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Tech News & Commentary
Joe Bob in Omaha, Nebraska listening on 99.1 KMA asked: “Need a laptop recommendation for a college student”
Well, Joe.. let’s get to the easy stuff first: you should likely look at a Windows computer unless they are in a specialized field where they would use anything else. Windows will likely ensure that there are no compatibility issues with any required software.
Other than that you have two options: 1) you can spend a little more on a computer that will last them their whole college careers, something like: the Thinkpad X1 Carbon would probably be one of those, but it would cost you about $1250. or 2) you can go for a cheaper option that may not age well, but will cost you considerably less and, if nothing else, it will give you enough time to budget for a replacement, something like a Toshinba Satellite U945 might be a good option, and it will cost you half as much as the Thinkpad we suggested before.
This is becoming less and less of an issue as Ultrabooks become more and more the standard, but since you can still find lots of old style laptops, for a college student an Ultrabook would likely be better. They’re very light, they have great battery lives, and even though they may not be processing powerhouses, they will be more than enough for any student that isn’t doing anything that requires 3D graphics, or video editing.
And no conversation about laptops for students would be complete without mentioning the quirky Surface Pro from Microsoft. It gives you an Ultrabook PC in a true tablet form factor. The Touch-type covers aren’t as good as laptop keyboards, but they are easy to carry with the device and you can use a Bluetooth keyboard for times when you need to do a lot of typing.
If your processing needs are not extensive and you like the flexibility of the Surface Pro but don’t care for its price, you can look into the HP Envy x2 which starts at just $649 in its base configuration. Its Intel Atom processor won’t compete with the Core i5 in the Surface Pro, but it does come with the full Windows 8 operating system and the tablet screen docks with a laptop style keyboard.
And just because we like to hear Dave groan, don’t overlook the MacBooks. Using Bootcamp or Parallels, you can run both Mac OS X and Windows as needed, the build quality of the computers are excellent, and they have one of the most comfortable keyboards you can buy, which is nice when you have long papers to write.
For more information tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.
Consumer Reports Feature With Jim Wilcox
Most of the Ultra HD television sets that have been announced to-date have had ultra price tags. But a lesser-know TV maker called Seiki has just launched 50-inch model that costs just $1,500. Consumer Reports Senior Editor Jim Willcox is here to tell us if it’s too good to be true.
The “Into Tomorrow” team discussed the latest apps that they have been playing with recently.
• Mark recommends: Writebox, FREE
- “This app bills itself as giving you a “distraction free writing experience,” and that’s exactly what it does. A plain white screen, a simple character and word counter, and very basic formatting commands that disappear when you’re not using them. It uses Dropbox and Google Drive for storage. Versions exist for iPhone, iPad, and the Chrome web store, which allows me to easily move back and forth between devices editing the same files. The minimalist user interface means that I’m not likely to be pulled off in the pursuit of anything shiny. Writebox is free in the iTunes app store.” — Mark
• Chris recommends: Smash The Office, FREE
“My app this week is called Smash the office. If you’ve ever gotten so stressed at work that you felt like taking a golf club to everything in the office but didn’t feel like dealing with the police or jail time, this app is for you. You are in the office, armed with a golf club and you have one minute to smash as much as you can. Destroy cubicles, computers, water coolers – everything. The more you destroy the more points you get. You also get coins that you can use to buy “power-ups” to help you destroy more in less time. Is a fun little addictive game that may help relieve a little work day stress. It’s free in the iTunes App Store.” — Chris
• Marly recommends: Vine, FREE
- “My teenage sister clued me into a cool new app called VINE that lets you create and share 6 second videos that loop! VINE is Twitter’s latest video sharing platform and, similar to their 140 character limit, you have to get creative at capturing life in only 6 seconds – which lends itself to some interesting videos! You can Reply to posts, Favorite them, Retweet and also hashtag your VINE videos so they become part of a larger conversation. It’s been less than 3 months since VINE debuted and already it has become the most downloaded FREE app in the App Store !! … Yes, it’s true, VINE is only available for iOS devices (iPhone and iPod Touch currently) but Cinemagram, a similar app that turns videos into animated GIFs beat VINE to the punch with it’s launch on Android earlier this month ! VINE has the potential of being one of the most exciting developments in the social media world since Instagram but it can also just be another fad.
I’d love to hear what you, our listeners, think
- ! .” — Marly
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
Iska Hain, Global Communications and Public Affairs, Sr Associate – Google
Create functional furniture that seamlessly integrates your lifestyle with today’s technology.
Elizabeth in Durham, North Carolina listens on 680 AM WPTF asks: “I have a windows 7 HTC Phone, I cant download any apps. I have done a hard reset on the phone and still can’t download any apps. What else can I do?”
The best case scenario for you is this: Microsoft updates it’s terms and conditions every now and then. You may not have accepted the last update, if that’s the case your Live user would not have permission to download app. If that’s what happened it’s very easily fixable, just login to any Microsoft Live service, see if your are prompted to accept the new terms and conditions and accept them. If that’s not the case, things get a little less pleasant.
The only other solution we’ve ever heard anyone offer for your particular phone’s problem is to hold down the volume up and volume down keys and wait until a factory reset screen appears.
Restoring your phone to factory settings may fix the problem, but it will also wipe everything on the phone, so make sure to back everything up before you do it, you will need to put everything back on the phone after.
The truth is that neither one of this options are very good, Microsoft should give you a warning that you cannot download apps because you haven’t agreed to the new terms and conditions, if that’s the case, and allow you to agree to them, you shouldn’t have to sign into another service to be prompted, and restoring the phone to factory settings is a very extreme solution, but unfortunately they’re the only two things that we know of that might help you. Good luck!
For more information tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.
Chuck in Shanendoah, Iowa listening on KMA asks: “Do you have a recommendation for an external mic for an Android smartphone? Something that would improve quality and also be able to record in the MP3 format?”
Unfortunately you won’t find many standard external microphones for Android phones. Android doesn’t provide a standard way of interacting with a microphone via the micro USB port, which means that either the manufacturer has to support it through their own customizations or it just won’t work. That makes it hard to make a solution that will work with every Android phone.
You may be able to use an external microphone through the headphone jack. Every phone we’ve used allows the user to connect a headset using the headphone jack, but you’d also need to find a good quality microphone that takes that input.
One way to go may be to find a computer mic and to buy a splitter. You can find them online for cheap, and they will just connect to your headphone jack and give you two jacks on the other end, one for headphones and one for a microphone.
There’s a problem with this approach though, it won’t work well with every device, some people report that unless they’re in airplane mode they’ll hear clicks in the recording, some people just seem to be able to record good quality audio no matter what, you may need to run your own tests on your own device to find out if this will work for you.
For more information tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast
Wireless Update with Chuck Hamby
Dan in Ft. Lauderdale calling in via the App sent us a comment and recommendation about a case he found for his Samsung Galaxy Note 2.
Thank you, Dan.
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
Audiofly: AF33 in-ear headphones
Covington Creations: Earbud yo-yo — Now with Dave’s face on them! — A clever solution to tangled earbuds.
HGST: G-Drive Mini – 500GB High Performance Portable Drive
Improv Electronics: Boogie Board rip — Paperless, LCD writing tablet that will let you save your notes and transfer them to your PC.
iolo: Copies of: Drive Scrubber – Erase data so it can NEVER be recovered.
Joos: Orange Portable Solar Charger — Charges cell phones, MP3 Players, GPS Devices and more