Podcast: Play in new window | Embed
Tech News & Commentary
Shawn in Redmond, Oregon listens to the Podcast and is calling via the App calling in via the app asked: “I have a Wilson Electronics Sleek cell phone booster in my truck. It used to work perfectly with my iPhone 4. I recently upgraded to an iPhone 5S, which is 4G LTE and it is no longer compatible. My question… and yes, I can find this on the Internet but what would be the fun in that? I want to hear this on the radio. I need to know if Wilson Electronics makes a 4G LTE compatible Sleek cell phone booster. If so, what do you know about them?”
Yes they do! Wilson offers an LTE version of the Sleek, as you probably know it’s not a very cheap product, the LTE version has a list price of $160, and you should be able to find it online for about $100.
Other than that, we can tell you what you already know, it seems to work as well for subscribers with low LTE signal as the old version did for people with low 3G signal so, assuming there’s some LTE to boost in your area, you’ll probably be satisfied.
There is one more thing you should be aware of, LTE is spread out using different frequencies, make sure the booster you buy works for your cell phone company, they’re not all equal, so make sure you get one that boosts the right frequency.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
“This Week in Tech History” Weekly Feature with Chris Graveline
Lance from Fairbanks, Alaska and listening via News Radio 970AM KFBX – calling in via the App asked: “I have quite a pile of 8mm video cassettes that we would like to save to a disk. Is there a VCR available that one can play these on and transfer them to a disk? I know you can do that with a camcorder but they don’t sell that anymore.”
Most of the devices that will let you convert tape to DVD work with computers as a middleman, you plug in the camera or VCR, play the whole tape, and then burn the DVD from the video captured on the computer.
The problem is that if you don’t have a working camera, you need one to use that method, so you have to buy one, you also need to buy the adapter to connect to your computer. When you add those up, it may actually be cheaper to go with a company that will do the conversion for you.
Standalone devices that take a tape and convert them to DVD without computers or anything else being involved are rare and most of them are professional equipment and priced as such. Have a look around, even Walmart is converting 8mm tapes to DVD, you may find a better deal than buying a lot of equipment for a one time conversion.
Walmart’s YesVideo service will charge you $19.95 to convert up to two tapes, for a maximum of two hours of video. As part of the conversion they will make your movies available to you for watching online. Since you say you have “quite a pile,” the Walmart pricing might not be the best deal for you.
The website VideoConversionExperts.com provides a transfer service as well, priced by the hour. The regular price is $13.95 per hour but right now on their website they’re advertising a special rate of $8.95 per hour. Working by the hour might be better than working by the tape.
But either way, if you really DO have a lot of 8-milimeter tapes, converting them won’t be cheap. But using a professional service SHOULD give you a better transfer quality than using your own PC-based solution.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Anita in Margate, Florida listening via the Android App told us: “I was wondering does the surface tablet allow you to add programs and still have apps to download?”
Programs are apps are the same thing… computer programs are the same thing as software applications, but branding the mobile kind apps have made people think that they’re not those complicated things that come with an installer…
If what you’re asking is, can you run the kind of programs that you can under Windows and the kind of apps you’d run on a phone, to an extent you can if you’re using a Surface 2 Pro and not a Surface 2.
Phones are just less powerful computers, so typically, if a phone can do it a regular computer can too, the reason Fruit Ninja doesn’t get marketed to regular computers is that slicing fruit in half with a mouse is just annoying, but it might not be a terrible game on a touchscreen laptop.
The same goes for other apps, tilting your laptop all over the place to roll a little ball is not as effortless as tilting a phone or a tablet. Since the Surface is a tablet, those shouldn’t be major concerns.
Depending on what Windows programs you’re thinking of, keep in mind that as far as computers go, a Surface 2 Pro isn’t very powerful, so anything that requires more powerful hardware won’t run well or at all on the Surface 2 Pro. Word, Excel, and that level of programs should run just fine though! Just don’t try to stick a high-end PC game on it.
And as for that app vs. programs branding confusion, we usually say that apps are smaller, simpler, and less expensive programs. That is, all apps are programs, but not all programs would be considered apps.
We hope that makes sense for you!
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Guest Segment:
Sal Carrabba, Founder and President – Salamander Designs
William in Tupelo, Mississippi listens on SuperTalk 102.9 WWMR and is calling via the App asked: “I’m gonna have to get a waterproof phone and would like to get your suggestions on that.”
I would not worry about the phone as much as the case you get for it. The Otterbox Preserver series is currently available for the iPhone 5 and will be also available for the iPhone 5s and the Galaxy s4 in the very near future. They say your phone will be protected in 6 feet of water for up to 30 minutes, and is will also be kept free of dust and dirt.
If you are dead set on a waterproof phone, the Sony Xperia Z1 and the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active are considering themselves “waterproof” for 30 minutes in 1.5 meters of water.
If you don’t mind not having the latest and greatest hardware, the Kyocera Torque is about the size of the S4 Mini and is built to military specifications and it even comes with “tissue conducting surfaces” that act like bone conducting headphones for use in noisy environments.
The Casio G’Zone Commando is similar to the Torque, it’s also not the latest technology, but it can take a beating to military standards
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Nathan in Idaho Falls, Idaho and listening via Talk Radio 950AM KOZE asked: “I am currently converting all of my dvd movies for placement on an external hard drive. all 600 of them. how difficult would it be to use a device like raspberry pi to turn the external hard drive into a video file server and output to my hdmi projector in my theater room?”
It depends on how tech-savvy you are, if you know what you’re doing and have no major issues with console commands and Linux, it shouldn’t be that hard to do.
You should know the Raspberry Pi’s limitations though, for the most part it will play your videos (if you install the right codecs) and it will show you menus like any other media player would, but the Pi is not a powerful machine, so not everything will run smoothly.
720p videos should work just fine for the most part, but 1080p is pretty much a no-go, it’s too much for the tiny computer to handle. Your menus will also be considerably less responsive than if you went for a regular media player too, and you should not expect it to be able to play anything streaming content from online sources.
Having said that, the Raspberry Pi can run XBMC media player, it can get media files from other computers on your network, it can get your ripped DVDs from the hard drive you’re using, and it will cost you $30, so if you’re tech-savvy and want to give it a shot, look up XBMC for Raspberry Pi, it’s a reasonably easy installation considering the type of device you’re looking to use.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
David in Albany, New York and listening via Android App asked: “I have never owned a computer, and I have been saving for two years for a new computer. I’d like to buy one. All I do is surf the net and email, as well as, streaming. Since I do not own TV, that’s how I will watch TV. What computer would be in the range of $450-$500 would be the best choice? Durability is very important, I’ll probably never be able to afford a new one.”
It’s hard to recommend a laptop for life no matter what, but it’s even harder on your budget. Typically, the price of a laptop is pretty directly related to how reliable and well built it is.
Having to stick to that budget, we’d look at Lenovo machines, they’re typically not the nicest looking computers, but they’re very reliable. The EDGE E350 meets your needs and is within your budget.
The ASUS K55 series may also be worth a look, it’s a pretty well equipped computer that you can buy for around $450, and ASUS has been scoring pretty hard on quality and reliability lately, on top of that, the 15.6” screen should make it adequate to watch shows on, and you always have the option of connecting it to a TV for a larger screen if you choose to buy one.
Acer hasn’t been scoring too badly on reliability lately either, and the V3 series, has models in your price range that will certainly meet your needs. Another Acer model you might want to look into is the 360GB Chromebook. Don’t be fooled by its size. This laptop is easy to setup, and great internet speed. The small size makes it easily portable when you’re on the go.
You’re really not asking for much, if all you want to do is email, web surfing and streaming, you may even by a candidate for a netbook or a chromebook, those tend to be cheaper, and if they fit your needs, you may even be able to get to keep some of that money you saved. Buying one of them also means that you’ll have a much easier learning curve, and if you’ve never had a computer before, that may be an issue for you.
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”.
C.Crane: Senta Ally Portable Bluetooth Stereo Speaker with built-in FM radio and SD & USB reader.
Yamaha: Pro 300 Hi Fidelity, over-the-ear Headphones.
Nite Ize Innovation: Connect Case and Connect Cradle for iPhone – Hard case with belt clip, vehicle mount and desk stand.
“Into Tomorrow”:Microfiber Screen Cleaning Cloths with Dave’s cartoon on them, for all your smartphones, tablets, TVs, camera lenses and computer screens!