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Sunday 15 June 2008

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Tech News

• The New 3G iPhone

Using HSDPA, AT&Ts high speed data network. Some things to keep in mind. Check AT&Ts coverage. Make sure they’re in the area you use or you’re stuck with EDGE. It has GPS & Google Maps, but not turn by turn directions. What is up with that? A later feature perhaps? We hope so.

The big deal - $199 for an 8GB iPhone. However, the AT&T data plan is higher - $30. Must be activated IN STORE or a severe penalty if not activated w/in 30 days. New store. Free games and new utilities. Cool apps using GPS. Loopt will make it easier for people to find you using your GPS iPhone. Scary.

Apple’s updated .Mac called MobileMe (terrible name). 20GB backup. Previous .Mac users upgraded free. Synch in real time over the air using MobileMe. Will work with Mac and some Windows. Photo synching. Very cool.

No cut and paste still?! No forward facing camera. No chat software. Just SMS which looks strangely like CHAT. Another rip - SMS texts. .10 a message for 140 bytes? Outrageous surcharge which will mount up if you don’t pay attention.

GPS, but no turn by turn directions. They say it’s to save battery life, which has been improved. TomTom wants to be putting out a third party app that will do this, but the EULA says no way Jose. You’d have to jail break it to do it. ECK.

The other great thing is the applications store. Great killer apps and more games. Leo says the iPhone is made for Games.

But in the end, Leo is still a Blackberry man. For the cut and paste alone.

• A Change in Internet service may be coming and it’s not good. Comcast wants to either throttle or limit downloading. Time Warner is going to offer tiered service. Over and above is $1 a gig. Warner’s says they have to because bandwidth hogs are eating up the access. Sure. Customers are bound to hate this since we’re so used to “all you can eat” access. Seems to Leo that with bandwidth getting cheaper all the time, the ISPs are starting to get greedy with prices.

This is largely because they get “peering” relationships with other ISPs in order to cut costs. So their bandwidth costs nearly nothing. Unlike oil, bandwidth isn’t a limited resource. More server capacity, more bandwidth.

In the UK, British Telecom limits users by tiers. In Sweden, they have HUGE downwidth available for users.

• Leo apologizes to LifeLock about stories of his identity getting stolen. Turns out that Leo has learned more about the story and how credit card companies put a “hit piece” out on the LifeLock story and will do all they can to defeat these things as it forces them to seek your permission before pre-approving you. And identity theft is relatively minor - .8 of the population. Medium amount is $1500 and you aren’t liable for it. Check out Wired Magazine’s THE PROS AND CONS OF LIFELOCK.

The bottom line is that even though you can do a lot of it yourself, it’s perfectly safe to use LifeLock as a service, the insurance is valid.

Guests

• Ron Rosberg, Gadget Guru

Verizon’s Samsung Glide
Price with 2 Year and on-line discount $199

Need a great wired headset in very noisy environments for your cellphone or Skype try the Boom “E”. Price $299 with 2 1/2mm Headset adapter adapters for most phones $5.00 to $15.00

Want extra power for your iPhone or iPod? Check out Kensington Battery Pack and Charger. Price MSRP $69.95

Mini Battery Pack and Charger for iPod Price MSRP $49.95

• Chris Marquart - The Photo Guy from Tips from the Top Floor

Two slots available for Chris’ photo seminars coming. One in Nashville, and also in Portland. Check it out.

Today, we’re talking about wide angle lenses. Wide angle can really add a “wow factor” to your shots. It alters proportion by changing the “normal focal length (represented by 50mm). Wide angle lenses “expand depth.” Think of that “objects are closer than they appear” mirror on your car. Wide angle lets you see more by including a much larger field of view. What’s cool is taking wide angel shots at parties and see how people are grouping up. There’s more than one story in that photograph.

Train yourself to shoot at the extreme wide angle for a day. Then try another focal length. It teaches you a great deal about photo composition and what do focal lengths do to a picture.

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Hour 1

Q JENNY, Silverlake, CA - Needs a hands free cellphone or attachment. Recommendations?

It’s a very controversial issue. No real evidence that using a cellphone while driving is more dangerous. But it’s now the law. BLUE ANT SUPER TOOTH LITE. Had microphone and speaker built in and goes on the car visor. Pairs with Bluetooth enabled phones. Extremely long battery life if you turn it on. TOOTHPICK. Powered by car lighter. Listen through your stereo.

Then there’s the PLANTRONICS’ VOYAGER 510 (the new one is T 520). New one is the DISCOVERY 925. Leo’s not much a fan of the Jawbone. Kinda pricey.

But understand, that hands-free doesn’t have to mean Bluetooth. It can be that little ear piece headset that came with your cellphone. But Bluetooth frees you from the cellphone. Does it have some drawbacks? Yep. Dropouts. Separate charging. Pairing issues. And you look real funny with that headset sticking out your ear. But it’s not how you’re using your phone, but THAT you are using your phone. It’s an attention issue.

Q NICK, Norwalk, CA - What about the SAMSUNG INSTINCT?

If you’re not on the AT&T Network, the Instinct is a good choice. It’s narrow though. Small screen. But it does have a visual voice mail feature. Nice. Turn by turn GPS! Software isn’t as slick as the iPhone, but what will be?
Check out David Pogue’s Review.

Q GEORGE, Houston, TX - Internet history cleared itself. Help!

Lost track of his webpages. Using Firefox. Firefox works in profiles. Check to see if you created a new profile. Your old profile could still be there. Sometimes it will accidentally change profiles. So check and see what profile you’re using. Go under the file menu. Or Start. Run. Firefox.exe -profilemanager.

Also, needs software discs for restoring his OS. He’ll need to buy it if he’s lost his recovery discs. Leo says what we should all do is demand computer manufacturers provide us with actual software discs and not just recovery discs. Even if it costs extra, it’s worth it.

Q KEVIN, Valley of Enchantment, CA - Blogging interface recommendation?

Uses TypePad. But doesn’t want to pay for it anymore. New blogging interface. MULTIPLY.COM. Check out VOX.COM. Done by TypePad, but free. Has three levels of privacy - public, friends, and family. Take the tours of all the new ones and see which one you like. There’s also BLOGGER and WORDPRESS (the gold standard). And all of these are template driven so all you need to concentrate on is content.

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Hour 2

Q JUDITH, on Twitter - Her MacBook Air is overheating and even freezes?

You got a bad one. Lemons happen everyone once in awhile. Send it back to Apple as an RMA return and Apple will replace it. The MACBOOK AIR is gorgeous, but even Leo admits they are pricey! You’re paying for the elegance.

Q Talk to me Guys, Twitter - What about the HTC 6600?

Best mobile sets on the market. Available for almost all the carriers. They’ve also announced that they will be doing a phone base on the Android/Google OS. Very interesting. Virtual keyboards, though, don’t work as well. The Touch Pro is gorgeous though. With slide-out keyboard.
The HTC 6800 is a tad too big. Thinner is better.

Q Marcus, MA - Very concerned about cellphone’s affects on the brain.

Radio frequency radiation can damage cells. However, it is proportional to the amount of power. And there isn’t any evidence that proves cellphones can cause brain cancer. However, the family of Johnny Cochran is suing over it. So we may find out more as that case develops.

The FCC has rigorously tested cellphones with dummies rigged to measure it. There’s no studies that are without an agenda which points to cellphone RF is that bad. There’s been no smoking gun on this and Leo sees no real cause for concern. Still, a hands-free will definitely reduce that RF radiation.

Meanwhile, the debate continues.

ARCHON, in the IRC Chatroom, sends us a link for a Denon “Pure” Ethernet Cable which sets a new standard against interference. Cost … $500 for a 59″ Ethernet cable. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING! Digital cables either work or not. You don’t need high purity copper, rounded housings and you certainly don’t need to drop five “Benjamins” on an Ethernet cable!

You may need a Category 5 or 6 Ethernet you have a lot of distance to cover. But seriously. How do you design an Ethernet cable to sell for $500 when monoprice.com sells them for $5!

Q KEVIN, West Michigan - Interested in the RAW Firmware Hack for Canon.

Has a CANON S5IS. Jack of all trades. Decent video. Easy to use. Wants to upload the RAW firmware hack. Good idea? Well, the hardware can use several different firmwares for the same camera. There is a risk in uploading and installing it. But Kevin says there are hacks that are resident on the SD card? If that’s so, you should be safe. But Leo still says proceed at your own risk. You could void your warranty.

Q RON, Van Nuys, CA - iPhone vs. the Blackberry Bold.

The Blackberry Bold supports HDCA. Looks stunning. Starts on SPRINT and will go to VERIZON. Built in GPS via Google Maps. Unrestricted third party development. WiFi. 480×320 screen with new OS. Standard headphone jack and USB connector. 1GB memory. 2MP camera like the iPhone. Leo likes the keyboard.

If you like media applications, get the iPhone. But for business, there’s a reason why Blackberry dominates the business world. The Bold will be no different.

Q DAWN, Temecula, CA - Needs a new computer.

Concerned about what she’s hearing about computers running vista. If she has existing hardware or software, should she upgrade to Vista? Leo says no. It works fine in XP, just use it. Even though Microsoft is going to quit selling it, there are computer manufacturers that still sell computers with XP and you can buy it elsewhere for the near future. And Microsoft will continue to support XP after the June retail cutoff.

Now, if you’re getting a new computer, buy it with Vista if you don’t have a lot of software or hardware to install. The older the software, the less likely you can install it on a Vista box.

As for RAM, you need at least 2GB.

And don’t worry about having one drive that isn’t partitioned. If you’re concerned with backup, just get an external that you can back up to.

And since you’ve started with DELL, stay with Dell. Leo likes Dell a lot. Even though the support has been outsourced since computers have gotten cheaper (support is a major cost of computers). You can pay for the next level of support called DELL GOLD SUPPORT for a better level of support.

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Hour 3

Q DAVE, Burbank, CA - Digital converter box compatibility problem.

Will attaching the digital converter box affect recording programs with a VCR? You can daisy chain a VCR from your antenna to the converter box and then to your VCR. What you’ll need to do is tune your TV to channel 3, and your VCR in channel 3. Then tune through the converter box. The downside is, you won’t be able to automatically record anymore. THAT STINKS!

You’re better off just getting rid of the VCR and going for a digital VCR that can handle ATSE or even a digital video recorder.

For more information on the digital converter boxes, check out DTV.GOV

Q FRANCESCO, Orange County, CA - can he record books on tape to CD?

Francesco wants to record while he reads and save them as a CD to listen to over and over again. Is there a recorder that does this? Well, you can do this with a computer.

Get the BLUE SNOWFLAKE with Audacity (free, opensource) Or, if you have an iPod, check out the GRIFFIN ITALK PRO, it’s got a line in for a microphone or you can use its stereo mics built in.

Q JANE, San Diego, CA - Concerned with computer security.

But how can she lock down a computer to protect her data? Well, first, the promise is more important that the negatives of computing. So don’t be frozen in fear. You can be absolutely secure by changing your behavior. Don’t open attachments. Don’t go to suspect websites. Trust you’ll remember Leo’s tips. But also, be careful about any software that requires you to give you information.

Also, go to the credit agencies and put a fraud alert on your credit report account. It will last 3 months and it’s renewable. Credit card companies hate it because they want to send you offers and they can’t without your permission. And you are entitled to a free credit report every year from all three reporting company. Request them. And just plain check your bills while paying them. Apply all OS patches from Microsoft on the first Tuesday of the month. Back up your data.

Here’s another resource for learning to protect yourself.

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