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Tech News and Commentary
Dave and the team discuss Twitter and Apple, an alternative to GPS, a tech billionaire being found, TikTok’s security risks, the Orion spacecraft’s trip, Intel’s billion dollar fine, and more.
Joe in Longview, Texas asked: “Is there a way to record a Facebook Messenger video and audio on an Apple computer or an iPad? I can record the video but the audio doesn’t want to work. We’re wanting to do an interview with our missionary over in the Philippines, so it would have to be something that he could use on his Android phone to be able to talk to me.”
Joe, you will need a program that takes your audio from an input and redirects it to your recording software.
There are many, many of those, some of them have been around for a very long time as well. For example, Rogue Amoebas Audio Hijack is probably closing in on at least 15 years old by now, it may even be older than that.
The problem youll face there is that those programs are typically not free. For example, Audio Hijacks license is $67.
If this is a one-off remote interview, an easier path for you may be to just set up a Zoom account. It will be available both on your Mac and on his Android phone, and youll be able to do a screen recording by just clicking on the Record button and download an audio file of the interview after youre done.
If youre expecting to go over 45 minutes you will either have to restart the call and splice the audio files together, or pay $15 for one month of premium access. In either case, youll pay less than you would for a license for audio capture software.
Rick in St. Cloud, Minnesota asked: “Can you please suggest a good radio for counter top listening. I’m looking for something simple to use, small in size, and with excellent reception. When I search on-line, all I find is alarm clock radios or boom boxes. I just want a simple AM/FM radio with excellent reception and good sound that doesn’t take up much space. Thank you.”
Rick, youre going to find that most of the countertop radios available today are marketed towards an older audience and they will mostly look about the same as a radio you might have bought 30 years ago.
Sangean makes lots of them, most of them with physical dials rather than digital tuning.
If you want a digital version, you can look at a Sangean PR-D19BK, for a more traditional look you can look at a Sangean WR-16.
Theyre all roughly the same when it comes to reception, they just come with a long FM antenna and a detachable square AM antenna.
C Crane still sells plenty of AM/FM radios, but mostly solar ones with emergency weather channels.
Radio is very much on the decline, if you ask anyone under 60 if they own a radio, the answer will almost certainly be no. And many opt for podcasts, services like Spotify and Apple Music, and live streaming via smart speakers and other devices.
The market for traditional physical radios is shrinking every day, so your options wont be as extensive as they would have been a few years ago, but theyre probably the best theyll ever be again.
Sterling in North Pole, Alaska asked: “I have hearing aids and I have an iPhone. The hearing aids are Bluetooth with the iPhone. I’m interested in getting an Apple Watch. What I’m trying to find out is if I get the watch, it’s Bluetooth to the phone apparently. Does that cancel out the hearing aids, or will they all work together and I can use the watch as the microphone for the call coming in that will go from the phone to the hearing aids?”
Sterling, iPhone can connect to multiple Bluetooth devices at once, and the watch wont connect as an audio device, so it wont try to hijack your hearing aids connection.
You almost certainly wont be able to split the audio and use the watch as a microphone and your hearing aids to hear the audio. Phones tend not to have that level of granularity when it comes to input and output devices. So you will likely have to continue to use your phone as you do now.
Jamie in Tampa asked: “We have not cut the cord but have friends that have – Why are these streaming services getting to be so gosh darned expensive? Many have reported to me that they’re considering just going back to cable because they don’t get good antenna reception. So what advice would you have for those of us who want to go back to cable? “
Jamie, streaming services are getting expensive because theyre run by the same terrible companies led by the same terrible people as cable and they like to squeeze the most money out of people that they can.
As for advice for those who want to go back to cable, theres not much to give. Theyre still largely a monopoly in a given area, so see what they offer you, and try to get a good deal for the first year.
If they try to gouge you, services like Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV are just regular cable over the internet (at regular cable prices) so remember you can consider those as well.
Overall, cable is still cable, their customer service is next to non-existent, their prices are expensive, and theyll squeeze as many commercials as they can into a show. Its not a good experience, but streaming is trending worse as well, so do whatever makes the most sense to you right now and be ready to jump ship again in a year or two.
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