Observed Tech PODCAST Episode 89
Welcome to Episode 89. I am pleased to introduce you to a new player in the home PC backup to the cloud world called Drive Pop which comes our way from friend of the show Rob Boirun of BurnWorld.com. It offers some great options for some very, very competitive rates so I hope you check it out. We then continue with the show talking about the World Wide Web marking 20 years of being around, a big registrar getting hacked and losing user data so we also talk about some suggestions for creating solid passwords. There are then news items on PhoneSats in orbit, Google+ Hangouts getting new features, Star Trek Apps for both Windows Phone and Windows 8 released nearly simultaneously, other new WP apps for Tumblr, MetroTube, more hero apps for the Microsoft mobile platform and assurances from Joe Belfiore that WP 7.X users will also see updates to these big name official apps. Continuing on the Windows Phone news there is the release of WP 7.8 for Nokia Lumia 900 owners that is hitting the OTA airwaves this week. Of course, we have some Twitter related news as we do nearly every week, Microsoft talking Windows 8 sales at six months as well as confirming Windows Blue aka Windows 8.1 coming out this summer for preview and how busy they are issuing take down notices to Facebook trademark infringing apps in its Windows Store. When any news about Windows 8 comes out you can expect the Acer President, who has been very vocal about Windows 8 itself, to speak up about his views and he does so on the Windows 8.1 update. We close things up talking about an IE8 vulnerability, the inadvertently revealed 8 inch Windows 8 tablet, the recently announced Acer Aspire R7 with its unique design and new features in the Windows 8 mail app relating to the updates at Outlook.com. Enjoy the show and thanks for listening!
Observed Tech PODCAST Episode 88
Welcome to Episode 88 and the first show of May. Just 12 shows away from Episode 100! Should we start the count down now or later? OK – we will wait – but it is exciting as we get closer. So in this show we start off with a small confession on how I messed up a BIOS flash on my wife’s PC that did not work using the Windows based BIOS flashing software. That meant a dead motherboard and an upgrade for her machine. It is speeding along now with new motherboard, memory, processor and an SSD drive and she is happy – a required goal for family tech support folks! We then talk about a new Microsoft Store in my hometown, going to space getting more expensive on VirginGalactic after their successful rocket powered test flight and all kinds of Windows Phone stuff such as more Instagram access attempts and a paid app for us while it is free for iOS users. Then we cover the latest stats on Microsoft Surface sales numbers, Microsoft moving into the top 5 tablet vendors and the possibility of a second generation Surface device being unveiled in late June at Microsoft’s Build 2013 conference. If you are looking at getting a Windows 8 based machine we tell you about a great collection of devices from cNet and even a discussion of whether you should get touch with that Windows 8 PC. There is also lots of Microsoft related news around Outlook.com and its new Skype integration, a list of SkyDrive Apps for various platforms, an update to the OneNote MX App that lets you draw on capacitive screens, a beta of the office Facebook App on Windows Phone 8 and how to use SkyDrive to sync your documents and pictures between computers. We wrap with a reminder of the busy times ahead with the upcoming #XboxReveal in May, E3 in June and a possible second generation Surface reveal in late June at Build 2013 in San Francisco. So go ahead and enjoy the show and thanks for listening!
Observed Tech PODCAST Episode 87
Welcome to Episode 87. Time to get caught up on this weeks tech news after an unexpected hiatus last week. This show is on track to bring news about security whether it be Twitter’s need for two-factor authentication or Microsoft’s implementation of that additional security step last week for Microsoft Accounts. Plenty of news about Xbox 360 from ordering pizza using your console to it being king of the hill now for 27 months in the US console competition and its future being announced on 21 May 2013. We also have info about your chance to go to Mars in about 10 years, see an awesome Hubble image of the Horsehead Nebula and watch SpaceX’s Grasshopper make its biggest leap yet. Then there is Facebook Home’s very lukewarm reception based on 50% of its over 10,000 reviews being marked 1 Star, privacy and IE, the Windows Start Button coming in Windows 8.1 and our friends at Soluto entering the business market with their monitoring and assistance software. Throw in some items like the HostGator employee who rooted 2,700 servers, using Family Safety in Windows 8, Twitter shutting down the popular TweetDeck franchise, a new virtual voice based assistant named Indigo for Windows Phone 8 users and we have a nice set of highlights to this weeks tech news. As always enjoy the show and thanks for listening!
Observed Tech PODCAST Episode 86
Welcome to Episode 86. Thanks for all the feedback on our tweaked format that we tried out last week. Every piece of it was positive for the less rapid fire pace of the show so we will stick with that new format. In today’s show we discuss XP’s final year of official support and what that means along with firmware updates for Surface, Microsoft Accounts getting two-factor authentication, Windows Store stats on the App Annie Blog, what Microsoft Blue really is about, Microsoft sells off their IPTV Mediaroom and Roku selling over 5 million devices. We will jump into some social media items including how your past and present can come back to get you and the belief that social media makes over 80% of us less polite. We then point you towards the new Channel 9 Windows Store App, some extensive free resources for Windows Phone developers and a great article about the Touch Hate that is out there in the computing world. Of course, we have to discuss the craziness around the latest PC sales numbers and all that entails including what a PC is defined as, the impact on stocks and since Windows 8 is being blamed for all of it we talk about the great debate at ZD Net between Ed Bott and Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols on whether Windows 8 can be saved. Finally we will run through what we have been talking about at WindowsObserver.com since the last show including the insatiable appetite Windows Phone users have for anything Instagram and their willingness to take risks to have it. Enjoy the show and as always thanks for listening!
Observed Tech PODCAST Episode 85
Welcome to Episode 85 and a slightly tweaked show format. The primary change I have made is to not include as many news items to mention and discuss. This should allow the show to be less of a rapid fire session and allow for more discussion on individual items and still stay within my goal of having the show around 45 minutes in length. I would love to hear your feedback on the change if you have a chance. In this show we discuss an iconic founders photo recreation, 40 years since the first cell phone call and making sure you observe World Back Up day for your data. Then we jump into Facebook Home; Outlook.com getting the modern calendar update finally for the web experience; the reselling of MP3’s getting shot down; whether people really hate Windows 8 the most of any Windows OS; where to get a PC with Windows 7 on it; the inevitable Messenger/Skype merger approaching; Microsoft’s warns about Xbox points scam; Windows 8 Blue update and what it means to the future of Windows and Microsoft; Nokia Lumia 920 firmware update causing some connectivity issues; Microsoft Build 2013 in San Francisco sells out in three hours; getting your Google Calendar events in Windows 8; premium subscriptions for Microsoft Windows 8 games introduced to remove ads; Twitter gets it wrong at times; Outlook.com Insider program announced; Roku updating interface for many of their devices at no cost; Digg really wants to hear about how you use RSS feeds and Google Reader and I wrap up with the experience and simplicity of resetting the Windows 8 OS on a Microsoft Surface RT. Enjoy the show and as always thanks for listening!