Words from Nerds – Same3Guys

Summary: Now that this year's Consumer Electronics Show (aka, CES) is over we'll bring you some of the highlights. Lots of companies tease products we will never see. Others are closer to reality. With high hopes for better home automation, did this year's show deliver? Hosts: Tom Kresic, John Kresic, Mike Kresic Running Time: 42:35     Nerd News Flash: This fake phone charger is secretly recording every key you type. GoGo Inflight to offer faster speeds to airline passengers “I remember the first time I got shot out of a cannon!” Elon Musk says we all will soon.   Featured Story: Best of CES Is Dolby Vision picking up from UHD/4K and cinemas where THX licensing stopped? Dust off your old audio gear for this new musical project USB 3.1 type C is small and reversible iDevices has a new item called the Switch that lets you use your phone or Siri to control appliances. The newer cooler version of X10 - iHome is also making a similar device called the iSP5 SmartPlug but no news on their website as yet Insteon has released a new hub that will integrate HomeKit tech with existing Insteon devices For comparison, here’s what Google announced as “Works with NEST”. Is SONOS about to get it from Google with Cast for Audio? Check out this classic watch strap that added bluetooth-linked display      

Summary: CES2015 is going on this week, with the usual flurry of new products and teases of future products. We'll wait until it's all done and share the best of the best with you next week. But right now Tom is ready to pull the trigger on a new phone. His current one is down to 1GB space!!! Happy New Year. And Hello 2015!   Hosts: Tom Kresic, John Kresic, Mike Kresic Running Time: 34:52   Nerd News Flash: No news today. ALL Kinds of CES announcements, but we will filter through them and share the best items with you next week to get to the good stuff Featured Story: Tom decides he wants a new iPhone. What to do? data plans providers hotspot usage cases upgrades in the future?      

Summary: The Holidays are near. We've got some last minute ideas in case you need something a little unusual. You're sure to like something on this list. Plus, we've got some new laptops and we'll talk about them and what we're most excited about.  Hosts: Tom Kresic, John Kresic, Mike Kresic Running Time: 40:23   Nerd News Flash: Last minute gift ideas. For the water lovers in your family: Soma For those geeks in the family that like to doodle: Grids and Guides When you need some more light: Nitecore Who DOESN'T want the comfiest pair of drawers: MeUndies For the family members that would like to take a cooking class from beginner to advanced: SurLaTable Raspberry Pi A+ model for $20 Amazon Fire TV ($79) with voice control or Fire TV Stick ($39, but backordered til January) For photography lovers in your life, consider a subscription to Kelby One. Or for any kind of continuing education, take a look at Lynda.com. Featured Story: Laptop refreshes for the Nerds new laptops for the Nerds. Mike - new Air with amazing battery life went from a couple hours to 8+ Tom - new MBPro 15” with Retina Display for photo editing on the road and more powerful procs and RAM for apps like PS, LR, AI and the like Got a new cover for it. Not speck this time, but Pearl. Its ok, not the same finish I liked on the Speck but better rated on Amazon. Plus came with a keyboard skin (which I haven’t used yet)    

Summary: We've got some truly unusual gift ideas this year if you are shopping for that hard-to-buy-for loved one. From sub-$200 50" HDTVs to a huge 4k display that will make your jaw drop... when you see the price.   Hosts: Tom Kresic, John Kresic, Mike Kresic Running Time: 45:34       Nerd News Flash: Glen A. Larson, creator of Knight Rider, Six Million Dollar Man and Battlestar Galactica passes away 47 pages Best Buy Black Friday ad leaks       Featured Story: Holiday Shopping Ideas                 Technology BeamBox Speaker $350 DropCam camera $150 Switch 10 solar multi tool $120 Lumu light meter $150 Amp Audio iPhone case $79 Seek Thermal camera for iphone and android $200 (PCMag review) Wacom Bamboo stylus $90 Automatic car monitoring plug in $100   Cool Stuff. ers. Wintercroft masks let you do it yourself $5-15 Brunton power knife $25 Nomad wall charger dock with battery $40 also from Nomad, the Clip $40 Google Cardboard ‘Oculus’   And for the ridiculous: The Titan Zeus 370” 4K TV for…$1.7mil Or build a TV-like case that this do-it-yourselfer built for his iPad and JamBox      

Summary: Mike explains a recent project to build a PC from scratch. Why, oh why, would he want to do that? And it's running Windows! No, this isn't an April Fools Day episode. :) Hosts: Tom Kresic, John Kresic, Mike Kresic Running Time: 42:17       Nerd News Flash: Looking for a speaker system with cloud connectivity? Look at the Amazon Echo. how about a new ride for the water? Want something unconventional? The Quadrofoil seems almost Batman like. With all of the new smart watches out there, maybe what you really need is a Space Pirate. Speaking of space, we landed on a comet 310 millions away. Rosetta and Philae bounced into the history books.     Featured Story: Building a PC Why build it in the first place? What do you need? Oh, those cables. Don’t assume anything. What did it cost? How hard was it? YouTube is your friend.        

Summary:   How is your WiFi? Does it meet your needs? This week we'll talk about how you can assess the performance you're getting from your current setup. When does it make sense to upgrade? Or maybe extend your current setup. Maybe you can just move your wireless router. Hosts: Tom Kresic, John Kresic, Mike Kresic Running Time: 36:21   Nerd News Flash: Some cool E3 announcements that will whet your whistle Sony and MSFT targeting hard core gamers which is a different approach Ringly makes a ring that rings. Well, vibrates… Facebook was a little trigger happy accidentally releasing Slingshot Careful with those electronics...Solar Flare! It looks like the Army is making Spidermen Featured Story: When Does a WiFi Upgrade Make Sense Lets talk about bandwidth. Netflix is throwing Verizon under the bus. Does the router in your home make a difference? What type of wireless is it, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac and what devices do you have connected to it? Should you be using a hardwire connection Tom is going to swap a brand new router to replace a unit that is several years old. We'll talk about the connected devices that he has. Many are typically only connected via wifi. Several of these devices are typically powered off, or he's only using one at a time (ie using PS3, means the Xbox is probably off) but it seems that over time, the quality of the wifi streaming connections can suffer. Site survey software : Heatmapper is a free Windows program that lets you map wifi signal strength in your home.      

Summary:   Apple made big news this week at their annual developer's conference with a slew of announcements about the next versions of Mac OS X and IOS. We'll cover the major features and speculate how some of this may help the consumer. Hosts: Tom Kresic, John Kresic, Mike Kresic Running Time: 45:11     Featured Story: WWDC 2014   Yosemite Apple unveiled OSX 10.10 (aka “Yosemite”) Coming in Fall. Free. Improved integration between all of your devices. AirDrop will now work between Mac OS X and IOS. Handoff feature will let you finish an email you started on one device on the other Make and receive phone calls on your desktop or iPad. Get caller ID on your Mac. Easy hot spot discovery and connection to your iPhone iCloud Drive for sharing any file types to the cloud. iMessages now works with non-IOS phones on your Mac (those ‘green bubble’ friends) Markup feature lets you annotate a photo or PDF doc in an email without leaving the email app. Mail Drop feature lets you send huge attachments via email, even if too big for your recipient’s email servers. It’ll send the attachment to iCloud and put a link in the email for a secure download. As big as 5GB attachments. Record a voice message for SMS chats. Label a group chat. Mute an individual chat thread if you want to stop notifications. Leave a group chat. A new Photos app will be needed on the Mac, but won’t be available until 2015.   IOS8 All of your photos will now live in the iCloud. They will provide much more space and competitive pricing. Photos will be stored in full quality in the cloud, including RAW and movies. But they will give you an appropriately-sized version for your device so that you aren’t taking up all your space with photos. (photostream used to just be the last 1,000 photos). Family sharing: up to six family members, who share the same credit card on file in the iTunes Store, can all share music, movies, apps, books, games. Parents can set up “Ask to Buy” feature to get a notification for approval before child can buy an app. Customizable keyboards system-wide. You can expect there will be tons, including swype keyboards. Health Book to track your health and fitness devices in one central dashboard. Home automation, to let you manage garage door openers, door locks, lights, thermostats, etc from your IOS device. Siri support to support things like “time for bed” to make sure everything gets closed, locked and turned off. Spotlight search that universally searches the web and not just apps on your device. Shazam built into Siri. And you can purchase the song through Siri, too. 20 more features in IOS8 they did not cover at the keynote.  

Summary: You're getting ready for vacation, or even a fun day at the beach. Summer is finally here and school is almost out. We'll highlight some tech to enhance your experience and help protect you and your gear from the hot sun or the cool water. Hosts: Tom Kresic, John Kresic, Mike Kresic Running Time: 33:04        Nerd News Flash: Inmarsat does the analysis and says it knows where MH370 was. Totally the wrong spot? Apple is going to take over your home!! Hasn’t it done so already? Now we’re talking about home automation. Call of Duty Advanced Warfare trailer is out. Kevin Spacey is in it. Check it out     Featured Story: Summer Tech We are going to get you ready for summer! Here’s a list of some gear that may be helpful as the shades and the sunscreen goes on. Want to bring your device to the beach but are concerned it’ll get damaged? There are several options out there to help protect your stuff. Lifeproof, Otterbox, Pelican, Dry Pak bags and more. How about that stereo? We all know that as impressive as the speaker is on your smart phone or tablet, its tough to compete with the wind and wide open spaces. Maybe you need a waterproof or resistant speaker or boom box. Here’s one from Philips that is neato. Wait! What I am supposed to do when my batteries run low?!? Party all day long and let mother nature help. For under $30 you can get one of these from Coleman and it’ll fit in most any bag at 7” x 7”. It’ll recharge any 12 volt device such as smart phones, GPS and digital cameras! I have a 14watt one from brunton that can also handle laptops. What to wear...what to wear. If you are concerned about getting to much sun, or are spending time in the converitble, make sure you visit Coolibar or columbia (and others) to peruse their collection of SPF and UVA/B protection clothing for men, women and kids. Also be sure to check out these handy links for lots of info about Sun Protection Skin Cancer Foundation REI Last but not least by any means, is sunglasses. Don’t skimp on the sun protection for your eyes because they are way more sensitive than your skin. Make sure you have sunglasses that filter out 99-100% UV rays. People often buy sunglasses based on how they look on them, but just as shape is important, so too is the type of lens in the sunglasses from what its made out of to how its tinted. Would you like to know more? check it out here: REI's guide on choosing sunglasses iGrill remote thermometer for grilling or cooking! You don't need to hover over the grill.          

Summary:   Managing your family photo and video libraries can be a challenge some times. There are some tools that work better than others. Has digital photography changed your approach to printing pictures? Are you leveraging any of the popular social media sites for sharing pictures with family and friends? We'll talk about our experiences and wishes for improving the end user experience.   Hosts: Tom Kresic, John Kresic, Mike Kresic Running Time: 33:55       Nerd News Flash: Anti Virus is dead?!? So says Symantec… Tired of all of the hubbub about google glass? How about the silently released Epson version. Dropbox making some changes to links in docs as they’ve been proven to have some vulnerabilities that could affect you. Google is the NSA? It seems that they’ve been talking for quite some time anyway.     Featured Story: Managing your photo & video libraries Photos and Videos. Tons and tons every day, with smart phones, tablets, and action cams. How do you manage your photos? iCloud, iPhoto, Smugmug, Flickr, etc. Across devices, one person, two or more, a whole family, several generations? Security? Personal photos, versus shared pics? Do you print photos anymore? Or just use slideshows electronically? posting socially? FB, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, etc        

Summary: We're back from our Disney vacation. Ten of us all experienced the Magic Bands and we'll share the positives and negatives. Hopefully Disney is listening because there is some work to do to make these truly magical. Plus, we learned a lot about monorail switching and how WDW moves so many guests around at park closing. Lots of Disney fun on this week's show!     Hosts: Tom Kresic, John Kresic, Mike Kresic Running Time: 49:45     Nerd News Flash: Hulu on mobile for free? Maybe. Apple’s latest updates for the MBAir make it faster and cheaper. BlueRay is dead! Long live Tape ?!? Google Docs is back. Google, make up your mind.     Featured Story: Disney experience with tech Reviewing the Disney magic bands The new projector show on the castle “Celebrate the magic” WDW monorails and the Monorail Man    

Summary: Are you a do-it-yourselfer? Could you use some tech to help you with your next project? We've got a bunch of apps to help with just about anything you can think of. And the nerd news covers a super cool cutting board gift idea and what Disney is doing with those new Magic Bands. Hosts: Tom Kresic, John Kresic, Mike Kresic Running Time: 30:27   Nerd News Flash: Do you need a hardboiled Galaxy S5? If so check out this video. For all those facially furry folks who get smooching complaints, heres how to get a Soft Goat. And if you know any OCD chefs out there, maybe they need the accuracy of this new cutting board. People at Amazon are running around screaming FIRE! and thats a good thing. MagicBands are Disney’s approach to convergence of tech, not a new music group. US Navy successfully converts salt water into fuel!     Featured Story: DIY or DYI (do yourself in)? Today we are going to talk about all of the ways tech can help Do-It-Yourselfers with tasks that you may not normally want to attempt. For example, there are several apps, videos and websites out there that help to walk you through some of the more difficult or complex tasks. We’re not suggesting you go out and try these if you are concerned for your safety. Safety First!   iFixit. This is a website we mentioned on a previous podcast, but now they have an app of the same name. Really nicely detailed instructions and photos for things like repairing PCs, laptops, tablets, phones, electronics, cars, bicycles, and much much more. Snapguide App. This is a similar type of app to ifixit, but much more centered around things like cooking or baking, drawing, making or modifying clothing, style and fashion WikiHow. This is even a more diverse app with wide ranging topics, sometimes being a bit odd. Some things like space saving jars or how to grow lilacs are easy enough and straightforward. Other topics like how to laugh, how to be desirable, and how to appear on courtroom television shows, are a bit of the weird. Paint Tester App. Take a picture of your intended room and then see what it looks like by applying the potential colors you’re thinking about. IdeaRoom app. This is cool. If you’ve walked through your local hardware store and thumbed through blueprints or instructions for projects like birdhouses, a bed frame, porch swings, etc. This app will help. Many of the plans do require you to In-App purchase for somewhere between $3-15 depending on the item. MeasuresLite App. Take a pic of a room or anything else for that matter, and apply the measurements to the photo, so you can reference later for your own purposes or if you’re sharing with a designer. Much easier to see the room in perspective than a plan view.          

Summary: This week concludes our three-part audio series with a focus on headphones. We’ll cover everything from in-ear earbuds, on-ear and noise-canceling devices. Plus our Nerd News Flash with news about libations that only real Star Trek fans could appreciate. Hosts: Tom Kresic, John Kresic, Mike Kresic Running Time: 41:43 Nerd News Flash: Google Glass on the roadmap to become more fashionable Audi self driving car powered by NVidia Gravity Waves work Long overdue, perhaps? Klingon Beer. To infinity and beyond! Not quite, but the ISS is getting new crew. Featured Story: Headphones Custom High End earbuds like professional musicians (check out who uses these here) High end (read that stays at home) over the ear muffs from Sennheiser What is a DAC and do I need/want one? Here’s a nice unit from Resonessence Labs that works well for people on the go due to its size. Lower end over the ear from Bell’O sounds great and have smart phone controls in the cable Over-the-ear and ear bud Noise Cancelling headphones from Monster and Bose. Bose ear buds here. I didn’t think about reviewing bluetooth devices. oops.      

Summary: In our continuing series on speaker technology, we’re talking about home theater speakers this week. With solutions that can satisfy any budget, we’ll share some considerations and resources that will help you make this all-important decision for your home theater, game room, or listening spot. Hosts: Tom Kresic, John Kresic, Mike Kresic Running Time: 38:56   Nerd News Flash: iPad2 is gone OneNote to battle Evernote Google Drive is cheaper a graphic with a 1 pixel moon Featured Story: Home Theater Speaker Systems We continue our discussion of speakers with this week’s special on Home Theater Speaker systems. We will review several different brands, from a high level, but more importantly give you a list of topics that may better help you to determine what type of speakers will best suit your needs. Things like room size, balancing speakers for a room (Audyssey), THX standards for home theater audio/video.   CNET buying guides for complete systems THX app for iOS and Android to help Tune-Up your theater Home Theater Review magazine provides information on all types of speakers, from floor standing, bookshelf, in-wall, soundbars and the all important subwoofer. THX Home Theater Guide AVS Forum        

Summary: Over the next few weeks we will be focusing on various forms of audio technology. Each show will focus on a specific segment of audio technology, such as headphones, car audio, wireless speaker technology, and home theater sound systems.   Today we're going to discuss wireless speaker tech. Hosts: Tom Kresic, John Kresic, Mike Kresic Running Time: 37:12   Nerd News Flash: GM expands recall. The end of Microsoft in your FORD? Apple releases Mavericks 10.9.2 update, patching a critical SSL loophole. BlueAnt Pump HD headphones. Featured Story: Audio Technology Over the next few weeks we will be focusing on various forms of audio technology. Each show will focus on a specific segment of audio technology, such as headphones, car audio, wireless speaker technology, and home theater sound systems. Today we're going to discuss wireless speaker tech. Wireless HOME vs PORTABLE. Understand your needs first. Engadget provides reviews of many of the newest speakers. Bose SoundLink Bluetooth speaker III TDK Life on Record A33. Jabra Solemate Max Sonos PLAY:1 is just one of several wireless options for this premium sound solution. AmazonBasics Portable Bluetooth Speaker BTV1 Try brightening your room with the AwoX StriimLIGHT. Literally. Or if you already have a stereo with an aux input, you can get something like this and pair your smartphone or tablet to it.    

Summary: In our continuing discussion of cameras, our focus turns to action video cameras this week. Everyone has probably heard of the GoPro by now. But there is new competition in terms of size and price that's emerging from some familiar brands. We've got this, plus some great listener feedback to share from last week's show. Hosts: Tom Kresic, John Kresic, Mike Kresic Running Time: 33:34   Listener Feedback: Chris told us he ended up getting a Sony NEX-7 that he loves because you can easily pull it out of the bag and quickly get a great picture. Violet and her husband are huge fans of the Canon DSLRs. She has the Rebel t5i and, while it takes great pictures, the lens is extremely noisy when shooting videos. Tom will discuss this common problem during the show. Oh, and we’re totally jealous that you are going to Comic-Con again this year. Congrats on getting tickets! Here’s a good link for DSLR lenses for video. Nerd News Flash: HP’s Chromebox will arrive in Spring. $179 London Museum After Dark with robots! Jolla’s phone cover with some cool tech GoPro goes IPO! Featured Story: “focusing” on Action video cameras GoPro brand is huge. Tom has a GoPro 3 Black, but Sony has a stake in the action camera market with the AS100V. First prosumer grade 4K video camera from Sony is the Handycam FDR-AX100 iOn cameras also in the game Kodak? Really? Well they're in it too with the Kodak SP1. Do kids even know who Kodak is? Or how about Polaroid c3