Tech News Radio

I recently picked up a Logitech Wireless Combo Mk520 With Keyboard and Mouse to use full time with my Acer Chromebook when I'm using it in desktop computer mode.  

When I am in this mode I usually use the setup with a SAMSUNG T24C550 monitor as the primary monitor and the Acer's laptop monitor as my 2nd monitor off to the right-hand side.

I like this setup because it enables wireless access to both the keyboard and the mouse using one USB port.  Previously I had a dedicated wireless mouse and then a bluetooth keyboard. However the bluetooth keyboard wasn't completely full-size, would periodically drop off connectivity, and was better suited to short-term typing like like periodic emails responses on my Nexus 7.

The only draw back with the Mk520 is that the Function (F) keys are not ideally setup to match the icons on them.

The keyboard uses the basic standard keyboard layout on most Chromebooks. So ESC is ESC (Escape) and:

• F1: Go to the previous page in your browser history
• F2: Go to the next page in your browser history
• F3: Reload your current page.
• F4: Open your page in full-screen mode
• F5: Switch to your next window
• F6: Decrease screen brightness
• F7: Increase screen brightness
• F8: Mute
• F9: Decrease system volume
• F10: Increase system volume

At the very top of the keyboard is a media control area (3 keys): back, play/stop, forward. Those don't seem to work with videos.  But the sound control area (3 keys): mute, decrease sound, and increase sound do work.  And the WINDOWS button is a dedicated SEARCH button; the STAR button brings up the BOOKMARKS page list; and the CALCULATOR button goes into FULL SCREEN MODE.

Over all the keyboard feel when typing is very good, and I like the pressure the keys have. In addition, I like the ability to tilt up the keyboard and to have it stand-up at 90-degrees for using your desk area for writing if needed.  I would recommend the keyboard if someone is looking for the same feature set.

I recently picked up via Craigslist a "new in the box" Asus C720-2802 Chromebook to use as my new primary system for TechNewsRadio.com.  The main reason was that DEFCON22 is coming up soon in Las Vegas and I needed a "relatively" secure system to attend sessions and take notes for ~8 hours a day.  

My previous note taking system was relatively old ThinkPad that I had 3 sets of extra batteries for. So, I dropped about 6 pounds by moving to the C720.  And I don't have to configure a fresh system to take to DEFCON and then scrub after.

This version (2802) seems like the middle build release (~Feb2014) from the original that was in late 2013 and the most current $199 version that uses the Intel Celeron 2955U processor (2848).  There is also a newer more expensive C720 with an Intel Core i3 processor available.

The positivies:

1. Keyboard is great.
2. Integration with my Google account was flawless.
3. Integration with all my core online services was flawless.
4. Working offline seems to work as expected.

The negatives:

1. Can't seem to check IMAP email with an extension or a native Chrome application.

The still to be determined:

1. Will it get hacked at DEFCON?
2. How to edit audio?
3. Will it let me take notes all day at DEFCON?

POST DEFCON REPORT: There is now an IMAP client - CloudMagic.  I am pretty sure I didn't get hacked at DEFCON.  I was able to take notes all day long at DEFCON without any issues.  I have not found a good solution for editing audio.

I recently picked up from Harbor Freight Tools the following solar power kit: 45W Solar Power Kit (#68751) for just over $150 (including tax).

Over the course of the last couple of months I've been able to try out the kit on several camping trips were there was no easy electrical grid access.  The camping environment was pretty sunny but not always 100% full sun.  The time of year for all the trips was summer and the location was Southern California.  I ended up setting up the kit on the top of our small camper.

The main reason I picked up the kit was to keep all of my tech gear charged so I could keep tabs on email, news, and any tech issue with my sites.  This was usually less than 1 hour a day which worked out well for my needs, and expectations related to being on a camping trip.

The gear I was able to keep operational using the kit included: cell phone, tablet, WIFI card, and a laptop during trips lasting up to 7 days.

I was suprised during the main daylight hours that the inverter could charge directly: the cell phone, tablet, and WIFI card.  To keep my laptop charged I needed to capture to an emergency car battery system, and then use 3rd party car charger/inverter to get the right power levels to keep the laptop charged.  I was also able to keep charged a USB battery pack so I could run my WIFI card during non-daylight hours when needed.

One other lesson learned, was to turn off all electronics while sleeping.  This helped keep all the devices more readily available the next day then keeping them in standby/sleep mode overnight.

All in all the system worked very well and I'd recommend it.

Updated: 3/16/2014

DEFCON 19 was in Las Vegas, NV from August 4-5, 2011.  This yearly computer network security and hacker conference is full of cutting-edge research, detailed demos, awesome presentations, and a lot of partying. The podcast coverage was pretty good also. Here are my recommendations:

• Network Security Podcast
• Southern Fried Security Podcast: #59 Defcon Review
• Social-Engineer.Org: Live at Defcon 19
• PaulDotCom Security Weekly - Episode 254 Part 2 (08-11-2011) [wiki]
• Exotic Liability: #78 Con-dom
• Eruo-Trash Information Security Podcast
• InfoSecDaily 

If you are interested in hearing my thoughts about DEFCON 19 then check out the PaulDotCom.com podcast (08-11-2011).  I am the boring "IT Guy" trying to avoid the topic of "hot" women visiting the PaulDotCom.com booth.  If you'd like to see a copy of my notes (13+ pages) then drop me a personal email to: "s h o l d e n @pobox.com."

Here is a Picasa collage from the Network Security Podcast meet-up at DEFCON 19 that was "infected" by Paul & Larry @ Pauldotcom.com's little red balls from one of thier sponsors:

The following is a summary of @technewsradio posts to Twitter:

1. ASIS Bookstore (security pro organization) has announced over 26 new books via their online store
2. SWFTools is a collection of open source utilities for working with Adobe Flash files (SWF files)
3. Amazon online cloud services has a bunch of demos available - including Travel Log (Sample Java Web Application)
4. Google has fixed a SketchUp 8 "dreaded shadow bug"
5. Franklin Covey's PlanPlus for Outlook (version 7) is now on sale for $80 (vice $100) 
6. Looking for a open source mind mapping tool?  Then check out Free Mind
7. Microsoft Press has announced 3 more books in their Step By Step series: Microsoft Word 2010, Excel 2010 & Project 2010 
8. Wired.com has an interesting article "Wired—Geek Power: Steven Levy Revisits Tech Titans, Hackers, Idealists"
9. Listening to "A Witness to a the Egyptian Revolution" by Doug Kaye (Executive Director, The Conversations Network) via http://bit.ly/i35GC7Delete
10. Per Kevin Devin at FriendsInTech.com - A good tool for finding Creative Commons (CC) images on Flickr is here http://bit.ly/gOtgMPDelete
11. the Microsoft & Nokia deal seems to leave HP WebOS, BlackBerry, and Intel out of the loop with Apple (#2) & Android (#1) being top dogsDelete
12. red5 is an open source audio/video (FLV & MP3) server that also supports H.264 
13. Steven Levy's classic "Heroes of the Computer Revolution" has a new 25th Anniversary Edition

 Listen! (Size 4.1 MBs, Running Time 4m05s)

Today's podcast examines portable audio recording options and some podcast production and distribution technologies.  Links mentioned in this podcast include:

• Yahoo's Podcasters Mailing  
• Zoom H4n
• Zoom H2
• Edirol R-09
• Zoom H1
• Marantz 660
• Apple iPad
• WordPress Audio Player
• Google Player
• Playtagger from Yahoo
• Amazon CloudFront
• Encoding's Apple & Amazon Streaming

Feel free to follow along with Steve Holden at: Twitter, FriendFeed, and/or Delicious.  For tech news only updates follow TechNewsRadio on Twitter.

This podcast is sponsored by SCOTTEVEST and Amazon.

 Listen! (Size 2.9 MBs, Running Time 2m54s)

Today's podcast examines news from fellow FriendsInTech.com members and Technorama podcasters' Chuck Tomasi and Kreg Stepp. They have a new book out called "Teach Yourself WordPress in 10 Minutes" from SAMS publishing, and a companion podcast called "Teach Yourself WordPress in 10 Minutes ... in 10 Minutes".  For reference the main WordPress sites are: WordPress.org and WordPress.com.

You can also learn more about WordPress from a newsletter tip from Geeks.com.

Feel free to follow along with Steve Holden at: Twitter, FriendFeed, and/or Delicious.  For tech news only updates follow TechNewsRadio on Twitter.

This podcast is sponsored by SCOTTEVEST and Amazon.

• OpenBook Specification for ePub (xhtml, css, etc) - some tools: Calibre & Adobe InDesign http://bit.ly/bGryk8
• TurboCASH has released the 4301 Update (5/5/2010) - this is an interesting open source financial mgmt application http://bit.ly/cwBVEP
• Just posted on my personal blog "An Apple iPad ~2 Month Later Review & Update" http://bit.ly/dAl3ml
• MacWorld has good references on on ePub & iPad http://bit.ly/ckDgSy
• Celina Jacobson has an interesting post examining "100 Excellent Lifehacks for Your Long Commute" http://bit.ly/bjsLuS
• Mark Minasi's TechNewsletter#89 Secrets of Creating Default User in Windows 7, Cleaning Up Setup's Little Security Hole http://bit.ly/cQBbEV
• Box.net is now beta testing drag-n-drop functions to the cloud using HTML5, Firefox 3.6, and Google Chrome
• Possible Evernote User Group Meeting in San Diego being discussed http://bit.ly/ble1sk

Listen! (Size 7.2 MBs, Running Time 9m52s)

This podcast is sponsored by SCOTTEVEST and Amazon.

Today's TechNewsRadio.com's podcast examines new mobile worker devices, new mobile security technologies, a Windows driver update tool recommended by MaximumPC.com, and then some conference pointers:

• The 6th Annual Gilbane Conference Boston is Dec. 1-3, 2009 at the Westin Copley Hotel.
• The Blue Coat Regional User Group for Washington DC will have a meetup on Dec. 1, 2009 from 10 AM until 3 PM at the Sheraton Crystal City Hotel.
• O'Reilly Where 2.0 Online Conference is December 3, 2009 with "An Emphasis on iPhone Sensors."

• FriendsInTech.com
• Mobile Enterprise Magazine
• Motion Computing C5 Mobile Clinical Assistant
• Motion Computing F5 Tablet PC
• Corning Gorilla Glass
• IP-54
• MIL-STD-810F
• Getac V100 ruggedized TabletPC
• Nokia Booklet Windows 7-savvy netbook
• Atom Z530 1.6-GHz processor
• PhoneFactor.com
• 3M Privacy Filters
• DriverAgent.com

Feel free to follow along with Steve Holden at: Twitter, FriendFeed, and/or Delicious.  For tech news only updates follow TechNewsRadio on Twitter.