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Weekend of May 14th, 2010

We answered your calls and questions on the Graveline! “Into Tomorrow” is all about YOU!

Listeners & Guests on the show this week:

For ALL the details ... be sure to listen to the show by downloading the MP3 or clicking the RED & WHITE "Play" button on the media player, both on the right-hand side of this page.

HOUR 1:

Tech News & Commentary

 

Dale in Nashville, Tennessee listening on WTN 99.7 FM asked: "I just recently had flood damage to my home. My computer tower was under 3 feet of water. Is it possible to save pictures and other stuff from my hard drive?"

Recovering data from a hard drive after a flood is possible, but it's not really something you should do yourself. There are many companies out there that specialize in recovering data from damaged hard drives. Two of the most widely known companies are Ontrack Data Recovery and Total Recall. There are numerous other companies, but make sure you do your research and only send your hard drive to a company that has a good reputation, especially if there is sensitive data on your drive. Look for customer reviews online to see what other people's experiences were.

There are some things to keep in mind after your drive gets caught in a flood:

- If your computer was turned off, don't turn the power on. If there's still water inside the machine, you can short it out, possibly starting a fire and permanently destroying everything on the drive.

- Don't try to shake the water out of the drive. This can cause major physical damage to the drive platters and heads.

- Some companies say to keep the drive submerged in water when you send it in, if possible. This may sound odd, but it does make some sense. It will keep the drive from drying out and leaving contaminants on the platters and heads. It will also keep the metal parts of the drive from rusting while it awaits repair.

For more information, tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.

 

 

The "Into Tomorrow" team discussed the latest apps that they have been playing with recently.

• For Android, Dave recommends: Switches
  
  
• For iPhone/iPad: Rob recommends: Field Agent
  
  
• For BlackBerry, Mark recommends: Stitcher
  
  

Tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast for more details

 

Tom in Albuquerque, New Mexico listening to the podcast has a listener tip: "I came up with an imperfect solution for anyone who wants to stream audio from their MP3 player that is not an iPod to a Bluetooth headset.

I paired a Jabra BT8040 Bluetooth headset that supported A2DP streaming audio to a BluBridge 3.5 mm Minijack transmitter. It works well enough indoors, if you want to transmit audio from your laptop or any audio source with a headphone jack.

It took a few tries to get it to pair, but once paired, it works as well as any Bluetooth connection. I found it did not pump out a lot of volume. I guess that was a safety factor. I think it will work better inside than outside."

 

 

Nigel in Canada listening on Sirius Ch.108 asked: "We have a 42-inch plasma TV. Generally happy with it, but what drives me nuts is, on dialogue, the sound drags. It's like half a second behind. It reminds me of the old Japanese movies with English dubbed on. Last week, you were talking about the quality of HDMI cables. Is that a factor? I even noticed it on live TV."

The cables, themselves, shouldn't be a factor with the audio lag. It sounds like an audio processing issue. There are tons of forum posts on the web from people experiencing the same issue. Some are saying that a firmware update was required for the TV. Some of those people said that it still didn't fix the problem. Some others said that there was a known bug between certain TVs and certain manufacturer's cable and satellite boxes.

One thing you can try, before calling the manufacturer of your TV, is make sure that, if you have a tuner that you're using for audio, your sources are connected directly to it, instead of passing audio through the TV. This will give the audio a "straight line" to your ears, rather than having to snake through multiple devices. It may or may not solve your problem, but it's worth a shot before you have to start trying the more difficult things, like upgrading the firmware on your TV.

If you do have to upgrade your TV's firmware, they will tell you how to do it. Usually, you can download a file from the net and save it on a flash drive. Most newer TVs have a USB port on them that may be marked "service." This is where you'd put the flash drive to update the software on the TV.

 

Elizabeth in Naples, Florida listening to the stream via the app on her iPod Touch sent us the following email and asked: "I have a Samsung model number HL-84266W, and it keeps turning itself off, of course, whenever I sit down to take over the TV. Anyway, I have checked all cables, power etc. and they are fine, so I am not sure now what to do except pout."

Our Director of Research, Jason, did a lot of digging to try and find out if this is a common problem, or something else. The answer from several different websites, including Samsung's, say that this is not a common problem with that model TV and is something that may require your TV to be serviced.

The last thing you are going to want to check is to make sure that the rear ventilation hole is blocked. This will cause the internal temperature to get to high and the TV will power itself down to avoid causing damage to the TV.

Everyone should take the time every-so-often to carefully vaccuum the air vents behind your TV and other electronics.

 

Bob in Springfield, Illinois found us while clicking through the radio asked: "On eBay, they sell a mini notebook with the Windows CE OS. I'd like to know what the CE program is like when compared to XP, Vista, and Windows 7."

Windows CE is a completely different kind of operating system.

Windows CE is designed to run on small devices with extremely little memory. It can even run on a system with less than 1 MB of memory (these days, a memory card the size of your fingernail can easily hold 2000 times that, if not, more!). Depending on the purpose of the device it's running on, it can even run on a static version that lets the user make no changes at all to it or it's files.

This kind of configuration is fairly common on Windows CE devices, which doesn't even always have a separate hard drive (for example, an ATM running CE might not need any storage for it's users). Windows CE is popular with PDAs, some smartphones, and similar ultraportable devices, even ultraportable computers like the one you saw, but it doesn't have the same look, feel, or capabilities that XP, Vista, or 7 have.

For more information, click here or tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.

HOUR 2:

Tech News & Commentary

 

Brian in San Antonio, Texas listening on Sirius 108 Ch.108 asked: "I'm ready to buy a video camera. I have a 7 month-old baby and want to capture all the memories. In the $300 to $1000 range, what camera do you recommend? I'd like to record on an SDHC Card. Even though I don't have an HDTV, I want good enough quality so it would look good on a big TV."

 

George in State College, Pennsylvania listening on WRSC 1390 asked: "Android and one of the apps. Not able to get rid of or uninstall the Google Goggles App. Just wondering if that's possible to do."

1) Go to the phone's settings. You can do that by pushing "Menu," while on the home screen, and going to "Settings," or by opening the slider that contains all of your applications and looking for the "Settings" app.

2) Once you're there, scroll down the list until you find a row labeled "Applications."

3) In "Applications," go to "Manage Applications."

4) Once you get to this screen, you're going to see a long list of everything installed on your phone, from the apps you've installed from the Android Market to such basic things as the on-screen keyboard.

5) What you're looking for here is an item called "Goggles." When you find, it touch it to open it and you should see a button labeled "Uninstall."

6) Touch that button and confirm that you want to uninstall.

 

 

 

 

Aaron in Yuba City, California listening to the podcast asked: "I have had issues in the last few years with vandalism in my neighborhood. I thought about getting a video surveillance system, but would really like a wireless one, so I don't have to crawl around in the attic to put the wiring in. Is there a good wireless surveillance system that links to a DVR and connects to the network, so I can have access from any web browser and on my Droid phone?"

Aaron also sent us the following email and said: "The question for today, which is my first question for the show, is brought about by me finding my motorcycle tipped over in my driveway this morning. I will obviously have to make room in the garage to keep the bikes safe, but I'd still like to be able to monitor the perimeter of my home, day, and night, to see who might be trespassing and/or vandalizing/stealing. In the past, a neighbor kid has egged one of our vehicles (at least we believe it was him), slashed tires on the street side of ours and various neighbors' vehicles, and gotten caught "red handed," so to speak, after spray painting on about ten of ours and neighbors' vehicles one night. Thankfully, my understanding is that he is no longer living in our neighborhood, but the recent finding this morning has me particularly irritated, and I'd really like to catch whoever might do this sort of thing on video so I can identify him to the police."

The video surveillance category has grown tremendously over the last several years. What's good about that is that there are so many options available. There are systems out there that will do everything you want.

What you need to be careful about, though, with the wireless video systems is interference and distance. Hard-wired cameras are still the best and most reliable way to go. With the wireless, once you get beyond a certain distance, it simply won't work. That distance becomes a lot shorter when you start getting things like walls and roofs in that "line of sight" to the receiver.

For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.

HOUR 3:

Tech News & Commentary

 

Beth in Bossier City, Louisiana listening on 710 KEEL AM asked: What would be the most exciting new thing I can give to my son who is graduating from college? I believe a camera would be his preference."

For more information, tune into Hour 3 of our podcast.

 

 

Matt in San Jose, California listening on KLIV 1590 AM sent us the following email and said: "I was a little miffed about your "Into Tomorrow" show. It was about a week ago, and your show said the reason why Amazon sells phones for a penny is probably because "there is a reason they might be overstocked with them," implying the phone might be a bad phone.

Well, the truth is just about every phone when you compare it to the AT&T store or Walmart vs. Amazon, Amazon will always have the phone for a lot cheaper. It's not because they might have a reason they are overstocked with them, it's because they just do. These are not just new phone services, but also contract renewals. The only catch with renewing your AT&T contract with Amazon is they do not sell the iPhone.

Here are some examples:

- 2 years ago, LG Vu Cu920 was brand new, MSRP: $99, $49 at Walmart (Black Friday only), Amazon: 1 cent.

- Motorola Backflip Android phone $99 at AT&T, Amazon: 1 cent.

- HTC Tilt 2: $199 at AT&T, Amazon: 1 cent (new customer); $49 (contract extension).

- Blackberry Bold 9700: $200 or $29 refurbished (AT&T), Amazon: 1 cent (new customer); $74.99 (contract extension).

- Pantech Impact: $30 at AT&T, Amazon: 1 cent.

- Samsung Mythic (current FLO TV-capable phone): AT&T: $129, Amazon: 1 cent (new customer); $49 (contract extension).

Once in a while, they will have a gold box deal on all AT&T phones, where all AT&T phones at Amazon are a penny.

AT&T might charge you a $35 activation fee for buying the phone at Amazon, but I believe they still charge you that fee if you buy it from their own store."

We never said anything about Amazon being overstocked with phones. At the time when we answered the question about the Palm Pre being sold for one cent, our reservation was the health of the company, and nothing about the phone. (This was, of course, before HP bought Palm for $1.2 billion. We're now far less concerned about whether Palm's technology will be supported "Into Tomorrow." HP is the logical company to invest in Palm, and they have the deep resources needed to increase Palm's share of the market, etc.) We did say, and we quote, "there is a reason the phone is being sold for one cent." We never said that reason was due to overstocking. Our implied meaning in this case was that if Palm went under, the Palm phones would actually be worth a penny, and maybe even less.

 

Richard in Hazelton, Pennsylvania listening on Sirius Ch.108 asked: "I would like to know the battery life of the iPad."

Early reports had the iPad battery lasting up to 6 hours, but in some cases, up to 11, even 12 hours of continuous video playback, which is even longer than the 10 hours that Apple estimated.

In another test, the iPad alternated between streaming video and playing graphic-intensive games with Wi-Fi, on brightness at its highest, and the speaker at its loudest setting the entire time. The battery lasted 5 hours and 54 min.

If the iPad is supposed to replace your book or magazine, you should be able to throw it in your bag and read all day, without worrying about the charge.

For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.

 

 

Warren in Western Kansas listening to the podcast asked: "Droid, great device, but I'd like to be able to connect it to my car stereo. Is there any way to connect it easily with Bluetooth? I've seen some Bluetooth aftermarket stereos. Or is a separate Bluetooth device a better route to go?"

Many of the Bluetooth headsets that you see are really only designed to use when it comes to making phone calls, and if you want to play audio or video files from your phone, you are still going to have to connect with a cable. There are a few out there that will sync music automatically, but they cost a whole lot of money. Jason's buddy just bought a new Dodge Ram and his stereo will sync with his iPhone, including the music, but the sticker on the radio was $1,300.

A more budget friendly solution would be to by an FM Transmitter. They have wireless ones now, and are available at several different stores and range in price from $20-$80.

 

Chris in Miami Beach, Florida listening to the podcast asked: "You were talking about HD radio in cars. I was an early adopter. Living smack dab in the middle of Miami Beach, the most annoying aspect was the signal dropout when I'm moving. I'd like to know if there's been any progress in hanging onto the signal or buffering it since the first edition of radios."

As with most technology, HD Radio has gotten better since it first came out several years ago. A big part of the problem in the beginning wasn't so much the radios themselves, but the stations that were transmitting the signals. At least, that's what we experienced here in South Florida. We found times when stations that would normally transmit an HD signal were only transmitting analog, and their HD2 and HD3 streams were down completely. For the most part, that seems to have been resolved.

Also since then, the radios have gotten better. By now, the manufacturers have had time to see what it was that wasn't working so well in the beginning or needed improvement. The HD Radio receivers available today get you some really good quality audio.

That being said, determining the useful coverage area for a radio station is somewhat complicated. Local terrain, other radio signals in the area, and man-made interference can all affect how well you receive a given station.

Because of these factors, each radio station has a coverage area that is broken into 3 different levels: local coverage, distant coverage, and fringe coverage.

For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.

 

Amber in Charleston, West Virginia posted the following message on our Facebook page: "I am thinking about switching from nTelos to Verizon Wireless. Even though their prices are higher, I understand they have better coverage. Do you know anything about how well their coverage is? Also, do you have any insight on the Blackberry Storm?"

We're not that familiar with nTelos, but we know they serve the Virginia and West Virginia area, which makes it a small network. In comparison, Verizon is a much larger network and for the most part, offers good service. We have carried a Verizon phone before and have not complained. The price will depend on what plan you sign up for. Verizon offers unlimited talk plans for as low as $69 a month. In regards to the BlackBerry Storm, we didn't like the first version, and the second one wasn't anymore spectacular. We've heard from friends and other listeners that they don't really like it and some want to get rid of it.

Have you looked or heard of Android phones, like the many we talk about here on the show? That's the mobile operating system by Google. Rob carries an iPhone, but lately, has been liking Android a lot. It is slowly catching up to Apple's App Store, as far as apps go. You might want to take a look at the latest one, the HTC Incredible, or a Motorola Droid. I encourage you to visit a Verizon store and play with the different phones they offer. Based on you asking about a BlackBerry phone, we assume you're looking for a smartphone (PDA phone).

If you have any questions about any of this week's show info, please email us here.

Into Tomorrow Product Spotlight with Rob Almanza

Behind the Scenes
ioSafe Solo Hard Drive	Dave Graveline directing our video shoot while Jason is in the lake	ioSafe Solo connected to a laptop
Jason Burns in a lake with the ioSafe Solo	Rob Almanza takes a bath with the ioSafe Solo	Jason coming out of the lake

We had a lot of fun with this week's Product Spotlight video shoot. We tested out an external hard drive from a company called ioSafe that claims it can withstand water. They say your data is protected from flood, full submersion down to 10 feet for 72 hours ... in fresh or salt water. A hard drive like this is good to have to prevent data loss or damage in the future. The ioSafe Solo external hard drive is similar to a "black box" on an airplane. The one we’re testing has a storage capacity of 500GB, but they have others that go up to 2TB.

The ioSafe Solo works with PC or Mac, just like most other USB external hard drives. A combination of ioSafe technologies work to allow for airflow cooling during normal operation yet protect the data from floods or fires. Yes, it’s also fireproof! A lot of our tech friends have already tested THAT for us – even with flamethrowers! Here are some notable videos to watch:

- Macworld Video: ioSafe Solo hard drive torture tests -- Watch Video

- Wall Street Journal Review / Compare ioSafe Hard Drive -- Watch Video

- Testing the ioSafe Solo with fire! -- Watch Video

During a fire event, its FloSafe vents automatically close to prevent extreme outside heat from damaging the hard disk inside the enclosure. I don’t think we’ve seen so much technology in a hard drive like this before!

For those asking about data recovery, ioSafe comes with a 1-year one-time data recovery service. This would be used in case something goes wrong with the hard drive or if you experience a flood or a fire. This drive is tough and a bit heavy. Almost like a cinderblock! It weighs-in at 15 pounds. You won’t be traveling with this as you would with portable drives.

We’re happy to see companies like ioSafe doing their best at protecting our important data and are fans of the technology on this product.

Buy one here. Or, you can win one by participating on our show. You can also hit "Like" on our Facebook Page. We're going to be giving an awesome prize that just might be one of these. Stay tuned!

-- By Rob Almanza, “Into Tomorrow” Correspondent

 

 

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This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners

Concord Keystone: Several Easy Shot Clip, Ultra Mini Digital Video Cameras

iosafe: Several ioSafe Solo USB External Drive - Protects against Fire, Water and Theft SIZE? VALUE?

Klipsch: Image X10i In-Ear Headset w/ Mic & 3-Button Remote Headphones

ITTV Video

Want to protect your computer data from fire and water? We have the ioSafe Solo external drive on our Into Tomorrow Product Spotlight this week, a drive that acts similar to a "black box". Also featuring: Chris Graveline with This Week in Tech History.

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