The Contemplation » cheap

Frugal Tip: NBC and NFL Will Offer Live Streaming of Super Bowl

tech — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 18:40:58 +0000

The Super Bowl will be streamed online and to phones for the first time, the NFL said Tuesday. NBC’s broadcasts of wild card Saturday, the Pro Bowl and the Super Bowl will be available on NFL Network online, NBC Network online and through Verizon’s NFL Mobile app.

The service will include additional camera angles, in-game highlights and live stats — and replays of those always popular Super Bowl ads.

NBC has been streaming its “Sunday Night Football” telecasts for four seasons, and the network has found that it’s not just being used by fans who can’t watch on TV. Many of the page views come from people using the service as a complement to the traditional broadcast.

It certainly would seem likely that fans would do the same for Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5. The game is annually the biggest attraction on television by far, with last season’s Packers-Steelers matchup drawing 111 million viewers, a record U.S. audience for any show.

“Whether it’s just for a quarter if somebody has to run out to the store to get something they forgot, now they can stay connected to the game,” Hans Schroeder, the NFL’s senior vice president of media strategy and development, told The Associated Press. “With such a big television audience, it will be interesting to see the expanded reach.“

NBC’s streams on Sunday nights typically average 200,000-300,000 viewers, compared with 21 million for the telecasts. The network has seen no evidence they hurt the traditional broadcasts’ healthy TV ratings. If anything, the extra options online may help keep fans glued to the games on their sets.

“We don’t want to limit ourselves to people not in front of the TV,” said Rick Cordella, vice president and general manager for NBC Sports Digital Media.

Similar Posts:

Frugal Tip: 10 Uses for Cheap Vodka

tech — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 13:26:08 +0000

Cheap Vodka is Still Vodka

Vodka also has a long history of use as medicine, having been sold by druggists to cure everything from infertility to colic and the plague. While some of those historic promoters were half-cocked, it’s true that vodka has a wide range of potential uses beyond serving as a relaxer and social lubricant.

Drink it
Treat Poison Ivy - To avoid the uncomfortable reaction, immediately pour vodka on skin that has come into contact with poison ivy, and the alcohol will wash away the itchy culprit, urushiol oil.
Odor Killer – spray down your garments, sneakers or furniture with a vodka dilution between dry cleaning to remove odors (not stains).
Glass Cleaner – This include eye glasses, windows and mirrors.
Mouthwash - Combine cheap vodka with a few drops of cinnamon, spearmint, or tea tree oil and let sit for two weeks. You’ve got your own high-octane mouthwash. Just make sure to spit after you rinse.
Pie Crust - Swapping ice cold vodka for water in pie crust recipes ensures a flakier crust. The vodka makes the dough more pliable to work with, and then evaporates while baking, giving you a lighter result than water.
Dandruff or Dry Scalp Solution - Mix one cup of vodka with two teaspoons of rosemary and let sit for two days. Strain and use as a rinse to remove shampoo build-up, or as a leave-in scalp treatment. Keep away from eyes, it will burn.
Re-Usable Ice Pack - Combine equal parts vodka and water in a sealable freezer bag for a slushy ice pack to nurse injuries.
Hand Sanitizer - Vodka is a natural enemy to bacteria, so reach for that small spray bottle and mist your hands generously.
Razors - Prolong the life of razors by filling a cup with vodka and letting your safety razor blade soak in the alcohol after shaving. The vodka disinfects the blade and prevents rusting.

Similar Posts:

Frugal Tip: Five College Cost Cutting Ideas

tech — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 12:36:15 +0000

Higher education is expensive, here are some tips that will help you shave off the expense:

Small scholarships. Those $250 scholarships add up, get 5 micro scholarship (for a four-year education) is $ 5,000. That will make a difference.

Colleges and Universities love those types of students for the simple reason more scholarship = free PR. With more scholarship money the chances are the institution will work with you in extending extra money your way to ensure attendance.
One of the most important thing to remember with scholarships comes a thank you note, each semester/year the money is received. Also, if you get good grades, nothing will ensure financial support for each semester than an excellent report card.
No matter how small the scholarship is in monetary value – take all opportunities to thank them in person.

Scholarships take time

Time is money
Spend a few hours a week research and applying for scholarships.
Think extreme couponing without the storage need.

Advanced Placement (AP) courses.

A few AP courses looks good on a college application (which can increase the financial aid package in itself)
Colleges might give academic credit for successful AP tests, which means less classes needed for graduation and cheaper the cost.

Post Freshman Year

Once you are in your Sophomore, Junior and Senior year — go back to the institutions financial aid office and see about unclaimed scholarships. Students drop out of college and the money just sits there. This will help in obtaining funds for computers, printers, or other essentials that have to come out of your pocket.

Local isn’t Always Frugal

Scotland, Canada, Puerto Rico, Mexico and many other countries have extremely cheap higher education. It is just four years – why do you have to stay in the US? This is a perfect time to live in another country, get an education and have the money to do so.

Similar Posts:

Frugal Tip: Watch Entire 2011 NFL Season Cheap

tech — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 17:10:11 +0000

The National Football League (NFL) is the highest level of professional American football. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing its name to the National Football League in 1922. The league currently consists of thirty-two teams from the United States. The league is divided evenly into two conferences — the American Football Conference (AFC) and National Football Conference (NFC), and each conference has four divisions that have four teams each.

The NFL is organized as an unincorporated association of its 32 teams. The NFL is by far the most attended domestic sports league in the world by average attendance per game, with 67,509 fans per game in the latest regular season (2009). So why does the NFL control how the US watches the football games? Right now the only way to watch the NFL:

HD antenna (limited to 1-2 games a Sunday) – Free
Basic Cable (limited to 1-2 games a Sunday) – $30+ /month
Premium Cable (limited to 2-4 games a Sunday) – $100+ /month
Direct TV (Any game) – $100+ /month

There is one other cheaper way to watch the NFL, it is called the NFL Game Pass – which will allow you to watch any game, anytime online (with the right computer you can easily just use your TV as a monitor). With the NFL Gamepass you get:

Every Regular Season NFL Game – Live or On-Demand
HD-Quality video with DVR controls
Home and away team radio broadcasts
Never miss a score on Sundays with NFL RedZone
24-hour access to live NFL Network programming
Picture-in-picture and multi-game views [up to 4 games on one screen]
Jump to key moments with Big Play Markers

The NFL Game Pass has ~~four~~ three options:

NFL Season Subscription
- Get unlimited access to all 2010 NFL preseason and regular season games, and NFL Network 24×7.
- Watch over 300 games all season long.
- Priced: $260 ($11.81/week)
Single Team Subscription
- Follow your favorite team each week throughout the season.
- Priced: $201.75 ($9.17/week)
Monthly Subscription
- Get unlimited access to the live action, NFL Network, and the complete game archive for 28 days.
- Priced:$80.71 USD
~~Weekly Subscription~~
- ~~Watch this week’s most exciting match-ups with a 7 day pass.~~
- Priced: $24.99 USD

You want this don’t you? We’ll there is a catch – NFL Game Pass is restricted to users located outside the United States, Mexico, Bermuda, Antigua, the Bahamas, and any U.S. territories, possessions and commonwealths.

Getting NFL Game Pass in the United States

Get a UK VPN account (I use VPNgates for $70 for 6 months ($11.66/month). NOTE: Get any VPN – do your research!
- You only need it for the NFL season.
Login to your VPN account (see easy VPNgates easy instructions)
Order NFL Game Pass (note you have to be logged into your VPN account, otherwise NFL will see you are purchasing from the US)
- Hint, pay with your pay with a PayPal account or another pre-paid credit card.
Log-off your VPN account (see easy instructions)
- If you don’t your internet can be slow for domestic searching.

When you want to watch any game / anytime just follow these instructions IN ORDER:

Login to your VPN account (see easy instructions) – If you are not logged into the VPN before you open any browser this will not work.
Open Browser
Login into your NFL Game Pass account
Watch games (yes games, remember you can watch up to 4 games at one time).

Final Thoughts

For just six months a year you can watch every game via NFL Game Pass or take your chances with a high monthly bill or free access via antenna. Paying only for the 6 month for the NFL season is frugal compared to being stuck with a yearly bill. Be smart with your money and remember your taxes paid for every NFL stadium, high NFL salaries and what do you get? Limited Access.

With VPN account and NFL Game Pass – you get it all.

Similar Posts:

Frugal Tip :: Get the Most Out of iPhone and iPad

tech — Fri, 20 May 2011 15:48:32 +0000

iPhone and iPod Touch Essential Training

In iPhone and iPod Touch Essential Training, Garrick Chow provides in-depth instruction on all aspects of the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch (OS 4.0): making calls, emailing, browsing the web, managing time, getting around town, taking notes, taking photos, and listening to music.

This live-action tutorial includes hands-on demonstrations of how to accurately type and efficiently use finger gestures, and includes tips for setting up the iPhone and iPod Touch so they behave as expected. An extensive section on troubleshooting helps when the occasional glitches happen.

Topics include:

A tour around the iPhone and the iPod Touch

Running apps and multitasking

Using FaceTime for video calls

Along with the free video training tutorials you will also receive monthly offers, tips, and insider information you won’t hear elsewhere—including special discounts extended to newsletter subscribers.

The Underground Guide To The iPhone

Read about the basic user interface and a ton of incredible iPhone features you would’ve otherwise missed. This guide explains in detail how to perform both the very simple and the most tedious tasks. Find out how to get your hands on fresh applications, how to keep your device synchronized and even how to jailbreak your iPhone!

The iPhone is – if I may say so – one of the greatest mobile revolutions of the past decade. More and more, mobile phones seem to materialize out of our wildest dreams. Because of the tight integration of third-party applications, you can do nearly everything with your device — be it gaming, working, fooling around, and of course phoning. However, because of the sheer vastness of possibilities, not a lot of people are using their iPhone to the full extent of its capabilities. As of such, a lot of great features are missed on the users.

Download The Unofficial Guide to the iPhone both for the young and old, this guide comes highly recommended. With this free guide you will also receive daily updates on new cool websites and programs in your email for free.

Download Hundreds of Free eBooks and White Papers Directly to Your iPad and/or iPhone!

The TradePub.com for iPad and iPhone apps offer busy professionals a simple yet effective way of staying informed of developments in their industry.

Browse through the extensive library of free resources, download unlimited selections, and save content to the PDF app of your choice.

Features:

Receive a constant stream of free business and technology related resources such as white papers, benchmarks, case studies, tutorials, and analyst reports.

Select from a diverse mix of content covering more than 30 topics and job functions.

Documents can be read anytime…even without an internet connection.

All absolutely free.

Download Hundreds of Free eBooks and White Papers Directly to Your iPad and/or iPhone!