Podcast: Play in new window | Embed
Tech News & Commentary
Steve in Lincoln, Illinois calling in via the Appand asked: “I have a workphone, a personal phone and an iPod Touch. What I’d like is a bluetooth headset that I can pair 3 devices to and play music to also, so I can play music from my iPod and look like I just have my regular bluetooth phone earpiece in, so when I’m working no one knows I’m listening to music or listening to whatever.”
Well Steve, there are no bluetooth headsets on the market right now that can be connected to 3 devices and stream your music. There used to be one — the Blueant Z9 — but that has been discontinued. For more info on that device you can check out the following links:
Info on Blueant Z9
MobileTechReview.com
Newegg.com
Here is the Manual for Blueant Z9
Now there are many headsets that can connect to 2 devices and still stream your music. Some of these brands are Jabra, Plantronics and Bose. If you want to see some specific models they will be listed on the show page.
Besides these brands there are quite a few others that could connect to 2 devices, but as we said none that could connect to 3.
If you’re only interested in 3 devices being connected then you might want to look into Bluetooth Headphones or even Bluetooth Earphones.
For more information tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast. Just click the red arrow in the upper right column on this page.
Consumer Reports with Mike Gikas
BlackBerry is attempting a reversal of fortune with a new operating system and some new hardware, including the new Blackberry Z10 smartphone. But will it be enough? Consumer Reports Senior Editor Mike Gikas is here to tell us what he thinks about the latest from BlackBerry.
The “Into Tomorrow” team discussed the latest apps that they
have been playing with recently.
• Mark recommends: Parker, FREE
“If you spend a lot of time venturing into the downtown of a big city, then you know how fun it ISN’T to try and find an open parking meter. Parker is a free app for your iPhone that aims to put an end to that frustration. Parker monitors how many spaces are open along a given street, how much the parking costs there, and what the maximum length of time is that you can park. It will also have information on the price and capacity of area parking garages. So how does Parker know this magic? Well, it is tied in to a cooperation between the city’s parking control technology and Parker. So it won’t work for every city and even every area WITHIN a city, but the app is free and it doesn’t cost anything to download and see what it knows about your area. For me, it mapped out downtown Fort Lauderdale quite well, but was a total bust for parking along Las Olas. Still, any information helps when you’re circling the block!”
• Chris recommends: I Hate Zombies, FREE
“Let’s face it. We all hate zombies. The app I’m highlighting this week is an addictive game called I Hate Zombies. It puts YOU in the driver’s seat as you splatter hordes of zombies in the ultimate dash for freedom. You can choose from many different vehicles and perform jumps, flips and tricks as you nitro your way across the USA, leaving the undead in your wake. Splatter the zombies as you mow them down. But control your vehicle carefully. Land the wrong way and you vehicle falls apart and it’s game over. They’re calling this a fun fuelled ride through the zombie apocalypse! I’m not sure how much the app is normally. Right now it says it’s free for a limited time. But I can’t imagine it being more than 99 cents. It’s fun, but if it IS more than 99 cents, it’s overpriced. Again it’s called I Hate Zombies.”
• Dave recommends: Photoshop Express, FREE
“This free app has basic image editing features that are easy to do with touch. I’ve discovered that the large display of the Galaxy Note II is particularly suited for precise editing of photos taken with the camera. Photoshop Express makes it easy to quickly share your pix with your friends. It does require an SD card – but you should have one in your phone anyway. You won’t be able to do sophisticated photo editing using this free app, but it does seem to handle most common editing tasks pretty well. Free for Android.
” — Dave
Guests in this hour:
Brian David Johnson, Futurist, Intel & Author of Vintage Tomorrows
Carola in Westmoreland, Tennessee listening on WTN 99.7 asked: “I want to get a new cell phone. I have two daughters. One has an iPhone and the other has a Droid. I don’t know anything about any of them. I just have a regular old cell phone. I’ve heard a lot about the Galaxy 3. I’m really confused. I’m not that much into music. I like the computer part, the access to that. The web. I like games but other than that, some photos. I’m not sure which one would be the best for me.”
Carola, you are touching upon one of the most heated and divisive technological debates there has ever been in human history: Droid or iPhone? None of us here are going to be able to make this decision for you unfortunately, this is something you are simply going to have to determine yourself because people for the most part are split right down the middle about this.
Some people enjoy the sleek aesthetics of the iPhone operating system platform and various digital features, some people enjoy the seemingly broader capacity and user-friendly design of the Android. You might find the single master button at the bottom of the iPhone more convenient, or it could drive you absolutely CRAZY and you would instead prefer the wider command ability of multiple buttons at the bottom of the Droid. It really just comes down to your own personal taste.
What we would suggest you do is to go by your local carrier store or Best Buy and play around with the display models of both of them until you find the one that is most compatible with your personal needs and preferences.
One approach you might want to take is, which daughter is more likely to serve as your tech support with this new smartphone? Since iPhone users seem to turn their noses up at Droids, and vice-versa, you’ll want to be using the brand of phone where you’ll have the most support from your in-house technician (that is, your daughter).
For more information tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast. Just click the red arrow in the upper right column on this page.
Ramon in Bahrain listening to us on the American Forces Network sent us the following email and asked: “Hi Dave, I make sure that I hear your program on a regular basis. It is nice to have AFN where I am serving and makes me feel closer to home. At times, when we have sand blowing, the reception is very weak and I have to wait until the weather changes.
I have a question: Many times I see people write things about other people on the social media. How can I find out the authenticity of the writer? Or rather ,how can I find out the real writer of the message on the net?
Thanks for all you do guys to keep us happy in this part of the world.”
Ramon, that’s a tough one. It depends on what messages you’re really talking about. If this is something political, then to get the definite source, you may have to go to a site like LexisNexis, but it’s definitely gonna cost you.
If you want to try something simpler and cheaper, you can just Google it and try to find either reliable source naming the author, or see who is credited with the message the more.
If you want to check for veracity, you can try Snopes.com or Politifact.com. Both try to analyze the truth in statements and myths.
Since you mentioned social media as being the source of the message, you could always just ask them to cite their sources. Just try to ask nicely and explain that you’re actually interested in reading more and not just picking a fight.
And to be honest Ramon, ever since social media has spread like a wildfire across the world, one of the downsides has been that the standards of fact-checking and proper citation of sources have fallen by the wayside. I mean, how many times has Justin Bieber or Morgan Freeman been killed on Facebook? And it doesn’t only apply to individuals on Facebook or Twitter, but actual major media outlets.
Good point Dave, a perfect example is the Mike Wise incident. Wise was a Washington Post sports writer that inaccurately tweeted that Ben Roethlisberger would be suspended for five games instead of six and the Miami Herald ran with it without fact-checking. So unfortunately, it’s just something we all have to live with in the new age of social media.
Again, if you see someone post something without citing it, either assume it’s baloney or just politely ask them for their source
For more information tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast. Just click the red arrow in the upper right column on this page.
Matt in Monroe, Washington listens to the Podcast asked : “We reward our 11 year old by giving him something he wants at the end of the school year. Last year, it was an iPod. I was wondering about the stats of the PlayMG. Is it comparable to the new phones or is it slower? He complains about getting “hand-me-downs” from his big brother. I want to know if this would be a good choice for him.”
Matt, the device is called “MG” and seems close enough to most modern Android phones, though the details & technical specs are a little hard to come by. You won’t find a powerful quad-core processor, or anything like that inside of it. It’s just a regular 1GHz processor.
It’s got a 4-inch screen, which makes it big enough, but not as big as some new Android phones like the Galaxy S3 or the Note 2.
Now, there’s something else to consider: the MG isn’t really a competitor to the PSP or the Nintendo DS. It’s a competitor to the iPod Touch. If that’s what you got your son last year, then he may not get a lot of extra enjoyment from a MG. It’s basically an Android phone without a phone to Apple’s iPhone without a phone, and Apple has a much better library of higher-end games.
Now, you didn’t mention if the iPod you got your son was a Touch or something else. If it wasn’t a Touch, then the MG might work for him, but then again, we’d probably spend a little extra and get the iPod Touch for him anyway.
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners:
Special prize for our APP Callers …
Street by 50 headphones from SMS Audio valued at $250. All callers — using our FREE “Into Tomorrow” App, joining us now thru the end of March — will qualify to win!
Sennheiser: CX 980 Earphones — Metal crafted, high fidelity earbuds for natural, balanced sound and high noise-isolation.
Covington Creations: Earbud yo-yo – A simple solution to tangled earbuds.
Tiffen: Steadicam Smoothee for iPhone 4 & 4S – shoot smooth videos and sharp still pictures anywhere.
Iolo: System Mechanic – Fix and speed up your PC… Automatically.