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Tech News & Commentary
Travis in Lindsay, California listens to the podcasts – Calling in via the App asked us: “I’ve been using a Microsoft Zune to listen to various podcasts. I recently upgraded my phone to a Nexus 5 and I was wondering what you could recommend as a podcasting app so I don’t have to carry a second device to listen to my podcasts.”
Travis, We hope you enjoy your upgrade, maybe call in and let us know what you think of the your new phone.
Stitcher and TuneIn Radio are the most popular of the podcast and music streaming apps. we found a few that were said to be good podcast specific apps like Podcast Republic, Podcast Addict, 
Podkicker Podcast Player and Pocket Cast. These are available in the Google Play Store for free.
One issue with Stitcher and TuneIn Radio is that while they are very good at presenting podcasts already registered with their catalog, they aren’t quite as simple when it comes to adding your own custom feeds for podcasts that might not be listed in their index.
For that, you can look at BeyondPod. Available in both free and a paid-for “Pro” version, BeyondPod has a very simple “Add feed” button. You can choose then to browse podcasts they already know about, or simply enter the address of the feed you’re wanting to follow. As soon as you do, you can use the update feature and you’re off to the land of listening!
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
“Into Gaming Update” Weekly Feature with Mark Lautenschlager
Leonard in Raleigh, North Carolina listening on WPTF 680 AM asked us: “I have a situation where I’m trying to contact my daughter and my Apple iPhone was completely dead, I tried to charge in the car with a car charger but wouldn’t do anything. Is there any tech device out there that will streamline my phone to charge faster instead of plugging it to a wall unit.”
Leonard, The list of chargers is endless. From charging pads, to power cases, to even solar-powered chargers. They all have the same purpose but which type of charger depends on how will you use it.
It seems that the best charging device in your case would be a power case. Since it is a case, you kill two birds with one stone; you get protection and a charger at the same time. Brands that we recommend are Mophie, TYLT, and uNu. Prices can vary depending on the brand.
The uNu has a very slim lightweight design but ensures protections and can range around $30-40. Mophie can range from $70-120 which can be very pricey for just a wireless charger but it does quality charging from 1500 mAh to 2100 mAh power changing depending on the case. TYLT offers 2500 mAh power charging at a market price of $60-$99, which is a great price for the amount of energy that the phone is being charged on.
Wireless iPhones chargers can found in most places that sell technology such Best Buy, Walmart, Target. Also in websites like Amazon or on the actual manufacturer’s website.
As for speed though, there’s nothing that will be able to beat your wall charger. Unfortunately batteries just take a while to charge and there’s no way to get around that by buying a third party gadget. iPhone chargers are rated for the most power the phone can take in at once, your iPhone can be charged slower, but nothing will charge it faster than it’s original charger.
There is some good news though, any 1A USB car charger should charge your iPhone just fine. If your current one doesn’t, that’s probably because of a problem with either the car’s 12-volt port, or the charger itself, but if everything works as it should any 1A charger or above will charge your iPhone.
If you connected your iPhone to a car charger and the phone “did nothing,” then something is wrong with either that charger or your phone. Once the iPhone is connected to a charger, even if the battery is completely drained, the phone should power up and become usable again–as long as it’s plugged in to the charger–in just a few seconds.
I use one of the Tylt ENERGI Sliding Power Cases with my iPhone 5, and Chris uses one also. I highly recommend it. It’s a two part case with a slim inner case that will protect the back and sides of your phone from scratches or dings, and a larger case containing a battery into which the phone “docks.” Whenever I notice my iPhone getting low on battery, I press the button on the back of the case and my phone recharges. Just that simple. It does add size and weight to the phone–¼” thicker, ½” longer, and 3 ounces heavier–but I personally don’t find it objectionable. They’re not cheap, at $100, but it has eliminated any worry I have about using my phone too much during the day.
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
Guest Segment:
Dr. Derek Cheung, Author of Conquering the Electron
offers readers a true and engaging history of the world of electronics
“IFA History Feature” brought to you by Messe-Berlin
Since the compact disc was such a huge success, the industry tried to develop the technology further. A photo CD for pictures, an interactive CD-I and a CD video format for up to 74 minutes of video were developed, but the capacity was limited at 900MB. So the industry jointly worked on a new system, based on the CD technology but with much higher capacity. In 1995 the Digital Video Disc, sometimes also referred to as Digital Versatile Disc, with a capacity of 4.7 GB was defined, nearly double that capacity in a double layer version. Of course IFA was the stage for the new DVD technology.
Ron in Interlochen, Michigan asked: “I have a Windows 8 and recently I have been getting phones calls but there’s something wrong with my computer. I don’t give them any more information but they keep telling me that they’re from Microsoft Windows and they won’t even give me a phone number to call them back. I don’t know if they’re the legit thing or something that has been going on.”
Ron, They are not legitimate calls, it’s actually a very well known scam.
As a rule of thumb for any future calls, no company that claims to have sold hundreds of millions of licenses of the product you’re currently using will bother calling each customer one by one to let them know there may be something to fix.
In fact, this is what Microsoft says about whether it ever calls customers: “There are some cases where Microsoft will work with your Internet service provider and call you to fix a malware-infected computer—such as during the recent cleanup effort begun in our botnet takedown actions. These calls will be made by someone with whom you can verify you already are a customer. You will never receive a legitimate call from Microsoft or our partners to charge you for computer fixes.” Read more here.
Microsoft’s consumer support phone line is 1-800-642-7676, and you can find it on Google (tell them you used Bing, it’ll shock them and make them happy). It’s not a big secret and no one from the company should have any problem giving you at least THAT number if they’re legitimate.
Don’t fall for it, they’re pushy and they’re just scammers. You should report these people to the FTC, it’s what Microsoft recommends, and we’ll also includea link to FTC’s complaint form on this week’s show page for you.
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
Patrick in Wilmington, Delaware listening on NewsTalk Radio WDEL 1150 asked: “I have a new Windows Surface Tablet, and it takes pictures both ways. It does not have a flash. How can I enhance taking pictures without a flash?”
Patrick, Unfortunately there is no way you can enhance the picture that way while you are taking it but after taking the picture you can download a photo editing app that will let you adjust the brightness, contrast, sharpness and many more options that will enhance the picture. Photo Editor by Aviary is a great editing application that does the job and is FREE!
You can also check out the Windows RT version of Adobe Photoshop Express. It’s not as good as the Photoshop Touch for iOS and Android, but it does have an interface that’s familiar to Photoshop users.
Fotor is another free photo editing app for Windows RT. It offers the same editing features as the other, but also lets you create photo collages and use a tilt/shift tool to change perspective in the image.We can’t do anything about your lack of a flash, but hopefully some good photo editing tools will brighten your day!
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
SMS Audio: Street by 50 – Over-The-Ear Headphones and earbuds
Parellels:Parallels Desktop 10 Software allows you to run Windows on your Mac
Kanex: GoPower Battery Pack – Mobile battery pack with built-in stand for smartphones
Tylt: Several Charging cases and cables – for smartphones and tablets