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Episode 894 July 22, 2012

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Audience Questions

Audience QuestionsHour 1

Hour 1 Hour 2 Hour 3

What wireless printer would you recommend for a student living in a dorm? (Part 1)

Watch Dave from Crystal Lake, IL Comments

Dave should check to see if his daughter's dorm has a printer. Sometimes schools will have printers available on the wireless network already. If she still needs a printer, then Leo recommends the Canon Pixma. It's easy to set up, and capable of printing over Wi-Fi. There is a chance that the school won't let her connect the printer to their Wi-Fi, though, and the advantage of wireless is lost when she's going to have it right next to her computer anyway. So she may not need that capability, but all of the wireless printers will work with USB as well.

What should I get to do Skype calls on the road? (Part 2)

Watch Dave from Crystal Lake, IL Comments

Dave's wondering whether to get a Nexus 7, a Galaxy Tab 7 inch, or the iPod Touch. His wife and daughter have iOS devices. Leo says one reason to stay with iOS is that he can continue to use the same apps instead of buying new ones. On the other hand, the Nexus 7 is actually cheaper than an iPod touch at $200 for 8GB and $250 for 16GB. It's also much less than the Galaxy Tab 7inch.

He should keep in mind that there are strong rumors that Apple will be doing a 7 inch tablet in the fall. Leo thinks it would be a little more than the Nexus 7, but close in price. The other thing he should know is that both the iPod Touch and the Nexus 7 are strictly Wi-Fi devices. If he's on the road and doesn't have Wi-Fi, he might want to get a 3G enabled device. In that case, he should get a Galaxy Tab or an iPad with 3G or 4G data.

Ultimately, Leo recommends the iPad, especially since his wife and daughter are also iOS users and he already has the apps.

Why am I suddenly getting an error that my username and password is incorrect when checking my AOL mail on iOS devices?

Watch John from Oxnard, CA Comments

Leo suspects that AOL may have made a change on the server side and that's causing iOS devices to have issues. He should call AOL.

Is there an adjustable stand I could get to use the iPad as a video camera? (Part 1)

Watch Mark from Tustin, CA Comments

ThoughtOut has some great adjustable stands that could help. The Stabil Coil Pro would work well for this.

My Mac Mini currently is running Snow Leopard. Should I wait for Mountain Lion to come out to upgrade? (Part 2)

Watch Mark from Tustin, CA Comments

Yes, it's worth the wait. It should be out on July 25th.

Is there a way to convert flash based movies so they can be viewed on iOS? (Part 3)

Watch Mark from Tustin, CA Comments

Flash is really just an envelope with a video inside. If he can just download those flash videos, he could extract an H.264 video which would play just fine on iOS. If not, then he'll need a conversion program, and there are quite a few. Leo says Handbrake may do it.

How can I get my iMac to connect to my Panasonic video camera in Final Cut Pro?

Watch Alan from Fullerton, CA Comments

Alan is using Firewire to connect the camera to the computer, but no computer Alan has tried will connect to the camera. Leo thinks the Firewire port on the camera may have shorted or been damaged. Firewire ports are notoriously easy to short. Since the camera does use P2 memory, he could take that memory out and use a P2 memory card reader instead.

JoeJoe in the chatroom says he can try enabling "mounting" in the camera menu.

Is there a way I can recover a corrupted Quicktime video file?

Watch Joe from Florida Comments

The first thing to try is a free program called |VLC. It's not specifically designed to recover corrupted video files, but it could be that the header is damaged and VLC will just ignore that. It's a great player that will play just about anything. Joe tried this and it was unable to play the file as well.

The Chatroom says to try HD Video Repair. Make sure to make a copy of the file first, so if it doesn't work, he won't make the problem worse.

This is another argument for backing up data, because then he would have another copy that might not be damaged.

Audience QuestionsHour 2

Hour 1 Hour 2 Hour 3

How can I order prints of photos on an iPad?

Watch Jeff from Anaheim, CA Comments

Jeff's dad has an iPad and has been scanning photos in using the Camera Connection Kit. Now he wants to order prints of those photos. There's a company called Sincerely.com. They have some great apps which also includes sending post cards or greeting cards. There's also SmugMug, which is similar to Flickr, but he could order high quality, professional style printing with a lot of options.

The issue Jeff is running into is having the apps or services access photos he's imported instead of photos taken with the iPad. Leo says they should be going right into the camera roll of the iPad, which is where those apps would get the photos. He could try buying Apple's iPhoto for $5. It will keep its own albums, but it can also export to the camera roll.

He also can try Awesome Files, which he can use to move photos around and get them to a place where other apps could access them. RJ in the studio confirmed that Snapfish, an iPhone app which would work fine on the iPad, will see photos imported from the Camera Connection Kit.

How can I watch videos from my phone on my TV?

Watch Leonard from Santa Clarita, CA Comments

There are many ways to do this, but his TV isn't equipped for it. More modern TVs include something called "DLNA", or Digital Living Network Alliance. Many phones have DLNA built in too. So if he had a TV that supported it, he could play back videos from his phone on the TV. He'll need to get a device that he can connect to the TV that supports DLNA.

The Western Digital TV Live and Boxee Box are a couple devices that do this. Roku does not support DLNA, however. Apple has "AirPlay" in their AppleTV, but he'd have to have an iPhone to make use of it.

Leonard was wondering if there was a bluetooth option, but there isn't because it isn't fast enough. He could connect his Galaxy SII phone to the TV using an HDMI cable, though. Some phones have a special kind of USB port that can be turned into HDMI with the appropriate cable.

Why won't Flash video work on my Droid Razor that was recently updated to Ice Cream Sandwich?

Watch Carol from Los Angeles, CA Comments

The problem actually comes from Adobe since they stopped supporting mobile flash. It's likely that the upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich wiped out Flash support. Some videos that aren't encoded to HTML5 won't play on it. Android Advices has a side load method to load flash onto her phone to fix that. She could also use SkyFire, a browser that may help as it converts flash on their end to something her phone could watch.

The real problem is that the sites she's trying to visit are just not optimized for mobile. In many cases, they would rather she download their mobile app instead. Going back to an old version of the operating system won't help her either in the long run because we're in a transition. It also might be that the sites she's going to don't want her to watch on the phone.

If I get an Android tablet, should I get antivirus to protect it?

Watch Jay from Orange, CA Comments

Leo thinks it's probably safe enough to not worry about malware, but there are some rare cases of malicious apps in the Google Play store. There's a free app called Lookout which will scan through his downloads. Leo wouldn't recommend getting McAfee or any full-blown antivirus programs. Lookout should be enough.

What's the best way to watch my home TV remotely?

Watch Scott from Alabama Comments

Scott is trying to decide between the SlingBox Pro and the Monsoon Blast. Belkin also makes a similar device called the @TV Plus. These devices connect to a home theater system and internet, and allows users to watch their home cable or satellite TV.

PC Magazine gave the Monsoon Blast a 3 out of 5 stars in their review, so that's probably a recommendation against it. Leo says that Slingbox has been around the longest, so their apps are probably not as buggy and more stable. The other devices offer the ability to record content on the device he'd be accessing it with, though.

Before getting any of these devices, it's important to make sure he'd have enough bandwidth at home. Typically people look at the downstream speed, but in this case it's essential to have enough upstream bandwidth too. A DSL connection with just 128k or 256k upstream isn't going to be enough for this. Leo says to do this reliably over the internet, he'd need at least 512k up. If he can get 1Mb up, he can get almost HD quality. (Disclaimer: Slingbox is a sponsor).

Should I wait for Mountain Lion to upgrade from Snow Leopard?

Watch Andrew from St. Louis, MO Comments

Mountain Lion will only be $20 for every computer in the house, and there's a lot of benefits to upgrading to it. Andrew wanted to use iCloud, and that's one big reason, but it's also going to be very secure with Gatekeeper. It'll be worth the wait, but it won't work on all Macs. The older his Macs are, the less likely they'll be supported. He won't have a problem if all of his Macs can't be upgraded though -- they'll all work fine on the same network.

Audience QuestionsHour 3

Hour 1 Hour 2 Hour 3

I installed ESET Mobile Security on my Android smartphone. Why is it giving me all kinds of warnings?

Watch Chip from Corona Del Mar, CA Comments

It sounds like the one he got is an enterprise edition, and is meant for sys admins to install on all Android phones in a company. They're used to seeing this, it is normal, and he could go through it and use it on his phone. In general though, Leo doesn't put any high end security software on his phone. He does use a free program called LookOut, but he doesn't think anything more than that is necessary. But he paid for the software, he might as well use it! The good news is it's ESET and won't slow his phone down at all. (Disclaimer: ESET is a sponsor).

Why won't apps uninstall from the SD card in my PanDigital Android tablet?

Watch Joe from Cheekatowaga, New York Comments

He should root the device and put a CyanogenMod ROM on it. It would be faster and smarter. He can go to XDA-Developers Forums to find out how. Leo says the PanDigital tablets are very cheap and he doesn't think they're very well engineered.

How can I get the accessibility features to work on my Android Razor phone?

Watch Justin from Prescott, AZ Comments

It may be Verizon or Motorola that took out some accessible features during the last update. He may want to root that phone and put something on it from XDA-Developers Forums that will support accessibility better for him.

Byron, in the chatroom, says that there's a screen reader app called Georgie he could install. There's also a magnifier he can get called UltraMagnifier.

How can I collaborate on a document with someone remotely in real time?

Watch Charlie from El Paso, TX Comments

Leo suggests Google Docs. It offers collaboration and real time editing so they both can work on the same document together. And it's free.

What's the best Verizon Android phone with a physical keyboard?

Watch Neil from Temecula, CA Comments

The Motorola Droid 4 is probably the best and most up-to-date phone with a physical keyboard. Leo's experience is that the physical keyboard phones aren't kept as up-to-date as the big screen phones without keyboards. There are advantages to having an on-screen keyboard, like being able to install something like Swype so he can draw out words by swiping his finger across the letters.

Leo's favorite is the Samsung Galaxy S III, but it doesn't have a physical keyboard.

Should I bring an iPad with me instead of a laptop for studying abroad in Sweden? (Part 1)

Watch Rachel from Los Angeles, CA Comments

Tablets are light and portable, but Leo doesn't think they're great for doing schoolwork. Leo would suggest bringing her laptop even though it's heavy.

The other alternative is to get a Wi-Fi iPad (3rd generation) for $499, and get the Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard for $100. This will give her a physical keyboard, and when she puts the iPad into it, it actually looks a lot like a laptop. She could get along fine with the iPad 2 for $399 if she wanted to save some money.

What are my options for using my iPhone overseas? (Part 2)

Watch Rachel from Los Angeles, CA Comments

There are two choices. She could pay AT&T for international data, but since she'll be there for a two and a half weeks, it would be pretty expensive. Leo would probably buy a SIM card when she gets to the UK from Vodafone or O2 that she can put into her iPhone which would give her a UK phone number and unlimited data. This would be much more affordable than paying AT&T for international data. She could do the same thing when she goes to Sweden.

Why is my computer running so slow after reinstalling Windows?

Watch Chris from Virginia Comments

Chris had a trojan on his computer, and had to reinstall Windows. Leo thinks that's the only way to be sure he's free and clear of any viruses or anything. Chris says his computer is running slow since reinstalling, though. Leo says his computer should run faster after a reinstall. He should make sure all of the updates are done. The chatroom suggests that his PC doesn't have the official hardware drivers, and is just using the generic ones from Windows. It's always a good idea after reinstalling Windows to get drivers from the manufacturer's website for anything they offer.

I have a Nexus 7 on backorder, but how can I buy apps now while they're on sale?

Watch Blake from Cedar Rapids, IA Comments

The Google Play store won't let him buy an app unless he has a supported device installed. The chatroom says he could install the Android SDK and create a virtual tablet and register it. That's a long way to go to save a few bucks though. He could also go to a brick and mortar store, log into the Play Store with a demo device and buy the app that way. He may be able to buy a gift certificate. Another option is to contact the app developer and tell them the dilemma. Maybe they'd do something for him.

I'm a video editor. Should I get a new Macbook Pro or consider switching to Windows?

Watch Ken from Michigan Comments

Ken is not sure whether or not to get a new Macbook Pro with Final Cut Pro X missing so many key features. Apple dramatically decreased the cost of Final Cut from $1,300 to just $299, but they also removed a lot of functionality. Leo says Apple has been putting features back in over time because of a lot of professionals switching to either Avid or Adobe Premiere. It does seem that Apple has lost interest in catering to the professional market, preferring the money that can be made in mobile.

Why will Outlook only work when logged in as Administrator?

Watch Patricia from Los Angeles, CA Comments

She probably installed Outlook as administrator. Should should reinstall Outlook and choose to install for all accounts. It should be a setting in the installer. She won't have to uninstall it first, she can just install on top of it.

What eReader would be best for school textbooks?

Watch Alex from Pleasanton, CA Comments

First he should contact the university and find out what they suggest because not all textbooks are available on all devices. Leo likes the $79 Kindle, but he's almost certain there won't be a lot of the textbooks he needs on there.

Leo thinks the iPad would be the best way to go. That way he can access textbooks from several eBook stores including Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and the iBook store itself is very textbook centric. He was wondering if he should wait for the Microsoft Surface, but Leo advises just getting the iPad. It'll be cheaper too.

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