Limpert Tech "SullyCast" on Radio 105.7 - St. Patrick's Day Weekend So 'Go Green'

It's St. Patrick's Day weekend so everyone is wearing green but maybe it's also time to "Go Green" with some unique green iniativies involving tech.

"Going green" means to pursue knowledge and practices that can lead to more environmentally friendly and ecologically responsible decisions and lifestyles, which can help protect the environment and sustain its natural resources for current and future generations.

Want to make the world a better place? Implementing green practices into your home or office can help reduce waste, conserve natural resources, improve both air and water quality, and protect ecosystems and biodiversity.
 
Have a listen:

1. NHL Promoting "Go Green Week"

https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-teams-green-week-initiatives/c-287608716

The NHL's second annual Green Week is here, and teams are doing their part to promote environmentally conscious initiatives.
The Washington Capitals will auction player-worn green jerseys from their warmup before their game against the Nashville Predators on Thursday. All proceeds will go to the Bladensburg, Maryland-based Anacostia Watershed Society, which seeks to protect and restore the Anacostia River, an eight-mile body of water that runs from Washington D.C. through southwestern Maryland.

The auctions will begin online starting Tuesday and will run through the second intermission of the Capitals-Predators game at Verizon Center.

The Capitals will also host Go Green Night during their home game against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday; there will be green-themed activities to teach fans how to better take care of the environment.
The New York Rangers are running a hockey-equipment drive from March 14-16 at three New York-area Pure Hockey stores. Members of Rangers alumni will be at each store to help promote the drive, and all donated gear will go to Ice Hockey in Harlem.
 


2.  The Blossom 8 Smart Watering Controller

www.myblossom.com

Spring is just days away – so it’s time to think about post-winter lawn care! The Blossom 8 smart watering controller, which is targeted to mainstream consumers and designed to be very affordable and simple to use.
Why should this interest me?

·         The Blossom 8 Smart Watering Controller is a solution that makes the smart yard affordable.

·         In fact, Blossom 8 won’t cost much more than a conventional 8-station sprinkler controller and is priced lower than any other smart controller available today.

·         Tapping into the power of cloud computing, Blossom 8 self-programs existing sprinklers based on local forecast and daily data from thousands of weather stations and satellites – combined with user feedback – to create the ideal watering schedule.
 

3.  Photocopier and Printer Settings

- May seem simple, but worth a mention
Ensure the photocopier and printer defaults back to single copies after somebody has used it. You may also want to set them to print double-sided by default. Use the draft printing mode whenever possible (which is more than you think), and avoid color printing.

4. Use Compact Fluorescent Bulbs

Compact fluorescent bulbs use 75 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs, and they last about 10 times longer. So you'll save on energy costs, replacement bulb costs, and reduce waste by using them. They come in all sizes and wattages, and offer soft sheens that aren't as garishly fluorescent as their previous counterparts. No conversion of equipment is necessary; any light that uses an incandescent bulb can immediately take a compact fluorescent bulb.


5.  Home Depot cuts trucking costs via 'green' network

The Home Depot knows do-it-yourself projects. When the third-largest US importer of containerized goods decided it had to cut carbon emissions from its supply chain, it used the tools it had at hand, including a dedicated truck fleet and a network of specialized distribution centers, to design and build more efficient and greener ways of getting goods to customers.

That includes what amounts to an in-house less-than-truckload shipping network that helped The Home Depot cut the equivalent of 4,000 inbound truckloads in 2015, an accomplishment the home improvement retailer hopes to exceed in coming years. A more efficient shipping network not only cuts emissions, it saves the company millions of dollars annually.
 

*App to mention  -  The March Madness Live app

Rick's piece link: http://www.wirelesswednesday.live/single-post/2017/03/12/March-Madness-Live-released-for-2017

Now that the brackets have been released, it's time to download the updated March Madness Live app.

New for 2017:
- Enhanced live video and on-demand streaming
- Real-time video highlights
- Customization of all alerts
- Live blogging brings you exclusive content and more ways to follow every game
- New commissioner tools make setting up your own group and brackets easier than ever when you play NCAA March Madness Bracket Challenge.

Limpert Tech "SullyCast" on Radio 105.7 and iHeartRadio - Tennis With the Stars and Spying

Rick spent most of this week in the California Desert doing some pieces at the massive BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament. He also took some time to play in the Tennis With the Stars media event against some of the top pros. His partner was women's World No. 9, Madison Keys. Don't miss this event each year, visit www.tenniswiththestars.com.

And now Rick and Sully talk spying... Have a listen:

Smart appliances, gadgets and even your car might be spying on you.

Users of products like the Amazon Echo and other "smart" devices are discovering hackers, and even the government can use these electronics for data gathering — or spying.

Consumer Reports will use new standards to evaluate the quality of "internet of things" gadgets based criteria such as how secure products are and what sorts of disclosures are made when a device is collecting your data.

The goal: For consumers to feel safer, and to not have to worry about the real threat of (for example) hackers taking over their baby monitor.

Creepy, yes... This is a timely move by the nonprofit, as users of products like the Amazon Echo and other "smart" devices are discovering hackers and even the government can use these electronics for data gathering — or spying.

1. Government intervention

65% of Americans surveyed by Consumer Reports reported being "slightly or not at all confident" that their data was secure. The watchdog is also arguably filling a void left by government regulators. This past week, the Federal Communications Commission voted to roll back requirements that internet service providers take reasonable steps to safeguard customer data.


2. Run Software Updates

If you're going to buy smart devices, the Better Business Bureau recommends treating them the same as you would a computer. Make regular software updates (which often include patches to address security flaws), use rigorous passwords and pay especially close attention to any cameras or microphones, since hackers can sometimes activate these features remotely.


3. Lock Down your Wi-Fi to Everyone!

Look into cloud-based security tools and consider locking down your home WiFi by frequently changing passwords, creating a separate network for guests and learning about AP Isolation. Reset your devices and add a new password, especially if the default was the ubiquitous "admin" password.


4. Encrypt your Passwords and Files

Use encrypted email, which can help protect your personal information and secure you from phishers. Finally, consider setting the default search engine for your in-device browser as one that doesn't track you.

5. Signal Vault

www.signal-vault.com

$17.95 or $19.95
With so many new technological advances, have you thought about the protection of your money from hackers and identity thieves? With a trustworthy form of protection from SignalVault, you can keep all your credit cards, debit cards and personal information invisible to electronic pick pocketers. SignalVault is a fast and easy, high-tech solution where you can stay two steps ahead of credit and debit card frauds. This Shark Tank product is your best defense against crowd hacking and will protect your money within seconds all year long!
SignalVault can be easily installed in any wallet within seconds. Simply place SignalVault cards behind your credit and debit cards to form a shield and bulk up the safety of your wallet against identity theft.
Signal Vault features the following:

    E-Field Technology does not require batteries, charging or activation
    Protects over 350,000 consumers worldwide
    Perfect for traveling and can fit in any sized wallet, phone case or money clip
    Tested by N.T.S. (formerly Qualtest, Inc.) and passed all testing for Radio- Frequency Identification blocking and signal protection
 

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Limpert Tech "SullyCast" on Radio 105.7 and iHeartRadio NASCAR and Unplugging

NASCAR invades Atlanta this weekend and that means new tech will be on display at the track. Both for drivers and fans.

There is racing everyday this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway leading up to Sunday's Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500.

For more information about the 2017 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 Weekend or to purchase tickets today, contact the Atlanta Motor Speedway ticket office at (770) 946-4211, (877) 9-AMS-TIX or visit www.atlantamotorspeedway.com.

Have a listen to Rick and Sully:

1.  Ford

For 2017, Ford Performance will field seven Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series organizations featuring 13teams.

Driving Ford Fusions for the first time this year are Stewart-Haas Racing drivers Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer and Danica Patrick. Harvick won the series title in 2014 while Busch was the last Ford driver to win the series’ championship, in 2004 with what is now Roush Fenway Racing.

The Ford Performance Technical Support Center was up and running prior to the formation of the Ford Performance program – it opened in the summer of ’14 - and it has been an integral part of developing not only Ford’s racing efforts, but the company’s production vehicles as well.

Housed in Concord, N.C., the 33,000-square-foot building features a full-motion simulator that allows teams to ferret through various track-specific setups, obtain a better understanding of changes made to their race cars and be in position to fine tune those setups once they arrive at the track. It’s the next-best thing to being on track, and there’s never an issue with weather.

For drivers, use of the simulator has also helped shorten the learning curve for those going to a track for the first time, while helping others reacquaint themselves with different venues.
 

2. Repairs in the Pits

NASCAR will not allow teams to repair crash damage in the garage. Teams will get five minutes on pit road after the crash -- timed from when they hit the yellow line at pit road entry to when they exit pit road on pit-road exit -- to fix cars and will not be allowed to replace body panels or pieces.

Teams will be able to add supports, brackets, beat out fenders and body panels and use tape and Bondo to make repairs. If they can't get up to minimum speed without coming back down pit road once they have used their five minutes, they are done for the day.
 

3. Atlanta's Fan Experience Center

Also new to AMS in 2017, the Fan Experience Center will serve as the main hub for all things race weekend to enhance the at-track experience for fans attending the race. Beyond the wealth of information available for inquiring fans, the Fan Experience Center, located in the Fan Zone, will live up to its name with a full-size replica flag stand, an interactive 10-foot-tall banking display mimicking the angle of AMS’s 24-degree turns, a gallery of iconic moments in AMS history, and of course, an interactive selfie station.

4. Fans on Victory Lane on the Frontstretch

For the first time since Jeff Gordon scored his 85th career victory at AMS in 2011, fans will be able to experience the Victory Lane celebration up close and personal, as Sunday’s post-race festivities move back to the frontstretch in 2017. Once the checkered flag flies for the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500, the winning car and driver will return to the start/finish line, the new home for Sunday’s Victory Lane, where fans will be allowed onto the track surface to see and hear the celebration firsthand. Think of the social media hits!

 
5. A Mention of March 3-4 being... National Day of Unplugging, from sundown to sundown – a great movement to unplug for 24 hours and reconnect with people and the world around you. The value of offline discovery is largely what inspired the creation of the Screen Time app. Screen Time is an app parents can use... to monitor and regulate their kids online usage.
www.screentimelabs.com

When families download the app, which offers a free 14-day trial, Screen Time recommends starting with a family conversation about screen time, with the parent-child pact (attached). This gives kids insights into why offline discovery is important to their health and wellbeing, while also giving young people a chance to have input. Everyone gets on the same page, and everyone agrees to be subject to the same tech etiquette and household rules.

Limpert Tech "SullyCast" on Radio 105.7 and iHeartRadio - New Sports Tech

Rick has just returned home from a whirlwind week at MLB Spring Training and the Delray Beach Open tennis tournament in Florida. So it's time to look at what's new in Sport Tech.

Some of it he has seen firsthand.

Have a listen:

1.  The Washington Nationals and Houston Astros sharing a new Spring Training site in West Palm Beach, FL that was built on an old landfill.

The 160-acre facility, built over an old landfill south of 45th Street and west of Interstate 95, is just about done. While both teams hold practice sessions over the first two weeks of camp, work will continue in the main stadium up until the first game on Feb. 28 when the Nationals host the Astros.

The Astros’ six practice fields are on the on northeast and east side of the complex. The Nationals’ fields are on the southeast and south corner of the complex. Four practice fields abut Military Trail, bordered by protective netting to prevent baseballs from hitting traffic on the road.

Of all 12 practice fields, two have the same configurations as Nationals Park in Washington and Minute Maid Park in Houston.
 

 
2. Tecnifibre Stringing Machines

- In use this week at the men's ATP World Tour events in Marseille and Delray Beach
The Ergo One -  very portable, but still a professional stringing machine. Also will string Racketball and Squash
More efficiency for your everyday work
Simplified functions which make your work incredibly easy and efficient

Graphic display
Easy to use interface.
Simplified access to all features : 18 buttons.

Fits all frames
Possibility to string all frames: Tennis, squash, badminton et racketball

Detachable machine in 3 blocks
Machine built in 3 detachable blocks (motor, turntable and girder) for a compact and easy
transportation.
Possibility to complete with a special designed bag for a safe and comfortable transportation.

DLC Treatment (Diamond Like Carbon)
Improves resistance and reduces friction.
Treatment used on glide rails, clamps and pulling bit.

Professional equipement
Overtension system for stringing knots - Undertension system for the crosses
- Pre-stretch system - 3 pulling speeds - Possibility to equip with hydraulic stand
Perfect balance of precision and reliability

Exclusive Flat Frame Setting
Flat frame setting: “Reduces torsion during stringing”
Positioning : 6 polyurethane fixing points.
Optimum stability thanks to the two semi-frames under the racket.

Double action clamps
Separate blocking (and unblocking) of the clamps and the base (2 actions).
Appreciated by well-experienced stringers who look for a progressive
clamp system (for optimal string support).

Specific mechanism of the pulling bit
No need for re-calibration : extremely reliable sensor.
Very reliable potentiometer tested upon 5 million pulls.
 

3. Golf and Body in NYC

It may be called Golf & Body, but maybe it should be called "Golf & Body and Tech."
Located in the heart of Manhattan, a couple bagel shops from the epicenter of sports in New York City, Madison Square Garden, Golf & Body is a golf, fitness and technology oasis right in the middle of New York City.
Once through the doors, members can use as little, or as much of Golf & Body's resources as they wish.

Members fill out a questionnaire that helps the staff pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses, areas where you might need improvement and mutually agreed upon goals that serve as a road map for your time at Golf & Body.

See Rick's feature here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/golf-body-tech-nyc-rick-limpert

 

4. Kicker Bullfrog Speaker (BF 400)

- This wireless Bluetooth speaker will blow you away... literally
 Weatherproof, made for camping, hiking, tailgating, farm, work outdoors, etc
-100 ft Bluetooth range
- FM radio for local stations (local sports)
- 20 hrs of battery life
- USB charging and AUX-input
- phone app that handles most every Bullfrog function/feature
Get it dirty. Get it wet. Get it sandy. The Bullfrog is IP66 certified
to take it all and keep on pumping out the tunes.

• Pair a pair of Bullfrogs! With Double Kick and the KICKER Connect
app, join two speakers - or connect directly via a standard
3.5mm AUX cable. Now everyone will hear the music anywhere the
party goes!

• 100 foot Bluetooth® range lets you walk everywhere around the
party without losing a note of your music.
 

5. AT&T Beefs Up Wireless Coverage for Racing Fans at Daytona 500

There isn’t much that can keep up with the drivers at Daytona 500—except for maybe AT&T’s network speeds.
At the Daytona International Speedway, we recently upgraded our mobile coverage with a new Distributed Antenna System (DAS). The DAS will boost LTE capacity for fans by nearly 30% compared to previous years. So when fans grab their smartphones to share the most exciting moments on social media, they’ll enjoy a faster, more reliable connection.

A DAS is made of numerous, small antennas that distribute AT&T wireless network coverage to provide extra cellular capacity and shorten the distance a call or text must travel. Simply put—calls, texts and posts are less likely to get stuck in a cellular “traffic jam.”

With the sudden surge in popularity of streaming video on social media apps like Snapchat and Instagram, we expect mobile data usage to continue to rise. We continue to see increased data usage across our mobile network, especially at crowded entertainment venues and high-traffic buildings. In fact, data on our mobile network has increased about 250,000% since 2007, and the majority of that traffic is video.
 

Limpert Tech "SullyCast" on Radio 105.7 - Tax Prep Tech

It's one of those necessary evils, doing our taxes.

Now that you have received most of your tax documents, it's time to start organizing and planning to do your taxes. (Or have your accountant do it)

A fun radio segment this week as Rick and Sully do their taxes.

1.  Top tip for 2017  - File Early!

The IRS began accepting returns Jan. 23, and tax experts recommend that Americans continue to file their returns early. For one thing, it reduces the chance of identity fraud. Also, the IRS is giving more scrutiny to returns claiming some credits before it sends out refunds.

2. IBM's Watson computer to do taxes

In its first steps toward commercialization, IBM’s Watson took on grand, science-laden challenges like helping doctors diagnose cancer. But that is changing as IBM strives to build its artificial intelligence technology into a multibillion-dollar business.

Today, companies including Geico, Staples and Macy’s are adding the Watson technology to answer customer questions or to improve mobile apps that guide shoppers through stores.

Now in its broadest deployment so far, Watson will be assisting H&R Block’s 70,000 tax professionals this filing season at 10,000 branch offices across the country, where 11 million people file taxes.
 


3.  Turbo Tax

The quickest and most inexpensive way for many to do their taxes...

By now you should have gotten your W-2s, and you can file your taxes now if you want. Whenever you choose to get it done, you’d be wise to take advantage of this Amazon Exclusive deal on TurboTax. They have five different packages – each tailored to a specific type of filer. The basic one is only 5 percent off, but once you get to the packages that help you navigate the more labyrinthine aspects of the federal and state tax code, you can save some serious money.

The Turbo Tax App

TurboTax also has a mobile app that allows users to take photos of their W-2s and automatically fill in their tax forms. As with H&R Block, the app is free, but there might be a cost when you submit the paperwork to the IRS.


4. ItsDeductible app

Offered by tax software provider TurboTax, ItsDeductible (iOS only) is a free way to track your donations either online or on your iPhone. The app is set up to track everything from drop-offs at the thrift store and cash donations to mileage.

For donated items, the app offers a suggested resale value to use when calculating your itemized deductions. TurboTax users can import data from ItsDeductible to their tax forms.
 

5.  Expensify app

Expensify won Top Ten Reviews’ top award for expense-tracking apps. It, too, uses OCR scanning and automatically records data. It integrates with bank accounts and credit cards to keep expenses updated across all platforms and works with popular contact-management program Salesforce and with the e-business tool NetSuite. A free version allows 10 scans a month. Upgrades cost $5 and $9 monthly.