Audience Questions

Audience QuestionsHour 1

Hour 1 Hour 2 Hour 3

How can I get files from my clients online?

Watch Charles from California Comments

Charles helps friends and family to digitize videos and images and he's now doing it as a business. He's using iTunes Extras to import them. What's the best way to get his clients to share images with him online? Here are some options Charles can consider:

  • Flickr

    • Flickr offers 1TB of free storage for images.

  • DropBox

    • Dropbox offers 2GB of free space.

  • Google Drive

    • Google offers 15GB of free space for new accounts.

  • OneDrive

    • This is Microsoft's storage solution, and Charles would get 1TB of free storage with an Office 365 subscription.

  • ExpireBox

    • Since Charles wants to have the files expire after a certain amount of time, this would allow for that.

  • DropSend

    • Charles could get up to 4GB of free storage.

  • ShareFile

    • This has a lot of options, including the ability to have the link expire after a set amount of time, but it is a paid solution.

(Disclaimer: ShareFile is a sponsor).

Does fiber work more like cable or DSL?

Watch Julian from Los Angeles, CA Comments

Julian wants to upgrade his internet with fiber. Does it work like Cable or DSL?

Leo says it's more like DSL. But it's likely that they are piggybacking on AT&Ts fiber. Leo says that DSL Extreme is a great service and if they're moving into Fiber, it'll be a good move. He won't be burdened by sharing bandwidth like with cable, either. It's actually better than DSL because it has better range from the central office. Leo also suspects that the Fiber doesn't go straight to his house, but to a head end that then transfers it to copper. That's not going to be as fast.

(DSL Extreme is a sponsor)

How can I upgrade my TiVo?

Watch Sam from Northridge, CA Comments

Sam wants to know how to increase the hard drive space on his TiVo. He's using the TiVo Premiere and it's running out of space. Leo says that AVS Forum is an ideal site for tips on doing that. There's also Weaknees.com, which sells TiVos with upgraded drives and sells the parts for the upgrade which are "blessed" to run on TiVos.

Audience QuestionsHour 2

Hour 1 Hour 2 Hour 3

How can I prevent the NSA from snooping on me?

Watch David from Los Angeles, CA Comments

David wants to talk about privacy of his cellphone. He's worried that Uncle Sam can snoop on him. Leo says that he has good reason to worry because government can get metadata from phone calls with a simple pen registry request that only costs $1.50 and doesn't require a warrant. Can Google Voice be a better option? Or encryption?

Leo says that behavior that gets the NSAs attention will motivate them to follow him more closely. The problem is, legislation like the Patriot Act encourages government to do whatever they can to live up to the spirit of "never again."

What digital camera should I get?

Watch Sam from West Covina, CA Comments

Sam wants to buy a new camera, and his budget is around $300 to $400. Leo says that in that price range, the Canon Digital Rebel T5 is a good entry level camera. Leo says that micro four thirds mirrorless cameras are fantastic, and they're smaller.

The Sony NEX-3 is a great option as well. Leo suggests going with the Sony because of the smaller lenses. It'll cost him a bit more, but it's worth it. And it's probably the future of digital photography.

How can I put my Android phone into Kid Mode?

Watch Alan from Los Angeles, CA Comments

Alan has been locking down his mobile phone so his kids can only launch an app that he approves. But it's only limiting the number of apps he can add. He's updated the Note 3 and wants an app that will put his phone into "Kid Mode."

Leo says that there are third parties that offer the kid mode. It's an off the record download though, and could be illegal. There's also Kids Place. That's going to be safer and will let him do a lot more.

How can I fix my failing DVD drive?

Watch Pete from Fullerton, CA Comments

Pete's DVD drive just tends to stop working at times. It tries to read the disc, and then gives up. Pete is wondering if it can be easily replaced in his laptop. Leo says that it depends on the laptop. It's easy on some, plug and play, and impossible on others. It's not worth fixing it. Leo advises getting an external drive. They're cheap.

The chatroom says to use a laser lens cleaner. But if it's failing, it's failing, and should be replaced.

Why can't I access all of my Gmail after installing an SSD?

Watch Jeffrey from Las Vegas, NV Comments

Jeffrey has trouble accessing his GMail after installing an SSD. Leo says that if he can't see his Gmail online, then it's not the SSD. So the email must have been wiped or deleted. Jeffrey says he also tried accessing his email with POP3 recently.

Jeffrey should check out the folder "All Mail" in GMail. It may just be hidden. The chatroom says there's a flaw that will wipe out Gmail when using POP3. So be careful. Leo says that's very odd.

Audience QuestionsHour 3

Hour 1 Hour 2 Hour 3

How can I fix my overheating laptop?

Watch Lou from Los Angeles, CA Comments

Lou bought a laptop about six months ago and now it's shutting down after overheating. He tried using a vaccum cleaner to clean out the dust and that worked for awhile, but it didn't last long. He tried a large fan and while it doesn't shut down, he gets a message that the cooling fan isn't working. Leo says that's probably been happening all along. Most laptops have a cooling fan on the CPU and one by the port. It may be that the fan on the CPU has failed. Lou will probably need to take it apart to replace it. Until he replaces it, he's going to get that warning even if the external fan is going to keep his comptuer cool.

There are some programs that will monitor his hardware to show him if the fan has failed:

Does drive cloning copy bad sectors?

Watch Rick from Columbia, TN Comments

Rick wants to know if after using SpinRite, will a drive cloning app copy the bad sectors as well? Leo says no. SpinRite marks them as "do not use." And as such, the cloning software will avoid them. But it will list those cloned sectors as empty, which isn't a bad thing.

What large screen Android phone should I get?

Watch Mark from Grand Rapids, MI Comments

Mark carries a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and his contract is almost up. Should he go with the Note 4 or the Google Nexus 6? Leo says that the Note 4 is the best Note ever made. But it's not quite as big as the Nexus 6.

The Nexus 6 doesn't have a removable battery, though. Leo likes the ability to change out a battery, especially these days because those large screens make it a challenge to get through the day. Both the Note 4 and Nexus 6 have rapid charging capablity that makes an extra battery less important. 15 minutes will buy about 6 hours of charge, 30 minutes will get the phone half way charged.

The nice thing about the Nexus 6 is that it's a pure Android experience. But the downside is that the Nexus 6 automatically encrypts data and the complaints are that it's rather sluggish.

Can I upload MPEG 4 files to YouTube?

Watch Eric from Los Angeles, CA Comments

Eric wants to rip one of his home video DVDs and put it on YouTube. Will MPEG4 work? Leo says yes. He can use Handbrake to do it and YouTube will upload it. But there will be some signal degrading by YouTube as they re-encode it.

Google has a list of acceptable formats at support.google.com.

Is Apple Care worth it for iPhones?

Watch Mark from Riverside, CA Comments

Mark is thinking about trading in his iPhone 5S to get a 6 Plus. He's thinking about buying Apple Care Plus. Worth it? Leo says it depends on what the deductable is. He'll get two incidents a year and the deductible is $79 per incident. So if he drops his phone a lot, it's worth it. But it's a money generator for most. Leo doesn't use Apple Care, preferring to self insure. But he also says that for kids, it's a must.

Is my HDTV worth fixing?

Watch Rene from Escondido, CA Comments

Rene bought a used Vizio HDTV, and now it's strobing, and the audio sounds like it's going through a fan. Leo says that HDTVs are difficult to fix, and may just be too expensive to pay someone to repair. But his best bet is to talk to a TV repairman.

How can I fix my laptop's trackpad?

Watch Linda from Dana Point, CA Comments

Linda has a Gateway laptop and her trackpad has stopped working. Can she fix it? Leo says she could pay for it, but he wouldn't advise trying to fix it herself. Another thing is to make sure she hasn't simply turned off the track pad. There is a keystroke combination that will disable it. So she should check in her settings to be sure. There may also be a trackpad icon in the system tray that could show her if it's turned off. Otherwise, she can just use a USB mouse.

Playlist