Tech News & Commentary
Phil in Raleigh, North Carolina listening on WPTF 680 AM asked: “Looking for a new laptop, or maybe a netbook. I’d like to get a netbook because of the size, but I just found out they don’t come with a DVD drive. Is there some sort of a compromise at a fair price?”
There are many smaller-sized laptops out there that will still come with a DVD drive. The real question is what is your price range? Thanks to our friends at TigerDirect, we looked at smaller light weight laptops, and we have low priced, medium priced, and high priced options for you.
The Toshiba Satellite L505 is available for only $500. It has a 720p HD screen and 250GB hard drive. The computer also has Windows 7 for an operating system and comes with a 15.6 inch screen.
For around a $1000, you can have yourself an HP Probook 4720. This machine has 17.3 inch monitor, 4GB of DDR3 memory, a DVD and Blue Ray player, and Windows 7 Professional edition. While this computer is a little larger, it is still light at just under 5 pounds for the whole machine.
For more information, click here or tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
“Into Gaming Update” Weekly Feature with Mark Lautenschlager
The “Into Tomorrow” team talked about the HTC Incredible Android phone.
Tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast for more details.
Marty in Novelty, Ohio listening online said: “Warning about an Denial Service attack when you marry Office 2010 with Dragon Naturally Speaking.”
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
Guest in this hour:
Charles Manning, VP of Strategy and Technology – TextArrest
TextArrest is a software company dedicated to making roads safer by eliminating distractions created when drivers use mobile phones, such as texting or dialing.
Shelley sent us the following email and said: “On the show for the week of April 30, in the 3rd hour, you were talking about the alarm that wakes you earlier to help you in the various sleep modes. It was interesting and made me think of these sleep positions and thought you’d be interested to see how you each match up.
May is “Better Sleep” month, and the position you sleep in can reveal key personality traits. Here are the top 6 positions with their traits.
6) The Starfish – (5% of people sleep in this position) – on your back with both hands around the pillow means that you make a good friend and you listen well.
5) The Freefaller – (7% of people sleep in this position) – on your stomach with your hands wrapped around the pillow and your head to one side means you can be sociable, but brash.
4) The Soldier – (8% of people sleep in this position) – on your back with both arms at your sides means you are quiet and reserved.
) The Yearner – (13% of people sleep in this position) – on your side with both arms out in front of you means you have an open nature.
2) The Log – (15% of people sleep in this position) – on your side with both arms at your sides means you are easy-going and social.
1) The Fetus Position – (41% of people sleep in this position) – this means that you have a tough exterior, but a soft heart. Interestingly, twice as many women sleep like this than men.
I’m finally going to cave and buying an iPod (since my portable CD player has died) and am trying to figure out which iPod is best. I’m just looking for the simplest, easiest to use, dummy-proof music iPod that I can use with my iTunes on my iMac (version 10.0 x). I have 100s of songs on my iTunes and want to be able to get them on to an iPod realtively easy. What do you recommend for someone who’s never used an iPod and still has CDs to add to my iTunes Library? Is it easy to upload/add songs to the iPods? I’m thinking either the Nano or the iPod classic, but wanted to get an expert opinion.”
Chris actually uses both an iPod Nano and an iPod Touch. They are used for different things. One thing you need to keep in mind when shopping for one of these devices is how you’re going to use them. My iPod Nano is the 8GB version and I leave it in my truck. I have an Alpine radio with an iPod interface, so I leave it in the glove box connected to my car radio and use it to listen to my music library. When I get new songs that I want on it, I just bring it in and sync it to my computer. My iPod Touch, on the other hand, is the 16 GB version and is what I use everywhere else. He’s mentioned before that he also has an iPhone, but he doesn’t keep a whole lot of music on there. I use it more for the apps. So the iPod Touch serves as my media player. I also have some music videos and TV shows on there.
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
Trevor in Alaska sent us the following Facebook message: “So I just hopped into my service truck at work, just in time to hear you bring up my computer email escapade. I almost fell out of my seat and I was laughing so hard. Good thing I had my seat belt on.”
Trevor is referring to a Facebook message he sent Rob on the show for the week of April 30. He was having trouble opening a video file with Windows Media Player, even though it was in an AVI format.
Robert in Fairbanks, Alaska listening on KFBX 970 AM asked: “We bought a Samsung Plasma TV and have DirecTV satellite service. They show a movie in HD on one channel, and regular on another. We switch back and forth and can’t notice a difference. What’s going on?”
If you are able to tune to the HD channels, then we’re assuming that you do, in fact, have an HD tuner from DirecTV. If that’s the case and you’re not seeing a difference in the picture quality, then you may want to look at your cables and connections. Make sure you are using one of the high definition connections to get the signal to your TV.
Every tuner, even the HD tuners, will have a set of standard definition connections. The ones you’ll want to use to ensure you get a high definition picture are the components (that’s the cable with the red, green and blue connectors), a DVI (which is less common), or an HDMI, which will not only give you the best quality, but will transmit both the HD picture and audio over a single cable. In fact, if you have a full HD, or 1080p set, and want to take advantage of that highest resolution, HDMI is really the only way to go.
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
If you have any questions about any of this week’s show info, please email us here.
Into Tomorrow Product Spotlight with Rob Almanza
Tech Gifts for Mom 2010
Moms have become more tech savvy than we give them credit for. For example, these days, moms are on Facebook, carrying an MP3 player, a digital camera and other cool gadgets. Here are a few other tech goodies you can add to their collection.
Games aren’t just for kids anymore. How about a Nintendo DSi XL? There are plenty of games that mom will enjoy. She’ll feel like a big kid again! The DSi XL has a bigger screen than the other Nintendo DS players. Currently, that’s going to cost you about $189. There are other portable game players to consider like a smaller Nintendo DSi or a Sony PlayStation Player. We think Nintendo has more mom-friendly players and games.
If mom is looking for a new cell phone, you might want to consider something like the Palm Pixi Plus. Currently available on Verizon, it’s an entry-level smartphone with a few extra features like WiFi and a built-in 3G mobile hotspot that supports up to 5 WiFi-enabled devices. It won’t hurt your bank as it costs just under $30 with a 2-year contract. If she’s not a Verizon customer, don’t worry. There are plenty of other phones she might like on the other networks. Other notable mentions: iPhone 3G or 3GS (AT&T), HTC Incredible (Verizon), Samsung Reclaim (Sprint), or BlackBerry Bold 9700 (T-Mobile).
Does your mom use an e-book reader like the Amazon Kindle? It’s time to introduce her to a color screen! An iPad might make her smile. I’m sure she’ll find a good read in the iBook Store. And, if she enjoys cooking, with the iPad dock, she can set it on the kitchen counter and access her favorite recipes, while listening to some of her favorite music or play some games while the food is in the oven. A more budget-friendly option is the iPod Touch.
Make sure mom’s computer is backed-up! An external hard drive like the Clickfree C2N is a good option. It works with both PCs & Macs. Clickfree is a plug-and-play device. Plug it in to the computer you want to back up and its BackupLink software takes care of the rest for mom. Pricing will var, depending on which flavor you get.
For the adventurous mom, a rugged digital camera would be great for her. For example, Casio’s EX-G1 camera is waterproof, shock-resistant and freeze-proof. It’s got a YouTube mode feature, which will allow mom to post video of the kids or grandkids online.
We hope this gives you a good idea as to what digital moms want these days to stay up to date with technology. We appreciate your comments and suggestions, so let us know if we missed anything.
Connect with me below and share your thoughts!
— By Rob Almanza, “Into Tomorrow” Correspondent
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
Concord Keystone: Several Easy Shot Clip, Ultra Mini Digital Video Cameras
Firefold: More HDMI 1.4 cables
iosafe: Several ioSafe Solo USB External Drive – Protects against Fire, Water and Theft SIZE? VALUE?
Honestech: Copies of Audio Recorder 2.0 Deluxe — Convert your analog music into digital formats including MP3s & audio CDs