How to connect your Laptop/PC/Computer to your TV

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1. S-Video – This is probably the most common method out there currently because an S-Video cable is cheap as heck and just about every TV under the sun has a S-Video port. You’ll have to make sure you laptop is equipped with this port. Remember, there are two types of S-Video cables: 4-pin and 7-pin. Most laptops and PC’s are equipped with a 7-pin port, so if your TV only has a 4-pin S-Video port, then this method will not work.

 2. VGA – If you have a HDTV, then you will be better off connecting using a VGA cables It gives much better quality than S-Video and as with S-Video, the cable is very cheap. You usually won’t find a VGA port on regular TV’s though, so this option is if you have an HDTV

3. DVI – DVI stands for Digital Visual Interface with “digital” being the key word there. The digital signal will give a higher quality picture than either S-Video or VGA. Of course, your computer will need to have a DVI connection and your TV will need to be an HDTV. This cord is definitely not cheap, it ranges anywhere from to .

4. HDMI – Using HDMI will give you the best quality by far. No computers that I know of yet have HDMI ports, but you can get a DVI to HDMI cable to connect it to your HDTV. HDMI is compatible with DVI.

5. Scan Converter Box – This is the last method that I could think of and it involves using a scan converter box, which takes a VGA signal and converts it into S-Video or component video.

Written by vlady0512

Apple Ipad 2 vs Motorola Xoom

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On one hand, we have the Motorola XOOM that’s backed with the overhauled Android 3.0 Honeycomb experience, and bevy of next-generation hardware to keep it up with the times for a while. And of course, there is the iPad 2, which uniquely modified our perception with its intricate razor thin profile – while still making some moderate improvements over its predecessor. Precisely on schedule, these two juggernauts in the tablet arena will undoubtedly capture the attention of the world right now, but which one will keep you interested in the long run?

Design:

Unsurprisingly, the iPad 2 obliterates all prior notions of what tablet design should follow since it literally blew off the front cover with its amazingly thin razor profile. Even though we might think that the Motorola XOOM’s 0.50” thickness is respectable, the 0.34” thickness of the iPad 2 makes for an instant jaw dropping realization – especially when Apple touts that its battery life is unchanged. Even more for the iPad 2, we prefer its brushed aluminum casing seeing that it’s better equipped at repelling scratches, debris, and fingerprints. Unfortunately for the XOOM, its metallic rear casing is awfully prone to retaining dirt and is rather difficult to clean as well. Give any individual a choice between the two, the attention grabber easily goes to the iPad 2 nine out of ten times.

The Apple iPad 2 (left) is thinner than the Motorola XOOM (right)

Barely considered a major difference, the Motorola XOOM sports the larger of the two screens with its sizeable 10.1” LCD display versus the 9.7” IPS display of the iPad 2. Even though the XOOM boasts a higher resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, it doesn’t drastically offer any better clarity or detail over the iPad 2’s resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels. However, it’s obvious that the iPad 2 produces richer looking colors since darker colors, like black, appear to look smokey in tone on the XOOM. Moreover, the viewing angles on the iPad 2 are superb which make it supremely better to view in outdoor settings. Lastly, the oleophobic coating on the iPad 2’s display makes it very easy to clean versus the XOOM.

In our experience, there are rare instances when we would accidentally press the virtual buttons of the Motorola XOOM. Still, the springy home button of the iPad 2 soundly eliminates any hint of potentially pressing it by accident.

Placed in a familiar location, the dedicated power button of the iPad 2 still retains that prominence which is equally complemented by its solid tactile feel.  Uncharacteristically, the XOOM’s recessed power button is located in the back of the tablet, however, it perfectly lines up with our index finger as we hold it in landscape.

Without a doubt, the volume rocker of the iPad 2 is exponentially better than the tiny and rather stiff felling volume buttons with the XOOM. In addition to that, we find the silence switch of the iPad 2 to come in handy for quickly turning off its speaker.

Since the iPad 2 carries over the same single speaker, it’s nice to see that the XOOM employs two speakers, left and right, which enables it to deliver stereo sound. However, the speaker grill with the iPad 2 is placed more at an angle which aids it in better dispersing audio.

And if you want to easily share content, you’ll probably adore the list of traditional ports on the Motorola XOOM – like its microUSB and microHDMI ports. Specifically, you can output the XOOM’s display to your high-definition television by simply connecting it with an HDMI cable. But if you want to do the same thing with the iPad 2, you’ll need to purchase its optional digital HDMI adapter that snaps into the proprietary 30-pin port.

Power buttons

Speakers

Ports

The Apple iPad 2 (top) and the Motorola XOOM (bottom)

When it comes down to cameras, the XOOM manhandles the iPad 2 in this category since it features a front-facing 2.0-megapixel camera and a rear 5-megapixel auto-focus camera with dual-LED flash. Comparing it to the iPad 2’s paltry 0.3-megapixel front facing camera and less than 0.7-megapixel rear camera, it’s already giving away a good indication as to which one will provide the better quality.

On the front

On the back

The backs of the tablets

Cameras of the Apple iPad 2 (top) and the Motorola XOOM (bottom)

Despite not having easy access to their batteries, it’s nice to see that you can increase the storage capacity of the XOOM thanks to its microSD card slot. At the same time, it enables you to quickly share content – whereas on the iPad 2, you’ll need to connect its USB cable to get things transferred.

The sides of the Apple iPad 2 (top) and the Motorola XOOM (bottom)

Finally, the XOOM still has one ace up its sleeve that has yet to show itself that will give it faster data speeds than the iPad 2. Down the road, the XOOM will be retrofitted with a 4G LTE modem that will provide next-generation data speeds – which will outperform the 3G speeds found with the iPad 2.

Written by Tarun Rajput
Writing is my hobby

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How To Change The Ring Tones on Your Droid Smart Phone.

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Selling over 100,000 units on the opening three days of sales, the smart phone labeled as “The Gadget of the Year” by Time Magazine, even though it was released in November, the Droid smart phone is taking personal communications to new and exciting levels.  With lighting-fast processing speeds, a 5.0 Mega Pixel (MP) camera, voice activation, a touchscreen andvoice mail transcribing, the Droid really is everything you would ever want in a personal phone, and then some.  Customizable ring tones is one thing that makes the Droid stand out, and knowing how to change ring tones on your Droid phone lets you know who is calling, without having to look at the display screen.

Customizing ring tones for each individual on your contact lists on your Droid phone is rather simple, and the applications, like emial, GMail, voice mail and phone calls can all have distinct ring tones.

Changing the ring tones on your Droid phone can be done by following these steps, but is not

limited to these precedures;

1)    Using your Droid’s pre-programmed applications (apps);

a)    GMail, email, phone and voice mail.  Changing the ring tone for when these apps are opened or notified (you can set your Droid to notify you whenever you get a new missed call, email or voice mail message) is extremely simple.  Once the app is open, tap the “Menu” icon, then tap the “Settings” icon.  Tap the “Set as Ring Tone” icon, and when the app is opened, the saved ring tone will play.

b)    Text Messages.  When you get a text message, you can personalize the ring tone for when that person sends you another text message, you will know who it is.  You can go through your entire contacts lists, and set the ring tones to each person or business in your contacts lists, or do it the easy way.  When an incoming text message is opened, tap “Menu”, then “Settings”, and then tap “Ring Tones”.  Select the ring tone that you wantassociated with that specific text message originator, and close the app.

c)    Phone Calls.  You can change the ring tones for each individual in your contacts lists, or for each group that you have created in your contacts lists.  Doing this is rather time consuming, and very repetitive, as the same process has to be repeated for every entry.  Tap “Contacts”, then tap the contact or group you want to change the ring tone for.  Tap “Options”, then tap “Ring Tones”, and select the ring tone that you want associated with that contact or group.  

To change the ring tones of people or businesses who call you on your Droid smart phone, when the contact is on the line, tap “Menu”, then tap “Settings”.  Tap “Ring Tones”, and select the ring tone that you want associated with whom you are talking to.  You can also select images from your photos file to display on the home screen when the person calls.

d)    While Listening to Music.  When you are listening to MP3 songs, you can store it as a ring tone.  With the Media Player open, and while the song is playing, tap “Menu”, then tap “Select as Ring Tone”.  The song will play whenever the phone rings.

2)    You can download apps from the Droid Apps Store that make ring tones, and with some apps, video displays for each application that is opening, or each call, email or voice mail.  Two of the better apps for changing ring tones on your Droid smart phone are;

a)    Ring Droid.  Ring Droid allows you to record portions of MP3 and other audio files, and store them as ring tones.  You can select one contact, a series of contacts, a group or a series of groups, or any combination of these to use the ring tone for.  Video files, either streaming video or still pictures, or even downloaded animation, movie clips, or any other medium can be saved as a video ring tone addition using Ring Droid.

b)    Rings Extended.  Another Droid ring tone app that allows you to use a whole song, or cut a portion of a song, and use it as a ring tone.  You can get icons for each ring tone, or save them to your ring tones file.  Mix songs with others like a DJ for some rather interesting musical experimentation.  Extremely simple to use, and takes very few keystrokes/taps.

No matter which method you choose to change the ring tones on your Droid smart phone, the fun begins when your contacts start calling you.  You can even record voice samples, like “It’s Mom calling” as ring tones.If you have a lot of contacts in your contacts list, you should consider forming groups, like “Family”, “Friends”, “Work” and so on, so that each group can have a distinct ring tone, and you could tell that a member from one specific group is calling.  If you want to hear from someone in that group, you can then check the video display.  Or, you can have a distinct ring tone for every single contact in your contacts list, but remembering who has each ring tone could be a fruitless pursuit.

Your best option when changing ring tones for contacts on your Droid phone is to only change the ring tones associated with the more important people in your life, or the people who call you the most frequently.  Having too many different ring tones will spoil the advantage that it was meant to give the Droid owner;  knowing who is calling simply by the ring tone.

more french robotic space rock, this time from 1976…
Video Rating: 4 / 5

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How to Play Play Station 3 Online!

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The PlayStation 3 (officially abbreviated as PS3) is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Nintendo’s Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles.

Ok, it is really easy if you follow these steps:

Step 1.Connect the PS3 to the Internet. Use either an Ethernet connection or a wireless connection, depending on your PS3 model. It isn’t hard to do, but if you don’t know how, ask for somebody else to do it for you….

Step 2.Enroll for a PSN account. Select the “Sign Up For Playstation Network” icon from the Playstation Network tab on the Cross Media Bar. Enter your name, date of birth and street address. Additionally, add a user name and a password for your account… All of the information required should be added and be completely true!

Step 3.Go to the “Playstation Network” tab. Select “Sign In.” Insert the user name and password. Press the “Sign In” button.

Step 4.Start your game. Once you sign into your PSN account, all online multiplayer content within the game will be available. For example Killzone 2, Resistance 2, Warhawk and LittleBigPlanet have active online communities. You can enjoy playing online PS3 games with your friends or other company…

Be careful at this point: Many of the first-person shooters or shooters in general for the PS3 have online multiplayer content. If you do not own any games that have multiplayer enabled content, you can buy games or download demos from the Playstation Store once you have a PSN account. Many of the PSN games are online multiplayer games. But not all….

See also: How to Add an Hp printer to a wireless network

Written by ubuntualex
Computer addict

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Ipad 1 Vs. Ipad 2

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…just one moment IPad 1 owners, IPad 2 has arrived but is it really worth upgrading yet?

Some will or have upgraded to the IPad 2 already though rumor has it Ipad 3 will be released by FALL 2011. The rumor could be true or just a manifestation in an attempt to drive sales downward. Whichever the case when it comes to the likes of Apple their schedule usually looks like this: iPhones in summer, iPods in fall, and iPads in spring.

If it does release on the rumor date though and you have the IPad 1 already don’t upgrade just yet. IPad1 has been old technology since it was released! I’m pretty sure Apple had a hold of IPad 2 technology long before the first Ipad came out yet in order to drive sales/ make a bigger profit delayed certain specifications to the IPad 2. The same could be said in the likes of the release of the IPad 3. Ipad 3 technology has already been masterminded by Apple and will be soon released .. save your money for the next release !

Reasons NOT to upgrade to the IPad 2:

1. If you won’t be using the Ipad for its camera features.

2. You will be using it as an e-book reader. The ipad 1 does the job as well as the Ipad 2 so theres no real need to upgrade for this feature. Also for those that like to use the typical Apps here and there like Netflix, iBooks, Kindle or Safari Mobile there is no real need to upgrade as the ipad 1 works very well..

Reasons TO upgrade to IPad 2:

1. You have money to waste

2. You will be using it for gaming

3. You NEED the camera features

if you bought the Ipad 2 already, Congrats ! your set probably for the next two years.

Basically the iPad 2 is the same as the iPad 1, except for a few updates.

IPAD 1 has the following features:

9.7-inch LED-backlit IPS LCDBattery Life – 10 hrsScreen Resolution – 1024×768A4 single core processorNo camera1.5 poundsBluetooth 2.1+EDRRegular Cover256 MB RAMNo gyroscopeWIFI capable

while IPAD 2 :

9.7-inch LED-backlit IPS LCDBattery Life – 10 hrsScreen Resolution – 1024×768A5 dual core processor  PowerVR SGX543MP2 graphics processor 2 cameras (front view and rear view)1.3 pounds Bluetooth 2.1+EDRSmart Cover512 MB RAM3 axis gyroscopeWIFI capable

     To conclude, If you are a first time buyer, the iPad 2 will be an excellent investment. However, if you already own an iPad 1, it might be advisable to wait for a newer release. In any case if you have 600 dollars to spend on each release be my guest. In summary,the iPad 2 offers greater speed and greater gaming capabilities. iPad 2 is thinner and lighter (reduced in weight by .3 pounds), has a 1GHz dual core A5 processor for better performance (dealing with multitasking and reducing lag time), includes a front and back facing camera for FaceTime video chat as well as Skype, yahoo IM etc, and the graphics speed is nine times faster than the iPad 1. The Ipad 2 also comes with  a gyroscope.Gyroscopes have been used in compasses, aircrafts, and computer pointing devices and helps with the orientation in 3d devices. In another outlook, the Ipad 2 brings a cool looking “smart cover” (a magnetic cover which hugs your ipad) that comes in different colors with a great textured feel to it.

If your choosing to wait and buy the IPAD 3 here are some of the many specifications that have been rumored for its release:

Telephone capabilities (highly doubt it though since that is not the purpose of the IPads function)

IPS technology

Support for 4G

SD card slot

Written by Cindy Sheen
Freelance Writer

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Motorola Xoom vs Apple Ipad 2 – Wars of The Tablet

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Unveiled on March 2, the iPad 2 features many improvements over its older brethren. However, it remains to be seen if these improvements will be enough to keep Apple’s share  of the tablet PC market intact. Back in 2010, the first iPad was a major success with a global sales around 14.8 million items. The original iPad was so successful with the estimated of 75% of the tablet PC market are owned by Apple.

The iPad’s commercial success, has attracted a lot of competitors on the tablet PC market. With so many companies joining the tablet bandwagon and offering their version of the iPad killer, many are eager to see how the iPad 2 are going to compete against an improved competitor.

We made a review, a head to head comparison between Motorola Xoom that are considered to be the strongest competitor and iPad 2.

1. Processor

The iPad 2 is fitted with Apple’s dual-core 1GHz A5 chip, a marked improvement from the previous iPad. The A5 chip claimed to be 10 times better graphical performance than the old iPad. As of this writing, there is no report yet on RAM size but 512MB is quite a possibility.

Motorola Xoom are build with a 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 CPU. At 1GB of RAM, this chip along with the Android 3.0 OS affords the Xoom to multi-task effortlessly.

Advantage – Xoom

2. Display

The iPad 2 has the same 9.7-inch backlit-LED IPS display that are similar to iPad 1, it’s fantastic because it’s the best in it’s class.

The Xoom has a standard 10.1-inch TFT display. Excellent for watching movies and browsing but does not offer the types of viewing angles we are accustomed to in the iPad.

Advantage -Apple iPad 2

3. Camera

One of the biggest drawbacks of the older iPad was the lack of a camera. Apple has responded by incorporating not one but 2 cameras in the iPad 2. The iPad 2′s dual cameras are a 0.7-megapixel main camera with 720P movie capture capability, and a secondary VGA camera that serves well for other video-calling purposes.

Motorola has upped the ante in this category. With an impressive 5-megapixel main camera and are equipped with dual-LED flash and autofocus and a secondary 2-megapixel camera for video conferencing, no doubt that Motorola are the winner.

Advantage – Motorola Xoom

4. Design and Build

On the design category, Apple will not disappoint you. The look and feel of the iPad 2 is simply fantastic. The iPad 2 may be 33 percent thinner and 15 percent lighter than the original iPad, however it is still made from the same top-notch materials.

The iPad 2 has the same solid feel but is now more comfortable to handle because of its slimmer dimensions.

The Motorola Xoom is just as well constructed. The chassis is solid. It does however feel bulkier and heavier than the slim-built iPad 2.

It is safe to say Apple tablet win this round.

Advantage – Apple iPad 2

5. Operating System

The iPad 2 is equipped with the new iOs 4.3 which features better browser and web application performance.

The Motorola Xoom comes with the Android 3.0 “Honeycomb” OS which boosts multi-tasking capabilities and of course more user friendly.

We feel Xoom have the advantage because of the Honeycomb OS. The iOs 4.3 feels like its just a minor tune-up for Apple.

Advantage – Motorola Xoom

6. Connectivity

The Apple iPad 2 comes with Wi-Fi a,b,g & n, and Bluetooth 2.1 capabilities with A2DP and EDR. It als has HDMI-output. However, it does not have a card reader, USB Port and MicroSD slot.

The Motorola Xoom has the same capabilities as the iPad 2′s but none of its shortcomings. The Xoom has MicroSD support, Micro USB port, HDMI-out, Wi-Fi a,b,g & n (dual-band) and Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP and EDR.

Advantage – Motorola Xoom

7. Price

Well the price of each tablet are interesting. The Apple iPad 2 has an introductory price of 9 for its base Wi-Fi unit.

The Motorola Xoom’s introductory price is 9 for its Wi-Fi only base unit.
The iPad 2 price is one that many did not expect especially its competitors.

Advantage: Apple iPad 2

Verdict: Out of 7 categories, the Motorola Xoom bested the Apple iPad 2 in 4. Function and feature wise the Xoom is the better tablet. However, because of Apple’s excellent pricing strategy, we would not be surprised that the iPad 2 will remain a best-seller just like its predecessor.

Get all the latest info and updates on IPad 2 Software by logging into our site.  Get the best deals and know the places to buy cheap IPad 2. Visit our site today.

Wikipedia: iPad 2 is the second generation of the iPad, a tablet computer designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. The tablet was introduced March 2 2011 during an Apple press event, and was released in the United States on March 11, 2011. »

Written by lebastian66
Professional Writers And Marketers

iPad 2 is here and we got our hands on one! Jacob reviews iMovie, and Garage Band for the new device, while Andrea reviews ArtRage and eBook Magic for the original iPAd. Also, news comes through that TimeWarner now has an iPad App and Google TV offers a new iPad-based remote. For more on the show, and all of our previous episodes, visit www.thisweekin.com
Video Rating: 4 / 5

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How To Upload Videos From Your Droid Phone To YouTube.

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4578562354 28862c674d m How To Upload Videos From Your Droid Phone To YouTube.
by *USB*

The Droid cell phone has finally hit the store shelves, and it is flying off of them and into the history books as fast as Motorola and Google can throw them together.  With thousands of free applications, a 3.7 inch, high-definition LCD touchscreen and a super-fast processor, the Droid can do everything that you could ever really want a phone to do, and more.  The Droid, named by Time Magazine as the “Gadget of the Year for 2009″, even though it was only released in November, has a very good digital camera built into it’s beautiful frame, and it takes streaming video as well as still pictures.  How to upload videos from your Droid phone to YouTube could not be all that much easier, thanks in part to the WiFi connection and the fast processing speed of the Droid.

First and foremost, if you want to use an application (app) to upload videos to YouTube directly from your Droid, you must first register for a GMail email account, if you do not already have one.  In order to download apps from the Droid download store (presently all downloads are free), register your GMail account and use this address as your download destination.  Download the YouTube Upload app from the Droid’s Android 2.0 Download Store.  Once the app is running on your Droid, all it takes is tapping the YouTube video app icon on the Droid home screen while the video you want to upload from the Droid is open.

You can also tap the YouTube app icon on the Droid home screen, and then select the video you want to upload from your Droid’s Video File by tapping the file name with your finger.  With Voice Recognition, you can audibly state the name of the file to upload, and then just tap the upload icon.  It really is that simple to upload videos from your new Droid phone to YouTube.  However, there are other ways to upload videos from your Droid to YouTube.

There are a lot of free apps that will transfer video files to YouTube, either using WiFi, or with your Droid hardwired to your computer or laptop.  Pictures are stored on the Droid’s Micro SD memory card in 5MP clarity, not directly on the Droid’s internal memory.  On the Droid home screen, select the Menu icon, then select the Share icon, and enter the URL address of the YouTube page, or search for the YouTube page that you are downloading to.  Tap the page with your finger, and the video is uploaded.

If your computer or laptop has a Micro SD memory card reader, then using the Droid next-generation cell phone to upload videos to YouTube is simple.  Since the video taken with the Droid is stored on the Micro SD memory card, there is no need to go through the hassles of connecting the video cable to the phone and the computer, and synching the feed, or setting up the WiFi feed.  You can simply insert the Micro SD memory card into the computer’s card reader, and the video is automatically uploaded to your computer.  You can then easily open YouTube, and import the video from your “My Videos” file on your computer.

No matter which method you choose for uploading videos from your Droid phone to YouTube, it will be quick, and the video will be amazingly clear and clean, with over 65 Million colors, and stored in 5 MP of digital video perfection.  With a little practice, you may just have the next big YouTube hit on your hands!

ENCOURAGE YUOR CHILDREN TO GO PLAY SPORTS OR PLAY OUTSIDE

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Bo Jack is back, I’m on the attack about kids that don’t know the sound of the crack when the ball hit’s the bat, and exposure to sports that today’s kids now lack. There is no greater joy than sliding into the sack(baseball) or giving a football a good whack for a kickoff.

I will now describe a time further back, when we all played sports, many kids today don’t do jack.

Enough with the rhymes, this makes my soul cringe.

A good friend of mine told me his nephew came to visit. For an entire weekend he played Play Station Two, never once taking his eyes off the toy. They took him for a beautiful ride through the San Bernardino Mountains, and he never looked to see the pines, the mountains, or the massive drop-offs far below. When they got back to the house, he even ate dinner while still glued to the thing. My friend is still pretty much a newlywed, so they wanted a little alone time. They say to the boy,” Why don’t you go outside to play”?

He looked at them and said,” Play what”?

This is a sad dilemma facing today’s society.

When I was a kid, we rode our bikes to a friend’s house, with a bat, a mitt, and hopefully a ball, but we could make do, even without one, with substitutions. How many of you remember saying, “Mom, can I go out and play“? If our friends weren’t home, we went on a mission, picking up a few neighborhood kids along the way.

When we found our friends, we went to the little league field, and if too many people were there, we’d find another one.

Today, when a kid calls another kid, it’s hey want to come over and play Xbox or Play Station?

Many have never heard the sound when the ball hit’s the sweet spot, the crack of the bat when you KNOW it’s gone without even looking.

We usually had maybe a buck or two, we shared a Big Gulp or a soda, maybe a candy bar, we didn’t get incomprehensible diseases and die, we didn’t have Dial anti-bacterial soap.

If we didn’t have a ball, we’d find a rock to hit.

We didn’t have cell phones to call friends, If we wanted a friend to join us, we went to their house on foot or by bicycle, if lucky, we might get a ride, but that wasn’t standard protocol.

If we skinned a knee, we didn’t call 911 on our gay little cell phone, we toughed it out because we had to take the journey home.

Today, those days are lost, gone are the days when we would find an old tire, a piece of plywood to make a jump for our bikes to see who can get in the worst crash. We went to the public swimming pool all summer, our friends would all be there. Tons of them, not just one sitting in front of the TV for hours.

Sure, I had PONG, but what kid didn’t? but after a while of that, we still got out and found something fun, while usually stupid, to occupy our time with. We rode down enormous hills on skateboards or roller-skates, We used to take my moped into a local lake after rain and lose our shoes in 8’deep mud & muck. We played football in the rain, just to slip and slide around, because it was fun. When a friend invited you for B-ball, we brought a basketball and played basketball. Now it means come sit on my living room floor and play dumb video games.

I realize this is a different world, and technology is great, but some modern day progression is often regression, think about that.

I know some parents and kids do activities, but they will never know the joy and creativity that we were able to do when mom just wanted you out of the house, and we always found a way to entertain ourselves.

We climbed up mountain trails, we’d find canyons to explore. We played little league, Pop Warner, we threw eggs at people and ran away. We bought ice blocks and slid down hills, almost guaranteeing injury or death, we were kids, doing what kids do. What do they do now? Often drugs and not much else.

I hope no parents of active kids take my meaning wrong, but as a whole, we have lost a great deal of ingenuity and development of young minds.

So people, take a football to the park with your kids, take them to a beach and throw a Frisbee, give them a tennis ball to play fetch with the family pup, tell them your old glory days tales.

Tales of high school football. Interest them in sports.

How can you appreciate Madden Football if you’ve never played tackle football with your friends?

Please, if nothing else, take them to the batting cages, and let them hear the sounding crack of a ball destined to clear the fence. You know the one, when you left the game of the week on the television just for a second to go in the kitchen, and you hear it, the crack of the bat that you know just tied the game. don’t let innovation and past treasures die, keep the older way alive.

Small confession: I too had the hand held Mattel football game with the little red L.E.D. players. God Bless.

Written by Bojack

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Blackberry Sauce

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Image 1: Blackberries on Bush

It’s not often that the committed vegetarian and the meat lover agree about food but this blackberry sauce is most definitely one. Of its many strong points; most people agree that it is the ease with which a consistently mouth watering end result (the sauce) can be reliably reproduced that has proven to be this blackberry sauce’s strongest asset.

Image 2: Wild Blackberries

Blackberry Sauce Ingredients:

1 Pint of Fresh Blackberries
2 Tablespoons of White Beet Sugar
1 Pinch of Sea Salt

Image 3: Black Butte Blackberries

Blackberry Sauce Method:

Using a colander and medium stainless steel mixing bowl; firstly rinse and then destalk the blackberries after which return the washed and destalked blackberries to the colander and let stand for a few minutes to drain off any excess water. Once drained transfer the blackberries from the colander to your medium sized stainless steel mixing bowl.
Sift the sugar twice using a fine sifter. Once sifted, add the sugar to the medium sized stainless steel mixing bowl that already contains your prepared blackberries (washed, destalked and drained).
Now add the desired amount of freshly ground sea salt to the blackberry/sugar mixture. Note that the quantity of freshly ground sea salt to be added is directly dependant upon your personal preference, just don’t over do it
Take a fork or potato masher and gently crush the blackberries until they start releasing their juices. Once the blackberries are crushed to your satisfaction set them aside to marinate for at least 15 minutes.
Transfer your marinated blackberry mixture to a small sauté pan and give it a quick stir. Now place sauté pan containing the marinated blackberry mixture over a medium-high heat and cook until the juices begin to thicken (around 5 minutes depending upon cooking appliance being used).

Blackberry Sauce Serving Indicators:

Blackberry sauce can be served hot or cold depending upon its intended use. Here is a simple rule of thumb to help you determine the temperature (hot, warm or cold) at which your blackberry sauce should be served.

Serve your blackberry sauce hot when accompanying hot food
Serve your blackberry sauce warm when accompanying warm food
Serve your blackberry sauce at or below room temperature when accompanying cold dishes.

Blackberry Sauce Serving Suggestions:

Serve blackberry sauce warm/hot to drizzle over such dishes as cobbler, apple pie, banana pancakes, etc.
Serve blackberry sauce at or below room temperature when drizzled over ice cream, fruit salad, cold apple pie, milk shakes, etc.

Enjoy!!!

Written by techdoc

The Top Droid Accessories.

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Google’s foray into the cell phone industry, with the Motorola-built Droid and powered by the lightning-fast Android 2.0 platform, is proving to be a worthwhile venture for the marketing gurus.  Google joined with a consortium of businesses and developed the Android 2.0platform for running cell phones which run multiple applications (apps).   So far, and the Droid has only been on the market for a mere two months, the idea seems to have been a great one, and the Droid, along with other Android-run smart phones, has the potential to topple the IPhone and Blackberry strangleholds on the high-speed, multi-tasking cell phone markets.

With a 3.7 inch high-definition LCD touch-screen display, the Droid really is all that you could possibly want in a cell phone.  For instance, within less than a minute, you can take a picture of a bar code on any product in a store, and have the Droid tell you, with the tap of one icon, anywhere nearby that the same product is for sale, with the associated prices, in descending order.  And, you even get directions to get to each store from where you are currently located, overlaid on Google Maps Street View, if you want.  And, yes, you can also make phone calls!

Some of the more desirable accessories for Droid smart phones include, but in no way are limited to;

*    Skins.  Once you have your beautiful high-definition LCD touch-screen Droid, and have it set up with your personal preferences, learning how to control the phone is extremely easy.  The touch-screen display, with over 65 Million colors, needs to be protected from the elements, skin oil, accidental liquid spills, shocks from being dropped or banged into something solid, like a table’s edge or a wall.  Customized skins, .99 and up, allow the Droid owner to reflect their personality on the cover of their cool, new, next-generation cellular phone, and vary in price due to the material, artistry, quality and manufacturer.

*    Screen Savers.  A screen-saver is a great accessory for the Droid, and should be purchased at the same time as the phone.  With anti-glare technology, you will be able to use your Droid outside in the brighter light more easily, and protect the screen from scratches and your skin’s oil build-up.  From .99 and up.

*    The Docking Station.  The Droid docking station, used as an alarm clock, digital photo frame and all-around great accessory for the Droid is a wonderful gift in the 0 range.  The web-enabled next generation cell phone’s docking station is one of the most sought-after accessories for the Droid, and it charges the Droid while  being used as a veritable multimedia powerhouse.

*    Solar Power Panel.  A solar power panel will charge your Droid phone no matter where you are.  Well, as long as the sun is out.  .

*    Car Accessories.  Another hot item is the external antennae, between and , which will greatly enhance the phone’s signal strength, especially for radio use, or for while traveling in remote areas.  A dash-mount for the Droid will turn your cell phone into a GPS, with voice activation, Google Maps and Google Earth, along with all of Google’s other mapping and location systems applications (apps).  Car mounts can have suction cups, cup-holder mounts or vent mounts, and run between and .

*    Stylus Pen.  The Droid also has a series of stylus pens, for using the on-screen commands and on-screen keyboard, without using your bare fingers.  For using your Droid outside in the cold, or to avoid skin-oil build-up, these handy and screen-saving stylus pens cost .99 at the Droid Apps Store.

*    Case.  A cell phone case is a common accessory that is required for all cell phones, older models and newer next generation phones alike.  You can get a few different cases, or one good one that has many different configurations.  Use it as an arm-band, clipped to your pants’ waist or belt, strapped over your shoulder and arm, or as extra protection in case the phone is ever dropped, banged into something or bumped out of your hands.  From to well over 0.

Some more thoughtful gifts for Droid owners include the 3-in-one USB charger, the Belkin Bluetooth USB connector, and the 36-in-one media reader.  The USB charger, or less, is used to charge your phone using any plugged-in computer’s USB ports.  You can use a laptop with a USB interface that is turned off, but the battery burn on the laptop is rather quick when not turned on.  The 36-in-one media reader is an accessory for the multimedia expert for downloading medium to and from the Droid, and comes in at about .

One of the best accessories to buy for a Droid owner who loves listening to music, watching movies or live streaming video is the Stereo Headset.  Coming with or without mic-booms (for hands-free phone use), the stereo headsets range in price, functionality and quality.  The stereo headset has controls on one earpiece, and has a useful ambient noise cancellation option.  Some models in the works have remote control and plug-wire controls.  At under when found on sale, the stereo headset is one of the better gifts for Christmas, 2009, or for any other reason, for the Droid owner and music, movie or television junkies.

If you are giving a Droid as a gift, and want to include a stocking stuffer or second gift, but can not decide upon which accessory to choose, try to figure out what options of the Droid the person would be using the most, and get an accessory that helps with that option.  If the Droid did not come with a screen protector or carrying case, those are two rather inexpensive gifts that the Droid owner absolutely must have.

Gift certificates from the Droid Apps Store, which sells all of the authorized Droid accessories, are available in customizable values.

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