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For more Leo and friends all week long, listen to the
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Saturday June 12, 2010
Show Audio
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Edited Audio | |
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Posted one week after broadcast… | |
Tech News
iPhone 4 announced
Steve Jobs announced the iPhone 4 this week at the WWDC. Unfortunately, Leo’s predictions feel short. No Verizon, no 4G. Leo thinks that the biggest feature is the Retina display - a resolution that Apple says exceeds what the eye can notice. According to experts, though, hold on. While 320 ppi is remarkable, you’d have to have twice that much for the eye not to see the difference. Still, not other smart phone display or even computer screen has ever done 320 ppi. Other great features included a laminated glass to eliminate refraction, video chat via FACE TIME with it’s front facing VGA camera (wifi only to another iPhone 4). Leo says BIG DEAL! How many people have been doing video calling via wifi?! Another cool feature is better connectivity a thanks to it’s steel skeleton frame which doubles as the antenna.
AT&T is also allowing users to upgrade to the iPhone 4 for a fee. Leo’s very disappointed that Apple is still going with AT&T exclusively. He’s surprised that orders are bullish for the iPhone since it’s not really that much better than what users have now, considering 3G and 3Gs models will get the iPhone 4 OS updates with limited use.
The iPhone can be pre-ordered this Tuesday, with shipping June 24th.
Flash update now official
Adobe Flash 10.1 has been rushed out and is now available. Leo recommends that anyone using flash should upgrade to 10.1 so that they won’t get bitten by the Flash bug Leo and Steve Gibson discussed last week.
Guests
Dick DeBartolo, The Giz Wiz
Today’s Gadget from the GizWiz? The Fast Finger Keyboard. This keyboard is largely designed for “hunt and pecking.”
But what makes this keyboard cool is that at the touch of a button, it’ll change to the conventional QWERTY keyboard and can even change to a “texting” configuration. Cost is about $30.
Hour 1
Q Susan, Long Beach, CA - Mouse trouble
Susan’s Toshiba laptop is giving her a mouse code 39 error on boot up. There is no mouse on startup, but she can use her keyboard to uninstall and reinstall the mouse to get it to work. The touchpad also doesn’t work right. She’s had it about a year. Leo says the best thing to do is run the system recovery discs and reinstall the OS. It’s the easiest way to fix the error as it’s most likely a corrupted driver or system file.
You can also go to the Toshiba website and download and install an updated mouse driver.
Q Rich, Costa Mesa, CA - Car radio recommendation
Rich wants a good in dash car stereo that has good AM radio reception. Leo says it’s worth getting a digital radio in your car since most stations are now broadcasting in HD. Additionally, most new models also have a USB port so you can plug in your iPod. Alpine is a great option (thx Dr. Mom in the Chatroom), and some models also support Pandora for streaming internet radio.
Q Austin, Los Angeles, CA - Quicktime issues
Austin has a miniDVR that records from a bullet camera to an SD card. However, the MAC takes the 12 minute video and separates it into 6 different files. Leo says that’s not the MAC or Quicktime that does it, it’s the camera that makes that decision. This is to guard against losing footage as it’s writing to the drive. Also, if the camera is recording in AVCHD and you are importing it into the MAC, if your OS or iMovie doesn’t support AVCHD, it’ll re-encode it to another format and that could be breaking up the video into multiple files.
Austin also has an old G4 and Carbonite won’t support it. Leo says that’s correct. Apple has abandoned G4 support and much modern software doesn’t support it either. Leo suspects that Carbonite uses certain features that are supported by the Intel platform and as such, it can’t support it.
Q David, Houston, TX - Teleconferencing for the blind
David is blind and wants to know if there’s a free teleconferencing service for him? Leo says that Calliflower is a good option.
David has created a podcast called “NO EYES REQUIRED,” where he talks about technology for the blind. David also has a music label! He taught himself computers and podcasting to boot! Not bad for a 13 year old!
Hour 2
Q Dave, LaHabra, CA - bundling vs. ala carte
What’s the best way to go when signing up for various services? Leo says that it’s to your hosts advantage to bundle because they get all the money. If you use a VOIP phone system, you end up with a huge battery backup in the background should the power go out. Also you may end up with inferior voice quality on the phone. As for TV and Data, it’s comparable and depends on what they offer in your area. But in the end, it’s not that much of a price advantage, in fact, it may be MORE expensive in the short run. Bundling’s chief advantage is convenience with a single provider, but that also means a single point of failure.
Q David, Valencia, CA - iPhone 4
David wants to know if he’ll notice a big difference in processor speed over the 3G. Leo says the new A4 processor is snappy quick and is a great choice for the iPhone. Another advantage is more talk/data time thanks to longer battery life.
Q Frank, Canyon Country, CA - Budget gaming system
Frank’s son is turning 16 and he wants to get him a computer for gaming. His budget is $600. Leo says the real key on gaming is the video card. For World of Warcraft, just about any PC can play. Modern Warfare, on the other hand, requires a stronger video card. Leo recommends going over to PC Perspectives. Check out the Hardware Leaderboard, which is broken down by budget and you’ll see the best components for your price point. Great for researching. Leo says that the refurbished HP Dual Core with an upgraded video card is a good option.
Frank also says the glare of his plasma is pretty hideous. Does Leo recommend a third party accessory to dim block the glare? Leo says no. It will really lower the brightness of the screen. Frank’s best bet is to darken the room.
Q Justin, Nova Scotia, CAN - Backup options with Linux
Justin uses Carbonite and loves it. Problem is that Carbonite doesn’t support Linux. Leo says that Ubuntu has it’s own backup solution called Ubuntu 1. You get 2GB for free, $10 a month for 50GB. But if you dual boot with Windows, you can have Carbonite restore and backup to a central file.
Q Amir, Tel Aviv, Israel - Backup options
Amira is following the 3–2−1 backup (3 copies, 2 different media, 1 off site) and Carbonite doesn’t backup beyond the computer itself. Leo says that’s how they can offer unlimited backup, but limiting it to the onboard hard drive. And for Amir’s amount (6TB) you don’t want Carbonite anyway since it would take way too long. Leo recommends the Drobo FS or swap out drobo’s every week. It’s just too much data to go to the cloud.
Q Melissa, Richmond, VA - Smart Phone recommendation
Melissa has an iPod touch and a Verizon phone. It’s time to upgrade, but since the iPhone didn’t come to Verizon, what should she choose that could possibly sync with iTunes? Leo says that an Android phone like the HTC Incredible running DoubleTwist is a great option that look just like iTunes. Leo also recommends using Google for Calendar and Address books and sync them.
Hour 3
Q Kyle, Orlando, FL - WiFi trouble
Kyle is having trouble with his MacBook Pro and it’s wireless connection that cuts out after a few minutes. He has to reboot after it cools down. Leo says that if it happens over various routers, then you can eliminate that hardware from the list of suspects. Leo also says that some of the older models, particularly the titanium MBPs had issues. Overheating can cause issues since the wifi board is built in and heat can affect it. Competing signals can also cause a drop out as computers can get “promiscuous.” WiFi setups can also be unfriendly and can essentially “jam” the signal. Try different channels, turn on interference robustness.
Another option is a USB Wireless card, but you have to be sure it supports the MAC.
Q Linda, Los Angeles, CA - iPad Data plans
Linda wonders about the iPad data usage since AT&T has changed the plans. How does she know what amount of data she needs? Leo says that AT&T lets you upgrade. So start off with the lowest level and then if you pass it quickly, you can upgrade to the larger plan.
Q Mike, Santa Monica, CA - Smartphone recommendatin
Mike wants to know if the Samsung Caliber is a good option? He’s concerned because it runs Windows Mobile. Leo says that Mike is right to be concerned. He’s not a fan at all of Windows Mobile, but he thinks that the Windows 7 Mobile OS will be far better. If you need to get it now, the Caliber isn’t a bad phone at all. Another option is the Windows Kin. But if you can wait a few months, it’ll probably be worth it.
Q Terry, Amarillo, TX - Error syncing iPhone with iTunes in Windows
Terry upgraded his iTunes for Windows and now he’s got issues with syncing his iPhone. Leo says that Apple does a terrible job supporting iTunes for Windows and believes the issue is that Terry is using 64 bit. Leo says Terry will need to start over. Remove iTunes and Quicktime. Install Quicktime first and then ITunes. Check out Apple’s Technote HT1923 for a step by step.
Q Brian, Los Angeles, CA - Ripping his iPod
Brian has videos and music only on the iPod and wants to know how he can get them back onto his PC? Leo says that Apple doesn’t give you a way to do that natively, so you need an iPod “ripper.” For the Mac, use iRip. There’s also Senuti. For Windows, there’s SharePod or EphPod.
