HOUR 1:
Tech News & Commentary
Judah in Fairbanks, Alaska listening on KFBX 970 AM asked: “I was curious about a handheld GPS device that would show the topography of the land. Something that can be solar charged.”
It’s tough trying to find a handheld GPS that is solar powered or solar-rechargeable. There are however many that run on standard AA batteries. You can bring extra batteries with you when you hit the trails and not have to worry.
You can find ones from DeLorme and Garmin at places like Walmart or any major sporting goods or outdoor store starting at about $250. Almost all of these come with topographic maps. Generally, if they don’t, you can buy the topographical maps as an add-on.
If you end up buying a unit that is rechargeable, one thing you might look into is an aftermarket solar charger that would be compatible with your GPS. Depending on the voltage needed to recharge, you may or may not find one, but it looks like the only way to get that solar-recharging feature, as we have not come across any that have solar chargers.
For more information tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.
Consumer Reports: “Photo Apps” with Donna Tapellini
Taking photos on-the-go is easy now that many smartphone cameras provide excellent picture quality. There are plenty of apps that can be used to add finishing touches on your photos before you upload them. Donna has a few apps that may be worth trying.
The “Into Tomorrow” team discussed the latest apps that they have been playing with recently.
- For iPhone/iPad:Chris recommends: Beat The Traffic
- For Android,Markrecommends: Flash 10.2
What are your favorite Apps? Let us know at 800-899-INTO and we’ll feature them in this segment!
Tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast for more details
Terry in Bossier City, Louisiana asked: “I’d like to know the difference between a Netbook computer and an iPad.”
A netbook is designed to look like a regular laptop computer, but smaller. An iPad is a hand-held tablet device and a larger version of an iPod touch.
Netbooks are great for people who need a lot of portability, but they don’t quite have all the features of a laptop. Many netbooks do not have a CD drives although they do have USB ports that will allow you to connect an external CD or DVD drive. They also won’t have the processor speed, memory, or RAM of regular laptop.
Keep in mond that the iPad is not a substitute for a laptop. It does have good battery life, and depending on how much money you are willing to spend, it does have the potential to hold a lot of information. There are drawbacks, just like the iPhone you cannot change the battery on the iPad.
If there’s one point I’d like to make about the iPad, it’s this. Stop thinking of it as a computer. It’s not! It might look like a tablet PC, but it thinks like an iPhone, or iPod Touch more specifically. And that’s not a bad thing at all. Tablet computers failed because computers are for complex operations or extensive amounts of data entry (text, numbers, graphics, etc.). And a tablet isn’t the right device for that. You want a screen, keyboard, and mouse or other pointing device. What the tablet device is great at doing is the display and manipulation of information. Once again, Apple got it right. We don’t want a tablet PC, we want an information panel. That’s what the iPad is, not a computer. Don’t expect it to be one, and you will be far happier with it.
For more information tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.
Electronic House eXpo Reports…
| HOUR 1 GUESTS | ||
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| Deborah Smith, Director of Education and Events – CE Pro | Mike Vargo, Regional Sales Manager – WaterCop | |
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| WaterCop AutomaticWater Shut-Off System | ||
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“Wireless Update” Weekly Feature with Chuck Hamby
from Verizon Wireless
We’ve been hearing a lot these days about 4G. But can one carrier’s 4G network be better than another? Verizon’s Chuck Hamby has some insight for us.
Dave in Wyoming, Michigan listening on 1260 AM asked: “Wondering if I could run a dual OS with Ubuntu and Windows 7 without running anti-virus programs.”
It is never a good idea to run any version of Windows without an antivirus program, especially when there are so many good choices that won’t cost you anything at all. (For home users, anyway, many antivirus companies offer free versions.) Microsoft has their own Security Essentials product that is usually ranked in the top two or three programs, and it’s free. Avira, Avast, and AVG all offer excellent free antivirus programs. And that’s just the start of the list.
One new product that interests us is Panda Cloud Antivirus. It runs a small client on your computer but connects to the Internet (or “the cloud”) for its maximum detection capability. It’s always up to date, but it requires an active Internet connection for its best protection. It’s also free.
As for Linux, you don’t really need an antivirus program. It’s pretty hard to infect a Linux machine and frankly not many people are trying. It’s the same thing with Mac antivirus. It’s not that viruses don’t exist, but the virus authors are going after the bigger, easier target with Windows. That being said, there are Linux antivirus solutions, many of them free.
Sophos, AVG, and Kapersky all have Linux versions of their antivirus solutions. So you could protect your Linux partition, if you like, but it’s not really as essential as it is with Windows.
Good luck developing a split personality with your computer! Let us know how it turns out.
For more information tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
Intuit: TurboTax Deluxe Online — Several Pre-Paid Codes
Improv Electronics: Several Boogie Board Paperless LCD Writing Tablets in a variety of colors and accessories including sleeves with stylus holders & magnet kits.
SmartShopper Electronics: Several SmartShoppers — Electronic Grocery List Organizer