Friday, January 31, 2014

Friday Link Roundup

Holodeck virtual reality video game designed to train soldiers.

Silicon Valley investors and tech developers hope to revolutionize firearm safety by using smartphone-inspired locking technology to create a weapon that prevents anyone other than the owner from firing it.


Tactical Impulse's Project Illuminate gives free tactical flashlights to officers in need.

Infographic breaks down the latest trends in cybercrime.


Thursday, January 30, 2014

Toughbook vs. Snowstorm

Last week, winter storm Janus laid down its fury upon us. We put a Toughbook out in the snow for four hours to see what would happen. Here's the video we made:

Friday, January 24, 2014

Friday Link Roundup

Sorry the link roundup is a little sparse this week. We use Google's Blogger service, which -- along with most Google services -- was out of commission for a while today. I ended up with a late start, and I have to leave early today. Excuses, excuses, excuses. Here are some links.

Not unlike a Batman gadget, this vehicle-mounted device disables car electronics from up to 50 meters away.

Pennsylvania police "like" a wanted suspect's taunting Facebook post, then arrest him.

The NYPD will be keeping a close eye on fans with high-tech security at the Super Bowl.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Chinese Military Shovel Demonstration

Did you know that you were going to watch a 17 and a half minute long video about a shovel today?


While this may be an old video, it's still a really cool, beautifully low-tech survival tool.

Friday, January 17, 2014

Friday Link Roundup


Is it just me, or has it been a slow week for EMS, fire and police oddball news and tech? One "weird news" webpage I checked out had horrifying items like a guy who drowned in a river and some kids that drank bleach. Personally, I don't think those stories fit the lighthearted tone of a what a "weird news" site oughta be. But maybe that's just me. Let me know if you heard of anything funny or uplifting that has happened in the last week and I will amend this list. In the meantime, here are a few items I managed to scrape together.

BEAR-iatrics has come out with a stair chair designed to move obese people. It's called the BEAR Stair Chair. I don't know if they came up with the fun, rhyming name first and invented something to fit it or what, but it seems like a real life saver.
I almost forgot! BobJohnson.com now has a Tech Support section. You may have seen our Toughbook repair videos on YouTube. Now we are working on guides with text and pictures to supplement some of our videos.
Check out how one department used a viral recruit video to find their new police chief.









Edit: Here's a fun story. A man fell asleep while robbing a house. I guess burglary is tired work!

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Yes, You Can Load Windows 7 on a Toughbook CF-30

A customer calls us. He's trying to upgrade to Windows 7 on his Toughbook CF-30. He tells us he just got off the phone with Panasonic tech support, who told him it can't be done. We tell him to send it over, because Panasonic tech support is wrong. We put Windows 7 on CF-30s every day.

Microsoft will stop supporting Windows XP on April 8th, 2014, so we've been getting a lot of calls like this lately. These are just the folks who thought to get a second opinion. It's safe to assume that many more users took tech support's advice at face value. Who knows how many users have unnecessarily spent thousands on a new machine based on bad information?

Both the CF-30 and CF-19 meet Windows 7's system requirements. Even a maxed-out CF-29 will squeak by. It may not be the simplest install, but it is definitely not impossible. We have the tools and knowledge, so before you take a hunk out of your bank account for a new machine, let us help you out.

Friday, January 10, 2014

Friday Link Roundup

Panasonic Toughpad FZ-M1

Tech Radar reviews the new Panasonic Toughpad FZ-M1.

Yellow Jacket stun gun iPhone case

Yellow Jacket is a new iPhone case/stun gun. The Verge's Ben Popper tases himself with it in the name of ... Journalism?


Evidence Mobile smartphone app

Speaking of TASER, the company has released a smartphone app for police that works with Evidence.com to streamline productivity in the field. It's not brand new, but we only just heard about it and it seems useful.

Friday, January 3, 2014

Friday Link Roundup

Ornery goat tries to break into house, police car.

(WSMV.com)

2013 had the fewest police deaths by firearm since 1887.

(Associated Press via Washington Post)

A lot of people shoot guns on New Year's Eve

(Imgur)

PoliceOne's Year In Review.

(PoliceOne)

Here's a shameless link to bobjohnson.com.

(Bob Johnson's Computer Stuff)