Sunday, November 19, 2006
Tech News
The Nintendo Wii was launched today.
K-Fed is no longer on Britney Spears’ top friends on MySpace.
Larry King has apparently never searched the Internet.
According to the United States, only about 1% of the Internet is porn.
The MPAA is suing a company called Load-N-Go (which loads DVD movies on iPods) for copyright infringement.
11a-Noon
Q Alan from Anaheim - Getting Myspace/Facebook messages via Thunderbird
You would have to see what Myspace is sending. The way the coders do is by opening a telnet session on port 110. Then you’ll have to duplicate it in your own code. You will have to specifically code for each service.
Q Joshua - Doing interviews via Skype
One of the reasons I recommend USB headsets is because they’re better at converting analog voice to digital data. There’s a program called Hot Recorder that will allow you to do this.
Q Zach - Looking for a laptop to run Vista
Vista requires a little bit of extra hardware. I think you will need a true video card. If the laptop has a “Vista-ready” sticker it should be able to support everything. Moreover, you want to look for the “Vista Express Upgrade Coupon”. If you want the Aero-capable laptop, look for “Vista Ready Premium”. These premium machines have at least 1ghz processors, 1gb RAM, at least 128mb VRAM. If you want to run at a higher resolution than 2 megapixels, you’ll need 256mb VRAM. Microsoft has listed the Windows Vista system requirements.
Noon-1p
Q Jim from Fullerton - Syncing Palm devices via infrared
The device should come up as a serial device on the computer. In the Palm sync application is to use the infrared port. You may need to create a new COM port in the device manager. If you’re able to assign serial ports, you should be fine. You just need a free serial port.
Q Don - Getting error on windows & can’t type
It sounds like the keyboard controller itself has died. The good news is that the chip is in the keyboard itself. Just swap out the keyboard. When you get a new keyboard, get a USB keyboard. Bios Central is a great site to look up errors.
Q Neil - Sick and tired of typing username/password on Internet
Look at Roboform. I’m not convinced that the thumb scanning is secure. He’s saying X-Keys is a user-programmable “speed-dial” type device.
Q Tina from Burbank - Avoiding spam
She’s getting 400+ spam emails a day! SpamBayes is an open-source solution that will work with any email program. The commercial version of this is Inboxer. In my opinion, the best way to remove spam is in multiple stages. The first treatment is MailRoute. At that point, it then gets forwarded to my ISP where I have SpamAssasin. Finally, Outlook Express has some very basic filters. A free program called Thunderbird has a spam filtering system that learns.
Q Mike from West Virginia - How to get another hard drive in an older case
You have to make sure that the hard drive is compatible with your motherboard. Generally, on a machine that old is that 138gb is the max that it will realize. You may be able to partition it unless the controller does not see it.
1–2p
Q Kenny from Long Beach - Video cards failing
I think your motherboard AGP slot is failing because your power supply is too weak. Try getting a new power supply.
Q Alan from Big Bear - Looking for LCD monitor
I’m a fan of Samsung Syncmasters. All LCDs have several advantages over CRTs: such as they do not have to repaint themselves and flicker 60 times a second. Also, look at the Dell widescreen monitors.
Q Greg from Carson - Stuck in recovery mode Windows XP
His computer keeps rebooting over and over again. If it is a full restore, it is not a software problem. Gateway should fix the parts.
Q Todd - Putting iPod-formatted video on a Zen Vision:M
He wants to view podcasts of a Seattle news station. If the files are .wma, the iPod will not play them. The Zen will play almost any format that a podcast will offer. The video podcasts offer files in MPEG-4, which the Zen should play.
Q Sending large pictures only via email
He wants to send large images to friends. You could try Box.net or Ofoto or XDrive.
Show Audio
19 November 2006
why not use usb (mini) for zire 31 hot sync?
In Internet terminology, a troll is a person who enters an established community such as an online discussion forum and intentionally tries to cause disruption, most often in the form of posting inflammatory, off-topic, or otherwise inappropriate messages
KFI off the air as of: 11:55 AM. does anyone notice or is just me???
Which new cell phone was Leo talking about last weekend? It doesn’t seem to be in the show notes.
In Response to Christina, If it was the phone he has, I think it was probably the New T-Mobile Dash. Hopefully that helps!
12:28 by Mike.
Here’s a useful link - from Leo’s buddy Brian Livingston who was on twit the other week - “IE 7 needs tweaking for safety”:
http://windowssecrets.com/comp/061026/#story1
I must say I was taken aback to see how much dangerous stuff is enabled by default in IE7. It seems Microsoft never learns its lessons - even though I really thought it finally had. A software company should never *never* enable stuff by default that users don’t absolutely need - even if it badly wants them to use it. Your customers’ safety should come before your hopes for (even) deeper market penetration.
It makes me glad my primary browsers are Safari (on Mac) and Firefox (on Windows and Ubuntu). But if you’re an IE user Brian will set you straight:
http://windowssecrets.com/comp/061026/#story1
12:30 by anonymous.
I use KeePass to hold my passwords. It is encrypted, and has auto-type so it will type my username and password in for me.
Thanks Ryan! Exactly what I was looking for!
12:34 by Jeff.
This is an answer to GrandpaBigAl…
Yes, KFI is off the air because of tower work but you can still get it on the ‘net at www.kfiam640.com.
12:55 by anonymous.
Leo, you are on the air, but the transmitter isn’t in high power yet. In Ventura you are coming in weak, barely above the noise floor. I hope they don’t forget to flip the switch.
13:05 by anonymous.
Back to high power, nice. I can’t use streaming because too many dropouts.
were do i go to get in the chat room?
Glad to Help Anytime Christina!
13:58 by anonymous.
xdrive is hard to keep working on Windows. It is a pain and I left them.
Vox leo suggested voxnet for media storage, vox.net? vox? I dunno, but doesn’t seem to exist, but x-drive does. as anon comments about x-drive, yes its a pain just to sign up. And you’ll prolly need your dads help to unsubscribe, like the infamous cancellation.
also, browsing the x-drive forum it seems to be buggy too.
Hey Leo, maybe it’s not such a good idea to mention that Alex Lindsay loves Steve as much as us. Those Windows people might get offended since you once said that you started that yucky Windows podcast with Paul Thurrott because he was not a MS zealot. Anyhow, we MAC users are glad that you are doing your best to disparage anything not from Apple. By the way all you MACHEADS, don’t forget to sign the online petition to support Support Marriage Equality.
If your looking to send photos on the web you might try the new Google Photos:
http://picasa.google.com/
You can download the Picasa program for Windows or just use the Picasa web albums. I use the Picasa web albums as there is no download version for Mac. I find the Google Picasa to be quick & easy to use!
20 November 2006
12:56 by anonymous.
What is a Windows Vista Capable PC?
A PC that carries the Windows Vista Capable PC logo or meets the Windows Vista Capable requirements below can be upgraded from Windows XP to Windows Vista. All editions of Windows Vista will deliver core experiences such as innovations in organizing and finding information, security, and reliability. All Windows Vista Capable PCs will run these core experiences at a minimum. Some features available in the premium editions of Windows Vista-like the new Windows Aero user experience-may require advanced or additional hardware. You will need to purchase the edition of Windows Vista that you want to install on your Windows Vista Capable PC.
A Windows Vista Capable PC includes at least:
- A modern processor (at least 800MHz)
- 20GB Hard Drive with 15GB Free
- 512 MB of system memory
- A graphics processor that is DirectX 9 capable
- SVGA (800 x 600)
- CD-ROM
What is a Windows Vista Premium Ready PC?
To get an even better Windows Vista experience, including the Windows Aero user experience, and run Windows Vista Home Premium, Business or Ultimate versions you need a Windows Vista Capable PC that is designated Premium Ready, or choose a PC that meets or exceeds the Premium Ready requirements described below. Features available in specific premium editions of Windows Vista, such as the ability to watch and record live TV, may require additional hardware. You will need to purchase the edition of Windows Vista that you want to install on your Windows Vista Premium Ready PC.
A Windows Vista Premium Ready PC includes at least:
- 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
- 1 GB of System Memory
- A graphics processor that runs Windows Aero
- 128 MB of graphics memory
- 40 GB of hard drive capacity with 15 GB free spac
- DVD-ROM Drive
- Audio output capability
- Internet access capability
14:29 by dt?.
does anybody know what this error:1723 means??i am trying to update msn browser
21 November 2006
17:39 by dt?.
i tried uninstalling it in add/remove programs,it will not uninstall and i tried uninstalling thru safe mode but it will not uninstall.
Todd - The KOMO TV podcast is not video. It’s audio (standard mp3s). The Creative Zen Vision M definitely plays mp3s.
Apple Pimp Media (that include Leo) HIDES Major OS X / Safari Vulnerability!!! - Wanna bet that Leo NEVER mentions this, as has NEVER DOES any OS X Flaw and Internet Vulnerability?
Tuesday, November 21 2006 @ 10:00 AM PST [by macfixit.com]
Mac OS X/Safari DMG vulnerability reported: Turn off automatic opening of “safe” files to prevent
FrSIRT (the French Security Incident Response Team) reports on a newly demonstrated flaw affecting versions of Safari in Mac OS X 10.4.8 and prior where maliciously crafted disk images — which are used to distribute most Mac OS X software packages — can allow an attacker to crash or gain control of the target system.
The reported workaround for this issue is to turn off the “Open safe files after downloading” option in Safari as follows:
1. Open Safari
2. Open “Preferences” under the “Safari” menu
3. Click on the “General” tab at the top
4. Un-check the “Open ‘safe’ files after downloading” box
5. Close Safari’s preferences
Note that your system will still experience a kernel panic if you double-click the downloaded malicious disk image in order to mount it.
FrSIRT has rated this vulnerability critical.
This page has a copy of the actual exploit. We were able to replicate a kernel panic in-house on an Intel-based iMac. Interestingly, when the crash occurs, it has the markings of a kernel panic (screen dimming in a downward wash fashion), but the actual kernel panic screen does not appear.
NOTE !!! -
Authored by: Rosyna on Tuesday, November 21 2006 @ 11:13 AM PST
Turning off automatic opening of “safe” files won’t prevent it. You’ll still kernel panic if you try to open the disk image in any other manner. Ie, double clicking it in the finder.
23 November 2006
24 November 2006
Leo what about Flickr to upload you pictures… Plus you can link to them.. ;)
Can one upload and maintain full resolution pics, even if they are 5–10 mb apiece on Flickr? Flickr would not work for backup of non-photo files correct?
I’m going to go be an Xdrive lab rat and see how it goes.
dt; poetic justice?
28 November 2006
There is a way to create a virtual Serial port device in which to pass IRDA emulation. Palm SYNC software only recognizes serial and USB devices unless you add the .dll file for the IRDA bridge. In the case of the HP laptop that lacks a two way IRDA device then you could create a virtual serial port to map the USB IRDA device to.
In previous versions of Windows there used to be a “ports” icon in the Control Panel that allowed you to manage LPT and COM ports. That is no longer the case but the ability to do so is not lost…only relocated.
To add a Virtual Serial Port in Windows XP you need to run the Add Hardware Wizard. Allow it to go through the quick auto detect phase and Choose YES when asked if this hardware has been added. You will be presented with a list of currently installed hardward and hardware categories. Scroll to the bottom and find “Add a New Hardware Device”. Click Next. “Click Install the Hardware that I manually select from a list” Scroll down the list and select “Ports (COM & LPT)” Click Next. On the left pane you will see “Standard Port Types” highlighted and in the right pane you will see “Communications Port”. Highlight both and click Next twice. If you navigate to the Device Manager you will see a new Communications Port and it will possibly be sporting a yellow attention flag. That is fine. Windows is unable to map it to a hardware device. Click the Resources TAB and Click on Set Configuration Manually. Click on the Basic Configuration dropdown list and select the first configuration that does not report conflicts. After that Click OK and restart your computer.
Now you have a new virtual com port that you can map USB devices to in order to provide Com Port Emulation. This is very handy in tricking serial and parallel dependent software into using USB hardware. You can do the same with USB printers if you need to to LPT port capturing.
