HOUR 2:
Tech News & Commentary
Steven in Mooresville, North Carolina listens via the app and asked: “Tablets: My wife’s laptop is several years old and she’s wanting something that will sit in her lap and isn’t too heavy. All she does is a little Facebook, play a few games and does some Internet. Will a 16GB tablet work or do I need to spend the extra money to get the 32GB tablet?”
From what you say she should have no problem at all with a 16GB tablet, web browsing, email, Facebook and a few games will barely touch the 16GBs. However, If she’s interested in storing music, lots of pictures, and especially movies, then you may want to consider getting something with more memory. But, 16GB will definitely be more than enough for what you’re saying she’d do with the tablet.
I’m glad you told us exactly what she would use the tablet for. Storage is one of the most frequently asked questions. If you can afford it, nothing wrong with going with more storage … the 32GB to be exact. We wouldn’t recommend 64GB — that would be way too much. But, the middle option is good. I say this because once she starts using the tablet, she may want to take advantage of the media options that takes more space than apps. But, you do have “cloud services” now. So, if she comes to the point where 16GB isn’t enough, she can transfer data to the cloud and easily access it on the tablet. And, unlike the iPad, most Android tablets use a memory card that may be expandable.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
“This Week in Tech History” Weekly Feature with Chris Graveline.
Tom in Windsor, Ontario Canada listening on CKLW 800 AM asked: “Can you run two virus protections at the same time, say AVG and Norton?”
Technically you can, you can run two or you can run ten, your computer will install them and they will run, but you shouldn’t. Antivirus software contains virus definition files and those files can sometimes be picked up by competing software as possible viruses, so having several products on the same computer can lead to false positives.
This is worsened by the fact that one of the programs may try to quarantine a file the other one needs to work, so they could essentially disable each other.
You’re probably better off installing one antivirus that you trust, keeping it updated and running it often. None of them will be able to catch 100% of the viruses, but you’ll still get better protection by having a fully functional product that isn’t getting into fights with it’s competitors.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Karl in South Dakota listening on KOTA 1380 AM asked: “Hi Dave! I was wondering if I can determine my broadband usage (mb used per month) from my wireless router? I’m considering wireless broadband and need to know my current home consumption.”
You can try a piece of software called Net Meter. With it, you can monitor your network traffic and display in real time, graphical and numerical downloading and uploading speeds. The program allows you to setup a notification to get an alert when you exceed a certain amount of bandwidth usage.
Net Meter works with the majority of network connections including phones, modem, cable modem, LAN, satellite, wireless, VPN and more. You can download a free trial or buy the full version online for $24.95.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Jamie in Floral City, Florida listening online asked: “I was wondering if you have any ideas of what smartphone would be the best model to use for a person that has low-vision?”
Research In Motion (the company behind the Blackberry) launched a theme Called Clarity for BlackBerry Samrtphones, they say this theme is designed to help meet the needs of BlackBerry users with low vision, that might prefer a simpler interface on their mobile phone.
From the screenshots, it appears to be an adaptation of how smart phones traditionally display their user interfaces and presents information in High Contrast, with large text labels in place of a small icons, uses a more simpler Home screen and includes the “click toggle header”. This feature enable users to switch between two different views of the home screen header, from Date and Time to Battery and Network Coverage. Clarity supports 10 different BlackBerry device models and is available for free on the BlackBerry App World.
The iPhone 4 has a built-in screen reader (Voice Over) and the screen magnifier (Zoom). These allow a person who is blind or has low vision to use the phone without purchasing any extra software. With VoiceOver, you interact directly with objects on the screen and can naturally understand their location and context.
But, one of the most exciting features in the new iPhone 4S is Siri — the personal voice assistant. We highlighted the 4S and Siri a couple weeks ago in our Product Spotlight segment. Siri is a voice recognition app that allows a user to ask common language questions and get a real response without having to issue specific voice commands. So, you can speak naturally to her. And when she doesn’t know the answer, she’ll suggest searching on the web. But, there’s a lot you can do with Siri. And, it only requires holding the home button down until you hear a beep.
For example, if you want to send an SMS to somebody, you can simply say: “Text Dave and tell him I’ll be home at 6pm”. Siri will create the text and read it back to you. If you have your accessibility setting turned on, Siri will dictate your message back before sending, ensuring it has it right. The iPhone 4 is available starting at $99, the iPhone 4S is available starting at $199.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Guest in this hour:
Van Krueger, CEO & President – Wellcore Corporation
Would you like to get an accurate count of all the physical activity you engage on – not just working out at the gym or going for a walk, but EVERY activity? We’ve got a gadget that can do that for you.
PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT with Rob: Olympus PEN E-PM1
Our very own Rob has multiple personalities, but one that is always constant is “papaROBzi”. He’s always taking pictures with his phone or actual cameras. And this week, he’s got a compact camera with some fun features that we all really like! |
 Rob’s a huge fan of the art filters that are built-in. There are 6 filters to choose from: Pop Art . . . Soft Focus . . . Grainy Film . . . Pin Hole . . . Diorama . . . and Dramatic Tone. – – – – It ships with the E-PM1 body, an MSC Digital m14-42mm zoom lens, USB cable, rechargeable battery (which lasts quite a while), battery charger, shoulder strap (which we recommend because of the lack of “grip” on the camera body), and the typical software CD and manual. – – |
Victor in Buffalo, Missouri listens to the podcast and asked: “I’m wondering if these Wi-Fi antennas would work on a PS3 next door, if they will pick up he Wi-Fi Signal. Also, on that KidsTech … The MicroViewer is gonna make a great birthday present for my grandkids!”
WiFi antennas like the C.Crane Super WiFi USB antenna won’t work with the PS3. There are some guides online that show how to crack open the PS3 and install different components that supposedly help the reception.
Having said that, if you need to improve the signal where the PlayStation is, your best bet is probably to set up a wireless access point to act as a repeater and boost the signal. If you do that the area where the PS3 is should get better WiFi coverage and you won’t need to make any changes to the guts of a very expensive electronic device.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
Boingo: Two months of FREE Boingo WiFi Service available at hundreds of thousands of hotspots worldwide
G-Technology: Several G-Drive Slim 1/2 a Terabyte (500GB) Silver Hard Drives
Philips: Fidelio Docking Speaker for Android with Bluetooth Streaming
Solar Components: Several JOOS Orange Portable Solar Chargers – Designed to charge all personal electronic devices (cell phones, smart phones, MP3 players, GPS devices, portable game devices and more)