HOUR 3:
Tech News & Commentary
Jan emailed us and asked: “We live in a very rural area in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and can predict that no radio station near us will pick up your show. Will you have a way to download your podcasts? If so, please don’t make it for iPods only.”
There is absolutely a way to download our podcasts. And they are not for iPods only. It’s very simple and we have instructions for you on our website. Click here and you’ll go to a page that lists all the different ways you can listen to Into Tomorrow. Look for the banana.
Click on it and that will take you to the Podcast page with step by step instructions on how to get fresh episodes of Into Tomorrow every week. We even have a list of several free podcasting programs that you can choose from that will automatically download every show for you.
Of course, if you want to hear Into Tomorrow on the radio in your area, and we hope you do, just start calling your local talk stations, and get your friends to call too. Tell them you want to hear Into Tomorrow on their station.
And … if you help get us on any radios station in your area … we’ll send you a prize!
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
Rick in Raleigh, NC called us and asked: “Cable Modem speed and the actually throughput you get. A lot of the speed tests are confusing. I want to be sure I’m getting what I pay for my cable service. I’m wondering what the best speed test is and how to interpret the results.”
We think the best measure of whether you’re actually getting enough speed or not is whether your connection is so slow it irritates you or not…
However, it does make sense to check your speed sometimes, for example, some people may be paying for 20Mbit/s while living in an area with old copper wires that won’t let them achieve speeds of say over 2Mbit/s. In situations like that testing your connection can help you realize you’re paying too much for speeds you won’t ever be able to get, so you might as well pay less and get the same quality of service.
If you want a simple speed test that will help you compare your connection against others you can go to: testmy.net they have a “smart test” that will continue running tests until it considers it’s gotten reliable enough results to share (in reality that means that it will run tests until a test has taken more than 7 seconds to complete), then it will show you a graph comparing your real speed to the average real speeds for cable, dsl, satellite, dial up AND the average speed for users on your network.
You should also run a test on speedtest.net, because they’ll pick a server that is close to you to improve the accuracy of the test and, while they won’t show you a graph comparing your connection to average DSL, cable, satellite and dial up, they will compare your speed with the speeds other people get on your ISP’s network.
If you have several computers or devices that use the internet in general, make sure they’re not using the connection while you’re testing, since that will result in the test showing slower speeds than you are actually getting (the speedtest only really tests your computer’s connection speed, not your home network’s speed, so if the rest of your network is using up your speed allowance then the test will show a false slower result).
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
“Into
Gaming Update” Weekly Feature with Mark Lautenschlager
Wayne in Fairbanks, AK listening on KFBX 970 AM called in and asked: “I want to build up my own music collection. Right now I don’t have a computer, but I was thinking of going with a desktop, not a laptop. I want to be able to record off all sources. CD players, Turntables, Tape decks, Television, reel to reel. Any audio source – i want to be able to record, store on the computer, do my own mix and put it on my mp3 player. Wondering which is the best route to go and what I’d need to be able to do this.”
As far as what type of computer to go with, that all comes down to personal preference and what you plan to do with it. There are some factors to take into account when deciding between a laptop and a desktop. First would be portability. Of course, laptops are much more portable than desktops. You can’t really throw your desktop computer in a bag and take it with you. But if you’re not planning on leaving the house with your computer, that won’t be a problem.
Also price: Desktops tend to be less expensive than a comparable laptop. Smaller components in a laptop, mean a higher price. You also look at space. A laptop will take up considerable less desk space than a desktop, and if you have company and want to hide it, you can easily.
The last main area you want to look at is upgrades and repairs. You will undoubtedly want to upgrade your computer in the future, Add more memory, hard drive space, that sort of thing. Upgrades are much easier to do on a desktop computer. Some upgrades can even be done yourself. It’s usually as simple as taking the cover off your computer and swapping one card out for another. So think about those kinds of things as you shop around.
As far as the recording audio. That is also very simple to do. In fact, we’re gonna help you out. Since we’re in the giving spirit this time of year, we’re gonna reach into the prize closet and send you Honestech’s Audio Recorder 2.0 Deluxe. This software comes with a little whit ox that you plug into your computer’s USB port. You can then plug ANY analog audio source into it (including all the ones you mentioned) and record away.
The software has several features that may help as well, like Auto track split. You can start a tape or record and let it roll. When the software detects silence between tracks, it’ll start a new file. You can also edit and cleanup your audio files.
This product typically sells for about $80, but since we have one left in the prize closet, it’s all yours from your friends at Into Tomorrow.
Another way to turn those old vinyl records and cassette tapes into MP3 or WMA is Singulator, an LP recorder that makes it easy to rip vinyl albums and cassettes to PC. It separates songs into WAV files, and stops when done.
Singulator transfers any analog audio to your computer in CD or higher quality audio. It will rip vinyl, a 45 single or 78 RPM album, cassette tape, DAT, Internet streaming audio, or any analog source, to your PC as WAV audio files. It automatically separates songs in real time and stops when finished.
For music collectors, Singulator is a time-saving tool to rip vinyl albums and cassette tapes to their PC, such that the music can be transferred to CDs and portable music players as individual songs.
Singulator is available online for $ 24.99, you can also try it for free (as voiceover).
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
David in Raeford, NC emailed us and asked: “What is the difference between the iPad and the Nook from Barnes and Noble? Or even are there other devices out there that do the same things. ”
The iPad has been a megahit and many tablet competitors are poised to hit the market, in fact we’re expecting as many as 80 new tablets will be announced at CES next month!
The iPad has an 9.7 inch display, it’s an ideal coffe-table computer, perfect for occasionally cruising the Net, reading the news or playing casual games.
There are also thousands of apps available including the Netflix streaming app for watching movies.
But the IPad has some significant drawbacks, there is no camera or phone component, you can’t take pictures or use it as a phone.
The iPad also doesn’t play the majority of online videos because Apple refuses to support the industry standard Adobe Flash. The IPad is available starting at $ 499.
The Barnes & Noble Nook Color has a 7 inch LCD touch screen, ideal for illustrated children’s book and digital magazine, thinks that don’t work on the monochrome e-ink Amazon Kindle or basic Barnes and Noble Nook.
What makes the color Nook more than a e-reader is the inclusion of the Web Browser and the fact that it runs Google Android software, it features a Wi-Fi connection to get you online and surfing the Web.
There is no app marketplace for the Nook Color, but it’s a better reading device than the IPad or Galaxy Tab specially under direct sunlight. It weighs less than a pound, so it’s very portable. The Nook Color is available for $ 249, the monochrome for $ 149.
The most direct competitor to the IPad out there today is the Samsung Galaxy Tab, it’s based on the Google’s Android software.
The Galaxy Tab has a 7-Inch screen and supports Adobe Flash videos, it takes microSD Memory cards and comes with front and rear videocameras, and Wi-Fi and optional 3G to surf the web.
The galaxy tab can run thousands of Android apps, including Barns and Noble’s own Nook app. The 7-inch screen is not the best size when you’re surfing the web, forcing you to use the zoom often and it’s a little too expensive, the Galaxy Tab is available for $ 650.
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
Guest in this hour:
Cat Schwartz, The Hi-Tech Mommy – Hi-Tech Mommy
Cat Schwartz, the Hi-Tech Mommy, has some last-minute, affordable and creative ideas for everyone left or even just anyone, for those of you who haven’t even started yet!
Robert in Dover, New Jersey called and asked us the following question: “Which computer virus scan is the best? I’m currently using MacAfee for a Windows 7 HP Touchsmart computer.”
Mark is presently using Microsoft’s Security Essentials, which is a free antivirus and anti-malware program that Microsoft makes available free to Windows owners. You do have to be able to validate your copy of Windows as legitimate, but that’s no big deal. Security Essentials doesn’t give you all the features that some commercial products do, but Mark feels like it gives him enough without overloading me. It doesn’t seem to bog down his system, it tests well in every antivirus evaluation, and it’s caught a number of malicious programs for him. And free…is the right price.
Chris has been using Vipre Antivirus and has been very happy with it. We’ve also installed it on all the machines here in our studio. It does a good job of running in the background and you hardly notice it’s there, except when it pops up to tell you an update is needed, or if it finds something that shouldn’t be there. Vipre has three tiers available. You can get it for one PC for $30, two PCs for $40, or three or more PCs for $50. However, like almost all the antivirus software out there, it has a free trial for download, so you can test it out and see how you like it before you buy it. That’s something that we’ve found very helpful in deciding which software to go with.
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
Bruce asked: “Hi, I am wondering if there is a way to use an iPhone or Android based phone with a Blackberry server system for email. The company I work for uses Lotus Notes and Blackberry for the email, calendar, address book, etc. — and I would like to explore options for my smartphone other than Blackberry. Does one work better than the other? Is there any issues or limitation I need to be aware of? I appreciate your feedback.”
The best you can do is talk to your company and see if they’ll make your email available from a different server, some companies do this, some don’t.
Getting your email straight from the Blackberry server would require your smartphone’s OS to implement a feature called “Blackberry Services”, the problem is that last we heard Blackberry services had not been made available to iPhone or Android (you can find Symbian and Windows Mobile phones that do implement the service, though not all of them do).
There is, technically, a way you could get your email from a Blackberry server without involving your company, and we’re gonna mention it because you shouldn’t do it.
You might be able to set your work email account to forward your messages to an outside email account that an iPhone or Android phone can access.
Now, if you work for a company that is in any way, shape or form security minded your network administrator will hunt you down and kill you for this!
These are people who spend their days providing ultra secure access to highly sensitive email, often taking measures such as using RSA ID cards that display everchanging autogenerated passwords that are synced to the second to the main company server to provide a random password for you to use on top of your regular password for added security, and what you’re doing is basically making all of their work useless by setting up a message filter and having their own server forward your email to a completely insecure email account.
We really wouldn’t recommend this approach, if not for anything else just because some companies will consider it grounds for termination.
As I mentioned earlier, Talk to your company and see what options they give you. For some security isn’t a major concern and they’ll gladly let you have any smartphone you want because it gets them away from having to give you a company phone that they have to pay for, so give it a shot, they might be willing to give you a solution.
We suspect that if you blaze a trail others in the company may follow, a lot of people these days want a work phone that’s also cool and fun.
Note: We’ve come across a company that provides a corporate security alternative to BlackBerry Enterprise Server for iPhone and Android, to learn more click here
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
Facebook friend Danny asked us: “Mr.Graveline, do you know what’s going to be Verzion’s first 4G phone? Or what set of phones are going to be put out?”
As of 2 weeks ago, when they turned-up their LTE or Long Term Evolution in 38 markets & 60 airports, they currently have only ‘AirCards’ or USB cell modems working on their version of 4G. The Verizon CEO will announce handsets during his Keynote speech at CES next month — along with details about them getting an iPhone too.
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 Holiday Gifts Part 3
Into Tomorrow has compiled some of the best tech gifts for 2010. Rob Almanza brings you Part 3 (Final Edition) of this Special Report on our Product Spotlight this week. Happy Shopping! (Distributed by Tubemogul)
— By Rob Almanza, “Into Tomorrow” Correspondent
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
Balanzza: Digital Luggage Scales – not only for weighing your holiday packages, but this can be your best way to save on baggage fees BEFORE you get to the airport by checking the weight of your luggage.
CTA Products: Several Cloth Addictions – The microfiber cloth that cleans ANY screen: iPads, Phones and Monitors. Take your screens to a whole new level of clarity!
Honestech: Copies of Audio Recorder 2.0 Deluxe – Software to convert your analog music into digital formats including MP3s and audio CDs. Save those great musical memories.