ATI from AMD - TV wonder tuners

http://www.amd.com/us/products/pctv/tv-wonder-tuners/Pages/tv-wonder-hd-650-combo-usb-for-mac.aspx

Available for Mac & PC. There are multiple vendors for PC (including HP, Dell)

Comcast M-Card support HD

1. DCH 3200 Comcast user guide; DCH 3200R
2. DCX 3200
3. DCH 6416
4. DCH 3416; DCH 3416R
5. DCX3400
6. Pace RNG 110

cablecard - HDTV

Comcast offers cablecard free that can be used on "Digital TV Ready" TV.

I need to take back the previous statement. See article

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fasterforward/2010/10/fcc_fixes_cablecard_rules_cabl.html

FCC fixes CableCard rules; CableCard market likely to stay broken

You won't have to sit around your house waiting for the cable guy to pop a CableCard into your TiVo, under regulations approved by the Federal Communications Commission today. The FCC's rules will also require that cable companies clearly document their CableCard options and provide the same channel lineup to subscribers who rent their own boxes and those who buy other vendors' CableCard-compatible devices.

But don't think that today's rulings will yield a greater selection of cable-compatible hardware anytime soon.

The FCC's actions, as outlined in a press release (PDF) and documented in a 59-page filing (PDF), attempt to fix long-running problems with CableCard. This technology, developed a decade ago, miniaturized the security and authentication features of the cable box into a card you could pop into any compatible TV or video recorder.

The idea was to allow the cable-TV hardware business to function like a normal electronics market: Instead of being limited to devices offered by your cable operator, you could buy the gadget of your choice and then pick a service.

But cable operators failed to support CableCard in practice, insteadcontinuing to push their own boxes and DVRs. Manufacturers, in turn, backed away from the technology after seeing poor sales. The FCC's 2007 requirement that cable operators use CableCards in their own products failed to budge things.

(The Washington Post Co. owns a cable service, CableOne; I have no idea what its management thinks about this issue and don't particularly care, as it doesn't provide service anywhere near the Washington area.)

At this point, you don't need the fingers of one hand to count your CableCard options: There are TiVo's DVRs, Moxi's lesser-known recorders, Ceton's computer add-on ... and then nothing, as far as I can tell.

But CableCard can still work fine when properly supported--as I found out last Christmas, when my in-laws got a new TiVo HD. Since Comcast allows Bay Area customers to "self-install" CableCards, all my father-in-law had to do was pick up a card at the local Comcast office, pop it into the TiVo and call up Comcast to read off some numbers on the TV's screen. HIs setup can't get Comcast's video-on-demand programming--a generic limitation of CableCard systems, since they can't tie into interactive cable offerings--but I have yet to hear him say "we miss the old cable box."

The FCC's action should ensure that every cable subscriber--as well as customers of Verizon's Fios TV, which is classified as a cable service--can get that experience by nine months from now. (Comcast spokeswoman Sena Fitzmaurice wrote that the Philadelphia-based company had already been working to make self-install the standard and so expected that effort to be "substantially completed in the first quarter of next year," well before the FCC's deadline.)

It may also help more people discover that CableCards exist and can save them money.

But it won't breathe any new life into the market for cable-compatible hardware. Electronics manufacturers have largely written off CableCard; TiVo essentially owns that market, even though I regularly hear from readers who don't care for TiVo's monthly service fees.

Meanwhile, the FCC's rules don't affect satellite TV services, which have shown even less interest than cable operators in opening up their hardware business to outside competitors.

The only real hope lies not in CableCard or an upgraded but largely ignored cable standards initiative called tru2way, but in the FCC's proposal for a universal interface that currently goes by the name AllVid. But that is years from resulting in hardware we can buy and use with any TV service: cable, satellite or fiber.

So for those who don't want to pay the TiVo tax, it will be cable boxes as usual. I wish I could be more optimistic, but I've seen this movie too many times; I know how it ends.

Are you expecting a different ending? Tell me in the comments what I'm overlooking.

By Rob Pegoraro | October 14, 2010; 6:33 PM ET

10 waterfalls in single park - Oragon

This is bit too far from San Jose (near Salem, OR)

http://www.oregonstateparks.org/images/pdf/silverfalls_trailmap.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Falls_State_Park

catsone clients list

"Password Retriever" site:catsone.com/careers

1. http://www.cbsinfosys.com/
2. http://redolentech.com/
3. http://www.tricitywellness.com/

iPhone Apps

1. slideGrabber
2. TV Guide
3. Vonage
4. CrunchMap
5. E*Trade
6. Messenger
7. PeriodicTable
8. Tirukkural
9. Bible
10. SF Way
11. Chess Free
12. Contacts+
13. NPR News
14. LinkedIn
15. Y! Finance
16. KARAJAN
17. Relative Pitch
18. VNC
19. Connect4
20. Tirukkural (2?)
21. Unit Conversion
22. Evernote
23. GPSLite
24. Public Radio
25. iWant

iPhone web/ app ideas

iPhone apps ideas

1. Thirukkural (Books)
2. Name of Tamilnadu places
3. Schedules - bus, train, flight (preferably - status, reservations)
4. PIN / STD codes
5. Places/Points of interest
6. temple list
7. classified advertisements
8. 
   

Pay Day and Direct Deposit - some info

1. Each employer has their own pay cycle. They can pay 2 times a month or monthly.
1. The pay cycle is legally required to be informed to ALL the employees. Usually, this information is posted in the coffee break area (a big poster - with the date written by hand).
2. Asking about your pay is just a normal question - should not feel shy/bad to ask.
1. If you feel bad/shy to ask, you probably should not be working for the employer. Seriously, there are other difficult/hard things that can happen in employment - if you cant even ask what's the status of your pay, how can you deal with much difficult situations?
2. It is YOUR hard earned money that you are giving on "LOAN" for your employer. So, asking about the status of your pay is legal and is usual.
3. Some hourly payments, the cut off date for each pay period can be different for the actual pay.
1. If the pay day is the first of the month, the cut off day might be 26th of the previous month (or 5 business days).
2. Getting accounts and cutting checks take physical time. Some times this is done by third party and the paper work (including checks) has to be sent across physically
3. This cut off date can be announced or need not be
4. Direct deposit can take up to 3 pay cycles for it to actually go through.
1. Until this happens, you will get a physical check.
2. Checks can be handed to you in person or sent be snail mail
5. Even if pay is sent through direct deposit, they still owe you pay stub. This is legal document you can use to tell some one that you are getting paid (like bank or loans)