1. Where is the power button on the remote?  I know they use the same remote for every other computer, but it would be nice to turn if off with a button and not have to navigate a menu.
2. Great Quality!!!  I had some Digital Downloads from Blu-Ray disks and they look great!  I am thinking I will keep it and not send it back :)
3. Unable to Multitask?  It appears that while I was watching a movie from iTunes, Apple TV was unable to download my rental.  I figured I would do something else while I waited for my slow DSL connection to grab the HD rental.  The progress bar on the Download did not move at all.
4. Unable to Buffer Rental.  I was a little bummed to find out that I needed to download the entire rental before I was able to play it.  Amazon UnBox lets you download movies locally, but also lets you start playing them about 10 seconds after you start.  That would be nice.  Apple TV told me:  Ready to watch in 10 hours.  Granted if I had a faster connection this would not be a big deal, but until now, I did not see a need to have the $100 /month Internet Speed.
5. Shady HD Rentals – I should not have to pay an extra $1 for and HD rental.

So…my initial reaction so far….I like it and it will do what I ultimately wanted it to do, play video files at a DVD quality level.  I don’t think I will dump my Blu-Ray anytime soon, but I may start picking up old movies from Apple for $4.99 if I don’t see the need for the Blu-Ray edition.

Why pay the same money for a digital movie as a DVD?

If the price were cheaper I could see possibly switching.  While I am good about recycling and do bike to work, I still do get my bank statements via mail and magazines.  There is just something about getting “less” for the same price that did not appeal to me.

Sharing Movies

I have let others borrow my movies for a while now.  Having the hard media has made that possible.  If I get a digital download, I won’t be able to let others borrow them.  This is something that apparently the Barnes and Noble “Nook” can do with books that the Amazon “Kindle” cannot.  I have yet to hear of any online movie sellers / renters offering this service and really doubt we will see it any time soon.  In fact, it is probably bad that I let friends borrow my movies now.

Move toward HD

As new movies come out, I have been picking them up on Blu-Ray.  Those that I don’t think are worth the premium price, I wait until they come to the local “Red Box” for $5 previewed on standard DVD.

I do own more than 400 standard DVDs and do watch them on occasion. There are some I enjoy so much that I needed to pick them up on Blu-Ray if the price was right to experience them in High Definition.  My goal now is to reduce the number of DVDs I own, and get that smaller collection onto my computer so I can put away the obsolete DVDs.

Digital Media Receiver

So….here we go.  I really have no idea how to setup a digital library other than iTunes.  I know some people have servers where they store all of their music and movies, but I am just getting started and wanted to keep the cost relatively low.  After looking at my options, it seemed like iTunes and the Apple TV were the answer.  I have some movies already loaded into iTunes and since I am a Mac user, seemed the easiest.

Apple TV not only allows you to stream movies purchased / rented from iTunes, but allows you to access your music and movies as well.  I was originally going to just get a HDMI adapter and cable to connect my iMac to my TV, but the idea of a wireless device that can work virtually anywhere the network, ultimately made up my mind.

10% Restocking Fee

I am skeptical about the quality of digital media, and since I don’t have HD Cable, have not even considered replacing my Blu-Ray collection.  I was once told that current, and likely future, delivery systems will NOT be able to provide end users with 1080p quality video and sound due to the extremely high bandwidth required.

Apple has a 10% restocking fee, and that likely means I will need to pay for the return shipping, but buying the unit from Apple online as “refurbished.” it was still cheaper than going to my local store and picking on up.  The only downside..it just left Sacramento, CA, when I could have one right now!!

More to follow…

I will let you know more after it arrives and I have a chance to test it out to see if it is a keeper or just not enough for the discerning audio/video phile.  Well, I don’t listen to LPs, so I am not that much of an audiophile :)

There are some that watch shows on Hulu and other free sites and no longer turn on their TV, but I don’t think the quality is there.  This is probably because I have the slowest DSL available because I am cheap.  LOL.  Perhaps If I enjoy digital media I will upgrade my DSL, but with my roommates in love with TV, will likely not be able to dump cable just yet.

1. 400 Disk Blu-Ray DVD Changer $633 (Waiting until below $300)
2. 1 TB External Portable HD $113 (Auction, waiting until below $100)
3. 256 GB USB Key (I would like 1 TB, but can settle for this one.)  $879 from Newegg with FREE SHIPPING!!!! Glad shipping is Free, It would be too expensive otherwise ;P
4. Internal 1 TB Laptop Hard Drive just to give my laptop a whopping big drive, though I doubt the BIOS can handle it. (Does not seem to exist yet, only as a portable external in item 2 above.)

I was joking about the USB Key.  For that chunk of change I would get a fully loaded iPad!!!  Something else I don’t really need.  People have been asking me when I am going to get one, and I really don’t have an intent at this time.  I have an iPhone, and I have a Macbook Air, which give me apps and portability.  It also allows me to leave my reading glasses and tiny keyboard fingers at home. LOL

Swiss Army Branded Backpacks only have a 1 year warranty.

Does any one have a suggestion for a good backpack?  Something relatively light and frameless that has a large capacity and a real lifetime warranty that covers wear and tear?  Otherwise I may head to Wal-mart and get the cheapest one I can find expecting it to last only 9 months.

Shopping

Making trips to the local supermarket were fun.  Not really to buy anything, but to see how barren the shelves were.  I don’t recall any shelf clearing storms when I lived in Upstate NY, but then again, they had enough snow removal equipment and trained staff that rarely was there ever several inches of loose pack on the roads so no need to panic.

No Metro

With public transportation above ground cancelled from Friday 11 PM, through Saturday, and perhaps Sunday too, lots of residents are stranded.  Those brave enough to attempt the digging of their car out if they got to a main road were able to drive with relative ease on hard packed show which has thankfully not turned to ice….yet.  I did notice a car stuck in the middle of Riggs St between 16th and 17th NW, and off New Hampshire near Dupont Circle a fallen tree.  The weight of the snow was so great that it became uprooted and landed on a few cars.  One had a shattered rear window, another a dented trunk.  This was certainly caused by the weight of the snow on the branches, but also do to the shallow and small root base of a tree planted between the sidewalk and the road.

Sunday and Beyond?

Tomorrow is a new day.  I was supposed to Volunteer at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, but was called and emailed that the museum will be closed again.

I am supposed to work in the evening at my part time job…since it is retail, I do expect to be open, though was very shocked to hear that we were closed today.  I do understand it was hard to get employees in, but there was definitely money to be made, especially when many stores were closed.  Since I can easily walk to a metro station and the train travels below ground all the way, would not have any trouble getting in to work and will have to see what happens tomorrow.  I do enjoy the time off, but since I am owing taxes this year, need all the hours I can get before 4/15/10!! :)

Cabin Fever

After watching several movies, I needed to get out.  I attempted to sled down 16th Street on the hard packed snow, but the cookie sheet, ikea bag, and laundry basket did not work very well.  I was envious of those with sleds and snowboards, but who knew we would get so much snow, and where would one even get a sled in the area when show is so unlikely.  Had Amazon delivered today, I would have ordered a sled online.

Even though I did not get down to Dupont Circle for the 2 pm snowball fight, I did get to heave a few at my roommate while my partner was taking photos of the beautiful snow covered city.  It was very nice to stroll down the roads and not hear so much vehicle traffic for a change.  I also was able to make several snow angels.

On the way back up the 16th Street hill to the apartment, we strolled through Meridian Hill Park. This multi level park turned out to be a hot spot for sledders and large laminated city signs make good sleds :)  Steps were early transformed by sleds into hills and the landings between the sets of steps made a fun ride down at a safe speed.

Largest Annual Snow Accumulation?

We are tied with 1920-1921 at the moment at 44″, and only 12″ away from the largest recorded snow fall in DC!!!!  With another storm on the way, this seems quite possible.

Second visit, the food was over salted and I have not been back in close to a year.

The third visit tonight was with some out of town friends. They own the bed and breakfast we stay at when visiting the family upstate NY. They were on the way back from visiting their youngest son in Florida and stopped by to check out the inn where my partner works. A day of sightseeing in DC is not complete without a visit to the grill, so we headed back tonight.

The wings were great as remembered, the salads were enormous, entrees superb, and desserts tasty. Everyone was happily stuffed and comments on the historical decor were plenty.

My confidence in the quality of food has been restored and I will certainly not wait as long to visit again. :)

I downloaded the app when I got home and was pleasantly surprised at the configuration screen when I was prompted for blog address :). I entered in my web address along with password and viola, I am writing this on my iPhone now!!!

In the past I had tried to login from my iPhone, but safari had crashed on load of the management page. I tried to configure “posting via email,” but my web host apparently blocked the necessary ports and I was nit successful. So, be ready for more posts :). Now all I need is for tmobile to get the iPhone so I can get a data plan and post anywhere!

Georgetown Business School Grad Student Run Business

Located on M Street in Georgetown, Sweet Green serves salads, swaps, and “Sweet Flow” their frozen yogurt.  The salads are a great deal $8 for a Chicken Ceasar, and small yogurt for $4 or large at $6.  Typically I will round up some coworkers from Georgetown U and head down for lunch.

Started by some recent GU MSB Grads, the business has now expanded to Dupont Circle and Bethesda, MD.  I have also seen a catering truck and Sweet Flow Mobile.  They do catering too!  I wonder how much to get the Sweet Flow Mobile to stop by….hmmm.

Environmentally Conscious

From Biodegratable Bowls to Paper Bags, Biodegradable Plasticware and Seed Sprouting Menus, Sweet Green is definitely one of the most environmentall conscious businesses I know.  Even the garbage station has a spot for the compostable bowls and cutlery along with bottle and can recycling.

Get a Sweet Flow today!

Give Sweet Green at try.  Visit them on the web : SweetGreen.com

Chef Boyardee 99% Fat Free Cheese Ravioli

When at the local Harris Teeter (convenient at the end of my block) I strolled down the canned meat aisle.  While a small selection, perhaps the need for the pasta in a can has diminished and pouches / microwavable containers are the hot item, there are the usual.  Ravioli, Spaghetti with Meatballs, Spaghettios, and if you wanted more meat…Meat Ravioli with Mini Meatballs!

I noticed a new product, well, new since I last purchased this product 5-10 years ago!  Cheese Ravioli that was 99% fat free!  Even the label was green instead of red to focus on this lower fat item.  In addition to being made from sun ripened tomatoes and all natural ingredients, this product was virtually fat free.  Now I am not obese, but I am conscious when it comes to things like fat and if there is a low fat alternative such as Baked Lays, I will try them.

2.5g fat per serving (2 servings per can)

As any informed shopper, I rotated the can to see the nurtition facts.  Funny as it may be, but even junk food has some “nutritional” value.  Something about the word makes you think good for you :)

• Serving Size 251g
• Servings Per Container 2
• Fat Per Serving 2.5g (1g saturated)

250g of fat in regular cheese ravioli!

There was no “regular” cheese ravioli to see if this was the case.  You can probably guess my next question?  How can something be 99% fat free and have 2.5g of fat?  That would indicate to me that the regular product would have 25og of fat!  That is almost 100% of the serving.  Then it dawned on me, with the help of a coworker…the % fat free is really a percent of the total serving size.

2.5g Fat divide by 251 = 1% Fat which means 99% is not Fat and is Fat Free!

Hmm…very misleading don’t you think?  Most companies will say “75% less fat than the leading brand” or “50% less fat than regular potato chips.”

Email to ConAgra Foods (Chef Boyardee)

I completed a comment form basically mentioning what I have stated above and waiting for a response.  I did mention that in order to keep consistent with advertising they should list all products this way.  Example: 10g fat regular Ravioli per 250g serving is 96% Fat Free!  WOW!

All Chef Boyardee Products are at least 95% Fat Free!  Eat Often!

I will let you know what I hear back, if I even get a response.

Appetizer

Dinner started with Mozarella Sticks.  A favorite of mine and certainly from a box, but hey, totally expected and delicious as those frozen things are. :)

Next was the bread.  It looked like it was a frozen roll that was baked in house as it was still warm and very crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.  It was served with a homemade pesto and olive oil dip which was amazing.

Salad

On to the salad. $6 for a ceasar salad with homemade dressing.  The only thing I would have changed would have been using fresh “flaked” if that is the correct term, parmesian cheese instead of what appeared to be the dried stuff from the can that most of us at one time had in our fridge growing up.

Main Course

Lobster Ravioli in a Lobster Bisque $16.  WOW.  I know cream is good, but I try to stay away from it, but that Bisque was amazing!  The Ravioli along with all of their pastas is either made in house or by a local maker.  When I had originally asked what was homemade, the waiter said just the Manacotti.  He was thinking I wanted to know what was made in house.  For future reference I told him that since they get the pasta fresh locally, it is okay to say it is homemade even though not in the kitchen 40 feet away :)

Dessert

$6 Tirimisu – Homemade goodness :)

Reasonable Dinner – Great Homemade food!

Reasonable prices, homemade food, wide variety of menu items, great night out!  Give them a try.  They have an $18 Lobster Special which I have been wanting to try, but I am afraid with the word “Whole” in the name, that it may stare at me and I cannot deal with that.  LOL.