2012-01-23 WSVA Show Notes
By Ron Doyle, Administrator | January 23, 2012 - 12:19 pm - Posted in WSVA Show Notes

Welcome to the first show of 2012!  This is the beginning of our third year and I am certainly glad you are still listening and reading.

I want more of you this year to sign up and be members of the site. It costs (my favorite amount) $0.00, all you need is an email address and I will NOT SPAM you.  I think I sent out one email last year to all the members.

So anyway here you go with the notes from the latest show along with a link to the podcast if you would prefer to listen to the show.

Thanks for joining us.

Ron

Tech News
Tablet, e-book ownership soaring, study finds
A study finds the number of people who own tablets or e-readers has soared after the devices proved to be a popular gift over the holidays.A report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project set to be released Jan. 23, 2012, finds that 29 % of Americans owned at least one tablet or e-reader as of the beginning of this month. That’s up from 18 percent in December.

Americans are Quitting TV
Has America’s love affair with bigger and better TVs gone sour?According to a survey from Accenture, people are watching less broadcast and cable TV. Less than a third intend to buy a new TV in 2012. Smartphones, tablets and computers are eroding traditional TV viewing — bad news for TV manufacturers and traditional content providers.

The online survey of 10,000 adults in 10 countries, including 1,000 in the U.S., found that the percentage of people watching broadcast or cable TV in a typical week on televisions fell from 71 percent in 2009 to 48 percent in 2011. The percentage of consumers who intend to buy a TV set during the next 12 months also declined, from 35 percent in 2010 to 32 percent in 2011.

Columbia University says the net may be changing the way we think
The rise of Internet search engines like Google has changed the way our brain remembers information, according to research by Columbia University psychologist Betsy Sparrow published July 14 in Science.“Since the advent of search engines, we are reorganizing the way we remember things,” said Sparrow. “Our brains rely on the Internet for memory in much the same way they rely on the memory of a friend, family member or co-worker. We remember less through knowing information itself than by knowing where the information can be found.”

If your child receives free school lunches, you may qualify.
Internet access for $9.95/month plus taxes.No price increases, no activation fees, no equipment rental fees.

Geocaching with Android http://www.geocaching.com/android/m
Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online.

Now you can geocache using your Android phone and Groundspeak’s Geocaching for Android Application.

Dad creates Autism App  http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/video/dad-creates-app-autistic-sons-15346472

imageRon’s nephew, Joe Hill, creates an iPhone app to help his two kids, the family and the rest of the world with Autism.

I hope you are able to listen in and call in next month along with visiting the site between now and next month  on Monday, the 2oth of February, 2012.

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2011-12-19 WSVA Show Notes
By Ron Doyle, Administrator | December 19, 2011 - 2:54 pm - Posted in WSVA Show Notes

Hey there, I hope you got a chance to hear us on the show this morning.  But I’m looking out for you.  If you missed it here are the sites, news, etc. we talked about so you can take a look.  Also, below is a link to the podcast if you would like to listen in.

Check out WSVA Online too for even more into and here is today’s podcast.

Have a great month and I hope you will be listening and calling next month, Monday, January 23rd!

Thanks,
Ron

Tech News
U.S. agency admits massive data breach with SSNs
The U.S. government failed to tell nearly 32,000 people their Social Security numbers were inadvertently published in an electronic database, documents show.Scripps Howard News Service said it found 31,931 living Americans in a review of three copies of the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File, available for purchase on the Internet. The database contains names, Social Security numbers and birth dates.If the Social Security Administration’s estimate is accurate, the Social Security numbers of more than 400,000 living Americans have been released since 1980.

President Obama signed the CALM Act on December 15, 2010.
Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act requiring TV broadcasters to ensure that commercials air at a volume no louder than the programs in which they appear. Here are some facts you need to know regarding the CALM Act.

Ninite http://ninite.com/
You bought that new computer and now you want to install all the standard applications you had on your old one.

Do you do to each site and download the apps individually or just one run application? Just run Ninite.

You choose from their large list of popular apps. Firefox, Chrome, Skype, Thunderbird, Google Talk, iTunes, VLC, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Dropbox, etc. It creates an executable file for you. You need those apps on a computer and just double click that file to install the ones you chose. Very quick and very smart.

The PC Decrapifier

http://pcdecrapifier.com/
Is your PC running slow? Even brand new PCs often come with LOTS of pre-installed software that can cause that new machine to come to a crawl. Not to mention all of the annoying pop-ups! Others may have a PC that’s a couple years old and we’re the ones that installed a bunch of junk! It happens to the best of us. We try a bunch of programs over time and forget to remove them.

The PC Decrapifier is here to help! It’s a free tool for you to use that helps remove programs, unnecessary startup items and icons that can slow down your PC. It takes you step by step, giving you recommendations on what to remove, many of which can be removed unattended.

Naughty Codes (from Kathy, Harrisonburg) http://naughtycodes.com/
It’s fun to be naughty?!

Online stores send out discount codes to SELECT groups of customers, leaving the rest of us to pay full price! To that we say, NO! We find and list ALL of the coupon codes and promotional codes that can be found. If it’s out there, we have it! Be naughty with us by using these codes for added discounts when shopping online.

Internet Phishing Quiz http://www.opendns.com/phishing-quiz/
Think you can outsmart Internet scammers?

Ever wonder how good you are at telling the difference between a legitimate website and one that’s a phishing attempt? Take this quiz to find out.

Touchpad Blocker http://touchpad-blocker.com/
Why doesn’t someone invent an application that will prevent your notebook cursor from jumping around the screen when you are typing and your thumb accidentally drags across the touchpad?

They have and it is called Touchpad Blocker.

Touchpad Blocker is a must have software for notebook owners who prefer to use touchpad instead of mouse or other pointing devices. Software helps the user to type text as fast as possible by locking mouse events during a small period after any key were pressed. The touchpad remains enabled all the time!

Flyboard http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57341005-1/flyboard-makes-you-a-jet-powered-aquaman/
Waterpowered jetpack turns you into aquatic Aquaman or Flipper.

French water sports champion Franky Zapata’s Flyboard is basically a rotatable platform attached to a long hose and a hydrojet. It can lift the rider 30 feet out of the water while he or she pilots it with secondary, handheld jets.

The Flyboard’s thrust comes out below the user’s feet instead of a jet pack, so it’s more like riding a skateboard. It connects to any personal watercraft (PWC; aka Jet Ski, a brand) with an engine of 100 hp or greater.

For only about $6,500 + you need a Jetski.

VIPER SmartStart http://www.viper.com/SmartStart/
Start your car or truck from most anywhere with your Smartphone. You can get these from somewhere around $200-$400.

I hope you are able to listen and call in next month year
on Monday, the 23rd of January, 2012.

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2011-11-21 WSVA Show Notes
By Ron Doyle, Administrator | November 21, 2011 - 12:28 pm - Posted in WSVA Show Notes

Here you go another exciting (well OK hopefully interesting) thing Jim and I looked at this month on the show. 

Below are all of the applications, sites, etc. we talked about plus here is the podcast for your listening pleasure back at WSVA Online.

Have a great month and I  hope you will be listening and calling next month, Monday, December 19th!

Thanks,
Ron

Tech News
It’s Okay to Unfriend on Facebook, Emily Post Says
The 18th edition of "Emily Post’s Etiquette"; the quintessential guide to modern manners, has been revised to include seven chapters that cover manners in social media and technology.

Can’t remember if the fork goes on the left and the spoon goes on the right? For perfect P’s and Q’s, you know exactly whom to ask: Emily Post.

But what are the rules when you’re talking with a friend and she whips out her cellphone to check her email, or when someone you never liked in high school suddenly wants to be friends on Facebook? Who’s there to tell you the right thing to do?

    Here are a few of Emily’s suggestions:
  • Never interrupt a conversation to answer a call, email or text.
  • the book says you should always respond within a day or two to personal messages, and within 24 hours for business mails.
  • When in a suitable place to use a cellphone, watch your volume, tone and language.
  • The book frowns upon cellphone use in a place of worship, theater, or restaurant, or during a meeting or presentation.
  • If you’re expecting an urgent call, you should set your device to vibrate and check it later, or move to a private space and speak as quietly as possible.
  • You also don’t have to continue contact with a Facebook “friend” after the initial reconnection conversation, and it’s perfectly acceptable to actively unfriend someone, untag yourself from photos, or delete a friend’s comment from your page.


Physicians using tablets to treat patients
Within the next year, almost half of all doctors will be using tablets and other mobile devices to perform everyday tasks, such as accessing patient information in electronic medical records (EMRs), according to the survey by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), a nonprofit group.

Today, a quarter of healthcare providers surveyed say they’re using tablets in their practice. Another 21% indicated they expect to do so within a year.

The study shows that more than half of healthcare professionals currently use a smartphone for work, and about a third use their smartphones or tablets to access EMR systems. Another 20% expect to start mobile usage with Emergency Medical Records within the next year.

Any doctors in our area have any thoughts?

Retail Me Not
http://www.retailmenot.com/
Coupon codes, printable coupons, grocery coupons for Christmas-or any other time!

Advice from the pros: For extra secret sales and discounts, get the company’s store credit card as many promotions are for card holders, only. HOWEVER–don’t be tempted to run up that charge card! Any savings you initially make will be lost if you are paying off a high interest rate.

1 Sale a Day
http://1saleaday.com/
Every 23 hours they run another sale of four or more items. They are categorized as Electronics, Watches, Family and Jewelry.

Be cautious as sometimes they have good deals and other times just so-so deals.

Google Music https://music.google.com
Do you have an iPod, iPad, Tablet PC, SmartPhone and on-and-on that you have music on? If so you have to try Google Music.

I have been using Google Music, during the Beta trail, for the past month or two and it is slick.

I have uploaded all of my music to the site (about 2,500 songs and books) and can play it from most anywhere I can get online. Whether phone, tablet any computer, etc. They have a limit of up to 20,000 songs to be uploaded, stored and streamed (played online) for free.

They also have a store to buy more music at some very good prices. I think Google may have bet the competitors with this one.

See you next month and don’t forget to follow Double Clicks on Twitter and Facebook!

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2011-10-24 WSVA Show Notes
By Ron Doyle, Administrator | October 24, 2011 - 11:59 am - Posted in WSVA Show Notes

Here you go, the news, links and sites we mentioned today on the show.  And don’t forget you can listen to the podcast of the show here.

Have a great month and I hope you hear from me then!

Ron

Tech News

Ford vehicles will read you text messages while you drive
Ford is installing a feature in its new vehicles — and many of its older ones — that can read text messages out loud.

The feature, which is intended to reduce texting while driving, is part of Ford’s voice-activated technology, Sync, and is already installed on all model 2012 Ford vehicles with the exception of the Ranger.

Using a Bluetooth connection, it syncs with phones and alerts users when they receive text messages, reads them out loud and allows users to respond with a selection of standard pre-written messages without taking their hands off the wheel.

Google Unveils Driverless Car Tech
Self-driving car technology was unveiled by Google, the pioneering search engine turned car maker.

The website’s co-founder Sergey Brin announced Wednesday that 10 percent of the company is working on innovative projects outside the web domain — the first of which is the building of "autonomous" cars.

The driverless vehicles, which travel through normal roads under the instruction of computers, are designed to help people with mobility issues and to combat congestion.

For info on how it actually works check it out at IEEE Spectrum.

Virginia Law regarding driving and cell phones usage.

Let Me Google That For You
http://lmgtfy.com/
People ask you a question about something that you know would be easy to Google; just send them a link from this site.

Type in the search and it creates a link you can email them and then they just click it and get the search.

Try these –> http://tinyurl.com/3jg5b8r and http://tinyurl.com/3okt63q 

Who Calls Me?
http://whocallsme.com/
This is a user supplied database of phone numbers of telemarketers, non-profit organizations, charities, political surveyors, SCAM artists, and other companies that don’t leave messages, disconnect once you answer, and simply interrupt your day.

If you received a strange call, unwanted SMS message, or just came across a number you don’t recognize and want more information about, most likely you are not the only one. Search for this phone number to see the reports of others. If there are no reports yet, leave your comment to start a conversation.

If the number you searched for isn’t in their database, you can add it to the list and see if someone else knows about it. Other users will post to your listing over time.

Also, they have a look up on the site where you can pay to find more information on many numbers.

Facecrooks
http://facecrooks.com
A site that lists many of the Facebook scams running around from time-to-time. Also, a blog about them with some "Funny Pages" thrown in for fun.

It actually appears as though it could be a quite beneficial site over time.

Have a great month and I will be talking to you next month on November 21, 2011 from 10am to 11am.

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2011-09-19 WSVA Show Notes
By Ron Doyle, Administrator | September 19, 2011 - 11:37 am - Posted in WSVA Show Notes

Here are the sites/news mentioned this morning on the show.  As always your comments are appreciated.  See you next month on Monday, October 17!

If you missed the show please check out the podcast (this could take a while to download depending on your internet connection).

Ron

Tech News
Last minute update, who are the three most dangerous people on the internet?
Heidi Klum. Cameron Diaz and Piers Morgan (what?)

Why?
They are currently the most "search for" celebs on the net. Hackers use some graphics, apps, etc. to load malicious payloads on your computer if you look them up and click those items. Only in certain places not everywhere on the net.


Terrafugia Flying Car Cleared for Landing in US
As many as 100 people have put down a $10,000 deposit for their Terrafugia Transition.

A flying car retailing for $227,000 could be on roads in a matter of months — and customers are already lining up to be the first to get their hands on one, its maker claims.

“Recently, the Terrafugia Transition passed a significant milestone when it was cleared for takeoff by the U.S. National Highway Safety Administration. It’s taken Terrafugia founder Carl Dietrich just five years to realize his dream, with some media outlets reporting that the Transition could now be on U.S. roads by the end of next year.”


First there was Planking – then Owling now… Batmanning!
While the planking trend involved taking your picture in various places lying flat, “batmanning” is much more difficult–and possibly more dangerous. It involves hanging upside down, only by your feet.

A group of Purdue University freshmen claim to have started the trend late last month. They made a video that shows them hanging from various locations on campus–from parking garages, stadium gates and statues.

Search YouTube.com for ‘Batmanning‘ and you can see a few successful ones, but mostly crashes with lots of limping.

Fading BarCodes?
It’s happened to most of us (some more often than others): You bite into an apple/pear/cucumber only to find that the perfectly ripe fruit or vegetable you picked up at the store two days ago is not exactly ripe but is rather disgusting.

Designers at Yanko Designs are developing a new barcode that will make that unpleasant experience a thing of the past by fading the barcode "ink" with the freshness of the fruit/vegetable.

VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing aircraft)

I don’t know how we got here but anyway we were, so take a look at some of them.

Find out about web/email/etc. scams on the web and all around the world at the government’s FBI site.

The only software talked about today, and very lightly at that, was XBMC (Xbox Media Center).  If you want to know more about XBMC start here.

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2011-07-18 WSVA Show Notes
By Ron Doyle, Administrator | July 18, 2011 - 11:17 am - Posted in WSVA Show Notes
Here are the sites/news mentioned this morning on the show.  As always your comments are appreciated.See you next month!

Ron

Tech News
LulzSec Hackers Gone, but not without a parting shot
Jim and Ron’s discussion, Last month we talked about them hitting the Senate, game and FBI sites…this month they are gone."A LulzSec member told the Associated Press that the group was “bored” and denied that it was stopping its public attacks because of pressure from law enforcement. He did, however, say that some of the chat logs and information about hackers’ identities was correct."

They did pop data into the world at the end which included documents from the game Battlefield Heroes, plus internal documents from AOL and AT&T. According to the Next Web site, the release also has evidence that the group hacked the U.S. Navy, the NATO online bookshop and the FBI’s Web site. The files also include a hodgepodge of corporate and other IP addresses, usernames, passwords and other log-ins from Hackforums.net and other, unnamed sites.

Google’s self-driving car gets a green light from Nevada
The New York Times did some digging last month and discovered that the company had been lobbying the Nevada state legislature to allow for autonomous cars to be driven on public streets. The proposal was slated to be introduced as two separate bills that would not only make them street legal, but also exempt the vehicles from a law prohibiting texting while driving.Nevada passed a bill for the Department of Motor Vehicles to create guidelines for “autonomous vehicles” that rely on artificial intelligence to get around on state roads. Come March of next year, state officials will start to iron out car certification standards, insurance requirements and other regulations for robotic cars. Nevada’s Department of Motor Vehicles will also determine which areas the cars can be driven.

It most likely will not occur next year or so, but not far off.

Airline Pilots Ditch Paper for iPads and Save Millions in Fuel
Doling out gadgets may seem more like a recruiting perk than a sustainability decision, but pilots have to carry up to 35 pounds of paper with them in the cockpit on each flight. Swapping out those manuals, maps, and other documents to lighten the load could add up to $1.2 million in fuel savings, according to American Airlines.

So far American Airlines and Alaska Airlines are the only ones doing this.

It has fairly accurate play and no one can scream at you, etc. You can only respond with safe messages to each other, i.e. Nice shot, Well played, Oops, Good Game, etc.

And beside all of that it is just fun!

  • Text4Baby http://text4baby.org
    Get FREE messages each week on your cell phone to help you through your pregnancy and your baby’s first year.Text4baby is an educational program of the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition.
  • Microsoft Fix It http://support.microsoft.com/fixit/
    Sometimes something just doesn’t work correctly on your MS computer. MS Fix it will help you find many issues and then offer a fix for them. I ran a couple of them and they don’t install anything on your system so when you are done just delete the original file you downloaded.

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2011-06-20 WSVA Show Notes
By Ron Doyle, Administrator | June 20, 2011 - 1:07 pm - Posted in WSVA Show Notes

Listen to the podcast online if you weren’t able to listen live this morning.

Tech News
Chromebooks (yes, Google too) are on the way
Online notebooks are on the way and may rule the tech world for many users.

"Chromebook isn’t instant-on! Don’t believe any marketing messaging suggesting it. I had to wait an agonizing 4 seconds when flipping the lid before the Chrome logo appeared — first bootup out of the box."

LulzSec Hackers take down Senate.gov, just for kicks
The hacking group LulzSec have added Senate.gov to the growing list of organizations whose websites they’ve breached just for the heck of it, including Sony, Fox.com, FBI affiliate Infragard and a porn site. Last week the group released a long list of internal configuration data from the U.S. Senate’s official website, Senate.gov — while none of it appeared to be sensitive, the group appeared to want to show that it could breach the Senate’s computer network.

“We don’t like the US government very much,” the hacker group which also calls itself The Lulz Boat said. “Their boats are weak, their lulz are low, and their sites aren’t very secure. In an attempt to help them fix their issues, we’ve decided to donate additional lulz in the form of owning them some more!”

LulzSec Hackers take down CIA Website 06/16/11
After recently attacking a number of gaming websites, the hacker group known as LulzSec has used a DDoS attack to take down the CIA’s website, www.cia.gov.

The site was inaccessible for several hours.

LulzSec is now taking phone requests of what site to bring down
See above then read on…

Hacking group LulzSec was touting a hotline yesterday that let people call in and request takedowns of Web sites.

"Call into 614-LulzSec and pick a target, and we’ll obliterate it," LulzSec wrote on its Twitter account yesterday. "Nobody wants to mess with The Lulz Cannon–take aim for us Twitter."

The LulzSec hotline’s area code encompasses the Columbus, Ohio, metropolitan area, though it’s unlikely the people behind the organization are there. According to LulzSec, its hacking request line was lighted up all day, and it accommodated a total of eight requests. By the end of the day, it claims to have had 5,000 missed calls and 2,500 voicemails.

1)  Soluto http://soluto.com
Frustrated by your sluggish and unresponsive PC?

Soluto is bringing an end to PC user frustration with transparency, killer technology, and your help.

Find things that slow your system down from the minute you start it up until it is ready to run.  Many of the applications that start with your computer really are not needed until you need them. 

I also spoke off the air to someone who wanted free/inexpensive anti-virus software.  As always I recommended Microsoft’s Security Essentials…which as you know if you have listened to the show before, is free.

Have a great month and I will be on WSVA (550 AM) next month, Monday, July 18, 2011.

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2011-05-16 WSVA Show Notes
By Ron Doyle, Administrator | May 16, 2011 - 11:45 am - Posted in WSVA Show Notes

Listen to the podcast online if you weren’t able to listen live this morning.

Tech News
Online Scammers Jump on bin Laden News
Security experts are warning Internet users to beware of Osama bin Laden malware. Symantec says one spam contains a link to bogus photos and videos purporting to be from CNN Mexico. Instead, it directs people to a scam site designed to look real but created to steal passwords. Facebook users also fell victim to fake bin Laden links.

In what’s become common practice among the Internet’s less savory citizens, these scammers are sending out emails and spreading Facebook posts that purport to be videos or photos of the dead bin Laden. They are not. But by clicking the links, users can download computer viruses that steal personal information or otherwise infect their computers.

Yell at your phone to charge it!
New research from engineers in South Korea promises a new way to top up your phone’s battery: by shouting at it. This comes via a technique that turns energy from sound into electricity, and would allow a phone to be charged while you hold a conversation-just don’t throw you charger away any time soon.

Theoretically, using this technology your phone would also be able to charge while hold a conversation, but the sound levels in this situation are not high enough, unless… you shout at it.

CAN IT BE TRUE???? Skype Vulnerability Allows Hackers To Take Over Macs
A recently discovered hack in the Mac version of Skype allows hackers to gain control of the user’s system by sending a malicious instant message.

According to Australian security consultancy company Pure Hacking, the vulnerability in Skype is dangerous and would allow anyone with the know-how to gain control of a Mac by simply sending a malicious instant message.

  • Skype http://www.skype.com
    With Skype, you can share a story, celebrate a birthday, learn a language, hold a meeting, work with colleagues – just about anything you need to do together every day. You can use Skype on whatever works best for you – on your phone or computer or a TV with Skype on it. It is free to start using Skype – to speak, see and instant message other people on Skype for example. You can even try out group video, with the latest version of Skype.

    If you pay a little, you can do more things, in more ways, with more people – like call phones, access WiFi or send texts.

    Microsoft purchases Skype

  • Planking http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/psychologist-fears-police-crackdown-will-lead-to-more-planking-deaths/story-e6freoof-1226057031718
    This is the first recorded "Planking" death; unfortunately there could be many more to follow. What is planking? It is the "art" of laying face-down in extreme locations, having your picture taken and posted online for temporary fame.

    As the debate about planking went viral around the world yesterday, Brisbane psychologist Paul Martin warned of more deaths of "extreme plankers". He claimed part of the reason was that the pre-frontal cortex in men aged 23 or younger – the decision management part of the brain – was not fully developed and they therefore lacked a "handbrake" and took silly risks.

    "Add testosterone, add masculinity, add the Jackass effect and then add the explosion of social networking sites which are a way to gain acceptance . . . (and) death is quite inevitable."

  • Gas Buddy & Virginia Gas Prices http://gasbuddy.com
    Check country wide or state wide gas prices. Just enter your Zip Code at gasbuddy.com and it will take you to the area gas prices (for us, VirginiaGasPrices.com.

    They also have a trip cost estimator. Enter the FROM and TO, YEAR, MAKE and MODEL of your car and they will estimate how much it will cost you in gas to go and return.

    And of course, they have apps for iPhones, Androids and Windows phones. If you have another smart phone go to http://m.gasbuddy.com.

Join Ron and Jim next time on WSVA 550 AM, Monday, June 20, 2011 for more interesting sites, tech news and conversation.

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2011-04-18 WSVA Show Notes
By Ron Doyle, Administrator | April 18, 2011 - 11:41 am - Posted in WSVA Show Notes

Listen to the podcast online if you missed it live.

Tech News Microsoft To Phase Out Zune
Bob, Clippy, Windows Me, the Kin mobile phone and now MS does in the Zune. What’s next Windows Phone 7? They will keep the Zune music store going but basically they will make it like iTunes for Windows Phone 7 and Windows 7. 

Zune launched in November 2006 with a lot of hype to beat Apple’s iPod. But sales never came close to reaching the iPods.

Google Video Shutting Down May 13
Since Google bought YouTube in 2006, it seems about time they shutdown the similar, older service, "Google Video".

The strange thing is they aren’t allowign people to automatically transfer their videos from one to the other. They have to download them and then upload them to YouTube.com…just seems strange.

Recharging Batteries in Phone & Notebooks
Battery-centric web site Battery University explains the real relationship behind battery life and charging. Lithium-ion batteries—the batteries present in most modern smartphones and laptops—don’t need to be fully discharged every once in a while to retain battery life, as many of us have been told. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

  • We used to be told to discharge a devices battery all the way and then recharge…
  • Today–> If at all possible, avoid frequent full discharges and charge more often between uses.
  1. Auction Sniper

    http://www.auctionsniper.com/
    Auction Sniper is an eBay sniper that automates the process of placing your eBay bid in the closing seconds of any eBay bidding auction.

    They charge 1% of the final auction price with a minimum of $0.25 and maximum of $9.95 only for the auctions that you win

  2. Google Alerts

    http://www.google.com/alerts
    Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (everything which is –> news, blogs, realtime (quote, "real time situational awareness" my estimate is in the last few minutes), video, discussion) based on your choice of query or topic.

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2011-03-21 Show Notes
By Ron Doyle, Administrator | March 21, 2011 - 1:18 pm - Posted in WSVA Show Notes

Here are the links from today’s show.  Take time, sit back and enjoy reading here or listening to the podcast here.

Ron

Tech News
    Mozilla Firefox 4
  • http://firefox.com
  • Supposedly March 22…tomorrow. Then going to continual updates as Google Chrome has been doing.
For the First Time, More People Get News Online Than From Newspapers
End of 2010, "In surveys conducted by the Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism, 34% of respondents said they read news online within the past 24 hours (as opposed to 31% who favored newspapers); and a full 41% said they get most of their news online, 10% more than those who said they got most of their news from a newspaper."

All text-based news audiences are dwindling. "Only 40% of people in the study said they read the news in an online or print newspaper, a 12% drop from five years ago."

Netflix announced that it bought "House of Cards", "… a political thriller drama series from executive producer/director David Fincher starring Kevin Spacey, which will be distributed exclusively via the company’s Internet subscription service. This marks Netflix’s first foray into original programming."

Netflix, currently has more than 20 million subscribers, (they say they will have 28 million by the end of the year — currently HBO has 28 million) things are changing in broadcast as well as paper.

Virtual Bubble Wrap
http://www.virtual-bubblewrap.com
The name pretty much says it all. Go to Virtual Bubble Wrap and pop bubble wrap online. On the left side click on "Pop Now!!!" and have at it.

Total time waster but I know some of you love to do it in real life, now you can go virtual.

The Daily Puppy
http://www.dailypuppy.com/
Kim Komando mentioned this one a couple of weeks ago. It was SO SPECIAL that I knew Jim would have to tell the world. Basically a newspaper about Puppies!

Virtual Router
http://virtualrouter.codeplex.com/
This tip came from Tammy in Charlottesville. Thanks and keep them coming.
You have a connection to the net on one computer and want someone else to use it. Like if you have an Air Card and want you wife to get on the net too.

Virtual Router is a free, open source software based router for PCs running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 ONLY. Using Virtual Router, users can wirelessly share any internet connection (Wifi, LAN, Cable Modem, Dial-up, Cellular, etc.) with any other Wifi device. These devices connect to Virtual Router just like any other access point, and the connection is completely secured using WPA2 (the most secure wireless encryption.)

Sonic the Hedgehog
http://www.giddgames.com/games/supersonic.swf
OK all of you old-time gamers from 1991 when Sonic hit the world, play it online here.

MAME Games
I mentioned MAMEs on the air this morning and others have already told you all you need to know…and more.  I chose the info below from random from the many out there, but the info is good.  It is a Google Group. (http://groups.google.com/group/alt.games.mame/topics)

The easiest way is to download MAME32:
http://mamedev.org/release.html

Put some ROMs in the roms folder, and fire it up. Also, check out the MAME FAQ for more details on everything MAME:
http://mamedev.org/roms/

And MAMEWorld has more links to great MAME stuff:
http://mamedev.org/

I totally agree with the a closing remark I read, “Don’t worry, it’s not as hard as it seems at first…”

Have a great time until next month, Monday, April 18, 2011.

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