PCM35: Apple Vs Microsoft, iOS Vs Android -

It is the best of times and the worst of times – at least when it comes to the constant flood of tech news inundating us consumers these days.

It’s the best because our tech – like the new iPad Pro and Surface Book – just keeps getting better.

It’s the worst because it takes a lot of time to dig through myriad tech news to figure out what matters most to the valued listeners of the PC Mike podcast.

Alas, we try, and that’s why this week’s focus is dissecting the tech news to talk everything from Apple vs. Microsoft to what smartphone camera is best. In fact – in addition to regular features like the Apps of the Week – PC Mike reports and offers meaningful commentary on:

The release date for the iPad Pro and why Apple hopes it reverses its lackluster financial this year
How the response for the just announced Microsoft Surface Book laptop/tablet has been so overwhelming that delivery has now been pushed from Oct. 26 to five to six weeks in the future
An FBI Investigation into the hot trend of daily fantasy sports betting seems to be a reality as the scandal involving the popular pastime keeps boiling
The iPhone 6S camera is bested by Android cameras
85% of Android devices have at last one security vulnerability

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Show Notes for Episode #35 Oct. 16, 2015 of the PC Mike podcast:

Tech News: Apple Down, Microsoft Up, Fantasy Sports Questioned, and the Good and Bad About Android

Apple Having Worse Year in Six: CNBC reports that Apple stock is tracking to have its worst year since 2008. (Read more) [spp-timestamp time=”1:16″]

iPad Pro Release Info: Rumors are circulating about when iPad Pro will soon be available. (Read more) [spp-timestamp time=”5:10″]

Surface Book’s Initial Supply Sold Out: Reports indicate Microsoft’s Surface Book may be its most successful product in years as evidenced by the fact it is sold out already. (Read more) [spp-timestamp time=”8:36″]

Battery Life of Surface Pro: Wondering how long the battery will last in the new Surface Book? This story gives you a pretty good idea of what to expect. (Read more) [spp-timestamp time=”12:38″]

New Features for Windows 10: An update for Windows 10 has a lot of great new improvements on the way for the operating system. (Read more) [spp-timestamp time=”14:10″]

FBI Investigating Daily Fantasy Football: Several investigations have begun looking into daily fantasy sports leagues. The queries center largely on how insiders are using their in-depth sports knowledge gained on the job to rake in winnings when off the clock. (Read more) [spp-timestamp time=”16:11″]

Android Beats New Apple iPhone 6s Camera: The website Cult of Android – perhaps not surprisingly – published a report that claims the latest Android-based smartphones deliver better results than the new iPhone 6s. (Read more) [spp-timestamp time=”18:31″]

Critical Vulnerabilities Beat Android: Gizmodo reports that a whopping 85 percent of Android-based smartphones have at least one critical vulnerability. (Read more) [spp-timestamp time=”20:19″]

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Thingamajig of the Week: Mini Tablets – iPad Mini and Ellipsis 8

Paul Ulreich, Verizon’s Uber User, joins the show to talk about iPad Mini and Verizon’s Ellipsis 8 Android tablet. [spp-timestamp time=”22:52″]

This part of the podcast is brought to you by Verizon Wireless, the nation’s largest and most reliable 4G LTE network.

Verizon first introduced 4G LTE about six years ago and is once again poised to usher in a new era with an aggressive roadmap for fifth-generation, or 5G, wireless technology.

5G is no longer a dream of the distant future. 5G technology should be introduced in the U.S. sometime after 2020, but Verizon is accelerating the expected rate of innovation. By working closely with key partners, Verizon aims to launch field technology trials next year.

The expected benefits of 5G include about 50 times the throughput of current 4G LTE, latency in the single milliseconds and the ability to handle exponentially more Internet-connected devices to accommodate the expected explosion of the Internet of Everything.

Today, more than 98 percent of the U.S. population has access to 4G LTE and 87 percent of Verizon data traffic is carried over the network. Even as Verizon begins the work to make 5G a reality, the company will continue to grow 4G LTE.

To learn more about 5G and Verizon’s 5G Technology Forum, visit roadtreking.com/vzwtech

Visit Roadtreking.com/vzw for stories about how technology can enhance and improve your life.

Apps of the Week: Apps to Take the Pain Out of Painting

Apps to find the perfect room color Apps sure can come in handy! For example: It can be a major bummer to paint a room and not be happy with the results – you either are stuck living with a color you don’t like or spend more money and time repainting. [spp-timestamp time=”27:54″]

A number of apps can help you see what a new color will look like before you even head to the store.

TapPainter makes it super easy to plan painting projects. Take a picture of the room or wall you want to paint and select from the thousands of available colors to see on your screen what the new color could eventually look like on your walls. Then, simply go to your closest paint or hardware store to find the color you like. TapPainter is $2.99 for iOS.

Project Color by The Home Depot is designed to get you into Home Depot stores, but that doesn’t matter if you just want to see how your painting project will look. Simply upload or take a picture and then scroll through thousands of potential colors. You can even see how different kinds of light like sun or low-lighting will affect how new colors may look – giving it more of a realistic look. The app is free for iOS and Android.

ColorSnap Visualizer from Sherwin-Williams is a cool app that can help you almost perfectly color coordinate photos, painting, or just about anything with paint colors. Take a picture and the app scans colors available from Sherwin-Williams. The app is free for iOS and Android.

Online Learning – Free Trial for PC Mike Listeners

I get asked a lot about finding online courses for learning how to use photography software such as Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom CC, which are both on my recently updated list of tech gear. I talk about how I benefited from taking online courses as well as a special deal available only to PC Mike Techcast listeners at pcmike.com/lynda, where you can even try it free for 10 days and see if online learning works as well for you as it has for me. By the way, they have more than 3,300 courses to pick from – including more than 100,000 video tutorials – in subjects ranging from photography, video and audio to graphic design and web development. With Lynda, you can get:

– Unlimited access to all 3,314 courses – more than 100,000 video tutorials
– Learn new software and stay up to date

Listeners of the PC Mike podcast can get a free 10-day trial. Try any course. Start your trial now and see what you can learn. Just go to https://pcmike.com/lynda to get the free 10 day trial.

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We Need Your Help!

As we begin a new podcast like this, it’s very important to get a bunch of reviews to be able to show well in the iTunes listings. So if you can, I’d sure appreciate it if you’d subscribe and leave me your rating and review.

Here’s how:

First, open up the iTunes app on your computer or mobile device. Click on Podcasts on top
> From the iTunes Podcasts page, use the “Search Store” field up at the top right corner of the page. Type in PC Mike Techcast under the Podcasts category.
> Click on the logo image of the PC Mike Techcast on the search return page
> From there, you can:

1) Subscribe

2) Choose and Click on a star (1-5) that reflects your rating. Five stars means you really like it, one star not so much.

3) Leave a written review.

Thanks to all for the kind reviews we’ve received so far. I read and appreciate every review! If you haven’t left a review please do so. I will be so grateful!

And remember, you can appear in future episodes. Ask a question or voice your comments by clicking the Leave Voicemail tab on the right side of this page here at pcmike.com. You can then use the microphone on your computer to record your question.

Thank you!