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 < >

Glenn posted the audio for this show here.
Richard prepared some notes about todays show, a PDF file here.
I also appended his notes below . Not as pretty as his PDF but HTML makes it searchable.

Both Glenn & Paul were in the studio. The guest, Richard Hurley, talked about the Apple products and its operating systems — including the forthcoming iOS8 for the iPhone & iPad.

Contact Richard at:
rich@learnipadcourses.com
Find his courses at:
http://learnipadcourses.com/

Richard started teaching Mac OS about 5 years ago, when Snow Leopard was current, at Placer School For Adults. To help the overworked iPad instructor, he soon moved on to teaching that unit too. He deals a lot with multimedia on the iPad.

About iOS 8…
– iOS 8 will not work on the very first iPad made.
– It will work on the 2nd iPad model but you'll be limited to the hardware features of that model — no Facetime, for example.
– Count the number of cameras your iPad has. If it has 2, you can use iOS8

About the iPad screen…
– It has a Retina display. There are 2048 pixels from one side of the screen to the other. It's similar to high quality magazine print.
– Retina is a patented term. The number of pixels is more than can be discriminated by the rods & cones in the eye. You'd have to use a magnifying glass to see them.
– All those pixels means better color control and control over shapes in the images. That makes reading much easier.

Glenn took a moment to acknowledge the members who support KVMR. If you'd like to become a member, please visit kvmr.org. Or you can call 530-265-9073 during music programs.

For a long time now Apple has been giving away their operating system upgrades for free, Paul said. He asked why that is. Richard said Apple makes its money on the hardware not the operating system. It's in Apple's interest to keep the developers happy when they create apps. The operating system acts as a catalyst for the production of apps when developers don't have to keep buying the latest operating system.
– Apple takes a cut — roughly 20% — from the apps sold at the Apple Store.
– The apps themselves "are cheap and represent an incredible value".
– At last count, 170 million iPads "are floating around the world". If just a modest percentage of those bought apps, that generates a lot of money.
– The apps force you to buy updates thru the Apple Store. A lot of people don't care for the monopolistic practice.
– Apple vets the apps for malware. So far that's worked out pretty well.
– There are many apps to choose from. You have to be persistent in searching for the app that meets your needs.

Richard mentioned a multimedia format Apple developed called iBooks. At first it was only available on the iPad. Apple has now incorporated it in their computers running the OSX operating system starting at Mountain Lion. He said iBooks is handy for running instructional multimedia for using the iPad directly on the iPad itself.

For a long time, Paul has heard that Apple has been trying to converge iOS and the Mac OS. He asked if they are any closer. Richard said they've made some progress and that iOS8 will bring them closer still. The "Launch Pad" feature gives the Mac OS an appearance similar to that of the iPad. And iOS8 is supposed to make the iPad & iPhone "sing" with the Mac (connect better with each other). With the forthcoming Yosemite OS for the Mac, you can take a phone call on your Mac that originally came to your iPhone, for instance. Yosemite is version 10.10 of the Mac OS that's expected to come out in the Fall.

Paul asked if Apple is working on a touch screen interface for the Mac. Richard said they already have the Magic Mouse, which has the swiping capability, but that doesn't involve directly touching on the screen like Microsoft's Windows 8. He hasn't heard of any attempt to bring the touch interface to the Mac. Glenn questioned the need for a touch screen on a desktop machine, if it already has a mouse & keyboard connected.

Paul asked Richard how the older folks are taking to his instructions. He said the older student seem to do well in class. His oldest student so far was 92. The iPad has accessibility features for those with disabilities (poor vision, etc.).

Paul asked how easy it is to get an iPad to drive a big screen.
– It's a piece of cake using the HDMI interface, Richard said.
– During his lectures, Richard uses an iPad to connect wirelessly to an Apple TV. What's on his iPad screen appears on the TV.

iCloud has expanded to store "anything and everything", in response to competition like Dropbox. It was implied that you'll need iOS8 or Yosemite to take full advantage. Currently you get 5gigs of storage for free on iCloud.

The other thing iCloud does is it allows your iPad to synch with your computer — Mac or PC (with the iCloud control panel).

Photo Stream works well with iCloud though it can be confusing to use. It provides a means for the pictures you take as you roam around, to appear on your computer at home. Richard is looking forward to Apple making it easier to use. He thought it would find a place in a Real Estate office where agents can take pictures of houses that will be stored on a centrally located server for others to access.

Paul asked how easy it is for photographers to work with the iPad. Richard said "you wouldn't want edit on the tablet". Professional photographers would likely use Photoshop for their editing because it can do so much and it runs on desktop computers. The iPad has some simple photo editing tools meant for the casual user but not for professionals.

Richard mentioned that the iPad has HDR (High Dynamic Range) built in. This is where the very bright & very dark areas of a photo are adjusted so you can see more details.

Paul asked why the iTunes program that runs on an iPad or iPhone is different from the version that's on the Mac.
– The versions for the Mac and the PC are similar.
– Originally iTunes was designed just to load an iPod music player with music.
– Since then, iTunes has been tasked to do so much more, including handling different types of data.
– Glenn said you cannot find "iTunes" on your iPad because it's called "Music". He thinks it's not intuitive and he's not very thrilled with it.

Paul then asked why not have Photoshop run on the tablet like it does on a Mac. Richard said it's because of the lack of memory — Photoshop is a resource hog. Also, the screen is too small.

Richard talked about Health Kit from Apple. It's a programming framework that will allow development of software for people who have health monitoring devices. It "will have the ability to turn their Apple into the monitor". Your Apple device will collect the data from the monitor and send it to your healthcare provider. Glenn said he's heard speculation that clothing will be made with electronics built in that can monitor bodily functions.

Looks like Apple is gearing up to enter the gaming market with the iPad, Richard said. They plan to improve the graphic efficiency of the iPad without any changes to the hardware. They want to do 3-D animation at high speed.

Glenn was impressed with the keyboard on Android devices. They have special keys for ".com" and ".org" but Apple doesn't. Richard said Apple did have that — it's appeared then disappeared. In iOS8, developers will be able to create specialty keyboards.

Also in iOS8 the keyboard will give you predictive text — it will predict what you want to type based on what you've typed so far. For instance, if you are writing to your boss, the language should be more formal than when you write to a friend and it will suggest words more suited to the situation.

Richard's Notes for Zen Tech radio show 7/9/14

[ The following notes were compiled by Richard Hurley for an interview with Paule and Glenn on their Zen Tech show of 7/9/14. The opinions expressed here are Richard’s, except at noted in the text.]

New OS releases generally have two audiences in mind: developers and the general public. Sometimes one audience gets more attention than the other. IOS 8 looks to me like a developer’s release. Not a lot of sexy stuff here for the public, but plenty for the development community. And ultimately, it is the development community that turns the iOS devices into useful tools.

iOS releases are free, so Apple doesn’t have to woo the public with flashy new features. Apple can feed its newest technologies to its installed base and let developers make what they can of it. This is a good model that Mac OSX has adopted with its Mavericks and Yosemite releases. Excellent news for consumers!

New Features by the pound

The iOS 8 SDK is supposed to include "over 4000" new developer APIs (Application Programming Interfaces). This doesn’t mean much, in itself – consider it Apple’s way of telling developers, "we care." It is when Apple starts discussing details that the shape of the iOS’s future begins to emerge.

Touch ID API opened up to 3rd-party developers (source 9TO5Mac)

Touch ID is a sensor on the iPhone 5S that stores fingerprint info on the phone’s A7 chip (not iCloud). This info may be used in lieu of password, though there is not a lot of enthusiasm at present. Probably will gain traction as part of 2-step ID process (password and fingerprint). Conceptually interesting, being combination of something you know and something you have. Should dramatically increase security, if public adopts.

3rd-party widgets now okay for the Notification Center

Notification technology has been important in Mac OSX since Mountain Lion (Mac OSX 10.8). Apple apps like Reminders and Calendar notify you of upcoming events and relay the messages, via iCloud, to your iOS devices. Now, 3rd-party developers can get into the notification game, too. Imagine eBay telling you that you just got a new bid on something you want to sell. Or your doctor’s office reminding you that you’re due for a checkup. Or Facebook notifying you that someone has commented on your comments. Under iOS 8, you will be able to reply by double-clicking your notification.

If you ask me on-air if this is progress, I will say rude things. Then, I will remember that notifications can be strangled in your Settings app – and regain my composure.

3rd-party keyboards (source iOS 8 UK)

Apple’s keyboard is pretty good. Now we’re going to see if 3rd-party developers can do better. I don’t see a downside, here. Everybody gets to jump in. Meanwhile, Apple is rev’ing its own keyboard to include a new "predictive text" system"

"The technology suggests what word you're likely to type next based on past conversations. It also takes into account how you write to different people – so iOS 8 will understand that when talking to your boss you use formal language but when talking to your friend you use informal language. Apple said the predictive text technology would allow people to compose messages and emails ‘with a few taps." (Quote from www.expertreviews.co.uk)

Most of us old fogeys will find this feature annoying…until we learn to use it. For a generation raised on texting, this is just another step in technologicallyassisted communication – a journey that began with the stylus. What is genuinely interesting about it is that Apple’s hardware and software can now track and respond to language in real time. Human language is extremely complex. That Apple has analyzed it to a depth to allow instantaneous interaction is truly remarkable.

HealthKit (framework)

This new programming framework allows health and fitness apps to communicate with each other. This is a joint venture with Mayo clinic. Example: allows your blood pressure app to share data with a physician app. Apple says they can "securely pair devices throughout the house." We’ll see. Given the highpowered partnership, I think we are looking at the birth of a new model of home-based health monitoring, with doctors’ office getting a steady data stream from people who need special care. And yes, the security issues are formidable.

Data that can be collected: "heart rate, calories burned, blood sugar, cholesterol, sleep patterns and more…"

Ability to easily control individual or groups of devices throughout the house including integration with Siri. For example, you can tell Siri you are "going to bed" and it could dim the lights, lock your doors, close the garage door and set the thermostat. This kind of technology has been around in rudimentary form for ages, but its adoption by Apple may give it a big boost.

Swift (new programming language)

Apple’s online hype says, "Swift is a powerful new programming language for iOS and OS X that makes it easier than ever for developers to create incredible apps. Designed for Cocoa® and Cocoa Touch®, Swift combines the performance and efficiency of compiled languages with the simplicity and interactivity of popular scripting languages." I can’t comment on this except to say that the hype is meaningless. The idea of compiling scripting languages has been around since the Flood. I mean, what else are you supposed to do with them?

Cocoa is the native development environment of Mac OSX. Cocoa Touch is the equivalent for iOS.

"Metal" (a new graphics technology for gaming)

"Maximizes performance on the A7 chip." Apple claims 10 x improvement in draw call speed.

SceneKit (a new graphics technology for gaming)

"Making it easy to create fun 3D games."

Major improvement to SpriteKit (gaming)

Includes field force modeling, "per-pixel physics," and inverse kinematics (or IK). (IK is a set of math formulas used in 3D modeling. It lets you simulate the motion of complex skeletons based on stopping and starting points.)

============

iOS 8 to Mac OSX "Continuity"

Owners of Mac computers can use Handoff, a service that allows you to start an email on your Mac and finish it on your iPad (and vice-versa). This functionality is available throughout the whole Apple software suite (Mail, Safari, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, Maps, Messages, Reminders, Calendar and Contacts). Developers can build the feature into their apps as well.

Continuity also turns your Mac into an iPhone. When your iPhone rings, your

Mac or iPad will start ringing as well. (The call answering feature requires your iPhone on iOS 8 to be connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your Mac.)

Fun factoids picked up while researching:

There are, according to Apple, more than 800 million iOS devices sold. This is odd, because I’ve heard that there are ≈ 170 million iPads floating around out there. Are there really 630 million iPhones and iPod Touches loose on the planet?

Again from Apple: "iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch customers have access to the revolutionary App Store, which offers more than 1.2 million apps in 155 countries around the world. The App Store receives more than 300 million visitors each week and iOS users have downloaded more than 75 billion apps."

Somebody is playing with numbers here, because the last I heard, there were something like a half million apps for the iPad. Do we really have nearly 3/4 of a million separate apps for iPhones and iPod Touches?

In any event, there are indeed a lot of apps. I don’t think even Steve Jobs could have imagined the localization of apps that this implies. Lucky us! Every tiresome little TV news department now has its own app to annoy us with, first thing in the morning. I guess that is progress…

Yosemite notes

New Mac OSX release is free, like Mavericks. Does this represent a new model of OS releases? iOS releases are free. So was Mavericks, the last Mac OSX release. So will be Yosemite, the next OSX release. Apple seems to have given up the idea of raising money with it OS’s – unlike MicroSoft.

This makes sense. If you charge $$ for an OS upgrade, you have to woo the consumer with a bunch of features. "Here are all the reasons you should stop using Windows 7 and switch to Windows 8!" We all saw how that worked.

By giving away its OS’s, Mac is giving its developers assurance of a substantial base of adoptees, which means that developers have more incentive to go for the Next Feature Set. It’s a great model.

In the Windows world, by contrast, developers are facing large islands of users who settle in on a particular version and don’t upgrade. Win 7 is still dominant, was released in 2009. That’s the equivalent of Mac OSX 10.6, Snow Leopard.

Adopts iOS look ’n’ feel

Flat fields of color, semi-transparent backdrops are evidently here to stay. This represents continuing effort by Apple to get OSX users familiar with iOS. (Formerly, iOS had a toehold in LaunchPad (the Mac app-launcher). One rather obscure, out-of-the way play for Mac users to get a taste of iOS drag & drop folder creation.

ICloud Drive

Apple’s iCloud storage implementation was weak compared to Dropbox. Icloud was formerly accessible only through apps. (Apple was trying to restrict doc types.) Now open to any kind of document. Don’t know if new iCloud can be accessed from Finder. If it is, it will be much easier to manage than old.

Handoff

Mac and iOS devices can pick up on last open item and resume work. So, if you are banging along in Pages and take off for Starbucks, you can complete your work on you iPad. File this under so-what. In the past, all you had to do was save your work to iCloud, and you could resume at will.

Phone and SMS

If your iPhone is within Wi-Fi range of your Mac, you can now make and receive iPhone calls on your Yosemite Mac. Ditto text messages, both SMS and iMessage. All your iPhone traffic can be handled on your Mac.

Widgets for Notification Center

This is going to be big for 3rd-party developers. People who want to be connected to specific info sources can now have them wired into their Notification Centers. As it is, Mac users can get notices from info services (like 9to5 Mac). Under the new scheme, 3rd-party apps take up permanent residence in your Notifications.

Custom Actions

This is a sleeper that isn’t getting much press. Here’s the blurb from Apple: "Apply an effect from a photo-retouching app to an image you’ve opened in Preview. Or get a quick language translation from one app while you’re writing in another. With Actions, developers can give you access to the capabilities of their apps from anywhere in OS X — without having to launch the app." This sounds a bit like the old OpenDoc idea, or perhaps more like the Services feature of Finder. I haven’t found much use for Services, yet, but I can imagine other people might. Keep an eye on this one. It’s all in the implementation.

Share Menu Extensions

App developers now have access to the "Share" menu, which is the catch-all menu that Apple doesn’t know what to do with by way of naming convention. Sometimes it’s a Share menu, sometimes its an Action menu. The former term is too specific, the latter is too vague. In any case, the icon looks like this:

As a graphic and interface design fan, I’ve got to feel for the Apple engineers here. There is no right answer. It’s horrible to see them thrash.

Gaming

Apple is making all the right noises about making a good game environment: SpriteKit (enhancement of 2D gaming), SceneKit (3D), and integration of iPhone game controllers. ("Simply connect your iPhone or iPod touch to the controller and it’s ready for use with any supported Mac game.") File under increased integration of iOS & Mac OSX.

Developer tools

New items include Swift (new programming language), Xcode 6, CloudKit. I need to look at all of these before I comment. Most interesting Apple blurb followed these in Apple’s online info:

"Shared Frameworks Between OS X and iOS

The days of wishing an app for your iOS device were available on your Mac — and vice versa — are numbered. Now it will be easier than ever for developers to share more code across the two platforms, while still building customized experiences for each one." Interestingly, clicking on this announcement sent me straight over to the iOS hype about their 4000 new APIs for iOS developers. I take it from this that Apple isn’t ready to step forward with details here. I’ll be curious to see what develops here. Apple itself had to re-write the iWork suite from the ground up to sync its desktop versions to iOS offerings. Is Apple now claiming that this will be easier for others to do? Stay tuned.

 Last Updated 8:50 PM 7/12/2014

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 < >

Both Paul & Glenn were in the studio

If Glenn is true to form, the audio for this show should be posted here, eventually.

Glenn briefly talked about an item from the last show. On that show it was suggested Sheree get a different browser and move her bookmarks and such into it from Internet Explorer. This was in preparation to resetting IE to the factory default condition. He's heard from Sheree since then and she's managed to move the data, but today he asked her to call the show and let us know if the resetting procedure solved the problem with IE. <She didn't call during the show>. Paul noted that it's important to determine and eliminate the original cause of her problem. In her case, it was tentatively determined to be a browser helper object (plugin) for IE.

Over the years the guys have suggested various anti-virus programs, starting with Norton Anti-virus, then AVG followed by Microsoft Security Essentials. Lately, the guys and the KVMR station have been using the free version of Avast. Paul said Avast has the ability to check for malicious browser helper objects and "tends to remove them" — "no other anti-virus does that"
<Windows Defender and Microsoft Essentials are no longer recommended.>

Paul said that iOS 8, the operating system for Apple's mobile devices. is expected to come out in Aug or Sep. "It promises to come closer to the Mac software". He said the two are converging (mobile & desktop).

Glenn let us know that the intro music for this show was by Pentatonix.

That got Paul talking about music royalties for mashups. <Music derived from combining & editing of existing songs> He said royalty has to be paid to authors of all the songs used, except for "fair usage".

He went on to say that it's amazing what music editing software can do. Songs with 2 different keys & 2 different tempos can be combined — pitch in one song can remain unchanged as the tempo is varied to match the other song.

Paul then talked about a protocol used in the Mac world called Bonjour (formerly Rendezvous). Apple introduced Rendezvous with version 10.2 of its operating system. It lets devices on the local network in your house send messages to each other to "indicate the presence of things that can be shared or printed to". For instance, iTunes announces itself using Bonjour, so if you share your music in iTunes on machine #1, whether Mac or PC, you can use iTunes on machine #2, that's on the same local network (not the internet), to play music from machine #1. You'll only be able to play but not copy the music.

The protocol also exits in the PC world, where it's known as Zeroconf (zero configuration). One feature of Zeroconf is that "if you turn on a computer that's accustomed to being connected to a network and it's not connected to a network. it will get a Zeroconf IP address for itself" beginning with 169 "in the hopes that when it does join a network, that doesn't have host configuration protocol, at least the other fellow will be in the same subnet because it does use what they call LAN packets — local area network packets". <I think he meant the devices would be able to find each other on the network>

Today Paul noticed on news.google.com a Supreme Court ruling that Police need warrants to search cell phone data. He wondered, what if you lose the phone or just leave it lying around? He thought they would still need a warrant.
<In Landmark Case, High Court Issues Limits To Cellphone Searches — by NPR's Nina Totenberg.>

Bongo called. He has an iPhone 4 and an iPad 4. He had read an article about the password managers Dashlane & Lastpass. It said Dashlane is more attractive & easier to use but Lastpass was less intrusive. He asked the guys for their opinions.
– A manager needs just one password to access, and then the manager will enter any of the passwords stored in it, as needed, as you surf the web.
– Some will also automatically fill in forms that ask for your name, address, phone, etc.
– Paul said security & convenience are mutually exclusive. "If its too convenient then it can't possibly be secure because it's too easy to slip up".
– These mangers will not be of use if you have a keylogger (malware) on your machine. <Keyloggers record what you type, including a master password, and send it on to the hackers (crackers).>
– Glenn noted that the iPad & iPhone come with a password manger. He thought it came with an iOS update in the last year or so. Glenn couldn't remember its name. Look under Settngs -> Passwords Security

Paul talked about an article that referred back to the days he did programming in C in the 1980s. C was created by the same person(s) who created the Unix operating system <which is now mimicked by the Linux operating system>. The authors of C were Ken Thompson & Dennis Richie.

Thompson wrote an article in 1984 called "Reflections on trusting trust". One of the things it talks about is "to what extent should one trust a statement that a program is free of undisclosed behavior. Perhaps it's more important to trust the people who wrote the software" — if you personally trust the people then you can trust the programs they write. However, the people who write programs will be using software to do so — software they personally can't vouch for. The article comes under 2 titles: "On Trusting Trust" and "Reflections on trusting trust".

Julie called because this talk about trust reminded her of Wimpy (of the Popeye cartoons) who famously said, I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for two hamburgers today.

More on trust, Glenn reminded us to distrust the links you find in emails, even if it's from someone you know. You can open the email but don't click on the links in it.

Paul recalled the "I Love You" malware, which came as an email attachment. He said it was the first to use social engineering to spread itself. The guy who wrote it left his name inside the code. When the police finally caught up with him, he claimed "I never knew it would do that".

Paul talked about how, years ago, some "nanny" software that was put on students' computers to keep them from visiting inappropriate sites. The students eventually figured out how, using the approved browser, to go to Netscape and download the Netscape browser. Then using the Netscape browser, they had unfettered access to the web.

Next, Paul talked about problems encountered when electrical conductors, made of different metals, are connected. They tend develop a resistive layer between them thus reducing current and producing heat. Headphone jacks or battery contacts are examples of dissimilar metals making a connection that can fail. To restore function, use a pencil eraser or emery board to abrade the contact points.

Paul bought a battery tester for about $5 from Amazon. He used to use a cheap multimeter to test batteries, but doing that only measures volts, and doesn't take current into account. It may read a high voltage when the demand for current is low. As soon as the need for current increase, a bad battery will drop to a low voltage. So its best to measure the voltage when there's a load on the battery. A resistor of about 100 ohms across the terminals should do it, or just get a battery tester.

A caller told of someone he knew who bought a new machine, and when it arrived, it had all of her data on it. <He left out a lot of details that would explain it. Paul assumed the retailer performed the data transfer with her permission.> Paul noted that Mac users can use iCloud to help with this type of data transfer. Similarly, when PC users of Windows 8 sign in with an online Microsoft ID, "supposedly a number of their apps will store your data for you" <which you can then download to a new machine>.

Paul has been looking for an operating system that would serve as a replacement for XP. He's looked at Lubuntu, but he's not satisfied with it. He'll keep on looking.

Last Updated 10:43 PM 6/25/2014

Zentech traded time slots with Bike Talk and there was no show on 6/11/14

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 < >

Both Glenn and Paul were in studio today.

During the show, Glenn said he would post the audio for this show. You should be able to find the podcast here, eventually.

Glenn is still struggling with Google Hangouts. He's gotten more instruction from Coryon Redd but it wasn't enough to start a hangout for today's show — "it's not intuitive in any way, shape or form". He scheduled the hangout but the window only had 'share' and 'cancel' buttons. After clicking 'share', the only way to close the window was to click 'cancel' — there was no 'create' button, or similar. Now he couldn't find the hangout and thought it was not really created. He plans to keep trying and hopes to create a hangout well in advance of the next show.

People with multiple Gmail accounts, after they log off, are presented with a login screen giving them a choice to login from a list of all their accounts. Paul said that could be confusing, especially if you're using someone else's machine where you could be seeing their accounts along with yours. <Paul wandered away from the topic without any suggestions or saying if this is a security issue. I suggest clearing the Google cookies and closing the login window. That "might" help, if you're really paranoid.>

Paul said he bought, for $24, a timing device to schedule watering of his garden. <He didn't give its name> It's a battery-powered device that screws into the garden hose. It has settings for start and stop times as well a duration and repetition. He likes it better than a Rainbird device be bought before, which had a complicated interface. He said there's a slightly more advanced unit that has a probe to be pushed into the soil to monitor how saturated it is.

Paul's latest acquisition is a flow meter that screws into the 3/4" water main. It has an impeller that spins when the water flows. One of its blades has a magnet and there's a Hall Effect sensor on the outside to detect when that blade goes by. The sensor counts the number of times the impeller goes around, which translates into gallons per minute of water. There's an add-on alarm available. It will sound the alarm when the flow rate goes above a certain value, indicating a massive leak.

Glenn said it's not too hard to fix leaks and you can find Youtube videos to help with that or just about any plumbing project.

Paul spent some time talking about plumbing and his home project to replace galvanized steel pipes with plastic. I won't go into details. If you're interested, you can listen to the podcast after Glenn's had a chance to post it.

Paul reminded us about his rule for internet searches — get your query down to 4 carefully chosen words for best results. Be objective and naive about your query; don't try to prejudge what the answer will be.

The guys then talked about auto transmission fluid and the process of flushing it. Listen to the podcast if you're interested.

Sheree called. She has a new machine with Windows 8. When she launches Internet Explorer, it opens with a blank window and she can't go to any webpages. She clicked on the gear icon hoping to go to the internet options but it wasn't highlighted, so she didn't get anywhere. The problem started after trying to download a free software program.
– Be sure you are connected to the net — she said other internet apps were working.
– Use a different computer to download the Firefox browser, and/or Chrome. Most computers these days are 64bit machines, so look for that version of each browser.
– Start Internet Explorer in safe mode by holding down the shift key and clicking on the Internet Explorer icon. IE should start without any of its extensions running. She tried that and still got the blank window.
– Safe mode can also be started by holding down the windows key & pressing 'R'. Then enter command: iexplore -extoff. That got IE working for her.

They then told her to click the gear icon -> internet options -> programs -> manage addons. This is where you can see the browser helper objects (programs that are similar to plugins). She read off what was in the list and the one from Zeon Corporation drew suspicion.

Paul asked her what anti-virus program she's using. She thought the anti-virus came built into Windows 8. It's supposed to have Windows Defender but it's not obvious: it doesn't have an icon in the taskbar.
– Windows Defender and Microsoft Essentials are no longer recommended.

Paul guided her thu the steps to reset Internet Explorer to factory default settings. Click the gear button -> Internet Options -> Advanced tab and click on "reset Internet Explorer to the default conditions". You should also do a scan for malware, a process that's not obvious when using Windows Defender. Paul thought there's a way to do it in the Control Panel. Paul said it's a good idea to shut down and then restart Windows before doing the Explorer reset.

For Windows 8 users who want to get back the look & feel of Win7 or XP there's classicshell.net. You'll get back the start button & cascading menus etc. but you don't lose the "desktop", if you really think you might need it. <By "desktop" I think he meant the tile interface, but I'm not familiar with Win8 so I really shouldn't be second-guessing him.>

Paul said that Homeland Security has been issuing a bulletin for a few years, saying one shouldn't use Internet Explorer because of its flaws. The guys suggested using Firefox or Chrome.

Paul vaguely recalled that Alt + Q will get you to the Control Panel in Win8 where there's an icon for Windows Defender and you can run it from there to do your virus scan. But consider getting Avast or AVG for your anti-virus program.

The disclaimer:
Anything that you hear on this show is the thought or opinion of the speakers only and not necessarily that of KVMR, its staff, management, underwriters, board of directors or volunteers.

Glenn thanked those who've become supporting members of KVMR. If you'd like to become a member, the local number is 530-265-9073 or you can join at kvmr.org.

For people searching for a good anti-virus program Paul suggested they search for the words: compare antivirus. Among the search results, he's more likely to trust well-known publications such as PC Magazine or Cnet. I'm guessing this is the link he found at PC Magazine that rates Norton Anti-virus highest followed by AVG and then others.

Jeff called from Woodland. He said he sympathizes with Sheree because she likes Internet Explorer. However, he recently bought a laptop with Windows 8 and he was advised to remove Explorer. Subsequently, he's been working with Firefox and Chrome. Glenn said he neglected mentioning Safari, which also is a decent browser.

Briefly, Paul said he's discovered the worst program he's ever seen: Outlook 2013. It's much much worse than any previous version. He didn't elaborate.

Sheree called again. While doing the Explorer reset, she got to the point where it says "are you sure you want to reset all settings" it also said "delete personal settings" and she questioned whether she'll lose her 'Favorites'.
– Yes, those will be lost. Don't proceed with the reset.
– Instead, do a Google search for "how to save my Internet Explorer favorites".
– Or, get Firefox first. It has the ability to import the Favorites from IE. (Firefox calls them bookmarks).
– When you have Internet Explorer working again, you'll be able to use it to import Favorites back from Firefox, if you choose.
– Now that she has IE working in safe mode, she should be able to use it to download Firefox.

Last Update 9:50 PM 6/18/2014

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 < >

Both Paul and Glenn were in studio

During the show, Glenn said he will post the audio for this show. You should be able to find it here, eventually.

Glenn tried to start a Google Hangout for today's show with no success. Earlier, he managed to 'schedule' a Hangout for today using the Chrome browser but he didn't know where to go to actually start the Hangout.
– When he tried using Firefox, he couldn't get it to download and install a needed plugin. He speculated that you'll have to use Chrome if you're on a PC.
– To find Hangout content for Zentech, go to Youtube and search for the words: zen tech kvmr
– He thought the process doing a Hangout is a lot more complicated than it should be.

Paul shared a historic factiod. Until recently, it was thought that the Mayans had no use for the wheel because they didn't have beasts of burden. Now, toys they made for their children have been found that have wheels.

The guys went to the Maker Fair last weekend, but on different days. Glenn used public transportation from the Millbrae Bart Station to the fair. It was noted that it actually costs less to take Bart all the way to Millbrae than it costs to go to the S. F. Airport, which is along the way.

Paul said that there are apps now for bus schedules.
– There is a free GPS mapping app called OsmAnd which shows transportation routes.
– And there's one called something like Muni just for San Francisco's public transportation. The Muni app is a work in progress and will soon be able to tell you when the next bus will arrive at your stop. The S. F. busses have GPS chips onboard that communicate with the dispatch center.
<This looks like the home page for OsmAnd:
Download the app here:
Also check this out
There are several apps for the Muni, here's one.>

Glenn has been using an app called Embark for Bart schedules. But it failed him during his trip to Maker Fair: it kept saying "no data found". Instead, he discovered that the Bart website worked well in providing real-time info, and he didn't have to use the app at all. On the Bart site, he used the item called "Real Time Departures".
<It looks like Embark is only for iDevices. And there are versions for other cities too:
Embark's home page.
Embark & other similar apps for Android can be found here:>

Paul said those who create apps for mobile devices can register a web address using .mobi as the top level domain. The creator of the application has to demonstrate that the address being registered is intended for use by mobile devices.

A website using web access protocol (WAP) is able to recognize when someone with a tiny screen (mobile phone) is trying to view it. So when you use your phone to view the Bart site, Bart will format the content to fit the small device. However, using the Bart website isn't always convenient, like when you lose your connection while underground. So using an app, which can download and store some of the data, still has some advantages.

Some things seen at the Maker Fair:
– Art objects made from LED lights.
– People in various costumes.
– Vehicles of different types, including wooden frame bikes.
– The Pedal Power Performance Stage had 14 bikes connected to it. <This may be similar to The Shamancycle mentioned during the 8-28-13 show>.

Paul briefly talked about a gift he received and just got around to using. It's a water rocket consisting of a base that's screwed on to a plastic soda bottle that has fins attached. The bottle is partly filled with water and is pumped up with air. The pressure eventually blows the base away from the opening allowing the pressurized water to propel the bottle skyward. He was impressed with the height it reached: maybe 300 or 400 feet. He plans to attach a webcam to it eventually.

Ed called saying his laptop "crashed". He wanted to "reset my programs" and was told by a technician that its memory was too small, the computer was too old and that he should get a new computer. He wanted to know what to look for in a new machine. He downloads music to practice singing and he burns CDs to share with other members of his choral group.
– You may want to consider a tablet instead of a laptop. Often, people have a tablet to compliment their computer but they use the tablet with increasing frequency.
– For web browsing, email etc., the tablet is just fine. If you do a lot of typing, go with a computer instead.
– In a laptop, look for a Core I3, I5 or I7 processor, Glenn suggested.
– Tablets don't come with CD/DVD drives. But on an Android tablet you'll most likely be able to attach an external drive. <Not so with the iPad, as I recall>.
– Some laptops don't come with CD/DVD drives, like later models of the Apple Mac. Consider using storage on the internet (the cloud).
– Instead of burning CDs, get a Google Drive account to store the music where it can be communally shared with the other members. You can even play the music directly from Google Drive.
– If you go with a PC, Glenn suggested one with Windows 7 rather than Win8.

Ed then asked if he would be able to buy an iPad for less than $400.
– The 16gig Mini is $399, if Glenn recalled correctly. A 32gig iPad is about $599.
– Also consider a Mac Mini at around $600, though you'll have to add an external CD/DVD drive for under $50, and a monitor

There are a couple of pieces of software Paul meant to talk about today but will hold off until the next show. Both are free looping applications that take a piece of audio and make it repeat in creative ways while creating multiple tracks.

One is called SooperLooper for the Mac or PC,
– Look up SooperLooper on Youtube to get an idea of what it does. Paul said the instructional video is very good.
– It's also available as an "audio unit", a .au file. That means you can run it in Logic Pro, though it drove Paul nuts when he tried to.
– You can use SooperLooper with a mouse & keyboard, but it can be controlled with Midi instruments where you don't even need a monitor screen.
<I had trouble finding a PC version. Maybe it's only for the Mac>
<I did find a couple of links that may be helpful here and here.>

The other looping program is called Mobius for the PC

Mark called. He was listening to a program about radiation from cell phones, smart meters and microwaves. He's taken some steps to limit his exposure and wanted to know what the guys thought about the radiation issue as well as their thoughts on nuclear power. He saw the movie called Pandora's Promise where some anti-nuclear activists now think nuclear power is not so bad.
– Glenn said that he's no expert on this but is skeptical about claims of harm from such radiation. He's not aware of any research that shows harm.
– Paul said we're often exposed to radiation that we don't suffer from, like the 60 cycle AC current that comes in to our homes or all the radio and TV radiation all around us.
– There are even people in the flight path of aircraft that are exposed to microwave radiation without ill effects.

With regard to nuclear power, Paul doesn't see a good argument for it, given and the alternative energy sources coming online: wind and solar. But Ed argued that the alternative energy still requires backup <peak power, I think it's called> and that nuclear is cleaner than fossil fuels. Paul pointed out the nuclear accidents that have happened and that we tend not to learn that much from them. My take on Paul's comment is that we can't really avoid accidents, "there is no such thing as an accident, there's only the unforeseen", Paul said.

Glenn thought that if we're going to rely on nuclear, we'll need to build in the safety that the nuclear industry is, at this point, unwilling to pay for.

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 or contributors.

Meteom <me.tee.yom> called. She has a relatively new computer and burned a CD for the first time. The CD only plays on her computer, not in her CD player.
– You should burn it as a 'music disk' not a data disk, Paul said. But she said that's what she did.
– Try playing it in some other CD audio player to see if the problem persists. Some old players don't like burned disks. But she said her player has played burned disks before.
– Glenn asked if she created .wav files or .mp3 files. She said .mp3. Glenn said many CD players can't play .mp3, try creating .wav files.
– You may have burned the disk at a speed that's too fast. try a slower rate.
– To find where to change the burn rate in Media Player, which she uses, google the words; windows media player audio burn.
<What I think the guys were getting at was to burn the CD in Red Book Audio (the form commercial music CD come in) and not .mp3 OR .wav (which actually produce a 'data' disk).

Last update 10:47 PM 5/28/2014

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 < >

Both Paul and Glenn were in studio

During the show, Glenn said he will post the audio for this show. You should be able to find it here.

It wasn't until well into the show that Glenn tried to create a Google Hangout to broadcast this show. He was not successful — he's still experimenting with this service.

Glenn thanked supporters of KVMR. If you'd like to become a supporter, please visit KVMR.

Glenn noted that a pair of tickets to the Maker Fair was given away to Doug during the last show. Another pair will be given away today. The Maker Fair will be at the San Mateo County Events Center this coming weekend — Sat the 17th 10am to 8pm and Sun the 18th 10am to 6pm.

There will be a shuttle (Maker Fair event bus) between the Millbrae "transportation hub" and the fair. Public transportation options are recommended because parking at the fair is very limited. More info and an app for your mobile device can be found here. People who would like to carpool to the maker fair call Glenn or Paul at KVMR 530-265-9073 and leave a message or contact Paul using zen at kvmr dot org.

Glenn talked about a KVMR volunteer who used a KVMR computer to log in to either Yahoo or Google using Google Chrome and was given the option of using her son's or husband's account. She was surprised at being given access to other people's accounts on something other than her home computer.
– It's a new feature that when you "sign into Google Chrome, the browser, you suddenly now have synchronicity between all of your computers". Synching means information (e.g. bookmarks) is available wherever you login.
– Glenn warned, "Don't log into your Google Chrome account".
– When you first install Chrome you're given the option to create a login to the browser itself. Paul said Chrome is usable without a login.
– Be careful when using a public computer with Chrome. If you used a login, go to settings, look for your user name and sign out ("disconnect account").
– Paul's used the search terms: chrome login credentials sync, and I think this is what he found: Protect your synced data
– Glenn said he'll do more research on this.
– Paul said he uses a bogus, throwaway Gmail account to try things out. He sometimes uses it to "see what Google Plus looks like to a stranger that's not subscribed to anything".

Mac users have a app called Apple Keychain that manages username and passwords.
– Only one master password is needed to accesses the Keychain.
– Various applications on the Mac — Thunderbird, Safari, network logins etc. — can use the Keychain for signing in.
– You only need to remember the master password
– Those using the Mavericks operating system (10.9) will find that the Keychain can be stored in the cloud in encrypted form. But there's the potential of havoc if it's cracked. When a company provides encryption, they guaranty only that it hasn't been broken into YET.
– The Heartbleed defect (from the 4-30-14 show) could have, but not necessarily did, compromised your Keychain's master password, if you typed it in and was sent thru a vulnerable SSL connection.

Projects that Google is working on can be found at their Labs site.

A few years ago they launched a project called Google Expert where you can pose a question to real people and obtain an answer, at a cost.
– Some people have provided technical computer support thru Google Expert at a rate of $30/hr, as Paul remembered.
– More recently, people have been using Google Hangouts to provide support using the remote desktop and remote viewing features of Hangouts <mentioned in the 4-23-14 show>.
– Google is buying up companies to add various feature to Hangouts — teleconferencing, chat etc.

Paul said various KVMR programs are available as podcasts. Go to kvmr.org and click on 'Podcasts'. For legal reasons, podcasts with substantial music content can't easily be provided — there is a "2 week moratorium" on music programming.

Paul is doing some work on his house and mentioned the ReStore on Loma Rica Drive, which he likes a lot. He recently got a garbage disposal there. He talked a bit about how the blades in it worked, and about getting it choked up and having to take it outside to clear it out.

Paul said the internet is great for the videos and animations that explain how things work or how to fix stuff. <Youtube should be a good place to start>

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

Brian called. He has a couple of iMacs that are 3 or 4 years old. He upgraded them to the Mavericks operating system and new he gets the "spinning beach ball all of the time".
– Mavericks, itself, won't install on underpowered Macs so that shouldn't be the problem.
– Go to the application folder -> utilities -> disk utilities and check the disk for "permission problems".
– Also, in the upper right, there is what's called Searchlight (or maybe Spotlight). Type 'console' into the box. Console is an app from the Unix days that will show you the error messages. Look for the message 'disk io error'.
    If there is no other disk other than the internal drive, that message means there is something physically wrong with the drive. If the disk utilities are unable to fix it, the console will say 'unable to repair disk' and the disk is toast.
– A less likely fix, and more applicable to laptops, is to reset the programmable random access memory when you start up the computer. There is a setting that Paul didn't explain. He asked Brian to message him if the first 2 things didn't solve the problem.

At this point, Glenn asked people to call in to win the Maker Fair tickets. The first caller and winner was Karen.

Finally, Paul talked about fixing a misbehaving Mac laptop by resetting the SMC (System Management Console). Unfortuately, MacBooks made in the last 3 or 4 years have a built-in battery.
– First of all, don't open the Mac to pull the battery unless you have a serious problem.
– What you do is turn the machine off, if you can. Then press the Left-shift + control + option key and the power button all at the same time.
– For more information, search for the words: macbook reset fix battery. Make sure you only look at the search result that point to apple.com — others may be misleading.

Last update 10:23 PM 5/14/2014