With the ever increasing costs and hassle associated with international travel we have seen a definite up tick in domestic travel. The Gulf Coast is a mess because of the BP Oil spill and basically no one travels north because of the weather. The difficult economic times are harsh and over travel is down but fear not because there are still many millions of Americans who will take a vacation this year and domestic vacation hot spots such as Mrytle Beach are gaiing traction as the best vacations to take this summer.

A decent Myrtle Beach hotel will hardly cost as much as rooms in more exotic and far away places like Jamaica or South America and you can just jump in your car and make a road trip for far less than the cost of airline tickets and reservations. As an example sites like Prince Resort Online, located at http://www.princeresortonline.com, are offering great value and discount travel packages such as their exclusive golf packages which combine room rates and desired amenities into a value based package that has been nothing but hot for domestic travelers in the United States.

Mrytle BEach is a fabulous destination for travelers in America and a great way to see more of the States as so many of us Americans need to.By traveling locally and spending our hard earned dollars here we not only enjoy our vacations but do more for boosting the economy and creating jobs in America which is of course the best way for us to be spending our money these days.

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So Microsoft has finally stepped up and integrated some Zune features directly into their hot new search engine and it seems you can actually stream free music using their newly branded “Entertainment Engine”. By doing a simple search for your favorite artist or song you pull up a variety of new features which allow you to hear a song once or can also send you straight to the appropriate music store for your online purchases. Bing now offers link directly to the Zune music store as well as iTunes and more.

Microsoft Brings Some Zune Features To Bing – ITProPortal.com

Microsoft is taking on Google in the fight for online search supremacy by introducing new music-related features from Zune marketplace to its search engine, Bing.

Users in the US will be able to play tracks from within the search engine results page. Microsoft says that music searches will now include lyrics and playable tracks from more than five million songs which are already available from Zune.

Like so many Americans I truly enjoy watching television on the weekends but as you may imagine I have other responsibilities and watching tv is not always a thing I can do. Thanks in part to my DVR and the wonderful cable sports packages available I have been able to get more television watching done recently.

Cox Cable Sports is cool and the variety of sports channels available is great but lets be honest there is no sport on tv like NFL football and my Sunday Ticket is the most watched program on my television. I enjoy watching a variety of cable sports programs but there really is nothing like the quality and value of the Sunday Ticket package and if you have nothing better to do on the weekend it is so very nice to just sit back and watch the depth of reporting and total coverage that NFL Sunday Ticket offers for sports fans like me who appreciate the all around style of programming.

Sunday Ticket offers incredible value for a stats junkie like me and when you consider how many hours of football television can be had it’s a superlative value over other sports packages, I now know more about my favorite teams and top NFL players because of the level of coverage and analysis offered and it really does make a difference to sports fans when you can immerse yourself in such quality television viewing.

My wife knows when NFL Sunday hits it’s time for dad to relax and unwind by the television and my Sunday Ticket makes all the difference to me now.

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Hey maybe now I can afford a KIN. It seems I was right and the KIN phones are a bit to expensive so Verizon has taken the early lead and dropped the prices on the Zune enabled phones. I can only say that now I can consider owning one of these feature rich Windows 7 phones and I suppose I may have to head over to the Verizon store for some updates on exactly what this will cost me with the Zune Pass and data plans.

I really wish mobile phone companies would offer better rates on data plans and that the KIN phones were less expensive to own. If the prices were right I think I would have one for myself and one for my wife but its hard to justify switching carriers just to have a new phone no matter how long I have waited for the design and features that the KIN Phone offer. I really liked the Sidekick phones and KIN was supposed to be the next generation but the price points seemed a bit steep in comparison to available competitors. Maybe now some others will see the value in Kin phones and they will start to pick up in sales.

Sadly I really think they missed the boat with the branding of these and they should just drop Kin and rejuvenate the Zune line but if I had my way the Zune would not have been an also ran in the media device market anyway.

TECHNOLOGY – Verizon Wireless Slashes Microsoft Kin Prices

Verizon decided to lower the prices of the youth-oriented social-networking phones as the device could generate scant attention since its launch and the sales were below par. The Kin was designed to target a similar demographic as the Sidekick but could not hold on in the wake of iPhones and other smartphones that don’t cost any more per month and offer the ability to run thousands of applications.

My family just loves the new DVR or digital video recorder we have and it has made all the difference in how we watch television as a family. For years we had the Time Warner Cable system with DVR capabilities but we rarely used it. I’m not really sure why that was the case but it may have had something to do with the fact I was unaware of just how useful the DVR technology is for use in the home when you have kids.

Our new Dish Network DVR setup is just awesome and the kids have taken to it with ease now and they seem to record just about half the programs they watch. My oldest likes to record the latest episodes of his favorite television programs so that he can rewatch them over the course of the week while he awaits the new episodes to be released. My youngest son likes to play outside during the day a lot but then at night there are fewer of his favorite shows so my wife will actually record some of his tv programs so that he can watch whatever he wants to at bedtime.

It works out well because now we no longer have to monitor his night time television usage as much as we have in the past. It allows us to relax more each night and spend more time doing what we need to settle the house down. My wife uses the DVR so she can record her daytime soap operas which of course I don’t watch so at the same time she will record certain shows for me that I enjoy. I hate that many f my favorite fishing programs are on during the early part of the day and often I used to miss them but not with our DVR in play. I never miss an episode of Survivorman or Bill Dance any longer and that makes it all worth the effort for us.

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Vincent Hie Zune HD Skin Abolisher – 7.99

The Abolisher is a super cool Zune HD with a crystal blue dragon scene which is sure to hae friends and family asking what kind of mp3 player you have under that cool screen protector.

Eyes glowing and teeth bared, this exquisitely detailed blue and grey dragon will protect your devices from attack as he watches over his skull collection in this exciting design from artist Vincent Hie.

About This Skin Kit

The presicion-fit DecalGirl skin kits for the Zune HD cover both the front and the back of the player in high-res, full-color personalization!

The premium vinyl that DecalGirl uses offers added protection while retaining compatibility work with most third-party cases and accessories. Zune HD skins also arrive in attractive retail packaging, which means they are perfect for gift giving!
DecalGirl Skin Features

* Each design is digitally printed in vibrant, art-quality resolutions onto cast vinyl.
* Each skin is covered with a glossy clear laminate layer to protect the design and the device from minor scratches and abuse.
* Our unique, removable channeled adhesive means no air bubbles when installed and no nasty goo or residue when removed.
* DecalGirl skins offer protection, yet are thin enough to work with most third-party cases and accessories – click here for more info.
* Every skin is MADE IN THE USA – produced and packaged right here in our Lewes, Delaware location.

In a sign that Microsoft has finally gotten the right idea they seem intent on undoing some of the garbage and hamstrings that basically killed the Zune in the first place. For the first time in almost 4 years now you can finally buy Zune music with your credit cards without the need for those silly Microsoft Points. Sadly I truly believe the convoluted and unexplainable Points program was a major factor in the non start for Zune. Apple understood it was much easier to just take the hit on credit card fees for micro purchase and they iTunes has been racking up billions in sales while Zune has probably been more like millions.

To this day I have 264 Microsoft Points leftover from like two years ago. I bought some Xbox game content with it a few months back so I suppose I could do the same except the Map pack for Modern Warfare is 800 points and I just know I’d end up with even more of those stinking points if I try to add enough for the maps.

Credit Card Purchases Now Accepted: Microsoft Opens Up Its Zune MP3 Store | paidContent

Buried in yesterday’s onslaught of Bing announcements was news that Microsoft’s Zune service was launching a new MP3 store. Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) said that anybody who looked up a track on Bing would now be able to stream the track for free via Zune and “purchase any of the millions of pure MP3s from the Zune catalogue.” The move fits with Microsoft’s strategy of pushing its Zune-related services, as opposed to the Zune device itself, and should give the Zune brand some new exposure. After all, while Bing may still lag badly behind Google (NSDQ: GOOG) in the search market, it is attracting millions of searchers a month.

The GAEMS’ Console-In-A-Case Makes your Xbox 360 a mobile console sorta. I say sorta because it does not carry your power brick, cables or controllers so you’ll need additional storage for that. it does however have a sweet 15 inch display so you can play your Xbox in locations like a camp ground or even on vacation in your hotel room without the need for a television.

I actually thought of a similar design about 2 years back but ended up with a nice rolling suitcase for the whole Xbox and my 24 inch dual use monitor which was a little less mobile but a truly all in one solution. I ended up leaving the whole setup in Jamaica with a family over there on my last trip to the island because it was so easy and convenient for me to do so.

Should the case and equipment make it so long I’ll have on in country on my next visit and all I need will be some up to date games for the kids.

Toms Hardware Reviews of Game Case

The new Xbox might be smaller and more portable but that doesn’t mean those of us with last generation consoles can’t take ours with us wherever we go. And while we’re at it, should the fact that our cabin in the woods doesn’t have a TV stop us? No, it should not. That’s where the GAEMS Portable Console Gaming
and Entertainment System comes in. It’s a travel suitcase with built-in 15-inch, 720p display. There’s also some speakers and a nice, dense polyurethane bed to protect your console against minor bumps and dings.

Discuss this in the Zune Message Boards.

Which do you have? Cable TV with Comcast.com or Satellite TV? I have direct tv satellite I purchased online at a considerable savings and I have been very happy with the service for over 2 years now. I have heard all the arguments about cable tv versus direct tv and I am convinced that this is the best option for us in our situation and the family has been happy too.

Direct TV with Directsattv.com is an affordable alternative to cable television and an obviously popular choice in our area. I can see that maybe almost half the homes in our neighborhood have a DirectTV dish on their roof and it’s kinda like a status symbol of some sorts in some cases. I heard some school kids talking recently about how the new kid in the neighborhood had Direct TV in his bedroom along with the DVR recording so they can record their favorite television programming and play it back whenever they wanted to.

Apparently the younger folks in the neighborhood are big on DVR and they like the DirectTV setup. I thought it was telling that the kids are big on it. It seems if the younger generation catches on to something it has a bright future so maybe the great deals will be available for a long time to come. A handy TV service guide from the FCC provide insight and details on consumer rights and facts about cable and digital television services in America. If you are a tv viewer like the rest of us then you can no doubt take advantage of the great savings and high quality services of DirectTV.

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