The Monkey

Oh, that totally sucks balls. Can you take the day?

Well, hot damn! That is fantastic news and a very big congratulations to all! Just watch out for this guy:

Is 60hz a deal-breaker on a smallish LCD TV for a bedroom?

Wii U it is! Ordered today. I think he and I will have a blast playing some of the games. Especially once I get the BIG FUCKIN' TV.

Ok, so the Boy wants a video game console. I want to get him one that we can use together. My initial assumption was Wii U, but it is getting mixed reviews. What do you guys think? XBOX with Kinect? Basically, I want something that has good multi-player, non-shooting games. So lots of sports titles and things that the Boy can physically do instead of just using the controller. Don't care about Blu-Ray, etc.

Vicki, is she used to a Windows machine? I ask because I have found that parents have a surprisingly difficult time making the transition.

Happy birthday, Todd!

Sweet pic. But I think gray would, too, in a way.

Happy Birthday to you, Tom!

Yup, that's pretty much considered the sweet spot in Panny's lineup in terms of bang-for-the-buck. It uses a lot of the tech in the better (but pricier) GT and VT models.

What about on the smaller end. What's a decent bedroom TV? Trying to figure out size/price. I wouldn't need something big. But what's not big these days that's readily available and doesn't suck?

I think it goes (top to bottom) VT GT ST But the ST is supposedly the best bang-for-the-buck.

But Nate what about 60"?!

Yeah, I'm going to stick with Panny. Just wondering if I should go 55 or 60. Need to measure viewing distance. then disregard and get the 60" anyway.

Fair point re the pixelses. And budget is no more than 1500 and hopefully less. Sticking with the old TV is not an option as that will belong to someone else.

Ok, so it looks like I'm in the market for a new plasma (or LCD if they're good now). This time I'm not fucking around. I will settle for 55" but would prefer 60". MANCAVE (but small Manhattan apartment style). I can't break the bank and I'm not a videophile. But I want something that doesn't suck. I believe I currently have the Panny ST50, which is nice,but not as immersive as I had hoped. What say you, wise ones.

Good point re the RAM. I also refuse to go back to anything other than an SSD.

Yeah, it's a PITA when they run it coax. Fortunately, you can usually have them switch it with a phone call. But it's a hassle and there are tradeoffs, so I think you did the right thing.

Really? I've got mine working. What was the problem?

Another vote for refurb. When the Airports work, which is almost always, they are rock solid. A little annoying with more elaborate setups, but they are excellent overall.

I won't be running windows. Still really torn. I have some time though because i won't be buying for another few months.

I may have something around too. CJ, I did a brief search on general cisco ATV probs and a ton of stuff comes up, but most of it is unhelpful. Only thing that occurs to me is that maybe it's a port forwarding issue?

MacBook Air, small muscles.

I am now leaning heavily toward a 13" MBA + 27" display as my next purchase (once dust has settled). Any thoughts? Anyone care?

It just sucks. Old iTunes was clunky and slow, but there was a certain logic to it and it basically just worked. (Search on the store was a tragedy, though). This update smacks of the old, bad apple ways in that there's a lot of superficial change for change's sake. There's a little bit of a learning curve; it still seems clunky; and it just tries to do too much. What happened to Apple's discipline in defining a product by what it leaves out as extraneous?