HyperSensory.com

I've resisted harmony for a while. I was determined to make one of my multi-function universal remotes work with all devices, but everyone of them could not duplicate functions of at least one of my devices. So I caved in to the other side and spent the $98 at Costco for a Harmony 880 advanced universal remote control. Let me tell you - I have achieved harmony and home entertainment system control nirvana!

To all of those still on the fence, let me explain why all the rage about Harmony remote controls:

Even though the holidays have passed along with all those sales at big electronics stores - there are still some great deals out there. While searching for a good and inexpensive Bluray player for my home entertainment system, I've discovered an excellent deal at the local Costco.

Right now, most Costco stores have Sony BFP-BX2 bluray player for only $109!
Let me tell you why this is a good deal:

Many people have high definition flat screen televisions at home, hi-def cable or satellite service or a home theater that requires HDMI cables. The first thing we do is go to the store in hopes of finding a good quality cable at reasonable price. Then we come back angry and frustrated since the cheapest HDMI cable you can get from a national chain is a set of 2 cables for $30 at Costco. And that's not a bad deal on a quality cable since they are backed up by Costco's outstanding warranty and return policy.

But for those of us looking for very low prices and still same great quality - don't panic, there are a few options out there.

The first one is Overstock.com - you can find reasonable quality cables for as low as $3.50 - look at LinkDepot and Eforcity for slightly better cables than the rest. What you may get though, are the cables that work most of the time, but not 100% of the time. In fact, some of these cables exhibit a very strange behavior where you have to switch the ends in order to make them work. What is frustrating is that people are reporting some of these cable to stop working after a few months, or not carrying full 1080p stream with audio.

Second option is a "secret" of the audio-video community -MonoPrice.com. These guys specialize in cables, adapters, plugs and mounts. They don't just sell them at very low prices, but have them made to spec and often brand them as MonoPrice product. The quality of their cables is outstanding and the prices are very reasonable.By the way - if you need any other kind of cable - fiber optic, copper speaker wire, network cable - they got it. The problem with HDMI cables from monoprice.com is that they either have a ferrite cores or are very thick. The ferrite cores are not a bad thing at all as they help to minimize interference, but they are located really close to the end of the cable where it may become an issue when trying manage those cables behind your equipment. Same problem with the thick cables - if you are trying to locate your equipment in tight space or mount your TV on a wall - they will be really hard to route and hide.

The last and the best option - are the AmazonBasics cables from Amazon.com. The cables sold under the house brand are of suprisingly good quality, are thin enough to be managable, but not unwieldy. They also cost slighly more ($5 instead of $3.50)  than those from MonoPrice.com, but still so worth it. And, if you buy $25 or more from Amazon, the shipping is free and you don't get charged tax!

One point of concern is the specification of the cable. Anyone buying and HDMI cable today should be looking for 1.3a or 1.3b cables which are Category 2 certified. What these specs mean is that the cable was tested to reliably handle 1080p and higher resolution video as well as high-definition audio. Devices such as Bluray players, HDTVs, PS3 console, etc require such cables for the best picture and audio.

Recently I've needed to use SIP/VoIP application on my iPhone (iSip and Softphone) only to discover that my D-Link DIR615 doesn't work correctly with SIP traffic. The router has some settings, but no combination would allow the phone to work, so I've had to replace it.

I needed something fast, fairly flexible, with wireless access point. After a quick look at what's avaliable from D-Link, Linksys and Netgear I've picked up Netgear WNDR3700 wireless router.

So far the new router runs like a champ I'm definitely having none of the issues (such as dropped connections) as I've had with the old. This is by far the best and fastest router I've tried, and tried many in my line of work.

So here is what makes WNDR3700 special:
1- Gigabit LAN
2- Dual band wireless - 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz
3- Dual band wireless guest network (separated from LAN)
4- QoS (quality of service) which allows for traffic proritization
5- USB hard drive sharing

If you are experiencing error "WindowsUpdate_80096004 WindowsUpdate_dt000" when running Windows Update on Windows 7 64bit Ultimate, Vista 64bit Ultimate or other 64bit versions - please try the following:

Just discovered a "feature" of recent versions of windows that can lead to loss of your data. In fact, this is something that has happened to me, but luckily I've had backups!

If you try to MOVE any of your personal folder within your profile (such as "My Documents", "My Pictures", etc) they will be moved to a new location, but you will still have "My Documents" or "My Pictures" which will point to the new location. Windows does this automatically, so you never loose track of your files. However, later you may discover that it appears that you have files in two locations - the old one on drive C C:\Users\username and in the new one (where ever you've moved the files). If you delete to clean up your computer and delete files from that "OTHER" location - you will erase all of your personal files. You don't actually have files in two locations - Windows makes a link in your "C:\Users\username\ to the new location.

I thought i had files in two places and deleted one of them - well, they were gone from both.

If you've done this - restore from backup. If you don't have a backup - stop using your computer immediately and use a data recovery software before you overwrite those files. They are still probably on your computer, but are marked as "free space" by windows.

Good luck and be careful!

If you are looking for a great camera bag that doesn't really look like one, while keeping quite a bit of gear - check out this Tamrac Express 7.

I've searched for a great bag, had tried many but was not satisfied with what I've seen - LowePro, ThinkTank, Domke, Kata, etc. Then I've got one of these a year ago as a present and can't be any happier with it. Bag fits several large lenses, two large bodies, flash and other stuff in various combination. Here are the two sets I usually have in the bag:

Combo 1:
Sony A900 + 70-200mm f2.8
Minolta 7D
24-70mm f2.8
16mm f2.8 fish eye

Combo 2:
Sony A900+70-200mm f2.8
24-70mm f2.8
50mm f1.4
HVL-F58AM flash

of course the bag also housed a ton of memory cards, spare batteries, notepad with pen, keys, wallet, cell-phone, filters, pocket knife and more. it is well padded on all sides, has large pocket up front with several smaller compartments. One large pocket on the top of the bag, and one sleak pocket in the back. That pocket in the back of the bag is quite large, but barely noticeable. In fact - it is perfect for keeping papers or wallet, so it is completely out of site.

I recommend you buy this bag from Amazon - they have low price,  free shipping and no tax for most states.

Check it out - it is really that good!