So you have the big screen, you have the speakers, you have the receiver, you have the cables, you have the big chairs, so now what? A home theater is like a car in the sense that you can buy a low end model or you can buy a high end model, but you’re not going to get your best performance out of either unless you have tuned it up to optimal performance. We all know what a car tune up involves, but how many of us know what we need to do to give our home theater the tune up to make it run at optimal levels? The fact of the matter is that there are some things that you can do that are really quite simple to get the most out your home theater.

When setting up the television or projector the first and most obvious thing you need to consider is light conditions. High light levels will disturb the image on even the most high end television, so you want to do everything in your power to keep the light levels low. The same way you can’t see the screen in an actual movie theater when the lights go up the same applies to a home theater.

When setting up your speakers you will need to experiment to find the optimal positioning. Try to keep the front three speakers off the ceiling and position the other speakers in accordance with their desired setup positioning, but from there you will really need to judge the best spot for each speaker subjectively. Once your speakers are in place make sure that the sound wave is not being blocked by an object that is in the way. The potted plant may look nicer than the speaker but you’re better off having an un-obscured speaker than a pretty object and a dead sound.

Next consider the walls of the theater. Drywall is okay but curtains on all sides are best, and again you can obscure light with curtains that would otherwise interfere with the television image. If you have paneled walls you will defiantly want to consider some kind of curtain or covering. Same thing goes with the floor. If you have a hardwood floor start looking for a serious area rug to help with some of the sound trapping. Also look to avoid having sound reflecting materials on the walls or ceiling. Avoid hanging pictures on the walls of your home theater, and you might be better served again by not having that potted plant or a sculpture in the theater.

These are just some of the things to consider when you are setting up and calibrating your home theater. A good deal of what you will do to make your theater sound and look its best will come down to tweaking once everything is installed and setup. So get it all hooked up and sit down and enjoy but start thinking about some of the things mentioned and consider making changes to improve your experience in the future after initial setup.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Patrick_Boswell

With wireless Internet and other electronics technology completely changing just about everything these days, it is no surprise that some peoples marriages are being affected by their brand new 4G phones! Sure, you were prepared for this amazing, life-altering technology to change the way you did business. You knew that your company would become more efficient and productive, and that you would be in better communication with your coworkers and your clients throughout the work week and beyond. And you also had a feeling that some degree of your social life would be altered by these technologies. Constant, uninterrupted, almost instantaneous mail access, for example, makes it easier to stay in touch with old friends and far-away family – that is a fact that cannot be denied, and its impact has been huge. But somehow the bonds of marriage seemed too intimate, too old of a tradition to truly be able to be affected by something as earthly as a brand new, high-speed 4G phone!

But, alas, many couples are finding that their new Internet phones are changing spousal dynamics in significant ways. Some of these developments are good, some of these developments are bad, and some of them are just neutral. Here are some of the biggest ways that your 4G phone might be affecting your marriage.

1. Communication between spouses is constant.

This major change could be an amazing thing, or a horrifying thing, depending on whom you ask. While spouses used to have to wait until the end of the work day to see or hear from each other, now they can text and call each other throughout the day. This can lead to increased closeness – they do not have to be apart for 10 hours or however long it takes to go to work, including a commute on each end of the day. Or it can lead to utter saturation. Some people prefer to have a little bit of space, and would not mind a chunk of their day spent in an environment that does not involve their significant other, with whom they spend the other 14 hours of every single day.

2. Communication with third parties is easier than ever.

Many marriages that end do so because at least one of the spouses has strayed. The old image that this might bring to mind is the husband going to some dive bar with his buddies and picking up the nearest blond after a couple of fingers of whiskey, and going back to some seedy motel on the wrong side of the tracks. This kind of straying involved a certain kind of willful unfaithfulness. But with 4G phones, coworker flirtations can develop without anyone having to explicitly demonstrate interest in the other party, which can lead to emotional affairs and beyond.

3. Long distances are collapsed

Some people end up having to travel a great deal for work, which can put a strain on even the healthiest of relationships. Having a phone with constant, reliable Internet access and reception means that it is easier than ever to stay in touch with home, and whoever may be waiting there for you.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jason_Tandle

That doesn’t mean a little freshening might be unwelcome, though, and that’s basically what the folk at Acura have done: take a very nice vehicle and make it even more compelling.

On the outside, the 2010 MDX has been given a new grille that matches other models’ – such as the TSX and TL – better, and it works better here than it does there. There’s also a new front fascia, side sills, a tweaked hood and the rear fascia is now matched with “rolled edge polished stainless-steel exhaust finishers”. The taillights now have brighter LED’s as well.

Acura has also worked on the ride and handling aspects of the vehicle by revising the power steering system, making the body more rigid and giving it stiffer rear trailing arm mountings. Not that Acura’s Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) system was a slouch before….

Inside, they’ve put in more Milano leather and given the MDX a thicker sport steering wheel with a very welcome set of paddle shifters behind it. There are new gauges and a power tailgate and – in another extremely welcome touch – they’ve reworked the buttons on the center stack, making it less intimidating than the previous acres of buttons, knobs and stuff.

The refinements are small stuff overall, but they work, with the new front end and the reworked center stack being the most noticeable and welcome.

They’ve also added the availability of ventilated front seats, a new full VGA eight inch navigation screen, a new rear view camera (now with three choices of what you can rubberneck at while backing up; all it needs now is satellite TV!) and an upgraded rear entertainment system that’s controllable from the front seats.

The terrific ELS audio system has been augmented with a 15 gig hard disk drive and USB port connectivity. It was a killer system before and it still is, though it still won’t play SACD discs as anything more than regular CD’s. This is complaining about a rather obscure aspect of the audio world, as you can tell by the lack titles you can buy in stores, but you’d think if they’re going to handle DVD-Audio discs natively (which they do) then they’d also include its opposite number high quality audio format.

Maybe that’s a 2011 tweak. I hope so.
My MDX came about as loaded as they can, including such new stuff as a Blind Spot Information System that puts a quite illuminating icon on the A pillar. Using the A pillar makes the most sense because it puts the icon closer to your field of vision than the outside mirror – and let’s face it, if you need a blind spot sensor then chances are you haven’t been giving the proper attention to those mirrors anyway.

My tester also included Adaptive Cruise Control, which in this incarnation uses a radar emitter behind the front grille to monitor the speed and distance of the slowpoke ahead of you. If you’re bearing down on oblivious motorist at breakneck speed, it slows you down automatically and keeps you a preset distance behind it. If you pull out to pass, the MDX returns to its preprogrammed breakneck speed.

There’s also Acura’s Collision Mitigation Braking System, which they say is designed to “Reduce the likelihood of a collision by alerting the driver to potential collision situations and activating the brakes if the system determines a likely collision is unavoidable.” It’s a kind of reverse Darwin Award candidate strategy, helping to keep blissfully unaware drivers in the gene pool.

Heck, if they’d offer adaptive automated steering you could take a book to read while the MDX drives you around.

MDX also features a new, 300 horsepower (with 270 lb.-ft. of torque) 3.7 liter V6 engine that is not only plenty powerful, but is also as smooth as you’d expect from the folk at Honda and Acura. Acura says it gives better performance and gas mileage than before, and it’s coupled to a new Sequential SportShift six speed automatic transmission – up one gear since I last drove the MDX – that’s also extremely smooth. A new multi-clutch torque converter enhances the already-more-than-adequate acceleration and the paddle shifters are great at helping you control the vehicle almost as if it were a manual, but without the clutch.

And you can access the paddles even while the vehicle is in automatic mode, giving you instant control when you want it, after which it goes “back to sleep” in automatic mode if you don’t keep the spurs to ‘er. It’s the same way Porsche does it and I love the way it gives you the best of all worlds, unless you’re bound and determined to have a clutch pedal.

Acura’s press material says the transmission also comes with Grade Logic Control (I could’ve used that in high school!), Shift Hold Control, Cornering G Shift Control (which somehow sounds vaguely sexual) and Hill Start Assist, making it the most advanced automatic transmission offered by Acura, they say.

A front-mount transmission fluid cooler, the company says, supports the MDX’s 5,000-pound towing capacity.

According to Acura, the SH-AWD system uses torque vectoring to distribute power not only between the front and rear sets of wheels, but also between the left and right rear wheels individually. It’s meant to reduce understeer and help when cornering, and it works.

The MDX features independent suspension front and back, using MacPherson struts up front and a multi-link buttock sling with isolated subframes. For 2010, Acura says, the MDX uses stiffer rear trailing arm mounts.

An Active Damper System is available that gives you two driver-selectable settings – Comfort and Sport – that, not surprisingly, tighten or loosen the vehicle depending on your driving bent. Comfort mode gives “A more relaxed driving experience”, while the Sport mode “Prioritizes handling response and vehicle body control to allow for spirited driving with high levels of precision and vehicle composure.”

The nice thing about Sport mode is that it’s sporty without being jarring, just as a luxury vehicle should be.

Acura has also stuck new and lighter 18 inch, five spoke aluminum-alloy wheels on the 2010 MDX; you can get 19 inch, seven spoke ones if you prefer.

It’s definitely a big vehicle, with three rows of seats and all the bulk that entails. And even though it feels big, the MDX and its SH-AWD handles very well, with a surprisingly good turning circle. It’s a vehicle you can drive all day and not get too antsy. Well, the rearmost row is only suitable for kids or mothers in law.

Speaking of “comfort mode,” the MDX features a 10 way power adjustable driver seat with an eight way adjustable front passenger seat. The outboard seats in the second row mimic the style and lateral support of the front seats. The third row is still a bench, though it’s more comfortable than most park benches I’ve experienced.

Convenience and cargo features include under-floor storage in the back (a power-operated rear tailgate is now standard as well). And you can fold down the second and third row seats to use your MDX as a utility van.

Other standard equipment includes a power moonroof, power windows, leather-wrapped multi-function steering wheel, tri-zone climate control system with humidity control and Bluetooth wireless telephone interface.

The second generation MDX was a fine vehicle when it premiered back about 2007. For 2010, it’s even better – and the Acura designers have managed to make it look better than before, which hasn’t always been the case with their current designs. What you end up with, then, is a fine vehicle that looks and acts luxurious without frightening away pedestrians and other onlookers.

The Acura MDX starts at  $42,230 U.S./$51,990 Canadian.

RIM devices made their reputation based on a business integration platform centred on a QWERTY based interface, one that is comfortable and familiar to many. Their application designs reflect this reality, whereas the iPhone has been, as is Apple’s style, a more touch and tap style. It can be argued that one may be better than the other, but it really comes down to what you’re using the device for. Personally, I like the RIM products for the creation of email and text,; the Apple methodology seems more akin to more visual apps like mapping and surfing. It all depends on what you need to do on a daily basis.

As of this writing, RIM showcases 220 business specific BAPS on its website, recognising no doubt its primary audience. In addition to  the usual Sales Force Automation, Contact Management and Expense tracking options, s few really neat little jewels stand out for this old road warrior. A business card capturing BAP really caught my eye. I cannot count how many cards lost, misplaced or needed but they were sitting in a drawer in my office when I needed them. I`d rather have them at hand. There`s also a cool online meeting tool (in HD no less!) that can allow you to “attend“ a meeting with Head Office without taking you needlessly off the road. There`s also BAPS that provide strong integration with Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes, although that`s not totally unique to the Blackberry.

One thng I`d put on wish list is greater integration to an SAP back office system, given the wide use of that software in the corporate community, although I`m sure it would be argued that with the porting of SAP data to Websphere this may not be necessary. Still, as an old SAP hound I`d like the ability to hit the system directly, but this a minor pique I suppose.

It`s hard to pick a winner in the business realm between Apple and RIM…they both offer a wide range of capable and useful tools for the mobile professional. The Blackberry platform though, in my present opinion, seems more suited to a pure business application, likely owing to their past focus on corporate users. If however, a large entertainment and diversion capability is important to you, don`t discount the iPhone. And face it, the interface is a work of technological art.

Really though, I think we`re only scratching the surface at this point. I would want a flexible and convenient plan that minimised my data charges (as they can run up really fast) and provides an affordable, hassles free migration to the next 4G products when they come available. Just like XBOX and PS3 can perform wildly more than current software pushes them 4G will make the current generation of mobile technology seem merely amusing.

The new Blackberry`s are wonderful and fascinating products, and can if used to their potential raise your productivity levels far beyond that of a simple laptop or regular cell phone.

Drawing on lessons no doubt gleaned from the experience of iTunes Apple was foresighted enough to release Application Development Kits to the programming community at large encouraging creative programmers to develop applications providing specific solutions to iPhone users’ wishes. There are now thousands of them available. Many are purely entertainment based, highly popular with younger owners. Many are useful lifestyle tools with wide appeal, such as cooking and entertainment location directions and information. The business user, however, needs applications that address day to day productivity, and in this regard the iPhone becomes a true advantage for mobile salespeople and executives. The ability to connect to corporate systems in a VPN-like environment, find a sales call in an unfamiliar local, generate sales reports and manage prospects and quotes is where the real power of these apps lie. We’re here now, and things will only get better.

Knowing that many companies work on an Oracle backbone, Apple has accepted a number of useful applications that can connect to an in house corporate network and retrieve Oracle database information and display it in ways that assist a user in daily activities. Sales force automation and customer tracking are just two of these. More generic apps addressing scheduling, account management, CRM and mobile billing round out a rich offering for the mobile user. Apple’s slick email and contact management capabilities round out these offerings, and with web browsing capabilities you’re getting close to a netbook that you can hold in the palm of your hand. GPS is useful as well, but my guess is that as factory installed navigation systems become more ubiquitous this app will have somewhat limited relevance.

I shouldn’t discount the entertainment options too much, though. As a rep on the road some time ago, I had a fair amount of downtime in the evenings where I just didn’t feel like being constantly “at work.” More and more major newspapers and media outlets are now reconfiguring from old web formats to iPhone compatibility. The user interface on the iPhone is, face it, a joy once you get used to it. These apps are a bonus that shouldn’t be ignored.

Personal productivity is a growing draw as well. CIBC is pushing hard on its iPhone interface and other banks will no doubt try to raise the bar. When you spend large amounts of time away from home base you need to be able to manage your personal affairs efficiently on your own time.  Likewise, more business apps are emerging allowing a manger to handle approvals for budgeting and HR issues on the road, reducing the time required to be in an office or other fixed location. Face it folks, while we’ve been talking about telecommuting for a long time it’s really been in its infancy until now. Companies are increasingly evaluating the economics of large fixed offices with empty desks (belonging to the mobile sales force) and will push to downsize facilities for greater efficiencies. It’s these apps and technologies that will make this truly possible.

The future of the mobile workforce is here, and Apple is a leading propagator of the technology required. And they make products that are fun to use with very simple learning curves. Pay attention.

And we haven’t even started to talk about 4G…