Over the Air HD (or the End of Cable?)

I recently moved to the suburbs and in this time of introspection, I was reviewing my Television options. Now, I've been a strong supporter of satellite tv (via Dish and DirectTV), mostly to counter Comcast - who most likely is the most evil corporation next to record companies. I have become very comfortable with my Dish DVR - which has a simple, intuitive interface and easily records our favorite shows. This costs us approximately $65/month - or $780 per year. Not extravegent in the Bay Area - covers several of the major pay channels, Lifetime, ComedyCentral etc.

On a lark, I purchased a $29 HD antenna from Radio Shack, mounted on a board so it wouldn't blow over and placed it on the roof. Turned on the TV and did a quick scan for Over the Air channels on my Sharp LCD TV.

WOW. Did you know that the networks are broadcasting three channels each? Substantial HD content? Above and to the left is a sample for tonight - just HD - just a few.

Ok -so now I'm feeling a bit more confident on how I'm going to get content. How about a DVR?

Hit up Tivo for a HD 180 hour DVR and Wireless G adapter. On its way.

So with the Tivo, I have on demand, rental, purchase etc. Can watch YouTube videos (got to love a quick Muppet Show Mannnammanna), can display my Google Picasa pictures on the TV, Music, and videos from my computers, etc.

Total cost - about 1/2 a year of Dish. Tivo is ($12.99/month).

I'll let you know if I'm satisfied once I setup the Tivo.

Google Revisited

Google is still wandering after my post in March. The ad revenue piece has vanished from the news - stock regained some of its losses, hanging out around 530. Still, I'll take the 80 points of gain - especially in this market. Move up your stops, in the case that China or the US economy truly tanks.

ECB (Europe Central Bank) raised interest rates this week, but I don't think anything is going to stop the "strong dollar policy" (what a crock - can you say flip-flop?) of the Bush administration. All it took was kicking the US consumers' ass with a lower dollar driving Oil price inflation to get the administration to figure out perhaps a weak dollar isn't what it's all cracked up to be.