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Today is part three in Chris’ three part series on “light.” (read Part 1 & 2). Today’ we’re talking about the color of light. Not all light will have the same color. Incandescent light looks warmer, glows golden, whereas fluorescent light is bluer. And the camera has to compensate for the various warmer/cooler colors of light. This is what the white balance is for. A trick to accentuate light color is to set your camera to an overcast white balance and it’ll make your shots warmer.

You can clean up pictures in Photoshop or Lightroom if you shoot RAW and the White Balnce isn’t sspot on.

Q Kate, Lancaster, CA - DVD Drive stuck in MAC

Kate is having trouble with her iMac. Her DVD won’t eject. If you can’t get the disc out, try restarting the mac and start tapping the F12 key. Leo doesn’t like that you have to use software to eject the disc. If that won’t happen, you’ll need to send it in to have it removed.

Q Adam, Bethlehem, PA - HP Mini options

Just got the HP Mini Netbook. Gorgeous. He wants to know if he can rip the restore discs and place them on a USB Thumb Drive. Leo says you can. It’s more complicated than just burning though - here’s a site that walks your through it. You need to make an image file of it (.ISO), or, you can burn to a Thumb Drive and make it bootable. Roxio can do it. Nero can do it. CD Burner XP is free and works.

Adam also wants to drop his land line and just use his wireless exclusively. This is a very popular trend. But there’s a good reason to have a land line. 911. In the event of an emergency, 911 knows exactly where you are. And a cellphone may get automatically routed to the Highway Patrol or a regional 911 (called e911), which is why cellphones have GPS chips in them.

The Panasonic KXTH1211 will allow you to use your cell via bluetooth.

See ya! And don’t forget to Back up!

Q Paul, Alexandria, VA - Using iPhone Internationally

Paul is traveling to the UK in a month and wants to know if he can use his iPhone. Leo says you’ll need to notify AT&T to turn on International Roaming and also, it’s a wise idea to buy an International Data Plan. You may not be able to put a temporary SIM card without jail breaking the phone. You may be able to buy a compatible AT&T sim overseas, but you’ll have to check with AT&T.

Paul is also concerned with the heat in his Macbook. Leo says that it’s normal with today’s processors for laptops to get hot. Making sure there’s air running underneath it will help it - you can pick up a USB fan lapboard which will cool it by up to 10 degrees C.

If Facebook was a nation …

With 176 Million users, if Facebook was a nation, it would be the sixth largest in the world! Wow. Amazing since it started just five short years ago.

But Facebook ran afoul of it’s members when it changed it’s terms of service to assert ownership of everything posted on it. Members revolted, Facebook relented. All is well.

Mindy would like to share documents between Macs and PCs. She uses Office. But she also uses statistical software. Leo says you can run Windows on a Mac, but it costs. Office should be 100% compatible from Mac to PC. It’s very possible that the file just got corrupted. And any proprietary software just may not be available on the MAC.

Leo recommends downloading VMWare (free, 30 days) and run Windows virtually. But in the end, it may just be easier to get a dedicated Windows machine for what your doing in Windows. Leo recommends getting a Core II Duo but to time it to where you can get a copy of Windows 7 with it. Leo likes DELL.

Also, pick up an external hard drive that you can back up your data and then restore it to your new Box. Then, you’ll have a weekly backup option right there. And using Sync Toy will make it automatic.

In the end, Leo thinks there’s no right or wrong to Mac or PC. Go with your gut and you’ll make the right choice.

Q Chris, Ft. Irwin, CA - Security with iPod Touch

Chris just bought his daughter and iPod Touch and she loves to use the wireless browser feature. Naturally, Chris is concerned with security and how to monitor her presence on the Internet. Leo suggests using OpenDNS in your house. OpenDNS will block anything you don’t want her to use.

But is the Touch susceptible to viruses? Leo says in theory, it’s possible, but extremely unlikely. There’s only been 3 exploits written to the MAC and they require interactivity. You don’t need to worry. Just do what Ronald Reagan once said … “trust, yet verify” and check what’s she’s doin from time to time.

Q Jeff, Williamsberg, KY - Running Premiere through Bootcamp

Jeff is having capture viewing trouble. When he previews his video, he can’t get a video image. Leo thinks that either a) the Apple drivers aren’t up to date and can’t handle them or, more likely b) Vista’s draconian HDCP DRM is getting in the way. Leo suggests hanging out at the Apple support forums to see if anyone else is running into the issue.

Q NTLSteve, via Twitter - Makin’ the Switch, still needs Windows

Steve is going to get a MAC, how can he run Windows? Leo says you can use BootCamp. But can he also run Windows Virtually like a program? Leo says that two programs do it. VM Ware and Parallels. Both are the same price and are excellent. It’s pretty much a horse race. Leo prefers VMWare.

Q Bobby, via Twitter - capturing video from XBox 360

Bobby wants to capture his video games from his XBox 360. Leo recommends using the Component in and record the video in your MAC through El Gato.

Q Mindy, San Francisco, CA - Sharing documents Mac and PC

Mindy would like to share documents between Macs and PCs. She uses Office. But she also uses statistical software. Leo says you can run Windows on a Mac, but it costs. Office should be 100% compatible from Mac to PC.

Q Bernie (Berntech), New Jersey - Smartphone recommendation

The good news is that Bernie’s carrier uses GSM phones which means he can get an unlocked smart phone, but it’s more expensive. Leo recommends putting off Bernie’s decision as the next six months will see some pretty dramatic changes in the industry.

Q Bernie (Berntec), New Jersey - Smartphone recommendation

Bernie wants to get a smartphone that can stream Leo’s podcasts. He’s a T-Mobile customer. Bernie could get the Google G1, but the battery life is terrible. And he wouldn’t get the video because no smartphone has Flash …. YET. Adobe is working to put Flash 10 on all smart phones, but (of course) Apple’s iPhone! If you’re in a hurry to get a phone, the best bet would probably be the BlackBerry Curve or another HTC Handset. The Palm Pre is coming soon, it’ll have Flash and has some promise, but it’s Sprint only.

Another option you can do is to image your hard drive before it fails. Use Drive Snapshot or Norton Ghost. It’ll make an image of your drive and make it bootable. Then you can just restore that image right to your hard drive.

Another option you can do is to image your hard drive before it fails. Use Drive Snapshot or Norton Ghost. It’ll make an image of your drive and make it bootable. Then you can just restore that image right to your hard drive.

Q Paul, San Francisco, CA - DTV Converter Box not made in China?

Paul would like to avoid buying a DTV Converter box from China. But he’s frustrated that reviews don’t include country of origin. Leo says that just about everything is made in China now. Or Taiwan.

Q Herbert, Oregon - Scanner recommendation

Herb has a large stack of old photos he wants to scan and would like Leo’s recommendation. Leo likes the Epson Perfection Scanner. It can do both slides and prints and the quality is excellent. Leo also recommends using Picasa to organize and store the images as they have a backup utility. Also, use an online storage option like Flickr or SmugMug.

Internet Safety Act is darn near unpolicable

The “Internet Stop Adults Facilitating the Explotation of Today’s Youth Act” (ISAFETYA) Would requre anyone who provides a wifi access point to keep two years of records of Internet use. Lawyers also believe that even private citizens would be subject to this law. HUH? Leo is convinced this is a payback to the Entertainment Industry to make it easier to go after alleged pirates and file sharers. It’s failed on more than one occasion, and here’s hoping it fails again because it’s a BAD and impractical law.

Original Digital Transition Date comes and goes

After five years and millions in public service announcements about the upcoming digital transition, apparently isn’t enough for the new President and Congress has passed a four month extension. Some stations, however, are just going ahead and flipping the switch anyway.

The Pirate Bay trial moves forward

The Pirate Bay - a bit torrent file sharing site - has been dodging the gray area of the law for years, and now they’re facing the long arm of the law as they go to trial i Sweden for piracy. But they don’t store any illegal materials, they just allow users to search for bit torrent links to go find them. Are they innocent or piracy or assisting piracy?

Leo says that going after ordinary citizens isn’t the answer, and the data agrees with him. The real way to solve this issue is to get rid of all DRM and make it easier and cheaper to buy the music people want..

Has Hulu lost it’s collective mind?

Hulu has pulled all it’s content from TV.COM and Boxee. Leo thinks that this is akin to shooting oneself in the foot. Isn’t the idea to make it easier for people to see your stuff?

Q Diane, Los Angeles, CA - Hard drive dying

Diane’s hard drive is screaming and gives boot disk errors. How can she save her OS (she doesn’t have discs) and her data? She has a clean, internal hard drive ready to go. And then, what’s next?

Leo says you’re in a bind not having a separate copy of Windows. This is yet another example of silly DRM that only serves to treat users as criminals. It’s possible that since Diane has recovery disks that she can use them to recover Windows onto the new hard drive. If it doens’t, then Diane needs to get a copy of Windows that works.

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Sunday February 22, 2009

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Chris Marquardt - Tips from the Top Floor

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