We have had a long journey at Fancy Show Tech.  We’ve had our share of ups and downs but we have finally decided to fade Fancy Show Tech into the sunset and introduce VectorGTX.  VectorGTX is our latest project, which aims to combine tech and gaming in a unique way.  Find out more about VectorGTX here and we hope you decide to follow us there.

If you’re wondering what’s happening to Fancy Show Tech, this website will still be here for a few months but only to archive old content.  After a few months, the site will start redirecting to VectorGTX.

Thank you for sticking with us!

-Carmen

Fancy Show Tech Live, as you may know, is the name of a live show/podcast that we usually do every Sunday at 5 PM Eastern.  We have decided to cancel Fancy Show Tech Live in its current form for several reasons.

Now, this decision was one that has been tossed around for a long time here at Fancy Show Tech but at the end we decided to cancel this show because we want to be able to concentrate on other parts of Fancy Show Tech better and the format was getting stale.  Now, what I mean by the format was getting stale is that, Fancy Show Tech Live in its current form goes by a more traditional podcast format.  As informative as covering news stories and the latest news at Fancy Show Tech in one podcast can be, we think that concentrating our efforts on making content other places (like YouTube) and possibly occasionally publishing update blog posts would be better than carrying on Fancy Show Tech Live.  As well as this, the hosts were getting tired of doing the show, and we didn’t want to keep a show going that the hosts didn’t enjoy doing.  This is why we decided to cancel Fancy Show Tech Live.

Now, Fancy Show Tech Live could possibly be revived, although with a different format for sure in the future, but for now it is considered cancelled indefinitely.

Thanks for being there with us, and we hope to make tons more awesome content for everyone in the future!

-Carmen

Episode 9 – VGA will DIE

Today, Carlo Brown and Carmen Shields discuss the week’s in tech news and cover the state of Fancy Show Tech.

Hosts:
Carmen Shields - http://carmenshields.com/
Carlo Brown - http://twitter.com/CarloBrown

Links to news stories:
http://www.techradar.com/news/software/applications/spotify-plans-special-announcement-next-week-1076000
http://www.cultofmac.com/160771/unofficial-spotify-ipad-app-in-the-works-gallery/
http://www.technobuffalo.com/news/so-long-and-thanks-for-all-the-fish-vgadvi/
http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/13/valve-working-on-wearable-computers-says-michael-abrash/
http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/09/onlive-desktop-migrates-to-windows-server-2008/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
http://www.technobuffalo.com/news/court-rules-on-whether-goofing-around-on-work-computer-is-a-crime/

Sponsor for this week’s show:
CubixCloud Web Services
Coupon Code (10% off for the first three months on any services -only works for new customers): fancyshowtech
http://cubixcloud.com/fancyshowtech

You can send us an email to live@fancyshowtech.tv for a chance to be featured on the show!

Intro Music made by Kevin MacLeod - http://incompetech.com/

Subscribe to the show’s RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/fastlive

Subscribe to the show’s iTunes feed: http://bit.ly/fastliveitunes

-Carmen

A podcast is something that, if done right, can be a fun and entertaining experience for everyone involved.  However, if it fails, it can also be a sad and baffling experience for the people involved.  In this post, I’m going to share my tips I use when podcasting and tips that I would recommend for you to use when starting your own podcast.

1. Find a topic you are passionate about

When you’re podcasting, you need to keep your audience entertained.  This is kinda hard to do if the topic you are talking about isn’t that exciting to you.  You need to find a topic that you know a lot about and enjoy talking about.  For me, that topic is technology.  I know a lot about technology and I usually have a lot to say about it.  This is why I chose to go into podcasting about technology.  This could be different for anyone, but definitely find a topic you enjoy talking about for your podcast.

2. Get a good microphone

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people with horrible mics, especially with podcasting.  A good microphone is essential for podcasting, because if you don’t have one, it seriously degrades the quality of your content.  If you want a simple USB microphone, I would recommend the Blue Snowball.  It is a wonderful microphone with excellent audio quality, and for $75, it is very affordable for podcasting.  I own a Blue Snowball and I would definitely recommend it.  If you plan on going to the next level, and getting gear such as a mixer to produce your shows, I would recommend the MXL 990.  It isn’t the latest generation of microphones that MXL offers, but it is one of the best mics out there for podcasting, and the price is VERY LOW compared to how much other microphones of its quality cost.  I use the MXL 990 for most of my podcasting as well as live shows and I would recommend it as well.

3. Keep your viewers entertained

I don’t know how many times I’ve seen podcasters that are straight up boring and uninformative.  If you’re going to do a podcast, you should do it right and keep your viewers engaged and entertained.  I find that maintaining a balance of professionalism and being laid back is perfect.  Being too professional will bore you viewers and eventually make them unsubscribe but being too laid back causes the podcast to become unorganized and eventually people will unsubscribe as well.  Alas, a balance makes it so you are not too stiff and professional, but also that you have something to talk about and a show plan.

4. Have a set time for recording your podcast

You should always plan a set time to record your podcast and edit it.  This way, it keeps things organized and you have a set time each week you know you’ll be doing one.  Plus, if you live stream your podcast recordings, this gives viewers a expected time to tune in to your podcast live stream each week if they want to watch live.  This definitely is a good idea in both how I mentioned above on being organized and this makes sure you don’t crowd up your schedule for the week then forget to record your podcast.

These are four tips I use for podcasting and I hope they help you!  Podcasting can definitely be a fun and rewarding experience, but if you don’t have the time for it and don’t have a topic you are passionate about, then you may as well not do a podcast in the first place.

If you have any other suggestions for people reading the article, be sure to leave them in the comments!

-Carmen

Google has rolled out a redesign for their popular social network, Google+, today.

The homepage of the new design.

In a blog post on the Google Blog, they have announced this new design with a blog post, claiming this redesign “accelerates our efforts to create a simpler, more beautiful Google”.  This redesign is part of Google’s ongoing efforts to simplify and unify all of the sites Google owns.  This design comes with like and hate from all sides of the spectrum, with many hating on the design because of its use of space.

This redesign moves the selections of different sections of the website to the left of the browser window, changes the chat widget giving it more prominence on the website and vastly changes the layout of the social network.  It also adds new icons and a dedicated page for Hangouts.

I personally like most of the new design, including the new dedicated page for the hangouts, as this adds somewhere to find public hangouts and will attract more people to hangouts.

What do you guys think of the changes to Google+?  Post your thoughts in the comments below.

-Carmen

Episode 8 – The future, presented by Google

Today, Carlo Brown and Carmen Shields discuss the week’s in tech news and cover the state of Fancy Show Tech.

Hosts:
Carmen Shields - http://carmenshields.com/
Carlo Brown - http://twitter.com/CarloBrown

Links to news stories:
http://dvice.com/archives/2012/04/googles-shows-o.php
http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/06/google-project-glass-sergey-brin/
http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/05/viacom-wins-appeal-against-youtube/
http://www.cnet.com/8301-17918_1-57410586-85/at-ts-iphones-free-at-last/?tag=mncol;cnetRiver
http://www.technobuffalo.com/companies/apple/survey-finds-that-iphone-is-growing-in-popularity-among-teens/
http://www.razorianfly.com/2012/04/05/briefly-apple-online-store-to-see-complete-revamp/
http://www.technobuffalo.com/internet/social-networking/instagram-for-android-now-available/

Sponsor for this week’s show:
CubixCloud Web Services
Coupon Code (10% off for the first three months on any services -only works for new customers): fancyshowtech
http://cubixcloud.com/fancyshowtech

You can send us an email to live@fancyshowtech.tv for a chance to be featured on the show!

Intro Music made by Kevin MacLeod - http://incompetech.com/

Subscribe to the show’s RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/fastlive

Subscribe to the show’s iTunes feed: http://bit.ly/fastliveitunes

-Carmen

Episode 7 – Android on the loose!

Today, Carlo Brown and Carmen Shields discuss the week’s in tech news and Carmen gives his first impressions on the Galaxy Nexus.

Hosts:
Carmen Shields – http://carmenshields.com/
Carlo Brown – http://twitter.com/CarloBrown

Episode 6 – Free the Interwebz!

Today, Carlo Brown, Carmen Shields, and Ravinder Jagdev discuss the week’s in tech news as well as the state of Fancy Show Tech.

Hosts:
Carmen Shields - http://carmenshields.com/
Carlo Brown - http://twitter.com/carlobrown
Ravinder Jagdev – http://twitter.com/MistahRav

Links to news stories:
http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/12/2865638/twitter-acquires-posterous-blogging-platform
http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/17/2879331/att-throttling-dispute-end-850-payout
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-57397452-261/riaa-chief-isps-to-start-policing-copyright-by-july-1/?tag=mncol;mostRead
http://www.technobuffalo.com/companies/apple/iphone/customer-satisfaction-study-again-ranks-apple-as-top-smartphone-manufacturer/
http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/16/apple-releases-mountain-lion-developer-preview-2/
http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/15/2874647/paypal-here-credit-card-reader-pictures

Sponsor for this week’s show:
CubixCloud Web Services
Coupon Code (10% off for the first three months on any services -only works for new customers): fancyshowtech
http://cubixcloud.com/fancyshowtech

You can send us an email to live@fancyshowtech.tv for a chance to be featured on the show!

Intro Music made by Kevin MacLeod - http://incompetech.com/

Subscribe to the show’s RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/fastlive

Subscribe to the show’s iTunes feed: http://bit.ly/fastliveitunes

-Carmen

Episode 5 – Square is definitely not square

In today’s episode of Fancy Show Tech Live, Carmen Shields and Carlo Brown discuss the tech news of the week as well as going over the latest news at Fancy Show Tech.

Links to news stories:
http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/07/the-new-ipad-is-official/
http://mashable.com/2012/03/06/square-taxi-cabs/
http://news.cnet.com/8301-32973_3-57392987-296/path-rolls-out-api-partners-with-nike-to-appeal-to-runners/
http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-maps-replace-google-maps-in-iphoto-for-ios-2012-3?utm_source=inpost&utm_medium=seealso&utm_term=&utm_content=2&utm_campaign=recirc

Sponsor for this week’s show:
CubixCloud Web Services
Coupon Code (10% off for the first three months on any services -only works for new customers): fancyshowtech
http://cubixcloud.com/fancyshowtech

You can send us an email to live@fancyshowtech.tv for a chance to be featured on the show!

Intro Music made by Kevin MacLeod - http://incompetech.com/

Subscribe to the show’s RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/fastlive

Subscribe to the show’s iTunes feed: http://bit.ly/fastliveitunes

-Carmen

Episode 4 – Apple, Made in China

Hosts:
Carmen Shields – http://carmenshields.com
Carlo Brown – http://twitter.com/CarloBrown
Eric Andrews – http://ericandrews.net

In today’s episode of Fancy Show Tech Live, Carmen Shields, Carlo Brown, and Eric Andrews discuss the tech news of the week as well as going over the latest news at Fancy Show Tech.

News stories mentioned during the show:
http://www.mojang.com/2012/03/minecraft-1-2-is-out/
http://mashable.com/2012/03/02/ipad-3-ios6
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/250995/microsoft_launches_windows_8_consumer_preview_with_free_apps.html
http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/29/2834110/lytro-plenoptic-camera-now-shipping-to-early-adopters
http://techcrunch.com/2012/03/02/apple-inc-made-in-america/

Sponsor for this week’s show:
CubixCloud Web Services
Coupon Code (10% off for the first three months on any services -only works for new customers): fancyshowtech
http://cubixcloud.com/fancyshowtech

You can send us an email to live@fancyshowtech.tv for a chance to be featured on the show!

Intro Music made by Kevin MacLeod - http://incompetech.com/

Subscribe to the show’s RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/fastlive

Subscribe to the show’s iTunes feed: http://bit.ly/fastliveitunes

-Carmen