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
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
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."
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.
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:
http://www.livifi.com/learn_more
http://www.43things.com/
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.