The Big News of 2007

Q Doreen - New home theater system

• You’re looking for something like a “Home Theater in a Box”
• Panasonic, Onkyo are good
• It would be a good idea to go to Cnet and PC Magazine to check out reviews

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Q Connie - Windows ME computer

• The computer is probably so old at this point that you can’t run Windows XP
• If your friends are telling you to get a Mac, go get a Mac
  • Microsoft Office will work on the Mac
  • Even Apple’s own software will work with Office files
• The Apple Store is the best place to buy a Mac
  • Apple replaces whole parts for repairs
  • If you’re concerned about repairs, you can invest in AppleCare
• Make sure to get 2gb of RAM
• Look at the iMac
• If you plan to run Windows on the Mac, make sure to get at least 2gb of RAM

• If Rootkit Revealer turns up any rootkits, then our suspicions are correct

Q Lisa from San Clementi, CA - Looks like Windows was reinstalled

• Your husband probably played a prank to convince you to buy a Mac
• Computer still has login accounts though
• Somehow all the applications have disappeared
• Right click “My Computer” and click Properties to find the installation date
• Unlikely that a hacker came onto your computer and removed all the applications
• Check your credit reports and everything to make sure the hacker has not gotten any data
• The only solution is to format/reinstall Windows
• If your husband is a good husband, he’ll buy you a Mac

Q Berry from Los Angeles, CA - Getting better reception from cell phone antenna

• You can put up antennas on the roof
• The antenna kits are for static locations
• Put the repeater in a good location outside and then repeat it back inside
• Look at Alternativewireless.com

Q David - Friend wants to get a new PC

• He’s stuck on Windows ME right now
• Anything will be better than ME at this point
• Windows Vista will be fine for him
  • Leo has no problem with it

Q Borrowing’s someone else’s WiFi

• If you go on someone else’s unprotected WiFi, your data is going through completely unencrypted meaning that anyone can get the data
• If you want to protect yourself for something like using Gmail, try going to https://gmail.com instead of http://gmail.com
• Can try using a VPN as well
  • Like Anchor, VForVPN, or HotSpotVPN
• You may be more vulnerable to a hacker
  • It’s as if you’re in the same home (the router) with them

Q Garageband clone for Windows

• Wants to make lullabies for nieces/nephews
• The best choice for you would be FL Studio
• Can also try out Sony’s Acid
• Next time buy a Mac so you can use Garageband

Q Ann from Simi Valley, CA - Websites saying her Gmail address is invalid

• Some websites may be rejecting free webmail addresses because that is what spammers use
• They may want you to use an ISP-based email
• You can set Gmail to pick up the DSL Extreme email

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Q Dick DeBartolo - Gadgets

• Talking Photo Album
  • Has 24 pages
  • Allows you to record a message for each page (for each picture)
  • Can rerecord as many times as you want
  • Up to 10 seconds per page
  • Only $19.95

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Q Chuck from Columbia, SC - Out of inputs on his Sharp Aquos

• Don’t know of anything that is mixed HDMI & Component
• You can get HDMI switchers
• Monoprice has several decently priced HDMI switchers
• Belkin also has some decent switchers for a slightly higher price

Q Looking for flash-based MP3 players that bookmark mp3s (for podcasts)

• Leo believes the Creative Zen and Sandisk Sansas will do bookmarking
• The Sansas will remember where to pick up an mp3, but not through a battery death

Q Roger from San Diego, CA - Pictures disappeared on memory card

• PC Inspector smart recovery should be able to recover your files
• If it doesn’t work, it may be that you are out of luck

Q Wade from Key West, FL - Wants to use the Internet to stream video to TV station

• You just need to take video and encode it in real time
• The Videolan Client should be able to do it
• A Ustream stream takes about 200kbps to upload
• You can also try the Quicktime Broadcaster

About one year ago, Time Magazine named You as the Person of the Year for 2006.

The original Zune also was released last year, and Leo was most definitely not a fan. However, Microsoft recently released the much improved Zune 2 which actually seems like a viable device.

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Windows Vista was highly looked forward to as Microsoft had been working on it for almost five years. It turned out to be a flop, and several computer manufacturers are still offering Windows XP.

Intel Core 2 Duo is prevalent in a majority of computers. It has left AMD in the dust.

Steve Jobs announced, in 2007, that Apple was not a fan of copy protection on music. EMI became the first label to begin selling DRM-free higher quality music on the iTunes Store. Amazon also has a completely DRM-free store.

2007 was also the year when hackers were circulating a code that broke the copy protection on HD-DVDs. When Digg removed one article containing the numbers, there was a revolt on the website.

Apple’s MacBook was “hacked” in 2007 as well. However, the hackers came back and said they changed the wireless card to make it more hackable.

The first Macintosh virus was released after several years.

Also, the US Army is now going to begin using Macs to make their network more secure.

Did you catch “Obama Girl” this year? It ended up making Obama seem a little more hip.

Will Ferrel attempted to create a YouTube clone called FunnyorDie with $15 million of funding, and the site seems to have flopped. It seemingly had only one popular video: Landlord

Google announced its own cell phone operating system as well as their plans to bid on the 700MHz frequency.

Yahoo also went through some changes. Jerry Yang took over Terry Semel as CEO. Terry Semel had left Yahoo a graveyard.

Several notebooks were lost with personal information this year. The worst was in the British government where a laptop was lost with personal information regarding at least half of its population.

The Internet tax ban was renewed this year.

This was the year the RIAA finally won a lawsuit against a mom accused of stealing music.

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The iPhone was announced in January, and released in June and can now be called a major success. It has changed the entire cell phone industry, and Time Magazine has named it the gadget of the year.

Microsoft’s Surface touch-based computers were announced this year, but the product is yet to surface. It has been greatly ridiculed across the Internet.

Guests

Q Scott Wilkinson - Looking back at 2007

• Big news stories
  • Free fall of flat panel HD displays
    • LCD prices have fallen 60–70% in the past 2 years
    • 1080p projectors have also dropped
  • The proliferation of 1080p displays
    • Most people will say that you don’t really need 1080p
    • On a really big screen, you can tell the difference, but on a smaller screen it shouldn’t make much of a difference
    • Scaling is an issue with lower resolution screens
    • 1080p television set prices are free falling as well
  • The format war between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray heated up
    • Director Michael Bay says it is all a conspiracy by Microsoft
    • Scott thinks that HD-DVD has some advantages over Blu-Ray
  • 24p
    • All Blu-Ray and HD-DVD discs are now able to display video at 24 frames/second just as the video was filmed
    • Without the need for frame-rate conversion, the overall video quality is better
    • However, most TVs still do the frame-rate conversion to 60fps
• Next week we’ll talk about the future in 2008

Q Alfred from Los Angeles, CA - Can’t read text on Windows Mobile device/iMac with USB printers

• There should be an option to change the system font size
• Go to the home screen layout options for the home screen
  • It’s under color scheme and background options
• The system font size is under Start → Settings → Accessibility
• The options are for individual programs, not globally
• Wife wants an iMac
• Wondering if the Mac will have any problems with the printers
• So long as they’re relatively recent USB printers or network printers the iMac will be able to print with them
• You will also be able to network the Mac with your PCs

Q Computer overrun with spyware

• It’s like a big bird pooped all over your computer
• Make sure to read and follow Leo’s rules for computer safety
• You’ve got to reformat and reinstall the operating system
• There are sites that actually sell kits to exploit computers
• The hacker that installed all the spyware on your computer can get information from your computer as well
• It is no longer safe to use that computer
• Can get Linux, get a new Windows disc and reinstall the operating system, or get a new computer

Today’s show is pre-recorded, so don’t call in. Leo will be back live January 12.

Saturday 29 December 2007

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