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Saturday April 4, 2009
Show Audio
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Edited Audio | |
Tech News
Conficker update happens, nothing … well, happens!
April 1st, people who analyze Conficker would update itself. Symantec said it wasn’t to worry, as nothing would happen (yet). And nothing did. Leo suspects that it updated to be harder to find - which is what the bad guys want.
Guests
Scott Wilkinson, Ultimate AV Magazine
Today, Scott is here to talk about the future of high definition video and it’s called 4K. Cameras like the RED ONE are making stunning video that’s better than film in the quality of it’s resolution.
IS 4K going to become the standard in movie theaters? Scott says we’re moving in that direction. Hollywood needs to figure out something to draw people back to the theaters. But Leo says once that happens, people will just upgrade to 4K TVs and DVD players. But in the next three years, AMC is planning on having 400 screens with 4K projectors. And Sony will be releasing more of it’s content
Hour 1
Q John, Knoxville, TN - Mac/Windows viruses
John is worried running Windows on his MAC. Leo says that John need not worry at this point. There aren’t many hackers writing viruses for the MAC. And if your’re running virtually, the viruses can’t attack it. Also, the irony is that most virus authors can’t afford Macs! You’re not absolutely safe, but so far, nobody is really writing them for the Mac.
Are LEDs coming to LCDs? Leo says that LEDs are the wave of the future now that they’re “color accurate.” So, yes, that’s where all LCDs are going. THe sad part, however, is that all this advancement in LCDs has killed the p[lasma market.
Hour 2
Q Scott, Los Angeles - Internet Radio
Are there mobile applications for Internet Radio? Leo says yes! You can listen to just about any station on the Internet all over the world that has an internet stream of it’s broadcast signal. It depends on what device you’re using. The iPhone, for example, uses I HEART RADIO by Clear Channel. It’s available in the iTunes App Store. Scott listens online using mobile internet … but he buffers a lot. What does he do? Leo says that anytime you have that problem where the packets of the stream go out of order, the program “buffers, getting ahead 10–30 seconds. Then, you’ll start streaming. This gives the stream time to catch up should some of the information stream out of order. And sometimes, you’ll have to “rebuffer.” This may be mean your connection has a latency or is a bad connection. The good news is that wireless carriers are getting faster and wider coverage. And with this new spectrum being vacated by analog broadcast television going dark, you’ll be able to get much better connectivity. So be patient, we’re new in this ballgame.
Q Don, San Bernadino, CA - Getting Access
Don is “late to the party” and his phone company says they don’t have anymore room for DSL to get him online. What are his options? Leo says to contact the California Independent Internet Service Providers (CIISPA). The Independents can get you access, even on your own phone service while you can’t. DSL Extreme is first people Leo would call. They can deal with the phone company while you don’t have to.
Another idea it to go to broadbandreports.com to see if there’s other options available in your area.
Q Ed, Santa Maria, CA - Cruising and photography
Ed is concerned about moving images from his camera without having a computer. Does he have an option? Leo says what you need is a “digital wallet.” Leo likes the Epson P7000. Has both compact flash and SD card slots. You can also do it with an iPod. Belkin makes a gadget which plugs into your iPod and performs the same function. But Leo says that bringing your laptop is the best option as you can not only off load the images to it, but you can then burn to a DVD and have a backup in another suitcase. Just in case.
Another option is a netbook. The MSI Wind with 160GB and built in card reader. Then you can offload the pictures to Flickr while you’re at an internet cafe. And it cost about half as much as a digital wallet, which is expensive because of the accuracy of the colors from the LCD screens that photographers want.
Q Josh, Goalla, CA - Offloading video
Josh does extreme sports and records it using his helmet cam. How can he offload the video when he’s on trips? Leo says the Epson above will handle video as well.
John also needs to get his iTunes off his iPod and back into a fresh install of itunes. Leo recommends iPod Rip or Senuti on the MAC, but on Windows … iPod Rip for Windows works. But a little known secret is that you can contact Apple and very nicely ask them if you can download your music again. If you beg nicely, they may do it.
Q Wally, Grand Rapids, MI - Makin’ the Switch
Wally has made the switch, but now he needs to move his Microsoft Works data over to Mac software. Leo says to open your documents in Works and save in RTF format. Then anything will open it.
Q Kevin, Los Angeles, CA - Windows update/virus issues
Kevin is having update trouble, could he have a virus like Conficker? Leo says to try updating Windows online and see what happens. Try going online to the Sans Institute. If you can get there, you don’t have conficker. If you can’t, then you’ve been infected. Run the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool (start, run MRT, return). Make sure that before you copy files to a new system, that your run Windows update on the old system first. An550d one thing you don’t want to do is google “conficker removal tool” as most of those are spyware imitating as Conficker removal tools. Check out the ConfickerWorkingGroup.org to check for infection. There’s also a list of sites that have removal tools for them.
And the best part is, Conficker probably hasn’t been updated to block it yet. So go there now! And run Windows update to get the critical updates to keep yourself protected.
Microsoft also has a “Microsoft safety scanner” at safety.live.com. Are the bad guys winning? Leo says that unfortunately, the bad guys have the upper hand and the only way to beat them is to be eternally vigilant with security.
Hour 3
Eric is going to buy his dad a GPS and needs a recommendation for about $100–200. Leo’s favorite in this price range is the TOM TOM ONE 125. For a little more, you can go with the Garmin Nuvi.
Q Doug, Barstow, CA - Color calibration of LCDs
Doug needs to calibrate the colors of his LCD TV. Can he use a Spider? Leo says Spiders are colorimeter which are more geared for computer monitors. You can use it, but a better option is a DVD called Digital Video Essentials, which walks you through calibrating your own LCD step by step. That’ll get you 90% there.
Scott Wilkinson calls in to say that the Spider isn’t that accurate. Digital Video Essentials will help you to adjust the user control to get the kind of calibration you want - well, 90% of it, at least. Another recommendation is that before you use DVE, select the movie/cinema picture mode. By default, it’s set to “vivid” or dynamic to make it look good on the show room floor. Changing it to movie/cinema mode will give you a better reflection of what you’re looking for in color and sharpness. Then put the DVE DVD in and adjust as directed. If you want that extra 10–20%, you’ll need to hire a professional calibrator. Check with the Imaging Science Foundation for the nearest professional near you - but understand that you’ll be spending a few hundred bucks to dial it in as good as it can get.
Q Chris, Austin, TX - Bandwidth caps
Chris is concerned with Time Warner’s proposed bandwidth caps which will go from 5–40 GB a month. After which, you’ll get socked with extra charges. Time Warner will also match the download speeds to your cap, thus making it tiered service. Leo says this is why net neutrality is so important. It will combat anti competitive caps like this.
Q Randy, NYC, NY - Listening to radio online
Randy wants to keep online without having to pay a ton of money to connect. He wants to continue listening to internet radio while cruising around the world. Leo says that the best option is to listen to podcasts. They won’t be live, but you can stock up right before you go. Also, get audio books.
But on a cruise, internet is sluggish, at best. But when you’re near the shore, you may be able to get a wireless internet card or go to an internet cafe.
Q Andy, San Diego, CA - Internet Explorer 8
Every time he opens IE8, it opens minimized at the top of the screen. It’s fairly annoying. Leo says that IE8 has made that as it’s default setting. Try resizing while pressing down the “SHIFT” key. This will save over it to the default size. It may be a bug and it’s been a problem from time to time in Windows.
Andy also wants to know if Kaspersky is a good AVS. Leo says it’s a good one. And you can run Windows Defender. You don’t want to run more than one AVS as they “go to war” with each other thinking the other is a virus! And the best firewall is a hardware firewall. You can leave the Windows firewall on to protect against firewalls within your network, but from the outside looking in, hardware firewalls protect you best.
Q Chad, Dedmond Springs, LA - digital camera recommendation
Chad has an old Olympus and wants to upgrade to a DSLR. Leo says that while Olympus has their own line, Nikon and Canon dominate the industry. At the $200 level, Fuji is excellent. The Panasonic Lumix LX-3 is a great one for a little bit more. For the first time digital camera buyer, a Kodak digital may be an easy to use, and affordable first choice. Canon’s Powershot line is fantastic. Leo says the Canon SX110IS is an excellent camera, but you want to be sure it fits well in your hand and that the Viewfinder is what you want.
Q Luke, Palo Alto, CA - Satellite Internet Service
Luke wants to know what happened to high speed internet access via satellite that Bill Gates was into about 10 years ago? Leo says that the failure of Iridium - the sat phone provider - went bankrupt and scuttled the deal. Will it happen? Leo says that maybe not. Everywhere there’s land, cell networks are expanding into wireless Internet service like 3G, which is long distance and more coverage does that satellite promised. And AT&T and Verizon’s investment in the wide band spectrum abandoned by analog broadcast TV will give us even higher speed for wireless internet in the future. So at this point, the only thing we’re not reaching is ships at sea.
Is there anyway to do totally anonymous surfing? The Onion Router (TOR) does it, but it has some flaws - it slows down your connection as it routes through dozens of systems - and it’s still traceable due to the exit node since the IP is visible and can be subpoenaed. Google TOR and use EFF’s TOR.
See you tomorrow and have a great geek week!
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