Blu-ray: Will it Survive?

Question: Do you prefer your entertainment to be at the Highest Quality and be less convenient OR do you prefer your entertainment to be convenient in substitution for Higher Quality? Let the battle begin.

Over the last couple of years, we have seen Blu-ray disc player prices dramatically decrease. Rumor has it: This Black Friday…Blu-ray players for 99 bucks! After these drastic price reductions, you would think people would flock to purchase their very own unit but this is not happening. The market is showing very little growth in Blu-ray player ownership. Why? My theories:
#1: The discs are very expensive. A single disc can cost $35.
#2: You need the right components to make Blu-ray worthwhile. 1080p TV, HDMI cable, Nice Surround Sound amplifier and speakers, etc.
#3: Our ipod generation wants it now!…That’s right…Instant Gratification. The Apple iTunes store has taught us that we no longer have to wait for our entertainment but just merely click. Why go the store when you can watch movies online, on your smart phone, or even better…have them streamed to your TV? Movie streaming pioneers such as Netflix, Yahoo Movies, Apple TV, and services such as cable, TiVo, and satellite pose possible threats to Blu-ray because they give us the ability to watch our movies on demand.

More and more, we our becoming a society of convenience. The Internet has made information global and easy to discover. Carrying around physical media just does not cut it. Generally, convenience and pricing are what have made electronic products succeed and fail. Example, Betamax movies versus VHS movies. VHS movies were cheaper to make therefore drawing the consumer in more.

Digital content via the Internet versus Blu-ray media:
A Blu-ray disc costs close to thirty dollars. Buy the HD version of the same movie on iTunes and the cost is twenty dollars. Purchasing the digital version also allows you to put the movie on your AppleTV, ipod, or computer. Last point; buying a movie off the web lets me avoid SUV driving Soccer Moms from crushing my Honda Civic. This is Ricardo Amell (Correspondent GEEK for John Ahren’s Gadget Review World), signing off…

To Leave Feedback:
Ricardo Amell
rickyamell@gmail.com

Pen Tablet to the rescue!

If you’re starting to get that tingly feeling in your wrists it’s a warning. You could be showing symptoms of carpel-tunnel syndrome. Perhaps a Pen Tablet could help.

Hey I’m not a doctor, but if you prefer to treat the cause of the problem, or better yet prevent carpel-tunnel altogether read my earlier post about my own experience.

The pen tablet has been a key factor in eliminating discomfort in my wrists. Try this simple exercise to understand how poor ergonomics using a typical mouse can cause problems for some people:
1.) Sitting down at your computer in an armless chair, put your hand at your side. Make sure it’s relaxed.
2.) Lift your arm from the elbow, and rest it on the table. Notice that your hand is resting on the “pinky” side of your hand, with the thumb on top.
3.) Now, grasp the mouse as you would work with it. Notice how your wrist twists and possibly bends? A pen tablet can help eliminate the twisting and bending in your wrists and perhaps reduce injury.

I have two pen tablets that I have purchased. One is in my home study, the other is with my computer at work. Both are made by Wacom and are Graphire models that are discontinued. They were priced at roughly $100, and easily hooked up to a MAC or Windows machine.

Outside of the possible health benefits, there are many useful operational and creative advantages.
1.) Multiple pointing modes: Mouse, pen, multi-touch finger
2.) You can customize the way the pen, mouse, or even your finger are used with individual programs. That feature can be a major productivity boost when you switch from Microsoft Word to Adobe Photoshop. The included software keeps track of which tool and the software you are using.
3.) You can write or markup documents as though you were writing on paper.
4.) Pressure sensitive pen makes the process of retouching photos or drawing more intuitive. Basically the more pressure you use, the wider the stroke.

Which one should you buy? There are many tablets out there, starting at $70 and going into the thousands. My personal suggestion is to check out the Wacom product line, and compare with others you find.

Do you have experience with a pen tablet and have recommendations? We’d love to hear from you! Please leave a comment.

Remember, technology is your friend!
-John (aka Founding Geek)

Apple TV

Convergence between internet and cable/satellite/broadcast has been the buzz for a few years now and Apple TV is one of the first devices to make it easy for the average consumer. All you need is high speed internet, a network (wired or wi-fi) and the cables to hook up your HDTV. Setup is simple.

I purchased my Apple TV in June 2007. It’s worked flawlessly for over two years now. Of course you can listen to music through your entertainment system and watch recent movies and TV shows on your TV. With the software upgrades Apple has added the ability to send audio from the Apple TV to any other sets of speakers connected to your network. I have an Apple Airport Express in my study and also my wife’s study. In effect we can pump out The Beatles to Beethoven to every corner of our house.

The big surprise to me…
… was that I would become hooked on video podcasts and YouTube videos. There is lots of useful information on podcasts. Whether your interests are in gadgets, cooking, pets, broadcast news repeats, whatever; you’ll find entertainment and useful information in these podcasts. It’s easy to find video podcasts through the iTunes store. I like being able to watch them in the comfort of our den, instead of watching hunched over my computer in the study. You can download podcasts or just stream them over your wi-fi network.

My only request to Apple…
… is to combine Apple TV with the Mac Mini so I can also surf the internet on my HDTV. All you would need additionally would be a bluetooth keyboard and some sort of bluetooth pointing device (mouse). With such a device, we would essentially have full convergence of internet and traditional television content in the comfort of our living room.

In a future post, we’ll discuss how you can free up your Apple TV using a free program called Boxee.

Do you have an Apple TV? We’d like to get your comments. Please click on the link and let us know about your user experience.

Why am I blogging about gadgets? Find out here!