Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Do most college dorms have cable TV for free?

luxury watches for men discount
 on Luxury Watches, Men's Watches on Sale, Discount Designer Watches ...
luxury watches for men discount image



Emma


At my school it's an extra $45 a month for cable, which I think its high because it seems like they'd get a discount for so many of us living here. I'm trying to decide if I should get it. I don't watch that much TV but when Glee and other shows I like come on again I want to be able to watch them. I'm a freshman and I think that when I have more work I might not watch it enough to make it worthwhile.


Answer
Our dorm rooms come equipped with cable television and high-speed internet for no additional fees, but I believe the overall cost of on-campus housing at my university is slightly higher than at many others, so that might be a reason those services are included. Iâm not familiar with cable service plans, so I donât know if $45 is a reasonable amount or steep. If youâre just getting a few basic channels it would be outrageously high, but if it offers multiple premium channels it might be a bargain. Regardless, it equates to around $405 per academic year for something that is a luxury rather than a necessity.

I rarely watch TV because I have a low threshold for boredom and most shows arenât engaging enough to capture my attention. I do indulge in a few shows, like âMad Men,â âProject Runway,â and âReal Time with Bill Maher,â but I primarily watch them on my laptop while Iâm waiting at my doctorâs office, on a flight, or in some other situation where I have the time to spare. To me, âGleeâ is best enjoyed in a communal setting, so youâd probably have more fun watching it in your floorâs lounge. Itâs a weekly ritual for my sorority to gather around and watch it together, haha.

If you have a reliable laptop you could simply watch TV shows through it and avoid incurring the monthly expense of the cable bill. I usually connect my laptop to my TV via a display port to HDMI cable even though we do have excellent cable services at home and on campus. I prefer having shows on my laptop so theyâre portable and I donât have to actually sit still in one place to watch the entire episode. The cables youâll need will depend on the type of laptop and TV you have, and you can probably find them at your local Best Buy, Target, or online. I have a Macbook Pro and I use a hybrid Display Port HDMI cable to connect it to the TVs at home and school. At Best Buy the Display Port Adapter was like $30 and the HDMI cable was an additional $30, but I found a single cable that efficiently does both jobs for just shy of $13 on Amazon. Itâs 15 feet long so I can be up on my lofted bed at school and have it connected to my TV across the room. I also bought a HDMI cable to connect my laptop to my Blue Ray player for just $3 and it works identically to the far pricier ones we have at our house. Iâll put the link below. Iâm actually about to post a review for the cables along with a how-to for hooking them up to a Macbook Pro. : )

Iâm not as knowledgeable about PCs and the options available for recording shows on them, but if you have a Mac you should experiment with a few tricks that have worked awesomely for me and essentially fulfilled all my TV-viewing needs. The primary app I use it simply called âTVShowsâ and you download it as a preference pane under your System Preferences. Itâs free, legal and legitimate, and you can download it from CNET. Iâve never had any viruses or other issues with it, and itâs been fantastic for me. You simply choose the shows youâd like to watch and then the app will instantly begin to download and catalog them for you. It does involve using torrents so I was hesitant to download the app at first because I was concerned about the ethics and safety of it, but my friend who works in my schoolâs IT department assured me it was fine. My campus has a strict anti-piracy policy, but permits this type of downloading since itâs not unethical, illegal or harmful. I use Vuze. (At least thatâs what people who are more experienced with IT related matters told me)

Another option is to go to the website of the network that airs the show and watch it there. All the primetime networks have full episodes of their shows online, and you can watch them for free. CastTV has a lot of shows for free, and with limited commercial interruption. Hulu Plus and Netflix have a fair amount of shows available for a low monthly service fee. If you have a Blue Ray player, Apple TV, Wii or other device that has internet streaming you might be able to watch Hulu, Netflix, and Blockbuster Online and other services via it rather than hooking your laptop up to your TV. Each device has its own capabilities, so see what all yours offers if you have one.

Iâd try to go for this semester without getting the service plan. If you still have a craving for TV that the above solutions havenât satisfied by next semester you could order it then.

~ skylark : )

Edit:
I just spotted this article:
http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/113459/cable-tv-budget-friendly-alternatives-kiplinger

Las Vegas Vacation, is there more to do than gamble?




Lex


SO I would like to take my hubby on a surprise trip to vegas for his b-day, however I am sick of gambling after about 1-2 hours, probably because I suck at it. Are there other things to do as far as comedy clubs shows and other adult things to do that ar not insanely expensive. Also, I saw a deal for the luxor hotel, Stratosphere and the ex-caliber hotel, are these hotels any good?? Tanks in advance!


Answer
There is tons to do in Vegas that do not involve gambling. I'm the same way as you, as in gambling is not at the top of my itinerary. My favorite part of visiting Vegas is walking down the strip. I love seeing the hotels, especially during the day. You can stop and watch the Bellagio fountains, take a tour through Italy in the Venetian, see the pirate show at Treasure Island, watch the volcano erupt at Mirage, all without spending a dime. You can also see the lions at MGM Grand, take a walk through M&M World, or take the bus downtown and see the light show for free.

There are also a lot of attractions that are inexpensive. The Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay is about $18 per person, the Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage (which is wonderful) is about $16 per person, the Roller Coaster on top of Ny Ny is $12 per person, Madame Tussaud's at Venetian is $25 per person, but you can always find coupons in the local magazines for $4 off per person. Here is a website for the attractions I have forgotten to list http://www.vegas.com/attractions/

And there are more shows than you can name. You have to figure that every hotel has at least one show, and there are tons of hotels. If you want comedy, theater, magic, dinner, impersonations, variety shows, etc, you can definitely find it here. The best to try is Cirque Du Soleil. There are 6 Cirque shows ranging from Mystere, which is the least expensive (and very entertaining) to O at Bellagio which is supposed to be the best and is the most expensive. Check out this website for a list of all shows, and any discounts available http://smartervegas.com/shows.aspx
Also sign up for this website for free for access to almost half price tickets to different shows http://www.goldstar.com/?p=f691450ff27 Right now they have major discounts on Blue Man Group, Penn & Teller, and Le Reve.

Stratosphere is a nice hotel, but it is not close to anything. You have to rely on the bus to get near any of the action either on the strip or downtown. It's also not in the best area to walk by yourself at night.

Luxor is the affordable luxury option. It's more upscale and sophisticated, almost to the point of snobby, but not quite. They advertise great rates, and there is no need to upgrade to a better room in this hotel because their standard rooms are located in the pyramid which is great. It is in a nice location on the beautiful, safe South strip and connected to Mandalay Bay and Excalibur.

Excalibur is my favorite. It is not upscale, but it is not trashy. It's right in the middle where you can be comfortable just being yourself. Their casino is a nice open floorplan that is easy to get around in, and I think their machines pay better than others. They currently have rates from $26/night. I would definitely recommend upgrading to their Widescreen room because it is worlds different than their standard room. The standard room feels like an ordinary room, where when you are in their Widescreen room, you could be anywhere in Vegas because it is so nice.

You can find the best deals on the same website I listed above, but in the hotel section http://smartervegas.com/ These are all of the offers that are given out by hotels in exclusive emails and such, they are just all listed in one place. Also, they take you directly to the hotel website to book, so you don't have to worry about any issues with a middle man.

Good Luck and you will love it!




Powered by Yahoo! Answers

Title Post: Do most college dorms have cable TV for free?
Rating: 98% based on 9457 ratings. 4,7 user reviews.
Author: Unknown

Thanks For Coming To My Blog

No comments:

Post a Comment