norbtek.info

Show #45 - Final Episode

2007-10-21T02:52:00.000-07:00

Sunday, October 21, 2007, Norbtek.info Podcast,

Show #045 – Closing the Doors - More and Less

This is the last Norbtek.info Podcast. Yep, I’m closing the Doors here at Norbtek, well, sort of. As I told you weeks ago, I was going to change things and the time is now. I will be giving you less & more, different and the same. Intrigued, well hang around and find out what’s happening.

Norbtek has been a proud member of the Techpodcasts.com network, "If its tech its here", and also the Blubrry.com Podcast Community. Whether you are a PODCASTER or a LISTENER, there is something for you at Blubrry.com. Check us out along with the other great shows at B-l-u-b-r-r-y.com.

First off I want to apologize for the lateness of this podcast. Usually it’s only 2-3 weeks, but it has been almost a month. Well I have been working hard on the new project and that has consumed my time, along with daily family life. I also went to Disneyland for a week, so that did not help on the podcasting front. But I wanted to thank each and every one of you that have downloaded any or all of my podcasts over the last 2-1/2 years. You have made this journey exciting and definitely worth it. So I’m not giving up, just going to change it all up.

The podcast has been revamped; the blog has been totally re-built from the ground up with a fresh new look and feel and I even have a new delivery method. I wanted to reach out to more people and the only way to do that was to be delivering content more often. So, I’m going to be coming to you every day. Yep that’s right, every day. Now you’re saying “How is he going to put out a daily 30-40 minute show when he could not put one out but once every 2-3 weeks?” Well, I’m not a masochist; I will not be putting out 30-40 minute podcasts on a daily basis, but I will put out a 10 minute or so podcast each day focusing on one tech item rather than the way I have been doing it with a whole bunch of items. This is the Less & More & the Different. This is the Daily Podcast

Now some of you might say, “Hey, I liked those themed shows with a bunch of items all related some how. “ Don’t worry; I will still be putting those types of shows out because I love doing them. This is the Same. This is the Extended Podcast.

“Why?” you may ask. Well, I wanted to get more exposure to gain more listeners. Sort of an ego thing if you will, but I really wanted to cover more and be out there more too. Plus it affords me an opportunity to get some advertising deals that I just could not make the commitment to previously. I would like for this endeavor, my hobby, to pay for itself if not at least help lessen the out of pocket expenses. Remember, this is a Low Budget Production ©.

The site has an all new name, look, and feel. I decided to get with the times and go to one of the best and more flexible blogging platforms. So I’m moving to WordPress and utilizing a plugin called PodPress that allows me to have a Flash player in the post which allows you to listen to the associated podcast. You have seen them on many other podcasts I’m sure. But the really cool thing about this plugin is that I can put out a specialized feed for Categories. This was the Holy Grail for me. It gave me the ability to have 3 feeds for the show; Daily, Extended, and Comprehensive feeds. I wanted to give you the listener an ala cart option to the podcast. Something you aren’t getting with Cable or Satellite TV, or any podcast as far as I’m aware of.

I don’t know if I ever mentioned how Norbtek.info came into being. Well about three years ago I was talking to some co-workers about Hi-Def TVs, mp3 players, DVRs and such because I am the guy that is into all that kind of stuff. Well, one of our friends came up and asked what was going on and, Rodman Marquez said, “Talking with Norbtech.” That was it, right after we adjourned I was on GoDaddy looking up “Norbtech”. Well, it was taken by a German firm. So I changed up the spelling to use a ‘k’ in place of the ‘ch’. No one had take it. I opted for the “.INFO” instead of the “.COM” because the .info was $.99 for the first year. Hey I’m cheap, what can I say. Besides, I had no idea where Norbtek would go. I got a free site on Tripod-Lycos and wham I was on the internet with a spot to where I could help my friends and family and hopefully others.

Around that time I was traveling to a remote jobsite a few times a month. I had been downloading Ken Radio episodes and putting a bunch of them on my Dell AXIM X5 and playing them in the car during the 1-1/2 hour each-way commute. Well, I wanted something better, something automatic. I had not gotten an iPod as yet because I could not afford one and was not sure if I wanted an iPod as there were a lot of other mp3 players on the market. Well, I found a couple of web based tech shows that I could download; Chuck Chat, In the Trenches, and Geek News Central. WOW! This stuff was cool! And then I found Doppler, so I could automatically download episodes everyday and move them to my Dell AXIM. This was way cool. And it was called a PODCAST. “How cool;” I thought to myself, “I bet could do this too and call it the Norbtek.info Podcast.” And on May 15^th I hit the internet again in podcast form.

After 2-1/2 years working out of town on a 3 hour total commute and 65K on my truck I am at another remote jobsite, but only 30 minutes one way from the house. I was having troubles getting through all the podcasts that I was currently subscribed to. They were all getting longer and longer. 30 minutes, 45 minutes, an hour and now some are 90 minutes long. Well, I realized how that impacts my listening to the podcast. Sometimes I just fast foreword through them or skip them all together. Man, what a drag. I decided that I wanted to have a commuter friendly podcast so that I would not lose listeners. But I liked doing the longer shows. So the new podcast will give me and I hope you the listener the best of both worlds.

You will be able to pick how you want to listen to the podcast. Do you want just a short daily show, the normal episodes types that I have been producing, or would you like both of them? Well, you have a choice now.

I now invite you to come on over and check out my Totally Cool Tech website. Oh, just so you are not confused, that IS the name of the new site and podcast, Totally Cool Tech. And this time “tech” is spelled T-E-C-H.

So come on over to http://www.totallycooltech.com or http://www.tctpodcast.com and check out what I’ve done with the place. Like I said it is all new from the ground up. So let me know what you think. I encourage you to email, send an audio comment, or even leave a voice mail. The old contacts still work, email norbtek.info@gmail.com, call (206) 888-NORB (6672), or try the new email tctpodcast@gmail.com.

Its Coming...

2007-10-06T11:01:00.000-07:00

I have been promising you something that is Less and More. Well, after my trip to Disneyland this next week, I will reveal what is coming. I know you will be pleased. I have been working on it for a while and am excited to bring it to you.

PNY Flash Drives for CHEAP!

2007-10-06T10:56:00.000-07:00

Staples is having an awesome sale on PNY flash drives. Most notably the 4GB memory stick for $30. And it has ready boost. So if you are not a fan of the San Disk U3 technology, then this is a great alternative. Get yours while you have the chance.

Show #44 - Home Monitoring Tech

2007-09-23T00:49:00.000-07:00

Norbtek.info Podcast, September 23, 2007,
Show #44 – Home Monitoring Tech

Affiliations:

Techpodcasts.com
Blubrry.com

Listener line at (206) 888-NORB (6672)
Email: norbtek.info@gmail.com

Home Monitoring Solutions:
AT&T Remote Monitor - $200 to $350 plus $10 to $40/mo for monitoring

iControl - $100 to $250 plus $15/mo or $150/yr for monitoring

Smarthome - $1600 no monitoring fees

Less is more

2007-09-22T11:06:00.000-07:00

"Less is more."
— Mies van der Rohe, Dutch-American "Modernist" architect (1886-1969)

This is a simple truth. Working in the construction field for the last 15 years of my life, this concept is so true. But then again, More IS More. I want to give you the readers of this blog and listeners of the Norbtek.info Podcast More, and Less, at the same time. How can one fit 10lbs of stuff in a 5lb bag? Well, as a Mechanical Coordinator, this is what I do for a living, fitting gobs of mechanical utilities into a really tight space. I struggled on how to do that with the podcast and the blog for a while and then it came to me, I'll just (TOP SECRET INFORMATION DELETED).

Yes, this will be exciting. I have been working hard on this for a few months now (much to my wife's chagrin). So be expecting the change to begin here in the next month or so. I am still working out a few bugs and polishing things up. I don't think anyone will be disappointed. I will be giving you Less and More.

So keep watching and listening. More dateils on when the change will happen.

-Norbert

Halo 3 Mt. Dew Soda - gamers delight

2007-08-31T20:14:00.000-07:00

Halo 3 Mt. Dew. What will they think of next!! Not bad flavor, a bit sweet for me, but willing to get used to it. Just what we Halo fans needed... another collectible. Run out and get yourself some as it is a limited edition.

Show #43 - Scrapbooking Tech

2007-08-26T00:41:00.000-07:00

Norbtek.info Podcast, August 26, 2007,
Show #43 - Scrapbooking Tech

Affiliations:
Techpodcasts.com
Blubrry.com

Contact Info:
Listener line: (206) 888-6672 (NORB)
Email: norbtek.info@gmail.com

Product Links:

Scraparatus – $30 HSN.com

Xyron Wishblade - $450

Xyron Personal Cutting System - $160

Quickutz Revolution - $140 (on sale) QVC.com

Quickutz Silhouette - $350 (on sale) QVC.com

Provo Craft Cuttlekids starter kit - $29 Hallmark Scrapbook

Provo Craft Cuttlebug – $69 Hallmark Scrapbook

Provo Craft Cricut - $210 Hallmark Scrapbook

Provo Craft Cricut Expressions - $349 Hallmark Scrapbook

Zutter Bind-it-All - $60

The Slice by Tinnus – Late 2007 to Early 2008

Show #42 - Home Tech

2007-08-06T22:52:00.000-07:00

Norbtek.info Podcast, August 7, 2007,

Show #042 – Home Tech

Affiliations:

Techpodcasts.com

Blubrry.com

Contact Info:

Listener line: (206) 888-6672 (NORB)

Email: norbtek.info@gmail.com

UV-C light - $1000 on up. Replacement bulb - $100 to $200.

Bryant

Turner Lock - $45 for the deadbolt; $55 for a combo kit

Airider vacuum

AXIS 360

Bibliotheca

Bose Lifestyle - $2000 to $3800 @ Bose factory stores.

Heatilator SFE-35 - $800 to $1400

I got Pownced!

2007-07-19T06:19:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Mike Smith of the Mike Tech Show for providing me with an invite to Pownce. I now have 6 invites and will be ready to give those away on my next podcast. So if you think you might want to try out the latest from the team who brought you Digg.com and Diggnation, Send in a voice mail to my listener line, (206) 888-6672, with your email and I will send it to you and mention you on the podcast.

Show #41 - Home Safety Tech

2007-07-15T11:20:00.000-07:00

Norbtek.info Podcast, July 15, 2007,

Show #041 – Home Safety Tech

Affiliations:

Techpodcasts.com

Blubrry.com

Contact info:

Email: norbtek.info@gmail.com

Listener line: (206) 888-NORB

(206) 888-6672

Home Safety Tech

Tot-Lok – Amazon - $13

HotStop – Lowe’s $25 to $45

Emergency planning and checklists

Emergency preparedness for individuals with special needs

Xcaper - Fire masks - $25 to $90 Single and family packs.

PEARL – Permanent Escape And Rescue Ladders for upstairs bedrooms. $329/ea.

Smoke Detectors – remote control

Battery Operated

Plug In

Hard Wired

Carbon Monoxide Detectors – Home Depot - $44

Auxiliary Devices

Heat Detectors

Strobes

Fire Extinguishers – Kitchen and Garage – Target $17 to $30

Home Safety Council

Movie Review: Live Free or Die Hard

2007-06-27T22:29:00.000-07:00

"WARNING - POSSIBLE MOVIE SPOILERS"

I just went to see Bruce Willis in the latest episode of the Die Hard series, Live Free or Die Hard. Wow! What a great movie!

Ok, ok, this is a tech blog not "Ebert & Roeper at the Movies", but stick with me on this because I guarantee you there is tech involved. Sure the plot is simple; While the bad guys, lead by Timothy Olyphant's character, Thomas Gabriel, wreak havoc our hero, a New York cop John McClane becomes "a fly in the ointment", "a monkey in the wrench" and there are lots of things blowing up, bullets flying, great one liners, and tech! Lots of tech. There was action, action, and more action. And yes plenty of tech, lots of LCD screens, laptops, PDAs, cell phones, flexible USB keyboards, and a lot more. The Apple ad guy, Justin Long, who used Apple equipment in the movie was the geek that McClain was sent to haul in for questioning .

Justin Long's character, a Black Hat Hacker named Matt Farrell who is wanted for questioning by the FBI, plays well against Bruce Willis' gruff and gritty Detective John McClane. While the the reality of the hacking of systems as depicted in the film is no way that easy, like hacking into the FBI's computer system, the possibe vulnerability of the Nation's cyberinfrastructures are brought into question. Ferrell uses his hacking skills like McClane uses cars to take out helicopters, which gives us the film quotes; Foster: "You just killed a helicopter with a car!" McClane: "I was out of bullets. " Great lines and there are plenty of them. even the bad guy has soem good ones like; John McClane: [after covering a webcam] "Freddy, can you trace these guys?" Gabriel: "Mr. McClane covering the camera does not turn off the microphone."

While I did not like Die Hard 2: Die Harder (it really sucked), and Die hard with a Vengeance (Die Hard 3) as decent, this movie was more like the original. I loved the original Die Hard movie. Actually, I don't ever feel like its Christmas season until I see that movie as it had a Christmas theme and there are Christmas jingles sung in the movie by Sgt. Al Powell (aka Reginald Veljohnson). I digress. The feel of the plot, the pace of the film and the action sequences were impressive. The visual effects were great and it is amazing what can be done with CGI these days. We were hanging on the edge of our seats at times and even jumping out of them, like my wife did once or twice.

It has been a long time since I was in a theater and the whole audience got into the movie. When McClain knocks off another bad guy the whole theater cheered. I paid $9.75 for my ticket and I feel that I got my money's worth. I left that theater feeling great having forgotten about the real world and all of its troubles. While I don't think anyone would categorize it as a "Feel Good Movie", well except for geeks and gun lovers, I sure felt great! So take some time out of your week and go see this movie. If you loved the original Die Hard, then you will love this movie.

I'm giving this movie 4 out of 5 microphones.

Show #40 - Bike Tech

2007-06-25T23:41:00.000-07:00

Norbtek.info Podcast, June 26, 2007.

Show #040 – Bicycle Tech

Affiliations:

Techpodcasts.com

Blubrry.com

Contact info:

norbtek.info@gmail.com

(206) 888-NORB

(6672)

Pearl Izumi Vertex MP3 Bib - $400

Castelli Split Second Jersey - $150

Swobo Merino Jersey - $98

Descente Classic Pro Chevron Shorts - $90

Oakley RADAR - $155 to $255

Exo-nerve - $130

Robota - $90

Diadora Ergo Carbon - $170

Shimano SH-M121 - $100

Speedplay Light Action Pedal System - $115 MSRP

Rotor Agilis Crank Set & Q-Rings - $329 Crank Set & $159 for the Q-Rings which on Sale thru June (shipped to US address)

ZIPP ZED6 Wheels - $2,700 (set)

Jelly Belly Sport Beans - $20 (Amazon.com)

http://theprobar.com/

http://nuun.com/

http://www.cytosport.com/

http://propelwater.com/

http://matisseandjacks.com/

Fallbrook NuVinci CVP bike transmission - $ Unknown

Shimano Coasting Automatic Transmission - $450 - $700 depending on the bike.

Trek Lime Retro Bike- $550

LeMond Bikes - $750 - $7,700

Kestrel RT700 - $3,300

Raleigh Supercourse - $1,475

Trek Madone - $3,000+

Cyclingnews.com Article
Single Speed

Counterfeit AC Adaptor Alert!

2007-06-15T07:55:00.000-07:00

If you own a Massage chair or an MP3 docking station (hmmm wonder for which "brand" of MP3 player), you might want to verify that your AC adaptor is legit!

UL UL Warns of Counterfeit AC Adaptors

Show #39 - Father's Day Tech

2007-06-11T21:10:00.000-07:00

Norbtek.info Podcast, June 11, 2007.
Show #039 – Father’s Day Tech

Had a great day in San Jose visiting the
Winchester Mystery House so I'm late
getting these show notes and the
podcast audio posted. Sorry.

Checkout the link for the house that
Sarah Winchester, hieress to the
Winchester Repeating Arms fortune
built here in California. Really cool
place thet you have to visit to fully
understand and enjoy.

Father's Day is Sunday, June 17th and you
got nothhing in mind for what you're going
to get pops do ya? Well, I'm here to help you
figure to what to get dear old Dad.

This episode I take a page out of
Steve Holden’s old podcast, Tech Rag Tear
Outs, and do the Sunday Advertisement Tear
Outs. Lots of tech stuff for your old man.

Listener Feed Back from Paranoid Jack on
the Last Episoide, Show #38 - Yard Care
Tech. Great link from Jack too.

DVD/iPod Player-Dock - $140 Circuit City
Panisonic HT & iPod Dock - $400 Circuit City
ION iTTUSB Turntable - $130 Circuit City
Jensen DVD/iPod/XM - $400 Circuit City
Pioneer CD- MP3 & iPod & Satellite Ready - $140 (maybe less) Circuit City
iJoy Recliner & Ottoman - $750 & $350 Linens -n- Things
Cordless Grill Brush - $19.99 Linens -n- Things
IntelliLaser Pro - $34.99 Target
Tripod LED Flashlight - $19.99 Target
Auto Wrench - $28.44 Target
Eddie Bauer Tent - $69.99 Target
Reebok 25lb SpeedPac Weights - $49 Target
Vinotemp Wine Cooler - $149 Target
B&D 6" Alligator Lopper - $99 Home Depot
Gorilla 17' Ladder - $169 Home Depot
Sears.com - Tools Galore. More from here during Tool Tech
Titanium Ratcheting Wrenches - $100 Sears
Titanium 3/8" Socket Set - $80 Sears

Bonus Links:
Golf Bag Storage Unit - $50 Linens -n- Things
BBQ Grill - $250 Linens -n- Things
Free Gift Card w/ iPod Purchase - Circuity City
Logitech Bluetooth Headphones - $90 Circuit City

(206) 888-NORB (6672)
norbtek.info@gmail.com

TechPodcasts.com
Blubrry.com

Show #38 - Yard Care Tech

2007-05-27T23:26:00.000-07:00

Norbtek.info Podcast, for Sunday, May 27, 2007

Show #038 – Yard Care Tech

Associations:

Techpodcasts.com Network

Blubrry.com Podcast Community

Listener line: (206) 888-NORB [6672]

Email: norbtek.info@gmail.com

Website www.norbtek.info

Sponsor:

GoDaddy.com

Show Links:

Brill Accu Mower ASM380 Electric - $374 online

-Optional $40 grass catcher is available.

Sunlawn EM-1 - $330

Robomow^® - $1700 Bamabots.com

Lawnbot - $1750 - $2500 Bamabots.com

Electric Backyard Chipper by Patriot - $799

-Optional $149 Leaf Vacuum Hose Kit

Garden Groom – $150 to $200 from the Manufacturer

Model #GSP014 - $48 at Amazon.com.

HAYAUCHI 12-foot saw - $170 online

Ultimate Dolly Cart - $180 online

Ergonomic Garden Hand Tools

Duo-Flo Multi-Function Nozzle

Pushbroom-Rake combo

Electric Lawn Mower – Additional Info

3-1 Blower/Vac/Mulcher

Show #37 - Camping Tech

2007-05-13T00:51:00.000-07:00

Norbtek.info Podcast, May 13, 2007

Show #037 – Camping Tech

Affiliations:

Techpodcasts.com
Blubrry.com

Sponsor:
GoDaddy.com

GPS:

Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx - $483

GPS Finder
GPS Glossary
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Clothing:

The North Face Paramount Convertible

Pant (Men’s) - $64.99 sportsauthority.com

REI One Jacket (Men's) - $110 – 199 REI.com

Backpacks: The Backpack Finder from REI.

Sleeping Bags: The Sleeping Bag Finder from REI.

Klickitat™ X²⁰L Mummy - High performance, lightweight mummy

featuring the next generation of continuous filament fiber –

Climashield™ XP - $150 coleman.com

Drying and care
Additional features
Shell material and construction
Shape and fit

Tents: N!ergy 9 - $150 Amazon.com

Lighting:

Freeplay Indigo Lantern (NiMH / Hand Crank) - $39.95 REI.com

Coleman Exponent Pack-Away LED Lantern - $34.00 REI.com

Propane, Butane and even Candle Lanterns

REI Candle Lantern - $19.95 REI.com

http://marketplace.hgtv.com/Product.aspx?Lid=1389-ET01MB

http://marketplace.hgtv.com/Product.aspx?Lid=1720-N610045

http://marketplace.hgtv.com/Product.aspx?Lid=2440-p2525

Water Purification: http://shopping.discovery.com/product-61689.html

Cooking:

http://www.jetboil.com/Products

http://marketplace.hgtv.com/Product.aspx?Lid=2254-96394

http://marketplace.hgtv.com/Product.aspx?Lid=687-N606157

http://marketplace.hgtv.com/Product.aspx?Lid=2258-47828

Supplies:

First Aid:

Extras:

Yamaha EF1000iS - $680 Yamahagenerators.com

Honda EU1000i - $790 honda.com

Camp Shower - $150

Camp Shovel - $8

Camp Chair - $30

Trailer Hitch Hammock - $117

2-stroke Blender - $303

Truck Cabana - $50

Coleman.com

REI Expert Advice

Please call our listener line at (206) 888-NORB, that’s (206) 888-6672

or send us an email at norbtek.info@gmail.com

Show #36 - Mother's Day Tech

2007-04-29T02:06:00.000-07:00

Norbtek.info Podcast, April 28, 2007
Show #036 – Mother's Day Tech

Affiliations:
Techpodcasts.com
Blubrry.com

Sponsor:
GoDaddy.com

Heart Rate Monitor - $80 - $100
LED jewelry - $40 - $165
LED necklace and earring set - $90
O-GLOW - $26
GlowFusion AirGlow - $175
flameless candles - $30 - $80
ball shaped, square,
and cylindrical
Pure Komachi - $80
HearthKit Oven Insert - $199
Brother PTouch Labeling System - $40
Cricut Personal Electronic Cutter - $199
Digital Photo Frame - $90 - $200
Kodak V803 - $200
iPod Nano 4 gig - $199

Listener line: (206) 888-NORB
-6672

Email: norbtek.info@gmail.com
Website: www.norbtek.info

Show #35 - Spy Tech

2007-04-22T00:36:00.000-07:00

Norbtek.info Podcast, April 21, 2007
Show #035 – Spy Tech

Affiliations:
Techpodcasts.com
Blubrry.com

Sponsor:
GoDaddy.com

Smoke Detector - $250 Spygadgets.com
House Plant Nanny Cam - $295 Spygadgets.com
mini-DVR - $590 Brickhousesecurity.com
KEYKatcher - $60
digital spy camera - $100
SkyTRX Mini Tracker - $280
Slim Trak Real Time Tracker - $764
night vision monocular - $180
parabolic microphone - $395
Cell Phone Recorder - $80
Bug and Wireless Cam Detector - $120
Spy Finder - $80

Additional links:
Brickhousesecurity.com
Spygadgets.com
Internetspyshop.com
Spyville.com

Friends of the Podcast:
Validsyntax.com
Mike Tech Show
Gmail Podcast

Listener Feedback from Show #33

2007-04-15T01:03:00.000-07:00

Hey Norb!

Just finished listening to your
latest cast... good stuff. I'm a
BBQ nut so I especially enjoyed
it.

Not necessarily a recipe, but a
method I use for grilling. This
is my own method, to each
their own, but it consistently
produces great steaks.

Ingredients:
Lea & Perrins Worcestershire
Sauce
McCormick - laGrille -
Montreal Steak Seasoning
Your favorite steak! (Rib Steak,
T-Bone, Sirloin Tip)

Directions:
* Ensure the steaks are not
frozen by placing from the
freezer to the refrigerator the
night before.

* About an hour before the grill
will be ready, prepare steaks.
* Place steaks on a cookie sheet
and with a large two-prong fork,
poke holes in the steaks.
* Liberally cover the steaks
with Worcestershire Sauce by
sprinkling it out of the jar.
* Sprinkle on Montreal Steak
Seasoning.
(Ensure that you put the
Worcestershire Sauce on first
before the Montreal Steak
Seasoning otherwise it will wash
it right off.)
* Let the steaks sit out in room
temperature for the next hour
to marinade.
* Prepare your grill, with
charcoal brickettes I create a
mound and set on fire, once the
coals are burning well I spread
them out but only to one side of
the bar-b-q. I then place the
grill back on the BBQ to heat up.
* For Gas grills, light off the
burners on a med. to med-high
setting to heat up the grill.
* Once the grill is good and hot,
place the steaks on the grill
directly over the coals. Sear the
steaks on each side no more
than about 3-5 minutes
depending on how hot of a fire
you have. Naturally, the
hotter, the less time.
* Once the steaks have been
seared on both sides, remove
the steaks from being directly
over the coals. I use a weber
kettle grill (the round one) so
instead of moving the steaks, I
simply rotate the grill 180
degrees away from the direct
heat, but the steaks remain on
the hot portion of the grill.
* Place the lid on the grill and
let the steaks sit another 3-5
minutes then turn.
* Another 3-5 minutes and
they should be ready to serve.

The trick is knowing your grill
and how hot of a fire you are
working with. You don't want
too hot of a fire otherwise the
steaks take on a leathery
texture making them cook too
fast and end up being tough.

Additionally, the heat of the fire
will also determine the amount
of time you keep the steaks
before flipping them. Of course,
how you like your steak will
also play a factor, i.e. --
Medium-Rare, Medium,
Medium-Well, Well-done.

That's it... It might take a couple
of trys to get your heat and
times just right, but the steaks
are awesome!

-KHD

--
Kevin H. Devin
In the Trenches podcast
http://kevindevin.com

Show #34 - Car Care Tips

2007-04-14T22:33:00.000-07:00

Norbtek.info, April 15, 2007
Show #034 - Car Care Tips

Sponsor: GoDaddy.com
Save with our Promo Codes
10% on domain names - BLU32
10% on hosting - POD32

Member of:
Techpodcasts.com - "If it's tech
it's here!"
Blubrry.com - "Where listeners
and podcasters come together."

DP Engine Degreaser
Natural Sea Sponge
Grit Guard
Autogeek.net
California Water Blade
Tire Pressure Valves
- $18 Target
4-in-1 Extreme Power
- $100 Target
Sheepskin Wash Mitts
Cobra Microfiber Mitt
Pinnacle Cotton
Chenille Wash Mitts
http://www.autogeek.net
http://www.superiorcarcare.net
http://www.dccarcare.com

Friends of the Show:
NosillaCast - Allison Sheridan
In The Trenches - Kevin Devin
Gmail Podcast - Chuck Tomasi

Show #33 - Barbecue Tech

2007-04-08T01:51:00.000-07:00

Norbtek.info Podcast April 8, 2007
Show 32 - Barbecue Tech

Sponsor Link:
GoDaddy.com
Save 10% on Domain Names at the checkout.
Use Promo Code: BLU32
Save 10% on Hosting Plans at the checkout.
Use Promo Code: POD32

Proud member of Blubrry.com & Techpodcasts.com

Computer control of your BBQ - $200+
Grilling Tool Set - $47 @ Costco
Digital Thermometer - $20 @ Bed, Bath & Beyond
Grille Alert Wireless Thermometer - $75 @ Brookstone
OVE Glove - $12 @ Amazon.com
Cooler Tunes - igloo
Galaxie Mosquito Trap - $150 @ Costco
BBQ Tools
That got a HEMI?
Geek out your BBQ
Ultimate BBQ Experience
7 BBQ Mistakes
Pork BBQ
Chicken BBQ
Beef BBQ

Don't forget about our e-garage sale in Show #32.

Show #32 - I'm Baaack!

2007-03-31T23:30:00.000-07:00

Norbtek.info Podcast Show #32 - "I'm Baaack!"
Sunday, April 1, 2007

Check out Blubrry Jam and help fight Cyctic Fibrosis!

I'm having an e-garage sale. I've got tech "junk" as
my wife would call it, but it's good stuff looking for a
good home. Just send in a voice mail to the listener
line (206) 888-6672 or send an email to
norbtek.info@gmail.com and let me know what you
are interested in. I will ship it within the continental
US (maybe Canada) free of charge. If you want it, you
can have it! I hate to throw this stuff away, but I need
room in the cabinet for other things.

This is NOT an April Fool's Day Joke! I will give this
stuff away!. If only one person wants something, well,
they get it. If more than one person wants something,
I will put the names in a hat and draw a winner. That's
fair! So go ahead, check out the stuff and let me know
what you want. I'll cut the offer off after the next show
or at least let you know how it's going.

So here are the items:

DCM245R - RCA Digital Cable Modem
Supports two-way cable transmission rates of up to
38 Mbps downstream and 10 Mbps upstream. Offers
always-on, ''ready-when-you-are'' unlimited Internet
access to online multimedia services.

HP Scanjet 3400C -Great flatbed scanner. All cables
and driver software are included.

Netgear MR814 - Wireless 802.11b Router
When you connect your cable/DSL modem to the
NETGEAR Wireless Router, you'll enjoy wired or
wireless Internet access for all your computers and
be assured of protected communications on your
home or small office network! This 3-in-1 Router +
Switch + Wireless Access Point is a base station that
allows you to share your Internet connection, files and
printers with other computers on the network.

3COM Dual Speed 16 Port Hub - Great for LAN parties.

Dazzle DVC-USB - Digital Video Creator bought out by
Pinnacle and no link to the description of the unit except
that it is MPEG-1 NOT MPEG-2 video. Yours at the
ridiculous price of FREE!

Ezonics Cobra Cam - USB-1.1 Goose-neck Web Cam
has built in LED light too!

iPod Nano 1st Gen Dock - Never used and in original box.
I was going to get my wife a 1st Gen Nano but got her a
2nd Gen. So this dock will not work. Free to who ever
wants it.

And here is the unadvertised SPECIAL...

RCA Lyra RD900W - Wireless audio streaming interface.
Stream your audio files from your computer wirelessly to
your stereo. Comes with a remote, transmitter and
receiver as well as the software and documentation.
All in the original box!

Done Broke It

2007-03-11T03:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I done went and broke my podcasting rig. I barely got this out. All I did was upgrade Windows XP Home to XP Pro. Lot like I tried to install Vista or anything. Lord help me. Anyway, I hope to have this hunk of junk fixed by next week and get a real podcast out to you all. Sorry for the let down.

Oh, by the way. It looks like the last podcast was not well recieved. OK! I'll find more interesting stuff to talk about. But you can let me know what you want to hear about by dropping me a line at norbtek.info@gmail.com or call (206) 888-NORB(6672) and give me a piece of your mind.

Well, till next time... I hope... Have a great week.

Norbert

Show #31 - iPod Accessories for Her

2007-02-25T20:08:00.000-08:00

Norbtek.info Podcast for Sunday, February 25, 2007

"iPod Accessories for Her"

Looks like an old canvas style sneaker Canvas Sport Case - $30

Office Attire Executive & Lady - $35

This stylish purse is specially designed for your iPod and features
fully-functional, great-sounding, amplified speakers! Praised for
its seamless integration of style and technology, the Groove Purse
has been featured on the Today show, in Wired Magazine,
Style.com, Oprah, and magazines all over the world.

Groove Bag - $96

iPod skins are a great way to let her personalize her iPod, check
out the options at iStyles iStyles - $3 to $8

Even COACH has iPod cases available Coach - $68 to $118

For the lady on the go iPod video system - $200

Titan Case & Accessories - $25

MIXX iPod Holders- $11 to $15

5G Kimono Case - $40

iPod Hoodie - $25

Burton Audex Tote - $115

Matai - $45

How Many Pixels Does It Take To ...

2007-02-12T19:14:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder how many Mega-Pixels it would take to print a larger photo than a 4x6 or 5x7? Well it really depends on how tight you want the printed pixels, or dots, represented in Dots Per Inch (DPI). Say you wanted to print an 11x14 photo at 150 DPI: You would multiply 11x150= 1650 (pixels) and 14x150=2100 pixels which becomes (1650x2100=3,465,000) or 3.5 Mega Pixels. Now if you wanted a really detailed photo you might want to print it out at 200 DPI. So the same 11x14 photo would be 11x200=2200 (pixels) and 14x600=2800 (pixels) which is (2200*2800=6,160,000) or roughly 7 Mega Pixels.

Check out this article at MalekTips.com for more information.

Help Out the Free WiFI Movement

2007-02-10T21:11:00.000-08:00

If you are a fan of free WiFi, have a good Internet connection, and want to help out the Free WiFi Community but don't have the jack to spend on a wireless router, well check this out. While supplies last, FON is giving out FREE WiFi routers but you have to share! That's the string attached to the FREE router. You get a free router and agree to setup the router as a free WiFi hot spot for your area. FON says that the router will have the ability to have two distinct signals, one secure signal for you to use and one open signal (with bandwidth limiting) to let others access freely. Boy, there are sure a lot of "free"s in this post. Whew!

Anyway, I have signed up at FON for a Free La Fonera WiFi router and am awaiting its arrival. So if you will be in the East Elk Grove, California area, try looking up my Free WiFi spot. Viva la Free WiFi!

CNET Editors are not always right, or are they?

2007-02-08T17:25:00.000-08:00

"Vizio's got a new 47-inch LCD and the verdict
is in from CNET users: they love it. " - CNET

What is it about the Vizio that has consumers
snatching them up and raving about them?
Hey, even I bought one, well, the 32" version.
Check out the impressive user rating and the
user reviews here.

Flip-Flop Tech

2007-02-07T21:48:00.000-08:00

So you thing they could not improve on the trusty ol' flip-flop. Well, check this one out by outdoor outfitter; The North Face, the M 3-Point Optimus Boa. The 3-Point Optimus features the Boa® multi-adjust lacing system and polyester webbing for maximum adjustability and security in a 3-point construction which is both water and land compatible.

Features:

UPPER Boa® multi-adjust lacing system and polyester webbing for maximum adjustability and security in a 3-point construction which is both water and land compatible
BOTTOM Highly cushioned, shock absorbent polyurethane footbed/midsole with AgION™ antimicrobial bacterial protectionUltrATAC™
rubber compound perimeter lugsHydroTrak™
herringbone-pattern rubber compound pods

Get 10% off general purchases from Go Daddy with the special Norbtek Promo Code "blu32" and 10% off any web hosting services with teh Promo Code "pod32". Go Daddy, the best in the business! And cool Super Bowl Ads too.!

Best Rated Diswashers

2007-02-06T23:05:00.000-08:00

From Consumersearch.com we have the "Best Dishwashers"

Best dishwasher - Bosch SHU66C02 - (*est. $900),

Best Value - Bosch SHE44C02 - (*est. $650) ,

Budget dishwasher - Whirlpool DU1100XTPQ - (*est. $450)

Cleaning Tech - Bissell SpotBot

2007-02-05T22:31:00.000-08:00

If you're tired of scrubbing the carpet every time junior spills the Kool-Aid or Rover has an accident, well check out the Bissell SpotBot™ Robotic Wet/Dry Vacuum. This little gem does the work while you are doing something else, like watching your High-Def TV.

Check out the user reviews as they are pretty decent. Now if it could only do laundry...

Show #030 - Baby Tech

2007-02-04T02:00:00.000-08:00

Norbtek.info Podcast, for Sunday, February 04, 2007. '''Show #030 - Baby Tech

www.techpodcasts.com
Norbtek @ Techpodcasts
www.blubrry.com
Norbtek @ Blubrry

Listener line at (206) 888-NORB or (206) 888-6672
Email at norbtek.info@gmail.com

GoDaddy.com has given me a custom code to pass along to you... So here it is
For 10% off your purchase use ''blu32'', did you chatch that in the promo?,
and for 10% off Web hosting services use ''pod32''

Spoonful of Sugar

Dispensing medicine to infants and toddlers is never easy, those little

suckers turn their heads and you end up putting the stuff right in their

ear or they just spit it out all over the place. So how about using their

own natural instincts to help them out. All babies, well, most babies,

like to suckle on a binky, and Medicine Dispenser by Kidz-Med has a

chamber for the medicine. It has a plunger to help deliver the medicine

to the back of the baby's tongue or you can just let them use their natural

sucking action to deliver the goods. The Medicine Dispenser by Kidz-Med

delivers the medicine in a simple and easy way so that your baby may not

even know they are taking it.

$10 - Medicine Dispenser

What's Hot Doc?

Its not easy to get a baby's temperature sometime. Heck, Baby's just

don't like holding still for eating so why would they hold still for

an in the ear thermometer much less a 'rectal" thermometer. So how

about an infrared thermometer that you just point at your baby's head,

navel, or arm pit. No need for a probe covers or disturbing your baby's

sleep. Your baby will never even know you took their temperature. Check

out the '''Thermofocus''' also by Kid-Med.

$100 - Thermofocus

Check out the other great products from this company at Kidz-Med.com

Look! I'm on TV

O.K., so you got you baby in their rear-facing car seat in the back

or a child in the third row of the SUV, but you can't see how they

are doing, and that dual mirror trick just don't cut it. So what's

a good techie mom to do? Well, get the Automobile Monitor by Summer

Infant of course. Day or night, this 2.5" dash-mounted color screen

will let you keep an eye on the baby and the other one on the road.

The camera mounts to a variety of head rests. Both units will plug

into the car power outlet.

$150 - Automobile Monitor

Summer Infant has many more great products at Summer Infant

Don't Touch That!

If your children are like mine, one of them is accidentally unbuckling

the car seat buckle or the toddler is getting to smart for his own

britches and unbuckling himself! Well, someone figured out how to stop

those pesky kids with the Safeclip. This device prevents accidental

release but allows quick access to the buckle in case of emergency.

It attaches in mere seconds and is easily removable.

£4.99 - Safeclip

What A Change

German designer, Tim Schinkle, has created a couple of beautiful

wall mounted baby changing stations that would look great in your

baby's room. These changing stations are terrifically space saving

and can be converted into a child's fold down desk later such as the

OWO. You'll have to get them from Germany as there are no distributors

here in the US as far as I know, but they will ship practically world wide.

OWO €274,-- (about $356) - OWO

Check out the other beautiful products and products at Timkid.

Ski Baby Ski

I found this cool baby product and thought what fun and what trouble

this could be. Skis for your baby stroller! Now that's cool!

BabyfactoryUSA.com has these skis that will fit just about any single

or dual wheeled stroller with wheels up to 12" in diameter. The skis

are wide and have a grove to keep them tracking easily and even come

with a carrying and storage bag. Of course we don't need these here

in Elk Grove as it was a balmy 63 degrees F and not a cloud in sight.

Oh well.

$35 - Stroller Skis

iWhat???

O.K. The whole "i-insert name of device here" thing is really starting

to get to me, but hey this is cool... If you don't mind giving your kid

control of your iPod. ifrogz has come out with a silicone case just for

kids and the iPod called Tadpole. Cute ain't it. Anyway, this is not

your ordinary silicone case.. Its an ifrogz case and has a variety of

colors and an optional screen and click wheel protector of which you

can customize. I have our Show #25 ifrogz case winner's review later

in the show so stay tuned.

$25 w/ screen protector - ifrogz Tadpole

iCaramba... Not another i-Thingy

Yeah well, hey, I found it just had to let you know about it. So here

it is, the iCrib Sound System by Munchkin. This device hangs on the side

of the crib and pumps in the tunes to the crib from any MP3 player. It

will auto shut off after 15, 30, or 60 minutes. It also has a color

changing night light , but don't forget to buy batteries too as this

does not come with an AC adapter. No you won't be finding the lullaby

playlist on my iPod, but still looks cool. The web site has a store

locator by using your ZIP code. Apparently I can get one at Target.

$33 - iCrib

Getting Serious for a Moment

I hate to bring this up but it has to be mentioned... Over 2000

children are reported missing everyday, what are you going to

do if this happens to you? It could take about an hour or two

to get all the viatl information you will need to provide the

authorities about your missing child. I found this, the

AMBER stick™. It is a usb stick that has all the vital

information that is necessary to generate Missing

Persons Flyers and import into law enforcement's

computers. Everyting is encrypted and password

protected for privacy. All the software for the access

of the information is right on the stick and works

with Windows ME and higher. Update as often as

you want and even upload to a central server

database where the information can be available

to be distributed to law enforcement all over the

US with email/password combination for

authorized access.

$50 for (1) or (2) for $40 each - Amber stick

Did Apple really make the breakthrough first

2007-01-12T21:56:00.000-08:00

Did Apple really make the breakthrough first?

iPhone & LG KE850: separated at birth? - Engadget

Show #029 - Enf of Year Review

2007-01-01T22:21:00.000-08:00

Show 29

Christmas Give-A-Way

Dean Jensen - SoHo Tech Podcast

SanDisk Crusier Micro 1GB USB Flash Drive 1GB USB

Norb's 2006 Tech Predictions Review

Prediction #1- The PDA/Phone/Camera/MP3/Video Player all in one. Not that Apple will come out with one, but hey, if anyone were to, they would make it sexy.

Got It Right - Sony/Ericsson p990i

Prediction #2- Digital Audio providers such as Napster, Rhapsody, and Yahoo! Music will be providing Pay-for-Play video and “unlimited” services. This will include shows from the major networks, cable, and movie channels such as HBO, Cinemax, and Showtime. Expect Netflix to be in the running too.

Got It Somewhat Right - Several providers have network programs for sale such as iTunes

Prediction #3- Podcasting will explode as well as videocasting. Already there is Digital Life TV featuring the former TechTV “Screen Savers” cast members Robert Herron and Patrick Norton doing tech like no one else. Soon you will see indie show series that will break new ground and allow for greater freedoms than even cable provided.

Got It Right - Tiki Bar and numerous others.

Prediction #4- More root-kits will be revealed in what was thought to be “Safe Software”, such the one revealed by Symantec in their Norton SystemWorks program. Sony was the first to get caught, but will they be the last? Or will other software makers fess up like Symantec?

Nope, haven't heard of anything since then. Are they gone or just better at hiding?

Prediction #5- SP-3 for Windows? Well, after the Windows Meta File exploit found at the beginning of the year, I predict that there will be at least one mor major flaw, or in this case, “feature” that causes Microsoft to issue a Service Pack even though they have said that they would not issue one until some time later in ’07. Can you say Open Source?

Mike, No SP-3 Officially, but a lot of Patch Tuesdays that could be rolled up into one, Right?

Prediction #6- Plasma TV prices will drop around the end of the year to about $2000 for a 42” 1080i screen with good contrast ratios. Expect a relatively lesser known manufacturer to lead the charge.

Got It Right - Philips 42PF7321D/37 42 1080i Plasma TV $1,269.00 Digital Meaga Store

Prediction #7- iPod and one of the satellite radio services will join forces. Not an integration of Sirius or XM into the iPod, but iTunes featuring shows from the services and the in-car players will hook up to your iPod so you can play tour tunes or recorded programs.

Sort of Got It Right - Samsung and XM got together Samsung NeXus50

Prediction #8- A relatively unknown company will develop the next generation of DVD technology sinking the HD-DVD and Blue-Ray DVDs because they are fighting each other and not looking over their shoulder.

Nope, nothing yet...

Prediction #9- New homes will come with built-in communications packages including iPod docks for your home audio system, 802.11n Wi-Fi, and VOIP.

Nope, haven't noticed anything yet...

Prediction #10- Apple makes deals with other hardware manufacturers to make Apple branded Camcorders and Digital Cameras.

Blew this one, but hey a lot of other people predicted the iPhone. We all know what happened there.

Prediction #11- DV and DVD camcorders go by the wayside because Hard Drive based High Definition and 3-CCD models take over and are cheaper.

Got It Right... Sort of.

Prediction #12- TiVo will unveil a dock that allows you to sync your video iPod straight to the TiVo so you can have “Lost” for free.

TiVo is scared to get stomped on by lawyers.

[edit]

Changing It Up Again

Norbtek.info back to just me and shorter but more focused show. Mike and I start-up a new podcast... YouTube Video @ 11:00 - Just kidding. More details to follow in the new year

Special Episode - Christmas Contest

2006-12-20T22:08:00.000-08:00

Special Episode for Wednesday, December 20th, 2006

Christmas Contest

Santa dropped something off at the hose for my listeners and I wanted to get that out to you as soon as possible. So here is what you have to do:

Get your entry in by the end of the day on December 26th (11:59pm Pacific time US) to be eligible for the drawing.

All you need to do is send me an email with the top 3 (or 1 or 2) tech items that you received for Christmas, or any other holiday if you do not celebrate Christmas. Just put Christmas Contest in the subject line of the email and you tech items.

I will select the winner and let you know on the air (podcast) on the 27th of December. So let's hear from you.

Happy Holidays!

Show #028 - A Geeks Christmas List

2006-12-02T19:37:00.000-08:00

Sunday, December 17, 2006 - Show #028

Mike's Christmas List
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
Microsoft Flight Simulator X Deluxe
Canon S3 IS Digital Camera

Norbert's Christmas List
Tivo Series 3
Canon Rebel XTi
MS Zune
Sony HDR-SR1 AVCHD
PS3
Wii
Xbox 360
20" 2.0GHz iMac
Treo 700w

Show #027 - Super Short Show

2006-11-28T19:04:00.000-08:00

Show #027 - Super Short Show
Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Today's show is a really quick one to tell you about my Black Friday experience at Best Buy and Target with my friend Matt. We showed up to the Elk Grove Best Buy at 2am to get a decent place in line. We were about 300th in line at 2am. This was a cold night here in the Sacramento Valley. It was 34 degrees F. While that might not be cold for a lot of you in the Mid-West or East Coast, it is cold here in the valley.

Next show will be another Geek's Christmas List. Mike and I will provide Santa with our lists as we have been good little geeks this year. So go ahead and give us your Christmas list. Send it into norbtek.info@gmail.com.

cbs13.com - Gunmen Rob Local Game Store For PS3s

2006-11-16T20:08:00.000-08:00

1st PS3s Stolen in Elk Grove, CA Day before Release
(Article states only 400 PS3s to be released in
America should be 400,000)

cbs13.com - Gunmen Rob Local Game Store For PS3s

Office Depot Black Friday Ad and OfficeDepot.com 2006 Black Friday Deals

2006-11-16T07:43:00.000-08:00

Check out the Haier 42" Plasma HDTV for $799.99 (after rebate). This is a similar unit to one that is sold on QVC. Nice price after rebate. I paid $1,200 for a 42" AKAI Plasma HDTV as Sam's Club.

The Hanns G 19" LCD monitor for $119.99 looks good too.

Office Depot Black Friday Ad and OfficeDepot.com 2006 Black Friday Deals

CompUSA Black Friday Ad and CompUSA.com 2006 Black Friday Deals

2006-11-14T18:32:00.000-08:00

CompUSA Black Friday Ad and CompUSA.com 2006 Black Friday Deals

Bkack Friday Ads - Update #1

2006-11-12T16:13:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the high bit rate podcast. We had to record onto my old Samsung MP3 player.

Mean while, here are some more Black Friday Ad links.

CVS Pharmacy

Fred's

IKEA

JCPenney

Kohl's

Target

Show #026 - Black Friday Specials

2006-11-12T08:30:00.000-08:00

Show#026 - Black Friday Ads - Sunday November 12, 2006

Black Friday Ad Specials

Costco

Full Ad - Not the product prices, just the $ savings

Office Max

Staples

Wal*Mart

Circuit City

Door Buster Special - Sandisk 1GB Secure Digital Memory Card (Friday 5-11AM Only) - $2.99

Door Buster Special - I/O Magic 250GB External 3.5" Hard-Drive (Friday 5-11AM Only) - $39.99

Door Buster Special - Panasonic MiniDV Camcorder w/ 30x Optical Zoom (Friday 5-11AM Only) - $169.99

Door Buster Special - I/O Magic 250GB External 3.5" Hard-Drive (Friday 5-11AM Only) - $39.99

Zenith 1080i Upconversion DVD Player - $49.99 Divx Compatible
Samsung 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor - $279.99 Adjustable Height

Door Buster Special - Sandisk 1GB Cruzer Mini Portable USB Flash Drive (Friday 5-11AM Only) - $3.99

Sandisk 2GB Cruzer USB 2.0 Portable Flash Drive - $12.99
Vizio 50" Plasma HD - $1499.99 HDTV Guys honorable mention

Sam's Club

Fall Ad

Radio Shack

Full Ad

Lowe's

Full Ad

Toys 'R Us

Full Ad

Walgreens

Full Ad

Best Buy

KB Toys

Full Ad

EB Games

Full Ad

Game Stop

Full Ad

Call the Listener Line like Bruce - 1-206-888-6672 (NORB) and let us know what your Black Friday plans and strageties are.

Show #025 - Contest Winners

2006-10-29T10:27:00.000-08:00

Show #25 - Contest Results! Its Sunday, October 29th, 2006, Show #025... Finally! Tonight we have our winners of the contest!

Rant about the Netgear SC-101

Garage Door w/ Battery Backup

$289 From Manufacturer

Shop Vac Backpack

$99 @ Lowes

Rechargeable Emergency System for your Auto

$60 @ Smarthome

Personal GPS Auto Tracker

$325 @ Smarthome

Logitech 520 Remote

$99 @ Radio Shack

Product of the Week

Energizer e2 Lithium

Winners of the contest!!

Prizes:

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Experts create invisibility cloak

2006-10-19T13:00:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Experts create invisibility cloak

Show #024 - High Tech Exercise Equipment

2006-10-14T23:45:00.000-07:00

Norbtek.info Podcast for Sunday October 15, 2006 -

Show #024 - High Tech Exercise Equipment

Show 25 - Give Away Announcement

We are going to be giving away an RCA Broadband Cable modem,
a SanDisk Cruzer Micro 512MB U3 Thumb Drive, and an ifrogz
custom case for your iPod.

News Headlines

Microsoft repairs XBox 360s for Free

DailyTech

Voice Recognition Microwave

BornRich

New Slingbox Products

Engadget

Wal*Mart watching out for your safety.

Engadget

Main Topic - High Tech Exercise Equipment

Ride Em Cowboy

iJoy Ride

MSRP: $479.00

Surf's Up

iJoy Board

MSRP $449.95

Checking Your Stats

BioTrainer

MSRP $49.95

Full Body Work Out

RowBike

MSRP $675 and up

Stair Climber, Scooter, or Both

Stair Cycle

MSRP $695 Adult $395 Children's

Intelligent Running Shoe

Adidas

MSRP $250

Weird USB Gadget of the Week

USB Pet ID Tag

Pet ID Tag

MSRP $39.95

Show #023 - Travel Tech

2006-09-17T01:24:00.000-07:00

Norbtek.info Podcast for Sunday, September 17, 2006. Show #023 Norbert is hittin' the road - Travel Tech

This Podcast is sponsored in part by Wicked Lasers.

Norbtek is a proud member of Techpodcasts.com Network and the Blubrry.com Podcast Community.

What would you do if that weak laser pointer you currently have had 100 times more power? Did you know that WickedLasers.com has a full line of portable lasers that are being termed the next generation of laser pointers! Why settle for a dot, when you can draw a line in the sky. According to the Guiness Book of World records WickedLasers are the “most powerful portable laser”. Purchased by the US Military for operations in Iraq each Laser is backed under warranty, with a large support community. Visit wickedlasers.com for full details of this technology marvel.

== News Articles ==
AntiVirus Tests
AMD & ATI about Done
Amazon "Unbox" Download Service
HD TiVo Series3
Disney Mobile
The Other Apple News
Microsoft shows off Zune
Nintendo Wii Pricing Announced

== Travel Tech ==
I may have mentioned previously that I'm going to the Podcast Expo at the end of this month and Mike thought that I could use a few things for the trip.

Travel Router/Access Point
Linksys
Netgear

Map Software
Microsoft Streets and Trips
DeLorme
Travel Locks - Security
TSA web site
Amazon.com

== Sad but True ==
USB Camp Light - This, a Dell laptop, and a bag of StaPuff marshmallows and you're having a High Tech Campout.

== Show #025 Give Away Announcement ==
Show #025 is coming up and I want to do a give away. I have a RCA Cable Modem and a 512 MD SanDisk Cruzer Micro Thumb Drive that I would like to give a way. All you have to do is send in an email to norbtek.info@gamil.com and put "Give Away" in the subject line and you are entered. We will pick the winners on the show. I will need a valid email to inform the winners by email and get your mailing address. So enter now!

Show #22 - Back to School

2006-09-03T02:06:00.000-07:00

Norbtek.info Podcast for Sunday, September 03, 2006. Show #022 - Back to School
Sponsored by: WickedLaser.com the world most powerful consumer Laser

[News]

Need For Speed: Carbon to have dynamic in-game advertising

NewsDay

Vista Release Dates/Pricing

DailyTech

NASA returns to the Moon in Orion

Space.com

Star Trek TOS to be Remastered, CGI

StarTrek.com

Disney scanning your finger prints

Engadget

[Topics]

Computer

USB Memory Stick
Cell Phone
Digital Camera
Entertainment

Nintendo DS Lite
MP3 Player
27" Samsung HDTV $550 Circuit City
Phillips DVD Player $82 Best Buy
Panasonic Audio System $170 Circuit City
Boom Chair $170 Homevisions.com
Other A/V Chairs

Noise Canceling Headphones

Backpack

Nextag Online

Mini-Kitchen

Microwave / Fridge $55 each Target
Beverage Cooler $100 Target

Laundrapack

[Gadgets of the Week]

Archos announces new media players

DailyTech

TIVO Series 3 Pictures

PVRWire

Stores

Alienware, Apple, Circuit City, Target, Ikea, Best Buy

If you want a Gmail invite, we have lots of them to give-away. So send us an email, Norbtek.info@gmail.com, with “Gmail Invite” in the subject line and we will get that right out to you.

If you have a question or you have a specific topic you want us to cover or even if you have a comment, good or bad, just drop us a line at norbtek.info@gmail.com, or better yet call the listener line at (206) 888-NORB, that’s (206) 888-6672, or send in an audio file and we’ll put in on the show. I dare you.

Going Hi-Def

2006-08-24T05:35:00.000-07:00

This weekend I will be joining the ranks of the Hi-Def crowd. Yes I'm jumping in with both feet and getting not one but two HDTVs! I will be going to Sam's Club (a discount warehouse club in the US) and getting a 42" AKAI Plasma for $1200 and a 32" Vizio LCD for $800.

Later I will make a trek to Ikea for some furniture for the 42" to go up in the loft. Photos when available.

Show #021 - Budget Home Office

2006-08-20T01:11:00.000-07:00

Norbtek.info Podcast, for Sunday, August 20, 2006. Show #021 Budget Home Office

[News]
Mylo from Sony - http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=3703
TIVO vs. Echostar - http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=3851
Direct TV HD-DVR - http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/16/directvs-hd-dvr-hits-stores-unpacked/
Transformers Movie - http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/transformers.html
Microsoft News – New Vista RSS “Feature”

[Topics]
Stores
Office Depot www.officedepot.com
OfficeMax www.officemax.com
Staples www.staples.com
Ikea www.ikea.com
Best Buy www.bestbuy.com
CompUSA www.compusa.com
ThinkGeek www.thinkgeek.com

Chairs -http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StaplesProductDisplay?prodCatType=2&storeId=10001&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&productId=13937&cmArea=SC2:CG32:CL142570

Desks
O'Sullivan French Gardens Computer Desk - http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StaplesProductDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&productId=98602&cmArea=SC2:CG33:CL70303

Ameriwood Aviator Desk With Integrated USB Hub -http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=329264&Nr=200000&N=201635%204294963139&Ne=120&An=browse

Ameriwood Empire Computer Workstation With Integrated USB Hub - http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=924296&Nr=200000&N=201635%204294963139&Ne=120&An=browse

Gusdorf "Smart" Desk - http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StaplesProductDisplay?prodCatType=2&storeId=10001&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&productId=152102&cmArea=SEARCH

Ikea Fredrik - http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?topcategoryId=15600&catalogId=10103&storeId=12&productId=58581&langId=-1&categoryId=16133&chosenPartNumber=30089086

HON 22" Commercial 2 and 4 Drawer Vertical File Cabinets - http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StaplesProductDisplay?storeId=10001&splCatType=2&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&productId=149334&cmArea=SC2:CG34:CL141939

Network Devices
Netgear Wired/wireless router WGT624 - http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1061127609500&skuId=5925403&type=product

WRT54G Wireless-G Broadband Router - http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_Product_C2&childpagename=US%2FLayout&cid=1149562300349&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper

Iomega 250GB Network HD - http://www.iomega.com/direct/products/detail.jsp;IomegaProdComSession=Ej1LW3SEFTkxy8YtbhIw5r8LsIhwWptpcpBw2DDKdzic0vkHMCRy!857859316!-1817048987!7005!7002!-1358072446!-1817048988!7005!7002?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=17981421&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=26891315&bmUID=1155790219177

NSLU2 Network Storage Link - http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_Product_C2&childpagename=US%2FLayout&cid=1115416906769&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper

Netgear SC101 Network Storage solution - http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10411261&SearchEngine=PriceGrabber&SearchTerm=10411261&Type=PE&amp;Category=Comp&Gad=0&dcaid=15890

Western Digital NetCenter - http://www.wdnetcenter.com/en/

Maxtor OneTouch III 200GB External USB 2.0 Hard Drive - http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7692151&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat33200050002&id=1138083732964

Office SuppliesRed Swingline Stapler - http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/gear/61b7/
http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StaplesProductDisplay?prodCatType=0&storeId=10001&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&productId=96379&cmArea=SC1:CG821:CL10700

[Additional Items]
Freecycle.org - http://www.freecycle.org/finder
Gmail – Write to me and I will give you an invite
FedEx - http://www.fedex.com/
UPS - http://www.ups.com/
USPS - http://www.usps.com/

[Gadgets of the Week]
Retro Ballistics – Catapult and Trebuchets http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/warfare/81e6/

Show #020 - Home Tech Conveniences

2006-08-06T14:54:00.000-07:00

Norbtek.info Podcast, for Sunday, August 06, 2006. Show #020

· Today I have a special guest, Mike Smith. No not the Mike Smith of the Mike Tech Show.

· Norbtek is a proud member of the Techpodcasts.com Network and the Blubrry Podcast Community. Check it out at Blubrry.com.

· Here are today’s show notes:

[News]

Lexus 450h Hybrid
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo
AMD & ATI

[Topics]

Hands Free Faucet
Hands Free Soap Dispenser
Hands Free Towel Dispenser
Body Dryer
Egg Poaching Toaster
Fridge Safety Food Stickers
eNook
Gadget Power Station
Dyson Robotic Vacuum

[Gadgets of the Week]

iPod in Your Car - If you are looking for a cool car to wrap around your iPod, how about a Ferrari. Don’t quite have the coin to lay down for the Ferrari, try a Ford, GM, Chrysler or whole slew of others at this link from Apple.

[Listener Email]

If you want a Gmail invite, we have lots of them to give-away. So send me an email, Norbtek.info@gmail.com, with “Gmail Invite” in the subject line and we will get that right out to you. I highly suggest listening to Chuck Toamsi’s Gmail Podcast where Chuck tells you how to get the most out of your Gmail account.

[Tip]

Firefox Tab Sidebar Extension

[Final thoughts]

· Please visit the web site at www.norbtek.info, that’s N-O-R-B-T-E-K dot info. There you can find links to the Blog and the Frappr! Map on the left hand side. You can also get all of today’s show notes and links.

· Want to ask a question? Just look for the “Ask Your Question” link on the left hand side of the website as well, then fill out the form or email me direct at norbtek.info@gmail.com. I promise that we will get to your question as soon as possible and even feature it on an upcoming podcast.

· Stay tuned for the next Norbtek.info Podcast, Show #021, which will be Low-Budget Home Office.

· Hey, let me know if you have a specific topic you want me to cover or if you have some other ideas that you want to share, just drop us a line at norbtek.info@gmail.com, call the listener line at (206) 888-NORB, that’s (206) 888-6672, or send in an MP3 file and get a shout out on the podcast.

· Also, I’m really interested in how you found the podcast, was it from one of the Podcast Directories like Podcast Pickle, Odeo, Podcast Alley, iTunes, Yahoo!, mentioned on another podcast, or the recommendation of a friend? I’d really like to know, so email me at norbtek.info@gmail.com and let me know.

· The Norbtek.info Podcast has been a “Low Budget” Production

Happy Birthday America!

2006-07-04T07:37:00.000-07:00

God Bless America! The only nation that could think of calling my home. America has been the birthplace of many great ideas, inventions, and innovations. The ability to do almost what ever you want and to do it without oppression is the greatest thing of all.

So when you are having your celebration today I ask that you take one moment and give a thank you to our men and women in our armed forces that are protecting our freedoms at home and abroad. They and their families are giving their all so that we may feel safe and do the things that we do with out oppression. So maybe at your picnic or what ever celebration that you may have, put a place setting out in honor of those that are working hard to keep America safe and for those who have paid the ultimate price in defense of our freedoms. Please Support our Troops and lets hope for their quick and safe return.

Norbtek.info Podcast Show #019 - Home Alarm Systems

2006-07-01T11:51:00.000-07:00

Norbtek.info Podcast Show #019 for Saturday July 1, 2006

Today's podcast has an interview with Mr. Mike Jagger of Provident Security and Event Management Corporation in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. I speak with him about home security and specifically about home alarm systems. We talk about why you need one and what every home alarm system should have. Mike provides great insight as to what an alarm system should do and how to keep potential burglars out of your house. I also have some good tips on how to keep your house unappealing to a potential burglar.

Residential Burglaries - Typically between 11 AM and 4 PM Monday through Friday
Burglar's favorit place to start looking for your stuff:
Master Bedroom
Sidetable Drawers
Closets

Commerical Burglaries - Typically between 1AM and 5 AM 7 days a week

Check your local law enforcement's website for crime statistics in your neighborhood.

Burglary Safes

Dead Bolts

Locking Gate Latches

What to do when looking for a professional alarm installer & monitoring company:

1. Ask your insurance agent, friends, family or neighbors for referrals and if they are satisfied with the quality of installation and service.
2. Call several companies.
3. Ask the companies if they have appropriate state and/or local licenses, if required.
4. Contact the Better Business Bureau and ask if there have been any complaints against the companies you are considering.
5. Contact your local law enforcement's Prevention Department to see about any requirements or fees associated with having a monitored alarm system and typical response times.
6. After you've narrowed the field to three or four alarm companies, ask for the name of the person who will call on you. Consider planning the appointment time when all members of your household are present.
7. When he/she visits, ask to see some company identification.
8. Ask each alarm company representative for an inspection, recommendation and a quote in writing. Use a checklist to compare different packages and price quotes.
9. Don't forget to factor in monthly monitoring charges and length of any monitoring contract.
10. Alarm systems should utilize at least these three types of detection; door/window sensors, motion detection, and glass break detectors. Along with that the systems should have a battery backup incase of power failure or tampering and a cell phone backup communications device to thwart the phone lines being tampered with.
11. Additional items that can possibly be monitored by alarm systems are: Heat Detectors, Smoke Detectors, Carbon Monoxide Detectors, as well as flood detectors.

A general rule of thumb for a basic install of a hole burglar alarm system is about $1.25/sq. ft. of your home.

Tips when going on vacation to secure your home:
* Get a trusted friend or relative to "house sit." Or, make sure your neighbors know your plans.
* Have a neighbor pick up your newspapers and your mail for you daily.
* Lock all doors and windows, and secure the garage door.
* Leave a car parked in the driveway, or ask a neighbor to park in your driveway.
* Leave a house key -- and a number where you can be reached -- with a trusted friend or neighbor.
* Use timers to turn lights on and off at certain times, altering lighting patterns, to create an occupied look.
* Leave drapes and shades open as normal. (Closed blinds during the day are a sure sign of an empty house, plus they allow a burglar to attend to his business unseen by neighbors.)
* Arrange to have your lawn mowed.
* Be sure your trees and hedges have been trimmed. This gives burglars fewer places to hide.
* Replace any burned-out lights in your yard. Consider upgrading outdoor light fixtures with devices that have built-in motion detectors, which turn on the lights whenever anyone walks past.
* Make sure that any ladders, yours or an neighbors, is not accessible to thieves to use for entering upper level windows, no matter how small.
* Secure all gates to your back or side yards with a lockable gate latch.

Bluetooth Head Set for the iPod

2006-06-23T05:45:00.000-07:00

Freakin' RSS Trouble

2006-06-20T20:18:00.000-07:00

Soryy if you have experienced any trouble getting the latest show #018. I had some RSS trouble that was just driving me nuts. But, alas, all is well again.

Let me know if you had problems or want me to cover something on the show. Email me at norbtek.info@gmail.com

Norbtek.info Podcast Show #018 - Potpourri 2

2006-06-18T18:35:00.000-07:00

Norbtek.info Podcast Show #018 for Sunday, June 18, 2006.

[Main Topic]

Murphy beds get a new look

PC in a wall.

Gibbs Technologies

Vita Craft

Boss Audio

Belkin Tune Talk

[Gadgets of the Week]

Getting Hitched

[Tip]

Convert any audio to MP3 format

CNet Online Courses

Norbtek.info Podcast Show #017 – Cool Pool Gear

2006-05-07T19:04:00.000-07:00

Sunday, May 7, 2006, Show #017 – Cool Pool Gear.

Freespire
Aibo
Self-cooling cans

Pool Fencing
Gate Alarms
Pool Camera
Child & Pet Alarms
Pool Tips from Lowe’s
Robotic Pool Cleaner
Liquid Solar Cover
Light Show
Amphibious R/C
Personal Water Craft for the Pool
Another Light Show
Filter Cleaner

REMEMBER, FENCES AND POOL ALARMS DO NOT PREVENT DROWNING AND ARE NOT SUBSTITUTES FOR PROPER SUPERVISION AND SAFE SWIMMING PRACTICES.

If you want a Gmail invite, we have lots of them to give-away. So send me an email, Norbtek.info@gmail.com, with “Gmail Invite” in the subject line and we will get that right out to you.

The Catapult
GyroBike

[Frappr! Map]

We have the following on our Frappr! Map:
The Hook Show in Saint Paul, Jack in Roseville, George in Crawfordsville, Jonathan in Union City, Enk in Springfield, Brian in Tinley Park, Chad in Konosha, Mike in Placreville, Paul in Cedar Creek, and Art in La Habra, Victor in Corona, Adam in Madera, Kevin in Bothell, The PodChick in Toronto, Dieve in Woodbury, Sophia in New York, and Lance in Visalia.

Norbtek.info Podcast Show #016 - iPod Gear

2006-04-15T01:36:00.000-07:00

RSS Feed for Norbtek.info Podcast

http://feeds.feedburner.com/norbtekinfo

iBikeMount

Ultimate iPod Accessory

Apple iPod Camera Connector

Tangle Tamers

Ibuzz

iBoxers

Rodman M, from Sacramento Ca writes:

We are looking into getting a home computer that can handle home finances, digital pictures/movies, burn CD/DVD’s and handle some small business functions such as billings, expense reports and client databases. We also need to be able to back it up so we don’t lose all of the info. We would prefer a laptop with wireless capabilities but we are not opposed to a desk top with a big LCD flat screen. The kids will not be allowed on this computer!!!

What would you recommend? Dell…Gateway…others? What kind of processor? 80 gig hard drive with a 200 gig external drive for back up? I will listen to all suggestions…

PimpStar

What's up with that iTunes????

2006-04-02T11:21:00.000-07:00

After a late night posting and having linked to a MP3 from Chuckchat.com for an interview for the Matrix Stream High Definition Set Top box seemed to have messed up my iTunes entry for this episode. It had all the right tag info, but I noticed that it has the wrong time on it. It was the length for the interview with Chuck Tomasi and Aaron Keogh fromMatrix Stream. So I believ that I have fixed the entry. It appears only 5 downloads had occured and hopefully you all will re-download the podcast. I appologise for that and I will try to find out what happened.

I hope you will enjoy the show. Let me know what you think.

- Norbert

Norbtek.Info Show #015 - Potpourri

2006-04-02T01:51:00.000-08:00

Norbtek.info Podcast for Sunday, April 2, 2006, Show #015 - Potpourri

Falling Mobile PC Prices Fail to Entice Late-adopters in U.S., Says Parks Associates

CBS Inks Deal to Appear in Supermarkets

Discovery Unveils Homework Help Web Site

Cingular to Offer “American Idol” Ringtones

Web Site to Sell Items from TV Shows

Sirius Satellite in Exclusive Deal with Audi & VW

Kids: High-Tech’s Fussy New Customer

Sony Pulls the Plug on PSOne Production

Linux Based iSetBox from Media Systems Does it All

Threshold's new Home Server Model 1 is meant to make home networking easy

Samsung brings SilverCare sterilizing washer to US

Samsung 24.6 Cu. Ft. 4 Door Refrigerator

Matrix Stream has come out with an IPTV High Definition Set Top Box that when it comes out will rival satellite and broadcast HD quality. Matrix Stream’s 1020HD will have IPTV and VOD capabilities and is scheduled for availability to consumers by the end of 1^st Quarter of 2006. Chuck Tomasi of Chuck Chat did an interview with Aaron Keogh with Matrix Stream and you should check it out at Chuck's Interview Page at http://www.chuckchat.com/technorama/?page_id=129.

Listener Jack D. From Roseville Ca asked about Autotheft prevention tech. Our answer was MobileGuardian.

http://www.mymobileguardian.com/

Listener Matt H. from Sacramento Ca asks, “I would like to upload my existing collection of CD music to my iPod. What format is the best to use (mp3, acc) in an effort to get as many songs on my nano as possible? How can I get from the CD to that format?

Insert an audio CD into your computer.

If your computer is connected to the Internet, iTunes will automatically display the album title and all track names (if the album is listed in the Gracenote CD database).

To copy all songs from the CD, drag the CD icon in the Source list onto the Library icon. To copy individual songs, select the CD in the Source list, then drag the songs you want from the song list pane onto the Library icon in the Source list—to select multiple songs, Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Windows) songs before dragging them.

The iTunes display will provide feedback as it copies each song from the disc. iTunes will convert your song files to the file format you set under the Importing tab in the Advanced pane of iTunes preferences (AAC is the default).

Norbtek.info@gmail.com

Chuck Toamsi’s Gmail Podcast

Norbtek.info Podcast Show #014 - Tech Toys

2006-02-12T08:15:00.000-08:00

Norbtek.info Podcast, Show #014 for Sunday, February 12, 2006

The new show opener is by Adam Rainer from Madtown Aces Audio Productions, thanks Adam.
In Todays Show:
[News]
– Olympics Online
– Stickam free media player set to launch
– Better Batteries for your High Tech Gear
– Aibo to be Euthanised
– Apple iPod G6 on it’s way?
– Projectorless Power Point Presentations

[Main Topic]
- Tech toys!

[Gadgets]

========================================

[News]
From Yahoo! News – Olympics Online
From InfoWorld – Stickam free media player set to launch
From USA Today – Batteries Reviewed
From Forbes.com – Aibo to be put to sleep
From InternetWeek.cmp.com – Apple revamping video iPod
From The DEMO Conference – Power Point without the projector

[Main Topic]

Tech Toys!

· Robosapien - $249 - This robot is packed with an awesome number of features made possible by advanced technologies: Fluid motions and gestures: fast dynamic 2-speed walking and turning; full-function arms with two types of grippers; numerous pre-programmed functions; fully programmable by remote control; programmable “reflexes” to sound and touch stimuli. It even has what the manufacturer calls fluent international “caveman” speech.Best Buy, Radio Shack, Toys "R" Us, The Sharper Image, Circuit City

· Lego Mindstorms NXT - $249 – Want to build your own robot? Well LEGO has their Mindstorms NXT programmable robot coming out soon that will allow you to control it from your Bluetooth enabled mobile phone. Using the LEGO TECHNIC® elements you can build any robotic creation that your imagination can come up with. Mindstorms is programmable from PCs and Mac. USB 2.0 and Bluetooth support and intuitive, icon-based drag-and-drop program "building" environment.
·
· LeapFrog LeapPad - $35 - Your kids can learn by leaps and bounds! The LeapPad teaches beginning readers how to pronounce words by sounding them out. This great learning tool reads full-color animation storybooks to your kids, helping them to identify letters and words. They can play guided games and fun activities. Plus, kids can read and interact at their own pace. Ages 4 and up.
·
· FLY Red Pentop Computer - $100 - With a built-in processor, optical scanner, voice and its own language, the FLY pentop computer brings "penmanship" into the new age. Write an addition/subtraction problem on special dot-matrix FLY paper and the pen calculates it, or tell it about appointments and FLY reminds you. And check this out: draw drums and a keyboard on the special paper, and FLY actually records what you play. Other add-ons available: software cartridges, games, speakers and more (each sold separately

· The Oh Yuck! Book - $15 - From bat pee to human vomit, "The Encyclopedia of Everything Nasty" engages kids while imparting some very important information.
o Covers more than 60 tasteless topics with tongue-in-cheek humor
o Includes pronunciation guide, definitions and historical perspectives
o Teaches kids about science, history, our bodies and the world around us
o Filled with illustrations and photographs
o "X-periments" section shows you how to make your own muck – from an exploding model pimple to simulated scabs and more
o Young readers will delight in the vile and the repulsive. It's everything you ever wanted to know about the yucky side of life!

· VCamNow - $85 - Rather make movies? Start with the VCamNow, a handheld video camera with a flip-out preview screen from Hasbro. Kids can shoot digital movies and take pictures. Connect the camera to a computer to edit scenes or plug it into a TV and view the action on a big screen.

· The iBOTZ Tribotz - $55 -is an excellent introductory robot kit with three modes of operation: line following, sound sensing, and obstacle avoidance. With three functions in one, this robot kit is a fantastic value, and it provides a great introduction to autonomous robots. For more experienced roboticists, this robot's roomy chassis has ample space for custom electronics.

[Gadgets of the Week]
Waterproof your iPod
Canon WiFi SD430 Camera
Anti-Identity Theft Pen

Techpodcasts.com

Could Addonics iPod Drive Cable Be RIAA's Next Weapon? - Yahoo! News

2006-02-04T22:17:00.000-08:00

Could Addonics iPod Drive Cable Be RIAA's Next Weapon? - Yahoo! News

Norbtek.info Show #013 - Tech Predictions

2006-01-24T19:35:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Technology predictions for '06

[News]

From the Register – 802.11n Spec nailed down - The final Working Group specification will be submitted to the broader IEEE for ratification as a standard once the IEEE Working Group finalizes any tweaks. That could happen late ‘06 or early ‘07.
802.11n will utilize MIMO technology or multiple-input multiple-output to deliver 100-200+ mbps operating on the 2.4 GHz band. You can expect to see this being incorporated into personal handheld technology like portable media players, pocket PCs, and of course laptops too.
Currently there are some Pre-n routers on the market, and hopefully they can be upgraded to the new specifications when they are finally ratified.

From CNet – Google Subpoenaed for Porn Searches - Federal prosecutors defending a controversial Internet pornography law are trying to force Google to hand over millions of search records--a request that the search giant is rejecting.

The Bush administration asked a federal judge to force Google to comply with a subpoena for search term information from the search engine's visitors. The Feds are requesting a "random sampling" of 1 million sites available through Google, and a random sampling of 1 million search queries during a one-week period.
The request is part of the Feds attempts to defend the 1998 Child Online Protection Act being challenged in court.
Microsoft, AOL, and Yahoo! Have all complied with similar subpoenas instead of fighting it out with Bush’s Administration.

From eHomeUpgrade.com – Linux Media Center - CyberLink, the makers of the PowerDVD software for playing of DVD movies on your PC, bring you PowerCinema Linux, which makes a Linux PC into a Media Center PC.

The new PowerCinema features analog and digital TV, radio, Teletext and electronic program guide browsing. It also boasts about a 10 second boot time and quick shutdown that gives it that CE feel. PowerCinemia sports a 3D interface and operates via a remote control for easy navigation of DVD movies, music, pictures, and video modules.
While the software does not look to be sold directly to the general public, it will be available to CE OEMs. The PowerCinemia is also scaleable so expect to see a host of Linux based handheld media players as well as the expected laptops and desktops. Watch out Bill and Steve, the penguin is nipping at your heels.

[Main Topic]

My predictions for Technology in 2006 – What will be HOT!

The PDA/Phone/Camera/MP3/Video Player all in one. Not that Apple will come out with one, but hey, if anyone were to, they would make it sexy.

Digital Audio providers such as Napster, Rhapsody, and Yahoo! Music will be providing Pay-for-Play video and “unlimited” services. This will include shows from the major networks, cable, and movie channels such as HBO, Cinemax, and Showtime. Expect Netflix to be in the running too.

Podcasting will explode as well as videocasting. Already there is Digital Life TV featuring the former TechTV “Screen Savers” cast members Robert Herron and Patrick Norton doing tech like no one else. Soon you will see indie show series that will break new ground and allow for greater freedoms than even cable provided.

More root-kits will be revealed in what was thought to be “Safe Software”, such the one revealed by Symantec in their Norton SystemWorks program. Sony was the first to get caught, but will they be the last? Or will other software makers fess up like Symantec?

SP-3 for Windows? Well, after the Windows Meta File exploit found at the beginning of the year, I predict that there will be at least one mor major flaw, or in this case, “feature” that causes Microsoft to issue a Service Pack even though they have said that they would not issue one until some time later in ’07. Can you say Open Source?

Plasma TV prices will drop around the end of the year to about $2000 for a 42” 1080i screen with good contrast ratios. Expect a relatively lesser known manufacturer to lead the charge.

iPod and one of the satellite radio services will join forces. Not an integration of Sirius or XM into the iPod, but iTunes featuring shows from the services and the in-car players will hook up to your iPod so you can play tour tunes or recorded programs.

A relatively unknown company will develop the next generation of DVD technology sinking the HD-DVD and Blue-Ray DVDs because they are fighting each other and not looking over their shoulder.

New homes will come with built-in communications packages including iPod docks for your home audio system, 802.11n Wi-Fi, and VOIP.

Apple makes deals with other hardware manufacturers to make Apple branded Camcorders and Digital Cameras.

DV and DVD camcorders go by the wayside because Hard Drive based High Definition and 3-CCD models take over and are cheaper.

TiVo will unveil a dock that allows you to sync your video iPod straight to the TiVo so you can have “Lost” for free.

[Gadgets of the Week]

Migo from Verizon Wireless is a $50 kid-friendly wireless phone, after a $30 rebate, much like the $100 Firefly that lets parents and kids stay in touch. It's fun for them, and added peace of mind for parents. The Migo phone has a simplified keypad, a parent programmable 4 number call list, an incredible speakerphone, and a dedicated emergency key. The Mingo will soon come with a GPS locator service that lets mom and dad know where their child is and if they go into undesirable territory. This service will run an additional $10-15 a month and is expected to be available some time in May.

Gain peace of mind with DriveSync™. With DriveSync™ you can keep an eye on your teen’s driving progress while they gain the experience to become safe, responsible drivers. – Yeah, its going James Bond on your kid. This device utilizes GPS and USB technology to record the vehicle’s usage, and then you simply plug the removable USB stick into you PC and upload the data to the DriveSync™ servers for processing. You will get a detailed trip log including data on how fast the vehicle was going, where it went, and when. It is not yet available, but we will let you know when it is and how much.

Now for another “USB gimmick” – The DancinDogg Optical Swing Pad game simulator. It comes wit a 16 foot USB cord and houses 16 infrared optical sensors to determine how bad your swing sucks. The Calculation Engine calculates club head speed, face angle, club path, ball carry distance, distance offline, and tempo. It reportedly works with EA's Tiger Woods PGA Tour '05. All this for only $260. Heck, my golfing partners tell me that my swing sucks for free.

We have Gmail invites to give-away. Send me an email, Norbtek.info@gmail.com, with “Gmail Invite” in the subject line and we will get that out to you.

Put your pin on the Norbtek Frappr! Map

Norbtek.info Show #012 - Cool Tools

2005-12-27T01:46:00.000-08:00

Sunday, 12/18/2005. Show #012

Cool Tools for Your Home or Jobsite

Please visit the web site at www.norbtek.info and also go to our Frappr! listener map @ http://www.frappr.com/norbtek and put in your pin.

[News]

CNET - PlayLimit: A time limiting device for Game Consoles allows kids to play video games for a limited amount of time with tokens, similar to an arcade. This device has a coin slot for the tokens, a locking box for used tokes, parents a simple and convenient way of limiting the time their children spend in front of a TV. Many studies have shown that too much TV is bad for children. Even educational video games and programs, if not restricted, can reduce children’s ability to think and learn for themselves. How can PlayLimit help? Simple. By giving kids tokens for a specific time period, parents set a definite limit on how much TV their kids can watch. What’s more, the tokens empower kids to manage their own time, so parents no longer have to be the “time’s up!” police. Once children understand their TV limits, parents can encourage other activities such as reading, drawing, and sports to fill the void. And that’s the ultimate purpose of PlayLimit — to be a positive experience for both parents and children.CNet article.

ENGADGET - Hack your Roomba – Yeah that’s right. Manufacturer, iRobot, is making it easy to hack your Roomba with their Serial Control Interface. Roomba fans have been hacking their vacs for almost as long as the round robots have been on the market, but they haven't always had the blessing of Roomba-maker iRobot. That started to change earlier this year, when iRobot began pre-installing the software needed to control the bot via its serial port (above). Now, iRobot is going one further with the release of the iRobot Serial Control Interface, which will make it easier for owners of older Roombas to get the bots to do their bidding. Of course, actually using the SCI to mod your Roomba may void your warranty, but you knew that already. At least the folks at iRobot recognize that there's a market for hackers out there, and if you're ready to void your warranty, they may as well help you do it.

[Special Notice]
[Mac Review Cast Contest]

Tim Verpoorten, at the Mac Review Cast, has a great holiday give-a-way contest going on. A prize a week for three weeks. The first week’s prize will be a pair of Altec Lansing XT1 USB portable speakers valued at $99.95. All you have to do is listen to the show and send in an email. Each week Tim will announce another prize, and how to enter. So go check out the Mac Review Cast and enter the contest. Go to http://www.macreviewcast.com/ and good luck.

[Main Topic]

Revolver Ergonomic Tools by WORX – Tools include:

“Assault” Reciprocating Saw - $150

“Blockbuster” ½” Hammer Drill - $130

“Bladerunner” 7-1/4” Circular Saw - $150

“Intruder” – 3/8” Drill - $99

All tools run off 120V corded power

Drill Dr. Bit Sharpener – Available at Home Depot and Lowe’s for $100

Ryobi Laser Level with AIRGrip Attachment - $37 at Home Depot

Black & Decker BullsEye Auto Leveling Laser - Available at Home Depot for about $50

Miter Saw Laser Envy? - Available online at Amazon.com or your local Lowe’s and Home Depot for $30

Do-It-Yourself Project Calculator - Available at Lowe’s for $20

X-factor Safety Eyewear - Available at Home Depot for $10

FireStorm® 18 Volt, 4-Piece Cordless Combo Kit - Available at Lowe’s for $179

Little Giant Ladder – You can get the Model 22 for $400 available at the Little Giant Website

Cold Heat - Just $30 at Think Geek.

Gmail Podcast

[Windows XP Tip]
More and more often, the hard disk space on today’s PCs are becoming gunked up and leaves the user to wonder what is taking up all the space. Generally, the following are the major consumers of hard disk space:

System Restore snapshots

Temporary Internet Files / History

By running the Disk Cleanup utility, you can free-up much of that space. Click Start, and then click Run. In the Open box, type cleanmgr, and then click OK. Select the drive, More Options, System Restore, and then Cleanup.
This purges all the restore points, except the newest point. This should clear-up most of the disk space. If not, choose the following options disk cleanup and run it:

Remove temporary Internet files

Remove downloaded program files

Empty the Recycle Bin

Remove Windows temporary files

Norbtek.info Show #011- A Geek's Christmas Gift

2005-12-04T01:56:00.000-08:00

Sunday, December 4, 2005. Show #011

A Geek’s Christmas List! - An Open Letter to Santa Clause.

Dear Santa,

I have been a really good Geek this year; from doing my podcast and trying to give good advice and information to the listeners and let them know about really cool stuff, to fixing my friends computers for free, to helping our work’s IT guys out by trouble shooting thing at the jobsite for them.

I would like any or all of the following things to be left under the tree on Christmas morning! Here’s my list…

A Philips 42" Plasma HDTV
Roku PhotoBridge HD
Dell Axim X51v
Bluetooth keyboard
Rhino Hardcase
Seagate 3.5" - 300GB USB / Firewire Hard Drive
Shell HomeGenie™
Harmony 688 Remote
Archos AV-700 Mobile DVR
Video iPod
Apple G-5 iMac
Xbox 360 – Ultimate Bundle
Spazzstick Caffeinated Lip Balm
Sony HDR- HC1
Canon PowerShot S2 IS.

Well, I think that ought to about do it. I don’t want to get to greedy. So, Santa, if you can, these are the things I would like to see come Christmas morning, however, you could surprise me with returning all our service men and women back home to their families, if not for good, at least for a day. They are the ones who make all the things I asked for possible.

Bless all of our brave service men and women, bless their families, and bless America.

Thanks Santa,

Norbert

We received a bit of mail this time.

Listener Veronica wrote in and asked: What are some of the coolest things you can do with home automation in a small townhome? Things that are not overly expensive.

Well I expect that by "Town home" that you own a "condo" style home that is in an apartment type complex and that you own, not lease. So with that presumption made, here is what I would suggest. The X-10 company has a great web site that has a really cool special on their Activehome Pro Starter System. This type of system is really great for not having to modify your home electrical system or change out switches and plugs more of a DIY type of system.

Another site to go to that provides a higher end home automation setup is Smart Home. If you are really looking into doing some nifty setup in the future, your better off going with something offered here. You might have to get an electrician involved, but I know it will be worth it.

Last podcast I told you about listener Art who heard my special segment about the ReplayTV on the Typical PC User Podcast and that he picked up a ReplayTV. Well, he did more that that, he picked up 3 ReplayTVs! Wow! That is cool. Hey Art, write me back and let me know how it is going with your new ReplayTV setup.

Please visit our Frappr! listener map @ http://www.frappr.com/norbtek

Want to ask a question? Just look for the “Ask Your Question” link on the left hand side of the website.

We have Gmail invites to give-away. Send me an email, Norbtek.info@gmail.com, with “Gmail Invite” in the subject line and we will get that out to you.

Norbtek.info Podcast Show #010

2005-11-19T18:30:00.000-08:00

This is the Norbtek.info Podcast, for Saturday, November 19, 2005. Show #010

Kitchen Gadgets

[News]

There is a new U.S. House bill (HR 4127 DATA) currently in review, "The House DATA bill would require companies to contact customers only when there is a reasonable basis to conclude that there is a significant risk of identity theft." This bill is weak in as far as the company who’s database has been compromised gets to decide if the risk is sufficiently great enough to warn you. Senate Bill 1789 would also create one unified law for all 50 states, but it would allow potential ID theft victims to put a seven-year fraud alert on their credit report. Read the full CNet article.

[Main Topic]

‘Tis the Season to be Cookin’! Thanksgiving is right around the corner and Christmas is not too far behind. So I’m pretty sure things at your house are gonna be somewhat like mine. A lot of cooking and baking will be happening. My wife suggested that I do a show about Kitchen Tech and Gadgets and so here are a couple of things that she and I thought might come in handy for your cooking season.

Refrigerator / Oven - $7,500.00
Kenmore Ceramic Induction Cooktop - $1,600.00
Silicone Oven Mits – $19.95 a pair
Ceramic Knife - $46.00
Silpat Baking Sheets - $25.00
Kitchen Probe Thermometer - $30.00
GT Express Meal Maker - $40.00
Flexible Container Lids - $1.99
Glad Press and Seal – $3.00 a roll
Braun Tassimo Beverage Center - $170.00

[Listener Email]

We received a bit of mail this time.

Listener Kirk asks 2 questions:

Question #1: Is there a way to save emails to a file from a Gmail account? Similar to a *.pst file on Microsoft Outlook

Answer: I have not seen anything on offloading emails to your PC. If you are using an email client that accesses your Gmail via POP3 or you have your Gmail account forward a copy to your PC based email client, then that way you can back them up.

Question #2: How can you play realmedia files on your ipod? Itunes will not recognize a *.ram file.

Answer: iPods will not play *.ram files only AAC, MP3, AIFF, and WAV files according to the Apple website, however, if you can convert your RAM files to MP3 then you can get them onto an iPod. You might want to try RM to MP3 at Snapfiles.com. It is $25 and comes recommended by CNet.com.

New Listener Art who heard my special segment on the Typical PC User Podcast writes:

I heard you on the latest TPCU Podcast with Victor. I was really interested in what you had to say about the Replay TV. I was wondering how the Replay works with Adelphia cable service as far as the Guide. I currently use the Moxi DVR and like it. I would love to be able to network my DVR's as you mentioned you can do with the Replay.

I explained that Replay guide service checks out what subscriber service you use for your TV and parses their database for show listings and times.

I notified Art that there was an AVS Forums ReplayTV user who wanted to sell a brand new 5040 unit for a very decent price. Well, happily I can say that Art is the newest member in the ReplayTV brotherhood.

Congratulation Art, and thanks for listening.

[Additional Items]

Special Rant

CBS.COM News

I signed up for this service about 2 years ago before I knew about RSS. I severed the automatic downloads via email over a year ago and up until a month ago I was CBS.COM email free. All of a sudden I started getting emails again. So I went to the site to delete myself from the list. But the method of deleting one’s self is neither clear nor easy. This freaking service will not delete me from their mailing system after having requested it several times. No one there gets it. I want to stop the service. CBS, please make a dedicated "Unsubscribe" link that will get me off the mail list. I am encouraging all my listeners not to subscribe to their website email service.

Samsung

My piece of crap MP3 player. Why doesn’t it work right after being upgraded to the latest firmware? I upgraded it because it was supposed to provide more capabilities. NOT! Now I can’t play “playlists” on my player. It does not show up in the playlist menu. I have to modify all the podcast stracks or music files that I want in a playlist to a new “album” instead so that I can find it. What a bunch of whooey! Apple, here I come! Hey Santa, were you listening? Yeah, the Video iPod, the white one, that would be fine. And a scratch resistant case for it too, thanks. I have been a good boy all year.

Napster

I upgraded you too and now you are coming up with messages that Podcasts are DRM’d. Uh, hello!?! I don’t think so. Hey Chuck Tomasi, are you DRM’ing your Technorama Podcast? Napster, fix the freaking program. What are you, a bunch of Microsoft Windows reject programmers? Come on.

[Tip]

You can run a program as a different user without logging out and back in again. Right click the icon, select Run As... and enter the user name and password you want to use. This only applies for that run. The trick is particularly useful if you need to have administrative permissions to install a program, which many require. Note that you can have some fun by running programs multiple times on the same system as different users, but this can have unforeseen effects.

[Final thoughts]

Please let me know how you found this podcast, I’m really interested. Email me at norbtek.info @gamil.com.

Show notes are available on the Blog at norbtekinfo-dot-blogspot-dot-com.

We have Gmail invites to give-away. Send me an email, Norbtek.info@gmail.com, with “Gmail Invite” in the subject line and we will get that out to you.

Hey, check it out! I’m on the Typical PC User Podcast; I do a segment on the ReplayTV 5000 for Victor Cajiao. Go to http://typicalpcuser.biz/tpcu/ it’s show #68

Norbtek Listener Map

2005-11-12T14:42:00.000-08:00

Go to our Listener Map and sign in. I would like to see who is listening and where you are from. So go and put yourself on the map!

Norbtek.info Podcast Show #009 - Home Automation Follow Up

2005-11-12T02:27:00.000-08:00

OK, So I said Saturday, November 13 instead of the 12th. Who cares...

This is my Home Automation follow up podcast. In this show I go over some gadgets that you can put into your Home Automation System and do some really cool things. Well, at least some of them. The others are just really cool gadgets. Here are the links to the items:

The Russound iPod friendly multi room sound and entertainment system

Cell phone signal extender by Wireless Extenders - $300

Pocket Dish video Recorder & Player from Dish Networks - $500
or http://www.archos.com/products/av_700/

Clock Radio/Wi-Fi enabled MP3 player - $350 before Nov 30 $400 after

Proliphix Network compatible IP Thermostat - Starting at $260

Central Home Automation Director (CHAD) - About $400 annually for the hardware and service

Centralite – Starlite Lighting Control System - $3000 + installation

LG Remote Laundry Monitoring - $1,349 for the washer, $949 for the dryer, and an additional $99 green for the remote monitoring kit

Sereniti NOW! – Home Networking for Non-techies - $200 annually or $10 a month

Hey, check it out! I’m on the Typical PC User Podcast; I do a segment on the ReplayTV 5000 for Victor Cajiao. Go to http://typicalpcuser.biz/tpcu/ it’s show #68

On my next show my wife suggested that I should cover some Kitchen Tech for the upcoming Holidays, so stay tuned for some really cool stuff.

I Goofed!!

2005-10-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry for any inconvienence I may have caused by putting the wron link in the blog entry to the MP3. I put the wrong date as the name of the file. The only time you would have found the error is if you clicked the link. I forgot to test it before I went to bed last night. Anyway. It's fixed. Enjoy!

Norbtek.info Show #008 - Home Automation

2005-10-15T23:51:00.000-07:00

Norbtek.info Podcast, for Sunday, October 16, 2005. Show #008

You can get a hold of me in one of the following ways:
Send an email to norbtek-dot-info at GMAIL dot com, I can also be reached on Skype, just search for norbtek, or if you would like to leave a message on my listener line, you can call area code (206) 888-NORB, thats (206) 888-6672. I’d love to hear from you.
If you have a question that you would like me to answer, just go to the web site and click on the Ask Your Question link on the left hand side, then fill out the form. We’ll get right on it.

[News]

Whirlpool Flat Screen Microwave

Start Your Engine – With Your Watch

Pay The Parking Meter With Your Debit Card and Cell Phone

The Perfect Shower

Need Air Conditioning During a Power Outage

Yet Another Podcast Listing Site

[Main Topic]

Introduction to Home Automation

There are many brands of home automation equipment. Here are some links to some brands and suppliers.

http://www.smarthome.com/
http://www.x10.com/
http://www.hometoys.com/

You can find even more information at http://www.home-automation.org/

[Gadgets of the Week]

Shooting the Stars

Mini R/C Flyer

The iPEZ Debut

And Yet Another iPod Accessory

Putting on the Geek

[Tip]

To get rid of Windows Messenger do the following:
>Start > Run "gpedit.msc" > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Messenger

Here you can enable "Do not allow Windows Messenger to be run"and "Do not automatically start Windows Messenger initially"

[Bonus Link]

Bill Gates Goes To College - Video with Napoleon Dynamite

If it's tech, I'm there.

2005-10-09T22:07:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a great week this week. I have been accepted as a member of Techpodcasts.com. Soon you will be seeing my podcast information on the techpodcasts.com website and hopefully, the listener base will expand and provide me and you, the listener, with more great podcasts.

To celebrate, I will be going to Disneyland... we, O.K., so the wife had that booked several months in advance, but the membership cam at tjust the right time.

Alright, I know I promised you a podcast on Home Automation, and it is coming. This weekend I am going to record and release it, so stand by. I have some nifty gadgets and a surprise rant too.

- Norbert

Norbtek.info Podcast Show #007 – Listener Emails & Gadgets!!!!

2005-09-18T02:50:00.000-07:00

Norbtek.info Podcast Show #007 – Listener Emails & Gadgets!!!!

Here is what we have for you in today’s show:

News

Responses To Listener Email

Cool Gadgets of the Week

Windows XP Pro Tip

The News:

LG’s 71” LCoS

Alilenware’s CE-IV Audio Player

The Latest from TI – DaVinci Video Technology

5 Megapixel Ultra-Thin Digital Camera w/ 7.1x Zoom

Listener Emails

Rodman – Burned CDs not playing on Car CD player – Why

Rodman has a ’97 Ford F-150 that would not play a CD that he burned on his computer from songs that he ripped with Windows Media Player. It worked fine on the computer but not in the truck.

There are a few things that need to be looked at to determine why things aren't working. Please answer the following:
1. What software was used to Rip music from the CD?
2. What file format was the CD saved in (MP3, WMA, etc.)?
3. What software was used to Burn music to a CD?
4. Did you burn the music as an "Audio CD' or just burn the files to a CD?
5. Was there any copy protection (DRM) on any of the files (either from the Ripped CD or as a download such as Itunes?
6. What kind of media was the music burned on to (CD-R or CD-RW)?
7. What kind of discs does your car stereo read (CD-R, CD-RW)?
8. Can your car stereo read MP3 or WMA files directly?

I asked Rodman if he burned the disc as an Audio CD or not and he said that he just burned it, so it most likely went onto the CD as a mp3 or WMA file. The older CD player in the truck did not have the ability to read those files, so he will have to re-burn the disc as an Audio CD.

Rosemarie – How to transfer data to a CD

Rosemarie wants to copy files from her hard drive to a CD for storage and does not know how to do that.

To copy files and folders to a CD:

1. Insert a blank writable CD into the CD recorder.
2. Double-click My Computer, and then click the files or folders that you want to copy to the CD. To select more than one file, hold down the CTRL key while you click the files you want.
3. Click any of the following options:
• Copy this file
• Copy this folder
• Copy the selected items

4. In the Copy Items dialog box, click the CD recording drive, and then click Copy.
5. In My Computer, double-click the CD recording drive.

Windows displays a temporary area where the files are held before they are copied to the CD. Check that the files and folders that you intend to copy to the CD are displayed under Files Ready to Be Written to the CD.
6. Under CD Writing Tasks, click Write to CD.
7. After the CD Writing Wizard starts, follow the instructions in the wizard.
8. When the process is finished, the wizard displays a check box for you to choose to create another CD like the one you just made. If you want to create multiple copies of the same CD, click Yes, write these files to another CD and insert another blank, writable CD into the CD recorder. Follow the instructions in the wizard. NOTE: After you copy files or folders to the CD, it is useful to view the CD to confirm that the files are copied.

Gadgets of the Week – as found in CARGO

iHome iH5 clock radio

Why wake up to a boring run-of-the-mill alarm clock when the iH5 is a combination alarm clock and iPod docking station that lets you rise-and-shine to songs stored on your iPod as long as it has a dock connector. The iH5 has the standard alarm clock functions like AM/FM radio, snooze and sleep functions, but cranks out tunes better than your ordinary Clock/Radio. If you have an extra Jackson ($20) to spend, you can even get a remote that controls every function, even the snooze. $129.95, www.ihomeaudio.com.

The Salton Beyond Microwave –

Finally an easy way to cook meals perfectly and evenly every time. No more guesswork. Just scan the barcode on your food package - the Beyond™ Microwave Oven does the rest. Perfect Chicken a la King. Prefect rice. Perfectly delicious. Comes with 4,000 barcodes and stores your favorites as you use it. Add the Home Hub, and the Beyond™ Microwave Oven updates its memory automatically from the Beyond Information Network database. Never burn popcorn again! - $165.99 http://www.saltoninc.com/beyond/microwave.html

UNI-BALL 207 A PEN THAT PROTECTS YOU

The uni-ball 207 features a specially formulated ink that helps prevent a common type of check fraud known as check washing. The ink is water-resistant, fade-resistant, and retractable. Its textured grip makes the uni-ball 207 the ultimate in superior writing and control. To learn more about the breakthrough technology behind the pen, log on to www.uniball-na.com.

Tip

Windows Tip

Windows XP Pro Firewall Nag:If you've disabled Windows XP Professional's built-in Firewall because you're using a hardware firewall on your network, you're probably sick of seeing a balloon pop-up display from the taskbar's notification area reminding you that your computer might be at risk. Fortunately, you can disable the Windows Firewall nag in four simple steps.
Here's how:

When you see the balloon pop-up, click the balloon or the red shield icon in the system notification area of the taskbar.

When the Windows Security Center opens, click the Recommendations button in the Firewall section.

In the Recommendations dialog box, select the I Have A Firewall Solution That I'll Monitor Myself check box and click OK.

When you return to the Windows Security Center, you'll see that the Firewall section is now marked as Not Monitored and you can close the window.

Final thoughts

Please let us know how you found this podcast. Email us at norbtek.info @gamil.com

Show notes are on the Blog at norbtekinfo-dot-blogspot-dot-com.

Gmail invite give-away, first 50 people can get one. Send in some user feedback via email. Norbtek.info@gmail.com

Next podcast I am going to go over some home automation gadgets, so stay tuned.

Bad Audio on Podcast #006 Fixed

2005-08-22T22:59:00.000-07:00

I noticed well afer this went out on the net that the audio was horrific. I fixed it and it should be lots berrt. I appologize to everyone for the mess up and will figure out what went wrong and try not to repeat it. You can now download the file by clicking on the link on this post's title.

Norbtek.info Podcast Show #006 - Home Network Extras

2005-08-21T23:47:00.000-07:00

Norbtek.info Podcast Show #006 - Home Networking Extras

Here is what we have for you in today’s show:

News

Main Topic – Home Networking Extras

Listener Email

Cool Gadget of the Week

Windows Tip for Trouble Shooting Drivers (advanced users only!)

The News:

US Tech Recycling

Transfer your Video to TiVo

Plasma TV’s Out Sell RPTVs in Q2

Steve Jobs to run for Governor of California in 2006

[MAIN TOPIC]

So you got a home network, either wireless, hardwired, or both; but none of your friends, family, or neighbors seems to be impressed. Well have I got a few devices that might just put the “wow” factor into your Home Network. I’m talking about Digital Media Players, Streaming Web Cams, Home Power-line Ethernet, and power over Ethernet also known as PoE.

There are several types of media players: ones that play Audio Files mp3s, WMA, AAC like the Squeezebox2. You can get an option on the squeezebox2 that will allow you to stream your audio library up to 20 rooms. The Squeezebox2 is available starting at $199. You can also distribute your video files stored on a local computer on your LAN to individual televisions with the GoVideo D2740 Networked DVD player. This device is a DVD player that is also network compatible, both wired and wireless via 802.11B and G. It will play Mepg-1, 2, & 4 video files as well as MP and WMA audio files with support for viewing your JPEG, Tiff, PSD, PICT and Bit Mapped files. It will also play DVDs, Video CDs, Music CDs, Kodak CDs, and MP3s on CD-r and CD-RWs. The D2740 is going for $240 on Amazon. Netgear, D-Link, and Linksys all have wired/wireless Digital Media Players as well. Netgear has the MP101 which will play all of your MP3 and WMA files, or listen to Internet Radio right on your home stereo. This unit retails for $100 at Circuit City and they also have a video versions as well, the MP115 that is available on-line at PCConnection.com. Linksys has theWMCE54AG which will connect your entertainment center to your Windows Media Center PC. This device retails for $300 from retails like Radio Shack. D-Link offers the MediaLounge DSM-320, a wired and wireless (802.11G) which is similar to the Netgear, but has a few more options and is available at Amazon.com for $160 (a great deal in my opinion

Wired/wireless web cams that have their own web servers in them so you can log into the video stream for home, work or abroad. Check on the house while on vacation or what the kids are doing in the back yard while at work. D-Link has the greatest variety ranging form the simple eye-ball style camera to the industrial looking security camera.

Alternative networking adapters. Netgear has the XE102 that you plug into a normal outlet in your house then plug in a data cable from it your router. Then use another XE102 to go to an Ethernet enabled device or even add a plug in WAP (WGX102)so you can get wireless in the backyard.

There is even power over Ethernet devices available for getting power to those remote webcams that you will install to monitor the kids in the backyard. These devices use an Ethernet cable to provide low voltage power (5 or 12 volts) to a device that would normally need a power outlet. (D-Link, Netgear, & Linksys)

Time for listener email:

None. Come on, give a guy a break. Please write in with your questions on tech and I will help you out the best that I can. I want this show to kind of be like the old TechTV Call for Help with Chris Pirllio and Leo Laporte. You write in however, and then I answer the questions.

[Gadget of the Week]

Lazer Trip Wire for your Cubicle

ThinkGeek

$29.99

[Tip]

Windows Tip

Windows Hidden Driver Verification Feature: Microsoft provided Windows XP with several high-profile tools for troubleshooting potential problems with drivers, namely File Signature Verification and Device Manager. However, Windows XP also includes the tool called the Driver Verifier Manager, which is mainly designed for developers but it can provide you with useful information during a troubleshooting operation.
Here's how to use it to troubleshoot a driver problem:

Access the Run dialog box by pressing the [Windows]-R keyboard shortcut.

In the Open text box, type the command Verifier.

On the Select A Task page, leave the default Create Standard Settings as-is.

On the next page, choose the Select Driver Name From A List.

Select the check boxes next to the driver files that you want to verify.

Click Finish and then reboot the system.

If the driver(s) that you selected are causing a problem, the system will halt and display a BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death) along with an error message. If the selected drivers aren't the cause of the problem, the system will start up normally.
Keep in mind that once you enable the Driver Verifier Manager it stays active until you disable it. To do so, follow these steps:

Access the Run dialog box by pressing the [Windows]-R keyboard shortcut.

In the Open text box, type the command Verifier /reset.

Note: For more detailed information about using the Driver Verifier Manager, read the Knowledge Base article Q244617.

[Final thoughts]

Please let us know how you found this podcast, we are really interested. Email us at norbtek.info @gamil.com

Show notes are available on the Blog at norbtekinfo-dot-blogspot-dot-com.

Gmail invite give-away, first 50 people can get one. Send in some user feedback via email. Norbtek.info@gmail.com

Who knows what the next podcast will be about, so stay tuned.

[Outro music]

A new Digital Camera Show #005

2005-07-30T23:32:00.000-07:00

Norbtek.info Podcast Show #005 - Knowing when to get a new Digital Camera?

Today's podcast is about knowing when you might need a better digital camera.
- I got a prize in the mail
- News
- Knowing when to get a new Digital Camera
- Listener Email (or not)
- Gadget of the Week
- Windows Tip

My Prize:

I received the flag that I mentioned in the last podcast from Todd Cochrane’s Geek News Central 50th show contest. I am currently searching for a display case for the 3’ x 5’ American Flag. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know. All I have been able to find are the ones for the 5’ x 9’ ones.

The News:

Here are some links to the news items in the podcast:
Apple recruiting Sony VAIO engineers to build the first Intel PowerBook?
RIAA loses battle to tax Canadian MP3 players
OJ Simpson docked 25k for pirating DirecTV
Netflix close to offering online movie downloads
Xbox 360 launching November 4th?
Skipping TV ads violates Japanese copyright law?
Cambridge PlayDock works with Zen (of course), others
Aquabot T2 robot pool cleaner

Main Topic:

More and more people are getting digital cameras today but don’t know what they need. Many find later that they want a better camera, but don’t know exactly how to tell if they should get a new camera. Here are a few tell tale signs that you might need to upgrade to a new camera:

· Are your shots becoming more thought out versus a quick shot?
· Are you finding that your camera does not have the macro or manual settings?
· Is the optical zoom not enough
· Are the prints that you want from them becoming larger or that you are manipulating the shots on the computer prior to printing?

If so you might want to begin thinking about getting a newer more powerful camera. Many of the midrangepriced consumer cameras are very powerful already. Take a look at the manula that you have and see if there are either Scene assis modes or the ability to manipulate the settings for the Aperature or Shutter Speed. Some cameras can even take the picture in black and white or sepia mode. You might not even need to get a new camera. There are a few things you can do with the basic of digital camersa that will improve your shots:

· Try a new angle. Get lower or higher or even tilt the camera a bit.
· Hold your camera steady. Use a tripod or lean aginst something solid like a wall or door jamb.
· Compose your shot. Set things up if you can in advance like lighting and background.
· Get closer, 90%subject and 10% background makes for great shots.
· Just take more shots!

HP has some other great ideas on how to improve your digital camera experience at the following link: Tips Part 1 and Tips Part 2

Listener Email:

None. Come on, give a guy a break. Please write in with your questions on tech and I will help you out the best that I can. I want this show to kind of be like the old TechTV Call for Help with Chris Pirllio and Leo Laporte. You write in and then I answer the questions.

Gadget of the Week:

Firefly Mobile Phone for Kids
- GSM phone
- Pin protected address book
- Hot buttons for Mom, Dad, and 911
- Optional Call Screening only lets phone numbers recognized in your phone list connect
- 30 minutes pre-paid with ability to buy minutes on the web
- Target: $99.99

Windows Tip: (TechRepublic)

Windows Prefetch Feature:Windows XP's Prefetch folder stores information about each program you launch; then, on subsequent restarts, XP uses the information in the folder to preload parts of those programs at boot time to decrease application start-up time. However, the Prefetch folder can accumulate too much information over time. This makes the operating system so busy loading bits and pieces of lots of applications into memory that it ends up slowing down the boot process. Fortunately, you can clean out the Prefetch folder at any time. Follow these four steps:

- Access the Run dialog box by pressing [Windows]+R.
- Type Prefetch in the Open text box and click OK.
- Press [Ctrl]+A to select all the files.
- Press [Delete].

As you use your system, Windows XP will rebuild the contents of the Prefetch folder.

CableYoYo

2005-07-22T20:08:00.000-07:00

Home Page

Nifty little cable management for cell phones, MP3 players, or anything with a USB cord. Take a gander.

Analog TVs to go dark in 2009 - Engadget - www.engadget.com

2005-07-12T22:05:00.002-07:00

Analog TVs to go dark in 2009 - Engadget - www.engadget.com

Samsung plans MZ45/DUAL dual-core desktop - Engadget - www.engadget.com

2005-07-12T22:05:00.001-07:00

Samsung plans MZ45/DUAL dual-core desktop - Engadget - www.engadget.com

SysOnChip�s Smart Blue GPS receiver - Engadget - www.engadget.com

2005-07-12T22:05:00.000-07:00

SysOnChip�s Smart Blue GPS receiver - Engadget - www.engadget.com

Avis offers Hummers with built-in DIRECTV - Engadget - www.engadget.com

2005-07-12T22:04:00.003-07:00

Avis offers Hummers with built-in DIRECTV - Engadget - www.engadget.com

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H1 reviewed - Engadget - www.engadget.com

2005-07-12T22:04:00.002-07:00

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H1 reviewed - Engadget - www.engadget.com

M-Audio to roll out Flash Tracker CompactFlash-based handheld audio recorder - Engadget - www.engadget.com

2005-07-12T22:04:00.001-07:00

M-Audio to roll out Flash Tracker CompactFlash-based handheld audio recorder - Engadget - www.engadget.com

Turn that $30 DVD into the player of your dreams - Engadget - www.engadget.com

2005-07-12T22:04:00.000-07:00

Turn that $30 DVD into the player of your dreams - Engadget - www.engadget.com

Plextor�s ConvertX PX-TV100U $99 Personal Video Recorder - Engadget - www.engadget.com

2005-07-12T22:03:00.001-07:00

Plextor�s ConvertX PX-TV100U $99 Personal Video Recorder - Engadget - www.engadget.com

The Schuberth Bluesonic HelmSystem - Engadget - www.engadget.com

2005-07-12T22:03:00.000-07:00

The Schuberth Bluesonic HelmSystem - Engadget - www.engadget.com

Cellphone amplifier boosts signals by factor of 10 - Engadget - www.engadget.com

2005-07-12T22:02:00.002-07:00

Cellphone amplifier boosts signals by factor of 10 - Engadget - www.engadget.com

KEF Ci FDT in-wall speakers swing out when powered up - Engadget - www.engadget.com

2005-07-12T22:02:00.001-07:00

KEF Ci FDT in-wall speakers swing out when powered up - Engadget - www.engadget.com

Wave-on MCH-501H wirelss headphones with 5.1 surround - Engadget - www.engadget.com

2005-07-12T22:02:00.000-07:00

Wave-on MCH-501H wirelss headphones with 5.1 surround - Engadget - www.engadget.com

4th of July Show #004

2005-07-04T03:43:00.000-07:00

On today’s show I have for you:

A special message to Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central
A personal rant on Best Buy and the likes
Responses to listener emails on GPS units in the $100 - $150 range
And using Audacity to connect two mp3's together
A 3CCD personal camcorder with professional bloodlines
Tempting the RIAA - Lee Greenwood - God Bless the USA

[Listener Email]

Al B. - Connecting 2 MP3s together.

Try the tutorials at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/
Great information and documentation

Dan M. - GPS units in the $100 - $150 range.

We found the Garmin eTrex Legend Portable GPS reciever to be an excellent price and on sale at Circuit City. It got great reviews at CNET.

[Gadget of the Week]
Panasonic PV-GS250 3 CCD Mini DV Camcorder - The PV-GS250, with its 3CCD Camera System, reproduces color in great fidelity by using a separate CCD for reds, greens and blues. It's the same 3CCD technology used in Panasonic professional broadcast equipment
3CCD Camera System • Leica Dicomar Lens • Optical Image Stabilizer • 10x Optical Zoom / 700x Digital Zoom, 3.1 Mega Still™ Picture Recording • 2.5-inch diagonal LCD, Color Viewfinder, USB 2.0 and Firewire, Wired mic/remote
Cheapest price online was $739.99
Circuit City & Target: $999

Earth Quake!!!!

2005-06-26T14:07:00.000-07:00

Up in Truckee Ca, there was a 4.8 magnitude earth quake at about 11:45 Sunday morning. It was felt as far away as my Elk Grove, Ca living room. While holding my 1 year old while sitting in the recliner it felt like someone came behind me and bumped the rocker/recliner. I had to look behind me to verify that it was not my 6 year old son playing games. Nothing damaged here in EG, but a few papers slid off a stack in our den.

Cool Samsung Sports Camcorder

2005-06-20T21:32:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for a camcorder to take those mountain bike action shots while on the bike, this gadget is for you!

CARGO : MAIN : GET

Podcast Show #003

2005-06-16T23:04:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm back for Podcast #3. This will be a short post as it is late and I need to get to bed.

We finish HDTV-101. Resolution confusion is hopefully resolved or at least it will make you ask more questions. Not sure if that is a good thing or nor, but hey. Write in and ask your question to norbtek.info@gmail.com.

A great resource for HDTV and home theater questions is www.htguys.com which happens to be a member of the Techpodcast.com network. So go over there and give them a look.

Here is the Microsoft Word tip for this episode:

Type anywhere on a page with Click And Type
Word's Click And Type feature allows you to begin typing anywhere on a blank page. You must first enable this feature before you can use it.
Follow these steps:
1. Go to Tools | Options.
2. On the Edit tab, select the Enable Click And Type check box in the Click And Type section, and click OK.
To use this feature, switch to Print Layout view, and double-click anywhere on the blank page. For example, suppose you want to type a title in the middle of the first page. In Print Layout view, double-click the middle of the page where you want the title to appear, and type the title. Word automatically center-aligns the title.
You can also use the Click And Type feature to insert non-text items. For example, to place a clip art picture in the bottom right corner of your page, go to the Print Layout view, double-click where you want the picture to appear, and insert the picture. Word automatically right-aligns the picture at the bottom of the page.

Finis SwiMP3 - CNET Reviews

2005-06-02T20:30:00.000-07:00

Here is a really coo gadget for ally you swimmwers this summer!

Finis SwiMP3 Intro - Finis SwiMP3 review - MP3 players - CNET Reviews

- Norbert

Norbtek.info Podcast #002

2005-05-30T21:49:00.000-07:00

We will be going over the subject of HDTVs on the next few podcasts and discuss; when is HDTV going to be manditory for broadcsaters, the kinds of diaplays available, what type of display is best for your application and should you get an integrated HDTV or a HDTV monitor (also know as "HDTV Ready", "HDTV Upgradeable" or "HDTV Compatible").

Todays topic is HDTV 101:
We will discuss the basic types of HDTVs & Display types

Check out some of the articles at Electronic House
or the online coure for HDTVs offered by CNET
for additional HDTV information.

Here are a couple of Gadget Goodies for this week from the Think Geek web site designed for Cube Farm Warriors:

The Marshmallow Shooter: An excellent addition to the office arsenal, shooting calamitous confections over 30 feet

The Room Defender: Use it to protect your cubicle or office

Todays Windows XP tip:
Take advantage of the Show In Groups view

If you're managing a Windows XP system that stores a significant number of data files, chances are good that you're using Windows Explorer's Details view to help sort through all of the files.
While the Details view is a great way to look at your data files, Windows XP offers another view that, in many circumstances, can make it even easier to manage your collection of data files: the Show In Groups view.
To enable the Show In Groups view, follow these steps:
1. Launch Windows Explorer.
2. Go to View | Arrange Icons By | Show In Groups.
This view setting divides Windows Explorer's displays into sections with headers that correspond to the sort option that you've selected. For example, if you've sorted files by Name, XP will group them alphabetically by letter. If you've sorted files by Date Modified, XP will group them by time, such as Yesterday, Earlier This Week, Last Week, etc. You can easily change the group sort order by clicking a different column header.

What is a Podcast?

2005-05-30T18:56:00.000-07:00

What is a Podcast? I believe that a podcast is an audio file that is recorded and made available for direct download or via RSS for listening later on a computer or portable audio device like a PDA, laptop, MP3 player, etc. The audio content is created as if the host or hosts were talking directly to the listenening audience about a specific subject or subjects.

Lately there have been a couple of "podcasts" that are just re-broadcastings of previously recorded radio shows made available at a later date or time. This type of "podcast" is not a podcast at all and should not be called one. I don't care that people like Rush Limbaugh or Leo Laporte and others are or will be making their radio shows available on the net, but please don't call them podcasts! Are the traditional podcasters going to be drowned out by the influx of this type of content? I surely hope not!

To give credit where credit is due, Leo does do the "This Week In Tech" podcast and the audio for his blogs, all which are available via RSS, and these are real podcasts and are rightly called such.

Thank you for reading this rant as it is my prerogative to do such, and damn it, I will!

Somebody is Listening!

2005-05-20T21:46:00.000-07:00

I have tracked the downloads for the show this week and by Friday I have had a total of 26 downloads, of which 22 are from unique IP addresses. Wow, that is cool! I actually had one listener email and was asked for not one, but two Gmail acounts. Why not? They are free, and who could not use another email acount, especially since they are at over 2 Gigs of storage right now.

Thanks again to Troy Harmer for his wonderful theme music. I'm sorry to hear that your equipment was taken after a recent show Troy, I hope you get it back. Please go to www.troyharmer.com and check out some of his great music.

I am working on the next podcast and maybe if I get the time, I can put it out earlier than I thought, but it will not be later than the 30th. Hmmm... wedding anniversery weekend... better get it done eralier and maybe shelve it for a couple of days. Well, we'll see.

So, until next time, happy computing.

- Norbert

Finally, Show #001!

2005-05-15T03:16:00.000-07:00

Yes, at last. I finally got the first show done. I'm hoping that I will get some hits on this and get some listener feedback, especially some questions for norbtek.info.

I want to thank Todd Cochrane and Chuck Tomasi for their support and encouragement and Troy Harmer for letting me use his music for a theme song. You can find out more about Troy Harmer and his music at http://www.troyharmer.com/ or at http://www.garageband.com/.

Todays Windows Tip:

Disable the new program highlight feature:

Windows XP user interface enhancements are designed to make the operating system easy to work with for users at all levels. However, some features are distracting for intermediate to advanced users, such as the new program highlight feature.

When you install new applications in XP, the corresponding shortcuts on the Start menu are highlighted so you can quickly locate them. Until you actually use these shortcuts, they remain highlighted. If there are numerous shortcuts on the application's menu, you have to access each one to turn off the highlighting.

Here's how to disable this feature:
1. Right-click the Start button and select Properties.
2. Click the Customize button.
3. On the Advanced tab, deselect the Highlight Newly Installed Programs check box.
4. Click OK twice.

You may need to restart the system or log out of XP for the change to take effect.

Well, till next time...

Time to Roll

2005-05-09T22:17:00.000-07:00

Well, I had a successful test #2. I got some good feedback on the podcast. Sound levels seem to be where they need to be. So with that, I will get the first "production" version ready for recording and delivery for Monday the 16th if not sooner. The working title for the podcast will be "The norbtek.info Pocast" unless something else comes up. Hey, how about having the listeners come up with something... well, how about I just try to get the darn podcast out first, then maybe work on a different title.

I feel great about this, now for some content...

Nortek,info Podcast Test Show #2

2005-05-07T00:27:00.000-07:00

Well I finally got around to the second podcast test. It took several starts and a lot of butterflies. Why I don't know because its not like I'm on live radio or something. Anyway, download the podcast and let me know what you think. I could use some constructive critisim in the technical sense of the podcast, audio levels, how I sounded infront of the mic, what ever. I know the content is kind of lame, but I'm going tohave to just work on that on a "on the job" type of thing.

But I prommised some show notes and here they are (it is?). All I had was the one tip on Extended Security for File Sharing that I got from TechRepublic.com.

Extend security options beyond Simple File Sharing

Simple File Sharing is helpful to inexperienced users, but many advanced users find it too limiting. In fact, you can take advantage of more flexible editors if you disable Simple File Sharing.
Right-click on a file or folder, choose Properties, and select the Security tab. Here are some features available on the Security tab that aren't available with Simple File Sharing:
• Assign individual permissions, such as Read, Write, Modify, and Full Control for every user and/or group.
• See fine-grained permissions for each file.
• Change the permissions on all child objects and prevent the inheritance of permissions from the parent.
• Enable auditing and thus track information, including what's happening with the files and who's changing them.
• Display effective permissions for a user and/or group on each file and/or folder.
• Display and change ownership of files and folders.
In addition, you'll find the following options on the Sharing tab:
• Provide a comment for the share.
• Specify the maximum number of users that are allowed to access the share at the same time.
• Set individual permissions for each user and/or group.
• Configure caching settings for clients using the shared folder from the network.

Oh yeah, I wanted to mention that the theme music for the show is courtesy of Troy Harmer. You can find more of his stuff at Garageband.com. Thanks Troy for the great music.

norbtek success stories

2005-04-25T21:37:00.000-07:00

Greetings,

Recently, norbtek performed two cleanings on user’s Windows OS machines. The first machine is connected to the internet only occasionally and via dial-up. It had become tainted with spyware which caused the system to slow down and bug the user to play games and use other application that they did not intend to install. I went through the Windows Control Panel and Remove Software to eliminate as much as I could. I was not able to upgrade the OS to SP2, nor was I able to install any anti-virus or anti-spyware programs due to the low bandwidth. That will take another trip with a CD or USB thumb drive with the necessary software.

The second user has high-speed cable internet and spyware problems, along with a serious lack of RAM. The lack of RAM on a Windows XP based system makes the system use the Hard Drive as a temporary storage area for the physical memory. It writes data to the hard drive so much that is slows the system down dramatically. So with low system memory and with the abundance of spyware made the system so clogged that it took minutes for a program to load into memory and run. Also this user had the anti-spyware program begin scanning at start up.

So I performed a serious cleaning and installed Microsoft's Anti-spyware and Firefox. I instructed the user to put in more memory to speed up the computer and put a router inbetween their cable modem and computer to minimize attacks and worms. The user ended up putting in an extra 512 MB and the router and the system flies. No time to make coffee after starting the computer anymore.

Norbtek podcast test

2005-04-24T20:10:00.000-07:00

This is a test of the norbtek podcast

2005-04-22T22:14:00.000-07:00

Well, its been a while since I made my first post. I have not yet tried the email posting for this site. That should be cool. I have made some strides in the podcasting venture that I am persuing. I have purchased a real microphone from Radio Shack that should help a lot. I finally got Audacity to work the way it should. O.K., I was the one who had to work correctly. The technology did exactly what it was programmed to do, I just did not understand what the parameters that I needed were.

I got a skype account, it is of course: norbtek. Nice and simple. I also have implemented a listener (subscriber) line via K7.net, and it also comes in handy for leaving myself note while I am driving so I don't have to pull over to write it down. Oh yeah, the number for that is 1-206-888-NORB (6672). Yep, it is a long distance toll call, but if you have a cell plan with unlimited long distance or even free long distance during certain hours, it should com in handy.

I'm hoping to have my podcast hosted for free if I'm kucky. I have a few things to check out as I don't want to have to pay for a years service only to have it never get enough traffic to make it worth it. But I guess it will be a reflection on the content. As we know the internet is all about the content. I just have to create a good show.

I am putting together some items to talk about on the show and trying to get myself some resources for future ideas. Since I will be taling about everything from cell phones to HDTV to digital cameras and even non-electronic technology like possibly nifty kitchen gadgets or what have you. Everything that I find interesting will be discussed here, not just the same old tech news.

So I hope everyone finds the show and at least gives it a fair shake. I will try my hardest to deliver and make the podcast not suck.

later...