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HOUR 2:
Tech News & Commentary
Frank in Raleigh, North Carolina listening on WPTF 680 asked us: “I have a Lenovo laptop and for some reason, the only video I can get normally is with an external monitor. The Lenovo has not lost its backlight because I can, at times, get both screens to appear. Some setting is causing that screen on the laptop to be dark. I can shine a flashlight on it to see the image, but I can’t see it properly so I have to have it connected to an external monitor.”
Frank, It might be the brightness level of the laptop, If you can’t manage to go into the setting and raise the brightness because of the darkness you can also press the “Fn” key and “Home” key simultaneously. If the darkness still continues, it could the be that the mini fluorescent lamp went out and it needs to be replaced.
Laptops use a mini fluorescent lamp to light up the monitor. To find which mini fluorescent lamp you need, please refer to your manual because each laptop is different.
It’s actually a fairly common thing for laptop screens to need replacing. In fact, both screens and keyboards are often replaced. I’m not surprised at all that you’re having trouble. A new screen installed should cost you around $150. If your laptop is older and you’ve been chomping at the bit to buy a new one anyway, then… you’re welcome.
For more information tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
“This Week in Tech History” Weekly Feature with Chris Graveline
William in Ontario, Canada and listening via the Podcast asked us: “What is the difference between AMD and Intel?”
William, Believe it or not … tho the 2 companies would argue … Not really all that much. They are 2 companies that have cornered the market on building the processors for your computer. Of course, Intel has been doing it a lot longer and is a lot bigger.
Now, while the processor is the brain of the computer and a very important aspect to consider, the difference is negligible between the 2 for most users. At this time, the Intel processors outspeed the AMD versions. If you are looking for high performance for gaming or graphics applications, go Intel. If you are looking for a good value, AMD is great, and probably all you will need if you are an average computer user.
We have found a benchmark test of high end CPUs updated on December 24th, 2013 that lists 25 Intel processors above the most powerful AMD processor they’ve tested, an 8-core AMD FX-9590.
Again, this may mean very little to you if you’re not a very power hungry user, for day to day stuff you’ll like barely notice a difference, but right now, Intel is offering more muscle and less power consumption for a higher price, and AMD is offering more modest performance (though enough for the majority of users), and higher power consumption, for a smaller price tag.
All that being said, here’s what we would give as the bottom line. Intel is faster, AMD is cheaper. If you can afford it, go Intel. You will be glad that you did. But if you can’t afford it, AMD will work.
For more information tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Paul in Chicago, Illinois listens Online asked: “I would like to ask you if I should update from Windows 8 to 8.1. I use an Hp Envy DV6t-7200 Quad Core. Will I still be able to get all my drivers? Thanks, Paul”
Paul, There really haven’t been many complaints about Windows 8.1, and it’s a fairly important upgrade, so you probably should install it. Having said that, yes, you may run into a few driver issues.
You should still be able to use all of the hardware that worked with Windows 8, however there is one big problem. Windows 8.1 will overwrite some drivers that’ve manually installed, and replace them with outdated drivers, thinking that it’s “updating” what you have, when you actually already had to go out of your way to install drivers that actually work.
If you have had to replace drivers manually this may or may not happen to you, the good news is that if it does, you should be able to do just what you did before and reinstall the drivers you have now.
Other than that, Windows 8.1 seems stable and everyone seems to regard it as an improvement, even if not a life changing one, so you might as well go ahead and get it.
We should also note that Windows 8.1 Update 1 is almost out the door. This massive 700MB download features some user interface improvements, but more importantly it lowers the memory requirements so it can run on less expensive tablets.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Joe in Columbia, Tennessee listening on SuperTalk WTN 99.7 FM – Calling via the App asked: “My wife is expecting our very first child. We are very excited and don’t want to miss anything. I’ve been looking at a couple of digital video cameras. Particularly one from Canon that shoots in 1080p. But I’m wondering what you would recommend for digital video cameras. Whether I should use a video camera that I buy, or maybe one from my phone. If you have any recommendations, that would be great.”
Joe, You have a variety of choices you can make, it just depends on your budget. Canon Digital cameras – for example – that shoot 1080p, can range from $200 to $550. If you’re willing to spend the money the Canon Powershot SX 50 HS might be your new bestfriend, at a juicey price of $429.99.
That one captures full HD 1080p, high-resolution images up to 4000×3000 pixels. But if you’re leaning the other way, You can take a look at the Powershot SX 510 HS – This is a 12.1 Megapixel digital camera priced at $250 that still shoots in 1080p.
I like the Panasonic HC-X920 HD camcorder. It sells for around $800, which is pricey, but it has excellent low light performance. That will be important in the kinds of environments you’re likely to be shooting in. However, we always recommend that before you buy a dedicated camera of any kind, snapshot or video, you try the camera you probably already have in your pocket — your smartphone. Most current generation smartphones take excellent pictures and videos.
Now if you don’t want to use a smartphone because you want to share this camera (and we understand that handing over your phone to someone else can make a person nervous), then there are a lot of excellent options like the ones we just listed. But sometimes, a camera in pocket is worth two in the store!
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Guest Segment:
Dr. Eric Klopfer, Professor & Director of the MIT Scheller Teacher Education Program & The Education Arcade – Vtech
Learning toys for kids
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.”
William, 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, iPhone 5s and the Galaxy s4.. 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.I must tell you though, I have the Preserver on my phone and it is a little difficult to hear.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Randy in Nashville, Tennessee listens on SuperTalk WTN 99.7 asked: “I’m trying to convert WAV or WMA files to a PCM file and I don’t know the best way to do that. I have a Windows 7 computer. Can you help me?”
Randy, PCM stands for Pulse Code Modulated, and that refers to the format of the actual audio itself. WAV and WMA, on the other hand, are file formats. So a WAV file, typically, is using PCM data.
PCM is an uncompressed file format, which is different from lossless (that’s compressed but only in a way that doesn’t lose any of the file’s original data when being uncompressed) and of course is MUCH different from compressed or “lossy” (where a portion of the file data is thrown away to make a small file size).
WMA can be either lossless or lossy, but WAV should always be uncompressed PCM format files.
If what you have is a WMA Lossless format file and you want to convert that to an uncompressed WAV PCM file, Microsoft themselves makes a free tool you can download, and you can use the online converter at media.io.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
Intuit: Activation codes for TurboTax Premier – File your taxes easily (This version includes investments and Rental property)
PhoneHalo: StickR TrackR — find any object you attach it to with your smartphone
Noizy: Kameleon Series Bluetooth earbuds
PURE: Jongo Wireless Adapters — Allows you to stream all your music wirelessly to your home audio system.
“Into Tomorrow”: Microfiber Screen Cleaning Cloths with Dave’s cartoon on them, for all your smartphones, tablets, TVs, camera lenses and computer screens!