Glenn will talk about Google Offers and their refund policy

Additional notes

 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 was in the studio and Paul called in Casper CA near Point Cabrillo on the North coast.

NOTE: There will not be a show on the 5th Wed this month (10-30-13) due to the membership drive. There will be special programming in its place.

Glenn thanked current KVMR members for their support. To become a member, please visit the KVMR website.

Glenn said he's gotten complaints from 2 iMac users about not being able to get the KVMR Flea Market website to display properly while using the Safari browser.
– He recommended they use the Firefox browser and that solved the problem.
– Paul tried to replicate the problem but it worked fine for him.
– Besides using a different browser, Paul suggested an upgrade to the operating system. He sees no compelling reason not to get the Mountain Lion OS, if your machine is compatible. It's about $19. Glenn thought you'd need at least a Core 2 Duo processor to run Mountain Lion.

Paul said some early Macs, typically from early 2007, with a Core 2 Duo couldn't run Mountain Lion because the graphics processing was not fast enough. He mentioned a website where you can enter the serial number of your Mac and find the date of manufacture as well as other info.

Paul reminded listeners that you can put the Ubuntu operating system (a version of Linux) on a Mac as old as the G4 <later he said G5>. Go to Ubuntu and download the G5 or Power PC (PPC) version and follow the instructions. Older laptops with an Intel processor work even better, using the Intel version of Ubuntu.

Glenn asked Paul if he knew what the critter is on the Firefox emblem. According to Glenn, it's a red panda. Paul remembered that the original Mozilla project had a gecko for its logo

The forerunner of the current Firefox browser was based on Netscape code (though the code itself was not copied). Netscape eventually became the property of AOL (America On Line). <The Netscape browser was popular during the 1990s>

Paul noted that the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse had its foghorns silenced by the Coast Guard. He then talked about sound propagation as well as progress that's been made in marine navigation.
– High-pitched sounds are more directional than low-pitched sounds.
– However, the high frequency sounds don't travel as far as the low-pitched sounds.
– It's harder to tell where low pitch sounds are coming from. The strategy had been to not go in the direction where the fog horn gets louder because your going toward the horn & hence toward land.
– Glenn speculated that the horns at Point Cabrillo were shut down because sailors now use GPS. The lights of the light houses as well as an older navigation system called Omega are being phased out slowly because it's not clear who may still depend on them, Paul said.
– Paul said the sailors now download their charts rather than use printed ones.
<From today's All Things Considered: NOAA Says No More Paper Maps Of U.S. Waterways>

Brother Free called. He has an Emachine PC with a Pentium processor E5400 and Windows 7. He defragged the hard drive and consequently lost all of the icons on the desktop. Otherwise it works fine.
– Press F5 to refresh the desktop. He tried that but it didn't help.
– Right-click on desktop -> View -> Show Desktop Icons. That solved his problem.

Patricia called. She lives in Browns Valley where she doesn't have any internet service except dialup. She wanted to know what options she has for a broadband service. She said the Verizon cellular service is available to her and Jetpack from Verizon (in conjunction with a smartphone) had been recommended to her.
– Ask Verizon how much extra it would cost to use a smartphone as a hotspot for your computer. She already did and was told it would cost $100 per month for 2gigs of data.
– Dish Network & Direct TV have satellite service that might work for you.
– Digital Path might also be an option. Call them at 800-676-7284. Digital Path was installed at Glenn's property for an initial fee of $250 and subscription fee of $50 to $60 per month for unlimited service.
– Paul said, go to a Verizon store and ask about mi-fi. It's just a black box that converts cell phone signals into wi-fi signals. You don't need a cell phone to use it. Make sure the Verizon store you go to is a company store not an independent store.
– If your computer doesn't have wi-fi, you should be able to plug it directly into the mi-fi box. Or, you can add wi-fi to your computer with an adapter for about $6.
– Other cellular providers have a similar product. Ask your neighbors what cellular service they're using, to know what works in your location.
– Words to remember when asking about these services are 'mi-fi' and 'tether '. Tethering is where a cell phone converts cellular signals to wi-fi.
<A review of Jetpack>

Bongo called. He uses an amplifier to boost his cellular signal and has antennas in the house to distribute the signal. He wanted to know if there is something he can do to boost the signal to increase the range, or should he continue adding antennas throughout the house.
– Glenn suggested using a wi-fi router to distribute the signal that's coming into the house. Additionally, you'll probably need a modem to take the cellular signal and pass it to the router. The modem would come from AT&T and may commit you to a contract.

Bongo is using an iPhone 4 and Paul suggested he go into Settings and look for something that says 'tethering'. If that's not there, you don't have that plan from AT&T. Bongo said he already jailbroken the phone and Glenn suggested he go to Cydia and look for an app that does tethering or acts as a hotspot. Glenn once used an app called TetherMe which costs $5.

Bongo went on to say that he doesn't hang out at wi-fi hotspots so he doesn't use the cloud to backup the files from his phone. As a result, he doesn't have enough available memory to upgrade his phone to version 7 of iOS. He wanted to know how to get the data off his phone. He doesn't have a computer to back it up to.
– Ask a friend with a computer, who's not already using it to backup an iPhone, if you can backup your phone on their machine. Use iTunes on the friend's computer to select what you want to keep. iTunes will also tell you how much memory you've freed up. Once you have transferred the date to their computer, you can then put the data on a flash drive.
– Since you only have a cellular plan at home, it can get expensive to backup to the cloud.
– Read up on other suggestions – google the words: ios 7 upgrade insufficient space.

Mary called to say she uses a mi-fi device from AT&T and it has worked wonderfully for her. Paul added, the cool thing is you can use the mi-fi device anywhere you can get a cellular signal from the provider, not just at home. And you can connect to it from any wi-fi enabled device (smartphone, tablet etc.).

Matthew called. He said he's simplified his life by selling his computer & cell phone. He wanted to know the cheapest way to receive messages.
– Try something like the GoPhone or TrackPhone. Check with Walmart or Best Buy and ask for a plan with just text (txt) service.
– You can use cell phones without a cellular plan by using it only in a wi-fi mode. You just need to find a place that has wi-fi: McDonalds, Flower Garden, an AT&T store, etc.
– Freedom Pop is another option. Their minimum plan is about $18/mo. See the show notes from 10-9-13 for more info.

Bill called with a comment. He uses Mac OS10 Snow Leopard. He was about to pay $29.95 to get Mountain Lion but then found out that the latest OS, called Maverick, is free. He said one of the improvements is longer battery life for those using a laptop. Visit the Apple site.
– Paul cautioned that if you go from version 10.6 to 10.9 of the OS, Power PC applications will no longer work.
– To tell which apps will have problems with Maverick, google the word: maverick compatibility applications

Last update 9:46 PM 10/23/2013

Additional notes:

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 & Paul were in the studio.

Paul talked about getting your computer to show the right time. To manage the time on your computer, click (or double click) the clock displaying the time in the lower right on a PC or upper right on a Mac.

In the window that pops up you can change the time manually, but the time will drift and you will have to keep resetting it. While there, you can change the time zone, too. In our area it should be set to GMT -8 hours also know as Pacific Time.

When you click the "Internet Time" tab, you can tell Windows to go out on the net to retrieve the correct time and set your computer to that. Checkmark the box where it says "Automatically synchronize with an Internet time server and next to "Server:" select the particular server you want it to use. It will then automatically update your clock.

One of the time servers Windows can access is time.nist.gov. The other choice is time.windows.com. <I use 209.81.9.7 if the other two are temporarily unavailable. You can type in an alternate server address of your choice directly into the box>. Other servers you can try: time.apple.com & pool.ntp.org. You can actually go to nist.gov and find out more about the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

You can also click the "Update Now" button and Windows will synch your clock immediately. Paul tried that on the KVMR's computer and got an error message. He thought the problem might be that the firewall is blocking the port used for time updates — it's different from the port used for displaying webpages. The other thing that could be blocking the time port is the router in their office. At first Paul speculated the NIST time server might be a victim of the government shutdown but he tried the other servers and still got the error message, so he figured the problem was at KVMR.

Glenn noted that the weather site at NOAA was shut down last week.

Paul speculated that the government websites for the Affordable Care Act may eventually be shut down, since they are currently having trouble handling the volume of users. Paul thinks Wikipedia is a good source for info about the health care act.

Paul went on to talk about Britain's health system. He thought it was 1947 that the Bevin Act was passed. It enabled Britain's nationalized insurance to "distribute the load of cost of health care provisioning across the whole population of Britain". Check out the Wikipedia article about the National Health Service.

Glenn thanked KVMR members for their support. If you'd like to become a member, please go to kvmr.org.

Bongo called. He thought he had heard the guys talk about Textme! on a previous show. It's an app to let you send text <txt> messages for free. The guys didn't recall having said anything about it but welcomed the question anyway.

Bongo said when he started using the app, it asked him for his contact list and some other info. He was concerned about sharing the list with a third party.
– You can decline sharing that info. You'll just have to manually enter the phone number of the person you're texting to every time.
– For additional privacy, you can turn off the location services feature on the iPhone by going into Settings -> privacy. Paul likes to check this setting periodically to be sure some app didn't change it.
– In the upper right corner of the screen there is a little "pointy arrow", and if some application starts using your GPS service, the arrow will light up.
– Glenn found the Textme! app and it seems to have a high rating — 4.5 stars out of 5 — as well as 17,000 reviews. Based on that, he guessed that it is a well-behaved app.
– Glenn uses Google Voice (a free service), which has a texting function. He likes it because it works with his phone, iPad, his computer and any computer he uses to sign with.
– Paul seemed to say that Textme! works thru the Google Talk and you don't need Textme! if you already have the Google Talk application. Bong said he'll check out Google Talk.
– Glenn noted that just because a app asks for your contact list, that doesn't mean the list will be sent back to the makers of the app. <The app may use the list only on your phone>.
– Apple reviews apps that are submitted to its app store, but it's still possible for the app developers to sneek something in that might violate Apple's rules.

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.

Richard called. He called about Freedom Pop during the 9-25-13 show and wondered what the guys found out about it.
– It uses one of the radio frequencies used by cell phones for 4G service.
– Go to their website & enter your zip code "to see if that particular type of wireless service is available that allows you to get 4G access".
– A certain number of megabytes is free per month. When you've used that up, you can buy 2 gigs of data for $19 per month.
– You have to get a mino router, which is a gateway between the 4G network and wireless. You use wi-fi in the house and the router (gateway) translates the data so it can be sent to/from a 4G cellular network. A refurbished router is $39.
– Freedom Pop uses a nation-wide service called something like Clear Data.
– You enter IMEI number, which the unique identity of your mobile device, and "that gives you 4G service if it's compliant with the hardware you own".
– Paul speculated that giving away a certain amount of service for free is just the cost of doing business. Doing it this way and relying on word-of-mouth advertising could cost less than traditional advertising.
– Even if Freedom Pop is not available a particular zip code, if enough people query their website with that zip code, it might encourage them to offer the service at that location.

Paul talked about Emailchemy. It's a program that converts email between different formats, even between email programs that don't exist anymore. It starts at $29. See the above link.

Glenn: took Windows XP off of a friends Asus 12" and installed Xubuntu. He asked Paul if they could use that computer to show a slidshow when it's connected to a projector.
– Yes you can. Paul thought the name of the Linux (Xubuntu) program is called Presentations. It will display Microsoft Power Point content. Presentations is part of LibreOffice (a branch of OpenOffice). <See the Favorite Programs And Utilities file for more info >.
– Glenn said it's just images they want to show, not Power Point files. In that case, Paul said, there are a bunch of programs they can use.
– As he said before, Paul prefers Kubuntu because of its user interface. See the notes for the 9-25-13 show for more info.
– The package manager in Ubuntu allows you to search for the app you need for a slideshow — just enter 'slideshow' in the search box. The apps are free from the Ubuntu store.

Glenn asked about getting files off an iPod using Windows. Using instruction in a Youtube video, he managed to unlock & show hidden folders and eventually transfer the music files.
– Paul said it's likely that only the music files were transferred and not the album titles, song titles, etc.
– Glenn thought that after the music is transferred to a separate drive, pointing iTunes to the music's location would let iTunes figure out what the titles are. Paul thought iTunes would play the music but not supply the titles.
– Paul said a better way is to use an "ipod ripper" for about $19. Xilisoft makes one. For more info; google the words: ipod ripper.
<Download.com may have a trial version:>
– When you upgrade iOS you may have to upgrade the iPod ripper.

Marilyn called. She let someone use her computer to login to Hotmail & her info showed up when he was filling out a form on-screen. She wanted to know how to prevent that.
– It differs depending on whether you're using Internet Explorer or Firefox. She said she uses Firefox
– The easiest way is to "empty all the setting that have been saved by Firefox". Paul couldn't recall where in Firefox you would do that but there should be a place to empty the cache & saved passwords. <This seems draconian to me. The next suggestion seems better…>
– Initiate private browsing before letting him use the computer. That will isolate that particular browsing session. Go to File -> New Private Window.

Last updated 8:41 PM 10/9/2013

Additional notes

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 < >

Paul was in the studio, Glenn called in from Sacramento

The intro music was the track Nothing Is Something Worth Doing by Shpongle

Glenn got to try the iPhone 5S & 5C at a T-Mobile store.
– It doesn't look that much different from the previous version.
– The big thing this time is the changes in the operating system — it's now iOS 7. However, it won't work on anything earlier that an iPhone 4 or 4S. Nor will it run on the original iPad — iPad 2 or later is required.
– The 5S has an new processor — the A7 chip
– The 5S has a 4" screen — iPhone 4 is said to have a 3.5" screen.
– In comparison, Glenn saw a friends newest Samsung Galaxy. It's screen is much larger — it's "almost all LCD screen".

Those who have iPhones or iPads that have the "traditional wide dock" (not the newer Lightning dock) can buy device that lets them read flash cards. The device is about $5 or $10 on Ebay. Google the words: flash dock.

Glenn had some problems getting his Asus netbook to connect to a router, even while using a direct Ethernet cable. It's an AT&T/Motorola router and Paul remembered that the cream-colored 2-wire router from AT&T is known to have had problems some time back — something to do with capacitors. Glenn's router is black.

Glenn addressed some questions that have accumulated over the past weeks. Richard wrote in asking if there is an inexpensive, reliable notebook with out wi-fi.
– Glenn didn't think that there are any notebooks sold without wi-fi. But you can just turn off the wi-fi.

Richard also asked about an inexpensive but reliable printer that doesn't cost a fortune in ink to operate.
– The ink for all of them is fairly expensive.
– Paul noted that buy.com (aka rakuten.com) has a series of Canon Laser printers with scanners whose ink cartridge can print 3000 black & white images. One of the cheaper Canons is $110. Also, the cartridges don't have any electronic chips meant to prevent refilling.

Recently, Fry's has been advertising Asus PCs with a 15.6" screen, Intel dual core processor, 4gig of memory, 300gig hard drive and Windows 8 for $258.

Paul repeated his challenge for anyone to tell him what benefit Windows 8 has over anything else. He also said that the tile interface is disliked by many. At least in Windows 8.1 that interface is optional.

The guys complained that logging off a computer often involves more than one action — it's true with many products including those from Apple. Paul gave some tips.
– With laptops, and often with desktops, if you push the off button once briefly, it doesn't shut it done but "triggers the shut down process as if you told the machine to shut down with the mouse".
– This action can be changed. Go to the Control Panel -> Power Options (sometimes under Desktop). There you can specify what to do when you press the off button — some choices are shut down, hibernate and ask me.
– Glenn noted that a pushing and holding down the off button is not the best way to turn of a computer because running programs are not terminated properly and you're not logged off of Windows.

Paul gave some tips when you have programs not responding or the mouse is jammed or things have slowed way down. In preferred order…
1) Be patient. Wait for the computer to finish something that's just taking a long time. Look at the hard drive light to see if it's busy, wait for it to finish. A busy drive light is the worst time to pull the power plug. 5 minutes is reasonable time to wait.
2) When you come back, use the mouse to close individual programs.
3) If nothing works right, not just your programs, press Control+Alt+Delete. This brings up the Task Manager. It should come up in 60 seconds and you can use it to shut down the computer <or individual programs>.
4) Push the power button briefly to see if it gives you a choice to shut down.
5) The last option is to hold the power button down for up to 30 seconds. That forces power supply to shut down.

Ingrid called to asked about places that refill ink carts.
– A few weeks ago Glenn took Epson ink cartridges into Costco for refilling. However, they didn't work right and he plans to get a refund. He said Costco has a pretty good return policy.
– Paul said it's pretty messy trying to refill them yourself. One drop of ink can leave a lot of stain. He doesn't do that anymore.
– You can buy cheap cartridges at Amazon or Ebay. <I've had good results with LD Products>
– Newer printers often have cartridges that contain a chip to prevent or make it difficult to refill. Older printers don't usually have this problem.
– Paul read up on the laser printer he bought to be sure the cartridge would be easy to refill or buy refurbished.
– Glenn said some newer laser printer cartridges come with the fuser roller & exposure mechanism so you end up replacing the high mortality parts all at once — not just the toner alone.

Paul was delighted to find that the $110 printer/scanner he bought has an automatic document feeder that can feed 40 8.5" X 11" documents to be scanned. But after using it a while it stopped feeding in the documents. It turned out that it had only a single roller that does the feeding and it would get coated with china clay and paper fibers from the documents. Business grade printer/scanners usually have multiple rollers to do the job. He solved the problem by gently using emery paper on the roller to rough up its surface. He said if you clean rubber rollers with isopropyl alcohol don't use rubbing alcohol — it contains lanolin, which leaves a slick finish.

Bruce called. He had revived a old Pentium 4 computer and after adding software to it, he found an instance of "service host" taking up much of the processor time. <Do a Control+Alt+Delete -> click the Processes tab -> see the items called svchost.exe> If he kills tha//t process, it works fine. He wants to know how to find the program that is launching that instance of service host.
– Use the Microsoft program called Process Explorer. It's like task manager but gives more information.
– To figure out what you're looking at in Process Explorer, google the terms to get more info.
<Process Explorer was mentioned in the 10-19-09 show>
Tips for Using Process Explorer>

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 < >

Paul was in the studio and Glenn joined in by phone from Sacramento

Glenn noted how cool it was today in Sac, leading Paul to mention a network of citizen-run weather stations. Go to wunderground.com for more info.
<As an example, I use this one, which is local to me here in Sac>

Apple announced new products yesterday. The lower-cost model 5C iPhone is targeted for the Chinese market.
– It comes in 5 colors and you can get those same 5 colors as a cover choice for the phone.
– It has the same A6 processor as the iPhone 5.
– It's a little slimmer and has a different battery.
– It's $529 to purchase it outright for an unlocked version. <Of course, the various carriers have contract plans.>

Also debuting was the iPhone 5S. The improvement Glenn liked was its 64bit processor, apparently a first in smartphone technology. The 5S entry model is $629.
<There was much buzz about its fingerprint reader, too.
Here are some articles about the phones…
Apple Unveils Faster iPhone, and a Cheaper One, Too
Highlights and Analysis of Apple’s iPhone Event
Surprising Enhancements to Apple’s iPhone Line, by David Pogue>

The KVMR program director Steve Baker, under pretense of announcing breaking news, wished Paul a happy birthday. He turned 57. Several staff members sang the traditional birthday song.

Paul said that the new iPhones come with a new version of the operating system: iOS7. He said iOS7 will not work on iPhone 3GS or earlier. Eventually, owners of these early models will not be able to install apps — the apps will require iOS7.

Glenn noted that Mikail <the resident Apple fan> thinks Android is a "bit ahead of the game at this point".

Paul said Android & Apple products have their own "ecosystems". Apple has the iCloud, which synchronizes content across different Apple hardware. Android has Google Contacts, Gmail, Google Plus, etc.

He said that, with some effort, you can get your music list from iTunes to work Android. Alternately, you can use Google Music to store up to 20,000 songs. Also, you can cache songs on the Android device for listening when you're not on the web.

Paul went on to say that "you can actually login to iCloud and see your photo stream using Windows 7 or higher". It's not built-in to Win7 — you have to download iTunes and login with your Apple ID. Supposedly, you will also be able use iCloud to synch your contacts, events, etc. using Outlook.

Talk turned to top level domains (.com, .net, .org…). See the above link to IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) for various domains. You can register your own personal web address using one of endings in the list by typing into your address bar the letters 'nic.' followed by the top level domain you're interested in. If you want an address ending in .it, for example, type nic.it. If you look further down the IANA list, you'll see domain names in foreign languages.

Glenn acknowledged the 911 tragedy on this anniversary.
Paul put up a link above to a Wikipedia article about the event.

Paul had used Mac computers for a while and then bought one about 3 years ago. He's not an early adopter and tends get a model that's a generation behind. In that light, he appealed to listeners wanting to sell their off-contract iPhone 4 or 5 to contact him <zen at kvmr dot org>.

Paul then talked about EXIF photo data. It's the meta data that's stored in the image file along with the picture and contains info about aperture, focus, shutter speed, etc. that was used to make the photo.
<EXIF was discussed on the 2-27-13 show>

At one time, Paul got a bunch of pictures that didn't come from a camera, but from a scanner. He wanted to add EXIF data to them and found the tool to do it. See the above link for EXIFTOOL. It does batch processing to do a bunch of photos at once and runs from the command line, where you type in the commands like the old DOS operating system.

Batch processing is difficult to do in many graphical <GUI> programs. Paul asked listeners to suggest graphical programs that can do a similar job.

He also said iPhoto has some advance search ability where you can display photos based on certain criteria like the camera that was used, a particular location, a certain date and many other attributes in the EXIF data.

Paul noted that EXIFTOOL works with sound files like .mp3, too. To find out more go a Google search using the words: iphoto search options.

The Mac also has a little-known command interface. Go to the magnifying glass in the upper right & type in the word: terminal. Then hit enter and the terminal program will run and will provide the command line interface. More specifically, what you'll be looking at is a Darwin Unix prompt (loosely based on BSD Unix), where you type in your commands.

Paul had a problem circumventing the user password on a Windows 8 computer. Newer computers have firmware called UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface), which prevents booting Linux from a CD, He had gotten used to booting Linux and then accessing the Windows files without having to run Windows itself.
<UEFI was discussed on the 3-13-13 show>

The solution involved using the system recovery environment, which is accessible during a bootup by holding down a particular key. It's available in Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8. In that environment, there's a place to report your problem to Microsoft and it lets you use Notepad for typing your comments. Once Notepad is running, go to the File menu & click open. Now you'll see a list of files (that Notepad assumes you want to open).

It isn't well known that this window, with the list of files, has some of the properties of the file Explorer: you can rename, delete and even move files (right click on a file). Having gained access to the files in this way, Paul was able to rename 2 files and, thereafter, boot from a Linux CD.

Paul asked listeners if anyone knows of any benefit to using Windows 8. Does it do something that nothing else can? Apparently he's had a problem locating the Control Panel and also getting Microsoft Security Essentials running (it's now called by its previous name Windows Defender). Paul thought the free Security Essentials program, though present on the Win8 machines, is turned off so as not to compete with commercial anti-virus programs that OEM vendors might want to install on their systems.

A caller wanted to know how to tether his Verizon Android phone to his computer.
– It should be possible, it's build into Android, though the carrier can turn off that feature on a phone if they don't want you to do it.
– Glenn read on the web that Verizon charges for their Mobile Broadband Connect tethering feature. So instead, look for an app to download that provides tethering. Check Google's app store.
– Glenn suggested using a data monitoring app to keep track of your data usage, if your cellular plan has a data usage allotment.
– Try going to Settings -> Data Usage to see how much traffic went over wi-fi, Bluetooth and for data usage. It even tells you how much data each app used.
– Go to PC World and search for "android tether verizon" to find the article Glenn was reading. The article also lists some apps you can use for tethering.
– Paul suggested having a talk only plan for the phone and getting a mi-fi unit for your data. Such a unit will use a 3G or 4G cellular connection and provide a wi-fi signal for up to 5 people. Paul said he's heard good reports on the IGo phone plan that gives you talk and text <txt> for about $20 per month that you can supplement with a mi-fi unit.

Paul briefly mentioned the in-ear monitor called Musicians Ear. See the above link.

Katie wrote in asking how to transfer her operating system from one Dell laptop to another.
– There's no way to do it. She'll have to reinstall the OS from scratch on the second computer.
– To reactivate the key on the 2nd machine, call Dell, Dell is pretty good about that.
– From the symptoms she stated, it sounds like someone may have removed the hard drive, supposedly to secure any personal information.

Last updated 10:37 PM 9/11/2013

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.
Intro & outro music was by Phoebe Legere

Paul talked about the Nexus 7 Android tablet that he bought recently.
– It has a 7" screen.
– weighs well under a pound.
– runs for about 10 hours. <Per battery charge, I assume>
– has wi-fi.
– the screen is of a type you might call "retina", though that name is owned by Apple. <That means it has a high resolution>
– retails for about $229, before discount. Paul figured that it's about half the price of an equivalent iPad Mini.
– It comes with 16gig of memory. A 32gig version is available.
– However, it does not have a flash drive port.
– It has a single standard micro USB port for charging and exchanging data with a computer.
–      This port uses a standard known as OTG USB — On The Go USB. That means you can connect different peripherals to it and they will be recognized. And if you plug in a 4-port USB hub, and the hub has a flash card reader, the Nexus can use that card reader. This is unlike the iPad, which can only use wi-fi or iTunes to transfer data.
<The Nexus 7 was mentioned in the 8-14-13 show; see those notes & link to a review article>

There's been some discussion of the relative merits of the Android & Apple "ecosystems". They are quite different but are similar in some ways:
– Both have an app store — Apple Store & Google Play.
– Many apps are created in versions that run on either platform.

Paul's current favorite app for Nexus is NavFree — free GPS software. It's useful for those that don't have a permanent <continuous> internet connection like when driving around. <The wi-fi connection is not reliable in this case>
– Without a continuous connection, the maps have to reside on the Nexus. During installation, NavFree lets you choose the maps for the states you're interested in. You can download maps for other States at a later time and they're free.
– Apps for Android tend to be fairly small — in the range of a few megabytes. The data for the California map was about 256meg.
– NavFree "should work on your phone as well", for those times when you are out of range of a cellular tower — like at the Burning Man Festival.

The other software Paul likes is X-plore. It is a file explorer and more.
– It will also connect to Picasa for exchanging photos. So, it explores files on alien systems such as Google Drive (If you use X-plore you don't need the Google Drive application).
– It also links up with Windows networks & Mac networks and many other systems that have files on them.
– Glenn wondered if there is an equivalent for Apple products. Paul thought not because Apple has such a ridged control on its ecosystem.
– Android tends to be more tolerant about where you can download apps. As such, there is no need to hack Android to make it more open, though you can do that too. However, you do need change the setting under 'Security' to permit downloads from third-party sites.
– If you download only from the Google Play store, you can be sure they are digitally signed and approved by Google.

Glenn said that, over the past several months, some people at the Curious Forge have been building a performance stage in the form of a vehicle called The Shamancycle. It's powered by 6 bicyclists sitting facing each other (3 on each side). It has a performance stage on top and is embellished with the figure of an eagle whose wings light up at night.

The Shamancycle was conceived by Phoebe along with the Shaman Dome group at Burning Man. They approached the Curious Forge for its cooperation in building it. The project was completed, and now the Shamancycle is on its way to the Burning Man Festival. Paul said he couldn't find pictures of the cycle on The Curious Forge web page. Glenn said there are pics of it in some of the blogs on their website. You can find linked to Phoebe Legere there, too.

Paul mentioned a website for the Bay Bridge and project to build a new Eastern span. Traffic on the bridge will be stopped from tonight at 8pm until Tues Sep 3, for some finishing work.

The guys talked about how public rail transportation used to be popular but eventually was scaled back as cars became more popular. Paul talked about the trolley cars in San Francisco. He said, in the past, the driver had to get out and reconnect the poles to the overhead electric wires whenever they came off. More recently, he's noticed they don't do that anymore. He said the process is now automated. He doesn't know how it works but he's seen a pole being repositioned on the wire without the apparent help of the driver.

While Paul was looking at the Bay Bridge website he found a simulation of what it would be like to go over that bridge. He said it's hard to tell if it's really a simulation or an actual video, except that it looks "hyperreal". The simulation even has some skid marks on the road.

Glenn noted the Golden Gate no longer has toll takers. Toll is paid by the use of Fastrack or by using cameras to take photos of license plates and then sending a bill to the car owners.

Paul raised the privacy issue when cameras are involved. He wondered if authorities would be able to arrest someone with an outstanding warrant if their car was photographed crossing a bridge. Glenn thought that wouldn't be feasible because the police would have to be mobilized on to short of a notice — the police would have to always be stationed at the ends of all bridges. Paul thought that someone would eventually figure out a way to do it. Technical possibility is followed by its use followed by its abuse, he said. He related what he thought was Jefferson quotation: anyone that gives up privacy for a little bit of security will lose both.

During the show, Glenn was having trouble downloading the California map for NavFree. That got Paul talking about "reciprocal backoff". If the initial download rate is fast, at some point the rate is reduced by half for, say the last 60 seconds. If you're still downloading the file after 60 seconds, the rate is reduced by half again. He says Hughes Net internet satellite service does this.
<A different type of reciprocal backoff was mentioned in the 5-08-13 show>

Mark called. He lives in the Nevada City area and has seen people trying to get to a nearby campground but are being lead astray by their navigation systems. The guys thought the maps may be based on old data and that it would be futile to get the map vendors to correct them. The best solution would be to put up a roadside sign that says, "Your GPS is wrong".

Paul add more details about his Nexus.
– It has a temperature sensor
– gravity sensor
– accelerometer
– magnetometor
– front & back facing cameras
– a GPS
– Bluetooth
– You can use a wi-fi mouse on it. And, using a replicator with the On The Go USB port, you can use a wired mouse. Unlike the Apple products, a mouse pointer actually shows up on the Nexus screen. Apple's Steve Jobs is known for eliminating things people have taken for granted; the Flash video app, floppy disks, CD drives even the mouse.

These sensors add realism and control features to some apps like the flight simulator called Picasim. This app simulates slope soaring — flying radio-controlled gliders on currents uplifted by hills. <slope soaring was mentioned in the 6-27-12 show> Search the Google Play store with the words: rc flight simulator.

Of the 800,000 or so apps at the Play store many are really good and are free. Many of them have pay versions that give you more features — Picasim gives you more maps & airplanes for an additional $2.99.

Raymond called. He recently got a remote piece of property and wondered if it's worth the expense of putting in a land phone (the phone line is already there). He wanted to know if there is an advantage to be gained. He's currently using a cellular phone and it works reasonably well.
– Unless you want high speed internet (if it's even available there), then no. There's no reason for a land phone.
– However, land phone may be a bit more reliable.

Last updated 10:01 PM 8/28/2013