Radio Links

Rick Cassani from Media Light & Sound came on the show Thursday to talk about home theater systems. Amazing how many people asked about those home theater-in-a-box systems. $200 or so will get you some start-up gear but not the greatest surround sound system.

It's always best to plan a home theater/multimedia center when building a home, if possible. If not, a sledgehammer could be your best friend (and worst enemy) if you want to retrofit your home with a lot of tech gear. I did this to my home about three years ago - 59 holes punched in my sheetrock and lots of dust. Ain't too cheap either.

Friday's main show topic will be about cell phones - tips on what gear and calling plans to look for and stay away from. Not too many hours left before Christmas so tune and start shopping.

Home Theater

Rick Cassani from Media Light & Sound came on the show Thursday to talk about home theater systems. Amazing how many people asked about those home theater-in-a-box systems. $200 or so will get you some start-up gear but not the greatest surround sound system.

It's always best to plan a home theater/multimedia center when building a home, if possible. If not, a sledgehammer could be your best friend (and worst enemy) if you want to retrofit your home with a lot of tech gear. I did this to my home about three years ago - 59 holes punched in my sheetrock and lots of dust. Ain't too cheap either.

Friday's main show topic will be about cell phones - tips on what gear and calling plans to look for and stay away from. Not too many hours left before Christmas so tune and start shopping.

TV/DVR On Your PC - Tuesday Interview

Tune in Tuesday at 12 noon as I'll have Rakesh Agrawal on my show to talk about his Houston-based company, Snapstream Media.

I met Rakesh about six years ago when I was doing technology segments for Channel 2. He came up to me at a speech I was giving and showed off a small device that goes inside a PC that he said could record TV shows. Fast forward to 2006 and his products, including Beyond TV, have won numerous awards and are sold around the world.

Oh, and he's bringing stuff to give away. Game on!

YOU Are The Person Of The Year

Pretty clever or a clever cop out? I've always enjoyed guessing who Time Magazine's Person Of The Year choice will be. I always remind people that the selection is for the person or people who change the news for better or worse (which is why Hitler has been chosen).

Time went a bit crazy back in the early 80s by choosing the personal computer as its cover story. In hindsight that was a pretty good call as the PC has gone on to play a large role in how we live. So now the Time editors are telling us that CONTENT on the PC (via the Internet) made a difference in 2006. I guess the term Web 2.0 will now become mainstream.

Thanks to "You" the Web apparently became more relevant. It's not the mainstream media telling us news and stories but everyone - including You - submitting your own stories, photos and videos that matter. With sites like YouTube and MySpace, you did change the way we watch, read and interact with each other.

I can't disagree with this choice since I have realized for a long while that You have changed the way we learn and interact with each other for almost a decade. But I could have also considered Kim Jong Il an international threat in 2006, Suri Cruise for creating a new type of media frenzy for doing nothing but being born or even poor old Pluto for getting dissed after shining semi-brightly in the sky for 76 years.

Did Time choose wisely or did they simply choose to put YOU on a pedestal? Tune in to my show at its NEW TIME on Monday, 12pm to discuss.

New Show Time, CES

I knew it would come back to haunt me. After "working" a whole 2 hours a week for the past 4+ years, I now get to yap six days in a row. And boy are my vocal chords tired.

Been holding down the M-F 9a-11a spot on TalkRadio 950 KPRC for a few weeks now. It's fun talking to people about regular stuff - should English be put on the Friendswood ballot as the city's official language, will the Democrats create a universal tax for online purchases next year, what's your fave Xmas TV special? No, no and Charlie Brown.

I've also been doing my Saturday 12p-2p technology show which means Sunday I get to rest. Which means yelling at the kids and cheering at football games - so much for my vocal chords.

Things will slow down soon as my schedule settles down. Beginning next Monday, December 18, my daily show moves to 12p-1p. You'll hear more technology news and info as I get back to being my normal self. And the countdown is on to my final Saturday show. My last live show will be Saturday, December 23, while we do a "Best Of" on Saturday, December 30, when I'll be wathing the Horns in the Alamo Bowl.

Cool stuff coming up, though. I'll be going to the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas the first part of January. Always a fun place to meet companies and get a peek at new gadgets for the upcoming year. I will be shooting my TV segments for the nationally syndicated Hot On Homes program and will broadcast my radio show live from the show floor. Send me suggestions on companies you would like me to bring on as guests. And yes I will try to bring back samples for everyone!