Saturday April 25,2009
- Show Audio
- Tech News
- Guests
- Hour 1
- Hour 2
- Hour 3
- Marwon, Los Angeles, CA - Online banking security and linux
- Sweezer, Moreno Valley, CA - Converting analog to digital
- Christina, Murietta, CA - eBook reader recommendation
- Cliff, Malibu, CA - Phone recommendation
- Fred, Moorpark CA - Antenna recommendation for his 3g phone
- Kate, Redlands, CA - Netbook or Notebook?
- Mark, Sydney, AUS - Internet radio on Nokia
Show Audio
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Edited Audio | |
Tech News
Windows 7 release closer and closer
May 5th will be the first “release candidate” for Windows 7, which will succeed Vista. Leo thinks that Windows 7 is the best Microsoft OS in YEARS. Microsoft went under the hood and cut out a bunch of stuff, made it modular. Now it’s very elegant. It’s a lean mean computin’ machine. Is it safe from Conficker and other viruses? Well, it’s patched to be sure, but it’s Beta at the moment, so you have to watch your behavior. Leo advises that if you can hold off until late summer to get a new machine, you’ll not only have an upgraded processor, but the Windows 7 OS as well.
Solid State Hard drives coming out …
Leo just got a Corsair 128GB solid state flash drive for his laptop.
Apple sells it’s 1 BILLIONTH iPhone App
With 35,000 apps in the iTunes store, it took less than a year to sell a billion of them. Wow. And Apple is very strict on what can and cannot be sold in the App store making it even more impressive a milestone.
Leo says that’s wise as Atari’s more open source attitude nearly killed the Atari console business. So much so, it’s now common practice for platforms to approve any game application before allowing it to be sold.
Although sometimes an app gets by Apple’s release criteria that shouldn’t be accepted. But those are few and far between. Some great apps include I HEART RADIO (to listen to the Tech Guy Show, of course!), TWIT.AM which let’s you listen to all of Leo’s shows in real time and chat, and some amazing games like FLIGHT CONTROLLER. Even the TED conference has a free app to watch TedTalks for free.
Guests
Scott Wilkinson, Ultimate AV Magazine
Scott is Playing at Museum of Neon Art this coming Friday @ 8pm. 136 w. 4th Street in Los Angeles. Scott will be playing a Neon DiggeriDoo.
Today, we’re talking about Monsters vs. Aliens in Imax 3D. Scott says it’s the best 3D he’s ever seen. Imax does it differently by syncing two digital projectors which project simultaneously. It’s called a “polarized system.” They used to use “active shuttering” which used heavy glasses with LCD screens that opened/closed in sync. Now they use passive polarized sunglasses. Lighter and better than you get at most theaters.
Go see it. It’s funny and looks great.
Leo wants to know if there will be 3D TVs. Leo says that Panasonic is working on an 3D HDTV to go with their 3D HD Video camera. It’s going to be tested at the 2010 Winter Olympics and looks to be the next big thing. Even 4K 3D HD projector. Scott says that’s probably from SONY and is the one that AMC is putting in all their theaters across the country.
Leo thinks that 4K 3D will be so lifelike that you’ll feel like you’re there. It’ll be true “telepresence,” where you could nearly meet with family all over the country and it’ll be like the Holodeck in Star Trek. In fact, in Japan they’re working on “standing holography” which is just like that.
Hour 1
Q Sherry, Los Angeles, CA - Trouble with an old webcam
Sherry has a webcam that isn’t working. Leo says that Microsoft does try to maintain compatibility with “legacy hardware,” as it moves from one OS to the next. You may be able to find generic drivers on the net that will handle the USB 1.1 connection. He also suggests to take off the Intel Create and Share software. Most USB cameras should work without any special drivers.
Q Kevin, San Jose, CA - iBook DVD drive trouble
Kevin says his DVDs get kicked out of his iBook. Leo says that the drive is probably dead. Kevin will need to bring it to Apple and have the DVD drive replaced. The nice thing is that even if the warranty is expired, often, Apple will repair it for free. [http://www.apple.com/retail/geniusbar/|[Make an appointment with an Apple Store Genius]] and see what they can do.
Q Ross, New York, NY - Starting a website
Ross in an actor in NY and needs to get a website up. Leo suggests a hosted solution from a site like Wordpress or SquareSpace.
Hour 2
Q Nathan, Indianapolis, IN - Sharing apps on iPod/iPhones
Nathan says his parents are getting matching iPod Touches and wants to know if they can sync and share the apps they buy. Leo says yes, with 2nd Gen iPod Touch’s. It’s very much like in iTunes where you can sync more than on iPod using the same iTunes. And you can use Skype as well. But you have to use WiFi doing it. Just remember, to get the overseas data plan before you go and NOT use overseas data roaming.
Q Jim, Westminster, CA - improving computer speed
Jim followed Leo’s advice too speed up his computer by reinstalling his OS. But how does he decide what to save? Leo says that you definitely want data. You don’t need to backup apps or the OS. The user folder has your favorites, bookmarks, passwords, documents, etc. The Documents and Settings folders for each user in Windows is where these things are located. Also, pictures and video may be stored in different parts of the drive. If you’re a gamer, sometimes saved games are stored in the gaming directory. Leo says just copy the data, not rely on “backup software.” Drag them over to an external hard drive and you’re good to go. But don’t be in a rush. In fact, you may want to have two copies of your data. Check on Carbonite for a good off site backup option. Don’t worry about partitioning the external drive. It used to be that the OS couldn’t handle large drives. But from XP on, Windows can handle very large drive so partitioning isn’t needed.
Once saving all your data, format the hard drive and install the OS.
Q Justin, Hemmit, CA - Mac unhinged
Justin opened the screen on his G4 and the hinge snapped. Leo says that Apple can replace it, but it may be cheaper just to buy a new MAC. It really is just a case replacement, which wouldn’t be that bad.
Justin also just got a Sprint Instinct. But no volume control for different apps? What is up with that? Is there an app that can handle it? Leo says he’ll put it to the chatrooms to see if anyone’s working on that.
Q Brian, Hollywood, CA - backups gone bad
Brian is a writer/director with a lot of video/scripts he backs up religiously. He’s been using software that does “incremental backups.” Should he use imaging software? Leo says the best backup is just a straight file copy from one drive to another. Image backups are good in context. Leo says you can use regular backups, but you really need to do backups off site as well. Leo likes Drive Snapshot.
And in restoring incremental backups, you have to start from the beginning and restore every single disc.
Hour 3
Q Marwon, Los Angeles, CA - Online banking security and linux
Marwon has converted his old laptop to a Linux box. Will it be safer for online banking? Leo says absolutely. Linux is a VERY small target and you really don’t have to worry. If it makes you feel better, there’s an open source AVS called ClamAV. Also, don’t run as a “root user.”
Marwon also wants to know if it’s safe to have a “recovery partition” on his hard drive - Leo says that it’s fine as long as your hard drive doesn’t die. And some viruses, like Conficker, can jump partitions to infect the recovery partition. So it’s always good to have recovery discs so you can restore from a known good recovery source.
Q Sweezer, Moreno Valley, CA - Converting analog to digital
Sweezer wants to convert his analog music to digital. How does he do it? Leo says this is a great project. You’ll need a cassette player running via RCA jacks to a stereo minijack plug into your sound card. But you may run into shielding problems so make sure you don’t go cheap on the cable. also, you can go outside the computer and get a USB dongle that has the RCA jacks will help. Then, use Audacity to record and edit the media source after it’s captured. Another option is a program called the Magix Audio Cleaning Lab ($35).
Q Christina, Murietta, CA - eBook reader recommendation
Christina wants to get something that can allow download and reading of books. That would be the Amazon Kindle 2. It’s a tad pricey at $360. It’s real advantage is built in wireless networking to buy and download. You can also get free ebooks and put them on the Kindle. If she’s a voracious reader, the Kindle is not only a great gadget to own (and in the long run, cost effective). But she’ll be able to easily use it through college. And in addition to books, she can also read magazines and newspapers. And considering it comes with lifetime wifi access, perhaps it isn’t that expensive in the long run.
There’s also a Kindle Application for the iPhone/iTouch. It has a great bookmark feature as well.
Q Cliff, Malibu, CA - Phone recommendation
Cliff is looking at the Sprint Instinct. Thoughts? Leo says that it’s a “me too” product and like most of the other so-called iPhone killers, they all leave much to be desired. The good news is that in about a month, the PALM PRE comes out and it’s designed by the same guys who created the iPhone. The “date” that it may be coming is May 17th if you can hold out that long. Look for Leo’s review about a week after.
Q Fred, Moorpark CA - Antenna recommendation for his 3g phone
Fred is having trouble accessing his 3G connection in the daytime. Leo says that isn’t really a reception issue so much as a congestion issue. You can buy cell boosters, but the problem is that they’re very static. Not much you can do. Leo recommends upgrading to a phone that has a USB card which will give you a better opportunity to maneuver for better reception.
Q Kate, Redlands, CA - Netbook or Notebook?
She’s going to be using it for spreadsheets, iTunes, online banking, etc. Which should she get? Netbooks can work, but they are a tad slower. A much smaller keyboard and 10″ screen. The HP Mini is excellent. Leo loves the MSI Wind. The Lenovo S10. Asus eeePC. All essentially the same with some cosmetic differences. But in the end, Netbooks are more secondary computers.
Q Mark, Sydney, AUS - Internet radio on Nokia
Mark loves his Nokia N95. Can he get internet radio on it? Leo says absolutely. There’s a great Nokia Radio app. Leo recommends the Receiva app for choosing Internet stations and saving them.