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Tech News & Commentary
Jeremy in Louisiana listening on 710 KEEL asked: “I was wanting to know about Verizon cancelling the unlimited plan and making it where ‘you could put the plans together.’ Can you explain that please?”
What Verizon announced was that that they’d be ending their unlimited data plans and are instead moving to a “shared data” model.
What they mean by shared data is that you will have a set amount of data available for all of your devices, it doesn’t matter if that device is your smartphone, your tablet, or aircard, whatever Verizon device you use it will take it’s data from that pool.
What you heard about “putting the plans together” probably meant that you won’t need a separate plan for every device, instead you’ll just be able to “put them all together” and form a single data plan that will feed all the different mobile devices that you use.
Now, if you don’t want anything to change about your Verizon plan, nothing has to change. You can keep your unlimited data plan. But you will no longer be eligible for phone upgrades at a discounted price. You will have to pay full price for any new phones you get, and for a smartphone like an iPhone 4S, that can be as much as $500 or $600.
If you do choose to change, here’s how it will work. First you will select your monthly plan. All plans now include unlimited phone minutes and text messaging. What’s different is the amount of data you get to share.
$50 for 1GB, $60 for 2GB, $70 for 4GB, $80 for 6GB, $90 for 8GB, and $100 for 10GB.
Before you get too excited about those prices, there is a new charge for each device (up to 10 devices) that shares your data plan. $40 per smartphone, $30 per regular phone, $20 per hotspot, netbook, or USB modem, and $10 per tablet. And that’s $40 for every phone, even the first one.
For more information tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
“This Week in Tech History” Weekly Feature with Chris Graveline
Seth in Murfreesboro, Tennessee listening on WTN 99.7 FM asked two questions: “Trying to find out What the capabilities were and the limitations of the new WeVideo you spoke about on the radio.” and “How would one know which video card would work best or their computer and for their desires?”
As mentioned in our past shows, these browser video editing programs come in handy when you are trying to collaborate on a single project, or you just don’t want/need to make the investment on a expensive desktop video editor.
The biggest features you find on WEVIDEO are collaboration, basic 3 window configurations, video effects, multiple video, audio layers, and a video wall! All of which you will find that you “need” when your getting in the more advanced areas of video editing.
However, there are still several limitations with WEVIDEO. First of which is that there is no auto save function, which really wouldn’t be a huge ordeal, except that it leads to the applications next problem; It periodically crashes. Imagine working on a major part of your video project video, and the application crashes. Then you loose all your work before you can save. FRUSTRATING!
You won’t be able to have some features you find in desktop video editing software, such as slow/fast motion, chromakey backgrounds, and noise removal. As we we said before these were the limitation you will run into when you getting into the more advanced video editing,
Online video editing is still very new, and WEVIDEO is one of the best options out there. However, If you are a serious editor, or you just want more advanced features, WEVIDEO may not be for you. For projects that you need to access from multiple computers, or that need to incorporate content from multiple sources, WeVideo is definitely worth a look.
What video card you need, depends mostly on what you want to do with it. If you don’t need to do heavy video editing, and if you’re not going to be playing highly graphic intensive games, odds are any card will work fine for you. If you do plan on doing those things, you’ll probably benefit from looking at higher end models.
A very high end video card can be more expensive than a low end laptop, so don’t just go for the most expensive card around, odds are if you don’t know that you need it, you don’t need it.
To determine which specific card might be best for you, there are some excellent review sites on the Internet.
Our in-house video game fanatic Mark says: “I’m always trying to stay ahead on this. I like and recommend TweakTown.com for their reviews, also GPUReview.com is worth reading for their extensive benchmarking.”
For more information tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
John in Jackson, Mississippi called in to share a tip with the listener who had an update to his OS that seems impossible. ” A couple years back, there were some viruses that were set to execute when the machine was booted on a particular date.”
Thank you, John!
For more information tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Mustang Mary in North Miami, Florida listens to the podcast and asked: “Since I now have an AT&T ANDROID Inspire 4G phone and still learning all the features, hence
my email to you all … I am not ‘into’ texting and did not get texting on my plan cause they want to charge me for it. I have heard there is an app for that (free texting). Do you know anything about it? Is it any good?! How do I find it, download it and is it really free?”
There are actually several you can use, Mary. For example, you can try HeyWire. It will give a number and let you text for free in the US and another 45+ countries. The texts and the app are both free, and you can also use it to access Facebook Chat and Twitter. Google has its own offering with Google Voice (my favorite!) The texts are free and have been free for a few years. But, that may change one day. We’ll see.
ChompSMS will also offer free texts, and it completely rips off the iPhone’s text messaging interface. So, if you like Apple’s user interface designs, you may enjoy using ChompSMS.
Pinger will also let you send free text messages and it will give you the option to send a paid text through AT&T from within the app as well, so even if you don’t have internet access you can still use it as your only text messaging app. So basically, you have a ton of options, Mary. As long as you have 4G (ahem…which is 3G) or WiFi they’ll all be free, just have a look at them and see which on you like better.
One note of warning about Google Voice. It uses its own phone number, so your friends who want to send you texts will need to send them to a telephone number different from your cell phone’s. You can actually use Google Voice as a VoIP service connected to your cell phone, if you wish, and just have everyone call or text that one number. Google Voice will answer the voice calls also, prompt the caller for their name, and then call you, connecting the call if you accept it. It’s like having a personal assistant in your phone. If you want to port your cell phone number to Google Voice, you can, but getting control of the number again might be difficult.
But, Google Voice will give you unlimited free texting, it will let you make phone calls without using your plan minutes (it uses data instead, though, so watch those caps!), it will give you conference calling, call screening and call forwarding, one number “follow me” service that will ring you at multiple locations, and lots more, all for free!
For more information tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Guest in this hour:
Lael Alexander, Founder – Noitavonne
Noitavonne can help you “Stay in the Loop” from nearly anywhere, using almost any wireless device. Find out how.
PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT with Rob: TxtRng & FLYGRIP
Rob’s been testing some interesting smart phone accessories that recently arrived at our studios, including a unique stylus.
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 1) TxtRng — “The stylus with style” – The TxtRng is a stylus that can be worn on your thumb or index finger. It sits near the tip of your finger.- It’s designed to give you a better experience with your touch-screen devices.- We used it with an iPhone and Android smartphone. At first, it was a little weird to type with. Rob also tried to use it with the “Draw Something” app. His drawing didn’t come out so good. But, he did enjoy using it to tap buttons, apps, and scrolling on my iPhone screen. The typing and drawing might take a little more practice. – TxtRng is currently available in black for $20 for a pair. A set of two is also available in orange for a cause, for $30. 20% of proceeds are donated to go to the Nancy Davis Foundation for Multiple Sclerosis. – TxRngs are available in 3 sizes: Small, Medium or Large. They have a measurement tool you can download from their website to determine your correct size.
 2) FLYGRIP — One-handed solution for your smartphone. – FLYGRIP is a one-handed solution for your mobile device. – The FLYGRIP can be applied to the back of any device with a flat surface, including a phone cover … as long as it’s made or plastic or aluminum. – FlyGrip is installed by using a self-adhesive sticker and sticking it to the back of either your phone or case. The adhesive sticker used is a semi-permanent solution. You’ll have to use a knife to pry it off your phone, and apply a new sticker to use it on another device. – The company recommends inserting your middle and ring finger under the FLYGRIP to get a good grip. Rob discovered his index and middle finger worked more comfortably for him. In case you find it a little loose, they provide foam attachments to fit your fingers more snuggly. – What we like about the FLYGRIP is that it serves more than one purpose. It’s a grip-helper and a phone stand, which goes both ways. It can hold your phone upright (in portrait mode) or sideways (in landscape mode). – FLYGRIP is available just under $30 in multiple colors. And, they throw in a bonus: a free phone case with your purchase for select devices.
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This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
Kingston: 16GB SD memory cards and a MobileLite G3 (USB 3.0 Card Reader)
Radio Shack: Auvio Element Earbuds with Microphone
ZoneAlarm (Check Point Software): Download keys for ZoneAlarm Extreme Security