ability altogether. However, parents will still be able to “track” their kids.
Wireless Sensor Networks Will Become Ubiquitous – The continuing decline of the cost of these platforms will allow embedding in almost every imaginable place. Anywhere from road sensors to bridge monitors to traffic cameras will feature these devices.
The Rise of Data-Only High Speed Mobile Providers – Look for providers who provide plain high speed mobile access via WiMax or existing 3G/4G infrastructure. While the cost will be more than the current $30-$60 a month for current providers, the net-cost of mobile voice+mobile data will decrease because of the use of VoIP providers. Dual GSM/WiMax devices like the HTC Max 4G will become common.
Existing providers will fight tooth and nail to resist becoming “dumb pipes” – Much as with landline connections, existing wireless providers (specifically AT&T and Verizon) will fight for their lives using lobbiers and lawyers to prevent themselves from becoming a content-neutral data providers. They will provide shoddy mobile connectivity and blame it on technical restrictions to prevent other providers from piggybacking on their wireless data connections. Have you read your Terms of Service? They already prohibit anything other than Voice and Web, although I have almost never seen it enforced.
Do you have any predictions for the mobile world in 2020?
I’ve decided to replace my cable plan and DVR box with something a little more… functional.
Sure we get a ton of channels from Verizon FiOS, but we hardly ever watch them. Our television viewing habits mainly consist of a few programs that my wife watches and a few programs that I watch, but we almost never watch them live. We typically DVR them and then watch them on our own time. For the few instances where we would like to watch live TV, for example when a Penn State game is on, we would like to be able to watch that. Normally the games are on ABC/NBC/Fox so premium cable channels such as ESPN aren’t necessarily needed. There will be some instances where a game may only be available on the Big 10 network or some other premium channel, but honestly I am not that big into sports and the times that this might occur will be few and far between, maybe 1 or 2 times a year, which I can deal with. Read More »
