End of an Era – Analog TV

Jun 13 2009 Published by under American Consumer, Changing scene, Goverment policy

Today June 12, 2009 is the end of the analog television era. Television, analog broadcasting as we knew it , was developed in the 1920s.  All analog broadcasting stops, in the United States, today June 12, 2009. President Obama delayed the transition early this year when he proposed the new transition date of June 12, 2009.

so if you switched on you older television set and got only snow it is time to buy a converter box or a new Digital television. All television broadcasting, after today June 12, 2009, must be digital.

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Final Countdown to Digital TV

Jun 02 2009 Published by under American Consumer, Future things

digitaltv

As of today June first, 2009 there are only twelve days left of analog television transmission. If you are not ready now you are out of time to get a government discount coupon. But you can still get a converter box. You’re just going to pay full price.

You will need a converter box if you are still receiving your television over an antenna. IF you are using a satellite dish, cable, internet or phone services to get your television you have nothing to worry about. You will see not anything difference or will not have any interruption Saturday morning June the thirteen.

The government has put together an extensive website www.dtv.gov with all kinds on helpful information on the fast approaching cutover date. They have, maps, troubleshooting guide, do it yourself info, transition statistics, DTV made easy section, Broadcasters Center, and a Media toolkit. All to help the America public make the change to digital television.

Digital Television is all most here, and it is about time.

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My top 10 computer geeks tips

Mar 28 2009 Published by under American Consumer, Geek stuff

Top 10 Computer Geeks tips:

geek_tips[1]

1. Make backups of all the stuff you cannot afford too loose. That includes your photos and music library.

2. IF it does not work re-boot. The majority of problems can be overcome by a simple reboot.

3. Save, save and save again. Do not expect me to be able to recover the project you been working on all day when windows hangs up. So when your working on a big project save it.

4. When saving your work create a separate version each time you save your work. This will allow you several restarting points if you screw up the file or if the one file you have is unreadable.

5. Do not forget your password. Passwords are secure, there are encryptions algorithms, systems and safeguards in place to make then nearly imposable to hack or recover a password.

6. If your hard drive fails and you did not do number one, you’re screwed. Data can sometimes be recovered but it is very expensive and time consuming.

7. Free down loads are not Free. You’re exposing your machine to the possibility of Virus, adware, spyware, Trojan horse etc…

8. Free software is not free. Some free software is a pain to install and configure. Don’t expect me to spend several hours installing and troubleshooting your free application software.

9. Just because you read it on the internet does not mean it is TRUE. Use your common sense and do a little research. Do not just blindly disseminate the false information to a 100 people via e-mail.

10. For fewer problems buy an apple computer.

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The truth about Digital Television

Mar 10 2009 Published by under American Consumer, Changing scene, Future things, Geek stuff

analog_tv3Will my Old fashion TV stop working and go black after June 12, 2009?
No and Yes.
No, If you are using a satellite service or Cable. You will see no change in your picture. Yes, If you are using rabbit ears or an outside antenna, your in trouble. Your TV will not display a picture.

I can only receive Digital Television content  on a NEW expensive HDTV device?
Not true.

You can receive the new Digital transmissions on your old fashion analog TV by using a “Converter Box”. The converter box receives a digital signal and converts the signal to analog so your old TV can display it.

So I Need a  “Converter Box”  and I will get  High Definition Television ?
Again No and Yes.

NO, you will not get a High definition 1080 picture on your old fashion TV. YES you will get a picture but, and it is a big but, your picture will be reformation and down graded to fit and display on your old fashion analog TV.

Digital television (DTV) and High Definition Television (HDTV) are the same thing?
False, No way!
Digital Television(DTV) is how the signal is broadcast vs. the old analog. Digital is just a bunch of ones and zeros being broadcasted and analog is a modulated wave signal. High Definition Television (HDTV) is based on a Digital signal, but is a higher resolution picture. Digital television is a picture defined as 480 lines of resolution. High Definition television it 720 or 1080 lines of resolution. So with HDTV you get a picture that is much cleared and finer detail.

So if you are using an old analog television, with an antenna, you must buy a converter box or a new digital television to watch over the air programs after June 12, 2009.

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Use your iPhone/iTouch as a universal remote

Jan 26 2009 Published by under Geek stuff

apex_connectFor months we have all been waiting on Steve Moore to release the airremote. Airremote is a cool software app that turns your iPhone or iTouch into a WiFi remote. The iTouch software communicates with Global Caches GC-100. The GC-100 is an Ethernet device that can output IR remote and RS232 commands. So that makes all your A/V hardware networkable. The end result is you can use your iTouch as a universal remote that can not only control all your AV gear but also your lights,  A/C and anything else that is part of your home automation. Plus you can use the Apple Remote  application to control your iTunes.

Now there is a second contender for our disposable income the Apex Connect product. The Apex Connect product line will consist of a iPhone/iTouch application and a proprietary pice of hardware. I would rather use and industry standard device like the Global Cache but for now the Apex connect has a direct connection to Z-Wave and INSTEON. The Global Cache would use the RS-232 port to make these (Z-Wave and INSTEON) connection. The RS-232 port is just a more universal communication option. The current published specks of the Apex Connect does not included an RS-232 connection. In my opinion and big mistake on Apex’s part. But the hardware has not shipped yet.

The Software for the Apex Connect product is available in the Apple Application store, for FREE now and has been since December 2008 (March 2009 the app is gone). The catch is … the hardware in not shipping until at least March 2009 and could be as late as the second half of 2009.

apex_connect_itouch[1]The problem now is, some of the reviewers do not get the concept and why the hardware in needed.  So the software is getting bad reviews. How can you review something that is not even a product yet. Who really has the hardware , is the hardwae in beta testing ? If it is I would sure like to be testing it. I think most of these reviewers, or I should be saying opinion givers,  think the software is for remote control of a MAC or PC. That is not the purpose of this application at all. The goal here is a WiFi Universal Remote that will control you Home theater, your TV , Your HVAC or your whole house. It has nothing to do with controlling you computer. When and if the Apex Connect makes it too market it will be a great product. But for now we are all just guessing  as we do not have the full product in hand. Not yet……….

March 12, 2009 update. Looks like a few more compaines have come into the game. Just today 3/12/09 Global Caché announced a partner product called CF iViewer that will communicate via the iPhone. Exceptional Home Automation International, Inc has published an IPhone app call iLoveControl It might be for non- Global Caché  hardware. Time will tell. Another product still under development is iMasterControl. Need to watch this one. This is going to be a fun market space to watch over the next few months.

2 responses so far

Who is watching your Vudu?

Jan 16 2009 Published by under American Consumer, Corporate America, Dumb Americans

On the Vudu website is this quote:

“Unlike other services that rely on large server farms to deliver content, as more VUDU Boxes are installed, the network will become even more efficient and require less of each box.”

So what does the mean? It means your Vudu set top box serves up content and uses your internet connection to deliver the content. Did you get that! That means you are providing the electricity, the hard drive space, and the network bandwidth so other Vudu owners can watch content.

Wow… did you know you were providing a service to other Vudu owners when you bought your Vudu set top box? This is call a peer-to-peer network. Other software out there, call BitTorrent, is used by hobbyist to share and download very large files. Peer-to-peer networking is also known as a bandwidth hogs. I would not want several Vudu users on the same provider in my network neighborhood.

Other services like Hulu, Sling and Netflix, use large distributed server farms to send out content. They pay for the hosting services to house the server farms not you. They pay for the badwidth to connect there server to the internet, not you.

So the Vudu service sound great upfront but is the price, Vudu using your resources, too high? Or will the dumb American consumer just march forward and not care?

One response so far

MagicJack NOT

Oct 01 2008 Published by under American Consumer, Changing scene, Corporate America, Dumb Americans

Some time when it sounds too good to be true there is got to be a catch. Several years ago we switched our phone service from Verizon to Vonage and saved about $200 a month on our phone bill. The only down side was the setup (getting the ATA installed, configured) and the quality of the calls was less then Verizon. But we were saving $2,400 a year. So it was worth the problems.

Then fast forward 4 years and we hear about MagicJack for only $20 per year. WOW only pay $20 for the whole year. How does that work. Well the first down side is you need to have a PC (desktop or laptop) running to get a phone call. So if you want 24 x 7 phone service then your computer need to be ON 24 x 7. OK! We already us a computer as a DVR so that is not big deal. So let do the free trial.

Just be careful when you sign up for the free trail you are prompted for all kinds of options. Big bold type in your face ads wanting you to up for 5 years and other stuff. Any of the options negate your free trial. So I was smart and avoided all the temptations.

The next problem, after a week of testing, was when we decide to go with the service and port our existing phone number to MagicJack. The FAQs say YES but but not now, we will in the upcoming months. That was eight month ago 1/2008. And here we are in fall 2008 and you can sitll not port your number to MagicJack. Hey we do not want to change our number. I like the phone number i have, it has been mine for 20 plus years. So does all of my friends, neighbor and family.

So now we want to return the free trail. So I want to uninstall the MagicJack software. Oh surprise there is NO uninstall. Who today, in 2008, does not have an uninstaller? Someone who wants too look at your system and serve up ads on your MagicJack control panel. Just check the “end user License agreement” it is full of all kinds of stuff that you should not agree to.

So the only way to remove the software is by hand, a good reference is here at uninstallmagicjack.com. What a pain to do this all by hand.
Then we try to sent the USB adaptor back using UPS to get a tracking number and proof of delivery and that’s right they only have a PO box (UPS will not deliver to a Po box). So now the only thing I can do is send it back US mail with a return receipt. We are waiting to see is the $49.00 ever hits my credit card.

Just a word to the wise…think long and hard before you jump on something like this. It is not worth the loss of privacy to have MagicJack watching who you call and what you do on you PC and then sell that info and delivering ads to your desktop. After all it is how MagicJack make more money to offset the low cost of the service.

It is just too high of a price to pay, and it wrong wrong wrong…

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PC Guy Late to the Mac Party (Part two)

Aug 19 2008 Published by under Changing scene, Geek stuff

apple-airport-expressPart of the magic of the whole house audio system is the Apple airport express. This little box is a multi function power house. In this little 4 by 3 by 1 inch package you get a router, WiFi access point, a music streaming device and a network printer adaptor. And one of my pet peeves there is no wall wart. I hate wall warts they are a pain to deal with.

So the part we will be using for whole house audio system is the music streaming device. This part of the Airport Express integrates with iTunes so you can select which AirPort Express you want to send music too. Plus you have the option of playing your music through your Computer speakers and through the Airport Express synchronized. You can also send music to several airport express units all at the same time. So you have the same music playing in several room or areas all at the same time.

We do this with the house, the patio, and pool area. All three areas are playing the same music at the same time.
So now you want to play music in the kids’ room and different music in the family room. OK you select the music from different iTunes library and send it to the desired airport express. Done

So now what about amplifiers and speakers for all this? Being that the AirPort devices are distributed all around your house the cost of wiring is minimal or non-existing, as you can stream wireless to an airport Express using WiFi. So that is where the Audioengin A5 speakers come in to play. More on the speakers next time.

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PC Guy Late to the Mac Party

Aug 06 2008 Published by under American Consumer, Changing scene, Geek stuff

OK, I have been waiting for Microsoft to pull it together for home users for four years now. Microsoft has introduced “Windows Media Center” (with a major version upgrade in Vista) and “Media Player” I have purchase Roku streaming players to stream music through my house and yard. I have also purchased three different kinds of Media center Extenders to route media around the house.

One of the big problems has been remotes and the need to turn on a TV to play music. The Roku Soundbridge solved the need for the TV but you cannot synchronize the multiple devices to play the same music. Plus the display is text only. I know recently that Logitech bought the Squeezebox™ and has been announcing better integrated product this last year, they are expensive. Nothing like Apple is putting together.

Apple is not always the best solution right out of the gate. Give Apple a few revisions and they start to get it right. The announcement that pushed me into the Apple camp was a little piece of FREE software for the iPhone and iTouch called Remote. To me Remote pulled home media all together and the light went off.

iTunes

So the picture above shows all the parts for a simple, very user friendly and flexible whole house audio system. The core of the system is one or multiple Mini Mac to store all your music. I would use multiple Mini Macs to store diverse music libraries for instance Mom and dad’s music verse the kids music. Running on the Macs would be iTunes as the music server. Ya, I know I did not like iTunes when it first was released, but Apple won me over by integrating their network products (airport Express) and MP3 players (iPods) seamlessly into iTunes.

First iTunes, as we all know works great with the iPhone and iPods. My favored is the iTouch. Why you ask, again it is that free software appilication name “Remote” that runs on the iPhone and iTouch. With Remote I can control my whole house music system from the palm of my hand using a full color remote call the iTouch (better and cheeper then the Squeezebox™ Controller). Very cool…. I can change from my library of music to my Kids library of music. Or I can select an album, see the cover art, select a song, and select what room I want to play the select music in. OR multiple rooms if I desire.

How is this done, through the magic of the Apple Airport express and Audioengin A5 speakers. All that will be in part two.

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