I recently read a newsgroup thread that started with someone asking just what high definition was. The thread wound in some surprising ways, with individuals asserting, among other things, that anything 16:9 was high definition and that 480i digital content was high definition (while presumably 480i analog was not). I suspect most of you wouldn’t agree. After all, we all know 720p and 1080i are HD while anything less is SD, right? Well things aren’t quite so clear cut.
First Look: DIRECTV Now
Parting ways with Comcast hasn’t been as traumatic as I’d feared. Netflix’s library of Star Trek episodes has filled my “background TV” needs. And Prime Video along with Netflix have sufficed for those times when I couldn’t find anything to watch OTA.
However every now and then I get that yearning for Discovery and the History Channel. So I was quite intrigued to hear that DIRECTV was launching an IP streaming service. Even better, as part of the early adopter promotion, I could get the “Go Big” package for $35 for life. And to sweeten the deal even more, by pre-paying the first three month’s subscription I could also get the new AppleTV free. Needless to say I signed up as soon as the service was available.
The Tickless Linux Kernel and Power Consumption
Those of you who’ve been following in-koherence know that I always keep power consumption in mind and frequently look into what’s driving my electricity bill. I recently went on another round of power misering at Koherence. After a bit of head-scratching, it turns out that running operating systems without tickless kernel support was an unexpected source of power drain. Continue reading “The Tickless Linux Kernel and Power Consumption”
Windows 10 Insomnia
This blog is a bit off-topic for in-koherence, but dealing with Windows 10’s inability to sleep through the night has been incredibly frustrating. Apparently it’s been for quite a few others too, so I decided to share my experience and ultimate solution (which fortunately did not involve burning my laptop.)
Since upgrading to Windows 10, I’ve come into the office on a couple occasions to find my laptop powered on. The first couple times I figured I must have forgotten to hibernate the system before leaving. But I was pretty sure I hibernated the system last night before going to bed…so what was it doing on? Continue reading “Windows 10 Insomnia”
Koherence Goes Grey: Minimizing Power Consumption
While Koherence’s official color is a burnt orange and (as those who know me well know) I’m partial to black, Koherence went grey this week. Power-wise anyway.
This is a hot week in the Bay Area. CalSO, the California Independent System Operator, has called flex alerts, and PG&E has called two SmartRate days. To do its part, Koherence (and the entire residence of which Koherence HQ is a part) went on a power reduction spree. I’d already moved “mission critical” items such as key servers and mail hosting to cloud providers, so arguably what remains is somewhat discretionary. Continue reading “Koherence Goes Grey: Minimizing Power Consumption”