Digital Grandparent

About six weeks ago, America went digital with television, as we all are aware. How are we doing with the conversion process? Contrary to the dire predictions that tens of thousands of kids would never see Sesame Street again and seniors (that would be us baby boomers...) would never find out where the people of Lost are actually lost, the DTV, digital television, conversion is going pretty well and the over 55 baby boomer group gets the best report card.

Gearlog says only about 1.1 percent of the U.S. population is behind the eightball, so to speak, which means 98.9 percent have figured out what to buy and how to go with the flow and convert to digital TV. For a huge number of us, that meant nothing more than sitting back and, well, doing nothing. those who subscribe to a service like cable TV, saw no changes. Those who decided on a new, digital-ready TV and an antenna saved a boat load of money (that would be me) and are receving, for the most part, a damn fine signal and enough programming to keep the TV running strong.

There have been some issues. In Chicago, where I live, the digital signal from some stations - like the ABC affiliate is a bit wonky. Read - inreliable. There are frequent, pixelated drop outs in the video, which experts thought would not happen with antenna service, but it does. Seattle area is having some issues, too, mostly around topographical stuff. Stations are working on it, and the problem is fairly widespread, but, they say, curable.

And let me say this to those media moguls and tech gurus who were so concerned aobut us poor mature adults who would be left out in the dark - Gearlog cites statistics that indicate a different picture. About 2.7 percent of people under 35 have not made the switch, but only 0.4 percent of those over 55 are unprepared. Did ya get that, kids? The fogies got it down. (Doin' the got it down dance....)

Read more
Where baby boomers hang out on the Web - from dating to Viet Nam history
Speaking of Obama and health care - how will electronic medical records help?

Elsewhere on DemystifyingDigital
Netbook computer round up - what's it all about?

Looks like the next cool thing is going to be solar powered home theater. Richard Glikes, ultra tech guru and exec director at Home Theater Specialists of America (HTSA) is all over the Internet with his favorite green living home technology. The state-of-the-tech system is powered with solar energy provided by roof-mounted panels that produce, in sunshine, 700 watts of power per hour. Engadget says it should run things for nearly a full day without help from the traditional power grid.

Electronic House magazine online reports it a little differently, saying the panels will provide 19 hours of viewing pleasure per week. From my perspective, that's not exactly right - seems like the panels can keep the system going in a sunny location, given a sunny week, pretty consistently. But I do home tech, not energy science. At this point, the solar powered home theater is a prototype - though given enough budget, you or I could probably duplicate it.

Glikes used a 100-inch screen, mega speakers and all the best, of course. The idea could be scaled down to suit the average home theater fab. But then, there are questions to ask. Where is all that equipment manufactured? How much impact does the production of the equipment have on the environment? And the solar panels - likely made in the Orient somewhere and then transported here on ships, trucks and trains. How long would you have to use solar power to scale down the carbon foot print of the entire process of getting this home theater?

We'll see more on this solar home technology, no doubt, or even wind powered home electronics -- maybe. But the latest green thinking says we should look at the whole picture of so-called "green" alternatives before we jump on board. But it's a cool idea, isn't it?

Want to read some more on tech for baby boomers?

Do your grandkids text while they drive?
New technology to enhance search dog capabilities

And elsewhere on DemystifyingDigital.com

Best, most affordable Blu Ray players