Nofuture.org.uk
For the things in life which make me glad I'm not dead yet.
Defeating Disney DRM
August 11, 2013
I've been busy converting my 800+ DVD collection to mkv and sticking them on my NAS over the past 6 months. DVDFab has handled pretty much everything I've thrown at it, however it didn't like the Disney X-project DRM.
It took a little research, there are plenty of commercial products that can get around this DRM, but I've already spent enough money buying all these DVDs I'm determined that my ripping software will be zero-cost.
What would we do about it?
Professor Bernard Quatermass: The will to survive is an odd phenomenon. Roney, if we found out our own world was doomed, say by climatic changes, what would we do about it?
Dr. Mathew Roney: Nothing, just go on squabbling like usual.
Professor Bernard Quatermass: Yes, but if we weren't men?
– Quatermass and the Pit (1967), Nigel Kneale
On Ambition
Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy.
– Edgar Bergen
Resetting CEC on PlayStation 3
July 13, 2013
by Dave
in Tech Stuff
A few days ago CEC (Bravia Sync if you prefer Sony's branding) stopped working on my PlayStation 3, the device wouldn't even show up as a player in the device list on my TV (Sony BRAVIA 46W905A). After much head scratching and attempts to fix it through the TV settings and plugging/unplugging of cables I finally found a way to get it operational again by resetting the PS3's display settings.
Easier
July 9, 2013
Computers make it easier to do a lot of things, but most of the things they make it easier to do don't need to be done.
– Andy Rooney
“Keep Unread” in Tiny Tiny RSS
June 30, 2013
by Dave
in Tech Stuff
It's rare I sign up to forums, but every now and again I find a reason to do so. I've been using tt-rss ever since Google announced the closure of Google Reader many months ago. It's a great piece of software that met nearly all my requirements for an RSS reader. However there was one ommision that broke my usual workflow.
Removing embedded subtitles from Matroska files
June 8, 2013
by Dave
in Tech Stuff
Removing "soft" subtitles (where the subtitles are not part of the actual video stream) is a piece of cake when using MKVToolNix. MKVToolNix is a set of tools to create, alter and inspect Matroska files under Linux, other Unices and Windows.
On Having a Positive Attitude
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
– Herm Albright
2012-2013 Season: Progress?
With three games still to go (a Merseyside derby plus two very winnable games against Fulham and QPR) we've already matched last season's points tally and more importantly have scored 20 more goals than last season. Not bad for a "transitional year". Our goal difference in the last two seasons was +15 and +7, so this season we have a better goal difference than those two season's combined.
I’m Not Addicted
Few things make me feel as old as when I think about just how old some of the video games I remember from my youth are now ...