— Additional Notes — 

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Noise suppressing headphones merely block some of the noise from getting to your ears. Noise canceling headphones create a sound that is 180 degrees out of phase of the incoming noise so that the waveforms actually cancel each other.

Noise canceling headphones normally have a power source like a battery. Some work to cancel noise even when not plugged into a music player, thus acting like ear plugs/muffs. They work best with a continuous type of noise. Some allow you to listen to music, without canceling noise, if the battery dies.
If you google "cnet noise canceling review" you'll see results like this or this.

The disclaimer: views & opinions are those of the show's hosts only.

Why and how viruses get on machines and what they do when they get there. The above link will show you what a botnet does, presented in a non-technical way.

iPhone 3GS has just come out, as well as version 3 of the firmware. It contains a search facility and a voice recorder. Text messages & email will now rotate properly.

A faster & better Snow Leopard 10.6 scheduled to come out in Sept. You'll need at least an 800MHz machine & 512meg of memory.

Memory is much cheaper than it used to be — about $15 per gig for a desktop. Go to kingston.com put in your make/model of computer and it'll tell you what memory it came with, maximum amount it can have and how it can be configured (what type in what slot). Be aware, just because particular memory can be put into a machine, it may not all be recognized (available).

memtest86.com has an free application to test your memory if you suspect it's faulty. You'll have to create a bootable CD, floppy or flash drive.

crucial.com also gives similar info as the Kingston site.

John called from Carmichael to say noise cancellation is also used in a factory setting and that the police helicopters in Sacramento use noise cancellation when the fly over populated areas. He also says the cancellation is fairly directional. And, he says, don't use it while driving, you may not hear the car behind you.

Charlie, a Mac user, called to say he switched to Gmail but can't send mail from a link on a web page that allows you to send a news article to a friend.
– The reason is that he's using web-based mail to do the job.
– He may be able to configure the mail program on his computer to use Gmail.
– Apple Mail 2.0 – Gmail Help
– Apple Mail 3.0 (Leopard) – Gmail Help
– But don't configure the incoming server of the Apple mail program.
– On the Mac, you can't change the default mail program from the one that came with the machine.
– Windows users can also configure the SMTP server in a similar manner, so the sent mail goes thru the Gmail server.

Sometimes Windows users find that their default mail program has been changed.
– Change the default mail program by going to (XP): Control Panel -> Network & Internet Connections -> internet options -> program tab

It's important to notice what things look like when all is working well (like the lights on your Ethernet router) so you can tell what might be wrong when you have problems. <I try to keep notes when I make changes to the settings>

A caller is helping a friend with an Intel iMac (10.5 OS) who's stored many files stored in the first directory of Finder.
– First make a TimeMachine backup to an external hard drive, in case you screw up. It's a good idea to do this anyway. The backup hard drive should be twice the size of the internal hard drive.
– It may not really be any problem, it's just not esthetically pleasing.
– If files are moved, be sure the friend is there to see where they went.

A caller with a Sony Vaio smashed the screen and wants to know how to replace it.
– Check your home insurance, it may be covered
– Laptop screen replacement has come down in price to around $200, half of which is the cost of the screen itself.
– A screen from Sony would cost more than if you get it from a third party. Consider sending in for repair.
– Plug in an external monitor to be sure everything else is working before getting a new screen.
– You may have to reboot the laptop to get it to recognize the external monitor, maybe even press a special key.

Caller asks if there is a problem with tagged.com, he thinks it may be stealing the contents of the address book.
– Paul says that link is redirected to mybrowserbar.com, which is spyware. Stay away from it.
– When your addresses are stolen, you my get a bogus invitation from one of your contacts to visit their web site or social networking site. Be careful about clicking on such links.
– Periodically run your anti-virus software. AVG is suggested at free.avg.com.
– Paul says there's no reason to have an anti-virus program on a Mac.

Paul seems impressed with the Roku Sound Bridge model M1001 which streams internet radio stations. You can listen to stations from around the world. He found it on sale for $129.

The gal, who is thinking about moving the files on her friend's iMac, called again. She wonders if doing a software update on that machine will be a problem if the files are NOT moved. Paul doesn't think so since the Application folder is still in the right place. He hints that it's just as well if the files are not moved.

Glenn likes using the Roku Netflix. Also see the previous show's notes.