As the days begin to fall away from December and 2008 draws to a close, we would like to extend our Happiest of Holiday greetings to you and your family.

This has been quite a year not only for us as a company but the entire country as a whole. Amidst an economic crisis that has affected each of us at some level whether big or small to a historical moment in our nations presidential history, boy it sure has been a year that will not be forgotten.

As many families are living in a period of uncertainty during a time of year that is usually filled with shopping, holiday parties, tree and home decorating and countless other holiday activities, we hope that you remember the true blessings of the season...time with family and friends.

All of us at Genext wish you, our valued customer, a happy and healthy holiday season. We are, as always, grateful for the support you have given us throughout the years. Genext is a successful local company because of you, our loyal customers.

May your holiday season be filled with happiness and joy, followed by a most wonderful New Year, 2009!

There's been a lot of buzz and confusion about the upcoming transition to DTV taking place on February 17th, 2009.

The truth is, Genext TV subscribers with analog TVs hooked up to cable service should not be affected by the February 17, 2009 cut-off date for full-power analog broadcasting. The type of TV you own is ONLY important if you have televisions that receive free over-the-air television programming (with a roof-top antenna or "rabbit ears" on the TV).

If you subscribe to Genext TV, the DTV transition should not affect any TVs that are connected to your cable services. The DTV transition applies only to full-power broadcast television stations - stations that use the public airwaves to transmit their programming to viewers through a broadcast antenna.

If you have questions or concerns, please visit www.dtv.gov for more information about the DTV Transition.

This time of year can be hard on the budget and we often overlook the growing energy bills during the holiday season. Overall energy use increases as we combat the freezing temperatures by heating our home and lighting them with holiday décor as well as keeping the house lit more hours of the day, as the sun hibernates. There are, however, plenty of ways you can save on energy costs this holiday season.

Below are a few simple ideas as well as some major investments to help you save energy.

• Look for LED holiday bulbs. The average holiday light uses 5 to 7 watts per bulb and some older strings use up to 10 watts. The new LED lights use less than half a watt per bulb and are also shatterproof, water resistant and safe to touch.
• Don't like the look of LED's? Downsize to miniature lights. They use up to 70 percent less energy and last much longer than larger bulbs.
• Get Programmable Thermostats. You can set temperatures according to times of the day, so you're not wasting energy when you’re not home or when you're asleep.
• Admit it: You'll never remember to turn the lights off. That's why you need to install automatic timers both indoors and out.
• Dim the Lights. Using a bulb at 90 percent brightness - or dimmed only 10 percent - will save about 10 percent in electricity and double the life of a bulb. Dimming to 50 percent saves 40 percent in electricity and can extend the bulb life by 20 times. Lighting control systems can do this automatically, allowing you to save more energy.
• It's not just the holiday lights that run up your energy bill: It's also all the cooking. You're probably not using your oven as efficiently as you could be. Sure, it's fun to peek at the pies as they cook, but the temperature inside your oven drops as much as 25 degrees every time you open the door. So resist the temptation to open the oven and use the oven light instead.
• The dishwasher is your friend. A load of dishes cleaned in a dishwasher requires 37 percent less water than washing dishes by hand. Don';t forget to use the energy-saving cycles whenever you can. Dishwashers with air power or overnight dry settings can take as much as 10 percent off dishwashing energy costs.
• Upgrade your appliances. Get rid of that rattling old fridge or other appliance and replace it with one that has an Energy Star rating.

If you are interested in a more permanent solution to cut energy bills and would like to incorporate any of the above temperature, lighting or other control systems used to monitor your home, give us a call. Through our partnership with HAI, the leading manufacturer of Integrated Automation and Security products, we can incorporate a whole-house control system, tying together lighting, heating and ventilation, security and audio and video systems into one system with preprogrammed scenes and modes that you can activate with the press of a button.

Give us a call today and ask to speak with one our Sales Representatives for more information.