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Sunday May 30, 2010

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Posted one week after broadcast…

Tech News

Facebook makes a few changes

In case you missed it, Facebook announced changes to their privacy settings to make it easier for members to set their privacy. Leo says it’s a step in the right direction, but too little too late. Facebook still wants to make everything you do public and if you stick with it, know from here on out that you should just consider everything you post public.

Leo gets the EVO

Leo goes the Evo yesterday. Larger 4.3″ screen, 8mp camera (which ironically isn’t as good as the 5MP in the Incredible), and fantastic Sense UI by Sprint. It’s the must have phone for now, at least until Apple brings out the new iPhone Pro.

The Nexus One has the advantage of enjoying the latest Android OS 2.2, but the Evo can’t update to that until Sprint updates the Sense UI fo rit. Still, Leo’s lovin’ it.

Battery life may be slightly better and that could be because the screen is larger it has a larger battery. But Leo still suggests things like turning off 3G and preferring WiFi.

Google’s quiet announcement

Last week at Google’s developer’s conference, Google announced that the Android OS will now run on Atom processors. Could it be that Google is going after the iPad and Windows on Netbooks?

Guests

Scott Wilkinson, Home Theater Magazine, @htcgeekscott

Leo tells Scott about showing his mom the Godfather Blu-ray edition for his mom on his Pioneer Kuro. The blacks are so rich and the image stunning. Scott says you also need really good shadow detail and the Kuro is great for that.

Scott Wilkinson joins us every week to talk home theater! And today he wants to talk about a caller from yesterday who’s upgraded HDTV doesn’t have the same quality resolution when playing DVDs as his smaller model. Scott says that getting the best image out of your HDTV is a good challenge. As your screen size gets larger and larger, the material starts looking less sharp and impressive. This is because it’s a bigger screen and you will be able to see more flaws or artifacts. And that’ll really pop up in standard def DVDs. And that leads to a scaling issue. DVDs get up-converted to the native resolution of the TV and some scalers do better than others. The key here is to get a Blu-ray player that does the upscaling. Set the output of the player to 480i or 480p. The TVs processor will do the upscaling. Then, reset the player to 1080p and see which one looks better.

Another option is to buy an external video processor. Historically, they have been pretty expensive, but the DVDO Edge processor is under $500 and does a great job of upscaling. So if you want to eak out the best quality you can out of your standard def DVDs, this may be the way to go.

With kids going to college, many use their laptops as their entertainment system in school. Do models like the Dell Studio 17 with a Blu-ray make a difference? Scott says the screen is just too small for that. You have to use special software and they only look marginally better, so unless you have a lot of Blu-rays in your collection, it’s not really worth spending the extra money for.

Another subject for Scott today is still his ongoing coverage of 3D Television. The importance there is having a really bit screen. The larger the screen, the more immersive the experience. But size can always be relative in relation to the distance. Scott heard an expert speak on this subject this week and they state that if the screen doesn’t occupy 80% of your field of view, the experience of 3D isn’t as engaging. For 3D in the home to really have impact, they need at least a 70″ TV, according to ThX. And who’s going to spend that kind of money? So clearly, size may be an issue in 3D gaining traction in the home. In fact, if a front projector is bright enough, that may be the saving grace of 3DTV. Then there’s the trigonometry of it. Figuring out the right distance and angles to experience it (which needs to be 30–40 degrees horizontal).

If you want to accurately recreate the movie experience, check out the Home Theater Viewing Distance Calculator.

Chris Marquardt - Tips from the Top Floor, @ChrisMarquardt

Chris joins us to talk digital photography, especially taking photos of people. Leo loves taking shots of people. Chris agrees saying they always add to the photo. But how do you approach them? Leo says he’s too shy to go up and ask, especially when in another country. Chris says that asking is not only the nice thing to do, but also the legal thing to do. The easiest way is to signal and use gestures that explain what you are wanting to do. Most will be fine with it. And Chris says it can also be much easier by gesturing. But what about candids? Leo says ,ost people will try and pose when you tell them.

Other tips. Go places where people expect you to be taking pictures. Also give them small trinkets, like pins, to give as a thank you. But even a smile will get you very far when taking pictures of others. And show them the picture after so they can share in the experience. But avoid police and military personnel. In some countries, it’s illegal and can get you into serious trouble.

If you want to see some of Leo’s China shots, check them out here.

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Hour 1

Q Jerry, Orange County, CA - SQL server question

Jerry uses MySQL for his data base needs. Leo says that most Linux installations have MySQL built in. He does recommend using XAmpp for installing onto Mac or Windows though. It runs Apache, MySQL and a scripting language. Leo also says that running through Ruby on Rails is a better way to run it from a higher level. Another option is run PHP My Admin, which gives you a web based interface to MySQL. And it’s ideal for someone who isn’t actually writing the database, but needs to manage it. But it’s all pretty arcane stuff now at this point.

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Hour 2

Q Jeff, Alta Dena CA - transferring music from his iPod

Jeff has an iPod classic and he’s spent a ton of time ripping his entire CD collection on it. Now he has a new iPod Touch and wants to know how to transfer from his older iPod to his newer iPod (he deleted the mp3s after he ripped and synced them). First off, Apple took out the ability to copy stuff directly. But that isn’t the end of it. You can “rip” the iPod back to your PC using programs like Senuti and iPod Ripper for Mac. On the PC side, BobWag, in the chatroom, recommends Pod to PC. DoubleTwist, SharePod, iPod Explorer. DoubleTwist is free and Leo can use it for his iPhone and Android Phones as well. Written by DVD Jon.

Q Burton, California - Hands free with Android

Burton wants to talk about the HTC Droid Incredible. He had to return it after a few days when he discovered you can’t initiate a call using a bluetooth headset. That’s a deal breaker here in California where you have to have hands free all the time while driving. Leo says that there are apps that do that for you. But you have to launch it manually. Leo also says that the new Fords have hands free sync and does it for you. So as long as they can access your phonebook, they can do that. Also, the latest BluAnt bluetooth headsets do it as well.

Android 2.2 has a voice dialer feature, but you have to open it manually. The best solution Leo’s found is the Plantronic’s Voyager, or the BlueAnt Q1 headset? or S4 which you talk to. There is also a car dock for the Incredible and having that allows the voice dialer to do what it’s designed to do. Not desirable, but it’s a workaround.

Q Winston, Toronto, ONT CAN - video podcasting

Winston wants to do a video podcast with green screen. He uses Final Cut Matte and a greenscreen behind him. Leo says how Winston is doing it is spectacular. The reason that Leo doesn’t use green screen is that he enjoys the feel of a real studio. The real issue is content quality and the skills for writing and producing content can only be perfected with experience. IF you can get 10,000 hours of doing anything, you have acquired the expertise that makes your quality professional looking. It used to be that you could only get the experience from a job through the major studios or stations. But now, you can build your own expertise through outlets like YouTube. So keep doing it and you’ll get better and better.

Winston’s YouTube Channel youtube.com/SIHWinston

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Hour 3

Q Gene, Ontario CAN - HDMI connectivity with his DVD player

Gene just got a 42″ 720p Plasma TV. But when he hooked up his DVD player via HDMI they don’t talk to each other. The display says there’s no connection. So, he’s stuck with component. It could be the port or the cable is defective. Gene has used several cables. So that means the port could be bad. Connecting something else through the HDMI will eliminate the port. Make sure your source and output on TV and Player is set to HDMI. Then it would lead to the DVD player itself. Gene is thinking about Oppo BDP-83. Leo says that player is an excellent, though pricey, player. But it does upscaling, plays SACD and DVD Audio, it can even do BD Live. Leo likes it, but isn’t sure it’s worth the $400 to upscale from 480i to 720p. You’ll get improved video, but not much. It’s really dramatic when your TV is 1080p. So Leo says it’s not worth it to go Blu-ray with a TV that small.

Q Marchello, Huntington Beach, CA - Music recognition software

Marchello wants to create a batch program which will name his songs as he records from an analog source. Leo says there’s no way for a program to do that, but Magix has a program called Vinyl and Tapes which will take out the hiss, pops and turn them into MP3s. They’ll even chop them up. But you’ll still have name them.

From the Chatroom - try Tunatic and Jaikoz. WinAmp also can do it (hat tip Uncle Bic). Both on PC. Shazaam and Midomi for the Mac.

Q Mike, Thousand Oaks, CA - iPad WiFi problems.

The iPad is losing his WiFi connection several times a day. Apple is aware of this issue and there’s a technote about it. There could be conflicting bands on a dual band wifi, you may want to just support one standard. and even though Apple says it’s a small percentage affected, but you can get they’ll put out a fix for it. Meanwhile, there’s a good article by PC Magazine that has a few workarounds. But you also may want to bring it into the store in case it’s a hardware fix.

Q Cheryl, La Habra, CA - phones for the visually impaired

Cheryl would like to know what’s the best smart phone for someone who is visually impaired? Leo says that the iPhone has set the bar high for accessibility, and in Leo’s mind there’s no question that’s the one to get. Cheryl keeps hearing Verizon is getting the iPhone. Leo says that rumor has been going on for over a year now and although everyone hates AT&T, right now, they’re the only game in town for the iPhone and he doesn’t see that changing any time soon.

Q Keith, Valencia, CA - Phone recommendation

Keith is tired of Verizon getting the iPhone. What about the Droid Incredible? Leo says it’s an excellent choice. Leo loves the Android platform, and the Incredible is a Nexus One of steroids. Good choice. But can he sync the phone along with all his PC/Macs? Leo says that the Android phone works great with Google. So just go online to Google Calendar and Address Book and it’ll sync with everything. And with the latest Android phones, it’s not only automatic, but two-way. For the Mac, Leo says use BusyCal. But the iCal does sync with Google, so you don’t really need it.

What about syncing photos and other things? Leo uses DoubleTwist, which he calls iTunes for Android.

Have a Great Geek Week, gang!

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