The Computer Guys & Gal
They live, eat & breathe technology. Get the latest from the tech world, when the Computer Guys and Gal return to answer your questions. It's the first Tech Tuesday of the month!
Guests
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If you don't have a smartphone or a cell phone at all, we'd like to know why. You can leave a comment through our poll after voting or in the "comments" section below.
Allison Druin - Personal Tech Shopper?
One of our listeners sent us the following message recently:
"My boyfriend is a software developer and his birthday is next month. I'm wondering what you guys think is the best gift for a tech guy?"
Allison says: "I love to answer emails like this!!! I'm quite the tech shopper ;)"
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If you've got a few dollars to burn...
The new Nook ($139) - just out a few days ago looks like it could be an awesome gift for that Computer Guy in your life. It's not the color nook, and it doesn't have the millions of options that color has. It more directly competes with the Kindle than any other book reader I've seen. The new Nook has a 6-inch infrared eink touchscreen, which means, it uses the same e-ink technology found in other e-readers (albeit much brighter and clearer). You can scroll through books by sliding your finger across the screen or you press one of the buttons on the side of device. -
If he's a Xbox 360 owner - and there are now a lot of them at55 mil:
You could buy your computer guy the ever-popular Kinect Sports -e.g., soccer, bowling, track-and-field, beach volley ball, and more). $40 from Amazon -
If you're a romantic without a lot of money to burn (this was my fave suggestion from V-day):
USB Aromatherapy Oil Burner - yes, for as little as $6, you can get "Scent 2.0" Comes with a few drops of oil. All you do is put it into this little key and warm it up by plugging it into the UBS drive. No messy software-just smell ;)
Items Heard on Today's Show
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Malware in URL shorteners
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Most humans can only track about 150 Twitter followers
Spammers
- Three banks are responsible for clearing nearly all transactions related to purchases from spammers
YouTube Anniversary
- YouTube celebrates 6th birthday with 3 billion views
WWDC Wrap-up
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Apple's next-generation software
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Microsoft demos the next generation Windows 8 operating system, offering the best of tablet and traditional computing?
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The latest Mac OS X Malware scare, Mac Defender
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One out of eight minutes spent online is with Facebook
Summer Tech
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Camping App for prints and poop
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Want to get away at the last minute
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How about documenting that amazing summer?
For the Graduating Computer Guy or Gal
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Throwing a Graduation Party and Need a Disco Ball?
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And now that you’re so smart, you won’t need to a software app to inspire you with quotes.
Comments
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I'm very excited for today's show. I'm a self labeled apple-fanboy, and it seems like for the past 3 years the WWDC always comes the day after Tech-Tuesday with Computer Guys and Gal. I can't wait to hear what you all think.
Baltimore, MD
A protip for the caller who had issues transferring his music from computer to computer. One way to get around the DRM issue is to convert the music into MP3 format or another audio format that strips it of the transfer limitations. There are numerous programs that can convert audio files into MP3 many are free or extremely cheap, or if you don't want to do that, you burn the music onto a CD and then rip the songs from the CD. Most computers now have basic software that rips music from existing CDs, I know Windows Media Player does something like that.
Thank you as always for a great show!
I was listening to the comments about icloud and wondered what the privacy policies are for these new free or very low cost options -- almost sounds too good to be true!
!
We are a family of 4, each with his-her own laptop including one stationary computer in our house. However, we have only one PRINTER. What is a good solution for sharing the printer? Do I need a print server? Two of the computers run Linux, one runs Windows 7 and two run XP. Help! We can't keep swapping printer cables all the time. Thanks!
Jeff
Bethesda, MD
Something that's mentioned and it's the elephant in the room: The data pipe that connects your machine to the cloud. What do think will happen to the connect time when everyone has their heads and data in the clouds.
AND what do think Verizon, Comcast and the other data pipe companies will do? How does "KA-CHING" sound when you ask for a greater data transfer.
Hold on to your wallets, folks!
A book on Social Marketing was mentioned by author named Miller, published this January. I can't seem to find. Could you help w more info? Thanks love the show listen every month.
A book on Social Marketing was mentioned by author named Miller, published this January. I can't seem to find. Could you help w more info? Thanks love the show listen every month.