Commodore 64, Dropbox, Facebook, Home OS, Lead Recycling, Timex Sinclair 1000 – HT069

The guys are joined by Bryan Auer and Rich O’Neil for show 69 of The Home Tech Podcast.

The guys start off learning some about the lead recycling business that Bryan works in, with Bryan telling us how lead-acid batteries, and other lead containing products are recycled into re-usable components.

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Jim and Bryan take a trip down technology’s memory lane, back to the days of the Commodore Pet, and the Timex Sinclair 1000

Jim talks about the recent updates to Google Plus, with the interface being revised, making the service easier to navigate, and simpler to use.  There are also some nice new features such as the ability to broadcast a Google Hangout, rather than using a third party service like Live Stream.  The guys discuss some of the newly accessible features such as simplification of photo uploading, and the introduction of games to Google Plus.

As a follow up to previous discussions, Jim tells us how he has configured his Samsung Galaxy SII, Dropbox and the Windows Home Server to make sure the photos he takes using his phone are not only copied from the phone, but are being backed up as well.

Whilst talking about Android and applications, the guys talk about the recent $1 billion acquisition of Instagram by Facebook.

For those who haven’t yet used it, Instagram integrates with the camera in your smart phone, to which you can apply a filter, and then post it to the Instagram service, Facebook, Twitter and the blogging service Tumblr.  Instagram usage statistics are incredible, as shown by our friends over at the  Digital Buzz blog.  Rich talks about some of the privacy concerns with the Facebook acquisition, and the future of the application now it is part of the Facebook community.

Jim talks about the recent surge in the popularity of digital photography, which the guys attribute in part to the affordability of good quality digital cameras, as well as the quality of the camera built into most smart phones.

Rich shares his experiences with his Android smart phone journey, having tried the Samsung Galaxy SII Skyrocket, iPhone 4S, finally settling on the Samsung Galaxy SII.

Rich shares some of the applications he has found and purchased, and some of the processes he has employed to improve his experience with the Samsung phone, not to mention installing Ubuntu Linux onto the phone.

Christian joins the show half way through, and spreads the news that he is now loose on the roads, as a licensed driver, passing his test with full marks!

Bryan talks about the passing of Jack Tramiel, who was the founder of Commodore Business Machines, whose claims to fame were the Commodore PET, and Commodore 64, as well as the Atari ST.

The guys take another trip down memory lane, reminiscing about the early days of the IT Industry as we know it.

Bryan also tells us about one of the Microsoft Research projects being HomeOS which promises to be an Operating System to run home automation systems from, with the product currently having support for a range of devices including switches, cameras and TV’s.

To close out the show this week, Christian tells us about the forthcoming Intel PCIe-based SSD, designed for data center systems, but with some phenomenal performance numbers, as well as telling us about a Yahoo! Finance article about who is watching you on Facebook!

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