Podcast: Play in new window | Embed
Tech News & Commentary
Kimorly in Jamaica listens and is calling via the App asked: “Wondering if 3M came out with a new projector for the iPhone 5 or 5s.”
M has not released a projector for iPhone 5 or 5s, but you do have some options, you can consider.
Brookstone sells an HDMI pocket projector that is compatible with iPhone, though it requires an extra adapter.
The MobileCinema i55 adapter is also a projector that will work with the iPhone 5 and it’s successors.
The problem is, all of those options are between $300 and $400, which means that the market for them is probably very small, so you may not want to wait for 3M to release an iPhone 5 version of the iPhone 4/4S projector.
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
“Into Gaming Update” Weekly Feature with Mark Lautenschlager
JC from Corinth, Mississippi listens to SuperTalk Mississippi 94.3FM WXRZ asked: “Im curious about WiDi. I have WiDi one one of my computers and it works beautifully. On my Lenovo Laptop however it doesn’t work. I tried updating the drivers and that didn’t work. I tried rolling back the drivers and that didn’t work. I am an IT so please speak as high as you need to.”
Intel’s WiDi, or Wi Fi Direct, promises to zap media from your computer to your television wirelessly, and effortlessly. They have the wireless part down, but the effort, well we think it still needs some work.
Instead of switches, routers, and wires, WiDi devices incorporate software access points to enable ad hoc point-to-point networks. In order to get WIDi to work properly you must have a windows 7 based laptop with the latest version of the Intel Widi Widget.
Since most televisions are not shipped with Widi support, you will also need a WiDi adapter for your television. SOme brands that are available are the D-Link Mainstage, the Belkin Screencast, or the Netgear Push2TV. If you have all the necessary equipment, you should be ready to use your laptop as your hub for media on your television. As long as you dont try to watch a DVD or Blue Ray with this setup. Due to licensing and copyright laws, this is a no-no, and may be a reason to go a different route.
Now, that’s WiDi itself, but you already have WiDi working on another computer, so if you’re interested in making it work with this one, you probably already know that it does what you need it to do.
We looked into the Lenovo issue and, unfortunately, what we found is not really great…
Lenovo tech support seems to think that it’s not working because the integrated Intel graphics card is not being properly recognized, that could be a driver issue, unfortunately in your case you’ve reinstalled the drivers, so that’s not likely the problem… the other potential culprit they offered was the hardware itself, if there’s something wrong with the hardware and the computer is still under warranty, they will replace it, and the replacement should work.
Yours is not the first case of someone having issues with a Lenovo and WiDi (the Lenovo Y400 and Y500 in particular seem to have a lot of trouble with WiDi), so they will probably be able to get you a replacement without too much trouble, but they may want you to reinstall the drivers again from the recovery partition before they do.
Good luck, and unfortunately, no techy explanation that can fix the issue in this case… it seems to just be a regular hardware fault.
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
Daniel in Sparta, Tennessee listens on WTN 99.7 asked: “I’m a teacher. I have an iPad and Apple TV in my classroom. I have to use the school wifi to mirror my iPad on to my Apple TV. The schools wifi can be unstable at times which means I get disconnected a lot during lessons. Here is my question: Is there any way to directly connect the Apple TV and iPad wirelessly without the use of wifi?”
Unfortunately, you can’t directly connect the iPad to the AppleTV without something else providing a network.
That doesn’t mean you’re tied to the school’s WiFi network though, many other devices, some of which you may already own, can create WiFi network as well.
If you have a cell phone plan that allows tethering, you should be able to make the AppleTV and iPad talk to each other but starting a hotspot from your phone and connecting them both to it.
If that’s not an option for you, your laptop may be able to act as a DHCP server and give establish a wireless network that they can both share with it.
If those options won’t work for you, you can go online and but the cheapest router you can find, spend $20 on it and just plug it in when you walk into the classroom, then connect both devices to it and use that as your iPad mirroring network.
We do need to mention, however, that using your iPad and Apple TV with your own private router might be fine for mirroring the iPad display to a TV set, but it won’t work for streaming any outside content unless your own little private network has its own connection to the Internet. Once you move off the school’s wi-fi, getting Internet access becomes your own responsibility.
Also, keep in mind that the speed of your wireless network can have a lot to do with how well AirPlay mirroring works between your iPad and your Apple TV. At the school where I work, we’ve learned that you need a FAST 802.11n wireless access point, or the Apple TV does precisely as you describe – it frequently disconnects from the iPad. If you decide to provide your own private WiFi network, be sure you use a router or access point that’s fast enough.
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
Guest Segment:
Jody Rohlena, Deputy Editor – ShopSmart
“IFA History Feature” brought to you by Messe-Berlin
The DVD was a huge success with growth rates even higher than the CD after its introduction, but it was a replay medium only. It took several years until 1999 when, at the International Funkausstellung in Berlin, Panasonic presented the first DVD recorder prototype. In 2001 the first DVD recorder was market ready and premiered at IFA. One year later these recorders were already being sold in big numbers. At IFA 2003 the first DVD recorder with built-in hard disk had its world premiere.
Alonzo from Margate, Florida listening via the App asked: “I want to buy a Tablet; I’m leaning towards the surface tablet. I wanted to know of you recommend this purchase or recommend another tablet? Let me know, thanks”
Now is a great time to give the Surface 2 a try. It comes pre installed with Microsoft Home and Student 2013, which will satisfy those on the go who insist on using the Microsoft suite of business software.
Yet, while it’s lovely that the Surface 2 comes with a special version of Office, you have to keep in mind that the Surface 2 runs a mobile version of Windows. Windows RT can only run applications created specifically for it. Regular Windows applications won’t work.
So if you need Office only, the Surface 2 could be a real bargain right now. But if you want to run Windows 8 apps on a tablet, that kicks you up to the more expensive Surface Pro 2. At that point, there is some competition to look at, such as the Lenovo Miix2 8” and the Samsung ATIV Tab 3.
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
Casey from Upstate New York listening via Stitcher Radio asked: “I absolutely love gadgets of all shapes and sizes. recently I’ve invested in a pebble watch and its in the mail as we speak. you may have already covered this topic but I’d like to know what you and your team think about this new movement. personally I like the simplicity of using a smart watch just for a communication and notification filter while I’m always busy being “hands on” at work.”
With the recent breakthrough in flexible e-ink screen technology we’re waiting to see what they come up with. We like the fact that you can see your caller ID, emails, and such on your watch, but a lot of people just not sold on the design of the Pebble. Some say that if the price dips below $100 before the new designs are released they may reconsider.
Also, considering that the big companies all seem to be working on some version it may be a good idea to wait and see what they have in mind.
An Apple watch with Facetime, for example, would be far more interesting than a Pebble watch, the same goes for Samsung, they recently released a watch too, and you can expect that to be very, very well integrated with their phones.
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
Mike from Wyoming listening via the App asked: “Is it better/more efficient to use a cable tether for an internet connection on the computer. Or use the Wifi Hotspot option on the phone? I want to get rid of my wifi and just use my cell service has the wifi.”
There are a lot of variables here. In my opinion, more important than the speed or efficiency, would be the price. With data plans ranging from $10 to upwards of $100 per month, depending on the carrier, you must be extremely diligent on your usage.
Watching movies or streaming music may become quite an expensive habit. Listening to streaming audio for just 1 hour per day will set you back about 2 gigs per month.
Throw in 1 movie a week and you are over 6 gigs a month. I would only recommend going Mobile Hotspot if your data usage is under 4 gigs a month.
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.
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
Scottevest: Lola Puff Jackets for Women & Puffer Jackets for Men – Complete with pockets for all your gadgets.
iolo: Copies of System Mechanic- Fix and speed up your PC Automatically.
TYLT: An assortment of Smartphone charging accessories and bluetooth speakers.
Nite Ize Innovation: Connect Case and Connect Cradle for iPhone – Hard case with belt clip, vehicle mount and desk stand.