HOUR 2:
Tech News & Commentary
Mike in Idaho Falls, Idaho asked: “Wondering if there’s a legit program where you can get satellite TV on your computer so that if you’re out at a place with a Wi-Fi connection, you can get your satellite TV.”
There is a product that will allow you to watch your home TV from anywhere in the world. In fact, we were talking about it on the show last week. The Slingbox connects to any source (a cable box, a satellite receiver, etc.) and will allow you to use your broadband connection to access and watch your TV from anywhere. (Assuming you also have a broadband connection at the other end).
There are a couple models available. The standard definition, Slingbox Solo, sells for about $160, and the Slingbox Pro HD sells for about $300. Once you buy the box, there is no monthly fee to use it. You just login from your laptop and watch away.
You can also purchase the Sling Player Mobile, which works with the set top box, to allow you to watch from your mobile phone. It’s compatible with BlackBerry, Windows Phone, Symbian, PalmOS and iPhone. That software is an additional $30.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
“This Week in Tech History” Weekly Feature with Chris Graveline
Victor in Smyrna, Georgia listening online asked: “I am interested in buying a camera, but I don’t want to spend a lot of money, and I don’t want it to be too hard for me to figure out how to use it. I want to spend around $150. I want the zoom function and I want to be able to crop, and maybe a little video recording.”
One camera that Ross, on our staff, recommends is the Canon Powershot A1000. It has decent image quality, and a 4x optical zoom. It’s a bit over what you want to spend at about $200, but it’s a great camera to have. A plus, it also does do video recording, as do most digital cameras these days.
You can also try the Panasonic Lumix DMC FH20, it’s a 14.1 megapixel, slim, pocket able camera that packs a 28mm wide-angle lens and 8x optical zoom. It can record HD video, is very easy to use, compatible with Windows 7, can take HD quality photos that fill a 16:9 HDTV.
Another contender that fits your budget is the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W330. You’ll find it under $150 online. Because of the price, it’s lacking some features, but you can shoot video that is good enough for Web-sharing, and you can crop pictures. It has an image resolution of up to 14 megapixels (good enough for large prints, but you probably won’t need to use all 14 MPs).
sixs sent us the following email and asked: “I have a computer with a 300GB hard drive running Vista. I also installed several versions of Linux. I reinstalled with the HP disk the new OS. It now shows 198GB on the hard drive. How do I recover my lost hard drive space?”
What happened was your Linux installation partitioned your hard drive and the HP disk didn’t reclaim the space when installing Vista.
Think of it this way: Vista is living in a nice house all by himself, then he invites Linux to move in, Linux decides it needs a minimum living space and immediately puts locks on the kitchen, bathroom, and living room doors and claims those parts of the house as his.
Eventually, Vista kicks Linux out, but Linux leaves with the keys and Vista can’t reclaim the rooms. Now back to computer terms, the rooms (or hard drive space) that Linux took up make up its partition, the rooms it never claimed make up Vista’s partition.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Guest in this hour:
Alex Eckelberry, CEO – Sunbelt Software
Sunbelt’s new VIPRE Antivirus Premium product adds firewall protection to its security capabilities. Alex tells us how it can help protect your computer and data.
“Into Tomorrow” Product Spotlight with Rob Almanza: WikiReader — Wikipedia in your pocket without an Internet connection! Click Here or on Rob’s face for details
Micah in Porterville, California listening on KTIP 1450 AM asked: “Was thinking of getting USB headphones for the PS3 that could possibly do the 5.1 surround, and somewhere between $100 – $150.”
You might want to look at the Tritton AX 720 Circumaural Dolby Digital Surround Sound Headset. The long name means that when you have the headset on, it completely covers both ears, giving you one of the best quality sound experiences possible.
This headset also allows the removal of the cushioned pads, which makes them easy to replace after countless days of use.
The box contains two headset jacks, a USB microphone port, and a Digital Audio decoder. The Digital Audio control box allows you to deliver your sound via Dolby Digital 5.1, Pro Logic II, and Dolby. This gives you the option to hear the sound through the headset with the 5.1 Surround Sound experience.
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
Amazon: HydroRight Smarter Flush Technology Converts any size toilet to Dual-Flush & Anti-Siphon Fill Valve!
Honestech: VHS to DVD 4.0 Plus – Easy to use video conversion software
iMPROV Electronics: Several Boogie Board Paperless LCD Writing Tablets
Joby: GorillaTorch Original – Hands-free flashlights with flexible, bendable legs and magnetic feet
RadioShack: Weather Clock Radios with SkyWarn