Tuesday morning notes
- One thing to note about Craig's post with the Xbox Live pricing increase is that you only lock in the $39.99 price for one year if you renew now.
As for me, I'm really debating what to do as far as the Live renewal stuff is concerned. I have a card here that I picked up for $29.99 a few months ago that I am going to add to my account, but after that I'm just not as sure about the value for me.
Typically, I'll play maybe... maybe... 1 or 2 online games a month on my Xbox, but I spend more of my online time on my PS3. And when you consider the fact that the PS3's online fee is, well... free. It's hard for me to think about spending $60 a year for that same ability on the Xbox. I guess I'll have to see how the ESPN integration fits onto the Xbox and how much I actually use it.
I do all of my Netflix streaming onto my PS3, so I don't really see that value. I have never used Facebook or Twitter on my 360, so that pretty much leaves me with online play... and well, I've covered that already.
I guess I'll revisit this next year when my account is about to run out.
- So, I've been working on a landscaping project at my house that involved the killing of some grass, laying down plastic to ensure the grass doesn't grow back and then covering the whole thing with river rock. It's going to work out to be about 300 sq. ft. of space and we're going to cover it with about 2" of rock everywhere. What I didn't put together when doing the math... was the weight of that rock.
The project is about half complete right now and I've already lifted over 3,000 lbs of rock... twice. (loading it in the vehicle and then unloading it and placing it at home.)
Let me tell you how much my back doesn't like me right now. Oh, well. Part of owning a home and trying to make it look nice... right?
- One of my first big moments as a parent comes up this week as my daughter starts school.
It's silly, but I'm excited to see how much she enjoys her first day. I almost wish I could be there with her to just watch the whole thing take place.
Lately she's begun to ask questions that are beyond what I would have expected for her. For example, she was looking out her window on the way to daycare the other day and noticed the moon was still up, she started to ask me about what happens when the moon moves in front of the sun and we had a great discussion about eclipses for the next 15 minutes in the car. Stuff like that always catches me off guard as I just never know what I'm going to hear from her next.
I'm certain that she's going to enjoy herself in school and can't wait to try and answer every question that comes up as a result of it.
- My last item for today is a question for you all. I'm debating replacing the monitor in my office and was curious as to your thoughts about using an HDTV as a PC monitor solution. I've been looking at 24 inch monitor, but have been curious about people's thoughts about using a 1080P/60 or 120Hz HDTV instead as the pricing for them is getting closer and closer.
Thoughts?
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Dan:
August 31st, 2010 - 12:41
First thing that jumps out of my mind concerning using a HDTV for a monitor is the resolution issue. I believe you can still get far higher possible resolution from a good computer monitor than the normal 1,920×1,080 HD standard. For example, on the latest Steam hardware survery there were a suprisingly high percentage of people using resolution higher than 1080p. FYI http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WUXGA#WUXGA_.281200p.29
That is really the only thing I can think of right now. I personally would compare them both without really thinking of one as a “tv” or a “monitor.”
September 1st, 2010 - 02:35
Another thought would be that a higher refresh rate like 120 or 240hz might not make much of a difference. Nothing is broadcast/made/published with support for that high of a refresh rate although for sports and action movies I do notice a difference between a 60 and 120hz.
Also, there are not many HDTV’s in the 24-26 inch range. Some for sure but I can’t think of one that is from a manufacturers higher end model lines.
September 1st, 2010 - 08:38
My thought is to get something larger if I were to get a TV. Seeing as how I could get some 36 to 40 inch models for the same price as a 24 inch monitor.
I have never played a pc game at a resolution higher than 1920 by 1080, so if I could get that on a bigger screen at 120 hz, that would be very nice. Of course old games would probably look pretty bad on a screen that large in an office.
September 1st, 2010 - 12:43
I’m guessing you have thought about checking out avs forums? I found this thread quick but i’m sure there are many more like it in the labyrinth of rooms there.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1267027
September 1st, 2010 - 13:56
Thanks for that info. That gives me some good things to look at there. I’m probably going to look at an HDTV before it’s all said and done… because… well, it’s my office and I want another decent sized TV. Heh.