Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Microsoft working on TV subscription service for Xbox, PCs

Microsoft working on TV subscription service for Xbox, PCs

If you have a Xbox 360 or a PC connected to your HDTV, then the latest development from Microsoft would be of interest. Microsoft is looking to provide streaming content subscriptions for its Windows devices. The only drawback is the willingness of content providers to allow their content on the service. Google is already dealing with the hurdles of having content blocked from Google TV. The biggest benefit would be to consumers who would be able to have true a la carte programming choices and not pay for channels they would never watch.

NBA Development League: NBA D-League Futurecast

NBA Development League: NBA D-League Futurecast

NBA D-League basketball games are available online via NBA Futurecast. The service is currently in beta. Over 400 games will be available in high definition and the service is free during the beta period.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Inexpensive HDMI cables are a right, not a privilege

Inexpensive HDMI cables are a right, not a privilege

For the best picture quality on your HDTV you will need a HDMI cable. You may see these cables in stores this holiday season for as much as $99. Don't be taken in! I made the mistake of spending $20 for a cable because I was impatient. A friend told me about a site called monoprice.com that has six foot cables for $3. I took advantage of a sale and bought three cables for $7.99 and free shipping.

DailyTech - Comcast Experiences Internet Outage on East Coast

DailyTech - Comcast Experiences Internet Outage on East Coast

We were impacted by this last night. What I learned this morning is that a problem with Comcast's Domain Name Servers prevented subscribers in the Boston and Baltimore area from getting on the internet.

What I also learned this morning is that there is a very easy way to get online if this issue re-occurs. If you find that resetting your modem and router do not resolve your connection issues and there is no indicator of a hardware failure on either device, you can change the Domain Name Servers (DNS) setting on your router to access the internet.

Get a pen and paper and go to Google Public DNS. Follow the instructions there and keep them near your computer the next time you have an issue.