Rich Levin's PC TALK RADIO

The Official Agent of Change

RBLevin@RBLevin.net (Rich Levin) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 19:05:11 PDT

Mobile phones are changing the way we communicate and compute. They truly are the official agents of change for the 21st century.

And Wirefly might just be the official agent of change for how we buy mobile phones. I spoke with Scott Ableman, Chief Marketing Officer at Wirefly, about the company's recently released list of what they say are the industry's "top 10 best camera phones."

We also talk about the latest trends in mobile phone technology, how to choose a camera phone, and how buying a phone online (and through Wirefly) differs from dealing with your neighborhood mobile phone store.

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Twitter Nation

RBLevin@RBLevin.net (Rich Levin) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:27:17 PST

A recent study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project finds we're quickly becoming a nation of tweeters. Depending upon whose numbers you believe, the microblogging system now has over 10 million users, and is now the third largest (read: most popular) social network, behind MySpace and Facebook.

Twitter is popular among techies and media types, but is it really a useful tool for the average user? I asked PC Magazine editor-in-chief Lance Ulanoff that question, and that sparked a discussion about Twitter and the latest social media trends.

Tune in to PC TALK to hear what the sage of PC Magazine thinks about Twitter, the basics of social media, and where all this tweeting might be taking us.

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Consumer Reports Picks the Best Digital Cameras of 2008

RBLevin@RBLevin.net (Rich Levin) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 14:18:47 PST

The editors of Consumer Reports made some surprising discoveries in their recent test of 77 digital cameras on sale this holiday season.

In this edition of PC Talk, Terry Sullivan, associate editor of Consumer Reports, shares the test team�s findings, and provides buying advice for anyone giving or angling for a new digicam this year.

Here�s a peek: One of the best digital point-and-shoot cameras costs under $150, and comes from a company nobody associates with photography. More startling still, one of the most expensive famous-maker digital SLRs produced the worst images of all cameras tested.

Capture some bottom-line take-aways in my interview with Terry Sullivan, and then read the December issue of Consumer Reports for the full test results.

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A Captivating Approach to E-Learning

RBLevin@RBLevin.net (Rich Levin) — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 11:40:09 PDT

When Adobe asked me if I'd like to take a look at their new 3.0 version of Captivate, I assumed I'd be testing a tool that captures screen output and saves it as a Flash video. That's because, when I glanced at Adobe's Web page for Captivate, I saw it described as a tool for "screen recording and demos" and "presentations."

It turns out Adobe Captivate 3 is that, and a lot more. While you can use it to create screen videos and demos, you can also use it to create simulations, interactive computer-based training sessions, tests and quizzes, and more -- without having to learn scripting or video editing skills.

I spoke to R.J. Jacquez, Senior Product Evangelist at Adobe Systems, about this new Captivate release, as well as how Captivate works with Adobe�s other e-learning solutions (such FrameMaker, RoboHelp, and Acrobat, Presenter, and more).

If you only think of PDFs or Flash when you think of Adobe, you'll enjoy this expansive interview with Jacquez, which explores reasons for using an e-learning platform over traditional video capture for training and demos.

We also touch on the broader Adobe story, e-learning in general, and the mythology of competing against Microsoft and Apple.

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From pen computing to the computerized pen

RBLevin@RBLevin.net (Rich Levin) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 08:11:19 PDT

Are you ready for a new computing paradigm? The folks at Livescribe think so. Their new Pulse pen goes beyond pen computing, tablet computing, and PDAs to usher in an entirely new way to work: the computer pen.

Instead of creating a computer capable of dealing with digital ink (such as a tablet PC or smartphone), Livescribe�s Pulse is a pen that�s capable of dealing with data. The user interface is paper, and you can program the pen by tapping on icons printed on special paper or cards.

In addition to being able to record everything that�s written with it, it can index the data, attach audio files to hand-written notes (e.g., meeting or lecture audio can be connected to notes), and much more. It�s the physical manifestation of some really big thinking by Livescribe�s engineers.

But does it work in the real world, or is the Pulse simply a cool gadget that nobody really needs? Listen to my interview with Livescribe founder and CEO Jim Marggraff, who fields some tough questions based on my experience with the Pulse.

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How to Get a FREE College Education

RBLevin@RBLevin.net (Rich Levin) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 08:09:52 PDT

Instead of sitting on your butt playing Halo and slugging Mountain Dew, you could be collecting thousands from wealthy benefactors who want to foot the bill for your college education.

My next guest, scholarship coach Ben Kaplan, qualified for over two dozen scholarships totaling $90,000, and used the cash to cover the cost of his Harvard degree. He says his technique can work for anyone, even those whose grades aren�t the greatest.

Tune in to find out what you need to do to kick your college fund into high gear.

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The Many Nuances of PDF Converter Professional

RBLevin@RBLevin.net (Rich Levin) — Thu, 29 May 2008 19:07:35 PDT

There are many ways to produce PDFs, but only one that balances the power of Adobe Acrobat with the ease of use and low cost average knowledge workers need: Nuance�s PDF Converter Professional, recently upgraded to version 5.

Nuance says it�s �the only complete PDF solution designed specifically for business users,� and I think they�re right. I spoke with Mike Angelo, senior product manager for PDF Products in Nuance's Imaging division, about the new PDF Converter Pro, and how it�s used to create, convert, and edit PDF files.

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Crunch Time for the Candidates: TechCrunch Endorses Obama, McCain

RBLevin@RBLevin.net (Rich Levin) — Thu, 29 May 2008 19:08:00 PDT

Technology education. Immigration and H1B visas. The �Digital Divide� (that�s still with us?). Identity theft and fraud. Mobile spectrum auctions and rules. China. Internet taxation. Network neutrality. IP (the cranial kind). Renewable energy.

These are some of the issues the editors of TechCrunch say we should be using as a litmus test to choose the next President. And based on their analysis of the candidate�s stands and proposed policies on these issues, they offer us two endorsements: Obama and McCain.

Who would have known that Obama actually has a tech policy? Or that McCain understands the potential of the right-click (I still believe he has his secretary print out his e-mail).

Regardless of where you stand on the candidates or the issues, be they tech or non-tech, my discussion with TechCrunch editor Erik Shonfeld sheds light on the political issues Silicon Valley insiders are most concerned about.

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After the Ordeal: CES and Macworld Retrospective

RBLevin@RBLevin.net (Rich Levin) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:21:50 PDT

Ben Patterson is Yahoo�s "Gadget Hound." He sniffs out the latest and greatest tech toys so you don�t have to -- and he did a lot of sniffing around 2008 International CES this month.

You�ve read the news that came out of CES. Now go behind the scenes with Ben Patterson, as we discuss cool stuff he saw that didn�t hit the radar, but should have.

Ben also shares his take on recent news out of Macworld Expo, and joins a lively discussion on the long-term future prospects for Microsoft and Apple.

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Blog Different

RBLevin@RBLevin.net (Rich Levin) — Thu, 29 May 2008 19:12:32 PDT

Pundits vilified Chrysler when the company launched The Firehouse, its corporate blog, in 2005. The reason: Chrysler executives opted to make the blog available only to bona fide journalists.

By daring to experiment with a private journalists-only blog, Chrysler was "completely misunderstanding the point of a corporate weblog," according to AdRants� Steve Hall. B.L. Ochman wrote that Chrysler�s "move ... shows how completely clueless they are about blogging," in her What�s Next blog. TheFirehouse.biz, the pundits widely opined, was doomed to fail.

Not. Fast forward to 2008. The Firehouse is alive, well, regularly tapped by the media, and directly responsible for a string of media hits that have helped polish the automaker�s public image.

Find out how and why Chrysler�s bloggers, former journalists all, bucked conventional wisdom to blaze their own path in the blogosphere, and the rewards that apparent risk delivered in the end.

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A PC Magazine Christmas

RBLevin@RBLevin.net (Rich Levin) — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 09:06:17 PDT

The digital clock is ticking. There are only 3 shopping days left until Christmas. And there's no better time to check in with PC Magazine's executive editor Jeremy Kaplan, and get his take on the best gifts for geeks for Xmas 2007.

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A Random Approach to Fighting Drug Use in Schools

RBLevin@RBLevin.net (Rich Levin) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 08:36:23 PDT

Dr. Bertha Madras is the Deputy Director for Demand Reduction at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, in the Executive Office of the President.

She called in from her Washington office after her visit to Philadelphia, where she addressed educators at a regional drug prevention summit on random student drug testing.

We discussed drug use trends among American students, and the issues surrounding random student drug testing, including privacy, treatment, funding, and effectiveness.

Depending how you run the numbers, as few as 1,000 to as many as 14% of schools are randomly testing students for drug use. Either way you slice it, most schools are not testing for drug use.

Should they be? Here's your chance to get up to speed on the issue.

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Kodak's Digital Vision: From Script to Silver Screen to MP4

RBLevin@RBLevin.net (Rich Levin) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 08:36:08 PDT

Here's something that might surprise you. Kodak recently unveiled the future of digital movies. The surprise? It's a 35mm color negative film.

Few people realize that nearly all the professional movies and TV shows we enjoy are shot on film, converted to digital, and edited down on computers. While digital rules the consumer space, pros prefer film.

Find out why during my interview with Kelly Mandarano, Communications Director for Entertainment Imaging at Kodak. We discuss Kodak's new VISION3 500T color negative film, a new emulsion platform boasting technical breakthroughs that expand creative options for professional and amateur moviemakers alike.

This discussion is packed with eye-opening, brain-expanding information you simply won't hear anywhere else.

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Let's Make a Deallocker

RBLevin@RBLevin.net (Rich Levin) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 08:35:33 PDT

When chocolate met peanut butter, the result was Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. When social networking met coupon clipping, the result was Deallocker, a new Web service that provides discount coupon codes for many of the Web's top e-stores.

Listen in to my conversation with founder and CEO Jonathan Lieberman to learn how you can use Deallocker to get a better price when you checkout at your favorite online store.

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A Mouse in the House

RBLevin@RBLevin.net (Rich Levin) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 14:49:29 PDT

Some of you have read my review of the new Slimblade Bluetooth Trackball Mouse from Kensington. For those of you who missed it, I'll sum the review up in three words: I love it.

The company best known for it's big Macintosh trackball has become a leading input device innovator in the PC arena. I dare say Kensington's new Slimblade lineup outclasses anything from Microsoft's or Logitech's current lineup, and establishes Kensington as the company to beat in the input device space.

I invited Juan Ernesto Rodriguez, Kensington's global product manager for computer input devices, to tell us how and why the company developed the Slimblade line, and what the future holds for computer mice, keyboards, and other input devices.

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Undercover with "The Fraudfather"

RBLevin@RBLevin.net (Rich Levin) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 08:39:31 PDT

Many people with a lot to say about online fraud aren't actually security experts. They're marketers. Today we leave the marketers behind and speak to a genuine online security innovator: Ori Eisen, the godfather of online fraud prevention.

He got his start as an intelligence analyst with the Israeli Defense Force, after which he signed with VeriSign, at the dawn of the e-commerce age. Online fraud was rampant.

Eisen went on the offensive, implementing never-before-seen software and best practices that cut fraud at VeriSign by 85% in 90 days. From there he went to American Express, where he again shut the door on the bulk of online fraud.

In the process, Eisen developed a security model dubbed "the 41st parameter," which operates unlike any anti-malware app you've ever seen. In fact, even systems that have no anti-malware software installed cannot compromise a bank or online store that's managing all 41 parameters.

With holiday cash registers ringing up a record number of fraudulent sales, the timing couldn't be better to talk with Ori Eisen, "the Fraudfather," about the state of Internet security. We didn't cover the usual ground, so don't expect to hear the typical dog and pony discussion about phishing, ID theft, and evildoers.

Rather, Eisen talks about how fundamental flaws in the Internet's design encourage fraud, and why all countermeasures have failed to stamp out fraud. He also discusses a credible doomsday scenario for 2008, which he says is already unfolding.

Lastly, I give him an opportunity to explain his "41st parameter" approach. Decide for yourself if Eisen's technique is a pie-in-the-sky solution, or the best idea yet for combating online fraud.

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PC Magazine's "Connected Home" Show Preview

RBLevin@RBLevin.net (Rich Levin) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 17:25:24 PDT

Lance Armstrong has nothing on Lance Ulanoff, the editor-in-chief of PC Magazine. Armstrong only had to win the Tour de France. Ulanoff has to train viewers how to use a Wi-Fi network to share songs, videos, and photos throughout their home -- and do it all in less than an hour.

That's because this week Ulanoff is hosting the �Connected Home� show, a live Webcast that aims to take viewers from clueless to clever, in just 60 minutes. Can Ulanoff do it without taking steroids? Will he resort to pressing F1?

Tune in to this edition of PC Talk for the pre-game show, as we interview Ulanoff about the upcoming Webcast, and also get his PC picks and pans for the upcoming holiday season.

We also discuss the state of PC convergence, the challenges of technology publishing in the social media age, and announce the Web address where viewers can tune in to the Connected Home show.

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Rescue Me, Rescue My PC

RBLevin@RBLevin.net (Rich Levin) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 07:01:17 PDT

There's one way to know who makes the most reliable computers: Ask someone who's fixed 46,000 computers over the last year. That's just what we did, and the results are noteworthy.

David Milman is CEO of Rescuecom, a national computer repair and consulting franchise. His company made 46,000 service calls over the past 12 months, and compiled the service data to create a �reliability index� that ranks reliability by brand name.

Company officials say they have no allegiance to any vendor, that the data is unbiased, and offered as a public service. Tune in to find out which vendors Milman says are tops in reliability, according to Rescuecom's study.

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The ThinkPad Turns 15

RBLevin@RBLevin.net (Rich Levin) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 11:34:51 PDT

IBM introduced the ThinkPad 15 years ago. Today the venerable notebook line's tradition continues under the Lenovo brand.

One of the people responsible for ThinkPad and other PC industry innovations is inventor Howard Locker, Lenovo's director of new technology for desktop and mobile systems.

We talked about the past, present, and future of mobile PC technology. We also discussed some of Howard's fundamental contributions to the PC architecture, starting with his involvement in the development of the original IBM PC XT.

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Online Advertising Expo

RBLevin@RBLevin.net (Rich Levin) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:38:39 PDT

Online advertising continues to evolve beyond the banner ad, and the pace of that evolution is increasing.

One of the companies driving the competition for new ways to grab readers' attention is Exponential, one of the top online ad networks. The company unveiled its EchoTopic contextual advertising service at the recent OMMA Expo, in New York.

Before the launch, I spoke with Alistair Goodman, Exponential's vice president of strategic marketing about the new technology, online advertising trends, doing battle with Google and other ad giants, and the debate over increasingly annoying online advertising.

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A Touching Interview

RBLevin@RBLevin.net (Rich Levin) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 06:24:04 PDT

Some people see a future with next-generation touch pads embedded everywhere, where we control technology without typing or mousing around. Instead, we'd use our fingers -- all 10 of them -- to control computers, phones, music players, ATMs, teleconferencing, GPS, and more.

One of the people blazing a path to that future is Dr. John Feland, the Human Interface Architect for Synaptics, one of the industry's most influential developers of touch technologies. Dr. John led the team that developed the Onyx Mobile Concept, a next-generation mobile phone with a multi-touch interface that illustrates where man/machine interaction is headed.

I spoke with Dr. John about the past, present, and future of touch, and learned how the technology works, why it's becoming more popular, and where it might take industrial design and human interaction over the next few years.

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Sunrocket: The Final Call, The Last Word

RBLevin@RBLevin.net (Rich Levin) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:05:11 PDT

Jan Walter was Senior Director of Systems Architecture at Sunrocket, until he was fired for speaking out and standing up for best practices that might have saved the company. Here is his inside story of how one of VoIP's stars went supernova in July, and what this failure signals for the industry.

Sunrocket rocketed to fame as the "no gotchas" Internet telephone service, signing up some 200,000 users. While the pricing, setup, and service appeared to shine, the company was melting down. Its founding dot-com gurus clashed with big-wig telecom pros brought in by VCs, creating a fatal management schism.

One bad decision after another eventually fubar'd the technology and paralyzed the company. The result: an unceremonious shut down, with little warning to customers, and no refunds. Customers who paid in advance for a year of service were out in the cold along with those who signed up days before the company closed. All have have little if any recourse.

Sunrocket's switch is scheduled to be shut off no later than August 5th, 2007. Right now the network is probably running on autopilot, as all personnel were fired. Both Jan and Rich used the zombie network to conduct this interview, resulting in what is certainly one of the last calls to be conducted on Sunrocket. (Violins, please.)

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The Publishing Executive's Conundrum

RBLevin@RBLevin.net (Rich Levin) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 06:09:33 PDT

Is print dead? Are blogs journalism? What do advertisers want? Will social networks and user-generated content eclipse traditional media? These are some of the pressing questions in publishing circles.

And few people have a better perspective on these issues than Rob Yoegel, Vice President/Online Publisher at NAPCO, a Philadelphia publisher that's covered key industry sectors for nearly 5 decades. Sit in as I chat with Rob about the past, present, and future of publishing, both online and offline.

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HDTV: Clear As Mud

RBLevin@RBLevin.net (Rich Levin) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 06:08:55 PDT

Scott Birnbaum, VP of Samsung Semiconductor, checks in to set us straight on the ins and outs of buying a flat-panel TV.

Scott's advice is a must-hear if you're in the market for a new HDTV. Our chat leaves no stone unturned, and provides a thorough briefing on the specs, features, and gotchas in the HDTV market.

Samsung Semiconductor is the second largest semiconductor manufacturer in the world, and the industry's volume and technology leader in DRAM, NAND Flash, SRAM memory, and TFT-LCD panels.

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World War I: Untold Stories

RBLevin@RBLevin.net (Rich Levin) — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 19:08:27 PDT

Narrated by David Carradine, "World War 1: American Legacy" covers forgotten stories of the men and women who served in the war to end all wars, and reminds Americans how their impact is still felt today. Producer/director Mark Bussler discusses his new film, his background, and future projects in a wide-ranging interview.

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