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Weekend of July 23rd, 2010

Dave is back from China and in-studio! And, is joined by Rob, Chris & Mark to help solve your tech dilemmas.

ITTV Video Update

We’re on location from the Miami Science Museum taking a look at their historic Planetarium and some of the many tech exhibits at MiaSci. Featuring reports from Dave Graveline, Rob Almanza and Chris Graveline with “This Week In Tech History”.

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

 

Doug in Stevensville, Michigan listening via TiVo podcast asked: "Which phone platform is going to be the future, iPhone or Droid? I'd like to stay with Verizon and I heard the iPhone would be coming out for Verizon. I was wondering if I should purchase the Droid X or wait for the iPhone to come out next January."

Rob and Jason stood outside in line all night when we were in New York. They have two very different takes on the new iPhone. Jason has said he feels like he has an expensive iPod that occasionally works as a phone. With that being said, the new iPhone is much faster then its predecessors, and has improved its camera and added an additional one too.

The Droid X is the latest Android phone and Dave is liking it more than the HTC EVO on Sprint now. He's had the new DROID X from Motorola on Verizon for a couple of weeks before it’s official release and has loved it.

While the HTC EVO is a cool phone and you’ve heard us talk about it a lot, Sprint did a lousy job with making sure it had enough stock. You just can’t get one these days and that is too frustrating for many people.

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: Antennas
• For iPhone/iPad, Rob recommends: Britannica Concise Encyclopedia 2010
  
• For BlackBerry, Mark recommends: Vlingo
  
  

Tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast for more details.

 

 

Ron in Topeka, Kansas listening on WTN 99.7 FM sent us the following email and asked: "When is 2.2 with flash for Droid supposed to be released?"

An official answer will have to wait for one of the carriers or device manufacturers to officially announce a date. Until one of them does that, all we have for you is rumors. We tried again this morning and nothing yet on several of our many Android devices.

The tech blog Boy Genius Report, one of our favorite stops on the web, claims to have intercepted an email sent from HTC in which they said Android 2.2 would be available for downloading to their HTC Incredible models at the end of July or first week of August. Another less famous tech blog reports that the Android 2.2 over the air update for the new Droid X is happening between now and July 27th. Now, that's again just a rumor, but all signs are pointing to a release that's sooner rather than later.

 

Lisa sent us the following email and asked: "We are not computer savvy people and have a computer from 2004. We are thinking of upgrading in the near future, but not sure when this will be. We have a Sony VAIO desktop and laptop, but can't seem to find this one anymore. What do you recommend for a decent computer?

All we do is our banking, both online, and also we use Microsoft Money and love it. Other than that, we check email and occasionally like to print pictures and greeting cards.

Also, what do you think of System Mechanic to clean things up?"

System Mechanic is a good tool for cleaning your computer's registry and fixing a variety of other problems, too. We've had copies for giveaway from time to time, and everyone who has tried it has good things to say about it.

However, a good free alternative is CCleaner. It used to be Crap Cleaner, but political correctness shortened the name. CCleaner does a terrific job of repairing registry errors and cleaning unnecessary files from your computer, and did we mention it was free?

 

HOUR 2:

Tech News & Commentary

 

John in Garden Grove, California listening on XM Ch.139 asked: "I just had a great idea about the iPhone 4 and problem with antenna. Somebody locally said they could fix it by applying a piece of duct tape on the bottom left corner. So I thought, boy, what a good thing would be to have a tiny band-aid to keep you from shortening it out. It would be very stylish, and of course, Apple wouldn't like it."

Jason has been running around our studio saying that all Apple did with their announcement was offer a band-aid to their phone without actually fixing or addressing the problem. He even went so far as to buy some transformers band-aids and tape them around his phone. Make sure you check out our website so you can see the picture. It's a cheaper fix and probably just as effective. It makes the phone more colorful too.

 

 

Janet in Jefferson City, Missouri listening on KLIK 1240 AM asked: "I need to know about webcams for use in a high school science classroom for focusing on a desk where the teacher might be doing projects and putting it on a projector. And he already had the projector "eyepiece"."

 

 

- A Microphone

- A 5 MP for still camera pictures

- This one has a Flexible neck to view in different angles.

Also, you do NOT need to install any software before using it.

- Built-in microphone

- HD Video

- 2 Megapixel details for still and video

- Ability to adjust brightness

 

Bill in Tucson, Arizona listening on XM Ch.139 sent us the following email and asked: "I'll be doing some international travel in the coming weeks (barring another volcanic plume in the skies over Europe). What's the best cell phone to take along that will let me call back to the U.S., surf the web, and check emails along the way without running up a ridiculous phone bill?"

We suggest that you first look at your existing phone carrier and see if they have any sort of international plans. If you happen to have AT&T for example, for $5.99 a month, you can add a Business World Traveler option to your plan. While this won’t eliminate charges when being in other countries, it will dramatically reduce the costs per minute by up to 50% in certain circumstances.

As far as data is concerned, you have to be very very careful. When we were in China, the standard international data rate applied and that was $19.97 per megabyte. So, it can get expensive in a hurry.

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

 

Greg in Manchester, Tennessee listening on WTN 99.7 FM asked: "Having trouble listening to your show on WTN's online player. They use Silverlight and trying to see how you can test it to see if it's working or if they need to repair it."

We had Mark go check this out. He was using Firefox 3.6.7 with the Silverlight plugin 4.0.50524.0.

The WTN online player worked perfectly for him. Never had one moment's problem. So I'm not sure what Greg's problem was, but it's not the web site. Unless, of course, it was the web site and they fixed it before my test.

 

 

Dave in Yosemite, California listening to our podcast sent us the following email and said: I really have nothing to say except I love to listen to the show as my way to get through a 2 1/2 hour commute to the Bay Area. This is my first time writing in and it's on my brand-new HTC Incredible. I am an Apple guy through and through, but am tired of waiting for the non-existent Verizon iPhone. Must say it lives up to its name. That's it, not a lot to say, but I love the show. So what's the chance of some free schwag you might have for my new phone? Oh yeah, I got my wife one too and she loves it as well. Keep up the great show."

 

Lynette in San Jose, California listening on KLIV 1590 AM asked: "I am looking for a device that will play audio files where the speed can be raised, so it can go faster. I know most MP3 players don't have that. I was looking for something that I could possibly download that would play a CD of some sort that would have an audio speed control."

We're not so sure that "most MP3 players don't have that." In fact, we would say that most of them do. The Sandisk Sansa line of MP3 players, such as the Clip+ or Fuse, has the ability to increase playback speed. So does the iPod and iPhone. There is a trick to it, however.

Once your iPod or MP3 player sees that the files are audio books or podcasts, it will treat them differently. How you set playback speed from there will differ depending on the specific device you have.

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

 

Mike in Raleigh, North Carolina listening on WPTF 680 AM is responding to a question about using a free FAX service on the go and recommends OneSuite Fax.

 

HOUR 3:

Tech News & Commentary

 

Mike in Corbin, Kentucky listening to our podcast asked: "Heard your interview about PC Mechanic. I have Norton 360 Internet Suite on my computer and that has a section for PC Tune-up. I was wondering if that would keep the computer as clean as the PC mechanic, or if they were pretty much the same thing."

That's a tough call to make since we don't have a copy of Norton 360 Internet Suite for comparison. That being said, we think it's fair to say that a product whose sole focus is repair and maintenance might have more features than a security product that includes a maintenance section.

Norton, however, did get its start back in the say with the famous, or infamous, depending on how you saw it, PC doctor. So they have a long history of repairing and maintaining computers. If you're using Norton 360 now and not having any problems with your computer, then you're probably okay. But if you're continuing to have errors or slow performance, then a more comprehensive tool might be what's called for.

 

 

The "Into Tomorrow" team has recently been playing with the Panasonic Toughbook & the GammaTech Durabook.

Tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast for more details.

 

George in Milton-Freewater, Oregon listening on Sirius Ch.108 sent us his inital thoughts about the Droid X.

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

 

 

 

Alan in Jacksonville, Florida listening on Sirius Ch.108 asked: "Looking to match up my analog turntable to my surround sound amplifier. What would you recommend to be a decent preamp I could use for that?"

 

Bob sent us the following email and asked: "The other evening your show reviewed an upcoming product that lets you record Internet Radio shows and then play the content on your car radio. Could you please let me know the name of the product and if possible a URL for additional information?

I tried to remember the name, but feel asleep and couldn't remember the name when I woke up."

You're referring to the Carmen Car Audio Player. Rob recently interviewed Jake Sigal, CEO of Livio Radio in New York City and spoke to him about Carmen.

 

Gloria in Tennessee sent us the following question through Facebook: "What should I get, iPod Touch 8GB or 32GB?"

t depends on how much music and videos you already have or plan to get. If you have an extensive music library and want to sync all of it, then the 32GB should give you plenty of space.

Also, if you plan to install a lot of apps, then it's best to go with something that will give you room to expand. If you can afford it, we would suggest going with the 32GB version. The 8GB version would also work, but you would have limited space, especially if you want to sync large picture files, videos, and music.

 

"Into Tomorrow" Visits Miami Science Museum (aka "MiaSci")
Robert Cruz, Assistant Planetarium Operations Manager	Star Projector at Planetarium	Mark Bennett, Planetarium Operations Manager
Gillian Thomas, President & CEO		Rob Almanza interviews Chris Trigg, Energy Officer at MiaSci
Chris Graveline recording TWITH - This Week In Tech History for ITTV	The amazing staff at MiaSci that assisted us during our video shoot!	Dave reminiscing about the days when he ran the console in mid-70's
On the Energy Dance Floor with Rob and MiaSci visitors	Dave inside the AirPod - Vehicle powered by compressed air	Behind-the-scenes look of our ITTV video shoot at MiaSci

For more behind-the-scenes, visit our Facebook Fan Page - Click here

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

Into Tomorrow Product Spotlight with Rob Almanza

This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners

Honestech: Fotobox – Easy to use photo slideshow software

OrigAudio: "Rock-It" Portable Vibration Speakers

Openmoko: WikiReader – Wikipedia on the go without an Internet connection

SmartSwipe: Secure personal credit card readers for shopping online

YoGen: The Universal mobile-device charger

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