Audience Questions

Audience QuestionsHour 1

Hour 1 Hour 2 Hour 3

How can I get faster streaming speeds?

Watch John from Tennessee Comments

John has a Roku Box, but he's not getting fast enough download speeds for streaming in HD. He's got a 7Mb/s DSL connection, but he only gets 1Mb/s when streaming.

Leo says that being wired instead of using WiFi would improve John's speeds. Wireless can have interference and other issues that will slow down performance. Directly connecting to the modem will at least bring half that loss back. Since the Roku he has is only capable of WiFi, Leo recommends getting the better XS Roku which would allow him to connect it to ethernet.

He should also try upgrading his router's firmware.

Should I get Office 365 or Office 2013?

Watch Dave from Jamestown, NY Comments

Think of it this way: Office 365 is "renting" office by using online versions of Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Email, and more. Office 2013 is the desktop version which would also include the online version of Office. It costs more to get Office 2013, but then he would actually be able to use both versions.

Adobe is doing something similar, but renting Adobe products through Creative Cloud may be a better option than just buying the entire creative suite at over $2000. Creative Cloud gives users access to everything for about $30 a month. If all he'd need is, say, Photoshop, then it's just cheaper to buy it outright.

Will I have any trouble restoring my backed up data from an external hard drive?

Watch Paul from El Paso, Texas Comments

Leo says he doesn't think so. It largely depends on the software, but most restore utilities will read the hard drive he's restoring to and avoid duplicates. It largely depends on the utility that was used.

Audience QuestionsHour 2

Hour 1 Hour 2 Hour 3

What camera sensor is better, full frame or APS-C?

Watch David from Northridge, CA Comments

David has a Pentax K5 camera, which has an APS-C sensor. Should he get a full frame sensor instead?

APS-C sensors are usually used on less expensive DSLRs because of their smaller footprint. Even though the APS-C may have the same number of pixels as a comparable full frame sensor, that's the difference. A full frame sensor will have better low light sensitivity. If he doesn't notice the difference, then it really isn't an issue for David.

Chris Marquardt has chimed in from the chatroom to say that by and large, sensor size is a photo myth and he talks about that during his segment.

How can I improve my marketing as a personal trainer?

Watch Deven from Hemitt, CA Comments

Devin is a fitness trainer and wants to improve his marketing presence by doing videos, social media, etc. Leo says that having Facebook accounts are a good idea, but he doesn't own it, so he should always have a separate website. He should also have content that's useful to his clients. Shooting video at expos, posting on youtube, and embedding them to his website is a good idea, too.

Rather than using a tablet, he should really use a smartphone like an iPhone or Android phone. They have great video capability and portability is also a plus. In fact, the cameras in a smartphone are likely better than on a tablet. Both tablets and smartphones have great apps for what Devin does.

Tumblr, Instagram, and YouTube are all available on smartphones and make great marketing tools.

What's the best note taking app for Android?

Watch Carlton from Knoxville, TN Comments

Carlton has a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet and wants to know the easiest and fastest way to take handwritten notes and email them. Leo says this really comes down to a choice of apps. Leo uses Evernote.

The chatroom says Antipaper Notes is a great solution. Another is Pen Supremacy. Leo says it's nicely laid out and will enable him to email a handwritten page. For iOS users, Penultimate is a good choice.

How can I get my laptop to recognize a hard drive?

Watch Naomi from Denver, CO Comments

Naomi has put a hard drive into her laptop and the laptop won't recognize it. Leo says that if the hard drive can't be seen in her laptop, or another computer, there's a very good chance it's dead. Naomi says the drive spins up, though. Leo says that's a good thing, maybe running SpinRite would fix it. But if the computer doesn't see it at all, SpinRite won't help. Time to take it to a pro, but there's a good chance it's just a dead drive.

Audience QuestionsHour 3

Hour 1 Hour 2 Hour 3

How can I connect more storage to my iPad?

Watch Greg from Hanford, CA Comments

Greg likes to download videos and store them on the iPad so he can view them when an internet signal isn't available. How can he download and save them directly on the new iPad?

Leo says that the trend is towards streaming these days, thanks to Hollywood's paranoia. There are ways to do this, though. The easiest is to rip the movie to a computer and use iTunes to sync it over.

Greg was thinking of using iFlashDrive for this purpose since it's supposed to allow the iPad to have extra storage capability. It's a device that acts like an external drive that plugs into the 30pin connector. There's also one called iUSB that uses WiFi instead of a hard connection. Leo finds it interesting and while it's a tad pricey, it would certainly work.

He could also use DropBox, which would allow him to sync his iOS device to the cloud.

How can I download attachments in Windows Live Mail?

Watch Halle from Los Angeles, CA Comments

Leo says saving it to Skydrive is a good option and may be Microsoft's intent. That way he can access the file directly. Microsoft really doesn't want anyone to use Live Mail or Hotmail anymore, they'd rather have everyone move to Outlook.

How can I extend my WiFi connection?

Watch Alan from West Los Angeles, CA Comments

Alan needs to get a WiFi repeater to extend his WiFi range in his house. Some say they work, some don't. Leo says that a repeater will work best if he gets it from the same company that makes his router. Matching chip sets and firmware is best. Leo prefers the Airport Extreme and Express from Apple. Another option is Powerline networking.

What smartphone and phone carrier should I get?

Watch Cathy from Long Beach, CA Comments

Cathy has to get a new phone and wants to change to something else from Sprint. She has ruled out AT&T and Verizon, so that leaves T-Mobile. It doesn't have the iPhone yet, though. The real problem could be coverage. Softbank just bought Sprint, so they may improve over time. Leo thinks T-Mobile is the best bet for Cathy and recommends the Samsung Galaxy SIII or the Galaxy Note 2.

How do I reinstall Windows?

Watch Paul from Redondo Beach, CA Comments

Paul has taken on the task of repairing his sister's computer, which has had registry errors. He tried reinstalling Windows, but may have messed it up.

Leo suggests backing up the data, wiping the entire drive and then reinstalling Windows. He should watch carefully during the install process, and at one point he'll have a chance to re-partition the drive. He'll want to delete all existing partitions so there's one C drive. Format it NTFS and install Windows on it.

He should consult this tech note by Microsoft, and also this article from HowToGeek for a more detailed explanation. The Elder Geek is also a good resource.

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