bobbysketch

Since NBC has pulled it’s shows from iTunes, you’re all going to need some (legal) way of downloading The Office and Heroes. That’s where Amazon.com comes in for the rescue. Take a look at the Amazon Unbox service. You can download shows, send them to a different computer, or even send them to your TiVo….and since we get a cut for your purchases from Amazon, why not shamelessly promote it?

Here’s a link to the FAQ.

Even though Tony the Tiger hooked me up with a shackburger last night, the events of the evening ended up being very costly. I lost the one set of keys that I own to my car. The worst part is, I knew exactly when it happened too – I just didn’t realize it. The seats at the shack were tugging on my keychain (no double entendre intended), and at one point, the key-ring with my car keys must have snapped off without my realizing it. I have a call into the Shake Shack management about any found keys, but I am not expecting much.

This morning, I had to call several dealerships to ask about getting replacement keys made for a car that has none. I tried my best to not sound suspicious, but I had no luck. What I have to do is get the car towed to the dealer and they can then program a new key. In doing some research I’ve learned that the keys have RFID’s in them (even keys that look like normal keys) so that when you insert the key into the ignition, it matches up in radio frequency and then starts the car. That’s apparently what makes it near impossible to hotwire the car. It also makes a key cost $140 (add $50 to get the car towed to the dealer, tax and voila – $200+). Good times.

UPDATE: It looks like Amazon has removed this item from their site.

Although Creative doesn’t release products with as much fanfare as Apple, they have some of the best portable music players around. For the value conscious, this Creative ZEN is a great alternative to Apple’s Nano. It’s a credit card sized digital media player (looks very similar in size to my Canon SD630 camera). It sports a 2.5″ LCD screen that displays 16.7 million colors, gives you 25 hours of music payback and 5 hours of video playback.

The best part about the Creative products is that they package them with nifty little “added value” features: FM Tuner, Voice Recorder, SD Slot for expansion, multiple format support (MP3, WMV, WMA, MPEG4, DIVX, XVID, etc.) – all of which are included with this product. Amazon is currently taking orders for the 8GB model for $199.

Designed by James McAdam, due to a report that 50% of people in London are worried about security and sleep with some form of self-defense close by to use against intruders.

The ‘Safe Bedside Table’ has a removable leg that acts as a club and a top that doubles as a shield for self-defense. This is for people who are willing to take on an intruder, providing an extra sense of security whilst in bed.

I’ve heard of beatdowns in bed, but this wasn’t what I imagined.

I had been seriously thinking about upgrading my current Verizon DSL service to the new and improved FIOS network until I read this article from the Associated Press.  Verizon has been promoting their fiber optic network for the past couple of years and it had impressed me so much, I was anticipating the arrival of FIOS in my neighborhood.  But I never looked at the downside of such a move.  According the AP report, fiber optics would replace the current copper wires that are connected in most homes.  Once that is done, there is no way of going back.  Which means I wouldn’t be able to back to DSL.

Currently, Verizon has a good introductory price to the FIOS network.  First month free, 29.99 for the next five months and 39.99 thereafter.  I am paying 29.99 anyway for my DSL service so I thought that would be a good deal.  But if Verizon decided to bump up price of the service plan, I wouldn’t be able to go back to the cheaper DSL service.  It seems that the introductory offer is a trojan horse into your home.