Notifications of new show notes and edits are tweeted at: twitter.com/ddhart.
– They're tagged with #Zentech.
– When what's said is unclear to me (or I'm unfamiliar with a topic) I tend to quote (" ") verbatim.
– Editor's comments are delimited by < >

Podcasts of some Zentech shows are here.

Both Paul & Glenn were in the studio for today's show

Connie Coale, who contributes to the Music Magazine show on KVMR, came into the studio with her Mac Pro that has a CD stuck in it. She went online and got some tips to eject the CD but none of them worked. Later models of the Mac have a motor that pulls the CD into a slot, unlike older models, which had a drawer.
– Be sure there really is a CD in there.
– It's possible to get 2 CDs into a 'slot loading' type of drive, if you quickly put in the 2nd one before the mechanism, that's designed to prevent that, has a chance to engage.
– When the CD goes in, it goes down onto a spindle. If you use a bent wire to pull it out, the wire has to be pretty stiff so you can lift the CD off the spindle before pulling it outward.
– Check Youtube for videos of a disassembled drive to get a better idea of how CDs are positioned inside. It doesn't just sit on the spindle, the spindle actually holds the disk so it needs to be pried upward.
– Check to see if some foreign object got into the drive. Try shaking the laptop.
– In cases like this, try progressively more forceful methods, up to the point of damaging the CD disk. Start with the least invasive remedy.
– Also check if you have a warranty still in force — Apple Care, for instance. <Should probably be the first thing to do>

The disclaimer (paraphrased):
The views and opinions expressed on this show are those of the speakers only and not necessarily those of KVMR, its board, management, staff, contributors, or broadcasters.

Someone called in with a tip to eject a CD in a tray type of drive not realizing Connie had a slot type drive.

Glenn asked if it's easy to take the back off of a Mac Book Pro. Paul said it is easy except that newer models use proprietary screws — pentalobe screws. <Mentioned during the 8-27-14 show> The pentalobe screwdrivers are cheap and it may be hard to tell that's what you need — not a Phillips driver. You can get to the Mac Book Pro battery after taking off the back, but taking out the CD drive is harder. When buying a replacement drive, as with batteries, get a new one, Paul said. He mentioned ifixit.com, which has instruction for various repair jobs.

Paul said that as product designs become more efficient & compact, they also become harder to repair. He gave the example of Volkswagen engines that he used to work on. He used to be able to repair the 1600 engine with conventional tools. Then came the 2 liter fuel-injected, air-cooled engine, which was more complex and required special tools. The 1969 1600 engine had 40 brake horsepower and got 20 mile per gallon. Whereas 10 years later the 2 liter engine weighed only 1/5 more, had 5 times the number of components, with many things not repairable, but it had 60 brake horsepower and still got 20 miles per gallon. So it's not for nothing that things get more complex, he said.

The guys wished everyone a happy Thanksgiving. And Paul noted that Canadians also have Thanksgiving, but on a different date and for a slightly different reason. Their Thanksgiving follows a harvest festival, he said.

Paul mentioned a turkey recipe that involves putting a beer can inside a turkey. He cautioned people to make sure the beer can is opened first. One year he put leftover turkey bones in a microwave to make a stew. The marrow in the bigger bones expanded and eventually exploded the bones.

Paul went on to talk about microwave ovens.
– Microwaves heat by exciting the water molecules. Dry food has trouble cooking.
– The ovens need something in them to absorb the microwave energy. Empty ovens or dry food can damage the magnetron.
– Microwave ovens don't like to have conductive foil inside.
– If you want a demonstration of the wavelength used by these ovens, which are about 2.5 to 3 cm, put a piece of cheese on a slice of bread in the oven. Then run the oven without using a turntable. The standing microwaves will make the cheese melt in a pattern, leaving some parts unmelted. Then measure the distance between adjacent melted areas to get the wavelength.
– The wire mesh on the oven door prevents the microwaves from escaping.
– For those worried about EMF radiation, consider that the transformer, which supplies the magnetron, is where the bulk of the energy is. Those work at a much lower frequencies and don't produce ionizing radiation.
– You can order EMF meters from China that show you the frequency and intensity, if you're really concerned.
– Remember, you're almost always surrounded by man made EMF radiation from many source. Even if you can get away from that, there's always radiation coming from space.
<Much of this was covered during the 9-10-14 show>

Neil called. He's having trouble with his Internet Explorer browser on his Windows 7 computer. When he goes to some websites it says "Page cannot be displayed".
– If you have trouble starting IE, Paul suggested starting it in safe mode. <A couple of ways of doing it were discussed on the 6-18-14 show>. Starting IE wasn't Neil's problem.
– Go to Tools -> Internet Options -> Advanced and at the bottom it says Reset to default conditions. That should change errant setting to their default without changing the home page or passwords. The buttons you see in the settings depend on which version of IE you're using.
– If that doesn't work, there is button above it that says "restore advanced settings", which does a more aggressive reset.
– Go to Connections -> Lan settings and under Local Area Settings, none of the boxes should be checked. This should correct any problems with proxy servers.

Neil said that when using the Firefox browser, he gets a lot of advertising pop-ups. Glenn said there is a setting in Firefox to turn them off. Neil said he's tried that setting and it didn't help.
– Neil might have some malware on his machine and that may be the reason he's having problems with Internet Explorer, too.
– Update your anti-virus program and do a full scan. See if it comes up with anything interesting.
– In Firefox go to Tools -> Addons. Something may have installed itself there. If you see something that's not familiar, either Disable or Remove it. You may want to google an unfamiliar addon's name to see if it's been reported as malware.
– Try using the Chrome browser. Glenn said he doesn't think it even allows pop-ups.

Paul went on to say that laptop computers can be a fire hazard. Their Lithium-ion batteries are a liability even though there are failsafe features designed into them.
– The batteries are very vulnerable if they are physically damaged — dropped or bent. They may seem to work ok but they are subject to ignition because the insulation inside may have failed.
– Keep the batteries in a moderate temperature range — not over 70C, and don't put them in the refrigerator.
– Higher temperatures shorten the battery life.

Yvonne called. She had dropped her Mac laptop and damaged some of the cable connectors. She also said the battery doesn't hold charge like it used to.
– You can buy cheap a Chinese battery for about $30 and it may last a few months.
– You can buy a Chinese battery with a brand name on it and it may last 2 years and cost 3 times as much.
– You don't need a battery if you don't go anywhere. <Use the A/C wall plug>
– Eventually they determined her battery performance is actually quite good for being a few years old.
– For a new computer with an LED screen you can get several hours between charges. For machines 4 or 5 years old and a new battery, expect 2 or 3 hours. She gets more than the 2 to 3 hours, so she actually doing quite well.

She thought it was the Ethernet plug that's bent and the cable doesn't plug in. But they determined she has wi-fi so she shouldn't be using the cable. Then she clarified that the cable with the problem is the one that goes from the laptop to the tv — likely the VGA connection (not HDMI), considering the laptop's age.
– Since it's a Mac, Paul suggest she get Apple TV for under $99.
– By itself it can play Netflix content on the TV. It comes with a remote control.
– Using it with the Mac, she'll be able to send anything to the Apple TV and never have to worry about cables.

Paul then talked about inductive charging of mobile devices. This uses coils of wire in the charger and the device to transfer energy without wires to charge the battery. He discovered by accident that his 2013 2nd series Nexus 7 tablet has the ability to use the industry standard called Qi (chee) to charge inductively. Any Qi compliant charger should be able to charge it. He has one on order from China for $12. There are retrofit kits to install an induction loop into a device that didn't originally come with it.
More about Qi from the Wireless Power Consortium
Compatible products

He also discovered the Nexus 7 has the ability to read radio frequency ID tags (RFID) like the kind used to tag your cat and dog or the kind used on shipping containers and pallets of merchandise. Go to the Google Play store and search for RFID.

Additionally, there is a device available for the USB slot on the Nexus to allow it to send HDMI signals
— used for sending video to a TV.

Last Update 11:22 PM 11/26/2014

I missed this show. There wasn't supposed to be one on this day. Sorry I don't have notes for you.

– Alix

Notifications of new show notes and edits are tweeted at: twitter.com/ddhart.
– They're tagged with #Zentech.
– When what's said is unclear to me (or I'm unfamiliar with a topic) I tend to quote (" ") verbatim.
– Editor's comments are delimited by < >

Podcasts of some Zentech shows are here.

Both Glenn & Paul were in the studio for today's show

Paul alerted us that, despite the end of support for Windows XP, there is another update for it to deal with a serious threat. To do the update, go to Start -> Programs -> Windows Update

Paul further suggested that XP users…
– Take the XP computer offline. Physically unplug the Ethernet cable.
– If you really need to use XP online, don't use Internet Explorer — use some other browser.
– Don't rely on Microsoft Security Essentials. Use some other anti-virus program. Try avast.com or avg.com for free versions or versions with more features, which come at a price. The free versions may be a bit hard to find and you may have to click thru a few pages. <AVG Free should be here.>

Remember that no anti-virus program is 100% effective. Additionally, Paul said, most security breaches are a result of the computer being stolen (along with your sensitive data).

Further tips on protecting your data:
– If you sell or decommission your computer, you can take out and keep the hard drive. The buyer can get a hard drive on Ebay, to replace it.
– You can put your old drive into an enclosure with a USB port and use it externally.
– It's a good idea to back up your data before doing any of this.

Paul talked a bit about browser plugins or add-ons. These are additional programs that work with a browser to extend its functionality. He said the Flash plugin has been a serious problem. <A security problem, as I understand it>
– Many websites on the internet use Flash to enhance your experience — Youtube and Facebook, for example.
– HTML5 is poised to take over the job that Flash does now. To a large extent Youtube is viewable without Flash, but not entirely.

Java is another plugin that's had security problems. In fact, some browser manufacturers are now not allowing Java to run as a plugin. Some people will see a box saying something like "Plugin has been blocked" when they access a webpage where Java is required. But, beware that this warning can be faked by those intent on doing you harm. In this case you may see a box that says something like "Plugin has been blocked, Click here". Clicking can then lead you to all sorts of trouble.

If there is a remedy to apply, go to the website of those who created the plugin, instead of "clicking here". To get Flash, go here. He also said that Adobe and Oracle (makers of Java) no longer allow you easily update their plugins using the plugin itself, because alert boxes saying "click here" are so easy to fake. So, go their websites to update. He also said the webpage for the Java update is very confusing. He said do a search for: jre. Or search for: download java.

Before updating Java, make sure you need it. Paul said there's no harm in uninstalling Java and seeing if you can get by without it. Most people don't need it. Do the same with Flash.

Kevin called. He has a HP laptop that's about 4 or 5 years old. When he tries to access Google mail he gets a window that says "File not found. Do you want to cancel or wait". A few seconds after clicking "wait" his email page comes up. Everything else seems to be working normally. He uses Windows 7, the Chrome browser and a Verizon Air Card for his internet.
– Paul asked if he's done a total restart of the computer recently. He says he does a total shutdown, and subsequent restart, every day.
– Paul had Kevin type in www.google.com directly into the address bar instead of clicking the Google icon he has on his desktop. But he clicked the icon anyway and this time the problem didn't appear.
– Glenn thought the home page setting wasn't right. In Chrome, click the 3-bar icon in the upper right and go to settings to change it.
– Paul said that 3G & 4G (cellular) connections can take a few seconds to reconnect after starting up the computer. He may not be waiting long enough and that's the reason he's not going to the website he wants.

There are a couple of ways to change your home page.
– Type an address into the address bar. Find the small logo that looks like a page or a "miniscule icon".
– Either right-click on it an choose "make this a home page". Or you can drag it onto the home button.

The guys talked about batteries — alkaline & rechargeable. Paul got curious about how much energy is in a standard AA battery and found this link where someone researched the subject.
– It turns out that rechargeable batteries can keep up with a fairly heavy current demand.
– The 2 amp NiMh batteries are comparable to the alkaline type, though their voltages are a bit different
– NiMh batteries may not work in some equipment as Paul found out when he tried to use some in a camera he had. The curve of the current per volt was different than what the camera expected. Eventually he found out that the camera had a setting for the type of batteries he wanted to use, and it solved the problem.
– Paul found a voltmeter designed for battery testing. It puts a load on the battery to simulate a real-world situation. See the link at the top of this page.

Glenn talked about battery packs that can recharge a cell phone battery while you're on the go and without having to find a place to plug it in. <This was discussed on a previous show along with tips for conserving your battery.>

Paul mentioned Mac Power Books and Mac Book Airs have a tiny button at the left-hand corner. Pushing it brings up a display that tells you the "capacity of the battery".

The guys talked about Bluetooth speakers ranging in price from $5 for an Enerplex up to about $12 that sound very good.

Marilyn wrote in about needing to get data off of a hard drive without having to install it into her computer. Glenn said this can be accomplished with an external enclosure that has a USB connector. These units are made so you can put a hard drive into it and read and write to it like any other hard drive. He said it's not a simple procedure to put a different hard drive into a computer. It has to have an operating system on it, and even then, it won't have all the drivers and such that are particular to that computer.

If you want to change a hard drive, you can usually find videos from someone who's done it, on Youtube. Search for something like "removing laptop hard drive toshiba satellite 1500" <use the name & model of your machine, of course>. Youtube videos are a great resource for all sorts of repair.

Glenn helped someone who had a problem with an AT&T copper DSL internet connection and a standard telephone. Her modem turned out to be bad and wasn't supported anymore. He got her switched over to AT&T Uverse and she ended up saving $5 per month on her bill, a faster internet speed (758bps doubled to 1.5 megabits per second) and unlimited phone calls in the US.

Paul noted that in the Nevada City area, there is no Uverse movie on-demand service, yet.

Glenn wondered if and how the California Lifeline service provides for people who use Uverse for their phone, because Uverse uses VOIP rather than a plain old telephone <POTS> for the connection. He asked listeners on Lifeline to share their experience in switching to Uverse. Paul noted that VOIP has many points of failure and had doubts about its reliability in emergency situations. <See the notes for the 7-30-14 show where Lifeline was mentioned and a link given.>

Glenn said that if you qualify for the Lifeline subsidy, you also qualify for a free cell phone that comes with about 200 talk minutes and about 200 texts per month. <I don't think you can get both a landline subsidy and a cell phone at the same time, though>.

Paul played a bit of audio from South Park illustrating what can be done to create and edit music using programs like Autotune and Fruity Loops.

Last Update 11:29 PM 11/12/2014

Notifications of new show notes and edits are tweeted at: twitter.com/ddhart.
– They're tagged with #Zentech.
– When what's said is unclear to me (or I'm unfamiliar with a topic) I tend to quote (" ") verbatim.
– Editor's comments are delimited by < >

Podcasts of some Zentech shows are here.

Both Glenn & Paul were in the studio for today's show

Paul mentioned the motorcycle repair segment of the last show and referred people to the journal "Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert M. Pirsig. Such repair depends a lot on the tactile way of troubleshooting — feeling, hearing, seeing and touching stuff. This paradigm and the name of the journal were part of the inspiration for calling this show Zen Tech.

Paul noted that the suggestions on this show for anti-virus programs have changed over the years. Now, it's not so easy to say that a particular program is good, but that some are less bad than others and none of them are particularly good, they can't keep up with the threats.

Even the best anti-virus program is not 100% effective, maybe only 75% to 80%, said Glenn. Email is the major method of infection, he added.
– If you don't know who the email is from, trash it.
– If you open the email and you still don't know who it's from, don't click on any links in it including "unsubscribe".
<Even if it looks like it's from someone you know, it could be that their account had been hijacked by the bad guys who are now sending you questionable links to click on or who want to gain your personal info.>

Paul related an incident he had with his bank. On the heels of recent data breaches at various retailers, there was a security concern and the bank told him to call a particular 800 number. <He didn't say how the bank contacted him> Paul said in situations like this, you can't be sure the 800 number is that of the bank. Instead the bank should have told him to call the number on the back of his card.
– Don't call a number you can't confirm or don't have a preexisting knowledge of.
– Don't assume a website like chase-finance.com actually belongs to Chase Bank. Companies that issue domain names are not obligated to determine if a website is legitimate.
– No matter how you're being contacted, you may be the subject of a phishing attack. Since the recent data breaches are widely known, they may be taking advantage of your concern by offering supposed remediation, but compromising your security instead.

Marilyn called with a problem in burning CDs. She's been using Roxio without any trouble, but suddenly, the CDs she burns don't play on her computer or that of a friend.
– It could be a problem with drive you use to do the burning.
– It could be a problem with the package of blank disks you bought. Try burning a disk on a different machine to dismiss this possibility.
– Try different software. Many people have iTunes on their machine. Use it to burn a CD — make a playlist, right-click on the playlist and choose 'burn to CD' (or something similar). If that doesn't work, start looking for a hardware problem.
– Roxio has a setting to verify the disk after it's burned. Turn it on.
– CD burners readily go bad. Often you can't even get an extended warranty on them.
– The hardware used to burn a CD is different than the hardware used to play one (in the same drive enclosure). That it can play is not a good test of whether it can burn.
– A read/write CD drive can be had for about $20 to $50 on sale. First determine if your computer takes a SATA or a parallel drive.
– Her computer is a laptop and will be more expensive to replace than a desktop. And, laptop drives go bad more often than the ones for desktops "because they're manufactured in a more compact space".
– To find a replacement drive, go to Amazon or Ebay and search with the name of your laptop + dvdrw (for example). Buy it if it's cheap enough — $15 to $20. Be sure to get a new drive, not refurbished.
– Paul said there are 3 things he doesn't like to buy used — CD drives, rechargeable batteries and hard drives.
– Consider getting an external CD drive, though it could be inconvenient if you need portability.
– Paul also mentioned that you can still get floppy drives that work thru the USB port, at Amazon and other places.

Pam called. She's been using the internet thru a dialup connection on her Windows XP. Her daughter bought her a Dell Inspiron 17" but it only has 2 USB ports and one is taken by a dialup modem. Her printer and external CD drive also need USB ports, so she needs more ports. She also would like to add full-size keyboard.
– Get a USB hub. It will use up one of your USB ports but will give you an additional 3 to 6 ports.
– If the peripheral you plan to plug into it requires power from a USB port (the CD likely will), then get a hub that has its own power supply.
– A USB hub can have issues with speed. Some things shouldn't be plugged into it. A printer, modem or mouse are ok. Flash memory of various sorts, CD drives or external hard drives are relatively fast devices and should preferably be plugged directly into the computer's USB port (not into the hub).
– With many peripherals plugged into the hub, try using only one device at a time because there is a constriction on the amount of data going thru the hub.
– Take a close look at your computer, there may be more USB ports. And look for one color-coded blue — it's the faster USB3 and where you'd want to attach the hub.
– Check if your computer has a PCI Express (PCIe) slot. If so, the Chinese make PCI Express to USB adapters that you can get. Glenn, however, said that he hasn't seen a PCI Express slot on a laptop for a few years.
– Check if your laptop has Bluetooth. If so, you can get a Bluetooth keyboard instead of one that uses USB. Remember, not all wireless keyboards use Bluetooth.

Paul talked about remote areas that don't even have phone lines for dialup service. Some people have found that they can get 3G (cellular) service and are then able to use what's called a mi-fi device to get internet service. Ask the provider if you have a trial period to evaluate the service. Typically, they give you about 15 days, but don't expect to get money back on your data usage.

The disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed on this show are those of the speakers only and not necessarily those of KVMR, its board, management, staff and contributors.

Paul said there still life in Windows XP subject to some conditions.
– Don't use Microsoft Security Essentials.
– Don't use Internet Explorer.
– Keep your browser plugins up to date.

Most of the viruses people get are coming thru Java (not Javascript) or the Flash player, Paul said. The code base for Flash is seriously flawed and can probably never be fixed so try to avoid using it. Youtube videos are increasingly using HTML5 and depending less on Flash, but they still have a ways to go before they're all HTML5. Websites are avoiding Flash content so as not to be liable for compromising the computers of their customers.
– Paul suggested that Windows users remove Flash from their computer buy going into Add/Remove Programs.
– The Chrome browser doesn't complain that Flash is missing when you use Youtube and it's not because Flash is built into Chrome. Paul thinks Google figured out a way to get around it.
– Also uninstall Java. It's being used less than before and usually just in specific proprietary environments — client server environment, for example. If you ever need it again, it's a free download and you'll be getting the latest version. Some people may see a few versions of Java in the list of Add/Remove Programs; remove them all.

Summer called. She has a Google account but when she logs into Youtube she's not allowed to leave comments. She uses the Google "all one account".
– See if there's a separate login for Youtube.
– To see what tips others can offer, do a search for the words: merge youtube google plus.
– Log off global Google account (the all one account). Then go to Youtube and log in there. She tried it during the show and it keeps taking her back to the 'all one account' login.
– So, try a different browser. Also delete the browsing history and cache. <Delete the cookies too>

Summer said she doesn't write down her passwords, she depends on the browser to remember them. Using a different browser will be problematic. Glenn said she can find her passwords in her Safari browser, look for the item called 'Security'.

Summer also asked about upgrading iPhone to IOS8. She heard that it's not so great. Glenn said he hasn't upgraded to IOS8 yet and the 8.1 update was buggy. There no disadvantage to waiting for a few weeks before upgrading. <There are links to articles in the last show's notes>

Paul told us how to find out what passwords are stored by Firefox. Go to tools -> options -> security -> saved passwords and click on 'show passwords'. He suggest people make a separate copy (copy and paste, or however). On the Mac there is a central location that stores all of your passwords — browser, email programs, networks, etc. — but it does mean there's a single point of failure. The Mac feature is called the Keychain.

Glenn thanked the supporting members of KVMR. If you'd like to become a member, please visit KVMR

This particular show is on when you'd normally hear the show See Jane Do. That show will be on Oct 8. The next Zentech shows will be on Oct 22 and Oct 29.

Paul said he found some automated Windows backup software called FreeFileSync. In using it, you'll have to remember that when you add and remove drives, the drive letters change and you'll have to tell the backup program to keep it backing up to the same physical drive. Free File Synch supercedes what he suggested before — SynchBackFree. Also, he no longer recommends Cobian for backup.

Ron Avanzino, a KVMR DJ, had a question for the guys. How can he download files from Windows Media player to a flash drive?. Paul suggest he just drag and drop the files and not even use Media Player. Go to the profile directory and look for the folder called 'Music', which contains the audio. Or you might be able to drag the playlist in Media Player straight to the flash drive.

Changelog:
minor changes to spelling & syntax

Last Update: 7:01 PM 10/6/2014

Notifications of new show notes and edits are tweeted at: twitter.com/ddhart.
– They're tagged with #Zentech.
– When what's said is unclear to me (or I'm unfamiliar with a topic) I tend to quote (" ") verbatim.
– Editor's comments are delimited by < >

NOTE: The next Zentech show will be on Oct 1 and NO show on Oct 8. The rest of the month should follow the normal schedule — shows on Oct 22 & Oct 29

Podcasts of recent Zentech shows are here.

Glenn was in the studio. Paul called in from Santa Cruz. Paul's audio was pretty bad and I did the best I could deciphering what he said.

Listeners were reminded they can email their questions to the guys either during or after the show. Email to zen at kvmr dot org

Paul mentioned the site banggood.com. It "sells gadgets and gizmos of every shape, size and form straight out of Mainland China". He bought a power backup unit for cell phones from them for $8.
– It delivers 3.5 amp-hours and weighs about twice as much as a cell phone.
– It has 2 USB sockets. A broad socket for the cell phone USB plug and a micro socket for charging the unit.
– It stores "about 5 times the amount of power that the cell phone stores".
– It can be charged from a car's electrical system so it can be replenished while you're on the go.
– It has a little LED scale that "shows you how much power is left in it".

Glenn said he typically gets about 3 hours of cell phone life when he's on BART. Paul reminded us that cell phones use more power when the cell signal is weak. A weak signal will flatline the battery sooner. Paul said his phone will last all day in the city a couple or 3 hours in remote areas where the signal is weaker.

Paul explained some things about cell phone charging.
– A cell phone with a flat battery will draw about 1/3 of an amp when it's first plugged in for charging.
– A computer can deliver about 1/2 amp at the USB port.
– With a wall charger you typically get 1 amp and can charge 2 or 3 devices at once.
– There are current checkers for about $2 or $3 that will show you how much current is actually being delivered
– The more current delivered, the faster it gets charged, but it can't be charged too fast or it will "cook the battery".

Glenn thanked the supporting members of KVMR. If you'd like to become a member, please visit KVMR.

Glenn said the new iPhone was introduced over the weekend and racked up about 10 million units in sales thru stores (13 or 14 million if you include pre-orders). There are 2 versions — the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. There have been complaints about the 6 Plus because it's huge, said Glenn.

Paul introduced us to the word 'phablet'. It refers to a phone that's big enough to be considered a tablet. He said he likes that format. Glenn didn't know the exact size of the two iPhones but said there's about 1 inch difference between them. Many people were glad they didn't get the 6 Plus, but people with big hands were happy with the larger unit, Glenn said.

Paul mentioned he saw a 2009 documentary featuring an interview with Jonathan Ives, who was the main engineer and designer of the Apple Mac. Talking about the then new iPhone 3 and 3s, Ives said engineers concentrate on what goes on inside a device and not so much on how it fits the hands of the users. Ives also talked about other design considerations.

Ron called. He has MacBook and has accumulated some 25,000 emails that he's been trying to delete. Though he deletes them and then empties the trash, they keep reappearing.
– If you're using the POP3 mail protocol, it won't tell the mail server to delete the emails stored by the email provider after they are retrieved and they end up being sent to the MacBook again.
– The IMAP protocol, on the other hand, will delete them on the server when you delete them on the MacBook.
– There's no easy way to go from POP3 to IMAP. You just have to stop using POP and start using IMAP.
– Paul determined Ron is using succeed.net for his email provider. Being familiar with them, Paul said they claim to provide IMAP service but don't guaranty it, meaning if it goes wrong, you're out of luck.
– Paul determined Ron is using the mail program that came with the Mac and said it's one of the programs he doesn't like. Instead, he suggested using Thunderbird, which support IMAP.
– With Thunderbird installed, you can turn off "mail pickup" in the Apple email program's settings.
– Log on to the mail server at succeed.net using a web browser. Then you can delete the emails that are stored there.

Mark called. He's been having trouble with his Harley motorcycle. It was working fine and then it started misfiring, Now he's not getting any spark. He's replaced the starter module (went from magnetic advance to digital), the coil, the wires and spark plugs.
– Paul said the 3 basic things you need is compression, spark and fuel. And the most critical thing is the timing of the spark.
– You can use flash tube (a neon tube) to see if there's a spark. It doesn't indicate if the timing is correct, it only tells you if you have high-voltage electricity going to the plugs. Use a timing light to adjust the timing.
– Check the stator (generator) with a voltmeter. If you turn it slowly by hand, the needle on the meter should jump.
– Check the resistance of the coil secondary for some reasonable value — 40 to 50 ohms was Paul's guess. <Mark had already replaced the coil>
– Check motorcycle forums on the net. Someone may have had the same problem & found a solution.
– In the end, Mark concluded he might just have to take in to a repair shop.
<I had a similar problem years ago with my Honda. It turned out the battery was going bad. It needed a good battery for the generator to work right>

Glenn asked Paul what he's heard about the new iPhone 6. He hasn't heard much except that..
– It's the best selling model. More people have bought this model than earlier ones when they first came out.
– There have been complaints about the IOS 8 — the new operating system that the iPhone 6 comes with. <I couldn't make out what he said the problem is> He said it's not unusual to have some glitches at first introduction. Paul put IOS 8 on an iPad 2 and it works fine.
– Glenn said he knows someone who installed IOS 8 on an iPad 2 and the predictive text doesn't work, even though it's turned on in the settings. Paul thought it might be that the usage history was deleted when IOS 8 was installed and it has to accumulate a new history.
<Since the broadcast, I've found reference to the iPhone problems…
Apple Releases iOS 8 ‘Fix,’ but Users Report Major Problems with Update
Buggy, Bendy iPhones Create Bad Week For Apple
Apple Responds to Complaints of Bent iPhones
Apple Pulls iOS 8 Software Update After iPhone Problems (mentions the bending problem too)
    Follow these instructions to downgrade
Note: I heard that Apple reissued the IOS 8 update>

Paul again mentioned the Obihai device, which does VOIP (voice over IP). <This was talked about on the 7-30-14 show> He said it's a marvelous piece of technology at a moderate price of $39 list ($30 sale price, Glenn said).
– It's not proprietary — not locked to a particular provider.
– You just plug it into your internet router.
– Subscribe to a telephone service provider of your choice.
– If you like, you can port over your existing phone number.
– You can call anywhere in the country and Eruope for about 1 cent per minute. <Depending on the phone service you choose, I guess>
– It's one of the most easily configurable devices Paul has ever seen. You just create an account at obitalk.com and you're guided thru the setup. They even give you choices for telephone service providers, including Google Voice.
– Glenn said that Paul found a provider that costs $1 per month for service and 1 cent per minute for the call.
– With some services you can make calls without paying for a phone number, but then others can't call you
– As mentioned on the 7-30-14 show, Google Voice was going to drop support for the Obihai device, but support is going to continue.

Glenn mentioned he was getting poor internet speed at home. Paul reminded us that you can test your internet connection at speedtest.phonepower.com (but not while using an Apple IOS device). Paul also mention factors such as latency & jitter that affect your experience using VOIP. <see the notes for the 1-25-12 and 7-11-12 shows, for more details>

Glenn found an app for testing your connection with an IOS device called ookla.

Ralph called. He's been using an external charger for his phone and found that his phone gets very hot.
– Stop using it for now and check it's voltage.
– As mentioned above, there are devices that check how much voltage is being put out. If it puts out much over 5 volts, it can damage the phone. Nominally you should be getting 4.90 to 5.1 volts

Ralph wondered why he doesn't get the heating when he uses an inverter with his car's electrical system. Though he misheard what Ralph said, Paul went on to explain that the inverter produces a pseudo sine wave. The wave produced by house current has smooth sine curves, which are hard to reprodued by an inverter. The inverter uses a square wave, <or something close> which goes positive to negative and back abruptly. In fact, some equipment can be damaged and manufacturers warn users away from using an inverter.

Ralph reiterated that he has NO problem using the inverter. The heating happens when he uses the external charger with the USB cable. Paul said he should check the voltage being put out by the external charger.

Changelog:
added links to the to the iPhone 6 problems

Last Update 2:24 PM 9/26/2014