That Geeky Christian

It was widely reported Thursday that President-Elect Obama is urging congress to again delay the digital transition that is supposed to take place on February 17.  That’s right, again delay because the transition was initially supposed to take place in December 2006 and congress delayed it to 2009.  For those of you that don’t know what I’m talking about (if any exist on the internet) the digital transition is the congressional mandate that television stations end analog transmissions and begin transmitting only digital signals.  That means if you are watching TV on rabbit ears, or any other over the air antenna, and you don’t have a high definition television, you will no longer be able to watch TV without the aid of a digital converter box, or cable / satellite service.

Postponing the transition is a bad idea.  For one thing, the government has already postponed it once.  If the government could not get a plan together to appease the masses in the length of time since the initial transition was supposed to take place, what’s to lead anyone to believe they can do so now?  Also, plans have been in the works for the use of the abandoned analog spectrum including a mega auction that took place last year.

Moreover, the government has already spent 1.3 billion dollars in providing $40 coupons to aid in purchasing digital converter boxes.  For those who don’t feel like checking the numbers that means that they have purchased over 32 million boxes, or one for just over 10 percent of the entire American population.  According to a census.gov press release in 2006 the total number of households with a television is 110 million.  Of that 110 million, 73.2 million have cable.  For a percentage breakdown, approximately 66.5% of all U.S. households have cable.  If you add that to the 29.5 percent of households that boxes have already been purchased for (14.75 if each person received the maximum of 2 coupons) approximately 81% – 96% of all households will have no problem on February 17.  Given that the best numbers I could find for satellite penetration in the U.S. are 25 – 27% of the number of households, very few people even have the opportunity to be affected.Those in favor say that the money has run dry and that there is a 100,000 person waiting list for the coupons.  100,000 sounds like a large number, but in reality it doesn’t even represent one percent of the total number of households in the U.S.

The fact is that this transition has been a long time coming.  Every television channel has at least for one full year been giving warning that the transition was impending.  The government has had more than two years to have plans in place since the first delay and have already spent 1.3 billion in taxpayer money in an attempt to make the transition smooth.  If more money needs to be given for more coupons, then so be it, but postponing the transition will only cause more confusion.

According to a recent cnet article (click here) Apple is closing in on finally releasing DRM (digital rights management) free songs on iTunes from most of the major record labels.  On the surface this sounds like a great plan, however, if the sources are correct, they are also giving up on their stringent $0.99 per song price tag.

Apple fans have long thought highly of the company for fighting to keep songs at that price point and no higher.  Sure, many older or not well known songs will drop in price, but many newer or “hit” songs will go up in price, even if only temporarily.  This is great news for music labels, but not so great for consumers and iTunes lovers.

Legal sale of DRM free music is not new, Amazon has been doing so for some time (for more information click here), and doing it with a better pricing scheme than Apple.  So why the change now?  Why would record companies allow Amazon to sell music at $0.99 per song without protection, and not Apple?  It’s possible that the reason is that iTunes is still the largest digital music store on the market, and once the pricing level is cracked there, they hope to follow suit on other sites.

Maybe this new pricing plan will entice some of the last few holdout musicians to release music digitally, but I’ve quite enjoyed being able to purchase almost any song for just under a dollar before tax and know that almost any album will be just under ten.   I suppose those days are going to now be short lived, they will be missed.

The year is almost done.  I apologize for not getting many updates these last few weeks, but 2009 is just around the corner!

I just wanted to take this time to wish everyone a happy and blessed new year!  I look forward to 2009 here at ThatGeekyChristian.com and ThatGeekyChurch.com.  I’m looking to add video sermons on the latter, and hopefully some video reviews here.  This site has grown bigger than I had hoped in this short time, and I look forward to hit 2009 with an even greater momentum, maybe even a set updating schedule!

Here’s to 2009 everyone!

That Geeky Christian

Hello Everyone.  It’s almost Christmas and as That Geeky Christian, I’m excited!  I hope all of you have a safe, happy, and blessed holiday!  I’d like to encourage you to take the time this Christmas, whether you get a Garmin, an Apple, or something flashier, to remember that the real reason for the season is the birth of our loving, wonderful savior, Jesus Christ.

Please have a deeper look over at ThatGeekyChurch.com.

Merry Geeky Christmas!

I’ll have to admit I was surprised at the number of geek related Christmas videos.  Here’s a small sampling… Enjoy!

If you can make it through this Pirillo video, good on you!

The internet is all abuzz with speculation that Wal-Mart will begin selling iPhones this month.  What does this really mean?  Well, depends on what the price point will be.  If Wal-Mart were to really sell an iPhone for $99 as was originally speculated, it could be huge.  It seems that $99 is a magic price point for electronics, and is in line with phones that have many less features.  Many people who would not likely buy the iPhone at current price points would possibly buy them at that point.

Sadly, however, this is not likely.  Purported ads have been leaked to MacRumors.com showing the 8 gig model priced at $197.  This seems to fit with what Wal-Mart is doing with the iPods where they are sold for about two dollars less than at other retailers.  If this is the case, the Wal-Mart deal will likely not mean much for Apple or Wal-Mart.  Shoppers who want the iPhone are not holding out because they can’t get it at Wal-Mart, and those who can’t currently afford the iPhone will still not be able to afford the phone.  As well, the price point would likely still require the contract with AT&T as well as the data plan.  Those two items are some of the main holdouts for those who do not wish to have an iPhone.

Bottom line, if Apple were to make a Wal-Mart specific model, and get the price significantly lower, they may see sales spike.  However, if the price is anywhere near current prices, the most likely scenario is that sales may modestly rise, but not enough to be news worthy.  Everyone will just have to wait until the units begin to show up in stores.  Keep your eyes peeled.  If you are wanting an iPhone and can’t get to an AT&T store, Apple Store, or Best Buy, but have access to Wal-Mart, this could be the time for you.  I have serious doubts very many people fall into that category.

It’s almost Christmas time, so I’ve put together a small gift guide for that special Christian geek in your life.

In no particular order, here we go:

Audible.com membership – Audible.com is absolutely the best way to get audio books.  With over 50,000 titles to choose from, the geek in your life should be able to find what he or she likes whether it’s sci-fi, or religious.

The Word of Promise; New Testament – If that geek in your life doesn’t listen to a lot of audio books, buy him or her just this one.  It’s a completely dramatized, unabridged New Testament in New King James Version.  This audio book features a star studded cast with Jim Caviezel as Jesus and Terrance Stamp as God.  That’s right geeks, the man who plays Jor-el on Smallville, and played General Zod in Superman II is the voice of God.  It’s an amazing listen!

Anything from ThinkGeek – ThinkGeek.com is probably one of the best stores on the net.  They have everything from wifi locating shirts, to Star Trek communicators.  Whatever your beloved Geek’s fancy, it’s sure to be found here!

Finally, I wouldn’t normally mention this, but let’s face it, the geek in your life probably knows what he or she wants and needs better than you.  So, with that in mind, you are safe to give him or her a gift card from an electronics store.  Just make sure that he or she didn’t recently have a “run in” with one of the in store “experts.”

I hope this has been somewhat helpful.  Enjoy shopping for your favorite geek!