I just heard a rumor
About a special deal from DirecTV for a $299 Hughes HR10-250 HiDef DVR plus a $100 mail-in rebate. Well, there I go again, making this a "what I want to buy" post. Oh well. I'll post an update/response to this if calling the DirecTV customer retention center at 1-800-600-8977 does any good. A call to customer service already resulted in a flat denial and feigned ignorance of any such offer.

I've also heard that DirecTV is planning to roll out MPEG4 encoding and will be upgrading all hardware soon. This should allow them to have more bandwidth for more HD programming, I assume.

My current DirecTIVO (series 2 standard def unit) that I have hacked and used for almost a year now just had problems. I swapped back to the original drive image and it booted up ok, and then I forced an update (2 hour down load over the phone). I went from version 3.1.1b-02-2-301 to 6.2-01-2-301. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how to hack this version. The latest info I have for hacking is for 4.0.

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- posted by Jeff @ 12:25 AM | 1 comments

 
I just realized...
I should probably change the name of this page to "What I've Bought Recently", rather than just "Jeff McClain's Home Page". That sucks...I'll have to start posting more stuff than just what I'm buying. Guess I'm a pure consumer...grin.
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- posted by Jeff @ 7:57 PM | 0 comments

 
2006 KTM 525EXC
While riding my 1994 YZ-250 about a month ago, I ended up chipping one of the gears in the transmission (I think) and locking it up, HARD. I almost ate it bad, since I was doing >70mph at the time. Engine still turns over very well, but there is certainly problems in the transmission. I could dig into it, split the case and spend some money on a new WR transmission and all the seals (but I should probably replace the piston too, as long as I'm at it...and then I probably should go through all the bearings in the suspension again, and new reeds, oh, and I need a new tire, chain and sproket). So, after that $1000, I'd still be sitting with a 12 year old bike. So, I've really wanted a KTM 525EXC ever since my buddy, Curt Jones, got one a couple years ago and I had a chance to ride it. Now, both my Dad and Uncle have 2005 KTM 525EXC's and they sure are nice.

So, I talked it over with Sarah, and started looking for a new bike. The 2006's are shipping just now, and while not much is changed, it is about all that you can find, as these KTM's sell pretty well, and most 2005's are long gone. I did bid on a couple new 2005's on Ebay, but it made me a little nervous for that much money, and the couple I bid on, I didn't get good communication back from the seller (plus, I still have to pay taxes and title to get it registered in Idaho and S&H). Anyway, the new 2006 KTM 525EXC's retail for $7789. Ouch. Still, they command the price, because they are good. My Dad pointed me to Lets Ride, in Burley, ID, where he bought his 2005. I called them up, and the guy was pretty nice and really willing to work with me to get what I wanted. Nick shot me a pretty straight deal at $7200 for a new 2006 (one of the few dealers that actually HAVE any even in yet, let alone willing to come down from the retail price). After figuring I could go with the 6 month no payments deal from KTM, and going over some add-ons I wanted (GPR steering stabilizer, Acerbis Rally Pro brush guards, a taller/softer seat foam, and skid plate), I asked him to get it ready for me. Hopefully, I'll like it (I can't imagine I won't). I sure don't like the pumpkin orange color. The 2006 frame is black and in a year or two, I may swap out the plastics for something red or blue. Get a little larger tank along the way. Shrug.

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- posted by Jeff @ 6:34 PM | 2 comments

 
New Dell Computer
Got a new Dell 9100 3.0GHz Intel P4 64-bit processor based system with a 20" wide screen LCD for the wife for around $900, counting S&H and tax. That is pretty impressive. And the thing is QUIET. Wow. This allowed me to free up some of her aging hardware (and replace the Windows ME that she has been running) for my Mame Cabinet. And we now need to cobble together a system for our boys to use, since all the stuff Riley plays with ends up screwing up her computer.

I also have the 19" Hitachi monitor that we got for Sarah a while back, and it is so big, that I just don't think it will work very well in Riley's bedroom. So, I'm really tempted to just sell it and buy another even cheaper $499 Dell system with a 17" LCD...

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- posted by Jeff @ 6:49 AM | 1 comments