Andy TaylorComputer Games, Computers, Consumer Electronics, Education, Entertainment, Facebook, Logitech, Online Safety, Online Tools, Safety, TechtalkRadio, TTR Website, video games, Videos, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

New Show Available! Living The High Life in The La Quinta Inn!

Andy Taylor and Justin Lemme

In this TechtalkRadio Show, Justin and Andy try to change up the opening we’ve been using since 1996 and it’s an absolute disaster. The guys ask for listeners to send audio/voice of their favorite Technology so we can use it during the show opener. The guys talk about Email hacks and now some are using phone hacks to spoof phone numbers. In this new day an age, answering the phone has become a hassle not a joy. Leave a message or get blocked. Google finds a Zero Day Vulnerability and warns users to immediately update Chrome. While Andy did reinstall Google Chrome he takes a moment to discuss the steps to update Google Chrome. Justin has an Oops moment and it involves his gaming keyboard and Superglue?

With Justin’s blooper on his keyboard the guys talk about some of the great options for gaming keyboards and discuss the differences in price and quality on keyboards. The guys have been really impressed with what is available from Logitech. Logitech even makes a keyboard, the K400 Plus which can work with Smart TV’s making it easier to type in passwords for Amazon, Hulu and other streaming networks.

A new survey is out still suggesting that over 10,000 people surveyed, they still use 123456 as passwords. Some thoughts shared on this and why it should be changed right away. Justin shares the website Lastpass.com as a solution for creating good passwords.

Justin shares a great video gaming stream from Darkness429 with his buddy going at it with a game title called Who’s Your Daddy with hilarious results. Listeners can watch it on the Facebook Page for Darkness429 titled Dad Simulator. The guys talk about Roblox and how this is a great way to not
only play a game but also create!

Justin shares a compelling story of the 8th anniversary of the massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan. He was there and shares the experience as he prepares for another trip back to
Japan. We wish him and his family safe travels and look forward to his return. With the Big outages this past week, Andy and Justin share some sites to check out when in question of a site down. https://isitdownrightnow.com is one great site for checking system status. Apple also features a system status panel. Andy talks about some new
products from Fit Bit geared at kids, the Ace2.Keywords – Logitech, Gamingkeyboards, PhoneSpoof, UpdateGoogleChrome, K400, LastPass.Com, Creatingpasswords, Darkness429, dad simulator, steam, roblox, japan, earthquake, Isitdownrightnow.com, FitBit, Ace2, P

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Is that Site Down?

In this Weeks Show we discussed the recent issues with Facebook and Instagram with widespread reports of the services being down which affected 2.3 Billion Users! Of course this drove traffic to Twitter, even Facebook itself took to Twitter to let users know that the services were facing a downtime. It’s amazing how many people felt disconnected and shared the frustrations on Twitter and Snapchat with Meme’s and the pondering what the user may have down to infuriate the FB Gods to be ignored when trying to login!

It wasn’t you or your fault that sites were having an outage although I did tell my 78 year Great Aunt Delores it was her that took them down and to stay off the Internet! While we still haven’t heard the story of why the Sites were on Timeout other sites have taken a similar turn this week including Apple, Verizon, YouTube and Gmail and its services.

There are a few online tools available as we discussed on this weeks show which can give you a head up if a Service/Site is having an issue. Apple features a System Control Panel giving you a quick look at the different services and display the areas of trouble and accessible to the general public. Check it out at the Apple System Status page.

There are a couple of sites which can give you a pretty good overview of the many services online and when they may be having issues:

  1. Is It Down Right Now – Gives you current status on Netflix, YouTube, Gmail, Facebook, Steam and many other services https://www.isitdownrightnow.com/
  2. Down – Type in the URL and it will tell you if it’s down https://down.com/
  3. Down Detector – This Site is easy to use however requires you to click through to get your answer https://downdetector.com

These will give you a good overview of a Sites Status.

Screen Shot of the System Status Screen at Apple
System Status Screen on the Apple Website
Andy TaylorAmazon Prime, Apple, Bluetooth Technology, Broadband, Computers, Hardware, Microsoft Windows 10, Music, Review, Samsung, TechtalkRadio, TTR Website, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

If I Fits, I Sit

Sometimes we have no real clue how we come up with these titles for the shows but they just seem to fall in place! In this Weeks Show Below we cover a variety of topics. First off, it seems like there is a race for Fold-able Smartphones.  The Cost for this technology will more than likely drive the price tag of smart phones in the 2k region. Justin talks about some new smartphone technology that could be coming from Google. Justin adopted the Pixel 3 as his smartphone not too long ago and loves it! He shares his reasons.

Snow Day in Tucson has Andy taking photos with both the iPhone and Canon DSLR and has a tough time viewing the differences on Instagram – Justin talks about the compression used on Social Media on Images. An upcoming trip to Japan has Justin talking about ways to use technology overseas and stay connected. Justin also shares the love for Pokemon and how the game has been re-energized recently by groups playing the game and looks forward to catching creatures in Japan.

Justin talks about a New Super responsive Mouse from Logitech he purchased. The G-502 Hero Mouse. He shares the differences between an “office mouse” and Gaming Mouse. A story on a New USB 3.2 Standard which could achieve speeds of up to 20Gbps transfer speed. Justin shares a story from How To Geek on Transferring a Windows Licence. The guys talk about the Battle of the OS and the different versions of Windows. Justin talks about some new updates to the Xbox One with the introduction of Dolby Atmos Sound. Justin tells us about Playstation Vue for watching Content.

Blu-Ray and 4kUHD Players may eventually disappear, More content is going digital however Andy shares info on an older gentleman who purchased a VCR on Ebay and wrote a letter to the seller on how appreciated he was to be able to purchase the older technology to watch content he hadn’t see in a many years. Andy talks about Nuraphone headphones available at B8TA in Scottsdale as well as online at Nuraphone.Com. A recent story about Stevie Wonder trying them out a CES and loving them so much he bought three pairs! If you get a chance, Please Visit iTunes or Google Play and Drop us a review!

Have a Great Week!

Justin and Andy

Andy TaylorComputers, Consumer Electronics, Hardware, Movies, TechtalkRadio, TTR Website, web design, Websites, , , , ,

TechBlast 01/08/2018

Happy to Be Back and Happy New Year!

In Mid December we changed out the Server to a new Hosting Provider – We have more changes coming but we didn’t want to lost our blog, even if we haven’t updated in a while – Best Advice I could ever share, Make your Backups, make them frequently. We did indeed do ours however it still took time to figure out how to bring it back!

We also want to start bringing back the TechtalkRadio Tech Blast! Here is today’s!

Andy TaylorBooks, Computer Games, Computers, Consumer Electronics, Education, Entertainment, Hardware, Movies, RockStar Games, Smartphones, Social Media, TechtalkRadio, TTR Website, Websites, , , , , , , , ,

I’m Hiding Under Your Bed! New Show Posted!

In this TechtalkRadio Episode, Justin and Andy talk about the New Google Pixel 3XL available from Verizon which Justin has gone out and purchased! We hear from Justin on his reasons for moving from Samsung to Google. His discussion on the Google Pixel 3XL focuses on performance, Camera capabilities and cost. Justin talks about the thoughts between the different sizes in storage on the Google Pixel 3XL and why going for the 128GB made more sense even with the “Unlimited” storage options available. Thinking about skipping on the Insurance on your device, a great reason for getting that insurance is offered. If you are holding off upgrading worrying about data from your old device, Justin shares just how easy this is. What are the best features of the Google Pixel 3XL? Justin shares the ones demonstrated to him that had him make the switch.

Going Unlimited, a Discussion between Justin and Andy regarding how your phone is used and if it makes sense to jump to unlimited plans. Amazon now introduces Whisper Mode to your Alexa devices. Don’t want to wake anybody? Check out Whisper Mode. The guys talk about how it’s a little creepy yet convenient. Need to know how to enable it? Tune in!

John Chapin from Leap Frog visits the show to talk about Leap Start 3D which gives children ages 2-7 a book based fun educational platform for reading books with audio and 3D type animation to accompany the books in a Pop-Up Screen. With the books, users can experience math, reading fundamentals and interact with the characters in the books. John shares the development process with testing groups of kids and parents. We love the pricing on the Leap Start 3D, affordable under $50 and is powered by 2 Double A Batteries and can interface with a Mac or PC for downloading updates for the books.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of the biggest games this season, Justin shares his first thoughts of this title and how he was able to regain his hat. Rock Star has put out this game title with Rave Reviews along with Justin’s high acclaim for this title. The Graphics, The Sound, The Dialog, The AI is all something to behold.

Website of the Week is geared at those that Love Movies and want to know everything about Films and the people behind and in front of the cameras. The Amazon owned IMDB.Com, Internet Movie Database can let you know what’s happening and what’s coming with Entertainment.  Visit at http://www.imdb.com