Saturday, February 25, 2006
Tech News
AOL $25.90 dial-up http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060222/ap_on_hi_te/aol_price_increase
11a-Noon
QGeena in Glendale - Spybot errors
Her old copy of Spybot is not downloading updates. I’d get the latest version from www.safer-networking.org. I also recommend the free Microsoft Defender anti-spyware.
Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 is ready for primetime - I still recommend Firefox for day to day surfing, but IE 7 is both more secure and more usable than the previous version.
QScott in Las Vegas - time to buy a new iPod?
His podcast is www.TheCyberdorks.com
I would wait until after the Apple announcements on Tuesday. Speculation is that there may be a new Video iPod. But speculation is running hot and heavy. We’ll offer same day coverage on our MacBreak video podcast.
QThomas in Minnesota - iPod listening in the car
He’s using his Smartphone installed with BlueCast and a bluetooth headset to listen to podcasts, but he wants to set his dad up. You can use any MP3 player with a cassette adapter - that’s the cheapest solution and it works great. If you don’t have a cassette player you might want to visit an auto sound installer and get the Harmon-Kardon drive+play - the most elegant way to integrate an iPod into a car stereo.
I just bought the dLO TransPod - it’s $80 and plugs into your cigarette lighter to keep the ipod charged - the cradle contains an FM transmitter and it works quite well for me. You do have to find a clear frequency, though, which can be tough in urban areas.
Noon-1p
QIan in Australia - Assigning drive letters to USB
(He’s using Asterisk@home to call over the internet from down under and it works great!) Open the Computer Management console, click Drive Management, and then assign drives to those removable devices. The next time you connect it should remember the assignments.
QCalee in Orange County - sitcom podcast
She produces a sitcom called “Up In Smoke” from www.cigarvideopodcast.com. Some viewers are complaining that they’re getting short files. I had no problem - tell them to try again! She seems to be doing everything right.
Q Lori in Carlsbad - my email is being blocked by SORBS!
You can appeal to SORBS but I’d recommend finding a new web host with an IP address that isn’t blocked by anti-spam services.
QMark in Los Angeles - using the USB port on a series 2 Tivo
I don’t think you can use it to set up a network unless you pay for Tivo2Go, but if anyone knows how you’ll find the information on the Dealdatabase forums.
There is no fee for the Tivo2Go here is a quote from the Tivo website;
“Q:Do I need to pay for TiVoToGo?
Transferring shows to your PC for viewing or storing is a service that is included in your TiVo service subscription fee. There is no additional fee for this capability. All you need to do is download the TiVo Desktop software to get started.”
Of Course you will need a home network and a Tivo Series 2 with software version 7.1 or higher Visit Tivo.com to find out how to tell which version you have.
To burn DVDs of our favorite shows with your PC DVD burner, you will need to purchase the Sonic MyDVD software. Download the 15-day FREE trial of the Sonic MyDVD software today!
QAllen in Dana Point - backing up the iPod
Senuti is free and does a great job, but it doesn’t copy playlists. Fortunately iPodRip does - but it’s limited to 10 uses. It’s only $15 to buy though.
Listner aussie_ian adds From the Senuti website they claim to suport playlists “Senuti not only reads the playlists that you made on your iPod, but it allows you to transfer them back to your computer as well. A simple drag and drop action within the application will not only copy songs to your computer and and add them to iTunes, but it will make a new playlist with the same name and add all of the songs to that list.”
Bon from the Philippines adds:
Isn’t Senuti a Mac-only program and thus works with Mac-formatted iPods? I don’t think this will work if the songs that you want recovered are residing in a PC-formatted iPod. You might have better luck running Yamipod, which is a free PC-based backup program. To transfer the songs to the Mac, you need to do the following: (1) use Yamipod to transfer all of the songs from your iPod to your PC’s hard disk; (2) if there’s enough free space on the iPod, transfer all of the music files from your PC to the iPod’s hard disk (via Windows Explorer with the iPod in disk mode); (3) connect the iPod to your Mac (which can read FAT32 formatted disks such as a PC-formatted iPod) and transfer the music files to your Mac’s hard disk; (4) import songs into Mac’s iTunes; (5) reformat the iPod for Mac use; (6) reload the now-empty iPod via Mac’s iTunes.
1–2p
QDieter in Mission Viejo - switching DSL providers
Earthlink says it will take three weeks. This might be true. The ILEC often takes its sweet time converting the line - I suspect it’s to discourage people from switching from their service - but you could order a second line, get DSL service on that line then cancel the old provider.
He runs www.loantactics.com
QPam in Pennsylvania - setting up a Linux fileserver
She needs simple instructions. What about this article?
QJerry in Tustin - recovering programs from an old drive
It’s tricky. I don’t know of any automated way to move the applications over.
Chat Logs and Show Audio
Listener Comments
25 February 2006
www.kartoo.com is another good search engine, if you’re a real visual person. It “maps” things out, like those diagrams you used to make in grade school.
I search with Big.com, the search engine with the most readable results on the Web.
Gosh, When I used Netscape.net, in 1999, seems like there were some ads..& Yahoo has LOTS of ads! My Geocities web pages have a banner, but it goes away if you click it!
MAMMA is a pretty good search engine…but Google is best, & I do NOT use the “advanced” options! I use Gmail alot…but still retain Yahoo.
I have NO Bank account & NO credit card (MARK of the BEAST!) & I do not watch TV (IMAGE of the beast!) so the ADS don’t affect me…HOWEVER, My Great Uncle, EDWARD L. BERNAYS, was THE CREATOR of “PUBLIC RELATIONS!” (A book written about him, “Father of Spin.” SO I realise the DRIVING FORCE behind EVERYTHING (including Religion in the 21st. Century) is ADVERTISING…& PUSHING AGENDAS! The GOVERNMENT is the BIGGEST “PR” Firm in the WORLD…
I upgraded to IE7 about 2 weeks ago on my laptop, it still lets in spyware. I normally use firefox, after using IE7 using normal browsing habits for 2 weeks my spyware scanners showed about a 200% increase in tracking cookies and other mild spyware. IE7 is better then 6 but still needs work
AOL also has the poorest customer service possible. They only give out a number with the free disks they mail out and if you call the “Voice Rcognition” system doesn’t. DSL Extreme dial up is a bargain at $9.95 a month with the same kind of support as the DSL subscribers get.
I can understand wanting to get people to stop using IE6 but recommending people to upgrade to IE7 beta 2 I think is a bit premature. Especially a beta from Microsoft. They have a very poor track record of upgrading from beta to release versions. That and IE’s inability to uninstall may leave many stranded and requiring a full O/S reinstall to correct. I think that MS’s recommended target for this release (Developers and IT Pros) makes sense.
We had AOL for DSL and liked it a LOT better than SBC. (Then again, SBC in Illinois, at least our area, isn’t anything to write home about, except letters of frusteration.)
11:52 by anonymous.
I was going to instal IE7 Beta 2 Preview, but after reading the release notes I changed my mind. Leo, I don’t think you should recomend IE7 just yet because first of all, it is in beta and many people don’t understand that betas can cause problems and aren’t perfect. Also, there are many newbies who listen to the show, and judging by all the problems mentioned in the release notes, this beta is rather advanced.
Just my thaughts
12:09 by anonymous.
This best way to listen to podcasts is on a bluetooth headset like the caller suggested. You can download the program he is probably talking about at http://www.simplesmartphone.com/BlueCast/
12:33 by anonymous.
Re that caller from Australia:
They have ADSL2 and we in the USA do not! Just another example of other countries surging ahead of the USA in internet delivery to the consumer.
The internet has become the vital circulation system for information delivery.
The USA is like an old person with hardening of the arteries. Were dying and don’t even know it.
For a file-serving linux machine, I would recommend NASLite (http://www.serverelements.com). It does Samba and FTP and the download fits on a floppy.
SME Server is a free download for File server, firewall, web hosting. I have been playing with this this week. It is Web based setup and admin, just like a router. Check it out. http://contribs.org/modules/news/
13:49 by .
Leo,
After much research in the area of Linux distros, the best one for the lady that wants to set it up as a windows file server would probably be Xandros. Ubuntu would be an excellent second choice, but nothing beats Xandros for a newbie.
It would get her up and running in no time. No headaches.
Regards, Mario
In regards to the jumper setting for an external laptop hardrive, and forgive me if I missed something—I just got back to the radio. When I got an external harddrive, my computer couldn’t see it, so I thought it was a jumber setting. It turns out, I just had to go to disc mananagement, and assign the new drive a drive letter.
P.S. Sorry Leo for not listening to your whole show…I’m building a new computer with an Athlon X2 dual core :-)
I would use CentOS 4.0, which is like Fedora Core, or basically RedHat Linux Enterprise Edition. It’s rock solid, and everthing works. That’s all I use now is CentOS 4.2.
The OpenFiler project would work well for you, but requires more knowledge to setup. Openfiler will automatically make snap shots of your shared data, that can be accessed any time, like a tape backup. It’s built on CentOS 3.0.
Your better off paying someone $200 for Professional Linux setup that covers everything.
It doesn’t matter whether you using Server 2003, or Linux, they both have the same learning curve.
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Message is moved to Shownote 223
Regarding Earthlink/DSL in Mission Viejo; Cable TV/ISP in that area can also provide telephone service. Residential switch was seamless.
As mentioned, DSL Reports should give useful information.
IE7 is a no-go for me. I can’t get it down to one slim tool bar. Back to IE6
BTW, I have set up IE6 to set up to be worry free with the host file and security settings.
20:03 by JZA.
For: Pam in Pennsylvania - setting up a Linux fileserver
Having a linux fileserver is pretty simple, you just need to well, have a spare PC, put a chunky HD for your files and then the more hard part is to atomate it which is pretty cool.
1.- Install Linux: SuSE might be your best choice. The SuSE desktop is one of the prettiest ones, Mandriva however is also very good and I will recomend Mandriva actually. SuSE has very picky firewall setup.
2.- So Mandriva it is, you can get it from here:
http://mirror.hamakor.org.il/pub/mirrors/mandriva/official/iso/2006.0/i586/
3.- Once you download and burn the CD’s you can just start the instalation, here is a picture tour of the mandriva installation.
http://views.osdir.com/slideshows/slideshow.php?release=472&slide=1
Make sure to create a users.
4.- After you have it running you want to install more software (away from the one on the CD) this is because this will have the programs for backups. So you need to go to to the system panel called: mcc or mandrake control center
5.- Once you have that, you go to the software Manager which will install your new programs. Once there, you will click on ‘Select from where software packages are….’
You can see the image here: http://views.osdir.com/slideshows/472/58.gif
6.- Then you will click on it and will need 3 things: the type (FTP, HTTP, etc.. you need FTP) the URL here and finally the histlist here.
This will load the list of programs where you can download pretty easily, here we will find the packages for our backup tools.
7. Once installed you will click on the box with the green (+) sign to install some of the programs. Download Drakbackup where you can get this tutorial:
http://iew3.technion.ac.il/CC/Comp_news/Mandrake_starter/drakbackup.html
This way you can setup to do the backup automatically every period (daily, weekly, etc.)
But to do a backup you might need to also have your network setup.
8. On Mandrake Control Center you go to your Mount Point option and select Set Samba Mount Points. This will make all your computers on your network show up and you can start get the folders from the shared files.
Make the mount points and put this folders on the backup tool and then automatically you wil back up your whole network with no issue.
Thats all.
27 February 2006
07:18 by Jeff.
For a newbie, naslite is hands-down, the best choice for a number of reasons. It’s simple to set and operate, it’s rock-solid and costs little or nothing. In addition, you don’t need to buy much hardware. Using your old clunker, you can have a terabyte server - http://www.ivamp.de/privat/nas/.
In most cases when I encountedred Spybot not updating properly it was affected by virys or spyware able to break it. Simple reinstal won’t help much. Make sure your antispyware works properly. Check programs starting on boot and run antivirus scan OFF-NETWORK.
Reinstal spybot in safe mode, off-network and run first scan in safe mode.
Fewer cases are due to poor spybot update sources. Try different one if this happens.
02 March 2006
07:10 by Rob?.
Apple Computer on Wednesday released a security update for Mac OS X that fixes 20 vulnerabilities, including a high-profile Web browser and Mail flaw disclosed last week.
09 March 2006
16 March 2006
It take a little more time to install but it will be optimized for your box. No binary installs everything is built from source, and also you install the programs you want/need no more no less. One more + ‘portage’ with out a doubt is eaider to use the apt-get/rpm/yum. I’ve tried all three and portage pulls in all the deps you need. This is great espically from new linux users. Enough on that..
Here’s your links
http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml
http://gentoo-wiki.com/Samba
17 March 2006
For Jerry in Tustin. He can solve his problem by using Macronis Migrate Easy. It is a $40 program that worked like a charm for me.
19 March 2006
02:30 by Ronc.
BEST and Simplest Car Player: Virtual Reality Sound Labs makes two models of their FM Transmitter. I broadcasted from one car to another separated by 80 feet. Perfect sound, just like FM. (I returned my cassette adapter which had a weak signal and poor bass.) Under $30 for the longest range model (VRFM7). Connects to any music player (std. mini plug) and can also be used with any USB memory stick holding MP3 or WMA files. Store item web page: http://store.yahoo.com/nextpowerusa/viresolavr3v.html
I agree with Jeff (though I don’t know about his links) Naslite is a dead simple and rock solid way to make an old computer a modern and reliable network file server. It is available in a couple of different varieties ranging from free to about $25
I have it at my home and have set it up in businesses. the address is www.serverelements.com
I think you will love it
21 March 2006
You can use the Tivo to make the daily call using a supported USB wired or wireless device attached to the Tivo. No hacking required on the stand alone units. The Directv boxes are a different story all together.
Regarding using iPod in an automobile. I use the Griffin Road Trip(under $90 CDN) It works very well. It connects to power socket in car, charges the iPod in the included cradle which detaches and doubles as a belt clip! Works with any ipod with dock connector. Is available in white and black for those who need it to match the colour of the iPod. Bonus: The FM transmitter detaches and using the included USB cable for power and mini-stereo jack which is plugged into audio out on desktop or laptop, the device can be used to transmit FM to any FM radio in your home!!!
Check it out at www.griffintechnology.com
28 March 2006
To Jerry in Tustin:
You mentioned that the programs were on your old hard drive, are the Installation/Setup programs on the old hard drive, or do you have a master restore instead of disks? My laptop has a hidden partition for the “As built Restore” command with the OS and preloaded programs. You may be able to copy this partition to the new disk, the run restore to reformat the new drive to the “as built” condition of the original drive. You will loose every thing on the new drive (the restore runs format C: first), then copy the data files to the newly reformatted drive. Another option is to make an installation cd/dvd from the restore partition, then run that. Your old HD may have a make cd function to provide you with the neccessary cd’s.
01 April 2006
02 April 2006
Another neat program for Mac users to pull music off their iPod is iPodDisk (http://ipoddisk.ourbiti.com/index.php/download/). This mounts your iPod to your desktop like any other disk drive. Your PlayLists and Library appear as folders of songs - Just drage ‘em off.
It’s not perfect, but it’s good - and free!
