Author: Juan Carlos Bagnell

Juan has been obsessed with consumer electronics since before computers had GUI’s. Out of college he worked on a JIT computing contract which supported DOE facilities in New Mexico. He’s been featured on numerous podcasts and radio shows lending his tech insights. You can also find him in LA directing voice over actors and producing spoken word recording.
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Your Podcast Audio SUCKS! Here are some pro tips to make it a little better…

I work in voice over and spoken word recording, and it’s kinda killing me how many people are still pumping out bad audio for their podcasts.

With all of the radical improvements in our technology, it really does drive home the point that nicer equipment doesn’t guarantee better results. If you’re wanting to produce more professional sounding audio, you’re still going to have to learn the basics of how recording works.

So, in true internet geek fashion, allow me to insult you for a bit while we take a look at some tips to improve your home recording.

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After defeating Net Neutrality, Verizon buys Intel Media Cloud TV services

Verizon-logoThey do move quickly over at Big Red don’t they.

After an appellate court ruled that the FCC didn’t have the authority to enforce net neutrality on data networks, Verizon is announcing plans to buy Intel Media. Intel Media is the wing of Intel working on next generation cloud, TV, and multimedia services. Following their recent acquisition of Edgecast content delivery networks and upLynk’s video encoding technology, it seems pretty clear that Verizon is aggressively working towards expanding their offerings in IPTV, cloud, and streaming services.

Now they also have a pass from the judicial system allowing them to legally prioritize their own services while degrading their competitor’s services. The free market works.

Full Intel PR below.

Continue reading “After defeating Net Neutrality, Verizon buys Intel Media Cloud TV services”

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Editorial: HP’s Catastrophic Mistake – Bringing Windows 7 ‘back by popular demand’…

hp-logoHP has a bold new move to spark customer’s interest in PC’s again. They’re going BACKWARDS! That always works! People love a good nostalgia play!

Announced recently on their site and through an email blitz, HP proudly proclaimed they’re “listening to the consumer” and offering up systems running Microsoft’s last popular OS. It’s a desperate move from a company which has been struggling recently to adapt to a post-PC market. The parallels with Blackberry here are astounding. As BB was caught unprepared for consumers buying pretty smartphones, HP hasn’t been able to figure out their offerings in a world where iPads exist.

Pandering to a media narrative which is all too ready to baselessly criticize Windows 8, HP seems to be banking on the technology “hater” market to pull them out of their slump. You know, that group of people who rail against change and spend TONS of money on things like old laptops. That last sentence was sarcasm by the way. Regardless, I’m sure this will prove a winning strategy for the beleaguered tech firm (also sarcasm).

lenovo 2012-13 salesHere’s the fault in their logic. With all the haterade being dumped on Windows 8, You’d think every manufacturer would be in trouble. As a whole the entire industry is down 15-20% depending on who you ask to track the sales. Unfortunately for those taking glee in Microsoft’s stumble, companies like Asus and Lenovo exist, and both are actually improving their sales during this transition which is unprecedented. Built on the backs of innovative and creative design, Lenovo profits over the 2012/13 fiscal year were up almost 18% over the 2011/12 fiscal year. Embracing Windows 8, and providing consumers innovative products at competitive prices, seems to have worked for Lenovo.

The other major problem with HP’s reasoning is Apple. Continue reading “Editorial: HP’s Catastrophic Mistake – Bringing Windows 7 ‘back by popular demand’…”

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1st Impressions: Hands on Pebble Smart Watch and Android App

We’ve played with the Martian. We’ve spent time with the Gear. We detailed the Toq.

Now it’s time to play with everyone’s favorite Kickstarter success sweetheart! Let’s take a look at Pebble, what the software looks like, how the screen responds to sunlight, and being soaked in water!

Is this the solution for wearing your notifications on your wrist?

Shop for Pebble.

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AT&T Next early phone upgrades now available to all customers!

ATT logoIt has been fun recently watching cell phone carriers do a little more sparring for our business.

AT&T’s version of the fast phone upgrade is now available to all customers, even those already signed on to a two year contract. NEXT allows users to swap to a newer phone for $0 down after being in good standing for six months.

To see if you’re eligible dial *NEW# from your phone, and it’ll check your upgrade-ability. If you’re a phone junky who always wants to have the latest and greatest, AT&T might be making this process easier for you to stay bleeding edge.

Full PR below! Continue reading “AT&T Next early phone upgrades now available to all customers!”

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Pebble App Review: Blockslide 2.0 (with Battery display)

We’re only a couple days into playing with the Pebble, and we have a full video hands on coming soon, but that doesn’t mean we can’t take a look at a few apps for this little wunder-watch.

With all the customization options available, the first thing you notice, a lot of the watch faces aren’t anything special. Mostly just static images with a clock pasted on top. Examining the wares at MyPebbleFaces can be a bit daunting when you first search through the site.

One of the first watch faces I stumbled upon, using the 2.0 BETA firmware on my Pebble, was Blockslide. It has a fun, almost Atari-retro look to the clock, with a date below the time. Instead of the time just updating, smooth animations slide blocks around to usher in new minutes and hours. It’s not only pleasant, but it’s smoother than I thought the Pebble capable of.

One of my pet peeves with Pebble s the lack of a stock battery indicator. Blockslide includes one via wrist flip. Twist your wrist over, and the time will morph into a battery readout for a couple seconds before sliding back to the clock. It looks cool. It looks really cool.

If you’re sporting a Pebble, this is a fun free watchface which has garnered a reaction from everyone I’ve shown it to.
Blockslide 2.0 (for SDK2) on MyPebbleFaces

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Google Chrome for Android and iOS now includes data compression

chrome bandwith management reduce data usage

It’s funny how tech moves in cycles.

When data networks were slow, and our mobile smartphones were far less powerful, we usually could count on unlimited data here in the States, even through the 3G revolution. Companies like Opera would release 3rd party browsers to help reduce data use and to speed up web browsing. Especially during the Windows Mobile days, this was tremendously helpful as web browsing could be somewhat painful on smaller screens and under-powered hardware.

Now we have devices which do a remarkable job of replicating the desktop web browsing experience, on screaming fast hardware, with broadband bandwidth over the air. Unfortunately, all of these improvements came with caps and throttling for most consumers. We don’t necessarily need the speed benefits of compression anymore, but saving a few MB’s while browsing would certainly come in handy.

Rolling out today, Chrome will now offer up data compression for Android and iOS. Once you’ve received the update, go into settings, hit Bandwidth Management, and enable “Reduce Data Usage”. Easy peasy. This wont help reduce data on any of your other apps or services, but if you use the browser, it will be able to reduce your data footprint by up to 50%, while improving your “Safe Browsing” security.

Android users will also receive an update to add website shortcuts to their homescreen directly from the browser menu. Not too shabby.

Check the Google Chrome Blog for the full scoop.

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Spotify Removes Time Limit Caps for Music Streaming

spotify nomorelimits1This one’s short and sweet.

Do you use Spotify? Well now Spotify is removing time limit caps for free accounts across all devices. iOS, Android and through a browser, now all devices have the same access to unlimited music streaming. Super handy.

For those wanting to step up, their premium monthly plans will also remove ads and allow for offline storage, but those of you streaming in your cubicle are in for a treat.

More info at Spotify, or read the PR below:

Continue reading “Spotify Removes Time Limit Caps for Music Streaming”

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