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Tech News & Commentary
Joshua in Sparta, Tennessee listens on SuperTalk WTN 99.7 FM asked: “I was trying to see if you could help me find the best “over the head” bluetooth for commercial drivers. I can’t seem to find a good chart out there that tells you the difference in bluetooth. Trying to find one that doesn’t hang on my ear because of wearing glasses. It makes it too heavy on your ear.”
Joshua, There aren’t as many over the head bluetooth headsets, just because they don’t appeal to the general public as much as the small ones do, and even those are rarely seen in the wild these days, but there are some professional-grade options for you to consider.
BlueParrot has several models that would fit your needs, their top of the line is the B350-XT, it is fully over the head and shouldn’t interfere with your glasses, it has shortcut buttons on the side for ease of use, and it charges via micro-USB. This model in particular claims “all day comfort,” and is pretty heavily padded, so odds are it will be comfortable to wear for long periods of time. the B350-XT will cost you around $130.
The same company makes the B250XT, which is a less powerful version of the BT350, but it’s smaller, cheaper and still claims to cancel out the noise of even an 18-wheeler during conversations. You can find it for around $70.
You might also like the Plantronics Blacktop 500, it’s meant for commercial drivers, it has noise cancellation like the other ones and it’s only $50.
For more information tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
“This Week in Tech History” Weekly Feature with Chris Graveline
Donald in Silver Point, Tennessee listens on WTN 99.7 FM asked: “I’m an old man, getting ready to buy a new desktop computer. My current one is Vista. Should I wait until Windows 10 comes out and is on the new models. I don’t do very much. I do some surfing, stuff like that. What should I buy as a desktop computer? And iHeart Radio… Does it broadcast sporting events? If you go online to some of these stations, they block out the sporting event and you can’t listen to it on the computer. If I go to iHeartRadio, will it broadcast the whole program they have?”
Well Donald, you probably don’t need to wait for Windows 10. It will probably be a much nicer version of Windows with the return of the Start menu and all, but replacing your computer now won’t affect you negatively since Windows 8.1 users will have a period of time to upgrade to Windows 10 for free anyway.
Now, if you really just do some web browsing and nothing else, you may actually be better off with a Chromebook. Web browsing is all they really do, but they’re cheap, they’re maintenance free, and they won’t slow down.
If you do more than that and you do want Windows, you would probably be ok with an inexpensive desktop. For example, a $450 desktop like the… get ready for this… Lenovo H535 57323780 Desktop PC A10-Series (we’re betting you can find this one by typing in Lenovo A10 series)… would more than fit your needs with 8GB of RAM a 64-bit processor that will probably play nice with Windows 10, and a roomy 1TB hard drive. You don’t have to go for the top of the line, if you just browse the web most basic systems will do, just give yourself some room so you can update to Windows 10 when it’s out.
As for iHeartRadio, if the sporting event you’re interested in is not streaming on the computer, it probably won’t be streaming on iHeartRadio. The NFL and MLB in particular offer their own streaming packages and have tried to retain the rights over what they call “mobile broadcasts,” the other leagues seem to be aligning with them. Basically, the need radio stations to be able to reach radios, but they don’t need them to reach smartphones, so they’re trying to charge subscription fees from listeners instead. It’s probably great for them, but it sucks for fans.
Now having said all that, Donald, if you are not in a hurry and you don’t feel like fiddling around with a Windows 10 upgrade later this year, then you might indeed want to consider waiting. Windows 10 looks mighty good on paper and in the demos, and it honestly can’t be much worse than Windows 8 is, so waiting might be okay.
The good news is, you will never pay more for consumer electronics by waiting. You will always get the same device for less money or a better device for the same money. Prices don’t rise, they settle along fairly predictable lines, and then the devices slide into place for each level of gear.
For more information tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Guest Segment:
Richard Titus, CEO – Prompt.ly
Scheduling, promotions, invoicing, and payments for Solopreneurs & their clients
Red in Delaware listens on WDEL 1150 asked: “How come no one makes a tablet that can also be used as a regular phone?”
Red, One of the main reason why tablets haven’t come out with the phone capability feature is basically to keep costs down and many cellphone carriers want to sell phones and tablets, and if they combine both together, they are concerned it will affect sales.
However, there are some tablets that do carry this feature such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab or Dell Streak 7 but they’re not designed primarily for phone use.
Or … some have said there is a size limit on what can be considered an actual phone versus a tablet. Dell Streak 7 has Sim Card capabilities but is currently only available in Canada. There are apps you can use that require Wi-Fi, mobile data or possibly both such as TextPlus, ooVoo, fring, and Skype being the most popular of the calling apps. These apps are available on Andriod and Apple devices.
There may even be a simpler answer. Not enough people want them. It’s expensive to design and build a consumer electronics device. It only makes sense to do it if you believe that you’re going to sell a bunch of them. And while we get a question like yours every once in a while, we’re confident that the number of people out there who want to spend money on a tablet that is also a phone isn’t large enough to justify making one. How do we know? Well…because no one makes such a device. And they would, if they thought they could sell it.
For more information tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Patrick in Wilmington, Delaware listening on NewsTalk Radio WDEL 1150 asked: “I have a new Windows Surface Tablet, and it takes pictures both ways. It does not have a flash. How can I enhance taking pictures without a flash?”
Patrick, Unfortunately there is no way you can enhance the picture that way while you are taking it but after taking the picture you can download a photo editing app that will let you adjust the brightness, contrast, sharpness and many more options that will enhance the picture. Photo Editor by Aviary is a great editing application that does the job and is FREE!
You can also check out the Windows RT version of Adobe Photoshop Express. It’s not as good as the Photoshop Touch for iOS and Android, but it does have an interface that’s familiar to Photoshop users.
Fotor is another free photo editing app for Windows RT. It offers the same editing features as the other, but also lets you create photo collages and use a tilt/shift tool to change perspective in the image. We can’t do anything about your lack of a flash, but hopefully some good photo editing tools will brighten your day!
For more information tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
TYLT: Car Charger RIBBN Cables – These cables rapidly charge 2 Smartphones or 2 Tablets simultaneously.
Jabra: SoleMate Portable Bluetooth speaker for your laptop, tablet, smartphone or music player
Monster: DNA Pro 2.0 High powered Over-ear headphones
Livio Radio: Bluetooth Internet Radio Car Kit – FM transmitter that allows you to bring Internet Radio and hands-free calling to your car.
Verykool: S5015 Spark II Smartphone – Unlocked GSM phone with Android OS and front facing flash – perfect for selfies!
Westinghouse: Unplug Wireless Bluetooth Sound System