DIRECTV Launches New Satellite to Boost HD Offerings

There was good news for fans of high-definition from provider DIRECTV this week. The satellite television provider successfully launched its latest satellite Tuesday. Named DIRECTV 12, this launch brings the total number of satellites the company has in orbit up to 11, with 5 devoted to broadcasting HDTV.

DIRECTV claims that when the new satellite starts operating next year, it will boost the company’s high-definition capacity by 50 percent. With the added bandwidth from the new satellite, DIRECTV would be able to serve up over 200 national and 1,500 local HD channels. Consumers can expect to see expansions of DIRECTV Cinema and on-demand programming amongst other additions.

If you’re one of the many lucky people who got a new HDTV for the holidays this year, make sure you check out our post on how to get the most out of a new HDTV.

Going Green or Saving Green?

Going green is kind of the big trend as of late - it seems that everyone wants to be doing more of it. While being more environmentally friendly is not all together too hard, there are a few instances where it can cause a bit of sacrifice. I don't mean to make it sound difficult, but sometimes bucking old habits isn't always the easiest thing to do.

This is especially true when it comes to our wallets. There is a pervasive myth out there that green is in general more expensive, but that simply isn't the case one hundred percent of the time. For example, green buildings and normal construction are leveling out these days. Likewise, green electricity plans do not typically cost more than regular electricity plans.

However, there will occasionally be times when going green might cost a little extra. The rationale behind this is often that the extra price provides long term benefits, not only for the environment but also for the checkbook.

This idea really got my brain turning: when it comes to being green, what do people generally care more about? When faced with the choice of helping the environment or saving money, what will people choose? I thought I'd create a poll that posed this very question. Feel free to vote on it and tell us what you would choose or what you think about the topic in the comments!

Getting the HDTV Settled After the Holidays

One thing about Christmas and gift-giving is that it typically means we have new toys or devices to sink our time into once it's all said and done. Last year, I had a new camera to take pictures with and the year before that a Nintendo Wii to make myself look like a fool with. 

Soon I hope to be adding a new HDTV to the home.If you are one of the lucky ones with a cool flat screen as a result of Christmas shopping, CNET has a handy guide on what to do next with your new HDTV. It covers everything from using the HDMI cable to conserving power when turning the TV off. In addition to those tips, we've also got the article that we added a few months back titled HDTV: Batteries Not Included that will help you figure out how to get the most out of your new purchase.

There really are a lot of things to keep in mind with new TVs that you won't always find out in stores. I've got plenty of friends that I've visited that had their entertainment centers set up wrong, or that weren't watching true HD pictures. You'd be surprised at how much better your picture can look after just a few minutes of tweaking.

So, how many out there got a new HDTV for Christmas? Feel free to tell us in the comments!

Holiday Programming Schedule

Oh there's nothing like the holidays - twinkling lights, family, food and gifts. I don't know about you but what I love most about this time of year are those corny holiday shows. Oh come on you know you like them too and they are perfect for entertaining guests. 

It's just not the holidays without the classics like It's a Wonderful Life and a Christmas Story. Not to mention humorous movies like National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and Bad Santa. And let's not forget the holiday specials for the kiddos like Twas the Night Before Christmas.

To get your holiday programming schedule, check out TV Guide's Holiday schedule. And if you have TV service like cable or satellite check out your guide to see what other festive programs are offered.

WhiteFence’s Favorite Christmas Gifts

With Christmas now just a matter of hours away, this is the perfect time to reflect on favorite memories from years past. Of course, one of the greatest things about Christmas is giving and receiving awesome gifts. With that in mind, I set off to find some of my fellow WhiteFence employee’s favorite Christmas gifts.

Veronica, Graphic Designer: We never really received many gifts growing up; but, when I was 13, my grandfather bought me a small AM/FM cassette deck radio. It wasn’t a fancy boombox or stereo system with all of the bells and whistles – it was a small GE radio with one speaker and I loved it! I would sit at night and listen to top hit countdowns and record mix tapes of my favorite songs!

Monica, Manager of Marketing Content: My favorite gift was a boot full of money – literally. My dad would put his spare change in a boot all year and at Christmas he’d throw in $200 cash plus all the change. Usually the change would turn out to be at least $300.

Evan, Web Application Specialist: I would have to go with when I was two and got a tricycle...I was as psyched as a two year old can be.  Granted, it only took me half an hour to bust my lip open on the handlebars, but it did make for a memorable Christmas.

Dave, Senior Web Application Architect : My favorite x-mas gift ever was my flex-o-lite ping pong paddle...  Not really. When I was 12 I got a red Dyno VFR bicycle. I rode that bike everywhere until I got my driver’s license. It was the bee’s knees.

Robert, Graphic Designer: My favorite gift ever was The Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle! With safety goggles that is… haha.

What about you? What is your all-time favorite Christmas gift? Let us know in the comments!

Cyber Monday 50 Times More Green than Black Friday

Earlier this year, we told you all about Black Friday and Cyber Monday, two of the biggest shopping days of the year. Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving where brick-and-mortar retailers offer deep discounts, while Cyber Monday is the following Monday when online retailers slash prices. While both offer unique benefits, which one is more eco-friendly?

Shopping online is a generally considered a greener way to shop, as you don’t have to drive around all day looking for gifts. In fact, a new report by MindClick SGM and GigaOm claims that shopping at stores on Black Friday is on average 50 times more carbon intensive than buying presents online Cyber Monday. Besides all the driving, the rest of the difference comes mainly from the huge overhead of the stores (heating, lighting, employees etc.).

Those infrastructure-related emissions are so heavy that the study found that even a consumer walking to a store to buy their gifts would have a larger carbon footprint that one that shopped online. Shopping online does involve lots of packaging and transportation (think big trucks and planes), but economies of scale come in to play to mitigate the amount of carbon emitted per gift.

So next year, do some research to see if you will be able to shop exclusively online—the planet will thank you.

Reminder: WhiteFence Twitter Party!

Just a reminder to all of you that tonight will be the WhiteFence Twitter Party with Tammy Munson to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project. Here are the details again for those of you who might have missed the blog post from the other day!

Date: Mon., Dec. 21

Time: 6-7 p.m. PST/9-10 p.m. EST

Hosts: Tammy Munson & WhiteFence

Hashtag: #MilitaryMon & #WFParty

Donation Information: For every tweet written about WhiteFence.com and how the site can help military families move (using hashtag #WFParty), we will donate $1 to the Wounded Warrior Project (up to $2000).

Looking forward to seeing the involvement tonight! Please let others know so they can help raise money as well.

Natural Gas and the Home

I will admit it. This feels like a safe place to say it: I'm a newbie when it comes to natural gas. It makes me feel like a kid, but it's true. Growing up, we never had natural gas at either of the homes we lived in. Everything was run on electricity, so things like pilot lights and gas just never really made sense to me.

Recently, my wife and I moved into our first home, and it's the first time I've had to deal with natural gas as a utility. Embarrassingly enough, I keep forgetting that it's a bill we have to pay and it always sneaks up on me each month.

When we first had it turned on, I didn't know where to look for the pilot light and I was unsure about a few safety things. However, now that things are rolling, I'm feeling much better and it seems as though I know the ropes. I think I let it intimidate me early on but now I know there's nothing to it.

So what about you guys? Who currently has natural gas service in their home?

WhiteFence and Wounded Warrior Project Twitter Party!

WhiteFence is proud to announce that on Monday, December 21, we are co-hosting a Twitter party to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project with Tammy Munson, blogger and army wife. If you are unfamiliar with the Wounded Warrior Project, it honors and empowers wounded service members who have sacrificed great things in defense of our country. Their mission is to raise awareness and enlist the public’s aid for the needs of severely injured service men and women.

So how can you help get involved and raise money? That's where the Twitter party comes in.

On Monday from 6-7 p.m. PST/ 9-10 p.m. EST, Tammy and WhiteFence will be talking about how to make the holidays special if you have a loved one who is deployed overseas. For every tweet you send that uses the hashtag #WFParty, we will donate $1 to the Wounded Warrior Project. That's all there is to it. Make sure to follow Tammy Munson and WhiteFence to keep up with the event.

Tell your friends and spread the word to raise both awareness and money, and feel more than free to make your own donations to WWP as well! If you have any questions, e-mail blog@whitefence.com or comment here!

Here are the details for the event:

Date: Mon., Dec. 21

Time: 6-7 p.m. PST/9-10 p.m. EST

Hosts: Tammy Munson & WhiteFence

Hashtag: #MilitaryMon & #WFParty

Donation Information: For every tweet written about WhiteFence.com and how the site can help military families move (using hashtag #WFParty), we will donate $1 to the Wounded Warrior Project (up to $2000).

WhiteFence Running Team

Every year in January, thousands of runners participate in the Chevron Houston Marathon/ Amoco Half Marathon. This year, WhiteFence is sending its own team of runners to take part in the event, and we couldn't be more excited. The team is made up of people from different departments who have been training for the last few months to run the 13.1 miles of the half marathon. Even yours truly is a part of this awesome group.

We started back in August, which in Texas is probably the worst time of the year that anyone can do just about anything. While the 100 degree training temperatures were rough, it more than likely prepared us for the eventually longer runs we're getting up to now, which are about 10-12 miles. The running team meets every 2 weeks, gradually increasing the mileage each time we get together.