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Tech News & Commentary
Judah in Fairbanks, Alaska listening on KFBX 970 AM asked: “I was looking for a good satellite phone option. Something that would work where a regular cell phone wouldn’t work. Something cheap would be right up my alley.”
There a several options out there for satellite phones. However, I don’t know if you can consider them cheap. Phone prices usually start around $500 and go upwards from there to about $2,000. Then, you have to add in the monthly cost for your minutes which vary from $39.95/month to $79.99/month, depending on what you may need.
If you only need the phone temporarily, you can rent a satellite phone. For example, you can take a look at SatellitePhoneStore.com. Depending on which phone you want, prices can range from $35-$105/month + usage.
A phone that is on the lower end of the price scale is the Inmarsat IsatPhone Pro. It offers a wide range of features, including good battery life and a good coverage area. We haven’t tested this one ourselves, but reliable sources have given it good reviews. According to the reviews, some people have complained about latency during voice calls. But, you have to consider it’s a satellite phone.
We found the Inmarsat IsatPhone Pro online for around $600-$650. For more info, we’ll link you to it on this weekend’s show notes.
For more information tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.
Consumer Reports
with Jim Willcox
Google TV was initially billed as the latest revolution in connected television sets, but the first generation of products received dismal reviews. Now LG has entered the fray with its new lineup of 2nd generation Google TVs. Consumer Reports Senior Editor Jim Willcox joins us to tell us if “new” equals improved.
The “Into Tomorrow” team discussed the latest apps that they
have been playing with recently.
For Android:
• Listener Ray: Zinio, FREE
“This app gives readers immediate access to thousands of magazine titles, including US Weekly, Esquire, Macworld, Travel + Leisure, and many more.”
For iOS:
• Listener Bernard from Lubbock, Texas listens through KJDL 1420 AM recommends: Style Studio, $2.99
“Have you guys heard of the app called Style Studio? I am a fashion designer who frequently designs new pieces for a clothing line that sells in the southern part of Texas and I have to say that this app helps me with my designs tremendously. Instead of sketching my ideas manually on paper, I can use pre-selected designs and fabrics to create an entirely new world of fashion! I can even add pockets, buttons, and zippers. Style Studio also allows me to try on the clothing I designed on male and female models, of course on the device that is, using Style Studio.”
• Rob recommends: Facebook Camera, Free
“Free download on App Store. Facebook recently released a photo-sharing app of its own called Facebook Camera. It’s currently available for iOS devices only. With Facebook Camera, you can shoot, edit, filter, and share pictures directly to Facebook. You can upload multiple photos at a time, add a caption , crop, and apply one of 14 vintage-style filters (this looks very much like Instagram). It also lets you browse photos your friends are sharing to Facebook, and allows you to comment and like images within the stream.” — Rob
• Chris recommends: How to Cook Everything, FREE
“The app I’m highlighting this week is called ‘How to Cook Everything’. It’s based on New York Times columnist Mark Bittman’s bestselling cookbook. The app contains 2,000 recipes and 400 how-to illustrations. You’ve also got information on equipment, technique, and ingredient information; and meal-planning ideas.You can create shopping lists based on the recipes that you choose and there’s a calendar that you can place recipes on so that you can plan out your family’s meals ahead of time. The app is $4.99 for the iPhone and $9.99 for the iPad.” — Chris
Tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast for more details.
Guest in this hour:
Andrea Woroch, Consumer & Money Saving Expert
Electronics have a rapid depreciation value. Andrea has compiled a list of 8 Ways to Defeat Depreciation in Electronics and will share tips with us.
Leeann in Fairbanks, Alaska listening on KFBX 970 asked: “My daughter is on a swim team and my husband has been taking pictures and video of the swim meets. We were wondering if there was anything we could use to take underwater pictures for the kids. A new cable? A new kind of device? We’re not “up” on any of that and I thought of your program.”
Well, thanks for thinking of “Into Tomorrow”. That’s our job and we’ll do our best to help. Among other things — like perhaps an underwater housing for a camera that you might already have — if your budget allows, we can recommend a couple of underwater cameras for taking pix underwater of your daughter on her swim team.
You can try the Vivitar Vivicam 8400 underwater camera. It’s great for family vacations and snapshot photography. The camera has 8.1 megapixel resolution, SD card support and works up to ten meters underwater.
The camera has some great features, including a movie mode. One drawback of the camera is that it has a 2.4-inch view screen, which is much smaller than some similarly priced digital cameras. The Vivitar 8400 has a waterproof case, making it suitable for diving, surfing, rafting. The case also keeps the camera safe from sand and rain. It features internal memory, and is powered by standard AA batteries. You can buy the Vivicam online for $70
The Olympus MJU 8010 has 14 MP lens, a 5x broad-angle optical zoom and 2.7? LCD. There is also High definition movie recording. As nicely as being waterproof, the Olympus MJU 8010 is also freeze proof, shock proof and crush proof. You can buy this camera online for $190.
You can also try the Canon Waterproof D10, this camera is also freeze-proof and shock-proof sturdy. There is a 2.5 inch LCD, a 3x optical zoom.Its waterproof function extends to a depth of some 33 feet (10m) making it one of the deepest digital waterproof camera models. The Canon D10 is available online for $290.
A camera we’ve used while cruising in the Bahamas is the Sanyo Xacti. By far, one of the best waterproof cameras we’ve played with. There are a few models to look at, depending on your preference and budget. They’re very slim and take good pictures and videos underwater. You can find one online for about $150. We’ll have links for you on this week’s show page.
For more information, tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.
Benny in Visalia, California listens to the podcast and asked: “Hi Dave, I use WinPlosion on my desktop. I was wondering if you, or any of your team have heard of a similar program? The program I am looking for works like this: when you minimize the window you have open this program minimizes it in the back ground of your desktop. Almost making your desktop look 3D. If your window is minimized to the top position of the screen it is at a slight angle and can be pushed farther back into the desktop or brought back closer and finally restored to fill the screen. (hope I described this program well. I did have this program at one time but since lost it. It was a free download and in a language other than English these are the only clues I have. Hope youu can help.”
We don’t know exactly what program you were using before, but you can look at something like miniMize, it will minimize your windows to the desktop. It will not put them in a pile, but it’s somewhat similar to what you’re describing.
ThumbWin is another option, though it’s more of a cross between miniMize and the way Windows does things. ThumbWin will make your windows into smaller thumbnails of the themselves and send them to the bottom of the desktop, kind of as you were seeing the little preview that Windows shows you when you mouse over the programs minimized on the taskbar.
CyberNotes does basically the same thing, with a slightly different look. If you want, take a look at that one as well.
For more information, tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.
“Wireless Update” Weekly Feature with Chuck Hamby
from Verizon Wireless
College is all about staying connected. Our big man on campus Chuck Hamby is here to tell us what iPhone and iPad apps college students are using.
Rick in State College, Pennsylvaina listens on WRSC, calling in via the app asked: “Hi Dave, the other day I heard you on one of the shows mention about a service by DirectTV that skips the commercials and how you love that. I was just curious, as a man who is in radio a probably depends on sponsors and commercials to support himself, if you would feel the same way about that if it came to radio. Just a thought that crossed my mind. Thank you.”
The service you heard us talking about is called Auto Hop and it’s from Dish Network, not DirecTV.
I think services like Auto Hop are a double-edge sword kind of situation. It’s convenient for consumers, but at the same time might hurt network sponsors. However, people aren’t forced to use this feature. You have the option to say no. While the amount of people that would refuse to use this great service is slim, at least Dish gives people an option. And, it doesn’t work with every single TV show. Only for Monday-Friday prime-time shows on CBS, NBC, FOX, or ABC. Personally, I don’t see this hurting radio programs anytime soon. There’s no equipment available to do so.
For more information, tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
Blue Microphones: Yeti Pro — A professional USB and XLR microphone. Great for podcast recordings!
Kingston: 16GB SD memory cards and a 64GB Wi-Drive
Radio Shack: Enercell Universal Portable Power chargers
ZoneAlarm (Check Point Software): Download keys for ZoneAlarm Extreme Security