Shelly Palmer Digital Living - Daily Radio Report

Google’s Chromecast is one of the cheapest ways to get web content on your TV. Launching with access to Netflix and YouTube, Chromecast has already gotten platforms like Hulu and HBO Go interested and working toward getting more content to Google’s tiny streaming gadget. For now, though, Chromecast is a bit limited, and won’t store a video library or play things like QuickTime files. If you’re looking to add some more content – including just about anything that plays in a browser or things you may have downloaded elsewhere online – there’s a really easy way to do it. Begin by installing the Chromecast browser extension on your computer. Connect your browser to Chromecast, then drag and drop the file you want to play into your Chrome browser. Click on the Chromecast browser extension and select “Cast this tab.” That’s it! You just opened up Google’s $35 streaming device to a whole new world of content in just a matter of minutes… and did it all for free.

Is your iPhone’s home button busted? Whether it doesn’t work at all or is simply inconsistent, having a broken home button can be a real pain. Within a year of buying your iPhone, a quick trip to a Genius Bar will fix you up. But if your phone is out of warranty and you’re not ready to plop down a few hundred bucks for a new one, there’s a way to work around a broken home button. It’s called AssistiveTouch, and it’s totally free. To access it, go to Settings on your iPhone, and head into the General section. Scroll down and tap Accessibility, then find AssistiveTouch – it’s near the bottom – and switch it on. This pops up a semi-transparent overlay button that’ll appear on every screen. It was designed to help those who can’t hit the physical home button properly, but will also help you work around your broken button. Whether you want to go home, open multitasking or take a screenshot, AssistiveTouch will let you do it – and it won’t cost you a dime.

You just bought an awesome new smartphone. Great! But before you sell your old smartphone for some extra cash, there are a few things you should do. First: back up your data! If you’ve got an iPhone, you can do this through iTunes or just sync everything to iCloud. If you’ve got an Android device, head into the settings menu and set your Google account to back up information. Some third-party apps like Titanium also do the trick. You should also make sure to clear out your old phone. Most phones have a way to revert to factory default settings. Some security experts also recommend apps like Autowipe or Lockout to completely erase all data on your old phone. Finally, pop out your SIM card and an extra memory card if your phone has one. If you want to make sure no one gets a hold of any of your data, you could always hold onto your old phone when you get a new one… or get creative with a hammer.

Last week, Google unveiled the Moto X, its newest flagship phone and a device that Google’s Executive Chairman, Eric Schmidt, said offers “the best of Android.” But does it work for you? The Moto x isn’t meant to be a top-tier phone and compete with the big guns, like Samsung’s Galaxy S4. But it’s more powerful than the iPhone 5 and has a bigger screen. The Moto X will launch in about a month on all major U.S. carriers from $199 with a two-year contract, and AT&T customers can even choose from a handful of different colors. The phone’s most innovative feature is its Touchless Control; the Moto X is always listening for you to say, “OK Google Now” and ready to help you do just about anything you want without having to touch your phone. The Moto X isn’t for the diehard techie who needs the absolute latest and greatest, but if you just want the best of what Android has to offer, the Moto X delivers in spades.

While Motorola’s focus may be on its upcoming Moto X, Verizon unveiled three new phones last week in Motorola’s new line of Droids. The $199 Droid Ultra, the $299 Droid Maxx, and the $99 Droid Mini will replace last year’s line of RAZR phones and are all major steps up over those devices. All three phones have faster processors and faster GPUs, twice the RAM and protective Kevlar backing. They all also have “touchless control,” meaning you can train your phone to recognize your voice and do just about anything you want, through Google Now, without ever picking up your phone. While the $99 Droid Mini took some battery and performance sacrifices to keep its price point down, the $299 Droid Maxx features an almost unprecedented 48-hour battery life. Whether you want a phone that will last you all weekend – or want to save a bit of money and go with one of the more inexpensive models, all three phones are available for pre-order today, and will ship on August 20th.

Fitness-tracking devices, like Fitbit and Nike’s FuelBand, are one of the fastest-growing markets in the tech world. FitBark, “the world’s tiniest wireless activity tracker for dogs,” plans to bring this type of gadget to the canine world. FitBark attaches to your dog’s collar and monitor’s her activity throughout the day, and lets you check out how active your dog has been through a companion smartphone app. The tracker is lightweight, rugged and water-resistant, so no matter what trouble your dog may get into, it should come away undamaged. The coolest part about FitBark is that the app can receive data from other trackers, like Fitbit and FuelBand, so you can compare your dog’s activity levels with your own. FitBark reached its $35,000 Kickstarter goal within just a few days, and still has nearly a month to go before its crowd-funding period ends. If you want to back the project, you can claim one of the first 250 units with a $59 pledge on Kickstarter today.

Apple’s iPad mini reigns King in the 7-inch form factor market, but may soon lose its crown as Google recently unveiled a refresh of its Nexus 7 tablet that puts Apple’s smaller tablet to shame. Powered by a new version of the Android Jelly Bean operating system, the new Nexus 7 features a 1920x1200 pixel display, which is far greater than the iPad mini… and also higher than any other tablet currently available on the market. The new tablet improves on its predecessor in almost every way: a more powerful device with almost twice as much processing power and four times the graphical performance, all packed into a lighter and thinner case with a smaller bezel. The new Nexus 7 is available for as little as $229 – $100 cheaper than the mini – the Nexus 7 is now available in stores and online. Apple is expected to show off new iPads this fall, but for now, Google’s new Nexus 7 rules the 7-inch roost.

From high-speed internet to access to computers, today’s classrooms are more connected than ever. But in Los Angeles’s Unified School District, there’s a whole lot more in the works. Last month, Apple won a $30 million contract to distribute iPads to schoolchildren in Los Angeles County, and the school district recently announced that by the end of next year, all 640,000 students in the district will get their own iPads. The tablets will come loaded with a Pearson Courses app, Apple’s iWork and iLife suites, and a wide range of educational third-party apps. The chief facilities executive for the Los Angeles Unified School District has emphasized how important it is to give kids access to the technology they’ll face once they graduate, and that the first wave of iPads will be targeted at kids who most likely don’t have their own computers or iPads. In today’s connected world, everyone will need to master technology early to succeed later in life, which makes this partnership a win-win all around.

Getting Netflix in your living room is now cheaper than ever. Last week, Google unveiled something called Chromecast, which is about the same size as a USB thumb drive and plugs directly into one of your TV’s HDMI ports. Chromecast lets you watch things like YouTube and Netflix on your TV and can even mirror what you’re looking at in your Chrome browser. Anyone with a laptop, iDevice or Android smartphone or tablet can control Chromecast in every way: from controlling volume and playback to adding YouTube videos to a queue. Chromecast is Google’s answer to Apple’s AirPlay, all centered around the Google Play music, movies and more you’ve rented or bought over the years. The device is available now for just $35… but it’s sold out almost everywhere. The low price point makes it an extremely low-risk purchase, so if you’re looking for an inexpensive way to get your media on any TV in the house, look no further than Chromecast.

New York City will soon be more connected than ever before. Mayor Bloomberg is continuing to bring internet connectivity to every part of the city, with his eye currently set on public parks. Last week, the city of New York announced it is teaming up with Cablevision and Time Warner to bring Wi-Fi hotspots to 32 parks across the five boroughs. Cablevision and Time Warner subscribers get the most out of this deal – they’ll get unlimited free access to these hotspots whenever they’d like. If you’re not one of those companies’ customers, you’re not left in the dark. Non-subscribers still get 30 minutes of connectivity every 30 days or, if you’ve used up your monthly allotment already, you can get access to the hotspots for 99 cents per day. Wondering whether your favorite park is now equipped with Wi-Fi? A complete list of Wi-Fi enabled parks can be found nyc.gov, with even more locations expected to receive Wi-Fi in the near future.

The Ouya video game console was one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns of all-time, and the team behind the little Android box that could has set its sights on making its library of games even better. Ouya recently announced “Free the Games,” a $1 million fund that will match Kickstarter campaigns for future Ouya titles. Any game that achieves a minimum goal of $50,000 on Kickstarter is eligible for the promotion, and can earn up to $250,000 from “Free the Games” with one simple catch: the game must be an Ouya exclusive for six months. The Ouya’s hardware launch has been lukewarm at best – the console has received middling reviews and many backers didn’t get the consoles they were promised by the time it was available to the general public. But for fans of the console – and game developers looking to get in on the ground floor – ideas like “Free the Games” go a long way to helping build up the community and quality of the Ouya brand.

If you use Gmail, you probably noticed that your Inbox looks a little different lately. Google recently rolled out a new interface that sorts your inbox’s messages into different tabs. You can still keep all of your important e-mail in your main inbox, but relegate newsletters and sales promotions to their own place, and e-mails from sites like Twitter and Facebook into another tab altogether. Gmail’s new look is a way to highlight your most important messages and, hopefully, keep your inbox a little less cluttered. If you hate change and would rather have all of your e-mails make their way to one place, it’s a quick fix. Go into your settings by clicking the gear icon on the top right of your inbox. Click “Configure Inbox,” then uncheck every box that you can. Then you’re done! All messages will be sent straight to one tab, and you won’t worry about missing an important message… or feeling a deep sense of loneliness when looking at an inbox with only three e-mails.

Could we travel from New York City to Los Angeles in 45 minutes? If Elon Musk has his way, we will. Musk, one of the founders behind PayPal, Tesla Motors and SpaceX, has his sights set on extreme high-speed travel. Imagine the old-school tubes at your bank that whisk your deposit away to the teller inside. Now imagine those big enough to carry people, and you have the rough idea for the Hyperloop. These tubes could be mounted either above ground or underwater, and would be combined with the same type of magnetic levitation system used on today’s bullet trains. That means no friction, wind resistance or chance of collisions. Musk has described the Hyperloop as a cross between a turbo jet, a railgun and an air hockey table. It’s still just an idea for the future, but it’s possible that in a few years, a trip from New York City to LA could take just 45 minutes, or we could make it all the way to Beijing in just two hours.

Once T-Mobile unveiled Jump, its program that gives you access to a phone upgrade every six months, AT&T and Verizon answered by announcing their own early upgrade plans. Verizon Edge lets you get a shiny new smartphone every six months, while AT&T Next gives you a new phone once a year. Like T-Mobile Jump, both programs require a trade-in of your old device when you upgrade, but unlike Jump, neither program requires a separate monthly fee. And you’re not eligible to upgrade to a new device until you’ve paid off half the cost of your phone. But that's not the whole story. T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon build the cost of phone subsidies into their monthly service fees, so with all these plans you're actually paying for the phone twice. Once, built into your monthly phone bill and again in the installment plan. Next and Edge won’t save you money, so go pick the phone with the features you want, and get another new one for free in two years.

Corning, the maker of Gorilla Glass, has routinely made your smartphone’s screen better and more damage-resistant, but the company is about to take things to a whole other level. Taking the stage at the MIT Mobile Technology Summit, Corning showed off new display technology that goes far beyond screen protection. Its new Gorilla Glass will feature anti-microbial coating, which will kill virtually all microbes on the screen’s surface over two hours. It’s not an instant clean, but it’s better than carrying around a filthy phone in your pocket all day. The new Gorilla Glass will also make your phone’s screen way more transparent, which means checking your phone in broad daylight is going to be much, much easier. We’ve all tried to read an e-mail on our phone in a parking lot on a bright summer day – it just doesn’t work. Thanks to Corning, borrowing a phone from a friend in the future will not only be a far better – and less icky – experience.