There's a reason wristwatches supplanted pocketwatches (our smartphones of yore) - they're more convenient. Although I don't see the watch replacing the phone, but it will exist more as a supplement.

You can kind of get this by mounting an iPad Mini or Android 7" tablet in your dash w/ a charger and aux/BT connection. I've been doing this for years w/ my Android tablets (and even before that w/ Windows Mobile PDAs).

Until you find that you wish you could get to something faster (with less swipes/taps) in iOS, you are kind of stuck with their navigation conventions, whereas with Android, you've got some options to make certain things accessible "how you want it". Yes, it does take a little time initially to make that…

So you didn't really address the backup/redundancy side of things. What's the point of showing all of this to a user who's got a lower tech-IQ when they can just go out a buy a cheap $40 pogoplug that can do most of this file serving/simple backup already - unless you describe Freenas's RaidZ capabilities?

No, not Top Gun. It needs a Skull Leader paint job - cause this toy is obviously out of the Macross/Robotech universe. I'd fully expect it to transform - it appeals to the 8 year old in me.

I guess I got lucky with the candybar airmouse keyboard I found on Amazon. Of course, this is the kind that has a wireless dongle included so it's not using BT and the battery life has been excellent.

I use an MK808B and MK808 and when i googled for XBMC android stick, I found a special build of XBMC for it that runs fine.

probably ok if your walls are not white. If they are, looks like eventually they'll just start to accumulate dirt and smudges over time from stuff rubbing directly against the wall.

I'm by no means a One percenter, but I think the level of entry for these kinds of setups are coming down quite a bit. Cost wise, I actually spent less on my current "big theater" setup than I did on my 1st gen Samsung LED TV when it first came out. The expertise at setup is even becoming less "specialized" as most of…

A couple things not mentioned already: Someone mentioned a ground loop isolator but didn't give a model. One that is used frequently is the PAC SN1 (get the one w/ 3.5 connections) and you can get them under $20 on Amazon. You essentially put this in between the source (your device) and your stereo auxiliary in to…

Most of my speakers are hidden (in ceiling or in the built-in hole that the tv is supposed to go into that we don't use due to the projector screen). My screen rolls up into the ceiling when I want to "hide it". The newer receivers have auto-setup that do a damn good job of calibrating the audio by letting you place…

I've done this and am very much satisfied - to the point where my family is spoiled against going to the actual movie theater. There are only a few releases each year that we absolutely have to see in the theater - and almost every time we come away feeling it was something we could have waited for to enjoy in our own…

http://www.amazon.com/Bluetooth-MK80… Here is a link to the one I bought on Amazon MK808b has a lot of support, since it's so mature. Because of that, it is getting long in the tooth and I've recently noticed releases of newer devices w/ quad-core chips and more memory. I may pick up the newer ones to improve the…

I've replaced two of my HTPCs with those $50 Android sticks. The only real HTPC I have running now is the one in my actual home theater room connected to my projector. Actually, I took one of those HTPCs and put it in my office as it continues to run as my Sickbeard/usenet downloader/media server.

I finally got around to installing the Hauppage Colossus (capture card) I bought last year for this exact task. It has an HDMI input, but I'm ok just using the component and optical inputs. Got it to archive shows and NFL games I can't find on usenet off of my DirecTV DVR.

That's cool. I don't know what's holding up Spotify from doing something like this. They said it was coming a while ago already.

Kind of like how I feel guilty for enjoying a "Mexican Pizza" at Taco Bell. I feel that if I was Mexican or Italian, I'd be super offended.

I used to maintain HTPCs at every tv in the household. Now, I've redone my home setup ever since I bought my first $60 mk808b android stick. Since these android on a stick devices pretty much top all the other streaming appliances in capability and has the hardware to run decent android games, I've replaced most with…

I love Sugru, the challenge is making the finished pieces not look like there's old gum stuck to things. I've found the tricks of using pieces of mesh to imprint a tire-tread like texture before it cures for anything that needs to grip, or using clay sculpting tools to smooth and shape it in the forming process.

Yup, this works. You can actually buy "bars" of stainless steel that looks like metal soap, lol. Except what if you don't want your hands smelling like stainless steel?