I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I’m a complete whore for technology. I wouldn’t quite put myself in the nerd/geek camp (although some would) but I do love the good, practical use of technology. And with the convergence of a couple of new-ish technologies, I’ve finally turned my home into something that could have featured on Tomorrow’s World – albeit back in the seventies.
It started with the recent purchase (as a 10th wedding anniversary present) of a new TV – a 50″ Plasma HD TV, which now hangs on the wall above the fireplace (where it doesn’t look as big as it sounds). It’s very nice (although my kids gave it an unimpressed “Meh…”), but as the cable company hasn’t managed to connect the ‘set-top’ box, we’re only picking up about five of the 200+ stations we’re supposed to get.  Even so, the HD ones do indeed look much better than ‘normal’ TV (although given the craggy faces of some of the presenters, more detail is not necessarily a good thing).
I thought we could at least spend our time watching DVDs, so I connected the DVD player, which promptly blew up (actually, it’s been iffy for a while). So I had to go out and get a new one. Whilst at Best Buy, I had a brainwave, and decided there was no point in just getting a plain old DVD player, when I could get a Sony PlayStation 3 - which would also play DVDs! That connected to the TV just fine (via a wincingly-expensive HDMI cable), and the game display is truly stunning – although I can’t say I was overly-impressed with the DVD quality – probably because Sony want to nudge you into getting Blu-Ray discs instead. I was also more than impressed by the wireless (Bluetooth) controllers, which means that I can sit over the other side of the room (which you need to with a TV this size) without having the kids yank the controller out of my hands every time they tripped over the cable, whilst running laps of the lounge (which they seem to find more fun than playing on the PlayStation).
At the same time as I got the PS3, I also got my internet service connected. This is DSL from AT&T which isn’t exactly new technology (and invented by a Belgian, a Belgian told me…), but I did get it with a wireless hub.  This could seem as overkill for a single-PC set-up, were it not for the fact that the PS3 is also wireless-enabled. Which means that I could (and did) connect the PlayStation to the Internet, without having to run wires all over the house. Outstanding! Now, I can’t see myself playing on-line games with a bunch of (other) nerds/geeks, but the ability to automatically download/install firmware updates is a boon. Plus, I can now surf the Web, or check my e-mail, without ever having to get up off the sofa. Or at least I could if I had a sofa – we got rid of our old/knackered one when we left Belgium, and haven’t picked up a replacement yet. Well, we’ve had more important purchases to make – like a 50″ TV and a PS3! Sofas? They’re so yesterday!
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