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Sunday, May 15, 2005

Today’s news items

Apple is hosting the trailers for the new Harry Potter film out this Fall.

And Bill Gates is on the offensive against the iPod. He told the German newspaper, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: “I don’t think the success of the iPod can continue in the long term, however good Apple may be. I think you can draw parallels here with the computer — here, too, Apple was once extremely strong with its Macintosh and graphic user interface, like with the iPod today, and then lost its position.” Sour grapes?

Two security flaws in Firefox have been patched. Click the update button to the right of your address bar to update your copy to 1.0.4. With that said CNN reports that Internet Explorer usage dipped below 90% a 6% drop since June of last year while Firefox had a 3 % increase as of October of last year. Firefox has roughly 6.8% of the internet browser market share.

The MPAA introduced a new round of lawsuits aimed at bittorent tracker sites according CNET.com 6 Bittorent Tracker sites have been targeted: ShunTV, Zonatracker, Btefnet, Scifi-Classics, CDDVDHeaven and Bragginrights with most of these sites homepages displaying notices of closure.

Bob in Santa Ana - Wireless routers

He’s impressed with the new Belkin Wireless Pre-N router. Great press sure, but I don’t believe in buying anything that’s using a spec that’s not yet official. I will get one for review, however, and let you know.

Aunti Mac - Mission Viejo, writes-
I tested several of the “pre-N” wireless routers for local school districts wishing to replace older .11b units. Belkin’s “Pre-N” and the Linksys WRT54GX (both use TRUE MIMO, developed by Greg Raleigh and VK Jones of Stanford Univ). I didn’t test Netgear since is virtually the same as Belkins (Neither Belkin, Linksys or Netgear actually “designs or makes” their hardware, but uses contract manufacturers from Taiwan with mfg. in China).

The results were nothing short of spectacular, even with the various existing .11b and .11g hardware we ested with for compatibility. While we didn’t see “800% wider coverage than 802.11g”, the range did quadruple to about 400+ feet in commerical buildings and even .11b/.11g PCI and PC Cards increased by two fold when used with either the Belkin or Linksys. Pre-N to Pre-N. TX rates were at a TRUE, real-world 105 Mbps. we also tested the D-Link DI-624M advertised as MIMO with very disappointed results. A little reseached revealed that the D-Link is NOT legitimate MIMO by the inventors (Raleigh and Jones) specifications and is actually a “Bean Splitting” technique. ALL TRUE MIMMO uses a chipset by Airgo. D-Links is Atheros and not true “Pre-N”, but actually just an enhanced 802.11g.

I’m an Education IT consultant in Orange County.

Mark in Santa Ana - locked address bar

Right click the address bar and uncheck Locked and you’ll be able to reposition the address bar.

He’s happy with Belkin routers, by the way

Jake - Firefox bookmarks disappear

They’re stored in the C:\Documents and Settings\Your Name\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\Your Profile folder at bookmarks.html. You can back that file up - you might also want to lock it. I suspect there’s some sort of History clearing program at work.

WinXPNo#1 says To use this exsension Bookmark Backup 0.3.1 - “completing your XPI’rience” It will make it easer to burn your bookmark’s on to a CD.

Paul - startup error

He’s seeing a pop-up Java error when he boots. I’d suspect that there’s a buggy spyware program starting up. Make sure you’re using the three free anti-spyware programs I recommend in Must Have Security Software. You might also want to check to see what programs are starting up by clicking Start→Run and entering msconfig. Hit enter, click the Startup tab and uncheck any programs you didn’t install.

Bruce - larger cluster sizes for video

He has dedicated drives just for video editing and he’s thinking of using larger cluster sizes when formatting. I can’t think of any reason not to - these are big files so you won’t be wasting much space - and it should speed things up. Do it!

Don in Houston, TX - Belkin’s Pre-N is da bomb

He’s using one and has installed a dozen for clients and says it lives up to its hype.

He uses ReplayRadio to pause the KFI stream and record other radio shows.

A listener writes: Just purchased and installed the NetGear RangeMax. before installing the Router I installed the USB Wireless USB on an upstairs desktop replacing 802.11b access point. The installation was a breeze. It immediatly increased the speed to 54kb (existing router was a Belkin 802.11G) at the client computer. With installation of the router (also a sync) the speed upstairs is 100+ but more importantly my entire back yard is “wired”.

Both NetGear products were installed on XP installations. Both were easy to install and delivered as expected.

Appreciate Leo’s comments regarding standards. This router is an 802.11g.

Noon-1p

Matt in New Jersey - podcast production suggestions

RHNet says:
Heres what I do for my podcast (Geek Life Podcast). I use skype and two PCs on my end. One is running audacity and skype with the mic muted and recording the stereo. I talk on the other one with skype on a seprate account. Then I add to the confrence the people I want to have an interview with. This does not create any echo. I used it just yesterday with skype out and it worked great.

Steve in Corona -

Pre-N with B

Aunti Mac - Mission Viejo, writes
My testing at the school districts of at least two brands of “Pre-N” wireless Routers saw no problems with existing .11b or .11g hardware, in fact both benefitted from a new “True” Pre-N unit - see reply above.

Larry in Manhattan Beach - slide show software

I like Ulead but there are free choices.

To remove copy protection from iTunes music use Hymn.

I use iREVOLT from GK-Soft http://gk-soft.net/code/. It gets your DRM info from iTUNES then uses it to remove the DRM. The result is an unprotected file (AAC) in iTUNES. If you right click the AAC file you can choose to convert it to an MP3. This works great for me on Windows XP Pro with SP1. This process is very fast and you can edit/burn the file with programs like Nero or Sound Forge.

Scan your photos at 75DPI - that’s sufficient for the screen. If you think you’ll want them for prints later then 1200DPI.

I use Goldwave to re-capture an audio stream that is playing from iTunes or any other audio application on my computer. Basically I start recording in Goldwave while playing the source. If you set the input to Stereo Mix, then you get what’s playing. This will allow you to create a new (non-protected) audio file that can be used for anything. I even use Goldwave to record these broadcasts and if you download the mp3 converter LAME32WIN, then you can save as mp3′s.

Dean in Oceanside - getting video onto computer

He’s got a DV cam and a firewire connector on his PC so all he needs now is software. I love Adobe Premiere Elements - it’s about $80.

Alan in Studio City - upgrading to USB 2.0

He wants to install a card to upgrade his USB connection. Should be pretty straightforward as long as you’re running Windows XP.

Jay in Orange- spyware infestation

He’s seeing a “security” pop up on the screen in Windows 98. XP does have such a popup with Service Pack 2, but 98 doesn’t. It’s likely spyware. Check the tips for my {Main/Must Have Security Software}} and install AdAware and Spybot to remove the culprit.

Matt in Brea - Toshiba laptop video problem

Played some DOS games and now he can’t see his screen. Try starting in Safe Mode and setting the screen to its normal settings

Aaron in Fullerton - Bluetooth controller for Mac

He’s using Sailing Clicker - we both love it but you have to have a compatible bluetooth device and a Mac.

1–2p

Matt in Brea - Toshiba laptop video problem

Played some DOS games and now he can’t see his screen. His backlight is not coming on. But when he plays the game and exits it the light comes on until he reboots. What’s going on? Any ideas?

robert_ writes
If it’s not a hardware problem, it looks like its time to backup, format and reinstall
bigbird526
What is Matt’s basic operating system? Most DOS programs including games write directly to the video instead of going through any Windows hardware abstractions. The video drivers included in his game may not recognize the commands that turn on the backlights and keep them on. If the game resets the video or bypasses the Windows drivers, then the backlight is turned off when the game is activated in a DOS “box” and reset when the DOS box is closed and the video again is processed via the Windows drivers for the operating system. This is the same idea as DOS programs that required you to specify your video card and usually your printer during their setup. If there is a setup program for this game, try a driver that is as close to the laptop chipset as possible and check the chipset manufacturer’s website for any possible DOS drivers or Windows drivers.
Also, try using F8 and booting to the command prompt. Play the game without loading Windows and see if this makes a difference. If the backlights stay on while playing the game without Windows loaded, then you can presume that the DOS game code is messing with the Windows video drivers that are controlling the backlights.
TxRickD writes(02jun05)
Matt should also check the bios for any strange backlight setting. And look in the config.sys, autoexec.bat, and autoexec.dos files for screen/drivers that are wrong for the laptop. He may want to replace any drivers to see if they are corrupted.

Tony in Ontario - Verizon FIOS

They’re digging up his neighborhood to install it. It’s basically fiber to the curb and offers speeds of from 5 to 30 megabits per second with 2 megabits upstream. You lucky dog.

Leo! You mentioned in the last hour that you were working on a deal with Rogers on a subscription service to be able to download Call For Help for us deprived US followers. The source that we were able to download shows from apparently has disappeared. Even though the quality wasn’t that great, but at least it would satisfy the CFH craving. Now that the source is gone, the CFH craving is getting more intense every day. Hope you can get the subscription service up and running very soon…..

TJ in Palmdale - PSP video

Wants to make sure any video of my podcast is PSP compatible. I promise it will be. Kevin Rose’s Systm will be available in PSP mode.

Gaylene in Moreno Valley - Toshiba blank screen

It flickers on and off. The ribbon cable connecting the laptop body to the screen is damaged. But it’s a pretty inexpensive fix.

Keith in Covina adds: Late last year Toshiba finally admitted that a problem existed with the screens on a number of their laptops where the FL Inverter can also cause the symptoms described. The manufacturer extended the warranties on these models until 4th May 2005. Unfortunately, this news comes too late to help Gaylene. Check www.lcdflinverteradmin.com for further details. My enquiries revealed that a poor electrical connection on the inverter is the cause of the trouble and I carried out my own repair 12 months ago, before Toshiba’s admission, and have had no problems since. A technician should be able to remove the screen surround and clean the connection in about 15 minutes.

Barbara in Encinitas - connecting to the cable internet

She needs a DOCSIS compatible cable modem. I also recommend a router. Since she wants to connect her daughter’s iMac too she should get a wireless router and an airport card for the iMac.

Heidi in Monterey - new Mac user and artist

Looking for a book recommendation for a new Mac user. I love David Pogue’s OS X The Missing Manual.

Don’t flame! The pre-existing arguement does not even go here because she is a new computer user. Have a good day!

Macworld Daily News
Mac mini v.1 sales curve slows - Wednesday - May 18, 2005
Four months after launch sales of Apple’s Mac mini and top-grade iPods are beginning to slow, an analyst claimed yesterday.Thomas Weisel Partners analyst Kevin Hunt described robust yet mixed demand for Apple’s products, according to CBS MarketWatch.

“Our checks suggest Mac Mini sales are somewhat slow, as consumers realize that price including monitor is no bargain,” he wrote.

So much for recommending the Mac Mini as a “good deal”.

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