Andy TaylorLeave a commentHardware, TechtalkRadio, , , , , , ,

Help, I am Out of Hard Drive Space

We’ve all been there! You want to do some work on your Computer and you keep getting a warning telling you the Hard Drive is Full. Going through your drive and deleting files would be the nice thing to do, especially those ones that just seem to be duplicated throughout your Hard Drive. If you don’t have time to do that, adding storage is always a great solution. In fact, with the pricing on Hard Drives currently, it is really to your benefit to plop down a few bucks and get that deal on the 1TB or 2TB drive you had your eye one. Getting some of that clutter and files off your hard drive can also help your system run better. A Good Defrag after moving a bunch of files off your hard drive is like a nice oil bath for C3PO, but I digress.

We talked with Wilson Tang from Azio Corporation on a New Hard Drive Enclosure the company is producing called the E377-U31. This Aluminum cased Hard Drive enclosure with a Slide Out Tray gives users the ability to Add a SATA Hard Drive with a Couple of easy steps. Seriously, it could get easier then this! The Power Connector and USB Cable, which was supplied, connect up in seconds to the Enclosure which offers a screwless design so after a couple of snaps the Drive is in place. Viola!

Pricing is great on this Enclosure system and it really looks pretty good on the Desktop. Users can opt for a USB 3.0 connection or go for the current standard USB 2.0. If you decide on the USB 3.0, you are backwards compatible with the USB 2.0 and USB 1.0 designs. You’ll need a USB 3.0 to get that full speed or you can purchase a USB 3.0 Expansion Card which can be placed in an available PCI Express Port and connected to an available Power Connector.

We like the Sturdy Design, Ease of Access and Side Mounted Fan on the Unit. Listen in to our interview with Wilson Tang of Azio at http://www.techtalkradio.com/hardware/azio.html You can also view photos of our tester unit on the page.

Andy TaylorLeave a commentHardware, , , , , , ,

SteelSeries helps gain the advantage in Gaming

Bruce Hawver talked with Andy Taylor of TechtalkRadio
Brcue talks with Andy Taylor of TechtalkRadio

I talked yesterday with SteelSeries CEO Bruce Hawver about some of the products we will be seeing this holiday season from SteelSeries. It’s not the first time Bruce has been on our show and certainly won’t be the last. Since the previous discussion with Bruce, the company has expanded it’s product line to include more branded gaming items, eyewear to combat eye strain and fatigue and a new way to pay for the products you would like to get.

With the upcoming season, it is expected that peripherals will make up a huge portion of the gift buying. While many look to add USB Web cams and storage, SteelSeries knows that gamers want the products they make. Over the years we have looked at many of these products including Headsets, Gaming Mice and the very cool Merc Stealth keyboard produced by Ideazon which SteelSeries acquired. Some of the new product from SteelSeries include headsets with removable ear cups, connector cords which can be disconnected and put away and even a few with USB connections. For the gamer that likes to be part of the conversation, a variety of the headsets include microphones that collapse inside the ear cups. This is valuable considering the few different headsets we’ve looked at from other vendors with microphones that detach could be at risk of losing the microphone piece. Even the Console game can benefit with the SteelSeries latest Spectrum 5XB for the Xbox360.

The gaming mice products from SteelSeries are a must have for fans of World of Warcraft. The latest product branded with Blizzards MMO title, is the World of Warcraft Cataclysm MMO Gaming Mouse. This peripheral features the ability to bind all 14 buttons to the in game selections for WoW as well as advanced illumination and drag and drop setup with over 130 preset game commands. The Mouse is beefier and almost looks as though it would come from the World of Warcraft! If you’re not the big WoW fan, you could also get into intense combat with the Medal of Honor branded products or Starcraft II to name a few.

SteelSeries has also partnered with the folks at PaynearMe which allows shoppers to select a product for purchase on the SteelSeries website and visit a local participating 7-Eleven to have the payment processed. This can come in handy when a credit card is not available or the buyer wants to pay with cash.

Check out our Interview with SteelSeries CEO Bruce Hawver and be sure to take a look at the SteelSeries Website for a full look at the products the company offers. Our interview can be found at http://www.techtalkradio.com/hardware/steelseries.html You can also get some great information and updates on the Unofficial Official Blog for SteelSeries at http://fragyou.net

Andy Taylor2 CommentsEntertainment, TechtalkRadio, TTR Website, video games, , , , ,

Call to Service – Call of Duty Black Ops

It would appear that the long awaited title Call of Duty Black Ops is exceeding sales figures of the last year sequel release to Call Of Duty Modern Warfare. COD Black Ops, I will call it that because something seem wrong about calling it COD BO. It’s far from Stinky and the sales of the game released this week have exceeded about 5.6 million copies. With a little under a couple of months left for the holidays to wrap up, Call Of Duty Black Ops will no doubt be a continued Best Seller of both Concole and PC titles. Even with strong competition from Fable III and Fallout New Vegas as well as a variety of Bond titles, the first week indications have been tremendous.

At the launch party for Call of Duty Black Ops, the CEO of Activision Blizzard Bobby Kotick announced the donation of One Million dollars, a portion of the sales from the new title, to go to the Call of Duty Endowment which provides job training and placement for returning veterans of any branch of military service. While the estimates of joblessness for the Veterans is bleak, this endowment continues to educate and inform the American people on efforts within thier own communities and globaly to help our servicement.

The Star studded launch party included Scrubs star Zack Braff and Basketball legend Kobe Bryant who was featured in one of the most creative commercials for a Video Game title to ever air. The Call of Duty Black Ops TV Spot also features an appearance by talk show host Jimmy Kimmel. Activision Blizzard has shared some of the footage from the Launch party which was help November 4th in Santa Monica California, although we didn’t get to see any of the concert footage from Metallica! Check the video out and find how you can help spread the word about the Endowment and learn of ways you can help out from your very home!

–Andy

Andy Taylor2 CommentsBroadband, TTR Website, , , ,

Sprint brings Broadband to your iPod Touch

Photo of the ZTE Peel
Connect your iPod Touch Device

For those of us that love our iPod Touch but dislike the task of not having a Wi-Fi hotspot always available or wanting to use the features while traveling, Sprint has unveiled today a solution for your tethering woes. The new ZTE Peel gives users the ability to put the iPod Touch in a cradle and connect with the Sprint 3G service over Wireless Broadband.

The idea is really a nice one as we may already have Cell service with Sprint but also enjoy our iPod Touch. Now, with the Peel, we can have it all. The device specs state that the cradle will work with second or third generation iPod Touch devices and will also be able to connect to another device while cradling the Apple iPod Touch to provide another Wi-Fi Connection. Have a laptop that needs your own hotspot? You’ll be able to provide you own. This is extremely handy for businesses that don’t have Wi-Fi Hotspots. If the user is in a Hotspot area, Wi-Fi Compatibility can also be handled with the 802.11B and 802.11G Standard without having to uncradle the iPod Touch.

The Peel features a 900 mAH Li-Ion Battery which will give the user about 3 hours of active use time. The product is not officially endorsed by Apple but is compatible with Wi-Fi services for Windows 7, Vista, XP and Mac OS 10.5 and 10.6. The service plan for the broadband which is up to 1GB transfer on the 3G network with no contract, $29 bucks and the ZTE Peel itself will be available for around $79 dollars. Sprint stores should be carrying the Peel starting the 14th of November.

A Photo of the Peel from Behind
Sprints solution for Broadband over the iPod Touch

We also like the fact that owners of iPod Touch device may also be able to utilize third party apps from just about anywhere a broadband connection is available which could include voice type apps!

More info on the ZTE Peel can be found on the Sprint website at http://www.sprint.com We’re hoping to get our hands on a Peel in the next couple of weeks to give you a look at how they work., Check back at our main site http://www.techtalkradio.com for video and follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/techtalkradio

Andy TaylorLeave a commentTTR Website, video games, , , ,

Bond is Back

We just recieved the latest in the Console Bond series title with a Reworking of the popular “Goldeneye.”  The Original James Bond title received an abundance of game time when it was unleased on the Nintendo 64 platform in 1997. The original game title featured the  likeness of Brosnan who starred as Bond in the 1995 film however this new title Goldeneye 007 changes the playing field for Multiplayer and Single player on the Nintendo Wii.

The latest Film Bond, Daniel Craig is featured as the British Agent in the title which allows up to 8 players in a multiplayer environment which also brings in the ability to play classic characters such as OddJob and Jaws along with some other noteable baddies. We’ll be unwrapping the title and a full review posting this week.