We're Outnumbered, 2:1, not Counting the Microwave

There are no CRTs in our house any longer. A few months ago I took the last ones to the electronics recycling center. Couldn't give away a 17" CRT on craigslist nor freecycle.

Actually, that's not quite true. There is one old G3 iMac DV/SE that is unplugged and on the floor waiting for a data dump (next to a Kodak slide projector, waiting for same). Nonetheless, even discounting the comatose iMac, I count the blinkers and the breathers and "we" are outnumbered. Our home has a 2:1 computer/human ratio. That is, if you do count smart phones and do not count the Roomba robot (nor DVR, MP3 players, Amana, Kenmore, et al.). Include anything with a microchip in the census and, well, that war was lost a decade ago, I'm sure. Today that would include picture frames and light bulbs in addition to clock radios and automobiles.

Back to the things with keyboards/pads, and I note that in the Great Platform War we're divided on our systems 3/3 PC v. Mac. It tips 4/3 to the Mac if you count my iPhone as the Youngest One's Samsung smart phone is neither. Cheryl & I have our Macs from work, and we've a flat-panel iMac (largely unused) in the family room. The third Win platform (apart from the girls' laptops) is the Media PC hooked to the big screen for movies and gaming (aka The Stone Soup Blu-Ray Player), which is now running Win7 RC.

The shift to LCDs over CRTs was over before everyone in the house went to the blissful portability of a laptop. We also have 3 additional desktop PCs and their LCD screens unplugged and unused. While the girls shifted over to their laptops fairly readily, I believe it was the gradual decay of the desktop PCs--driven perhaps by malware?--that caused, one day, the switch to be left off. That, and unless you're gaming, or doing video-editing, there really isn't anything a laptop can't do that a desktop can't. Maybe the Youngest One would launch Hulu onto her 19" LCD desktop screen--but that's really a question of usable distance v. using the laptop's 5" smaller screen.

Three standalone inkjet printers tethered to those desktops and a flatbed scanner were replaced by one multifunction network printer last Xmas. You know, as I ponder it, the desktop as a USB printer host may have been the true anchor for those machines. Up until the network printer came online we were almost a "one person, one printer" household. I'd leave one desktop in the family room on with a shared USB printer, but the girls each had their own. Multiple printers, unless they're specialized (e.g., for photo printing, large format, duplex, etc.) aren't really economical. Especially if the host PC has to be on for them to work. Wireless network printing is the only way to fly.

As long as I'm describing the compute devices that don't have keyboards, I suppose I must include the Linksys/Cicsco NAS, with 2TB store--seemed like a good idea at the time, but has turned out to be a struggle. It doesn't appear that you can yet go DIY on a cheap NAS unless you hack the onboard linux kernel. Seems you only get a decent OS out of the box when you spend >$1k. The management UI is okay, but it just doesn't appear on the network from most devices. Interestingly, Win7 Media Player sees the media server library just fine, but Win 7 Media Center does not. Yep. Same machine, same network, same vendor. Different apps behaving differently.
From other Win systems or the Macs, only the FTP is available. The SMB/Wins hosts don't respond.

The sturdy WRT54G Wireless router has been serving yeoman duty, but is getting a bit long in the tooth. With Hulu in wide use in the house, and Netflix on Demand, the laptops and Media PC really need wireless-N. But what's surprising to me is that we have to have 10 ports open (and no, haters, the default "admin" is not the logon :^P ). The aforementioned laptops + Media PC + iMac, two smart phones w/wifi, our wireless "barn cam", and the printer. We had the barn cam port-forwarded to a DDNS server while the baby lambs were in the barn, but its been silent for a while. I'll have to set it up as a weathercam or something until it is next pressed into nursery duty.

I Hadn't done that kind of inventory in a while; I never would have guessed at that topology even five years ago. While we don't have exotic tech like a head-end 19" rack for our NAS, the need is also obviated by a reliance on wireless. There's a total of maybe 6' of Cat-5 in the whole house. I keep a spare line hanging off the router encase I need to reconfig, and the NAS is on a hardline as well.

Amazingly, the tech support load is low. Everyone is largely self-sufficient (the wireless/LAN printer driver addition to all computers was the most recent Big Change). That may be because I'm less available (or interested) in jumping into the fray when a small issue arises. And 7+ years with WinXP and OS/X breeds familiarity to the quirks and reset paths. The NAS is more a long-term project at this point as I return to poke at it when I think of it. I sometimes unplug it just because the fan is loud. Router or cable bridge reboots are rare.

Indeed, the only time all that tech causes me concern is when I get up at night for a glass of water and see all the LEDs blinking at me from various shelves and tables. The slow throb of an Apple notebook heartbeat light while it is asleep is kinda creepy. I've always said that as long as they have plugs, we'll still be in-control. Recharge over a wireless network? Not in my house. And if I ever hear the Roomba start up in the middle of the night on its own... Hmm. Maybe I'll put the wireless web cam to watching the Roomba in its dock. Just in case.