What Some Of Your Favorite Movies Could Have Been Called

Naming a movie is not an easy task, especially when millions of production dollars are involved. Here are what some of your favorite films were almost called, and ask yourself if you would have gone to go see these movies with their alternate titles.

Pretty Woman - “3000”
Pretty Woman was based on a script written by J.F. Lawton called “3000” witch is the amount of money paid for a week’s worth of the hooker’s “company. In the original story, Julia Roberts’ character was not only a prostitute, she was also a drug addict. When Disney bought the script, they hired new writers to lighten it up, so a new title was chosen, one that luckily allowed the producers to use Roy Orbison’s signature tune to “Pretty Woman” in the film.

Back To The Future - “Spaceman from Pluto”
During the filming of Back to the Future, Universal Studios head honcho Sid Sheinberg sent out a memo to everybody involved in the production saying, that no movie with the word “future” in the title had ever been successful at the box office. He suggested that the name of the movie be changed to Spaceman from Pluto. According to writer/producer Bob Gale, Steven Spielberg “earned his executive producer credit” by stepping in and sending back a note that thanked the studio head for his “joke memo.”

Tootsie - “Would I Lie to You?”
Would I Lie to You? Was the title before it went through at least a half-dozen re-writes by as many writers before it finally hit the big screen in 1982 as Tootsie. The new title was suggested by star Dustin Hoffman (it was the name of his mother’s dog).

Boys Don’t Cry - “Take It Like a Man”
Boys Don’t Cry gave Hilary Swank an Academy Award, but the film was originally called Take It Like a Man. The producers decided that The Cure’s song “Boys Don’t Cry”, along with its inclusion on the soundtrack, gave the project more of the “dark” atmosphere they were seeking.

Dish Networkoffers more HD Premium Movies channels, than any other Satellite TV provider.

Facebook Friends

Whenever my friend is having a party I always show up late. I just don’t want to be the first one there. I like to wait and let the party settle in before I show up. At every party you have different kind of party friends. You have the “Lightweight” who is passed out by the time you show up. “The Klutz”, this person can spill your beer from across the room. There is the “Couch Potato”, “Mr. I have to Drive Tonight”, “The Meathead”, the list goes on. Me, well I’m the “Late Guy”.

So I was thinking Facebook…No difference. You have a group of friends all in the one place, doing a bunch of annoying things, but you are having a great time! I know what your thinking, “at a party there is alcohol”. Well with Facebook, there is the Internet. The Internet is the “alcohol” at this Facebook party, and at this Facebook party you have different kind of friends. So here is a list of different types of Facebook friends.

The Overzealous Updater - This is the friend who can’t go a half an hour without sharing what’s on his mind. Honestly I really want to know about how you burnt your Hot Pocket, I don’t need to know that you’ve just had your second shower of the day. For that matter, I didn’t need to hear about the first one either.

The Linker - This is the friend who does nothing but share links all day. Links to articles he’s read that he thinks the whole world should be reading, links to movie reviews, links to new games coming on the market, links to his Twitter page where he’s gone and posted 10 more links. Links to his links to links!! There needs to be a limit. Some links are good; especially when it’s some funny you tube video of a guy getting hit in the crouch with a football.

The Groupie - This is the friend who jumps on more band wagons then a New York Yankees fan when they start winning again. They join every group that comes their way. “The I like to cut my crust of my sandwich group” REALLY?!

I Am My Kids - This friend only uses Facebook to post photos of their kids, or updates that read: “Tommy didn’t feel well today, so he stayed home from school.” Hey don’t care so shut up! Might as well not even have your own profile; just create one for the kid.

Spies - This is the Ex-girlfriend or boyfriend who only friends you so” he or she” can spy on you and make sure you have fewer friends then “he or she” has, and that your new significant other is less attractive than “he or she” was. I know it’s complicated.

The Wanna-Be - This is the person who friends someone with the great hope of becoming friends with that person in real life. Just because Ryan Seacrest is you friend on Facebook dose not mean he will call you later to get some drinks.

The Two-facer - This friend will accept your friend request just to be polite, but then hides your updates immediately. Unfortunately, you have no idea who the two-facers are.

The Networker - This is the friend whose sole purpose on Facebook is to build a list he can tap when he needs a job. You know these friends because they only message you with e-mails that read “So you still over at Stop and Shop?”

The OverPoker - No need to explain this one. You know who you are!!

The Attention Seeker - This is the friend who posts status updates that are purposely vague, and therefore beg for a comment. Their status is all about getting you to respond, getting attention, getting sympathy, leaving you wanting more. “Lori is scared, but hopes everything works out…” What? What happen? Son of a…!

The Lyricist - Will not post anything except song lyrics. This does not make you cool. In fact you are now less cool.

The Good Friend - This is the friend who doesn’t fit in any of the above categories and is, hopefully, just one of many normal, average facebookers you’ve friended. Let’s hear it for the Good Friend!

Having trouble getting connected or staying connected with dial up service? Switch to WildBlue Satellite Internet and keep in touch with all of your online friends.

Satellite Internet - A Review of Satellite Internet Service

Satellite Internet is one of the fastest growing Broadband Internet solutions in the United States.There are two main Satellite Internet Service Providers for residential customers, HughesNet and WildBlue. When compared side by side, Wild Blue, with its lower upfront and monthly costs and aggressive promotions, is hands down the elite choice for Satellite Internet Access.


Satellite Internet Connections offer the same quality of Internet as DSL and cable companies, but are available to customers in rural areas, where cable and DSL do not venture and dialup ISP's are the only option. With Satellite Internet Companies competing for customers that cable and DSL don't want, the promotions have been getting more and more aggressive, which is good news for consumers.


For rural Internet users who have been forced to endure slow dialup ISP's and as a result have been deprived of all the Internet can offer, such as, fast access to information, quick downloads and instant email deliveries, Satellite Internet could be just the thing to get you back in the game. The benefits for farmers, ranchers or any other rural resident just looking to bank, shop, keep in touch with family and friends, or even go to school online can be extremly valuable and a great time saver.


Satellite Internet companies like WildBlue and HughesNet, offer a service that is always on, fast and best of all doesn't require a phone line. The installation is minimal, just a satellite dish mounted to your physical property or placed on a pole in your yard, a coaxial cable run from the satellite dish to your satellite internet modem, which connects to your computer through a USB port and an Ethernet cable - That's it. Satellite Internet providers like Wild Blue will actually send out an installer to get you hooked up and in most cases it's free.


Chances are if you are saddled with a dialup ISP, because the cable company won't come out, you are probably a little television challenged as well. If your Broadband Internet connection is going to be provided via satellite, your television may as well be to. Like Satellite Internet, Satellite TV promotions are more aggressive than ever as companies like DIRECTV and Dish Network attempt to provide service to customers ignored by the cable companies. Dish Network is the better overall value in my opinion, providing lower monthly costs, larger programming options, award winning satellite tv receivers and the most high-definition channels of all the satellite tv providers.


Imagine Satellite Internet and TV from dialup and off air antenna. Living in rural areas provides families with enviable quality of living, not to mention peacful settings. That shouldn't mean that you are isolated from the technology that makes everyone elses lives easier and more enjoyable. Now, thanks to companies like Wild Blue and Dish Network you can have the best of both worlds.

DirecTV Rebates--Problems

If you are a DirecTV customer and have had a problem with the rebate process you are not alone. The problem with the rebate process at DirecTV is that they have one goal in mind and that is breakage. This is dooming new customers on their first bill and first experience with the Satellite TV Provider.

Customers have to select a package that fits both a family's budget and viewing preferences. They are informed in depth the disclosures and guidelines DirecTV sets forth, including Landlord Permissions, install procedure, pricing and promotions, contract terms and conditions and the dreaded rebate process.


The outline of the rebate is fairly simple as the rebates are heavily advertised (normally a 21 dollar monthly savings). The promotional price is always reflected after the full price is crossed out. This is so tempting that current customers of the Satellite TV provider have called to take advantage although these are strictly available to new activations.

This rebate is a proactive rebate. It is solely on the customer to make sure the correct procedures have been followed. At one time there was an actual 800 number a customer could call. This was often busy, long hold times, or if successful need to be called within a specific time for the rebate to be activated. On the phone you generally receive no confirmation number or no proof your rebate has been activated.


The time for this rebate to take affect was an ongoing problem. The average 21 dollars in savings would not appear on the first month or sometimes the second month either. A new DirecTV Customer's first few payments would be at the full price before promotions and often higher than what they were paying with Dish Network or a cable provider. Then one day the toll free number stopped accepting calls. A rush of calls from confused DirecTV customers began . They are advised to call a DirecTV customer service 800 number, which is a Five-dollar per call charge. I cannot imagine the amount of consumers within that period that had difficulty with the process. It had to be hundreds to thousands. Which when you consider a 21 dollar per person increase in payments I assume this adds up to quite a bit.

So to ease call volume and increase website driven customer service, It then became mandatory for a rebate to be activated on line. These were the steps...Register for a DirecTV online account, verify that your email address works, and submit your rebate.

Sounds simple enough.

A lot of problems arise before the process even starts. Many customers have dial-up internet (a majority of rural America). If someone used your email address before (ex boyfriends, girlfriends, or immediate family members) DirecTV detected these as active accounts and ineligible for new customer promotions. Customers with old accounts who activated an online account 3-4 years ago are also detected as existing. Some people just don't have the ability to access the Internet or email addresses. There is an alternative mail in rebate process that takes 3-4 months to activate.

Once registered there are a series of sent confirmations, customers had to consent to receive emails from DirecTV; if they did not consent they would not receive an email. Emails from DirecTV were sent to a spam or junk folder. There are two emails sent to customers, one to thank them for registering and one to confirm the email address. The correct email then has to be confirmed. This leads customers to believe the process was complete. The thank you email is a congratulatory format even though there are still a few steps left.

The process is usually 15 minutes on a good day...if a customers type fast and have a vast knowledge of the internet. Finding the actual rebate tab is difficult (as it is buried on their home page).

If you made it past step two and are brought to the actual rebate activation DirecTV now attempts to halt halting the process by blaming it on Technical Difficulties (The main reason I decided to write this article).

You are presented with a 16 or a 21-dollar rebate and by clicking submit your rebate is activated. However, clicking submit would result in an error message. This occurrs 100% of the time and too often to be an actual error. The website would say they were experiencing difficulty please try again later! My belief is this is not an actual error, but another stepping-stone DirecTV implemented to make the process more difficult. A quick click of the back button or the refresh screen would immediately fix the DirecTV rebate website issues. This, in my belief, led to a lot of less experienced users halting their activation, resulting in additional breakage.

It normally takes two statements / billing periods for the rebate to take affect. Even if all these steps were taken a customer was still at risk of paying full price for their first few statements.

You also have 60-90 days to activate these rebates or they will be unavailable

In addition new customers receive 3 free months of Starz, HBO, and Showtime. They are promotional and complimentary however, there is no way to remove these free trial periods. The correct timeframe to remove those before the billing cycle starts charging a customer is still a timeframe I unaware of.

Any changes in programming will result in the loss a rebate. The rebate you worked a minimum of twenty minutes to activate can be taken away in a five-dollar phone call to DirecTV customer service because you are paying too much for your free Showtime. DirecTV's promotions will always rely on breakage and an assumption that a customer will have too much difficulty completing the process to actually appreciate the level of quality the TV programming does provide you. New Customers should enjoy their first few months of service too often this is not the case. The moral of the story here is if it appears too good to be true it probably is.

Is Brett Favre Ruining His Legacy?

When Future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre first retired in 2007 after 16 years of playing for the Green Bay Packers many thought he was doing the right thing. He was 37 years old and over his career he did more for his team and the Green Bay organization then most players could ever dream of. He was a player who had always seem to put his team first, despite his many individual achievements.

During his career with Green Bay, Favre helped lead the Packers to 7-Division Titles, 2-NFC Championships and won a Super Bowl. He also won the Most Valuable Player Award three consecutive seasons. Statistically, Favre has set so many milestones that most quarterbacks coming into the league will be doing well to accomplish half of his success. Favre has thrown 464 career touchdown passes, passed for 65,127 yards, completed 5,720 passes, has 9,280 career pass attempts, made 291 consecutive starts, and lead his team to 169 victories all NFL records by a quarterback. .

Favre always seemed to be a kid in the candy store while on the football field. He would turn negative plays in positive ones all the time. He made so many game winning comebacks that little kids watching at home knew their dreams of leading their favorite team to a Super Bowl victory with 20 seconds left could happen with hard work and determination. He gave so many people hope whether through football or one of his various charities. .

When he retired for the first time is was the end of another great legacy. Toward the end of his stint in Green Bay he realized he was no longer the franchise player, when the Packers selected Aaron Rodgers with the 24th pick in the 1st round of the 2005 NFL Draft. Knowing his time there seemed limited, Favre remained himself even with the fact that at anytime he could be pulled out for Rodgers to take over. Through it all he kept his head up and finished out two more seasons before announcing his retirement. .

At the end of the 2007 season in front of the media and his Green Bay teammates Favre bid his farewell to the game that he loved and cherished. From his emotional good bye it seemed that he was all done, and many fans looked forward to seeing him in the booth as a broadcaster for Sunday or Monday Night football games. However with his never ending give it all or nothing attitude he decided that maybe he still had some gas in the tank and took up the NY Jets offer to come out of retirement and take over as the starting quarterback. When he arrived at Jets camp it was reminiscent of the good old days when Broadway Joe Namath ran the Jets offense, except the Favre led Jets did not do so well, missing the playoffs and finishing the season 9-7. After a grueling season in which he injured his shoulder, Favre announced his "official" retirement for the second time in two years. And though it was sad to see him go it was time, the game seemed to be moving at a faster pace then he could. .

After months of denying speculation that he might be coming back again, he did the unimaginable right as the 2009 season was about to start announcing that he would once again come out of retirement to take over as the starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings. Now it seemed like Favre was no longer looking out for the best interest in his team but himself. He was an aging quarterback with a torn up shoulder that did not know when to just shut it down. It seems Favre became victim to the same thing that many others like him have "The Limelight". Its hard enough being the average Joe walking away from sports, as you get older. Now imagine being the face of an NFL franchise constantly in the media always being asked to do commercials and making public appearances. To doing nothing but just sitting at home fishing and maybe doing a couple of appearances here and there, must not have seemed to be fulfilling enough. .

For most of us to be able to retire at the age of 39 with more money than you could imagine would be fantastic, but for a superstar it's not so easy. While there have only been a few legendary players who have walked away in their prime like the Cleveland Browns great Jim Brown, and Barry Sanders of the Detroit Lions. Most professional players just don't know when to say enough even though there is nothing left for them to prove. For instance Jerry Rice probably the best wide receiver to ever play the game played well beyond his prime trying to prove he could still do it. Even in other sports players have a hard time leaving the limelight like Michael Jordan the greatest to ever play on an NBA court. .

While we as fans say they should just know when to give it up. It is we that make true legends want to give it their all no matter how old or what condition their body is in. It seems that when they retire they feel they are letting us fans down, recognizing we have supported them through the ups and downs in their careers. So while we can sit here and try to justify why Favre should stay retired, you have to think about all the game winning plays he has made how much he has contributed to the sport, and not solely focus on the Viking 2-year $25-million dollar contract, after all, who would say no to that. .

The only question that remains is will Favre's decision to keep playing taint his status as one of the all time greats. There will always be a debate as to who the greatest quarterback of all time is. The generation you grew up in usually dictates your belief. Despite the fact that present day NFL quarterbacks seem to be breaking all the old records. My grandfather still insists to this day that Johnny Unitas, and Bart Starr are the two greatest to ever play the game. My father's choices are Joe Namath, Warren Moon and Dan Marino. I would have to say my top quarterbacks of all time would have to be Joe Montana, Peyton Manning, and Favre. But my favorite quarterback is Donovan McNabb and that's because I'm an Eagles fan.

You can still see Manning and McNabb performing their magic on Sunday's, but to see the other greats of the game, see them immortalized on NFL Network and catch in crystal clear high-definition on an Dish Network.

Lords of Dogtown – The Pioneers of Skateboarding

What do Tony Hawk, Bam Margera, Rob Dyrdek, and Ryan Sheckler have in common? They are all skateboarders with their own shows on MTV. Now I will give credit where credit is due. Thanks to them, skateboarding has sky rocketed in popularity. The Olympics of extreme sports, the X-Games air every year on ESPN just like the World Series or Super Bowl would. Contrary to what the “MTV Generation” believes, skateboarding wasn’t invented every Thursday night at 9 on Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory.


Sure on MTV you can see Bam throw himself from a moving car or Rob run around town with his bodyguards, does that have to do with skateboarding? I’m not sure. See my point yet? If MTV is going to exploit something for money and ratings, please at least respect its roots, and not just through a couple clowns on TV with a board and four wheels.


Tony Alva, Stacy Peralta, Jay Adams. Ever hear of them? Of course you haven’t! That’s because you watch MTV too much. You want to learn the real history of skateboarding you need to watch Lords of Dogtown. I came across this movie playing on Starz the other night and really enjoyed it.


Lords of Dogtown is a biographical film directed by Catherine Hardwicke. The film brings to life the story of three Venice Beach, surfers Tony Alva, (played by Victor Rasuk), Stacy Peralta (played by John Robinson), and Jay Adams (played by Emile Hirsch) in the 1970’s, “before MTV”, as they unknowingly become the pioneers of skateboarding.


Skip Engblom (played by the late Heath Ledger) owns Zephyr Skate Shop in Venice Beach where he sells his own signature surfboards and skateboards. Skip gets a tip about some new polyurethane wheels that came out that he might be able to put on his boards. Intrigued, Skip decides to order a couple sets. Shop regular and local surfer, Sid (played by Michael Angarano) is asked to go round up some local kids to try out the new wheels.
Tony, Jay, and Stacy are among the twenty or so kids that Sid gathered for Skip to test the wheels. Amazed at what the kids can do with the new wheels, Skip comes up with the idea to put together a skate team. He called the team Z-Boys. The team proves to be a huge success, with Stacy, Jay, and Tony winning a majority of the local contest.

Even though the Z-Boys were having fun skating, surfing was still their first love. With Venice Beach in a drought and no rain for the pier to produce waves, Stacy, Jay, and Tony had to find another way to keep themselves entertained. No rain also means swimming pools couldn’t be filled for the summer. Remember when Rob Dyrdek skateboarded in his pool? Well this is where he got the idea. Using this opportunity, the boys started sneaking into peoples' swimming pools to skate in. Because of how much skating in the pool felt like surfing, they called it a concrete wave.

After winning many major contests across the country, Stacy, Jay, and Tony start getting attention from major skating companies, The Z-Boys become famous. They started appearing in various skateboard magazines and getting a lot of TV offers. Skip threw a party at his skate shop to celebrate all the success the Z-boys were having. A skateboard company owner named Topper Burks (played by Johnny Knoxville) shows up at the party. Topper only comes to the party with intentions of taking the boys away from Skip.

Topper manages to convince Tony that Skip is only in it for himself, and that he his holding him back. Topper promises Tony that he will make him famous worldwide. Tony takes him up on his offer and leaves Skip and his team behind. Seeing how much money Tony is making, Jay leaves the team too looking to cash in and help his mom pay rent on their apartment. Stacy is the last to leave the team, getting offers to skate full time and appear on the original Charlie’s Angels show.

The three boys become richer and more famous by the minute. Their lives have changed and now they are skating for money and not the love of it. Hey MTV sound familiar? The one time best friends have become enemies of some sort competing against each other in different event across the country. Before long everything starts to get out of control. In the most major skateboard championship of the year, Tony starts a fight with another skater in the middle of the show and gets knocked out almost ending his career. Jay leaves the skate team he was endorsing because they started selling cheap materials. Stacy won the whole competition leaving Tony and Jay jealous and upset at him.

With all that was going on in their lives they forgot where they came from. Back in Venice, the pier where the Z-boy first started, burned down and their friend Sid is diagnosed with a brain tumor. Skip shut down the shop and went back to what he loved, sanding and creating surfboards. Even though Stacy, Tony, and Jay have all gone their separate ways, they get together and decide to return home and visit Sid while they still have time. Sid’s farther after all these years still keeps the pool empty for the boys to skate in. Stacy, Tony, and Jay skate the pool and decide to bring Sid in the pool on his wheel chair, bringing back all the memories they had before they started the Z-boys.

Tony Alva went on to be a very successful pro skater and still to this day is known to sneak into people’s back yards to skate their pools. Stacy Peralta started his own skateboard company called Powell Peralta. His skate team debuted a 14-year-old named Tony Hawk. That name sounds familiar, I’m sure. As for Jay Adams, he skated for Stacy’s team for a couple years then decided to lay low after he realized that he had accomplished the only thing he set out to do from the beginning. That was to just have fun. Sid later died of his brain tumor. To this day his father’s pool is kept empty. Every year the three return to skate the pool. It is known as the Dog Bowl. Some call it the birthplace of skateboarding.


You can follow the sport and other extreme sports on ESPN, ESPN2, and watch the Lords of Dogtown on Starz, all in stunning high-definition of Dish Newtork. Dish Network offers the most HD programming and the most extreme offers in the Satellite TV industry. Check out You Tube for some really great skateboarding videos, if you’re stuck with dialup check out what WildBlue Satellite Internet can do to get you flying on the web.

Can Rural Businesses compete

The U.S. Federal Government has committed to provide high speed internet for rural areas through the Federal Broadband Stimulus program. This might have a positive effect on consumers living in rural areas, but the results might not be as positive for rural businesses.

It is not an unfamiliar fact that customers of rural businesses usually pay more for the same products and services that mainstream Americans do. The reasons are numerous, and in many cases justified. Smaller customer bases and higher costs to receive goods or deliver services are a big contributor to higher costs for rural consumers.

Imagine for a moment that instead of dial up Internet access, rural citizens had access to a high-speed Broadband Satellite Internet connection. Faster and easier access to information, would assuredly empower customers to seek lower costs through on-line shopping. The need for many farmers, ranchers or just ordinary rural dwellers, to trudge off to the local emporium for food, feed, tools, etc., would be greatly diminished and small rural business may eventually suffer irreversible consequences.

You won't find many arguments against technological advancement here and the prospect of rural high-speed Internet access is both exciting and necessary for that long ignored customer base. Still, one can't help but feel a little worried about yet another staple of small town rural American life going by the wayside. Another Saturday Evening Post ideal lost forever.

The hope is for rural users to have the technological advantages available to them, but without the adverse effect on small businesses. It seems to be a risk worth taking, when you weigh in the benefits of high-speed Internet, which would also include, but would not be limited to; social benefits (email), economic benefits (e-commerce), educational benefits (e-learning or distance learning), entertainment benefits (movies, music etc,) and information benefits (news, politics, weather, and sports) for its citizens.

Laying fears to rest was a study performed on rural communities, which produced some surprising and positive results.Between 2002 and 2006 the study was performed on 228 selected rural counties that had relatively high broadband availability in 2000, and rural "twin" counties that mirrored their economic structure in terms of farming, manufacturing, retail trade, Federal, State and Local Government income as a percent of total income. Population sizes and densities were also closely matched and the presence of interstate highways and per capita income levels were factored.

The results were interesting and reassuring to say the least. Counties that had access to Broadband services, had lower unemployment levels, due largely to businesses being attracted to areas were they could operate through high-speed Internet accesses. Average wages for those employed were significantly higher in broadband available areas as well.The farm sector seemed to be largely unaffected by broadband Internet access, with productivity changing very little. Somewhat surprising was how unaffected local merchants were. Many took advantage of the Internet advancements to be more cost efficient and smartly passed those savings to their customers. Education and other factors proved to difficult to measure, but what wasn't hard to measure was the overwhelming amount of rural customers who jumped at that chance to upgrade their Internet service from dial-up.

The conclusions we can draw from this study are that rural Americans need and can benefit greatly from the availability of high-speed Internet services. Satellite Internet is the logical vehicle to supply these areas with access, because of how it is delivered. If the cable and DSL providers thought it was cost-effective to service these areas, I am assuming they would have done so years ago.

Netflix vs. Blockbuster

With the economy the way it is, consumers are looking to save money wherever they can. Families are not going out as much and staying home in an effort to save a few bucks here and there. So it’s not a surprise when we see the rising popularity of in-home entertainment. With DVR, On-Demand, and Pay-Per-View it is now easier then ever to enjoy a nice night at home. You would think that video rental stores like Blockbuster would be thriving in this bad economy. Unfortunately that’s not the case.


When Netflix launched in 1999 it changed the way people rented and watched movies. For a flat monthly rate you would have access to the Netflix web site where you can pick movies to be mailed to your house in pre-paid envelopes. Eliminating any need or reason to make a trip to your local video store. Due to this new hassle free and inexpensive method of movie renting Blockbuster has been feeling the heat.


When you would go to the video store and rent a movie, if you didn’t return it on-time you would be charged a late fee. With Netflix pricing strategy and no time restriction on how long you can keep a rental, it provided customers with another reason not to use Blockbuster.


Blockbuster was not going down with out a fight however. Blockbuster adopted a “no late fee” policy in there retail stores. Well…kind of. If you kept a rented DVD for more then 5-days after its due date, Blockbuster would automatically deduct the retail cost for the DVD directly from your bank account. By this time it was obvious that was not enough to compete with the fast growing Netflix. So Blockbuster decided to then take them head on.


In August 2004 Blockbuster launched a similar online DVD rental service. It worked the exacted same way as Netflix, but with Blockbuster having retail stores it gave them an edge on Netflix. Instead of mailing back the DVD and waiting a day or two for a new one, Blockbuster gave you the option of returning the movie to their retail store for a new DVD right then and there at no charge. Using the advantage of their retail stores, Blockbuster has made their presence known as one of the top two online DVD rental services in the country.


Netflix had a response. In 2007 Netflix offered their customers the option to watch movies directly on their computer. They already use their computers to pickout what DVDs they wanted to be mailed to their homes, so it made sense to offer select titles to watch for free on your computer without having to wait for the DVD in the mail.
Netflx delivered another blow to Blockbuster early this year when they signed a deal with video game giant Microsoft. Allowing any XBOX 360 owner to sync their XBOX live account with their Netflix account. Now you can put any movie from your Netflix queue directly on your XBOX 360 to watch on your TV.


With Netflix offering thousands of titles at their customer’s fingertips daily, it has made it almost impossible for Blockbuster to compete. Not to mention the new RedBox kiosks that seem to be popping up everywhere. RedBox are little kiosks that are placed at local supermarkets and pharmacies, (usually across form a blockbuster) which offers newly released DVD's for a dollar a night. Blockbuster new releases are $4.99 for 2-nights.


Due to the overwhelming pressure of Netflix, and RedBox, Blockbuster was forced to close 960 of their 3,700 retail stores this year. No one knows how much longer Blockbuster can hold out. I imagine it can’t be too much longer.


No matter how you prefer to get your movies, Dish Network is always available with more HD Premium Movie channels and Video On-Demand selctions than any other provider in the Satellite TV industry.

NFL Red Zone and NFL Sunday Ticket – A Comparison

I am proud to call myself a sports fan. I like to watch my favorite teams play each week in their respective sports, and especially come playoff time. But I do however have one concern. It seems over the past few years more and more sports packages have become available like NFL Sunday Ticket, MLB Extra Innings, Etc.

Don’t get me wrong the idea of having the ability to choose to watch all 16 NFL football games being played each week is great. But, is it worth the $300.00 you pay? Lets face it, these Sports packages are perfect for a Sports Bar who has more then 4 televisions where they can get their money’s worth by watching most of the games being played. For those of us who do not own a Sports Bar, and live in an average house with at the most 3 televisions in separate rooms, we can only watch 3 of the games being played at one time. So let’s break that down 3 games at a time, so 6 well 7 with Monday night out of 16 games a week for the bargain price of $300.00.

The $300.00 does not include your regular programming package price, so it is additional to your normal bill. Now with out the sports package you would still be able to see the 7 games being played without paying the extra money. Of course your particular team may not be one of the televised games, but you also did not pay an extra $300.00. Not to mention that out of the goodness of it’s heart DIRECTV will automatically add the NFL Sunday ticket the following year of course at the new years pricing (which is always higher the next year). So when you receive that bill that automatically shows the NFL Sunday Ticket price you have to call in to let them know you do not want it this year, now it is prorated because the season has started so there will be some sort of charge.

Now let’s see, if I got the Sunday Ticket am I a bigger sports fan? NO! Dish Network may not offer the NFL Sunday Ticket, but they do offer the NFL RED ZONE. This is a channel, which is part of their multi sports package at a cost of $5.99 per month. NFL RED ZONE shows you all of the Touchdowns scored as they happen for each team each week. So let’s see, I can see every touchdown scored plus watch the normal televised games, for $5.99 a month. That works out to be what $71.88 per year, and a $228.12 dollar savings. Hmm, I may not be the smartest man but that sounds like one hell of a bargain compared to the Sunday Ticket, and who can use the extra $228.12 in their pocket. Think about it this way, that is just about the price of a ticket to the actual game.

Think about it, we as sports fans are being prayed upon by our cable providers. They know our dedication to our teams and the sports that they play. They use this to make so much money off of us each year that we cannot go to the games. Which in turn adds to the blackout of local sporting events. It is a vicious circle that is not going to end until we standup and stop needlessly spending money on these sports packages just to say we have them, when their value is not really justified unless you own a Sports Bar.

Quite honestly, Dish Network has the most reasonable option right now. NFL Red Zone shows you all the touchdowns as they happen, and saves you $228.12 a year. Count me in that is until one of these providers smartens up and gives us the option of following a specific team throughout the season. One team every game they play all season including their playoff run and championship games.

That I would pay for, tell me for $100.00 a season I can see every game the Yankees play including playoffs and World Series I am in. Tell me I can follow the Dallas Cowboys all season every game again I am in. Lets even get crazy and extend it to college teams. All home and away games for one team at a set price in any sport I choose, hands down I would sign up.

Not going to sign up for 16 games most of which I don’t care about for $300.00 a season you are kidding yourself DIRECTV nobody has the extra money to throwaway on what you think is worth it.

Until someone offers the opportunity to follow only your favorite team through their season, playoff run, and championship game, or games. I will switch to Dish Network, save over two hundred dollars a year, and still see every touchdown as it happens with the NFL Red Zone. The whole time I can still watch all the normally broadcast games.

Expand Your DVR's Recording and Storage Capabilities

Dish Network DVR's have the most recording and storage space available in the industry. Still, with all of the great programming available these days, the need for more storage space may at some point become an issue. Consider a DVR External Hard Disk Drive as a solution. Dish Network's ViP-Series DVR's are compatible with USB 2.0 hard disk drives. These drives can increase your DVR's storage capacity by more than 400 hours of standard digital recording and nearly 100 hours of high-definition recording.

An external hard disk drive (HDD) makes it possible to save all of your favorites and not be forced to delete a program to make room for more. Dish Network has announced that any future DVR's manufactured will be compatible with this technology, but for now Dish has three models that will work; the ViP612 DVR, ViP622 DVR and the ViP722 DVR.

To get started simply connect a compatible USB 2.0 hard disk drive to a compatible Dish Network receiver. You will be able to view content from the HDD, or transfer content back to the DVR. All major brand name external HDD's sold in stores are compatible. Although USB is the most popular choice for hard disk drives, it is preferable to use one with an external power supply. Which ever you choose, be sure to dedicate that drive for DVR purposes only. Using the HDD for computer files may cause corruption of your programming content.

When the HDD is connected for the first time, you will be prompted to reformat the drive - If you choose to, anything previously stored on that drive will be lost. If you choose not to reformat you will not be able to transfer content from your DVR. Be sure to remove anything of importance before reformatting.

The supported Dish Network DVR receivers have two USB 2.0 ports on the back panel. At this time only one device such as an HDD or a Pocket Dish device can be connected to the receiver at a time. If you connect two devices simultaneously the DVR will simply ignore the last device connected. The trick here is to fully install and format the first device to the DVR, then install and format a second if you wish. This will allow you to dedicate one drive for let's say movies and the other for sports. If you choose to remove the HDD you can watch or transfer the content to other compatible DVR receivers, however the receiver must be registered on the same customer account.

Transferring content is easy with Dish Networks' user-friendly interface. From the Dish Multimedia Menu simply select USB Storage. From here you will be given two choices; Manage Device - this will allow you to see a list of programs already stored on the HDD and Send to Device - this is the option to transfer DVR programming from the My Recordings list on your DVR receiver to the HDD. If a program on your DVR contains copy protection it may impact your ability to transfer to the HDD. If it does, a pop-up message with more information will appear. For more information on copy protection restrictions visit www.dishnetwork.com and search for "copy protection."

Within Manage Device you will find options to Restore - transfer programming from the HDD back to the DVR receiver, Play - watch programming directly from the HDD and Delete - remove programming from the HDD.

External Hard Disk Drive compatibility is just another example of Dish Networks continuing technology advantage in the industry and one more reason you need Dish Network.