Things I've Noticed: Clearing out the PVR can be pretty exciting

So over the last couple weeks my wife and I have been deciding between our current cable/phone/internet provider and the competition. Both sides have put up a pretty good reason to either switch or stay, and in the end our choice works best for our needs (I hope), but an interesting side-project in all this is that we have been working for the last two weeks to empty our PVR.

The Personal Video Recorder (PVR) is in some ways like a VCR, but unlike the older machine, which could be programed to tape television at a certian tie, the PVR can be programmed to tape shows or complete series at any time they air. Like a show featuring Australian crime-fighting teenaged mermaids? Annoyed that it only airs at 2:15am? No problem, the PVR will tape that series until you have dozens and dozens of episodes backlogged on your system, stopping you from watching your current prime-time favourites!

Okay, so there are some bugs, but what the heck, all new technology needs to be better understood by the users so that they can access it more effectively.

Our PVR lists a percentage of total space used (rather than number of programs) and over the last two weeks we went from 89% to 5% (last nights episode of Eastenders and The Finder). Over the course of this week I've learned a lot things.

1) Some shows work better if you watch them in a smaller period of time, AMC's Hell on Wheels (10 episodes) was a pretty fun show to watch at two episodes a night, but I think it may have lost something for me if I simly watched it weekly.

2) High Definition (HD) shows take up a lot of space, and unless the show is visually striking (mostly Special Effects heavy shows) the need to see it in HD isn't really that great.

3) You (well, I) feel a great sense of accomplishment when I get the PVR down to zero, like I've defeated a boss in a video game.

Bookmonkey vs. PVR

BOOKMONKEY WINS!!!

Vending Machine Review: The EPL Lending Machine

I'm always happy to see my city come up with new ideas, or perhaps a new twist on an old idea, like the Edmonton Public Library's new Lending Machine. The premise is pretty simple; take the technology used for candy vending machines and fill it up with materials from the library (books, music, DVDs, video games, etc.), attach a return chute to the machine and then put it in one of our LRT (basically a subway) stations.

Suddenly you've given library access to people using our mass transit system, so then can sign out and return items during their daily commute. The machine looks pretty nice and my daughter Lorisia (who used the machine last Friday - pictured above) said it was pretty easy to use and kind of fun.

I hope the project works out well and we get more of these machines in our city, because the idea is really kind of cool.