Jan 15
31
As is the case every year, the holidays brought several computer updates.
The most important one is that, after having been extremely happy with my Apple TV, Beauregard, I got a second one, Aloysius, for my basement TV. Â I really, really like the Apple TV. Â It makes it so easy to watch streaming video from sources like Netflix and Youtube, to stream locally stored video from my own desktop, and the integration with iPhone/iPad via AirPlay is something that I now couldn’t live without. Â No other streaming box satisfies all of my requirements like the Apple TV does. Â This means that my previous basement HTPC, Scooter, is now retired.
Also, I did a handful of small updates for my desktop, Clementine.  I got a small USB 3.0 hub, and also a USB audio adapter that lets me connect my speakers to my computer via USB.  The real intention here is to simplify the wiring for Clementine — now, all USB devices plug into the hub, and also the speakers using the adapter, and just one single USB connection to Clementine is then  needed to cover all of these devices.  The real intention here is long-term: at some point I plan on mostly or entirely replacing Clementine with a laptop, and simplifying the connections will make that easier, both because laptops tend to have fewer connections available, and because I will likely want to be able to easily connect and disconnect a laptop from the desk setup (monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, etc…), and reducing the number of connections will help with that.