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

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

Ron’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.

Tags: aeir app, american life project, autism, bad news, broadcast, cable, content providers, e-book, e-reader, foxnews, internet, Jim Britt, love affair, new tv, pew trust, Ron Doyle, traditional tv, tv manufacturers, WSVA

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

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.

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

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!

Tags: cellphone, cloud, cloud storage, Email, Emily Post, facebook, foxnews, Jim Britt, lumos, manners, ntelos, personal messages, place of worship, pleasure, quintessential guide, Ron Doyle, spoon

Tags: airline, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, autonomous vehicles, babies, driving car, fbi, fix it, games, google, Google cars, hackers, hacking, help, hodgepodge, internal documents, iPad, Jim Britt, microsoft, mulitplayer, nato, navy, nevada state legislature, online, online bookshop, parting shot, pilot, pool, pregnant, sites news, u s navy

I get quite a few emails about where the best places online to buy tech "stuff" are.  For instance, portable hard drives, thumb drives, and memory sticks seem to be some of the most popular right now.  I always suggest shopping in your local "brick and mortar" shops.  It really does help the local economy more than buying things from other states or foreign countries.  However, some people do not want to do that, so I do have a couple of suggestions for those folks.

I do not recommend eBay.com.  I have tried to purchase two computer peripherals there in the past several years and both times I had bad outcomes.  It’s too much to write about here but ask me if you see me around town.

The two online computer "parts" retailers I trust and prefer are TigerDirect.com and NewEgg.com.  I have used them a couple of times and I have friends who use them regularly.  A couple of times I have heard of people having problems with the items they purchased, but both of these companies were quick to respond and correct the issues.  Their prices are usually in line with the local market too, once you consider shipping.

I also receive questions about discounts online.  I have spoken before about "1 Sale a Day", on the monthly call-in talk show with Jim Britt on WSVA radio.  (Yes, that was merciless self-promotion.)  You can "sometimes" find deals there on items they title, "Wireless", "Watch", "Family" and "Jewelry".  Again, compare all costs, i.e., shipping and handling before buying…local stores may have a better deal, as is the case on all of these sites.

There are also coupon sites.  I have only used the first one mentioned below.  The other one I have heard about from friends who have had successful dealings with them.

"Tech Bargains", has a linking system.  This allows you to go to the site that actually has the deal.  Once there you may be given a code to enter at checkout which gets you the discount.  I just looked for a 16GB thumb drive and found two for $21.95.

The other site is, "Deal Dump", which amazingly does not have a search engine built into the site.  You basically need to scroll down the page and look for what you want which is not what you would expect.  Of course, you can always use the "Ctrl + F" keys to search the text on the page.  (F = find)  Here I also looked for the same type of thumb drive and found a different one from the other site, but at the same price.

I know there are many others you can use but these are just a couple I have knowledge of.  For all of these sites please read all of the details carefully since sometimes you get a rebate then, or a rebate to mail in that you must print, or an automatic discount, etc.  They change from time-to-time so proceed carefully.

Always remember when buying online…caveat emptor.

Tags: bargain, bargains, brick and mortar, computer parts, computer peripherals, ebay, foreign countries, Jim Britt, linking system, local market, local stores, memory sticks, online computer, portable hard drives, self promotion, shipping and handling, tech bargains, tech sales, thumb drives, wsva radio

Here are the links we talked about this morning on the show.  Try them out, enjoy them and let me know what you think.

I promised not to get too crazy the next time I talk about Google, well OK, I will at least try to remain calm.

Trying something new this time, listen to the podcast in it’s full glory here.

Ron

Radio Time
http://www.radiotime.com
Add the Radio Time app to your Android, Blackberry, iPhone, Windows Mobile or even Palm phones to listen to radio. I installed it and listened to WSVA live yesterday afternoon, while working in my home office (I never put a radio in there before…duh!) Runs on phones and computers allowing you to listen to most any radio station.

If you were signed up as a WSVA Loyal Listener you would have known about this earlier in the day, go ahead make our day!

Time and Dates
http://www.timeanddate.com/
Most anything you want to find out about time and dates are here. Create calendars, check time zones, check on Daylight Saving changes, countdowns to any event, etc.
Thanks to Tom from Harrisonburg for the site tip.

More Time info
http://nist.time.gov/
Check the exact atomic time, history of time, time zones, what’s in your quartz watch.
And yes, NIST does stand for “National Institute of Standards and Technology”.

Do Nothing for 2 Minutes
http://www.donothingfor2minutes.com/
Sort of boring but can you take the online challenge and do nothing on your computer for 2 minutes? If you do it you get "nothing" but the chance(?) to share the site with your friends…yippee.

Health Map
http://www.healthmap.org/
If you are interested in global health outbreaks this is the place to go. Hover the "pins" in the map and see what infectious disease is running amok.

Google Voice
http://www.google.com/googlevoice/about.html, links to feature videos
If you already have a home, work and/or cell phone get one number to rule them all – and many additional features. Ron has been using it for several years.

• Make any or all of your phones ring at once or any combination.
• Screen callers, listen as they leave a voice mail message and then interrupt if you want to or let them just go to voice mail.
• Individually Block callers, they receive the, "You have reached a number that has been disconnected or is no longer in service" announcement.
• Stop calls at night or whenever your wish.
• You automatically get text transcripts in your Gmail account.
• Number never has to change if you move or change providers, etc.
• Did I mention so far it is free, other than international calls?

That is it for today.  I hope you tune in next month, Monday, March 15, 2011, on WSVA, 550 AM – hey, now you can put it on your phone or computer.  Look at the first link above.

Tags: atomic time, call, global health, google, history of time, iphone, Jim Britt, loyal listener, national institute of standards, national institute of standards and technology, neat links, quartz watch, radio time, radiotime com, talk show, time gov, time history, time info, time time, time zones, WSVA

Mentioned on the show this morning:

• Cup of Joe for a Joe
  
  Someone from home wants to say thanks and send you a FREE cup of coffee.
  
  Participation in Cup Of Joe For A Joe is restricted to active duty Armed Services Personnel deployed in support of OEF or OIF.
• Mystery Guest, Inc.
  
  Share your thoughts on a dining experience in chosen restaurants in your area.  (Not any in our area…yet.)
• PhotoWipe (main site)
  
  PhotoWipe is a revolutionary imaging tool that magically removes unwanted objects from your photos. Just paint over them in black, and click go! Uncovers hidden details. Sit back and watch as cage bars disappear from the zoo, and your old boyfriend or girlfriend fades away. And best of all, it’s completely free!
  
  Two other freebies are at this site too.  “Shark Ticker” and one with a good name going for it, “Banshee Screamer Alarm“.

Tethering your HTC phone may not always be possible.  It depends on the phone and the service provider.  But here is somewhere to start looking.  Google for your HTC phone and provider and see what will and won’t work.

Apple tells us about antenna attenuation.

What is Steve Jobs’ actual email address and will “he” be the one responding to you?

Hopefully get a quicker talk with the higher ups at a company by asking to, “Please, escalate this call.”

See you next month, Monday, August 16 at 10:00 am.

Ron

Tags: coffee, computer, doyle, escalation, google, HTC, java, Jim Britt, microsoft, Ron Doyle, soldier, Steve Jobs, tethering, WSVA

Two free Microsoft Office Suite-like applications:

Open Office

http://www.openoffice.org/

Lotus Symphony

http://symphony.lotus.com

When do they sleep?
http://www.sleepingtime.org

Try mine out if you don’t know anyone else who uses Twitter, search ‘RonDoyle’.  In reality it is off about an hour for me.

Tags: Jim Britt, radio, WSVA

Get your own  USB Laser Guided Missile Launcher so you can win your own office arms race!

Jim is going to get a couple of these for hosts that make mistakes (I better stay away).

Another way to clean your computer’s keyboard in case of spills.  This article is a couple of years old from NPR but it still stands.

“At first glance, this seems insane. But the computer – keyboard – in – the – dishwasher advice is all over the Internet. And don’t we wish it were true? My keyboard is an old Hewlett Packard that’s encrusted with a kind of mysterious black grime. I thought, "Well, why not try my Kitchen Aid?’"

Also a couple of good free Anti-virus applications.

With a couple of warnings:

1. Only install one anti-virus program on your computer.
   If you already have another MAKE SURE you completely uninstall it first.
2. Only run one of these at a time too, with the possible exception of Microsoft’s Security Essentials which can run alongside of others…but do it at your own risk.
3. The first two will steer you to the paid versions, so install the correct one.
4. I have used them all with no ill effects; however, install any software at your own risk.  (i.e., don’t call me – I’ve warned you here.)

• Avast!
• AVG
• Microsoft Security Essentials

Tags: Harrisonburg, Jim Britt, Local & Live, Virginia, WSVA

Mentioned on today’s show:

1. Learning curve will be large if you’ve never used computers.
2. Courses at BRCC and MTC which are excellent
   • I have had students from 16-96
   • Retired person 96 who just wanted to learn more
   • One woman in 80s who had a hobby and wanted to sell her hobby online.
   • I taught her to build her own web site and did a great job and sold her items
3. Desktop or Portable?
   • Screen Size
   • Can change text and graphics in most all programs
   • Size of monitor may be hard to navigate if too small
4. Still need “room” to move around on the screen.
5. Weight
   • My backpack weighs 11 lbs. would that be feasible for all?
   • How much do you want to carry around for a Notebook (~5-8 lbs.)
   • Small Netbook computers (~2 lbs.)
   • Tablet – iPad all the rage as of yesterday (~1 lb.)

Tags: citizen, computer, computer help, Jeff Ishee, Jim Britt, newspaper column, Ron Doyle, senior, WVSA

From Monday’s call about how to remove Buzz from Gmail, I received another resolution from a listener.  (Sorry I deleted the email and can’t remember show sent it…but you know who you are.)

I told the caller to first log into Gmail:

1. Click Settings.  
2. Go to the Labels link.
3. Click the hide link, see below.

That’s it, now go back to your Gmail inbox and that’s all.

The listener who emailed me later in the day suggested that you could just remove Google Buzz, like this:

1. Log into Gmail
2. From the main screen look at the bottom and click the Turn off Buzz link.
3. That’s it…
4. However, I have read that Google may tie this in to other Gmail features so that when you cut Buzz of you could loose other functionality…which hasn’t happened at the time of this post. 
   (See the before and after pics below.)

Personally I prefer, at this moment in time, to hide the link as described in the first instructions above.  But you can pick and use your own.

Also, either one can be turned back on or unhidden so you can try them both…just make sure if you Turn it off first you Turn it back on before you try to hide it.  If Buzz is off it will not appear in the links to be able to be hidden.

Tags: Buzz, Gmail, google, Jim Britt, Q&A, talk radio, WSVA