One way you might be able to do it, is by using a Virtual Machine. You can get that from Microsoft’s Virtual PC website which is free. You can also get Virtual Machines from VMware.

In the car, Leo uses the “Supertooth Light”. If your looking for something cheap, then the Plantronics Voyager is a good cheap headset for under $50.

Acer is apparently making a Laptop with an ergonomic keyboard. However Leo thinks that it just looks like a standard Keyboard.

The CDs could be bad. It seems like that’s almost certainly what’s wrong. If you’ve used a standard XP disk, it might be bad memory.

Because OS X is a Unix operating system, it is very flaky about file permissions. In cases where programs say “I cannot write to this file” you will need to repair the disk.

The new Yahoo! Mail is very AJAX Based, so that may be what is crashing the browser. Most commonly a browser crashes because it doesn’t understand something.

Check that you have Flash Installed. Leo is stumped. She may have Spyware on her system. If you have Spyware on the system and it has hijacked the browser, then it may be trying to log keystrokes.

An LCD is the brightest you’re going to get. You will want to look for a Digital Light Processing (DLP).

The key is, the settings on the new router have to be the same as the old ones. If you go to DSL Report’s FiOS Forums someone there will have put detailed notes up on how to do it.

This is a case where SpinRite should be useful. Try also formatting the drive. Don’t do a quick one, do a full format. If you don’t, your going to lose data.

Laptop video is not usually as good as desktop video. Before you even buy it, you’ll want to go on forums and ask people what laptops run CoD4 the best. Dell makes very good laptops.

You might also want to try EasyCAD.

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Q Jeff from Colorado - Gaming Laptop

Laptop video is not usually as good as desktop video. Before you even buy it, you’ll want to go on forums and ask people what laptops run COD4 the best. Dell make very good laptops.

Q Paul from California - Office 2007 and Resource Usage

You should get a program from Microsoft called Autoruns. You should also go to Black Viper and check for anything he recommends disabling.

Check that you have Flash Installed. Leo is stumped. She may have spyware on her system. If you have Spyware on the system and it’s hijacked the browsers, then it may be trying to log keystrokes.

You may have to reinstall the operating system. If all she does is browse the Internet and email, then just make her a standard user. She shouldn’t be an administrator.

It is definitely going bad… It’s bad luck. It’s two hard drives that are flaky. You should call the manufacturer if it’s under a year old.

Q Nolan from New Jersey - FiOS Wireless

Q Nolen from New Jersey - FiOS Wireless

If that router is doing some sort of negotiation with their servers then you’ll need to get a special wireless router.

What you’ll want to do is look at the old D-Link router, and then look at the details they use. You can do that by opening your web browser and going to 192.168.1.1.

The key is, the settings on the new router have to be the same as the old one. If you go to DSL Report’s FiOS Forums someone there will have put detailed notes up on how to do it.

Q Mike from California - Can’t copy files

It sounds like something to do with file permissions. It’s a sign that your hard drive is in pretty bad shape.

This is a case where Spinrite should be useful. Try also formatting the drive. Don’t do a quick one, do a full format. If you don’t, your going to lose data.

Q

Q Ed in Portland Main - Getting Projector as bright as Monitor

Projectors by their nature just aren’t that bright. Leo really likes the Epson projectors. It’s certainly better if you darken the room.

An LCD is the brightest your going to get. You will want to look for a DLP.

Q Jerry from California - Memory Dump Issues

It is definately going bad… It’s bad luck. It’s two hard drives that are flaky. You should call the manufacturer if it’s under a year old.

Google did a study and noticed that hard drives will either fail within the first few months, and if not, it’ll last about 2 years before the failure rate begins to go up.

There’s a $90 program that all geeks should have called “Spinrite”.

Acer is apparently making a Laptop with an Ergonomic Keyboard. However Leo thinks that it just looks like a standard Keyboard.

Q Denise from California - Repair Permissions

Verify is just like Check Disk on a PC. Repair Disk will repair any problems it finds. Disk Permissions have traditionally been a problem on the Mac.

Because OSX is a Unix operating system, it is very flaky about file permissions. It’s cases where Programs say “I cannot write to this file” then is when you will need to repair the disk.

There’s nothing really you need to run regularly. Onyx is a free program that optimizes the Mac. That’s really all you need.

Q Michael from California - Yahoo! Mail closes Browser

The new Yahoo! Mail is very AJAX Based, so that may be what is crashing the browsers. Most commonly a browser crashes because it doesn’t understand something.

Check that you have Flash Installed. Leo is stumped. She may have spyware on her system. If you have Spyware on the system and it’s highjacked the browsers, then it may be trying to log keystrokes.

You may have to reinstall the operating system. If all she does is browse the internet and email, then just make her a standard user. She shouldn’t be an administrator.

Guests

Dick Debartolo - Gadget of the week

The Energizer Duo is a USB device that will charge two AAA batteries in 2 hours. You can also download software that will show you how long until the batteries are fully charged.

If however you are near AC Power, it also comes with an adapter which allows you to plug it into the wall socket. And the device is only $13.99 and available from Amazon for $11.99.

You might also want to try the Video Card Stability Test.

One way you might be able to do it, is by using a Virtual Machine. You can get that from Microsoft’s Virtual PC website which is free. You can also get Virtual Machines from VMWare.

Q Don from Colorado - Best Bluetooth Headset

Q Rod from San Diego - Laptop with Ergonomic Keyboard

None of the major manufacturers have ergonomic keyboards. You might have to just buy and use an external one. If they do make them, it’ll be a small manufacturer.

Q Tony from California - Recovery Disks not Working

The CD’s could be bad. It seems like that’s almost certainly what’s wrong. If you’ve used a standard XP disk, it might be bad memory.

Call the manufacturer and try new disks. It might even be a video card error.

Q Don in Colorado - Best Bluetooth Headset?

Pretty much everyone agrees that the Jawbone is the best on the market right now. It has excellent noise cancellation. Leo doesn’t like walking around like the Borg with a blue light flashing on your ear.

In the car, Leo uses the “Supertooth Light”. If your looking for something cheap, then the Plantronics Voyager is a good cheap earpiece for under $50.

Q Marvin in California - Two Internet Connections

Generally what you do is tell XP to join a certain connection. Really you would have to plug one in, and disconnect the other depending on which connection you want to use.

One way you might be able to do it, is by using a Virtual Machine. You can get that from Microsoft’s Virtual PC website which is free.

You can also get Virtual Machines from VMWare.

Q Dianna in California - Computer Screamed at me

If it came out of the computer itself, it could have been the power supply or hard drive itself. It’s possible that some hardware component died.

This is a warning that you should backup everything now. If it’s the power supply, it’ll do it again. If it’s the hard drive, you should back up and keep using it until it dies.

You could use any vector based program, or even Photoshop. You could also try Floor Planner which has a free and paid version.

You might also want to try Easy CAD.

Q Mark in California - Floor Planner

You should use Sketch Up from Google. They have a free version. Sketch Up is designed to take patterns and then replicate them.

You could use any vector based program, or even Photoshop. You could also try Floor Planner.

Q Josh in Nashville - Flash Based Video Camera

Leo used the Panasonic SD5 in Egypt. You can get good DV cameras pretty cheap from Sanyo.

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Polaroid, based in Waltham, Mass., is shutting down factories in the United States and abroad as the company abandons the technology that made the instant photo possible, the Boston Globe reported yesterday. The company will cease production of its film by next year.

Polaroid moved to cartridge film in 1963 with its 100-series camera, which became a staple of professional photographers. They used the rugged Polaroid to take test photos, instantly checking lighting and composition before committing an image to negative. But the company’s boom and the Polaroid’s place in the culture came with the SX-70, introduced in 1972.

Yahoo Inc.’s board plans to reject Microsoft Corp.’s unsolicited $44.6 billion offer to acquire the Web giant, a person familiar with the situation says.

After a series of meetings over the past week, Yahoo’s board determined that the $31 per share offer “massively undervalues” Yahoo, the person said. It also doesn’t account for the risks Yahoo would be taking by entering into an agreement …

Saturday 9 February 2008

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