Belkin BreakFree Guitar Connector

Apple hit a home run with their now famous MagSafe power cable connector. A power cable that is held in place magnetically.  This helped prevent your precious laptop from crashing to the ground in case a dog or human tripped on it.  

Seems that Belkin must have had that same problem while playing guitar.  They have now come up with the "BreakFree" 1/4 inch cable connector.  Giving musicians the same break away technology that Mac Addicts have been enjoying for the past 2 years.

Scheduled for release sometime in October.

$19.99 for the cable connector, and $9.99 per pair of extra tips.

Zenith DTT900 Converter Box

As the February 17, 2009 digital television transition draws nearer, it might be a good idea to think about getting a converter box for your older analog televisions. If you are watching your favorite shows through satellite or cable, you will not need one of these boxes. But if you have an older style television lying around, after February 17, you will have one very large and heavy paperweight. Unless you get a converter box.

If you live in a major metropolitan area, such as Los Angeles, chances are that your local stations are already broadcasting a digital signal. Rural locations will probably have to wait until February before seeing the digital transition. The amount of stations you will receive will depend on how close you are to the broadcast antennas and how strong of a signal your rabbit ears, or roof mounted antenna is capable of pulling in.

The great thing about using one of these boxes, besides the large amount of free stations, is the crystal clear quality of the picture. Gone forever is the static and snow. It is now replaced with a vibrant, standard definition signal that looks about as good as a DVD.

I recently tested the Zenith DTT900 and it proved more than capable at converting the OTA (over the air) digital transmission to an analog signal. With this little box I was able to pick up 60 stations that are broadcasting in the L.A. and Orange County area.

3 Easy Steps to Digital TV with the Zenith Digital TV Tuner

1. Request a $40 coupon for the purchase of a digital-to-analog converter box. Go to www.dtv.gov to learn more, request coupons here or call 1-888-DTV-2009 for details.
2. Take the coupon to a participating retailer and purchase the Zenith Digital TV Tuner. Radio Shack, Circuit City and many other fine retailers carry the DTT900/DTT901.
3. Connect the Zenith Digital TV Tuner to an existing or new TV antenna and connect the Zenith Digital TV Tuner to your existing TV with the supplied cables. Go to www.antennaweb.org for more information about receiving TV signals from an antenna in your area.

Pros: Clear Reception, Abundant Channels.

Cons: Limited Video Outputs.

Price: $20.00 (after coupon).

Large Hadron Collider Rap Video

Alpinekat, better known as Kate McAlpine from Michigan State University, raps about the groundbreaking collider at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) laboratory near Geneva, Switzerland.

The first beam in the Large Hadron Collider at CERN was successfully steered around the full 27 kilometres of the world’s most powerful particle accelerator at 10:28 a.m. this morning. This historic event marks a key moment in the transition from over two decades of preparation to a new era of scientific discovery.

By creating hundreds of thousands of head-on collisions each second, physicists hope to understand the fiery conditions of the universe a trillionth of a second after the big bang.

The findings could also help resolve some of the biggest mysteries in physics, such as the existence of one long-hypothesized particle called the Higgs boson—or the "God particle"—thought to be responsible for giving all other particles their mass.

All right guys, try not to screw this one up. Seriously.

Text Messaging

Okay, I will admit it, I am one of the few people remaining in the world who doesn't like to text message from a cell phone.  This could be do to the fact that my cell phone is either too small, or my thumbs are too big.  Or maybe a little bit of both.  Thankfully there is hope for people like me who are TMC (text messaging challenged).   

You can easily send a text message from your computer using your favorite email account.  The secret is knowing how to address the message.  I have compiled a little list of the most common cell phone carriers and how you need to format the address to insure that your text message reaches your intended recipient.  

AT&T- phonenumber@txt.att.net

Sprint - phonenumber@messaging.sprintpcs.com

T-Mobile - phonenumber@tmomail.com

Verizon - phonenumber@vtext.com

e.g.  3105551212@txt.att.net

Now put down that phone and get text messaging!