There are CORDS to be cut!

Well, that's it.  I've had it...stick a fork in me, I'm done.  This cowboy is fixing to send the Cable TV company packing.  And no, it's not because of any ONE thing they did, but rather a series of events that led to a revelation...I'm paying TOO MUCH!

A few months ago, my wife and I were trying to find something to watch on TV, a scenario repeated nightly the world over.  Despite having well over a hundred channels including EVERY variation of HBO, Showtime, and Cinemax known to man, we couldn't find a single movie or show that wasn't a repeat.  Having been through this exercise too many times, it occurred to me that we were paying a premium for services we could never use.  What good was it having 5 HBO's, 5 Showtimes, and 5 Cinemaxes, if we could never find a movie we wanted to watch or hadn't seen?  And to make matters worse, the selection of programming in their On Demand section was severely lacking in new programming.  So this got me thinking...what the heck are we even paying for all of this nothingness?!?

To be completely honest, I don't always go over our bills with a fine tooth comb.  I find the act of paying them to be SO repulsive, that I just want it over as soon as possible.  But, these recent developments with our cable TV situation had me wondering.  So, I forced myself to sit down and go through each line item one by one.  By the way, if you've never done this, I highly recommend doing so on an empty stomach, because the horrors you will behold will surely make you wretch.  Without going into too much detail, our bill with cable TV, phone and internet combined was hovering right around $280...every month!  EVERY MONTH!  For what?  The same movies in constant rotation?  A hundred channels we never watch?  The answer is yes, to all of the above.  So, my next step it seemed was to trim some fat.

When you're starting with a bill so wildly high when compared to the services you're getting, it doesn't take a lot of convincing to lose useless features.  For instance, we had FOUR HD cable boxes, but we spent 95% of our time watching one TV.  Granted we still wanted TV's in those rooms, so what to do?  Enter TCL and their Roku TV's.  Turns out, if you have just a single cable box in your home with a current subscription, chances are there is an app (or apps) that will allow you to see all your cable channels on the other Roku TV's without the rented cable boxes.  Score!  Even better in our case, my cable company had their own app, so I could just open that and not even know we had no box on the TV, getting even the premium channels without any extra effort or cost.

So, cutting cable boxes was a no brainer, but where to go from there.  As a delved deeper into my bill, I saw how much I was being charged for our 17 movie channels.  A little soul searching revealed that we almost never watched Cinemax or Showtime, which considering we had 5 of each was a bit shocking.  So, snip, snip, snip, and all we were left with was HBO, which c'mon...Game of Thrones, am I right?

With all of the changes I had made, my bill went from a morbidly obese $280 down to a  husky $220.  Better, but still kinda pricey for my tastes.  I knew I could do more, but I was really hesitant to sever all ties without a plan.  So, I started doing some research into my options.  It seemed like the two with the best plans in terms of cost and channels were Sling and DirecTV Now.  After reading many reviews, it seemed picture quality was better with DirecTV Now, and more importantly, they carried both Hallmark Channels, which was a deal breaker for my wife.  In terms of pricing, I could get 60+ channels for $35 and add HBO for only $5 more.  $40 total for pretty much the same package I was getting from my cable company for considerably more.  HBO alone was $21 from my cable company, but I could get it here for only $5?!?  Granted it's only 3 channels of HBO, but I was lucky to watch one, let alone FIVE from the cable company.  Unfortunately, DirecTV Now only carriers local stations in some markets, and wouldn't you know it, mine wasn't one of them.  Oh, AND I still had to utilizes internet from my cable company and I was frightened by what that might cost without it being bundled with TV and phone.  But I mean, how bad could it be?

Bad.  It could be really bad.  It seems the cable TV people really carry a grudge when you cut the cord.  As part of a "bundle" my internet at 100 MBps cost only $45/month, and my phone was only $4/month.  When I called to enquire on the changes to my account, the rep on the phone seemed almost gleeful as he told me the same internet connection would now cost $99 and my phone $21.  What the what?!?  Same service, same connection speeds...$67 more.  Ouch.  Okay, I'll play your little game...what else could I cut?  I asked what the cost was for our internet access point, basically a Wi-Fi repeater.  $30/month, or $360/year.  I had them where I wanted them.  For only $289 I could buy a 3 pack of Google WiFi mesh units, effectively giving me 4,500 sq' of WiFi coverage, far more than I needed for my house, but a $71 savings off the cable company's price for one year, and then free after that.  But there was one more piece to my puzzle...local TV channels.

It seems getting local channels over the internet can be an issue, because the networks don't play well with streaming companies.  My solution?  Go old school, and get an antenna.  I tried an indoor antenna that got 31 channels, but none of the big three (ABC, CBS, NBC). So, it was time to hit the roof and get an outdoor antenna.  With the recent demise of Radio Shack (RIP), its a bit harder these days to get everything you need to mount an antenna on your roof.  However, thanks to Amazon, it's not impossible.  Just today I received the last component to make my dream of cutting the cord (and not missing a beat) come true.  I just need to get up on the roof and test it.  AND, if that works, it's snip, snip, for good!

Okay, so time for a reality check, because I realize that this might seem like a lot of work if you're not the technical type.  Even with the addition of DirecTV Now, I will be saving $123 a month, or $1960 per year.  Now, tell me you couldn't think of something else to do with that money?  I know I can.

So stay tuned (pun intended) to see how this all plays out!

Be Prepared!

I like to be prepared, and I thought I was. After hurricane Irma, I realized that while I had a generator, food, water, and tons of flashlights, I was missing a link in my communications arsenal. I'm a ham radio operator, so I could communicate with other Hams, but I couldn't communicate with my wife, at least not without carrying another radio. So, even though GMRS radios worked, I wanted something that would allow me to use our cell phones. Enter Gotenna.

Click here to checkout the Gotenna Mesh

I did my research and found several solutions, with Gotenna being the best IMHO. It's a small transmitter that connects to your phone via Bluetooth and let's you text and send your location to other Gotenna units. The more I thought about it, the more I could see using it on trips abroad, at concerts, sporting events...anywhere our cellular network fails. AND, the more units in your area the greater the range, because they mesh, just like Google home Wi-Fi or similar systems.

So check them out...BTW, I'm not affiliated or sponsored by them in any way, I just think these are a cool solution!

Naked, and Afraid...VERY AFRAID!

Okay, so a month ago I posted this:

http://greatgadgetsgizmos.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2015-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2016-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=5

To save you some time, it was post about how my Nexus 6P was SO sexy that I liked to carry it naked. I was experimenting with different cases, but it was tough to give up that raw feeling.  It was clever, and well written, and you would've loved it.  Well, this post is an update to that one.  In short, I SCRATCHED MY 6P!!!!!

 Wait, not scratched, so much as gouged my 6P.  I GOUGED MY 6P!!!!!

In a word, dammit!  Despite my musings regarding going case-less, I had started using a clear TPU case in situations I deemed "high-risk".  The case was clear which let me see the beautiful graphite finish on my 6P, while not adding a significant amount of bulk to the slim body.  But, the feel of that sleek aluminum proved to be too tempting for me. I ran a quick errand on Christmas day (retrieving my elderly aunt from her ALF, a saintly mission), and decided to go without.  I did not choose wisely.  Rather than reach into my pocket and risk dropping my baby, I elected to keep it in the cup holder.  At some point, I reached into the cup holder to check a notification, and I heard the sound of metal being scratched.  Yes, that's right, I HEARD IT!  Now, in my experience, if you can hear a scratch, it's probably pretty bad... and it was.  When I looked at the back of my 6P The damage was worse than I expected.  Not only could I see the scratch, I could FEEL it.  It was deep, it was long, and it was gnarly.  It penetrated the beautiful graphite finish and revealed the shiny aluminum below.  The horror...  Now, how a cup holder could scratch a phone was beyond me.  As I sat there in disbelief, I ran my hands around the rim of the offending receptacle...and there it was.  A tiny, almost microscopic bur on the chrome trim.  It was SO small it was imperceptible to the human eye.  But, the back of my 6P found it alright.

Now, for many of you, it might seem ridiculous to get spun up about a scratch on your cell phone.  To you I say, you're the freak.  Seriously, how do you NOT get upset about a scratch on something so perfect.  My 6P cost a bunch of coin, and to see it like that just deflated me.  But, that was then, and this is now.  It's time to move forward.

Functionally, the phone hasn't lost a step.  Sure, that scratch bothers me every time I see it, and it's not bad enough to trigger Google Protection... yet.  So, why not look at this as a learning experience?  I've decided that, it's time to learn about the world of skins.  You know, those covers that adhere to the surface of the phone and hide the finish?  To that end, I've ordered myself a D-Skin carbon fiber back with a flat titanium strip for the visor of my disfigured 6P.  Heck, I even decided to get crazy and ordered the white NEXUS with the limited edition colored X.  I figured, if I'm going to learn about skins, I might as well go big.  This way I can hide the shame of my scratch (yes, it still hurts), and give the phone a bit of grip.   But, what if I drop the phone?  I mean, the skin will do absolutely nothing if I drop the phone, right?

And that's where that $89 Google Protection will kick in!

Fool me once shame on me. Fool me twice?

I am what you might call an early adopter.  If it has anything to do with technology, I'll be first in line to give it a try.  In doing so, I occasionally experience a bit of frustration as I suffer through premature, buggy products.  But that's to be expected.  What's not to be expected is experiencing this with a mature product, one that's in mass release and being widely accepted.  Yeah, I'm looking at YOU Windows 10.

I strayed away from windows a LONG time ago.  For the last 8-10 years, I've used a Macbook Pro as my main business computer and an Android tablet for my off hours.  But, as the years passed, I started using my tablets for more and more work-related things.  For better or worse, I found myself leaving my laptop at my office in favor of carrying a lighter, more portable tablet.  The only issue was that, while many of the apps could mimic the real programs I used at work, they were always gimped in one way or another.  In a last ditch effort to span the gap between computer and tablet, I bought a Samsung Note Pro.  It was a 12.2" behemoth of a device (as far as tablets go), that ran a steroid-enhanced version of Android.  It got me closer to the functionality that I craved, but at the end of the day, it wasn't a "real" computer.

Enter the Asus T-100 convertible laptop, which I bought refurbished from WOOT.  This device was an eye-opener to me.  After a decade away, I started to fall in love with Windows again.  The Windows 8.1 OS was a dream to operate.  The gestures on the touchscreen were SO intuitive, I wondered why Android never adopted them.  I was convinced I would never get rid of the Asus...And then the Surface 3 came out.

I figured if I liked Win 8.1 on the Asus so much, I'd absolutely love it on the Surface.  And I was right. I happily used that S3 for months, and despite the fact that it wasn't a "pro" model, it handled all I could throw at it with aplomb.  And then Windows 10 came out, heralded as the ONE OS you could use across all of your devices, and the upgrade was free! Let me say this, I held out for as long as I could.  But, being an early adopter, that amounted to about three days.

The installation itself should've been my first clue to the upcoming grief-fest.  I started the install in the afternoon and had to let it run overnight.  OVERNIGHT!  Wow, it took forever.  But, once it was done, I was really excited to see this incredible new OS, and experience all of its device spanning features. But guess what?  I couldn't hate it enough.  Gone were all of my swipes and gestures for navigation.  Gone were the nice big icons that made the 10" screen on the S3 usable.  In short, gone were all of the things I feel in love with.  So, I reverted back to Win 8.1.

Several months passed, and every time I powered up my Surface, there would be that pesky icon reminding me that a FREE copy of Win 10 was waiting for me.  And then the pop-ups started appearing, telling me that time was running out to get my free copy of Win 10.  Running out?!?!  I couldn't let that happen, so I decided to try it again.

They say that those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it.  I repeated it.  Well, that's not entirely true.  This time I knew what I was getting myself into.  What I didn't know, was that Windows had a surprise in store for me.  After installing Win 10, after months of flawless service, my S3 couldn't maintain a WiFi connection to save it's life.  Nothing.  Nada.  No WiFi.  And since the Surface line has no way to connect through a wired connection... I was screwed.   So, I jumped on another device, and searched for a solution.  Turns out that my issue was actually fairly common.  I read post after post from Surface owners who were experiencing the same issue.  Apparently, some drivers were either missing or needed to be updated, including the WiFi.  Of course, not having WiFi was going to make upgrading the WiFi nearly impossible, a real catch 22, so... still screwed.  And then it dawned on me.  The Surface was made by Microsoft.  Windows 10 is made by (spoiler alert). MICROSOFT!  Well shiver me timbers!  You mean to tell me that MS couldn't even be bothered to include the necessary drivers for their OWN devices?  Really?!?!  Talk about lazy.  Talk about disappointing.

I wish this story had a happy ending for Win 10, but it doesn't, not for me.  As I write this on my Surface 3 using Windows 8.1, I'm happy.  I don't need Windows 10.  Sure, one day I'll be cajoled into trying it again, but for now, I'll maintain the status quo.  BUT, the minute Google adds multi-windows to Android on the Pixel C...I'm outta here!

Naked, But Not Afraid...Mostly.

Do you like to go naked, or do you prefer something with more coverage?  No, not YOU personally, I'm talking about your cell phone!  Do you like to carry your phone naked and feel it's high-tech goodness, or are you more cautious and prefer the safety of a case?  Me?  Well, I've done it both ways, and quite frankly, I like it naked.  Don't get me wrong, I've used protection when I've had to, but there's something about feeling your phone the way the designer meant it to feel... now that's the good stuff.  And what about letting people see your baby in all it's glory?  Can't do that when it's all covered up, nope!  And that's where I find myself now, on the horns of this dilemma... to cover or not to cover, that IS the question.

All kidding aside though, I really am trying to decide whether or not I should carry my new Nexus 6P in a case.  It's a gorgeous phone, and I went for the big daddy 128gb version, so I dropped some coin buying it outright. On the one hand, I love the way it looks and feels raw, with nothing on it. One the other hand, I'm scared sh$%tless that I'm going to drop it and hurt my investment.  Ordinarily, that fear is always somewhere in the back of your mind, but in the case of the 6P, it's a very real possibility.  Why? Well, the same thing that makes it so slim and lightweight, also makes it slippery as heck.  I'm talking about it's beautiful, slim aluminum back, which, combined with that Gorilla Glass screen, leaves very little grippy material.  Fortunately though, the very shape of the phone makes it fit well in the hand, but it's those precious few seconds when you're taking it out of a pocket, that's when tragedy is most likely to strike.  So, we have to take precautions...like insurance.

I hate insurance.  No matter what kind, home, auto, boat, health...hate, hate, hate, and hate.  And yet, I bought insurance for my 6P. Well not insurance, but Google Protection. I mean, sure, they don't call it insurance, but c'mon, we know better.  So with that, I should be covered right?  And yet, I'm still fiddling around with cases.  I've been trying a clear MoKo Hybrid case, which fits well and still allows me to see the phone, but I can't feel that aluminum finish anymore.  Every time I take it out of the case, I'm reminded of how much I love it.  So, I ordered bumpers instead.  Yeah, bumpers, literally a rubber gasket that just covers the edges of the phone.  Risky?  Perhaps.  But, I'm playing the odds here.  I figure best case scenario, I drop the phone and it lands on an edge.  Worst case, I drop the phone and it lands on the screen.  But you know what? If it shatters, it shatters. Afterall, I have insurance....I mean protection, um, you know what I mean.

The Shape of Things to Come.

The thing about having a blog is that you need to churn out a lot of content.  The things about having multiple jobs is that you have precious little time sometimes to do anything else...like churn out a lot of content for a blog.  So, we're going to be doing things a little bit differently around here in the coming weeks/months.  Being that I already work in TV, we're going to further embrace the video component of Great Gadgets & Gizmos (GG&G) and start posting those pieces here in addition to our written content.  Furthermore, we'll be starting a podcast that will focus on the more ethereal topics we explore, like which OS do you prefer, and what constitutes a fanboi.  In other words, podcasts for those things that require little demonstration or image support.  None of it is new or revolutionary, but organizationally, we think it makes a lot more sense and will be easier to manage.

iPad Pro...It's Like Deja Vu All Over Again!

Well, the wait is over and the iPad Pro is available for sale.  The accessories like the keyboard and Pencil (why can't they just call it a pen?) however, are not.  So if you're picking up one of these beasts,  you're only getting the iPad at this point.  But, what better way to enjoy it in it's purest form, no?  Now, while I have NO intentions on getting one of these, I am finding it fascinating reading and listening to people who might get it talk about it.  What's particularly interesting to me is how this new product is causing a rift in the church of Apple.  Of course, there are those who love very Apple product no matter what, but their numbers seem to be shrinking.  Many of the faithful seem to be leaving the fold, openly criticizing the iPad Pro on the interwebs.  It seems the naysayers are becoming increasingly disenfranchised by the lack of innovation coming out of Cupertino, and who can blame them.  In some ways, it seems like Apple is moving backwards.  Case in point, my 2014 Macbook Pro has two USB ports, the 2015 version?  One.  Want to plug in an external drive and a memory stick?  Better have a hub!  With the new iPad,  they give it the PRO moniker, but don't give it the ability to use 3D touch?!?  Backwards thinking.  And really, what about the Pro is new anyway?  A bigger tablet with a keyboard and pen (sorry, pencil)?  Not new.  Remember the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2?  It has a big screen, comes with a pen, and they sell a Bluetooth keyboard designed specifically for it.  Sound familiar?  And what about the Surface line from Microsoft.  Their first effort, the Surface RT was universally derided for not using a full-blown OS.  Microsoft learned from that mistake and has put the full version of Windows on every Surface since.  Did Apple learn from that?  Not so much.  And maybe that's what's bothering those folks who were once proud to go by the title of fanboy. Not only has Apple stopped leading the pack...they're following.