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– 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 < >

Remember, there's another show this month on the 30th

Both Paul & Glenn were in the studio

Paul finally got around to reviewing the Android PD10 tablet he bought recently. There were some features he looked for…
– He wanted an Android rather than an iPad to save money.
– It's a 7" tablet, which he found is adequate for his needs.
– He wanted it to have wi-fi for connecting to the internet, but he didn't need it to connect to a cellular network.
– A GPS chip for navigation.
– An accelerometer, which can sense how you move the unit around. <Turn it 90 degrees and the image repositions to remain upright, for instance>
– The latest version of Android: 4.1 aka Jelly Bean.
– A front & back facing cameras, for easy Skyping.
<Here's just one review of the PD10>

After checking the features on the Chinese manufacturer's site, he went on to Ebay, found someone selling it for $100 and he bought it. He assumed the one on Ebay had the same features as described on the Chinese site, but there was no GPS. The Ebay description didn't specify a GPS, he assumed it, being the same model number. So don't just go by the model number, read the specifications given by the seller. He also found it had no back-facing camera.

Paul found that it doesn't charge thru the USB port and the charging connector it came with was so tiny and flimsy that it failed and now has to be returned.

He said he liked the latest Android 4.1 but "you can do hot stuff" with even with version 2.

He said this unit has 5-point multitouch. It has the ability to track the placement of 5 fingers on the display though most apps recognize 2-point touch.

He made a poor choice with this unit, he said, but he's on the path to getting another Android device.

He also found a device called "Android on a stick". It's the size of a large packet of chewing gum and has an HDMI plug on the end. It has no screen because you can use your HDMI TV as its screen. Of course, your TV doesn't sense your touch for input, but this "Android on a stick" has Blue Tooth & a USB ports so you can attach a touch pad. A touch pad isn't necessary for using Android, you can use a mouse, but you'll miss a lot of the "fun things". You can also connect a conventional USB keyboard, even a wireless one.  <To find more info, google the words: android on a stick>  

Paul talked about the RII Mini, <I guess this is their webpage> which you can use with "Android on a stick". It's a Blue Tooth based keyboard about the size of a conventional TV remote control. It has a tiny touch pad about 1.5" square, a full alphanumeric keyboard, a full row of function keys, it's backlit and it has a laser pointer (for presentations). It also has a Blue Tooth dongle imbedded in one corner "so you can visit a strange PC, if you like. Plug the Blue Tooth dongle in and start using it"

The RII Mini sub-miniature keyboard is compatible with Android, iPhone, and many phones. In the studio, Glenn was able to establish a Blue Tooth connection with it. It's about $20 from Amazon.

You can get the "Android on a stick" from Amazon for about $67. There are many variations of it with many substantial differences between them. The one Paul got has Android 4.1, it wirelessly connects to the internet, it delivers video over the HDMI port (you plug it into your TV using its HDMI plug). The power is delivered thru a 5 volt USB connector which you can plug into a TV that has USB, and it's turned on & off with the TV.

Why get one of these? "Because it has Netflix on it", "You can get your Hulu Plus on there if you want you want to drive a TV with that or any one of the 700,000 some applications". And that includes Skype. There are some USB web cameras listed that work with this device and provide the input to Skype: only some web cams made by HP & Microsoft, costing about $20.

Glenn asked if the TV requires 2 USB ports (1 for the web cam, 1 to power the "Android on a stick"). Paul said that it's the "Android on a stick" that has the 2 required USB ports. He'll say more about "Android on a stick" on a later show, after he receives the unit.

Glenn said he got a call from a friend who said they had Apple remove a virus from their Mac. However, it turned out that what they assumed was a virus was in fact a normally functioning program. They were suspicious because it was asking them for their password so it can update itself. Glenn determined that the program was TeamViewer, a program their son installed, without their knowledge, so he could access their computer remotely.

It's normal behavior for TeamViewer to periodically update itself, so it was a false alarm. On the Mac there is a "systematic way" the operating system asks you for the administrator password, and a program doing updates alerts the operating system, which then prompts you for the password.

Glenn noted "a Blue Tooth mouse will not work with an i-device an i-device doesn't have a pointer". <By i-device I guess he meant iPhone, iPad etc.>

Glenn wondered about an auto-fill program for his mobile devices to automatically fill in name, address, phone etc. when he has to fill out a form. Paul said Safari is the only browser available on the iPad. On machines where you could use Firefox or Internet explorer or some other browsers, you can use a plugin called RoboForms. But it's not available for Safari.

Paul suggested people uninstall Java, as there are serious security issues with it. If you don't know what Java is, you probably don't need it anyway. This goes for PC, Mac & other users. The issue is serious enough that it may require a complete rebuild of Java and may take up to 2 years. Note Java is different from Javascript. Paul said "AJAX supercede everything Java was intended to do. The reasons to use Java are now rapidly dwindling". Similarly, Flash functions are being taken over by HTML5.
<Articles about the Java problem here and here>

Glenn noted Javascript doesn't work on the Apple devices iMac, iPad, iPhone etc.

The disclaimer:
Any views or opinions or thoughts that you hear on KVMR are specifically those of the speaker and not those of this station, its staff, management, underwriters, volunteers or board of directors.

Clearwater called to say Dishnet (a satellite internet service) is available no matter where you live. He said it's advertised as super fast and he's having a representative come out to qualify him for the service.

Super fast is not the issue, it's the delay in having the signal travel out to the satellite and back. It's very difficult to have a conversation if you're using something like Skype. The delay interferes with playing games, too. And consider that every time you interact with a web page there's a delay of a couple of seconds which can add up to significant time.

Also, streaming video is problematic, mainly because there may be a data cap to consider. If you stream a lot of video, you can quickly exceed the data limit and may end up with a big bill. And some satellite services will throttle your speed.

Clearwater also asked for a recommendation of a smart TV.
– Smart TV means it's internet connected, one way or another. Ideally, it would be a wireless connection. In which case, make sure it has wi-fi built in, not just wi-fi compatible.
– Companies making such TVs like to make money on accessories. Make sure you take into account accessories you may want, when pricing them. Most have Skype, Netflix and Hulu built in.

Paul talked a bit about returning a purchase, saying in this country the consumer is king and "it would be a very foolish company that wouldn't take it back".
– Look carefully at the return policy before buying.
– Often you can return something within 15 days. Sometimes it's 7 days, sometimes 30 days.
– There are exceptions for some items like inkjet printers, where you open the cartridges.
– Sometimes there's a restocking fee.
– In a warranty situation you should first contact the company to see if there's an easy fix for you problem. If you have to send it in, be sure you first get an authorization, usually called an RMA.
– If it's a computer problem, you may loose data when you follow instructions from the company (or if you send it back to them). The company is not responsible for your data and sometimes they don't warn you in advance. So, back up your data regularly.

Glenn investigated the Puretalk phone service. He spent $44 to try them out for a month. They charge month to month <no contract, I guess> and there's no charge to port your old phone number.

He's tried to tether his iPhone thru PureTalk but hasn't had any luck, it just tells him to contact AT&T to set it up. If you want to try tethering go to Settings -> General -> Networks (Cellular on the iPhone 3Gs) and turn on the appropriate options.

Glenn mentioned that when he switched to T-Mobile he was put on a 2-year contract without being told.

Ron Avanzino joined the guys in the studio but didn't add to the conversation. He hosts the A Swingin' Affair show on KVMR.

Mike called to settle an argument with his son. At issue is whether there are any careers in computing that are worthwhile considering that so many jobs have gone offshore.
– Paul warned that the most difficult area is creating games but it's what many want to do.
– "There's definitely a market out there for IT (information technology) capable people but not if they don't think it's out there for them"
– Help desks are what have gone offshore but there is always new hardware coming out so check with the hardware companies.
– For 2-year education programs, look into A Plus, Healds College or some online colleges
– Glenn said he's not impressed with the for-profit colleges like Healds because students tend to rack up big debts. He suggested local community colleges or adult education facilities.
– Look for internship opportunities.

Betsy called. She asked for suggestion for VOIP. She's currently using AT&T.
– The cheapest way to do it if you want to experiment is to try nettalk.com in the $50 or $60 per month range.
– It's portable, you can take it with you.
– They give you a local number that you pick for yourself
– They can port your number (but obviously not the number you use for the DSL service on which you use the VOIP). If you want to port that number, you can get DSL from AT&T without the phone service (naked DSL). <You dissociate the phone number from the DSL; then you can port the phone number>
– Don't cancel the phone number with AT&T before porting it.

Last updated on 12:22 AM 1/24/2013

– Ithttp://www.teamviewer.com/ – Ithttp://www.teamviewer.com/ – It

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 & Glenn were in the studio and had Reinette Senum as their guest. Reinette is a former mayor of Nevada City.

Remember, two more  Zentech shows this month: Jan. 23rd & 30th

Reinette appealed to the techie community to resolve a mystery. A video had been put up on Vimeo a month ago called Sandy Hook Elementary School Tribute: referring to the recent mass shooting there. The video, which has now been removed, was put up before the shooting occurred, according to the time stamp. Vimeo said it's possible for a time stamp to be altered but with difficulty.

People researching this found that the person who uploaded the video (Joseph Ametrano) <> also tweeted about it at the same time, on Dec. 12 and the time stamps apparently agree with that of the video. Searching for the Sandy Hook shooting with the date restricted between Oct. 1 & Dec. 13 has turned up a bunch of websites referring to the shooting. The shooting occurred on Dec. 14. Given that the time stamp of the Vimeo upload can be altered, the big mystery, Reinette said, is that the date on the tweets also predates the event.

– Glenn suggested that it might be an inside job: someone at Twitter changed the date of the tweets.
– Paul asked listeners to do a search for the words: sandy hook fund raiser. He asked people to note any reports of the shooting that predate the actual event. You can send your results to zen at kvmr dot org. Remember to set the search criteria to dates before Dec. 14 and allow a 24hr leeway because of the various timezones around the world.
– Reinette wondered if Google is returning search results with the wrong time on them.

Paul noted that Google has been subverted before by a process called rickrolling. This is where some searches were diverted to Rick Astley 's website. Glenn noted that AVG anti-virus works in conjunction with the Firefox & Internet Explorer browsers to warn users when search results point to nefarious sites. Paul said Google by itself will warn users of such sites.

A caller pointed out that there were discrepancies in the news reports about the Sandy Hook shooting (and the Aurora shooting as well). There were discrepancies in the location of the guns.

Paul said that maybe 95% of people using a search engine don't use the advanced features like setting the date a range one is interested in. It can be handy when, for instance, you're searching for football results from the past.

Bob called. He said veteranstoday.com is also a source of information about the Sandy Hook shooting. He also suggested that the predated info may have been a deliberate "psychological operation". He said in 2011, during the World Trade Center attack, he remembered a video of a British commentator saying that Building 7 had collapsed 20 minutes before it actually did, and in the background was a picture of Building 7 still standing.

Genea called to say there is a way to backdate a post on Facebook. But Paul said the order of its appearance in the timeline doesn't change: posts appear in the order they are created. <I may have spelled her name wrong. It's Gen.a.uh, long 'a' followed by a short 'a'>.

Paul noted that this year is first year in a number of years where all the digits are different.

Talking about the collapse of Building 7 again, it was noted that the British newscaster was in a different timezone, and that may account for the discrepancy.

The disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this show are those of the speakers only, not necessarily those of this fine station KVMR, board, member, manager, staff, pets; hangers-on, groupies, anything else.

Paul learned a new word: pseudo-skepticism. It's not to be used in opposition to pseudo-science: use real skepticism for that.

Don called. He worked for a company that used an electronic sign-in sign-out board. An employee there would change the clock before a punch in/out to hide the fact he was late or left early. Don thought that the Sandy Hook video might have been produced on a computer whose clock was altered.
– Some cameras put a time stamp on a video and some programs like Picasa will show that time. But…
– Reinette said that was looked into and only the time of the actual upload was investigated.

Lee called. His feeling is that someone found a way to alter the date of the Sandy Hook video

Reinette said a woman named Gilbert complained that a picture of her daughter was used along with the claim that she was one of the <Sandy Hook> victims. It took some investigating to confirm what Gilbert said. Reinette said she doesn't just brush aside such claims and tries to delve into all of them.

Some time ago, Paul had a mouse that wouldn't work in a particular area of his desk. He had trouble deducing the cause until he found that this cheap optical mouse leaked light into its sensor when it got near his desk lamp.

Reinette backtracked to say that the woman whose daughter's photo was misused is Cathy Gaubert and that there's not been a resolution to the problem.

Bonnie Lee called. She's the one who called before about the discrepancy in the reporting of gun locations. She wanted to know if Reinette has a blog.
– No blog, but she has a Facebook page where she's posting some info about her Sandy Hook investigation. <I think this is it here>

A caller did a recreation of the Twilight Zone intro that Rod Sterling did before each show. Paul said he's found a bunch of Twilight Zone videos from the early 60's on Youtube. The caller went on to say he's found some video on Youtube by Joseph Ametrano that documents what was on Vimeo (and has since been removed). The Youtube video is called tatoott1009reloaded. <Also check out this page>

On the next show; Paul expects to talk about the Android tablet he bought a few weeks ago. And Glenn wants to discuss the hacking of an iMac.

Last updated 11:17 PM 1/9/2013

Notifications of new show notes and edits are tweeted at: twitter.com/ddhart.
– They're tagged with #Zentech.
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Editor's comments are delimited by < >

Glenn was in the studio with his guest John Paul of Spiral Internet, an internet service provider. Paul was still in the UK and didn't join the conversation.
<Contact Spiral at 530-478-9822 or visit spiralinternet.com>

John started off talking about the Google fiber optics project of 2010. The intent was to test a 1gig connection in a few communities around the nation. 1100 communities submitted requests and the winners were picked by lottery, Last month, Kansas City, Kansas was the first city to have the service turned on. Glenn noted that the throughput would be limited by the distribution inside each house: if you use a wireless router, fiber optic speeds will be reduced to the speed of the router. John said, if you're having a house built, think about having the fiber cable built into the walls: you may not use it right away but in 10 years, fiber is "what's going to be happening". You can see the Nevada County video submission at http://95959google.com/.
<More info about the Google project is in the 2-22-10 show notes>
– The fiber cable in the house is almost the size of a hair. Cladding around the bare fiber adds to the diameter.
– The fiber cable is more flexible now than it used to be. Before, you couldn't do 90-degree bends. Now, you can tie it in knots.
– Later in the show, John said Google charges $70 <per month, I guess> for the 1gig fiber service. That doesn't include phone service. And TV over internet is $50 more. Kansas City residents can opt for a traditional DSL service (15meg downstream & 1.5meg upstream) for free but there's a $300 installation charge.

Glenn said he got an email from Daniel who thought his only option for internet was the Hughes satellite service. He had bought the satellite equipment but then heard that AT&T offered the internet thru their cellular network. However, he gets poor AT&T cellular reception, though Verizon cellular is better. Daniel wanted some guidance.
– If you can see Wolf Mountain or Banner Mountain, check out Digital Path (what Glenn uses) or Smarter Broadband.

John said if Spiral Internet can't supply DSL service or Digital Path (Spiral is a reseller of Digital Path) to a potential customer, they will refer that customer to other providers in the area. Sprial has a blog called Nevada County Connected. Look on the right side for the link "Nevada County services" to get a .pdf file listing providers for Western Nevada County. In order of preference, look for service from Comcast, then DSL, fixed wireless (like Digital Path and a few others in the area), next is Verizon cellular and, lastly, a satellite service.

Glenn thought Hughes is now the only provider of internet <in his area, I guess>. John said Exede also provides satellite service. Glenn noted that satellite providers are quick to throttle down your speed if they see you consuming a lot of data. In his email, Daniel said that Hughes claimed their service would be adequate for his needs, but he found out that's true only before 5am. When others get online and bandwidth drops.

The guys talked about AT&T switching from copper wires to cellular. AT&T, at a stock-holders presentation in Nov, indicated that they are not going to increase or even provide service (DSL & U-Verse) over copper in areas that aren't dense (rural areas). Instead, they will provide cellular service in those areas.

John said that's fine in flat terrain but it's a problem in "geographically diverse" areas like Nevada County. He noted that fixed wireless (Digital Path & Smarter Broadband) work differently than cellular networks. He said AT&T's move from copper could give cable companies, like Comcast, an advantage in pricing and lead to a monopoly on service. Glenn said his friend in Richmond was offered Comcast service (phone, internet & tv) at roughly $130 per month for the first 6 months, but for the remaining 18 months of the contract the price went up to over $200 per month. And, he said, he was being charged rent for every piece of equipment (routers, modems, DVR) in the house.

John noted that Sprial Internet has unlimited data, unlike some companies (like AT&T) that have tiered pricing (pay more, get a higher data limit). Also, Sprial doesn't require long-term contracts.

Glenn mentioned a cell carrier called Peertalk, <maybe he said PureTalk> a GSM service. Their highest rate is $43/mo for unlimited talk, text (txt) and data. He thought that it's an inexpensive alternative to AT&T or T-Mobile. He has plans to give them a try for a month.

Ron called. He lives in the North San Juan area and he & his neighbors got notices from AT&T that they will be switched to the U-Verse broadband service. A neighbor that did convert to U-Verse discovered that it didn't work for them and AT&T would not allow them to switch back to DSL. He wondered if switching to Sprial Internet would get DSL back.
– For some customers, the switch to U-Verse is "in name only". In that case, Sprial can switch you over to their DSL service. It's on a case-by-case basis. Call Spiral to see what they can do: 530-478-9822.
– AT&T claims U-verse is based on fiber optics, but the fiber goes only to the node <a local distribution point> not all the way to the house. Between the node & the house it's copper, which degrades performance.

Glenn related a story about a friend who wanted to switch her phone number because of harassing calls and AT&T switched her to U-Verse. She didn't like the switch and eventually convinced AT&T to give back her old phone number and DSL service. His point was that it is possible to switch back from U-Verse.

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.

Mitch called to say that last year AT&T or some other contractor pulled fiber optic cables thru "the ridge" all the way to Downieville to provide service there, but there are no onramps & offramps for those along the cable's route <there are no taps into the fiber cable to provide service along its route, as I understand it>.

Smarter Broadband did get some stimulus funding to extend wireless throughout the area. They're planning to build a couple of towers on "the ridge"; the "project date is 2015".

Glenn mentioned the upcoming Zentech show dates: Jan 9th, 23rd & 30th

About a year ago Spiral helped reconvene the Nevada County broadband advisory group. They meet monthly and their goal is to come up with a Nevada County broadband plan based on the national broadband plan. That should help get all of the broadband players in the area on the same path to provide the broadband infrastructure in Nevada County.

Russell called. He has Consumer Cellular, a Portland company, for his phone service. He had trouble getting a signal when he was using Verizon & T-Mobile. He's now looking for a really good phone with 4G capability but one that will work with Consumer Cellular. He had tried a phone from Consumer Cellular but it had poor reception so he went back to an older Motorola phone model WX345 and it worked fine.
– The old Motorola phone may just have a better antenna.
– Glenn is an iPhone fan & he suggested Russell find someone with an iPhone and try his SIM card in it to see if it works.
– Check with your neighbors. If one of them is getting reception, ask them what they're using
– Check the California broadband maps from California Utilities Commision to find out what services are available in your area.
– <Also check Nevada County Connected, as mentioned above>

Spiral Internet has information on connecting your tablet to wireless.

Kirk called. He's about 1.75 miles out of Nevada City on Bloomfield Road. He said that 4 years ago AT&T laid fiber nearby but not to his house. Should he just give up waiting.
– Yes, I'm afraid so. Contact Spiral Internet, they can give you more info.

George called to say he's near one of the previous callers <he's near Sontag, I think that's what he said> and he knows that a 4G tower is being put in that will carry both Verizon & AT&T.
– John said Verizon is aggressively expanding in the area.

Bill called about PdaNet 3.5 for Android. <It sounds like app that does tethering. He said Microsoft update doesn't work when he uses Internet Explorer because the "user agent string is being masked". He asked if there's a work-around. The user agent string lets Microsoft know what browser is being used. Microsoft requires Internet Explorer for doing updates.
– Disconnect the laptop from the tether & connect it directly to the internet.
– Additionally, if you do any ordering from AT&T, you have to use Internet Explorer there too, Glenn said.

If you're looking for a broadband ISP check out spiralfusion.com
For those in the Sacramento, Davis & Woodland area check out http://sacramentofusion.com/
<See more about the Fusion service in the 8-24-11 show notes>

Last updated 11:31 PM 12/26/2012

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 and Adam Brodel of Smarter Broadband were in the studio. Paul was in England and didn't participate.

Adam & his wife are co-owners of Smarter Broadband, which uses to be in the Auburn area. It has now merged with Full Spectrum in the Grass Valley area.

Glenn subscribes to Digital Path for his internet connection and is very happy with it.

Adam said that in the Crown Point & Whispering Pines area, the business are having trouble getting high speed internet so Adam has been focusing on bring them AirFiber, which can deliver 1gig/sec broadband. He expects it to be installed in the next couple of weeks.
<Some info about AirFiber here and here>

Adam said they are upgrading equipment on Wolf Mountain, and in January they'll be able to offer 12meg broadband in that area.

He also said they are putting in more towers around the county and that people who've not been able to get their service should check back with them for availability. You can call 530-272-4000

Adam explained how Smarter Broadband originally started with lower frequency equipment, which didn't have a lot of capacity but was better able to transmit thru trees. As the company expanded, they started using higher frequency equipment, which has more capacity but less penetration. Wolf Mountain has both types of transmitters.

In January they'll be testing a new type of transmitter that should provide 6meg and still have good penetration.

Glenn noted that Digital Path doesn't have data limits like AT&T & cable companies do. Adam said Smarter Broadband doesn't have strictly enforced limits, but if they notice a user is hogging a lot of the capacity, they'll try to convince that user to be more considerate of others on the network. He said many users aren't aware that they're consuming excess bandwidth, things may be running in the background — peer-to-peer data sharing or perhaps a virus.

After saying he loves his new iPad, Glenn asked Adam if such mobile equipment uses as much bandwidth for video as an internet connected TV. Adam said many of the streaming services like Netflix can detect what type of appliance is consuming the video and can send a slower stream to a mobile device.

Adam noted that Netflix allows you to set the quality of video you receive. The default is to send the highest quality at a rate of about 6meg/sec. If you set it to just "good" quality (less than 1meg/sec), it's hard to tell the difference on screen, and you can avoid "stuttering" video. <This will also help keep you from reaching your data limit.>

Glenn talked about a friend's TV that delivers a great picture, which he attributed to its plasma screen. The TV receives over the air broadcasts and he wondered about the data rate. Adam said that over-the-air signals are far far better than that of satellite providers because satellite signals use compression.

Adam went on the say that internet data usage has increased dramatically in recent years and most of it is video traffic — 60% of internet usage is streaming video.

John called. He has a Lenovo laptop that's a few years old and it "clicks off" after 10 or 15 minutes; sometimes it runs for a half-hour or so. He said this happens when running on AC power or battery.
– Glenn suspected that it might be overheating. John said it doesn't seem to be hot and it happens before it has a chance to get hot.
– Adam thought it might have over heated at some point and damaged the board, so now it takes only a little heat to cause failure.
– Since it's 6 or 7 years old, consider getting a new machine. If you watch for sales, you can find a decent laptop from under $300 on up to $500. Glenn's favorite retailer is Fry's, but also check online retailers, too.
– John said he's never used this laptop on the internet. That led Glenn to think that Windows has never been updated. So, connect to the internet and do the updates. There will likely be a lot of updating so use a broadband connection.
– Repairs on laptops can get costly.

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.

Pam called. She called before looking for another computer that can use dialup, her old machine was running slow. At that time the guys told her she could get her old one refurbished. This time she asked what is done during refurbishing.
– Smarter Broadband/Full Spectrum does PC repairs now, at their Johnson Place address. Their phone # is 530-272-4000.
– Glenn recalled that what was suggested before was to have her operating system reinstalled, not refurbished. Refurbish usually means replacing hardware components.
– Since new desktop PC are under $500, it may be cheaper to buy than have her's serviced.
– New PCs don't come with dialup modems so you'll have to buy one for an additional $50 (or a bit more if it's a USB modem).
– Adam concurred that a "cleanup" may solve her problem. And adding more memory can do wonders, too.

Pam also asked if highspeed is coming to the Camptonville area.
– Smarter Broadband/Full Spectrum doesn't have any current plans for service to that area. But there may be other providers available.
– She explored getting satellite service but her neighbor's trees are in the way. However, it was suggested she check with different satellite companies and she may find one with a satellite in a different position in the sky (bypassing the trees).

Barbara called. Her problem is similar to Pam's but she's on a ridge a couple of miles from Malakoff Diggins.
– I you have a view of Oregon Peak you may be able to get service from Digital Path.
– Smarter Broadband/Full Spectrum has plans to provide service from Oregon Peak. She hoped their service would come soon as she was thinking of getting the Hughes satellite service, which requires a 2 year contract and a $400 cancellation fee.
– Call Smarter Broadband/Full Spectrum to put in a request for service. 530-272-4000

Bonnie called wondering where to get a transcript of the show.
– Go to zen.kvmr.org and click on the 'shows' link.
<Note: Obviously, I don't transcribe the shows. These are only notes>

Bonnie conflated 3G & 4G with wireless service. 3G & 4G refer to phone service. Smarter Broadband/Full Spectrum provides wireless internet service. Adam said they do wireless not wi-fi or phone networks.
– Many of their towers can do 12meg/sec
– DSL can do 1.5meg/sec, 3meg/sec and 6meg/sec, but to get 6meg/sec you have to be really close to the transmitting unit.

Also, she heard that wi-fi can be a security problem. If you're using it in a cafe, a knowledgable person may be able to snoop on what you're doing.
– Smarter Broadband/Full Spectrum's service is not like wi-fi in a coffee shop. It uses encryption to protect your privacy. And unlike wi-fi, the hardware mitigates signal interception. It's not 100% secure but better than wi-fi.
– Hackers have easier ways to get your private info — viruses, trojan horses etc. One way to defend yourself, and it's Glenn's mantra, is don't open strange emails or attachments.

Josh called to suggest that previous callers can use a Wilson phone booster for their wireless internet or phone network. You can get one on Amazon, Ebay or Banner Communication for about $200.

Brian called. He has a Wilson booster, external & internal antennas and an AT&T hotspot, but he's still getting poor results. Also, Brian offered the use of his property for Adam to put up a tower and asked of the Wilson booster would work with the equipment used by Adam's company.
– No, the Wilson booster is based on cellular signals. The broadband signals are different and require an different receiver.
– Once you have highspeed internet (1.5meg/sec or faster), you can get a microcell from AT&T or Verizon for about $200. You can plug the microcell into your internet connection, that then "makes a mini cell in the house". <So you'll be using the internet for your cell phone calls instead of the cellular network. I heard of similar devices called femtocells. See also picocell.
– Glenn suggested AT&T, Sprint or Verizon will give you a micorcell if you threaten to end your service with them.

Last updated 10:44 PM 12/12/2012

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Paul talked a bit about top-level domain names. That's the part of a web address that ends in .com, .org, .net, etc. He mentioned a website that lists its address as legacypresents.co. In this case it was just a typo and should have been legacypresents.com. But you can actually register your website with .co as it really exists and belongs to the country of Columbia. Country abbreviations can be top-level domains as well as the more familiar .com. He said people choose these more obscure domain names because the name they want to use with .com, for instance, may already be in use <e.g. sex.com may be taken but sex.co might be available>. To find out more about a top-level domain name, use the web address in the form of nic.co (to find out about .co).

Paul went on to say that domain name registration started back in the '70s and that the names are not case-sensitive — upper & lower case letters are treated the same. If you want to put your website's name on a business card, you can use studly caps (like PaulCastro.com) <see also camelcase> to make it easier to read. Everything to the right of the top-level domain IS case sensitive — PaulCastro.com/buyhisicecream.html treated differently from PaulCastro.com/BuyHisIceCream.html on some webservers.

Paul also said that email addresses are not case-sensitive — you can capitalize any part of zen at kvmr.org. If you have a Gmail account, you can embed periods in that portion of the your email address to the left of the @ and you will still receive the email — mail to fred.blogs@gmail.com will be received by fredblogs@gmail.com. If you use a name with periods when you signup at a website, you'll know if that website sold your email address when you start receiving spam mail that's addressed to that particular email address.

Glenn said that when he created account on his iPad, it automatically created an account at me.com. He said, "even though under 'check my email' it's not listed as an account, it comes in as mail from the iCloud, and if I do anything outside of my email client, where I'm specifically looking at something from my gmail account, which would then show my gmail account as the return address…if I click on a webpage, for example, in reply, it automatically goes to the @me.com"

Paul thought he needed to change the default settings. Go to preferences -> settings -> mail contacts & calendars; there you should find settings for the default calendar & default account. On that settings page you can also change your signature — what appears at the bottom of all your emails. This can help the recipient to verify the mail is really from you.

Glenn said he didn't intend to go anywhere for Black Friday sales but he noticed that Best Buy had an iPad on sale for $60 less than what he paid for his 15 day earlier. He contacted Apple and was told to go back to the store where he bought it to see if they will price-match. After calling the store and after some discussion, he was able to get a $60 refund. He intends to apply that amount to buying Apple Care <it's like an extended warranty>.

Glenn joined twitter but hasn't used it much yet. He said he's still not impressed with Facebook. It's gotten a little easier for him to use but he's not been able to figure out where some 'events emails' are coming from.

Paul mentioned bulletin boards of the '70s & '80s. Because some of them had questionable content, they would put up statements saying law enforcement is not welcome. He said it wasn't true then and it's not true now that you can protect yourself with such notices. This relates to recent notices appearing on Facebook pages saying "I give Facebook no right to use my pictures or likeness or words". Don't rely on making such a statement; in fact, it's your terms of service (with Facebook) that takes precedence. Snopes.com (a clearinghouse for fraudulent statements & urban legends) had a surge of interest in the legality of that statement. UrbanLegends is another site that debunks popular myths <and it's there I found an article about the Facebook postings>.

Paul wondered who would spread urban legends and Glenn speculated that they may be a form of phishing, He thought it's a way of harvesting a verified email addresses.

Paul said that the "I love you virus" from about 10 years ago was the first socially engineered virus. It was written in Visual Basic by an 18-year-old in Philippines and came as an attachment. "It only succeeded because it said I love you and the body of the message said something about send this to someone you love". He noted that these messages propagate like chain letters of the past and that they tend to come in waves about 18 months apart so the same messages get recycled but with a few words changed to avoid spam filters.

Glenn was unable to take a call to the show using his iPad. Paul reminded listeners that was because the iPad has no support for Flash or ActiveX.

Marilyn called. She had a computer crash and had to replace her hard drive with a refurbished one. It came with Windows XP but was missing Microsoft Works, which she thought normally comes with XP. She thought she needed to use Works because the people she sends documents to use that program.
– Works is not part of XP. It's up to the computer manufacturer what's installed on a machine and there's no guaranty Works is included.
– It was suggested she use Microsoft Word and save in Works format using the 'save as' option <in the 'File' menu>.
– If it's important to maintain the format, use PDFCreator & save it as a PDF document.
– You can also use the same 'save as' trick to create spreadsheets that can be read by Works.
– Use Google Docs create, edit and share documents.

Marilyn also wanted to know how to change the default program that displays a .jpg image when she click on the .jpg file. The current program is Microsoft Photo Editor but it has trouble displaying some of her larger .jpg files.

She also asked about a program that reduces the size of her photos to make them easier to send them thru email. She just got Picasa, which is supposed to be able to do the reduction, but she still needs to learn to use it.
– To change the default program: right-click on a .jpg file -> open with ->go to bottom where it says 'choose program' then select the program you want to be the default, and put a check in the box "always use this".
– There are a series of programs called PowerToys that added functionality to Windows XP. One of the programs was called Image Resizer. For Win7 & Win8 users there are similar programs for resizing but make sure they are described "acts just like the powertoy does in XP"
– There is another program in the PowerToys suit called TweekUI that Paul likes.
– Glenn said you can get it from Cnet, generally a safe site to download from, but be careful which 'download' button you use or you may get stuff you don't want. <I think this is it here>
<You can find Image Resizer, TweekUI and other useful programs here.>
– To find more resizers just google with the words: image resizer xp

Douglas, a photographer, called wondering if Facebook owns images posted to that site.
– Facebook can't do whatever they want with your image. "However, they can display it on Facebook themselves at their own will. They're just not allowed to sell it to other people or take it off Facebook or sell it to anybody else". And it's not their job to keep your images from being stolen. It's all in the terms of service agreement.
– When using Facebook post a thumbnail or a watermarked image with link to where a full size image can be found (like on a photo sharing site).

Marsdon (maybe Marston) called to ask about the Firefox plugin called DownloadHelper, which facilitates downloading of Youtube videos. He sometimes gets the error message "Javascript application: conversion requires an external application that appears to be missing on your system"
– When DownloadHelper runs it gives you several options for converting the format. Paul always downloads directly without converting.
– Paul was going to have him check the version he's using, but he's using a Mac and Paul doesn't have a Mac handy. They asked Marsdon to contact them after the show.
– Paul said the latest version of Download Helper is 4.9.12 for both PC & Mac. Marsdon may just need to update.
– After downloading a Youtube video in the native .flv format Paul uses Videolan to play the .flv file.

Dec 1 is the Nevada City Hackathon. For more info visit nevadacityhackathon.com
<Also mentioned the the 10-24-12 show notes>

Last updated 11:16 PM 11/28/2012