A lot of buzz going around about going Blu-Ray since Disney decided to release their movies in the crystal clear format. But, what do you want to buy? I haven’t made a final decision myself yet. I’m on the fence about buying a Blu-Ray player or just buying a Playstation 3, which has a Blu-Ray player built into it.

My penny pinching side says two-for-one deal, but my movie watching side says get a stand alone Blu-Ray unit. Price wise they come out pretty even, depending on extras for the PS3 and what model/brand of Blu-Ray you would buy.

On the previous Playstation models I wasn’t very happy with the DVD player and never used it. I have a feeling I might feel the same way about the Blu-Ray models. So, here I sit on the fence about the decision. Give me your Blu-Ray advice, experience, and tell me what you’re doing when it comes to movie buying. I want to hear from you. In the meantime I’m going to dig up a bit of research about the benefits of Blu-Ray, different models/brands, etc… and of course I’ll be back to talk about that soon. Leave a comment and let me know what you’ve got to say when it comes to these shiny new Blu-Ray discs.

Computer crashes are never easy to deal with.  I’ve had some awful computer problems before, but this one snuck up on  me.  I did some transcriptions, played a game, answered email and off to bed I went.  In the morning I turned the computer on and it was stuck in a never ending loop.  I couldn’t get to safe mode and I couldn’t do anything with it.

I’ve never seen so many people in line for the Geek Squad at Best Buy before.  It was an hour and a half just to get up to the counter to talk to someone, and there were quite a few techs there helping people, answering questions, and eventually carrying PC’s to the back room for repair.

They told us 2 to 5 business days and we’d have our computer back and running smoothly.  By the end of the week I’m sure they’ll be able to repair the problems caused by the Windows Service Pack 3 in their sleep.  From what I’ve read online so far it seems to be affecting computers with AMD processors, which my desktop has because that was my preference.  My laptop (that I am typing to you from right now and has service pack 3 with no issues) has an Intel processor, because that was all that was available in the model I wanted at the time.  A blessing in disguise?

Anyhow, if your computer hasn’t downloaded it yet, please be careful when it asks you to download and install the latest Windows Service Pack.  A lot of folks, particularly those with AMD processors and/or computers that are more than 2 years old running XP, are having problems.

It’s been awhile since I’ve been able to get on here and blog, we’ve all been feeling a bit under the weather in our house. A stomach virus made it rounds and there was a lot of missed school and work, a lot of gingerale, and a lot of sleeping. Everyone finally seems to be feeling better again and it’s back to chaos as usual.

All these germs floating about was the inspiration for today’s shiny gadget. A hands free soap dispenser looks shiny and fun on your sink and it helps keep the germs at bay. With a house full of kids I’m all about germ control in any way I can get it. And having it look nice is just a bonus.

You can grab a pair of these and have one for soap and one for lotion.  Just wave your hand underneath the spout and just the right amount will be dispensed into your hand.  Bonus number two, less waste!

The drip free spout keeps the sink top from getting soap goop all over it.  And this shiny gizmo is multi-purpose as well.  You can use it for soap, lotion, sunscreen, hand sanitizer, etc…  This would look nice in the office filled with hand sanitizer for everyone to use.  I better not mention that to the hubby or he’ll take it to work for the shared computer station.

This is my favorite time of year. I love all of October, Fall is my favorite season and Halloween is my favorite holiday. Halloween decorations are popping up all over the neighborhood already and I just love seeing all the pumpkins and ghosts on the lawns.

I’ve got a few Halloween decorations around the house too. The kids love it. A big favorite in the house is the “ghost” mouse. I think he’s only second to the candy dish with the hand that grabs you when you reach in for a treat! I think they just like seeing the trick or treaters jump when it grabs their hand!

I’m browsing around now and I’m bummed out that I can’t find anywhere to buy this cute little gadget this year. If you happen to see it some place, or something like it, please come back and let us know.

It’s not the most comfortable mouse to use, so I only have it out for a few weeks. The shape is odd, but not odd at the same time. I just find myself holding it all wrong, so that might be a problem if you do a lot of mousing during the day. I do find myself wishing the scroll wheel was a bit bigger.

I’ll be on the lookout for more holiday themed computer gear for you, and please do stop by and let me know if you come across something spooktacular for us!

Since we were talking about the new DSi coming out, I thought it might be appropriate to look for a fun DS carrying bag that doesn’t have Pokemon on it so that you don’t look like a 12 year old carrying your DS around with you. Although, some of those Pokemon sure are cute!

I choose this plain mint green DS Lite case for a few reasons. One, it’s not covered in cartoon creatures, which is key if you’re trying to be subtle about carrying around your DS. Depending on where you live, this might be important. If you ride the subway or bus to school/work/shopping you may need to be subtle as people have had their iPods, Blackberry, and video games taken from them in several cities. Always be aware of your surroundings and stay safe, please.

In addition, it could be mistaken for a wallet or, as much as I hate to say it out loud, a tampon case. Throw this in your day tote and a passer by might just think that it’s something else! Now, if you’re not trying to be subtle about what is in the case then by all means go for a much cuter, cartoon emblazoned carrying bag for your DS Lite!

There are plenty of options out there for carrying your DS around in style and protecting it from drops, bumps, and nasty weather. Along with a host of other cool accessories, like fun decorated stylus pens and gel skins to change the look of your system.

The brand new Nintendo DSi was announced and is being released in Japan first on November 1, 2008.   Soon to follow will be release in North America, Europe and Australia in 2009.

I will admit that I’m a bit disappointed it’s not going to be made available here before Christmas here in the states, since we were planning on buying DS Lites for our kids this year to replace their gameboys.  It  seems a little silly of me to do now when the new DSi will be coming out shortly after.  I may have to rethink my holiday shopping plans and come up with a new theme for under the tree.

Enough of my holiday shopping woes, let’s take a look at what the major differences are going to be between the current DS Lites and the upcoming DSi.  The first big difference is extra goodies on board.  You’ll have a built in camera, MP3 player, improved speakers, dual touch screens with the ability to edit photos on those touch screens,  SD card slot, slightly bigger screen size, built in Opera browser, and the ability to visit the DSi store to download games that you can then store in your DSi and play anytime.

Wow, that was a lot of stuff. One thing that is also changing is that there will no longer be a Gameboy Advance slot. You may have heard me complain in the past that they stopped making Gameboy Advance games and all four of my kids still have GBAs. It was frustrating for them that the only place they could get games was in the used section at Game Stop, (which is why I was planning on buying the DS Lites this year over holilday break.)

So, for those who have an extensive collection of Gameboy Advance games, they’re about to become even more obsolete. At least you could still enjoy using them in the DS Lite, if you upgrade to the shiny new DSi you have to start all over with a new set of games. Another thing I should mention quickly is that you’re going to be replacing any adapters you may already have, as that will also be different.

Color is probably not important, assuming that they will make just as many skins and covers for the DSi as they do for the Lite. However, the DSi is only being released in black and white to start off with. I sort of liked the variety the GBA and the Lite had with different colors and special editions, so I’m hoping that’s a tradition that Nintendo will carry on and we’ll see some of those in the future with the DSi.

I’m sure everyone is wondering about the price tag. Back in the spring the DS Lite price dropped from 179 to 149, and I’ve seen it in a few places for 139 and even 129 on mega sale. From everything that I’ve read this morning it looks like the price tag on the DSi is going to be that familiar $179, but I am not 100% positive on that at this moment.

So far that’s all I’ve found about the upcoming DSi, if you know more or come across a good video about it, let me know. Leave a comment or feel free to email me.

TechStyle and M80 are hosting a big giveaway to support www.laptopexperts.net! To celebrate the help forum for laptops of all kinds (regardless of make, model, and manufacturer), TechStyle is giving away some fantastic Belkin USB Hubs to some lucky readers.

The Prize:

Belkin USB Hi-Speed USB 2.0 4-Port Ultra-Mini Hub
Connects up to 4 USB 1.1 and 2.0 devices to your computer
Transfers data at speeds of 480 Mbps
Offers lightweight, compact design perfect for laptops and traveling
Connect your notebook computer to printers, digital cameras, full keyboards, and other devices easily and quickly
Complies with OHCI and EHCI standards
Belkin Lifetime Warranty!

I have FOUR of these great USB extenders to give away! That’s right, four of you will be getting these great little gizmos for your very own. I have one for my laptop and I absolutely love it. It lets me use things easily when I’m traveling, and it definitely got a lot of use over the summer when I was away from home a lot.

Get Entered:

First, please visit www.laptopexperts.net and have a look around. The site is designed to answer laptop questions of all kinds. You can ask a question to get help with your own laptop, or you can apply to become a laptop expert and help others find solutions to their questions.

Second, leave a comment here and let me know your favorite feature about Laptop Experts. Did you find a helpful question or answer?

Want two bonus entries in the drawing? Stumble Upon www.laptopexperts.net and this post and then leave a comment with your stumble user name for verification.

That’s it! Easy peasy! Make sure that you use a valid email in your comment so I can contact you if you win. I will draw the winners at random on Saturday, October 25, 2008 and post the results right here on the blog.

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Contest is void where prohibited.

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TechStyle’s giveaway/contest is a partnership with M80 (www.m80im.com). Information submitted to TechStyle regarding the contest/giveaway will be used to fulfill prizing. M80 and TechStyle do not sell information to 3rd parties, nor keep shipping or other sensitive information on file. Sensitive information such as shipping addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses are deleted after they are used once, specifically to properly label shipments. In the event that the information is incorrect and shipping does not reach its intended destination, sensitive information may be forwarded again to TechStyle or to M80 via [nico@m80im.com].
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