Audience Questions

Audience QuestionsHour 1

Hour 1 Hour 2 Hour 3

What's the best smartwatch for Android?

Watch Brandon from Rancho Santa Margarita, CA Comments

Brandon wants to get a smartwatch to work with his Android phone. Leo says that Android Wear will give him the most choice, but Samsung's Gear 2 and Gear 3 are quite good. The only negative is that he'd need a Samsung Phone to use it.

Pebble has the longest battery life. If fitness is his sole goal, then the FitBit may be better. He could even use an Apple Watch with Android, but Leo doesn't think it's the best fit. LG and Motorola are good brands as well.

How can I get an old version of Windows and DOS?

Watch Drew from St. Louis, MO Comments

Drew would like to know where he can download older versions of Windows. He has an old laptop that he upgraded to Windows 10. He's installed VirtualBox onto it so he can run an older version of Windows as well, but he can't find his old Windows CDs anywhere. Leo says that Microsoft offers older versions to developers if he gets a subscription, but it's not cheap.

He may find it at oldversion.com, but they're not legal. eBay is a good option, and it's safer too. Amazon may be able to sell them as well. The problem is that there's no activation anymore for versions of Windows older than ME.

Drew also needed to find DOS, and for that he could use FreeDOS. It's open source. One thing he could also do is make an image of his old OS after installing it and then just reinstall that image.

The chatroom also found a technote that Microsoft has made the source code for old DOS versions available. Other places include allbootdisks.com and this page at winworldpc.com.

Audience QuestionsHour 2

Hour 1 Hour 2 Hour 3

Why can't I connect to my wireless devices with my router?

Watch Bret from Fort Worth, TX Comments

Bret is having issues accessing wireless cameras due to blocked ports on his router. Leo says what he wants to do is "port forwarding," and it may be that he'll want to use a higher, five digit port to connect to them. The lower port numbers may either be reserved or in use, like 8080. He should try going higher. He'll also need to use ports that his devices understand. So Bret should look in his manual to see what ports the device supports.

How can I stream with my Raspberry Pi?

Watch Don from Fullerton, CA Comments

Bret bought his first Raspberry Pi in a kit and it comes with Linux. Leo says yes, it's called Despian. He can't get his Chrome browser to stream certain websites because they are missing plugins, though. Leo says that's because there is an open system like Linux, some sites refuse to use it due to copyright and piracy worries. He should try using Plex or XBMC as a media server. It could do a better job of handshaking. NOOBS would allow him to choose a different OS like RaspBMC.

Image by Herbfargus (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons

How can I see what's taking up room on my hard drive?

Watch Joanne from Temecula, CA Comments

Joanne has a Windows machine and she's getting a message that her hard drive is getting full. Leo says that in Windows, she could see what's taking up space on her computer with the disk clean up utility. She can run disk clean up in Windows and it will wipe out temporary and downloaded files, clear caches, etc. There's also WinDirStat. Leo likes that because it sorts it with color so he can see it at a glance. Then he can choose what to remove.

Joanne might just need a new hard drive, though. Since her computer is 7 years old, it probably has a smaller hard drive than she needs now. Joanne should also get an external drive and copy all her photos and videos and other data off it. Backing up to the cloud is also a good idea.

How about a good printer? Leo says she'll want a wireless printer, and Epson makes a great one with the Artisan. Ink is expensive, though.

(Disclaimer: Epson is a sponsor)

How can I forward text messages from India to the US?

Watch Arvin from Austin, TX Comments

Arvin wants to know how he can get the phone he bought in India to work in the United States for text messaging. Leo says he would need to get the number forwarded to an American carrier, or find a service that will forward text messages to an American number. Google Voice may work, if it's available in India. Anveo is another that Leo uses. He could buy a number from them, use that, and they will forward the text messages to a phone here in the US.

Audience QuestionsHour 3

Hour 1 Hour 2 Hour 3

How can I root my tablet?

Watch Brett from Woodbridge, NJ Comments

Brett has an older Dell Venue tablet and wants to update it, but they don't support it anymore. Leo says that his only choice is to root it and put a custom ROM on it. Leo says the first place he'll want to go to put a custom ROM on Android is the XDA Developers Forum. He can get step-by-step instructions for his exact model. There is a Dell Venue section, but he should be sure he uses the exact model or he could brick it.

How can I manage files on my Android phone?

Watch John from Illinois Comments

John has a file manager on his Motorola Moto E, but it doesn't show up in his app drawer. Leo says it might be on there, and it just might not have a user interface. Leo uses a good app called ASTRO that can help him manage his files and apps. Amaze File Manager is a good one also.

What do I need to make "Let's Play" videos on youtube?

Watch Caesar from Los Angeles, CA Comments

Caesar is into gaming. He wants to create a YouTube channel to make "Let's Play" videos. Leo says that Twitch is a better option and he can save it to YouTube after he plays. He'll want to record the game play with an image of him in a box in the corner. Leo says he'll want to use OBS for that, and he'll also need a camera.

The Logitech C920 is an excellent USB webcam. A lot of gamers use it. It's also on sale for $50 for Black Friday. He'll also need a mic. Blue has great USB mics. Caesar can also look into Shure's Motiv line.

What's a good PC for gaming?

Watch Sean from Sweet Home, OR Comments

Sean's wife is into gaming and he wants to get her a good PC that will last a good, long time. Leo says that computer power isn't improving at the rate it used to and as a result, people, especially gamers, don't have to upgrade as often. His budget is $1500. Leo says that's a good budget. He should check out the Hardware Leaderboard over at PC Perspective for some great ideas.

Another option is to check out Alienware's Aurora. It starts at $1400. Asus may be a better option thanks to their ROG (Republic of Gamers) line. He'll want a GEForce GTX 1060 video card and i5 processor. He should also check out Razer.

Leo says he doesn't need liquid cooling unless he's planning to overclock his processor, and that's really not needed.

Should I buy the Samsung Galaxy View tablet?

Watch Tony from Fontana, CA Comments

Tony is looking at the Samsung Galaxy View tablet. Leo says it's huge, but at $400, the screen will only be so good. But if Verizon is going to subsidize it and it meets his needs, why not?

Can I buy an HD antenna for watching local channels?

Watch Jim from Florida Comments

Jim remembers a call a few weeks ago about cord cutting and local channels. Could he buy an HD antenna for that? Leo says maybe, but only if he's in an area with line of sight to a TV transmitter in his area. The more rural you are, the more difficult that is.

Jim should check out TVFool.com or AntennaWeb.org to see not only what channels he can get in his area, but what antennas will work best.

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