Audience Questions

Audience QuestionsHour 1

Hour 1 Hour 2 Hour 3

Why am I getting a memory error in Garage Band?

Watch Raphael from Portugal Comments

Raphael has a MacBook Pro running OS X and he's getting an error in GarageBand. Leo says it sounds like a RAM error, and it could be telling Raphael that his Mac is a little slow for the music project he's working on. When he continues to add tracks, it takes more memory. One solution may be to download the previous version, Garage Band 6. Apple is still offering it for download. Turning off plugins will help as well.

Should our school move to Google apps?

Watch Trent from Central Florida Comments

Trent works in the IT department at a local school, and they are currently running a Microsoft Exchange Server. They're thinking of moving over to Google Apps. What does Leo think?

Leo says that they pay a hefty fee for the Microsoft Exchange license, whereas Google Apps are free. They'll lose some functions, naturally, but you can't beat the price. Google is pushing hard to get education to adopt Google Apps, and recently, up to 20% of schools are investing in Chromebooks. Now is the time to make the move. GMail is a better mail system, anyway.

Do I need a microphone to use OS X Mavericks?

Watch Denise from Santa Clarita, CA Comments

Denise just installed OS X Mavericks on her Mac Mini and she's getting an error message about not having a microphone. Leo says that's a feature in Mavericks because laptops have mics built in. She can just get a third party microphone with a minijack so she can talk to Siri on her Mac Mini. MonoPrice is a good place to get them.

Here's a great goosenecked one from Connectland for $12.

Why can't my Sony Bravia smart TV connect to the Internet?

Watch Mike from Portland, ME Comments

Mike is having trouble connecting to the Sony server on his Sony Bravia HDTV. Leo says sometimes the device can't see Wi-Fi and it'll lose the connection. Mike has a wired bridge though, so is there any other reason this could be happening?

Leo says that Mike should try using another device to see if it works. If he can rule out the bridge and the internet connection, then he can focus on the TV. Mike had to disconnect and re-register. It worked for a day and then stopped again. Leo says at that point, it has to be Sony's issue. Smart TVs leave a bit to be desired, Leo says.

One thing to try is the Chromecast. Also, Woot.com is selling refurbished Roku 3s for $65.

Why can't I upload songs to my Google Play?

Watch Joe from Louisville, KY Comments

Joe uses Google Play on iOS and has an issue with uploading his music. Leo says like iTunes Match, it uploads all the music it doesn't have to his cloud account via Google. But Joe can't upload any more than 1300 songs. Leo says that if they're copy protected, the songs won't copy. So if he has songs with DRM, Google Play will ignore them.

Audience QuestionsHour 2

Hour 1 Hour 2 Hour 3

Can I boost my SSD performance with AHCI?

Watch Jeff from Oklahoma Comments

Jeff just installed an SSD into his Lenovo desktop, but he can't enable AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface). Leo says it's in the kernel, but it doesn't mean it has to be enabled. Leo suggests using native mode since Jeff only has one drive anyway. He'll get the best performance he can for SATA 2, but he'll still have a speed improvement over the old hard drive.

What HDTV should I get for the Olympics?

Watch Paul from Los Angeles, CA Comments

Paul wants to buy a new HDTV for the Olympics. What should he get in the 65" range? Leo says that Panasonic is getting out of the plasma business and now is the time to look hard at a plasma TV before they disappear. There are tons of good choices with Samsung, Vizio, and many others. The best TV out there right now is the Panasonic Viera. The ST, VT and the ZT, depending on his price range. The Panasonic Viera ZT60 is the top of the line.

What about 4K? Leo says he can get an inexpensive 4K TV right now, but they aren't very good TVs and there's no content for it anyway. In a few years, the TVs will be far better and even more affordable.

Why can't I get satellite internet in my area? (Part 2)

Watch Mike from Idaho Comments

Mike called yesterday about not being able to get satellite access and overheard that he should be getting it. Leo says yes. There was an employee from Wild Blue Exceed that says he should be getting it because there is nowhere in America that cannot get Wild Blue. But others say that there may be too many subscribers in the area due to the use of something called "beam forming." If everyone is using it, then it slows to a stop.

How can I put a larger battery in my laptop?

Watch Diane from Chicago, IL Comments

Diane wants to get a larger battery for her Asus 11" laptop. Leo says that she can't get a larger internal battery because they're usually proprietary. One solution is to get an external battery that can plug into the laptop and charge it. She'll just have to have to get the right tip to connect to her battery.

This extension battery by Anker could work for her, and they have a grid at iAnker.com which will show her which external battery she could get.

Audience QuestionsHour 3

Hour 1 Hour 2 Hour 3

Will restoring a hard drive include recovery partitions?

Watch Lynella from Los Angeles, CA Comments

Lynella brought her sister's laptop in to get fixed, but she didn't make a copy of the hard drive before she did. Leo says techs usually wipe the drive or replace it and then restore the OS from a backup recovery disc. But that may not include the restore partitions that originally came with it. If they claim they restore to manufacturer specs, then it should have the recovery partition. If they refuse to restore that for her, then Lynella may be able to get recovery discs from the laptop manufacturer. Recovery discs are better anyway because then she still has it if the drive dies.

She then tried to use Fix-It Utilities 11 Professional, and since it worked on Windows 7 she thought it would work on Windows 8. She booted from the disc to try and see the hidden recovery partitions on the laptop. She also wanted to copy that hard drive to another drive. The disc told her that the partition was corrupt, so she exited the program and when she rebooted the computer, the computer said "operating system missing." Leo suspects that since she was using Fix-It Utilities 11, which is an older version, it may not have known how to deal with UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) in Windows 8.

Now she's wondering if she shouldn't use any of utility programs she had for Windows 7 with Windows 8. Leo says to be careful because there's a big difference between BIOS and UEFI, so she should probably avoid those older programs on Windows 8.

Should I buy a refurbished computer?

Watch Mike from Palmdale, CA Comments

Mike's old PC died and he needs to replace it. His budget is $500. Amazon sells refurbished computers, so he's wondering if that's a good idea. What's the difference between refurbished and like new?

Leo says that third party refurbs make him nervous. If he's getting a refurbished computer, he should get it from the manufacturer. One good idea is a Chromebook. They're about $250. It's very simple to use because they're just a browser. They're secure, well made, and affordable.

If he wants to go the refurbished route, he should check the Dell Refurbished site. He can get a computer with Windows 7, too. Another option is a Inspiron 660s from Dell, which is brand new and only $399

Could I use RAID 0 for backup?

Watch Tom from San Jose, CA Comments

Tom bought an iMac and a GTech RAID drive, but he realized it runs RAID 0. Leo says RAID 0 means it has two discs linked for performance and speed. It's also known as "scary RAID" because it's twice as likely to fail. If he's using it just for basic backup, then it's fine. Drobo does a simulated RAID 5, but Leo isn't sure Tom needs all that.

A Synology Diskstation Network Attached Storage would be a great option. He can still use the GTech, though. If he's just backing up, an external hard drive will work as well. He should just remember that with a backup, he shouldn't delete the files from his hard drive, or that backup will no longer a backup.

Can I bond two DSL lines into one and make it faster?

Watch Sam from Victorville, CA Comments

Sam can get DSL from Verizon, but he's so far away, he can't get it very fast. So he went with DSLExtreme, which is half the price. Can he get another line and then multiplex it for more speed?

Leo says he can, and there's a product called Fusion that will do exactly this. It's dual ADSL2 lines. The problem is that he's so far away from the network hub, and DSL degrades rapidly over distance. Bonded ADSL will work, and he should ask DSL Extreme if they have Fusion in his neighborhood.

(Disclaimer: DSL Extreme is a sponsor).

What computer should I buy?

Watch Marie from Southgate, CA Comments

Marie's computer died and she needs a new one. Leo says that the Chromebook is very inexpensive. It's simple and very secure. For what Marie wants, it's the way to go. Or, she could get an iPad.

What plasma TV should I get?

Watch Pam from North Hollywood, CA Comments

Pam wants to get a plasma TV. She saw one at Office Depot for $249. Leo says that a lot of companies are getting out of the game and so they're being discounted. Samsung makes a pretty good plasma, but that cost means it's not very big. It's also probably only 720p. Leo suggests she pay more and get the 1080p TV. LG and Vizio are good too, but Leo prefers the Panasonic Viera. Leo also says if she can avoid getting a "smart TV" and add a Roku, it's even better because she can upgrade the smart functionality outside of the TV.

Why doesn't Words with Friends work in Windows 8?

Watch Roger from San Pedro, CA Comments

Roger is having trouble running Words with Friends on his browser in Windows 8.1. Leo advises using the Desktop version as there's no Flash support on the Metro browser. Going into the desktop gives him access to Flash and then it should work just fine.