Recently I took another look at internet TV and naturally was leaning towards the cheaper option – a software product called Boxee that can be installed on any computer for free.  Boxee on a computer is great, but you still need to have your computer on, accessible and hooked up to your TV to use it – not that inconvenient, but not ideal.  Boxee also offers a device that you can just plugin to your TV and it uses your local wireless network to connect to the internet – it comes with a remote and costs about $190 on sale.  Not bad I thought – can I splurge – is it really any good – will my wife shoot me for being an “early adopter” yet once again?  Then I found Apple TV.

Apple TV is a little box small enough to fit in the palm of your hand that costs $120.  All you do is plug it into a power outlet, use an HDMI cable to plug it into your TV.   Using the sleek little remote it comes with you just choose the wireless network you want to connect to, and then you can start watching!  Watching what you say?  Well, you can get most free internet stuff like YouTube videos directly from the internet, but the best part is you can access any photos, videos or music that you have on any computers connected to your home network – although they do have to be running Apple’s iTunes software.  Also you can connect to the iTunes store and pay to download music and movies – but only if you want.  The best part is – like most Apple products – it is not only easy, but an absolute pleasure to use – and integrates seamlessly with Apple products like the iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad.  I also recommend the Netflix internet move and TV show service that costs $7.99 per month – tons of great kids and adult shows alike.

So, here is the breakdown of our set-up to get rid of our satellite TV bill:

• Apple TV – about $150 including tax
• Netflix – $7.99 per month
• Movies from iTunes – $5.99 each for HD version (or $4.99 for regular version)
• TV shows from iTunes – $2.99 per episode, or $39.99 per season
• Set up antenna to get over-the-air TV stations
• Bonus: photo slideshows, music, direct connection to iPhone / iPod

So, I figure our TV costs will go from almost $100 per month to under $50 per month depending on how many TV shows and movies we rent and that may be none.  Set up is less than $200.  The only potential issue for some people is no sports specialty channels – free broadcasts from the likes of CBC will have to fill any live sports needs.

PS – Update to my  recommendation from last month – a $400 laptop with at least a 15.6″ screen, 4GB of RAM,  a 500GB hard drive, and an HDMI output.  An HDMI output will allow you so to easily send high definition video with sound to most TV’s.

PPS – Why didn’t I recommend or even discuss any Apple computers like the iMac or MacBook’s?  Simply put they are the best but they are super expensive for what you get – try $1800 for a laptop that is basically the same.  With the release of Windows 7, the benefit to buying Mac doesn’t outweigh the cost IMHO.   Also maintenance is much more because if you upgrade your operating system on a Mac, you also have to pay to get new versions of all your software!  Note that this does not apply to iPod’s, iPhone’s and iPad’s – here the extra cost is worth the benefit – but that’s another column.

Short Answer = Buy a $400 laptop with at least a 15.6″ screen, 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard drive.

The long answer is that there are 4 basic types of computers you can buy:

1. Desktop – the traditional PC tower
2. Laptop – a screen and keyboard that folds up like a clamshell for portability
3. Netbook – essentially a smaller and less powerful laptop
4. Tablet – a touchscreen cell phone without the phone

Desktops give you the most bang for your buck, are great for heavy-duty computing, and have large monitor screens (> 20″ are now standard) but are not portable and laptops cost just a little more for the same power.

Laptops are powerful, portable and the standard is a 15.6″ screen.  They can connect to a large monitor, keyboard and mouse easily for a two-screen professional workstation set-up.

Netbooks are cheapest and will work for those on a budget that aren’t doing much computing – perhaps just checking email, surfing the web and viewing some pictures.

Tablets are expensive and most people will still require a second computer to meet all their needs (i.e. desktop, laptop or netbook).  They are slick and convenient, but in my opinion are just a large version of a smartphone (cell phone) but without the ability to make calls!

So my recommendation is to purchase a laptop with at least a 15.6″ screen, 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard drive.  It doesn’t really matter what brand (HP, Gateway, Acer, Toshiba, etc.) or who made the processor (AMD vs. Intel).  Look for one on sale at y (The Source, Future Shop, Staples) and you should be able to purchase it in the $350 – $450 price range.  If you want to use it at a fixed workstation then purchase a monitor, keyboard and mouse and just plug it in at your desk when you use it there.

Contact us for a quote if you’re interested in using this program.

Hunter River Mommy Showcase 2011

Saturday, June 4th, 2011
from 10 am – 2pm
at the Hunter River Community Center
(behind Harmony House)

Admission is by donation to the Dr Kent G Ellis Heritage Park

All mommies, grandmas, aunts and women welcome. Come and enjoy a cup of coffee or teas and meet with reps from a number of different businesses that have you in mind because they are women just like you. And don’t forget the door prizes.

The reservation system is available to other campground and accommodation operators.  For more information about implementing the system for your business, contact us.

The reservation system was built as a WordPress plugin.

We Have A Winner!

To launch the new SunriseWeb.ca Facebook page, we’re holding a St. Patrick’s Day Contest!

To enter all you have to do is Like our Facebook page.  We’ll randomly select a winner from all the Facebook page likes on the morning of March 17th, 2011.

The winner will receive:

• domain name registration for one domain for 1 year
• basic hosting for 1 year
• Google Apps for your domain.  This gives you a Gmail account using your...@yourdomain.com, great for brand recognition, plus the rest of the Google Apps suite including Contacts, Calendar, Docs, and Sites.

The prize is valued at approximately $250 and the contest is open to everyone.

Enter by March 17th – Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

• All in One SEO Pack by Michael Torbert
• BackupBuddy by iThemes (premium)
• Calendar by Kieran O’Shea
• Frontpage-Slideshow by Jean-Francois VIAL
• Google Calendar Events by Ross Haney
• Google XML Sitemaps by Arne Brachhold
• Gravity Forms by rocketgenius (premium)
• HL Twitter by Luke Lanchester
• Login Logo by Mark Jaquith
• MapPress Easy Google Maps by Chris Richardson
• PicasaView by Simon Sattes
• SexyBookmarks by Shareaholic
• AddThis by AddThis.com
• Simple Facebook Connect by Otto
• Shadowbox JS by Matt Martz
• Smart Youtube by Vladimir Prelovac
• Social Media Widget by Brian Freytag
• Subscribe To Comments by Mark Jaquith
• WP-reCAPTCHA by Jorge Pena
• WP Super Cache by Donncha O Caoimh
• WP Youtube Channel Gallery by Bruno Neves (with help from Brad Trivers – me!)