WGST's "The Sully Show" for 4/10/15 - From Kaua'i

Rick and Sully talk this week as Rick is coming to you from the island of Kauai in Hawaii, out 50th State

Rick is actually working while in Hawaii this Spring Break.

He's at the Kauai Marriott Kalapaki Bay! - With a ton of recreational activities, a superior beach experience & 18 hole golf course in Kauai Lagoons.

And also the Grand Hyatt Resort & Spa Kauai which features the Poipu Bau Golf Resort. This golf course used to host the Grand Slam of Golf and we take a look at some technology that is uniquely Hawaiian.

Have a listen:

listen to ‘My Segment on "The Sully Show" on 640 am WGST for 4/10/15’ on audioBoom

Kaua'i  facts:

Nickname:  The Garden Isle
Size:     552 square miles, roughly circular in shape with a diameter of 32 miles and a wide point of only 25 miles.
Population: 67,000
Highest point: Kawaikini Peak is Kauai's highest point at 5,148 feet
Kauai is geologically the oldest  of the major Hawaiian islands at 5.8 million years old.

1.   Kauai's Mt. Waialeale is the Wettest Spot on Earth, averaging 450 inches of rain per year producing eight major, majestic waterfalls. Very lush and healthy vegetation in Kauai.

 

2.  Kauai's Building Code dictates that "no building shall be taller than a Coconut Palm"--thus the 4 story limit on vertical construction.

Even the hotels... which is kind of amazing.

Rick likes this as it means Kauai will never become like Honolulu with all condo buildings and high rise hotels.
 

3.  No Surprise Here- Kauai is a big golf destination...  There are 10 golf courses at seven venues on Kauai.

North Shore

> Makai Golf Club at Princeville
> Makai Golf Club at Princeville – Woods Course
> Prince Golf Course at Princeville at Hanalei
East Side
> Wailua Golf Course
South Shore
> Kiahuna Golf Club
> Kukuiolono Golf Course
> Poipu Bay Golf Course
Lihue
> Kauai Lagoons Golf Club
> Puakea Golf Course
 

4. Kauai is like Atlanta in that a ton of movie and TV shows have been shot there.

There’s no doubting the inspiring scenic beauty of Hawaii’s Island of Discovery. But did you know dozens of filmmakers were inspired by Kauai’s beauty as well? For decades movies and television shows have used Kauai as the stunning backdrop for their epic stories, from “South Pacific” to “Jurassic Park.” Take a movie tour to learn about the more than 60 feature films shot on location in Kauai or you can discover them for yourself and make your own movie moments:

Lihue:
Huleia River (by air tour or kayak only): Raiders of the Lost Ark
Nawiliwili Harbor: Jurassic Park: The Lost World
 
East Side (Coconut Coast):
Lydgate State Park: Blue Hawaii
Wailua Falls: Fantasy Island (TV show)
Wailua River: Blue Hawaii, Islands in the Stream
Coco Palms Hotel: Blue Hawaii, South Pacific
Opaekaa Falls: Blue Hawaii, The Wackiest Ship in the Army
Kapaa Town: Honeymoon in Vegas
Anahola Mountains: Raiders of the Lost Ark
 
North Shore:
Kilauea Lighthouse: Lilo & Stitch
Anini Beach Park: Honeymoon in Vegas, Lilo & Stitch
Hanalei Bay: South Pacific, Lilo & Stitch
Lumahai Beach: South Pacific
Makua “Tunnels” Beach: Body Heat, South Pacific
Kee Beach: Lord of the Flies, The Thorn Birds, Throw Mama from the Train
Kalalau Valley: King Kong, Mighty Joe Young
Napali Coast: Jurassic Park: The Lost World, Six Days/Seven Nights

5.  The U.S. Military is also Here!

The U.S. Military uses the Pacific Missile Range Facility on the southwest side of the island for training exercises and developmental tests...they have about 42,000 square miles of remote sea and air space that is virtually encroachment free.

* Tourism is also key on Kauai as is West Kauai Technology and Visitor Center which houses high technology companies is probably the best "least known" tourist attraction on the island...

WGST's "The Sully Show" for 3/27/15 - Atlanta Auto Show Tech

The annual Atlanta Auto Show is running this week and weekend at the Georgia World Congress Center....

Rick had his big preview article of the Auto Show in the AJC on Monday.
The show includes new and classic cars, along with the popular concept cars and interactive exhibits.

The show also features the latest in technology for your vehicles..

Let's take a look at some of the tech at the 2015 Atlanta International Auto Show:

listen to ‘My Segment on "The Sully Show" on 640 am WGSt for 3/27/15’ on audioBoom

1.   Dodge Ram Rebel

The Dodge Ram Rebel takes the tried-and-true half-ton pick-up, adds some beefy body work, a new schnoz, uprated tires, and a tweaked air suspension to appeal to buyers wanting to look like they're ready to tackle Mojave but never will.

The cosmetic changes are the obvious upgrades, with no chrome, no cross-hair grille, a Moparized aluminum hood, powder-coated skid plates, and more...

Go with the  5.7-liter HEMI V8 in 4x4 and 4x2 setups. The air suspension rides about an inch higher than the normal 1500 and has been tweaked to include Rebel-spec Bilsteins and a lone off-road setting (versus the normal two), but with the same cruising mode that automatically drops down when trundling along at highway speeds.

All Rebels will have an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Will probably be priced in the mid $30,000 range

 
2. Uconnect Radio

Allows users to listen to not only AM/FM stations, but also personal internet radio and apps like iHeartRadio  right in your car.

Cars are becoming connected in many ways.


3.  Concept Cars

Look for pre-production and concept cars at the show in the Acura ILX, Buick Cascada Convertible, Hyundai Sonata PHEV Plug-in, Kia's Track'ster and with Mercedes bringing their corporate headquarters to Atlanta, look for their new AMG GT on the show floor.

4.  Ford Looking Ahead...

Ford Motor Company will be bringing a mobility discussion to Atlanta as part of the company’s presence at this years Atlanta Auto Show, which opens this week at the Georgia World Congress Center. Leaders from Ford Motor Company, Georgia Tech and the Georgia Department of Transportation held a panel discussion surrounding the Future of Mobility in Atlanta at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center. Ford and it's partners discussed two mobility experiments taking place at Georgia Tech: Parking Spotter and Remote Repositioning, also we heard how the Georgia Department of Transportation is addressing what mobility looks like for Atlanta drivers.
-  Parking Spotter-  This experiment, conducted with Georgia Tech, leverages driver-assist sensors that most Ford vehicles already have, including sonar and radar, by putting them to work for everybody. The sensors search for open parking spaces while the driver looks for spots around the city, and share the information with a cloud database other drivers can access. The system makes it easier for a driver to locate an open spot, reserve it and navigate to the space. It also reduces fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.
 

5.  “CAMP JEEP”

“Camp Jeep” will be operating all five days of the Auto Show. This dynamic outdoor exhibit will give show attendees a chance to experience the extreme off-road capabilities of Jeep vehicles.

March 25                      12:00pm-9:00pm
March 26                       12:00pm-9:00pm
March 27                       12:00pm-10:00pm
March 28                       10:00am-10:00pm
March 29                      11:00am-8:00pm


FEATURED VEHICLES:  Jeep Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, and Wrangler.
 

My Appearance on WGST's "The Sully Show" 3/20/15 - March Madness and the Tech News of the Week

As the NCAA Tournament continues its run..  Rick and Sully take a look at the tech news and happenings of the week.

Rick is also out at the SEC Women's Gymnastics Championships today at the Gwinnett Arena competiton goes through tomorrow

Have a listen:

listen to ‘The Sully Show March 20, 2015’ on audioBoom

1.  Tech for watching and following NCAA Tournament Games costs $1.7 billion in workplace productivity  -  We now have streams and more on our mobile devices

During the first week of the tournament, according to the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas, American companies will lose at least $1.7 billion in work productivity. That's a lot of chatter around the water cooler; to say nothing about those employees who watch the tournament games on their office computer or smartphones.

Of course, March Madness helps build office morale, if you look at it in that way.

 

2. Speaking a Second Language May Change How You See the World - Now there are apps that help you learn another language

Speakers of the two languages put different emphasis on actions and their consequences, influencing the way they think about the world, according to a new study (abstract). The work also finds that bilinguals may get the best of both worldviews, as their thinking can be more flexible.

Apps like Rosetta Stone, Duolingo and Babbel can get you up to speed on a second or third langauge.

 
3. Nintendo Finally Working On Games for Smartphones

More problems for workplace productivity.

Nintendo is finally bringing its games to mobile devices. It's partnering with Japanese game publisher DeNA to develop games for phones and tablets based on Nintendo's popular game IPs.

Games like Mario, Zelda and Pokemon are coming...  some maybe with some 3-D effects.

4.  Facebook Introduces Payment System

Will Sully send some money to Rick?

Facebook announced a new feature for its Messenger services: the ability to send money to friends. The payment system will work by connecting debit cards from Visa or Mastercard — no credit cards, and no bank accounts. The company claims they aren't trying to make money on it, since it'd be such a small business compared to their ad revenue. "Once the $ button is tapped, users simply enter the dollar amount and hit Pay.

The money is instantly taken from their debit account and delivered to the recipient's debit account. Facebook never holds the money, though the receiver's bank will usually take a few days to make the funds available as is standard. Both users see a confirmation message detailing the transfer status and time." Facebook says transaction information is encrypted, and users will protect their cards with a dedicated passcode.

5. Microsoft will make Windows 10 upgrades free to all, including pirates

Microsoft will make Windows 10 available as a free upgrade even to pirated copies of other Windows operating systems in China. Terry Myerson of Microsoft's operating systems unit made the announcement at the WinHEC technology conference in Shenzhen, China, and then told Reuters, "We are upgrading all qualified PCs, genuine and non-genuine, to Windows 10." Microsoft has a history of attempting to tackle massive and rising software piracy rates in Asia and developing countries, and periodically offers low-cost "licence amnesties" to the worst-offending countries, such as Indonesia and Kenya.

My Appearance on WGST's "The Sully Show" 2/20/15 - Breaking Tech News

Rick and Sully look at the top tech news stories of the week.

A must listen:

listen to ‘The Sully Show February 20, 2015’ on audioBoom

 

 
*** Breaking news  -  Lenovo laptops shipped in the last year might have
preinstalled malware called Superfish.
Researchers have unearthed a security vulnerability in preinstalled software on some Lenovo products that breaks secure website connections and puts sensitive user data at risk.

It is worrisome that Lenovo was installing adware called Superfish.

Go into your control panel and uninstall it if you have it.

1.  Apple might be working on a car  -  the iCar?

From Reuters...

Technology giant Apple (AAPL.O) is looking beyond mobile devices to learn how to make a self-driving electric car, and is talking to experts at carmakers and automotive suppliers, a senior auto industry source familiar with the discussions said on Saturday.

The Cupertino, California-based maker of phones, computers and, soon, watches is exploring how to make an entire vehicle, not just designing automotive software or individual components, the auto industry source said.

"They don't appear to want a lot of help from carmakers," said the source, who declined to be named.
Apple is gathering advice on parts and production methods, focusing on electric and connected-car technologies, while studying the potential for automated driving, the source said.

 

2.  FAA Proposes Rules To Limit Commercial Drone Use

We've talked about this before.

Applies only to commercial use right now...

The Federal Aviation Administration, last Sunday proposed long-awaited rules on the commercial use of small drones, requiring operators to be certified, fly only during daylight and keep their aircraft in sight. The rules, though less restrictive than the current ones, appear to prohibit for now the kind of drone delivery services being explored by Amazon, Google and other companies, since the operator or assigned observers must be able to see the drone at all times without binoculars. But company officials believe the line-of-sight requirement could be relaxed in the future to accommodate delivery services.
 

3. Privacy: the 21st Century's Newest Luxury Item

There is a report today on the 21st century's newest luxury item: online privacy The Christian Science Monitor writes about the growing market for premium privacy protection tools available to tech-savvy consumers with the desire for online anonymity — and the means to pay for it.

The piece profiles new tools from companies like Abine that deliver everything from self-destructing e-mail messages to the 21st century's equivalent of Kleenex: one-off "throwaway" online identities to keep advertisers, merchants and government snoops at bay. Privacy experts, however, doubt that the new tools will tip the scales of online privacy in favor of consumers and away from governments and advertisers. "Consumers really don't have a fighting chance," says Andrea Matwyshyn of Princeton University. "Technology moves entirely too fast."

She and others see the need for both bigger fixes and the level of Internet infrastructure and law. "As a consumer protection matter, there needs to be a floor," she said. "Just as there are laws protecting renters from substandard housing, or car buyers from 'lemons,' there need to be regulations that create a buffer between consumers and companies."

4. 1950s Toy That Included Actual Uranium Ore Goes On Display At Museum

The Gilbert Atomic Energy Lab — dubbed the world's most dangerous toy — has gone on display at the Ulster Museum in Northern Ireland. The toy earned the title because it includes four types of uranium ore, three sources of radiation, and a Geiger counter that enables parents to measure just how contaminated their child have become. The Gilbert Atomic Energy Lab was only available between 1951 and 1952 and was the most elaborate atomic energy educational kit ever produced. The toy was one of the most costly toys of the time, retailing at $50 — equivalent to around $400 today.
 

5.  What is the "Cloud"

* One of the most frequent questions I get from people, and they know they are using it, but they don't know what "The Cloud" is...

Cloud computing involves deploying groups of remote servers and software networks that allow centralized data storage and online access to computer services or resources.

Simply put..
The cloud, simply, refers to software and services that run on the Internet instead of your computer. Apple iCloud, Dropbox, Netflix, Amazon Cloud Drive, Flickr, Google Drive, Microsoft Office 365, Yahoo Mail -- those are all cloud services.

 

Daytona 500 this weekend... who is Rick's Pick?

Sullys Pick?

My Appearance on WGST's "The Sully Show" 2/13/15 - New NASCAR Technology

The NASCAR season is about to get underway. Daytona 500 Qualifying in this weekend. The race is next weekend... Rick and Sully look at some of the new technology in NASCAR for 2015.

listen to ‘The Sully Show February 13, 2015’ on audioBoom

1.  NASCAR will use 45 remote HD cameras to record every pit stop

This year, NASCAR will use 45 remote HD cameras to record every pit stop and automatically check for rules violations such as the pit crew entering the pit stall too early, equipment leaving the pit stall and drivers pitting outside their stalls.

The cameras will feed into a trailer in the TV compound at each track, where eight NASCAR officials will sit at workstations with two computer screens each, and double-check the penalties. If a violation is found, it will be radioed up to NASCAR race control in the timing and scoring area. Race officials will then enforce the penalty per NASCAR's rule book. The officials in the trailer will be assigned pit stops randomly.

Shawn Rogers, NASCAR's managing director of business operations, said the sanctioning body evaluated 18 proposal from 31 companies, including defense contractors and sports technology firms, before teaming up with Hawkeye Innovations as its development partner for proprietary technology.
The new system was tested over the final 11 Sprint Cup races of 2014.

 

2.   Spacers

NASCAR unveiled a variety of new rules designed to save teams money. The sanctioning body will use tapered spacers to reduce the flow of air and gasoline into the engines to cut nearly 175 horsepower down to 725. That should make engines more reliable while reducing any advantage by an engine manufacturer.

3.  Rear Spoiler

NASCAR also hopes to make the cars harder to drive by reducing the rear spoiler from eight to six inches to make it more difficult for anyone to get separation from the pack. Drivers also will be allowed to make adjustments to the set-up from inside the car and the Sprint Cup Series will use rain tires at its two road courses.

 

4.  Nationwide Series now the Xfinity Series
 

The Nationwide Series, the second-tier in NASCAR, will have a new name this year — the Xfinity Series. Xfinity is owned by Comcast, which also has NBC in its group. By coupling with a cable company, it could be easier to promote the series on network and cable outlets.
 

5.  BitPay will sponsor truck in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

BitPay will be the primary brand featured on Justin Boston’s No. 54 Toyota Tundra in the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway.

This will be the first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start for Boston with KBM, and his second career start in the series.  He will be competing for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year award this season.

“I couldn’t be more excited about having this opportunity to represent the BitPay brand on and off the track,” said Boston. “BitPay is a global leader in bitcoin payment processing and they are at the forefront of shaping how we all spend money in everyday life.”

“NASCAR is watched by millions of people all over the world,” said Stephanie Wargo, VP of marketing of BitPay. “Through this exposure and working with Justin and KBM, we hope to help raise awareness about the bitcoin technology and our company’s platform.”

-  TV Coverage and Live Streaming

NBC now will broadcast the second half of the racing season, replacing TNT and ESPN. Fox will continue to carry the first half, and both networks said it would push some of their races onto their cable outlets Fox Sports 1 and NBC Sports Network.

For the second consecutive year, "The Great American Race" is streamed live in both English and Spanish through FOX Sports GO, the critically acclaimed app that provides live streaming video of FOX Sports content at home or on-the-go. All FOX NASCAR programming in 2015 is live streamed on FOX Sports GO. FOX Sports Deportes, the No. 1 Spanish-language sports network in the U.S., also offers live coverage of the DAYTONA 500, with NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES driver German Quiroga joining as race analyst.