Unlike, most people in America I was really excited about the digital tv swich that finally took place on June 12th.  My excitement stemmed from the fact that I have abandoned traditional video delivery services such as cable and satellite.  My main reason is cost and duplication.  Many of the programs me and my wife view are on network television and or available on DVD from Netflix.   Using our high speed internet connection we regularly stream from sites like hulu and use the netflix online via the xbox 360.  However, every now and then we get the urge to watch something live.  In the past that meant dealing with fuzzy rabbit ears or more technically Over the Air (OTA) broadcast signals.   With the digital transition complete all of my programming is in High Definition and Crystal Clear!

However to get there required some minimal upgrades.  I needed a bigger antenna and one that ideally recieved all my local stations without using rotators or other wacky hardware.  I also wanted something that was of better quality then your standard settop rabbit ears.

I went to www.solidsignal.com and they were quite helpful in designing a solution that would fit my specific home and its surrounding geography.  This was incredibly important to me because I didn’t want to spend days tirelessly googling all the technical specifications for all the various TV Antennas on the market.  They were able to use my address and location of my local TV towers to recommend a complete solution.  It included:

• Recommended TV Antenna
• Recommended Amplifier
• Recommended Mounting hardware for either Roof, Gable, Attic or Tower mounting
• Sent technical literature on how to properly install according to local codes
• Most importantly sent a quote for the system

All this was done through an email.  It took a couple days for one of there qualified technicians to return my request, but the wait was worth it.

In general, I was pleased with my experience with solid signal.  They shipped promptly and delivered a quality product.  Most importantly there technical assistance was superb and done in a none invasive low pressure manner.  Certainly beats going to your local big box retailer where the sales associate is not really knowledgeable and is only interested in selling a product on the shelf.

I highly recommend checking them out for any of your OTA TV antenna needs.  They also offer products for satellite programming and cellular repeaters.  I know some of you guys out there are fighting with poor AT&T reception on your iphones, they may offer you a good cellular repeater.

Anyways its late

-L8r

So its been a while since i have posted anything.  I could post lots of excuses, but figure I would give Blogging a real honest effort again.

The Big event of today appears to have been the Iphone 3.0 update.  From my perspective I was not entirely excited about it because i am a lowely touch user.  The OS by itself was less than appealing.  However, the applications that will be developed because of the unlocked bluetooth radio, will be interesting.  I tried to sync with my bluetooth in my Mac but apparently the Ipod Touch does not have any file transfer profile loaded.  Silly me, I should have known better.

However what did have me all geeked out was MLB 2009.  This application has got to be the best applicaiton in the app store for Ipod/Iphone users.  Even if you are not a sports fan you have got to appreciate what it offers.

• Live game tracking for all Games
• Live Game Audio from visiting and home teams for all All Games
• After the game is finished, View a consolidated replay of the whole game. ( basically shows you the key plays without the non sense of the picture scratching himself)
• General MLB Video Highlights
• Up to Date Standings
• And the Latest feature.  Live Game Video for Select Games.

All this for 9.95 Considering that cable or satellite will try and charge upwards of 80 bucks for the package.  I think its a fantastic deal for the busy fan.

Now my only gripe is that to view live game video you have to have location services enabled.  Apparently they use your GPS or Wifi to determine your location so they can determine blackout restrictions.   The only reason that is an issue is because you have to register your home router with skyhook. Apparently, they don’t rush to enter your information either.  So i need to wait at least a week or more before location services work.  Until then I can only imagine what live video will be like on the touch.

Feature wise,  I haven’t seen much that makes me go ..OH WOW.   I suppose if I get a pair of headphones with the mic built in, the memo application could be useful.  Until then, I will explore and review and see how it grows on me

-L8r

Found this video posted on Cnet which is ultimately hosted by youtube.  I couldn’t agree more with the video.

Phew! Persistence, and good problem solving skills pay off. I fixed my compusa psycho computer refurbishment. There is a lot to be said for going to bed and coming back to a problem. With a fresh mind I started to walk back through the debug tools, and i relized that if I had a memory failure that odds are that at least one module is still good. It would take something really catastrophic to kill both DDR modules. Fortunately, I was right and wrong. I was right that I didn’t have a memory failure, but wrong to assume to look in the memory circuit. Turns out I just didn’t have the processor seated well. It is an easy mistake to make. The huge heat sink masks the fact that the processor was just not seated properly. Pull the CPU out and put it back in and viola! The hole thing showed me that i really could never be a mac user. I just enjoy electronics too much to let someone build it for me. Now if i ever need the services of another laptop, well . . . . Ill then consider. We’ll I still need to get a new mainboard to fit in the MicroATX case, but at least i know everything else is in good shape.

However, this leaves the question how many times have you left a project in frustration and come back later only to solve your problem, or overcome writer’s block? There is a lot to be said about rest and how important it is.

Next update: My story of firewire observations….I think it can be made a DIY project.

So this story starts with a little insight on me. I am an impulse buyer. If you stick me in a electronics store that is having clearance sales and you are going to see one crazy shopping man. So….. as you might be aware Comp USA is doing a huge store closing and going out of business. This made for the perfect storm. My wife was not with me to protect me from myself and so I came home with all sorts of computer electronics that were “on sale” . I saved us sooo much money. I dont think she was amused by this. I did good, I bought a new case some fans and 330ft USB Bluetooth dongle. The goal of my project was to refurbish my desktop and clean it up with a new case and some new fans that didnt make so much noise and emit strange blue glows. I had honest intentions. Well……..silly me in my crazed shopping got a Micro ATX case instead of a ATX case. … opps…. Of course all sales are final, and I couldn’t return them. I figure this out halfway through my PC assembling extravaganza. Hmmmmm it dont fit…….. Well this started a huge quandary do i try and make it fit? or do i just get a new board from ebay. I decided to do the later. However in my impatience I decided to try and make it fit too. Now I KNOW BETTER. I deal with these types of electronics on a daily basis. I KNOW better than to try and make it fit. But the phyco delusions of fixing the mess i created only created … a bigger mess. Folks it was like watching a train wreck. I was obsessed, must fix must fix… So i confiscate my wifes ironing board, bring the rest of the computer stuff from the office to the Kitchen table and…well their you go. I have now a busted computer with new parts. I know have to order a new mother board and ram and ect…because i did Static Damage to something. Sigh….. one day i will learn.

Twitter version:

I broke my computer.

So i was reinstalling Itunes, and I just had to notice WHOA! that application is huge! to put in perspective. Firefox is about 5MB, Openoffice is about 150MB, and Winamp is 8MB. I have no idea what is going on over at apple but this is ridiculous. The application is meant to play music. What in the world needs 51.8MB to play music. And just a side note, it is highly annoying that every time this blasted program needs an update I have to re download the entire thing. At least with windows updates, all i have to do is download a patch. Maybe in OS X its not so bad, maybe it patches instead of re install the whole blasted application.

Are you tired of the fascist, slightly communistic white, aluminum or rarely spoken about black apple laptop? Be a rebel! Revolt! and these people can help you break out of your endless streak of hopeless conformity!

www.colorwarepc.com

it wasnt a 450 dollar mod I’d consider.

I’d have to admit over the past couple of years I have been very cautious about purchasing items from ebay.  Mainly because you are never sure what you are getting, and the shipping consitancy from one seller to the next has always been sketch.  Not to mention there are lots of people out there just trying to scam you and make a dishonest buck.  But looking around the house I notice lots of junk that i know i can sell to someone on ebay.  As a seller i dont feel quite as tepid.    The goal of my latest ebay spree is to sell all the junk in the office that i dont use and i know that i will never use.  This way i can free up the space and you never know do something with that money that is more valuable.  We shall see how this adventure goes.

I was tipped off at church to this amazing little website.   OpenDNS is a portal that connects you to servers that basically transform that www address you type into the actual binary web address of the computer you are trying to reach.  You internet provider does this for you when you connect to them, but many do it poorly.   I had no idea how poorly my web provider did this.  I was confused at how slow my internet functioned.  I would always see transfer rates that went in line with the service I paid for but everything took forever to resolve and come up.  Turns out changing my DNS server fixed a lot of that.  My meager 512K connection screams away and brings web pages in focus so much faster.  Its like re discovering broadband Internet.

If the terms DNS server confused you wikipedia has a great article that can explain it much better than I.  I linked it here

Been searching for Dual monitor backgrounds. I usually go for things with nice panoramic views of places I wish i was at. I instead found this sheep wallpaper.

Which Sheep are you?