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Wish List
My birthday is coming up. If anyone is looking for ideas, check this out. Don’t be fooled by the price, it’s close to half that price at local retailers. Yes, still expensive, but I will have this TV. Looks like I’ll need to increase the deposits in my Christmas club. 
American Idol Down to Three
Curses! My Idol favorite, Anthony Fedorov, was axed last night. Carry has a great voice, and probably should win, but her music isn’t my style. Fedorov has a great voice. There’s no way he should have been axed before Vonzell, and I liked him better than Bo Bice too.
I feel like I have less interest in watching the show now. I look forward to Anthony’s first album. Seacrest was right when he said Anthony is “a total class act.”
Looking back, I think my favorite moment in this season was Constantine’s rendition of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” That was great.
Time Warner HD DVR
A couple of weeks ago, Wanda and I signed up for the Time Warner HD DVR package to go along with our new HDTV. Although we were very fond of our media center, I decided to try the HD DVR for the following reasons:
- It tuned HD content.
- I assumed it was easier to maintain than an actual computer connected to the TV.
- The media center took up more room, and I thought the slim DVR would look nicer in our cabinet.
Ultimately, we ended up cancelling it and just reverted to our trusty HP media center. Here’s why:
- The user interface was lousy. It looked like something that was designed in the 1980′s using CGA graphics. We also thought it was much less intuitive than Windows Media Center Edition.
- The extra HD channels I received over the ones I already got over the analog service were non-impressive.
- The remote sucked.
We now have our HP Media Center hooked up to it, and we like it much better. We hooked it directly to the TV via the monitor port, and the resolution is quite impressive (as compared to a composite connection which we were using before). It doesn’t tune HD, but we don’t really get any HD content we’re interested in anyway, and even if we were, we could switch to the normal tuner for that. Windows Media Center is definitely one thing Microsoft got right. Easy to navigate, intuitive interface, and simple remote with all functions a few clicks away.
Media Center Follow-up
We loved our HP m1050 Media Center so much that I decided to build one for our entertainment system. I got the old machine that the m1050 replaced repaired (new motherboard), purchased a remote control and a TV tuner, and slapped MCE 2005 on it. It works splendidly. We can now pause, rewind, and record live TV, check the weather, play media files (even my old MPEG4 MST3K collection!), and listen to FM radio with onscreen controls. Best of all, the on-screen TV guide is included with MCE 2005, so I don’t have to pay Time Warner for a set-top box to get it. And I only spent about $200 to upgrade it, which I figure will pay off since I won’t have to pay recurring fees like other PVR devices require, and it’s fully upgradeable. Now we’ll just have to see what happens when HDTV is mandatory…
American Idol #4
I watched American Idol last night. Even though I usually ignore the early episodes where they taunt the tone-deaf, I thought last night’s was pretty good and most of the comments were well-deserved. 
What amazes me is some of the worst performers seem to be crushed when they learn they have no tallent at all. Have you ever listened to yourself sing?! It should be a good season, though.
Satellite Radio vs. “Free Radio”
Ok, I was listening to my talk radio program this morning on WTAQ. I heard one of the ads they play regularly about why free radio is better than satellite radio (ie, XM or Sirius). To suggest that free radio is better than satellite radio, they used arguments like, “Satellite radio has too much profanity, and I worry about my kids,” and “Free radio cuts out too much when I’m obstructed by things like tall buildings or a mountain,” and “Free radio gives me local news and sports,” etc.
Alas, the marketing industry in this nation just doesn’t get it! We all understand that free content is paid for by advertisers, and we have no problem with viewing reasonable ads in exchange for free content, but there is a limit to our patience. This has already been made evident on the Internet. People are installing ad-blocking software like never before. Do they really have a problem with viewing ads in exchange for content? No way, but they do have a problem with being abused by advertisers. Things like “fly-in” Flash advertisements and annoying animations push the limits of our patience. I don’t mind viewing banners or AdWords, and I occasionally click on ads that relate to my interests, but shoving animated casino and “punch the monkey” ads down our throats just doesn’t cut it.
It’s the same with radio. We don’t mind paying for satellite radio because free radio has begun to abuse its listeners much like the Internet. I listen to WTAQ and hear the same ad telling me how they can lower my farm taxes by just giving them a call, with annoying elevator music and some pretentious blonde finance major telling me I’d be stupid not to use their service. I am not a farmer. If I was, I probably would have been convinced by the first 1000 times I’ve heard the ad. Similarly, the talk radio industry has sunken to the lowliest of advertisers, from get rich quick to lose weight in 7 days with no exercise and no diet change. We don’t mind your ads at a reasonable interval, but please, we get the point – “Investing in gold through Swiss America is my ticket to fame and fortune!”
Finally, they suggest that signal loss is a frustration among satellite radio converts. I ask you – is losing your signal when you go under and overpass any worse than WTAQ’s record of playing commercials over my radio program, censoring content because it doesn’t agree with their political agenda, or cancelling my radio program in favor of sports programs that talk about the previous day’s game and what you already saw while watching it?
*sigh*, I need a political talk radio that doesn’t cater to farmers and meat heads. Free radio has become the whore of the advertising industry, just like the Internet.
Disclaimer: I am not a subscriber to any satellite TV service, but for reasons stated above I’ve been seriously tempted. I also have nothing against farmers, but sometimes I feel like WTAQ is out of touch with their a large portion of their demographic. Perhaps they need to spin-off the politics from the sports/farm report. “Look ma’, hog futures are up 2 points, Favre sealed the Viking’s fate with a 60 yard bomb, and Rush Limbaugh thinks liberals are intolerant!”
December 24th, 2004 
Entertainment & Media, News & Current Events 
Tags: advertising, clueless, flash, opinion, Radio, satellite, sirius, Television, wtaq, xm, more... Fantasia Wins Idol
Ok, so the whole world knows now that Fantasia won American Idol tonight. Sad, but true. Maybe she can play the voice of Simba in the next Lion King movie, since Jonathon Taylor Thomas grew up. Anyway, Diana was obviously my favorite, but I’m hoping she’ll pull a Clay Aiken and pump out some great albums. Go Diana! You got my vote.
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