Other Gadgets (general gadgets)

[bold_n_brazen]

Can any of you gadgety people help me out?

I recently switched from my local landline phone company to Vonage. Setting up the phone and router, going through the process has all been pretty easy. And I'm saving a bundle.

Last night, at about 1 am, my alarm system starts to beep. The key pad says "Comm failure" and it occurs to me that the alarm system probably "talks" to the telephone lines. Which are now dormant. And then I realised, my TiVo is going to want to make a phone call on Saturday, and there's no dial tone in the wall there either.

Any suggestions as to how to get the Vonage service to travel through my existing phone jacks? Is there some simple piece of hardware I can buy to accomplish this?

Thanks in advance. Fell free to PM me if I haven't provided essential information.

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by bold_n_brazen
Can any of you gadgety people help me out?

I recently switched from my local landline phone company to Vonage. Setting up the phone and router, going through the process has all been pretty easy. And I'm saving a bundle.

Last night, at about 1 am, my alarm system starts to beep. The key pad says "Comm failure" and it occurs to me that the alarm system probably "talks" to the telephone lines. Which are now dormant. And then I realised, my TiVo is going to want to make a phone call on Saturday, and there's no dial tone in the wall there either.

Any suggestions as to how to get the Vonage service to travel through my existing phone jacks? Is there some simple piece of hardware I can buy to accomplish this?

Thanks in advance. Fell free to PM me if I haven't provided essential information.

It shouldn't be a problem:

http://www.vonage.com/help_knowledge...hp?article=649

(I thought Vonage presumed this is how it's done--you plug your entire internal phone system into the Vonage jack, which then goes into the broadband.)

BTW, on Tivo, you should get a network adapter, wireless if necessary, and have it get on your network as well. The info updates are faster and you can program tivo from work (or elsewhere, even the vomitorium, if you have internet access there).

[pony_trekker]

While we are close to the topic, has anyone noticed a decline in Verizon's cell service?


Specifically:

*every other call is dropped;
*phone book never works;
*battery dies quickly when phone is roaming;
*signal strength rarely strong.

[robustpuppy]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
It shouldn't be a problem:

http://www.vonage.com/help_knowledge...hp?article=649

(I thought Vonage presumed this is how it's done--you plug your entire internal phone system into the Vonage jack, which then goes into the broadband.)

But see http://www.vonage.com/help_knowledge...hp?article=820

It's important to note that while Vonage can work with a home alarm system, we do not recommend it. If for any reason you lose your Internet connectivity - due to a power outage or problem with your Internet service provider, for example - Vonage will not work, and your alarm system will not be able to make an emergency call if it's triggered. For this reason we recommend you keep a basic traditional landline dedicated to your home alarm system and use Vonage for the rest of your calling needs.

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by robustpuppy
But see http://www.vonage.com/help_knowledge...hp?article=820

You must be their lawyer.

Do they also recommend keeping a landline because in a power outage you won't be able to dial 911 either?

The obvious solution, of course, is to plug the router and cable modem into a battery backup system. Should keep it running longer than the alarm's battery backup, if properly configured.

And it's possible that your ISP sucks less than the phone company, but who knows?

[NotFromHere]

SEOUL - Though prices for smaller flat-screen displays could rise this year, big-screen TV prices are set for a prolonged slide as a battle rages between liquid crystal and plasma display standards.

Consumer tech giants such as Sony and LG Electronics are sacrificing profit for market share, analysts say. "Above all, price will be the most important factor when it comes to who will win the battle between plasma and LCD for big flat-screen TVs," said UFJ Tsubasa Securities analyst Kazuya Yamamoto.

Over the past year, prices of both have fallen sharply. A 42-inch plasma TV set using high-definition technology, which is widely expected to emerge as a global broadcast standard, currently sells for around $4,000, while the same size LCD costs about $5,000, according to Samsung Electronics and LG. A less hi-tech 42 inch plasma set can be bought for $2,000.

"LCD makers will need to add new generation lines faster than originally planned to meet the aggressive plasma pricing," Lehman Brothers said.

Analysts say the price of a 32 inch LCD set should drop another 40 percent to around $1,430 to grab more customers.

LCDs last longer than plasma screens but are not as bright, while energy-hungry plasma screens have a wider viewing angle but can require noisy fans to keep them cool.

In the medium term, plasma appears to have the edge in prices for big-screen TVs but huge LCD investment plans could change the picture. "As LCD prices come down, they will manage to beat out plasma in the 40-inch area in 2007 and 2008. We will see a cut-throat price war between the two competing technologies next year.

DisplaySearch, a research group, says that by 2008, plasma will account for 73 percent of the global market for 40-inch or larger flat TVs.

LG Electronics, Samsung SDI, Panasonic products maker Matsushita Electric Industrial and Pioneer Corp. are betting on plasma technology. "We expect production costs to drop by some 20 percent with the introduction of a new technology called 'single scanning' that halves the number of driver chips required to display images on the screen," said G.W. Kim, a spokesman at LG Electronics.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7989623/page/2/

[bold_n_brazen]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
You must be their lawyer.

Do they also recommend keeping a landline because in a power outage you won't be able to dial 911 either?

The obvious solution, of course, is to plug the router and cable modem into a battery backup system. Should keep it running longer than the alarm's battery backup, if properly configured.

And it's possible that your ISP sucks less than the phone company, but who knows?

Truth is, in Florida, all the utilities are a crapshoot.

Since I rarely turn my alarm on, I'm not all that worried about this.

[mmm3587]

Originally posted by NotFromHere
[hdtv lcd and plasma stuff]

The market's already lousy with $1k 27-32" HD LCDs. I don't see many, if any, plasmas at those prices. This article is a year behind; LCD won and will continue to win. Plasma is Bilmore's technology; whippersnappers use LCD.

[bold_n_brazen]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
It shouldn't be a problem:

http://www.vonage.com/help_knowledge...hp?article=649

(I thought Vonage presumed this is how it's done--you plug your entire internal phone system into the Vonage jack, which then goes into the broadband.)

BTW, on Tivo, you should get a network adapter, wireless if necessary, and have it get on your network as well. The info updates are faster and you can program tivo from work (or elsewhere, even the vomitorium, if you have internet access there).

For the record, and so that no one has to endure the hell I endured this weekend, you cannot use a network adapter with a Direct TV Tivo. Yes, there are USB ports back there. No, they do not work. Direct TV likes it that way.

The solution, which is less than ideal, is to use the Vonage router with a multi-handset cordless phone system and to get a cheap, local only land-line only for the Tivo and the alarm. And apparently I could do without Tivo making its call, since it downloads all of the program information from the satellite, but for the Sunday Ticket, it needs to make a phone call...

On an unrelated, but gadgety note, I bought myself a shiny pink Ipod today.

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by bold_n_brazen
For the record, and so that no one has to endure the hell I endured this weekend, you cannot use a network adapter with a Direct TV Tivo. Yes, there are USB ports back there. No, they do not work. Direct TV likes it that way.

The solution, which is less than ideal, is to use the Vonage router with a multi-handset cordless phone system and to get a cheap, local only land-line only for the Tivo and the alarm. And apparently I could do without Tivo making its call, since it downloads all of the program information from the satellite, but for the Sunday Ticket, it needs to make a phone call...

On an unrelated, but gadgety note, I bought myself a shiny pink Ipod today.

Ahh, too bad you didn't specify that it was directv. I thought, though, that they had some sort of card for people without phone lines. Maybe not for sunday ticket, though. (All I know is that a relation has DirectTV in some phone-less cabin in Maine, and it works).

As for the landline, the cheap local service surely is as good a deal as the phone company has. They plug the unlimited local service, and all the features, and soon you're bill is over $40 for phone service alone. Yet if you want the limited service, and no features, you can keep it under $10 (usually). Even if you do make calls for pizza, you'll never use up the monthly message units.

BTW, I would think you could wire up the way that Vonage suggests, and then have the local line act as line 2. (just splice the land line into the line 2 (black/yellow) at your service entry). Then, go to radio shack and buy one or two of the L1/L2/L1+L2 splitter-jacks, and plug the alarm and tivo into the L2 jack.

for clarity, $8.59 online at the 'Shack. Cheaper than a new cordless system.

[bold_n_brazen]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
Ahh, too bad you didn't specify that it was directv. I thought, though, that they had some sort of card for people without phone lines. Maybe not for sunday ticket, though. (All I know is that a relation has DirectTV in some phone-less cabin in Maine, and it works).

As for the landline, the cheap local service surely is as good a deal as the phone company has. They plug the unlimited local service, and all the features, and soon you're bill is over $40 for phone service alone. Yet if you want the limited service, and no features, you can keep it under $10 (usually). Even if you do make calls for pizza, you'll never use up the monthly message units.

BTW, I would think you could wire up the way that Vonage suggests, and then have the local line act as line 2. (just splice the land line into the line 2 (black/yellow) at your service entry). Then, go to radio shack and buy one or two of the L1/L2/L1+L2 splitter-jacks, and plug the alarm and tivo into the L2 jack.

for clarity, $8.59 online at the 'Shack. Cheaper than a new cordless system.

The landline will run me about $18 a month, after taxes, 911 surcharges, FCC fees and all that crap.

As for the rest of this, I am afraid of any suggestion that starts "just splice". Let me know if you're ever in south Florida and you can do the splicing for me.

[NotFromHere]

Apple settles suit over iPod battery life.

Music players bought before 2004 covered under tentative pact.

SAN FRANCISCO - Customers whose older iPods had poor battery life will get $50 coupons and extended service warranties under a tentative settlement in a class-action lawsuit.

In 2003, eight customers sued Apple, claiming the iPod failed to live up to advertised claims that the rechargeable battery would last the product’s lifetime and play music continuously for up to 10 hours.

Thousands complained that the battery — which cost $99 to replace — lasted 18 months or less and that they could play music for only four hours or less before having to recharge it.

[NotFromHere]

NEW YORK - TiVo Inc. on Wednesday said it extended its TiVoToGo portable video service to pocket computers and mobile phones running Microsoft software, as the television recording company beefed up its offerings in an effort to differentiate from its rivals.

The move improves on TiVo's TiVoToGo initiative, announced earlier this year, that allows users to shift recorded TV programs to a personal computer in the same home.

The new feature lets them travel with those shows, and watch them on devices made by companies such as iRiver, Samsung Electronics, Hewlett-Packard Co., and Dell Inc.

"(We are) trying to create a continual upgrading of the (users) experience," he said. "Our business model is pretty sound, but our challenge is how to raise the bar of what that $12.95-a-month delivers to people.

"In-Stat (a research firm) said that video-on-mobile-phones will become a $5.4 billion market by 2009," said John Pollard, of Microsoft's Windows Mobile Applications and Services Marketing group. "This is fantastic piece to build momentum."

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by NotFromHere
NEW YORK - TiVo Inc. on Wednesday said it extended its TiVoToGo portable video service to pocket computers and mobile phones running Microsoft software,

Could those fuckers please get teh service for macs? Good lord, who's going to watch desparate housewives on their cell phone?

[NotFromHere]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
Could those fuckers please get teh service for macs? Good lord, who's going to watch desparate housewives on their cell phone?

I don't work for Tivo, Microsoft, or any of the above-named PDA manufacturers, but I don't think there's enough money (currently) to migrate Tivo to Mac. Especially now with all the hubbub with the chips and all.

That said, it's hard enough just to get the baseball scores on the cell phone, much less try to watch anything on that little screen.