Home media electronics not working properly? Check the firmware.

Having a lot of electronics around can be bliss until they stop working the way that they are supposed to. I have noticed that the media equipment that own and have at the house sometimes like to misbehave. I have a 37" Philips plasma television at the house and it started to do some strange things like just turn itself off in the middle of watching a program. This started to happen more frequently as the days went by. I went to the manufacturers website and did some research into the problems that these devices encounter. It turns out that there was a firmware fix for this issue. It was as easy as taking a thumb drive and putting the firmware on it. I followed the instructions given with the program and it was fixed before I knew that it was over.

This made me think that maybe I should check the firmware for all of the other devices that I have in the media center. It turns out that the DVD player, MP3 players as well as the cable box all had software updates that were available. Updating the firmware can be risky sometimes because if it fails you might have an expensive paper weight afterwards. Check the manufacturer's website for the updates and read what it was released to fix. If the fix doesn't pertain to you then skip it. Software updates for DVD players are more common lately because of the advanced types of players being in the market. When I say advanced, I mean up converting DVD players as well as Blu-Ray players. There are already DVD and Blu-Ray players that have RJ45 ports to have a dedicated network connection and receive updates as well as additional content for the media that is inserted. Pretty soon your DVD player will be part of Skynet and the terminators will make you watch "The sound of music" in 1080P. Until then, just check your firmware.

It's official, I'm an adult.

I have been slowly and quietly, kicking and screaming against the fact that I am an adult. I think that I realized this fact today when I checked my Myspace account and saw that I had a dozen or so unread messages from people that I went to high school and college with. Granted, I have a very cool job and career, a great dog and an awesome girlfriend. I did not realize how long it has been since I have seen some of these people that I sat in class with. Some are married, some are divorced. Some have kids, some are still doing the same stupid things that they were doing ten years ago. I think that if you want put some perspective on your situation, you should take a look at your peers that have the same background as you. I have found that if I try and gauge the success of myself compared to the people that I have chosen to surround myself with, I always feel like there is something that is missing. I read the emails from the people in my past and didn't feel too bad after that. Perspective can make or break you it seems like when you are having a some self reflection time. So this is the guy behind the guy to quote a movie line.

Expand your 360 storage on the cheap

I was looking at my Xbox 360 the other day realized that the HD that came with the unit is just too small. I have the newer version of the system with the HDMI port but they skimped on the HD, 10 gigs. I have found that I can plug a thumb drive into the system and the 360 reads the content without a problem. I tried to plug my external SATA drive into the 360 but it did not see the content at all. I went online and priced an external HD that Microsoft sells, 129 gig for $179. What? Just like the wireless connector for the 360, that is too much. I was able to get around the wireless signal issue with a network bridge but now this. After doing some research, I found that thumb drives are FAT32 but my external HD that I tried to plug in is using NTFS.

I took an old 2.5" laptop HD and converted it to the FAT32 format. I found an enclosure an plugged the HD into the 360 without an issue. The Xbox now sees the HD content and I am now able to use the sneaker net method to take content to my Xbox. With the latest 360 OS updates, I can now play .avi, xvid and also HD H264 content. It is nice to be able to take HD movies and play them on the Xbox. So for $79 I found a 120 gig HD and for $12 I found an enclosure that looks great on top of my 360. The FAT32 system is limited to 127.5 gigs unfortunately but that is better than 10 gigs. I don't use the network sharing feature of the 360 because of my network setup but this works nicely. Don't ask, it's a long story.

Make your IPod happy

I am not an Apple apologist or fanboy material by any means. In fact, I really don't like Apple that much at all since they want you to pay for absolutely everything and also most OS X users don't even know how their hardware or software works. If you are in my situation though and own an IPod, this is for you. My Ipod has been running slowly and having trouble accessing the files and music when prompted. I plugged the thing into my PC, ran a defrag on the contraption from XP and it seemed to do the job. I now have no lag or hesitation from the IPod at all. Who would have thought that the PC and the Mac would play together without someone getting their feelings hurt?

Weird call of the day

I work in an IT department for a relatively small company that needs our department to work nights and weekends when needed. On the way to my desk today, I was walking by the elevator and heard the emergency telephone in it ringing. For some reason, I picked up the handset and this was the conversation that followed:

Me: Um hello.

Female caller: Yes hi, I was wondering if someone could help me with the order that I had placed earlier today.

Me: Well I am not sure what order that you have placed but I will try.

Female caller: Well my name is blah blah and I was wondering if I could add some more pizzas to the large order that I had placed for delivery at 7:30 tonight. Also, I would like to change the type and toppings of some of the other pizzas that have already ordered.

Me: Sure, why don't you go ahead and just tell me what you originally ordered and I will try and find the order slip.

Female caller: Why can't you just look the order up in the computer?

Me: Oh, well I am the only one here and they don't let me touch the computer.

Female caller: What? Why?

Me: The last time someone called in and asked me to change an order that had already been placed, I smashed the computer and yelled at the customer.

Female caller: [Silence for ten seconds]

Me: Oh, look here! I found your order slip!

Female caller: That's alright, just deliver what I had originally ordered. Thanks.

End of call.

:)

COD4 Dance tune

See more funny videos at CollegeHumor

A fellow COD4 player sent this me today. I thought that it was pretty creative. Enjoy.

Sick of being sick

This is the wonderful time of year that most people get sick, including myself. I have not been updating my blog very much lately because of that. I have however been spending more time in front of the Xbox and less at work. Now that I think about it, that part is not so bad. I would trade going into work for feeling better though.

Upgrade your experience, you deserve it

There are many things that are just facts of life, we deal with it and move on. When you purchase a console gaming system, MP3 player or even put a computer system together, the headphones that come with what you have bought suck. I have ran into this a few times this past year and found some audio upgrades that make a huge difference without breaking your bank. The first set of headphones that I purchased were for my IPod. I found that when I travel, my MP3 player gets a whole lot of use. The original set of white headphones that came with the player now reside in a landfill somewhere in the southeast. Sorry, the recycling guy didn't want them either. I tried a few different sets of headphones and decided to stick with the Philips SHE5910.


I found that these have a great sound and use a virtual surround sound technology that works extremely well. This model comes with a carrying case and replacement in ear rubber gaskets. This makes them great for traveling and keeps them clean and organized. I found them for under $20 at many places.

The next set that I found myself needing to buy was for my XBox 360. If you own a 360 and use the Live feature for chat or gaming, then you maybe feel the same way that I do about the headphone / mic combo that they give you. Uncomfortable and useless. The one ear chat and one ear game sound is just distracting to me. I was walking around Best Buy and saw that they have a new product in the XBox section that didn't even have a price yet attached. The Turtle Beach X3 gaming headphones for the 360.

This was one of the coolest products that I had seen in a while but it came at a cost. This wireless set of gaming headphones cost around $85-$100. The main thing that sold me on this set was that I could hear game play in very loud stereo and also hear myself speaking in stereo. The game sound and microphone levels have separate level adjustments. The bass level in these are great and the battery life well exceeds 8 hours of continuous play. I bought four AAA NiMH rechargeable and I was set. The headphones use two AAA and I keep the other two charged and replace them as necessary. Now that I think about it, not very often. I even put the diagram of how they connect to the wireless controller. For serious gamers at an adult price. I don't remember how I played without these truthfully. The wireless signal is line of sight though for the game audio. The voice feature uses the 360 controller signal which is very strong. The IR signal for the audio will reach about 50 feet. I also use these to watch movies and listen to music when others around may not want to hear what I am doing.

The last set of headphones that I received was on a recommendation from Patrick Norton (Tekzilla, Systm, and countless other Revision 3 pod casts). The Grado SR60 headphones.

I have to admit though, I was not impressed by the appearance of these heavy hitters. Truthfully, I thought that the website had shipped me the wrong pair by accident. I took them out of the packaging and put them on to find out that this was the best set of headphones that I had ever purchased. I have tried other sets of headphones out that were maybe better but they were the AKG K701 sorts that run upwards of $180 USD. I found this Grado SR60 set for $69 on Amazon.com with zero tax and free shipping. I definitely recommend these especially for the price. They are comfortable and don't squeeze the head too badly, as long as you don't have a huge melon. One major thing that I like about this model is that you can take them almost completely apart and replace some of the components if they get worn.

This is just a review of some of the items that I have purchased and how they worked out for me. I have been lucky with some of the purchases that I have made lately but unlucky in others. If you are at all like me then you research almost every purchase before you make it. The impulse purchase that got the best of me was the Turtle Beach gaming headphones but I am extremely happy with them. I later found them $18 cheaper online and I feel the burn in my wallet still. Use the Internet to gather information, reviews and prices as always.