Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Smart Stuff

As bloggers we know we like technology.  It supplies us with wonderful tools as well as great toys.  

But is it getting just too smart for its own good?  Most people have smart phones now.  I don't, because I don't want to pay the monthly data fee, but I would like to have one.  I would probably be as addicted to it as my kids are.

We have a new computer, and in the last year, a new laptop and a new tablet.  We are wired!  Or in some cases, wireless!  We probably don't use half of the capacity of tools these devices have to offer, but we know enough to make them work the way we want them to.

But now there is the smart TV.  We bought it in July, in time to watch the Olympics.  Because we were going to be moving it in and out while we had flooring and then cabinets installed, we just plugged it in and turned it on.  That in itself was complex, but we loved watching our new big screen.  

After the flooring was in and before the cabinets arrived, we rewired the speakers that were in the house and  put in place the wiring for the five speaker surround sound for the family room.  After the cabinets arrived, we had to do all of the hook up.  It took several days and several calls for tech support to do this.  

But then we had to make everything work.  The new tuner/receiver is so smart, so complex, that we had great difficulty making it speak to us and doing what we wanted it to do.  After several weeks and help from Tech Guy Tad, we finally have everything working: the phonograph, the five speakers, and the additional speakers in other rooms.  Now we have to play with all of the sound options to decide what sounds best for each medium: TV, movies, cds, iPod, records.

What we saved for last was the "Smart" part of the TV, the Internet operations.  Last week I ordered a Samsung keyboard to navigate the Internet on screen.  It came yesterday and after about two hours of frustration I determined that it was not compatible with the  TV. A call to Samsung early this morning confirmed that.  So I went on line and got the necessary instructions and labels to return it to Amazon.

I must say, Amazon is a great company.  I took the shipping box with the downloaded and printed label to the UPS store and sent it on its way, no charge.   My account will be credited two days after it arrives.

Meanwhile I did some other research online and found some conversation about what keyboard would work with our Samsung TV.  The answer seemed to be Logitech.  I located one at Staples.  So this morning we shipped the Samsung via UPS and went across the street to Staples, found the keyboard, brought it home, plugged in the wireless plug, and it worked!  Instead of the $95 Samsung, we paid $35 for the Logitech.

Now look what I can do!
Yep.  That's my blog on the TV screen!




I won't really use the TV for blogging, but I could.  I can show people what's on it, BIG time.  

Mostly we'll be using it to order movies.  We need to set up an Amazon account.  We also have access to Tad's Netflix account. 

We have another new toy.  Are we smart enough to make it work for us?  I hope so.

10 comments:

  1. Wow! That is so cool! I would love to see that work for me, but I'm happy with what I've got here. No giant screen but if I DID have one, well... :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am sooo impressed...I still don't have a smart phone or ipad, etc. But did take a photoshop tutoring session today...It's fun to learn and impresses our tech savvy kids and grandkids!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am seriously impressed! SERIOUSLY impressed... and OK... I admit it... JEALOUS! This is just too cool. I am so happy for you. I'm learning to use my daughter's iPad and it's fun, but what you've done is amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  4. We just got a smart TV. I have no idea what it can do or how to make it do it!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yeah, size matters -- especially to men. We have a 52 inch TV now, but David intends to buy an 80 inch in a couple of years.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Who's a clever girl then Linda? Well done! My wife Jill is the TV/video-player expert in our house too. But ours is not as technical as your set-up - Dave

    ReplyDelete
  7. Look at you, Linda Reeder! That is very impressive. And you look every bit as smart as that tv. Enjoy.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Yes wired is a new way and we seniors are starting to have an impact. They are making apps for uor health issues now. No more forgetting our meds and so on.
    I love you pumpkin header.

    ReplyDelete
  9. That is so cool! You two have it goin' on. We don't have our surround sound set up, or anything else. Can you watch games that way, through the internet on to your t.v.? We don't get Root Sports any more and are seriously missing out on the Mariners.

    I seem to be the designated "techie" but I'm really not. I can figure out what to do about the computer, but not the t.v. and remotes.

    I have a smart phone and I like the fact that I can check FB, my blog and email, but I don't use it for much more than that. It can do tons more, but I'm not that interested in learning more.

    Kathy M.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I'm with you, I don't want to pay for a data plan either. I'm sure a smart phone would be very convenient but I'm just too cheap.

    ReplyDelete

I would love to read your comments. Since I link most posts to Facebook, you may comment there if you do not have an account. I have eliminated Anonymous comments due to spammers.