I think we’re getting closer and closer to a time where we see different electronics integrated. Sony came out with a Sony VAIO PC that did TV long ago. The computer was built right into the back of a flat panel screen. I have always thought that the sony laptops and televisions had gorgeous pictures. I am sure this does too. I think this is the way that technology is going. It would save time and space to be able to use a flat panel tv on a dresser or furniture as both a television and a computer. I don’t think I’d like it mounted on a wall though, I wouldn’t like havingt to look that far to see my computer screen. What do you think of having combination television.computers?

I have my computer set up to show a slideshow of my pictures when I’m away from my desk. It’s not unusual to find either RB or CJ sitting or standing nearby watching the pictures when I leave my desk. We all enjoy them so much that I’m thinking I’d like to connect my computer to the big screen television in the living room, so we can look at pictures and slidshows and such on there. I believe I can do this with a Linksys router or one of their media center products. Anyone want to come over my house to watch a 56″ slideshow?

I learned recently that movies are being made available on SD cards, also known as secure digital cards. I can see where the advantage would be the size – an SD card takes much less room to store than a VHS tape or even a DVD. But, the size of the SD forgoes the familiar fancy cover we’re used to seeing. I’m not sure how people would tell one movie from another, maybe with the use of a barcode scanner or something like that. Have you seen any movies on SD cards? I haven’t. What did you think of the quality?

The Blackberry plants must be running on overdrive, because it seems like everyone has one. I don’t have a Blackberry. I know a few people with one but we’ve just never sat and discussed our phones. Is there anything these magical devices cannot do? I never knew that you could watch television on a Blackberry until today. I can’t think of a time when I’d watch any shows on my cell phone. Isn’t that what televisions are for?

I read on MSNBC that prices on the Xbox 360 will be cut this Friday. The wii hasn’t been out as long as the Xbox and has sold more units. The price for the Xbox 360 Arcade will drop from $280 down to $200. The middle 60gb model will drop from $350 down to $300 and the high end Elite model willdrop from$450down to $400. Microsoft says they aren’t trying to take on the wii but rather share marketspace with it. Bull. I think Microsoft wants a bigger piece of the game console pie. They like to think they’re the best at everything. They’re not.

Ever wonder how to set up a home theater? Burn episodes of your favorite tv show to dvd? Record tv on your computer? CNET’s Digital Home DIY website offers lots of advice and tutorials on how to bring your home into the digital age. The site is broken down into categories including digital imaging, gaming, HDTV, home control, home movies, home theater, music and networking. Each project contains tabbed sections giving reasons why you want to complete this project, what you’ll need to complete the project, video instructions on how to carry out the project and examples of the project in action. It’s a pretty helpful site for instructions and ideas.

For Father’s Day I got RB a 40gb iPod. Going quite a while back he’d said he’d have no use for one. I knew better. A couple of months ago he started realizing that having an iPod would be much better than bringing twelve cd’s with him every day he went to work. So I got him one of the 40gb ipods so he could put everything he wants on it from his cds and still have room to add more. He likes his iPod so much he’s now added some kind of cable onto the home entertainment system in the living room that all he has to do it plug it into his iPod and now he can listen to his iPod on the big stereo at home.

I was watching tv today. As I was changing the channel I realized that with all of the diy shows on now there aren’t really any for computer use. We can find plenty of shows to help teach us how to do things around the house and to help us learn how to cook. But there really aren’t any that teach how to do things on a computer. There could be shows for people just starting to blog, teaching viewers everything from step one, how to install. People wanting to learn how to build a static website could watch shows on coding, design, even shopping cart options (paypal or authorize.net). I bet the channel would do well. What do you think of the idea? What kind of shows would you want to see on such a channel?

You’ve probably seen the use of medical diagnostics on tv shows like Law and Order and House, as well as on other shows including soap operas. In this case I’m referring to a diagnostic imaging test called a cat scan. They never show a character having any type of reaction to the contrast that is sometimes injected for that test. Some normal reactions to this contrast include experiencing a funny taste, a warm flush of the face or body, sensation in the bladder and nausea. Can you imagine the character of Nikolas Cassadine on General Hospital thinking that he peed on the table when he recently went through all of that testing?  Maybe they don’t mention it because they’re afraid viewers will be distracted from the storyline or something.

This week I’ve seen a lot of commercials for Verizon FIOS multi room dvr. This looks really cool and is something that’s right up my alley. Verizon’s Multi Room DVR works from one dvr unit. Someone in the living room can pause a show and go into the bedroom and resume watching from there. Or, someone can watch a recorded show in the living room while someone else watches a different recording in another room. If you’ve got Verizon FIOS you can also take advantage of the included Media Manager, which allows people to use their television to listen to music from their computers and view pictures and slide shows. I hope DirecTV comes out with something like this soon for the satellite customers.