Friday, February 27, 2015

Gamer's Corner 2/27/15: Google Console News, Warframe, Alone In The Dark: Illumination...

Take a journey into one of the largest grossing segments in the world of I.T. and enjoy upcoming video game trailers, walkthroughs, reviews, and much more!

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Friday, February 13, 2015

Cutting The Cable: Leaving Satellite & Cable TV Behind (part II)

In the first installment of "Cutting The Cable" I shared the story of a family that cut their cable service to lower their household bills and how my family "cut the cable" for similar reasons. In this installment I'll share how you can cut the cable and what you'll need to successfully do it.

Before you cancel your cable or satellite service, follow this checklist:

  1. Think before you cut- understand exactly what you're getting into. Don't cancel your service without doing your own research and fully understanding that some TV shows and/or sports events may not be available online. 
  2. Find your shows- come up with a strategy to watch your favorite TV shows. You may get lucky and catch your favorite shows on regular over-the-air (OTA) TV, but if you can't find them there you'll need to search online with services like Hulu or Amazon for example.
  3. Find alternatives- while you may not find your favorite shows online or on regular TV life is not over! You can always have a friend record them for you. In the meantime, get acquainted with new shows -- check out the original shows on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Crackle and other sites... you just might find some new favorites. 
  4. Make it a movie night- since movie channels are key selling points for cable and satellite TV packages, you'll need to find a service that will offer movie streaming services. (There are plenty to choose from.)
  5. Plan your hardware- once you've done the previous steps now you need to start researching your hardware solutions. These will be devices that will provide OTA broadcasts and internet programming to your television. Your choices will range from types of HD antenna (rabbit ear, flat HD or powered outdoor HD antennas) to devices you may want to connect to the TV (PC, laptop, tablet, or even dedicated devices such as the Google Chromecast or Amazon Fire Stick.) Remember do your research before making an investment for this project.
When you've completed the checklist you'll be ready to begin with making your cable or satellite service kick the bucket. Here's a list of the devices I used to cut the cable:
  • HD antenna (flat)
  • Tablet with mini-HDMI port
  • Mini-HDMI to HDMI cable
  • Wireless router
  • PC (to stream movies and music from)
  • USB hub
  • Wireless keyboard & mouse
picture source: icuracao

One of the first lines of business I needed to take care of was getting local broadcasts so I invested in a HD antenna so I could get the local broadcasts. The first thing I noticed was how incredible the picture looked. That's due to OTA HD signals being uncompressed unlike cable or satellite, a sign that I was moving in the right direction. The number of OTA channels will vary depending on your geographic location. My rule of thumb is worry about getting local news stations primarily (to keep up with severe weather warnings in real-time) other channels are an added bonus.

picture source: iits.haverford.edu
The next thing I did was connect my tablet to the TV using a mini-HDMI to HDMI cable.*It's important to pay attention to the ports your tablet (PC or laptop) are equipped with. If your device has an HDMI port be sure you know what type it is (Check the owner's manual to be certain) you don't want to spend money on the wrong cable. *Some tablets have other methods of connecting to some HDTVs always check the owners manuals.



When I first became interested in tablets I bought a Coby Kyros 7024, an entry level tablet -- inexpensive, solid construction, a good all around tablet. There were some downsides one of which was no Google Play store. So if you're considering using a tablet for this project make sure it has everything you need including a good app store. One of the good things this tablet had (that I use as a standard for future tablet purchases) is a mini-HDMI port. This port is what I used to connect the tablet to the TV. Even thought the Coby Kyros 7024 is what I'd consider to be an entry level tablet it certainly got the job done for this project. In fact, it's still my preferred tablet when I want to stream a movie on my TV. 
At this point the project can be considered finished; you have your OTA broadcasts and internet streaming essentially making your TV a powerful entertainment center. The tablet at this point can stream movies from your favorite sites like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, etc., as well as allow you to take care of tasks via the internet like checking email and browsing websites. Of course being an IT guy I had to get a little more bang for my buck so I connected my tablet to my PC and server so I could pull additional content from those devices. This is where my wireless router comes in. My server and PC are connected via Ethernet cables to my wireless router which provides me with the ability to access them wirelessly with my tablet.   

picture sources: cdn.shopclues & flixcart

To maximize ones laziness, it's essential to use a wireless keyboard and mouse for this project. I simply connected a 4-port USB hub to the tablet and then connected my wireless mouse and keyboard to the hub allowing me to control the tablet without having to get up. The beautiful thing about this is you virtually have a mini computer connected to your TV. You truly have the best of both worlds on your TV. Aside from watching movies you also have all the capabilities of your tablet on a TV transforming your TV into a smart TV but without the hefty price tag of an actual SmartTV.

In addition to your new-found freedom from cable TV (and the loads of money you'll save after ditching it) you'll be happy to know that you'll be able to get some work done also. Need to reply to an email someone just sent you? Want to chat or even better Skype with friends? No problem! Most of the things you can do with just your tablet can be done on your TV. You can read books, play games, make phone calls, show pictures, type and/or review documents, etc., all on your TV (depending on your apps.) 

Now that you've read how I cut the cable are you ready to take that leap of faith and join the ranks of other cable cutters? If there's one thing you should learn from this blog entry it's the fact that there is life after cutting the cable -- and what a glorious life it is!

Follow me on Twitter @ITSecPr0

Nyrius

Gamer's Corner 2/13/15: The Evil Within News, The Tomorrow Children...

Take a journey into one of the largest grossing segments in the world of I.T. and enjoy upcoming video game trailers, walkthroughs, reviews, and much more!

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Nyrius

Thursday, February 5, 2015

3 Things RadioShack Should Have Tried

RadioShack oh RadioShack, how shall I miss thee...

Thinking back I realize I owe a lot of my accomplishments in part to RadioShack. I taught myself how to program with the aid of my handy dandy Tandy (see what I did there?) I had a TRS-80 model III computer and would type hundreds of lines of code to create games since my old man took all my games away and informed me I'd have to make games if I wanted to play them. So I did...I learned programming on the fly with the help of his programming magazines. I was able to take that experience and successfully apply it to a programming course I took some 23 years later.

Their electronics kit taught me about electronics and how to make a radio (among other things) from that I figured out a way to descramble movie channels when my old man was at work. I don't even need to mention the all the times I found much needed cables, batteries and other doohickeys at the store. Realizing RadioShack is on its way to that big shopping plaza in the sky, I must applaud the company for lasting this long -- 94 years isn't too shabby.

Here are 3 things I think could have saved RadioShack:

Better Product Pricing 

Everyone has an opinion on what played a part in bringing about the company's demise, but one common opinion among consumers dealt mainly with its pricing -- high prices for low quality products in particular. Personally I've never had an issue with the quality of their products. However, I can honestly say in recent years their pricing has kept me from making purchases from their store.

"Fix It Here" 2.0

If you noticed the image above looks similar to Geek Squad's logo it's because RadioShack should have learned a thing or two from how Best Buy uses the Geek Squad service. Hands down the "Fix It Here" program was brilliant to implement but perhaps it should have evolved into a bigger self contained unit where the techs not only fixed mobile devices but also repaired PCs and peripherals and as well as offered other services like home theater installations and consulting.

3D Printed Parts

The company could have made a bold move and gotten into the 3D printing industry providing consumers with 3D printed parts and eventually 3D printed electronics. Since 3D printing is undoubtedly the wave of the future it would have most likely been very beneficial for RadioShack to ride that wave for as long as possible.

What do you think could have saved RadioShack from going under? Leave a comment in the comments section.

Follow me on Twitter @ITSecPr0

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Monday, February 2, 2015

Gamer's Corner 2/2/15: Xbox News, Day Z, H1Z1 vs DayZ...

Take a journey into one of the largest grossing segments in the world of I.T. and enjoy upcoming video game trailers, walkthroughs, reviews, and much more!

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Trailers



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Interviews



Podcasts & Discussions



Game Play



Game Tech



Behind The Scenes



Tips & Tutorials



Follow me on Twitter@ITSecPr0

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