For the Segment April 01in Studio, Andy Taylor of @TechtalkRadio Focused on Products to give some help at the Desk! While many have returned to In Office Working, the landscape has changed and have found the benefits of Remote Collaborations and Conversations using technology.

During the Pandemic as many of us shifted to Working from Home and Virtual Meetings with Webcams, we found many companies were ready for Video Conferences and there was a run on even the most basic cameras. One of the companies that continued to produce quality webcams is Logitech. They make great products for the home user, education and gamer and have added focus for business.

We are sharing a couple of products they have introduced, All New is the Logitech MX Brio 4K, This step up from the 2017 Brio features ultra HD 4k resolution video, Logitechs largest webcam sensor giving you a sharper picture even in Lower Light. AI image enhancement is a part of bringing that quality to user – It features a Dual Microphone Sensor with Excellent Noise Reduction and options through the Logitech G Hub Software. It will integrate with the popular communication programs like Skype, teams and Zoom and even features a Privacy Shutter! It Retails for about 199.00

Sound is also a part of the Equation and as a radio host I wear headphones for upwards of 5 to 8 hours a day, these are the most comfortable headphones I have worn. The Logitech Zone 2 Wireless headphones are amazing. Hear remote participants clearly, even if they are in a noisy environment. Switch on Advanced Call Clarity and your conversation can be clearer with Four noise-canceling mics suppress sound from nearby conversations, pets, even AC, Zone Wireless 2 gets up to 15 hours of talk time or 22 hours of listening time, 5 minutes of charging can provides up to 1 hour of talk time, They are super comfortable. AI is also incorporated into the Zone 2 Wireless for that Noise Suppression. The Zone 2 Wireless retail for around 249.00 Find out More at https://www.logitech.com

EPISODE 282: Mailing Meatballs!

In this Weeks TechtalkRadio Show, The guys talk about Broadway building out his studio for streaming and audio but going old school by filling his walls with egg cartons to absorb the sound.

Shawn is under a severe weather watch during the show and we talk about storms and earthquakes, while andy has thought he lived through the big Landers 7.1 Quake in the 90’s, Justin reminds him, he was in Japan during the 2011 Fukushima 9.1 Justin, Shawn and Andy talk about Dr. Disrespect making a jump to YouTube but not determined to be a regular streamer with this as his home.

Amanda joins the show and shares some insight to educators and parents and getting information during remote learning. Hooking up a Smartphone to second monitor or tablet is discussed. Broadway jumps on to talk about his studio upgrade and what he has been doing.

Andy talks about a new Movie on HBO Max called An American Pickle with Seth Rogan and the upcoming The One and Only Ivan on Disney +. Shawn tells us about students back on Campus and how they have gotten prepared for that and the technology involved. Justin tries out software from Nikon to use his DSLR as a webcam.

The crew issues warning of giving out too much information when it comes to census and covid-19 info. Broadway tells us about Microsoft Garage and a program he found which allows you to run a mouse on multiple computers over a network! The program is called Mouse without Borders

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Andy interviews:

Vincent Borel of Logitech describes their Logi Circle “home security and connection camera”. It has a rechargeable battery and can stream three hours of video for up to three hours, “2-Way Talk” capability (with audio monitoring), and free 24-hr cloud storage for recorded video that can be downloaded…

Karen Regis of Intel talks about the 6th Gen Intel Core processors which “have been optimized to best run Windows 10, enabling new experiences…and providing more secure computing.”

And Chris Kooistra of Cobra discusses Dash Cams that can “automatically save and protect clips if an impact is detected”.

What arrived was a “USB Flash Drive with Voice Recording”, and “USB 2-in-1 Web Cam”.

Let’s begin with my experience with the web cam.

USB 2-in-1 Web Cam, Product Code: UWCAM003200

The packaging identifies it as a Minocam High Speed Web Cam.  A web cam, flash memory storage device, and…well, I have no idea what the third definitive function is.  I was the “2G” version, that has 2 gigabytes worth of storage.

There were many problems.

The USB Type A plug slides in and out of the device.  The piece on the side of the web cam, that is used to slide the plug in and out, broke off.

Software for it was provided on a Mini CD.  My computer from Alienware was not able to read it.  (I recommend NEVER using Mini CDs:  they don’t work in all devices.)

I connected the web cam to my computer, and Microsoft Windows Vista had compatible drivers for it.  The camera worked…but, the image rendered was as if the lens element had been knocked sideways about 45 degrees.  I attempted to adjust the lens, to turn it to see if I could straighten the image, and the lens came off and out of the camera.  I was able to see inside of the device.  It seems as if a mirror that reflects, or an element that captures, is misaligned.

Software was on the flash drive.  I copied it to a folder on my hard drive, and warnings appeared from Microsoft Security Essentials.

Category: Worm
Description: This program is dangerous and self-propagates over a network connection.
Items:
file:E:\AutoRun.inf

Category: Virus
Description: This program is dangerous and replicates by infecting other files.
Items:
file:E:\RavMon.exe

Category: Backdoor
Description: This program provides remote access to the computer it is installed on.
file:E:\Recycle.exe

Category: Worm
Description: This program is dangerous and self-propagates over a network connection.
file:RavMon.exe

After a search via the internet that, I found reports of others that had used the software…and then had problems with Windows Explorer.  I did not install the software.

I’ve read about horror stories of devices having malware on them (Seagate had shipped infected drives), as well as embedded in them (digital picture frames sold by Best Buy and Sams Club)…and those are just the two I can remember and mention this moment.  I never thought I would have a similar experience.  Especially when what I received did not come via a retail channel.

I don’t know who to blame:
the manufacturer…
the promotional agency…
the distributor…
or the Chinese postal service.

The packaging for the web cam was not “secure”…it could have been opened.

————————————————————————————————-

The best item of the two is the “USB Flash Drive with Voice Recording“, which I do recommend.

From their website:
“This USB flash drive is not only data storage, but also a voice recorder. You can records any sound into the memory with WAV format. Built-in a rechargeable battery, let you has 5 hours continuous recording…”

Price:  US$23.00

2GB (1GB ~ 70 hours recording)
Built-in voice recording On/Off switch
LED indicator
Support Window 7 / Vista / XP, Linux 2.4, Mac OS X or latest version
Colors:  Blue, Black