Home Theater PC – John’s Approach

This is the third in a series of blog posts about Home Theater Computers (aka HTPCs), where several Puget employees get a chance to explain their approach to home theater computing. My approach is distinctly different than the previous entries, which can be found here: Richard’s, William’s.

Windows 7 64-bit: Running 32-bit Applications

Windows 7 has taken root in the PC community over the last year, a great improvement from the little-liked Windows Vista, and we’ve made the 64-bit version the de facto standard on the computers we sell – to the point where we no longer even list the 32-bit version on our website. We can special-order it still, though, and I find that I am often asked by customers if they would be better off with that because they need to run older programs. This makes me think there may be some misunderstandings about 64-bit Windows out there, so let me set the record straight.

Home Theater PC – Richard’s Approach

This is the second in a series of blog posts about Home Theater Computers (aka HTPCs), where several Puget employees get a chance to explain their approach to home theater computing. You can read William’s entry here.

If I had to sum up the goals of my home theater with a single word, it would be “Convenience”. I actually don’t spent that much time in my living room, but when I do, I really want to minimize hassle. I don’t mind a lot of work setting things up the first time, but I just don’t want to waste my precious R&R time juggling five remotes, three pointing devices, and a keyboard.

Technology Primer – Power Supply Wattage and Efficiency

Power supplies are a critical piece of hardware in modern computers, but there are some aspects of them which aren’t well known or understood. This article will explain some of the less known aspects of power supplies, such as what wattage and efficiency ratings really mean, and what other factors you should consider when selecting a power supply for your next computer.

Upgrading my wireless network

In the Romero home we have three systems that heavily use the internet in one way or another, two of which are connected wirelessly. Our trusty Linksys WRT54G has been our gateway to the world wide web, but recently the router has been suffering as heavier loads have been put on it. With a subscription to Netflix and a Steam account playing those highly addictive online FPS’ games, the demand for internet among the three systems has become overwhelming, especially on the computers operating on wireless.

Home Theater PC – William’s Approach

This is the first in a series of blog posts about Home Theater Computers (aka HTPCs). It’s really neat to see how people approach their home theater experience differently, so several of us were asked to write about our setup, what we chose, and why we chose it.