Tag Archives: gaming

PTJ 357: Looking for Satellites

Changes are coming to the way the big app stores do business, the U.S. government spins up a fellowship program for new technologists and children in China get their gaming time regulated — El Kaiser and J.D. roll through the news of the past few weeks with plenty of opinions along the way. El Kaiser also has a public-service warning about a show to avoid and J.D. offers tips for those nervously heading back to the classroom or office before the pandemic wanes. Click right here to join us on PTJ 357!

PTJ 344: Power Plays

Labor Day has been here and gone for weeks now, so El Kaiser and JD get back to business with a pile of news, including the new PlayStation and Xbox consoles arriving on November and recap of Apple’s September event. And because the year is only going to get more intense from here, this week’s episode also offers suggestions for science-fiction television entertainment to temporarily make you forget the current state of this world. Come on along for PTJ 344!

Science-Fiction TV Shows for Escaping Reality

PTJ 291: Walk This Way

There’s been a lot of movement in the tech world the past week — Google employees got to their feet to protest the company’s treatment of women, Apple rolled out new hardware and Facebook got slapped officially with a big fine for misuse of customer data. El Kaiser and J.D. discuss the tech news from the past 10 days or so, and with the U.S. elections looming, also offer a few resources for voters. Roll on over to PTJ 291!

Links to News Stories Discussed This Week

GO VOTE

PTJ 287: Say “Hey,” Kids

If it’s September, Apple has a new iPhone to sell you. El Kaiser and J.D. discuss this year’s crop of gear, along with news from FitBit, Amazon and GoPro.  And, as election season looms closer, J.D. has some advice and links for those who see misinformation on social-media sites and want to stop it from spreading. Buckle up for Episode 287, y’all!

Links to Stories Discussed on This Week’ s Show

Help Stomp Out Fake News

 

PTJ 278: Fun with FragChucks

On this week’s episode, El Kaiser discusses his return to gaming and adventures with hardware, and J.D. explores the world of indoor maps. In tech news this week, Disney marches on to a Fox acquisition, Facebook tries a way to block spoilers, the Dark Net gets busted and this fall’s new Doctor Who series will have its own unique look and sound. Find a cool spot to kick back and spin up PTJ 278!

Links to Stories on This Week’s Show

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint

PTJ 262: Waiting In the Sky

The Space Race is back on — and Elon Musk’s own cherry-red Tesla Roadster is the pace car of the 21st century, having been shot into orbit around the sun by its owner. This week, El Kaiser and J.D. discuss the SpaceX test flight of the Falcon Heavy rocket on February 6th, 2018; check out the video below if you missed the Roadster-flinging launch. Elsewhere in the show, El Kaiser shares his opinion about the idea of R-rated a Star Wars movie and J.D. offers tips on how to find online streaming videos with overdubbed audio descriptions for the blind and those with limited vision. For all this — plus a roundup of the week’s tech news — just blast off Episode 262!

Links to Stories on This Week’s Show

Technology + Accessibility

Video Or It Didn’t Happen

exec-dennisEver wish you could celebrate and share your personal gaming triumphs with others who didn’t happen to be around for the moment of glory? If so, check out the new Plays.tv service that was publicly launched today by the gaming company Raptr.

The Plays.tv software (shown below) includes a video recorder that starts up when you begin playing so you can capture clips of your best moments — and show them off to the world on the Plays.tv site or your favorite social-media outlet. We get the details directly from the source on this week’s episode of Pop Tech Jam, when Raptr chief executive (and former professional gamer) Dennis Fong joins us. Grab the episode now and listen in to the conversation!

9.Sharing Video to Plays_Facebook_Twitter

PTJ 117: Amazon Fires Up El Kaiser’s TV

It’s clear El Kaiser is quietly amassing a collection of streaming set-top boxes that may one day rival his tablet collection. On this week’s episode he gives us his impressions of the Fire TV, Amazon’s flagship media consumption device and his latest gadget acquisition.

Also on this week’s show J.D. helps us keep an eye on our monthly mobile device’s data allowance .

In the news President Barack Obama urges the FCC to keep the Internet open; Alibaba rakes in billions on “Singles Day”; Facebook’s Messenger app is now being used by 500 million people; NASA rents out some space; high-level corporate executives get there computers hacked into over hotel WiFi; Microsoft Office is free tablets and phones; and DARPA works on computer code that writes itself.

PTJ 75: The Scintillating 75th Episode

With the pain of losing Google Reader still fresh and Feedly a disappointment after repeated missteps, El Kaiser looks at RSS feed aggregators. J.D. breaks down the differences between Ultrabooks and notebooks and helps us make the right choice between the two laptop flavors. In the news, a campaign encouraging kids to try computer coding; several technology companies issue a joint statement calling for restrictions on US government spying; Microsoft helps users know when and where their accounts have been used; Google continues to add apps to its Chromecast TV streamer; and predicting weather patterns for Middle Earth.

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint: Choosing Ultrabook or Laptop

ultronTablets may have taken a huge bite out of the laptop market, but some people still need a good old-fashioned portable computer with a decent-sized screen, a full keyboard, the ability to run a standard operating system and plenty of storage room. Fortunately, you still have plenty of models to choose from.

Traditional laptops, once tipping the scales at seven or eight pounds of shoulder-separating weight, are now much sleeker than before. The tiny, cramped netbooks (circa 2009) have given way to bigger netbooks/ultrabooks, with screens and keyboards at a more usable size. Heavy has gotten lighter and smaller has gotten bigger. So what’s the difference now between an ultrabook and a regular laptop — and which one do you need?

A few bullet points:

Ultrabook

  • These slimmed-down computers are usually lighter in weight than regular laptops.
  • They’re meant to be online with plenty of access to cloud storage, so ultrabooks often use solid-state hard drives. These are fast and sturdy — but have less capacity than a standard hard drive for the same price.
  • Ultrabooks typically have longer battery life between charges, thanks to fewer moving parts and energy-efficient mobile processors.
  • Depending on the model you get, ultrabooks can be somewhat cheaper than a full laptop.

Notebook

  • A standard laptop typically offers more storage space than an ultrabook, thanks to a wider use of mechanical hard drives and more configuration options.
  • Many laptops still offer a built-in optical drive for CDs and DVDs.
  • Notebooks are usually more upgradeable for memory, replacement batteries, and so on.
  • If you’re into serious gaming, you can find plenty of notebooks with high-end graphics cards and processors.

As with any device purchase, if you’re shopping around, make a list of all the stuff you need to do, want to do and where you want to do it. Then compare the available models out there until you find a machine that meets your needs.

Some things to consider as you peruse product pages or wander the aisles at Best Buy:

  • If you want to do hardcore gaming or a lot of video editing, perhaps something more robust than an ultrabook is in order here.
  • Sure, solid-state hard drives start up super fast, pop open your applications in a flash and often survive drops better than mechanical hard drives, but they can be expensive and not exactly swimming in space.
  • If you travel a lot, need maximum battery life and already have a sturdy desktop or laptop at home, maybe the lightweight ultrabook is what you need.
  • Sometimes, you can compromise with add-ons. If you really want an ultrabook but still want to rip CDs for your music library, you can buy an external optical drive for less than $80. Got a small solid-state drive? An inexpensive USB external can add a few terabytes.
  • Batteries: Does the computer have a sealed battery or can you easily swap it out yourself with a replacement?
  • Does the computer only do WiFi, or do you have Ethernet, 3G or 4G connectivity options?

Now, all you need is a great pre- or post-holiday sale. A gift card would be totally great, too.