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Tech News & Commentary
Marion from Anchorage, Alaska listening via 700AM KBYR Alaska Listens Here asked: “My PC, other laptops and PCs won’t connect to the WiFi in my apartment. It’ll connect to a few places but not mine. Wondering if perhaps a new operating system might help, but I’m not sure.”
If you can connect in other places, but not your apartment, and if others can’t connect in your apartment either, then the problem is most likely with your wireless connection at home.
If that’s the case, installing a new operating system won’t achieve anything, you may be better off trying to replace your wireless router or access point instead.
Routers are very temperamental devices, and consumer level ones are typically pretty bad, so if you haven’t already, try unplugging it and plugging it back in, and maybe even restoring it to factory settings.
If that doesn’t change anything and can connect in other places, you may need replace it.
If you can only connect to “a few” other networks, and not yours, then maybe Windows is to blame, but if you only have trouble at home, then your router is probably to blame.
Let’s also explore what you mean by “other” laptops and PCs. Does that mean your computer or devices will connect, but if a friend brings their computer over, that computer will not connect? That could be as simple as you have a security setting on your router that requires them to have a network security key, but you don’t know what the key is to give it to them.
If someone else set up your router, they might be the ones to tell you whether that’s the case. Also, it may be that for some reason we can’t explain, the router was set up with a very limited pool of IP addresses it will hand out. If these “other” computers and laptops are connecting but simply can’t use the network, check their IP addresses and see whether they appear similar to the one on your computer (the computer that IS working). It’s also possible these additional devices just can’t get an IP address.
Some Internet providers who sell you wireless service for “up to a certain number of devices” will use that technique to limit how many devices can connect at once. In such cases, unfortunately, some router reprogramming is called for.
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
“Into Gaming Update” Weekly Feature with Mark Lautenschlager
Charles from Wilmore, Kentucky listening via Realtalk 1250AM WLRT asked: “I have an epson all in one printer. It just only through a direct connection to my computer. I was wondering if there is an add-on to make it wireless?”
You may be able to either get a new router with USB printer support, if the printer is close to the router, or get a wireless range extender that supports USB Printer sharing.
That should allow you to make the printer wireless, but it may not help make the scanner wireless as well, and it will cost you a decent amount of money, the price varies depending on what you go with, but to give you an idea an EnGenius ERB9250 Wireless repeater goes for about $40.
Buying a new wireless printer to replace the one you have now may not cost you much more than using that kind of setup, and you’re pretty much guaranteed to be able to run all the features the printer supports, rather than just whatever the wireless device you’re plugging it into supports.Check Target, they always have them on sale!
A Canon Pixma MG2220, for example, includes a scanner, is wireless and will cost you $49, that might be a better choice than a similarly priced wireless device that may not translate all of the printer’s functionality for you.
Epson does make their own wireless print server plug in module for both standalone and all-in-one printers, the Connect-It C32C824461. This tongue-twisting product sells for around $150 and integrates directly with your printer. Which means it only supports some Epson printer models. And you didn’t give us your printer’s make and model, so we can’t vouch for the device in your case. But it does fit internally to the printer, no extra box, power, or cables required.
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
Joshua from Sparta, Tennessee listening via Supertalk 997AM WTN asked: “As technology as yall are why no smartphone web page? I asked a question last week it was put on show & I got an email saying I may get a prize. How do I find out if I did win one & if so, what it is?”
Mostly because mobile pages have been unnecessary since the first iPhone came out… the whole “it does the real web” thing is still true.
Mobile pages are full of compromises, content has to be limited to fit the screen, users tend not to see as much all for the sake of having bigger buttons to tap rather than double tapping and zooming in.
Websites, to be useful as mobile websites, have to contain fairly little information, otherwise the mobile layout is just more annoying and typically less powerful.
As for your prize, absolutely yes. If your call was used on the show, you qualify for one of our listener prizes. Our prize closet folks will send an email to you with information.
Thanks for participating, Joshua! And thanks for getting up early to listen to Into Tomorrow on Supertalk 99.7FM. We know they air us fairly early in the morning. You’re a true-blue fan!
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
Elizabeth in Durham, North Carolina listens on 680 AM WPTF asked: ” 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 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, all those pictures, text messages, notes..poof gone! so make sure to back everything up before you do it, you will need to put everything back on the phone afterwards.
The truth is that neither one of this options is 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!
If these things don’t help you, call us back and give us a little more detail. When you say you “can’t download apps,” what does that mean? Does it seem like it’s downloading, but nothing shows up? Or does it stop with an error message? If so, what’s the error message?
It’s important to have some of these details when trying to figure out the cause of a problem.
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
Guest Segment:
Richard Wright, Director of Global Distribution – Akitio
“IFA History Feature” brought to you by Messe-Berlin
Television first got color in 1954 in the US with a shadow stripe mask using the NTSC standard. (jokingly referred to as “Never The Same Color”). Germany had just started TV broadcast in black and white as the allied forces had to authorize the use of TV, and no more than 4.000 TV sets had been sold in 1952, with the not so impressive screen size of 9 x 9 inch. Much later in 1963, first shown at IFA, a European color technology was introduced with the PAL system, which solved the problems of NTSC using phase alternation.
Comments from our COOL “Into Tomorrow” HOT Summer Giveaway!!!
Carlos — I hope it’s not “Carlos Danger”!! No, because he’s from Wake Forest, NC. He listens on WDFT Radio 860 And Heard about the giveaway: From the radio and the into tomorrow website.
Reason for wanting to travel: “I like to know all about the latest electronics.”
John from Raleigh, NC listens on WPTF-680 AM said his Reason for wanting to win this trip to IFA in Berlin is “A trip to historic Berlin to attend the IFA would be fantastic!”
seth alliance, ne Listens: to our podcasts via dogcatcher. Thinks we can improve the show by: “Covering More on phones” ??
Comments about the show: “I enjoy listening to the show every week and I would love to see the “Into Tomorrow” and ittv team in action there!”
Ladonna From Jefferson City, MO, listens on the radio KLIK 1240 AM and
Heard about the giveaway: friend. Watches ITTV “Every week at work” and hopes to win so she can go with us: “To see the latest and greatest in electronics and of course … you guys!”
Rickey from The Woodlands, Texas listens: to our FREE “Into Tomorrow” Podcasts and our FREE App on iOS. Watches ITTV on YouTube and
Subscribes to ITTV and our weekly TechNewsLetter. Thinks we can improve the show by: “adding an hour 🙂 “ Further saying that “Into Tomorrow is Entertaining, intuitive and knowledgeable 🙂 I especiallyu enjoy the bloopers at the end of every weekly ITTV Report! His
Reason for wanting to travel:
1) Free Trip!
2) Hang with the Into Tomorrow Team!
3) IFA in Germany!
4) Free Trip!
You may enter ONCE a week … AND … when you call-in, using our FREE APP or 1-800-899-INTO (4696) and we can HEAR you … we will BONUS you with yet another entry!!! Good luck!!!
Steve from Red Oak, Iowa listening via 960AM KMA Land asked: “I bought a Toshiba Laptop. It was P55 A5200 Model. When I received it, it did not work. It loaded the basic info then went to a black screen (Backlit but Dark). I’m concerned about buying another one without knowing if there’s a problem with this one, or if I should go to another model or even another brand. I’ve had 5 Toshiba Laptops and have had no problems ever.”
You most likely just got a bad one… Toshiba is not in the habit of shipping dead computers regularly.
In terms of reliability they’re a little bit above the middle of the pack in surveys, so they’re not the most reliable brand in the world, but they’re also far from the worst.
If you’ve never had any trouble with Toshiba laptops take this as a freak occurrence, Toshiba’s reliability hasn’t dropped significantly over the years, so you’ll probably experience about the same quality you’re used to.
In case you’re interested, the survey are typically giving the most reliability in PCs to ASUS these days.
The Satellite P55-A5200 is based around a 3rd generation Intel Core i5 processor. It’s a mid-range laptop built with last year’s technology aimed at the general consumer market. It should work just fine for you. Unless you’re having buyer’s remorse, give ‘em another chance!
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