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Tech News & Commentary
Willy in Bristol, Virginia listens via Zeno Radio asked: “What is the best bluetooth headset for the iPhone that works with Siri?”
Siri will work with any bluetooth headset, the problem really is what headsets actually make it useful.
You’re going to want to look for something that had decent background noise cancellation, so Siri can actually understand what you’re telling it.. no so much for commands, if it hears something similar to “launch Pandora” it will probably be able to figure it out, but mostly for text dictation.
The Plantronics M1100, for example, offers noise cancellation, and it has generally good reviews, but it will cost you around $80.
The Motorola H17 also has good reviews and it will knock about $10 off the Plantronic’s price.
You can keep going cheaper, some noise cancelling Samsung headsets cost as little as $25 or $30, but you might want to make sure you buy a quality product if you want it to be useable outdoors or in loud rooms.
For more information tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
“This Week in Tech History” Weekly Feature with Chris Graveline
Cathy in Columbia, Missouri asked: “I am wondering how to transfer files from Facebook or e-mail to Google Docs to be applied to a mobile app.”
To move files from Facebook or your email to Google Drive, you’re going to have to copy them to your computer first, but once you’ve done that, the rest is very, very easy.
Just go to drive.google.com, sign in, and you’re going to be greeted by a list of your files and documents (if you have any there already), and on the left there’s going to be a side bar with a big red button that says “Create” and a smaller red button that has an image of a hard drive and an arrow pointing straight up… that’s your upload button.
Just click on that button, then click on “Files…” and select what you want to upload from your hard drive. That’s it, your files should be accessible on the website and via the Google Drive apps.
If you have the Google Drive desktop app loaded on your PC or Mac, it’s even easier. Simply save the files in the Google Drive folder and they will be automatically synchronized with your Google Drive on the web. Any other computers you have linked to that Google Drive will automatically receive the files, next time you log in. Very similar to Drop Box or Sugar Sync. Be careful, however, to check the synchronization. In our experience, quite a number of times when we’ve saved a file in the folder and not found it on the web later, we check the desktop app only to find it has declared the file not synchronizable (if that’s a word). Exiting and restarting the desktop app has always corrected the problem. So Google Drive works great, the Google Drive desktop app…not so much. It’s still extremely convenient though, when it works.
For more information tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Eddie asked: “I recently purchased a Vizio 32” 3D LCD, HDTV, Model # E320VX with internet apps (i.e., “Internet Ready”, according to the marketing hoopla on the box).
My hopes were to be able to use it in conjunction with my Verizon “Closed Loop” wireless modem, to enjoy streamed movies off the internet via Netflix, etc.
Unfortunately, I am either too dumb to set it up properly (a strong possibility) or it cannot be used in this manner. Can you shed any light into my dilemma? Any thoughts or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.”
We’re not sure if we understand your problem exactly. If your problem is that you can’t connect a USB modem to your TV, then unfortunately, you probably won’t be able to change that.
To get your TV online, you will have to connect it using the Ethernet plug in the back of it. Your specific model may also have WiFi. If that’s the case, you can also use a WiFi router to get your TV online. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to connect it directly using a USB modem. You may be able to find an access point that will take your 3G signal and share it over WiFi, but we haven’t tried any so far.
Also, keep in mind that if this modem is cellular. Unless it’s LTE, your speeds won’t be fantastic, and you may not be able to get the performance you want on those streaming services.
For more information tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Jon in Rocklin, California listens to the Podcast, calling in via the App asked: “I have a second hand laptop, it’s never been on my home network. About two weeks ago it did a standard windows update. It’s never been on my home network and hasn’t left the house in 4 1/2 months. I’m wondering how it could’ve done those updates without downloading them from the Internet. I’m wondering about those Windows updates… hmmmm… can you help me understand?”
From what we can see there’s no way for your computer to autoupdate without internet access. Assuming what you saw really looked like a Windows update and that it wasn’t anything else updating itself, then it may actually have been a virus that had been going around at least last year and could’ve infected your laptop four and a half months ago.
The virus looks like a Windows update window, but it can be detected by updated antiviruses. So if you download one on your networked computer and install it on that one using a flash drive, you should be able to run a scan and detect whether or not that virus is on your system.
The name to look out for is dnetc.exe. If your antivirus detects that name, then you were infected with the virus that impersonates Windows Update.
If you’re not infected, then we’re stumped. You have seen something similar to a Windows update screen, or your computer may have connected to a nearby open WiFi network, but without a connection it should not be able to update itself.
For more information tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Guests in this hour:
Will Pelgrin, President & CEO – The Center for Internet Security
October is known as “National Cyber Security Awareness” month. Are you safe from cyber attacks? Our next guest will share some helpful tips for us to stay as safe as possible.
Danny in Kennett, Missouri asked: “Is there any kind of security system for your vehicle that will not only start your vehicle, but move your seats and mirrors as well as turning on your air conditioning or heat?”
Judging by the information we managed to find, retrofitting a vehicle with memory seats and mirrors is not at all trivial, even if it comes with power seats and power mirrors. Apparently, it can cost you thousands and it can take an awful lot of work, so we don’t think you’re going to find a third party system that will include those features.
As for remote starters, we’ve tested several Viper remote starters, some of which can be used from miles away and even via smartphone apps. You can find some Viper models for under $40, the more options you choose, the higher the price gets. Some units will offer GPS tracking, or 2-way communication so you know when your car turns on or when the alarm goes off, the ability to use the smartphone apps to start the car.
Bulldog offers remote start systems that can start a car from half a mile away and can cost you as little as $85. If you want to go very, very cheap, you can buy the DEI Ready Remote 24921 system for as little as $15, supposedly you can install it yourself and it comes with a one button remote that will only start the car. However, keep in mind none of these systems will move your seats or mirrors.
For more information tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Don from Tullahoma, Tennessee asked: “My wife has a Dell Inspiron 1525. When the computer goes to sleep and you open it back up, the keyboard will not work (90 out of 100 times). Can you help me with this problem?”
This is a fairly common problem and there doesn’t seem to be a clear solution to it. You should probably check that Windows and your BIOS are updated. This may stem from an issue that was resolved at some point, so if Microsoft or Dell spotted the problem and found the solution, updating your computer might make the problem go away.
You can also go try going to Device Manager and click on your keyboard and make sure that under Power Management “Allow this device to wake the computer” is checked, this seems to solve the problem for some people, but not for everyone.
Since there’s no official solution, and no agreement by users on how to fix the problem either, we can’t give you a definite solution, but we hope those tips help.
In some Inspiron 1525 models, there can be an issue with the cable that connects the keyboard and trackpad to the main board. There is a procedure that one user documented on the Dell support forums for taking the computer apart and inserting a piece of tape behind the connector to shield it.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Andrew in State College, Pennsylvania listening on 103.1 WRSC asked: “I have an IP camera and I’m trying to access it outside of the IP Address that it’s hooked to. I did the port forwarding but I can’t seem to get into it.”
Unless you have a static IP address, you’re going to need to set up a Dynamic DNS service. When you use one of those services, your computer or router lets the service know that it’s address has changed, and the website updates it’s records, so you’ll get a regular URL (think: AndrewsCamera.dyndns.org, or something similar), and that URL will always point to your IP address, even if it isn’t static.
Once you have that set up, you should also consider making your cameras IP address in the network static, that way the port forwarding will always work, if it’s dynamic, today you might be forwarding to the camera, but tomorrow IP assignments might change and suddenly your network will find itself asking your phone or a computer for access instead of the camera. You can assign the camera a set address by accessing it’s settings.
The other big thing is, make sure your camera has a built-in web server. Some cameras require other software to view its video stream, while others will have a built-in web server that you can access from any browser. If your setup doesn’t work, don’t assume your camera necessarily comes with a built-in web server.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
Corrosion Technologies: Several bottles of CorrosionX — A few squirts of CorrosionX clean contacts & connections & keep them protected for months (in salt spray environments) to years.
Dane-Elec: Several 8GB USB Flash Drives from Marvel’s The Avengers Collection
Ergotron: A Universal Tablet Cradle — This accessory converts a monitor mount to hold a tablet or eReader. Works with most popular tablets and eReaders, including Apple iPad, Barnes & Noble Nook and Amazon Kindle.
iolo Technologies: Copies of System Mechanic 11 – PC Tune-up Software
SMS Audio: “Street By 50” Wired headphones in black or white. We brought ’em back from 50 Cent and our interview in Berlin.