The Converter Box program ends July 31 tonight at midnight. I doubt there will be an extension, so if you need a $40 coupon for a converter box, this is your last chance to order them. After the program ends, you’ll have to pay full price for the boxes left in stores.
The NTIA website is www.dtv2009.gov or you can order by phone at 1-888-DTV-2009 (1-888-388-2009)
We've been writing about “netbooks” for a while now, and you might be wondering if that's just another term for a laptop. Yes and no. They're both portable computers, but they're by no means interchangeable.
In a nutshell, netbooks are smaller, lighter, and cheaper, and they're designed for occasional use rather than as a full-fledged computer. Here's how these kissing cousins compare:
|
Netbooks
|
Laptops
|
|
| Price range |
$300 to $450
|
$400 to $2,800
|
| Weight |
2 to 3 pounds
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3 to 8 pounds
|
| Battery life |
2.25 to 9 hours
|
2.25 to 7 hours
|
| Hard drive size |
8 to 160 GB
|
160 to 320 or more GB
|
| Screen size |
9 to 12 inches
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12 to 18 inches
|
The most important thing to remember is that netbooks are much less powerful than laptops, and in most cases you wouldn't want a netbook to serve as your primary computer. Ergonomics is another consideration. If you’re planning to do a lot of typing, the smaller keyboards on most netbooks might be a nuisance.
That said, a netbook is a good option if you need a system you can easily carry around, so you can log onto the Internet whenever you want (whether over free Wi-Fi or your own wireless network, or via a paid data plan).
You can see what we thought about specific models in our latest Ratings of laptops and netbooks (both available to subscribers). For more help in deciding which portable computer is right for you, watch our free Laptop Buying Guide video and check out our Computer Buying Guide for more computer shopping tips. —Donna Tapellini
Types of Digital TV sets. How to select the right TV set for you. LCD, Plasma, Rear or Front Projection. Buy Digital TVs from our site at EZ Digital T V
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Little more than 1 million homes are still without set, converter box, cable or satellite
Nielsen says that 98.9 of U.S. homes are able to receive a digital TV signal.That is up 229,000 homes and 1.3 million since the June 12 switch-over to digital broadcasting. That leaves 1.1 or a little over a million homes still without a DTV set or DTV-to analog converter box or cable or satellite service
