HOUR 2:
Tech News & Commentary
Lynne in Trenton, South Carolina listens online: “What would you suggest would be the best GPS system to put in the car?”
There are now hundreds models of GPS in the market, but you can try Garmin nuvi 1450 LMT.
It’s ease to see where you are going with the large 5inch screen. Comes with free Lifetime and Maps and Traffic,
multiple points routing, lane assist with junction view to help you navigate, pedestrian routing options.
The Garmin nuvi is available online on Amazon for $166.
Chris has used Garmin Nuvi devices for years. He currently has the Nuvi 660. This one was actually discontinued many years ago, but still works great. So that speaks to the reliability of the brand. He updates the maps each time new ones come out, generally once a year,and that keps it up to date, but he hasn’t felt the need to replace it yet. In fact, he just bought a new car and they wanted $3000 to add navigation to it. He didn’t add that option because his Nuvi unit that cost only a few hundred bucks, still works great – and it’s easer to upgrade than factory installed GPS units.
You can also try the Tom Tom XXL 540TM, based on up to date information this GPS will recalculate travel time and suggest alternative routes. Spoken turn by turn instructions including street name will guide you to any address in US, Canada and Mexico. The Tom Tom XXL 540 TM is available online for $119.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
“This Week in Tech History” Weekly Feature with Chris Graveline.
Frank in San Jose, California listens on KLIV 1590 asked: “There was a rumor that Sprint might get the iPhone 5 coming in the Fall. I don’t know if it’s true or if you have heard nything about it.”
It’s hard to say, we’ve heard the rumors too, and rumors about it coming to both Sprint and T-Mobile as well, but they are just rumors so far.
Apparently, some people have been saying that Apple is in the “advanced testing stages” of a Sprint iPhone and that they installed Sprint towers on their campus… the towers may be related to a Sprint iPhone, or may just be that some Apple employees use Sprint and, given how many people they employ, some probably do.
As for the “advanced testing stages”, a Sprint iPhone would pretty much be a Verizon iPhone with different software settings, so the testing would have to be fairly minimal.
It’s likely that Apple will move the iPhone to other carriers, they’ve done it in other countries all over the world, but whether it’s about to happen or not, who knows?
The bottom line is, it’s not official until Apple or Sprint announce it.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Jesus asked: “My phone got dropped in a small pool, but I didn’t notice. I noticed after 25 minutes. Do you think my phone could be fixed? What kind of ways can I use to fix my phone? My phone is a Samsung Freeform ll. I will thank you if you could help me guys.”
If you dropped your cellular phone in water it is often possible to salvage it, however time is of the essence and given how much time has passed in this case it’s not likely this advice will help you. However, for our listening audience, here are some tips.
The first thing to do is to remove the battery immediately without even hesitating to turn off the power. This reduce the risk of a short circuit which will render your phone useless, dry the battery with a towel and set a side to dry. The battery itself may not work again, but fortunately it can be replaced.
Next get the SIM card, if your phone uses one, and the media card. Pat those dry and set them aside. Don’t re-install them in the phone until you’re ready to try connecting to the wireless network again.
After you have removed these things, dry off the cell phone with an absorbent towel as best as you can, use cotton swabs to soak up water in crevices and on any fragile, exposed circuits. If you have dropped your cell phone in water, it is also helpful to disassemble it if you can and let all the parts dry separately. Just be sure that you know how to put it back together.
Once your phone is clean, leave it in a warm dry area or near an air conditioner for three days before you attempt to replace the battery and turn it on. This is very important, because although you may think that you have thoroughly dried it, the slightest moisture can react with the battery and cause it to short circuit. If drop your cell phone in water, and want to save it, resist the temptation of turning it on to see if it is working until you have waited at least 72 hours.
Despite anything you’ve read, do not use a hair dryer to blow air on the phone. That can force water deeper into the phone and damage components that otherwise would have been fine. If you want, you could actually use a vacuum cleaner to help dry the phone, since it extracts water with suction.
Now all this being said, we don’t want people to get their hopes up. While cell phone manufacturers know that phones do get wet, they are concerned with things spilling on it or the phone being used in the rain. They do not build cell phones to withstand immersion, with the exception of phones specifically designed to allow that, such as the Samsung Xplorer or certain models of Fujitsu phones that are sold as “underwater cell phones.” So don’t expect too much here.
Here’s a link to WikiHow that might give you a few helpful tips on what to try: WikiHow
Good luck!
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Guests in this hour:
Sascha Segan, Lead Analyst and Writer – PCMag.com
How does your cell phone network rank? PCMag.com shares the results from their mobile network tests.
Andrew in Merryville, Missouri listening on 99.1 KMA asked: “I was wondering how the wireless chargers worked for the new phones. Like for the iPhone and the Androids. How they can charge the battery without any wires. And is this going to be able to be transferred to any other technology, like car batteries or something like that?”
The wireless transmission of energy is common in much of the world, radio waves are energy and people use them to send and receive cell phone calls, TV, radio and WiFi signals everyday. For example, something as simple as an electric toothbrush recharges through 3 simple steps.
First, a current from the wall outlet is directed into the charger and into the base coil with an electric wire. When the current flows through the base coil, the coil generates a magnetic field which in turn induces a current to flow to the coil in the toothbrush handle. This charges the toothbrush battery.
This is the same power transmission principle that is also used for other products like Powermat, a recharging mat, which we’ve talked about on the show. These products have built-in coils capable of inducing current flow in the coils of nearby devices that have compatible coils and the circuitry needed for power transfer.
In terms of how they are operated, it’s really quite simple. The device to be charged must have a back plate that is compatible with the charging mat. Some new devices are coming right from the factory with a back plate like that, while others require that you replace the existing one with a new version made for the particular charging mat you’ve chosen. Or, in many cases, just put a new cover over the device.
For that reason, it’s very important that before you purchase a charging mat you first check whether the device or devices you want to charge are supported. You should also see whether the replacement back plates — or new covers — are included with the mat or need to be ordered separately.
So it’s not magic. Just conductive backplates and a clever mat! As for your question of whether we’ll see that on car batteries, we don’t think that will happen anytime soon. Imagine the amount of power floating thru the air, that would be needed.
Just some useless trivia that our Director of Research Horacio uncovered: Nikola Tesla was lighting bulbs wirelessly in the early 1900s from tens of miles away using electrodynamic induction.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Bruce in North Hollywood, California listening online asked: “I’m building a new computer and want to go with Windows 7 Professional, 64 bit. I’m buying the software version online but the only ones I’m finding are OEM versions for system builders. I know I’m building a system but don’t think I qualify. There’s no Microsoft support, which may not be a terrible thing. Is there a way to get a version that is not an OEM version for less than $450? And is an OEM version legal for me to put on there?”
The OEM – short for Original Equipment Manufacturer – Edition of Windows is absolutely no different from any other version, except that (as you noted) it does not come with any support from Microsoft. But when was the last time that John Q. Public actually called for support on Windows? You tinker with it, you ask your friends, you read the online forums, and if you still can’t find the answer, you call-in to our show or re-format and reinstall it. It’s called the Circle of Life in WindowsWorld.
The OEM version is perfectly legal to purchase. You’re just acknowledging that, like Dell or HP customers, you won’t come to Microsoft if something breaks. Mark highly recommends purchasing this version, as it can save you significant dollars. The activation process is the same as the retail version, works automatically online.
To our knowledge, there is no less expensive way to get Windows 7 Professional, unless you have an older version of Windows to install on the machine first, and you want to order an Upgrade edition instead of a full installation.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
iLuv: Several iSP110 Mini Portable Stereo Speakers (in a variety of colors)
Microsoft: Copies of Street & Trips Software with GPS receiver
VSO Software: Copies of Convert-X-to-DVD 4 – Lets you convert videos to DVD and watch on any DVD player.
wEASEL: Several wEASEL Easel Smartphone Stand with Hanging Loop in Black or White