Category Archives: Computers

Ericsson Changes the Way We Think About Cloud Security



EricssonWith the cloud becoming an ever-expanding, highly-vulnerable space, there comes a time where businesses need to start caring about their customers’ data. That time is now, and many companies are working towards building better infrastructure to put customers’ minds at ease. One of those companies is Ericsson, one of the world’s largest mobile infrastructure groups.

Ericsson is taking the charge to make the cloud more safe and secure. By 2020, Ericsson estimates there will be 50 billion connected devices, and a majority of those devices will live in an industrialized cloud system. The problem is that the cloud isn’t secure nor efficient enough to sustain those devices.

Because of this, Ericsson is working on a platform that is highly programmable, highly accessible, highly governable, and controllable, but above all else is secure. The hope is that this work will change the way businesses think about security and the cloud, and the easiest way to explain the concept is to say that we need to build a bigger wall around our data.

Ericsson is just starting with its mission to roll out a better way to authenticate, validate and confirm your data and its transmissions. The ability to forensically prove your data during a breach and after a breach becomes crucial to understanding the severity of the breach, and Ericsson has made a series of acquisitions and partnerships to start to make this possible. If the infrastructure contains governed policies and profiles, the end users can feel safer knowing their data is authentic.

Interview by Nicholas DiMeo of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology for the Tech Podcast Network.

Sponsored by:
From laptops and Lumia to Surface and Xbox, get it at the Microsoft Store.
Welcome to the Eureka! Factory, where great programs, projects, events and creative spaces and places happen!
Follow F5 Live: Refreshing Technology on Twitter: PLuGHiTzLive; Facebook: F5 Live; Google+: PLuGHiTz Live


Plantronics Shows Off a Line of Gaming Headsets



RIGIn addition to their well-known phone products and their music headphones, Plantronics also offers a line of gaming headphones and accessories.

Plantronics RIG is a gaming headset which also offers a desktop mixer. You can bring in 2 audio sources so you can listen to the game and also bring in external sound. If you want to add your own music, you can; if you want to chat on Skype while you play a game on Origin you can. Plantronics has even heard of people using the external audio to bring in audio from a baby monitor – the options are pretty limitless.

Using the mixer, which supports line-in or fiber optic in, the headphones can be used with nearly any platform, including Xbox, PC and PlayStation. With dual microphones, the headset can also allow you to game chat and use the phone at the same time. They are available now for $129.99.

To focus on the PC, an altered version of the headset is also available specifically for PC gamers. Offering a shorter cord for desktop use, plus 7.1 surround sound, PC gamers get a bit of an advantage over their competitors. The mixer does not include fiber optic support or Xbox headset, like its multi-platform partner does. It is available now for $99.99.

Finally comes the simpler RIG Flex. It plugs in directly with a standard 3.5mm plug, meaning you can plug it in directly to a computer, Wii or mobile device. It has lost the mixer, making it ideal for mobile. What it doesn’t lose is the sound quality, build quality and, of course, comfort. It is available now for $79.99.

Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology for the Tech Podcast Network.

Sponsored by:
From laptops and Lumia to Surface and Xbox, get it at the Microsoft Store.
Welcome to the Eureka! Factory, where great programs, projects, events and creative spaces and places happen!
Follow F5 Live: Refreshing Technology on Twitter: PLuGHiTzLive; Facebook: F5 Live; Google+: PLuGHiTz Live


The Race to Challenge the Surface is On



SouthernTelecomIn terms of Windows tablets, Microsoft’s Surface series is definitely the one to challenge if you are a manufacturer. Manufacturers seem to agree, as this CES showed us a collection of tablets trying to enter that space.

One of the brands throwing their hat into that ring is Southern Telecom, a company that usually builds products under licensed brands, but has their own tablet for the market. Running an Intel Atom processor and 32GB of internal storage, this guy isn’t headed for the Pro 3’s territory, but it could certainly do some damage in the abandoned Surface RT space.

With the ability to run full applications, which the RT models were not, it makes this computer far more usable. With a price point of $249, with the keyboard included, it even undercuts the RT models by more than half. Unfortunately, what the Surface has going for it is the easily removable and attachable keyboard, while this keyboard is not nearly as easy to attach or remove. For some users, however, this won’t be a killer. Take a look and decide for yourself.

Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology for the Tech Podcast Network.

Sponsored by:
From laptops and Lumia to Surface and Xbox, get it at the Microsoft Store.
Welcome to the Eureka! Factory, where great programs, projects, events and creative spaces and places happen!
Follow F5 Live: Refreshing Technology on Twitter: PLuGHiTzLive; Facebook: F5 Live; Google+: PLuGHiTz Live


Southern Telecom’s Windows Tablet Breaks the Price Barrier at CES



Southern Telecom logoTablet computers have become fixtures in our everyday lives. In recent years, this market has exploded, with multiple vendors releasing many new products. One of these companies is Southern Telecom, who showed off its new Windows tablet at CES 2015.

Scott spoke with Isaac from Southern Telecom. Isaac explained that his company’s new Windows tablet runs the “full-blown” version of Windows and also comes with a full-sized keyboard. The tablet will ship with 32gb of onboard storage and a Micro-SD card slot. This tablet should sell for the impressive price of $249 and will be available in May of this year.

Interview by Scott of F5 Live for the TechPodcast Network.

Become a GNC Insider Today!

[cessponsor]


Voiceboard Brings Gesture and Intuitive Speech Controls to Presentations



VoiceboardBeing involved with TEDxTampaRiverwalk, one things I can say for sure – controlling a presentation is difficult. Whether it be an inability or unwillingness to know the presentation, fumbling with the buttons on a controller, or needing to move around more than just a slide at a time, presentation software and hardware are not friendly.

Enter Voiceboard, a new way to think about presentations. With Kinect-style voice controls and a ring-powered gesture system, a presenter can focus less on the slides and more on their presentation. You can skip through slides with the wave of a hand or even go to particular slides using your voice. No more hoping the button advanced to the right slide, or peering back over your shoulder to see if you’re in the right place.

If you are a regular presenter, either in a conference room or on a stage, Voiceboard is certainly something to consider adding to your presentation kit. It is available now for $599 and comes with the software, gesture ring and headset for voice control.

Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology for the Tech Podcast Network.

Sponsored by:
From laptops and Lumia to Surface and Xbox, get it at the Microsoft Store.
Welcome to the Eureka! Factory, where great programs, projects, events and creative spaces and places happen!
Follow F5 Live: Refreshing Technology on Twitter: PLuGHiTzLive; Facebook: F5 Live; Google+: PLuGHiTz Live


Juiceboxx is Here to Save Your Expensive Macbook Power Supply



JuiceBoxxApple fans and haters alike can agree on one thing: the MacBook power block is a disaster. Almost everyone who owns a MacBook, or knows someone with out, has witnessed the untimely death of one of these powerblocks because of fraying or breaking. Luckily, Juiceboxx is here to rescue you!

The product is a cover of sorts for your MacBook power supply, which uses a trumpet design to keep the power cable from bending over sideways in your bag; the most common cause of the problem. In addition, the case gives you the ability to customize your block to match your computer bag, your outfit or your personality.

Estimated to ship in early February, you can preorder your Juiceboxx right now for only $19.99 in one of 6 colors, available for 3 different models. If you have a MacBook, this is a must have for you.

Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology for the Tech Podcast Network.

Sponsored by:
From laptops and Lumia to Surface and Xbox, get it at the Microsoft Store.
Welcome to the Eureka! Factory, where great programs, projects, events and creative spaces and places happen!
Follow F5 Live: Refreshing Technology on Twitter: PLuGHiTzLive; Facebook: F5 Live; Google+: PLuGHiTz Live


Aleratec Hard Drive Duplicator at CES



Aleratec LogoLet’s been honest, it’s not often that the average geek needs to duplicate a single hard drive to five others in a range of physical sizes and capacities. But if you did need to do it, Aleratec have the machine for the job with the snappily named 1-to-5 HDD Copy Dock Advanced. Jamie and Todd find out what it offers from Perry Solomon, President and CEO of Aleratec.

The Aleratec 1-to-5 duplicates one SATA drive to five others, taking both spinning disks and SSDs while catering for both 3.5″ and 2.5″ form factors without any additional adaptors. In itself, that’s not particularly amazing as Aleratec do other units that will duplicate 24 HDDs at once, but this working prototype has a couple of features that set it apart. First, it has a secure erase function which will wipe disks to Dept. of Defense standards, but more impressively, the 1-to-5 has the capability to duplicate from a larger drive capacity to a smaller drive capacity. This situation often occurs when moving from an HDD to an SSD where the HDD has a volume capacity in a terabytes but the SSD has only gigabytes. Obviously the files on the source drive have to be pruned to fit the space on the receiving drive but it’s a great feature on a duplicator.

The price of the 1-to-5 HDD Copy Dock Advanced is $899 and will be available shortly.

Interview by Jamie Davis of Health Tech Weekly and Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network.

[cessponsor]


Mackeeper is the All-In-One Tool for Mac Computer Support



mac-keeper-find-fix
Mackeeper – Human Inside

Jeremiah Fowler from Mackeeper stopped by the Tech Podcast Network booth at CES 2015 to talk about the Mackeeper software. He calls it the all-in-one tool for Mac computer cleaning, security, optimization and support.

Their software package gives features that people also love like that they have an antitheft feature. If someone steals your Mac computer the Mackeeper team can help locate the compute and use the builtin camera to take a photo of the person using it for police to use to catch the thief.

The software and support package offers something for the user at every level of technical sophistication. Even police agencies are using the Mackeeper software to wipe disks to ensure that there is no way to recover data after the disks are erased. Look for Mackeeper on line at Mackeeper.com where you can find out more about the innovative software package for your Mac.

Make sure you follow Jamie’s picks and coverage over at HTWeekly.com and the Tech Podcasts Network live CES 2015 coverage over at TPN.tv during the show where our entire CES team will be bringing you the best, the most innovative, and newest tech gadgets to you from the conference! And don’t forget to check out his shows for at NursingShow.comMedicCast.tv, and the brand new Health Tech weekly show at HTWeekly.com.


OWC Thunderbolt 2 Dock at CES



OWC logo (OWC) always turns up at CES with new toys and this year Todd looks on with desire as founder Larry O’Connor shows off the latest accessories from the Mac shop.

First up is a 240 GB SSD with USB3 crammed into a memory stick form factor. Made to match most Apple products with a brushed aluminium finish, it’ll set you back a cool $199. A 480 GB version will be coming soon!

Next is OWC’s which brings five USB 3.0, two Thunderbolt 2, FireWire 800, HDMI, gigabit ethernet and audio in/out ports into a single unit. On order for delivery in February, this will set you back $249 as a CES limited-time special ($299 normally). Very handy if you have legacy FireWire gear that you want to use with newer Apple computers.

Other products mentioned but not shown include SSDs for Mac Pro upgrades, and portable backup drives.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central and Todd Aune of The Elder Divide for the TechPodcast Network.

[cessponsor]


TPN Picks Awards



Each year the TPN team picks 10 companies that our team feels are deserving of a TPN pick. The awards are for what we feel is cool at CES and excites us the most. This years 10 picks are exceptional.