From jcea at argo.es Tue Aug 6 16:50:05 2002 From: jcea at argo.es (Jesus Cea Avion) Date: Tue Aug 6 16:50:05 2002 Subject: [Domotica] Suggestions for Home PBX/Key System? Message-ID: <3D4FE214.C1135833@argo.es> http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/08/04/0052247 -- Jesus Cea Avion _/_/ _/_/_/ _/_/_/ jcea at argo.es http://www.argo.es/~jcea/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/_/_/_/ PGP Key Available at KeyServ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ "Things are not so easy" _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ "My name is Dump, Core Dump" _/_/_/ _/_/_/ _/_/ _/_/ "El amor es poner tu felicidad en la felicidad de otro" - Leibniz From jcea at argo.es Wed Aug 21 13:55:04 2002 From: jcea at argo.es (Jesus Cea Avion) Date: Wed Aug 21 13:55:04 2002 Subject: [Domotica] Vivir 100% con paneles solares Message-ID: <3D637F82.5D6459CB@argo.es> http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/08/06/0113213 http://homepower.com/magazine/feature_article.cfm >>>>> Efficient Computing & Wireless Internet ?2002 John Bertrand [Hide Images] [View/Download this article in Adobe Acrobat version] [Table of Contents] COMM. POWER A year ago, when we finally settled into our still incomplete solar powered house, we set up our trusty three-year-old computer. Then, having no landlines (electricity or telephone) we installed a wireless broadband Internet connection. So we were sitting pretty, right? Wrong. In fifteen years of home computer use, we have never just left the computer on all day. But times and uses have changed. Our computer has become more and more of an appliance rather than a specialty tool. In our new home, it became apparent that we needed it available constantly for Internet research and e-mail. Yet leaving the system on, even in sleep mode, used too much energy. Our fairly typical desktop system draws 180 to 190 watts. Flipping it off and on was too much of a hassle because of the almost 2 minute boot up each time we needed to check something. Besides, even turning it on and off as needed was a serious drain on our 1.2 KW PV system. Expanding our PV array (sixteen, 77 watt modules) was not an option because the present rack and wiring are maxxed out, not to mention the hassle of having to submit a new electrical permit application, complete with engineering stamp. The Search So I began researching notebook computers. Without a doubt, they would provide a much better energy use scenario. I wanted the lowest possible energy use in a quality unit. I have always purchased desktop systems from smaller companies that offer good quality parts for the money. I could always make changes later if necessary. But notebooks are a different animal, since they are more or less a closed package. So it is very important that it has all the functions you will need. For many people, the notebook can replace the desktop unit. So a 14 or 15 inch (36 or 38 cm) screen, 5 to 7 pound (2?3 kg) ?desktop replacement? machine will work. For others, a really lightweight 3 to 4 pound (1.4?1.8 kg) unit with a 10 to 12 inch (25?30 cm) screen is fine, since the desktop unit is not being displaced, but supplemented and networked. The former will certainly save watts over a desktop unit, but with its built-in drives and large screen, will use considerably more energy than the latter. For us, keeping the desktop unit for graphics-intensive tasks seemed desirable, since the screen is larger, and CRT monitors generally handle graphics better. So I researched what was available in the smallest of the Windows-based notebooks. Our personal parameters included finding a highly rated, quality product from a well-known company (such as Dell, IBM, Gateway, Micron, Sony), long battery life, no built-in drives other than the hard drive (but with an attachable CD/DVD drive for loading programs, etc.), at least 256 MB RAM and a 20 GB hard drive, a touchpad pointing device, and a high quality graphics card that will not drop frames when playing a DVD movie. I began looking more than six months ago. Because of their customer satisfaction record, I was somewhat predisposed to look most seriously at the Dell offerings, in particular the Latitude L-400. But it was weak on graphics and, having been on the market quite awhile, was not tops in energy efficiency. We came close to trying a Sony unit available from Costco for less than US$1,000, but it only had a 10.4 inch (26.4 cm) screen, older chip sets, and mediocre graphics. That finally kept it out of the running. A Small Gem In November 2001, Dell introduced a new model, the Latitude C-400. It was much like the earlier L-400, but had updated processors (866 MHz or 1.2 GHz, running on half a watt), a new generation of energy-saving Intel support chips (830M), graphics adequate for DVD movies, both a touchpad and a pointing stick, and some other goodies I found desirable. I watched the prices, including the Dell ?refurbished? units. In January, after the Christmas rush was over, I kept close track and finally bit on a good offer. (Remember, if you buy on the phone rather than off the Net, you may be able to negotiate for even better than the current sale prices, but beware of the frustrating sales-speak even from reputable firms.) This particular model best met our needs. The US$2,300 price is in the midranges, with basic economy models available around US$1,000, and corporate road-warrior models well above US$3,000. (Note: laptop prices continue to fall, so you may be able to do even better by the time you read this.) In terms of energy usage, though, this model has to be near the lower limit. We measured usage with a Watts up? meter. The meter isn?t extremely accurate when measuring loads drawing less than 20 watts, but it?s close enough for general use. In any case, the C-400 uses just 15 to 18 watts when in regular use. This figure, when compared to the desktop system, is cause enough for joy. But when we close the case, putting the system in standby (it goes to hibernation in 15 minutes, or whatever you want to set), the usage is too low to measure with this meter. The radio system's receiving dish. The wireless Interent system only draws 1 to 2 watts total. The D-Link router and the radio transceiver allow completely wireless Internet use. Wireless Internet When it comes to broadband Internet service, there are three major routes and one minor route. Leading the charge these days is cable modem service from the cable TV companies. This is followed closely by DSL (digital subscriber line) service from the telephone companies. Satellite service from the two satellite TV companies has made inroads mainly where the other two services are not available. Finally, in a few areas, ISPs have established fixed wireless service, which uses a line-of-sight radio link between their operation and subscribers. The radio signal is in the same frequency range as a microwave oven, and can be fairly characterized as a ?microwave link.? It conforms to the IEEE 802.11b standard used for wireless networking within the home or office, and is theoretically capable of 11 MB per second information transfer. A radio transceiver and small antenna are required. We had a choice of going to Starband satellite service or Interlink Hawaii (local ISP) fixed wireless service. Starband was just becoming available with no track record, high upfront costs of more than US$1,500 (installation is less expensive in the continental U.S.) and a monthly cost of US$70. Interlink?s fixed wireless service had been around for several years, had an installation package of US$500, and cost US$50 a month. Needless to say we went with the latter, which uses a Breezenet Pro.11 radio. Overall, we have been very satisfied with the service. When our radio was failing after less than a year (it is leased and was used), they were slow to replace it. But otherwise, we have had mostly speedy surfing, with very little downtime. And being a local company, they are usually easy to work with. Power draw of the wireless system is 1 to 2 watts. Over a typical day of turning the system on first thing in the morning, using it for about 5 hours off and on, with it in standby or hibernation the rest of the time (about 7 to 8 hours), the total watt-hours used is 84. That?s equivalent to about 25 minutes use of the desktop system! If it is on standby, the C-400 comes back to full use in a few seconds. From jcea at argo.es Wed Aug 21 13:55:52 2002 From: jcea at argo.es (Jesus Cea Avion) Date: Wed Aug 21 13:55:52 2002 Subject: [Domotica] Revista interesante Message-ID: <3D637F9F.74BC0591@argo.es> Para curisear de vez en cuando: http://homepower.com/ -- Jesus Cea Avion _/_/ _/_/_/ _/_/_/ jcea at argo.es http://www.argo.es/~jcea/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/_/_/_/ PGP Key Available at KeyServ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ "Things are not so easy" _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ "My name is Dump, Core Dump" _/_/_/ _/_/_/ _/_/ _/_/ "El amor es poner tu felicidad en la felicidad de otro" - Leibniz From jcea at argo.es Thu Aug 22 15:42:14 2002 From: jcea at argo.es (Jesus Cea Avion) Date: Thu Aug 22 15:42:14 2002 Subject: [Domotica] Reproductor MP3 en formato "cassette" Message-ID: <3D64E9EB.2DCA0E82@argo.es> Una virger?a. S?lo se le echa de menos a) Radio b) m?s memoria c) m?s autonom?a d) Un precio m?s razonable Lo de la radio es opcional, porque lo que yo har?a ser?a meter ese reproductor DENTRO de Walkman, que ya tiene radio :-p. Por lo dem?s, un diez a la idea :-) http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/08/13/1733251&mode=thread&tid=137 http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techreviews/products/2002-08-12-spotlight-mp3_x.htm http://www.digisette.com/DUODX/Index.html -- Jesus Cea Avion _/_/ _/_/_/ _/_/_/ jcea at argo.es http://www.argo.es/~jcea/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/_/_/_/ PGP Key Available at KeyServ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ "Things are not so easy" _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ "My name is Dump, Core Dump" _/_/_/ _/_/_/ _/_/ _/_/ "El amor es poner tu felicidad en la felicidad de otro" - Leibniz From rnogueira at dinaweb.com Thu Aug 22 15:51:11 2002 From: rnogueira at dinaweb.com (Ramom Nogueira Dinaweb Networks) Date: Thu Aug 22 15:51:11 2002 Subject: [Domotica] unsubscribe In-Reply-To: <3D64E9EB.2DCA0E82@argo.es> Message-ID: -----Mensaje original----- De: domotica-admin at argo.es [mailto:domotica-admin at argo.es]En nombre de Jesus Cea Avion Enviado el: jueves, 22 de agosto de 2002 15:41 Para: nosotros at argo.es; domotica at argo.es Asunto: [Domotica] Reproductor MP3 en formato "cassette" Una virger?a. S?lo se le echa de menos a) Radio b) m?s memoria c) m?s autonom?a d) Un precio m?s razonable Lo de la radio es opcional, porque lo que yo har?a ser?a meter ese reproductor DENTRO de Walkman, que ya tiene radio :-p. Por lo dem?s, un diez a la idea :-) http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/08/13/1733251&mode=thread&tid=137 http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techreviews/products/2002-08-12-spotlight-mp3_x .htm http://www.digisette.com/DUODX/Index.html -- Jesus Cea Avion _/_/ _/_/_/ _/_/_/ jcea at argo.es http://www.argo.es/~jcea/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/_/_/_/ PGP Key Available at KeyServ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ "Things are not so easy" _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ "My name is Dump, Core Dump" _/_/_/ _/_/_/ _/_/ _/_/ "El amor es poner tu felicidad en la felicidad de otro" - Leibniz _______________________________________________ Domotica mailing list Domotica at argo.es http://mailman.argo.es/listinfo/domotica From jcea at argo.es Thu Aug 22 16:29:13 2002 From: jcea at argo.es (Jesus Cea Avion) Date: Thu Aug 22 16:29:13 2002 Subject: [Domotica] unsubscribe References: Message-ID: <3D64F546.F635EA74@argo.es> Ramom Nogueira Dinaweb Networks wrote: Todos los mensajes de la lista tienen un pi? de p?gina que te manda a un web. En ese web te puedes desuscribir, si tienes tu clave de suscripci?n. Dicha clave te llega autom?ticamente una vez al mes. Si no la recuerdas, espera a que te vuelva a llegar, o usa el web para pedir que te la mande de nuevo. -- Jesus Cea Avion _/_/ _/_/_/ _/_/_/ jcea at argo.es http://www.argo.es/~jcea/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/_/_/_/ PGP Key Available at KeyServ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ "Things are not so easy" _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ "My name is Dump, Core Dump" _/_/_/ _/_/_/ _/_/ _/_/ "El amor es poner tu felicidad en la felicidad de otro" - Leibniz From rnogueira at dinaweb.com Thu Aug 22 16:33:04 2002 From: rnogueira at dinaweb.com (Ramom Nogueira Dinaweb Networks) Date: Thu Aug 22 16:33:04 2002 Subject: [Domotica] unsubscribe In-Reply-To: <3D64F546.F635EA74@argo.es> Message-ID: Gracias Jesus y disculpa ;-) _________________________________ Ram?m Nogueira Vidal C.E.O. Voz +34 902 014 945 E-mail rnogueira at dinaweb.com ------------------------------------------------------------- Dinaweb Networks sl Rua das Orfas 27 15703 Santiago de Compostela A Coru?a Gz Sp UE Voz +34 902 014 945 GMT+1 E-mail info at dinaweb.com ------------------------------------------------------------- www.dinaweb.com www.dinahosting.com www.u-lo.com www.mercalar.com __________________________________ -----Mensaje original----- De: domotica-admin at argo.es [mailto:domotica-admin at argo.es]En nombre de Jesus Cea Avion Enviado el: jueves, 22 de agosto de 2002 16:29 Para: domotica at argo.es Asunto: Re: [Domotica] unsubscribe Ramom Nogueira Dinaweb Networks wrote: Todos los mensajes de la lista tienen un pi? de p?gina que te manda a un web. En ese web te puedes desuscribir, si tienes tu clave de suscripci?n. Dicha clave te llega autom?ticamente una vez al mes. Si no la recuerdas, espera a que te vuelva a llegar, o usa el web para pedir que te la mande de nuevo. -- Jesus Cea Avion _/_/ _/_/_/ _/_/_/ jcea at argo.es http://www.argo.es/~jcea/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/_/_/_/ PGP Key Available at KeyServ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ "Things are not so easy" _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ "My name is Dump, Core Dump" _/_/_/ _/_/_/ _/_/ _/_/ "El amor es poner tu felicidad en la felicidad de otro" - Leibniz _______________________________________________ Domotica mailing list Domotica at argo.es http://mailman.argo.es/listinfo/domotica From jcea at argo.es Fri Aug 30 19:25:13 2002 From: jcea at argo.es (Jesus Cea Avion) Date: Fri Aug 30 19:25:13 2002 Subject: [Domotica] Reconfigurable, Modular Dream Home Message-ID: <3D6FAAA1.849FC4E2@argo.es> http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/08/28/1928220 http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/ptech/08/28/cyberhome/index.html -- Jesus Cea Avion _/_/ _/_/_/ _/_/_/ jcea at argo.es http://www.argo.es/~jcea/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/_/_/_/ PGP Key Available at KeyServ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ "Things are not so easy" _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ "My name is Dump, Core Dump" _/_/_/ _/_/_/ _/_/ _/_/ "El amor es poner tu felicidad en la felicidad de otro" - Leibniz