Tech Tuesday on Sirius/XM PGA Tour Radio for 11/5/13 - PGA National and More

* TOPICS - Rick is back from visiting PGA National in Palm Beach and a new gadget and app

Have a listen to this week's segment.

Show Notes:

1. PGA National - $100 Million in Renovations

www.pgaresort.com

Rick had the run of PGA National for 3 days and likes what he sees.
The resume of its Champion Course includes hosting the 1983 Ryder Cup, 1987 PGA Championship, and nearly two decades of the Senior PGA Championship. Currently, it hosts The Honda Classic, one of the PGA Tour's premier events and the first stop on its "Florida Swing."

Additionally, PGA National boasts four other superb layouts. The Palmer is an Arnold Palmer signature course with a subtle nod to the game's Scottish roots. The Squire is a tough test of accuracy and precision, and dubbed "the thinking man's course." The Estates, designed by Karl Litten, is a quick drive from the resort grounds and is also a great play.

"The Fazio"
A recent $100 million renovation included a complete remodel of "The Haig", now The Fazio Course - the resort's original 18-hole layout - by Tom Fazio II. Other enhancements include floor-to-ceiling makeovers of its 379 guest rooms and total overhaul of the 19th hole bar and grill now called "Bar 91."
The Spa is also very "guy friendly".





2.  Golf-X-Cube - Simple Golf Training aid of the Year   $39.00
www.golf-x-cube.com

Basically, the Golf-X-Cube is a light, durable UV-resistant polyamide reinforced cube with an "X" cutout to guide you. There is a hole on the bottom to insert a tee to keep it in place while it is placed in front of you at the range or even on the course.

Keep the Golf-X-Cube between you and the ball as you practice your swing to direct your body into the proper golf stance, with improved posture.
It really does force you to work on your posture.

The Golf-X-Cube's deep green colored top and neon-yellow sides work as a guide to show you when you are swinging with the correct position and setup. If you look at the guide from above and while getting ready for your backswing, the yellow sides should not be visible. If you see yellow sides, you are using too much upper body movement your need to change your positioning. It sounds easy, and it really is.
The great thing about the Golf-X-Cube is that it produces instant results.

 


 
App of the Month
Spark Motion (free) iPad)  Pro version there is a fee -  $5.99 a month

Spark Motion Pro is the first motion analysis app specifically designed for the iPad. Spark Motion Pro was created by professionals in the field for professionals.
With the Spark Motion Pro download, you can record, capture and evaluate movement in an authentic environment at the ease of your fingertips.
Many golf implications,  swing, movements, putting stroke,  injury prevention

Spark Motion Pro is the essential tool for sports performance trainers, medical practitioners, and education professionals! Edit clips, compare videos and reveal documented progression and instantaneous visual feedback to clients, teams, patients, and athletes with simplicity and ease.

Don’t cram all those videos within the limited confines of your iPad. Transfer those space fillers to the all-new Spark Cloud, and store up to 30GB of video data per Spark Motion Pro download. Spark Motion Pro never ceases to Assess. Address. and Impress—and now its basically limitless!

Spark Motion Pro Features include:
30 GB Hippa Compliant Spark Cloud virtual storage
SRV Tool allows for virtual assessments
Improved file management
Video Overlay
Precise and comparative line drawing and measurement tools
Adjustable Postural Grid & Bullseye
Video snapshots
Slow Motion
Frame-by-frame (30 fps)
Side by Side Video Review

Tech Tuesday on Sirius/XM PGA Tour Radio for 10/22/13 - Best Tablets of 2013

Steven is in for Brian this week and we talk tablets.

* TOPICS - Rick is back from Ridgeland, Mississippi where he was covering the Bassmasters Open and we talk tablets

We are going to have some sort of announcement about new iPads today, so Rick and Steven take a look at the "Best Tablets" of 2013.

Have a listen:

Tablets have become so popular so quickly that they're predicted to surpass both laptops and desktops by 2015. Why? Because they're portable enough to take anywhere, and -- thanks to an ever-growing roster of apps -- are versatile enough for work and play. With so many models available, choosing the best tablet comes down to your needs and budget.

Those looking for a device that's affordable and easy to use with one hand should check out 7-inch Android tablets. Quality options start as low as $150. The 7.9-inch iPad mini and the larger 9.7-inch iPad offer the most tablet-optimized apps and the most intuitive interface, but start at $329. Then you have Windows 8 tablets, many of which double as laptops, making them compelling productivity partners. Most Windows tablets are larger, but cheaper 8-inch models are starting to hit the market.

1.  Apple's iPad and iPad Mini - We'll see what gets introduced today.
Faster processor, lighter, better screens?
 

2.  Best Android Tablet: Google Nexus 7
$229

The Google Nexus 7 delivers pure Android 4.3 Jelly Bean goodness along with blazing-fast quad-core performance, long battery life and one of the best screens on the market. The 1920 x 1200, 7-inch display is not only amazingly sharp at 323 PPI, but eye-poppingly colorful and bright enough to be viewed from any angle without image degradtion. The latest Android OS allows users to create child-friendly restricted profiles for the first time while the front and rear cameras provide solid camera images on a device that weighs just 10.2 ounces and lasts over  8 hours on a charge.

3. Polaroid 7" Kid's Tablet
Price: $149

Now little ones can have their own interactive fun! The Polaroid 7-Inch Internet Kids Tablet is loaded with 35 kid-friendly apps and interactive features, as well as 10 Dr. Seuss and Smithsonian interactive books. It has simple parental controls and a safe web browser so theres no wandering into off-limit sites. A kid-safe video player, camera, music player and game arcade provide hours of fun, and the large buttons make it easy to use. The backlit LED screen is crystal clear with a 16:9 aspect ratio. This 8GB tablet is Wi-fi enabled with USB 2.0 connectivity. Stand included.

    Simple parental controls & safe web browser.
    Includes 10 Dr. Seuss and Smithsonian interactive books.
    Preloaded w/over 35 premium apps (full versions).
    Appshop for kids (safely download kid-safe content).
    Camera & music player specially designed for kids.
    Maximum Resolution: 800 x 480
 


4. Best Tablet Value - ASUS MeMO Pad HD 7

How much tablet can you get for $150? A lot more than you might think. A chearp tablet that feels anything but cheap, ASUS's MeMO Pad HD 7 features a colorful 1280 x 800 screen, a powerful quad-core processor, high-quality front and rear cameras, 16GB of internatl storage and a microSD card slot for expansion. Throw in 9 hours and 40 minutes of battery life  and a host of custom Android features and you have one of the best bargains in all of tech.
Price: $150
 


5. Best Tablet for Reading Books - Amazon Kindle Fire HDX

When it comes to eBooks, no one tops Amazon, especially if you're looking for free stuff to read. Both the best tablet its size and the best tablet for entertainment, the 7-inch Kindle Fire HDX gives Amazon Prime members ($79 per year) a host of compelling books, movies and TV shows for free. However, the HDX offers more than just a compelling content library as it provides impressive audio, blazing fast quad-core speeds and a 1920 x 1200 screen that's even better than the Nexus 7's, along with 8 hours and 39 minutes of endurance. A special Mayday button in the interface allows you to get live, video support on the tablet 24/7 while FreeTime allows parents to limit what their kids can do with the tablet.

Starting Price: $229
 

6.  The Wildcard in the fight:  Samsung Galaxy Note 3  - $299

A tablet and a phone

Strong battery life; Gorgeous full-HD screen; Sharp camera; Useful pen apps; Powerful performance
A gorgeous 5.7-inch full-HD display, a fast Snapdragon 800 processor and lots of improvements to the pen experience. It gets better. Verizon's version of the Galaxy Note 3 offers nearly 10 hours of nonstop use on our tests and is capable of next-generation AWS LTE speeds. Then again, the Note 3 is considerably larger than your average smartphone.

 

Tech Tuesday on Sirius/XM PGA Tour Radio for 10/15/13 - Fishing Technology

Rick and Brian talk fishing this week.

- Rick is in Ridgeland, Mississippi this week for the Bassmasters Championships.  Golf and fishing seem to go hand-in-hand. Golfers love to fish and anglers love golf.

* Rick and Brian look at some fishing technology


1.  St. Croix Legend Xtreme  - high tech rod
Price: $390

You could grab any fishing rod for a lake excursion and hope for the best, but this lightweight model, which tips the scale at just 4.9 ounces, is designed for accuracy. The biggest improvement for this year: a new grip that St. Croix mills on a computer numerical control (CNC) machine in its Wisconsin plant. When I used this rod, the grip provided a better sensitivity for accurate casting. The graphite material uses carbon-matte scrim for extra durability and a proprietary coating for weatherproofing
 

2. Castalia Magic Flight 2000 DLX   -  Reel
Price: $147.95

Fishing can learn a few lessons from golf, right? This new open-face reel by Castalia uses dimples on the edge of the spool, similar to a golf ball's, to reduce friction. As you cast, the line touches only the top of each dimple as the line unspools. The lightweight reel weighs only 7.8 ounces. There's a brass pinion gear, six ball bearings, and a rubber knob for an easier grip.

 

3. Garmin echoMAP 70s fish finder
Price: $1050

Available now, this chart-plotter and fish-finder combo by Garmin is intended for serious angling. The echoMAP uses a large, 7-inch screen that is easy to read in direct sunlight. The sonar recorder adjusts for the position of your boat to spot fish. You can mark up to 5000 waypoints, and the ultra-accurate GPS with its 10Hz GPS/GLONASS
Receiver updates 10 times per second.

 
4. Fishpond Westwater Backpack
Price: $160

I'm not against using an old-school tackle box, but they can be cumbersome. This fishing backpack is designed to keep you mobile and focused on the task at hand. The entire pouch is welded using a thermoplastic polyurethane material for durability, and the zippers are waterproof—in heavy rain, the contents will stay dry. The backpack (shown with optional chest pouch for holding quick-access tackle) also has extra straps to keep it secure and in place.
 

5. Hobie Cat Mirage Pro Angler 12 Kayak (www.hobiecat.com) was voted the “Overall Best of Show” new product at iCAST fishing show

The 12-foot kayak has an incredible 500-pound weight capacity. It’s stable enough for stand-up fishing, stows six fishing rods, has plenty of tackle storage space, a “live well-ready” storage compartment, can accommodate a sail, and will quickly accept sonar fish-finder electronics. It has a comfortable seat designed for all-day fishing, and is powered by special “Turbo Fins” that are underneath the kayak and driven with bike-like peddles using an angler’s legs. Thus arms and hands are free for casting, landing fish, etc. It retails for about $2,500.

6. Columbia Sportswear - Fishing wear

Columbia Sportswear, which for years has been at the forefront of innovation in fishing outerwear, introduced a new line of “Omni-Freeze ZERO” clothing that effectively lowers skin temperature as a person sweats.

The company’s “Drainmaker” footwear also looks to be a winner, as the shoes offer plenty of skid-proof sole comfort, and work to keep feet dry.

 

Tech Tuesday on Sirius/XM PGA Tour Radio for 10/8/13 - Tech Trends

* TOPICS - Rick is Macon, GA this week as the media coordinator of the ButlerCars.com Tennis Classic of Macon. A women's pro tennis tournament, on a circuit kind of like the Symetra Tour is to women's golf
Women players ranked 85-300 in the world are participating

* Rick and Brian will look at some tech trends on the horizon....


1.  The Demise of the Desk Top Computer...

Still around, but now used for "heavy computing" - work stations, app developers, programmers.
We are a "mobile society" that is why we love out laptops, tablets, and smartphones
For the fifth quarter in a row, traditional desktops have seen a decline in sales globally. 
The past 10 years have seen U.S. consumer desktop PC sales shaved nearly in half, according to researcher Gartner.

2.   Free Wi-Fi for everyone. 

Towns are cities are slowly embracing this initiative.  Free Wi-Fi is popping up in cities all over the country. Soon there will be free universal Wi-Fi everywhere
http://www.techguysmartbuy.com/2013/09/nyc-to-free-wi-fi-by-december-in-select-areas.html

3. Augmented Reality

3D, but so much more
CrowdOptic is a company on the forefront of Augmented Reality and focus-based analytics
Augmented Reality is the interaction of superimposed graphics, audio and other enhancements over a real-world environment displayed in real-time. A key challenge in cyber-physical systems is that users often can’t see the cyber information they need in the real-world setting. For example, as construction workers walk around a site, they can’t see the 3D building plan for the project directly overlaid on the walls in front of them to determine if they are built as planned. Augmented reality technologies enable these workers to reduce costly mistakes by visualizing what they are building atop what actually exists in the physical world. Retailers are currently experimenting with augmented reality to get more customers into the stores by allowing shoppers to ‘see’ the clothes on them without having to actually try them on. Some of these apps are a bit gimmicky now, but have the potential to change how we shop, train for new skills, game, build, and make other important decisions.

 
 
4.  Crowdsourcing and Crowdfunding campaigns will get more popular

More and more people, organizations, bands, tv and movie producers are putting their ideas up on sites like Kickstarter or Indiegogo or creating their own websites to get money to produce their projects.
What's to say cities or schools can't start their own campaigns for various things.
It's a new way of fundraising.
 

5. More People "Cutting the Cord"

Our cable bills are out of hand  - Average range is now $115-$200
Now, for about $23 a month, you can watch all your favorite programs through the streaming subscription services Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu Plus.
To catch local news, and sports like NFL games, tune into free over-the-air network TV using a low-cost “rabbit ears” digital antenna, which sells for as little as $8.
More and more programming, including original programmins will be coming via the internet

 
6.   5G

The G stands for Generation, thus typically the speed of data transmission over wireless networks increases with each generation. U.S. wireless providers are far into the process of converting their networks from 3G to 4G, as are the device makers (Apple's iPhone 5 was its first 4G smartphone). Recently two competing 4G platforms were in use by various wireless telecom companies. For many reasons, LTE (long-term evolution) won out over WiMAX for North American cellular phone markets in 2012, thus moving all of us closer to a common broadband platform for the world. You can expect to see 5G roll out within the next few years.

Tech Tuesday on Sirius/XM PGA Tour Radio for 10/1/13 - Cyber Security Threats

* 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.