Nashville Marriott at Vanderbilt University
2555 West End Ave, Nashville, TN
On This Day
2555 West End Ave, Nashville, TN
If you are a person that gets carsick when they look at their phone, try out the iOS “Vehicle Motion Cues” feature in Accessibility > Motion. It puts these little dots on the screen when it detects that you’re in the car and it magically eliminates motion sickness. Seriously.
1 Terminal Dr, Nashville, TN
F1 climbs to the speedy hills of the Red Bull Ring, but first we need to clear up some Monaco business. Or at least try to. SHOW NOTES The...
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Concourse A, Salt Lake City, UT
Gronk as labor iconCoyote Negroni SeasonSorsby Industries Scorned(sby)Our opponents don’t want to build thunder mountainsHere’s what bothers us...
Kevin Magnussen yeeting rednecks into walls in NASCAR is 100% my jam. Put the man in a monster truck rally and a tractor pull next. Instant TV magic.
We’re back! This weekend is setting up to be a hugely interesting one in Austria, so let’s get into some predictions - including a truly...
Terminal 3, Sky Way, Los Angeles, CA
1 World Way, Los Angeles, CA
Off to the east coast to speak at an event
Will the House Settlement Bring Bagmen Back? Plus More Offseason News By Split Zone Duo: College Football Podcast
D-Money and Peter Ariz discuss the HUGE commitment of Ezekiel Marcelin to Miami. Plus, the Canes are trending in the right direction with multiple...
Chapter 8 - As sales of D&D continue to skyrocket, tensions between the designers and upper management reach a boiling point. The employees turn...
Chapter 7 - New divisions emerge within the company. Gary’s camp includes his wife, his kids, and a cadre of executives and freelance designers...
Vision vs. vision, AR privacy considerations, a good tech week in the Liss household, and a not-so-good one for the Arments. By Accidental Tech...
This post originally appeared in my Techish newsletter on LinkedIn.
This year, the LaCour family embarked upon a major home renovation, updating the main bedroom and creating an amazing home theater. While I was happy about the improvements to the bedroom, I'll be honest, the home theater was definitely the most exciting to me.
Fast forward to the end of our renovation, and we have an awesome place for the family to snuggle up and watch movies, or to catch a F1 race (Forza Ferrari!) with thundering sound on a big screen. Yet, the very first time my wife sat down to use the theater on her own, I got an annoyed text message: "Ugh, Jonathan, WHY do we have SO MANY remote controls?!"
In my experience, there is no greater spark for innovation than an annoyed spouse. To her credit, my wife was absolutely right – we had way too many remote controls. Six, to be precise. Yes, I know, I have a problem.
My first instinct was to find a "universal remote," but the market is filled with ugly, difficult to use, under-featured options that wouldn't really make life any easier. So, I asked my wife: what is the best remote control you've ever used? She didn't hesitate: "our old TiVo remote control."
When TiVo was first introduced nearly 25 years ago, it was a revolutionary concept. I remember the delightful experience of creating a "season pass" to my favorite show, LOST, and knowing that every week, I'd be able to sit down and enjoy an episode, zipping through the commercials.
While TiVo has faded into history with the rise of streaming services and pervasive "DVR" capabilities, its remote control, affectionately called "the peanut," is still a thing of legend. With its distinctive shape and smart button layout, it won awards for its ergonomic design.
Now, I was presented with a challenge. How could I replace six modern remotes and replicate my wife's experience with a non-programmable remote that has been out of production for ten years?
My first order of business was acquiring an old TiVo Peanut. Over the years, TiVo produced many different versions, but their "last hurrah" was the TiVo Slide Pro, released back in 2013. The Slide Pro slides open to reveal a full qwerty keyboard for text entry. More importantly, though, the TiVo Slide communicates to TiVo devices via RF (radio frequency), not IR (infrared).
RF is significantly more reliable than IR as it doesn't require a "line of sight" between the transmitter and the receiver. Late-generation TiVos featured built-in RF support, but older versions only supported IR. As a result, TiVo offered a dongle that plugged into the back of old TiVos via USB so they could use the Slide Pro.
I was able to score an unopened TiVo Slide Pro remote with a USB dongle for around $40. Once in hand, I made a discovery – in 2012, an enterprising developer added support for the TiVo RF dongle to the Linux kernel! So, I grabbed a spare Raspberry Pi 4, installed the latest version of Raspberry Pi OS, and plugged in the dongle.
After some tinkering, I was able to communicate with the dongle via the HID (Human Interface Device) API, capturing button presses, releases, and even the action of sliding the TiVo Slide Pro open and closed.
Next up, I needed to figure out how to communicate with all six devices in the theater:
For the Apple TV, there is an outstanding Apple TV Python library that offers complete control over the network. The Zidoo Z9X, Pioneer receiver, and Lutron lighting are all able to be controlled over the network using Home Assistant. To control the projector and ceiling fan, I purchased a Broadlink RM4 Pro device, which can transmit arbitrary RF/IR signals, and trained it with their existing remote controls.
With all of the tools I needed in hand, I set to work writing some code to put it all together into a usable solution, which I call PNut. I made it general purpose so that anyone can use it, but I also included my own PNut configuration for reference.
I've been using PNut now for a few weeks, and it's pretty wonderful to be able to pick up a single remote and use it to dim the lights, turn on my ceiling fan, power up the projector and receiver, and control my Apple TV to watch the latest episode of The Righteous Gemstones.
Oh, and I'm pleased to report that my wife isn't annoyed anymore. Well, at least not about the remote controls...
Peter Quill, still reeling from the loss of Gamora, must rally his team around him to defend the universe along with protecting one of their own. A mission that, if not completed successfully, could quite possibly lead to the end of the Guardians as we know them.
Watched on Trakt
Obi-Wan plans his next move as the Empire, closing in, tries to draw him out.
Watched on Trakt
Obi-Wan is drawn into a confrontation with Vader, as Luke's fate hangs in the balance.
Watched on Trakt
Alex and Richard spend 30-some minutes closing up last week’s realignment conversation and then diving into summer recruiting in an SZD way. We...
HomePod Mini vs. the world, the M2 MacBook “Pro”, CarPlay’s ambitious plans, and the state of SwiftUI. By Accidental Tech Podcast
Notes… Yet another discussion of Noah, History’s First Regretful Boat Owner The World Cup gives D.C. what it really craves: sports disappointment...
Ahead of Aamir’s wedding, Kamala may face grave consequences due to a crucial decision she makes.
Watched on Trakt
Alexis and Twyla go out for a girls' night; David gets a lesson on compromise.
Watched on Trakt
While Moira fears she is responsible for the death of a motel guest, David and Patrick decide to make their budding romance official.
Watched on Trakt
Johnny prepares himself after finding a positive pregnancy test; David and Patrick search for privacy.
Watched on Trakt
Moira prepares for her headline debut at the Asbestos Fest; David deals with some loitering teens in the apothecary.
Watched on Trakt
Competitors include Barclay Stockett, Mathis Kid Owhadi, Daniel Gil, and Olympian Jonathan Horton, who each face up to 6 challenging obstacles including the new “Diving Boards” and “Coconut Climb.”
Watched on Trakt
ANW brings the competition indoors for the first time ever in Seattle’s Tacoma Dome for the City Qualifying Round. Competitors face up to 6 challenging obstacles, including “Lunatic Ledges” and “Barrel Roll,” which are new to the course this year.
Watched on Trakt
Provided it makes it into the final edit, your hosts finally discuss the Japanese Moving Video. By Reconcilable Differences
IndieWeb par-tay — with Tantek, michelle
IndieBeers!
IWS part deux — with aaronpk
A science fiction fairytale about an extra-terrestrial who is left behind on Earth and is found by a young boy who befriends him. This heart-warming fantasy from Director Steven Spielberg became one of the most commercially successful films of all time.
Watched on Jonathan
IndieWeb Summit 2017!
