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Weekend of August 14th, 2009
We're bringing you back to school with the latest tech gear for every budget! From cell phones to portable media players to USB chargers and more. Are your kids ready for the new school gear? Learn about some of the hottest tech gear for the upcoming school year on this week's Product Spotlight.
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
Microsoft's Zune HD media player will hit stores on September 15th, but several stores in select cities are offering pre-orders already. There will be two versions available: 16GB for $220 or 32GB for $290. Zune HD will have a built-in HD radio receiver, HD video playback of up to 720p, OLED touchscreen and Wi-Fi. There is a close resemblance to the original iPhone color-wise. What do you think?
RIP Les Paul, 94, who -- with wife Mary Ford -- had 36 gold records, including the #1 song they perform in the historic technical first you'll see in this archival broadcast. Watch video
Tina in Mindon, Louisiana listening on KEEL 710 AM asked: "I heard on the news that Skype may be discontinued. Don't remember all the details. Are there any updates on that? We use Skype a lot and its of great concern to us."
First, for our listeners not familiar with Skype, it's a software you can download for free that makes VOIP phone calls. You can Skype other members for free or Skype-out (non-Skype phone) for a low rate, including international calls.
Skype was purchased by eBay from Joltid in 2005 for US$2.6 billion. However, that didn't include the Global Index peer-to-peer software that the Skype system is based on. And now, Joltid is trying to cancel Skype's license on the Global Index technology in a move that threatens to shut Skype down. According to the Skype Journal, they say: "Don't Panic! Skype is not shutting down. Skype remains very profitable and has at least 10 months until a court date. Joltid must prove to a judge that Skype broke a contract. Keep Skyping."
"Technology On-The-Go" Feature With Andy Frankel from Nextar
Sally in Aruba listening on a Single Side Band Marine Radio(frequency 12133.5) asked: "A photo handling system on my Vaio "CompuPic Pro" started locking up on me. I uninstalled it and tried to download and re-install it because I am a correct purchaser. It tells me that my Direct Draw program is malfunctioning in my video software. I'm stuck. I don't know what that's telling me. Where do I go from here? I don't know how to manipulate the Direct Draw or if I just need to repurchase a copy of the program in an updated model.
DirectDraw acceleration is part of Microsoft's DirectX 3D hardware video support. You probably need to download and reinstall the latest version of DirectX. Try the following: Go to Microsoft.com and enter 'directx runtime web installer' in the search box. The first link you see should be the download page you want. Download the installer, run it, and see if that doesn't correct your problem.
Jack from Idaho Falls, Idaho sent an email where he asked: "I've got a lot of cassettes that I would like to convert to CD or digital. Could you give me some easy quick pointers that I could try?"
There are a few ways you could go about this. The first way to try is by recording the audio from your cassette player to your computer using an audio editor. We frequently recommend a program called "Audacity". You can try it for free. You'll need a computer, your cassette player, and an audio cable that connects your cassette player's Line-Out jack to your computer's Line-In jack. With a tape in the deck, connect the cassette player to the computer using the proper Line -Out, Line-In sequence. Once Audacity is set up, make sure your preferences are set to stereo, click the record button, and then hit play on your casette player. Once the track is done, press stop on the player and click record to stop in Audacity. Next, save the file as an MP3 or WAV and you're good to go. You can burn a CD from these files or import them into any media player.
Another option, if you're willing to shell out a few bucks to save you time, is to try Honestech's Audio Recorder 2.0 Standard or Deluxe Edition. They're available for about $50-$70 and have an Easy Wizard option that will walk you through it step by step. It has useful features like an automatic normalizer, built-in CD burner, and RCA cables.
Your third option is to buy a cassette deck converter. These machines come with easy quick start guides, and once you've got them set up, all you have to do is pop a tape in and hit a few buttons. As with everything, you'll pay for the convenience. They usually run between $100 to $150. You can find one online or call your local electronics store and see if they carry them.
John in Nashville, Tennessee listening on WTN 99.7FM asked: "I contacted AT&T about DSL and they told me it was available in my area. They sent me the hardware and the invoice had a date stating when I could activate it. I waited until that date and activated it, only to find out that it's not available in my area. What would keep them from enabling any telephone line to be DSL capable? Is there anything we can do to push them along?"
Getting high-speed Internet to remote areas has been a problem for as long as high-speed Internet has been available. The biggest issue is that for DSL to work properly you need to be in close proximity to the telephone company's central office, where the signal originates from. The further away you get, the weaker the signal, until finally you get to a point where the DSL service just doesn't reach. Usually once you get about 18,000 feet (or about 3 and half miles) away from a central office, the DSL service stops. While distance is a limitation for DSL, the reason you can still get telephone service, is because of devices called "loading coils". These amplify a telephone signal, but are incompatible with DSL service.
If you're at least able to get cable TV where you live, you might try looking into a cable modem. Cable modem service costs about the same as DSL, and in some cases, can give you faster downloads anyway. However, if you also don't have cable available to you, you might need to consider making the switch to Satellite Internet. For example, HughesNet has several packages starting at around $60 a month. The down-side to satellite internet, though, is that you tend to have a lot of up-front equipment charges. Usually anywhere from $150 to $500 depending on the service and equipment required.
Guest in this hour:
Mika Saitoh, VP Partner Relations – TVU Networks
Learn about their free personal TV player that offers many channels from around the world and their new video recorder.
"Wireless Update" Feature with Chuck Hamby from Verizon Wireless
Amy from Morrilton, Arkansas listening on XM asked: "I'm wondering about web hosting. I'm trying to get my website together for my jewelry design company. How does it work? How do search engines work? How do I pick the best hosting company for my website?"
There are a ton of web hosting companies to choose from. Basically, a web hosting company is a business that stores your site and the information it contains. The best advise we can give is to talk with some friends that have their own web sites and run their own businesses in your area. Another option is to try to determine who hosts the sites that you do business with.
One of the companies we've used in the past and haven't had any problems with is Host Gator. They host websites for as low as $4.95 a month.
Since this seems to be the first time you put a website together, Microsoft Office Live offers free website hosting and tools that you might find helpful. They also have a wizard that helps you design a website. You can register a new domain for $15 with Microsoft or transfer one you currently own. Microsoft also provides free email accounts and online support.
Joe in Hazelton, Pennsylvania listening on WWCR Shortwave asked: "I recently changed batteries on my desktop computer and it still won't hold the time and date when I unplug it. What do you think could be wrong with it?"
There are a number of possibilities here. Did you replace the CMOS battery with the exact same battery? Most motherboards use a CR-2032, if they have a replaceable battery. It is possible that the battery you bought had been around for a while. Try a second battery before deciding that there was still a problem.
When you say the date and time are off, is the time accurate but with the wrong hour? That could be something in the software setting the clock incorrectly as the machine boots up. Check the time zone configuration in Windows. It defaults to Pacific Time. It is also not outside the realm of possibility that the motherboard itself is developing a hardware problem unrelated to the battery. Perhaps it's time for a new motherboard, or even a new computer?
HOUR 2:
Tech News & Commentary
A video has surfaced on the web where a man is so fed up with Apple that he decides to shoot his new iPhone 3G S. In the video, the man is seen typing a note that reads: “Dear Apple, We are sick and tired of your dictatorship. We refuse to be suffocated by your iron fist. Google Voice was the last straw. From now on, I am a PC where I have my freedom.”
Ray in Nashville, Tennessee listening on WTN 99.7 FM asked: "With the TV change over, many of us lost the use of our bed side and portable radios that carried the audio portion of TV stations. I have been searching for a radio that provides the audio portion of local TV stations and have not found any source where I can purchase one. Searching the web reveals there are many of us looking to replace the old radio with a new one. Any idea when we might be able to purchase a new radio as replacement?"
With the complete switch to digital TV from analog, there are no more analog audio channels for television. The best thing is to buy a portable DTV (like the one from Eviant from about $110). If it's for a sight-impaired person, we recommend to turn the brightness on the DTV all the way down and use it more like a radio.
"This Week in Tech History" Feature with Chris Graveline - Brought to you by C.Crane. Call C. Crane at 800-522-8863 or visit them online here.
Ed in Raleigh, North Carolina listening on WPTF 680 AM asked: "I am a photographer and do a lot of editing of digital photography. I'm looking to get a new computer ... a PC. I don't want to pay the money for a Mac. I'm looking at how to evaluate a Windows based machine for best effect, as far as editing pictures. I'm looking at the Windows experience numbers for Vista. Wondering which of the five values particularly the two for graphics, are most important to me."
For the best experience editing your digital photographs, you'll want a fast processor and a fast video chip (often referred to as the GPU, or Graphics Processing Unit). The maximum score for the Vista experience numbers is 5.9. It's very easy to reach that score with modest and affordable hardware today. I would recommend not even considering a computer that couldn't score 5.9 across the board.
Lynne in Trenton, South Carolina listening online asked: "Where I live, I can only get dial-up and I've been trying out a new AT&T air card and I see where I get up to 4 signal bars most of the time; but, to me, it's still like dial up! It might be a tiny bit faster, but not much. Any suggestions? I only have a little more time to make up my mind before the trial offer is over."
We suggest you do a speed test. It's very simple! While using only your air card (no WiFi or Dial-Up cable connection), log onto speedtest.net and run the test several times. You're looking for the Download & Upload speeds it shows. It sounds to us like AT&T just wanted to sell you an air card, but unless they increased their data speeds in the cell sites in your area, it would be just as slow.
We checked AT&T’s website for your area. You don’t have 3G available, but it did come up with EDGE, which is slower, but should still be a little faster than dial-up. Here’s what the site says:
"EDGE/GPRS: The areas shown in the medium blue represent AT&T owned GSM network providing Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution with typical speeds of 75 to 135 kbps, advanced mobile services like video and music clips, full picture & video messaging, high-speed color Internet access, and email on the move are possible."
Notice that it said that high speed Internet access is “possible”. The problem is that even at its highest speeds, the EDGE network is still a lot slower than DSL. To give you a comparison, your dial-up modem connects at about 56kbps. A DSL modem would connect at at least 256kbps. The wireless aircard in your area has a max speed of 135kbps. So under perfect conditions – which you don’t seem to have in your area – the aircard would only double your dial-up speed, but still be slow. Don't pay for the air card, and in fact, complain that they did you no favors!
Guest in this hour:
Brenda Dentinger, Product Marketing Manager, GoToAssist Express – Citrix Online
Does your computer need remote support? GoToAssist Express makes remote support very easy and supports both PCs and Macs.
Collette asked: "I have a 4-year-old HP media center. I updated Windows Explorer and now my free Movie Maker doesn't work and any features that came with the Media Player. If I bring it down to like when I got it, which I have done twice, then all the features work but I have an older explorer and windows update comes up every so day about updating. Plus, I like the newer explorer. What should I do? I have XP."
It sounds as though the software supplied by HP isn't compatible with the latest Windows service pack. That's not all that unusual, often you need to update your applications as well as your operating system. HP typically supplies its own update software with their computers. Do you see that on yours, and have you run it?
You might need to check HP's online support and search for your computer's model number to see whether they've posted software updates online. If there are no updates for the applications and they truly are incompatible with the latest Windows service pack, then you might have to decide between having the most up to date operating system or having to find new applications to make and play movies on your PC.
“Into Tomorrow” Product Spotlight with Rob Almanza: Back-to-School Tech Gear (Scroll down for more info on the products recommended)
HOUR 3:
Tech News & Commentary
Mike in Fayetteville, North Carolina listening on WPTF 680 AM asked: "I play a lot of games on my computer and the screen is so small. I have a large screen TV about two rooms down. How can I play the games on the larger screen? Is there a cable hookup?"
A company called Atlona has a new PC to Computer or HDTV Monitor Wireless Adapter that sells for about $200. So if you're not too far away from your big screen, this might be something to try. They say this works for up to about 30 feet and provides HD up to 720p.
“Into Gaming Minute” with Mark Lautenschlager
MaryAnne in Hollywood, Florida listening online asked: "My son spends way too much time in his computer watching TV. I tried downloading NETNANNY and he found a way to disabale it. Can you please suggest some type of parent supervision for my son's laptop so he can get back to doing homework?"
One of the best suggestions we can make is to install a program like SpectorPro from SpectorSoft. It gives you some powerful monitoring features and it's easy to use. It can also record Chats, IMs, Emails, web sites visited and can also give you screen shots if you want. SpectorPro is available for PCs and Macs for about $99.
Gabe asked: "My father-in-law was saying he heard you guys’ mentioned Vista. Not the software, but a company that made computers. He said you mentioned that they were #1 in customer service. I would say that I’m a computer guy myself, but was stumped when he brought this up to me. I couldn’t imagine there being a computer company called Vista. Closest I could come up with was Vaio, but he said I was wrong."
The service provided by computer companies is ranked regularly. Apple always scores at or very near the top. Sony does also, so perhaps he did hear Vaio. Dell and HP run neck and neck, usually, and trail both Apple and Sony.
Guest in this hour:
Kelly Starling, PR Manager – AT&T
What are some of the hottest wireless devices for back to School this year? Kelly is back with some of the coolest cell phones and netbooks for students of all ages.
Troy in Tyler, Texas listening on KTBB 92.1 FM asked: "Do you know of any mounts game systems you can recommend? We have a Nintendo Wii, Sony PS3 and Xbox and would like to make it all look neat along with the plasma we have already mounted."
A company called HideIt Mounts recently sent us their Wii Wall Mount. It's an acrylic mount that fits the Wii perfectly and can be mounted behind your TV. It comes with pieces of velcro so you can adhere the IR Wiimote receiver underneath your TV or perhaps along the side of a cabinet. It sells for $25. They also make custom mounts.
Ray in Rogers, Arkansas listening online asked: "I have a BlackBerry Curve and I don't think I can put Adobe Flash Player on there."
BlackBerry actually doesn't support Adobe Flash just yet and neither do a lot of other popular smartphones like the iPhone. They have a flash lite player that you can compare to old versions of Adobe Flash, but it doesn't quite do the trick. We're hoping it will be available very soon for us. Stay tuned!
If you have any questions about any of this week's show info, please email us here.
Into Tomorrow Product Spotlight with Rob Almanza
Want to be one of the coolest students in school this year? We’ve compiled a list of some of the coolest tech gear for Back to School.
Nextar Widescreen Portable Media Player (MA809 Series)
Not a lot of us carry these around since smartphones can play music and videos on a nice screen. Nextar has a very cool widescreen media player with a nice price tag. It’s a music & video player, holds pictures, has an E-book, a Micro SD card reader (for extra storage), built-in FM tuner, voice recording, built-in speakers and more. It’s definitely packed with great features! You can carry one of these for about $70, depending on the amount of storage you want (2GB, 4GB or 8GB).
Custom EarPollution NervePipes Headphones from iFrogz
If you’re looking for inexpensive headphones that offer good sound quality, these are a good fit. You can create your own design to match your signature style. For example, you can choose the color of the headband, sideband, hinges, speakers, ear cushions and artwork. You won’t see your friends with the same color design! Customize your pair for only $35.
Note: The colors on the example on the left have been exaggerated to show you that you can customize these to your liking.
If your phone or MP3 player doesn’t last more than 4 hours on battery, here’s a smart way to keep them charged. Duracell’s USB charger plugs into the DC socket in your car (or where you have that old cigarette lighter). It charges all of your USB devices like cell phones, iPods and other MP3 players and more. It's available for about $10.
Portable Digital TV from Eviant
For college students in dorms tired of sharing a TV with their roommates, here’s a solution: Get a portable digital TV. Eviant has a 7” TV that is battery-powered and gets the digital signal off-air or can take a cable connection. There’s also a video input where you can connect a game system or DVD player. It’s available for as low as $110.
Submitted by Rob Almanza
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
Honestech: Copies of Easy Video Editor 3.0
iFrogz: NervePipes EarPollution headphones (assorted colors)
JayBird Gear: Endorphin Rush Athletic Earphones
SanDisk: 16 GB microSDHC Cards & MobileMate Micro Memory Card Readers
ITTV Video
If you’re looking for last-minute "Back-to-School" ideas, there’s something for everyone and every budget on our Product Spotlight. Also featuring: This Week in Tech History with Chris Graveline.
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