HOUR 2:
Tech News & Commentary
John in Garden Grove, California listening on XM Ch.139 asked: “I just had a great idea about the iPhone 4 and problem with antenna. Somebody locally said they could fix it by applying a piece of duct tape on the bottom left corner. So I thought, boy, what a good thing would be to have a tiny band-aid to keep you from shortening it out. It would be very stylish, and of course, Apple wouldn’t like it.”
Jason has been running around our studio saying that all Apple did with their announcement was offer a band-aid to their phone without actually fixing or addressing the problem. He even went so far as to buy some transformers band-aids and tape them around his phone. Make sure you check out our website so you can see the picture. It’s a cheaper fix and probably just as effective. It makes the phone more colorful too.
“This Week in Tech History” Weekly Feature with Chris Graveline
Janet in Jefferson City, Missouri listening on KLIK 1240 AM asked: “I need to know about webcams for use in a high school science classroom for focusing on a desk where the teacher might be doing projects and putting it on a projector. And he already had the projector “eyepiece”.”
One webcam you can try is a generic Flexible 5.0 Megapixel USB webcam. The features of this include, like most others:
– A Microphone
– A 5 MP for still camera pictures
– This one has a Flexible neck to view in different angles.
Also, you do NOT need to install any software before using it.
Another one you can try is Logitech Webcam Pro 9000. Features for this webcam include:
– Built-in microphone
– HD Video
– 2 Megapixel details for still and video
– Ability to adjust brightness
Bill in Tucson, Arizona listening on XM Ch.139 sent us the following email and asked: “I’ll be doing some international travel in the coming weeks (barring another volcanic plume in the skies over Europe). What’s the best cell phone to take along that will let me call back to the U.S., surf the web, and check emails along the way without running up a ridiculous phone bill?”
We suggest that you first look at your existing phone carrier and see if they have any sort of international plans. If you happen to have AT&T for example, for $5.99 a month, you can add a Business World Traveler option to your plan. While this won’t eliminate charges when being in other countries, it will dramatically reduce the costs per minute by up to 50% in certain circumstances.
As far as data is concerned, you have to be very very careful. When we were in China, the standard international data rate applied and that was $19.97 per megabyte. So, it can get expensive in a hurry.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Greg in Manchester, Tennessee listening on WTN 99.7 FM asked: “Having trouble listening to your show on WTN’s online player. They use Silverlight and trying to see how you can test it to see if it’s working or if they need to repair it.”
We had Mark go check this out. He was using Firefox 3.6.7 with the Silverlight plugin 4.0.50524.0.
The WTN online player worked perfectly for him. Never had one moment’s problem. So I’m not sure what Greg’s problem was, but it’s not the web site. Unless, of course, it was the web site and they fixed it before my test.
Guest in this hour:
Robb Moore, CEO – ioSafe
ioSafe makes disaster-proof storage devices to protect your data against loss due to fires, floods or other disasters.
Dave in Yosemite, California listening to our podcast sent us the following email and said: I really have nothing to say except I love to listen to the show as my way to get through a 2 1/2 hour commute to the Bay Area. This is my first time writing in and it’s on my brand-new HTC Incredible. I am an Apple guy through and through, but am tired of waiting for the non-existent Verizon iPhone. Must say it lives up to its name. That’s it, not a lot to say, but I love the show. So what’s the chance of some free schwag you might have for my new phone? Oh yeah, I got my wife one too and she loves it as well. Keep up the great show.”
Lynette in San Jose, California listening on KLIV 1590 AM asked: “I am looking for a device that will play audio files where the speed can be raised, so it can go faster. I know most MP3 players don’t have that. I was looking for something that I could possibly download that would play a CD of some sort that would have an audio speed control.”
We’re not so sure that “most MP3 players don’t have that.” In fact, we would say that most of them do. The Sandisk Sansa line of MP3 players, such as the Clip+ or Fuse, has the ability to increase playback speed. So does the iPod and iPhone. There is a trick to it, however.
Once your iPod or MP3 player sees that the files are audio books or podcasts, it will treat them differently. How you set playback speed from there will differ depending on the specific device you have.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Mike in Raleigh, North Carolina listening on WPTF 680 AM is responding to a question about using a free FAX service on the go and recommends OneSuite Fax.
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
Honestech: Fotobox – Easy to use photo slideshow software
OrigAudio: “Rock-It” Portable Vibration Speakers
Openmoko: WikiReader – Wikipedia on the go without an Internet connection
SmartSwipe: Secure personal credit card readers for shopping online
YoGen: The Universal mobile-device charger