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Sunday July 11, 2010

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Posted one week after broadcast…

Tech News

Facebook closes down gifts feature

Facebook’s popular Gifts feature, which they make millions from, is about to be discontinued. According to Facebook, it has to do with not having resources to design icons for their giftshop. Leo thinks that’s pretty ODD considering they are probably the most profitable company on the Internet.

Google is going Farming with Zynga

Tech Crunch and Venture Beat has confirmed that Google invested $100 Million into Zynga’s Farmville. Is Google positioning itself for a Google Games site? And aren’t they also starting a Facebook competitor called Google Me?

LeBron James’ heading to Miami fills up the Twitterverse

LeBron leaves Cleveland for Miami and it burns up the Twitterverse, as does the Cavs Owner, Dan Gilbert rants in reply using Comic Sans on the Cavs website.

Guests

Scott Wilkinson, Home Theater Magazine, @htcgeekscott

Scott joins us to talk about the TV Testing he does, including viewing the TVs he gets in an 9% gray room with sealed windows. He then uses a colorimeter to measure the color accuracy of the set, especially the primary and secondary colors. What about the Sharp Quattro (from yesterday’s call)? Is it selling? Scott says it’s too soon to tell. Sharp is definitely trying to differentiating itself in a very competitive field. Samsung has also done it with some projection models. But Scott says that it’s not a good idea because the signal is in RGB (red, green, and blue) and all colors will morph from those three. And to say you’re creating a fourth color that’s outside of that standards, it won’t be accurate.

What about “color space” or “gamut?” Color space and color gamut are used interchangably, but they are two different things. Gamut is the range of color that can be reproduced. Color space, on the other hand, is the mathematical description of the colors you’re seeing. Could be RGB, CMYK, etc. Scott also says that Calibration, or using a color management system, allows the color gamut to be corrected. Sometimes it works well, sometimes it doesn’t, and Scott recommends to NOT mess with it in your TV. Otherwise, you’ll be reaching for the reset button. You really need a colorimeter and some serious training to be able to adjust the gamut on a TV.

Questions: What about HD Base T? The idea being you replace HDMI using a Cat 5 Ethernet cable. Scott says it’s an interesting idea, particularly since TVs are now network oriented. Will it replace HDMI? Scott is skeptical, even though HD Base T is supported by Sony. But HDMI is all over the place. But it does have the advantage of being able to use long amounts of cable across large spaces.

Chris Marquardt - Tips from the Top Floor, @ChrisMarquardt

Today, Chris wants to talk about do it yourself solutions to add to your photography. Chris took a Kodak Zi8 and created a more wide angle option using a small wide angle adapter that uses a magnet ring that he can glue onto the camera. It’s not the greatest quality, but it works pretty good. But glueing to the camera did void his warranty. But it accomplished what Chris wanted by shorting the focal length and giving it a wide angle (check out the video at http://www.tfttf.com/zi8mod). Leo says the Owle has a holder that gives you a threaded wide angle option.

Good news is that Chris’ Pocket Chris application has been approved! Leo’s using it on the iPhone 4 and it’s spectacular! Good for basic photography tips. It’s free and available at the iTunes App Store.

Chris is coming to Brooklyn, NY this week to hold a cooking and photography workshop. Check it out.

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Hour 1

Q Tom, New Jersey - Merging OSX user accounts

Can Tom merge user accounts in OSX? Leo says that the migration wizard won’t merge the data, just creates a second account. The idea is to guard against overwriting. An Apple Discussion thread suggests syncing through Mobile Me, but Leo doesn’t think it’ll work the way Tom wants it to. A good way to sync multiple email accounts is through GMail. A program Leo really likes is ChronoSync for the Mac. Leo says it’s great for music and pictures where you end up with multiple copies.

Q Eric, Pittsburgh, PA - Gaming & podcasting

Eric does a Christian gaming podcast which reaches out to hard core gamers. And they play Halo, Call of Duty, etc. The idea is to reach out to those who love video games but avoiding judgment. The idea is also to give Christians a place to meet up, and hold each other accountable in the gaming world.

Eric wants to know the best way to record a podcast with different locations around the country. They are currently using Skype. Leo says you don’t need a lot of gear to make a successful podcast. You can use a laptop and a $40 headset and chat across multiple locations. Sadly, Skype doesn’t provide multiple channel support for multiple locations. But it really is the best option right now. Leo’s Skypeasaurus uses 4 computers that has dedicated Skype for each one, but that’s expensive. The real key is to get your guests/hosts use good USB headsets like the Plantronics 650.

What about recording directly into Adobe Soundbooth? Leo says you can record on anything including Audacity, which is free. Just record and edit in Wave and don’t compress to MP3 until you’re ready to publish and do it at 64bit.

Eric’s podcast site is 3Dayrespawn.com.

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Hour 2

Q Steve, Santa Rosa, CA - Installing Acrobat

Steve is having trouble installing Adobe Acrobat. Leo says that Adobe has a miserable problem with holes in their software. Turn off flash playback, it’s a huge security flaw. Leo also says there’s a buffer overflow issues up to version 9.

As for installing it, check out the security advisories and make sure you update it. But Adobe is saying to not use versions older than Version 10 - the current version, because of security issues. Leo also says that FOXIT is a better, more secure option, and it’s free.

But once you install Acrobat, make sure you turn off automatic opening of PDF files. IT should download it first and then make you open it from there.

Steve says he got it to install, but it won’t work. It won’t open his PDF files and gives him an error message. Leo says that the older version of Acrobat may not be compatible with Windows 7 and that may be what’s causing the opening errors. And since Steve has the 64 bit version of Windows 7, there’s definitely a compatibility issue. Go with FoxIt.

Q DayJah, Long Beach, CA - Alternatives to Acrobat

DayJah works with a lot of agencies and most of the files she uses are PDF. She uses Nitro PDF Professional and she wants to know if it’s a good one? Leo hasn’t used it, but he uses FoxIt and recommends trying that as well before you buy the other one. Great form designer and form filler. Both look competitive to Adobe Acrobat though.

Blue MN, in the chatroom, prefers FoxIt for its speed. Life’s A Zoo says if you’re going to use a PDF reader, remember to go into the settings of the reader and tell it not to open non-PDF files by default. This will make it much more secure. Another option is CUTEPDF, which will work as a printer drive to print directly to PDF.

Q Angela, Dartmouth, NS CAN - iPhone syncing issues

Angela has an issue with iTunes 9.2 and syncing. Leo says 9.2 had a ton of problems. Leo recommends deleting all your iTunes profiles and backing up from your iPhone.

Q Jan, Beverly Hills, CA - Advertising on her site

Jan is a dog trainer who podcasts. She’s been offered $130 a year to have an ad on her site. Leo says that’s not a lot of money. There are ways to control your advertising using Google AdSense. It’s easy to implement. Based on the number of clicks. And you’ll make much more than $130 a year.

Her website is dogsandcats101.com.

Q Larry, San Diego, CA - Printing from an Android phone

Larry uses an Android phone and he likes it a lot. But he wants to be able to print from it. How can he? Leo says there may be a driver issue, although there are programs that allow you to print from the phone. Check out PrinterShare. It works with a Desktop computer and the Droid prints through the Internet to your printer.

How can compress videos? Leo says the more you compress, the smaller it is, but the worse it’ll look. Leo recommends compressing to h.264, because it gives you the best possible quality for the size.

Q James, Columbia, MO - Slow, hot Macbook

James has a Macbook he bought in October 2007 and he’s struggling with stuttering and some extra heat. Could that have damaged the processor. Leo thinks that the processor could be slowing down to protect itself from heat, but likely there’s something going on in the background that’s slowing it down. Better to back up your data, reformat and reinstall. But really, the most likely problem is probably a hard drive issue. And if the hard drive is getting flakey, sectors get harder to read. Unfortunately, there’s no “Spin Rite” for the Mac.

One way to test your hard drive is to get an external firewire hard drive. Use Super Duper to copy your internal hard drive to the external (make sure it’s bigger) and make it bootable. Reboot holding down the option key and select the External drive. See if those problems go away. If they do, you know you need to replace your hard drive.

Q Israel, Long Beach, CA - The Nexus One

Israel wants to buy the Google Nexus One but has heard there’s a wifi connectivity issue. Leo says that he’s never had that issue, but he’s not recommending the Nexus One anymore because it’s a tad long in the teeth. The Droid Incredible is a great option. But coming out for TMobile is the Samsung Vibrant. There’s also the Droid X. Leo likes both and the Vibrant may be his next Android phone.

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Hour 3

Q Gary, Los Angeles, CA - Website Stats

Gary has created a website for people to see if they qualify for a tax credit for health insurance. Is it possible to how people are using the site so he can reach out to the clientele? Leo says that most sites just catalog the IP address being used at that moment and little else for privacy concerns. But there’s nothing stopping you from pitching online and asking them to fill out a contact form which allows you to return contact. But you’ll need a cooperative webhost for it which will require additional software for forms. Most have it.

Q Joe, Clinton Township, MI - service for seniors

Joe wants to offer a service to help seniors use technology. He calls it iConnect for Seniors. Leo LOVES the idea. He wants to use Google Services. Leo agrees. He also recommends getting them into the iPad. They are easy to use and come with web surfing and email which is what most seniors are looking for. Where should he start? Leo says there are some books designed for older users. There’s a few published by Que are good. But the best is to spend time with them and simply showing them. Good for you and them.

Murph in the chatroom suggests SeniorNet.Org.

Q Chris, Rancho Cucamonga, CA - Printer/Scanner recommendation

Chris wants to get his dad an all in one printer to scan pictures. Leo likes the Epson Artisan series. Reads memory cards, and easy to use.

Q Richard, San Jose, CA - Backing up his iPod

Richard has a 160 GB Classic iPod with music and video. How can he back it up? Leo says that it can be done, but Apple and the Record companies frown on it. Great programs include iPod Rip for the Mac. In Windows, iPod Aid and DoubleTwist (which Leo uses). WinAmp also does it. Sharepod. What about Copy Trans? He tried it and ended up with empty files. Leo says CopyTrans looks pretty good and recommends giving it another shot. Will he have to uninstall iTunes? Leo says no. It may be able to import directly into iTunes.

Q Kly, Baltimore, MD - Android App Blog software

Kly is using Joomla and figured out using the WISIWYG editor to log into the back-end of the Android OS. What new Android phone can he use to write software for it? Leo says that EVO is a good one with a nice, big screen that’s gorgeous. There is also an Android App for Joomla called JOOID. Course, you need to type on the phone. And posting to a blog and managing websites is getting easier and easier on the Android phoneset. Not much WYSIWIG though because they tend to use Java and that’s not very Smartphone friendly. Wordpress has an excellent app as well for content management. That’s probably your best bet.

Q Todd, Dallas, TX - Large screen monitor recommendation

Todd has heard that bigger monitors make you more productive. And they’ve come down in price, but doesn’t know what to get. Between $300–400 budget. Leo says that Apple overcharges for it’s monitors. Budget monitors and higher end monitors are different because of color accuracy. If you don’t need that accuracy, then a budget minded monitor is okay. You’ll also want a good 4000–1 contrast ration and some really good response time. 6 Millseconds or less is what you want. Samsung good? They can be. Look at them side by side with Viewsonic. Both are excellent.

Have a great Geek week everyone!

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