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Microsoft as a tech note on disappearing CDRom Drives. Check out
Note #929461 and #314060. Both also come with a “fix it” button that will clean up your registry directly.

Luke plays games on his Alienware Laptop, but he’s having performance issues. Leo says that Alienware is designed for gaming. Leo says that the video card he uses in that laptop is rather underpowered for newer high end games. If you set the resolution low, it should work better. Bad news, the laptop just can’t run those new games. Leo says the card should be able to handle it, but even after turning off anti-aliasing, textures, etc. and playing at 15fps, he can’t deal. Did he try clearing out the hard drive and defragging it? Also, it’s a good idea to update your video card drivers to the most recent one and to make sure Windows is seeing your N’Vidia card and not the generic onboard video card.

Q Bill, California - Vista network trouble

Bill has tried everything he can think of to network his computers in Vista. What is he doing wrong? Leo says that often security software can prevent networks from seeing computers. Could there be something in the router causing the issue? Maybe. Network experts say there are seven different layers to making a network from physical wire connection to application and account creation. And the issue can be anywhere along the way. Try PracticallyNetworked.com for some tips on how to get your network connected.

Q Luke, Corona, CA - Laptop Peroformance issues

Luke plays games on his Alienware Laptop, but he’s having performance issues. Leo says that Alienware is designed for gaming. Leo says that the video card he uses in that laptop is rather underpowered for newer high end games. If you set the resolution low, it should work better. Bad news, the laptop just can’t run those new games. Leo says the card should be able to handle it, but even after turning off anti-aliasing, textures, etc. and playing at 15fps, he can’t deal. Did he try clearing out the hard drive and defragging it?

Luke also says that Alienware does have a tutorial for upgrading the video card. Leo says that great, but there won’t be a lot of choices. Just get the best you can.

Q Kevin, Ontario, CA -

Microsoft announces pricing for Windows 7

Upgrade prices for pre-order are now $50! This is clearly Redmond apologizing for how not ready for primetime Vista was when released.

Also starting yesterday, new computers running Vista will come with a coupon for a free Windows 7 upgrade in October. So, now there’s no need to wait to buy that new PC.

Only 5% of people actually by Windows 7 retail.

Coleen also recommends a community for WMC users called The Green Button. There’s a good chance someone has made their own program guide for your area and Verizon FIOS. Post a request there. Great community. Also check out broadbandreports.com.

Q Jeff, Suches, Georgia - CD Rom problems

Jeff has a Gateway Tablet PC and his CDRom drive has disappeared from his OS. He tried to install a new driver, no joy. But he can boot from the drive. That’s good news, meaning the PC can see the drive. This is a Windows problem. Jeff may have installed something that conflicts with the CD’s device manager. Real Player did this and was a common problem with XP in the early days. Leo says that upgrading a new Real Player will fix it. Also, try system restore, that’ll probably help it.

Bob’s address book and thought that he was backing up his data using a program called “Karen’s Power Tools,” but it didn’t save his backup. Leo says it’s a goofy way to back it up. It may have saved it in the Windows Registry and when it was updated, the backup was overwritten and disappeared. What a terrible idea for where to put it.

Q

Pat is having trouble getting a TV Guide online with his FIOS connection. Leo says it’s probably just too new and Verizon hasn’t either submitted their channel lineup or hasn’t updated it. The guides are done by third party providers like Titan. Coleen says that to troubleshoot it, and until Verizon gets their program lineup up to date, manually change the channels in the guide itself. You can do it, but it’s very labor intensive. And complain to Verizon about it.

Q Bob - Data Backup issues

Bob is writing a book and thought that he was backing up his data using a program called “Karen’s Power Tools,” but it didn’t save his backup. Leo says it’s a goofy way to back it up. It may have saved it in a location Bob can’t find.

Q Pat, Temecula, CA - Windows Media Center and FIOS

Pat is havning trouble getting a TV Guide online with his FIOS connection. Leo says it’s probably just too new and Verizon hasn’t either submitted their channel lineup or hasn’t updated it. The guides are done by third party providers like Titan. Coleen says that to troubleshoot it, and until Verizon gets their program lineup up to date, manually change the channels in the guide itself. You can do it, but it’s very labor intensive. And complain to Verizon about it.

Q Maureen, Simi Valley, CA - Is her Gmail account hacked?

Maureen suspects that her Gmail account has been hacked. Leo says that hackers usually don’t attack individuals, they blanket their attacks like spreading out a net to catch anyone.

Maureen says she gets emails from “her webmaster.” Leo says that Gmail has a built in “chat” feature. She probably got a request for a chat and once done, they can chat with you at any time you’re on line. They may have asked her for her password at some point and she didn’t know any better but to give it to them. Now they have control. Never respond to anyone who asks them for any personal information. Banks, ISPs, Gmail will never ask you for that kind of information.

Change the password. If you can’t, then you’ve lost the account. Just start over.

Q Ellie, Honolulu, HI - Loves the new iPhone 3Gs

Ellie is visually impaired and loves the new iPhone 3Gs. She can listen to her email and can listen to books using the Kindle application. It also announces the phone call with Person and number, even call waiting.
Leo also says you can even navigate the phone by announcement as well. Kudo’s to Apple for doing this!

What would she change? Improve the voice recognition. Sometimes, the phone calls the wrong person when you tell it to. And it won’t play the right song. She’d also like to have the phone open an app by voice recognition.

Ellie’s webpage for retired people and the disabled to visit Hawaii is at GiantDolphin.com.

iTunes reports that out of the top 10 downloads right now, 7 are from Michael Jackson. Not too surprising considering the breaking news of his passing. Even Leo went on line after realizing he didn’t have “Off the Wall.”

Q David, Brentwood, CA - Browser screen size problems

David’s Firefox browser simply will not fill his screen. All his other windows will go full size with no problem. Leo says that’s a puzzling and odd issue. If in Firefox, press F11. That should put you in full screen. But he says it doesn’t. He gets “blue bars” on the ends instead. Leo says it’s sounds like monitor settings may have changed. Check to see you have the right updated video driver. Check out the settings for the monitor to see if it has the proper settings for both the card and the monitor.

Hollywood is trying to lure movie fans back into the theater by giving them gimmicks they can’t get in the home (yet) like high resolution 4K projectors and realistic 3D. But more people are enjoying home theaters to the point where going the movies is much more fun at home.

Gina is a casual reader and wants to know what Leo thinks about The Cooler eBook readers made in the United Kingdom. Leo says that for the price she’s looking at, she can get the Amazon Kindle and have a lifetime wireless for downloading books. Can it fit in her purse? Leo says it’s likely, but you don’t want to go too small in an eBook reader, otherwise you may as well just get an iPhone or iPod Touch and download the Kindle eBook app.

Q Mark, Santa Ana, CA - Nintendo DS

Mark’s daughter is obsessed with her Nintendo DSi. She can’t pause the game, she claims. Leo says it’s game specific. If you press the start button on most games, it’ll pause the game. She won’t lose her progress.

Mark’s recall website is talkradioforchange.com

Scott saw UP and says it’s a fabulous movie. One of Pixar’s best. But the 3D element really isn’t the best part of the movie itself.

Hollywood is trying to lure movie fans back into the theater by giving them gimmicks like 3D that they can’t get in the home like high resolution 4K projectors and realistic 3D projection. But more people are enjoying home theaters to the point where going the movies is much more fun at home.

Leo also says that simply making better movies will motivate people to go to the movie theater.

Gina is a casual reader and wants to know what Leo thinks about The Cooler eBook readers made in the United Kingdom. Leo says that for the price she’s looking at, she can get the Amazon Kindle and have a lifetime wireless for downloading books. Can it fix in her purse? Leo says it’s likely, but you don’t want to go too small in an eBook reader, otherwise you may as well just get an iPhone or iPod Touch and download the Kindle eBook app.

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Q

Q Gina, Redondo Beach, FL - eBook readers

Gina is a casual reader and wants to know what Leo thinks about The Cooler eBook readers made in the United Kingdom. Leo says that for the price she’s looking at, she can get the Amazon Kindle and have a lifetime wireless for downloading books. Can it fix in her purse? Leo says it’s likely,

Downloads of Michael Jackson Tunes dominate iTunes

iTunes reports that the top 15 downloads right now are all from Michael Jackson. Not too surprising considering the breaking news of his passing.

Twitter become source of breaking news, but sometimes inaccurate

From Iran to Farah to Michael, Twitter has become the source of breaking news. But sometimes, the Tweets jump the gun or are inaccurate. So it’s important to verify information before retweeting. Otherwise, Twitter can become just like a rumor mill.

Guests

Scott Wilkinson, Ultimate AV Magazine

Saturday 27 June 2009

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