Every Tuesday morning between 9 and 9:30 am eastern time I will join Brian Katrek for "Tech Tuesday" on Sirius/XM PGA Tour Radio - Channel No. 93
We'll talk gadgets and tech, on and off the course.
Saturday, January 25, 2014 at 8:11AM For an abbreviated episode of "Tech Tuesday", Rick joins Brian and John Maginnes to talk from the 2014 PGA Merchandise Show.
Rick talks about one of his favorite products- EyeLoc.
Monday, September 30, 2013 at 8:38PM * TOPICS - Keeping our computer-based equipment, information and services protected from unintended or unauthorized access, change or destruction. Computer security also includes protection from unplanned events and natural disasters.
There are Cyber Threats everywhere! For individuals and businesses
* If you are an individual:
1. Pick a good password. A combination of letters and numbers, capital and small case
If you get message that a particular website could be infected or poses a threat, don't go to it.
2. Don't open emails with attachments when you don't know what they are
3. SMiShing - new threat
Cybercriminals use Short Message Service (SMS) (text message) to contact users and ask them to click on a malicious link,” he explained. “Once clicked, a malicious app download is triggered, taking the user to an infected website.”This website then enables attackers to collect login information, passwords and other confidential data.
*If you are an organization or business
4. Choose infrastructures designed from the start with security in mind, rather than trying to layer security on top of existing, legacy systems.
Make sure operators and security analysts clearly understand the new networks and put common policies in place. For instance, you want to allow only approved and certified applications and other software onto the system. - Basics
Plan for round-the-clock monitoring to spot and prevent intrusion. It can be tough to identify unauthorised activity in a legacy network; it's easier with a new system.
5. Make sure your employees are trained to spot a cyber attack or cyber threat
6. Lock holes in your network
Look at security holes within the organization. As technology becomes more complex and specialized, companies tend to rely on their IT providers to block access from outsiders, without realizing that security dangers are lurking between their own walls. Consequently, employees, vendors and even suppliers to vendors leak data, provide unauthorized access to others and engage in other risky behaviors that compromise the company, whether or not they intend to. And cybercriminals know about these security flaws all too well, said Rob Fitzgerald, data security expert and president of the Lorenzi Group, a data security provider.
* Final word: People, processes and technologies must all work in synch or the whole system will be vulnerable.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013 at 9:10AM Rick and Brian talk about getting your news online and kid-safe news websites.
Rick also has a giveaway for listeners, but the deadline is Friday at noon. So get listening.
* TOPICS - 2 Ways you can get breaking and current news on Twitter and some Kid Safe news websites. And win a iPad Sleeve from Mujjo
I, like many found out about the San Francisco airline crash a few weeks ago on Twitter. More and more people are getting their news via a Twitter feed.
1. Use "Twitter Lists"
Twitter gives users the option to build a list of selected accounts so that they can view them all at once. This list can be designed to showcase related, newsy information.
By building a list that is full to the brim with awesome news resources and powerful journalists, you can have a customized partial Twitter feed that is full to the brim with great information. Twitter lists are easy t oset up.
2. Follow The Top Twitter News Sources
Of course, there’s the question of who to follow and who to add to your Twitter lists. Fortunately for you, I’ve composed a list of a few decent Twitter accounts which will help you find news and get leads to news stories.
Associated Press
BBC Breaking News
BBC World News
Breaking News
CNN
CNN Breaking News
NBC
Your local TV News Stations
*** Safe News Sites for Kids
Child-Safe Websites Where Kids Can Catch All The Recent News
I probably picked up my first newspaper at the age of seven or eight and haven’t stopped since. It started with reading the comic strips first and then the sports page and that too hasn’t stopped since. Of course, I did catch all the happenings between pages one and last too.
Sadly, what also hasn’t changed is the cliché – there’s no news like bad news. I don’t think a diet of bad news is quite right for children before they hit the right age. Agreed, you cannot keep the bad winds away but just like using parental controls to limit their exposure to the Internet, you can monitor the news they consume too. We have looked at some excellent email apps for kids and we have also taken you through some child-friendly ways to search the web. Now, let’s look at some child-friendly ways to get your children into the habit of reading the news on the web. Who said good parenting was an easy job!
Here There Everywhere - www.herethereeverywhere.com
Here There Everywhere attempts to mix the best of news with the interestingness of storytelling. Designed for elementary and older school-aged children, the child-safe news website can be read by children alone or with a guardian. The site is colorful but neat and the news span across topics from health and education to offbeat pieces. Of special interest could be the “You Ask” columns where kids are encouraged to comment
Time for Kids www.timeforkids.com
t’s always worth a read with its comprehensive coverage on all the recent news children might be interested in. Quite a few of the “journalistic” news pieces are actually written by kid reporters, so that’s something to aspire to if your child is interested in the field. Time for Kids also covers special topics in many mini-sites which are generally around a common theme like this one which is on the Women History Month. Articles are written in a clear, easy to understand voice and illustrated well.
Nick News
Nick News is the online face of the show Nick News with Linda Ellerbee hosted on Nickelodeon since 1992. The original show’s format fosters discussions on world topics and is a very good educational platform for both children and teenagers…not to mention adults too. Nick News on the web takes the stories and features them online along with other current topics of the day. A range of issues are covered and politically sensitive topics (like the recent Zimmerman trial) are not barred. The TV show is the longest-running kids’ news show in television history and has collected 20 Emmy Awards during its run.
Tween Tribune - For all ages www.tweentribune.com
Tween Tribune is a daily news sites for kids, tweens and teens. From K-4 to teachers and parents, everyone can use this site to find relevant content to teach and learn from. The news stories are thoughtfully divided into age groups taking into consideration reading and comprehension levels. The stories are selected by professional journalists.
*** A giveway this week - Win a Mujjo iPad case/sleeve
A Mujjo iPad sleeve www.mujjo.com
High quality, beautiful sleeve for your iPad
Follow @RickRoswell, @BKatrek and @MujjoStore to win
Tuesday, July 16, 2013 at 8:38AM Rick joins Brian this week to talk about one of the best golf destinations in the U.S. and they talk smartphone camera tips and the British Open.
* TOPICS - Where is Rick? and ... Tips for taking better pictures with your smartphone and tbe Open Championship App
*Rick is playing golf somewhere this week....
* It's Mississippi and www.visitmississippi.org
SMARTPHONE CAMERA Tips
1. Crop, Don't Zoom
Many smartphone camera offer a digital zoom function, but you're almost always best served by pretending it doesn't exist. Even in the liveview preview, you'll be able to see how noticeably your picture blurs when you zoom. Don't zoom.
2. Edit, Don't Filter
If you want your images to be unique, the last thing you should do is paint them with the same filters that literally millions of other people are using. For the record, I'm not anti-Instagram. I think the sharing element is fantastic, but the the filters aren't that great.
3. Fake Blur
Depth of field will always be one of the biggest challenges for a smartphone camera. Wide angle lenses and tiny sensors make any substantial background blur difficult to achieve. But faking it almost always makes th
If you want the viewer to focus on one specific thing, make it the central object in the frame. Try to keep your backgrounds as simple as possible, even if it means asking your subjects to turn around or move a few steps back. It's worth it.
4. Ditch The Flash
The problem with many smartphone flashes is that they don't actually, well, flash. They're glorified LED flashlights. They are bright, but the color temperature can be gross and they miss one of the primary duties of a strobe: freezing the action in the frame. The actual "flash" duration is much too long, so you end up with an image that's both blurry and terribly-lit.
Often, your best bet is to seek out another light source. It likely won't be perfect or even flattering,.
5. Watch The Lens Flare
Adding lens flare is another trend in mobile photography right now that's getting more overdone by the minute. But, this one can actually work for you if you do it the natural way.
If you want to control the flare in your shot, move the sun (or whatever bright light source is causing the refraction-based mayhem) around in the frame. As you get closer to the edge, you'll often see the flare spread out and become more prominent
****The British Open App - Free app for the 142nd Open Championships
Put out by the R&A for your iphone and Android
Brings you live scoring, video highlights, latest news, weather updates and Championship statistics for Muirfield.
Combined with an interactive course guide, player profiles, live radio and video highlights the app will bring you close to the action.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013 at 9:37AM Rick joins Brian, who is at the Dogwood Invitational this week to do a "Gadget Grab Bag" and they are also joined by one of the top amateur golfers in the country in Peter Williamson.
Show notes:
* TOPICS - No particular theme this week, but Rick takes a look at some of the latest gadgets and tech that have crossed his desk for a "Gadget Grab Bag"
1. iOpener - Open your garage door with an app on your iPhone
From : http://www.hiqautomation.com. $99
The iOpener, launched June 1, uses Bluetooth and not radio frequencies to open a garage door with a smartphone.
Uses an attachment to your existing garage door lifter and a free app to control the movements of the door.
The convenience is one thing, but safety was also part of the plan. The iOpener comes with a security feature that allows individuals to give a code to whomever they want, so they have access to their garage. Up to eight devices can be paired to a single iOpener.
Bluetooth technology eliminates the problem some homeowners have with radio interference randomly opening their doors 
2. PowerRocks Tarot - Credit Card sized charger
www.powerrocks.com - $35
The Tarot is the thinnest Powerbank in the world. Just a tad thicker than a credit card and fits in your wallet
It has an unique business card design making it convenient to carry in your pocket or purse
Compatible with Apple products and other universal Micro USB charging ports
*Carries 1 full phone charge
3. ScanStik - A scanner the size of a pen $159.00
www.planon.com
ScanStik, the world’s smallest full page color scanner. Pen-sized, fast and easy to use, ScanStik is the most compact, sleek designed full page color scanner available on the market. It’s perfect for scanning on the go, at work, home, or school – an “Office in a Pocket.” Unlike other pen-sized scanners that only scan a line at a time, the light-weight ScanStik scans the whole page at once just like a flat-bed scanner, but without the bulk. For even more convenience, ScanStik also features a MicroSD memory slot that holds thousands of image scans from 150 to 600 dpi resolution in color or black and white.
4. Golf Pain Away - Topical pain relief
–Pain Away, LLC, a leader in natural formulation topical pain relief products including Golf Pain Away
Suitable for users of all ages, provides topical pain relief for arthritis, neck and back pain, muscular aches and pains and golf and sports related injuries. Developed in Australia using ancient Aboriginal bush herbal formulations, Pain Away utilizes a proprietary triple maturation manufacturing process that blends four, all natural, ingredients with complementing therapeutic benefits.
Nick Price, World Golf Hall of Famer and 2013 President’s Cup Captain, serves as Golf Pain Away’s worldwide ambassador. “I haven’t enjoyed playing golf as much as I have enjoyed now playing pain free with Golf Pain Away. After using Golf Pain Away, I will never play golf without it again,” stated Price.
5. ATC Chameleon - Helmet type Cam from Oregon Scientific $199
Similar to the Go Pro - shoots in front of you and behind - two cameras
Ever wish you had eyes in the back of your head? The Oregon Scientific ATC Chameleon action cam gives you just that ability. With two cameras -- one on the front, and one on the back -- you can record your comings and goings simultaneously.
6. Pokket Mini DJ Mixer ($99.00)
www.pokketmixer.com
More and more people are recording radio shows and music right on their iPhones and iPads. This is a mixer you can take with you.
The Pokket Mixer is a small DJ mixer, maybe about the size of a smartphone that you can connect any of your devices that play mp3s or audio files to.
You can connect a laptop, iPhone, iPod, or tablet and more.
Improves audio quality. each channel has settings like hi, mid and lo EQs, and there also is a master volume control that is pretty sensitive. I like that.
I'm impressed by the number of controls and variable on the mixer. I was glad to see an EQ sensitivity button, a PFL select option and a volume control right in front of you for your headphones.