First, I read various threads on the issue and no one really had an answer that seemed to make any sense.  Most of the solutions were around resetting the HDMI cables, rebooting, resetting or re-syncing the Apple TV device, libraries, or flushing the cache by pushing down the menu button on the remote and pushing the down arrow on the wheel.   None of these things worked for me!

Second, I have four iPhone 4s devices and two iPad 2 devices which helped me troubleshoot the problem.   I also have 3 wireless routers in my home (don’t ask) configured in various firewall configurations.

The equipment in my solution:  I have a Cisco Linksys E3000 router with firmware 1.0.04 (I had to upgrade from 1.0.03).

I painstakingly replicated this problem on three iPhone 4s and most of the time the issues related to videos rented or purchased from iTunes since I didn’t have any problems with any other type of media stream in my library.

The solution:  My wireless router had been configured for both dual 2.8 GHZ and 5 GHZ bands in mixed modes.  After a lot of trial and error, I finally concluded that iDevices have some sort of problem jumping from band to band and cannot properly stream the video data from iDevice to Apple TV 2 in this multi-mode multi-band router setting.

The easy solution is to simply disable the 2.8 GHz band altogether and run all iDevices on 5 GHz band ONLY.  I’ve included a photo of the settings in the event you are using a Cisco E3000.

I could not get the iDevices to play nicely on an older Linksys router running Tomato firmware so if you have this setup, good luck getting it to work.

Cisco e3000 wireless configuration

(click for larger image)

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The first step is to request “access” to these features which involves calling the bank, going through a gauntlet of questions to prove who you say you are in order to get “approval.”

Then once you’re approved you need to setup your online username and password.  No problem here until you get to the next page and then you get a gauntlet of security questions like “What is your favorite football team?”   Oh boy, well this week it may be X and next year it may be Y so how am I supposed to remember this nonsense?

So then after going through this security nonsense, it’s time to download the app and log on right?  WRONG!   The next step is to “authenticate” the app against your account.  You would think the username/password combo would do this but no!  An email is sent to your account on file with some 4 to 6 digit pin which you need to retrieve in order to authenticate your account.

I got the pin and put it in the account but I mistyped my password a few times then got locked out!   Guess what that means!  I had to start the process all over again! Yipee!    I got so frustrated that I decided to close my account at this bank.   Mobile banking is great until its so secure that you can’t use it which then becomes pointless.   Going back to a cash only lifestyle is starting to look very appealing.

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What was your first car?   What was your first teacher?  Where did you first work?  Hmmm….If I answer this on website x and Apple iTunes truthfully then whenever website x gets hacked then hackers now know my answer to the question.  How is this nonsense security?     Keep in mind that most accounts use your email as your username so if someone hacks your username on one account its simple trial and error to try others.    Apple also prohibits you from using the same answer for each security question which is what I always do to try to minimize this crap nonsense but Apple won’t let you do that.

I am expected something better from Apple. Who ever made this decision at Apple should quickly be taken outside and hung from the nearest building or shot in the head.   I’ve been using iTunes for purchases of years now and never had a problem so why add these stupid questions now?

I’m now going to be buying my music from Amazon because I’m just so pissed off!

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• Econ 601 – US domestic economics which introduces you to basic economic theory.
• Econ 602 – International economics which introduces you to basic international economic theory.
• Stats 601 – Basic statistical course (this is where academia largely goes wrong).
• Bus 601 – Don’t really remember this course but I think it was some sort of ethics class.
• Mgmt 601 – Introduction to basic management principles
• Mgmt 602 – Management and Information Technology
• Mgmt 603 – Leadership and managing change
• Mgmt 604 – International operations management – supply chain logistics
• Mgmt 605 – International management
• Acct 601 – Financial reporting and analysis
• Fin 602 – Introduction to finance principles
• Mktg 601 – Introduction to domestic marketing principles
• Mktg 602 – Introduction to international marketing principles

I can definitively tell you that the MBA program is 80% filler and 20% meat.    There is no real rationalization for much of the program other than to keep the university ecosystem of free-loading administration officials, lackluster professors, and other employees going.

The best analogy I can think of is the stuff I order from Amazon.   If you order a screw-driver from Amazon, it will come in a box too big for the object, an air bag filled with air, some sort of advertisement to order again, a receipt/packing slip and the actual screw driver probably wrapped in useless plastic molding.

All you really want is the screw driver but you have to take the garbage that comes with it too.    The first thing you do is toss out the garbage and begin to use the tool.

I have two more classes in the fall and then six next year and I’m done but the program is already paying off as I’m being solicited left and right by some pretty good firms.   I’ll stick with my present employer though until I’m sure this economy is on solid footing.

By the way, in case you’re wondering what those last few classes are they are primarily more finance and management classes.   I hope to write more frequently as soon as I get done with the three term papers due in the next few weeks.

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Having spent quite a bit of money on two large screen LED TVs the year before I didn’t want the screens to go to waste so I picked up Roku boxes and hooked them up to my TV.   It took a bit of getting used to but the kids finally adapted and have been finding show after show on the internet to watch without giving me any grief whatsoever.

As a primer, the Roku boxes cost about $60 each and then you subscribe to services (many are free).  So far the only paid subscriptions I have are Netflix ($8/month), HuluPlus ($8/month) and AmazonPrime Streaming (free with Amazon Prime).    I’ve finally been able to catch up on shows everyone talked about years ago.  I’ve managed to watch 7 seasons of “24″ and the kids seem to like a variety of shows on HuluPlus including Grimm with limited commercial interruption.

It is becoming very obvious to me that cable companies are in real trouble when it comes to the internet.   The only thing missing is a “Steve Jobs” type person to put the pieces together and essentially bankrupt the cable provides like Amazon bankrupted brick and mortar book stores.    I think Roku is doing a great job but there are a few cons.
Con #1 – Organization.  There is simply so much content on too many channels that it’s difficult to organize, sort and find something.   There needs to be a “Genius” like feature to help find similar shows people like to watch.

Con #2 – Pay vs. Free.  The biggest oddity in the internet TV field is the odd mix of FREE shows vs. paid shows.   I have essentially stopped using my AppleTV box because almost everything on there is pay-per-episode and it’s FREE on Netflix or HuluPlus.    Why would I pay iTunes?    The only difference is that AppleTV has newer shows while Netflix and HuluPlus have older content but for someone that missed out on countless shows they’re all new to me anyway.

Con #3 – Navigation.  This needs to be improved on HuluPlus, Netflix and other channels on Roku but it’s functional just not exceptional.

I’ve watched great shows like Mad Men, Breaking Bad, 24, Downton Abbey and many others that I have queued up to watch when I get some free time.  We’ve reached the tipping point where there is so much content coming out of the internet that cable subscription services are obsolete in my opinion.

Give Roku a tray and you may be surprised!  You have nothing to lose except that high cable tv bill!   Btw…you’ll still need to pay for high speed internet but it’s still worth every penny!

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What happened at Kodak:

Smart Employee 1: “The world is passing us by as everyone switches to digital!”

Dimwitted executive: “By god, we’re a film company, always have been always will be!  Film will make a come back!”

What is happening at McGraw Hill now:

Smart employees: “The world loves Amazon and iPads, the new digital books are the future!”

Dimwitted executive: “By god, we’re a book publisher and we’re going to publish real paper books!  Hardcovers are making a come back!”

I can only thank god Steve Jobs created the iBook authoring tools, despite some of its flaws, it is the start of the first nail in the coffin of McGraw Hill.  The world is done with these idiots, their difficult idiotic platforms and copy protection scheme nonsense.”

So why I am so angry?  I’ve wasted hours trying to get a book I paid for to download after following a complicated process.  Geez, with Amazon, its ONE CLICK – hint hint idiot executives at MH.  I don’t need nor do I like your stupid virtual bookshelf!

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Let me just give you a hint of some of the idiotic questions I have to answer:

What is your favorite destination?

Who is your favorite actor?

What is your favorite color?

What was your favorite vacation?

What city did you grow up in?

These questions are stupid on so many levels I don’t know where to begin.   I got caught up on an account I setup 5 years ago with the “who is your favorite actor” and I honestly couldn’t remember who my favorite actor was 5 freaking years ago.  Seriously, who has a favorite actor consistently for life?  Stalkers?  What about favorite vacation?  Well that changes for me year to year so how the hell am I supposed to constantly update this?  If I went to Hawaii in 2010 then Paris in 2011 then Thailand in 2012 and I’ve added 3 new accounts each year how I am supposed to constantly remember to update all my questions?

I also never answer these questions honestly because all websites tend to ask the same ones so if one web server is hacked then bingo some hacker has the answers to your questions.   Now if you have 100 usernames and passwords to remember, you now have 300 questions to have to remember questions to for and most probably don’t bother so what happens?   That’s right, we all end up calling the help desk and answer another set of stupid questions that everyone can easily find the answer to by looking up public records:  What is your social security number?  What is your birthdate?  What is your mother’s maiden name?   None of this wouldn’t be a problem if it weren’t for the fact that most systems force you to change your password every thirty days?  What the f##k for?  I’ve had the same password on Amazon for 10 years and I’ve never been hacked!

To everyone that owns a website and has a username/password & security questions to answer, the reason I don’t shop at your website is because I don’t want another username/password and set of questions.  It’s also yet another reason I primarily use Amazon for all my shopping even when I find something else cheaper on a website -I simply don’t want the hassle of another username/password/set of questions to answer.   I stick to amazon because they were the first username/password I setup and Amazon doesn’t hassle me every thirty days to change my passwords!

I really would like to know who the first moron was to come up with this scheme because everyone has now copied him/her and I really wish I could slap the hell out of them!

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First, it took four hours on the phone with over half a dozen people to cancel my account. I was on hold for 10 to 30 minutes at a time when I got disconnected or transferred to a dead phone. When I finally got to the disconnect queue, I couldn’t remember my security code or that stupid security question “who is your favorite actor?” How am I suppose to rembrandt that question for years ago? I am sure a few people get frustrated and end up staying subscribers just a little longer or there is a huge avalanche of tv defectors.

I finally managed to get it all sorted out and cancel my service but that’s when I learned I would have to go to the UPS store to drop off the equipment and have the UPS people pack it for me.

Secondly, I went to the UPS store and the lady knew exactly what I was there for because three other people had gone in to cancel their AT&T services the same day. She said she does that all day every day! I had packed the remotes, power cables and receivers but she insisted on only packing the receivers. I told her the form I was sent explicitly stated that the remotes, power cable and receivers needed to go but she insisted it was just the receivers. She gave me a receipt for the items so I will fight any charges AT&T tries to saddle me with on the remotes. Interestingly, she told me AT&T has a habit of charging customers for the equipment even though it’s been shipped back. She told me to make sure I keep a copy of the receipt because it was likely AT&T would charge for the equipment and that she gets customers coming in asking for a reprint of the receipt but they only keep backup for a few days not a month or two.

My last story about AT&T is that I now know of at least a half dozen people canceling a variety of services and buying Roku boxes and signing up for Netflix, HuluPlus and Amazon and with a potential upcoming Apple TV it may be the best platform for television. Ain’t progress grand?

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A device with “apps” for viewing TV/Entertainment. Currently, XBOX, Wii, PS3, iPads, iPods, iPhones and almost any computer will allow you to watch TV through apps like Netflix and Hulu Plus. For my large TV screens at home, I have specifically purchased AppleTV device and Roku boxes for my TVs. Both run HDMI and provide HD quality although the AppleTV is only 720p while the Roku is 1080p.

The Roku box will run you about $50 or so depending on the model you get while Apple TV will cost you $99.

Netflix will cost $9 per month.

HuluPlus will cost $8 per month.

Amazon Prime Streaming is FREE if you have Amazon prime $39/year (students) or $79/year for everyone else ($3.25/month for students or $6.58/month for everyone else).

So assuming you have two TV’s at home and you want this setup, your total cost for the first year will be $100 (Roku) + $108 [$9 x 12 (Netflix)] + $96 [$8 x 12 (HuluPlus)] + $77 [$6.58/month (Amazon Prime)] = $381 for the first year.

After the first year, the annual recurring costs (assuming no increase) will be $281 since the Roku boxes are a one time charge. This is effectively $23/month for basically unlimited movies and TV shows from around the world. Contrast the $23/month for this build your own package versus the current $168 AT&T Uverse bill I get and it’s a no brainer! Keep in mind that if you already own a Wii or XBox you can use those devices and not need the Roku at all! I’m currently watching Breaking Bad (on Apple TV), Grimm (on HuluPlus) and other shows on Amazon Prime that I’ve never had time to see and the best part of all is that I can take my subscriptions with me on my iPad when I travel!

Goodbye AT&T uverse, I wish you the best of luck but if you want me back, offer me a-la-cart programming because I don’t want 500 ESPN channels. I’ll make it easy for you here are the only channels I watch: Smithsonian, History, Discovery, broadcast networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, PBS). The kids watch a couple of the Disney channels but they watch too much TV now anyway but if you throw them in with the others for $25/month or less then I might come back. Of course if you want to really save money, just buy an over-the-air antenna and drop the subscription altogether….

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It doesn’t stop there though, we found some great hand crafted knives that my son would have loved to have since he’s a scout but we passed on that too because we figured the TSA would confiscate this “dangerous” weapon.   Why not order online?  Well that’s what we generally do but some states restrict wine sales across state lines but the real problem for us is having to have someone home to sign for the wine when it gets there which is a difficult thing to do with my constant travel and my wife’s other daily activities.   Lately, thefts of deliveries has been up in the area as well and I would rather not have those items stolen so if something isn’t confiscated by some government bureaucrat, it’s getting stolen by some petty thief and then we expect to grow this economy?

On the flip side, I went to an electronics store to buy some old rabbit ears antennae since I’m dropping my cable subscription this week and found some interesting ones that didn’t look like rabbit ears at all.   The electronics retail price was $49.99 and I used Amazon’s price check app on my iPhone 4s and saw it on Amazon.com for half the price and pay no sales tax to boot!  So I clicked and ordered it online and will get it in a couple of days at my door and saved $25.00 in the process.    I am convinced that retail is dying a slow painful death and most of it will be gone soon which is probably why Sears and Kmart are shuttering stores, the retail model doesn’t make any sense anymore.    We went this weekend to Bed, Bath & Beyond to buy an outdoor table cover for some patio furniture and the sales clerk told us to look online as they didn’t carry  that in the store.  WTF?   What’s the point of going to the shop at all if it’s all online?

With 80 million boomers heading for smaller homes, wheelchairs, and lower consumption of goods, how will this economy survive?

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