Tech The Style

Consumer Reports (December 2007 issue) rated the Onkyo HT-SR800 the best home-theater system compared to 13 other modestly priced systems. Points considered in their rating were speaker size, connectivity options, dvd player, playback format and media sources.  The Onkyo HT-SR800 home theater system won offering excellent sound, an extensive feature set and top notch controls.

HT-SR800 Home Theater System (7.1 Speakers, 110 W/Channel, Tuner) available from Buy.com - $447.87 

When it comes to all-in-one home theater, the HT-SR800 has made a clean break from the pack. Youre looking at packaged home theater that neatly integrates your high-definition entertainment and your HDTV through an HDMI channel that transports video with a resolution all the way up to 1080p. Ably supported by component video switching, the HT-SR800 will handle most of the A/V components or formats currently available, as well as the spectacular quality of high-definition discs. Also, reinforcing the convenience of matched components, this package is the first to use an Audyssey room-correction technology specifically designed for integrated systems. The options - XM Radio (including 5.1 surround sound radio with Neural Surround decoding) and iPod integration-can really extend your reach, making the HT-SR800 one of the more complete home theater packages available.

ONKYO HOME THEATER RECEIVER REMOTE RC-482M TX-SR700 US $69.99 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Wednesday Aug-20-2008 21:55:08 PDT Bid on this Item   | Buy this Item   | Watch this Item

Onkyo HT-S907 7.1 Channel Component Home Theater System US $525.00 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Thursday Aug-21-2008 6:28:43 PDT Bid on this Item   | Buy this Item   | Watch this Item

I bought a Magellan GPS Navigation System this past summer to use while driving to see Patrick in Colorado.  I’d been there several times, but always by air, not land.  The night before the trip, my daughter and I “tested” it out.  We put in my father’s address across town and deliberately turned the wrong ways to see what happened.  After “re-calculating” our trip many times, we arrived at our “destination to the right”. But it was not my dad’s house!  Turns out I put in the wrong address!  We arrived at the wrong address correctly.

I don’t suggest using the “shortest” route as you’ll take a lot of country roads.  The “fastest” route is the way to go.  The only annoyance was every time we turned off the interstate for gas or a restroom break, we got off track and had to listen to “please make a legal U-turn at the next intersection” over and over.  Nothing the “mute” button couldn’t cure.

 We haven’t used the GPS much since our Colorado trip, since we don’t go into unfamiliar territory very often.  But we’ve used it several times to look up phone numbers and addresses of various restaurants.  A good investment if I must say so myself.

Consumer Reports Magazine (10/07 issue) rates the Magellan Roadmate 2000 a “CR Best Buy” stating it ”… costs only $250 yet includes a database of maps of the lower 48 states and an internal battery, reducing the need to use the power cord.” Well, it’s even a better deal now, cuz we found it on sale for only $199.95 from TigerGPS.com!

GPS Antenna Magellan RoadMate 300 300R 360 500 700 760 US $17.99 Auction Ends: Wednesday Aug-20-2008 20:50:00 PDT Buy this Item   | Watch this Item

Magellan Maestro 4040 Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator US $117.75 (15 Bids) Auction Ends: Wednesday Aug-20-2008 20:50:40 PDT Bid on this Item   | Buy this Item   | Watch this Item