Aug 9, 2010
Use almost any webcam with a MAC for Skype etc.
Dropped your Electronic into Water? Some Fixes
Cheap Cheap Preventative Maintainance: Can of Air, Surge Protector, etc. & Basic Free Software .
More on 3G Routers: DEAL (May Be Sold Out) and pay as you go..
Speech Recognition Dragon 10.1
64-Bit OS talk…
SpeakEasy & Blind GreenLand Pigs as Euphemisms
Additional Notes
Notifications of new show notes and edits are tweeted at: twitter.com/ddhart
They're tagged with #Zentech
Editor comments are delimited by < >
An example of iTunes 9.1 audio was played to show a problem with that version. It would skip, especially on long quiet sections.
– Get version 9.2
Glenn mentioned that there was a problem with the iPhone update 3.1.3 (as he recalled the number). He recommended you get the next version (4.0 as he recalls).
Generally, he suggests keeping up with all your updates.
Paul chimed in — "if it ain't broke don't fix it" is overruled by the fact that if you don't know it's broken it's appropriate to fix it for the sake of security.
Glenn brought up the fact that XP with Service Pack 2 is no longer supported <plenty of links in a previous show's notes regarding this>
– Upgrade to Service Pack 3 which will be supported until some time in 2014.
The disclaimer:
Views and opinions expressed are those of the hosts and not necessarily those of anyone else
The Mac, being somewhat of a closed system, hardware <and drivers> is constrained, by design, to run on it. But there is a piece of free software on Source Forge that lets Mac users use most type of web cameras on their machines. See the above link.
Don't wait for something to go wrong with your computer. See the Cheap Cheap Preventative Maintainance link above.
Paul said he had problems with Dragon Naturally Speaking voice recognition software because his computer fan was so loud it interfered with the sound of his voice. He found that the fins <heat sink> were clogged up with dust thus preventing the cooling effect of airflow. Recommended:
– First turn off; unplug machine
– Use a can of compressed air. Keep the can upright so you don't blow refrigerant on components, which can case problems. Do it outside.
– Brush to loosen the dust and use a vacuum cleaner.
– Laptops are especially vulnerable because of their compact design, and especially Mac laptops older than a few years. You may not need to open a laptop, just direct the compressed air into the inlet or outlet (try both). In this case it may help to have the machine on, as the fan will help force the dust out.
– Some CPUs will throttle down their speed when they get too hot.
Paul mentioned the utility called Speedfan that tells you the speed of fan. <It's mentioned in the utilities list>
Another preventive measure is to use a surge protector. They generally include phone line protection for your modem and fax machine.
Make sure you're getting surge protector (often stated on the package) and not a plain outlet strip.
It's recommended that you unplug your equipment (not just computers) during a lightening storm.
AVG is offering a 30 day free trial of their for-pay software. It is not the same as the free version. After 30 days, should you decide to go back to the free version, you'll have to go to the trouble of uninstalling the paid version.
The free version of AVG is recommended. Many security software companies also offer internet security packages that include things like firewalls. This additional protection can make your computer work extra hard and slow down. The guys said they don't find this extra security is necessary. <XP since Service Pack 2 has had a built in firewall. Be sure to turn it on>
Paul said get a good email service to avoid spam. He recommended Gmail.
Paul talked about the origin of the word "speakeasy". See the above link.
Jim called to question the previous comment about blowing compressed air into a computer, instead of out.
– As much as possible blow out, that's why the vacuum cleaner is good alternative. It's not recommended you open a laptop, so blow whatever way you can to dislodge the dust.
– Jim recommended turning the nozzle tube extension 90 degrees in order to keep the can upright especially while blowing out the keyboard.
– Paul recommended using Windex or similar cleaners on keyboards. First spray a cloth with it and wipe. Don't spray directly onto the keyboard.
– Jim recommended using an anti-static dryer sheet to clean display screens. But he said use a USED one. He also said he's heard that a new dryer sheet repels mosquitoes.
Jim went on to talk about phone lines to a residence. He said about 95% of service wires (drops) have a new "net interface unit" using a chip to protect against lightning strikes. The old style had carbon that went to ground during a strike. The new type also allows the phone company to determine if the problem you're having is the inside wire or outside wire.
Paul said something about dialing 611 to run a diagnostic on the phone line.
Glenn mentioned that there's an option available to cover inside wiring repairs. He said it costs $1 per month. This may be good to know if you use a DSL service.
Jim said that those who have the new type of interface unit can go to the service box and disconnect the inside wire from the out side. Then one can plug in a hard-wired telephone to the outside wire to see if it works. If it does work, the trouble is likely with the inside wire.
Paul said that a corded phone that doesn't require a battery is worth having for such trouble-shooting purposes.
Paul said Congress passed a law saying it's not illegal to unlock your iPhone. He also said the phone company knows when you've unlock the phone.
Jim said AT&T is upgrading all of their cell sites to fiber.
Paul said there is a jailbreak of iPhone 4.01 and it's done with a web break. That means you can install 4.01 naturally whether or not your're a legitimate user of the AT&T service. It's done by exploiting a defect in the processing of PDF files.
Paul said he'll put a link up that covers the reasons for jailbreaking the iPhone.
Glenn said, in the future, iPhones will be able to take advantage of worldwide SIM card use.
Paul has been using the latest version (10.1) of Dragon Naturally Speaking speech recognition software, which runs in 64bits machines.
– He said he's impressed with it.
– It requires 1gig of memory and a 1 giga Hertz CPU.
– It requires a good quality headset and a quiet background.
– It strings together an entire sentence at a time. It does semantic processing.
– There are dictionaries for special fields like lawyers.
– It learns by reading from your documents folder and in various file formats (pdf, excel, etc) how you tend to use the language. That helps it understand your spoken words.
– It also remembers corrections you make to its mistakes in understanding the pronunciation of words.
– You can find it at nuance.com
Lisa called. She's using Firefox and it says proxy server refusing connection.
– In Firefox go to tools -> options -> advanced -> network -> settings and it should say "no proxy".
– Do the same with Internet Explorer: go to tools -> internet options -> connections -> LAN settings and turn off all those options. **BUT** if you're using a satellite service you should turn on the proxy service setting.
Glenn said the Flea Market won't be on this Thursday — KVMR will broadcast from the county fair.
Dawn called and said she got virus on her computer.
– Use "combofix" from Bleeping Computer.
– Do backup your data first.
– This virus gets on your machine by showing a Flash animation as if your anti-virus has found a problem and then says your subscription has run out and to "click here". When you click, the real virus loads into your computer. It's a class of virus called smitfraud. <smitfraud and other virus issues were discussed on a previous show.>
Jamie called to say he has same virus as Dawn and wanted to know if Norton Anti-virus or AVG can catch it?
– No, it moves so fast that the anti-virus programs can't stay updated in order to detect it.
Gary called wanting to know the name of the voice recognition mentioned before.
– Dragon Naturally Speaking
– Voice recognition has improved over the years do in large part to modern computers being so much faster.
– It's available for the iPhone. Go to the app store and search for Dragon Dictate. It's free.
Last Updated 8:06 PM 8/14/2010