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Sunday, August 21, 2005

Show #172

 toc | toc

Today’s news items

A riot ensues over $50 ibooks.

Microsoft has unveiled pricing for the new XBox 360. $299 for the basic unit. $399 for a tricked out system. Available this fall.

The US government asks ICANN to slow down on .XXX

djRob says: xxx domain is bad idea because it legitimizes pornography - such action would validate porn as legitimate business activity. If you think that pornography is ordinary business activity then I wander what would you say if your daughter would become a porn actress?

David in ER says: XXX domains sounds acceptable on face value, and if you put the civil liberties issues aside, I wonder if it would really work. Wouldn’t some very clever geek/pornographer figure out a way to reach those you’re trying to protect anyway, except now it will take on an even more illicit aspect as it’s forced further underground?
Also, I can’t believe Leo really meant to say “pornographers don’t deserve free speech.” What if I was to say geeks don’t deserve free speech? It has the ring of intolerance, the kind that signals the end of a free society.

Jeff in Santa Ana adds - David is closer to a logical plan. I refer you to the farce that was Prohibition in the USA (1920 - 1933).
The moral absolutists decided that not allowing something at all was the path to follow, and having outlawed booze, it was driven underground and beyond government control (which gave us organized crime and an exagerated glamorization of alcohol).

The model that actually works came into force after the repeal of the 21st Amendment:
In some Bible Belt states they have state-run ABC stores where liquor is sold legally.
In the modern era, the same goes for the War on Drugs™ vs the Dutch model.

Getting back on-topic, Leo already mentioned how easy it is to filter out an entire Top Level Domain—which makes the xxx TLD a brilliant concept (the inverse of the dot-kids domain notion).
Here’s a radical idea: Good parenting; monitor and guide your kids’ activities—maybe verify the performance of those people to whom you entrust your children’s custody.

NASA sends the first podcast from space.

Google issues $4 billion in new stock.

11a-Noon

Mike in El Segundo - looking for 32″ LCD TV

I recommend the Sharp Aquos. They’re my favorite. The 32″ is around $3,000 and has excellent sound.

Stapler in VN adds:
If possible, you may want to wait a bit, as Panasonic is momentarily expected to cut LCD-TV prices by $500+ possibly setting off a price war. Also several new LCD-TV factories in Korea and China will be coming online before the end of the year, greatly increasing availability/competition with resultant price cuts.

Erica in Guilford, CT - projector for school

It’s owine’s mom!
She’s looking for a good projector for her middle school classroom. I recommend inFocus. Any teachers like to chime in?

For schools, I like the projectors that have a built-in overhead camera. That way, you can view books and worksheets on your big screen and also make real-time marks on your worksheets, similar to how transparencies were done on the old overheads, as well as connect to a computer for the Internet and PowerPoint projection. - Bill Jackson

Larry from PC Mall writes… Projectors can be very complex. Two good resources are The Projector People http://www.projectorpeople.com and Projector Central http://www.projectorcentral.com/. Especially look for the distance calculators. They will help you find one with enough power for the size and lighting conditions in your room. That said, it’s very hard to find one that works well for both PowerPoint and Movies.

Phil I used to work for a “Smart” dealer. Smart is an excellent product, but… the standard surface is very glossy. You have to use the glossy surface with markers and if you use a bright, 1500 ANSI+, you will see a very bad hot spot. If you are not using markers but would use the “fake” pens, I suggest you get the the PRO surface… same price but matte surface. As to the projector, 2000 ANSI would be fine in a lit room. Look at NEC as they are part of the Smarter Kids Grant Program and excellent products. I sell neither product but can recommend both.

Mark in Bel Air, MD - listening to iPod in car

You can’t use headphones in most areas - it’s not safe - so you have two good choices: a cassette adapter or an FM transmitter. The cassette adapter sounds better and doesn’t have any problem with interference from radio stations, but if your car doesn’t have a cassette player the FM transmitter may be your only good choice. I recommend the Griffin iTrip.

I have good luck with this: http://www.myirock.com/players/irock400fm.asp - Bob

When using the itrip I use almost exclusivley 87.7 or 87.9 which can be found in Japenesse radio stations either on the CD software or from Griffins website I live in Chicago and have travelled
some, those stations work well almost everywhere.

The FM Transmitter is far from ideal, its just very easy to use. Expect incessant static, and incessant fiddling - as you drive from one area to the next you will have to find a better “empty channel” and reprogram your transmitter, regardless, expect static even on empty stations. The casette adapter is one step up since it is hard wired. It sounds decent, and is “almost acceptable” but still flattens the sound a bit. For a truly great sound, you will want to connect your iPod directly to the head unit in your car. Some head units will have an audio input jack right on the panel, although most stock head units will not. Some have an audio input jack on the back and you will need to take your car to an installation shop to get them to extend that wire to somewhere accessible to you so that you can plug your iPod into it - some people like using the Glove Compartment for this.

An ideal solution would both charge the iPod and connect it to your car stereo directly, this is possible, but takes a little bit more investment in time or money, or both, using the dock connector.

For example, check out this guys web site on how he beutifully integrated his iPod into his Infinity G35
http://g35ipod.com/gallerySlides.php?skin=1&g=4&p=&p=6

For many stock head units there is a built in CD Changer control even though the car doesn’t have a CD changer, there is a special adapter that allows you to control your iPod and even select playlists from your head unit, by fooling your head unit into thinking that it is actually controlling a CD changer. See IceLink from Denison for this kind of connection:
http://www.densionusa.com/allproducts.htm

Alpine has an even more integrated solution that will even display song and artist information on your head unit:
See this page on the Alpine site for details:
http://www.alpine-usa.com/products/leading_technology/leading_tech_kca-420i.htm

Finally, if you really want to go all out, this guy went as far as molding an entire encasing for his center console on his car that docks the ipod, charges it, connects directly to his car and looks amazing while doing it:
http://forums.ilounge.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=28019

For a ton of more car installation options, visit the “In-Car Solutions” forum at iLounge.com
http://forums.ilounge.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=44

and specifically the thread title “Pics of real car installations here!”, in which people showcase their particular installation:
http://forums.ilounge.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23488

Just put a PC in your car, see mp3car.com!

At the end of the hour, Leo spoke with a woman who wanted to convert LPs to digital files. He said he wrote three paragraphs on how to do it in the show notes but I don’t see them here. Any clue what happened to them??? Barry

Noon-1p

Eric in Agoura Hill - moving from 98 to OS X

Go for it!
Quickbooks for Mac does not have the functionality of Quickbooks for windows. Quickbooks for Mac has less features to eliminate routine data entry than Quickbooks (windows) did back in 1998. Unless his business is really simple OS X will be a mistake, condeming him to needless hours of data entry. Not quite the stone age more like dial up vs DSL. From a Quick Books Pro Advisor & CPA

Jan in Cucamonga - how do I listen to podcasts?

Podcasting is a great new way of distributing audio automatically. When a site (like this) offers a podcast feed you can subscribe to the feed using podcasting software and any new items will be automatically downloaded to your computer. As the name implies, if you have a portable audio player, the files can also be copied to the player.

However, and this is a common area of confusion, no iPod or other MP3 player is required. You can listen to the audio on your computer just as you would any MP3. In fact, with our feeds you don’t even need podcast software. Just click the feed link and download the show you want directly.

If you decide you want to listen to a show every time it comes out, you might consider using a podcasting client. Think of it as Tivo for Internet audio. You subscribe to content you want by visiting the web site and getting the podcast URL. Your podcast software automatically downloads any new shows and copies them to your MP3 player. There’s always something new and interesting to listen to and you never have to check the web to see when a new show is available.

Visit Wikipedia for more information about podcasting.

You’ll find a directory of available podcasts and podcasting software at www.ipodder.org.

The easiest way to find and listen to podcasts is Apple’s itunes free for Windows or Mac. Install the software then click one or all of the following links and press the subscribe button:

My KFI Radio show
My security podcast with Steve Gibson
this WEEK in TECH My weekly tech news round table
Radio Leo - a compilation of all my podcasts for the most recent week

My TV show, Call for Help, debuts on August 29 on G4, Channel 191 on DISH, Channel 354 on DirecTV. Check your local cable listing for cable channels.

John in Lafayette, LA - analog vs digital recording

If you’ve got it in a digital format - keep it digital. Connecting to the sound card is converting it to analog and back into digital - that’s unnecessary and adds noise. Look for a USB or Firewire connection from your digital recorder.

My CDs won’t verify

Make sure to use blanks that are rated for your burner’s top speed. You might want to try a different program to see if it’s a software problem. You can try Nero free for 30 days.

Eric in Toronto, ON, Canada says:
It sounds like he’s trying to burn data CDs while the hard drive is in use. When the program tries to verify the data files, the files have been changed (since the HD is in use), and it fails. I think turning of data verification should do the job!

1–2p

Stuart in Sarasota FL - system won’t even boot

I suggest clearing the CMOS. Remove the CMOS jumper on the motherboard, pop the CMOS battery, unplug the machine, and leave it overnight.

Neil in Lakewood - PocketPC recommendations

Axim or iPaq are my faves.

Diego in San Diego - Audio cleanup software

For folks recording LPs and turning them into CDs it’s a good idea to use cleanup software first. I recommend the $30 Magix audio cleaning lab 10.

Tollie in Decatur, AL - Vizaweb sucks!

He’s been having trouble getting support from Vizaweb (which does sponsor this show). The problem has been that they’ve grown so fast thanks to the ads and my endorsement that they haven’t been able to keep up. They went from 1,000 to 5,000 customers in just a few months. They assure me that they’re fixing the problem and have hired the staff and the turnaround time for responding to help requests is down to 24 hours. If you’re still having a problem email me and I will be glad to intercede for you.

He’s also looking for a $400 DV camcorder with analog passthrough. Any suggestions?

Try www.camcorderinfo.com

Khanh in NY writes: Try a SONY DCR-TRV480
I’ve also got a DCR-TRV25 that does it, but I’m not sure you can purchase those anymore.

Larry from PC Mall writes… Canon ZR200 MiniDV will do the job. $299 at BestPriceAudioVideo.com. Leo… Why don’t you like Canon?

Kevin_Malibu’s tip:
Almost all Sony DV cams can be used for analog passthrough. If RCA Video Jack in and Firewire out, You should be good to go. (do not bother asking a Circuit City employee about it, just ask him for the cam’s maual and look it up in the table of contents, so says experience)

AJ in Westminster - wireless speakers

Airport Express

Scott adds:
To i use my Airport Express with all apps on my mac using this program. click here

Rebecca in Paris - how can Mom communicate with Dad?

Mom is deaf, Dad has Parkinson’s. They need a way to communicate. He’ll need a computer - any laptop will do - and voice dictation software so he doesn’t have to type. She can use something smaller like the Zipit Wireless Messenger. You’ll also need to set up a wireless network. They’ll be able to carry their respective devices around with them and as long as they’re within range of the wireless network they can communicate.

Jerry in Valencia - email only for mom

I think this is a good place for MSNTV - $200 plus $21.95/month for dialup. You get a wireless keyboard and a set-top box. You can’t install software so there’s no spyware or virus threat.

Jon in Georgia
There is a great service . The service works by having an operator be the middle man and a voice caller talks to the operator and the operator types to the computer user. The operator also reads what the computer user typed and speaks it to the voice caller.

Jeff in Ohio - LCD TV
I was just looking at a Sharp Aquos today and although it was pretty good for an LCD TV, I still think its hard to beat an old fashioned CRT for picture quality. They are much brighter, more vivid color and a heck of alot cheaper. However, if you are interested in buying an LCD TV, I have heard that they are about to come down dramatically in price, possibly by Christmas.