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Saturday, August 28, 2004

Show #69

 toc | toc 

Today’s news items

Longhorn will be out in late 2006 - minus the new databasing file system and other features.

The new iMacs are almost here!
(Are these leaked images of the new G5 iMac or a LCD or a Plasma TV or a Photoshopped Apple Display… you decide!)

Dan says: these pics were a hoax, it was just a Lacie display in a powerbook box.

Just when you thought you were ready for Doom 3, Half-Life 2 goes gold on Moday.

Dan says: yep, that one’s a hoax too =(

Noon-1p

Mary in North Hollywood - loses her Wi-Fi on XP

Mary uses Windows XP and is having trouble with her wireless connection when she attempts to access the Internet after her laptop has been in the sleep mode
This is a known problem with Wi-Fi and Windows XP. Apparently it has to do Wireless Zero Configuration. (There was a Wired News article about this last month.) The fix is to turn off Wireless Zero Conf in XP Services.

Uses Norton Anti-Virus but is ready for something better. I recommend the free version of the AVG anti-virus.

John in San Bernardino - his Apollo P2200 has stopped printing

John has printer problems, the activity light shows is on and the page starts to load, but no printing occurs, and this crashes his PC
First, download and install a new driver. If that doesn’t work - try buying new cartridges and make sure they’re properly installed. Your manual may tell you more about the blinking lights on the front.

The problem is that HP no longer makes or supports the Apollo. If he can’t get it working right away I’d recommend buying a newer printer.

Since he’s printing out long text only documents, I’d recommend a laser printer. They’re a little more expensive to buy, but much cheaper to use. I recommend the Brother HL-5140. Read the PC Magazine review.

Kevin in Orange - do you need to upgrade your anti-virus to keep up with viruses

Sometimes it’s true, you need to upgrade to a newer anti-virus to disinfect newer viruses. I don’t recommend spending any more money on Norton, though, when AVG is free, up-to-date, and just as good.

Also AntiVir Personal Edition

1–2p

Bill in Corona - hacker using my address?

Probably not. Bill’s getting email saying “you sent me a virus!” We all do these days. All the latest email viruses spoof the return address. In other words, the person who SENT the virus is not the person in the REPLY TO field. Here is a website that explains spoofing

Robin from Van Nuys - argument against RIAA

He says that if the record company sues you for downloading music, ask them to prove you played it! Interesting point. Maybe that’s why, up to now, the RIAA is only suing folks who offer songs to others. However, they’re quick to point out that people who download music are breaking the law, too. The 9th Circuit Court says that the P2P software companies, at least, are not liable.

Mary from San Clemente - DVD or tape Camcorder?

Mary needs a new camcorder and is considering a DVD camcorder needs advice
I prefer the tape camcorders for two reasons: 1. the DVD recorders use a lower quality compression, MPEG-2, in order to be compatible with DVD players, and 2. you can’t use the DVDs you’ve recorded in a DVD player until you’re done with them. They must be closed before they’re playable.

She also wants to record her video to CD (she doesn’t have a DVD burner). You can make video CDs on your CD burner with the right software. For best quality I recommend SVCD. VCDs use MPEG-1 compression; SVCDs use the higher quality MPEG-2 compression used by DVDs.

Helen from Massachusetts - SP-2 and DSL problem

Helen installed SP-2 and now sees a problem Network Connection icon in her system tray. The problem seems to be common place with DSL and SP-2. SP-2 closes a backend port used by SBC and Verizon. SBC offers a fix at http://download.yahoo.com/dl/sbcy/xpsp2fix.exe - I’m checking Verizon.

2–3p

Karen from North Corona (Norco) - laptop for a 13-year-old

Karen has a 13 year old future genius that needs a laptop, should they go with a Dell? What components should he get?
Government contractors like Dell, so does he. Dell makes a solid computer and you probably won’t go wrong.

1. Wi-fi, 802.11b is fine - wireless networking is a must
2. 512 MB RAM
3. CD burner for backup
4. don’t worry about upgrading the video card - notebooks are bad for gaming anyway
5. XP Pro or Home - doesn’t matter
6. get a laptop lock

I’ll have a Double double animal style please. (In-N-Out Secret Code Words)

Chris in La Crescenta - hot processor

He has an Intel Prescott 3 GHz with 875 chipset. It idles at 40–50C, peaks at 55 C. Is that too hot. It’s not too hot, but I would like to see it about 10C cooler. Get a fan that draws air into the case in front, and a fan that pushes it out in back. The idea is to create a flow of air through the case. Place your fans carefully to avoid turbulence. The amount of air coming into the the case should be equal to the amount of air coming out of the case.

Jared (from Marin County) adds: If you are using the heatsink and fan that came with the processor, consider upgrading to a more powerful model from a 3rd party supplier such as ThermalTake, Vantec, or CoolerMaster. You can browse a wide selection at Newegg.

John in Pasadena - dual layer DVD

John wants to know about dual-layer DVDs and will they be around for awhile?
They hold 8.5 GB by recording on two layers of the DVD. The drives are not so expensive but the media is, and it’s very hard to find. I think it’s just an interim technology until BluRay DVD recorders become widely available aroud this time next year.

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