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Consumer Reports Feature With James McQueen
About two out of five American households have disconnected their home phones and rely solely on cell service to stay in touch with the world. If you’re thinking of joining the mobile-only movement, though, you might want to reconsider, Consumer Reports advises. Their electronics spokesman James McQueen is here to explain.
The “Into Tomorrow” team discussed the latest apps that they have been playing with recently.
• Mark recommends: Google Keep, FREE
- “Google Keep is my app of the week. It’s a web app in the Chrome Web Store and it’s available as both an app for Android and a widget for your Android home screen if you’re using Jelly Bean or later. iOS users are out in the cold for right now. Keep offers you the same kind of power Evernote does (you can write notes, attach web pages, take pictures of things–anything you want to remember later) with the very powerful location based reminders of Apple’s Reminder app. I can take a picture of something in a store ad and tell Google Keep to show me that picture again whenever I’m near the store. Google Keep can even search the text in photos you take. See a sign on something that gives you information you’ll need later? Snap a pic, and search for it whenever you want. Google Keep is free in the Chrome Web Store and the Google Play Store. As an iPhone/iPad user, I seriously look forward to Google Keep making it to my platform. In the meantime, I find it extremely useful on my Chromebook.” — Mark
• Chris recommends: Word Lens, FREE
- “Word Lens is an app I highlighted a few years ago when it debuted. This app will use the camera in your phone to instantly translate words into other languages. When I first highlighted it, the app was free with a demo mode, but you had to pay for each language pack you wanted. Right now (and I don’t know for how long) the languages are also free. If you travel internationally (or even live in South Florida like we do, with all the spanish) this app can be very helpful. You can launch the app, select the language your translating from and to, point your camera at it and see the translation live on your phone. Gramatically, it’s not the best and it tends to get a few words wrong, especially if it’s printed in a font that makes it hard for the camera to read. But it can help you find your way by translating street signs and that sort of thing. Plus, it’s kinda fun to use. Word Lens is free for iOS and Android.”
- — Chris
• Michael recommends: PepperPlate, FREE
- “PepperPlate is my favorite app of the week. It’s an app for those that cook all the time bringing you thousands of recipes to choose from whether you are cooking for yourself, your family or for that dinner party for 12. You can manage your recipes, create a menu for the week and a month if you want to plan that far ahead, set a timer, and create a shopping list with the things you’ll need. Overall, I thought this app was helpful with my meal planning, so it was one less thing to worry about when I got home, all I need to do what check my menu and start cooking. This app is FREE and available on iOS and Android devices.” — Michael
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
Guest Segment:
Bill Mobley, CEO – FreeCast
discovery and management engine operating
Gary in Santa Maria, California asked us: “What do you guys think of the new Google glass that they have come out with. I just want to know what you guys think.”
Gary,For a product that has the ability to change the world and human interaction, the Google Glass has definite pros and cons. While some of us here in the studio are in favor of it, some of us are completely against it.
For those of you listening that don’t know what Google Glass is, basically its a wearable computer that can be worn like glasses. Remember the days when we people used to say “If only our eyes could take pictures?” Well, that time is finally here with the Google Glass.
To answer your question Gary, Google Glass has taken technology to another level, making it a lot easier and faster to communicate and receive information. Voice command option as well as apps such as News and Maps which display information right in front of you. When it comes to safety, the Google Glass could prevent car accidents through hands free-texting while driving and other hands free tasks.
Just as the Google Glass has great pros, it has some cons too. Privacy is a major issue with the Google Glass. One of its features is to capture or record with just a click, voice-command or even eye movement which can invade someone’s privacy. Imagine someone recording you and you don’t even know it. Another con is that it unintentionally promotes anti-socialness. With all the features it has that makes it easier and faster to do things, it forces us to depend on ourselves for information, rather than interacting with people.
Right now, the Google Glass has a pretty hefty pricetag of $1500 which can make it out of reach for a lot of people. If you want to hear more about the Google Glass, Dave spoke to one of the original wearers back when they first came out.
For more information tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.
Enrique from Miami Beach, Florida listens Online sent us the following comment: “I recently had to wipe my 4th Gen iPad. I backed up all my key programs and “Documents-via cloud back up” backed up my pictures via drop box. Installed all my programs fine but on PDF notes all my files are gone ” or so it seems”. Can you help?”
Enrique, Unfortunately PDF Notes doesn’t seem to be an iCloud backup enabled app, so, unless you backed up to your computer, those notes are likely just gone. Sorry.
Backing up to iCloud is an option that apps can support if they want to, but they’re not required to do it. In the case of PDF Notes they don’t seem to have added that support. iCloud support is not trivial, Apple is serious about making sure their devices provide a good user experience, so an app that backs up data to iCloud has to do it in a way that is invisible to the user, it can’t use the data connection in an excessive way that would be noticed by the user, so the app may have to implement incremental uploads, which is not that simple when you’re dealing with large PDF files.
They also require that you test on several devices at once to be prepared in case two devices try to back up different version of the same file at the same time. It’s a lot of work, and PDF Notes may be relying on the fact that you can already backup to Dropbox to skip on many, many, many hours of work supporting iCloud, which means that unless you took steps to back up the notes personally, you probably won’t be able to get them back through any full phone backups.
For more information tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.
Wireless Update with Verizon Wireless
Summertime can mean lots of fun. But it also can bring severe weather. Michelle Sutton from Verizon Wireless is here with some tips to keep your families safer in summer.
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
Other World Computing (OWC): Nuguard KX phone cases for Samsung Galaxy S4, iPhone 4/4S and 5
Phone Halo: StickR TrackR — Find any object you attach it to with your smartphone
PURE: Jongo Wireless Adapters — Allows you to stream all your music wirelessly to your home audio system.
Tylt: A plethora of USB charging cables for iPhone and Android phones and iPhone battery cases.
“Into Tomorrow”: Microfiber Screen Cleaning Cloths with Dave’s cartoon on them, for all your smartphones, tablets, TVs, camera lenses and computer screens!