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For more Leo and friends all week long, listen to the
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Sunday December 6, 2009
Show Audio
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Edited Audio | |
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Posted one week after broadcast… | |
Tech News
Big numbers on “Cyber Monday.”
Cyber Monday, initially known for people who opted to shop online from work, had a huge day … upwards of a billion dollars.
But that’s not the half of it. Leo thinks we’ll see even better deals, especially on big ticket items, as we get closer to Christmas.
Comcast buys NBC
Comcast bought a controlling interest in NBC this week. They now have 51% of the company with NBC and Vivendi controlling the other 49% of stock.
TWiT is going to CES next month
Leo and company are hitting the road next month and will be broadcasting live from the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in “Sin City.”
Leo got an Apple Magic Mouse
Leo tested out the new Apple “Magic Mouse.” Leo says it’s kinda cool with the multi touch interface. But unlike the iPhone, only half the gestures are recognized and it’s just too darn expensive. Leo recommends getting a cheap USB mouse if you need a new one for your Mac.
Hour 1
Q Gary, Laguna, CA - Smartphone experience
Gary picked up the LG NV Touch smartphone and he both loves it and hates it. One frustration he’s having is that the pictures he has on the phone aren’t numbered as he’d like and as such, he can’t view his pictures in order. Leo says the filenames can be in alphabetical or chronological order. But it may also be by modification date or in the order it’s been stored. Apparently, though, you can’t control the order the phone puts pictures into, unfortunately.
Gary also has a new Canon 7D and he loves it. Leo says it’s a great camera and it even has faster autofocus than the 5D.
Q Grant, Perth, AUS - ASA KIPro
Grant wants to know more about the AJA KIPro he heard about on MacBreak Weekly. Leo says it’s a great idea connecting a recorder to the camera via HDMI, but it’s VERY expensive. Why would you want one? Because in many cases, the output HDMI is better than what was written to an SD card. But the price, especially for a student like Grant, is extremely prohibitive. Is there an alternative? The AJA Kona Card will do it at around $800. But Leo is still not convinced it’s worth the money at this point. But keep looking at it.
Q Sandy, Pasadena, CA - Stopzilla
Sandy wants to know if Stopzilla is a good option for cleaning spyware. Leo says he doesn’t recommend it. Especially when Microsoft Security Essentials is every bit as good as Stopzilla but doesn’t cost anything. There’s also MalwareBytes. Another great free option.
Hour 2
Q Tom, Northridge, CA - Network speeds
Tom is calling from his MagicJack. Leo says it’s sounds just like a regular phone that routes calls over the Internet. Tom would like to route movies from his TIVO to his computer, but his router is so slow. Leo says that first you need to know how fast your Internet connection is, but also, what your network connection is. Head over to SpeedTest.Net to test your internet connection speed. The speed will vary different times a day. Network speed can be increased by improving your router speed (an N is the fastest). DLink is Leo’s favorite. You want one with MIMO (multiple input, multiple out). Does he need a dual band router? Leo doesn’t believe so, unless you have interference. Also, a key is that if you have an N router, you have to be sure your computer supports that speed as well as your Internet speed. Otherwise your router is only going to be as fast as it’s slowest component in the chain.
Leo also wants to mention Apple/Intel’s upcoming LIGHTPEAK, which is fiber optic. When that hits, that’ll be screaming fast.
Q Mike, Wassau, WI - Windows 7
Mike is looking for a new laptop. He needs to know about virtualization. It confuses him. Leo says that almost any computer can do virtualization using software, but in Windows 7, you can run XP Virtually on the chip, rather than through third party software. And the processor needs to support it (called VT). It’s more efficient that way, but you can accomplish the same thing using Sun Virtual Box. But will the board support it? Leo says that if you have a VT supported chip, that’s what matters. For more information, check out Ed Bott’s article.
What laptop does he recommend? Leo says that just about any laptop will be great with Windows 7. It comes down to choices you want and are willing to live with. Leo likes Dell. HP. Lenovo. The Panasonic Toughbooks. Get the Gold support with Dell and you will get support at the extra mile.
Q Ken, Apple Valley, CA - iPod for Christmas
Ken wants to know if the 8GB iPod is large enough for a teenager. Leo says it’s plenty. You can look at her iTunes Library and see how much space she’s taking up. But 8GB is going to be plenty. Can it be upgraded? No. They can’t be boosted with memory.
Leo says that a good idea is to give her an allowance for music and apps - iTunes will do that.
Q Robert, York, SC - Camera shake
Robert is talking from MagicJack as well. Leo says it sounds even better than the previous caller. Robert hears that the Droid has a bug in the camera but that there’s an update in the firmware which fixes it. It’s Vs. 2.01.
He also bought a Kodak Easyshare 1285 for video. It’s shaky! He found a plug in called “Steady Hands” that runs in Virtual Dub. He says it works pretty good. Leo says that’s a new trend in editors where a plug-in will steady a shaky image if it isn’t too jumpy. But you wouldn’t want to use them instead of just keeping the camera steady.
Q Walter, Huntington, WV - Backing up DVDs
Walter has a pretty large collection of DVDs. How can he do it? Leo says there area many products that does this without a computer. The Neuros OSD will do it without a computer. You can even connect a hard drive to it. Press play and it records to a hard drive. But the quality will be degraded some.
What about without losing quality? Leo says you need a computer then. And there are some great programs that can “rip” that DVD to your hard drive including Handbrake, DVD Shrink & DVD Decrypter. Slysoft makes a great program for this called Clone DVD, that costs around $40. Backing up to a hard drive, you can do that … 1 TB drive can fit about 100 DVDs.
Hour 3
Q Daniel, Los Altos, CA - Bit by a Virus
Daniel’s PC has gotten bit a NetSki virus through email. Leo saysif it’s the old variant, it may be very easy to get rid off. If it’s a newer version, it may a lot harder. Search for a Netski removal tool. Worst case, you may have to backup your data and then format the hard drive and reinstall. But first, run the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool - Run type “MRT.” This program will scan and clean any known bugs out there. Then get Microsoft Security Essentials to protect yourself. Also, it’s a good idea to practice .
Q Gail, Campbell, CA - can’t access Google
Gail can’t get Google in Internet Explorer. Leo says it could be a virus that doesn’t want you to search for fixes. Try going to Google directly by typing 74.125.45.100. If that works, then it’s a DNS problem. If not, try downloading FireFox. If that works, then Internet Explorer has something wrong with it. Firefox is safer and faster anyway. If the error still persists, Leo recommends taking it to MakeItWork or the GeekSquad.
From Mike in the Chatroom - there’s some command line voodoo which may help. Click Start. Run. Type “ipconfig /flushdns”. This will flush the “DNS resolver cache.” Other suggestions - there’s Spyware.
Q Rich, San Jose, CA - New TVs
Rich has heard that the Sony XBR8 60″ TVs are coming out next year. Leo says it’s probably true. Samsung is coming out with the 8 Series, an ultra thin LCD as well. Like 1 1/2″!
Suggestion for an imaging utility? Image for Windows by Terrabyte Unlimited. Leo also recommends a free option called CloneZilla.
Q Paul, Denim Springs, IN - Organizing CDs in iTunes
Paul has ripped his CDs and he wants to organizing them. Leo says you can organize them by playlists. This won’t physically separate them, but when you click on your playlist, only your songs will appear. Also, check out “smart playlists” which will enable you to filter and sort by various queries.
From the Chatroom - you can also have separate login accounts which would show only each person’s iTunes library. But that’s a tad more complicated that way.
Q Don, Fontana, CA - Windows One Care
Don has heard that Windows One Care is dying out? Leo says yes, they are, but the good news is that there’s a better product - Microsoft Security Essentials. And it’s free! If you want a Paid AVS, then Leo recommends Nod32.
Have a great geek week and don’t forget to backup!
