Laptop or desktop computers and any components within.
Hardware
What's a good laptop for school?
Episode 1652
Rick fromRick's son is about to start school and wants a laptop. He wants a 15" screen, running Windows 10. Leo says that almost all laptops have a touchscreen. But Leo recommends the Lenovo Thinkpad T series. They have non touch screen options. You'll want a mini 8GB RAM. Another option is the Dell XPS 15. Microsoft's Surface Pro Laptop3 business model is also good.
How can I replace the storage in my Windows Surface Pro 2?
Episode 1652
Jeff fromJeff has a Microsoft Windows Surface Pro 2 and he wants to know how he can change out the storage memory for a larger one. Leo says that you can clean out your hard drive to get rid of unwanted cruft. Look for a folder called Windows.Old. You can get rid of that. Run Windows Disk Cleanup. Windows Key, cleanup.
What's a good affordable option for noise canceling headphones?
Episode 1652
Ronnie fromRonnie would like to buy active noise canceling headphones, but the Bose headphones are way too expensive. Is there a more affordable option? Leo says that there are far more better options now that don't cost an arm and a leg. The WireCutter says that the Bose 700s are the best, but they are costly. Anker's Soundcore Life Q20 are around $40 right now. Audio Technica makes a good pair. Apple Beats.
The Giz Wiz ... Ripped for the Holidays
Episode 1652
Back in the days of disco, Dickie D used to mix his own cassette tapes. Now he wants to digitize them for his computer, tablet, phones, etc. That's where this Cassette Player,Cassette Tape to MP3 Converter, Via USB Portable Cassette Tape Converter comes in handy. Amazon adds: Captures MP3 Audio Music,with Headphones,Convert Walkman Tape Cassette Compatible with Mac / PC / Laptop. Here's some of features via Amazon: Convert cassette tapes to MP3 Format. USB cassette capture is a portable, hand-held USB tape player that works with all kinds of tapes.
How can I pay music to all rooms in my house?
Episode 1652
David fromDavid wants to stream music to multiple rooms in his house. MultiRoom music is a challenge because it has to sync from room to room with no latency. But it is doable with Amazon Echo. You can get a dot in each room and add some speakers and it'll work. Echo is smart enough that you can even command it to play in different rooms as well. The Amazon Echo Input connects to your own speakers, and right now it's only $10.
Will Starlink satellites ruin the sky for astronomers?
Episode 1652
Louis fromLouis wants Leo's thoughts on the Starlink project by Elon Musk and SpaceX. Leo says he has mixed emotions. He likes the idea of gigabit speeds anywhere in the planet, but he's not sure he's supportive of 42,000 satellites in low earth orbit. They are already interefering with astronomy, and there's less than 125 of them so far. Astronomers are already complaining, and SpaceX is working to make changes to the reflectivity of future satellites to be launched. Gwen Shotwell, of SpaceX said that nobody thought of that problem when they first conceived of it.
Apple sets sales record for AirPods
Episode 1652
With the launch of Apple's new high priced AirPods Pros, a sales record of over $4 BILLION dollars for the recent quarter was announced. Not the year, mind you. BUT THE QUARTER. It's a good holiday for Cupertino.
Meanwhile, Samsung tried to brag that they had sold over a million Samsung Galaxy Fold phones, but when called on it, they pulled the number back. Embarassing.
Why won't my Mac shut down?
Episode 1651
Angela fromAngela has a 2015 Mac and when she shuts it down, it turns back on. Leo says it's an incomplete shutdown, with some app hanging it up. A wipe and reinstall of the OS should make it go away. Make sure you backup your data first.
You can launch the activity monitor and it'll show you all the processes that are running.
Can I partition an SSD drive?
Episode 1651
Larry fromLarry is building a new computer and wants to know if an M.2 SSD drive can be partitioned like a regular hard drive. Leo says when installed, M.2 drives are just like any other drive and can be partitioned as you need. Leo advises, though, that users should keep their data on a regular spinning drive and keep the SSD drive for your OS and applications. The OS really wants apps to be on the same drive, and it's easy to put a second spinning drive in. But if you partition a drive, you're setting an artificial limit on what you can put on it. So you don't really need to partition it.
Sam Abuelsamid and the Electric Skateboard
Episode 1651
Sam joins Leo to talk about something a bit different, but still an electric "vehicle." It's an electric skateboard. It was a GM concept from 2001, and it used hydrogen fuel cells. The concept has been adapted over the last 20 years to just about all dedicated electric vehicles. Leo wonders if Detroit is working to make car manufacturing more modular, so you can mix and match components for different electric models. Sam agrees.
