Saturday, January 28, 2006
I’m going to keep answering calls for an extra hour today - so keep those calls coming through 3p Pacific: 800–520–1534.
I’m loving Newsvine, but they’re still in private beta - watch for them to go public soon. It’s about the best news site out there.
I’m looking for cool Mac apps for MacMania IV. Got any suggestions? I’ll definitely be talking about Netvibes, my new start page - very customizable - and I love Writely, a free web based word processor.
To celebrate the 50th birthday of the hard drive, here’s a hard drive trivia question from Mike_B
When the first PC hard drives came out, how much did it cost per megabyte of storage?
Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the answer.
a) $1,000
b) $10
c) $100
d) If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.
Tech News
Colin made a mistake. He told his boss that the MacBook Pro would be a good choice for his office because it could run Windows and OS X. The boss bit, and Colin ordered. One problem, Windows won’t run on the Intel Macs. Colin is offering a bounty for someone who can make it work. The bounty is now up to $7861!
Maybe he’ll want to run Windows. An Australian security researcher says OS X is open to a myriad of old UNIX exploits.
11a-Noon
QLinda in Chino - converting PDFs to Excel spreadsheets
If you can select the numbers in the PDF you can probably cut and paste them into a spreadsheet then use Excel’s Text to Columns command to format the columns. But there are numerous add-ins for Excel that can automate this including ClickToConvert and Mr. Excel’s favorite Able2Extract.
QChristie in Corona - HP printer scanner copier require frequent alignment
The alignment sensor could be broken and that’s really not worth fixing. Do this: download the latest XP driver from www.hp.com and install it. Run through all the maintenance and diagnostic routines, including head cleaning, and follow the instructions carefully. If the problem persists, it’s probably time to buy a new printer.
She also inquired about security services like Invisus. You can probably do it yourself with a good anti-virus, anti-spyware, and hardware router. Or if you want some handholding, try the iPhantom.
QGreg in Anaheim - dealer or build to own
Building your own PC is fun, but not better in any way. It’s more expensive and if you have a problem, who ya gonna call?
Ubuntu worked fine but now won’t boot. LiveCD doesn’t work either. Sounds like a problem with your hardware. I’d reformat and reinstall.
Noon-1p
QBill in Los Angeles - CD writer has failed
This can happen if you install conflicting software, but since it died in the middle of a burn I’m thinking it’s a hardware failure.
QBob in Orange - DVD for Germany
Should I make it a PAL disc? And can I check it on my computer? Yes and yes.
Most recent TV’s made for PAL markets will accept an NTSC signal. TV’s made for the US market are unlikely to accept a PAL signal however. Most DVD players will play either format (subject to region encoding) but not all of them are capable of outputing a progressive scan PAL signal.
Your computer will play either format just fine again subject to the region encoding of your dvd drive.
Some TV Standards notes from archy.dolder@gmail.com:
All computers with DVD players will play PAL and NTSC assuming the region code is correct (there are ways to hack the region code setting on your machine so that you can watch anything from anywhere…but it is not necessary to do this regarding the color system - NTSC or PAL)
various PAL formats: all are the same for Europe. There is a MAJOR difference in the PAL-M format used in Brazil. Every form of PAL is 25 frames per second. In Brazil, PAL-M is 29.97.
Almost everybody in Europe who has a television made in the last decade will show NTSC material. It is important to remember that a viewer needs to have an NTSC TV if they are going to watch a DVD on an NTSC DVD player. Worst case scenario, the material will appear in Black and White.
QBonnie in West LA - Sony Movie Studio Platinum
She is worried that she should use a Mac for video editing instead of her PC, but why spend thousands on new hardware? The Sony Movie Studio is a great program.
1–2p
QBill in Sherman Oaks - which Linux?
I love Suse, Debian, Gentoo, and Ubuntu, but I think for the reasonably geeky folks who want everything installed for multimedia Mandriva is really great. Formerly Mandrake, it’s based on Red Hat now and comes with everything you’d want.
Download any distribution from www.linuxiso.org and visit www.distrowatch.com to keep up on which distributions of Linux do what.
- The way to use linux is to get into a process. First point is to get free software software in your windows, like firefox, OpenOffice.org, Gimp, Inkscape, Gaim etc.
- The second step is to get a linux LiveCD, you can find this on many sites to guide you what you want. For example, Musix is a music oriented distro. Or a general porpouse desktop one like Knoppix. The livecd will also warn you about uncompatible hardware.
- Third is finally install linux on the desktop, you can choose Dual boot or put it as your main. The scariest moment is your partition, please back up your files. And also change to Fat32 is way better than NTFS since Linux can write to it and you definetly want Linux to do that.
If you want to get a tour with a holding hand there are some resource you can tamper one is books for linux desktop users (windows users) like:
- Point and Click Linux by Robin Miller
- Moving to Linux Kissing the Blue Screen of Death Goodbye
- Linux for Dummies by Dee-Ann LeBlanc
Another resource is to buy a pre-installed computer or laptop here are some:
He also wants a KVM that supports dual monitors. I’m sure there are some, but I recommend dual KVMs - that way you can mix and match systems more flexibly.
Jeff in Santa Ana adds - The proper pronounciation of the name of that guy from Finland (it’s not Line-us) and how he pronounces the name of his OS. 41KB audio clip
QSteve in Los Angeles - detecting a keystroke logger on the Mac
Detecting a well hidden keystroke logger is next to impossible on any platform, but you can catch it when it phones home with Little Snitch, free to try, $25 to buy.
QGreg in Oregon - forum administration tips
He’s using phpBB - a great program but prone to security issues. Job one is to stay on top of those with daily visits to the www.phpBB.com site. I’d join their mailing list, too. Next job is to maintain the ecology of your forums. Think of yourself as a gentle gardner. You want to encourage the good posters and pull the weeds immediately. Having a good trusted bunch of mods will help here - in fact, I recommend having a mod for each section of the board. Giving them total responsibility for a section helps. Finally, have a very clear and specific set of rules. Let people know what’s expected of them, and what’s not tolerated, then enforce it to the letter. Don’t play favorites.
QKen in Simi Valley - flash memory card keeps showing up unformatted
Time to retire the card. Flash cards die and you want to get a new one before this one gives up the ghost.
Chat Logs and Show Audio
Listener Comments
24 January 2006
10:27 by anonymous.
Leo,
My husband was listening to your show last week on Sat. and you talked about an iboss, I am not sure if he heard it correctly and he has a wron number too. Is there anyway I can get that number please?
Normally I ignore “Download Dispatch”es from Cnet. But the most recent one caught my attention because it had the term EULA in it. It talks about a program called the EULAyser. I haven’t used it. But it looks likes something to look into as just skipping over EULAs when installing software can be a gateway to get spyware on a computer. If you’ve talked about it before I’m sorry to rehash it, but I haven’t heard about this type of software on any of your shows, and I’ve never really thought about EULAs being used to install spyware until the Sony fiasco a few weeks ago.
Jeff in Santa Ana says — That’s kinda a cool idea,
but it relies on malware distributors to not be liars and scoundrels.
Therefore, it will do little good (e.g., Sony/BMG).
28 January 2006
11:28 by dax?.
Is there any software out there that will allow itunes to play a stream (like KFI)? I want to listen to Leo using my airport express. win xp
Read the twit.tv website and listen to “Inside the Net” - this may help.
RE: Christi’s HP all in one.
Make sure the cartridges are seated properly, with the locking mechanisms securely latched.
Good luck
PDF to WORD or EXCEL=mr excel has a link to www.investintech.com/ which has a trial download for 2 programs, 1 for excel & 1 for word.
12:07 by JZA.
To Greg in Anaheim:
If you wanna get a computer try a Linux-safe hardware box, guys like koobox have great linux-safe computers so you dont run into problem
To fix the Ubuntu issue you can try switching the HD and try to test it there. Also the LiveCD dont access the HD, I tink also the battery on the motherboard might had gone wrong. This will make your PC not boot regardless.
Concerning the broken Sony DVD burner, sounds like it’s broke. They are made for Sony by LiteOn in China now and only last a year or two under heavy use.
Hi, I’m from Australia, and we use PAL. I can play both PAL and NTSC DVDs on my computer. There are TV’s and stand alone DVD players available that can handle both, but most older ones can’t.
For the fella with the Ubuntu computer that was no longer able to boot, sounds like it could actually be a BIOS configuration problem. I might try going into BIOS setup, and reset it to defaults and see if that helps.
Leo is correct when he says that the region is more important than the PAL/NTSC encoding for viewing a DVD in a DVD Drive. So long as the region is 0, It doesn’t matter what the video encoding is.
I have a UK music video disc encoded in Region 0 PAL and it plays just fine in my DVD Drive. Although, I hear that many standalone units won’t.
12:34 by .
what is url for Newsline?
newsline.com just gives me a title and nothing else.
thanks
barry dana point
Burning PAL DVD’s, any computer or DVD player can play a PAL disc but they can also play NTSC discs, even in Germany, so there’s really no reason to have to convert it to PAL at all except to avoid the problem of having to tell everyone they should press the P/N button on the remote or else it will be in black and white.
If you want to import analog video and have a dv cam with video in, you can hook up your vcr or whatever with RCA jacks into the camera, capture the video and import into the computer off the camera. You can do this by recording the video on minidv tapes on the camera or by simply using the camera as a conduit to the computer. That way you don’t have to buy an import card for your machine.
Leo Isn’t asking for asistance in finding the special MAC aplications cheating?
Leo says that the Comments section is for “ANYTHING”, “you can disagree”; but APPARENTLY Leo is your typical Northern Cal. Liberal who CENSORS out and removes JUST THOSE Comments, HUH!?
You still don’t get it. Nobody is interested in your whining.
The 1st listener to see your post
gets the warm feeling that comes from deleting a troll.
Lots of us take turns.
I’m no lib but who could blame anyone for editing a dumb comment like that? I’ll probably be getting intel Mac Mini when the come out. You rock Leo!
PS Honesty try spell “chesk” next time. ;)
On the day of the Challenger disaster I was a music major at Cal Poly Pomona. I was watching the Todays show with Maria Shriver. They were broadcasting from Miami Beach for some event, and I think they were interviewing the BeeGees. I wanted to see something else that was on later in the show, but I had to go to class, so I popped a tape in my VCR, hit “record” and left for school.
While at school, I had no real clue that something had happened. I must not have been listening to the radio driving back from school later that day or I would have heard about the disaster (I was a KFI listener even back then). When I got to my apartment, I noticed that the American flag was flying at half-staff. I didn’t remember seeing the flag up when I left for class.
I went into my apartment and my VCR was still recording (it was a 6-hour EPS tape). I stopped and rewound the tape and started it playing. As I was watching Maria, the picture suddenly changed to Dan Rather in a new studio. He looked shocked and he was white as a ghost. I watched the tape as Dan reported that the Challenger had apparently blown up just a few minutes ago. He was very shaken and had to quite a bit of vamping while he waited for more information to come in.
After watching a few more minutes of the tape, I turned it off and turned on live TV. It was on every station that the Challenger had indeed exploded on launch. The primary concerns at the moment was the possibility of the shuttle’s hydrazine tanks contaminating Florida beaches and poising people. On my video tape there was talk of possibly rescuing the astronauts from the ocean, but a few hours later as I watched, it was being reported that there were likely no survivors.
I think that I’ll try and find that video tape in my garage and see if it’s still playable after twenty years. I can’t believe that it has been that long.
13:48 by .
For the guy who wanted the Forum, PunBB is really great. It’s really light and it is updated pretty often. Their site is http://punbb.org/
IT Tony:
I’m a journalist in Florida and a Mac/Windows user. I think that you’re not understanding the point when Leo is pushing Macs on novice users.
The fact is: Windows has become increasingly problematic in recent years. I can’t tell you how many Windows users come to me with some kind of adware/spyware or pop-up problem. I’ve had one Apple user come to me with a problem, and it was a hardware problem after she had dropped it.
Leo is simply stating the facts. Macs have less problems in those areas, and novice users would benefit from that. I honestly think there are things Windows does better, conversly there are some things OS X does better. I can see both sides.
Speaking as a journalist, I truly believe Leo is telling the truth when he tells us he does not receive any compensation from Apple or other companies. As any journalist knows, our creditablility is first and foremost. Leo knows this, and if he did take something on the side, he wouldn’t claim to be a journalist (which he is).
I can not get KFI live streaming to work on my Mac, OS x 10.4.3, Windows Media Player 9 installed. Other WinMedia player sources do work. What am I doing Wrong?
For the one who wanted to switch dual monitors. I use two 19″ LCD monitors with a StarTech KVM switch and four computers. The second monitor is on an Inland manual VGA switch. SuSe does not support dual monitors to extend the desktop as I can with Windows. I use Windows XP Pro in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions, SuSe, and the third computer is for testing and debugging since I work mostly with drivers. All have AMD 64 bit chips.
29 January 2006
10:31 by JZA.
For Bill sherman:
Actually mandriva is based on Red Hat NOT Debian.
10:44 by JZA.
For David:
Is not up to the distro, SuSE/Fedora/etc.. distros are not software or apps. The dual monitor depends on your setup of X. The XFree module needs to be configured to let them know you have 2 monitors.
you got a howto on setting dual monitors here http://gentoo-wiki.com/HOWTO_Dual_Monitors
There are apps such as Xinerama which lets you view both monitors and sits on top of your kernel modules for your video card.
JZA: Correct. And, it also depends on the video card you are trying to do it with. Some have better dual monitor support (like in my experience Nvidia cards) in linux than others. Others (like some laptop video chips) are near impossible to do.
Thanks for the help Leo. Anyone that wants to view smooth creations forum please click on our link.
www.smoothcreations.com
Invisus is a managed internet security subscription that includes anti-virus, patch management, anti-spyware,malware,key loggers etc and identity theft protection and insurance.
It is not as expensive as Leo was saying
27 February 2006
Another thing to watch out for regarding the Flash RAM card is static electricity. If the card gets hit with a spark on its way into the reader, that could scramble enough bits to make the computer and camera object to the card.
The answer is c) $100 see http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/index.htm for more information.
