Audience Questions

Audience QuestionsHour 1

Hour 1 Hour 2 Hour 3

What's a good router to buy?

Watch Dale from Florida Comments

Dale needs to buy a router for a complex computer network. What's a good one to buy? Leo says that he uses an Asus AC3200. It's very good and very configurable. A good way to extend a wireless network, though, is to use WDS with the prime router and then a wireless extender/repeater about midway. It's always good to use the same brand. But congestion can kill bandwidth.

Another option is powerline networking, where you use the power wiring in your house as your ethernet network. It's gotten better over the years and it effectively lets you have a wired network without the need of laying cable. You just have receivers plugged into the nearest AC plug. It's only about 20MB per second, though. Check out practicallynetworked.com for more details on how to network your home or business.

Why can't I install Windows 10 on my Mac?

Watch Mike from Louisville, KY Comments

Mike is trying to use Windows 10 on his iMac with a Fusion drive and it won't take. Leo says that the Fusion drive causes issues with Windows 10. The key is to get the drivers from Apple. Mike tried those and they wouldn't load. Leo says that points to either a bad ISO download or a bad driver download. He should start over. Download the ISO and the drivers again and see if his luck improves. He'll also need the 64 bit version of Windows 10 to run in Boot Camp, and his Mac needs to be a late 2012 or newer.

How can I rip DVDs to my MacBook?

Watch Noah from Michigan Comments

Leo says to use a combination of HandBrake and VLC. She can then take her DVDs, that she's bought, and rip them to her computer or even phone.

Audience QuestionsHour 2

Hour 1 Hour 2 Hour 3

How can I keep my stream from buffering?

Watch Joe from Knoxville, TN Comments

Joe picked up a Raspberry Pi 3. Leo says it's an amazing $35 computer which comes with ethernet and USB ports. It's very popular with hobbyists. Joe uses it to run XBMC with his Roku, but it buffers a lot. Leo says that a lot of things can cause buffering like a lack of bandwidth and lost packets. Leo has a hunch that the buffer in XBMC is larger than on the Roku. He'll also get less buffering with lower quality streams. He should check out adafruit.com

Should I buy a 1080p or 4K TV?

Watch Kathleen from Rancho Cucamonga Comments

Kathleen's HDTV just died. She's looking to buy a 65" 1080p model for $500, but should she buy a 4K TV? Leo says that it may just be a bad cable, so she should make sure that isn't the problem. But if it's dead, then Leo says that it's a very good time to buy a TV as the new models are coming out in the Spring. 4k content is starting to trickle out now and the 4K UHD Blu-ray players are half as much as the Blu-ray players were when they first came out. There's some great options at $1000 for 4K TVs.

Can she buy 1080p? Leo says sure! There's plenty of time before 4K is going to be mainstream. But she'll likely want one in a few years. If she does decide to get a 4K TV, Leo advises getting a UHD Premium TV. UHD Premium is the new standard, but not every 4K TV supports it. That will help to future proof the TV.

Does she need a smartTV? Leo says no. He's not a fan of smart TVs, because the software is terrible and she's not going to surf the internet with it. She certainly shouldn't spend extra on it. The exception is the LG Roku TV. It's better because it uses WebOS.

TruMotion? Leo says no. It isn't good for anything but sports and action movies. But she can easily turn it off.

Ultimately, Kathleen should get the biggest TV she can afford.

What mobile hotspot should I get when traveling to the US from France?

Watch Dorothy from France Comments

Dorothy lives in France and is coming to the US for holiday. She'll be on a road trip and she wants a Wi-Fi hotspot for everyone to use in the car. Leo says that he's done that going the other way to Europe and he just rented a MiFi Wi-Fi Card. It's a credit card sized device that is battery powered and gets its bandwidth from LTE. Then everyone can share it.

Leo likes Karma Go. She'll want to avoid International Data Roaming with her own phone. When she gets here, she should make sure to turn that off. Otherwise she could get a bill for thousands of dollars! Every US carrier sells them, but Leo's not sure about rentals. She can check out Prepaidwithdata.wikia.com for more info.

How can I share my photos online?

Watch Old Geek from New York Comments

Old Geek wants to share his sketches with friends. What's the best option? Leo says that uploading images to Google Photos is a great option. He can upload scans or photos of his sketches to Google Photos and then share links to his images to anyone he wants. He can also use a sharable folder and then send the link to the folder for them to enjoy. He could also use Flickr and Facebook.

Audience QuestionsHour 3

Hour 1 Hour 2 Hour 3

How can I share my movies with everyone?

Watch Lawrence from Los Angeles, CA Comments

Lawrence finally took the dive and bought a Mac and an iPad. He's managed to put home movies on his computer in MP4 format. But they're huge at 1.90GB each. How can he share them with the family? Leo says that's about right, although he could make them smaller if he was willing to sacrifice some quality. Either way, he won't be able to email them. Leo says that the best option is to upload his videos to YouTube. Then he can send them a link which he can share with others. He can make the videos public or private.

How does he upload the videos? He can go to YouTube.com and create an account. If he has a Gmail account, he already has a YouTube account too. Then he can select the 'upload' button and go from there. Lawrence can even export from iMovie directly to YouTube. So that'll make it really easy. Instructables.com has an explanation of how to do this.

How can I use my phone in France?

Watch Noah from Michigan Comments

Noah's sister is going to France in May and wants to know the best way to travel and still use her phone. Leo says that Noah's sister uses Verizon, which is the worst for traveling. T-Mobile and Sprint are the best because they have free, albeit slow data through One World. Leo says that the best option may be to just buy a local SIM card and then swap out her SIM while she's in France. She can also local Wi-Fi, which won't cost anything. She can also rent a MiFi device which will give her an LTE Hotspot which she can add her phone to, as well as her laptop or tablet. She can also cache her maps while she's on Wi-Fi and use them without cellular service. She can check out prepaidwithdata.wikia.com

She should make sure she turns off International Data Roaming, though. If she forgets this step it could cost her thousands!

How can I use my iPhone for home security?

Watch Bill from San Juan, Puerto Rico Comments

Bill's boat batteries are almost dead. He'd love to find a way to be notified when his batteries drop below 10 volts so he can go charge them. Is there any way he can use an old phone that can send him a text with a picture every so often? This could be done with time lapse, or a camera app that could do it. The phone has to stay on as well. It may just be easier to use a webcam.

The chatroom says there's a few home security webcam apps on the iTunes app. Manything Home Security Webcam is a great option. It will motion detect and send him an alert. That sounds like like what he wants.

How can I get my computer's CD drive to play?

Watch Ernie from San Diego, CA Comments

Ernie's laptop won't read any CDs. Leo says it could be a bad drive, or some other hardware fault. If it's on the motherboard, it's a bad thing. If it's a bad drive, it's easy and pretty cheap to replace. The other option is to just use an external CD drive. Ernie can try the Dell PC Diagnostics Quick Test. It will tell him if the drive is working or not.

How can I get hotspotting with Verizon?

Watch Vic from Yorba Linda, CA Comments

Vic's Verizon Mi-Fi is broken. He's replaced it and it still doesn't work. Leo says that Vic could use his mobile phone as a hotspot and bypass the MiFi altogether. It'll cost about $20 a month to be able to do it. Leo also suggests a mobile hotspot called Karma Go. It's pay as you go through Sprint and Leo loves it. $15 a GB, or $10 GB in a package. It's a great option.

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