Dear Lazyweb,

[chezmax]

I've got a couple different Dear Lazywebs here:

1) Let's say there was a show at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, NY some Friday in February that I might be interesting in seeing. Let's further assume (due to lack of information) that it starts at 8 pm. For those that often do the Buffalo trip, would it be possible to leave Waterloo at 5 pm and arrive there in time? Google Maps speculates about 2 hours, but with the bridge and rush hour traffic in K/W and near-rush traffic in Hamilton and an international bridge, I'm a little dubious.

So, it this possible, or doomed to fail? What route would you take to get there? Which bridge? etc. etc.

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2) I've got a nice 1080p TV. I've got an old PC running Windows XP with a DVI->HDMI adaptor. Does anyone recommend any decent software to make this into a usable media computer? It has a TV Card, but I don't have cable, so I'm not really concerned about timeshifting or TV or the like. Mostly, I'd like something with a user interface that's decently usable on a TV, with perhaps, a wireless mouse. I'd like to continue to run XP on it for other purposes, so, a windows based solution would be nice. I'd prefer to use freeware. Any suggestions?

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3) There was a third one; but I've forgotten it. Oops. Does anyone know what I was thinking about? Would you like to give me some unsolicited advice? Tell me something!

Comments

[asmodeusb.livejournal.com]

- USB bluetooth receiver (~$20?)
- wiimote
- check out wiili.org for all the links to the various software packages to convert bluetooth (wiimote) movement to mouse pointer control

XP not a good enough interface for you? :-)
A friend of mine runs SageTV in Windows (non-free)

When I get around to setting up the box, I'll be another Myth user -- no PVR plans, just the interface and computer-tv link.

[chezmax]

It looks like there's a couple windows one's which might be OK.

How well does the wiimote stuff work? And how does it work if you actually have a Wii in the room?

[asmodeusb.livejournal.com]

When I played with it before I got my wii (March/April-ish), it worked quite well -- I had no issues with the BlueSoleil bluetooth stack in XP (WIDCOMM/windows didn't work with my Kensington USB BT thingy)

I expect that there wouldn't be any issues with the Wii as long as its turned off, and you don't use the Power button on the wiimote :-) -- I don't see a reason why they would've supported multiple simultaneous BT channels.

But now you've got me pondering, so I'll try das experiment.

[asmodeusb.livejournal.com]

And the results:
Using the latest BlueSoleil (free version has a 5MB data limit, but otherwise is unrestricted). I took my laptop downstairs and put it about 4' away from the Wii. When the Wii is off, its sensor bar is also off (yay for lower power consumption, kinda sucks for this usage). Lucky for me, I have a battery-operated wireless sensor bar (from my pre-wii experimentation), so I used it. For any decent tracking, you WILL need to use the IR tracking functionality of the wiimote. It will work using the accelerometers, but its imprecise and IMO just a pain in the ass (tilt up, tilt right, oh shit--too far, tilt left, tilt a little more left, press A -- not exactly point 'n click :-)

The Wiimote has no issues in remembering both the Wii and the USB BT dongle for pairing. Whichever it pairs with first is the one it'll talk to.

The power button on the wiimote still controls the wii --if it isn't actively talking to the dongle. If it IS talking to the dongle, hold it for a few seconds and the wiimote turns off. Hit it again, and the Wii turns on.

This is definitely not plug-n-play. Whenever you want to connect the wiimote to the PC, on the PC you have to initiate the connection and also put the wiimote into listening mode (press 1+2 'till the LEDs start flashing).

It would work great IMO iff:
- always-on IR LEDs for tracking (whether bought or homebrew)
- there was a way to auto-initiate the connection to the wiimote. i.e. turn on the PC and the Wiimote connects (or maybe use the wiimote to turn on the PC--which doesn't boot anywhere near fast enough to work like the wii does)

If you want to play with it, IMO WiinRemote is easy, unobtrusive, and just plain works (hit B to toggle the cursor mode on and off)

[chezmax]

This is definitely not plug-n-play. Whenever you want to connect the wiimote to the PC, on the PC you have to initiate the connection and also put the wiimote into listening mode (press 1+2 'till the LEDs start flashing).

Oh. That's too bad. That makes it Not Terribly Useful as a remote control setup. I think I might go back to the wireless mouse for this one :)