Hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles are a great example of rapidly evolving technology that will improve our lives. The question is, does it pay to be an early adopter? Environmental concern and cost savings are typical purchase motivations. Hybrids can also provide a means of publicly projecting that environmental commitment. Flex fuel vehicles (many larger domestic vehicles that can run on 85% ethanol, or vegetable based alcohol) and diesel vehicles (all of which can burn biodiesel, or refined vegetable oil) are also increasingly common.For hybrids, every analysis has come to the same conclusion: they don’t pay for themselves. That $3-$5,000 premium will never come back in fuel savings. Flex fuel vehicles may not cost a dime more than standard (many people don’t realize they drive one), and the fuel costs the same as gas, but ethanol provides less energy per gallon. Thus, flex fuel vehicles actually get lower fuel mileage. Biodiesel, even with a $1 per gallon Federal subsidy, is still more expensive than petroleum diesel. Still, with no cost savings to be had, isn’t there yet a large environmental benefit?With both flex fuel and biodiesel, farm subsidies artificially lower the cost of crop-based fuels and disguise their environmental impacts. Farming consumes LOTS of petroleum, for everything from operating equipment to transporting crops to making the fertilizers and pesticides that are applied. Much of that fertilizer and pesticide ends up in rivers and lakes, too. The tailpipe emissions from flex fuel and biodiesel are better than their petroleum equivalents, but overall it’s unclear that there is currently any net environmental advantage with eitherHybrids are expensive not so much because of the additional design work and electronics, but because of the increased material content of the vehicle, the electric motor/generator and the battery array. The batteries in particular are typically heavy and made of expensive and toxic materials that are processed in phases around the globe. The hybrid premium goes primarily for dirty industrial manufacturing and transportation, rather than clean design engineering in an office. Plus, if you really compare apples to apples, hybrids only get about 20% better mileage overall.What is a budget-minded and/or environmentally conscious driver to do? Until progress is made on the real promise of alternative fuels, such as growing oil-rich algae in sewer water, we need to remember the basics: keep your tires properly inflated, drive slower, carpool, take public transit, buy the wagon rather than the SUV, etc. Later this year Volkswagen will introduce the cleanest running car on the planet, a turbo diesel Jetta that will get 40/50 miles to the gallon, or 30% better than its gasoline equivalent. Superior mileage, cleaner emissions and apparently more powerful than a hybrid: Wow! But will it draw the proper approving glances in the Whole Foods parking lot? We shall see…–“Tech Dad” John Svoboda is a consumer electronics enthusiast, manager and business owner since the time of the 8-track, and holds a Master of Science degree in Telecommunications

Feeling left out of all the high-definition TV hoopla? I have great news: Prices continue to fall dramatically for all types of televisions!

When shopping for a new set the first thing to remember is that the TV needs to suit your room. All buyers should be looking at the top resolution, called 1080p, so that the set does not become obsolete anytime soon. With 1080p, most people will be happy with a screen size that is 1/3rd to 2/3rds of the viewing distance, eyeball to screen. Those who are more critical, or who plan to view still pictures, as I described in my last article, should stay to the smaller end of that range. Everyone else: go as big as your budget and room allow. Thus, for a 10 foot viewing distance (120 inches), you should look at screen sizes of 40 to 80 inches diagonally. Here are the common display technologies and the sizes widely available:

• LCD : 20 - 60 inches
• Plasma: 40 - 65 inches
• Digital Rear Projection: 50 - 75 inches
• Front Projectors & Screens: 60+ inches

Flat panel TVs, both LCD and plasma, are a lot brighter than the other two types. This makes them the best choice for bright rooms and daylight viewing, such as in the family room. Rear projection sets essentially mount a front projector in a big box with a screen on one side and an internal mirror or two. Both projection types have a fixed amount of brightness. The effective brightness is simply a result of how large a screen that light power is spread across. Big screen = low brightness.

When the choice is between plasma and LCD flat panels, the latter has most of the advantages. LCDs consume less energy, are less prone to annoying reflections in a bright room, weigh less (especially important if you want to mount it to an articulating arm), run cooler and are more reliable and less fragile on average. Plasma screens are better when watched from way off to the side and have superior contrast in dark rooms. Plasmas can be vulnerable to image burn-in, where a static image is actually burnt into the screen, permanently. If you plan to connect a computer or game box to a plasma TV, be careful, or just buy an LCD.

Rear and front projection units can be based on LCD, DLP or LCOS (same as Sony SXRD), the details of which are unimportant because they all can throw a great picture. Bulbs do burn-out on these, but most people get at least 2,000 hours out of them, so it’s not a huge concern. These are not as bright as flat panels, but are larger for a given budget. They suit basement rec-rooms and dedicated home theaters where big is mandatory and daylight is less prominent. Rear projection sets just plug in, while front projectors with matching screens (just like in a commercial theater!) require more skill & time to mount and set up. Only a few years ago, front projection systems in the home were for Hollywood moguls and other well-heeled consumers only. Today you can have a 120” commercial-quality image starting at around $3,000, screen included.

As far as which set to buy, don’t worry about all those tech specifications, especially contrast ratio. Manufacturers play marketing games with those. 1080p native resolution is the only critical one. Brands? Sharp and Samsung are leaders in LCD technology, while Panasonic and Pioneer make superior plasma displays. For rear projection, Samsung, Sony, JVC and Mitsubishi are strong. There are lots of good options with front projectors: JVC, Mitsubishi, Sanyo, Sony, Epson, BenQ and Panasonic. If you need any custom work done (run wires in walls, mount TV to wall, set-up projector, etc.) I strongly suggest you use a professional “custom integrator”. The good ones don’t work for the big-box store geek teams because their experience and knowledge justify their $75+ an hour typical rate. Most are also authorized resellers and since they keep no inventory, they will more often get you the best product for your needs, rather than the one in stock. You might pay a little more and wait a little longer, but the value is likely superior. The Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) and The Imagine Science Foundation are two organizations that train and certify such installers.

Happy TV hunting!

–“Tech Dad” John Svoboda is a consumer electronics enthusiast, manager and business owner since the time of the 8-track, and holds a Master of Science degree in Telecommunications

With all the ways to spend your time, watching TV seems like a lesser choice compared to playing with the kids, balancing the checkbook, or reading a good novel. Some of the data about American TV habits is frightening:

• Average minutes per week that parents spend in meaningful conversation with their children: 39
• Minutes per week the average child spends watching TV commercials: 192
• Hours per year the average American youth spends in school: 900
• Hours per year the average child watches television: 1,500

• Percentage of Americans that regularly watch television while eating dinner: 66

Unsurprisingly, some families have gone so far as to ban TV entirely in order to rid themselves of the habit. The reality is that the television is a communications tool that can be used with either great of awful effect. To make it beneficial, as opposed to merely a time suck, it must be actively managed.

First, televisions simply do not belong in bedrooms. There is no way to effectively monitor what and how much your child is watching with a set in the bedroom.

Second, the best option is to manage your television with a digital video recorder, or DVR. A DVR is essentially a dedicated computer that records video intelligently. Tivo is the best known name, but cable and satellite companies have their own versions. They all do the same things, but on the ease-of-use scale, Tivo is a 10, Dish Network is an 8, DirecTV is a 7, and most of the others are a 5 or lower.

DVRs can pause live TV and provide instant replay, but the big added value is automated recording. The key when setting up your DVR is to enter all the shows you want your family to watch, up-front. For example, you can set your box to record all new episodes of Nova. The DVR then automatically identifies all the Nova episodes to record, regardless of time or day, and skips duplicates. After you’ve had your DVR running for a week or so, it will be chock-full of the programs you actually want. Thus, when you sit down to watch, the question is no longer “What’s on?,” but “What do you want to watch?” because they are all on!

This is no subtle change. Watching live network TV essentially empowers some media executive to decide what you and your kids should see. Much of the best and most informative programming can be on at odd times and obscure channels. You just need an effective means to sort out the gems among all the junk. Wired Science is starting, but Jane hasn’t finished her homework yet. No problem–it’s being recorded. In fact, after a few months with a DVR, my family largely forgot what days and times our favorite shows are even on!

And then, of course, you can zap those commercials! DVRs allow you to fast-forward or jump (in 30-second increments) through commercials. Most children are happy to watch commercials, but when they are wrapped up in a show, it soon becomes second nature to skip ahead to continue the show ASAP. Once the DVR is fully stocked, the battles over which shows the kids get to watch slow to a trickle. If it’s in the DVR, it’s free game, otherwise it’s only with permission.

Many parents resist the idea of a DVR: “Oh, we watch too much TV already; the last thing we need is more ways to watch”– an understandable, but misguided reaction. My family watches both better and less television with a DVR than without. While that might seem counter-intuitive, I believe there is an appropriate food analogy: consume good quality, eating is more satisfying and you crave less.

Give a DVR a try. It’s the best way to dump television dieting and adopt healthy, long-term consumption habits.

–“Tech Dad” John Svoboda is a consumer electronics enthusiast, manager and business owner since the time of the 8-track, and holds a Master of Science degree in Telecommunications

I know that when I first began to migrate from film to digital pictures, I was really excited about easier organization and viewing of my prized family photos. So long to hundreds of prints stuffed into old shoe boxes and “I’ll get those into albums soon- I will!” After all, seeing and sharing is the goal, not just taking. Sadly, as with many technologies, the reality has fallen short of the promise, and we now have thousands of digital files lost in the abyss of our computer’s hard drive and “I’ll get those organized and printed soon- I will!”

I’d like to tell you about the perfect, integrated solutions to help you organize, tune-up, print, and back-up your digital pictures with the greatest of ease- but I can’t, since they don’t exist. However, there is, at least, a very good option- Apple iPhoto. Intuitive organization- check. Means to easily create slide shows or photo albums to be printed- check. Editing tools- good enough. Automatic back-up- not so much.

Apple was able to make the iPod and iPhone revolutionary products because they designed the whole digital chain. With cameras, a typical chain would be a Nikon camera, a Dell PC, Adobe software and an HP printer. There are so many hand-offs in this relay that the baton is often fumbled. But iPhoto is pretty darn good at smoothing some of those transitions. The closest equivalent for PC is Picasa, available via (FREE!) download from Google. Picasa is only for organization, but it is very intuitive. Add Adobe Photoshop Elements ($85) for editing and you’ve got a solid set-up for removing red-eye, making a photo collage, etc.

Now that we’ve got those pictures looking great on the computer, we need to get them into prints and slideshows and on a big screen for family viewing. iPhoto makes slideshows, prints and bound albums all pretty painless. It’s all quite doable on the PC too. Costco has a great online print service- top quality 4×6s are 17 cents each, pick-up or mailed to you or others. Kodak’s online service is also excellent. Factoring in the shorter lifespan of home prints, there is little reason to struggle with ink cartridges at home any longer.

LCD picture frames are literally mini TVs and a fantastic way to show off your shots. Forget about networking or service subscriptions offered with these. If you give an LCD frame to Aunt May just drop an inexpensive memory card with fresh shots in the mail to her every few weeks. Apple TV takes pictures from the computer to the TV seamlessly, but it’s pricey and picture quality is only OK. Instead, the Oppo 980H, in addition to being a world class DVD player (tough to tell it’s not high-def), also has the combination of a USB 2.0 port and HD-JPEG capability. Translation: Drop your pictures onto one of those inexpensive “thumb drives”, plug it into the Oppo and hit the couch for high-definition (HD) widescreen slide shows. All that for $169.

And remember, still pictures clearly show the advantages of the top HDTV formats. That’s right- I just gave you the excuse you needed to buy a new high-def TV! You’re welcome.

–“Tech Dad” John Svoboda is a consumer electronics enthusiast, manager and business owner since the time of the 8-track, and holds a Master of Science degree in Telecommunications

As a parent, you know that one of the greatest tools we have to cherish all of life’s sweet memories is the camera. Digital cameras are even better. They’re a great way to preserve those moments we never want to forget, and they’re eco-friendly, too —no paper goes to waste because you only print out the photos you want.

If you’ve thought about buying digital, but were just not quite sure what to look for, don’t worry! We’ve boiled it all down for you, and soon, you’ll be on your way to capturing all of your family’s special moments.

The first rule in camera buying is to throw out all the rules–about megapixels, screen size, battery life, etc. Instead, first decide how big of a camera you are willing to carry. If your fine camera is sitting at home in its lovely shoulder bag when Janie takes her first steps at the park, all those megapixels won’t count for much! Go to a camera store and try putting various models into your current means of carrying: purse, laptop bag or jacket pocket. Now that you know what your size limit is, let’s turn the camera-buying world on its head by explaining why fewer pixels are better.

Early digital cameras had very low resolution, so the prints were not nearly as crisp as film prints. As technology advanced and pixel count increased, digital prints got sharper. Unfortunately, we now have too much of a good thing. Tiny camera sensors can’t gather much light, just as small eye pupils can’t. Take that sensor and divide it up into 12 million dots and the results are grain and digital noise at dusk or indoor settings. Built-in flashes can help, but only with subjects that are close, and even then the light they put out is unnatural and harsh. The good news is that ultra-high resolution is completely unnecessary. For prints up to 8×10, you’ll never see anything above 7 megapixels. For most users, 7 to 10 megapixels is just right.

How Many Megapixels Do you Really Need?

4×6 print = 2 megapixels

5×7 print= 4 megapixels

8×10 print= 7 megapixels

HDTV (1080p)= 2 megapixels

high-end computer monitor= 4 megapixels

Other features to look for are image stabilization (helpful in dim light), a wide-angle lens (for group shots & travel), video recording (because most times, you won’t be carrying the camcorder) and optical zoom (digital zoom degrades quality). If you want good shots of the kids’ soccer matches, you’ll need the fast shutter release and long telephoto range found in a “superzoom” or SLR (single lens reflex) camera.

For specific recommendations, the Canon SD line has consistently great pocket-sized models, while Casio and Sony also make appealing units. Slightly larger are the compacts, such as the Canon A series, an excellent value. In the superzoom category, Panasonic, Nikon and Canon are good choices. For the more advanced “prosumer” SLRs and fixed-lens cameras, Nikon and Canon are top options.

Next time I’ll talk about the best ways to view those amazing pictures.

–“Tech Dad” John Svoboda is a consumer electronics enthusiast, manager and business owner since the time of the 8-track, and holds a Master of Science degree in Telecommunications