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For more Leo and friends all week long, listen to the
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Saturday October 31, 2009
Show Audio
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Edited Audio | |
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Posted one week after broadcast… | |
Tech News
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Droid has arrived on the Shoals …
Motorola was once dominant in the cell phone industry until smart phones came. Then it looked like they were going to get out of the business. Until Android came … now they’ve released the DROID SHOALS. 5MP camera, better resolution screen, slide out keyboard, fast processor. Is Motorola back? Can the Droid do what other iPhone killers have failed to do? Leo says that giving Apple a run for their money is all a good phone needs to do, it doesn’t have to “kill” it.
Leo also says that his contacts at Verizon says we ain’t seen nothin’ yet, as the HTC Eris could be a serious smartphone contender with the iPhone.
Leo picks up a dark horse … the Nokia 900
Adding the Nokia 900 to his T-Mobile gig, Leo says it’s cheaper in the long run to buy an unsubsidized phone like the Nokia 900 and have no 2 year contract, rather than go with the iPhone and be locked in. By about $400.
Windows 7 is everything Microsoft hoped it would be
Leo says that Windows 7 is so good, that some Apple users are looking over their shoulders. And judging from their latest “Switch” commercials, Leo wonders if Cupertino is as well!
Guests
Scott Wilkinson, Ultimate AV Magazine
Listener Eric Anderson wrote in to ask how he can run video throughout his house? What’s the best cable to use? HDMI? Cat 5? Fiber?! Scott says you can’t go very far in HDMI. Leo uses “baluns,” which aren’t cheap but convert the HDMI into Cat 5. Scott says you can also use baluns to convert to fiber optic cable as well. Fiber optic is fast and far, but it’s also fragile. Cat 5 is probably the best. But what about wireless? Scott says there are three or four systems out there, and it’s picking up with UWB (ultra wide band), but the range isn’t very great just yet. And the problem is if you step in between the transmitter and receiver, it interrupts. But some have developed a redirect capability to redirect the signal when someone walks in front of it. Very clever. 802.11n can maybe go into the next room, but Cat 5 Ethernet is probably the best bet. Geffen, Key Digital, are some companies that make these.
Randal Nelson wonders if Blu-ray lossless audio is worth changing receivers for. Scott says that if your receiver has HDMI inputs, then you can use your PS3 to connect and play the blu-ray audio, which will convert it to PCM before it goes to your receiver. If not, then it’s probably a good idea anyway to upgrade to an HDMI receiver.
Ken, (BoxGameX) - Droid Phone user
Ken got his Droid Phone Thursday. What’s his reaction? Initially, it’s thumbs up. Ken is also an iPhone 3G user and he says that the Droid does about 90% what the iPhone does well. What’s missing? No pinch. Can’t tap to go to the top. It’s fairly well built, but the keyboard is very small prompting complaint. But it’s usable. It’s 5MP camera looks good in good lighting. But in low light, it’s just like the iPhone. Battery life? About nominal.
Ken is reviewing it for his website at ConnectReviews.com
Hour 1
Q Cathy, Los Angeles, CA - Outlook/Blackberry problems
Cathy just got a new Dell Vostro computer with Vista and she’s had tons of problems with Outlook and Blackberry Desktop. The guys at Make it Work think that wiping the drive and installing Windows 7 is probably her best option. Leo says that’s not a bad idea, but running the Office Installer again and repairing Office may be a good place to start. And since the computer is only a few months old, Leo suggests getting Dell involved under warranty. It shouldn’t be acting up after only a few months.
Leo also says that syncing more than one device can cause compatibility conflicts. Make sure you only have one device that’s writable, and the rest read only. Also, clean up your Outlook database to get rid of any problems. Leo also says that if you bought it after July, you should geta free coupon for Windows 7, but Leo doesn’t think that’s the issue. The issue is two way sync in multiple devices. Start over, clean it up, and do a one way sync. This should solve the issue.
Q Chris, Los Angeles - Bit by Vundl virus
He got a popup called “Resident Shield” which offers to repair some virus infection. Leo says this is a trick to get you to install their “repair software” which IS the virus! It also opens up the back door to invite other viruses. Essentially, there’s nothing you can really do other than backup your data and then reformat and install from a known good source. Update your system, and only then carefully reinstall your data.
Hour 2
Q Carolyn, Vista, CA - recording in MAC
Carolyn’s father wants to record from his cassette using a Mac and hear it while it’s recording. Leo says it can by using Audacity, but there’s some latency that may happen. In Garage Band there should be a switch for listening. Go to the input area and click on the checkbox for monitoring the input. Leo also says that Quicktime Pro can do it as well with New Audio Recording and it’s “big red button.”
In the Chatroom, Audio HiJack Pro is an option.
Q John, Zionville, IN - Moving podcasts
John needs to move his podcast feed without losing subscribers. A podcast feed is an XML file which iTunes or any other podcast aggregator uses to get the content. If you change the address, it breaks the feed, unless you use a referral. If you use Feedburner as the main feed, it can refer the feed, give stats, etc. But since John’s been around for awhile, there’s a PHP redirect which will use an index.php to refer the feed to the actual .XML file. Talk to your host company about setting up a redirect. That’s probably the easiest way.
John’s podcast is at ThisWeekinNuclear.com.
Q Lindsay, Los Angeles, CA - New laptop
Lindsay just got a new HP G71340US laptop with Windows 7. She has the volume set to maximum and the sound is really low. Leo says that’s pretty typical for laptops as the speakers are really small and underpowered. Leo recommends either a new pair of headphones or external speakers. At Headphones.com you can get a portable external amp which you can plug in your headphones to.
Q Julian, Los Angeles, CA - Phones for visually impaired
Julian is visually impaired and is concerned about accessibility with the new Droid phone. Leo says that since it’s running on Android, it should be comparable. Stay tuned though, Leo’s interviewing a Droid phone user next! Ken (BoxGamerX) says there’s a talkback feature on the Droid phone which is a screen reader.
Low-vision.org will you to The Best in Tech 2009.
Q Paul, Columbus, OH - crashed computer
Paul’s daughter has a Dell tower and the system crashed during a DVD playing. Leo says the Power Supply has died. PC Power and Cooling has excellent supplies and Dell has a proprietary one, so make sure you get the right one.
Hour 3
Q Noah, Hemmit, CA - the Archos 9
Noah wants to know about the Archos 9. The Archos 9 runs Android and is a touchscreen netbook. Leo says these have been done before, though not running Android. And they’ve never really taken off. It’s attractive, but the one’s before it have been low powered. But the one’s before it didn’t have the advantage of a 3G network, either. And why are all these devicing coming out? Because the rumor of Apple doing a Net Tablet refuses to die. Leo isn’t so sure that a small tablet device is the killer gadget everyone says they want. The netbook is only a hot category for one reason … it’s cheap. And it’s also underpowered. Leo says wait until the reviews come out. But it is curious.
Q Avi, Irvine, CA - USB Flash drive trouble
Avi has a USB flash drive but when he transfers files, it’s REALLY slow. Fine on a Mac though. Leo wonders if it’s a USB 1.1 device or if the plug he’s using is 1.1. Sometimes Windows installs the wrong driver. Try removing it and reinstalling the driver. Leo also says that trying with a larger file to see how fast may yield some answers.
Q Harold, Mission Viejo, CA - Crashing Mac
Harold has a Mac Laptop and it keeps crashing, causing him to lose data. Leo suspects a failing hard drive. He’s reformatted the hard drive several times and it keeps failing. Leo hates to say it, but he thinks user error may be a culprit here since the same files and programs gets deleted over and over again.
The Chatroom says a bug in the Finder file may be causing it.
Q Eli, Honolulu, HI - Apple’s Magic Mouse
Eli is curious if the Magic Mouse works with Voiceover. Leo says the only thing different on the mouse is that it has a surface for multi-touch gestures. There’s really no reason to believe that it won’t work. Leo says don’t jump on it just yet, wait on reviews, including Leo’s. But remember, Apple has yet to make a good mouse. So Leo’s skeptical, in spite of what he’s heard from others who love it.
Eli’s site is GiantDolphin.com
Q Patty, Pomona, CA - Laptop or Desktop?
Patty got her daughter a new computer for fine arts education. She spilled coffee all over it and shorted it. Luckily, she had “dorm insurance,” to cover it. Leo says that’s a good tip when going to college. But the new laptop won’t have a firewire port. Leo also says the new MacBook Pro 9400M has the same video card and ram, just no firewire, which is a drag. Leo says you can get a less expensive MacBook, like the plastic 15″ and connect it to the 24″ Apple Monitor and you have the best of both worlds. Leo also says that for film, she will outgrow that laptop in a few years. Then you’ll want to consider a MacPro.
Q Joe, Ontario, CA - XP laptop crashing
Joe’s hard drive is beginning to act wonky and he wants to image the drive before it crashes. Leo says that when you buy that new hard drive, it’ll come with a utility that will make a bit for bit copy of the old drive. Western Digital is one of the best. The Chatroom says CLONEZILLA is another good option.
How do you get to DOS in XP? Start, Run, type CMD. It’ll open DOS emulation.
See you tomorrow, and be safe Trick or Treating! BOO!
