10.15.06
17″ LCDs at Fry’s
Looking for a cheap LCD? Well, if you’re reading this in time, you can get a ViewSonic 17″ for $99 after a $40 mail-in rebate. If you do your math right, you’re paying $140 up front (excluding shipping of course). The downside? Well, the deal ends this Tuesday (Oct 17, 2006). Also, it doesn’t say what kinds of connections you’re getting, so it’s probably analog. It’s got a 25ms video response, which is kind of high compared to most newer LCDs. Either way, you’re getting a freakin LCD for $100, and it’s a ViewSonic. For those of you who aren’t in the compu-know, ViewSonic makes some of the best monitors you can buy, and they’ve been in business for a long time. This may be an older generation LCD, but that doesn’t mean they skimped out on quality.
The offer I bit though is basically the same deal as above except it’s $20 more, with an 8ms video response and analog and digital inputs. Also, you’re getting a $50 rebate back, so it’s really only $10 more ($110 AR). For ten extra dollars, it’s definately worth it, even if you are just going to sell it again. Get it here.
While we’re at it, there is also a Samsung for $180 after rebate (8ms) that ends on the 19th (Thursday) and an HP for $190 AR that ends January 14th, which is also 8ms. So, there’s the lowdown on some good deals for now.
EDIT: My monitor came in, and I’ve been using it for a few days now. It’s got crappy speakers (they all do), but at least it gives me a way to listen to my other computer because they’re slightly amplified and my KVM switch doesn’t support sound. The digital input is about as bad as my other monitor, but with these monitors, analog usually works pretty well. There is 1 dead pixel that I can notice at the moment, but it’s off to the side and took me a day to actually notice it. I have a lot of excuses, but you can’t ask for much more for a $110 monitor. One thing that impressed me the minute I took it out of the box is how easy it is to get to the inputs on the back, with a removable panel. Can’t say much else about it other than it works, it’s not too dim, and it a freakin $110 LCD that I’m thinking about keeping rather than selling. Well, at least until I get an offer I guess. I decided to break it in a bit so I could tell someone exactly what I’m selling. Also, I’ll have to take the UPC off the box, they weren’t going to get that anyway.
10.13.06
Find Sweet New Music!
Are you getting sick of your same old playlist? There’s probably a bunch of stuff out there you’d just love to listen to, but don’t know where to look. Well, here’s a start – Gnoosic.org. The concept is simple; you type in 3 bands you like, and then the website goes on and recommends others. You click on “I like it!”, “I dont like it!”, or “I don’t know it”. Each recommendation shows a picture of an album they’ve produced (if it can find one) and a link to Amazon.com where you can purchase the album, which is probably how they get away without advertising. At the end, it will display your favorites, which ones you like, which ones you don’t like, and which ones you haven’t heard of before. The more bands you try out, the smarter it becomes, and makes it that much better at recommending music. I’ve got to hand it to these people – it works. If it weren’t for this site, I’d probably be bored with music still. Also, they’ve spun off a site for books and movies. Try it out, it’s pretty cool. And hey, if you don’t like it, you’ve wasted a whole freakin minute.
10.12.06
Theme XP Like Media Center Edition
I finally found a free native Windows theme. It makes Windows XP (any version) look like Windows XP Media Center Edition, which in my opinion looks pretty cool. Download it here from Softpedia.com or google it. It comes zipped up, and contains an executable that will install itself in the right place. The zip also contains 2 backgrounds. As always, no spyware, no hassle, “no freakin crap”. Apparently this is a version that leaked out from beta testing, or something … whatever. Microsoft owes you and me both.
