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Saturday, September 4, 2004

Show #71

 toc | toc 

Today’s news items

Apple has unveiled their new iMac G5. The 17″ model starts at $1299 and the 20″ model starts at $1899. Apple has found as elegant way to fit the whole computer in a slick and thin (only 2″ thick) model.

Intel’s new chip: 10 million transistors into the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen with their new 65 nm technology

ABC’s new Internet only broadcasts, ABC News Now, are at http://abcnews.go.com/sections/abcnewsnow/.

Noon-1p

Julie in Burbank - Are eMachines ok?

eMachines are ok, for email and photo editing but you can get a Dell for $499, try comparing prices with different manufacturers like Dell and HP or Compaq. Emachines means Gateway.

Tim in Valencia - increase CB range

Try the Family Radio Service radios with extended range
http://frsradio.iwarp.com/about.html

Linda in Riverside - XM and the PCR

Retailers are discontinuing the PCR - you can still get it from XM - because of TimeTrax the software that lets you convert XM songs into MP3s.

Dan says: XM doesn’t actually have any of these in stock… neither do any of the sites they link to. The only place is on eBay and it seems like they’re charging anywhere from 150–250 bucks for this thing now… nuts. Try $400.

Since XM radios have unique serial numbers, XM could decide to deactivate any or all of the XMPCR’s.

Peter in San Clemente - some streaming audio sites require IE

It’s ok to use IE for those sites - I just recommend avoiding Internet Explorer for every day surfing - it’s ok to use it just for those sites that require it. You can also go directly to a radio site by finding the direct URL. Right-click the link and copy it to the clipboard. Paste it into Notepad and look for the URL beginning with mms://. You can open that URL directly in Windows Media Player or any player than can handle Windows media streams.

Jerry in Valencia - using a router and a firewall

A listener writes: I like using a software firewall even though my home network is behind a router which does provide security from attacks. The big advantage for the software firewall is the outgoing software controls. I have run Zonealarm behind my router for over six months with no conflicts that I nave noticed. NOTE My router manufacturer (DLink) does NOT recommend this configuration but so far it has worked for me.

1–2p

John in Pacoima - Is it ok to run two firewalls at once?

I don’t recommend it - they can cause weird conflicts. Pick one. Since he’s using Sygate Personal Firewall I’d disable the Windows firewall - Sygate is better. (My favorite free fiewall for Windows actually).

He also recommends http://radio-locator.com/ for finding Internet radio stations.

Kevin in Los Angeles - XP prompts him for network password

XP Professional occasionally asks him to enter network password, even though he uses a router for PPPoE.

A listener writes: You may also want to check that you have only one internet client checking for mail. I have my PowerBook and my PC on, both with mail applications, and if a transaction is going on between wither machine and the e-mail server, the other machine prompts for a password. Just a thought

Anthony in Asuza - how do I tell how fast my DSL connection is?

Start by opening the connection - either by double-clicking the little computer icon in your system tray or opening the Network Connections control panel and double-clicking your connection’s icon.

You can also use these online sites to test your throughput:
http://www.toast.net/performance/
http://lax.speakeasy.net/
http://www.dslreports.com/stest
http://ndt.server.ufl.edu:7123/

Download the free 3D traceroute from http://www.hlembke.de/prod/3dtraceroute/

Cliff in Santa Barbara - looking for a PocketPC device

But he’s worried that something new and cool is coming. I can’t promise that there won’t be something cool at CES this January, but in general the PDA category is dying out. People are moving to smart phones instead. For my money the best PocketPC device is still the iPaq 4155.

Trevor Evans says: HP is coming out with some new iPaqs this Fall, iPaq RZ1715 is here now. Right now I am really excited about the iPaq RX3415 that will come in a few months, it has bluetooth, WiFi, and a bulit-in Digital camera. Dell also makes good PocketPCs, called the Axim series. [I think they’re a little too clunky, myself. -Leo]

2–3p

Ed in Chatsworth - XP reinstall instructions

His computer is slowing down he wants to reinstall. Recommendations?

First, before reformatting, download the full SP-2 IT Version from Microsoft.

Make sure you backup your data. Collect the application install discs. And get any updated drivers.

After the install follow my instructions on securing Windows.

FunkyMan in Ottawa recommends: Create disks with backups of the UPDATED versions of all your hardware drivers (download them from the Net). Also, update your motherboard BIOS to avoid those AGP440.sys problems with SP2.

Chuck in Camarillo - switching network settings

I recommend the $15 NetSwitcher.

Seems like XP should have something like this built-in (Mac OS X does). Anyone know of an easy way to save and swap network settings in XP?

A listener writes: Yes it does, in XP go to the “local area connection” under settings-network connections from the start menu. On the properties for the connection, double click the tcp/ip protocol. From there you can find the “alternate configuration” tab. Add the static connection there.

JediLordJS writes: You can always just make 2 different network connections, one for school and one for home. Simply disable and enable each one accordingly whenever you go home and back to school. I’m a student too and I find this is a very easy and convenient way to set-up my computer.

April in Riverside - computer is a mess!

She inherited a HP Pavilion from work but none of the discs. It’s infested with Sasser, slowing down, running poorly, and she can’t run Windows update. It probably has some other viruses, too.

If she had the original discs I’d say this is an excellent candidate for a format and reinstall, but she doesn’t. So she’s going to have to clean everything up by hand. Yikes.

Start by killing Sasser - follow my online instructions.

Next it’s time to get some more memory in that baby. It has 128MB - she should add at least 256MB of RAM. Visit Crucial and get the right RAM for that system.

Now to get rid of the spyware. Download and install my critical security software, too.

Now to solve the windows update problem. Removing the spyware and viruses may help. Downloading the big SP-2 I mention above might work, too. Otherwise you should clear out the c:\windows\downloaded installations folder in case there are incomplete Windows Update files in there.

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