Leo Laporte
The Tech Guy
2–5p EDT Sat/Sun
- Home
- Saturday Show
- Sunday Show
- Past Shows
- Audio Archives
- Stations
- Chat
- Watch Live
- Forums
- Listener Map
- User Groups
- Tips
- FAQ
- Glossary
- Contact Leo
Sponsors
Leo Links
 |
For more Leo and friends all week long, listen to the
|
|
Saturday 23 August 2008
Show Audio
|
Edited Audio | |
Tech News
Politics and the Internet
The Obama campaign has worked the Internet masterfully to not only raise millions, but also using applications like TWITTER to get his followers energized. They’ve managed to get millions of cell phone numbers after having promised to text his choice of a running mate (which is Sen. Joe Biden). Imagine how they’ll be able to mine those cellphone numbers, IMs, etc. Get out the vote? Fund raising?
The McCain campaign? They’re still trying to figure that out.
The Mojave Campaign. Will it save Vista?
In a fashion of the “Coke vs. Pepsi” test, Microsoft has announced the Mojave project, showing people Vista without telling them and seeing what they thing. They’re also trying to address the “I’m a Mac” campaign by paying Jerry Seinfeld $10 million dollars to appear with Bill Gates in their new “Windows, not walls” campaign. You kiddin’ me? Seinfeld is so 90s! How can that be hip?
The irony … Seinfeld always used a Mac in his show.
Leo’s worried about Pandora.
Pandora is a great online Internet radio service. You pick the artist and they play the music and recommend similar artists. Sadly, it’s about to go out of business thanks to the punitive royalties that Internet radio has to pay - twice as much as the cost of royalties that broadcast radio pays. And yes, you can thank the RIAA for that.
Go to SaveNetRadio.org to help save Pandora!
Guests
Scott Wilkinson, Ultimate AV Magazine
Scott is reporting on a 3DTV by Texas Instruments. He says it’s REALLY cool. Samsung and Mitsubishi are amoungst those who are going to release this technology. You wear special glasses, of course, but not the red/blue ones. They’re LCD glasses that alternately turn opaque and clear to simulate the 3D effect.
Why 3D? Well, with video games, this will really take off as 3D info is already in the game. And more and more movies are being released in 3D. Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus’ movie was broadcast on Disney Channel in 3D. So, 3D is back big time.
THX also has a new technology code named “Blackbird,” which will allow viewers to interact with other sources of information like the Internet, etc. Blackbird will read the metadata and automagically adjust your TV to maximize it’s display.
Finally, Samsung has a new LCD Flatpanel that has superbright L.E.Ds. backlighting the screen. They can be powered on faster, individually controlled to create more dynamic contrast and color, and will really improve the image as a result. But they front projection won’t be happening for awhile with this. But Scott says LAZER ILLUMINATION is the future of HDTV.
Hour 1
Q Ed, Charlotte, NC - Creating a website in Expression.
Microsoft’s followup to Front Page is Expression Studio. Web pros use DreamWeaver. But Leo say most aren’t even using HTML anymore. In fact, most are using content management systems like WordPress to run their own webpage.
Ed also has a question about certifications. Leo says that more and more, certifications are focused on passing a test and are very costly. So you want to look very carefully what the curriculum is about before paying to become certified. Leo also says that education is changing in this modern world. Depending on what you want to do with your life, even earning a college degree may not be the ideal solution.
Q Michael, Rancho Cucamonga, CA - Questions about V.O.I.P.
Michael is interested in doing VOIP. Leo says that you shouldn’t rely on VOIP solely for your communication needs. Electricity goes out, the internet goes down, etc. and VOIP is useless. And forget about 911. So get a cellphone as well.
Michael is also interested in OOMA. Leo says it’s a great choice and everyone seems to like it. But you plop down $350 for a lifetime subscription, but will OOMA be around in 3 years? Look into SKYPE. It’s free pc to pc and dirt cheap free when skyping out to a landline.
Q Jeff, San Clemente, CA - Making short videos for the web
What’s the best combination of software/hardware. Leo says start at the end point. Leo recommends FLASH. It’s what YouTube uses. Also, the advantage is that you don’t have to invest thousands in a professional camera. Leo recommends the Canon HV30. HiDef. But if you want pro, the SONY EX1 is a good option. Import into Final Cut Express on the MAC or Adobe Premiere Elements, Pinnacle Studio or even Sony Vegas on the PC. But you’ll output to MP4 for the best quality at the smallest file size. And since most won’t output to flash though, so you’ll need a flash encoder from Adobe.
Q Ken, Trebuco Canyon, CA - Adding a third monitor, need a video card.
Ken’s a day trader who needs a third monitor to expand his PC screen real estate. What card? Matrox makes a multi-head montor device called DUAL HEAD 2 GO. A new one is DISPLAY LINK, which uses USB to add multiple monitors. Dick Debartolo, the Giz Wiz, says it works great.
James adds that if you have a laptop lying around you don’t use, MAXIVISTA will allow you to link it and use it’s screen as an extra monitor.
Hour 2
Q Keith, Hawthorn, CA - Transferring songs to new iPod.
Has the iPod Classic 160GB. Can’t transfer songs from his old iPod to the new iPod. Does he have to repurchase the songs? Leo says NO! The key is that you have to go to iTunes, click on the new iPod and change a check box setting “manually manage music and videos.” This will let you drag files from iTunes to the new iPod. Leo also recommends “synch only checked songs and videos.” Search for Genre you don’t want uncheck them.
Keith’s wife also lost her bookmarks in Firefox! Does she have spyware? Leo says she may, but more likely, since Firefox has profiles, it may be a bug that causes a spontaneous changing on the profile. Use the Profile manager in Firefox. Click start, run, type firefox.exe -profile manager.
Q Ron, Cleveland, OH - NVidia ChipSet Recall in Laptops
Ron is concerned that his laptop is affective. Leo says the problem is widespread and NVidia is not doing a recall at the moment. But some manufacturers may be. HP and Dell are saying that if the chipset fails, they will replace/repair it. But not before. Until then, they recommend updating the BIOS to adjust the speed of your laptop fan. No word on MAC, though. Leo says that doing the BIOS update is masking the problem. Don’t do the update. You may not have a defective chip. But if you do, you want the chip to fail so that it will be repaired under warranty. Run it as hard as you can to see if it fails so that you can force the PC maker to fix it.
Q Sherry, Palo Alto, CA - HDTV recommendation
She wants a TV that she can hang on the wall. Leo says first, you want a thin panel, direct view TV, which gives you two choics - plasma or LCD. Plasma gives you the best image, but not in a brightly lit room. With ambient light, LCD is your choice.
Samsung is excellent. You can’t go wrong. Sony Bravia is also excellent. And Sharp Aquos is the third.
Check out Ultimate AV Magazine for great reviews that are accurate and ethical. Also, read reviews from users at Amazon. Some may be from competitors or from the maker themselves. So, toss out the high and the low and you’ll get a good idea from the middle what really works great.
Hour 3
Q Ed, Tampa, FL - VISTA Trouble with Zillow!
Has a brand new Dell 1530 laptop with Vista. Zillow’s rolling rates in the Marketplace are giving him fits. Leo says there’s a bug in the FLASH player that’s embedded in the webpage. Fix your flash by clearing your Flash Cache. Right click on a flash window and select “settings.” Go to Advanced. This will take your to the settings manager. Clean up the settings. Make sure you have enough disk space. Check the “allow third party content” check box. Keep the global security settings to “always ask.” Delete all sites from the privacy settings. Clear the website storage settings for cookies and other information. You can also download the latest version of flash and reinstall it. NOTE - DOWNLOAD and install. DO NOT install it in the browser.
Also, check Vista’s security settings. They’re more active and may be preventing it.
Q Bobby, Cincinnati, OH - Digital Camera Recommendation
Wants a DSLR. Budget is around $300. Well unfortunately, at that price your options are very limited. But going to a DSLR is a good move if you’re serious about getting better in photography. Spend your money on the glass (lenses) right now. You can update to a better body later.
The best low cost Digital SLR is the Nikon D40. You’ll also need a longer, telephoto lens.
In the point and shoot, the Canon G9 is an excellent option. Good zoom. But there may be an upgrade soon which will drop the price, so be patient.
And don’t fall into the megapixel trap. More mega pixels isn’t better. It’s the size of the sensor that matters. The bigger the sensor, the better.
But DSLRs don’t shoot video. So, be aware of that.
Q Greg, Whittier, CA - Switched from the Treo to the iPhone 3G
But he has trouble running Windows Media and AOL Radio. He likes Talk Radio. Well, he doesn’t have a lot of choices. Leo’s trying to get radio stations to get this, but so far, they’re all sticking with Windows only.
He also wishes Apple would provide a video application for the camera. Leo doesn’t understand why Apple is dragging their feet on this. Jailbroken iPhones have the capability. Add that to the list along with cut and paste and voice dialing which Apple doesn’t care to provide.
Wife upgraded to the Mac Book Pro and he got the PowerMac. But he’s having trouble using Garage Band. Serious delay. Leo says it’s normal and suggests monitoring life. Centrance Micport Pro is the option you want for live monitoring.
Q Shawn, Chicago, IL - importing mp3s to his iPod
Has mp3s of old time radio shows. Wants to put them on his iPod to listen to as podcasts. You can use smart playlists. Shawn also wants bookmarking. Select all, go to preferences in iTunes and make bookmarkable. Get Info. Options. Remember Playback Position. Also, you can check the box that says “skip, when shuffling.” This will cause the iPod to omit long form so you can listen to just music.
Q Mark, Jacksonville, FL - Linksys router switch suggestion
Concerned since he’s heard alot of bad press. Leo says that Cisco makes the Linksys switches and they perform just fine. Leo uses a DLink Gigabit switch, so you may wanna look into that option. But it’ll also overheat. So go with Cat 5 or Cat 6 cables.
