OT: Technology and Geek Stuff Thread

[Topweasel]

you'll see an about face there...

Problem with the Deathstar is that they don't care about their customers. I do believe they WILL end up in trouble if the iphone lands on Sprint and tmobile, which looks very possible as the agreement with Verizon was non-exclusive.

Doubtful. The Iphone 5 will probably use an LTE chip for both CDMA and GSM networks. But if they don't release a phone on either of those networks that isn't capable of their 4g connections, there will be lots of disappointed people.

[Coop]

well...it DID make it to Verizon and being non exclusive I think it's entirely possible.

[Topweasel]

well...it DID make it to Verizon and being non exclusive I think it's entirely possible.

Its possible. But I just get this picture that they are doing this now and not after LTE is announced because they think that the demand will be low (people are not going to shell out non contract money to get the same phone they already have). But I get this picture that they don't want to many deviations in their phones. I just think that with Verizon they will be content to rest on LTE and wouldn't be interested in making a Wimax one for Sprint only and a HSDPA+ one for T-mobile only. If they hadn't rolled out their 4g options already it would be one thing. But all it would build would be distaste among those networks users to have a "latest and greatest" that doesn't have the features they have had for 6 months to a year.

[Sweatpants Murphy]

Its possible. But I just get this picture that they are doing this now and not after LTE is announced because they think that the demand will be low (people are not going to shell out non contract money to get the same phone they already have). But I get this picture that they don't want to many deviations in their phones. I just think that with Verizon they will be content to rest on LTE and wouldn't be interested in making a Wimax one for Sprint only and a HSDPA+ one for T-mobile only. If they hadn't rolled out their 4g options already it would be one thing. But all it would build would be distaste among those networks users to have a "latest and greatest" that doesn't have the features they have had for 6 months to a year.

I don't see Sprint getting the iphone anytime soon anyway. I think the Feb 7th announcement of "yet another industry first" is going to be the 3D Android device that HTC has been working on. It would only make sense to bring David Blaine along.

[romster]

My brother-in-law gave me a Logitech Harmony 650 universal remote for Christmas and I just set it up yesterday. It's really cool and nice to be able to work the TV, DVD, and DVR from one remote. I haven't figured out how to make the new remote learn the 'live' button from my old Comcast remote though. I followed the instructions from the website but it didn't work.

[nhwbrooklyn]

Those are pretty slick. I love my logitech mouse and keyboard. Solid company.

Another really neat device (or maybe a few of them out there by now) lets you use your smart phone as a remote. It bluetooths your commands to a little device that can sit on a coffee table or hid somewhere that then hits the T.V. with its brands IR code.

[-Deborah-]

Rommy, I have an older Harmony remote and it was great! Back then, I worked with their technical support team to get a particular button from my Moxi DVR programmed on the remote. They were very helpful.

I bought this today to help me with note-taking at work. I'm often in a meeting where they're giving me highly technical specifications and sometimes my notes aren't as thorough as I'd like. I think this will solve the problem...

[romster]

Sweet.

Yeah, I think I'll read a bit more on the learn function and then call them if I can't get it to work. Good to know they're helpful.

[Sweatpants Murphy]

I'm finally pulling the trigger on ditching cable. This is my plan, and I would totally appreciate any input from some of you who have already been through this.

* I already have netflix with my xbox 360 to stream it to my TV. (I'm opting for the streaming only to save myself the $3/month to get the DVDs, which sit on a shelf for weeks until I watch them)
* ESPN also streams through the xbox.
* I'm picking up one of these for local stations: http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CFUQ8wIwBw#
* To replace DVR, I'm hooking up the old desktop PC to my television because every major network airs their programs on their websites (with commercial breaks that are a much shorter than OTA programming) This will also come in handy when Lions games are blacked out :D

I would appreciate any tips you guys have to make this easier!

[-Deborah-]

One thing that sticks out to me is all the streaming you intend on doing. Your ISP may have bandwidth limits.

[Sweatpants Murphy]

One thing that sticks out to me is all the streaming you intend on doing. Your ISP may have bandwidth limits.

I don't believe there are limits, but I will definitely look into that!

[-Deborah-]

I didn't think there were for mine either till I logged in to my account one day and it showed a usage meter.

[-Deborah-]

I'm never close to the limit, but I don't stream much. I don't know how big Netflix movies are, either...

[nhwbrooklyn]

With the antennas use this website... http://www.hdtvantennalabs.com/location/ good for finding out what range you need to get what you need as well as if you need VHF or not (usually VHF antennas with any range on them are rather large). In detroit Fox is still a VHF channel for example (I don't get sadly) but most channels are UHF.

[nhwbrooklyn]

I ran toledo real fast and it suggested this monster antenna.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Winegard-HD8200U-Platinum-Definition-Antenna/dp/B001DFS4BI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1295223970&sr =8-1"]Amazon.com: Winegard HD8200U Platinum Series High Definition VHF/UHF TV Antenna: Electronics@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31PkXrznxHL.@@AMEPARAM@@31PkXrznxHL[/ame]

If you know what channels you want you could maybe see which ones are farther and closer and see if you don't need a monster antenna.... and even though it's hard to say what will come in until you try it.