OT: Technology and Geek Stuff Thread

[Coop]

Since Seagate bought Maxtor, their drives seem to have slipped a bit in quality, although I've got several over 5 years old and they are still going strong.

Put the WD's in my HTPC because they are whisper quiet, low power, and inexpensive..

[LionsFanInJapan]

I've had WD in my last two builds...granted my OS drive is an Intel SSD (freakin' awesome!), but I've had very good experiences with WD so far.

[Panoptes]

STEE,

COOP is correct that older Seagates are solid (what I use). Western Digital are now the solid bet.

Keep an eye on this website for the hottest deals on all things electronic and external hard drives in particular:

http://www.deals2buy.com/index.htm

[Topweasel]

Honestly all of them are pretty good. I have never had a Seagate go bad on me, or a IBM/Hitachi (most of my drives have been that flavor), WD has always been iffy including a 2 year old 150GB Raptor. But with Seagate and WD the warranty replacements are so easy its not an issue as long as your backing up.

[Sweatpants Murphy]

I recall a few members inquiring about ditching cable in favor of an on demand type of television service.

I've been investigating this for a few days and discovered a website that's been very helpful.

http://www.cancelcable.com/

Hulu plus seems like it's going to be the way to go, since it has the latest episodes of a large percentage of shows. I noticed that most CBS programs are nowhere to be found on there, but if you're using Windows 7, there is a CBS channel in Windows Media Center that has their most popular shows.

Should be some helpful information for those who are serious about canceling cable television.

[Coop]

Sweatpants - I noticed on last week's episode of Fringe that agents now have Sprint cell phones with Video chat...gotta be happy to see your company's product promoted on cool TV shows.

[Sweatpants Murphy]

yeah I heard about that...I can't get into the show though.

the EVO has been getting a lot of publicity lately; Ndamukong Suh gave one away to one of his Twitter followers earlier this week.

[Laimbeer Returns]

so if I buy a new HDTV for my bedroom for Christmas, what should I be more concerned about 720P vs 1080P or the 60hz vs 120hz and so on? I'm not going bigger than 40 in the bedroom.

[Sweatpants Murphy]

I'd say 60hz vs 120hz...I was told by my local cable provider that no channel broadcasts in 1080p anyway.

[-Deborah-]

I'd say unless you live in your bedroom or plan on making it your primary viewing area, I wouldn't sweat either one. And also, 40 inches is pretty big for a bedroom unless it's a big room and going to be far from where you're viewing. But your needs might be very different than mine. My TV is on the side of the bed, not far at all.

For my bedroom, I bought a 22-inch about a year ago. It's an LCD that was a floor demo, it was a steal. Was still a terrific brand and model, but was greatly marked down.

[nhwbrooklyn]

I'd say 60hz vs 120hz...I was told by my local cable provider that no channel broadcasts in 1080p anyway.

I get 4 1080p channels with just an antenna (sadly not fox though... no lions games for me!).

[nhwbrooklyn]

so if I buy a new HDTV for my bedroom for Christmas, what should I be more concerned about 720P vs 1080P or the 60hz vs 120hz and so on? I'm not going bigger than 40 in the bedroom.

I recently went with 50' LG and plasma. A friend of mine got a LCD without enough a fast enough refresh rate and its got this weird ghosting effect where everything looks like it was shot with a home video camera (even movies). Thats the main thing I wanted to avoid when purchasing a new T.V..

Anyhow once you figure out which model you want.. or a number of models you're interested in, check out this website and look for those models... great for deals (seriously its not just spam). They collect the best sales from all the major retailers.

techbargains.com

[nhwbrooklyn]

http://reviews.cnet.com/televisions/?tag=hdr;snav

Got some video reviews. Also if you find a model you like you can youtube it and find more reviews typically also.

[-Deborah-]

I wish LG were an American company. I just love their stuff.

I assume you meant 50 inch TV, unless you're a Trump or something and really do have a 50 foot tv??

Which room was it for?

[nhwbrooklyn]

yeah 50 inch

Main room. Not for the bed room.

Is there a U.S. t.v. maker still in business? Last one I thought was zenith or something.