Category Archives: Computers

Run your own remote storage with Western Digital’s MyCloud

Accessories, CES 2014, Computers, , ,

mycloud 04 300x228 Run your own remote storage with Western Digitals MyCloudAt CES 2014, Western Digital, one of the world’s leading storage solutions provider, presented an external hard drive that allows you to save everything AND access it anytime, anywhere.

Also known as the My Cloud, this new external hard drive by Western Digital is more than just an external hard drive. It is an external hard drive that allows you to save all your content and access it anywhere. Whether you’re on your home or on the road, you can access all of your data on your My Cloud from your PC, Mac, tablet or smartphone anytime you want to. With My Cloud, you can store anything — photos, documents, videos, music — in one secure place on your home network. What makes MyCloud different from other external hard drives available out there? With MyCloud, you don’t have to take it with you just so you can access it. You don’t even have to plug it in your gadget to access your files. My Cloud is like a mini computer; it has an operating system and a processor that you can simply plug into your router even without connecting to your computer. Through 3G, 4G, or WiFi connections, you can access all of your files 24/7 no matter how far you are from the external hard drive itself.

Using Western Digital’s My Cloud Mobile App and Desktop App, you can remotely access all of your contents from any device. Plus, it doesn’t matter whether you’re using a Mac or PC; no need to format your files! It just knows what you’re on, making it easier to use it especially when you’re using iOS, Android and Windows.

Western Digital’s My Cloud personal cloud storage comes in three different models — 2 TB, 3 TB, and 4TB. They also have the EX4, which is more suitable for professionals, which has a capacity 0TB-16TB. The EX4 also have advanced features and RAID 5 capabilities that will be perfect for group management. The EX4 comes in non-populated version — where you can build your own drives — and populated version, which comes in 8 TB, 12 TB and 16 TB. With the populated version, you can simply turn it on, not do anything with it and access your files remotely. It also comes in several advanced features, as well as advanced backup, energy-saving features, and advanced apps, to name a few.

As for the pricing, Western Digital’s 2 TB My Cloud is available at only $149, 3 TB at $179, and $219 for the 4 TB My Cloud. In addition, these external hard drives have USB expansion ports; should ran out of content, simply plug in a My Passport or My Book type of drive and expand the storage on the drive. The My Cloud EX4, on the other hand, starts at $349 for the non-populated version and up to $1149 for the 16 TB drives. Visit WD.com to learn more about the My Cloud and EX4 and its individual features.

Interview by Daniel J. Lewis from The Audacity to Podcast.

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Hyper’s battery backup for your MacBook with HyperJuice

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MBP2-100-2At the recent CES 2014, Hyper Juice presented an affordable battery pack system that can serve as backup for your Macbook.

Hyper Juice Macbook batteries come in four different capacities, beginning with the 60Wh, which allows you to charge your Mackbook for up to 14 hours. Not only can you use it to charge your Macbook, you can also use it to charge your iPhone, a tablet, or any USB-powered device. They also have the HyperJuice 100Wh, which gives your Macbook an additional 24-hour charging time, and up to 18x for your iPhone. The 150Wh HyperJuice battery, on the other hand, has the ability to provide an additional of up to 36 hours of charging time for your Macbook and iPhone for about 27x. Lastly, the 222Wh Macbook battery pack is a 61,000mAh that provides an additional 53-hour charging time for your Mackbook, and 40 hours for iPhone.

If you’re a professional that produces audio and video podcasts that need extra hours from their Macbook, these battery backup from HyperJuice will be a perfect addition to your gadgets.

Using the Magic Box kit, a little adapter where you can modify your existing MagSafe Power Adapter, all you have to do is connect it to your Macbook to create a connection. This will enable your Macbook to charge your internal battery instantly. So when you need extra juice, all you need to do is connect it to the HyperJuice battery and it will instantly recharge your computer or iPhone. Each Magic Box is sold in three different options. One is the battery by itself, the Magic Box Do-It-Yourself kit, and the pre-modified MagSafe Power Adapter, wherein the Magic Box will do the modification for you.

Furthermore, there’s also the HyperJuice 2, which a 100Wh that has an OLED screen as well as the ability to interchange the internal battery at a later time. So if in two or three years your battery starts to dissipate and you want to have the most up-to-date battery, all you need to do is contact them and they will help you do that.

As for its prices, the 60Wh HyperJuice external battery starts at $169.95, $249.95 for the 100Wh,$349.95 for the 150Wh, and HyperJuice External Battery 222Wh for iPad/iPad 2 & MacBooks (MBP-222). The HyperJuice 2, however, can be bought at only $299.95, Magic Box not included. Learn more about the HyperJuice line from Hyper’s website.

Interview by Daniel J. Lewis from The Audacity to Podcast.

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IDrive offers fast initial online backups with 1 TB drive

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IDrive_logo_72Back up your information without spending weeks waiting for that secure feeling using IDrive. Known as a universal online backup service, IDrive takes your files from your laptops, desktops, smart phones and tablets, backing it up securely.

One of the benefits of IDrive is that not only does it back up your files securely, it also allows you to access your files whenever, wherever you need them.

Are you tired of waiting for days or weeks for your backup to be uploaded online? With IDrive Express, which is available with paid users, you can get a one terabyte hard drive that comes along with secure software, where you can load all of your data from all of your device into the drive. Once you have loaded all of your data into the drive, simply mail it back to them (at NO CHARGE) and they will then plug it in their data centers. All these, from receiving the hardware up to loading your data and sending it back takes only up to seven days. Imagine the time and days you can save compare to waiting for weeks just for your data to be completed uploading online? With IDrive, you don’t have to use up all of your bandwidth for weeks!

But before subscribing, login to idrive.com and try their 5gb for free first. Every member gets complimentary 5gb for life, so to those who only have a few important files to protect, you can do that at absolutely no cost. However, for those who need more space, IDrive’s paid plans starts with personal plan at $49.50 a year for 100gb. Regardless of how many devices you wanted to back up – whether it’s Android, Windows, iOS, etc. – you can back them all up in one hard drive; it’s just all about how much storage space you are using. Plus, no matter how big or small the size of the files that you are going to upload are, you can be guaranteed to have them all up at IDrive.

IDrive also offers business plans with 3 shipments a year, as well as sub-accounts, giving business owners to have different username log-ins as well as allowing you to separate datas that will be shown to a particular user. This plan for businesses starts with 100gb for $99.50 a year. Login to idrive.com and get a discount on the first year to get you starting!

Be smart enough to have a backup so that if your computer, tablet, or smart phone crashes, you can restore your files in no time!

Interview by Daniel J. Lewis from The Audacity to Podcast.

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Griffin shows off Powermate Bluetooth

Accessories, CES 2014, Computers, Video

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Griffin Technology stops by to visit and show off its latest product — the Powermate Bluetooth. It’s tough to describe what this does, so I’ll allow the company to explain.

“PowerMate Bluetooth is the wireless programmable controller that replaces extra keystrokes with a simple twist or a click. It scrolls. It scrubs. It clicks like a mouse. And it’s user-configurable, so it can control practically any Mac application out there”.

The product will be available starting this summer, and will retail for $59.99. You can find out more by visiting Griffin Technology on the web.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network and Daniel J. Lewis

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Xi3 Low Power PCs

CES 2014, Computers

Xi3 Corporation LogoDavid shows off Xi3‘s latest developments including the X7A modular computer and the Z3RO Pro. If you haven’t seen Xi3’s offerings before, you need to check them out – they’re small cube-like units totally unlike your normal case.

The X7A is aimed at the power user with a quad core AMD Trinity processor, Radeon graphics, 8 GB RAM, SSD (up to 1 TB) and more ports than you can shake a stick at. The modular part means that in future you’ll be able to upgrade components without replacing the whole unit. Prices start at $1099.

The Z3RO Pro is more budget friendly, starting at $549. With only a dual core processor and 4 GB RAM, it’s more suited to general office activities, but it will run two monitors. The killer feature here is that it consumes only 15W of power.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network.

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iRing the First Motion Control Device for iOs

Accessories, CES 2014, Computers, Gadgets

ir2iRing is the first motion control device that works with the iPhone and iPad. It will work with various music apps including The Groovemaker and VocalLive and more. The iRing FX/Control app runs in the background and talks to the other app, meanwhile the iOs camera picks up and follows the motion. The ring has controls on both sides. Instead of moving your fingers back and forth on the apps. You control the beat by moving the ring back and forth over the apps and the pitch by moving it closer and farther away from the app that you are using.

The iRing can be used by someone who knows very little about music but also by an experience musician. Although right now the ring just works with music apps that IK Multimedia has created, but according to IK Multimedia there is no reason it shouldn’t work with other types of apps. They are offering an SDK and licensing to app developers in hopes that more apps will be built that use the iRing. The iRing will be available starting the 1st quarter of 2014. It will cost $25.00 for two rings and the utility app.

Interview by Don Baine, the Gadget Professor.

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Chug Plug Battery Backup for Macbook Air and Pro Laptops at CES

CES 2014, Computers, Gadgets, , , , ,

LenmarLenmar is known for their Undead Power batteries for mobile devices. Now they have come out with a new battery for 13 inch Macbook Pros and the Macbook Air laptop computers. The Chug Plug is a battery specifically designed to connect to the snap-together computer power supply plugs in Apple Macbook laptops. Jenny Simpson from Lenmar Enterprises joins Tech Podcast Network hosts Chris Montera, the Geekymedic and Jamie Davis, the Podmedic to tell them about this new battery technology.

The Chug Plug will give an additional 4 hours or so to your laptop’s battery life so that when you’re on the go, you don’t have to go without your laptop because of a dying battery. The Chug Plug is a “Smart Battery” which means that it can pass through charge when plugged into the wall and if the wall doesn’t provide enough power for some reason, the Chug Plug will use battery power to supplement AC, if needed.

You can check out the Chug Plug for yourself when if comes out this March for the 45 Watt and 60 Watt MacBooks for about $159.00.

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Follow-up with more segments from CES 2014 here at TPN.tv and over at the Health Tech Weekly Podcast with host Jamie Davis, the Podmedic.

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Panasonic 7″ Windows Toughpad

Accessories, CES 2014, Computers

Panasonic LogoPanasonic’s Toughbooks are legendary for their ruggedness and are used by armed forces world-over. Panasonic have now turned their attention to tablets with a line of Toughpads and on show here is a new 7″ Windows 8.1 tablet. Panasonic’s Toughpad Product Manager Dan Diliberti takes Todd and Don through it.

Running the latest Intel Core i5, the FZ-M1 is currently the only 7″ Windows 8.1 tablet on the market. As you’ll see from the video, there’s a dockable keyboard and there is also a pile of expansion options including desktop dock, bar code scanners and smart card readers.

Devices like the FZ-M1 don’t come cheap, with a base price of US$2099, but if it’s the kind of device you need, it’s worth every penny.

Interview by Don Baine, the Gadget Professor and Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network.

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Kanex Multi-Sync Keyboard

Accessories, CES 2014, Computers, Gadgets

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Todd chats with Tracy from Kanex at CES Digital Experience about their new Multi-Sync Keyboard for Apple devices.

Although touch is great way of interacting with tablets and smartphones, it really doesn’t replace a keyboard when it comes to large amounts of text entry. In response, many manufacturers have come out with add-on keyboards that typically connect to the tablet via Bluetooth. These are generally useful devices but usually it’s one keyboard-one device and often there’s already a keyboard on the desk for the PC, so the desk simply gets more cluttered.

Kanex’s solution the Multi-Sync Keyboard which allows 3 Bluetooth and 1 USB connection to be maintained at any one time – Mac, iPhone and iPad. The user can then switch between connections, entering text into just one device at a time but being able to connect to up to 4 devices. Brilliant! Currently, it’s only available for Apple devices, but future versions should support PCs.

On-sale now for US$69.95 at www.kanexlive.com.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network.

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TPN Innovator Pick Award Winner Chug Plug by Lenmar at CES 2014

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LenmarThis year at the International CES conference in Las Vegas, the Tech Podcast Network team from TPN.tv handed out their first ever TPN Picks awards to selected products and services that were deemed to be innovators rising above the rest at this year’s show. Here’s the first of our pick segments recorded LIVE on the final day outside the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Chris Davis, Editor for the TPN team comes on with Geek News Central host Todd Cochrane to look at Chris’ pick, the Chug Plug battery from Lenmar.

They were joined by Jenny Simpson from Lenmar to talk about the Chug Plug, which is a battery that provides supplemental power for Macbook Airs and 13″ Macbook Pros. With the Chug Plug, the user can get an additional 4 hours of computer time, allowing them to get more work done on the road while traveling or just around the office without having to be plugged in. This is the perfect addition to the backpack for college students with MacBooks and will definitely be an addition to Chris’ tool kit when he returns to school in the fall.

The Chug Plug should be available in March and will retail for around $159.00. Find more information on the Chug Plug at Lenmar.com.

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Find more segments from CES 2014 both here and at Health Tech Weekly with host Jamie Davis, the Podmedic.

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