HOUR 2:
Tech News & Commentary
John in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada listening on Sirius Ch.108 asked: Do they make a device that would block a GPS signal? They put a GPS device in my truck and it snitches on me every time I go a little too fast.”
You can indeed buy a GPS jammer, but maybe it’s helping to keep you safe, and we’re assuming that it’s your company that’s keeping an eye on your driving, so be careful before you jam it or rip it out. Many companies, like Haas GPS, provide services to companies to help keep track of their company vehicles and other assets.
You can have a very simple jammer that looks like an antenna with a cigarette lighter plug attached to it. You just plug it in and you’re in business. If the jammer is within 25 feet on the GPS unit, the signal should be jammed.
Prices vary, but you can buy the cigarette lighter model for about $130. There are bigger models for as low as $27.
For more information, click here or tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Alan in Santa Maria, California asked: “Interested in the iPad and also interested in the Nook from Barnes and Noble. Would like your comments.”
Also, Hemanth sent us the following email and asked: “Is it a good idea to buy an iPad now or wait. I hear bad reviews about an iPad.”
If you’re wondering about which version of the iPad to buy, think about how much music or videos you have on your computer right now. When you sync with iTunes, you can control what stuff to transfer to it. Rob went with the 32GB version and has plenty of room on it. Dave has a pretty extensive music library. And, you have to think about how much you’re willing to spend. The 3G+Wi-Fi version will cost you about $129 more than each of the Wi-Fi version only, depending on how much storage she’ll need.
Rob has had his iPad since Day 1 and loves it. He has the 32 GB Wi-Fi only version that costs $600. There’s also a 3G version, which requires a data plan from AT&T, but it also works on Wi-Fi. He uses it on a daily basis. It works great with email, web browsing, music & video playing, apps, and several other goodies. Please note the iPad is not a laptop replacement, but you can do a lot with it. You can stream movies using the Netflix app. And, our Into Tomorrow app works great on it.
If you have the Nook, make sure you have the new Nook 3 upgrade for the Nook’s OS. The upgrade came out in the end of April, so we certainly hope that most you have already taken care of that by now.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
“This Week in Tech History” Weekly Feature with Chris Graveline
The “Into Tomorrow” team has recently been playing with the Rock-It Portable Vibration Speaker
The Rock-It portable vibration speaker turns any object into a speaker. It takes music from your device and generates it into vibration sequences. It sends those vibrations through the Rock-It “pod” which you can stick to any object.
Chris in Tyler, Texas listening on KTBB AM sent us the following email and said: “It was kind of amusing listening as you all were talking about iPhones and all the apps, and that you never have anyone say they’re unhappy with the apps, or “I just use my phone for phone calls.” Let’s face it, no one buys an iPhone for just calling and texting. They buy it for the apps available. Luddites, like me, buy simple phones for that. You wouldn’t buy the biggest, baddest Swiss Army Knife or top-of-the-line yacht and say, “I just bought it to open letters,” or “I just fish off of it from the dock.” My wife has an iPhone, which she bought strictly for the medical app she needs as a pediatrician. I have an iPod Touch and use it for music, solitaire, and word search. I only have that because my brother bought it for me. Otherwise, I’d have just a smaller MP3 player.”
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Joe in Hyannis, Massachusetts listening to the podcast asked: “Are there any TVs coming out that have Skype enabled on them. I heard about a Panasonic TV that had it, but are there any others?”
Yes, there are TVs that you can expect to use with Skype enabled on them. For example, Panasonic and LG widescreen HDTVs are said to be including Skype.
For those who may not know the full story, Panasonic displayed this technology at CES back in January. As of May 18th, they finally activated the app on all of its 2010 VIERA Cast-enabled TVs (including the VT25, VT20, G25, and G20 Series). However, you’ll also have to buy a Panasonic webcam that will cost $170, which supports both VGA and 720p video.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Guest in this hour:
Mark Riccobono, Executive Director of the NFB Jernigan Institute – National Federation of the Blind – Vote for their cause as part of Pepsi’s Refresh Project – Click Here
Could a blind person drive a car? Researchers are trying to make that notion a reality. Mark tells us how that is possible.
“Into Tomorrow” Product Spotlight with Rob Almanza: ioSafe Solo External Hard Drive — Click Here or on Rob’s face for details
Terry in Bossier City, Louisiana asked: “I’d like to know the difference between a netbook computer and an iPad.”
A netbook is designed to look like a regular laptop computer, but smaller. An iPad is a hand-held tablet device and a larger version of an iPod touch.
Netbooks are great for people who need a lot of portability, but they don’t quite have all the features of a laptop. Many netbooks do not have a CD driver, although they do have USB ports that will allow you to connect an external CD or DVD drive. They also won’t have the processor speed, memory, or RAM of regular laptop.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.