Latest Tech News

<< Last Week's Show (07-20-2012) | Next Week's Show (08-03-2012) >>

 

Weekend of July 27th, 2012

 

Dave and his team of tech experts answer more of your questions via the Ask Dave Hotline. In case you haven't yet, call us ... toll-free 1-800-899-INTO (4686) ... with any consumer electronics question, opinion, help another listener or tell us what your favorite app is and why. You can also participate via our FREE "Into Tomorrow" App (iOS/Android/Intel AppUp). Thank you for your participation!

ITTV Video Update

This week we show you one of Rob's latest distractions: a unique smart phone and tablet charger that has him staring at LEDs all day long. Take a look at how YANTOUCH's BlackDiamond line of chargers will keep you in awe. Also, Chris Graveline takes us back into yesterday's historic tech past on "This Week In Tech History

Listeners & Guests on the show this week:

For ALL the details ... be sure to listen to the show by downloading the MP3 or clicking the RED & WHITE "Play" button on the media player, both on the right-hand side of this page.

HOUR 1:

Tech News & Commentary

 

Mark in Jackson, Georgia listens online and asked: "I have a SlingBox and a Sling Catcher. I want to add another Sling Catcher to my home network and found thta they no longer make it. In fact, if you search for these online, they have become extremely expensive. Can you tell me what happened to the Sling Catcher, why it's no longer on the market, and if there are any alternatives?"

 

It seems to be off the market because it didn't sell well. When it first came out, it went on sale for $300. Not too long after, that the price dropped to $200, then $160, then $99. These days it's selling for a ridiculously high price online! We've even seen prices in the neighborhood of $800, but that's probably just for the few people that still want it.

There aren't any direct replacements as far as we can tell. You can get similar functionality using their expensive mobile apps, but you still have to somehow get the image from your phone to the TV, so you need a phone that's capable of doing that as well.

Other than that, there aren't many direct replacements, but depending on the kind of use you were giving yours you may find other products that will suit your needs.

For example, there are streaming boxes like the Roku and Boxee boxes. They will allow you to watch certain TV shows, not directly from your TV but from the Internet. Systems like Dish's Hopper and DirecTVs Home Media Center allow you to view your recorded DVR content in other rooms. None of those directly replace the SlingCatcher, but if they'll replace the particular use you had for it, then that might work for you.

 

For more information tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.

 

 

 

 

The "Into Tomorrow" team discussed the latest apps that they have been playing with recently.

For iOS:

• Mark recommends: Things, $19.99


 

"My app this week is 'Things' for iOS. Things is an organizational tool that lets you create lists of things from each of the worlds you live in. For example, mine were Work, Personal, Radio Show, Blog, Games, and Sports. In each of these I can simply brain dump all the things I need or am working on. Then, for any given day, I simply indicate which things from each world I want to accomplish that day and Things makes an agenda for my day. As I check things off the list, it updates each of the sub-lists accordingly. I find Things useful because it lets me keep segregated lists of things to do, but combine elements from each of them into a daily list without having to copy/paste or retype anything. Things isn't cheap at $19.99, but I've not found another to do list manager that even comes close." -- Mark

 

 

• Chris recommends: AutoRap, FREE for a limited time, $1.99 after


 

"I figured I'd be different this week and talk about an app that wastes time. If you've ever wanted to be a rap star but are a little too ... let's say 'hokey', then this app is for you. It's called AutoRap. It's very similar to the 'Songify' app I highlighted a couple months ago. With this app, you record yourself speaking, and it turns your speech into a rap. For instance, before the show, I recorded myself reading from one of our promotional flyers and here's the result... The app itself is free and comes with two songs that are always free. They give you 20 free 'plays' of some of their other songs, after that, you purchase 'play credits' to use them. It's fun, it wastes time and more importantly, as Erasmo told me, it can make me the next Eminem." -- Chris





• Some of our listenes' recommendations:


• Norman wrote: "Timesheeter! I have multiple business where I have to track multiple projects, customers, expenses, etc. I am a tech consultant, property manager, and farmer. Weird mix I know LOL. This is the only app I have found after trying many other time tracking apps that allowed me to do what I want. Plus the import/export and backup options are perfect for my needs."

• Tom in Albuquerque, New Mexico wrote: "At the moment I am enjoying Flex Player and CineXplayer on iOS. Flex player is free and CineXplayer is $1.99. These apps let you transfer and play multiple formats of video on your ipad without the need to convert. I love these apps for how they run on a gen 1 ipad and actually barely touch battery even after a 2 hour movie. cinexplayer lets you convert 2D video to 3D video if you want without need for conversion. When I want to watch Star Trek or Angry Beavers cartoons on the go, these are my go to apps for video. Oh these also work on the iPhone and iPod Touch 3rd gen as well.

• Trevor in Alaska wrote: "What??? There are other apps besides Into Tomorrow??"

• Joey in Knoxville, Tennessee listening via our free app recommends: "Tiny Post. This app is free on iOS. Allows you to write captions on pictures that you have taken. All you do is snap, write and share. Sharing your picture is one of the nicest features because you can simply upload the picture to your favorite social sites -- Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr right from the app. It's super easy and fun!

Tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast for more details.

 

 

Rick in State College, Pennsylvania listens and is calling via the iPhone App asked: "Are there any services for Mac that clean your Mac or tune it up so it runs fast. Thanks!"

 

There are several Mac maintenance programs you can try. One of the most well known seems to be MacKeeper. They advertise like crazy on all kinds of popular websites, and they have a lot of satisfied users. MacKeeper does general maintenance, but it's also an antivirus that detects both Mac and Windows viruses (useful for people who run Windows on their Mac either via some virtualization software or Bootcamp).

MainMenu has been a popular maintenance program with Macs for years. It's less user-friendly than MacKeeper, but it's tremendously useful for plenty of maintenance tasks, you may just need to know what tasks to perform with it first.

You can also use some of the built-in tools Mac OS X provides, which is mainly Disk Utility. A lot of problems go away by repairing permissions. To be honest, Rick, none of these tools are super popular because Apple users rarely find them necessary, so you probably won't need to worry too much about it. I've used MacKeeper and it seemed to have done an okay job. But, it was using a lot of memory, so I decided to stop using it.

 

For more information tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.

 

 

HOUR 2:

Tech News & Commentary

John in Water Valley, Mississippi asked: "What is the difference between Dish Network's Hopper and DirecTV's Media Center?"

 

They're similar offerings by competing companies. They both let you have one DVR and access it from any room in the house. The Hopper system limits you to three Joeys and a Hopper being able to play different shows at the same time. The same with DirecTV version, allowing you to play 4 shows at the same time.

The Hopper will record all of the Primetime shows on the major networks automatically, recording up to 6 shows in HD at the same time. It has three satellite tuners. Meanwhile, DirecTV's Home Media Center can record up to 5 at the same time, but whatever Primetime shows you record will eat up some of those 5 slots.

The Hopper has a nice edge when it comes to watching recorded Primetime shows. The AutoHop feature will automatically skip through the commercials for you without you needing to do anything except say "yes" to using AutoHop, when you first start playing the recorded show. The AutoHop feature can only be used with Primetime shows.

For more information tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.

 

 

 

Michael in Olive Branch, Mississippi listens online and asked: "Hey Dave, I have a question about USB car chargers. I am looking for a dual port charger that is best at charging the latest smart phones and tablets. I am not sure of the amount of volts, or watts, or amps that would work best. My wife and I both have Transformer tablets and Galaxy Phones and are just wanting to stay charged commuting to work and school.I stream your show straight from your website and enjoy every minute of it. Thanks for any help."

 

They're similar offerings by competing companies. They both let you have one DVR and access it from any room in the house. The Hopper system limits you to three Joeys and a Hopper being able to play different shows at the same time. The same with DirecTV version, allowing you to play 4 shows at the same time.

The Hopper will record all of the Primetime shows on the major networks automatically, recording up to 6 shows in HD at the same time. It has three satellite tuners. Meanwhile, DirecTV's Home Media Center can record up to 5 at the same time, but whatever Primetime shows you record will eat up some of those 5 slots.

The Hopper has a nice edge when it comes to watching recorded Primetime shows. The AutoHop feature will automatically skip through the commercials for you without you needing to do anything except say "yes" to using AutoHop, when you first start playing the recorded show. The AutoHop feature can only be used with Primetime shows.

For more information tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.

 

 

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT with Rob: BlackDiamond Lamp (Smartphone/Tablet Charger)   This week Rob shares one of his latest distractions with us. A unique smart phone and tablet charger that has him staring at LEDs all day long.

Features/Specs we love: - YANTOUCH is known for their unique lighting products that also function as a charger for your devices. For example, they make the BlackDiamond 2 3D ambience dock, which we first reported on at IFA in Berlin last year. - The BlackDiamond 2 works along with a free app called "BlackDiamond". Launch the app and insert the phone in the dock. Your device enhances the lighting effects of the lamp. - This dock is also a sound enhancer for the iPhone. It's not only a helpful charging tool, it's a good conversation piece because it just looks sweet on your desk or any other flat surface at home. In case you're interested, it's currently selling in the US for about $43 on Amazon. - For non-iPhone users, they created the BlackDiamond Lamp. It works with all sorts of tablets and smart phones. And, yes it still works with iPhone as well. - BlackDiamond Lamp has some neat controls. To turn it ON, you simply put your hand over it. To turn it OFF, you hold your hand over it for 3 seconds. - To adjust the brightness, you blow. Yes, blow. Leave it to the Taiwanese to make it fun. Just blow in the slot to toggle through the 3 different levels of brightness – 10%, 30% or 100%. - The lamp uses LEDs and goes through 1500 colors. It's nice to mellow out, by staring at the lamp as it changes colors slowly. - The BlackDiamond Lamp is USB-powered. You plug it in to your laptop or PC or use your device's USB power adapter. Then, insert the appropriate USB cable to charge your device. The charging indicator will be an orange color, pulsating while your device is plugged in. When it's fully charged, a green light will throb. - Currently available for about $43 online.

 

 

Rebecca in Naples, Florida listening via our "Into Tomorrow" iPhone App asked: "Hello Dave and Team,
Do you know anything about the YouMail app for the iPhone? If so, what?? Thanks :)"

We haven't used YouMail, but what we know about it is that it's a voicemail replacement app for iPhone and Android.

It's similar to Google Voice in the sense that it will show you all of your messages on a list, Visual Voicemail style, and they both offer message transcription. YouMail offers the option of having a human being listen to the message and transcribe it.

One big difference between YouMail and Google Voice, though, is that Google Voice is free. YouMail has several tiers of service, so it's not free. YouMail charges between $4.99 and $39.99 a month for the plans.

One problem you may run into is that YouMail does not transcribe past the first 60 seconds of a message, so you will have to listen to longer messages to know what the caller said.

 

For more information tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.

 

HOUR 3:

Tech News & Commentary

Ray in Santa Fe, New Mexico listens on KTRC 1260 asked: "I have a G4 Apple PowerMac and obviously, Apple is not supporting their Tiger OS anymore. I'm trying to figure a way to upgrade without having to sell my car to pay for it. Can you help me out?"

 

You won't be able to get a new Mac for cheap, but your easiest option will probably be to look at refurbished computers. This is something we've recommended in the past.

Apple sells refurbished products with equal or similar warranties as a new ones, and for a discounted price. We checked their refurbished products page for you and found Macbook Airs from a little over $700, Macbook Pro's starting at around $900, but it will all depend on when you look.

You can also look at used computers. We've found a big inventory of used Macs at TheMacStore.com, but how they were treated is obviously not known and they're not that much cheaper than refurbished ones, so they may not be worth the trouble.

For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.

 

 

Denzel in The Bahamas asked: "What is the best telephone for a blind person? Something I can regularly talk to and have all the apps interact by speaking?"

 

You won't find any extremely good solutions. What we mean by that is, you should be able to use a smart phone. The phone will help you find everything on the screen and read it to you, but it won't be super easy and fast at first.

You won't be able to use all apps by simply talking to them or having them talk to you. Instead, what you will find will be systems more in line with the iPhone's VoiceOver feature, where you run your finger through the screen and it will read the text back to you.

iPhones introduced VoiceOver as part of the accessibility revamp that came with the iPhone 3GS, and they quickly became big favorites with people who are blind and those with impaired vision in general (since there were more features than just VoiceOver). What the iPhone is lacking that might be of use to you is a physical keyboard, this is probably far less important now since the iPhone 4S added voice dictation, but you may still consider it a useful feature.

There aren't many modern Android phones left with physical keyboards either, but you can look at something like the Droid Pro that will give you Android's version of the VoiceOver which they seem to just call "Text-To-Speech" and a large, comfortable physical keyboard and you will retain the ability to dictate text to your phone if you'd rather do that.

We know there are loyal Into Tomorrow listeners who may be visually-impaired and we'd like to get your input for Denzel. What do you use? Do you prefer the iPhone VoiceOver accessibility features or Android's Text-to-Speech? Join us via the AskDave Hotline: 800-899-4686.

For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.

 

Amber asked: "I have a Verizon HTC Incredible phone (the original Incredible). Lately, I've been having issues about "low space" (which I assume means low memory b/c I have plenty of storage space.) I have tried deleting apps, pics, etc. I even took it to the Verizon store for help. The employee cleared out "data" from apps which I now find myself doing daily. It all seems to have happened since my last system update ( I have Android version 2.3.4). On a regular basis it says that I need another system update, but gets stuck where it says it's going to reboot and never does. I was reading online about "rooting" your Android phone. Is this option something that might help with my issues? Will it allow me to delete apps that were programmed on my phone when I bought it that I never use? I don't want to buy a new phone because I have the unlimited data plan through Verizon and don't want to be forced out of it as they no longer offer it anymore."

 

Let us start by offering you another option, it's not a great option, but you should know it exists: if you upgrade paying full price for the phone, you get to keep your unlimited data, Verizon will only force you onto the new limited plans if you buy a subsidized phone. Now, this is not a fantastic option because you will be paying hundreds for a phone that would otherwise cost you very little money, but you would get to keep your plan.

Now, if that doesn't work for you and you do want to keep your current phone, yes, rooting will allow you to get rid of apps that you can't delete now.

What's happening to you right now is that it's internal memory is getting full, that's the reason for the warning and the reason you can't upgrade your operating system. You can move apps to your memory card either manually or using an app like Apps2SD, and that should help, but it's not always enough.

Apps don't just store themselves in the internal memory, they also store information that for whatever reason cannot be in the memory card. This may be for performance purposes, security purposes or just because for the app to function that's where that data needs to go.

What this means to you, is that even if you move all the apps you can move, you may still run low on space every now and then anyway.

Now, rooting is called rooting because "Root" is the superuser under Unix-based systems, it's the user that can do absolutely everything so, if you root your phone, you will gain the ability to modify files that would normally be off-limits to the "regular" end user, that include the ability to delete apps that came bundled in with the phone, whether that's Facebook, or Twitter, or one of the apps most people may have some use for, or those silly "download an overpriced ringtone from us, this totally requires it's own app".

There's one last thing for you to think about, do you reach whatever your data cap would be under the new plans? because, in the real world, you may not have any use for the unlimited plan you have and it may not hurt you to switch to a capped plan.

We should note that if you choose to root your phone, you would be reformatting it and installing new ROMs. This would erase every bit of data presently stored on the phone and that alone will remedy your storage issues, at least for a while. Rooting is not illegal and it will not harm your phone, but it can leave it in an inoperative state, and your wireless provider won't support it in that case. So rooting your phone is definitely a "proceed at your own risk" enterprise.

For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.

 

 

 

Tom in Albuquerque, New Mexico listens to the podcast - calling in via the App asked: "What is Apple's beef with widgets, the one thing I miss about my old Android phone is the ability to have the little power widget thing that lets you have the ability to to turn off your Bluetooth and wifi and so on. On iOS 5.0 I had the widgets and when 5.1 when came around they're gone. Is there gonna be an Apple update that'll let me have my widgets back I don't have to plow through hundreds and hundreds of menus to get to to my Bluetooth and my WiFi. Maybe the iDork will have something on this one so I can have something like you and the rest of the Android have."

 

If you had widgets on iOS 5.0 (other than the weather and stocks widget), your phone must have been jailbroken. Apple has only released pretty lightweight widgets so far for iOS, there are rumors that a music control widget might be coming, which would make sense, and the reason for that is probably battery life.

Android phones tend to have pretty lousy battery life, the iPhone ... also has lousy battery life, but not as lousy. One of the reasons for that is probably that running services are kept to a minimum. If you ask someone complaining about their Android's battery life to shut off every widget and use a static wallpaper, odds are, their battery life will noticeably improve. That's probably the only reason Apple hasn't supported widgets and live wallpapers until now.

We suspect that, in time, they will add more widgets to the notification bar and slowly let people get used to the idea that if they want to ruin their own battery life, it's not Apple's fault, but that may take a while.

If you don't mind jailbreaking your iPhone, you can install widgets to the notification bar, including power control widgets but, as we suspect you found out already, if you update the phone the jailbreak will likely go away and you'll have to start over with all the widget installations again.

For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.

 

Listener Dan asked: "Do you know of a good app that I can use on my iPhone 4 to print to my wireless printer? My printer is probably 5 years old and is an HP 1312nfi multipurpose color laser. I can print from my laptop wirelessly to this printer currently. I love your show."

 

To print on a printer that wasn't designed to work with Apple's AirPrint, you're going to need your computer's help, you're going to have to set up your computer to share that printer with your iPhone, and then print from the phone through your computer, which means your computer will need to be on for you to be able to print from the phone.

If you happen to have a Mac, there's a program that makes it pretty easy, it's called AirPrint Activator and it will allow you to use AirPrint with any printer that's shared on your Mac. After you install it just use AirPrint on your phone, as if you had an AirPrint compatible printer.

For both Windows and Mac you can use FingerPrint, a program that will also share any printer with your iPhone and make it seem to it that it's AirPrint compatible, the downside of FingerPrint compared to AirPrint Activator is that it will cost you $10.

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

NQ Mobile: Activation codes for NQ Mobile Vault (Premium Version) -- An Android app that keeps your text messages, pictures, and videos safely hidden from prying eyes.

StrikeForce Technologies: Several Download Keys for GuardedID – anti-keylogging software

ZoneAlarm by Check Point Software: Several download keys for ZoneAlarm Extreme Security (antivirus, firewall, spyware protection)

 

Tweet

Download Our Show

Listen To Our Show

Amazon Links »