HOUR 3:
Tech News & Commentary
Linda in Madison, Wisconsin listening on WTDY 1670AM called and asked: “How can I use technology to monitor my teen to make sure that they’re not getting in dangerous behavior. My teen is too young to drive, so I’m not looking for a car monitor. But, I do want to verify that she is where she says she is and how can I monitor to make sure she’s not bringing friends home when I’m not there?”
These are really two separate questions there. How can you track your teenager’s whereabouts? and, how can you know what she’s doing when she’s alone at home?
The first is probably best done by using a device your teenager would never leave at home and never consider being without for even one minute. Yes, we’re talking about their phone. Every wireless carrier offers their own version of a family locator service, assuming that you’re using GPS enabled phones. Some of them offer real time tracking, showing you dots moving on a map, while others offer an alert service, telling you when your child has arrived home, when they leave school, and so forth.
In the second case, what you’re looking for is a security system with cameras that watch the inside of your house. We use a system like that here at our studios. Dave can see what’s happening both outside the house AND inside, from wherever he is, either through a computer web browser or using his smartphone. The system can even detect motion and alert you to when someone has arrived home.
Obviously something like this isn’t going to be your bargain basement security system, but any time you want more advanced technology there’s going to be a price tag on it.
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
“Into Gaming Update” Weekly Feature with Mark Lautenschlager
Call of Duty Black Ops, you can even buy a jeep themed after it! Listen for details!
Dave and the team discussed the prototype Sleek Audio custom fit, wireless hybrid in ear earphones.
Features:
– Great sound blocking.
– Custom fit.
– Still in the prototype phase.
– Estimated value: $700.
– Custom logos on the earphones (hand painted!) and hard case.
Here’s are some pictures of Dave’s working prototype:
Guest in this hour:
Chris Chapin , Area Manager – Nerds on Call
Are you having computer trouble? Call A Nerd shares some simple measures to extend the life of your computer.
Shawn in Shanendoah, Iowa listening on KMA 960 and via the podcasts asked: “External media player – I’m trying to find something that will take the place of all the DVDs that we have in the house. I have quite a few movies. Want one with an internal hard drive. I think I’ve found one. The Argosy one from Newegg looks nice. Want your opinion on whats the best available. HD output is nice, but not critical. An internal Hard drive is nice. 2TB I think would hold all the movies. My second question is if you know of any rules or laws against showing these movies in our house after we install all the movies. because after we have them on the hard drive, we’ll no longer need them in the cabinet.”
One very important thing to keep in mind is that media players like the Argosy are media players, not DVD players. They can play DVD contents that you’ve copied to them using your computer, but if that content is protected by CSS (Content Scramble System) the media player will not play it back. And most commercial movie DVDs available for retail purchase use CSS protection. A DVD player has the “key” to unlock the CSS and playback the disc, because the manufacturer has paid for that license. A media player does not.
Now that being said, there are a number of software programs out there that will copy the contents of a commercial DVD protected by CSS to your computer’s hard drive and “lose” the CSS along the way. We need to tell you that such programs are illegal under the DMCA (that’s the Digital Millennium Copyright Act – quite possibly the worst piece of legislation in history). And we would never encourage you to do anything illegal. But we also won’t come looking at your computer to see if you are, if you get our meaning.
So, if you have a big stack of DVDs that you’re wanting to play back from hard drive, then a media player, like the Argosy unit you identified, would be the right avenue to choose. But keep in mind that you will need to get around the copy protection if you want to dispense with the DVDs themselves.
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
Carl in Plainfield, New Jersey listens to the podcast and sent us the following email and asked: “Just bought a new iPod Touch 4th gen. In my car, I don’t have a cassette player and am looking for an inexpensive way to play my iPod in my car. Need it to be reasonable because I’m on a fixed income.”
If you’re looking to keep it relatively inexpensive, you’ll have to go with an FM transmitter. You can find them starting at around $20 and going to well over $100. But, you have to bear in mind that it transmits the audio to your car stereo over an FM frequency. If you live in a town that’s similar to us down here in Miami where we have a station on alomst every frequency on the dial, you’re gonna run into some trouble. In order for these devices to work properly, they need a good clean frequency with no station on either side of it.
There is a website that you can visit that will list unused frequencies in your area so you can figure out what to use, you can find it by clicking here. While an FM transmitter is the least expensive way to go, it may not work very well for you. You may be better off saving up a couple hundred dollars for a new car stereo that will allow you to connect the iPod directly to it.
Chris has an Alpine head unit that cost him about $250 about 3 years ago. For another $40 he purchased the iPod cable that let him plug the iPod directly into the back of the car stereo. He puts his iPod in his glove box and control everything from the radio itself. He had to go that route because we have that problem down here in Miami with no usable frequencies and he could never get any of the FM transmitters he tried, to work.
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
If you have any questions about any of this week’s show info, please email us here.
Into Tomorrow Product Spotlight with Rob Almanza
Logitech Revue is one of the first products to bring Google TV to your home. How well does this set top box perform? Is it the right time to get Google TV? Rob Almanza reports on our Product Spotlight this week.
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
D-Link: Several MyDlink-enabled Wireless Network Cameras to keep an eye on your home.
Honestech: Copies of Claymation Studio 3.0 Deluxe with PC Camera included – stop motion video creation software
TrenMicro: Copies of Titanium 2011 — Maximum Internet Security including 10 gigs of online backup.
TuneUp: Copies of TuneUp Utilities – Optimization software for PCs.