For the Monday Morning Tech Segment on News13, @techtalkradio decided to focus on the Monsoon Storms and how these storms common to the Southern Arizona Area can affect our electronics.

If you have invested in a big screen television, not connecting it to safe source for electrical power can be a big mistake. As more and more want to enjoy a Large Screen Television with 4k or 8k OLED, Soundbars and Consoles we should be thinking of how it is plugged in. During Monsoon Storms and even other times throughout the year, we get power surges, these surges can take out that 80″ television OLED just as it could a 19 inch tv is you haven’t taken an extra step and purchased a Surge Protector with a High Joule Rating and not just a power strip. It is recommended you use a Joule Rating of 2000-4000 joules to protect your devices and cost wise for these, they can run from 25 to 99 dollars depending on the number of outlets and of course Joule rating. Also important is to remember, these will not last forever. Over time that Joule protecting can deteriorate and a good surge protector can visually let you know when it is time. GE, APC, Monster and CyberPower all produce some fine devices. 

Also, if you are going to a coffee shop or even traveling, a nice device from Philips is the Cube, this give you a minor amount of protectiion which is better then plugging directly into the wall. I would recommend having your devices fully charged so you don’t have to plug into an outlet but if you have to, this can help. You could also carry an extra higher Joule Rated product in your laptop bag.

For the Best protection for your PC’s. Macs and other devices, APC – American Power Conversion from Schneider Electric can be a great source with its Uninterruptible Power Supplies.  In this segment we are sharing a Backup UPS from APC – The BN1500M2 which is a Ten Outlet device designed for Home and Small and Medium Businesses. With this you get 10 total outlets, 6 of those outlets with both surge and battery backup as well as 4 surge-only outlets. Also on board are 2 USB ports (Type-C and Type-A) that allow you to charge mobile devices. This is a great solution for your Computer and Routers, the Joule Rating on this is just under 1100. Another point to remember, it is not recommended to plug a UPS into a Power Strip, this could void a warranty or protection guarantee.

With a UPS In most situations, if your power goes out, You will be able to finish your work and shut down your system. A High End Gaming PC could be given just under half an hour to finish and then Shut down. The BN1500M2 sells for about 215.00 Find out more on the APC Website including how to protect this devices in the Summer Storms! https://www.apc.com

We also mentioned “UEFI”…which is the “Unified Extensible Firmware Interface”. Some information from UEFI.org might help to understand its function…

“…the BIOS refers to a specific implementation of the firmware that initializes the platform and loads an OS setup.”

“BIOS is typically used to refer to an Intel Architecture firmware implementation rooted in the IBM PC design. Based on older standards and methods, BIOS was originally coded in 16-bit real mode x86 assembly code…”

“…UEFI specifications define an interface in which the implementation of UEFI performs the equivalent of the BIOS, by initiating the platform and loading the operating system.”

“…UEFI is ‘processor architecture-agnostic,’ supporting x86, x64, ARM and Itanium.”

“…the Specification supports a more secure system, a faster boot time, improved performance…With regard to security, UEFI Secure Boot helps defend against malware attacks before the operating system loads.”

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And if you ever need to install Windows 10, the information on how to download and install it can be found at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

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We talk to an Uber driver, and Justin explains how he uses Uber…without paying for it.

“…driving jobs for independent contractors in Tucson…work as much or as little as you want. Uber takes care of all the details…”

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Also, Uber is working with the UA College of Optical Sciences:

Brian McClendon, vice president of advanced technologies for Uber…”it’s clear that Arizona welcomes innovation.”

“…I look forward to working with Arizona…”

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iOS 9 has been released. Some got it (S!ick)…some didn’t (Andy)…and others don’t care (what’s-his-name/Justin).

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We learn that Apple uses end-to-end encryption in iMessage and FaceTime…

And in a related issue, Microsoft is resisting to comply with a warrant which orders it disclose contents of an email account…because the data is kept in a different country.

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The cats of TechtalkRadio have new shirts for their “uniform”. And, so do cats.  (Again:  Justin’s fault.  Hey…I’m writing the post, I get to pick-on whom I choose to…)

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And here are some links related to subjects discussed during the show:

“…With Slingbox, you can watch live cable or satellite TV, video apps, recorded shows, and on demand shows on your phone, tablet, and computer. Anywhere in the world. Literally.”

Yahoo Livetext is live video texting, without sound…

“Tile is a tiny Bluetooth tracker and easy-to-use app that finds everyday items in seconds—like your phone, keys, and wallet.”

“Gazelle buys mostly Apple products, iPhones, iPads, iPods, Macbooks, Macs, select Apple TVs & Apple Displays. We also buy a select group of other smartphones and tablets like Samsung, Microsoft. LG and HTC to name a few…”

“Find your bacon lover. Introducing Sizzl – a real dating app for bacon lovers. Connect with thousands of like-minded lovers who share your selective taste in bacon…”