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Tech News & Commentary
Ryan from Jackson, Mississippi asked: “I use to play flight simulators a lot. Its been 5 years since i’ve used it. I’m interested in getting back into it; flight zone I was wondering if there’s a really good private market for computer simulators? I’ve seen the microsoft flight zone but they weren’t really that good. I wanted your take on any new games that I can just buy and won’t cost me $1000.
Maybe it’s time to update my joystick. If you have any suggestions about dual or triple device joysticks, maybe even a Bluetooth.”
Ryan, if you’re looking for games that will cost you less than $1000, then yes, you can pretty much pick up any simulator for less than that. The latest version of Microsoft Flight Simulator only costs about $30, X-Plane is roughly the same price.
Microsoft Flight Simulator X is not getting updated anymore, Lockheed Martin purchased the source code for it’s own use.
If what you’re looking for are dedicated computers for under $1000, a somewhat modern gaming computer will likely run most flight simulators, you should find plenty of capable machines under $1000, just keep in mind that you will have to budget for your follow-up question.
Joysticks depend on your particular needs, you can go as cheap as $30 for just a regular flight stick, to about $8000 for a chair with working controls for the radio, throttle, fuel mixture, indicators, and many other things, and 3 large screens screens for a large panoramic view.
For an aviation style yoke and rudder pedals, you can spend around $200 and that should give you the basic controls you need, if you don’t mind setting up your instruments with a keyboard and mouse.
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
Terry in Nunley, TN listens on SuperTalk 99.7 WTN asked: “I have an iPad and the only time I can get on the Internet is when I have Wi-Fi. I wanted to find out – because I’m electronically illiterate – if there was a way I can pick up Internet other than that way.”
Storage and colors aside, iPads come in two flavors: WiFi + 3G or WiFi only, you bought a WiFi only version. That means that natively there’s nothing the iPad can do to connect to the internet other than connecting to a WiFi network.
You do have options though, what you’re looking for is a way to generate a WiFi hotspot on the go that your iPad can connect to, and depending on what phone you have, you may even be able to do that today!
If you have a somewhat new smartphone, and your carrier allows it, you may have a “Personal Hotspot” option. If you have that option, check and make sure that whoever is providing you with cellphone service won’t charge you a small fortune to use it, but you should be able to turn it on and let your iPad connect to your phone as if it was any other WiFi network. That would give you access on the go in the simplest way possible.
Failing that, you can always look into a MiFi type of device, it will do exactly the same as the Personal Hotspot on a smartphone, but it’s a standalone device, the clear downsides of using one of these instead of a phone are that you have to remember to take it without you wherever you take your iPad, and that you would have to actually buy one. Another advantage of using a smartphone, if that’s an option for you, is that your plan MAY include a pool of data that you can use as you see fit, so there’s the possibility that you may be able to do this without having to pay anything extra.
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
Guest Segment:
Everte Farnell, “Nationally Known” Political Blogger & Pundit & Voice of the Voiceless
“Into Gaming Update” Weekly Feature with Mark Lautenschlager
“IFA History Feature” brought to you by Messe-Berlin
In 1971 the Funkausstellung was officially renamed internationale Funkausstellung, IFA in short, with exhibitors from all over the world. Philips and Grundig showed the prototype of the world’s first video cassette recorder, based on the VCR standard. The tape was housed in a cassette with two loops of tape on top of one another. As a timer an alarm clock was built in, recording time was up to one hour.
William in Ontario, Canada and listening via the Podcast asked: “What is the difference between AMD and Intel?”
William, Not really all that much. They are 2 companies that have cornered the market on building the processor for your computer.
Now, while the processor is the brain of the computer and a very important aspect to consider, the difference is negligible between the 2 for most users. At this time, the intel processors outspeed the AMD versions. If you are looking for high performance for gaming or graphics applications, go Intel. If you are looking for a good value, AMD is great, and probably all you will need if you are an average computer user.
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.
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
Akitio:Neutrino Thunder Duo – 2-bay Thunderbolt Hard Drive enclosure
V Moda Headphones: a variety of styles of the DJ Inspired, Hollywood Designed Headphones
Ventev: An assortment of tangle-free USB cables and battery cases for iPhones