HOUR 2:
Tech News & Commentary
Jill in San Diego, California asked: “Wondering about this Galaxy phone I have. I may still be able to return it. I’m not sure if I should. I keep hearing some negative stuff. Maybe you could give me your thoughts about it.”
We’ve mostly heard very positive things about the Samsung Galaxy line of phones, they’re some of the most popular Android phones out there and most of their owners seem very happy with them.
We’ve heard Galaxy phones have the same “death grip” issue reported of the iPhone 4, but that’s actually not that uncommon a problem, usually when you cover an antenna the signal goes down, most Galaxy users don’t seem to be reporting too many problems stemming from this.
Have you had an problems with your phone? If not we think that Samsung Galaxy line is a good group of Android phones and you’re unlikely to face too many problems. In fact, Samsung’s smartphones are big enough contenders and good enough phones that they seem to have gotten the most attention from Apple’s lawyers… that’s probably a sign of how well liked they are by the general public.
For more information, tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.
“This Week in Tech History” Weekly Feature with Chris Graveline.
Stephen in Fairbanks, Alaska listening on KFBX 970 AM asked: “I just changed phones, carriers & new laptop as well. I love them all, but I need more signal boost. I have been researching homemade and store bought brands of boosters/antennas for this Samsung Galaxy S2. But, I have found an overwhelming amount of information in a very wide range of price and quality. I need something I can afford, or build and is proficient. I could get an antenna another 30 feet up off top of building if that would help.I know you and your crew are sharp on this stuff!! Make my day brother!! Love the show, Happy 17th Anniversary! You guys rock! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and will have a very Merry Christmas! I think this New Year of 2012, is going to be the best one yet! I feel it coming on!! Love you guys, but not that much! LOL God Bless You!!”
If you want to go the do-it-yourself, McGyver way, come by our website and we’ll link you to a couple of websites with instructions for making homemade cellphone signal boosters out of coffee cans and outside antennas.
We should warn you though, that homemade signal boosters tend not to work as well as professionally made ones.
If you’re interested in pre-made ones, you can look at WiEx and Wilson Electronics, they have several models depending on your needs, and on your carrier, but you will need to mount an antenna somewhere with a signal to have something to repeat, which may mean climbing on your roof, for example.
WiEx and Wilson Electronics signal boosters are not cheap, they range from about $150 to as much as $400, but if you find your homemade solution isn’t doing the trick you may have to go that route.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Guest in this hour:
Doug Andrea, CEO – Andrea Electronics
If you’re looking for high-quality headsets and headphones, our next guest offers a good variety, including noise reduction software for computers.
Robert in Puerto Rico, listens Online called with a tip for another listener: “I just heard a fella named Ed who had trouble retrieving data from a DVD disc from his video machine. Here’s what I suggest: There’s a program called Free Undelete at TuCows.com. It has found things on erased floppy discs and USB sticks.”
Thank you very much Robert! We love when our listeners help other listeners.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT with Rob: “Kindle Fire” Many listeners have asked us to talk more about the recently released Kindle Fire on the show. Is it better than an iPad? How does it compare to other popular tablets? We already compared it to the iPad earlier in the program. So now, we’ll let our Amazon Fan, Mark, talk about his experience with the Fire… |
 Features:– 7-inch color touchscreen with IPS (in-plane switching) technology used for an extra-wide viewing angle to share your screen with others. – Dual-core processor – Free Cloud Storage for your Amazon Storage – 8GB internal (approximately 6GB available for user content) – WiFi only |
Andrew in Anchorage, Alaska calling from our new Affiliate, Alaska Talks Here – 700 KBYR asked: “I’m looking for a good external Wi-Fi Hard drive, at least 1 Terabyte. Should I go with a stand alone unit, or go with a Wi-Fi Router with an external USB Hard Drive capability. Which brands do you recommend?”
You might as well go all the way and go with a stand alone unit. The technology’s there, why not use it? Seagate has a solution available called the GoFlex Home Network Storage System.
This Wi-Fi hard drive is available in 1, 2, or 3 terabyte sizes and can not only give you network access to your files, but it can stream your media wirelessly to networked computers, media players and game consoles.
The 1 Terabyte sells for about $190, the 2 terabyte sells for about $210, and the 3 Terabyte for about $300.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
Boingo: Two months of FREE Boingo WiFi Service available at hundreds of thousands of hotspots worldwide
Dane-Elec: Marvel Classic Heroes 4GB USB Drives – Spiderman, Iron Man & Wolverine
Solar Components: Several JOOS Orange Portable Solar Chargers – Designed to charge all personal electronic devices (cell phones, smart phones, MP3 players, GPS devices, portable game devices and more)