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

Saturday April 11,2009

«Previous Show

Next Show»

Show Audio

Edited Audio
64kbps MP3	16kbps MP3

Tech News

GhostNet spyware is definitely from China

Although they’re using code from open source hackers, further investigation has revealed that the GhostNet that penetrated the Dali Llama’s network is definitely from China. But Leo questions if it’s really a government run operation since the code use is clumsy and openly available.

Cyber Spies from China/Russia penetrate US electrical grid

Intruders from both China and Russia penetrated the US electrical grid and left malware which could bring down our electrical grid in time of war. Both Russian and Chinese authorities deny the action, but this story reveals a whole new front and all countries, even ours, are developing as weapons and hopefully, defenses for.

Girl grounded for 20,000 text messages

A girl’s parents received a $5,000 phone bill from Verizon for the sending of over 20,000 text messages in one month. Dad was so upset, he smashed her phone! Leo says that at $5,000, the charge is just for 28MB of data at MOST. What a ripoff.

Time Warner announces data caps of 50GB a month

Time Warner is expanding their program of placing data caps on their users and charging extra when they go over the cap. Leo says that Data is basically free and that to put these ridiculously low caps on us is tantamount to piracy.

More cheaper computers being bought leaving pricey PCs in the cold

Netbooks are selling like hotcakes. And Microsoft is seeing that people want to make a deal on computers and are avoiding expensive options.

Facebook gets it’s 200 MILLIONITH Member

Wow. That’s almost equivalent to the entire population of the U.S.

Guests

Scott Wilkinson, Ultimate AV Magazine

Today Scott has some listener questions: Stacie Queens wants to know about what “color” means when pertaining to Audio. Huh? Scott says that it pertains to how “bright, dull, or warm” a frequency is. The real trick is to reproduce the audio frequency spectrum as accurately as possible. But amps or receivers can emphasize the sound to make them bright or attenuate them which leads the sound to be dull or muddy.

Professional audio equipment is designed to be as “uncolored” as possible. But it’s just the nature of the consumer beast that speakers are designed to be somewhat “warm.” Recorded medium may also be designed “bright,” especially movie soundtracks which are made bright by design to compensate for theater audio designs. THx has RE-EQ which compensates for this. And most audio receivers have a built in function that calibrates the audio for the speakers you’re using. Onkyo, Yamaha, Pioneer have this. You plug the included microphone and then play the test tones which the receiver analyzes and adjusts the receiver accordingly. It works surprisingly well. But you want ot leave the room as it can be rather loud.

---

Hour 1

Q Dan, Grand Rapids, MI - Synching iMacs

Dan’s parents got matching iMacs and wants to wirelessly sync them so they have the same updated data. One way to do it is with .Mac. Then they can use iDisk to sync up to .Mac together. On the same network, there are several programs like Folder Sync, which Leo uses, but Super Duper is what Leo thinks is the best option. Just make the hard drives appear on each others desktops. Also, a program called “Share Points” will mount discs automatically and then Super Duper can run into the background. Another option is Chrono Sync.

Q Eric, Chevy Chase, MD - using multiple cameras on his PC

Eric has two firewire cameras that he wants to connect to his PC and run both simultaneously. But even using the program “MiniCam,” he’s having trouble seeing the second camera. Leo has a hunch it’s a driver issue. Should he plug in a second video card? Leo doesn’t think so. He thinks that the software just can distinguish between the two cameras. Check the minicam forums.

Q Larry, San Fernando, CA - using handheld computer for grading

Larry is a gym teacher wants to use a handheld computer to grade his student’s work. Sadly, PDAs have been abandoned for smart phones. The Dell Axim would be perfect for this. Check and see if you can find one or a Palm XT on eBay. Another option is a Windows PC mobile device. A netbook is a tad big and pricey for what you’re looking for. The HP iPac would be good and it’s still being made, cost about $300. ComputerTx recommends the HP4700. About $100.

Q Harry, Sun Valley, CA - Handhelp GPS recommendation

Harry got lost on a campout recently and wants a handheld GPS. Mio Digital Walker 610 is a great option. But does it have topographic maps? Leo says that’s where you’ll pay a price. Add a few hundred for the maps.

---

Hour 2

Q Michael, Chicago, IL - Podcasting and Squarespace

Michael wants to know how to redirect his old Opera Now site link to his new one. Leo says it’s possible but it would require cooperation from Blogspot. You can also put some html meta tag code in the page which will refresh and redirect to your new site. You need to put it in the head element of the CSS code. [head]

Michael’s podcast is Opera Now.

Q Mike, Michigan - Digital audio

Mike has ripped all his CDs and placed them on a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device. He wants to know how to play them on his stereo. Leo says you need something attached to the network. Roku’s Sound Bridge Player is one that Leo likes a lot. The Slim MP3 Media Extender is also a good one.

Q Arturo, McCallum, TX - updating Windows and Conficker

Arturo has several users and they haven’t updated Windows. Are they vulnerable to Conficker? Leo says yes. Very much so. When Microsoft discovers an exploit possibility, hackers immediately get a work out to take advantage of it. So, of you don’t stay on top of your Windows updates, you’re just plain vulnerable to them.

Q David, Pomona, CA - HD DVDs from his camcorder

David is having trouble making hidef DVDs from the video he takes with his Sony HD Camcorder. Leo says you need BluRay authoring software that supports AVCHD. Corel’s authoring BluRay using AVCHD discs, but the software crashes on him. As fast as PCs are these days, they’re still being challenged by HiDef movies. Leo says it’s because of the bus speed of the motherboard and it can’t keep up. You end up with dropped frames and stuttering. Faster RAM will help, like DDR3. In the Stickam chatroom, the suggestion is to use acceleration software for your video card, but Leo says that the software also has to support it.

Leo recommends importing at 540p, rather than 1080i. You get 90% of the quality, but at half the bandwidth. That’ll take a load off your computer, making it easier to edit and burn to DVD. Another option that supports AVCHD is Adobe Premiere Elements. You can edit as well as burn to DVD with it.

Q Ernie, Los Angeles, CA - Getting a new Macbook

Ernie’s wife wants a new 13″ Macbook and run Windows. Apple doesn’t ship the computer with Windows XP, obviously. It uses OSX Leopard. But you can use Windows (Or other OSs) on it using Boot Camp, which is built in, or via Parallels or VM Ware Fusion. The low end MacBook won’t run both at the same time unless you upgrade the memory.

---

Hour 3

Q Kelley, Burbank, CA - Updating cable modem

Kelley is getting a new computer and wants to know if he needs to get a new modem to work with his wireless connection. Leo says you’re best bet is a wireless router which daisy chains to your existing modem.

Q Gary, Buffalo, NY - Blackberry Bold and security

Gary just got a BlackBerry Bold and wants to know how vulnerable they are to viruses and worms. Leo says that theoretically, it’s possible and most are written around blue tooth. But there isn’t any evidence that Blackberry is a target. Turn off “discovery,” that’ll keep you invisible. Stick with reputable vendors like Handango (RIM is actually going to make an APP store soon). S-Mobile has written a BlackBerry AVS application called Security Shield.

Is there an imaging backup utility? Leo says he doesn’t know of one yet, but that’s an excellent idea.

Q Charles, Los Angeles, CA - Trying Linux

Leo recommends going to Distro Watch. Download a few and try them out. Mint is a great choice for a first time Linux user as it also has media center capability and is easy because it’s based on the Ubuntu flavor.

Q Monte, Montebello, CA - Recording radio programs

Monte wants to record radio programs but is having trouble with cables and noise. Leo says that it’s hard to isolate noise on an analog system. He recommends buying the C-Crane CCWitness. Expandable up to 16GB, time shifting. Works like an MP3 player. A great option.

Q Bob, Fountain Valley, CA - Trouble with iExplorer

Bob is having trouble with both Internet Explorer and Outlook Express. Leo says that Microsoft hasn’t made those apps for the MAC in years. Type 2 errors can be the cause of anything. And that MAC is really old. Leo would recommend upgrading to Firefox or Safari, but with the age of that MAC, it may just be time to get a new computer.

Try holding down the option key when starting Outlook Express. This will rebuild the mail database as it’s probably got corrupted data. Try going over to ICAB which will give you a browser.

Q Jerome, Orange, CA - Transferring Home Movies

Jerome wants to backup his old home movies from DVD. Leo says that’s a very good idea since we don’t know how long they’ll last. Just put the DVD in your drive, copy all the files over to your hard drive and then burn back. Another option is to “Rip” your DVDs using software like Handbrake and watch them on your computer, then, you can burn them back to DVD as well.

Q Rob, Santa Ana, CA - WMA Player for MAC

Rob wants to play WMA files on his MAC. Leo says you can open WMA files in iTunes and it will convert them to AAC compatible files that play in iTunes. MP3 is the standard that plays on everything from MAC to PC.

Q Brent, Corona, CA - Ripping DVDs to AVI

Brent wants to backup his DVDs to AVI. Leo says there’s many options for this, Handbrake being one of them. Avoid Dvix and Xvid. Very compressed. Going forward, the standard is MPEG4 H.264. That’s the future from here on out and Adobe Premiere will read them.

Q Keith, Culver City, CA - moving shows from DVR to PC

Keith is an actor who has several of his shows on DVR. He wants to put them on his computer. Leo says it’s very hard to digitally transfer stuff off your DVR due to copy protection, but you can take advantage of the analog hole. Connect something like the Neuros OSD which can not only record from the analog hole, but encode it to just about any format you need.

---

«Previous Show

Back to TOC

Next Show»