HOUR 2:
Tech News & Commentary
Willie in Columbia, Missouri listening online asked: “Can you add memory to an iPhone 4 so you can have more movies and that sort of thing?”
Unfortunately there isn’t an official solution to expand memory on iPhones. Each one comes with a certain amount of integrated storage (16GB or 32GB) and there is no memory card slot for additional memory expansion. A solution for you could be “MobileMe” from Apple, their cloud storage service. Apple calls it: “Your hard rive on the web”. With MobileMe, you can upload content from your iPhone to your iDisk (aka to the “cloud”) for storage. Or, upload media from your computer and access it on your iPhone.
You are able to push contacts on your address book, sync calendar appointments, and upload photos, songs, videos to MobileMe. The standard individual account with MobileMe costs $99 a year and provides 20GB of combined email and file storage, and 200GB of monthly transfer. They currently offer a Free 60-day Trial.
With the MobileMe iDisk app for iPhone and iPod Touch (Free for MobileMe members), you can view files on your iDisk right on your iPhone or iPod Touch. Any recently viewed file won’t need to be loaded again. And if you want to share a file, the iDisk app lets you do that, too. iDisk sends your recipients an email with a link to download your file.
While Apple’s MobileMe plays nicely with the iDevices, there are other “cloud” services you can consider. For instance, Dave and Chris use MiMedia. It works similar to MobileMe’s iDisk. You uplaod the media you want to access on the go to your MiMedia account online, and with the MiMedia Mobile App for iPhone and iPad, you’ll have instant access to your entire personal media library. The best part: you’re not saving this content on your iPhone, freeing up your non-expandable space.
Tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast for more details.
“This Week in Tech History” Weekly Feature with Chris Graveline.
Denzel in Freeport, Grand Bahama listens online and asked: “I’m blind and in the Bahamas. Is there a technology like GPS I can use to plot my course as I go along daily, like going to the bathroom, and it says the steps I take and when to turn? And if I want to go to the bus stop, how many steps to take down the road? Or, if I’m traveling in a car, it can tell me where I’m at. Wondering if the technology has extended into that yet.”
That is a very good question. We found a product that the compnay describes as an “easy all-in-one handheld talking GPS for people who are blind or low vision.” It’s called Trekker Breeze GPS from HumanWare. The Trekker Breeze GPS system uses an intuitive way to get you to a new or previously visited destination. Breeze tells you where you are, where you are going and what is around, such as stores and public services. You can record routes when you learn them with sighted people, so that you can use them later without assistance. And, even record (or bookmark) places along your route, like your new favorite restaurant or a friend’s house.
The Breeze will remember your previous pedestrian tracks even after you turn off the device. It’s also possible to activate the reverse route by pressing a button and it will bring you back to where you started.
What makes this product suitable for the visually impaired is that it announces every intersection you approach, and it tells you your location at any moment with the push of a button. To give you an idea of the size, it’s similar to a small TV remote. We’d say it’s bigger than the average cell phone and smaller than the average cordless phone. The company claims the battery can last 8 hours on a full charge. The Trekker Breeze is available for $929.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Peggy in Jefferson City, Missouri listening on KLIK 1240 AM asked: “This is the first time I’ve heard the station. I’m driving and heard you talking about home security. I have a Mac Laptop and older hard drive. I have a mom staying with me that has dementia. I’m interested in seeing what the cost is to install something. For instance, where I can monitor from work.”
Your decision comes down to a couple points. How tech savvy are you, and how much coverage do you need? If you don’t want to “roll your own” home monitoring system, then you can contact a company like ADT, which offers a full home video monitoring system. Multiple cameras that you can view remotely with any computer and even a smartphone. There are a bunch of simple cameras that you can monitor — even record with motion sensing and Pan/Tilt/Zoom — from companies like TRENDnet, LogiTech, D-Link, Lorex and others that we have been testing here at our studios.
But you will pay for this level of service. How much you pay will depend on how many cameras you want installed, etc. If that’s not feasible for monetary reasons, then you can install your own remotely monitored video camera that attaches to your wireless Internet. Each camera is, in effect, its own video server. You would connect directly to it if you want to see what’s going on now, and some are smart enough to email you pictures of what they see whenever motion is detected in the room.
We’ve been using NextAlarm since 2007 at both of our studios (Radio & TV). However, we installed the cameras ourselves. Thankfully, they’re not very difficult to hook up. After cameras are setup, you can monitor them via NextView an iPhone/iPad/iTouch App. That’s what we use to keep an eye from anywhere in the world! Ask the folks at NextAlarm.com for more info and see if they can help you.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Guests in this hour:
Jay Elliot, Founder & CEO – Nuvel
Can your smartphone keep you safe here and abroad? Nuvel develops “vSOS” for smartphones, an app that becomes your personal mobile emergency system.
“Into Tomorrow” Product Spotlight with Rob Almanza: T-Mobile G2X vs. HTC Thunderbolt — Click Here or on Rob’s face for details
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
iolo: Several copies of System Mechanic – Fix & speed-up your PC, Automatically
SmartShopper Electronics: Several SmartShoppers — Electronic Grocery List Organizer
ZAGG: A variety of goodies, including: ZAGGsparq battery packs, ZAGGMate iPad cases, dual USB 2.0 in-car chargers & XL gadget wipes