For more Leo and friends all week long, listen to the TWiT Netcast Network

Sunday 9 November 2008

«Previous Show

Next Show»

Show Audio

Edited Audio
64kbps MP3	16kbps MP3

Tech News

The Election. How Technology got the vote out

Obama used social networking and internet fund raising for record totals and a convincing victory. All powered by the Internet. Now, he’s using the Internet for transitioning to the Office of President. To learn more, check out O’s transition website at CHANGE.GOV

And then there was the Campaign coverage, Fox had live, interactive map totals, CNN had the holographic reporters, and MSNBC used virtual sets.

But the negative side, campaign computers were hacked on both sides. Seriously. The Secret Service reported unknown foreign entities hacked into campaign servers and serious files were downloaded. Even the White House has come under a sophisticated attack - but they didn’t get very far. But if they did, would the White House tell us?

Leo bought the G1 Phone, but there’s a bug

Leo bought the T-Mobile G1 Phone. Impressive first entry. But there’s a serious bug flaw - you type “reboot” anywhere and the phone reboots! That means everything you type goes into the command line! If the phone routes everything through the command line, then what else will it do? That’s a bad thing and T-Mobile/Google is working on a fix.

Today is BACKUP SUNDAY!

Guests

Chris Marquardt - Tips from the Top Floor

Chris returns from a hectic photo workshop tour of Germany, where he’s been teaching beginners how to take digital shots, get them on your computer and edit them.

Chris wants to talk today about presenting digital photography outside of the computer. Getting them out in front of other people. Posting to Flickr, is a good first step. Getting comments, it’s a great way to learn. There’s also Smug Mug, but that’s a paid account.

Another option are digital picture frames. Many are now wireless so they update from the Internet. And prices are dropping like a rock for them. Kodak makes a 7″ Easyshare frame for around $70–80.

But Chris says … let’s print them! iPhoto and Picasa give you the option of making a photo book out of them. Makes great gifts, great way to archive. Chris likes Blurb. They make gorgeous photo books that you can even sell in their online shop.

And for really great pics, make giant prints. 11×14, poster size. It shows what really works and also what didn’t work. And you can mount them and hang them on your wall.

Printers. Chris uses the HP B9180. It can print 19×30″. Haptic quality. Longevity. Leo uses the Epson Stylus R2400.

And where do you show them to the world? In your home gallery, of course! Chris also says that there are companies that will do exhibitions in house, banks, restaurants, etc. Even galleries. You just ask.

Leo also wants to know if Chris is going to get the Canon 5D Mk. II. Chris says he wants one because of the extra low ISO capability.

The assignment is still HUGE. Take a picture and upload it to Flickr and the Tech Guy photo group.

---

Hour 1

Q Kurt, Atlanta, GA - New cell phone: iPhone or Storm?

Does the iPhone read MS Office apps? Leo says it doesn’t natively. You’d have to buy an application through the iTunes App Store (Mobile Files). You can probably read them, but editing is another issue. Chances are, no. The BlackBerry is a better choice, using Office to Go. Wait until January when the Storm comes out.

Q Jeff, San Rafael, CA - Capturing flash video online.

Video online is mostly done as streaming flash. As such, it can be tricky. Check out Vixy.net. You can past a YouTube URL into there and convert it to a saved video file. At Applian, you can find the Replay Media catcher (try before you buy). It will allow you to capture mp3 and video streams, YouTube, etc. On the Mac side, there’s Tube Sock. And from the chat room, DeltaSac has the suggestion of TUBE CATCHER, which is a free download. Google is your friend.

Q Lennon, Memphis, TN - Installing Nod32

Lennon wants to install Nod32, but after uninstalling Norton, he can’t access the Internet. Leo says that this is definitely a Norton problem. When uninstalling, it yanked out parts of critical system files that Norton has attached itself to. Namely, your TCP/IP Winsock. There are ways to fix it. Click START. Type “CMD”. Press CTRL-SHIFT-ENTER to run as an administrator. Type “NETSH WINSOCK RESET”. We hope this will fix any damaged registry entries. Another command is “IP RESET”. This will reset the internet protocol stack. If that doesn’t work, use your Vista install disk to repair your installation.

Go to MyDigitalLife.info for more complete tips on how to fix it.

Q Ed, Tampa, FL. - Getting a new Ham license.

The requirements for a HAM radio license have changed, not requiring morse code. So it’s easier to get a Ham License. Find out more at ARRL.ORG.

Q Alan, Dayspring, FL - A few answers for calls above

There’s an app called AIRSHARE, which can view most document formats. But you can’t edit. The ChatRoom says that DOCUMENTS TO GO has been ported over to the iPhone. So that’s also good news.

Download the Norton Removal tool to fix the Norton issue. Google “Symantec Norton Removal tool” to remove what’s left of Norton and restore your use.

Alan also wants to improve his audio recording on his laptop. Leo says that when you use the analog port on your laptop, it’s easy to pick up the ambient noise of the hard drive. Leo recommends using a USB A/D converter like the Griffin iMic. It takes the conversion outside the the computer to avoid the ambient light.

He also wants to use Stickam to broadcast Sunday Morning Services, but doesns’t want the extra cameras. Leo says click on the “settings” button and change the room video settings. Turn it off and the side windows will go away.

---

Hour 2

Q Jackie, Malibu, CA - Can’t click on link in Email

Jackie says Vista has blocked clicking on links in Vista mail. This is done by design in the Vista Security settings. You can switch this back on in the security settings. Leo suggests though, that you try Windows Live Mail.

It may also be that you have to register an “Application URL.” Go into the file associations database. Start-Ctrl panel, default programs. This will let you set which programs run when you do something. Set the URL to open in your browser. Choose defaults, particularly .url links box. Right-Click, and save the link to the desktop. Then right click, select open with, IExplorer. Select “always use.” If that won’t do it, then you’ll have to dig around the security settings.

Q John, Camarillo, CA - Altering “the gamut” of colors on his monitor.

John wants to improve his colors on his monitor. He’s noticing TVs are going with this new color accuracy standard. What does Leo think about DEEP COLOR? Leo says it has many more colors and can improve the accuracy of your monitor. Adobe does this as it works in 32 bit color. Many pros use 48 bit deep color. But the real question is, can the eye really tell the difference as the bitrate goes up?

Scott Wilkinson, Ultimate AV Magazine chimes in to answer the question - It’s not just color depth, but the range of color. That’s X.V. Color, or Deep Color. But XVYCC determines where the red,blue, green and yellow colors are mixed. Currently though, there is no TV content which uses this standard at the moment. So it’s largely theoretical and is more a marketing pitch at this point. But camcorders from SONY do use the standard, but only with HDMI 1.3. Ezio use the deep color standard, but they’re VERY expensive (2–3 times a standard Dell).

So, what video card can John use to accurately manage his “deep color?” Look at ATI Radeo HD4550 or 4600 video cards, they have the standard and will support it. Great for multi media, decent for gaming cards. Make sure it has an HDMI 1.3 connector.

Q Jenny, Eaglerock, CA - Concerned with Cellphone radiation

Jenny is concerned that cell phone radiation can cause problems if you place it in your pocket. Leo says that more and more neurosurgeons are saying that even though the evidence isn’t conclusive, don’t take the chance. A cell phone is always on, always broadcasting. The close it is, the long you spend talking, the more exposure to that cell phone radiation. Keep it in your pocket until you really need it and only talk in short conversations. Just in case.

For more information check out these two sources: Wikipedia and [[http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/cellphones
|Cancer.gov]]

Q Joe, Palm Desert, CA - Setting My Documents to D: in XP Pro

Joe wants to be . Leo says you need TWEAK UI to specify where you have your My Documents. Also, get SYNC TOY. Both from Microsoft. And both free!

Youc an right click My Documents, set Properties and move it there. This is for Operating Systems after SP2. Sync Toy will be sure that both your drives are in sync.

But can he use “Carbonite” for this if your Documents are on another drive? yes, you can right click on it and tell Carbonite to include it in the backup.

---

Hour 3

Q Greg, Fresno, CA - Add-ons having trouble after removing program

Greg is using IE8 Beta and has losts his Add-On. The security software disabled Browser Helper Objects due to spyware. There’s probably more spyware still there. Run your AVS to get rid of the spyware, not disable it. Spybot: Search and Destroy or Windows Defender. Lavasoft’s Ad Aware. Keep running them until the infections are removed completely. Sometimes the only real way to dump them is to format the drive and start over. :(

Q Harold, Greenville, SC - Printer connection trouble

Harold tries to select text and print, then it asks which printer to use and disappears almost instantly and prints nothing. He can print normally, but not when printing the selection. Leo suspects that the HP print driver is out of whack. The spooler may be corrupted. Go to HP.COM, find the “Software and driver downloads.” Download the latest drivers and install them. It may be a good idea to remove the old printers first.

Q PJ, Inglewood, CA - Adapting PC to TV

PJ wants to connect his laptop to his TV. Leo says you need to tell the laptop it has another monitor connected and it helps to use a VGA to DVI adapter. Once the laptop sees the display, you need to go into the display control and set the resolution to something the TV can pickup. Find out the native resolution is and input that information. Set the refresh rate to 60 Hz. Select the input setting to tell the TV what to look for. This will help the TV “see” the external VGA signal. Also, set it to “mirror.” It’s a dark art, but it can be done.

Q Brent, Michigan - Suspects an AntiVirus 2009 Scam embedded in his website.

Brent’s iWeb page has a popup for an AntiVirus scam. Hover over the URL to see if it’s a correct link. Leo suspects the DNS is poisoned and that the host company’s DNS Record has been hijacked. It’s a very well known and severe problem. Tell them to update the DNS server.

Have a great geek week!

---

«Previous Show

Next Show»