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eHow Tech

eHow Tech editor and bestselling author Dave Johnson joins forces with TV geek personality Nikole Zivalich to help you do more with technology. Imagine a world filled with fun and geeky guests, gadgets, tech trivia, and tips for better living through technology. Now stop imagining, because it's here.
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Now displaying: 2014
Mar 24, 2014

This week on the eHow Tech Podcast, we talk about GPS-enabled smart shoes that tell you where to go as well as the controversial Spritz Reading App, which boasts the ability to let you read up to 1000 words per minute (about 5 times faster than average).

Dave and Nikole chat about things you can do to take control of Facebook, like clearing your search history and blocking certain kinds of sites from appearing in your news feed.

Finally, we’ve got friend of the show and tech expert Rick Broida on hand to discuss smart TVs — and talk about the brand new Roku Streaming Stick. Is it better than Chromecast? We’ve got the scoop.

Finally, Rick takes a TV-themed Geek Trivia Quiz on behalf of podcast listener Nathan Sanzone-McDowell, from Denver, Colorado. The prize: ThinkGeek Geeky Scented Candles. You can enter to have a guest play the quiz for you during a future episode by completing the entry form.

Mar 17, 2014

This week, on the eHow Tech Podcast, Dave and Nikole chat about Apple’s new move into automobiles — Apple Car Play.

They’ve also rounded up a slew of apps you can use to track and manage your calories and nutrition. Here are the apps mentioned on the show this week:

Lose It
Restaurant Nutrition
MealSnap
Livestrong MyPlate
DietBet
GymPact

And finally, we talk about one of the oldest examples of gaming technology: The venerable pinball machine. We’ve got Gary Stern, owner of Stern Pinball on the show. Stern is the oldest remaining pinball factory in the world, and Gary talks about the history of pinball, why it’s still cool, and takes the Geek Trivia Quiz for listener Ann Lenzini.

You can enter to have a guest play the quiz for you during a future episode by completing the entry form.

Mar 10, 2014

This week, Dave and Nikole talk to one of our favorite actors, Greg Grunberg. He’s appeared in Heroes, Lost, Hawaii Five-O, and Star Trek, and he talks about growing up with JJ Abrams, what it was like to whisper in Felicity, making his new film Big Ass Spider, drumming in Band From TV, and how he came to create the location-aware couponing app Yowzaa!!That's a lot of stuff, but we pack it all into one podcast.

Greg also takes the Geek Trivia Quiz and amps up the stakes by throwing a signed script from Heroes into the prize pot.

You can enter to have a guest play the quiz for you during a future episode by completing the entry form:

http://www.emailmeform.com/builder/form/VF3aN3Qf69wTe0EmLu6Y

Also in the show: We talk about gaming news -- Titanfall is the first next-gen shooter for the Xbox One, and it arrives this week. And Nikole shares her favorite apps for taking control of your chores – just in time for spring cleaning season. 

Feb 24, 2014

Did you notice the Take Back the Internet event recently? No matter how worried you are about the NSA, hackers, and privacy, you might want to find ways to better protect yourself and your identity online. This week, we’ve got a handful of tips for enhancing your anonymity on the Interwebs.

Before we get to that, though, Dave and Nikole talk about new Apple rumors. An iPhone with a bigger screen? A new gesture-controlled Apple TV?

And this week we welcome pro skateboarder Jamie Thomas to the show. Not only did he attempt the formidable 2-story jump known as the Leap of Faith, but Jamie is a phenomenal photographer who has captured some breathtaking shots with nothing more than an iPhone. We talk about skateboarding and how to take better pictures with your iPhone.

Jamie on Instagram: http://instagram.com/jamiethomas

Jamie's Leap of Faith video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pdoADutGZg

Jamie also takes the Geek Trivia Quiz for Nancy Hockerman – a Society 6 gift certificate hangs in the balance.

You can enter to have a guest play the quiz for you during a future episode by completing the entry form:

http://www.emailmeform.com/builder/form/VF3aN3Qf69wTe0EmLu6Y

 

Feb 24, 2014

We’ve got Flappy Bird Fever this week – Dave and Nikole discuss the most unlikely iPhone game controversy of all time, and explain some ways you can still get your Flappy Bird fix now that it’s no longer in the App Store. Spoiler alert: Despite what you might have heard, you probably can’t buy it pre-installed on a phone on eBay.

We also discuss the Comcast/Time Warner merger and what it means for you.

The big news this week, though, is that we’ve got musician Terri Moeller on the show. Terri was the face, voice, and songwriting talent of Seattle band The Transmissionary Six, and has recently released an EP on vinyl via Kickstarter. So many questions: Why vinyl? What was it like using Kickstarter? What’s a cassingle? Listen to the interview to find out.

Terri also takes the Geek Trivia Quiz for Dean Petrelli of Aurora, CO. Does she answer three Beatles-related questions and win a set of Geeky Scented Candles for Dean? Listen to see.

You can enter to have a guest play the quiz for you during a future episode by completing the entry form:

http://www.emailmeform.com/builder/form/VF3aN3Qf69wTe0EmLu6Y

 

Feb 17, 2014

This week on the eHow Tech Podcast, Dave and Nikole tell you about burrito vending machines. They’re real, and they might be coming to your hometown. If you’d rather nom something healthier from an automated food dispensery, they’ve got the line on salad vending machines as well. Made, in fact, from actual barn wood – or, as Dave puts it, his “hipster nightmare.”

Want to experience more of your favorite TV shows? They also talk about how to get into the Second Screen craze. There are apps you can install on your phone or tablet that extend your favorite TV shows with additional details in real time, as you watch TV.

Our guests this week: Cracked.com’s Dan O’Brien and Soren Bowie. They talk about how they came to be at Cracked, what makes the site distinctively funny, and they explain in detail what’s wrong with fellow Cracked editor Michael Swaim.

Be sure to listen to them take the Geek Trivia Quiz. Spoiler alert: It kind of flies off the rails.

You can enter to have a guest play the quiz for you during a future episode by completing the entry form:

http://www.emailmeform.com/builder/form/VF3aN3Qf69wTe0EmLu6Y

Feb 9, 2014

The eHow Tech Podcast says "Happy Valentine's Week!" To celebrate, Dave and Nikole talk about dating apps like Tinder and How About We.

In tech news, they discuss some interesting developments in the world of wearable tech -- especially the news that Google is now offering a "Titanium Collection" of prescription frames for Google Glass.

The big news this week, though, is that we chat with Bethany Keeley-Jonker, founder and editor of the "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks. We talk all about everyone's favorite site that catalogs the way people misuse quotation marks on "signs." She also takes the Geek Trivia Quiz for Dean Travers, of Austin Texas. Will Dean win the $25 gift certificate to Society 6? The only way to find out is to listen to the show.

You can enter to have a guest play the quiz for you during a future episode by completing the entry form:

http://www.emailmeform.com/builder/form/VF3aN3Qf69wTe0EmLu6Y

Feb 3, 2014

Valentine’s Day is coming, so Dave and Nikole talk about the oh-so-sexy merger of Google and artificial intelligence company DeepMind. They also discuss the Kickstarter campaign for Flag, a service that would let you get free prints from your iPhone photos. There’s still about a week to go, so go here to back it yourself:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1306413684/flag-the-app-that-prints-and-mails-your-photos-for

Friend of the show and CNET Cheapskate Rick Broida joins us for his monthly visit, this time making recommendations for techy gifts for your sweetheart. One of his suggestions is quite contentious.

This week’s main event: We talk to Mike Bender, best known for his fabulous gift to the Internet, Awkward Family Photos. This blogatory celebration of embarrassing photos from your childhood is one of the best spots on the Internet, and Mike talks about how the site got started, why it’s popular, and how to avoid making your own awkward photos.

He also takes this week’s Geek Trivia Quiz for listener Shelby Purvis, from Dorchester MA. Shelby stands to win a set of ThinkGeek Geeky Scented Candles.

You can enter to have a guest play the quiz for you during a future episode by completing the entry form:

http://www.emailmeform.com/builder/form/VF3aN3Qf69wTe0EmLu6Y

And you can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ehow-tech/id715093684?mt=2

Jan 27, 2014

This week on the show, Dave and Nikole talk about the scariest of subjects: losing your phone or laptop to theft. They talk about the proposed California legislation that would require all smartphones to have a "kill switch," which would make stealing phones far less attractive to criminals, but did you know that all iPhones and many Android phones already have a kill switch and anti-theft tech built in? Dave explains.

They also talk about the fact that Google has acquired Nest for $3.2B. That's billion, with a B. Why goes Google want to know the temperature of your bedroom? Dave and Nikole discuss. That, and Nikole is jazzed about the new Steam Machine.

Our guest this week: Mark Grace from Absolute Software -- he has scary stats like the fact that 63% of people have no protection on their devices, and that 600,000 laptops disappear in North America every year (oh, and less than 3% are recovered). After terrifyiung us with gadget theft statiustics, Mark plays the Geek Trivia Quiz. This week, Charles Duff, from Glendale AZ, might win the Think Geek Tactical BBQ Apron.

You can enter to have a guest play the quiz for you during a future episode by completing the entry form: http://www.emailmeform.com/builder/form/VF3aN3Qf69wTe0EmLu6Y

Jan 21, 2014

It’s time for a New Year’s resolution check-in: Nikole admits that she just ate two dinners becuase she was bored, while Dave reveals that he is boldly reinventing his entire wardrobe.

But on to more important things. Dave and Nikole discuss the recent Net Neutrality news. How are you affected by the courts striking down an FCC attempt to regulate ISPs from throttling bandwidth for different customers? And is it fair if Dave and Nikole pay the same amount for Internet access but use vastly different amounts of bandwidth?

We’ve also got Rick Broida on the show this week. He’s taking some time off from his Cranky Old Gadget Nerd persona to share some great deals with us. He talks about how to get 50GB of free cloud storage for life, as well as a great, free Office suite — and more.

The main event: Dave and Nikole talk about how to get and stay in shape using fitness montors like FitBit, Fitbug, Nike FuelBands, and Basis. And they talk to a Basis user who has, in the space of just a few months, gone from being unable to run more than half a mile to completing a 5K run in 25 minutes. And he takes our Geek Trivia Quiz for Holly Chernoff, from Danville, Washington, who stands to win a copy of Corel Paint Shop Pro X6.

You can enter to have a guest play the quiz for you during a future episode by completing the entry form: http://www.emailmeform.com/builder/form/VF3aN3Qf69wTe0EmLu6Y



Read more: http://www.ehow.com/ehow-tech/blog/#ixzz2r48IpKof

Jan 13, 2014

In lucky episode 13, Dave and Nikole talk about “cutting the cord” – how to get rid of your cable service and get all of your TV viewing from the Internet. You’ll hear about Netflix, Hulu Plus, Chromecast, Roku, and more. Nikole reveals that Game of Thrones is the number one most pirated show ever… and that she chose her current eyeglasses to looks like Orphan Black's Kassima.

Before we get to that, Dave and Nikole talk about the big news from the week before: the Consumer Electronics Show. Dave has just returned, and he’s filled with news about the biggest tech show of the year. Nikole is also eager to chat about Vegas’s other big show last week: The AVN Adult Entertainment Expo – which, to be clear, we don’t cover on eHow. As Dave mentions on the show, be sure to check out eHow Tech for our post-CES coverage:

http://www.ehow.com/ehow-tech/

On the show this week: Chris Herbert, co-founder of Phone Halo, talking about TrackR, which uses Bluetooth to help you locate objects around the house via your smartphone. Nikole loves the fact that she can "ring your cat and find it immediately."

http://www.phone-halo.com/

And be sure to listen for the Geek Trivia Quiz this week. Chris takes the quiz for Meilsaa Ray from St Helena Island, SC, who might win a ThinkGeek Build on Brick Mug

You can enter to have a guest play the quiz for you during a future episode by completing the entry form

http://www.emailmeform.com/builder/form/VF3aN3Qf69wTe0EmLu6Y.

Jan 7, 2014

A dozen episodes ago, we kicked off this little podcast. This week, we usher in the New Year with our look at apps designed to help you keep your New Years resolutions. Nikole and Dave talk about a number of apps, including:

Livifi 

http://www.livifi.com/learn_more

43Things 

http://www.43things.com/

Aherk! 

http://aherk.com/

Nikole is also excited to talk about news out of China: They’re using supercomputers to combat their smog problem. And Dave brings up DoctorOnDemand [http://www.doctorondemand.com/], an app for consulting a physician via your phone. 

On the show this week is Tina Haskins, an oceanographer who talks to us from Palmer Station, Antarctica – literally the most remote, far-away place on earth. She talks to us about caring for her dog, Kona, who stays behind in New Jersey when she does her work at the bottom of the world, via a Whistle [http://www.whistle.com/] activity tracker (sort of a Fitbit for dogs). 

If that’s not enough excitement for you, we give away a Whistle activity tracker in the Geek Trivia Quiz. You can enter to have a guest play the quiz for you during a future episode by completing the entry form: http://www.emailmeform.com/builder/form/VF3aN3Qf69wTe0EmLu6Y.

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