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Your Home Theater with the Aurzen Roku TV Projector

In a recent tech segment, Andy Taylor was In-Studio at KMSB Fox 11 News 13 to spotlight the new RokuOS-powered projector that aims to bring the full streaming‑TV experience into a portable, plug‑and‑play package. Unlike traditional projectors that require external streaming devices, this projector has the Roku OS built in — giving you direct access to the Roku Channel along with popular subscription services like Netflix, Disney+, and Hulu.

Andy highlights its portability (under four pounds), its ability to project a screen from 40 to 150 inches depending on the room, and the convenience of hooking up external audio via Bluetooth for a stronger sound experience. While it’s not a 4K device — it offers 1080p Full HD — for the price, it represents a solid upgrade for movie nights, especially when used in a darkened room where the picture remains crisp and clear.

The D1R Cube itself offers a mix of smart‑home flexibility and simplicity: native 1080p resolution, LED light source, a sealed optical engine for consistent picture quality, auto‑focus and auto‑keystone to minimize manual setup and built‑in Dolby Audio speakers — with the option to pair Bluetooth speakers or headphones. Andy also talked about upgrading your Roku Remote with the Voice Remote Pro.

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Episode 462 – I Don’t Want to Become a Meme!

For this Week’s TechtalkRadio Show, Andy Taylor and Shawn DeWeerd take a look at some of the big stories including Andy thinking about a purchase of the Meta Ray Ban AI Smart Glasses which helped develop this week show title. “I Don’t Want to Become a Meme” The guy’s circle back to the continuing coverage of the now-infamous Coca-Cola AI holiday ad—which featured glitchy puppies, rubbery robot-people and just noticed vanishing truck axles. While Andy enjoyed the ad for its holiday message one listener had asked about the Ad he did think delivers and for the best of his knowledge, No AI! The Amazon Ad with the three-woman wanting to reminisce about the younger year having fun on the Snowy slopes of a hill and George Martins In my life in the background. It hits the mark.  The conversation also connects to a bigger conversation about “AI slop” in gaming. They talk about a story of Call of Duty Black Ops 7 and how studios may be leaning on AI for icons and posters which could signal job losses for artists and developers, however this causes growing backlash from fans who are paying real money but getting soulless, auto-generated content in return.

Shawn breaks down how AI could be creeping into sports broadcasting with auto-generated stats, highlight reels, and even generated “hyper frame rate” replays that could blur the line (literally) between what happened and what the algorithm invented. They compare that to AI-created commercials that feel emotionally sterile, and now creepy apps that could let you “talk” to A.I. Generated deceased loved ones. Not Good?  Andy mentions how the number one movie this month in 1984 was The Terminator. Sky Net? Also, this causes a flashback to the days when Control Shift Face was creating some great Deepfake videos and the guys look at Deep Fake versus full generation.

Listener questions bring things back to practical tech. Abigail from Green Valley asks how to safely get online with her iPad away from home, and the guys walk through options like cellular iPads, iPhone hotspots, VPNs, and even the rumored cheaper Apple MacBook with built-in cellular. Ted from Sahuarita writes about undeveloped 35mm film, and Shawn shares his experience using Indie Film Lab to bring old rolls back to life. There’s also a fun shout-out to Chase Roberts’ new STEM kids’ book Simple Machines Made Simple, plus mentions of David Pogue’s upcoming Apple book and a nostalgic look at classic computer magazines such as Computer Shopper versus today’s Newly announced Computer Gazette.

The show wraps with a run of rapid-fire topics: Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses and the mental burden of living in a world where anyone can secretly film you and turn you into a meme, thus the Show Title; Blue Origin joining SpaceX in the reusable rocket game; Black Friday safety tips to avoid phishing and sketchy Wi-Fi; and a quick look at the Fi Mini GPS pet tracker for runaway dogs and cats.

It’s a another hour of TechtalkRadio that bounces between “wow, that’s cool” and “wow, that’s terrifying” Give a Listen any Comments or Questions Email us techguys@techtalkradio.com

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Episode 461 – Comedy Wildlife, OpenShot & The Midwest Freeze: Tech You Need This Week!

For this week’s Techtalkradio Show, it kicked off with 2 climates, pitting Andy Taylor’s sunny Arizona desert against Shawn DeWeerd’s brutal, snowy reality near South Bend, Indiana. Shawn described his location as a literal “frozen tundra,” buried under nearly a foot of snow, Shawn shared a couple of photos and suggested a real-time look at the Campus via an EarthCam feed.

The most epic cold-weather story involved a collegiate rugby championship at Notre Dame, where players, during a massive blizzard, played for hours in shorts, proving that some athletes are simply built differently (and that their tech gear is, thankfully, heated!). This extreme weather made Shawn the resident expert on staying prepared—and served as a stern reminder for everyone in snowy climates: always brush the snow off your car!

Shawn and Andy then continued the discussion the latest Coca-Cola commercial, debating whether the oddly animated people and the controversial ending were a genuine AI mistake or a brilliant-if-cynical guerrilla marketing play to get everyone talking. One of Andy’s favorites has returned, the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Photo Contest, which captures animals in hilariously awkward poses. The show then gave listeners the inside track on creative tools, with Andy praising the powerful new features of Adobe Premiere and introducing OpenShot as a free option for video editing beginners, while Shawn gave a shout-out to the enduring favorite, DaVinci Resolve.

Finally, the discussion turned to the ever-evolving world of digital consumption and convenience. They raised eyebrows at the newest, and arguably most irritating, advertising trend: “pause ads,” which ambush viewers with a static commercial the moment they hit the pause button on their streaming service. Despite this, Shawn expressed his enthusiasm for the community of hobbyists who are dedicated to tracking down and restoring abandoned Redbox kiosks—a fun bit of tech nostalgia. To cap off the show, they covered Microsoft’s launch of the App Pack, a new tool that seems to be directly competing with the beloved, time-saving app installer, Ninite, offering Windows users an easy way to set up a new computer.

Got a question for the show? Email techguys@techtalkradio.com, and catch more at techtalkradio.com.

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Episode 460 – “Smart Home Hacks & Windows Update Fail”

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This week’s TechtalkRadio show is joined by Andy Taylor, Shawn DeWeerd and returning after an absence Justin Lemme.  The guys opened up with some radio war stories and how On-Air has changed in many large cities but it does open up a even bigger conversation about where broadcasting is headed—automation, “canned” shifts, and even AI DJs which has already been experimented with. That segued into a broader AI discussion: hype vs. reality (is there an “AI bubble”?). Shawn is not happy with the AI Enabled toys we should see around the holidays and questions how some can hold back kids’ creativity and also raises privacy concerns. A discussion on AI in Media continues with Shawn not a fan of the obvious AI ad spots (Coke’s holiday commercial came up). Andy and Justin seemed to feel it brought out the essence of the Holidays and Coke however Shawn shares how the AI ran over a street of crowded people which delivered a honest natural reaction from Justin. 

Justin dove into DIY smart-home tinkering: using low-cost ESP32 microcontrollers with Home Assistant to build sensors (soil moisture alerts, mmWave presence for stair lights, temperature monitoring for a garage freezer). The takeaway: you can replicate pricey off-the-shelf gadgets for a fraction of the cost and power them via USB-C, battery, or small solar. Listener Q&A covered everyday computing—when a Chromebook or budget laptop beats a custom PC if you’re mostly browsing and watching video—and a heads-up that RAM prices have spiked recently. We also hit the streaming mess (YouTube TV vs. Disney/ESPN) and why “cutting the cord” keeps getting pricier and more confusing.

A Fun group on Facebook, IT Humor and Memes Shared a post about gaming in the late 80’s which opened up a discussion on Gaming nostalgia: Making the list for Andy, Shawn and Justin were titles like Wolfenstein 3D, Command & Conquer, Diablo II, RollerCoaster Tycoon, Leisure Suit Larry, and more—plus places to play DOS classics right in your browser with a great link from Shawn. Justin flagged the Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition (bundled with expansions) and told a story about navigating parental controls with Fallout. There was also a quick troubleshooting win: an HP Omen laptop that crawled after a Windows update was fixed by rolling back recent updates—sometimes it is Windows.

We wrapped with “sites of the week.” TV Garden lets you hop around live channels worldwide (including NASA TV streams), a delightfully distracting Pong-style clock, browser-based emulation libraries for retro games, a global web SDR directory for ham-radio listening, and a quick-fix image cleanup tool. Last week’s background remover got a nod again for simple cutouts. Check out the Website TechtalkRadio.Com for Links talked about on the Show and see the Video Version on our Blog.techtalkradio.com and Subscribe!

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Episode 459 – “Old Tech, New Tricks: Ham Radios, Drones & Data Recovery!”

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This Week’s TechtalkRadio Show kicks off with Shawn and Andy looking back on last weeks show and discussing a couple of Web Distractions such as TV.Garden only to find out from some viewers to the Social Media Video Post also had a site to share, Radio.Garden. This Site features Radio stations from around the globe, now including KGVY. Shawn adds WebSDR.org for listening to live amateur radio signals worldwide. That rolls into a hands-on ham segment: GMRS nostalgia, the FCC’s clamp-down on internet-linked repeaters. Shawn points to ARRL for licensing paths and local clubs, plus practical directories like RepeaterBook, RadioReference, and HamStudy to get started.

Andy dusts off the DJI Mini 3 to shoot footage of classic control-line airplanes for a friends project and decides it is time to take a look at the Part 107 study options, and but realizes  licensing delays amid the federal shutdown discussion. Then it’s OS philosophies—Windows 11’s Copilot and bloat vs. the “clean” feel of Linux—before a deep dive on data recovery: Shawn resurrects photos from a 2007 Toshiba drive using free TestDisk/PhotoRec, while Andy revisits using OnTrack in past recoveries and budget-friendlier EaseUS. A wild case study: investigators recovered images from the OceanGate submersible camera’s SanDisk memory.

Shawn tells us about a site he found which first we remind of caution –  OldVersion.com for legacy software. This tied in nicely with Andy’s daughter asking for a Windows XP rig with the old games installed. A possible alternative could be the website Good Old Games for classic game purchases. For video editing without subscriptions, DaVinci Resolve shines for Andy’s 4K drone footage, and OpenShot gets a nod as a friendly, open-source starter. Quick creative helpers include Remove.bg for instant background cuts and a reminder to support open-source tools that earn a spot in the toolbox.

A Listener wants to know about silencing Spam Calls. Andy shares the recommendation to use Do Not Disturb with “contacts only,” Silence Unknown Callers on iPhone, and accept that voicemail may still catch strays. Security talk covers the rumored Gmail credential chatter and a practical audit with HaveIBeenPwned, followed by password hygiene best practices: unique, long passwords and strong picks like Apple Passwords or 1Password—optionally paired with hardware keys for the ultra-cautious. The show wraps with a family-friendly pick—Scholastic’s new free streaming app (Clifford, Goosebumps, Magic School Bus)—and a quick note that Fedora is formally embracing AI-assisted contributions on the development side, signaling how open-source projects are adapting behind the scenes.

Got a question for the show? Email techguys@techtalkradio.com, and catch more at techtalkradio.com.

Please Share, Listen, Subscribe to the Show on Spotify, Spreaker, iHeartRadio, YouTube and Our YouTube Page. Also Available on KGVY AM/FM, Amazon Music, PodBean and other Delivery Networks!