Leo Laporte
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For more Leo and friends all week long, listen to the
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Sunday 10 August 2008
- Show Audio
- Tech News
- Hour 1
- Hour 2
- Will - Cypress, CA - DSL connection not working on his laptop
- Alan, Mussel Shoals, AL - Affordable computing overseas
- Matt, Pasadena, CA - Moving data from one computer to another
- Paul, Vancouver, BC Canada - About Leo’s Ultimate Gaming Machine
- Mike, Tustin, CA - Camcorder for his son.
- Tedipe, CoQuitlan, CA - Hauppage HDPVR - thoughts?
- Hour 3
- Judy, Emoryville, CA - Building a website by looking at the code
- Jeffrey, Salinas, CA - Safe computing.
- Duane, Colorado, Springs, CO - My documents folder issues
- Steve, Colorado - Removing duplicate pictures
- Mike, Pasadena, CA - Is the internet the future of TV?
- Annie, Oceanside, CA - Got a popup of the AntVirus 2009 scam.
- Laura, L.A., CA - GPS Nav system recommendation
Show Audio
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Edited Audio | |
Tech News
Black Hat Hacker Conference
Digital Music a gateway Drug?
Kim Komando thinks so. She cites a study on gateway drugs and claims that drug pushers are encourging kids to download music in order to get them hooked on drugs. What’s next, backwards masking?
Come on, Kim. Seriously.
Are iPhone Apps requirements too inconsistent?
If so, then how did I AM RICH make it on there? It sold for $1,000 and does nothing. Apple has pulled it after 8 people bought it. But seriously, what’s up with the Apps store when they accept that and deny other more useful apps?
The Technology at the Olympics
Incredible blend of human power and high technology.
New Virus Sweeping the Net
AntiVirus 2009. It’ll even pretend to scan your computer and find infections, then offers to fix it with AntiVirus 2009. Looks very official, very legit. But it isn’t. AntiVirus 2009 is a trojan horse that will take over your computer and steal your money.
RIAA Court Award may be overturn Appeal
A federal appeals judge has second thoughts on the case that Jammie Thomas lost against the RIAA and was fined nearly $230,000. He’s come to the conclusion that songs in a download folder implies her guilt isn’t sufficient evidence that Ms. Thomas actually illegally downloaded the songs and may indeed declare a mistrial.
Vista isn’t as secure as we thought
Hacker researchers have rendered Vista security features useless.
Make sure you download the latest system updates.
Hour 1
Q Emory, Hayward, CA - Protecting himself at a WiFi hotspot
What you have to worry about at a hotspot is more than just viruses, it’s hackers that “snif” for your activity. The most important thing you can do is practice safe computing. Also, don’t run as an administrator, run as a user. That will limit the impact a virus will have on your computer. RUN you updates on Update Tuesday.
Then, at the hotspot, use WPA encryption. But at Starbucks, you can’t use that. So enable your Windows firewall. Have the attitude that someone is watching you and only do stuff you don’t mind being watched doing. Use encrypted email. Use SSL email. Or, just don’t check it. But the best way is to work through a VPN. Hotspot VPN is a good one. $10 a month.
At home: Enable WPA. Change the default name/password on the router. Turn off WAN administration. Turn off universal plug and play (UP&P). Even if playing XBox Live. You can open 3 ports for it without turning on UP&P.
Q Kenny, Corona, CA - Software for music transcription.
He wants a program that will transcribe his music as he makes it. Leo recommends Cakewalk. GarageBand does it. But any music transcription software is only so smart. They may mistake a whole note, for example, for several 1/8th notes. But they are getting better. Ashley, our composer, uses Sibelius.
Hour 2
Q Will - Cypress, CA - DSL connection not working on his laptop
He just upgraded from dialup to DSL but he can’t get it to work. Leo doesn’t recommend the DSL disk that comes with it. They want you to use their “dialer” to dial in like dialup in order to control your bandwidth. But you don’t have to use it. Buy a Linksys WRT54G broadband wireless router. You’ll also enjoy the added benefit of a hardware firewall to protect you online. Then, you can configure the router with your ISP login/password and it’ll do a better job.
Also, follow the tips we recommended to Emory above and you’ll be good to go.
Q Alan, Mussel Shoals, AL - Affordable computing overseas
How can he use something like TWITTER while in India without breaking the bank? Can he use the iPhone? Sure. Call AT&T and ask for the International Roaming Package. Then, ask them for an International Text Messaging package. That may be cheaper. You can Twitter via text message. Also, turn on NO DATA ROAMING in the iPhone or you’ll get killed when your phone bill comes.
In fact, DON’T use your iPhone! Buy a SIM phone card in India. It’ll give you an Indian phone number and set up the “new Indian phone number” with Twitter and you’ll probably save a boatload.
Note - here’s what the Cellphone companies charge you for text messages (avg. 140 bytes): .10, which Google Calculator calculates out to $749 a meg!
Q Matt, Pasadena, CA - Moving data from one computer to another
He has a real old computer (14 yrs old) and wants to move data off it. Leo recommends to take the hard drive out and connect to a USB Hard drive adapter. About $30.
If you have a specific application you want to run from the newer PC, but you can’t because of age, then burn a CD with FreeDos and your application as a bootable CD. Then you can open the application and do what you need to do. Another option is to use VMWare, which will let you run DOS. Then you can get the data you need out of the application.
Q Paul, Vancouver, BC Canada - About Leo’s Ultimate Gaming Machine
Leo’s Ultimate Video Gaming Machine is running SLI in multiple monitors. The idea is to use interlacing by devoting one video card for each interlacing, making the video more responsive.
Q Mike, Tustin, CA - Camcorder for his son.
His son wants to make videos. Mike wants to know if the DC 330 is compatible with Vista. The Canon DC330 will record in MPEG2. Probably won’t work with Movie Maker. Leo recommends picking up Adobe Premiere Elements. Another option is Pinnacle Movie Studio. Both will work fine in Vista.
Leo’s current favorite is the HV30, which still records on tape in H.264.
Solid State flash drive cameras are gaining popularity, however you are married to your PC with them unless you want to buy dozens of cards. And the scary thing is, that once you get it off onto your PC, it’s in danger unless you back it up. Tape camcorders are still the best option because of the tape backup. Sadly, they’re on their way out.
Q Tedipe, CoQuitlan, CA - Hauppage HDPVR - thoughts?
Tedipe wants to record HD off his Satellite and wants to know what Leo thinks of the Hauppage HD PVR. Leo hasn’t used it specifically, but Hauppage is very reliable. Leo uses the ElGato with his MAC mini and it’s excellent. Uses the same chipset.
Always read the Amazon reviews - toss the best/worst - and you’ll get a great idea how they work.
Hour 3
Q Judy, Emoryville, CA - Building a website by looking at the code
Go into your browser and click on View, Page Source. Judy also wants some animated clipart. Leo recommends Animation Factory. It’s a pay site, but it’s a great resource.
Judy also need a good antivirus software. Eset Nod32 is one of our sponsors and Leo loves them. But also remember your behavior is as important as having an AVS.
Q Jeffrey, Salinas, CA - Safe computing.
How can he turn off his WAN? His router doesn’t have turn off WAN. Leo says turn off everything listed and see what happens. Jeffrey uses WEP. Leo says it isn’t safe. It’s easily hacked. That’s why he recommends WPA. It’s been designed by security professionals.
Q Duane, Colorado, Springs, CO - My documents folder issues
When he goes to “My Documents,” he goes into search mode. Leo suspects a messed up registry listing. You need to change the file associations in XP. Could be in tools - folder options - file types. Scroll down to File Folder Entry. Advanced. You’ll see different options and click OPEN by default and then “set.”
(Thanks to Darth Emma in the Chatroom!)
Q Steve, Colorado - Removing duplicate pictures
How can Steve eliminate duplicate pictures from his hard drive? Photoshop Album, Picasa, most photo management programs will be able to detect duplicates and ask you if you want to delete them. On the MAC, you have iPhoto. Create the new library and then import everything into it. You’ll get a heads up that way.
Q Mike, Pasadena, CA - Is the internet the future of TV?
Well, Leo’s doing TWITLIVE.TV … there’s many, many others who set up TV studios in their home and run their own networks streaming over the Internet. It’s the future of television for the geek obsessed!
Q Annie, Oceanside, CA - Got a popup of the AntVirus 2009 scam.
She opened it on her MAC. Good news is, SHE’S ON A MAC! It’s Windows only. You’re nice and safe, Annie. But even though 99.9% of all viruses are written for Windows, you still want to update your Mac OS to cover the security holes Apple finds. She couldn’t get out of the popup. Leo recommends to use FORCE QUIT to kill it.
Q Laura, L.A., CA - GPS Nav system recommendation
Amazon has a sale going on right no on the Garmen Nuvi for about $250.
