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Tech News & Commentary
The “Into Tomorrow” team discussed the latest apps that they have been playing with recently.
• Chris recommends: FitBit, FREE
“I know I talked crap about my FitBit when I got it for Christmas. But I have actually been having some fun with it, and it’s app. Once you purchase a FitBit and download it’s free app, you can not only keep track of your steps automatically, but you can log your exercise, sleep patterns and food and drink you consume in order to help track your progress. The fun part comes in when you connect to your friends that also have a FitBit. I synced it up with Facebook and it showed me friends that also have it. One we connect, we can see each other’s progress, cheer them on, taunt them and invite each other to challenges. What’s great was this last weekend, I went with my family to Disney World, so I knew I’d be walking a lot. I have a friend who has a FitBit and is extremely competitive. I knew she would be driving back to Miami from Tennessee. So I invited her to a weekend step challenge via the app. I got a call from her telling me how much I suck because I knew she would be stuck in a car and would lose the challenge. She then told me to watch out because “it’s on now.” That’s the kind of fun you can have. Again, once you buy the FitBit, the app is free and available on multiple platforms.” — Chris
• Dave recommends: The Shopping List for Android, FREE
“There are a million List Apps, but I found that this is one of the most simple shopping list apps for Android. No complex features, just looks like your paper shopping list on your Android phone, or Tablet. You can add the products you need to buy whenever you like, then, when you are at the store just use your phone and check the list, you won’t forget anything anymore! (As long as you at least put them on the list of course!) It comes with suggestions to fill the list faster, and, after you use it a couple of times, it remembers your list and will suggest the items you once put on the list. It becomes faster and easier to fill your shopping list! It’s FREE and probably also available for iDevices too.” — Dave
• Hector recommends: Coursera, FREE
“My favorite app is Coursera. Coursera connects you with FREE online courses from 115 plus of the top Universities and Educational Institutions in the world including Stanford, Yale, Princeton and others. Browse the Coursera catalog, join courses and watch lectures from the world’s best instructors. Learn anytime, anywhere, in topics ranging from computer science to cooking and beyond!.” — Hector
What are your favorite Apps? Let us know at 800-899-INTO and we’ll feature them in this segment!
Tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast for more details
Guest Segment:
Neal O’Farrell, Security & Identity Theft Expert – CreditSesame
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Eddie in Tulsa, Oklahoma listens to the podcast and is calling via the App asked us: “What makes a USB cable charge much more quickly than others? I’ve purchased a “quick charging” cable from a local retailer, and it took forever to get a percent. I then used an OEM phone cable and got several percent in just a few minutes. Why is that?”
Eddie, As it turns out, there is such a thing as a “quick charging” cable… or maybe we should say there is such a thing as a slow charging cable, which is probably what you got.
Cables come in different gauges, different gauges have different resistance values, that means that some of the power or the data you’re sending through the cable may be lost along the length of it.
Most 3rd party cables are 28/28 gauge cables, while OEM cables are more likely to be 28/24 cables, that means that using the same charger the OEM cable you just bought is probably better able to transfer more charge quickly than the 3rd party cable. Cheap 3rd party cables also often have cheaper connectors and after several cycles of plugging them in and unplugging them, they can get slightly compressed and degrade their performance even further.
Most cables perform well enough that users don’t see a difference, but if you’re buying especially long cables, or very cheap ones you may very well notice.
If what you’re looking for is just speed, it’s likely that the OEM cable will get you the best speeds, as long as they have a good enough charger and battery to handle fast charging, manufacturers are unlikely to bundle in a cheap cable that won’t let the rest of their tech perform as well as it can.
For more information tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.
Shawn in Springfield, Tennessee listening on WTN 99.7 asked us: “I’m not tech savvy to say the least. I’m in the start of running a small business. I currently use the iPhone 4s and love it. AT&T is my carrier. I need a second line to my phone for business purposes. What is your advice?”
Shawn, You can’t directly add a second line to an iPhone, unfortunately the only way to get a second line to work with one is with either an app to make and receive VoIP – which stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol – calls, or a full phone provider, VoIP or otherwise, that forwards calls to the cellphone.
There are VoIP solutions like Ooma and RingCentral that will allow you to set up a cellphone as a virtual extension, they’re not too expensive to use, and they all claim to be easy to set up.
Ooma requires a physical device, but as long as you can give it access to solid broadband it should work well, and their core service is hosted in the cloud. We actually use Ooma as our home telephone. What I like most is that you only pay the taxes on the phone line. After buying the $150 box, my monthly home phone bill is less than $4. RingCentral does not require a local device.
You could always just get a cheap phone with a voice only line and use that as the second line, if you don’t mind carrying an extra device.
There is also Google Voice, where you can get a FREE VoIP phone number that connects to either your mobile phone or a traditional hardwired phone. Google Voice offers all manner of virtual attendant and call screening services as well.
One great thing about Google Voice is they have an app for your mobile phone and you can make outgoing calls using that app which show your Google Voice number in the caller ID, as opposed to your mobile number. And did we mention it’s free?
For more information tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.
Leonard in Raleigh, North Carolina listening on WPTF 680 AM asked us: “I have At&T as my cable company. Are there DVRs available for consumers. Its not like I have a lot of shows and once I cancel the service I have to erase the shows, so how can I copy the shows. Is there a DVR available for consumers in the market.”
Leonard, If you’re interested in being able to keep a DVR regardless of whether or not you’re signed into a contract with AT&T your options are limited.
Tivo still makes DVR that just require a cable card to work so, as long as you’re not ditching cable all together that may work for you.
If you are ditching cable and switching completely to over the air TV, ChannelMaster makes a DVR that you can buy, but it will cost you around $250 and it actually doesn’t come with all the parts you need. You may need to buy an external hard drive, if you need WiFi that’s extra too. However, if you can get past that, it does work and it’s users are generally happy.
You can also look into watching things online, of course, but that won’t help you keep your shows like you want to.
As for copying your shows, DVR don’t typically make it easy for you to copy your shows in a way that will let you keep them and watch them after you have to give up the device.
Tivo has allowed it for a while now, but for the most part with everyone else the files stay in the DVR, probably because it’s hard to sell cable companies on distributing their own piracy facilitator device.
For more information tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
Brother: A bunch of Tape Measures and Cleaning Cloths for your computer screens
TurboTax: Several online codes good for one free federal and state Tax Return and e-file for Deluxe, Premier or Home & Business via TurboTax.com
HD Radio: “Into Tomorrow” branded Portable AM/FM/HD Radios
OkiDokeys: Complete SmartPhone Operated Smart Lock for your home – including wristband & key FOBS
G-Technology: Several 500GB 7200 RPM Touro S High performance portable Hard drives with easy & local Cloud Backup and in a variety of colors!
NanoTech: Several UltraFlix Gift Cards for 4K Content, like movies and a ton of other cool stuff. Let us know if you have a 4K Ultra HD TV!