Today, I will be trying to convince you that you can save money on your cable bill.
The Boxee Box will not only complete your entertainment center, but it could save you some money on your cable bill by offering alot of what you pay for, absolutely free of charge.
The Boxee Box's design makes it look like it is melting into the shelf that you have it placed in. Plug in the power, provide an internet connection via the ethernet port on the back, or you can rock this box wireless. For optimal speeds, it is advised by the manufacturer that you plug it in. Now, throw a HDMI cable (see the Amazon.com carousel above for some super cheap HDMI cables) into the Boxee Box and plug the other end into an open HDMI input on your HDTV and presto, you are able to watch any/all content from the internet in Hi-Definition.
Now lets talk about HDMI cables for just a second. HD is digital. Digital video signals are different from composite video in that there are no performance levels depending on material and build up of the cable like composite. For digital signals, you either have it or you don't. So, unlike composite, there is no need to run out and buy the phony bologna "Gold Plated" Monster HDMI cables for 50 bucks. Instead, buy them on Amazon for a couple of dollars & tax free. Trust me on this, your wallet will thank you. HDMI (digital) is HDMI (digital). Regardless if you pay $1,000 or $1 your end result will be the same.
Boxee Box gathers all of the free content from sites such as YouTube & Hulu and streams it to your television absolutely free. Netflix can be streamed to your television also, but this is a pay service. Some of the other content that you choose from your Boxee Box may also have a small fee, but in the long run it will save you money. If you don't cancel your cable or satellite service all together, you could almost definitely downgrade your service substantially.
Now sit back, relax and enjoy this amazing addition to your home entertainment.
Buying HDMI cables from Amazon is a no brainer, but did you know that everything you buy from Amazon.com comes to your door tax free? Spend at least $25 and shipping is free also.
Keep checking back for more posts that WILL save you money and make your life easier. Let the technology do the work, and let me show you how to do just that.
If you have questions about Boxee Box or absolutely anything technology related, post a comment below with your question and I will do everything I can to address your concern.
Crog
Crogs Blog is a daily (hopefully) rant about technology and gadgets to include but not limited to: phones, computers, auto tech and gadgets in general.
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Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
2004 thru 2008 Dodge Ram Navigation upgrade
For the now old body style of Dodge Ram's, you can now upgrade your OEM radio to a double din navigation unit. Here is how:
First, you will need to visit your local Dodge dealer / dealer parts department and purchase a new plastic molding piece for your truck. It is very important that you do not provide your vin number or you will get a new piece that matches your existing trim. Tell the parts counter representative that you have the "MyGig" Navigation system for your respective year of Ram. I called my local dealer and got a price of $103. Crutchfield calls the configuration of Ram with the MyGig system a "premium sound w/nav and 7 speaker sound"
Second, you will need to find the double din nav system that best fits your needs. I have done my duty and found the best for my needs. If your like me and have a "smart phone", the right head unit can give you the capability in conjunction with your phone to stream music and make calls with Bluetooth. If you choose to upgrade in this manner, you will never have to pull your phone out of your pocket again to get into your car, or when a call comes in. You can even listen to music right off of your phone. This is one feature that your passengers will like because you can now hand your phone off (ok, so now you have to take it out of your pocket) to any passenger in the vehicle and essentially turn them into a DJ. Your friends don't like your taste in music? No problem, if you in a 3 or 4G area, download new songs, and in seconds, you can have new tunes playing over your car's sound system without a single wire. Plus, if you follow my recommendations, you now have Nav unit that will fade out the sound of your music and give you directions, then when they finally shut up, your music fades back into existence and your rocking again.
Now, for a side note. The ability to make and receive calls using Bluetooth pairing between your smartphone and compatible head unit is an AMAZING convenience, but selecting the wrong head unit can turn it into a nightmare. I would highly recommend finding a head unit (if the one that I selected and linked below doesn't fit your needs) that you purchase one with a WIRED microphone. I have had to return 2 head units with the BUILT IN microphone because the only thing heard on the phone of the person I was talking to was road noise. SO.... BUY THE WIRED MICROPHONE unit.
Now, for the product. Wired mic, excellent Nav interface, Free updates for life, competitive price and a very reputable brand, this JVC offers a knockout punch over the competition. I linked it above, and I have to tell you that today (4/16/11) is the cheapest I have ever seen it.
Happy Driving!
First, you will need to visit your local Dodge dealer / dealer parts department and purchase a new plastic molding piece for your truck. It is very important that you do not provide your vin number or you will get a new piece that matches your existing trim. Tell the parts counter representative that you have the "MyGig" Navigation system for your respective year of Ram. I called my local dealer and got a price of $103. Crutchfield calls the configuration of Ram with the MyGig system a "premium sound w/nav and 7 speaker sound"
Second, you will need to find the double din nav system that best fits your needs. I have done my duty and found the best for my needs. If your like me and have a "smart phone", the right head unit can give you the capability in conjunction with your phone to stream music and make calls with Bluetooth. If you choose to upgrade in this manner, you will never have to pull your phone out of your pocket again to get into your car, or when a call comes in. You can even listen to music right off of your phone. This is one feature that your passengers will like because you can now hand your phone off (ok, so now you have to take it out of your pocket) to any passenger in the vehicle and essentially turn them into a DJ. Your friends don't like your taste in music? No problem, if you in a 3 or 4G area, download new songs, and in seconds, you can have new tunes playing over your car's sound system without a single wire. Plus, if you follow my recommendations, you now have Nav unit that will fade out the sound of your music and give you directions, then when they finally shut up, your music fades back into existence and your rocking again.
Now, for a side note. The ability to make and receive calls using Bluetooth pairing between your smartphone and compatible head unit is an AMAZING convenience, but selecting the wrong head unit can turn it into a nightmare. I would highly recommend finding a head unit (if the one that I selected and linked below doesn't fit your needs) that you purchase one with a WIRED microphone. I have had to return 2 head units with the BUILT IN microphone because the only thing heard on the phone of the person I was talking to was road noise. SO.... BUY THE WIRED MICROPHONE unit.
Now, for the product. Wired mic, excellent Nav interface, Free updates for life, competitive price and a very reputable brand, this JVC offers a knockout punch over the competition. I linked it above, and I have to tell you that today (4/16/11) is the cheapest I have ever seen it.
Happy Driving!
Saved gas with a new K & N airfilter. Save more gas with Aircharger System
On my 2006 Dodge Ram 4.7, I was getting 16.7 Avg MPG, then i upgraded my air intake system with a K&N Aircharger system. After the mod, I averaged 18 MPG in a mixture of highway and city driving.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Second Post
Congrats to you iPhone owners, today you should have received your next iOS update (iOS 4.3.2). The bad news is, this update will really only help you if you use Facetime alot. This Apple iPhone roll out is mostly to correct a freezing issue while using the application or "app". The rest of this iOS update is predominantly security mumbo jumbo. You might notice these security updates in your user interface. iPad users will also be allowed to update their iOS. If you don't see this update on your phone automatically, go to iTunes on your phone or applicable device and you will be guided from there. If you still can't figure this out, hit me up and I can walk you through the process, unless you are a Verizon iPhone owner. If this is the case, I can't do anything for ya. My apologies. While I'm not big into Apple products (at all actually), I still follow whats going on in the world of tech. Now, have fun updating your closed OS. I will stick with my open OS Androids, they give me a warm and fuzzy feeling.
Something else interesting that happened today that ties in with this topic (somewhat) is the pre-order release of the Samsung series 9 laptop, which will be, once it's released the only competition for the Macbook Air. The specs on this computer are pretty impressive. The most impressive in my opinion is the 64Gb solid state hard drive. Buy this computer and you will be good for years and years to come because of it's lack of any moving parts whatsoever. Also, Samsung has built the case for the new series 9 out of a material to make it extremely tough. Drop it, kick it, do what you will to it, and it will still (probably) come back strong. I tried my best to stay away from the old Timex ad. You know the one, "it takes a licking and keeps on ticking". Corny as it sounds, that is this laptop in a nutshell.
Samsung gives you power, longevity as well as one cool looking machine for the surprisingly low price of $1,199.00 and coming in at around 2.5 pounds. Want more good news? If you get it during the Amazon.com pre-order, you will save $50 off of the price. That's a deal that's hard to beat for a computer that should last for ***thinking*** ***still thinking*** 10 years.... That's right, I said it. Now sure, you'll be laughed and ridiculed especially for your wimpy 64Gb of storage, but that's ok, your the smart one if you ask me.
I'll end this with a butt. Well, maybe a butt. Some of you might think that this laptop is too small, but you have to keep in mind that the designers meant to do it that way. Samsung Series 9 NP900X1A-A01US is the version I have been informing you about. It has a screen size of 11.6 inches, but keep in mind the weight, the rigid build-up, and the lack of moving parts. This will be your "take everywhere with you" laptop, and its physical characteristics will allow you to do this easily. Did I mention that it even has a back-lit keyboard? You can get a larger 13.3" screen for several hundred more dollars, but if you have the resources, go for it. I will put some characteristics about this laptop below, then I will move on to some bad news for Vista users.
I am getting tired, so I will end with this, and spend another 30 minutes or so editing.
Vista users beware!!! Internet explorer 10 is coming (no date set) eventually, and when it does, it will not be supported by your Windows Vista OS, so heads up.
The last word:
If you have some extra scratch laying around, I will allow you to buy me, on pre-order, the new Samsung laptop which will eventually turn Macbook Air into.... well, it's not much of a paperweight either.
Something else interesting that happened today that ties in with this topic (somewhat) is the pre-order release of the Samsung series 9 laptop, which will be, once it's released the only competition for the Macbook Air. The specs on this computer are pretty impressive. The most impressive in my opinion is the 64Gb solid state hard drive. Buy this computer and you will be good for years and years to come because of it's lack of any moving parts whatsoever. Also, Samsung has built the case for the new series 9 out of a material to make it extremely tough. Drop it, kick it, do what you will to it, and it will still (probably) come back strong. I tried my best to stay away from the old Timex ad. You know the one, "it takes a licking and keeps on ticking". Corny as it sounds, that is this laptop in a nutshell.
Samsung gives you power, longevity as well as one cool looking machine for the surprisingly low price of $1,199.00 and coming in at around 2.5 pounds. Want more good news? If you get it during the Amazon.com pre-order, you will save $50 off of the price. That's a deal that's hard to beat for a computer that should last for ***thinking*** ***still thinking*** 10 years.... That's right, I said it. Now sure, you'll be laughed and ridiculed especially for your wimpy 64Gb of storage, but that's ok, your the smart one if you ask me.
I'll end this with a butt. Well, maybe a butt. Some of you might think that this laptop is too small, but you have to keep in mind that the designers meant to do it that way. Samsung Series 9 NP900X1A-A01US is the version I have been informing you about. It has a screen size of 11.6 inches, but keep in mind the weight, the rigid build-up, and the lack of moving parts. This will be your "take everywhere with you" laptop, and its physical characteristics will allow you to do this easily. Did I mention that it even has a back-lit keyboard? You can get a larger 13.3" screen for several hundred more dollars, but if you have the resources, go for it. I will put some characteristics about this laptop below, then I will move on to some bad news for Vista users.
- 11.6-inch LED-backlit widescreen display with 1366 x 768 resolution and 340-nit high brightness.
- 1.33 GHz ultra-low voltage Intel Core i3-380UM dual-core processor for a fast, responsive PC experience (3 MB L3 cache).
- 64 GB Solid State Drive (SSD)
- 2 GB of installed DDR3 RAM (maximum capacity)
- Intel HD Graphics 3000 delivers built-in performance for casual and mainstream gaming with no extra graphics hardware needed.
- Wireless-N Wi-Fi networking capability provides up to five times the performance and twice the wireless range using 802.11n-compatible routers as you would with 802.11g networks. It's also backward compatible with 802.11b/g networks (commonly found at Wi-Fi hotspots and in older home routers).
- 4G WiMAX network connectivity (requires WiMAX mobile broadband subscription and available coverage; additional charges apply).
- Intel Wireless Display capabilities, enables you to easily stream videos, photos and music from your hard drive, home network, or the internet straight to your HDTV--easily and wirelessly.
- Next-generation Bluetooth 3.0 connectivity provides faster throughput while minimizing on power requirements. It's compatible with new Bluetooth 3.0-enabled devices as well as backward compatible with older Bluetooth-enabled peripherals such as printers and cell phones.
- 1.3-megapixel HD webcam
- Built-in stereo speakers (1.5 W x 2) with HD Audio
- Up to 7 hours of battery life
- Weight: 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions: 11.7 x 7.8 x 0.65 inches (WxDxH)
- Warranty: 3-year international warranty, 24/7 US-based tech support, and two way free standard shipping.
Networking, Connectivity & Expansion
- 3 USB 2.0 ports (1 chargeable)
- HDMI high-definition audio/video output allows a single cable to transmit uncompressed high-definition video to your compatible digital TV or external monitor.
- Microphone input port plus headphone output jack
- MicroSD memory card reader
- Fast Ethernet (10/100)
I am getting tired, so I will end with this, and spend another 30 minutes or so editing.
Vista users beware!!! Internet explorer 10 is coming (no date set) eventually, and when it does, it will not be supported by your Windows Vista OS, so heads up.
The last word:
If you have some extra scratch laying around, I will allow you to buy me, on pre-order, the new Samsung laptop which will eventually turn Macbook Air into.... well, it's not much of a paperweight either.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
First Post
Well, this is it. My first blog. I will concentrate this blog to focus on my life with tech and gadgets and I am sure that I will inevitably wander around to things such as family, gas prices and/or weather. Hang with me, come back often and of course if you see an advertisement that interests you on my site, click it for more information.
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