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Saturday June 20, 2009

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Tech News

iPhone 3GS is here

Leo says it’s pretty much exactly like the old iPhone but with some “dot upgrades.” Sure, 32GB if you want to pay for it. Better camera (3.2mp w/ autofocus) and video (640×480). Compass, big whoop. Voice recognition. Most of the features will come with the free OS upgrade. It does have a faster processor and improved graphics chip for gaming. But that’s about it.

Worth spending another $300 to upgrade? Leo says WAIT. It’s not that big an upgrade considering the OS upgrade is free to existing iPhone users. Least they coulda done was change the look up a bit for bragging rights. You know, FINS!

Microsoft will be offering free AntiVirus

Code named “Morro,” Micrsoft will be offering a free antivirus software for Windows users soon.

Luiz Olivera is on the mend

Leo’s board op, Luiz, was in an minor accident on his motorcycle this week. Messed up ankle, dislocated shoulder, a few scrapes. You can drop him well wishes at luiz@techguylabs.com!

Guests

Scott Wilkinson, Ultimate AV Magazine

Scott did some research on last week’s call which talked about using audio in all rooms of a daycare center. Scott says the Powerline Stereo Audio System may be ideal. It distributes audio over power lines to every room in the house. It uses digital signals and transmits them.

Leo says it’s pretty pricey and the WiFi option is probably more affordable. There’s also the SONOS, which costs around $1000 for three units and uses Wireless networking.

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Hour 1

Q Phil, Urbana, OH - Text msg. problems with OS3 iphone

Phil has a friend who just upgraded his iPhone to 3.0 and now he can’t text. Leo says it’s probably a bad update. Update through iTunes first. If it fails, then reconnect and let the phone backup. Then restore it through iTunes using the backup - this will also update your phone to 3.0.

Then, once the phone is restored, check and see if the problem persists. If so, then the backup was suspect.

You may need need to do a DFU restore. Turn off your iPhone.Hold down the power and home button for about 10 seconds. When you see the Apple logo, release the power button but continue holding the home button down.
Open iTunes and wait for it to tell you that its in restore mode.

Phil also wants some “TWIT” stickers. Leo has a very limited supply and you can get them by sending an SASE to:

First come, first served.

Q Franco, Urbana, IL - Trouble with Internet Explorer 8

Franco is calling from his new 3Gs. Franco says he’s had every version of the iPhone and he’s quite impressed with the speed of the Gs. Games more fluid. Voice control very interesting. But when retrieving his contacts, it gets the wrong people. Needs updating. Video is nice, works seamlessly with MobileMe But he really enjoys it. But he agrees with Leo that it isn’t that big a deal.

Q Keri, Glendale, CA - Windows SP2 update problems

Keri’s mom did a Windows SP2 update and Internet Explorer 8 and now she can’t visit her secure websites or download anything. Leo says that she may have installed the 64 bit version of I.E. 8 by accident. Keri said they installed the 32 bit and the problem persists. Leo says her “SSL certificates” are damaged. Best bet is to install Firefox instead.

Another problem could be her Norton security software. Norton is notorious for not uninstalling properly. Get the Symantec Norton Removal Tool and see if that fixes it.

It may also be that the auto update didn’t work well. Try downloading each separately as a stand alone and install them directly.

There’s also a compatibility issue with I.E. 8 and you need to enable “compatibility view.” More on that here for more information and a few other solutions. Thanks, Web729!

Update: Keri used the Norton Removal Tool and now everything works! W00t!

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Hour 2

Q Michele, Los Angeles, CA - iPod trouble … AGAIN!

Michele can’t get her iPod to sync with her new computer on iTunes. She took the iTunes folder from the old computer and copied it to the new computer. Then add to library. But now everything is doubled and it won’t work!

Leo says that iTunes has a separate library file to go along with the music. So, when she rebuilt the library files, it copied all the songs again and reorganized! There’s a check box in iTunes under preferences which prevents this common error.

Best thing to do is toss it all out. Select all in your new library and delete. Then take the backup from your old computer and put it on an external drive. Then, let iTunes copy the music from the drive and you’ll be good to go. You will lose your play counts, ratings and stats, but who cares?

There’s also a program called FixTunes, which can fix the problem as well. Works on both Windows and Mac.

Q Chris, Orlando, FL - Changing course in his career

Chris is an engineer and he’s tired of being tied to a cubicle. He wants to start his own web engineering coding business. What should he learn? Leo says JavaScript and J Query is a great place to start.

Chris’ blog is TheStartupExperiment.com and @thestartupexp on Twitter.

Q Joe, British Columbia, CAN - Building a Media Center computer

Mac Mini or a Windows Media Center? Leo says that Windows Media Center computer runs really well. You can do it with the Mac Mini, but you have to make a sort of “kludge” with XBox Media Center, etc. And the WMC can be gotten with HDMI which saves a lot of hassle.

What about speakers? Polk makes great speakers. Kef is okay. And if you’re getting an Home Theater in a Box. Onkyo or Panasonic is your best bet.

Q Michael, Sarasota, FL - Traveling to Paris with his iPhone

Michael wants to use his iPhone in Paris. What can he do? Leo says call AT&T and tell them you want an International plan, especially an International Data Plan. Watch your phone data use for a few months to determine which plan is for you.

Q Brandon, Fayetteville, NC - Cellphone internet radio

Nokia has an app for the S60 called “Internet Radio” which you can use to listen to radio. It’s Nokia’s version of “I Heart Radio.” For the iPod Touch, you can download PRI if you like to listen to NPR. Leo says that “Public Radio” is another app you can download to listen to Public Radio.

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Hour 3

Q Randy, Seattle, WA - Cellphone recommendation

Randy needs assisted vision features on a phone and is trying to decide between the Android G1, the iPhone 3Gs with voice over, or a Motorola. The 3.0 OS for iPhone won’t let the iPhone 3G work in voice over, so he’d have to buy a new one for that feature. Leo says that the 3Gs has a great set of “assistive technologies.” Ideal for someone who’s visually impaired.

Q Tim, LaVerne, CA - Home Recording problems

Tim has several computers with triple monitors, but he’s having trouble adding monitors in PCI because the others go out. Seems he can only use AGP. Another Computer has the opposite issue. Leo says often, you need to use the same kind of card for each monitor. Vista may help if you want to upgrade it as it has improved monitor support. Windows 7 would probably be better.

Another option is to go USB.

Q Douglas, San Juan Cap, CA - Video Card Recommendation

Douglas’ video card fried while gaming. He needs great performance for around $500. Leo likes the GeForce GTX cards. It’s what he put in the “Ultimate Gaming Machine.” The GeForce GTX 280 are really nice. They used the BFG version in the UGM. They’re up to GeForce GTX 295 now.

Q Doug, Griffin, GA - Ubuntu for beginners

Doug loves Ubuntu Linux. Why doesn’t Leo recommend it? Leo loves Linux. Free OS, has GNU software that does everything Windows or Mac does. But Leo doesn’t recommend it because it isn’t mainstream for the average user. Most have to rely on friends and neighbors for support and Linux is more for the hobbyist/enthusiast that will support themselves in troubleshooting. Most who listen to our show aren’t that way. But Linux is great.

Q David, Denver, CO - Wiping a hard drive

David is giving away an old laptop and wants to wipe the data from the hard drive first. Leo says that just wiping the data isn’t going to do it as there’s data in swap files as well. Leo says to format the drive and then reinstall the OS using the recovery discs and then update it. If you’re really paranoid, use Derik’s Boot and Nuke (DBAN.)

Q Pete, Wildemar, CA - Laptop recommendation

Pete wants a laptop that can be used in both South Africa and the US. Leo says you don’t have to worry about voltage difference, you just need the right plug. Laptops are rated for 110–220v.

Pete also wants to know if Windows 7 is worth upgrading to. Should he try the RC1? Leo says that upgrades to Windows 7 may be coming as soon as next month at Best Buy for about $50. Leo says it’s the best version of Windows ever. But if you’re happy with the OS you got, don’t feel the urgency to upgrade just yet.

Q Paul, Burbank, CA - Thoughts on the BlackBerry Storm

Paul wants to know Leo’s thoughts on the BlackBerry Storm. Leo says that the BlackBerry Bold is a far better choice. The Storm was woefully ill-conceived. A bad idea. Any other BlackBerry is fine, but even with the firmware updates, Leo still says to stay away from the Storm.

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