Leo Laporte
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For more Leo and friends all week long, listen to the
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Sunday November 1, 2009
Show Audio
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Edited Audio | |
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Posted one week after broadcast… | |
Tech News
Windows 7 launch smooth as silk
Leo says we’re a week into the Windows 7 launch and so far, there’s no compatibility nightmares, no virus hacks, it’s been a smooth, and quite the success.
Spammer ordered to pay Millions to Facebook
Notorious spammer Sanford Wallace was ordered to pay Facebook $711 MILLION in damages for his nefarious spamming ways. Ouch. That’ll leave a mark.
Koobface virus bites Facebook users
Yet another Facebook virus which tricks users to click on links to infected sites has popped up, named “Koobface.” Leo says the safest thing to do is make sure Windows is updated. Patches are released every second Tuesday, so run those Windows updates and even if you get bit by the koobface bug, you’ll still be protected.
U2 on YouTube
U2 streamed their concert at the Rose Bowl live on YouTube last Sunday. Leo says the quality was fantastic, it never slowed down or buffered. Amazing. According to the band, 10 million watched it live, with 1 Million having watched it since. But at the same time? Leo’s skeptical. But the fact that it happened is pretty cool. Is this the next step in TV moving towards the Internet?
Guests
Chris Marquardt - Tips from the Top Floor
Chris is going to talk about Food photography today. But Leo has a question for Chris … do you find that still camera is getting so much better that it’s easier to just use it, rather than a dedicated video camera? Chris says that in the DSLR world it’s true. The 5D Mark II or the 7D gives you nearly cinematic quality. But the small cameras are getting really good. The only downside is the sound quality is severely lacking.
Shooting food. How do you shoot food to keep it looking appetizing? Chris says to keep it simple. Don’t have too many things vying for attention with the food. Also, look for color contrast with the food. Shoot with accessories. Ingredients that contrast can also be appealing. Tools, like a fork or cutlery can also make the food look interesting.
One trick is to make the lighting just slightly behind the food to create reflections bouncing off the food. Also, shoot quickly! Some food goes pale as it cools. And grabbing a cook book and break down images you see for lighting, composition, etc. It’ll give you some great ideas.
Hour 1
Q Chad, Van Nuys, CA - Cell phone trouble
Chad bought an unlocked Samsung Rant phone online, and ended up with a CDMA version, not a GSM version, and you can’t put a SIM chip in it. Leo thinks that perhaps Chad bought the wrong phone.
Q Devon, Los Angeles, CA - building a gaming PC
Leo suggests doing research on parts first. Start with the processor and then move to the hard drive. Also, pay attention to chip sets. Some sets may not work with the video card you choose, although that’s rare these days. Make sure you keep the thermal paste layer thin and consistent. Make sure you ground yourself before you install the motherboard so you don’t short it out with static charges. The rest is plug and play. What a great project! Check out PC Perspectives for researching.
Q Web0890, Chatroom - building a laptop
Leo says that building a Laptop is nearly impossible. Laptops are custom designed and built and most contract the work out to other manufacturers. And unlike desktops, laptops aren’t standardized.
Q Kevin, Las Vegas, NV - AppleTV
Kevin loves his AppleTV, but it will intermittently disappear from iTunes. It’s maddening because he has to use several different solutions to get it back up, seldom is the fix the same. Thoughts? Leo says little things like this is one of the reasons why AppleTV hasn’t really caught on. Often this is an issue of the wireless connection. It comes and goes and when it drops the connection, iTunes assumes the AppleTV isn’t there and isn’t smart enough to reconnect when it does. And since Apple considers AppleTV a “hobby project,” it’s not as serious about solving frustrating issues like this one.
Hour 2
Q Jim, Clare, MI - Upgrading Windows 7
Jim is ready to make an upgrade but is concerned that the backup restore to install Windows 7 may leave stuff from the old OS that’ll cause problems. Leo says it probably would. Use the Windows Transfer Wizard to transfer your settings and documents. Also, do a manual backup just to be safe. Now wipe your drive as part of the Windows 7 install and run Windows update. Then reinstall your apps and your data.
Q Paula, El Centro, CA - Computers for seniors
Paula’s dad has a new Dell computer and is having trouble with it. Being that he’s over 80, should he get the “Go Computer?” Leo says no. Even though it’s advertised to be for seniors, it’s not that great a PC. First off, you pay $800 for what is essentially a desktop version of a Netbook. Then you have to pay them $20 a month for server space? Please. Leo also suspects that getting a simpler keyboard will solve much of his frustration. A trackball mouse could also be easier to use, so he should try it and see if he likes it. And if it’s hard for him to see, Windows has settings you can use to make the screen easier to see. In the appearance control panel, change the size of the text to make it bigger. Also, turn on “mouse trails,” so that the cursor is easier to follow. You can also download programs which can train someone to use a mouse. There’s also a program called FENCES which will simply the desktop for him.
Leo recommends the Vision Board. Big Letters and keys. Works with all computers. Leo also thinks a MAC would be a better choice if you’re planning to start over. The iMac is a great option. But Windows 7 machines are pretty close in terms of security and ease of use.
Returning the old computer, how does she remove any personal items so no one can see them? Leo recommends Dark’s Boot and Nuke. It’ll wipe everything.
Q Bruce, Banning, CA - Software that requires 32 Bit systems
Bruce is a photographer which requires 32 bit OS to run his photo software. Leo says that Windows 64 bit can run 32 bit software just fine. If you have a “dongle,” however, that could be an issue. But if the company that puts out your software updates it pretty regularly, it’d be quite surprising if it didn’t work with Windows 7. Drivers may be an issue. You can get 32 Bit Windows drivers.
Where can Bruce find an XP laptop? They’re still available, but will get harder and harder as time goes on. Check out Lenovo and you can downgrade a Dell laptop to XP for a price.
Hour 3
Q Ken, Sassoon, CA - Windows 7 upgrade for students
Leo suggests getting the Family Pack and doing a clean install. You have to have a previous version of Windows to upgrade, but it’s better than what Win741.com is offering.
Professional vs. Home version? Leo says the only real difference is you can do Virtualization and a copy of XP to run inside of it for programs that don’t run beyond XP. Not really worth getting.
Ken also wants to rip his LPs. Leo recommends using an external analog to digital converter - check out the Griffin iMic. It keeps the signal outside the comptuer which will give you a cleaner result. Software recommendation? Leo recommends Audacity, it’s open source and free. But there’s other options. Magix’ Audio Cleaning Lab is a great idea if you plan on cleaning up the audio to remove excess hiss and pops.
Q Quinn, Temecula, CA - Dell’s mistreatment
Quinn got a Dell Inspiron from WalMart and the power supply is shot already. Dell says that the warranty is expired even though he just bought it. Sounds quite fishy. Leo says the warranty begins when you buy a computer, now when WalMart gets it. Dell also hung up on Quinn over it. Leo is aghast. Is it any wonder why Dell’s support is severely lacking? Read the fine print of the warranty to see if Dell is passing the buck to WalMart. Ridiculous. And maybe even illegal.
Leo suggests writing to Michael Dell. You won’t get him, but you will get an assistant or VP who will respond to you. Mention you talked to Leo about it on National Radio and that Leo’s interested in what Dell will do about it. That should get their attention. Don’t be rude, don’t threaten. But tell them you’d love to call Leo back to say Dell fixed the problem.
Leo says if this is how Dell is going to treat customers who buy computers at WalMart, perhaps people should stop buying their product.
Q Jonathan, Nashville, TN - Google Apps
Jonathan wants to know if there’s any value upgrading to a Premiere Google account as a personal user. Leo says not really. The PRO account doesn’t offer significant features for the average user. Some features, like Apps that look like they’re living on your server, greater fonts and functions, better user management. Could be. Leo says to try it first.
Leo also says that OffiSync works better to sync Office files to Google Docs. This means you can use MSOffice and then sync up to the cloud. And with Microsoft moving Office to the Cloud for free, this may be the future. We’ll see.
Q Herman, Ft. Worth, TX - Using Windows 7 upgrade to clean install
Herman is wondering if using Paul Thurrott’s tips on running a clean install with the Windows 7 upgrade disc is legal? Leo says it’s perfectly legal if you have a previous version of Windows.
What if you change components in your computer? Leo says you have to change a bunch of different components. If it’s just your hard drive, it should activate. If not, then contact Microsoft and explain it.
Have a great geek week!
