Slingbox - A Blast From the Past or Fortune Teller of the Future? Linda Maintanis, Blogger

My Slingbox is my best friend. We've been together for more than six years, goin' on seven. Yet after all these years together most of my other friends still question his worth. Really? I don't care, I know it's nothing personal, just ignorance - on their part.

Slingbox is basically my tv wherever I go. My tv. From my house. My DVR, my cable line-up, my channels, my tv. Even my caller ID on my tv when it happens. That's right, if I am watching Slingbox at any given time and the phone in my house rings I actually see it on my screen.


So. What am I watching? A network connection. My home tv is uploaded to Slingbox.com via their device, Slingbox Pro, $299. I then login to my Slingbox account via any web browser; used to be a laptop, but now it's any connection, even my phone. And there it is, NESN in Miami, Patriots football in Palm Desert....The Young & Restless on DVR at the gym... MY TV, anytime and any place that I want it.

If you are a television fiend and you have to have your local programming then Slingbox is worth a look see for you too!

The 2.0 Technology, QR Codes Pave the Way, How Smart is Your Coffee Maker? Time for a New Coffee Maker? Single Serve or Carafe?

I get attached to things. I don't like change. So when an item which I use with regularity needs replacing I tend to freak out a little bit, especially when I find out that it is no longer available. That is what happened with my coffee machine this week. I had an old Breville, with all the bells and whistles.  I started searching and, long story short, there will be no new Breville; they do not make them anymore.

Moving on, I am also a little bit picky. I like a short, 4oz brew which I brew into my mug of steamed and frothed fat-free milk. So I am looking for a machine which allows me to select the ounces for my brew.I found that Keurig had my best options and was surprised to find more... first of all the Keurig K450 Brewing System, Black 2.0 brewing system is the first Keurig system that allows you to brew a piping hot 4-cup carafe with the same ease and convenience of brewing a single-serve cup  — all at the touch of a button.

The Keurig K450 Brewing System, Black brewer also features revolutionary Keurig 2.0 Brewing Technology, designed to read the lid of each K-Cup or K-Carafe pod to brew the perfect beverage every time. STOP. RIGHT. THERE. Read that one more time? It reads the top of the K-Cup's label for the QR code, and then what? It knows what you are making and how to proceed, automatically.

The brewer also features a large 70 ounce Water Reservoir, 2.4 inch color Touch Display, programmable clock, an auto brew option, and a strength control setting for brewing bolder coffee. There’s even a separate setting for hot cocoa and other specialty beverages like chais and mochas. So many choices. Just look for the Keurig logo on your favorite K-Cup pod and K-Carafe pod varieties. The Keurig 2.0 K400 brewing system also includes a Keurig Carafe and K-Cup and K-Carafe pods to get you started.

 Anything else? oh yeah, I wasted a lot of time shopping at Bloomingdales, Williams-Sonoma and BBB only to fing that the best retailer for both price and availability was Amazon! Sure...Keurig K450 Brewing System, Black