My Appearance on WGST's "The Sully Show" 5/30/14 Talking Tech Topics and More

Current tech topics

Rick with all of the tech news of the week...   including Blackberry since Sully wants that

Have a listen:

listen to ‘The Sully Show May 30, 2014’ on Audioboo

Change your eBay Password

If you have an eBay account and haven't changed your password since May 21, you should do so today.
There was a big security and data breech at eBay and they have been advising everyone to change their password.

It's official - Apple buys Beats

It's not really about the headphones, it's about streaming music and what a big industry that is becoming.

Google Working on Tablets With Enhanced Vision Capabilities

Could be used for 2 purposes - will capture and allow you see 3D and complex images on a tablet as well as helping visually impaired.

Google is working to create some 4,000 prototypes of advanced mobile tablet devices equipped with features that will allow users to view complex 3D objects on their screens.

The development of the futuristic tablets, which are allegedly slated to begin production sometime in June, was reported May 22 by The Wall Street Journal, based on information from sources who had been briefed on Google's activities. The tablets will be equipped with 7-inch screens and include two rear cameras, infrared depth sensors and software that will render the three-dimensional images, the story reported,

Such a phone could be used, according to Project Tango, with apps that could use the camera to offer guidance to the visually impaired or even apps that use the camera to show shoppers how the furniture in a catalog would literally fit in their living rooms. Other potential apps could even scan a room in a home to create a virtual game world within it, or offer directions that don't stop at the front door of an office.

LG to announce New Ultra Widescreen Display

"Forget about 4K displays, are Ultra Widescreen 'cinematic' displays the real deal? Earlier this year LG announced its new 34UM95 – a 34-inch Ultra Widescreen monitor with a cinematic 21:9 aspect ratio and a generous 3440 x1440 resolution — a recent hands-on review suggests that this monitor might be the new productivity king, for those who simply can't stand that annoying bezel between their multiple monitors."

The  LG 34UM95 – a 34 inch Ultra Widescreen monitor with a “cinematic” 21:9 aspect ratio and a generous 3440 x1440 resolution is perfect for editing pictures and those long videos.
 

Redbox to get rid of 500 rental kiosks

Do you rent from Redbox. Redbox has more that 40,000 kiosks around the country.
To say there are a lot of Redbox kiosks is an understatement. Almost 70 million Americans currently live within a five mile drive of a Redbox kiosk. You probably walk by a Redbox kiosk more than once a day.

They are located inside or outside grocery stores, gas stations, drug stores, and even restaurants.

A Redbox kiosk only takes up about 12-square feet of retail space and they hold about 630 movie and game discs.

By the end of 2014, the company will uninstall more than 500 of it's DVD/Blu-ray machines.

Will you notice a difference?

Probably not.
There will still be well over 40,000 Redbox kiosks to serve your needs.

Redbox is running out of locations to put new machines and with any business, current spots that are underperforming are the ones that are up for elimination.

Redbox is also looking to renegotiate their deals with movie studios by the end of the year. Redbox has been hurt by some of their current deals which don't give them access to movies until they have been on retailer's shelves for a couple weeks.

Redbox is also fighting the tough batter against streaming services like Hulu and Netflix. While many are used to Redbox's $1-per day rental service, the times are a changing.

While Redbox Instant, Redbox's attempt at a streaming service hasn't really taken hold, there is some room for growth. To attract customers and subscribers to "Instant," Redbox is offering bonuses like rental credits.