A 4′ Monster Cable from Bestbuy? $99.99 + Shipping

A 2 Meter (6.5 ft) Cable from Amazon.com? $3.16 + Free Shipping

The difference in Quality? Nothing.

This is no longer the days of analog signal or any sort of static on your television. An HDMI Cable deals with a digital signal, this means all or nothing. You either get a picture or you don’t.

Think of a light switch. Before a digital signal it was like a dimmer switch, you had various degrees of being on. It was in your best interest to get a quality cable – in order to lose less signal.

A digital signal is an on/off switch. ON or OFF, that’s it (hopefully ON.)

Save $97 and buy one from Amazon/Newegg/Tigerdirect. A $100 HDMI cable is a waste of money.

“The (DNS) Domain Name System serves as the “phone book” for the Internet by translating human-friendly computer hostnames into IP addresses. For example, www.example.com translates to 208.77.188.166.” (taken from wikipedia)

Basically, you type in a domain into your browser. Your browser then searches for that set of numbers (like a phone number) which points to the data. This data is written so that your browser can decode it (HTML).

Currently you use your particular Internet Service Provider’s (ISP) Domain resolution service by default. For me it was Comcast, yours may be Verizon, AT&T – whoever you pay for your internet.

Whats the Difference? In the easiest to explain words: your ISP’s Domain resolution service isnt built for speed, Google’s is.

As with most Google products, its FREE. CLICKY FOR LINKY

A steb-by-step is shown on that page, some technical knowledge is needed.

A simple DNS explanation is here.

If you crave more information, a technical article on the same subject is here.

Thanks to Eric Martin for this.

I saw the commercial on TV and realized I bought my HTC Eris 25 days ago. I called them up on Sunday and talked to their account representative. I told them I saw the ad and wanted a credit. She checked my account and credited me $117.00.

I purchased my phones with a 2 year renewal, which gives you and extra $50 off. My total purchase for the 2 phones was $167. With my recent credit, I paid a grand total of $25 per phone. That’s phenomenal.

Buy this phone. If you already did, call Verizon immediately and get your credit.

A domain name is what your browser points to. While on this website, the domain name is “www.interstateproductions.com”. There are also .net, .info, .org, .tv, etc. This can be registered with many companies online. It doesn’t really matter who you register your domain with, just as long as it points to the correct place. A domain costs about $10-12 a year.

The domain name is registered to a person or a company and then is “pointed” to files on a server. The files contain html, which your browser decodes into what you are viewing right now. These files need someplace to be stored, this is where the host comes in.

A host is basically a server in which files are stored. This server is connected to the internet permanently. These files have a permanent spot in a folder on this server. When you get a domain, you will tell it to “point” to this folder on the server. This means that an unlimited number of domains can point to this same spot.

This host can be a free one, like http://sites.google.com/. This can also be one you made from scratch, or used a set of online building tools.

All hosts are basically the same. They all do the exact same things, some with different limitations. Some will limit the amount of email accounts & attachment size, others will limit the amount of files transferred for the month. Almost all of them have 24/7 tech support, some have better online web tools than others. On average, they cost $15 a month.

I hope this helps, post a comment if you have any questions.

If your plan is up and you are shopping for a new phone, this isn’t something to pass up. There is a in depth review @ phonearena.com, 3 pages of it.

Maybe Sprint doesnt have the same coverage as Verizon, but it is a cheaper monthly plan.

Amazingly enough, this looks almost identical to an Iphone. Why you would want to do this, I don’t know. I enjoy the uniqueness of the Android OS.

I have to admit it is a feat to be able to get this to work. I know aHome & Handcent SMS was used to duplicate the features.

(Note: Please let me know if you are having problems viewing this video, there seem to be some compatibility issues. IE users, please use the link below.)

If you have a Verizon Wireless phone, this option isn’t exactly “available” to us at the moment. And per Verizon, will cost you an extra $30 per month. Furthermore,  Google has banned all tethering apps from the Market. Personally, I think this is insane. Especially since it is based on an Open Source OS. Did I mention that Verizon plans to put a 5 GB cap on that $30 per month charge?

Well, there is a way around this. Its not illegal, but definitely frowned upon by Verizon. Although the program costs $29, its worth it for the few that need it. There is no hacking needed and you don’t need to root or unlock your phone. Simply go to this website, download and install their Android version of the Application. They do have a free trial so you can be sure it works just fine before dropping the measly $29.

Installation is quite simple. As long as you know how to install programs on your computer and Android OS, you will be just fine. Install the program on your phone, then your computer, follow the instructions and you should be good to go.

Another great idea is to copy the windows exe file to the USB portion of your phone. This way, you can take it with you in case something comes up.

• Step 1:  Get a Verizon phone with the Android OS, currently only 2 available: the DROID and the HTC Eris (HTC Touch Clone.)

• Step 2: Sign up for a plan that includes Verizon’s ‘Friends & Family’ (5 numbers that you can call an unlimited amount without using your minutes)

• Step 3: Sign up for a Google Voice account. You will need to wait 2 weeks for an invitation. Anyone who doesn’t have one of these, I suggest you sign up immediately.
  

• Step 4: IMPORTANT!!! Add your Google Voice number to your Friends & Family Plan on your Verizon webpage.
  
  
• Step 5: Configure your Google Voice account online.

• 5-1: Click on the Phones tab and add your cell number. Verify your number by having Google Voice call it and entering your pin.

• 5-2: Click the check-mark making your Google Voice account forward to your cell phone.

• 5-3:  Click the Calls tab, turn off Call Presentation, make sure Do Not Disturb is unchecked.

• 5-4: Setup your voicemail via the Voicemail & SMS tab, otherwise all calls will use your cell phone’s voicemail.

• Step 6: Google Voice should come pre-installed on your Android phone. If not, use the Android Market on your phone to download and install it.

• Step 7: Load up the Google Voice app and set your Google Voice number in the options, make sure all your config options are set correctly.
  

*From this application you can set your calling preferences from 4 different GV options: ON, OFF, ASK before each call, and only use it for international calls. Set this to ASK for the time being.

• Step 8: Make a test call to your friend or other phone. Call should be completed, however the Caller ID is your new Google Voice number.

If you have any troubles with this, I will pay attention to the comments here and hopefully be able to help you out. This will also work with T-Mobile phones using Android OS, seeing as they have a similar calling plan.

The more complicated way will be explained in a later post, but can be used on any phone running Android OS.