Doug Aamoth…

The Boston Herald is reporting that, here in my home state of Massachusetts, “The cash-strapped and over-crowded prison system spent a mind-boggling $76,958” on 117 new flat-screen HDTVs. The average cost of each set hovered in at around $649. Only two distinct models were purchased; one a 32-inch LG and the other a 26-inch Sharp.

The Department of Corrections justified the purchases claiming that adding converter boxes to all the TVs would have been more expensive. It should be noted, though, that inmates also have TVs in their cells and converter boxes were purchased for each of those sets.

Now to be fair, the money used to buy the TVs isn’t taxpayer money. It’s “Canteen money” which “is raised by prisoner purchases of items such as toiletries and food, the proceeds of which go into a fund to benefit inmates.” According to the Herald, this account can grow up to $800,000 and any purchase over $1,000 has to be approved by DOC officials.

Still, the big issue seems to be that a converter box costs far less than a brand new 26- or 32-inch flat-panel TV and there are probably better ways to spend almost $80,000. People on both sides of the table seem to be upset:

Said Steve Kenneway, president of the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union, “I think you can find a better use for $77,000 than to go out and buy TVs for guys who are used to stealing them.”

And this from Worcester County Sherriff Guy Glodis:

“It sends the wrong message when they’re asking sheriff offices throughout the state to cut at least a million out of our budget,” said Glodis, who recently removed TVs from the Worcester County House of Correction. “I would argue there are other things you can spend the money on that are more conducive to rehabilitation.”

And this, from inmate advocate Leslie Walker, director of Massachusetts Correctional Legal Services:

“What are they thinking?”

And finally this, from me, Doug Aamoth:

“It’s likely that nobody would have paid as much attention to this if the Super Bowl wasn’t this Sunday. They should have bought these TVs three months ago.”

In the face of a 54 percent revenue drop last quarter, there’s been a lot of speculation going around (myself included) as to what’s going to happen with the Microsoft Zune. Microsoft has now come out and said that it has no plans to deep six the hardware or the software and that there will indeed be a new Zune lineup later this year.

Adam Sohn, director of marketing for the Zune, said the following in an interview with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

“Every time anything comes up, there is a set of people who pull a Chicken Little and say, ‘The Sky is Falling. Zune is dead.’ The fact is we are on track to deliver the next generation of Zune innovation in software and hardware. The planning is fast and furious. We will deliver progress this calendar year.”

Robbie Bach of Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division also told the Seattle PI at CES recently that the slower revenue was expected this past holiday season.

“Truthfully that category, Apple and us, didn’t grow like it did last year. But Zune did fine. Right about our expectations and we feel pretty good about the direction that’s going.”

So there you have it. The sky is definitely not falling on the Zune and Microsoft will continue to develop both the hardware and the software.

Microsoft explains why Zune sales dropped 54 percent [Seattle PI via Neowin.net]

Thanks for sending this in, Christian.

A kid named Tyler made this. A kid! Well done, young man. The “Internet Dog Feeder” consists of an ioBridge and a continuously-rotating servomechanism controlled via a web interface consisting of a video camera that shows your dog’s bowl and “Feed Dog” and “Stop Feeding Dog” hyperlinks.

This is actually not a bad idea at all. Maybe not for leaving your pet alone for days, as the title of this post so irresponsibly suggests, but perhaps if you get stuck at work or something else comes up, you could use a contraption such as this. Now Tyler needs to build a robot that takes the dog for walks and lets it out in the backyard to make a tinkle or a doo-doo.

[via TechEBlog]

My editor just got sent this e-mail, which he forwarded on to me since I handle the reviews for CrunchGear and I’m one of the only staffers that uses a PC regularly:

Hi John,

AMD would like to send you a reviewable product that serves as an easy PC upgrade. We are currently sorting out details and need some additional information. Since the product is coming from AMD’s Toronto office, we will need your shipping address as well as a corporate Tax ID or a SSN number to ship the product. If you could please send along those details we can move forward with the process.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Thank you,

Ana

Let me rewrite this e-mail for Bite Communications, who handles AMD’s PR.

Please send us your social security number via e-mail in exchange for some sort of product that has something to do with a PC. Don’t worry about the details like whether or not it’s relevant to your site or your readers or what the product actually is, just open up a box from Toronto if you see one on your doorstep and review whatever’s inside.

Don’t forget to send your social security number over e-mail or we can’t send the secret box to you.

Everyone’s favorite (well, my favorite) videogame reviewer, DiiFii, is back with an unboxing of an oversized Mario figurine that holds a Nintendo DS in its outstretched arms. Watch for just over five minutes as this man-child of indeterminate age excitedly frees Mario from his twist-tie and cardboard shackles, wipes the dust off with what appears to be a pair of boxer shorts, and then exuberantly searches for the perfect spot in his room to place Mario.

When you’re done with that, check out these other posts if you still have the energy:

Zelda Phantom Hourglass review video is mesmerizing

Another mesmerizing DiiFii review – ‘Gunstar Heroes’

DiiFii’s YouTube Channel

Sure, it’s –65 out right now but it’s never too early to start thinking about golf. Savant GPS knows this and, as such, will unveil the “On Par” GPS unit in Orlando this weekend with retail availability slated for “early February.”

According to a company press release:

“OnPar is the first GPS rangefinder with a dynamic hole layout display and GPS positioning that provides instant distances to anywhere and remaining distance to the green, personalized club averages, and simple score and shot tracking. And, it does it all with true one-touch operation.”

It looks like a nice little device, too. At 4.17 inches tall by 2.8 inches wide by .63 inches thick and with a single button and a big 3.5-inch touch screen covering almost the entire face, it resembles an iPhone 3G (4.5×2.4x.48) more than anything else.

It’ll hold up to 300 courses “with no membership fees or course map fees.” No word on the actual price of the OnPar itself but we’ll likely find that out within the next week or two.

Full press release:

Savant GPS, LLC will unveil OnPar, its revolutionary new touch screen GPS rangefinder, at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Florida. OnPar is the first hand held color touch screen GPS rangefinder designed specifically to provide golfers the ultimate user experience. It’s like having a professional caddy at your fingertips.

OnPar is the first GPS rangefinder with a dynamic hole layout display and GPS positioning that provides instant distances to anywhere and remaining distance to the green, personalized club averages, and simple score and shot tracking. And, it does it all with true one-touch operation.

OnPar incorporates traditional golf information, the latest GPS technology, rich graphics, and a number of unique features that truly help golfers manage their game. OnPar’s 3.5″ high resolution touch screen display makes it easy to read, even in direct sunlight. All these features combined create a unique GPS rangefinder that is unequaled in golf.

Brian York, OnPar President and CEO stated, “We took a fresh approach to golf GPS rangefinders, incorporating intuitive touch screen technology and unrivaled useful features to elevate the user experience.”

View it

One-touch distance measurements from tee to green.

Track it

Track your stats and get club suggestions based on your shot and yardage history.

Know it

Interactive and intuitive device to help you manage your round, view shot and yardage history.

OnPar will store up to 300 golf courses with no membership fees or course map fees.

OnPar will be available to consumers in early February, 2009 and may be purchased at select specialty golf retail stores, sporting goods stores, online golf retail outlets, golf course pro shops, and through the OnPar website (www.OnParGPS.com).

OnPar GPS [Product Site via GPSTracklog.com] Thanks for sending this in, Rich.

Costco members might be pleased to hear that there’s a 28-inch HannsG monitor for $369.99 after a $30 instant discount. Specs include a 1920×1200 resolution, 3ms response time, 500 cd/m2 brightness, 800:1 contrast ratio, HDMI/VGA/DVI connections, and built-in speakers.

HannsG 28-inch Wide Monitor [Costco.com via FatWallet]

If you’re on your way to an important business meeting, wedding, or award ceremony, the last thing you want to worry about is dribbling chew spittle all over your nicely pressed shirt. But those standard spit cups just can’t be trusted! Enter the “No Spill Spit Cup,” designed especially for chew spit. It’s got a handy built-in tin holder, too!

For just $14.40, you could have 12 of these cup holder-friendly containers – that’s one for every cup holder in every car you regularly use plus extras to keep in the cars of your friends and relatives! The “screw on spill proof top eliminates unwanted accidents” caused by nicotine-fueled erratic driving. What’s more, you’ll never mistake it for your morning coffee.

No Spill Spit Cup [Novelty Inc. Wholesale via Nerd Approved]

The almost-impossible-to-find Wii Fit is in stock at Amazon right now for $89.99 with free shipping. I checked earlier today and it was out of stock, so they must have just gotten some. If you’ve been trying to find one, you might be able to grab it today.

Wii Fit [Amazon.com via dealnews]

Netbook manufacturers, I beg of you: please focus on increasing screen resolution before adding any more features. This 1024×600 business has gone on long enough. There’s a fair amount of software that’s built to be shown in at least an 800×600 resolution and when you’re using a screen that tops out at 600 vertical pixels without accounting for the taskbar, things get dicey – not to mention trying to read web pages that look like they’ve somehow hiked their metaphorical pants up to somewhere between their non-existent navels and their imaginary nurples.

To anyone with time on their hands: try finding a currently-available netbook with a 10-inch screen or smaller that features anything other than a 1024×600 resolution. You’ll be left with the HP 2133 Mini-Note. That’s it! I’ve spent the past three days looking for something… anything… and the 2133 is the only option. Please, please, please correct me if I’m wrong.

What’s more frustrating is that HP has offered a 1280×768 resolution on the 8.9-inch 2133 since last April. There’s no reason every other company couldn’t do the same unless, somehow, HP has a fenced-in lot full of all the hi-res 8.9-inch LCD panels in the world that it guards with dogs or bees or dogs with bees in their mouths so when they bark they shoot bees at you. 

Yes, it increases the price of the product, but as long as we’re adding gigantic hard drives, huge batteries, multiple operating system choices, and now, apparently, optical drives, a few models with standard-resolution screens shouldn’t be too much to ask.

Why don’t I buy a regular notebook, you ask? I arrange letters into words for a living. I could do this with a DX2/66. All I need is a cheap, light, portable computer for word processing that lets me see most or all of the three or four paragraphs I’m cobbling together. My life is almost entirely “in the cloud” so don’t need a big hard drive, a fancy OS, or lots of RAM — just a decent screen. Watching me type up a post on a netbook is like having front row seats at Scroll-Down-a-Palooza or Scroll-a-Thon-2009 or Scrollerblade Camp.

I do have a desktop that use for everyday stuff and I also have a Sony VAIO notebook that I paid a pretty penny for a year and a half ago. It still has more power than I’ll ever need but it weighs 4.5 pounds (!), it runs hot, and the fan sounds like a weed whacker.

So now I’m weighing my options between biting the bullet and picking up the 12-inch Dell, grabbing the old HP 2133, or waiting for the new high-res HP machines to hit the market in six weeks. The VAIO P is also a distant last resort (too pricey). However, it’d be nice for MSI, Asus, Acer, and the million other netbook manufacturers to offer a few high-res models too.