Free Computer Consultant ………. Daily Insights

HDMI is the way all your devices want to connect to your HDTV. Newer HDTV’s might have multiple HDMI ports, but older ones don’t.

Now you decide to hook up a computer via HDMI and find the port already in use by a Sony Playstation 3 or HDV camcorder, what are you gonna do?

The answer may be to alleviate that HDMI congestion with a convenient HDMI switch. IOGear has been around a long time providing solutions in connectivity. Now they offer the GHDMIAS4 which is a 4 port HMDI automatic switch that automatically chooses the active connection. But it also includes a handy remote so that you can choose the input if you want.

The IOGear GHDMIAS4 comes with the 4 port automatic HDMI switch, remote, and a cable to connect to the HDTV. If you want, you can use your existing universal programmable remote instead of the one IOGear includes.

You do need power available for the HDMI switch, but I presume you already have a rats nest of cabling and plugs. Just be sure to plug everything into a quality surge protector or UPS, not just an outlet strip or multi-outlet drop cord.

Searching around I found that you can get the GHDMIAS4 at Buy.com for about $92.00 and even get free shipping.

Check it out.
IOGear 4 Port HDMI Switch

Virgin America just began their new innovation in air transportation: Giving the consumer what he/she wants. Comfort and connectivity.

Virgin is offering, for a reasonable price (for how long?), an enjoyable way to travel once one gets past the charade of TSA security. See Bruce Schneier for more on that.

Wide, white leather seats and “mood” lighting that is ascribed to like being inside an iPod. Is that everyone’s dream? No. But for more and more of us, yes. 110 power outlets, USB & Ethernet, WiFi as soon as the FAA approves it. Movies to choose from, games like Doom, much more.

What do the airlines expect everyone to do while waiting for the:

• fog to clear
• clearance to the runway
• airline to find a pilot
• deicing
• weather to improve
• mechanics to apply some duct tape somewhere

Maybe the seat to seat text chatting will even keep the volume down a bit, who knows?

What I do know is that this is a step forward, especially for those who travel often. Even for those of us who don’t, it will be one less reason not to endure the hassle of TSA at the terminal.

I ran across this cute little flash animation and thought you might enjoy it. It’s called Icon’s Story, but I prefer Icon War.

It’s a flash presentation that shows what your computer does when you aren’t watching. Most of the icon names are in Japanese (I guess that’s what it is).

There are sound effects and it is G rated.

You can find it here.

There have been many reports in the news lately of beauty queens whose title is under attack or whose crown has been taken away due to unladylike photos or other information surfacing on the internet.

Miss New Jersey and her blackmail issue is only one of the more high profile, recent cases.

Our local news just last night mentioned a local county fair beauty pageant where 7 of the 8 contestants have their myspace.com and facebook.com profiles marked “private”, so only their friends can see them.

Girls, wake up. If you are beauty queen material then you ought to know that your circle of friends includes some who are just waiting for an opportunity to put a knife in your back.

If winning notoriety in a pageant is high on your list of importance in life, then maybe you will have to sacrifice having racy photos of yourself, your underage drinking and where your boyfriend puts his mouth in public available in high resolution on the internet.

If you think marking your myspace or facebook entry “private” is really that secure, then think again. MySpace has been hacked before at the server level, you don’t think there is someone who can hack (or guess) your password (No1Queen)?

I suppose you regularly login to your internet blogs, websites and spaces over WiFi at the campus? That’s secure.

Information that is sitting on any server attached to the internet is NOT private. Learn that now.

The internet is not, nor ever will be (IMHO), known for privacy. If you don’t want the photos in the tabloids, then destroy them.

Better yet, don’t indulge in the behavior that will get you de-throned in the first place. Almost everyone has a cell phone or other camera device; and if it’s not that it could be a security camera, and the people with access to those tapes are not always stupid - they know opportunity when it knocks.

Knock, knock.

Neuros OSD Media Center. This is a set top box that treats you like an owner. I like that.

I found out about it in a Post on BoingBoing.net

If you like it as much as I do, buy it here