7 Technology Must Have’s!

Ever wonder what technology you really need these days?  Check out this list:

iStock_000017044605XSmall1. The most important thing to spend your money on, far and above more important than cell phones, is your internet connection!  Drop your cable TV, you don’t need it, what you will need as a replacement is a very strong high speed internet connection.  If you live within Northwest Arkansas, I’d recommend Cox Cable over AT&T DSL, but AT&T Uverse takes the cake (if it’s available in your area).

2. Setup that wireless router for your fast internet connection!  This way when your within your home you can take advantage of the faster speeds for all your devices.  (don’t forget to encrypt it!)

3. Splurge on a 3g iPad!  Pay the $650 plus $30/month for unlimited access, you’ll have entertainment in the palms of your hands.  Reading, gaming, navigation, weather, the list of values goes on and on.  Oh, and remember to hook it up to your wireless router while at home.

iStock_DiskArray4. Buy a good computer with tons of hard drive space… and I mean terabytes worth.  This could be a Windows Home Server, or just a standard Dell computer you’ve augmented with additional hard drives.  This will give you plenty of space for your media which leads into step 5.

5. Convert all of your DVD’s to digital mp4 files which can be linked into iTunes.  This lets you sync with your iPad or other devices to watch your collection of movies anywhere.

6. Buy one of those $99 AppleTV’s!  This will give you access to your newly digitized DVD collection on your television set.  It also provides you with access to pictures and other media.  Even the internet is accessible along with NetFlix.

7. NetFlix.  This will give you access to a wide variety of movies and television shows which you do not have in your personal collection.  As an added bonus, you can access NetFlix on your iPad, AppleTV, and your computer!

These 7 things are all you need to have a technologically well rounded life, enjoy!

Action Movies

I’d say I’m a traditional man with a few exceptions… I’m not into sports and my alcohol preference tends to lean more towards wine than beer,  however I do love women, trucks and action movies!  Recently I’ve been reminded of that when I watched the latest Die Hard movie, Live Free or Die Hard.  This movie reminded me of what a good action movie should be… and more due to the hacker extras.

Here is a small collection of Action Movies I’d recommend:mel_gibson_lethal_weapon

live_free_or_die_hard_movie 1. All four of the Die Hard Moviesequilibrium

2. All four of the Lethal Weapon Movies

3. Shoot ‘em Up

4. The Matrix

5. Any of the Terminator killbillMovies

6. Batman Begins Terminator%20movie

7. Equilibrium

8. Kill Bill Vol 1

9. The Bourne Ultimatum

10. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

Shoot ‘em Up

shootemupI’ve recently decided to startup reviewing movies.  I wouldn’t consider myself someone who has a lot of facts and statistics stored in my brain, but I do enjoy Movies, TV Shows, and entertainment.  So here goes…

Shoot ‘em Up is a wild ride with shooting from the first seconds of the movie.  Clive Owen plays Smith, a down and out expert marksman.  As the movie puts it, he’s a guy with a pussy in his hand… as apposed to a pussy with a gun.

Dragged into a conspiracy that is much larger than one random killing, Smith sets himself out to protect a baby.  He even drags the lactating prostitute, played by Monica Bellucci, into the race to survive.  The everyone including the government are after the baby… all that stands between them and Oliver is Mr. Smith.

If you like none stop action and lots of shooting… checkout this movie!!

NetBook Madness

mini1000 I have recently purchased and currently await arrival of a brand new HP Mini 1000 Netbook. That’s right… this years "hot" product is on it’s way to my house. I will provide you with a video intro to this new product once it arrives. In the mean time I figured I’d share some of the features and what I’m planning to do with it.

I fell in love with HP’s style back when I had my old 17" laptop. Back then it was my second laptop intended for my desktop replacement device. At that time I needed a desktop replacement because of my need to be ultra mobile. I used it for programming, video encoding, website design, remote administration and more. When I closed my business in 2008, I found it sat on my desktop all the time. So I sold it and purchased matching HP Pavilion desktops for me and my girlfriend.

My intention with this new NetBook isn’t to replace my desktop but rather serve as a portal device into my desktop, servers, and the internet.

Here is the specs sheet from my order:
HP Mini 1000 XP edition series
Genuine Windows XP Home with Service Pack 3
Intel(R) Atom(TM) Processor N270 (1.60GHz)
10.2" diagonal WSVGA HP LED Brightview Infinity Display (1024 x 600)
FREE Upgrade to 1GB DDR2 System Memory (1 Dimm)!! – For Integrated WWAN products
Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator 950
60GB 4200RPM PATA Hard Drive
HP Mini Webcam with HP Imprint Finish (Swirl) – For 10.2" Display
HP Color Matching Keyboard
Wireless-G Card with Bluetooth
3 Cell Lithium Polymer Battery
HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

As you can see it will have many wonderful features. I plan on adding a 3G internet card later so in anticipation i purchased the special WWAN memory and was forced to choose the larger 1.8" 60GB PATA hard drive instead of a SSD drive.

At the end of February my wonderful Fiance and I will be on our honeymoon. We are taking a cruise around the eastern Caribbean islands for 7 full days. I’m hoping that wireless internet will be provided, but if not I’ll be sure to post as much as I can before and after.
Anyways… after we get back from the cruise, we’ll be on our 7day road trip along the eastern coast. We could get as far north as New York if the weather permits. Either way we’ll be taking full advantage of the NetBook and the 3G capabilities… Just image, driving down the road with the NetBook open and streaming a movie from your home server 5 states away. 😉

Another nice feature we’ll be taking full advantage of is the Streets and Trips program I purchased last year, which also came with a Microsoft GPS antenna. I plan to purchase an inexpensive bluetooth transmitter for it and will throw it up on the dash to provide us with GPS tracking for our trip.

Ok, the $500 I spent for it is also well justified because it will fit nicely into one of my motorcycles saddlebags… yes, you heard right. Full RDP access into the servers I manage, video streaming, 3G internet access and more anywhere I might ride.

On a side note I will need to upgrade the OS on my home desktop to allow for RDP access… I’m currently running Vista Home Premium and we all know something more is needed.

Well closing this post for now… but I’ll be sure to let you all know when it arrives. They are set to ship it out on the 7th and I’m checking the order status almost daily now… LOL