- Home
- About
- Donate / Deals
- Financial Tech
- Fitness Tech
- Home Tech
- Rich's RPG
- TAG Podcasts
Smart Tech Shopping
Purchased a New $99 HP WebOS TouchPad? 10 Productive Things You Can Do Forever without HP!
Aug 24th
Regardless of whether or not HP supports your shiny new TouchPad in the future, here are 10 things you can do with it, right now, that will never require future HP support and are mostly free. So pull it out of the box and let’s get started!
1. Connect it to your web or Corporate Email.
I already wrote about this in a BYTE.com article, but email setup is fast and easy – even at work! In most cases, you might even be able to do it by just knowing your corporate webmail settings. If not, just check with your local helpdesk or IT Service Center.
2. Chat or video conference with your friends.
The APC 1000VA Power Saving Green Back-UPS XS – with LCD Display
Aug 21st
A UPS is a device that you don’t know you need, until you need it. A UPS or uninterruptible power supply is an in house battery back up that provides emergency power to your computer (or anything else you plug into it) when your utilities fail. Here in Bellevue where I live, we get sudden drops in power all the time, so for years I have used small UPS units to protect my PCs. It been a great system and has worked very well.
Nintendo Rolls Netflix Software Update to the Wii – The Disc is No Longer Needed
Oct 26th
If you own a Nintendo Wii that had been collecting dust since the second week you bought it, now it the time to put it to good use. The latest software upgrade for the Wii (did you know there are updates?) now allows you to install the Wii channel directly to the console and stream movies from Netflix just like you might have done from your XBOX 360 or PS3. It’s not a blue-ray quality picture, but it’s easier than going to the video store or even RedBox!
Go to your Wii menu, download and install the Netflix application from within the Wii Shop Channel, and follow the on screen instructions to connect your Wii to your Netflix account. It’s that simple.
Have a Wii but don’t have a Netflix account? Sign up for a free one at http://www.netflix.com and try it out. It will make a movie player out of the game console that you never use!
So You Wanna Watch More College Football? Use ESPN360 and Window Media Center to Light It Up!
Oct 3rd
In my post 20 mile run recovery, I decided to watch some College Football! Here is a screen shot from my PC.
Using ESPN360.com and Windows Media Center with a cable card, I can stream 3 football games all at once. I had UCLA v Stanford (upper left), Florida St. v Boston College (upper right) and Washington v ND (bottom left). To make matters worse, I added two laptops to the mix!
Yep, you are seeing it right. I am watching 5 games all at the same time! Besides the ones above, I added Western Michigan v Northern Illinois (left) and Florida International v Louisiana-Monroe. Not the greatest games to watch, but hey, It can be done!
Because I am using Window Media Center, I can also switch the ND game to either Penn State v Illinois (which is a regional block on ESPN360) or LSU v Georgia. It’s College Football bliss.
Amazon vs iTunes? For Digital Music, I Almost Always Buy Music From Amazon!
Sep 14th
It’s all about the price, isn’t it? If you are still buying music from iTunes (and millions still are)…consider this.
Disclaimer: I purchase mostly Christian music, but the deals are good for most genres. I do not own music from or make any money from either of these two artists, even if you purchase them from Amazon.
To the left are two projects from two up and coming artists, Britt Nicole and Aaron Shust. At iTunes, together they would cost me almost $18.
Below at Amazon I can get both for just $10.
Same music, better price. It’s that simple. Oh, and to make things better, sometimes albums are just $2.99!
Both play the same on your iPod and Amazon leaves you with some gas money.
Note: Not all music is this price and sometimes you have to hunt for deals, buy hey, that’s half the fun!
Another Good Reason You NEVER Buy Cables In The Store!
Aug 24th
Just picked up the Palm Pre the other week (post on that is still coming) and have been slowly purchasing adapters and cables for it. Of course, it came with one USB cable (USB micro end) and a 110v adapter for the wall plug. What I needed was the Touchstone charging kit for work and some extra cables for charging at home. I could have purchase all of it from the Sprint store, but there are always better (sometimes much better) deals online. Here is the deal.
| Item |  |  |
| Sprint Store | $19.99 | $69.99 |
| Internet | $3.25 Every Day Source (Ebay) | $51.98 Mac Mall w/Shipping |
I also purchase a Skinomi TechSkin for $9.95 on Amazon. Got to protect the screen.
Remember, I search so you don’t have to!
Microsoft Finally Announces the Windows 7 Family Pack – $149
Aug 2nd
Giving into consumer pressure (my opinion), Microsoft announced on Friday, July 31st, that it was going to offer a 3 PC Family Pack for Window 7 Home Premium.
Priced at $149.99, the Family Pack would save the buyer $210 over three separate Home Premium Upgrades. The $50 per license price tag for Windows 7 is a 38% savings compared to the $80 per license that Microsoft charged for a two-license family pack for Vista back in 2007.
The family Pack should be available to preorder starting October 18th and in most retail outlets by the OS launch on October 22nd.
I ordered 3 copies of Window 7 Home Premium when they were offering it for $50 last month. Looks like I didn’t get screwed. I was worried about that as rumors leaked early in July. Good thinking Microsoft.
Remember, I search so you don’t have to!
HP MediaSmart LX195 Home Server w/ 640GB Hard Drive $199.99 Free Shipping
Jul 24th
Thanks to a tip from my good friend and co-host partner Chris Lux over at the Home Server Show, you can now get the HP MediaSmart LX195 for the bargain basement price of $199. The deal is most likely a short one so you will need to act fast!
As we have discussed on the podcast before, the LX195 is a bit underpowered with the 1.6 Ghz Atom processor and only 1 GB of RAM. It does come with a 640 GB hard drive and 4 USB ports that limit your total storage to only the physical size of each external drive. Practically speaking, that would be around 4 to 8 TB. The HP software is an added plus, but it doesn’t have enough juice to handle the newest 2.5 version update from HP. But hey, it’s $200!
If you have questions on this deal or have other issues, just leave a comment.
Weekly Amazon Music Deal – Cars Movie Soundtrack – $1.99
Apr 25th
Amazon.com has put the entire soundtrack for the 2006 movie Cars on sale for $1.99.
Remember, I search (and find music so you don’t have to!
HP MediaSmart Server Deal UPDATE!
Apr 17th
The Newegg.com deal on an HP MediaSmart EX485 just got a little sweeter. Use Promo code SERVER41650 and get an additional $50 off. That $450 shipped right to your door. Very sweet.
Don’t say I never gave you anything.
Remember, I search so you don’t have to!
