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Episode #430 – Do You Remember Your First Computer?

In this week’s TechtalkRadio show, Andy and Shawn revisit the USB hub Andy purchased from a discount store—and this time, they crack it open! They discuss their experiences with USB hubs and the potential dangers of using unverified or suspicious USB devices. They emphasize the importance of purchasing from reputable vendors and being cautious when using public USB ports.

Thinking about getting a new laptop? Shawn shares his recent purchase of a Lenovo ThinkPad T17 for his in-laws, explaining how it met their budget and needs. He walks through some of the challenges they faced while setting up the new computer, particularly issues with transferring settings and favorites—most of which revolved around Microsoft’s OneDrive. After some configuring, the laptop was set up to their liking, and Shawn details a few of the key steps he took.

Andy is joined by Micki and Steve, showrunners and producers of the upcoming Vintage Computer Festival SoCal, taking place in Orange, California, on February 15th and 16th, 2025. The event, expected to draw over a thousand attendees, stems from the organizers’ passion for vintage computing and their goal of fostering a community for enthusiasts. Inspired by similar events nationwide, they have been working on this festival for about four years. Attendees can expect to see a variety of vintage computers and related memorabilia while sharing their experiences and memories of their first computers. The organizers also run a YouTube channel, VintNerd, where they share their interests and conduct fascinating interviews. Check them out at www.youtube.com/@TheVintNerd and on their website at https://thevintnerd.com/index.html.

Andy and Shawn return to discuss their love for electronics and tinkering. Andy shares his experience with Elenco Snap Circuits, including the Top Secret Spy Kit and the Snap Circuits Jr. Explorer Kit. These STEM-focused kits allow users ages 7 to 107 to experiment with circuits—no soldering required! Andy demonstrates one of the projects he built with the Spy Kit: a motion detector, which turned out to be a fun and rewarding project.

Shawn also shares some exciting news—he will be attending the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show in Las Vegas for the first time! He looks forward to networking and learning about the latest in broadcasting technology.

Finally, Andy and Shawn discuss a book called Computer Engineering for Babies and its educational value in teaching young children the basics of computer functions in an engaging and accessible way.

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Episode #425 – Connecting to The Wu-Tang LAN

In this weeks TechtalkRadio Show, Andy, Shawn and Justin take on one of the big stories in the news with the recent drone sightings over the East Coast, with Shawn clarifying that while there are indeed drones, some of the reported sightings could be helicopters. Justin shared his concerns about the presence of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) near the US Capitol, which he believes should not be ignored. The hosts also touched on the topic of misinformation surrounding these sightings. This is course causes speculation about the possibility of extraterrestrial life, with Justin suggesting that the objects could be alien technology. Andy mentioned the possibility of drones being used for surveillance or warfare, and Shawn noted that the quality of the amateur videos was not impressive. They also discussed the military’s response to the sightings, with Justin questioning why the military was not commenting on the situation. The conversation ended with a discussion about the capabilities of larger drones, with Shawn noting that they could potentially fly for extended periods of time. Shawn also suggested that some drones could be built without GPS geofencing. Andy wondered if this could lead to changes in legislation for drone usage and the overall feeling is Yes.
The group speculated about the possibility of an elaborate prank or a serious government cover-up, and decided to keep an eye on the situation.

In last week’s Show, Justin was trying to decide on his next vehicle and shares that the purchase of a 2025 Toyota Camry XLE, a hybrid vehicle, after selling his 2017 Ford Explorer was made. He mentioned that the new car has a 12.3-inch touch screen infotainment system, HD radio, Sirius XM, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, full surround cameras, and a panoramic moonroof. Andy wondered if for long trips would he prefer the Tesla or Hybrid Camry. Justin does enjoy the convenience of self-driving features with the Tesla and traveling adds a minimal time for recharging.

A Listener question opens up a fun discussion on naming your Wi-Fi SSID. In the Segment a listener was asked by a neighbor about sharing his Wi-Fi. The group advised against it, citing potential misuse of bandwidth and exposure to legal issues. They also shared their Wi-Fi network names, with Justin’s being “The Wu-tang LAN” and Shawn’s being “Land before time”. The team also encouraged listeners to share some of the fun SSID names they have seen. Another listener question wonders about the benefits of OpenOffice as an alternative to Microsoft Office. They emphasized the benefits of open source software, such as community-driven development and potential for better support and feature requests. However, they also cautioned against downloading software from unverified sources and stressed the importance of due diligence in researching and selecting software. Shawn shared again with us a great website for finding open source software https://www.alternativeto.net

With YouTubeTV raising its Monthly Plan Cost, The team discussed their streaming services and the increasing costs associated with them. Andy mentioned that he was considering switching to YouTube TV but was hesitant due to the price increase. Shawn shared that they were sharing the cost of various streaming services among family members. The team also discussed the inconvenience of ads in some streaming services and the potential of physical media sales increasing due to internet outages. Andy, Shawn, and Justin discussed the recent launch of OpenAI’s free search feature for Chat GPT, which allows users to search for images and information.

Justin shared two websites of interest for the Website of the Week: https://www.everyhex.codes, a website that provides every color imaginable with its hexadecimal code, and https://www.openmhz.com , a website that allows users to listen to unencrypted police, fire, and EMS radio channels. They also discussed the possibility of using an SDR device to capture local radio frequencies and share them on Openmhz.com. Lastly, they shared their Christmas wishes, with Shawn wanting the High Speed Photo Scanner we shared from Epson earlier this year, The FastFoto 680 and Justin hoping for the Denver Broncos to make it to the Super Bowl!

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New Show – Zip Ties, Velcro and a Whole Lot of Cables

For this Week’s TechtalkRadio Broadcast, Andy, Shawn, and Justin discussed various topics related to technology and personal experiences. They talked about Matt’s computer issues, with Justin mentioning that Matt had moved his gaming computer into a rack mount chassis and was experiencing problems. They also discussed the importance of cable management, with Shawn emphasizing the need for flush-cutting zip ties to avoid injuries.

In the Photos, What a Non Flush Cut Zip tie looks like. Matt shared the Rack and then System with componants installed, then the finished product. The conversation then shifted to the topic of retro computer cases, with Andy sharing an article about Silverstone’s retro beige PC case. The team also reminisced about the past, discussing the effects of smoking on electronics and the challenges of cleaning them. The conversation ended with Justin showing off his new camera, The Sony A7 Mark IV camera. Justin explained the camera’s features, including its ability to shoot raw images, 4K video at 60 frames per second, and its built-in eye tracking feature. Justin also discussed his experience with Adobe Lightroom, a software he used to edit the photos he took with the camera. Andy and Shawn praised the camera’s quality and the benefits of using Lightroom for photo editing.

Another Project that Justin recently completed was installing permanent outdoor holiday lights. Justin shared his research on the company Jellyfish deciding to go with EnBrighten, in Justin study a more affordable option. EnBrighten lights come in 100-foot strings and can be individually controlled, allowing for various color effects and preset modes for different holidays. Justin also mentioned hiring a professional to install the lights, which cost him around $380.

A listener question came in regarding a request from the writer’s son for a Mechanical Keyboard. Justin explained the differences between budget keyboards and what can be found with a mechanical. Andy, Shawn, and Justin discussed their experiences with the Tyson-Paul boxing match and the issues they faced while trying to watch it. They shared their attempts to stream the fight, with Shawn mentioning that they eventually found an illegal stream to watch it on Discord. Justin revealed that he watched the fight somewhat legally through a live stream on X, which had 9 million viewers at its peak. The conversation then shifted to social media platforms, with Andy and Justin discussing their experiences with Twitter and the new platform Blue Sky. They expressed their dissatisfaction with the political nature of these platforms and their desire for a more curated feed. Justin mentioned that he has successfully curated his X feed to avoid political content. The team also discussed their presence on Facebook and Blue Sky, encouraging listeners to connect with them on these platforms.

Another listener question is handled, and it involved digitizing old VHS tapes and putting them of DVD. Shawn recommended not burning them to DVD. Shawn recommended using Legacy Box for digitizing old VHS tapes into a digital format, as DVDs are just taking up space. Justin suggested that the digitized content could be played on a TV via a USB slot. Shawn also suggested checking out the service’s website for a sale currently running at $8 per tape. In a segment from a couple of weeks ago, Andy mentioned his experience with the Epson FF680-W photo scanner and has found that Visioneer has a similar scanner and will work to check it out and compare its performance.

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Episode 421 – Close Encounters with a Great Looking Camera!

In this Weeks TechtalkRadio Show, Andy, Shawn, Justin, Matt and Slick gather together to talk the latest in Tech but also after not bieng able to connect with a guest, they noted her expertise in UFO and UAP Studies. This was in advance of a show in Tucson at the Rialto by her colleague Luis Elizondo, who is a former head of the Pentagon program investigating UAPs (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena) and has written a book called “Imminent: Inside the Pentagon’s Hunt for UFOs.” While the guest was unable to attend the radio show, the team decided to continue the discussion about UFOs. Shawn mentioned seeing unusual lights while trying to chase the Northern lights and the space station, but couldn’t attribute them to extraterrestrial sources. S!ick shared stories of lights moving in unusual ways in the Tucson area, but didn’t claim to have seen a UFO. Andy recalled seeing a string of lights on a drive between Phoenix and Tucson. The team agreed that while some sightings could be explained, others remained unexplained and intriguing.

Shawn reminded us about the early days of SETI@home, a distributed computing project that utilized home computers to search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Shawn shared his experience of using the software, which involved processing raw data from satellites in the Gigahertz spectrum. The team also discussed the potential of other projects like HARPA, which uses CPU power to scan high-frequency radio signals. The conversation also touched on the concept of the “Great Barrier” theory, which suggests that advanced civilizations must pass a test of self-preservation before they can explore interstellar space. They reminisced about classic movies dealing with UFOs such as “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”, “Mars Attacks”, and “The Day the Earth Stood Still” while Slick talks about the To Serve Man Episode on Twilight Zone and we find Justin isn’t a fan of the Classic Twilight Zone TV Episodes!

The Crew welcomes to the show Richard Neumann from Sub2R. The company has built a camera which is expected to retail for around $1,500 for the Square One model and $2,500 for the Studio 4 60 model, is described as having amazing quality. The camera is HDMI centric for the Square One model and SDI based for the Studio 4 60 model. Richard explained that the camera uses a Sony IMX 294 image sensor, larger format glass, and micro 4/3rd technology for ease of use and reasonable pricing. The camera is designed to be versatile, with interchangeable lenses and the ability to convert the video output to various formats. Richard emphasized the camera’s open architecture, allowing for innovation and customization.

Richard Neumann in a Square One Demo


Shawn shared with us a recent update in the DJI Air 3S Drone with a potential ban on importing the new DJI Air 3S drone due to concerns about forced labor practices and technology-based issues. Andy also talked about a product he recently shared on KMSB Fox 11 News 13, the Epson FF- 680W scanner. Shawn expressed interest in the scanner for his massive photo and video archive, as it could significantly speed up the scanning process. The team also discussed the importance of adding metadata to scanned photos for better organization and accessibility.

The Epson FF680W

A listener sent the team a question about using a physical keyboard with their iPhone, which led to a discussion about different Bluetooth keyboard options available such as the Logitech K480 and the Clicks System which the guys really liked, It is a actual keyboard that the iphone can snap into. They referred to the company website https://www.clicks.tech

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The Latest TechtalkRadio Show : Help Wanted – New Collar Jobs

Here is this Weeks Show TechtalkRadio Episode 94

“Help Wanted – New Collar Jobs!”

In this Weeks Show, Justin gives us a quick thought on the Cobra CDR 895D Dual camera system supplied by Cobra Electronics for the car, Perfect for capturing the horrified face of a driver before they run into you. Justin will be doing a review of the camera and Andy recommends Justin drive his new Ford into a wall to test out the crash detection. For some reason, Justin doesn’t like the idea.

The TechtalkRadio blog is back for now with data recovered.While investigation options for Sites, Andy stumbles upon SiteLock. An Info graph was available on the data on Sites compromised and why. Logan Kipp from Sitelock shares some of the finer points of working to a strong safe and secure site for any type of site. Andy gets a Instagram like from a Celebrity and gets all giddy.

Looking to get better recipes? We talk with Stefanie Coffman from T.Marzetti about http://www.whatsfordinner.com.

What are the careers ahead in the world of Tech? The New Collar Jobs from Global Cyber Security Expert Diana Kelley with IBM lays out some ideas for the new wave of Techspertise.

http://www.liveuamap.com is the Website of the Week – News locations from all over the world in Map Form.