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Tech News & Commentary
“This Week in Tech History” Weekly Feature with Chris Graveline
David in Independence, Missouri listens on 99.1 KMA asked: “I have a Go Pro Underwater Camera, and I am interested in hooking it up to my iPhone or tablet so I can monitor what I am filming. It takes a Mini S High Definition cable (I Think he meant a Mini HDMI Cable. – IA), and I am wndering is there anything I can use to connect it to my Phone or Tablet?”
David, As far as we know, the only way to monitor a GoPro camera on an iPhone or tablet is by using their official app, and that app transmits signals over WiFi not via a cable.
If you’re underwater your WiFi network will be basically non existent, WiFi signals do not spread well over water.
Your best bet for monitoring your GoPro may actually be the rear LCD attachment. It’s not cheap, it will cost you $79 but it will let you see what your camera is shooting in real time and you won’t have to worry about signal loss underwater or even about long cables that you have to keep water tight at the connectors if you choose to go with a monitor or something else for watching the live feed.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Guest Segment:
Jim Barry, Digital Answer Man – Consumer Electronics Association
David from Windsor, Canada and listening via AM800 CKLW The Information Station asked: “I was wondering if a AMD processor is good enough to handle some light Photoshopping.”
David, Yes, the minimum AMD processor recommended by the good people at Adobe for running the latest version of Photoshop is an Athlon 64 processor (the original Athlon 64 came out in 2003 to compete with the Pentium 4, we’re talking about ultra modern technology here), but even older ones would likely work, even if not as well.
Photoshop is a pretty demanding program, but it’s less so than others, and it can make use of video cards as well to improve performance, so it’s likely that if you’re computer is new enough, and your photoshopping is light enough, you won’t have any problem at all whether your processor is made by Intel or AMD.
Keep an eye on your RAM too, Adobe is recommending 1GB or more of RAM for the current version of Photoshop, it can consume a surprisingly large amount of RAM even under relatively light use.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Richard in Columbia, Missouri listens on KFRU asked: “I would like to know if people can appeal to companies to produce apps? I am interested in a field guide to north american birds by Robins, and I can’t seem to find it. I was wondering if I could appeal to a company to produce that app?”
Richard, You can try… they might not listen because making the app would be a long and expensive process and, unless they think there’s a real commercial interest, they will likely think it’s not worth the effort and expense, but again, you can try.
If it would work for you, you could also suggest an ebook that can be read on your phone, that would be far, far easier and cheaper to adapt from what they already have, so they might be swayed more easily.
One reason that a “field guide” to North American birds might not be available in an e-reader format is that it’s a field guide, and thus assumed to be carried with you out into the wilds…where the birds are, and where water and dirt are — and other things that you likely don’t want your electronic devices around. In the end, perhaps paperback is best.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Carla in Seaport, Delaware and listening via Delaware 105.9FM News Talk asked: “I would like to know what kind of port that i can get to plug into my cell phone so i can hear it on my cars audio while i’m traveling I’m using my navigation device on my LG Revolution. I have a port in my car but i need the name of the connecting port i need to do that.”
Carla, You most likely have an Aux in port, and all that that would require is an 1/8th inch to 1/8th inch audio cable.
If that’s the case, it’s just a matter of plugging in the cable and switching to aux in on your radio and you should be done with it.
The cable itself that you need is very cheap, you can literally find it only for a few dollars, and you don’t really need any special knowledge to use it, plug it into your phone as if you were connecting headphones, and you’re good to go.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
Covington Creations: Earbud yo-yos “A clever solution to tangled earbuds”.
Bits Limited: Mini Squids — Travel-Sized surge protected power strips
Dane-Elec: Mobile Junkie Media Streamer – Stream content from a flash drive or SD card to your Smartphone or tablet.
“Into Tomorrow”: Microfiber Screen Cleaning Cloths with Dave’s cartoon on them, for all your smartphones, tablets, TVs, camera lenses and computer screens!
Tylt: A plethora of USB charging cables for iPhone and Android phones and iPhone battery cases.