Since the days of the shared family desktop computer, we’ve seen tech become more personal, first with everyone having their own laptop to the highly mobile world where everyone from teens to seniors has a personal smartphone with their own access to the Internet.
As devies become more personal, they also start to talk to each other. Geek Squad has changed over the years to help with all these connected devices, with Geek Squad Autotechs helping with bluetooth car audio, Home Theater Agents setting up connected TVs and even our appliance installation and repair teams are looking at washers and dryers that can connect to your home network to let you know when they’re ready to be unloaded.
Eric Harley from Red Eye Radio took some time from their Midnight to 5AM show for long-haul truckers to talk to me about Geek Squad’s 20th birthday and how Agents look forward to another 20 years of technology support for our clients.
Play Audio – WTAM 1100 Newsradio – Tech Tuesday – July 8th, 2014
It’s pretty much a given that college students are going to need a computer for their studies. With limited dorm space and the need to access resources across the campus, a laptop is the most common choice. But what laptop is right for you? The Best Buy website has a Laptop Buying Guide that can help.
Two questions you need to answer first:
How will you use your laptop? Determining if you’re a light, average or advanced user will help determine what laptop specs fit your needs best. For example, demanding users will want to invest more in a higher resolution screen, faster processor, more memory and a larger hard drive.
How important is portability to you? This will help determine what balance to strike with large or small screen and keyboard size, as well as how many accessories, like Blu-ray drives you carry with you. There’s even a special laptop category for those that value portability above all else, known as “Ultrabooks“.
When shopping, you’ll come across 4 hardware specs that you’ll want to understand to help decide on a laptop:
Processor – This is both the brain and the muscles of the laptop. The faster and more powerful a processor is, the more work it can handle from your programs, just like an engine in your favorite car.
Memory – System memory, or RAM, is where your data and program lives while you’re working on the laptop. The more RAM, the more data you can be accessing and manipulating at any given time, like adding more seats to your car.
Hard Drive Storage – This is where your data, like your photos, documents, music and videos lives while not in use, and the more you have, the more files you can carry with you.
Battery Life – This one is important for college students on the go, because you may not always have a handy outlet to use at the library or time to recharge between classes.
Best Buy is offering some special discounts for college students. If you visit the Best Buy website, you’ll see a “College Student Deals” link to the right. To receive your deals, you will need a .edu email address, which can be entered on the site to get all the latest student-only offers sent right to your mailbox. When you sign up, you’ll be entered for a chance to win $100,000 as part of Best Buy’s Cash for College program.
Of course, no matter what laptop you choose, Geek Squad will be there to support you with our Geek Squad Tech Support program.
Play Audio – WTAM 1100 Newsradio – Tech Tuesday – July 1st, 2014
The connected home is getting more connected at Best Buy thanks to a new developer toolkit announced by Nest Labs ahead of last week’s Google I/O conference.
The Nest programmer’s kit will help “smart devices” from other companies interact with both current and future Nest smart home devices. Several companies, including Chamberlain, Jawbone and others have announced they will be building support for the Nest API into their existing and future products.
Nest has two devices available today at your local Best Buy:
Nest Learning Thermostat – This smart device replaces your regular thermostat and connects to your home’s WiFi network to allow you to control your heating or cooling through any compatible smartphone or tablet, even while away from home. As you adjust the temperature to fit your needs, the device learns about your preferences and creates an automatic schedule for your heat or AC that can be customized for your tastes. The Nest Learning Thermostat also helps conserve energy by adjusting it’s temperature to be efficient while you’re away, and notifies you when an adjustment can help with energy conservation.
Nest Protect – This WiFi connected device monitors for smoke and carbon monoxide, and can help alert your family through voice alarms and warning messages sent directly to your smartphone or tablet. Combined with apps like IFTTT, any warnings of smoke or carbon monoxide can be sent via SMS to a friend or neighbor to help them check on your family and home.
Examples of Nest compatible devices that are available at your local Best Buy include:
Chamberlain MyQ Garage – This universal device works with your existing garage door opener to allow you to control your garage door anywhere using its built-in WiFi capabilities and an app on your smartphone. With the upcoming Nest support, the MyQ app will allow control of the home temperature settings, and the company hopes in the future to have the MyQ alert the Nest Learning Thermostat when you’ve left the house to help keep your heating and cooling as efficient as possible.
Harmony Ultimate Remote – This Logitech programmable remote already can control up to 15 devices with a touchscreen interface, but the company wants to allow you to control your heating and cooling from the couch as well.
Jawbone UP24 – This wearable fitness band helps to monitor your movement to give you an accurate view of your daily exercise and calories burned. It also can help you monitor your sleeping patterns to get the best rest possible. With that technology, Jawbone hopes to have the device help alert the Nest Thermostat when you’re waking up, so that it can switch from an energy efficient mode to set the temperature just the way you want it when you get out of bed.
The connected home of tomorrow is already getting very communicative today!
Play Audio – Turn on Tech, Friday, June 27th, 2014
Apple and Google both made a big push into connected home automation in their developer conferences this year. I had a chance to speak about smart devices you can already buy at your local Best Buy on this week’s Turn on Tech Show on LA Talk Radio 2.
Connected home automation will no doubt become even more interesting as more companies sign onto the open Nest API that allows developers to make their products work together.
We continue to celebrate Geek Squad’s 20th Birthday by talking to Good Day with Doug Stephans about the technology changes Geek Squad has seen over those last two decades. 
It’s pretty much a given that college students are going to need a computer for their studies. With limited dorm space and the need to access resources across the campus, a laptop is the most common choice. But what laptop is right for you? The Best Buy website has a