Net Neutrality is Not Socialism

There is a lot of misinformation flying around out there about what net neutrality is and isn't.

I'll tell you what it isn't.  Net neutrality isn't socialism.  It's not a commie plot, and it's not a bad thing.

It isn't a Netflix subsidy.  It isn't a YouTube tax.  It just isn't.

One of the biggest problems with net neutrality is that there's no good analogy to make it relatable.

Ask yourself: "Am I a person?" If the answer is yes, then net neutrality is good for you.

The opposite of net neutrality is essentially extortion and censorship.

Do you like being able to go to any site on the Internet?  Then you like net neutrality.

Do you want your Internet service provider to determine what news you get, what videos you can watch and who you can communicate with? I doubt you do.

"But hey, Netflix is crushing those poor ISPs with the bandwidth subscribers use." Yes, Netflix is popular, but you know what, they're already paying for that bandwidth. And guess what else, Netflix subscribers are ALSO ALREADY PAYING FOR THAT BANDWIDTH.

Bandwidth is not consumed.  It is not finite.  We will not run out of 1s and 0s.  Once infrastructure is built, it only costs pennies to run.  Bandwidth is not water, gas, or some other consumable.  It's like running a fan.  "Hey, stop running the fan, you're going to run out of air!"

"But I get free video with my phone, this is awesome!" Not really, you only think you're getting something for free. Your ISPs is hitting content providers up for money.

What's wrong with that you ask? This is what.

Your ISP could stop you from going to competitors sites.  It could slow the data to a crawl and make competitors services unusable.

Competition is a good thing.  It promotes innovation and lower prices. Places without competition are guaranteed to have higher prices eventually.

So yes, you may get "free" video or music now, but you're going to pay a big cost down the line. The cost of your freedom, plus your bill will go up, I guarantee it will happen because there is no competition.

Also, it provides a mechanism for incumbent companies to stifle competitors.  They can just pay to shut out startups. That in no way is a good thing.

"But hey, I work for (or am invested in) an ISP, we make a ton of money, and want to keep making a ton of money. " Sure, that's awesome, making money is generally accepted as a good thing.  And you can continue to do it, just not at the expense of my freedom.

ISPs have already carved up territory so that they don't have to compete.  That's anti-competitive and hurts consumers (yes even you employee or investor) .  Now they want to make the content they serve anti-competitive.  And that's just not right.

Your ISP has complete control over your Internet experience.  You can block ads on websites, choose not to use a particular service.  But if your ISP starts messing with you THERE IS NO WAY AROUND IT.

ISPs have more power than you think and they're trying to flex their muscles and use that power. ISPs are a pipe, not a filter.

In closing, please try to understand net neutrality and why it's good for everyone.  Just because it came to the forefront with a Democrat in the white house doesn't mean it's bad.   Please don't spread misinformation about what it is and isn't.  I read comments on WSJ.com and weep because it's all misinformation and propaganda. Please try to understand net neutrality, it's important for our future.

Migrating Windows Media Center Scheduled Recordings

This is really tricky.  I've successfully done this twice though, and I didn't write it down the first time so I'm writing it down now.

I started with this as a guide: http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=119&sid=a81fc0052c8d1f074600a52dfe5dbe21&start=20

It's a starting point, complete with unresolved issues, wrong file paths and more!

What you really have to do is this:


Old system:

Save off this folder: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\eHome\

You need the files that are in mcepg2-0 or mcepg2-1, whichever that has the newest files in \backup\recordings.  mcepg2-0 had the newest for me, so that's what I'll refer to from this point on.

New system:

Setup Windows Media Center from scratch including live TV, but don't worry about the details too much.

Then, after setup is complete, copy these two directories from the saved-off old system to the new computer (same location):

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\eHome\mcepg2-0\backup\recordings
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\eHome\mcepg2-0\backup\subscriptions

Personally, I recommend renaming the existing folders so they aren't blown away, just in case something blows up and you need to revert to your freshly setup setup.

Then, at a command prompt run:
C:\Windows\eHome\loadmxf.exe -i C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\eHome\mcepg2-0\backup\recordings\FileName

!!Where FileName is the name of the newest file in \backup\recordings and \backup\subscriptions!!!

That crucial piece of information is omitted from the green button forum post.

So do that for both recordings and subscriptions, reload your program data and you should be in business!  Don't reload the listings, or you'll get double the channels and it'll be all messed up.

Not all there: The new Pixel and Pixel XL from Google

Google has taken android and the nexus program a direction different than I'd like to see.

Rather than affordable and fully equipped developer's devices, these are ultra premium iPhone lookalikes missing features that now are things of the past.

Introduced the Pixel and Pixel XL, featuring: Mono sound, and No Wireless Charging. Luckily, it has a headphone jack.

I don't get it, the phone costs nearly ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS (fully loaded).

At least these phones' USB type C ports support USB 3.0, unlike the also overpriced Nexus 6P and 5X. The 6P is STILL starts at $500 for the base model.

The pre-event leaks were true, and unfortunately these are no longer developer devices, they're budget busters.

Lumia 640 XL Qi Wireless Charging

The Lumia 640 XL has contacts for a wireless charging case back.  However, due to reasons unknown, one has never been sold.

I wish Microsoft wasn't a publicly traded company so they could share more information without risking that precious, precious stock price.

So, I took matters into my own hands and followed the details posted by Yang Hu on Windows Central.

I used a charging pad from a Lumia 920 case back.  The charging didn't work very well with my nexus wireless charger, but it does work with this one.  I went back in and shortened up the wires so they're neater than shown in the picture.  That was a test to see if it actually worked.

The standard case backs fit after you take off the little rubber stickers

Cheaper and more fun than a 950 XL.

Windows Mobile 10

I like messing with stuff, it's fun. So lately I've been messing with Windows Mobile 10.

I've had a couple Windows Phones in the past. Going way back, I had a hand-me-down HTC Shadow running Windows Mobile 6.0. Then more recently I got a Lumia 630 when I switched phone carriers. It was passable. I did a craigslist switcheroo and got a 635 instead so I could have LTE. Then I sold that as it clearly wasn't going to be my telephonic future.

I stayed windowless for a bit and snagged a Lumia 640 for $30 on black friday. Now that's a bargain! I liked it well enough to get a 640 XL on www.swappa.com. It's also pretty decent. Though I think my 640 is a bit snappier.

Anyway, long story short, I'm trying to park my trusty Nexus 5 and try out Windows for a bit, again.

Problem is, Windows likes to play by the rules and I don't. I like connecting to non-enterprise VPNs, using chrome remote desktop, accessing files on my home network while I'm on the road, tethering! and other such nonsense.

Windows mobile... not so much. My PPTP VPN worked for a bit, then stopped. Chrome remote desktop will never happen and tethering is blocked. No fun. Also, Edge chokes on half my localhost IPs. Lame.

So the jury is out. Can I adapt? Maybe. Will I? Ehhh.

I can't geofence my wifi to turn on and off like I could in 8.1. I'm pretty sure there were some other gripes I had.  The OS is getting better with each build, but I just don't like the restrictions. My Nexus 5 lets me run free and I definitely miss that... 4 hours in.

Conclusion: Windows Mobile 10 is cute. It's fun. It's personable and personal. I want to like it. But it's killing me with the superuser lockdown bs.

Symbolic Link on QNAP (Linux)

The Qsync folder on a QNAP NAS is a hidden directory, so it's hard to add to things like Plex.

Luckily, the solution is a Linux one, rather than a QNAP one.

I like using Qsync because I hate sorting through hundreds of files to make sure things are backed up between two directories.  I'd much rather manage one directory than two.

Before you try anything on your NAS, understand that you are operating outside the safety of the QNAP interface.  You could really mess things up if you aren't careful.  Therefore no warranty is part of this whatsoever!  Proceed at your own risk!

A symbolic link is nice because it doesn't make a copy of your files, it just points to them.  You can put those pointers in a convenient place.

So... download Putty and SSH into your QNAP.

After you login with your QNAP's IP address, and your credentials, enter the following command to create a symbolic link between the admin's Qsync folder and a new symbolic folder called "movielink".  Of course you can name it anything you want.  This can also be done with other user's Qsync data, just change "admin" to whatever their username is.  Keep in mind that these folders are fully linked, read and write.  So only make sure you link with users that won't wipe out your data!

[~] # ln -s /share/homes/admin/.Qsync/ /share/homes/admin/movielink

Ta Da!  Now if you go to the Filestation you can see your new folder

If you make a bad link, or want to remove the one you created, enter this command:

[~] # rm /share/homes/admin/movielink

That's all there is to it.  Now my Plex server can access Qsynced content!

Windows 10 and AMD laptop display drivers

So far Windows 10 is pretty cool.  There are some privacy concerns, but aside from that, it works pretty well.

That is except for the display drivers on my AMD A10 laptop.  But here's how to fix it:

I recommend downloading the most current Catalyst Control Center / drivers from AMD first.

Settings - System - Display - Advanced Display Settings - Display Adapter Properties - Adapter - Properties - Driver - Update Driver

This took a couple minutes to run and install, despite having the latest Catalyst Control Center installed.

Then, back in normal Windows control panel, go to the Device Manager.  My Monitor was called out as being a DISABLED Generic PnP Monitor.  So enable it on the driver page and bingo!  Brightness controls are back!!

Whew, so much for simplified settings controls for Windows 10.  I find that any heavy lifting still has to be done through the older style control panel.