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Tech News & Commentary
Calvin in Durham, North Carolina and listening via iPhone App asked: “I enjoy your show. I just started listening to it and I enjoy it. I have one subwoofer and i want to see if i can get sound out of my computer and tv and see if the subwoofer can be connected to my tv and computer. Thanks very much.”
If you’re trying to connect both the computer and the TV at the same time, and then letting the subwoofer take it’s input from whatever is outputting audio at that particular time, you can probably use what is called a “buffered Y” connector.
It’s a cable that has two inputs and one output at the opposite end, and it uses small circuits inside to figure out what input is sending audio, and then it sends THAT audio to the subwoofer.
You may need to make sure that both devices are not sending a signal at the same time, since that would make this particular setup a little unpredictable.
Your other option is using an audio source selector that will let you manually choose what audio to pass on to the subwoofer at any given time, but that involves buying an extra box to set up next to your existing equipment, and manually hitting a button every time you want to switch from the computer to the TV or vice versa. A very basic source selector may not even cost you $15, so it won’t cost you a lot more than the cable, but it all depends on the quality you’re looking for and the number of sources.
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
Jay in Bolshaya, California and listening via 1450AM K-Tip Radio “Talk Is Power” asked: “I’m looking for a software thats introductory online video game development. I know there’s one called ACG or something. Something that’s free or really inexpensive. just want to get into in a real basic way, and see what’s possible before i get deeper. the software shouldn’t involve a lot of programming, but i’m just looking for something pretty basic.”
We don’t know what ACG might be, but there are a few entry level programs that may help you get started.
Construct 2, for example, is made by a company called Scirra and it’s commercial software, but free to anyone that is just learning and not selling their games.
You can also look at a website called GameDevTuts+, they have free tutorials for aspiring game developers, and they might give some useful tools to start learning the ropes.
Sooner or later, you will have to get into some heavier programming, since even silly flash games are mostly code with a few images that respond to the code, so be prepared to have to learn that as you progress, otherwise you’ll be designing animations, not games, since whatever you put on the screen won’t react to the user’s intended interactions.
It’s difficult to know just how to answer your question, Jay, because in order to develop online games, you must first be able to write code. If you’re an experienced programmer looking to get into game development, or already a game developer just looking to develop expertise with online coding, those are both very different from “I don’t know how to program games, but it looks like fun and I’d like to learn.”
An online university, such as Full Sail University, offers a complete bachelor’s program earning a degree in computer science with an emphasis on game development. But that’s probably not what you had in mind, since it’s neither basic, nor free, nor simple. But it represents a very real option for some people.
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
“Into Gaming Update” Weekly Feature with Mark Lautenschlager
Abdullah in Saudi Arabia sent us the following comment: “Hello into tomorrow hello Dave Graveline I like so much your program it is the best for technologies and smart phones I am listening to your program from Saudi Arabia I hope you all succeed and keep going”
Thank you, Abdullah.
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
Guest Segment:
Jacob Klein, Cofounder and CEO – Motion Math
Casey in Salem, New York and listening via the Android App asked: “I’m looking for a top quality bluetooth pocket projector. I know they cost a lot. So I would like to know what your entire team thinks about the battery life and how many times I will have to change the bulb once I make a decision. Since I am a workaholic the highlight of my weekend are all 3 Hours!!! of your magnificent show.”
There are lots of pocket projectors out there that give you pretty good battery life. For starters there’s the Brookstone Mobile 85-Lumen which has a battery life of 2 hours with a full charge and retails at $300.
You also have a few from Philips, Aiptek, Samsung & HP. There’s a lot of variety out there but keep in mind with the battery life that depending on how bright the light is determines how long the battery will last. So when you check for the battery life of the projector you want make sure it says how long it’ll last with the different brightness level you would want.
Amazon has lots of variety for each of these companies we’ve mentioned. Viewsonic has quite a few listed on Amazon; their prices range from $200-$600.
Bear in mind that none of these is particularly bright. The 85 lumens Brookstone Mobile unit is one of the brightest, and it’s about half as bright as the average LCD/LED TV. When using a pocket (or “Pico” as they’re often called) projector, you will need to turn out the lights.
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
“IFA History Feature” brought to you by Messe-Berlin
The IFA in 1979 broke all records: 525 companies from 23 countries showed their products, 630,000 attendees were counted. Video 2000 home video recording was finally introduced with eight hours recording time, and teletext was demonstrated – most manufacturers displayed TV sets with built in teletext capabilities. Blaupunkt introduced the 100 Hertz technology, doubling the sampling frequency to raise the picture quality.
Joleen in Jefferson City, Missouri and listening via KLIK NewsTalk 1240AM asked: “After my cable company went digital I can’t record my shows with my VCR. Can I purchase a DVR on my own, or do I have to rent one from the cable company? Is there any possible way to still use my VCR to record digital channels? My 50th anniversary is coming up and I would like to treat myself to being able to record my shows again. Can you Help me? Please.”
We have great news for you, you can indeed buy a DVR separate from your cable company. You can visit sites like Best Buy.com and Amazon.com; each of these web sites have DVRs on sale from companies like Tivo, AVer, and Microsoft. These DVRs range from $100-$600, depending on what your needs are. A new DVR is hitting the markets in November, its called the Xbox One from Microsoft. Now this is also a Video Game system, a blu ray player, and internet browser.
So if you want a small change in the technology you have, maybe some of the inexpensive DVRs are for you. Now if you’re thinking about a real update to your entertainment system, I would recommend the Xbox One. The system as we’ve said features a Blu-Ray Player, Internet Browser, and Voice controlled Live TV. that means that without the need of a remote you can tell the Xbox to pause, rewind, and play live TV, and yes you can also record your shows on that very system. The Xbox One will retail at $500 and will be released November 22.
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
Jacob in Baton Rouge, Louisiana listening on 107.3 FM asked: “What is the best portable tape player for a car that is USB Compatible that does not use batteries. I cant find one that looks legit. Can you guys help me out?”
We haven’t come across any cassette players that output their audio via USB in a way that can be interpreted by a car radio, if that’s what you mean.
You can find plenty of generic ones (no big brand is making these) that will take power from USB and play a tape and out the sound via the headphone jack and, if connected to a computer, communicate the song date to a computer so that it can be turned into an MP3.
Those are not very expensive and they may work for you if your car has an aux input that you can feed from the headphone jack, the USB port will power the tape player as it would any other USB device and you should be able to play your music on the radio they way you would play it through headphones.
If that doesn’t work for you, we really don’t know of any devices that will feed music in a way that the radio can interpret via USB, typically the USB port on the radio will look for files, not for audio streams.
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
If you have any questions about any of this week’s show info, please email us here.
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
Dave Cicirelli: Copies of his book – “Fakebook” – exploring our cultural obsession with social media. It’s a true story, based on actual lies.
iolo: Copies of System Mechanic- Fix and speed up your PC Automatically.
TYLT: An assortment of Smartphone charging accessories and bluetooth speakers.
Nite Ize Innovation: Connect Case and Connect Cradle for iPhone – Hard case with belt clip, vehicle mount and desk stand.